This has been bugging me for a while, so I had to write it. Don't worry, I'm still working on The Forgotten Past, I just couldn't focus till I started this. Hope you like it, sorry if you don't.
This is a weird mix of both versions of the anime, and the Manga.
Chapter One.
Yami, Joey, Honda, Anzu, Mai, Kaiba, and Mokuba (Plus Roland and Fugata and Yugi in Yami's mind) stood in the Kaiba Corporation Stadium.
They looked towards the entrance when they heard someone else enter.
Marik strolled confidently up to the group with Odion following closely behind. Marik was wearing his usual attire with the added warmth of a purple cloak matching Odeon's.
He had long since given up his guise as Namu, so they all knew who was Marik.
Yami growled.
"Marik!"
Marik glanced at him with a smirk.
"Hello Pharaoh, this is Odeon, my fateful servant," and brother. Went unsaid and unheard to all but Odeon.
Yami glared at both of them.
Kaiba and the rest did as well.
"I should kick you out of my tournament for kidnapping my brother, but you have something I want," He paused and looked Marik directly in the eyes. "And I will take it from you."
Marik smirked.
"You try that," He looked around for a moment and frowned.
Joey noticed and glared harder.
"What, are ya waiting for someone?"
Marik glanced at him.
"Yes, actually. He should be here by now."
The others stared at him.
Then, a very familiar voice.
"There was a minor delay, Marik, I apologize."
The last part was completely mocking and Marik decided to forget he said it.
The others all stared at the figure coming into the stadium.
Yami growled.
"Bakura."
The Ring Spirit chuckled menacingly.
"Hello, Pharaoh."
Marik looked at Bakura.
"You're late."
Bakura shrugged.
"As I said, a minor delay."
Honda stared at the Millennium Ring.
"How is that possible? I through the Millennium Ring into the deepest part of the forest at the duelist kingdom tournament.
Bakura glared at him.
"Yes, and thanks for that. Do you have any idea what it's like to be hurled carelessly out a window?" A slight pause as Bakura stared at him, then he averted his eyes and waved a dismissive hand. "I'll make sure you find out soon enough."
This only caused everyone's glares to intensify.
Bakura ignored them, thinking back to when he stabbed his host with the five prongs of the Millennium Ring shortly before his first game with Yami.
He was serious when he told Ryou he was keeping him as his permanent host.
He fingered the scars under his shirt.
Bakura smirked.
He was connected to his host. Forever.
His attention was drawn to a massive blimp entering the arena.
Everyone barred Kaiba, Bakura, Marik, and Odeon gawked at it.
Kaiba stared at everyone and gestured to the blimp behind him.
"This is the Battle Blimp, where we will be holding the finals."
Yami nodded and started towards the blimp when Marik stopped him.
"Wait," He said, drawing Yami's glare. Marik eyed him in disgust. "You aren't going like that, are you?"
Yami's glare turned to a look of confusion, as did the glares of the other members of the Yugi-Tachi.
Bakura strolled up next to Marik.
"He's referring to your host, separate."
Yami glared once more with double the ire it previously had.
"Why would I-"
Marik held up a hand.
"These duels are supposed to be one on one," He glared at Yami. "Not two on one."
Yami was about to say something when Kaiba interjected.
"If your two selves can, in fact, separate, you should."
Yami stared at Kaiba.
"I won't have cheating in my tournament." This was accompanied by a glare.
Yami huffed but complied.
He stepped to the side and separated from Yugi.
Yugi glared at Marik and Bakura.
"It's not cheating you know."
Marik gave him a look that just dripped with "You aren't fooling anybody."
Yami glared as well while the members of the Yugi-Tachi gawked at the two Yugi's.
"Wow." Anzu murmured.
Yugi smiled at them.
He scratched the back of his head.
"We don't really do this often…"
Joey gave a big smile and patted Yugi on the back.
"Well, ya should! Now we can talk ta both o' ya at once!"
Yami smiled fondly at them and shook his head.
"It is very draining and best not to do carelessly."
Joey deflated a little but shrugged.
Then Mai thought of something.
"Hey, is there any way you can change your clothes Pharaoh? It might make telling you apart confusing otherwise."
Yami nodded and closed his eyes.
His clothes shifted to the ones he wore the day he played Dungeon Dice Monsters with Duke.
