The Yugi at the doorway looked up at the snow-haired boy, his violet eyes glittering with a dim light. "You can see me?" he asked, his voice resounding with an eerie tone.
Bakura swallowed nervously, slowly nodding his head.
Yugi looked down, slightly confused, ideas and options rolling around in his mind. He then looked up again, a smile placed on his face, though his eyes still seemed dim. "Bakura," he said. "I need your help."
But Bakura wasn't sure what to do. "How is this possible?" he asked, his eyes darting back and forth from the boy on the bed to the same boy standing in the doorway.
The one by the doorway took a step towards him. "Bakura. . . ."
Bakura, out of fear, stepped back, not remembering he had knocked over his chair. The legs of the toppled chair tripped him, and he fell over, landing on his back.
Yami and the others began to wonder why Bakura was acting so strangely. "Bakura?" Yami asked. "What's wrong?"
But the boy didn't seem to hear him. He just seemed to stare at the doorway, his eyes widened with what seemed like fear. Confused, Yami looked to the door, but saw nothing.
"Hey, Bakura?" Jounouchi said. "What's going on?"
He didn't answer. He simply got to his feet, his eyes never leaving the door.
Yugi continued to approach him. "Bakura, are you okay?"
"What's going on?" Bakura asked. "How is this possible?"
"Bakura. . . . . ."
"Answer me first."
Yugi sighed, nodding. "I suppose I should tell you. It would make sense if you knew. But I'm not sure if you'd believe me."
Bakura relaxed slightly, noticing the sense of sadness in the boy's voice. "Tell me first, and we'll see."
Yugi sighed again. "Well, here goes. . . ."
Yami couldn't understand why Bakura was suddenly talking to himself. He seemed to be talking to SOMEBODY, but there was no one there.
"You think he's finally snapped?" Honda whispered to Jounouchi.
"Who knows?" the blond boy responded. "But that's why you should never trust the quiet ones. They're the first to lose it."
"Knock it off, you guys!" Anzu chided. "I'm sure there's a. . . . . logical. . . . .explanation for what Bakura's doing."
"Sure there is," Jounouchi said. "Bakura's gone PSYCHO!"
Yami quieted them, wanting to see exactly what Bakura was doing. There seemed to be a familiar presence near the boy, but it wasn't his spirit of the ring. It was a lighter, gentle presence. He just wished he could understand why it seemed familiar.
Bakura's eyes suddenly widened. "No way!" he said, glancing at Yugi. The boy was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
More silence covered the room. Jounouchi was about to say something, but Yami shushed him. 'What reason is there for Bakura to be doing this?' the spirit wondered.
"I see," Bakura said, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "But what are you going to do?"
More silence.
"But how can you do that if they can't see you?"
Yami blinked. 'Can't see who?' he wondered.
Bakura's eyes widened again. "Me! But. . . .I. . . . Can you do that?"
His odd question was followed by more silence. Honda made little circles by his head with his index finger, but stopped when Anzu elbowed him in the chest.
"Well, I guess so," Bakura said, "if it'll help. Just tell me what I have to do."
After a bit of silence, Bakura nodded, closing his eyes. As Yami watched him, something seemed to happen to the boy, something he couldn't understand. Bakura seemed to. . . . . change. . . . . somehow. But as he came to that conclusion, he found that it didn't even make sense to him.
Bakura suddenly opened his eyes, looking among the others. He smiled softly, sadly, at them. "You guys. . . ." he said softly.
The others reeled back in surprise. 'Bakura?' Yami wondered. 'But. . . . that sounded. . . . like Yugi. . . . .'
Suddenly, Bakura seemed slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "I bet you're all wondering what's going on, aren't you?" he asked, still sounding like Yugi.
"Bakura," Jounouchi said, "cut it out!"
"You sound a lot like Yugi," Anzu said.
"And it's freaking us out," Honda retorted.
Bakura looked at Yami. "Yami?" he asked gently.
Yami's crimson eyes widened. 'Could it be. . . . .?' he wondered.
"You can sense something, right? You can tell."
Jounouchi stood suddenly, almost ready to tackled him. "Bakura! I said knock it off!"
Yami stood also, holding out his arm in front of the blond boy. "Wait, Jounouchi," the spirit said.
Bakura sighed, a small smile on his face. "I knew you'd find out, Yami."
