His socks slipped across the smooth tile, as he skidded across the floor and almost missed his destination. Grabbing the handle, he swung the bathroom door open, opening the medicine cabinet and quickly rummaging through its contents. Not seeing what he needed, he closed it again, still searching.
In his haste, he almost missed what he was hurriedly looking for. Upon finding it, he let out a victorious 'aha' and grabbed the first-aid kit, vaguely wondering why they kept one in the downstairs bathroom. Shrugging it aside, he left.
Yami returned to the living room, quickly approaching the couch where Honda was placing the unconscious teenager. After removing Bakura's sweater and shirt, the spirit soaked a piece of cloth with a solution to clean the large wound on his side. When he deemed that there was enough, he gently pressed the cloth on the wound.
A pain-filled moan was removed from the snow-haired boy's lips, as his eyes wearily opened.
"Bakura," Yami called out gently, "how do you feel?"
He moaned, "Better than you'd think I'd feel."
Pulling out some bandages from the first-aid kit, the spirit asked, "Do you think you can sit up long enough for me to take care of that wound?"
Slowly, the teen sat up, ignoring the protests his body was giving him. Yami, dousing the cloth again, returned it to the wound as it continued to fill with blood. Bakura groaned slightly, but said nothing, as the spirit gently wiped away the crimson fluid, replacing the stained cloth with the bandage, sealing up the gash. After securing the binding, the teen all but collapsed back on the couch.
The other three teens watched as the spirit gently lifted Bakura's head, allowing the boy to drink some water, before placing a pillow underneath, placing him down gently on the cushion.
"Thank you," the teen said, his words sounding as though he had difficulty saying them.
"Bakura," Honda said, "what happened?"
"I don't think asking him now would be a good idea," the spirit of the puzzle stated, closing the lid of the kit. "Bakura needs to rest what strength is remaining."
"I agree," Yugi's voice chimed in suddenly, "so I'm taking over for now."
Yami turned back to the figure lying on the couch. "Yugi?"
Yugi/Bakura nodded. "Bakura's soul needs to rest, so I offered to take control for him."
"Don't you feel any pain?" Anzu wondered.
"Well, yeah, I do feel some pain. But not as much as Bakura. See, I remember hearing something about this from the guy who placed the spell on me. Because Bakura was the one in control of his body when he was injured, he's the one who feels the most pain.
"I feel some of it, because I'm sharing his body with him, but he took most of it when he was in control. If there was only one soul in this body, then they would be the only one to take care of the all the pain."
"Then maybe you can tell us," Jounouchi said, "what happened to you guys?"
Yugi/Bakura looked down at the ground. "He came after Bakura," he whispered.
Only Yami was able to pick up what the young boy said. "Who did?"
"The guy who separated my soul and body. He came after Bakura. He knew that I was hiding in Bakura's body."
Honda poked Jounouchi. "So much for your brilliant idea."
"Shut up, Honda, or I'll. . ."
"Shut up, the both of you!" Anzu barked. The both nodded fearfully.
"Yugi," Yami said, sitting next to the boy on the couch, "what exactly happened?"
Grabbing Bakura's shirt and sweater, he slipped them on, saying, "Well, Bakura was coming here, when he noticed that the place was empty. That was when we ran into the guy. He told us that he knew that I was hiding in Bakura's body, and he said to Bakura that he wouldn't hurt him if he agreed to give me up. But he refused.
"So the guy started to attack Bakura using these stone daggers. Bakura was able to dodge a lot of them, but one was able to hit him. That's when Yami Bakura saved him, and told him to come here while he took care of the guy."
"Where is Yami Bakura now?" Yami asked.
Yugi/Bakura shrugged. "I don't know. We had left him while he fought the guy, I. . . . Wait. . . . ." He closed his eyes for a minute, then reopened them. "Bakura says that they're both fighting in the Shadow realm. He felt it open through their link before Yami Bakura's presence disappeared from this world."
Yami thought for a minute. "Yami Bakura is very familiar with the Shadow realm, and is a very hard opponent to defeat. He should be able to hold his own against this mysterious mage."
"I dunno," Jounouchi said suddenly. "This guy sounds like he won't be easy to beat, either."
"Why should we listen to you?" Honda teased. "You've been wrong about everything else concerning this so far."
"Shut up."
"But Yami's probably right," Anzu said. "Yami Bakura should be able to handle himself, right?"
Yami nodded. "Yami Bakura isn't one to be taken lightly."
Yugi/Bakura nodded slightly. "He should be alright," he said softly, as if trying to convince himself.
Yami turned to the boy, but before he could say anything, the teen seemed to change again, in that strange way that he could never understand. Before he could think anything else of it, Bakura fell against him, holding his injured side, his breathing labored and trembling.
