YUGIOH

Blast in the Past

Chapter 8.

Yugi struggled to try and get his cards back, as Joey and Tristan taunted him.

"Heh heh....hey Joey, maybe we can find a nice tall bridge, and scatter them." Tristan said.

"....or maybe we can find a lighter, and one at a time burn each one. Heh heh heh...." Joey sneered, laughing at Yugi.

Suddenly Joey's wrist, not holding the cards, was grabbed very tightly and painfully, and moved into an angle that forced Joey to his knees. "I believe Yugi asked nicely to give them back. Don't make me have to hurt you, Wheeler. As for you Taylor, the bridge idea sounded just your style. Maybe you should find one, and jump off." Kaiba snapped.

"Hey! Wha....whaddya doing? Seto....leggo!" Joey protested, not knowing why his friend was helping Yugi. Yugi just sat there stunned, not knowing what to do or say. The head bully of the group was....helping him!

"What's wrong, Wheeler? You have no problem praying on the weak....I guess you don't like it when it happens to you, huh?" Kaiba taunted. He then took his boot and shoved Wheeler's face onto the ground, saying, "Sit, boy. There's a good dog....now don't make me have to repeat myself. Give the cards back."

Tristan didn't move a muscle to help Joey, too afraid of being next, as Joey managed to maneuver his free hand up, in order to give the cards back to Yugi. Yugi took them, and held them close to him, still quiet and unsure what to say.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Kaiba asked, grabbing Joey by the collar, and tossing him away.

"You're nuts, man! You flipped!" Joey yelled at him and ducked out of the classroom, Tristan following, as he eyed Kaiba strangely.

Kaiba began to walk away from Yugi now, as Yugi suddenly said, "Seto....th-thank you."

"Don't let it go to your head, Yugi. I don't believe it's right for anyone to treat the Duel Monster's game that way." Kaiba said, as he pausing before trying to move back to his seat.

"You-you mean....you play Duel Monsters, too?" Yugi asked, astonished.

Kaiba turned, hearing the surprise in Yugi's voice. So then, he never challenged him in this world, or whatever this place was he was in. He gave a slight quirk of a smile, saying, "A little...."

This caused Yugi's eyes to light up, saying, "Well maybe, uh....we can play sometime. If that's okay with you....?" Yugi rushed the last sentence out, fearful the offer might insult Kaiba, causing him to turn against Yugi again.

But it didn't. Kaiba paused, and kept the smile on his face, saying, "Yeah....maybe...." Then turned away.

"Wait!" Yugi said. Kaiba sighed, and turned back to him, as Yugi said, "Would you....like to see my deck?"

Kaiba paused, thinking, 'I already know what you're deck is like.' But then....did he? He was curious to know if, wherever he was, Yugi would have the same deck as the one that originally beat him. "Why not?" He said and approached. Yugi handed him the deck, as Kaiba looked through, finding the Exodia cards. Yes, this was the deck....the one he most feared.

"You have Exodia." He said to Yugi. "I suggest you keep careful care of them. Don't trust anyone with them, Yugi. You never know if someone might try and take them from you...." Yugi smiled up at him, equally amazed that he knew what Exodia was. Even Yugi barely understood the Exodia cards, something his grandfather only briefly explained to him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!" Came a sudden bellowing voice, startling both Kaiba and Yugi. Tea approached, attempting to snatch the cards from Kaiba, saying, "Don't you guys ever let up? Haven't you done enough to this kid? What's he ever done to you, anyway?"

'She thought I was bullying him?' Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously at Tea, saying, "Maybe you should be more careful what you say, and keep out of things that don't concern you!"

"My friends concern me!" Tea snapped.

"Tea, it's okay!" Yugi said, happily. "I let him see my cards. Seto plays Duel Monsters, too!"

"Sure he does....he's just baiting you again, Yugi." Tea said, crossing her hands.

"No, really. He just helped me from his friends Joey and Tristan. You had to see it!" Yugi said, with a big smile.

Tea looked over at him, asking, "You did....? Since when do you care what happens to Yugi?"

Kaiba's face actually gave a slight flush after being cornered with the fact that he helped Yugi with anything. "I don't!" He snapped, shoving the cards roughly back at Yugi. "Stay out of my business, Gardner!" He growled, and turned on his heal, back to his seat.

As he did, neither of them noticed some other kid had observed some of the actions going on through the window. The bell then suddenly rang, not giving her time to think about it, and everyone came in, taking their seats. Tea even noticed Joey and Tristan eyeing Kaiba, seeming very upset with him, as they huddled in their seats. 'He really did help Yugi.' Tea realized. 'But, why?'

It was a surprise test today that everyone grumbled about. Kaiba was more upset to find he still had homework in his pack that was not done yet and due today, then he was with the test. As it was passed out, he finished the test flying through it easily, then put it aside, bringing his homework up to quickly finish. He was obviously way behind, and didn't like the idea of ignoring his responsibilities in the least. By the end of class, the papers were turned in and the bell rang, letting everyone go to their next class. The rest of the school day was relatively uneventful, and Kaiba was pleased to not have Joey and Tristan hanging all over him, anymore.

Kaiba had some problems in the beginning, acknowledging when his name was called in school....not recognizing his last name. But he quickly figured it out, when the name Seto Rykuma was called, and the whole class stared at him. "Here." He quickly said. 'Rykuma? My last name is Rykuma?'

School was over, and Kaiba left with his books in hand. He didn't notice the hall monitor Ushio having a talk with Yugi in the distance, as he continued on. Instead, Kaiba was suddenly cornered by both Joey and Tristan. Joey snapped, "I wanna know what your problem is, Seto? Why'd you do that to us today? Since when do you care what we do to Yugi? You've done it enough times yourself, and you got the nerve lecturing us about it?" (1)

'I did that to Yugi?' He thought. True, he was pretty evil in the beginning, but stooping down to acting like a common bully was not his style. Then again, in this strange world he was in, he was not the rich Seto Kaiba, owner of Kaiba Corp. Instead, he was Seto Rykuma....a common kid on the street, who actually had his parents, and his family. Could this really be what he would have ended up like....some common bully hanging out with losers like Joey and Tristan, picking on other nobodies on the street, no work ethics, no interest in responsibility?? The thought sickened him to even consider it.

"Well, maybe I decided to have a bit more pride in myself, for a change. Preying on the weak and helpless for no other excuse except perhaps boredom, makes you look even more pitiful than Yugi is. Personally, I have better things to do with my time. Tell me Wheeler, does it really make you feel more superior doing that, because you certainly don't look it."

"Come on, man....you saw what he had with him. That stupid girlie card game! If he didn't keep acting like a girl all the time and stick up for himself, maybe we wouldn't have to do that to him!" Joey snapped.

"Girlie?" Kaiba asked. "Do you have some sort of insecurity about your manhood, Wheeler? I didn't realize the game was made only for a certain sex. And just because you don't understand it, it doesn't make it stupid....only you."

"See? There ya go insulting me again. I thought we were friends, man! And it is girlie! You're girlfriend plays it, don't she??" Joey asked.

"Girlfriend?" Kaiba asked, stunned.