Hey, I posted again! I should be less lazy... I was competing at the Battle Frontier on my Emerald version(in the Battle Pyramid)... but I lost! I spent an hour trying to get to the top of the pyramid, but I lost one step away from the top. Just thought you might want to know. n.nU

communication between host(hikari) and yami/.../

this means that the scene is changing:-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.

disclaimer: I do not own Yugi-oh.

Chapter 10: Duel and Memories

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -.

"Wait," Ishizu mumbled, barely audible.

I looked at her over my shoulder. "Yes?"

"We spoke of having a duel yesterday, didn't we?" she asked. "When?"

"Uh..." I'd forgotten about that. I hadn't really thought she'd actually want to, even if she had sounded interested before. "I don't know... we could duel right now, I guess." I kept thinking about a game shop with a depressed Yugi and a slave-driver Grandpa Mutou... Speaking of which, I hadn't done that floor yet. All the more reason that a nice duel right now could be relaxing.

"I mean, if you're not busy," I added quickly, realizing it might be rude to try to force her into a duel right now.

"I'm free for a little over an hour," she answered.

"Eh, okay..." We both shifted uncomfortably for a moment before Ishizu ushered me inside.

"Do you have your cards, Bakura?" Ishizu asked.

"Yes," I answered. "Of course."

/Like I'd let you leave home without them,-/ my yami said.

I decided not to answer, determined to keep my focus off my yami, to make sure I didn't miss something Ishizu said.

Ishizu led me to a card table in what looked like their dining room. She gestured to it and said, "Sit there while I go get my deck."

So I sat down on one of the four folding chairs surrounding the table and pulled out my deck. I couldn't help but feel a little excited the way I always did when I was about to start playing a game.

I'd started to casually shuffle my cards when Ishizu came back, her deck in one hand. She sat down opposite from me and offered me her deck. I handed mine to her, and we began to shuffle the decks. We sat in silence for a moment before we handed the decks back.

"You should go first," I said, trying to be chivalrous as we drew our cards.

Ishizu drew a sixth card and started to study her hand carefully.

I was a little startled when she broke the silence by saying, "I've never heard much about your family, Bakura. Do they live with you?" Ishizu started to place cards in her magic/trap zone.

Such a question took me by surprise. None of my friends had really asked me about my family before. "No, I live in an apartment by myself." I winced slightly as I realized my mistake. I knew I should correct it right away, but I didn't really want everyone knowing... for some reason. 'I'll mention it if the subject ever comes up again,' I told myself.

"You're move," Ishizu said.

"What? Oh, yes." I'd been so lost in thought, I'd nearly forgotten. I drew a card and began analyzing the possible moves I could make. That... or that... or maybe...

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Ishizu asked.

The thoughts of possible plays in the game vanished. I finished my move quickly, trying to keep my hand from trembling. "I... I had a sister."

Ishizu drew a card and looked up at me. Maybe she'd heard the slight tremor in my voice.

"But she died when I was eight," I said quietly.

"Oh... I'm so sorry." Ishizu didn't seem to know what else to say. She looked like she felt a little guilty.

I shrugged, trying to act like it was no big deal. "It's okay. I'm getting along." I always preferred not to get so emotional around other people, but especially not the stoic Ishizu.

"My mother died in childbirth when I was four," Ishizu said empathetically. "I only remember her a little," her voice carried a shadow of sorrow.

I glanced up at her. I'd never really thought of Ishizu as someone to really be sad about something... Did she ever wake up in the dead of night feeling sad and lonely about the person she'd lost...? Then again, she'd barely known her mother and Amane had been like my best friend.

We didn't try to have a conversation after that. Instead, Ishizu and I engrossed ourselves in the duel, distracting ourselves from disconcerting thoughts.

It didn't take a terribly long time before I realized Ishizu was probably going to win. Currently, we were stalemated since I had my Dark Necrofear on the field and she had her Soul of Purity and Light, but I could see she had a larger hand and more life points, not to mention her two face-down cards.

Dark Necrofear had more attack points than Soul of Purity and Light, but it lowered my monster's attack points by 300 during my battle phase so Dark Necrofear couldn't destroy it, either.

I drew. Hmm... Maybe I'd win after all. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed by discarding a card from my hand." Tribute of the Doomed would destroy her monster and leave her wide open.

Ishizu smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, but I was hoping you'd do that. I activate Solemn Judgment."

Oh, well. Solemn Judgment negated my magic card, but Ishizu had to give up half her life points as payment, which brought her beneath 1500- a little less than what I had.

"I end my turn," I said. Since Ishizu ruined my strategy, I left my Dark Necrofear in defense mode.

Ishizu gave me an almost sad smile as her turn began. "First I'll activate Stop Defense to switch your Dark Necrofear into attack position."

Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.

"Then I activate my Megamorph equip card. This doubles my monster's attack points, but only if my life points are lower than yours."

Uh-oh.

"Then I attack your Dark Necrofear with Soul of Purity and Light... and I'm afraid that brings your life points down to zero."

I blinked, stunned for a moment. Even though I hadn't really been expecting to win at that point, I still felt a little disappointed. "Good game," I said, forcing a smile and extending my hand.

She shook my extended hand and said, "It was rather close, wasn't it? I hope we can duel again sometime."

For some bizarre reason, her touch made me feel uncomfortable in not an entirely bad way. "Okay," I answered. I still felt a bit down after losing, but the fact that she thought it was close made me feel a little better.

/Tsk... I can't believe you lost,-/ my yami said, sounding sulky. /It's bad for my reputation. I hope no one else learns of this.../

"Anyway, I really need to go now," Ishizu said. "Maybe we could have another duel tomorrow. I don't have a job in the afternoon on Tuesdays."

"That would be fine," I said, trying not to sound too eager. I was looking forward to having another shot at winning.

I named a small coffee shop that I was rather fond of that we could use as a meeting place and Ishizu told me to meet her around five.

"Alright. Good-bye, Ishizu. I'll be waiting," I said quietly.

"Good-bye, Bakura," she answered.

So I walked away from the house, for some reason in a much better mood than when I had arrived.

-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.-. -. -. -. -. -.

And that's it for chapter ten. This one's longer than chapter nine, but it's still pretty short...

Anyway, please r and r! both flames and constructive criticism are welcome, as always. n.n