Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, please don't hate! Although I had many ideas for the past few days about this story, I got writer's block last night when I was writing it -_- This first chapter is introducing Masha, so it might be a bit dull. But I PROMISE that future chapters will be way better^^

~Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did, well, you don't want to know...

-Chapter One: The Decision-

It was morning, and the sun was rising up higher with each minute.

"Damn, I don't know how you can deal with this heat, Sunny. I don't think I would survive, even if I was a fennec fox like you", said a young girl, as she stood back up from petting the little fox.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "It's bloody December, I was expecting cooler weather than this." She finally let out a sigh, and looked down at the wide eyed fennec. "Alright Sunny, are you gonna come in, or are you miss out on your best buds?" She chuckled as the fennec ran into her home.

"Oh Sunny... You missed Fang and Moon that much?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in fresh air. There was a sudden breeze, which blew her dark brown hair in front of her face. She opened her eyes. They were blue like the sky, and seemed to get even brighter as the sun lit down upon her. She was standing with crossed arms, looking out into the distance. She had a good figure, with a slightly heavy tan. Having a strong build for a female, her strength rivaled a man's. Her name was Masha. She was somewhat known among the crowd. To some, as a good name. But to others, she was bad news.

Masha walked around her house, and sat down on the worn-out fence. She looked out, taking in the sight she saw every day. Not too far were other houses in better condition, and right past them was the marketplace. She looked farther, and saw what others would describe as a beautiful and heavenly sight. The palace. The pharaoh's palace. Not that it wasn't a pure definition of beauty, but Masha didn't even want to glance in that direction. Not today, not tomorrow. Not while she was living like this.

Yeah, pharaoh... Stay in that Ra damned palace of yours, while others starve.

She spat out a curse, and walked inside her worn-down house.

As soon as Masha stepped foot into her home, she forgot all her negative thoughts. She laughed as she walked past the young fennec, who was playing with her cat, Moonlight. Her dog, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

Oh, right. She thought. He's out getting lunch.

Suddenly, she heard a soft bark behind her. She turned around, and saw her beloved dog standing over a chunk of meat he just brought in. She bent over to pick it up, and patted his head.

"Chicken today? Good boy." She smiled, as she brought it over to an old table. She picked up a well sharpened knife, and sliced the meat in half. After cutting half a chunk into three smaller pieces, she set two of them out into separate bowls.

"Here's yours Fang, good job as usual", said Masha while placing a bowl in front of her dog. He wagged his tail, and licked her hand.

"Always grateful, huh?" Masha smiled, and patted his head. "That's what I love about you, Fang. Ever since I saved you from the streets years ago, you've been loyal to me. I swear, there's no better dog than you", she said with a heartwarming and sincere smile. The dog kept on wagging his tail as he ate. He was a stray, no specific breed. He was white, with light brown splotches over his eyes, and a big one on his back. He also had that marking at the tip of his tail. Most people glared at the former stray with disrespect, but Fang was a special dog, and Masha knew it.

She stepped out farther into the room, and put out the second bowl near her cat, Moonlight.

"Here Moony, eat up before the fox gets it", she winked at the cat.

Moonlight was lovely yellow eyed female, with beautiful jet black fur. She purred against Masha's arm, which earned a loving smile from her owner. She went over to eat her fill, swiping a claw at the fennec when he tried to come close.

"Sorry Sunny, I guess it's food before friends for this cat", laughed Masha, when the big eared fox looked at her with confusion.

Masha once again stepped out of her house, holding the remaining piece of meat in her hand. She held out her other arm, and slightly bent her elbow. Hearing the sound of feathers, she braced herself for the impact. Within seconds, a golden eagle landed directly on her extended arm. He was a bird of pure beauty, that was certain. Masha exhaled with relief. Although she's had him for three years, sometimes the young eagle forgot to be careful with his claws during landing, giving Masha several scars in the process.

"Here hon, here's your treat", said Masha, as she tossed the eagle his treat. She knew that he caught his own food, hence being a bird of prey, but she liked treating him. She loved this eagle, and he was her pride. Not that she didn't treat her other animals equally, but she knew she had a connection with the fierce bird. They had a special bond, ever since she rescued him from starvation when he was just a chick.

She heard a sound to her right, and noticed the little fennec walked away, back to the desert.

"Leaving so soon hon?" She yelled out, and the fennec looked up, perking his ears. "Pitch here didn't even get to see you today", she motioned at the mighty bird on her arm.

