(A/N: I think the reason I like Hajime more than Makoto is because Hajime always seems more cocksure of himself and, well, manly in some circumstances. Or maybe that's just cause Hajime sounds like Johnny Yong Bosch. How unfortunate it is, then, that I'm stuck with Danganronpa 3 Hajime throughout most of this who still acts like pre-Nia Simon from Gurren Lagann. …And now I'm suddenly picturing Chiaki with Kamina's 80s sunglasses and telling Hajime he needs to believe in the her that believes in him. My mind is weird, but if it wasn't, I wouldn't have created this fanfiction. So let's enjoy another spawn of my madness with this chapter of Dueling Trigger Finger).
Among the spectators of Sweet Orchard Vs Makoto had been none other than Chiaki Vs Hajime, though the two had been on the other side of the mall when the event started so neither one had really had a chance to be selected. Now they were sitting down with a large pizza, Chiaki getting tomato sauce all over her face and wiping it off with a cloth every now and again. Hajime was starting to wonder where all those slices were going with how Chiaki was packing them away so quickly.
Hajime's duel against Eliza had been the last duel for the pair as neither saw anyone befitting of dueling as per their "Dueler's Instinct". Also, like Makoto and Komaru, both had spectated a few other duels, but for a different reason. Chiaki wanted to show Hajime that there were people less talented than him in this tournament and, after watching for a bit, even Hajime was beginning to see that.
It still didn't make him feel any less confident that he could win the whole tournament, but at least Chiaki's votes of confidence were no longer ringing hollow. If only he could duel someone else above his self-perceived bracket and beat them, then he'd really feel like he had a chance.
As Chiaki and Hajime finished up lunch, Chiaki backed her chair up and said, "I'm going to head for the bathroom for a little bit, okay? Meet me outside the mall in ten minutes, okay?"
"The way we came in, or the other side?" Hajime asked.
"Either or," Chiaki said, "I'm flexible. As long as you loiter about one exit or the other, I'll find you. I promise I won't abandon you. Can you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you," Hajime blurted out rather forcefully.
"Then I'll see you outside, okay," Chiaki said, looking and sounding unfazed as she excused herself from the table and threw away her trash on the way to the bathroom. Hajime looked at his watch and, shrugging to himself, decided to walk around the mall for a little while.
Chiaki did her business and, like a healthy young lady washed her hands and dried them off. However, as she left the bathroom she was suddenly grabbed and someone put a cloth dampened with chloroform around her mouth, causing her to pass out.
Meanwhile, while waiting for her, Hajime had managed to get in the now dying line for a free booster pack. Unfortunately, while there were plenty of good cards in the pack, like Shadow Ghoul, Darkstorm Dragon, and Blast Magician, only one card really stood out to Hajime as exceptional: Future Fusion.
With this, I don't even need to have the cards in my hand. I mean, if I can hold out for just two turns, I can get any fusion monster to the field to save me. Well…provided this card doesn't get destroyed either, then I just have a bunch of cards in my graveyard. A thought then hit Hajime. Wait a sec. He pulled out Dark Paladin from his pocket, which he'd had before trading Eliza for Buster Blader. He looked at the two cards side by side. He smirked as he thought of a killer combo. However, his joy was short lived.
As he proceeded to head down the stairs of the mall from the second floor, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple of cloaked thugs dash through the mall. People running in a crowded mall normally wouldn't be so out of place, but it was what suddenly hit the ground that made him freak out: a backpack with a kitty head on it.
Chiaki's backpack! Hajime thought alarmed and noticed the two goons still pushing through the crowd. Hajime quickly slammed his deck into his duel disk and crouched slightly and momentarily. Track practice skills don't fail me now. Breaking into a sprint, Hajime performed amateur parkour as he zipped around the mall, careful not to lose his duel disk or his deck while sprinting through the crowded building. Swooping low, he grasped hold of Chiaki's backpack and ran for the door outside, the goons already out the door and proceeding down the street with the unconscious Chiaki tucked under one of their arms. Hajime could barely see her arm poking out from where they were walking. They appeared to be moving with her inconspicuously as possible so as not to draw attention. That or people were just bad at observing unusual stuff.
Racing down the series of stairs leading up to the mall, Hajime ran after the goons, throwing Chiaki's backpack onto one shoulder. "Hey, you! Stop!" He shouted, alarming his targets and causing them to sprint. Hajime, determined to rescue Chiaki, continued to his pursuit, eventually confronting the two when he threw her backpack at the back of one of their heads, nailing one culprit in the back of the head. He fell to the ground, dropping Chiaki as she landed arm first on the ground, tied up and gagged and still unconscious.
