Vexshipping (Yami no Bakura x Anzu)

(this pairing has potential, I mean, if Bakura wasn't a psycho and all. :) I don't support it myself, but I'll do my best to give it justice.)

Bakura collapsed to the ground in what appeared to be a seizure, his arms jerking in random directions and his eyes fluttering open and closed in wide-eyed terror. Just as soon as the convulsions had begun, they ended, and Bakura slowly stood up.

His movements seemed much too smooth and fluid for one that had just recovered from a minor seizure – that was because it hadn't been a seizure. It had been a hard-won fight for control.

And Yami no Bakura had won.

The dark spirit exhaled, savoring the victory and the feeling of having a physical body. Then he frowned. Ryo had been much too strong this time. It had never been so difficult to regain control. Could he really have gotten so much stronger in the short time Bakura had been in the grips of the Penalty Game?

A soft knock at the apartment startled him, and he cursed his skittishness. At this rate, Ryo would manage to wrest control back. He had to maintain control of himself, as well as his host.

He briefly considered ignoring the knock. It was probably just another salesman, and he wasn't interested in restarting his soul collection. But a voice made him reconsider.

"Bakura-kun?"

Anzu Mazaki's voice floated through the door.

"Bakura-kun...are you home?"

Yami no Bakura shuffled through his host's memories, fighting off Ryo's weak attack in an attempt to hide his memories. His host wasn't expecting Anzu – or anyone, for that matter. What would bring Anzu here?

Yami no Bakura padded to the door, careful to mold his expression into Ryo's soft characteristics. He cracked open the door. Sure enough, Anzu Mazaki stood on his doorstop, wringing her hands with a nervous look in her eyes.

"Anzu?" Yami no Bakura said, changing his voice ever so slightly to match Ryo's. "What's wrong? What are you doing here?"

Anzu jumped a little, looking more skittish than a rabbit that scented fox.

"Oh, Bakura-san – I thought you weren't home – is Yugi here?"

Yami no Bakura blinked, surprised in spite of himself. Maybe his host and Yugi were friends, but not extremely close ones. Why would Anzu look here?

"No, he isn't. Is he missing?"

"Yes," Anzu said. "He isn't answering his cell phone. He said that he was going to your house today to play Monster World."

Yami no Bakura glanced through host's memories again, ignoring Ryo's attempts to push him out. Not a thing about that. Had the pharaoh...lied to one of his friends? He briefly thought about why, and then he realized that this could be used to his advantage.

"This is the first I've heard of it," he said. "Why don't you come in, Anzu? You can tell me what happened."

Anzu's face fell, and she barely nodded. Bakura opened the door for her, letting her into the hall. She slid her shoes off and stepped just out of the way so that Bakura could close the door. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice him lock it.

"Come on, Mazaki-san," Bakura said, leading her down the hall and down to the living room, where he pushed her to sit down on the couch. "We'll figure this out. Don't worry."

He purposely did not turn on any lights, letting the dim light coming through the shades act as the only illumination. Anzu may be distracted, but it would not do for her to notice that his eyes were a deep purple, instead of the bright green that so characterized Ryo. She would know her mistake...only when Bakura wanted her to.

Bakura took a seat on the couch across from Anzu.

"So...tell me what happened."

Anzu swallowed.

"Well...after Battle City, Yugi...the pharaoh, mostly...has been acting a bit strange. He seems so distant all the time, and Yugi barely talks to me either. I'm worried...well, the pharaoh is supposed to go find his memories soon, and what if...I'm afraid they'll go to Egypt without me. Without even telling me. What if...what if I lose both of them?..."

Her voice trailed off, and Bakura caught the hint of tears in her eyes. He could barely suppress a grin.

Anzu Mazaki had always been quite an interesting specimen. Despite all the danger that Yugi got her into, she never abandoned him. She never stayed behind where it was safe. She had no powers, no magic, no ties to ancient Egypt, and she didn't even duel. She kept tagging along, torn between her feelings for two different Yugis – it was almost sad, really.

But she was strong, despite her tears. How else would she have recovered from being turned into a figurine and almost killed by him, or having Marik almost force her to swallow poison to lure the pharaoh in as bait. She was, on the whole, a fascinating woman.

I wonder, Bakura thought. How would the pharaoh react if Anzu was on my side?

"Maybe he's..." Bakura started, considering his words. Rhetoric had always been one his strong points. "Maybe he's started to drift, a little. After all, he is thousands of years older than us. Only Yugi really understands, being connected to him in that way. It's to be expected that he would move away from us."

