Spirit of the Heart
By: Tiger LiLy
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Disclaimer: I own what I own.
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Chapter 9: Love Threatened, Danger Revealed, and Truth Exposed
"I haven't seen Hana at school today. I wonder if she's home sick?"
"Yeah, and it's not like Bakura to skip out on school. He might be out sick too." Joey concurred with Yugi.
"I don't think Bakura has ever missed a day of school." Tristen noted.
"Well, with all this rain we've been having, I'm sure they may have caught a small cold or something."
Yugi and the others nodded with Tea for they did have a lot a rain.
"Well, I think I'll go over to Hana's house and see if she's ok." Yugi informed.
"I'll come too. We have a history quiz tomorrow and I should probably let her have today's history notes so she can start studying." Tea volunteered.
"Alright." Joey nodded. "Then Tristen and I will go see how our ol' buddy Bakura is doin'!"
"Ok! See you guys later!" Yugi waved as he and Tea went off in the direction of Hana's house.
"Later!" Tristen waved as he followed Joey to Bakura's house.
*******
"What?! Hana is missing?"
Yugi and Tea stood on Hana's doorstep, talking with Hana's mother. The women had medium length, dark brown hair and eyes.
"Yes, when my husband, Mr. Kokoro, and I got home last night, I went into Hana's room to see if she was already in bed. I thought I saw her form under her covers but when I went to wake her up for school this morning, I found that it was really her pillows under her covers! So I think she's been missing since last night. I called the school and they told me that all her teachers marked her absent so she hasn't shown up at school."
Yugi nodded. "That's right. We hadn't seen her today and that's why we stopped by."
"Was she with either of you yesterday?" The woman seemed most hopeful.
"Yes, I was with her yesterday. We met up at the arcade and then went to the park. When it started getting late, I walked her back home. We talked for a while and then I left for home." Yugi told the woman.
"Do you think someone might have broke in?" Tea asked.
"The police couldn't find any evidence of a forced entry or any kind of struggle. The only odd thing was that Hana's brush was found on the floor. I know Hana always keeps her things put up. Also, her robe and slippers are missing and she always wears them when she's getting read for bed."
"So it would be odd for Hana, much less anyone, to run off in her robe and slippers." Tea spoke.
"Yes, something must have happened. The police said that this isn't a missing person case until she's been missing for twenty-four hours. Do you know the area? I'm afraid don't know the area well at all. Maybe you know where she could have gone?"
Yugi nodded. "We'll defiantly help in anyway we can! We go look around and see if we can find any signs of her!"
"Mr. Kokoro is at work but I decided to stayed home incase she calls."
"We'll let you know first thing if we find anything!" Tea assured.
"Right!" Yugi agreed.
*******
Tristen and Joey were running down the street when suddenly Joey crashed into someone.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Joey shouted from the ground as he rubbed his head.
"Sorry, Joey."
Joey looked up and saw it was Yugi who he had ran into. "Oh, it's you, Yug! Sorry about that."
"Are you two ok?" Tea asked. "Hey! Did you find out about Bakura?"
"That's why Joey here was in such a hurry." Tristen explained. "We went to find you and Bakura!"
Yugi got up from the ground. "You mean Bakura is gone too?!"
"What do you mean 'too'?" Joey asked as he dusted off his school jacket.
"Hana's missing too!" Yugi explained.
"Do you think it could be a coincidence?" Tristen asked.
"Um, maybe they ran off together on a secret rendezvous?" Tea offered.
Joey rolled his eyes. "I doubt it, Tea."
'Yugi.'
'What is it, Yami?'
'I sense a darkness involved with Hana's disappearance.'
'What about Bakura?'
'I fear Bakura may be involved.'
Yugi looked up at the group. "Guys, we need to find Hana and Bakura! Yami feels a darkness involved in there disappearances!"
"Ok, we better split up to cover more city."
Tea seemed worried but nodded with the other guys. "Be careful you guys!"
"No sweat, Tea!" Joey assured. "We'll all meet back at Yug's gramp's game shop in an hour, ok?"
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.
*******
Yugi panted hard as he ran around town. He caught his breath when he went to the arcade to look around. Maybe Hana and Bakura were there again like before. When he found they weren't there, he left again.
