Me: Hey everyone and welcome back to a brand new chapter, finally

Hikari: We do apologize for the lack of posts but every time we think we can post we get tied down with other things

Me: Anyways without further ado here's the long awaited chapter, Duel 22: American Hero (part 1)

Disclaimer: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! And never will it's the rightful property of Kazuki Takahashi the only thing we do own are the manga's that we buy. We also don't own Heila or Yami Heila for they belong to Animegirl20 the only ones we do own are Arainaina and many others that will appear later on in future chapters.

"…." - Talking

'….' - Thoughts

(….) - Yami's to their Hikari's

/…./ - Hikari's to their Yami's

Duel 22: American Hero (part 1)

"This is so cool!" shouts Joey, as he, Tristan, Tea, Yugi and Yami were all gathered around Yugi's desk reading a comic book.

"See! Isn't Zombire Great?" asks Hanasaki who was showing Yugi his comic book collection.

"Wow, Hanasaki! I didn't know that you collected American comics" exclaims Yugi, as he continued to hold one of the comics.

"Yeah, Zombire is super popular in America" explains Hanasaki, as he holds up another comic book of Zombire to everyone. "I've always liked American Superheroes! Zombire is my favorite".

"But why are American comics full of all these macho bodybuilder guys?" asks Tea who wasn't really into the whole comic book thing but figured that if she showed at least a small amount of interest that maybe Yami would consider going with her.

"HUH! ZOMBIRE ISN'T A BODY BUILDER GUY! HE WAS ORIGINALLY THE GOD OF DEATH, BUT HE LEARNED HOW TO LOVE AND STARTED TO FIGHT EVIL!" yells Hanasaki who took offense to what Tea had said about Zombire.

"But…the more he turns good, the more the face hidden behind his mask rots away like a zombie. And every time, his life gets shorter! But he still fights evil, that's why he's the greatest hero ever! They call him…ZOMBIRE!"

Of course thought why Hanasaki was in the middle of his rant about Zombire he sort of lost Yugi and the others as well. "Uh…sorry about that… I get all excited when I talk about Zombire…"

"No! Just comes to show how much you like him is all" remarks Yami, who places a hand upon Yugi's shoulder in the process. "Yep" remarks Yugi who couldn't agree more.

"You know, at my family's store, import ZOMBIRE action figures have been selling like hotcakes!" admits Yugi, as he just now realized how big Zombire was within the city of Domino.

"Do you have garage kits too…?" asks Joey to Yugi who was sort of curious.

"Hey guys, do you want to come to my house? I'll show you my collection" remarks Hanasaki who was kind of hoping they would.

"SURE" exclaims Yugi and Tristan who were more excited to see Hanasaki's collection. "Yeah! I'd love to see it Hanasaki" replies Joey with equal excitement while Yami only nods in agreement as well.

"OKAY!" and with that they all set out for Hanasaki's house.

HANASAKI'S HOUSE

Upon arriving at Hanasaki's house, Hanasaki automatically leads everyone to his bed room where once there their all greeted with a room full of Zombire stuff, which lead to pretty much anything and everything you could deem collectors.

"OMIGOD! ZOMBIRE EVERYWHERE!" shouts Joey and Tristan once they saw the room.

"Did you collect all of this, Hanasaki?" asks Yami with amazement as he too looks at all the action hero toys within Hanasaki's room.

"Actually, my father works in America. Every time he comes back to Japan, he brings something for me" admits Hanasaki to his tiny group of friends who was all standing within his bedroom at the moment.

"This is really amazing! This is a rare gold variant figure, you just can't get these in Japan!" exclaims an excited Yugi as he holds what appeared to be a small tiny box of some sort all the while going completely unnoticed by Yami who couldn't help but smile at his koi and his child like ways.

Just then, Hanasaki's mother arrives with a tray full of snacks and drinks for everyone to enjoy as they continue to chatter about Zombire. "Welcome everyone, would you like some Zombire snacks? They're from America" asks Mrs. Hanasaki as she stands within the room with the tray full of goodies.

"Thank you Mrs. Hanasaki" replies Tea who figured it was very thoughtful of her to bring snacks.

'Z…Zombire snacks…?' wonders Joey who wasn't sure of what to make of the snacks within Mrs. Hanasaki's hands.

"This is the first time Tomoya has brought so many friends home. But before I forget, you have another surprise visitor Tomoya" replies Mrs. Hanasaki to her son which catches his attention.

"HUH…"

"Tee Hee.." chuckles Mrs. Hanasaki when all of sudden there a quick flash of something right behind his mother before suddenly appearing right in front of them and next to his mother in the process.

"Bwa Ha Ha Ha! I'm Zombire!" exclaims a figure wearing a Zombire mask which startles Joey and Yugi in the process cause Yugi to latch on to Yami's arm causing him to smile all the while missing Tea's shadowy glare which was directed right towards Yugi.

'Look at him all clingy to my Yami, that should be me…not Yugi' thinks Tea angrily only to be brought to halt by Hanasaki.

"Hi Dad" exclaims a happy Hanasaki.

