Heart of the Duel: A Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction

13: Doubts and Demons

 Kira stared blankly at her bowl filled with some sort of soup as she replayed the horrific moment in her head. Kaiba's scream had not left her mind and it just echoed endlessly. She shifted in her seat next to Yugi as Croquet explained how the tournament would advance in the followed duels. The poor girl didn't even flinch when the Millennium Eye shape floated to the dueler's soups. It only reminded her of the light that had brightly flashed before Kaiba disappeared into that card.

"You okay?" Téa asked, looking concerned.

Kira nodded at her but said nothing and only listened to the others complain.

"Hey mine is eyeball free," Tristan told them as he peered into his soup.

Joey grimaced. "Hey, this is worse than having a fly in my soup."

Kira watched curiously as Yugi picked up the eye from his soup as Croquet suggested. "Each of you has been randomly assigned a letter. Now the island's computer will determine tomorrow's duel match ups."

Téa shifted uncomfortably and said Kira's thoughts out loud. "I wonder who is going to face who."

Kira blinked as the monitor read A vs B and C vs D. She scanned the others around her. It would be Yugi vs Mai and Keith vs Joey.

"The duels are set. Please enjoy this feast because for three of you, tomorrow your long journey will end in failure." Pegasus' servant left the room to leave them to discuss the next day.

The others began to talk to one another but Kira still remained silent. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer and stood up from her chair abruptly, causing it to drag loudly across the floor. Everyone became silent and stared at her. Joey dropped his spoon into the soup in surprise.

"Where are you going, Kira?" Yugi asked her, eyes wide.

"Home," she said simply and pushed the chair back in after standing up. "Seto and Mokuba are gone and I need to save the company."

"That's just what Pegasus wants you to do!" Tristan told her.

Joey nodded. "It's a trap waiting to happen, Kira! You can't go."

"I don't know what else to do!" she shouted out, causing everyone minus Bandit Keith to flinch. "Everything that I knew is gone! My family is gone! Seto and Mokuba are gone!"

"We are still here, Kira." Téa tried to calm her. "We are here for you."

"That's my point!" Kira exclaimed. "You all are here! All of you, especially you Yugi, are next on his list. None of us are safe here! I can't just stand by and watch as we all play and lose Pegasus' sick games! I'm refusing to play! I quit."

'Kira stop!' Yami voice called as she went to leave the room.

"You can't leave, Kira!" Yugi shouted before standing up and chasing after her.

To Kira's relief, no one else followed her as she marched down the hall to the exit.

"Kira!" Yugi ran past her and blocked her way. "I can't let you leave!"

"Then come with me," Kira urged him. "You aren't safe here. I can't protect you. Nobody can."

"You know I can't leave, Kira," he said painfully. "I need to save my grandfather."

"Pegasus won't let you save him, Yugi," she argued, tears starting to flow down her face. "Don't you get it? I don't want to see you lose your soul too. Please, come with me. You can't win."