Meeting Face to Face

By Cat

Copyright © 2002 Cat

Disclaimer: The characters of Yu Gi Oh do not belong to me. ~grrr~ Certainly would be nice if they did though. ^-_~^

Warnings: Slightly shounen ai, but nothing serious, yet. ~grin~ Still if you don’t like the idea of two, or more, bishounen being more than just friends then you should probably move on to the next story. It may have a few swear words but nothing you can’t hear on any elementary school playground sadly enough.

AN: This is for Digipuppy who kept asking me when I was going to write my own Yu Gi Oh fanfic. Thank you Digi for all the hours of enjoyment you’ve brought me with your stories and for all the long emails that have helped to get my muse back in gear.

Also, this is basically what I call a partial AU. Since here in America we have only gotten to the second Kaiba vs. Pegasus episode and I haven’t seen any of the Manga either, I am strictly making up what I think could happen at the end of this YGO season beginning with what would probably be the season finale. So there will be lots of spots where it does not adhere to YGO canon. That’s why I’m labeling it as an AU

One final note. When I started writing this I realized that I was playing back and forth with the names. Not like using both Joey and Jounouchi. But using Joey and Mai then turning around and using Honda and Anzu. Well that made me stop and think about this for a little while. Then I spent a little over 2 hours surfing the web and looking at different Yu Gi Oh sites that focused on the Anime. Not the game itself.

What I found is that there are a ton of sites right now with the Americanized version of this anime. But very few, or at least they are very hard to find, sites that have the Japanese names and profiles. There is one good one that I had found and lost. Thanks to Digipuppy who helped me find it again. Okay now that I’ve been totally long winded about this, here’s the point. Because there are more of the Americanized sites and this is done in English I’m going to go with those names totally throughout this particular universe.

Also, I am basically picking Domino City up and moving it out of Japan, if that is even where it was supposed to be in the original creators mind. But I’m not moving it to the US. Think of it as a city in a country that sits in the ocean between Japan and the US. Something like Hawaii but larger and populated by people from both countries in a type of melting pot situation like the US. So it holds aspects of both cultures but neither one dominates the other. Well okay actually the main language will be English. ~LOL~

Hopefully I haven’t totally bored everyone. ~wry grin~ Instead I’ve hopefully given you the information you need to create a background for this particular Yu Gi Oh AU.

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Chapter One: Hearts and Souls

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“You’re finished Pegasus,” Yugi declared his eyes narrowed in anger and disgust as he pulled his final card from the deck and looked at it. “I play — the Dark Magician — in attack mode.”

“NO!” the Duel Monster’s creator protested in vain. His shoulders were slumped already admitting defeat even as his mind tried to deny the fact. His one visible eye stared across the holographic field at his opponent, wild and bewildered. “I am Maximillion Pegasus, no one beats me! No one!”

Yugi shook his head. “You are beaten Pegasus. Dark Magician, dark magic attack!” he yelled forcefully and watched as the purple clad magician destroyed the already damaged Toon World, destroying the monsters hidden inside.

The pale haired game creator screamed in horror and distress even as the score boards counted his life points down to zero. The man stared at his deck of cards, then at the Dark Magician who stood facing him on the platform before winking out as Yugi sighed in relief and gathered his own deck back together.

For one pivotal moment the spectators on the balcony stood stunned into silence staring at Maximillion Pegasus. The Duel Monsters creator was now standing on his side of the dueling platform, giggling and muttering to himself. He was casually throwing his cards one at a time over the side to the floor far below. His loss to Yugi, even with the powerful Millenium Eye, had shattered both his mind and his spirit. The small teen didn’t even feel the need to banish the man to the Shadow Realm as he had others like Panic and the evil presence that had once inhabited Seto Kaiba.

Joey was the first one to break the spell. He whooped loudly in victory and dashed through the doorway on his right and down a flight of stairs that would take him to where Yugi still stood. Taking their cue from him, the others added their cries of glee to his and followed him at a run. None of them noticed when Ryou Bakura slipped the other direction heading for Pegasus.

“You did it Yug!” Joey crowed as he skidded to a halt behind the smaller teen. "Yer the new World Champion!”

