Chapter Twelve - Return
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh, and I'm not making any money from this fic
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Kyla woke up with an extremely odd feeling in the pit of her stomach. Almost like she was having an attack of nerves about something.
Kyla, I'm worried, Nareen's voice said in Kyla's mind.
What is it? Kyla asked.
I felt someone get taken to the Shadow Realm, Nareen answered. I think that it may have been Ina. And, therefore, Nia as well.
The Shadow Realm? Kyla said. What's that?
It's a realm which ordinary mortals can't go to, Nareen explained. I'm not going to tell you too much about it.
But... Then that means that Nia's in danger! Kyla cried. What am I going to do, Nareen? Who could have trapped Nia and Ina in the Shadow Realm?
I think that Bakura is a possibility, Nareen replied reluctantly. And, if it was him, then that means that he probably wants something. I couldn't say what, though.
Kyla got ready in record time, slipping the necklace Ryou had given her, and the crystal star, around her neck. Then, she grabbed her bag, and raced down the stairs.
"Get back here, Kyla!" Stefan yelled.
Kyla hesitated. She knew that if she went to Stefan, he would beat her severely... But if she didn't go, then it would be so much worse later on.
I'll just have to deal with it, Kyla thought to herself, trembling slightly. Ignoring Stefan's second call, she yanked open the front door, and ran out.
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Kyla made her way slowly to her school. She was hoping against hope that Nareen was wrong - that Nia was not trapped in the Shadow Realm. But she had to admit that it didn't look very good.
Are you sure that you can no longer sense Ina? Kyla demanded of Nareen for the tenth time.
Yes, I'm sure, Nareen replied patiently for the tenth time. I suppose that there could be another explanation... But, personally, I don't think that there is one.
Can you sense Bakura around at all? Kyla wanted to know.
I... Nareen began. Then, Yes, I can sense him! Be careful, Kyla!
Huh? Kyla said. Then, she spotted someone familiar in front of her. Oh, I see what you mean, Nareen. Is it possible that that could be Ryou rather than Bakura?
No, it's definitely Bakura, Nareen replied as the teenager walked over to Kyla. Be careful, Kyla. At the moment, he's the only one who can bring Nia back from the Shadow Realm. Ina and I don't have that power.
Kyla tilted her head to one side, and regarded the evil spirit of the millennium ring carefully. "Hello, Bakura," she said finally. "Alone today? No Ryou around?"
Oh, great, Nareen sighed. Kyla, please don't make him angry. You won't like it. He can get very violent when he's angry.
As violent as my foster father? Kyla wanted to know.
Even more violent, Nareen answered. She hesitated for a long moment, then said, Then again, if you think you can handle it, go ahead and make him angry. There was a slight trace of sarcasm in the yami's mental tone.
Be nice, Kyla murmured.
Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you already know that I'm not Ryou?" he said. "That makes it so much easier. I don't have to be like my hikari and pretend that I love you."
Don't listen to him, Kyla, Nareen's voice said immediately in Kyla's mind. He's lying. Ryou doesn't pretend to love you. He really does love you.
"What have you done to Nia?" Kyla demanded.
"I took her to the Shadow Realm," Bakura replied coldly.
I knew it! Nareen exclaimed.
I thought we already established that, Kyla muttered. Now all we need to do is work out how we can get her out. Out loud, she asked, "Why did you do that? What did you hope to gain from it?"
"Ultimate power," Bakura answered.
Just like Riana! Nareen realised.
Kyla echoed her yami's words: "Just like Riana."
"Who?" Bakura frowned.
"Riana, in Ancient Egypt," Kyla explained. "You know... With Nareen and Ina? In the temple?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bakura replied.
Oh, Ra! Nareen said. He doesn't remember!
He must have had his memories erased somehow, Kyla tried to reassure Nareen. Maybe there's a way to get them back?
I hope so, Nareen said miserably.
"You want your friend back?" Bakura asked suddenly.
"Of course I do!" Kyla snapped.
Bakura smiled coldly. "Then duel me for her soul," he told Kyla. "If you win, then you get your friend back... But if I win, then I get to keep your soul as well. But," he added. "You may not tell Yugi, or any of his friends, about this."
"But that's two conditions!" Kyla protested.
"That's right," Bakura replied.
Take those conditions! Nareen ordered.
But that's not fair! Kyla cried.
I know that it isn't, Nareen said. But it's the only possible chance that Nia has.
