THE PARTING OF LOST SOULS

Chapter Thirteen: Confirmation and Affirmation

At the same time that the Shadow Realm duel took place, Mokuba, Jonouchi, and Emrys returned to the two-story Manhattan loft. Upon entering the loft, they felt burning jabs of pain as their hearts unexpectedly raced. The three anxiously gazed at each other knowing that the other Yugi and Kaiba were in deep trouble.

With a frown, Emrys pointed at a one of the rooms on the loft's second floor. "Did you say that Yoshiko stayed there?"

Mokuba nodded for his reply.

While staring at the bedroom door, Emrys said, "There must be something up there to tell us why she's doing this or where she took Kaiba." She slowly climbed up the stairs and cautiously entered the room.

With perplexed chestnut-brown eyes, Jonouchi stammered as Emrys opened the closet and pulled out Yoshiko's luggage. He stopped her and pulled out the luggage for her. "Do you think that this is a good idea?"

The raven-haired boy kept quiet but shared the same doubts.

Absorbed with her task immediate after thanking Jonouchi for his assistance, Emrys sat on the floor and combed inside Yoshiko's luggage. She then stopped, grabbed an item buried deep within the bottom, and pulled it out for everyone to see.

The three shuddered since their discovery confirmed Yoshiko's guilt.

In the palm of Emrys' right hand was a large gold medallion...a small replica of the pentagram that appeared each time the cloaked individuals pursued them. The circular pendant had a gold pentagram whose tips touched the ridges. Each enclosed part forming the mystic symbol was interchangeably studded with rubies and emeralds.

Stupefied, Emrys leaned against the foot of the bed and propped her knees in front of her. With her voice breaking and eyes looking at the wall, she whispered, "God..."

The younger Kaiba sat beside Emrys on the floor. His slate blue eyes were anxiously fixed on her.

Jonouchi saw the anger, sadness, and confusion in Emrys' eyes intensify. He joined her on the floor, rested his hand on her shoulder, gave her moments of silence, and then asked, "Do you want me to continue searching?"

Emrys quietly nodded for her response as she still absentmindedly stared at the wall.

As Jonouchi continued their search, the blond teen produced a handful of photographs of Yoshiko and Emrys together during happier, more casual times. Some of the pictures were taken from years ago and some were taken recently. He handed her the stack of pictures to her.

Accepting the stack from Jonouchi, Emrys' demeanor further saddened as she went through each photograph. Mokuba stayed with her in quiet consolation as she murmured, "I just don't understand..."

Minutes after sorting through Yoshiko's belongings, Jonouchi said, "There's nothing worthwhile left in her luggage save for that pendant and the pictures."

Pointing at the medallion, Mokuba asked Emrys, "Should we put that back?"

Keeping her focus on the pendant, Emrys responded, "Let us just hold on to this one. We'll put everything back where it came from."

The blonde duelist picked up the stack of photographs beside Emrys on the floor. He then looked at her and asked, "How about these? Do you want to keep at least one of them?"

Tight-lipped, Emrys replied, "Just put them back."

After her two companions returned the luggage to its original spot, Jonouchi whispered to Emrys, "If you need to talk, Mokuba and I are here."

Emrys sighed. "It's been a long day. I just need some shut-eye."

The two accompanied Emrys to the room and helped her in bed. Mokuba left the medallion on the nightstand and kissed her cheek. Jonouchi propped a pillow under her sprained arm to ease the throbbing.

After the two left her to rest, Emrys kept awake for a few more minutes. The last thought in her mind before she fell asleep was the hope that the other Yugi and Kaiba were safe...no matter where they were.

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"Battle City rules forbid the use of direct attack magic and trap cards," Kaiba said through clenched teeth. "Why am I not surprised that disreputable cowards such as you use them?"

Yoshiko's eyes glinted. "You should've listened to the Pharaoh. In the Shadow Realm, your soul is directly linked to the cards. It taxes your energy to its limits. You feel the pain from every attack done against you. So now that you know what you're up against, feel free to surrender."

The sable-haired CEO's chest still heaved from lack of oxygen as he spat, "Not on this lifetime!" He then drew six cards from his duel tray and declared, "I place two cards face down on the field. I then summon Battle Ox in attack mode and end my turn."

Two cards materialized before Kaiba. Shortly thereafter, his ferocious Battle Ox (ATK 1700 / DEF 1000) appeared on the field.

"My turn is up," Yoshiko commented as she drew a card. "I activate my trap card - Just Desserts!"

Just Desserts

Normal Trap Card

Inflict 500 points of Direct Damage to your opponent's Life Points for each monster your opponent has on the field.

A ghoul-like, obese glutton emerged from the void. Its arms stretched out from its master's side of the field, dug its hand inside Kaiba's chest, and grabbed its victim's heart.

Instantaneously, the other Yugi grimaced in pain. Each minute that he remained linked to Kaiba made him more susceptible to the physical and psychic torment that the latter felt.

The ghoul cackled as he continued his evil handiwork.

Hearing his heart pound throughout the entire ordeal, Kaiba's torment continued until 500 Life Points were depleted from him. As soon as the ghoul stopped, he fell to the ground and sucked in as much air as he could.

Yoshiko's scornful laughter echoed throughout the Shadow Realm. "You're down to 900 life points, Kaiba. Let me end your agony by activating Tremendous Fire!"

The other Yugi's eyes widened as he braced himself. "If that magic card activates, he'll lose the duel!"

Kneeling on the ground in pain, a glowering Kaiba declared with a quivering voice, "I send a card to the Graveyard and activate Magic Jammer!"

Magic Jammer

Counter Trap Card

Discard one card from your hand to the Graveyard to negate the activation of a Magic Card and destroy it.

A pentagram then materialized underneath Yoshiko's Tremendous Fire magic card and neutralized the latter's deadly effects.

Venomously glaring at the CEO, Yoshiko said, "You won't be so luck next time, Kaiba Seto." As she placed a facedown card on the field, she then ended her turn with 3500 overall life points.

Kaiba's overall life points, however, were down to a sparse 900 due to Just Desserts.

End of Chapter Thirteen

About Yoshiko

If you're wondering who Yoshiko is, she is the stage manager, personal assistant, and Emrys' long-time friend. She appears in Chapters 6 and 7 of The Encounter of Lost Souls (entitled The Prelude and The Night to Remember respectively).

Her primary mission is to keep Emrys - the crest-wielder - close to her, and has been involved with the sinister group before knowing and befriending Emrys. Just like her father, Yoshiko is bent to get power - even in the cruelest of ways.

But since fate has a way of intertwining things, she includes revenge against Kaiba and the other Yugi in her agenda after her father dies.

Kaiba, through the course of making arrangements for Alexa's concert at Kaiba Corporation's Domino Arena, meets and deals with Yoshiko. And the other Yugi meets Yoshiko for the first time in Chapter 6.

Author's Note

Although this story arc stands independently from The Encounter of Lost Souls and There Will Come Soft Rain, the three stories are inter-connected. This fact will also apply to most of the subsequent Yu-Gi-Oh fan fiction stories that I will post in the future.

Normal Disclaimer

Yu-Gi-Oh is the property copyrighted by Kazuki Takahashi. This fan fiction, as well as the original characters, is the author's property.

Enjoy reading!

PJ Zatken