A/N: I live! ….in case you're wondering where I disappeared to, I was working on NaNoWriMo all November and was tied up with university stuff the rest of the time. Rest assured, fics will be worked on regularly from now on with "Face in the Photograph" as high priority.

Also: Bakura Ryou is referred to as Ryou and Yami Bakura is called Bakura.

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Bakura slowly eased the dirt-fogged window away from the frame, paying special attention to the rusted hinges that protested faintly about the unaccustomed movement, and slid in a hooked metal rod to release the flip-lock latch. Once he made it past the patrolling guards and police officers, it was absurdly easy to bypass the house's security to gain entrance. Really, the owner must have thought that a thief would never be able to pass the gauntlet of security surrounding the aging estate and decided to skimp on the internal defences.

Bad for them, good for him.

To be honest, it wasn't much of a challenge at all for one who was once hailed as the best thief in Egypt. Sure, that was a life time ago and only a handful of people remembered the terror of knowing that the King of Thieves was active in your area, but he was determined to correct that minor oversight, with or without his host's consent. It would be much easier if his host went along with it, but there were ways to get around it if Ryou wanted to be stubborn.

Fortunately, most of Ryou's issues were resolved after Bakura had a good long talk with his host and forced the boy to watch the former King of Thieves at work. It was distinctly satisfying to have his troublesome host agree that the Spirit of the Millennium Ring did know what he was talking about and could take care of both of them.

The spirit of the Millennium Ring tucked his tools away and pushed open the window as he thought about what a pleasant surprise it was to discover that Ryou was actually quite adept at the spirit's trade. Most people wouldn't consider someone as quiet as Ryou to be a natural thief but, then again, the proper holder of a Millennium item must have something in common with the spirit that inhabits it. Mouto Yugi and his other self are certainly two sides of the same coin if their mutual obsession with games is any indication.

'Please hurry up' said Ryou from his soul room, 'I agreed to let you have your fun but please don't get me arrested in the process!'

'Don't rush me.' Bakura snapped as he studied the open floor between himself and the locked case containing this night's target.

The last time he took modern security for granted, Bakura received a nasty shock and had the world fade away abruptly as the ground rushed to meet his face. Then the gruff white-haired boy awoke in a concrete cell with an equally groggy prisoner watching him with a disturbingly cheerful expression. No, this time Bakura was going to side with healthy respect instead of foolish bravado and keep both of them from unnecessary complications. The grinning thief hopped across the short space between the window and the banister of second floor balcony that ran along the perimeter of the room.

'I hear people coming...' Ryou voice argued. 'We should wait until they leave.'

Bakura snorted. 'Let them come! We'll be long gone by the time they get here.'

Feelings of unease washed over Bakura from his host but, thankfully, Ryou fell silent to allowed the spirit free rein over their body to concentrate on escaping unseen. There were quite a few more guards and police on patrol than he expected to be present but, unusually, their attention seemed to be focused on some sort of ruckus on the other side of the grounds.

'No matter, it doesn't concern me.' Bakura returned his attention to the locked case on the pedestal below and jumped down lightly. But before he could claim his prize, the Egyptian thief noticed a white-caped individual unlocking one of the windows. He stared at the guy's peculiar outfit and decided to ignore the stranger when Bakura noticed that the jewel in the case had been replaced by a business card with a grinning caricature of a grinning, top-hatted and monocle figure.

'I guess someone beat you to it.' Ryou commented with amusement.

"Hey you!" Bakura snarled as the other guy flung open the windows. "That's mine!"

The stranger paused and turned in the window. His entire face was cast in shadow from the spotlights beyond the manor, save for a glass monocle that glinted in the reflected light. The stranger adjusted angle of the top hat so Bakura could only see the curious smile on the other thief's face as he waved a white gloved finger in an admonishing gesture.

"That's funny, you don't look like the gem's owner," the Kaitou Kid said with amusement. "A thief, are you?"

Bakura redded slightly and narrowed his eyes.

"That's mine," Bakura reiterated. "Hand it over."

"Sorry," the Kaitou Kid said, "but I'm afraid that I called dibs and that it's too bad that you didn't get it first. Now if you'll excuse me..."

"Back off, you thief!"

The Kid stared at the white-haired boy for a second before he burst into laughter. "Why yes, I am a thief and, if I'm not mistaken, so are you!"

Bakura glowered at the snickering thief and ignored the amusement coming from Ryou as Ryou watched the exchange from within his soul room.

-tbc?-