Well, because I'm a lazy bum and don't know when I'm going to be inspired to write again, I'm writing this chapter the same day I posted chapter one. Impressive? Maybe. Just wait and see how long it takes me to post. It'll probably be weeks, le sigh. Oh well.

In today's segment, we focus on Bakura and learn about his strange little gang. And of course, more Ryou. Because if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm obsessed with the little fellow. So, then, on with the story.

Pairings have been changed! It is now MokubaxRebecca and SetoxShizuka, due to a request from the lovely dragonlady222. Do not worry; these pairings actually helped me greatly in making the plot more complex and interesting, so no fears. I'm also adding in AnzuxOtogi, which will be permanent. O.o That's a really weird one, but it fits… I swear…

God, I have a lot of het. Where IS it all coming from?

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XxxLamb FodderxxX

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The blond laughed, tan skin flying in every direction as he wildly shook his arms, trying to quell the chuckling.

Sufficient to say, it wasn't working.

Malik Ishtar, however, was not the only one shaking with laughter. Next to him, an aqua haired boy laughed just as hard.

"Oh, man, Bakura, I thought my family was bad, but your dad takes the cake!" Malik said through his fits of laughter, pointing at the said boy.

"Yeah, well he's nothing compared to turquoise-head's tight-assed brother."

"Very funny," Noah said. "My hair is aqua." That just caused Malik to go into another fit. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Ishtar, stop that! People are going to think you're having a seizure!" Slowly, but surely, Malik calmed himself to the point where he was sitting silently, still shaking from the force of his… "joy", but at least he was quiet.

"Hey, Bakura!" came a feminine cry from his left. "I got news for you!" The pale boy cocked an eyebrow at the girl who came trotting up to him.

"Oh, what is it Anzu?"

"There's a new kid." Bakura raised the same eyebrow again, questioningly.

"Where's the part when I'm supposed to care?" The girl just smirked.

"His name's Ryou something-or-other. Real cute. Looks just like you, only a helluva lot more innocent and feminine. I almost thought he was a girl when I first saw him." Well, she was right, she sure as hell had Bakura's attention now.

"You don't say…" he trailed off, leaning against the fence that separated him from the roof and a long drop to the ground. Not the smartest idea in the world, but then again, this IS Bakura we're talking about here.

Faintly, he heard the bell ring below him, and smiled wryly. His dad would be so disappointed in him. Bakura scoffed. Like he had any right to talk. Losing his job to that bastard of a man Yami called his father. Disgraceful.

"Yo, earth to Bakura, come in Bakura!"

Malik received yet another smirk from his leader as reward for bringing him back to reality. If there was one person Bakura trusted, it was Malik. Most people would be surprised to hear that, considering he had once been a best friend with Yami and pretty much worshipped Mariku. But that had been before. Then, Mariku had turned on Yami. Originally, Malik had been on Mariku's side, along with Bakura. Then he realized how much Mariku was hurting people, and teamed up with Bakura against him. They had been inseparable ever since.

Bakura growled under his breath. If there was one person on the entire person he hated more than Yami, it was Mariku.

Other than a mutual hatred for that… thing… the bond the held Malik and Bakura – hell, everyone in Bakura's group – together was a similar backlash against their families.

For Bakura, it was obviously his father, the spineless twerp of a human. His mother was dead, and he had his insane theories that she had been killed by a government conspiracy that wanted to use a blood sacrifice to gain the power of the gods. Yeah, he knew it was ridiculous, but that was just the kind of person he was. Ridiculous.

Malik had no parents, just his two siblings. When he was little, his mother died of sickness, and then later on, his father was murdered. It was about that time that he started hanging out around Mariku… probably for comfort. He never really did get over his father's death, and he always resented the fact that his sister Isis of all people took over the family. The Ishtars were a very traditional family, and a woman leader was… despicable.

Noah Kaiba also held resentment for a sibling, his younger brother Seto. Technically, they were twins, but Noah had come out first. He was set to inherit the entire Kaiba empire, until an unfortunate car accident when he was eleven. His back and legs were broken in three places, causing him to have stunted growth, and giving him the eternal exterior of a child. Gozaburo Kaiba had found Noah's young appearance to be unacceptable in a business tycoon, and had thus passed his company along to Seto when he died.

