Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Evading Destiny ❯ Chapter 14
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Murasaki Rose 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Romance / Fantasy / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.24.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 414 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shounen / Romance / Fantasy / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 12.24.2010 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 414 | Status: Work In Progress
Title: Evading Destiny
Part: 14/??
Author: Murasaki Rose
Beta: none
Genre: Romance/Fantasy/AU
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Yami Yuugi's real name
Warnings: Yaoi (male x male), implied Mpreg
Pairings: YYxY, SxJxS, DxT, YBxR, YMxM
Minor Pairings: BMGxA, BMxK, TxCxH, HxO, PxC, IxM
Disclaimer: Here we go. Yu-Gi-Oh and all its characters are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shueisha, Konami, Toei, and unfortunately, 4 Kids Entertainment. In other words, I don't own them and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.
A/N: "text" = speech, 'text' = thought, ((text)) = telepathy
Summary: Sequel to Retrieving Destiny. Months after their fateful trip to Egypt, the reunited soul mates continue to adjust to their new life in Domino as well as the modern teens' impending graduation. Things appear to be going well until a strange series of seemingly random attacks and bizarre accidents begin plaguing both the lights and their protectors, forcing their lovers into action. In order to protect their mates, the ancient beings must now determine not only the fate of the "lost" city of Atlantis, but also their entire species! The race is on to find the answers before they all face annihilation at the hands of an unknown enemy.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Opening day arrived and Yuugi and his friends had decided to meet at Domino City Park, where the tournament's opening ceremonies were going to be held late that afternoon. There was going to be a carnival running all day for the participating duelists and their families that would be open to the general public after the tournament started. Shortly before lunch time, Yuugi, Anzu, and Ryou met up at the front gate then headed inside the park gates to meet up with Jonouchi and Honda at the main food pavilion. Seto and Mokuba would not be joining them this time because they were busy handling all the last minute details for the tournament opening that afternoon.
After a light lunch the group headed for the midway where Yuugi quickly dominated the dart and ring toss games, becoming the proud owner of both a huge Black Magician plushie and a respectively large Winged Kuriboh.
((Mahaado is going to freak when he sees this,)) Yuugi told Atem as the vendor handed over the three foot tall plushie.
Chuckling as he imagined the mage's reaction, Atem had to agree. ((True, but you may have more trouble with how Kisara will react.))
((Oh?))
((I believe she will run off with it.))
Unable to hold it in, Yuugi started laughing out loud, getting odd looks from both his friends and some passers-by. Struggling to contain himself, Yuugi managed to reduce his guffaws to the occasional snicker when a familiar voice called out.
"Hello Yuugi-boy!"
"Ah!" Jumping in surprise, Yuugi turned whirled to face the owner of the overly cheerful voice, "Pegasus-san! What are you doing here?"
Walking up to the group of teens, a bright smile on his face and his equally happy wife holding on to his arm, the silver-haired man explained, "Well, as this tournament is a joint effort between Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation I need to be here to help start things off."
"And we thought it would be fun to attend the carnival," Cynthia added, smiling up at her husband, "It's not often that we have time for simple fun nowadays."
Looking over the assembled group of teens, the older dark frowned thoughtfully, "I don't seen any of your yami. Don't tell me your mates have left you to fend for yourselves?"
"No, they're right here," Yuugi replied holding up his Sennen Puzzle. "We agreed that it would work more to our advantage it they remained hidden."
"Our enemy still hasn't shown his face. We're fairly certain he will make an appearance at some point during the tournament, or at the least send his men after us," Jou further explained.
Sensing the morbid shift in everyone's mood, Cynthia clapped her hands sharply to get their attention.
"None of that. If we allow ourselves to dwell on it and live in fear then we're already letting them win. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't remain vigilant, but we are all going to go out and have a good time today, if for no other reason than to spite them."
