Author's Note: Many many thanks for the advice, and I am sorry about the anonymous reviews thing--it's fixed now -.- Heh, the only person I've ever gotten a review from before is my little sister (and those were always: "great story, sis! Now tell me one about *insert character name here* coming to the human world to play with us!").

Chapter
three will be going for a rewrite to fix the Yami game, as soon as I think of something better. I confess that it was the best I could come up with at the time. I meant to emphasize the principal's overconfidence and egocentrism. But by making him too scared, I screwed it up. Is this "evidence of a diminished creative power"? I hope not...*sweatdrops*
In
the meantime, this chapter should be a bit more fun. AND LONG!! wow. In case anyone missed Bakura (he's so cute, isn't he?), he's up first. Oh, and those waiting on Kaiba and Mai--they'll be in for the start of Part 2 (chapter seven, unless the next two chapters turn huge like this one). Yes, this is going somewhere, and at the rate of a chapter or two a day... Thanks for reading =D

Chapter Four - Pieces

'Where
am I?' the softspoken, white-haired boy wondered, his words catching in his dry throat. He coughed hoarsely into a dirty hand, dizzily staring into the darkness with the empty incomprehension that comes with concussions.
Bakura
carefully stretched each one of his limbs, meeting with a wall on all sides. Whatever this prison was, it was cramped and claustrophobic. There wasn't enough room to lie down, nor to stand up straight. The back of his head throbbed, and fragmentary memories scraped at the corners of his consciousness, fighting for attention.
"I
want to be exempt, too, Mister To...shi...ra..." he mumbled weakly before collapsing in a ball on the cold floor.

Anzu
checked her watch as she saw the iron gates to Toshira's mansion appear on the horizon. It was only 8:15; she wasn't late. Two large men in sunglasses--despite the darkness--and ill-fitting suits stood outside the gates, one on each side. Anzu felt a chill looking at them. They reminded her of Pegasus's cronies from the island. She slowed her pace.
"Halt!"
the one on the left shouted. "Who goes there?"
Anzu
froze. Fifty feet behind her, Jounouchi froze, too, with Honda crashing into the back of him. Both fell to the curb.
"Dammit,
what'd ya have to do that for?" Honda demanded, rubbing an injured knee.
"Be
quiet!" shushed Jou, pulling him behind a tall hedge.
Anzu
gulped. "I'm Anzu...Mr. Toshira told me to come by today at this time," she called to them.
The
other one took his flashlight and shined it into her eyes. Blinded, she held up her hand to shield her face. The flashlight beam dipped to the side of her, scanning the bushes where Jou and Honda crouched, watching. There was a fog rolling in, and the beam dispersed in it, preserving their hiding place. A slight breeze rippled through the trees overhead. Anzu's heart pounded.
"Mr.
Toshira, sir," the left one snarled into his wrist comlink. "Your guest has arrived."
"I
know," replied Toshira. "I'm standing right behind you."
Anzu
heaved a sigh of relief. Toshira pressed a hidden switch, and the towering gates slowly slid open.
"There
he is!" whispered Jou, grabbing the mini camcorder from Honda. "It's time to start a movie of our own."
Honda
grabbed the camcorder back. "Careful with that thing, it's sensitive technology! Now, where was that port..." He mashed at the back with a tiny plug he'd pulled off one of the microphone discs. It clicked into place. Jou watched intently as Honda took a small earphone from his pocket and snapped its plug next to the first one. He then stuffed the earphone into his own ear, adjusting it to fit perfectly. Then he pressed a button on the front of the camcorder, and it lit up with power. The display screen on the back gave a clear view of his foot. "All right!" he cheered under his breath.
"Ehh,
gimme that!" muttered Jou, feeling tech-envy.
Honda
smiled at his friend, and let him have it. He simply pointed to two buttons on the top. "Zoom lens, night vision," he said. Jou looked at him with his eyes wide, the lower lids quavering.
"Ya
givin' it to...?" he asked, incredulous. "Thanks, man!"
"Just
don't break it," said Honda, embarrassed, punching him lightly in the arm.
Jou
clicked on the nightvision and zoom, and looked to the gate. "'Ey, what the hell is he wearin'?" Honda shoved him aside, sticking his face into the green glow of the display.

