Chapter 5

As it turned out he'd built the press conference up to what it wasn't. Mokuba had been right about Kaiba only letting those journalists he knew in as it helped put Yugi at ease, they hadn't barked and yelled at him for comments like he expected. Kaiba had in fact done the majority of the talking but he had been asked a few questions which actually hadn't been as bad as he thought they might be. Kaiba had announced the start of the tournament and the registration for anyone wanting to take part, which was to open in a mere couple of hours. Yugi's involvement in the tournament had been discussed and it had been made clear the winner of this tournament would receive a cash prize and perhaps more valuably the title of King of Games from whoever held it in the finals, however when asked Yugi had said he had no intention of losing his title. Kaiba himself had declared his involvement and determination to take the title from Yugi. Yugi had had to stifle a laugh then as he was reminded about the conversation he'd had with his friends about how Kaiba had really created this new duel disk for himself. There was a slight pause now between the conference and beginning of the photos which Yugi guessed was to allow time for the news to break. Although Yugi had found he'd only been able to go and get a quick bite to eat from the room Mobuka had set up for him before he'd been called through for the photographs. These photos were going to be used all for advertising and some may even appear on the television as Kaiba had made it clear that all the duels would be broadcast.

Yugi had soon found that doing photoshoots was not his favourite part of being King of Games. He found it really awkward to stand there with all the huge lights upon him and people calling out to him about how they wanted him to stand or what they wanted him to do. Mokuba had been true to his word with the photographers being people they knew and trusted. To their credit the photographers were very friendly which had helped but still he was still not exactly comfortable. The flash was almost blinding which didn't help matters and Yugi ended up having to ask for a break to let his eyes recover. Staggering slightly he made his way to the side of the room where there were refreshments laid on a table. Picking up a bottle of water he drank it slowly and tried to blink away the bright spots in his eyes.

"Having fun Yugi?" A familiar voice beside him asked.

Looking over he saw Atem looking at him with an amused look on his face.

"Oh yeah being nearly blinded by these lights is a dream come true."

"It would seem to me that maybe you should have practised more to prepare for this, then the lights may not be so much of a problem."

Yugi eyed him, there was an edge to his voice. Atem was hinting at something and from the devilish look on his face he could almost be sure of what he was referring to.

"What do you mean?"

Atem tried but ultimately failed to hide his smirk, "Well, you could have practised more. Maybe a mirror would have helped."

Yugi's jaw dropped, "Don't tell me he told you!"

He didn't even try to hide his smirk this time, "Oh yes I heard the whole story. Full marks to you though as you can never be sure what may happen with this sort of thing and the last thing I would want to do would be to make a fool of myself."

"Do you want to swap? You go out there, I'll watch from here and laugh."

"Oh no Yugi. This one is yours to take as we both know you're more then prepared."

Yugi gave the former King a shove but he was smiling. Straightening himself Atem grinned back at him. He wanted to say more but someone called his name and Yugi soon found himself back in front of the cameras. Atem watched as Yugi stood in front of the cameras, following the instructions that he was given. It was clear that Yugi still didn't feel comfortable with this but then he'd never really liked having all the attention focused on him. Despite having teased Yugi for this he had to admire him as this was something he knew he'd never want to do. He may have been a Pharaoh in a previous life and constantly been the centre of attention but that was not to say he'd revelled in it. And even when he been sealed in the puzzle he would have let Yugi take an event like this.

"Well this is a surprise seeing you here." A voice called to him.

Glancing over Atem saw Seto Kaiba making his way over to him.

"I'm surprised Yugi didn't get the whole squad to come over and cheer for him."

"There's a difference between supporting someone at a duel and doing something like this Kaiba." Atem said, folding his arms.

"True enough but it will count on the field when I reclaim that title and then Yugi will need his full cheer squad."

"Are you so sure about that Kaiba?" Atem asked, smirking, "As I recall you still haven't managed to defeat either of us."

