Author's Notes: Well, here's chapter 9! I would like to type more, but I have a headache I need to get rid of. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!

Chapter 9:

Pegasus's Tournament

"So, how far is it to the Square?" Yami asked as he, Yugi and Solomon were squished and pushed around large crowds at the station.

"Just a bit farther. We're supposed to meet up with Téa, Joey and Tristan outside of the gates." Yugi replied.

"I'm getting too old for this …" Solomon grunted as he shoved his way through the crowds of people.

***

Téa laughed as she watched Joey rant on about his latest shopping trip with Mai. "Joey, you know the way Mai is. When you agreed to this, you HAD to know what you were getting into!"

Joey frowned. "Yeah, but a promise is a promise."

"Joey, you like her!" Téa giggled, covering her mouth.

"WHAT?" Joey shouted into Téa's face. His face was bright red. "I do NOT like that … THAT … WOMAN!"

Téa rolled her eyes. "Uh huh, sure …"

Joey fell over. "Argh, I give up!"

Tristan bent over and pulled Joey to his feet. "You should know by now, buddy. Never try to get a woman to admit she is wrong." He patted him roughly on the back. "Hey, look! There's Yugi!"

Téa blushed when she saw Yami approaching them. After her conversation with Bakura last night, she felt funny around Yami. Maybe today, she could tell him how she really feels. "Hi, guys." She said quietly, waving from behind Joey.

"Hey! Where are Ryou, Bakura and the others?" Yugi asked as he reached them.

"They should be here soon." Téa replied, glancing down at her watch. "Anyways, we should be heading to the gates, they should be opening them soon." She took the lead as the guys followed her.

Yami glanced nervously over at Téa. He knew by the way she was looking at him, his fears were confirmed. She liked him and sadly he had no feelings toward her that way. If she ever confronted him, it would be so painful to tell her the truth. He looked up at the sky and sighed. He had to admit that when he first met her, he did like her, but now they had seemed to drift apart. Maybe if she wasn't always helping Ryou with Bakura all the time, he could have gotten to know her better, but it's obvious it wasn't meant to be. He reached out to her and touched her arm.

Téa looked over her shoulder and smiled. 'What is it, Yami?"

Yami gulped and ran a hand through his spiky hair. It's better to get this over with now. "Téa, can we go somewhere more private during the break later on? I really need to talk to you about something."

Téa nodded slowly, a bit unsure about his attitude. Her eyes trailed toward the path in front of her and then back to Yami. She began to twirl a strand of hair uneasily. "Alright …" She said hesitantly. "We'll meet by the fountain at around five this evening. Since during the tournament, you guys will be scattered all over the place. And after my last experience at Battle City I don't want to end up losing you again." She laughed.

Yami forced a smile. "The evening then."

Téa nodded and shyly looked away, only to bump right into a familiar face. She stumbled back and looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes. "Oh, Bakura! I'm so sorry. I didn't see where I was going!"

Bakura held her arms to steady her. He looked over at Yami and narrowed his eyes. "I can see that." He released his grip on her.

Téa saw where he was looking and blushed. "Um, so where's Ryou?"

"Right here!" Came a small voice from behind Bakura.

Téa held back a laugh. She had forgotten how short Ryou was, compared to Bakura. "Hey, Ryou!"

Ryou smiled. "So, is everybody here now?"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. Duke, Mai, Kaiba, Serenity, Marik and Ishizu are supposed to be showing up too, but we'll probably meet them along the way. Let's go!"

The now very large group stood in front of two towering grey gates. A guard stood by the side. "You may enter if you are duelling in the first round, other duellists may sit upstairs and enjoy. He pointed to the long staircase beside the gates. He looked back over at the group of unblinking eyes. "What?"

"Croquet?" Everyone asked in unison.

Croquet blinked. "Yeah?"

Everyone fell over.

Yugi stood up. "Why are you checking tickets, I thought you were Pegasus's right hand man?"

Croquet's face turned a lovely shade of red. "Uh, well … I was … demoted." He bowed his head.

Everyone sweat-dropped.

Téa looked up at the board flashing on the big screen. "Hmmm, Battle City finalists get in for free. Aren't you guys lucky!" She smirked, looking At Yugi, Yami and Joey. They rubbed their heads and blushed.

