Pegasus stood before his mirror, running a comb through his hair and settling the last stray strands into place. He'd always been a bit vain about his hair and never cut it more than he could help, even when his parents had objected. Cyndia had always liked it and taken delight in running her fingers through it, and of course he had never discouraged her in that pastime. Even now, it made him laugh, albeit a bit sadly, to remember her at ten years old, busily braiding pink ribbons into his hair while he staunchly tolerated the treatment.
Satisfied that all was in order, he set down his comb.
"What do you think? Do I look all right?" he asked.
The woman he addressed said nothing, because she was only a painting. Pegasus had done many such paintings during his career, and had placed them anywhere he felt he'd be spending a lot of time, so that she was always near at hand. This one was his favorite, and he often found himself addressing it for lack of anyone better to talk to. Now he walked over to the window and flung open the curtains, leaving it a clear view of the world outside. From this angle, it was just possible to see the groups of people assembling out on the docks and making their way up the stairs to his front door.
"You see? Some friends have come to visit," he said. "They're here to help you. Of course, they'll probably never know it, but it would be a bit hard to explain it all, come to think of it. Never mind that. They are here to help you, and that's the important thing. Well, I'm off to go greet them all. Be good while I'm gone."
He paused just a moment longer to look into the mirror again, to be absolutely certain that his tie was straight and that he had not overlooked any wrinkles in his clothing. Satisfied that he looked as perfect as he could, he exited his room and went to have a few words with his guests.
In the hallway, he encountered Crocketts.
"Sir, all of the duelists are present and accounted for," he said. "They are assembling at the front entrance, as you requested."
"Splendid," said Pegasus. "Is everyone there yet? Have they been waiting very long?"
"No, sir. Some of them are still on the stairway."
"Then we'll make them wait. A little suspense will make them pay attention better."
"As you wish."
He started to wander off, but Pegasus stopped him.
"Are you going to leave me standing here with nothing to do?" he asked. "Find me something to read."
Crocketts sighed, fished in a pocket, and pulled out a comic book. Pegasus beamed.
"You're always so prepared," he said.
He leaned against the wall and began leafing through the book, laughing quietly, while his servants stood by and tried to look dignified. It took a bit of doing to look dignified while the man they were serving was giggling like a little boy over a comic book, but they had a lot of practice. At last, Pegasus judged enough time had gone by for his guests to have gotten impatient, and he set his book aside and gestured for two of his bodyguards to follow him out onto the wall so he could make his speech.
The doors were opened, and Pegasus stepped out into the sunlight. The murmuring crowd quieted as they caught sight of him, and he smiled at them all, spreading his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.
"Greetings! Salutations to you all, and welcome to Duelist Kingdom!" he declared. "I've been looking forward to seeing you all here. Each and every one of you has been selected for your superior dueling skills. Win or lose, you may take pride in knowing that you are a part of the Duelist Kingdom.
"Before I turn you loose, allow me to go over the rules. You will all be competing with each other in one-on-one battles using exactly forty Duel Monsters cards. Each one of you should have received with your invitation a duelist's gauntlet. Place it on your right hand now. As you can see, it has slots in the cuff for ten star chips. Each of you should already have two. These star chips are your life as duelists. You will wager these in battles against your fellow duelists. If you lose all your star chips, the game is over, and you will be collected and returned to the castle to await the end of the game. The first four players to collect ten star chips and insert them into the lock in the inner gate will be admitted to the semi-finals. The tournament will last for forty-eight hours, or until four finalists are obtained. All duels should be conducted in the Battle Boxes you will find positioned throughout the island. Life points will start at four thousand. There are a few other rules, but I'm sure you're quite bored enough already, so I'll just let you figure them out as you go along.
"Just to give you a little incentive, I would like to remind you that the final winner of this tournament will receive a cash prize suitable for a master of duelists. But money isn't everything to a true duelist. There can be no greater prize than the chance to duel against a worthy adversary. To that end, the winner of the tournament will have the chance to duel against me personally, for any prize it is within my power to grant."
There was a murmur from the crowd, and Pegasus allowed himself a smirk. He couldn't easily read minds at this distance, but he could guess what most of them were thinking. Those who truly loved the sport were salivating at the prospect of going up against a man who was rumored to be invincible; the rest were busy calculating his net worth and imagining what they could get out of him. Well, let them have their pleasant fantasies for a while. They wouldn't have come if they knew he didn't intend to let anyone have so much as a worn-out penny.
"The dueling will begin in one hour," he said. "I look forward to seeing exciting battles from all of you. I wish you all the best of luck. I will be waiting in the heart of the castle for my four champions to arrive. Now, go forth and pursue your destiny!"
He bowed slightly to his audience, and then turned and walked back inside. As the doors swung shut, he heard the sounds of the crowd dispersing. Too bad he had to leave them - he did love an audience. Then again, they couldn't do what they were supposed to do if they were hanging around here all day.
It would have gone much faster if I just challenged them when I met them, he mused. Then again, perhaps it's better this way. It gives me time to study them both and learn what they're made of. This close to the end of things, it would be foolish to start taking unnecessary risks... especially against that boy Yugi. Not even mind reading is complete protection against someone with real skill. I will have to watch him very closely. It won't hurt to have a look at the other boy, either. One can never have too much information about one's enemies.
He returned to his room to make himself comfortable. He had an hour to pass before anything of interest would start happening. He could have a little snack and a drink, and relax for a while. Then the duels would begin, and he would have some real amusements. He cast a glance up at the portrait of his beloved. She smiled, as she always did - with approval, he imagined.
"Did you see?" he asked. "It has begun!"
The young man was in the dark. He wandered alone, lost, confused. He was not frightened, yet, because there didn't seem to be anything in this shadowy place that could hurt him, and much of it even felt familiar, but he did feel deeply puzzled. Where was he? Why was he here? How did he get here? And who was he, anyway? He couldn't remember anymore. He wandered through the void, watching images appear and recede before him, like clouds passing through the light of the moon. A voice seemed to whisper, These are the pieces of your heart. Gather them close, and discover who you truly are.
"I'll do it," he said to himself. "I will rebuild my life with my own hands."
Even as he spoke, an image before him solidified into a solid shape, something he could pick up in his hands, and he reached out to grasp it.
Something struck him from the side, shaking him, making him drop the piece, and he fell and tumbled through the black void...
He scrambled wildly and just barely managed to save himself from falling out of his chair. He steadied himself and managed to fix a glare at the servant who had been shaking his shoulder.
"Get your hands off of me," Seto snapped.
"You were sleeping, sir," said the servant, apparently unconcerned by Seto's death glare. "Master Pegasus requests your presence, and you didn't wake when I called you."
"Humph," said Seto. "If he hadn't kept me waiting this long, I wouldn't have fallen asleep."
"It was necessary, sir. There was nothing you could do until the tournament started."
Seto didn't bother to try to reply to that - it was beneath him to argue with servants, anyway. He especially doubted the usefulness of arguing with anyone who worked for Pegasus; it doubtless took nerves of steel and an unflappable personality to cope with anyone that unpredictable. Seto hadn't been on this island for a full twenty-four hours, and he was already thoroughly sick of the man. He wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.
Might as well get it over with, he thought, as he got to his feet. He took a moment to smooth the wrinkles out of his coat as he exited the room. Seto knew the value of a good impression. While Pegasus adopted his foppish ways to lull his enemies into a false sense of security, Seto Kaiba did what he could to inspire awe and fear in his opponents. He strode briskly out of the room with the hems of his coat trailing behind him like storm clouds.
At least he had nothing to complain about how he'd been treated so far. That was cold comfort - he would have preferred to have something to complain about, so he could have something to measure his position here by. As it was, Pegasus had been giving him good, even preferential treatment. Seto was aware that he wasn't the only duelist brought here specially by Pegasus to pick off unlucky players, but they were all being stored somewhere else, and Seto had not been obligated to mix with them. He had, in fact, been given a very nice room all to himself, quite as lavish as the one he lived in at home, and had been assigned servants to answer to his whims. Pegasus had even offered to give him a few cards to liven up his deck. Seto had been forced to grit his teeth to keep from saying some very rude things. He hated not knowing if what he was being given was genuine respect, or whether Pegasus was simply being patronizing. He strongly suspected the latter, but since Pegasus sounded sarcastic all the time, it was impossible to be sure.
