Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh.

Author's notes: ok, borrowed script from the anime again. I was watching the DVD on my laptop and wrote it as I went along cus I haven't seen this episode for a while and I was a little rusty on events. You know what was funny? I use the keypad to rewind and forward the DVD but I pressed ctrl, shift and C instead of B. that put the subtitles up! It's nice when accidents like that happen. Bakura is present but as always is dark and mysterious.

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Unrequited Love

Chapter 19: The First Duel and Revelations

The duelists and supporters made their way into the main hall. Once there they stopped to admire the layout. Kaiba had spared no expense to impress and make this the best tournament in history. There were tables covered with very expensive and not to mention tasty foods. Joey was the first to make a move towards the feast before him.

"I can't believe Kaiba served up fancy chow like this and made it all ya can eat! He's gonna be sorry by the time I'm through" snickered Joey as he grabbed a plate and began to pile food on.

Anuket turned away from the teenager who was shovelling food down like he may never eat again. She noticed a dark man in the corner of the room. He was very tall and had his arms crossed. The man must have realised he was being watched because he lifted his gaze to meet hers. Anuket was taken aback; it was the same man that was on Marik's boat, the one who had the tattoo on his face.

"What is he doing here?" she wondered.

Anuket realised that when the duelists were arriving, before they boarded the blimp, she must have spaced out or something because she never noticed Bakura until this moment as well. The dark man looked away from her. He looked as though he was having a staring match with someone else. Anuket looked to her right and saw Joey doing his best to try and intimidate the man. The man must have gotten bored because he closed his eyes and bowed his head again. Joey walked up to Anuket and whispered to her.

"Be careful of him Anu. That's Marik; he's a nasty piece of work. I don't want nothin to happen to ya so stay close to me ok?"

"They think that man is Marik?"

She nodded to Joey and smiled up at him warmly. He was a really sweet guy now that she thought about it. He would do anything for his friends and she found it an admirable quality for someone to have. Joey put an arm around Anuket and led her towards the rest of the posse.

Violet eyes watched this exchange between the two teenagers, and to say he was jealous would be the understatement of the century. Marik growled deep in his throat and clutched the millennium rod tightly in his fist. He had to be patient and follow things through as planned. He would deal with Joey wheeler another time. He slowly released the rod again. that idiot still had his arm around her.

"Get your filthy hands off of her! She's mine!"

Marik visualised what would happen if they were back home in Egypt. If Wheeler had his arm around Anuket there, he would be in a 'lot' of trouble. The penalty for touching another mans bride resulted in separation of the offending limb from his body. It was a harsh punishment, but it did the trick in keeping unwanted attention away from the women. Marik wanted to go over to Anuket and pull her away from Wheeler. He wanted to be the one to put his arm around her. He let out an almost silent and pained laugh. Not much more then twenty four hours ago, she would have allowed him to do just that, and more besides.

"How did ya qualify so fast Bakura?" asked Joey curiously. "You were in pretty bad shape when I last saw ya"

"Well actually, I won all of my locator cards at the same time" replied Bakura casually.

"No way! In one duel!" Joey shouted, almost dropping his food and deafening the Egyptian girl under his arm at the same time.

"Yes I did. I defeated Bonz and his gang in the cemetery and got them to give up all their locator cards. They didn't have much choice"

Anuket looked shocked "you forced them?"

"Sort of" he replied innocently "Well, I guess I'll see you in the finals Joey. Goodbye Anuket" he tilted is head and went back to eating.

Anuket and Joey looked at each other as they walked away from the British teen. That was completely out of character for Bakura.

"I hope I don't have to duel him" thought Joey.

Joey finally took his arm off the girl and made his way towards some tasty looking prawns on the table. This waiting was starting to make her nervous. She couldn't think why because it wasn't like she was going to duel anyone. Anuket felt a stare on her back. She glanced over her shoulder to see Marik staring back at her. She turned away from him and tried to ignore him.

Joey began to get impatient "Hey Kaiba! When are we gonna find out who goes first?!"

Kaiba looked down at him with a condescending air about him. "You seem eager to lose Wheeler, but if you insist, lets begin"

Kaiba snapped his fingers and the lights went out. A platform was raised at the front of the room and lit up. A lottery machine rose out of it. It looked like a blue eyes ultimate dragon. Everyone looked confused. Joey however was the only one to voice his thoughts.

Roland stepped up and announced the people in the room.

"Finalists and guests, the first two duelists to participate in round one of the battle city finals will be chosen by lottery. It will be completely random if you were wondering at the fairness. You all have a number from one through eight. The selector will now choose the first two numbers"

The machine started up. Everyone stood there, waiting patiently. Some duelists were more anxious then others. After what seemed like eternity a ball dropped out of the left dragon's mouth.

"The first duelist to be chosen is number 6, Bakura!" announced Roland

"Who me?" said Bakura, sounding astonished. He began to laugh strangely. Anuket narrowed her eyes in confusion.

The machine then selected another ball. Roland went to check the number.

