Twelve Little Duelists
Disclaimer: I don't own any Yu-Gi-Oh characters or related items, they belong to Kazuki Takahashi. I do not own the story "And Then There Were None" (also called "Ten Little Indians"), the story is by the queen of mystery, Agatha Christie.
Summary: Twelve of them were invited to the island by the mysterious Mr. Owen. None of them will ever leave for their consciences were guilty and their pasts tainted. (AR. Rated for character deaths and language.)
"Speech"
---------------------- = Changing character stand point
-------------------------------------------- = change in time or place
IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL READERS: I realize many of you do tend to flame authors when they kill off a character. Let me warn you now, this fic is ENTIRELY about murder, and one by one each will get killed, so if you don't wish to read about character death, STOP READING NOW. If you choose to continue, you really can't flame me without you being in the wrong, I warned you ahead of time! Thank you, come again.
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Chapter 3: Venomous Suspicion
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"One of us is the killer..." Seto whispered. Joey and Yami nodded in agreement as six pairs of eyes turned to stare at Seto.
"W-what?" Ryou stared in pure fright at Seto, "O-one of us?"
Seto nodded, "Yes. All of you agreed that Duke and Mai weren't the kind of people to kill themselves. Then Marik dies of poison that could have been slipped into his food by someone in the dining room at the time. The house was already searched through, and there isn't anyone here but the twelve who arrived, nine now. And on top of things, when each person died, their corresponding figurine has been broken as well. You can't tell me that isn't suspicious."
Everyone took a few moments to absorb the large amount of information. Bakura quickly moved to stand in front of Ryou, his cold eyes locked on Seto, "You seem to have put things together perfectly. If someone poisoned Marik, who's to say it wasn't you!?"
Seto shrugged nonchalantly, "Who's to say it wasn't me? Everyone here passed by that bowl at one point or another. Any of us could have done it."
"Where were you when Mai was killed? And Duke?" Bakura demanded of the CEO, now his prime suspect.
Joey, surprisingly, jumped to Seto's defense, "When Mai died, no one knew where ANYONE was! We all left the living room to be alone, remember? And when Duke was killed, everyone was in their rooms, supposedly. Right now, every one of us is a suspect. The only innocent ones are the ones who have died already."
"Twelve little Duelists arrived from Devon; One wished to go home and then there were eleven. Eleven little Duelists went to Big Ben; One lost his balance and then there were ten. Ten little Duelists went out to dine; One chokes his little self and then there were nine," Serenity quoted from the poem, her eyes filled with fear.
Bakura scoffed, "What does that have to do with anything?"
Serenity shook her head, "Don't you see? The poem matches how each person died. Mai wanted to go home, and she died. Duke was up on the clock tower, Big Ben is a clock, and he fell. Then we all sat down to eat, we thought Marik choked at first, but it was poison!" She shivered slightly, "The killer is making sure to follow the poem, that's why there were twelve duelists in the beginning. He's going to come after each of us, one by one!" She gasped, burying her face in Joey's shirt.
The room was filled with silence, broken only by Serenity's muffled sobs and Malik's confused whimpers as he tried to wake up Marik.
"W-what do we do now...?" Yugi whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.
"We wait for the boat to come," Tea said, suddenly smiling, "Yea, remember, our host was supposed to come today!"
"It's not coming," Seto remarked idly, leaning back in his chair, "for two reasons. One, I would bet my life that the killer, posing as U. N. Owen, told the boat captain not to come out here. Probably spread some rumor that it's a survival contest and distress signals are to be ignored. Heh, survival contest, isn't that the truth?" He began to chuckle softly to himself.
Yami frowned at the CEO, "What's reason two?"
Seto stopped, sitting up and blinking as if he couldn't remember where he was, "Huh? Reason two...? Oh," he waved his hand toward the window, "the weather."
Outside, dark gray clouds filled the sky, flashes of lightning could be seen accompanied with the low, menacing growl of thunder. Spatterings of rain were also visible, falling on an already turbulent ocean.
