Ba-Khu-Ra could not keep up with the car containing the stolen piece of the Millennium Puzzle, but she did not need to. Instead she headed up onto the roofs of the buildings around. The points on her magical item followed the vehicle through the streets and came to a stop pointing towards the newest game shop in Domino City.

She had expected it. Considering what Mazaki had told her, it was completely unsurprising that the git who was messing with the reincarnated Pharaoh was the one who had taken the piece after pretending to be so concerned about the girl. She would have appreciated the game he was playing if it had not interfered with her own plans. If he did not give her a good reason to leave that Puzzle piece in his care, she was going to kick his ass either mentally, physically, or magically, maybe even all three at once, and then go chuck the damnable thing at Yugi's face.

She glanced over her shoulder as she moved from roof to roof and noted that Honda was struggling to keep up, not that she cared. Either he would catch up or he would be out of her way. She had not asked him to come along, so he was nothing but an inconvenience.

The other teen was far behind her by the time Thief Queen slipped down onto the street and entered the Black Clown, whose sign had been fixed since the last time she had passed by here, and took a look around. It was much fancier than the Kame Game Shop was, with brand new shelves, smarter paintwork, and notably a more modern till system. She noted the pair of security guards on the doors as she sensed Amane watching though her own senses and smirked slightly, amused, when her twin felt curious.

'What's the matter? The Runt's shop not good enough for you?' Ba-Khu-Ra sent across their bond, teasing her light.

'I like the Kame,' Amane protested, embarrassed at getting caught ogling the Monster World supplies on the shelves, 'but the range is bigger here, and it's cheaper.'

And that was going to be a massive problem for the smaller game shop. Not that she cared. By the time she was finished with Yugi, the shop was going to be the least of the girl's concerns. Still, it was kind of therapeutic to watch a bigger store come in to muscle the Pharaoh out of business, considering how her own village had degenerated over the years because of the royal family.

Kul Elna had not always been a city of thieves. They had started as royal tomb builders and guardians for the royal palace. When the Pharaoh they had worked for had been overthrown, however, the one who had taken over, the Runt's grandfather, had not kept them on, and the supplies from the palace that had kept the village going had dried up.

There had been citizens who had built crafts and traded for anything extra that was needed, but once the palace-given supplies were gone, the trading had not provided enough to feed everyone, and those who had once used their tools to build tombs had started using them to rob them. Once the products of theft had proved to supply the people better than trading, they had started organizing around the best thief, and that had been her grandfather.

He had been the one in charge of the first Thieves' Guild, and his followers had been so loyal that they had called him the 'King of Thieves'. That title had passed to her father, who had been King before her. Under his reign Kul Elna had been back in a position that meant the village was stable again, and the extras the craft works had been bringing in had been beginning to get them allies outside of Egypt.

She had swiftly been on her way to inheriting the title after him. The children of her generation had looked to her for leadership and had already completed more than one heist without a single loss. Older thieves had even started to listen to her after she had managed to prove herself by taking a small team and liberating an older, captured thief. Her father had been so proud…

Then the attack had happened, wrecking everything they had built up and stealing her future away. She had witnessed the massacre and destruction of everything she had loved and earned, witnessed the horrific actions of the royal guards under Akhenaden, and she had sworn there and then she was going to make the royal line suffer for everything they had put her people through.

Instead of inheriting her father's title and leading Kul Elna, she had been forced to start from scratch, with none of the tools her family had started with and worm her way into a position where she could whisper in the ear of the man who had DARED to claim her father's title, despite having absolutely no leadership abilities.

Getting to watch this bigger, more powerful business destroy everything the Pharaoh and her family had worked so hard to build up would entirely be satisfying.

'Easy, Ba-Khu-Ra,' Amane sighed, having felt the anger-laced thought process like it was her own. 'Remember Otogi? The guy who's going to inherit this place? He's messing with your plans. We don't want him around.'

