(A/N: Like with chapter 4, this chapter will also feature two duels, but these are back to back. And since it may as well be said, yes it IS Joey Wheeler dueling this chapter. After all, since Rex was unable to duel against Espa Roba, Joey won't be able to reach him at that point in time and with Nagito and Makoto's luck mixing into the pot and causing a butterfly effect, things are going to turn out quite different for Mr. Wheeler. Can Joey still make it to the battle city finals without earning the likes of Jinzo? Let's find out. Will the real Joey Wheeler please stand up? …Why did I make that reference? Enjoy!)
After parting from Yugi, Joey Wheeler wandered around Domino City looking for a challenge. He knew that if he wanted to get to the finals, to stand on the same level as Yugi and Kaiba, he would have to up his game and start challenging duelists well above his self-perceived bracket. That meant people like Mako, Weevil and maybe even a rematch with Rex or Mai. And with the way Kaiba had set up tournament entry, who knew what other underknown duelists were partaking in the tournament. Just thinking about it had Joey fired up.
"Joey!"
Jarred from his thoughts, Joey turned his head to see one Teá Gardner running up to him. "Teá!" Joey called back to her as his classmate reached speaking distance. "What's up?"
"Yugi asked me to keep an eye on you, said you'd need moral support more than he would. Such a shame, really. I really wanted to cheer him on."
"They'll be plenty of cheering when we both make it to the finals," Joey said. "Besides, knowing Yug," Joey said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "He probably doesn't want you getting hurt. Those Rare Hunter goons roughed me up last night and I guarantee they ain't about to play nice. What if one of them kidnapped ya to force Yugi out of his Dark Magician or something?"
"I guess you have a point," Teá sighed. She didn't want to think of herself as so useless that she'd be reduced to damsel in distress, but that'd happened to her more than once in her long history with Yugi so she felt an argument was best not to be put forth.
"Well, well, do my eyes deceive me? Tea. Joey. I thought you two would be exploring the tournament with Yugi as a group."
Tea and Joey looked to see Yugi's grandpa, Solomon, approaching them.
"Oh, Mr. Mutoh," Teá said. "What are you doing here?"
"I just closed up shop to go watch the tournament," Solomon said. "What about you two?"
"I'm looking for a challenge," Joey said. "And Teá here's my cheerleader."
"Haha, very funny," Teá said dryly even though what Joey said technically wasn't untrue. "What about the shop?" she asked Yugi's grandpa.
"I closed it for the day. I wanted to at least watch the qualifiers and cheer on my precious grandson."
"Fat chance of that," Joey said. "Yugi took off on his own, so I guess you'll have to settle for yours truly," he said pointing a thumb at himself.
"I suppose this will give me an opportunity to see how far my pupil has come," Solomon said beaming with pride. "I look forward to seeing the post-Duelist Kingdom you, Joey."
"Then how about we start with a little shakedown?"
Joey turned around as Solomon looked over his shoulder. Teá looked towards her left to see two teenagers approaching the three of them. One was a young man that stood less than five feet tall wearing a pinstripe black business suit. He had buzz cut blond hair and rosy cheeks. There was a taller woman standing next to him with a very long and thin bag on her shoulder. She was wearing an outfit that resembled a sailor uniform for girls with a rather short skirt. She had silver, braided hair and red eyes. She also wore glasses.
The short blond was smirking. "Well, well, well, just as I suspected, Joey Wheeler."
"Who's asking?" Joey asked, crinkling his nose. These two were about as shady as they came as far as he was concerned.
The blond chuckled. "My name is Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu." He held up a fist. "And my cohort and I are here to challenge you to a duel!"
"Kuzuryu," Teá mused to herself. "Where have I heard that name before?"
"Then you know that I'm one of da best duelists around, right? Hope you're ready to say goodbye to the tournament."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mr. Wheeler," Fuyuhiko said with a self-satisfied smirk. He gave Joey a tough look. "Cause I aim to take you out of the tournament before you know what hit you. Peko and I are both participants in the tournament. If Peko fails to defeat you, then I'll use my foreknowledge of your deck to take you down."
"I think someone needs to do a little math. If I beat your girlfriend then I have two locator cards and you'll only have one to my two. What makes you think I'd wager both?"
"First off, motherfucker! Peko isn't my girlfriend, she's my bodyguard! Second, if she loses then I'll just have to beat you twice!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "Of course, that's assuming you can even get past Peko in the first place. I heard from a reliable source that you don't have your Red-Eyes anymore." Fuyuhiko looked even more cocksure of himself. "And I know that you only ever won two duels without it and both by blind, dumb luck. Well not today, motherfucker!" Fuyuhiko declared, stomping his foot. "Today, the great Joey Wheeler will bow his head to the feet of the Kuzuryu family. Nothing personal, it's just business."
"You uh, wanna watch your mouth there with a lady present?" Joey asked.
"Fuck you! I can say whatever the fuck I want, you got that, you bastard?"
Tea gasped, Fuyuhiko's name finally clicking. "Joey! Be careful! The Kuzuryu family are the top Yakuza in the country. You don't want to cross them."
"The lady has some sense," Kuzuryu said with a smirk.
"Joey, maybe you should find someone else to duel," Teá said.
"No way, I ain't afraid of a couple a yakuza, especially one that's half my height."
"What did you say about my height, you bastard? You wanna die?"
Peko stepped in front of Fuyuhiko. "Master, please leave Joseph Wheeler to me," she said, arms folded. "His type only understands this game as a form of communication."
Fuyuhiko took a deep breath, glancing aside. "Fine, he's all yours Peko."
Peko armed her duel disk and fired it up. Joey followed suit.
"So, I gotta get past you before getting to your little friend there."
"Hey!" Fuyuhiko barked, irritated by the height joke.
"You will not be getting to master," Peko stated. "Because you're going to fall to me right here and now."
"You talk a big game, but let's see you back it up."
"Let's Duel!" Both shouted together.
"Since I'm the defending finalist, I'll go first!" Joey declared. He drew his first card. "I play Swordsman of Landstar in attack mode!" Joey summoned his goofy looking soldier to the battlefield. "Your turn."
"Fine by me," Peko said and drew her first card. She briefly glanced at her hand and then played a monster in attack mode. "I shall destroy your swordsman with mine, Masaki the Legendary Swordsman." Peko summoned a green clad samurai to the battlefield.
Joey's monster had 500 attack points. Peko's had 1100. The results were obvious.
"But that's not all, I shall also boost Masaki with Sword of Dragon's soul, raising its attack power by 700 points."
"Uh…oh," Joey blinked, looking nervous.
