Queer As Tachi – Chapter 29
Once the press and the gaming public had gotten their fill of staring in awe and lust at the new online duel disk, Kaiba had his lackeys come out and fetch the apparatus so they could safely hide it away backstage, while he continued his press conference. The techno music faded down, mixing into something a little more ethereal and orchestral to provide him a dramatic backdrop to his news. Below, Yugi and Duke stood aside in a corner, making themselves as unnoticeable as possible. The strange request from Kaiba had awakened the pharaoh’s inner sense of competition, so even though the duel was over, he remained bonded to his partner so they could both listen and observe with equal attention. They watched as Kaiba strode to the center of the stage, the lights all focused on him now, the screen behind him displaying only the KaibaCorp “KC” logo for the moment. “Everyone knows that the Kaiba Corporation is number one in gaming, and number one in arcade and dueling technology,” he began in a low, solemn tone. “But not everyone has access to our products, and we’ve always been at the mercy of the last link in the chain of gaming sales – the retailer. That all changes now. Profit markups, blackouts, and all that will be a thing of the past, for KaibaCorp will now be in control of every facet of marketing our games – creation, production, distribution, and now…the sales floor.” Behind Kaiba’s head, the projection screen changed to show a three-dimensional graphic artist’s rendering of a logo, which zoomed out to become a sign, which zoomed out to show the construction of a storefront which might bear such a sign. “Beginning here in Japan, and across the East, and then in America and the West, the only place you need to go for your gaming needs. KC game shop.”
Yugi and Duke started. The crowd quieted in curiosity. Seto Kaiba glanced over his shoulder to see which images were being shown before smugly continuing. “Due to the success of the retail extensions inside KaibaCorp arcades and the Kaibaland theme park, I’ve decided to expand the empire into every corner of the world. A chain of KC stores will be opening across Japan beginning in January, and by May of next year, they’ll be in America’s largest cities. Eventually, we plan to be everywhere. KC will be a new standard of quality and customer service, and the direct link to our own distribution centers means the best prices on duel disks and other gaming supplies from KaibaCorp itself.”
“That’s it,” Duke breathed so only Yugi could hear him. “That’s what he’s been planning to do. He wanted to shut us down to make room for a KC shop in Domino.”
Yugi only stared, trying to take in as much information as he could. Is Duke right? he asked himself. Was he going to turn our shop into a KC store?
Kaiba rambled for a short while about the plans for the KC chain, but stopped short of boring the audience and shifted instead to quickly highlight some other future developments for the company. There was to be another Kaibaland opening this year, in America, and the one in Japan was expanding. The duel disks had been streamlined, taking advantage of new micro-technologies to shrink down the components so the round disk portion could be made smaller and sleeker. The new model looked even more winglike than the original, and very sexy. Showing off the prototype allowed Kaiba to come back around to mention the online platform again, as a way to summarize his presentation and wrap it up dramatically. The crowd, which had grown exponentially during the demonstration duel, burst into wild applause and cheers, in which Kaiba stood and basked for a while, his blue eyes glinting hungrily in the sparkling light from the intellibeam spotlights. He was not the type to allow for audience interaction and questions, he merely gave them the facts and left it at that, walking off the stage even while photos were still being snapped of him by the press. The display screen remained awake, now running exciting, beautifully-produced trailers for the new duel disks and the wireless system. Duke took Yugi by the arm and pulled him behind the nearest speaker, so they could have a few moments undisturbed while the booth became choked with fans and industry pros wanting to get closer looks at the displays. “It all makes sense, now,” he said urgently. “Trying to buy us out? He wanted to clear away the competition so his own game shop would get all the attention.”
“Yes, but he didn’t achieve that goal,” Yami Yugi pointed out, benefiting from the calm wisdom of the pharaoh’s spirit. “He couldn’t buy or threaten us out of business, so if he wants a open playing field, he’ll have to drive us out of business the old fashioned way.”
“I wonder where he’s going to build it,” Duke mused. “I guess it would have been easier just to make one of our shops a KC store, but now he’s going to have to build one. That won’t make him happy.”
Yugi gave him a raised eyebrow. “Do you suppose this is why he gave up on pursuing us so recently? So he could make the announcement here?”
Duke made a face while he thought about it. “Could be,” he shrugged. “It makes a lot of sense. Well.” He chose to grin and show no fear. “Guess now we just wait and see how it all plays out.” He glanced around, finding the aisles a little more clear now for them to make an easy escape, and gestured for Yugi to come along with him. “How was the wireless duel disk? Did it kick ass as much as it looked like from down here?”
Now that the conference was over and Kaiba had disappeared, Yami felt it safe to retreat into himself, releasing the bond and letting Yugi take over just in time to reply. “It was so awesome!” he gushed. “You could see on the big screen the same thing I saw, right? It took a bit to get used to but then it was so cool. It was like being inside a video game.”
Duke laughed at his enthusiasm. “When Kaiba first called you out, I thought you were going to tell him to stuff it,” he admitted. “After all we’ve been through with him, and then he just asks you out of the blue to come up and demonstrate his new duel disk for him? I don’t get it.”
“I don’t really, either,” Yugi said, “but I guess it was a safety net for him. I mean, what if I’d lost? Worse, what if he played this mystery duelist in Australia and lost? He would have looked stupid in front of all those people. I didn’t want to be his dueling monkey, no, but I don’t back down from a challenge – not from Kaiba.”
“And it worked out for you, too,” Duke said slyly. “Kaiba can make all the noise he wants about his technology and his company, but when it comes right down to it, he just stood aside while the world champion showed off his skills in front of him. When the gaming magazines come out with their coverage of the Tokyo Game Expo, it’s going to be Yugi Muto standing in front of those KaibaCorp banners with the duel disk, not Kaiba.”
