Sorry for the long wait guys! But here's the next chapter this is were it gets good! There's a duel that's true to the anime/manga in here but its brushed over quickly. You'll note some more distinct changes are made here ;) to keep things interesting. This chapter was done by Renagade (again look for her in my favorites her stuff is great) and edited by me. Enjoy!

Renagade: Thief Bakura

Miss-DNl: Ryo, Yami, Haga, Keith, Bonz, Zygor, Sid, Anzu, Honda & Jonouchi

Ba-Ku-Ra!

Chapter 9: The Tournament Begins

By: RenagadeRexRider & Miss-DNL

It had been a bit of a chore getting any rest after the incident with Insector Haga, the overall mood had gone well beyond sour amongst the group… the fact that there was no beds to speak of only added to the issue, the chattering of the excited groups around them made for a less than restful night.

But thankfully the ship was fast and the weather was fair, and the next morning the sounds of excitement had woken everyone on board as a sizeable Island came to view, everyone quickly gathering their things taking great pains to make sure nothing was forgotten upon arrival.

"We're finally here!" Jonouchi chimed loudly, his voice carrying considerably well over the chatter of the massive crowd as the group filed out of the ship at last, all looking around in amazement at what they saw before them.

Ryou looked around in interest at the span of land around them. Other than the crowd it seemed well calm enough, 'So this is Duelist Kingdom; Pegasus' private island.' He thought to himself as his eyes continued to drink in the sights… in doing so he spotted Yugi, or rather Yami Yugi, casting a distinctly vicious glare. Following his gaze, he found, little to his surprise, that he was glaring at Haga, 'Well, we know who Yugi is going after first.' He thought as he moved to join him along with the others, soon following a group headed by an Island Escort up a stairway. As they headed up, Ryou instantly honed in on something that gave him a small wave of nostalgia, 'I see why it's called Duelist "Kingdom" now…'

Anzu blinked in surprise as she looked up in the same direction as Ryou to what was clearly the heart of the island. A large hill rose tall and, as was fitting, was crowned with a large spired structure, "It looks like a castle from the Middle Ages!" she exclaimed as the gang all turned to gaze at the rather elegant structure.

From within the recesses of the Ring, Akefia found himself still glaring venomously at the Spirit of the Puzzle that still maintained control of his host as he had been for the past several hours…Several long agonizing hours glaring with a searing hatred that could no more bother him than a gnat would a bear. The fact that he was literally within arm's reach was beyond infuriating… If only he could take control... He growled to himself… he couldn't. And that was that… he had no choice but to accept that and wait for an opportunity…. He'd stick with the plan for now…

Forcing his heated gaze from his target, he instead honed in on the structure that had apparently caught the girl's interest… looking at it, Akefia found himself somewhat calmed, if not just a little, at a structure that held an ancient air about it, 'A bit more refreshing to what I've seen,' he commented with a hum, 'More simple.'

Ryou hummed and tilted his head slightly as they grew closer, given it looked like a life size version of one of his models he found himself nodding in agreement, 'It is refreshing.' He thought back.

The feeling was wiped away and Ryou found himself stiffening as a familiar form came into view overlooking the crowd, 'If only it wasn't owned by him…' he thought as Maximillian Pegasus began waving as he addressed the eager crowd… the entire thing did not touch on Ryou's enthusiasm of course… the image of his father in chains in the dark held in his mind's eye as Pegasus began to issue the rules. I took only a few minutes, but by the time he was finished Ryou, as well as virtually everyone else, was ready to go.

'I have 48 hours to win eight more chips to get into the castle…' Ryou thought as he looked to his Duel Glove, two little gleaming chips looked back at him… two little glints of hope…

Akefia chuckled, '48 hours? Keheheh. With as many whelps here with little experience… it will be simple.' He hummed as he glanced back to his own target who swiftly disappeared over the castle wall as the group headed back down the stairs, 'But of course there are more worthy targets~'

Ryou immediately looked towards Yami Yugi and hummed as the group touched bottom and proceeded to head out into the island, 'Yes, But I think I know who's going to be the first Yugi is going to duel…' he thought back as they approached a sign post, to which he and the group came to a stop to observe it.

"A forest to the left and a lake to the right…" Jonouchi read aloud.

