Chapter 3: Memories of the Unknown

The alarm clocked startled and awoke Ryo from his lack of sleep. With weary eyes, he looked at the clock and saw that it read 7:30 a.m. Breathing out of his nose heavily, he grabbed his blanket from off the floor and flopped on his side. School wasn't for another hour, so he thought that he could get at least another ten minutes' worth of sleep. He then closed his heavy eyelids and fell into a deep slumber.


"And now," Katsuya Jonouchi announced, lifting a card from his hand, "I play my good ol' friend, the Time Wizard! Because of its effect, I get to flip a coin, and as long as I get the side I want, my little Baby Dragon will be able to turn into Thousand Dragon." Gently putting his hand on his desk, Jonouchi fiddled through one of his school pant's pocket and draw a coin from it.

He brought the coin close to his face and closed his eyes. After a few moments of silence, he pressed the coin to his lips and tossed the coin up in the air. For a few moments, the silver coin was completely airborne. But then it landed on the desk and span around.

Opening one eye, Jonouchi watched as the coin made its final decision. Sadly, the coin was not in his favor and it landed on the opposite side.

"Crap crap crap!" the dirty blonde screamed, running his fingers through his shaggy hair. "That is not what I wanted! Now I'm going to lose Life Points!"

Smirking, little Yugi Mutou, his opponent, finished the duel without a moment's hesitation.

"Since your plan didn't work out, you've left yourself wide open for my Dark Magician to wipe out the rest of your Life Points."

"Noooooo! I lost!" With that note of defeat, the dirty blonde plopped his head onto his desk and cried.

Tilting his head a bit, Yugi then looked from his closest friend to Hiroto Honda and Anzu Mazaki, two of his other closet companions. While Honda seemed rather content with himself, Anzu seemed a bit distracted. Possibly, with her own thoughts.

Leaving Jonouchi to sulk, Yugi approached Honda and Anzu. By the time he made it there, he had eavesdropped on a bit of the conversation.

"…so anyway, Anzu," Honda asked, cracking his knuckles, "what do you plan do to tomorrow? …Anzu? Are you even listening?"

"Huh…?" the brunette looked at Honda, oblivious to his question. From the corner of her eye, her azure eyes saw that Yugi had joined Honda and herself. From the look in Yugi's eyes, Anzu could tell that something was wrong.

Sighing, Honda asked again, "I was just wondering what you were up to tomorrow. I mean, Jonouchi and I were planning to hang out with Yugi in the afternoon. And well, I was curious to see if you'd be up to coming with us."

"That…sounds great," Anzu noted apathetically. "But I have stuff to do in the morning before school, and after that..." With her azure eyes, she looked at Honda directly in the face and asked him a sentimental question.

"Honda. Do you what day it is today?"

"Huh…?" the tall, young man asked. "It's…Friday, right?"

"That's not what I meant. What happened on today's date a month ago?"

"Ummm…" Honda couldn't really figure it out right away. But when he saw Yugi and Anzu droop their heads down sadly, he realized what it was. "Oh…it's the one month anniversary of Atem's return to the spirit world. I forgot about that."

"I don't I can," Anzu replied, her voice cracking a bit. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she still missed the ancient pharaoh. It was more than that, but she didn't need or want anyone to know.

"Anzu, I…I planned on going, too," Yugi shyly replied, his cheeks carrying the faintest tint of rose red. "If you'd like, we could…go together. But it's no big deal if you don't."

Blinking in shock, Anzu thought that through. Maybe it'd be better if the two of them decided to go together.

"You know, Yugi," she started, casting her blue eyes into his large, violet ones, "I'd like that. Thank you."

"Hey, no problem," the young Duelist Kind replied coolly, scratching the back of his neck. "And that way, the four of us can still hang out at my place. Right, guys?" When Yugi turned from Anzu to Honda, he saw that Jonouchi had joined the little posse. Watching the two of them nod in response, Yugi smiled and thought of something else.

"Huh…that's weird," he softly remarked. "Hey, did any of you see Bakura today?"

"Sorry, Yugi, but I haven't," Anzu lightly replied.

"Maybe he's sick or something," Honda suggested, folding his arms to his chest.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Jonouchi threw in. "He hardly ever misses school…well either way, he's one lucky guy; he doesn't have to be here preparing for finals."

What Jonouchi said was true: even after each and every duel that Yugi and his friends had entered, fought, and conquered, the time gap wasn't big enough for him to escape the world of the tenth grade. Final exams, at the time they stood, were only two months away.

"I hope he's okay," Anzu worried as the bell for the end of recess period began to ring. As the last of the bells rang, Ryo ran into the class.

Shocked, all of his friends ran to him. Once they were all there, they were able to see how horrible he looked.

His white hair was horrendously messy and his uniform, which was usually neat, was left in disarray. Under his weary eyes, the lightest trace of dark circles rested.

"Oh my God," Anzu breathed.

"Bakura! Are you okay?" Yugi worriedly asked.

"Do you realize how late in the day it is?" Jonouchi asked, looking at him with concern.

Looking up at his friends, Ryo lightly nodded his head. "…I'm sorry, guys. I guess I lost track of time and overslept."

"Overslept…?" Honda asked. "Did something happen last night that made you miss half the school day?"

To that question he gave no response. How could he? He knew that today was Atem's death anniversary, and if he told them the truth, he thought that his friends may find what he said to be a joke. And a sick one, at that.

