Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

To RiterAnonymous: Thank you very much for supporting my fic! About Bakura saying the wedding before he knew Kaiba wins, he was just assuming that there will be a wedding since he believed that Kaiba will definitely win. And sorry about the grammar mistake, I'm not very good at grammar.

To Justareviewer: Thanks for reading my story! I'll try to update soon when I have time.

To Coffee-time: Of course Kaiba will eventually fall for Serenity, but that might take a while before he realizes that…

To C.A.M.E.O.: Thanks for telling me that I spelled Tea wrong. Oops! Sorry that I spelled her name wrong…

To Goddess-Hope: No, Bakura is not going to show himself and catch Serenity. He hides in the shadow only…

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 6

Escaping Is A Mistake!

It was seven in the morning. Joey walked out of Yami's room with dark circles around his eyes, like a panda. He walked toward Serenity's room to wake her up. They had fallen asleep in Yami's room lamenting about Kaiba's victory. They tried to come up with a plan, but finally…

(flashback)

"Joey, I'm really sorry, but… I have decided that… that I should protect… my people from war… I'm truly sorry…" Yami said with regret.

"I understand Yami… I understand…" Joey closed his eyes.

"Poor Serenity…" Mai's eyes filled with tears. "Joey, I'm really sorry for you…" she walked towards Joey and tried to comfort him.

"Thanks Mai…" Joey said, with his head bowed down.

(end of flashback)

Joey had to go wake Serenity up so that she can get really for the wedding. He remembered Kaiba said that Bakura will come at nine o'clock. He hesitated to knock on the door; he just stood there with his hand raised in the air.

Poor Seren… how can I break tha news ta her? She's probably sleeping peacefully right now…

Joey felt really bad for his sister, but he must tell her the truth sooner or later. She'll understand, right? She should understand… she's always so thoughtful for others…

Joey knocked on the door. Knock! Knock! But no one answered. He raised his hand again, knocking harder and louder. Knock! Knock! Knock! But no on answered, again.

"Seren? Are ya awake yet? I need ta talk ta ya…" Joey shouted. But after two minutes, there was still no answer.

"Seren, I'm coming in, okay?" asked Joey. "Okay, here goes" Joey bumped into the door and forced the door to open. He stumbled into the room, but what he saw shocked him. No one was in the room. The blankets and bed sheets were all neatly folded, as if no one sleeps on them last night.

"Oh no, where's Seren?" Joey mumbled with some fear. Serenity had always goes to bed early, why wasn't she in her bed at this hour of the day?

Joey walked towards the bed and used his hand to feel the bed. It was cold. It wasn't like Serenity just woke up or anything, she probably didn't sleep last night. Joey than looked around the room. He walked over to her closet and opened it. He saw that some of the clothes were gone. He also noticed that the backpack was gone. Oh no! Don't tell me Serenity runs away!

Joey was really worried now. Suddenly, a white sheet of paper on the small table next to her bed caught his eyes. He quickly ran over there and picked up the paper. His eyes narrowed as he read the note.

Dear Joey,

I'm really sorry Joey… but I decided to leave the castle. I don't want to marry Kaiba. I

hope that he wouldn't blame you and Yami for my absence. I didn't want you guys to be blame on. So… I decided the best thing to do is to leave. I'll go to some place far away, Kaiba probably wouldn't find me there. Don't worry about me, Joey, I can take care of myself. I'll write you some letters after I settle down, okay? Don't come looking for me, I'll be fine. Take care of yourself Joey! Take care of Mai and the others too! And Joey, if you have something to say to Mai, do it before it's too late! Take care…

Love,
Serenity

Joey squeezed the note in his hand tightly. How could he be so careless? Serenity couldn't survive in the outside world! It's really dangerous out there, and who could guarantee that Kaiba won't find her? Damn! Kaiba will find out about Serenity missing soon. That's not good! He's gonna blame it on us! I just know he would! Better tell Yami and the others about it!

Joey speeded down the hallway back into Yami's room. They must come up with a plan before Kaiba discovers that Serenity was missing!

Seto Kaiba was putting on the nice black tuxedo for his wedding. It was almost ten in the morning, and Serenity should be arriving soon. Bakura had always done his job well, so Seto trusted Bakura to bring Serenity back for the wedding.

He looked into the mirror and was tying the black tie. His cold eyes and expressionless face were reflected in the mirror. I can't wait to see her. I'll be getting closer to Mokuba after I got the important data from her! Ha ha ha…

"My Lord. I just received a report that Bakura was missing. He didn't go pick up Serenity today at nine o'clock" reported a servant. He was bowing down submissively.

