章節 18: On route to Duelist Kingdom and…All aboard! Bravo Secret Rules!
Duelist Kingdom
An event created by the man of the hour, Maximillian Pegasus himself.
An event, where it will be decided through a rigorous and harsh survival game that will last an entire week, to find out who will be crowned as the new King of Duels.
Something of this magnitude have never been done before, this was nothing like the regional championships or the nationals ones, no, in this case the stakes were even higher, for only the best of the best will participate in this particular tournament.
Duelist whose names have been known through the nation as well as the world will reunite at the port of an unamusing big city like Domino only to have the chance to participate and duel for the crown.
Of course not everything could be so easy though, for this tournament you needed an specific set of cards that would have either been handed by Pegasus himself to the winners of the different tournaments through the present year or had been recognized through their talents in the world of dueling.
Of course it didn't end there, because for those who didn't receive their invitation directly from Pegasus himself will found out in their mail box a package with everything necessary to participate in the tournament, besides the cards of course, as for that we are talking about a certain something that has been used in the many games of the franchise.
The star chips
A medal of some sort that will come alongside an especial gauntlet that will be able to transport said chips with the duelist during their stay in the Duelist Kingdom, those who were able to obtain ten chips by the end of the fifth day not only will be able to enter the castle of Maximillian Pegasus and rest from the gruesome environment of the island, but they too, will have the opportunity to advance to the quarter finals, and start the final stretch towards the title of the King of Duels.
For that same reason more than fifty duelists reunited themselves in this cold night, in front of the giant ship that will led them towards their destinies.
But the title and recognition of the King of Duels wasn't all that the winner will receive, of course it couldn't be that simple, no, to lit the fire in their hearts Pegasus lured them with oldest frenemy of humanity.
Money
But not a mere hundred dollars, oh no, not at all
But a whooping three million dollars, either in cash or check
And that was good enough, the greed and thirst for fame easily lit a fire in everyone that could assist and in those that couldn't.
It was after all, the tournament of the century!
Maximillian Pegasus words though
And still, while waiting for the announcement for everyone to get aboard, their dreams of greatness and greed were interrupted by the timely arrival of a certain black slicked limousine.
With the driver of said limousine quickly getting out from it and going directly to open the passenger seat only, from which got out a particular teenager, no older than seventeen years old, quite tall for his age, with skin pale as the moon, a weird mix of untamed but spiky silver mixed with black and red colored hair, assembled in thorn gray jeans, a sleeveless and thorn yellow jacket with a tight black t-shirt under it and for some reason, a crimson colored scarf that seemed to ride a perpetual invisible wind.
In front of all those duelist, was the young man that defeated the invincible Seto Kaiba in a Duel, Asuto Kirihara in the flesh.
For some duelist he was an idiot that simply got lucky, for other he was a cheater, for some he was someone to look out for, and other thought of him as gullible and moronic in nature, but one thing was clear, they found their prey.
What the poor fools didn't know was that he wasn't the prey, no sir, they were, and above all, you shall never poke the sleeping dragon.
...............….
"A smooth ride Croquet, and thank you for the drinks once again I don't know how to repay you for such good service" I said looking as satisfied as I felt, alongside as trying to win this bastard to my side, this guy didn't have Alfred vibes, but his Charles vibes strong they were.
"Don't think too much about it Mr. Kirihara, I only did what was expected from someone of my position" I nodded at him and consequently made my way towards the only person I knew that I could call a friend between this pack of fools.
"Hey Yugi!" I shouted at him earning his attention as well as a look of surprise from him "Asuto?! What are you doing here?" he said while jogging towards me
"You think that you were the only one between us to be invited to this little game of Pegasus? Fat chance buddy, I am here to stay and win" I said while poking at myself with my thumb, acting more like an arrogant idiot than my usually more controlled self, sometime you just have to make others believe that you are weak in order to make the trap to work as intended.
"No, Pegasus told me that he contacted you first before me, but I didn't say anything because I thought he was done with you" he said while scratching his neck, a tick of some sorts that denoted that he was nervous and ashamed, for during the following weeks while he didn't avoid me, he wasn't particularly talkative either, understandable considering what happened to Gramps and everything.
