Brood: Oh my God! *gasps*
Zutsokaki: You've decided to scrap the story!? I knew it!
Brood: *smacks him over the head* NO! I just realized that I have typed over twenty thousand words in this story! My hands hurt.....*rubs her hands a little bit* I want to thank everyone for the reviews! Oh, and I will be using most everyone's original names from now on!
Zutsokaki: So.....I don't get to leave?
Brood: Even if you did get to, where would you go?
Zutsokaki: Why won't you just introduce the chapter so I can take a nap?
Brood: Maybe I don't want to.
Zutsokaki: ...........................why? It's the way it always goes....you introduce the chapter, I complain....you threaten my very existence....you know, the usual!
Brood: Maybe because I want to take a nap! *Lays down on the couch* Zzzz....
Zutsokaki: *Looks around nervously......* Oh.......um......ah......ALRIGHT!!! Here is.....Chapter 5....try and enjoy this one....maybe.....
CHAPTER 5
The whole of the competitors in the tournament stared up at the image of Pegasus on the screen. Some exclaimed loudly, and others just watched calmly. Yugi and his friends narrowed their eyes and glared up at it. Yugi couldn't tell what Pegasus had done with his left eye, since his hair was covering it up as usual.
/So he IS back.......it isn't an elaborate hoax...../
Pegasus held up an ID and turned it over onto it's back. Then he pointed to the back of it, and slipped his fingernail into a small catch on the back. He then pulled lightly, and the back swung open and there was a single earbud earphone and wire inside. He then placed it in his ear.
Everyone looked at the back of their ID's and found that they all had these small compartments on them. Yugi and the others looked at it suspiciously and watched as the people around them put the earbuds in their ears.
Pegasus spoke, and his words were filtered into the earbuds, so they all could hear his message.
"Ah! I trust that all of you have these convienient little things in your ears now, so I will begin to tell you all of the guidelines of this tournament. If you would all open your boxes now...." He paused and waited. This was obviously a pre-recorded message. Yugi knew that he even had to be weary of the pre-recorded ones.
The air was filled with the rustling of lids being opened and the gasps of happiness. Joey was feeling very high and mighty, because he had been right to a point. There was one green dueling glove, and three chips, shaped like diamonds and very shiny. The wristband was different also. It was longer, and they counted the holes that the chips had to go in. There were twenty-five. As they all put these gloves on their left hands, Pegasus began speaking again."
"This must be a blast from the past for those of you who were in Duelist Kingdom! But this will have to be different, as there are two thousand five hundred duelists competing!"
Everyone standing on the island jolted in pure shock. The buzzes of excited conversation started up again, and many started taking a good long look around them at the other duelists.
"This first round of the tournament will be slightly brutal to you all, since there are only only enough diamond chips for, at most, three hundred of you to make it to the next round! Now, there are at the least fifty holographic dueling stations on this island that I know of. We here at Crawford Sea's island have not had the time to entirely explore this island, and since I only found this among my family's assets about three months ago, not even I know what is on this whole island, or even what is was used for!"
"When you duel, you and your opponent will bet an equal amount of diamond chips on the match, and whoever wins gets all of the betted chips! If you lose all of your chips, you are out of the tournament! Easy enough, right? Maybe." Pegasus grinned. "Because when you get those twenty five diamond chips to fill the glove, you must FIND the goal, which is a small fortress that has been standing for around 350 years."
"On your ID, you will find a calander feature, which has certain days marked on it. There is also one set of four days specially marked. They are June 30th to July 3rd, and by that time, whoever wants to really be in the next round must have the twenty-five diamond chips AND they must find the fortress to exchange their chips in. Remember that you MUST show up on one of these days, for I MYSELF will be waiting there on those days. I will leave this island at midnight on the night of the 3rd. So even if you have the required chips, you can be disqualified if you don't redeem them!" Pegasus paused again.
Yugi looked down at his ID and found the calander icon. He pressed it and found that June 30th was about two weeks from now. He showed it to Honda and Anzu, who were right beside him on either side. It seemed as if it was just hitting everyone just how long this would take.
"I am sure that most of you are worrying about the time frames of this tournament. Well, I assure you that there are other ways of leaving this tournament than just losing all of your diamond chips.....there is always forfeit if you can't face the challenges of the island......and......."
Everyone waited, slighly apprehensive to the other ways of leaving.
"There are a total of five other duelists already on this island, all accomplished in their own way. Their sole purpose is to duel, defeat, and disqualify other duelists. These disqualification duelists are scattered evenly across the island, so sooner or later, you might find one. You must be very careful when dealing with these people, for they are formidable opponents."
/Hm....elimination duelists.....Like Player Killer was?......../ Yugi frowned lightly.
"If you would look at your calendars again for me, you will find that every third day is highlighted. These are the times that one of the smaller ships in the docks, the only placed premarked on your maps, will leave back for the mainland with the people who are disqualified for any reason. So if you are booted out of the tournament in any way, you must make your way back to these docks and catch a boat back home!" Pegasus closed his eyes and smiled, pushing the right side of his hair behind his ear and continuing.
"Now I will let you all go soon, and before I do, I will tell you that there is a custom feature on these ID's that allows you to record anything you wish about the spot you are occupying at the moment. So if there is an area you wish to remember for later, it is highly recommended that you save some kind of information about it. I will let you all go now.....and I will see a few of you at the fortress. Oh! And one more thing....today is a day for you all to spread out.....there are no challenges allowed to be made until tomorrow." Pegasus then narrowed his visible eye and spoke again.
"You are all probably wondering about the stakes of this tournament.....well....let me all tell you of the prizes. Those who get to the semi-finals will recieve seventy packs of Duel Monster's Cards and seven hundred dollars. The finalists will get seven boxes cards and ten rare magic cards, with one thousand dollars. The first place person will get all of those plus another six thousand dollars. And now......to the Indisputed Champion's prize."
"Just all of you who assume as creator of Duel Monsters, I have access to every card ever made. And those who think that.....are correct."
Somewhere, hidden in the crowds, Seto Kaiba's eyes widened apprehensively.
"You see, everyone on this planet thinks.....no......KNOWS......that there are four Blue Eyes White Dragons in circulation. Well, that is correct. Only four are currently in circulation. But!" Then, Pegasus's eyes became slightly wild, and raised his voice. SINCE THE FIFTH ONE IS OWNED BY ME, IT IS CERTANLY NOT IN CIRCULATION! AND THE WINNER RECIEVES THE PREVIOUS PRIZES, AND THIS BLUE EYES CARD!!!!" Pegasus then held up one of this hands, holding up a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
The uproar in the crowds was deafening at the very sight of the Blue Eyes. Suddenly, all thoughts were on winning the tournament and getting that sought after card. The Screen-Pegasus waved merrily. "Ta-ta! And good luck to all of you!" The screen blinked and flashed off.
The security man held up his hands and waited again. This time, it took much longer for the humongous crowds of people to quiet down. The man spoke into a microphone reciever attached to his shirt collar. His words filtered back into the earphones everyone had.
"These earphones are also international speech interpreters for you all, mainly used in the way they were used just now for your benifeit. But, if you absolutly need to talk to your opponent in battle, you can use the small receiver on the ID and anyone within a thirty foot radius can understand your speech. Do not abuse this, as this feature has limited power to it, since it has a different power source than the main ID's power. Now, when I am done speaking, you may all leave and begin your journey across the island. Remember, no challenging anybody until tomorrow, and Good Luck!" He put his arms down, and stood on top of a box close by.
People began running and yelling with excitement across the beaches, heading for the most part directly for a large thick of trees about two hundred feet ahead. The stampeding was terrible, and Yugi was pulled by Joey about three times out of the way of other people, until they all made their way out to the sides of the crowds, walking instead by the shoresides.
They walked in complete silence for awhile, the waves beating on the shore, birds squawking, and the growing ever more distant noises of the thousands of other competitors traveling making the only real noises. Finally, Yugi spoke.
"Hey, how do you guys feel now that you are really here?" He turned his head up to Anzu and Honda, who were now looking a little nervous now that Yugi had asked that question. Mai, who somehow had remained with all of them, spoke up.
