All aboard!
Yugi woke up early that Friday.
-Good morning, - said Yami, his Millennium Puzzle spirit, who was sitting on Yugi's bed.
Yugi slightly waved and got up to dress.
-Today's my English exam, - he said, - and I don't know…
-You don't know if you're going to do well? We all feel that sometimes. But I'm pretty sure that you'll get a good grade, Yugi. I believe in you.
-Gee, thanks. Whoops! – He added. –Look at the time! We're late!
Yugi took his backpack and ran to school. Luckily, lessons hadn't started yet. He entered the classroom where his classmates were.
-Yugi! There you are! Good morning! - Said a girl with short brown hair, looking happy.
- Mornin' Tèa!
-Hey Yug'! Did you get your deck today? – said a tall blonde boy sitting on a desk nearby.
-Oh, yes Joey! So, today starts the championship?
-Yeah. I guess we have to thank Kaiba… again.
-I won't thank richboy, Tristan! – replied Joey.
Suddenly, the bell rang for the Math's class.
At around 2 o'clock, all classes finished. Yugi went home to get ready for the Dueling Championship.
-Hi grandpa!
-Hello Yugi! How was school today?
-It was great! – Said Yugi while going upstairs to his room. - Even the English exam was easy. I was worried for nothing... Hey grandpa, where are my other trousers? …Never mind, I found them.
Yugi ran downstairs, ate lunch, greeted his grandpa and went to meet his friend, Tèa.
Tèa was already waiting outside her big house, sitting on a bench in front of the garden.
- Oh, hi Yugi! How are you?
-A little nervous about the championship. Who knows how many tough competitors are there? - replied Yugi.
They met the others at the Battle City. Tristan informed them that they were going to head for Battle Island with a KaibaCorp ship in which the qualifying duels were going to take place and then, the semi-finals and finals would take place. Every duelist from around the world was going to take part, so the ship was quite huge. Suddenly, Kaiba's voice was heard:
-Welcome duelists from all around the world. You are taking part in the largest dueling tournament, hosted by me (Joey grumbled). Duels will take place in special areas of this ship. First, pre-eliminatory duels will take place, where five duelists from each continent will be chosen to proceed to the next round. These five duelists will compete at the same time. The first four who lose first, will be eliminated. As for the finals… that is a surprise. And, of course, for those who don't like surprises are free to leave the ship, and lose, - Kaiba ended his speech, smirking in the end.
-I'll teach that richboy some manners! – Joey grumbled.
-Teach me manners? Who would want to learn from a pea-brain, Wheeler? - A taunting-like voice was heard.
-Kaiba! I will not let you treat me like that! – said Joey, trying to hit him. And he would've done that, if it weren't for Tristan and Yugi, who held him firmly from his arms.
-Calm down Joey! – Said Serenity, Joey's sister, - Use this energy for the duels.
Kaiba started to walk away, but stopped right after he went past Yugi:
-Oh, and Yugi: If you think you can beat me at my own tournament, you're wrong. You're not the only one who possesses an Egyptian God card.
Kaiba left, but Joey was still angry at him.
-Hello guys! Welcome to our ship, - said Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba.
-Oh, hey Mokuba! So, where are our rooms?
-Chill Joey! My brother has thought of those too. Now, follow me, please.
Mokuba lead the group to the fifth floor of the KaibaCorp ship. Everything was made perfectly and not a single detail was missing. They walked along the fifth's floor corridor. Big crystal chandeliers were hanging down the ceiling where dueling monsters were painted. Suddenly, they stopped as they arrived at their rooms. Joey, Yugi and Tristan would sleep alone and Tèa and Serenity would sleep in a room.
-I hope you enjoy our accommodation, - said Mokuba, - and good luck Yugi and Joey!
As Mokuba left, everyone entered the room they were given to.
-Wow! This is huge! – said Yugi.
-Huge indeed. Last tournament, I didn't notice anything at all, since we were occupied on beating Marik. Now that all is over, it doesn't matter who wins, as long as everyone is safe, - replied Yami.
The ship began its journey, as everyone was inside their rooms.
-Miss Ishtar, I brought your… belongings, - said a tall man, putting a small bag to the bed and as he was leaving, he pointed at the phone on the table, - if you need anything, feel free to call our 24 –hour ship service. Have a nice stay!
-Thank you.
The woman opened the bag to take from it an eye-shaped necklace.
