3. Reunion
When they arrived at Pier 35 a little after two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, it was already crowded. Duelists chatted or postured while pursers and dockworkers scurried around directing traffic and checking bags. There were some familiar faces; Joey spotted Leon von Schroeder and his older brother, Zigfried, whom Joey thought of as German versions of the Kaiba brothers, and Weevil Underwood, one of his least favorite people on the planet. No sign of Rex Raptor, whom Joey hated even more than Weevil, and who usually hung out with him. A few other faces looked familiar, too, even if he couldn't put names to them. There was, however, no sign of the faces he was straining the crowd to find.
C'mon Yuge, where are you? he wondered.
"Why don't you girls wait here while Joey and I check the bags with the porters," Duke suggested. The two of them collected all their bags and headed for the banner that read BAGGAGE CHECK.
They stood in line with a crowd of other duelists, some of whom they knew. Finally the porter got to them and took their suitcases from them, checking their names on a list and then marking the bags with numbered tags. The luggage thus taken care of, Joey and Duke headed back to find Téa and Serenity.
"He Joey, is that who I think it is talking to your sister?" Duke asked suddenly.
Joey frowned, peering through the crowd until he found Serenity. She was standing with her arms folded talking to a guy who was no taller than she was, with brown hair dyed purple in the front, all stuffed into an old red knit hat.
Rex Raptor.
Anger bubbled up inside him as he clenched his fists at his side. "He'd better get the hell away from my sister," he muttered as quickened his pace, Duke at his heels.
As he got closer, he could overhear what they were saying. Apparently Rex had just insulted Joey—no shock there—because he heard Serenity say, "I believe Joey Wheeler has been Japanese National Champion for two years running. And who are you again?"
Joey saw Rex smile, apparently trying to charm her. "Trust me, sweetie, it's only because all the really good duelists have left the Japanese circuit. Yugi Mutou hasn't competed in two years, Seto Kaiba has been competing in America, and Weevil Underwood and myself have been in more exclusive circles."
"If by 'exclusive' you mean 'places where people duel who don't qualify for nationals,'" Téa shot back.
Rex ignored her and kept his attention on Serenity. "Just wait until this tournament, and you'll see what a real duelist can do, uh… what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't," she said frostily, "but it's Serenity. Serenity Wheeler."
If Joey hadn't been so angry, he might have laughed when Rex's eyes got as wide as dinner plates. "D-did you say 'Wheeler?'"
That was when he and Duke reached them. Before Rex could recover from his shock at hearing Serenity's last name, Joey had him by the shirt collar and had almost lifted him off the ground. Duke was at his side, looking like he'd love an excuse to pitch in and help Joey out.
"You bugging my little sister, Dino Boy?" Joey snarled. "Because if you're bugging my sister, you're gonna be extinct."
"How was I supposed to know she was your sister?" Rex sputtered. "Who'da thought a guy who looks like you could have sister who looks like that?"
Joey felt his face burn. "WHAT?"
Duke, on the other hand, started snickering and backed off a step. "He does have a point, Joey."
Joey glowered at Duke over his shoulder. "You shut up," he snarled, then turned back to Rex. "And you, you watch your mouth, Raptor, or—"
"What's a matter, Wheeler?" a high-pitched, sniveling voice cut in. Joey turned to find Weevil Underwood standing behind Téa. At just short of five feet tall, he barely came up to her chest and was probably the only adult duelist on the circuit who was shorter than Yugi. He still wore his greenish-white hair in a hideous bowl cut and dressed like his mother laid out his clothes for him. Pushing his round-rimmed glasses up on his nose, he continued, "You so afraid you can't beat him in a duel you have to bully him before we're even on the ship?"
"You stay out of this, Weevil, this is between me and Rex," Joey seethed.
"Oh Joey, just leave him alone," Serenity said, stepping up and putting her hand on his shoulder. Rex gave her a broad grin, but it dissolved when she looked at him like something repulsive she'd accidentally stepped in and added, "He isn't worth the effort."
"Yeah, Joey," Téa agreed. "Save it for the dueling field."
Joey gnashed his teeth a moment longer, then let go of Rex with a snort of disgust. "Fine. You'd just better pray you don't wind up in my division 'cause I'm gonna wipe the floor with you, Raptor."
Rex straightened his shirt. "I hope I'm in your division. You haven't got a chance, Wheeler. Everyone knows you're just Yugi's pathetic little sidekick who couldn't get into a tournament if your pal Yugi didn't weasel you an invite."
Joey lunged again, but Duke suddenly grabbed him from behind, pulling his arms back behind him and preventing him from reaching Rex. "Whoa boy."