'You don't have to remind me,' The Thief Queen hissed back, kind of disappointed that she would have to put a stop to his plans if she wanted her own to work, as she looked around for the teen in question. When he was not on the shop floor, she grimaced slightly. Getting into the back offices of businesses was not as easy as it had once been.

Still, she had not spent thousands of years perfecting her skills to be baffled by security cameras. There was a reason she called herself the Thief Queen. She had rebuilt the guild from the ground up over thousands of years, had branches in multiple countries, and had a network of people she had trained personally in charge of those branches.

She headed for the staff-only doors at the back of the building. There she got lucky as one uniformed staff member exited, distracted by the mobile phone he was slipping back into his pocket, and she entered behind him before the door could lock again.

The corridors beyond were bland, a staff noticeboard here, a sign for the canteen there. Other than that, the plain white walls gave her little indication of this being a business run by people who actually cared about anything except outside appearances. The surprising lack of security cameras, except for those pointed at the double doors labelled 'warehouse', made her wonder what they did not want on record.

Still, it made her life easier, and she slipped along the hallway, looking for where the teen she was hunting had gone. It would have been easier if she had just used the Millennium Ring, but part of the fun of hunting a target was seeing how far she could get alone, without her magic. After all, her grandfather and her father had not had magic to assist them, and they had gotten along fine.

She peeked into the staff canteen to find a couple of tables, a microwave, a pair of vending machines, and three staff members who were engrossed in their mobile phones, but no Otogi, telling her that either he had probably headed for the main office or there was an apartment somewhere in this building that he had retreated to.

Stairs upwards lead her to an office and a bunch of side rooms where it looked like gaming tables were set up. One of them contained a game she had not ever seen before that involved dice of some kind. Curious about what it was, she slipped inside, noting that the art supplies on the side table looked like someone was in the process of designing pieces for it.

She picked up a black die and examined it, becoming curious about the symbols on the side and impressed by the quality of the artwork. When the door clicked, she turned around, looking for somewhere to hide, only to roll her eyes when she realized she had cornered herself. To avoid being caught, she tapped into the Ring's power to utilize her Ka beast's powers, allowing herself to merge into the shadows around the room.

The boy from earlier, the one Anzu had named as Otogi Ryuji, stepped into the room with a steaming cup of what smelled like stupidly strong coffee, turned on the lights closest to the art table and slumped down at it to work, leaving the door ajar behind him. Bakura considered her next move as she watched him take a sip and then start painting one of the miniatures, which kind of looked like one of the more draconic creatures from Duel Monsters.

On the one hand she had him right where she wanted him. On the other she had to remember that she had to get back out again after harassing him. She had been far too careless with those girls earlier, and if she was so reckless again, she ran the risk of getting her Landlord in trouble.

She frowned as he paused, checking the table over like he had realized something was missing, then she mentally cursed herself as she realized he was looking for the die that was currently in her hand.

As he checked under the desk, she slipped around the room, keeping to the darker parts of the room so her invisibility kept helping, planning to shut the door and give them some privacy when she harassed the boy into giving back the Puzzle piece.

She was nearly there when Otogi slammed a hand onto the table and got to his feet, storming over to the door, and snappishly calling, "Otosan!"

The man that responded sounded old, far too old to be Otogi's father, and Bakura took a few steps back as the younger man moved further into the room. She could sense a ball of writhing Shadows approaching, which made her narrow her eyes and find a better vantage point, but who it was attached to surprised her.

A twisted, hunchbacked man entered the room, assisted by a cane. White hair exploded out of the sides of the dark purple clown mask that was strapped to his face, revealing only narrowed eyes and a mouth with a cruel sneer. The ball of Shadows was attached to him, suggesting that he had been tainted by the Shadows at some point. From the sheer volume of them, he had probably been in a Shadow Game, allowing them to latch on to his soul, but she knew far too well that she had never challenged the man.

