Chapter Twenty-Six
"I've gotta tell Yugi," I mumbled, hoping that I wasn't slurring my words. I tried to stand up, but I only slipped and fell back down again.
"What are you talking about, Olive?" asked Tea.
"Yugi," I said. "I have to tell Yugi."
"What you need to do is go to sleep," Tea said.
"Are you scolding me?" I asked.
She reached for my cup, but I pulled it away from her, sloshing my drink, half rum, half orange juice, all over my shirt. I cussed. I staggered to my feet and pulled my shirt off so that I was only wearing a dark purple bra with my skin tight jeans and my black boots. I took a few steps towards the door, swayed, and fell against Tristan. "I can't walk in shoes!" I said.
"Olive, calm down," said Tristan, leading me back to the couch.
I collapsed. "I just...you guys don't understand. Marik isn't Marik," I said.
"She's even crazier when she's drunk," said Joey.
"I heard that, Wheeler. And I'm not that drunk. Alcohol just makes my legs not work," I said. I propped myself up with my elbows and looked at Duke. Serenity was standing next to him with a red cup in her hand. I burst into hysterical giggles. "Alcohol is yummy, huh Serenity? I think I found a new drinking buddy!" I added, sing-song.
"I'm not drinking, Olive," said Serenity. "This is coke."
"Oh," I said, still laughing. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I laid back and closed my eyes. "I need to tell Yugi," I said. "I just...realized. I need to get a shirt from someone. Where's Kura's room?" I asked.
"Are you going to shut up about it?" asked Tristan.
I gave him a look. "Tristan, I don't even shut up when I'm sober. Do you really need to ask me that question?" I asked.
With a sigh, Tristan helped me to my feet. He made me take a drink of water. As we were walking out of the room, I turned back and waved, "Buh-bye Devlin," I said, blowing him a kiss. "I'll see you later on."
Once we were at the door, I said, "I'm fine, Tristan. I'll be okay, so you can go back."
"Alright, if you're sure," said Tristan.
"You're a good guy, Tristan, a good guy," I said. "Serenity would be lucky to have you."
He blushed and mumbled something before walking off.
I grinned and shook my head. I pushed on the door. It was slightly ajar so I walked in. The room was mostly dark, but I could see a figure sitting on the bed. I walked over to him and straddled his waist. I kissed him hard and then pushed him down on the bed. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him.
"Hey, Kura," I murmured. "Gods, you're strong."
"And you're drunk," Bakura commented.
I shrugged. "Only a little," I said. "A water bottle and a cracker or two and I'll be fine."
"I'll trust you," he said.
"Your voice is dark," I whispered, laying my head on his chest.
"What do you mean?" he asked, his fingers in my hair.
"Are you Bakura or are you the Thief King?" I asked.
"Does it matter?" he asked me, with a dark chuckle. "You'd want me either way."
My stomach flipped, but in a good way. I scooted closer to his face until we were seeing eye-to-eye. In the darkness, I couldn't tell which Bakura I was really talking to. But he was right. I didn't care. He laid me gently down on the bed and leaned over me.
"You're mine, Olive," he whispered.
"I don't belong to anyone," I said, but I was smiling.
He kissed my scar, then he kissed my neck. I moaned and I could feel him smile.
He lifted his head and leaned right down next to my ear. "Say it, Olive," he whispered. "Tell me you're mine."
"Why?" I purred. "Is it a hit to your ego?" I taunted.
He laughed and kissed me. "Say it," he said.
"You know I'm yours, Kura," I whispered.
He kissed me again. He slipped his thumbs inside the edge of jeans, but at that moment, a screen turned on and blared to life. I jumped in surprise.
"Attention duelists! The Battle City Finals are about to begin. Mister Kaiba requests the presence of all Battle City Finalists in the main hall," said the man on the screen.
I sighed, frustrated.
Bakura laughed and stood up. He flipped on the lights and I blinked in surprise. I couldn't see any darkness in his eyes.
"You taste like liquor," he told me, tossing me one of his shirts.
"Thanks," I said. "You got any water?"
He tossed me a water bottle and gathered some clean clothes together. He walked towards the bathroom.
"You can change out here," I said, grinning. "I don't mind."
He laughed and rolled his eyes, but went into the bathroom anyway.
When he emerged, he was pulling his shirt over his head and I caught of glimpse of his pale, defined stomach. It made me want to kill Kaiba for starting the finals tonight and interrupting Bakura and me.
"You're so strong," I told him, standing up, slightly more steady on my feet, and pulling his shirt over my head.
"You sound surprised," said Bakura, hooking his duel disk onto his arm.
