As most of us know, Kazuki Takahashi sadly and unexpectedly passed away last month. And like many fans, I really wanted to create something as a tribute to him. Though I didn't get into Yu-Gi-Oh! until I was in my 30s, I remember bits and pieces from growing up, and it's had a significant influence on my life since fully getting into the fandom. While I've always adored Yugi and Atem, and there's a good number of other characters, both in the original series and the two more-direct spinoffs, that I've grown to love, too. I was also surprised to find out how truly addicting Duel Monsters is. Yu-Gi-Oh! helped me stay sane during the uncertainty of 2020, and it was via bonding over the show that I met one of my good friends.
So Takahashi-san, this one goes out to you. Thank you for creating a world that anyone can visit and relate to on some level, a world where friends always stick together and goodness, love, and friendship always win. A world that has created a lot of real-life fun and real-life friends for a lot of people. Thank you for all the memories—you are truly a legend, and you will be missed.
This contains references to my currently-unfinished story Pillars, however, it is not necessary to have read that to understand this one. Many thanks to LuckyLadybug for letting me bounce ideas off of her, patiently listening to me rave about how much I love certain characters' decks, and otherwise helping me mold the story into something palatable and (hopefully) true to the spirit of what Takahashi wanted his creation to convey :)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Kazuki Takahashi. This is a work of fiction written for pleasure only, not for profit.
. : To Duel Monsters! : .
He had not planned to go to the mainland this week at all.
"Mr. Pegasus, we're ready to board."
"Very well."
In fact, he had not intended to leave his bedroom.
"And how much time will we be spending in dear Kaiba's company, Croquet?"
"The meeting is scheduled to take two hours at most."
An hour to fly there, fifteen minutes to get there from the airport, two hours in a meeting, fifteen minutes to get back to the airport, and one more hour back home.
…Why had Kaiba needed to meet with him in person again? And why had he agreed? The elder brother understandably still regarded him in suspicion after all these years, owing to the way he'd kidnapped Mokuba when the boy was only ten. Pegasus never blamed Seto, although the hypocrisy of continuing to do business with Industrial Illusions wasn't lost on him, either. Apparently what KaibaCorp gained using his game and characters in their theme parks outweighed whatever disdain the now-21-year-old Seto Kaiba held for Pegasus personally.
…Maybe Pegasus was the one who had initially pushed for the in-person meeting. He did like getting on Kaiba's nerves, after all. Really, though, the young man just made it so easy.
On the surface, the week had not been particularly difficult. Pegasus had gone about his days as he always did: business meetings, publicity, and usually some painting in the afternoons and evenings. Sometimes he designed new cards, others he painted without any specific audience in mind. Still others he only painted for himself.
And this week there had been a lot of paintings he had painted for himself.
Croquet could tell something was off. His employer had never been one for confiding feelings—though stealing people's souls with magical artifacts in front of his workers was apparently A-OK—but for someone who had worked for Pegasus for a good portion of his life, the little tells were not impossible to catch. The fussy flamboyance could only mask so much: late nights had grown into later mornings, and fresh paintings of Cecelia now adorned his not-so-young master's bedroom walls.
It had been a total of thirteen years now since they'd laid her to rest. Six since he had concocted that harebrained scheme (pun completely intended) to resurrect her with the Millennium Items and KaibaCorp's Solid Vision. Six since a high school student with a heart of gold and nerves of steel had finally put an end to that ridiculous idea. The dead could not be resurrected, not like that.
Staff at Duelist Kingdom were no stranger to strange things. Pegasus' reputation for the eccentric preceded him, neither was it entirely an act. He had always had a few peculiar quirks, and Cecelia's death at such a young age had exacerbated all of them. Then there had been that whole fiasco with the Millennium Eye. His defeat at Yugi's hands had calmed some of it down again, but other habits remained, and Croquet had long since noticed that extra eccentricities seemed to emerge at specific times of the year: once around Cecelia's birthday, then again around their anniversary, and once more around Pegasus' own birthday in October. Yet the mask he wore this year seemed to be heavier than the ones he'd worn in the past.
