I have made a slight update to chapter 24. It was pointed out to me by a Guest reviewer that I had made a mistake by tributing two cards to play Summond Skull. I should have noticed when I decided on that play, but didn't. Silly mistake.
This chapter is me avoiding writing the duel between Yugi and Kaiba. I can't decide if I should attempt to write the whole duel (which I will be rubbish at) or just gloss over it and concentrate on the emotions and just highlight the odd battle. Perhaps you could let me know what you all prefer?
Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
Beyond Egypt 2
Chapter 25. The Tournament. Reflections of Battles Past.
Yugi could hear the crowd cheering and chanting his name. They were so noisy! The oval shape of the arena seemed to magnify the sound they made, giving him a sense of claustrophobia. However, rather than acknowledge their praise, he found himself withdrawing from them, in an attempt to shut out the noise.
The last thing on his mind right now was his victory!
His only concern was Jonouchi, who had just been hit full on by Summoned Skull's powerful lightening bolts. Yugi was feeling guilty about attacking with such force, especially knowing that with the new pain sensation setting at level five, being struck by bolts of lightening would feel as though they were real!
The huge, fearsome figure of the Skull Demon flickered and vanished as Yugi hastily shut off his duel disk and ran over to his friend, who remarkably, was still standing, fists clenched at his sides in defiance against the pain he was feeling. His jaw was set rigid to keep from crying out in an unmanly way. Still fizzing with static electricity, Jonouchi's shaggy straw blond hair stuck out in frizzy wisps, while a frazzled fringe covered his eyes, shielding their emotion from view. The pain had made his eyes water but there was no way he would admit they were in fact, tears.
"Jonouchi! Are you okay?" Yugi enquired, full of concern. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."
Jonouchi looked up and slowly a grin appeared on his face. He used his free hand to push his hair back from out of his eyes. "Why ya sorry Yuge? You beat me fair and square. I would have done the same to you in order to win!"
"Yeah but... Summond Skull's attack power is massive. You might have been hurt!"
"Nah... it was nothing. Don't forget I been hit by the full force of Ra and lived! Everyone is cheering for ya buddy. Listen to em?"
"I know," Yugi said bashfully. "It still feels strange when they do that."
There was a slight dip in volume from the audience as the overhead microphones picked up the two friends conversation.
Chuckling, Jonouchi grabbed Yugi's wrist and hoisted his arm in the air. "Yugi Mutou ladies and gentleman! King of Games and undisputed champion of champions," he bellowed. A moment later he grabbed Yugi in a bear hug and clamped him on the back almost crushing the air from his lungs.
Another round of cheering ensued.
"T... thanks Jonouchi," Yugi gasped and chuckled at the same time. "C..can't breathe!"
Eager to shut Jonouchi up, Seto Kaiba strode onto the playing field to officially announce Yugi as the winner. "You had me worried there for one moment Yugi," he hissed, so that it was barely audible.
Among the cheers and shouts, Yugi's friends were jumping up and down, screaming their own praise for the two duelists.
Both Anzu and Mai could hear screams, from mostly the females in the audience, such as: 'I love you Yugi!' 'I love you Jonouchi!' and 'Marry me!'
Mai was gracious in Jonouchi's defeat. Smiling, she gave Anzu a hug. "Makes you feel proud huh? It doesn't really matter that Jonouchi lost. Yugi is just too good. Even without the Pharaoh."
Smiling proudly, Anzu hugged her back, nodding against her shoulder in agreement. "Yeah, they both duelled well." She looked over Mai's shoulder at Yugi. He was giving his victory speech and Anzu was amazed at how quickly he was becoming accustomed to talking to large audiences.
A few months ago, and even with Atem's encouragement, he had been unable to hide his embarrassment.
Yugi was looking directly at his friends as he praised them for their support of himself and Jonouchi. When his eyes met Anzu's, she gave him the thumbs up sign and in return he winked at her, also giving the thumbs up. Of course the crowd saw his gesture and went wild so he extended the thumbs up to the whole audience.
When Yugi handed the microphone to Jonouchi so that he could speak, Kaiba snatched it away before Jonouchi could say anything. He had another announcement he wanted to make. "Enjoy your celebrations while you can Yugi. You have twenty minutes to prepare for our exhibition duel. And don't forget to include the Egyptian Gods in your deck. I'm sure the audience is looking forward to seeing them crushed by my Blue Eyes White Dragons!"
