Chapter Four The Duelist Kingdom Part I

All the hope that had gathered in me had formed a tremendous crescendo, a spinning wave of water. Just as this wave of hope reached its height, it shattered on the sharp rocks, splintered into a thousand shards that could never be reassembled. "Where is he?" I almost screamed.

"He's sailing for the Duelist Kingdom tonight. If you hurry to Domino Piers, you can find him on the ship chartering a course to Pegasus J. Crawford's private island."

"Arigatou!" I yelled over my shoulder. Would I make it to Domino Piers before Yugi's ship set sail? Though I ran as fast as I could, my energies were already waning from my mad dash of before. I had not crossed even half of the distance before my side began to ache. I slowed to a walk and then to a plod. All the while I cursed the delay. "Matte, Yugi!" I whispered ceaselessly under my breath. As I walked, I retied the Sen Nen ring's cord around my neck. Then I set off again. Already the lights of the city had begun to flicker to life. I knew that I did not have much time. My lungs seared; I drowned in sweat and half-drawn breaths. The pavement was as thunder beneath my feet and my every step a leap from one chasm of eternity to the next.

At last I reached the piers. Lights danced in the water, which lapped at the docks. My troubled heart had no business in this peaceful place. Frantically I looked around for Yugi. Suddenly welcome ruckus met my ears. I turned my head and saw an immense cruise ship, outfitted for what promised to be a festive voyage. Lined up before it were countless duelists. I knew them even without being close. They exuded an air of secret knowledge, not to mention dedication. Their eyes shone with one purpose. I wondered if this perception was due to the Sen Nen Ring. I came a little closer. Gorilla-like men dressed in dark suits flanked the duelists, herding them into the ship. Tight security, I thought. Nonetheless, it wouldn't stop me!

I sighted Mutou Yugi; his tri-colored hair always made him easy to spot in a crowd. Though I longed to dash to his side, screaming his name, Yugi's best friend, Jounouchi, beat me to it. The loud boy drew the security guards after him. Though the delay filled me with apprehension, I knew that I had to bide my time. Otherwise, like Jounouchi, the ape-like men would kick me out. Suddenly I remembered that the boat would sail tonight. Yugi would be gone for days, maybe a whole week! I swallowed hard and looked about the ship. There had to be a way to sneak in. I had made no preparations for a journey, and there was no guarantee that Yugi could even help me. Nonetheless, I felt in my heart that my instinct to follow him was right.

I gathered my courage and approached the boat. The guards had amassed around Jounouchi and Yugi like ants around a cake. In doing so, they had left a side door unguarded. I slid into the dim corridor. It reeked of stale salty air. I hurried through them to the more hospitable commons. Here the duelists were already trading and practicing furiously. I bit my lip. Yugi was nowhere to be found. Where could he be?

The boat lurched beneath me, and the engine gave a great cough. My stomach churned. Had I made a mistake? I left the stuffy commons. At the rail I watched Domino harbor shrink like a rainbow-splashed puddle in the sun. As the familiar city vanished into the evening, I felt my hope fading with it.

We sailed for a full day. Though I sought Yugi amongst the other duelists, I could not find him. When the ship pulled into the Duelist Kingdom, I sighted him. He, Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu were descending the gangplank to the lovely island, friends partaking of a merry adventure. I pushed through the crowd and raced to catch up with them. They neared the ancient castle that stood atop a rocky mound. Beside the castle an overgrown forest writhed and twisted. Each growth within plotted schemes of suffocating green darkness. I stared at the forest for a long while. Its savage, unkempt nature fascinated me. Since I was not a contestant, I reasoned that it would be okay to explore for a while. Yet, I argued with myself, I had to ask Yugi about the Sen Nen Ring and the evil spirit inside of it! Chills dotted my arms. Though I clearly was in my own body, my other self was controlling me! Against my own will, I went deeper and deeper into the forest. Darkness closed around me like a curtain, secluding me from all help. In the deepest patch of midnight, Yami Bakura rose from me like a ghost from a grave. In this dimness I could make out his shape as clearly as if he stood behind me in a mirror. His mouth twisted sardonically.

"I too wish for you to encounter young Mutou Yugi," he said in his sneering voice. "However, now is not the time. In fact, I would prefer that you conceal the Sen Nen Ring for a while."

I flushed with hot anger. "I won't hide it! It's the reason I followed him all the way here!" I fed off my own boldness and added, "So I can get rid of you!"

