Tormented Minds

Tored Med Minds Ch.2


Tormented Minds Ch.2

All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters are are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami.

Here's my friend's Malikbunny's first fanfic saga of Yu-Gi-Oh! I, Extreme Aku,
am co-writer and some parts are the toned down versions of my Yami Bakura tales. Enjoy
this story, we worked hard on it. :) Please visit MB's great YGO artsite at:
http://www.internutter.org/alaer/my_yugioh_art.htm

Authors' Note: This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfic, so please be gentle on the
reviews. See complete details in ch. 1 for A/N.  I've based Yami Yugi (YYugi for
short) on how the manga version is more (meaning he's more dark and sinister than the
anime version). Tad bit of yaoi/slash. R/R, please no flames! Also see the fic scene
fanart piccys for this fic series at my website. Enjoy!

Tormented Minds

Chapter 2

    "Let's check them all, we're sure to find him that way. We'll
have to be really sneaky though." Tèa said and they all went sneaking about the
hospital together, searching each room to find Yugi. Eventually they found him with his
grandpa. They were relieved to see him awake and talking.

    "Yugi!" Joey cried, running to his best friend. He hugged
him happily. Tèa was next to hug him. "You guys! You came." Yugi said, happy
tears in his eyes. "Yeah, well, we almost couldn't because we're not yrelarelatives,
but I made sure we got through. What happened buddy?" Joey asked, concerned as the
rest of them.

    "I can't remember really well. I do remember Namu coming to get
the game he won from me and I went to get the money for it and... and then Namu's on the
floor bleeding all over the place and so am I. I blacked out again and the next thing I
know, I'm here in the hospital. Where's Namu anyway? Is he alright?" Yugi asked,
worried. He felt as if everyone was his friend, even if they were mean to him. But Namu so
far had been nice to him.

    "I'll go find him, don't worry." Bakura offered and he was
gone. Joey snickered. "Lover goes to find lover." he mumbled. Serenity looked at
Joey funny. "I'll be right back." she suddenly said and went after Bakura.
Tristan felt yucky. Serenity DID like that freak Marik, even though he was supposedly gay.
'I'm doomed! If a girl totally doesn't notice me and goes for the gay guys, I'm totally
worthless!' Tristan thought in dread. Tèa shook her head at Joey.

    Suddenly Yugi realized his puzzle was missing. "Hey, where's my
puzzle??" he cried, searching around him. "It's right here, Yugi." His
grandpa handed him the golden pyramid. "I kept it for safe keeping. I know how
important it is to you." Yugi took it and felt relieved. "I was afraid I lost
it. What a minute. I think I remember something...strange. Namu tried to take my puzzle
away from me... I think... Maybe it was a bad dream?" Yugi stared at the puzzle's eye
to try to find answers.

    Tèa's eyes were getting teary since she was imagining what could
have happened. Yugi could have died or been in a coma and never wake up and she'd be all
alone. She was really grateful to still have him. But what happened between him and Namu?
Yugi looked at her.

    "What's wrong, Tèa?" he asked, having a cute adorable
expression on his face. Tèa wiped her eyes and hugged him again. "I'm just happy
you're alright. I don't know what'd I do if something happened to you." she said,
making him blush. Joey nodded. "Same here, I'd go crazy if anything bad happened to
you, Yug. I'd kill any bum who'd dare hurt you." Tristan grinned. "Yeah, he'd be
on the war-path in an instant. Me too." Yugi's grandpa was ruffled his grandson's
hair. "How are you feeling now, Yugi?"

    "A little weak, but the pain isn't so bad anymore." he
said, yawning. "We better let you sleep then, we'll come back to visit you again
soon." His grandpa hugged him and Tèa did once more. Then Joey had to hug him again.
Tristan gave him the thumbs up sign. "Get better soon." he said. Joey had to
comment. "Hey, he'll be out of here in no time. Won't ya, buddy?"

    "I can come home maybe tomorrow, I think. Don't worry about me,
I'll be fine." Yugi said, smiling cutely. He enjoyed having his friends around him.
"Hey, I wonder when Bakura and Serenity are coming back?" Tèa asked. Joey
shrugged.

    Tristan was heading out the door. "I'll go get them, I'll meet
you outside." he said, hurrying away. "Don't get lost!" Joey called after
him. Tristan made a face at that comment. He wanted to leave since Serenity went hunting
for Namu, but he couldn't be mean to Yugi and leave right away. It'd break his little
heart to know he didn't want to stay and visit him. Yugi was very fragile. 'Sheesh, no
wonder he gets beat up at school all the time.' Tristan thought.