"Don't forget about the other finalists!" Came a deep voice from behind Yugi.

Everyone looked up and saw Kaiba, Marik and Ishizu.

Joey glared at Marik. "Of course how could we ever forget you?"  He spat bitterly.

Marik frowned.

Téa jabbed Joey in the ribs. "Joey!" She hissed through clenched teeth.

"Ow!" Joey moaned, rubbing his side.

"So, are we ready?" Yugi piped up, trying to avoid an ensuing fight.

Everyone nodded.

"The scoreboard shows that the duellists are selected by the lowest ranking to the highest. It seems that Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood are in the first round." Téa said as they climbed the stairs to the stadium seats.  "Hey, there are the others!"  She pointed to Mai, Mokuba, Serenity, Tristan and Duke.

Soon there was silence as Croquet came onto the stage. "Welcome to the fist annual Domino City Tournament. Every year there will be a tournament held on July 28th and Maximillion Pegasus will be your gracious host. If you should win this year, you will become 'King of Games for that year. In order to hold your title, you may duel every year. And now I have sad news. The great Pegasus, creator of the duel monsters you know well today, will be retiring this year. He will only be a spectator and present the trophy to the winner. This is his last year duelling. If you wish to win, you must defeat him in the finals."

Murmurs were heard through the crowed.

"Wow, Pegasus is retiring. I never thought I would hear that." Yugi whispered.

"At least when one of us duels him, he won't be using that weird eye anymore." Joey laughed.

"Now, let the duels begin! First up are Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood. A few years ago these two fine young men battled in the finals to see who would end up with the trophy. Weevil Underwood surprisingly came out on top and went on to be defeated in Duellist Kingdom by Yugi Muto."

Weevil hissed. "How dare he make that announcement!"

"Soon, Weevil went on to duel in Battle City and was once again defeated by Joey Wheeler. I second rate duellist who made it big and went to the top!

Joey stood up, but was held back by Tristan and Solomon. "SECOND RATE? I'LL KIL THEM!!!"

Weevil glared at the announcer.

"Next we have Rex Raptor. A young duellist who lost to Weevil in the finals and went on to also be defeated once again by the unknown Joey Wheeler in Duellist Kingdom."

Rex and Joey were growling.

"And made his appearance once again in Kaiba's famous Battle City, only to be thwarted by Espa Roba."

Boos and hisses surged through the crowed.

"And because of this, these two once fine duellists are now the worst and are struggling to make it back to the top here in Domino City's first annual Duel Monsters Tournament."

Téa sighed. "Well, at least this announcer is being honest." She sweat-dropped.

Joey glared at her and stood up. "Honest? HONEST? He called me unknown second-rate duellist who somehow managed to make it to the finals! I'm going to kill him!!!"

Kaiba snorted. "Joey, sit."

Joey lunged at Kaiba. "KAAAIIIBAAA!!!"

Téa and Yami held Joey back this time.

Kaiba just laughed.

"Shhh! The tournaments started." Yugi said, pointing to the holographic images appearing below them.

Everyone watched intently as Rex took a narrow lead.

"And now, Rex places a magic card on the field. Oh, look at that! Weevil just summoned his famous 'Great Moth' looks like this battle might be shifting slightly. Now Rex places a card face down, I wonder what it could be?"

"Give it up!" Rex yelled. "I'm going to win this time! You're precious Queen was taken by the loser Wheeler, and you know it's the only thing that could stop my dinos! You're 'Great Moth' isn't so great anymore!"

Weevil growled and placed a card face down on the field. "We'll just see about that one, you dinoholic moron!"

"Bug loving freak!"

"Fossilized has-been!"

"Four eyed beetle!"

"Um, they aren't duelling anymore." Tristan remarked, sweat-dropping.

"It looks like a duel of wits now and they're both losing." Joey added.

Téa shook her head. "I guess they're just … releasing pent up anger … or something … "

"FOUR EYES, HUH? TAKE THIS THEN!!!"

The audience gasped.

"That has to be the rudest gesture I have ever seen!" Joey shouted.

Kaiba placed his hands over Mokuba's eyes. Téa covered her mouth like she was about to throw up. Bakura smirked and Ryou's jaw hung open. Yugi and Yami were staring wide-eyed. Marik was trying to look away and Ishizu was laughing. Duke and Tristan were trying to shield Serenity's eyes. Mai rolled her eyes and Solomon looked about ready to have a heart attack.

