After the battle against the Sea Duelsit Mako Tsunami, our heroes continued their way. With no true plan in mind, they headed towards the inner lands; knowing they would eventually bump into a duelist who would want to challenge Yuugi or Joey.
As they walked, leaving the blue waters behind them, they could not help but get into a casual talk. Mostly about Mako, since they realized one thing. A lot of duelists that had come to that island, did so because they had a specific goal in mind. Something that needed money to be solved, and many times was far from selfish.
Just like Yuugi and Joey.
This did make the duels a little bit harder since you realized you reduced the chance of someone else to achieve what they wanted; let alone needed it. However, with human lives at stake, they were serious and did not let that thing from stopping them.
Suddenly, their talk was disturbed by the screams of a child. Coming to a halt, they all looked left and right as they tried to find the source of the scream.
"Over there" Raion pointed in a certain direction, being the first one to notice.
One of Pegasus' men dressed all in black and with the known black sunglasses; had one child-duelist in a choke hold and was dragging them away.
"Let me go!" the child shouted as they tried to free their neck from the tight elbow grip but failed to do so. "Someone, save me!"
"Hold it right there!" Tristan shouted as they all rushed towards the goon and the kid.
Tristan, acting on impulse, charged first and aimed a good right hook at the crook. When the goon dodged and left the child in the process, our hero grabbed his hand and flipped him over his shoulder. Without even looking or opening his eyes, he smirked at himself.
"Nailed it," he said and for that reason and pride, he did not see how the goon simply landed on his feet.
Then, he was quick to use that momentum to eject himself towards Tristan. One leg lifted and he would deliver a good kick at the prideful boy if it was not for Raion. The moment Tristan opened his eyes, he saw the kick coming in slow motion. Yet, before it could come too close…someone appeared.
Raion, moving without making a sound, had appeared between the goon and Tristan. Head moved a mere inch to miss the black pointy shoe, she delivered one strong elbow jab on the stomach of the man. The air had been knocked off his lungs, the hit had found a unique spot on the torso that related to his breathing.
The jab was so unusually strong, causing all of the man's momentum to be lost and he was sent flying back instead. This time, disoriented from the hit and the missing air, he did not save himself. He landed roughly on the ground just as a very angry Raion stood protectively between him and Tristan.
The man coughed and jumped back on his feet, showing a quick recovery from such a hard blow and confirming to Raion that he was well-trained. Or at least, trained well enough to be able to keep up. The scream of the kid made everyone focus back on it, only to see a second goon had grabbed it and lifted it.
"Hey!" Raion shouted as she turned and was about to hit that goon too when she felt the hair at the back of her neck being lifted in warning.
Acting fast, she threw her body to the side and tackled Tristan in the process. Both fell on the ground, rolling a few times but they dodged a hit from the first goon. Raion quickly stood up, just as her friends quickly caught up.
"Let that kid go!" Joey ordered, cracking his knuckles.
"We can solve this without violence" Yuugi begged, not liking seeing his friends getting hurt or anyone in general.
"It's for your good that you do not interfere" the first goon said, as his friend turned and pointed at the gauntlet of the captured kid; which was missing all of his starts.
"As you can see, this duelist has lost all of his Star Chips" goon number two added.
"You are wrong! My star chips and cards were stolen!" the child argued back, trying to save himself from being kicked off the island.
Stolen? Raion mentally wondered. It made sense, in a way, for someone to still Star Chips. But cards as well? Why would someone do that? She wondered mentally. One could not simply steal the cards of others because its set was created with a balance existing between the cards. Each duelist knew their cards and what strategy to use to win. One could simply not mix random cards they have never tested and expect to win.
Every duelist knew that, even her that she was don't an active participant in this game.
"It doesn't matter," Goon 2 said. "If you lose all of your Star Chips, you are deported from the island. Those are the rules, give up"
With those words, the two goons started to walk away with the kid. Raion helped Tristan up as she glared deadly at the two men, wanting to go after them. The problem was if she ended up getting into a big fight. Pegasus could try and kick her off the island, and she could not leave Yuugi and Joey alone.
