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“I thought I lost it!” Kotsuzuka grabbed the boy who he’d come to know only as his brother in the occult. He’d all but thought that his white haired tag partner had abandoned him like anyone else would once they realized they were paired with a duelist with unusual interests like him. Not everyone could stomach his affinity for zombies, let alone his previous failures as a duelist while under his former boss, Keith. Kotsuzuka’s eyes widened as he gripped the card, fingers trembling over Eldlich The Golden Lord in all of his undead glory sitting upon his throne of tombstones.
“You really should keep better track of your things,” Yami Bakura managed to force out. He stood frozen in Kotsuzuka’s arms, unsure of how to react to this sudden gesture of affection. Over the past few weeks, he’d found himself growing used to the companionship of Kotsuzuka, this feeble mortal he could destroy so easily right here, right now. But he didn’t. Instead he smirked under a curtain of hair and let himself ease into his shadow’s embrace.
Kotsuzuka couldn’t mention the fact that he’d gotten this card originally to impress the other boy. Something about this sort of confession would be even more embarrassing than the fact that he’d been scammed out of it in the first place.
It all started with a shot in the dark–one of the premier Duel Links influencers, Monty “The Monarch”, with his titular deck of tribute summon brutes, offering a challenge to all duelists in Domino City: beat him 1v1 for a chance to win a dream ticket. It sounded almost too good to be true, but Kotsuzuka was determined to walk away with a prize fit for his upcoming tag duel so he wouldn’t just be walking in his partner's shadows anymore. It was his turn to bring the heat and unleash an ace monster that would be the ultimate support for both of their decks. It was no surprise to him that he’d grown into a stronger duelist under Yami Bakura’s tutelage, and so he defeated Monty without breaking much of a sweat. Just as promised, Monty handed over the card, and in moments, Kotsuzuka was the proud owner of the Eldlich.
“You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you, kid?”
The boy didn’t even have a chance to react to this very obvious dig at his naivety, a surprise to most despite his sinister appearance–deep down, Kotsuzuka was just like any other fifteen year old, and his hope of impressing his tag partner outweighed any second thoughts that would have made it clear that there had to be a reason why this influencer was so willing to give away such a rare card. Kotsuzuka choked on his retort as Monty shoved him down on the sidewalk and snatched the prize back; the fact that Monty didn’t even grace the thud from his fall with a reaction hurt more than the fall itself or even the fact that he’d been duped. It was as if everything about him as a duelist, as a person, didn’t matter to anyone in the world, and he felt himself sink the same as when he was disposed of by Keith. Like his namesake, ghosts were meant to be forgotten–they have no value to the world of the living. And he lay there alone in the grave of his continued failure.
A familiar beep from his duel disk brought him back to life. New message. What timing.
Tomorrow’s duel is with Kaiba and Malik.
We don’t want to disappoint. Meet me at the event gate tonight to plan.
Kotsuzuka half-smiled. He was glad that at least someone thought of him, undead or alive. But then remembering his embarrassing mistake wiped this moment of relief from his face, and in a frenzy he searched through his card collection. Maybe there was some other card he’d completely forgotten about that might leave an eerily wonderful impression on his tag partner. But even after looking and relooking at all of the possible deck combinations, there was nothing new–no grave rising combinations that would earn even a nod of approval from his occult friend. He cradled his sunken face in his hands as he tried to figure out how exactly he’d reply to the message. Even though Yami Bakura had no knowledge of how Kotsuzuka was taken advantage of, he didn’t want his disappointment to come through his text, especially on the night before their big match.
Incoming video call. Curses…Kotsuzuka wasn’t even sure how to work the camera settings on his duel disk, this being the first time he’d ever gotten a video call. He fumbled fingers through his hair in an attempt to make himself somewhat presentable and was thankful that his overall appearance wasn’t very put together to begin with. He took a deep breath and hoped his partner wouldn’t suspect a thing.
“Ghost, can you hear me?”
Kotsuzuka nodded. He smiled, feeling a little relief as it seemed that this master of the occult didn’t have a clue how to work his duel disk’s communicator either. Instead of being greeted by the spikey, white mane he was used to, Kotsuzuka’s only view was blue and white striped fabric and borders of rope that hung from a neck off screen.
“You didn’t reply, and I needed to know that you got my message. If we are to win this tag tournament, you must take this seriously.”
“Of course, Occult Master,” Kotsuzka replied, trying his best to mask the mounting guilt that built in his throat, and he swallowed hoping that the other boy wouldn’t notice.
A pause lingered as both waited for the other to say something. Yami Bakura handled this with the grace expected of him and hung up without a word. Shit, Kotsuzuka thought. I must have made him upset… I’m the worst tag partner ever. Weighing down his pockets with his hands, Kotsuzuka shuffled in the direction toward their meeting place.