Yami Yugi spoke up immediately, his voice thick with distinct determination, "Let's go to the Forest. I saw Haga go that way."

"There's the path." Jonouchi said barely pointing towards a path after a brief glance around when Yami Yugi proceeded forward at a brisk pace, to which the group quickly followed into an increasingly dense forest. The further in they got, the less light seemed to make it in, giving the air of increasing entrapment, "Kind of creepy…" Jonouchi commented at some point, to which the others gave slight nods of agreement, including Ryou who often appreciated such settings.

For a while, Ryou began to wonder if the little cockroach had tricked them into the forest. He wouldn't put it passed him to do so after what had happened… the act still made him bristle. Such underhanded cowardice… and he called himself a champion?

"Hey Yugi!"

Ryou and the group stopped at the sudden call from a rather nasally voice. After a swift glance in the direction of the voice the group spotted the short kid who looked all the more like an insect amongst the forest scenery, his half laden eyes and most of his face hidden behind his thick lensed glasses. The only thing to show any such expression was the smug grin he wore at some victorious thought.

Yami Yugi simply smirked at the sight, "Heheh... So you finally have the courage to face me head on."

Haga gave a rough snotty cackle through his teeth, "Of course Yugi! If I defeat you first, the rest will be easy! I challenge you to a duel here and now!"

Yami Yugi's smirk vanished as he glared back at the boy, "You asked for it." He responded darkly, the memory of the previous night still obviously thick in his mind.

Haga merely sneered at the display before turning to head deeper into the forest, "There's a place to duel right here in the woods. This way."

The others only paused a moment before following after Yugi, who was already several paces ahead and followed them to a clearing where a large platform sat. The group blinked at the out of place object for only a moment when Honda spoke up, "Hey, it's one of those Duel Boxes!"

'What's one doing all the way out here?' Ryou thought to himself as he stared at the object. Being the most high tech in duel monsters gaming systems he'd never really seen one except on TV for the championships. To see one randomly set outside in the woods of all places was quite puzzling to the young gamer.

Akefia however was far more puzzled at the sight, 'What the hell is that?' he questioned, not liking the fact that he was the only one unaware of what exactly was before them.

'A Duel Box,' Ryou responded to the Spirit as he approached said object as the two opponents took their places, 'It casts an image of the cards that are played. Part of the reason why Duel Monsters became so popular….' He explained, slightly saddened by the fact as it had made his favorite game a thing of the past.

Ryou stopped as Haga held up two glinting objects, "We'll bet two star chips. Meaning the loser will be the first to get kicked off the island!" he chuckled, obviously amused by the thought that he could lose as he placed his chips down. Yami however simply glared back with a smirk on his lips,

"Perfect!" he called meeting the arrogant boy's challenge, his friends immediately cheering him on.

Ryou blinked as he sensed movement around them and realized that people had begun to file in from the path, 'Didn't take long for people to notice…' he thought as people began to group excitedly chatting about both the Duel Box and its participants.

Akefia merely ignored the gathering, keeping his eyes trained on the Duel Box, curiosity tickling him. A Duel was sure to be entertaining… but how was this device involved exactly? Images? He shifted against his binds as if to lean forward and watched as the nasal voiced boy spoke up,

"I play Killer Bee in Attack mode!" Haga cried allowed.

Immediately a massive bee emerged in a flash of iridescent light and immediately stood poised to attack, its massive stinger pointed straight towards Yami Yugi. Akefia's blinked in interest.

"I play Mammoth Graveyard!" Yami Yugi called.

Akefia watched even closer now; again a flash of light and suddenly a large skeleton stood between the massive bee and Him, the Skeleton however, stood on its own and even growled fiercely. He blinked in surprise, "Ah…! Just like the Duels between Ka!"

Ryou perked in surprise and curiosity at the Spirit's words, 'So they really did fight with monsters in Egypt?!'

Akefia didn't answer immediately and instead watched the duel intently as the skeletal beast fell to the giant insect, shattering and dispersing back into light. For a moment it seemed that the Insect boy had won, but to both his and Haga's surprise his own monster suddenly shattered and dispersed, injured by the skeleton before it fell. But as he observed both combatants he noticed neither was showing even the slightest bit of pain… irritation maybe, but no injury of any form. It was then Akefia realized that the monsters were not what he had initially thought were Ka. They were, as Ryou had stated, simply images, illusions only.

