In everyone's rooms, the screen lit up and Isono appeared on it.

Isono: "The first round of the tournament will now begin! All participants please gather in the central assembly hall."

Akia looked at Ishizu with eyes devoid of emotion.

"Ishizu-san. I know I said I'd do what I can to save Marik. This has not changed, but my priority will be protecting my brother from yours. Whether that means at Marik's expense or whether that means Marik will be saved in the process, I will do everything in my power to prevent Yugi from being hurt. I will show no mercy to anyone who hurts him, no matter who they are. I'm sure you understand, since you have a brother of your own."

Ishizu nodded, sadness clouding her face.

Ishizu: "I'm sorry, Akia, for putting such a burden on your shoulders. Even if things do not work out the way I hope they do, I will never hold it against you. Marik is the one to blame for his actions. But please, do not reveal his identity yet. If you do, not only he will be in danger but everyone else will be in even greater danger if the evil inside him is awakened."

Akia went up to Ishizu and put her hand on the woman's shoulder.

"You have my word… For what it's worth, I still do care for him."
Ishizu smiled.

Ishizu: "Thank you, Akia."

When Akia got out of her room, she ran into her brother. Yugi looked at his twin and knew that something was wrong.

Yugi: "Akia…"

Akia shook her head.

"Let's not get distracted before the big matches. I'll tell you everything when we settle down after the first round."

Yugi nodded and patted his sister on the back.

Yugi: "We'll put an end to all of this together and retrieve the other me's memories."

"You got it!"

Yugi's Puzzle shone in a bright light and the Spirit of the Puzzle took over.

Yugi: "Let's do this, aibou, Akia."

The two high-fived each other as they made it to the assembly room. There, they found their friends digging into the food that was laid out on round draped tables. Mai went to join Akia and Yugi once she spotted them entering.

Mai: "The finals are finally starting!"

"Mai-san! Let's do our best in the upcoming duels."

Mai: "I'd love to actually duel you, Akia-chan, since we never had the chance to do that. As for you, Yugi, I will definitely defeat you this time!"

Yugi: "Let's have a good fight when the time comes."

Akia started walking around until she spotted Jounouchi with a plate full of food, bumping into Bakura. Seeing Bakura made her heart squeeze. She knew this was the Spirit of the Ring, but he was acting like the real Bakura. She missed him so much.

Jounouchi: "Ah! Akia! This food is delicious!"

At the mention of Akia, Bakura looked at her and smiled. It was different from his other smiles though, less genuine. She quickly avoided his gaze and looked at Jounouchi

"I would eat, but I already ate in my room."

Jounouchi: "My room got invaded by Honda, Anzu, and Otogi so I didn't get the chance… What about you Bakura?"

Bakura: "I ate a nice steak. It was too over for my liking, though. I like it more bloody."

Jounouchi flinched a little, not expecting that sort of answer from Bakura, especially with how he was keeping a sweet smile on his face the entire time.

Jounouchi: "Yeah…? Oh, by the way, what kind of deck do you use?"

Bakura: "Ah! My deck is an occult deck."

Jounouchi flinched even more. Akia knew he was really not fond of anything occult.

Jounouchi: "Occult deck? Is that that like Kotsuzuka's ghost deck?"

Akia blinked in confusion.

"Kotsuzuka?"

Jounouchi: "Ah, yeah, you weren't there for it during Duelist Kingdom. It was this guy that was working with Keith Howard. I dueled him in the cave before they locked us in."

"Aaah! Yugi did tell me about that."

Jounouchi: "That guy had some creepy cards…"

Bakura: "Yeah, I dueled Kotsuzuka-kun and won easily."

Bakura kept that same smile on his face as he remembered how he dragged the three guys into hell after winning.

Jounouchi: "You won easily against Kotsuzuka?"

Bakura: "Yeah."

