Queer As Tachi – Chapter 28
As evening fell and the convention center’s exhibit halls emptied out, Yugi and Duke found themselves crossing the street via skywalk to one of the adjoining hotels, where the Industrial Illusions gala banquet was to be held. Duke was still swaggering a bit from the adulation he and his game received earlier at the press conference, but Yugi was quiet and nervous. Fortunately, no one else had bothered him about his fame, and he had managed to escape being talked into an autograph table by the Industrial Illusions booth staff, but it was lurking in the back of his mind. What would they tell Pegasus? Would he find Yugi at dinner and insist he come by the booth again? He hadn’t told Duke about the autographs, he figured to let his friend gloat for as long as possible. From Yugi’s vantage point in the crowd, it looked like people were genuinely interested in the new developments for Dungeon Dice Monsters, which made it easier to play as a tabletop rather than requiring arenas for the best gaming experience. The game was finally opening up to new distribution venues as well, meaning Kame game shop might actually begin to carry it. That, Duke assured, he and Yugi could discuss later. Now that it was public, anything he had been holding back about his game was free for the sharing. Yugi glanced at him as they strode into the hotel and located the ballroom, glad to see Duke in such bright spirits. “Do you know what else Pegasus is going to talk about at this dinner?” he asked.
“Hm…maybe,” Duke replied, smiling. “I know one thing. But I think you’ll be much better off hearing it from him directly. I want to see the look on your face.”
“Gah, the suspense is killing me,” Yugi sighed. “I don’t care if it spoils the surprise, just tell me.”
“No way. Besides, I don’t have all the details, I just heard a little something. I’m sure Pegasus will have all the information.” He waved the invitation in his hand. “And we get to be among the first to hear it.”
Yugi glanced at his own invitation, which was getting slightly creased from being twisted in his nervous, sweaty hands. Not being dressed appropriately for a gala was the least of his worries now. “We haven’t seen him all day,” he noted. “Has he been just waiting to make an entrance, or what?”
“You know Pegasus,” Duke remarked.
Yugi frowned. “Yeah. I certainly do.”
They knew they were in the right place when they came around a corner and found a line of well-dressed people waiting outside the main ballroom of the hotel. Next to them, Yugi in his black shirt and gray vest and Duke in a green button-up shirt that matched his eyes looked rather out of place, but the attendant at the door checking invitations let them in all the same. At least Duke had buttoned up his shirt and tucked it in – the rest of the day he had been going about with it open to show off his black tank top and lean body. His rock-star good looks seemed to be part and parcel of promoting Dungeon Dice Monsters. As a partner of Industrial Illusions, Duke was privilege to a seat at a table near the front, within view of the head table and the podium for speakers, but to his surprise, Yugi found himself being ushered to the same table. Apparently, being Duel Monsters world champion did have its perks after all. The ballroom was made up into a lavish banquet hall, with crystal and china and stewards floating around with fine wines and champagne for the guests. Grand purple draperies with the IČ logo hung behind the podium and all around the room, making it seem like one of the opulent dining halls of the castle in Duelist Kingdom. Yugi stared at the place setting in front of him with the gold-leafed name card, thinking to himself that he hadn’t seen anything so elegant since that first tournament; at least, he hadn’t seen as much silverware since being fed a huge, extravagant dinner as one of the four finalists. He glanced aside at Duke. “I can’t believe this!” he hissed. “This is so…”
“I know,” Duke murmured back, grinning. “Isn’t it awesome?”
Yugi thought of reminding Duke that Pegasus never went to this kind of expense without expecting something in return, but dropped it for now. With a deep breath, he forced himself to just put his worries aside and enjoy the evening, since this dinner was probably going to be the best thing he’d eat all weekend. It was rather exciting, being an insider like this. Within him, Yugi was aware that Yami was paying very close attention, to his own thoughts as well as every little thing happening in the banquet hall, and smiled a little to know that his overprotective partner was on such alert status. He sat quietly, stroking the smooth front of the Puzzle and tracing over the Eye, when Duke nudged him to point out that the senior staff of Industrial Illusions were beginning to file in from a back room and fill the seats at the head table. Only one remained empty as the hall gradually quieted, at which point the publicist came up to the podium to welcome their guests to the gala. “Ladies and gentleman,” she said with little preface, “Maximillan Pegasus.”
Most in the room applauded politely as Pegasus came out of the back room, passing along the length of the head table with his hands clasped before him. Instead of his usual suit, he wore a richly embroidered, dark blue long-coat that looked vaguely military but mostly elegant and rich. He swept gracefully to the podium and stood for a moment to bask in the applause, wearing only the thinnest of smiles. “Good evening,” he finally said. “Welcome, my honored guests. This is indeed a grand night for Industrial Illusions and its partners, and I am glad to have you all here. The Tokyo Game Expo is always an event to remember, but I plan to make it even more so, once I tell you all about the wonderful things I have in store for the coming year. That will come later. First, I would like to treat you all to a marvelous feast, to thank you for your support of Industrial Illusions and Duel Monsters, both in the past and in our glorious future.” He stepped back and gave the room a slight bow, eliciting more applause that faded as he took his seat of honor and the doors in the back opened to admit a battalion of waiters and stewards bearing food and drink.
It was indeed one of the best meals Yugi could ever remember having. Very quickly, everything but the food had flown completely from his mind, leaving him to chatter enthusiastically with Duke and allow himself to be introduced to the others at the table. The two of them were by far the youngest, and perhaps the poorest, as Yugi discovered that some were international distributors and high-ranking executives with game companies, all dressed in Italian suits and fine jewelry. Yet, being partners of Pegasus, they knew Duel Monsters and knew Yugi before his name was even spoken. After that, he quieted a little, and just concentrated on not saying or doing anything stupid in front of them. Duke, at least, was a little more in his element, talking to a man on his other side who had attended the press conference and wanted to know more about the original aspects of Dungeon Dice Monsters. Since Duke could yammer for hours about his game ideas, Yugi concentrated on stuffing himself happily, leaving just enough room for dessert. A well-dressed woman on his other side had introduced herself earlier as a promotions executive from a company that handled some of the merchandising for Duel Monsters, and as dinner was winding down, she turned to him with a friendly smile. “So, Yugi. Did Mr. Pegasus bring you here to promote the game?”
