The very next morning, Bakura was woken by an unusual gloomy Isis. Sure, the woman was stern most of the time, but this time, when the white haired man blinked up at her sleepily, his arms still full with a sleeping Ryou, she seemed to dwell.

"I have to talk to you."

Bakura grumpily looked at his alarm clock. "It's six thirty for Ra's sake. . ."

"It is important. For both of you.", she replied, straightening up and letting her gaze caress Ryou briefly. Bakura frowned, looking down at his boyfriend as well, who slept peacefully, snuggled up to Bakura.

"Do I have to wake him up?"

"No. Just come with me."

Bakura followed Isis outside, into the backyard, this destiny-bathed place. It looked ethereal, Bakura thought as he let his gaze roam over it. The dewy grass gave small squeaky sounds beneath his boots, and the while area was covered in knee-high, milky-white fog, as if a cloud had descended over it and had left some part of it in the branches of the trees. A few birds chirped, welcoming the sun that could be seen just slightly at the horizon, pale and glittering. Bakura inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, as the scent of morning flooded his head and woke him fully. Isis led him further, to the very middle of the large backyard, where they were flanked by two sakura trees which stood tall and proud, their branches intertwining so one couldn't tell where the one began and the other one ended.

"What is it now?"

Isis hesitated, her eyes flickering to the horizon, to the grave that could be seen just barely, over the soft pink petals of the trees above them.

"You can tell me, 'Nee-sama.", Bakura tried again, his voice growing softer. At the nickname, Isis eyes flooded with tears suddenly, and Bakura, who hadn't seen his older 'sister' cry very often, in fact like never, stood shocked.

"Isis. . ."

She flung herself at him, sobbing into his shoulder, while Bakura stood calm and serene, holding the weeping woman protectively in his arms. He wondered what could be so bad that she actually cried in front of him, no, into his shirt. . Isis never seemed to need much comfort; she was the one who gave comfort to others.

"You have. . . to kill him.", she whispered finally, resting her chin on the younger one's shoulder, still holding onto him tightly. Bakura frowned.

"I won't. I can't."

"You have to!"

The thief growled. His patience was wearing thin, and though this was the woman who had taken care of him when he needed it, he was becoming major pissed off by her.

"Why? Why should I kill my best friend?"

"He's not your friend anymore.", Isis hissed, breaking apart from the loving hug. Her aquamarine eyes darkened into a deep midnight blue, almost black colour as she stared up at Bakura disdainfully. "His soul is being controlled and crushed while we talk, more and more every passing second. Soon, he won't even remember you."

"Controlled? By whom?"

"By the God of the Desert, the Chaos, the Fear. . . "

"Seth. . ."

Isis nodded. "Anuket-sama made a bet with him. It's either your life or Mariku's. And you are the only one who can kill him besides Anzu."

Bakura snarled. He started pacing, watching the sun rise every now and then; it was a trap. A trap for their hearts and minds.

"Remember, the Mariku you know now has poisoned Ryou."

"He still loves the girl!"

"He won't anymore!"

They glared at each other, crimson meeting dark blue.

From a short distance, dark-red eyes watched intensely. If Mariku died – would Yuugi die with him? Or would he be healed? Yami sighed. Bakura didn't seem to want to kill. . .but he himself would do it without a second thought. He didn't care about Seto's little friends who seemed to love this lunatic, no; he only cared about Yuugi.

Making his way back into the mansion he currently stayed at, Yami frowned as he met a shy cerulean gaze at the front door.

"You might don't want to go out there right now."

"Oh, and why wouldn't I?"

Yami stared at Anzu, almost glaring. She glowered right back. The male couldn't stand the girl's attitude anymore; it was about time that someone would crush her!

"Because Isis-san tells the freak to kill your beloved boyfriend.", he taunted, a smirk showing on his handsome features. He loved the flash of hurt and anger in her eyes – yes, this was the right way. "And it seems she's got him already to do it. There won't be a living dead lunatic around here anymore soon."

He heard Anzu gasp as he turned away, and a dull 'thump'. Yami froze as a soft whimper followed, and turned around slowly – he was met with the brown- haired girl on her hands and knees, one hand clutched to her abdomen, her face ghostly pale.

'Uh-oh. . . ' "Erm. . ."

Tears started cascading down her cheeks as Anzu stared up at Yami through suddenly sweat-damp bangs. "Hurts. . . it hurts.", she gasped, fingers twining helplessly in the material of her oversized shirt. Yami gulped; was that his fault? The next thing he knew was that his paralyzed gaze was responded with a fierce glare of crimson-brown eyes, and a growl reached his ears as Bakura picked the panting young woman up and twisted a hand into Yami's collar.

"I swear, if you've got something to do with this. . .", the albino snarled, a not-so-empty threat, as Yami knew. ..Bakura hardly ever made empty threats. He was going to pay if something grave happened to Anzu, and he was going to pay dearly.