Jounouchi was starting to feel scared about potentially dueling Bakura. He knew he didn't do too well with anything relating to the occult. More than that, he was surprised how Bakura was able to easily defeat an opponent that he had struggled a lot with.

Jounouchi: "W-Well then, see you later."

Bakura: "Yeah, if we're matched up, go easy on me!"

Jounouchi left Akia and Bakura alone together. Bakura looked her way, but she couldn't meet his gaze. She felt so apologetic for what happened before. He let out a short exasperated as he walked away.

The lights then dimmed as the stage ahead got lit up. A raffle machine, clad with an ultimate blue eyes white dragon, came up from the ground. There were balls with numbers inside.

Jounouchi: "What the heck is that?"

Isono, on cue, started explaining.

Isono: "We will now draw to determine the first round match-ups. Each and every match-up of the first round will be decided in this format, starting with the first match. They will be decided using this ultimate bingo machine and the next draw will happen after the first duel is concluded and so on. In other words, you will not know your opponent's identity until right before the duel. The numbers in the bingo machine represent the numbers that were assigned to the finalists and it will randomly choose two of them."

The numbers were assigned in order of the people who showed up. Number 1 was Kaiba Seto, number 2 was Mutou Akia, number 3 was Mutou Yugi, number 4 was Jounouchi Katsuya, number 5 was Kujaku Mai, number 6 was Namu, number 7 was Bakura Ryou, and number 8 was Marik Ishtar.

Isono: "If all are ready, we shall begin the lottery for the tournament's first match-up. Ultimate Bing, start!"

Everyone looked on in anticipation, except for Ishizu, who already knew what events would unfold. The balls in the machine started being pushed around by air current. The blue eyes' head that was inside the machine then opened, catching the first ball.

Isono: "The first person in the match-up is… Duelist number 7, Bakura Ryou!"

The Spirit of the Ring, masquerading as Bakura, acted surprised while pointing at himself.

Bakura: "Huh? Me?"

Otogi: "The first one's Bakura!"

Bakura gave a bashful smile.

Anzu: "Are you sure your arm is alright, Bakura-kun?"

Shizuka: "Your face seems a bit pale…"

Honda: "Are you sure you shouldn't be in bed right now, Bakura?"

As everyone was voicing their concern, Jounouchi was hoping he wouldn't have to face him. Akia went up to Yugi and held his arm. She then whispered to him.

"Yugi, there's something you need to know…"

Yugi: "Hm?"

The Spirit of the Puzzle glanced at his host's twin sister and saw the serious look on her face.

Bakura: "I'm alright, don't worry! Even so, I'm just a bit shocked that's I'm going first."

Bakura's possessor, kept acting like his host seamlessly.

"The thing is…"

Isono: "The other Duelist is… number 3, Mutou Yugi! It's been decided. The first match is Bakura

Ryou vs Mutou Yugi."

Akia's eyes widened at the match-up.

Anzu: "Bakura and Yugi…?"

Bakura: "Oh man…"

Akia, knowing that she had to tell Yugi about what was happening, pulled her brother closer and whispered to him.

"This is not Bakura…"

Yugi: "The Spirit of the Ring is possessing him, isn't her?"

"You noticed?"

Yugi: "It feels like the only plausible explanation for how he got into the tournament and all the way to the finals so quickly."

"Well, it's been going on even before that. He's been possessed since even before getting injured. So I think… the injury was a set-up."

Yugi's eyes widened at the revelation.

Yugi: "Are you saying that Namu…?"

Before they could expand on the thought, they were interrupted by Isono explaining how to proceed for the first duel.

Isono: "The tournament will be held on a special ring on the Battle Ship. The Aerial Dueling Ring Platform! Those participating in the first Duel, please proceed to taking the central elevator immediately. For the spectators, please go this way."

Honda: "Yeah! Let's go!"

Akia gave a concerned look to her brother's other self.

Yugi: "Don't worry."

He gave her a reassuring nod and she nodded back, both going their separate way.