"I'll show you who's pathetic, you freakazoid!" Joey roared, trying to wrench himself out of Duke's grasp. Rex, he was satisfied to see, scrambled backwards out of his reach.
"Speaking of Mr. 'I'm-so-special-because-I-have-a-magic-puzzle,' where is he?" Weevil put in. "I know he's been hiding out in Egypt or something, too afraid to of the humiliating defeat I owe him to compete the last couple of years, but I'd heard he would be here. I hope he isn't chickening out again."
Now it was Téa's turn to get angry. "Listen you little insect, pigs will fly—or Rex here will get a date—before Yugi will ever be afraid of a slug like you."
But Weevil just cackled, which Joey could tell only made her angrier. "You just tell your boyfriend I'm ready for him." Joey tried to make a swipe at Weevil for the "boyfriend" crack, knowing it would provoke Téa further, but Duke was still restraining him. Then Weevil turned to Rex. "Come on Raptor, we've spent enough time with the rabble. Let's check in and get our staterooms." He and Rex then scurried off like a pair of cockroaches.
"And stay away from my sister!" Joey shouted after them.
Téa's fists balled into hands at her side. "Ooooh, I can't stand those two!"
With Rex and Weevil gone, Duke finally loosened his grip on Joey's arms and Joey pulled them free. "You said it, Téa," he agreed. But he was surprised when Serenity suddenly rounded on him.
"Joey, would you stop being so overprotective! I can take care of myself, you know!"
"What are you talking about? Those guys are the biggest creeps on the dueling circuit. You think I'm gonna let them anywhere near you?"
She put her hands on her hips and drew herself up to her full height. It still only brought her to about his chin, but she suddenly reminded Joey of their mother and he took a step back. "Just how stupid do you think I am? I know a jerk when I see one, Joey Wheeler! I can take care of them my own way, thank you very much!"
"It's true, Joey," Téa agreed. "She almost had Rex whimpering like a baby when you showed up."
"That's not the point," Joey replied.
"That is exactly the point," Serenity retorted. "I swear, I can't get within forty feet of a guy without you going all rabid pit bull on me. Stop being such a… big brother. I'm eighteen and I can sort out the good ones from the losers for myself."
"They're all losers," Joey mumbled.
Serenity was about to respond when suddenly her face lit up. "He's here!" she cried, looking over her brother's shoulder.
Joey saw Téa's face light up as well—then just as suddenly droop in disappointment. He followed Serenity's gaze and saw a tall man in camouflage fatigues and combat boots walking toward them along the pier, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He had brown hair cropped short in a military-style buzz-cut under his cap, and his deep hazel eyes danced happily as he spotted them. Joey broke into a wide smile. "Tristan!" he cried out.
They all rushed to greet him, Serenity making it to him first. He dropped his duffle bag and swept her into a huge embrace. For a moment Joey felt his irritation rising again, but it was gone in a flash as Tristan greeted them all. "Hey!" he called out to all of them over Serenity's shoulder.
"Hey, Corporal, good to see you!" Joey cried, giving him a mock salute as Serenity released Tristan and stepped aside.
"You call that a salute?" Tristan scoffed, then he smiled and gave Joey a bear hug. Joey patted his back, then let Téa and Duke each take a turn as well.
"Man, is it good to see you guys," Tristan said happily, then he frowned as he looked around. "Hey, where's Yugi?"
Joey flashed a look at Téa, whose face darkened. "We don't know. He hasn't shown up yet."
"But he will," Joey insisted.
"Wasn't he supposed to go to New York and then come out with you?" Tristan asked Téa.
"He got held up in Egypt, but he'll be here," Joey asserted again. "So how the heck are you, Tristan?" he said, purposely changing the subject. "The army treating you all right?"
Tristan shrugged. "It's a living," he replied.
"You liking the MP thing?" Duke asked.
"Yeah, actually, I like it a lot. It's a good gig, as GSDF jobs go. I'm thinking of maybe joining the civilian police when my tour is up. So what's been going on here? I miss any fun yet?"
"You just missed Rex and Weevil," Duke reported. "Joey almost killed Rex for hitting on Serenity."
Tristan had started to roll his eyes at the mention of Rex and Weevil, but Joey couldn't help but notice he looked almost as angry as Joey had felt when Duke mentioned Rex hitting on Serenity.
"Rex did what?"
"Oh for crying out loud, it was no big deal!" Serenity protested, and Joey figured it was time to drop it lest she turn into their mother again.
Joey and Duke showed Tristan where to check his bag with the porters, and when he returned he asked, "So, should we go check in or what?"