"I think....that they'll be fine.." Everyone looked in surprise at Mai. "What? Hey, look at it this way, if they lose all of their diamond chips, then they could just stay with us on the island.....Pegasus did say that if we WANTED a ride home, we go back to the docks, right?"
"Yeah, Mai," Honda began. "But I would rather not think about what we would do if we lost our chips."
"I wanna think positive also." Anzu looked at the green glove and three diamond chips emedded in it. "I just can't wait to try out my souped up deck!"
Joey smirked. "Your deck needed some souping up pretty badly......."
Anzu puffed up, the sea wind only adding to the effect with her hair blowing around her face. "My deck!? At least I didn't only have monster cards when I started! I was always kicking your butt with my cute little creatures!"
Joey reeled back, nearly stumbling and falling under Anzu's rage. "Well, I uh.......eh....that is.......she's right.." He dropped his head, a sweatdrop forming over his head.
Yugi patted Joey's back and grinned. "But you are a tournament ranked duelist now Joey! Think about that!"
Joey instantly perked up, his eyes glittering with excitement. "That's right! Look at me now! Alright! Gimme the first duelist to come our way! That Blue Eyes is as good as mine!" He jogged ahead, laughing.
Honda looked after him, his head tilted sideways. "Hey, is this familiar to any of you guys?"
Anzu and Yugi turned their heads down and sighed. "I think it is, Honda...."
Bakura, who had been completly silent so far, finally spoke. "What are we going to do about lunch?"
Anzu turned and pulled her backpack towards her. She shuffled around inside of it and pulled out a bag of chips. "I guess this is mine. I bought them on the ship, but never got around to eating them......."
Honda reached into his pocket and pulled out a guidebook. "Hey, I got my Survival Guide with me again! I thought we might need it this time!" He held it up and started flipping through some pages.
"Oh please! I don't feel much like foraging for berries!" Mai stuck her head right by Honda's, looking over his shoulder and staring at the pages. She then grabbed the book and tossed it over her own shoulder. "We won't need it anyway."
Honda scrambled back after it, picking up the book and dusting it off. "Hey! We just might you know! Who knows when we might need to know what kind of berries are poisonous....or know what kind of roots are good.....or....." He continued to name off survival tips.
Joey, who had inched up behind Mai without noticing, crept up by her ear and whispered, "Know where ta dig for all of the big juicy grubs...."
"EEEEKK!!!!" Mai shivered up and down, then turned and swatted Joey roughly on the sholder. Joey laughed and jerked back a little bit, running off in front of Yugi. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY JOEY!!!!!!"
"Sure it is Mai!" Joey flashed a cheesey grin and dodged another swipe from Mai, it missing and landing on the side of Bakura's head.
"Hey!!!!" Bakura got a strange look on his face and then frowned at Mai. "Do you think you two could stop it for awhile? I have a bloody headache...."
Yugi looked over at Bakura and his eyes darkened a little bit. Bakura usually wasn't this testy......
When it was time for lunch, the others set up a temporary camp and Honda went to find food. Mai had found a box of gummy snacks and she shared with the others, while Anzu ate at her bag of chips. They had all let Honda forrage, and Yugi gave Bakura some headache medicine.
"They don't make you drowsy, do they Yugi?," Bakura asked while ripping the head off a gummy worm violently in his mouth.
"No Bakura, they're fine." He handed them to Bakura, who took them with a swig from a canteen.
Joey got up and collected water from the nearby ocean, boiling it in a small pot he had brought. He then put the water in his canteen and held it in the ocean, letting the water cool his canteen. Mai and Yugi watched all of this with interest. Bakura was just leaning on a log and holding his head.
"I never expected such resourcfulness from you, Joey." Mai watched him and then held out her canteen. "Do that for me too."
"Whaddo I look like? Your personal servant?" Joey glared lightly at her, but Mai just began to pout. She sat up cutely and batted her eyes at him, still holding out the canteen. Joey began to falter. "Well, I uh....oh come on Mai! Don't do that......oh...."
"Pwease? Just for lil ol' me?" She opened her eyes wider and her lip quivered.
"Awwwww........fine....." He snatched the canteen away from her and filled the pot in the ocean again, doing the same for her water as he did for his.
Honda came back just as Joey was finishing up Mai's water, holding all sorts of berries. Yugi had asked to use Joey's pot to make some drinkable water for himself, and was busying himself with that.
After he had snagged Joey's coat without him noticing, Honda dumped his armload of berries onto the denium vest jacket. Then he sat down and cleared his throat.
Mai looked up from where Joey was handing her the canteen. "Are you sure that there aren't any bugs on those or anything?"
Joey smirked. "Ya know Mai, sometimes they get inta da fruit....so when ya bite inta one....CRUNCH!!" He jumped at Mai when he yelled "crunch!" Mai shrieked and fell back off of the log she was sharing with Bakura. He moaned and turned a little, reacting to the scream.
Anzu glanced up from where the Dorito's were keeping her busy. "You guys should really keep it down for Bakura....can't you tell he doesn't feel well?" Bakura opened one of his eyes and trained it on Anzu.
"Thank you Anzu, but I think just another half hour, and Yugi's pills will have began working. I should be back on my feet very soon." Bakura smiled weakly and turned over.
Yugi used a stick to poke at one of the logs on the small fire. His water began bubbling furiously. "Do you want anything to eat Bakura? Honda brought back some berries...."
"Not right now, but I thank you Yugi."
Honda watched all of this with a little irritation. "Hey! Aren't you all going to appraise my wonderful outdoor skills?" He nodded purposfully at the berries.
Joey looked over and checked them out. "Hey, those don't look half bad, Honda..........hey wait.....is that MY jacket!?!?!?" He glared quickly up at a grinning Honda, and then swiftly grabbed the point of his hair. "Why you!!! What if you get stains all over this thing!?!?!?!"
Honda laughed and tried tugging his hair away from Joey. "Hey man! I just took what I saw! Hey! Stop the tugging! That hurts!"
Yugi walked over and looked at the berries. He picked one up and after scrutinzing it a little bit, popped it into his mouth. Mai's eyes went wide and she stared up at him with shock.
"Yugi! You don't know if there are bugs in those or not!"
"Your just letting Joey get to you, Mai! They are actually pretty good!" He took another and then offered one to Mai. She glared at it suspiciously, then took it from him, still glaring. She then looked up over at Honda and Joey, who were currently solving their problems with a wrestling match that was getting very close the sea. If they weren't careful, they were about to get very wet. Yugi looked over at that also and quickly ran over to break them up.
Mai continued to scrutinize the berry, until her stomach murmured in protest and she bolted the berry down just to quiet it. It wasn't that bad, and there was no unpleasant crunch. She ate a few more, savoring the sweet and tangy taste of the purple berries. Anzu had been watching her, and had grabbed a few herself when Mai had deemed them safe. She leaned over to Bakura with a small handful.
"Hey, do you want to eat something Bakura?" Anzu held them by his face as he opened his eyes and looked at them.
"Maybe just a few, Anzu....." He rolled over and lifted one of his arms, taking a few berries and plucking them into his mouth. She left the others on a large leaf by Bakura and went back to her bag. She pulled out a romance novel and opened it to her bookmark.
Just that second though, a loud "AUGH!" and an even louder spash was heard in the direction of the guys. Mai and Anzu looked up over at them, and realized that Joey and Honda had rolled into the water, and had even accidentally dragged Yugi in with them. They were splashing and sputtering, lightly caught in an incoming tide. They all clawed back to the shore and lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. Soon, they stood up, dripping from head to toe, their clothes clinging to them and their hair drooping. Clinging to their fronts were large amounts of sand, and Joey leaned over to spit some out of his mouth. They all trudged back to the fire, and sat silently by it. Honda and Joey looked at each other, then smiles broke out on their faces.
"Did ya see that? I so had ya, Honda!"
"No way man! It was me all the way!"
Yugi just stared at them, completly bewildered. But then again, they were Joey and Honda afterall. He then heard a snickering sound, and looked up to see Mai and Anzu giggling a little bit at them all.