"It wasn't my intention to avoid you; I just…didn't know how to explain to you what happened to Gramps and my Duel against Pegasus" he said looking guilty and conflicted, at that I just sighed resigned, this was partly my fault too, I wasn't exactly by their side after that happened, I was more preoccupied with planning how I was going to go against the many duelist of tournament as well as facing Joey and the Pharaoh.
Yeah, neither my mind or me were at the right time in the last two weeks, you could said that I was more in automatic than in control of myself.
"Yugi, first and foremost do not try to apologize" I said glaring at him, I know that I had some kind of The Glare or something, but I wasn't going to let him start blaming himself for something that was more of bad communication between both of us than anything, but come one, how can I comfort someone that can't say to others except for his close friends that his grandfather souls was stolen thanks from the man inside of the TV.
As I said before, I wasn't exactly paying attention to them, I was a little distant, I will have to fix that after the tournament ends.
"Second, I know what happened to Gramps, you weren't the only that Pegasus trapped in a shadow game" revealing this information was crucial to cross the bridge for both of us, I was directly telling that I knew of Gramps conditions alongside the existence fo the shadow games and the Millennium Items and their powers.
It was interesting how his face changed from one that seemed to replicate a deer that has been caught in the scene of the crime to one of apprehension at my revelation of the shadow games "Y-You are aright, right?!" I didn't expect the outburst though, suppose seeing Gramps soul being taken would have left with some sequels, once again this wasn't the anime, they were alive, and when a person goes through that cause a massive negative impact in their mind, they tend to react in the wrong way.
I remember grabbing his shoulder at that time, he seemed about to jump from anything at any moment, so first step reassure him that I was fine "Yugi, calm down, nothing happened all right? I won against him" revealing my win against Pegasus seemed to work wonders for him, if not for the widening of his eyes "You won against-#%$#%%%$#?!" I covered his mouth with my hand trying to make sure that no one caught on what Yugi almost blurted out.
"I promise to explain everything to you but for no-" I was going to tell him to talk this in my private quarters, but at that exact moment Pegasus men decided to announce the beginning of the event.
"Attention all the duelist!" looking upward we could see three figures aboard the still docked cruiser, they were part of the men that worked for Pegasus, or at least three out of who knows how many he employed in the end.
"You have been carefully selected between some of the best duelist of the country to participate in this exclusive tournament!" he shouted making it understand that none of those present here today weren't chosen by chance but because they could back up their abilities as duelist.
"And still our master Mr. Pegasus wasn't satisfied with just that!" his next exclamation brought a lot of murmur from the audience as well as doubt from the duelist, it was like Pegasus himself was saying that they were good, but not good enough for him.
"For that same reason Mr. Pegasus invited duelist from around the world to participate in this prestigious event!" yeah, that wasn't going to sit well with them, your regular Japanese wasn't exactly fine with accepting strangers in their land, not calling them xenophobic or something but they couldn't accept foreigners so easily in their country, not even as tourist.
And as expected, the result revelation of people form outside of the country participating oin this particular even didn't exactly sit well with them.
"WHAT?!"
"WHY DO WE HAVE TO DUEL WITH THOSE GAIJIN?!"
"THIS TOURNAMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JAPAN EXCLUSIVE!"
"DO THEY EVEN KNOW HOW TO DUEL?"
I expected a lot of hate, but not to this degree, but of course, some scars never heal, Hiroshima and Nagasaki are a testimony of that, they start getting better years later, but right now, they are still in the process of self-healing.
I was quite surprised that none of them were bad mouthing them or plain cursing them, for not being from Japan, though in another case, Pegasus wasn't exactly Japanese and neither was Bandit Keith and still those two had quite the fan base.
Hypocrisy at its finest I guess, of course the less we talk about the States own actions and inactions the better, at the end of everything enmity between countries and superpowers will always prevail to the bitter end, sadly that enmity can affect the population too.
Like now, though I suppose in this case Japan has the right to be more than just a little salty with the rest of the world.
"SILENCE!" the spokesman of the trio shouted silencing the complaining duelist and those who were skeptical of the situation of inviting the so called gaijins to their land, if only they knew.
"Continuing where I left of- and for that very same reason a different cruiser with duelist from different parts of the world will be arriving on the second day of the tournament!" he finished speaking; receiving a deadly silence1 as an answer to his last announcement, have to admit it, they guy has nerves of pure steel, especially with how some of them were glaring bloody murder at him.