Yugi shrugged it aside. “I think we both benefited. The wireless dueling system is really big news. He’s got probably the best game innovation of the year – of the last few years, since the original duel disk.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have the biggest news of the year.” Duke grinned suggestively. “In half an hour, Pegasus is going to be making that public.”
The excitement over the new KaibaCorp online duel disks made its way rather rapidly through the expo hall, meaning that by the time the press conference at the Industrial Illusions tower was about to start, twice as many curious game fans as usual were huddled around to find out what they were going to say about Duel Monsters. The wireless online system was going to greatly affect the game, and Yugi understood now what Pegasus had spoken of the night before. He may not have known about the KC game shops, but Kaiba would have shared everything of the new duel disks with him in order to coordinate between the two companies. After all, the duel disks were just shiny bits of metal and plastic if they weren’t properly synched to the cards and all the new rules for the game that Pegasus had been planning. Thanks to their connections, Yugi and Duke were allowed backstage at the IČ booth, so they could hear the news all over again without having to crane their necks to see over an incredibly huge crowd. Its circular configuration allowed for fans to gather on all sides of it, while the center platform on the second tier would be Pegasus’ own personal stage to walk as he pleased. Yugi and Duke watched from the safety of a cluster of Industrial Illusions staff as Pegasus himself personally came out and swaggered boldly about, orchestrating the revelation of the world tournament and several grand banners that were unfurled from the ceiling and the tall IČ tower proclaiming the date of the tournament near the end of January. The applause and hubbub around the booth seemed to be twice as loud and excited as that over at the KaibaCorp presentation, as Pegasus’ audience consisted mostly of gamers and Duel Monsters fans, who were primarily interested in tournaments. As he hid and listened, Yugi knew that the time was growing painfully close for him to meet Pegasus again and tell him what he had decided about the promotions offer. Without mentioning him specifically by name, Pegasus told the crowd that he had already secured one invitation, and it was someone that everyone in the world would be very interested to see duel his way to the top. It wasn’t hard to figure out from his hints that he meant none other than the world champion, Yugi Muto. Everything else about Industrial Illusions and Duel Monsters after that seemed to be merely filler to make the speech longer, until Pegasus bowed and soaked up the cheers, and then opened the booth back up to visitors while he stepped safely backstage. There, he came face to face with Yugi, his brow lifting in surprise. “Well, Yugi-boy,” he said brightly. “There you are. No wonder I didn’t see your spiky little head floating out there in the crowd, trying to push through the taller folks in your way.”
Yugi scowled at the taunts about his height, though it made him look comical. Pegasus just went on by himself, completely ignoring Duke standing there also. “I suppose my staff had some sympathy for you, trying to get a glimpse of the big announcement. Well! Now the news is out. I wonder how this is going to affect Kaiba-boy’s popularity. He had the big draw until now…”
“Mr. Pegasus!” The back of the booth suddenly erupted with a crush of people, as several camera-toting reporters and press liaisons pushed inside and made straight for the obvious figure of the company president. The fact that he was standing next to Yugi did not escape attention. Several of the press shouted out similar questions, as all wanted to know: “Is that Yugi Muto, world champion? Is he going to be competing in the tournament?”
Pegasus began to smile, and then grabbed Yugi around the shoulders, pulling him to his side. “Yes, I suppose I can’t keep it a secret any longer,” he lilted to the cluster of reporters. “You’ve caught me! Yes, indeed, Yugi Muto is the first of the special guests to accept my invitation to defend his title in my new tournament.”
Some of the questions were now being shouted at Yugi, who just stood there frozen with a deer-in-the-headlights look. Duke was forced to edge back out of the way into the shadows. Photos were being snapped of the Industrial Illusions CEO buddying up to the world champ. Yugi didn’t say a word, not sure what he would say, but fortunately Pegasus heard every question and strategically chose which ones to answer without letting out too much confidential information about the tournament structure. After one or two, he waved a hand. “Now, now,” he scolded the reporters, “the question and answer session isn’t supposed to start for another five minutes. If you’ll allow me a moment to breathe, I will be right back to tell you everything. Meanwhile…” He spotted Duke trying to shrink into a curtain and snagged his arm, dragging him back out in front of the reporters. “…I’m sure you’d love to ask the dashing and charismatic Mr. Duke Devlin a few questions about Dungeon Dice Monsters. Be back in a bit!”
Duke stood there blinking in shock as Pegasus hauled Yugi through a curtain to the staff-only area of the IČ booth, where they both could catch their breath. It was hardly private, as anyone on the second tier of the booth could see down into it, but at least they were safe from nosy reporters and eavesdroppers. “My apologies, Yugi-boy,” Pegasus said smoothly. “I had no idea they would sneak up on me there. It looks like your secret it out, unfortunately. You’re going to have a tough time making your way through the expo hall now.”
Yugi slumped down onto a crate of promotional flyers. “How did I get into this mess?” he complained tiredly. “I just wanted to come hear about new games and do some things for the shop…”
“Perils of the business, my boy.” Pegasus eyed him in a rather controlling manner. “But you’ll have to get used to it sooner or later. Your days of toiling in obscurity are over.”
“Great,” Yugi groaned.