It was then everyone realized something.
"Hey," Anzu began. "Why is Yugi wearing the puzzle, while Yami's wearing the Duel Disk?"
Yami and Yugi shrugged.
"Yugi needs to keep wearing the Puzzle in order for me to keep using this form, and we decide who keeps what while we're separating."
Everyone nodded and then everyone turned to stare at Bakura.
He looked at everyone in growing confusion.
"What!?" He snapped after a moment.
Kaiba stared at him a moment, then responded.
"You too."
Bakura blinked.
He then looked at everyone once more. They were staring at him expectantly.
He paused a moment.
"Yadonushi's sleeping, he always is while I'm in control."
Joey glared at him and crossed his arms.
"How do we know you're not cheating by getting help from Bakura?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and Bakura glared.
Marik looked at everyone.
They weren't going to let Bakura on the blimp until Bakura separated from the host.
He then looked to Bakura.
He very clearly wasn't going to let his host anywhere near the friendship squad while they were separated. Clarity came to Marik a few seconds later and he leaned next to Bakura's ear.
"Odeon and I can watch him while you're dueling," He whispered. "Then he won't have to go anywhere near them."
Bakura blinked his dark brown eyes.
He spared everyone one more glare, then smirked.
"You all truly have no faith in your supposed friend."
Marik stepped back from Bakura, who walked two steps backward while his unconscious host fell to the ground.
Bakura was wearing the same thing, except his blue short-sleeved jacket was replaced with a pitch-black trench coat.
Before Ryou could completely fall to the ground, Bakura extended a hand and grabbed him by the jacket, pulling him back up.
The ring was faintly glowing against Ryou's abdomen.
Bakura stared at him with crimson eyes a moment before uttering a word.
"Wake."
Ryou blearily opened his eyes.
His arm hurt.
A lot.
He was vaguely aware he was standing instead of laying down, and that someone was holding him up from behind.
The spirit decided to separate then.
He took a moment to regain his balance. When he did, the hand receded.
He looked around properly now.
Yugi and Yami had separated as well.
There was also Anzu-Chan, Honda-Kun, Joey-Kun, Kajuka-San, Kaiba-San, two of Kaiba-San's security guards, and two other people he couldn't place as well.
His eyes were drawn to his arm.
There was a bandage on it and he could see a bit of blood seeping through.
He decided to focus on that.
"Why am I injured?"
He looked back up at everyone.
He saw Bakura step up beside him to his right in his peripheral vision.
He glanced at him but didn't turn his head.
Bakura shrugged.
"A necessary sacrifice." Was all he said.
Ryou glared at him this time, then turned back to his friends.
He started to step forward to go to them but a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
Ryou glared at the offending appendage.
Bakura gave him an annoyed look.
Why did Ryou have to choose them as his friends? Why did Ryou want friends in the first place? He had him, and he was more than enough.
His hand tightened on Ryou's wrist.
Ryou finally looked away from the point of contact and back to everyone else.
He saw Bakura gesturing to the shorter one of the Egyptians.
"That's Marik," He gestured to the other. "And that's Odeon," The hand dropped. "They'll be watching you if I have to leave your side for some reason."
Ryou glared at the two Egyptians and the one named Marik glared back.
Then, Joey growled and their attention was drawn to him.
He looked mad, as did every other member of the Yugi-Tachi.
"Ya can't just keep our friend with ya if he wants ta be wit' us!"
Bakura glared at him.
"You were the ones who wanted me to separate from him, so this is your fault." He shrugged lazily. "He could have been sleeping through this entire tournament, completely unaware of the pain of his injury." His glare harshened. "And I can and will keep him with me."
Joey growled once more and he and Honda charged Bakura.
Without removing his hand from Ryou's wrist, Bakura easily dodged Joey's attack, causing him to stumble. He took the chance to ram his right elbow into his lower back, making Joey fall to the ground. Bakura then pulled himself and Ryou another step out of the way of the other oaf's punch, then grabbed the extended arm and used it and Honda's momentum to make him crash on top of Joey.
Bakura faked a yawn and looked at the, with half-lidded eyes.
"You know, you didn't seem to be this friendly with my Yadonushi when you all but accused him of helping me during duels."
Ryou blinked at that and stared at Bakura for the first time since they separated.
