Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly (Version 2 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 9

As Emiko sang the final note, her voice trailing softly off into the forest, her friends cheered and clapped for her. She smiled and looked at her lap bashfully. Bakura said kindly, "That was lovely, Emiko!" Joey said, "Man, you're pretty good at that!" Yugi said, "Yes! You're a great singer!" Emiko said softly, "Thanks, guys. I'm glad you liked it." Téa asked, "Did you write that one?" She nodded and said, "Yeah. I've been working on it for a while, now." Bakura smiled. Tristan said, "Wow, Em. That's some real talent." She said, looking into the fire, "I used to sing for Mokuba and Seto all the time at the orphanage. I guess," she sighed, remembering how her adoptive father, Gozaburo Kaiba, used to abuse her and Seto as they were growing up, "I guess it was the only thing that calmed me down as we got older." She sighed. She hadn't thought back to her days under Gozaburo's "care" in a long time. She felt a shiver run down her spine at the thought of his rough treatment of her brother, then of her when she reached middle school age. She shook her head, pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Sorry," she said, hiding what she was really thinking, "I was just thinking about my brothers." Yugi sighed and said, "I understand. Don't worry. Like I said, we will beat Pegasus and get back your brothers and my grandpa." She smiled and nodded at Yugi.

The night crawled on and they all sat around the campfire talking. Tristan said, "Hey, Joey, you've been staring at that card for a while, now. What's up?" Joey looked up from the Duel Monsters card in his hand and said, "Well, don't laugh, but I was just thinking." He chuckled and said, "Sometimes, when I'm duelling, I pretend that it's me out there on the field swapping blows with whatever card my opponent has out." He laughed and said, "Isn't that dumb?" Emiko laughed alongside Joey, but Bakura asked in complete seriousness, "Well, if you were, which card would you want to be, Joey?" He held up the card he had been holding in his hand and said, "This one. The Flame Swordsman kicks everybody's butt!" Tristan pulled a card out of his deck and said, "Mine would be the Cyber Commander!" Téa laughed, "You boys and your cards are hilarious!" Yugi turned to her and said, "I think everyone has a card they can really identify with. You should see if you can pick one for yourself, Téa." She smiled and looked through her deck. She finally pulled one and said, showing it to the group, "I pick this one. The Magician of Faith."

"What?" Tristan asked, "You've gotta be kidding me!" Joey added, "More like the Magician of Freaks if you ask me." Téa snapped at them, "Shut up!" Bakura turned and said, "What about you, Yugi?" Yugi pulled his favourite card out of his deck and said, "That's easy. Dark Magician, hands-down." He smiled and said, "Alright, Emiko, what about you?" She looked at Yugi for a moment, then said, pulling a card out of her own deck, "You know, it's funny. I was laughing at this whole conversation, but I've always felt kind of a connection with this card. It's called Protector of the Throne." Joey said jokingly, "Man, you girls and your wimpy cards." Yugi said cheerfully, "You know, I kind of see it." Téa asked, "Maybe I'm just out of the loop, but isn't it just a little silly to be comparing ourselves to playing cards?" Yugi said, "Well, maybe just a little, but it's like my grandpa says: 'it's not about the playing cards. It's about putting a little bit of your heart into anything that you care about.' You know?"

"Yeah," Emiko said, looking back at her card. Yugi said, "So, which card do you care about most, Bakura?" The white-haired boy smiled and said, holding up a magic card, "This one is favourite." Yugi said, "Wow. Isn't that the Change of Heart card?" Emiko said, "That card is supposed to be pretty powerful." Joey said, "Kind of a weird-looking picture, don't you think?" Bakura smirked a little and said, "If you want to see how it works, we can have a duel right now. Not for star chips. Just for a bit of fun." Joey said, "Yeah, sure. I'm down with that. After all this star chip and tournament stuff, it'll be nice to have a duel with no strings attached." Yugi nodded and said, "I agree. I think just a regular old duel sounds like a great idea." Bakura said calmly, "Why don't you all put your favourite cards into Yugi's deck, that way, it'll be like we're all playing." The group exchanged glances and Joey said, "Hey, that's a great idea!" Tristan agreed. Yugi chuckled and said, "Great! I should warn you, though: with this all-star team of cards, we'll be tough to beat."

"True," Bakura said confidently, "But, maybe I'll surprise you." Emiko gave a concerned smile and said, "Hey, Bakura, why don't I join your team?" He said softly, "Oh, it's alright, really. You don't have to." Emiko said, "I want to! I don't want to leave you by yourself." He laughed and said, "Well, alright, then. If you insist." She said, handing him her Protector of the Throne, "Alright. It's settled. Me and Bakura versus all of you." The group moved over to a nearby tree stump and Emiko pulled a duel mat out of the front pocket of her backpack and set it up. Yugi and Bakura shuffled their decks, cut each other's, and set them on the mat. Téa asked, "Now, you're sure you two don't mind playing on your own?" Joey said reassuringly, "Don't you worry about a thing, Bakura. We'll go easy on you and Emiko." Bakura smiled and said, "Thanks." Joey said, hyped for the duel that was about to begin, "Alright, now, let's get this duel on the road!" Bakura said in a low tone of voice, "Before we get started, there's a little something I'd like to share with you all." Emiko looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, feeling suddenly uneasy. She felt a heaviness wash over her as he said, "And especially with you, Yugi." He closed his eyes.

"Bakura," she asked nervously, "What are you doing?" In the blink of an eye, a mysterious, golden artifact materialized around his neck. It was a beautiful ring with five sharp prongs. The ring also bore a triangular piece in the middle of it and an eye that somewhat resembled the one on Yugi's Millennium Puzzle. Joey said, "This is getting freaky." Emiko asked, her voice shaking, "What are you doing?" Yugi said, "No! It can't be! A Millennium Item!" Bakura said, his voice now sinister and slightly raspy, "Yes, and the magic of my Millennium Ring will now take us to the Shadow Realm." The five looked around as a dark, purple fog rolled in, the air around them growing cold. Emiko gasped and backed away from Bakura slightly. Yugi asked, "Why? Why are you doing this, Bakura?" Bakura explained, "You have something I want, Yugi, and I aim to take it." Emiko felt a sharp pain in her heart, then, as her consciousness faded, she felt like she was falling into an endless, empty void. Her vision grew dark, and everything around her went quiet.