Laughing happily, Anzu nodded her agreement, "Cynthia-san is right guys. We came here to have fun and that's exactly what we're going to do." Grabbing Yuugi's free arm with her own, her other occupied by his Kuriboh plushie, she tugged him down the midway.
"C'mon Yuugi. Let's see how many more vendors you can blow away before they ban you from playing."
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Ryou followed closely behind, promising the childhood friends that Yuugi wouldn't be the only one banned from the midway if he had anything to say about it.
Blinking in surprise, Jou and Honda stared after them for just a moment before racing after the trio, calling out for them to wait up.
Smiling, Pegasus gave his wife a quick kiss to her cheek. "You'll make a wonderful mother one day."
Giving him a serene smile, the pretty blonde returned the gesture. "You're sweet."
"I mean it, my love."
Still smiling, she pulled him into a tender embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I know."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
After leaving the Crawfords, the first game the group ran across was a shooting game, something more up Honda's alley than Yuugi's. Honda's fussy behavior over the guns amused the vendor but he humored the teen, allowing him to find the gun that appeared to have the least bent muzzle. Lining up his target he took one practice shot to get the alignment down then easily cleared the target with a perfect score, much to the vendor's annoyance.
Further down the midway, Ryou spotted a fortune teller and just had to test her skills. Entering the tent, they found the woman in the middle of giving a reading to a very distraught classmate. Noticing the odd arrangement of her cards, Ryou frowned and listened closely, catching several errors in her interpretation.
Stepping up to the table, Ryou could finally see the rest of the cards and was disgusted by the fortune teller's "reading". It was obvious now that the woman was a fraud. "I couldn't help but notice the unusual spread you're using, is it a variation on the Celtic Cross or perhaps the Mandala (1)?"
Paling slightly the fortune teller stuttered slightly before hiding her fear behind a mask of anger, "What do you know of the cards?!"
"A lot actually. My grandmother was quite skilled in divination and taught my sister and I how to do tarot readings when we were little." Getting his former classmate's attention he pointed to the two more visually disturbing cards on the table and gave a brief explanation to her. "The Ten of Swords: If this is a representation of your past, then you have nothing to worry about, as you have weathered the worst already." Moving on from the card depicting a man impaled by swords he pointed to the next, "Death: Upright like it is, this card is actually a positive thing. It signifies a major change, in some ways a rebirth: the end of one phase of your life and the beginning of another."
Furious, the fortune teller scooped up her cards and thrust them into the hikari's hands, "All right, if you know so much why don't you give her a reading?!"
Giving her a non-committal shrug, Ryou turned to his former classmate and with her permission laid the cards out in a proper spread and began the reading. Once more the Ten of Swords and Death cards made an appearance, representing her past and future respectively, and after a brief explanation Ryou was able to leave their classmate with a much happier outlook on her future. Finished with the younger teen's reading, the silver-haired hikari shuffled the cards and laid them out again, this time for the fortune teller.
Watching from inside the Sennen Ring, Bakura started laughing uproariously when his light had started the fraudulous woman's reading. He didn't stop even when the terrified and furious woman had thrown them out of her tent, Ryou's laughter mirroring his own. Running to the end of the midway avenue they were one, they headed over to the next before stopping to catch their breath.
"Ano, Masayume-sempai (2)?"
Looking behind them, the teens found that the girl Ryou had given the reading to had followed them. "Yes, Kino-chan?"
"I wanted to thank you for the reading. I really appreciate it," the girl explained, bowing respectfully.
Ryou smiled gently at the younger teen, "Just remember that no reading about your future is set in stone. They merely point out the path. It's up to you to make it happen."
"I will, I promise!" she vowed before running back to find her friend.
Returning to the carnival games, Yuugi and his friends continued their winning streak, increasing their collection of grand prizes considerably. Towards the end of the avenue they came across a "wheel of luck" that Jonouchi just had to give a whirl. Games of chance were his forte and with a prize already in mind, he spun the wheel.
