https://youtu.be/coDP_yI2vHw

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There was much silence after the small talk Yami and Kaiba had. After the talk, you gently held his hand as a silent assurance that everything will be okay. In return, he interlaced his fingers against yours and tightened the grip just a little. You could tell that the intense and stressed atmosphere slowly changed as time went by. From extreme levels went down a little at least to a point where you could talk without feeling as awkward as before.

".....do you think they're alright?" You asked,

"They should be, there's no way Marik would hurt them." Yami responded, "...if he does though, he'll regret it." With that, he turned to Kaiba with a determined look, "As soon as we land, Mokuba will lead us to my friends. We'll break in and get them out."

"Look Yugi, I brought you here so I am the one making the shots. Just so you know, I am only here to get my hands on the third Egyptian God Card. Then we'll find your friends." Kaiba retorted with a smirk,

"Kaiba. Joey and Tea are in grave danger, we must save them immediately!" Yami growled back,

"Well sorry, Yugi. We have different priorities on our hands, so why not split up and go for what we find the most important?" Kaiba asked,

"...that's dumb." You narrowed your eyes,

"To you." Kaiba rolled his eyes, "But I am fine on my own. Besides, I am not the type for teamwork and all that. You know that as much as I do, Yugi." His eyes shot back to Yami, "I handled our double duel with those brothers on my own without any help, so as far as I know, you best stay out of my way Yugi because we're finished. I brought you here so you're on your own. I've done more than enough here, so sorry, I'm through." Kaiba retorted with a smirk.

Yami bit his lip and looked down. You could feel the frustration from Yami, as you yourself were frustrated yet you weren't even directly involved.

"...Kaiba-" You called out to Kaiba

"We have reached our destination, Mr. Kaiba." a speaker came through and interrupted you.

"You guys, I think I see someone on the pier! And it kinda looks like Joey!" Mokuba spoke as he looked through the window.

Both you and Yami's eyes flickered up and darted to the window. You leaned back to have Yami take a better look. Both you and Yami's eyes went to the pier and looked for someone on the pier, and sure enough, both of you found a boy standing still on the pier with thick blonde hair and white-blue striped shirt.

"It is Joey!" Yami exclaimed,

"And he's all alone." You mumbled, "....this could be a trap."

You didn't like how he was just standing there, not moving one bit. It was as if he was waiting for Yami and not in a friendly manner.

"...It could very well be one.." Yami nodded his head,

"Yugi, I think I've heard enough of you for one day." Kaiba rolled his eyes as the helicopter finally landed. The doors opened and Kaiba hopped off. Before you did the same, you felt your hand get squeezed and turned to see Yami looking at you with concern,

"...(y/n)," Yami whispered, "...I want you to stay close with me."

"....huh?" You blinked,

"...I have a very bad feeling about this. I want to make sure you're safe, and for me, the only way for me to know that is if you're by my side. Who knows who could be around us as we confront Joey."

"...if that's the case, wouldn't you think I should be with Kaiba?" You asked with an eyebrow raised. Yami gave you a silent dead-pan look for a few seconds,

"...Do you really think Kaiba would be a reliable person to be next to in situations like this?" Yami asked,

It wasn't long before you gave the same look Yami gave as if you and Yami's minds clicked on one thing;

Kaiba isn't a very...reliable...person in matters like this.

"...well alright." You shrugged your shoulders and hopped off the helicopter. Yami soon joined you afterward and immediately took your hand the moment he went on his feet.

It's okay, You thought to yourself, don't think too much into this, I mean, it's for assurance that I'm here. Tea and Joey were kidnapped without him realizing, so maybe he wants to know I'm here or something.

But is it normal to hold hands like this? Especially for so long?

...maybe's not the time to think like that, you decided internally, ..you have other things to think about.

You looked at Joey for the first time since when you watched him get kidnapped. You could already feel something was off.

For one, where is his soul? It certainly doesn't feel like it's Joey.

Thanks to the Seal and it's lovely desire for souls, you have the ability to look into a person's soul, but you only use it if you can tell something's off about someone.

In this case, it felt like someone forcibly put strings through Joey's soul and is holding it hostage. Not to mention you felt some sort of Millenium power from him, which shouldn't be possible. You looked up to see Joey's brown, cheerful eyes go completely dull.

Whoever this is, it isn't Joey. At least mentally.

"Welcome~" Joey spoke, his voice sounding completely off, as it was cloaked over by a demonic entity.

"Joey!" Yami called out,

"Not exactly," 'Joey' replied, "Joey's not present. He's gone away at the moment." A smirk formed upon 'Joey's' lips as he spoke,

"....Marik..." Yami growled.