"Well then, let's be on our way!" the CEO said jovially, heading for the helicopter pad. "Can't keep Kaiba-Boy waiting, after all."
Thirteen birthdays he'd celebrated without her. Croquet sighed. At nearly 30, Pegasus was still plenty young enough to get married again, but he'd never so much as looked at another woman. How could he? His truest love was somewhere else. There were few barriers in the world that money could not hurdle; Pegasus had almost everything he could want or need. Except the one thing he wanted most.
Croquet stared at his employer, until at last the other returned his gaze.
"…Is something wrong?"
"…Not at all, sir."
Croquet had become used to his employer's increased eccentricities at specific times of the year. But what had caused it to be so much worse than before?
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
"And that wraps that up!" Pegasus said jovially, signing his name to the newest contract. Some years ago, KaibaLand had started following other amusement parks' lead in dressing up their parks for big holidays such as Halloween and Christmas. However, their contract stated that Pegasus had final say over the monsters' designs (if he didn't outright redesign them himself). This suited Kaiba just fine: he was an engineer, not an artist.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself so much," Kaiba snarked, also adding his name to the contract. He turned to Yugi. "You have your department get a start on this right away."
"Sure thing," Yugi nodded. If anyone had asked him six years ago where he had thought he'd be, working for Kaiba would not have been what he'd said. Pegasus would not have put money on it, either. Fate, however, had other ideas: Kaiba's near-fatal accident just after high school had brought him and his several-times-removed cousin together in a way nobody ever believed would happen. His time of healing had shown Seto exactly who his friends really were: through his immediate recovery in the hospital, Yugi and the others had offered every support they could to Roland and Mokuba, the latter of whom had remained sensitive for months afterwards. When the later investigation had forced the Kaibas to move to New York, it had been Yugi's hands they'd left the Domino Division in. The group had grown even closer when Téa had run into Mokuba on her way to school in NYC; she was a frequent guest at the Kaibas' penthouse there, and usually joined them when they came home to Domino City.
"The graphics team will begin the final touches, and they'll get with you sometime in the next few days about finalizing the Solid Vision counterparts," Kaiba said.
"Excellent, excellent," Pegasus replied. "I'll be eagerly awaiting your results."
"The last order of business revolves around planning next year's tournaments," Kaiba said. "We'd talked about doing a Twelve Days of Dueling event at your castle but we'd need to get our people in there as soon as possible to update all the Arenas in time for that event."
"Ah yes—Duelist Kingdom will be closed this weekend, but we'll reopen again on Monday," Pegasus said.
"Oh?" Yugi asked. "What's the occasion?"
"Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid," Pegasus replied, waving his hand. "We've just been doing a little renovating of our own."
Yugi looked at Kaiba and Mokuba, the latter of whom only shrugged.
"We'll have them come out on Monday, then. As for now, I think we can conclude this meeting," Kaiba said, rising. Pegasus and his team rose as well. Yugi squinted at the game creator's back as they all filed out of the conference room.
"Is something the matter?" The filing had stopped, and Pegasus' one eye rested squarely on the King of Games. Yugi knitted his eyebrows.
"…Nope," he said at last. "Have a safe flight."
"Ta-ta, Yugi-Boy!"
"Yugi?" Mokuba stopped beside his cousin. "Everything okay?" Now 16, Mokuba was no longer KaibaCorp Vice President mostly in name: he was now his brother's equal in almost every aspect of the company, and one of only a select few whom Kaiba trusted to make business decisions in his absence.
"Everything's fine with me," Yugi answered, smiling up at the younger man. Though Mokuba was not quite at Seto's six-foot-one frame, he had come very close, and now towered above Yugi and Téa. "I'll get started on that new Trap data."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
…At the very least, that was what Yugi's intentions had been. However, getting Pegasus' odd remark out of his head was a lot easier said than done given the eccentric man's newest incarnation of Mirror Force was staring him right in the face.
