Stolenshipping (Marik x Anzu x Yami no Bakura)

(can't believe I almost missed this one! By the way, does anyone know if there's a Yami no Marik x Anzu x Yami no Bakura? I don't see one on my list but I have a scene idea for it...)

If he was absolutely honest with himself, he had always rather admired Anzu Mazaki. From the moment Marik had tried to control her, he had nearly been repulsed by the sheer force of her will. Keeping control had been no easy task: her soul was on fire with dreams and loyalty. It had both intrigued and annoyed him.

Today, however, with the echoes of Battle City long behind him, he was only admiring.

She was only one of the many reasons he was standing in the middle of a street in Domino, trying to read the kanji on his map that would lead him to Domino High School. The days in Egypt did not run as smoothly as he had hoped; he was still tormented at night by memories of the things his alter persona had forced him to do, and more importantly, the things that he had done of his own free will. Ishizu had suggested that it might do him good to see Yugi and the others again. So here he was, dressed in a Domino High uniform ready to start his temporary exchange program – but completely lost.

Maybe I should ask for directions, he thought. I wonder if my Japanese is still passable.

He wandered down the street, trying to find a sign of some kind. He turned the map left and right in his hands.

And as he passed an alleyway, he caught the sound of pounding footsteps –

A mass barreled into him and he went flying onto the pavement with a whoosh of breath leaving his lungs. The catalyst of the collision had landed on top of him.

A soft, feminine gasp caught his ear, and the figure scrambled off of him.

"Marik? Marik-san, is that you?"

With a groan, Marik pushed himself up. It took a moment for him to refocus his mind. Then he realized that Anzu Mazaki was looking down at him, brown eyes huge with concern.

"Mazaki-san? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Why are you wearing Domino's uniform?" Anzu asked.

And then she paused. Her eyes darted behind her.

"No, never mind, I don't have time – come on, we've got to go!"

She grabbed Marik's hand, yanked him to his feet, and started to run. Marik stumbled for a few feet before he managed to fall into step with her – his wrist was still stuck in Anzu's grip as they barreled down the street.

"Mazaki? Anzu! What is going on?!"

She didn't have the breath to answer, and they attracted many a stare as they wove in and out of crowds of people. Anzu didn't seem inclined to stop. She chose random rights, lefts, complete u-turns, feinted turns one way and then shooting in the opposite direction.

His wrist was starting to slip from her grip; her palm felt slick with sweat.

And then she finally slowed to a stop. Her grip slid from him, and the pair bent over gasping to catch their breath.

"Mazaki – what – on earth – is going on?" Marik panted.

Anzu gulped down air, unable to answer. It was only then that Marik noticed the blood.

A crimson line trailed down her forehead from somewhere under her sweat matted hair. Her school uniform was a mess, the bow was missing and the jacket half undone, with rips and tears lining the sleeves and the edge of her skirt. A red stain showed through on her shoulder.

Instantly, Marik was alert. He straightened right up and grabbed her good shoulder so that he could turn her to face him.

"Hold still – that looks bad," he said. "What on earth happened to you?"

Anzu took another gulp of air, presumably to answer, but then her brown eyes widened.

"Behind you –"

He felt a pain explode in his side and instinctively jumped forward. Anzu nearly fell over in the motion, but whatever had pierced Marik slid out with a painful squelch. Anzu screamed. Ignoring the pain in his side, Marik turned to face –

"Well, isn't this a happy reunion," Yami no Bakura said with a smooth malice. "Good morning, Marik Ishtar. How are you? Don't bother asking me; we both know what it's like to be left behind in the shadows."

The warmth of blood was starting to dull Marik's senses. He pushed the sensation aside – this wasn't the first time he had been stabbed in a vital area. He had to remain calm.

The situation didn't look good for them. They had managed to run themselves into a corner – behind them was the end of an alley. In front of them was Yami no Bakura, who was quite calmly wiping Marik's blood off of his knife with the edge of his black jacket.

"I didn't expect to see you again," Marik said. Maybe if he could keep Yami no Bakura talking, he could sidle over and grab that trash can lid...

"Of course you didn't," Yami no Bakura said. "Why else would you have broken our alliance, and left me to die in the shadows? You decided to become a goody-two-shoes, give the Rod to the pharaoh although you expressly promised it to me, and thought you wouldn't have to deal with the consequences."

That's it...keep talking...don't pay attention to me...

"Although," he said softly. "I think I've mostly gotten over that. After all, you've actually helped me, in the end. Now the Items are all in one place. However..."

Marik was just within reach of the garbage lid. As soon as he had it, he would be able to use it as a shield and ram his way through –

Without warning, Yami no Bakura flashed forward. In an instant, Marik was pinned against the wall by his throat, a knife hovering in front of his face.

"I cannot forgive you for meddling right now," Bakura said. "You see, Anzu and I were in the middle of a very important conversation, which you so rudely interrupted."

"Get off of him!" Anzu screamed.

She threw herself at Bakura, trying to drag him off of Marik. In a fluid motion, Bakura threw Marik to the ground, grabbed Anzu's arms, and in an instant had his own arms wrapped around her and his knife pressed against her exposed throat.

"You bastard –" Marik choked through the pain.

Bakura just laughed shortly. But despite Anzu's unfavorable position, Marik could catch no glint of fear in her eyes. All he could see was a burning, fiery defiance.

It was that expression that gave him the strength to push himself up. He braced his back against the wall and shoved upwards until he was finally standing straight again.

"Leave her alone, Bakura," he said. "She doesn't have anything to do with this."

"On the contrary, Marik," Yami no Bakura said, flicking the knife so that it's tip traced Anzu's cheeks ever so delicately. "You see, I've grown rather fond of dear little Anzu. And I won't allow you to get in between me and what I want ever again."

"And I'm not about to let some psychotic dark spirit run my life again," Marik snapped. "Get your hands off of her."

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy? Ah, how the plot thickens."

And then suddenly, Bakura was stumbling backwards, the barest hint of shock flickering across his face. Marik could hardly believe his eyes – in a blurred motion, Anzu had peeled back Bakura's pinky finger, relieved him of his knife, and sent him backwards, holding the knife out in front of her.

"Go away," she said, arms trembling – though if from fear or anger, it was hard to tell. "Don't ever ever put your hands on me ever again."

Bakura's violet eyes remained wide and shocked for only the briefest moment longer. Then they crinkled with a sadistic mirth, and he laughed softly.

"You know, Anzu," he said. "It's amusing how your resistance only makes me want you more. Very well, I shall retreat for the time being...but be careful, Anzu. Even I am not sure how far I'll go to claim you."

His eyes shifted to meet Marik's, and his smile changed to one of sarcasm.

"It was such a pleasure meeting you again, Marik Ishtar," he said, with a mocking bow. "But don't get too attached to my dear Anzu...you may have stolen her from me for now...but it is not wise to steal from a thief."

And with a final, echoing laugh, he turned in a flip of his black cloak and vanished, leaving only shaken confidences behind him.

A/N: I feel like I should have added a little bit more to the end there, but I didn't really want to end it on a satisfactory note. I might recycle the scene for a Anzu-centric fanfiction I'm considering working on. :3 Okay, well now that that one has been completed out of order, the next one is Steelshipping (Yami no Bakura x Keith). ...I have a feeling that blood will be spilled in this one...and it's not gonna be Bakura's.