all general disclaimers apply
Author's Note: If some of you are wondering...yes, I have been to Vegas and yes, I'm legal to drink and gamble. So, I do know a little about what goes on in the city and the games,etc. that are there. Though, since this is a fictional story, I have taken the liberty of embellishing or altering some things to suit the story.
Yami glanced at his cards then awaited the ante. The other players were all older than him. A couple of them had suits on and talked of business while cards were being dealt. No doubt they were high rank business executives, much like Seto. Another wore a loud hawaiian shirt, definitely a stereotypical middle class father on a family vacation. The fourth was a female, conservative in her beige pantsuit and wearing light framed glasses over her light blue eyes. She intrigued Yami somewhat, much to the dismay of Tea who felt a pang of jealousy. To Tea, the lady was obviously career type with intelligence, perhaps in business herself. Her long light brown hair was controlled to the rear of her head by a ponytail. Her glasses were just the right size to fit the frame of her face. Underneath them, her blue eyes and fair face indicated beauty. Model quality perhaps. But did Yami notice this or was he merely weighing her as a competitor? Or maybe she herself was thinking too much into it? Tea stopped thinking when it became Yami's turn to enter the bet. He flicked a couple of chips into the ante and raised it. Tea wondered what he was up to. His hand was a good start, but nothing increasing the bet with. Was he already scheming to gain a tactical advantage?
Once all the bets were in place, the players discarded unwanted cards in exchange for the same number of new ones. Yami only dumped two. The other players took two or three. Now another round of bets ensued now that players had some fresh cards in their hands. The ante was raised. Two players folded immediately. The remaining players eyed each other in acknowledgement of who and who wasn't still in play. Yami and the female held their gaze upon each other longer than the others. This irked Tea as she swallowed a tang of jealousy. She was really beginning to dislike this woman she didn't even know and she wasn't even totally sure why. What was unknown to Tea, was that Yami and the lady were wagering. Both had ruled the others out as to having decent hands. But she and the spikey haired youth stood their ground and they both knew it. As the lady and Yami guessed, the other remaining players felt the sting of the two locked in the stare down and folded, fearing that they had lesser cards than the two who had selected each other. With a slow smirk that could almost be seductive and his eyes tranfixed on his opponent, Yami flipped a couple of chips into the center of the table. He'd just upped the ante once again. The woman seemed intrigued by this youth's boldness. She matched his bet and added two more chips, but not before tossing in a special $500 chip with a grin of her own. It almost seemed primeval, like two hunters in play for the same kill. Who would win? The young jackal with numerous tricks in his wily brain or the powerful, yet conservative lioness, who could, with one swipe, dispose of the jackal? Tea could feel the stress and tension in the air. Yet Yami seemed as cool as a polar bear in an icy arctic swim. The lady across the table seemed the same. There was something about her eyes that Tea disliked. Perhaps it was something Yami too, had picked up. Something seemed eerily familiar about her eyes.
Before Tea could think about it further, Yami had met her bet, throwing in his only $500 chip. The woman had four more. If she upped the ante again, Yami would have to fold be default since he would not be able to match her ante. She waved the raise off, indicating that she would rather see this hand set finish. It was time to reveal exactly who had the better hand, but not before a final stare off between the two.
"Ladies first." Yami said in a deep, soft, respectful way. He seemed more fascinated in duelists who matched his courage, but evenmoreso when the duelist was female.
She grinned softly. She seemed surprised that a young man such as her opponent would actually show her respect and manners. It was a fading trait in the modern male. She fanned her hand out upon the table. "Three kings."
Without a word, Yami did the same. "Royal flush." It was a hand suited for the once pharaoh. The lady sighed in defeat, but her eyes hinted at challenge and redemption.
Tea giggled inwardly. Yes, Yami had a royal flush in his cards, but he also seemed to have one upon his face. Did he feel embarrassed about taking this lady's money? Or was it something else? Rarely did the King of Games show such emotion and especially in a game where it was necessary to show as little emotion as possible.
Yami swept his earnings from the center of the table and prepared for the next round. With the initial bets laid, the dealer dealt the players hands once again. Yami fanned his cards out in his hand. He was not as fortunate this round. His hand revealed nothing of immediate use. Tea was curious as to how Yami would play this one.
More bets were placed and then cards discarded for some new ones. Yami dumped three. The three replacements weren't much better. He had a pair of fives and nothing more. And yet, Yami matched the raising bets. Again, a couple players folded. Now, they were down to Yami, the lady, and the man with the loud Hawaiian shirt. As the ante was raised yet again, the man folded, leaving only Yami and the lady once again. Both seemed pleased.
