Mastering The Game

SUMMARY: Yugi gets on with the business of dueling, with some thoughts of his Master, but most on saving his grandfather.

Sorry not much happening in this chapter, but it I have to add it, the next is the important one also the chapter I'm working on, let's hope I can have it ready for next week...

Mastering the Game

Chapter 5: Curse Of Dragon

They had reached Duelist Kingdom. Yugi looked down from the deck of the ship at all of Pegasus’ goons, at least he hoped they were all Pegasus’ men and not someone from the auction house. They must have noticed that he was missing by now. No, he had an invite to be there, he was pretty sure he would not be in trouble, not like Tèa and Tristan if they were caught. It was enough that he felt guilty Joey was sneezing because of trying to save his Exodia cards.

Yugi had never experienced anger much in his short life, it was not an emotion he saw at the complex where he was raised. But he felt it now, first against Pegasus and then against Weevil. On the way up to the castle, Tèa thought she saw another of their friends, Ryou Bakura, but he disappeared. Yugi didn’t know him and wondered if he were a duelist too.

Finally at the castle walls he came face to face with the one he needed to face. But while waiting it was a bit daunting hearing others talking about him and wondering about him, because of his defeat of Kaiba. Then he was there, the man that had taken his grandfather’s soul.

Pegasus for his part was very glad to see that Yugi was there. It seemed his plans were on track.

Yugi listened to the rules, he had two days to battle his way back to the castle, all he needed was ten star chips. And Weevil was going to be his first conquest. Unwittingly his enemy had let him in on a little of what was to come, and he would use that to his advantage. Yet as he came face to face with Weevil, the strange change that had come over him when he had dueled Kaiba, happened again and he accepted Weevil’s challenge. It felt good to throw Weevil’s so called advantage against him, it felt good to duel him too. He’d never felt more confident in his life either.

The best part of course was that after a complicated duel where he could have lost on a number of times, was to win and to take Weevil’s starchips, and look forward to his next goal, defeating Pegasus. This time he had enjoyed the duel, and he understood a little of why his Master enjoyed it too. But he put his Master out of his mind, he could not think of him here.

Then it was his turn to watch a duel, Joey accepted Mai’s challenge, it was his turn to support his friend, because Joey was his friend, his best friend. Something he’d never had before. And when Joey thought he was about to lose that presence returned again, telling him the one thing he needed to. One phrase, What is seen yet unseen. This helped him to win his way though the duel and defeat Mai. He was doing this for his sister, just as Yugi was doing it for his grandfather.

As they wandered off in search of the next duel, Yugi once again thought of his Master. Had it really been so hard on him to have lost? And what were those other things that Fuguta had told him about? Problems with the company, that it had new owners? He had not had time to think about it much, his mind had been on what was going on with his grandfather. Was this all his fault? Kaiba had to have known it was him that he dueled against…. Except, except that he himself had felt differently. Stronger, more confident, as if there were another presence right in his mind. Sharing the duel with him, or more so, taking over, leading. But he had felt it all, he had shared being puzzled over Exodia until he had worked it all out and had used it to defeat Kaiba. Kaiba had seemed a little shocked when he had first seen him, and Yugi had thought it was because he knew he was facing his own slave. But why didn’t he just put an end to the duel there and then. He had the power to do it as Yugi’s owner. Yugi had no right to do this against his Master. Property did not challenge their owner, not unless they actually had the means to buy their freedom, and he certainly did not have that.

Property. That was what he was, despite this small time of freedom. Sure if he won he could buy his freedom completely from his Master. But his main priority here was to free his grandfather then deal with the other consequences. As it was he did not know what he would do if he did gain his freedom. He had been raised to be a pleasure slave, and though he had actually only been one for a relatively short time, he had to admit that he liked his Master. Sure he could be a little rough if there was something bugging him, but he had not yet been abused by him, like he had heard happened to some pleasure slaves. His new Master was as new to the Mastering thing as he was new to the slave thing, had treated him well. After all he had found his grandfather on one of his weekends off. How many other slaves were given that kind of freedom?

Yugi was jolted from his musings by Joey’s happiness over his winning a duel and the fact that they were all hungry. Tristan’s book was no help, but Joey’s nose was better and led them right to another duel. With Mako Tsumani. Again the presence took over and won the duel in the end.

Yugi had 5 starchips now, half way there. Half way to freeing his grandfather, and perhaps the end of his freedom. But that was for the future, now they headed off to find more duels.

TBC in Chapter 6: Magical Hats.