Hello Everyone.
First of all, a very big THANKS to all my reviewers for the first chapter of this story. I love you all!!!♥♥♥
I know, I took my own sweet time into updating this story as well as the other stories.
But I'm pretty sure of your reactions to this chapter.
I'm not gonna say why? You discover it by yourself.
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters.
If I did, there would have been a couple of weddings or engagements at the end of the show. ☺☺☺
Chapter 2: A look at the others.
Somewhere in Netherlands…
"Hey Yug', what do ya think? Are we gonna make it to the finals?"
an overtired Joey asked his short best friend."
"I don't know Joey, but I think that we are doing pretty well here. It's good that you've informed us of this dual monsters' tournament. We have met so many people."
Yugi replied to his friend in a small and barely audible voice.
"Yo Tristan, why do ya think Kaiba isn't participatin', just watch out, the price of five million of dollars and the title of the king of games, isn't this what he always wanted since Yug' beat his sorry ass?"
Joey slightly slapped Tristan on his back. Tristan sweat dropped.
"Joey, for once, try using your mind correctly, replay each and every detail of this tournament and guess why he is not here, you nimrod!"
"Besides Joey, he already told you why himself, remember?" Duke added.
The others present tried to contain their laughter at the Joey's stupidity. The guy could be sensible when he wanted. And now that Duke mentioned it, he did remember what happened.
Flashback in Japan, Domino City, 1 week before…
"Hey Joey, my fellow worker, come here!"
"Right on! Give me a sec Mr. Kander!"
Joey obeyed the owner of the newspaper agency for whom he was the delivery boy and a very friendly employee.
"Did you hear about this tournament a certain person is organising in Netherlands? Something about dual monsters and a money prize as well as a title and a plate."
Joey's boss continued, "His name is Zigfried Von der…Sar…no…uh…well something like that! Here, see!!!"
He placed a newspaper in front of Joey's face as if he was feeding him. Joey eyes could have popped out of their sockets. He snatched the paper and stared at it for a very long time until he started to gasp for air. He had not realised that he had not been breathing since he read the article.
"Ummm thanks dude…I mean Mr. Kander, can I go now, and as it is, my shift is over."
Joey asked his boss.
"Sure thing and good luck, I'm sure that you are going to participate now that I see this determined look on your face. You are a good duellist!!!"
His boss had praised him. Joey was on cloud nine as he rode his bicycle home.
Tomorrow, the gang is in for a pleasant surprise. He thought
The following day when he went to school, the gang was sitting as usual together before the start of the class.
Joey made his way towards his group and started grinning.
Everyone looked at him questioningly. "Guess what guys?" he asked with his grin get bigger and bigger. "I'm giving each of you a guess, come on!!!"
"You finally took a bath?" Duke asked. Everyone chuckled. He shook no and then realised what he did and said that he always take a bath.
"You have been proposed by Mai?" Serenity asked. Joey turned red and everyone chuckled again. "No."
"You've got a new job?" Bakura asked. He always asked too sensible questions. "No."
"You have done your homework today" Yugi inquired. "No."
"You have been called by the organisers of a dog show for a repetition of bone throwing?" a voice that everyone quickly recognised cut in the conversation, each words dripping with sarcasm.
Yes indeed! As usual, Seto Kaiba was sitting in his place reading a book when he heard the mutt acting like his usual self, an idiotic dog.
"Kaiba you bastard, you asshole, you…you, do you want your bones broken? You are asking for it. Leave me you guys; he deserves a lesson…ugh…" Joey was struggling against Tristan, Duke and Bakura who were doing their best to stop him from humiliating himself physically by Seto Kaiba.
"Your geeks friends should put you on a leash, you have rabies, mutt!!!" Kaiba put his face back in his book while Joey kept fuming and punching himself free from his friends. He mumbled some more insults to Seto, who on the other hand ignored it completely.
"You deserve it Joey, you should have told us what you wanted already instead of beating around the bush." Téa said patting Joey's head as if he really was a dog.
"Yes, seriously!!!" added Tristan and Malik. They did the same thing as Téa, much Joey's horror.
"Backing me up cheerleader?" Kaiba asked his nose still in his book.
"Wha? What? You have some nerves Kaiba. You know what I think? You…" Téa started only to be interrupted by Kaiba again.