'What the heck did he mean by that? And since when does he 'close' Duelist Kingdom?' No, something had to be on his mind. Croquet had seemed off, too. At last, Yugi put aside the new Trap card and pulled up the Internet. If Duelist Kingdom was 'closed for renovations', there had to be some press about it, right? Hardcore Duelists could arrange for a tour, but the place wasn't open to just anyone without an invitation.
"All right, LightningSearch, what do you say…?" Yugi had never before had a reason to look up the semi-enigmatic game creator, and the Internet had been far less widespread when the original Duelist Kingdom tournament took place (not that it would have been much help against the Millennium Eye, or that darned Toon Deck that Pegasus still sported). However, the Internet was a thing now, and suddenly, Yugi was learning all sorts of things about Pegasus that he hadn't known before.
"…Oh." Yugi blinked. Days really did blend together as an adult; how had he not realized the man's birthday was this week? This weekend?
So that's why he'd said Duelist Kingdom was 'closed'.
…And he wasn't throwing some kind of bash? Yugi squinted. No, they'd have heard about it if he was. He did like to put on a show, after all, and 30 was kind of a big birthday…
(…Wait, Pegasus was only in his twenties? Twenty-four during the original Duelist Kingdom? Maybe this was one of those cases where the Wiki was wrong…but it'd gotten all the other facts Yugi knew for sure about him right…
…Were they sure that was right?!)
Yugi rested his chin in his hand, staring at the screen for a few minutes longer. Regardless of certain facts Wikipedia might have gotten incorrect, he had a sneaking suspicion that the birthday was not one of them. After another moment, he picked up the phone.
"Hey, Mokuba…dumb question."
"Shoot."
"Croquet said they were going right back to the island after they left here, right?"
"…Yeah."
And under an hour in a jet to get back…an hour to be safe…
"Thanks."
"…Yugi, is everything okay?"
"Yup!" Yugi said. "Just had a question for Croquet, that's all. Thanks!" Yugi set the phone down, toying the hunch around in his head. He messed around with the new traps for a bit longer on his computer, glancing from the screen to his phone and back again. Twenty minutes to the airport from KC Headquarters, give an hour from there…they'd be landing any minute. Yugi gave it another fifteen to be safe, then picked up his phone and dialed out to Duelist Kingdom.
"Hey, Jane, it's Yugi Muto," Yugi addressed the secretary. "Can you get me Croquet on the phone, please?"
"Sure thing…" A recorded string of Duel Monsters facts played while she transferred him, then abruptly cut off when Croquet answered.
"Mr. Yugi?" Croquet seemed surprised. "Are those redesigns done so soon? I'm afraid Mr. Pegasus isn't currently available…."
"That's okay," Yugi said. "I wasn't needing to talk to him; I was looking for you."
"Me?"
"…Is it Pegasus' birthday coming up?" Yugi asked.
"It is," Croquet answered. "Why?"
"Is that why Duelist Kingdom's 'closed for renovations'?"
"He hasn't said anything about that to me or any of the other servants," Croquet said, sounding annoyed. "And this is the first I've heard of 'renovations'. Unless you count the newest paintings of Mrs. Pegasus that're now in his bedroom. And the tower. And the castle."
"Of Cecelia?"
"It's a thing he does," Croquet answered, sounding tired. "Whenever her birthday or his birthday or their anniversary rolls around, there's new paintings of her. This time he's painted more than usual."
Yugi knitted his eyebrows. It couldn't really be that simple a solution where Pegasus was concerned…could it?
Then again…appearances could be deceiving, and Pegasus was quite good at that when he wanted to be.
"Because…he's turning 30 this weekend?" Yugi ventured. A pause.
"…I guess you got to be the King of Games for a reason, huh, kid?" Croquet said. "I've been trying to figure out his problem for days now."
"He hasn't said anything?"
"Never does." Another pause. "You kinda get used to it, the masks. But I'd be lying if I said he wasn't worrying us a little, this time. He never has looked at anyone else, you know. They're not her."
"You think that's really what it is, then?" Yugi asked.
"Yours is a better guess than anyone else's," Croquet answered. "I'll talk to the other workers, see that clicks a few things for them."
"He's not doing anything for his birthday at all?"
