When I planned for Bakura to deal with Hirutani in Ennead: Season Zero

The screams from the thief before her as the Shadows consumed him, mind, body and soul, did not faze her in the slightest. He was nowhere near her calibre. More concerned with finding the fastest way to his prize and causing as much damage as possible rather than doing the job with speed, dignity and style.

 Not that dealing with a lousy thief had been in her plans for the evening when she had left the house. She had only been seeking to work out what the local area was like around her ‘landlord’s’ new home. When she had run into a local who had been touched by the Shadows, she had thought she might find something interesting. Possibly even useful.

It had not been hard to talk the ticked off teenager out of his bad mood and when she had mentioned she had an interest in games, he had been more than enthusiastic in his wanting to introduce her to a ‘Gamer friend’ of his. Of course he had not expected to come home to a break in.

She had not recognised the victim to start with, not properly. Her anger had been more for the sheer incompetence shown by the thief and the fact that while she did not recognise the victim fully, something in her was screaming at her that she needed to save her.

When she had pulled the girl away from her captor, she realised she recognised her and there was a reason she had needed to save her. The girl she was untying was the one she had been waiting for. The one who had trapped her in the Ring all those years ago.

Part of her wanted to end the threat before it could get off of the ground, especially when the girl, whose name was Yugi if she had heard the boy correctly, had begged her to go and get her Puzzle. However sanity had won out. She had waited three thousand years for ‘Yugi’ to reincarnate. She needed her alive in order to finally be able to get her hands on all of the Millennium Items after they all gravitated to the Pharaoh.

She had not dared hope that the Puzzle itself had been completed though. Not when the Pharaoh seemed so weak and helpless. She had expected to go into the girl’s bedroom and pick up the golden box it lived in. When she had seen that it was finally finished though, her temper had snapped.

She had waited three thousand years for the Pharaoh to reincarnate and complete the Puzzle, three thousand years of watching, waiting and hunting and some idiot had nearly ruined everything! Her own roommate, the demon she had made a deal with back in Egypt had been just a furious.

He had waited three thousand years to destroy the one member of Akhenamkhanen’s family who had escaped his wrath all those years ago. The Pharaoh was his to ruin, torture and feed to the Shadows piece by agonizing piece. No one was allowed to kill her. No one except him and he would take great pleasure out of teaching the moron who had dared to attempt to steal his kill, a lesson.

The brat had not lasted more than a turn and a half before cheating and she was more than happy to allow the Shadows to consume the brute she had been dealing with. He deserved everything he got in her opinion and she had much bigger fish to fry.

Thoughts of Medan from Reaper of the Cards at some unknown point.

Medan hadn’t liked his former Deck Owner, if fact he hadn’t been sorry when, after losing to Yugi, who at the time had been little more to a lot of Duel Monsters then the ‘Pharaoh’s vessel’, Arkana had been driven insane by Marik, in fact he’d given Mana some of his own power in order to help her defeat his former master, but having had a taste of the powers of the graveyard, he had found that he wanted more and Mahado’s two year vanishing act had given him the perfect opportunity to find out more.

When Mahado, the so called ‘Lord of the Dark Kingdom’, had returned, it had been with much fanfare and celebration, which had only increased among the masses when he and Kisara had announced that the war between them was over.

Oh there were malcontents. Those who had enjoyed the constant battles and the way they could get away with a lot more under the pretence of war, were furious that after thousands of years of battle, Mahado and Kisara had just called a halt to it, just because some humans had gotten into another Shadow War, but generally most were sick of the battles and welcomed the peace.

Of course without the war to distract him, and with the upcoming Shadow War threatening the man who he had sworn to serve beyond death, Mahado had started focusing on his Kingdom, training his guards, strengthening defensive spells and increasing the shields around his own palace, knowing that the Pharaoh was likely to draw from his people and that the Light Prince wasn’t exactly going to ignore them either.

Once Mahado had stopped focusing on the battles and more on those people within his palace, those who could help the Dark Pharaoh or the Light Prince, like Soraya, Medan’s Apprentice, whose card had been in Yugi’s deck for months by that point, it had only been a matter of time before the Lord of the Dark Kingdom found out what Medan was up to.