Leaving a dumbstruck vendor in his wake, the blond gave the large double plushie in his arms an affectionate squeeze. "This is going on our bed," he declared, grinning happily at his friends.
"Considering what it is, that does not surprise me in the least," Anzu replied, eyeing the stuffed animal in amusement. The plushie in question was a large red eyes black dragon entwined lovingly with a blue eyes white dragon and just screamed that it should belong to Jou and Seto.
The blond ms-n hwi started to reply when he noticed that the brunette was no longer standing next to him. A delighted squeal alerted him and the others to her position over by the strength tester where she was cooing over an adorable Black Magician Girl plushie as large as Yuugi's Black Magician one.
"You gonna have one of these fellas win it for ya little girl?" the vendor asked, smirking challengingly at her companions.
"Nope," she replied, handing him the money. "I can get it myself."
Chuckling condescendingly, he gestured to the mallets, "Take your pick then."
Giving the man a confident grin, she picked the largest mallet and easily hefted it onto her shoulder. The man watched with wide eyes as she moved into position and brought the huge hammer down with ease, the plunger shooting up to hit the bell with a resounding clang.
Smiling brightly she sat the mallet back in its place and took the Black Magician Girl plushie from the man's shaking hands. "Mana's going to love this."
"Okay guys, now that we've each effectively cleaned out the midway, how about we drop off our stuff and hit the rides?" Honda suggested, noting the wary expressions some of the other game vendors were giving them.
Yuugi started bouncing excitedly, "Oh! Let's go on the Tilt a Whirl first!"
Ryou nodded agreeably, "Then we can go on the Pirate ship afterwards-"
"and the mini-coaster after that!" Anzu added.
"Works for me," Jonouchi agreed, pressing a discrete KC emblem on his jacket to call someone over to retrieve their things. "And we can check out the rest of the rides as we walk."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Kaiba-sama, here is the list of all the duelists registered for the competition."
"Thank you," he replied, taking the folder from his personal assistant. With just under one hour left until the opening ceremonies, he and his brother had finished most of the last minute details, leaving them time to check for anything out of the ordinary. Scanning the list, the brunet hikari noticed that there were quite a few new duelists listed but preliminary checks had confirmed that while they were new to Kaiba Corp tournaments, they had been competing officially since the beginning of the year or earlier. Registration for the official competitions started before the school year, long before they had taken their trip to Egypt, let alone the first of the attacks. Still, some of these the more experienced duelists had never shown an interest in unofficial tournaments before which left him a bit wary.
Reaching the last ten duelists, Kaiba's eyes narrowed when he spotted one name on the list. 'Siegfried Von Schroider. What in the hell is he doing here?'
((Seto-))
((I know Seth. He shouldn't be here. There's no reason for him to be here, but there's also no valid reason for me to kick him out.))
((We must watch him carefully antyw akhu. I have felt something disturbingly familiar about him from the beginning. I fear he may be the very enemy we are looking for.))
((I'll have Isono take care of it personally. I don't want to run the risk of him sensing any of the ms-n hwi following him. If he's our enemy that will definitely tip him off.))
((Good thinking Seto. I shall inform the others to keep an eye out for him as well. Vigilance will be our best defense.))
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Despite leaving early to get a good spot for opening ceremonies, Yuugi and his friends still had to navigate through a very large crowd of people once they got there. Lucky for them, duelists were meant to be up front, but they had to get there first.
"Man, this thing doesn't even start for a whole half hour and it's already packed!" Honda groused as Yuugi, Ryou, and Jou looked for the other duelists.
"I told you we should have gotten here an hour before it was supposed to start," Anzu huffed, crossing her arms.
As usual Yuugi took the role of peace keeper. "Guys, don't fight, we'll find something."
"Yuugi's right, there's gotta be-"
"Jonouchi-sama?"
"GAH!!"
Startled out of his wits by the deep voice coming from behind him, Jonouchi jumped in the air like a scalded cat. At the possibility of danger, Honda whirled to face their attacker and promptly burst into hysterics.