"They what?"
Bakura shrugged.
Ryou turned his gaze to his friends-excluding Joey and Honda who were still getting up off the floor.
Yugi was looking to the floor, Anzu was avoiding eye contact and Yami was staring at him, completely unrepentant.
Yami shrugged.
"He made us separate first, and accused us of cheating just because we work together during duels."
Ryou looked at him in confusion.
"But aren't they supposed to be one on one duels?"
Marik snorted and Ryou glanced at him, barley seeing the shocked look that passed on Yami and Yugi's faces.
"That's exactly our point."
"Also," Bakura started, causing Ryou to glance at him as well. "It was Kaiba who referred to it as cheating, not us."
Yami glared at him.
Bakura ignored him.
Everyone glanced towards the entrance as they heard someone else come into the stadium.
An Egyptian woman walked into the stadium.
There was a chorus of gasps and Bakura and Ryou looked around at everyone.
From the looks of things, it was Yami, Yugi, Tea, Yugi, Marik, and Odeon who had gasped, as they all bore shocked expressions-Marik and Odeon most of all, while the others looked confused.
"Ishizu," Yami started. "What are you doing here?"
The polite tone of the question was enough to calm Ryou about the new arrival and cause Bakura to glare at her.
Ishizu walked up to him and bowed her head in respect.
"I have come to take part in the finals, my king."
Bakura's glare harshened.
Kaiba glared slightly too.
"How'd you get into my tournament without me realizing?"
Ishizu looked at him and shrugged.
"I have my ways."
Mai decided this was a good time to interject.
"Sorry, but who is this?"
"My name is-"
Marik finally snapped out of his stupor.
"ISHIZU!?"
All eyes turned to Marik.
Yami frowned deeply.
"You know each other?"
He went ignored.
Ishizu stared at him.
"Hello, brother."
There was a chorus of gasps.
Kaiba and Ryou had no visible reaction, but Bakura raised an eyebrow.
Marik kept staring at her.
"What-why-how...?"
Ishizu gave him a stern look.
"I have come to stop you, little brother, and stop you I will."
Marik finally seemed to completely get over his shock and glared at her.
"We shall see, sister."
Bakura's attention was drawn to the necklace this Ishizu wore.
He gave a predatorial smile.
"So Marik, I see your sister has the Millennium necklace."
Maik looked at him a moment.
He turned away with a shrug.
"Yours when we get it if that is what you desire. I have no need for it."
Bakura's smile grew and Ishizu glanced at him.
"You will never get my Millennium Necklace, Spirit of the Ring."
Bakura smirked at her.
"We'll see."
He then proceeded to drag Ryou to the entrance of the blimp.
He grabbed the locator cards out of his pocket and showed them to the security guards, who exchanged them for and I.D card.
Bakura examined the card and the number on it.
He then looked back up at the guards with a raised eyebrow.
"You need it for your room on the blimp, the room will correspond to the cards number and each card will only open its corresponding door. The number will also be your duelist number which will be called when it is your turn to duel." Roland explained.
Bakura nodded and proceeded to drag Ryou up the stairs of the blimp.
"Sir, only finalists are allowed to enter the-" He was interrupted by a glare from Bakura's blood-red eyes. The man shivered and Bakura continued to drag Ryou onboard.
Marik quickly followed his lead, Odeon in tow.
They quickly found their rooms, Bakura's being across from Marik's and Odeon's being next to it. Bakura quickly opened his door and unceremoniously tossed Ryou inside. Ryou stumbled and Bakura swiftly followed him inside. He quickly closed the door.
They both scanned the room.
Bakura immediately went to the table, sat down, and began sorting his deck.
Ryou went over to the bed and sat down with his legs to his chest and arms loosely wrapped around them. He stared out the window as the blimp took off.
Bakura examined his deck carefully.
It was almost perfect, but Yami had Slifer the Sky Dragon.
If he was to summon that, Bakura's whole strategy would be completely ruined.
He scanned all of his cards for about 10 minutes more, replacing cards when he deigned to do so.
He frowned.
He didn't have any cards that could stop Slifer if he was summoned.
He could think of one though, and since Marik was the leader of the Ghouls, he probably had, like, 10 with him.
He got up and walked out of the room. He then knocked on Marik's door.
"Ishtar!" He barked after a minute.