The spirit approached the snow-haired boy, who only looked at him with his chocolate eyes, smiling. Yet, there was a familiar glimmer there, a glimmer that he recognized immediately. "Yugi?" the spirit whispered, still slightly in disbelief.
But the white-haired boy nodded.
"What's going on?" Honda asked.
"It's a long story," Yugi/Bakura said. "But at the moment, I'm borrowing Bakura's body."
"What?" the all asked.
"I'm borrowing Bakura's body."
"Bakura," Honda asked, "what are you talking about?"
"I'm Yugi," the white-haired boy said. "I'm just borrowing Bakura's body."
"Bakura, knock it off," Anzu said. "That is not funny."
"That's not Bakura," Yami said, turning to the others. "That is Yugi."
"But how?" Jounouchi wondered.
Yami turned back to the snow-haired boy. "I'm not sure."
"Last night, Yami, do you remember on our way home, we passed by the alley, and you tried to warn me of some evil presence?"
Yami nodded.
"Well, I met the person you were trying to warn me about, and he was after you."
"After me?" the spirit asked. Yugi/Bakura nodded. "But what does that have to do with this?"
"Well, I turned to run, but something happened to me. I'm not sure what, but the next thing I knew, I was trapped somewhere, because that guy I met captured my soul."
Yami gasped. "Your soul!"
Yugi/Bakura nodded again. "He placed some kind of spell on me, meant for separating souls from their vessels. He had meant to separate you from the Millennium Puzzle, but when I turned to run, the spell hit me instead."
"So?" Jounouchi asked. "Even if you are separated from your body, can't you just go back in?"
Yugi/Bakura shook his head. "Unfortunately, I can't, Jou, because of the spell. I can only return to my body if the spell is removed."
"So what are you saying?" Yami asked, looking at Yugi's body. "Are you. . . .?"
"No," Yugi/Bakura said. "I'm not dead, if that's what you're thinking. Look, my body is still breathing. The functions of the body are still working properly. But without my soul in it, my body won't awaken. It's kind of like when Pegasus removed the souls from the Kaiba brothers, or my grandpa. Their bodies were still alive, but they're souls weren't there to control them."
"Was it you that Bakura was talking to before?" Honda asked.
"Yeah. Bakura was the only one who could see my soul without my body, and so he was the only one who could hear me."
"But why was it that I couldn't see your soul?" Yami asked.
"Well," Yugi/Bakura said thoughtfully, "the guy said that only two types of people could see my soul without my body: the person who put the spell on me, which is him, and people whose soul share something in common with my own. Bakura's soul has something similar with mine, so he can see me."
"But what about Yami?" Jounouchi asked.
"Well, it's true that Yami and I are part of each other. But we're still two distinct souls. The reason Yami can't see me is probably because he's the darker spirit, while I'm light."
"So what now?" Anzu asked. "I mean, how and why are you borrowing Bakura's body?"
"Well, I guess you could think of it in the sense that my soul has possessed Bakura's body. Since you guys couldn't hear me without me being in a body, I had to borrow Bakura's."
"Can you at least borrow Yami's?" Honda asked. "It might look a lot less weird."
"I wish I could," Yugi/Bakura said. "But the guy who placed this spell on me said that I am only able to posses the bodies of those people who can see me, and only if they give me their consent.
"Bakura knows all about this, because I was telling him this before. But what I haven't had a chance to tell him is that I'm in danger."
"Danger?" Yami asked. "Danger from what?"
"Well, when that guy finished telling me about the spell he put on me, and all the information I just told you all, he left, and somehow I escaped from the imprisonment he kept me in. He found out, though, and followed me. I lost him, but I know he's still searching for me, and since he can see me even without my body, he's going to try capturing me again."
"But you said he was after me, Yugi. What does he want with you?"
Yugi/Bakura looked up at the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, his eyes flickering sadly. "He was going to use me as a blackmail tool against you, Yami. He was going to try holding my soul against you, exchanging the removal of the spell off of my soul for the imprisonment of yours."
Yami looked down at the ground, then at the boy's body lying in bed. Turning to Yugi/Bakura, he asked, "Do you know where he resides, Yugi?"
"I. . . . I think so. Why?"
"I'm going to take him up on his offer."
"What!" Honda said.