    Unfortunately, Tristan did get lost and had a hard time hiding
everytime hospital personnel went by. 'Man, I'm going to get caught. If Joey finds out I
got lost, he'll tease me for a week and never shut up about it. I've gotta find Serenity!'
he thought, sweating nervously.

    Bakura found Namu's room quite easily with the help of his ring. He
found his friend sitting upright in the hospital bed, reading. "Marik..."

    The light blonde teen looked at him. "How's Yugi?" he
wanted to know. Bakura's eyes narrowed. "He's fine. You did a sloppy job trying to
kill him. I could have done it easily."

    "Merely toying with him. What's the fun of killing him off when
I could use him as a mind slave instead?" Marik put his book down and closed his
eyes. "He has the puzzle and you know, you can't make him a mind slave because of it.
I know you would have made me a mind slave as well if I didn't have my ring. You're
wasting our time, just kill him and be done with it."

    "Since you think you can do the job better than me, what are you
waiting for? I'd like to see how well you do." Marik enjoyed keeping Bakura thinking
he was ahead of the game. He didn't even know Marik was planning to kill him before he
killed Yugi.

    "I suppose I should. Now, let me see how bad off you are."
Bakura went over to Marik and he showed him the stab wound area. His ring hung hovered
over Marik as Bakura looked.

    He grabbed for the ring and at the same time Bakura grabbed his
friend's throat. "You can touch any part of me, but not my ring. Let go."
Marik's eyes were filled with insanity and lust. "But I desire all of you, Bakura. I
deserve your soul..."

    YBakura tightened his grip. "I may love you, but I won't let
you take me over." he growled, his brown eyes sparking with malice. Marik would have
laughed if he could. But he couldn't because he was getting choked. He'd let him win, for
now. He let the ring go and YBakura let his throat go.

    Bakura hid his ring under his shirt then and smiled. "I do hope
you get well soon, Marik. Did you want me to get you something to eat?" His voice was
friendly and kind while his eyes still were filled with hostility.

    Marik yawned and stretched. "No, that's alright, Bakura. But
thanks." Marik's lilac colored eyes held much insanity and determination. 'Soon,
Bakura, you'll be mine to destroy utterly. Little do you know, you are already my mind
slave, my precious friend...'

    Serenity arrived then and rushed to Namu's side. "Are you
alright?" she asked, inspecting him. Since her back was turned, she didn't see
Bakura's hateful, yet sly expression.

    "I'm fine. Serenity, right?" Namu said, all innocent-like.
"Yes, that's me. Namu, before I get interrupted again, I must ask you this. Will you
go to the school dance with me?"

    Bakura coughed funny just then, making Serenity look at him. He
looked away from her. Then Namu said, "I don't have much interest in going to dances.
Sorry." he said. Bakura smiled to himself. Serenity felt like kicking herself. She
wished she could have talked to him before about it, maybe get him to be interested in
going or something, but she couldn't because Tristan interrupted her. It was all Tristan's
fault! She was so angry at him!

    "Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry if I bugged you or anything.
I-I've got to go now." she said, tears filling in her eyes. She ran out before they
began to fall. She was so embarrassed!

    Once she fled, Marik crossed his arms. "Bakura, go after her
and take her to the dance. I want you to get her interested in our cause. She'll prove
useful to me in the future." Bakura nodded and went after Serenity. 'You think I'm
doing this just because you said to, you're wrong...' he thought as he went out the door.

    Serenity went down the hall, her tears blinding her. She saw a girls
bathroom and went in it. Thankfully it was empty at the time. She sat against the far wall
hidden by the stalls and cried harder. She then heard the bathroom door open. She held her
breath and wiped her eyes frantically and stood up. Bakura found her in a few seconds.

    "Bakura!" she squeaked in surprise. "You're not
supposed to be in here." She hid her face again since her tears did not leave her.
Bakura pulled her hands away from her face and made her cry into his chest as he hugged
her. "It's alright, Serenity. If you want, I'll go to the dance with you." he
said sincerely. Serenity was shocked to hear him say that. She was sure he was gay, but he
came for her and was hugging her. 

    She didn't know why, but he felt comforting, making her feel safe.
She did want to go to the dance, but she wanted to go with Namu. Unfortunately, he had no
interest in going at all. She didn't want to appear like a desperate loser begging him to
go, so she was stuck. Bakura offered to go with her; it was weird. He never seemed to be
interested in her before.

    She wiped her eyes again and looked at him. He was very handsome and
pretty like Namu. His long white hair was silky and soft like the feathers of a dove. His
brown eyes were so gentle and kind looking, so at peace. Serenity felt attracted to him
suddenly and was embarrassed. He was pretty popular, but much of a loner. She heard he got
beat up by the same jerks that beat up Yugi and Joey. He was a good guy. She had seem him
before many times, but not like this.