"DAD?" squeaks Yugi and Joey who couldn't concept the idea that behind the mask of Zombire stood Hanasaki's father.

"When did you get home?" asks Hanasaki as he moves to greet his father at the door.

"Oh, just now" admits Mr. Hanasaki

"Dad, is that a real Zombire Mask?" asks Hanasaki, once he took notice of the mask.

"OH! YES! It's the one you wanted, Tomoya"

"This must have been expensive…"

"That's okay. As long as you like it"

'All right! I'll dress up in costume and surprise everyone', "Please have some snacks everyone" and with that said Hanasaki left the room to change.

Once gone from the room, does everyone finally settle down to enjoy the snacks and drinks that Mrs. Hanasaki had brought into them before Tristan finally speaks up? "Whole family's Zombire crazy…"

"WHOA! A Zombire garage kit! He hasn't completed it yet" exclaims Joey who managed to spot a garage kit before moving to grab it and giving it a once over.

"What's a garage kit…?" asks Yami to Yugi who wasn't sure of what Joey was talking about.

"It's a plastic model of a character. They're designed by pro modelers, but you build them yourself! They look mega cool when they're finished" explains Yugi to Yami in hopes it would clarify his confusion.

"Hanasaki's too busy collecting to put this thing together! Awright! I'll do it for him" and so with that said from Joey, Joey on the other hand decides to open up the box without permission before taking the pieces and placing them in warm water.

"First you soak the parts in warm water and mold them into the right shape! Once the parts are warm…you cut off the excess from everything except the parts you need.. Then connect the parts with glue…and with a little bit of spray paint it's done", "It's finished! Isn't it cool?" exclaims Joey as he holds a now finished Zombire statue.

"AAGGH!" shouts Hanasaki as he finally reappears before Yugi and the others which also startles them in the process, "AAGGH".

But no sooner does Hanasaki scare them does he manage to see what Joey had done before grabbing the toy model from him. "Why…Why did you put it together?", "I wanted to keep it in its original box…" come the cries of Hanasaki.

"You look cool Hanasaki" whispers Tea, who though Hanasaki did in fact look cool in his Zombire costume only to look at Joey when he spoke up. "HUH? You weren't going to build it…?"

"Leave it to Joey to ruin a good thing" whispers Yugi who could feel sorry for Hanasaki.

'Hanasaki…Don't cry in that outfit…' thinks Tristan as he too feels bad for him for what Joey had done.

Of course like all good things, it was suddenly beginning to get late and everyone decided to start heading home.

"THANKS FOR HAVING US OVER!" exclaims everyone as Mr. and Mrs. Hanasaki along with Hanasaki all stand outside the house to say goodbye to Yugi and the gang.

"Sorry about the kit, Hanasaki" replies Joey once he was standing outside the house with everyone else. "It's okay; actually, it looks better this way. You did a really good job" remarks Hanasaki.

"Goodbye" calls Yugi to Hanasaki as he turns to leave with Yami and the rest. "See you tomorrow" calls Hanasaki before being lead into the house by this mother. "That was fun!" and with those spoken Hanasaki and his mother finally move into the house leaving only his father to stand outside the house as he watched Yugi and friends descend towards home.

"Ah…Ahem…Excuse me everyone" calls Mr. Hanasaki before Yugi could get too far from the house. "Please stay friends with Tomoya! I…I beg you…"

At Mr. Hanasaki's statement, Yugi and the others can't help but be a little surprised yet unsure of what he was talking about before Yami decided to speak up. "We'll always be his friends" which has Yugi give a nod in agreement.

"What did you think?" asks Tristan to Mr. Hanasaki.

"Thank you…to be honest, Tomoya is…fragile. Because of my work, I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as I'd like…I was starting to think his only friends were those action figures…" admits Mr. Hanasaki.

"Don't worry Mr. Hanasaki. He's not as fragile as you think he is" remarks Joey.

"Later" calls Yugi before the he along with everyone else finally left leaving just Mr. Hanasaki alone to his thoughts.

'Be strong!...Be Strong Tomoya' thinks Mr. Hanasaki as he thinks back to a time when Hanasaki was in the hospital and he was there visiting his song.

"WOW, DAD! You brought me something for me again" exclaims Hanasaki as he sits on a bed with sheets all around him as he looks over the gift his father had just presented him with.

"He's called Zombire, Tomoya. He's the strongest hero in America…No…He's the strongest hero in the world" replies Mr. Hanasaki.

"WOW! Is he really that strong?"

"Yes"

"When I look at this action figure…I kinda feel like I'm stronger too" admits Hanasaki to his father.

"Really? Then I'll bring you Zombire toys and comics every time I come back from America" replies Mr. Hanasaki, pride and devotion within his voice, happy to know that Zombire made his son happy and hopefully better as well.

"YOU PROMISE?" shouts Hanasaki.

"Yes Tomoya, lots of toys, tons of them" were his last remarks before Mr. Hanasaki realized that he was the only person left standing outside his house. 'Tomoya…'

"HAI-YAAH" yells Hanasaki from his bedroom which alerts his father from outside as well.