Seto arrived in the room where his fellow player assassins were waiting. This was the first time he'd had the opportunity to take a close look at them all, and he cast his gaze over them briefly. They were a motley looking crew, and most of them unfriendly-looking into the bargain. He noted a man carrying a puppet, an enormous brute with deep-sunk eyes and bulging muscles, and a pair of twin brothers, among various others. Most were men, but there were a few women mixed in - sly looking creatures who appeared as crafty as their male counterparts looked threatening.
I could take them all on. Give me an hour, and I could crush each and every one of them, one after the other. It would feel good, too.
His hand went automatically to the deck at his belt, and his sensitive fingers ran over the individual cards. He had done this so many times, he could almost draw any card he wanted just by feeling them. He could draw his Blue-Eyes White Dragons blind. They felt just a hair stiffer and sharper than all the others, owing to having been kept in collectors' boxes and safes and never played... not until he'd gotten hold of them. The tingle that went through his blood when he touched them was probably all in his mind, but he liked the feel of them anyway, and touched each one briefly as he imagined them performing their purpose.
"Please be seated," said the servant.
Seto took a chair as far away from the other assassins as he could, and folded his arms across his chest, shooting them all another of his cold looks just to make his point. They glared back at him. He smirked a little; from the uneasy looks he was getting, they all recognized him and knew what he could do.
Pegasus arrived in a state of high excitement. He surveyed the assembled company as if he couldn't be more pleased to see this collection of thugs, brutes, and shady characters in his parlor, and was just itching to ask them all to stay for tea.
"Good morning, everyone!" he said. "Did everyone sleep well? Are you all rested and refreshed? Excellent! Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Yeah, let's quit talking and get to work," said one voice from the back of the room.
"Ahh, eager, are we?" said Pegasus. "Don't worry. I just want to be sure we all know where we stand."
"On the floor!" said a wag in the audience.
A few people looked around, trying to find who had spoken, and possibly do something to forcibly discourage any other comments, but Pegasus only chuckled.
"I am glad to see that we are all feeling bright and witty today," he said. "I suggest that henceforth, you save your mental energies for your opponents. I did arrange for quite a stellar cast to be joining us here, and not all of them are going to go down easily. And that is, of course, what you are here to do: pick off the most powerful players, and do it by any means necessary. Use physical force if you have to. You also have my permission to cheat if necessary, as long as you leave no evidence. I'd prefer you stop short of actually killing anyone, but if it becomes necessary, I have made provisions. This is a wild countryside, and accidents do happen even in the best-run tournaments, but I am trying to avoid suspicion, so save it as a last resort. Other than that, you may do as you wish... except for two little things."
He reached into a pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper, holding it up for them all to see. There were photographs of two young men on them. Kaiba frowned a little.
"These two," said Pegasus, "are mine. Do not challenge them. If they challenge you, do your utmost to let them win. If you somehow fail to manage that feat, I will be very disappointed... and take appropriate measures."
Kaiba might have, under other circumstances, had something to say about being forced to lose a match, but as it was, he had other things on his mind.
Yugi, I knew about, but Bakura? What has he got to do with all this? He doesn't have a reputation as a duelist, so what would Pegasus want with him?
He decided it didn't matter. He had no quarrel with the shy young man who tagged along with Yugi's merry band. There would be no glory in picking off someone like Bakura, who was a decent player at best, so if that was what kept Pegasus happy, why get involved? Still, the riddle gnawed at him, and he made a mental note to look into it. You never knew when something might turn out to be useful - say, for bribes or blackmail.
If I find out this lissotrichous lunatic has a taste for pretty young men, I'll be the owner of Industrial Illusions within a month.
He was so amused by the pleasant image of having Pegasus thrown out of his company on such humiliating charges that he almost missed the rest of what Pegasus was saying. He tuned back in around the time when his host called a servant forward to set a large box in front of the assembled company. It contained several small sacks with nametags tied to them, which the servant began distributing. Seto looked with some interest as he was handed one of these bags. He opened it to find that it contained two purple gloves, one of which had five stars set in it.
"Use these to pass yourselves off as contestants," Pegasus instructed. "Bet your star chips against those of the other players. Your job is to take out the most powerful ones, and you will be paid according to the rank of the players you disqualify... in most cases." His gaze flicked briefly to Seto. "Other than that, the rules don't apply to you, so go out and have fun."
The group took this as an invitation to get started. They moved en masse to the door with the light of avarice gleaming in their eyes, as they hurried to collect their star chips. Seto moved with a bit more decorum, which was just as well, as Pegasus beckoned him to stop and talk a moment.
"What do you want?" Seto asked him.
"I have one little extra present for you," Pegasus replied. "Something that wouldn't fit in the bag."
He walked over to a wardrobe that stood nearby and opened it. There was a single garment hanging inside, a royal blue cloak with a silver fastener. Seto eyed it dubiously.
"What is that for?" he asked.
"Well, it occurred to me last night that your face is well known to everyone in the dueling circuit. Most of my assassins are unknowns, fished from the underworld of gaming, but you - you are a high-profile player! With your reputation, it is unlikely that the average player will be willing to stake his or her life on a duel with you. Most people like a challenge where they at least have a slight chance to prevail. I thought something to cloud your identity was in order, and this has more dignity than a mask."
Seto hesitated a moment as he let this sink in. Then he almost smiled.
"All right," he said. "I'll take it."
He slipped the cloak over his shoulders and fastened it before him, pulling the cloak over his face. Not even his sharp eyes penetrated its shadows; he could see out, but no one would be able to easily see in, especially if he kept to places that were naturally shadowed, or if he attacked by night. As he swept out of the room, he paused to take in his reflection in a hall mirror, and was pleased to see that all that could be seen of his face was a thin-lipped smile.
They'll never see me coming, he thought smugly. No one will know I've got them until it's too late to escape... like death itself.
The hooded figure, a Grim Reaper in royal blue, slipped out of the castle and faded into the shadows.
Insector Haga fled into the forest, wailing incoherently about the unfairness of the world in general and Yugi Mutou in particular. It probably would not have been any comfort to the boy to know that the person who had just finished trouncing him and all his bug monsters was arguably not Yugi Mutou at all.
Let that be a lesson, he thought, watching as his erstwhile opponent disappeared in a flurry of quaking underbrush. I won't be defeated just because I've been robbed of a few cards!
"That was amazing, Yugi!" said Anzu, gazing at him with awe in her eyes. He smiled back at her, and for a moment there was warmth in his usually calculating expression. He had liked Anzu almost from the moment he'd met her. Part of it was just that he liked anyone that Yugi liked. They might have been two distinct souls, but there were places where their minds overlapped, and there was a long record of kindness in Yugi's memories of Anzu. Of course, the more time he spent around them, the more he experienced for himself what good people all of Yugi's friends were, and the more he liked them for their own sakes. In the very dimmest reaches of his mind, he suspected that wherever he had come from, there had not been a nurturing female influence like Anzu, but that thought dissipated every time he tried to nail it down, as any thoughts of his past did. He touched his Puzzle briefly, feeling an itch of curiosity over the one riddle even his near-magical skills couldn't solve.
"Yeah, you totally rocked!" said Jonouchi, cutting into the Spirit's musings. "The champion of all Japan, and you beat him! It's gonna be all downhill from here."
"I'm impressed," Bakura added. "I've never seen playing like that before."
"What do you expect?" asked Honda. "If he can beat Seto Kaiba, he can beat anybody."
"Insector Haga was overconfident," said Yugi. "He was too proud of his knowledge of the terrain, and too comfortable with the knowledge of his championship. The next challenger we meet will be more careful."
"Hear that? He's modest," said Jonouchi, laughing. "You won 'cause you're the best. That's all there is to it."
Is it, though? thought the Spirit. I was angry. I wanted to punish him. Did that have anything to do with it?