The last two in the group, Anzu Mazaki and Ryuuji Otogi, had similar distastes for their families. Both had dreamed that their relatives shunned. For Anzu, it was to become a dancer, and perform with the best of the best in America. On the other hand, Otogi wanted to be a game master, and was especially keen towards his strategy game called Dungeon Dice Monsters.

Speaking of Otogi…

"Have any of you guys seen Ryuuji?" There was a collective "no" through the group and Anzu gave a huff.

"Damnit, he's probably in class," she grumbled, heading towards the door back into the building. "You owe me so bad, Ryuuji. Making me go to class…"

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Ryou was lost. Lost, lost, lost, lost, lost. He also had no clue where he was, and it didn't help that the late bell for fifth period had just rung. So now he was rushing, with no particular destination in mind, and no focus on where he was going. Of course, if you apply Murphy's Law to this situation, in which the worst possible things are bound to happen, it would be a simple matter to see poor Ryou would not end up in a good position.

In fact, the position he landed in was quite the painful one, his rear bruised from his fall, books scattered across the hall.

"Ow…" It took Ryou a few seconds to realize the voice was not his own. He looked at the small boy he had knocked into, who was grasping his head in pain. Ryou amused himself for a brief second with the thought that the other male rather resembled a multicolored starfish, but then realized that he had hurt him, and felt quite guilty.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I should've been watching where I was going. Are you alright?" The other boy shook his head, before looking back at Ryou.

"Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine! It was my fault, I should be asking you that!" Ryou smiled. He was comforted by the fact that there seemed to be someone even more naïve than him here.

"I'm quite alright, thank you. Late, and lost, but other than that fine." The other student's eyes widened to an impossible size.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! You must be the new kid, right?" Ryou nodded, as the porcupine kid slapped a hand to his forehead. "I should've realized that. Here, let me see your schedule." Obediently, Ryou handed over the sheet of paper.

"Oh, good, you have study hall with me now! Come on, I'll show you the way!" he exclaimed, grabbing Ryou's hand and dragging him along. "My name's Yuugi Mutou, by the way. What's yours?"

"Ryou… Ryou Sasaki," he responded, dazed. There certainly were some interesting characters in this new school of his…

As they walked, well, ran to class, they knocked into a black ball of fluff. Ryou would've apologized, had Yuugi not been tugging his arm like a rampant animal. Said black ball growled low in his throat, before taking a good look at Ryou.

"What the… he looks just like Bakura! Mariku will want to hear about this…!"

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"Otogi! There you are!" Emerald eyes looked up as the brunette huffed over to him. Ryuuji sat on a staircase in a remote corner of the school, where almost nobody passed through. "I've been looking all over for you!" The black-haired male raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really. Tell me Anzu, what's so important that you actually came into this, how did you put it? 'Vile establishment'? To find me?"

"I got news, important enough for the boss-man himself."

"You don't say. So, what's up?" He was given an infamous Mazaki smirk.

"New kid. His name's Ryou, I think. Looks a lot like Bakura," she said, the smirk never leaving her face as she sat down on Otogi's right leg. "Really cute," she added on, watching as her boyfriend slowly absorbed her words. Ryuuji grinned devilishly.

"So, how bad does he want to get into his pants?" Anzu laughed.

"Real bad, and he hasn't even seen the kid yet. Though I got to say, from what I saw, he's a real catch." Otogi joined in the laughter.

"So what are we going to do about it, hm?"

"We're going to get them together, of course," Anzu said scoffing. "And then Bakura will reward us like always. That'll be the first step of getting out of this hellhole." She grasped his face in her hands and looked into his eyes, sapphire meeting emerald in a brilliant clash. "We're going to make our dreams come true, Ryuuji, you and I. I don't care what our parents say; we're going to make it. Both of us."

"I know, Anzu. I know." And the two of them shared a kiss as the bell for dismissal rang. When they broke apart, the sounds of students rampaging through the halls for the exits could be clearly heard.

"'Study' at my place tonight?"

"You know it."

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Wow. How weird was that? And I actually finished this in two days. That's amazing.

Yeah, I'm not an Anzu-basher, sorry to you guys who are. Tea, I despise. Anzu, I can tolerate, and can even turn into a pretty cool character.

I'm actually rather found of my AnzuxOtogi pairing, too. I don't know, it just works. Ah well, you guys know what to do if you have suggestions/requests. Just send me a review!

Dewa Mata!

Saruwatari