Chapter Six: Reaching Destiny

Slender fingertips grasped my shoulder, shaking me awake with gentle back and forth movements. My body instinctively tensed at the foreign touch, assuming that it would turn from loving to aggressive at any given moment. Biting down on my lower lip, I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed furiously to myself.

/Gods, make him go away! Make Yami die and go to hell so no one will ever be bothered by him again! /

Once more, the unknown hand shook me lightly. It was forcing me to rise, making me heed its call. I whimpered under the pressure of the limb, dangerously teetering on the edge of tears.

"Yugi, it's me…" someone whispered in a soft-spoken accent, intent on getting my attention. "Please believe me when I say I'm here to help you."

"He tells me the same things, too." I choked, my forehead resting on top of my knees. "He always lies to me, though."

"I'm not like that."

"How do I know you aren't the same as him?"

Lifting my face up to be at the same level as his, the silver-haired child replied evenly, "You're just going to have to find it in your heart to trust me."

Blinking my eyes in astonishment, I took in the features of the individual next to me. He was another good friend of mine, someone that I could easily relate to. Long snowy white tresses of his hung halfway down his back, rich and full of amazing volume. Dressed in neatly pressed pants and a button-up shirt, he appeared to be sporting his usual semi-formal attire. I had never seen the light-skinned boy wear anything even remotely casual, or have a messy exterior. Always conservative and elegant, the small adolescent carried himself with a regal disposition. Regarding me with sad green orbs, he appeared to be as close to crying as I was.

Attempting to break the tenseness of the moment, I asked, "What are you doing here, Ryou?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just out grocery shopping with my koi, and we thought it would be nice to stop by and ask Yugioh if he needed anything. I searched his refrigerator and freezer to see what he was out of, and I discovered that he didn't have any meat or poultry in stock."

"Curious, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh. There isn't a trace of seafood, cold cuts, or ground beef anywhere in his kitchen."

"And you're never going to find any, either." I said, stretching my sore neck.

"Why is that?"

Giving him a broken smile, I responded, "Because I'm his main course for dinner time. Yami never goes hungry with me around."

Watching the tiny teen's expression wither in disgust, I tried to move, but found the task to be of great difficulty. The more I wriggled in place, the more sharp pains attacked various places on my body. Frowning in confusion, I gazed down at myself to see what was holding me here. All I could catch a glimpse of was a silky sheet of red draped over my frame, making my anatomy look as though it had been turned into a sea of blood. Crying out in frustration, I wrestled to break free from the creepy sheets.

"What is it?" inquired Ryou, lines of worry creasing his brow.

"I'm stuck!" I cried, still trying to squirm my way out of the confines of the blanket. "I can't move!"

"That's ridiculous!" my friend protested, setting his hand on the sheet. "It's just a little cover! How hard can it be to take it off--"

Upon removing the silk blanket from me, he revealed the nasty truth that was previously concealed. There, lying underneath the sheet was my mangled and bruised body tied to the bed by barbed wire. Covering his mouth with the back of his hand, the green-eyed boy turned away from the sight of me. I looked that bad, that sick, like a batch of zombies were done feasting on me and had left my remains to disintegrate. Rusted barbs from the wire stuck into various parts of me, nailing me to where I was. Numb and drained from my last encounter with my millennium spirit, I couldn't even feel the pain from the metal slicing me open.

"Oh, gods…" whispered Ryou, his skin changing the same color as his eyes. "How could anyone do this to you?"

"I never as him why, I only know that he does things like this because I deserve it."

"That's not true! No one should have to live in terror for their own life!"

I shook my head, contradicting the silver-haired child's statement. "I belong to my master. I am only allowed to do what he tells me to. My life is his."

Placing both of his hands on my shoulders, my young classmate stared at me with scared eyes. "Are you even listening to yourself, Yugi? Are you? I mean, do you have any idea what you are saying right now? How can you resign yourself to being someone else's play toy? Is that all you want to be in life? Someone's artifact for amusement?"