He felt a vague sense of unease - strange, for him. Confidence was his way of life. So was punishing people who hurt Yugi and his friends. That was what had awakened him after his long sleep in the darkness, and what had brought him back to the surface again and again. He was Yugi's protector, and the administrator of justice. If someone hurt Yugi, he found that person and punished them. The more they tried to hurt him, the more punishment they deserved. Still, there was something about this victory that felt hollow, and he didn't like it.
Nothing I can do will bring those cards back. I can make Haga wish he'd never thrown them away - I'm sure by now he wishes he'd never met me - but I can't make them come back.
It bothered his sense of justice that he could not fully make things right. He couldn't get the cards back. Haga had nothing in his deck as valuable as those Exodia cards that he could take as compensation. The most he could do was humiliate him a bit and get him disqualified from the rest of the proceedings, which wasn't quite the same thing.
Why am I even here if I can't be of any use to Yugi?
The only answer he had was that something felt wrong on this island, something that ran deeper than Insector Haga's petty crimes, and he was determined to find out what it was.
"Is something wrong, Yugi?" asked Anzu. "You don't look very happy."
"It's nothing," he assured her, and forced himself to smile. "I just hate to see a coward. I just hope my next opponent is more worthy of my time."
"So let's find some opponents already!" said Jonouchi. "I want to play this time!"
Honda laughed. "I know you, Jonouchi. You just want to win so you can get that cash prize!"
"So what if I do?" said Jonouchi, looking slightly hurt. "There's nothing wrong with that."
"I thought we were here to have fun," said Bakura.
"Well, I am," said Jonouchi, "but the money wouldn't hurt, either."
"Don't be too hard on him," said Honda to Bakura. "Jonouchi doesn't exactly come from the best part of town."
"Oh, sure, tell the whole world, why don't you," Jonouchi muttered.
"It's okay. Bakura doesn't spread gossip," said Anzu.
"Well, if you're going to be like that, I might as well tell the whole truth," said Jonouchi. "See, it's like this: I'm not out to get the prize money for me. If I win, I'm going to spend it all on my sister."
"Sister?" Anzu repeated. "You never told me you had a sister."
"Hell, you never told me you had a sister!" Honda exclaimed. "And I've known you since middle school. How'd you slip a sister by me without me knowing?"
"I haven't seen her since we were both little kids... not face to face, anyway," said Jonouchi quietly. "When my parents split up, I stayed with my dad, and Shizuka went with my mom, and I haven't seen her since. She sent me a video-letter, though, just before we came here. She says she wants to see me again... one last time."
"You mean she's going to die?" exclaimed Bakura, his voice rising to a squeak.
"No. She's going blind," Jonouchi explained.
"Whew! That's good," said Yugi. "I mean, it's not good, but..."
Jonouchi gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, I know what you're trying to say. Her eyesight's always been bad, so it's not like this is any big surprise. There's a procedure they could do that might save her eyes, but it's really expensive - way more money than my mom has to spare, and it's all I can do to keep a roof over my head. There's nothing I could do to help her... until now." He looked up, eyes blazing. "I'm gonna win this tournament, and I'm going to use the prize money to help her."
Yugi inclined his head gravely. "You have our support. I'm sure you'll succeed, if your heart's in it."
"Yeah, what he said," Honda agreed.
Jonouchi shook himself, and managed some semblance of his old cocky smile.
"That's right!" he said. "You just watch me! I'm going to win this tournament - and then I'm going to challenge Pegasus himself and kick his butt!"
Anzu giggled. "I'd pay money just to watch that."
"Well, let's get started, then," said Bakura practically. "We're on a time limit, you know."
"That's right!" said Jonouchi, energized once more. "So let's go find some opponents already! We can't let Yugi get too far ahead of us!" He rubbed his friend's hair affectionately.
"I guess I'm ready to give it a try," said Honda.
"Me too," Anzu agreed. "Let's check over that way. At least if we lose, we can lose where there's some nice scenery."
The group agreed that this would do as well as any other plan, so they began meandering off in the direction Anzu had pointed. No one really noticed that Bakura was trailing along in the back of the group - he was naturally shy, after all, and often seemed most comfortable at the fringes of things. They certainly didn't notice that for a moment, one of his hands strayed to the pocket of the backpack he carried, and his fingers brushed something inside. He closed his eyes shuddered. Then he seemed to come back to himself, blinking as if he was not really sure what he'd been doing, and hurried to catch up with his friends.
Sunset, to Pegasus, was the perfect time of day for a glass of wine. It was something about the atmosphere, how everything seemed to slow down, and the world took on a soft, warm glow. It gave everything an elegant touch, which was the kind of thing Pegasus was in favor of. It was true that he was fond of his wine, in part because of the picture he was sure he made: an aristocratic man, an expensive drink, a well-furnished parlor, and the sun sinking in the background, casting a rosy haze over everything.
Wouldn't my father be ashamed of me? he thought as he reached to pour another glass, and he chuckled to himself. Certainly his father would be ashamed of him: not because he was getting drunk, but because he wasn't.
Truth be told, he hadn't done so in years. He had never really seen the fun in thoroughly embarrassing himself, and then getting sick over it. Any inclination to excess he might have retained was wiped out when he got the Eye. It was a useful object, and showed him many things worth seeing. Over-imbibing had been known to give people visions that were somewhat less useful. Putting the two together, well... he wasn't going to do it again. He didn't just see things, he saw things, disturbing things, things that were disturbing because they gave him the unsettling impression that they had always been there, and he had just never found the right way of looking at them until now.
There were times, too, when other people seemed to see them. Crocketts had shot at one, and it had retreated into the shadows, leaving nothing but a bullet-hole in the wall. Another had sent a maid screaming down the hallway, and Pegasus had had a difficult time, in his current inebriated state, trying to explain that it was all just a joke and she hadn't really seen what she thought she'd seen.
They didn't always go away after he'd sobered up, either. Some of them hung on for days. There had been one, a wizened man with a scraggly beard and white robes who had followed him around and glared at him for over a week before finally fading away. It had been very difficult to conduct business with a sour-faced old man following him wherever he went. That was the episode that had finally and completely convinced him of the value of moderation. Even then, he was careful never to use the Eye for an hour or two after he drank.
Ah, but you wouldn't let a little thing like that stop you, would you Father? he thought.
No, of course not. Samson Crawford had never let anything stop him. He had been a handsome, high-spirited man - his son took after him in many ways. He had liked his drink, liked gambling, liked people. It was unavoidable that he would have been drawn to the business world, and Las Vegas was his natural habitat. He had been successful there. Men found him a genial friend; women found him highly attractive. It was only fair to say that he found them attractive, too, and was more than happy to share with them his company, and anything else they might desire. The fact that he was married, and had been so for several years, never made a lot of difference on his lifestyle.
Meanwhile, his wife waited for him at home. She had been a beautiful woman in her youth, and had been desperately in love with him. She had remained so even in the face of his unfaithfulness; in fact, the more he roamed, the more obsessed she became with her futile attempts to win him back. There was very little room in her mind for anything else. Certainly there was little left over for her son. As he'd grown older, there were times when Pegasus suspected she had only had him in yet another doomed attempt to keep her husband at her side.
As for Pegasus, he had been left to wander through his home, restless and alone. His parents had no time for him, and he had no close friends at school. Genetics had combined with fate to leave him in an untenable situation: here he was, with his father's passionate nature and his mother's devotion - but he had no one to express them to. He was starved for love and positively bursting with emotional energy, but there was no outlet for it. He'd been forced to confine himself to mischief to get any type of attention. Then his father had made the fateful choice to throw a party, and had chosen to invite Mr. Truesdale, the mayor of a nearby town, mostly due to a promise to grant some small political favors. All Mr. Truesdale wanted in return was an invitation to the party... and permission to bring his young daughter, Cyndia.
I'd thank him for that, if I could, thought Pegasus. Only decent thing Father ever did for me, even if he didn't know it at the time. ...Well, that, and introducing me to this. He drained his glass.
There was a knock on the door.
"Sir, are you busy?"
"No, no, not at all," he said. "Come in, Crocketts."