"Yes, I am cool, if I do say so myself! Streaking through the night, racing between the skyscrapers to defeats evil" replies Hanasaki as he looks up to a poster of Zombire who was captured in midair with his name right below him.

'Streaking through the night…that's so cool…Zombire belongs to the night! All right…I'm going to go out dressed like this…no one will know it's me…' thinks Hanasaki before dashing over to his bedroom window and opening it and slowly yet carefully climbing out of leaping down into the streets totally unaware of his father who watched the whole thing.

'Tomoya…'

'This is amazing! I feel like I'm the real Zombire. I feel like I'm strong' thinks Hanasaki as he makes his way through the streets and to the park. "This is great! Ha ha ha…I could get used to this" remarks Hanasaki only to notice what was going on in front of him. "HUH…?"

"TAKE THAT!" shouts a teen that was picking on another person.

'A fight…this is bad…two against one…' thinks Hanasaki as part of him tells him he better go. "I'd better get out of here…." Whispers Hanasaki as he tries to be silent about leaving only to halt. 'But…Zombire wouldn't run at a time like this!'

"ST…STOP PICKING ON HIM!" shouts Hanasaki to the too who were beating up the other person which manages to catch their attention.

"WHA…Who the hell are you?" barks the teen with a black knit hat as he turns to face Hanasaki's direction.

"I'm Zo-", 'WAIT! Zombire doesn't give his name until after he beats up the bad guys' scolds Hanasaki to himself as he almost gave away his identity.

"You want some too, eh?" remarks the teen again as he lungs for Hanasaki with a fist raised for mid swing.

"YEEP!" squeaks Hanasaki as he turns his face in the other direction with one hand out to brace him in front as he awaits for a punch to the head or something only to receive nothing.

"ARRGHH!" cries the teen who was about to hit Hanasaki only to fly backwards and hit the ground.

'HUH?'

"HEY! You hit my friend" cries the other teen to Hanasaki as he gets ready to attack him as well.

'WAAAHH!' panics Hanasaki

But like the last time just as the teen gets close enough to Hanasaki, the teen in questions falls backwards as if suddenly hit by something. "GWAGH!"

"HUH?" was all Hanasaki could say in confusion, unsure of what was going on at the present given moment.

"THIS DUDE'S STRONGER THAN A FRIEGHT TRAIN!"

"WE CAN'T FIGHT HIM! LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!"

And so with that said, the two bullies upped and high tailed it out of the park and away from Hanasaki.

'AH! Almost forgot, this is where I say my name', "I am Zombire!" calls Hanasaki to the retreating teens.

'OOH! I'm so cool, Amazing…I'm really strong, I'm Zombire' thinks Hanasaki with confidence that he never knew he had completely unaware that it was all a set up by his own father who was actually talking to the ones Hanasaki had chased away moments earlier.

"Heh Heh…Good enough for you dude…?" asks the one with the black hat as he stood in front of Mr. Hanasaki.

"Yes…Yes it was. Oh…of course! Your payment" remarks Mr. Hanasaki as he digs into his pants pocket for there payment.

'Now Tomoya will have more confidence in himself'

"HEH HEH, that job was a breeze! 100,000 yen (1) for playing along with a kid's hero game" scoffs the teen as Mr. Hanasaki hands him the money that he promised to pay.

"Can you do it again?" asks Mr. Hanasaki to the group of three before him.

"No prob. Just tell us your son's name and school", 'Heh Heh…This old dude's a sucker…' snickers the teen who was totally playing Mr. Hanasaki just so he could get his money.

The Next Day

"See you later!" calls one of the students at Domino as everyone was getting ready to leave the school and head home for the day.

"I'm going to work on my Zombire garage kit with Yami when I get home" whispers Yugi in excitement as he begins to make his way home and where Yami sat waiting for him.

"HEY!" calls a voice to Yugi who halts to see where the voice in question was, only to see two teens approach him. "You from Domino High, Right"

'They look like trouble…' thinks Yugi totally unaware of his puzzle that began to glow faintly, waiting for the least moment of danger in which it would alert Yami.

"You know somebody names Hanasaki?" asks the teen again.

'HUH…? Hanasaki? What do these guys want with Hanasaki? I'd better keep quiet…', "Uh…Who?" asks Yugi as he tries to play dumb with the too who stood in front of him.

"WHA-?" remarks Hanasaki just as he emerges from the school court yard only to spot Yugi and the two teens from last night.

"You're lying! You do know him!" exclaims the teen as he forces Yugi to back into the School's brick wall, trapping him in the process, while the puzzle's glow becomes brighter by the minute.

"Those are the guys from yesterday…! They're picking on Yugi!" remarks Hanasaki as he begins to get mad at what they were doing to poor little Yugi.

"Honest…I don't know him" replies Yugi just as the teen grabs him by his shirt.

'I taught them a lesson yesterday, and they're still picking on people…! Don't worry Yugi, I'll protect you! This looks like a job for…Zombire!' was Hanasaki's thoughts as he gets ready to make his move.

TBC

A/N: Well, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? Please R&R.

Translations

1. 100,000 yen means about 800 dollars in U.S. money