He couldn't help but laugh inwardly as he recalled the once powerful Ka he had shared many pains with, 'Oh yes~' he chuckled, finally seeing to respond to the boy, 'But at a great cost if you lost the duel. Your very life if you lost your own soul beast.' He paused at the thought, once more he wondered with a distinct sadness in his center where his Ka once slept… what had become of his Ka?

Akefia's mood soured a bit further as he realized that "pharaoh" had seemed to find something of importance, and realized the duel was now turning in his favor, 'Eh? Looks like he's found a little advantage in this duel…. Charming…' he muttered.

Ryou listened to the Spirit intently as he spoke, somewhat cringing as he finished, 'That sounds a lot like a Shadow Game.' He thought to him, looking back to the duel, watching as the duel shifted back and forth in a fitting power struggle.

'That's because in technicality it was…' he huffed momentarily amused, 'Only at the time it was a simple Duel.'

Ryou shifted and continued to watch and felt his own mood shift to worry as the duel began to tilt, 'This fight is nearly in Haga's favor…' he thought stiffly, worry beginning to climb its way up. Yugi COULDN'T lose, on the first duel no less! He had too much on the line! "Come on! You have to win!" he muttered just under his breath.

Akefia on the other hand wore a satisfied smirk at the spectacle, too focused on the duel to catch his Host's concern for his friend over the glee of his own, 'Backed into a corner?~ Keheheh… Can't say I'm too displeased.' He thought to himself as he watched. To see him humiliated would be joy enough to him for the moment.

At that moment, Yami Yugi suddenly smirked, "I play the Dark Magician in defense mode." At his call, the amethyst armored Magician appeared crouching on the field. Akefia could just feel his brow furrow as he observed the Magician; something about it…

Haga's offensive cackling distracted his thoughts before he focused on the attacking monster. Akefia felt himself bristle slightly at the sound of Yami Yugi's chuckling, looking he could see a clear smirk on his face despite the fact that his Magician was clearly outmatched.

"Wha-What's so funny?!" Haga gasped stiffly, obviously not expecting such a reaction.

"You said attack right? Can't take it back now! I activate my Mirror Force trap card! Your Attack is deflected and your monsters destroyed!" Yami Yugi replied to a now shell shocked Haga as his monsters were cleared immediately, allowing him to take the lead once more.

Ryou and the gang immediately brightened and began cheering at the shift in events, "I knew he'd find a way to turn it around!" Ryou laughed happily.

Akefia frowned in disappointment, 'Clever move… only one shot…' he mused before becoming once more indifferent as he looked at the Magician, 'He looks ridiculously familiar…' he thought to himself, momentarily racking his mind for an answer. After only a moment more he simply shrugged it off. If it was important no doubt he'd recall later.

"Well, well. Smooth move alright," A voice chimed, "But little Yugi has only taken a small lead~"

Ryou felt a vague shiver of annoyance slip by him as he turned to see that Mai Kujaku had arrived, 'Her again…' he sighed. Even more so when he caught sight of Honda and Jonouchi once more drooling over her, 'AGAIN!?'

Mai simply gave an airy huff as she continued, not at all paying mind to her oglers, "A Duel Monsters game can turn from victory to defeat in a single turn, it's too early to get cocky. Insector Haga is a Champion. He's a master at several strategies. The real duel is just beginning."

Ryou, once more looking at the duel, hummed, 'I'd hate to admit it, but she's right. It's not over yet.'

Akefia, just as equally irritated by the woman's arrival, huffed in agreement, 'Hmph… Indeed. And as such,' he thought, once more looking to the duel, 'Let's see who slams who into the ground.'

As Ryou and the others looked on, the duel did just as was expected; the power struggle leaned in favor of the most clever, to power, back again and sometimes both. At some point Haga summoned his Cocoon of Evolution which was countered by Yami Yugi's Curse of Dragon. Though the dragon was outmatched in terms of defense, Yami Yugi attacked anyway, much to the mocking laughter of his opponent who was just as swiftly silenced by Yami Yugi's chuckling.