Yugi shook his head. “No, actually, I…my grandfather and I own our own game shop, back home,” he replied politely. “I’m here for that reason.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” the woman said. “Your own game shop? Aren’t you kind of young to be an owner?”
Yugi tried not to pout. “I’m nineteen, actually. Considering how old Seto Kaiba was when he became owner of his company…no, I’m not too young.”
“Oh!” The woman looked suitably embarrassed. “I thought you were much younger than that. I’m sorry…that was rude of me…”
Duke had overheard, and decided to step in. “Yugi and I went to school together,” he said casually. “We were in the same graduating year.”
“That’s right,” Yugi nodded. “I won the Duelist Kingdom championship when I was sixteen. Now, I feel almost old next to some of the newcomers to the tournaments.”
“Three championships in a row,” one of the other men at the table lauded him with a big grin. “Going to make it four?”
Yugi blinked. “Huh? Four?”
Duke elbowed him. “Hey, dessert!”
Fortunately, that completely diverted Yugi’s attention, as the waiters were coming around with trays laden with different cakes and sweets for the guests to choose between. Yugi almost couldn’t decide, but the woman next to him passed on dessert and let him have hers, so he could have one of each flavor. Dessert and coffee, however, was the perfect opportunity for Pegasus to address his esteemed guests, so he sent one of the publicists up to the podium to get everyone’s attention and give a short, perfunctory speech about Industrial Illusions’ success and visions of the future before reintroducing Pegasus for the keynote speech. Yugi sat in rapt attention, frozen with a forkful of chocolate cake in his mouth. “My purpose tonight is not to look back, but to look forward,” Pegasus began with a humble note in his lilting voice. “With an expanded customer base and new roads into different product lines and properties, Industrial Illusions stands poised to keep a firm grasp on the gaming industry, and even challenge for the number one spot in market share.” The corporate-speak made Yugi and Duke share mutually rolled eyes – thank goodness for dessert or they would have been bolting for the door. “For instance, we have reached a new level with Dungeon Dice Monsters, a remarkable and creative little game that is the brainchild of my youngest corporate partner, Duke Devlin.” Pegasus extended a hand to where Duke sat, conveniently in his direct line of sight, forcing Duke to look around and wave at the scattered applause interrupting the speech. “And there is more, much more, which I expect you will hear about if you stop by the Industrial Illusions tower in the expo hall,” Pegasus rambled on. “My staff is on hand to answer all questions, and show you just what our little company has planned for the coming year. My intention isn’t to reveal them all now, you’ll just have to visit our booth and come to the press conferences to get more than a tease.” The way he drew out the final sentence in that statement elicited polite laughter from the executives in the room.
“So what’s this big thing he’s supposed to reveal?” Yugi whispered to Duke.
“Give it a minute,” Duke hissed back.
Now that he had everyone’s attention, and even the clinking of forks on dessert plates had ceased, Pegasus fixed the room with his oiliest smile. The one hazel eye visible from behind the curtain of silvery hair glittered in the bright lights of the banquet hall. “But our future, and my deepest dreams and desires for it, still remain focused on the heart of our company, the heart of gaming itself as far as I’m concerned. Duel Monsters is still the number one collectible card game in the world, and with good reason. I have never felt so confident about its vitality and continued success as I do right now. Tomorrow afternoon, at our main press conference in the expo hall, I will be announcing all of the new developments in the game, including new card lines, new rules, and expanded support for local league play and internationally-ranked duelists. But here, tonight…you, my friends, are the first to hear this special announcement. After tomorrow the whole world will know, but for you special few, this is an early treat.” Pegasus paused for dramatics, sweeping his gaze around the room to enjoy the suspense. “Ladies and gentlemen, I will be throwing a new Duel Monsters tournament in the new year – a World Tournament.”
Everyone predictably gasped, even Yugi. Within him, the pharaoh’s attention grew keen.
“Yes,” Pegasus gloated, “the grand new tournament will be nothing short of a world-level event, featuring champions from around the globe all vying for a chance to be the undisputed world champion of Duel Monsters. It is meant to eclipse all of the past tournaments, including my own match at Duelist Kingdom, culminating in a televised high-stakes event in Hong Kong in January of next year. Already, information is being sent to the largest game stores and tournament organizers in every country, so that all regional and national finals are completed in time to gather the greatest duelists together in one spot. Unlike the last tournament,” he drawled with exaggerated disdain, “my World Tournament will be open to anyone who wishes to enter and battle their way to the top. Even so, some very special top-ranked duelists will be my guests, invited to enter without having to prove themselves, so that others around the world have a chance to pit themselves against the best of the best.” His gaze shifted, and his eye found Yugi where he sat, singling him out without having to say a word. Yugi felt like he wanted to hide behind Duke. “The details of the tournament will be handed out at a later time, but you can go out and say, you heard it first, straight from the top!”
Pegasus continued for a little bit longer, but Yugi was completely distracted now. He grabbed the back of Duke’s shirt and pulled him down to whisper at him. “A world tournament! Seriously?”
“Dude, this is even bigger than what I heard,” Duke said excitedly under his breath. “He mentioned a tournament because he wants to hold some of the regional matches at my store. But I didn’t know what it was leading to. In Hong Kong!”
“That’s going to be so awesome!” Yugi looked past his friend to where Pegasus was still speaking, beginning to wonder about everything he had said. Invited guests, national finals, Hong Kong…it all sounded too good to be true. But, if Pegasus truly did intend to outdo not only Kaiba’s tournaments but his own, he would have to pull out all the stops. When his speech concluded, it was met with a round of thunderous applause, as now every guest in the room was thinking more or less the same as Yugi. All that was left was for them to discuss it over what was left of dessert, and then go their separate ways to spread the first rumors amongst the gaming community. A Duel Monsters World Tournament! Whatever big news Kaiba planned to announce at his booth could not be anywhere near as huge as that. Once word got out, he could consider his thunder stolen by Pegasus and Industrial Illusions.