/Oh well...../ Yugi caught on and started laughing with them.
He turned and slid behind a guard beside the boat. He had managed to sneak off board with the numerous duelists, none of them too excited to notice that he had no baggage or a box. He hung by the back and had read Pegasus's lips when his message came on.
/Thanks for all of the useful life skills, Big Brother..../
He had run with the other duelists into the forest, and had soon gone off on his own. He got tired after awhile and sat down in a clearing, and decided that it would do no good for him to steal another dueling deck, since his name wasn't in those ID's. He then realized that there was a small shadow over him.
"Vere is your dueling glove?"
He swiftly looked up and saw a young girl scrutinizing him lightly. /Think, think think....../
"Well, we really don't need to wear them until tomorrow anyway, right? What's the point right now?" He silently praised himself for the quick thinking and looked back into her eyes. They were a pleasing shade of brown, and they were currently looking him over.
"Vell, you do 'ave a point." Her eyes suddenly flashed. "But....I vould like to meet you about fifty feet in zat direction tomorrow morning around nine. I take zat you 'ave a watch?" She motioned in a direction in the forest, and then looked back down at the sitting form.
The young boy was speechless, but not for long. "Uh....yeah....I do."
"Good. Zee you zere...." She turned and walked away from him, leaving the clearing.
The boy stood up and began to run after her, trying to get her name. But she was completly gone. She couldn't have gotten that far in so little time.......so where did she get to?
Insector Haga crouched by the ground, lifting up a small rock. There were all sorts of bugs in there, just crawling over one another in some mad rush. They always looked like they had more important places to be. Just like him............
/Tomorrow morning, I will begin to duel and make my way to the next round! I will keep an eye out for the elimination duelists....a sharp eye....like my precious bugs.....and avoid them, taking diamond chip after diamond chip from unsuspecting duelists!....../ He stood and grinned holding the rock over his head.
/.........AND CRUSH THEM!!!/ He slammed the rock down, landing hard on the soil and squelch/crunching, laughing the whole time.
It was dark out, and the guys had earlier on opted to air dry instead of changing clothes. Yugi was still a little glum, but Bakura was feeling lots better as they walked along the shoreline.
"Hey, do you think we should go into the forest soon? That is where most of the duelists are!" Bakura looked over at all of them.
Yugi had to agree. They hadn't seen much of anyone else for the whole day. He had thought he had seen someone in the trees earlier, but they had just been walking by, and had soon disappeared. He suspected that they were all looking for dueling stations to start off their days tomorrow.
Joey grinned. "Hey, if we go into those woods nice and early, then we would get swamped by tons of them! Do you know how many people would like to get their hands on us Yugi, for being Duelist Kindom AND Battle City champs?"
Yugi had to agree again. They would just have to stick to the sides and wander in only when they needed to duel. But then again....they needed six sets of twenty five diamond chips. And they weren't going to do that sitting by the sidelines.
"We are just going to have to stick to the edges of the forests. We need to get those chips in two weeks so we can find the fortress. You do realize that there are six of us? I don't feel like leaving anybody behind on this. We may even have to split up at times. Who would honestly want to walk right up to a small group of duelists, the majority having major accomplishments?" Yugi glanced up at all of them, now staring down at him. They knew he was right. They, almost in unison, turned towards the forest edge and walked to it.
Mai looked into the forest and shuddered lightly. "I remember being alone all of those nights in the forests back on Duelist Kingdom. It really unnerved me sometimes." Anzu agreed, then suggested that they set camp for the night. Everyone else nodded and grabbed the sleeping bags and set them down. Joey made a small contained fire and they snacked on some of the berries Honda had carried with him in a handkerchief Mai had let him borrow.
Joey looked into his bag and pulled out a small bag of chips. He looked at them, and then Mai's closeby berry pile.
He grinned mischieviously and grabbed a berry from her pile, carefully breaking off a piece of a chip and pressing it inside of the berry, careful to make sure that it didn't drip too much. He then brushed his hand by her pile again, pretending to sweep his hands back in a yawn, expertly dropping the berry back into Mai's pile. Everyone else was deep in conversation and hadn't noticed this whole thing. Now.....Joey waited.
The friends ate and chatted about what they would do tomorrow, and spoke of the oncoming duels and the troubles they may have when the duels started getting more intense. Then suddenly....CRUNCH! Mai was up and freaking, spitting out the berry and squealing. The others were on their feet and trying to calm Mai down. Joey was still sitting and holding his sides. He was breaking up inside, and nearly about to bust from laughter.
"AH!! I ATE A BUG!! IT CRUNCHED! IT WAS A BUG! A BUG EW EW EW EW EW EWWWWW!!!! AUGH!!!!" Mai grabbed her canteen and chugged down a large mouthful of water, swishing it around in her mouth, and spitting it out. Honda had to jump out of the way to avoid his shoes getting any more soggy. He should have jumped farther, because Mai was soon on him.
"YOU GOT THOSE BUG INFESTED BERRIES!! I SHOULD KILL YOU!!!!!" Joey couldn't hold it back anymore. He fell over, and his laughter flooded out of him loudly. He was practically crying and his sides hurt badly. Everyone turned to look at Joey, who was dying with laughter.
"DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY JOEY!!! I JUST ATE A BUG!!!!"
Joey laughed louder, then gasped out some words. "Mai..HAHAAAA....I put....AHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA......chips.........AHAAAHAAAAA....no bug...." He continued to laugh. But Mai boiled over and it was evident that Joey was about to die from alot more than just laughter. Honda, who was under Mai's foot, snickered.
Mai pounced and snagged his throat in her hands, shaking him around. She hadn't grabbed him hard, because he was still summoning up the air to continue laughing while she choked him.
Anzu dashed over and tried to separate them, the effort taking a little while. After a moment, Joey was still snickering, this time joined by Honda. Mai was off to one side fuming, and Bakura, Anzu and Yugi were just watching them. Every now and then Anzu or Yugi would snicker at Joey or Honda, Mai shooting indignant glances at them, but the rest of the evening was fairly quiet. They soon went to bed, snuggled in their warm sleeping bags, the fire crackling and dying beside them.
Seto was cold. But he couldn't be bothered with pety things such as cold. Even though it was near the middle of June, he had goosebumps. All the could think of though was the fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon. He HAD to have that card. The whole day was spent looking for dueling stations, Seto making notes on his ID about the places that had them. He even made little footnotes on what kind of field they were.
And now it was dark, and he was cold. But he made no outward expression of this as he walked into a small clearing. Seto immediatly got his lighter out and piled some dead brush together, using the lighter to set it on fire. He surrounded the fire with nearby stones and sat down beside it. He looked at his watch. It read 12:48 A.M.
Seto rummaged through his bag, and found what he was looking for. It was a small inflatable matress, extremely compact and tough. He had developed it just for this occassion. There was a small button on one side of it, and he pressed it. It began to inflate itself, and he tossed it to the side while it filled with air. In the meantime, he grabbed a hunting knife and walked back into the wilderness.
He returned to his small camp a moment later with a dead rabbit stuck to the end of his knife. He pulled a travel convienient skillet out of his bag and got down to the dirty task of skinning the thing. Soon enough, his bed had inflated and there was rabbit meat sizzling over the fire. He turned the meat over and sat back, looking over the skins of the rabbit.
On an impulse, he grabbed the skins and cleaned the blood off of the main fur parts. Then he used some flexible sticks and stretched out the fur, with the back of the skin facing up to get more air.
/Maybe if I get enough of these, I could make a fairly decent coat.....too bad I can't sew...../ A spatter of fat from the skillet burning him on the face brought his attention back to his late dinner, and noticed that it was done. He picked the pan off of the fire and waited for the food to cool a little bit.
A twig broke.
Seto's head snapped around, realizing how careless he had been. With two thousand five hundred people on this island, fire and the smells of cooked food wouldn't stay secret for long. A young girl stepped out, looking positivly frightened and kind of dirty.
She quickly saw Seto's face and stopped short. "I....I....I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean anything! I just got separated from my sister and I thought she might be here....it was the fire sir!"