Within weeks, even with Medan being extremely careful, Mahado had found out about Medan’s research into the powers of the Reaper of the Cards, and the pair of them had fought, Dark Magician verses Dark Magician, in the courtyard of the Dark Palace in the fiercest battle that had been seen since Kisara and Mahado had battled just after what was known to those who had been there as ‘the Castle Duel’.

Medan hadn’t known before then how much stronger Mahado was. The ‘first Dark Magician’ had powers that Medan could never imagine. His own abilities were mere shadows of those that the Purple Dark Magician used against him, and as impressive as the battle looked to those on the outside, both he and Mahado knew that in the end, it would be Mahado who won.

And they were right, even with a last minute attempt at using Thousand Knives, Medan had lost the battle.

Only after judgement had been passed and exile decreed, had he found out who had betrayed him to the Lord of the Dark Kingdom.

Not one of the ever so nosy spellcasters who had no hope of ever matching the power he wielded.

Not one of the Blue Dark Magicians who followed the rules and laws of their ‘Lord’ to the letter.

Not even Mana, Mahado’s apprentice, the ‘first Dark Magician Girl’.

No, it had been Soraya, his own Apprentice. The Red Dark Magician Girl had betrayed her Master’s secret to the Lord of the Dark Kingdom and once he’d fallen in battle, she hadn’t followed her Master, nor had she followed Mahado, which, even as he would have been annoyed, he would have understood, after all, after such a demonstration of power, he would understand her seeking a stronger Master, no, she had pledged her loyalty to ‘Prince Yugi’ and only to ‘Prince Yugi’ and in doing so, thrown away everything.

The end of the war was just an excuse after that.

Exiled from the Kingdom of the Dark Element, Medan had gathered those who believed that Mahado and Mana had grown weak, those who believed that the limitations on what could and couldn’t be learnt were ridiculous, those who had been exiled, those who were sick of the same people being in charge after so long an absence...

Those who followed his banner no longer numbered a few and more than half of them were willing to go to any lengths to avoid another Shadow War, refusing to bow to humans ever again.

And it was from this half of his group that he was pulling together a team.

While they waged guerrilla warfare against those of the palace, there was a way to weaken those who had chosen to put their chips in with the humans in a way that would be irreversible.

And the best part was, it had been Mana who had, unknowingly, given Medan the idea.

Clanverse: Just at the end of Philosopher's Stone, while Harry and Yugi are still in the hospital wing

Yami hated Voldemort.

He hated him for what he’d done to Harry’s parents; he hated him for trying to arrange for his friends’ deaths and most of all he hated him for what he had done to Yugi.

Yugi had only woken up once or twice since Voldemort had tried to possess him, and every time he had, while his body had been fine, the constant pain that infected his soul, bled over from Yugi to Yami so much that only Joey was daring to snap at him at the moment, evolved into agony.

Yami took as much of that pain onto himself as he could, but even it was never enough, Yugi would inevitably last only an hour, two at max before passing out again.

He hated that he’d been unable to help in that battle, hated that he hadn’t been able to protect his hikari…

He hated a lot of things right now, and all he could do was sit there and allow Yugi’s wounded soul to siphon off his energy in order to restore itself, be it sitting in the Infirmary, sitting in the Common Dorm or sitting by the lake, letting the draw on his energy lull him to sleep.

Joey knew, of course, but then Joey was the only one who really knew what to look for. He’d seen soul rending wounds before, when Yami and Yugi had taken that blast from Ra for him, when the shadows had been ripping Yugi apart piece by piece while Yami was helpless to watch…

Joey knew what to look for, knew what sort of pain they were in…

Yami had a feeling that, if Joey had the ability, he’d take some of Yugi’s pain onto himself to ease their burden.

But he didn’t.

So all he could so was offer his support, just by being there and being Joey.

And weirdly that’s all Yugi and Yami needed right now. They had each other mind to mind, but the pain made them weak, made them helpless, a simple physical attack right now would finish them…

They needed Joey and Joey knew it. So he didn’t complain when Yami asked him to stick close, didn’t say a word each time Yugi awoke and the first thing out of his throat was a pained whimper, didn’t question when it had been necessary for the pair of them to sneak down to the hospital wing at some ridiculous time of the morning because Yami couldn’t sense Yugi and feared…

In some ways this was worse then the game against Marik, Joey understood. At least when they’d defeated the enemy then, the Shadows had restored Yugi’s soul to the way it had been before the game.