The others at their table were leaning over and asking Yugi what he knew about it, but he had to confess that this was the first he had heard about any tournament. He couldn’t say whether he would enter, and honestly didn’t know if Pegasus had any intention of making him one of the hinted-to invited guests. He decided to sit there for a bit and just let it sink in, since people all around were starting to get up and mill about, mingling and making their way to shake hands with Maximillian Pegasus, to thank him for dinner and say nice glowing things about his announcements. Yugi could see him not far from the table, standing in the midst of a throng of nicely-dressed businessmen, smiling faintly and nodding at what was being said to him. Duke stood up from the table, then, stretching and glancing to see that Pegasus was too occupied to be bothered. “Well, that’s it, I guess,” he said to Yugi. “Wanna go?”
“Mm…I guess,” Yugi murmured, finishing off what was left in his glass. But before he could stand, both of them became aware of the small crowd parting and a tall figure coming up behind Duke. Even as he set a hand on Duke’s shoulder, Yugi gasped, “Pegasus!”
“Good evening, boys,” Pegasus said smoothly to them both. Duke stepped aside to allow him audience, disengaging his friendly hand. “Ahh, Yugi-boy…I see you got my invitation.”
“Yes…thank you,” Yugi thought to say. “I appreciate it.”
“I’m glad you came,” Pegasus said with one of his usual smooth half-smiles that hinted that he had some ulterior motive beneath the surface. “If you would be so kind as to wait here until the rest of the hall empties out, I’d like to speak with you. Particularly about the tournament I just announced.”
Yugi sat up a little straighter. “Uh…sure,” he agreed, watching warily as Pegasus nodded once more to Duke and then wandered off to greet some more executives. Though he sat quietly to simply wait, inwardly, Yugi turned immediately to his partner. “What do you think?” he asked in his thoughts.
Yami didn’t answer for a moment. “I see no reason for concern,” he finally said, his mental voice a low, pensive murmur. “I’ve been listening, but for now I sense no evil intent from Pegasus. I think it would be wise to listen to what he has to say.”
“Especially if it’s going to be about the tournament,” Yugi said, excitement welling up in his heart again. “So, you’ll let me meet with him?”
The spirit inside chuckled warmly. “Let you? I insist upon it. I want to hear about the tournament, too.”
Yugi smiled to himself, and then glanced up at Duke. “You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to,” he offered. “I think I can find my way back to the hotel by myself. I don’t know what Pegasus wants, but…”
“Nah, it’s okay,” Duke assured, dropping back into his chair. “I’ll hang around. I don’t want to leave you to walk back to the room alone – and I want to know what he’s going to tell you, too.”
It didn’t take long for the dining hall to clear, once everyone had finished their dessert and drinks and had gotten a moment to greet Pegasus personally. He was moving gradually towards the main doors, as if herding the rabble out himself under the guise of hobnobbing with them. Yugi and Duke sat at their table to wait, toying with their empty glasses and murmuring to each other about the big announcement and what it might mean to both of them. After a while they glanced around to see that the ballroom was empty, except for hotel staff coming to clean up the dishes, and rose to try and see where Pegasus had gone. He was nowhere to be seen, but one of his employees was weaving around the tables, heading for them. Yugi recognized him as he came closer – it was Croquet, the gray-haired, gruff-voiced right hand man. “Yugi,” he said as he came up to them. “Mr. Pegasus would like to see you in the back. I’m sorry, Mr. Devlin…” He glanced at Duke, though his dark glasses hid his expression. “…but this is to be a private meeting.”
“Can I at least wait outside the door?” Duke grumbled. “Yugi’s staying with me in my room, I’m not leaving him alone in a strange city at this time of night.”
“Very well, if you wish. Come along.” Croquet led the way to one of the far doors that the Industrial Illusions staff had come through at the beginning of the banquet, which turned out to open into an adjoining conference room with just a few chairs in it. He bid Yugi to have a seat to wait for Pegasus, and gestured for Duke to come with him out the door on the opposite side. Duke glanced quickly at Yugi, and they shared an understanding nod before he disappeared.
Yugi had barely sat down when the door opened again to admit Pegasus, carrying a slender briefcase, and another dark-suited Industrial Illusions employee. “Yes, thank you,” Pegasus was saying to the man, in essence dismissing him. He turned and went right back out, while Pegasus glided over to the cluster of chairs and selected one that faced Yugi. “Well, well, Yugi-boy,” he gushed as he sat down and laid the briefcase on the conference table next to him. “I imagine you were quite surprised to hear my little news item tonight, hmm?”
Yugi clasped his hands shyly and rested them in his lap, near to the Puzzle’s secure presence. “Yeah, kind of,” he said. “Duke hinted to me that there was going to be some big announcement but…I had no idea. A world tournament?”
“Before we go any further, I must tell you that I intend to invite you to the tournament as a special competitor,” Pegasus said seriously, placing a hand on his briefcase but not opening it just yet. “You are the reigning world champion, Yugi, it wouldn’t be fair to you to force you to go through the elimination rounds just so you can have a chance to defend your title.”
“Wow,” Yugi remarked before he could stop himself. “Really? How many duelists are you going to just invite?”
“I haven’t decided, quite yet,” Pegasus replied with a cool smile. “You and Kaiba-boy, of course, it almost goes without saying. But as for the rest…hmm, I haven’t made up my mind. There are quite a few repeat-finalists around the world who would probably jump at the chance to be involved, I’m sure. The invitations will be going out by the end of next week…but consider yours already delivered in person.”
Yugi lowered his eyes shyly. “Thank you,” he said softly. “I…I guess I have no choice but to accept.”
Pegasus raised an eyebrow at him. “You do want to compete in the world tournament, don’t you?”
“Well, of course I do…”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be anything like Kaiba’s last fiasco,” Pegasus said with an air of derision. “You’ll have to work your way through finalists also, you just get to skip the regional and national competitions. Your place as a finalist is assured. Does that sound reasonable?”
Yugi nodded hesitantly. “I guess so, yeah. All right. I’m in.”
