Disclaimer: You know the drill.
Alright, as you know, last chapter revealed that there might be Hiei might have a darker influence deep within him. Also, we find that the Hellfire Tournament is being held in a huge floating city known as New Paradigm, the remnants of the original Paradigm City. This is, of course, my own spin on the series after the final episode.
Now, Yugi is about to enter his first duel of the tournament, Kaiba enters the tale, and we find why Inuyasha is helping Yugi in the first place.
You'll have to excuse me if this doesn't turn out well; I'm not exactly oozing inspired ideas.
Chap. 12: Beck vs. Yugi
Attention duelists. The Des Volstgulph is about to land. You have all been given rooms in the New Paradigm Hotel, so report to the ballroom therein for further information as to keys and concierge service. Information associated with the tournament will be given in the Grand Plaza outside said hotel. That is all.
Several hundred bay doors opened unto New Paradigm, and from these doors flowed the three thousand duelists that were deemed worthy to enter. Near said doors were huge transport vehicles with one common destination: the New Paradigm Hotel in the city center.
As the duelists exited the loading area, Hiei looked on with cold malice at his small opposition. Each one had their Duel Gauntlet fully assimilated into their system.
"Excuse me, sir, but there is a Beck Gold here to see you."
"Perfect. Send him in."
Sighing, the dark lord took a seat at the head of his conference room. Working with Gold had been an extremely expensive commodity. Each time Gold was hired, the simpleton overcharged his services and challenged his superior's authority, and if he failed in his assigned mission, Beck would charge "damage costs" to gain more money.
Not this time.
Beck stepped into the conference room with his usual pompous attitude...and the suit to match.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Beck. As you can well imagine, the tournament will be officially starting soon, so let me get right to the point. I have a simple assignment for you: defeat Yugi Mouto in a duel and bring his Egyptian God Card and Millennium Puzzle directly to me!"
Almost immediately, Beck, in spite of the consequences related to such, began to laugh uncontrollably, slapping his feet together in a manner typical to him.
Already in a dangerous mood by his recent defeat, the incessant guffawing of his tawdry guest forced a query from Hiei. "Does something I say amuse you, Gold?"
"Sorry, boss. It's just...". Laughing again, Beck continued his response with an amused air. "Well, isn't kind of amusing that your asking me to duel on your behalf? And against Yugi Mouto no less! What, are you too stupid or inept to duel him yourself?"
Beck instantly knew that he had made a mistake the second those words left his mouth, but it was too late.
Incensed by his minion's brash words to an indescribable amount, Hiei leapt out of his seat and rammed Beck into a wall. Upon lifting him bodily and tossing him into a second partition, the demon loomed over and hissed into Beck's ear.
"Now listen to me, you incompetent fool. My powers are hundreds of times the strength of your own, so I am therefore in complete control, so be warned. I will not pay you until the task I have given is completed to the utmost extent, and if you were planning on abandoning this job, I am afraid I won't let you. You are going to duel Mouto, and you are going to defeat him; otherwise, you will die at my hands. Do we understand each other?"
Shakily raising himself from the ground, Beck agreed to these grisly terms, and without a single word further, fled the room.
Once again collapsing into his seat, Hiei was about to relax before heading towards the hotel, when his head of security on the vessel entered.
"Let me guess, there has been a jail break in quadrant 3, cell 57. Also, the escapee was able to overpower the guards and exited the vessel with a Duel Gauntlet on her arm."
The agent, unaware of Hiei's Millennium Eye, was struck speechless.
"No matter; I have a strong hunch as to where she is going. Keep all of our agents on high alert, and inform them as to the convict's appearance."
As the head exited, Hiei called to his personal assistant, "Tell my chauffeur to bring the car around. I have some business to attend to..."
Grand Plaza, outside New Paradigm Hotel
"So, this is the New Paradigm Hotel", said Yugi as he exited the transport vehicle. "Kind of a dump, isn't it?"
The hotel, unlike the other fresh, new buildings in New Paradigm, looked like it was over a hundred years old. The panes were broken in nearly every window, and the shutters were hanging off of their hinges. The entire place emitted a horrible stench reminiscent of a butcher shop whose contents had decomposed over many years. In other words, it was a complete disaster.
Roger, of course, was not entirely disgusted by the old lodge. It was here, over five years ago, that he had garnered much of his information on his miscellaneous cases from one Big Ear.
This building had supposedly had some significance for Alex Rosewater as well, as it was here that he was found, half-dead, by the few military police officers still loyal to him.
Apparently, the building did not impress anyone else, for upon looking at the decrepit hotel, one of the duelists scoffed.