"Let her go!" Hajime demanded. "I'm no black belt, but I'm not afraid to beat up a couple of punks trying to kidnap an innocent girl!"
"Blast, where'd he come from?" The smaller man that Hajime had hit in the back of the head said.
"Doesn't matter," the bigger of the two men said, throwing off his cloak. "I know how to deal with kids. Listen you little squirt, buzz off. We ain't got time to deal with you."
"All right, then how about I call the cops since kidnapping is a crime?" Hajime asked. "I'm sure the Kaiba Corporation would love to crack down on a couple of thugs trying to kidnap one of his most prominent participants."
"Okay now," the smaller man said, "Let's not be hasty, young man. Perhaps we can settle this civilly." He threw off his cloak as well. "I am Craig and this is Edan, we're Rare Hunters, the finest duelists in all the land."
"I thought this might come down to a duel," Hajime said, readying his duel disk, deck already loaded. "I'm prepared."
"Haha, hear that Edan?" Craig asked. "He took the bait. Listen, brat, let me make something clear. This ain't no ordinary duel. When you duel a Rare Hunter, you duel for more than just your pride. If you lose, our master, Marik, will make sure you'll regret it because not only will your friend be coming with us, but you'll join her."
"Not going to happen because once I rough the two of you up, you're going straight to the authorities."
"Hear that, Craig, he plans to take us both on?" Edan said, firing up his duel disk.
"Yup, I heard him too, Edan," Craig said, doing the same.
"Wait, hang on a second, two against one?"
"It's a tag duel," Edan said, "Oh, but I'm afraid your partner of choice can't help you so I guess you're starting out with the cruelest handicap imaginable."
"You bastard," Hajime growled. He still wasn't sure about this, but he couldn't just turn tail and run. Chiaki needed him now more than ever. "Fine! I'll take you on, 4000 life points each, winner take all! And just so it's fair, I'll go second!"
"Heh, you're gonna regret this decision kid. When we're through with you, you're gonna wish you never bothered to run after the girl."
"Draw your hand," Hajime stated, glaring. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can get Chiaki to a hospital if she needs it."
"Awfully cocky for a brat, aren't you?" Edan said. "But I like your fire kid, not as good as mine though. People call me, Edan the Flame."
"I'm Craig the Crater."
"We're the best fire and earth team Master Marik has ever employed!" they declared simultaneously.
"I'm Hajime," Hajime formally introduced. "No fancy title attached. Now then…"
"Let's Duel!" they all declared simultaneously.
"I'll go first," Craig said. "And I summon Mine Golem to the field in attack position!" A large, gilded robotic looking, humanoid figure with a landmine for a face appeared on the battlefield. It had 1000 attack points and 1900 defense points. "And I shall place one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
"Now it's my turn," Edan said, his cloak billowing behind him as he grinned maliciously. "And I'm summoning Darkfire Soldier number 1 in attack mode!" A shirtless, male humanoid being with flames for legs and a fiery aura around him appeared. He had a crooked sword, 1700 attack points and 1150 defense points. "And I'll equip him with this magic card: Burning Spear! This will increase my monster's attack power to 2100 points!"
The attack and defense of Darkfire Soldier adjusted automatically accordingly.
"Your turn, kid," Edan said. "Let's see what you've got."
Hajime nodded with a serious expression and drew the top card off of his deck, glancing at it as he held it up perpendicular to his face. He quickly opened the field-spell slot in his deck. "I activate Fusion Gate!"
"What?!" Both Rare Hunters gasped at the same. Fusion Gate was an unbelievably rare card and for any duelist to use it, especially on the first turn, only meant trouble.
"And next, I'll banish Buster Blader, Versago the Destroyer, Giga Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier all from the game in order to summon two of my most powerful fusions!" Hajime declared as, from a bright beam of golden light, two monsters emerged. "Behold! Dark Paladin and Labyrinth Tank!"
The bright blue, red-drilled tank of 2400 attack and defense points, appeared alongside the turquoise clothed, spellcaster of 2900 attack points. "And next, I'll use the last card in my hand Card of Sanctity. Now we all must draw cards until we have 6 in our hands. And since I don't have any anymore, well," Hajime said and gave both Rare Hunters his toughest look, "I'd say that's a big replenishment for me, wouldn't you agree?"
Both Rare Hunters looked mildly irritated. This Hajime kid certainly knew how to play rough, but would it be enough?
