Puzzled Feelings - Chapter 7: Evaluation
Chapter 7 Below
Yugi blinked. It definitely wasn't the request he had been expecting.
Evidently it was not the request that Kaiba had been expecting either. The older boy's brow furrowed as he looked at Yami as though appraising the situation. "What?" he finally settled on.
"Tutor me in algebra."
"I heard you the first time, but why?" Kaiba finally answered, frustration evident in his tone.
"I had no reason to expect to need anything beyond basic math before I had a body. Math sure has come a long way in the last 3000 years. Surely even you can figure out why it might be confusing."
"Why me?" Kaiba looked perplexed.
Yami seemed to consider his answer for a bit. Yugi's heart skipped a beat. Here it comes... Why did I tell him to say something? What if Kaiba says yes? Then what will I do?
"You've got to be good at it, you're highly intelligent and run a major corporation. I can find something else to ask you to do if you don't think you can." Yami's response worried Yugi even more. He wasn't sure he could take not knowing much longer, why was the former spirit putting it off? Besides, wasn't Yami's problem with math that he was too distracted... Yugi's thoughts trailed off. Something clicked: Yami was too distracted by Kaiba to properly learn his math.
Yugi barely caught Kaiba's quick response in his panic. "Of course I can. But I'm busy so we're working around my schedule." Trust Kaiba to still make everything about his own convenience. Doesn't he know he lost? What does Yami even see in this guy? Why him? What's going to happen when Yami gets tutored? Yugi's thoughts chased each other around in circles, intermittent between puzzling over Yami's choice, fuming at Kaiba's reaction, and intensely envying Yami's rival for the attention he was receiving. Soon it all boiled down to feeling hurt, inadequate, and desperate.
Noticing that the negotiations over time and place for the tutoring were essentially finished, Yugi decided it was time to interrupt the conversation. Maybe if he could beat Kaiba in this duel Yami would see him in a different light. Maybe he could capture the former Pharaoh's attention again. Maybe he could prove his strength too.
"If you guys are done figuring things out, I believe that we have a duel," Yugi finally elected to assert. He looked directly at Kaiba as seriously as he could.
The corners of Kaiba's mouth turned up. "That ready to lose, are we Yugi?" It seemed that losing to Yami had not managed to faze Kaiba at all. He was still his normal, cocky self.
"You're on," was Yugi's simple response.
Yami relinquished his spot at the dueling platform and gave Yugi a smile. He seemed uncertain about something, but shook his head and the look faded. Rather than dwell on it, Yugi took his place across from Kaiba.
"Let's duel," they chimed in unison.
"I'll go first," Yugi stuck out his chin defiantly, his eyebrows slanted in concentration. Drawing his hand, he started out with a monster in face down defense position, and then set one card.
"Hmph," was all the response that Yugi got out of Kaiba, who started out with his Vorse Raider in attack mode. Eyes narrowing for a minute, as if sizing up the situation, Kaiba ordered the attack, "You'll have to do more than just defend to beat me. Vorse Raider, wipe out his monster!"
"You've activated Marshmallon's special ability!" Yugi said gleefully, turning the card upright. "Not only is Marshmallon not destroyed by battle, but the first time you attack it, you take 1000 points of damage!" Kaiba scowled as his life points dropped accordingly. Yugi glanced over at Yami, who was now watching the duel from the sidelines, an unreadable expression on his face. Yugi wondered what the other duelist was thinking, hoping that his move had made an impact.
Kaiba interrupted Yugi's musings, "Fine, then I will set two cards. Go ahead, if you dare." The other duelist seemed to be unusually antagonistic to Yugi, and he wondered if it was perhaps a side effect of having lost the previous duel. Maybe Kaiba wasn't as nonplussed as Yugi thought.
"My move," Yugi drew his card and barely glanced at it before activating it. "I play Marshmallon Glasses. Now your Vorse Raider can only attack my Marshmallon. On top of that, I summon Yellow Gadget in defense mode. This lets me move one Green Gadget from my deck to my hand. Then I'll set one more card on the field and end my turn."
"Finally," Kaiba growled. "I summon Kaiser Seahorse to the field. And then I will use Stop Defense to change Marshmallon to attack mode. Kaiser Seahorse, attack! Vorse Raider, attack!"
Yugi winced as he watched his life points drop rapidly. He was already at half health. "My turn." Drawing his card, he activated Swords of Revealing Light to buy some time. Then he summoned his Green Gadget to the field in defense mode, adding Red Gadget from his deck to his hand. "I switch Marshmallon to defense position, and end my turn."
