Anzu sleepily opened her eyes, sunlight streaming through the big window in her room. She sat up a bit and looked around. She frowned. This isn't my room.. She suddenly realized there was someone else lying next to her. As she looked at the figure, her heart sank. Bakura-sama. The guy in question was also awake, his dark brown eyes glinting, his mouth curving into a half smile, half smirk. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. "Good morning." he whispered darkly. Anzu automatically replied, "Good morning, Bakura-sama. Sleep--" She shut her mouth and defiantly looked away from him. He grinned and pulled her tighter against him. "Why yes, I slept quite well last night. But you should know that already, Anzu-chan." He put special emphasis on the suffix. Anzu merely nodded and slipped out of his arms. Bakura glared. "Not so fast, nymph." She couldn't stop the faint blush that crept onto her cheeks. He's quite the charmer, eh? But I should've known. Bakura swiftly pulled her back into his embrace and harshly whispered, "This is my territory. Just as you are my property. You are mine, Anzu. Nothing else." Anzu shook her head in denial, but he only continued in a more spiteful voice. "The world doesn't need you, nor do they want you. I am the only person who cares for you. The only person who ever will. Understand?" By now tears were streaming down the teenager's cheeks, and she nodded silently. "Good." Bakura grinned and tilted Anzu's head up, forcing her to look at him. He was shocked when he met her fiery glare. "Yes, Bakura-sama," she replied evenly, " I understand completely. I'm here for your pleasure and that's it?!" She stood up angrily and proceeded to let all her resentment of him out. "You saved me from a life of pain and fear, it's true. But lately you haven't become any better than -- than Kenji-sama!!" Bakura was enraged, and lashed back. "You DARE compare me to that lowlife bastard?!" Anzu turned towards him, tears streaming from her sapphire eyes once more. "Bakura-sama," she whispered, "I hate to admit it, but you.you have become just like the man you worked so hard to save me from." Bakura bit back a retort and thought back. He searched his mind, remembering the day it had happened. The day he had met Anzu.and how he had vowed to protect her. ****FLASHBACK TO 3 MONTHS AGO****

Bakura walked through the market, grumbling under his breath about how high prices were these days, when suddenly he was bowled over by a girl- quite rudely, he thought! (A/N: hehe he sounds like our ryou-chan!) He stood up and brushed himself off, as he noticed the girl struggling to get up. He made no move to help her, and watched as he finally managed to get up, panting with the effort. "Well?" he said impatiently. The girl looked at him, terrified. Bakura was struck by her beauty. Her cinnamon hair fell nicely into her mesmerizing cerulean eyes. Her skin was flawless, and she looked delicate, yet he could sense a strength deep within her. The teenager bowed hurriedly, "G-Gomen nasai!" He casually replied, "It's fine," and noticed that as she straightened, she winced slightly. "What's that on your arm?" he asked suddenly, pointing to a nasty bruise that was prominent on her pale skin. She quickly covered it up, saying, "Oh, that. Well I'm a little clumsy, you see, and I accidentally tripped, hahaha.." Bakura wasn't fooled, but decided to ask something else. "And why is there blood on your clothes?" Again he pointed, and she gasped, pressing her hand to what must have been a wounds below her ribs. "I, I didn't realize!" Bakura became a bit concerned. Just a tad. "Look, if you're having problems, maybe you should." He was cut off by a whimper from the girl. She was looking off into the distance, where a shadowy figure was appearing. Bakura followed her line of sight, then looked at her once more. She was now crying and whispering, "Oh God, Oh God, please, don't let him get me, Oh God, please!" Bakura guessed there was trouble and quickly hauled her into a nearby alley. He pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs, then waited until the man had passed them. "Now then, wench," he addressed her, "who are you, who was he, and what is going on?" The girl sniffed and wiped her eyes. Shakily, she answered, "I am Anzu, Anzu Mazaki. He is Kenji-sama. I don't know his last name and never have. What's going on is." She bit back a sob and continued. "Two weeks ago, I was kidnapped. A group of bandits was holding me ransom for five hundred gold. My parents were poor, and could not afford to pay. So they were killed. The-then I was given a choice by the leader of the group, Kenji- sama. H-he said, "Either come willingly with us, or die." I was so scared, I went along with him." Here she paused for a moment and Bakura gently smoothed her hair until she could speak again. "He took me to his 'work place' and told me the cold, hard facts. He owned a brothel, and from then on I had to work there. If I escaped, he would." "He would what?" Bakura questioned. "He would torture me. To the point of insanity," she said flatly. Bakura's gaze hardened. "How do you know?" Anzu looked at him as though he was dense, and replied, "Because he's done it before. This is the third time I've tried to escape, and the only time I've made it.."

****END FLASHBACK****

Bakura paced the room, unaware he was speaking out loud. "How could she say I've been as immoral as that little Kenji-bastard? I would never lay a hand on her in that manner, I would never." He stood stock-still as he recalled what had happened the previous night. Slowly he turned around. "Anzu.." She refused to accept him with forgiveness, and instead glared hatefully at him. "If there's anything I've learned in this twisted world I live in, it's this; all men must be the same. Immoral, degrading, and allover creatures that should be sent to hell." With that, she walked away, leaving a seething Bakura behind..