'Welcome to Duelist Kingdom' a guard said as they departed the boat. The island was already beginning to fill with duelists from all around the world, as everyone looked around expectantly for their host and to size up the rest of the competition.
'If you'd like to come this way, Pegasus will welcome you all momentarily' another suit appeared gesturing toward the castle in front of them. Hikari followed his arm and focused on what he was pointing at, there, nestled on top of a cliff, one of the grandest buildings she'd ever seen. Sandstone bricks made up the body of the castle and the large stained glass windows reflected thousands of rainbows over the staircase leading up to the courtyard. Her stomach suddenly knotted, for a moment, she felt like that scared little girl all over again hiding behind her father. Hikari just shook her head, Not this time she thought, squaring her jaw toward the castle This time is different.
Yugi noticed Hikari staring at the castle and gave her forearm a reassuring squeeze which broke her out of her reverie, looking down at Yugi she gave a small smile, she was glad he was here.
'C'mon slowpokes!' Tea called from ahead of them, Hikari looked over at her friend, not even realising they were already walking to the castle.
'Shall we?' Hikari asked turning her attention back to Yugi.
He gave a determined nod and started the long walk up the stairs.
'Man, Pegasus couldn't afford an elevator?' Tristan asked as he leaned against a wall at the top of the mountain of stairs the group had just climbed. Tea and Hikari giggled while Tristan shot them a look of disapproval.
'Ladies and Gentleman' a voice boomed from a group speakers set up around the courtyard 'Please welcome your host, and creator of Duel Monsters, Maximillion Pegasus!'

Right on cue, Pegasus stepped out from the double doors of the castle and waved at the group of duelists below him. Hikari's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the man on the balcony, his straight silver hair just as she remembered, in place of the khaki shorts and button down he wore while in Cairo he now wore an extravagant red suit, Hikari swallowed reflexively. 'Welcome Duelists!' he declared, holding his arms out as a welcome. 'You have all been invited here due to your incredible skills! Around the island are dueling arenas where the competition will take place' Hikari began to focus more closely 'To enter the castle, and be in with a chance to win the grand prize, you must wager up your star chips at the start of every duel, you are granted access to the castle when you win ten star chips!' Pegasus rose his glass toward everyone 'When the sky fills with fireworks, the tournament officially begins! Good luck.'
The group of duelists below cheered as Pegasus smiled as his eyes found Yugi and his friends, his eyes slightly narrowing as his gaze rested on them.
As they reached the bottom of the stairs, the friends began to head further into the island, readying themselves for the dueling to come. Hikari took her deck out from her pocket and thumbed through it, she was confident that her deck would see her through whatever challenge she was given, Yugi noticed Hikari's shuffling, 'Heart of the cards' he smiled at her.
She nodded.

Suddenly, explosions rocked the sky as bright colours rained over the island. The tournament has officially begun.
'Yeah!' Joey cheered 'Time to kick some Duelist Kingdom butt!'
Tristan chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm 'Just be careful Joey, you gotta pick your first opponent carefully, these guys are seriously talented' he added more seriously.
Tea agreed 'Tristan's right, Joey! This is your first tournament, so picking your first duel will be really important'
'Alright, alright' Joey conceded, looking around 'Now, who looks like a good first duel?'
Yugi and Hikari joined him sizing up the other duelists, there were some Hikari recognised from the televised regional championships, others that she had never seen or heard of before, this could be dangerous she thought, biting her lip as her eyes continued to scan over the groups.
The group began walking further into the island past the small groups, hoping that their first duel will find them instead of having to challenge someone. Yugi stopped suddenly, his heels digging into the dirt beneath him, his gaze pinpointed to a figure between the trees. 'Weevil!' he yelled, pointing at him 'I challenge you to a duel!'
The creep that threw his Exodia cards into the ocean! Hikari thought, narrowing her eyes at the blue-haired boy. Weevil laughed as he turned running into the forest behind him. 'Come back here Weevil!' Yugi yelled as he ran after him, the rest of the group in tow.
'Where's this guy taking us?' Tea panted as she tried to keep pace.