Well... Maybe there's a way to make it at least a little better, Kyla said thoughtfully.
Oh? And how would that be? Nareen wanted to know.
Kyla didn't reply to Nareen. Instead, she said out loud, to Bakura, "All right. It's a deal. But, if I duel you, and I win... Then, as well as getting Nia's soul back, you have to stop trying to get ultimate power and harming people!"
Hm... That might work, Nareen commented.
Bakura stared at Kyla, but she refused to back down.
"All right," Bakura said finally. "Agreed. I'm going to win anyway, so what does it matter what you want?"
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"Wake up. Nia, wake up."
Nia rolled over. "I don't really want to wake up, mum," she said absently. "I don't feel very well. I don't think I should go to school today."
"Nia!" The female's voice grew insistent, and she shook Nia, then slapped her cheek.
Nia's eyes immediately flew open. "Hey!" she protested. Then, she caught sight of her surroundings, and looked around with a frown. "Where am I?" she demanded.
"In the Shadow Realm," a girl's voice answered.
Nia looked in front of her, and jumped. "Ina!" she cried. "What are you doing outside of my mind? And how'd we get here?"
Ina frowned slightly. "I guess that I'm out of your mind because this is the Shadow Realm," she answered. "And Bakura brought us here. Don't you remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Nia replied. "Ina, why would Bakura do that?"
Ina just shrugged. "I don't know how we're going to get out of here, either," she said. "I guess that we're going to have to rely on Nareen and Kyla to rescue us."
"That's all right," Nia commented. "I don't mind relying on Kyla. I trust her. If anyone can get us out of here, Kyla can."
"I hope you're right," Ina muttered. "I really hope you are. Because I really don't want to be stuck here."
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Kyla had spotted Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Ryou around school, but she had kept out of their way. She was almost sure that Yugi would ask her if she knew where Nia was, and she wasn't sure how she could answer that.
Besides, as well as Bakura, Kyla had also seen someone who looked a lot like Yugi, who she guessed was Pharaoh Yami. She didn't know how much Yami remembered about his past, and Nareen was no help at all.
At lunchtime, Kyla made to go off on her own, but three girls called her over. The one who called her over had long, wavy, light brown hair. The other two had golden hair, one which was cut into a bob, and the other's reached down to her shoulders.
"Hello," Kyla said cautiously.
The brown-haired girl smiled brightly. "Hello," she replied. "My name's Joanne. This is Liz, and that's Sylvia." She pointed to the short-haired blonde, and then to the other.
"We couldn't help noticing that Nia wasn't with you," Liz commented.
"Is something wrong?" Sylvia asked.
You can trust them, Nareen told Kyla.
Kyla hesitated, and then leaned forward. "You see, it's like this..." she began.
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Later, Kyla was walking back to her house. She was dragging her feet, not wanting to face her foster father. She knew that Stefan would make her pay for running out that morning.
Don't worry about it, Kyla, Nareen said. You're strong enough to survive Stefan.
Kyla just sighed. At least Joanne, Liz, and Sylvia believed me and have offered to help me, she muttered.
Ryou's ahead, Nareen said. That's Ryou, not Bakura.
Kyla peered ahead of her. Sure enough, there was Ryou standing there. Unsure of what else to do, she slowly walked over to him.
Ryou's hands raised, and, after a moment's hesitation, he gently laid them on Kyla's shoulder. "Kyla, I want you to answer something truthfully for me," he said. "When I was gone... Did you miss me at all?"
Kyla hesitated for a long moment. Then, thinking that actions were better than words, she slipped her hand round to press lightly on the back of Ryou's neck, to make his head move forward so that she could kiss him.
Ryou stiffened slightly. Then, he was kissing back, his hands moving to clutch Kyla tightly to him. His hands slid over her back, and it seemed like he would never let her go.
Oh, shoot! Kyla thought. My foster father! Suddenly, she pulled away from Ryou, and ran off.
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Read and review, please!
Come on, people! With all of the writes/readers on here, surely some people must be hitting on this story and reading it. I wasn't going to say anything... But I really think that two reviews for twelve chapters aren't exactly good.
I'm not going to refuse to write unless I get reviews... But getting encouraging feedback does help. How do I know if this story is good or not unless people review it?
I'm not going to be posting on here for a few days, as I'm going away camping. Hopefully, though, I should be back in about a week