Pegasus continued to eye him, and then spoke over his shoulder to one of his staffers. “Miss Hatcher. Make up a sign for me, would you? Yugi Muto, Duel Monsters champion, will be signing autographs in our booth this afternoon at three…”
“What? No!” Yugi sprang up from his seat, looking angry. “There’s a panel I wanted to go to at three, about…” He started to lose some of his determination, as he met Pegasus’ firm, superior smile. “…game testing and marketability…”
“At four, then,” Pegasus said smoothly. “It’s only for an hour, Yugi-boy. Sit down, put your feet up, have a nice refreshing drink, and scribble your name on some postcards for Duel Monsters fans.”
“But I don’t want to sign autographs,” Yugi began to argue.
“Would you rather they stalked you in the expo hall while you’re trying to meet game designers and talk about your little shop back home?” Pegasus swiftly countered. “For the rest of the game expo, you’re going to have to watch yourself, Yugi. It’s too late, they all know you’re here.”
Yugi sighed hard in aggravation, realizing that the only way to prevent it from happening would be to physically flee the expo hall and go hide in his hotel room. He wilted in place and closed his eyes. “Fine,” he said in a weak voice. “After the panel. I want to go to the panel.”
“You can do anything you want, Yugi-boy,” Pegasus promised. “We’ll set you up here at four, and you can rest your tired feet for a bit. What the heck, I’ll throw Devlin-boy in there with you. The girls are all flocking to him anyway.” He checked his watch. “Oh, yes, I promised the reporters five minutes. I’ll see you later, my boy…don’t be late!” With that, Pegasus swept majestically back through the curtain to the throng of reporters. A second later, Duke was thrust through it into the safety of the private area.
Yugi groaned and dropped his head into his hands. Duke saw him there and came up to him. “Sorry about that, Yugi,” he said casually, “I didn’t know he was going to do that to me. Man, those reporters are crazy. You’d think they never saw a gamer before. Hey,” he continued after checking the time, “I think I’m stuck here for a bit, they want to do another thing about Dungeon Dice Monsters after Pegasus is done. You wanted to go to that panel, I know. Want me to meet you down there after I’m done?”
“No,” Yugi sighed, lifting his head. “You may as well stay here and wait for me, I’ll be coming back.” Duke gave him a questioning look, so he grumbled and explained, “they want me to sign autographs.”
Duke let out a short laugh before he could stop himself. “No, seriously…seriously?” Yugi nodded. His friend sobered. “How did you get talked into that?”
“I don’t know,” Yugi whined. “I don’t really want to, but I got the feeling Pegasus wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He…” He glanced to make sure Pegasus was more than occupied before continuing. “I don’t care what he said last night about confidentiality, I’m going to tell you,” he decided. “Pegasus wants me to endorse the tournament, and will pay me to use my face on all the posters and stuff.”
Duke stared at him. “And…you’re gonna do it?”
“I…hadn’t really decided yet.” Actually, he had, but he hadn’t gotten the opportunity to tell Pegasus yet. In his mind, this could technically be considered part of the deal. “Everything’s just gone crazy. I didn’t expect to be swept up in all this tournament stuff and making deals, I though I was just going to be in Tokyo to hang out and get free game demos from companies. I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Welcome to the gaming industry.” Duke clapped a heavy hand to his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Yugi. Just go to your panel. Forget about it for a bit. I’ll meet you back here afterward, all right?”
“Okay,” Yugi sighed, rubbing his temple. All this confusion made his brain hurt. He mustered a weak smile for Duke and made his way out of the curtained area, ducking through the back aisle to sneak as quickly as possible through the exhibit hall. The industry panels were in a separate area of the convention center, and only professionals with badges like his could get back there, so as soon as he could escape the public areas he considered himself safe. At least no one stopped him just yet, he managed to slip out as anonymously as any of the businessmen among the fans and go around to the panel rooms. There was still a bit of time before the session he wanted to see, so he located a water station and, after draining several plastic cups-full, filled up again and went to sit in the panel room in the very back. He wasn’t interested in what they were currently talking about, but it was nice and quiet in there, the perfect place to hide and gather his wits, and to turn his mind inward to convene with the spirit of the Puzzle. Yami almost seemed to be waiting for him, as his slender figure appeared in Yugi’s mind’s eye the second he closed his eyes. “What have I gotten myself into?” Yugi complained. “When I said I wanted to duel in the world tournament, I didn’t think it would mean…signing autographs and being in photos…”
Yami smiled sympathetically. “Would you rather I took over and sat in your place?”
Yugi gazed at him across their mental bond and then smiled softly. “No, it’s okay,” he said, more gently. “As long as you’ll be there with me so I can complain to you. I won’t make you do that.”
The inner vision of Yami reached to brush a hand across his cheek. “You didn’t have to agree to it. You haven’t signed the contract yet, you have no obligation to Pegasus.”
Yugi lifted worried eyes to him. “Do you think it’s the right thing to do? To take his offer, I mean.”
“There is no right or wrong in this case, Yugi,” the pharaoh said sagaciously. “It isn’t wrong to take a second job or an offer to bring in more money when you need it. It would only be wrong if what Pegasus asked you to do were illegal or against your moral standards.”
“And it’s not,” Yugi said with a little sigh. “I may not trust him, but letting him tell the world that entering the tournament means they get a chance to face me isn’t a bad thing.”
“As I said last night,” Yami continued, “I think you should do whatever you feel you are able to, but if his request makes you uncomfortable, then don’t. Of all the things I seek on your behalf, Yugi, your happiness is foremost.”
Yugi nodded. “I know. And you’re right. I’m pretty sure I know what I want to do…it’s just getting up the courage to do it.”
Yami smiled more peaceably and placed his ethereal hands on either side of Yugi’s face. “I am with you in that regard, Yugi. Just know that I’m beside you, and you’ll have all the strength you need.”