They arrived at a clearing a small way into the forest, a dueling arena took centre stage, surrounded by clusters of trees, Hikari was reminded of the arena that Yugi beat Kaiba in - could that only have been three weeks ago? She thought. Weevil had already climbed on top of the platform 'Let's duel little Yugi!' he goaded, laughing grotesquely.
'You're on Weevil!' Yugi called back, his eyes filling with determination as he stepped up onto the platform.
'C'mon Yugi, squish this creep!' Tristan called.
'Yeah! Show this guy who's boss!' Tea cheered. Hikari looked quizzically at her friends, Weevil is regional champion she thought dejectedly. Without Exodia in his deck, Yugi doesn't stand a chance.
'It's time to duel, Weevil!' a deep voice boomed across the arena, powerful, confident and full of passion.
'Yami' Hikari breathed as she gazed up at the boy. His purple eyes found hers and he smiled, full of warmth. Hikari took a deep breath before calling up to him 'You can do it! We're all right here!' her green eyes sparkled as she watched Yami on the platform.

The duel started, with Weevil flaunting his field power bonus adding 500 attack and defense points to his bug cards by choosing the arena in the forest, but Yami countered with using a field power bonus of his own, on a small Wasteland portion of the floor.
'Watch out Yugi, as I summon Hercules Beetle! [1950/2600]' cackled Weevil as the large bug appeared in front of him. Tea shivered next to Hikari 'I hate bugs' she whispered. Hikari let out a dry chuckle next to her friend, rubbing the top of her arm 'Good thing he's gonna squish it then!' she said back nudging Tea's shoulder, smiling up at Yami.
'I summon Feral Imp in attack mode! [1300/1400] and I activate my horn of the unicorn magic card to increase the attack points of my monster by 700! [2000/2100]' Yami called, turning over his magic card.
Weevil just stared at the monster and began laughing again. 'Ugh, that sound creeps me out' Tristan said under his breath as Weevil regained composure.
'Too bad that a field power bonus trumps magic cards Yugi!' as he declared an attack. Hikari grimaced as Yami's life points dipped to 1800.

