It’s early on in the season zero timeline, before Ryou is part of the plot. He sits alone in his room working on figurines for his Monster World campaign.
Ryou narrates: Hi. My name is Ryou Bakura. I like tabletop role playing games, Monster World in particular. I’m pretty good at riddles, which is a skill I try to incorporate into my gaming. However, I am also a bit clumsy and I’m afraid of skeletons, which is kind of unusual for an archaeologist’s son. But enough about me. It’s time for another adventure!
After finishing probability calculations for his game, Ryou uses his computer to check his emails. One in particular strikes him as peculiar, but as it contains no viruses he decides to open it. It reads:
"‘Would you like to play a game? Go to the library and find this book. Copy down the information charts and let the hunt begin!’" The embedded picture is the cover of a book about ancient Egyptian astrology.
"A scavenger hunt?" Ryou guesses aloud. "What a weird email. But I guess I’m not doing anything important tomorrow, so I might as well check it out."
***
"What an interesting book," Ryou murmurs as he flips through the pages of the library book the email instructed him to find. He copies down the information of the Egyptian gods found in each section of the book. Once he reaches the end, however, he notices a piece of paper stuck in the due date card pocket. He pulls it out and finds these words written on it:
"‘Welcome to the game! Please begin by purchasing an offering for your Egyptian god.’"
Wait, Ryou thinks. This is written on an advertisement for a local market. Maybe someone there sent me the email as part of a business gimmick. Replacing the piece of paper and the book, he sets off for the market. My Egyptian god, huh? Looking at the birth dates for the gods’ astrological denominations, he finds that his corresponding god is Thoth.
Once at the market, he begins browsing while scanning the list of Thoth offerings. Let’s see...thyme, marigolds, oranges, lavender, and the number eight, he considers. "I know! Mandarin oranges would be perfect. And I’ll get eight of them."
After he pays for the oranges, the store clerk hands him another piece of paper with the next clue on it. "Thank you very much," Ryou says before departing.
The next clue reads: "I rise from the ashes."
"That must mean the phoenix," Ryou says to himself. "And resurrection may indicate the church, so I’ll try there next. It would be a good place to put this offering."
He arrives at the church about ten minutes later and places the oranges in the collection box. "Now what exactly is it I’m looking for here that will lead me to the next clue?" He consults his notes again. Alder, amber, daffodil, indigo, and the number twelve... He looks around but sees no flowers. "I guess I’ll start with the pews."
Ryou looks under the benches of every pew until he finds an indigo-colored card hidden in row twelve. Written on it in fancy scroll work is the following message: "Roses are red, violets are blue. The answer to the sphinx’s riddle will help you find your next clue."
Well the answer to the sphinx’s riddle is a man, but what man am I looking for, and where? Again he consults the notes for any other suggestions. Quartz, almond, white grapes, coriander, lily, white, eucalyptus, lion, and the number one. Not much help there. Maybe I’ll just walk around town until something stands out.
After about an hour or so of walking without finding any viable leads whatsoever, Ryou sits down in a quiet area of the sidewalk. "What could the point of all this be?" he asks rhetorically as there is no one in sight. "I’ve already stopped at the market once. How much more can there be to this?" He is tired and the sun is beginning to set, so he thinks of packing it in and going home.
And then he sees it - someone in White Magical Hat cosplay leaning against a nearby building.
Where did he come from? Ryou wonders. Well he’s a man wearing white, and is that a lily he’s holding? I’d better approach him and ask.
Ryou gets up off the sidewalk and approaches the man, who tips his hat at him. "Excuse me, sir. Are you the one who’s supposed to help me find my next clue?" he asks.
"This way," the man says in a low voice, pointing down the street with his flower. Ryou starts walking in that direction, followed by the man. Suddenly the man shoves a chloroform-dosed rag in front of Ryou’s face, causing him to pass out. (This is sort of a common method used in season zero.)
***
Ryou wakes up in an unfamiliar basement. It is cold, and secured to the walls are articles about the Zodiac Killer who has yet to be caught. "Oh no! I should’ve known!" Ryou chastises himself. "It was all too suspicious."
"Indeed," the man says, still wearing his disguise. "Although I had to go with something less obvious since both Chinese and Western astrology are so common nowadays. But I thought someone like you could appreciate the exotic nature of Egyptian astrology."
"Then this wasn’t a random contest - you hand-picked me?"
"But of course. I hand-pick all of my victims. The only trace I leave is my calling card next to their dead bodies."
Ryou’s mind is panicking but he forces himself to stay calm. "Hey I think I recognize you now. You’re that store clerk from the market!"
"Very good," the man says, removing his disguise. "What else have you deduced about me?"
Ryou steels himself. "You’re telling me all this because I’m not going to make it out of this basement alive, am I."
"That’s correct," the man replies, "but I also like to play with my victims before I kill them."
"Play?" Ryou asks nervously. It could be his imagination or just the anxiety from the possibility of losing his life, but he feels the pendant his father gave him tightening beneath his shirt. Suddenly, he becomes another person - or rather, another soul takes his place.
"A game?" Yami Bakura asks in a sinister tone.
The man notices the change in the boy’s attitude and is momentarily thrown off his cool. "Yes. Um, what...?"
"Those who commit crimes against me will fall," Yami Bakura asserts. "Tell me, what sort of game did you have in mind?"
The Zodiac Killer is not used to his victims challenging him like this. "Russian Roulette," he replies. "My gun is filled with blanks except for the one bullet I need to kill you. I simply spin the barrel and try to fire a shot at you." (Also the type of game played in season zero.)
"So I take it I don’t get to handle the gun?" Yami Bakura asks. "That doesn’t seem fair."
"You’re the first one who’s ever asked," the Zodiac Killer remarks. What is with this kid?
"I can already see that you are lying about the status of your ammunition, so I am making this a shadow game," Yami Bakura declares. "If you double-cross me, you will have to play a penalty game."
How does he know that? "I assure you there is only one real bullet in this gun. Now it’s time to find out which one you will get!" The Zodiac Killer fires the gun at Yami Bakura, but the power of the pendant - the Millennium Ring - acts as a shield and deflects the bullet.
"The real bullet - what a surprise," Yami Bakura says sarcastically as the Zodiac Killer just gapes at him in shock. "Well if you are so assured of yourself that the rest of your bullets are fake, why not aim it at yourself this time?"
The power of the shadows converges over the Zodiac Killer, who instantly forgets what he knows to be true about the rest of his bullets. He points the gun at his head and pulls the trigger, instantly killing himself with another live round.
"Penalty game," Yami Bakura murmurs darkly, spitefully giving the man’s dead body a swift kick before departing. Rest well, my host, and in the morning you will remember none of this ordeal.
***
The next morning Ryou wakes up in his own bed with no memory of the previous day’s events. The Zodiac Killer had already hacked into Ryou’s email account and deleted the email he had sent before the confrontation in the basement took place. Thanks to Yami Bakura’s memory-erasing powers, Ryou no longer has any memory of it either. He doesn’t even know that Yami Bakura exists.
"I’m so tired," Ryou mutters to himself. "What did I do yesterday? Was I sick?" The last thing I remember is working on my Monster World campaign... He looks at the clock and hurries to get ready for school. Whatever. Today is going to be a great day, I’m sure of it.
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