I just need to bide my time until my monsters have a chance to power up, Yugi thought to himself. If I can just hold out until then, I should be able to take whatever Kaiba throws at me.
Kaiba smiled, seeming unfazed. Reaching for the top card of his deck, his smile widened. "First I activate Card of Demise. I draw five more cards, but I have to discard my hand in three turns. Though I highly doubt this duel will last that long."
As Kaiba's smile deepened into yet another smirk, Yugi wondered not for the first time how this this annoying, overly confident man had managed to attract Yami's attention. It made no sense. I have to win this duel. Not that I care about my title, but maybe if I show Yami that I am worth my weight as a duelist, he will notice me again.
Oblivious to Yugi's self-crisis, Kaiba was already making his next move. "Next I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon, eliminating your Swords of Revealing light. This duel won't last much longer, Yugi"
Yugi glanced up in surprise. He still had Marshmallon on the field, so why was Kaiba so confident? His life points were still safe, regardless of whether Swords was gone.
"Next I'll sacrifice my Kaiser Seahorse to summon my all-powerful beast: Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The duelist's signature holographic dragon roared to life, proudly stretching its wings and showing off its sharp teeth.
"Vorse Raider, your turn, attack Marshmallon!" Yugi looked even more confused. "He can't be destroyed by battle Kaiba," he tried to explain, uncertainty evident in his voice. "My life points and my monsters are safe."
"I'm not so sure about that. Activate trap!" Kaiba discarded a card from his hand and canceled out Marshmallon's effect. Uh-oh, Yugi thought as two of his lines of defense were broken through.
"Next I'll use Call of the Haunted to bring back the card I just discarded, another Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A second Blue Eyes roared to life alongside the first. "Now my Blue Eyes, attack Yugi's gadgets!"
As the pair roared back their heads, throats filling with balls of blue-tinged light, Yugi spoke, cutting off the attack. "Not so fast! I have traps too. First I'll activate my Stronghold, the Moving Fortress. It's also a monster card, with 2000 attack. Then I activate Ambush Shield, sacrificing my Green Gadget in order to increase the Stronghold's attack by 1200, bringing him up to 3200, enough to defend against your Blue Eyes." One of the attacks fizzled out around the new monster, but the Yellow Gadget exploded into pieces.
Kaiba looked slightly irked, but he didn't falter in making his next move. "I guess that means I just have to get an even bigger dragon. Come forth my ultimate beast!" Slapping down a polymerization card and discarding a third Blue Eyes to the graveyard, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon emerged. Setting one last card, Kaiba passed the turn.
"Alright, my move." Yugi did the best he could to sound confident, but he wasn't sure what he would do. All he could do was trust in the heart of the cards and hope they showed him the way to victory, and to regaining Yam's regard. Drawing the top card of his deck, he smiled. "I summon my red gadget in defense mode! And I'll set one card and end my turn."
The card Yugi had drawn was perfect. In just one more turn he could destroy the Ultimate Dragon and win the duel. And he had just the trap to protect his monsters from Kaiba's oncoming assault.
"Weak move Yugi," Kaiba countered. "You've done nothing to protect you from my ultimate beast! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his Stronghold now!"
"Not so fast, you've triggered my trap. With Soul Shield, all I have to do is pay half of my life points, to end your battle phase and your turn."
Kaiba ground his teeth in annoyance. "All that does is buy you one more turn. I will destroy you and take back my title."
Yugi smiled to himself. I have the perfect monster to take down Kaiba's ultimate dragon. If it's a race to the most powerful monster he wants, he can have it. Two can play at this game. Watch this Yami, I'll show you what I'm made of. Yugi snuck another look at Yami, who was watching the back and forth of the duel impassively. I'll make you notice me.
"One turn is all I need to destroy your dragon," Yugi claimed, happy to note that Yami was now at least looking at him. "I sacrifice both my monsters to summon the mighty Buster Blader! He gains attack points for each dragon on your side of the field and in your graveyard. So he is stronger than even your ultimate dragon. Now Buster Blader-Dragon Sword Attack!" The large knight raced forward, slicing the huge dragon in half with his even larger sword. The hologram split in two before exploding into little pieces. Kaiba's life points dropped. Yugi smiled broadly. He had just defeated Kaiba's strongest monster. It would be hard for the other duelist to recover from this one.