"I do not question the motives of my master. I only live to carry out his divine wishes." I stated tonelessly, letting my head drift to the ground.

"But--But that's not right!" argued my friend shrilly, gazing at me in complete disbelief. "No one should have to take that sort of treatment! No one should have to bow to self-proclaimed gods! No one--"

"Hikari, let him go." another voice commanded in the distance.

"But he can't go on thinking that this is the only way to live!" protested Ryou, still trying to convince me to have more self-worth than I had.

"I know, but a victim of this kind of abuse will only continue to blame themselves. You cannot force him to understand any different."

Aggravated by his Yami's words, the green-eyed child decided to heed the advice given to him. Letting go of my small frame, he gathered up the sheet he tossed off of me and began to clean my wounds. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shadowy presence of his alter ego there, watching me with dark eyes. Propped up against the doorway, Yami Bakura folded his arms in front of his chest. I was glad he kept his distance from my temporary nurse, and me since I didn't want to have any more scars added to my body.

Sensing my nervousness, Ryou soothed, "Calm down, Yugi. Dressing these scars won't hurt as much as when you first received them."

I nodded weakly, still keeping a wary eye plastered to my classmate's millennium spirit. "They're not bad, are they?"

"Actually, I've seen worse, if you can believe it." sighed the silvery-haired adolescent, mending the cuts on my waist. "However, that doesn't mean that you're completely off the hook here. Some of the scrapes on you aren't exactly ordinary." Examining my flesh, he tore off part of the sheet and tied it to my mid-section. "I'm not going to lie to you, Yugi…these are pretty bad. In fact, I'm willing to bet that some of them might be permanent editions to your skin." Going for the wire around my wrists and ankles, the green-eyed boy fought with it mercilessly. Tugging this way and that, he attempted to free me from my restraints, but the obstinate barbs refused to budge. "Damn it!" he cursed, dropping his professional air for the time being. "I just--this is so--why can't I--"

Soundlessly, the older version of Ryou pushed himself away from his comfortable position. He sauntered over to his hikari's side, ready to offer his assistance without being told. Straightening into a more rigid sitting position, I held my breath. Never before had the spirit of the ring been so close to me. I didn't know much about the mysterious counterpart of my classmate's, but I didn't care to, either. Something about the wild-eyed Yami made my blood run cold and my teeth chatter involuntarily, although I had no real reason to dislike the older individual. Scanning my small structure with his eerie eyes, the millennium spirit assessed the situation before him. Stroking his chin with a thumb and forefinger, he stuck his opposite limb into one of his open pockets. It didn't take him long to find the object he was hunting for. Flashing me a sadistic smirk, he revealed to me what he had found.

Snapping my eyes closed, I wailed, "Oh, please, I don't want to be hurt anymore!"

Glancing up from his work, Ryou said, "I'm not trying to cause you any more hardship, okay? Just let me--"

"That millennium spirit of yours is gonna slice and dice me like a vegetable machine!"

Poking me with the tip of his pocketknife, the quiet Yami went about his business as though I hadn't spoken a word. Pulling the wire taut around me, the wise old soul fiddled with the binding chains. Within seconds of the spirit's handiwork, I could feel the lead tied to my limbs loosen greatly. All it took was a few more slashes of his trusty blade to the barbs and I was finally able to be released. Showing me a hint of a grin, Ryou's counterpart removed the wire from my body with the greatest of ease. Somehow, Yami Bakura was fully capable of getting rid of the shackles without causing me any added grief. Free at last, I rubbed my tired wrists with my fingertips.

"Feel better?" questioned Yami Bakura, a tone of genuine concern edging up in his voice.

"Yes, I do." I agreed, alternating from massaging my arms to my ankles. "Thank-you very much."

Shrugging, the millennium spirit smiled. "Don't mention it, Young One."