With more chips to work with, Yami could be more bolder in his bets. But, he still had nothing in cards! He'd have to employ a new tactic, force the lady to fold rather than beat her with the cards themselves. Trouble was, she had ample money for bets. Trying to oust her by raising bets might not work, but then again, she seemed the conservative type...or was she? From his own present experiences, Yami knew that it was the quiet, seemingly plain ones that you always kept your eyes upon.
As he suspected, the woman raised the bets, challenging him onward. Was she bluffing or did she really have yet another decent hand? The others folded so quickly, that Yami feared the latter. The power cards had to be somewhere and he was holding none. Those who folded apparently had similar shortages. Lady Luck may be siding with her own kind. But it mattered not. Yami had no intention of backing down. He had to pull one off one hell of a bluff however.
Yami matched her bet and raised it conservatively with a $100 chip. He eyed her curiously, his eyes lit with amusement yet his face revealed no other emotion. From her own expression, Yami found nothing but the same. Was she toying with him the same way he was toying with her? With females it was always a crap shoot in regards to emotions. Yami knew this. He'd tred cautiously. Too many males have fallen prey to the emotional game women play. Yami had no intention of being counted among them.
"You intrigue me young man. Either you're skilled in a game you probably shouldn't be playing, or you're a fool." the woman jeered as she tried to rattle her adversary's mentality.
To Yami, her words narrowed his assessment of her to two possibilities. Either she was indeed bluffing like himself, or she was a master of this game. He prayed to Ra she wasn't the latter.
"Perhaps both. Perhaps neither." Yami replied in riddle. He was going to give her no indication of his intentions. She had already made one mistake in misjudging his age or experience. She had no idea that betting and bluffing were common skills in Shadow Games and ones he had polished regularly. Misjudging his age or experience was a common mistake, but mistakes don't go unpunished by the King of Games.
"You are a fascinating one indeed." she responded. She raised the bet largely, placing two $500 chips down. She knew Yami only had two of such chips. He won his own back plus the one she had pitched in during the last game.
The move was indeed bold and very nearly an all or nothing for Yami. But, he was accostumed to such high stakes. In fact, he was most comfortable and at his deadliest when backed into such a situation. Seto Kaiba had experienced this first hand. Now, perhaps this cocky lady would too. Yami matched her bet and raised her the rest of his chips...all on a pair of fives.
Tea was amazed at the skills of two determined gamers. But she sensed a level of competitiveness in the two that continued to make her uncomfortable. She still wasn't sure why.
The woman eyed the raised ante, making a mental assessment of how much Yami had just added. She looked upon her own chips then her hand, then back at her chips. Her eyes then returned to her opponent and was met with his violet gaze. Nothing in his eyes revealed his tactics. Did he really have that good of a hand? Returning her gaze to her own hand, she sighed. To her, it wasn't worth it. She folded. Yami had indeed won on a pair of fives!
He slowly revealed his hand as his expression now revealed his rarely seen wonderous smile and amused eyes. He was indeed proud of what he had just done. Tea's expression was that of astonishment. This once pharaoh never ceased to amaze her in one way or another. The others players clapped after watching a very well played game and one superb bluff. Yami nodded in thanks, gathered his winnings and prepared to depart. He did not desire to challenge this woman a third time. Leaving while ahead was always a smart choice and he still wasn't sure if she was a master or not. As he and Tea were just about to pass her, she gently grabbed Yami by his arm.
"Well played young man. I wish to know the name of the one who defeated me soundly with a mere bluff."
"You may call me Yami ma'am."
"Well, Yami, I may wish to challenge you again someday. Here is my card." she said with a soft purr that made Tea's spine chatter.
Yami thanked her and accepted her card before walking off with Tea. He could sense Tea's discomfort. When they were some distance away, Yami and Tea glanced at the card.
"Kaiba Corporation-American subsidiary. VP-Operations." Tea read aloud as Yami looked at the very familiar logo upon the card.
"Kaiba." he muttered before stealing another glance at the woman. It was her eyes! Was she somehow related to Seto? Her eyes seemed so much like his, yet he said that only he and Mokuba were known kin. She worked for his company, but with Kaiba Corporation so vast, perhaps Seto had never met her personally. He made a mental note to someday confront Kaiba on the matter.
"I guess Kaiba is everywhere no matter where you go eh?" Tea said sarcastically.
Yami nodded. His nemesis was indeed everywhere in some form, always reminding him of their destiny of past, present, and perhaps future. It was becoming rather unnerving.
"So where to now?" Tea asked as Yami looked over their surroundings.
"Food. I've worked up a decent appetite and I know Yugi's body will demand it if I ignore this need for too long."
"Yugi's body seems so small and slender, yet you two eat as much as Joey and Tristan. Where does it all go?" Tea inquired jokingly.
