After a good half hour of searching, Yugi, Joey and Tea stopped at some empty seats in the gym and sat down. Tea let out an annoyed sigh and looked at them. "What now? We looked everywhere. this school isn't that big." Tea said. Joey stretched and closed his eyes. "Look, I think that Bakura blew the place. Went to rob a bank or something. " Joey said. Tea rolled her eyes. "Rob a bank Joey?" she asked, giving him a skeptical look. Yugi sighed. Joey and Tea would be no help. They always canceled each other out. Yugi stood up and smiled weakly at them. "I'll be right back, I need to go to the bathroom." Yugi lied and turned around quickly. Tea and Joey were to busy arguing to eve notice so Yugi walked off quickly. After a few minutes of wandering he found a group of boys lying on the floor. He walked over and their faces registered in his mind. Harris was the boy's name, but everyone called him Buck. He hated being called Harris. Yugi made the horrible mistake of calling him this and paid the price with a first class trip into the school's dumpsters. He had to throw away the clothes he had on that day. The smell never came out. After that, he was constantly tormented by them until the day Bakura came to the school. He would get harassed by them every once and a while but Bakura was their major victim. Every since Yugi got the millennium Puzzle, bullies tended to leave him alone. Yugi had a feeling his Yami had to do with that pleasant change. Yugi kneeled down and gently shook Buck. He stirred a bit and opened his eyes. "Huh? What. Happened?" He asked, looking around. Yugi helped him up as best he could. "You were lying here. Are you ok h- I mean, Buck?" Yugi asked. Buck shook his head. "That kid. Bakura. He." Buck shook his head again and broke out of Yugi's grip. "Get out of here freak! Whatever happened, it's none of your business." Yugi thought about saying more but decided against it. He walked off quickly before any of the boys friends could wake up and decide it was some how his fault. Yugi ran down the hall and into a large group of people. He walked by unnoticed by the students. He leaned against a wall and starts to think. Ok, so far Bakura has knocked Joey out and Buck and his gang. That's nothing the feeble Bakura he knew could do. Bakura hated violence and never fought back against bullies unless it was absolutely necessary. So how come he did this? Could Yami Bakura have come back? Yugi shuddered at that thought. Yami Bakura was always after his Millennium Puzzle. He and Yami Yugi were age-old rivals. But he had been vanquished. -------------FlashBack, Seven Months ago, Yugi------ Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristin sat at the gameshop. It was a warm summer evening and the four friends were playing Monopoly (probably spelled that wrong. sorry. If you don't know what that is, it's an American board game). Tea was winning, as per usual. Yugi was close behind her. Joey and Tristin were arguing over the paper money when it happened. Yugi's grandpa heard a desperate knocking on the front door. The Game Shop wasn't opened on Fridays so he walked over to go and tell whoever it was to go away (nice, eh?). Yugi looked up from the game when he heard his grandpa gasp and yell for him. All four teens stood up and ran over, afraid that Yugi's grandfather was hurt. What they saw startled them. At the door was Bakura, but you could hardly recognize him. His once white shirt was covered in bloodstains and ripped in many places. His eyes looked sunken and tired, one almost swollen shut by a bruise. He face was covered in blood and bruised along with his arms. He looked at them and opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Tristin and Joey grabbed him and brought him over to a couch. The laid the beaten boy down and asked him if he was alright, what had happened, who did this? Tea gasped at the sight and began to feel nauseas. Tea never took the sight of blood well but she made herself snap out of it so she could get the first aid kit. Yugi was going to help her but he heard a familiar voice ring through his mind. //Yugi?// My yami said in my mind. \yes yami?\ I asked. My Yami sighed mentally. //What happened? Why are you so distressed?// He asked quietly. I explained everything that happened to him. He never interrupted, only made annoyed sighs once and a while. When I finished he sighed. //I have a feeling that damned tombrobber did it.