Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly – Chapter 17
Hey, y'all! I don't usually cut in to give an Author's Note like this, as I believe it kind of messes with the flow of the story, but you may have noticed that I have been VERY inactive for a long while. I sincerely apologize, but my life got absolutely insane outside of writing. Anyways, have no fear, for Astin is back with the rest of this first book in my Yu-Gi-Oh! series! To make it up to y'all, I'll be posting FOUR entire chapters today and then one every Sunday from here on to the end of the book. Please enjoy and stay on the lookout for more updates on new stories!
Emiko furrowed her brows and looked down at Pegasus, wiping her tears away. Bakura said softly beside her, "It's going to be okay, Emiko." She nodded. She thought, "What am I supposed to do now? Seto and Mokuba have both been captured. Their souls are now in Pegasus' grasp. He'll be after me, next. I'm sure of it." She sighed, trying to stay strong. She thought, "What can I do? I'm a finalist, so I suppose that if I can beat Pegasus, then I can get them back. But, what if I can't? Then what?" Croquet returned and said, interrupting her thoughts, "I certainly hope you enjoyed tonight's duel. Your host would like to invite you all to enjoy an extravagant feast this evening. Allow me to guide you all to the dining hall for the evening." The group followed Croquet through the halls, admiring the elegant decor on the way.
Upon entering the dining hall, they were very impressed. The room was gigantic. All along the walls were huge windows which allowed the setting sunlight to leak in and bathe the room in a rich, orange glow. On the walls were various paintings and portraits. In the center of the room was a long table with eight chairs set neatly along the sides. The table was set with all the dishes and utensils, as well as many expensive kinds of cheese and glasses of water. As the guests filed into their seats, small plates of salad were brought out. Emiko sat between Yugi and Bakura, still on edge. Joey and Tristan excitedly started eating without hesitation, but Emiko just picked up her fork and poked at her salad. Téa laughed, joking about Tristan and Joey's enthusiasm. Emiko just sighed. Bakura noticed her.
"Emiko," he said gently, "Emiko, you need to eat something." She said, setting her fork on the plate, "I'm...I'm just not really hungry right now." He said, "I know how you feel, but you need your strength for tomorrow." Emiko sighed again, grabbing her locket. He exhaled softly. She thought, "I'm not sure how anyone's supposed to beat Pegasus with that Millennium Eye. Is it even possible?" Croquet entered the room and cleared his throat, standing at the end of the table. He said, "On behalf of Mr. Maximillion Pegasus, I'd like to congratulate the five finalists and welcome you all to this final phase of the Duelist Kingdom competition. I trust that you all have your playoff entry cards." Emiko asked, "Entry cards?" Croquet explained, holding up two cards, "Yes. In your invitations to Duelist Kingdom, you received these two cards: Glory of the King's hand, which will grant the winner the three-million-dollar cash prize, and Glory of the King Opposite Hand, which allows the winner to challenge Pegasus for the championship. Those without these cards will be disqualified." Yugi said, holding his cards and looking at them, "That's what they're for."
"To make tomorrow's tournament interesting," Croquet said, "your host has added a special ingredient to your soup." As the bowls of soup were set in front of the guests, the five finalists noticed a golden eyeball suspended in the liquid. Joey snapped, "Hey! This is worse than having a fly in my soup!" Croquet said, ignoring Joey, "Open up the eye and look inside it, if you will. Each of the finalists has been randomly assigned a letter." Emiko, cleaning it off with her napkin, opened the golden eye, pulling out the letter "E". She looked around as her fellow duelists also looked at theirs. A large digital screen slowly descended from the ceiling and Croquet said, "Now, the island's computer will randomly pair up the letters to determine tomorrow's match-ups." Téa said nervously, "Gee, I wonder who's going to have to face who?" A tournament bracket appeared on the screen along with each of their letters. Croquet said, "It's decided. Tomorrow's duels will be as follows: in round one, we have 'C' versus 'E'. Then we have 'A' versus 'B', followed by 'D' versus the winner of the first duel."