"Next, I'm activating two Quick Attack magic cards so that both of my fusion monsters can attack this turn! Now, Dark Paladin! Attack!" Hajime declared. "Destroy Darkfire Soldier number 1!" With a blast of energy from its sword scepter, Dark Paladin obliterated the opposing monster, dropping its controller's life points down to 3200. "And now," Hajime declared, eye flashing at his other opponent, "Labyrinth Tank, destroy Mine Golem!"
Labyrinth Tank charged forward and tunneled straight through the offending golem, barreling its slowly spinning drill into the duelist behind it and knocking him over. His life points fell to 2600.
"Urgh," Craig said, getting up off the ground. "Mine Golem's effect activates. When its destroyed, you lose 500 life points."
"Huh?" Hajime noticed a red, beeping light at his feet, which exploded and knocked him to the ground. His own life points fell to 3500. "Guh," he grunted, getting up off the ground and shrugged off the minor inconvenience, despite the throb in his elbow. He was too determined to save Chiaki to let something like that stop him. "I'm going to throw one card face-down," Hajime said, as the card appeared via hologram, "and ending my turn."
"My turn then," Craig said. "And I really must thank you for the extra draw, kid because now I can play Trojan Horse in attack position!" A large, brown horse with 1600 attack points appeared. "But he won't be staying for long because I activate the spell card double summon. Now I sacrifice him and use his special ability to bring out an Earth monster that normally requires 2 tributes to be played. And I choose the mighty Sword Hunter!"
A powerful swordsman with two swords in hand appeared on the battlefield with 2450 attack points. It seemed that card was determined to be a thorn in Hajime's side. First Eliza, now this guy. "And next, I think I'll equip my hunter with the mighty Legendary Sword, raising his attack power to 2750. And now, Sword Hunter, attack! Destroy Labyrinth Tank!"
Not today! Hajime declared, "Reveal face-down, Intimidation!" Hajime declared. "This magic card reduces an attack monster's attack power by 500 points and gives that power to my monster."
Sword Hunter's attack power fell to 2250 and Labyrinth Tank's rose to 2900.
"The tables have turned," Hajime declared calmly. "Go, Labyrinth Tank!"
"I don't think so!" Craig declared. "I activate my face-down card, Inspiration! This lets me increase my monster's attack points by 700." A fierce white aura surrounded Sword Hunter, increasing its attack power back up to 2950. "Your Labyrinth Tank is history."
With two solid swipes, Labyrinth Tank was destroyed, reducing Hajime's life points down to 3450. "And since Sword Hunter destroyed a monster," Craig said as Labyrinth Tank's card appeared in his magic and trap zone slot, creating a spiffy new chest piece for Sword Hunter. "My monster gains an additional 200 attack points with it equipped. And now my turn is complete."
Sword Hunter's attack points readjusted to the correct 2950.
Hajime sweated a little, grinding his teeth. He was down a monster. No matter, on his turn Dark Paladin would wipe the floor with Sword Hunter and put Hajime back in control of this duel.
However, as Edan drew, and laughed, it sounded like Hajime wasn't going to get that chance. "Sorry kid, but your other monster is history. "I play Flame Ruler in attack mode." A sorcerer wreathed in flames appeared with 1500 attack and 1600 defense points. "And like my partner, I'm also playing Double Summon. So say bye-bye to Flame Ruler and behold the mightiest of all fire monsters, Infernal Flame Emperor!" Edan bellowed. Suddenly a towering, quadrupedal mass of flame appeared. It had 2700 attack points and stood about as tall as the buildings on either side of the alleyway that the still unconscious Chiaki was laying in and that Craig and Edan were standing on either side of. "And when he's summoned to the field, I can banish fire monsters from my graveyard to destroy magic and trap cards on the field. So I think I'll banish my Darkfire soldier and my Flame Ruler to destroy your Intimidation and your Fusion Gate!"
"N-no!" Hajime declared. Those were the crux of his strategy right now. Without those…
"Infernal Flame Emperor!" Edan bellowed. "Crush his magic cards!"
Infernal Flame Emperor reared back its massive, fiery fist and unleashed a downpour of flame that roasted Hajime and destroyed both of his spell cards, but leaving Dark Paladin untouched as Hajime screamed in pain. Hajime panted, now sweating up a storm as the flames ceased, his body steaming a little and his ahoge drooping slightly. He had one eye open, sweat dripping into it.
"You still…" Hajime panted. "Don't have…enough attack points…to destroy Dark Paladin."
