Author's Note: Here's the updated chapter for Chapter Four. It's a bit shorter than the others, but I felt like there wasn't much more to add in terms of extra scenes, without ruining it. I'm on holiday at a lake in the alps, and we woke up to snow this morning. In summer! Thanks for reading, and I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (for those who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful day anyway).

Updated as of 26/12/07

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Bakura tentatively pushed open the door to Yami's room, muttering at the sight thst greeted them. The angel lay in pools of blood, of which were still being made larger by open wounds.

Anzu gasped and grabbed the door handle to steady herself, but Bakura just humphed and walked slowly over to his friend. It wouldn't help Anzu at all if she knew he was uncharacteristically unnerved by this particular episode. "Hey buddy," he whispered softly. His movements were slow and deliberate, taking care not to startle Yami. "What sort of mess have you gotten yourself into now?"

Yami didn't answer him but turned feverish crimson eyes to Anzu. "Get...her...out." He whispered hoarsely.

Anzu shook her head firmly. "No. No, I'm staying." She glanced at Bakura, daring him to say no. Bakura sighed, and then turned back to Yami, inspecting the wounds. There were the usual gouges from his fingernails, but also several deeper wounds that seeped blood slowly, one drop at a time. The clever little bugger had also torn a hole in his side, exposing the soft tissue and several broken ribs. Dizzy by the sight, Anzu sank to her knees. "Is he going to be alright?" She whispered.

"Don't be stupid." Bakura slung an arm round Yami's shoulders and carried him to the bed. "He'll be fine, but it's normally not as bad as this." He peered over his shoulder at her. "I'm guessing having you here has stirred up memories of his mother." Anzu gulped, guilt washing over her. She traced her finger over the diamond pattern in the carpet. "I'm so sorry. I feel useless, just sitting here doing nothing."

Bakura glanced up from washing the blood away from Yami's skin. "If you want to help, go and get a bowl of warm water and some bandages."

Anzu nodded and left for the items silently. "You sure outdid yourself this time, you ass." Bakura muttered. Yami gave a weak smile. "I know. Are you proud of me?"

"Pissed off more like. You got blood all over the floor. Now I'm going to have to vacuum, again." He grinned. "Maybe I shouldn't, and just let all the blood soak in so it becomes a red carpet. It's time for a redecoration anyway."

Yami chuckled, then stifled a gasp and clutched his side. Bakura rolled his eyes and moved Yami's hand away. "Stop that. You're just making it worse."

Anzu entered the room with the water and several rolls of bandages. "Will these do?"

Bakura nodded. "Just set them down over there." He motioned to a small side table. "It'll be a few hours before he's got enough energy to heal himself, so these will do to stop the blood flow." He unraveled a bandage and set about cutting strips off it. "Shapeshifters don't have any healing ability, which is why all I can do is apply mortal medicine practices."

Anzu blinked slowly, realizing something. "Wait." She pushed Bakura out of the way. "I'm an angel, I have healing magic." Bakura blinked. "Oh, so you do...well, hurry up girl! Get to it."

She knelt beside Yami's bed and raised her hands, letting waves of white light wash over his body.

Yami shook his head wearily and gently pushed her away. "Don't exhaust your resources. You may need them again soon." He broke off the healing procedure before Anzu could complete it. She glared at him. "What was that for? I haven't finished yet! You're only half healed!"

Yami ignored her latest comment but murmured his thanks to both Bakura and Anzu. He sighed and closed his eyes, drifting into a deep sleep. Anzu smiled and pulled the covers up around him. "So what now?" She asked Bakura quietly.

"Now, we leave him and wait. He'll wake up soon and then he can finish the healing."

-

After instructing Yami's undead minions on how to use exfoliating creams and body moisturisers properly, Anzu leaned back on a reclining chair in her room and sipped the hot chocolate Bakura had made for her (she had graciously declined his offer of marshmallows as well).

The zombies were actually very friendly. They were very curious about objects and things from the angel realm, and murmured and conversed with each other in their own clicking language. Anzu couldn't understand much of it, but she had come to recognise several words. Their favourites at the time were some French swear words Bakura had taught them. Of course, Bakura did insist that everything the French said was a swear word.

From outside, she could hear the garbling of the zombies growing louder, and picked up the word they used to mean "master". Curious, she stuck her head out the window and looked down into the main courtyard. Yami was hovering several feet in the air, getting ready to spar with his men.

"Yami!" Anzu shouted. "What are you doing?"

He turned in mid-air. Awkwardly, and without his usual grace, Anzu noticed, as if he was afraid to stretch his muscles to much.

"Good morning Anzu!" He called cheerfully. He waved. "I'm exercising, obviously."

"And you shouldn't be!" Anzu was fuming. "You just got out of bed from being mortally wounded! What kind of idiot are you?"

Yami grinned and turned his back on her. "An idiot who knows what he's doing," he called over his shoulder. "I won't waste time just sitting around." He glanced back at her, a grin forming on his face. "Care to join us?"

"No! And that's no excuse! Now that I'm around here for a while, things are going to start happening differently!" She retorted. "Starting with the fact that you are going to bed now! And you aren't getting up until I say you can!"

He stared at her, incredulous. "You can hardly tell me what to do, Anzu! This is my house, and you're the captive, remember?"

"I don't care! Get inside now, or else I'm coming out there and I will drag you in!"