"But he's – the pharaoh, and Yugi – they're my friends!" Anzu burst out. "He should know that! If he's feeling bad, he should know that he can rely on all of us. I want to be there for him!"

Bakura hid his grin – she was completely unguarded and open, thinking that she was talking to Ryo.

"Well…they have a good friend in you, then," he said. "I'm a little jealous."

Anzu stood up quickly, her hand on her heart.

"Oh, Bakura-kun – I feel the same way about you too! I care about all of my friends, and you and I are friends!"

Bakura ducked his head – a twofold maneuver. First, it would hide his wrong-colored eyes from Anzu's gaze. Second, it would make him appear embarrassed, or perhaps even sad. And that was what drew Anzu closer, until she was sitting down next to him on the couch.

"I…I'm sorry, Bakura. I've just been worrying about myself. You seem tired…are you okay?"

Bakura had been considering how he could possibly use Anzu's arrival to his advantage, and now he thought he had the answer. It had been a while since he had tried word magic, but it would be interesting to see the effect on Anzu. All he had to do was get her to say something that he could twist into a truth…

"My dark half came back," Bakura said, trying to keep the smile from his voice. "I've been fighting to keep control – I can barely sleep."

Anzu drew in a soft, surprised breath.

"Oh, Bakura-kun! You should have told someone – we're here for you, all of us! You don't have to be alone. In fact, you have my phone number – why didn't you call?"

"I didn't want to get you all involved again," Bakura said.

"Bakura, that's what friends are for – I want to help you Bakura. You only have to ask."

Bakura, with his face still turned away from her, grinned widely. 'I wantto help you, Bakura' —now, that was a sentence he could use.

He set the spell in motion – pity it took so long to work.

"Are you certain, Anzu…?" he said, his voice dropping back into his own tones.

He lifted his eyes to meet hers, and he caught the barest flicker of shock in her eyes. She moved quickly – but not quickly enough. Bakura's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist. Her free hand whipped around in an attempt to strike at his head, but he caught it easily.

He was impressed – no screaming, no futile struggling, but an actual attempt to fight back. She certainly was an interesting girl. She tried to kick him, but she was still seated on the couch and it was difficult for her to even reach him.

She stopped struggling, her chest rising and falling much too quickly. Her brown eyes bore into his, anger and determination just barely concealing her fear.

She's even stronger than I thought, Bakura thought, feeling a small thrill of excitement. Not just the tagalong cheerleader she appeared to be, then.

"How long were you in control?" Anzu said.

"Since you arrived."

Anzu swallowed.

"So now what?" she whispered. "Will you seal me into a figurine again? Or will you just kill me?"

Bakura felt the spell weaving itself slowly around Anzu's mind. He'd have to distract her for just a little longer.

"Dear Anzu, I did mean everything I said before. Just as you did: you said you wanted to help me."

"I was talking to the other Bakura."

"Unfortunately, he wasn't listening."

As he talked, Anzu stomped on his foot. Surprised by the maneuver, he loosened his grip on her just enough for her to wriggle free. She was halfway to the door before Bakura caught her by the wrists again. She was fascinating. Even though she was trapped in the apartment with him, she didn't let the fear claim her.

"You've already promised to help me," Bakura said. "Unfortunately, word is law around here."

"I won't help you hurt Yugi, or the pharaoh, or anyone!"

"Words are power, An-zu-chan," he said, mockingly. "And you said those words out loud."

The spell started to tighten, and Anzu's eyes widened as she felt the magic taking hold. It was a pity: her mind was too determined and protected for the spell to last longer than a week or so. But then, that was why he found her so interesting.

"You –" Anzu started.

Bakura cut her off by pressing his lips against hers. In her one, final moment of clarity, she recoiled at his touch. Then she sank under the spell as Bakura drew away from her.

"I can see why the pharaoh likes you so much," he said softly. "I wonder how he'd react if he knew what I did."

And, just for good measure, he kissed her again.

A/N: Dark…and evil…and vaguely creepy. But then, that's Bakura in a nutshell. Hey, I think that kiss was the first actually romantic gesture in the entire project thus far! Also, this story has almost made me a Vexshipper. Almost. I hope I did okay…and I hope it was worth waiting for, PandaTeddyClaws. ;) Next will be Vengeanceshipping (Marik x Bandit Keith).