“Good!” A wide smile appeared on the CEO’s face. “You’ll get more information later, once all the elimination tournaments have been set up and I have some idea of how many duelists will be reaching the world finals stage. For now, just rest confident in my promise that you’ll be treated to the grandest tournament you’ve ever seen. I truly plan to top them all.” He then turned to the briefcase on the table, flipping open the latches and making to open it. “Now that that’s out of the way…we have some catching up to do.” Pegasus gave Yugi a sidelong glance as he shuffled through the papers contained inside his case. “Young Mr. Devlin tells me you and he had quite a time fending off Seto Kaiba, as of late.”
“He didn’t get what he wanted,” Yugi said firmly, his expression darkening at the memory. “He did his best to harass us and play on our weaknesses, but we never gave in. We didn’t let him buy our game shop.”
Pegasus eyed him in interest over the edge of a sheet of paper. “So it’s true,” he said in a low murmur. “You are part owner of Kame game shop, as I’ve heard?”
Yugi decided it was too late to start wondering how and where Pegasus got all his information, if he didn’t contact Duke all that often. “Yes,” he answered firmly. “My grandpa gave me part ownership. Someday, it’ll be mine completely.”
“Congratulations,” Pegasus continued to murmur with that narrow-eyed gaze. “That powerful sense of loyalty to your family hasn’t been lost after all. You know, I’ve always had a soft heart towards family-owned shops like yours,” he added distractedly. “They’re always so nice to the customers, and take a much more personal interest in promoting my games. I must say, I fully support a business like yours.”
Inwardly, Yugi felt all of his questions and worries of the past few months finally come into sharp focus, demanding an answer. He sat up and instantly asked, “Do you know what Kaiba wanted with our shops? Why was he trying to buy them? Is he going to be announcing something this weekend, too?”
Pegasus held his gaze, but there was a momentary flicker in the one hazel eye that betrayed a hint of surprise. “Unfortunately,” he said in a more serious tone, “Kaiba-boy has managed to keep it even from me. He does have some big plans to announce, yes, and they have quite a lot to do with Duel Monsters. You’d do well to go tomorrow and find out about it. But that’s all he’s told me. Whatever else he’s got up his sleeve, he’s managed to thwart my every effort to peek into it.” Pegasus began to smirk again. “At least I got my chance to warn him that I knew he was after his competition and that I would put a stop to any attempt to acquire the Dungeon Dice Monsters license.”
Though he didn’t really want to know how that might have come about, Yugi was fairly certain it had to have been a weird conversation between the two gaming company presidents. He could picture Kaiba doing a lot of yelling. “It’s over now, though,” he said in a timid tone. “Kaiba gave us a final offer, and when we turned him down, that was it. He hasn’t been back since. He even tried to bully us over my grandpa’s hospital bills and the damage from the typhoon, but we still didn’t give in.”
“Oh yes,” Pegasus lilted as if suddenly remembering. “How is your grandfather, by the way?”
“He’s…fine.” For some reason, Yugi didn’t feel like talking about it. “Everything’s back to normal.”
“Or is it?” Leaving the briefcase open, Pegasus put down his papers and swiveled the chair to face Yugi. His fruity voice took on that needling tone that he used when he had far more information than his subject expected him to have. “You must be keeping your heads above water, you and your grandpa – after all, he let you come here. But I’m sure Kaiba’s propositions were starting to become a rather unavoidable temptation. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Yugi-boy – everybody finds themselves in a place of need at some point in their lives,” he assured. “You had your reasons for making the choices you did. But now, you’re left in a rather tough spot, aren’t you?”
Yugi looked sharply away, not wanting to face that self-assured stare. “We’re fine,” he muttered sourly. “We have generous friends and a good lawyer, we’ll be okay.”
“I can help you, you know.” Pegasus spoke more softly, but just as confidently. “But you don’t want to just take handouts, I know. You’re too proud, Yugi-boy. I admire that about you. Perhaps, then, I could offer you a business arrangement. Something to our mutual benefit.”
Yugi lifted his head and stared. “A business arrangement? What kind?”
“Oh, there are many ways in which I could use you, Yugi-boy,” Pegasus said, failing to keep the suggestive note out of his voice. “But you’re part-owner of a game shop, now, I guess that means asking you to move away from Domino and work for Industrial Illusions would be a bit too much.” He folded his hands on his knee and leaned forward, sounding a little more excited. “How would you feel about being a game tester for my company?”
“Game tester…?”
“Someone who would receive new cards before the general public, so you can play with them and see how they affect game balance in a real duel. I admit, not all of my ideas for cards are perfect,” Pegasus sighed comically. “Sometimes, they don’t work at all like I expected them to. Sometimes they’re far too powerful and I can’t release them. I rely on game testers to check out the new cards, and help me make these kinds of decisions before I waste money printing a full run of useless cards. It’s fun for the collectors, but it’s bad for business.” He leaned even closer, looking very pleased with himself. “You could be one of those people, Yugi. It wouldn’t even require leaving the comfort of your own home. You would receive cards straight from me, and get to put them in your deck and play against your friends, and then report back to me as to how they work out. What do you say?”
Yugi stared at him for a long while, trying to determine if the offer was one he could trust. It sounded too good to be real. “And…for this…you’d pay me?” he asked to be sure.
“Of course. You’d be an official employee of Industrial Illusions.” Pegasus beamed invitingly. “Much like your friend Duke Devlin.”
Taking a deep breath, Yugi hunted for something else to look at besides Pegasus’ eager face, as he listened inwardly for advice. Yami, however, was only listening silently. “Uh…well,” Yugi stammered, “I don’t know. I’d…have to think about it. That’s a pretty big responsibility to add to the ones I already have…”
“I’m sure it must be,” Pegasus cooed. “You don’t have to give me an answer right away. You and your inner spirit would like to talk it over with each other, I’m sure.” His eye narrowed again, though he kept smiling. “I’m afraid he’s not very trusting, for a pharaoh. He must want to know what I stand to gain by this. It’s simple,” he went on, not waiting for Yugi to protest that Yami was very trusting, actually. “I want the benefit of his knowledge.” Pegasus sat forward and faced Yugi directly, his voice growing serious again. “I may not know as much as you do about the spirit of the Puzzle and his connection to all things Duel Monsters, but I know that he’s much more acquainted with how the game plays than anyone in the world. I fear I am just a pawn in the grand scheme, someone to whom knowledge and foresight of the game has been given so that I can create a modern version, one that anyone can play without sorcery. Sometimes I don’t know where my ideas come from…but if I had the knowledge of the one who may have created this…this shadow game…”
“No,” Yugi interrupted him, going rigid in his chair. “You don’t understand, Pegasus. Yami doesn’t remember his past. And he would never do anything that would bring about the shadow games again, he was the one who saved the world in the past…”
Pegasus sat back with a hand splayed over his heart. “I’m terribly sorry,” he said in a rush, though Yugi doubted his sincerity. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like that. Surely, you know more than I do. After all, I’ve lost more shadow games than I’ve won.” He reached to flick a stray wisp of hair out of his eye, as if to hint at the missing one underneath the curtain of long, silvery hair. “I meant no offense to either of you. Even without your friend the pharaoh, you’re a talented gamer, Yugi-boy. I merely wish to take advantage of your talent and perhaps pay you handsomely in return. If it will help, I’ll let you have a few days to make a decision.”