"Let's wait for Yugi," Joey replied.
"I can't check in without him anyway," Téa said gloomily. "I'm his guest."
"I told you not to worry about that," Joey said firmly, but he had to admit he was getting worried, too. It wasn't like Yugi to not only be late but to not contact any of them. And he certainly wouldn't have blown off a trip to visit Téa for no reason. What could have held him up?
"You know who else I haven't seen yet," Duke said. "The Kaiba brothers."
"Are you kidding?" Tristan snorted. "Rich boy probably has his own private entrance or got to arrive an hour early or something. He's too special to just walk on board with the rest of us."
"I don't know," Joey mused. "Kaiba likes to make a big entrance. It is kinda weird that he and Yugi both are this late."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Joey knew it was the wrong thing to say. Téa's eyes widened in alarm. "Do you think someone wanted to keep the top two duelists from competing?"
When will I learn to keep my big fat mouth shut? Joey groaned inwardly. He rolled his eyes at Téa. "C'mon, Téa, it's just a tournament. The days of intrigue and shadow games are over," he said firmly.
"I know," she retorted, "but you said it yourself. It's weird that neither one of them are here yet."
"Nah, Joey's right," Tristan jumped in. "Kaiba likes to make a big entrance. He's probably waiting 'til the last minute so everyone else can see him strut in. And Yugi probably just had a late flight."
"Two weeks late?"
"He was coming from a really remote place," Serenity added, also trying to comfort her. "I'm sure it's not unusual to be late getting back to civilization."
Joey spotted a hot dog stand down by the end of the pier. "Listen, why don't we get something to drink while we wait. I'm sure by the time we've paid for them, he'll be here."
Guys are all slime, Téa decided. A sweeping generalization, she knew, born out of her desire to follow any train of thought that would keep her from checking her watch every three minutes and also out of the bad mood that checking her watch every three minutes produced. Nevertheless, all evidence before her seemed to point in that direction.
She was sitting on a bench away from the rest of them, drinking her diet cola and trying with little success to silence the growing worry that was reaching panic proportions. They were at the end of the pier near the street where they could watch as cabs arrived and unloaded passengers. She looked on as many of the other duelists they knew came over to greet them and to posture about who was ranked where. To a person, every single male among them gravitated toward Serenity. Not that this was surprising, really. She knew Serenity was beautiful. She was petite and shapely, slightly shorter than Téa with long auburn hair and hazel eyes framed by long lashes. As long as Téa had known Serenity, she had been second only to Mai in her ability to attract attention from the opposite sex. Mai, however, was very conscious of her power over stupid drooling males and used it to her advantage, whereas Serenity tended to not be fully aware of how often guys hit on her and embarrassed when she was aware of it. Then again, given how she'd handled Rex, maturity had given her a bit more poise and confidence in dealing with admirers. Téa had never been resentful of the attention Serenity received in the past, but today it really grated, bringing into sharp focus how much she missed the one guy she knew who had never given Joey's sister so much as a second glance.
Unable to stop herself, she checked her watch again. Three twenty-three. Less than forty minutes before they had to all be checked in whether Yugi had arrived or not.
But I'm not thinking about that, she told herself, resolute. I'm thinking about how guys are slime.
She watched as Mako Tsunami, someone she generally liked, came over and—big surprise—introduced himself to Serenity. While Mako talked with Joey and Tristan, Duke looked her way. She turned away, looking down the pier, which was growing less and less crowded as the duelists made their way onto the ship.
"Don't worry, he'll make it."
She looked up to find Duke standing above her. He sat down next to her on the bench and took a sip from his can of root beer.
But Téa didn't want to be encouraged and she didn't want to think about Yugi's absence. "Why are men such jerks?" she griped instead.
"Uh… is this a rhetorical question?"
She looked at him. "No, I really want to know. Why are men such jerks?"
"One guy is late—probably for a very good reason—and now we're all jerks?"
"I'm not talking about Yugi," she said peevishly, "I want to know why every single male on this pier—you and Tristan included—feels compelled to flirt with Serenity. It's not like she's a Mai Valentine, flaunting herself so that everyone notices her. What is it about her that turns guys into drooling idiots?"
Duke raised his eyebrow at her. "Uh… she's a beautiful girl and we're guys?"
It was, of course, the answer she expected, but somehow it aggravated her more. "So what, just because she's beautiful you have to flirt with her?"
Duke considered this a moment. "Pretty much, yeah."
Téa snorted in disgust. "You're all pigs."
"All your best friends are guys and you're just figuring this out now?" Duke joked.
