Yu-Gi-Oh Manga: 204 The Thing in the Dark

That sounds ominous. I'm a little past the mood to read creepy pasta, having scratched that itch during last month's festivities, but I can dig a little more spooky content. Hopefully it doesn't cross a line, though, because asshole!Bakura has been known to do some murder from time to time. Sure, he's only gone so far with an older side character who had a Millennium Item, but he could easily get a bit antsy and go after his fellow mains, or any of the few adults on board their isolated blimp.

Look, just be careful, okay Moar Cards Guy? I've grown awfully attached.

Stop drawing attention to yourself! What did I tell you?

Yami glares at asshole!Bakura with his arms crossed, wondering what his strategy is. Asshole!Bakura is just standing over there with his back turned, giggling like an idiot, so Yami is forced to dwell on the momentary look he got of the vicious expression asshole!Bakura wore. Yami only now seems to realize that the true Bakura might have been taken over by his darker personality from the Millennium Ring, gaping at the potential horror. Boy, did it take HIM a long time to pick up the obvious...

Moar Cards Guy disrupts all the speculation to shout some more, pointing up at the ceiling as he announces this and all subsequent duels will be held on the Aerial Dueling Platform, the special ring ON Battle Ship. ON. Jonouchi, as always, has to ask for clarification, but his curiosity isn't satisfied this time. Moar Cards Guy just says that the two active opponents are meant to take the "spiral escalator" up to the duel field, whatever that means. He offers to lead the rest of the crowd who would like to act as spectators by a different route, and Jonouchi accepts this with excitement, for Honda and Ryuji as well.

Indeed, the escalator that Yami stands on a little later is in a spiral, for no conceivable reason. He's looking up at Bakura, who still has his back turned and his face shadowed as he hunches over his stolen Duel Disk. Yami thinks the duel could be dangerous if Bakura is actually the asshole version of himself. The outside of the blimp is shown, with the top of it standing out against the dark sky for a reason.

Others not mentioned - wind resistance and turbulence. Given how pleased Kaiba looks, I'd bet a pretty penny this is HIS idea, and aside from this meaning that he isn't as disconnected from the planning of the finals as he wanted everyone to believe, this is the WORST idea he's ever had. Great job making murder that much easier for the murderous fuckwads you invited on board, idiot, as well as greatly increasing the odds of genuine accidental deaths.

Perhaps just to run contrary to Kaiba's sadistic expectations, Yami's friends stop complaining, starting with Anzu flippantly dismissing the weather she's wearing a t-shirt and shorts in. Whether this is Marik's influence or not isn't implied. Regardless, Jonouchi joins in, straight-up LYING that it isn't so cold after all. Anzu suggests that they warm themselves up by cheering for Yami and Honda agrees, despite the fact that Yami is facing ANOTHER of their friends, and they should maybe be a bit more conflicted by this match than they seem? Geez guys, you really don't give two shits about Bakura, do you?

I'm beginning to get Bakura's lack of care about bringing the Millennium Ring everywhere with him...

The asshole version and Yami face each other on the raised platform, at first silently, until asshole!Bakura states through a grin that it's been a while. Yami says that he knew it, and that things were going a little TOO well, asking asshole!Bakura how long the asshole has been in control. Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda are all flabbergasted and in disbelief that Bakura has been taken over again, which makes their lack of support for him even MORE egregious. Honda calls Bakura an idiot for wearing the Millennium Ring again. At least SOMEONE agrees with me.

"Namu" starts asking questions about what "Millennium Ring" and "dark mind" mean, and why Bakura's expression has changed so suddenly. This dude is laying it on real think, but Jonouchi doesn't appear to notice, because he must feel pretty important to be asked to explain anything. He tries to make the long story short, but ends up going over how the Millennium Items are ancient Egyptian things, the "rumors" that those who have them develop split personalities, Yami and Yuugi being somewhat nice companion personalities from the Millennium Puzzle, but other items like the Millennium Ring contain EVIL personalities instead. This takes a lot of dialogue in two panels to cover. So much for making a long story short.

"Namu" acts surprised, asking if Jonouchi is saying that Bakura is possessed, and Anzu tells him of the time asshole!Bakura lured their group into a tabletop RPG, almost killing them. Expression becoming somewhat blank, "Namu" claims disbelief, while Jonouchi mutters a curse and says he has a bad feeling about this duel. Internally, Marik makes one TINY correction to Jonouchi's explanation, that it's not just one mind controlling Bakura right now.