Soon, Yugi found himself at the park. He ran up the bridge over the water and looked out over the park's landscape. He swallowed hard, once more out of breath.
'Hana, where are you?' He asked himself.
He regained his breath again and ran down the bridge and back out of the park.
"I wonder how the other guys are doing." Yugi asked aloud as he walked down the city streets, keep his eyes open for Hana.
He then stumbled onto the strangest thing. "Huh?" He saw a yellow slipper discarded on the sidewalk.
'What is it, Yugi?'
'Yami! This slipper might have been Hana's! Her mom said that Hana's robe and slippers were missing, remember?' Yugi looked to his right where there was an entrance to an alleyway. 'If it is her's then she must have gone that way!'
'Yes, but it may not be her's' Yami commented.
'Well, right now it's the only lead we've got!'
Yami nodded. 'Yes.'
Yugi then took off down the alleyway. It was much longer than he thought.
'Keep going, Yugi. I can sense a dark energy in this direction.'
'This way?'
'Yes.'
'Yami, do you think the spirit inside Hana could be causing all of this?'
Yami was silent for a moment. 'Indirectly, she may be.'
Yugi eventually came upon an old warehouse. The building looked quite ancient.
'Yugi, go inside but tread cautiously.'
'Right.' Yugi nodded. He carefully peaked inside the doorway, which no longer had a door. Warily, he walked inside. The floorboards were worn and cracked. They creaked and moaned with every step Yugi took. After he had walked in a few feet, he saw a figure lying on the floor in the only spot of sunlight that came in from the window on the far wall.
He quickly recognized the figure. "Hana!" he shouted as he ran to her unconscious form.
'Yugi, wait!'
"AH!"
The next thing Yugi knew, he was swept up in a net made of old, thick rope and dangling above the floor.
He then heard a dark chuckle.
"Who's there!?" Yugi demanded.
A figure hidden in the shadows stepped out. "Why, don't you recognize your own friend?"
"Bakura!?"
Bakura grinned up at Yugi, as he was helpless to escape from his predicament.
"Poor, Yugi. He came to safe the damsel but it is now he who needs the rescuing." Bakura mused.
'The Ring found its way back to Bakura somehow.' Yami told Yugi.
Yugi saw the Millennium Ring back around Bakura's neck. He remembered what happened last time Bakura was possessed by the evil spirit of the Ring. "What do you want, evil spirit!?" he shouted.
He chuckled. "Oh come now, little Yugi. You know what I desire."
"My Puzzle." Yugi said gravely.
"Yes, and if you hand it over, not only will I set you free, but I shall also release my prisoner back to you." Bakura said as he gestured to the unconscious Hana off to the side.
"I'll never hand over my Millennium Puzzle to you!"
"Even if she must suffer?" Bakura asked with a sly glint in his eyes.
Yugi choked a little. 'Yami, what do I do?'
'You don't have to do anything. I'll take care of things.'
Yami and Yugi switched minds so that now Yami was in control. "Bakura! We shall settle things the duelists' way!"
Bakura grinned. "Very well. I accept your challenge."
The girl started to stir. "Huh? Wha- Where am I?"
'Hana!' Yugi shouted.
"No, Reira." Yami corrected.
"Yami? Wha-?"
Bakura then ran over to Reira, grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. She gasped in pain.
"Reira!"
"Yami! Bakura?!" Reira got a glimpse of her kidnapper.
"How sweet. You remember me." He grinned.
Reira tried to pull away but could not. Bakura pressed his cheek to Reira's. "Don't run off so fast. We need time to catch up. After all, I see you and Yami had gotten reacquainted."
"Let her go, Bakura!" He said in a threatening tone.
"Sorry, Pharaoh, but I don't take orders from you anymore. Heh, like I ever really took orders from you before." He chuckled.
Yami did not remember Bakura from his past but could see Reira remembered him.
"Well now, Pharaoh. Shall we begin the duel?"
"If I win, you set Hana, Reira, and Bakura free!"
"But when you lose, I get your Millennium Puzzle."
"Yes."
"Is that all?"
"No. If I do just so happen to loose, you will still let them all go free!"
"Will I?"
"Yes."
