Chibi Ryou: So many people love me!!!  Aww….I love my fans!!  Don't worry!  Bakurasgirl will let nothing bad happen to me!

Bakura: She did make Anzu kidnap you.

Chibi Ryou: I can't stay mad at her. 

Chibi Yugi: Bakurasgirl doesn't own us at all.  If she did, we'd be in deep trouble.

//…..//- Bakura's thoughts

ALL CAPS IS SCREAMING!

[Author's comments]

Little Boy Found

                Bakura's heart sped like a race horse as she called for Ryou.  He was not just with a normal person, he was with Anzu.  That made things much worse!  For the first time since Ryou was changed into a chibi, Bakura wanted to hear Ryou's cry.  "Hikari!!"  When silence answered, his lip trembled and his knees quaked.  Ryou was gone.  "Ryou!  Please answer me," he whispered to himself.

Yami, Yugi, and Joey searched the store.  They even checked at the "cute" departments Anzu would go since Anzu kept trying to make Ryou into a girl.

  They found Bakura in the doll area on his knees holding his hair in his fists tugging it in frustration.  "I can't find Ryou!  It's all my fault!  If Ryou gets hurt, I couldn't forgive myself!"

"So you do care about him, right?" Yugi suggested.

"I don't want to be destroyed!  It's not that I care!"  //Don't you?//  There was that annoying little voice in the back of his head.    "That is why we must find him!" 

They alerted the store detectives who found neither the "idiot", as Bakura called her, nor the baby.  They did see the surveillance tape of Anzu leaving the store clutching Ryou so tightly, he couldn't even let out a scream, his arms flailing wildly, legs kicking.

"She left with him?" Joey exclaimed.  The group looked at Bakura, his veins throbbing with suppressed fury. "Let's pay for this junk and get out of here," he growled  almost at a whisper.  After paying for three pairs of pants and twelve bottles of baby food (I guess it would be called "chibi-chow!"), they left the store.

Bakura looked around frantically at the crowds.

"She couldn't have gone far, tomb rob-," Yami started before Bakura cut him off short and stepped face to face with the pharaoh.   

"My name is Bakura!!  Not tomb robber!  Not thief!  Not soul-stealer!  Not miscreant!  Not slave!  Bakura!  BAAAAKUUUURAAAAA!!!!!"

The group stood shocked.  Bakura finally lost it.  At least he didn't banish the entire security staff of the store to the shadow realm.  That would have probably been a bad thing toward his step to recovery.

"My Hikari is somewhere with that crazy woman!  He's probably scared out of his mind!  Every minute we fight, we are wasting time finding that little [insert naughty word here]!"  Bakura backed away from Yami still completely stunned at the naughty word used by Bakura.  As furious as he was at Bakura for talking to him like he did, Bakura had every right.  "Right.  Joey, you take the ice cream shop.  Yami, you go to the 

doll shop."

"I DON'T PLAY WITH DOLLS!"

"I never said you did.  Yugi, come with me to the park."

"Why?"

"Because I have to make sure I don't kill Anzu despite the fact all of us and the readers want it so badly.  We'll meet here in an hour.  Check everywhere, but start in your assigned places."

"Why do I have to check the doll shop?"

"I thought you liked dolls, Yami," Joey giggled again.

"Joey Wheeler, I'm going to-."

"Stop it!  Because we have to check all the sickeningly sweet places she would go."  The group split up.  Bakura ran quickly.  "If Ryou gets hurt, I don't know what I'd do."

"Why can't you admit that?  Ryou will return to you and this mess will all be over." 

"I can't Yugi," Bakura stopped.  "When I beat up Ryou, it was because he was weak.  If I said I care, I'm no better than him."

"That won't make you seem weak, Bakura."