"Masaki! Attack! Martial Draw!"
Masaki leapt forward and drew his katana out in a wide arc, cutting Swordsman of Landstar in half.
Joey brought his arm up as shards of hard light flew at his face and his life points ticked down to 2700.
"Next I play two face-down cards and end my turn," Peko said, now holding two cards in her hand.
"Don't let her psyche you out, Joey!" Teá told him with gusto. "You can do this."
"Darn right I can!" Joey said, drawing the top card off his deck. "I start by playing two cards face-down." Joey placed his Kunai with Chain trap card and Scapegoat onto the battlefield next to each other. "Next I play Warrior Dai Grepher in attack mode." A swordsman garbed in lightweight armor with a glowing sword and bulging biceps appeared. "And then I play Lightning Blade, increasing my monster's attack points by 800."
Warrior Dai Grepher now held a sparking blade of lightning and its attack points climbed to 2500.
"Now attack Warrior Dai Grepher, destroy Masaki the Legendary Swordsman." With one chop, Masaki was cut down to size and Peko's life points ticked down to 3300.
Peko didn't seem unhappy though. She kept a cool head. "You activated my trap card, Business Deal." Peko revealed her face-down card which showed a goblin under duress being made to pay compensation to a human with a mustache and bulging biceps. "From now on, whenever a monster you control destroys a monster I control, you lose 500 life points and I get to draw a card."
"Oh man, that's bad," Joey gulped.
"It gets worse," Peko said calmly. "First I draw!" Peko drew the top card off of her deck. "Next, I shall play the magic card, De-Spell which de-activates your Lightning Blade."
"Aw, man," Joey said, disappointed as his Warrior Dai Grepher was left with its original attack points.
"It gets worse," Peko said. "Next I play Valkyrian Knight in attack mode." A knight wearing a winged helmet and garbed in red and yellow armor appeared. It had long blond hair and carrying a longsword as its primary weapon. "As long as he is in play you cannot attack any other warrior type monsters besides him, but that's all right. Just look at his attack points." Valkyrian Knight had 1900.
"What? 1900?"
"Indeed. So now, Valkyrian Knight, take out Joey's Warrior Dai Grepher, flame Valkyrie Slash!"
Joey's life points ticked backwards down to 2500.
"That ends my turn," Peko said with a slightly smug smirk on her face.
"This is bad," Tea said. "Joey doesn't have a lot of strong monsters and he has to attack that knight if he wants to make progress."
"Joey will make a comeback," Solomon said. "That boy always does."
"My move!" Joey declared. "And I'm playing Panther Warrior in attack mode!"
An anthropomorphic panther appeared carrying a sword and shield and with a green cape. It had 2000 attack points.
"And next I activate the face-down card Scapegoat. This magic card gives me four fluffy little helpers, which works well with the fact that I've got to sacrifice a monster so Panther Warrior can attack."
Peko turned bright red.
"Eh? What's the matter?" Joey asked. "You sick or something?"
"F…" Peko stuttered. "Fluffy things."
"Peko!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "You wipe those things out! That's an order!"
"B-but…" Peko stuttered only to regain her composure and say. "Yes, my master." However, inside her resolve wavered. Fluffy…
"I sacrifice one of my scapegoats so that Panther Warrior can attack."
Panther Warrior charged forward and absolutely wrecked Peko's knight.
"A foolhardy move. I might lose life points, but thanks to Business Deal you do as well and I draw a card."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Joey said. "You don't have to tell me."
Joey's life points ticked down to 2000 and Peko's were reduced only to 3200. She then drew a card. She now had two cards in her hand. "Is it my turn?" Peko asked.
"Yeah, yeah, make your move," Joey said.
"All right then. Draw!" Peko swiftly drew the top card of her deck. "Hmph," she scoffed with a cruel smirk. "Say goodbye to your Panther Warrior Joseph Wheeler. I activate the spell card Cost Down. By discarding a card from my hand, I can reduce the level of the monsters in my hand by two. This will let me summon Judge Man in attack mode."
A warrior clad with a bushy beard and purple cape carrying two maces showed up on the battlefield. It had 2200 attack points.
"Aw, come on!" Joey complained.
"I'm afraid your Panther Warrior has met its match. Go, Judge Man! Attack!"
"Sorry, Peko, but you just activated my trap card! I activate Kunai with Chain!" This trap card lets me raise my own monster's attack points!" Judge man was bound by Panther Warrior using the trap card to bind it. "And now, I can counterattack!" Joey declared and attacked Judge Man with Panther Warrior, destroying it.
"Once again, foolish. Thanks to Business Deal, I get to draw a card and you lose life points."
"Maybe so, but now you're wide open to a direct attack."
"Oh, am I?" Peko asked still smirking cruelly. "I'm pretty sure I still have a face-down and with the card in my hand I'll throw down another one. Go ahead, Joey, see if you can actually take down a seemingly defenseless opponent."
With 2900 life points to his 1500 and no monsters to get in his way, Joey liked his odds for this turn. As long as one of Peko's face-down cards wasn't Mirror Force, he could annihilate her here and now and end this duel, proving why he got to Duelist Kingdom's finals and not because of Red-Eyes, but because he was truly a skilled duelist.
"Then why don't I show ya?" Joey declared and drew the top card of his deck. "I play Little Wing Guard in attack mode!" a tiny humanoid monster with a sword and shield and helmet and scarf covering its face with a blue and turquoise color scheme appeared. It had 1400 attack points and 1800 defense points. "And now," Joey said. "I sacrifice one of my scapegoats so that my Panther Warrior can attack!"
"You triggered my trap card," Peko said with a smirk. "Reveal face-down card," she declared, throwing her free arm out wide. "Sakuretsu Armor!" This trap card destroys any monster that starts to attack me.
"Aw, no!" Joey gasped as he watched Panther Warrior fade into light and disappear. He growled and then pumped his fist. "Big deal, I can still even up the score with this. Go! Little Wing Guard! Attack her life points directly!"
"And that brings me to my other trap card," Peko said. "Go, Pinpoint Guard!" A face-down card appeared that had a stony creature with its hand stretched towards the viewer of the card. "This trap card allows me to bring back one of my four-star monsters from my graveyard in defense position and it cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects this turn. And the card I choose: Valkyrian Knight!"
Peko's knight returned to the battlefield in defense position and took Little Wing Guard's attack, not being destroyed despite the differences in its defense points and Little Wing Guard's attack. "See, what did I tell you? Never count an opponent defenseless!" Peko declared confidently, arms folded. "Letting your guard down will only leave you open to their prepared counterattack."
