Sorry, I haven't been writing in such a long time now. but yes, now I'm doing Yugioh fics. I tried to make it as good as I can, but seeing as I haven't written in such a long time now, it was hard to do. Still, Enjoy.

XXX

Nervous, uncomfortable, worried, these and other terrible emotions ran through Yami head to toe non-stop… Yami, apparently that wasn't his real name, though he was so certain it was, back then. What truly was his real name? Well, he'd have to find out sometime, hopefully before any evil spirit, namely the spirit of the millennium ring, finds out first. Though, right now, he had to focus on what was going on. He watched everyone around him as they chatted with one another, and Bakura, his friend, he was talking to Joey. Though, he knew that the person Joey was really talking to wasn't their friend Bakura, but the spirit using his body to trick everyone else. Well, Yami was no fool, he knew the real Bakura was really too injured to even stand let alone walk around chatting with others. If the spirit was here, then there must have been something he wanted here. The god cards? The puzzle? It had to be the puzzle for sure. Then again, for him to have those cards would give him the advantage. Whatever it was he truly wanted, he wasn't going to get his hands on it.

"Alright, enough visiting, follow me so we can chose who will duel first" Kaiba said in that usual rude tone.

Yami and the others followed Kaiba into the next room. The first thing Yami saw was a machine with tiny numbered balls inside. It was obvious what would happen next, they'd be chosen by the numbers they had been given.

"Alright!" One of Kaiba's guards shouted, "We will choose two duelist's to face each other in the first round, now!"

"Does he have to yell? I mean we're standing right here" Joey joked.

Tea simply shook her head at Joey's comment.

"Oh brother…"

The man started the machine and the numbers scrambled until two of them fell into the slot.

"The numbers have been chosen! The duelist's are Bakura and Yugi!"

"Me and Yugi are going to battle first?" Bakura asked before giggling shyly, "Who would have known?"

"Please make your way to the arena!" The guard said before Yami could even, yet again, wonder what Bakura wanted, and why.

As the two made their way to the top of the blimp, using the elevator, neither of them said a word to each other, but just looking at Bakura, Yami could tell he wasn't going to go down easily. Once the elevator reached the top, the door opened and they both stepped out and headed to the stage, one on each side of the stage ready to start.

Though Yami knew this man wasn't Bakura, he also knew that the others couldn't tell the difference at this moment. Well, it was now he would show them that he wasn't who they thought he was.

"Alright! Enough with the charade! I know you're not Bakura, so show yourself!"

The spirit only responded with a grin before speaking.

"You're more observant than I took you for Pharaoh, alright then. Let us begin our little battle"

"…Fine" Yami growled, disappointed in the evil spirit for abusing his friends body for his own greedy reasons.

:::

The duel lasted for about an hour now, the evil spirit had activated a trap called the 'Destiny board', and from the look of things, Yami was losing, fast. If the evil spirit sets the last letter on the destiny board, then the duel would end, the evil spirit would win. Yami stared at his deck, it was his turn to draw. All he needed was this one card, then, he could turn this duel around. He took the top card on his deck, he was afraid he'd be disappointed if he looked at it, but what does worrying do? So, he looked at the card he drew, and surprisingly, it was the one card he needed. He couldn't help but break his poker face with a grin as he looked at the spirit.

"Huh?... Why are you smiling?" He asked nervously.

"Because, this duel is about to end" Yami replied, "I sacrifice my three monsters to summon, Slifer the sky dragon!"

"What!"

As the monster burst out of the sky and onto the felid, wrapping it's long tail around the blimp, the evil spirit only watched in terror realizing he'd soon lose, and not with mercy, to one of the most powerful creatures in the whole game. Even though they were supposed to be just holograms like the other duel monsters, the Egyptian god cards somehow manage to become real creatures on the field when summoned, and knowing the strength of a god card it could end up damaging his vassal's body, the body he needed to get around and remain flesh and blood. Marik, however, thought otherwise.

"Do it, if you release your host then the pharaoh will not attack. You'd be able to stall enough time to win this duel if you do this"

"How so? My life points are lower than his" The sprit asked with much doubt in his voice.