"Very well, then. I shall let Hana and Reira go, but Bakura is mine. Without his vessel, I cannot complete my plans now can I?"
"You WILL set Bakura free as well! For you will lose!"
"Then let's start the duel and see who shall lose!" he chuckled. "But first- "
"Ah!"
"Reira!"
Bakura had tightened his grip on Reira. "First, we must ensure that you, my dear, don't go gallivanting off or causing a ruckus during our duel. It's quite rude, you know." He chuckled in her ear.
Yami growled. He was helpless to do anything.
As soon as Bakura found a chair and tied Reira to it, he and Yami sat opposite ends of each other at a small table. Reira was sitting just in view so she could watch 'her lover lose', as the evil Bakura had put it.
"This atmosphere won't do at all." Bakura spoke. Using the power of the Millennium Ring, the group became engulfed in a strange, dark fog. "To play a Shadow Game, you must be in the Shadow Realm, no?" Bakura grinned.
"Just shuffle your deck." Yami spoke coldly.
The decks were shuffled and cut and placed in their appropriate places. The five cards were drawn and now it was time to begin the game.
"I think I will start things off if you don't mind. I shall place one card face down, and then place one monster face down in defense mode." Bakura then looked up at Yami. "That ends my turn."
"I, too, will place one card face down, and then I summon Beaver Warrior in attack mode!" When Yami summoned his monster, a miniature Beaver Warrior appeared over the card. "And now I attack your face down monster!"
"Then I activate my Morphing Jar! We now must both discard our hands and drew new cards!"
Yami saw that one coming. He remembered that from his last duel with the evil spirit. Yami obliged and ended his turn.
Bakura then drew a card. "Now, I set another card face down, and then place another monster face down and also summon Magical Ghost to the field in attack mode. Next, I shall attack your pitiful Beaver Warrior!"
Bakura's Magical Ghost attacked and destroyed Beaver Warrior.
Yami drew a card. "I now summon Celtic Guardian and destroy your Magical Ghost!"
"Very well." Bakura flipped over his trap card. "Then I activate my trap card Just Desserts! Say good-bye to 500 your life points! Incase you forgot; you will feel as if the life points are being ripped from your own body!"
Yami cringed in pain, making Reira worry. "Yami! Are you ok?"
Yami shook it off as best he could. "I'm fine. It was only 500 life points."
"For now." Bakura added. "There is more where that came from!"
"Just draw your card." Yami spoke grimly.
Bakura drew his card. "I shall place one card down, and then I'll bring out Darkfire Soldier #2! And attack your Celtic Guardian!"
"Then I'll play the magic card Spell Binding Circle!" Yami announced as he revealed one of his face down cards.
Darkfire Soldier #2 was now trapped, unable to attack for three turns.
Yami drew a card. "Now I place one monster down on the field in defense mode. And now I shall attack your face down monster, Morphing Jar!"
"However did you guess?" Bakura asked with a smirk as the monster was attacked and revealed as another Morphing Jar.
"Call it a hunch."
"You must not have had any good cards if you knew the possibility of it being a Morphing Jar. Are you hoping to draw a certain card?"
"All my cards are good cards. I'm just doing the same thing as you are. Waiting for a certain card to come to me."
"You think you've got my strategy figured out, Yami? Well, I'm afraid as much as my strategy seems the same, there is but one twist that you soon shall discover."
Yami said nothing to Bakura. He then turned to Reira. "Reira, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me! You just concentrate on the duel!" she spoke with worry in her voice.
"Don't worry." He nodded.
Bakura now had one monster on the field and it can't attack for three turns. This was not good.
"My turn! And now I will sacrifice my Celtic Guardian and bring out Curse of Dragon!" Yami declared. "Now I attack your Darkfire Soldier!"
Bakura glanced down at his magic card he had on the field. 'I can't use that one yet.'
Curse of Dragon attacked and destroyed Bakura's last monster on the field.
Bakura pulled two cards out of the ones in his hand. "I'll place this monster face down in defense, and then place The Portrait's Secret on the field. Now I play Pot of Greed and draw from my deck." Bakura did so and smirked. "Perfect. I couldn't ask for better timing. Before I make my move, I thought you should know, Pharaoh, that I knew all about your affair with the 'Desert Rose'."