Isis appeared behind Bakura, eyebrows furrowed, her tanned face paling visibly at the sight of the girl. She frowned at Yami, though still calm, and ushered Bakura downstairs to the lab.

Yami started to worry. Kind of late, yes, but better late than never. . .What if Anzu lost her child because of him? What if she actually died? He had promised Yuugi not to kill again, never again. Was it even his fault? Sure, that damn thief would blame him, but didn't Bakura blame everything on Yami? The man sighed, and trotted further into the mansion, not watching where he went until he bumped into someone. Looking up from a very interesting spot on the carpet, he was met with gentle, worried green eyes.

"Yami-san? Is there something the matter?"

"N-no, not at all, Shizuka. . . it's quite alright.", Yami sighed, averting his eyes from Seto's fiancée.

"Did Anzu-chan collapse again?", the girl asked softly. Yami nodded. But wait. . .again? That meant it wasn't his fault!

"Yes, she does that often nowadays . . . every time there is stress for her.", Shizuka sighed, shaking her pretty head worriedly.

. . . Well, maybe it was his fault alright.

Yami looked at the young woman again, smiling at her hesitantly. She seemed tired, with slight dark rings beneath her large green eyes, her auburn hair pulled back into a loose ponytail.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?", Yami asked, a hint of concern in his voice. Shizuka actually managed to smile brightly.

"No, it's alright, but – I took care of Seto."

Yami frowned. "Is something wrong with him?", he asked politely. After all, he didn't want to offend Jou's little sister. Shizuka nodded.

"He's quite out of it; worry, I guess. You know, him and Anzu-chan being kind of related and stuff." She shrugged.

If Yami had been surprised before, he was shocked now. He didn't know they belonged to the same family, and it kinda got to him; he was concerned about Kaiba. Yes, sure, they had been rivals ever since, but somehow, Yami had liked the stoic CEO. He shook his head, thanked Shizuka, and went upstairs again to watch Yuugi sleep.

Downstairs, in the lab, Isis had Bakura lay the girl down on a bench, and covered her with a blanket while checking her pulse.

"Her system works well.", she said, nodding satisfied.

"So. . ?"

"She will be alright again in a few hours, and nothing happened to the baby. Bakura. . . you need to protect her. Mariku won't stop until he has her dead."

"How can I protect her and fight him at the same time?", Bakura asked, pouting slightly. He refused to call this. . .this creature like he had called his best friend.

"Then make someone else protect her.", Isis shrugged, flipping her long black hair back over a shoulder. "But there aren't much options. . . she would kick Jou's and Honda's ass, would talk with Mai and distract her, and Seto's out of it. We need someone who is able to fight well."

"'Zuka?"

"Busy taking care of Seto. . ."

Bakura pondered, frowning. "Then, there is only one person I can think of. . .and both of them won't be very happy with that appointment."

Upstairs, Yami sneezed.

thisisalinethisisalinethisisaline

Sorry for the long-time-no-update! I was stuck with heavy writer's block. . . RPG's stealing my skill to write x.x;

Anyways! Review time!

Inverse-chan: You were confused? Why? Tell me and I explain

Silver Arrow: HI again! Glad you're back! –hugs- Yep, Bakura vs. Mariku will be quite the event!

Amethyst-Dragonflame: -nodnod- You're right. There would be quite the drama though if we had lovers fighting XD

Magicianofblackchaos23: Hi! –glomps- You think Seth was sexy? Yay! I imagine him as a tall, ghostly man though, and rather creepy. For he's the God of Chaos, and Fear, and so on you know! But, being sexy doesn't hurt either. . ..

GraveRobbers Aman: Aman-chan! Rae-sama! –hugs- So glad you're back. You're one of the many people who wanted Bakura to fight Mariku, but you're reasons are pretty cool! Thankies!

BlackLightning: You love? Thanks!

Shadadphilaro: Hi there! Gah, I completely forgot about Malik-chan. . . good you remind me! What to do now with him –ponders- Wow, you're one of the few people (if not the only one o.O) who wanted Anzu fight him. That would've been my choice as well, you know! –ish such a Drama Queen- But, I have to stay with the majority! And I don't hate you, nuh-uh –hugs-

Pork Steak the Grande: W-chan! –glomps/tackles- W-chan! –glomps/tackles- Yup, fluff goooood. . .Hey, another one who wanted Anzu I don't know though if Gandalf-sama counts o.O No offense. Ahem. See, I updated! –proud- Have a glorious day!

Fluffylittledragon: Revenge is always good! On ice, with strawberry daiquiri X3 Yum!

Nine reviews is quite satisfy-able for one chapter Thankies! –throws cookies- See ya next time!

Malik: Oh great, now she gets all hyper –rolls eyes-

Voice: Quiet, you. . go set the cards. –grins- He's grumpy because he has to play cards with my sis and me. Mwaha.

Malik: . . . –glares-