Post by mugenginga on Dec 7, 2009 0:23:25 GMT -5
Full Name: Ryou Bakura
Full Name: Thief King Anpu
Birth Name (Anpu): Masud
Nicknames (Anpu): Dark Bakura (literally: Yami no Bakura)
Age (Bakura): 17
Age (Anpu): 25 (technically around 3,000, but has only been aware for ~25 years)
Height (Both): 176 cm/~5'7" (Anpu seems several inches taller for how he carries himself)
Weight (Both): 52 kg/~115 lbs (Anpu carries it more gracefully)
Gender (Both): Male
Race (Bakura): Human
Race (Anpu): Human Spirit
Alliance (Bakura): Neutral
Alliance (Anpu): Evil
Home (Bakura): Domino City, Japan
Home (Anpu): Kul Elna, Ancient Egpyt
Franchse (Both): Yu-Gi-Oh! (although Anpu is in some limbo between canon and OC)
Physical Description (Bakura)
Ryou Bakura, commonly known as simply Bakura, is a tall Japanese teenager. He's rather on the lanky side of things. His mannerisms make him seem shorter than he actually is. He has very emotional brown eyes. They'd be harsh if the teenager possessed a mean bone in his body, but his extremely submissive personality makes them look depressive most of the time. He's rather pale for his nationality, and its clear he doesn't get much in the way of sun.
Bakura's hair is well described to be unruly. Its white and gathered in partially organized clumps. A thick clump comes down and conceals his ears when he faces straight forward. It actually flows rather well despite the slight matted look. His bangs are evenly divded and come just past his cheekbones. A large clump comes down from the center of his bangs but falls at enough of an angle it doesn't obstruct his vision.
The teenager wears a variety of outfits. When it comes to school uniforms he wears them by the book. They are buttoned up the front and the shoes are the ones that go with the uniform. When he comes to the Island, however, he has on casual wear. It consists of a striped t-shirt with thick stripes alternating from top to botom in dark blue and light blue. He has dark grey pants and light blue tennis shoes with white soles. Over the entire outfit he has a black trenchcoat with an exaggerated collar.
Physical Description (Anpu)
It should be pointed out immediately that Anpu and Bakura share a body. As such there is little in the way of true appearance differences. However, the night and day difference of how the two carry themselves causes perceptual differences. Only one difference falls outside the realm of perception.
Anpu's confidence (read as arrogance) causes him to come across as taller. He carries himself far differently as well, and you can easily see he is lighter on his feet. He seems constantly ready to spring. His eyes are more narrow and his gaze his harsher. Rather than a meek grin or a depressive frown, Anpu is almost always grinning. The fact that Bakura's face is so capable of appearing psychotic is more than a bit unsettling to most.
His arrogance makes his apperance come across as more wild than Bakura's. It creates the illusion of his hair being more unruly, particularly in the region of the bangs. Where as Bakura appears to have slightly mattered hair, Anpu's personality makes it come across as more of a lion's mane. He moves in his clothes with far more grace/ease.
The only true difference in appearance - one that it is not guaranteed for Bakura to not have - is the oversized pendant hanging from around Anpu's neck. It is an Ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millenium Ring. It is a fairly complicated pendant made of solid gold. The main piece is a gold circle with a large pyramid affixed to its center. An Egyptian-like eye rests in the center of it and the border of said eye extends to either side and down from the eye iself. The top of the circle has another circle, and Anpu wears it via a sturdy rope tied through it. Hanging from small rings at five evenly space points from the ring's middle are wind-chime like pieces. They are sharply pointed and more than capable of cutting into flesh. There is a reason why Anpu is the only one guaranteed to have the Ring (see Weapons).
Weapons (Bakura)
Technically, Bakura doesn't have any weapons. He wouldn't know how to use them if he did. But outside the realms of technical, he is in possession of a deck of Duel Monsters cards and the Millenium Ring is present with him. In fact, it won't be long before he realizes he has it. However, the Ring shows the ability to conceal itself within Bakura. And on the odd chance its out, it has... methods of not being removed. (See Anpu's Weapons and Abilities/Powers).
Bakura could use the Duel Monsters deck as weapons in the same manner Yuugi and Atem are capable of on the Island. It requires drawing on his Ba. However, Bakura is rather the puppy and will only fight if he is forced to.
Weapons (Anpu)
Anpu possesses the Millenium Ring (described in Physical Description) and has access to Bakura's Duel Monsters deck. However, unlike the spirit that formerly inhabited the Ring, Anpu does not have full mastery over its powers. There's a bit of a learning curve involved with it that Anpu will have to overcome if he fully wants to utilize it.
The Duel Monsters cards, however, are similar enough to his Ka from Ancient Egypt (see history) that he is quickly able to fall into using it. He has access to Bakura's skill in the game and as such is good at it in both the Ka summoning and card game sense - not that he'd waste time on the latter.