"Oh, hello Isono-san," Ryou greeted the tall Kaiba bodyguard while their blond friend tried to slow his heart rate. "I take it you're here to retrieve Jonouchi-kun?"
Inwardly shaking his head at the blond's antics, the older man nodded. "Also, I'm to take the rest of you to the VIP section up front."
"You gotta start wearing a bell!" Jonouchi complained to cover up his embarrassment. How could he have allowed the human bodyguard to sneak up on him? He was better than that and it was high time he started acting like it before some one he cared for got hurt!
Knowing exactly what was bothering him, Anzu placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. She too had been lax in her body guarding skills. In the old days, they would have sensed Isono yards away from them.
"If you would all follow me then." Isono waved a hand off to one direction, waiting patiently for them to move. Ever since Egypt, his employer had been different. Better but different. And now he seemed to be worried about someone attacking them, yet he had no concrete proof as to whom. There was something strange going on within the Kaiba household and he knew it. The man only hoped that his employer would trust him enough to disclose the full truth before some one was injured or worse.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Weaving through the crowd was a cake walk with Isono and the other select members of the Kaiba Corp security force creating a path for them and in no time, the teens were at the front of the crowd. Mokuba was there waiting for them and brought them all up to speed as to what was going on, including a hushed conversation concerning Siegfried and the other unusual participants.
Right on the hour, Seto and Pegasus came onto the stage and launched into their speech, welcoming the duelists and their families to the competition. Putting on his game face, Seto laid out the rules for all participants: Dueling was to be conducted using the Duel Disks and under tournament regulations. No ante dueling. Like Battle City, each participant would have to gather 6 key cards in order to learn the location of the finals. Key cards would not activate unless won in a match and the first eight duelists to arrive at the location would be the finalists. Stolen cards would not function for anyone but the last person to win them and the map with the finals location could not be activated unless you had won all six cards. Additionally, Kaiba Corp and I2 (3) officials would be monitoring the duels across the city to watch for cheating of any kind. Duels could take place in any public location, but hotels and personal residences were off limits and camping outside of these locations in wait would result in an immediate disqualification. (Glancing at Yuugi, Seto caught the small hikari mouthing the words "thank you" with an immensely grateful expression on his face.) The first part of the tournament would last three to five days, depending on how long it takes for the eight finalists to be determined. Afterwards, the finals would be held on the final two days.
Taking over so Seto could join his lover and their friends, Pegasus gave out the final instructions. "You have one hour to spread out across the city and prepare for your duels. Your Duel Disks will automatically turn on when the competition begins, so good luck, young duelists and don't forget to enjoy yourselves!"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Hey Mutou! I'm challenging you first!"
Turning around, Yuugi came face-to-face with his opponent, one slender eyebrow raising at the teen's arrogant sneer. (( Yet another ego maniacal newbie duelist.)) he sighed mentally.
((Ari?)) Atem was confused by his light's attitude. Normally the teen was not so negative towards his opponents
((Every time I run across one of these guys, they all want the same thing,)) he explained tiredly as his duel disk locked into place.
"Once I beat the King of Games, the rest of this tournament will be a breeze!" the teen declared grinning nastily at the petite teen.
"You should never declare a victory until the final card is played," Yuugi replied, a predatory smile crossing his features.
The other boy snorted disdainfully, "Sounds more like an excuse to me."
The hikari shrugged carelessly, "If you say so."
Glaring at the petite teen, the other boy made no reply save to activate his own duel disk.
"DUEL START!" They both cried out.
Watching from inside the puzzle Atem's expression now mirrored his light's. This was going to be good.
-
November 20, 2010
-edited December 23, 2010
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
1 - Not knowing the first thing about Tarot cards, I got my information on the meanings of the cards from this site: http://www.paranormality.com/ and on the simple 5 card spread from http://www.angelpaths.com/spreads.html.
