Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Weapons of the Gods ❯ Tough at the Top ( Chapter 1 )

“I have gained fame…I have gained wealth. But there is no joy in such things. True happiness comes in their collection, not in their keeping.”

 

-Anonymous

 

 

Domino, a year and a half after Duelist Kingdom, several months after the KC Grand Prix, 7 months before the events of the Memory Arc.

 

Joey sighed as he looked over his deck carefully. He went through it again, checking it for any flaws, any mistakes that might cost him a duel. But it was as good as it would be getting, unless some new rare card came out. It could win him any tournament he chose to compete in with ease.

 

`Too bad there aren't any tournaments.' He thought bitterly. HE looked over at his friends as they ate their lunches. “Come on Yug, let's duel.”

 

Yugi frowned at his friend and let out a sigh. “What, best out of 10 thousand Joey?”

 

Joey pounded his fist on the table, making everyone's food to wiggle and nearly causing Tea's soda to tip over. “This is ridiculous! We work hard to become the top two duelist in the world, and now we can't find a single person willing to challenge us!” He let out a cry of frustration and let his head smash into the table.

 

Tea smiled sweetly and put her sandwich down. “Oh, what's wrong Joey, looking back fondly at the days when even I could beat you?” She couldn't help but provoke him; he had nearly ruined her dress with that last head drop. And if she hadn't been quick enough and ruined her school jacket…Joey would have gotten off easy if she left him limping home.

 

Joey shook his head. “All I'm sayin' is I want something new. Something exciting!”

 

Tristan looked at Joey angrily and hit him on the back of the head. “If you're so bored, get off your butt and challenge someone.” He rolled his eyes. “Whining about not getting challenge.”

 

“That's the thing Tristan,” Yugi said, coming to his best friend's defense. He knew what Joey was feeling and though he wouldn't be expressing it the same way, he understood where Joey was coming from. “We've tried! But everyone runs off.” Yugi touched the Millennium Puzzle. “This thing has even caused the newbies to run off. I've even offered to let them use my deck, and they still think they'll never win.” He shook his head. “I swear, it's like the puzzle is a beacon to all duelists: DON'T DUEL!”

 

Tea bit her lip. “You could always enter a tourney.”

 

“There aren't any that will let us in!” Joey said desperately, looking up from the table, a napkin stuck to his forehead, making the image all more pathetic. “Illusion Industries haven't had a tournament since Pegasus retired. And Seto is still in America, trying to design his theme park. We'd go to a card shop, but none will let us enter. The owners say we drive away business!”

 

“No one wants to duel against two of the top duelists in the world.” Yugi replied with a groan.

 

Tea gave them a sympathetic look. “Tough at the top, isn't it.”

 

“Ya.” Yugi said, melancholy. It had been over 2 months since he had dueled someone other than Joey. And even then, it hadn't been much of a duel. HE had won in 5 turns and the kid had run off, crying to his mommy. In the back of his mind, he remembered a quote from “The Masterpiece”, which they had been reading in French Class. Something about how it is better to struggle to be on top and never get there then be on top and face the boredom and pain of staying there. Though the quote had gone over most people's heads, for Joey and Yugi, it was as if the book were calling out to them.

 

“And that ain't the worst of it!” Joey growled.

 

Before either of their friends could ask what the worst was, a familiar squeal could be heard and Joey and Yugi's eyes bugged out of their head as they slowly turned around to watch as a mob of young girls storms over a wall that surrounded the school and race towards them.

 

“Fangirls!” Joey hollered, unceremonially grabbing Yugi around the waist and hefting him over his shoulder, taking off in a run. Tristan and Tea tried not to laugh as the girls gave chase, followed by the school's security team tried in vain to catch.

 

“I tell ya Yug,” Joey shouted as he leapt over a table. “it's time like this I wish we had some evil doer running around trying to destroy the world!”

 

@*@*@*@

 

Yugi threw of his shoes and after making sure 4 times that the doors were locked and that there was no one in the shop that would know him and want to bother him, made his way up the stairs and into his room. The teen let out a groan and flopped on his bed. Even though it had been Joey who had done all the running, it still felt like he had been in a giant blender for that last few hours.

 

After being able to hide in boy bathroom for an hour, they had been found by the principal, who told them that all the girls were in police custody and would be dealt with. Of course, the principal wanted them both suspended for bringing so much trouble to the school, but Yugi and Joey knew that the principal would never do that. Besides the fact that they had done nothing wrong, the school couldn't afford the wrath of their fans if they discovered that they had been done wrong. Yugi still remembered the time that an amusement park had not let him onto a ride because of his height. The next day, the place was destroyed. Fan girls were like piranhas, and lucky him, they wanted him. Joy upon Joy.

 

“Become any more jaded Yugi and Kaiba will be rushing back to Japan to sue us for stealing his bit.”

 

Yugi looked up at Yami, who stood above him, a smirk on his face. For just a moment, Yugi really hated the spirit that dwelt in his puzzle. At least he could become a ghost and get away from the boredom and fan girls. That left Yugi as the front linesmen in that battle.

 

However, as soon as the thought left his mind, he felt ashamed. The spirit was just as bored as he was, and had offered many times to take over and give the girls a talking too. It was Yugi that told him to stay safe in the puzzle.

 

`Maybe I have become jaded.' Yugi thought.

 

“Yugi!”

 

Yugi blinked and looked at the pharaoh. “What is it? What is wrong?”

 

“Nothing….at least for me. But I am worried about you. Lately, you seem….distant.”

 

Yugi closed his eyes. “It just feels like I'm in a rut. All summer, it's been helping grandpa, eat lunch with the guys, read stuff on the Internet.” He played with one of his forelocks and sighed. “I thought things would be different once I was back in school, you know, making up the work I missed thanks to Dartz and the KC Prix…but the teachers told me it was fine and let me off easily.” He looked over at Yami. “Do you know what it's like when your teachers are your fans and don't want to give you homework?”