“Way to go Yugi! I knew you could do it,” Téa laughed happily, throwing her arms around her friend in a tight hug, which he returned quietly. She stepped back and frowned at him slightly puzzled but didn’t say anything. Continuing to keep her suspicions to herself.

“Congratulations Yugi!” Mai and Tristan said simultaneously and then looked at each other and laughed. Tristan gave her a playful bow and motioned with his hand for her to go ahead.

Mai gave him a big smile and then turned back to Yugi. “You really are the best Yugi. I thought for a minute, in those first couple of rounds, that even you might not be able to beat Pegasus. But then you turned it all around and had him running the rest of the game.”

Yugi smiled tiredly. “Thank you Mai. Knowing that I was dueling not only for Grandpa, but Kaiba and Mokuba also, I had much more incentive than just winning a duel. And I had all of you to support me. Pegasus never stood a chance,” he answered in a quiet deep voice. “But now for the most important part. I need those cards that he’s used to trap their souls.”

“Here they are.” Bakura walked through the entryway and down the fly over bridge holding the three playing cards out. “I knew you’d want them so I went to the other side first.”

“Good think’in, Bakura.” Joey grinned and jostled their smaller friend gently as he walked by.

Bakura just elbowed him back with a smile of his own and stopped in front of the new Duel Monsters champion. “I hope that you’ll be able to return them to their bodies like you did with mine in the Shadow Realm,” he stated hesitantly.

Yugi smiled at the white haired teen. “Thank you Bakura. I’m sure I can.”

He took the cards in his hand looking at each picture. He turned away as his eyes fell on the cards of Seto and his Grandpa, not wanting the others to see the tears in his eyes. When he finally looked up he realized that Pegasus was no longer on the other side.

“Bakura, do you know where Pegasus went?” he asked turning back to the other teenager.

“Two of his men came and took him away. I’m sorry I don’t know where to,” Ryou said quietly.

“Hmm I wanted to get a better look at that Millenium Eye. But no matter, in his present state Pegasus won’t be able to use it any more,” Yugi declared.

“What now Yugi?” Téa questioned looking down at him. The others all looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to decide their next move. None of them even questioning the idea that he was in charge.

“We need to find Kaiba and Mokuba. We should split up for the search and meet back here every couple of hours until we’ve found them both,” the small teen answered tucking the cards into the pocket of his blue, school uniform jacket.

“You got it Yug,” Joey replied. His eyebrows were drawn down into a little frown. There was something different about the other boy, that same difference they always noticed when he had an important duel. But he could never quite put his finger on what it was.

They quickly paired up, Tristan and Mai in one pair. Joey and Téa decided to join forces, which left Yugi and Ryou together. As they turned toward the opening at the end of the bridge they stopped staring at one of Pegasus’s security men.

“Don’t try to stop us,” Yugi told the man firmly.

“Yeah, not unless you wanna take me on,” Tristan warned raising his fists.

“And me too,” Joey chimed in stepping up to stand beside his best friend. They grinned at each other for a moment thinking about the cards each of them had that were also partners.

The guard simply looked back at them all calmly. “I have no intention of stopping you. Actually if you will allow me, I will escort you to one of the lounges and bring both Kaiba brothers to you,” he advised them with a small bow in Yugi’s direction.

“And why would you want to do that?” Mai questioned him skeptically.

“With Master Pegasus,” the man paused for a moment. “Out of commission. We are at rather loose ends as to where we stand. At this point there is no sense in continuing with any of this game of his. The Kaiba brothers are free to go.”

“Whadda ya think Yug? Should we trust him or not?” Joey asked looking down at his friend.

The smaller teen stared at the security guard for several moments and finally nodded once, decisively. “Yes, I think we can trust him to do as he says.”

“Okay Yugi. If you trust him then that’s good enough for me,” Téa replied and everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

Yugi smiled back at them all and then looked at the dark suited man. “Very well lead the way.”

“I am Croquet, Master Pegasus’s Head of Security,” the man introduced himself. He led the group of teens down the hallway to a flight of stairs going down to the ground level. “If you need anything just ask and we’ll do our best to procure it for you.”