"Nnngh," Joey growled. "I'm playing a card face-down on the field and ending my turn."
"As if you could do any less," Peko smirked. She drew the top card of her deck. "I switch Valkyrian Knight to attack mode and now I have it destroy Little Wing Guard!"
Valkyrian Knight charged forward and cut Little Wing Guard down to size. Joey's life points ticked down to 1000.
"That's all I can do this turn. Count yourself lucky," Peko said condescendingly.
"I do count myself lucky, actually," Joey said. "Draw!" He drew the top card of his deck. He had drawn his favorite card: Flame Swordsman. He sighed. Really could use your help right now, pal. He looked at the field. But I don't have a monster to sacrifice. Joey's scapegoats couldn't be used as tributes for a tribute summon. Joey sighed. "I end my turn."
"Then it is my turn," Peko said and drew the top card of her deck. "And I shall summon another monster to the field. Say Hello to my Blade Knight!" A knight clad in silver armor took to the field. "And since I have only one card in my hand he gains 400 attack points." Joey watched blade Knight's attack points increase." Peko then paused, turning red.
"Peko! I said to destroy the scapegoats!"
"I…I know…I was just…"
"Then stop hesitating! Your my blade! Now go!"
"Yes, sir." Peko said. Forgive me, Peko thought looking at the scapegoats. This was the price she paid for her status. "Blade Knight, Valkyrian Knight! Destroy Joey's last two scapegoats!" Joey's monsters were obliterated. "You have no monsters left to protect you Joey. This duel is just about over."
"It ain't over till it's over, Peko! I draw!" Joey pulled the top card off his deck. "Heh? All right!"
Peko raised an eyebrow at Joey's enthusiasm.
"I play Pot of Greed. That gets me two more cards to my hand." Joey drew the top two only to frown.
"Heh, looks like your salvation was not what you were expecting," Peko chuckled.
"N-no. I-I can still do something with this…I think." Joey looked at the two cards in his hand: Battle Warrior and Skull Dice." He also knew the face-down card he still had: Nutrient Z. And besides Flame Swordsman, the other card in his hand was Salamandra. Joey closed his eyes. This could really be it. Joey shook his head. No, you can't doubt yourself. You've been through tougher scrapes in the past, Joey. So don't go quitting on yourself now. Giving Peko his toughest look, Joey declared, "I play a monster face-down in defense position and I play another card face-down onto the field." Joey then pointed at Peko. "Peko! It's your turn!"
Peko was confused for a moment. Joey had looked disappointed a moment ago, but now he was full of vigor. Thinking calmly, she believed Joey had simply embraced his end. And with the card in her hand, she would end the duel once and for all. And with her draw, she could barely keep herself from laughing. She did, however, let out a small chuckle. "I'm afraid this is the end of the road," Peko said. "I activate the spell card Stop Defense!"
"Nyeh!" Joey gasped as his Battle Warrior was switched to defense mode.
"And now, to seal your fate, I shall sacrifice both of my monsters to play the almighty Battleguard King!" Both of Peko's monsters disappeared and she now had a hulking red ogre with a slab of stone it called a mace towering over Joey's puny Battle Warrior.
Joey stood resolute in front of Peko's monster. His eyes full of vigor. He said nothing.
"Oh no," Teá said, looking forlorn. "Joey!"
"Battleguard King! Attack Joey's Battle Warrior and end this duel!"
Battleguard King's mace came down onto Battle Warrior, utterly annihilating it.
Teá look disheartened. Joey lost his first duel in the tournament. How was she going to explain this to Yugi?
"See, it's like I said, Joseph Wheeler. You're nothing without Red-Eyes!"
"Don't be so sure," Joey said.
"But, your life points…" Fuyuhiko said.
"Are perfectly fine!" Joey said as he suddenly had 2700 life points.
"What?!" Fuyuhiko hissed.
"Heh heh," Joey said, showing off his trap card, a weird bottle with a Z printed on it and a bat-shaped cap. "I played my trap card, Nutrient Z. Since your monster would've done more than 2000 damage, I gained 4000 life points before damage was calculated." Joey looked positively ecstatic. "So Joey Wheeler is back in the game! And since you've got no cards in your hand and nothing else out on the field, it's my time to draw!" Joey drew the top card off his deck. It was Monster Reborn. "All right! I play monster reborn to bring Panther Warrior back from the graveyard. But he ain't sticking around long. I sacrifice him in order to play my Flame Swordsman!" A warrior with a blue shirt and orange pants with an intricate helmet appeared. He carried an orange broadsword. "But wait, there's more! I also equip him with the magic card, Salamandra! This raises his attack power by 700 points."
"And what do you hope to gain from that?" Peko asked. "Your monster is not powerful enough to stand up to Battleguard King?"
"Not right now, but check out my face-down card: Skull Dice!"
Both Peko and Fuyuhiko looked surprised. They watched Joey's dice roll along the ground and land upon a six. "Aw, yeah! Your monster's attack points are history and so are most of your life points! Flame Swordsman attack! Use Salamandra and destroy Battleguard King!"
With a mighty, blazing sword, Flame Swordsman incinerated Battleguard King and the residual flames surrounded Peko and reduced her life points all the way down to 900. Her glasses became crooked and a fine layer of dirt now covered her skirt. Peko readjusted her glasses and glared, gnashing her teeth. "How's that for a comeback?" Joey asked.
"What was it I told you earlier?" Peko asked sharply. "Let your guard down," she drew the top card off her deck. "And you leave yourself wide open to counterattack!" Joey's life points went down to 2200 because of business deal. Peko then drew the top card off of her deck. "I play my own Monster Reborn in order to bring back my Battleguard King!"
The massive red ogre returned to the battlefield for another round. "Aw, come on!" Joey complained.
"Battleguard King attack! Wipe out his precious Flame Swordsman!"
Battleguard King brought its mace down. Joey's Swordsman tried to fight back, but in the end, it was crushed under Battleguard King's massive power. Joey's life points went down 1700. "Only 900 lifepoints stand between you and victory," Peko said. "But how unfortunate for you that they will forever remain untouched. My Battleguard King's strength is unparalleled, capable of trading blows with even the mighty Blue-Eyes White Dragon. None of your monsters could ever hope to match it at its full power. And without skull dice, you have nothing left in your deck that can stop it from obliterating you next turn."
"Not true," Joey said. "I've got one card in my deck that can turn this whole duel around."
"Then draw your last card," Peko said. "Because it will be your last."
"It'll count for everything!" Joey declared defiantly. "Because I believe in the heart of the cards!"
Joey drew the top card off his deck. He smirked. "Peko, thanks for the duel. Whatever happens next, I've got no regrets. Now go, Time Wizard! Time roulette!"