Seto looked the small girl over. She was obviously too young to be a good duelist, and must be another novice. She had a slight Irish accent, and a head of straight black hair. Her blue eyes reminded him of Mokuba. "What's your name, kid?"
"Lisa O'Kelly, from Dublin, Ireland, sir!" She then added, sort of frightened again, "Have you seen a blonde girl with a brown-haired boy anywhere, sir? My sister and Jerry are probably very worried for me by now....." She looked down at her feet and tapped her toe on the ground.
Seto stood up and walked up to the girl. "I hate to say that I haven't seen a pair like that today, Lisa. He looked down at the girl's dueling glove and the ID sticking out of her pocket. "How old are you?"
"All of twelve, sir! My sister is three years my elder!"
"Well, Lisa, I suppose you won't have much luck finding your sister or Jerry in the dark."
"No sir, probably not." Her eyes suddenly perked up. "Could I stay near your camp, sir? Maybe my sister will see the light from the fire and come to it, just like I did!" She looked at him with those large blue eyes.
"I don't think so, kid." Seto looked down at her, but she was unabashed.
"Oh please sir! I won't be much bother to you! I'll even clean some things you need cleaning! I just need to see if she'll come to me!" She stared up at him, her eyes pleading to him. They really did remind him of Mokuba's........
"Alright kid. Sleep over there, and don't bother me." She grinned and pulled out her sleeping bag, immediatly putting it about ten feet away from his matress.
/Now why the hell did I just do that?/ Seto sat down and picked up his meal.
Yugi was jarred awake roughly in the night, gasping and clutching his Puzzle, sweating bullets. He had one of the most horrible dreams.....but all he could really remember was someone laughing and a girl yelling......for him. Actually, the name of the king, Yu-Gi-Oh. But that was HIM on some level. It really was too bad he couldn't recognize the girl's voice at all....
/Yami. Yami. Are you there?/
//Yes Aibou. Of course I am.//
/Did you see.....?/
//I don't remember it well either, Yugi. Please don't bother yourself with it.//
/But Yami. It was important, I know it!/
//I sensed the same thing about it also.//
/Do you think it's a part of......your past.....?/
//I shudder to think that such a horrible memory might be from my old life....anyway, rest Yugi. The tournament starts tomorrow, you know that.//
/Did you recognize any of the voices?/
//..........No. I sort of remembered the laugh....but not the girl's. Now rest, Aibou. You will need your strength.//
/You are right, as usual Yami. I shouldn't bother with it. Goodnight./
//Goodnight, Aibou.//
The next morning, Anzu was the first up, so she trecked back to the seaside and gathered water in all of the canteens. Then she brought them back to the near-dead fire and put some new dead leaves and logs on it, blowing on the embers lightly. They had all let Honda forrage for fuel last night. The fire was soon big enough, so she put the pan over it and started debacterializing the water and salt like Joey had. By the time Bakura's was done, he was awake.
"Hmmmm........unngggggg......Hey.......who in the blazes is over there?!!
Bakura sat up and looked over at Anzu. "It's me Anzu. Don't worry at all Bakura......I am just getting water for all of us. You know, the way Yugi and Joey did back on the shore.. I just hope to get all of these waters done before you all awake. But since your awake....Bakura? Please take this to the seaside and fill it up for Mai. Her's is the only one I haven't done yet."
Bakura trudged down to the shoreside sleepily and started filling Mai's canteen.
\\Why do you bother with those humans.....It would be so much less trouble if I just took over for awhile....you do know that, right....Bakky-kun.\\
\Why don't you just keep back like you have been for awhile.....bloody hell, I can't even get me a decient night of sleep with you constantly muttering in my ear....and don't call me Bakky-kun. You only do it to make me mad.\
\\It is worthless. You don't have to get that water. You don't have to bring it back. I say run away from these goons as fast as you can.......Bakky-kun.....\\
\I have told you precicely not to call me Bakky-kun! And I will not leave them. I no longer trust myself alone. I haven't for the longest time now.\
\\Is it because....I hurt your feelings from the last time I was in control?....Maybe.....but I have hurt people far more worse.....far more worse.....so in comparision, this will be a bit of wonderful fun! And I see that you STILL haven't tried on the Millennium Eye. Granted, Pegasus coming back from his dissappearance was a....nice.....surprise. Why don't you yank out an eye and give that Millennium item a whirl.....\\
\No Yami. You know what happens to the unworthy. They are judged by the item and if they are impure, they die most horribly. So in short.......I will not try on the eye, and I will not let you take over anytime soon. So there.\
\\AIBOU!!!! DO IT N.....\\
"Bakura!" The shout of his name snapped him back from his mind conversation. He looked up at Anzu.
"Hey Bakura! Isn't that filled yet?" Bakura stood up and tucked the slightly glowing Millennium Ring back underneath his shirt.
"Yes it is, Anzu." He grabbed Mai's canteen and took it back to the fire, pouring the water into the pot.
"Thanks for helping me Bakura! Why don't you sit down and eat something!" Anzu smiled and turned back to boiling the water. Bakura sat down and began to eat something. Mai stirred lightly and sat up. Joey, Honda, and Yugi were still sleeping.
"What are you guy's doing?" She looked at Anzu. "Are you making a stew?"
"No Mai. I am boiling our water. If we are gonna go into the forest today, we need to keep a good supply on us."
"That's right." She spied Joey's canteen. "Are.....all of our's gonna be filled?"
"No. Joey's is already full. He didn't drink any last night." Anzu continued to stirred the water so the boiling wouldn't get out of hand. Mai grinned and grabbed his canteen without Anzu noticing. Bakura caught this and watched interestedly.
Mai walked down to the shore and looked around. Then she grabbed a black knitted hair handkerchief from her pocket and knelt down. Bakura saw her set the hanky in the water and wait quietly. After a moment, she snapped her hand up and turned her back completly from Bakura. Then she fumbled with something for a moment and walked back, nonchalantly placing Joey's canteen back beside him. Bakura snickered a little bit and popped a few more berries into his mouth.
Anzu had just gotten done putting the boiled water into the canteens and went down to the ocean for a moment to cool them. Mai sat there grinning, eating some berries. She took a soda out of her bag and drank out of it.
"Uhhhh....hey guys.....good morning!" Joey sat up and looked around. He turned sideways and punched Honda on the arm, jarring him awake. Honda sat up and immediatly punched Joey back. They stood and walked over to the fire, looking into the pot.
"Ohhh....takin' my idea, Anzu?" Joey smirked at the returning Anzu.
"Do you appreciate this or not, Joey?" Anzu put down the canteens and sat down, snacking on what was left of her chips.
"I didn't get my canteen filled, Anzu. It's already full!" He grabbed his and held it up. Then he shook it around. "See?"
He then walked backwards a step, with every intention of going over to his bag. But him stepping on Yugi's hand changed that.
"ARRRGGGHH!!!" Yugi sat up, clutching his hand confusedly. "What the heck just happened!?"
"Eh...sorry Yuge...." Joey flashed Yugi a lopsided grin and sat down beside his bag. Yugi glared at him for a second, then looked over at Anzu and Bakura.
"Good morning everyone! The tournament starts today! I can't wait to duel!"
"Me neither! I really wanna get that Blue Eyes!" Joey went bright eyed, and opened up his canteen. Mai and Bakura watched him closely. He took a sip of his water. Joey sat back a little bit. Mai frowned and looked at him oddly. Bakura looked confused. Honda sat down next to Joey and they started talking about their decks.
Yugi got his water canteen from Anzu and they started packing up camp. After they had put out the fire and gathered their things, they started out deeper into the woods. The tournament was on.
Brood: Was that shorter? I think it was.
Zutsokaki: YOU WOKE UP!
Brood: Yup.
Zutsokaki: I had to introduce that chapter! How could you?
Brood: Because I can. Hey, thanks for the reviews so far....
Zutsokaki: I liked Kaiba killing the bunny. It's the only part of the story I liked so far....
Brood: Give a guy senseless killings any day....*sighs*
Zutsokaki: You've decided to scrap the story!? I knew it!
