Wow! (Eyes bulged) This is the best achievement I get so far! 7 reviews, 9 story alerts, 3 story faves, 1 author alert and 1 author fave! Thank you so much, everyone! You guys make me the happiest person in the world! (Lol) I hope I can get a better achievement than this in the future, and also I hope I didn't disappoint you for this chapter because I write too long so I may have made a little mistakes, forgive me! So, without further delay, let's enjoy Chapter 2 but first…
Important Note: I travel to Cambodia next week so I won't be able to update Chapter 3 on that week. You have to wait for an update most probably in either 25th or 26th December. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Keys:
"Talks"
'Thoughts'
Chapter 2: Encounter
'That's odd. I thought I heard footsteps somewhere nearby…'
The boy mused with confusion flashing in his innocent violet eyes.
This teenager had the same hairstyle and was an inch shorter than Yami. They both had the same colored skin. People would have mistaken them as twins.
However, the only difference between them was that Yami had narrow crimson orbs while the other had round purple irises. Besides that, the younger youth's hair did not have blond bangs that shot up to the tip of his spikes like Yami's did.
All in all, Yami had the serious, confident and matured kind of look whereas the younger teen had a cherubic, childlike version.
The teen wore a blue long-sleeved sweater with baggy black pants and a watch round his wrist. A leather belt hung round his small waist and blue sneakers stepped onto the grassy surface before they came to a stop.
'Who would have thought that the forest can be so huge! Anyone could get lost if…wait, lost?'
The amethyst-eyed adolescent glanced at the surroundings with his head swinging from left to right and that was when realization hit him in the brain like an alerted alarm.
'Oh no, I'm lost! What should I do? What should I do? Where are the others when I need them?!'
He was in such panic that he unconsciously ran around the woods in circles while mumbling the same words over and over again like a recording tape.
On the tree branch, Yami tilted his head with confusion written all over his face as he silently observed the teen's amusing actions.
'What is he doing? He looks so anxious and all…'
He snapped out of his thoughts when suddenly, the tree branch he was sitting on was shaking violently.
'An earthquake? But the ground isn't moving.'
The crimson-eyed youth grabbed the tree trunk for support and that was the moment he noticed a red woodpecker with long pointy beak pecking on the tree branch continuously with its midnight blue eyes staring at it in full concentration.
Yami wanted to grab the annoying bird but the woodpecker was much faster. It flew off and without hesitation, pecked Yami's hand with anger glowed in its blue orbs.
The adolescent yelped in pain but he was not going to give up just yet. So, he stared at the angry bird furiously before he spoke aloud.
"Hey you!"
The blue-eyed bird looked up.
"Yeah, you. I'm warning you to stop pecking and fly off to another tree. If you don't do as I say, I'm going to kill you…"
The red bird did not moved as it waited for Yami to finish his sentence.
"For sure!" His firm, serious tone proved his point.
They ogled at each other with those glaring irate eyes but in the end?
The woodpecker refused to listen to his orders, it violently pecked on that tree branch again but with a faster speed and before the tree branch snapped into two, Yami quickly jumped off and effortlessly stepped onto the ground with a loud thud.
He watched the proud woodpecker flew off while in his thoughts, cursed himself for having such bad luck.
'The next time I see that bird, I will surely kill it!'
"Are you alright?"
Yami swung round to face a teen with concern and amazement in his purple irises.
'Crap! No chance to escape, all thanks to that stupid woodpecker!'
"I'm fine, thanks for asking."
The boy stepped closer to Yami with a relieved expression.
"That's good. By the way, what are you doing here in the forest?"
'I knew he would ask that question.' Yami thought with an inward sigh.
"I'm doing research…about nature."
"Really? That's great! I'm working on that same topic too, that's why I came here. Which college are you in? I don't remember seeing a student like you in my college."
'Brain, tell me which college I'm in before he gets suspicious, quick!'
Yami cogitated anxiously while trying to remember the name of the college he enrolled to years ago before that 'incident' happened.
"I'm in Oxford Academy. Currently taking Bachelor Science."
"Oxford Academy?"
His pure amethyst eyes instantly grew wide.