Abilities/Powers (Bakura)
Bakura doesn't have anything within the realm of "powers". He's a normal kid in that regard. Anpu more than makes up for it. In theory, he could access the abilities of the Millenium Ring as it is linked to his soul and it recognizes him as a worthy user. But the potential to use it and the ability to are two drastically different things.
Summoning Duel Monsters via the Ka could be considered as such. However, he isn't fond of doing so and really doesn't have much of a chance thanks to Anpu's influence.
Abilities/Powers (Anpu).
The Ring is not as powerful as it once was, and as such only has a few of its former powers, as detailed here. However, Anpu has never used the Ring under his own power (the times he used it in the past were via Zorc's influence) and as such has to get used to its abilities. The following abilities can be rather hit and miss, they aren't guaranteed to work.
Anpu can express his thoughts and will via the Ring. He can force Bakura to keep it on by causing the chimes to drive themselves into Bakura's skin. This is assuming his ability to supress the ring inside of Bakura's body fails - it often does early on. The ring is as much spirit as physical, and can be hidden within Anpu's soul - as such if Anpu is not active, the Ring is not guaranteed to be physically present. If it is concealed in such a fashion, Anpu can't be sensed as anything more than an odd dark distortion in Bakura's aura. Even then its only to the most powerful of aura readers.
Anpu can use it to track darkness and any other Millenium Items in the general area. The general area can cover a resort sized island, and is pretty much usable over all of Dimension Island. However, Anpu has to focus the power unless he is practically on top of one of the Millenium Items. He can also supress the power so it doesn't cause people to freak. The tracking ability manifests as a surge of energy around the Ring itself and a moving of the chimes. Its a counterpoint to the Millenium Puzzle/Pendant in a way. While the Pendant can track those the user is bonded with, the Ring tracks darkness.
Skills (Bakura)
Bakura is highly skilled in a lot of games. He's best at tabletop RPGs and of championship level with Duel Monsters. However, the events over the past two years or so has dropped his interest in those kind sof things to an all time low. Despite having the skills, its to the point Bakura all but fears games.
Aside from that, Bakura doesn't really have much that makes him stand out. He's not strong or fast, he's not anything but roughly average in terms of intellect, and he's downright terrible in social situations for his meekness. It can all be traced to the events over the past two years (see History) and is almost tragic.
Skills (Anpu)
Anpu's greatest skill is more of a combination of skills than any single skill. They are skills he honed during the last ~18 years of his non-spirit life. With all his memories, they carry over. He was not known as the "King of Thieves" in Ancient Egypt for nothing. Anpu is, first and foremost, a thief.
He has all the skills a kingdom wide infamous thief "King" would be expected to have. He is agile, cunning, manipulative. He can bend the truth like a champion and lie just as well. He doesn't have to resort to "accidentally" bumping a person to pick their pocket. Its a miracle if they even see him as he is stealing from them. This is the man that raided an Pharaoh's tomb less than a year after his death and the theft was not discovered until he delivered the sarcophogas into the throne room of the current Pharaoh.
And his dexterity does not come at the cost of his strength, although it will take him some time to get his "host" back up to his former level of fitness. He is a dangerously accurate example of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and his speed allows him to cut up an opponent before they can even draw their weapon.
He is skilled with all sorts of weapons, but he favors daggers for their ability to be concealed and light weight. He can use swords, bows, staffs, etc. He also doesn't need a weapon to be lethal. He is well aware of pressure points and is more than capable of bringing opposition to his knees without breaking a sweat. These abilities will be slightly hindered at first. Bakura is shorter than he was and there is a bit of readjusting he has to do with "his" current body.
He is well versed in the occult as well. He can read tarot and knows various rituals for summoning demons thanks to research shortly after the massacre of his village (see his History). He is good at training animals such as horses and dogs. He is also excellent at riding horses. He's phenomenal and intimidation, as well.
Anpu can speak Ancient Egyptian, and it is in fact his native language. He can not, however, speak modern Egyptian. Despite being a commoner he can read and write in his native language, a skill he picked up to support his thieving.
Anpu's other big skill is he can flawlessly mimic his "host's" mannerisms. See their differing personalities for how that means. Basically, even if Anpu is active it can be impossible to tell it isn't Bakura unless you corner him about certain specific memories.
Personality (Bakura)
Bakura is extremely polite. It's to the point he sound stuffy, even in Japan. He only speaks using formal Japanese. His voice is quiet and his mannerisms are withdrawn. He always uses honorifics. Even those he despises will get a polite "-san" attached to his name.
He is not a well adjusted teen, but his background makes it obvious why. He will always take the submissive and passive route. He'll give ground to the point of surrendering in a fight. He tends to avoid eye contact and will apologize if he's chewed out for apologizing.