A warmth of relief stole through Yugi’s soul, and he found himself smiling even as he roused himself from the internal conversation and lifted his head. The lecturer was still droning on, but it sounded like he was trying to get near a conclusion since his hour was almost up. The panel he wanted to hear was next in the same room, so Yugi remained where he was, slowly sipping down water from his cup, as people got up and left and more came in and the brief downtime between panels passed all too quickly. For once, no one seemed to notice or care about the young man with the freaky hair sitting quietly in the corner, lost in his own little world.
The line stretched through the Industrial Illusions booth, down into the aisle, all the way to the door before wrapping back on itself, giving security and the IČ staff a headache trying to wrangle it so it didn’t interfere with other companies’ booths. From where he sat at the table in the center of the upper tier, Yugi stared down the length of the line with eyes wide and face ghost-white in terror. “They’re all here…because of me?” he breathed.
“Looks like it,” Duke said shortly. He sat on the end of the table, having refused to do as Pegasus asked and sit for autographs, figuring that it would make him look even worse playing second fiddle to Yugi. Whatever fans he might have, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as many as had lined up to get Yugi’s autograph. It made him rather irritated and envious, but as he glanced back at Yugi seated behind the table, his heart softened to see his friend trembling and looking like he was either going to faint or be sick. “Aw, come on, Yugi,” Duke cajoled, “it’s not that bad. All these people think you’re cool.”
Swallowing hard, Yugi covered his eyes with a hand and cowered in his chair for a moment, trying to regain his composure before they started letting the people come in to see him. “They don’t even know me,” he murmured uncomfortably. “I don’t know why I’m doing this.”
“Because you had a hard enough time making it up here from the panel without being stopped, and you don’t want to be chased around here all night,” Duke answered, hopping off the table and turning to him. “After this, we’ll go get dinner and then go to that concert they have set up in the video gaming hall. Go see some loud rock music. How’s that?”
Yugi lifted his head with a sigh. “Fine,” he agreed. “Let’s just get this over with, I guess.”
It was only an hour, but to Yugi, it felt like an eternity. He forced himself to smile, and after a few friendly faces smiling back at him, felt more able to greet people and be nice. It didn’t stop feeling weird, though, not for a minute, no matter how many times he scratched out his name on the papers and postcards people brought up to him. Industrial Illusions was firmly in control of everything, down to how long people could spend trying to talk to him and how many items could get signed, as well as refusing photographs since Yugi hadn’t given them permission. Duke stood aside at the end of the table with his arms sternly folded, looking on in envy, though he understood Yugi’s feelings and didn’t want to make things worse for him by acting mean and jealous. A few fans, mostly girls, did come up to him as well, so long as he was standing guard there. Though he faced the constant stream of Duel Monsters fans with a smile, Yugi could not say he was enjoying himself, and privately groused at Yami the entire time. At least he had the ring on his finger to look at every time he bent his head to write, a tiny reminder to keep him smiling. The pharaoh did as he promised and provided Yugi a safe outlet in which to vent his feelings, listening quietly and only occasionally giving a faint mental chuckle at some bizarre fan behavior that they both got to observe. Even the cosplaying girls in short skits Duke had photographed earlier came through the line. In the end, only a small handful of people who had gotten into the very end of the line late were sent away empty-handed, and Yugi was grateful to be ushered back behind the staff curtain again where no one could bother him. He sat on the same crate as earlier with his head down when he heard sarcastic applause coming towards him, and refused to look up – he could see Pegasus’ shoes from his vantage point. “Wonderful, Yugi-boy,” Pegasus gushed. “Did you see all those people? Oh, if only every single one of them could be in my tournament. At least it’s a comfort to know they’re all faithful buyers of Duel Monsters cards.”
“If I agree to promote the tournament,” Yugi said darkly, lifting his head and fixing the CEO with a frown, “you won’t make me do that again, will you?”
Pegasus stared, taken aback. “You didn’t have fun meeting your fans?”
“I don’t like making myself out to be some kind of celebrity who’s better than them,” Yugi snapped. “I’m just a duelist, that’s all. Putting my picture on a poster is one thing, but acting like a rock star is going too far. I’ll participate in the tournament, Pegasus, but if this is the way you want to run it, then I’ll have no part of the deal.”
Behind his back, Duke found himself smiling at his friend’s sudden attack of guts. Pegasus studied him for a moment and then shook his head slowly. “No, my dear Yugi, I’m not going to drag you out on publicity tours and autograph appearances,” he said in exasperation. “The contract spells everything out, it’s only to use your image and name in promotional materials.” The gloating smile reappeared. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”
Sighing, Yugi dropped his head again and nodded, making his drooping bangs flop cutely. “Yeah. I’ll agree to the endorsement. But just for the tournament…” He shot Pegasus a quick look. “I still have to think about the rest, and talk it over with my grandpa.”
“But of course. You have my card, you’ll contact me when the time is right. Do it before I leave Japan, we’ll set up a meeting for you to sign the contracts and take a few publicity photos. If you’ll excuse me…” Pegasus whirled in place and sashayed away, gesturing over his shoulder to direct one of the staff to see to Yugi. “So much to do, so little time. Call me…”
As he sat there regaining his sense of normalcy, Yugi searched his own heart and found that he didn’t feel so bad saying yes to the offer, after all. He could make sure the contract didn’t leave any loopholes for Pegasus to exploit him, and it would only last a couple of months. Duke came up to him, then, smacking him playfully on the shoulder. “It’s not so bad,” he encouraged. “I had to sign one of those, too, so he can put my picture on flyers and stuff.”