Yugi sat back, not relaxing as much as he wanted to. Yami still said nothing, but Yugi could feel the pharaoh’s spirit stirring inside him, prickling with irritation. “He’ll be out of the Puzzle again in a few days,” he murmured, “we can talk it over by then and have an answer for you.”
The smirk returned to Pegasus’ lips. “Your ritual,” he said knowingly. “How often do you perform it, anyway?”
“Once a month,” Yugi found himself answering reluctantly. “On the full moon.”
“Ah,” Pegasus nodded. “Then, you don’t choose your days with him.”
Yugi shook his head, studiously keeping from meeting his gaze now. He didn’t want Pegasus to have all this information about him, but he couldn’t stop himself from admitting it, for some reason. As long as Yami didn’t speak up and scold him for saying anything, it was probably all right. Yugi longed to be able to talk to him right now about this development, but he didn’t want to leave Pegasus sitting there staring at him while he retreated into his mind to discuss the matter. “I’ll give you an answer after I’ve thought about it,” he said, trying to return to the offer on the table. “How am I supposed to contact you?”
Pegasus reached into the briefcase and gracefully retrieved a business card. “This has all my numbers. If it is still within a week of the game expo, call this one,” he added, pointing to the bottom number. “It’s the private line in the new satellite office for Industrial Illusions. I’ll be there for another week or so after leaving Tokyo, to finish setting things up there.”
Yugi recognized the number code. “Wait a minute. That’s in Domino…”
“Naturally.” Pegasus gave him a smug grin. “If I must have an overseas branch office in Japan, I may as well locate it in the same city as my biggest competitor and partner.”
“Oh…” Yugi stared at the card a moment longer and then tucked it into one of the breast pockets of his vest. “All right. I’ll try that number first, in case you’re still in Japan.”
“Then perhaps we can make it a business meeting,” Pegasus suggested. “A business lunch, maybe. Wouldn’t that be a curious irony, eh, Yugi-boy?” He chuckled to himself, but Yugi clearly didn’t feel very amused. The CEO gazed at him a moment longer and then finally plucked something out of his briefcase. “There is one other matter I’d like to run past you, one maybe not so heavy in the decision-making department as becoming a game tester for my company. A short-term deal. It involves the tournament.”
Yugi looked up at him again, curious. “What kind of a deal?”
“You’ve already accepted my invitation to come to the tournament and play to defend your championship ranking,” Pegasus noted. “I would like to have your permission to use that to promote the tournament.” He set the paper on the table near Yugi, so he could read it if he wished.
Yugi glanced aside at the paper. It appeared to be a release form, giving consent to using his image or name in advertisements. “What,” he asked for clarification, “you want to tell people that entering this tournament gives them the chance to play me?”
“And take your title away from you,” Pegasus said with dark humor. “Yes, Yugi-boy, I want to splash your name and picture all over my posters and advertisements for the world tournament, if you’ll let me. I want to openly promise the dueling public a shot at you – and I will pay you solely for your endorsement of the tournament. But this sort of deal comes with stipulations.” He gestured idly towards the contract on the table. “You are not to lose any duel that can be tracked via the KaibaCorp duel disk system between now and the beginning of the tournament, or the arrangement is immediately over. The deal lasts only until the day the tournament begins, in late January in Hong Kong, and then you’re on your own. You’ll get no help or special treatment from me, only suitable compensation for the rights to use you in promotions.” His eye narrowed with a wheedling smile. “What do you say, Yugi-boy? I know you can use the money. You won’t have to fret about losing your shop now that you’ve given Kaiba the boot. You can still go to bed at the end of the day with a clear conscience, because you’re only contracted to me until the tournament. It’s only a couple of months. And with the new branch office in Domino, you can just go there for photo shoots and promotional meetings.”
Yugi took the paper to him and read it, finding that it pretty much said everything Pegasus had just laid out for him. Not losing any duels played with his duel disk was an interesting clause. In the end, he met Pegasus’ eager stare with as much assuredness as he could muster. “I’ll think about it,” he said. “This isn’t the sort of thing I want to enter into lightly.”
“Understandable,” Pegasus agreed, “but the time for this offer is short. I must know before the end of the game expo, so we can sign the release and the contract and get everything in place.”
“Fine,” Yugi said shortly, “I’ll give you my answer tomorrow. I just want to sleep on it before I sign my life
away for the next few months.”
“Granted,” Pegasus enthused, sitting back and clapping his hands. “I’ll keep that contract with me for
now, but as soon as you say yes, we’ll sign it and get this tournament
underway.” He plucked the paper from
Yugi’s hands and stored it in his briefcase. “Until
then, I request that you not speak to anyone but your ancient partner about these offers. Control of information about the tournament is very
important, and I’d rather keep my offer to you confidential until papers are
signed.”
Yugi sighed, knowing that he was specifically demanding that he didn’t tell Duke a thing. “All right,” he gave in. “I won’t say a word.”
“Very good.” Smiling smugly, Pegasus rose to his feet. “Then, I shall let you go for the night. You must be tired after such a long day of walking around the game expo. I’ll be waiting for your answer,” he added as a parting shot as he turned and started for the door.
