A/N ok, before I get any farther I want to clarify that I did write this with some one else! Anei Aikouka is her name, and she happens to be my best friend in the entire world! And yes I do mean that – and I am a hard one for friends. Well anyway, I really admire her writing, but yeah, I did write about half of this so it's just as much hers as mine! If you like it though check her work out, because even if she doesn't think so, HER STUFF ROCKS!! Much better then the half baked stuff you see here.

Meetings in the shadow realm

Bakura sighed as he drifted along, surveying the twisting shadows surrounding him with a bored fascination. He had always loved the shadow realm, but even the best place in the world gets boring after a time. Even seeing his favorite monsters had become dull. But despite its familiarity the realm still retained its ability to comfort him. And the ring made him feel at home. It held his mother's soul, and the other fourteen souls that had been sealed inside during the gruesome ritual that had fashioned it.

The comforting presence of those souls was needed. After the Items had been brought together the yamis had been given their own bodies and separated from their hikaris. Each had been told to go away from their hikaris and learn to live life on their own. Even the Pharaoh had been ordered to leave his hikari. Bakura had tried to attack him again but the guardian of the Items, Shadi, had stopped him and sent him away to wander around until he came to terms with his life.

He stopped and cocked his head. Had he heard something? Yes, there it came again. It sounded like a call for help. But who would be wandering around in the shadow realm? And if someone was wandering around in the shadow realm they should at least know what they were doing. It was relatively impossible to get into the shadow realm otherwise. You had to have some level of magic to get into the shadow realm unless you were sent there by one of the Item Holders. So who was it wandering around in the shadow realm and calling for help?

Interest perked, Bakura headed towards the source of the noise. A man cowering away from his man-eater bug in terror was the one whose calls had caught Bakura's attention. With a sharp order Bakura brought his pet to heel. The man looked up at him as though he was his savior, long black hair sliding along his face so it no longer obscured the deep violet eyes. Bakura blinked. That was a very... unusual eye color. His eyes were darker than Yugi's, and seemed to hold the same inexpressible sadness as Bakura's own. The man's cheeks were hollow as if he hadn't eaten for weeks, and the way his clothes hung on the thin frame tended to emphasize that. Whoever this was he was definitely worth investigating.

"Who are you?" Bakura demanded, before the other could collect his wits. "And what are you doing here?"

"Who are you to question me?" the other demanded, with what Bakura saw as an insane amount of bravado, especially considering that he had just saved him from being devoured by the man-eater bug, one of the lowest level monsters.

"I," He replied, matching arrogance with arrogance, "am Bakura. And unless you want me to give the man-eater bug leave to devour you, I suggest you treat me with more respect."

The man's mouth opened as if he were about to say something before he caught himself, and simply sat there, thinking.

"Well I'll leave you to your thought then." Bakura said casually. "See you in a few millennia, if you stick around that long. Bye." He turned and started to walk off, the man-eater bug at his side.

The man lunged at Bakura, grabbing his feet – and triggering the man-eater bug's protective instincts. The huge bug went for him, hoisting him up by his robes and shaking him roughly as Bakura regained his balance and turned around.

"And what,"Bakura inquired icily, "Do you think you're doing? Haven't you ever heard of letting someone have space?"

"GET THIS THING AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The man shrieked. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Bakura doubled over in helpless laughter, and a shambling zombie came into view holding a huge rusty sword in one decomposing hand. The man freaked, and started screaming again.

"What's the matter, mortal?" Bakura asked curiously, "It's just a zombie."

The man reacted indignantly, despite being held up in the air by his large black robes. "I am a wizard, not a muggle!" he practically snarled, crossing his arms. "And I don't know what kind of wizard you are if you don't even recognize me! Most wizards would have tried to call the Ministry out on sight."

Now Bakura was interested. "What did you do then?" he asked. "And you can put him down now pet."