Despite this surface, there actually is potential for strength with the teen. Despite being painfully shy, he brightens around those that manage to befriend him. The teenager is painfully self sacrificing and the thought of not jumping in front of a bullet to save a friend isn't one that he seems capable of having. He hates seeing others in pain but often has feelings of helplessness.
Personality (Anpu)
If Bakura is the white, Anpu is the black. Anpu is quite possibly the most arrogant SoB you will ever meet. The Japanese language well allows this to express. He doesn't use ore for himself, he uses ore-sama. This is roughly equivalent to his self pronoun being "my lord self" as opposed to an informal version of "I". Not only that, but he calls most people as kisama (an informal version of "you" that is regarded as arrogant/rude). He takes the arrogance one step further in those that become his opponents, using temee (an extremely rude version of "you" - similar to if an American called everyone they met as "bastard").
It is a rare person that can earn any kind of respect from Anpu. That "respect" is in fact a hollow one. He will begrudgingly accept in certain situations that he needs help. It is in fact a form of manipulation. He is the type that would kill his ally once they outlived their usefulness. Anpu uses people up and than kicks them to the curb.
Anpu is dark and twisted. However, his ego is the size of the entire country of Japan and it can be used against him. He is not unknown for dropping his guard if he is convinced his plan will work. He can be misled if you let him think he's winning. He's also got an extremely short fuse. He flies off the handle rather quickly and if you can stand up to the ensuing rage mode you're likely to overcome him for the day.
Anpu is also a bit of a coward. If things start to go south he won't hesitate to flee. He'll make sure to give some choice parting words, though. Its part of what makes him such a good theif. He has no illusions about sticking around. And don't expect him to watch out for you merely because you are an ally. He'll gladly dump an entire army of followers to save himself.
History (Bakura)
Ryou Bakura was always on the shy side. But he was warmhearted and managed to make friends. He was well on the road to becoming a well adjusted adult and was a well adjusted fourteen year old. He was considered a bit of an otaku by his friends but ran some of the best tabletop RPG campaigns this side of Gary Gygax. He was accepted, he fit it.
Until his father brought home a souvenir from Egypt. It was an oversized gold pendant. His father had gotten it because he knew the connection of games to Ancient Egypt. Bakura loved the gift. His father had already tied a string to it and he immediately put it on. There was nothing truly abnormal... until a teenage boy in another part of Japan solved the item known as the Millenium Puzzle.
Ryou Bakura had no knowledge of the teenager named Yuugi Mutou. He only knew that he blacked out one night. He woke up in the street with no idea how he had gotten there. He stumbled back home and the next day he learned of of his few friends had gone into a coma. Said friend was a common player of Bakura's favorite RPG, known as "Monster World". Over the next week or so, Bakura's friends all fell to the mysterious illness. Rumors spread as they do and Bakura was blamed - after all, those that were going into comas were all known for playing with Bakura.
Within two weeks it got bad enough that Bakura had to transfer, but the strange occurances happenedb in his new schools too. At one point even Bakura began to notice the increase in his Monster World miniature collection. It frightened him, as even he could see the potential connection between his black outs, the comas, and the miniatures. Over the next ~year, he was bounced around enough schools to get whiplash. It got to the point that he spoke to no one and tried to get people to not befriend him. And yet there was always teasing, and the bullies always ended up going into comas. Bakura lost track of how much time he lost in his black outs.
He didn't worry about the Millenium Ring as his father had said it was called until he met Yuugi Mutou in Domino City. He had transferred yet again, but there was still paperwork to get in order before he attended school. Bakura saw the pendant Yuugi had, and worries began to pile up. The odd inverted pyramid was known as the Millenium Puzzle - it would raise flags for anyone.
Bakura was drawn towards the Death-T tournament ran by the chairman of Kaiba Corporation, a teenager roughly his age named Seto Kaiba. Drawn in the sense that he swore someone was beckoning him. Shortly after Death-T he found Yuugi trying to befriend him. It was both nice and terrifying that someone was getting close to him. His black outs had begun to get worse after meeting Yuugi.
After being informed he had to cut his hair to fit with the school rules, the reason for the blackouts was revealed. A voice in the Ring spoke to him. Bakura realized he had to stop this spirit, and tore open his shirt to take off the ring... only to find the spikes driven into his skin. The dark spirit that would become known as "Dark Bakura" eventually lured Yuugi and his friends into a Dark Game revolving around Bakura's favored Monster World RPG. Yuugi and the entity known as "Dark Yuugi" worked together with their friends to save him. He sacrificed his life but the powers of Dark Yuugi restored it.