"Get rid of me?" Yami Bakura pursed his lips as if assessing the danger of Yugi's abilities. He folded his arms and regarded me with eyes as cold as death upon frost. "You will attempt no such thing."

"You can't order me! I'm back in control of my body!"

"I allowed you to return to it by choice. Just as easily I can remove you from it." My other self advanced on me. Though he was spectral, I backed away from the hatred that flickered in his frigid eyes. "Of course..." He sneered. "When I finish with you, you shall beg to do my will."

His fingers closed around my wrist. Transparent though they were, they cut like a knife formed of ice. I gasped and swung at him. Yami Bakura tightened his grip and flung me to the forest floor. From there, blows like needles and knives rained on me, a downpour of cataclysmic proportions. What screams the forest did not swallow filled my head. Finally I was too exhausted to even whimper. Tears streaked my face. My other self remained atop me, hurting purely to sate his cruel pleasure. At last he stopped and hauled me roughly to my feet. My spirit broken, I sagged back down to my knees. "Expect worse if the thought of Yugi's help so much as enters your mind," he warned.

I could not bear to meet his steely eyes, so I inspected the damage I had incurred at his hands. In the dim forest light, I could discern not even a scratch. I ran a finger across my throbbing wrist. I expected to feel figures eights slashed there, abraded chunks of skin like a chalk pattern upon a rough road, blood marking the way as it snaked on through senseless eternity. However, my flesh was smooth and unbroken. Somehow I still experienced the pain of a hellacious beating without my Yami inflicting a scratch upon me. Wihtout a second thought I did as he asked and concealed the Sen Nen Ring with only a touch and a thought.

At that moment, the power he wielded filled me with horror. My darker self vanished, but his voice lingered in my mind, directing me. He would use me as a pawn when I did encounter Mutou Yugi. To what end, I could not say and would not learn until the duel that began in the cradle of night.

My Yami directed me to remain in the forest, claiming that Yugi would soon pass this way. When he did, I was to join his party and challenge him to a duel using the favorite cards of all those with him. I had never been good at lying and protested. Yami Bakura only whispered, "Remember..."

A flash of pain shot through both of my wrists. He parted from me with this token of remembrance. I meanwhile, hid in the bushes to wait for Yugi. I watched the sun's blood dribble down through the leaves die. Soon after, the sun itself died. Before long, the moon's soft glow shone through. All about me, the leaves and branches were the darkened set of an abandoned stage. Footsteps crunched occasionally through the silence. I must have fallen asleep, for I awoke to the sound of hissing flames. Someone nearby had started a fire. I peeped out of my hiding place and almost sobbed with relief. It was Yugi and his many friends!

I won't do as you ask, Yami! I vowed.

You will! he answered.

I despised myself, knowing that it was true.

"Come out! Or we're going in!" Jounouchi and Honda yelled.

I emerged with a heavy heart. "Yugi-kun," I said. Agony equal to the unseen wounds of my body welled up in my heart.

"Bakura-kun!" Yugi smiled.

"It wasn't an illusion that I saw!" Anzu told Honda.

Somehow I went through the motions of asking everyone which card was their favorite. I even found one for me: Change of Heart. "Let's have a duel, Yugi," I said. To my amazement, my voice remained gentle, giving no indication how I despised the words. "Not for star chips, though. Just for fun."

"Great idea," Yugi said. "We can put everyone's cards in and it will be like we're all playing together!"

"You'll never beat all of us!" Jounouchi grinned.

"Wait! Before we begin, there is something that I must show you!" I was desperate now. If I could only make the Sen Nen Ring appear... I did not doubt my Yami's power, but I had knocked him free of my body before. Perhaps I could surprise him again... Sure enough, the ring materialized beneath my fingertips. Yugi and his friends gasped.

Before I could explain the situation to Yugi, Yami Bakura flung me from my body. I stood beside him, transparent. In this state, the wounds were devastating, clearly weeping transparent blood. Yami Bakura laughed in triumph. The energies inside the Sen Nen Ring shifted. Though I first thought this was a punishment meant especially for me, I noticed that the Ring jerked Yugi and his friends' souls from their bodies. The empty shells collapsed to the ground, useless. The souls disappeared into the deck that Yugi had just reconstructed. I watched helplessly from the sides. Then my own deck jerked me toward it. Despite my valiant efforts, I could not escape its pull. Everything about me went black.