Yugi nodded at him, but before they could discuss going out to get something to eat, Ms. Hatcher came up to them, or specifically to Yugi. He looked up just in time to be presented with a small slip of paper, which he realized after taking it was a check. “From Mr. Pegasus,” the publicist explained, “in gratitude for spending some of your time promoting Duel Monsters.”
Curious, Yugi looked it over. It wasn’t a huge amount, but he noticed after a moment or two of thinking that it would be enough to cover his travel expenses that weekend. Enough that if he really wanted, he could go out for a big, expensive dinner that night. Duke tried not to peer over his shoulder and find out how much he’d gotten paid. “Cool,” he simply remarked. “See? It’s paying off already.”
“But I didn’t agree to this part…” Yugi stared at it a moment longer and then tucked the check safely into a pocket. “Say, Duke. What do you say we skip the concert and just go out to eat? Get away from this whole game expo and have some fun?”
Duke cracked a smile. “Hell yeah. Let’s blow this joint.”
Yugi was all too happy to escape, to leave the convention center and return to the world of the mundane outside, where no one knew he was a champion and lots of people just looked at him in disdain for his freakish hairstyle. It never felt so good to disappear into a sea of anonymous faces. At Duke’s recommendation, they went to a little restaurant of the hole-in-the-wall variety and sat for a long time by the windows watching the Tokyo night life cross back and forth in front of them. They talked about everything but gaming – music, friends, the weather, dating, anything not at all connected to their business lives and the game expo. There was a concert they could have gone to, some American band who had been brought in because they had a song on the soundtrack for Halo or something, but by the time Yugi and Duke ran out of things to talk about, it was very late and they didn’t feel like going back in and catching the last half of the show. Instead, they surrendered to their exhaustion and went back to the hotel to get at least one decent night’s sleep. There was still one more day of the Tokyo Game Expo to enjoy, but all the industry incentives were winding down and it would mostly be a day of fighting the crowds of fanboys who had come just to gawk. Yugi wouldn’t have minded just checking out and going home, but he was determined to get his money’s worth out of the convention and be sure that he had done absolutely everything he possibly could before they headed for the train station.
Leaving their luggage stored at the hotel, Yugi and Duke returned for the last gasp of the game expo, free at last of their duties and obligations so they could wander around and amuse themselves checking out anything they might have missed between the major announcements from KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions. Yugi gave the latter booth a wide berth, not wanting to tempt Pegasus into exploiting him any further, but it didn’t stop him from being noticed by Duel Monsters fans. Not wanting to appear mean or stuck up, he didn’t turn them down when they sought him out and asked him to sign their program books, but after a handful of incidents, Yugi did his best to shrink down out of sight and not make himself a target. He even ducked through a gap between booths to try to avoid some gamers he thought were looking his way and talking excitedly amongst themselves as if to decide whether or not he was who they thought he was. As he did, Yugi realized he was behind the KaibaCorp booth, and immediately switched directions to get out of there before he was spotted all over again. The last thing I need is for Kaiba to come out here and trip on me, he worried, half to himself, half to the ever-present Yami. That can’t end well. He turned the corner, and alas, there was the object of his hesitation coming up the aisle toward him, wearing a rather surly frown. Sighing, Yugi did an about-face to retreat, but a hand came down on his shoulder. “Hey, there you are,” Duke said brightly. “I thought I’d lost you for a second, there. You gave those kids the slip…” He noticed, then, that Yugi was looking nervous, and glanced past him to recognize Kaiba. “Uh oh…”
“He’s coming this way,” Yugi said as if it weren’t obvious. “I guess we may as well just suck it up and say hi.” He turned back, steeling himself for a glare or a comment from Kaiba as he passed them, but to his and Duke’s mutual surprise, Kaiba glanced up, noticed them, and deliberately went the other way. He shot them the briefest of glares before disappearing between booths, taking a slightly different route to get back to his company’s exhibit. “Whoa…” Yugi said under his breath.
“Good riddance,” Duke sniffed. “I don’t want to see his sulky face either.”
Yugi shook his head sadly. “I could have at least thanked him for letting me try out his online dueling system…”
“It looks like he doesn’t really want to hear it, Yugi,” Duke said. “Not that much of a surprise, I guess. At this point, I really have to wonder. Did he sneak over to hear Pegasus’ announcement yesterday or not?”
“Well, the way Industrial Illusions has been going on about it, you can’t not know about the tournament by now,” Yugi reasoned, deciding to continue his meandering walk now that the aisle was clear of obstacles. “I just wonder if Pegasus already gave him the invitation, or if that’ll come later.”
Duke glanced aside at him. “You know for sure Pegasus is inviting Kaiba?”
“Mhm,” Yugi nodded. “He told me himself. Kaiba and I are the only ones he was sure of, the rest he doesn’t know yet.”
“Oh, that’s going to be interesting.” Duke snickered to himself. “No wonder Kaiba turned tail and ran when he saw you. I bet he does know – and that’s not going to sit well with him.”
Yugi sighed hard. “Is it time to go, yet? I think I’ve had my fill of this expo.”
Duke checked his watch. “No, we’ve got some time to kill yet. One more circuit, past the Industrial Illusions booth, before we head out?”