"Alright," Joey yelled, "Who has 'C'?" Bandit Keith chuckled, "Me, runt." Joey cheered, "Alright! Emiko, you'd better kick this guy right out of the tournament! It's payback time for trapping us in that cave!" Keith sneered, "Once I crush both you and your little girlfriend, you'll wish you were still in that cave." Emiko looked at Joey and Keith, then sighed. Yugi said, looking up at Mai, "Looks like it's you and me, Mai." Mai smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to this duel." Yugi nodded and said, "Me too, and may the best duelist win." Croquet said, "The duels are set. Emiko Kaiba will duel Bandit Keith, Yugi Muto will duel Mai Valentine, and Joey Wheeler will duel the winner of the first round. Please enjoy the rest of this feast because for four of you tomorrow, you long journey will end in failure." He gave a bow and walked out.
The rest of the meal was wonderful. Joey and Tristan cleared their plates multiple times over. Outside, the sun was replaced by the moon, bathing the island in a gentle, blue glow. Emiko even managed to eat a little bit. Yugi finally stood up and walked over to Joey. He said softly, "We really ought to get to bed. We're going to need our rest if we're going to be in top shape for the tournament tomorrow." Joey sighed, "Yuge, what's the point. I don't have one of those Glory cards, so-" Yugi interrupted, holding up the Glory of the King's Hand card, "Actually, this Glory of the King's Hand card is yours, Joey." Joey started to protest, but Yugi said, "Take it, Joey! Just think of it as an early birthday present." Joey said, "But you need that card." Yugi said confidently, "The rules never said we needed both cards to compete, so we each only need one. If you give up now, who's going to save your sister?" Joey smiled. Yugi asked, "What kind of big brother would you be if you didn't even try to win the prize money?" Yugi added, "Besides, think about the odds. If all three of us are in the tournament, it raises our chances of winning this fight significantly. So, take it." Joey sighed and said, taking it and putting it in his pocket, "Okay. Thanks, Yugi. You're a real pal." Mai stood up and set her napkin on the table.
"All this lovey-dovey stuff is making my skin crawl," she said, "so good night, boys and girls." She winked and said, "And catch you tomorrow, Yugi." Bakura stood up and said, "I think we've all had a long day. Perhaps we should all go get some sleep." The group walked out of the dining hall and were greeted by Croquet again, who led them to their assigned bedrooms. As Croquet left them for the night, Bakura said, opening his door, "Good night, everybody. Tomorrow's a big day." Téa called from the other end of the hallway, "Good night!" Tristan said, "Later!" Emiko waved and said, "Night, guys." She sighed and shut her door behind her. She leaned against the door for a moment and closed her eyes.
"What a day," she thought, "I still can't believe it. This whole thing has been like some kind of bad dream. I came all this way, but I couldn't do anything to save them." She bit her lip, clutching her locket. She looked around the room. It was fit for royalty. She set her backpack on the floor next to the door and walked to the window. She looked out and saw, in the far distance, the lights of Domino City. She squinted and could swear she saw the Kaiba Corporation building. Her face fell and she opened her locket to look at the picture inside. She, Seto, and Mokuba were smiling brightly and the sun was shining.
"I miss them," she thought, clicking it shut. She sat on the large, King-sized bed and buried her face into her hands. She thought, "I can't help but feel scared to even doze off a little bit in this place. There's no telling what Pegasus might do. He could send someone after me in the middle of the night or capture my soul as I sleep." She lifted her head up and sniffled, fighting back tears. She looked around again, then stood up. She walked out, quietly shutting her door behind her. She walked across the hallway to Bakura's room, looked over her shoulders, then knocked.
"Ah, just a moment."
The door opened and Bakura said, a little surprised, "Oh, Emiko? Is something wrong?" Emiko sighed, "I just...I can't sleep in this castle. I guess I'm just a bit nervous is all. I just need someone to talk to." He said softly, "That's understandable. I mean, considering what happened." She said, "Yeah. I still can't believe any of this." He suggested, "Why don't you come stay in here tonight?" She looked up at him and said, "Oh, no. Wouldn't I be a bother?" He said, shaking his head, "No, of course not. If you'll feel safer, then grab your stuff and stay with me." She smiled. He watched her as she grabbed her stuff and came back. She set her backpack on the floor next to the door where Bakura had already taken off his shoes. She rubbed her arm nervously and sat next to him on the couch, setting her duelling deck on the table.