The one who took Tea and Joey, you recalled and clenched your open fist. If Marik didn't possess Joey and was actually present, you would've thrown fists.

"That's correct, and if you want your friends back you'll have to listen to me." 'Joey' nodded his head,

"Joey, you've got to be in there." Yami called out,

"It's pointless. Now you listen to me, Yugi. We're gonna be playing under my rules. I'll release your stupid friends when I get what I want. Of course, since I want your puzzle and Egyptian God Card, there's only one way to do this; You and I are going to duel!" 'Joey' pulled out his duel disc,

"You're insane!" Yami clenched his teeth,

"It's okay to refuse, just know if you refuse your friends will be mine forever." 'Joey' shrugged his shoulders. You felt your hand being squeezed by Yami as he takes a step forward,

"Joey, you've got to listen to me! Your mind is being controlled by Marik, the same person you vowed to help me crush! Please, think about it! Think of our promise, of when you gave me your red-eyes! Marik knows he can't beat me in a duel so he is forcing you against me to gain my puzzle and Egyptian God Card. Joey, I know you're in there and I am going to help set you free. Marik's power is nothing compared to the power of our friendship." Yami spoke boldly,

You felt your heart skip a beat, but of course, it was because of Yami's determination in that speech. His loyalty to his friends is extremely admirable.

"....ew. Tell your heart to stop making noises."

You mentally groaned at the Seal.

"...Joey isn't gonna listen to you unless you follow me." 'Joey' smirked and walked off.

"Now hold on just a second, how do we know if you aren't leading us to a trap?" You asked 'Joey' with a sneer to receive nothing in return. You found this offensive and took another bold step, "If you don't answer then I won't let Yugi accompany you."

"I don't think you have the power to control someone's choices, little girl." You heard another voice call out from behind, and turn to see Tea walking out of a ship,

"...Oh no....he's got Tea too.." Yami muttered. You growled and clenched your fists,

"Surprise surprise! As well as I have Joey, I also put Tea under my control~!" 'Tea' blankly laughed, "You're now under my mercy! I've made your closest friends into your most dangerous enemies!" She continued as she followed 'Joey'.

"...Tea-" You tried calling out Tea but Yami turned to you,

"...let's go. Stay close." He spoke and moved his fingers to interlace with yours. With that, he quickly followed the possessed Joey and Tea to an area near the pier. It was a wooden square with the center being empty, the sea being is only filling. Truss was the barrier sea-wise and an anchor lay hanging in the center of it all.

"...Mokuba." Yami called to the youngest Kaiba brother without making eye contact,

"Yeah?" Mokuba asked,

"...Take care of (y/n) while I handle this." Yami spoke and fully turned to you, "Promise me you'll be okay while I duel this."

You slowly grew concerned over this, a feeling rose in your blood that this could wind up being one of the most dangerous duels Yami will be facing, but couldn't have anything be done to prevent it. "...I will...as long as you come back safe." You replied,

He stiffened. Yami stared at you as though he was trying to find proper words to respond with.

"....I will." He nodded and pulled his hand away from you. For a split second, you felt like you wanted to hug him on the spot, but Yami was far out of reach and boldly walked towards the dangerous wooden arena. Mokuba approached you and held your hand tight,

"I'm sure he'll be alright." Mokuba spoke with a smile. You turned to him, smiled, then looked back at Yami. Strangely, Mokuba's hand wasn't warm enough compared to Yami's.

"I accept this duel." Yami concluded,

"Aha, then let us begin," 'Tea took out a pair of rusty metal handcuffs, "First off, put these on your ankles." 'Tea' threw one cuff at 'Joey' and the other to Yami. Once they were put on, you realized these handcuffs are tied with the hanging anchor,

"These handcuffs are with an anchor hanging above you. The loser has the total of 30 seconds of life before the anchor drops to the sea." 'Tea' explained,

"That's right, look down." 'Joey' looked down, "That box holds your life points and the key to your survival. The winner of the duel's box opens to reveal a key, this will release them from the cuffs. Remember, they will have 30 seconds to live."

"So that means the winner gets to live and the loser drowns.." You muttered,

"Sounds fun."

"And don't think you can easily refuse, after all, within 60 minutes of the game the anchor will drop nonetheless!" 'Tea' confirmed,

"...If I win, will you release my friends?" Yami asked,

"Yes, if you can pull Joey out of the sea that is." 'Joey' smirked,

"But rest assured, your friends will be safe, after all, the one losing will be you and I will have my hands on your puzzle and Egyptian God Cards! Oh, and Kaiba," 'Tea' spoke as she sat on a chair that soon held her hostage, "Don't think that I forgot about you, once this is all over, my eyes will be on you. After all, I want all the Egyptian God cards."