They wove their way through the crowds for the better part of an hour, since that was how long it took to completely walk up and down every aisle to be sure they hadn’t missed anything free or interesting, and passed close enough to the IČ booth to crane their necks and look to see what was going on. As they walked, Yugi became aware that Yami within him was on the alert, and perhaps had been awake and curious since nearly smacking into Kaiba. Whether it was because of their rival’s angry glare or some other reason, the pharaoh’s spirit lay close to the surface, his presence just short of tangible in Yugi’s senses. When he got a brief moment to catch his breath, while Duke strolled into a booth and chatted up a guy selling arcade plug-ins and consoles, Yugi stood aside and turned his attention inward. “So, what’s up?” he asked his partner. “You seem kind of…on edge.”
He visualized the pharaoh standing next to him, his gaze directed elsewhere, his arms folded sternly. “I don’t know,” he replied in a pensive murmur. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Yugi stared, concerned. “What do you mean? I don’t sense anything…”
Yami shook his head. “I can’t put my finger on it,” he complained. “I just feel the need to remain alert.”
“It doesn’t have anything to do with Kaiba, does it?” Yugi glanced over his shoulder, to the distant shape of the KaibaCorp booth rising above its smaller neighbors at the far side of the hall. “He looked mad. Madder than usual, I mean.”
“I don’t know,” Yami said again. “I wish it were just that. Maybe I’m just being overprotective again…” His translucent figure gave Yugi a faintly amused look. “…after seeing those fans sneak up on you and bother you for dueling tips.”
Yugi sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, let’s hope that’s all it is,” he murmured. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with you being protective. Just let me know if you sense anything really dangerous.”
Duke was finished collabarating right about then, so Yami vanished and left Yugi to resume his patrol of the expo hall with his friend. They walked to the end of the aisle, passing right by the Industrial Illusions booth, and at that moment Yugi felt a jolt though his soul as Yami bristled with unexpected dread. Duke didn’t notice Yugi gasp and falter, he just kept walking with his attention distracted by something shiny. “Yugi,” the young one heard within his mind, “do you feel that?”
“I feel you…” Yugi looked around wildly, wondering what the pharaoh was reacting to. “What’s the matter? I don’t see anything…”
“I sense a darkness nearby,” Yami said in a low, dramatic tone. “Something is out there that shouldn’t be.”
“A darkness?” Yugi kept looking around, though he quickened his step to keep from losing Duke in the crowd. “But…there aren’t any other Millennium Items anywhere near us, just the Puzzle…”
“I know,” the pharaoh murmured in his mind. “Yet, it feels almost like it, the same sort of darkness.”
“You don’t think somehow Bakura came to Tokyo, also?”
For a minute or so, Yami remained silent, though his tense, alert presence prickled at Yugi’s soul like electricity. “No,” he responded after a while. “I know what it feels like to confront the Millennium Ring, and this isn’t it. I don’t understand this feeling. It’s odd…and I don’t like it.”
Yugi paused at an intersection of aisles for one more glance around. “Do you think it’s after us?” he questioned his partner spirit.
“I can’t say for sure. The only way to know is to leave, and see if it follows.”
“That’s fine.” Yugi shook his head quickly to clear his senses and turned to seek out which direction Duke had gone. “I’m over this place anyway, we can get an early start to the train station. Let’s go find Duke and get out of here.”
Without really explaining why, Yugi was able to impress upon Duke the prudence of leaving now, to go pick up their luggage at the hotel and head to the train station. At least they were both mutually bored enough of the slow-moving crowds making the same circuit of the booths over and over again, going home to Domino sounded like a good idea. Pausing only to snap a couple of photos of each other standing in front of autumn-colored trees and the recognizable downtown Tokyo cityscape, they headed off, lugging their bags which were now twice as heavy with all the free swag they had picked up at the game expo. As they grew further and further away from the convention center, Yami’s disturbed sense eased, but he still remained on alert just in case. Yugi decided to leave him to the magical-sensing job and busied himself chatting with Duke about their weekend, discussing what he could do with the knowledge and information gained for the store’s sake. Once they were outside Tokyo on a shinkansen speeding for home, and Duke settled in his seat to try to nap, Yugi closed his eyes and looked inward for the pharaoh. Yami sounded just as wary as earlier despite not having anything new to report. “Whatever it was, it stayed back at the Game Expo,” he mused. “The darkness lifted as soon as we left. It must not have been after the Puzzle.”
“What do you think it was?” Yugi pressed him. “Millennium Items and shadow magic, or not?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t really say,” Yami replied. “I’m sorry I made you leave so soon, on account of my bad feelings.”
“No, no, I know never to ignore your bad feelings,” Yugi assured him. “We were done, we just couldn’t make ourselves leave, because leaving means going back to the normal grind. I’d much rather be cautious whenever you sense something ‘not right’ than get ambushed by someone trying to get at the Puzzle or something.”
Yami grumbled quietly to himself. “Whatever it was, it’s over now,” he said finally. “We can relax. It wasn’t seeking us.”
“All right…” But as much as he made himself comfortable in the train seat and idly watched the scenery flashing by, Yugi knew that Yami was not relaxing no matter what he said. There may not have been an eerie, unnamed sense of darkness or danger anymore, but the pharaoh could not settle down even if he wanted to. Rather than worry him, it made Yugi feel safer, knowing that his partner was alert to any potential threat. If it did decide to seek them out later, they would not be taken by surprise.