"Trust me" Marik ensured.

The spirit stared at the Egyptian god, debating whether or not he should risk Bakura's life just to win a duel. Though Marik might have thought it was a good idea, the spirit just couldn't agree with him, no matter how much he pondered on the subject. Though, he couldn't debate about this any longer. His time was running out, fast.

"Alright, Slifer! Attack his life points directly!" Yami shouted to the beast as he pointed directly in the spirit's direction.

"Why are you not letting Bakura out! You're going to lose!"

The spirit only watched as Slifer prepared it's attack. Uncaring if he'd lose, after all, this was not the main duel he was waiting for to destroy the pharaoh once and for all, no, this was just a simple duel, a small one compared to the one he had in mind.

"Sorry Marik" He grinned, not taking his eyes off the monster, "But I cannot risk Bakura's life to win a simple duel"

Finally, Slifer attacked. The dark energy that formed in its mouth burst directly at the spirit striking him with full force…

The spirit's life points dropped to zero, Yami had won. Immediately, Yami ran to Bakura to see if he was ok. But, as soon as he was only half way across the field he quickly stopped where he was, realizing that that was not Bakura at all. The spirit somehow managed to remain unharmed.

The spirit chuckled as he got to his feet, he gave Yami a menacing look as he took a step closer.

"Thought you got rid of me didn't you?" The spirit smirked, "Well, I won't go down that easily, Pharaoh"

"This guy just won't stay down!" Yugi complained.

"Then we'll just have to make him somehow"

The spirit only laughed at the pharaoh's expression, enjoying every minute of his misery.

"Talking to your vassal I see"

"He's not my vassal! He's my friend!"

"Hah! Friendship, I hear it too much from your girlfriend, Tea"

"Hey!" Tea interrupted.

"S…She's not my girlfriend"

"Whatever… how about this, Pharaoh. If you hand over your millennium puzzle I will leave your friends alone, forever"

The pharaoh looked at Yugi, then the puzzle as he placed his hand on it protectively.

"Will you let Bakura go as well?"

The spirit's eyes narrowed in disappointment.

"I'm afraid I can't do that just yet, I still need him to get around"

"Then the answer is no"

The spirit growled. Yami only clutched the item tighter as he and the spirit stared each other down.

"Fine, but mark my words Pharaoh I will have that puzzle one day"

"No! I will not allow you to have this or any other item!"

"That's not really your decision to make, your highness" The spirit grinned as he folded his arms.

Yami couldn't believe how cruel someone could truly be, especially the evil spirit. All he cared about was his own wants and needs, brushing off everyone else's hate towards him as if it were nothing. If only there was a way to control him, to change him, Yami was prepared to do anything to keep him from hurting more innocent lives. What could he do though?

"Well" The evil spirit said, "I'm not going to waste any more time here"

With that the spirit simply walked past Yami ignoring him completely. Yami glanced back at the spirit, eyes filled with rage. He wasn't just going to let this evil being go without an explanation as to why he was doing all this.

"Stop!" Yami shouted, voice furious.

The spirit stopped and shot a glare at the pharaoh before turning round to face him.

"Don't you think that what you're doing is wrong! Why do you want the millennium items anyway?"

"Heh heh, you'll just have to wait and find out pharaoh"

Yami's expression only darkened the more the spirit spoke. He obviously didn't care that he was causing pain and misfortune to others, as long as he was getting what he wanted. Yugi could only watch as his friend's anger worsened, he couldn't just but in, especially not in this situation. It was best for him to just stay out of it.

"Don't you feel any sympathy for others whatsoever! Others will judge you on how you act!"

"Like I care? I'm only interested if a higher power than myself judges me"

"Then you will be judged by me!"

Suddenly, a small gleam of light came from the puzzle. The small gleam then turned into a bright ever changing glow that one minute would be as bright as the sun then next would be as luminous s the moon. Both Yami and the evil spirit gawked at the sudden reaction in the item, both of them looked as confused as everyone else.