 

“Can't say I do, since I don't believe they had high school in Egypt.” Yami gave him a smile and sat down on the bed next to his friend. “I'm sure there is something to do. Why not look at our deck? See if there is anything wrong with in, any cards that we need to get rid of?”

 

Yugi frowned. “I am complaining about being bored and my life becoming all about duel monsters and you suggest looking at my deck?” He groaned. “Besides, I have. 10 times. It's solid. There isn't a card I need.” HE sat up. “I mean, the next set doesn't even come out for 2 whole months!”

 

Yami chuckled, getting a bit too much humor out of the situation. “Weren't you the guy who complained that Pegasus was making the sets too quickly now just a year ago?”

 

“Ya, but now that Pegasus retired, the company has pushed production to a crawl.” Yugi moved to his laptop, watching ti warm up before logging onto a website. “Use to be I could go and read some great threads about strategies and new combos. But now…” Yugi logged onto a site. “…look here, on duelmonsterrealms.com: Nothing but theories on the next secret rares and some new training guide with a promo in it.”

 

Yami smiled. “Just what we need, another card we need to learn to beat. Besides, that site has been going down the tube since it's owner disappeared.”

 

“Luck him.” Yugi muttered, looking over the page for something that didn't have to deal with them outlawing some card called the Envoy of the Beginning. Yugi had never really learned much about the card since rumor was that there were only two of them in the world, and one of them was owned by the son of a famous CEO.

 

Yami sighed and looked over at the pile of mail Yugi's grandfather had left on his desk. It was no use talking to him when he got like this. He glanced up at the bound mangas on their shelf and snorted. They were all supposedly about their duels, starting with when Yugi had first started playing the card game. Of course, the writer had taken way to many liberties with their lives.

 

There were the obvious differences, like the lack of Yami. Instead, Yugi merely used the puzzle to age himself by 5 years. `Ya, that makes sense.' Yami thought, shaking his head. Sometimes, this time and place made him wonder. Instead of simply saying that Yugi carried the thing for good luck, or was a memento of someoneimportant to him, they had to invent some lame excuse.

 

Then there were the reasons behind everything. Like making it that Malik hated Yugi because they were really half brothers…what was that? This was Yugi's lif,e not a soap opera. He had been forced to watch one of those with Yugi's grandfather once, and he vowed never to watch the trash again. It was too crazy, with crazy ex wives, rivalries that only one person knew about, former lover being allies and long lost children showing up at the end of the season.

 

that one government agent that appeared in the middle of the season that no one but the villain knew about was very very cool.

 

“Of course, they had made Seto a jackass, so I couldn't say too much about them getting things right and wrong.” Yami muttered.

 

Yugi looked up at his friend. “jackass? You are spending too much time with Joey, you are getting his tongue.”

 

“More like Raia's.” Yami said, thinking about the mysterious sister of Seto Kaiba and the strange spirit that inhabited her body, much the same way Yami did Yugi. After the whole Duelist Kingdom, Raia had transferred to Domino High and though she was a bit of a loner, had been warming up to the group. Yami would dare say that she was a friend.

 

Of course, she was the twin of Seto Kaiba, so she did have her draw backs, on being her tongue. Though she didn't curse as much as Joey, she could still insult you up and down.

 

His thoughts about mangas, soap operas and Raia Chitoshi were forgotten as he looked at a large bundle that sat with the fan mail and offers to do talk shows on Yugi's desk. “Hey Yugi, did you see this?” He pointed a transparent finger to the item that had grabbed his attention. “it seems you got a package from Pegasus.”

 

Yugi sat up and grabbed the item. It was a none descript package wrapped in that bubble wrap, manila envelope style you saw mostly when you bought cards off of e-bay. no fancy printed on logo or even one of those clear windows so that they could type your address on the inside item and be done with it. It also didn't feature the flowering handwriting that most of his letters had, a sign of a fangirl and her belief that she was being `original' by sending him yet another letter of love along with some cookies. Though, the cookies were good. But he got enough of those from Rebecca, he didn't need more from girls he didn't even know.

 

“I wonder what it's about.” He ripped it open and both of them sweatdropped. A DVD. “You know, the last time I got something like this from Pegasus, we ended up in Atlantis. And the time before that, grandpa's soul was taken.” He put the disk into his DVD player and watched the screen go to black.

 

Pegasus' big smiling head suddenly appeared, smirking at the two from the realm of recorded images. “Greeting Yugi Boy…as you can see, I have decided to get with the times and upgrade my format. Anyway, I am here to challenge you to a duel.” The image paused, and then burst into laughter as Yugi and Yami cringed, waiting to be sucked into the shadow realm. “Sorry, I couldn't help myself, you are just so gullible I had to play a fast one on you.”

 

“Sometimes I wonder about him too.” Yami said quietly.

 

“However, it's time to be serious.” Pegasus said, his smile fading. “Yugi Boy, I am need of your help, again. I fear I may have put the whole world in danger, and since that seems to be your career nowadays, I figured you should be the one I turn to. I need you and your friends to come to my mansion on the outskirts of Domino. You'll find directions in the DVD case.” He paused and seemed to look into the two duelists' souls. “We haven't much time Yugi…I had hoped I could clear this matter up myself, but now it seems that it was a fool's hope. Goodbye Yugi Boy…please hurry, or the whole world will be doomed.” Pegasus paused again. “This dvd will self destruct…now!”

 

Yugi and Yami coughed as a cloud of black smoke struck them right in the face. “I…cough!….hate….cough!….him!”