Yugi didn’t want to be left alone in the big, unfamiliar conference room, so he hopped up and followed Pegasus out, finding Duke waiting in the corridor outside, leaning on the wall with his arms folded. He glanced up when the door opened, and nodded politely at his business partner before focusing on Yugi. “Well?” he demanded as soon as Pegasus was gone down the corridor. “What was that all about?”
Yugi sighed tiredly. “I can’t tell you,” he complained. “Pegasus asked me not to say anything to anyone for now…it’s business-related, though. All I can really say is…he’s made me some offers that I have to think about.”
“Dammit.” Duke stuffed his hands in his pockets in a full-body pout. “I figured it would be something like that. He kept you in there so long. Is it about the tournament? Can you at least tell me that much?”
“Yeah,” Yugi nodded as they turned and started away. “It does have to do with the tournament.”
“All right,” Duke relented. “But as soon as he lifts his restrictions, I gotta know.”
“I promise,” Yugi said. “As soon as I can, I’ll tell you everything. Right now, though, I just want to go back to the room and go to bed. I’m exhausted.”
As they found their way back to the skywalk in order to take a shortcut through the convention center to their hotel, Yugi’s thoughts turned inward. Yami had heard everything, and knew the tumult of Yugi’s emotions and conflicts, but refrained from saying anything openly about it until they were back in the room and ready for bed. Then, in the dark, with Duke snoring away in the other bed, the two spirits could commune without interruption and decide what to do about the two incredible offers. Being contracted to Pegasus in any way did not sit well with Yugi, but compared to the deals Kaiba attempted to make him, the offers seemed legitimate enough. Yami shared his own heart and wisdom with his young lover, and eventually quieted to allow him to sleep, hoping that Yugi would be calm and comfortable enough in the morning to make the right decision. This was one time when Yami could not be sure that he had a claim on changing the direction of Yugi’s life, it was for him alone to choose. For the rest of the night his spirit hovered near to his sleeping lover, deep in restless thought.
Walking along the sidewalk from their hotel early the next morning, Duke and Yugi were surprised and a little worried to find themselves coming upon a very long line that snaked around the convention center. Their hotel was on the far side from the main entrance, and to encounter people in line so far away from it was frightening. “Game fans,” Duke realized after they had passed about a block’s worth of them, noticing that the vast majority were young, male, and carrying handheld games to pass the time in line.
Yugi stared. “Are they all here for the game expo?”
“Pretty much.” Duke tossed his head flippantly. “They’re all here waiting to get in when they open it up to the public.”
“Oh no,” Yugi groaned. “The place is going to be wall-to-wall people.”
“Come on, there’s another entrance for people with badges,” Duke suddenly remembered, shouldering his way through the line and making for a stairway that led up to a higher level of the convention center. Sure enough, up where one of the skywalks connected to the main building, security was on duty checking badges and letting the industry folks in. They still had a couple of hours of privacy on the showroom floor before the mass of humanity was admitted at eleven, so they made a quick circuit of the expo hall and did their best to pick up freebies before they were all gone. They had temporarily split up so Yugi could talk to a distributor about how they packaged games to the shops when the general gaming public arrived, flooding through the aisles and swarming the booths looking for game demos and merchandise. Most of the crowd congregated in the video game hall, but there were more than enough getting underfoot around the card and tabletop games to bother Yugi and make him worry about being able to find Duke again. At the very least, they had agreed to meet up at the KaibaCorp booth at noon, since they were both intensely interested to see what their gaming rival was going to reveal. They didn’t have to resort to that, though, Duke was merely around the corner snapping shots of some cosplayers in short skirts with his camera phone. Making their way through the crowd took twice as long, now, so about all they could do was push their way to the Industrial Illusions booth to check on Duke’s scheduled conference later in the day, and then run the gauntlet of fanboys to the KaibaCorp booth. The signboard announcing the press conference had been taken away, since the important people already knew it was happening shortly and Kaiba apparently didn’t care how many run-of-the-mill Duel Monsters fans were in the audience. He would have wanted only industry professionals, rivals, and the press there, and as Yugi and Duke made their way to a nice, unobstructed view of the stage, they thought to themselves that he had certainly gotten his wish. Most of the crowd collecting at KaibaCorp wore suits and ties or carried cameras, looking calm and professional and eager to hear the big news, though the presence of so many gaming executives attracted fan attention as well. The black curtain had been drawn aside, so now the intellibeam lights were swirling over a gigantic projection screen that loomed over the stage. The two game shop owners glanced at each other, shrugged, and settled for watching and waiting.
Precisely at the stroke of noon, the lights around the KaibaCorp booth dimmed and the projection screen suddenly lit up with a rapidly-flashing sequence of still pictures, mostly Duel Monsters images, interspersed with photographs of Kaibaland amusement park and the KaibaCorp tower, a promotional video set to pulsing techno music. It was a rather slick, eye-catching little video, with the images building in sequence with the music toward a thundering crescendo that demonstrated the awe and power of the Kaiba Corporation. With the final explosion at the end of the music, the screen went bright white and all the intellibeam lights snapped to focus on the center of the stage, while a deep, over-hyped voice intoned, “Please welcome, president of Kaiba Corporation, Mister…Seto…Kaiba!”
The audience applauded, thoroughly impressed by the introduction, as Kaiba came sweeping out from behind the screen, clad in the white coat that made him look twice as huge and imposing as usual. For once he appeared to actually be smiling, though in that condescending, gloating way that fit him too well. Yugi found himself glancing around the gathered crowd, curious to see if Pegasus was there watching as well. If he was, he kept out of sight. Kaiba surveyed his audience before beginning, speaking proudly and with an air of superiority. “Many game companies are willing to rest on their laurels and keep churning out the same bland, boring games year in, year out, because it’s safe and it’s what works. Kaiba Corporation has never been that kind of game company. I have always pushed to do better, to think beyond the game and challenge the boundaries of what people expect. I’m pleased to stand here and announce that we’ve done it again. KaibaCorp is poised to take gaming in a new direction, to create a new union of traditional and online gaming that no one has ever seen before. And,” he added with a smart look at his audience, “we are ready to step into a new phase of game distribution, to bring KaibaCorp into every level of the business from creation to sales.”
“I knew it,” Duke muttered under his breath.
