Lion's Mouth: Part I (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Chapter 4

"Mysterious,
That's what I call you
I'm curious about you
I'm scared, and I'm not sure that you are safe
But your eyes seem to say that you are good"

– "Lion" by Rebecca St. James

Chapter 4

Joey noted that the scream we heard sounded like Mai's voice. Sure enough, as we followed the sound, we eventually came upon a dueling arena. We were just in time to see Mai lose a duel against a tough looking man.

"Mai, are you ok?" said Yugi as we ran over to her.

Mai glanced at us in surprise. "You're too late," she said, sadness rolling off her like waves.

It turned out that the guy with a scary aura was Panik, and he was paid by Pegasus to eliminate duelists from the tournament by beating them in duels and taking all off their star chips. He was an eliminator – and he had just defeated Mai. I felt bad for the woman. She came off rough, but it felt like we were starting to see who she really was.

Panik laughed. "She was one of my easiest victims yet." He pushed Mai towards us.

"You creep!" Joey exclaimed. He started to run towards him, but Bakura and Tristan held him back.

I clenched my teeth as I took in not only Mai's emotions but those of my friends. This was totally unfair. Mai had always come off as condiment and determined, but I could sense she had a broken spirit. What right did this Panik guy have to do that to her? I caught Yugi's eye, and I could feel sympathy coming from him. Could he feel Mai's emotions through me because they were so strong or did he have a natural – normal – ability for empathy?

"Firsts aren't the answer," Yugi said, glancing at Joey. "Violence won't solve anything." He lowered his head, and I suddenly felt a wave of complicated emotions coming from him that overpowered Mai's. "I've dealt with a lot of bullies in my life and I'm afraid there's only one way to deal with them." I felt shocked as I watched him walk over to Panik. He had been bullied? What he said next surprised me even more. "You have to stand up to them."

His courage amazed me. It was clear that he had a lot of problems in his life, but he had learned to deal with them the right way, which was more than I could say for myself. I sucked in a sharp breath at the power I felt as the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle took over. "A-are you sure about this?" I said.

The Spirit turned and looked me right in the eyes. "I am." A shiver ran down my spine, yet I felt surprisingly calm. I nodded. My emotions were in check. Bakura glanced at me curiously, but I could not read his feelings.

Yugi challenged Panik to a duel. The two of them took their places on the arena. Panik proceeded to taunt and threaten his opponent. According to Mai, this guy was ruthless and even had her scared. I bit my lip as I watched in worry. I told myself that Yugi and the Spirit were strong. I sensed no fear from either of them. They had more confidence than I could ever hope for.

Yugi wagered all of his star chips to get back Mai, which Panik agreed to. "The bet makes no difference to me," he said.

"What do you mean?" said Yugi.

"What I mean, little Yugi, is that when you duel against Panik, you're putting just more than your measly star chips on the line." He activated a device that shackled Yugi to the platform by his ankles. Then flames roared in a fountain by his sides, barely missing him. "Much more."

"Yugi!" I cried. Something propelled my forward, but I was held back. I turned to see Bakura looking at me with wide eyes. "I – I'm fine." But I was shaking in fear. As my friend touched my arm to comfort me, I realized something. "He's not the one who's afraid. It's me." Yugi was not intimidated in the least. I was the one who was afraid for him. Something flickered in Bakura's eyes, but he did not move his hand. I bit my lip and looked back at the dueling platform.