"You just don't look as strong as you are," I said. He grabbed me firmly around the waist and pulled me to him. "It's quite sexy."
He grinned down at me and kissed me softly on the lips. "I hate to stop this, but we'd better get going," he said.
I stuck out my lower lip, pouting.
"Oh, don't do that," said Bakura, tickling my sides. I laughed and tried to squirm away from him, but he pulled me closer.
"Fine," I said, finally. We walked to the main hall. "When the games call, everyone I've met in this crazy country goes running."
Once there, Bakura ate, quietly, and I grew slightly more sober, sipping on water and nibbling on rolls.
"Did you find the rum, Olive?" asked Kaiba, smirking at me.
I smiled. "I knew you left it there especially for me," I said. "You're so thoughtful."
A few minutes later, Mai entered. She gave me a quick hug and two pain killers. Then she pulled me away from Bakura. She chatted to me while she filled a plate with food. A few minutes later, Yami entered. I excused myself from Mai's side and walked over to Yami.
"I heard you were drinking," said Yami, trying not to smile.
"I'm fine," I said.
"Good," said Yami, "because I need you, Olive. Ishizu told us that I would need you by my side to guide me. I want you there with me."
I nodded. "Of course, Yami," I said. "I've been here for you through every duel so far. You can count on me."
"Thank you, Olive," said Yami, sounding appreciative.
The man who was claiming to be Marik entered and leaned against the wall in silence.
It wasn't long after that Joey, Serenity, Tea, Tristan, and Duke entered with Namu.
Joey served himself a plate of food. He gave the man who said he was Marik a dark look and barely noticed when he ran into Bakura.
"Sorry," said Joey. "My bad."
"It's quite alright. Everyone seems on edge," said Bakura, smiling.
"Yea, pre-final jitters," said Joey. "By the way, how'd you qualify so fast?"
"Well, I actually won all six locator cards at once," said Bakura.
"No way!" said Joey. "You won six cards in one duel?"
"It was simple," said Bakura. "I battled Bones and his gang of zombie duelists in the cemetery. When I defeated them using some ghosts of my own, I got them to give up all their locator cards."
"But how?" asked Joey.
"Well, let's just say I didn't give those fellows much choice," said Bakura, smiling.
From where I was standing, watching and listening to the conversation. Bakura looked perfectly normal. But half of me was screaming that he was evil and possessed, that something about this situation just wasn't right. The darker part of me that I'd never noticed before my most recent dream about the past, was intrigued. I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I could feel desire building up inside of me. My skin felt feverish. Or maybe that was just the alcohol.
"You forced them?" asked Joey.
"Sort of," said Bakura, as if it were no big deal.
"That's creepy," I heard Joey think.
"See you later," he told Bakura. He nodded in my direction. "Good to see your girl made it here okay."
Bakura laughed a little, but he didn't blush. "Oh, Olive and I are just friends," he said.
"Yea, yea," said Joey. "When the only thing a half-dressed drunk girl wants is to be escorted to your room, we know you're not just friends anymore. Well, actually, she was going on and on about that Marik guy too. Something about needing to tell Yugi something about him. So maybe you're right. Maybe she's not that into you," he joked.
"Good luck in your first duel," said Bakura cheerfully.
Joey walked over to the table nearest us.
"You look like you just saw a zombie, Joey," said Tea.
"Nah, it's just the shrimp. I think it's been sitting out too long," said Joey.
"Just don't throw up on me," said Serenity, laughing a little.
"Hey, Kaiba, what's the hold up?" asked Joey. "When are we gonna find out who we duel?"
"You're a quite a rush just to lose, Wheeler," said Kaiba. He pushed a button and spoke into the mic on the inside of his shirt collar. Then he snapped his fingers and said, "Let's go."
The lights dimmed.
On a little platform at the front of the room, a machine rose. "Finalist and guests, may I have your attention please," said one of the men in the suits. "Now, the first two duelists for round one will be chosen by lottery."
"What's the jackpot?" Mai murmured.
"It is to guarantee that each pair of opponents will be selected completely at random. You've all been assigned a number from one through eight. The selector will now choose the first two numbers. The second numbers will not be drawn until a winner is declared in the first duel. Thus, you will not know your opponent's identity until just before you duel," the man explained.
"I'm fighting the urge to yell out bingo," said Tristan.
"Go ahead, I'll laugh," said Duke.
"All eight balls are of equal size and weight. The selector produces results that are one hundred percent random. Does everyone remember his or her number?" he asked. Everyone nodded. He started the machine and the balls began to blow around the plastic bubble they were in. The first ball was selected. "Number six, Bakura," the man announced.
"I duel first?" asked Bakura. He laughed nervously.
