I know I have a million fics that need updating. I know I should be doing my homework more instead of writing these fics. But this plot has been digging at me since last year and I havehavehave to write it. It's going to be a fourshot and an AU with Thiefshipping as the main pairing. There'll be hints of other pairings here and there too. I just want to write this and get it out of the way otherwise keeping it aside will annoy me too much. I hope you enjoy this and perhaps read my other works? XD

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1. Rising Star and Devious Journalist

"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me."

Bakura Touzoku strolled into his office with a smirk of satisfaction upon his lips. For he knew he had succeeded in becoming one of the highest reputable journalists in the world of celebrities with all its scandals and faux pas.

He was the devil in disguise and he let nothing slip past his dark brown eyes. Not a word would escape his ears and never would a piece of information, useless or not go by unnoticed. He was the dictionary, the thesaurus – no, the encyclopaedia of the world of celebrity. Bakura could and would employ any tactic imaginable to get what he wanted. It wasn't surprising that Bakura was becoming a bit of notoriety figure to anyone who paid attention to the tabloids. He'd even dated a couple of celebrities only to slam secrets about them in the various magazines he's worked for. In fact, most celebrities feared interviews with him.

The thoroughly tedious thing was that no one could just simply refuse Bakura. He always had some form of blackmail on the celebrities he wanted to interview. Say no to Bakura and you say goodbye to your career.

Nobody could work out how Bakura always knew everything about everyone. Or at least everyone who was a someone. Bakura could name the number of times young starlet Miho Nosaka had checked into rehab for drugs – going against the star's innocent girl next door reputation at that too – but he'd forget to send his twin brother Ryou birthday presents. You could get Bakura to name who Mai Kujaku cheated on long time boyfriend Katsuya Jounouchi with but you couldn't get him to remember his father's middle name. Hell, he knew who popstar Anzu Mazaki was going to collaborate with but he wouldn't have any idea whatsoever on his 'friend' and fellow journalist Yugi Mutou's celebrity crush was.

On that note, Yugi idolises rock star Yami Sennen. His office walls are covered in posters and Yugi very anxiously follows Yami's Twitter account. He also likes to update Bakura on Yami information on a very regular basis.

Yet he isn't the most obsessed fanboy Bakura knows. Nowhere near it.

Often people tried to get revenge on Bakura but he was always able to shrug it off or he'd have a comeback worse than the celebrity would be prepared for. Also no one could really deny Bakura's skill in his field of work and so nobody could fire him. He really was just far too brilliant. Not a single person has conjured up a plan that could defeat Bakura as so to speak. Nor weaken him at the very least.

Bakura sat down on his computer chair and spun around. He licked his lips and ticked off Seto Kaiba on his list of celebrities. "Multi-millionaire's family secrets are out. Father commits suicide after adopted son surpasses him. Father was abusive to adopted son and adopted son's brother..." Bakura muttered as he continued spinning on the chair. Eventually he stopped and looked at his list. "...There's not much left on the list. Perhaps I could re-interview Hiroto Honda seeing as I'm pretty sure he was the one who initially influenced Miho Nosaka with drugs – not that any of the tabloids have taken a moment to notice because they're so obsessed over Anzu Mazaki's split from boyfriend of seven and a half months – not eight months, stupid tabloids – Yami Sennen because Yami Sennen made eyes at his brother Atemu's girlfriend Mana. On that note, Atemu and Mana really love their fake tans. The tabloids are all too focused on Yami, Anzu, Atemu and Mana nowadays so if I get those celebrities who think they're safe for now out in the open again, that should be good..."

He grabbed his television remote and switched on the television that was attached to one of the top corners of the room. Bakura turned his computer at the correct angle to watch. The channel was E! and the program that appeared to be on was E! News.

A reporter flashed on and Bakura couldn't remember the reporter's name due to the fact that the last time they had a major major story in the tabloids was in February last year. Actually that was a lie. Bakura knew the reporter to be Ryouta Kajiki and he lost his million dollar boat to Ryuuji Otogi in a game of poker. Ryouta and Ryuuji have been rivals in the industry since. Too bad for Ryouta that Ryuuji was the more popular celebrity even if Ryouta had more talent, being able to land acting jobs alongside his job as a report for E! News.

