Ice had always fascinated him. He had only been exposed to it once as a child, during that all too brief escape from the dank hole he had called home. But now he swirled his long fingers through a glass of gelid cubes and smiled. The happy mood quickly deteriorated, however, and he made a small sound of annoyance. His yacht was off course by several degrees.

"You told me you knew where to go."

"I-I do Master!"

"Why do you bother to lie? You've failed me, and now I'll have to do it myself."

The pilot fell, sprawled over the steering wheel, then straightened with jerky, corpse-like motions. His eerily vacant eyes stared into the middle distance as his hands made the course correction. The task complete, the man abruptly crashed onto the deck, dead, like a puppet with its strings cut. Another crewman stepped over the body and nervously took his place, fervently hoping not to meet the same end as his predecessor.

His violet eyes blinked and the cabin slowly came into focus again. His hand was still in the glass, now covered with water. He had killed a man without moving an inch.

The standoff stretched into eternity, and Tea recalled every aspect of her abduction in excruciating detail. Her mortification quickly changed into burning anger, however, which she saw mirrored on Yami's face. So great was his rage that a third, glowing eye had appeared in the center of his forehead. Tea had seen this only rarely, and she was extremely glad that it was not she who was seared by the trinocular glare. Bakura was also looking dangerously irate. Gone was the languid, coolly calculating spirit that had devised and executed his plan with detached precision. In his stead stood a vessel overflowing with hatred. Finally, Yami felt something within him wrench loose and he was hurled into oblivion.

This battle was like no other that Yami had ever faced. Previously he had fought with cards and competence, but now his and Bakura's Millennium Items struggled on a plane that completely transcended their owners' mundane echelon. This was more than a struggle of wills; it pitted the combatants' entire beings against one another. Yami could feel Tea pouring the entirety of her strength into him, but it was becoming steadily more difficult to hold off Bakura.

Madness had given the spirit of the Ring a power that only those who have utterly forsaken sanity can comprehend. A mind restricted to rational thought is limited by the rational laws of the universe. These precepts simply did not occur to Bakura's deranged mind, therefore he was able to fully tap into his rage and do things that would be otherwise impossible.

Yami could feel himself losing metaphorical ground, and Tea's support was now laced with anxiety. Just as darkness was closing in around the edges of his vision, his adversary's strength suddenly faltered and Bakura was yanked harshly out of the quasi universe he had created. Yami was left alone and confused for a moment before he too returned to his normal state.

Something was hideously wrong. He had been hammering the pharaoh with blow after blow when Bakura suddenly felt himself weakening. It was as though all the combined might of him and his hikari was being siphoned off by some unknown power. Even his righteous anger at being undermined in this manner was drawn away, leaving him completely without emotion for the last few seconds before he buckled.

The dingy, peeling wallpaper of Bakura's lair greeted the pharaoh once again. The thief was lying on the floor, a large gash he had sustained in the fall marking his head. Yami could not bring himself to feel any pity whatsoever. He abruptly became aware of Tea beside him, shaking slightly. This reminded him of his own acute exhaustion, and they both sank to the floor and slept like the dead.

He reflected upon the day's work. It had been pleasurable--but not wholly satisfying-- to thwart the tomb robber's puerile attempt at a coup. He caressed the Millennium Rod absently. But soon he would face a worthwhile opponent and claim the throne that should have been his. Now Bakura was desperate--a feeling that could be easily exploited. He would grasp at any chance for revenge that was offered. It would be a simple matter to use him against the pharaoh and then dispose of him.

Yami felt a heavy weight on top of him and his pulse quickened fleetingly with alarm. But just as quickly he realized that Tea had curled up on his chest. He hated to disturb her, but he was beginning to piece together what had happened and wanted to know precisely what had happened to Bakura. She made a faint noise of protest and flung an arm into Yami's shoulder as he rose, then woke and stood with him. The body lay before them, though whether Ryou or Bakura inhabited it they could not tell. Tea and Yami exchanged a worried glace before he finally walked slowly over and nudged it. Two large, brown, mournful eyes opened briefly, then closed tightly against the shame.

"He's gone," said Ryou.

Bakura had surrendered, but he was not defeated. He had bitterly retreated to the deepest depths of the Millennium Ring, safe from detection even by Ryou. He would bide his time until the next opportunity presented itself. He was very good at waiting.

Tea dashed down the stairs, bashing her elbow on the banister as she did so, and ripped open the door. She ushered Yami inside as she hopped up and down, cradling her arm. He smiled half worriedly, half affectionately before dropping a light kiss on her lips. She grinned back, and then bounced happily into the kitchen.

"How's Ryou doing?" she asked, digging around in the refrigerator.

"As well as can be expected. He feels unbelievably guilty. He has practically gone into hiding," he replied.

Two days had passed since the showdown, and Ryou had refused to leave his bedroom in the interim. Yami and Tea had decided to meet for brunch after sleeping for nearly the entire period.

Tea nodded solemnly. "I think he'll be okay." Then, brightening, she said, "Do you want sausage or bacon?"

His arms slid around her from behind as he said, "Whatever you want, love."

Yami gently nuzzled the nape of her neck.

Tea's fingers tightened on the refrigerator door, and she said, "Bed. Now."

Yami eagerly complied, and Tea found herself on her back amongst the cool cotton sheets of her bed. He was raining kisses down on her throat and shoulders, and various articles of clothing were sailing across the room. The pharaoh paused and looked worried.

"Are you all right to do this?"

Smiling mischievously, Tea suddenly flipped Yami onto his back and ground roughly into his hips. She laughed as he clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the resulting groan.

"What do you think?"

Slowly throughout the day, the couple blissfully rediscovered each other after five thousand years.

Their lovemaking completed, Yami and Tea lay contentedly together. The cries of passion had faded, and now was a time for quiet satisfaction. But the telephone--that loathed device--interrupted the lull. Yami answered begrudgingly, listened, and then became visibly animated. He spoke a brief farewell and hung up.

"That was Joey. Kaiba is hosting a tournament! They issue you some sort of new dueling technology when you register!"

He begged with his eyes. Tea smiled indulgently.

"All right. I'll go with you."

They climbed out of bed and gathered the scattered clothing.

Tea lay back in the grass, and closed her eyes. She could hear Yugi and Joey's expressions of delight each time they deployed their duel discs. Even after an hour of doing this, they had not tired of watching the bat-like holographic projectors shoot out of the contraption and render images of duel monsters on the front lawn. All was well in her world; she had the man she loved, a wonderful best friend, and a disturbing event behind her. "My life is perfect." she thought, and perhaps in that moment she was right.

He smiled as the yacht bumped softly against the dock. It had cost him two more navigators to get here, but he would sacrifice as many as was necessary to achieve his goal. The world would quake before Malik.

The End

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my story! I'm trying very hard to get the second chapter of the sequel up!