Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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"You sure they're coming?" Jounouchi asked flexing his fingers as he studied the surrounding forest. Half expecting these organization members to leap out at them from behind some random bush. The twins were only a distant dot with Monte between them as they worked their way out of the forest back to their car. Malik stood behind him keeping Jounouchi as a human shield from being seen by Monte.

"No, but better to be safe than sorry. With the twins back in town they are afforded the protection of the police and witnesses. However; we're not here under legal means, so even if we crammed ourselves into their car and left with them. These people could bring law enforcement down on 'us'," Bakura explained with a slight shake of his head and his deck in hand.

"But if the twins leave say roughly now, how will these men know to park and search for us? Wouldn't they just assume we rode back into town with the twins?" Malik asked as he visually searched the woods.

"Not if I make them stop," Bakura answered with a false casual tone. "If I do that, they'll know to pull over and look for us."

"Uh... what you planning on doing with your deck?" Jounouchi uneasily asked as Bakura began shuffling them quietly with 'that' look on his face again.

"Well if we opt to chat with them, I figure the cards will be a good means to hold them in place. Otherwise we need to decide if we're leaving right now," Bakura answered as he began moving towards the forest. 'Nothing I can do about my hair but let's see...'

"Bottom feeders never know anything." Malik answered crossing his arms as he thought aloud. "If the Items were active among them, their leaders could do anything from just mind control or feed into their deepest desires."

"If their leaders can't do any of those, well for some people if the money is good," Bakura continued as he gestured for the others to follow him. "Though if that's the case these people must be rich to have the ability to afford such help."

"Eh, I suppose you're right... But what about your deck? Won't that just freak them out?" Jounouchi added as he and Malik fell in line to join Bakura.

"Well that's what you guys have to decide. Do we leave before they get here and let them live? Because if they find us, and we subdue them enough to get information out of them, they can't leave here alive."

"Ryou!" Jounouchi started in horror at the cold practicality of Bakura's point of view, glancing at Malik. Only to remember that this was 'Malik', who despite his age and not being a reincarnation, had also done such shady stuff.

"Jounouchi, these people know enough about Yugi to 'mail a bomb' to the Turtle Game Shop. Maybe these flunkies don't know about us, but there's enough proof to show that this group is organized. If they're coming 'here' back into the woods it means they reported in, and were told to come after us. We can't afford to sit in a jail cell while well intention police try to sort out how three teenagers from 'Japan' managed to go to school yesterday and show up in California 'today'. Nor can we afford to give them access to the rings."

"I realize that Bakura sounds cold when he says it like that. But he has a point Jounouchi, we knew there would be a confrontation eventually. Zorc won't keep waiting while we hide behind Yugi until someone opts to do a card tournament." Malik stopped and sardonically with Bakura, both said 'Kaiba', before Malik resumed. "But this isn't the original battle, I don't think Yugi can just friend everyone who tries to kill him. They wouldn't have a reason to rush here if they didn't see one of us. So even if we went back to Japan, they probably know to start the actual battle."

Jounouchi watched as Bakura began flipping through his cards instead of merely shuffling them, as though looking for something. Only Bakura was well versed in such a life style, being a reincarnation and that he could accept and readily face this... Jounouchi swung his view towards the undefiled beauty of nature. Watching as the slowly setting sun played off the leaves and trees of the valley beyond them. The quagmire of thoughts, imagines of the gang broken on the ground from bombs or who knew what else caused him to screw his eyes shut as he gave in to the only real option they had.

"Fuck it, we're not kids anymore. But what a way to finish out high school," Jounouchi answered in bitter resignation.

"I guess this means we graduate," Bakura answered with a soft, bitter laugh as he found a particular card.

"You up for more chatting?" Malik asked with a raised eyebrow glancing over at Bakura. Regretting the lack of time to properly set up a good 'meeting' place as Bakura looked up from his deck over at Malik.

"Oh I don't intend to do as much 'talking' as listening," Bakura darkly replied.

"Just remember this country has guns so whatever you plan take that into account," Jounouchi warned, as he took note of a small cluster of trees in the distance. "Think we can use that?"

Bakura and Malik turned to see what Jounouchi was looking at, and while Malik was unsure Bakura gave a pleased nodded. "Thick enough to shield us from basic guns, hard to see from a distance, good eyes Jounouchi."

