Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Do You Dream of Me? ❯ Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh, although I have owned several people at the card game.

 

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Finally Professor Yoshimori arrived, bringing another man with him. “Professor Hopkins!” Sugoroku exclaimed. “It has been way too long!”

 

“Hello, my dear old friend,” Hopkins said, smiling. “How's life treating you?”

 

“It's been a little rough lately, but I can't complain.”

 

“I would have thought the boredom of just running a game shop would have killed you.” Hopkins smiled.

 

“There's been enough excitement recently to give me a heart attack! How much did Yoshimori tell you?” Sugoroku led him in to the room where the others were gathered. “Let me introduce you. This is Professor Hopkins, most of you already know Professor Yoshimori: they're old friends of mine from back in my adventurous days.”

 

Seth and Mokuba paid attention. Those names were two they recognized from Seto's researches: he had been looking for a way to bribe or blackmail them into working for him. This might be informative after all.

 

“These are my grandson Yugi,” Sugoroku continued with the introductions.

 

“I recognize him from the pictures you've sent. Hello, Yugi. I hope you can meet my granddaughter Rebecca soon: I think you have a lot in common. She would be here, but she's participating in an online tournament right now.”

 

“What game?”

 

“Duel Monsters. She's the American Champion.” He was clearly very proud of her.

 

“Duel Monsters?” Anzu asked

 

“Oh, yeah, that's what they were calling Magic & Wizards at Death-T,” Jou remembered.

 

“That's the official name in America.” Seth leaned forward. “The original Japanese expansion was called Magic and Wizards, but Mr. Pegasus, the creator, was very annoyed at the renaming so it's called Duel Monsters here as well now.”

 

“I hadn't heard of that.” Sugoroku was surprised.

 

“It was only a week ago,” Mokuba told him. “Seto gets the latest news. The card production of the old labels hasn't even stopped yet.”

 

“Good to know.” Sugoroku nodded. “Thank you, I believe Yugi said it was Seth?”

 

Seth nodded. “That is fine.”

 

“Seth?” Professor Hopkins looked confused. “You seem familiar.”

 

“My big brother is famous!” Mokuba piped up. “He's the World Champion!”

 

“I thought that was a Seto Kaiba?”

 

“That is my light.”

 

“Your light?” Yoshimori asked, hanging back against the wall. He seemed nervous to be here, and kept looking at Yugi. Sugoroku didn't push him: it took a very good friend to put so much work into this when he had had such a horrible experience.

 

“Yugi isn't the only one with an ancient spirit,” Sugoroku explained.

 

“Seto acquired this after learning of the Puzzle.” Seth revealed the Millennium Rod.

 

“The Millennium Scepter!” Hopkins looked fascinated. “Two out of the seven mystic Millennium Items right in front of me! And everyone said they were just legends.” His expression conveyed his opinion of that nonsense.

 

“So you do know of them?” Yami asked.

 

“Yes I do.” Hopkins nodded. “At least, as much as any archaeologist does. Are you Yugi's spirit? Yami, right?”

 

“Yes, I am.” He bowed.

 

Hopkins stepped forward and took his hand. “It's really a dream come true to meet the legendary Pharaoh.”

 

“Pharaoh?” several said at once.

 

“Yes, the legendary Pharaoh who locked the evil away in the mystic Millennium Items. Gathering the seven together will grant great power… I should start from the beginning, shouldn't I.”

 

“Yes, you should. Please sit down, old friend.” Sugoroku gestured to the last two chairs.

 

“Thank you, Solomon.” Hopkins sat down, Yoshimori remained standing.

 

“Solomon?” Yugi asked.

 

“Yes, Solomon was his old nickname.” Hopkins smiled. “Because you were an insufferable know-it-all who was always right.”

 

“Insufferable? Well, you weren't complaining when I saved your life.” Sugoroku snorted.

 

“You saved his life, Gramps?” Jou was curious.