    "Bakura... You're so nice. I'll be happy to go with you."
she said softly, still in his arms. "I'm glad. You see, I feel responsible for Namu's
behavior and I didn't want you to go away thinking you had no friends. I care."

    Serenity felt floaty and calm having him hold her. "Thank you,
Bakura. For caring." she whispered, laying her head on his strong chest. He put his
chin on her head as he held her. There was pounding on the door and Serenity realized that
Bakura had locked the door to the bathroom. "Hey! Open up in there!"
"What's going on here!?" "Whoever's in there is in big trouble!"
Several other voices could be heard, including a security guard beginning to unlock the
door from the outside.

    Serenity was worried that they were going to get into trouble, but
Bakura went over to some windows that lead to the outside of the building. He got one open
and waved at her to follow. She hurried out the window just in time as the door was
unlocked. They were on the outside ledge. Serenity was afraid they were going to fall and
get hurt since they were several floors up, but Bakura told her to jump off. "What!?
Are you crazy? We'll get hurt!" she cried, as they kept inching away from the
bathroom windows.

    "No we won't." he said in a strange voice. He looked
different too, his hair seemed to spike up at different points. He had a card in his hand
and he said something incomprehensible. Serenity felt her own feet move on their own and
she jumped off the ledge with Bakura. Soon she was back on the ground. It happened so
fast, she didn't have time to be scared. It felt like she jumped off a kitchen chair, but
she knew she had jumped several stories down.

    "Well, wasn't that fun?" Bakura asked, his voice rough and
cold, yet awesomely seductive. She noticed a weird look in his eyes. "Er, yeah.
Fun." she said. She couldn't help feeling attracted to him again, even though his
dove-like manner disappeared. He appeared almost heartless and very confident. She was in
awe. She never knew he was like this. 'Wow, he's so cool...' she thought.

    "Yo, Serenity! Over here, you guys! I found them!"
Serenity saw her brother along with Tristan and Tèa ran over to her. "Why didn't you
wait for us in the waiting room? And how'd you get out so easy?" Tèa asked.
"Yeah, we had a heck of time getting out alive." Joey jerked his thumb to
Tristan. "Dummy here got lost AND caught in there and then we all got into trouble.
The whole staff yelled at us. What were you thinking getting yourself stuck between the
water fountain and the vending machines, Tris? Are you some kind of a moron? Jeez..!"

    Tristan's face got red. "Oh, I'm a moron, huh? Well, I wasn't
the one who had the brilliant idea of kicking machine aside to get me loose! That made so
much noise, no wonder we got caught!" he defended. Joey rolled his eyes. "Good
grief, the moron is trying to justify his stupidity. Someone save us!"

    Serenity giggled. "Stop it, Joey. Just be happy you made it
out." she said. Tèa put her hands on her hips. "Well, tell us how you got
out."

    "We, um, jumped out of some windows up there." Serenity
said, pointing. Joey gawked along with the rest. "Wha..!? How'd you jump down from
there? It's four stories high!" he cried, trying to figure it out. Bakura smirked.
"It was easy." Tèa decided to change the subject. "How is Namu
doing?" she asked. Tristan grit his teeth. Not that guy again!

    "Oh, he's alright. He can't make it to the dance
unfortunately." Bakura informed them all. Tristan felt glad. "How sad." he
said sarcastically. Tèa looked at Serenity. "Then, who are you going to go
with?" she asked. "Yugi and I are going to need someone to talk to when we're at
the dance." Tristan was about to get ready to ask Serenity to go with him when she
put her arms around Bakura happily. "Bakura's going to take me."

    Joey's jaw dropped. "You?? But aren't you gay or
something?" he asked outright. Serenity felt like punching her brother. Why does he
always have to say stupid things? Bakura laughed somewhat evilly. "Is that what you
thought? Hmhm..." Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to confirm whether or not
it was true. But all he said next was, "Well, I've got to go now. See you all
later." He walked off. Serenity stared after him with sparkling eyes. Tristan was so
blown away from what he recently heard that he just couldn't think anymore. Serenity
couldn't get Namu to take her so then she went to Bakura!? Tristan couldn't believe his
rotten luck.

    Joey shook his head. "Man, that guy is WEIRD!" he said,
kicking a stone. "He purposely didn't answer my question! That sneak. I bet he's a
bi- type, you know, someone that goes both ways." Tèa whacked Joey. "Sheesh,
can't you ever shut up?? You always have to pick on someone, don't you? Just leave him
alone."