The Ring was kept with him, as the evil inside it had been defeated... or so they thought. Over the next year or so, Dark Bakura expressed near full control over Bakura. Really, Bakura only remembers a handful of weeks over this time. Flashes of being injured but not knowing how during Kaiba's Battle City. Flashes of a duel with Yuugi he didn't remember starting. On the Battle Ship half starved to death. Being drawn to a church by a voice. And finally waking up on the stairs in a place he had no idea of, asking Yuugi and his friends where he was out, and struggling to remember what had recently happened.
He passed out in the arms of Yuugi's friends Jounouchi and Honda before they could tell him he was in Egypt. The next memory he had was waking up in an alley way without the slightest clue of how he got there. The Ring was not with him, but once again he was in a place he didn't know. Not only that, but he was battered as if he'd had a bookshelf fall on top of him or something. He began to try and figure out where he was, and quickly found a police station. Hopefully he'd be able to get help there... he had no idea of the portal that had opened when he was unconscious, or that he wasn't even in his own world anymore.
History (Anpu}x
Anpu was born ~3,000 years ago in a distant Ancient Egyptian village known as Kul Elna. It was a time before surnames were prevalent, and so the name his parents gave him was merely "Masud". It was a name chosen based on meaning: Lucky.
Masud's childhood was not easy, but it was not hard either. Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's reach extended to Kul Elna as a matter of discourse rather than true authority. Little attention was paid to the isolated settlement. Masud had friends and was fairly well adjusted. Even the war that was threatening to tear Egypt apart didn't reach Kul Elna.
Until High Priest Akhenaden managed to convince the Pharaoh that the war called for desperate measures. The Pharaoh understood sacrifices would be needed, but had no idea the magnitude as he granted the High Priest permission to create the artifacts that would come to be known as the Millenium Items. Using his power, Akhenaden brainwashed an entire squad of Egyptian soldiers and descended upon Kul Elna. Masud somehow managed to escape, but not before seeing his entire village slaughtered mercilessly before his eyes... followed by all the soldiers that had done the killing. All because Akhenaden claimed Kul Elna was a hotbed for thieves. The priest could only act with permission from the Pharaoh - it meant the Pharaoh saw Masud's home as beyond redemption.
The flesh and bones of those killed were melted into gold. The gold was used to make the items, and all within Kul Elna. Masud only learned the specifics of this later, as he had fled the first chance he got. His life was hell after that, and his mind had developed a single goal. He would deliver the hatred of Kul Elna upon the Pharaoh. He rose in fame as the Thief King. And only the Thief King, no one ever managed to learn his name. Either of them, as after surviving the massacre Masud took on the name of the Egyptian god who judged the dead. He would be Anpu (Anpu is the proper name of Anubis) and would sentence the Pharaoh for his cruelty.
Anpu managed to learn various details of the massacre. As the son of the Pharaoh and the destined heir grew, so did Anpu's rage. When he was a teenager he got some information that returned him to Kul Elna. There he learned to summon a Ka, a glorified demon known as Diabound. He would end up contacting a demon known as Zorc, who in truth had originally been "summoned" by Akhenaden. Anpu basically sold his soul to the demon in order to get his revenge upon the Pharaoh. After Akhenamkhanen's death, Anpu had no problem transferring his hate to the new Pharaoh, Atem.
Anpu ended up dying for his cause, and at the hands of the demon who basically owned him no less. His story should have ended there. The spirit within the Millenium Ring possessed Anpu's reincarnation as Zorc still had pieces of Anpu's spirit within him. It was easier to control one it had controlled in the past. When "the other Yuugi" regained his memories, he destroyed Zorc and the Ring was rid of evil. It should have been the end of it.
Except some unknown force drew Yuugi and Atem to another world. Where Atem truly gained another shot at life. The time flux between dimensions deposited Bakura on the Island and scattered the Millenium Items. The act of stepping outside of fate has created a ripple. Bakura doesn't know it, but the Ring is within him again. And with the Pharaoh gaining another chance to live, so to has the incarnation of the Ring that Atem did not destroy with the help of his friends. And Atem isn't the only one with his memories...
Other
FANON ALERT! FANON ALERT!
Anpu is not[/b] Dark Bakura from canon! He is the Thief King from ~3,000 years ago. I don't believe an Ancient Egyptian had a name as Japanese as Bakura, and so I've fanwanked an explanation here. While it is likely he will still be known as Dark Bakura, Anpu is not the Dark Bakura of canon. However, he is treated as canon as the Thief King is a canonical figure.
I have signed up for Bakura and (my) Dark Bakura as one for the same reason I got Yuugi and Atem in the same sign up. I've combined the original anime and Duel Monsters canon for Bakura's backstory. A lot of fanwanking has occurred.
Pictures
Google is your friend. I've decided its impossible to find good art of Bakura that isn't shippy with Dark Bakura. >___> Anpu shares a body with Bakura like canon Dark Bakura did. In terms of audience outside the 4th wall benefit Anpu looks like canon Dark Bakura.
