Kaya: Thanks to Nightfall2525, ShadowVixen, YoukaiJilly, Devil-Grl, Tormented Innocence, Dreaming of Everything, Lilagirl, Sailor Charon, and Kistune's Grrl for reviewing!

Sanu: And thanks to everyone who voted!

Dreaming of Everything – I understand! I like surprises too .. Although it really won't be much of a surprise, the couple at least!

X X X

Chapter 9 – Memories

Anzu sat in bed, staring up at her ceiling. The digital clock on her nightstand clicked to one-thirty. Her head was full of thoughts on what had happened earlier. After Bakura and Marik had saved her from Malik, they drove her home in her Eclipse. Anzu was very grateful to them. She was one of those girls who wanted her virginity taken by someone she loved, not by a possessive freak.

Her Papillon, Fukurou, jumped up on her bed and wagged his tail, licking her face. Anzu giggled. "Stop, Fuki!" she said, pushing him away playfully. He jumped on her head, and she breathed in a large amount of fur. "Alright, that's enough boy," she said, picking Fuki up and dropping him gently in his dog bed. He walked around the bed five times to flatten out the bottom then promptly dropped to sleep. Downstairs, her budgerigar Mizu slept soundly in her cage.

Anzu got up from bed and walked over to her dresser, kicking aside some clothes and magazines along the way. She opened up a drawer. Inside, all of her clothes were folded neatly into small stacks. It contrasted greatly to her messy room. She rummaged through the drawer until she found a small envelope. She took it out and went back to her bed. She opened the envelope carefully and took out what was inside.

Pictures. It was pictures Anzu had taken of she and her friends over the summer. She looked through them. She stopped on one. It was a picture of Bakura trying to light a barbeque for the first time.

"Alright, just turn this button to high, and then click this to ignite it! The gas should ignite and the coals will start to burn. It's not that hard," Anzu said. Bakura stared at the barbeque uncertainly. "Ah, whatever, it doesn't sound too hard," he said. He did exactly what Anzu did, and, sure enough, he turned it on. "Ok, now is this how you check it?" he asked, lifting up the top. Yugi shrieked. "NO DON'T DO THAT!"

Flames shot out between the bars of the rack, and nearly hit Bakura. He yelped and dived, screaming, and Tristan and Jade barely had time to get out of the way to keep sparks from hitting them. Bakura growled and picked up a can of gasoline. "OH, SO YOU THINK YOU CAN MESS WITH THE GREAT THIEF KING EH?" Bakura growled, throwing the can at it. An explosion took out half the park.

Anzu laughed and shook her head, and put the picture back into the envelope. She looked through a few more, and she came upon one that was taken at the beach. Bakura was in swimming boxers and covered head to toe in crabs. Anzu actually hadn't taken the picture; Yami had, he just couldn't resist.

"Bakura, how do you know how to swim?" Joey asked, watching the white-haired young man do graceful laps from one boat to the other. "It's simple—I probably had to swim around in the Nile often, maybe too escape form the Pharaoh," he said, swimming up to the shore, chest heaving. Yami hmphed and turned away, continuing to build his sandcastle (which was actually pretty darned artistic). "Alright, but be careful, it's shellfish season," Anzu said. Bakura dove back into the water. "He never listens," Anzu sighed. Ryou shrugged, and caught a drip right before it could escape form the stick his grape Popsicle was attached to. "Curses, you were so close!" Tristan said, twirling his cherry one around to check for dripping. Duke laughed. "Remember, whoever loses has to buy another one for the winner!"

Suddenly, the sound of immense splashing filled the air. Anzu looked up form the magazine she was reading. Joey looked up from his hot dog. Yugi and Yami looked up form their sandcastle. Duke looked up from the shells he was gathering. Tristan and Ryou looked up from their popsicles.

