https://youtu.be/coDP_yI2vHw

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"Y-Yami?!" You yelped as you caught him from completely falling to the floor. Despite his knees losing strength, he never let go of you as his arms remained tight around you. Yami was quiet, he simply sat on his knees and held you tight as if you were going to disappear. You had to bite your lip to not show how much pain your back, it's practically screaming.

"I-I'm okay, alright?" You gently patted his back, "Nothing to worry about, I'm still here." You quietly assured as, after around a minute, Yami slowly pulled away and nodded his head,

"you're right," He nodded,

"Alright....let's check on Bakura-" You turned to look at Bakura to see Joey holding him. You could tell even from across the arena, Bakura looked a lot paler than he did before, and you no longer sensed the same malice that was fighting Yami.

"Yugi!" Tea ran to Yami with a worried expression, "Bakura is losing consciousness!"

"What?" Yami widened his eyes as he got up from the floor, "Is Kaiba gonna land the blimp? He needs to go back to the hospital."

"We don't know, for now, Tristan's gonna take Bakura to his room. Security keeps saying no though." Tea frowned as she slowly looked down on you. Your eye narrowed as you slowly stood up to match eye level with Tea,

"What do you think, (y/n)?" Yami turned to you, "Would Kaiba land the blimp?"

"Knowing Kaiba?" You sighed, "Not likely. I'll talk to him though, apparently, he may likely listen to me - no offense."

"None taken." Yami shrugged, "Figured as much, was going to ask for you to talk to Kaiba anyway."

"Aha.." You nervously laughed as you tried to stretch your back that was in massive pain. You have no idea how you were able to stand up. You were gonna stay longer, but Tea's staredown with you made you want to leave on the spot. Besides, you needed a place to sit down to let your back relax, without worrying Yami in any shape or kind. Looking around, you didn't find Kaiba at all, indicating it's time to leave to ask Kaiba.

"I'm gonna go and ask Kaiba, so, see you guys later." You quickly gave your farewell but before you left the arena you looked ay Yami, "...And just so you know, this is not your fault. You had to cast Slifer anyway, and Bakura would've won if you didn't." You assured as you hopped off the arena and practically limped over to the first-class area - which Kaiba warned is restricted. Mokuba appeared and gasped when he saw you,

"(Y/n)! You look pale! Are you okay?" Mokuba rushed over to you with a worried look. Nervously laughing, you nodded your head,

"Yeah, where is your brother?"

"In his room, do you wanna see him?" Mokuba asked,

"Please." You nodded as Mokuba knocked at Kaiba's door,

"Seto? It's (y/n). She's here to talk to you." Mokuba spoke as moments later the door opened.

"(y/n), what is it?" Kaiba asked,

"I have a small question," You blinked with a nervous chuckle, "Could you by any chance land the blim-"

"I can't do that." Kaiba immediately answered as he walked into his room and sat on the couch. He looked at you, gesturing you to sit with him. You took a deep breath, already feeling how this is gonna be difficult, and walked into Kaiba's room to sit in the chair across from him. The moment you sat, your back was practically screaming thank you.

"And why not?" You asked,

"Because it's simple, (y/n). I can't make some random land in the middle of the finals. We can't exactly do that." Kaiba responded,

"But Bakura's practically losing consciousness." You frowned,

"And from the looks of it, so are you." Kaiba cocked an eyebrow,

"Oh wow do I look that bad?" You bit your lip and leaned back to the chair,

"You kinda do, yeah." Kaiba nodded, "But I can't land the blimp, try to understand that (y/n). At least you look at both sides, unlike the monkey Joey and his friends. I'm already expecting him and everyone to be banging at my door."

"Hmm..." You hummed and looked at the ceiling, "If we can't land the blimp, then let's at least find some sort of substitute." Your mind clicked when you realized Kaiba had a medical team, "Kaiba, you did bring your medical team over right?"

"Yes." Kaiba nodded as a small smile formed, "I can't land the blimp but I will use my medical team on him."

"And there we go." You clasped your hands together with a relieved sigh, "Kinda suspicious how I have to ask you for your medical team, it should be uh...common sense."

Kaiba gave a hmph as he looked at the window, "Beats me, I only care about winning this tournament. If Bakura wasn't well, then why did he come here in the first place?"