So he kept his mouth shut and watched as the teacher walked in. He was swift as he made his way from the entrance to his desk.

"Now, students, I'd like you all to-ah, I see we have a tardy today." At this, all of students looked over at Yugi and his little posse. Ryo knew that everyone was staring at him, and in response, looked down and blushed from embarrassment.

"Young man, I advise you to take the notes I'm giving you now and ask for the others on your own," the teacher bluntly instructed.

"Y…yes, sir," Ryo replied apologetically. Taking his seat, he then grabbed out his belongings and began taking the notes.

"And as for you four. This isn't a free-for-all; return to your seats." Almost a moment later, Jonouchi returned to his spot, which, coincidentally, was next to Ryo's. Looking over at his friend, the dirty blonde inspected him a bit, sighed, and returned to his business.


At long last, the final bells of the day rang. All of the student spilled out of Domino City High School with much vigor. Amongst them were Yugi, Ryo, and the others. The quintet was planning to head over to Kame Games, for not only was it Yugi's home, but it was the shop of his grandfather, Sugoroku. The group was led by Yugi and Jonouchi, followed by Honda and Anzu in the middle, and Ryo tagging along in the back.

From the back, the white-haired child could hear Jonouchi and Honda complaining about the vast amount of time and notes that preparations for the finals took up. While Anzu and Yugi were both explaining that it was necessary, the two nit-wits were persistent with the accusations. The bickering lasted for quite some time, but Ryo stopped paying attention to it after a while. The noise was drained out by his own thoughts. They were mainly focused on the events of the previous night: the horrors of his past returning to haunt him to the core.

As he tried to sort through different ideas of the outcome, he heard the familiar laughter…

In moments, a fierce wind enveloped his body. The freezing air sent chills up and down the boy's body. It blew around his mangled hair, along with the pieces of his uniform left unattended. To keep the wind from his face, the young man held up one arm and looked away and squeezed his eyes shut. Some moments passed and the wind died out.

Opening his eyes slowly, Ryo moved his arm and looked around as to where he was.

For some reason, it looked familiar to him. It was a dark corridor that was lit by torches that rested on the wall. On these walls were pictures, all of which looked like they were drawn in ancient Egypt. In front of him, he could see a picture hanging on a wall, but he couldn't tell of who or what it was.

Putting the schoolbag that he had held on to the whole time down, he slowly walked forward, one hand sliding against the wall as he did so. The closer he got, the more familiar the whole place seemed.

"I don't get it…" he softly spoke, his voice ricocheting off the walls of the premises. "This place…it feels like I've been here." Taking a closer look around, he still couldn't think of where in the world he was. Just then, he heard a voice yell in shock.

"This…this can't be!" the voice cried. Turning to the sound of the voice, Ryo was shocked to see who the voice came from. It was none other than Pegasus J. Crawford, the creator of Duel Monsters. Dressed in his formal red suit, the man was slowly backing up from something…or someone. Once again, he heard the laughter.

Walking forward, the spirit (while in Ryo's body) kept an icy smile upon his face. His attire consisted of a wool sweater with a green undershirt and blue jeans, along with the Millennium Ring on a rope around his neck. The closer he got to Pegasus, the louder his chuckle seemed to get. Once he was close enough, golden light radiated from both the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Eye, which was Pegasus' Millennium Item at the time.

The light was powerful enough to make Ryo once again raise his arms to his face. Looking away, he closed his eyes and realized that someone was speaking to him.

"You don't remember this at all, do you?" the spirit asked curtly. "That's because I controlled you at the time. This memory of mine has been altered, but nevertheless…well, that doesn't matter. But do you recall what I said about controlling you without the use of my Item?

"Well, memories are just as powerful; at least, I think they are. And with them, I can torture and corrupt any I chose to do my bidding. And of course, you will be my first victim."

Suddenly, Ryo had no control of his body. He opened his eyes, which had suddenly become soulless and blank, and slowly turned his head to the spirit's voice. He just simply stared at the demonic being, unable to speak.

All of a sudden, Anzu's voice came from the back of his mind and the world around him was obliterated.


"…Bakura…? Ryo!" Gasping, Anzu ran to her friend's side. A moment ago, she had heard a thud from behind her. She was curious as to where the sound was coming from, so she had turned around. It was then that she saw Ryo collapse in a heap.

"Hey, Anzu!" Honda yelled, running for her and Ryo's unconscious body. "What…oh, man. Hey, Yugi! Jonouchi! You two better come quick!"

Watching as his two friends ran to him and asked him what happened, Honda shook his head. "Anzu," he asked, watching as she turned her head to face him. "Do you think you could carry our bags?" As she nodded, he then added, "Yugi, you take the lead and head for your place. Jonouchi and I will take care of Bakura."

"You got it," the youngster nodded, rushing away. Honda and Jonouchi then dropped their bags, allowing Anzu to pick them up. On Honda's command, the dirty blonde grabbed Ryo by the arms. As Ryo was being lifted, Honda crouched down.

"I'll carry him on my back. Just like Battle City," he explained as he felt the extra weight of Ryo's body on top of his own. Getting up, he looked over to Jonouchi. "Ready?"

"You know it," Jonouchi replied with a smirk. Anzu, who had been watching the whole time, nodded. The trio then headed for Kame Games with both determination and concern.