Despite the odd situation and the risk it involved in their final decision, our heroes rushed after the boy and the two goons. They reached them by the shore, at a small wooden harbour, where the small boat would send the defeated duelists off the island.
"Hey! You!" Yuugi shouted as they all managed to reach their destination, now having to deal with three goons dressed in black. "What did the person who stole your cards and star chips look like?"
"I didn't see his face because he kept it covered with a bandana. He suddenly challenged me into a duel" the boy explained.
"Was it at the duel ring in the grasslands?" Raion asked next, trying to get any useful information that would help them find this thief before it was too late.
"Yes. When I placed my star chips and my deck on the table, he stole them and ran away!"
"We will find the thief. Just wait" Yuugi said with determination.
Goon 3 moved to stand between our heroes and the boy, hands folded in front of his chest. "The boat departs in 30 minutes. That's your time limit"
Raion bit the inside of her cheek. That was a very small time limit, compared to the vast land they would have to search. They were genuinely challenging their luck but for the sake of the child, they would do it. For no one could stand aside and see the young duelist, younger than them even, unfairly having his chances wiped out because of a thief. No, they would try and they would manage to help the boy.
Once they had left the boat behind them, Joey woke up from his mighty words of being a hero and helping the boy.
"But how will we find the thief?" he asked, scratching the side of his head.
"Well, we were given a clue. The Grassland Type Duelist Arenas. Which are…well…here…" she motioned for the few arenas that they were approaching.
"I agree with Raion," Yuugi said, as per usual, full of energy. He rushed forward towards the Arena, holding the straps of his backpack tightly. "They say the thief always returns to the scene of the crime"
Raion shook her head slightly but could not help and give a small smile. As per usual, her friend was optimistic and innocent, and while he did have a point; the redhead was always more of a realist. It was a part of her character.
Her friends all sat down but she chose to keep standing. She just could not help but have this odd feeling, as if they were not alone. Eyes travelled around them, searching but the question was…what? Or better say….
Whom?
"Will we even find the thief ourselves?" Tristan asked, very quickly losing the confidence he had just moments ago when he was giving promises.
Raion had stayed fully quiet, having what Tristan and Joey called 'That Look'. It was something she had when she was very focused when something had come into her mind. Usually a very good idea or a very dark realization, never something in between.
She seemed to be staring at the ground in front of her, eyes staring with intensity at the grass and muscles stiff. Lifting her head, she looked straight before turning her body to fully face a bush by her right. "Guess he found us."
Suddenly, the mystery man or better say boy; jumped out of his hiding place. Face covered with a bandana, he fitted the criteria of the thief. Purple eyes were filled with hate, locked only on the form of Yuugi.
"I found you, Yuugi!" the thief shouted, causing everyone else to jump up on their feet.
"He must be the one we were looking for!" Joey concluded, also recognizing the bandana.
"I will beat him up!" Tristan exclaimed and went to take a step but Raion lifted her hand to stop him.
"No. Wait" she said, her eyes never leaving her target, who was so fixated on Yuugi.
The look he gave the boy, was so dark. There was so much hatred in them and anger, she could almost see it around him like some dark red aura. She knew that look, she had seen it on herself too many times.
It was the look of someone who was in pain, who needed someone to blame for that pain. And when they did, hatred filled their hearts and blinded their minds. It was one of the worst things someone could do, not only to themselves but also to others who would be the victims and scapegoats of that hatred.
"Raion is right. I think he is here for me" Yuugi said to the two taller boys, which stopped and looked at him in shock. "Do you want to duel me?"
The boy gave a sharp nod, hands never opening or loosening up his tight fists, his body still with anger.
The duel had started, each duelist betting 5 stars. It was all Yuugi had and it was all the boy had stolen, since he wore no duelist glove either. The duel was short and stopped in the middle, the very first monster the boy played was weaker compared to the one of Yami.
The ancient spirit had once again, come out of the millennium puzzle to assist Yuugi. His dragon destroyed the carnivorous plant with ease, and Yami had a very simple explanation as to why.