The duel continued, with Weevil building his incest cards up to a formidable level.
'There's nothing he can do' a voice came from the crowd that gathered behind them. Tea and Hikari turned to see a blonde girl walking towards them. 'Weevil is a regional champ, Yugi doesn't stand a chance, even if he did beat Kaiba' she flipped her hair.
Hikari gritted her teeth, don't lose your temper she chanted to herself, remaining quiet. So, she was surprised when Tea made an outburst. 'And how would you know?' she growled at the girl 'Yugi has more skill in his little finger than Weevil does in his whole body!'
The girl seemed unfazed 'Yeah, right' she scoffed looking over 'And what are you guys? The cheer squad?' she laughed.
Joey turned and stepped between Tea and the girl before she lost it. 'I remember you!' he said quickly 'You're Mai Valentine! I saw you on the boat on the way over' a flash of recognition in his eyes.
'That's right hon, and when Yugi is knocked out of the competition, I'll crush Weevil and take all of his star chips, heading straight to the finals!' she held up here glove, already five star chips were in place on the cuff.
'Hey look guys!' Tristan called the group's attention back to the duel 'I think Yugi is up to something'
Hikari looked over, Tristan was right, Yami had a smirk on his face. What's his plan? She wondered looking at the field.
'Say goodbye to your facedown card, Yugi!' Weevil yelled, declaring his basic insect to attack.
'Not so fast, Weevil!' Yugi countered, turning over a face-down card 'You forgot about my trap card, Mirror Force!'
Hikari gasped as the bug's attack deflected away from Yugi's Dark Magician and destroyed every monster on Weevil's side of the field, bringing his life points down to 555.
'Yeah! Way to go Yugi!' Tea called, giving a side eye to Mai who looked on in shock.
Mai looked in disbelief before composing herself 'Well, what do you know? Yugi might even have a shot at winning'
Yami was doing well, activating Weevil's trap cards prematurely and keeping his monsters at bay.
'Hey, guys, what is that thing?' Tea asked, pointing to a cocoon on Weevil's side of the field.
'Oh no' Hikari breathed, she remembered this strategy from watching Weevil play in the championships. 'It's a cocoon of evolution, and the thing that comes out of it is bad news' she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She remembered seeing this strategy of Weevil's during the regionals.
Weevil was laughing on his platform as the cocoon pulsated on the field, 'In a few turns, my monster will devastate the rest of your life points! There's nothing you can do!'
Yami gritted his teeth as he drew his next card. 'We'll see about that, as I summon Gaia The Fierce Knight in attack mode! [2300/2100]' as he declared his attack, the group held their breath.
'Sorry, Yugi! You didn't even scratch the surface of my cocoon!' Weevil said triumphantly, as Yami's life points went down to 750.
Yami exhaled forcefully 'This duel isn't over yet'
'It might as well be! In two more turns, my creature will be released!' he yelled.
'C'mon Yug! Take this guy down!' Joey yelled from the side, his fist raised toward Weevil.
'I play Curse of Dragon [2000/1500], in attack mode!' Yami said, as the dragon formed on the field, roaring at Yami's opponent.
'Too late Yugi!' Weevil laughed 'My Great Moth has been released from its cocoon!' the giant moth in front of him, beating its wings, spraying the arena with poison [2600/2500].
Yami chuckled.
'What?!' Weevil yelled angrily across the field 'What's so funny?!'
'You were so focused on your cocoon, that you failed to see my facedown card!' Yami laughed as Weevil gasped in shock. 'Polymerisation! Which I'll use to fuse Gaia and my Dragon together to form, Gaia The Dragon Champion!' Yami's monster came together, flying level with Weevil's moth [2600/2100]. 'Now our monsters are of equal strength' Yami smiled.
'Yeah! Alright, Yugi!' Tea jumped, cheering. Hikari smiled up at Yami, He might actually do this she thought.
Weevil stood silent for a beat, then started laughing again. Tristan and Joey who were busy celebrating, refocused their attention on the battle 'What's that guy laughing for now?' Tristan asked, his voice growing angry.
'You think that'll be enough to stop my monster?' he kept laughing, 'Look again Yugi! Thanks to my moth's special ability it decreases the attack power of your Dragon Champion's attack points!'
Yami gasped 'Oh no, he's right!' he saw his monsters attack points decrease down to 1900.
'Now my Great Moth, attack!' A gust flew from the monster's wings, shattering Yami's monster into pieces, he held up his arms to protect himself from the residual blast. Hikari's breath caught as Yami's life points dropped down to 50.
'Oh no' Tristan said, looking up 'This is bad'
'Hey!' Joey hit him on the shoulder 'Have a bit more positivity will ya! This is Yugi we're talkin' about, he'll have a way outta this!' looking back over at his friends.
'This duel is far from over, Weevil! I activate Maiku, which cancels out the poison of your Moth!' a mist descended over the arena, dampening everything. Weevil looked confused before shrugging 'It hardly matters, there's no monster in your deck that can stand up to my Great Moth!' his jaw tensing.
'Oh really?' Yami asked 'I summon my Summoned Skull in attack mode!'
'What is that?' Mai asked, examining the monster that just materialised. Hikari turned, she had been so caught up in the duel, she forgot Mai was still standing there. An edge of superiority came into her voice 'Wait and see' she said, nodding toward the duel.
'Thanks to the effects of my magic card, my Summoned Skull has its electrical attack raised, with more than enough power to take out your Moth! Now, attack!' Yami pointed toward the bug as it was engulfed in a ball of lightning, shattering into pieces. Weevils life points dropped to zero. Yami had won.
'Yeah!' the group cheered, high fiving each other at his victory. 'Way to go!' Hikari felt a grin creep across her face as she looked up at Yami.
'No way!' Mai said, eyes widening 'How did he do that?' she stood dumbstruck as the group ran over to Yugi to congratulate him. Weevil came down from the arena, shell-shocked.
'How could I lose?' he wailed falling to his knees in front of Yami. 'My plan was perfect' he groaned into the dirt, his hand went to his glove, taking the star chips from the slot, 'Here, just take them' he said meekly, turning away from the group. Yami placed the star chips in his gauntlet, holding it up to look at them as they caught the broke from her statue, as she walked over 'I can't believe it!' she said looking at Yami 'You actually beat Weevil!' she closed her eyes as she shook her head, 'Maybe I'll save my duel for you another day, Yugi' she smiled 'Looks like I'll see you in the finals!' she winked and walked off.