Joey was beginning to understand the way the Wizarding world worked.

And fair had never been a part of it.

He knew how much Yugi and Yami were relying on him right now, could see how much pain they were in constantly, and he missed the others, missed having Tristan at his back, missed having Tea’s friendship speeches thrown at him, having that extra support pillar…

It wasn’t that the others weren’t trying to be supportive, but they just couldn’t understand. Other then Kari and Ombre, who were more used to these things, they thought that a wound of the soul was as simple to heal as a wound of the body, after all it was just another kind of body, but Joey knew better.

Yugi had once explained a Soul Room as the personification of everything a person is, the way they thought or felt, the very essence of a soul, and what happened in a Soul Room stayed happened.

And Voldemort had gotten into Yugi’s in his attempt to possess the hikari and turn him on his friends.

Was there some spell Voldemort had left behind? Some hex he’d cast that was doing this?

The words, “what happened in a Soul Room, stayed happened” haunted Joey.

Yami had sworn Yugi would get better, would in fact, be up and about by the end of term, but there was that lingering fear that there was something wrong Yami couldn’t fix, some cause to all this pain that the Pharaoh would be unable to handle.

Joey had heard of people going insane because of pain and he didn’t want Yugi to become one of them.

Gods…

Joey kicked the bed to the left of him, the crash startling Yami who had been lost in his own little world… or maybe that was a little world he shared with Yugi… into looking at him with a mixture of concern, irritation and bemusement. “Joey?” He asked, tone reflecting all three.

“Frustration.” Joey explained, cringing as he realised he’d woken Harry up.

“Hey.” Harry murmured, sitting up and feeling around for his glasses.

“Sorry Harry.” Joey muttered as he found them and put them on as he sat up.

“I’m ok.” Harry waved it off, gesturing to his pile of sweets. “You want some?” Yami hesitated, as hungry as he was, but Joey took the invite in his stride and dove in, making Harry chuckle. “I don’t mind, honest.” Harry told the Pharaoh, “Sugar gives you more energy, energy will help Yugi recover, right?”

“Sugar does give energy,” Yami acknowledged, “But it will burn out quickly.”

“Still better then none at all.”

Yami had to concede he had a point and swiped a couple of boxes of iced mice off the table.

Harry started to eat a chocolate frog, waiting for someone to say anything, but they didn’t. Joey was busy with his Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and Yami had barely touched his iced mice, and was just watching his hikari, strain visible where a moment ago there had been none.

Harry realised he was being allowed to see something rather rare, Yami with his guard down, allowing the weariness, the fear and the pain to show to the outside world, trusting Joey and Harry that implicitly that he’d allow them to see this side of himself…

“Yami…” Harry spoke up, frightened to break that trust but needing to know, when Yugi groaned and Yami’s hand tightened on the chair arm to the point his knuckles were going white, “How much… are you alright?”

The look the Pharaoh gave him was startled for a second, then Yami schooled it back into a reassuring look, “I’m ok.”

“But you’re in pain.”

Harry felt Joey’s gaze examining him, saw Yami’s gaze harden for a moment and wondered what he’d said wrong. Then Yami sighed and Joey relaxed slightly, the Pharaoh turning back to his hikari, concern in his eyes, if not his face, and said, “The pain’s not mine.”

“Yugi…” Harry’s gaze turned swiftly to his friend, who had put his soul on the line to stop Voldemort using his body as a vessel in order to destroy Yugi’s friends. “But you told Dumbledore…”

“He will be fine, but wounds like the ones Yugi suffered aren’t easy to recover from. There’s nothing more Madam Pomfrey can do for him.” Yami explained, “When he fought Voldemort in his Soul Room…” Yami shook his head, “It will take longer then we have left of the term for Yugi to recover fully, but he’ll be up and about by the Leaving Feast and should, hopefully be fully healed by the end of the Summer.”

Harry nodded his understanding, concerned as he was about what this was doing to them. Then the thought hit him, Yugi had willingly taken this damage and left himself weakened for as long as it would take to recover in order to protect him and all his other friends…

“I think the ‘why?’ question is finally appearing in Harry’s head.” Joey chuckled, not a particularly mirth filled chuckle, but one of understanding. “Took you long enough.”