'Gee, I don't know, ask the evil spirit of the Millenium Ring' You thought to yourself as you rolled your eyes, "That's a good question; he probably really wanted to duel." You shrugged your shoulders,

"That's dumb." Kaiba rolled his eyes, "But I do admire his determination-"

BANG BANG BANG

Kaiba's door banged loudly, so loud that it made you yelp and stare at the door. Kaiba didn't seem fazed, he simply shrugged his shoulders and let out a groan,

"And what did I tell you, (y/n)? That they'll be banging at my door?" Kaiba got up and walked over to the door to open it. The moment it was open, low and behold, Joey was glaring at Kaiba from the other side.

"Kaiba! You gotta land the blimp for Bakura!" Joey hissed,

"No." Kaiba blatantly responded and walked back inside his room - with Joey and everyone else following.

"Why not?! Bakura is in critical condition!" Joey seethed,

"...actually I-" You tried to talk to Joey but he kept going,

"How could you be so selfish Kaiba! Someone's hurt! Bakura is losing consciousness as we speak!" Joey continued rampaging.

"No." Kaiba shook his head, "I am not landing."

"Please Kaiba," Serenity came forward, "If you won't do it for Joey, could you at least do it for me?"

"...actually-" You tried coming in but Tristan growled,

"See? Even Serenity is asking and there's no way you'll say no." Tristan hissed,

"Yeah! Listen to Serenity!" Duke came forward with a frown.

You frowned, why is everyone suddenly ignoring you?

"I said no. I am not going to land the blimp. If Bakura was ill in the first place then why did he come." Kaiba's eyes narrowed,

"Why you-" Joey clenched his fists,

"But." Kaiba shot his gaze at Joey, "I talked with (y/n) about it. Rather than landing the blimp, I will send my medical team to Bakura's room. Mokuba." He looked at his little brother, who nodded and ran out the door.

"Wh-" Joey blinked and finally looked at you, "(y/n) when the hell did you come here?"

"I've been here." You frowned and watched Joey nervously laugh,

"Sorry 'bout that," Joey laughed, "Didn't see ya with all this rage I have."

"It's all good." You shrugged your shoulders,

"Now get out of my room." Kaiba hissed at Joey, "All of you."

"Wait, (y/n)?" Yugi narrowed his eyes, "are you alright? You look a bit pale."

You blinked and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine Yugi."

"You sure? Cause if not I'll force Kaiba to-"

"Yugi, if (y/n) was in pain, she'd tell me. Even if she didn't I would force medical attention on her. Now leave my room." Kaiba interrupted and clenched his fists.

"Augh- okay okay, stay safe alright (y/n)?" Yugi pleaded and quickly left Kaiba's room with everyone else following.

'Kinda ironic how no one needs to remind him if I need medical assistance but not with Bakura...' you thought to yourself as the moment the door closed, Kaiba turned to you,

"So? What's wrong with you?" Kaiba asked, "You look like you're gonna pass out any minute."

"Do I?" You laughed and flinched when your back stung, "Okay okay, kinda in a little pain."

"Where?" Kaiba asked,

"My back." You responded, "ugh, like an old lady." You joked with a tiny smirk,

"Do you need a massage or something?" Kaiba cocked an eyebrow. Panic went through your body, the last thing you'd want is for someone to look at your back.

'No one wants to look at a back with deep wounds that mark the Seal of Orichalos now do they.' You thought to yourself as you shook your head immediately, "Nah, probably some pain medication will take care of it."

"I would suggest you rest, but the second duel will be coming very shortly." Kaiba narrowed his eyes, "But for now, I'd best you return to your room and rest your back. If you're too much in pain then we'll send a wheelchair."

"Wow, thanks." You frowned as you forced yourself up, "I feel so appreciated." You grinned at Kaiba who shrugged in return,

"You're a duelist, (y/n). You can't just skip like the eighth duelist."

"Oh yeah, there are nine duelists but I only saw like eight at the first duel." You recalled,

"Yeah, the eighth duelist is not attending any duels so far. They're literally isolating themselves in their room." Kaiba scoffed, "No matter how much my guards tell them to get out they are just not getting out."

"Mood." You mumbled to yourself, "Well, I assure you, I'm not gonna pull an eighth. I'll be there without a wheelchair, thank you very much." You sneered and left his room.