Bakura was bounding toward the shore, hurling his body across the water like a dolphin on drugs. He was screaming and a first, Anzu thought he was going to attack one of them, but as he drew closer, she saw he had a few hitchhikers clamped to his skin. Crabs were gripping painfully onto his legs, chest, and hair, looking scared out of there life. Well, she really couldn't tell, but they must have been. "Bakura?" she asked, as he jumped onto shore and began to shake like a wet dog. Yami howled with laughter. "I…I swam right into a crab nest," he said, trying to detach one from his hair. "Ow! Get off me, you bloody creature!" Yami sniggered and grabbed Anzu's camera. "I have to get this."

Anzu laughed. It was cruel of Yami to take a picture of that, but it was always fun to poke some fun at Bakura every now and then. After all, he usually made fun of everyone else!

X X X

Bakura fell onto bed, sighing. He had just saved his new love. For the moment he and Yami had saved Anzu, he hadn't hated the Pharaoh, but now that he thought of it, he was now pissed at Yami. Bakura knew it was selfish, but he had kind of wished he could have saved Anzu himself, and gotten the complete credit. "Ah, that's cruel. Damn Pharaoh!" Bakura said, growling. Ah, well, I'm tired anyway…

X X X

Bakura drew his sword from his sheathe and mounted his horse. The nine men, plus Marik, were behind him, on their horses as well. Bakura took one look at the unsuspecting, sleeping town and grinned. He held his sword up, pointing it at the sun. Then, he slashed the air ferociously, and he took off. His men followed him, galloping on their horses toward the town.

Téana scrubbed a pan powerfully. There was a particular piece of pomegranate that would not come off. Panya watched with interest as she began to try and claw the piece of with her nails. Finally, the piece came off and Téana put that dish away, happy. She sighed. "I must go to bed soon, Panya. Obviously the children would be expecting me to start to tell the story as soon as I get there." She crossed over to Panya, who was sitting on Téana's bed, listening to her master and purring. Téana scratched her underneath her neck and smiled. "Alright, time to go to sleep. Panya, off," she said, gently hitting Panya's behind. Panya jumped off the brunette's bed and walked over to her own, and plopped down. Téana climbed into the bed, wearing her dirty dress. She needed the clean one to go out in public. I'm going to have to take a day off so I can wash my older dress. I'm not going to go around all day wearing the decent one. I really don't want to have to steal clothes again, either. Perhaps—

Téana was shaken out of her thoughts when she thought she heard a woman scream. Voices punctured the silence in the night, and Téana froze and scrambled out of bed quite hastily, confused and a little frightened. The black furs on Panya's tail were sticking up, making her appear slightly intimidating as the cat called a mouse stood up, hissing.

Téana crossed over to the door and opened it slightly, sticking her head outside ever so cautiously. She had to cover her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

The town was on fire. Men, women, and children were running for their lives. A thief on horseback with black hair struck down a rich-looking man with his gleaming sword, causing the man to fall over dead not to far down the back alley where Téana lived. The thief purged the man of all his riches and took off. Téana slammed the door shut, staring at Panya with wide eyes. "We aren't safe here Panya. We have to get out!" she said. Panya meowed in response and Téana ran over to her, grabbing her cat and running through the backdoor.

She ran past all of the plants and trees her secret garden was made of, and ran over to the high sandstone brick wall. Téana pushed one of the softer ones out of the wall, hoping it wouldn't make to much of a sound. Luckily, the screams and shouts were drowning out pretty much everything. Téana put her foot through the newly made hole and began to climb up the wall using protruding bricks. Panya sunk her claws into Téana's skin, which she winced at, but kept on climbing. She knew Panya was hanging on for her dear life.

Téana heaved herself one-handed over the top of the wall and quickly climbed down, jumping the rest of the way. She landed on her feet and went running down the street. She had just taken a major shortcut to the bazaar, running past the hedges and into the bazaar.

It was a ghastly sight. Dead men and women were all over the street, their blood practically causing Téana to vomit. Scarabs were climbing over their bodies and were starting to most likely eat their insides. Children were running around, crying for their mothers, and the older ones were trying to get them into houses for safety.