“Be nice, you knew Yugi for six months before you questioned why he did what he did.” Yami scolded Joey who looked properly contrite.

“I’ve wondered why before now.” Harry shook his head, “But it’s never really hit me before now, just how much he’s willing to sacrifice for us.”

The Pharaoh’s eyes darkened and Joey gave a knowing nod. “I had a similar moment when he jumped between this thug, Ushio, and us, Tristan and I, that is, Ushio was like three times Yuge’s size and he still stood up for us. Ended up bloody and bruised for it too.”

Yami’s mind wandered back to that day and how Ushio had been the first person he’d played against in ‘self-defence’.

“What about you, Yami?” Joey brought him back to the present, “When was your moment of ‘I shouldn’t under estimate what this kid is willing to do to protect those he considers friends’?”

“I’ve had several.” Yami admitted, amused that this was a subject Yugi had never broached with him, respecting Yami’s right to private thoughts and feelings, just as he respected Yugi’s. “Starting with Death-T, I think.”

Joey growled something about killing Kaiba, but Harry didn’t think Joey would go through with it. He did however wonder what Death-T was but didn’t want to ask in case he interrupted the Pharaoh who looked like he was going to continue, “Playing Bakura, in Monster World, that was another one.”

“Heh, then we fell straight into his card game trap a few weeks later…” Joey sounded self deprecating.

“You were noble during that duel, you shouldn’t belittle yourself.”

“Very funny.” Joey deadpanned, “I was six inches tall, wearing a dress…”

“You’re quoting yourself.” Yami sounded amused.

“Let me guess, the next one was Pegasus?” Joey waved it off.

“Panik, actually. Challenging Panik was his idea, I was just happy to provide the firepower. Player killing scumbag.” The last three words were muttered.

“Then Pegasus?”

Yami hesitated.

“Not the Paradox brothers?!” Joey protested, “We both kicked ass that duel.”

“I was thinking Kaiba.” Yami admitted slowly.

Joey’s eyes widened and he said little for a moment, fully aware that Yugi and Yami didn’t bring up that duel very often for a reason.

“Then Pegasus, for about twelve different reasons, including the fact he stood up to Pegasus over what he did to Kaiba, was the one who came up with the mind shuffle strategy, pushed himself to destruction point to give us a fighting chance…” Yami shuddered; Joey did too, the memory hitting them at the same moment, of that echo of pain that had nearly claimed Yugi forever. “I still don’t know how you saved him, but thank you.”

“Wasn’t just me, pal, and I’d do it again if I had to.”

“I know. Still…”

“You’re welcome.” Joey nodded sagely.

“I think by that point, I thought Yugi couldn’t surprise me anymore.” Yami’s laugh was a little bitter and Harry watched, amazed, as Yami and Joey talked, seeming to forget he was here, or knowing he was here and allowing him a view into how they really felt about things. “I mean he’d already almost destroyed his soul to save his grandfather and the Kaiba brothers, who he barely knew, what else could he give up?”

Joey cringed, “Please tell me you didn’t think that.”

“I was a Pharaoh. Pharaohs aren’t subject to Murphy’s Law they have people to deal with that for them.” Yami snorted, “How was I supposed to know it would end in insane magicians, crazy mimes, brainwashed friends,” Joey cringed at that one, the Death Duel managed to work it’s way into his nightmares far too often, “Bodysnatching idiots, psychotic patricides, dark wizards and Ra only knows what else we’ve faced since then.”

Harry decided he had only heard a quarter, if that, of the stories they had to tell.

Yugi moaned and opened his eyes.

Harry saw it instantly, the way Joey was suddenly on full alert as Yami’s attention was completely focused on Yugi. The way Yami tried to hide what he was going through from his hikari, even as he knew that Yugi would know that it had hit the point that Yami was suffering with it too. The way Yugi seemed to know what to say to calm Yami down, to settle Joey’s nerves, to reassure Harry. The slight fear in Yugi’s eyes after almost three days of waking up intermittently to this pain that he might not recover and would be unable to help Yami…

“Right, that’s enough.” Madam Pomfrey bustled down the rows of bed, shooing Yami and Joey away.

