Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

The Butterfly Effect

Chapter LXXVIII

"So, you want-"

"No, you."

"You sure?"

"Certain."

Something had changed. Something had definitely changed. I didn't know why, I didn't know how, but something, somewhere had changed.

And I was just noticing the effects.

My stance felt wider, firmer. My tone was most certainly different, definitely more confident than I'd ever felt. And if I had simply brushed off Miss Kujaku to the point where I felt guilt for not appreciating her for the growing, professional duelist she was, I was meeting her head-on now, not letting an ounce of that guilt show while wondering if she'd take me seriously because of all of my ignoring of her.

I felt like a duelist. Like a warrior. And while I was grateful for it, I couldn't help but wonder if it was a good thing.

"Alright then. I summon Harpie Lady and activate Harpie's Hunting Ground and end it. Your turn."

Because while I hadn't expected the training itself to be any more influential than it had been, I hadn't expected such a difference in two matches, such a turnaround in mindset.

'Cause while I still wasn't enjoying it, I was facing this with a clear mindset. And a clear goal.

She wasn't taking this seriously. From just her first turn alone, I knew she wasn't. Harpie's Hunting Ground might have given Harpie Lady a boost of two-hundred attack but, if I remembered the parts of her deck that I could remember correctly, she had duplicates and triplicates of every Harpie card available. She was the mistress of the Harpies and she ruled the skies with an iron fist, so she had to have at least some kind of equip to boost Harpie Lady further. Why hadn't she used it? She was giving me a chance.

"Draw."

And if there was one thing I'd learned from the last two matches, it was that, if someone gave you a chance, an opening, you ran with it.

… I had changed.

"Activate Sanctuary in the Sky."

And if the fact that I was willing to take an opportunity a professional thought they could give me didn't prove it, the fact that I was willing to bust her field with my own would have all on its own.

She was going to regret giving me that opening.

"I also summon The Forgiving Maiden in defense and equip her with Horn of Light, boosting her defense to twenty-eight hundred. I then set a card face down and activate another spell, Shackles of Magic Energy."

Really regret it as I watched her eyes go wide while the Shackles took hold of her and me, promising no escape.

I should not have felt as calm as I did. I should not have even smiled. But I did.

"Need I explain?"

"What the hell?!"

And I chuckled, chuckled at her reaction before saying, "Every card we play from now on has a cost of five hundred Life Points. Every activation, summon, and set. Be careful with your card choice."

This was not me. There was no way it was. I was not that heartless. And miss Kujaku… deserved better, didn't she? So why? Why? Why was I…?

… She wasn't taking me seriously. She'd thought I was an easy fight. I wasn't. I didn't want to be. I was going to earn this win and it was going to be Mai at her strongest or nothing at all.

Lilith's tactics, just with different reasoning. We definitely had been two sides of the same coin.

"End turn."

Because there was no jubilance when I noticed Mai drawing and, this time, take a moment to consider her next move. There was joy, yes, but no giddy excitement as I watched her think, looking to my side of the field and back to her hand before voicing something that I wasn't sure I had been expecting, "You know, there were better ways to get my attention than arriving in a helicopter, asking me for a duel and then laying a time-bomb on the field."

But still had me smile a little more openly as I replied, "Are there, though? Certainly when we never really talked?"

"Whose fault is it?"

And laughing a little at her rebuttal.

"I know. This is my apology."

"… I am not repeating myself. Activate Angel's Charity!"

Only to snort at her last comment before she resumed the duel.

There would have been better ways, yes, but would any of them have been acceptable? Through any stretch of the mind, after ignoring miss Kujaku for so long, would simply apologizing and saying that I needed her to step down because her life was going to be in more danger than it had been during Duelist Kingdom acceptable?

No. Not if Yami, Kaiba, and Jonouchi had taught me anything. Not if Jason had been right. Duelist pride wasn't something I could fight.

And if you can't fight it, join it.

"And I summon Harpie Lady Cyber Bondage in attack!"

Time to join it.

The Sky Sage: And so, the battle for the quarterfinals starts. I'd say the in-real-life ride hasn't been as hectic as getting here, but I'd be lying. It's been insane but worth it. So let us hope that Megumi pulls through.

See you guys next week!