A/N: Happy New Years! I know it's kinda late, but the sentiment is still there! Anyway, been a while since I updated, so thought I'd get started. I mean, starting a new year without a little bit of writing is just boring... So, I know there's a couple of questions I wanted to answer in this update, regarding the past and what happened, so I may or may not have gone into it briefly. I know I say this a fair bit, but I hope this chapter doesn't suck. As always, if it does, please tell me in the form of constructive criticism as it would be much appreciated. Anyway, Hope everyone had a great start to the New Year! 2014! Xx

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

Chapter 18

Joey had watched Hina leave the room with a mixture of emotions erupting in his chest like never before. Dread mingled in with the hope that had sparked back alive at the mention of his best friend. He feared been left alone in the room again, stuck in the intense, fake bright light which echoed off every mirrored surface in the room, reflected infinity times with his own dishevelled reflection. Even when he closed his eyes against the glare, the artificial light still seeped in through flimsy eyelids, but hope, hope was back alive inside him. He could feel its warmth spreading through veins that had run cold for so long, he could feel it alive with each beat of his heart. Hina had spoken of a friend, a friend he believed long ago lost to him. Ryo was fighting against the evil that inhabited his body and had broken through long enough to tell of Yugi. He had as near as damn it confirmed of Yugi Motou's survival. Yugi was alive and the girl Joey had befriended through the hole in the wall of his cell, she was going to find him.

Joey smiled to himself and relaxed back where he sat, his mind drifting across the rifts of time and stumbling upon happier times, memories forgotten to him until the mention of his friend. As he tried to wrap himself up in reliving the happier times a storm, violent and thunderous began to rot away at the edges of his short lived happiness. His mind was suddenly blasted with things he didn't want to remember. Like a tidal wave, washing away everything in its path, horrific images began to overpower the nice ones. Joey flinched, not wanting to relive it, not wanting to see it. Despite his attempts at pushing them back, it was too late. They had forced their way in. He let out a pained groan, balling his hands into fists and pressing them against his eyes in an attempt to block everything out. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to see. Even as he fought against it, the tomb of the nameless Pharaoh swam into his mind.

"No, pl…please…" He sobbed trying to push them back, but it was no use. He could see it now, stood next to Téa in the tomb of the nameless Pharaoh watching a small boy face a white haired man whose face was pulled into a cruel sneer. Even after all this time, Joey could hear the determination in his best friends voice.
Joey had truly believed it was their destiny to win, that fate would be on their side. Yugi had to win. Fate had to help Yugi, but they were wrong. Fate was cruel. Bakura had crippled Yug's deck forcing him to discard almost all of his cards leaving him with one. The final card had to be powerful, it had to be a game changer, to blow everything away in one swift final move. One card that would either save the world, or end it.

Joey cried out helplessly, hating reliving this moment, the moment fate had decided their destiny. The moment luck deserted them. Yugi had pulled out a trap card, a useless trap card. Even after all this time, Joey could still hear the sound of Bakura's cruel triumphant laugh as he realised he'd won. The cards and monsters shattered as the game ended.

"Yug!" Joey had shouted out as he leapt forwards, in a desperate bid to reach his friend who had fallen to his knees. Before Joey had even reached his friend, the stone they were stood upon, above churning darkness, cracked. All four of them fell, plummeting into the dark swirling mass below. They'd never made it to the Pharaoh; they'd never had the chance to help him figure out his name. Zorc had won that day. Bakura had won. Joey curled up into a tighter ball as a small sob escaped his lips. That had been the last time he'd seen his friends. By the time he'd regained consciousness, it was to be shown the new world Bakura had created. Domino city was in a wreck, the building's broken skeletons of their former selves.

He had never known why he was still alive, if you could call this existence alive. Why had he been brought back? Joey cried out in his cell. He sat up and without warning slammed his fist against one of the mirrors. It shattered instantly and Joey felt a shock of pain jolt him as jagged pieces of mirror cut into his fist. He closed his eyes and relaxed back, stretching his legs. Yugi wasn't dead. Hina was going to find him. While this fact remained, hope began to burn brightly in Joey's chest.

Hina glared at Bakura, clearly trying to make him realise the situation was his fault. He'd done this to her, he'd made it impossible for her to stay away from him. She hated it, but she liked been near him. She liked to feel the tension ease off inside her chest. Bakura sat back up and examined the girl. He'd already come to the decision he wanted her. What he'd done had made it all that easier for him to take it. He grinned to himself, knowing he'd already won. Hina saw him and felt anger bubble up inside her. How could he be so cruel? Without warning, the anger she was holding back suddenly snapped as it had done around him before. She threw a punch at him, aiming for his face. He caught her fist with ease and held it in his palm while laughing at her.

"Stop it!" She growled, somehow pushing any reservations she had aside. She threw another punch at him with her free arm. Again he caught it within his palm.

"Girl," He warned with a growl. Hina scowled back at him, completely frustrated.

"Let me hit you!" She whined suddenly tired. She was tired of all this, the fear she felt around him and her stupid disregard for that fear. She was fed up of fighting against him and it getting her nowhere. He was still holding her clenched fists firmly in his hands and Hina let her arms relax and her fists unfurl. There was no point in fighting him like this. Still he held onto her, not enough to hurt her, but enough so she couldn't escape his grip. She made eye contact with him and saw he was staring at her. Hina frowned. What now?