Pegasus's most favored servant came in, holding a sheaf of papers.
"So, how is the tournament going?" Pegasus asked. "Everything proceeding smoothly, I hope?"
"Without a hitch," Crocketts replied. "You'll be pleased to know that both your chosen duelists are still in the running."
"Of course they are! I've paid a good number of people to make sure of that very thing," Pegasus replied. "I do hope the competition has been thinned down a bit."
"Yes, sir. A dozen duelists have been eliminated so far. The list includes the Japanese national champion, the runner up, and also Ryouta Kajiki, among other less notable names."
"Good, good. I'm glad to hear my assassins are doing their jobs."
"Ah, that would be the interesting part."
Pegasus raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Do tell."
"Your assassins didn't take them. Haga and Kajiki were both eliminated by Yugi Mutou; Ryuzaki was defeated by Mr. Mutou's friend, Katsuya Jonouchi."
There was a long pause as Pegasus absorbed this information. He toyed thoughtfully with his empty wineglass.
"Very interesting," he said. "This tournament just might be even more entertaining than I had expected! Truly, I expected great things from Yugi-boy, but he's making my job entirely too easy. The defeat of Ryuzaki by an unknown is a surprise. I hope the rest of his friends perform just as well."
"I thought you wanted to remove any possible competition from him. If his friend is a strong enough contender to eliminate one of the best players in the country..."
Pegasus waved a hand to quiet him. "Nonsense. From what I've learned about our young champion, he performs his best when he's with his little cheering squad. I'd prefer they stay together for as long as possible. I might even decide to issue orders to let them be overlooked if they should happen to lose all their chips. Then again, maybe not. We'll see."
"No orders yet, then?"
"No orders. Just keep an eye on things, and let me know if anything of interest comes up."
"Very good, sir. Where will you be?"
Pegasus pondered. "Having a bath, I think. I need to relax and unwind a bit. Don't interrupt me unless you think it's important."
"As you wish, sir."
Pegasus got up and left his things for someone else to put away - not because he didn't care, but because he had other things on his mind at the moment. He was still high on the excitement of the day, a nervous tension that even the warmth of the wine couldn't dispel. What he really needed was a long soak in the bath, some time with a good book, and then, if he could get any, some sleep. It would be difficult to sleep tonight when he knew it would only be a few more hours before his plans came to fruition.
It's worse than waiting for Christmas, he thought, and his lips twitched a little in an ironic smile, though I suspect I haven't been a very good boy this year. Ah, well. That's why I have to get everything for myself, isn't it?
He wandered up to his room, thinking pleasant thoughts about what the coming days would bring. Outside, the sun disappeared, and darkness descended.
There was light in the darkness. Mai watched it from a distance, weighing her options. A campfire meant warmth and safety... and people. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted either. What she did want, however, was an answer, and she knew she would never get it by hiding in the shadows like a shy teenager at a dance, waiting for an invitation.
What is it that you can show, but can't see?
Ever since she'd lost her duel with Jonouchi, the riddle had been haunting her mind. Seeing him defeat Ryuzaki hadn't settled things any for her. If anything, she was more curious than ever about this ragtag team of nobody duelists from nowhere who had been taking this tournament by storm. Already, they had picked off some of the best duelists in the world, and seemed to be gathering steam. She had thought Yugi was the one to watch out for, since she'd heard the rumors about him defeating Kaiba. Now she wondered about his brash friend, as well. She had never met anyone like these people before, and she felt drawn to them the way the local moths were being drawn to their flickering campfire. She could hear the group talking and laughing over something, though she was too far away to distinguish anything but the tones of their voices.
What can you show, but can't see? They're showing their presence, even if I can't see them. I don't think that's the right answer, though.
Well, nothing for it but to do it! She took a breath and attempted to compose her features into just the right amount of indifference, as if she had stumbled across them completely by accident and really couldn't care less whether she had found them or not. She also intended to come bringing gifts. These might not have been the kind of people she was used to, but it was her experience that people of all types were more receptive if you gave them something to make it worth their while. She shouldered her bag and walked determinedly over.
"Hi, kids," she called out. "Having a nice cookout?"
She was greeted by a set of matching surprised stares. Under other circumstances, she would have laughed, but she was already half-expecting that they'd drive her off, and she didn't find their expressions encouraging.
"What are you doing here?" asked the girl.
"Relax. I'm not here to give you a hard time," said Mai. "I just saw the campfire in the distance and thought I'd come warm my hands. Of course, if you don't want me, I'll move along." That was as close as she was going to come to saying she actually wanted to stay here. She was curious about this bunch... and she would have preferred a fire and someone to watch her back if she was going to spend the night here. She was a resourceful woman, but being alone in a forest where just anyone could sneak up on her was not her idea of a good time. Of course, there was also the implied statement that she would clear off the minute they told her to go away, which they undoubtably would.
"There's no reason why you can't come over and get warm," said Yugi. "That's the nice thing about a fire - you can share it and still have just as much as you started with."
Weird kid, thought Mai, as she gingerly picked out a place next to the flickering flames. There was no way she could avoid sitting next to someone, and she ended up positioned between the lone girl in the group and Jonouchi. They gave her edged looks, but apparently they were willing to go along with Yugi's lead.
"I didn't expect such decent treatment," she said. "I suppose I'm grateful for small favors. Just so it's not a total waste of your time, I'm willing to pay rent. Unless you guys were really planning on having barbecued sticks for dinner, which is what it looks like."
"You have food?" asked Jonouchi, looking instantly less hostile.
"Of course I do," she said. "You would, too, if you'd been prepared. Hey, I'll give you something to eat if you'll give me my star chips back!"
"No deal!"
"I'm just kidding! You won them fair and square, so you get to keep them. I still have plenty left." She held up one hand, showing off the eight star chips on her cuff. "I just need one last win to get me into the castle, so I don't need to pick on you all anymore."
"Are you suggesting a truce?" asked Yugi.
"I guess," she said. "You're all too much trouble anyway. I can find easier targets elsewhere."
"Well, as long as you're not looking for trouble, I guess you can stay," said Jonouchi.
"We should start all over again," said Yugi. "Do you know everyone's name? That's Anzu and Honda and Bakura and... I guess you know Jonouchi and me already."
"Yeah, I know. Charmed and all that," she said. "I'd be more charmed if someone would volunteer to do the cooking."
"Why don't you cook?" asked Honda.
"Don't expect me to do the cooking just because I'm a woman," she replied. "Besides, I gave you the food."
"We haven't seen anything yet," Jonouchi said.
Mai responded by opening her bag and dumping out its contents on the ground. Everyone gathered around to admire her collection: not just an assortment of food, but also a bottle of water, soap, shampoo, a first-aid kit, a lantern, a solar-heated shower - anything that might be needed for a trek in the wilderness. There were also a few Snickers bars. Mai wasn't ashamed of those. It might have been best to pack only the bare essentials, but in her mind, there were times when a girl needed her chocolate.
"A true lady is always prepared," she declared.
"Wow, that's great!" said Yugi. "It's really nice of you to offer to share."
"Oh, well, I didn't know the tournament was only going to last two days. I'm not going to eat it all, so I might as well share. It'll just break all to pieces if I carry it around too long."
"I'll cook, if you like," Bakura offered. "I've lived by myself a while, so I know how to cook pretty well."
"So, some of you do know how to get by on your own," Mai commented, as she watched Bakura put some water on to boil.
"We all can," said Jonouchi. "We just choose not to."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mai asked.
"Tried flying solo for a long time," said Jonouchi. "Then I tried it this way. This works."
Bakura nodded. "Same here."
"You guys just don't make any sense to me," said Mai.
Yugi gave her a knowing look. "So why did you join us, then?"
He knows, said Mai, suddenly feeling a bit chilled. I didn't have him fooled for a minute. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't tried to duel him yet. She would have been far more unprepared than she ever would have believed. She really was going to have to keep an eye on this boy. She shrugged and tried to look unconcerned; even if Yugi had her figured out, that was no reason to think everyone else did.