"Why are you telling me this?" Yami replied.
Bakura chuckled. "I was the one who wanted you to be with her! Didn't you ever think as if to why?"
"I know now that you want my Millennium Puzzle."
"Yes, because with all the Millennium Items, I can become all-powerful! At that time, years ago, I had wanted to rule but to do that, I had to destroy you, Pharaoh. But I couldn't find your weakness, so I created one." Bakura pointed at Reira. He then turned back to Yami. "Love destroys people! It makes a person weak and venerable! I intended for you to fall in love with any woman I could find! It just so happen that she was the only one you showed any interest in."
"That is not true! Love makes people stronger! Reira has made me stronger now than I ever was as Pharaoh! It's hatred and malice that destroys people! People like you!"
"Love does make people weak! I saw it that day in the temple when you and Reira went alone."
*Flashback*
Bakura was reading over the inscriptions on the walls when he heard someone enter the temple. He quickly hid behind a pillar and peered around to see who was there.
"Are you sure?"
"It will be alright."
It was the Pharaoh with Reira. Why were they here?
"What if someone sees?"
"No one will. I promise it will be just you and me."
Reira took a breath and nodded. She stood by a stone tablet, bowed her head, and whispered her special prayer.
To Bakura's surprise, a creature appeared from the tablet and before the girl. 'She really can summon monsters from the Shadow Realm!' he gasped.
Yami put his hand on Reira's shoulder. She quit her prayer and turned to him. There was a moment of silence before Yami spoke. "It is true. I knew you could do it."
Reira nodded. She wasn't sure if she should be proud of herself or not.
"Now, I will show you my special creature." Yami chanted a prayer and brought forth his own monster from the Shadow Realm.
Reira looked in awe. "I've never seen a creature like him! What is he called?"
"His is the Dark Magician." Yami then took Reira's hand and whispered to Reira so softly that Bakura barely heard what he said.
"And you, are my lover." Yami held Reira's hands to his chest as he bent in to touch her lips with his, but Reira pulled back completely away from him. Reira's eyes scanned around the temple slightly frantic.
"No one is here." Yami assured her. He then approached her again.
"But what if-?"
Yami placed his fingers on her lips to silence her. "I know you're nervous, but you have nothing to fear."
Reira spoke once Yami removed his gentle fingers from her lips. "I'm sorry I've been so distant. It's because, well, the times we are together alone, are when we have complete privacy. We are not behind closed chamber doors; we're in a public temple. And-" Yami nodded. "And?"
"Well, it's just that I like things how they are; secret. I don't want to share the news of our love with anyone. I just want it to be us, at least for now."
"As do I."
"I want to have you all to myself."
"As do I." Yami breathed on her lips as he leaned in and kissed her.
Bakura couldn't hold back his grin at the site. 'This is perfect.'
*End Flashback*
"Everything was set. My plans to crush you, Pharaoh, would have succeeded if a certain priest hadn't intervened."
"What happened?" Reira demanded. "What did happened to Yami all those centuries ago?!"
"I believe it is my move." Bakura announced, ignoring Reira. "I have you to thank, Reira. I was inspired by your friendly duel with little Yugi. Of course, you weren't exactly aware of the duel at that time."
"What are you talking about?" Reira asked in confusion.
"Hana and Yugi had dueled once. I guess Bakura had been spying on them." Yami said in Bakura's direction.
Bakura held up a card with the back facing Yami. "Prepare to hand over your puzzle!"
*******
Sorry for the cliffy! There is ONE more chapter though! YAY! I can't believe I'm almost done with this story! Sorry if I made any dueling technicalities! Card duels are hard to write! Please bear with me! I'm not really keeping track of lifepoints but I am keeping track of attack and defense points. If I were keeping track of lifepoints, it would take me forever to write this! Well, now you all know how Bakura knows of the Dark Magician Girl! Um, and if you're waiting to find out what happened to Yami like how his spirit ended up in the puzzle, you probably won't find out from me because I don't know! I think it could have something to do with the Egyptian priest Seto! I really don't know what happened, so your guess is as good as mine! Hope to see you all again in the final chapter!
Tiger LiLy =^..^=
By: Tiger LiLy
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Disclaimer: I own what I own.