Kaiba's fingers were twitching in annoyance, and he practically bent the card he drew in his anger. A scowl had deepened across his face, which would have been intimidating if Yugi didn't knew his board position was so strong that no intimidation was warranted. When Kaiba looked at the card in his hand, the scowl turned into a smile filled with malicious glee. "And your time has run out Yugi," the older duelist said. "Your title is mine." Yugi's heart stopped for a second.
Kaiba slapped down Monster Reborn, and the Ultimate Dragon roared back to life on his side of the field. "You left yourself defenseless, and now you will pay!"
But my Buster Blader still has more attack than your dragon, Yugi thought, hoping that Kaiba was making a mistake.
"All I need to do is equip my dragon with my spell card, Dragon Treasure, and it raises his attack points by 300," Kaiba continued. Though Yugi didn't need him to say it, he bragged anyway, "That's enough to destroy your Buster Blader. Neutron Blast Attack!" The three heads of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon reared back simultaneously, lightning catching in each of their throats before entwining in a powerful blast aimed at the knight. "And now, my Vorse Raider, finish him off!" The hologram charged at Yugi, finishing him off with a slice of his ax. Then the field faded away.
Yugi looked stunned. He lost? And so quickly nonetheless. What did he do wrong? He was so certain he had the duel in the palm of his hand after summoning Buster Blader.
Kaiba didn't look pleased with his win either. "Well I guess we know who the real king of games was," he murmured, pointedly looking at Yami. "It must have just been a fluke that Yugi won the ceremonial duel after all. And here I thought that this duel would be a challenge."
Yugi glanced at Yami and then down at the ground. The former spirit had a weird expression on his face, and Yugi wasn't sure what he was thinking. All he knew is that he felt utterly defeated.Was my will not strong enough to show Yami how I feel about him? I was supposed to beat Kaiba and gain Yami's attention, and all I ended up doing was loosing one of the quickest duels of my life. He managed to beat me in four lousy turns. And I was so sure that I had won too.
Suddenly Yugi felt the intense need to be alone. "Well, you have your title now," he mumbled at Kaiba, quickly gathering his deck and then power-walking off the dueling platform and out of the room. Once outside of the mansion, Yugi broke into a run, trying to get as much distance between himself and everything in the duel room as quickly as possible.
Yugi blinked. It definitely wasn't the request he had been expecting.
Evidently it was not the request that Kaiba had been expecting either. The older boy's brow furrowed as he looked at Yami as though appraising the situation. "What?" he finally settled on.
"Tutor me in algebra."
"I heard you the first time, but why?" Kaiba finally answered, frustration evident in his tone.
"I had no reason to expect to need anything beyond basic math before I had a body. Math sure has come a long way in the last 3000 years. Surely even you can figure out why it might be confusing."
"Why me?" Kaiba looked perplexed.
Yami seemed to consider his answer for a bit. Yugi's heart skipped a beat. Here it comes... Why did I tell him to say something? What if Kaiba says yes? Then what will I do?
"You've got to be good at it, you're highly intelligent and run a major corporation. I can find something else to ask you to do if you don't think you can." Yami's response worried Yugi even more. He wasn't sure he could take not knowing much longer, why was the former spirit putting it off? Besides, wasn't Yami's problem with math that he was too distracted... Yugi's thoughts trailed off. Something clicked: Yami was too distracted by Kaiba to properly learn his math.
Yugi barely caught Kaiba's quick response in his panic. "Of course I can. But I'm busy so we're working around my schedule." Trust Kaiba to still make everything about his own convenience. Doesn't he know he lost? What does Yami even see in this guy? Why him? What's going to happen when Yami gets tutored? Yugi's thoughts chased each other around in circles, intermittent between puzzling over Yami's choice, fuming at Kaiba's reaction, and intensely envying Yami's rival for the attention he was receiving. Soon it all boiled down to feeling hurt, inadequate, and desperate.
Noticing that the negotiations over time and place for the tutoring were essentially finished, Yugi decided it was time to interrupt the conversation. Maybe if he could beat Kaiba in this duel Yami would see him in a different light. Maybe he could capture the former Pharaoh's attention again. Maybe he could prove his strength too.
"If you guys are done figuring things out, I believe that we have a duel," Yugi finally elected to assert. He looked directly at Kaiba as seriously as he could.
The corners of Kaiba's mouth turned up. "That ready to lose, are we Yugi?" It seemed that losing to Yami had not managed to faze Kaiba at all. He was still his normal, cocky self.