"I told you. I just saw the campfire and came to have a look. Besides, it's not safe for a girl alone at night. I've heard rumors that there are some creepy guys hanging around this area." Slightly more defensively, she added, "I don't have to tell you everything about me, anyway."
"Hey, nobody asked!" said Honda, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "You don't have to get so touchy. We're not your enemies."
She laughed. "You think? Of course we're enemies. Everyone on this island is an enemy. You're each other's enemies, even. The only way to win is to take out any players you can find who are weaker than you."
"Well, we're not enemies right now," Bakura pointed out. "I don't see any of us having duels, anyway."
"I guess that's so," she admitted. "I suppose for tonight, it doesn't matter. It will be easy enough to find someone else to duel with who isn't one of you. How are you all doing, anyway?"
"I have six star chips," said Yugi.
"I have four," Jonouchi said.
"I've got three," added Bakura.
"I've only got the two I started with," Anzu admitted.
Honda blushed. "I only have one."
"Well, I guess now I know how you all rank," said Mai. "I'll remember that, in case I change my mind."
"I think we should propose a rule," said Yugi. "From now until sunrise tomorrow, none of us will say a word about dueling!"
"What will we talk about?" asked Jonouchi.
"Anything! The same stuff we talk about at school," Yugi replied. Casting a glance at Mai, he added, "We can all get to know each other better."
Mai wasn't sure what she thought of this idea, but everyone else seemed to like it, and she found that she was pulled into listening to them in spite of herself. She began with a determination to keep her mouth occupied with the dinner Bakura had prepared - easy enough, she thought, since he was a surprisingly good cook. However, she could not keep her ears from picking up on Yugi talking about how his grandfather used to be an explorer in Egypt, or how Honda used to get in trouble for racing his motorcycle in the back streets of Domino. She actually started laughing as she listened to Jonouchi describing how one of his classmates had become so obsessed with an American comic book hero that he had convinced himself he had super powers. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself recounting how she had worked briefly as a cocktail waitress on a tour ship, and had managed to "accidentally" drop an entire tray of drinks on a patron who couldn't keep his hands off her rear. The boys managed to look as if they would never dream of treating a girl that way, and Anzu whooped with laughter.
"I wish I could have seen that!" she said. "I had to beat up a guy for doing that, back when I waited tables at the Burger World."
Mai laughed. "I would so pay money to watch you doing that. What happened next?"
"They fired me," said Anzu with a shrug. "It was worth it. A girl has to stick up for herself!"
"Damn right, she does," Mai agreed.
"So what's a guy do?" asked Honda.
"Oh, men are only good for one thing," said Mai.
Jonouchi looked at her speculatively. "And what's that?"
"Doing dishes," Mai declared. She set her empty plate in front of him. "Since Bakura cooked, you and your buddies get to clean up."
"And you're just going to stand around and paint your nails?" asked Jonouchi.
"Of course not. I'm going to pitch the tent."
Suiting action to words, she unfolded the makings of a tent from a bag that seemed too small to have actually held such a thing. Mai was conscious of the curious stares of the boys as she unfolded everything and fitted it all together. She smirked a little. Let them stare! It would do them good to realize a girl could put things together and make them work just as well as a man could. Better, even. She had pitched this tent several times for practice, and could now practically do it in her sleep. She was sure she looked very confident and professional. Then again, setting up the tent involved shifting into some awkward positions, and it was entirely possible that the boys were just hoping to catch a free show.
Sorry, boys, but no such luck. I only show what I want to show.
She finished her setting up and crawled inside. On second thought, she poked her head back out and beckoned to Anzu.
"You should come in, too," she said. "They really were saying there are some creepy guys hanging around this place. Better not to tempt anyone, don't you think?"
Anzu seemed to agree, and she followed Mai inside the tent. There was just enough room for the two of them to lie on either side of it without getting in each other's way.
"This is nice," said Anzu, looking around appreciatively.
"I like to travel in style," Mai said. "A lady shouldn't have to sleep on the ground."
"I'm with you there," said Anzu. "I really wasn't looking forward to spending the night in the mud... You know, I ought to apologize."
"For what?" asked Mai, genuinely puzzled.
"For thinking badly of you," said Anzu. "When we first met, well... to be blunt, I thought you were a stuck-up bitch."
Mai laughed. "I am a stuck-up bitch. Anybody will tell you that."
"Those guys out there wouldn't," said Anzu. "And I don't believe it. Maybe I did at first, but there's more to you than that." Her expression turned thoughtful. "I wonder if all duelists are that way, like they have more than one side to them."
"You mean, like your little friend Yugi?" asked Mai.
"Yeah, kind of like him."
"He's not what I expected, to tell the truth," Mai said.
Anzu giggled. "Let me guess - you expected someone taller."
"Well, yes and no. He's a real demon on the dueling field, I'll give him that... but talking to him tonight, he seems so innocent. It's weird. I'm not used to people like that."
"Yeah, I don't think there's anyone quite like Yugi," Anzu said. "He's surprised me so many times over the last few months, you wouldn't believe it."
"I think I might," Mai said. "So, what about the others? If you say all duelists have two sides, you must mean them, too."
"Well... Jonouchi was one of the schoolyard bullies. Used to pick on everybody - even Yugi. He used to run with a gang. I heard he even had a criminal record, and they were going to send him to jail. Then one day... everything changed. Suddenly he and Yugi were best of friends, and he turned out to be a pretty nice guy. He's fun to have around."
Mai chuckled. "I noticed. And what about Honda?"
"He was pretty much the same as Jonouchi. They always did hang out a lot together. He has got a sweet side to him, though. You wouldn't believe it, but he's a total romantic. And he cries at sad movies."
"And Bakura?"
Anzu was thoughtful a while.
"Bakura... can make Yugi look positively normal," she declared at last. "Trust me on this one."
"I take it no explanations are forthcoming?" asked Mai, raising an eyebrow.
"It's something you would have had to see for yourself," Anzu replied.
"I see," said Mai. "And what about you? Do you have two sides to yourself?"
"I don't know," she said. "What do you think?"
"I think there might be some truth in it," Mai admitted. "First time I saw you there on the sidelines, cheering for Yugi, I figured you were just some bimbo he'd picked up to stoke his ego, or whatever... but I was wrong," she added quickly, as she intercepted Anzu's glare. "You two really... care about each other, don't you?"
Anzu nodded seriously. "He's been my friend ever since we were kids. He really is the sweetest little guy. He's changed a lot lately, though. Not in a bad way, though. It seems like he has more courage and determination. I guess he's just growing up... even if he still looks like he's about ten," she added with a giggle.
Mai found herself laughing, too. She gave Anzu a knowing smile.
"You're sweet on him, aren't you?"
She was gratified to see a look of utter shock pass over Anzu's face, which turned a lovely shade of pink.
"What?" she yelped.
"Relax," said Mai. "It's not like I said anything to him about it."
"Good," said Anzu, relaxing visibly.
"I just told him you wanted to have a talk with him down by the cliff tonight."
"What? Oh, you're joking again. Ha, ha."
"No, I'm serious. I dropped him a hint while you were helping Bakura put the food away."
"You did?" she squawked. "What am I supposed to do now?"
"Go talk to him! What else? You can use some of my perfume, if you want."
"I think I'll pass," Anzu replied. "Guess I'd better go, though... You really don't know me well enough to mess with me like this."
"Then how come I could do it?" Mai replied. "Go on. It won't kill you to go talk to him. It's a nice night. The moon and stars are out. You never know what could happen!"
Despite Anzu's protests, Mai ushered her out of the tent and sent her into the night - where, no doubt, Yugi would be waiting for her. Mai really wasn't sure what would happen after that, but doubtless it would be interesting for Anzu and Yugi.
There's a spirit of mischief in me tonight, Mai mused, still chuckling softly to herself. I'm usually not this meddlesome... Oh, well, I couldn't resist. If she's going to look at boys like that and think nobody will notice, it's time she learned! Besides, Yugi really is a nice kid. He won't take advantage of her. I probably did them a favor. Imagine that.
She settled down on the floor of the tent, staring at the ceiling and pondering the odd turn her life had taken. Yesterday, she'd thought she was going to a competition to hopefully win some money, and then, depending on how things turned out, she was going to either go celebrate her victory or go find another tournament and try again. She hadn't expected to get emotionally involved. And yet...