"...And it's been announced that the lucky guy to play this role is a potential new Hollywood Heartthrob Malik Ishtar! Even better, we have him here in our studio!" Ryouta announced excitedly as the screen next to him flashed a picture of the aforementioned actor.

Bakura's eyes widened. "...I like the look of this one..." he immediately thought out loud. And that was the truth. The actor was definitely stunning, not to mention very unique to look at. Bakura examined the screen carefully. The tan isn't fake. That tan was definitely real. Bakura had an eye for these useless details. And the eye colour wasn't fake either. It really was that amazing amethyst shade. And that flaxen blonde hair... Bakura wasn't as sure about that but like hell he was going to find out. "Malik Ishtar, huh?" Bakura scribbled down the name on his celebrity list and highlighted it. "This guy has got to be my new priority!" he instantly decided.

The show cut to Ryouta and Malik in the E! News interview studio. "How does it feel transitioning from a young small screen actor in Egypt to being spotted by one of the best directors in Hollywood and then becoming a rising star in America?"

Malik grinned in response. "Oh, you have no idea really!" he replied with a laugh. Bakura frowned. That laugh was definitely forced. "Honestly though, I'm relieved! I really wanted to get away to America and make it big! The Oscar dream, perhaps?" He laughed again. "I'm so thankful that someone as wonderful as director Pegasus J. Crawford had spotted someone like me and told me I was a big talent. It boosted my confidence, ya know? And I hope America takes well to me!" He laughed a third time.

With a sigh, Bakura listed down everything he got from that. Malik is forcing the smiles and the laughter. He wanted to get away to America. Or maybe he wanted to get away from Egypt? Pegasus J. Crawford was the one to notice Malik as an actor. Malik wants to be recognised for his talent and therefore become one of the majors in Hollywood. That could potentially link to getting away from Egypt. He made the Oscar comment sound like a throwaway one but Bakura could tell that it wasn't. Malik's English was ace. His voice sounded perfect to Bakura's ears. Bakura wanted to find out more. He was used to celebrities faking smiles and laughter but something seemed different about Malik.

For someone to have been brought over from Egypt to a place like America to star in what could be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year and acknowledged by one of Hollywood's greatest directors for his talent... Nobody would fake happiness under such circumstances. Anybody would be happy from that. So for Malik to show such sadness in his eyes was a form of intrigue for journalist Bakura Touzoku.

He watched the rest of the interview and continued to make notes.

As the show went into an adbreak and rambled about some information Bakura knew three days ago, fellow journalist Yugi Mutou ran into the room.

"Bakura! Bakura!" Yugi called out with enough sparkles in his eyes to put Twilight vampires to shame. Bakura sighed at this thought. He was tired of hearing false rumours about the Twilight cast in the tabloids. Bakura despised people who made up stories to get money. Not a single story Bakura's gotten out in the open was a lie. "Yami Sennen and Anzu Mazaki have –"

"Broken up," Bakura finished the sentence for him as he began turning on his computer chair again. "I knew a week ago."

"But it's only official n-"

"A week ago," Bakura cut his younger colleague off. He took a moment to examine Yugi. "You have a new look."

"Yes!" Yugi nodded enthusiastically."Does it suit me? I'm not sure."

"You look like Yami Sennen. Atemu Sennen too if you grab some fake tan," Bakura commented flatly. And it occurred to him that Yugi was a Yami fanboy. He decided not to place this in his memory of details to remember thus why he forgets this fact all the time.

Yugi walked over to Bakura's desk and picked up the celebrity list and the notes on Malik Ishtar. "You've really busted a lot of celebrities. Your article on the Kaiba family was really awe-inspiring. I need to write articles like that..."

Bakura grinned. "You're Anzu Mazaki's childhood friend. Use that to your advantage."

"Bakura, every secret I know about her you've already written about!" Yugi pointed out. Bakura stuck his tongue out at the younger journalist. "It's like you're the only journalist needed because you find out everything before anyone else can. And you really find the information all by yourself. I don't know how you do it."

The white-haired journalist smirked. "Maybe you could try and find that out?"

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Young upcoming star Malik Ishtar lounged around in his dressing room while his older brother and manager Rishid was scribbling in more events for Malik's schedule. He flicked strands of blonde hair from his eyes and picked at the plate of chocolates beside the sofa on which he lay on.