He stopped in front of a set of double doors and pushed them open. They remembered the room from the night before when they’d all been waiting to be escorted to the dining room. They made themselves comfortable as they settled in to wait for Seto and Mokuba Kaiba to be brought to them.

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Yugi paced back and forth in the lounge that they’d been shown to. Twenty minutes had passed already according to the clock on the mantle piece and he was beginning to think that he had made a mistake in trusting Croquet, Pegasus’s Head of Security. He glared at the door for a moment before turning on his heel and pacing back towards the outside window across from it. If this turned out to be a trick the man would regret the day he ever heard of Maximillion Pegasus.

“Hey Yug?” Joey wandered up next to the smaller boy and began to pace with him. The others had sent him over to try and distract the new champion before he wore a hole in the rug, but he had no idea what to say.

Then a thought struck him. “Whatcha gonna do about your Grandpa?” he asked him quietly. Sugoroku’s body was back in Domino City. Would Yugi even be willing to try and restore his Grandpa’s soul from here?

The new Duel Monster’s Champion paused in mid step and sighed, “I’ll have to just keep the card with me until we get home and then try and put Grandpa’s soul back in his body there at the hospital. As it is I’m not even sure about this anyway. All I can do is try and hope.”

“Maybe you oughta lock it in yer box fer safe keep’in then,” the taller teen suggested. He doubted that Yugi would ever lose it and they didn’t have to worry about any Weevil types dumping it over ship this time. But it was still safer in the locked box he was sure.

“That’s a good idea, Joey.” Yugi looked up at his friend and smiled sadly then walked over to the couch where he’d left his backpack. Out of the inside he pulled the heavy golden colored box that held his Grandpa’s deck. He unlocked the small chest and slipped Sugoroku’s soul card out of the group of three and put it in the top before closing the lid and locking it again.

He was just slipping the box back in his bag when the door opened and Croquet came in followed by two more guards. Each man was leading one of the Kaiba brothers. Yugi frowned in anger as he looked at them both. They weren’t hurt that he could see, but they hadn’t been cared for either, that was obvious.

“The Kaiba brothers, Master Yugi. As you requested,” Croquet stated bowing slightly. “I apologize for it taking so long. We had a bit of trouble tracking down the older Kaiba. They kept moving him from chore to chore.”

The small teen crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Croquet, the man might seem respectful but there was a glint of malicious glee in his eyes. “How soon will we be able to leave here and return to Domino City?” he asked.

“I’m sorry sir. The ship left this morning with the other duelists. It should be back in the morning to pick up you and your friends,” the Head of Security told him regretfully.

“Very well,” Yugi sighed. “Then we will need our rooms again for the night, of course. And find clothing for Seto and Mokuba. They’ve been mistreated enough.”

“Your rooms are being cleaned and prepared as we speak. I will personally see to finding suitable clothing for the Kaiba brothers,” Croquet answered.

The new champion turned to his friends. “Why don’t all of you go and get some rest while I take care of getting Seto and Mokuba back where they belong.”

“No way, Yug!” Joey exclaimed. “I’ll stay here with you just in case Seto don’t see things quite right.”

The smaller teen looked at him for a moment. “All right, Joey. But the rest of you go ahead. Seto isn’t going to be happy and the fewer people he has to deal with immediately the better probably.”

The rest of the teenagers nodded reluctantly and followed the Security guards out of the lounge. Yugi waited until they were gone and then gently led Mokuba over to the couch while Joey brought Seto behind them. The Duel Monsters champion didn’t want to risk either brother being hurt when their souls were returned just in case they were disoriented. This wasn’t exactly the same as when he’d switched Ryou with the dark presence from his Millenium ring.

“So who ya gonna do first, Yug?” Joey asked as he stepped back and stood behind his friend.

“I’m going to do Kaiba first. I want to talk to him before we bring Mokuba back. He’s going to be angry with himself thinking he failed his brother,” Yugi explained. “I want to try and make him understand that it was almost impossible for him to beat Pegasus being the first opponent.”

