5. The Ball
"C'mon already! If we don't get moving, by the time we get to dinner, all the food will be gone!" Joey complained loudly. He pulled at the uncomfortably tight collar of his tuxedo as he sat waiting in the living room of their suite with Yugi, Duke, and Tristan, none of whom looked any more comfortable than he felt. "Girls!" he griped. "Remind me, why did we bring them along?"
The door to the girls' bedroom opened that moment, and Serenity, Téa, and Rebecca appeared. Serenity was wearing an airy strapless gown in a light shade of green and her hair was piled up on top of her head. Téa's dress was a sleek, low-cut, black gown with a slit up the side, and her hair was held up in back by a sparkling comb. Rebecca was in something pink and flouncy and her hair was curled into long ringlets. The four young men jumped up as the girls entered.
"Wow," Yugi breathed.
"You said, it," Duke added.
"That would be why we brought them along," Tristan whispered to Joey.
"You better be talking about Téa," Joey warned through gritted teeth.
"Her too," Tristan nodded.
"Look at you all!" Téa exclaimed. "You clean up nice!"
"All right already, are we gonna stand here yammering or can we get some food?" Joey tapped his foot impatiently.
They all headed out the door into the corridor, Duke and Tristan each falling all over himself to offer Serenity his arm. Joey moved to head them off, but a tug at the collar of his jacket restrained him. He turned to find Téa clutching his collar, an exasperated look on her face.
"Would you give it a rest, already? She's eighteen. She can take care of herself."
Joey scowled, then muttered "Fine." She let go of his jacket and he shrugged his shoulders to smooth it out again. He stalked off behind Tristan, Serenity, and Duke, while Téa took Yugi's arm and followed. Rebecca, uncharacteristically, didn't make a beeline for Yugi, but instead was walking in the front of the crowd. When they reached the elevators, she kept peering down the hallway that led to the starboard side of the ship.
"I think she has a crush on Mokuba," Joey leaned back and whispered to Yugi and Téa.
"Good," they replied in unison.
When they reached the dining room on the Promenade Deck, the maître d' looked up the "Yugi Mutou party" and seated at a large table near the center of the room. Not far from them, the Kaiba brothers were already sitting at a smaller, more private table. Sure enough, Rebecca headed straight for them to say hello. Mokuba rose from his seat as she approached and invited her to join them.
"Looks like maybe the crush is mutual," Téa remarked, and Joey couldn't help but notice how the fact made her almost giddy.
"Thirteen…" he whispered in her ear, then howled in pain when she stamped on his foot.
"Oops, sorry," she said, her tone not the least bit apologetic.
After they were all seated, a waiter brought their menus and explained that they could order whatever they liked, as much as they liked. Joey tested this premise by ordering three separate entrées, which earned him a round of groans from his friends.
As promised, all three entrées arrived and it was the most exquisite food Joey had ever eaten in his entire life. By the time they were finished, he could hardly move, but the Welcome Ball was next, so they headed straight for the Dionysus Ballroom on the same deck. The dance floor was at the far end of the room below a small stage with heavy dark blue curtains drawn across it. A jazz orchestra was arrayed on the floor in front of the stage and was already playing swing music. Tables that seated anywhere from two to six people were grouped around the dance floor. Once again "the Yugi Mutou party" was led to a prime table for six, this time right near the dance floor. The smaller tables forced Rebecca to once again sit with the Kaibas at the next table, an arrangement that pleased everyone except, perhaps, Kaiba. The rest of them found their seats: Duke and Tristan, still competing over Serenity, together pulled a chair out for her, then each took a seat on either side of her. Joey sat on the other side of Tristan from where he could kick his so-called friend under the table occasionally if he got out of line. Téa sat between him and Yugi.
Before long, the band stopped playing and a spotlight shone on the stage curtain. A perky woman with a wide smile appeared from behind the curtain holding a wireless microphone.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome aboard the USS Chrysaor! I'm Amy Burns, your cruise director. We've got an exciting cruise planned for all you Duel Monster duelists and fans, and I want to kick things off by introducing Mr. Geoffrey Goradon, President of the International Duel Monsters Tournament Commission."