This was true, one of the first things which had happened to Atem after being released from the puzzle was Kaiba immediately challenging him to a duel to once and for all settle who was the better duellist. But of course, Atem had come out on top much to Kaiba's annoyance. Over the last couple of months a couple of requests for a rematch had been made but Atem had declined stating that he'd proven his point. Eventually Kaiba had reluctantly accepted that but it didn't stop him trying to out do his rival every chance he got.

"I may not have defeated you Pharaoh but I still became a CEO of a worldwide company which enabled your friend there to become the duellist he is. Can you match that?"

Atem scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Definitely not, it's not like I saved the world from the darkness which allowed you to even build your company in the first place."

There was a pause as the two of them eyed each other.

"Touché." Kaiba said, eventually.

Over these last few years and especially since Kaiba had fully accepted the Pharaoh's existence their relationship had evolved from that of pure hatred to mutual respect. Although they both constantly tried to get one over on the other it was of a more friendly nature then anything else. Smirking at Kaiba's response Atem turned to the refreshment table and picked up a couple of bottles of water, throwing one to Kaiba he opened the second and took a small sip.

"Would I be right in saying you still have no intention of getting your title back from Yugi?" Kaiba asked.

Atem nodded, "You're correct. I have no intention of joining the tournament, this is Yugi's time. It's his time to shine and I am not getting in the way of that."

"Don't you miss it?"

Looking around at his rival Atem studied the look on Kaiba's face. It would appear he genuinely wanted to know the answer.

"Perhaps but as I have said this is Yugi's time and I have no wish to intrude."

Kaiba stared at him for a moment not quite able to understand why he wouldn't want to get involved and win back his title but seemed to decide to let it go. It also occurred to him that once he won that title from Yugi the Pharaoh would be more then willing to duel him for it. Soon enough he would have his victory over both Yugi and the Pharaoh, then he could reclaim what was his. The two rivals shared one last look with one other before Kaiba went off to bark orders at his workers and Atem turned back to watching Yugi.

It seemed to be never ending but eventually it was decided that they had enough photos to work with and Yugi was finally free. After thanking everyone multiple times, Yugi collected his belongings and with Atem they made their way out of KaibaCorp. However, on the steps they were greeted by a sea of reporters all wanting Yugi to make a comment to them.

"How confident are you that you'll win this tournament?" Someone shouted.

"Will you be using the god cards?" Another called.

"Have you got anything new to show your fans when you duel?"

Yugi smiled and politely tried to tell them that he'd said everything he could about the tournament at the moment. He managed to push himself through the crowd, Atem following close behind, once they had reached the bottom of the stairs the reporters seemed to admit defeat and turned back to the tower in the hopes that someone else would come out and give them a scoop on the upcoming tournament. The two of them quickly set off towards the city in search of their friends. A quick phone call to Tea told them where they could find them although it really shouldn't have been a surprise to either of them. They caught up with their friends outside one of the registration points for the tournament. There was quite a queue forming outside all with excited duellists ready to show what they were made of. From the meeting with Kaiba Yugi knew that it wasn't just register and that's it you're in the tournament, a potential contender had to meet certain criteria to be allowed to entered otherwise some duels could be between those with loads of experience and beginners which in itself wouldn't make for much of a tournament. Yugi spotted Tea and Tristan sitting on a bench nearby and headed straight for them.

"I don't think I need to ask where Joey is." He said, grinning at his friends.

"First in the queue our man Joey was." Tristan said, "It wasn't before declaring that he would be the winner to those behind that he finally went inside to register."

"Well you never know Tristan this might just be Joey's year." Tea said. "He might surprise us all with new tricks that we've never seen before."

At that moment the doors burst open and Joey practically leapt out of the building, a huge grin on his face. He was holding a piece of paper in his hand which he proudly held over his head.

"Oh yeah! Look at this! Joey Wheeler is officially a contender in the tournament, watch out boys because me and my deck will cruise through this tournament."