"If he was, trust me—you'd know." Another pause. "Have a good night, Yugi." Yugi put down the receiver, massaging the bridge of his nose.
His initial hunch had been right. And so had his second. Nothing could be simple where Pegasus was concerned.
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
Knock knock knock.
"Come in," Seto said, not looking up from his computer.
"Hey, Yugi," Mokuba greeted.
"Yugi? Something wrong?" Seto asked, looking over the screen. Yugi didn't come by their office over nothing (at least, not during business hours).
"I couldn't stop thinking about that meeting earlier," Yugi said.
"The one with Pegasus?" Mokuba asked.
"Yeah. He seemed off," Yugi said.
"It's Pegasus," Seto emphasized. True, the man had proven himself an ally several times since Duelist Kingdom. He also had a screw loose. Probably several.
"More off than usual," Yugi amended. He paused, and Seto just knew his cousin was going to say something he didn't like. "So…I did a little bit of research."
"And?"
Yugi stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's his birthday this week. His 30th."
"…Wait, Pegasus is only gonna be 30?" Mokuba tilted his head. "I thought he was like…in his 50's or something."
(Yugi had the distinct feeling Pegasus would take offense to that.)
"Anyway, that's why Duelist Kingdom is closed this weekend. They're not doing renovations like Pegasus said."
"And your point is…?"
"His wife's dead and he's all alone in that big castle, except for his servants," Yugi responded. Seto harrumphed.
"That sounds like it's his problem, not ours," he said.
"C'mon, Seto, you don't think that's just a little sad?"
"He's sad."
"Yeah, that's exactly my point," Yugi said. Seto raised an eyebrow. Oh yeah, he could see where this was going. Yugi wasn't King of Games for nothing, but Seto hadn't been the reigning Champion for nothing, either.
"He kidnapped Mokuba and tried to take over my company. Twice." Yugi sighed. He wouldn't blame Seto. Couldn't blame him. What Pegasus had put them through during Duelist Kingdom was evil, plain and simple. What he'd done to Mokuba and Grandpa was definitely evil. When Yugi thought about it, it made him angry still, too. Nor had Pegasus ever actually apologized for what he did.
But…he had kept his word and released Grandpa and the Kaibas, just as Yugi had demanded. He'd paid the three million dollars, despite that not being one of Yugi's conditions, which had allowed Serenity to have the operation which had saved her eyesight. Since he had never believed that he could lose, it stood to reason that he never thought he'd have to pay. But he had, and Yugi was grateful for it.
"I know," Yugi said. "He put us through Hell, too. All nine circles of it." A pause. "But he's also aided us a lot since then. He helped us with that whole Anubis thing, and we never would have found out about Dartz and Paradius or defeated them without his help."
"…Wait, wasn't it Dartzwho actually bought those shares the second time?" Mokuba asked. "They got Pegasus too, didn't they? So…the second time doesn't really count…"
"You're not actually considering what Yugi's suggesting?" Seto demanded.
"What amI suggesting?" Yugi asked, even though he knew darn well that Seto followed his reasoning.
"I am not throwing a party for some kook who kidnapped my brother," Seto said.
"I'm just saying…thirteen years is a long time to miss somebody," Yugi said. "If you lost Mokuba, wouldn't you have tried anything to get him back?"
"Don't compare Mokuba to that dope's wife."
"Mr Kaiba?" Roland's voice came over the intercom. "Téa is here."
Seto sighed. "Send her up." Of all the times to finish up her visit with Serenity, why on earth did she have to finish up now? True, he had grown to enjoy her company over the last three years; Mokuba already adored her, and she'd proven a calming, familiar presence for Seto in those first long weeks of his recovery, shortly after he and his brother had moved to NYC.
Today, however, he would have preferred her to stay with Serenity a little longer: she would take Yugi and Mokuba's side as she always did and he was not prepared to—
"Téa!" Mokuba greeted as the door opened.
"Hey guys," she greeted. "Oh…why the long face, Yugi?"
"Pegasus' 30th birthday is coming up and I'm pretty sure he's celebrating it at his castle alone," Yugi said. Téa blinked.