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Chapter 9: Love Threatened, Danger Revealed, and Truth Exposed
"I haven't seen Hana at school today. I wonder if she's home sick?"
"Yeah, and it's not like Bakura to skip out on school. He might be out sick too." Joey concurred with Yugi.
"I don't think Bakura has ever missed a day of school." Tristen noted.
"Well, with all this rain we've been having, I'm sure they may have caught a small cold or something."
Yugi and the others nodded with Tea for they did have a lot a rain.
"Well, I think I'll go over to Hana's house and see if she's ok." Yugi informed.
"I'll come too. We have a history quiz tomorrow and I should probably let her have today's history notes so she can start studying." Tea volunteered.
"Alright." Joey nodded. "Then Tristen and I will go see how our ol' buddy Bakura is doin'!"
"Ok! See you guys later!" Yugi waved as he and Tea went off in the direction of Hana's house.
"Later!" Tristen waved as he followed Joey to Bakura's house.
*******
"What?! Hana is missing?"
Yugi and Tea stood on Hana's doorstep, talking with Hana's mother. The women had medium length, dark brown hair and eyes.
"Yes, when my husband, Mr. Kokoro, and I got home last night, I went into Hana's room to see if she was already in bed. I thought I saw her form under her covers but when I went to wake her up for school this morning, I found that it was really her pillows under her covers! So I think she's been missing since last night. I called the school and they told me that all her teachers marked her absent so she hasn't shown up at school."
Yugi nodded. "That's right. We hadn't seen her today and that's why we stopped by."
"Was she with either of you yesterday?" The woman seemed most hopeful.
"Yes, I was with her yesterday. We met up at the arcade and then went to the park. When it started getting late, I walked her back home. We talked for a while and then I left for home." Yugi told the woman.
"Do you think someone might have broke in?" Tea asked.
"The police couldn't find any evidence of a forced entry or any kind of struggle. The only odd thing was that Hana's brush was found on the floor. I know Hana always keeps her things put up. Also, her robe and slippers are missing and she always wears them when she's getting read for bed."
"So it would be odd for Hana, much less anyone, to run off in her robe and slippers." Tea spoke.
"Yes, something must have happened. The police said that this isn't a missing person case until she's been missing for twenty-four hours. Do you know the area? I'm afraid don't know the area well at all. Maybe you know where she could have gone?"
Yugi nodded. "We'll defiantly help in anyway we can! We go look around and see if we can find any signs of her!"
"Mr. Kokoro is at work but I decided to stayed home incase she calls."
"We'll let you know first thing if we find anything!" Tea assured.
"Right!" Yugi agreed.
*******
Tristen and Joey were running down the street when suddenly Joey crashed into someone.
"Hey! What's the big idea?!" Joey shouted from the ground as he rubbed his head.
"Sorry, Joey."
Joey looked up and saw it was Yugi who he had ran into. "Oh, it's you, Yug! Sorry about that."
"Are you two ok?" Tea asked. "Hey! Did you find out about Bakura?"
"That's why Joey here was in such a hurry." Tristen explained. "We went to find you and Bakura!"
Yugi got up from the ground. "You mean Bakura is gone too?!"
"What do you mean 'too'?" Joey asked as he dusted off his school jacket.
"Hana's missing too!" Yugi explained.
"Do you think it could be a coincidence?" Tristen asked.
"Um, maybe they ran off together on a secret rendezvous?" Tea offered.
Joey rolled his eyes. "I doubt it, Tea."
'Yugi.'
'What is it, Yami?'
'I sense a darkness involved with Hana's disappearance.'
'What about Bakura?'
'I fear Bakura may be involved.'
Yugi looked up at the group. "Guys, we need to find Hana and Bakura! Yami feels a darkness involved in there disappearances!"
"Ok, we better split up to cover more city."
Tea seemed worried but nodded with the other guys. "Be careful you guys!"
"No sweat, Tea!" Joey assured. "We'll all meet back at Yug's gramp's game shop in an hour, ok?"
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.
*******
Yugi panted hard as he ran around town. He caught his breath when he went to the arcade to look around. Maybe Hana and Bakura were there again like before. When he found they weren't there, he left again.