Panya's grey ears perked up and her head flew up, her ears and nose twitching. Téana noticed this to be a sign of someone coming. She could barely hear it, but beyond the cries of the children, she could hear horse hooves, galloping toward them. "Children, you have to get away from here! I can hear them—they're coming!" Téana said. The children scattered, taking their brothers or sisters with them and no one else. Téana also ran, Panya hissing. Suddenly, she felt something whoosh past her ear and she froze. An arrow was sticking out of a wall that had been in front of her. She didn't know if the shot was a warning or meant to hit, but she turned around in spite of herself. She screamed.

A man was lowering his bow, possibly one of the most familiar-looking men she had ever heard of. It couldn't be mistaken from his white hair and amethyst eyes, or the scar running down his right cheek. It was the King of Thieves, Bakura.

He smirked at Téana and threw the bow away, getting of his horse. "Remember me?" he asked. Téana backed up, too frightened to speak. The infamous King of Thieves, attacking her town! Bakura's smirk grew wider. Panya was hissing at Bakura, who seemed to pay no mind to the feline. "What, you don't even remember me?" he asked, stepping forward. Téana didn't want to talk, but she knew she had too. Very quietly, her voice dry, she asked "What a-are you talking a-about? I've n-never met you, just heard a-about you." Bakura sighed, drawing his hands into the long sleeves of his blood red robes. "You must be joking. My dear, I was the one who rescued you from that awful guard. You had stolen his lunch. It made me laugh, actually, seeing that you had stolen something. I haven't stolen that foolishly since I was nine. But you are female, so I suppose you can get away with such foolhardy thievery," Bakura said. "Although, once you get older, even a girl like you should be able to capture the senses and perform thievery much more successfully."

Téana couldn't believe this. Is he telling me that I'm bad at stealing? I'm only thirteen; it's not my fault if I don't do it for a living! And it's not like stealing well is something I'm going to brag about to people! They'd think I was mad! "I…I do not care much how I thieve, as long as I get what I wanted to steal," she said, a bit more firmly, still clutching Panya. Bakura chuckled and took a step closer to Téana. "Yes, well, you look to be only thirteen or fourteen, and you are female, so as I said, it can be excused. But enough on that—you owe me." Téana's stomach flip-flopped. "What d-do you mean?" she asked. Bakura's smirk seemed to flicker with pleasure at her fear. "I helped you keep your virginity. Now, you owe me. An arm for an arm, as they say," he said. Without warning, as if he just came out of nowhere, he was right in front of Téana, bearing down over her. He grabbed her arm, she screamed, and the cat sitting in Téana's arms decided that Bakura had crossed the line.

Panya leaped from Téana's arms, hissing and yowling angrily at Bakura. She knew that her master was in danger, and she couldn't let that happen. She attached herself to his face and began to claw him furiously. Bakura, who was howling in pain, let go of Téana and began to swing his arms at the cat on his face, who was dragging her claws through the Thief King's skin like it was as soft as butter. "Panya stop!" Téana pleaded. She didn't want Panya hurt. Bakura then, fed up with the feline, violently grabbed Panya by the scruff of the neck as threw her as hard as he could.

Panya went flying through the air, meowing softly, as if pleading for help. Téana screamed and began to run after Panya. Bakura had thrown Panya so hard she went cashing through a window in a burning house. "Panya, no!" she screamed, starting after her cat. As if the house couldn't stand without a broken window, it collapsed. All of its weight fell down onto the little furry body under it.

"PANYA!" Téana screamed, her eyes filling with tears. Bakura tsked. "Stupid cat shouldn't have started scratching me," he said, and Téana noticed the deep red claw marks on her face. "YOU BASTARD! PANYA WAS THE ONLY THING I HAD!" Téana said, abandoning her ladylike manner. Bakura frowned. "It's just a damned animal, who cares?" he said. "SHE WASN'T JUST A DAMNED ANIMAL!" Téana screamed. A new wave of tears came to her. "…she was my family." Bakura snorted. "Wow, such a family, a feline."

