Hello all of you. I finally got the new computer up, and now I've got the old one in my room (Hallelujah Chorus plays in background). Only downside is I don't get Internet. But here I am. The finals are about to begin. Hold onto your seat, cause here we got!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. It is the property of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami Entertainment. But Kai, Seya, Allentha, Takaru, Shiro, Saet, Trinity, etc.
Chapter Eight: Soul Searching
We approached the main doors to the castle, which were made of thick black steel. A stone faced guard was on duty outside. We approached, he made a sudden reach into his jacket, producing a small cell phone, which he talked hurriedly into, managing to finish and hang up before we reached him.
"Hey you!" he said in a deep, gruff voice. "What are you all doing here."
"The finals." a new voice explained from behind us. I turned to see Mai Valentine approaching. The others ran over to meet her, but I merely looked into the guards face.
"There's a young man at the base of the steps that needs some medical attention." I began. "And there's also these." I held my gauntlet up for him to see my stars.
"Then you may enter." he growled.
I walked over to the door, which had a large lock on it, but around the dial were small holes that were shaped and sized for Star Chips. I emptied the metal band and set them in, turning the knob until it clanged and the doors opened.
Awaiting me was a large courtyard of grass and bushes, a paved path cutting through to the main building. I advanced and pushed my way past the teak doors. The inside was made of smooth stone and tile. Corridors reached to everywhere. I had barely begin to explore when I was met by a group of young men, all talking excitedly.
"I can't wait to meet my competition." the first one said with enthusiasm. He was dressed very awkwardly, having donned the garb of a swordsman-in-training from the years of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. His top was dark blue and patterned as a gi, while the bottom was white and skirt-like. On his arms were black pads, square shaped over the back of his hand with small loops that wrapped around his fingers, connected to a longer one that covered his forearm by a flexible piece of cloth that expanded over his wrist. He even wore woven sandles under his feet. His hair was black and sleek, clinging to his scalp. Up front, on either side of his face was a small lock of hair that curved down and went just past his chin, while the majority was tied into a tight and thin ponytail that reached below his shoulders.
"Me too. However Vaun, I'm going to win." the next spoke. He was shorter than the first, but about the same age, around fourteen. He was dressed in a black shirt that had a serpent dragon made of fire printed on his chest. He wore blue denim shorts and a blue jacket over it all. His hair was short and red, spiked upward, giving a clear view of his green eyes. "The ambitions of myself and my monsters burn all to powerful, if you know what I mean."
"Come on you two." the third spoke. He was the tallest of their group, about five-one, and has long gray-blue hair that was straight and thin, running down to his shoulder blades. He was wearing a red t-shirt under a black over shirt, and regular blue jeans over his legs. "We all know who it's gonna be that wins it all."
"Yeah," the one named Vaun replied. "Me. And another thing.......Oh, hello." he said in slight surprise, no doubt referring to the fact that I had been there for nearly three minutes and they hadn't noticed.
"I'm Kazuki Hirameshi," the one with the blue hair introduced. "And these two are Vaun Hiten and Kenji Ryu. We're finalists for tomorrow."
"Yeah, even though I've been here since last night." Kenji growled. "You three have no idea how boring this castle gets after two or three hours without anybody else except a wigged-out millionaire and dozens of silent suites, whom I'm sure are hiding something."
'You have no idea.' I growled in my head. 'He's hiding two children who he just chose out nowhere to kidnap! But I'll stop him, and I'll do it alone.'
"You okay man?" Kenji asked.
"What?" I stammered, startled by these words. "Oh, yes; I'm fine."
"Whatever." He turned to the other two. "I heard that dinner will be served around 6. And trust me, it's awesome! I had some last night...WHOA!" he shouted, looking down the hall past me. I turned to see what it was, as did the others.
"Yugi Muto!" Kazuki marveled.
"Joey Wheeler!" Vaun cried. They dashed down to meet them, and I continued towards my room.
'Sorry Yugi, but I've got other matters to deal with.'
***
"Tristan, that's the last pastry!" Joey shouted at the brown haired boy. "Hand it over!"
"No way!" Tristan countered. "I had it first, and I'm not given!"
"Oh yeah, wanna bet!" Joey leapt at Tristan and the two began fiercely wrestle for the sweet cake.
I looked down at my own plate, which I had managed to clear three times. Despite how nerve wracked and angry I was, my appetite had not been lessened.
I had spent the entire meal in silence. Kazuki, Kenji and Vaun had spent the entire time discussing who they wanted to Duel, what kinds of decks they used, and other trivial information that I had long since begun to ignore. Yugi also seemed to be in meditation, along with his friends who weren't stuffing their faces. Mai Valentine had enjoyed her meal, but was constantly criticizing Joey and Tristan's eating etiquette. But the most surprising appearance was one Seto Kaiba!