Then, all at once a sudden shaft of light shot directly from the eye of the puzzle and straight at the evil spirit wrapping itself around his neck creating a gold and black collar with a blood red leash attached to it. The leash grew until the other end was in Yami's hand. The light faded as soon as it appeared.

"What? What is this!" The spirit questioned, his voice furious.

The spirit grabbed the leash and pulled as hard as he could at an attempt to rip it off, but with no success.

Then, suddenly Bakura and Yugi somehow separated from the spirits, and yet, the spirits still remained where they were, as if they were now flesh and blood without the use of a host body. Bakura collapsed to his knees, too weak to stand. Serenity immediately ran to his side as Duke and Tristan followed.

"Bakura, don't worry, we're here for you" Serenity cried.

"Yeah, hang in there dude" Tristan said.

Yugi glanced at Bakura, then the pharaoh.

"Wha- What's going on?" Yugi said as he stared questionably at the pharaoh.

"I'm not sure"

"Dude!" Joey said as he jumped onto the stage, the others following behind, "What the heck did you do pharaoh?"

"I don't know"

Yami couldn't piece this together. What happened? Why did this happen? It was strange, worse than strange, no word could describe the situation he was in.

"I know what happened" Ishizu stepped onto the stage and walked over to the pharaoh, "It's a curse"

"A curse?" Tristan asked, "Like, some sort of shadow game?"

"I suppose you can call it that, still, I never thought the pharaoh would use it, even accidentally"

"Is it bad?" Tea asked worryingly.

"Not for the pharaoh, but…" She turned to face the evil spirit that looked just as puzzled as Yami did, "For him, it is"

"What? Why me?"

Ishizu stepped in between the pharaoh and the evil spirit, she look at one, then the other, before speaking again.

"The curse was activated because the pharaoh felt he wanted the spirit of the millennium ring to change his ways. What allowed the curse to take effect was when the pharaoh said he'd be the one to judge the spirit. Once the shadow collar was attached, it caused any other spirit that was attached to him and the pharaoh to separate safely, therefore causing both the pharaoh and the evil spirit, to no longer be spirits, but mortals, flesh and blood"

"Well, we can't call him spirit anymore then" Joey said, "Does he have a name?"

"I don't care, Just call me Bakura, and my used to be host, Ryou" Bakura turned his attention back to Ishizu, "Do continue the explanation… How do I get rid of this curse?"

"There is only one way"

"…Go on"

"You see, the curse is called 'the pharaoh's judgment'. Therefore, the pharaoh decides everything. In order to break this curse you have to be given what you want least, and in this case, for you, it's affection. So, the pharaoh must give you affection of any sort, and you must return it if he does, but if you give him affection, he does not have to return it as long as he accepts it"

"Seriously? Tell me you're joking…"

"No"

"What kind of affection are we talking about here?" Joey asked with a weird look on his face.

"Love, whether it is just a simple hug or if it is a kiss, that is the affection he needs to be shown"

"There's no way I'm going to kiss that man, so you can just forget it" Bakura frowned.

"You don't have a choice… you see that leash?" Ishizu said as she pointed at the leash Yami held in his hand, the leash attached to the collar around Bakura's neck, "That represents your life, Bakura. If the red fades to white, it means your life has been drained, and if it reaches to your collar, you will die. In order to keep that from happening, you must show affection to the pharaoh, or else it will drain each passing day that you don't. Also if he lets go of the leash, it will also drain… so, your life depends on the pharaoh entirely"

"No! Pharaoh! Remove this curse from me, or you will regret that day you were born!" Bakura roared, his voice filled with rage.

"He can't! I told you there's only one way to release yourself from this curse" Ishizu then looked at the pharaoh, her face more serious than ever, "My Pharaoh, you can chose whether he should live or die, you choose whether to accept his affection or not, you can choose to starve him, or show mercy to him. You choose everything. He is now officially, your slave"

Yami's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was now Bakura's master? What would he do with him though? Should he let him live?... Yes, he couldn't just give up on him, not now that he had a chance to actually change him.