2 - sempai, honorific used to refer to your older classmates or co-workers with more seniority.
3 - Industrial Illusions
Part: 14/??
Author: Murasaki Rose
Beta: none
Genre: Romance/Fantasy/AU
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Yami Yuugi's real name
Warnings: Yaoi (male x male), implied Mpreg
Pairings: YYxY, SxJxS, DxT, YBxR, YMxM
Minor Pairings: BMGxA, BMxK, TxCxH, HxO, PxC, IxM
Disclaimer: Here we go. Yu-Gi-Oh and all its characters are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shueisha, Konami, Toei, and unfortunately, 4 Kids Entertainment. In other words, I don't own them and I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just a fangirl having some fun.
A/N: "text" = speech, 'text' = thought, ((text)) = telepathy
Summary: Sequel to Retrieving Destiny. Months after their fateful trip to Egypt, the reunited soul mates continue to adjust to their new life in Domino as well as the modern teens' impending graduation. Things appear to be going well until a strange series of seemingly random attacks and bizarre accidents begin plaguing both the lights and their protectors, forcing their lovers into action. In order to protect their mates, the ancient beings must now determine not only the fate of the "lost" city of Atlantis, but also their entire species! The race is on to find the answers before they all face annihilation at the hands of an unknown enemy.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Opening day arrived and Yuugi and his friends had decided to meet at Domino City Park, where the tournament's opening ceremonies were going to be held late that afternoon. There was going to be a carnival running all day for the participating duelists and their families that would be open to the general public after the tournament started. Shortly before lunch time, Yuugi, Anzu, and Ryou met up at the front gate then headed inside the park gates to meet up with Jonouchi and Honda at the main food pavilion. Seto and Mokuba would not be joining them this time because they were busy handling all the last minute details for the tournament opening that afternoon.
After a light lunch the group headed for the midway where Yuugi quickly dominated the dart and ring toss games, becoming the proud owner of both a huge Black Magician plushie and a respectively large Winged Kuriboh.
((Mahaado is going to freak when he sees this,)) Yuugi told Atem as the vendor handed over the three foot tall plushie.
Chuckling as he imagined the mage's reaction, Atem had to agree. ((True, but you may have more trouble with how Kisara will react.))
((Oh?))
((I believe she will run off with it.))
Unable to hold it in, Yuugi started laughing out loud, getting odd looks from both his friends and some passers-by. Struggling to contain himself, Yuugi managed to reduce his guffaws to the occasional snicker when a familiar voice called out.
"Hello Yuugi-boy!"
"Ah!" Jumping in surprise, Yuugi turned whirled to face the owner of the overly cheerful voice, "Pegasus-san! What are you doing here?"
Walking up to the group of teens, a bright smile on his face and his equally happy wife holding on to his arm, the silver-haired man explained, "Well, as this tournament is a joint effort between Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corporation I need to be here to help start things off."
"And we thought it would be fun to attend the carnival," Cynthia added, smiling up at her husband, "It's not often that we have time for simple fun nowadays."
Looking over the assembled group of teens, the older dark frowned thoughtfully, "I don't seen any of your yami. Don't tell me your mates have left you to fend for yourselves?"
"No, they're right here," Yuugi replied holding up his Sennen Puzzle. "We agreed that it would work more to our advantage it they remained hidden."
"Our enemy still hasn't shown his face. We're fairly certain he will make an appearance at some point during the tournament, or at the least send his men after us," Jou further explained.
Sensing the morbid shift in everyone's mood, Cynthia clapped her hands sharply to get their attention.
"None of that. If we allow ourselves to dwell on it and live in fear then we're already letting them win. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't remain vigilant, but we are all going to go out and have a good time today, if for no other reason than to spite them."
Laughing happily, Anzu nodded her agreement, "Cynthia-san is right guys. We came here to have fun and that's exactly what we're going to do." Grabbing Yuugi's free arm with her own, her other occupied by his Kuriboh plushie, she tugged him down the midway.
