Disclaimer, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, I do not pass go, I do not collect $200…

The King's Thief

Chapter One

Rita tossed her money in the saisen-bako to express her gratitude and then proceeded to ring the bell. She bowed twice, clapped her hands the same amount of times and then bowed once more. At their family's Shinto Shrine she had always prayed for the same thing; the good health of her mother. Since her death, Rita was unsure what else there was to pray for. So today, she settled on asking for strength to get her through her first day of school.

Her mother had always home schooled her but now… her thoughts trailed off. She took a deep breath and then let out a long, tired sigh. She finished her prayer and ran from the shrine, waving goodbye to her father as she passed him sweeping the fallen cherry blossoms by the gate.

Yugi and his friends assembled together at the back of the classroom before first period. Yugi, although only sixteen, was now the most talked about person in Domino. His hobby was playing card games and with a little help from his belief in the heart of the cards and the support of his friends Joey, Tea and Tristan, he had once again been crowned the King of Games. A title he couldn't help but smile at when he thought of it.

His best friend Joey had also competed in the recent tournament known as 'Battle City' and although he was not victorious, his determination was admirable. Today was their first day back at school after the competition which had been hosted by Domino High School's own resident millionaire, Seto Kaiba. Speaking of whom…

"I haven't seen Kaiba yet," Tea said.

"After losing in his own tournament, I knew that rich boy wouldn't have the guts to show his face in school today," Joey said.

Tristan joined the conversation, "I heard he hasn't left his office," he said. "Miho told me he's had all his employees on unpaid overtime trying to discover a way to beat the Egyptian God cards."

"I think it's sad…" Tea whispered.

Joey scoffed, "yeah, he could at least pay them overtime."

"No," Tea growled, "I mean I think it's sad that someone can be so consumed with winning that they can't just enjoy their life."

"There's no need to feel bad for him Tea, he got what he deserved."

"Joey's right" Tristan agreed.

"What do you think Yugi? Joey asked, "do you think Kaiba will make an appearance today?"

Preoccupied by something else, Yugi unintentionally ignored his friend.

"Yuuuugggiiii," Joey waved his hand in front of the short boy, "Earth to Yugi... come in pal."

"Looks like we have a new student," Yugi said, and his friends turned to the front of the class.

Rita stood awkwardly as the class quieted from her presence. Her petite hands tightly clutched the straps of her backpack highlighting her nervousness.

'Where to sit?' she thought to herself.

She saw a boy toward the back of the room smile at her almost sympathetically, a look she had grown accustomed to seeing recently. She broke his gaze and chose to sit toward the front of the class in an empty seat by the window.

Yugi, taking pity of the girl, decided to go and introduce himself. But before he could make it to her desk he was interrupted by the school bell. The students scattered to take their seats, Yugi included.

The teacher walked in and greeted her class.

"Good morning Sensei"! They responded in unison.

"Before we get started I'd like to announce that we have a new student joining us."

The teacher looked down to her role call, "Hattori, Rita."

Rita stood and bowed to her class, greeting them in the usual Japanese way.

At the sound of her voice, Bakura's attention was captured. He took over his host's body with ease and turned to gaze at the new girl. He studied her features and her careful movements. Their eyes met briefly but she thought nothing of it.

'Why does she look familiar?' Bakura thought.

After their morning classes Yugi caught up to Rita in the hall.

"Hi," he said, "my name is Yugi."

"Hi," Rita bowed slightly as she walked. "Rita."

"How is your first day, Rita?"

She shrugged, "It's alright, I guess."

"If you would like to, I'll show you to the cafeteria, there you can meet my friends."

Rita was hesitant.

"The food is awful," Yugi joked. "But we're good company."

Rita couldn't help but think when he smiled, he looked like a child begging for a new toy. She could hardly say no.

When they got to the cafeteria, Yugi introduced her to a table of people.

"Everyone, this is Rita."

The only other girl at the table was quick to introduce herself, "Hi Rita, my name is Tea," she said.

"And I'm Joey! This here is Tristan but… you don't need to know him," he said and he shoved the other boy away.

"Hey!" Tristan yelped as he almost fell.

"Ignore those two," Tea apologized, rubbing the back of her head, "they don't get a chance to talk to girls very often."

Yugi sweat dropped as the two boys broke out into a play fight. Rita just stood motionless, not knowing to laugh or run.

"Come on," Tea grabbed Rita's hand, "let's go get some lunch."

The school bell sounded for the final time that day and Bakura was quick to take control of Ryou's body. He headed out the school gates, unclasping his blue school jacked and untucking his white shirt as he walked. He ran his left hand through his host's white hair and ruffled it out of place. Feeling more comfortable, he stopped at the corner and waited for the lights to change. The other students around him chatted excitedly to themselves. A strange feeling washed over him and he turned around but nothing looked out of the ordinary. He turned back slowly and looked at the traffic. He thought of the new girl in class as he proceeded to cross when the pedestrian lights sounded.

'Rita…' Her name rolled naturally off his tongue.

He made his way through the park, taking a packet of cigarettes out of his pocked he picked one and set it alight. The habit had grown on him ever since he stole a packet from Ryou's father. He ignored the disgusted look a passer-by gave him, after all it wasn't his own reputation he was tarnishing.

Rita returned to the shrine and went in search of her father. She found him restocking the gift stand in preparation for the following day. The days were getting warmer which in turn brought more visitors to the shrine.

He smiled when he noticed his daughter standing on the other end of the counter. "Rita! How was your first day of school?"

"Fine," she said, not wishing to elaborate.

"Did you make any new friends today?" he asked, "did you get to all your classes on time?"

"Of course," she smiled, "don't you worry about me."

"It's my job to worry," he said.

She picked up the empty box, "I'll take this out and then I'll get dinner ready."

Her father nodded, "I'm almost done here, so I will see you inside soon," he watched her run away, "and you can tell me more about your day then," he called out to her.

Rita pretended not to hear and ran next door. Their home was conveniently located on the same block of land as the shrine. She flattened the box and put it in the recycling outside. Upon entering her home she removed her shoes and placed her slippers on. She walked further inside and was greeted by the warm, friendly face of her mother, whose photo rested in a frame on the wall.

"Hi mom," she greeted with a smile before running upstairs to change.