'Ew,'
thought Anzu, 'Why is Mr. Toshira in a bathrobe?'
"Anzu!
So glad you're here!" Toshira chirped, his toothy smile fixed on his face, not wavering even when he spoke. He turned sharply to the guards. "Can't you tell the difference between a threat and a friend?" he barked. "Anzu is my best student, and an honored guest."
"Sorry,
sir," said the right-side guard. Anzu stared at him, stepping forward toward Toshira.
"Hey,
I know you! You were on the island!" It was unmistakably the same flunky who had harrassed them at the gate, who had taken Mokuba, and although Anzu didn't know it, had also been the one to lure Seto Kaiba into Pegasus's trap.
"And
you're one of those brats--er, I mean, those nice children who defeated Pegasus and cost me my last job."
Toshira
snapped his fingers. "That's enough. I'm afraid this isn't going to work out. I will notify your agency in the morning."
The
pointy-haired man scowled. "Fine, leave your manor unprotected. I'll just be taking my leave. Good evening, Toshira-san."

"Wish
I could hear what they're saying," said Jou. "I thought you said these things could pick up sounds for half a mile!"
"OK,
so I stretched the truth a little. Sue me."

Toshira
sighed. "All right, all right, one last chance. You catch the guy who's been sneaking around, and I'll write you a four-year contract." The man smiled smugly, and Toshira pivoted swiftly on his heel, marching down the tree-lined brickway toward the house. Anzu looked up at the guard, who stood staring down at her.
"If
I were you, I wouldn't have come here without the rest of the cheerleading squad. Be warned."
"Coming,
Anzu?" the teacher called.

"They're
leaving! We need to get this on Anzu somehow so we can track them," said Honda, holding out the tiny mike.
"Leave
it to me," said Jou, taking it between his thumb and two fingers. "Stand in awe of the mighty arm of Jounouchi Katsuya!! KYAAAAAH!"
"Jou!
Don't! That thing's more expensive than my entire stereo!"

Anzu
turned to follow her teacher as a tiny disc arced through the air, landing precisely where her open gym bag had been a second before. Instead, it bounced off the duffel's edge and rolled back toward the gate, slowly circling around the feet of Pegasus's former bodyguard. She skipped off, and he bent down to pick it up.
With
robotlike precision, the man turned, his gaze focused on Jou and Honda's hiding place. The other guard looked at him, and he nodded.

"Craap..."

"What
do we do now?"
"RUN!"

He
was awake again. Still unsure how he got in this tiny closet--what else could it be?--Bakura felt along the edges of each wall, trying to find which one was the door. It was so dark. He looked down, letting his millennium ring materialize. Its soft glow comforted him as he tried to piece the puzzle of his day together.
Late
afternoon, and he had just gotten out of school. He tried to confront Mr. Toshira after class, but as usual the popular teacher had a ring of girls around him. He waited, but the crowd never thinned. Then he thought to ask Anzu if he might join her that evening, but she was already gone. Yugi, Jou, and Honda were all missing, as well. Bakura was confused. He wandered by himself for a little while, and then found himself in a phone booth, looking up the teacher's address in the directory. Really, he had nothing else to do with his friends missing. He would demand fair and equal treatment for boys!
The
mansion was far away, and it took Bakura a while to get there from the school. But when he did arrive, he saw the guards from Pegasus's castle. Bakura, being intuitive, knew that it was a bit odd for these men to have found new jobs right away, unless Toshira was actually connected to Pegasus in some way. He felt an energy emanate from his ring. There was definitely some connection, no mistaking it!
A
strong hand gripped his shoulder, and...that was the last thing he could remember.
"Think,
damn you, think!" he cursed himself, still trapped in his old routine of self-torture. But he was still so weak...his hands found a seam, and he leaned his full weight against what must be the door before succumbing once again.