-I guess I couldn't do without my Millennium necklace. Since the pharaoh took it, I just had to guess the future on my own and was unprotected by attacks from other Millennium items, - she said, putting the necklace on her neck.
Meanwhile, Tèa and Serenity went outside for a walk.
-This year should be fun, - said Serenity.
-Yeah, since Marik is gone, everything is back to normal.
- It sure is. Who do you think will take the second place in this tournament?
-Second? Why not first?
-Because the first place will be won by my brother. I'm pretty sure of it.
-Oh yeah, your brother, - said Tèa ironically, - He's nothing compared to Yugi.
-You just say that because you have a crush on him! – said Serenity.
-Who? Me? Nah… - replied Tèa, blushing.
-Of course you have a crush on him! You get jealous whenever girls talk to him. I've seen you.
-Well… yeah… you really caught me off guard. I kinda… like him. He's sweet and confident and… Oh come on! Let's not talk about boys now!
Serenity giggled:
-Hey! Wait up for me! – She said as Tèa began to fasten her pace. They walked along the ship's deck for an hour or so, when they suddenly saw…
-Ishizu? What is she doing in here? – said Tèa. - Let's go and find out.
They girls approached a tall woman with black hair, decorated with golden jewels. She was wearing clothes that were typical for ancient Egyptians, but the thing that caught the eye was the necklace she was wearing, reflecting the light of the setting sun. Her gaze was fixed at a far away point.
She became aware of the girls and without turning around, she spoke:
-Ah, Tèa, Serenity. You are here too. How are the others?
She turned around to face them, smiling slightly.
-They're fine, thanks. Why are you here?
-Me? Oh, I wanted to see how the duels would be made, - she said quite calm, but on the other hand, it seemed like she wanted to hide something.
-I see you have your necklace back, - said Serenity.
-Yes. Yes I do.
After a short pause, she added:
- Now girls, if you will excuse me, I am going to head back to my cabin. Farewell until next time.
-Good…bye, - said Tèa half-waving her hand, - well, that was strange.
-Indeed. I hope everything's okay… Come on, - said Serenity, grabbing Tèa's arm, - let's go to our cabin, too.
The next morning, everyone was relaxed and happy and went to the Great Hall, where they would have the chance to meet new duelists, or to even make new friends. Tèa, Serenity, Joey, Tristan and Yugi were at the entrance, waiting for the duelists to be sorted and chatting about random stuff.
-I'm sorry, - a voice said, - could you tell me where the room of Seto Kaiba is?
The group turned to face the owner of the voice. It was a tall girl with brown straight hair falling on her shoulders. She had a pair of sunglasses above her head and was wearing a white t-shirt with black sleeveless jacket, jeans and a pair of white sneakers.
-Hello! - Said Yugi to the girl, - What's your name?
-Oh, how impolite of me! My name is Caitlin Johnson. I'm the winner of this year's British National Dueling Championship and I'm here to win this tournament.
-So you duel too? – Said Yugi, - Cool! My name is Yugi. I'm the winner of Japan.
-Japan? So you didn't have to travel as far as me, - joked Caitlin, - now, could you tell me where Seto Kaiba might be?
-Richboy? - Replied Joey, - On the…last floor, I guess. That's what I heard Mokuba say a little while ago. I still don't understand why would you meet him, but… anyways, nice meeting you, Caitlin!
-Nice meeting you too!
Caitlin went to the tenth floor. Every door had the name of the duelists. Caitlin stopped right in front of room 145. She knocked.
-Come in, - a voice was heard inside.
Caitlin came inside. The room was big: Five chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, walls painted in crimson, decorated with maroon drawings of ancient monsters. The sunlight dimly shone the room from the balcony's glass. Every piece of furniture seemed very expensive: from the sofa to the carpets, Persian ones. And there was Kaiba, sitting in a black armchair, apparently remodeling his dueling deck. He raised his head to see the visitor.
-Who are you and why do you bother me? - He said, uninterested.
- I am Caitlin. We used to go to Elementary together.
-Caitlin. What a surprise. I rephrase my question: What do you want?
-Well, well. I see someone's a bit moody. I just came here to meet you again, because not only I came here as a duelist, winner of the British National Dueling Championship, but also as an observer.
-Observer? What do you mean?
-The last five years I've constantly heard about this KaibaCorp, a company similar to mine, CaitlinCorp. Only last month I heard that you were the President. I didn't get the chance to meet you before, but now I have the opportunity to compare my gaming products with yours. I suppose yours are better, for now, since you have more experience in this stuff. My company is only two years old.