Millenium Ring: images2.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/6/6c/MilleniumRing.jpg
Full Name: Thief King Anpu
Birth Name (Anpu): Masud
Nicknames (Anpu): Dark Bakura (literally: Yami no Bakura)
Age (Bakura): 17
Age (Anpu): 25 (technically around 3,000, but has only been aware for ~25 years)
Height (Both): 176 cm/~5'7" (Anpu seems several inches taller for how he carries himself)
Weight (Both): 52 kg/~115 lbs (Anpu carries it more gracefully)
Gender (Both): Male
Race (Bakura): Human
Race (Anpu): Human Spirit
Alliance (Bakura): Neutral
Alliance (Anpu): Evil
Home (Bakura): Domino City, Japan
Home (Anpu): Kul Elna, Ancient Egpyt
Franchse (Both): Yu-Gi-Oh! (although Anpu is in some limbo between canon and OC)
Physical Description (Bakura)
Ryou Bakura, commonly known as simply Bakura, is a tall Japanese teenager. He's rather on the lanky side of things. His mannerisms make him seem shorter than he actually is. He has very emotional brown eyes. They'd be harsh if the teenager possessed a mean bone in his body, but his extremely submissive personality makes them look depressive most of the time. He's rather pale for his nationality, and its clear he doesn't get much in the way of sun.
Bakura's hair is well described to be unruly. Its white and gathered in partially organized clumps. A thick clump comes down and conceals his ears when he faces straight forward. It actually flows rather well despite the slight matted look. His bangs are evenly divded and come just past his cheekbones. A large clump comes down from the center of his bangs but falls at enough of an angle it doesn't obstruct his vision.
The teenager wears a variety of outfits. When it comes to school uniforms he wears them by the book. They are buttoned up the front and the shoes are the ones that go with the uniform. When he comes to the Island, however, he has on casual wear. It consists of a striped t-shirt with thick stripes alternating from top to botom in dark blue and light blue. He has dark grey pants and light blue tennis shoes with white soles. Over the entire outfit he has a black trenchcoat with an exaggerated collar.
Physical Description (Anpu)
It should be pointed out immediately that Anpu and Bakura share a body. As such there is little in the way of true appearance differences. However, the night and day difference of how the two carry themselves causes perceptual differences. Only one difference falls outside the realm of perception.
Anpu's confidence (read as arrogance) causes him to come across as taller. He carries himself far differently as well, and you can easily see he is lighter on his feet. He seems constantly ready to spring. His eyes are more narrow and his gaze his harsher. Rather than a meek grin or a depressive frown, Anpu is almost always grinning. The fact that Bakura's face is so capable of appearing psychotic is more than a bit unsettling to most.
His arrogance makes his apperance come across as more wild than Bakura's. It creates the illusion of his hair being more unruly, particularly in the region of the bangs. Where as Bakura appears to have slightly mattered hair, Anpu's personality makes it come across as more of a lion's mane. He moves in his clothes with far more grace/ease.
The only true difference in appearance - one that it is not guaranteed for Bakura to not have - is the oversized pendant hanging from around Anpu's neck. It is an Ancient Egyptian artifact known as the Millenium Ring. It is a fairly complicated pendant made of solid gold. The main piece is a gold circle with a large pyramid affixed to its center. An Egyptian-like eye rests in the center of it and the border of said eye extends to either side and down from the eye iself. The top of the circle has another circle, and Anpu wears it via a sturdy rope tied through it. Hanging from small rings at five evenly space points from the ring's middle are wind-chime like pieces. They are sharply pointed and more than capable of cutting into flesh. There is a reason why Anpu is the only one guaranteed to have the Ring (see Weapons).
Weapons (Bakura)
Technically, Bakura doesn't have any weapons. He wouldn't know how to use them if he did. But outside the realms of technical, he is in possession of a deck of Duel Monsters cards and the Millenium Ring is present with him. In fact, it won't be long before he realizes he has it. However, the Ring shows the ability to conceal itself within Bakura. And on the odd chance its out, it has... methods of not being removed. (See Anpu's Weapons and Abilities/Powers).
Bakura could use the Duel Monsters deck as weapons in the same manner Yuugi and Atem are capable of on the Island. It requires drawing on his Ba. However, Bakura is rather the puppy and will only fight if he is forced to.
Weapons (Anpu)
Anpu possesses the Millenium Ring (described in Physical Description) and has access to Bakura's Duel Monsters deck. However, unlike the spirit that formerly inhabited the Ring, Anpu does not have full mastery over its powers. There's a bit of a learning curve involved with it that Anpu will have to overcome if he fully wants to utilize it.
The Duel Monsters cards, however, are similar enough to his Ka from Ancient Egypt (see history) that he is quickly able to fall into using it. He has access to Bakura's skill in the game and as such is good at it in both the Ka summoning and card game sense - not that he'd waste time on the latter.
