I own a deck of dueling cards. Not Yu-Gi-Oh itself.

Island

I have to admit, when Pegasus announced his dueling tournament, I was maybe a little smug. -You see? I told you there'd be a way.-

"You're going to be absolutely insufferable about this, aren't you?" Ryou sighed.

-I think I deserve a little gloating time…-

When the news story continued to say that only the top duelists would be invited, it was Ryou's turn. "Not as easy as you thought?"

-Oh, come on. I've been dueling longer than anyone in this country. Of course I'm qualified.-

"Maybe you're qualified… but you aren't legally here. You aren't a citizen of… well, anywhere, you haven't won any public duels in Pegasus' lifetime, or in the written history of the world, for that matter. You need an invitation, for which you need notoriety, not just talent."

-I was born in Egypt…- I muttered sullenly. -I'm from somewhere…-

Ryou shook his head. "No. You're from Egypt when it was still the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. That country hasn't been recognized for a millennium or more."

-So I'm old enough to have outlived my country of origin. So what?-

"So…" Ryou said, gesturing at the TV where they were showing a picture of star chips, "I'm afraid there's no way we're getting invited to this tournament. Those gloves and chips are already on their way to participants."

-We'll get there.-

"Yami, we can't. No invitation, no passage to the island."

-Watch me.-

It was pathetically easy to slip on board the private liner a week later. We just gently pushed the guards' minds aside, and they didn't even notice us climbing the gangplank. By the time the first duelists had arrived, we were well settled in a lifeboat. "They're going to catch us, Yami…"

-No they won't. Now that we're on the boat, all we have to do is wait until we've disembarked. We obviously couldn't have gotten on board without those shiny little star chips, so no one will even bother us. I could probably make some out of Shadow Magic, if we get asked.-

Ryou wasn't completely comfortable with all this sneaking around and not quite legal-ness. However, he did seem to get that it was the only easy chance I'd have to get this blasted Eye, and so swallowed most of his objections.

When we noticed some of Yugi's friends scramble out of a packing crate, I wasn't sure whether Ryou was horrified that someone had stowed away, or elated that he wasn't the only stowaway. Only that girl, Tea, actually saw us, and we were gone before she was sure. –We don't actually need them knowing we're here yet. Because they'll want to talk, and that'll call attention to us. Why deal with authority if we don't have to? Besides, then you won't have to lie.-

The thought of not having to lie decided Ryou against making contact, and Tea eventually decided that she must have seen someone that looked like Ryou. Of course, this was nearly impossible, as there were very few people with that much soft white hair, and none with quite the same delicately chiseled features.

"You think I have delicately chiseled features?" Ryou asked me, giggling slightly.

-Well, of course. You got it from me.-

Getting off the ship was even easier, we just moved into the middle of the last group of duelists and melted into the trees once we were on shore. -We'll have to find someone who wins all ten chips,-

"And follow them in?" Ryou asked sweetly.

-I suppose so.- I was just going to borrow some star chips, but Ryou wasn't having any of me stealing from innocent people.

"Couldn't you just make some out of Shadow Magic?"

-Wouldn't fool Pegasus,- I said. –Anyone with a Millennium Item can sense Shadow Magic. And he's had his long enough to know what it is, too. Being caught out that early isn't a good idea. It'd probably be easiest to get him after he's had a duel, he'll be tired and distracted.-

"You aren't going to…"

-Hurt him? I'll try not to, you know that. It all depends on whether he'll give me the eye peacefully or not. Because I'm taking it either way.-

I felt a brief moment of nausea from Ryou. "I really hope he just gives it to you…"

The first of the duels I watched gave me a bit of a shock, before Ryou explained to me what a hologram was. -Oh, good. So, I don't have to worry about the whole island being full of Shadow monsters?-

"No. You don't. I do hope Joey does well… That Rex character's bad news. He almost got disqualified for bad conduct in his last tournament, I believe. It was all over the news."