"This is going too far!" Mokuba growled and looked at Seto, "You've got to stop them! Someone can get hurt! Not only that, but we can be targeted next!"

"As head of this tournament, I must intervene and demand this duel to be put an end." Kaiba growled with clenched fists. You stared at Kaiba, you expected him to be the last person to ever say anything like that. It honestly surprised you, but at the same time, you would've said the same thing if you held a tournament like this, but long ago.

"I don't think so, Kaiba." 'Tea' snapped as a crane construction motor drove over Tea's head. Your eye widened when you realized a crate was hanging over her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" You hissed, "What makes you think all of this is okay?!"

"I decided to take things into measure and make sure things go my way. If anyone tries to interrupt this duel, this crater will fall over Tea as well. After all, the anchor won't be the only thing falling." 'Tea' explained.

Kaiba growled, "...I can't stop this duel."

"Now everyone is familiar, let's start with the duel. Oh...before I forget, we shouldn't let Tea miss this!" 'Tea' smirked and moments later her eyes closed and she lay limp.

"TEA!" Both you and Yami screamed. Moments later, Tea seemed to wake up with light in her eyes. You looked at her soul to find the strings long gone.

Tea was back.

"And also, before we begin, you aren't allowed to use your God cards at all. Put it on the floor Yugi."

"...I wasn't planning to use this card anyway. I keep my special cards in this patch." Yami took off a purple latch around his waist and put it on the floor, but not before sneaking a card in his deck.

"Wait, what's going on?" Tea asked and made eye contact with you, "...(y/n)?! What are you doing here?!"

"...pure coincidence." You bit your lip, "And with what's going on? Marik took over Joey and is forcing Yam- Yugi to duel to get his puzzle and Egyptian God Cards...whatever they are..." You mumbled,

"What?! Oh no...then Marik is the one Ishizu warned us about!" Tea gasped and stared at Kaiba, "Kaiba, you've got to stop this duel! If you don't, the whole world will be destroyed!"

"We can't! It's too risky!" Mokuba answered,

"Hey lady!" A purple-haired guy screamed from the crane motor, "keep yer' mouth shut or else I am droppin' this thing!"

"HEY." You screamed at the guy, blood fuming in your veins, "TOUCH THAT CRATER AND IM GONNA MAKE YOU REGRET IT."

"oh yeah?!" The guy retorted with a smirk, "And whatcha gonna do? Hurt me?"

"You're gonna remember those words when I get my hands on you!" You hissed with a glaring eye.

"Yes...that's it..."

I am not doing this for you.

"Doesn't matter."

You grit your teeth as the duel went on. You painfully watched how Yami was forced into dueling with Joey, your ears listening well to the cards being used in each move. It felt like hours despite real time showing minutes. Not even Kaiba nor Mokuba could say nor do much, the only thing that could be done is to watch the duel.

Then you realized something changed as the game went, and you had a hunch Marik noticed too. Around midway of the duel, you no longer saw Yami dueling Joey.

It was Yugi.

Your eye widened when you realized Yami was no longer there, why did Yugi take place instead? Where did Yami go? You felt yourself growing anxious, the hair behind your neck stood up.

Yami could at least handle this situation a little more differently for survival, Yugi would probably find himself messing up because of his emotional attachment to Joey. This could serve as a problem-

You felt your hand be squeezed,

"I-It's going to be okay, (y/n)." Mokuba squeaked as he ended up holding your hand with both his hands. You blinked and looked at Mokuba to realize your whole body was shaking. He was holding your hands with both his to give you a sense of assurance.

Bless this boy. You gulped, nodded, and looked back at the game. A round or two later and Yugi summoned the magic card for exchange and forcibly sent Joey to exchange cards with him. You watched Joey's dull eyes go wide and it seemed he was losing control,

and by 'he', it was Marik.

Your eye widened when you caught on Yugi's tactic as you recalled the card Yami slid in before the duel began, and when Yami told Joey about a card he gave.

Maybe Yugi silently told Joey he has the card? Maybe there's more to the promise Joey gave, and Yugi's trying to pull Joey out? It seemed like it was working, cause Yugi soon used Joey's card in the next round.

You were relived for the next few turns as Yugi seemed to be winning, but not before your anxiety spiked up as Yugi took off his necklace with the puzzle and gave it to Joey.

What is he doing? Is he mad?

It got worse for you because Joey almost threw out a piece of the puzzle in the ocean. Your whole body froze as you heard nothing but the pounding of your heart and eye. You felt your cursed eye screaming and you could've sworn you almost activated it on Joey.

You will not let anyone, not even Joey, do such a thing to Yami.

