Hi everyone! How y'all been? Hope you're all well!
***Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament of the Millennium***
Chapter 3: Emergence
"So Yugi, are you ready for the tournament? It's only a week away you know." Ryou was talking with Yugi at their lunchtable in the school cafeteria. Yugi was showing Ryou his new deck structure.
Yugi laughed in his soft voice. "Sure Bakura. I was ready a month ago. You're in it, aren't you? You still haven't told me what card you received." He stopped talking when he noticed that Ryou was staring at one of his cards. "What's the matter Bakura?"
Ryou's voice was oddly strained as he showed Yugi the card. "This. The Millennium Puzzle. Why didn't you tell me about this? Someone obviously knows about your connection with Yami and Ancient Egypt." Yugi noticed that Bakura looked pale and worried.
'He looks exhausted. That mental barrier Yami's been teaching him about must take a lot the energy out of him.' Yugi noted. He then looked at Ryou. "Why? Did you get one? The Ring?" Yugi realised he was whispering secretively. Ryou shook his head. "You... didn't get one? Maybe they're after only the Puzzle."
Ryou shook his head. Then he whispered to Yugi, "No, I didn't get one. I got two."
Yugi stared at him incredulously. "Two? But if we're getting cards that represent our Items then why did you get two?" Yugi was puzzled. Why did Bakura get two?
"Yugi, Yami's been teaching me a lot about the mental and spiritual link that we have with our Yami. I progressed past the mental barrier about three weeks back. So Yami began to teach me how to retrieve memories from periods when I blacked out. When my Yami was in control." Ryou shuddered. After a moment he continued. "I've been going through my memory backwards, from the end of Battle City. Last night I got to the end of Duelist Kingdom."
Yugi stared at him. No wonder he was so exhausted! Yugi was glad he didn't have to go through that with Yami. "And?" Yugi prompted, hoping to get an answer.
"Pegasus. He killed Pegasus. Ripped his eye out... It was horrible. I need to go see Ishizu tonight. She's good with the past. I need her to clarify some things for me Yugi. And Shadi is occasionally with her. He would be most helpful." Yugi noticed Bakura's abrupt change in subject, but left it alone. He'd heard enough to realise what had happened. Bakura had two cards. The Eye and the Ring.
'Poor Bakura. Having to go through what his Yami has done must be torture. He'll send himself insane if he continues.' Yugi decided that Bakura needed help urgently. He placed his hand on Bakura's back comfortingly. "You have to stop it Bakura. You're going to go crazy." Bakura looked at him strangely and grabbed the front of Yugi's schoolshirt.
"You don't understand Yugi," Bakura's voice was hoarse, a rasping sound that sent shivers up Yugi's spine. "I can't help it. Every night I go to my room, lie down and... see. He's doing this to me Yugi, it's him!" Bakura's voice got louder and louder, and Yugi noticed that people at other tables were starting to look at them.
"Bakura, calm down. Let's go outside and talk." He gripped Bakura's arm and lead him outside, Bakura stumbling over objects he didn't see as he continued to mutter under his voice. Yugi lead him to the shade of a gnarled oak tree and they sat down. "Okay Bakura, shoot."
Bakura turned to Yugi, who noticed uncomfortably that his eyes were glazed and vacant-looking. "Yugi, he shows me what he's done. It's deliberate. Yami might have trained me in the art of mental protection but he's been around for 4000 years, Yugi! He was banished to a place beyond the Shadow Realm during his duel with Malik. There he met... others. Adepts. Darkness incarnate. Each and every one of them banished by someone or another. They taught him many abilities. He learned quickly. Soon the others realised that he was different. They spent six months teaching him about astral projection, an art mastered by very few. Usually it would take at least a century of intense practise to get even the basic ability. My Yami, he mastered it in six months."
Bakura's voice rose in pitch, becoming high and frightened. "Six months Yugi! He told me it was because he still had a mystical connection to this realm. The Millennium Ring. He's still trapped in the other realm, but his trickery and mental prowess has radically improved. If he'd been banished to the Shadow Realm he could have easily returned. He did it before in Duelist Kingdon. Maybe even if he was three realms away. But the dark realm is very far away. He is having trouble breaking through my barrier. But I'm weakinging Yugi. Unless I do something soon he'll come back. Not even Malik will be able to stop him." Bakura disintegrated into incoherent sobs. Yugi made a decision. He had to take him to Shadi.