Peko looked utterly shocked. Fuyuhiko looked irritated.
He's going to let the outcome of the duel…come entirely down to chance? Is he mad?
Teá, Solomon, Joey, Peko, and even Fuyuhiko all watched with baited breath as the Time Wizard spin its roulette round and round and round. Peko and Fuyuhiko hoped for a skull. Joey, Teá and Solomon all hoped it landed on the time device symbols. Joey even felt a bit nostalgic from his duel with Rex.
The roulette slowed down, all eyes were on the spinner. It moved once, twice, and thrice and finally came to a dead stop on the time device on the bottom of the roulette. "Yeah!" Joey shouted, "Time Wizard! Do your thing!"
"Time. Magic," the clock-faced wizard beeped. With a portal that seemed to warp the fabric of space and time it rotted Peko's Battleguard King into a corpse and rusted armor.
"I have lost," Peko said as her life points ticked all the way down to zero.
"What was it you said earlier, let your guard down and you leave yourself open to counterattack?" Joey asked, rubbing his nose with his thumb. "Looks like you got counterattacked."
"Perhaps," Peko said. "But my Battleguard King, my rarest card will not be going far." She sent it and her locator card whizzing through the air. Joey caught both. "After all, it is master's turn to duel you."
Teá frowned, "Another duel already?" She worried for Joey's stamina.
Fuyuhiko walked forward and Peko walked several paces behind him. "Heh," Fuyuhiko smirked as he readied his duel disk. "I hope you're ready, Joseph Wheeler. Cause now you're up against the heir of the Kuzuryu family! If you thought Peko was hard to beat, you haven't seen anything!"
"Bring it!" Joey declared. "All four feet of you!"
"Enough with the height jokes!" Fuyuhiko roared.
"Joey, be careful, he's a Yakuza!" Teá warned him.
Fuyuhiko smirked. "Heh, your girlfriend knows what's what. Now shuffle your deck and let's get this thing started so I can win back Peko's card."
"Ewwwww!" Teá declared in disgust. "I am not Joey's girlfriend!"
"Yeah," Joey agreed, "You're more like a cheerleader without the pompoms or the short skirt."
"Excuse me?!" Teá shouted, only riled up further.
"What?" Joey shrugged. "It's not exactly inaccurate."
Tea growled, shaking a fist.
"Are we good to go or what?" Fuyuhiko snapped.
Joey shuffled his deck. "Yeah, we're good," he said as he slapped it into the card reader. "And just so this duel is fair, I won't put Battleguard King in my deck just for this duel."
Fuyuhiko smirked. "You better not regret that choice, Wheeler. Cause I'm going to take you to the cleaners and have you outfitted for cement shoes!"
"Let's duel!" Both blonds declared.
"Since I'm the challenger, I'll start things off!" Fuyuhiko shouted. He drew the top card of his deck. "I play Inpachi in defense mode." Fuyuhiko played a giant, wooden golem with 1600 attack points and 1900 defense points. "It's your turn, Wheeler."
"Don't mind if I do," Joey said, drawing his first card. "And I'll start by playing Axe Raider and combining him with my Legendary Sword to give him 2000 attack points." Axe Raider's weapon was switched out for a magnificent looking long sword. "Go, Axe Raider, destroy his Inpachi!"
With a single chop, Fuyuhiko's monster was destroyed. "Your monster is firewood," Joey declared, stroking his thumb across his chin. "Back at you, mafia boy!"
"Don't call me boy! I'm a man!" Fuyuhiko shouted. He drew the top card of his deck. "I'll start by playing my Dark Crusader in attack mode." From the hologram of the played card, out popped a skull-faced monster with orange hair, decked out in all black armor. It was carrying a huge slab of iron it called a sword. It had 1600 attack points and 200 defense points. "Next, I'll activate his special ability, by discarding two darkness monsters from my hand, I can increase his attack points by 400 points per darkness monster."
"Aw, no," Joey whined, watching his foe's monster climb in attack power to 2400 points.
"Dark Crusader, attack! Send his Axe Raider to the graveyard!" Fuyuhiko ordered. His monster, with a sinister chuckle, leapt forward, weapon in hand and attacked Joey's Axe Raider. Axe Raider used his Legendary Sword to block, but was overpowered by Dark Crusader's strength and then given a nasty slash across the chest. This slash destroyed Axe Raider and caused the hologram to disperse into shards of light.
Joey's life points ticked down to 3600.
"Next," Fuyuhiko said. "I'll play one card face-down. It's your turn," he told Joey, looking as pissed off as ever.
"Darn right it is," Joey said, drawing the top card off his deck and then slapped it onto the duel disk. "And I'm playing Armored Lizard in attack mode." A chrome coated bipedal reptilian appeared on the battlefield. It had 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points.
"That thing?" Fuyuhiko asked, dumbfounded. He became smug and self-assured. "It barely has any attack points compared to my Dark Crusader."
"Maybe so," Joey said. "But that's why I've got my magical Fairy Box to protect it." Joey activated what looked like a whack-a-mole box that appeared on his side of the battlefield. Joey's Armored Lizard jumped into one of the slots of the box and then began popping in and out of the box like an actual whack-a-mole. Joey then threw his arm out wide and began doing a routine like a carnival host. "Now it's time for everyone's favorite game, Whack-a-Lizard! Hit the lizard, win a prize: my life points. Screw it up," Joey gave Fuyuhiko a thumb's down. "And you get nothing!"
"You bastard!" Fuyuhiko growled. "Don't look down on me? You think I can't win at some carnival game, huh?"
"Then prove it, mafia boy," Joey said, rubbing a finger underneath his nose. "It's your turn."
"I said to quit calling me boy!" Fuyuhiko shouted.
Somebody needs to see an anger management clinic, Teá thought.
"I'll show you," Fuyuhiko grumbled. "Draw!" he shouted as he drew the top car off his deck. "I think I'll play this card, Jinzo #7, in attack mode." A weird looking monster with purple, exposed circuitry and carrying an electric baton appeared. It only had 500 attack points and 400 defense points. "And I'll equip it with my Sword of Dark Destruction, raising its attack points by another 400 at the cost of 200 defense points.
"Huh?" Joey asked, cleaning his ear with his pinky. "You bust a screw loose along with an aneurysm. 900 attack points won't help you defeat my Armored Lizard."
"Joey, be careful! That monster can attack your life points directly!" Yugi's grandpa shouted.
"Nnnyeh!" Joey exclaimed as he recoiled to one side.
"And that's precisely what I plan to do!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "Jinzo #7, attack Wheeler's life points directly!"