At the mention of the Gods versus Blue Eyes, the crowd cheered. They did indeed want to see the three Egyptian God cards in action. Now that they were banned from tournaments for being too powerful, opportunities to see them in a duel were rare.
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They left the duel arena by the competitors tunnel that lead underneath and behind the stadium seating into a waiting area and players lounge, where there was also a private bar and changing rooms.
"See you back here in exactly twenty minutes Yugi." Kaiba left them and disappeared through a door marked private. Yugi assumed it was an office or something.
"What do you want to do while we wait Yugi?" Jonouchi enquired.
"Get something to eat and drink I guess. I need to make a few changes to my deck to include Slifer Obelisk and Ra, then I'm ready."
Accompanied by Mokuba, Anzu and Mai appeared with Sugoroku, Ryou and Koji. Anzu immediately went over to Yugi to hug and congratulate him. Not caring that their friends were watching, he pulled her into a loving kiss.
Not to be out smooched, Mai consoled Jonouchi with an equally loving kiss. "It's no shame losing to Yugi, you were still awesome," she said pulling away slightly.
"Yeah, you were awesome Jonouchi," Anzu winked. Releasing Yugi, she leaned over to Jonouchi, lightly punching his shoulder. "Yugi is just more awesome."
"Yeah, but he can't beat me in a noogie contest." Moving with haste, Jonouchi quickly grabbed Yugi in a headlock before he had time to react. "Meh heh, gotcha! My little spiky haired buddy." He ruffled Yugi's hair as Yugi tried in vain to fight him off. Everyone fell about laughing at their antics.
After a couple of minutes Jonouchi released his hold slightly, just enough for Yugi to turn the tables on him by jumping on his back and messing up Jonouchi's already messy hair. Jonouchi tried to push him off, laughing. "Man, you're getting too strong Yuge. Soon I won't be able to get the better of ya!"
"Are you boys forgetting something?" Sugoroku interrupted their sparring.
"Yes Yugi, shouldn't you be preparing to face Kaiba?" Ryou said with a serious expression.
"I already know which cards I plan to use. It won't take long to prepare." Yugi replied confidently. Surprisingly he found himself feeling relaxed. "Do you guys realize, this is the first tournament we have competed in where some maniac hasn't tried to kill us or sabotage things?"
"Don't speak too soon Yugi," Honda replied. "You still have another duel to go."
"People tried to kill you?!" Koji was surprised. He had been completely unaware of what was really occurring behind the scenes of Battle City. Like everyone else he thought it was all staged in the name of 'entertainment.' Although, he did recall reading the headlines about Kaiba Corp facing bankruptcy after someone had hacked into their systems during a tournament. Not being business minded he didn't take much notice.
Little did Yugi and his friends know that by letting Koji into their group, they would be putting themselves in danger again, in the near future.
"You wouldn't believe some of the nut jobs we've had to deal with," Jonouchi told him.
"Well I'm just looking forward to duelling Kaiba fair and square," Yugi stated. "No nut jobs or demons looking to steal peoples souls." He noticed Pegasus approaching and his eyes caught Pegasus' one eye.
"Oh Yugi Boy! I do hope you are not referring to yours truly. I am most hurt," he pouted. "You know I was being controlled and was not responsible for my actions."
"That might be the case Pegasus, but it still doesn't mean you were completely without blame. You chose to gouge your own eye out and replace it with that item, in return for its power," Sugoroku added harshly.
"Believe me Mr. Mutou. If I could go back and change things, I would." Pegasus sounded genuinely remorseful.
"But you have still never apologised to Mr. Mutou for stealing his soul!" Anzu challenged.
"No, I haven't, have I. But I assure you I have been more than punished for my actions. I always valued my beautiful looks." He pulled his hair back from his face and lifted the eye patch he wore, revealing an ugly indentation and scar where his eye socket should be. Everyone gasped. "As you can see, I have to live with this as a constant reminder of my sins."
"Ugh! What happened to your eye?" Koji was the only person there who did not know what had happened at Dueilst Kingdom.