"Why did you help me?" I asked suddenly, in spite of myself.

Gazing at me with melancholy brown eyes, Yami answered cryptically, "Because I, too, was once a helpless little child trapped by a very bad ruler."

Narrowing my eyes at him, I looked at the green-eyed boy expectantly. Ryou just shook his head, set an index finger over his lips, and went back to wiping the dried blood on me off. For some odd reason, the very air in the bedroom seemed to grow thick and tense, creating a wave of anxiety between the silvery-haired child and his counterpart. I watched their nervousness expand with silent wonder, contemplating what the millennium spirit meant by his last phrase. It was likely that I had misjudged the spirit of the ring, but I couldn't truly believe the insinuation he had made. Did he mean to tell me that someone had tried to take advantage of him, too? Just what was he getting at? And why wouldn't he tell me the rest of what he was thinking?

Grabbing the Millennium Puzzle at the base of my throat, Yami Bakura pulled the trinket from my neck. "It's him. I know it's him."

"Yugioh?" asked Ryou breathlessly, surprised at what he heard. "Are you sure it's him this time?"

Yami's head moved up and down slowly, his eyes glazed over in an ocean of his own memories.

"You shouldn't get involved in this, then." stated the younger child, putting his arms around his millennium spirit.

Snapping out of his reverie, Yami Bakura countered, "I have to. It's the only way I'll be able to put the past behind me."

"No!" objected the green-eyed boy, his emotions quite hostile. "I won't let you! You could get hurt!"

"I already am hurt by what happened, hikari."

"You're placing your health, your mental stability, even your life at stake!"

"I know. I have to stop him before he does this to anyone else."

"But--But--" the silvery-haired adolescent sputtered, appearing to be more terrified than his Yami.

I could see that Ryou was losing this argument. In a tender fashion that made my heart ache, the millennium spirit beckoned his sweet counterpart close to him with outstretched arms. Stifling a cry, my classmate accepted the open invitation of affection and fell into the spirit's grasp. Only in my dreams had I witnessed such love and sincerity, where two soul mates embrace each other in an unspoken bond of total adoration. Flicking his young counterpart's tear away, the spirit of the ring dispelled all of Ryou's troubled thoughts.

"Dear One, I don't wish to worry you, but you know this is something I have to do on my own. Do not mourn for me, since I will put all of this mayhem and chaos to rest. Yugi's millennium spirit needs to be put in his place. If I don't do it, then he's just going to keep hopping from one location to another, feasting on the low self-esteem of other children similar to our friend here. You don't want that, Ryou, I know you don't."

"You're right, I don't." sniffed the small teenager, agreeing with what he was listening to.

"That's why I must take care of Yugioh once and for all so that this will all be done with. That way," concluded Yami Bakura, gazing directly into his Hikari's eyes, "we can move on and put this entire nasty mess behind us. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Spirit. I do."

Smiling passionately at his lover, the millennium spirit stood up. "Good, then everything's settled. I'll take the Millennium Puzzle back to our house. At the stroke of midnight, I'll call the quarters to work a magic circle spell and enter into the shadow realm. I'm sure the King of games will be waiting there, since he'll be separated from his host."

"And then?" questioned Ryou, wishing to work out any kinks in their battle plan before his koi risked his life in the harsh reality of the Shadow Realm.

"And then I'm going to take him on there. This will go past any duel monsters game either of us have ever played, so it's going to require me to use his largest weakness against him."

"Which is…?"

"Power."

"Wait, isn't power also his greatest strength?" I asked, knowing Pharaoh's greedy ways were what made it possible for him to acquire the title of the Ruler of All Duels.

"True," agreed Yami Bakura, playing with the chain connected to the puzzle. "but the other major downfall of power is pride. In order to stop your Yami cold in his tracks, I have to damage his pride so much that he'll never go after another soul again."

"That just might work." thought Ryou out loud, giving his older counterpart's idea serious thought. "After all, what have we got to lose?"