"What, Ryuji?" the cold, crackling tone that emanated from the creature demanded.

"Have you been moving my…" Bakura winced as Ryuji was suddenly smacked with the cane at a speed that she had not anticipated from the elderly creature.

"Why are you focusing on your game when you should be focusing on our revenge?" The clown struck again, making the Thief Queen wonder why Ryuji was putting up with it without a word. "Your game is worthless to me unless you're using it to destroy our enemies! I wouldn't move a single piece of it except to throw it all away."

Ryuji's hands balled into fists for a moment, and Bakura sensed the Shadows rolling like flames around the boy, ready to strike, but somehow, they were kept restrained as the teen hissed out. "I've made massive progress today. Yugi…"

"Isn't here," the old man bit back, "so you haven't made that much progress. You know what Sugoroku did to me, know what he stole from me. You're supposed to be helping me steal everything important to him, and that includes her."

The young games designer forced himself to take a deep breath and put his hand in his pocket, taking another deep breath before he shakily revealed the item she had come to collect to his father. "I managed to get a hold of a piece of her Puzzle."

The clown picked it up and examined it in the light. Bakura could feel the darkness being given off by the piece as someone who was not its owner and certainly not worthy of holding it watched it shine, somehow ignoring the pain he should have been feeling. Then the piece went bouncing away as the clown threw it toward the art table.

"One piece?! How is one piece any use to us?!" the elderly figure demanded, slamming his cane into Ryuji's side again, causing the boy to flinch. "We need the whole thing!"

"Yugi's a mess right now," the teen tried to explain. "You want to hurt Sugoroku? How better than by letting Yugi break down for a few days? Then I can draw her to us by giving it back after a couple of days. She'll be so relieved she'll come willingly, and then you can explain what her Ojiisan…"

"You honestly think she'll care?" A fourth smack drew a pained noise from the young man. "That she would ever side with us against her own flesh and blood?"

"Yugi's not unreasonable. She'll…"

"You stupid boy." The elderly man pushed Ryuji back with surprising strength, causing the boy to tumble to the floor. "You've fallen for her, haven't you?"

"What? No!" Ryuji protested, being honest. "She…"

"You're forgetting what's important," the elderly man snapped, cutting his son off as he unclipped the mask. When he lifted it, it revealed a face that was old, scarred, and twisted. Ryuji flinched back, angering the older man further. "Mutou Sugoroku did this to me. He stole years of my life with that cursed game. Mutou Yugi will be no better. Don't you dare side with them over me!"

"I'm not!" Ryuji yelped, putting his hands up to protect his head as his father raised the cane above him. "I promise I'm not! I'd never betray you!"

Ba-Khu-Ra, who had been edging her way around the room to try and grab the Puzzle piece, paused at that, and turned back towards the pair, intrigued. It sounded like the Pharaoh's family was still stealing things that could not be replaced from others to make themselves stronger.

"Good." The cane got lowered. "Because until I have my revenge, nothing you want matters: you're worthless to me. Understand? Until you prove yourself by getting revenge on Sugoroku for me, you're nothing but a burden."

Guilt sank into the Thief Queen as a question flashed though her mind. 'Is that what I sound like to Amane?'

'You might be as bloody-minded as him about your revenge, but you care about me,' the lighter soul reassured her; care, concern, and anger on Ryuji's behalf pulsed across the bond from her lighter self. 'There's a huge difference. We should help Otogi.'

Bakura nearly asked why. He was not valuable to them. He was a thorn in their side.

Then she felt the sympathy her light had for the abused boy and realized that if they did not assist him, it would both make her host sad and prevent them from finding out exactly what had happened. Plus, they could keep an eye on the situation and ensure it did not screw over her own long-term plan.

'Fine, but you owe me,' the Thief Queen huffed quietly as she continued her route around the room, planning to reveal herself from a position of strength by having her hands on that Puzzle piece.