"Ah, that interview went well, don'tcha think?" Malik asked before he popped another chocolate in his mouth. Rishid grunted in response. "But people are saying I should get a new manager – a professional one. Soon, I'll be getting bodyguards though because I'm already getting a lot of fans. Bodyguards would be great..."

Rishid looked up from his work. "We could arrange for a new manager. I could still stay with you and keep an eye on you."

The blonde actor twirled a lock of hair under his fingers. "Mmm... I can't believe how well this plan is going though. I'm making money and staying safe! People really like me too." Suddenly Rishid's cellphone rang. Malik watched his manager hesitate. "Go take the call, Rishid," Malik instructed and Rishid immediately obeyed.

As the older of the two put down the schedule and went out of the room, Malik slid off the couch to take a look at it. He groaned at how many interviews he was marked down to do. Though he had to grin at some of the interviewer names. All the big name talk show hosts wanted a piece of him after all.

He dived back to the couch when he heard Rishid returning. Rishid looked troubled as he sat back down with the schedule. "Malik... It seems we have someone onto us," he announced. Malik gasped. "No, not him. Someone who could expose your secrets, however." Rishid got out his laptop and switched it on. Malik scooted to lean over his brother and manager's shoulder as Rishid typed in a name onto a search engine.

"Bakura Touzoku?" Malik sounded the name out loud. The two watched as many site links appeared. Rishid clicked on one. "Hmm... A skilled journalist with a knack of finding out any information he wants... Interesting." He smiled at the photo of Bakura Touzoku displayed on the webpage. "He's... hot if I do say so myself. Doesn't look particularly friendly or trustworthy though. So he wants to interview me?"

Rishid nodded. "I don't want him to interview you however. But he's able to blackmail or bust people that turn down interviews with him. And look, here's a list of all the celebrities he's victimised. Also he wrote that Kaiba article and it seems the company isn't doing as well because of that article."

Malik gasped. "Bakura Touzoku wrote that article? Man, I thought that article was pretty genius." He took the laptop mouse and scrolled quickly through the numerous names. "Wow, this guy is one hell of a dedicated bitch."

"I don't want him to interview you," Rishid repeated, looking deadly serious.

"Fair call. You call him back and tell him so. I'm new to the industry so he can't possibly have any scandalous information on me yet. Can I borrow the laptop though?" Malik asked. Rishid blinked at this question. "I want to research this Bakura Touzoku guy." Rishid nodded and left the room once more. Malik began clicking on more and more websites. He couldn't believe there was so much information on Bakura Touzoku out there on the internet and yet not a single bit was a scandal that could damage the esteemed journalist's reputation. "Bakura Touzoku..."

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"Is that so? That's too bad, Mr. Ishtar! I'll call again in the near future! Bye-bye!" Bakura replied cheerfully and he smirked to himself as he heard Rishid Ishtar disconnect the call between the two. Then he sighed. "It seems they're already being careful of me," he noted aloud to himself. He opened up his laptop and pieced together all the information he'd already collected on Malik Ishtar.

The more he researched, the less new information was popping up. For Bakura who was ace at information collecting, this was annoying. He even began looking on sites set up in Egypt and found out all the advertisements and roles he'd done before he was discovered by Pegasus J. Crawford. But nothing answered the questions burning in Bakura's mind.

"Malik Ishtar..."

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Malik let out an elongated sigh as he stared at another profile page about the journalist. "There's a lot more information about you than I expected..."

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"And yet I'm not finding the information that I want..." Bakura muttered, disappointedly.

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"I really want to find out more about you because..."

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"...you've become my number one priority."

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"And even though Rishid doesn't want me to meet you..."

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"I just happen to disagree."

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"Bakura Touzoku..."

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"Malik Ishtar..."

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"I really, really want to meet you."

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Part one! I hope you enjoyed and reviews would be amazing. This fic has been in my mind for ages and it feels good to get the first part written up. X3 This fic was inspired by Lady Gaga's song 'Paparazzi' and most notably the lyric: chase you down until you love me. Because that's totally the theme of the fic, haha.

Until next time!

Adios!

Mel-Girl.