With the Sword of Dark Destruction in hand, the hard light hologram leapt forward and slashed Joey across the chest, causing Joey to flinch and feel a slight twinge of pain as his life points dropped down to 2700.
"Oh man, his life points are back to how things started off when he fought Peko," Teá noted.
"And they're about to be even worse!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "Dark Crusader, destroy his Armored Lizard!" Dark Crusader charged forward at the Fairy Box, but his big sword came down on an empty hole, missing by mere seconds. "Damn," Fuyuhiko grunted.
"Heh, looks like my life points are safe and yours are about to be toast," Joey said with a grin.
"Don't be so sure," Fuyuhiko said. "I play the last card in my hand, Card of Sanctity, forcing us to both draw until we're holding six cards."
"Hope it was worth it," Joey said. "My hand was almost empty too."
"I have good knowledge of your deck thanks to your duel with Peko," Fuyuhiko smirked. "I'm prepared for whatever strategy you might conjure up, Wheeler."
"Whatever you say, Mafia Boy."
Fuyuhiko just growled. He'd given up on correcting Joey. "I play two cards face-down. Read 'em and weep, Wheeler."
"Sure thing, Mafia Boy, cause your Dark Crusader's toast!" Joey drew the top card from his deck. "And I'm summoning Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!"
"Gonna add him to your little collection, Wheeler?" Fuyuhiko asked.
"Sure, but not before I take down your Dark Crusader."
"Oh? And how to plan to accomplish that?" Fuyuhiko asked.
"Like this! I activate my Energy Drain magic card."
"No you don't!" Fuyuhiko shouted. "I activate my Magic Jammer trap card! By discarding 1 card from my hand, your magic card is deactivated!"
"Aw, no!" Joey exclaimed. "Th-then I'm throwing one card face-down on the field and I'm attacking your Jinzo #7 with Gearfried the Iron Knight."
Fuyuhiko's life points ticked down to 3100. He smirked. "I believe you just activated an old favorite card from your last duel."
Joey groaned. "Aw, no. You can't mean…"
"That's right, Business Deal. So now whenever you destroy a monster of mine I get to draw a card and you lose life points. Better luck next time, Wheeler. On second thought, I hope your luck stays the way it is!"
"Whatever," Joey said. "I add Gearfried to Fairy Box and end my turn. Now make your move!"
Fuyuhiko drew the top card of his deck. He smirked. "Well, Wheeler looks like your luck is up. I've drawn Monster Reborn."
"So…what?" Joey asked.
"So?" Fuyuhiko asked, irritated. "I've sent three cards to the graveyard of my own volition knowing this was in my deck and now, I'm going to bring one of them back. Say hello to my favorite fiend monster, the mighty Zoa!"
A bright blue, quadrupedal monster with a long, whipping tail appeared. It had 2600 attack points and 1900 defense points.
"I remember that card!" Joey declared. "Bandit Keith used that to turn it into its metal variant."
"Heh, well I like Zoa just the way he is thank you very much," Fuyuhiko said with a self-assured smirk. "But now, Wheeler. In case you haven't noticed, I have two powerful monsters ready to turn your monsters into nothing but headstones."
"I don't think so!" Joey said. "Activate trap card, Skull Dice!"
"And goodbye, Skull Dice," Fuyuhiko said, continuing to smirk. "I activate my trap card, Seven Tools of the Bandit."
"Whuh? A counter trap?"
"And this one is well worth the price of admission," Fuyuhiko chuckled. "For a measly 1000 life points I can deactivate any trap card you played. So Skull Dice doesn't get a roll!" Fuyuhiko declared. His life points ticked down to 2100 as he deactivated Joey's Skull Dice.
"Grrrngh!" Joey growled. "Then I'll just rely on my good luck that you won't hit me this turn!" Joey declared, pumping his best fist forward.
"Good luck with that when I have a two 33% chances of hitting one of your monsters. First, go Zoa! Attack!" Fuyuhiko's Zoa unleashed a blue beam of energy from its mouth, but it did nothing. "Urrrgh! Dark Crusader! Attack!"
Unfortunately, despite Dark Crusader's best efforts, it missed too.
Teá let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
"Fuck!" Fuyuhiko cursed. "It's your turn. I'm done."
"Uh huh, sure thing," Joey said and drew the top card of his deck. "I play one card face-down and play Hayabusa Knight in attack mode so that I can add him to my Fairy Box. Your turn, Kuzuryu."
Silently, Fuyuhiko drew the top card of his deck to his hand. He looked at the battlefield. Another face-down card? Fuyuhiko looked at his hand. Hmm, shouldn't be anything too dangerous. He took one card into one hand and held the rest of his cards in his other hand. But just to play it safe… "First, I discard another dark monster card from my hand to power up my Dark Crusader!"
Dark Crusader's attack points rose to 2800.
"And next, I'll have Dark Crusader attack your monsters!"
"And like that, you've triggered my trap card!" Joey shouted. "Go! Magical Arm Shield!"
A spring-lock mechanism like contraption shot out and grabbed Fuyuhiko's Zoa by the arm. "What the hell?"
"Heh heh," Joey chuckled. "How do you like this? Now I'm redirecting your attack right at Zoa. Say bye bye to your monster."
Joey's contraption pulled Zoa right into Dark Crusader's path, causing the monster to attack Zoa instead and causing Fuyuhiko to lose 200 life points, bringing his total down to 1900.
Fuyuhiko growled. "This isn't over yet. For a second there I was worried it would be Mirror Force, but that just made it worse.
"And since you destroyed your own monster, your Business Deal doesn't activate," Joey declared, making a fist and clenching the muscles in his chin.
"All right, Joey!" Teá cheered.
"You may think you got me all figured out there, Mafia Boy, but by playing familiar cards, I managed to work out a counter-strategy." …Even if I just drew it.
"Don't think this will save you," Fuyuhiko said. "Because now I play Polymerization."
"Huh? With what?" Joey asked, blinking.
"With these!" Fuyuhiko declared. "Go Ancient Tool and Baron of the Fiend Sword, fuse together to create First of the Dragons!" Suddenly, an armless, huge blue dragon with a stony beard appeared on the battlefield. It towered over the sky above the duel and let out a loud and proud roar. It had 2700 attack points and 2000 defense points.
"Say what?" Joey asked, confused. He pointed an accusatory finger at Fuyuhiko. "How do either of those cards make a dragon?"