"That college is really hard to enrol, the percentage of having chances to enter that college is only 8%. I'm not that lucky though, I'm in Newcastle University, currently taking A-Levels."
"Newcastle University is a great place to study as well."
"I agree, that place is one of the best colleges I've ever enrolled to, so how long have you been here? In the forest I mean…"
'Darn! Brain, help!'
"About a week, why don't I show you around so that you won't get lost next time?"
His younger look-alike's expression brightened up.
"Really? That's great! I appreciate it if you do."
"No problem. By the way, the name's Yami."
The two look-alikes blithely shook hands.
"Pleased to meet you, my name's Yugi."
Meanwhile, before Yugi and Yami meet each other…
A boy with honey brown eyes and messy short blond hair strolled around the lake with an astonished look on his beige-colored face.
He wore a simple white tee shirt with a blue rectangle attached on the middle and matching blue jeans with a brown belt round his tough waist.
His white sneakers progressively stepped onto the grassy surface before they abruptly stopped moving.
The young-looking adolescent stared at the lake as his face reflected on the surface.
"The lake here is a lot clearer than the lakes in the city."
He swiftly took off his shoes and immediately soaked both feet into the crystal clear water with a splash.
"Ahh, such a nice feeling…"
The boy observed his reflection intently before his smile turned into a cheery grin.
"Why am I born with such a handsome face?" His boastful voice echoed in all directions.
"Oh well, I can't help it having all those girls chasing after me…"
His speech was immediately cut off when suddenly; a new face appeared on the water surface between his legs, this caused the teen to shriek in fright.
"Arrggghhhh!"
He quickly moved a few steps away from the half-naked stranger who slowly rose up with cold blue eyes staring back at him in hatred.
After taking a few deep breaths, the blond-haired boy cried with an angry tone in his voice.
"Don't scare me like that!"
However, the blue-eyed adolescent did not react but just afloat in the lake with that same cold look shining in the sunlight.
"Hey, shouldn't you suppose to say sorry?"
"Why should I?"
That answer slightly startled the playboy but quickly returned with that furious look. Before he had the chance to speak, the brunet was nowhere in sight.
"Must have dive into the lake again."
The brown-eyed stripling walked closer to the lake and in that instant, the brunet popped out with a struggling fish in his hands.
"What are you doing?"
The blond-haired youth asked politely but he did not receive a reply from Seto who was busy catching fishes and paid no attention to him. However, luck was not on Seto's side as the boy continued to ask questions with that same calm tone.
"What are you doing here in the forest?"
No reply.
"Did you come here alone or with friends?"
No reply.
"How long have you been here?"
For the third time, no reply.
"Why aren't you answering my questions?"
This time, the brunet had had enough.
"Why don't you shut…"
"What is your name?"
For some reason, that was the only question Seto can't ignore.
"Kaiba."
For the first time since they first met, the blond-haired youth smiled.
"I'm Joey."
Those were his last words before he heard someone calling out to him and when he turned back to Kaiba and wanted to say goodbye to him, the brunet was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, before Joey and Seto meet each other…
A stripling with large chocolate-brown eyes and white smooth spiky hair was wondering around with an amazed expression all over his features.
'What a beautiful forest!' The teen exclaimed.
'I felt like I'm in a whole new world but a much better one compared to the city. This place is simply peaceful and harmonious. I rather live here than living in the town if I had a choice.'
While he was busy glancing around the scenery, he did not notice a boy the same age as himself, was snooping behind a tree.
'Hmm, never thought that I have a visitor who looks like a copy version of me.'
Bakura wondered while eating a pear in his hands.
True, the boy's looks resemble Bakura, the only difference between them was that Bakura's eyes were narrower and his hair was a lot spikier than the teen whose face held angelic, innocent features like Yugi's.
The albino then looked at his look-alike's clothes.
He wore a neat tee shirt with patterns of blue and white stripes coiled around it and a matching baggy blue pants wrapped round his long, slim legs.
Dazzling silver bracelets glimmered proudly around his delicate arms with a silver locket round his neck.
His brown sneakers stepped onto the grass with a squeaky sound before they came to a halt where the young adolescent saw a large blurry shadow that seemed to form the shape of a house.