"You better." Kaiba smirked as the door closed.

Taking a huge sigh, you slowly began to realize how exhausted you are. You dragged yourself over to your room and closed the door once you got in. Your back, practically being stubborn, pounded at this point and you have no idea why. Your eye isn't acting up, so it couldn't possibly be the Seal's work, right?

You've been feeling odd since you heard that weird dragon's roar, first your head, and now it's your back. You wouldn't be as surprised if your eye acted up. Another thing that has your concern is how the Seal has been quiet since it last spoke in some different language that you have yet to recognize.

'Maybe if I see my back I can figure out why it's pounding like this' You thought as you limped over to the window that sat on your desk. You slithered your coat off and took off your shirt whilst your back was as though demanding you to not raise your arms any higher. But, you need to do so to figure out what's wrong. Maybe Yami squeezed a bit too tight when he hugged you? Once your shirt was off, you stared at your shirt to realize there were red stains on it. Your eyes went wide as you slowly turned around and glanced at the mirror to only get paler than you were before.

Your back wasn't just pounding, it was bleeding.

Blood was coming down your back and it came from the hieroglyphic language and the borders around it.

"HOLY SHIT." You gasped loudly as your hands immediately went to your back, how the hell is it bleeding?! You have never seen it bleed like this! What the hell are you gonna do? It won't be long until the second duel goes on, so how are you gonna take care of this-

Oh my God, if your back was bleeding, did it affect Kaiba's chair when you sat down? Or Yami's sleeves when he hugged you?

The anxiety slammed on you like a bus as you grabbed both your coat and shirt and examined it. Unfortunately, your shirt had blood stains all over, but your coat wasn't affected yet.

"Well, shit.." You exhaled as you stared at your shirt, "Even if I had a wheelchair, it would end up having bloodstains. So a wheelchair isn't the best place to go."

You glanced over at your back once more, well, the least you can do is try to wipe it or something. At least clean the blood.....but how?

It's not that easy trying to clean your back on your own. You would need someone's help, but how? Having someone come and help around here is like going up to them and saying "By the way, I have this weird Seal on my back and it's bleeding cause I am a vessel~"

And you are NOT gonna say that, not in any shape or form whatsoever. You took a heavy sigh, "Well, I have some time so I better start-"

"All remaining finalists must now remain at the main concourse. The next two duelists will be chosen." The speaker hovered over you as though the finals hated your guts.

"FUCK." You hissed at the speaker in return as you quickly ran over despite the pain and grabbed a towel. You put hot water in the towel and turned again to look at your back, the blood practically dripping down your back at this point. Having no choice but to bite the pain in, you merely wiped the blood off your back while trying to hold back the urge to cry.

"This is your two-minute warning, all duelists must be in the deck in two minutes!" The speaker spoke,

"ALRIGHT JESUS CHRIST." You hissed back as you finished up cleaning the blood. Making a prayer to anyone up there, you bolted to find a new black shirt from your drawers. Upon finding one, you put it on quickly and grabbed your coat. You grabbed the duel disk with your deck and bolted out of your room and towards the deck. As soon as you walked in, everyone looked at you,

"Oh, hey (y/n)!" Joey cheered with a wide smile, "How's it going?"

"Going great.." You panted, "...thanks to the speaker I was rushed out of my room."

"Ahh come on now, now isn't the time to be lazy!" Joey laughed as he approached you, "Ya gotta duel ahead of ya!" He said as he wrapped an arm around your aching back -

I swear if blood gets on his arm I'm finished.

"Yeah, you aren't wrong there." You nodded, internally screaming as Joey laughed while keeping his arm around your back,

"Ya wouldn't believe what Tristan and Duke were sayin', they were talking about some white-cloaked ghost that saved their lives while they were looking for the Millennium Ring." Joey explained,

"A ghost?" You blinked and looked at Tristan, "That true?"

"Well, kinda." Tristan shrugged, "He was wearing white and saved Duke and me, the moment we went up to thank the guy he vanished."

"That sounds kinda spooky." You blinked as Tristan nodded,

"Exactly my point."

"(Y/n), are you alright?" Yugi approached you with a concerned look, "You look awfully pale."

"Hm?" You blinked and looked at Yugi, "Oh, yeah I am."