'Yami! You heard all that?' Yugi asked Yami telepathically.
'Yes. I will try to contact Shadi. Please wait.' Yami sounded worried as well.
Yugi sat by Bakura and gradually calmed him down. Eventually, ten minutes later, he heard Yami calling to him. 'Yugi, I've contacted Shadi. He will be at Ishizu's home. Come after school...'
***
Yugi and Bakura arrived at Ishizu and Malik's mansion. Bakura turned to Yugi. "Thank you for doing this for me Yugi. I didn't know how to ask Ishizu for help." Bakura said gratefully.
Yugi just smiled and walked up to the door. He pressed the intercom and it crackled. "Um, this is Yugi Moto. I'm here to see Ishizu." When he let go of the intercom he heard a secretary's voice.
"Certainly Mr. Moto. Ms. Ishtar has been expecting you. Please wait." Yugi waited until he heard the door unlock, then pushed it open.
"Come on Bakura. Let's go see Shadi." Yugi walked inside, followed eagerly by Bakura.
***
"Yugi! How have you been? It's been so long since I saw you last!" Ishizu embraced Yugi warmly, then followed with an almost as friendly hug with Ryou. Ryou couldn't help but notice the strong attraction he'd felt when they'd hugged. He also noticed that he got a strange buzzing feeling whenever he looked at her chest. This disturbed him at first, but then he realised something which disturbed him even more. He didn't care at all about her. All he cared about was what was hanging above her chest. Her necklace.
With this realization Ryou started to feel distinctly worried. His Yami was influencing him. More so than ever before. "Where's Shadi? He was going to help me." Ryou's voice was quiet and inoffensive.
A quiet, yet commanding voice floated over his shoulder. "I am here. As I promised." The sudden voice caused Ryou to jump. "Come with me. I will cure your ailment." He started to walk down the hall.
"Wait. I'm not sick. I'm-" Ryou was cut off in midsentence.
"I know. I will cure you." Shadi turned around and strode away, Ryou hurrying to catch up to him.
Ishizu offered Yugi a seat. "Please sit down. We have much to talk about." Yugi accepted the offer and they spent the next half an hour reminiscing, gossiping and generally having a nice conversation. But eventually the conversation turned to the upcoming tournament.
"So, Ishizu. I heard you had entered the tournament. Is it true?" Yugi asked curiously. He actually hadn't but he had a feeling she would have received an invitation. He had given her necklace back about six months ago. She had been using it in some magic research.
Ishizu chuckled. "You have heard no such thing Yugi. You are trying to find out if was sent a Millennium Item card without causing any alarm. And, yes, I did get one."
Yugi was astonished at her level of perception. "You're good, you know that?"
Ishizu nodded solemnly. "You have good reason to be worried. My brother said that he sensed something coming. Something dark. He too received a Millennium Item card." She was about to say more when Shadi re-emerged with Ryou in tow.
"It is done. Now go. So many items in one place is far too dangerous." Shadi was abrupt in his warning. Yugi thought it was strange, but decided to comply.
"Let's go Bakura."
***
Ryou sat on his bed, fingering the Ring. Shadi had replenished his barriers so there was no chance that the spirit could return. Not for a long time.
'Good thing too. I had almost gone insane.' Ryou got into bed, pulled up the covers and fell asleep within minutes. About ten minutes later he woke back up and sat up in his bed. Or so an outsider would think. But look at him hard enough and you would notice that his hair was more angular, his eyes more evil. Yami Bakura was back.
"Fool. Did he really think he could stop me? And thanks to Shadi lowering his barrier to recharge his etheric energies, my re-birth has taken place quicker than I thought. Now the fun begins." He looked through Ryou's deck. "Fool! He's changed it! If only Yugi had given Ra to my host instead of that fool Wheeler! He can't even speak heiretic. Ryou knows heiretic, why not give it to him?" Then a thoughtful look cast itself across Bakura's face.
"Hmm, I think I'll go celebrate my return. I'll tell everyone the news. Wheeler first..." Bakura started to chuckle manically, an idea hatching in his evil mind.