Mr. Goradon walked up onto the stage to polite applause from the duelists and their guests. The cruise director stepped aside and gave him the microphone.
"Thank you, Miss Burns," he said to her, then turned to the audience. "On behalf of the Duel Monsters Duel at Sea Tournament organizers, I would like to welcome you all to the World Championship Duel Monsters Duel at Sea!"
This time the applause was a little more enthusiastic.
"You have all been invited to compete here because you are the elite, the best of the best. One hundred and twenty-eight duelists, national and regional champions from around the world, have been hand-chosen by our host to compete in Duel at Sea. All of you are here with one goal: to be named the Duel Monsters World Champion!"
More applause erupted, along with some cheers and whistles. When it died down, Mr. Goradon continued. "When this tournament is over, only one of you will be able to claim the title Duel Monsters World Champion, but as we begin, we are proud to recognize not one but two World Champions competing in this tournament: Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutou! I would like to ask both of them to join me on the stage."
The crowd applauded again, Joey loudest of all. He leaned over to look across Téa to Yugi, who had turned deep red. "Get up there!" he shouted at him over the applause. He didn't move, however, and Téa had to practically drag him up out of his seat to get him to go up to the stage. Kaiba, Joey noticed without surprise, had no such inhibitions. He rose immediately and walked with an imperious air up onto the stage, Yugi trailing behind, his cheeks still bright red.
Joey leaned over to Téa. "How can someone so confident in dueling be so embarrassed by any other kind of attention?"
"Because when he duels he's the Pharaoh. Now he's Yugi," she replied.
He cocked his head at her. "You still think he's both?"
"Don't you?" she asked. "You can still see him switch back and forth, but it's more fluid than it was when Atem was still with him. He even adopts Atem's speaking pattern at times, more authoritative and formal than Yugi usually is, haven't you noticed? Like on the pier, he was all Pharaoh when he arrived, answering Kaiba's challenge. But when we all jumped all over him, he was Yugi."
Joey frowned, remembering. "Yeah, I can kinda see what you mean."
Yugi stood on the stage, hating every minute of it. It was funny how he could stand before a competitor with a duel disk on his arm in the exact center of attention and not feel so much as a twinge of embarrassment, but outside of the game he was completely out of his element.
The applause died down again and Mr. Goradon was asking him and Kaiba to say a few words. Yugi was grateful that Kaiba relished the limelight and took the microphone.
"Welcome fellow duelists. At Kaiba Corp, we are in partnership with Industrial Illusions to make the game of Duel Monsters the most exciting and extreme experience gaming has to offer. As a fellow competitor, I hope it will be a challenging tournament." As he said the last words, he looked directly at Yugi. "There can only be one World Champion," he said, "and I intend to be that champion."
This announcement drew the ire of the crowd. Yugi, slightly emboldened by the direct challenge, met Kaiba's gaze unflinching, accepting the challenge with a slight bow of his head. Kaiba was, of course, undaunted by the crowd response and continued with only a short pause for dramatic effect. "In ten days, we'll see who the best of the best really is," he said, then handed the microphone back to Mr. Goradon, who in turn handed it to Yugi. Yugi looked at it like it was a poisonous snake, but reluctantly took it.
"Uh… I'm very honored to be here," he began. "I'm looking forward to a fun and exciting tournament." As he finished, he all but shoved the microphone back into Mr. Goradon's hands.
"World Duel Monster Champions Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutou, ladies and gentlemen!" Mr. Goradon announced, and the applause that followed was once again polite rather than exuberant. Yugi and Kaiba returned to their seats, Yugi sinking down into his so that his head was barely above table level.
"Way to go, Yuge," Joey encouraged.
"Yeah, you did great," Téa said.
"Argh, I hate when they have all this pomp and circumstance beforehand," Yugi grumbled. "Why can't we just duel and leave it at that?"
Mr. Goradon began talking into the microphone again. "A little later, your host for this tournament will come out and explain the procedures for the competition, which begins tomorrow morning at nine, but for now, please enjoy yourselves as the fabulous Dan Green Orchestra provides some dance music for us. Thank you, elite duelists!"
More applause, then Mr. Goradon left the stage and the band began playing a lively swing tune. Téa looked at Yugi. "C'mon, let's dance!"
