Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Path to Insanity ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Laying on the bed, Noa knew he should be sleeping in order to meet Crawford J. Pegasus tomorrow, but he couldn't. It hurt, the attention his father gave him, but Noa craved it, no, he needed it. His frail psyche wanted to purr at the thought of his father teaching him 'lessons', but he knew somehow that this was wrong.

Father's should not do this to their children, or at least, that was what the books said. Yet this was his father. Maybe, maybe his father was wrong. NO!

His childish mind shielded away from that thought. Daddy was always right. Always!

Still, was it okay for him to die because of the things his father taught him, or should he continue to live ignored.

A half-strangled sob escaped his lips before he bit his tongue. His daddy would never cry. Not once had he cried, not even when mummy died, or so the servants said.

Emotions were weak, and weaknesses could be exploited, and father told him not to allow anything that could be used against him. So emotions must be locked up and hidden behind curtains of ice, so that way no one could use them against him.

But the fact he remained that he was only seven! Seven years old and he was already growing cold inside. Was that truly right?

A single tear fell down his face, which Noa quickly slapped away. He was weak, not even worth the time his father took off to be with him. If he became stronger however, than daddy would spend more time with him.

"I don't care if I am cold or hurt, if he would just look at me, if he would say he loved me . . . I'd kill myself for him. I'd do anything he asked me too. I just want to be a son he can be proud of!" the child firmly made up his mind and nodded, setting his head down on the pillow and fell into a dreamless sleep with an echoing sound of laughter following his every step.

The world seemed to fast-forward as he woke up and was flown with his father to Pegasus' mansion. Then it fell short as they found themselves sitting at a huge table, foods and wines of all types sitting elegantly, waiting for someone to sip from them. Noa watched his father apprehensively, waiting to see what he would do. Sitting down, Gosaburo took a knife and cut a slice of cheese off and put it on his plate before cutting it up with his knife and eating it. Copying him, Noa felt hunger stir in his belly.

Food such as this was rare, for while his father could afford it, it wasn't given to Noa on many occasions. Sometimes, Noa felt that amidst the riches his father possessed, he forgot that humans could not live off of beauty.

"Why hello there, my guest," a rich, full voice said from the shadows, "I am dreadfully sorry I wasn't here earlier. It was just that my favorite episode of Funny Bunny was on."

Gosaburo snorted as Pegasus came strolling to the table, taking the head seat and pouring some wine.

"I love the red wine, white wine is too dry for my tastes," he said to his guests.

Red, like blood, Noa turned his head down, hoping that Pegasus would overlook him. From the corner of his eye, Noa felt fearful as he stared at him with that one red eye and that other, almost hidden, golden eye that flashed malicious at him.

Swallowing, Noa concentrated on the conversation.

"Why did you ask us here?" Gosaburo said.

"I can see you are not a man of chit-chat. Which is well if you ask me. I hate those meetings that last for hours because the people cannot get to the point. Alright then, I want the technology for the holotanks," Pegasus purred and sipped some more wine.

"Why? You know they are illegal thanks to the treaty," Gosaburo said and watched as Pegasus smiled.

"You see, I have a game I've made, and I want to make it the ultimate thriller. It is just in its prototype stages, but I'm sure it could make trillions if used properly," Pegasus said.

"Show me," Gosaburo snapped at the albino who chuckled in response.

"Hello child, what's your name?" Pegasus stretched out his hand to Noa who moved away.

"My name is Noa, sir," Noa replied to him.

"Charmed. How would you like to play a game with me?" Pegasus almost purred at him.

Fearfully, he nodded. He didn't know why, but Noa had the feeling that if he refused, something worse than death would happen to him.

"Wonderful. It's called Magic and Wizards. I'll explain how to play in a second," shoving his hand in his front pocket, Pegasus pulled out two decks, "Here, shuffle."

Shaking, Noa shuffled his deck, feeling his father's eyes on him.

"After you are done shuffling, you draw five cards. I'll go first if you don't mind," Pegasus smiled, "The decks are made to contain a minimum of forty cards, and each player has two thousand life points. When taking turns, you draw one card and play them either in attack or defense if they are monsters. Attack points are on top, defense points are on the bottom. When you cannot defend against an attack, points are deduced from your life points. When your life points reach zero, you lose the game. Sounds simple right."

Smiling, Noa drew five cards. Watching the game, Gosaburo couldn't help but smile as Noa defeated Pegasus, but he had a feeling that Pegasus had let him win the entire time.

"I need the technology to create monsters for the game. It would be the ultimate experience for children, creating armies of monsters to destroy their foes. Think of the destruction, the madness, the chaos, and most important, the fun," Pegasus said to Gosaburo and took a sweep at the field littered with cards.

Needless to say, Gosaburo was not impressed, "Why should I care about a kids game?"

"I'll cut you in with twenty percent profits," Pegasus bartered.

"No," Gosaburo said, "My company can not afford for the law to get involved with its practices. Not at this point."

"It is a fun game though, right Noa?" Pegasus said and stared at Noa.

'What should I do, it was fun, but if I tell daddy that, he may be upset at me?'

"It was fun daddy," Noa said deftly. He wasn't going to begin lying to himself yet!

His father passed over him, and Noa felt a sinking pit in his stomach. Ignored! He was being ignored for telling the truth!

"Pegasus, do not contact me again. A grown man like you should have better things to do than play," he snarled and motioned for Noa to follow.

Dejectedly, Noa followed, putting the cards on the table.

"Noa, take the cards with. I can always make more," Pegasus said and stared angrily at Gosaburo. That would teach him for mocking his beautiful game!

At least he could make a few trillion on the cards alone, and with all the tournaments to follow, maybe all Gosaburo needed was time to see the folly of his ways. Yes, Pegasus would wait for the right time. Meanwhile, he had corrupted one child to his side, and a single child could turn the tide of battle.

Laughing, he drained the cup and motioned for Kemo to come. He had things to plan, tournaments to plan, poems for his dear Cynthia to write.