Abilities/Powers (Bakura)
Bakura doesn't have anything within the realm of "powers". He's a normal kid in that regard. Anpu more than makes up for it. In theory, he could access the abilities of the Millenium Ring as it is linked to his soul and it recognizes him as a worthy user. But the potential to use it and the ability to are two drastically different things.
Summoning Duel Monsters via the Ka could be considered as such. However, he isn't fond of doing so and really doesn't have much of a chance thanks to Anpu's influence.
Abilities/Powers (Anpu).
The Ring is not as powerful as it once was, and as such only has a few of its former powers, as detailed here. However, Anpu has never used the Ring under his own power (the times he used it in the past were via Zorc's influence) and as such has to get used to its abilities. The following abilities can be rather hit and miss, they aren't guaranteed to work.
Anpu can express his thoughts and will via the Ring. He can force Bakura to keep it on by causing the chimes to drive themselves into Bakura's skin. This is assuming his ability to supress the ring inside of Bakura's body fails - it often does early on. The ring is as much spirit as physical, and can be hidden within Anpu's soul - as such if Anpu is not active, the Ring is not guaranteed to be physically present. If it is concealed in such a fashion, Anpu can't be sensed as anything more than an odd dark distortion in Bakura's aura. Even then its only to the most powerful of aura readers.
Anpu can use it to track darkness and any other Millenium Items in the general area. The general area can cover a resort sized island, and is pretty much usable over all of Dimension Island. However, Anpu has to focus the power unless he is practically on top of one of the Millenium Items. He can also supress the power so it doesn't cause people to freak. The tracking ability manifests as a surge of energy around the Ring itself and a moving of the chimes. Its a counterpoint to the Millenium Puzzle/Pendant in a way. While the Pendant can track those the user is bonded with, the Ring tracks darkness.
Skills (Bakura)
Bakura is highly skilled in a lot of games. He's best at tabletop RPGs and of championship level with Duel Monsters. However, the events over the past two years or so has dropped his interest in those kind sof things to an all time low. Despite having the skills, its to the point Bakura all but fears games.
Aside from that, Bakura doesn't really have much that makes him stand out. He's not strong or fast, he's not anything but roughly average in terms of intellect, and he's downright terrible in social situations for his meekness. It can all be traced to the events over the past two years (see History) and is almost tragic.
Skills (Anpu)
Anpu's greatest skill is more of a combination of skills than any single skill. They are skills he honed during the last ~18 years of his non-spirit life. With all his memories, they carry over. He was not known as the "King of Thieves" in Ancient Egypt for nothing. Anpu is, first and foremost, a thief.
He has all the skills a kingdom wide infamous thief "King" would be expected to have. He is agile, cunning, manipulative. He can bend the truth like a champion and lie just as well. He doesn't have to resort to "accidentally" bumping a person to pick their pocket. Its a miracle if they even see him as he is stealing from them. This is the man that raided an Pharaoh's tomb less than a year after his death and the theft was not discovered until he delivered the sarcophogas into the throne room of the current Pharaoh.
And his dexterity does not come at the cost of his strength, although it will take him some time to get his "host" back up to his former level of fitness. He is a dangerously accurate example of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and his speed allows him to cut up an opponent before they can even draw their weapon.
He is skilled with all sorts of weapons, but he favors daggers for their ability to be concealed and light weight. He can use swords, bows, staffs, etc. He also doesn't need a weapon to be lethal. He is well aware of pressure points and is more than capable of bringing opposition to his knees without breaking a sweat. These abilities will be slightly hindered at first. Bakura is shorter than he was and there is a bit of readjusting he has to do with "his" current body.
He is well versed in the occult as well. He can read tarot and knows various rituals for summoning demons thanks to research shortly after the massacre of his village (see his History). He is good at training animals such as horses and dogs. He is also excellent at riding horses. He's phenomenal and intimidation, as well.
Anpu can speak Ancient Egyptian, and it is in fact his native language. He can not, however, speak modern Egyptian. Despite being a commoner he can read and write in his native language, a skill he picked up to support his thieving.
Anpu's other big skill is he can flawlessly mimic his "host's" mannerisms. See their differing personalities for how that means. Basically, even if Anpu is active it can be impossible to tell it isn't Bakura unless you corner him about certain specific memories.
Personality (Bakura)
Bakura is extremely polite. It's to the point he sound stuffy, even in Japan. He only speaks using formal Japanese. His voice is quiet and his mannerisms are withdrawn. He always uses honorifics. Even those he despises will get a polite "-san" attached to his name.
He is not a well adjusted teen, but his background makes it obvious why. He will always take the submissive and passive route. He'll give ground to the point of surrendering in a fight. He tends to avoid eye contact and will apologize if he's chewed out for apologizing.
