AN: Whoo! Note at the top! What other surprises do I have in store!? Anywho, it's taken longer than I wanted to get this out. What with school started up, I've been rather preoccupied. I really appreciate all your reviews, I really do! Hope you all like this chapter and what I've decided to go on!

PS: I find it funny that my Accounting class reminded me of this fanfic. It was the term property that brought it up. The definition was 'Anything of value owned or controlled.' And being the weirdo with a somewhat sadistic and messed up thinking pattern, I immediately thought 'OMG that Bakura and Akeno's relationship! Lol' Yeah… I'm done now.

Chapter Twelve

Akeno groaned and began to stir. She rubbed her eyes then slowly opened them to find herself staring up into a dark haze. She sat up quickly, recalling what had happened. How long have I been out? She stood and looked around; a hard dirt ground and dark sky stretched before her further than her eyes could see. Oh great, do I just stand here?

She gasped and nearly had a heart attack when the Millennium Ring, which she had forgotten was around her neck, glowed and lifted one of its needles and like a finger, pointed her in a direction. She frowned, looking in the direction it pointed- it seemed the same as everything else around her. Am I really this desperate to follow an evil ring's advice? A growl-like rumble came from behind her and she took off running towards where the Ring had indicated. I guess so!

Nothing chased her and she found herself rather fed up after a few hours of following the Ring. It would show her a direction then stop glowing and leave her to walk alone. Once she reached a certain point, it would come to life and lead her another way. She was starting to wonder if it was just screwing with her and leading her in circles. To keep herself from dying of boredom, she took note of the landscape, not that there was really much to look at. There were random placed jagged boulders just big enough to hide a fair-sized person and ones small enough to overlook but could still trip you. The sky, she discerned with a misplaced curiosity, was a harsh mix of reds and black whereas the sky in the graveyard when she was with Bakura was more purple and blue. She assumed it had to do with whatever Item brought you there, personal décor or something like that.

After recalling the sharp teethed creatures that had circled over them while Bakura had dueled Malik, she tried to keep her eyes on the sky, though, if they were up there watching her, she didn't really want to know!

There were a variety of odd noises that she had almost grown used to; gurgling, clicks and burps, growls like before, non-directional whistles and the occasional high pitched chuckle. It wasn't until about four hours after she set off, though she couldn't really be sure, that she stumbled upon another creature wandering like her. It was of medium height, blue with bat-like wings and had a large head which was split near the bottom, giving it a gaping mouth with sharp teeth. It had appeared so suddenly, Akeno uttered a scream, gaining its attention. She attempted to turn and run but in her panic, ended up falling on her rear end. She looked up frightened as its head snapped in her direction. It was just her luck the larger boulders had become less frequent some ways back; she could've at least hid! To her surprise, the monster merely sniffed in her direction then became uninterested and flew off. It never looked at her directly.

She frowned in confusion. Why didn't it attack me? ...Not that I'm complaining!

Akeno stood and dusted herself off. "Now which direction was this thing pointed?" she asked herself sheepishly.

She shook the Ring, trying to make it show her again. "C'mon, give me a break here! I forgot! I'm sorry!" She stared at it pleadingly. "Please, do something! I can't just stand here all day… night, whatever it is!"

Akeno let out a frustrated growl and took the Ring off. "All right you," she started, trying another approach- something had to work, right? "Either you show me where to go or I'll go on without you, you no good hunk of scrap metal!"

Nothing happened though to her, the Ring seemed to do so just to spite her. She growled. "Fine!" she said throwing it like a Frisbee.

She had, of course, only meant to scare it- if possible- and was completely unprepared when in its mid-flight, it disappeared altogether. She blinked then paled at the thought of being without a guide, even an untrustworthy one.

"I didn't mean it!" she cried, running towards where it disappeared. "Come back, I'm sorry! I-"

She stopped as her outstretched hand vanished. She screamed and jumped back, her hand coming back into view. What the-

Hesitantly, she reached out and her hand disappeared again. She pulled it back and examined it; it looked fine… Closing her eyes, she leapt forward. Nothing happened. She opened her eyes. Everything was exactly the same, boring landscape in front and behind her. On the ground before her though was the Millennium Ring. She sighed as she got the feeling it was laughing at her stupidity though she knew objects couldn't laugh or mock her. She picked it up and slipped it around her neck again.

"You win," she moaned defeated and it came to life, showing that she should go to her left.

It seemed that in certain parts of the Shadow Realm, there were places that had a sort of cloak over them, preventing people from seeing inside them. That explained how that monster appeared out of nowhere and how it didn't see her and of course how the Ring seemed to disappear. Great, so anything can pop out at me now…

Akeno continued for some time before the Ring did anything. It's five needles all stood out and starting moving around frantically as if it were excited.

"Ah! What's wrong?" she asked the Ring then mentally smacked herself for talking to it. "What direction is that supposed to be? I can't clone myself and split up!"

Something touched her shoulder. She jumped and spun around to see a hand floating in front of her. What the hell… Soon the hand grew a wrist and arm then a whole body was revealed. Bakura! Wait, is this a good or bad thing? She reasoned he had been in one of those weird cloaked areas.

"Here, come inside," he said softly. "It's safer."

He retreated back into the cloak. Wait a sec… She followed after him.

Inside, she saw the hollow form of Marik glaring off into the distance. He took notice of her but didn't say anything. She studied Bakura as he plopped on the ground with his legs crossed. He looked up at her and smiled.

"I imagine we'll be here for some time so you might as well make yourself comfortable."

She sat across from him. This can't be…

"Ryou?" she asked.