For the next couple of days, Yugi had his hands full telling his grandpa and friends all about his trip to Tokyo and the cool things he saw at the game expo, since everybody wanted to hear stories and see pictures. Grandpa was predictably pleased with the photos Duke emailed from his camera phone, but all Joey really wanted to know was whether Yugi got him anything cool. There were some video game demos Yugi could pass along, but promised Joey that under no circumstances were there free samples of new Duel Monsters cards. Lots of news about the game, yes, but no freebies. Despite what Pegasus had said about keeping confidentiality until papers were signed, Yugi had to sit down and tell Joey every last little detail of the meeting with Pegasus and the world tournament, reserving only the offer to be a game tester for Industrial Illusions for a later time. Since he still hadn’t decided what to do about that, he didn’t want to tell anyone yet. There wasn’t much time to decide, as he knew he would have to phone Pegasus at the new branch office in Domino before he flew back to San Francisco, but he was putting it off until the very last minute. He absolutely needed to talk it over with his grandfather, now that he and Yami had already spent just about every waking minute sharing thoughts about it over their mental bond. The ritual day was coming, but it was merely an excuse for Yugi to put off making his decision one more day – he didn’t actually need to sit down with Yami while the pharaoh was embodied to talk about it. However, it would make for a good time to talk it over with Grandpa, having Yami beside him already more than clued in on his feelings.
The full moon came, and Yami was set free once more, though doing so reawakened his worries and fears all over again as Yugi lost consciousness for a few seconds again. It was still less than a minute, but every second ticking by made Yami more frantic and alarmed. Once he was awake and on his feet again, Yugi passed it off, not wanting to get into an argument about it now. The light of worry in Yami’s eyes was too much for him to face, he would rather forget it happened and go on as if nothing were wrong than have to discuss and fight and get each other all worked up. All he could do was consent to Yami’s declaration that they were both just going to go to bed.
The rest of the day passed relatively quietly, as the lovers busied themselves making up for Yugi’s vacation and ran errands all day on Grandpa’s behalf. Not that he ordered them to, it was Yugi’s way of thanking him for letting him have this full moon day off as usual even though he had just been away for four days. While they were out taking care of a million small errands, Yugi pulled his lover into the bookstore with him, heading straight for the magazine racks. “This won’t take long,” he promised. “Just this, then to the market and then home.” Yami stood beside him and smiled faintly as Yugi plucked a big book of puzzles and a celebrity magazine from the rack. The money to buy them for his grandfather was coming out of his own pocket, from the Industrial Illusions check he had just cashed. “He’s been so good to live without them for so long,” Yugi bashfully explained as Yami came up behind him and slunk a hand around his waist. “He hasn’t bought a single magazine since the hospital bills started coming. He deserves a present.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Yami said reassuringly, leaning in to kiss him briefly on the temple. “And I’m sure Grandpa will be very happy.”
The clerk bagged his purchases and sent him on his way. “You know, that’s one thing I didn’t ask Pegasus,” Yugi said as he and Yami exited the bookstore. “How much this endorsement deal is going to pay. Not that I’m greedy, I just didn’t even think to ask.”
“I’m sure it will be a fair compensation,” Yami mused, taking his hand as they started up the sidewalk towards the market. “Whatever has happened between us in the past, good or bad, Pegasus is a businessman and paying a salary is not something he would cheat you on.”
“Yeah, that’s kind of what I was thinking.” Yugi began to smile more warmly, now that he had his lover’s affection and attention to himself. “He’s still kind of scary, the way he knows too much and seems to always be in control of the situation, but his days of being a threat and a cheat are over. As long as I don’t have to see him between now and the tournament…I hope he goes back to San Francisco and stays there until we all end up in Hong Kong.”
“I looked at the calendar this morning,” Yami said casually, as if changing the subject. “I was curious when the full moon would fall over the next few months. It will come the day before the tournament next January.”
“Really?” Yugi stared up at him. “Wow…that close, huh? That should be interesting.” He grinned again. “Remind me to look at that when we get home. I want to see what’s coming up, too.”
From there, the cute couple went to the market and filled their arms with bags of food and then headed home, surprising Grandpa with some extra treats and his magazines, which filled him with more happiness than he would openly admit. He swore to Yugi that it wasn’t necessary but very nice of him indeed, yet his eyes sparkled with a deeper emotion. After dinner, Yugi could not put off his serious thoughts of the future any longer, and asked his grandfather to sit down with him so they could discuss the offers from Pegasus. Grandpa was just as wary as Yami when it came to dealing with the CEO of Industrial Illusions, but he could not argue with what amounted to a second job for Yugi, even in the short-term. In the end, the decision could be Yugi’s alone – his and Yami’s, perhaps, but no one else’s – so Grandpa Muto settled for giving him as much advice as he felt comfortable with and leaving it to his grandson to settle on whatever he deemed “right,” and to call Pegasus.
The following morning, while Yugi was back at work like normal in the shop downstairs, the door suddenly burst open and jangled noisily at the rude intrusion. Joey flew in like a man possessed, something clutched in the fist he was waving over his head. “Yugi!” he cried out upon entering, since his friend was right there as expected. “You won’t believe this! Look what I got! Look!”
“What, what, Joey?” Yugi wondered, taking a step back in surprise. “Calm down! What is it?”
Joey raced up to the counter and slammed his fist down, beaming with excitement. “Look what just came in the mail!” he exclaimed.
Yugi could see now that it was a letter of some kind, with very business-like printing on the letterhead. He took it from Joey’s hand and opened it, noticing the IČ logo at the top right away. As he skimmed over it quickly, his eyes went wide, his mouth fell open, and he began to laugh. “Joey!” he cried in astonishment. “You’re one of the invited duelists!”
“I know! Isn’t it awesome?” Joey jumped up with a shout of triumph. “Me! After all this time, sloggin’ my way through tournaments the hard way, Pegasus wants me to just show up as a finalist in his big, fancy world tournament! I can’t believe it!”
“Believe it,” Yugi grinned, reading over the letter one more time. “This is official, all right. This is all the information he gave me. Awesome!” He ran around the end of the counter and pounced on Joey, hugging him fiercely in congratulations.