"In a few hours, that storm will hit here and Devon, no sane boater would attempt to come out here," Seto said as he climbed to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Yugi asked, an anxious look in his eyes.
"To my room, I need some rest," Seto replied as he pushed open the door.
"But, it's not safe to go anywhere alone, isn't it?" Serenity questioned.
Seto glanced back at the eight, smirking, "You're all in here, one of you would have to follow me to kill me, and I doubt the killer wants to give himself away." With a short laugh he left, his light footsteps could be heard going up the stairs.
"I'm betting the killer is him," Bakura muttered, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at the door, "He's too calm when faced with death."
Yugi blinked, shaking his head, "No, Kaiba may not be the nicest guy in the world, but I just don't think he'd kill someone. It would put him in danger of being separated from Mokuba, and he's always done everything in his power to stay with his brother."
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In his room, Seto was attempting to call Mokuba, but his powerful, high-tech cellphone was unsuccessful. With an angry growl, Seto tried contacting the Devon police, yet the signal would not go through.
"Damn storm!" Seto cursed, throwing the silver phone against the wall, smirking at the satisfying crunch of plastic. He opened his suitcase in the habit of getting his laptop, but it wasn't there. Seto cursed again, "Why did Mokuba make me leave it?" He grimaced at the memories of Mokuba's reprimanding tone when Seto had tried to pack the laptop.
'Seto, you can't bring your work with you on vacation! You won't relax at all! It stays here.'
I knew Mokuba's ever reasonable agruments were going to be the end of me, Seto thought.
He shot an angry glare at the pile of broken plastic that had once been his cellphone. Stupid thing...
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"Stupid thing!" Tea yelled, tossing her pink cellphone on the ground, where Malik promptly snatched it.
"What's wrong, Tea?" Yugi asked.
Tea sighed, slumping onto the living room couch, "My cellphone won't get a signal, it's gotta be this storm, because I just bought that thing, it's supposed to be really high-tech and stuff."
"Great, just great," Yami muttered, staring out the window, watching the storm progress rapidly. The glass panes were already wet with rain drops.
Ryou walked up the the window, giving Yami a small smile, "The clouds are so dark, it's impossible to tell how late it is."
Yami nodded, "It could be anytime, that's what is frightening about a storm, people lose complete touch with time and it tends to make them crazy." He glanced at Malik, seated in a corner laughing hysterically at absolutely nothing, "So does the loss of your other."
Ryou looked down at his feet, "True. However cruel Bakura may be, I'd be lost without him. I need him as much as he needs me." He turned his soft gaze to his yami, curled up on a chair like a cat. Bakura scowled, shifting uncomfortably under his hikari's innocent look.
Malik suddenly growled viciously, drawing the attention of the pale hikari and the Pharaoh. Tea was trying to wrestle her cellphone out of the yami-less Egyptian's hands and Malik was fighting it stupendously.
"Give it back! That phone belongs to me!" Tea shouted, her normal demeanor shattered along with her nerves.
Malik hissed in response, hugging the phone to his chest, "Mine! It's my yami now!"
Tea sighed, her face suddenly pitying, "All right, keep it." Malik giggled happily, scurrying out of the room. "It's not like I have any use for it now!" Tea called after the boy.
Joey looked up, hit with a sudden idea, "Hey! I bet Kaiba's got a cellphone that's really powerful! We can call the Devon Police with it!"
"Won't work," Seto said, entering the room, his hair was tossled from sleep, "I already tried. Storm's causing too much interference. Plus, I threw the moronic contraption at the wall when it refused to work, it's in about a million pieces now." A chorus of sighs echoed through the room as their last hope was dashed upon the rocks--or wall, for this matter.
Seto yawned, still partially asleep, as he sat down in a chair beside Serenity. The girl smiled a welcome before tilting her head in confusion, staring at the teen with surprise, "I didn't know you wore glasses. They look good on you."
Seto blinked at the pair of thin framed silver glasses that rested on his nose, "Oh, yea. I don't have the greatest eyesight in the world. I usually wear contacts, but I didn't feel like putting them in when I woke up, so I put my glasses on." He took them off, wiping a lense with his shirt, "I'm half-blind without them."