He nodded, still smiling slightly. "I remember you from the platform. We've never been properly introduced, have we?"

She shook her head and extended her hand. "I'm Akeno."

"I'm Ryou but you already knew that," he said blushing slightly.

His eyes trailed from her face; it took her a moment to realize that he was staring at the Ring. Her hand brushed over the Ring slightly and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," he said, "Just… how did you get the Ring?"

"It was left behind after… after he was sent to the Shadow Realm... Do you want it back?" she asked quickly.

"Oh…" Ryou looked thoughtful. He really didn't want anything to do with the Ring but it wasn't fair to leave her with his burden. He nodded. "Sure."

Akeno took it off and handed it to him. She watched as he hesitated then put it beside him. Ryou broke the silence that fell over them.

"How did you and he…meet?"

She blushed. "Oh um well, he beat some duelists and I happened to be there and… well, he made me go with him."

"But why?" Ryou asked confused. "What does he want with you?"

"He…he said my soul was rare, that it was innocent. So he used the Ring to…" she trailed off.

She gasped loudly, startling both Ryou as well as Marik who had just started to pay attention. THE PAIN'S GONE! It's been gone since… I don't know! For awhile- I just didn't notice before!

"Akeno?" Ryou asked worried, "What's the matter?"

"He had put part of his soul in mine and vice versa; whenever I was away from him, his soul would cry out for the rest of it in him! I could always feel it but now… nothing! It's like the part of his soul disappeared!"

"He… put his soul in yours?" Ryou asked, his eyes far off. "Did… did he hurt you?"

She looked at him questioningly. "Ryou?"

"Akeno, did he hurt you?" he asked again; she could hear pain in his voice.

She furrowed her brows in concern. He's blaming himself for what Bakura did. But it isn't his fault!

"No," she lied, not wanting to make him feel more guilty.

"Then… why are your wrists bandaged?"

Akeno blushed, feeling caught in her lie. "Oh that's… that's from the duelists I told you he beat. Before he showed up they… did that." Let's not go into details...

He looked unconvinced and still held guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry. If I was able to fight him off then he would never have taken you and you wouldn't be here…"

His eyes shined with tears making Akeno feel awful for him. "Ryou…"

"I'm sorry," he said again as he suddenly pulled her into an embrace.

She blinked away her shock then gently squeezed his shoulders. Oh God, am I blushing?! I'm so glad he can't see me now! She felt a slight dampness on her shoulder. He was crying!

"Ryou it's not your fault! You didn't do any of this so don't blame yourself!"

Marik cleared his throat loudly, letting them know he was still there and Ryou pulled back and wiped his eyes. "My friends are always getting hurt because of me… I-I can't stand not being able to do anything."

Akeno frowned, not sure what to say. "What about now? You must have overpowered him to be talking to me right now." She offered him a small smile, hoping he'd cheer up a bit.

"But I didn't."

She frowned.

"The last thing I remember is being in my soul room then before I knew it, I was in control of my body."

"You mean he let you take control?"

"The fool collapsed," Marik threw in.

The two looked up at the spirit who crossed his arms in an annoyed fashion. "After being sent here, the Spirit of the Ring was physically weakened; he hadn't even recovered from his duel with the pharaoh. Although he was weak, he was still well enough to yell at me and blame me for losing to Malik," Marik snorted. "Then out of nowhere he falls over in pain and passes out… and I was stuck with this witless twerp." He nodded at Ryou who looked at the ground sheepishly.

Akeno's eyes widened somewhat. "That must have been when part of his soul left me…"

The two looked at her for a moment but she couldn't quite discern what they were thinking. She decided it was best to change the subject. "So what now? Do we just sit here?"

"There's nowhere to go," Marik replied bitterly. "The Shadow Realm is endless, we can only leave if that demon chooses so or is destroyed."

She looked to Ryou who was frowning and picking at his shoe laces then to Marik who had taken to staring out into the barren land. She stood up suddenly.

"That's it!" she cried. "You're just accepting that as your fate? There has to be something we can do!"

"There isn't," Marik said not looking at her.

"How can you give up so easily?!" she exclaimed.

"Look," Marik shouted at her. "If you want to waste your energy looking for a door that doesn't exist, then go ahead! I really could care less!" He looked at Ryou. "The same goes for you. I'd be better off without you two anyway."

Akeno huffed and angrily sat down with her back to Marik. The stupid jerk! That kind of attitude is exactly why he lost to Malik!

The passing hours continued in silence, with Akeno and Marik too upset to say anything and with Ryou feeling awkward sitting between the pair. Akeno, though still distressed about their current situation, was able to calm down sooner than Marik. In her silence though, she noticed that the sky didn't darken or brighten making there no concept of night or day. She reasoned it was because there was no sun to revolve around. It's not another planet just… another dimension. I think…

"Doesn't it ever get dark out?" she asked, voicing her thoughts and breaking the silence. Neither replied.

She sighed and lay down. "Well, I'm taking a nap," she declared after a moment. "Who knows what we'll need energy for? What about you, Ryou?"

He looked at her. "I think I'll stay awake a bit longer," he said simply.

She nodded and closed her eyes. With some effort, she managed to fall asleep though it was fleeting. Sometime later, she was harshly awoken by a sharp pain in her head. By the time, her consciousness kicked in, she was on her knees and nearly eye level with someone's torso. Looking up slightly, she saw they were wearing the Millennium Ring. Her eyes needed not travel any higher to know whose face she would be looking at. Bakura's eyes met hers. But instead of their usual coldness, his eyes were filled with a fiery rage and loathing that made her heart stop!