Back at the Old Winter Palace, it only took Yugi a few minutes (and the generous application of both baksheesh and what Seto called the 'puppy eyes of doom') to convince the desk clerk to give him the room he wanted. He walked into his room -- the one next to Dr. Viridian's suite -- with a lighter wallet and a satisfied smirk. Dr. Viridian wasn't the only one who could be tricky.
Yugi's room offered a view of sunlight sparkling on the wide stretch of the Nile, and a glimpse of the hotel's lush gardens. Not quite as impressive as a front row seat at the Great Pyramid, but still beautiful. The suite next door was even more impressive, spanning the entire width of the old hotel. Dr. Viridian must be as important and famous as Sugoroku had always said to rate such accommodations. But why would a man with a reputation like that risk it by stealing from the museum? None of it made any sense, and Yugi's head hurt just thinking about it.
He leaned on the windowsill and watched the large white sails of the feluccas gliding along the river. The sailboats, reminiscent of earlier times, were in sharp contrast to the motorboats zipping among them with same reckless disregard for right of way the automobile drivers cultivated on shore. On the far side of the river, the green swathe of fertile soil ended abruptly at the edge of the desert. The demarcation was sharp, as if someone had drawn a line beyond which vegetation wasn't allowed to encroach. In the hazy distance on the other side of the fields, rose the towering beige cliffs that concealed the world's most famous cemetery, the Valley of the Kings.
He took a second to splash some tepid water on his face in an effort to ward off returning fatigue before heading to the private parlor downstairs.
From the open double doors, Mana sent him a cheery wave. "Mr. Mutou! Please join us."
Yugi usually left the 'dealing with people' part of the business up to Seto (who wasn't any better at it than Yugi, but who also didn't care that he wasn't any good at it). However, he had participated in enough gaming tournaments and expositions that he had learned to cope. So he put a smile on his face and tried to pretend he wouldn't prefer to be hunched over his computer at home, working on his latest game code, rather than walking into a room filled with what looked like the eleven unhappiest tourists in all Egypt. A quick inventory of faces let him know Dr. Viridian wasn't there.
Mana bounced into the room after him, took one look at the dour crowd, and promptly lost her perk. She recovered quickly, plastering on a fresh smile as she announced to the group at large, "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. I'll be your tour leader for our fantastic journey along the Nile! For now, I would like each of you to introduce yourself to the group so that we can all get to know one another better."
Everyone else looked exactly as underwhelmed by that statement as Yugi felt. For several excruciating seconds, no one moved.
Yugi had just resigned himself to taking one for the team and going first, when the guy across from him -- a weird little man with a bowl haircut and oversized glasses -- spoke up, introducing himself as Weevil and his companion as Rex, from San Francisco. Next came Siegfried, his wife Vivian, and a buxom blonde he claimed was his sister Mai, all from South Africa. Mai and Siegfried looked nothing alike, though Yugi supposed one or both of them might've been adopted.
Across from Siegfried, a white-haired young man slouched in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. When his turn came, he smirked. "Bakura, from England. And this is my brother Ryou." An airy wave indicated the virtually identical man beside him. In contrast to his brother's attitude, Ryou offered a shy smile and wave.
Then came a quartet of New Yorkers, all traveling together: Serenity, Téa, Rebecca, and Rebecca's grandfather, Arthur. Arthur smoothed his neat gray mustache and murmured a polite 'hello' in a clipped accent that hinted at an Ivy League education.
Everyone looked expectantly at Yugi. "Um, hi. I'm Yugi Mutou and I'm from Domino City, Japan."
"No way." Rex made a noise like a mouse in a blender. He sat up straighter and pulled at his t-shirt so the design on the front stood out. For the first time, Yugi noticed it was a picture of the Two-headed King Rex. "Dude! You're the guy who created Duel Monsters? I love that game!"
Yugi's face felt like it was on fire. Every eye in the room was staring at him. He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah. I'm a game designer. Um. Co-owner of Dual Designs, Inc., actually." Yugi managed a smile for Rex, who was grinning like a jack-o-lantern. "It's always great to meet a fan of the game."
"Dude!"
"Isn't this nice? Already, we're becoming good friends." Mana beamed at them. "Now, for the remainder of this afternoon, we'll take a stroll through the souk, where you may shop for souvenirs, and then visit the Luxor Museum."
Yugi barely heard her over the loud churning of his thoughts. Yami had gone to some effort to secure a place on the tour, surely he wouldn't skip it. So, where was he? Yugi fidgeted in his chair, waiting for the others to file out of the room at Mana's direction, then pounced on the tour guide when she turned to herd him out as well. "Do you know where Dr. Viridian is? I thought he'd be here..."
"Dr. Viridian will be joining us later." Mana's usually bright expression clouded into a petulant frown. "Please, Mr. Mutou, let's catch up with the others now. You'll enjoy the souk, I promise."
Trailing along behind Mana and the others, Yugi spent more time looking for some sign of Yami rather than actually taking in the sights. He wasn't pouting, though. Not even a little bit. He was guy. Guys didn't pout.
You so do.
Shut up! Yugi told his brain -- or Seto, or whatever the heck it was -- and deliberately turned his attention to his surroundings.