Despite this surface, there actually is potential for strength with the teen. Despite being painfully shy, he brightens around those that manage to befriend him. The teenager is painfully self sacrificing and the thought of not jumping in front of a bullet to save a friend isn't one that he seems capable of having. He hates seeing others in pain but often has feelings of helplessness.
Personality (Anpu)
If Bakura is the white, Anpu is the black. Anpu is quite possibly the most arrogant SoB you will ever meet. The Japanese language well allows this to express. He doesn't use ore for himself, he uses ore-sama. This is roughly equivalent to his self pronoun being "my lord self" as opposed to an informal version of "I". Not only that, but he calls most people as kisama (an informal version of "you" that is regarded as arrogant/rude). He takes the arrogance one step further in those that become his opponents, using temee (an extremely rude version of "you" - similar to if an American called everyone they met as "bastard").
It is a rare person that can earn any kind of respect from Anpu. That "respect" is in fact a hollow one. He will begrudgingly accept in certain situations that he needs help. It is in fact a form of manipulation. He is the type that would kill his ally once they outlived their usefulness. Anpu uses people up and than kicks them to the curb.
Anpu is dark and twisted. However, his ego is the size of the entire country of Japan and it can be used against him. He is not unknown for dropping his guard if he is convinced his plan will work. He can be misled if you let him think he's winning. He's also got an extremely short fuse. He flies off the handle rather quickly and if you can stand up to the ensuing rage mode you're likely to overcome him for the day.
Anpu is also a bit of a coward. If things start to go south he won't hesitate to flee. He'll make sure to give some choice parting words, though. Its part of what makes him such a good theif. He has no illusions about sticking around. And don't expect him to watch out for you merely because you are an ally. He'll gladly dump an entire army of followers to save himself.
History (Bakura)
Ryou Bakura was always on the shy side. But he was warmhearted and managed to make friends. He was well on the road to becoming a well adjusted adult and was a well adjusted fourteen year old. He was considered a bit of an otaku by his friends but ran some of the best tabletop RPG campaigns this side of Gary Gygax. He was accepted, he fit it.
Until his father brought home a souvenir from Egypt. It was an oversized gold pendant. His father had gotten it because he knew the connection of games to Ancient Egypt. Bakura loved the gift. His father had already tied a string to it and he immediately put it on. There was nothing truly abnormal... until a teenage boy in another part of Japan solved the item known as the Millenium Puzzle.
Ryou Bakura had no knowledge of the teenager named Yuugi Mutou. He only knew that he blacked out one night. He woke up in the street with no idea how he had gotten there. He stumbled back home and the next day he learned of of his few friends had gone into a coma. Said friend was a common player of Bakura's favorite RPG, known as "Monster World". Over the next week or so, Bakura's friends all fell to the mysterious illness. Rumors spread as they do and Bakura was blamed - after all, those that were going into comas were all known for playing with Bakura.
Within two weeks it got bad enough that Bakura had to transfer, but the strange occurances happenedb in his new schools too. At one point even Bakura began to notice the increase in his Monster World miniature collection. It frightened him, as even he could see the potential connection between his black outs, the comas, and the miniatures. Over the next ~year, he was bounced around enough schools to get whiplash. It got to the point that he spoke to no one and tried to get people to not befriend him. And yet there was always teasing, and the bullies always ended up going into comas. Bakura lost track of how much time he lost in his black outs.
He didn't worry about the Millenium Ring as his father had said it was called until he met Yuugi Mutou in Domino City. He had transferred yet again, but there was still paperwork to get in order before he attended school. Bakura saw the pendant Yuugi had, and worries began to pile up. The odd inverted pyramid was known as the Millenium Puzzle - it would raise flags for anyone.
Bakura was drawn towards the Death-T tournament ran by the chairman of Kaiba Corporation, a teenager roughly his age named Seto Kaiba. Drawn in the sense that he swore someone was beckoning him. Shortly after Death-T he found Yuugi trying to befriend him. It was both nice and terrifying that someone was getting close to him. His black outs had begun to get worse after meeting Yuugi.
After being informed he had to cut his hair to fit with the school rules, the reason for the blackouts was revealed. A voice in the Ring spoke to him. Bakura realized he had to stop this spirit, and tore open his shirt to take off the ring... only to find the spikes driven into his skin. The dark spirit that would become known as "Dark Bakura" eventually lured Yuugi and his friends into a Dark Game revolving around Bakura's favored Monster World RPG. Yuugi and the entity known as "Dark Yuugi" worked together with their friends to save him. He sacrificed his life but the powers of Dark Yuugi restored it.
The Ring was kept with him, as the evil inside it had been defeated... or so they thought. Over the next year or so, Dark Bakura expressed near full control over Bakura. Really, Bakura only remembers a handful of weeks over this time. Flashes of being injured but not knowing how during Kaiba's Battle City. Flashes of a duel with Yuugi he didn't remember starting. On the Battle Ship half starved to death. Being drawn to a church by a voice. And finally waking up on the stairs in a place he had no idea of, asking Yuugi and his friends where he was out, and struggling to remember what had recently happened.