Fuyuhiko laughed calmly to himself, hands in his pockets, shoulders rising and falling. "First of the Dragons is a special fusion monster that can be formed by any two monsters without special abilities. Lucky for you, I can only create one at a time." Fuyuhiko wasn't done calmly gloating. "Now then, by my count, unless you've got a Mirror Force in your deck, the only trap cards you have are Nutrient-Z, which won't help you against my current monsters and Kunai with Chain which will only make the monster who you equip it with vulnerable to my next attack since it has to keep the chain tethered for its effects to maintain themselves. Now go ahead and make your move, Joey, I plan on winning this duel!"
"Yeah, well good for you, so do I!" Joey shouted. He drew the top card off his deck. Finally his long running plan had come to fruition. "Awesome! Gilford the Lightning!"
Fuyuhiko raised an eyebrow. He wondered if Joey was serious.
He was. "I'm sacrificing all three of my monsters," Joey said, removing them from the duel disk. "So that I can play Gilford the Lightning in Attack Mode!" All three of Joey's monsters and the Fairy Box disappeared. "And since I sacrificed 3 monsters to play him, both of your monsters are done!"
Joey's monster appeared, clad in its armor and colorful cloth fauld. "Gilford the Lightning, annihilate Fuyuhiko's monsters with your special ability! Show 'em who's boss!"
There was a powerful flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder. When it cleared, Joey expected to see an empty field, but although Dark Crusader had vanished from the battlefield, First of the Dragons was still in play.
"Hey!" Joey barked. "What's goin' on? How come your dragon is still standin'?"
"Fool, did you really think First of the Dragons was so easily dispatched? My monster cannot be destroyed by card effects by other monsters and can only be destroyed by monsters without special abilities, which last I checked you don't have any that are as powerful as my First of the Dragons!" Fuyuhiko declared.
"Yeah, well you can still take battle damage. Go! Gilford! Attack his First of the Dragons!"
"How soon we are to forget," Fuyuhiko said. "You destroyed my Dark Crusader, so you owe me life points and a card!" Fuyuhiko said, drawing the top card of his deck as Joey's life points ticked down to 2200.
Gilford fired a bolt of lightning at the high rising First of the Dragons. Although it managed to wound the monster, the damage healed, though Fuyuhiko's life points came down to 1800.
"Are you doing anything else this turn?" Fuyuhiko asked Joey.
"Nope, it's your move."
"Heh, don't mind if I do," Fuyuhiko said. He drew the top card of his deck. "And it looks like things are about to get a whole lot worse for you. I'll start by equipping my monster with the powerful magic card, Malevolent Nuzzler! This raises my monster's attack power by 700 points!"
Teá clapsed her hands to her mouth when she saw First of the Dragons' attack points climb to 3400. "Now it's strong enough to destroy Joey's Gilford," she cried.
"First of the Dragons, attack! Destroy Gilford the Lightning!" Fuyuhiko declared. "Ancient Roar!"
With a loud, sonic roar, Fuyuhiko's monster, caused Gilford the Lightning to shatter into shards, reducing Joey's life points down to 1800. The duel was tied.
"You may as well give up," Fuyuhiko said, smugly. "There isn't a single card in your deck that can stand up to a monster with 3400 attack points. Even Time Wizard's time magic won't allow you to destroy my monster. Face it, I've won."
Joey sighed. Fuyuhiko was right. There wasn't a single card in his deck that could save him now. What could he do? He lost Skull Dice already, about the only trap card he had that could help him in this situation. No matter how he looked at it, he didn't have a single card in his possession that could turn this duel around.
Sorry sis, Joey thought. I let you down. Joey's hand raised up. I'm sorry Yug, but…I don't have anything that can fight a monster like that. He was about to play his hand on top of the duel disk and surrender.
"Joey!"
"Eh?"
Joey whirled his head around. Standing not too far away, having crept up on the scene like a freaking ninja was none other than Yugi…well, the pharaoh to be precise, but still Yugi nonetheless. He was standing tall, jacket hanging off him, arms folded.
"Yuge!" Joey was ecstatic to see him, only for his enthusiasm to wane considerably. "Sorry you have to see me like this, right when I'm about to lose."
"Lose?" Yugi asked. "I don't see a direct attack being made on your life points yet, Joey. It's your turn, is it not?"
"But I…"
"Joey!" Yugi barked. "It will be all right. I have faith in you and your deck. You just have to have faith in both yourself and in the heart of the cards!"
"He's right, you know," Yugi's grandpa spoke up. "You can't give up just because your opponent has a gigantic monster on the field. If I were you, I…"
"Grandpa, let Joey figure out how to win," Yugi said, walking away from Joey and towards his grandpa and childhood friend. He smiled as he became parallel with his grandfather. "This is his chance to come into his own and I think Joey deserves to be given a little more credit than he often gets."
"Well, if you're sure," Solomon said, stroking his beard and turning his head to the side, still not convinced.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me, I still have Rare Hunter hunting to do," Yugi said, walking off, hands in his pockets.
"Yugi, wait a second," Teá said, stepping towards him. "Aren't you going to watch the end of the duel?"
Yugi lifted his head and looked at the sky. He was smiling. "I don't need to Teá. In fact, I hadn't planned on watching any of Joey's duels at all. I just happened to be passing through and sensed doubt within him." Yugi lowered his head, closing his eyes. "A pep talk is fine by me, but Joey can figure things out and win without my help. He's proven that twice now." Yugi glanced back. "Thrice even, judging from the state of things. Tell him, I'll see him in the finals." Yugi gave Teá a thumb's up. "I'll be waiting." He then walked off, eager to find his own challenges.
Refocused on the duel, Joey Wheeler was back in action. "Here goes!" he shouted. "I draw." He looked at the card he drew. "And I play Pot of Greed so I can draw two more cards." Joey's hard was beating hard in his chest. With the cards in his hand, Joey didn't have anything he could do to fight back. He had to draw something that would help him turn this duel around. He drew both cards: Scapegoat and Graverobber.
Graverobber, huh? Joey thought, looking at it. A good card, but there's not a card in the graveyard that can help me.
"My monster cannot be destroyed by card effects by other monsters and can only be destroyed by monsters without special abilities, which last I checked you don't have any that are as powerful as my First of the Dragons!"
Wait a sec, Fuyuhiko's Zoa. That card's plenty powerful. But…even 2600 attack points isn't enough to stop his monster. Something then dawned on Joey. Wait a sec, that's it! Shield and Sword! If I could draw that and set my combo just right…Yeah! I could turn this whole duel around! "All right, here goes!" Joey shouted. "I activate the spell card, Scapegoat!" Four sheep tokens appeared on the battlefield.
"Heh, stalling for time, are we Wheeler?" Fuyuhiko asked.
