The Matches Are Set
Welcome to chapter 2 of my first ever Yugioh fan fic! The duels that will make up this story haven't really been fought yet (that leaves more suspense) I introduced the characters in the first chapter, now its time to see who goes up against who in the first round! Oh, and like I've already said, I don't own anything related to Yugioh or anything to do with the Yugioh Virtual Desktop.
Yugi could hardly help but feel nervous and unsure of himself as he set foot inside Kaiba Corp.'s front lobby. This wasn't his first visit here, but his past visit was hardly an enjoyable one. It was his first duel against Seto Kaiba, where he was the first to ever assemble all five pieces of Exodia, and thus go from being a virtual unknown duelist, to the famed duelist who toppled the worlds best, a dream of every duelist, but an event that had forever changed him and his friends' lives. Seemed to Yugi only bad things had happened since then. His Grandpa's soul had been abducted by the creator of Duel Monsters, Pegasus, for the simple cause of forcing Yugi to duel him because of his fame. Not to mention the entire mess with Battle City and the God Cards. Just remembering the power of those three cards brought chills to Yugi's spin. It was then that within his mind, Yami contacted him. "You're afraid." He commented calmly, his cool demeanor unwavering like always. "Not afraid, just worried. Every time something as simple as this happens, the safety of my friends comes into question. What if this turns out like the past?" Yami chuckled at this question. "You've been feeling it too huh? Yes, it does seem like there is a secret motive behind even something as normal as this. With our friends already involved, the best we can do is watch out and keep alert." With this Yugi nodded, and went back to the normal world, away from the twin chambers of his mind.
Joey crossed his arms, still fuming with the show Kaiba had pulled earlier. "Where does that blow hard get off calling me a mistake? I'll show him, I'll duel to the top and boot his sorry behind outta the tournament." It was at the end of this thought that he caught glance of Yugi, noticing that blank look he seemed to get every now and then. "Yo Yug, you ok buddy? You look a little spooked. You ain't gonna make me see your breakfast are ya?" This question brought an elbow into his side from Tea. "Shut up dog boy. Yugi's just a little nervous. This is the first time he's dueling just for fun in something this big. His mind is probably just wandering. Right Yugi?" she asked, looking at him with eyes full of more concern than she let on in her words. Yugi nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine, just pre-duel jitters I guess." A soft chuckle came from behind the three of them. Mai turned to the group, with a half smirk. "Oh come on Yugi. You're the guy who's toppled the world's greatest duelist, the very creator of the game itself, along with an entire gang of duel monster thieves along with their insane leader. This should be a walk in the park for you. A lot easier than dueling Joey, that's for sure," she commented, smiling to the young boy. Even though he was the reason she had lost in Duelist Kingdom, she had developed great respect for the boy. "She's right Yugi, and don't forget, you've got all of use here with you. True we may very well be rivals, but we're still friends," added Bakura. Yugi nodded, and smiled, feeling much better about himself, as he always did with his friends around.
Meanwhile, a separate little group had formed away from the others. Rex Raptor stared at Yugi's group, scowling a little bit. He never forgave Mai for using him in Duelist Kingdom, let alone Joey Wheeler's stroke of luck that cost him a rare Red Eyes Black Dragon. This brought his thoughts to his new little group, Espa Roba and Weevil Underwood. Both duelists had humiliated him and handed him defeats, Weevil in the Regional Championships, Espa Roba in Battle City. He didn't count his loss to Roba though, as it was revealed by Wheeler that the snake had cheated. "Raptor, are you listening to me?" hissed Weevil. Rex had to bite his tongue from crushing in the little bugs face as it was. "Yeah, I heard you. Do you really think this plan is worth it? If we're caught, we'll get banned from the game forever." Espa glanced over to the other group, also not to fond of Weevil's plan to cheat, but both him and Rex owed Weevil. It had been Weevil who had hacked into mainframe of the tournament and deleted the actual duelists who had earned the right enter and put the three of them. He had chosen the two of them because they had indeed made a name for themselves so few would suspect any foul play. "It's simply, if we send those losers on a wild goose chase after their favorite cards, they'll never make it to the duel sites on time and be disqualified," grinned Weevil. That was before a tanned muscled arm wrapped around his throat, putting him a strong headlock. "What was that you little piece of bait?" growled Mako. Rex clenched his fists, stepping forward. "Back off fish boy, unless you want me to knock you back into the stone age!" Mako glared and flung Weevil into Rex, which Rex simply caught. "I heard your plan, and I assure you, it won't work. For one, Kaiba has ordered the Lobby doors locked and all exits sealed. We're not going anywheres till this tournament is over. And if I see any of you three even look at those guys wrong, you'll feel the full fury of the sea," he growled, and simply walked off, passing by Marik on his way to stand by Yugi and his friends.
