Gah, late update! I meant to have it up yesterday, please don't hate me! I've fallen behind and don't have any more prewritten ones... So I wrote it all out yesterday, and then had problems uploading. Forgive me?

It's Puzzleshipping, set during Duelist Kingdom... Slightly AU, due to an event halfway through that completely changes it, and... It's dark. Very dark. Sort of. Maybe. Just read it, dammit.

#19 - Pride

Words - 600

Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't belong to me, but to Kazuki Takahashi, along with some of the dialogue used.

Yuugi laid back in his soul room, observing the duel between Kaiba and his other self. While Kaiba had nine-hundred life points (Now down to four-hundred) and Yami had just one-hundred, there was no way that Yami could lose. Kaiba couldn't undo the Polymerization of his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and it was already down to two heads.

'Mou Hitori no Boku... We've won already, I can tell!' Yuugi thought cheerfully, being careful to keep his thoughts private in order to not distract his other half. 'And then we can get into Pegasus' castle and rescue Jii-Chan...' Kaiba's voice broke his musings.

"Yuugi... The game has only just begun..." Kaiba looked towards his deteriorating Blue Eyes. "I lost five hundred life points from that attack... So... Each of these squares on the ground will be one hundred of my life points... I will move back as many life points as I lose."

/What?!/ Yuugi and the spirit simultaneously yelled through the mind link.

/Kaiba-Kun!/

"I lost five hundred life points... In other words, I'll move back five squares!" Slowly, he began stepping backwards, careful of his footing,and putting him on the final square from the edge. Both tricolor-haired boys understood the message perfectly; if he lost the duel, he would die.

/We can't let him die, no matter what he's done!/ Yuugi immediately appeared beside The Other Yuugi in spirit form, noticing that despite his initial shock, he didn't seem inclined to surrender the duel. The other glanced at him, eyes softening, before he closed them and spoke his next words through the link.

/...He's bluffing. He wouldn't do it./ His eyes snapped open and narrowed dangerously as he faced his opponent.

/I won't take that chance! I won't be responsible for letting someone die! He needs to save Mokuba-Kun... His actions are natural! Call off the attack, Mou Hitori No Boku!/

Yuugi tried to push him out of the way and yank control, but found the other fighting back just as much. The spirit's breath ghosted over his ear for a moment as Yami held him, preventing him from taking over.

/We need to save your Jii-San. And... Not letting you be the reason people die... Isn't that why I'm here? To keep you from the darkness... By taking it upon myself.../

/Wait... No! Mou Hitori No Boku! Mou Hitori-/

"This 'duel to the death' ends now, Kaiba!" Yami yelled, pointing at the taller teen from the opposite end of the tower. "Celtic Guardian, finish this off!" Yami's monster destroyed another head of the Ultimate Dragon, and Kaiba's life points fell to zero.

"N-no..." Kaiba's face slowly became stunned, and tears began to form under his lashes as he glanced at the photo of Mokuba in his card locket. "Mokuba... I failed you."

He stepped off instantly.

"No!" Everybody seemed to shriek at once as the brunette toppled over the edge, running over. The Other Yuugi, no, Yami, because he was darkness, stepped to the side as Yuugi struggled, trying to break free from the iron grip.

"Murderer!" Someone yelled.

/Let me go! I never want to hear from you again! I hate you! Why do you always put your damn pride first?!/

/You'd break the puzzle if I gave you control./

/Right now, I'm tempted./

/You'll be blamed. They'll hurt you. I won't let anything happen to you. Ever. Now, we're going into that castle, and we'll rescue your Jii-San. Then you have to trust me to keep you safe./ Yuugi glared, while Yami's eyes softened. /...I-I love you.../

/You have a terrible way of showing it./

Yami looked down at the ground, tears glistening slightly, not that he'd ever admit it. /I know... Forgive me, Mou Hitori No Ore./

._. Well, here. Again, I'll condense it soon if I have time, and I'll catch up with updates. I'll try and do some fluffy themes soon, okay? Please review and tell me what you think! Reviews motivate me, and help me figure out what you guys like and dislike so I can try and do more themes in genres you want X3

Extra note - I had to condense it by almost 50 words, and some of it now seems rushed and daft, but... Yeah. It's not as dramatic as I hoped, but as soon as I saw the word 'Pride', I thought of Kaiba. (Not a Prideshipper, though!) Therefore I wanted to try to make a version of this scene, but where Yuugi failed to snatch control from Yami and surrender the s=duel. Maybe i'll make a sequel at some point..?

Next drabble - #20 - Smile