Yami scowled and, ignoring the snickers from his men, floated over to Anzu's window. He lowered his voice. "Anzu, need I remind you -" His reprimand was caught short with a strangled squawk as Anzu grabbed him by his collar and yanked him roughly inside. He sighed and reluctantly allowed himself to be led upstairs (he wasn't really allowing anything - the death grip she had on his collar was making it difficult to breathe) by Anzu as she took absolutely no notice whatsoever of any of his 'mortal wounds' that she had so described earlier.

"There!" Anzu forced Yami into his bed and pulled the covers round him. "Now you are to stay there and rest until I say you are better."

"Yes ma'am." Yami said miserably. "You're even worse than Bakura."

Satisfied, Anzu flicked off the light. "Yami, it's for your own good. Now sleep."

By a strange coincidence, "Yami, it's for your own good" was exactly what Anzu kept telling herself when she went to check on him less than a few hours later. In her opinion, she was going to see him purely to make sure he was alright, not because she was lonely and wanted someone to talk to.

But Yami had other plans, and so was up and about rearranging his room. Bakura's comment about redecorating had got him in the mood for a spot of renovation. At that precise moment, he was in the process of knocking a hole in his wall. Who couldn't use an extra bathroom?

"Yami?" Anzu gently pushed the door open. "How are you..." She stopped, staring. "What are you doing up? And what are you doing knocking a hole in the wall? I told you to rest!"

Yami turned to her, mallet in hand. "Fine thanks, didn't feel like sleeping, need a new bathroom, and I don't really care." He stood up slowly, a trace of pain flashing across his face. "Anzu, did you really think I'd listen to you?"

Anzu faltered. "But...you said you would..." Yami chuckled, seeming to find the entire situation funny. "I have better things to do than lying around. I only said I'd sleep so you'd be at peace and leave." Anzu felt her face flush, and suddenly she was angry. "Don't you care? About lying to people, and overworking yourself!"

He raised an eyebrow, surprised at her anger. "What's the problem, Anzu? It's nothing serious."

"It's because I trusted you, Yami, and I thought you trusted me enough to believe that this would be better for you." He let out a short laugh."Trusted me, Anzu? I kidnapped you, and you say you trust me? You're getting a bit eager, don't you think?"

Hot, infuriated shame washed over her. She didn't expect him to understand how easily she became attached to people. One sign of friendliness and she was theirs. She knew it was because she could never turn to her father as a confidante, and his ever-watching eye had limited her choice for friends. Even though Yami and Bakura were her captors, she was beginning to think of them as friends. Apparently, they didn't feel the same.

"You, and everybody else, are just so - cold! All I want are a few friends, a bit of love or attention or something -" She felt tears spill out of her eyes but ignored them. "And none of you will do anything! Go to hell!" She slapped Yami, turned on her heel and stormed out, shoving Bakura as he tried to get through the door.

"What the?" Bakura stared at her retreating back and turned to Yami. "What did you do to her?"

Yami blinked slowly, bewildered. He was silent for a while. Then, "I think she wants me to be in love with her."

"...Ew."

-

Menzero stirred uncomfortably in his sleep and grunted. His dreams of rolling in masses of money were interrupted by a cold voice in his mind.

"I have your daughter, Lord of Orlath, and if you value her life you will give me what I want." Yami's smirking face appeared in Menzero's dreams. Suddenly, Anzu's father was transported to a barren wasteland littered with debris and remains of human bodies. A chill wind cut through him like a knife, and a fresh blast of snow made him shiver even in the recesses of his mind.

Yami was perched on a snow-covered rock, his ash-grey wings folded around his body.

"Who are you?" Menzero croaked. "Where have you taken me?"

"Just a little corner of hell. And you don't really need to know who I am. If I told you I'd have to kill you." Yami paused and grinned wickedly. "Which I'm going to do anyway, so I suppose it doesn't really matter."

He idly inspected a fingernail. "All you need to know is that I have your daughter with me. And if you want her back, all you have to do is come to the mortal realm, find me, and if you find me you find your daughter." He paused to think. "Oh, and did I mention you have to let me kill you slowly and painfully too? Just a perk, as you would say."

"Why?" Menzero gasped. He was numb from the extreme cold and could barely get his words out. "Why me? What did Anzu or I do to you? What do you want with us?"

"Why don't you dig around in your lawsuit files? I'm sure you'll find all the answers to what you're looking for there."

"You scum! You better have not hurt my daughter, or you will severely regret it! I want her returned unharmed!"

"She's fine, there's no need to worry about that. Although...I can't promise her good treatment will continue if you don't come and fine me." Yami drummed his fingers on the rock and gazed at Menzero steadily. "My, my, you look a little bit cold there. Why don't I warm you up?"

He sent a blast of purple magic at Menzero, which sent the man screaming and clutching his head. The pain was intense, too intense. Slowly, Anzu's father felt his life fade...

And then he woke up, his forehead beaded with sweat. "Just...a...dream..." Menzero whispered, trying to catch his breath. "Just a dream."

He looked up and saw that icicles had formed over his bed hanging and frost covered the windowsill.

Was it just him, or was it getting cold in there?

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End Note: Well, there you have it. Thank you so much for reading this far, and I'd really appreciate it if you dropped me a review if you think I deserved it. And if you think I didn't, leave one anyway and tell me why. See you later! xx