"Oh yeah, now that ya look at it, you do look pale." Joey blinked as he got a closer look at you, "You okay? You don't need me to jump at Kaiba later do you?"

"Oh no," You shook your head, "Nah it's all good, trust me."

"Ya sure?" Joey raised an eyebrow,

"Positive." You nodded,

"Aight, if ya say so." Joey removed his hand from your back. You watched his arm to find no red marks on him and internally went on your knees screaming in happiness. All you need now is to make sure no one touches your back and to ensure you're in a position where it won't hurt too much.

"Attention duelists, thank you for reaching the deck. We will now choose our next duelists." The guard spoke. You glared at that guard, if that guard had waited at least a minute, you wouldn't have run so much and made your back worse.

Curse you guard.

"Remember, the choice is random for a fair match!" Mokuba spoke, "Now let's choose our duelists!"

The lottery machine went off. You already knew you weren't gonna be in there at least until the final four was made, so you sat on the floor and waited. Yugi noticed and looked at you for about a minute as the first duelist was announced,

"The first duelist chosen is number 2. Joey Wheeler." The guard announced,

"Awwww yeah! About darn time!" Joey cheered with a big smile on his face,

"And the second duelist Joey will be fighting is..." The lottery machine spat out a number, "...number seven. Marik Ishtar!"

You could feel the atmosphere change the moment the second duelist was announced. Oh boy, you mentally sighed, here comes another intense duel.

"I hope you brought a parachute cause ima blow you off this blimp! Ya got that Marik?" Joey snarked at Marik, who simply stared at him. However there was something about that stare, it almost looked like guilt.

'Is that normal for someone like Marik to look so guilty?' You thought as you narrowed your eyes at Marik. You rose from the floor and glanced at the wall where you leaned on to find no traces of blood.

"(y/n)?" You heard someone call your name and you immediately turned to see Yugi in front of you,

"Yes?"

"....are you sure you're alright? You look exhausted." Yugi asked,

"You're a sweetheart," You patted Yugi's spiky hair, "Yes, I am fine."

"...Well, when this duel is over you better rest," Yugi recommended,

"If Kaiba ends the night with this duel, yes." You nodded, "Let's go to the roof, alright?"

"If you're lying about being fine I am gonna have Yami take over." Yugi pouted, "And he's just as worried as I am, if not more." He smirked.

You dramatically gasped as you walked with Yugi down the hall, "oh no, whatever am I gonna do?" You asked dramatically,

"Oh yeah~?" Yugi's smirk grew, "What if I told you that Yami takes his friend's conditions more seriously than I do~?"

You paused and looked at Yugi, "It depends, how serious?"

"Serious enough where push comes to shove he'll drag you to your room with or without consent?" Yugi smirked,

"Oof, wouldn't want that." You took a step back from Yugi, "Or any sense of care, thaaank you~"

"Aw come on," Yugi frowned, "What's wrong with friends caring for another?"

"I'm..." You took a sigh as you entered the elevator with Yugi, "...not really used to having this many friends-"

"WHAT?!" Tristan gasped as he stared at you in shock, "YOU NEVER HAD FRIENDS (Y/N)?!"

"Uh.." You recalled the countless times where you forced yourself in solitary confinement throughout most of your childhood....the childhood you could remember honestly. Either way, the only thing you remember is isolation, Nymphi, and Papa. "....yeah, kinda. The only people I remember are my little sister and my grandfather."

"Wait.." Duke paused and stared at you, "...YOU HAVE A LITTLE SISTER?!"

"Yup!" Mokuba nodded with a smile, "Her name is Nymphi! She's 4 years old!"

"Aw...she's 4." You couldn't tell if Duke was disappointed or found it adorable.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Serenity asked with a spark in her eye, "I love kids!"

"Oh, I think I do, let me check." You pulled out your phone and scrolled through your photos to find a photo of Nymphi. Before you left to join Pegasus' tournament, you asked Nymphi to pose for a picture. You finally found the photo and showed it to Serenity

"Here." You showed Serenity and everyone else crowded over Serenity (except the Kaiba brothers) to see her. They saw the little Nymphi; with short (h/c) hair with an adorable smile. She wore a cute little yellow dress with green laces as she bore an innocent closed-eye smile.

"Aww!" Serenity and Tea smiled warmly at the picture,

"She's really cute!" Yugi smiled at the picture, as so did Tristan and Duke.