“I hear ya,” the tall blonde teen replied. “If you hadn’t got the chance to see those Toon cards a his even you mighta had trouble.”

“Exactly,” Yugi nodded.

He slipped Seto’s card out and held it up in front of him where he could see it. For a long moment a powerful energy seemed to swirl around him and his forehead and the Millenium puzzle glowed bright and golden white. The picture of Seto on the card disappeared and the teen on the couch cried out as if finishing the cry he had started when his soul was first wrenched from his body.

“Kaiba?” Yugi called anxiously, stepping forward to grip the other boy’s shoulders. He stared into the confused, unfocused blue eyes, willing him to come back.

Slowly Seto’s eyes focused and he tilted his head ever so slightly until he was looking deeper into the small teen’s eyes. “Yugi?” he stammered as comprehension dawned.

The Duel Champion nodded solemnly.

“Wheeler,” Kaiba acknowledged Joey standing behind Yugi’s shoulder.

“Kaiba,” Joey nodded.

“What happened? Where’s Pegasus?” Then the larger boy’s eyes fell on his brother. “Mokuba,” he murmured in a choked voice. “I am so sorry little brother. I… I failed you.”

“No, you didn’t,” Yugi stated firmly

“Of course I did!” Seto hissed turning angry eyes on the other boy. “I lost. I wasn’t able to save him. I take it that you won?”

“Barely,” the Duel Champion replied. Yugi turned to Joey. “Can you give me a few minutes to talk to Kaiba alone, Joey. I think I’ll be all right.”

“Okay Yug. But if you need me I’ll be right over there.”

The tall blonde nodded at the big window that looked out over the island. Then he threw a warning look at Kaiba who just smirked back at him. Joey flushed angrily thinking of the trouncing he’d had at the other boy’s hands both physically and with the cards. He realized that he was nothing more than tough looking window dressing as far the other duelist was concerned.

“So answer my question,” Seto demanded of Yugi once the two of them were basically alone except for Mokuba’s silent form beside him.

“Yes, but that was only because I had an idea of the cards he had in his deck and how he would use them,” Yugi answered. “Something I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t dueled him first.”

“You…”

“Let me finish,” the small teen cut Seto off with a frown. He glared at Kaiba until the other boy backed down with a small deferential smile on his face.

“All right Yugi, you have the floor,” the larger teen sighed as if talking to one of his Board members at a Board meeting. But the smile grew slightly as he sat back and contemplated him with questioning eyes.

Yugi smirked understanding the game of wills going on here. “Look Kaiba,” he said sitting down on the edge of the coffee table and looking back at him steadily. “Not only did I have the advantage of seeing Pegasus duel with those Toon cards, thanks to you. But I also had an advantage you didn’t have. My Millenium puzzle gives me a slight edge. Not like Pegasus’s eye gave him. But an edge none the less. And I’ve had much more practice using the heart of the cards. But even still if I hadn’t had the chance to watch the two of you duel I probably would have lost.”

Seto nodded slowly regarding him with eyes that began to grow brighter with understanding. “If you had played first…”

“I would have lost just as you did,” the smaller teen finished the sentence for him.

“But I don’t think that I would have been able to beat him even if I had dueled second,” Kaiba sighed.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Yugi shrugged. “He did have a big advantage with that Millenium eye of his. But you would have had time to study his strategy just as I did and probably would have been much better prepared.”

“How did you get me back. In my body I mean?” Seto asked.

“With my own Millenium item. I’ll do Mokuba in a minute. I just want you to realize that if you hadn’t sacrificed yourself by going first neither one of us might have gotten back the people we love,” the Duel champion stated firmly.

“But I wasn’t…”

“Mokuba doesn’t have to know that. We can’t keep him from finding out that you lost to Pegasus,” the small teen interrupted again. “But Seto you knew you were going to have a harder time winning when you refused his compromise and dueled on his terms alone. The new system was your edge, just like my Millenium puzzle was for me. You did it for Mokuba. You already knew you were sacrificing yourself, you just didn’t let it stop you. Right to the very end you never gave up.”

“I couldn’t,” Kaiba responded softly looking deep into the amber red eyes in front of him. “Mokuba’s all I have, I’d die for him.”