"That's another thing," she said. "I've been around all these guys for years and none of them have even looked at me twice. Do I have a hump on my back or something?"
"What?" Duke asked, taken aback.
"Well, according to your little theory, if a girl is pretty a guy has to hit on her. If this is true, then logically, if a girl isn't getting hit on, she must be ugly."
"You're kidding, right? You don't seriously want any of these guys hitting on you, do you?"
"Of course I don't, but that's not the point," she said, not really even knowing what the point was other than that she was irritable and wanted someone to take it out on.
"Téa, you are pretty. You're just, uh… off limits."
This answer surprised her. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, taking a sip of her soda.
Duke gave her a wicked grin. "You're Yugi's girl."
Téa choked on her soda. "I'm what?" she cried, her face turning crimson. She didn't know whether it was more from anger our embarrassment. "Who says?"
"No one says, it just is," Duke replied.
"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! I am not Yugi's girl!"
"You so are," he laughed, "everyone knows it." He leaned toward her conspiratorially. "We're just waiting for the two of you to figure it out."
Téa clenched her fists and growled. "I don't know what you're talking about," she lied.
"Think about it," he continued. "Not a single guy on the dueling circuit has ever asked you out, but when you were in New York with people who have never heard of Yugi Mutou, you got asked out a lot. Why do you think that is?"
She didn't have an answer for that. Then she saw how much fun he was having at her expense. "Oooh, you're just making this up to provoke me!"
"I am not!" he denied. He looked up toward where Joey and Tristan were both trying to pry Mako away from Serenity. "Hey Mako, come here a minute," he called out, motioning over the very odd but amiable ocean-loving duelist.
"Duke, what are you doing?" Téa whispered in warning.
"Proving my point," he replied, smiling at Mako as he approached.
"Hello, Duke, what can I do for you?" Mako asked.
"Mako, what do you think of my friend Téa here?" Duke asked.
Téa wanted to disappear on the spot. "I'm going to kill you," she whispered to Duke out of the side of her mouth.
Mako, however, seemed unperturbed by the strange question. As if Téa weren't sitting right there, he told Duke, "She's a very nice girl. I've always liked her."
"Pretty, right?" Duke prompted.
Kill me now, Téa prayed, sinking down into the bench, mortified.
Mako looked at her a moment as if to verify for himself first, then again answered Duke as if she weren't there. "Very pretty, yes."
"Would you ask her out?" Duke went on.
Mako immediately shook his head. "Of course not. She's Yugi's girl."
"Thank you, Mako," Duke said.
"No problem," Mako replied with a good-natured wave. "I'll see you all on the ship! And you'd better watch out! On the sea, we'll be in my element."
"See?" Duke turned to her in triumph when Mako was gone.
"I hate you," she spat.
He just grinned at her.
"And I hate your entire gender. What kind of garbage is this?" she raged. "First of all, I'm my own person, not anyone's girl. Second, I would think if anyone has a right to decide whose girl I am, it would be me."
Duke shook his head. "The thing is, Téa, it is your decision." He then got up and went back to join Joey, Tristan, and Serenity before Téa could even figure out what he meant by that.
"Duke!" she called after him, getting up to follow him, but commotion near the street caught their attention before she could finish what she was going to say. She reached the rest of them as they looked to see a black stretch limousine pulling up to the curb. It stopped and a uniformed chauffer jumped out and ran around the car to open the back door. A tall man in his early twenties emerged. He had piercing blue eyes that peered out from under thick brown hair and was wearing an expensive suit and a long black duster that swirled dramatically behind him as he stood and turned. A second figure followed behind, a teenager several inches shorter than his companion, wearing a white leather jacket over a black t-shirt and black jeans. He had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and clear, grey-blue eyes.
"Told you," Tristan said. "Kaiba just loves to make an entrance."
Joey watched as Seto Kaiba made a big show of ordering around his lackeys who scurried to the trunk of the limousine to retrieve luggage and find a porter to cart it for them.
"Oh brother," Tristan groaned quietly beside him. "He hasn't changed much in two years, has he?"
"Not a bit," Joey agreed. "Just watch. The first thing out of his mouth will be what a bunch of losers we are."
"Never mind how many times we've worked together. He's just gotta stay above everyone."
Joey turned to Tristan with a crooked smile. "We need to give our old buddy a proper greeting."
Tristan's eyes glinted mischievously. "I think you're right, Joey."
The luggage attended to, the twenty-one-year-old CEO looked down the pier and almost immediately caught sight of their group. "Well, well. Looks like the geek-fest has already started."