"He's…only 30?" Téa asked. "But that means he's not even a full decade older than any of us…well, except Mokuba…"
"Wait, that means he and Mai are the same age!" Mokuba exclaimed.
"Huh…yeah, I guess they are," Yugi said. He chuckled. "Her 30th's next month; Joey's been planning practically all year for it."
"The plans are going really well," Téa said. "That's what Serenity and I were over there working on." Mai had been somewhat sensitive at the thought of turning 30 this year, and Joey had been taking great pains to make sure his fiancée had an unforgettable, wonderful experience.
Téa sobered again as the thought of Joey and Mai's upcoming nuptials brought a different memory to the surface: a locked tower and the portrait of a lovely young woman…and an old diary that told the tragic tale of devoted love, illness, and loss.
"…How long ago did Pegasus' wife pass away?" Téa asked softly.
"They were both seventeen, so it's been…thirteen years?" Yugi said, doing some quick math. "Croquet says he hasn't even looked at anyone else."
Téa's countenance changed further as he spoke. "They were seventeen?" Only a year older than she and her friends were when they'd tackled Duelist Kingdom. Only a year older than Atem when he had died.
Pegasus was not her favorite person. He had put her and her friends through horrible ordeals during Duelist Kingdom. But thirteen years was a long time to miss somebody. And he was rich, too…it wouldn't be that hard for him to find another bride, eccentric as he was. The fact that he hadn't done so had to mean he'd really loved his wife, right? A love, evidently, that had not waned with time. And he had kept his word about Grandpa Muto and the Kaibas. Then there was Dartz. They wouldn't have known anything about Dartz without him doing the legwork in the first place, and he'd provided the means for them to defeat Paradius…even going so far as to make sure failsafes were set up in the event that he should be captured himself, and he had been.
"What makes you think he's celebrating it by himself?" Téa asked.
"Croquet said he didn't make any plans because if he had not only the workers but everyone would know about it."
That was the Pegasus she knew. Téa tilted her head.
"I mean…he's not my favorite person, either, but he has helped us a lot since Duelist Kingdom. And if it weren't for his game, a lot of us wouldn't have become friends. Your parks might not have the same draw that they do, either," she commented, looking at Seto. He raised an eyebrow, annoyed at that very good point: however seamless his corporation's technology was, the fact that he had the rights to use Pegasus' monsters in his parks undoubtedly drew more people there than would have the technology alone.
"I wanna do it," Mokuba spoke up. Seto looked at him.
"You wanna do…what?"
"Forgive him," Mokuba answered, looking his brother in the eye. "Téa's right…Duelist Kingdom sucked and what Pegasus did to us was downright evil, but if it hadn't been for what we went through there, I don't know that all of us would be as close as we are now. Yugi's right, too—we wouldn't have beat Dartz without his help. Maybe we would've figured out what was happening eventually, but he saved us a lot of time."
"And saved us, too, with that card," Yugi said. "We wouldn't have won the Duel without it." Seto raised an eyebrow. He had been forced to accept the possibility of magic and the afterlife when he'd witnessed Atem and Yugi's Duel three years ago.
…Thus he must also concede that maybe, just maybe the Duel Monsters 'creator' had helped with Dartz more than he'd been willing to admit at the time.
"You and I've both lived with grief, Seto—you know how it changes people," Mokuba said. "What Pegasus did to us was evil. But I think he really was a little crazy. The Millennium Items messed Marik up, too, and the Rod wasn't touching him all the time like the Eye does. If we're all being honest…Pegasus really has only helped us since then. And he was nice to us after your accident. I wanna forgive him. He shouldn't be all alone on his birthday."
Seto let out a breath.
"You guys wanna plan something for the kook, you go right on ahead. But don't expect me to help. And he tries anything funny…he's gonna need a lot more than Toon World to save him from me."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
Pegasus sighed as he finished getting ready for bed. At last, this wretched day could be overwith and done. The servants had thrown him a quaint party earlier in the day, which he couldn't say he hadn't truly appreciated, but nevertheless couldn't truthfully say he enjoyed, either. He had never wanted for material needs or pleasures: he had the money to buy nearly anything he wanted.
