Alright, time to add in an outside conflict. ;) Oh c'mon, you knew it had to happen. If this little plot seems boring because it's been done to death, well, sorry, but don't get too overworked about it. I've got a few other tricks up my sleeve.
For those of ya that don't have good friends really into the Japanese language or a few books lying around the house on the subject, then Ki is Japanese for Spirit/Life Force. Yeah, not really original, but then again, I'm sick of all the dubbed names (I understand Joey's, ok, but I think most children could've gotten a grasp on Honda...considering it's a freakin' car and all over here) so I didn't want to go American/English/Arabic here, Yugi stuck with his original name (minus that one U) so I thought he and his spirit might have that in common, and I've only become a big anime fan in the last...not even a year yet, so my Japanese knowledge is extremely limited.
--------------------------------------------
Bakura sighed and fell back against a nearby tree, sliding down its length until he was sitting in the soft grass at its base. Yugi had run away fairly early that evening; Bakura was sure it was nearing midnight, but the little duelist had yet to show up.
The ring keeper looked up at the sky, managing to catch a few of the heavenly stars winking at him through the thin branches of the trees above. A cool breeze blew his soft hair away from his face and neck, touching his bare skin with its icy kisses. Bakura smiled. Moments like these were rare, precious things that he had taken for granted so often before.
The darker presence of his item had stopped that. Bakura doubted he'd be able to take anything for granted again. He had never been popular before, but before receiving the "present" from his father, Bakura did have friends. Friends who began to just disappear without notice to anyone. Friends whose last memories were of betrayal and pain. Friends who, when he thought of them, brought back fuzzy memories of their screams and final moments in this realm.
Bakura had hated very few things in his young life, and the hatred felt towards these souls or objects was so dim in the young man's mind that it could hardly be called true hatred. There was only one thing in this world that Bakura could truly say he despised and wished would leave forever.
He hated that creature of the ring.
Somehow, though, Bakura found throwing the cursed object away impossible. He doubted he could actually do it even if another soul's life was on the line. There was a connection, something beyond his comprehension that attached him to this mere trinket.
He was therefore happy that Yugi's item had destroyed the dark spirit. Bakura didn't know if he would have been able to stay sane knowing his hands had taken another innocent life. True, they weren't under his control at those times, but they were his hands nonetheless.
But what of this other spirit? Bakura mused. Yugi's guardian was so different from the evil residing in his ring. Bakura had been trapped during the duel between his spirit and Yugi's, only receiving a portion of painfully unclear thoughts from his other half to piece together what was happening. Armed with these and the ability to adapt quickly to present situations, once released from his card, the young man had been able to assess the situation rather swiftly and act accordingly. Only afterwards could he look back on what had really taken place.
He remembered Yugi's guardian with clarity, and henceforth was one of the few able to recognize when the spirit and his charge switched. Bakura found he would often stare at the commanding presence and compare it with his own. Yugi's guardian stood firmly, his feet planted apart, his entire body conveying to the world that he had the strength and will to win. Bakura's demon stood straight as well as if to spite his opponents, but at the same time his body was on edge, ready to flee at the first sign of failure. Yugi's spirit looked his friends and opponent's in the eyes. Bakura's spirit averted his or tilted his face to the side to hide any facial expressions. Yugi's spirit protected him. Bakura's trapped him in his own mind and destroyed everything he loved.
Yet they could be similar. Both spirits were rough around the edges; sharp, imposing entities that reflected the inner darkness of their two delicate, gentle vessels. They both had a mysterious aura about them. Even though Yugi's spirit never physically appeared to hide his truest identity, it was hard for one not to feel in the dark about him...in some cases quite literally.
Perhaps the two spirits had more in common than Bakura initially thought. After all, he was merely basing this description on a few duels. It was the only time the spirit ever came out after all. Bakura's innocence paled in comparison with Yugi's, and yet the boy had rejected his other half with passion, the pain and hate clear on his face while doing so. If Yugi could despise something that much, especially knowing it more intimately than Bakura ever would, who was he to claim he knew what the Puzzle's spirit was really like. Perhaps all Millennium Item bearers were doomed to lead painful lives with evil spirits that could claim their body without a second thought.
It was not a very comforting thought.
Bakura closed his eyes one last time before standing and stretching. He had rested far too long. The others would most likely be worrying about him. Even that one girl...Mai was it not? had helped join in the search. Hopefully they could find Yugi before his other did and somehow help him. If he needed help. The little one seemed quite capable despite his size and appearance.
You think too much, fool, Bakura mentally chided himself, laughing a bit out loud.
I agree.
The white haired youth froze.
No... In his mind's eye, Bakura could see the other person's cold smile.
Yes.
But he killed you!
Idiot. I own you. I don't know how you ever came around to believing otherwise, or how you even found the courage to betray me. Frankly, I'm disappointed with you. But that can wait.
Bakura began to panic, fighting against the demon that was trying to regain control.
Don't get any fool-hardy ideas from that little pest. You and I will not be separating unless I deem it to be so.
Bakura felt his grasp on reality slipping, and then fall away altogether as he was thrown back in his mental prison. The teen looked up again, his eyes hardened and his hair bristling.
The spirit of the puzzle should be weaker by now, the fiend thought as he commanded his item to take him towards the Millennium Puzzle. Indeed, the signal had lost its strength, and two pointers spread out instead of one. And so is his charge. The separation could not have come at a better time!
The Spirit of the Ring continued towards the destination, the cries of "Yugi!" growing fainter and fainter until they stopped altogether.