**********************
There we go, now Bakura is back.
***Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament of the Millennium***
Chapter 3: Emergence
"So Yugi, are you ready for the tournament? It's only a week away you know." Ryou was talking with Yugi at their lunchtable in the school cafeteria. Yugi was showing Ryou his new deck structure.
Yugi laughed in his soft voice. "Sure Bakura. I was ready a month ago. You're in it, aren't you? You still haven't told me what card you received." He stopped talking when he noticed that Ryou was staring at one of his cards. "What's the matter Bakura?"
Ryou's voice was oddly strained as he showed Yugi the card. "This. The Millennium Puzzle. Why didn't you tell me about this? Someone obviously knows about your connection with Yami and Ancient Egypt." Yugi noticed that Bakura looked pale and worried.
'He looks exhausted. That mental barrier Yami's been teaching him about must take a lot the energy out of him.' Yugi noted. He then looked at Ryou. "Why? Did you get one? The Ring?" Yugi realised he was whispering secretively. Ryou shook his head. "You... didn't get one? Maybe they're after only the Puzzle."
Ryou shook his head. Then he whispered to Yugi, "No, I didn't get one. I got two."
Yugi stared at him incredulously. "Two? But if we're getting cards that represent our Items then why did you get two?" Yugi was puzzled. Why did Bakura get two?
"Yugi, Yami's been teaching me a lot about the mental and spiritual link that we have with our Yami. I progressed past the mental barrier about three weeks back. So Yami began to teach me how to retrieve memories from periods when I blacked out. When my Yami was in control." Ryou shuddered. After a moment he continued. "I've been going through my memory backwards, from the end of Battle City. Last night I got to the end of Duelist Kingdom."
Yugi stared at him. No wonder he was so exhausted! Yugi was glad he didn't have to go through that with Yami. "And?" Yugi prompted, hoping to get an answer.
"Pegasus. He killed Pegasus. Ripped his eye out... It was horrible. I need to go see Ishizu tonight. She's good with the past. I need her to clarify some things for me Yugi. And Shadi is occasionally with her. He would be most helpful." Yugi noticed Bakura's abrupt change in subject, but left it alone. He'd heard enough to realise what had happened. Bakura had two cards. The Eye and the Ring.
'Poor Bakura. Having to go through what his Yami has done must be torture. He'll send himself insane if he continues.' Yugi decided that Bakura needed help urgently. He placed his hand on Bakura's back comfortingly. "You have to stop it Bakura. You're going to go crazy." Bakura looked at him strangely and grabbed the front of Yugi's schoolshirt.
"You don't understand Yugi," Bakura's voice was hoarse, a rasping sound that sent shivers up Yugi's spine. "I can't help it. Every night I go to my room, lie down and... see. He's doing this to me Yugi, it's him!" Bakura's voice got louder and louder, and Yugi noticed that people at other tables were starting to look at them.
"Bakura, calm down. Let's go outside and talk." He gripped Bakura's arm and lead him outside, Bakura stumbling over objects he didn't see as he continued to mutter under his voice. Yugi lead him to the shade of a gnarled oak tree and they sat down. "Okay Bakura, shoot."
Bakura turned to Yugi, who noticed uncomfortably that his eyes were glazed and vacant-looking. "Yugi, he shows me what he's done. It's deliberate. Yami might have trained me in the art of mental protection but he's been around for 4000 years, Yugi! He was banished to a place beyond the Shadow Realm during his duel with Malik. There he met... others. Adepts. Darkness incarnate. Each and every one of them banished by someone or another. They taught him many abilities. He learned quickly. Soon the others realised that he was different. They spent six months teaching him about astral projection, an art mastered by very few. Usually it would take at least a century of intense practise to get even the basic ability. My Yami, he mastered it in six months."
Bakura's voice rose in pitch, becoming high and frightened. "Six months Yugi! He told me it was because he still had a mystical connection to this realm. The Millennium Ring. He's still trapped in the other realm, but his trickery and mental prowess has radically improved. If he'd been banished to the Shadow Realm he could have easily returned. He did it before in Duelist Kingdon. Maybe even if he was three realms away. But the dark realm is very far away. He is having trouble breaking through my barrier. But I'm weakinging Yugi. Unless I do something soon he'll come back. Not even Malik will be able to stop him." Bakura disintegrated into incoherent sobs. Yugi made a decision. He had to take him to Shadi.