The trio quickly lowered themselves and began weaving through the thickening underbrush towards the small cluster of trees. While what remained of birds and nature came to staggering states of silence. All around them the birds stuttered to a stop in their songs, if there were any remaining woodland creatures preparing for winter. Well they were discreetly doing their search out of the range of the trio.

Ahead of him, Jounouchi watched as the ghastly monsters that the Thief King employed began to flicker into existence. Yet knowing it was 'Ryou' and not that dark Spirit did little to make him feel better. With their presence, even as they were leaving, drawing in whatever heat in the area that they could find. The chill of their departure brought goosebumps onto the blonds' arms as he moved, the sharp raking sensation of the leaves and branches burning as the heated slaps were met with that otherworldly chill.

"You think you can teach us how to do that?" Malik asked, indifferent from the spirits as he followed between the pair of Japanese youths.

"Wait... can we learn to do that?" Jounouchi cut in as he was taken aback by the suggestion.

"Yes, but only to a degree. The stronger a person is the more spirits they can call upon. At the most basic level the most that a random person could summon would be their own Ka. Which, still has the inherited risk that if the Ka is injured so will the person." Bakura explained as they neared the outcropping of trees.

"So the advantages would be a spirit would increased strength, defenses or magic or whatever," Jounouchi began as Malik went among the small grouping of trees. "While the disadvantages are that anything done to the spirit still injures the person. So even if they don't get hit directly with something that overpowers them, they still reel from the pain?"

"Its a big part of why the common folk never learned it, it was kept as something among the priesthood. Which makes sense as they would have both the healthy diet and training that they could endure the summons and battles. Just think of it as the game. Its got a good number of the key points down," Malik added, speaking only loudly enough for Jounouchi to hear.

'Where as Ryou was stuck sharing his body with Zorc,' Jounouchi realized. 'So if everyone has a unique Ka form, what's Ryous'?'

"The spirits have begun leading them to this part of the forest. The vehicle was given some 'technical difficulties'," Bakura reported as he knelt within the safety of the trees. Knives were tucked away in his coat and around his ankles, the weight of them a cold comfort. While he could blithely talk about 'difficulties' to the other two. The spirits made it pretty clear that the men were actively looking for the trio.

'All the better that we didn't go with the twins. We can't give them a reason to justify continuing hunting down the family. But we also can't give them the chance to hunt 'us' down beyond this point.' Bakura thought to himself.

"You should cover your ears," Bakura warned cryptically.

'Three against four, we three have all the spirits that Ryou is calling out. Ryou's clearly going to be our heavy for this encounter just by his ability to call them. But with that going for him why cover our ear... the guns. They must have guns on them.' Jounouchi wondered as Ryou began pushing the pair down low to the ground behind the trees.

And then the screams started.

Mens' voices rose up in alarm, guns started being fired causing birds to take wing freed from fear for their safety by the need for self preservation. Bark showered the air ahead of the trio towards the road that the twins rode home on. There was enough ruckus going on ahead of them that the trio was near deafened by it. Hoots and howls, demented chattering as the Spirits gave a macabre life to the cards.

He couldn't understand what was being said, but he could understand the terror, the begging. As a last resort, Jounouchi turned his thoughts inward, trying to find something else to focus on. 'So Mahaado is the Soul of the Dark Magician right? He was a person who got sealed and made into what he is now. But not all cards that Pegasus made were from the Ancient tablets... so would that mean that if Bakura's spirits wanted to, they could possess my deck? Just an angry Ancient Egyptian possessing Panther Warrior?'

He turned to check on Malik, shamefully hoping for an excuse to talk to the blond and hopefully cut out some of the screams of terror. Only his fellow blond seemed more invested in the violence going on in the distance. But at least it was on an observational level rather than some type of twisted investment. While Ryou, apparently taking cues from the spirits, stood up.

He walked out without a word. Pushing through the brush and autumn leaves with Malik falling so in step Jounouchi could have thought it planned. But he couldn't stand up, despite his own bravado he couldn't find it in him to stand up and go with the pair. So instead he stayed crouching on the ground, waiting.

Malik glanced at him, confusion crossing his face for a moment as he pondered Jounouchi hanging back. But Bakura needed a solid back up and if Jounouchi wasn't going... 'Well its probably for the best. He hasn't done the things we have, its for the best to preserve what there is of hope in the guy...'

