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

Chapter 11

"Emiko?"

She heard a soft, familiar voice calling her name, "Emiko, wake up!" She grunted and shifted, opening her eyes. As her vision returned, she saw Bakura, standing over her, his long, white hair swept to the side over his shoulder. Her eyes widened and she jumped back, gasping and falling out of his arms. Yugi said, laughing, "Woah! It's alright, Em! It's okay!" She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, then asked groggily, "Wait. Where...where are we?" Yugi said, "We're at the campsite." Emiko sighed. She looked up at Bakura and said, "I just had a really weird dream. Y-you and Yugi were duelling." He smiled meekly. She continued, "You were evil and we were all dressed as Duel Monsters." Yugi asked, "Hey, by the way, Bakura, where did you get your Millennium Ring?" Bakura looked down at the beautiful artifact hung around his neck and said, "My father picked it up on one of his trips to Egypt. You see, he's a collector of sorts, so he was shopping at a merchant bazaar when the Ring caught his eye." Emiko's eyes narrowed.

"That thing," she thought, "In my dream, it's the Ring that caused him to go off the deep end." He continued his story, "The man who sold the Ring to my father said that it had something to do with Duel Monsters, but that never really made any sense to me. I mean, the card game is pretty new and the Ring is clearly ancient. When my father got back, he gave it to me." Behind Emiko, Tristan muttered, "Woah, I just dreamed Bakura went totally mental." Joey yawned and said, "Same here. That's the last time I snooze with duelling cards under my pillow." Bakura, remembering how Emiko reacted, walked over and said, leaning down and smiling playfully, "Sleep well, guys?" Tristan and Joey jumped into each other's arms and screamed, "Bakura!" Emiko, Yugi, and Bakura laughed. Téa thought for a moment and said, "Well, I dreamed Yugi had us all dressed up like Duel Monster cards and you'd gone nuts. So, no." Emiko frowned, wondering, "We all had the same dream?" In the distance, the group heard a woman's scream.

"That voice," Joey said, turning toward the sound, "It sounded like Mai! Come on!" Joey immediately took off, nearly leaving the others behind. They sprinted through the trees, ducking and dodging branches and shrubs. Bakura tripped on a loose rock, but Téa caught his wrist, pulling him to his feet. As they came upon another clearing in the forest, Mai was being lowered from a duelling arena, her face pale and her head hung in shame. Yugi called out to her, "Mai! Are you okay?" She said sadly, "You're too late." Téa asked, confused, "Too late? For what?" On the other side of the arena, an older man, enormous in stature, with dark, messy hair laughed and said in a gruff, hoarse voice, "Too late to watch your friend get completely destroyed!" Joey shouted, "Hey! Mai! This sideshow freak giving you a hard time?" The man walked closer and said, "That's right. Just like Pegasus pays me to do. Root out all of the weak duelling filth on this island and dispose of it." Tristan said, "Doesn't that make you a garbage man?" Mai said, her voice trembling, "This is no joke! Panik is one of the island's Eliminators and if you don't get out of here, he's gonna do to all of you what he did to me!"

"Eliminator," Emiko asked, "What's that?" The man, Panik, roughly grabbed Mai's arm and said, yanking it up, causing her to grimace at the pain in her shoulder, "Look. This right here is what she means." He growled, "Check out her duelist's glove. Not a single star chip left. She was one of my easiest victims yet." He carelessly threw Mai at them and laughed, sending Joey into a rage. He ran at Panik, only to be stopped by Tristan and Bakura. He shouted, "You creep! There's no excuse for being so rough with a girl!" Bakura, struggling against Joey, said, "Calm down, Joey! I know how you feel, but that guy's more than twice your size!" Joey snapped angrily, "I can take him!" Yugi said, calmly stepping forward, "No, Joey. Fists aren't the answer. Violence won't solve anything. I've dealt with a lot of bullies in my life and I'm afraid there's only one way to deal with them." Panik chuckled. Emiko sighed. Yugi, his voice sounding bolder and more confident, said, "Now, Panik. Let's see you try your intimidation tactics on me. I don't scare easily, especially when I'm standing up for my friends. Now, let's duel." Panik laughed, "You twerp! I'll eliminate you from the tournament just like I did to her! Tell him how I trounced you!"