"Make sure you have actual progress tomorrow, or I'll chuck all your little toys away," Otogi's father warned, his tone cold as he slipped the mask back on. "Now don't waste my time again."

With that he wheeled around, turned off the lights and slammed the door shut on his way out, dropping the room into pitch-black darkness.

Ba-Khu-Ra had just reached the art desk and gotten her hands on the Puzzle piece when she heard an angry, frustrated noise and the sounds of a chair going flying and crashing into the opposite wall.

She coughed quietly and deactivated the invisibility spell. Then she allowed the Ring to glow, revealing her position. By its light she could see the shock and shame on the other teen's face as he realized that she had been in the room for all of what had happened. He started for the door, and Bakura flicked her fingers towards him. The darkness around him solidified, holding him in place.

"Let me go," Otogi hissed out, anger masking fear as he realized he could not move his legs.

"Agree not to alert security, and I will," Bakura snorted.

"Why wouldn't I?" he demanded, his tone surprisingly even for the shaking that she could see.

"One, because if I wanted to kill you, I'd have done it already," the Thief Queen snorted, "and two, because we have a common enemy."

"I thought you were Yugi's ally?" Confusion slipped into the boy's voice.

"No. I just need something from her. Something you're interfering with," Ba-Khu-Ra huffed, almost insulted at being considered the Pharaoh's ally. "I don't care what happens to her as long as she survives long enough for me to get it."

The game designer paused to consider that. During the silence that fell, the Thief Queen wondered if she had overplayed her hand. Then Otogi nodded. "I'm willing to discuss an alliance."

She released him. He turned most of the lights on and righted the chair he had tossed before turning to her.

"What do you want from me?" he demanded, gesturing to a chair opposite him as he sat down.

"It's what you want from me." She held up the Puzzle piece and watched him tense up.

"Give that back." He started to get to his feet but stopped at a raised hand, wary of her magic.

"Don't demand anything of me. You won't always like the price it comes with," she warned him. "You realize I should be ripping your soul out for stealing a piece of something I need?"

"You can't…" He did not sound certain though.

"Oh, I can, and I have to others." She snorted, amused by his fear. "I'm surprised you disbelieve me, considering what happened to your father."

Otogi grimaced at that and sat back down. She sat daintily in the chair opposite. "I suppose you want to know the story?"

"That would help, yes." The Thief Queen nodded, sitting back as if she was relaxing. "I can't decide if you're worth my time if I don't know why you're getting in my way."

"Mutou Sugoroku used to be a legendary gamer. Undefeatable by anyone. My father wanted to be his apprentice. Not long after I was born, Father went on an archaeological dig and got his chance to appeal to him." Otogi sighed, fiddling with his dice earring as he spoke, nervousness etched in every millimeter of his frame. "Mutou challenged my father to prove his worth through a game that they had found in the tomb they were digging out. It was called the Game of Life, and it was cursed. You bet a number of years every time you moved, and if you lost, you lost those years. Mutou cheated and won, stealing away fifty years of my father's life. He aged that much in a single afternoon."

Bakura frowned slightly, wondering how the old gamer had cheated and why someone with a half a brain would play a game like that. Unless it had been for the thrills, in which case the men had gotten what they deserved. "Do you still have the game? Or did Mutou keep it?"

"My father has it. He's been trying to work out how to reverse the effects," Otogi admitted. "I could probably get him to let you take a look if I tell him you're on our side."

She nodded, not telling him that she was only on his side as long as it suited her purposes and if he got too far in her way, she would remove him viciously.

"The Puzzle piece, may I have it?" Otogi asked, surprisingly polite.

"Why? What are you planning to do with it?" The answer was going to be important as to whether she allowed him to hold it or not.

"I just plan on holding it for a couple of days," he admitted, "until Yugi's worked up enough to be grateful to me for its return. She'll be more willing to listen to me if she feels she owes me for saving her most important treasure."