"Now I will reveal some key aspects about the Duelist Kingdom, so you better pay attention!"
1.-Duelist Kingdom will be held in an island but not any island, it will be held in Mr. Pegasus Private Island, which I repeat it's a private property belonging to him and him only, meaning that no country can impose their own rules or even interfere with the event which is soon to start.
2.-Pegasus will be waiting for the lucky ones to reach the island on this very same cruiser, nonetheless to make everything more interesting, he has made a change to the current rules that have dominated the fun and professional circuit until now, you will know of them, once we arrive at the Duelist Kingdom.
3.-You must understand that Duelist Kingdom it's a survival game, we won't provide any kind of assistance to you outside of expelling those who had cheated or lost their right to keep participating in the event, a few exceptions to those circumstance will be if the duelist might find himself in a dire situation or their life are in extreme danger or if they are found sick and need and extended period of time to rest and recover, nonetheless these exceptions will count as an automatic disqualification from Duelist Kingdom.
4.-I must emphasize the importance to understand that the tournament it's not something for the faint of heart or for those that believe in team work or something like that, you naturally can make a group and Duel another duelist until their prove and right of participation has been taken away from them, but remember, only eight will have the right to Duel against each other for the title of the King of Duels and the considerable amount of three millions dollars or yen, this last part is depending of their country of origin.
5.-Finally some of you may have found out already, but to participate in this exclusive contest sponsored by Industrial Illusions, you need a couple of things with you that should have come alongside your invitation, those items are none other than the star chips, this chips are special for only when you have reunited ten of them you will be granted access to Mr. Pegasus´ castle where the final Duels to determine who will be the future King of Duels will be held.
"And that will be all! To come aboard you must present your star chips to the employees of Industrial Illusions they will make sure that the chips aren't fake and they are the real deal, you must remember that, besides your gauntlets, you too received two star chips per duelist so make sure not to lose them!" the final statement caused an uproar making many of he duelist to bring out their chips and start either putting them in their gauntlets or bumping their arms and elbows with each other causing to some to drop their chips which only helped for some of the most conflictive one to find an excuse to try and sabotage their fellow duelist.
I grabbed Yugi and dragged him a little outside of the mass of duelist that were starting to becom more agitated, I intentionally positioned myself in front of him knowing that sooner or later some asshole will try and aim for us, thanks God that didn't happen the security team arrived in time record and stopped them from causing more harm, sadly some duelist had to throw away their towels when their chips mysteriously disappeared from their hands or pockets.
Human greed never change
The security team was finally able to regain their control over the duelist and made everyone to form a line to maintain order while boarding the ship, of course nothing can go on without a hitch.
"Hey you! Get out of here only official contestants are allowed on board!" it wasn't the first time that someone tried to sneak into the ship, now if only this new one wouldn't be someone that Yugi and I know, I thought for myself while trying not to release a sigh.
"How do ya know I am not official? Huh?!" a little late but here is Joey!
Neither Yugi nor I couldn't mistake that voice and manner of speaking anywhere.
"Because the official duelists aren't trying to sneak aboard through the lower hatches" and cue here it is Joey classic wardrobe and grunting I guess, with the security of the ship to let him go, I mean they are just doing their job you know.
"What the-" stooooooooooooooooooooppppp right there!
I quickly shut him up by covering his mouth with my hands, I wasn't going to let innocent kind Yugi Muto to become some weird profanity abridged version of himself thank you. And now he was trying to glare at me, I mean if that glare had the power of a one year puppy I can assure it doesn't have that much of fire power against anyone, maybe Joey I guess.
"Yugi, if you finish that world, once we are back in town I am telling Gramps about not only you cursed but I am willing to break the bro code and tell your grandfather AND your mother where are you hiding your secret stash" and with that said I am pretty sure I am breaking a lot of rules here but meh.
His eyes widened and he started to tremble at that, of course it wouldn't surprise no-one if he had something like a doujinshi of Black Magician Girl or something, but, let's just say that my buddy here has a weird mix of tall, haired and ara ara in his mix, a degenerate, who isn't one in this time and year?