"Why don't you ask your friend Mr. Bakura what happened to my eye? Why, he even licked it clean!" Pegasus smirked at Ryou, who was cringing in the background.
Of course Ryou had been under the influence of the spirit of the ring at the time. "Like you, I was not in control of my own actions either Pegasus." He had no memory of the event, but had woken with the revolting taste of blood in his mouth and the golden eye in his hand.
"Yes, I quite understand my dear boy! And of course I don't hold it against you. It is not in my nature to ask forgiveness, but since you have all forgiven young Ryou for his misdemeanours; which I understand were far worse than any of mine! I would ask that you all try to be a little less hostile towards me. While I may be cursed with limited eye sight these days, I can still see well enough to know that none of like me very much."
"Maybe if you apologised to Yugi and Mr. Mutou, we might be more forgiving," Anzu replied indignantly.
"If that is all you require, then of course... I am sorry! But for me, actions speak louder than words. Did I not save all of you from Anubis when he tried to get revenge on your dear Pharaoh? If it were not for yours truly, you would have all been crushed to death and buried underneath piles of rubble, along with that ungrateful Kaiba Boy."
"Erm... Why did Ryou dig your eye out? And who is Anubis and Pharaoh? Aren't they like, Egyptian or something?" Koji was finding their conversation really strange.
Yugi was very quick to provide an explanation. The little white lie rolled easily off his tongue. "Do you remember when the Kaiba Dome was blown up and destroyed last year? Well the guy responsible called himself Anubis. He called me Pharaoh because I was the King of Games and he found out I am interested in Ancient Egypt. He was totally insane. He packed himself with explosives and gatecrashed a duel between me and Kaiba. He sent a cryptic note to Pegasus, who managed to work out what it meant and arrived in his private helicopter, just in time to save us before the building collapsed."
As far fetched as Yugi's story seemed, Koji believed it. Suddenly, Hirutani's plans to beat up Yugi and Jonouchi seemed rather small in comparison to what they had already had to deal with.
"Man, you guys have some had some crazy adventures. But why did Ryou dig Pegasus' eye out?"
"That wasn't me. It was my psycho twin brother, who has thankfully been sent away...forever." Ryou replied nonchalantly. He felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine at the memories.
"How about we all get some coffee? Before this conversation gets any weirder." Mai decided they were getting way off track. "Besides, you only have ten minutes to sort your deck out Yugi!"
"Oh shit! I had better do that now!" Yugi went over to a table, away from the others to make the alterations to his deck.
Anzu brought him over a can of iced tea and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks Anzu." He looked up at her lovingly and smiled.
"Ahh.. How sweet is young love." They both rolled their eyes as Pegasus came over to them.
"What do you want Pegasus?" Yugi sighed.
"You have never had a Dragon Capture Jar in your deck, have you Yugi Boy?"
Yugi shook his head. "No I have never really thought to include one in my strategy."
"I no longer have any use for mine. You don't have to use it if you don't wish to, but here, I would like you to have it." He handed Yugi his Dragon Capture Jar card.
Yugi nodded. "Thanks Pegasus. I will put it in. Kaiba won't be expecting it." Yugi had a feeling this duel would be more for entertainment of the crowd than a serious contest anyway.
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Mokuba sat on a table across from where Kaiba was sitting in a black leather arm chair, sorting through his cards. "Are you still thinking of making changes to your deck so that you can beat Yugi, Seto?"
Seto put his cards down and chuckled. "No. My deck is fine as it is." He folded his arms and sat back.
"Then what is it Seto? You clearly have something on your mind!"
Seto sighed. "You don't miss much, do you Mokuba! This duel, you do realise I am unlikely to win, don't you?"
Mokuba gasped. "What! Why would you say that? You don't plan to let Yugi win, do you?"
"No! You need to understand- this duel is not about winning, it is about entertaining the crowd. I have already crunched the numbers and I have less than a 2% chance of beating the Gods, so I have nothing to lose! The crowd want Yugi to win anyway. They expect him to win! Why not graciously accept that, and for once enjoy the fact that even if I lose, I am still the winner."
"I still don't understand Seto! Have you taken something? Because you are not sounding like you!"