He passed out in the arms of Yuugi's friends Jounouchi and Honda before they could tell him he was in Egypt. The next memory he had was waking up in an alley way without the slightest clue of how he got there. The Ring was not with him, but once again he was in a place he didn't know. Not only that, but he was battered as if he'd had a bookshelf fall on top of him or something. He began to try and figure out where he was, and quickly found a police station. Hopefully he'd be able to get help there... he had no idea of the portal that had opened when he was unconscious, or that he wasn't even in his own world anymore.
History (Anpu}x
Anpu was born ~3,000 years ago in a distant Ancient Egyptian village known as Kul Elna. It was a time before surnames were prevalent, and so the name his parents gave him was merely "Masud". It was a name chosen based on meaning: Lucky.
Masud's childhood was not easy, but it was not hard either. Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's reach extended to Kul Elna as a matter of discourse rather than true authority. Little attention was paid to the isolated settlement. Masud had friends and was fairly well adjusted. Even the war that was threatening to tear Egypt apart didn't reach Kul Elna.
Until High Priest Akhenaden managed to convince the Pharaoh that the war called for desperate measures. The Pharaoh understood sacrifices would be needed, but had no idea the magnitude as he granted the High Priest permission to create the artifacts that would come to be known as the Millenium Items. Using his power, Akhenaden brainwashed an entire squad of Egyptian soldiers and descended upon Kul Elna. Masud somehow managed to escape, but not before seeing his entire village slaughtered mercilessly before his eyes... followed by all the soldiers that had done the killing. All because Akhenaden claimed Kul Elna was a hotbed for thieves. The priest could only act with permission from the Pharaoh - it meant the Pharaoh saw Masud's home as beyond redemption.
The flesh and bones of those killed were melted into gold. The gold was used to make the items, and all within Kul Elna. Masud only learned the specifics of this later, as he had fled the first chance he got. His life was hell after that, and his mind had developed a single goal. He would deliver the hatred of Kul Elna upon the Pharaoh. He rose in fame as the Thief King. And only the Thief King, no one ever managed to learn his name. Either of them, as after surviving the massacre Masud took on the name of the Egyptian god who judged the dead. He would be Anpu (Anpu is the proper name of Anubis) and would sentence the Pharaoh for his cruelty.
Anpu managed to learn various details of the massacre. As the son of the Pharaoh and the destined heir grew, so did Anpu's rage. When he was a teenager he got some information that returned him to Kul Elna. There he learned to summon a Ka, a glorified demon known as Diabound. He would end up contacting a demon known as Zorc, who in truth had originally been "summoned" by Akhenaden. Anpu basically sold his soul to the demon in order to get his revenge upon the Pharaoh. After Akhenamkhanen's death, Anpu had no problem transferring his hate to the new Pharaoh, Atem.
Anpu ended up dying for his cause, and at the hands of the demon who basically owned him no less. His story should have ended there. The spirit within the Millenium Ring possessed Anpu's reincarnation as Zorc still had pieces of Anpu's spirit within him. It was easier to control one it had controlled in the past. When "the other Yuugi" regained his memories, he destroyed Zorc and the Ring was rid of evil. It should have been the end of it.
Except some unknown force drew Yuugi and Atem to another world. Where Atem truly gained another shot at life. The time flux between dimensions deposited Bakura on the Island and scattered the Millenium Items. The act of stepping outside of fate has created a ripple. Bakura doesn't know it, but the Ring is within him again. And with the Pharaoh gaining another chance to live, so to has the incarnation of the Ring that Atem did not destroy with the help of his friends. And Atem isn't the only one with his memories...
Other
FANON ALERT! FANON ALERT!
Anpu is not[/b] Dark Bakura from canon! He is the Thief King from ~3,000 years ago. I don't believe an Ancient Egyptian had a name as Japanese as Bakura, and so I've fanwanked an explanation here. While it is likely he will still be known as Dark Bakura, Anpu is not the Dark Bakura of canon. However, he is treated as canon as the Thief King is a canonical figure.
I have signed up for Bakura and (my) Dark Bakura as one for the same reason I got Yuugi and Atem in the same sign up. I've combined the original anime and Duel Monsters canon for Bakura's backstory. A lot of fanwanking has occurred.
Pictures
Google is your friend. I've decided its impossible to find good art of Bakura that isn't shippy with Dark Bakura. >___> Anpu shares a body with Bakura like canon Dark Bakura did. In terms of audience outside the 4th wall benefit Anpu looks like canon Dark Bakura.
Millenium Ring: images2.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/6/6c/MilleniumRing.jpg