-You own a company? – Asked Kaiba, surprised, - Why haven't I heard it before?
-Currently it's famous only in Great Britain and I plan to spread it into more locations.
-Good luck with that, - grunted Kaiba.
-Don't be such a pessimist, Seto. Who knows? Maybe my company can beat yours.
-Well then, call me when you achieve that, - replied Kaiba, smirking.
-You and your sarcasm…, -after a short pause, Caitlin added, - Well, I'll leave now if you don't mind. Good day Seto!
Kaiba's eyes followed her until she closed the door.
"Surely something hit her head to think like that, - he thought, putting his deck on the table, - Maybe it's because she became the British champion on duel monsters. Her company, beat mine? Pathetic."
Kaiba went to the balcony: A few people were enjoying the morning view. Almost everyone was at the Great Hall. Kaiba didn't want to show up, anyway.
"I'm not lowering myself to that pile of second-handed who profit just because I'm rich. In fact, they're jealous because they wish they were me. Amateurs,"- he thought.
Meanwhile, Caitlin had reached the other duelists and their friends to the Great Hall. At the hall's stage was Rowland, with a sorting machine that would announce the pre-eliminatory matches. Each duelist had a number since they entered. Caitlin was the 141st duelist from 150 in total. The sorting had started.
After a while, Rowland said:
-Number 141 will duel number… 32.
Both the duelists' faces and names showed up on the big screen.
"So, - thought Caitlin, - I'm going to duel Mika Djokovich."
She didn't want to stay and end up chatting with others, so she went upstairs to her room on the tenth floor.
The corridor was brightly lightened. The walls had carvings of duel monsters, while the ceiling had drawings of scattered cards and, hanging, were three chandeliers that spread a fluorescent blue-like light. The doors were made from pine and had a soft brown colour. Above every door was written the number of the room and the name of the duelist and next to the door, on the right, was the electronic door lock, where you slide a card to open or close the door. Caitlin found her room, slide her key-card and entered inside. She went to the bedroom.
There was a black, metal suitcase, which she opened it.
"These cards… These are the reason I've went so far. I put my soul into them and I swore to protect them, no matter what. They have saved me. They have changed my life."
The cards were of all kinds, and most of them rare, but they were scratched and ripped. It seemed they were rather old.
Caitlin took her dueling disc and put the cards inside the deck hole and closed the suitcase.
She then went to the living room to open her laptop.
Suddenly, a video-call request appeared on her screen:
-Hello Caitlin! How are you? - A man said.
-Hello father! I'm great, thanks. How are you?
-I'm rather fine, thank you. Is anything new there?
-Tomorrow are the pre-eliminatory duels.
-Really? Good luck and… I'm sorry you got to go alone.
-Not to worry father. There's John, my servant, here, - replied Caitlin.
-Look at the time! I must be going, my child. I'm extremely tired.
-What a pity! I thought you would stay… Oh well. Goodnight father!
-Goodnight Caitlin!
In the meantime, Yugi, Tèa, Serenity, Joey and Tristan were discussing about the sorting, which had just ended.
-I was sorted with this guy... Maiko Hasana, - said Joey, - he looked pretty scary to me with those big muscles and stuff.
-I was sorted with Claire Chateaux, - said Yugi, happily.
-Whatever.
-Why, what's wrong?
But, before he could get any response, a girl came from behind him, closing his eyes:
-Guess who am I?
-Rebecca?
-You guessed it! Hi everyone, especially you, my Yugi! How are you? Missed me? - She said.
-Yeah, - said Yugi, smiling, - It's nice seeing you here.
-Hey! Watch it Rebecca! You're suffocating Yugi! – Said Joey.
But Rebecca stepped on his foot:
-HOW DARE YOU SEPARATE ME FROM YUGI? I'LL KILL YOU!
-Nyahh! I'm… sorry, but you're…
This time, Joey got hit in the head by Tristan:
-Shut up, will you? Before she gets mad even more and throws you off the ship.
-You've changed Rebecca. Since I last saw you, - said Serenity.
-Ah… yes. I've removed my glasses. Do I look pretty?
-I like you both ways, - replied Yugi.
-Aw, thank you! - Rebecca replied, hugging Yugi.
Tèa was the only one that hadn't spoken: She looked pale and angry, watching Yugi and Rebecca together. Serenity saw this and asked her what was the matter, but all what Tèa said was:
-I'm… I'm going to the restroom.