"I'm not sure myself Tea. Why Yugi gains nothing in weight or height is a mystery even to me and perhaps to him as well. Let's see, Yugi's favorite is those hamburger things. If I recall correctly, America is known for hamburgers. Let's find some of those. It'll please Yugi."
"It definitely would." Tea replied.
The two found a burger stand down the Strip that had chunky, flame kissed, juicy (greasy) burgers. Even Yami found them enticing despite himself. It wasn't much of a shock to see two other familiar figures there. Those figures' names: Joey and Tristan.
"Hey you two, finally emerge from the cavern of love?" Joey taunted with a wink.
"Joey, for your information, WE just came from a casino. Yami bet on the horses and poker." Tea replied, slightly miffed at Joey's teasing. Hadn't he learned to put his foot in his mouth when around Yami?
Luckily for Joey, Yami was preoccupied. He was busy getting an order of burgers and onion rings. Yugi didn't really like onion rings, but Yami did. "Tea, shall I order something for you?"
"Just a small order of french fries Yami. Thanks."
"C'mon Tea, those burgers are reeeally good." Joey said.
"No thanks. Unlike you, packing the pounds in the gut, doesn't appeal to me."
"Touche!" Tristan remarked before getting a deadly stare from his best friend. He shut himself up by stuffing another large bite of burger into his mouth.
Yami returned to their table with the food. He had two burgers, a large order of onion rings, and Tea's order of fries. He wolfed down one burger quickly.
"Woah...who would've guessed that Joey could be beaten by an ancient pharaoh in meat gulping. He inhaled that one Jo!" Tristan noted.
"He probably hasn't eaten in a while plus he's eating for Yuge too. I doubt he doesn't that normally...do ya?"
"Don't know. I can't remember the past and this is the first few days I've been in my true form. Perhaps it's Yugi's desire for these things. It's still his body."
"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that. So, did you win a big wad of moo-lah?"
"Enough." Yami replied indifferently. Money didn't matter much to him aside from the desire to assist Yugi or his grandfather whenever they needed some.
"Hey, I was thinking...if that's still Yugi's body...if YOU slept with a girl and knocked her up, who would be the father...you or Yugi? I mean, the girl saw you, yet it wasn't your sperm right? It would be Yugi's right?"
"Joey! Eeew, not while I'm eating!" Tea yelled as she flung a fry into her gross friend's face.
Yami ignored the question, though this wasn't the first time this question had been brought up. Granted Joey and Tristan were adolescents and sex was a common topic among teen boys, it still was an awkward one for the once ruler who hadn't seen any action of such in over three thousand years and if he did have any action in the past, he sure didn't remember it. Yugi's teenage body didn't help matters at all. This was a subject he simply chose to avoid so he let Tea talk him out of it thanks to her own discomfort with it.
"Hey uh, doesn't Yugi HATE onions?" Joey said as he sensed a need to change the subject.
//Yeah, I HATE onions Yami!//
/You're awake partner?/
//About the onions...//
/They're good for you./
//Granpa says that all the time. Doesn't mean I eat them.//
/You're not. I am./
//I'm not going to win this one am I?//
/Afraid not. I rather like the taste, texture, and smell of these things. I did get your hamburgers. So, we both win./
Yugi said no more from within his soul room. Yami was a master of debate. He would get no further with him on the onion issue.
"He hates onions, but he knows they are good for him." Yami replied, answering Joey's question.
"You just talked to him didn't ya?"
"Sure."
"So, he's awake?"
"In a matter of speaking."
"Man, I'm never going to get used to this two souls one body thing." Joey said as he shook his head.
"You can't even get used to the one soul one body thing Joey." Tristan shot back.
"Huh?"
"Exactly. Your own soul and body have their own issues."
"No issues."
"Oh that's right, you're one big issue."
"Take that back!"
"Make me."
It was then that Yami had to interrupt his meal to pull the two friends apart from each others throats. Like Yugi, Yami was getting used to these little occassions of disagreement. Tea simple rolled her eyes. Boys seem to always be boys, no matter how old they are.
Before Tristan or Joey could say anything, Yami stuffed hot dogs into both their mouths. Tea giggled. Yami always seemed to know how to counter a situation.
The two boys enjoyed their hot dogs without another word. It was free food for them afterall.
Once they had finished their meal, they all agreed that they would go say farewell to Mai since they would be leaving on a flight back to Japan in the morning. They would then meet up with Yugi's grandfather in the evening for dinner.
They found Mai working the blackjack table at a casino just as she was when they first met her. She asked for a break so she could talk to them.
"So you're returning in the morning eh?"
"Yes." Yami replied.
"It's been nice seeing you all again...especially you Joey." Mai added with a wink.
"Shall we be seeing you again soon?" Yami asked mostly for the benefit of Joey who was speechless and tearing up. He had a soft side every now and then and the group had grown used to his soft side when he was around Mai.