Soon, Yugi found himself at the park. He ran up the bridge over the water and looked out over the park's landscape. He swallowed hard, once more out of breath.
'Hana, where are you?' He asked himself.
He regained his breath again and ran down the bridge and back out of the park.
"I wonder how the other guys are doing." Yugi asked aloud as he walked down the city streets, keep his eyes open for Hana.
He then stumbled onto the strangest thing. "Huh?" He saw a yellow slipper discarded on the sidewalk.
'What is it, Yugi?'
'Yami! This slipper might have been Hana's! Her mom said that Hana's robe and slippers were missing, remember?' Yugi looked to his right where there was an entrance to an alleyway. 'If it is her's then she must have gone that way!'
'Yes, but it may not be her's' Yami commented.
'Well, right now it's the only lead we've got!'
Yami nodded. 'Yes.'
Yugi then took off down the alleyway. It was much longer than he thought.
'Keep going, Yugi. I can sense a dark energy in this direction.'
'This way?'
'Yes.'
'Yami, do you think the spirit inside Hana could be causing all of this?'
Yami was silent for a moment. 'Indirectly, she may be.'
Yugi eventually came upon an old warehouse. The building looked quite ancient.
'Yugi, go inside but tread cautiously.'
'Right.' Yugi nodded. He carefully peaked inside the doorway, which no longer had a door. Warily, he walked inside. The floorboards were worn and cracked. They creaked and moaned with every step Yugi took. After he had walked in a few feet, he saw a figure lying on the floor in the only spot of sunlight that came in from the window on the far wall.
He quickly recognized the figure. "Hana!" he shouted as he ran to her unconscious form.
'Yugi, wait!'
"AH!"
The next thing Yugi knew, he was swept up in a net made of old, thick rope and dangling above the floor.
He then heard a dark chuckle.
"Who's there!?" Yugi demanded.
A figure hidden in the shadows stepped out. "Why, don't you recognize your own friend?"
"Bakura!?"
Bakura grinned up at Yugi, as he was helpless to escape from his predicament.
"Poor, Yugi. He came to safe the damsel but it is now he who needs the rescuing." Bakura mused.
'The Ring found its way back to Bakura somehow.' Yami told Yugi.
Yugi saw the Millennium Ring back around Bakura's neck. He remembered what happened last time Bakura was possessed by the evil spirit of the Ring. "What do you want, evil spirit!?" he shouted.
He chuckled. "Oh come now, little Yugi. You know what I desire."
"My Puzzle." Yugi said gravely.
"Yes, and if you hand it over, not only will I set you free, but I shall also release my prisoner back to you." Bakura said as he gestured to the unconscious Hana off to the side.
"I'll never hand over my Millennium Puzzle to you!"
"Even if she must suffer?" Bakura asked with a sly glint in his eyes.
Yugi choked a little. 'Yami, what do I do?'
'You don't have to do anything. I'll take care of things.'
Yami and Yugi switched minds so that now Yami was in control. "Bakura! We shall settle things the duelists' way!"
Bakura grinned. "Very well. I accept your challenge."
The girl started to stir. "Huh? Wha- Where am I?"
'Hana!' Yugi shouted.
"No, Reira." Yami corrected.
"Yami? Wha-?"
Bakura then ran over to Reira, grabbed her arm and pinned it behind her back. She gasped in pain.
"Reira!"
"Yami! Bakura?!" Reira got a glimpse of her kidnapper.
"How sweet. You remember me." He grinned.
Reira tried to pull away but could not. Bakura pressed his cheek to Reira's. "Don't run off so fast. We need time to catch up. After all, I see you and Yami had gotten reacquainted."
"Let her go, Bakura!" He said in a threatening tone.
"Sorry, Pharaoh, but I don't take orders from you anymore. Heh, like I ever really took orders from you before." He chuckled.
Yami did not remember Bakura from his past but could see Reira remembered him.
"Well now, Pharaoh. Shall we begin the duel?"
"If I win, you set Hana, Reira, and Bakura free!"
"But when you lose, I get your Millennium Puzzle."
"Yes."
"Is that all?"
"No. If I do just so happen to loose, you will still let them all go free!"
"Will I?"
"Yes."