"Maybe, but stall tactics are as good as any tactics. I place one card face-down onto the field," Joey said, dictating his next action. "Your move, Mafia Boy!"
"Then, I'll draw!" Fuyuhiko declared and drew the top card of his deck. He looked at his hand. I'm not sure what that bastard thinks he's up to, but I've gotta figure it out fast. He grabbed a card in his hand. So for now I'll just limit his options. "I play the monster Getsu Fuhma, in attack position!" A long, red headed samurai warrior, clad in red and green armor and carrying a katana appeared. It had 1700 attack points and 1200 defense points. "First of the Dragons, attack! Destroy a scapegoat with a lash of your tail!" Fuyuhiko declared, clenching a fist.
With a lash of his tail, First of the Dragons destroyed Joey's monster. In the background, Peko was shedding a tear for the death of such a cute critter.
"Getsu Fuhma! Attack!" Fuyuhiko shouted. Joey's monster was annihilated, leaving him with only two scapegoats. "Next turn, I'll play a third monster and you can bet your ass you'll get a direct attack from First of the Dragons!" Fuyuhiko declared as the monster roared down at Joey. "So, what's the plan, Wheeler? You gonna use luck to win your battle just like last time?"
"Sort of, I just gotta make a lucky draw, but if the heart of the cards are in my favor, that's all I'll need." Joey drew the top card of his deck. The card he drew was Graceful Charity. "I play Graceful Charity so that I can draw three cards as long as I discard two." Joey discarded both his Flame Swordsman and his Foolish Burial so that he could hang onto the three new cards he drew and they were exactly what he needed to end this duel. "This duel is over!" Joey declared.
"Glad you're starting to talk sense, Wheeler," Fuyuhiko said smugly.
"I've been talking sense! I said I had a plan and now watch as I spring it into action! First, I activate the spell card Shield and Sword!"
"Okay, so you flip my monster's attack and defense points around, but that only counts for this turn."
"This turn is all I'm gonna need, cause now I activate my face-down card: Graverobber!" The little dirt covered, green clad gremlin appeared with his trusty pickaxe and bag. He then dug through the bag and the card he had in hand made Fuyuhiko break out into a cold sweat.
"Zoa?"
"Yup, and since Zoa's hittin the field after I played Shield and Sword he isn't gonna be affected by the attack and defense switch. And since your Malevolent Nuzzler only raises your monster's attack power, Zoa's stronger this turn than First of the Dragons!"
"You…you bastard!"
"But wait, there's more!" Joey declared and activated Monster Reborn. "I'm also bringing back Gilford the Lightning back from my graveyard!"
"This can't be!" Fuyuhiko shouted.
"Zoa! Take out Fuyuhiko's First of the Dragons! Soul Beam!"
Zoa unleashed its bright blue beam attack and destroyed Fuyuhiko's First of the Dragons. Fuyuhiko's life points ticked down to 1200. Joey's fell to 1300 because of Business Deal.
"And now it's time to end this duel once and for all! Gilford the Lightning, attack Getsu Fuhma! Lightning Blade strike!"
The residual lightning attack from when Gilford destroyed Getsu Fuhma annihilated the rest of Fuyuhiko's life points, shocking him to the core and giving Joey the undisputed win.
"Master!" Peko ran over to Fuyuhiko to make sure he was all right, putting her hands on his shoulders as he slumped backwards a little.
Joey took a deep breath. His heart was beating so fast until his assured victory that he thought he was going to drop on his feet from a heart attack.
"You did it, Joey! You won!" Teá cheered.
"Incredible. I couldn't have done a better job myself," Solomon complimented.
Fuyuhiko recovered and stood up. He seemed to be taking his loss with dignity. Both Teá and Joey had expected him to be swearing up a storm. "I honestly didn't think my First of the Dragons could be beaten the way you just showed me. You're something else, Wheeler. I significantly underestimated your ability as a duelist." Fuyuhiko stopped smirking and looked at Joey seriously. "You're a duelist worthy of respect and honor." He smirked. "And with those dice skills, you'd make a killing in our gambling ring."
"You're taking this surprisingly well," Teá said, unable to not stay silent on the matter any longer.
"To break down into a rant would be childish," Fuyuhiko said. "I lost, that's the state of things. Here, Whe…Joseph," Fuyuhiko said, handing Joey a locator card and a face-down card. "You won fair and square. I think you'll find the card to your liking."
Joey was floored by what was in his hand. "First of the Dragons?" he gasped. "Can I really have this?"
Fuyuhiko smirked. "We've got plenty rare cards in my family's vault and, well, I challenged you knowing you were a Duelist Kingdom finalist. Since I lost, the least I can do is back up the underdog with honor and dignity. That's befitting, I think of someone considered the Ultimate Yakuza." He gave Joey his hand to shake. "Don't lose, you hear me. You've got mine and Peko's cards in your deck." Fuyuhiko started getting snappy again. "So if I heard you lost to some chump, I will wrench your eyes open with pliers so you can watch as I and cut every single finger off of your dueling hand, got me?"
"Y-yeah, I got ya," Joey said, nervously and quickly shook Fuyuhiko's hand.
With a smirk, Fuyuhiko pulled his hand away and turned around. "Come on, Peko, let's go. We can at least see how the others are doing." He walked forward only to stop. "Oh, I suppose as long as we're being honorable." Fuyuhiko turned around. "Joseph."
"What's up?"
"Have you heard of Hope's Peak Academy?"
"You mean that prestigious school for the elite cream of de crop of society?"
"The very same," Fuyuhiko said. "Peko and I happen to be part of the school and it's common knowledge that Seto Kaiba, our tournament's host, is in the grade ahead of us."
"Figures that rich boy would belong to some hoity toity, fancy school," Joey snapped.
"The reason I bring it up is because Peko and I are not the only members of our class participating in this tournament. There are five others from my class alone in this tournament. Each of them may try to challenge you, Joseph and you might see one or two of them in the finals. You'd best be on your guard. In fact, with that devil's luck you seem to have, you remind me of one of them."
"I do?" Joey asked. "Who?"
"His name is Nagito Komaeda," Fuyuhiko said. "He's considered, by Hope's Peak Academy's standards, to have the Ultimate Luck."
"How lucky are we talking exactly?"
Elsewhere in Domino City, Nagito was starting up a duel against some no-name duelist for his first duel of the tournament. Going by their school uniform, they were actually from Yugi's school. Breakfast had given Nagito a bad case of indigestion, so he was off to a late start. But he had faith in his cards, all of them lucky draws from packs, or just discarded from the streets.