"You can't do that!" Anzu exclaimed.
Yami looked at her. "This shouldn't be happening to Yugi, and the man who did this to him is after me. Maybe if I. . . . . ."
"No!" Yugi/Bakura said. "I'm not going to let you, Yami! I don't care what you say!"
"Yugi. . . ."
"No! Yami, you don't know what it's like in that crystal ball where he was keeping my soul. You couldn't even begin to imagine! When I was in there, I thought for sure I wouldn't survive in there. It was horrible. I can't describe it! All these horrible feelings running through you, making you think things you wouldn't normally think, the loneliness, the emptiness."
"Yugi, I. . . . ."
"No, you haven't! Sure you've been in the Millennium Puzzle for so long, but that will not compare to being trapped inside that place! One hour in there, Yami, and I wanted to die! I don't want that to happen to you! And I would never see you again! I couldn't handle that!"
"But what are you going to do, Yugi?" the spirit asked.
Jounouchi, who had been silent for the past few minutes, finally spoke up. "I wonder. . . . . ."
They all looked at him. "What?" Yugi/Bakura asked.
"Well," he said, "I was just thinking. . ."
"Which is a major achievement for you," Honda joked.
"I'm being serious, man. Anyway, Yugi, would the guy be able to find you if you were to remain hidden?"
Yugi/Bakura blinked. "I don't think so. But how can I stay hidden from him?"
"Well, if you stay in Bakura's body, would he still be able to see you, since your soul is already in a vessel?"
"Of course!" Yami said. "If Yugi was to remain in Bakura's body, the man who placed a spell on him wouldn't be able to find him."
"Until we can find a way to find him and get him to reverse the spell," Honda said, "Yugi will have to stay in Bakura's body."
"And until then," Anzu added, "Yami could fill in as Yugi in school. No one really notices when he changes, anyway." Yami nodded.
Yugi/Bakura was about to say something more, when he stopped suddenly, closing his eyes. Yami noticed this.
"Yugi?" he inquired.
"Hold on," Yugi/Bakura said. He opened his eyes again. "Bakura says that he doesn't think this is a good idea."
"What?" they asked.
"He says that he's unsure about it."
"Can we talk to him, Yugi?" Yami asked.
Yugi/Bakura nodded, closing his eyes again. Yami watched as the boy seemed to. . . . change. . . . again, but it still didn't make much sense.
The boy's auburn eyes opened again. Yami looked at him. "Bakura?" he asked.
The boy nodded.
"This is going to take a LOT of getting used to," Jounouchi whispered. Honda nodded.
"What were you saying about being unsure of the idea?" Yami asked gently, not wanting to upset the boy more than he already seemed to be.
Bakura looked down at the ground. "I. . . . . I don't know. I just have this. . . . . feeling. . . . . . .that something might go wrong. I can't explain it."
"What could go wrong?" Jounouchi asked. "It was MY idea."
"In that case," Honda said, smirking, "there's a lot that could go wrong."
Jounouchi growled. "Watch it, Honda. . . . ."
"Cut it out, you two," Anzu chided again.
Yami and Bakura seemed to ignore them. "I just don't think it's safe," Bakura said again, brown meeting crimson. "I have a bad feeling about it."
"But there is nothing else we can do," Yami said. "You're the only one who can see Yugi, and therefore are the only one who he can share bodies with. I would give myself up to release the spell from Yugi, but he won't let me. By resting within you, we're hoping that we can keep Yugi safe from whoever is after him. I'm very concerned for my light's safety, and this is the only thing we can do for now. Please, Bakura."
The pleading in the spirit's voice wrenched at Bakura's heart. He could tell that Yami was truly concerned for Yugi's safety, and only wanted to make sure no harm could come to him. Looking down, he said reluctantly, "All right."
Yami gently placed a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "Thank you. I promise, we'll watch out for you as well."
But Bakura pulled away from the spirit's touch. "Right," he said, almost bitterly. He couldn't help but feel that Yami had just said that because he was the host of another soul, a soul that happened to have been very close to Yami. He felt guilty for feeling that way, but he couldn't really help it.
In the back of his mind, Yugi could feel Bakura's jealousy. But what was it for? Because his Yami was so concerned for his safety? Or because Bakura felt he was interacting with these 'friends' for the wrong reasons?
TBC