"What did she tell you?" That was the first thing Bakura asked Akia when she joined back up with him. Judging by his eagerness to know what happened, Akia knew that it wasn't a good idea to tell him anything. She knew that she was dealing with the Spirit of the Ring now.
"Nothing too important. She just told me a bit about the history of this exhibition," Akia replied, avoiding eye contact.
Bakura frowned at her. He wasn't buying it. "Then why wasn't I invited in as well?"
"I don't know."
"You obviously know. Why wasn't I allowed in as well?"
Akia was starting to get annoyed at his persistent behaviour. "Because you're an evil asshole! Now just go away and give Ryou back his body!"
Bakura frowned at her. "How come you always know when I take over?"
"Because Ryou wouldn't act that way."
The Spirit of the Ring gave up on trying to hide his identity and smirked. "Admit it, you'd much rather spend time with me than with that wimpy kid."
Akia looked him in the eyes, glaring at him. "That's where you're wrong. Ryou is much more important to me than you'll ever be."
Bakura smiled widely. He was enjoying this more than he wanted admit. He brought his finger under her chin and lifted her face up towards him. "You really drive me crazy, you know that?"
Akia slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me."
Bakura chuckled. "Oh the things I'd do to you..." He mumbled under his breath low enough that she wouldn't be able to hear.
"Fine, I'll let the weakling take over for now, if that'll make you happier." With that, the Spirit of the Ring receded and gave way to the real Bakura. He then looked around with his innocent eyes, confused as to where he was. "Where...?"
Akia's eyes softened and, without thinking, she hugged Bakura. Surprised by the sudden contact, Bakura flinched a little, but eventually returned the hug.
"What's gotten into you, Akia-chan?" He said softly as he held her tightly, not wanting the contact to end.
"Ryou, I... I get so worried about you when the Spirit of the Ring takes over," Akia explained her actions.
Bakura sighed and smiled. "To be honest, I get scared, too. I get scared that he might hurt you. His thoughts... Most of them are of you. Sometimes I even feel guilty about spending time with you, since it gives him a chance to hurt you."
Akia was feeling warmth squeezing her heart. She felt feelings that she'd never felt before. Those feelings were for Bakura Ryou. She held onto his shirt. "Don't say that, Ryou. Don't ever feel guilty about us seeing each other. I... Ryou, I..."
Images of Marik as a kid then started flashing in her mind. She opened her eyes widely and immediately backed away from the hug. Her heart was beating painfully fast. She brought a hand to her chest while taking shallow breaths. Her eyes were shaking.
"Akia-chan? Are you alright?" Bakura was starting to get worried, seeing her act that way. He held her by the shoulders. "Akia-chan? Akia-chan!"
Akia's head snapped up and looked at Bakura. She blinked a few times. "Ah... Sorry... I don't know what happened to me there..." She was perplexed by what had just happened to her. "I was about to confess to Ryou... But, for some reason, my head got literally invaded with thoughts of Marik. Why? I've only spoken once to him! I have way more feelings towards Ryou! This isn't me... Someone or something planted these thoughts in this very moment to prevent me from saying how I feel. Why can't I just like who I want to like? No, I'm probably overthinking this. I'm just really confused from everything that's been happening. I shouldn't put too much thought into this."
"Hey, let's just walk around for a bit," Akia suggested.
"Alright..." Bakura looked at her worriedly, but complied to her request.
The sun was already starting to set. Just as they were starting to leave, Akia noticed someone familiar walking towards the museum. "Yugi! Anzu!"
The two in question turned around after hearing Akia call out to them.
"Ah! Akia-chan! Bakura-kun!" Anzu called back to them and waved.
"You're both here too?" The other Yugi asked.
Akia nodded at the Spirit of the Puzzle. "Yeah, I actually just got out of the museum."
"How was it?" Yugi asked her.
"Weird. But you'll probably see that for yourself," Akia replied.
"Do you two want to join us?" Anzu suggested.
"No, it's alright. There's no point in going in again." Akia was still very confused about all the things that she saw.
The Spirit of the Ring, however, saw this as an opportunity to find out what Akia had been hiding from him, "can I come?"
"Sure-" Anzu started saying before she got interrupted.
"No!" Akia retorted. She knew this wasn't Ryou anymore. She wouldn't let him have his way. She knew that Ishizu didn't want him there for a good reason.
The other Yugi seemed to understand what was going on. "How about you two wait for us here? We'll be quick."
Bakura frowned as Yugi and Anzu walked away into the museum. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned towards Akia. "What are you hiding?"
"Things that you're better off not knowing," Akia replied cryptically.
"That makes me want to know even more."
"Well you won't get any answers from me, anyway. Besides, it's not really my place to say. I barely understand anything myself to all that's happening."
People were now starting to head into the museum, since the exhibition was now opened for the public. Akia headed for a bench located a bit farther from the crowd, not wanting to get in anyone's way. Bakura followed her and sat next to her. They sat there in silence for a while.
"I saw everything," the Spirit of the Ring broke the silence.
"Hm?" Akia raised an eyebrow. She didn't understand what he was referring to.
He smirked. "You hugged my host out of nowhere."
Akia felt her cheeks flushing. "S-So?!"
Bakura then got closer to her face and looked her in the eyes. "You were about to confess too, weren't you?"
"No!" Akia was taken by surprise by the sudden closeness. Even though it wasn't Ryou, it was still his face and body, to which she was very attracted.
"Come on, you know you can't fool me. How about I make this simple for you?"
"Simple? What do you-?" Before Akia could continue saying anything, she felt a pair of lips on her own. Her eyes were wide open at the realization. The Spirit of the Ring was kissing her! Without thinking, she pushed him away and slapped him. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Bakura was still smirking. "I just gave you what you wanted, didn't I?"
Akia was starting to get really angry. "That's not what I wanted! I don't want you to kiss me! I wanted..." She wanted the real Ryou to kiss her, but she couldn't say it. "I wanted Marik..." She brought her hand to her mouth. That wasn't what she wanted to say.
Bakura frowned when he heard that. "Marik? That kid you met once when you were still nothing but a child?"
"No, that's not what I..."
"Then what? What did you mean?"
"I don't know, alright? It's like I'm not even in control of my own feelings!"
"Tch." Without saying anything else, the Spirit of the Ring gave way once more to the real Bakura. When she saw that, Akia sighed in relief.
"Did he take over again?" Bakura asked.
Akia nodded.
"You seem really upset. Did he do something to you?" The white-haired boy inquired in concern.
"No, don't worry about it. Let's just wait for Anzu and Yugi to return."
Bakura agreed and they both sat there for a few minutes before finally seeing their friends heading out of the museum. Bakura and Akia hurriedly got up and met up with them.