"Very well, then. I shall let Hana and Reira go, but Bakura is mine. Without his vessel, I cannot complete my plans now can I?"
"You WILL set Bakura free as well! For you will lose!"
"Then let's start the duel and see who shall lose!" he chuckled. "But first- "
"Ah!"
"Reira!"
Bakura had tightened his grip on Reira. "First, we must ensure that you, my dear, don't go gallivanting off or causing a ruckus during our duel. It's quite rude, you know." He chuckled in her ear.
Yami growled. He was helpless to do anything.
As soon as Bakura found a chair and tied Reira to it, he and Yami sat opposite ends of each other at a small table. Reira was sitting just in view so she could watch 'her lover lose', as the evil Bakura had put it.
"This atmosphere won't do at all." Bakura spoke. Using the power of the Millennium Ring, the group became engulfed in a strange, dark fog. "To play a Shadow Game, you must be in the Shadow Realm, no?" Bakura grinned.
"Just shuffle your deck." Yami spoke coldly.
The decks were shuffled and cut and placed in their appropriate places. The five cards were drawn and now it was time to begin the game.
"I think I will start things off if you don't mind. I shall place one card face down, and then place one monster face down in defense mode." Bakura then looked up at Yami. "That ends my turn."
"I, too, will place one card face down, and then I summon Beaver Warrior in attack mode!" When Yami summoned his monster, a miniature Beaver Warrior appeared over the card. "And now I attack your face down monster!"
"Then I activate my Morphing Jar! We now must both discard our hands and drew new cards!"
Yami saw that one coming. He remembered that from his last duel with the evil spirit. Yami obliged and ended his turn.
Bakura then drew a card. "Now, I set another card face down, and then place another monster face down and also summon Magical Ghost to the field in attack mode. Next, I shall attack your pitiful Beaver Warrior!"
Bakura's Magical Ghost attacked and destroyed Beaver Warrior.
Yami drew a card. "I now summon Celtic Guardian and destroy your Magical Ghost!"
"Very well." Bakura flipped over his trap card. "Then I activate my trap card Just Desserts! Say good-bye to 500 your life points! Incase you forgot; you will feel as if the life points are being ripped from your own body!"
Yami cringed in pain, making Reira worry. "Yami! Are you ok?"
Yami shook it off as best he could. "I'm fine. It was only 500 life points."
"For now." Bakura added. "There is more where that came from!"
"Just draw your card." Yami spoke grimly.
Bakura drew his card. "I shall place one card down, and then I'll bring out Darkfire Soldier #2! And attack your Celtic Guardian!"
"Then I'll play the magic card Spell Binding Circle!" Yami announced as he revealed one of his face down cards.
Darkfire Soldier #2 was now trapped, unable to attack for three turns.
Yami drew a card. "Now I place one monster down on the field in defense mode. And now I shall attack your face down monster, Morphing Jar!"
"However did you guess?" Bakura asked with a smirk as the monster was attacked and revealed as another Morphing Jar.
"Call it a hunch."
"You must not have had any good cards if you knew the possibility of it being a Morphing Jar. Are you hoping to draw a certain card?"
"All my cards are good cards. I'm just doing the same thing as you are. Waiting for a certain card to come to me."
"You think you've got my strategy figured out, Yami? Well, I'm afraid as much as my strategy seems the same, there is but one twist that you soon shall discover."
Yami said nothing to Bakura. He then turned to Reira. "Reira, are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me! You just concentrate on the duel!" she spoke with worry in her voice.
"Don't worry." He nodded.
Bakura now had one monster on the field and it can't attack for three turns. This was not good.
"My turn! And now I will sacrifice my Celtic Guardian and bring out Curse of Dragon!" Yami declared. "Now I attack your Darkfire Soldier!"
Bakura glanced down at his magic card he had on the field. 'I can't use that one yet.'
Curse of Dragon attacked and destroyed Bakura's last monster on the field.
Bakura pulled two cards out of the ones in his hand. "I'll place this monster face down in defense, and then place The Portrait's Secret on the field. Now I play Pot of Greed and draw from my deck." Bakura did so and smirked. "Perfect. I couldn't ask for better timing. Before I make my move, I thought you should know, Pharaoh, that I knew all about your affair with the 'Desert Rose'."