It gets dull just winning all the time, she thought. At least these people are interesting. If people were more like these guys, maybe I wouldn't want to be alone all the time...
A moment later, she was very sorry to be alone, because something reached through the flap of her tent and pulled her out.
In his dreams, Pegasus was reliving happier times. The day he was revisiting hardly looked like the kind of day one would choose as a fond memory: cold and gray, with intermittent spatters of rain. It was November, and didn't even have the decency to snow properly, though the radio had hinted there might be ice later in the week. Young Pegasus didn't care. He had ordered his servants to set a fire in the fireplace of his favorite parlor, so it would be nice and cozy when company arrived. While he waited for the necessary preparations to be made, he lingered in his room, staring idly out at the shifting clouds.
A servant arrived, and it took all his self-control not to jump.
"Is it ready?" he asked, forcing himself to sound calm and unconcerned.
"Yes, young master. Is there anything else you need?"
"No, I think I'll be quite comfortable for the time being." Pegasus rose from the chair he'd been reclining in. "I'll be in the parlor, and I don't want to be disturbed. Leave me alone unless I call you."
"As you wish."
The servant bowed and made his exit. Pegasus waited for him to take himself well away, and then went and found a telephone to make a call.
"Hello?" he said. "Yes, I'd like to speak to Cyndia, please."
A moment later, he heard her say, "Cyndia Truesdale speaking. What might I do for you?"
"You might come over and comfort a poor, lonely, wretched soul on this miserable day."
She laughed. "You poor thing. Are you all alone, then?"
"Alone and pining for your company," he said. "When can you get here?"
"Give me ten minutes, and I'll be right over."
"Every minute will feel like an hour, beloved, but I'll try to be patient."
She laughed, as he'd hoped she would. He liked to play his role to the hilt, and it always amused her. He loved making her laugh. Chuckling a bit himself, he went downstairs to see how well his orders had been followed, and to keep an eye on the front drive.
The parlor, he was pleased to see, had been suitably prepared. The lights had been turned down low, and a fire was crackling merrily, driving off any inkling of the winter's chill that might have dared enter. A little table had been set discretely off to the side, with a tray of light sandwiches and a drink chilling in a bucket of ice cubes. A couple could happily spend hours here without needing anything else, assuming they enjoyed each other's company. Given his choice, Pegasus would have spent the rest of his life with a setup similar to this. Ah, well, the time would come...
An almost inaudible purring alerted him to the approach of Cyndia's car, and he rushed to the front door to greet her as she made her way up the front walk. As she saw him appear in the doorway, she broke out of her customary dignified walk and into a light run. He caught her in his arms and drew her close.
"See," she said, "I knew you'd last until I got here."
"Just barely," he replied. "Come inside, out of the cold."
He ushered her into the parlor and helped her out of her winter coat - an elegant fur-lined affair that he had paid for himself. He had told her it was to keep her warm when he couldn't have his arms around her himself. That was not going to be a problem, at the moment.
"So, why did you call me over?" she asked.
"Because it's gray and miserable out. Because it's Tuesday. Because I'm bored. What other reason does there need to be?" he replied. After all, he didn't want to spoil the surprise too soon...
She laughed. "You never could stand to be bored, could you?"
"It's a daily torment," he agreed.
"Are you alone, then? Your father isn't going to come home unexpectedly, is he?" Cyndia glanced around, a trifle warily. "I get the impression he doesn't entirely approve of me."
"It's me he doesn't approve of," said Pegasus, bitterly. He drew himself up and mimicked his father's voice. "'You're wasting your youth, my boy! Get out and enjoy yourself a little, while you still have the chance!' By which, I suspect he means, I ought to be following his example. He won't be coming home tonight, by the way - not before midnight. He's been staying out later since Mother died."
"Perhaps he's lonely," Cyndia suggested.
Even through his bitterness, Pegasus couldn't help but smile. Trust Cyndia to look for good in anyone! He chuckled softly.
"Hardly lonely, when he comes in every morning drunk to the gills, and smelling of a different kind of perfume every time. I think he's glad to be rid of her," he said. "No more reason to try to hide what he's been doing all along. I'm telling you, she would have lived if he had taken the time come home once in a while."
"It was a coronary failure," said Cyndia dubiously. "Surely it would have happened no matter what he did."
"She died of a broken heart," he said stubbornly. "I would never treat anyone that way, especially not you. Even if he does think there's something wrong with me... but why are we talking about him? I didn't call you here just to complain."
"We won't talk about him if you don't want to," she said. "I just wanted to be quite sure we'll be alone for a while."
He smiled, relaxing again. "Quite sure. We've got the whole afternoon to ourselves, if we want it."
"I can't think of anything I'd like better," she replied, smiling.
He smiled back, reaching out to run a hand through her gleaming hair.
So lovely... I am so lucky to have you, Cyndia. As long as I have you, I don't need anyone else. I don't care what Father thinks of me. A real man wouldn't treat the woman who loves him that way... and I'll never do that to you, Cyndia. You can trust me. I will be faithful to you my whole life. I couldn't bear to let you slip away from me.
"So, now that I'm here, what should we do?" she asked. "Did you have something specific in mind?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," he said, collecting his thoughts. "It just so happens, I got you a present!"
"You're always getting me presents," she said in mock-reproach. "You're going to spoil me, at this rate."
"It's just a little present," he promised. "Something quite small. Actually, it isn't just for you, exactly." He began fishing something out of his pocket. "I got it for the two of us to share, if you like..."
The tiny thing in his hand was a ring. He dropped to one knee and slipped it onto her finger.
"...for the rest of our lives," he finished.
"Oh..." she said softly, staring down at the ring. It glinted in the firelight like a tiny star. "Oh, Pegasus, I..."
He smiled slyly. "I surprised you, didn't I?"
She looked at his crafty expression and burst out laughing. She fell into his arms, crying and laughing against his shoulder. He put his arms around her and rocked her gently, and felt her return his embrace.
"Yes, yes, yes!" she exclaimed.
He sighed happily. "Thank you. You won't regret it, I promise you! I'll be good to you, Cyndia. I'll be by your side forever..."
Kaiba had been on his feet all day, and had spent most of that time either on the move or dueling with some of the toughest opponents to be found on Earth. It was now late at night, and he had yet to sleep, nor had he eaten anything since early that morning.
He felt wonderful.
This is what a tournament should be like! he exulted, as he slipped silently through the trees. He was almost ready to forgive Pegasus for a lot of things, just for giving him the chance to do this. Before now, every tournament he'd ever been in had been fought in a stuffy tournament hall, with every opponent chosen for him ahead of time. This way had him choosing his own enemies - not just selecting them, but stalking them as a wolf would stalk his prey, observing them, learning their weaknesses, and ultimately striking them down. It left him invigorated in a way that food and sleep couldn't, and he was looking forward to the coming of nightfall, when he would be able to move freely at last. Then he really would strike terror into the hearts of everyone here.
When I get back home, I'm going to have a tournament like this, he decided. It's not fair that Pegasus should have all the fun. I'll turn the whole entire city of Domino into one big dueling arena! Hmm, but to make it absolutely perfect, I'll need a way to make the game more portable. It's time I got those Duel Disks off the drawing board and into production. Then we'll see the ultimate competition...
A cracking of twigs alerted him to a presence that was not his own, and he froze, listening. Pegasus had informed him that there were no large animals on this island, but there were all manner of human beasts, which Seto considered much more dangerous. He didn't trust any of his fellow Player Killers as far as he could throw them, which was probably a considerable distance. He'd learned a bit of martial arts, after all, and even though he was slightly out of practice, he still knew a few moves.
"Who's there?" he called.
Something big moved. At first glance, Kaiba had thought it was a large rock, or perhaps the trunk of a dead tree, but now that it was moving, he could see that it was more-or-less man shaped. It still looked more like an ogre than a human. He dimly remembered the massive man he'd seen in Pegasus's parlor, and guessed that there couldn't be two such people on this island.