"C'mon Yuugi. Let's see how many more vendors you can blow away before they ban you from playing."
Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Ryou followed closely behind, promising the childhood friends that Yuugi wouldn't be the only one banned from the midway if he had anything to say about it.
Blinking in surprise, Jou and Honda stared after them for just a moment before racing after the trio, calling out for them to wait up.
Smiling, Pegasus gave his wife a quick kiss to her cheek. "You'll make a wonderful mother one day."
Giving him a serene smile, the pretty blonde returned the gesture. "You're sweet."
"I mean it, my love."
Still smiling, she pulled him into a tender embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I know."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
After leaving the Crawfords, the first game the group ran across was a shooting game, something more up Honda's alley than Yuugi's. Honda's fussy behavior over the guns amused the vendor but he humored the teen, allowing him to find the gun that appeared to have the least bent muzzle. Lining up his target he took one practice shot to get the alignment down then easily cleared the target with a perfect score, much to the vendor's annoyance.
Further down the midway, Ryou spotted a fortune teller and just had to test her skills. Entering the tent, they found the woman in the middle of giving a reading to a very distraught classmate. Noticing the odd arrangement of her cards, Ryou frowned and listened closely, catching several errors in her interpretation.
Stepping up to the table, Ryou could finally see the rest of the cards and was disgusted by the fortune teller's "reading". It was obvious now that the woman was a fraud. "I couldn't help but notice the unusual spread you're using, is it a variation on the Celtic Cross or perhaps the Mandala (1)?"
Paling slightly the fortune teller stuttered slightly before hiding her fear behind a mask of anger, "What do you know of the cards?!"
"A lot actually. My grandmother was quite skilled in divination and taught my sister and I how to do tarot readings when we were little." Getting his former classmate's attention he pointed to the two more visually disturbing cards on the table and gave a brief explanation to her. "The Ten of Swords: If this is a representation of your past, then you have nothing to worry about, as you have weathered the worst already." Moving on from the card depicting a man impaled by swords he pointed to the next, "Death: Upright like it is, this card is actually a positive thing. It signifies a major change, in some ways a rebirth: the end of one phase of your life and the beginning of another."
Furious, the fortune teller scooped up her cards and thrust them into the hikari's hands, "All right, if you know so much why don't you give her a reading?!"
Giving her a non-committal shrug, Ryou turned to his former classmate and with her permission laid the cards out in a proper spread and began the reading. Once more the Ten of Swords and Death cards made an appearance, representing her past and future respectively, and after a brief explanation Ryou was able to leave their classmate with a much happier outlook on her future. Finished with the younger teen's reading, the silver-haired hikari shuffled the cards and laid them out again, this time for the fortune teller.
Watching from inside the Sennen Ring, Bakura started laughing uproariously when his light had started the fraudulous woman's reading. He didn't stop even when the terrified and furious woman had thrown them out of her tent, Ryou's laughter mirroring his own. Running to the end of the midway avenue they were one, they headed over to the next before stopping to catch their breath.
"Ano, Masayume-sempai (2)?"
Looking behind them, the teens found that the girl Ryou had given the reading to had followed them. "Yes, Kino-chan?"
"I wanted to thank you for the reading. I really appreciate it," the girl explained, bowing respectfully.
Ryou smiled gently at the younger teen, "Just remember that no reading about your future is set in stone. They merely point out the path. It's up to you to make it happen."
"I will, I promise!" she vowed before running back to find her friend.
Returning to the carnival games, Yuugi and his friends continued their winning streak, increasing their collection of grand prizes considerably. Towards the end of the avenue they came across a "wheel of luck" that Jonouchi just had to give a whirl. Games of chance were his forte and with a prize already in mind, he spun the wheel.
Leaving a dumbstruck vendor in his wake, the blond gave the large double plushie in his arms an affectionate squeeze. "This is going on our bed," he declared, grinning happily at his friends.