She left in a blink of an eye. Serenity got worried, but she didn't rush after her, because she thought she needed some time alone.
Tèa ran to the restroom. Fortunately for her, it was empty. She locked the door and saw herself in the mirror: Her eyes were bloody red from crying all the way to the restroom and she was pale. Some tears escaped her eyes, down her cheeks and then on the sink's marble.
She gave a glance to her hands too: They were gripping the marble tight, a sign of the rage that had taken over her a few minutes ago.
She washed her face several times, to not look that she was upset. Tèa stayed there for another ten minutes, just to calm down, and then went outside to catch up with the others. Apparently, she had arrived late, as in the Great Hall there were only janitors, who were cleaning up.
She went to the elevator. While she was waiting, she noticed Yugi and Rebecca getting out of the elevator next to where was Tèa, so she decided to follow them, without them knowing.
Rebecca and Yugi went to the ship's deck to enjoy the hot midday sun that was shining brightly above them.
-Isn't it beautiful Yugi? – said Rebecca, holding tight to Yugi's arm.
-Yeah. I guess.
-You guess? You're not romantic at all!
-Well… It's… fine.
The duo kept walking along the deck, with Tèa 2 or 3 feet away from them.
-Did you get your swimming trunks?
-Me? Rebecca, how am I supposed to swim, when it's 20 feet above the water?
-Well, we could've gotten some sunlight.
-I didn't think that.
-Hey! Let's go over there, - said Rebecca, pointing at a table a few feet away.
The deck was full of people. Most of them were sightseeing. Some were taking pictures, or drinking smoothies. Yugi and Rebecca sat down and ordered two cold sodas. Tèa, on the other hand, sat two tables away, ordering a bottle of water.
-You too have changed Yugi. I just noticed that.
-Really? – said Yugi, blushing.
-Yeah, you got taller and you're a bit more mature. But still, you're not romantic at all, a typical boy.
-You got taller too. Mature? You're already! – said Yugi, smiling.
-Thanks! How's the Pharaoh?
-He's fine. He seems calmer than the other tournament, where he had to defeat Marik. He says that it doesn't matter who wins. It matters that everyone's OK.
-Yeah, that's the most important… Hey! Our sodas are here!
The waiter put the two sodas on the table with two straws in them.
-Um… Rebecca? Can we swap straws? I'm not sure if I like this pink one.
-Of course! - Said Rebecca, giggling.
-How's Professor Hawkins? Has he discovered anything new?
-He's going on an archaeological trip in a few days…To find the lost city of Atlantis.
-Really? So it's true that Atlantis existed?
-According to my grandpa's discoveries in Egypt, where he found some strange carvings that weren't typical for the ancient Egypt. One of them somehow showed the coordinates of a place that resulted it didn't exist, because when he flew there, it was just plain seawater. So he thought those coordinates were about something else: something hidden underneath the blue sea.
-Like Atlantis!
-Precisely! My grandpa is home right now, preparing for the trip.
-I wish I was there.
-Me too, but my grandpa told me that it was dangerous. I even had packed for that trip!
-I guess we have to wait until he discovers something.
-Who needs waiting? I've brought any possible technological communication device to get in touch with him, in case he finds anything.
-Incredible.
Tèa meanwhile was sitting there as she was a mummy, not a human. She was blankly staring at the couple, wishing it was her instead of Rebecca. Unknowingly, Serenity came behind her:
-Tèa! I've been looking all over for you! You worried me... - Serenity stopped talking when she saw how miserable Tèa was. She sat next to her and she took a glance at the direction Tèa was looking.
-Again with these two? Come on Tèa! Don't be so stubborn! If Yugi doesn't want to be with you, he doesn't. Get over it. And don't try to break them up. If you like Yugi, you shouldn't break his heart. Besides, you were friends since little. I'm pretty sure your friendship isn't influenced by Rebecca. She seems a nice girl.
For the first time, since she sat there, Tèa took her glance away from Yugi and Rebecca and now stared at Serenity.
-But… I want Yugi! It's not fair!
-Tèa, you should get some sleep. You're eyes are red.
-They are?
-Yeah.
-How long was I gone?
-Um… five hours or something.
-Really? - Asked Tèa, rising from the chair, blushing, - I guess you're right. I'm being an idiot. Come. Let's go inside.
-But I just came here! – Serenity protested, but as she saw the angry look Tèa gave her, she rose and came after Tèa.