"Don't worry, kid," said the man. "I won't eat you. I've already got a few bones left from the last kid I finished off, heh heh heh."
Kaiba rolled his eyes, a gesture that was completely invisible under his hood. "Don't try that on me. It's not funny. And it's pointless trying to challenge me, because I'm a Player Killer, too."
"Oh." The dark man deflated visibly - a good trick, considering just how little Kaiba could see of him. He was stubbornly remaining in the shadows, where not even a stray shaft of moonlight could touch him. "Hey, ain't you that Kaiba kid? Pegasus's pet."
"I'm nobody's pet," Kaiba snapped. "I'm his business partner, and as such merit better treatment than the likes of gutter trash like you."
"Oh, is that so? You saying you think you're better than the rest of us?"
"Now that's just asking to be put down. Of course I'm better than the rest of you. I'm the greatest duelist there is."
"That's not what I heard. I heard there was a kid named Yugi who beat you hollow, and that's why Pegasus is staging this whole mess - he wanted to face off with the real King of Games."
"You heard wrongly. Yugi was cheating in that match, and Pegasus intends to put a stop to it, with my help. Keep your nose out of things you don't understand."
"You can't talk to me like that, kid. I could pick you up and bend you into a pretzel, if I wanted to."
"You wish," Seto scoffed. "Even if you could, you wouldn't dare try it. Look at you - you're afraid to come within ten feet of me. If you had any courage at all, you would at least come out where I can look you in the eye."
"Oh, yeah? Then why are you hiding in the dark, too?"
"I'm not hiding. I'm protecting my identity," said Kaiba smoothly. "I prefer to give my opponents a sporting chance, and if they knew who they were really dealing with, they'd be too panicked to play. The game is a bit more interesting this way. Not much, but a little. Most of the players I've met haven't been anywhere near a match for me, but I'm really just killing time."
"Just killing time, huh?" the shadowed man grumbled. "Just thought you'd come out here and play a little, is that it? What about the rest of us? Every player you pick off is money out of our pocket. Don't you have enough already, rich boy?"
"I'm not playing for money. Pegasus has promised me something more to my liking. And if you're that worried about money, you ought to be out dueling instead of annoying me."
There was a glint of narrowed eyes. "What did he promise you that we aren't getting?"
"Nothing you'd be interested in. My reward will be defeating Yugi Mutou, and that's something you could never hope to do. Stick with these second-rate duelists you've been dealing with so far. Maybe if you practice enough, someday you'll be able to compete with them without cheating."
With that, he turned and swooped off into the night, looking for things more amusing than this hulking brute. The Player Killer watched him go, gritting his teeth.
He thinks he's so special! So special he doesn't even bother to go to tournaments anymore, because nobody's good enough for him. I'd like to break his arms off. Then we'll see how well he plays... And now he's putting us all to shame over that Yugi kid! And stealing money from me to do it. Damn spoiled rich kid, thinking he can have anything he wants. It would serve him right if someone else disqualified Yugi before he ever got anywhere near Kaiba...
He paused as a new thought occurred to him. Why not? Why not just get rid of Yugi? It was true that Pegasus had expressly forbidden his Player Killers to attack the boy, but it was late now, and this particular Player Killer specialized in working in pitch darkness. He wouldn't be seen, and no one would be able to prove for sure that it had been him.
Come to think of it, Kaiba's been awful shady lately. Who's to say he didn't lose patience and decide to attack while his target was in sight?
The Player Killer chuckled. A perfect crime, that would be - to get Kaiba into trouble by accusing him of doing the very thing he'd been robbed of the chance to do!
If I find that Yugi, he's mine.
Yugi's darker half had been in a bad mood when he'd heard Mai's scream. He was still feeling vaguely irritated by his duel with Haga, and even winning against Ryouta Kajiki later had only done so much to ease his emotions. Now this Player Killer character had emerged out of nowhere to disrupt an evening that had been going perfectly well, and he wasn't ready to let him get off with just a slap on the wrist.
He thought he could scare me. He presumed to use the powers of shadow against me! Compared to me, he's a rank amateur. He paused. I think.
There was that feeling of uneasiness again. He was having it more and more often, as days went by. He had a feeling that he had been dispensing justice by way of the Shadow Powers for a long time, but he simply couldn't remember doing it. Who he'd been and what he'd been doing before Yugi had awakened him was a memory sunk into blackness, and it was starting to bother him. Much as he had come to love the boy, he had to admit that there had to be more of a reason for his existence than to defend Yugi from all harm.
"Hey, Yugi!" said Anzu. "What are you looking so spaced out for? You won, right?"
"Mm," was all he said in reply.
His gaze strayed back over to the Battle Box, where the Player Killer of Darkness was still crying in fear, not realizing that the bottomless pit he'd fallen into existed only in his mind... a mind that had been broken and scattered by the power of a Punishment Game. It was possible he would never get it back, not when he was so convinced that he was on his way to certain death. Mai stood by, still looking a little stunned at what had happened.
Was it really necessary? Did anyone really want things this way? Looking at Mai's bewildered expression, he had to wonder if he'd overdone it a little. Perhaps it would have been enough just to take Mai's star chips back. One part of his mind still insisted that the dark duelist deserved what he got for cheating so many people out of their star chips, but another part - maybe the part of him that was actually Yugi - whispered that justice should be tempered with mercy. Yugi didn't have it in him to want to hurt anyone, even someone like this player assassin.
"Well," said Mai at last, taking a deep breath. "I can't say it hasn't been an interesting night... but it looks like it's time for me to go."
"Go?" said Anzu. "What do you mean, go?"
"Don't you get it?" Mai snapped. "I've lost all my star chips. That means the game's already over for me. I can't go back to playing just because Yugi beat the guy who beat me." She shrugged and started walking away. "I'll see you at the castle. I'm sure... I'm sure you'll make it into the finals. I'll be cheering for you. I never thought I'd say this, but I won't feel so bad about losing, knowing it'll be one of you guys winning in my place."
"Mai..." Anzu began.
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to say you told me so," said Mai.
She began the trek into the forest, but didn't get more than a few yards before she walked right into Jonouchi. He had been shuffling along, rubbing at his eyes and yawning, and she had been looking dejectedly at the ground and hadn't seen him. They rebounded off of each other, and Honda caught Jonouchi before he could fall. In the background, Bakura watched them all with barely concealed amusement.
"Hey, watch where you're..." Jonouchi began, and then said, "Hey, there you are! Where ya been?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
Honda shrugged. "Dunno. We were all for going to sleep, but Bakura said he had the feeling something bad was going down, so we came looking. What's going on?"
"Somebody took all Mai's star chips," Anzu replied, "but Yugi beat him and got them all back! You should have seen it - he was amazing!"
"Yugi's always cool," Jonouchi declared. "So, Mai, why are you running off if Yugi got your star chips back?"
She rolled her eyes. "Because I lost, you dimwit! Look, you're not making this any easier. Rules are rules. I have to go."
"Um, maybe this idea is a little too far out for you to have thought of it yet," said Honda, "but why don't you just take your star chips back? I mean, since Yugi did go through the bother of getting them for you..."
"That's not how the game works."
"Geez, you're stubborn," said Jonouchi. "You don't have to use them if you don't want to! Keep 'em, give 'em away, or throw 'em in the ocean, but don't make it so whatever Yugi did was for nothing!"
She looked at Yugi, and he looked back at her, meeting her eyes and trying to make her understand.
"Take them," he said. "It will just make things worse if you don't."
Do it, he urged her silently. Don't tell me I just destroyed this man for nothing.
Mai hesitated a moment, but, finding herself ringed in by anxious stares, she relented.
"All right, all right," she said. "You all are a stubborn bunch. All right. I won't take them back... but I'll let you loan them to me. I'll win them all back fairly, and I'll meet you at the finals! And I'll win, too," she said, with a flash of her old spirit.
Anzu smiled at her. "And if you don't, you'll know what to do, right?"
"Right," said Mai, and she smiled back.
She gravely accepted her star chips from Yugi, and then turned and drifted off into the night, leaving them with one last wave over her shoulder. Jonouchi made a move to try to follow her, but Bakura held him back.