    Serenity turned to look at her brother disgustedly. "Yeah, just
be quiet, Joey." The teen crossed his arms. "Oh, I get it, you girls are into
girly guys now. We real men are too much for you, huh?" Tèa and Serenity began to
attack him verbally when Tristan tuned out and felt far away from the world. 'Am I doomed
to be single forever...?' he wondered sadly.

    Yugi tossed and turned in his sleep in the hospital. He was having a
nightmare that he was running away from someone who was chasing him. He raced down
demented dark hospital halls, turning every which way to shake off his stalker, but he
came to a dead end. He turned around and saw who was chasing him. "You!" Yugi
squeaked, staring back...back at himself! The eyes, the hair, the face were all the same,
but so very sinister and ultimately corrupt. "Why are you running away from me?"
Yugi's yami asked, reaching out to caress his face. "I'm your friend, the one who
helps you in everything you do and when you duel. I help you be successful and powerful.
What's wrong?"

    "You're evil! I remember now, you make me hurt people! You make
me kill people! You're NOT my friend!" Little Yugi slapped his hand away from his
face. "You're trying to make me evil too! I don't want to be evil!"

    YYugi smiled wickedly. "You remember? What do you
remember?" Yugi was about to say, but then his mind was a blank. "I-I, I... I
don't know..." He could tell his yami was way out of control and he was afraid.
"Leave me alone!"

    "Oh, no. I'll never leave you. You chose me. We are one and
that will remain unchanged forever." YYugi's eyes gleamed with evil spite. He took a
knife from out of nowhere and raced the blade to Yugi's chest.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Yugi screamed and woke up, jumping completely out of bed.
His heart was beating like a jackhammer and sweat dripped. The AC was turned up too high
and his sweat made him extra cold. He shivered and climbed back into bed. His hand went to
his wound inadvertently and he discovered it was healed. No cut or redness or anything.
The bandages were gone too. Yugi swallowed hard. Did his yami heal him? The puzzle was ice
cold against his chest and it weighed a ton. It was hurting him. But he dared not take it
off, he felt it was part of him, just like his limbs were. He felt like he couldn't take
it off.

    Yugi's fingers were ice cold, he felt completely frozen. He cried
without even thinking, the tears spilled out one by one as he shivered in the dark. He was
so afraid.

    Namu had an easy time getting around the hospital to find Yugi.
Anyone who got in his way became a mindless puppet to stand where they were for the rest
of the night. It didn't take him long to find little Yugi shivering in his thin hospital
clothes in bed. "Yugi..!" Marik whispered, since he could hear he was crying. He
went over to him and inspected. "What's wrong?" he asked in a hushed voice.

    Yugi's eyes looked terrified. More tears poured out. "I-I'm
evil..." he whispered, choking on a strong sob. Marik pretended to be concerned.
"You're not evil, Yugi. Don't talk like that."

    "Yes I am...I can feel it deep inside of me... I've done
terrible things, but I can't remember what I've done or anything. This Spirit inside of me
is blocking my memories." Yugi squeaked, shivering violently. "I'm so
cold..."

    Marik suddenly felt genuine pity for him. 'He's a victim like I
am...' he thought, but then his yami made him not care. 'No one's suffered more than me.
He just can't take a little bit of what I've had to deal with all my life! He's weak and a
fool.'

    Marik took Yugi's hands into his as he sat down on his bed. Yugi was
shocked to find how warm his hands were. "Don't worry, you can't be more evil than
everyone else. Everyone lies, cheats, steals...kills... It's life, don't let it bother
you." Marik stroked Yugi's hands gently, warming them.

    "It shouldn't be like that, Namu. Nobody should lie, cheat, or
steal, it's wrong. Nobody should be allowed to take lives or hurt people's feelings or
abuse one another. Life isn't like as you say, it's supposed to be living. Not rotting
while dying..." Yugi sat up and looked deep into Marik's eyes. "You believe in
that, don't you?"

    Marik was taken back and looked away. "I used too... But not
anymore." Yugi was curious, his cheeks still wet from his tears. "Why?"

    "You don't want to know why." Marik squeezed his eyes
shut. Those painful memories were unbearable. He could feel each and every searing moment
of torture he had to endure as a child. He had screamed for his tormentors to stop
branding his tender skin, but they ignored his cries of pain. He even begged them to stop
hurting him until his throat sore and useless. But his pain didn't matter, so he snapped
and went insane ever since. "Yes, I do want to know. I'm your friend." Yugi
said, feeling warmer again. Marik smiled. He wiped Yugi's tears away and dried his cheeks.
"I'll tell you some other time." he said softly, but he continued that sentence
in thought. 'When you're my mind slave that is...'