With the birds gone and the echos of gunshot fading quickly in the distance, it was only a matter of time before the police would show up. If the guns were heard, maybe they weren't given the distance. Jounouchi took a few deep breaths as he tried to still his trembling hands. Curling his fingers into fists and calling to mind all the times he had visited Honda. That time that he went to Gramps' gravestone and apologized for not knowing what to say.

'This isn't last year, Pegasus, Ryou, Malik, everyone who came after Yugi did 'not' put someone in the ground first. I know Gramps would probably say that killing doesn't solve anything. But if it stops future unnecessary deaths its going to solve one thing. I'm sorry Gramps, I hope you can understand.' Jounouchi thought as he blinked away the faintest glimmer from the edges of his vision.

Bakura was ahead of them, an arrogant swagger to every step despite the cluttered ground. Malik was next, with Jounouchi left behind. Affording the guy a longer chance to try and get his own thoughts in order. There was a weight that was on his shoulders, pressing down as he knelt there. Looking up and he could still see Malik walking after Bakura, and that feeling of being left behind almost gagged him. On the one hand, he was free from seeing what Ryou was goig to do, on the other, he should have been there as well. What type of friend was he to wuss out like this?

Regardless, as they moved, Jounouchi could see glimpses of a variety of ghastly faces that would fit well, and undoubtedly came from, the cards in Bakura's deck.

Nature was never nice and tidy and never more obvious than it was right there. The space in question was off the animal path that Malik had used to bring the twins to Monte. Covered in various branches, leaves and natural clutter the trees were now scarred with bullet wounds exposing fresh pale organs under the bark skin. Plants and bushes were stripped bare of their leaves facing inward. The air held the weighted notes of blood as the soft crunch of slowly dying leaves gave way under the steps of the King of Thieves.

The spirits had been given a reprieve from their fates as ghosts and took to it with clear relish. Four broken dolls covered in cracks of bright red laid pinned to the ground by fiends. Three of the dolls' eyes were wide, looking from one fiend to the next as they tried to get a grasp of the situation. The clothes was ripped and torn, the contents of the pockets were scattered about the ground. As those who believed to be the hunter, found themselves the prey of spirits. While a black haired doll laid off to the side, face down though his chest faced the sky.

A squat little demon with a night cap, knapsack full of mining tools sat off to the side, holding their pickax with a wide grinning glee. His pickax was haphazardly picking into the throat of one doll, drawing pinpricks of blood with each tap. Fiends lumbering about the area playing tug of war with another body while the guns used just a short time ago were now held in the hands of Cursed twin dolls.

Bakura strolled into the chaos, his handkerchief in one hand as he looked for anything worth grabbing. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit gentlemen?" He asked in English as he saw a cellphone resting half hidden under a leaf. He knelt down to retrieve it, checking it over for possible damage given the violent manner it had been extracted. A flip of the top and its information was on display for Bakura's indifferent eyes.

"I'm impressed they're not begging for their lives," Malik noted casually observing the terrified men. The two being quartered by the spirits pulling on their limbs were making sounds, but even he could tell they weren't 'words'. At least not the useful begging for their lives type of words.

"We only need their phones really, we can trace it up to their bosses who will probably know more than these grunts." Bakura explained as he began looking up the last call made or received on the phone. "Oh and they are, its just being whimpered out," Bakura corrected with a false cheer as he moved over to the blond with the blood covered throat.

"So tell me, do you even have the slightest clue as to what you have gotten yourself into?" Bakura wrapped the phone up before slipping it into a pocket as the man stared up at him. "And you better start confessing because you're not going to live to see the evening. Wouldn't want you going to the here after with stuff still weighing your soul down."

"You have it? We heard... Believed..." The man rasped out while Bakura flickered an indifferent glance at him.

"I have lots of things, mostly experience, try narrowing it down," Bakura replied as he put the cards up and pulled out a sharp hunting knife.

"Immortality!" The third man cried out in desperation. "You have immortality."

Bakura sighed as he looked down at the ground for a second before turning to look over at Malik. "Useless." Bakura sighed before he began toying with the blade above the man's mouth. "Seriously though, that's it? Immortality? What did you lot do to make you fear the final judgment that would fall on you after death?"

"You're the host of a God though!" the blond choked out, earning a raised eyebrow from Bakura for that statement.

"You think that Zorc is a 'God'? A demon born from human sacrifice is what you would call a 'God'?" Bakura repeated, almost dumbfounded save recalling what tier of villainous organization he was dealing with.

"He brought you back to life didn't he?"

"Wrong God."