Chapter 8: Thanks for the Memories
It was the final day of Satisfaction Town's Autumn Festival. The Enforcers sat in the dining area looking at the map, and discussing their plans.
"Aww, I can't believe today's the last day…" whined West.
"Yes, I feel like we didn't get to do everything we wanted to do," sighed Nico.
"Do not worry about it. There's always next year's festival to look forward to," said Sergio.
"Your father is right," reassured Kalin. "We should cherish these memories." As the silver-haired man said that, his fingers fell onto a page that read: "Sing-Off Concert." The other members looked at him in confusion.
"Sing-off concert?" asked Crow. "What does that mean?"
"It's a sort of competition where teams of up to five members sign up and compete in a singing contest," replied Kalin.
"And you want to participate?" asked Yusei. Kalin nodded.
"But we barely know how to sing!" complained Jack.
"Yeah, last time we sung, we were just joking around!" added Crow.
"Don't worry about it. The competitors don't have to be pros. It's just a friendly competition. So, what do you all say?" laughed Kalin.
Yusei, Akiza, Jack, and Crow all looked at each other and whispered amongst themselves for a good 5 minutes. After their discussion ended, they all turned to Kalin with smiles on their faces.
"Sure, Kalin, you can count us in," smiled Yusei.
"I think I already have the perfect song," winked Akiza.
"The Enforcers are ready to take the competition by storm!" boasted Crow.
"We're gonna become Kings!" smirked Jack.
"We'll be rooting for you!" shouted West.
"Well then, just like the old days, it's time for the Enforcers to do some enforcing!" smiled Kalin.
The team proceeded to go to the auction house where town concert was to be held. They were surprised at how crowded the small building was. It took almost the entire afternoon just to register all the competitors, but in the end, a total of 10 teams were chosen. Among the 10 teams were the Enforcers.
At 6 pm, the competition went underway. The Enforcers were last on the list, much to the chagrin of Jack.
"Oh come on, we are supposed to be top dogs here, considering it was us who saved this town. Why are we going last?"
"Man, quit complaining," glared Crow. "You should just be happy that we even made it here."
"Crow is right, you know," said Akiza.
"I know, I know…" grumbled Jack.
"Going last might be a blessing in disguise," smirked Kalin.
"I agree," nodded Yusei.
Two hours passed by and 9 of the competing teams had finished singing. At long last, it was the Enforcer's turn to shine. Kalin stepped up to the stage and waved to the crowd.
"Good evening, Satisfaction Town! Your sheriff here! I take it you all had a great time during the Autumn Festival?"
The crowd burst into roars of applause.
"Good good. Now, for the first part of the finals, say hello to Yusei Fudo and Akiza Izinski!" The crowd cheered as the couple walked to the stage.
"Hello town, thank you allowing us to join you for the festival," said Yusei. "My wife and I are going to sing 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now'."
"We thought this song was a perfect choice, given all the hardships we went through and how far we came," smiled Akiza. "So without further ado, let's sing, Yusei!"
The unusual couple sang near-perfectly, despite not having much practice. The crowd were all mesmerized by their performance. West and Nico were practically dancing out of their seats.
After Yusei and Akiza finished singing, it was Jack's and Crow's turn to shine. They chose the song 'Can't Go For That(No Can Do).
"This is the Master of Faster here, Jack Atlas, with his buddy Crow!" exclaimed Jack.
"Yeah, the song we chose is dedicated to all those jackals back at Satellite and all the hardships they faced."
At the announcer's call, Jack and Crow proceeded to sing. Yusei was amazed that Jack was able to deliver his singing with so much class. Akiza couldn't help but laugh at the hand gestures Crow was making.
Alas, the song came to an end and one more singer took to the stage. That last singer happened to be the sheriff of Satisfaction Town, Kalin Kessler. As he went up to the mike, he suddenly looked serious.
"So it has come down to this, hmm?" stated Kalin. "Before I begin my song, I would like to thank a very special individual. A few years ago, I stumbled across this town, angry, lonely, and depressed. I kept on thinking to myself that I didn't deserve to live, and wanted to die. But then this person showed up out of the blue and told me not to give up. At first, I thought he was foolish and told him to leave me be. But this man persisted. We battled Lawton and his gang together and emerged victorious."
"This special individual helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. He helped make all this possible. Without him, I wouldn't be standing here today as your sheriff. So, here is that special person, Yusei Fudo!" The crowd erupted into loud cheer as Yusei and the rest of the Enforcers took to the stage.
"Thank you, Kalin, for the honors," said Yusei.
"No, thank you, Yusei, for being there for me," smiled Kalin. "Without further ado, here is the final song for the evening, 'Hold Me Now'."
All five members of the Enforcers sang the song, with Kalin as the main singer. As he was singing it, he tried to resist the urge not to look at Yusei or burst into tears. The song reminded him of way back to the early days of the team, when they were a bunch of nobodies.
Alas, the Autumn Festival came to an end, and the group had to go their separate ways. Kalin, Sergio, West, and Nico stood under the entrance sign as the others prepared their duel runners.
"Promise you'll come back to visit us," said Nico.
"Don't worry, Nico, we'll visit you guys again," smiled Yusei.
"Thank you so much for the experience," said Akiza. "I'll never forget this great experience."
"You folks truly live up to your reputation," added Sergio.
"I hope I can be as brave and tough as you guys!" exclaimed West.
"You're pretty tough already!" grinned Crow, giving him a thumb's up.
"Perhaps, you should visit us in the city!" smiled Jack.
"Of course," smiled Sergio.
Kalin walked up to Yusei and the others and held out his fist. "Thank you all for coming to Satisfaction Town with me. These past few days felt just like the old times we had." The other Enforcers all smiled and fist-bumped each other.
"Glad we could join," said Yusei.
"Yeah! We should hang out again!" grinned Crow.
"Keep in touch,ok?" asked Jack.
"Thank you for allowing me to join your team," said Akiza.
"Of course," smile Kalin. "Friends forever, right?"
"Yeah! Friends forever!" shouted the others.
Afterwards, Yusei, Akiza, Jack, and Crow, drove off into the rising sun, back to Neo Domino City. As Kalin watched them, he said to himself:
"Thank you, Yusei."