"What did you just say?" Seto was enraged by the news. His eyes narrowed and stared coldly at the servant.

"My… my… lord… I also heard that… heard that Serenity wasn't… um… wasn't in Yami's castle… She might have… um… um…" the servant was really freaked out. He stuttered a lot when he tried to tell Seto the news he just received.

"Finish your report!" yelled Seto really loud.

"Yes, my lord… um… Serenity might have… run away from the castle… to… try to… avoid the wedding…" the servant finished his report. He was sweating really badly. King Kaiba had really bad temper and his stares were really really COLD!

Seto narrowed his blue eyes once more. He was really mad now! MAD!!!

How dare she run away from me! I had announced my wedding already to the kingdoms. Is she trying to humiliate me?!? Well, it's not going to happen! I'll find you Serenity! Just you wait. You'll regret for running away from me! You should have considered the consequences before you run!

Seto flung his tie onto the floor and swung around. He walked fast out of his bedroom. He must go to Yami's castle and search for both Bakura and Serenity. If Serenity really ran away, Bakura should be watching her. What makes Bakura missing too? Where the hell is he?!? It's time to pay Yami another visit…

Seto brought six men with him. Those six men were his strongest guards, just in case if he needed them to catch someone.

Seto pushed open Yami's door once more. All the guards in the castle were unconscious after beaten badly by Seto. Hmph… imbeciles… how could they be called the guards for Yami's castle?

No one was in the room. Seto fumed for seeing an empty room. Where the hell is Yami?!?

Suddenly, Mai jumped out from the hallway. Extending her arms horizontally so that she could block Seto from searching the castle for Serenity. They had come up with a plan: try to block Kaiba as long as possible, while Joey go find his little sister. However, there were flaws in their plans. Who could possibly block Kaiba from going where he wanted to go? Besides, they didn't even know which direction Serenity went. They could never have enough time to find her.

"What do you want, Valentine?" asked Seto with a low and dangerous voice. His eyes were flashed with fire of rage.

"Kaiba! Where do you think you're going? This is not your castle!" Mai yelled.

"Get out of my way!" Seto said coldly. "Or do you want to be like those guards behind you?"

Mai gulped. Of course she didn't want to be like those bodies lying all around the castle. She knew how angry Kaiba must be now, but she must let Joey have more time to search for Serenity.

"No Kaiba! I'm not going anywhere!" she said firmly.

"Fine!" Seto whispered. He waved his hands, and two of the guards went forward. They captured Mai's hands and twisted them to her back.

"Ahhhh! Let go of me!" Mai screamed in pain.

"Hmph! You're not worth my time! Take care of her for me" He said to those two guards, and disappeared down the hallway.

When he approached the stairs near the big entrance of the castle, Tristan jumped in front of him.

"You're not going any where Kaiba!" Tristan yelled. He just heard the news that Kaiba was going to marry Serenity this morning when Joey discovered the note Serenity left for them. How could I let Serenity go with this jerk? No way! Serenity, have no fear! I'll protect you! Tristan promised Serenity in his heart.

"Another one? Ha… I see, you guys are trying to waste my time, isn't it?" Seto narrowed his eyes. "Well, it's not going to work! Besides, you can't stop me!"

"Oh yeah, we'll see about that!" Tristan said boldly.

"Wait, Tristan! I'll help you!" Duke ran towards them. He also heard the news about the wedding that was suppose to take place this afternoon. He was also furious at the news. I'm not going to let Serenity be taken by some creepy, arrogant, evil person, like Kaiba! I'll save you Serenity! Then, you'll be mine!

"Fine, Duke, but only this time!" Tristan said. He knew that they would have a bigger chance of winning by fighting together. However, he still hated the fact that Duke had a crush on Serenity too.

"Get out of my ways, you imbeciles" Seto said impatiently. "You guys have wasted enough of my time! So it was true, hmm? Serenity was gone, so you guys tried to delay me so that she could run away, huh? It's not going to happen. I'll find her soon!" Seto thought that they were trying to let Serenity get away, he didn't know that they were trying to give Joey more time to find his sister.

Seto waved his hand again. This time, all four of the remaining guards went forward. Tristan and Duke tried to hit the guards, but their hands were caught within five seconds. The guards twisted their hands to their back and pressed them onto the wall.

"Arghh! Let go! If you have guts Kaiba, fight me one on one!" yelled Tristan angrily. He couldn't believe that he was caught so easily, by some guards! That's so humiliating!

"Yeah Kaiba! Fight like a man! Don't tell your dogs to do your job!" yelled an equally angry Duke.