Marik eyed the goings on, listening to both conversations. It had been a long time since Yugi had vanquished his evil side, but something about being near Yugi brought out the dark stirrings of his heart. This confused him, since he really had nothing against Yugi or his friends. If anything, he owed them everything. His sister had long ago hidden the God Cards from him and the world. He no longer felt the need for them anyways. After taking over the caretaker duties of his sister at the Domino Museum, his life had improved. He no longer was filled with hatred at the world, and began to for once, enjoy life. He was thrilled to join this tournament, but still felt ashamed of his crimes to be able to face Yugi and his friends. He was glad Mako had put the three cheating duelists in their place. He wished he had done it himself, but doubt it was his place to what's wrong and what's right.
Kaiba's face was one of stone. He showed no emotion or any signs that he was aware anything existed in this world other than himself. Though in his own mind, that was indeed how the world was. He was the only thing that mattered in his mind, the best of the best. Anything to prove other wise was simply a fluke. Though, he did have his soft spot. "Hey big brother! Wait up!" called out Mokuba as he chased down his brother, vainly trying to keep with his stride. "Keep up Mokuba. I'm not expected to be late. If I get disqualified from this tournament, everyone might as well get refunds on their tickets." Mokuba looked up at his big brother, confused. "We're already in the building, what are you worried about?" This question didn't need to have a spoken answer. Mokuba knew full well what his brother was worried about. Seto's entire focus had been consumed with the obsession of being the world's number one duelist once more. The only obstacle in his way was Yugi. This time, he was going to go the full distance, and once and for all put Yugi in his place.
Kaiba set foot into the lobby, almost sickened at what had been gathered. He couldn't believe that he was even on the same list of skill as the low ranked duelists in the room. It was then that a staff member stepped into the rooms. "Greetings Duelists. Now that all twelve of you have gathered here, we are ready to start. My name is Zachary and I will be the official moderator of the matches. I must inform you all that the exits of the building have been sealed, and you will all be transported to various locations throughout Domino for you duels. You will only be allowed access to the outside during your duels. The duels will be double elimination, allowing for only a single loss before losing your chance to win the championship. After you lose twice, you're free to do as you please. Winners will be flown back here and prepped for the second round. Now, will all duelists please step forward into the main room, where we will draw lots!"
The small crowd stepped into a massive room, where a large video screen was displayed, their pictures set up in two columns, A and B. " Yugi Motou, Bakura Ryu, Weevil Underwood, Seto Kaiba, Espa Roba, and Bonz are in column A… where is Bonz?" asked Zachary, as he looked around. A small pale boy stepped out from a dark corner of the shadows. "Here I am… I didn't feel comfortable out in the open." The judge almost jumped out of skin, but quickly shook it off. "Um alright. As I was saying, Column A will Duel each other. Column B, consisting of Joey Wheeler, Marik Ishtar, Tea Gardener, Mai Valentine, Mako Tsunami, and Rex Raptor will do like wise with their column. The four Finalists of both columns will be thrown into a separate bracket. Is this understood?" All nodded, anxious to get the lots drawn. "Ok, then, COMPUTER! Randomly select the opponents!" With that, flashing colors went over each name. The color Green landed on Yugi and Espa Roba, the Color Red on Bakura and Kaiba, and the color blue on Weevil and Bonz. Everyone then turned to column B. The Green matched up Joey and Mai, Marik and Rex were red, leaving Tea and Mako with blue.
"There you have it! The first round matches will be as follows, Yugi Versus Espa Roba, Bakura versus Kaiba, Weevil versus Bonz, Joey against Mai, Marik facing Rex, and Tea meeting Mako. The first round will start tomorrow; everyone is to report to their quarters. You're free to mingle with each other, but must first check into your room so we are able to verify your arrival. Thank You." With that, everyone followed the judge up to their rooms.
Later in the hallway of the guest rooms, Yugi and Joey were hanging out together. "Man, of all the rotten luck. I gotta duel Mai in the first round? This is Duelist Kingdom all over again. Except this time Mai ain't relying on cheap tricks to win." Yugi looked up at Joey, a little concerned. " Calm down, you don't give yourself nearly enough credit. You're an amazing duelist. I'm sure Mai is just as worried as you are." A light laugh erupted to their side. "Yeah, your right Yugi, I'm afraid he might cry when I send him home in the first round. Lets face it Joey, luck for once was against you, but good luck all the same. Make it a good match," smirked Mai, as she went into her room. Joey sighed, rubbing his head nervously. Yugi looked up and smiled a little. " You've gained some useful cards since Battle City, don't worry. You'll do fine. We better get some sleep, it's a big day tomorrow." Joey nodded, and pushed off the way. "Yeah, you're right. Night Yugi, good luck tomorrow." Yugi nodded. "You too Joey." With that they both went into their rooms, and got ready for the next day.