Yugi once again felt like a Duel Monster caught by a trap card. "No way, I've been on the stage enough tonight," he replied, shaking his head.
"Oh, come on, it will be fun," she entreated him.
It was tempting, the thought of having his arms around her as they swayed together on the dance floor. And then he thought of how the floor was in the center of the room. "No thanks. I can't dance and you're too good."
She folded her arms, then looked around the table. "Come on, someone has to be willing to dance. This is a party." She looked at each of them in turn.
"I don't think so," Joey said quickly.
"I've got two left feet," Tristan added.
Finally she looked at Duke and he rolled his eyes at the others. "Oh what a bunch of babies you are. I'll dance with you, Téa." He rose to his feet and held out his arm to her, then leaned over and asked with a mischievous glint in his eye and a glance at Yugi, "You don't think I need to ask permission first?"
Téa growled at him and yanked him by the arm onto the floor so hard she almost knocked him off his feet.
Yugi looked at Joey. "What was that all about?"
"Beats me," Joey shrugged.
Duke and Téa stepped onto the dance floor along with a smattering of other couples while Joey, Yugi, Tristan, and Serenity watched. Duke was good, but Téa was brilliant. She moved as if dancing required no effort, every step flowing out of her like water from a fountain. Yugi's mouth went dry as he watched her. She was, quite simply, breathtaking.
"Man, that girl can dance," Tristan whistled.
Joey leaned across Téa's empty seat to Yugi. "She dances like you duel."
"Hmm," was all Yugi replied without taking his eyes off of her.
"You can put your eyes back in their sockets, Yuge," Joey snickered behind him.
"Huh?" Yugi started, suddenly remembering he was in a crowd of people. He felt himself go red for like the eighty-seventh time since he boarded this ship.
"Nothing," Joey laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "If you think she's good here, you should see her in her show. She's like a gymnast or something. There's this one number where a bunch of the dancers do these leaps and flips across the stage. She was just amazing."
"I'll bet. I can't believe I haven't had a chance to go to New York and see her in a show," Yugi grumbled, feeling a little guilty.
When the song ended, they came back to the table and everyone complimented Téa on her skill.
"Boy, I wish I hadn't missed seeing you in New York last week. I definitely have to get out to see you dance in a show," Yugi told her.
"Better make it quick," she said.
"Why?"
"We'll talk later," she told him. He just looked at her curiously.
Duke asked Serenity to dance, to much glowering from both Joey and Tristan. She protested that she wasn't as good as Téa, but he persuaded her and they headed onto the dance floor. They danced for a while, then returned as Mokuba and Rebecca dragged two chairs over to join them. Yugi and Rebecca proceeded to tell the others of their misadventures trying to get out of the Egyptian desert and to San Francisco on time for the cruise.
Joey shook his head in disbelief. "Sounds like you had every travel nightmare short of a plane crash."
"Well, there's still time for a shipwreck," Tristan teased.
"Bite your tongue!" Téa scolded him good-naturedly.
"So tell us about Egypt," Tristan asked. "What was the dig like? It must've been weird to be out of touch for six months."
Yugi glanced at Rebecca, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. He wasn't sure why the last six months in Egypt made him so ill at ease; he loved Egyptology and enjoyed the archaeology. True, the primitive conditions and the lack of contact with the outside world was frustrating, but there was something more… unsettling about their trip, something he couldn't name. It had been bad for Rebecca, too.
In response to Tristan's question, he merely shrugged. "It was kind of dull," he said vaguely, then asked Tristan about army life.
Mokuba and Rebecca left to go dance and the rest of them chatted some more while Téa tried unsuccessfully to get someone to dance with her. Yugi was torn once more; the thought of a slow dance with Téa was both incredibly appealing and absolutely terrifying. The terrified part won out and he declined again. While Téa fumed, a couple of duelists he knew stopped by to say hello. Mako Tsunami visited a while, posturing a bit about how a duel on the sea put him at an advantage. Then he cocked his head and gave Yugi a puzzled look.
"My friend, you don't have your good luck charm."
"What?" Yugi asked, then followed Mako's gaze to his chest. "Oh, the Millennium Puzzle. No, I don't have that anymore. It… well, I guess it got lost a couple years ago."