The door swiftly opened and Bakura stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you have a Sword of Sealing card?"
Marik blinked, then nodded.
He walked over and grabbed a handful of cards, sifting through them.
"What version do you want?"
Bakura shrugged even though Marik wasn't looking.
"Any version that's not counterfeit."
Marik nodded vaguely and selected one of the cards.
He handed it to Bakura.
Bakura nodded and swiftly walked back into his room.
Ryou watched as he placed a card in his deck, walked over to the kitchen area, looked through the cabinets for something, grabbed it, and walked over to him.
Ryou glanced at the first aid kit in his darker personality's hands, then he went back to watching the city below them.
Bakura unwrapped the bandages from Ryou's arm and examined the wound.
He then proceeded to clean the wound.
Ryou hissed in pain but Bakura kept going.
He then replaced the bandages.
Bakura quickly threw out the old bandages and put away the first aid kit.
Then a screen lit up on the wall, drawing the attention of both of them.\
"Will all duelists please report to the banquet hall for dinner and the first round of the quarter-finals."
Bakura smirked.
He walked back over to Ryou and grabbed his wrist, dragging him up.
He quickly grabbed his deck and pulled Ryou out the door.
He made it out the door at the same time as Marik.
They nodded to each other in greeting.
At that moment Yami and Yugi walked out of there room.
Yami immediately took to glaring at them while Yugi looked at Ryou in concern.
Ryou tried to give Yugi a smiled but it turned into a flinch when Bakura's grip on his wrist tightened.
Bakura and Marik glared off with Yami for a while before everyone else came out of their rooms.
They spared each other one more glare before Marik and Bakura walked off to the dining hall, Bakura dragging Ryou rather violently and Odeon following obediently behind his brother.
The dining hall was big, there was a large sum of food on a long table, and there were other tables set up around the room.
Bakura and Marik immediately went towards the one farthest away from all the others.
Bakura gave Ryou a command to sit down in one of the seats while Marik told Odeon to watch him and make sure nobody else came near the table.
The two villains then made their way over to the food table and each got two plates.
Marik filled his and Odeon's plates with practically the same stuff, while Bakura put a large portion of everything on one plate, while on the other plate he only put a steak. Marik raised an eyebrow at that. Bakura just shrugged.
"Yadonushi's a bit of a glutton."
Marik raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder at the scrawny boy.
"But he's so thin."
Bakura shrugged once more.
"That's why I don't complain about it."
He piled up a few items from the dessert portion and then they both made their way back to the table.
Bakura sat down next to Ryou and slid him the plate.
Marik sat down next to Bakura and nodded to Odeon, handing him the plate.
Ryou immediately started to eat.
Odeon and Marik started as well shortly after.
Bakura just eyed his steak greedily.
After a moment he picked up his fork and stabbed his steak with it.
He picked it up close to his mouth and continued to stare at it.
By this point, both Marik and Odeon were watching him curiously.
Then Bakura opened his mouth an tore into the steak.
Marik cringed slightly.
Bakura chewed for a few moments then swallowed.
"Not enough blood," He murmured.
Marik stared at him in disgust.
"Your table manners are somewhat lacking."
Bakura shrugged and lipped some of the running liquids from his lips before grabbing a napkin to take care of the rest.
Ryou didn't even glance up during that entire exchange, choosing instead to keep inhaling his food.
He did, however, glance up when he heard the doors open and everyone else walked in.
He stared at them longingly for a moment before going back to eating, though, with significantly less vigor.
After about 20 minutes, a large blue eyes ultimate dragon machine appeared out of the ground and everyone's attention was drawn to it.
Everyone got up and walked over.
After a quick explanation as to what it was, Kaiba moved to get it over with.
It was mentioned Ishizu wasn't there and Roland asked if they should go get her.
"Don't bother," Marik interrupted. "If she's not here, it's cause she doesn't feel her presence is necessary, meaning it's not."
The machine started.
"And the first duelist is, Duelist Number Three, Ry-erm"
Roland glanced at Bakura and he crossed his arms.
"Yami no Bakura."
Roland nodded.
"Yami no Bakura!"
The machine kept going.
"And his opponent is," There was a pause.
"Joey Wheeler."
Well, that was chapter one, hope you liked it.
Please Review!:)