The former Duel Monsters World Champion had attended the tournament, most likely to earn back his title. However, I was still surprised because I had heard that there was a great deal of friction between him and Maximilian Pegasus, which I was sure would prevent Seto's participation. His appearance was most discouraging, as it meant that there was one more possible opponent for me to pass.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Duelists and guests," a gruff, elderly voice croaked. We all looked to the end of the table, where Tournament Director and head of security, Croquet stood. "Master Pegasus has been most pleased by your performances so far, and would like to formally greet you to his castle." He then pulled his hands out of his pockets, producing two cards. "But now for the proceedings of tomorrow. You were each issued a copy of each of these cards in your invitations."
I looked closely and recognized them to be copies of the two cards that had puzzled me when I first got dragged into this fiasco. The first was the one with the piles of gold and jewels, the other being the blank picture.
"Glory of the Kings Hand permits participation in the finals and allows you to claim the three million dollars prize. Glory of the Kings Opposite Hand grants you the chance to challenge Master Pegasus in the end." We each nodded.
"And now, to pair each of you up for the matches tomorrow." The wall behind Croquet parted and a green pedestal with a large dial resting on it extended out of the hole. The dial had twin arrows pointing in obscure directions, and was numbered one through eight. "Each of you has been issued a number, and now the chooser will select numbers at random. The selection is final, and any arguments will be dismissed and punished by disqualification. Understood." Again, we nodded. "Then let the selection begin!"
The pointers began to spin rapidly in opposite directions. I narrowed my eyes in anticipation. I had no idea as to what the other were numbered, but I was numbered 4. The arrows spun for another minute or two until the first one ended on the number 7.
The first Duelist is number seven, Mai Valentine." Croquet rasped. "And the second is..." the arrow stopped on... "Number Four, Kai Kaethan!"
"What!?" I cried. "I'm in the first match? I don't believe it." I was so shocked. So shocked I didn't even pay attention to the remainder of the selection.
In the end it was myself and Mai first, then Joey and Vaun. Seto Kaiba and Kenji Ryu after that, and finally Yugi and Kazuki.
"Now then, please retire to your rooms."
We all stood and departed through separate doors. A few minutes later I was twisting the knob on my door when a voice stopped me.
"Kai," it was small but warm. I turned to find Yugi standing right behind me, his room across the hall from mine. "Good luck in the finals, tomorrow." I smiled and walked over to him.
"Yugi, I feel I owe you an apology." I said, shaking his hand. "I haven't yet expressed how honored I am to have met you. Just let me tell you that I never thought it would happen, but it has."
"It's alright Kai, really, I prefer not getting the attention." he smiled. "Well, good luck."
"You too, Yugi."
***
"No good." I said in frustration. I dropped the cards onto the table and grasped my head, propping myself on my elbows. "Nothing seems to be helping me get to sleep. The deck's fine!" I stood up and took a few deep breaths. "Alright Kai, calm down. Tomorrow it all ends. You'll do fine." I told myself.
"I just need some fresh air." I decided. I grabbed my vest and started for the door. I made my way out of the castle and towards the courtyard at the front of the building. What I did not expect was that others would also be up at this hour. However, in the center of the courtyard, were Vaun, Kazuki and Kenji. Vaun and Kazuki were facing and charging eachother, while Kenji sat on some grass, a bokken in each of their hands.
"What's up?" I asked Kenji as I walked up to him. He turned his head and looked up from a stopwatch he had been tracking.
"They've been at it for twelve minutes. Kazuki's been doing pretty well, but Vaun's just to experienced. As for myself..." he looked down at the wooden sword in dismay. "I still don't get it. I don't get why they use these things." I smiled and closed my eyes. When I reopened them, I heard a small grunt of pain as Vaun managed to connect with Kazuki's wrist, disarming the poor boy. "Thirteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds." Kenji said, clicking his stopwatch off. The other two walked over, wiping the sweat from their faces.
"Hey, it's you." Vaun voiced in recognition of my face. "S'up?"
"Not much." I shrugged. "Just trying to clear my head. Same for you all?"
"Yeah." Kenji grinned. "Say, how about a Duel?" he suggested. His companions each smiled and began to free their decks.
"Why not." I shrugged.
"Wait." Kazuki started. "Why not make this interesting." We each gave him a puzzled look. "How about a Gauntlet Match?" The rest of us each smiled slyly and nodded. "Alright, wait right here." Kazuki ran into the castle.
"What's he up to?" I asked.
"He went to get some Duel Disks." Kenji explained. "Pegasus was kind enough to provide us with them."
"Why?" I asked.
"We've all been here for a little while. Pegasus said we could use them for practice and fun, as the arena is off limits until tomorrow." I nodded in understanding.
A few minutes later, Kazuki reappeared, four Duel Disks in hand. He handed us each one before attaching one to his own arm, and inserting his shuffled deck into it.