"Emotional manipulation." The Thief Queen nodded thoughtfully. "Rather powerful emotional manipulation, considering how much she values her Puzzle. And afterwards? Once you've returned it? What's your plan then?"

"I'm going to explain the situation, and if Yugi won't help me," Otogi shrugged, "I'm going to take her Puzzle."

"I can't let you do that." Ba-Khu-Ra frowned and shook her head. "I need her to hold it."

"Why do you need her to have it?" the game designer pushed, curious and wanting information on her plans in exchange for news on his.

"The Puzzle is linked to something incredibly powerful, but Yugi is the only one who can access it because her soul is bound to that item." Bakura gave him the cliff notes. "Anyone else who takes it is taking a piece of her soul and won't be able to unlock its full potential."

Otogi sat back at that. "So even if I win it from her, I won't be able to use its powers properly?"

"You'll have access to its base magics, but its full potential will be unavailable," the Thief Queen snorted. "I take it you're planning on turning it on Mutou Sugoroku?"

The other teen nodded. "That was the idea, yes."

"Mutou-Sensei might have retired from gaming, but his mind is still sharp; going after him with the Puzzle will give him a chance to turn the magic back on you. You might want to reconsider your tactics." Bakura shook her head. "Shadow magic nowadays mostly works through games. Games that must be fair. If you cheat, you're done; the Shadows will rip you apart, and the most confident person almost always wins."

"So, I won't chea… what?" he demanded when the Spirit of the Ring let out an amused snort.

"The Shadows let out a person's true nature: if it's part of your nature, you WILL cheat," she explained. "By going after him using Shadow magic, you're testing your own soul as much as you're testing his. So how confident are you that you're as good a person as you think you are?"

Otogi hesitated, years of being told he was worthless by his father cutting into his confidence. "So, what do you suggest?"

"The most important thing in Mutou-Sensei's life is his magomasume. He would give up everything he owned to protect her. Watching Yugi crumble because she's broken the Puzzle and lost a piece of her soul will hurt him more than you can imagine," the Thief Queen huffed. "My suggestion is that you keep a hold of it for a couple of days, then you let Mutou-Sensei know you have it. He'll come to you for whatever Penalty you have planned for him in exchange for that Puzzle piece. Once you have had your revenge, I'll return the piece to Yugi and I can continue my plan."

"Sounds… surprisingly reasonable." The game designer looked confused as she tossed him the Puzzle piece, much to the frustration of her lighter self. "What do you want from her? And why would you help me like this?"

"I already told you what I want. I want the key for the thing the Puzzle's linked to, and the only way to get it is to get Yugi to unlock the access, something she can't do while the Puzzle is in pieces." The ill-amused huff she let out made Otogi snort. "As for why I would help you? Our goals aren't that dissimilar. You want to get revenge for your family, and so do I."

He nodded, thinking he understood.

"Now, can I see that game of your father's?" Ba-Khu-Ra asked, wanting to see exactly what the Pharaoh's Ojiisan had used against Otogi's father and if she might utilize it for herself against Yugi. "I might be able to make some suggestions."

Otogi stood and offered her a hand to her feet. She took it and followed him, making notes of the layout of the floor as they went.

'Voice. We shouldn't have given that back to Otogi,' Amane scolded, irritated at her. 'We promised…'

'I promised I would hunt it down. I didn't say I would return it,' the Thief Queen mentally huffed, 'and I did. We know where it is, so I've kept my word. Besides, you're the one who said we should help Otogi.'

'I meant with his father, not with harassing Yugi!' the Ring Bearer protested.

'You didn't state that.' The ill-amused sigh that earned her over the bond from her lighter half made her roll her eyes. 'I've just done her a favor, anyway. He's not going to be trying to steal her Puzzle anymore.'

'No, he's not,' Amane admitted slowly. 'He's just going to torment her. And Oneesan is going to be trapped in the Shadows longer.'