Joey hugged him back and laughed. “You know what this means, right? You and me get to fly down to Hong Kong together. We’re big-shots, now. The best of the best.” He clawed his unruly blond hair out of his eyes and thrust his chest out importantly. “Let’s see Kaiba beat that! Huh?”
Yugi clapped his hands happily. “Awesome! I can’t wait! Congratulations, Joey – this is big! Pegasus recognizes your talent, and he should. You’ve been a finalist twice, and were invited to the Grand Prix, that means you’re definitely not no one. I’m so proud of you!”
Joey grinned lopsidedly. “Aw, go on,” he said modestly. “Tell you what, though. There’s another letter just like this one sitting at home, with Mai’s name on it.”
Yugi’s eyes widened even more. “Mai’s been invited too?”
“Guess so – though I know better than to open her mail. She’ll get it tonight when she gets home from work.” Joey then groaned and snapped his fingers. “Damn, and I have to work the late shift tonight, I won’t get to see her face when she opens it.”
“You’ll have to tell me what she says when you get home,” Yugi laughed.
“’Course.” Joey swiped his letter back from the counter and snuggled it happily. “I can’t wait. And the first day of the tournament is on my birthday, too!”
“Is it?” Yugi knew the dates but snatched the letter to verify. “Oh yeah, that’s right, it is! You come of age on the first day of the tournament! We’ll have to have a special celebration.”
“I can think of one good way to celebrate…” Joey grinned recklessly and snatched the letter back. “By winning my way to the second round!”
Yugi laughed, and the two of them clasped hands and did a “we’re going to the world tournament” dance in the middle of the otherwise empty game shop. “The next three months are going to be so long!” Yugi complained.
“Hey, do you know anything else about the tournament that you haven’t told me?” Joey asked.
“Nope, I told you everything.”
“What about Pegasus, and the whole promotions deal thingy?”
“I haven’t called him back about it yet.”
“Well, you better get your ass in gear, Yug!”
“I know, I know…”
“If he tells you anything else…”
“You and Mai are the first to know,” Yugi promised. “After all, we’re in this together.”
Joey grinned and snickered. “Yeah!”
The second letter from Industrial Illusions was indeed an invitation for Mai, meaning that at least four duelists right from Domino City would be in the world tournament in three months. As for who they would be battling, that wouldn’t be known for a while. Regional finals weren’t until December, and national finals in January in Kyoto. Even with the invitations arriving serving as a reminder to him, Yugi didn’t quite get around to calling Pegasus that day, or the next, as he got swamped in the store and found too much to occupy his attention until it was well past business hours. Judging by what had been said to him at the Tokyo Game Expo, he had another day or two before Pegasus would no longer be in Japan, but perhaps some part of him wanted to procrastinate that long. He didn’t want to be dragged into this regional office to face him, if at all possible. Contracts could be signed without Pegasus being there in person, right? Yugi stood in his room that evening, staring at the business card, wondering. He left it sitting out on his desk in his room so he would see it, hoping it would prompt him to action. It was getting late, Grandpa was going to bed because it was his turn to get up early and open the shop, and a powerful wind shook the house and rattled the windows as an autumn storm blew through the city. Yugi was a little tired, but his head was full of thoughts and he couldn’t bring himself to go to bed just yet. Instead, he went into the living room and flopped onto the couch, leaving the TV off while he thumbed through a manga he had already read so many times that the spine was creased in all the good places. If nothing else, he could have talked to Yami, but the pharaoh had nothing to say at the moment and only lingered near him, a silent comfort deep in his soul.
The darkened house was peacefully quiet for the most part as Yugi relaxed and read, though now and then he could hear small noises as the wind tossed the branches of trees against the side of the house or caused the windows to creak in their frames. Once, he had to get up and secure a shutter that had come loose outside, for it was smacking loudly against the kitchen window with every gust. He had just settled down and picked up where he left off when he heard more knocking sounds, but as he lifted his head, he realized they were fainter and more steady than a shutter banging on the wall. Setting his manga aside, Yugi sat up and listened. After a pause, he heard it again – someone was knocking on the door. The side door, which led to stairs directly into the house, not the shop. He hopped up and hurried to answer it, wondering who in the world could be visiting at this time of night. No sooner had that thought crossed his mind and Yami snapped to alertness within him, his senses feeling outward for any sign of danger. People knocking on the door so late at night were suspicious in his mind, too. “It’s okay,” Yugi said under his breath. “I’ll have a peek out the window first.”
“I don’t sense anything unusual,” Yami responded, though his presence didn’t retreat any.
As he reached the door, Yugi twitched aside a corner of the curtain to look outside. The porch light only showed two figures wrapped warmly in what looked like dark cloaks, their heads bowed under their hoods against the wind. The slight movement made one of them raise his head slightly, and Yugi thought he saw a flash of straw-colored hair tossed by the wind. He didn’t like the appearance of the dark cloaks, but no matter what they reminded him of, he didn’t feel a sense of danger or fear. He decided to unlock the door and open it just a crack to speak to the strangers. The creak of the door made them both look up, though their eyes remained shadowed beneath their deep hoods. Yugi held the door open just far enough for him to get an eye and ear out. “Um…hello?” he asked hesitantly.
The foremost figure, shorter than the other, straightened up immediately. “Yugi!” He reached up and dropped his hood, revealing the last face Yugi expected to see on his sidewalk on that night – but a welcome face nonetheless. Golden earrings glinted in the light as Marik Ishtar smiled brilliantly. “It’s been a long time!”