Brood: *smacks him over the head* NO! I just realized that I have typed over twenty thousand words in this story! My hands hurt.....*rubs her hands a little bit* I want to thank everyone for the reviews! Oh, and I will be using most everyone's original names from now on!
Zutsokaki: So.....I don't get to leave?
Brood: Even if you did get to, where would you go?
Zutsokaki: Why won't you just introduce the chapter so I can take a nap?
Brood: Maybe I don't want to.
Zutsokaki: ...........................why? It's the way it always goes....you introduce the chapter, I complain....you threaten my very existence....you know, the usual!
Brood: Maybe because I want to take a nap! *Lays down on the couch* Zzzz....
Zutsokaki: *Looks around nervously......* Oh.......um......ah......ALRIGHT!!! Here is.....Chapter 5....try and enjoy this one....maybe.....
CHAPTER 5
The whole of the competitors in the tournament stared up at the image of Pegasus on the screen. Some exclaimed loudly, and others just watched calmly. Yugi and his friends narrowed their eyes and glared up at it. Yugi couldn't tell what Pegasus had done with his left eye, since his hair was covering it up as usual.
/So he IS back.......it isn't an elaborate hoax...../
Pegasus held up an ID and turned it over onto it's back. Then he pointed to the back of it, and slipped his fingernail into a small catch on the back. He then pulled lightly, and the back swung open and there was a single earbud earphone and wire inside. He then placed it in his ear.
Everyone looked at the back of their ID's and found that they all had these small compartments on them. Yugi and the others looked at it suspiciously and watched as the people around them put the earbuds in their ears.
Pegasus spoke, and his words were filtered into the earbuds, so they all could hear his message.
"Ah! I trust that all of you have these convienient little things in your ears now, so I will begin to tell you all of the guidelines of this tournament. If you would all open your boxes now...." He paused and waited. This was obviously a pre-recorded message. Yugi knew that he even had to be weary of the pre-recorded ones.
The air was filled with the rustling of lids being opened and the gasps of happiness. Joey was feeling very high and mighty, because he had been right to a point. There was one green dueling glove, and three chips, shaped like diamonds and very shiny. The wristband was different also. It was longer, and they counted the holes that the chips had to go in. There were twenty-five. As they all put these gloves on their left hands, Pegasus began speaking again."
"This must be a blast from the past for those of you who were in Duelist Kingdom! But this will have to be different, as there are two thousand five hundred duelists competing!"
Everyone standing on the island jolted in pure shock. The buzzes of excited conversation started up again, and many started taking a good long look around them at the other duelists.
"This first round of the tournament will be slightly brutal to you all, since there are only only enough diamond chips for, at most, three hundred of you to make it to the next round! Now, there are at the least fifty holographic dueling stations on this island that I know of. We here at Crawford Sea's island have not had the time to entirely explore this island, and since I only found this among my family's assets about three months ago, not even I know what is on this whole island, or even what is was used for!"
"When you duel, you and your opponent will bet an equal amount of diamond chips on the match, and whoever wins gets all of the betted chips! If you lose all of your chips, you are out of the tournament! Easy enough, right? Maybe." Pegasus grinned. "Because when you get those twenty five diamond chips to fill the glove, you must FIND the goal, which is a small fortress that has been standing for around 350 years."
"On your ID, you will find a calander feature, which has certain days marked on it. There is also one set of four days specially marked. They are June 30th to July 3rd, and by that time, whoever wants to really be in the next round must have the twenty-five diamond chips AND they must find the fortress to exchange their chips in. Remember that you MUST show up on one of these days, for I MYSELF will be waiting there on those days. I will leave this island at midnight on the night of the 3rd. So even if you have the required chips, you can be disqualified if you don't redeem them!" Pegasus paused again.
Yugi looked down at his ID and found the calander icon. He pressed it and found that June 30th was about two weeks from now. He showed it to Honda and Anzu, who were right beside him on either side. It seemed as if it was just hitting everyone just how long this would take.
"I am sure that most of you are worrying about the time frames of this tournament. Well, I assure you that there are other ways of leaving this tournament than just losing all of your diamond chips.....there is always forfeit if you can't face the challenges of the island......and......."
Everyone waited, slighly apprehensive to the other ways of leaving.
"There are a total of five other duelists already on this island, all accomplished in their own way. Their sole purpose is to duel, defeat, and disqualify other duelists. These disqualification duelists are scattered evenly across the island, so sooner or later, you might find one. You must be very careful when dealing with these people, for they are formidable opponents."
/Hm....elimination duelists.....Like Player Killer was?......../ Yugi frowned lightly.
"If you would look at your calendars again for me, you will find that every third day is highlighted. These are the times that one of the smaller ships in the docks, the only placed premarked on your maps, will leave back for the mainland with the people who are disqualified for any reason. So if you are booted out of the tournament in any way, you must make your way back to these docks and catch a boat back home!" Pegasus closed his eyes and smiled, pushing the right side of his hair behind his ear and continuing.
"Now I will let you all go soon, and before I do, I will tell you that there is a custom feature on these ID's that allows you to record anything you wish about the spot you are occupying at the moment. So if there is an area you wish to remember for later, it is highly recommended that you save some kind of information about it. I will let you all go now.....and I will see a few of you at the fortress. Oh! And one more thing....today is a day for you all to spread out.....there are no challenges allowed to be made until tomorrow." Pegasus then narrowed his visible eye and spoke again.
"You are all probably wondering about the stakes of this tournament.....well....let me all tell you of the prizes. Those who get to the semi-finals will recieve seventy packs of Duel Monster's Cards and seven hundred dollars. The finalists will get seven boxes cards and ten rare magic cards, with one thousand dollars. The first place person will get all of those plus another six thousand dollars. And now......to the Indisputed Champion's prize."
"Just all of you who assume as creator of Duel Monsters, I have access to every card ever made. And those who think that.....are correct."
Somewhere, hidden in the crowds, Seto Kaiba's eyes widened apprehensively.
"You see, everyone on this planet thinks.....no......KNOWS......that there are four Blue Eyes White Dragons in circulation. Well, that is correct. Only four are currently in circulation. But!" Then, Pegasus's eyes became slightly wild, and raised his voice. SINCE THE FIFTH ONE IS OWNED BY ME, IT IS CERTANLY NOT IN CIRCULATION! AND THE WINNER RECIEVES THE PREVIOUS PRIZES, AND THIS BLUE EYES CARD!!!!" Pegasus then held up one of this hands, holding up a Blue Eyes White Dragon.
The uproar in the crowds was deafening at the very sight of the Blue Eyes. Suddenly, all thoughts were on winning the tournament and getting that sought after card. The Screen-Pegasus waved merrily. "Ta-ta! And good luck to all of you!" The screen blinked and flashed off.
The security man held up his hands and waited again. This time, it took much longer for the humongous crowds of people to quiet down. The man spoke into a microphone reciever attached to his shirt collar. His words filtered back into the earphones everyone had.
"These earphones are also international speech interpreters for you all, mainly used in the way they were used just now for your benifeit. But, if you absolutly need to talk to your opponent in battle, you can use the small receiver on the ID and anyone within a thirty foot radius can understand your speech. Do not abuse this, as this feature has limited power to it, since it has a different power source than the main ID's power. Now, when I am done speaking, you may all leave and begin your journey across the island. Remember, no challenging anybody until tomorrow, and Good Luck!" He put his arms down, and stood on top of a box close by.
People began running and yelling with excitement across the beaches, heading for the most part directly for a large thick of trees about two hundred feet ahead. The stampeding was terrible, and Yugi was pulled by Joey about three times out of the way of other people, until they all made their way out to the sides of the crowds, walking instead by the shoresides.
They walked in complete silence for awhile, the waves beating on the shore, birds squawking, and the growing ever more distant noises of the thousands of other competitors traveling making the only real noises. Finally, Yugi spoke.
"Hey, how do you guys feel now that you are really here?" He turned his head up to Anzu and Honda, who were now looking a little nervous now that Yugi had asked that question. Mai, who somehow had remained with all of them, spoke up.