'What's that? Looks like a house or some sort…'
Bakura was surprised that the teen had found their cottage, his bulging eyes proved his point.
'I have to stop him from getting closer to our house!'
Just then, he noticed a small stone resting on the ground beside his feet and that was when he had an idea.
He held up his hand and at the same time, the stone rose up in midair. His index finger pointed at the youth's head and as quick as a flash; the stone flew towards that direction and instantly hit his target.
"Who goes there?"
The albino cried while rubbing his head in annoyance, but he did not see a sight of a human shadow looming around him.
"That's weird."
He swung his head round, wanting to focus on that strange house-shaped shadow once again but instead of seeing that figure, his eyes met with a pair of narrow brown eyes which strangely glowed in the dark forest.
As expected, the teen cried in fright as he moved away from the stranger who gazed back at him with an upside-down position, his legs hooked on a large tree branch with his arms folded in front of his well-built chest.
Before the shivering teen had a chance to speak, Bakura spoke with a deathly truculent tone in his monotone voice.
"What is your name, weakling?"
The boy stood on the spot with his hands clenched into fists for he was too afraid to speak to the stranger.
"Answer me!"
To his relief, the boy finally spoke with a quaver voice.
"R..R..Ryou."
In that instant, Bakura swung his legs forward and landed on the ground with ease. He stepped towards the poor fretful youth until their faces were an inch away from each other. You can now see that their heights were almost the same as well.
"Ryou huh? What a pretty name."
He spoke with a lustful purr as he stroked Ryou's pale cheek in a loving way.
"Wh…What is your name?"
"How dare you speak back to me without asking for my permission!"
Ryou's twinge of fear grew stronger after receiving that remark but he noticed Bakura's anger slowly palliated as he calmed himself before he spoke again, this time, in a much calmer tone.
"However, I will answer your question. I am Bakura so you better remember my name the next time we meet each other."
The said teen nodded obediently and just before Bakura had the chance to torment the boy, he heard his name being called from a far away distance.
He gave Ryou one last stroke before he let go and briskly ran towards the other direction with a speed of light without waiting for a reply.
Ryou just stood on the same spot silently, not knowing what to do or how to react because everything happened so suddenly.
However, his senses came back to him as soon as he heard his friend calling out his name so without a second thought, he too was running towards the same direction where Bakura had disappeared to a few seconds ago.
Meanwhile, before Ryou and Bakura meet each other…
Marik was picking some fruits in the East side of the forest.
When he was about to grab a juicy apple that hung on the tree branch beautifully, footsteps were heard in his alerted ears.
'Someone's coming.'
He quickly hid himself behind the bushes and sat there silently for a while before he saw black boots glinting in the sunlight near his hiding place.
He then looked up to see a pair of lavender eyes staring at the tree that stood in front of him.
'Is that a clone of me?'
Marik wondered curiously while watching the stripling's every movement.
The boy did not have hairs that shot up to the air like Marik's did, instead his silky golden hair flowed down his broad shoulders and his eyes were slightly larger than Marik's.
He wore a purple sleeveless sweater with golden bracelets shimmered gracefully round his well-built arms and neck.
A matching pair of diamond-shaped golden earrings hung on either side of his ears with long black leather pants wrapped tightly around his slim legs. A leather belt was also spotted round his thin waist.
'Darn! Where are the others? I can't find them anywhere and it looks like I'm lost.'
The boy thought with a disappointed sigh, both hands rested on his hips.
While Marik was thinking on how to escape from that teenager, an idea suddenly flowed through his brain.
'Hmm, since I have time before lunch, why not have a little fun with this pretty boy.'
He grinned at the thought so without hesitation, he put both hands on the tree that stood right next to him. His hands seemed to glow with green light surrounding his body and in less than two seconds, the veins in the tree started to grow.
At that moment, more tree branches sprouted from the tree trunk with spiky thorns all over it. Soon, it covered the boy's path.
Luckily, the teen was looking at the other direction so when he swung his head round, his eyes goggled with surprised expression written on his tan-colored face.
"That's strange; I have never seen tree branches that grow like this. Now, how should I cross the road with all those scary-looking thorns blocking my path?"