Jou
and Honda bolted across the grass of an unknown lawn, along the length of the walled fortress that was Toshira's land. Honda tripped over a small rock, but caught himself. Jou turned to help him, and slipped in a spot of mud.
"Da
camera!" he gasped as it slid from his fingers. He dove, landing in the mud, but catching it. His fingers pressed into the volume button.
"*crzzzt*"
it crackled.
"Come
on!" Honda called to him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him from the ground.
"*crzzzt*
Return to main gate! *crzzzt*"
"The
mini mike!" Jou blurted.
"It
works!" Honda looked to Jou. "Do you know what this means?"
"No
clue."
"It
means we know exactly where they are. Stop, and listen."
"*crzzzt*
Negative. Recommend perimeter search. Head north. *crzzzt*"
"Hey,
HEY! Looks like I did something right after all!" Jou cheered.
"But
they're still coming. Here," said Honda, thrusting one of the two remaining mikes into Jounouchi's mud-crusted left hand. "We'll split up. If you get in trouble, activate this, and I'll find you." Honda tapped his earpiece and frowned, trying to look courageous.
"It
ain't necessary. But don't worry, when the guard finds you, I'll hear him," said Jou, turning away with a wave of dismissal.
"Good,"
said Honda. "I'm heading back to the front gate to get in that way. You find a way over this wall, and I'll meet you when you find Anzu."
Before Jou could ask how he was supposed to do that, Honda was gone.

Inside
the mansion's master bedroom, a woman with long, lush black hair sat on a pile of pillows, her flimsy lavender dressing gown half-open. She had a glass of wine in her left hand and a cigarette in the right, and with a snarl she took a deep drag, the smoke curling out of her perfect nostrils.
Mrs.
Toshira listened to the security guards' search, watching the twelve television screens that displayed the feed from her husbands many security cameras.
"Fools,"
she spat. "They look, when the one they want is already here. And my plans are perfectly in place."
Her lover caressed her back gently. Downing the rest of her wine, Mrs. Toshira pressed a button on the security panel, changing the picture on every screen to Anzu's face, the girl walking right into the trap.

Jounouchi
stared up at the vines that hung over the stone wall. If they were strong enough, he could climb up here, and be inside. He heard the slow, halting commands of the guard following them through the tinny sound chip in the camcorder. He was slowly making his way along the border. Jou realized that he would be found sooner or later if he didn't keep moving. And the last place the guard would expect to find him would be inside the walls. Taking hold of a thick rope of kudzu, Jou hoisted his lean frame upwards. In no time he was at the top of the wall.
'I
wonder what this part of the grounds are used for,' he thought to himself. Through the camera's nightvision, he could see that the ground below him was bare, lacking even grass. There was a well-gnawed, large bone directly in front of him. Jou cringed.
'HUMAN
SACRIFICES! Ohhh man, I'm so outta here!'
The
chip crackled. "*crzzzt* Someone's trying to cross the wall! *crzzzt*"
Jou
looked from one side to the other, from the mangled bone to the flashlight beam now snaking through the fog and trees.
'I
may regret this!' he thought, and jumped.