Téana wasn't listening to Bakura. Panya had been her only family for he longest time, ever since she found the cat injured from two boys hunting. Although she was, or had, been young, she was still an amazing cat. Panya had been rejected by her family because of her ears. While her family had regular black ears, her ears were grey for some odd reason. When Téana had noticed this, it reminded her of the color of mice she always saw scampering around the bazaar at night. So, she named he cat Panya, which meant mouse. And now, just like her mother and father, Panya was dead.

Bakura seemed to notice that Téana wasn't listening because he grabbed her arm roughly to get her back down to earth. "Believe me, child, that cat is the least of your worries," he said. Téana was prepared to yell at him again when she realized he hadn't come to rob her. He was going to take her. "No…get away from me!" Téana said, trying to pull her arm from his strong grip. He merely snickered at her struggling and punched her lightly in the stomach. Téana's eyes grew wide, she made a little "oh!" sound and fell unconscious. Bakura then dragged her over o his horse and threw her onto the back. He mounted the horse and took off, the town still in flames, and went to join his comrades with his new treasure.

X X X

"Bakura? Bakura!" came a voice from out of nowhere.

Bakura woke up in a cold sweat, his eyes wide, his heart pounding. He had just sent his men on a town, set it on fire, killed a bunch of men and women, killed a cat, and kidnapped Téana—Anzu look-alike to the max—in one dream. What on earth had he done when he was a thief?

"Bakura, are you ok? I came in here when I thought I heard you talking, and you were all pale and muttering stuff like 'no…not the cat' and 'what did I do' and you started twitching and thrashing in bed," Ryou said.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had one of those nightmares," Bakura said. Ryou was only slightly convinced. "What about?" he asked. "Oh, nothing really important, I'm just glad you woke me up," Bakura said, wiping his perspiring forehead. Ryou adjusted his nightshirt sleeve. "Well, d'you need some tea to make you feel better?" he asked. "That'd be nice," Bakura said.

Ryou left to make the tea and Bakura leaned his head back onto his pillow. Anzu…what in Anubis did I WANT with you all those years ago?

X X X

Sheekin: There's your chapter for you!

Sanu: (sniffs) Poor Panya…

Kaya: And I just know people will be yelling at me, asking me why I made Bakura kill people and kill Panya and stuff, so here's your explanation. Bakura's a thief. Unless he is like Vash who will shoot but not kill, he will kill. Just because he happens to be one of my favorite characters doesn't mean he's got to be sugar-coated and sweet. He's the King of Thieves; of course he'll have to kill people! SPOILER ALERT! Bakura ends up killing Mahaado in the series anyway and also throws Atem off a cliff, so not even the show portrays him as a caring guy! Also, he doesn't care for animals and he is sexist. But guess what? If you don't like it, then stop reading, because there's going to be a lot more where that came from.

Sheekin: Wow, long speech…Kaya also has another announcement for you.

Sanu: But first, thanks to all who voted and all who had the guts too put up they didn't know what to pick!

Kaya: Now then, I'm going to have another poll, only this time it doesn't concern this fic. I've noticed that I've been spending a lot of time on Apricots. And I've really wanted to start a new fanfic for a while now, but I can't decide which one to pick. The choices are Cherry Blossoms and Blood, Seto Ishtar, and Mew Counter Force. For more information on what they are going to be about, check out my user page.

Sheekin: ALL OF YOU VOTE THIS TIME!

Kaya: Cherry Blossoms and Blood, if you pick it, is going to be my first non-humor fic I've ever written. It's based on the plot of Samurai X, with Bakura being the Kenshin of the story and Anzu being the Tomoe (with the exception of dying). It's going to be bloody and serious. Seto Ishtar is definitely going to be a comedy romance, and Mew Counter Force will be slightly more adventurous romantic, but there will be romance involved!

Sheekin: So please vote for one!

Sanu: Post your pick when you review!

Bakura: Oh, and RATE AND REVIEW too!

Kaya: See ya next chapter!