"Once again, it appears that Hiei didn't have the common sense to knock this thing down when he had the chance. He's even dumber than I thought, keeping this eyesore standing."
Such bitter, chilling words could only come from one man.
Yugi, somewhat surprised by the older man's presence, turned to face him.
"Kaiba! What are you doing here?"
"The same as you, I would surmise. I'm here to stop Hiei."
"What does he have to do with this? I thought you were neutral on this one."
"I was, until that scum sent one of his pathetic lackeys to try to out-duel me for my Egyptian God Card and Millennium Item..."
At this, Kaiba pulled out his Millennium Rod, gained immediately after the Battle City Tournament.
"I don't know what that bastard wants with the Items, but I have a feeling he's only after your Puzzle, so I would stay on your guard. I'd keep an eye on the half-demon too."
Inuyasha, who had been listening vaguely, responded sharply.
"What do you mean, Kaiba? And where do you get off calling me a half-demon?!"
"First of all, I can call you anything I want. Secondly, I know for a fact that he's after the sacred Shikon Jewel as well, though I'm not sure why, and since you have part of it on your person, odds are he'll come after you too. You saw what he did to Kagome; imagine what he'll do to you."
Joey, who had only known Inuyasha for about an hour, raised a query.
"Alright, who's this Kagome that Kaiba's talkin' about? And it's not just him, either; Inuyasha here kept mutterin' her name in his freakin' sleep! Could ya fill me in, Yug?"
"I have no idea who she is either."
"ENOUGH!", screamed Inuyasha, finally losing his temper after listening to the three talk. "I'll tell you all you need to know, but you have to promise me you will never bring it up again."
Sitting upon a nearby bench, Inuyasha closed his eyes, took a small swig from the old hip flask he carried, and began.
"I remember that day all too well. It had been over a year since I had last seen Kagome, and thanks in part to a messenger from the outside world, I learned that her birthday would be in a week of that day. Praying that she would still remember me, I was about to jump into the portal when a black flame shot out of it. Knowing full well that only a certain kind of fire could pass through this rift, I entered the present time. What I saw will remain burned in my waking memory.
"The entire temple was alight in the same black flame that had passed through the well in my time. As far as I could see, no one within a hundred miles would, or could, do anything about it. The air was so thick with blood I nearly fainted dead away. This had been a massacre of immense proportions; about a quarter of the area's population were dead or dying, and the whole city was ablaze. And standing in the midst of this was that scumbag Hiei, wielding a vicious sword that smoldered with that same malevolent conflagration that scorched the city. Several feet away, with a spear in hand, was Kagome, drenched in blood, bearing wounds that none could survive. As soon as he saw me, the demon soared into the air and with one swift move, he delivered the final blow. I knew she had died the second she hit the ground.
"But it was not over. I saw the slime search her corpse until he pulled out an ancient glass vial. Contained within were the shards of the Shikon Jewel. Without another word he left, leaving the dead for the buzzards...
"That heartless bastard doesn't deserve to live, and I'm not going to let him. For Kagome's sake, I won't let you down, Yugi!"
Joey, Roger, Kaiba, and Yusuke all swore similar oaths.
"I'll beat dat slimeball, Yug, you can count on it!"
"You have my word, too."
"All right, Yugi, I'll help you, but only to stop Hiei, nothing more."
"Let's take him down!"
Yugi changed into his Yami form, and addressed his comrades.
"Hiei can try all he wants, but combined we won't be stopped! His power feeds on fear and despair, and so long as we can prevent him from intimidating us, I know we can win, if we trust in ourselves and our decks!"
"How touching! It's a shame that such a powerful leader will fall in his first duel."
The group turned to face the jeering duelist, yet only Roger recognized him.
"It's been a long time, Beck, but not long enough."
The tawdry criminal turned on the ex-negotiator, and snapped, "Shut it, crow boy! My beef is with Mouto!"
Now turning towards Yami, Beck proclaimed his challenge. "Alright, hair boy, I challenge you to a duel, and if I win you get your first key for the tourney and this Vampire Lord, my rarest card. But if you lose, that Puzzle and God Card of yours are mine!"
"Very well, I accept your challenge. Activate Duel Gauntlet system!"
Both Beck and Yami drew their hand, and the second their life points locked on 4000, the duel field system materialized where it would have been on the regular Duel Disk.
"LET'S DUEL!" (4000/4000)
Okay, I admit it wasn't that great, but at least it's a plot, right? So, next chapter, Beck and Yugi will commence their duel, Schwarzvald unveils his ruthless technique, and is Kagome really dead? Find out next time. And remember, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!