They wandered through narrow streets lined with small shops and stalls, many of which had displays set beneath awnings beside the entrance, all the better to lure customers inside. The displays, on the street and in the windows, were piled high with a variety of spices, baskets, pots, brightly colored cloth and clothing, ornate glass perfume bottles, and more kinds of fake 'antiquities' than Yugi had ever imagined existed. A persistent vendor shoved a carved scarab under his nose before he could fend it off, but Weevil -- making excited noises over the stone bug -- arrowed in, and Yugi made his escape.
A block before they reached the museum, Yugi noticed a sign on one of the side streets: Institute House. His heart sped up. Sugoroku's home away from home. He had spent months at Institute House -- surely, if Yugi looked there, he would find some clue to his grandpa's whereabouts.
Besides, Yami might be there.
Plotting to return later, he dutifully trotted after the tour group as they entered the small museum building. Inside, they passed a huge, red granite head from the colossal statue of some pharaoh. Upstairs, they stopped to admire a reconstructed wall from the Amarna Period constructed of 283 painted stone blocks. The blocks, called talatat after the Arabic word for the bricks they resembledcame from a dismantled temple to the Aten that once stood at Karnak. Built by the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten, the temple had been torn down and the rubble buried or used as fill by later kings.
Studying the strange, elongated skulls with which the pharaoh and his family had been depicted, so different from traditional Egyptian art, Yugi thought he should design more Egyptian themed cards for the next Duel Monsters expansion set. After all, the game's roots were firmly planted in Egypt. If he had never seen images of those tomb paintings, he wouldn't have invented the game. Surrounded by such inspiration, he knew he could make the new card set a success.
The tour began to drift off, breaking into smaller groups. Yugi pretended to study a double statue of the crocodile god Sobek and Pharaoh Amenhotep III, waiting until the others were out of sight before making his move. He dashed back toward the entrance, intent on getting out before anyone noticed his absence. He narrowly missed getting spotted by Bakura and Mai, who were whispering together as they walked, but he ducked behind the pharaonic head, and they passed by without seeing him.
As he trotted through the streets a moment later, he tried not to feel guilty about ditching the tour. Mana would worry about him, so he resolved to return to the hotel before dark. Maybe by then he would have picked up Yami's trail.
Blessed with a good sense of direction, he readily located the side street where he'd seen the Institute's sign. Institute House itself was a Victorian-looking edifice, set behind a high brick wall with an iron gate for the entrance. The gate was slightly ajar, so he squeezed through and into the courtyard on the other side. No one noticed him as he entered the building, but the soles of his sneakers squeaked on the polished granite floor, announcing his arrival to the secretary who sat behind a leaning tower of paperwork at the front desk.
"Heya!" The secretary was a young man of about Yugi's age, with a mop of sandy blond hair that fell over friendly brown eyes. "You look a little lost, if ya don't mind me sayin'. Can I help you?"
"I hope so. I'm Yugi Mutou. I'm looking for my grandfather, Dr. Sugoroku Mutou."
"Oh, yeah! I can see the resemblance, now ya mention it." The grin faded. "I'm sorry, but Dr. Mutou's not here. Was he expectin' ya? 'Cause he ain't been around here for a couple a weeks. He's on vacation. Somewhere upriver... I think." He scratched at the back of his head, then shrugged. "Eh-heh. Sorry. If you need any more information, you'll have to talk to Dr. Viridian. He's the head of the Institute, so he'd know. And, hey! Lucky for you, he's in town."
Yugi perked up. Yami was here! "Can I see Dr. Viridian now?"
"He ain't -- I mean, 'he isn't in his office... at the present time.'" It sounded rehearsed, and the blond looked embarrassed that he'd almost messed it up.
"Well... Could I wait for him in his office?" An idea had hatched itself in Yugi's head and was pecking impatiently at his frontal lobe. All he needed was a few minutes alone to poke around...
"Sorry, man. Can't do that. I can make ya an appointment if ya want, though."
Yugi found himself perilously close to not-pouting again. He blinked wide, hopeful eyes at the secretary. "Please? I really need to talk to Dr. Viridian right now."
"Gah!" The blond covered his eyes with one hand. "My sister does that puppy eye thing! It oughta be illegal." Keeping his eyes covered, he shooed Yugi away with the other hand. "Sorry, man, but it's not worth my job, y'know? Make an appointment and come back later."
Defeated, Yugi mumbled, "No, thanks," and slouched back out onto the street. Shoulders drooping, he looked around. Maybe the local police could offer some assistance?
After a bit of aimless wandering, and asking passers-by for directions, he stumbled across the police station. The inside of the building was hotter than the street outside, and the ancient fan laboring overhead did little more than stir the listless air around. As Yugi stood awkwardly just inside the doorway, a young man glanced up from his work and offered him a welcoming smile.
"I am Lieutenant Mahaad Bahur," the man said, rising to his feet and coming around his desk. "How may I assist you, sir?
Lieutenant Bahur was tall and lean, with broad shoulders beneath his uniform jacket. He had short, neatly trimmed brown hair, and blue eyes that sparkled with intelligence.
Yugi almost fainted with relief at seeing such a warm, friendly face. He felt that, at last, he had found someone who would be willing to help him.