Akefia, intrigued by this form of dueling, observed that the Yami had not attacked the monster, but in fact the field around it. It was then that they realized that the field played a part in power increase, a simple edge on "home field" so to speak.

Despite the fact, Haga's moth managed to crawl free from its cocoon with a still substantial amount of power advantage, "It's still alive?!" Ryou gasped, worried for his friend, whose life points were well below comfort level.

'Well… this one seems about as hard to kill as a cockroach. And if I'm understanding this right, that beast is strong enough.' Akefia mused, impressed that an insect had come back from being so close to the edge of destruction,

'To take out any of Yugi's monsters,' Ryou replied back, 'Dark Magician is his strongest card and the Great Moth is stronger than it. The tide has turned back in Haga's favor…' he thought grimly to the Spirit as Haga proceeded to once more mock his friend.

"Yuk-Yuk, who's laughing now Yugi? Has your fear of my Great Moth shriveled your tongue in your throat?"

"Hmph. I was just picturing the perfect way to swat that overgrown mosquito!" Yami Yugi retorted, unfazed entirely. To which Haga grinned,

"I'd like to see you try."

Akefia continued watching, more and more reminded of the duels of the past as Yami Yugi saved himself by fusing his dragon and horseman into a much stronger creature. Things that tickled his memory and brought on old waves of nostalgia. Had it not been for the simple fact that the duel before him was simply pride on the line and not that of actual blood and life he'd almost feel enthralled….He paused.

Glancing at his host, he recalled there was a little more on the line than pride. Ryou's father….. Father. He frowned…. He knew that loss….. his jaw clenched as he glared murderously from within the Ring at his enemy, frustrated emotions beginning to claw at him.

Ryou, now too absorbed by the increasingly precarious duel to sense Akefia's darkened emotions, felt his hopes climb as Yami Yugi once more grinned, unfazed by the fact that his powerful fusion monster had just been destroyed. This of course only infuriated an already frustrated Haga who was now gripping at his hair threatening to tear it out that his intimidation was having as much an effect as a…well Insect.

"What's so funy THIS time?!" He screamed.

Yami Yugi grinned, "You've fallen into my trap! Gaia the Dragon Knight was a decoy! I'll take you out on this turn with this,Summoned Skull!"

At his call a skeletal demon took forward with an ominous growl, which Haga merely took a breath at seeing its attack power and relaxed, to which Yami Yugi shook his head as if disappointed that he'd done so, "Heh-heh, you still haven't figured out why I played the magic card Magic Mist yet have you?" Ryou brightened as Haga paled at the revelation, "That's right. When Magic Mist is played electric attacks like Summoned Skull get a power boost! Attack! Demon lightening!" he cried as the Demon's attack power took a significant jump, the lightening at its fingertips flaring brightly before erupting forward, cutting across the field with a crackling bang as it struck the moth, effectively burning it to cinders as Haga looked on in stunned shock.

"My…My Great Moth was shot down…" he managed as his life points hit 0.

"He won! Excellent!" Ryou beamed happily as his friends and the crowd erupted into a cheer as Yami Yugi was released to claim his prize from a cringing Haga. With no small gesture of sympathy, he took his star chips, giving him nothing of a soft glare as he did so, "Now leave before I rip your legs off one by one!" he said firmly to which the boy immediately slipped off at the threat.

Akefia paid no heed to the cheering around him, form his host or otherwise. Simply staring out like a caged predator denied his prey as he flaunted before him. His mouth gave the slightest of twitches as he caught the less than tender comment, 'Quite the threatening one is he not?' he mused aloud.

Ryou, now calm, caught the Spirit's comment and nodded mentally to him, 'He can be pretty aggressive when people mess with Yugi. People that mess with his friends are his enemies. It can be a bit surprising sometimes..' he mused as the crowd around them began to fall back, now pumped to go and duel amongst themselves and allowing the others and himself to finally rejoin the victorious Yami. Akefia paid little mind to Ryou's words… his head too muddled with dark memories to think straight and simply remained silent as he tugged angrily against his bonds.