She laughed as the fennec scurried away, knowing that the little one was still afraid of the large bird. She walked over to the back of her home, as Pitch flew off her arm, and was now flying beside her. He was loyal to her, after all, she nurtured him back to life three years ago. Masha knew that he would never leave or turn on her, their bond was stronger than a thief and his sword.

As soon as she reached the back of her house that sided with the desert, she sighed. This fenced in area was once filled with camels, horses, cows, goats, and pigs. That's how they got business. That's what kept them known. They were the family that was in charge of dealing with those animals, selling them off to townspeople and travellers. They were breeders, and they constantly had animals coming in and out. They got them from travellers across egypt, who came to the city about four times a year. They always brought in plenty of livestock, and once her family would buy them, they would put them off for higher prices. But since they were the best breeders, they had lively business. Townspeople paid them to take their animals for breeding, resulting them with satisfying livestock. But that was a long time ago...

Masha sighed again, resting her hand on the old fence. Pitch flew up, and sat on the post, looking at her with concern. Masha turned her head away, and let a tear drop. Where was business now? There hasn't been anyone for four years. Her parents left five years ago, when the travellers suddenly stopped coming to the city. Their first thought was that they got jumped by thieves, but when nobody has showed up for half a year, her family started having concerns. They knew where the livestock came from, so they set up a journey to go there. They had to figure out what was wrong, otherwise their business would be doomed. Before leaving one day, they had made Masha in charge, and explained everything to her. They trusted her, and she had a strong talent with animals, and understood everything about breeding and dealing. She was 11 at the time. Now she is 16, and they still haven't come back. She wondered if they ever will.

She wiped her tears, and remembered everything that has occurred in the past five years. Business went on for a year, but when there were no more animals, people stopped coming by. Not even to breed their own livestock. Rumors started going around town. At least there were still people that helped. Those people have been good friends of the family for a long time, and they helped out as much as they could. The people at the market gave Masha free food, others gave her money. Some others tried to get the young girl into several jobs, but there were people that just didn't want her, or have anything to do with her. But Masha was eternally grateful for everything anyone has done to help out. But all good things end with time. Eventually, people stopped paying attention, stopped caring. Two years ago, one by one, townspeople laid back, leaving Masha to care for herself. And even though she was older, people refused her jobs, and anyone she passed would look down on her with a pitiful glare.

It was then when Masha had no choice, but to jump to the last resort. She began stealing. With each successful attempt, she got better and better. She turned into a thief. Since she already had a bad name in this town, might as well be one, right? She was never caught, and no one ever tried to turn her in, yet she felt that others knew of her actions. Why they kept silent, she had no idea. She stole money, food, and anything that was needed. She knew it was wrong, but she trained her loving dog, Fang, to steal meat from the butcher. He was never caught, either. Thank Ra for that.

Her thoughts were broken with a whinny, as her favorite horse trotted up to her. She looked up, wiped her tears, and smiled a sad smile.

Not all hope is lost, right? She thought. I still have my animals. They're all I have, and I know they love me.

It was true. Her wonderful animals loved her, whether she was rich or poor. She looked at her horse, a young stallion at seven years of age. He was completely black, except for the white splotch on his forehead. He was the only one left, along with a camel named Storm. She would not sell those two to anyone who had asked, as they were her family's personal animals.

Masha extended her hand upon the stallion's forehead. "Hey, Spark", she said warmly. Although she was a sly,cunning, and deceiving thief, she was a big softie when it came to animals. They were the only things keeping her living right now.

Spark snorted, and looked at Masha with big, wondering eyes. He loved her, and worried about her, she could tell. After all, horses can feel a human's pain, a human's worry. Spark was no exception. Masha was thankful that there was plenty of grass in their area, even though they lived at the edge of the desert. Luckily, a small stream was detached from the Nile, close to her house. She didn't have to worry about the horse and camel getting enough food, at least, and she walked them to the stream every day.

~time lapse~

The sun was slowly setting on the horizon, and Masha was sitting inside with her beloved animals. As she ate her recently cooked chicken, she saw Pitch flying into the window. He landed beside her on the table, and began cleaning his feathers. Masha finished eating her only meal, and petted Fang, who was laying at her feet. Moonlight was at the foot of Masha's bed, and only perked her ears up at Pitch's entrance.

Masha suddenly spoke up. "I can't do this anymore. I just can't, knowing that our lives are on the line whether I get away with a robbery."

Fang looked up at her, and tilted his head. Moonlight hopped off the bed, and walked over to sit next to him. Pitch stopped preening, and looked at his owner.