With that said and leaving a catatonic Yugi aside "Croquet" I didn't shout nor did I fumble his names with my words I just called him, like one would call his friends on a sunny day "Is something troubling you Mr. Kirihara?" Croquet appeared out of nowhere, didn't surprise me though any good butler knows when their masters needs them most.
"Yes, I did. Croquet did you took care of my luggage?" I wanted to know if he messed with it in some way or form, he knew I wasn't asking if leave it at my room or something "I left in your own personal suit Mr. Kirihara and be at ease I didn't touch or looked through your inventory" I trusted his words, after all his orders were to treat as if I were Pegasus himself.
"Good job Croquet, nonetheless I have to request something of you as I present myself with a…" I let my last words hang in the air, trying to measure his reaction to what I was about to said, though maybe because of his glasses or his own training as a professional butler he remained stoic but at the same time attentive to my words.
Well, I have to admit it, Pegasus do really know how to choose his servants.
"…personal problem of some sort" I said while looking directly at Joey and the two guards trying to get rid of him, for being two professional trained guards they were having a lot of trouble in dealing with a mere eighteen years old young man.
"I see, is he…a friend of yours?" I nodded, with that said he started to walk towards his underlings until I stopped him "Wait Croquet, there is more" my hand rested on his shoulder, he knew that I was testing him, because he wouldn´t let someone that is notof his own master to casually rest their hands on his shoulder.
"Are there more Mr. Kirihara?" the question sounded more like a demand at this point, seems like my little action angered him somewhat, nice "Yes, if you look through the cargo containers you will find a young woman and a young man their names are Tea and Tristan they are friends of mine alongside Joey I want them to rest with me and Yugi in my suite" my order here made him arch an eyebrow in contemplation but nothing more, he regained his composure quickly.
"I understand I will make sure that they receive their accommodations" I nodded at his words but I have to yet finish with my demands at this point, "Croquet, Tea and Tristan are more like special guest of mine, but Joey wants to participate in the tournament" he stiffened at that, he was doing enough with letting them board the ship as guests but letting one of them as a participant wasn't something to be taken lightly.
I patted him in the back "Take this and give it to Joey" I said handing one of my star chips to Croquet so he may give it to him, "After that meet me outside of my suit once my friends are inside and…don't forget to call me or treat me like I am in some sort of trouble in front of them at that particular time, understood?" he looked at me, like really looked at me, his gaze was stone like, but with a really stiffened nod he walked towards Joey and Yugi, this time with Yugi already giving one of his star chips to Joey to participate.
Their talk was quick and over almost instantly, with Croquet presence the rest was easily taken care of.
Now done with it, the line started to become smaller with each passing second, I decided not to wait for them, and boarded the ship, after that they guided me towards my suit, and it really was a suit, like a really expensive one, the thing was squeaky clean, with a red carpet, a sort of dishes in a table made of wood, there was even an old chandelier for the tarnished sakes, a recliner, MINE, even the two sofa could become mattresses, there were two more rooms, one was a bathroom with a shower, tub, and everything that a personal bathroom may have, the last room was the main room, with a TV, with the comfiest bed that I have ever laid on in my life, closet, radio, and a mini fridge.
Nice, really nice, I remember the private rooms of the other contestant, or at least those that participated in tournaments and won or ended as forerunners, short story, mine was on steroids compared to theirs, and I graciously was going to let them stay in here, why? They were my friends of course, BUT, the private room and recliner were mine, only mine, it is personal.
The recliner I mean
Well, I will be here for the next couple of days, sooooooo time to unpack, only the necessary I mean, but for now I must oblige, and must accept one single true beyond my absolutely premade and carefully selected survival kit, and that is one truth, that you never know when you're going to die but always have a pair of underwear for tomorrow!
I shouted to myself while unpacking and clearly seeing a new pair of underwear ready for tomorrow morning, indeed, you can never go wrong with this mindset!
It befits how wise every good gramps in the world are!
Or they are just plain senile.
Whatever comes first, I guess.
I was nearly done, and absolutely wasn't humming Anything Goes in the process, when the door to my suite was open, and came in the rest of the group.
Funny how their faces looked like after seeing the VIP suite, I just smiled at that.
"Hey guys!"
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AzhelianTheEternal
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