Ryou followed the group out of the forest, chatting excitedly with his friends about Yami Yugi's intense duel, simply praising his strategies and level head in the face of such close calls. Ryou's spirits were kept up considerably until they exited the forest and onto a grassy plain where Jonouchi and Honda rushed forward to get a better view first.

"Hey! Looks like people are finally dueling!" Jonouchi commented excitedly.

Yami Yugi simply chuckled, "They finally got over their cold feet."

Ryou stalled at the observation and stared out at the field of duelists and Duel Boxes littered about and, glancing at his gloved hand felt a wave of anxiety well back up as his Father flashed in his mind, 'I need to find someone to duel…' he thought stiffly. He had to get a move on before…

"We're done! Give me your Star Chips and leave!"

Ryou paused and looked in the direction of the voice, already knowing who it belonged to, in time to see Mai Kujaku swiping an unfortunate duelist's chips and affixing them to her glove before she proceeded to seek another foe, 'She already beat someone? It hasn't been that long since Yugi battled Haga!' he thought surprised. But then again he didn't recall seeing her when the duel ended… he blinked and felt a sweatdrop slide down his face as he watched the woman literally skip away singing about prize money, "uhh…? Ok…?"

Akefia groaned agitatedly at the sound and display of Mai as she skipped off, her voice ever so scratchy to him like a harpy trying to sing, 'So I've noticed… Ugh…despite my inability to take her seriously, she did just show her prowess. As for you…' he began, directing his words directly to the boy, 'I might suggest you split from the others. If you tag along with them, I can almost imagine they will take most, if not all, of the duels. Too many in one group leaves little for the smaller fish so to speak.' He reasoned carefully, 'You want a duel worth the time other than the slimmer pickings… You might have no other option.'

'ANYTHING to get away from HIM.' he growled to himself, anger twisting within him over the fact that he was being forced to walk beside his hated enemy whom he would like nothing more than to slit his throat where he stood…. For the moment, his words were of mutual benefit…

Ryou pondered the Spirit's suggestion over as he walked alongside his friends… what he said was very true. If he were to proceed with them, he'd have less a chance at gathering all his star chips in time. After all, everyone would want to either duel or avoid the boy who beat Seto Kaiba…His chances would be far better if he went off on his own for the moment, 'You're right,' he thought, much to Akefia's satisfaction as he looked to Yugi. After only a moment more, Ryou came to a stop and looked at his friends, his mind decided, "I'm going off on my own."

The others paused and almost deadpanned at Ryou's declaration. Was he serious?

Anzu looked on at him, worried for her friend and reluctantly accepting of his decision, "Are you sure Bakura? Will you be ok on your own?"

Ryou simply smiled brightly at her to reassure her, "I'll be fine. No need to worry about me."

"But you'll be all alone on Pegasus' Island!" Honda interjected, "I don't trust that creep to leave us alone till the finals start…"

Yami Yugi looked on at his friend for only a moment before understanding fully his reasons and then smiled, "Don't worry about him. The faster each of us gather Star Chips the better." He added, his tone reminding the others of why they were there to begin with.

Jonouchi simply nodded in agreement, "He's right," he said simply looking to his still worried friends before smiling broadly at Ryou and giving him a thumbs up, "Good luck buddy!"

Ryou smiled brightly at the support and nodded, "Thank you, I'll be fine, promise!" he replied confidently before turning and sprinting back into the forest, the Spirit within the Ring humming with a half smirk,

'They took that rather well…' he commented to himself as Ryou headed deeper into the forest to seek out other locations, 'Now. To find a duel worth the effort….'

After wandering around for some while in the forest, Ryou gave a disheartened sigh, 'Hnn… Still haven't found anyone…' he thought as he sat down for a moment, taking out a bottle of water as he did so, 'Maybe I should go look for a Battle Box and wait for people…' he thought as he took a drink.

Unbeknownst to the white haired boy, a trio of people hidden in the bushes on the ledge above him were watching him, whispering amongst each other.

"Is that the guy that was hanging out with Yugi? The other one that's a duelist?" the youngest, a skeletal looking boy named Bonz whispered to the others as he peered through a pair of binoculars.

A black haired guy beside him named Zygor peered through the binoculars as they were handed to him and grinned, "White hair. Yep, that's him. Let's go tell boss." He whispered back before both slipped away before they could be noticed.