“This is it,” Yugi whispered.
Kaiba flung out his left arm from where it had been hanging at his side, and for the first time everyone noticed that he was wearing a duel disk. With this signal, the throbbing music started up again, though more quietly so he could talk over it. “Gaming fans the world over are familiar with the KaibaCorp duel disk system,” he explained, displaying his favorite toy. “Ever since I introduced it at the Battle City tournament, it has remained the top choice for all duelists, from the serious tournament competitor to the littlest kid in the schoolyard.” He smirked even more smugly. “Well, today, KaibaCorp is making it even better. What could be better than dueling anyone, anytime, with portable holographic generators to make the game even more real?” He reached into his coat and pulled out a headset, jacking the end of the cord into the outlet already built into the duel disk for arcade arena compatibility. With a swift motion he slipped the headset on and flipped a little plexiglass screen in front of his eye. As soon as it was plugged in, the screen behind him snapped to life with a display screen that apparently mirrored the glowing text display on the headset. Kaiba grinned darkly. “How about dueling anyone around the world, anywhere, via wireless online gameplay?”
An impressed sigh rippled through the crowd below the stage, and even Yugi let out a little gasp of awe. For now, though, the display only showed an intro screen, asking the user if he wanted to connect. Kaiba strode right to the edge of the stage to show himself off, raising the duel disk high in the air to reveal the connection port on the underside. “It’s fully compatible with all duel disks already on the market, though a new line of more streamlined disks with extra features will be available for the holiday shopping season. KaibaCorp itself will maintain the online network to allow duelists around the world to meet up with each other, chat about dueling and choose opponents to battle. Average video game wireless networks pale in comparison, we will run the first online system that will allow for instant translation of the card reader matrix, so every card released in every country will be available for use.” He lowered his arm and pointed to the headset instead, turning just-so in order to model it rather sexily. “The visual display allows you to see the life point counter and attack statistics of your opponent, as well as the cards out on the field, just as if you were dueling with the holographic emitters. The wireless headset gives you a live voice chat with your opponent, and can be used without dueling like a cell phone. And the KaibaCorp system will track stats and rankings of all users, so you can find someone your speed…or challenge a famous duelist.” He posed, then, and the press cameras right up front started snapping photos like crazy. Kaiba stood there and let them, grinning smugly, before brandishing the duel disk menacingly. “But enough talk, why don’t I show you just how this thing works.” His blue eyes flicked daringly over the crowd. “It’s so easy, anyone could operate it, even some of you. Why…” As if suddenly noticing him, Kaiba’s gaze settled on Yugi standing off to the side of the stage, only the spiked tips of his hair visible between people. “…I think I see someone who could use a lesson in upgrading to the twenty-first century. Yugi…”
One of the intellibeam lights flitted from Kaiba’s figure to pick out Yugi in the crowd. Men in suits and shirtsleeves turned to look at him as he stared, startled, at Kaiba. “What?”
“Think you’ve got what it takes to duel using a technology you’ve never seen before?” Kaiba taunted him. “Or are you too scared of looking like a fool in front of the entire gaming world?”
Yugi frowned at him. Private conflicts were one thing, but mocking him in public like this was pushing it. “You want me to come up there and duel?” he wondered warily.
“Why not?” Kaiba raised his duel disk and hit the button on the underside to deactivate the arm guard so he could take it off. “I could do it myself, but the duel would be over before anyone really got a chance to see how it worked. You’re the Duel Monsters world champion,” he sneered. “A little wireless duel disk shouldn’t be so hard for you to handle.”
It took only a split-second of internal, mental conference for Yugi and Yami to reach agreement, and with a tiny flash of the Eye of the Puzzle, the bonded figure of the King of Games lifted sleek, threatening eyes to his rival on the stage. “Very well,” he said in his deeper, confident tone. “I accept your challenge, Kaiba. But who am I to duel?”
Kaiba eyed him with some satisfaction. He had taken the bait. “I’ve set up an unknown opponent to play, some duelist in Australia. So everyone can see how smooth the wireless network runs even at a peak hour during the day,” he replied coolly. “I don’t even know who it is, my company recruited him. He’s standing by.”
The crowd parted to let Yami Yugi pass between them and step up to the stage, shoulders back and head held high in keen confidence. Anyone who knew KaibaCorp, duel disks, and Battle City knew Yugi Muto, so his entrance was accompanied by excited applause. He faced Kaiba directly, and they shared a mutual challenging smirk while Kaiba handed over the duel disk and headset. Yugi shoved it onto his arm and clicked the arm guard closed. Kaiba gave him another smug look. “Did you bring your deck?”
Yugi pulled his deck of cards from the pouch on his belt and held them up. “Always.” He slapped them into the duel disk, causing it to light up and activate. At the same time, the display on his headset came to life, indicating that it was searching for a connection, finding one, and preparing to launch the dueling program. Yugi settled the headset more comfortably on his head, amidst his wild hair, and adjusted the display screen and microphone to fit himself before turning to the audience. Kaiba, meanwhile, stepped aside and resumed his sales pitch. “The screen behind us is jacked in to the duel disk, so what Yugi sees on his headset, you can see for yourself. The load screens are easy to follow, and just by pressing the trap-card buttons on the duel disk, you can navigate around the network and choose your opponent.” Of course, there was only one opponent online, listed as SurferBoi1, in addition to the home-disk’s own beta username, KaibaCorp. Yugi selected it, and a connection was established between the two. Kaiba sniffed at him. “Say hello to your opponent, Yugi,” he growled.
Yugi stood at rest, trying to concentrate on the screen in front of his eye. All he could see was a life point counter, standing at 4000, and a grid indicating the card spaces on the field. “Uh…hello?” he said into the headset mic.
“Hey there,” a cheery Aussie voice said into his ear, and through the speakers set up on stage so the crowd could listen to their banter as well. “Oi, who’s this? Kaiba?”
“No, actually…it’s Yugi Muto,” he replied with a smile. “Kaiba called me out of the crowd to duel you.”
“No kidding!” the voice of his opponent crowed. “Well, I’ll be damned. Here’s a funny turn. I thought I was gonna be battling Kaiba himself. Well! Shall we get on with it, then?”