"Where is she?" Tristan asked,

"At home with her grandfather." Mokuba answered, "I miss her though, when is she coming by?"

"The next time Papa comes over I assume," You shrugged your shoulders,

"She's fun to play with." Mokuba laughed, "I teach her how to play Duel Monsters and she's really cute!"

"Like a big brother." You nodded,

"She's well-disciplined," Kaiba added as everyone stared at Kaiba in shock,

"...if Kaiba praises a kid..." Joey mumbled, "...then this kid's either a good one or just like him."

"It's the former." You whispered to Joey as the doors to the roof opened. You walked with everyone to see Joey and Marik already positioned and ready to duel.

"Serenity you look nervous." Tea noticed Serenity's worried expression,

"Well...I've never seen Joey duel before..." Serenity mumbled,

"Wait - you're right! This is the first time you're watching Joey duel!" Tea gasped, "Don't worry, with you cheering him on he'll definitely win!"

"Aight listen up ya creeper!" Joey scowled, "By my math calculations, your ass is gonna be kicked in the next nine turns, ya got it?!"

"....nine?" You raised an eyebrow,

"He's so cool!" Serenity gasped, "He already calculated how many turns he's gonna give!"

"Thaaaat's right Serenity you just keep believing everything Joey says." Mai sarcastically responded.

In response to Joey's threat, Marik pulled out what appears to be the Millenium Rod. You blinked as he practically shoved it in Joey's face from the opposite side - that was real quick for Marik to use the rod.

"Point that thing somewhere else and duel me like a real man!" Joey clenched his fists as he watched Marik put the rod back to his pocket,

"As you wish." He responded.

"that's the first time I've ever heard him speak since we got on this blimp." You blinked and narrowed your eyes, you didn't recall Marik to be so...polite....you figured he'd be laughing and using it or something. You looked around to see if anyone noticed it, however, once your eye landed on Namu, you noticed he was smirking at Joey and Marik.

That's not the only thing you noticed, he appeared to be holding something behind-

....wait a goddamn minute.

You froze in place as you stared at his hidden arm. He's smirking at Marik, while holding something behind him literally the moment Marik pulled out the Rod....

...Oh my God. Your heart dropped, ....Namu's Marik. You stared at "Marik" in shock, if Marik is over here...who the hell is fighting Joey?! Some accomplice!? Your hand covered your mouth, extreme nausea came over and you started to feel a bit dizzy.

"(y/n)?" Duke caught your attention, "Everything good?"

"HM?" You squeaked and gulped, "Oh yeah, totally."

"You sure?" Yugi came forward and sneered at you,

"Honest." You nodded your head and glanced at Namu, who was watching you.

You know what? You thought with a scowl on your face, Marik, cause of you Joey suffered, so ima make you feel the same as I do right now.

You simply stared down behind "Namu" and back at him, "Yup, I just hope that Marik gets exposed and goes down."

Marik got the hint. His eyes widened and he stiffened in place. For the first time in a while, you felt triumphant in something. You mentally gave yourself a high five, maybe if your back wasn't aching you probably would've straightened your back.

"I'm watching you (y/n)." Yugi sneered, "If you're lying-"

You frowned, "I know I know."

As the duel pressed on, you could literally feel the blood coming down your back again. You repositioned yourself in hopes that it wouldn't sting but nothing can ever go your way. As time progressed, you began to feel dizzy, but not like earlier. There was a ringing noise that came through your ears as you heard that same distant yet close roar. Despite your fuzzy sight, you could've sworn you a black mass with yellow eyes staring at you from afar - across from you to be exact - hidden in the clouds. You couldn't hear anyone's cheers and encouraging words to Joey, they were growing fuzzy too.

By the gods, you couldn't think straight. You had the biggest feeling you were gonna pass out at this rate. If that happens you're screwed. Your back may show blood on the floor and they'll be forced to see -

You felt gentle yet firm hands on your shoulders. Startled, you were lightly pulled back and felt a chin rest on your shoulder.

"First, you suck at lying." Yami whispered, "Second, you're lucky we're watching a duel and everyone's focused on Joey. Once this duel is over, you're going be with me and I'm going to take care of you whether you like it or not."

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https://youtu.be/vOAe2BON9aI