"You think? That's something new, since when? Or better, how come? And me who thought you only preach friendship speeches. Here you are, supporting me while you are supposed to be friends with Scoobi-Doo. You surprise me each time, Gardner!"
He ended in a very sarcastic tone.
That was all it took to get Téa to march right in front of Seto and glared at him.
"You are an egoistical bastard, a pain in the butt you know. You are the most abnormal person on Earth. You are a robot working everyday and always. You are nothing but a programmed idiot who keeps insulting people just because he thinks he is the best. You are a dumb rascal who knows nothing about loving and caring for anybody."
At this, Kaiba stood up and glared down at her but Téa ignored his sudden move and continued,
"You will never be able to make someone happy nor will you ever find happiness for yourself. You are…"
"THAT'S IT GARDNER!!!" Kaiba shouted at her and she stopped dead in her track of moral speeches.
She looked up to see Kaiba shooting daggers at her with his cobalt blue eyes.
"You know nothing about me so keep your trap shut!"
With that, Seto Kaiba got out of the classroom leaving a very confused Téa and some very shocked members of the geek's squad behind.
Joey decided to talk about the tournament the next day.
The school day went on fine and silently for everyone besides the dangerous looks that Téa and Seto were passing to one another during the whole day after their small discussion of that morning.
The next day, Joey bounced in the class next to his friends and placed the newspaper under his arm.
"What I wanted to tell you guys yesterday, was that there is a dual monsters tournament in Netherlands and I'm going to participate and you guys better come and watch me win."
"Why's that? Only you have been invited to participate or what?" Duke asked, interested by the news.
Joey sweat dropped, "Eh? You guys wanna participate as well?"
"Of course Joey and guess what? I will too." Tristan added.
"Yug', you'll do this to your best friend and participate as well?" Joey asked turning hopefully to Yugi.
"You don't want us to, Joey?" Yugi inquired.
"Nah! I mean yeah…yes, I want ya guys to be with me but …whatever it will be good for all of us to kick some asses and win the prized money."
"So are we all going for it?" Malik asked raising his hand up.
"YES!!!" it was Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Bakura, Duke and Serenity whose hands joined that of Malik.
"Hey Téa, you're not coming?" Bakura came up to her.
"No guys, I'm fed up of watching this game, I need a break from it." She replied hastily as though she knew what would be their next reaction.
Everyone fell silent until Joey broke the ice and looked at Kaiba who was in his seat reading a book about programming, "Ya participating money bags? You surely must, for me to kick your ass!!!"
"Unlike you mutt, I don't want people to call me 'Amateur King of Duellists'. Only idiots will participate in this childish competition." Seto said.
"What cha talking about money bags? You are afraid of me, say, that's it eh?" Joey asked confused.
"Why would I be afraid of a dog whose race differs each time? Have you forgotten how to read or maybe you need to relearn the 'abcd' from the start to the end? But I bet if there ever will be a teacher for teaching dogs how to read." Seto said flatly and returned to his book.
Joey took the newspaper article and read it again and again until he realised what Kaiba was talking about. Téa snatched the paper from him and began to read the article aloud.
Great! Now Miss Speeches will read a speech which is not even hers. Kaiba thought.
"Mr Zigfried Van Schroeder has the pleasure of announcing a new dual tournament which will be held in Netherlands for a change. Duellist, be prepared with your duel disk and your cards. The Grand Championship of Dual Monsters will be launched next week. You will require twenty sun chips which you can win by defeating your opponents to reach the semi-final. Duellists of all level are invited as only one can and will win the tournament. He or she will be proclaimed the "Amateur King or Queen of the tournament" as we are conscious of the new rookies of Dual Monsters participating There will be a prize money of 5 millions of Dollars and the winner will receive a plate with his or her name engraved as the amateur king or queen. Good luck to all of you and let's duel."
Téa ended and she took a huge breath.
Seto smirked and looked at all the faces of his different punching bags who were shocked to no extent.
Their faces' expression turned from shocked to a confused one as they heard someone laughing.
They could have drop dead realising who this someone was.
Téa was laughing her heart out, "If…you could…see …your faces, oh my god, you guys…are…way too funny...hahahaha. Now…now I see…why…why Kaiba…is …not participating…haha so…are you still…going for your…hahaha…amateur title? I'm sorry…guys…but now...I've got two…good reasons …for not …going…with you all! " she asked still laughing out loud.