Surprised by the sudden change, Yami could only hold the boy, supporting him. "Bakura?"
The boy nodded slowly.
"I thought that. . ."
"He's in trouble," Bakura said breathlessly. The change had taken away some of his remaining strength.
"What? Who?"
"My Yami. . . . He's in trouble."
"What do you mean?"
"I can feel his presence. . . . He's back, but. . . ."
"But what?"
"He's hurt. I can sense something's wrong with him."
"I told you," Jounouchi quipped. Anzu hit him in the back of the head.
"Bakura," Yami said, "do you know where he is?"
"I-I think so."
"Tell me, and I'll go help him."
Bakura looked up at the spirit. "You don't intend to leave me here while you go, do you? I'm going, too."
"Bakura, you need to rest. . ."
"I'm going. He's my Yami, and I need to help him."
As Yami was about to protest, Bakura suddenly changed again as Yugi took over. "Would you feel better, Yami, if I was in control?" he asked.
"I don't know. I still think you two should rest."
"I'm okay, Yami. Really. Besides, I can walk and take you to where Yami Bakura is, with Bakura telling me where to go."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Yami finally replied, "All right, but only if you promise to leave when it gets too dangerous."
Yugi/Bakura closed his eyes, looking as though he was concentrating. Finally, opening his eyes, he replied, "Okay. Bakura and I promise we will."
Yami nodded, turning to look at the other three. "Let's go. I may need all of your help as well."
"Count us in," Jounouchi said, cracking his knuckles.
"Yugi, are you sure he's here?" Yami wondered, staring at the park entrance.
Yugi/Bakura nodded. "That's what Bakura said. He says he can feel Yami Bakura's presence strongest here."
Yami looked at the boy, then at the other three, nodding at them. They nodded in response, and the five teens entered the park.
It didn't take them very long until they came across an open clearing, as their eyes settled on a very still figure lying in the grass.
Yami Bakura.
Yugi/Bakura was about to run over the spirit of Ring, but Yami held up his arm to stop him.
"Yami?" Yugi/Bakura asked softly.
"There's something evil here," the dark spirit replied. "Something very evil."
A harsh, cold laugh filled the air, as Ishinku descended from what appeared to be the sky. "Very perceptive of you," he mocked.
"You're the one who put the spell on Yugi, aren't you!" Yami spat.
Ishinku barked out his ruthless laugh again. "And what if I am? What are you going to do about it?"
Yami growled, clenching his fists. "You better remove that spell, or I'm going to. . ."
"You're going to what!" Ishinku shot back. "You have no idea what you're capable, do you! You have no idea what your true abilities are, or what you have done in the past!"
"What are you talking about?" Jounouchi asked.
Ishinku merely glanced at the blond, before looking back at the spirit of the Puzzle. "That's right. You don't remember, do you, Yugioh?
"The one you all call Yami Bakura has told me of such. You don't know who you are. You don't know what you did when you were alive, and you have no idea what you were. So far as you remember, Mutou Yugi freed you from the Sennen Puzzle, and you shared bodies with him ever since."
Yami closed his eyes, shaking his head as the painful thought of not knowing who he was raced across his mind. Opening his eyes again, he replied, "So what! It's true, I don't remember anything about my past, but what does that have to do with anything now!"
Ishinku smirked suddenly. "You really don't remember. So you can't know that I am connected with your past, could you, Yugioh?"
"You?" Anzu asked.
"How?" Honda wondered.
"That is none of your concern," Ishinku replied. "But that's enough talk. Unless you don't want to help you light, Pharaoh."
Yami growled, the eye of Horus beginning to glow on his forehead. "I'll make you eat those words!"
"Careful, Yami!" Yugi/Bakura yelled as the spirit charged at Ishinku.
The strange man just smirked, the orb on his staff glowing brilliantly. He aimed it, and a beam of light shot forth, connecting with Yami's chest. A piercing scream was ripped from the spirit's throat, as the pressure of the blast pushed him backwards. His body hit a large tree, as the beam continued to drive into his chest.
"YAMI!"
The beam suddenly disappeared, as Ishinku pulled back his staff. Yami fell to his knees, keeping a hand to his burning chest, his breathing becoming heavy.
Anzu ran up to the dark spirit. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"The pharaoh will be fine," Ishinku answered. "I merely drained a lot of his energy. However, I left enough for him to retain his consciousness. Wouldn't want him nodding off before I take Yugi's soul back in my possession.
Honda also was at the pharaoh's side, helping to support him as Yami got to his feet. "I don't understand," Yami said gasped. "You're after me, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Jounouchi yelled, shaking a fist towards the wizard. "What's Yugi got to do with all this?"