"Considering what it is, that does not surprise me in the least," Anzu replied, eyeing the stuffed animal in amusement. The plushie in question was a large red eyes black dragon entwined lovingly with a blue eyes white dragon and just screamed that it should belong to Jou and Seto.
The blond ms-n hwi started to reply when he noticed that the brunette was no longer standing next to him. A delighted squeal alerted him and the others to her position over by the strength tester where she was cooing over an adorable Black Magician Girl plushie as large as Yuugi's Black Magician one.
"You gonna have one of these fellas win it for ya little girl?" the vendor asked, smirking challengingly at her companions.
"Nope," she replied, handing him the money. "I can get it myself."
Chuckling condescendingly, he gestured to the mallets, "Take your pick then."
Giving the man a confident grin, she picked the largest mallet and easily hefted it onto her shoulder. The man watched with wide eyes as she moved into position and brought the huge hammer down with ease, the plunger shooting up to hit the bell with a resounding clang.
Smiling brightly she sat the mallet back in its place and took the Black Magician Girl plushie from the man's shaking hands. "Mana's going to love this."
"Okay guys, now that we've each effectively cleaned out the midway, how about we drop off our stuff and hit the rides?" Honda suggested, noting the wary expressions some of the other game vendors were giving them.
Yuugi started bouncing excitedly, "Oh! Let's go on the Tilt a Whirl first!"
Ryou nodded agreeably, "Then we can go on the Pirate ship afterwards-"
"and the mini-coaster after that!" Anzu added.
"Works for me," Jonouchi agreed, pressing a discrete KC emblem on his jacket to call someone over to retrieve their things. "And we can check out the rest of the rides as we walk."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Kaiba-sama, here is the list of all the duelists registered for the competition."
"Thank you," he replied, taking the folder from his personal assistant. With just under one hour left until the opening ceremonies, he and his brother had finished most of the last minute details, leaving them time to check for anything out of the ordinary. Scanning the list, the brunet hikari noticed that there were quite a few new duelists listed but preliminary checks had confirmed that while they were new to Kaiba Corp tournaments, they had been competing officially since the beginning of the year or earlier. Registration for the official competitions started before the school year, long before they had taken their trip to Egypt, let alone the first of the attacks. Still, some of these the more experienced duelists had never shown an interest in unofficial tournaments before which left him a bit wary.
Reaching the last ten duelists, Kaiba's eyes narrowed when he spotted one name on the list. 'Siegfried Von Schroider. What in the hell is he doing here?'
((Seto-))
((I know Seth. He shouldn't be here. There's no reason for him to be here, but there's also no valid reason for me to kick him out.))
((We must watch him carefully antyw akhu. I have felt something disturbingly familiar about him from the beginning. I fear he may be the very enemy we are looking for.))
((I'll have Isono take care of it personally. I don't want to run the risk of him sensing any of the ms-n hwi following him. If he's our enemy that will definitely tip him off.))
((Good thinking Seto. I shall inform the others to keep an eye out for him as well. Vigilance will be our best defense.))
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Despite leaving early to get a good spot for opening ceremonies, Yuugi and his friends still had to navigate through a very large crowd of people once they got there. Lucky for them, duelists were meant to be up front, but they had to get there first.
"Man, this thing doesn't even start for a whole half hour and it's already packed!" Honda groused as Yuugi, Ryou, and Jou looked for the other duelists.
"I told you we should have gotten here an hour before it was supposed to start," Anzu huffed, crossing her arms.
As usual Yuugi took the role of peace keeper. "Guys, don't fight, we'll find something."
"Yuugi's right, there's gotta be-"
"Jonouchi-sama?"
"GAH!!"
Startled out of his wits by the deep voice coming from behind him, Jonouchi jumped in the air like a scalded cat. At the possibility of danger, Honda whirled to face their attacker and promptly burst into hysterics.