"I won't do it.  I can't admit that.  He is all I hate in my life.  He is what I could have been.  Not weak, but….normal.  A life of solitude and abuse left me what I am today.  I could have had friends, a family.  But my village was burned down by the Egyptian army."  Bakura covered his face.  "They killed my friends.  They slaughtered my family.  I had nothing left but myself to depend on.  But Ryou has you, Yami, and Joey.  I never had that and I was too afraid to give myself a chance at friendship.  I can't admit my weaknesses, so I try to beat them out of others….Ryou.  That is why I have to find him and why it isn't easy for me to admit that I am wrong."  Bakura sped away again.

"Maybe Yami is being too hard on him," Yugi thought.

Bakura and Yugi arrived at the park.  The crowds in the park added to Bakura's sense of panic.  He saw other babies there, but not one with white hair.

"OHHHH!!!!  LOOKIE!!! A SQUIRREL!!!!!  COME HERE, MISTER SQUIRREL!!!"

"RYOU!!!!" Bakura bolted in the direction of the shrieking voice belonging to the demon (sorry, that's an insult to demons).  Ryou was lying on the ground under the shade whimpering.  When he saw Bakura he reached up to him.  Bakura took the chibi in his arms and hugged him.  The baby wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and cried.  Anzu returned being pushed by Yugi.  Bakura could feel Ryou's hot head buried against his neck as the girl was drawn closer to Bakura.

"Bakura!!! You found Ryou!!"  Anzu smiled blankly as if her little brain had stopped working, not that it was even functional in the first place.  Bakura rocked Ryou to calm him from being in the clutches of the devil-woman.  "Shhh…quiet down, Ryou."

"Why did you take him away from us at the store, Anzu?"  Yugi asked her angrily.

"We had a tea party with the squirrels."

"You did what?"

"He could have gotten rabies, you dolt!"  Bakura almost screamed at her, but he tried to quell his temper with the baby in his arms.

"Rabies?  That sounds friendly!"

"Bakura took Ryou to a picnic table nearby and checked Ryou over.  On his leg was a tiny scratch.  He spun around to her.  "If he gets rabies, Anzu, I swear to Ra that I will personally hurt you!"

"Squirrels are cute!  Just like….[NO, DON'T SAY IT!!!!] friendship!  YEAH FRIENDSHIP!!!"  

[Readers and Author:  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

"You like rodents, huh?  Yugi, watch Ryou for a second, will ya?"

Bakura grabbed Anzu by her skirt and walked her to the street where men were working.  "Down the manhole with you!"

"Manhole????  Friendship is like a manhole! It's deep and neverending!"

[Readers and Author:  DO IT!!!  DO IT, BAKURA!!!!!]

"Look out below!!!" 

[Readers and Author: Yeah!!!!!!!]

A moment later from the manhole came the annoying voice again, "Friendship is like rats!!  Cute and Cuddly, and-."  Bakura covered the hole.  Bakura returned to Yugi holding Ryou.  Bakura took off his jacket to wrap up the trembling baby.  They rejoined Yami and Joey in front of the doll shop.  As they walked home, Bakura whispered to Ryou.  "We'll get you better, Ryou.  I got us into this mess.  Then this whole mess will be over."

Yami: Are you going to stop telling people that I play with dolls?

Bakurasgirl: Um…..No.

Ryou: I think Bakura's developing a soft spot for me.

Bakura: Only because Bakurasgirl is making me.

Yami: Maybe Bakura plays with dolls!

Bakura: If you want to keep what little shred of masculinity you have left, you won't go there.

Yami:……

Bakura:  Thought so.

Next Chappie:  Lunch time for Chibi Ryou! 

Readers: I have to do Ryou's lunch and his subsequent bath and the doctor's office and Bakura tucking Ryou to bed.  If you want more than this, let me know.  I can do more or limit my options here.  I can do as much or as little as you guys see fit.  It's up to you, but I want to do at least one day's worth of Ryou being a chibi.  I love your reviews and I want to thank all of you who put me on their favorite stories list.  I can't believe I got such great praise from such great readers!!!