"You're on," was Yugi's simple response.
Yami relinquished his spot at the dueling platform and gave Yugi a smile. He seemed uncertain about something, but shook his head and the look faded. Rather than dwell on it, Yugi took his place across from Kaiba.
"Let's duel," they chimed in unison.
"I'll go first," Yugi stuck out his chin defiantly, his eyebrows slanted in concentration. Drawing his hand, he started out with a monster in face down defense position, and then set one card.
"Hmph," was all the response that Yugi got out of Kaiba, who started out with his Vorse Raider in attack mode. Eyes narrowing for a minute, as if sizing up the situation, Kaiba ordered the attack, "You'll have to do more than just defend to beat me. Vorse Raider, wipe out his monster!"
"You've activated Marshmallon's special ability!" Yugi said gleefully, turning the card upright. "Not only is Marshmallon not destroyed by battle, but the first time you attack it, you take 1000 points of damage!" Kaiba scowled as his life points dropped accordingly. Yugi glanced over at Yami, who was now watching the duel from the sidelines, an unreadable expression on his face. Yugi wondered what the other duelist was thinking, hoping that his move had made an impact.
Kaiba interrupted Yugi's musings, "Fine, then I will set two cards. Go ahead, if you dare." The other duelist seemed to be unusually antagonistic to Yugi, and he wondered if it was perhaps a side effect of having lost the previous duel. Maybe Kaiba wasn't as nonplussed as Yugi thought.
"My move," Yugi drew his card and barely glanced at it before activating it. "I play Marshmallon Glasses. Now your Vorse Raider can only attack my Marshmallon. On top of that, I summon Yellow Gadget in defense mode. This lets me move one Green Gadget from my deck to my hand. Then I'll set one more card on the field and end my turn."
"Finally," Kaiba growled. "I summon Kaiser Seahorse to the field. And then I will use Stop Defense to change Marshmallon to attack mode. Kaiser Seahorse, attack! Vorse Raider, attack!"
Yugi winced as he watched his life points drop rapidly. He was already at half health. "My turn." Drawing his card, he activated Swords of Revealing Light to buy some time. Then he summoned his Green Gadget to the field in defense mode, adding Red Gadget from his deck to his hand. "I switch Marshmallon to defense position, and end my turn."
I just need to bide my time until my monsters have a chance to power up, Yugi thought to himself. If I can just hold out until then, I should be able to take whatever Kaiba throws at me.
Kaiba smiled, seeming unfazed. Reaching for the top card of his deck, his smile widened. "First I activate Card of Demise. I draw five more cards, but I have to discard my hand in three turns. Though I highly doubt this duel will last that long."
As Kaiba's smile deepened into yet another smirk, Yugi wondered not for the first time how this this annoying, overly confident man had managed to attract Yami's attention. It made no sense. I have to win this duel. Not that I care about my title, but maybe if I show Yami that I am worth my weight as a duelist, he will notice me again.
Oblivious to Yugi's self-crisis, Kaiba was already making his next move. "Next I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon, eliminating your Swords of Revealing light. This duel won't last much longer, Yugi"
Yugi glanced up in surprise. He still had Marshmallon on the field, so why was Kaiba so confident? His life points were still safe, regardless of whether Swords was gone.
"Next I'll sacrifice my Kaiser Seahorse to summon my all-powerful beast: Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The duelist's signature holographic dragon roared to life, proudly stretching its wings and showing off its sharp teeth.
"Vorse Raider, your turn, attack Marshmallon!" Yugi looked even more confused. "He can't be destroyed by battle Kaiba," he tried to explain, uncertainty evident in his voice. "My life points and my monsters are safe."
"I'm not so sure about that. Activate trap!" Kaiba discarded a card from his hand and canceled out Marshmallon's effect. Uh-oh, Yugi thought as two of his lines of defense were broken through.
"Next I'll use Call of the Haunted to bring back the card I just discarded, another Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A second Blue Eyes roared to life alongside the first. "Now my Blue Eyes, attack Yugi's gadgets!"
As the pair roared back their heads, throats filling with balls of blue-tinged light, Yugi spoke, cutting off the attack. "Not so fast! I have traps too. First I'll activate my Stronghold, the Moving Fortress. It's also a monster card, with 2000 attack. Then I activate Ambush Shield, sacrificing my Green Gadget in order to increase the Stronghold's attack by 1200, bringing him up to 3200, enough to defend against your Blue Eyes." One of the attacks fizzled out around the new monster, but the Yellow Gadget exploded into pieces.