"No! Curse you pharaoh!" Bakura screamed furiously, his fist clenched and his stance, ready to fight if he had to.

"Well, this will be easy won't it pharaoh?" Joey said with a stupid smile on his face.

"How so?"

Suddenly Joey snatched the leash from Yami and the red leash now began fading to white.

"Joey! Don't!" Yami shouted as his eyes grew bigger with much more worry than before.

"YOU FOOL! Give that back to him!" Bakura hollered in a panicked tone.

"No! If we can get rid of this psycho so easily than we should! This is for Ryou you messed up freak!"

The red leash was now halfway gone, Bakura could feel the effects, his life was fading away and he couldn't do anything to stop it. Just as he was about to make a dash for the leash his legs suddenly gave out on him, causing him to collapse to the ground on his hands and knees. Soon enough he then found it hard to breath, he placed his hand on his chest. His heart beat more rapidly each passing minute. All he could do was gasp and wheeze now, trying to take back the air that he was quickly losing.

Yami glanced at the weakened Bakura, then back at Joey. Joey kept the leash high in the air, and Yami was shorter than Joey so how could he reach it? He had to think fast. He had an idea, but it wasn't a pleasant one, however it was the only thing he could think of. So, immediately he clenched his fist and struck Joey in the face full force causing Joey to fall backwards and let go of the leash. Everyone else watched in horror at what they were witnessing. Yami picked up the leash as quickly as possible and the red finally stopped fading. If Yami had hesitated Bakura would have died before he got a chance to change. Yami then shot a glare at Joey who flinched at the sight of his expression.

"Joey, I'm not going to let you, or anyone else kill him. I will take care of him" He said sternly, before looking back at Bakura and making his way towards him.

Bakura was too weak to stand, he was barely breathing, the white in the leash had almost touched the collar. Yami clutched the leash tightly so he wouldn't let it slip out so easily this time. He then knelt in front of the weakened Bakura. He watched him lay there on the ground, watched him try so hard to breathe. Never before had he seen him so weak, he almost looked innocent being so helpless. Yami sat down and brought Bakura's head onto his lap, allowing him to lie on his back.

"…Ishizu"

"Yes Pharaoh?"

"How do I return his energy?"

"The same way you keep it from depleting. Show him affection, but if you do, he must show it back or it will not work"

"I see…"

"But" Ishizu continued, "Not just any affection can cure him completely. You must show him the most love you can if you want him to be cured fully"

"How do I do that?" Yami asked as he looked at Ishizu, waiting for an answer.

"You must kiss him, for example, unless you know of another way"

"Ummm… you're not really going to do it, are you?" Joey asked almost in a giggly tone.

"I don't think I have much choice, Joey"

"You keep your royal lips off mine you bloody scum" Bakura growled as he glared at the pharaoh.

"Do you want to die? What if I accidentally let go of the leash? Then what? You'd be dead within three seconds"

Bakura's eyes narrowed as he clenched his teeth. It was clear he didn't want this, neither did the pharaoh, but what else could he do?

"Still... if I do, you have to kiss me back. That way your life will be restored"

Bakura did not answer, but he did not reject the idea any further either.

So, as much as the pharaoh did not want this, as much as Bakura hated the idea. The pharaoh lowered his head close to Bakura's and both of them without much hesitation, kissed.

Neither of them cared about the strange looks they were getting from the others.

"…I'm strangely turned on by this" Mai said as she watched the two, not taking her eyes off them for even a second.

"Yeah… me too" Serenity agreed.

"WHA! Nooooo! Serenity!" Joey cried, in a rather, immaturely silly way.

Then, once the leash was fully red again, Yami and Bakura quickly pulled away from the kiss. Both of them were red in the face from the blush that formed on their faces.

"How do you feel?" Yami asked.

"I feel the need to wash my mouth with chlorine. But, yes… I do feel better…"

"Ok, he's all better" Duke said, "Man, Bakura should consider himself that the pharaoh's such a nice guy. I mean, I wouldn't kiss another guy not even if his life depended on it"

"You're not nice" Tea said.

"Well, it's true"

XXX

More chapters to come.