Seto laughed. It sounded strange since he only ever laughed if it was at someone. "Look at it like this Mokuba. The crowd view Yugi's Egyptian Gods as indestructible and they want to see them crush my Blue Eyes White Dragons. The best way for me to defeat the Gods would be to use a strategy that prevents Yugi from playing them on the field. However, since the crowd have paid for tickets to see them, I would be unwise to use such a strategy. The reason I win, is because the crowd will see me and my Blue Eyes as brave and heroic for challenging the Gods even though we have no chance of beating them. The end result is that Yugi wins the duel and keeps his throne, while I keep my pride intact with the knowledge that I was not able to duel with my strongest deck. I also win because this weekend has been extremely successful and we have made a huge profit by using Yugi as one of the main attractions, proving that as a businessman, I a reign supreme."
"Oh! I get it now Seto," Mokuba laughed. "You were not worried about beating Yugi anyway. You are an awesome big brother Seto."
"I have something else to tell you in confidence Mokuba. You must not breathe a word to anyone, promise?"
"Promise."
"You are right, I don't really care about beating Yugi. I have far more important ambitions to occupy my mind. So I have decided to just let him enjoy his fame while it lasts. There will come a time when someone younger and much hungrier for victory comes along and beats him. It's how the world works. The same thing applies to building business empires. In the world of business, I am still young and on the way up, so I have yet to reach my peak. Recently, I have come to accept that in duel monsters, I peaked two years ago."
Deep down, he hoped that at some point, there might be another opportunity to crush Yugi in a duel. But to continue obsessing over it would ultimately hold him back and damage his chances of growing his empire.
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"Are you ready Yugi?" Sugoroku called.
"Yup! Finished sorting my deck. Just gotta use the bathroom and I'm ready." He got up and placed his deck in his hip holster and picked his duel disk up from the table, handing it to Anzu. "Look after this for me while I go to the gents."
She nodded and took it from him, hugging it to her chest.
When he emerged, Kaiba was already waiting for him.
"Where have you been Yugi? For one minute I thought you were too frightened to face me and had run away."
"Like you wish I would!" Yugi retorted.
His friends wished Yugi good luck and dashed off with Mokuba to their seats. Only Anzu remained with them.
"Good luck Yugi. Kick his smug ass." Anzu smiled sweetly at Seto as she handed Yugi his duel disk.
"I hope that when you insult me, you remember that I am also your employer?" Kaiba informed her with a slightly amused expression.
"Of course I do! But it wouldn't be any fun if we didn't insult each other now would it?" Anzu replied boldly.
Seto shrugged. "No, I guess not. Now if you are going to kiss him, hurry up because I haven't got all day. Just make sure I am looking the other way first. And please... no tongues."
Anzu stuck her tongue out at Kaiba before kissing Yugi, ensuring that the kiss was a rather noisy French kiss.
The kiss surprised Yugi more than it shocked Kaiba. "Mmmm, Anzu!" He panted, reluctantly pulling away. As much as he wanted to spend longer kissing her like this, now was not the time or place. "You should go and find your seat now." He allowed his hand to run from the small of her back over her rear, gently sliding his hand inside the leg of her shorts to cheekily squeeze the flesh at the top of her leg briefly, before letting her go.
"Yeah, see ya." She slid her arms from where they were draped over his shoulders, allowing her fingertips to tickle the back of his neck seductively. He always liked it when she did that. "Have a great duel, both of you."
"Ugh, finally!" Seto turned back to face them. "You could at least save the foreplay until after the duel Yugi! Think yourself lucky I don't default you the match for delaying tactics. Now if you can get your mind back on the duel instead of your girlfriend. I would like to get this duel started. I am anxious to beat you."
"Okay, I'm ready Kaiba. Let's give the audience a great duel." Looking every bit as confident as Atem used to, he strode through the double doors and into the bright spotlights of the stadium. Kaiba followed him closely.
As the two best duelists in the world stepped onto the dueling field a huge cheer went up. There was an intense atmosphere rolling off the crowd, who were extremely excited about the prospect of seeing all three Blue Eyes White Dragons go up against Yugi's Egyptian Gods.
Deep down, both duelists knew this was just for show, but neither Yugi or Kaiba had any intention of disappointing the fans. They would indeed put on a great show.
Pleas let me know what you think.
Until next time...bye.