Waiting in the wings, was one of Marik's Rare Hunters. Marik had eyes on every Hope's Peak student, if possible, and Nagito was no exception.
"Let's duel!" Nagito and his opponent declared simultaneously.
"You've made a miscalculation, challenging me to a duel," his dark haired opponent said. "Allow me to show you what careful statistics and planning have led me to in this tournament. In my school, I'm something of a dueling genius."
"Dueling genius, huh?" Nagito asked, sounding unimpressed. "Well, I won't judge a book by its cover. Show me what you've got."
"Very well," the young man said. "I draw."
Nagito then looked at his hand. "Um, Andrew," he said, calling to his opponent by name.
However, Andrew wasn't listening. "And I shall play the spell card Pot of Greed. This lets me draw two more cards. Next, I'll play Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards, as long as I discard two. Then, I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back my Spiral Serpent that I just discarded back from my graveyard." Out came a monster with the body of a sea serpent, but the head of a stupid looking fish. However, its power was no joke. It had 2900 attack points and 2900 defense points.
"Next, I'll play Cost Down and by discarding one monster from my hand, I'll play Tenmaitaitei in attack mode." A knight clad blackish and gold armor appeared on a pegasus with similar armor. It had 2400 attack points and 1000 defense points. "And with my spell card double summon, I can play another 6 or 5-star monster without having to sacrifice a monster on my field. And I choose Cyber-Tech Alligator." A reptile, clad in gaudy red armor appeared. It had 2500 attack points and 1600 defense points. "Next, I'll place a card face-down onto the field. And, according to my calculations, there isn't a card in anyone's deck that can stand up to an opening move this strategically thought out. Your life points will be zero no matter what you try to do."
"Yeah, but…see, the thing is," Nagito started to say, but Andrew cut him off.
"Go, or just surrender. A fruitless struggle is only a waste of both of our times."
Nagito sighed. "The duel is over."
"As I calculated," Andrew said. "So then, your rare card if you would."
"No, I mean…" Nagito started only to stop and sigh. "It's probably best if I just show you." Andrew watched as Nagito began laying card after card onto the duel disk in the monster zones.
"What are you doing?" Andrew snapped. "You can't do that. That's against the…" Nagito's arm moved away and Andrew could see the cards he was playing. "…rules?" he squeaked. His blood ran cold and he started to drip with sweat. Impossible! It has to be! Numbers don't lie!
Nagito's monster slots were filled and the area around Nagito and Andrew became distorted with dark shadows as a 5-star pentagram appeared behind Nagito. "I tried to warn you," Nagito said. "I already had four of the pieces in my hand as my starting hand and given my luck, I was pretty sure I'd draw the fifth."
"But…but how?" Andrew asked as a large brown fist emerged from the pentagram. "How could you have Exodia?"
"Just my luck, I guess," Nagito shrugged. "Buuuuut, I do know that despite your little strategy there, there's not much you can do against this."
Everyone in the area stopped and stared to see Exodia emerge. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Many who had seen the duel in passing had no idea how to react to seeing Exodia on the first turn.
"Exodia!" Nagito shouted, suddenly turning serious from his usual lackadaisical attitude. "Obliterate!"
Rearing back its arm, Exodia unleashed a wave of limitless energy, obliterating everything in the attack's path, including Andrew's lifepoints, knocking the poor kid on his backside. Andrew crumpled into a fetal position, his cards scattered on the ground around him.
"You don't mind if I just help myself to one of your cards, do you?" Nagito asked as he approached. Andrew just continued to cower. "I didn't think so." Nagito grabbed the card and walked away, paying no mind to the fact that everyone around him was now scattering like flies and that he now had the eye of the Rare Hunter that had been watching ever so carefully.
Exodia cards? Real Exodia cards? The Rare Hunter thought. I must challenge this duelist to a duel immediately! "Hey!" He called out to Nagito. "You there!" The Rare Hunter ran after Nagito only to trip over his own cloak and fall over. As he tried to get up, a dog came loose from a nearby owner's leash and ran over to the Rare Hunter, barking at him and biting at his cloak.
Nagito, oblivious to the drama, kept pace and headed out for his next challenge.
"I suppose you'll just have to find out for yourself, Joseph," Fuyuhiko said. "Anyway, see you around I suppose." Fuyuhiko walked away, Peko right behind him.
When they were far away, Joey pumped his fist as he looked at First of the Dragons and Battleguard King. "YEAH!" He cheered. "I did it! I won! Yuge, did you see—" Joey turned around to see Yugi, only to now notice that Yugi was long gone. "Teá, where'd Yugi go?"
"He already left," Teá said. "He said he had faith in you and just walked away."
"Yuge…" Joey said. He understood why Yugi did it and, truth be told, he was rather appreciative of the fact that Yugi just gave him the pep talk and walked away. It let Joey know Yugi wasn't going to babysit him anymore. He'd be there when it counted, but the rest of the time, Joey could handle himself and Yugi seemed to understand this. Joey, now more fired up than ever, declared, "All right! Who wants a piece of Joey Wheeler next? I'm gonna challenge the very next duelist I see! No! Wait! I'm gonna find one of them Hope's Peak fellas!"
"How are you gonna know them when you see them?" Solomon asked.
"My gut's never failed me. They'll probably have that supernatural elitist vibe to them." There was an awkward pause. "I totally got this!" Joey's enthusiasm cooled off. "But first I need myself a hotdog, anyone know where I can find a vendor?"
Teá and Solomon hung their heads. They really shouldn't have expected any less of Joey, but that's what they got for getting caught up in one of his rare moments of actual competence.
"Fine, buy your hotdog, but after that, let's get back to dueling," Teá said seriously.
"No sweat," Joey said. "I've got three locator cards already and the tournament's barely begun. Far as I'm concerned, I'm ahead of the game. Speaking of ahead of the game though," Joey said. "I wonder how Yugi's faring right now."
Although Joey didn't know it, Yugi was also well on his way to earning his third locator card. He was about to throw down with another one of Marik's Rare Hunters: the magician duelist Arkana.
(A/N: No, I'm not redoing the Yugi and Arkana battle. I was just adding the sentence in to give you guys some context. And yes, of course Nagito has Exodia. He has the exact type of bullshit luck that would let him have all 5 pieces and he would draw them on the first turn too XD. Don't forget about that Rare Hunter though. He'll get his chance to duel Nagito…eventually. But at least now you know why Nagito and Ibuki aren't watching the tournament. They're participants :D.
But wait, I hear you cry. If Joey dueled these two, what about Espa Roba? And to that I say, until next time from all of me to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne! …In other words come back next chapter. You'll get your Espa Roba fill).