// he said. I thought about it. Could his Yami have done that? I really didn't know anything about how Bakura and his Yami treated each other. Obviously they didn't like each other, but would his Yami actually do that to him? I went over to where Bakura was lying. Joey and Tristin were being quiet, very rare for those two, watching Tea clean up Bakura's face and arms. Bakura grimaced and moaned quietly when Tea put the bandages on him. "I'll go call the hospital." Yugi's grandpa said. Bakura opened his eyes slightly and looked at him. "Don't." He said, trying to sit up. Tea lightly pushed him back. "Stay still Bakura" She said. I walked over and sat down on the table next to Bakura. "Bakura, what happened?" I asked. Bakura stared at the ceiling with a distant look on his face. He then turned back to me. "Yami. My Yami. He wants to kill you. He tried to. " He stuttered and coughed violently. I stared at him. //That bastard tombrobber. He did this.// my Yami said. \but why? Why does he hurt him?\ I asked. My Yami sighed. //Why do parents hurt their children? There's no clear answer. He's a.. how do you say it now? A psycho? Yes, that's the term.// Yami said. I would've laughed if I wasn't so worried. Tea and the others knew I was talking to my Yami, they always knew by my expression. I sighed and told them what my Yami said. Joey nodded. "That guy is a sick psycho." He said. Joey never liked any Yami, mine or Bakura's. Tristin could care less and Tea. Well Tea has a crush on my Yami. That would be a problem and I knew it. But I'll be patient for their sake. I doubt anyone can really fall in love with a spirit. He may leave me one day. What would happen? I asked him, begged him never to leave. He said he wouldn't. But you never know. Suddenly Bakura began to yell. He grabbed his head and screamed out. Joey grabbed him and tried to calm him but he just kept yelling. //Yugi! Let me take over!// My Yami commanded. \but.\ //There's no time for that!// He yelled. I closed my eyes and felt the millennium puzzle began to grow warm with the power of my yami. I felt my Yami take control and the next thing I knew I was in my soul room, sitting on the ground. All I could do now was wait. ---------------------Yami Yugi---------------------- When Yugi released me, I quickly surveyed the room. Joey and Tristin were trying to calm Bakura. Bakura was screaming loudly, clutching onto the sides of his head. Tea stared at them and shouted to Bakura through the commotion. The reason I took over was a felt him. The tombrobber. I felt his energy rising within his Millenium Ring. The reason Bakura was yelling was because of him. "Move Joey!" I said, pushing him out of the way. Just in time. Suddenly Bakura's eyes became shadowed and his hair spiked up in the style Yami Bakura was famous for. He laughed as he stood up and looked me in the eyes. "Hello Pharaoh. I see this weakling finally made it here." He said, surveying the room. I bit my lip and glared at him. "What have you done." I said. He laughed and looked at his bandaged hand. "What I did? This weakling disobeyed me. He does that a lot. The fool" He patted himself on the chest, indicating his light side. The Millennium Ring rattled lightly. I continued to glare at him. "That will be the last time you hurt that boy TombRobber. I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you will be vanquished. If you win. You get the Millennium Puzzle and I will be vanquished." I said. He smirked. "I accept your challenge Pharaoh. But this time I will not lose." He said. And with that the duel began. It was one of the hardest duels I ever had. He knew all my tricks, all my cards. And he had new cards. But in the end I won by a hair. And he was vanquished. I remember the look of anger as he was banished to the shadow realm. The Millennium Ring shook until it slowly ceased to move. The real Bakura fell to the floor, drained from the spiritual struggle. But he had a faint smile on his face. The terror was over. He was safe. For the next few months everything went smoothly. Bakura's grades skyrocketed. He would come over to the Game Shop more, talk more, smile more. He still always held the fear of his Yami. He was grateful to me but whenever the word "Yami" was said he would wince. And he wouldn't talk about it. Whatever happened that night, we never found out about. Joey and Tristin would press on about it but he wouldn't say a word. Eventually Joey and Tristin gave up. I could never imagine the tombrobber coming back. It was finally peaceful now. Yugi was happy, and so was Bakura. At least I thought. Now that I think about it, the signs were there. Bakura did become more withdrawn. He fell asleep in class many times and once came to class with a black eye. That only started a month ago. I should've seen. Yami Bakura is back.

DMC