Tea and Hikari exchanged a look as if to say 'Yeah right' they broke into a fit of giggles. When Hikari turned back, it wasn't Yami standing in front of her, but the small boy she knew so well.
'Now what?' Joey asked, eager to get going.
'Want to walk back to the meadow?' Tristan asked 'There were loads of duelists there when we left, I'm sure we can find another challenger somewhere'
'What are we waiting for?!' Joey practically ran to the opening in the trees 'Let's do it!'
Tea and Hikari hung back from the boys as they ran off, linking arms as they took a more leisurely pace.

'How are you doing?' Tea asked as they walked along the trail.
Hikari just shrugged 'Nervous, worried, can't get rid of this bad feeling in my stomach' she listed 'take your pick'
Tea looked over at Hikari, her eyes full of concern. 'Are you worried about your dad?' she asked gently, trying to gauge her reaction.
Hikari bit her lip to stop it from quivering. 'Yeah' she admitted 'I don't know where he's gone this time, and I didn't even get a chance to apologise before he left' her voice low
Tea squeezed the inside of Hikari's arm 'It'll be okay' she said reassuringly, 'Once this is all over, everything will be fine'
'Thanks, Tea' Hikari murmured as they kept walking. 'How about that Mai, girl?' she said, changing the subject.
Tea gave Hikari a grimace and the pair dissolved into fits of laughter.

'Hey, there you are!' Yugi said as Hikari and Tea emerged from the trees. 'So, Hikari, are you gonna duel someone?' he asked, his purple eyes shone with excitement.
'I guess I better!' she smiled, casting her eyes over the crowds. There, on a log near the edge of the forest, a boy sat hunched over a laptop furiously typing looking oblivious to his surroundings. Hikari focused a little closer, she saw the glove on his right hand with two star chips locked into place. 'There' she pointed.
'Alright, let's do it!' Tristen smiled as he gave a gentle punch to Hikari's shoulder.
Hikari walked over to the boy and cleared her throat, he looked up adjusting his glasses. 'Can I help you?' he asked, obviously slightly irritated at the disruption.
Hikari held up her gauntlet 'I challenge you to a duel!' she said evenly, trying to stop the nerves that threatened her voice. A small smile crept across the boy's face. 'Sure' he answered, standing up 'the wager?' he asked.
H ikari bit her lip, turning slightly to see Yugi standing behind her giving her a nod of encouragement. 'Two star chips' she said confidently.
The boy cocked his head slightly as if weighing up the options in his head before nodding once 'You're on'