"The second duelist to be chosen is number three, Yugi Motou!"

Everyone stood back as Yugi, or rather Yami stepped forward. Bakura followed behind.

"Will the participating duellists please make their way to the stratos level arena please," said Roland

Anuket caught Marik smirking at Yami. He seemed to be very happy with this arrangement. Marik looked towards her and quickly removed the smirk from his face. She shook her head in utter disgust. The way Marik was acting was sickening. Anuket turned towards her friends.

"What does that snake have planned?"

As Bakura strode past, he shot her a fascinated glance. His eyes however, weren't as friendly as they had been earlier. They were cold and cruel. He smirked at her and walked on.

"Ok that was strange…" thought Anuket.

-------------- On deck

As Yugi and Bakura took their marks on the platform, the supporters and other duelists arrived. They positioned themselves to get the best view. The wind was incredibly strong on the deck and not only that, it was bitterly cold too.

"It's freezing up here! Kaiba could have warned us, the inconsiderate prick!" Anuket complained, her teeth chattering loudly.

She heard a male chuckling behind her. It was Marik. She shrugged it off and wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep warm. Kaiba stepped up onto the platform.

"I'll make this quick. Kaiba Kraft 3 is now cruising at four thousand feet, the strong winds and cold air will test your strength and stamina. If you can't take it, then you don't belong here"

Tristan voiced his liking of this little twist and so did Duke. Anuket however couldn't understand how strength and stamina were important to a card game. It wasn't like they would be wrestling with the monsters themselves. In the end she figured it was just Kaiba's way of showing how big a man he was. Anuket shared this view with Tea who agreed with her wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, you're right. Kaiba is so sad and pathetic sometimes it's unbelievable"

"Are you prepared to lose it all?" taunted Bakura.

His voice sounded different now, it was deeper and his hair looked wilder. Yugi simply glared back at him.

"I won't lose this duel! Why don't you tell me who you really are?"

Bakura simply grinned at the pharaoh, baring his teeth and not saying a word.

"Fine have it your way but I think I know who you are anyhow" said Yami.

A bright light surrounded Bakura. Anuket saw that he had something around his neck that wasn't there before. It had the same symbol that was on Marik's rod and the pharaoh's puzzle.

"What the hell is going on? Why does Bakura have a millennium item?" she thought, feeling more confused then ever.

"It's the spirit of the millennium ring! So it is you!" shouted Yami.

Anuket's eyes widened. "Spirit? Not another one! I get the feeling that he's not as kind as the pharaoh"

Her friends began to wonder and comment about how Bakura got the ring back, how bad the situation was and how they got rid of it in duelist kingdom in the first place. She simply listened as Tea explained about the spirit co inhabiting Bakura's soul. It wasn't so much for her benefit as it was for Marik's though. He pretended that he didn't have a clue as to what was going on. It sickened her, that voice dripping in honey, when she knew perfectly well it was more like cyanide. She wanted to say something, but that meant she'd have to reveal her connection to Marik. She stole a sideways glance at him after he finished his little act. He did the same. They stared at each other for a while.

"I know that Anuket still has feelings for me. I can see it in her eyes. She wants me but doesn't want to abandon her friends. Admirable, but foolish." thought Marik. "I will have to show her who's in charge here"

-------------------------------------------- After the duel.

"That was a close one yuge" said Tristan after the duel was over. "I thought that Bakura was gonna win. It was lucky you used your Egyptian god card when you did"

Yugi nodded in agreement. The pharaoh had gone back inside his soul room now to gather his thoughts. The duel with the spirit had taken a lot out of him. They had to take Bakura to the infirmary too. He was already weak from his injuries and being blasted by one of the most powerful creatures in duel monster was bound to make him feel worse, despite the fact that his darker side had taken the brunt of the blow. Tea was currently watching over him.

"Hey guys" started Yugi. "I'm gonna go back to my room now, I catch ya later ok?"

Everyone nodded. It was going to be another half hour until the next duel took place so thought they may as well rest up. They all made their way to their respective rooms hoping to get some rest and warm up before the next duel. Just as Anuket opened her door she felt a presence behind her. Tanned arms snaked around her waist and she felt herself being pulled up against up against someone. It didn't take a genius to figure out who it was. She tried to pull herself out of Marik's grip but he was too strong. He closed a hand over her mouth and forced her inside.

He locked the door and turned the girl around to face him.

"Marik what are you…?!"

Anuket didn't have time to finish her sentence. Before she knew it, Marik had leaned forward and captured her lips with his own. She was so shocked by this sudden movement, she didn't know what to do. He was very strong so she doubted she could push him away. That didn't stop her from trying though. She pressed her hands against his chest and began to push with all her might. She couldn't even straighten her arms to put distance between them. Marik smirked at her futile attempt and hugged her tighter.