"I think....that they'll be fine.." Everyone looked in surprise at Mai. "What? Hey, look at it this way, if they lose all of their diamond chips, then they could just stay with us on the island.....Pegasus did say that if we WANTED a ride home, we go back to the docks, right?"
"Yeah, Mai," Honda began. "But I would rather not think about what we would do if we lost our chips."
"I wanna think positive also." Anzu looked at the green glove and three diamond chips emedded in it. "I just can't wait to try out my souped up deck!"
Joey smirked. "Your deck needed some souping up pretty badly......."
Anzu puffed up, the sea wind only adding to the effect with her hair blowing around her face. "My deck!? At least I didn't only have monster cards when I started! I was always kicking your butt with my cute little creatures!"
Joey reeled back, nearly stumbling and falling under Anzu's rage. "Well, I uh.......eh....that is.......she's right.." He dropped his head, a sweatdrop forming over his head.
Yugi patted Joey's back and grinned. "But you are a tournament ranked duelist now Joey! Think about that!"
Joey instantly perked up, his eyes glittering with excitement. "That's right! Look at me now! Alright! Gimme the first duelist to come our way! That Blue Eyes is as good as mine!" He jogged ahead, laughing.
Honda looked after him, his head tilted sideways. "Hey, is this familiar to any of you guys?"
Anzu and Yugi turned their heads down and sighed. "I think it is, Honda...."
Bakura, who had been completly silent so far, finally spoke. "What are we going to do about lunch?"
Anzu turned and pulled her backpack towards her. She shuffled around inside of it and pulled out a bag of chips. "I guess this is mine. I bought them on the ship, but never got around to eating them......."
Honda reached into his pocket and pulled out a guidebook. "Hey, I got my Survival Guide with me again! I thought we might need it this time!" He held it up and started flipping through some pages.
"Oh please! I don't feel much like foraging for berries!" Mai stuck her head right by Honda's, looking over his shoulder and staring at the pages. She then grabbed the book and tossed it over her own shoulder. "We won't need it anyway."
Honda scrambled back after it, picking up the book and dusting it off. "Hey! We just might you know! Who knows when we might need to know what kind of berries are poisonous....or know what kind of roots are good.....or....." He continued to name off survival tips.
Joey, who had inched up behind Mai without noticing, crept up by her ear and whispered, "Know where ta dig for all of the big juicy grubs...."
"EEEEKK!!!!" Mai shivered up and down, then turned and swatted Joey roughly on the sholder. Joey laughed and jerked back a little bit, running off in front of Yugi. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY JOEY!!!!!!"
"Sure it is Mai!" Joey flashed a cheesey grin and dodged another swipe from Mai, it missing and landing on the side of Bakura's head.
"Hey!!!!" Bakura got a strange look on his face and then frowned at Mai. "Do you think you two could stop it for awhile? I have a bloody headache...."
Yugi looked over at Bakura and his eyes darkened a little bit. Bakura usually wasn't this testy......
When it was time for lunch, the others set up a temporary camp and Honda went to find food. Mai had found a box of gummy snacks and she shared with the others, while Anzu ate at her bag of chips. They had all let Honda forrage, and Yugi gave Bakura some headache medicine.
"They don't make you drowsy, do they Yugi?," Bakura asked while ripping the head off a gummy worm violently in his mouth.
"No Bakura, they're fine." He handed them to Bakura, who took them with a swig from a canteen.
Joey got up and collected water from the nearby ocean, boiling it in a small pot he had brought. He then put the water in his canteen and held it in the ocean, letting the water cool his canteen. Mai and Yugi watched all of this with interest. Bakura was just leaning on a log and holding his head.
"I never expected such resourcfulness from you, Joey." Mai watched him and then held out her canteen. "Do that for me too."
"Whaddo I look like? Your personal servant?" Joey glared lightly at her, but Mai just began to pout. She sat up cutely and batted her eyes at him, still holding out the canteen. Joey began to falter. "Well, I uh....oh come on Mai! Don't do that......oh...."
"Pwease? Just for lil ol' me?" She opened her eyes wider and her lip quivered.
"Awwwww........fine....." He snatched the canteen away from her and filled the pot in the ocean again, doing the same for her water as he did for his.
Honda came back just as Joey was finishing up Mai's water, holding all sorts of berries. Yugi had asked to use Joey's pot to make some drinkable water for himself, and was busying himself with that.
After he had snagged Joey's coat without him noticing, Honda dumped his armload of berries onto the denium vest jacket. Then he sat down and cleared his throat.
Mai looked up from where Joey was handing her the canteen. "Are you sure that there aren't any bugs on those or anything?"
Joey smirked. "Ya know Mai, sometimes they get inta da fruit....so when ya bite inta one....CRUNCH!!" He jumped at Mai when he yelled "crunch!" Mai shrieked and fell back off of the log she was sharing with Bakura. He moaned and turned a little, reacting to the scream.
Anzu glanced up from where the Dorito's were keeping her busy. "You guys should really keep it down for Bakura....can't you tell he doesn't feel well?" Bakura opened one of his eyes and trained it on Anzu.
"Thank you Anzu, but I think just another half hour, and Yugi's pills will have began working. I should be back on my feet very soon." Bakura smiled weakly and turned over.
Yugi used a stick to poke at one of the logs on the small fire. His water began bubbling furiously. "Do you want anything to eat Bakura? Honda brought back some berries...."
"Not right now, but I thank you Yugi."
Honda watched all of this with a little irritation. "Hey! Aren't you all going to appraise my wonderful outdoor skills?" He nodded purposfully at the berries.
Joey looked over and checked them out. "Hey, those don't look half bad, Honda..........hey wait.....is that MY jacket!?!?!?" He glared quickly up at a grinning Honda, and then swiftly grabbed the point of his hair. "Why you!!! What if you get stains all over this thing!?!?!?!"
Honda laughed and tried tugging his hair away from Joey. "Hey man! I just took what I saw! Hey! Stop the tugging! That hurts!"
Yugi walked over and looked at the berries. He picked one up and after scrutinzing it a little bit, popped it into his mouth. Mai's eyes went wide and she stared up at him with shock.
"Yugi! You don't know if there are bugs in those or not!"
"Your just letting Joey get to you, Mai! They are actually pretty good!" He took another and then offered one to Mai. She glared at it suspiciously, then took it from him, still glaring. She then looked up over at Honda and Joey, who were currently solving their problems with a wrestling match that was getting very close the sea. If they weren't careful, they were about to get very wet. Yugi looked over at that also and quickly ran over to break them up.
Mai continued to scrutinize the berry, until her stomach murmured in protest and she bolted the berry down just to quiet it. It wasn't that bad, and there was no unpleasant crunch. She ate a few more, savoring the sweet and tangy taste of the purple berries. Anzu had been watching her, and had grabbed a few herself when Mai had deemed them safe. She leaned over to Bakura with a small handful.
"Hey, do you want to eat something Bakura?" Anzu held them by his face as he opened his eyes and looked at them.
"Maybe just a few, Anzu....." He rolled over and lifted one of his arms, taking a few berries and plucking them into his mouth. She left the others on a large leaf by Bakura and went back to her bag. She pulled out a romance novel and opened it to her bookmark.
Just that second though, a loud "AUGH!" and an even louder spash was heard in the direction of the guys. Mai and Anzu looked up over at them, and realized that Joey and Honda had rolled into the water, and had even accidentally dragged Yugi in with them. They were splashing and sputtering, lightly caught in an incoming tide. They all clawed back to the shore and lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. Soon, they stood up, dripping from head to toe, their clothes clinging to them and their hair drooping. Clinging to their fronts were large amounts of sand, and Joey leaned over to spit some out of his mouth. They all trudged back to the fire, and sat silently by it. Honda and Joey looked at each other, then smiles broke out on their faces.
"Did ya see that? I so had ya, Honda!"
"No way man! It was me all the way!"
Yugi just stared at them, completly bewildered. But then again, they were Joey and Honda afterall. He then heard a snickering sound, and looked up to see Mai and Anzu giggling a little bit at them all.