"Oh, hello Isono-san," Ryou greeted the tall Kaiba bodyguard while their blond friend tried to slow his heart rate. "I take it you're here to retrieve Jonouchi-kun?"
Inwardly shaking his head at the blond's antics, the older man nodded. "Also, I'm to take the rest of you to the VIP section up front."
"You gotta start wearing a bell!" Jonouchi complained to cover up his embarrassment. How could he have allowed the human bodyguard to sneak up on him? He was better than that and it was high time he started acting like it before some one he cared for got hurt!
Knowing exactly what was bothering him, Anzu placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. She too had been lax in her body guarding skills. In the old days, they would have sensed Isono yards away from them.
"If you would all follow me then." Isono waved a hand off to one direction, waiting patiently for them to move. Ever since Egypt, his employer had been different. Better but different. And now he seemed to be worried about someone attacking them, yet he had no concrete proof as to whom. There was something strange going on within the Kaiba household and he knew it. The man only hoped that his employer would trust him enough to disclose the full truth before some one was injured or worse.
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Weaving through the crowd was a cake walk with Isono and the other select members of the Kaiba Corp security force creating a path for them and in no time, the teens were at the front of the crowd. Mokuba was there waiting for them and brought them all up to speed as to what was going on, including a hushed conversation concerning Siegfried and the other unusual participants.
Right on the hour, Seto and Pegasus came onto the stage and launched into their speech, welcoming the duelists and their families to the competition. Putting on his game face, Seto laid out the rules for all participants: Dueling was to be conducted using the Duel Disks and under tournament regulations. No ante dueling. Like Battle City, each participant would have to gather 6 key cards in order to learn the location of the finals. Key cards would not activate unless won in a match and the first eight duelists to arrive at the location would be the finalists. Stolen cards would not function for anyone but the last person to win them and the map with the finals location could not be activated unless you had won all six cards. Additionally, Kaiba Corp and I2 (3) officials would be monitoring the duels across the city to watch for cheating of any kind. Duels could take place in any public location, but hotels and personal residences were off limits and camping outside of these locations in wait would result in an immediate disqualification. (Glancing at Yuugi, Seto caught the small hikari mouthing the words "thank you" with an immensely grateful expression on his face.) The first part of the tournament would last three to five days, depending on how long it takes for the eight finalists to be determined. Afterwards, the finals would be held on the final two days.
Taking over so Seto could join his lover and their friends, Pegasus gave out the final instructions. "You have one hour to spread out across the city and prepare for your duels. Your Duel Disks will automatically turn on when the competition begins, so good luck, young duelists and don't forget to enjoy yourselves!"
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"Hey Mutou! I'm challenging you first!"
Turning around, Yuugi came face-to-face with his opponent, one slender eyebrow raising at the teen's arrogant sneer. (( Yet another ego maniacal newbie duelist.)) he sighed mentally.
((Ari?)) Atem was confused by his light's attitude. Normally the teen was not so negative towards his opponents
((Every time I run across one of these guys, they all want the same thing,)) he explained tiredly as his duel disk locked into place.
"Once I beat the King of Games, the rest of this tournament will be a breeze!" the teen declared grinning nastily at the petite teen.
"You should never declare a victory until the final card is played," Yuugi replied, a predatory smile crossing his features.
The other boy snorted disdainfully, "Sounds more like an excuse to me."
The hikari shrugged carelessly, "If you say so."
Glaring at the petite teen, the other boy made no reply save to activate his own duel disk.
"DUEL START!" They both cried out.
Watching from inside the puzzle Atem's expression now mirrored his light's. This was going to be good.
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November 20, 2010
-edited December 23, 2010
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1 - Not knowing the first thing about Tarot cards, I got my information on the meanings of the cards from this site: http://www.paranormality.com/ and on the simple 5 card spread from http://www.angelpaths.com/spreads.html.
2 - sempai, honorific used to refer to your older classmates or co-workers with more seniority.
3 - Industrial Illusions