At the same time, Marik was smirking like a complete maniac.
'Let's see how he crosses the path with his bare hands.'
However, what he did not expected to see was instead of getting nervous, the youth grinned as he moved a few steps back and with a flash, charged towards the tree branches with an incredible human speed.
He avoided the obstacles with ease; he kicked the dangerous-looking thorns away with his tough feet and jumped all the way to the end. Finally, he reached the other side of the path effortlessly and examined himself for any cuts or bruises.
"Three cuts in total, looks like the martial art practice I've learned from school is improving."
In the bushes, Marik's jaw instantly dropped to the ground as he stared at the proud youth in disbelief.
"I've been through this training myself and my best record so far is five cuts in total!"
He then climbed onto the tree to the top and hid himself with leaves all around him.
"Let's try this trick."
The younger stripling walked around the woods peacefully and just then, a loud baritone voice boomed around him with a maniacal laughter followed by leaves rustling in the trees, like they were laughing at him too.
"How dare you enter my territory, human?"
His echoed voice startled the boy to no end.
"Wh…Who are you? Show yourself!"
The lavender-eyed boy glanced round the surroundings with a warning look as he desperately trying to find the owner of the voice.
"Before I answer your question, tell me your name."
The voice again boomed in all directions, sending chills down the teen's spine.
"Malik."
"Very well. If you must know, I am the well-known Phantom of the Forest, and I hereby warn you to get away from here as soon as possible before I decide to kill you."
At that moment, he heard a chirping sound in the background.
Malik then swung his head to see a sparrow sitting on top of a tree branch with what seemed like a strange thin green rope attached on the tree trunk. He slowly walked towards the rope and without a second thought, pulled as hard as he could.
Marik lost his balance as he dropped onto the ground with a loud thud; he was holding an empty tin can with the same green rope at one end.
Malik was obviously furious when he found out the truth so he instantly grabbed Marik's black shirt and pulled him close so that they were face to face to each other.
"How dare you play pranks on me?!"
Malik glared daggers at Marik who was grinning nervously while letting sweats dripping down his cheeks like raindrops.
In that instant, Malik heard someone calling out to him so he let his look-alike go roughly and ran towards the other direction but not before he gave Marik one last glare and spoke in a dangerous angry tone.
"The next time we meet, I am going to kill you. I swear!"
And then, he was gone, leaving a spaced out Marik on the ground.
Meanwhile, Yami had told Yugi everything about the forest, It was divided into four parts: North Wing which was where the entrance of the forest was located, the East Wing and West Wing which were nothing but trees all around them and finally, the South Wing where the lake was located.
Their cottage was on the West Wing but Yami didn't tell him that, of course.
Yugi smiled in delight and said,
"Thank you, Yami for showing me the way."
Yami couldn't help but smiled as well.
"No problem, it was the least I can do to help you."
Yami's smile made Yugi blushed; fortunately Yami did not notice that.
"By the way, are you the only one here in the forest?"
"No, actually I have three cousins with me, how about I call them out and introduce you to them?"
"Sounds great, I have three friends with me as well, I call them out too."
And so, the duo called their comrades as loud as they could and within 5 minutes, everyone reached the entrance of the forest.
"There you are, Yugi! I thought I've lost you pal. This place is huge you know!"
Joey exclaimed with his arms stretched out wide, causing the two look-alikes to laugh.
"You're right. I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Joey."
"Nah, it's no problem. At least you're safe and sound."
He then swung his head round and his eyes instantly met with surprising cold blue ones.
Yami's cousins stared at their three 'new' friends in disbelief before they pointed at each other in a comical way and shouted respectively.
"It was you?!"
Yugi and Yami was both dumbfounded, they did not expect this to happen. In the end, the tri-colored haired twins blinked twice in unison and simply said,
"You guys know each other?"
To Be Continued…
The end of Chapter 2 has arrived! Thank you to all readers who read my story! Now, it is time for you to review and if you have any questions, just ask and I'll be happy to answer them. As you all know, Bakura is the Air Elemental and Marik the Earth Elemental. So, stay tune for Chapter 3: Introduction!