 

“There was a cave-in at a dig and I became sick from the heat and lack of water. We were dueling for the water but he let me win. Out of thanks, I gave him my Blue Eyes White Dragon.”

 

Seth's eyes narrowed. So this was one of the holders of the card. “The Blue-Eyes?”

 

“Yes. I found it in a pack my granddaughter gave me: I taught her the game so I could play it with her. Like a lot of the other monsters, it resembled ancient Egyptian carvings from around five thousand years ago. But since this monster was on the Friendship tablet that Ms. Ishtar uncovered, it was very special to me.”

 

“I'm afraid it was destroyed, Professor.” Sugoroku sighed.

 

“Destroyed?” Hopkins's eyes widened. “How?”

 

“Well… things have been interesting times lately, I'm afraid.”

 

“It was my light. The monster has a connection to us, and he was angry it chose another over him.” Seth shrugged. “I could compensate you.”

 

“It was a token of our friendship.” Sugoroku looked slightly disgusted. As if money could compensate for that.

 

“The Blue Eyes White Dragon? A connection to you?” Hopkins was getting more and more excited. “Of course! The wielder of the Millennium Scepter is the one commanding the Blue Eyes White Dragon on the Friendship tablet!”

 

“What is this Friendship tablet?” Yami queried, also interested.

 

“A few years ago, a Ms. Ishtar became part of the Egyptian Antiquities Bureau and uncovered some treasures that had been misfiled in their collection and lost. Among them was a five thousand-year-old tablet depicting a duel between a Pharaoh and a High Priest of Set. The Pharaoh wore the Millennium Puzzle and had a hair style incredibly like your son's, Sugoroku, and the Priest wielded the Millennium Rod. Also, the Pharaoh commanded the Dark Magician you used against me in our duel, and the Priest commanded the Blue Eyes White Dragon.”

 

Everyone looked at Seth and Yami. Seth nodded, looking at Yami.

 

“That sounds right, but there is more to the story.” Yami was frustrated by his lack of memory.

 

“The inscription on the tablet spoke of the enduring friendship of the two combatants. One could interpret it as the desire to meet again in the future. I believe that you two, now I have met you, are the fulfillment of this prophecy.” Hopkins smiled. “It's just too much of a coincidence. The Millennium Puzzle found by Sugoroku, handed over to his grandson, who looks like the Pharaoh and solves the Puzzle for the first time in almost five thousand years, and then you, Seth, and Seto Kaiba, a champion at a game based on the ritual magical combats those two were champions of.”

 

“Duel Monsters? Magical combat? Yami can summon monsters from the cards,” Jou added.

 

“He can? Could I see?” Hopkins looked enthralled, all his theories about to be validated. Yoshimori looked away.

 

Yami and Yugi looked at each other, clearly conversing. “A weak one should be okay,” Yugi theorized. “It's taking a lot of power for him to have his own body. He should maybe be able to keep it up for another hour without going unconscious.”

 

“A weak one is fine. Although it would be a dream come true to see the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Not that this whole night isn't a dream come true! It's a pity I can't share this my colleagues. Who's the crackpot now?” Hopkins laughed.

 

“Hopkins is rather famous for being eccentric, but having great results,” Yoshimori explained.

 

“It will be a pleasure to do this for a friend of Sugoroku-sama.” Yami smiled, and a Kuriboh appeared in a swirl of shadows.

 

“Kree.” It looked up at Yami. “Kree!” It hopped up on Yugi's lap. Yugi smiled and pet it.

 

“Amazing! Wait until Rebecca sees this!” Innocent joy showed on his face. A pure soul and a true gamer, to see power and not want to use it to his advantage.

 

“It might be possible for you to learn how to do this,” Yami told him. “It is not hard for a true gamer. You could learn as well, Jou-sama.”

 

“What about me?” Anzu asked.

 

Yami shook his head. “You have the heart, but you dream of dancing, not of games.”