'Oh, she deserves it,' the spirit snorted. Amane did not bother to argue with her as Otogi showed her to his father's study and the brightly lit, hidden room beyond.

She could sense the magic rolling off of the game he had mentioned before she had even entered the room. The moment she stepped inside, she let out a sharp breath. The 'Game of Life' was a Shadow-infused board game, one that was so potent that even she was not certain she would like to mess around with its rules and regulations.

That did tell her something particularly important, though. If Mutou Sugoroku had cheated during this game, the Shadows would have punished him immediately. The fact that it had been Otogi's father who had lost and been punished with years of his life being stripped away suggested that it was, in fact, him who had cheated.

Not that she was going to tell Otogi that right now.

"Interesting." She ran a hand over the board, letting her magical senses tell her everything that she needed to know. "This is incredibly powerful. I might be able to work out how it works, but it's going to take me some time."

"And who are you?" Bakura turned around, showing none of the surprise at being caught in the private room with Otogi, at the sound of Otogi senior's voice.

"Someone with a better grip on magic than you'll have in a lifetime," the Thief Queen warned, watching the creepy clown carefully as he stepped inside and shut the door, which let out a quiet beep, suggesting that the door had locked behind him. "Who are you?"

The clown's eyes focused on the item strung around her neck. "Otogi Kintaro; I own this building, so you'll either tell me who you are and what you're doing sneaking around my office, or I'll have you arrested."

"My name is Bakura," she informed him, not giving her host's given name as she realized that the positioning of the lights meant there were no Shadows for her to retreat to and walk through to get out that way, "and I'm sneaking around your office because I wanted to see if I could undo what this did to you."

It was a lie. She had only wanted to see it for her own curiosity's sake, but it make the elder Otogi pause.

"Why?"

"Because I hate Mutou Yugi as much as you hate Mutou Sugoroku." She snorted, furious with herself for letting her guard down to examine the game as she half-turned away, trying to keep an eye on both Otogis. She slipped the hand that was hidden from the twisted man's sight into her jacket pocket where her cards, the modern form of the summoning tablets from the ancient Diaha, rested, and thumbed through until she sensed she had her fingers on the card she wanted, in case he tried to pull something.

"Why should we trust you?" the elder Otogi huffed out, his voice crackling.

"Because you don't really know what you're playing with," the Thief Queen bit out. "You are trying to seize power when it can only be won. Even then it will overwhelm you if you don't understand it properly and you try to cheat your way around the rules, but you already know that, don't you?"

The way the man's eyes narrowed told her that she was correct in her assumptions.

"I mean if you don't want to get your lost years back, then I'll leave now, and you can suffer forever." Ba-Khu-Ra shrugged, turning for the door and acting more nonchalant than she felt, considering she was not sure how the door opened. There was no obvious electronic lock and no keyhole, so most of her plan right now involved getting that door open and then Challenging the older Otogi for shutting it in the first place.

"Stop." Though she hated that he dared to order her around, she did, in fact, stop.

"Yes?" She allowed her distaste to seep through in her voice.

"You can undo this?" he demanded.

"I can try. The magic in it is old and powerful; it might even be older than my Ring, so it's going to take some time to work out exactly how it works. I'll need to visit a few times," she explained as she turned to face him, lying out of her rear end since the years lost were part of a Penalty, and even she could not undo one of those safely without it turning her own magic against her. "I'll warn you now, though, if you raise a hand against me, I'll make you suffer."

There was a moment where she saw his knuckles turn white as his grip on his cane tightened, then the old man nodded sharply. "You're not leaving until you've worked it out."

"Excuse you?" Bakura allowed the shadows to flow out from her Ring, turning the air around them cold and sharp. "What makes you think I'll let you hold me here?"

Ryuji shivered, but his father stood firm. "Only I know how the lock works."

"True," Bakura allowed, able to sense her twin's nervousness at the degenerating situation, "but you're forgetting something really important. You have to open the door at some point to leave yourself. Unless you plan on staying here the whole time?"