"You can, uh, let go. I promise I won't try and hit you again, probably." She muttered, trying to pull her hands from his grip. He let go. Hina retracted her arms and folded them across her chest, bringing her knees up to her chin and curling into a protective ball. She felt him shift on the bed next to her and turned to watch him. He'd reached under his pillow and when he withdrew, Hina caught a flash of silver that made her body freeze up. She sat staring at him as he sat back up, his expression giving nothing away. He held his hand out, the knife balanced perfectly on his finger tip. Hina gulped, not taking her eyes off the blade or the way it glinted in the dull light of the room.

"You want to hit me?" he smirked mischievously. Hina bit her lower lip nervously, watching with a bad feeling. He flicked the blade up into the air and caught it in his hand, holding it out to Hina handle first. Hina glanced from the simple carved handle to him perplexed.

"Do it," He dared her, licking his lips as if he was getting some sick satisfaction from this. Hina twisted round so she was kneeling before him, hardly able to breathe. Was he been serious or would he just attack her as soon as she made to take the blade? Seeing the girl hesitate, he pressed the handle into her hands and let go, leaving the knife in her unsteady grasp. Hina stared down at the weapon. It scared her. She found herself wondering how many drops of blood this thing had drawn. Then she reminded herself, it was people who spilled blood, not the instruments used to do so. Bakura knelt back satisfied. He could see the emotions playing across her mind as if she were speaking them aloud.

"I'll even help you," He remarked. He quickly pulled the white top he was wearing off over his head, revealing pale skin beneath. He pointed towards a part of his chest and drew an imaginary X there.

"That's your target. That'll pierce my heart," He spoke almost earnestly. Hina stared at him not sure what to do. Did he really expect her to kill him? Should she? He was evil, pure and simple. He had destroyed the world, destroyed her life, and caused un-imaginable pain to thousands of people. He deserved to die. Even as Hina tightened her grip on the weapon in her hand the memory of the boy who lived inside this evils body came to her thoughts. She'd promised him she'd help him. If she killed this man, she'd kill him too. But it was for the greater good! Shouldn't that be enough to justify a casualty? Hina prepared herself to attack, but knew she could never do it. She couldn't kill the boy, Ryo. She just couldn't. She'd sworn to help him; she'd sworn it to him and to herself. As she loosened her grip on the blade, not only memories of Ryo stopped her from attacking, but memories of kissing the man sat patiently before her. He'd more than likely done this little trick on purpose, but even so, it pained her to know killing him would…well… kill him. It wasn't her place to do so. She wasn't sure what had happened in the past to allow this man to gain control of the entire earth, but it sounded like someone had tried to stop him. This person, Yugi, when she found him it would be his fate to defeat the man.

Hina lowered her hand and shook her head. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't.

"Can't do it? I thought not," He sneered at her, amused by her failure to kill him. He had of course known she wouldn't. He'd suspected she'd spoken to his host, and this just proved it. Killing him would kill the boy. He knew enough about his sweet innocent host to know nobody would willingly hurt the puppy eyed fool. He laughed, the sound echoing around his room almost eerily. Then without warning, He leapt towards the girl, pushing her backwards. She screamed out, surprised by the sudden attack. He forced her onto her back, sitting on her and pinning her wrists above her head, the knife still held slackly in her right hand. He glared down at her, delighted he'd managed to predict her every thought. She struggled against him, but to no use. She was scared, he could feel it as she trembled beneath him, he could smell the fear radiating off her.

"Why not?" He hissed. He would force the truth out of her, even if he already knew the reason. Her gaze widened.

"Get off!" She ordered squirming around. He felt his anger getting the better of him and lifted her arms off the bed before slamming back down. It wasn't enough to hurt her, but enough to shock her.

"Tell me" He snarled. Hina tried to wriggle herself free again as he brought his face closer to hers. She tried to turn her face away from him, but found herself transfixed.

"Even if I stabbed you in the heart, you wouldn't die! You would have to actually have a heart to die!" Hina cried out, anything to get him away from her. She was terrified he was going to kiss her again. She felt his hand prize the knife out of her grip. He lifted the knife up and brought it crashing down suddenly. Hina cried out, scrunching her eyes, waiting for the blow to come. When it didn't, she opened her eyes nervously. She felt his hand next to her face and realised he'd stabbed the area of mattress next to her head. She exhaled a sigh, but felt her anger growing, smothering her fear.

"Are you crazy!" She shouted outraged. Bakura pulled the knife free and held it against her throat.

"You met him. What did he say?" he demanded in a deadly tone. Hina knew he was serious now. This was serious.

"Ryo, right?" She breathed, just hoping telling him the truth would make him trust her.

"That's good." He smirked.

"Who is he?" Hina breathed, her chest rising and falling.
"What did he say?" He growled his question. Hina gulped, needing to think fast on her feet. She couldn't admit to what they'd really talked about.

"He said, he wasn't you, and that he was sorry… sorry for everything," Hina whispered, tears threatening to brim over. Bakura seemed to consider her for a second. He threw the knife to the side and off the bed before swinging his leg off her and off the bed. Hina stared after him as he ran his fingers through his messy hair, somehow smoothing it down to its usual messiness. Hina gulped, regaining composure and stood up off the bed and watched as he quickly dressed, pulling clothes from a large intricately decorated wardrobe. He then headed towards the door.

"We have a lot to do today, come." He spoke the order gentler than usual. As he reached the door, Hina felt the irritating pang in her chest and hurried to catch up to him.

So this was how it was going to be, she reflected sadly as she followed after him like a lost puppy dog. She struggled to be apart from him for too long and he'd torment her when she was near. And why the hell had her pulse reacted so strangely when he'd moved his face so close to hers? It wasn't normal and she'd found herself almost daring him to kiss her again. Hina shook her head desperate to rid these stupid and fool hearted thoughts.