"The Pharaoh's host." Bakura sneered, eyes flicking calculatingly to the door, which was guarded by the two would-be gangsters. "What a… pleasant… surprise."

He was surprised by the look of hurt that flashed across the boy's face, but quickly dismissed it. He had to finish off the boy quickly before the bitch got to the Pharaoh with his name. If he won this game then Zoku would be destroyed permanently, which would present a major problem for Bakura's plans.

"My name is Yugi." The boy responded defiantly, and Bakura sighed in annoyance.

"You going to duel or not?" he demanded, posture tense. The girl was getting away. Bakura couldn't have that.

"No." the boy said flatly. "I'm not going to duel you. I want you to listen to me." Bakura's eyes narrowed and he glared warningly at the Pharaoh's host, beginning to wonder whether it was worth the trouble of dueling him before he killed the boy. He'd killed before, and while he felt some measure of remorse for the lives he'd destroyed, Zoku took care of that. After Zoku was finished speaking to him, he never remembered what he'd done.

"Why should I listen to you, boy?" Bakura demanded edgily. "You're in my way. I suggest you let me by before I get mad."

"You won't catch her anyway." Responded Yugi with a maddening calmness, "So you might as well listen to what I have to say." The two thugs exchanged glances and took off after her, obviously relieved to be out of Bakura's sight.

Calculating her probable speed against his and factoring in the amount of time that he had wasted already Bakura had to agree. He didn't say so, of course, but he allowed himself to relax slightly, knowing that nothing he could do would be able to stop the inevitable outcome of this game. At least he wouldn't be the one affected. The Pharaoh might be able to destroy Zoku, but he could not do so to Bakura without also killing his host. Bakura had made sure of that long ago.

Taking his silence for capitulation, the boy continued, flicking a worried glance of his own towards the door. "I've been watching you for some time now." That got Bakura's attention all right. Had the Pharaoh been spying on him? "Not my Yami," the boy added, looking frustrated, "but me. I think the only time you really got Yami's attention was when you stepped in to save Bakura during battle city."

Hearing that was worse than anything else that had happened in this modern world. He had been trying so hard to destroy the Pharaoh and gain his revenge and the Pharaoh hadn't even noticed him? Bakura's hands curled into fists, and he glared in the direction of the Pharaoh. He was paying attention now, Bakura was certain. The boy opened his mouth to continue, but Bakura stopped him with a lifted hand, instead turning his attention to the battle Zoku was fighting.

What he heard was enough to make even the news he had just been given meaningless. Zoku, the one who he had been working with for millennia in an attempt to gain his revenge, was the one who had truly been in charge of his village's destruction. The Pharaoh had not even known until it was over that any such thing had been done. He had unwittingly helped the very one he should have destroyed, and now the Pharaoh would gain his revenge for him.

It would take some time. Bakura was intimately familiar with Zoku's strength and had become almost as familiar with that of the Pharaoh. The battle wasn't over yet. It had barely begun.

He summoned the Man-Eating Treasure Chest, bashed its lid absently, and sat down, letting his head sink into his hands. This was coming very close to being one of the worst days in his existence. At least the boy had the sense not to bother him any more. He'd already done enough damage.

A soft hand fell on his shoulder and Bakura looked up, despairing expression shifting automatically into a glare. The stupid boy was standing in front of him, staring at him sympathetically.

"It's all right," he said softly. Bakura shook his head. The boy didn't understand. He had been given his chance. Any time while he was in the Ring he could have destroyed Zoku and given his people their revenge but he had failed. It was all his own fault.