"Shut up!" the guards yelled, and tightened their grips on Duke and Tristan.

"You two are a waste of my time! Take care of them" Seto ordered.

"Yes, my lord" all four of the guards complied.

"I'm not wasting my time in this castle anymore. Tell Yami to watch out!" Seto fumed at both of them. He walked violently out of Yami's castle. He was really angry now that he couldn't find Serenity, and the others were trying to block his way!

Bakura should be following her! Then I should hear from him very soon. I'll just go back to my castle for now. How dare she run away like that! She will pay!!!

A fuming Kaiba walked away with the speed of lightning. He was in a really bad mood right now!

It was a really peaceful village. There were only about five houses beside the beach. It was past two o'clock already, and the sun was shinning brightly.

Serenity sat down on the beach. She was really tired from her non-stop walking. She walked due west for straight six hours without rest. She was really afraid that Kaiba might catch up to her if she stop even for a second. She had walked through the small path near the jungle, where very little people had passed, so that no one would report back that she was seen walking to the west.

Serenity was exhausted. She needed some rest, food and water. She looked around and saw five wooden houses next to the beach. Although the houses were small, they looked really cozy.

She stood up and walked toward the closest wooden house. She knocked on the door. The door was opened and an old woman was standing behind the door.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am. But I need a place to rest. You see, I want to visit my relative in the west, but I got lost. I finally found this small village. Please, just let me rest for the night. I'm really tired right now…" Serenity said with a pitiful look on her face. She didn't mean to lie, but it would be best to keep her escape as a secret. Serenity blushed a little because she had never lies to someone.

"Oh sure. Come on in" the old woman said with a soft smile and a welcome tone.

"Thank you very much!" Serenity was really happy that she could rest for a while now.

Behind a tree, Bakura was peeking at Serenity. A smirk appeared on his face. Obviously, Serenity didn't realize that Bakura had been following her since she left the castle.

Kaiba would be very pleased to know where Serenity is right now. However, he's probably furious at this time that I didn't report back to him before the wedding. But who cares? Ha ha, as long as I did my job, I'll be fine. Seemed like Bakura didn't really respect Seto as the king.

"Kaiba. I have the news of the whereabouts of Serenity Wheeler" reported Bakura. He didn't bow down like all the other servants did.

"What took you so long?" Seto asked coldly.

"I was following Serenity Wheeler, so I couldn't report back to you immediately. I apologize for that" Bakura said while looked straightly at Seto's eyes.

"So, where is she?" Seto asked.

"She's at the Lost Village in the west of Yami Kingdom. The village was next to the beach. I'll take you there when you wish to go" Bakura said.

"Good. Let's go now" Seto smirked. He had finally heard from Bakura.

Enjoy all you want now, Serenity. Because you'll suffer when I find you! Seto thought evilly.

Seto and Bakura walked out of the castle. A carriage was already prepared for Seto. There were two guards this time that followed Seto. They started to journey towards the West…

Joey was searching westward, village to village. He finally arrived at Lost Village near the sea. He didn't know that Serenity would be here, but he did remember that Mai had a mansion somewhere here.

"S'cuse me. I'm looking for ma little sista" Joey caught one of the young man on the beach and asked him about his little sister. "Have ya seen a girl 15 years old, with long auburn hairs and big hazel eyes? She was about this tall" Joey was measuring the height of his sister to that young man.

"Um… I'm not sure… but I don't think so…" the young man said. He wasn't on the beach when Serenity came. He just got back to the beach from work at the fishing company.

"Are ya sure?" Joey questioned.

"Yes, I am!" the young man was angry that Joey questioned him.

"Oh okay. Thanks" Joey said. He wanted to ask someone else in the village. He knew that the young man might not have seen her, if she really was there.

"S'cuse me, have ya…" Joey was cut off when he saw a beautifully decorated carriage stopped near one of the houses. Seto Kaiba walked out of the carriage and Bakura was behind him.

"Kaiba? What's he doing here?" Joey mumbled confusedly. "Oh no! Maybe Serenity is here! I can't let him find her!" Joey said to himself.

"Kaiba!!!" Joey yelled loudly. "What are ya doing here?"

Seto turned around and saw Joey. "Ha. The mutt. What are you doing here? Finding Serenity? Or is it helping her escape, huh?" Seto asked sarcastically.

"Shut up, Kaiba!" Joey was mad. "Don't call me mutt!"

"Mutt! What are you going to do about it? Fight me? You don't even stand a chance!" Seto said.

"Oh yeah?!? We'll see about that!" Joey yelled, and posed his hands to a fighting position after he pulled out his sword.