    "Well, okie. But I'll always be here for you." Yugi said,
feeling better. He felt good telling Namu he cared about his troubles. What a good friend
he was. Yugi liked him as much as Bakura.

    "Thanks, Yugi. That means a lot to me." Marik stood up and
walked to the door. "Sleep well, Yugi." Yugi nodded happily. "You too,
Namu." Marik walked back to his room, smirking evilly the whole time. 'That little
fool...'

    The next day, Serenity felt drawn to Bakura more and more. She knew
where he lived, so went to his apartment and knocked on the door. He answered it.
"Serenity. What're you doing here?" he asked nicely. She blushed and closed her
eyes. "I wanted to see you, Bakura. That's all." she said, waiting for him to
let her in. They stood there for a moment, silent. "Won't you let me in?" she
asked then. "Oh, oh! Of course, come on in." he said, opening his door wider.

    "Thank you." Serenity entered and looked around. The place
looked different than the last time she saw it. She saw a Ouija board on the coffee table
and a letter to someone. It was addressed to some girl, but Serenity didn't know her. 'An
old girlfriend maybe?' she thought.

    "Bakura, who's this for?" She held up the letter. He
smiled fondly. "That's a letter to my older sister, Amane. I write to her
everyday." he said, getting a far away look in his eyes. Serenity thought it was
neat, he had a sister. She never knew that before. Bakura put his hands on the Ouija
board. "I was about to talk to her when you came. Do you want to talk to her
too?" he asked, looking at her eagerly. Serenity agreed. "Sure, you can call her
on the phone and then I'll talk to her."

    Bakura shook his head. "No, no. Not the phone. I use
this." He held up the board. Serenity was confused. "But how can you talk to
someone with that?? It's just a wooden board." Bakura sighed. "It's not just a
wooden board, Serenity. It's the only way for my sister to talk back to me. Look I'll show
you." He put the board down on the coffee table again.

    "All you have to do is put your hands on the planchette and ask
it a question." Bakura put his hands on the wooden pointer with a glass center and
asked, "Amane, how are you feeling today?" The pointer moved to spell out,
'Good.' Serenity wasn't sure if Bakura moved the pointer himself or what. She didn't
really believe in the paranormal or anything like that. Bakura grinned. "I'm glad.
I'm doing good too." he said supposedly to his sister. Serenity was getting freaked
out. "Um, Bakura? Is your sister dead or something?" He slowly turned to look at
her with a weird look. "She's not dead, she lives in the afterlife."

    "Ryou," Serenity said, using his first name. "She's
not going to come back to life because you make believe you're talking to her this
way." Serenity hoped to knock some sense into him. He seemed shocked at what she
said, then his eyes revealed rage. "You think I'm pretending to talk to her?
Do you think I'm being stupid?" he said in a dark voice. Serenity was taken back in
surprise. She was walking on thin ice here. "I never said you were being stupid, it's
just all this stuff is made up. It's kids' stuff. You know, fake."

    "You have no idea how real this is. You think you can see, but
you're still blind, Serenity. Just try it. Put your hands on the planchette and see for
yourself. Then you'll know." YBakura made her put her hands on the pointer and took
his hands away. "Ask a question." he said. By the tone in his voice, she could
tell he was serious.

    "Um, okie. What was my score on my history test
yesterday?" she asked, still not believeing. Like some dumb piece of wood's going to
know what her grade was. Ha! Then pointer began to move on its own suddenly and Serenity
squeaked in surprise. She took her hands off it, but the thing kept moving to spell out,
'eighty-nine percent'.

    She looked at the board in disbelief and to Bakura. He had a sly
smirk on his face. "Kids' stuff, huh?" he asked, rubbing it in. "But, but
that's impossible! How'd it do that?? I didn't see you move it. There's got to be a string
or something, I-I..!"

    "Still you desire to be blind. Serenity, open your eyes. This
is for real, all of it is." He took her hands into his and squeezed them tightly. He
was backing her onto the edge of the couch and nearly hovering over her. "Why don't
you want to believe? You've seen the proof right before you. Don't be in denial." he
said. Serenity felt an unsettling feeling take over her. It felt like there was another
presence there, sitting in front of her in Bakura's body. She was mesmerized by his
enchanting, yet seductive eyes. It was almost an evil look, like he wanted to do something
to her. Something bad... She got a cold chill down her back and something in her brain
told her to run away. But she didn't want to look like a wimp and she still liked him, so
she didn't bolt out of there.