Except for the one gift he really wanted. All the money in the world would not bring his dear Cecelia back from the dead.
Perhaps, just perhaps, God would grace him with a visit from her tonight, in his dreams.
…Or perhaps he would just dream of Hell, instead.
Even he couldn't say he didn't deserve it.
Knock knock knock.
"Sir? Are you still awake?"
"What…on Earth is it now, Croquet? I do recall telling you specifically that I was going to retire early tonight…"
"Sorry. Mr. Kaiba is here to see you in the main hall."
"Kaiba? What in Heaven's name is Kaiba doing here?" Pegasus asked, more curious than irritated, now. It wasn't as though Kaiba was a stranger to Duelist Kingdom—in fact, he was one of the few visitors Pegasus had. But he always announced his visits.
"Well, you'd better get dressed," Croquet said, sounding bored. "He won't take 'no' for an answer."
"Oh, dear."
Well, what was up with that? True, Kaiba was absolutely not the sort to take 'no' for an answer, but he also wasn't the sort to just show up at Pegasus' castle. Usually Pegasus was the one insisting Kaiba come see him. And then only usually because Kaiba wanted something; Pegasus was no one's deliveryman.
…Had something else happened? Kaiba really only visited the island when he wanted something. Annoyed again—and slightly concerned, Pegasus would admit to no one but himself—the game creator went to change back into his suit.
"This way, sir," Croquet said, after his employer exited the room. "Kaiba's waiting in the Dueling Hall."
"The Dueling Hall?" Pegasus repeated. "What's he doing in the Dueling Hall?"
"That's where I put him," Croquet said, leading the way through the molded maze of walls, until at last they reached the door they sought.
"Is that…music?" Pegasus asked. Loud music, too…
Croquet opened the door, and now Pegasus could see a distinct smirk was scrawled across the servant's face. What the deuce was going on?! "Here you go."
"What…on Earth is all this?" The Dueling Hall was no longer a fancy colosseum with retractable catwalks and mezzanines for spectators. Instead, a floor had been secured across the entire cavern. To one side, a DJ booth had been set up; clear on the other side sat tables with refreshments. Confetti decorated the floor, Toon Duel Monsters decorated the Hall, and enough balloons to lift a small house had been attached at varying heights up the colosseum walls. Across the door at the other side, stretched a large sign proclaiming "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" (with a Dark Rabbit on either side, of course).
And in the middle…not one, not two, but a crowd of very familiar Duelists, nearly all of them burning up said dance floor.
"Well, certainly took you long enough," Seto said, approaching the game creator.
"Kaiba? What on Earth is going on?"
"Yugi said you were acting weird at the meeting the other day," Seto answered. "He somehow pieced together what the problem was."
"Oh? And just what problem would that have been?" Pegasus asked, voice jovial now.
"You're losing your touch," Seto said, smirking. "'Renovations', huh? And the press in Domino didn't hear about it?" He cast a genuine smile at Yugi, who even now was jumping around and bopping on the dance floor with Téa and Marik. "It didn't take Yugi long to figure out what you weren't saying."
Both of the von Schroeder boys were in attendance, as were Duke Devlin and the Wheelers. Duke had just pulled Serenity onto the floor for a slow dance, much to the young woman's delight. Yes, Pegasus remembered those days quite well.
"…Why all this?" Pegasus asked, at last. "Truthfully…I don't understand." He'd done enough to those teenagers that they could rightfully hate him for the rest of his and their natural lives.
"I didn't want to. Yugi and Mokuba talked me into doing this," Kaiba said, turning his head to look over the party-goers.
"Mokuba did?" Pegasus asked. That surprised him; he thought for sure the boy was still scared of him. He didn't blame Mokuba, of course; he had put both brothers through a horrible ordeal.