"So,
Anzu, how do you like the mansion grounds?" Mr. Toshira asked. "You are always welcome to come here, if you need a quiet place to study, or to practice your dancing."
"Thanks,
" said Anzu, adding "I guess," under her breath.
Toshira
turned to her, laying his hands on her arms. "Is something wrong?" he asked, staring deep into her eyes. He moved his face in close to hers, his gaze intense. She tried to look away, and noticed that his robe had come open.
Anzu
recoiled sharply, trying not to scream.
Toshira
folded his arms. "I'm wearing shorts!" he snapped. "I put the bathrobe on so you wouldn't see my bare chest, because I had to take my shirt off when I got paint on it. Is that better?"
The
poor girl turned a dark shade of rose with embarrassment. "I am so sorry," she protested, letting Toshira lead her by the arm. "I just...how did you get paint on your shirt, anyway?" she asked, trying hard to change the subject.
Mr.
Toshira sighed. "Doing exactly what I needed you to help me with," he explained.
"You
need me to help you paint something?"
He
rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember? Before you left for that Duel Monsters tournament with your little friends, I told you about my project and you said you'd love to help. We talked for half an hour, all about it!"
She
thought for a second, trying hard to remember what he could be talking about. She did remember that conversation, and she blushed because she also remembered not having paid a bit of attention. She'd been thinking about Yugi the entire time, and didn't even know what she'd agreed to.
"You
were thinking about someone the whole time," said Toshira. "Don't think I couldn't tell. I trust you had a wonderful time at the tournament?"
Anzu
smiled.
"Well,
since you don't remember the Domino Children's Theater, then I suppose I should jog your memory. If you'll follow me--the building is behind the mansion house. My choreographer is just dying to meet you, and we've kept her waiting."

Jou
landed hard, and with a crash. He hoped the snooping guard hadn't heard him. He checked the camera. It seemed okay. He stared into the lens, then turned it around to make use of its nightvision capability. Slowly panning from right to left, he saw some distant trees, but more importantly, a larger pile of broken, chewed bones.
"Sick..."
he mumbled, overcome with morbid fascination. He walked toward them, trying to stay low, and silent. Then he heard them--footsteps. Quicker than his, and more of them, and a growl that was surely not human. He whirled around, eye to eye with an enormous rottweiler.
"Don't
move, don't move, don't run, don't scream," he repeated to himself. "Good doggy. Nice doggy. Big doggy."
"...help..."

Still
reeling, Bakura awoke for the third time. He was doing better, and he felt better, too. He could think linearly, and almost clearly. He cleared his throat, and found his voice returned to him.
The
guards had brought him up to see Mr. Toshira, but he was indisposed. Bakura could hear the teacher's voice, trying to stay calm, and then the shrill tones of a furious woman. He heard the sound of breaking things, and he assumed that Toshira had an unhappy relationship.
The
guard was getting impatient with the delays, and didn't care much for domestic disputes. He banged his fist on the door, and it opened to reveal the woman.
Bakura
gulped. She was gorgeous, even consumed with anger. Anger that was now directed at him.
"WHO
is this CHILD?" she demanded. "Hiro!"
Mr.
Toshira appeared from inside the bedroom. A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, trailing onto his shirtfront. Through it all, he hadn't lost that frightening smile. "Bakura Ryou? What brings you here?"
Bakura
wasn't quite sure what to say, and the words became jumbled in his throat.
Mrs.
Toshira stared intently at Bakura, who stood motionless, then noticed the stare. She seemed to be staring right at his chest, looking into his heart. Her eyes widened, but she recovered her composure so quickly that Bakura almost didn't catch it.
"Aa,
the poor boy is embarrassed! Come, now--Bakura? Come have a drink with us."
"Yes,"
said Toshira, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "You're such a good student, come in, here, have some sake..."
"You
clown," said Mrs. Toshira. He's too young for sake. Go down to the kitchen and have the cook fix him an iced tea."
"Of
course," said Toshira. He guided the stunned Bakura into the room, then shut the door behind him as he left.
That's
the last thing he remembered.
"Well,
this is a mystery," sighed Bakura. "Now how am I to get out of here?"

END of chapter 4! SORRY to leave you there, but I have to go--more tomorrow! I hope this has you excited--I promise a great next chapter, with action, suspense, and maybe a twinge of romance. So let me know what you think, and keep checking for updates!