She was not stupid, she saw the gesture Kintaro made to Ryuji, who shifted around the room, moving into a position behind her.

"I would think about what you're doing," the Thief Queen warned, almost disappointed that they thought they could control her. "Make an enemy of me, and you won't survive to harass Yugi any further."

When Kintaro nodded to his son, Bakura called up the beast from the card, Diabound. The great stone-skinned naga-like creature grabbed the boy, who had been about to grab her from behind, and slammed him against the wall, pinning him there by his throat.

The father launched himself towards her, but Bakura practically danced out of the way, a smirk gracing her features. Even two against one, it was far too easy.

'You're a thousand years too young to get me with something like that,' she internally crowed as Kintaro's desperate lunge ended with a stumble as he tripped over his own feet. Suddenly he turned, forcing her to leap back, once, and then twice, quickly putting herself out of his reach.

Or so she thought: a fourth lunge made her twist, and suddenly she felt a yank, and something snapped. The older man panted and trembled with exertion as Diabound faded away, checking that he really did have what he thought he had in his hand.

Amane gaped, her heart stopping for a moment as she beheld the Millennium Ring in the hands of the older Otogi.

"I have it." The man panted heavily as his eyes, the only part of him that could be seen under his mask, glittered with tears. "My life, I finally got it back."

The Ring's true Bearer darted forwards, grabbing at her item, trying to snatch it back before it could hurt the man. She managed to get her hands on it, but the younger Otogi grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. He pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket before he shoved her back into the room, away from both his father and the Ring. She collided with the heavy table painfully and bounced off, hitting the floor.

"Give that back," Amane demanded, glaring up at them and trying not to shake as the realization that she was in serious trouble hit her. She was not a fighter, she never had been, and without her Millennium Item, she had no access to her magic. If Voice had not been quick enough to dodge them, she certainly could not take them both at once AND get her Item back.

"Work out how to fix me, and you'll get it back." The father shook his head, smart enough to hold the golden trinket by the rope rather than directly. "Until then you're staying here."

He was not bluffing either. He had no intentions of letting her go, though Amane did notice Ryuji looked like he felt guilty as he pocketed the phone.

"I need the Ring to manipulate the magic." She tried the truth.

"Once you know what you need to do with it, you can have it back," Otogi senior snorted, tightening his grip on the rope attached to the item holding half of her soul. "Work fast, and you'll get it back and go free."

"People will look for me." Amane faked tears, allowing them to run down her cheeks, trying to look pathetic, hoping to appeal to the man's sympathy. "My parents will notice if I don't come home tonight."

If the truth would not work, it was time to lie. No one lived with her. No one would notice if she did not show up. She had no family to care about her. The only people who gave a damn about her other than Voice, who was currently as trapped in the Ring as Oneesan was in the Shadows, were Yugi and her friends, and even then they would not know she was missing until tomorrow at school because they thought her darker half was hunting the missing Puzzle piece.

"She has a point, Father," Ryuji tried on her behalf, having been impacted by her subterfuge. "Maybe we should…"

"Don't be weak, boy. No one will think to look here. They'll suspect she's with her friends and not taking calls," his father snapped, hitting the teen on the shin with the cane, making the boy wince and making Amane both wish that she had let the Thief Queen just walk out of here with the Puzzle piece and that she had the Ring so she could set her other self on the prick who thought it was okay to abuse his son and kidnap someone. "Now keep her away from the door."

With that he turned around to unlock the door.

"Otogi…" Amane took a step forward, trying to see how the locked worked so she could undo it herself, only for the tall teen to block her way. "You don't have to do this."

He grimaced and glanced towards his father, bringing the realization that he feared his father's reaction too much too help her, at least right now. "Yes, I do."