"He, Yugi, and Téa all pointed out that whatever evil you committed during Duelist Kingdom—and it was evil, what you put us through back then—you've really only helped us since. That without you we'd have lost that Duel to Dartz, and ourselves along with it. You did always keep your word, even when you didn't really have to." Over by the punch, Téa was conversing with Grandpa Muto and Roland.
"…I admit I'm still rather perplexed as to what this has to do with my birthday," Pegasus said, after another moment.
"You put us through Hell, but if that hadn't happened, we might not all have become as close as we have," Kaiba said, and Pegasus blinked his one eye in surprise. A year, two years ago—Seto Kaiba would have never said something like that. Indeed, his terrible accident had changed him in more ways than one. "Without your game, a lot of us wouldn't have become friends—or even met, for that matter." He looked to where Joey was swinging Mai around in time with the beat. Off to the other side, Rebecca Hawkins had just accepted a dance from Leon von Schroeder, while Ryou Bakura was speaking with Odion Ishtar and Adrian Crump, nodding as he showed off the latest addition to his Deck.
"Yugi figured out your 30th birthday was probably a big deal for you, and an even bigger deal without Cecelia," Seto said. "They thought the creator of a game that had brought so many people together shouldn't be celebrating his birthday by himself."
The one-eyed stare that Pegasus turned on him bore a look Seto had never seen from the man, but filled with a mix of emotions he had become quite familiar with over the course of his recovery: surprise, grief…gratitude. But only for a moment. Pegasus turned a fond smile on the tri-colored young man on the dance floor.
"…I suppose there is a reason why he's our 'King of Games', isn't there?" he commented. Seto grunted.
"I suppose there is." But he was smiling, too. Yugi turned around.
"Hey! We didn't do all this so you two could stand on the sidelines!" he shouted, voice cheerful. "No business talk until after the party!"
"Yeah, we're here to celebrate!" Mokuba added. Pegasus blinked his one eye in surprise, but nodded, stepping on to the dance floor. Seto followed, both accepting drinks from the servers. Joey raised a glass.
"To Duel Monsters! And the friendships we wouldn't have found without them."
"To Duel Monsters!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
(Usually Lokian characters like Pegasus are my jam. He was not. He was HARD and thus far is the hardest Lokian character I've ever had to write XD) Anyway, it's not much, but I wanted to show my appreciation all the same.
•Yes I'm aware Pegasus died in the manga. Between the different universes he's died three times. I write to the animéverse for multiple reasons, but in this case specifically because it gave me a lot more to work with and I wanted to demonstrate the friendships the game helped foster ;)
•As most of you know, I'm actually not a Peachshipping fan outside the mangaverse. However, in respect to Takahashi, who literally invented and supported Peachshipping, I have kept most pairings ambiguous.
•Pegasus canonically invented Duel Monsters and designed all the monsters, ergo, Seto has to have a business deal with him saying he can use Pegasus' game and characters in his theme parks. However much Seto despises Pegasus it's clearly not enough to stop him doing business with the guy.
•Despite Pegasus looking like he's in his forties already he's canonically only 24 at the start of the series. Remember, kids, accepting strange magical objects from strange ghosts in strange tombs isn't good for you ;P
Music:
"Burning Love"—Wynonna
"Cartoon Heroes"—Aqua
"Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Remix)"—Barbie Young (DDR version ;)
"Everybody Have Fun Tonight"—Wang Chung
"Keep Me Crazy"—Sheppard
"Perfect"—Ed Sheeran
"If I Die Young"—The Band Perry
"Photograph"—Ed Sheeran
"Shivers"—Ed Sheeran
"Symphony"—Sheppard
"Together Forever"—Rick Astley
"Toon World (US version)"—Joel Douek (it's a fic with a lot of Pegasus, you knew this had to be on there ;P)
"Toon World Metal Cover"—Maxime Solemn
"Walk Like an Egyptian"—The Bangles (the song that somehow got me to the party fic XD)
"We Like to Party (The Vengabus)"—Vengaboys
"Vanilla Twilight" —Owl City
(…I think this is the longest playlist I've had for any fic EVER XD)
Thank you all for reading :) Hats off to Kazuki Takahashi!
~MoonlightTyger