Summer Freedom-part 3
It took all he had to keep from crying. Both of his knees were freshly road burned and still had pebbles stuck in his flesh. At the moment he was being supported by his two best friends who were like crutches.
"Easy now." Tristan placed him in a lying position in the backseat of the jeep so he wouldn't have to have his knees bent. Yugi clenched his teeth trying to fight back a scream caught in his throat.
The keys clicked as they were put in the ignition. The jeep hummed loudly to life. Tristan shifted the shifter with a little struggle before heading off.
"I'm so sorry", Joey sympathized from the passenger seat. He watched over him the whole way home.
"It's, okay Joey. It's not your fault", came a weak whisper.
Joey growled, "When I find out who did this!"
Tristan put a hand on his shoulder, "Relax man. There's not anything we can do right now because right now we need to get Yugi home."
Thankfully they weren't far from Yugi's home because a) Joey needed to pee, b) Yugi's road burns were becoming unbearable, and Tristan's driving skills weren't exactly top notch. He stalled the jeep twice while driving up the long stretch.
"Hurry up Speedy Gonzales or I'm gonna pee my shorts, whined Joey. And just so you know if you stall the jeep again I'm walkin'."
"Oh relax would ya? It's just around this corner up here."
Tristan turned the corner. Just a little ways to go...nothing could go wrong now.
"SON OF A! Shouted Tristan as the jeep yet again stalled.
Joey sighed, clearly annoyed. "That's what you get for stealing your dad's jeep."
"Come on, start!" Tristan frantically turned the keys, but it was no use. The jeep wasn't going anywhere.
"See ya!" Joey hopped out and proceeded to pick up sleeping Yugi from the backseat.
"Alright, fine! Just be careful with him." He paused before shouting at Joey who was now more than halfway down the street with Yugi. "I'll meet you guys there soon!" He put his head down on the steering wheel. There was no way he was going to get away with this now.
Xx
Down the street, Joey briskly walked with Yugi slung over his shoulder. His determination could be seen within his expression. The sun was beginning to fade way overhead at the five o clock hour. Yugi awoke from his slumber with the rays in his face and slowly opened his eyes. A quiet moan escaped his lips. Joey glanced at his shoulder. "We're almost there bud, he said sympathetically. Hang in there."
Joey rounded the final corner before entering the cul-de-sac. Kame Game was just feet away to his relief. Using his free hand, he gently pushed opened the front door, causing silver bells to ring gently. Mr. Moto poked his head up from behind the counter, and raised an eyebrow, surprised that a customer came in at this hour. His eyes widened upon seeing his grandson.
"...Yugi? Yugi! What happened to you"?
Joey laid him across the couch and explained what happened as he began treating his grandson's wounds. Yugi twitched slightly at the cold rag's touch. He listened while the two talked about the incident.
"That's all they took, just the cards"? Mr. Moto questioned Joey. Joey nodded, "I thought it was strange too, I mean, if I were them, I would've taken his iPhone and his wallet, not a deck of cards." It was only did Solomon begin working at removing the pebbles in his knees did he scream in agony.
"Yugi, I'm so sorry, but I really need to get these out before the infection gets any worse."
He nodded and closed his eyes, yelping quietly as more pebbles were removed. His grip on the couch was turning his knuckles white. After what seemed like an hour, his grandpa sat back, satisfied. "Well, that should do for now. But until tomorrow, this should help." Yugi sat up and watched as a gooey substance was rubbed into his knees and down his calves. "There." Mr. Moto got up and put the tube of Neosporin back in the medicine cabinet in the kitchen.
Yugi looked around and noticed Joey was gone. He vaguely remembered what happened to Tristan and his father's jeep. There was quiet clang of dishes coming from the kitchen and out came his grandfather with a bowl and offered it to Yugi.
Yugi took the bowl graciously, smelling the soup. "Thanks, grandpa."
"You're welcome, my boy. Now if I hadn't eaten all those cinnamon rolls, I'd give some to you to go with your dinner!"