"Let her go," he said. "I think she needs to mend her pride."
Jonouchi looked disappointed, but he finally sighed and turned away.
"Yeah, guess you're right," he said. "She'll be back, though, right?"
"Of course she will," said Anzu.
"Come on," said Bakura. "Let's get back to camp and try to get some sleep. We're going to need our strength for tomorrow."
The others agreed, and they began trekking slowly back to camp. Yugi walked near the end of the procession. Anzu fell into step beside him.
"I guess tonight didn't turn out the way we hoped," she said, after a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"No," he answered. "It didn't go the way we hoped."
"But you did win, and Mai's back in the tournament, and everything is okay now, right?"
Yugi shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Did you hear what the Player Killer was saying?"
"Not every word," Anzu admitted.
"He said some things that are making me think," said Yugi. "He boasted that he was a Player Killer hired by Pegasus to defeat the duelists on this island."
"That's kind of weird," said Anzu, frowning a little. "Why would he want someone like that around? Aren't we supposed to be dueling each other? He shouldn't need anyone else."
"I've been thinking about that," Yugi replied. "One answer that occurred to me... There are forty official duelists on this island. That means that there are eighty star chips. There can be only four finalists, and those four will have ten star chips each. That makes a total of forty star chips. That means there will be forty surplus star chips. My first guess is that these Player Killers are here to collect the surplus chips!"
"Your first guess?"
Yugi almost smiled; Anzu was a quick study. If she kept up like this, she'd be a champion in her own right someday.
"Yes. Looking at the Player Killer of Darkness, I noticed his gloves. He had one on each hand, with a double row of star chips. In other words, he came prepared to take up to forty Star Chips - all the chips on the island. Judging by his boasts, there are more like him. It wouldn't take many like him to eliminate every last player in this tournament."
"But he said he was working for Pegasus!" said Anzu. "I can understand bringing in a few outsiders for an extra challenge, but why would he hire someone to eliminate all of us? Unless..."
"Unless he doesn't mean for any of us to win," said Yugi. "Or, alternately, if he's already chosen who he wants to win, and has hired these people to eliminate the competition."
"Which do you think it is?"
"I don't know," said Yugi, shaking his head slowly. "Either way, it's obvious that Pegasus has some secret motive in hosting this tournament. That worries me. Pegasus obviously went out of his way to invite me to this tournament, and he already knew Bakura's name and history. For whatever reason, he had a plan in mind for us. But are we on the list of people to be defeated, or to win? And for what purpose?"
"You'll figure it out," said Anzu positively. "I know you will. You'll find out what's going on, and you'll put a stop to it. You always do, right?"
He smiled slightly. "Right."
They returned to camp and began settling down in for the night once again. Mai had walked off and left all her supplies, so Anzu considerately packed everything back up for her, in case she felt inclined to come back and get it later. The tent, she left as it was. It hadn't protected Mai from the Player Killer, but Anzu thought she would still sleep better with some kind of walls around her. The boys made do with the warmth of the campfire, and stretched out next to it or curled up into balls, trying to get comfortable on the ground. Honda tucked his jacket over himself like a blanket. Bakura tucked his bag under his head for a pillow. A few minutes later, he sat up and removed it.
"What's wrong?" asked Jonouchi lazily. "Is there a lump in it?"
"Something is poking me," Bakura replied. "That's funny. I don't remember bringing anything that would do that."
He began rummaging around in his bag. From among his clean clothes and other belongings, he took out a metal hoop with a triangle at its center and five dangling pointers around its rim. Everyone gawked.
"Tell me that's not what I think it is," Jonouchi groaned.
Bakura was looking at the Ring in vague puzzlement. "Hmm. I'd forgotten I brought this."
"Why is that here?" asked Honda. "That thing is dangerous!"
"I had to bring it," Bakura replied. "I couldn't just leave it behind. I live alone, you know. Imagine if someone were to break into my apartment while I'm gone and steal it? It's safer with me," he explained. "Don't worry! It can't do anything to me unless I'm wearing it. As long as I'm just carrying it around, it's harmless."
"Oh, yeah?" said Anzu. "Then why is it moving?"
Everyone looked. Sure enough, the pointers on the Ring had begun to stir, swinging as if pushed by a breeze that touched them alone. One of them rose right up into the air, pointing directly at Pegasus Castle.
"That's interesting," said Bakura.
"It's freaky," said Jonouchi. He edged a little away from Bakura, as if he expected him to attack.
"It's done this before," Bakura said. "Once before, the first time I met Yugi. I think that time it was reacting to his Millennium Puzzle."
"If that is the case," Yugi replied, "then it must sense the presence of another Millennium Item somewhere nearby."
He turned his gaze in the direction of the castle. He could just barely see its tallest towers above the treetops. Somewhere over there was Pegasus, the only one who knew the answers to the questions that were plaguing him.
Why are we here? he wondered. Why did you bring us here, Pegasus? Why did you come looking for the two carriers of Millennium Items?
I want to go to sleep.
You can't sleep now. I need you to listen.
I don't want to listen. Go away and let me be.
The voice in Bakura's mind only laughed. Bakura resolved never to sleep lying on top of the Ring again; it was making entirely too much noise, but it wasn't the kind that he could complain to anyone else about. He had the feeling his friends disapproved of him having the Ring around - with, he had to admit, some justification - and it embarrassed him to say more about it than he had to.
There's a Millennium Item on this island.
I know. The Ring is here. So is the Puzzle.
Don't be dense. You know what I'm talking about. There is another one. At least one - possibly more. I sense great power emanating from that castle. I sensed it from that man Pegasus. Such power, I haven't felt in many, many years...
I'd feel better if you'd let me sleep.
Admit it. You're curious, aren't you? You want to know about the Millennium Items as much as I want to find them. Don't you want to know more about them - where they came from, what they're for? You might even learn a thing or two about me.
I know you're dangerous. That's all I need to know.
Don't judge me too quickly, my host. Those things I did before were done when my mind wasn't fully awakened. I didn't truly remember my purpose here until I saw the Millennium Puzzle. Now my purpose is clear. I won't waste any more time targeting innocents. I only want the Millennium Items.
Good for you. Why should I help you at all?
Because you won't learn anything unless you get them, answered the voice persuasively. You'll also never get rid of me. As long as my purpose is unfulfilled, you're stuck with me. Once I find them, I won't need you any more. We'll both be free to lead our own lives. You can't say you don't want that.
Bakura paused, absorbing that. The Millennium Items were terribly powerful, or so he guessed from his limited knowledge of them, and he wasn't sure he wanted someone as unbalanced as the Voice in his Ring using them. But if finding them was all it would take to make the speaker in his head go away, it might just be worth the gamble. It was just possible that he might just settle down and stop causing so much trouble if he had what he wanted. It was also true that Bakura was more than a little curious about these strange and magical items, and about how they came to have living souls sealed inside of them. If he understood that, would he know who this Voice really was and what it wanted?
What would I have to do? he asked warily.
Nothing, yet, the Voice replied. Just wear the Ring the next time you duel someone. I'll take care of the rest.
You'll turn someone into something nasty,Bakura accused.
No. I'll duel them, nothing more. No Shadow Games whatsoever.
Bakura thought about that a while, trying to see if there were any loopholes in that.
So all you want is one duel? he asked.
One will suffice, for the time being.
And no matter what happens, you won't use any magic on whoever you're dueling, or anyone else nearby?
None whatsoever.
Then I guess I don't see where it would do any harm, if you just want to play one game.
Of course not! I told you already - I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to get some information about the Items. You have my word on it. Now, get some sleep, dear host. You have a busy day tomorrow.
That's what I've been trying to tell you, Bakura replied.
He yawned. He was very tired - physically and mentally, and especially tired of talking to the voices in his head. He decided sleep would be a very good thing. If nothing else, it would save him from thinking too deeply about why the Voice wanted to play a duel, and whether or not he was telling the truth. He rolled over on his side and tried to make himself more comfortable. Weariness overcame him at last, and he began to drift off. The last thing he heard was a low voice murmuring, That's right, sleep...