Kaiba was amused by her reaction and for a second his smirk changed into a smile as he watched her laugh.
He looked from her to her friends and vice-versa. He knew that they were not pleased by what they were seeing.
Téa was indirectly insulting them and she was once again unconsciously joining hands with him. So, Kaiba was not the one to let an opportunity of insulting his petty enemies slip away.
"So dog, what about you change your mind and remain the side-kick that you are instead of going and humiliating yourself with children?"
Seto asked faking concern but not before adding. "On second thought, good riddance!!! Maybe they will require a dog for security purposes even if the dog in question is incapable."
Joey was enraged beyond limit.
He looked at Seto and then at Téa, "We are all definitely going to participate and you two will see that we will win. Right guys?"
He turned to look at the others.
After having heard the article, they all wanted to back away but then they knew Joey needed their support so everyone else nodded. Serenity however decided to stay with Téa, excusing herself for her studies. She said she had a lot of assignments to give away.
The next day, the boys boarded a flight for New York. Téa and Serenity went to drop them.
Before they board the plane, Téa gave them a hug each, wishing them god luck.
Serenity watched Téa and did the same thing only with her brother, Duke and Tristan as the three others was too busy hugging Téa to pay attention to her.
Everyone was very cheerful as they waved good bye to the girls.
When he put his foot in the plane, Joey vowed to win the tournament and shut for once and for all, not only Seto Kaiba's big mouth but also his dear friend Téa as well.
End of flashback
"Yes Duke, I remember now! We are going to show Téa what she had missed for not hanging out with us. And moneybags will keep watching." Joey said.
"How much sun chips have we collected yet?" Bakura asked.
"Me and Tristan have got 12, how about you Yugi?" Duke asked.
"Malik, Bakura and I have 16 and Joey?" he turned to his friend.
"10 Yug', only 10…for now, soon the next one to cross my path will be sorry."
Just then, two known persons were heading their direction and they stopped by.
"Look Rex, what have we got here? The king of games and the 2nd place of Duellist Kingdom. As well the two creepy, one freaky other duellists and a dice-boy." None other than Weevil Underwood said to his fellow friend Rex Raptor pointing first at Yugi, then at Joey, followed by Bakura and Malik and the last two were Tristan and Duke.
"Yeah Weevil, how about we duel together?" Duke asked, "The two of you?"
"Dual accepted!" Rex and Weevil said together. "Against you, dice-boy and the underdog!"
Joey glared at them but accepted the challenge nevertheless. "LET'S DUEL!!!"
After a struggling duel, the winners were Duke and Joey and both of them got three more sun chips.
The gang continued their way through the roads of Netherlands challenging very few duellists on their ways. Surprisingly enough, all of them succeeded into winning.
They went to a coffee-shop and ordered some snacks and milkshakes. The six of them sat at a large table and talked a lot about their recent duels and the number of sun chips that they have got.
Their conversations varied a lot till they reach one on their friends Téa and Serenity and their enemy Seto Kaiba.
"What do ya think Téa didn't want to come with us Yug'?"
"Oh you know about her project in Business studies, she said that she needed to finish it before the end of this week. I guess that if the tournament was due for later then maybe she would have accompanied us."
Yugi answered, suddenly growing sad of missing his childhood friend.
"Nah! That's rubbish Yugi. I say that she must be doing something not so right there." Duke said much to everyone's distaste.
Duke realised their look and added, "Oh no…no, don't get the wrong meaning. What I mean is that maybe she wants to be alone for some time and concentrate more on her studies and you tell me, are studies a good thing?"
"Ah!!! Certainly not, then you are right, she is really doing something wrong now!" Joey and Tristan added before bursting into chuckles.
"This girl is really nuts sometimes. I really think we should reconsider our friendship with her!" Duke said.
"I always thought she was a kind of nerd for her studies and still, I wonder how she manages to attract boys." Tristan continued. "She is constantly speaking and sometime I think that my head will explode."
Yugi, Bakura and Malik watched the other three as if they had lost their mind.
Are they drunk or what? Do they even know what they are saying?
Téa is our friend. What the heck do they think they are doing? No one can get high on milkshake, can they?
I shall give them a piece of my mind.
Bakura's millennium ring was glowing but no one noticed it as he was wearing a jacket.