Yugi chuckled quietly, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah..." He poked at his soup eagerly.
"Well, I think I'm calling it a night", said Mr. Moto through a fit of yawning. He disappeared after a flick of the lights in the hallway.
"Alright, good night, grandpa." He stretched his legs, being careful not to bend at the knees. He let out a long sigh. "Well this was a great way to start out summer vaca..."
Yugi closed his eyes slept on the red leather couch that night.
Xx
Nearly a month had passed since the incident. Yugi's injuries were fully healed, but he didn't feel complete without his deck. Joey and Tristan asked around, hoping someone would know something, but much to their dismay, there was nothing. Yugi sat up from his bed and stepped over to the front of his window and looked out. He replayed the conversation he had with Joey the previous night on Facebook.
"You've asked around, right? Nothing at all"?
"Yes, for the umpteenth time. No one believes that a group of purple hooded thugs stole a deck of cards from you. That and they feel no sympathy.
"Well who have you asked"?
"I've asked all of our friends. The only one I haven't asked is your cousin. He...kinda gives me the creeps. I mean, have you seen the guy's stare"?
Yugi understood that. Seto had this icy look that made many people afraid to approach him. His eyes were almost like sapphires.
"I understand. Thanks for your help, Joey."
"No problem. I just hope we find that deck of yours soon. I really want to try my skills against you so I can prepare for Kaiba's tournament."
Xx
"Well, he said call if I need anything..." Yugi glanced at his desk with his iPhone and laptop laying on top.
*Kaiba Corp HQ*
Seto sat at the long, rectangular desk in front of him. His elbows rested in front of the monitor with his head atop his hands. He wore a white three piece suit with a periwinkle shirt and navy tie. His eyes narrowed as he watched the stocks. Mokoba knelt on his knees as he watched a show on the sixty-inch flat screen mounted to the wall. Seto wanted more than anything to run the company as the CEO. His stepfather was still in charge since he had most of the shares. "One day, I WILL run this company", he thought aloud.
The raven haired teen turned to his older brother. "Hey bro? Can we watch Spongebob"?
Seto never took his eyes off the screen, nor did he acknowledge his brother. Rather he continued to type away and replied, "Shut up, Mokoba."
"Typical", remarked Mokoba under his breath. He suddenly found the massive bookcase that outlined the room more appealing.
Seto continued to labor at his computer, or rather his father's. The new game of Duel Monsters was a huge hit and the company wanted to enhance it further. He was determined to invent a new duel disk since the last one was sorely rejected. (The design was identical to the modern duel disks in the anime). His father thought the idea was preposterous. "A device that uses holograms to play card games? You must be out of your mind!" He looked over the progress, pleased. "This time this will be successful..." It was then that the office phone rang.
He glared at the obnoxious device. Who in their right mind would interrupt him at a time like this?
"What is it!" He practically yelled.
"Kaiba? Hey it's Yugi." He cooled off upon hearing his cousin's voice.
"Yugi!"
"Sorry to bother you, but I kind of have a situation... He paused a moment before continuing. I won't be able to take part in your tournament because my cards were stolen." Yugi braced himself for the worst, but instead was surprised.
Kaiba calmly replied, "what happened"?
"I was walking home from Joey's house and I kinda got jumped."
Seto could barley contain his rage. "What did I tell you Yugi!"
"I'm... sorry..."
Seto sighed before replying, "Whatever. What did these goons look like? Upon hearing the description he mumbled, rare hunters.
"You know them"?
"They're no stranger to us, Yugi. A few years back they stole some of our machinery before the company converted to gaming. To put it simply, you have nothing to worry about. I WILL get your deck back for you."
"Thanks, Kaiba!" *Click* He hoped Seto was right. The tournament was a week away and he hadn't practiced with his deck much. There was no way we could lose to Seto.
Longest Chapter to date! Woot :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please Review and let me know what you like!