 

“Are you calling me obsessive?” Jou asked. “I'm nowhere near as bad as Yugi. I just enjoy gaming as much as the next guy.”

 

Yami shook his head. “Anzu's power is already focused. You still lack a focus. I would like to teach you, if you are willing. Yugi would want me to.”

 

Yugi nodded. “He's already teaching me. It would be great to have someone else to practice with.”

 

“Ah, I'll think about it.” This could possibly be cool. But he didn't want to sell his soul or anything freaky. He hated ghosts and spirits.

 

“I am already teaching Mokuba a little, just enough for his own defense,” Seth added. “It is harmless if your teacher knows what they are doing and the student is not a fool.”

 

“It's really cool!” Mokuba grinned. “I can make myself invisible! See?” He disappeared.

 

They watched, awed. After five seconds Seth reached for Mokuba's shoulder. “That's enough. Don't get tired out demonstrating. What if you need this power later?”

 

Mokuba appeared again and nodded. “I know it's a bad idea to let other people know what I can do, but these guys are okay, and I wanted to show off.”

 

Seth smiled. “There's nothing wrong with a little fun among friends, yes.”

 

“So you and Yami were friends?”

 

“That feels correct.” Seth frowned. “It is incredibly frustrating to only have these vague feelings. I am used to, as a game master, having control over my own mind.”

 

Yami nodded. “Our control has been stripped from us.”

 

“It was necessary, but the torment was not. I still would have done it.” Memories of pain overshadowed by resolution.

 

Yami's eyes widened. “You… you chose to be imprisoned?”

 

“To help you. I am sure of it. Eternal rivals. I am certain of that as well.” A predatory grin that Yami matched. “I will not rest until I defeat you.”

 

“I look forward to it, and to beating you again afterwards.”

 

Yugi laughed. “You two are really true gamers. So that makes you my rival, Jou.”

 

“What, me?” Jou pointed at himself.

 

“You're my best friend, right? And I need a rival to fight against so I get better. Please?”

 

Despite himself, Jou felt really touched. “Sure.” Now he just needed money to buy more cards.

 

“I'm going to be staying in Japan for a few weeks to collaborate with Professor Yoshimori here and attend a conference. Domino Museum just received a donation for Egyptian exhibits.”

 

“From Kaiba Corporation.” Professor Yoshimori glanced at Seth, who only smiled.

 

“Is that so? But I would like my granddaughter to meet you. If you are offering lessons, I would have loved to take you up on it a decade or so ago, but this old dog isn't up for many new tricks.” Hopkins laughed.

 

“The same for me, Yugi.” Sugoroku smiled at him.

 

Yugi pouted. “Ah, Grandpa, you're not old. And I really wanted to duel against you for real, with magic. Yami says you have a lot of talent for it, and I'm sure you could learn really fast. You're the best.”

 

“Have you discovered anything else? Such as where the Ring is?” Seth asked, to get the conversation back on topic.

 

“The Ring? Then you know where the others are?”

 

“Your Ms. Ishtar holds the Torque, her brother used to hold the Rod,” a smirk, “Shadi holds the Ankh and Scales, Pegasus holds the Eye, and Yugi is the chosen of the Puzzle. But the Ring was stolen years ago and none of my light's sources have any idea what happened to it.”

 

“Really? Ms. Ishtar holds a Millennium Item?”

 

“Her half of the Gravekeeper tribe was entrusted with two.” Seth nodded. “I bet her tribe is the source of that tablet, not some misfiling. She has proven… difficult to get information from, but she might be willing to talk to us. It is her duty to the Pharaoh. Professor Yoshimori?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Ms. Ishtar is arranging for museum exhibits of certain artifacts to tour the world. Part of that endowment is to fund bringing that exhibit here.”

 

That was an order. Yoshimori understood it. “A second Egyptian exhibit so soon? It might be hard to get the curators to agree.”

 

“I will see to that. Start making the arrangements.” Seth was clearly used to power. Well, a high priest would have had power.