"Perhaps. In a couple of months, I will be returning to Japan to assist Kaiba in a new upgrade for the Duel Monsters holoprojectors."
Again Kaiba. Yami briefly rolled his eyes at the mention of his adversary's name yet again, but he regained his composure before any of the others even noticed. "I see. Well, I'm sure we'll meet again while you're there."
"I look forward to it."
All said their good byes to her as she was called back to work. She waved back and returned to her table. When only Joey was looking, she blew a kiss to him. He smiled and waved back.
Later that evening, the gang met up with Yugi's grandfather. Yami remained though he informed the others that Yugi would return prior to bedtime and be with them through the flight to Japan. Yami gave Grandpa nearly all of the earnings. In the spare hours after meeting Mai, he had returned to the casinos a final time to increase his earnings. The cashier's check he gave grandpa was for $50,000. Grandpa gasped initially, as did Joey and Tristan, but Yami was afterall, the pharaoh who was known for his gaming skills and mastery of wagers.
Once dinner was finished, all returned to their rooms to pack and wind down. It would be a long flight and not a good thing if there were over-energized, antzy teenagers aboard, especially if their names were Joey, Tristan, and yes, even Yugi. Joey and Tristan went off to buy some souveniers while Yami walked Tea to her room.
"It was a pleasure to spend time with you Tea."
"As it was with you too Yami."
For a moment, both were locked in a strange gaze. Suddenly, without her even being aware, Yami had closed the distance between them. With one smooth gesture, he managed to dip her backwards and locked his lips onto hers. It was a deep, passion-filled kiss and it sent heat splashed shivers through her entire body. She was stunned, but she didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, he pulled away as they both needed to breathe. As he released her, she felt her legs give way. Only the door frame kept her standing.
"I owed you one Tea. Now, the debt has been paid." he replied softly with a smirk. He had said he'd get even with her, and now he had...in his own way. He had stolen a kiss. While she didn't initially understand why he chose such a method, she soon realized its meaning. It was something she'd always dreamed of and now with a taste, she'd be left always wanting more of something she'd probably never get again. He then said goodnight and returned to his own room.
In the bathroom, Yami prepared to exchange places with Yugi.
//Did you enjoy Vegas partner?//
"Yes Yugi, I did."
//Did you enjoy Tea partner?// Yugi asked with the hint of jealous contempt in his voice.
"I did that for you. Now you know how to properly kiss a lady."
//Now she's gonna want you even more!//
"Not if you learn from me. You and me are one and the same. She knows that. You just need to understand that too."
//Maybe. Look, let's just change. Those onions you ate are going to have a nasty effect on me and it'd be best if I handled my own body at that time.//
"Heheh, if you say so partner."
//It's not funny Yami.//
"I'm sorry partner. I do need a decent rest afterall." Yami replied as he began the incantation to change their appearance once again.
Yugi changed into his pajamas before returning to the bedroom. His grandfather was finishing a newspaper.
"Well granpa, did you enjoy the gaming convention?"
"It was rather informative Yugi. I have made arrangements for some new games to be shipped to the game shop."
"Really? Cool!"
"So how was Vegas for you and the pharaoh?"
"It was okay, but I think I want to visit Vegas when I'm a bit older and can enjoy it better. Vegas is the Disney World for adults. All its games are off limits to kids my age. But, Yami did seem to have a very good time as you can see from the winnings he gave you."
"An ancient pharaoh who's skilled at gaming inhabiting my grandson's body does have his uses."
"Grandpa!"
"Yugi, you need to lighten up a little. I was just joking."
"Well, I'm not sure if the pharaoh takes kindly to jokes about himself."
"I'm sorry Yugi."
Yugi snuffed. "Goodnight Grandpa."
"Goodnight Yugi."
The return flight was uneventful thanks to Joey and Tristan deciding to remain up all night long doing who knew what. Both slept nestled to one another on the flight all the way back to Japan. Yugi and Tea couldn't pass up the photo opportunity of it. Joey and Tristan would never remember let alone admit to. The pictures might keep them in line some time. Halfway through the journey, Tea too, fell asleep. She wished to continue the dream she had that previous night. A dream of a king, in the desert night, atop a white stallion, riding amongst pyramids and obelisks.
Yugi spent the time with his grandfather looking over and chatting about various catalogs and other gaming paraphenila that his grandfather had acquired from the convention.
And thus ends this little tale of the King of Games and his visit to the City of Games.
Author's Note: I hoped you enjoyed my little story. Yes, I know there's some plot lines that could be explored further, but I don't intend a sequel right away, if I do one at all. I have a few other projects to work on that I had set aside to complete this story. A special thank you to those of you who reviewed or commented on this fic as I went along and continue to do so. It is usually reviews/comments and kind words that inspire me to continue or do more. :)