'Yami! You heard all that?' Yugi asked Yami telepathically.
'Yes. I will try to contact Shadi. Please wait.' Yami sounded worried as well.
Yugi sat by Bakura and gradually calmed him down. Eventually, ten minutes later, he heard Yami calling to him. 'Yugi, I've contacted Shadi. He will be at Ishizu's home. Come after school...'
***
Yugi and Bakura arrived at Ishizu and Malik's mansion. Bakura turned to Yugi. "Thank you for doing this for me Yugi. I didn't know how to ask Ishizu for help." Bakura said gratefully.
Yugi just smiled and walked up to the door. He pressed the intercom and it crackled. "Um, this is Yugi Moto. I'm here to see Ishizu." When he let go of the intercom he heard a secretary's voice.
"Certainly Mr. Moto. Ms. Ishtar has been expecting you. Please wait." Yugi waited until he heard the door unlock, then pushed it open.
"Come on Bakura. Let's go see Shadi." Yugi walked inside, followed eagerly by Bakura.
***
"Yugi! How have you been? It's been so long since I saw you last!" Ishizu embraced Yugi warmly, then followed with an almost as friendly hug with Ryou. Ryou couldn't help but notice the strong attraction he'd felt when they'd hugged. He also noticed that he got a strange buzzing feeling whenever he looked at her chest. This disturbed him at first, but then he realised something which disturbed him even more. He didn't care at all about her. All he cared about was what was hanging above her chest. Her necklace.
With this realization Ryou started to feel distinctly worried. His Yami was influencing him. More so than ever before. "Where's Shadi? He was going to help me." Ryou's voice was quiet and inoffensive.
A quiet, yet commanding voice floated over his shoulder. "I am here. As I promised." The sudden voice caused Ryou to jump. "Come with me. I will cure your ailment." He started to walk down the hall.
"Wait. I'm not sick. I'm-" Ryou was cut off in midsentence.
"I know. I will cure you." Shadi turned around and strode away, Ryou hurrying to catch up to him.
Ishizu offered Yugi a seat. "Please sit down. We have much to talk about." Yugi accepted the offer and they spent the next half an hour reminiscing, gossiping and generally having a nice conversation. But eventually the conversation turned to the upcoming tournament.
"So, Ishizu. I heard you had entered the tournament. Is it true?" Yugi asked curiously. He actually hadn't but he had a feeling she would have received an invitation. He had given her necklace back about six months ago. She had been using it in some magic research.
Ishizu chuckled. "You have heard no such thing Yugi. You are trying to find out if was sent a Millennium Item card without causing any alarm. And, yes, I did get one."
Yugi was astonished at her level of perception. "You're good, you know that?"
Ishizu nodded solemnly. "You have good reason to be worried. My brother said that he sensed something coming. Something dark. He too received a Millennium Item card." She was about to say more when Shadi re-emerged with Ryou in tow.
"It is done. Now go. So many items in one place is far too dangerous." Shadi was abrupt in his warning. Yugi thought it was strange, but decided to comply.
"Let's go Bakura."
***
Ryou sat on his bed, fingering the Ring. Shadi had replenished his barriers so there was no chance that the spirit could return. Not for a long time.
'Good thing too. I had almost gone insane.' Ryou got into bed, pulled up the covers and fell asleep within minutes. About ten minutes later he woke back up and sat up in his bed. Or so an outsider would think. But look at him hard enough and you would notice that his hair was more angular, his eyes more evil. Yami Bakura was back.
"Fool. Did he really think he could stop me? And thanks to Shadi lowering his barrier to recharge his etheric energies, my re-birth has taken place quicker than I thought. Now the fun begins." He looked through Ryou's deck. "Fool! He's changed it! If only Yugi had given Ra to my host instead of that fool Wheeler! He can't even speak heiretic. Ryou knows heiretic, why not give it to him?" Then a thoughtful look cast itself across Bakura's face.
"Hmm, I think I'll go celebrate my return. I'll tell everyone the news. Wheeler first..." Bakura started to chuckle manically, an idea hatching in his evil mind.
**********************
There we go, now Bakura is back.