They walked a small way into the clearing and stepped on one of the arenas that dominated the area. 'You ready?' he challenged, his voice had an edge to it. Hikari nodded as she drew her first card.
'I play my monster in defense mode!' she said, placing her card down 'I end my turn'
Yugi, may I watch? Yami asked in Yugi's head. Hikari was there for me during my duel with Weevil, I'd like to return the favour.
Of course, Yugi replied, raising an eyebrow at Yami. He pretended to not to notice it.
'You can do it Hikari!' Tea called from the side 'Show this guy some girl power!' she gave a thumbs up at her, smiling widely.
'Good to see you have your band of motivators with you' the boy snorted as he summoned a monster. Hikari turned her attention back as she saw his monster appear on the field. 'Widget Kid, attack her face down monster!'
Hikari's Eye of the Mystic appeared briefly before it was destroyed. She smiled.
'What? Why are you smiling?' he demanded 'I just destroyed your monster!'
'Yes, but my monsters special ability allows me to transfer a trap card from my deck to my hand when its destroyed'
The boy's teeth ground together, 'Fine, get your trap card. It won't help you!' he threatened.
'Yeah! You're in for it now!' Joey called to the boy, remembering when Hikari used the same move on him a few weeks ago. She looked down and gave Joey a wink. Her eyes fell on Yami who stood next to him, she smiled slightly before looking back. Adding her trap card to her hand, she drew her next card.
'I summon Guardian Sphinx [1700/2400] in attack mode!' The large Egyptian statue formed on the field 'Attack his Widget Kid with Stone Fist!' she called as her Sphinx raised its massive stone front leg and crushed the boys monster underneath it. 'I also lay one card face down and end my turn' she grinned at her opponent whose face was bent into a grotesque sneer.
'You'll pay for that' he muttered as his life points dropped to 1800. 'I play Leotron in attack mode! [2000/0] and I'll add to his power with this magic card, Cynet Universe, which adds 300 attack points to my monster [2300/0]. Leotron, attack her Sphinx with Lightning Howl!' The cybernetic dog raised its head letting out an ear-splitting howl before charging at the stone statue. Hikari raised her hands up to her face as her Sphinx shattered, her life points going down to 1400.
'You can do it, Hikari!' Tristan called from below 'Don't give up'
Hikari nodded, drawing a card trying to decide a strategy.
'I'm getting older' the boy goaded from the arena 'Come on and make your move!'
Yami studied the expression on Hikari's face, sensing her doubt. 'Believe in your deck, Hikari' he said 'Trust in the heart of the cards'
Hikari's eyes met Yami's he nodded in encouragement. She turned back to her opponent, her eyes blazing with a new passion.
'I summon The End of Anubis in attack mode [2500/0] then I'll activate the magic card Call of Maahes to increase my monsters attack power by 500!' [3000/0] 'Anubis, attack his monster!' Anubis roared, raising his Jackal's head and throwing the spear in his hand toward the cybernetic wolf, who let out a pained howl before shattering. The boy's life points dropped down to 1100.
'Yeah! Way to go Hikari!' Joey jumped with his hand in the air.
'Enough!' the boy yelled 'This ends now!' he drew a card and smiled, Hikari felt a chill run down her spine 'This duel is over. I summon Cyber Dragon, in attack mode!' [2100/ 1600]
Hikari raised an eyebrow, has this kid lost it? She thought looked at the steel dragon in front of her, sure it's powerful, but it's still weaker than my monster. He must be up to something...
'Then I activate these two magic cards, Cybernetic Enhancement which increases my Cyber Dragon's attack power by 800 [2900/1600] and Steel Tornado which reduces the power of your monster by 500' he paused to let it sink in 'Now my Dragon, attack The End of Anubis with Solar Pulse!' Hikari was engulfed in a bright flash of light.
'Hikari!' Yami called, his face a picture of concern 'Are you alright?' he waited for the light to fade and breathed a small sigh of relief as he saw her unharmed. Her life points dropped further, now sitting at 1000. To his surprise, Hikari was laughing as she appeared through the smoke. The boy's eyes widened, 'What?' he demanded, clenching his fists, then he noticed it, looking at Hikari's side of the field he saw a trap card that was played during his attack. 'What gives?!' he asked 'What is that?'
'You activated my trap card' she said, her voice high with excitement 'Imperial Custom, this trap card destroys your monster when it destroys one of mine, you don't lose any life points, but it's worth it to get rid of that dragon.' Hikari felt like she was floating on air, so was so close she could taste it.
The boy just laughed, the sound wasn't as vicious as Weevil's, but it still put Hikari on edge. 'Sorry to disappoint you, but you've not seen the last of my dragon yet!' flipping a card over on the platform 'I play Monster Reborn, to bring back my Cyber Dragon' [2100/1600] 'There's nothing you can do now'
Hikari looked at her hand, he was right. She had nothing left in her hand to stand up to the power of his Dragon. 'I play a monster in defense mode, and end my turn' she said, gritting her teeth. At least my life points will be safe.
'Pathetic' the boy spat, as his Dragon took out her Keeper of Alexandria. Hikari was starting to become flustered.
'C'mon Hikari!' Joey's voice broke through her head 'You can do this!'
'We're right here!' Tristan added, smiling at her.