    "I believe now, Ryou." she said softly, unable to stop
staring into those beautiful brown eyes. Without warning, he came closer and closer until
thlipslips were centimeters apart. "I love you..." he whispered, before kissing
her. He was on top of her, stroking her backside. She automatically did the same, kissing
him back.

    She pushed him off when he tried to sneak his hands under her
blouse. "That's enough, Bakura. I better go now." she said hastily, standing up
quickly. He remained on the couch, staring up at her. "I've never did that sort of
thing with a girl before." he admitted. "It was my first time, I'm sorry if I
was a jerk."

    Serenity smiled at him. "It's alright, it was kinda fun."
she said. He got up and escorted her to the door. "I'll see you after school
tomorrow." she said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. She left then. He watched
her go. He shut the door and went to the couch to sit and think. He got an idea and went
to his sewing machine. He was going to make a VooDoo doll of her. If she dared not obey
him and agree to helping him steal all the Millennium items for himself, then he would
have the doll to control her with. He would be the king, not Marik, not Yugi. He alone
would rule forever. And Serenity would be his queen. Joey would be his lap-dog, while
others would he his servants and slaves. YBakura grinned evilly. Perhaps he wouldn't need
Mokuba's body to stay in after all. Bakura was doing nicely with reeling in a helper with
his good looks and gentle charm. Perhaps when his body was too old and weak, he would take
Mokuba's body when it would be in its prime. "Yes, that's what I'll do. You're lucky
Ryou. Fate has been kind to you." YBakura said, as he carefully made a Serenity doll.

    Yugi was allowed to leave the hospital the next day and Tèa took
him out on a 'date' to get ice cream and just to enjoy life. Yugi was very happy. His
tummy was filled with strawberry ice cream and Namu was his newest friend. He loved making
friends. Plus, he was with Tèa and they were a couple. He was still worried about his
Yami making him do evil things, but he forced those troubled thoughts away. He wanted to
be happy, so he tried his best to forget his troubles.

    They shopped at stores and had cappuccinos at the CoffeeCafe. Tèa
admired Yugi's young boyish charm. He was so short and so undevelope his his age. Anyone
would think he was nine or ten, not sixteen. His golden bangs were so long that they
dipped into his cappuccino when he looked up to stare at her curiously. "What is it?
Is there ice cream on my face?" he squeaked, purple eyes round and cute. She giggled.
"Nothing, silly. I'm just admiring you." she said, taking hold of his hand and
squeezing it gently. He blushed. "Really..? Um, thank you, Tèa..." he
whispered, getting all shy and sweet. 

    Later on, they went to the beach to watch the sunset. They walked
along the empty beach and sat close to the water's edge to have the waves nip their bare
toes. They made it at a perfect time. It was dusk and the sky was like a canvas of
watercolors. Tèa thought this was terribly romantic. When she was little, besides
dreaming of going to America to dance, she dreamed of having a perfect, handsome boyfriend
who would sweep her off her feet. He would take lead in everything and make her feel safe
and loved. She looked at Yugi. He definitely was handsome and somewhat perfect, but he was
so shy and not at all confident. Not like his yami, who was the opposite. She had fallen
in love with him first actually, then Yugi. She figured they were the one and the same
anyway, so she loved Yugi plain and simple. At least, that's what she thought.

    Almost as if he heard her thoughts, YYugi was looking at her.
"This sunset is beautiful, but it pales in comparison to you, Tèa." he said,
his eyes sharp and bright. Tèa gazed deeply into those eyes, adoring them. The determined
confident look gave her that wonderful feeling of security and she was in awe. Such a
powerful perfect look that she dreamed of.

    "Thank you, Yugi..." she gurgled like a dork. Only set
back to having a cool boyfriend would be appearing nerdy yourself while in dumb-founded
awe. "Tèa..." YYugi purred, getting closer. He took her into his arms and
pressed his forehead to hers. His unrelenting sparkling eyes looked deep into her eyes,
seeing her soul. She shivered in delight, staring back at him. So beautiful, so utterly
beautiful...

    "Yugi...I-I..." Tèa stammered, trying to say how much she
adored him. He put his fingers to her lips. "Shh, I know. We know." YYugi said
in hushed deep voice. When his lips met hers, Tèa nearly fainted with extreme joy. She
noted how seductive his kissing was and thought how incredible he was. She was in Heaven!

    It was all over too soon, he pulled away, but held her in his arms.
She layed her head on his shoulder and sighed happily. 'My first kiss!' she thought,
licking her lips. Strawberry ice cream and strawberry cappuccino... Yum!

    He nuzzled her gently, making their hearts swell with love. They
kissed again, to Tèa's joy, it was longer. "I love you, Yugi..." she said
softly, hugging him. YYugi smiled. "I love you too, Tèa."