Kaiba looked slightly irked, but he didn't falter in making his next move. "I guess that means I just have to get an even bigger dragon. Come forth my ultimate beast!" Slapping down a polymerization card and discarding a third Blue Eyes to the graveyard, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon emerged. Setting one last card, Kaiba passed the turn.
"Alright, my move." Yugi did the best he could to sound confident, but he wasn't sure what he would do. All he could do was trust in the heart of the cards and hope they showed him the way to victory, and to regaining Yam's regard. Drawing the top card of his deck, he smiled. "I summon my red gadget in defense mode! And I'll set one card and end my turn."
The card Yugi had drawn was perfect. In just one more turn he could destroy the Ultimate Dragon and win the duel. And he had just the trap to protect his monsters from Kaiba's oncoming assault.
"Weak move Yugi," Kaiba countered. "You've done nothing to protect you from my ultimate beast! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his Stronghold now!"
"Not so fast, you've triggered my trap. With Soul Shield, all I have to do is pay half of my life points, to end your battle phase and your turn."
Kaiba ground his teeth in annoyance. "All that does is buy you one more turn. I will destroy you and take back my title."
Yugi smiled to himself. I have the perfect monster to take down Kaiba's ultimate dragon. If it's a race to the most powerful monster he wants, he can have it. Two can play at this game. Watch this Yami, I'll show you what I'm made of. Yugi snuck another look at Yami, who was watching the back and forth of the duel impassively. I'll make you notice me.
"One turn is all I need to destroy your dragon," Yugi claimed, happy to note that Yami was now at least looking at him. "I sacrifice both my monsters to summon the mighty Buster Blader! He gains attack points for each dragon on your side of the field and in your graveyard. So he is stronger than even your ultimate dragon. Now Buster Blader-Dragon Sword Attack!" The large knight raced forward, slicing the huge dragon in half with his even larger sword. The hologram split in two before exploding into little pieces. Kaiba's life points dropped. Yugi smiled broadly. He had just defeated Kaiba's strongest monster. It would be hard for the other duelist to recover from this one.
Kaiba's fingers were twitching in annoyance, and he practically bent the card he drew in his anger. A scowl had deepened across his face, which would have been intimidating if Yugi didn't knew his board position was so strong that no intimidation was warranted. When Kaiba looked at the card in his hand, the scowl turned into a smile filled with malicious glee. "And your time has run out Yugi," the older duelist said. "Your title is mine." Yugi's heart stopped for a second.
Kaiba slapped down Monster Reborn, and the Ultimate Dragon roared back to life on his side of the field. "You left yourself defenseless, and now you will pay!"
But my Buster Blader still has more attack than your dragon, Yugi thought, hoping that Kaiba was making a mistake.
"All I need to do is equip my dragon with my spell card, Dragon Treasure, and it raises his attack points by 300," Kaiba continued. Though Yugi didn't need him to say it, he bragged anyway, "That's enough to destroy your Buster Blader. Neutron Blast Attack!" The three heads of the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon reared back simultaneously, lightning catching in each of their throats before entwining in a powerful blast aimed at the knight. "And now, my Vorse Raider, finish him off!" The hologram charged at Yugi, finishing him off with a slice of his ax. Then the field faded away.
Yugi looked stunned. He lost? And so quickly nonetheless. What did he do wrong? He was so certain he had the duel in the palm of his hand after summoning Buster Blader.
Kaiba didn't look pleased with his win either. "Well I guess we know who the real king of games was," he murmured, pointedly looking at Yami. "It must have just been a fluke that Yugi won the ceremonial duel after all. And here I thought that this duel would be a challenge."
Yugi glanced at Yami and then down at the ground. The former spirit had a weird expression on his face, and Yugi wasn't sure what he was thinking. All he knew is that he felt utterly defeated.Was my will not strong enough to show Yami how I feel about him? I was supposed to beat Kaiba and gain Yami's attention, and all I ended up doing was loosing one of the quickest duels of my life. He managed to beat me in four lousy turns. And I was so sure that I had won too.
Suddenly Yugi felt the intense need to be alone. "Well, you have your title now," he mumbled at Kaiba, quickly gathering his deck and then power-walking off the dueling platform and out of the room. Once outside of the mansion, Yugi broke into a run, trying to get as much distance between himself and everything in the duel room as quickly as possible.