Down below in the Ring, Akefia's eyes flew open and he shifted as a shudder tingled throughout his frame. The sensation was a familiar one and he began glancing around guardedly, '…? What was that?' he muttered stiffly as Ryou put away his water…

~Elsewhere~

"Hey! Keith!" Bonz called as he and his companion rushed towards a blonde man adorning a leather vest and an eye catching American flag bandana sitting on a boulder. The call made the man look up from behind his tinted lenses as they rushed up to him,

"You find Yugi?" he inquired expectantly.

Zygor shook his head, causing a flash of irritation to sweep by Keith's features, but he continued quickly before the man could lose his cool, "No, but we found the white haired guy that was with him. He's the other duelist and he seems to have separated from his friends."

Keith's irritated expression suddenly shifted to a grin, "Perfect! We'll capture this white rat and Yugi will come to us!" he mused aloud and smirked at his own cunning, "We'll take both of their star chips and with Yugi out of the way, getting into the castle will be easy!"

With that thought in mind, Keith looked to Zygor and a red head named Sid and motioned for them to act, "Go get the damn runt and take him to the cave."

Sid blinked confused, "Why the cave?"

Keith huffed at his lackey's question, "In the cave there's a hidden Battle Box with a graveyard field! This place used to occupy soldiers during the war! Some even buried here." He grinned as he looked to Bonz, "You'll battle him with that powered up Zombie Deck I gave you. Go wait in the Battle Box." He finished gesturing to the cave.

"Count on me boss!" Bonz replied with a grin, deck in hand as he sprinted off.

Keith frowned as he looked back to Zygor and Sid, "What are you asshats waiting for? Go get our target!"

Both slightly jumped and stammered a hasty assurance and ran off into the forest once more. As they did so, Keith grinned to himself,

'I'm about to move in on the target Master Malik.' He thought to the shadowy haze in his mind.

Almost immediately he felt a strange sensation as a second consciousness entered his mind; a smooth and rather commanding voice then spoke up, {Good, Excellent work as usual Keith. Defeat Yugi and bring him to the designated spot and I'll take it from there.} The voice paused only momentarily as if only half interested in his afterthought, {You can continue to defeat Pegasus and take these one of a kind "Toon" cards from him afterwards.}

Keith, still grinning, stood up leisurely and headed towards the cave, 'Of course Master Malik~' he bit back any response as the voice returned once more, only this time with a tone that was firm and threatening,

{ Don't fail me Keith.}

Back at the tree, Ryou paused at the Spirit's sudden break in silence, 'What was what?' he inquired looking down at the Ring, now sensing a strange sensation coming from the Spirit.

Akefia continued to look around, even urging the Ring to locate the source with little response. Slowly he hummed as the sensation ebbed making him hum, 'I got a chill…It's gone now though…..' he responded slowly, but remained alert, 'I still don't like it…'

Ryou blinked in surprise, not thinking it was possible for the Spirit to detect any forms of external discomforts and hummed, 'Really? That's strange. I didn't feel anything.' He thought.

'You wouldn't….' Akefia thought dully to himself. That was a skill tempered only by living and fighting alongside death.

Ryou shrugged and continued on his way to find someone to duel, 'Hmm… I thought I'd be easier to find someone. I guess not.' He thought to himself as he rubbed his neck.

Akefia deadpanned, he couldn't believe it! The boy was completely ignoring his surroundings! He then paused. Did he even know what he was referring to? Did the boy just assume he meant a physical touch? By the gods…, 'I meant I felt like someone-'

Before Akefia could even begin to finish his explanation, a rustle caught Ryou's ear not far behind him. Turning in the direction of the sound he barely had enough time to register the blow as it came; a sharp and brief pain to the head sent Ryou into darkness and his body fell limp.

"BOY!" Akefia called out in furious surprise. He growled at the fact that the boy had not responded quickly enough and both were now in the hands of their assailants, he himself unable to do anything but watch as his host who was hoisted and taken away to meet whatever fate awaited him…If anything happened to the boy…'

SHIT!' he snarled heatedly as he looked on, helpless to do anything.

Keith's working for Malik!? What will this mean for Ryo!? What will happen to our hero!

You'll see in my next chapter ;)

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