“But I’ve only just woken up!” Yugi protested. Harry was stunned at how little pain was reveal in his tone, considering the way Yami had gone white when Yugi had awoken.

“A little at a time Mr Muto, if you want to go to this Leaving Feast.” The Mediwitch scolded.

Harry chuckled as Yugi and Yami got almost identical obstinate looks, different only by eye colour, but were unable to persuade Madam Pomfrey to change her mind, and she ushered Yami and Joey out the door before doing a whole bunch of tests.

Once she was satisfied and had disappeared into her office, muttering something about not thinking they were ready, but Albus insisted and what Albus insisted Albus got… Yugi led back, not asleep but having trouble staying alert when his mind threw a head fit every time he tried to think too hard.

“Yugi?” Harry asked, causing the hikari to look at him. Physically Yugi looked fine, but it was the pain brightened amethyst eyes, and the pale colour of Yugi’s skin that convinced him otherwise, “Thanks for saving us.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Yugi shook his head, “Yami saved me.”

“You’re the one who gave Yami enough time to wake up, get into your mind, find you, since you’d left your soul room by that point and defeat Voldemort.” Harry pointed out.

Yugi hurt too much to argue with him.

“Can’t you ask Madam Pomfrey for something for the pain?”

“I’ve had worse. When I fought Pegasus I couldn’t even get my thoughts straight, yet alone completely coherent. I think it went something along the lines of ‘card goes here’ and even that was a stretch.”

His problems thinking were over exaggerated but that fact the pain had been worse wasn’t. Though it wouldn’t be for many years that Harry would know this fact, having not gone through a Shadow Game and therefore unable to appreciate the torture of going through a match in the Shadow Realm without protection.

“Harry…”

“Yeah Yuge?” Harry asked, testing the nickname Joey used for Yugi and being rewarded by seeing Yugi’s face light up briefly.

“Thanks for coming down to get us.”

Harry nodded, “You’re my friends, I wasn’t going to let something happen to you.”

Yugi paused to consider this, and then chuckled.

“What?” Harry protested.

“Too much alike.” Yugi laughed, “Be careful, the Puzzle might pick you for its next owner.”

“Doubt it.” Harry was scornful not because he didn’t believe the Puzzle would pick another owner if Yugi was defeated or killed, but because he really didn’t believe the Puzzle would pick someone like him.

“I didn’t think I was worthy either for a long time.” Yugi admitted.

“You’re gunna get better, then you’re going to trounce Yami and take back your title.” Harry said, reading between the lines.

“I’ve decided.” Yugi said, chuckling slightly at the thought that had hit him, “All villains have to fill out ‘intention to attack’ forms in triplicate.”

“You have ‘intention to attack’ forms? Where do you get them? I want some.” Harry laughed. “And what’s on them?”

“I had Kari print some up.” Yugi joked, “With things like, name, date of birth, gender, powers, magical items, date of planned assault, location of planned attack, you know, the normal.”

Harry couldn’t help the laughter that escaped. “How is any of that normal?” He managed to gasp, when he paused to catch his breath.

“Normal for us.” Yugi pointed out.

Harry just snorted his amusement. “How much does she charge per form?” He asked, making Yugi grin.

“Fifty Yen a copy.” Yugi played along, sitting up, “You get a 20% discount if you order more then a hundred.”

“Fifty Yen?” Harry asked, “Any idea how many sickles that is?”

“I don’t even think it translates to one.” Yugi replied, trying to remember the conversion rate at Gringotts.

“I might ask her to print a few copies for me too, then.” Harry nodded.

Then the two dissolved into laughter again.

This was much better then yesterday, when Yugi had been drifting in and out of consciousness the entire time and unable to hold a conversation.

“I bet Kaiba could do with a few too.” Yugi added, setting Harry off again which unfortunately attracted the wrath of a certain Mediwitch who told them they were supposed to be resting and she’d make sure they were if they didn’t keep the noise down.

Yugi looked kind of disappointed, but settled down, falling asleep again before long, leaving Harry to tuck into a book that Kari had let him borrow about elves. He wasn’t sure he really liked it, but it beat counting the rafters for the thirty second time and he wasn’t going to complain.