-How did someone like Wheeler get invited anyway?- I grumbled. –He's absolutely useless…-

"Yugi gave him a star chip, I believe," Ryou said, checking the much shorter boy's wrist. "Yes, he's only got one, see?"

-Why would he waste that on him?- I asked, slightly bewildered. –I thought they didn't even like each other.-

Ryou sighed. "Something you have to learn about Yugi is that he forgives anything that knows how to breathe. And I believe that Joey helped him in a duel with Seto Kaiba or something like that."

-And gave him some cards, I see…- Because I just couldn't accept that Wheeler could find a Time Wizard on his own. It just wasn't possible.

"Would you look at that," Ryou said, amusedly. "He's won his first duel."

-Luck.-

"Yes… but who cares, in the long run. A win is a win, right?"

-So he now has two star chips. Who'd have thought?-

We followed the group around, steadily getting hungrier and hungrier. –Ryou, just let me go grab that chocolate bar.-

"No. It's not ours."

-I'm hungry!-

"We just ate this morning."

-We ate two biscuits left after the breakfast buffet. You wouldn't let me steal food on the ship either, I seem to recall.-

"We weren't even supposed to be on the ship."

-This is my point! Why not keep stretching the rules?-

"Yami, you're not stealing anybody's food."

-Ryou…-

"No."

He was getting far too strong for his own good. If I wanted, I could still overpower him, but it'd cause an undue amount of pain. He was as hungry as I was though, so he wandered over towards the various campfires, looking for anyone who'd feed us out of charity.

The screams of sheer terror from the first fire sent Ryou skittering back into the forest. "What was their problem? I wasn't trying to hurt them!"

-A mysterious figure with pale skin, white hair, a white sweater, and dark, large eyes appearing out of the gloom? To a group of girls, you look rather ghost-like.-

We didn't have any better luck at the next one either, where some empty cans and a rather large stick were thrown heavily in our direction. And at the next one, they were very hospitable, until I made Ryou leave. "What? They would have fed us."

-They thought you were very pretty, Ryou.-

"So? That's a compliment."

I sighed at just how innocent my little hikari could be. -A group of boys, with a very large, dominating kind of a leader, thinks you're pretty. Just stay away from them, alright?-

I was almost ready to just find a dark tree and give up on food for the night after that. It just wasn't worth the risk in my pretty hikari's body to go from group to group… And then we heard an all too familiar yell. "That was Joey!"

-He sounded happy too. I think we ought to go see what's going on. Yugi's got enough charity to feed us, without any consequences.-

When we found them clustered around the fire, the sheer amount of food coming out of the woman's bag made Ryou swallow hungrily. He was too dignified to drool. Putting on his best pitiful, adorable face, he crept into the campsite, terrifying the hell out of everyone there until they saw his face.

I was happy enough about the food that I didn't even pay attention to anything else until I heard the conversation turn to duel monsters. Almost without my thinking about it, a part of my mind started to tick, very aware of the puzzle lying innocently on Yugi's chest.

The other woman, Mai something, had gone off for a walk for some reason. I wasn't paying attention. Only Yugi was important right now. He was showing off his favorite card, that blasted Dark Magician. Not as useful as he thought, but in the hands of a pharaoh, very dangerous. Eager to play along, Joey shuffled through his slightly beaten-up deck, pulling out his Flame Swordsman. I wasn't even aware that Tea or Tristan even had cards, but they both produced one. –Have you ever seen a more useless card?- I asked Ryou as we all looked at Cyber Commander.

"Um… not really, no."

Yugi, being Yugi, acted like it was something sacred, of course, while everyone else tried not to laugh. Tea actually managed to find a weaker card, but at least it had a power. And then someone asked us what Ryou's favorite card was, and my brain clicked into place.

Ryou cheerfully pulled out Change of Heart, noting to me that he enjoyed the duality of it, the thought that light and dark could exist as one person. I tried not to act too flattered by his choice, and then smoothly took over, asking Ryou to please trust me.

By the time he'd started to think there might be something wrong, I was in full control, asking Yugi if he wanted to have a duel.