Mako raised his eyebrows. "So is this why you have not dueled for two years, because you lost your good luck charm?"
"What? No!" Yugi protested, feeling defensive. "I don't need a 'good luck charm.' I was studying in Egypt and didn't have time for tournaments."
Mako laughed and clapped him on the shoulder hard enough to knock Yugi forward in his chair. "No need to be defensive, my friend. I'm sure you will still be a formidable opponent, even without your talisman."
"Man, who talks like that?" Tristan said, shaking his head as Mako departed. "Well, except the Pharaoh," Tristan teased Yugi.
Yugi fumed a bit, less at Tristan's taunting than Mako's comments about the Puzzle. Is that what people thought? That the Millennium Puzzle was a good luck charm he depended on to win duels?
Several other duelists came by after Mako left, and a few of them also commented on the missing Puzzle.
"Geez, I didn't know my Puzzle was such a big deal to everyone," Yugi grumbled.
"You've had it since any of these people ever heard of you," Joey told him. "It is kinda weird to see you without it."
"You know, it never really occurred to me until now, but this will be your first tournament without it," Téa said, leaving unspoken what really would be missing.
The thought hadn't really occurred to Yugi before, either, but she was right. He'd never even entered a tournament before he'd had the Puzzle, let alone won one, and it had always been Atem who had taken the lead in dueling. He had, of course, dueled since the Pharaoh's departure and the loss of the Millennium Items; he and Rebecca had passed many a long journey through the desert or an evening at camp by playing Duel Monsters. They'd taught many of the others with them on the expedition to play as well, and Professor Hawkins was also quite good, as were a couple of the other archaeologists that accompanied them. Even without Atem, Yugi was better than all of them, but dueling for fun and to pass the time, even with players as skilled as Rebecca, was a far cry from tournament dueling. For the first time he wondered how well he could compete without Atem.
Except I'm not really without him, am I? he thought.
Even after two years, he still wasn't sure what he believed about why he still had the Atem's memories even after both the Puzzle and its Spirit were gone, but Téa's theory that he and the Pharaoh were one may not have been far off the mark. Sometimes he would find himself slipping into behaviors that later he would recognize as being more in line with the Pharaoh's personality than his own, particularly in situations that called for his specific strengths. It wasn't like before, when there was an actual switch that took place and he could feel Atem take over while he was relegated to the role of observer, although now he could remember himself in both roles. Now it felt more seamless, like he could flow in and out of the two personalities while all the while still remaining himself. In his memories of their time together, he felt like he had been two people at once. Now he felt almost like they were two halves of one whole. And yet, there was a part of his heart that told him it was all just an act, that he was trying to be something he never could, like a child wearing his father's overly large shoes, trying to fit into a role that was just to big for him to ever fill. Did Téa see him that way, too?
"Yugi?" Téa asked, noticing his silence.
He looked at her. "I thought you thought part of me still is the Pharaoh," he said quietly.
She regarded him for a moment. "It's not what I think that matters."
He nodded. "I think—"
"Well, I guess all the rumors are true. Yugi Mutou returns to dueling. The world must need saving," a tart yet amused voice intruded.
They all started at the interruption and Yugi saw Joey freeze, his eyes going wide in shock at the familiar voice. He whipped around in his chair as Yugi and everyone else looked up to see the tall blonde standing across the table from Yugi, behind Joey and Tristan.
"Mai!" Joey breathed.
Joey sat for a moment, completely immobilized by shock. Mai Valentine.
She looked stunning in a strapless velvet gown of deep purple with long white gloves that came up past her elbows, her hair pulled up into an elaborate curl on top of her head, showing off the curve of her neck. She was looking at Yugi, a typical Mai smirk on her lips, but something in her eyes belied the cockiness of her stance. There was an almost fearful quality there as she brought her gaze from Yugi to Joey when he said her name.
"Hello, Joey," she said softly.
"Mai!" Serenity cried out in delight, jumping up from her seat. That finally broke Joey's paralysis and he was on his feet, too, along with Tristan. Mai tore her gaze from Joey and looked at Serenity, a little of the anxiety in her eyes dying as they lit up with genuine pleasure.
