Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 020
Originally Written: Sunday, April 10, 2022 656AM to 735AM
. . . . .
"Your grandpa's a pretty cool guy, Yugi." Duke Devlin lounged on a couch in Solomon's living room, eating a slice of pizza.
Yugi gave him a blank stare, then ignored him completely. How many more times was someone gonna tell him that? It was bad enough that the voice was nagging him with its own concerns.
Duke looked at the others. They shook their heads at him. Duke blinked in confusion, then shrugged his shoulders.
Seto didn't look up from his book. He spoke after Yugi left the room. "He says thank you."
"I heard that!" Yugi shouted, stopping to look at an envelope sitting on the kitchen table. He finally figured out how to get Seto to visit Solomon at the Kame Game Shop. It was certainly better, and safer than whatever the heck was going on at Kaiba Corp and the Kaiba Mansion. He'd have to get them both kicked out if Seto kept trying to speak for him though.
Joey started up a conversation about his sister, named Serenity. She was all cleared for her eye operation. He sounded quite giddy.
Yugi stared at the envelope, debating. He wasn't expecting Duke, and yet, he seemed to be, because he had everything set up already. He's not sure how he wound up apologizing for his 'lackey of a friend', but Duke only replied in thanks.
"Your 'lackeys' saved my hide! Those bitches were ready and waiting for me to get snuffed by a Kaiba! No thank you!" The next thing Yugi knew, Duke was a part of the club. Though, this was the first time he stopped over at the game shop.
'Your generosity will be returned in full, Yugi.' The voice said.
'I don't want money.' Yugi frowned, and folded his arms.
'I know.' The voice had seemed quiet and subdued lately. Yugi couldn't blame it. Pegasus gave nearly everything that wouldn't directly be tied to the Pegasus inheritance away, and both couldn't help but think that Kaiba Corporation had something to do with it. All hush-hush and secret via a sub company they owned, Duel Academics.
'Those were the actions of a man expecting to die.' The voice told him after they got back from Duelist Kingdom. 'He knew he would die, and he did not want his enemies to take his resources to use for themselves.'
Yugi couldn't help but believe him. Yugi wrote many such letters himself growing up. He just didn't have anyone to give them to, and wasn't that annoying? Or fortunate? He found good recipients, and suddenly didn't want to write them anymore. Well, he still wrote letters and notes. The subject matter just changed.
'Funny how that goes.' The voice quipped.
Yugi grabbed the envelope and walked out of the kitchen. "I've got something for you guys."
A few minutes later Tea, Tristan, Bakura, Joey, Duke and Mokuba stared at the checks in their hands. Yugi hoped they didn't protest like Solomon did.
"You're an absolute dream, Yugi." Tea wrapped her arms around him for a quick, yet tight hug. "Thank you."
"It's far too much for me. I couldn't figure out what to do with it." He shrugged. He looked at Seto, "I didn't think you needed anymore, eh, funding."
"You're still mad about the castle thing, huh?" Bakura asked.
"No..." Yugi folded his arms and looked away.
"You did save some for yourself, Yug', right?" Joey wasn't sure why Yugi gave some of his winnings to him. He already had winnings.
"Yea, I did. Don't worry."
"Why me though?" Duke asked, holding the check like it was made of pure gold. "Not that I'm rejecting it, but we barely know each other."
"Dude," Tristan rolled his eyes, "shut up and say 'Thank you'. This is enough to put all of us through college and thensome."
"Is it really, big bro?" Mokuba leaned up against Seto's side.
Seto looked over at the check. "Yes. A local community college, for certain. I'll open up an account in your name for you when we get home. We'll put most of it there for safekeeping when you reach majority. The rest we can invest. If done right, you'll still have money left over. A good nest egg for purchasing property or retirement. Alone by itself, it's enough for a seed starter for a small business." Seto went back to reading. Whether or not anyone else took his financial advice was up to them.
"Like a backup plan, because funding for a certain Dungeon Dice Game fell through." Bakura nudged Duke, who suddenly looked quite misty-eyed.
"Holy-moley! Thanks Yugi!" Mokuba beamed.
Yugi bit into a slice of pizza, with a small smile on his face. Bakura told him Pegasus was alright last time he spoke to him. Apparently that was a privilege of the Top Ten Duelists in the world. Or maybe just Bakura, he wasn't sure. Either way, it left the question. Why was someone like Noah Kaiba suddenly so interested in Pegasus' life?