"So, which of us is going to run this thing?" Vaun asked.
"I will." I volunteered as I finished shuffling my deck. "So, which of you is going to go first?"
"I vote Vaun." Kenji and Kazuki both nominated the dark haired boy simultaneously.
"Alright." he agreed. Then he turned to me. "Now, you know how a Gauntlet Match works, right?"
"Yes. I'll Duel each of you one at a time, and any cards I used or Life Points I've lost remain the same. No resetting between matches. Furthermore, you start with 2000 Life Points, Kenji will have 4000, and Kazuki will have 6000. I'll have 8000 from the beginning. You can summon monsters without sacrifice, but us three must use Battle City Rules."
"Alright, lets start." Vaun said, drawing a hand of six cards. "I summon Exiled Force, in defense mode." A group of medieval warriors appeared, all crouching down behind shields and other defenses.
I looked at my hand and made a quick decision. "I'll summon a monster in defense mode, and end my turn." A single brown card appeared in front of me. Vaun drew a new card and added it to his hand.
"I'll first activate Exiled Force's special ability." he said, picking it up off of his Duel Disk and placing it in his Graveyard. "By sacrificing it from the field to my Graveyard, I can instantly destroy any one monster on your side of the field." The small army of monsters one Vaun's field dissapeared, and with them, my Mystical Elf went. "Next I'll summon Hayabusa Knight in attack mode," The new monster was an armored warrior, except his head was that of a falcon. He was armed with twin rapiers, and glared at me and my empty field as his cape flapped in the wind. "And I'll equipt it with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade, Dragon Slaying Sword, and Banner of Courage. That will raise my Hayabusa Knights attack points by 1700 points, giving him a total attack of 2700. And with your Life Points defenseless, I'm going to crush them. Hayabuse Knight, attack!" The bird-faced monster lunged at me, slashing with on of his swords which had transformed into a saber. I felt the rush of the attack as the hologram slashed down at my chest, dropping my Life Points. (LP: 5300/2000). "Plus, Hayabusa Knights special ability allows for it to attack twice in one turn!"
"What?!" I shouted as the falcon turned and struck again with it's other sword, which was now thick with several teeth along the edges. I fell to one knee as I felt the image of light strike me.
(LP: 2600/2000)
"That ends my turn." I drew a card and narrowed my eyes.
'Nothing in my hand can attack, so I'll have to defend.' I decided. "I'll summon another monster in defense mode."
"Not good enough." Vaun called, drawing. "I'll summon Warrior Dai Grefer, in attack mode, and I'll attack with Hayabusa Knight!" The saber cut through my defense monster, which was my Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. "And I'll directly attack again, finishing you off!" the jagged sword struck me directly, dropping my Life points to zero. I fell to my hands and knees in shock.
"How?" I asked myself. "How?"
"It's because you allowed yourself to be distracted." Kenji said from the side. "I don't know why you did, or how you made it this far if that's how you Duel, but you weren't even trying there."
"You're too focused on what's happened, and what's going to happen." Kazuki continued the lecture. "Forget about all that. When in a Duel, all that should matter is what's directly in front of you. You should let go of everything else."
"How do you know what I'm thinking?" I demanded.
"You were an open book during that Duel. You opened yourself up to us. And if you doubt our words, then prove what you think with action." Vaun said, tossing me Kenji's bokken. I caught it and took a fighting position. Vaun and Kazuki both raised their swords in anticipation.
I charged the two, who both sidestepped, causing me to run past them. I turned on the balls of my feet, and slashed down, connecting with Vaun. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see Kazuki preparing to do a cross-wire, a straight slash down towards my shoulder. I jumped to the side, but was not fast enough, as they both managed to connect with my left thigh. I landed and buckled on my wounded leg, but managed to stand back up.
"Focus on what's right in front of you!" Kazuki repeated. "Forget about what has happened, and forget about what could happen! We're your opponents right now, so fight with everything you've got!"
"Disregard what's around you!" Vaun commanded. "See only us!" They charged in, Kazuki on my right, Vaun on my left, their bokkens extended to fill the gap between themselves. I held my sword up to block, but it was useless. They adjusted and both turned their blades, striking the sides of my ribs. "You may want to hurry and figure it out!" They turned around and prepared for another strike, identical to the last.
I closed my eyes tightly, shaking in anticipation of what was to come. 'Sorry Seya, Allentha. I wasn't strong enough. I can't even beat these guys here, let alone Yugi or Kaiba. I'm sorry.' A tear fell from my eyes and hit the ground.
And then it happened. Everything stopped. But not only did Vaun and Kazuki freeze, but everything around them disappeared. All I could see were my hands, bokken, and the two fighters directly in front of me.