Joey smirked at Tristan.
"Nice to see you again, too, Kaiba," Téa deadpanned.
Joey and Tristan glanced sideways at each other and Tristan gave a slight nod of his head. As one, the two of them flung themselves at Kaiba, almost knocking him backwards a foot. They both wrapped their arms around his neck and cried out "Kaiba, buddy! It's so good to see you!"
Kaiba howled in surprise, then recovered quickly and shoved them off with a grunt, pushing them to the ground, nearly knocking the wind out of Joey. "What do you think you're doing? Get off of me, you pathetic losers!"
Joey and Tristan burst out laughing. Their friends, at first as stunned as Kaiba had been, joined in, and even Kaiba's younger brother, who had just emerged from behind the luggage, was stifling a laugh. Kaiba brushed off his coat as if they'd contaminated him.
"Hey Joey, Tristan," Kaiba's brother greeted them with a half smile, his genuine enthusiasm in stark contrast to his brother's calculated indifference. He went over to them and held out his hand to help them up.
"Mokuba?" Tristan asked, getting his breath back from laughing. He grasped Mokuba's outstretched arm and allowed the teenager to pull him up. "Dude, I wouldn't have recognized you!"
Mokuba shrugged. "Yeah, I was, what, twelve the last time you saw me in Egypt? I was a little shorter then," he grinned, holding his hand out to about waist level in front of him.
"Hey, Mokuba, good to see you," Joey said when he got to his feet. Unlike Tristan, he had seen Mokuba a few times over the past couple years. They clasped hands, then pounded their fists together in greeting as the others gathered around to say their hellos.
"I'm with Tristan, Mokuba, you've really grown up," Téa said, giving him a hug. "You're as tall as I am! What are you, fifteen now?"
"I will be in July, yeah," Mokuba confirmed.
Then he shook hands with Duke, and last Serenity.
"Hi, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Serenity, Joey's sister," she said, holding her hand for a shake.
"Of course I remember you," he said, flashing her a wide smile as he shook her hand.
"Watch it," Joey growled, cuffing him on the shoulder. Mokuba just laughed and turned away.
"Come on, Mokuba," Kaiba said, stepping over to his brother. "We don't need to waste our time with the Dweeb Patrol."
Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Give it a rest, Seto, will you? Just because you don't want to have any friends doesn't mean I can't."
"We need to check in," Kaiba said, "it's almost four o'clock."
"It's not my fault we're late," Mokuba sniffed.
"Had to make sure everyone was here to make a big entrance, eh Kaiba?" Joey asked.
"Oh please, like I don't have better things to do with my time than show off for the wannabes. If you must know, something came up at Kaiba Corp that required my attention. I do have a company to run, you know."
"Something's always coming up at Kaiba Corp," Mokuba countered.
"Because there's always someone looking to get control," Kaiba replied. "And it's half your company, too, Mokuba. You should be a little more concerned when it's under threat."
Joey leaned in to Mokuba conspiratorially. "Still as dramatic as ever, huh?"
Mokuba snorted, then to his brother said, "Okay, fine, Seto, but you took care of it and we're here now, so let's try to have fun, okay?"
"Oh, believe me, I will have fun when—" Kaiba stopped mid-sentence and looked around. "Wait a minute, where is Yugi?"
Mokuba looked around, too. "Hey, that's right, he's supposed to be at this tournament. Where is he?"
"He got held up," Téa replied.
"But he's on his way," Joey insisted, giving Téa an intent look.
"Well, what's he waiting for?" Kaiba asked. "Everyone is supposed to be checked in by four and it's quarter 'til now."
Joey sighed. He had to admit, it didn't look good. He glanced at Téa, who was biting her lip in discouragement. "I'm sure they'll give him a little extra time since he's coming all the way from Egypt," Joey said, "but maybe the rest of us should check in." He turned back to Mokuba. "You didn't invite a guest, did you? Can you check Téa in as your guest since Yugi's running late?"
"Sure," Mokuba agreed. The arrangement did nothing to improve Téa's cheerless expression.
Kaiba, however, looked even more sour than she did. "This is just great! Yugi better not have backed out again; I've been waiting for a long time for a re-match. I've got better things to do than compete at a tournament with a bunch of second-rate hacks. I came for a challenge."
"Oh, don't worry, Kaiba, you'll get your challenge."
In unison, seven heads turned toward the street where a cab had pulled up to the curb behind Kaiba's limo while they were talking. A short young man with spiky, tri-colored hair stood beside an even shorter blonde girl, a determined expression in his violet eyes.
Yugi Mutou had finally arrived.