"You cannot defeat my monsters using stolen cards, because your heart doesn't dwell inside stolen cards," he said in his calm, serious voice.
To some it most likely did not make sense, but not to our heroes who had witnessed it firsthand. Yami had a much stronger hand already, the cards assisting him and also wanting justice. However, the young thief did not seem to be from those who listened, let alone believe in what he was told.
"Yuugi, I do not believe in your 'heart of the cards'!" the boy admitted, just as Raion speculated. "Cards aren't about heart! Cards are about power!"
Raion's lips parted, a sense of almost dejavu hitting her like a comet from outer space. Those words felt too familiar to her. That voice did too and she almost hit herself for not realizing faster, having seen the boy from afar when Yuugi dueled Kaiba.
"Mokuba?" she called the boy out loud, making her two friends next to her look like she was crazy to make such a connection without any true clue of appearance and just mere words.
However, Yami gave a small nod and the most ghost of smirks. He expected nothing else from her sharp mind and thinking, both having come to the same conclusion.
"Like I thought. You are Mokuba, Seto's Kaiba younger brother" the spirit said, hands folded in front of his chest and eyes closed.
"Shut up!" Mokuba shouted, pulling down the bandana and freeing his wild hair from the purple beanie. "My brother vanished because you hurt his pride! It's your fault that now Pegasus is trying to take over Kaiba Corp"
"What? Pegasus?"
"Pegasus spread the news worldwide that you defeated my brother" Mokuba started, making Raion look at him with wide eyes.
This is why so many duelists knew about them and the battle. She thought, having doubted that Seto had actually broadcasted the duel and even if he had done so, she doubted everyone had streamed in to watch it.
"Since then….Kaiba Corp has lost the trust of its investors, and business had plummeted. That's what Pegasus was waiting for" Mokuba took a moment to glare at the field in front of him, his fist shaking from the anger he had within, as the memories he narrated were harsh and very fresh. "Yuugi, it's all your fault!"
"I understand the situation," Yami said in his calm voice, his attention fully on the lonely boy. "But that is no excuse for stealing other people's cards"
Mokuba did not listen and decided to try again but the dragon of Yuugi was more than enough to defeat his next monster since the child had no true experience in duelling and the strategy it involved. Yami repeated the same mantra to him about the heart of the cards but the boy refused to believe, his anger clouding his mind.
Joey argued with him as well, about the stolen star chips and how it was not the proper duel way. Adding to what Yami said, of Mokuba not truly understanding the game either way.
"Shut up! I have to protect Kaiba Corp in my brother's place!" Mokuba shouted back from the elevated platform.
Raion hummed slightly. "I see. This is why he is after Yuugi's stars" she said, one hand rubbing her chin slightly; something she often did when she was thinking. "If Yuugi gets disqualified, then in technical terms, he never lost the duel"
"What do you mean?" Tristan asked, confused.
"You do not understand?" Joey asked him in return, pretending that he understood.
"Do you?!" he asked back, causing the confident persona of Joey quickly disappeared as he sweat0dropped.
He rubbed the back of his neck slightly. "Well no" he then turned to Raion. "What do you mean?"
Raion let out a sigh, hanging her head for a moment as she stood between the two boys. Sometimes, she felt she was the only one thinking outside the box or seeing the bigger picture. Yet, she still chose to give them a better insight.
"What I mean is…For Pegasus to take over Kaiba Corp, according to Mokuba, he has to defeat Yuugi in a duel" she started, bringing up what Mokuba told them about the meeting he spied on between the shareholders of Kaiba Corp and Pegasus. "However, if Yuugi gets disqualified and doesn't duel Pegasus, then Pegasus' promise is void. The investors will not give him the company and this whole plan will go to waste"
She then glanced up at Yami, who had also listened to her carefully. His face was hard to read but he was deep in thought as well. "I see" he exclaimed, turning to look at Mokuba again.
However, the boy was gone from his position on the lifted platform. Before Yami could process what was going on or even speculate where the boy went, Mokuba appeared and grabbed the star chips before jumping off the platform.