Are you sure it's not the double vision from whatever drug's giving you that perpetually high look?

Moar Cards Guy commands that Yami and asshole!Bakura cut and shuffle each others' decks, and they comply, glaring at one another. Yami's glower is standard, but asshole!Bakura's is accented with a creepy grin. Appropriate. As he shuffles, Yami admits he never thought he'd face asshole!Bakura, of all people, at cards. Asshole!Bakura responds with a chuckle and says he had an awful lot of fun playing that tabletop RPG a while back, even if he DID lose.

Yami is determined to ask once and ONLY once whether or not asshole!Bakura is after the Millennium Puzzle again, but asshole!Bakura doesn't want to give a straight answer. It's cryptic and not at all helpful, just like his thoughts, which insist that Yami has to stay alive in order to open the "Dark Door", because Yami's the one to possess the puzzle, which is apparently the final piece in the bigger quest for asshole!Bakura's power. He wants Yami to keep it safe for him until he actually needs it. It's all very opaque.

But even this vague bullshit does not come out. Instead he tells Yami that he entered the tournament for one reason and one reason only; he wants Yami's god card. Yami doesn't seem to buy it, wondering what asshole!Bakura could possibly want with his god card. As if reading his mind, asshole!Bakura explains that in order to dominate the gaming world one needs to become the Duel King, and to do that, he has to win this tournament. Yami silently stares, and asshole!Bakura chuckles, recalling the agreement he made with Marik as he puts his deck in his Duel Disk. Apparently, upon winning Slifer, his plan is to exchange it for the Millennium Rod.

While Anzu and Jonouchi gape on either side of him, Marik just gives the scene a menacing stare. He grins and closes his eyes, thinking that if worst comes to worst, he can always take direct control of Bakura and use him to defeat Yami himself. Asshole!Bakura hears this inside his own head, it seems, and tells Marik to back the fuck off, because Yami is his to defeat. He conspicuously leaves out the far more relevant fact that Marik's remote control strategy has yet to actually result in victory. Why?

Because Marik sucks at this. There. I said it. Fight me.

Moar Cards Guy slices down through the air with his hand and declares the start of the duel.

Not that Anzu actually gives much of a shit about Ryo, as has been demonstrated.

Oh, and shut up, Kaiba.

Asshole!Bakura announces that it's his turn first, and Yami seems to go with the flow, even giving asshole!Bakura a little smile as he anticipates a demonstration of his skills as a duelist. At least he can't cheat at cards by jiggling the table with his knee. Asshole!Bakura is pretty confident, though, stating that he's going to do MORE than show Yami all his skills. Somehow. He plays a card called "The Portrait's Secret" in attack, a big framed picture of a distinguished-looking man with a demon thing emerging from it. Standard horror fare, followed by asshole!Bakura ending his turn.

Yami is suspicious of this move, because the portrait only has 1200 attack points, and it smacks of a trap. Jonouchi is less worried, shouting that asshole!Bakura doesn't have any face down cards, so he's defenseless by his perspective. He encourages Yami to slay the monster.

Bluff called. Asshole!Bakura growls about his reduction in points, as Yami puts a face down card on his Duel Disk and ends his turn. Looking a bit miffed, asshole!Bakura shouts that it's his turn again. He summons the "Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams", a ghoul-looking dealie holding up a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, promptly ending his turn. This one is also in attack position, which baffles Yami with its mere 1300 attack points. Marik just looks pissed, mentally side-eyeing asshole!Bakura as he wonders if this dope has any kind of strategy at all.

He's not the only one who sees the ineptitude here. Anzu says it's almost as though asshole!Bakura doesn't even understand the basics of the game, even though she thought he might have been better at this. He made it into the FINALS of a city-wide tournament, after all. But Jonouchi doesn't seem to take this into account, calling asshole!Bakura a super amateur and nothing to be afraid of, confident that Yami will wipe the floor with him.

Yami draws a card and declares his turn, slapping another card onto his Duel Disk to attack anew with.

My bullshit alarm is blaring too loud to STAND right now.