“I know,” the smaller duelist replied, compassion and understanding filling the quiet baritone. “I understand now why you did what you did.”

“I had to. He believes in me, I couldn’t let him down by… losing.” Seto’s head dropped, his eyes staring at the floor as his fists clenched.

“And you didn’t,” Yugi murmured dropping down on his knees in front of Seto so that he could look up into the other duelist’s lowered face and see his eyes. He laid his hands on Kaiba’s legs in an effort to comfort, pleased when the other boy didn’t pull away. “Seto you dueled with your heart, you put your trust in the cards. But the evil power of the Millenium eye was just too strong. You may have lost the duel, but you never gave up. Right to the very end you dueled with bravery and passion, putting everything you are into the match. Mokuba would have been so proud, if he could have been there, watching you.”

Kaiba’s lips curled into a smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Did you learn all that wisdom from your Grandpa when he was teaching you the heart of the cards?”

“Not exactly,” Yugi answered smiling back.

“You know your different little Yugi. I can’t put my finger on it. But right now and each time I’ve dueled you, you’ve seemed older, more confident.” Seto shrugged unable to explain it anymore.

“I can’t explain it,” the smaller teen demurred uncomfortably. “It just has something to do with my own Millenium item.”

Kaiba nodded silently. As the head of a large corporation he understood that sometimes there were secrets that just couldn’t be revealed even to friends or partners because of their sensitivity. This was obviously one of those.

“Mokuba?” he asked looking at Yugi and then at his brother and back again.

“Yes,” the Duel champion replied, standing up to move closer to the younger Kaiba brother, pulling his soul card out of his pocket. “I think he’s waited quite long enough.”

Seto watched in stunned silence as the energy built around the small teen, as the puzzle glowed and the eye of Ra formed on his forehead. He reached out and caught his brother’s shoulders as the boy cried out in fear, the life returning to his eyes.

Joey, who had returned to Yugi’s side the minute he saw him take out Mokuba’s soul card, caught the smaller teen as he slumped in exhaustion. His grip firm but gentle as he helped him to settle on the edge of the coffee table. “Yug, you okay?” he asked worriedly, sighing as the small teen nodded.

“Yes, I guess twice in such a close time frame is just a little more than I can handle.”

“Seto!” Mokuba cried and glomped onto his brother in joy and relief. “You saved me! I knew you would. You never let me down big brother.”

Kaiba smiled sadly at the Duel Champion over his little brother’s shoulder and Yugi smiled back, nodding forcefully at him. The larger teen understood what he was being told and sat back. He looked at Yugi again. “It was kind of a joint effort little brother. Yugi and I had to work together on it.”

“Yugi said we needed to work together against Pegasus,” Mokuba grinned. He turned his huge smile on the smaller teen who smiled tiredly back at him. “I’m glad he was able to convince you too, big brother.”

“Yeah, he’s a pretty smart guy isn’t he?” Seto answered neither confirming nor denying his brother’s statement, knowing Yugi would have argued with him about it. Then he looked his brother over and then himself and grimaced. “You and I need a bath and a change of clothes, kiddo.”

“I don’t have one,” Mokuba replied embarrassed, scuffing one foot on the carpeted floor.

“Tell you a secret,” the older Kaiba whispered. “Neither do I.”

Mokuba laughed and glomped his brother again.

“Actually, Croquet, Pegasus’s head of security, is getting something arranged for both of you right now. Maybe they can wash what you have on so you can wear it home tomorrow,” Yugi stated.

“Good idea,” Seto growled his eyes flashing. “I want out of these filthy clothes, but I refuse to go home in something belonging to that dandy.”

“Come on. Joey and I will show you to the section we’ve been staying in. There has to be a room or twenty that you and Mokuba can sleep in tonight while we wait for the ship to come back,” the smaller teen laughed forcing himself to his feet.

“Mokuba and I can go home in the chopper,” Kaiba informed him standing up and giving his little brother a hand up as well.

“Actually, now that you mention it, no, you can’t,” Yugi told him with a small humorless smile.

“Why not?” the larger teen asked his eyebrows drawing down in a frown as they left the lounge behind.