If he does that, you will never be able to see Yami again

That thought made you want to grab Joey and forcibly-

You watched Joey put down the piece and put it back with his whole body trembling.

.....you fell to your knees. Mokuba hugged you for a bit, already knowing your mentality going haywire.

Yugi.... you thought to yourself, ...whatever you're doing right now, you better not do ever again.

"...Yugi has only 1000 life points, if Joey makes another main attack, Yugi'll be finished!" Mokuba mumbled,

"That is if time doesn't run out first." Kaiba narrowed his eyes.

Oh shit you forgot about the time limit, if the game isn't finished before an hour they'll both drown.

The sound of a car temporarily interrupted your thoughts as you turned over to see Tristan, Mai, and 2 other people you have never met before.

That didn't matter to you at this point, the only thing you paid attention to was the duel. It seemed Kaiba noticed that and walked next to you and blocked Tristan or anyone else from going near you. There was only one time that Tristan asked about you, but Mokuba came in and spoke for you.

"(y/n) is really nervous about this duel, she's been watching closely this whole time I doubt she'll hear any of us at this point." He calmly spoke.

Your eye switched from the clock over to the duel, they had little more than 2 minutes and so far things aren't looking good for the both of them. It'll be a miracle if something good were to happen-

Just as you thought that, you saw the strings in Joey's soul get ripped out.

Joey regained control on his own.

This somehow put your heart at ease, now there isn't much to worry about with Yami-

Wait, why are you so worried about Yami? Shouldn't you be worried about Joey and Yugi?

You finally got to your feet and turned to Tea, from which the guy who was in charge of the motor came out with a wide grin and a third eye on his forehead.

You gasped to see the man about to press the button to seal Tea's fate but Kaiba sliced a card through the man's hand causing him to drop the button to crop the crate.

You used your legs and ran towards Tea but was soon stopped by the man.

"I d-don't think so! You've been prattling on for too long!" You heard Marik scream through the man as he lunged forward for an attack,

"That's it...come here-" you felt your eye pounding as the seal prepared to take another one-

"I don't think so!" Kaiba screamed and punched the man from behind you. Kaiba lunged and kicked him to the ground as a helicopter was used to bring down Marik's trap.

The seal didn't like that.

You could tell, your back was screaming and so was your eye.

You grabbed your eye as it pounded, bolted to Tea, and broke her free from the chair.

"Th-Thanks...b-but a-are you alright?" Tea asked as she noticed your eye was being held.

"Y...Yeah...uh...." You flinched as your eye got worse, "I...I have to go..."

"What?" Tristan asked, "Is something wrong?"

"N-No.." You shook your head, "It's just...I have....uh...." You tried to find some excuse, "...pain.."

"Pain? Where?" Mokuba asked, "We can take care of-"

"No!" you shook your head, "Stay...stay with Yugi for the time being, I'll...I'll join you guys later." You rose to your feet and quickly took off, with the last thing you saw was Yugi talking to a very confused and shocked Joey.

You practically ran over somewhere to sit and go through the pain. The seal never spoke, it didn't need to speak to show how mad it was knowing it missed a chance to have a nice meal. It merely showed its anger by making your back and eye hurt so much you could cry.

You didn't though, you simply sat behind a box, laid on the floor in a fetus-position, and waited for it to go away.

It's just your mind wouldn't let you rest and think straight, you ended up thinking non-stop about the duel between Yugi and Joey. You were terrified, what if it was the last time on seeing Yami?

The pain was the longest pain you've ever endured, it was almost to a point where you started to whimper in pain.

You watched the sunset with pain all over you, it was as if the Seal was eating you instead of the soul of that man.

Finally, you felt the pain slowly go away, and you were able to sit up and think properly. Surely by now, the duel would be over but you had no idea what the outcome was. You were terrified to get up and see what had happened, whose box was open. You were even terrified to ask Kaiba or anyone else on who won and who....

You didn't want to think about that.

You slowly got up, you should probably think about how to leave the pier at the moment, given how you don't even know where you are-

"(y/n)." you heard your name being called out by a familiar voice from behind you. You silently gasped and covered your mouth upon recognizing that voice. You'd remember such a deep voice, it only belongs to one person. You turned around and prayed to anyone up there you weren't just hearing things.

You weren't.

There he was, standing before you with a smile on his face.

For the first time all day your nerves relaxed, your whole body shook from finally being able to rest for a second.

You thought you would never see him again. You ran past the boxes towards him, who had his arms open once more.

You practically jumped in Yami's arms, so relieved that he was alright and safe. And knowing with his warm smile,

Joey and everyone else is too.

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https://youtu.be/vOAe2BON9aI