"Where's Serenity?" Seto stood there, unmoved. He just wanted to find Serenity and go back.

"How am I suppose to know?" Joey said, smirking at Kaiba. I'm glad he didn't know where Seren is.

"Hmph. Bakura will tell me where she is then. You're not worth my time to fight!" Seto turned away. He wanted to search each and everyone of the houses here for Serenity.

"Kaiba! Don't even think about find ma sista!" Joey shouted and charged at Seto.

Seto narrowed his eyes. His right hand pulled out the sword on his waist. Then, he smashed his sword at the sword Joey swung at him.

Ding! The sound of both swords colliding. The fight between Seto and Joey began…

Serenity was resting on the bed in the guest room of the wooden house. Suddenly, he heard the bangs on swords. She sat up and looked out the window. Oh no! Joey was fighting with someone! She couldn't see the face of Seto because his back was facing her.

Serenity quickly stood up and ran towards the front door. She didn't want Joey to get hurt. Don't hurt Joey, whoever you are! Wait Joey, I'm coming…

Seto's sword was pushed forward at Joey's chest merciless. Joey couldn't jump away; he was trapped in a dead end. Just when the tip of the sword was about to stab Joey's chest, a cry was heard from one of the houses.

Serenity opened the door and saw how dangerous the situation his brother was in. Her heart almost stop beating. The horror of losing her brother made her face turned really white and pale.

"No! Stop that! Joey!" Serenity shouted and ran as fast as she could towards her brother.

Seto pulled back his sword. His intention wasn't to hurt the mutt, but just to get Serenity out. He knew that Serenity would come out of the house when she saw her beloved brother in danger. Seto stood motionless next to Joey, his sword was pointed at Joey's neck.

Serenity leaped into Joey's hands and hold Joey tightly. Tears flowed down her pale cheeks.

"Are you all right, Joey?" her voice was shaking from fear.

"Sis! Yea, I'm fine" Joey stared angrily at Seto. "What are ya doing sis? You shouldn't have come out! Now Kaiba would drag ya back with him!" Joey looked really worry at his sister.

"I couldn't watch you get hurt, Joey!" Serenity yelled.

"It's fine now, sis. Don't cry…" Joey was soothing Serenity's fear.

"Enough! I'm sick of watching this 'reunion' of yours! Come with me!" Seto said impatiently and pulled Serenity's wrist so he could drag her back to his castle.

"Let go of me!" Serenity yelled. She struggled to get her hand free. She looked up to see who was grabbing her wrist. Her eyes widened as she saw the person grabbing her. Her heart almost stop beating. "It's you!"

Seto was confused by Serenity's remark. He looked down at the girl he was holding onto. It's the girl at the garden! Seto was shocked also. He didn't know that the girl he saw in the garden was Serenity Wheeler. But he remained calm and expressed no feelings at all.

"Let go of ma sista, Kaiba!" Joey fumed at Seto. "She's not going anywhere with ya!"

"Oh yes she is. There was suppose to be a wedding this afternoon and she ran away" Seto said coldly. Serenity began to shivered at the coldness of his voice. She was confused and shocked about the fact that the "nice young man" who saved her yesterday in the garden was the devil Seto Kaiba! Her heart began to ache and the tears almost roll out of her eyes again.

"So what?" asked Joey.

"So, she's coming with me! There will be a new wedding, or maybe not, depending on my mood. But she's coming with me so that she will not be able to run away from me again!" Seto said.

"Why?" that was all Serenity could uttered right now. Her dreams were shattered by the cruel truth that the man she liked was the devil that she refused to marry. She was lost in though at the moment.

Seto dragged Serenity towards the carriage, ignoring the angry shouts of Joey.

"You shouldn't have run away from me, Serenity. Now you will suffer for humiliating me in front of all the people of the kingdoms! You will pay, and mark my words!" Seto whispered into Serenity's ears, sending a cold chill through her body. "Running away is a mistake!" Although Seto was whispering, but his voice was really chilly.

"No… please… let me go…" Serenity whispered slowly. Tears had already rolled down her pale cheeks.

"Never. I'll never let you go! You should have thought about the consequences earlier!" said Seto.

Seto dragged Serenity back into the carriage and drove the carriage away from Joey's sight, toward Domino Kingdom…

Finally, I finished chapter 6! This chapter was longer than the previous chapters. Is the story getting more exciting? Seto finally found Serenity! That's not a good thing… because Seto was really mad right now. Uh-oh…

Anyway. Reviews please! Pretty please! Okay, I'll just leave it to this. I'll update in a couple of days. Christmas vacation almost here!! Just one more day of school!!! Yay!!!