A/N: Sorry this took so long, but trying to keep five stories in the air at once is a real handfull. At least I have no life. Sigh. By the way, Bakura is Yami Bakura and Ryou is his hikari (good side)
Outwardly, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Bakura. Most of his friends hadn't yet realized that his yami had returned from the Shadow Realm yet again. Unfortunately, the one who did know just happened to be the Pharaoh. He knew that if he put one toe out of line he would be going straight back to the shadows, and now that the Pharaoh had the Millennium Rod he was even more dangerous.
'Typical of that idiot Kaiba to refuse the Millennium Rod. If he'd taken it, I could've had it off him in seconds.' He thought angrily. 'Now my only bet is to find the rest first, and how can I with the Pharaoh breathing down my neck?'
This train of thought was interrupted by the Millennium Ring glowing to inform him that a millennium item was nearby. He had to risk it. He would need two more before it would be safe to take on the Pharaoh.
He simply got up and left the room without saying anything. After all, nobody was paying attention to him anyway. He could go and take that millennium item from whatever fool was holding on to it at the moment, and be back before the Pharaoh and his little cheering squad even notice his absence.
Whoever it was, they were right around the corner. Bakura decided on the casual approach. Walk right up to them, send them to the Shadow Realm and claim their Millennium Item for himself. But when he rounded the corner, the shock he got pushed all thoughts of power from his mind.
"Hello Bakura. It's good to see you again." She said with a smile.
Back at the Game Shop, Yugi had realized Ryou was missing. "You had better check this out Yugi." Yami warned. "Who knows what Bakura's getting up to."
Bakura had not expected this. Of all the people who could have a Millennium Item, why did it have to be Asheritu? "What are you doing here?" he asked her.
She smiled again, but it was tinged with sadness this time. "You know why I'm here, and what's coming."
Bakura rested one hand on her shoulder. "Are you really going to let it happen again?"
"I have no choice. Destiny must be fulfilled." She mentally shook herself. "But let's not talk about that, what have you been doing all this time?"
Bakura didn't get a chance to answer because Yami came around the corner and immediately assumed he was up to no good. "Get away from her." He warned. "She's one person I'll stop you from sending into the Shadow Realm."
Asheritu was horrified. "What? You've been sending people to the Shadow Realm?" She started hitting him with the coat she was carrying. "After all I did to keep you out of there!" The rest of Yugi's friends arrived, and they didn't like the look of this anymore than Yami had.
But Yami was just puzzled now. "You know each other?"
Asheritu stopped beating Bakura for a moment. "We're very old friends. Very old."
"Friends with him?" Joey exclaimed. They had all been filled in on Bakura's return on the way. So as usual, Joey jumped straight to a conclusion. "Friends with him must mean you're just as bad as he is."
Asheritu's eyes narrowed. "You take that back." When Joey just crossed his arms smugly, she started to get angry. "What would you know about it? Were you there in Egypt?"
"What are you talkin about you whacko?"
She sighed in exasperation. "The past you idiot! The Pharaoh's past!"
"That's it! Let's settle this with a duel!" Joey said, setting up his duel disk.
"Fine by me! It's your funeral." About to insert her cards, Asheritu was stopped when one of them shot out of her deck. It was the wingweaver; it materialized and stood between her and Joey shaking its head slowly.
Asheritu went to argue with her monster, but couldn't. Slumping in defeat, she put her deck away and the wingweaver disappeared. "There will be no duel tonight."
"What? You can't just back out like that!" Joey was furious at this sudden turn of events. To him, backing out of a duel was the most cowardly thing anyone could possibly do.
Yami's mind was racing. That monster had been the one from his dream. What did it mean?
"I can, and now I must also leave." She looked sadly into Yami's eyes. "Farewell for now my Pharaoh, we shall meet again soon." There was a flash of shadow magic, and when they looked again she was gone.
"Where'd she go?" Joey started looking around the alley for her, as if she was hiding in a box or a trash can.
Yami just stood there, dumbstruck. Her voice was so familiar to him. He cursed his memory, the foggy mess that it was.
Pleeease rewiew! Even if you hate it! Any comments are better that nothing.