Masha was buried in thought now. Last month, a group of passing thieves met with her at night, and made a proposition. They were robbers, but they had a good reputation. They never screwed anyone of their kind over. And Masha was their kind, they said. Although she disagreed at first.

*FLASHBACK*

"What, you don't think you're a thief?" One of them laughed.

"What? Well, I guess I am, but..." Masha replied hesitantly.

"But NOTHING!" Laughed the white haired one. "If you're a thief, you're a thief!" He smirked, putting an arm around her. "Look kid, we've got a deal for you."

Masha shook his hand off. "Oh yeah? What's this deal?" She asked skeptically.

"If you steal something for us, we will give you enough money to last you a year. And that's an understatement." He looked at her. "But if you're not up for it..."

"Wait." Masha cut him off. "I just have to steal something? And how the hell am I supposed to trust you on this?"

He laughed again. "Don't worry, we don't fuck people up."

Masha sighed. Either way, she had no option. She had to survive, right?

"Okay", she finally spoke. "What do you want?"

The white haired one spoke neutrally. "Oh, nothing much. Just some treasures of the pharaoh himself."

"WHAT?!" Masha yelled in shock. "You want me to steal from the pharaoh's palace? Are you INSANE?! Do you not know how guarded that place is? You're fucking crazy, do it yourself!"

He chuckled. "Why, of course I know how risky it is. But sorry kid, my men and I can't do this. We've got places to be, towns to rob, deals to make. We don't have time for this. In fact, we only stopped here on short notice, hoping to find a thief good enough to sneak into that damned place."

Masha rolled her eyes. "And what makes you think I'm good enough?"

"I just know it", he replied with a smile. "You're tough, cunning, and look hard to fool. I'm sure you're up for this. And I promise to keep my part of the deal. Don't worry, I won't screw you over."

Masha looked away. "And if I fail?" She finally spoke.

"You don't have to do it, you know. We could always find someone else for the job, right boys?" He looked at his men, and they nodded in agreement. He turned back to her. "But if you prefer living like you do now, then go right ahead. Forget this meeting." He started walking away.

Masha gasped. "Wait!"

He turned around, a smile on his lips. "Yes?"

"I'll do it. I can't promise, but I'll try..." Masha said, not sure whether she was regretting her decision to speak up.

She saw his eyes gleam from under his white hair.

"Alright, try your best kid. Try not to fuck up.", he winked at her, while holding in a chuckle.

Masha glared at him. "Yeah, thanks for the motivational speech, bastard."

He just laughed in response.

"When will you come back again?" She asked.

He thought for a second, then responded. "In about two months, at the least. So don't worry, you've got plenty of time."

She smirked. "Well, I guess we have a deal then." As she turned around to walk back, she felt a hand on her wrist. She turned back, to see him again.

He looked deeply into her eyes. "And just in case you're wondering, my name is Bakura." He let go of her wrist, and crossed his arms.

Masha just nodded. "Masha. And I wasn't wondering. But thanks."

Now it was Bakura's turn to roll his eyes. "You're fucking welcome." He chuckled, as he got up on his horse. His men did the same. "See you around, thief. And good luck."

Masha just looked at him amusingly. "Same goes for you", she replied with a grin forming upon her lips.

And with that, he disappeared into the night, just as mysteriously as he arrived.

*END FLASHBACK*

Moonlight jumped onto her lap, bringing her back to reality.

Am I really going to consider his offer? She thought hesitantly, knowing that if she gets through with this robbery, she will be paid more than she could ever earn at any job in town.

"I'm doing it", she said with forced confidence.

But soon, that confidence became real, as she planned out how this robbery will go about.

~time lapse~

Masha leaned on the fence that held Spark. She has gone over this plan in her head way too many times. Has she not been a successful thief for two years? Sure she has, but this was going to be different. She knew she would have to use different methods than usual. After all, palace guards circled around the damn place. Especially near the treasures.

Great.

The sun has set an hour ago. Masha knew that if she went through with her attack in the night, guards would be expecting her little visit. But if she did it in the morning, nobody would expect it. Thieves strike at night, not early morning. So it's possible that there would be less guards than in the night. Perfect.

So, with that, Masha went to bed early, ready to get up before sunrise to accomplish her sinful job. She was slightly nervous, but she was prepared. After all, this was going to be a whole new challenge, in a whole new field...

I hope you guys liked it^^ If you didn't, well, as I said, it would be a bit dull at first... So stay with me here!

~MashaFreeSpirit