"Why are you telling me this?" Yami replied.
Bakura chuckled. "I was the one who wanted you to be with her! Didn't you ever think as if to why?"
"I know now that you want my Millennium Puzzle."
"Yes, because with all the Millennium Items, I can become all-powerful! At that time, years ago, I had wanted to rule but to do that, I had to destroy you, Pharaoh. But I couldn't find your weakness, so I created one." Bakura pointed at Reira. He then turned back to Yami. "Love destroys people! It makes a person weak and venerable! I intended for you to fall in love with any woman I could find! It just so happen that she was the only one you showed any interest in."
"That is not true! Love makes people stronger! Reira has made me stronger now than I ever was as Pharaoh! It's hatred and malice that destroys people! People like you!"
"Love does make people weak! I saw it that day in the temple when you and Reira went alone."
*Flashback*
Bakura was reading over the inscriptions on the walls when he heard someone enter the temple. He quickly hid behind a pillar and peered around to see who was there.
"Are you sure?"
"It will be alright."
It was the Pharaoh with Reira. Why were they here?
"What if someone sees?"
"No one will. I promise it will be just you and me."
Reira took a breath and nodded. She stood by a stone tablet, bowed her head, and whispered her special prayer.
To Bakura's surprise, a creature appeared from the tablet and before the girl. 'She really can summon monsters from the Shadow Realm!' he gasped.
Yami put his hand on Reira's shoulder. She quit her prayer and turned to him. There was a moment of silence before Yami spoke. "It is true. I knew you could do it."
Reira nodded. She wasn't sure if she should be proud of herself or not.
"Now, I will show you my special creature." Yami chanted a prayer and brought forth his own monster from the Shadow Realm.
Reira looked in awe. "I've never seen a creature like him! What is he called?"
"His is the Dark Magician." Yami then took Reira's hand and whispered to Reira so softly that Bakura barely heard what he said.
"And you, are my lover." Yami held Reira's hands to his chest as he bent in to touch her lips with his, but Reira pulled back completely away from him. Reira's eyes scanned around the temple slightly frantic.
"No one is here." Yami assured her. He then approached her again.
"But what if-?"
Yami placed his fingers on her lips to silence her. "I know you're nervous, but you have nothing to fear."
Reira spoke once Yami removed his gentle fingers from her lips. "I'm sorry I've been so distant. It's because, well, the times we are together alone, are when we have complete privacy. We are not behind closed chamber doors; we're in a public temple. And-" Yami nodded. "And?"
"Well, it's just that I like things how they are; secret. I don't want to share the news of our love with anyone. I just want it to be us, at least for now."
"As do I."
"I want to have you all to myself."
"As do I." Yami breathed on her lips as he leaned in and kissed her.
Bakura couldn't hold back his grin at the site. 'This is perfect.'
*End Flashback*
"Everything was set. My plans to crush you, Pharaoh, would have succeeded if a certain priest hadn't intervened."
"What happened?" Reira demanded. "What did happened to Yami all those centuries ago?!"
"I believe it is my move." Bakura announced, ignoring Reira. "I have you to thank, Reira. I was inspired by your friendly duel with little Yugi. Of course, you weren't exactly aware of the duel at that time."
"What are you talking about?" Reira asked in confusion.
"Hana and Yugi had dueled once. I guess Bakura had been spying on them." Yami said in Bakura's direction.
Bakura held up a card with the back facing Yami. "Prepare to hand over your puzzle!"
*******
Sorry for the cliffy! There is ONE more chapter though! YAY! I can't believe I'm almost done with this story! Sorry if I made any dueling technicalities! Card duels are hard to write! Please bear with me! I'm not really keeping track of lifepoints but I am keeping track of attack and defense points. If I were keeping track of lifepoints, it would take me forever to write this! Well, now you all know how Bakura knows of the Dark Magician Girl! Um, and if you're waiting to find out what happened to Yami like how his spirit ended up in the puzzle, you probably won't find out from me because I don't know! I think it could have something to do with the Egyptian priest Seto! I really don't know what happened, so your guess is as good as mine! Hope to see you all again in the final chapter!
Tiger LiLy =^..^=