“Cause Pegasus had it trashed,” Joey explained. “We saw the explosion last night.”

Seto swore softly and violently. “That helicopter was damned expensive. When I get my hands on Pegasus….”

“Don’t bother,” the tall blonde cut in, waving a hand negligently. “His mind went overboard when he lost to Yug. It wouldn’t be worth it now.”

The other teen growled, then grumbled under his breath for several minutes as they all walked down the hallway. Finally he turned to look at Yugi. “So who did you have to defeat to finally get to Pegasus? Mai or Bandit Keith?”

“Joey,” the smaller teen grinned back.

“Wheeler?” Seto stared back and forth between the two in stunned surprise. Mokuba had to reach out and steer his big brother around a suit of armor as they walked before the older boy ran into it his attention was so focused on the other two.

“The one and only,” Joey smirked, giving the other teen a victory sign with both hands.

Kaiba shook his head and looked at the Duel champion his frown of confusion growing. “Joey Wheeler?” he asked again.

“You heard correctly,” Yugi replied chuckling. “He beat Bandit Keith in their duel against each other so that in the end we had to face each other. Honestly, Joey was getting better and better throughout the whole tournament, Seto. It was a very close final game.”

“So you are now the world champion and you won the three million dollars,” the dark haired teen mussed nodding. Then he looked at the tall blonde. “Congratulations Joey it looks like I underestimated you.”

“Actually I gave the money to Joey. He needs it for his sister Serenity. That’s what he was dueling for and why he was dueling so hard,” the smaller teen informed him.

Seto slowed and looked at Joey. “I didn’t realize you had a sister.”

“Our parents divorced when we was younger. Serenity lives with my Mom. She needs surgery or she’s gonna lose her eyesight, soon. So the money was real important to me, for her sake,” Joey answered his hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I woulda failed her, if it weren’t for Yugi.”

The dark haired teen knew exactly how the blonde felt and reached out to squeeze his shoulder in commiseration. “You did your best. You got further than I certainly ever thought you would.”

“And we already argued about this Joey. There were lots of times when it was your support that helped me too. And we’d never have gotten past the Paradox Brothers and their maze if I hadn’t had you as my partner,” the smaller blonde lectured him sternly.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We been all over that already,” the larger teen grumbled with a smile.

“Sounds reasonable to me,” Seto stated from his side of the corridor. “We may have to duel again Joey. I think you more than deserve a rematch. And it wasn’t fair to use you as a guinea pig for a system that I never even got to use on Pegasus.”

“Yeah well, I was outta line too. I never shoulda said all those things I said. Granted you shouldna jumped all over us either without known why we was really here.” Joey looked over at him with a small smile and a speculative gleam in his eye. “I’ll duel you again but only if we use that same gizmo like we did before. I’ll show you who’s a whipped little puppy dog.”

Kaiba grinned back at him. “Don’t push it Wheeler. I may have been wrong about you. But I’m no puppy either. Get ready to have your butt kicked when we duel again.”

“Oh yeah?” Joey smirked, his eyes flashing. “By you and what army?”

“Army? I won’t need an army, just one blue eyes white dragon and it’ll be all over,” Seto answered back his eyes sparkling with joy, imagining the battle to come.

“Hah, fat chance. I’ve had lots a chances to see you use ‘em now and all the ways to beat ‘em,” Joey reminded him.

“Ah, but you forget that just gives me more strategies to work on…”

Yugi and Mokuba grinned at each other behind the backs of the other two and fought to keep from laughing.

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End Chapter One

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AN: Okay, okay I know you’re all like hey wait a minute! But at least it’s not a cliffhanger or at least not a big one. And I did have to get everything set up.

Next chapter, Yugi gets several surprise night visitors. And a few of them get a surprise of their own.

Also the chapters will probably be getting longer this one was short because it was only for set up and to get all the characters I needed back into play, so to speak. So did you catch my teeny tiny little hints of Shounen ai? If you did then you know where my pairings will be. For anyone who hasn’t caught them, don’t worry I’ll list the pairings in the AN for chapter… three. ~evil grin~