She tried to bolt past him once the door slid open, but he caught her by the back of her jacket and dragged her back, pinning her, face first, against the wall, one hand caught up in her hair, the other latched around her wrist as he twisted her arm up behind her back. The pained cry she let out made him loosen his grip a little, but not enough to allow her to slip free.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper before suddenly he had released her and bolted out of the door behind his father. Amane pushed around and rushed for the door, but before she could reach it, it slammed shut on her and she heard the lock beep.

She slammed her body against it, testing the strength of the door, and heard a metallic ring rather than the dull thud of wood as she bounced off of it, telling her there was no way she was breaking out through brute strength alone.

She silently cursed herself. If she had not convinced her darker half to talk to Otogi, she would not have gotten curious and they could have gotten the Puzzle piece and gotten out of here. Now she was trapped. Trapped without her Millennium Ring or any way of communicating with the outside world. There was a chance, a slim chance that if they left the Ring unattended and not trapped in anything, it would return to her of its own accord. It had before when she had been trying to get rid of the damnable thing. However, she did not know if they would be that stupid.

She just had to pray.


"Father, may I…" Ryuji held his hand out, hoping to be allowed to at least look at the Millennium Ring.

"No. You may not," his Otosan snapped, recoiling, and heading towards the door out into the corridor, examining the item whose rope he held, spinning the golden trinket so he could see it from all angles. The golden points attached to the ring glinted in the light given off by the office lightbulb. The light reflecting off them landed on his father's face, illuminating the greedy, slightly insane desire on it. "This one is mine."

For a moment, the younger Otogi held his breath as the older man's hand hovered over the golden trinket, as if he was going to touch the artifact itself. Considering how much the Puzzle piece had objected to being stolen, Ryuji did not think that was a good idea. The Millennium Ring would probably react a lot more strongly. He knew his father would not listen to him if he warned him, though.

"This item is no use to me until I decide to claim it properly and make her give it up, defeat her, or…" His father's hand lowered as he trailed off and tied the broken rope pieces together before wrapping it around his right wrist, "I would just play her for it now, but she needs it to fix me. To return me to the man I once was, so I'll wait. Once she's done, I'll take it for myself. If you want an item of your own, you'll take the Puzzle from Yugi."

Ryuji grimaced, his hand going into his pocket where the golden piece he had stolen rested and wrapping around it. He wanted to defeat Yugi. He wanted to prove himself better than her. However, guilt was still hitting hard from watching the girl's meltdown earlier, and it had been made worse by what he had just helped his father do.

"Don't look like that, Ryuji," his Otosan huffed as he headed for the door, not planning on leaving the item unattended any time soon if he had his way. "I might be harsh on you, but that's because I know you're better than the Mutou bitch. Your upbringing has hardened you and made you a better gamer and a better fighter. She cannot beat you as long as you remember what's at stake."

"Yes, Otosan." Ryuji looked at the floor, far too aware that his whole future depended on getting revenge on Mutou Sugoroku because his father would not allow him to release Dungeon Dice Monsters next week if there had not been substantial progress in their plans. "May I go out?"

"Where to?" His father's head snapped towards him, his expression distrustful.

"I just need to take a walk, that's all," he promised, putting his hands up, needing to get away and clear his head. "Just around the block."

His father considered him closely, eyes narrowed, then he nodded. "Fine, but just remember Ryuji. If you betray me, you'll lose everything."

"I understand, Otosan." And he did. Far too well. Not that he would ever betray his father willingly.

"Get out, then."

Ryuji left.


Author Note: I have recently received a review asking why I only update once a month and demanding I update more often. I'm afraid this won't happen. I need the time to write, edit and review my chapters before I send them to my beta reader, who picks up on things I miss because of my dyslexia. I'm sorry if that means you guys have to wait for more story, but I refuse to throw bad chapters out there for you to read.

I hope this doesn't detract from the story and you're willing to wait for future updates, believe me I have plans written right through to the end so I will never be giving up on this series. It's just going to take me some time to get to the end.