    Eventually, it became night and chilly, so Tèa offered to walk him
home. The yami left and little Yugi nodded cutely. "Thank you, Tèa." he said,
looking like he wanted to say something. "What's wrong, Yugi? Did you want to say
something?"

    "Um, y-yes... I-I wanted to say...that...I-I..love you..."
he squeaked out, blushing like crazy. Tèa smiled. "Yugi, you already said
that." she told him. 'Cutie.' she thought. He looked at the sand sadly. "No, I
didn't...At least, I didn't get to..." he whimpered, tears brimming in his eyes. Tèa
was confused. 'What's he mean?...'

    Joey was so so BORED! There was nothing to do. School was so dead,
it was unbelievable. He tried amusing himself with playing 'Panty Tank' with Tristan's
help, but even that grew old. In the boys locker room, Joey's thoughts drifted to Mai; he
liked her. Even though he was a lot younger than she, he was sure she liked him too that
way. 'Big deal on age difference.' he thought, leaning against the lockers. 'Someday I'll
tell her I like her for real and we'll see what happens.'

    He looked over to his best friend, Yugi. He was reading a letter of
some sort while sitting on the middle bench. He had a dreamy look on his face as well.
Joey's attention was caught. At the same time, so was Tristan's, who was also watching
Yugi. They went over to inspect the letter. "Hey, buddy. What's that paper all
about?" Joey asked, reaching for it. Yugi let him take it as he sighed happily.

    "It's from Tèa..." he said, sighing joyfully. Joey read a
few sentences and pretended to puke. "Ugh, I can't believe she wrote this sap!
Yuck!" he cried, giving the letter to Tristan to read. He laughed at it. "Whoa,
how sappy can you get? She's gotta be an oak tree now. And you're eating this up,
man?" Secretly, Tristan was insanely jealous. How come he wasn't lucky enough to have
a girlfriend like that? Even a girl like Tèa was better than no one at all. Tèa seemed
nuts about Yugi all of sudden, like nutty nuts! Joey snatched the paper back to read some
more.

    "So when's the wedding?" Joey asked with a big grin. Yugi
looked surprised. "Wedding? Oh no, no. It's not like that, Joey. We're just a
couple." he said cutely. Joey scoffed. "Come on, Yugi. The way she wrote this
letter sounds like you guys are planning on more than just sneaking a few kisses to each
other now and then. I mean, listen to this, 'Oh, my beloved Yugi, how seductive you were
last night, I can still feel your hands on me as I'-"

    Some other guys in the room heard Joey read that piece out loud and
laughed like crazy. They were members of a new gang called 'The Wimp Eliminators'.

    "Hey, Joey! We knew you were a wimp, but we didn't know you
were gay too! HAHAHA!" said Butch, the leader. "Yeah, when are you and Yugi
going on a date?" "Show us a tape of your fun in bed! Ho ho!" cried the
other brainless members.

    Joey's blood boiled. How dare they! He charged them viciously and
began to fight like a dog. Unfortunately, he was overwhelmed by the other guys quickly. It
took three of them to hold him as Butch punched Joey.

    "NO!!! JOEY!" Yugi ran to help him, but Tristan held him
back. "No, don't! You'll get killed!" he told little Yugi. "No, let me go!
I've gotta save Joey!" Yugi cried, feeling Joey's pain. They were brothers no matter
what, they didn't need to be blood related for this to be true. Joey took the punches like
a man, of course. He didn't give the jerks the satisfaction of him crying out in pain. He
coughed and spat blood. Yugi couldn't stand seeing his friend get beat up. He couldn't
hurt Tristan to free himself so he just watched in horror. Butch had on a pair of brass
knuckles and was pummeling his fist into Joey's stomach over and over. The other three
cowards let Joey go and he fell forward to the floor gasping for air and coughing out
blood.

    Just then a locker door slammed hard. There stood Bakura, fully
clothed. "Bakura!" Yugi cried. "You pathetic little cowards better leave
him alone..." he growled, his hair spiked up and his eyes glowed with animosity.

    Immediately, Butch's friends started to approach him so they could
attack him, but Butch stopped them and laughed. "Oh, look, it's Bakura, the gay king
himself!" he chuckled, cracking his knuckles. The 6 foot jerk began to walk towards
the white haired teen. "Bakura, run away!" Tristan warned him. Yugi looked
around frantically. This was all his fault for reading his letter at school. 'It's all my
fault...!' he thought, struggling not to cry.