"You sure you're alright, man?" asked Tristan.
"Yea, Bakura, you should really be in bed resting. You just got out of the hospital, remember?" Tea said.
"You shouldn't even be walking, let alone dueling," said Tristan.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm fine," said Bakura. "Being the first duelist chosen just took me by surprise, that's all."
The second duelist was chosen. "Number three, Yugi Muto," the man announced. "The first duel of the Battle City Finals will begin immediately in the stratus-dueling arena."
"I guess I'm battling Yugi," said Bakura, cheerfully. "This should be fun." He shot a look at me and I saw something dark in his eyes. I thought about saying something, but then realized it wouldn't make a difference.
"I don't trust him," Yami thought.
"Interesting," thought Kaiba. My head was pounding. Hearing thoughts when I didn't have alcohol in my system was bad enough. "I wonder how Bakura will fare against Yugi's Egyptian God Card."
"Glad it's Yugi and not me," said Joey.
"When the pharaoh loses, he'll hand his Egyptian God Card to the duelist they think is Bakura. Soon after, it will be mine," I heard Marik think. I turned, casually, to glance over my shoulder. Namu was standing a few feet behind me. Behind him, stood the man in the black robes, leaning against the wall. Namu smiled at me, but I looked away as if I hadn't noticed. While Yami and Bakura went on one elevator, we were told to take the central elevator to the top level if we wanted to observe. We all piled inside.
"Have fun with your boyfriend?" Duke asked me.
I laughed. "Bakura may be fun, but there's no one quite like you, Devlin," I teased.
"How many guys do you hit on?" Namu asked me, sounding annoyed.
I shrugged. "Don't hate just because I know how to 'love' like a man," I said, making air quotes around the word 'love'. "If I had a penis, no one would even think to ask me that question, you know."
"Good for you, babe," said Mai.
"I must win this," I heard Yami's whisper in my mind.
"Dueling up here is insane!" Joey declared, once we reached the upper deck.
"And freezing," Serenity added, shivering. Tristan gallantly draped his jacket around her shoulders.
"I'll make this speech quick so we can begin this duel," Kaiba announced. "Kaiba Craft three is now cruising at an altitude of four thousand feet. The strong winds and cold air will test your strength and stamina. If you can't take it, you don't belong here."
"I dig this little twist," said Tristan.
"I have to admit it, Kaiba does know how to throw a tournament," said Duke.
"Are you prepared to lose it all?" Bakura asked. His face was turned downward slightly so that the shadows hid his eyes.
"I won't lose," said Yami. "Before we begin this duel, why don't you tell me who you really are? Stop this charade!"
Bakura chuckled.
"Have it your way then," said Yami. "But I think I know who you are." There was a glowing light from Bakura's chest that only Yami and I seemed to see, although I noticed Namu seemed to be watching too. The millennium ring appeared around his neck. "It is you!" said Yami. "The spirit of the millennium ring."
"Hey, look at Bakura," said Tea.
"Aw, man, he's wearing that millennium ring again," said Joey.
"That can't be," said Tristan, sounding shocked. "I got rid of it at Duelist Kingdom. I threw it into the deepest part of the woods, miles from anywhere. I don't know how Bakura got it back, but I know it's not a good thing."
"It found its way back, Tristan," I said, quietly. "Millennium items do that. I suspected that he had it for a while now." My voice sounded dark, even to me, but I couldn't tell what other emotions were laced with it.
"So why all the fuss?" asked Namu. "What's around Bakura's neck?"
We all turned to him.
"Namu..." Tea began. She paused. "It's kind of hard to explain, but that's not really Bakura."
"Okay, you lost me," said Mai.
"You see, Yugi and Bakura both have these really old objects that have magic powers," said Joey. Yugi's item is good, but Bakura's item is bad."
"An evil spirit lives inside it," said Tea.
"So you're telling me there's an evil spirit up there dueling Yugi?" asked Namu, sounding skeptical, but slightly curious. "That's hard to believe."
"I didn't believe it at first either," said Tea. "But it's true, and Olive can read minds..."
I glared at her. "Really? Really, Tea? Is that really a necessary detail?"
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"No big. Why not announce it to the world?" I asked.
"I hope he doesn't drag Yugi to the Shadow Realm again," said Joey, quietly. "That's not a place you want to be."
"I'll follow them in there if he does," I heard myself whisper.
"You fools! You have no idea that the evil spirit up there is working for me!" I heard Marik think. "You are all so gullible."
"We might not be quite so gullible as you think," I said, quietly, watching Namu for a reaction. He didn't seem to notice.
"Now that these introductions are over and done with, why don't we begin this duel?" asked the spirit of the millennium ring.