/Oh well...../ Yugi caught on and started laughing with them.
He turned and slid behind a guard beside the boat. He had managed to sneak off board with the numerous duelists, none of them too excited to notice that he had no baggage or a box. He hung by the back and had read Pegasus's lips when his message came on.
/Thanks for all of the useful life skills, Big Brother..../
He had run with the other duelists into the forest, and had soon gone off on his own. He got tired after awhile and sat down in a clearing, and decided that it would do no good for him to steal another dueling deck, since his name wasn't in those ID's. He then realized that there was a small shadow over him.
"Vere is your dueling glove?"
He swiftly looked up and saw a young girl scrutinizing him lightly. /Think, think think....../
"Well, we really don't need to wear them until tomorrow anyway, right? What's the point right now?" He silently praised himself for the quick thinking and looked back into her eyes. They were a pleasing shade of brown, and they were currently looking him over.
"Vell, you do 'ave a point." Her eyes suddenly flashed. "But....I vould like to meet you about fifty feet in zat direction tomorrow morning around nine. I take zat you 'ave a watch?" She motioned in a direction in the forest, and then looked back down at the sitting form.
The young boy was speechless, but not for long. "Uh....yeah....I do."
"Good. Zee you zere...." She turned and walked away from him, leaving the clearing.
The boy stood up and began to run after her, trying to get her name. But she was completly gone. She couldn't have gotten that far in so little time.......so where did she get to?
Insector Haga crouched by the ground, lifting up a small rock. There were all sorts of bugs in there, just crawling over one another in some mad rush. They always looked like they had more important places to be. Just like him............
/Tomorrow morning, I will begin to duel and make my way to the next round! I will keep an eye out for the elimination duelists....a sharp eye....like my precious bugs.....and avoid them, taking diamond chip after diamond chip from unsuspecting duelists!....../ He stood and grinned holding the rock over his head.
/.........AND CRUSH THEM!!!/ He slammed the rock down, landing hard on the soil and squelch/crunching, laughing the whole time.
It was dark out, and the guys had earlier on opted to air dry instead of changing clothes. Yugi was still a little glum, but Bakura was feeling lots better as they walked along the shoreline.
"Hey, do you think we should go into the forest soon? That is where most of the duelists are!" Bakura looked over at all of them.
Yugi had to agree. They hadn't seen much of anyone else for the whole day. He had thought he had seen someone in the trees earlier, but they had just been walking by, and had soon disappeared. He suspected that they were all looking for dueling stations to start off their days tomorrow.
Joey grinned. "Hey, if we go into those woods nice and early, then we would get swamped by tons of them! Do you know how many people would like to get their hands on us Yugi, for being Duelist Kindom AND Battle City champs?"
Yugi had to agree again. They would just have to stick to the sides and wander in only when they needed to duel. But then again....they needed six sets of twenty five diamond chips. And they weren't going to do that sitting by the sidelines.
"We are just going to have to stick to the edges of the forests. We need to get those chips in two weeks so we can find the fortress. You do realize that there are six of us? I don't feel like leaving anybody behind on this. We may even have to split up at times. Who would honestly want to walk right up to a small group of duelists, the majority having major accomplishments?" Yugi glanced up at all of them, now staring down at him. They knew he was right. They, almost in unison, turned towards the forest edge and walked to it.
Mai looked into the forest and shuddered lightly. "I remember being alone all of those nights in the forests back on Duelist Kingdom. It really unnerved me sometimes." Anzu agreed, then suggested that they set camp for the night. Everyone else nodded and grabbed the sleeping bags and set them down. Joey made a small contained fire and they snacked on some of the berries Honda had carried with him in a handkerchief Mai had let him borrow.
Joey looked into his bag and pulled out a small bag of chips. He looked at them, and then Mai's closeby berry pile.
He grinned mischieviously and grabbed a berry from her pile, carefully breaking off a piece of a chip and pressing it inside of the berry, careful to make sure that it didn't drip too much. He then brushed his hand by her pile again, pretending to sweep his hands back in a yawn, expertly dropping the berry back into Mai's pile. Everyone else was deep in conversation and hadn't noticed this whole thing. Now.....Joey waited.
The friends ate and chatted about what they would do tomorrow, and spoke of the oncoming duels and the troubles they may have when the duels started getting more intense. Then suddenly....CRUNCH! Mai was up and freaking, spitting out the berry and squealing. The others were on their feet and trying to calm Mai down. Joey was still sitting and holding his sides. He was breaking up inside, and nearly about to bust from laughter.
"AH!! I ATE A BUG!! IT CRUNCHED! IT WAS A BUG! A BUG EW EW EW EW EW EWWWWW!!!! AUGH!!!!" Mai grabbed her canteen and chugged down a large mouthful of water, swishing it around in her mouth, and spitting it out. Honda had to jump out of the way to avoid his shoes getting any more soggy. He should have jumped farther, because Mai was soon on him.
"YOU GOT THOSE BUG INFESTED BERRIES!! I SHOULD KILL YOU!!!!!" Joey couldn't hold it back anymore. He fell over, and his laughter flooded out of him loudly. He was practically crying and his sides hurt badly. Everyone turned to look at Joey, who was dying with laughter.
"DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY JOEY!!! I JUST ATE A BUG!!!!"
Joey laughed louder, then gasped out some words. "Mai..HAHAAAA....I put....AHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA......chips.........AHAAAHAAAAA....no bug...." He continued to laugh. But Mai boiled over and it was evident that Joey was about to die from alot more than just laughter. Honda, who was under Mai's foot, snickered.
Mai pounced and snagged his throat in her hands, shaking him around. She hadn't grabbed him hard, because he was still summoning up the air to continue laughing while she choked him.
Anzu dashed over and tried to separate them, the effort taking a little while. After a moment, Joey was still snickering, this time joined by Honda. Mai was off to one side fuming, and Bakura, Anzu and Yugi were just watching them. Every now and then Anzu or Yugi would snicker at Joey or Honda, Mai shooting indignant glances at them, but the rest of the evening was fairly quiet. They soon went to bed, snuggled in their warm sleeping bags, the fire crackling and dying beside them.
Seto was cold. But he couldn't be bothered with pety things such as cold. Even though it was near the middle of June, he had goosebumps. All the could think of though was the fifth Blue Eyes White Dragon. He HAD to have that card. The whole day was spent looking for dueling stations, Seto making notes on his ID about the places that had them. He even made little footnotes on what kind of field they were.
And now it was dark, and he was cold. But he made no outward expression of this as he walked into a small clearing. Seto immediatly got his lighter out and piled some dead brush together, using the lighter to set it on fire. He surrounded the fire with nearby stones and sat down beside it. He looked at his watch. It read 12:48 A.M.
Seto rummaged through his bag, and found what he was looking for. It was a small inflatable matress, extremely compact and tough. He had developed it just for this occassion. There was a small button on one side of it, and he pressed it. It began to inflate itself, and he tossed it to the side while it filled with air. In the meantime, he grabbed a hunting knife and walked back into the wilderness.
He returned to his small camp a moment later with a dead rabbit stuck to the end of his knife. He pulled a travel convienient skillet out of his bag and got down to the dirty task of skinning the thing. Soon enough, his bed had inflated and there was rabbit meat sizzling over the fire. He turned the meat over and sat back, looking over the skins of the rabbit.
On an impulse, he grabbed the skins and cleaned the blood off of the main fur parts. Then he used some flexible sticks and stretched out the fur, with the back of the skin facing up to get more air.
/Maybe if I get enough of these, I could make a fairly decent coat.....too bad I can't sew...../ A spatter of fat from the skillet burning him on the face brought his attention back to his late dinner, and noticed that it was done. He picked the pan off of the fire and waited for the food to cool a little bit.
A twig broke.
Seto's head snapped around, realizing how careless he had been. With two thousand five hundred people on this island, fire and the smells of cooked food wouldn't stay secret for long. A young girl stepped out, looking positivly frightened and kind of dirty.
She quickly saw Seto's face and stopped short. "I....I....I'm sorry sir! I didn't mean anything! I just got separated from my sister and I thought she might be here....it was the fire sir!"