"And that's a move we'll most likely never seen again in Duel Monsters, folks."

***

"And the winner is Rex Raptor! "

The audience cheered.

"After this short break the next duellists' will be Rex VS Bandit Keith!"

"What? That guy's still around?" Tristan commented.

Bandit Keith. One of the best duellists in America, who was defeated by a child during a duel with Pegasus"

Bandit Keith, who was approaching the ring, fell over. "HEY!"

"He soon entered the Duellist Kingdom Tournament and cheated his way to the top!"

People began booing.

"He's a sly duellist that always hides his rarest cards and uses them when it's convenient. He was defeated by Joey Wheeler in the Duellist Kingdom finals and sent flying through a shoot out of the Kingdom and into the ocean below, after holding a gun to Pegasus's head. A born loser who's trying once again to get a name for himself.

Keith was turning red. He wanted to strangle that announcer.

Yami glanced over at Téa's watch. It was a quarter to five. And he knew his name wouldn't be announced until much later on. He leaned over and whispered in Téa's ear. "It's a bit early, but now would be a good chance to talk." He excused himself and got out of his chair. He squeezed by the seated people and watched as Téa soon followed.

***

Téa sat down on the stone lip of the fountain. She felt like her stomach was in knots. She was worried she was going to bring up her lunch if Yami didn't speak up soon. "What's wrong? You seem bothered." Téa spoke softly.

Yami took a seat next to her and put her hands in his. "Téa, I need to know something." He bowed his head. He felt a hand brush some of his bangs away that were hiding his eyes. He looked up.

"What?" She whispered.

Yami gulped. "Do you … like me?"

Téa blushed. "Of course I do! You're such a good friend."

Yami shook his head. "I don't mean that way. I mean … as … in love."

Téa gasped and bowed her head. "I … I don't know. I guess I do like you … but I …" She shook her head, her hair swaying back and forth from the movement. "Yes. I do love you." She confessed.

Yami felt his heart ache. He was afraid of this. "Téa, we'll always be good friends, right?"

Téa nodded, refusing to look up. She gasped when she felt a pair of hands cup her face and lift her head up. "Yami?" She asked. Her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Yami sighed. I do care about you … but … I don't think we should ever go past friendship."

Téa shut her eyes tightly; tears were sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh, please don't cry, Téa." Yami pleaded, wiping the tears away with the tips of his thumbs. "Look, I do love you. But I know deep in my heart, it could never be more then just friendship. Something tells me that. And if it didn't … I"

Téa placed her finger over his lips. "Don't say it." She sniffed. "Because I know it's not true." She wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm just glad you were honest with me." She looked down at her feet. She was shaking slightly. She suddenly felt her face being pulled forward. She gasped when she felt Yami place his lips over hers in a light kiss.

Yami pulled away, his own tears threatening to fall. "I'm sorry." He released his grip on her and stood up.

Téa brought her knees up to her chest and sobbed lightly.

"Téa … "

"Go away."

"Huh?"

"I SAID GO AWAY!!!" Téa shouted. "Please. I need time alone. We're still friends, Yami. Just let me be for a while."

Yami was taken back by her outburst, but nodded. He walked away, head bowed.

Téa managed to compose herself. She stood up and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat. "I shouldn't cry. But … I love him so much." She reached over for her purse and slid it over her shoulder. She looked at her reflection in the fountain. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were tear stained. She felt ashamed and dipped her hands into the cool running waters. She cupped the water in her tiny palms and closed her eyes. She splashed the water into her face, washing away the tears. Just like her dreams of being with Yami. They were washed away as well. She sighed as she felt the cool air dry off her face.

"And the winner is once again, Rex Raptor!"

Téa heard the announcement over the speakers and realized it was almost time for her friends' duels. She took one last glance at the fountain and rushed back to the stadium. Just like those tears I washed away at the fountain, I'll wash away my pain. I'll be all right … I always am!  I need to be strong.  My friends need me right now.  I'll worry about feeling sorry for myself later … She bounded back up the stairs and took her seat, refusing to look at Yami.

"Next up!  Rex Raptor VS Espa Roba!"

To be continued…