Ishinku's glass eyes suddenly sparkled with rage. "The Pharaoh ruined my life!" he spat. "I want him to suffer just as much as I did after he banished me to the Shadow Realm!"
Something clicked in Yami's mind. "The Shadow Realm!" he echoed.
"Yes, the Shadow Realm. My imprisonment for the last five millennia. Every moment of the life I lived there was a constant struggle for survival. You have no idea how much I suffered there, Pharaoh."
He smirked suddenly, holding up his scepter. "But you will, Pharaoh. I will see personally that you understand the meaning of true suffering. And what better way to do that than to take away the person you care for the most?"
With a swift motion, Ishinku brought his scepter down, the orb touching the ground, glowing a strange color.
The ground shook violently suddenly, throwing everyone off their feet. As it shook, the ground began to break up, shafts of light rising through the cracks.
Suddenly, the bodies of Yami, Honda, Anzu, Jounouchi, and Yugi/Bakura levitated into the air.
"Whoa!" Jounouchi yelled. "What the--?"
Their bodies flew through the air, separating as they all landed harshly on the ground.
Yugi felt the dull feeling in the side of Bakura's body growing slightly worse. In his mind, he could sense how much worse it was for Bakura.
His head snapped up as he noticed Ishinku focus on him. "You see, Little Yugi?" the man said with a sneer. "Everything I want, I get. But you and Bakura have indeed made it very difficult for me."
"If you wanted my soul so badly," Yugi/Bakura said, "why didn't you just take it? Why did you have to hurt Bakura?"
"Since there are two souls within that particular vessel, it was much harder than that. Because Bakura was in control at that time, if I had tried the Soul Separation spell, I would have obtained his soul instead of yours. I needed you to be in control of the body in order for the spell to work. But now. . . . . this is the perfect time to do it."
Yugi/Bakura's eyes widened with fear, his body glowing the same green shade as the orb on the end of Ishinku's staff.
Yami groaned, using a tree to support him as he attempted to stand. "Yugi. . . . .!"
Yugi watched as the glow on the orb intensified. He knew what was coming next. Ishinku's ray to complete the spell, and the pain to follow as his soul was ripped from the body.
Inside, Bakura could feel Yugi's fear about being trapped again inside Ishinku's orb, and the feeling of emptiness and darkness.
Ishinku suddenly smiled cruelly. "Welcome back, Yugi," he said.
A jade-colored beam shot out of the sphere, striking Yugi/Bakura in the chest. He let out a loud scream.
"NO!" Yami yelled, but shielded his eyes as the blast blinded them all.
After what seemed to last forever, yet no time at all, the light died down, and the others looked at Bakura's still body.
Yami pushed off the tree, ignoring the pain in his torso as he ran towards the motionless boy. Blood ran down his side due to the reopening of his wound and the ripping of his bandage caused by the corrosive blast.
Gently he slipped his arm under Bakura's head, supporting it as he held the boy's body. Tears dotted the already stained sweater. 'I. . . I failed my light,' Yami thought. 'I couldn't protect him from that. . . .' He glared at Ishinku, before his eyes returned to the still form of Bakura. 'That monster. But I won't let the same thing happen to Bakura. This poor boy has already done enough to try and help Yugi. He's injured because he didn't want Yugi to be captured. Now I must return the favor, and try to find a way to get Yugi back.'
Unnoticed by Yami or the others, who made their way towards the Pharaoh, Ishinku was examining his sphere intently, a look of puzzlement etched in his translucent sapphire eyes. 'Something's wrong,' he determined. His attention was averted, though, as the group of people around the pharaoh began to make a fuss.
The other four watched as Bakura's chocolate eyes slowly opened.
"Easy there, Bakura," Yami spoke gently.
As the auburn orbs rested upon Yami, they enlarged in surprise. He sat up quickly, but gasped loudly in pain, his hand holding onto the bleeding wound.
"Hey, take it easy," Jounouchi said. "You're wounded pretty badly, remember?"
"You should rest, Bakura," Anzu said.
"Right," Honda replied. "We'll take care of the rest."
If he heard them, he showed no acknowledgement of such. His eyes were clenched shut with pain, his hand soiled crimson.
"Bakura?" Yami called gently.
One of his russet eyes opened, focused on Ishinku, who was looking at him as well. "No. . . ." he whispered. His eye shut again, as he clenched his free hand into a fist. His voice became louder as he said, "No! How could he!"
Yami gasped. "Yugi!"
He looked over at the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle, before looking down at the ground in a slight nod.
"If you're Yugi," Honda said, looking from the boy to Ishinku, "then he must have taken Bakura's soul by mistake!"
TBC