"Hey kiddo," she greeted in return.
Serenity moved forward to hug her friend, but Tristan held his arm out, blocking her. "No, Serenity," he said stiffly, "she's not our friend."
Joey saw Mai's expression falter slightly. Without taking his eyes off her, he growled "Shut up, Tristan."
Serenity, appalled, cried out, "Tristan! What's the matter with you?" Joey could almost feel the tension as everyone else at the table sucked in a collective breath, waiting.
Mai steeled herself, her poise returning so quickly Joey almost thought he'd imagined the moment of uncertainty. She looked at Serenity, her gaze resolute. "No, Serenity, Tristan is right. I haven't been a very good friend. To all of you," she finished, bringing her eyes back to Joey.
"Ancient history," Joey said, swallowing.
"What's ancient history?" Serenity asked. "Joey, what's going on? Mai is our friend!"
"Friends don't play evil, soul-sucking cards on each other," Tristan accused.
It was all Joey could do to keep his clenched fists at his side and not slug Tristan as he rounded on him. "Tristan, shut UP!" he hissed.
"It's true," Tristan shot back, his arm still out to prevent Serenity from moving towards Mai.
"Tristan, enough," came an imposing voice from behind them. They all turned to see Yugi, also on his feet, his expression commanding as his gaze moved from Tristan to Joey to Mai. Damned if Téa wasn't right, Joey thought. There's the Pharaoh.
"Mai wasn't the only person who was irresponsible with the Seal of Orichalcos," Yugi continued, and Joey was amazed at how in everything from the intensity in his eyes to the tone in his voice he was the Pharaoh. Joey glanced at Tristan, whose face melted in remorse as he realized the unintended impact of his words. Friends don't play evil, soul-sucking cards on each other…
"Yugi, I didn't—" Tristan began, shamefaced, but he was cut off suddenly when Mai sucked her breath in sharply.
"You're not wearing your puzzle!" she cried with such distress in her voice that Joey's attention was wrenched back to her.
"Mai?" he asked, quizzical.
He could hear a touch of bewilderment in Yugi's voice at the disproportionate emotion she seemed to have over its absence as he replied, "No, the Millennium Puzzle is gone for good."
For some reason, this news hit Mai hard. Her face drained of color and it was a moment before she regained her composure, and then only with some effort. She dragged her eyes back to Joey. "Joey, I am truly sorry for everything I did. It was unforgivable, I know that. I… I just wanted to tell you face-to-face, I'm sorry." Without another word she turned and all but fled from the table.
"Mai!" Joey called out and started to go after her, but Tristan grabbed his arm.
"Dude, let her go."
"Leave me alone!" Joey shouted, shrugging hard to get Tristan's arm off him. He started after Mai again, but he couldn't see where she'd gone.
At that moment, the band stopped playing and the room got quiet as Mr. Goradon appeared on the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats! The time has come for us to explain the rules and format of the Duel at Sea World Championship Tournament."
Joey ignored Goradon and continued to scan the crowd for Mai, but Téa was suddenly beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "Joey, you can find her later. You have to focus on the tournament now. Come back and sit down."
Joey growled in frustration, but reluctantly allowed Téa to guide him back to his seat. There was some whispering and shuffling as duelists returned to their seats from the dance floor or the bar. Mr. Goradon waited for everyone to get settled.
"Joey," Tristan said as they all slowly sat down, but Joey's glare silenced him.
"Joey, what was that all about?" Serenity asked anxiously.
Joey shook his head, but Téa whispered "I'll tell you later."
Tristan turned to Serenity to say something, but she gave him an even angrier look than Joey's. "Don't you talk to me, Tristan Taylor! I don't know what this is all about, but there is no excuse for you being so obnoxious to her," she seethed.
"Elite duelists," Mr. Goradon began again as most of the competitors and their guests found their seats and quieted, "The International Duel Monsters Tournament Commission is very pleased to introduce to you the host of our Duel Monsters Duel at Sea Tournament. He is Chairman of the Board of the IDMTC, the CEO of Industrial Illusions, and of course, the creator of the Duel Monsters card game. I give you Mr. Maximillion Pegasus!"