Seto looked the small girl over. She was obviously too young to be a good duelist, and must be another novice. She had a slight Irish accent, and a head of straight black hair. Her blue eyes reminded him of Mokuba. "What's your name, kid?"
"Lisa O'Kelly, from Dublin, Ireland, sir!" She then added, sort of frightened again, "Have you seen a blonde girl with a brown-haired boy anywhere, sir? My sister and Jerry are probably very worried for me by now....." She looked down at her feet and tapped her toe on the ground.
Seto stood up and walked up to the girl. "I hate to say that I haven't seen a pair like that today, Lisa. He looked down at the girl's dueling glove and the ID sticking out of her pocket. "How old are you?"
"All of twelve, sir! My sister is three years my elder!"
"Well, Lisa, I suppose you won't have much luck finding your sister or Jerry in the dark."
"No sir, probably not." Her eyes suddenly perked up. "Could I stay near your camp, sir? Maybe my sister will see the light from the fire and come to it, just like I did!" She looked at him with those large blue eyes.
"I don't think so, kid." Seto looked down at her, but she was unabashed.
"Oh please sir! I won't be much bother to you! I'll even clean some things you need cleaning! I just need to see if she'll come to me!" She stared up at him, her eyes pleading to him. They really did remind him of Mokuba's........
"Alright kid. Sleep over there, and don't bother me." She grinned and pulled out her sleeping bag, immediatly putting it about ten feet away from his matress.
/Now why the hell did I just do that?/ Seto sat down and picked up his meal.
Yugi was jarred awake roughly in the night, gasping and clutching his Puzzle, sweating bullets. He had one of the most horrible dreams.....but all he could really remember was someone laughing and a girl yelling......for him. Actually, the name of the king, Yu-Gi-Oh. But that was HIM on some level. It really was too bad he couldn't recognize the girl's voice at all....
/Yami. Yami. Are you there?/
//Yes Aibou. Of course I am.//
/Did you see.....?/
//I don't remember it well either, Yugi. Please don't bother yourself with it.//
/But Yami. It was important, I know it!/
//I sensed the same thing about it also.//
/Do you think it's a part of......your past.....?/
//I shudder to think that such a horrible memory might be from my old life....anyway, rest Yugi. The tournament starts tomorrow, you know that.//
/Did you recognize any of the voices?/
//..........No. I sort of remembered the laugh....but not the girl's. Now rest, Aibou. You will need your strength.//
/You are right, as usual Yami. I shouldn't bother with it. Goodnight./
//Goodnight, Aibou.//
The next morning, Anzu was the first up, so she trecked back to the seaside and gathered water in all of the canteens. Then she brought them back to the near-dead fire and put some new dead leaves and logs on it, blowing on the embers lightly. They had all let Honda forrage for fuel last night. The fire was soon big enough, so she put the pan over it and started debacterializing the water and salt like Joey had. By the time Bakura's was done, he was awake.
"Hmmmm........unngggggg......Hey.......who in the blazes is over there?!!
Bakura sat up and looked over at Anzu. "It's me Anzu. Don't worry at all Bakura......I am just getting water for all of us. You know, the way Yugi and Joey did back on the shore.. I just hope to get all of these waters done before you all awake. But since your awake....Bakura? Please take this to the seaside and fill it up for Mai. Her's is the only one I haven't done yet."
Bakura trudged down to the shoreside sleepily and started filling Mai's canteen.
\\Why do you bother with those humans.....It would be so much less trouble if I just took over for awhile....you do know that, right....Bakky-kun.\\
\Why don't you just keep back like you have been for awhile.....bloody hell, I can't even get me a decient night of sleep with you constantly muttering in my ear....and don't call me Bakky-kun. You only do it to make me mad.\
\\It is worthless. You don't have to get that water. You don't have to bring it back. I say run away from these goons as fast as you can.......Bakky-kun.....\\
\I have told you precicely not to call me Bakky-kun! And I will not leave them. I no longer trust myself alone. I haven't for the longest time now.\
\\Is it because....I hurt your feelings from the last time I was in control?....Maybe.....but I have hurt people far more worse.....far more worse.....so in comparision, this will be a bit of wonderful fun! And I see that you STILL haven't tried on the Millennium Eye. Granted, Pegasus coming back from his dissappearance was a....nice.....surprise. Why don't you yank out an eye and give that Millennium item a whirl.....\\
\No Yami. You know what happens to the unworthy. They are judged by the item and if they are impure, they die most horribly. So in short.......I will not try on the eye, and I will not let you take over anytime soon. So there.\
\\AIBOU!!!! DO IT N.....\\
"Bakura!" The shout of his name snapped him back from his mind conversation. He looked up at Anzu.
"Hey Bakura! Isn't that filled yet?" Bakura stood up and tucked the slightly glowing Millennium Ring back underneath his shirt.
"Yes it is, Anzu." He grabbed Mai's canteen and took it back to the fire, pouring the water into the pot.
"Thanks for helping me Bakura! Why don't you sit down and eat something!" Anzu smiled and turned back to boiling the water. Bakura sat down and began to eat something. Mai stirred lightly and sat up. Joey, Honda, and Yugi were still sleeping.
"What are you guy's doing?" She looked at Anzu. "Are you making a stew?"
"No Mai. I am boiling our water. If we are gonna go into the forest today, we need to keep a good supply on us."
"That's right." She spied Joey's canteen. "Are.....all of our's gonna be filled?"
"No. Joey's is already full. He didn't drink any last night." Anzu continued to stirred the water so the boiling wouldn't get out of hand. Mai grinned and grabbed his canteen without Anzu noticing. Bakura caught this and watched interestedly.
Mai walked down to the shore and looked around. Then she grabbed a black knitted hair handkerchief from her pocket and knelt down. Bakura saw her set the hanky in the water and wait quietly. After a moment, she snapped her hand up and turned her back completly from Bakura. Then she fumbled with something for a moment and walked back, nonchalantly placing Joey's canteen back beside him. Bakura snickered a little bit and popped a few more berries into his mouth.
Anzu had just gotten done putting the boiled water into the canteens and went down to the ocean for a moment to cool them. Mai sat there grinning, eating some berries. She took a soda out of her bag and drank out of it.
"Uhhhh....hey guys.....good morning!" Joey sat up and looked around. He turned sideways and punched Honda on the arm, jarring him awake. Honda sat up and immediatly punched Joey back. They stood and walked over to the fire, looking into the pot.
"Ohhh....takin' my idea, Anzu?" Joey smirked at the returning Anzu.
"Do you appreciate this or not, Joey?" Anzu put down the canteens and sat down, snacking on what was left of her chips.
"I didn't get my canteen filled, Anzu. It's already full!" He grabbed his and held it up. Then he shook it around. "See?"
He then walked backwards a step, with every intention of going over to his bag. But him stepping on Yugi's hand changed that.
"ARRRGGGHH!!!" Yugi sat up, clutching his hand confusedly. "What the heck just happened!?"
"Eh...sorry Yuge...." Joey flashed Yugi a lopsided grin and sat down beside his bag. Yugi glared at him for a second, then looked over at Anzu and Bakura.
"Good morning everyone! The tournament starts today! I can't wait to duel!"
"Me neither! I really wanna get that Blue Eyes!" Joey went bright eyed, and opened up his canteen. Mai and Bakura watched him closely. He took a sip of his water. Joey sat back a little bit. Mai frowned and looked at him oddly. Bakura looked confused. Honda sat down next to Joey and they started talking about their decks.
Yugi got his water canteen from Anzu and they started packing up camp. After they had put out the fire and gathered their things, they started out deeper into the woods. The tournament was on.
Brood: Was that shorter? I think it was.
Zutsokaki: YOU WOKE UP!
Brood: Yup.
Zutsokaki: I had to introduce that chapter! How could you?
Brood: Because I can. Hey, thanks for the reviews so far....
Zutsokaki: I liked Kaiba killing the bunny. It's the only part of the story I liked so far....
Brood: Give a guy senseless killings any day....*sighs*