"Do you know how Keith duels," she asked, "My brother knows how Keith plays. He was at the Intercontinental Championship when Keith duelled, but I had stayed home with Mokuba, so I never saw his duelling style." Bakura shook his head and said, "I don't know. When he was up against Joey, he had some other duelist fighting for him instead of duelling himself." Emiko sighed. Bakura said, "I'm sorry, Em." She said, looking sadly at her lap, "I couldn't do anything." He sighed. She said, her voice starting to tremble, "I don't know how I'm going to do this. Even if I do beat Keith, I may have to fight Yugi or Joey...and of course, I'm not sure if it's even possible to beat Pegasus." He said, "Hey, don't panic. It's going to be alright." She looked up at him and said, "I want you to be right, but I just don't know." He frowned, unsure of what to say. She grabbed her locket and opened it. She said, "Seto always looked out for us. He was our protector. Now that he's gone, I just...I feel like it falls on me to get them back." He stood up and said, "Don't worry, Emiko. I know you'll do just fine tomorrow." He walked over and grabbed a blanket out of the bedside table's cabinet.
"Your brothers are lucky to have a sister as strong as you," he said. She smiled. She said softly, "Thanks, Bakura. You're the best." He shrugged and said, "No problem. Anyways, the bed's ready whenever you are. You have a big day tomorrow." He smiled sweetly, but she protested, "But, Bakura, this is your room. You should-" He interrupted, "It's alright, Emiko. Besides, you're a girl and you're duelling tomorrow." She said hesitantly, "But...are you sure?" He nodded and said, "Don't worry about me. The couch is comfortable enough." She smiled. As she opened her mouth to say something, they heard a knock at the door. He walked over and opened the door. Tristan said, "Hey, guys. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Emiko shook her head and said, "No. What is it, Tristan?" Tristan said, "Well, I can't help but wonder how Pegasus cheated earlier. I'm going to investigate and find out." Bakura asked, "What if he isn't actually cheating? What if Yugi's right about that Millennium Eye?" Tristan said, "We've got to know. Let's go get Téa." Bakura began to protest, but Emiko nodded and said, "Okay. Let's go." Bakura sighed and walked with Tristan and Emiko down the hallway to Téa's room.
"It's the first time in days that I've had a decent bed to sleep in and I'm wide awake," Téa thought, sitting on the bed and staring absentmindedly out the window, "So much has happened in the short time we've been on the island. It's so hard to wrap my head around it." Her thoughts were cut short by a knock on the door. She stood up and ran to open it, only to see Bakura, Tristan, and Emiko standing outside.
"Hey," she said, "What's up, guys?" Tristan said, "Trouble, Téa." Bakura said in an accusatory tone, "Tristan thinks Pegasus cheats in all his duels." Tristan snapped, "Well, he does!" Emiko explained, "Tristan seems to think that's how he was able to beat Seto so easily today. I'm not going to lie, I have my own suspicions, too." Téa invited everyone inside. The boys sat on the couch and Téa sat down on the bed next to Emiko. Téa asked, "So, do you really think Pegasus beat Kaiba this morning by cheating?" Tristan said confidently, "Yeah. I mean, Kaiba is one of the world's top duelists, but Pegasus beat him like he was an amateur. No one can beat Kaiba that easily." Emiko sighed. Tristan added, "At least, not playing fair and square. The way Pegasus duelled, it was like he knew what cards were in Kaiba's hand the entire time." Emiko reminded them, "Don't forget about that turn he predicted that my brother was about to play his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Something just feels off about the whole thing." Tristan said, gesturing to her, "See what I'm saying? You can't trust that guy!" Téa said, "Even if you're right about Pegasus, what exactly can we do?"
"Plenty," Tristan said, "If we can find out how he cheated, we can expose him for the fraud that he is. There's got to be some kind of clue down at the duelling arena." Bakura piped up, "With all the guards everywhere, it's going to be dangerous. We'll need help from Yugi and Joey." Tristan said, "No. They have to rest for the tournament. Besides, Joey sleeps so hard a herd of elephants won't wake him up. It's up to us." He turned to Emiko.
"Em, you should stay-"
Emiko interrupted, "No. I'm going with you." Tristan protested, "But, the tournament. You have to duel tomorrow, too." Emiko said, "I'll be fine. Besides, I won't be able to get much sleep anyway. If there is even one way for me to help my brothers, then count me in." Téa stood up and said, "Alright. I'm with you. Let's go." Bakura could only sigh. He had a bad feeling about everything, but he knew there was no convincing them otherwise.