"Jou-chan." I blurted, aware of Pharaoh's next move.

"What about him?" inquired the green-eyed child, looking a bit upset that someone interrupted his thoughts.

"Jou-chan." I repeated, forcing them to look at me. "He's going after Joey. If we don't hurry, Jou will be the next person we lose to Yami."

"This is bad…" growled the spirit of the ring, lost in a maze of his own thoughts. "I had the perfect plan all set up, and now one more element gets thrown into the mix."

"We can't just let Joey fend for himself!" I moaned, disturbed by the implication that they might be considering letting Jounouchi be sacrificed to hungry Pharaoh.

"Would you settle down, already?!" hissed Yami Bakura, glaring at me with fire in his eyes. "I didn't say that we'd leave Joey to the four winds. I'm just saying this complicates things a bit."

"I say we should still go through with your idea." Ryou piped up, regarding his millennium spirit with a hard look. "That way, you get your showdown with the King of Games, Yugi's safe, and that makes everything work out all right."

"What about Joey, though?" I whined, frantic that they were forgetting about my best friend.

"That's where you come in." the silvery-haired child explained, raising a palm to quiet me. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so--"

"Okay. Since you don't live that far away from here, Yami and I will get you dressed, make you look presentable enough to go out into public, and then you're on your own. Since Bakura here needs help rounding up all the altar materials used for the Shadow realm summoning, I'm going to have to stay with him and do that. Even though our magic is strongest at midnight, we're going to have to perform the ritual as soon as we get home. That leaves you by yourself. We're counting on you to get yourself to Joey's place, warn him as best as you can, and then escape together. I know Pharaoh's going to come looking for you sooner or later, so we can't send you to a hospital or any of your usual hangouts. If we leave you in plain view, your yam's going to get you. If he does catch you, we have no way of knowing that he did, so you have to be extra careful when carrying out this plan." Ending his strategy session, he toyed with the dangling ornaments on his Millennium Ring. "Any questions so far?"

"And what if Jou doesn't believe me?" I spouted off, still apprehensive about everything out in the open.

"That's your dilemma." Ryou answered, helping himself to his feet. "All you can do is tell him what's going on. If he doesn't want to listen to you, that's his problem. Remember, your job is to get him to understand how severely important it is to pay attention to you. Like I told you before, Yami Bakura and I are going right home to set up and work the summoning spell. We can't be in two places at once, Yugi, so we're depending on you to get that message across to Joey."

"Or, you could just wait for us to tap into the Shadow Realm, hunt down Yami Yugi, and come out." said the spirit of the ring, filing one of his nails. "Of course, if Pharaoh gets to Wheeler before we're through stringing up his carcass, I'm sure the pretty perky blond's going to have hell to pay. You decide how you want to go about this. We're running out of time."

"Alright, get me dressed." I replied with grim determination, struggling to stand up. "I can't let that maniac have Joey."

"There, that's what I like to hear!" encouraged Ryou, holding me steady until I could balance on my own.

"Yes, he's a regular tiger." snorted the old spirit sarcastically.

"What should we put him in?" asked the green-eyed child, picking some lint from his clothes.

"Um, the less suspicious, the better." responded the millennium spirit, glancing around the living area. "Where's his school uniform?"

"I'll look in the bathroom." called Ryou, disappearing into the small sunshine-colored room.

"Uh, I wouldn't go in there if I were you…" I warned the small teenager, although it was too late to give him a heads up on what he would be forced to see.

Moments later, the green-eyed child backed into the bedroom, his skin pasty and pale. His eyes were glued shut, obviously disturbed by what he saw.

"You'd think I would have learned by now…" whispered poor Ryou, seeking the shelter of his yam's embrace.

"There, there, it's all right." comforted the spirit of the ring, patting his hikari compassionately. "I'm assuming that he can't put his school attire back on?"

Shaking his head vigorously, the white-haired boy replied, "Not if you want a police officer to pick him up for suspected murder."

