Chapter 50: Bekas: I Predicted Your Prediction

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Dark Yugi—appearing in place of the game itself—was undergoing a trial from Bakura.

Looking at his empty field and the few cards in his hand, Yugi hesitated, unable to decide which monster he should summon.

During the previous few rounds of combat, no matter what kind of monster he summoned, Bakura in the videotape acted as if he had already anticipated exactly which cards Yugi would play. He was always able to foresee the future and set up the appropriate traps to counter him. From the [Seal of Orichalcos] targeting Dragon-type monsters to the [壶魔人 (壶魔人/壶魔人 - Note: likely referring to a specific card like 'Monster of the Jar')] that could release monsters from within jars, the traps were interlocked, making Yugi feel as though he had stepped into a snare.

'Could this guy Bakura—'

"See the thoughts within your heart."

Even the speculation that had momentarily surfaced in Yugi's mind during his hesitation was accurately read by the Bakura in the image.

Thinking this, Yugi's gaze couldn't help but flicker toward Bakura's left eye, something he had been very concerned about from the very beginning. What existed there was not a human eyeball, but a golden, metallic "prosthetic eye." Its style inevitably reminded Yugi of the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck.

Almost at the exact moment Yugi's gaze met Bakura's "prosthetic eye," an extremely subtle, imperceptible power was transmitted from Bakura's eye to Yugi's through their eye contact. Involuntarily, Yugi looked down at his hand; when he saw an Zombie-type monster in his hand, his hand moved of its own accord toward the card, ready to play it.

Just then, a loud "thud" suddenly erupted from behind Yugi, snapping him out of that dazed state. Confused by his strange momentary lapse, Yugi turned his head to look behind him.

His limbs moved like those of a marionette, controlled by several illusory Duel Monsters. Hayato, looking like a zombie, pushed open the living room door and stumbled into the dueling arena. Noticing Yugi's gaze, sweat dripped continuously from Hayato's forehead. He managed a strained smile and said, "Yo, Yugi-boy—no, 'Dark Yugi.' You guys wouldn't refuse the addition of a visitor, would you?"

"Hayato-boy? What an unexpected encounter. I didn't expect you to be able to move freely within this domain of the Shadow Game." Bakura in the videotape was also surprised by Hayato's appearance, elegantly spreading his palms. "At least *me* have no objection to your joining. Duel Monsters is the greatest game, worthy of being known by more people!"

Yugi looked at the card spirits attached to Hayato's limbs with concern. "Hayato, your condition..."

"I'm just using the power of the card spirits to contend with the power of the Millennium Items. As long as I don't move too much, the consumption isn't great." Sitting down on the sofa to face Yugi, Hayato gave a smile. "The principle is simply using the card spirits to 'control' my body."

"Hahaha, that starfish-head over there, our brothers' strength is the greatest!"

"That chestnut bastard only has a little time to be smug; in the end, it's all going to rely on us."

"The title of Anigie's strongest subordinate will definitely be ours~"

Hayato unceremoniously struck his right hand—or rather, the [扰乱·黄 (Disturbance Yellow)] on his right hand—with his left hand, which was possessed by [Gaia]. "Shut up, Hayato! Watch the match quietly!"

"Hai!" *3

Hayato's appearance was merely an unexpected interlude, but when Yugi shifted his attention back to his hand, he couldn't help but daze: Why did he just want to summon that Zombie monster?

'The card spirits control Hayato's body to allow him to move... control...' At this thought, Yugi's eyes widened. He had vaguely guessed Bakura's true ability in the videotape. It definitely wasn't precognition, otherwise he would have known about Hayato's appearance. His true ability was—

Drawing a card from the top of his deck, Yugi glanced at it sideways and summoned the monster to the field. "The monster I summon is—"

"A Zombie monster, isn't it? Hoho~ Yugi-boy, I have long predicted what kind of monster *you* would summon." Bakura interrupted Yugi, casually flipping over a face-down card in his backrow. "*Me* am activating the Trap Card [Sunlight]. The holy sun will destroy all Zombie monsters on the field."

"Is that so?"

However, no expression of surprise appeared on Yugi's face. "Bakura, the essence of your ability is actually seeing my hand, isn't it? I already predicted that you would prepare a card to target the monsters in my hand. But unfortunately! This card of mine is not a Zombie, but the Spellcaster-type [Dark Magician]!"

A man with a cold expression appeared, wearing a handsome mage's robe. He spun his emerald-green wand several times like a staff, looking quite impressive.

"NO! It's actually not a Zombie monster~" Bakura looked at the [Dark Magician] Yugi summoned, putting on a pained expression.

Yugi waved his hand. "[Dark Magician], go destroy my controlled [Berserk Dragon]!"

Bakura's theatrical expression suddenly returned to normal, even though [Berserk Dragon] wasn't the only target Yugi could have attacked. "Why use [Dark Magician] to attack [Berserk Dragon] instead of the weaker [Monster of the Jar]? If you did that, this game would be over, Yugi-boy?"

"Because [Berserk Dragon] is my own monster. A monster should be laid to rest by its own master. It would be too much of a shame to let the battle end under your control." A confident expression appeared on Yugi's face, because in his view, he had completely seen through Bakura's previous posturing. "Also, your habit of adding 'boy' to names is really hard to listen to."

"Because *me* am an American, speaking like this is quite normal. Besides, Hayato-boy often calls you that too; you're quite a hypocrite, Yugi-boy~"

"There is no use in further talk. [Dark Magician], attack!"

After spinning his long wand between his palms like a Shaolin monk for a brief moment of posturing, [Dark Magician] finally remembered the command his master had just given. With a gentle wave of the wand, a surge of dark magical energy erupted, effortlessly turning the [Berserk Dragon]—which Bakura had snatched from Yugi using [Seal of Orichalcos]—into dust.

As [Dark Magician] successfully destroyed [Berserk Dragon], Bakura looked at his Life Points dropping straight to 1200 and burst into laughter. "Yugi-boy, this trivial obsession of yours will be the end of your life."

"To be able to see through a part of my ability, Yugi-boy, you have passed. Now, I shall get serious!"

***

Speaking of which, Bakura was actually one of my childhood crushes. He felt both cool and humorous at times, which was super interesting, and his way of speaking was quite cute. Also, one more thing: white hair really is a specialized charm, and the way it covers his eyes is a total weak point.

(End of Chapter)