There was something oddly familiar about the male voice that Yami Yugi couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he thought it a perfectly friendly and bright voice. He raised the duel disk into position, reaching to draw his first hand. “Let’s duel,” he grinned.
A hot techno soundtrack pounded beneath their duel, providing an undercurrent of excitement that brought a firm smile to Yugi’s face as he drew his cards and slapped them on the duel disk, ordering attacks and preparing defense. Seto Kaiba only stood back to watch, arms folded, not looking at all bothered at his choice to let someone duel in his place. Truthfully, it was the best situation for him. What no one knew was that he had had to scramble to finish a workable demo of the wireless upgrade in time for the Tokyo Game Expo, and he wasn’t sure that all the bugs were out of it. Having Yugi duel in demonstration instead of him was perfect, for if he won, it would be the next best thing to Kaiba himself proving the amazing capabilities of the new online dueling platform. As much as he didn’t like Yugi, Kaiba could not pass up the free publicity brought on by the rumor of the Duel Monsters champion at work. If he lost, well, so much the better – then Kaiba had license to mock him for not being able to keep up with the times and publicly humiliate him. Either way, neither Kaiba nor his duel disk would lose face, and as he stood by, he allowed himself a gloating smirk as he tossed these ideas around in his head. Let’s see it, Yugi. Let’s see if you really are everything these people want you to be. If you can’t beat some random kid from halfway around the world, you don’t deserve to be here.
It took a turn or two for Yugi to get used to the headset and the display in front of his eye, but then he jumped out to the lead, dueling as comfortably and powerfully as if the Australian youth were right there facing him on the stage. He unconsciously swayed a little to the beat as he put his strategies into play, concentrating mostly on the voice in his ear rather than the subtle musical accompaniment and the cheers of the crowd in front of him. Rather than cheat by watching the giant screen simulcasting what he was seeing on the headset display, Yugi decided to face forward, outward, where if he so chose he could see a multitude of expectant faces turned up towards him, appearing and disappearing out of the dim darkness as the colorful intellibeam lights washed over them. Now that he had the hang of the technology, his bonded mind was purely on dueling to win, dueling to show these strangers he could do his best. After one particularly cool and impressive move, the audience cheered him so loudly that it brought a chuckle out of his overseas opponent. “I can totally hear the people in the background,” the Australian duelist said while he drew and presumably was studying his cards on the other end. “Got a big audience, or what?”
Yugi’s eyes flicked past his display screen for a moment. “You could say that. They can hear you, too.”
The Aussie laughed, and then shouted through the speakers, “Oi, Tokyo! What up?” The crowd screamed for him, making him laugh even more. “That’s awesome, mate. So, what should I do, hmm? I think I’ll be laying a couple cards face down, and switch my Cyber Harpie to defense.”
Yugi chuckled as well, as he watched the LCD display flash the card movements in front of his eye. He knew that card all too well, though it felt a little odd to be dueling someone besides Mai who used it. “I have to admit, this is fun,” he told his opponent. “But unfortunately, much as I’d like to be up here doing this all day, I’m going to have to end this duel on this turn.”
“What? No way,” the Australian voice scoffed. “I still have half the life points I started with. It’s gonna take more than some fancy magic tricks from your magician there to wipe the rest of ‘em out.”
Drawing his next card, Yugi eyed the crowd for a brief second before plunging into his final move, which did exactly as he predicted and blew SurferBoi1 completely away. The lights dancing over the crowd whirled to the center again to spotlight him as the display on the giant screen showed the online opponent’s life points scroll down to zero. The field cleared, and Yugi lowered the duel disk to his side as the crowd went wild. He was still connected to the wireless system, and took a moment to address his anonymous competitor. “That was a good duel,” he complimented. “You’re obviously not an amateur.”
“Eh, you could say that,” the Aussie said flippantly. “I’ve had more than my share of tough duels. It was a pleasure facing you, mate. Give Kaiba a kiss for me, eh?” he added with a long, hard laugh.
Yugi glanced to his left as Kaiba came up beside him, scowling very faintly at the comment that had gone out over the entire system before the distant duelist logged off. Aware that Kaiba wanted his duel disk back, Yugi removed his deck and raised his arm to release the arm guard. Kaiba mostly ignored him and resumed stoking the audience’s interest instead. “This is the new generation of duel disk technology, fully wireless online game play, anywhere, any time. From the middle of a crowd or the middle of your living room at home, you can battle duelists from Europe, America, Australia, or around the block. There are no more boundaries. The whole world is your battlefield.” He smartly plucked the duel disk back from Yugi and held it out on display for more photographs. Yugi stood there for a moment, but then Kaiba glanced aside at him, hidden from the crowd by the duel disk. “Get off the stage,” he muttered quietly enough that his microphone did not pick it up.
Yami Yugi did not lose his own smug little grin as he casually tucked his hands in the pockets of his tight black pants and stepped down from the stage, straight into the middle of the crowd. Many hands reached out to pat him on the shoulders, and many gamers leaned in to congratulate him on a beautifully-played game. Duke was standing where he had been left, arms crossed over his chest, grinning in his own way. “Nice,” he said as soon as Yugi returned to his side. “Way to show up Kaiba on his own stage.”
Inside, Yami could hear a youthful voice as his partner’s spirit had its own reaction. “That…was…so…cool!” he cried. “We’ve got to get one of those!”
Outwardly, he only smiled in satisfaction, though within their bonded minds Yami gave a short laugh. “I’m sure Kaiba would be pleased to hear he’s already made a sale,” he teased.
“I don’t care why he asked us to come up and duel instead of him – that was totally awesome,” Yugi continued to enthuse. “I can’t wait to get the upgrade, I want to duel online now.”
“Let’s hold off for a few minutes,” his partner cautioned. “The press conference isn’t over. There’s still something else Kaiba intends to announce.”
“Oh yeah.” Yugi’s separate presence melted back into the bond, and together as one, they returned their attention to the stage where Kaiba was just finishing up the last of his spiel about the wireless online dueling system. One thing’s for sure, they both thought at the same time. This sort of announcement is going to make the one Pegasus is going to have about the world tournament even bigger. And we’re caught in the middle of it. This should be interesting.