Yami was silent, but Hikari felt more from him, he placed his hand over his heart and gave her a smile. She drew a card. 'I play Card of Sanctity, which means we both draw until we hold six cards in our hands' she picked up the cards, examining them. There it is! Her eyes widened. Okay, you have to play this carefully she told herself. 'I place two cards face down, and a monster face down in defense mode'
The boy scoffed yet again, destroying Hikari's defense. 'You're stalling little girl, you can't keep defending forever'
Hikari breathed out slowly, it all depended on drawing the right card. If she didn't, she'll lose the duel. Heart of the cards. Raising the card up, she glanced at it. Yes!
'I activate my three magic cards, The First, Second and Third Sarcophagus, which allows me to summon Spirit of The Pharaoh! [2500/2100] but I'm not done, thanks to my Sarcophagus magic cards, my monster gains an additional 200 attack points [2700/2100]' she smiled as the boy looked on in a mixture of confusion and fear. 'I also activate this magic card, Tribute the Pharaoh, which adds 100 attack points for every monster in my graveyard' she paused, letting the boy do the maths [3200/2100].
'B-but, I've sent so many of your monsters to the graveyard' he stammered, taking half a step back. 'That makes your monster strong enough to wipe out the rest of my life points!'
'Now you're getting it' Hikari grinned 'Spirit of the Pharaoh, attack his Cyber Dragon with Judgement of Divine Light!' the monster raised its staff as it ran toward the metal dragon, with one swipe of the weapon, the Dragon shattered, and the boy's life points went down to zero, losing the duel.
'Woohoo!' Tea cheered from the side 'That was amazing!'
Hikari began to descend the platform, bringing herself down to the clearing. The boy shaking his head back and forth, looking at the cards in his hand 'But I..I calculated everything. I shouldn't have lost!'

Hikari went over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, he looked up meeting her gaze.
'That was one of the toughest duels I've ever fought' she said sincerely. 'You played with courage and heart. It was an honour to duel you' she smiled.
The boy paused, searching Hikari's face for any sign of sarcasm. 'T-thank you' he bowed his head.
'Yeah!' Joey added 'You were great up there!' giving him a thumbs up. 'What's yer name kid?'
'Maro' he said, looking down at his feet, his glasses falling down his nose slightly.
'Don't be upset Maro' Joey said kindly 'You gave it everything you had out there. You just gotta focus on getting better for next time'
Maro took a moment, thinking about Joey's words before smiling widely. 'Thanks! I'm gonna work hard at improving my strategy, then we'll have a rematch' he said, looking Hikari in the eye.
She giggled 'I look forward to it'
Maro held out his hand, 'Here, my two star chips. You earned it' he turned his head toward the pier, then sighed gently 'Guess I better get going. It was nice to meet you guys!' Maro waved as he grabbed his deck and laptop and walked in the direction of the port. Tristan, Joey, and Tea waved at him before excitedly talking about the duel that just unfolded.

'Well done' a deep voice came from behind Hikari, she turned to see Yami smiling at her.
'Thank you' she smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear 'I should be thanking you, really' she let out a small laugh. 'It was with your help that I got through that duel' she hesitated 'Plus it was the card you convinced me to put in my deck that won the duel for me'
Yami smiled 'Yes, I suppose it was' he glanced down at her gauntlet 'Here, let me' he murmured, affixing the star chips to the slots in the glove. Hikari tried hard to not focus on how fast her heart was beating. 'There' he said with satisfaction, holding her hand up to admire the four star chips. Their eyes met for a moment before Joey bounded over to them, Yami dropped her hand. 'C'mon guys, it's Joey Wheeler's turn to win' he laughed marching further into the clearing looking for his first duel.
Yami looked at Hikari, 'Shall we?'

She nodded, following the group, her heart still beating hard in her chest.