'Focus only on what's in front of me. Forget everything else, and battle at your strongest.' Their words repeated themselves in my head, but combined with other voices. I was able to distinguish Seya, Allentha, Vaun, Kazuki, Kenji, Trinity, Saet, even Shiro and Takaru's voices.
"I see it!" I cried. "I see only what's in front of me!"
"Then defend yourself!" Kazuki yelled.
I raised the bokken above my head in preparation. The other two closed in, their swords extended between the two of them. I swung down, connecting. I heard the cracking of wood and felt several splinters brush past my face as all three swords broke at the hilt. However, it wasn't enough to stop Kazuki and Vaun, who then turned and each pressed their handles into my shoulders, hitting multiple pressure points in my arms, and causing me to drop the wooden handle and collapse to my knees, panting.
"So," I began. "How was that?" I asked between breathes, grabbing my left shoulder.
"Not bad." Vaun admitted.
"I think you'll be alright." Kenji said. "Just always remember what you're fighting for. And never think that a Duel, regardless as to how trivial it may seem to you, is worthless. Always understand that every Duel you are in works towards some goal."
"Then why?" I asked, taking a deep breath. "Why do you three Duel?"
"I Duel for the fun and challenges I get out of it." Vaun explained.
"I Duel for my own honor." Kenji justified.
"And I Duel for me." Kazuki expressed. "I Duel to prove my own self worth; that I can do something in this life. I Duel for pride."
I nodded. "Well then, I'll see you three in the morning, where we'll see who's reasoning is greatest." I turned and headed back toward the castle.
"What's your reason?" Kazuki asked me. I stopped and smiled.
"If any of us meet in the arena tomorrow, I'll tell you." I said, returning to the castle.
***
I awoke after a dreamless night. The sun was just beginning to rise over the island. I quickly donned my black vest, shoes and Millennium Key and headed for the arena. I arrived thrid, Kaiba nad Mai both already present.
"Hey, he's here finally." Mai mocked, yet I sensed no malice in the remark. It was merely out of fun, no harm intended.
"Hello Seto Kaiba." I smiled. He merely grunted in disapproval and turned away from me.
"Now that wasn't very nice." a new voice joked. I turned and was greeted by Kazuki, Vaun, and Kenji, who had made the remark. "Just because you're trembling in your boots doesn't give you the right to stick your nose up at the guy." Kaiba didn't even flinch.
"Yeah, you should listen to the guy, you overly proud two-bit piece of dirt." a smart mouth voice called. Joey and Yugi had just arrived.
"Call me what you like, monkey boy, but it doesn't change the fact that I've already managed to crush you twice; last year on this island, as well as at my tournament. Don't think that just because you keep on getting such whimpy opponents and chancing your way into the finals that you could stand up to me. So why don't you save yourself more embarrassment and go curl up in a corner with some bananas."
"I'll show you monkey!" Joey screamed, raising his fists. "Just you wait until we're in the ring, then I'll knock the stuffin' outa' ya'. And one more thing, you may be-" but as to what Kaba was, I never found out, because at the moment, a speaker that was installed in the statue in front of us began to blare and Croquet's voice sounded.
"Attention please." The horses green eyes flashed. "Attention please. Will the finalists please enter into the arena floor." The doors parted and we entered.
The room was spacious, yet empty. There was a pit that seemed to have not bottom that filled the room. Only a few balconies along the walls and a long bridge that extended across the pit decorated the room.
"Will the first two contestants please advance." Croquet's voice called again. This time it was normal, not through a loud speaker, as he was standing on the balcony to my left. In a chair next to him was Pegasus himself, smiling warmly, yet hiding many crimes and devious actions. I glared at him. Finally, myself and Mai walked over to the center of the bridge. We turned towards the deck in anticipation.
"Yugi, Joey, Mai, Kazuki, Vaun, Kenji, Seto, and Kai; welcome to my tournament. As you know, only one of you will win and claim the three million dollars prize, as well as a chance to Duel with me. And should you manage to win, you will be granted a single request of me, and I will honor it to my greatest abilities. Now, begin."
As he spoke these last words, I felt a jerk beneath my feet. I looked down and noticed that the bridge was moving. It had split and was pulling away from itself, Mai on the other end. When it stopped, a large arena lowered from the ceiling and locked into place with the bridge. I stepped up to the blue platform and set my deck down, drawing five cards.
"Before we begin, I will need both of you to show me the card that it necessary to participate in this Duel." We each held up a card. Mai's was Glory of the Kings hand, and mine was Glory of the Kings Opposite Hand. "Both qualify. You may begin."
I looked Mai directly in the eye. "Let's Duel!"
To Be Continued....
Well, there you go. I'm going to try and appease you all by giving you an update to Duels of the Chosen before I do the Quarter Finals here, so keep your eyes open. And by the way, a Bokken is a wooden sword. See ya.