I woke up in my bed the next morning, not remembering even getting there. Bakura was kind when we were at the cafe, I remembered that much. We talked about the Items and he told me the powers of each one. He told me who he really was. It turns out he's an ancient spirit that was trapped inside the Millennium Ring thousands of years ago. He told me to still call him Bakura, because that would be easier on me than to remember his real name, which he didn't bother to tell me. I didn't really care either way. We were going to find the Items, and we were going to succeed. He promised me that.

I stood by my window and looked outside. It was a rainy Saturday, and that meant staying home and doing absolutely nothing. I glanced over at my nightstand to grab my deck, but I noticed a small box beside it. On top of it was a note.

Aria,

I remembered that in order to duel for a Millennium Item, it might help to have one of your own. Just don't go shoving it in your face. We don't need you losing those pretty green eyes of yours, now do we?

Bakura

I opened the box, and sure enough, there it was: the Millennium Eye. I immediately placed it in my purse, careful to keep it away from my face. I didn't want the powers of the Millennium Eye, anyway. Just the thought of reading peoples' minds scared me. I've had some weird thoughts before, and I'm the most normal person at school, besides the whole dueling thing. I didn't even want to imagine what might be going through Ally's head sometimes.

Then another thought came to mind. How did that box even get there? Had Bakura somehow followed me home and placed it there? Or did he already know where I lived and broke in only to give me the Eye. Oh well, it didn't really matter. It had happened, and dwelling on it would only scare me more about what I had agreed to do. I'd agreed to rule the world by Bakura's side. I smirked to myself. That would be fun.

I walked downstairs and grabbed some breakfast. I was the only one home, so I just made some toast, grabbed an umbrella, and headed out. I had thought I would just stay home and do nothing, but I instead decided to go for a walk. The sound of rain pattering against my black umbrella helped to calm my mind whenever I got too worked up about something. Plus, Ally was probably going to blow up if I didn't tell her about going out with Bakura. So I decided to head over to her house, making up a huge lie along the way. It's not like I could just walk up to her and tell her I was going to conquer the world by Bakura's side. Pretty sure she would freak out or not understand what on Earth I was talking about.

When I got to her house and knocked on the door, her mother answered. "Sorry, Aria. Ally headed out for that Game Shop owned by the Mutou's just a little bit ago. She should still be there."

I nodded and thanked her, then left. Why of all places did she have to go to the Game Shop? I didn't want to run into Yugi. Especially if he's able to sense other Items like Bakura is. But I didn't know for sure, and decided to take the risk.

I walked into the Game Shop, happy to be out of the pouring rain. I hadn't even bothered to grab a jacket. Smart move, Aria. Real smart.

Ally glanced over at me and squealed. She ran over and hugged me, and I just stood there, shivering.

"Gosh, Aria, you're freezing! Why did you come here without a jacket?"

"I thought I was just going over to your house, but then when your mom told me you were here, I just decided to come see why."

"Oh, I told Yugi yesterday that I was interested in Duel Monsters, and he promised that if I came over today, he'd help me get a deck just for me! I want all of the cutest cards, like these!" Ally held up a Kuriboh and a Watapon.

I slowly lowered her hand. "Okay, well, I won't distract you."

"Oh, you're not distracting me. Mr. Mutou said that Yugi isn't awake yet. So you can tell me all about your date last night!"

"It wasn't a date, exactly. We just got hot chocolate and talked for a little bit."

"What did you talk about?"

"Just school and stuff. He actually offered to tutor me if I ever need help with anything, and I told him I would take him up on it. We'll be studying together for a while."

"Aww!! The romance that blossoms during study time. It's so cute!!!"

I was going to say something, but was thankfully interrupted by the sound of the back door of the shop. Yugi walked out, his hair as crazy as ever, and he was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, with his Millennium Puzzle on a chain around his neck.

"Oh, Aria. You're here too?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

"Apparently," I mumbled.

"Did you need something?"

"Nope. Just wanted to help my friend pick out some cards that would be good for her." I then took the Watapon out of her hand and placed it back on the shelf. I instead handed her an Injection Fairy Lily.

"Ooooo," she cooed happily.

I sighed, then turned to leave. "Yugi, make sure she gets the strongest deck you can make her. And fill it with cute monsters or she'll kill you." And with that, I left, walking back into the pouring rain.

I opened my umbrella and turned to head home when I noticed Bakura across the street, watching me. I walked over to him.

"Did you get the Item?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I got it. And I don't plan on using it."

"Good. Try not to lose it, either. It would be a pain if we had to track it down again."

"So are you saying you don't trust me with it? I can duel just as well as anyone else!"

"That one guy at school beat you."

"That was only because he cheated. He summoned more than one monster and attacked me with both of them. I would've won on my next turn if he hadn't done that!"

"So are you saying you could beat me?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying I could beat that bully if I had another shot at it."

"Well, unfortunately, you don't, but I want you to prove your skills to me before we go any further on this little quest of ours. You don't have to beat me, but I would like for you to try."

"Here?"

"Of course not. I know of a place."

Bakura took my hand and led me to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Inside, there was a giant dueling arena. I stood in the doorway, staring at it. I'd only ever dueled using cards on a table. How was I supposed to use it?

Bakura stared at me, seeming annoyed. "So? Are you going to go up there or not?"

I nodded, then climbed up to the red side of the arena. I placed my deck where I normally would, and I heard beeping. I looked up at a screen and saw my Life Points. They were set to 4000. "That's new. I thought Life Points were 2000."

"Kaiba Corp. changed the whole thing. Apparently people were complaining about losing within a couple of moves, so they took the liberty of changing the rules in Pegasus's absence."

"So how did you know this was here?"

Bakura shrugged, hands in his pockets as he got onto the blue side of the arena. "I believe it was built here in case someone needed it, but no one really knows about it."

"Oh, well. You can't please everyone," I said, getting ready to duel.

Bakura set down his deck, and his Life Points set to 4000. "Ready to begin?"

"I was born ready," I answered, drawing my first hand. "I'll go first." I drew my first card, and the duel began.