A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I'm not much of a writer, but I'll try to make the chapters longer, k? Please R&R.

Chapter 3: Close Call

An angry scream tore through the bustling city. Inquiring stand owners and curious children looked towards the direction where the sound came from. Normally, a sound like that wasn't heard over the advertising of merchandise. Then, the townspeople saw two small boys zoom by as if the devil himself was chasing them. They caught a glimpse and realized one was blond and the other was an albino. The blonde was carrying a long loaf of bread while the albino held on to an enormous piece of cheese. Following behind them was a very angry looking man.

Bakura was very pissed off at the moment. Why did he have to have a clumsy fool as his partner? Jonouchi looked as if he was enjoying himself, though Bakura couldn't tell why. The man was gaining speed quickly and he was almost within reach of the two boys. The albino started to tire out, but the blonde seemed to keep his breathing normal.

"Hey, Bakura, when do you think we'll lose him?" Jonouchi asked as they were continued being chased. Who knows what would happen if the man actually caught the boys?

"You idiot! If you weren't so clumsy, we wouldn't have gotten caught!" Bakura glared daggers at the sheepish-looking blonde. "Look, let's split up. Meet me back where we first were." With that, the albino turned a corner while Jonouchi ran straight ahead.

At first, the man wasn't sure which one to follow, but he quickly chose to go after the blonde boy. Damn, that fatso decided to chase me. Oh well, his loss. Jonouchi then stopped running so slowly and went his fastest. In a matter of minutes, he had sped down 200 yards, giving him distance from the man. The stand owner watched dumbfounded for a while before going faster himself. He almost matched Jonouchi's incredible speed, though he was still too slow. So, the fatty can keep up, huh? Well then, how about this? All of the sudden, Jonouchi started to zigzag around the city, jumping over walls and running through alleyways. After a while, the man started to lose his breath and stopped momentarily. The blonde took this chance to climb up the walls of the buildings and sprint across the roofs. By the time the man looked up to search for the boy, he was long gone.

Jonouchi jumped across a few more roofs before arriving above the alley where he and Bakura ate the apples. Jumping lightly, he fell down 10 feet before grabbing hold of a window on the wall. Using that to slow him down, he landed smoothly next to Bakura. His albino friend jumped in surprise when he saw Jonouchi standing behind him. He had been staring at the entrance of the alley, thinking the blonde would have come that way.

Jonouchi smiled triumphantly at Bakura just to be smacked in the head painfully. "OOWW! What did you do that for?" he whined pitifully as Bakura continued to glare at him. He rubbed his head where Bakura had hit him tenderly.

"You dumbass! You're so stupid and clumsy! I told you to make sure the man isn't looking before you took the food! I swear you're not cut to be a thief." Bakura continued to insult Jonouchi as the blonde just looked at the sand guiltily. "Well, I was just so hungry that I couldn't help myself…" Jonouchi whispered. Bakura stopped for a moment to see that he was on the verge of tears. "It doesn't matter anyway. We lost him at that's all that matters. Just give me the bread." Bakura quickly said grabbing the loaf Jonouchi handed him. After a while, Jonouchi was himself again as he sat happily munching on his bread and cheese. Bakura just shook his head and said to himself, why do I always fall for his puppy-dog face? But with a few training, he can become a great thief. He already has the supernatural skills to be one. I mean, it's not every day that a smaller boy can outrun a full grown man…He looked up to see the blonde on his back, staring at the sky.

"You satisfied now?" Bakura asked sarcastically. He still couldn't understand how a boy could eat so much. Jonouchi just looked at him and smiled. "Yup!" he replied simply. He looks so happy and content. Wonder how he can do that even though he's lost his family. Jonouchi continued to stare at the sky as he waited for the albino to finish his meal. His red eyes seemed to attract Bakura's brown eyes. The ruby, blood-red eyes had some sort of magic in them, holding its victims, not letting them look at anything else. "Umm…what are you staring at Bakura?" Jonouchi finally realized that the albino was looking into his eyes. He tore his eyes away from the blonde's and stared at the ground. "Nothing. Come on. You need to practice stealing more."

TBC