Joey laughed, "I knew you were a nerd!"
Seto frowned at the blonde, "In case you were unaware of this fact, seven out of ten people wear glasses and the percentage rises each year." He glanced around, "And seeing as he have eight people here, it's only natural someone had glasses."
Joey paused, trying to think of a good comeback, but none came to mind. Seto smirked victoriously.
Giggling at Joey's baffled expression, Serenity stood up, leaving the room. Tea looked worriedly after her, "Shouldn't someone go with her? Malik's not exactly in his right mind, he could hurt her or something."
Before anyone could move though, Serenity returned, Malik clinging to her hand like a lost child. In his mouth was a purple popsicle and balanced on his head was Tea's pink cellphone.
Smiling, Serenity led Malik to a chair where he promptly climbed onto it, turned three circles and went to sleep. Serenity took the popsicle from the boy's mouth, laughing. "He's like a little kid, he just wants attention. That's why he acts like he does," she explained, looking up at the seven others staring in surprise at her.
Yugi sighed unhappily, "I feel sorry for him, he doesn't have a yami to protect him anymore. What's he going to do?"
Seto looked at the normally cheerful boy with a surprised expression. "He still has his brother and sister," he stated matter-of-factly.
"He's right, Aibou," Yami said, moving to sit beside Yugi. He glanced at the large clock on the wall, "It's already midnight?"
A sudden beeping was heard. Seto frowned, "That sounds like my watch, but I haven't been able to find it since I got here..." He looked in the direction of the sound, growling when his eyes fell on Bakura. "Thief! Return that watch to me at once!" He lunged for the tomb robber, missing him by a hair.
Bakura smirked, waving the stolen watch in Seto's face, pulling it away each time Seto took a swipe for it. "Finders, keepers, Kaiba."
"It doesn't count as finding if you dig through my suitcase for it!" Seto retorted, yanking the rug Bakura stood on from under his feet; sending the yami tumbling backwards. He laughed triumphantly as he retrieved the dropped watch. "You lose, thief."
Ryou hurried to help Bakura to his feet. Bakura growled angrily at his innocent light, knocking him away. "I don't need your help!" He glared at the startled boy before stomping out of the room.
Joey laughed nervously, "Man, that guy's tail is in a knot." He held out a hand for Ryou to climb to his feet. "Why do you put up with him, Ryou?"
Ryou shrugged, "He's not so bad, he just has trouble showing any emotions...well, any emotion other than anger. He's afraid of being hurt if he put his trust in someone. But, I'd be lost without him, he's like my anchor on sanity, as I am to him."
Joey sighed, shaking his head, "Sometimes I just don't get you lights and darks. It's like you're two different people, but also the same person."
"That's exactly what it is, Joey," Yugi said, smiling at Yami.
"Okay, but it gives me a headache just thinking about it," Joey replied, scratching his blonde locks, "I'm going to bed, it's been a long day." He headed for the door, pausing and turning to look back at the others with a sheepish grin, "None of you happen to have some sleeping pills, do you? I doubt I'll be able to get to sleep on my own tonight, too much has happened."
"I do," Seto offered, getting odd looks from the others, "I've been having trouble sleeping lately, if you must know." He walked past Joey, speaking to him but not looking at him, "Follow me, mutt."
Joey was about to make a retort, but thought better of it; it's unwise to insult someone who was about to give you medication, however harmless. With a sigh, the blonde followed Seto upstairs.
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Joey lay awake in his bed that night, completely frustrated. Seto had given him four sleeping pills and they hadn't kicked in yet. His mind began to wonder back to the day The Voice had accused him of killing Taiki. Had it been two days ago, or just one? It seemed like so long ago.
And the day Taiki died felt like another lifetime. Joey had been heading down the wrong road in life and becoming part of a gang was inevitable. The gang definitely liked Joey, thought he had potential, but initiation was still needed.