"She's not getting away that easily"

Marik grabbed her hips and lifted her up so she practically had her legs wrapped around his waist. He pushed her up against the wall and began to kiss her more deeply. Anuket was terrified now. She didn't like the way this was heading and squirmed in his grip but to no avail. He wasn't going to force himself on her was he? She let out a frightened whimper and tears began to trickle down her face. Marik stopped suddenly and pulled away from the kiss to study the woman in his arms.

She was crying now and he couldn't bring himself to go any further. Her eyes were bright with tears and she was staring at him, afraid of what he would do next. Marik let out a deep sigh and put her down. He still had his arms around her though.

"Why do you do this Anuket? You know very well that we are going to marry after this is all over. It has to happen sometime. You can't resist me forever"

Anuket felt her fear disappear slightly when Marik put her down. It was replaced with a little anger. She wiped the tears away with a sleeve and looked Marik in the eye.

"We are never going to get married. I don't want to be with you Marik. Why can't you just accept that?"

"Because I love you!" he shouted.

Anuket looked at him in disbelief. How could he possibly love her? They had only just met again and barely knew each other. Marik was massaging his temple with both hands.

"When I saw Wheeler's arm around you before the duel, I wanted to tear him away from you and beat the living daylights out of him. I just can't stand the thought of you being with another man"

Marik took Anuket's hands in his own.

"I want it to be just us two. You and me, together for the rest of our lives. Please, will you give me another chance to show you how much you mean to me?"

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There, a cliff hanger of sorts. This is the part where you decide what happens. Do you want them to get together again or not? I will write the story according to the ideas given to me and number of reviews I get. It all depends what you tell me.

You know, I went onto a site and downloaded a few of the pharaoh's memory episodes! They're all in Japanese but they have English subtitles. I have the theme for the credits as well. It's called 'eyes' and I love it. It's a really catchy tune you know.

You won't believe the blood and gore in it! A couple of kids got scorched to death! Kaiba was there and saw it happen and got really pissed cus one of the kids looked like Mokuba! Bakura coughed up blood and so did Atemu at one point! Marik was there too (smile smile) he had on a new outfit and looked really nice. He was in bed with his hands behind his head at one point. He looked so very nice. I'll try to get a picture of him for ya! Get a bucket all those fan girls ok? It's a gorgeous shot and there will be drool ok?!

There is a lot of swearing too. That is why I have decided to get the Japanese episodes on DVD. I want to see the uncut versions. Im sure I can put up with subtitles at the bottom. It's amazing how much Japanese you pick up on these things and how much they miss out too. Proof that we all live in the wrong country.

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Deprived Huntress: your writing skills can't be any worse then mine. I don't think that mine are all that great either. The only consolation I have is the fact that it's good considering I have dyslexia. The only reason I know there is a mistake is because I check it over and over and the spellchecker underlines everything. Use a thesaurus too. It makes you clever.

Raksha666: hi there! Marik is a bit of a dunce when it comes to talking to girls. It's a wonder that so many like him. Oh well, I guess he really should read that book 'talking to girls for dummies'

Serophia: you like this chapter? Hope so. I wanted to write a kissy scene cus I feel all depressed. Here is your chance to have a say in what happens. Should they get together or not? Hmmmm

DemonicMistress Kree-Kun: you like a sexist pig do ya? What would you like to see happen next? You want them to get together again? Have a think and let me know in your review ok?

Loveliesbleeding2: you like? Do you want them to get together now or later? It all depends on what the readers say and the ideas that are given to me. What do you think? Also how you doing? Did those scans help at all?

CRAZYABOUTANIME: happy holidays to you too. Mine is almost over though. I have to go work tomorrow urgh! You like? Thanks for your review. What do you think should happen then? Have a think.

DaRkNeSsApPrOaChEs Hya, you all cheered up now? I know Marik is a bit out of character, well maybe a lot out of character, but it's soon coming to the turning point where his dark side comes out and messes around. What do you think should happen? You want them to get together and be happy before evil Marik comes out or have her hate him for a while longer?

Raggle-chan: hey I like your name! Sounds cool. As you may have read, I'm giving people a chance to say what they want to happen so throw any ideas and suggestions you have this way!

Vanna chance: I enjoyed writing the argument between them you know. Didja get those pictures I sent you? If so what do you think? Thanks for the review!

Meanae the thorn: heres your chance to choose what happens. Should they get together or not? Glad you like the last chapter. Poor Joey, he didn't deserve that did he? Never mind, he'll get over it. Throw any ideas my way if you like!

The gothic girl over there: no worries. People review late, it happens. I didn't take any offence. I'm sure you were busy, or grounded, or both! Have a nice Christmas? Hope you liked this chapter.

Ra: I have a faithful reader? (Cries with joy) thankies muchly! Kaiba and Anuket won't fall in love but I guess I can include him trying. It might make things more interesting I guess. Well, do you want Anu and Marik to get together again or wait for a bit longer? It's up to you readers out there.

Vladimir Lenin: thanks for the review. Any ideas as to what you wanna see happen next? Let me know if you do, otherwise just keep reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Please leave a nice review! Have a nice day!