     YBakura's lips were curled into a sly smirk. "You'll make
good food for my ring." he said, pulling his shirt open so his ring could be exposed.
The ring shone brightly, it's jagged points flying around wildly. Strong winds blew. Yugi
heard YBakura's evil laughter and he felt cold from it. 'What's wrong with Bakura? Why
does he sound so evil..?' he wondered, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the blinding
light.

    Finally the light was gone and Yugi opened his eyes to see Butch and
his friends apologizing for what they had done and...bowing to Bakura?? "That's
enough, you fools. Now, get out of my sight!" YBakura snapped at them. "Yes,
Master!" they cried, running off. YBakura watched them go with laughing eyes.

    Tristan finally let Yugi go. They hurried to help Joey, who was
badly bruised and bleeding. "Bakura, can you get the nurse for us?" Tristan
asked as Yugi fussed over Joey's black eye and cuts.

    "But of course. I'll be right back." Bakura said, in his
usual gentle voice. Yugi immediately knew that that was not Bakura talking. It was someone
else acting like him and using his voice and his body. Yugi's yami spoke to him in
thought. 'That's the grave robber you sense, Yugi. He wants to steal all the Millennium
items and God cards for himself to resume the Shadow Games. Don't let him succeed. He must
die!'

    Yugi was shocked. 'But I can't kill anyone! Can't we just flush the
bad spirit out of him? I don't want to hurt Bakura; he's my friend!' he replied. 'There is
no other way, you must kill the robber's vessel so he will die. There is no other way.'
YYugi lied, knowing perfectly well there were other options, but he wouldn't tell innocent
Yugi them. The yami wanted death and he would give it to all who dared oppose him. He had
a hard time sealing those Shadow Games away, he had to give up his life. He didn't care
about saving Bakura from his yami, he could care less. Same with Marik, he needed to die
too. The traitorous grave protector, he did deserve to suffer and he would more so when
YYugi was done with him. The time had to be right though, Marik's yami would not be easily
defeated. That's why the Pharaoh chose him in the first place to guard his tomb.

    'I can't kill him! He's my friend!' Yugi squeaked in thought. YYugi
growled. If Yugi would not cooperate then his yami would shut off his brain activity and
access to his body until the yami finished what needed to be done. Since the yami did not
speak back to Yugi, he snapped out of his trance and saw Bakura was gone already.
"Did he go to get the nurse, Tristan?"

    "Yeah, he left a few minutes ago. You okie, Yugi? You looked
like you spaced out there." Tristan looked at his pal. Yugi shook his head.
"It's nothing. I was just...thinking, that's all. Joey, you still there?"

    Joey nodded painfully. It wasn't fun getting metal punched into your
bare gut, it really hurt. "I'm so sorry, Joey, I should have never been reading
Tèa's love letter to me. Please forgive me." Yugi cried, feeling just as terrible as
Joey. His body didn't hurt, but his heart did. He felt so guilty. Joey shook his head.
"N-nnooo...Yu-gee...not your fault..."

    "Yes, it is! If I had only left it in my desk, but I wanted to
read it so badly all day. This was the only chance I got today, I'm so sorry. I was
selfish again..." Yugi said sadly. Tristan rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, Yugi.
You're not selfish ever, don't talk nuts. Now stop crying and let's get Joe up on the
bench."

    Tristan and Yugi got Joey onto the bench after a while. "Man,
you gotta lay off the burgers, Joey. You weigh a ton!" Tristan teased, he was lucky
Joey was too beat to punch him. Soon Bakura came back alone. "The nurse was busy, so
I just took some anesthetics and bandages. And I got some ice too. How is he?" Yugi
eyed Bakura funny, like he didn't trust him. Bakura looked back with some hostility.
Through their vessels, the two yami's glared at each other.

    Tristan oblivious to what was going on between the two teens, said,
"He's pretty roughed up. But he'll be okie, won't ya, buddy?" He whacked Joey on
the back and Joey slugged him as he roared in muffled pain.

    YYugi frowned at YBakura as he saw his hand go up to reach for his
puzzle. Tristan finally noticed something weird was going on. "Uh, you two
okie?"

    YBakura smiled sweetly. "Why, yes. I better get back to class
now. Good luck, Joey. I hope you feel better okie?" Joey nodded, his eyes closed in
pain. "Uh huh..." he mumbled. The demented dove-like YBakura got up and walked
away, going past YYugi, who glared after him.

    "Er, Yugi, you have a problem with Bakura?" Tristan asked
once Bakura was out of listening distance. YYugi shook his head. "That's not
important. We have to help Joey. Put those bandages on his cuts." YYugi ordered.
'Sheesh, what's going on here?' Tristan wondered.

To Be Continued...