He proceeded to strut towards his friends with a look of triumph on his face to which his friends merely smiled slightly and shook their heads. This was all simply Joey being Joey and they had to admire him for his belief in himself. Joey soon spotted Yugi standing with Tristan and he bounded over to him throwing his arm around his smaller friend's shoulder.

"What do you think Yuge? It could well be me against you in the final."

"That would be great Joey but don't get ahead of yourself, there's a few rounds to get through before we even get to that point."

"Oh don't you worry Yugi, I'm confident the two of us will face each other before the tournament is over."

Before anyone else from the group could respond there was a cry from the crowd. They had just noticed Yugi's presence and were all trying to greet him. Pulling himself from Joey's grip he straightened up and waved, much to the crowds' delight.

"I better go and greet some of these people." Yugi said to the others before heading towards the crowd.

Atem watched as Yugi smiled broadly and began talking to the fans. He couldn't help but be proud of how far Yugi had come and how he could do this with ease. It was clear from the reaction of the crowds that they really did look up to Yugi. From the boy who'd been tormented by bullies and made to feel small now here he was with the confidence to shine and be who he was.

"That's down to you, you know." Joey said, looking at Atem.

Atem shook his head, "Yugi always had this inside him, I just… reminded him it was there."

"No you did more then that pal." Joey replied, throwing his arm around Atem's shoulders, "You showed him how to be confident and helped him to believe that. He really believes in himself now and as his friends I think we'd all agree its been incredible to see him grow into who he is now."

The other two nodded in agreement and Atem smiled at them.

"He's been lucky to have you all to help him through as well. You have been there for both of us over the years and we both have a lot to thank you for."

"What are friends for!" Tristan put in, also throwing his arm around the once king, "You know this tournament will be different. It won't just be me and Tea on the sidelines and that means when Yugi or Joey win their duels we have someone else there to celebrate."

Atem frowned, not entirely sure where this was heading. Joey, on the other hand, knew exactly what Tristan was referring to and in mock surprise he looked at Tristan.

"Tristan, are you saying what I think you are saying?"

"I believe I am Joey. It would appear the victory dance crew has a new member."

Atem's eyes widen as he realised what they were referring to. Ducking out from their grip he backed away slightly.

"Oh no, that's something I do not think I should intrude with."

"Why not Atem?" Tristan asked, "Don't you think it would make Yugi really happy to see you, me and Joey doing the victory dance on the sidelines after he wins?"

Behind them Tea laughed, it was quite rare to see Atem look a little like a cornered rabbit. She could definitely not imagine the once king being up for something like this, after all he was not one to do something that would make him look ridiculous and she knew for a fact Yugi would never let him live it down. Thankfully for the Pharaoh he was saved from replying as a shout suddenly sounded from inside the building. It was such a shout that it drew everyone's attention. A rather mean looking boy emerged from the building, he couldn't have been much older then Yugi and his friends. Turning to face the building once more he began to shout again.

"Fine! If you don't want your precious King of Games to be defeated that's your loss. Just because I'm not a small spikey headed punk doesn't mean I can't be the greatest. So you can keep your stupid prize money and shove it right up your-"

But just where they could shove it, they didn't find out as Kaiba's security moved in and escorted the boy away. The boy stomped away but not before he threw Yugi the darkest of looks. Handing back the card he'd just signed he moved back to his friends who were all staring after the boy.

"What was that about?" Yugi asked.

"Some people just can't handle being rejected I guess." Tristan replied.

"Don't take it personally Yugi." Joey said, "There's always people out there who will think they're better and throw their weight around."

Yugi nodded before looking back at his friends.

"Shall we get out of here before anything else happens?"

They nodded and with a last wave back at the fans Yugi led the way away and further into town. As they walked they saw and heard nothing but the tournament. All the news channels were talking about it as well as the radios. Exactly like Grandpa predicted Yugi did get stopped a fair few times by fans running up to him and wanting photographs or autographs. He didn't mind, he knew this was all part of being the King of Games and he was enjoying every minute.