Why did the initiation have to be to beat up an innocent little kid? It wasn't right, the kid hadn't done anything to him. Poor Taiki, he stood absolutely no chance against Joey's merciless fists. Joey had stopped after a few weak blows, but Taiki had been dazed. Taiki tried to run home to his mother for comfort, but there was blood in his eyes, he hadn't seen the car coming until it was too late.
Joey shook his head violently trying to destroy the images in his mind. No matter how you looked at it, Taiki wouldn't have died at such a young age if it hadn't been for Joey.
A soft knock came at the bedroom door, startling Joey from his thoughts. His visitor entered without a word, leaving two small pills on the bedside table.
Joey nodded in thanks, "Those better get me to sleep faster than the other ones." His visitor laughed quietly before leaving the room, pulling the door closed.
Without a second thought, Joey swallowed the pills and took a long drink from his glass of water. His eyelids felt heavy immediately. With a content sigh, the blonde fell back on his pillow.
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Seto was awoken the next morning by a rough shaking from someone. Slowly opening his eyes, Seto winced as he felt a massive headache already coming on. Cursing under his breath for being such a fool and taking so many sleeping pills, Seto sat up and put on his glasses, glaring at his intruder.
"What do you want?" Seto demanded of Yami. It was then that he noticed Yugi, Ryou, and Bakura in the room. Malik was also present, occupying his time with searching through Seto's suitcase.
"Kaiba," Yami's tone was filled with a mix of anger and sadness, "what was in those pills you gave Joey!?"
Seto blinked, gesturing to the bottle on his beside table, "Read the ingredients. Nothing dangerous." He winced, holding his head, "unless you take too many, then you get a murderous headache like I have."
"H-how many pills did you give Joey?" Yugi asked, eyes brimming with tears.
It took a moment for Seto to recall his hazy memories from last night, "Four."
"And how many did you take last night?" Bakura growled.
"Six," Seto replied shortly, "what the hell is this, the Inquisition?"
No reply.
Malik suddenly giggled, "The puppy won't wake up. The puppy won't breathe. The puppy is no more!" He dodged the brutal kick from Yami with catlike agility, still laughing his head off.
"He's dead?" Seto demanded, completely caught offguard. Then it hit him, they suspected HIM! "Hold it! If you think I gave him extra pills so he would overdose, you're insane! Four pills is harmless, I took six myself!" He quickly climbed out of bed, feeling his height would aid in defending his name. "I may not have been on good terms with Wheeler, but I wouldn't kill him! If I killed everyone I didn't see eye to eye with, this would be a pretty empty world!"
Yami held up his hands, silencing Seto, "We're not accusing you. We wanted to find if potassium cyanide was in the pills."
"Potassium cyanide!? That's lethal in the smallest doses!" Seto immediately snatched the bottle, reading over the ingredients. "There isn't any kind of cyanide or potassium in these." He paused, "Why?"
Bakura volunteered that information, "I've seen plenty of death by poisoning in my past, and I am sure that what killed Marik also killed Wheeler, and it had the markings of potassium cyanide."
Yugi sniffed, wiping tears out of his eyes, "Please stop talking about it..." He held the halves of Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon to his chest.
"Aibou..." Yami immediately moved to comfort his light, escorting the boy out of the room.
"Nine little Duelists stayed up very late; One over slept himself and then there were eight!" Malik chirped happily, giggling as he fiddled with the remains of Seto's cellphone.
"That's enough out of you," Bakura growled, dragging Malik out of the room by his shirt collar. Ryou quickly followed, glancing nervously back at Seto as he closed the door.
Sighing with frustration, Seto strode to the mirror hanging on the wall. He stood glaring at his reflection, "Hello, prime suspect number one..."
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End of Chapter 3
Eight guests remaining
KT: (Cries) I can't believe I killed Joey! I love that mutt!
Seto: Why did you have to put the blame on me!?
KT: (Grins) Because, it's fun.
Seto: ...
KT: Eh, heh...Readers, please review if you wanna find out who the next victim is! And let's see if we have some detectives out there, who do you think the killer is? Who's next to go? Cookies to the one who figures it out!