"Alright Joey, maybe Téa has her studies but what about your sister, why isn't she here?"
Bakura asked earning an approval nod from Malik and Yugi, "Don't tell me, her studies are that important to her considering that she is always trying to attract attention from the male community at school and that she always fails in her attempt."
Bakura was smirking as it was not the Ryou Bakura speaking but his evil spirit.
"You bastard, what do ya mean?"
Joey got up to punch Bakura but Malik caught his fist first and slapped it down.
"What we mean Joey is that what you three are doing is wrong. Just how can you say things like this on Téa? We did not like what you said and that's why to test you and see if you would like us to say something similar about your sister, Bakura said this."
"It was nothing like what we said Malik, he was assuming that Serenity is a kind of whore." Duke intervened.
"And I'm right in thinking so, she is one and that's it!" Bakura said still smirking.
"Take back what you've said Bakura!!!" Tristan snapped.
"You three take back what you've said about Téa and maybe we can do something similar." Malik snapped as well.
"Why? Are you both in love with Téa or what? Duke asked.
Malik and Bakura were taken aback while Yugi's mouth hung open.
"And why? Are you both in love with the whore Serenity or what? It was Bakura's turn to ask this question.
They were two against two and each pair was glaring at the other. "Maybe!" They all replied together.
"You are so going to regret those words, you two!" Joey said as he turned to face Malik.
The now five of them began to fist fight against each other. Yugi watched the group in horror.
"Guys?" he asked but nothing, they were still fighting like a bunch of stray dogs, insulting each other.
"Guys!" he tried his luck again but still to no avail.
Yugi gulped in a huge quantity of air and shouted at the top of his voice, "JUST STOP IT AT ONCE GUYS!!!"
Finally, it did work as the five fighting persons stopped instantly.
"What do you think you are doing? If Téa and Serenity were here, what do you think they would have said?"
Yugi asked them looking at them with teary eyes.
"That's the problem Yugi, they are not here. And these two kept bad mouthing Serenity." Duke replied.
"We were badmouthing Serenity? What did you three do about Téa?" Malik countered.
"You…" Tristan was stopped when he felt Yugi's hand on his shoulder.
"Please, do you know why Kaiba and other people call Téa the friendship girl?"
Yugi asked the three who were against Téa.
They were about to open their mouth when Yugi waved his hand in front of them.
He did not give them a chance to answer as he continued to speak, "Whenever anyone of us is cross with each other, she is the one that unites us again. She is the one who keeps our friendship alive. And now by acting like you are doing, you are not only insulting our friendship but you are also insulting Téa as well. You say that some of you are with her but you are wrong!"
Yugi sighed and looked at Joey, "Serenity is as much of our friend as Téa is. Then why fight over the two of them like this to determine who is better?"
Malik and Bakura looked at each other and then the latter said, "You are right Yugi, we are ruining our friendship."
He looked at Joey, Tristan and Duke and said, "I'm sorry, I should not have said all these about Serenity. Let's forget this incident as a bad dream?"
"You are right Bakura, we are sorry too for all that we had said" Duke added.
"Oh come on now, I know we are missing the girls but that's not a reason to ignore our purpose here!!!" Joey exclaimed and shouted, "Time to kick some ass (A/N: Yeah I know, he tends to say this a lot.) and steal some sun chips…uh…I mean get some. Amateur Tournament, here we come!!!"
"Joey!!!"
"Ya?"
"Can you do us a favour?"
"Yes dudes!!! What is it?"
"Shut up!!!"
"Er? Oh, OK!"
End of chapter two!
Disappointed, huh? Don't you wanna kill me for this chapter? I know and I acknowledge your disappointments.
You guys and girls were maybe thinking that there would be a little development in Seto and Téa's relationship coming up and I threw water on your sand castles.
I'm really sorry but I wanted to situate the others in this fic. They won't be mentioned for a very long time now, rest assured!
Don't worry, the chapters coming up are going to deal with Seto, Téa and well, the persons in Domino.
Please review and make me know about how shocked and disappointed you got when you read this.
You can say anything you want to, I won't blame you at all. You wanna give me ideas or correct anything wrong in this fic, do comment and give your statement.
Thank you all and I'll try my best to update soon but no guarantee here too, I've got a real busy school life these days. Wish me luck!!!☺☺☺