The fountain in front of the event gate seemed almost luminescent as if it was a moon of its own at the center of the plaza. It was surrounded by satellites of pink and yellow blooms that orbited the trickling center. Each splash of water from the sculptured spout eclipsed the next to create a pattern of rings that rippled in the pool. Kotsuzuka found himself watching each wave after the next sluggishly make its way to settle against the concrete lip of the pool. Phantom vibrations led him to repetitively check his duel disk, worried that he might miss a message or would see a notification of their duel being canceled. No, he wouldn’t bail on a duel like this, especially after hyping it up to himself so much. Kotsuzuka also knew that his partner shared the same yearning for victory and recognition even if he’d never say it.
The sound of familiar footsteps brought Kotsuzuka back to life. He turned to see the wraithlike outline of his tag partner drifting toward him. This wasn’t out of the ordinary, and it brought Kotsuzuka some peace to see Yami Bakura walk alongside the otherworldly fog that always seemed to accompany him.
“I waited for you here, just as you asked,” Kotsuzuka greeted him, hoping that his overt obedience would make up for any former doubts Yami Bakura might have about his dedication to their duel partnership.
“And you’re good at that,” Yami Bakura smirked. “It’s why I keep you around. You know, I’ve come to trust you in this partnership we’ve had.” He stopped in front of the shorter boy and tucked his hands into his pockets.
Kotsuzuka’s usually pale face couldn’t conceal the rush of red that broke over it. He stood silently, unable to anticipate what he might say next. But Yami Bakura didn’t seem to notice. Instead he seemed much more focused on looking through his deck. Kotsuzuka admired what he assumed was Yami Bakura’s steadfast determination to prepare for their duel, so he followed suit and rummaged for his deck. Sifting through his cards, it was hard to conceal his disappointment when he reminded himself that he had such a novice deck compared to his partner, and he didn’t want to seem like deadweight, especially in front of Kaiba, of all people.
Yami Bakura looked up from his deck and put a hand over Kotsuzuka’s fanned out deck that did a poor job concealing his angst. The taller boy stood there, watching as the blush returned to the other’s cheeks. There was a pregnant pause.
“...You know, I didn’t even tell you about my–I mean, our strategy for tomorrow,” Yami Bakura managed to say. This was his way of acknowledging the tears building in Kotsuzuka’s eyes without making either boy vulnerable, or really himself. An odd, protective urge rose from the pits of his stomach–a feeling he’d not grown used to even after inhabiting the body of his host who was quite defensive of his friends. It was easy for him to wave this feeling off as being for his own benefit as a duelist rather than to do something kind for the kid waiting for him with baited breath. He smirked and fingered a card from the top of his deck and held it out.
“This card–Eldlich The Golden Lord–I thought it might suit your deck and support mine nicely.”
Kotsuzuka’s vision blurred from the sentiment behind the gift. Here was the card that he’d already won for himself; by pure chance, his partner happened to win it back after what he could only assume was a grave encounter. He smiled, knowing that the horrors that befell the fraud influencer were likely his very last given what happened to anyone else that crossed Yami Bakura’s path.
“What do you think? I know it's last minute, but I just thought–”
Before Yami Bakura could finish his thought, he found himself bound by Kotsuzuka’s arms. The smaller boy squeezed him to show his thanks, rapidly retelling the events that led to him losing his card, and Yami Bakura found himself in a rare moment of being completely and utterly speechless. He never predicted he’d find himself in this kind of friendly predicament, let alone being close enough with anyone else that he would ever be hugged. He, the occult mastermind with a plan for everything, was caught completely off guard by this affable gesture from his ghoulish disciple. And yet, he didn’t pull away.
“Thank you! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Kotsuzuka enthusiastically croaked. He pulled his head back to look up at his occult master who was looking down at him with a mix of pride and what Kotsuzuka hoped was the bud of some sort of mutual admiration that might bloom into something more. And his hope was stoked by the pleasantly cool hands of his ghostly infatuation, hovering at first, unsure, before settling at the nape of his neck and the small of his back. For once, Kotsuzuka was glad about being so short to make these areas the only reachable option to reciprocate his hug.
“Don’t worry about paying me back for this…this is for our team, afterall.” Yami Bakura managed to choke out, as if to correct the record despite his arms still being around the other boy. If he didn’t, he’d have to worry about what this might mean about his reputation. He couldn’t let anyone, or moreso his conscience, know that this was a moment he’d acted out of care and not purely for the betterment of himself.
But Kotsuzuka knew better. He could see past the rough edges of self preservation that his partner was layered in. And he could relate. Kotsuzuka knew this card was worth cherishing, not only as a token of their blossoming duel partnership but as a rare moment of humanity that he saw rise from time to time in this petrified spirit. And so Kotsuzuka let Yami Bakura go, knowing that the best way to repay him would be by continuing to duel at his side and coming up with a plan to leave tomorrow’s opponents crushed by their macabre strategies, together.