Asshole!Bakura uses his turn to play a new card, "Headless Knight" (just what it says on the tin), in ATTACK again. He urges Yami to take his turn now, and silently to destroy his monster. Yami is wigged out, wondering desperately what asshole!Bakura is up to. Still, he attacks with Magnet Warrior to kill Headless Knight and reminds Baphomet to do another direct attack on asshole!Bakura. Now the guy is down to 750 life points, with one arm up swung up in front of his head protectively, expression unreadable in the wake of the attack. Yami marvels at the fact that asshole!Bakura has lost three monsters in three turns, never putting up any resistance the whole time. Anzu is recoiled a bit, describing all this as a little creepy, as Jonouchi starts to wonder if asshole!Bakura is REALLY just weak. He's pretty sure Yami will win on the next turn, though, the way things are going.

And yet, when asshole!Bakura looks up, he's wearing a psychotic grin, chuckle turning into maniacal laughter. Yami's heart hammers while asshole!Bakura thanks him through his laughter for falling for the trap. This of course has Yami shocked and in disbelief, which in itself is a little on the unbelievable side. I thought you were savvier than this, Yami. It's a little more acceptable that Jonouchi is also having trouble understanding that Yami has fallen for a trap, preferring the narrative that Yami has been dominating the duel instead. Anzu takes stock of the field, Yami's two monsters and asshole!Bakura's zero, and states that the numbers just don't add up.

Asshole!Bakura claims that he has in his deck one of the most terrifying cards in the whole of the game, but this card requires a special sort of summon. It appears that Yami is familiar with a special summon, and he better damn well be, given how much he knows about Duel Monsters otherwise. Still, his eyes are still wide in alarm as asshole!Bakura begins to pick a particular card from his hand. He explains that three monsters must be in his graveyard before his special card will appear on the field, destroyed in attack position within the first five turns of a match.

That's... weirdly specific.

Does anyone else get the feeling that KT watched Hellraiser before he got started designing the Bakura-squared deck? It's like we solved the box and this is our punishment.

Yami repeats the name like a question, because its evil mommy face is both confusing and creepy while it stares across the field. It is Yami's humble conclusion that he's underestimated asshole!Bakura's ability to summon first-class monsters using bizarre methods. Asshole!Bakura chuckles and mentions that Necrofear's special ability is super duper, and Yami expresses even more shock. I wonder what the threshold for him to be totally unsurprised is at this point.

Asshole!Bakura promises to teach Yami to fear the occult, but he should be careful with that. There's a certain Uncle Frank, Julia, and Kirsty who could attest to how personal a risk it is to summon up Cenobites. Tread with care.

Or don't. Asshole.

So, what did I think of this chapter overall? Asshole!Bakura's play at incompetence shouldn't have been so effective. Everyone, especially Yami, should have been more than aware that he was up to something, even if they weren't quite sure what it was. Yes, even Jonouchi, despite his general thickness, shouldn't have been surprised. If he was wise enough to be on the verge of suspicion of "Namu" in the last couple of chapters, he's wise enough to recognize a ploy when he sees it.

The only reason that everyone was caught so unaware (weak and half-formed wonderings of side-characters aside), that I can think of anyway, is so that asshole!Bakura wasn't stopped in such a complicated and crappy strategy too soon. The card he's using had to be designed with a surprise entrance in mind, and it wouldn't be enough to make the special summon require just one or two monsters in the graveyard. The graveyard requirement couldn't be combined with regular sacrifices, because that wouldn't bring him close enough to a strangely easy loss - it's a classic feint, diving too close to the ground just to pull back on the yoke. It seems really exciting if you don't look too closely at how oddly specific the card requirements are, and how early asshole!Bakura would have to draw and hold that card in order for it to win him EVERY SINGLE DUEL up until the finals.

He'd better be cheating again.

Also, I can't quite figure out what the point of this outside platform on the blimp is. I mean, I get that it's supposed to be some sort of gladiatorial trial for the duelists, despite the fact that this is a card game, and success in a card tournament by no means corresponds with the training it would take to be able to withstand such conditions. On a level, I understand Kaiba's need to make the finals of his tournament as grueling as humanly possible. It's another manifestation of his view of winning's opposite being death.

But, story-wise, what does this accomplish? Whiplash? Just in the previous chapter, we had a drab little BINGO MACHINE determining the dueling pairs, and now, we have hardcore death platform. The former suggests what Kaiba assured everyone of in the beginning, that he purposefully excluded himself from planning and knowledge of the finals to make everything more fair. The latter suggests that he was intimately involved in planning this to a scary degree and with little to no oversight. Which is it? Because it can't be both ways. Not unless someone else at Kaiba Corp is just as twisted and weird as Kaiba is -

Oh. Oh no, Mokuba the murder child has returned...