Sighing, Yami Bakura said, "Do you guys wear the same size?"

"Pretty much." we answered in unison, cracking a smile as soon as we were done talking.

"Since I've got street clothes on underneath this class set, my hikari can loan you his school garments while he takes mine. That way, none of us will raise any questions."

Shrugging out of the traditional blue and white uniform, the millennium spirit handed his clothes to his young conterpart. Ryou, on the other hand, wasn't too keen on the idea of getting undressed in front of anyone.

"Well, what's the hold up, Ryou-chan?" inquired his Yami, looking a tad annoyed. "We don't have all day, you know."

"I--uh--I--" stuttered the snowy-haired adolescent, blushing as he spoke.

"Oh, damnit!" swore his Yami, angry at his hikari's actions. "You pick the absolute worst time to be body shy, you know that?!"

"I'm sorry…" apologized Ryou, staring at the ground. "It's just that--well--it's hard on me, letting others see me without anything on--"

"Come on, Ryou, I've seen you naked on lots of occasions." complained the millennium spirit, his tone nasty. "What's the big deal?"

"It's me." I stammered, ashamed that I had caused a huge ruckus. "I'll turn around."

"No, you won't!" stated Yami Bakura, tossing his school uniform my way. "These will be a bit big on you, but it's going to have to do for now. We can't sit and wait for my hikari to play dress up games."

Pulling the attire on, I found the jacket to be at least a couple sizes too large. Yami's undershirt hung loosely over my skin, making the garments quite comfortable to wear. Even the pants had trouble staying up on me, and I looked like a child in my daddy's clothes. Nevertheless, the spirit of the ring was right. Time was running out, and it was either this or nothing at all.

Turning to face the two lovers, I offered them a small smile. "How do I look?"

"Cute and adorable." smiled Ryou; his eyes dancing like two of the finest stars in all of heaven.

"Like a fucking kindergarten kid." snapped Yami, smirking in spite of himself.

"Oh, now that's mature." retorted the green-eyed boy, crossing his arms in front of himself.

"I thought so." the spirit shot back, still smirking. Yawning loudly, the old counterpart said, "I do believe we should be getting home now. The spell awaits us, Ryou-chan."

"That it does." decided the white-haired adolescent, nodding his assent. "There's too much riding on this to back down." Clasping hands with me, my classmate shook it delicately. "I wish you luck, my friend."

"Thank-you." I said, returning the handshake warmly. "I know I'm going to need it. Oh, and good luck to you two as well."

Yami Bakura waved me off. "Thanks, kid. You'd better be getting along yourself."

The both of them vanished into the hallway, leaving as mysteriously as they had arrived. Usually I could tell where someone was in the house by the sound of their footsteps. On this occasion, I couldn't hear a single pitter-patter on the floorboards, no matter how hard I listened for them. Ryou and Yami Bakura were two of a kind, as mystical and enigmatic as the millennium items themselves. All of a sudden, I thanked my lucky stars for having friends like those. They were there when I needed them the most, and I appreciated it all so very much. And then there was Joey, who had been there for me since kindergarten…as the seriousness of the situation continued to haunt me, I realized what my first priority was. I had to find him. I had to get to Jou-chan, or Yami would…Pushing the grisly thoughts from my mind, I raced down the stairs and out the door. The sunlight that hit my face was disorienting, I was in total need of a decent meal and weeks of sleep, but I pushed all of my selfish needs aside. Joey needed me now. As I picked up my running pace, the only things that filled my head were thoughts of my best friend, and what would happen if I somehow failed him.

/I can't let that happen! / my mind cried, throbbing with the beginnings of a migraine. /I won't! I won't let Yugioh win this match! /

This was one event that I had to win. Promising myself victory at the end of the long, dark tunnel, I dodged streetwalkers left and right to reach my destiny ahead.

To be continued in Breaking Point, already available to read…