"Maybe not as things currently stand, but with another Burning Spear I sure as hell can."
"Ughhhh," Hajime groaned, watching Infernal Flame Emperor's attack power go all the way up to 3100.
"Infernal Flame Emperor, attack!" Edan declared, pointing at Dark Paladin. "Infernal Flame Fist!"
Infernal Flame Emperor's massive hand reached down and crushed Dark Paladin into bits, reducing Hajime's life points down to 3250, but now he had no monsters on the field and no spell or trap cards in play and either of his opponents could wipe him out in one move. He went from looking in pain to simply looking distraught. Things certainly looked hopeless.
Edan laughed, arms folded, cocky smirk upon his face. "You're messing with Rare Hunters, kid. Now fork over the rare cards in your possession. You're not talented enough to play with the big boys."
Talent. There was that word again. A word Hope's Peak told him he lacked, a word that kept him down and beaten consistently throughout life. You don't have enough talent to be on the track team. You don't have enough talent to be part of the lead debate team. You don't have enough talent to be on the swim team, the chess team, the lead role in the drama club.
Doubt, fear and panic swept through Hajime. He came to this duel with gusto and it was starting to putter out after just one turn. He lost both cards that Eliza helped him use. His hand consisted of only Mystical Elf, Monster Reborn, Giant Soldier of Stone and Battle Ox and he if he lost, when he lost. Chiaki would be lost forever.
Fist clenched, face wrought with agony and frustration, Hajime could only describe his feelings as cold, hopeless despair. I…let you down, Chiaki, I'm sorry. So much for believing in me, huh?
Hajime's hand rested on top of his deck. He would draw his card and then decide if he should delay the inevitable or forfeit here and there. He gave it his best shot. He could just call the authorities and have these two arrested. Yeah, that was probably for the best that and getting kicked out of the tournament after he paid out a locator card to each Rare Hunter.
However, in Hajime's despaired haze, he then noticed Chiaki moving in the alley. She was coming to. Hands tied behind her back, feet bound together, mouth shut by a piece of tape, she was confused and absolutely terrified. Wriggling around like a worm, she grunted, catching the attention of all three duelists. Her vision was hindered by the glow of sunlight from the alley entrance, but it quickly faded and she could see Hajime's silhouette. With pleading eyes, like a princess trapped in a tower, she gave Hajime a desperate look, to save her from this situation.
Hajime saw the look on Chiaki's face, but only felt more despair. Save her? In this situation? Did she understand how hopeless his position in the duel was.
As the sun stopped bothering her eyes, Chiaki saw the hopeless, despaired look on Hajime's face and her expression changed from forlorn to serious and a little bit of anger. Struggling, she managed to get herself in an upright position against the brick wall to her right.
"The hell is she doing?" Edan asked.
"I don't know, but we tied those ropes extra tight. She'll never break her bonds," Craig said.
Hajime knew what Chiaki was doing though. She was giving him a message. Even in her desperate, hopeless situation, she was struggling regardless of futility because maybe, just maybe she could get free. At least, that was how Hajime interpreted it. And on top of that, he remembered words from Chiaki from his last duel.
"Just have fun. Don't fret over a loss. A loss is a loss. Winning's fun, but even a loss can be a learning experience. So calm down, and just have fun."
Hajime's fingers went from being gently placed atop his deck to pressing down hard on the top card. More is riding on this duel if I lose, Hajime said, But Chiaki's right. I can't do anything if I'm not calm. He completely pinched the top card of his deck. There are still cards in my deck that can turn this duel around. I just have to draw them! "My turn!" Hajime declared, fiercely. His dueling spirit was back and at 110%.
He looked at the card he drew. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards." Hajime drew the top card of his deck, but didn't pay it any mind. He then drew the second card revealing the exact card he needed to turn this duel around. "I activate the spell card, Future Fusion!" Hajime declared. "This allows me to summon a monster card from my extra deck in two turns, provided I send all the appropriate monsters in my deck to the graveyard now. And the cards I pick," Hajime said, pulling out his deck and grabbing five cards and declared them one by one, "Blackland Fire Dragon, Koumori Dragon, Curse of Dragon, Meteor Dragon, and Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress number 1."
Five dragon monsters? Edan questioned. What's he up to?
"Next, I activate Monster Reborn, which allows me to bring back Dark Paladin from my graveyard." Hajime's fallen spellcaster returned to the battlefields, arms folded, weapon clenched tightly in its grip. "And thanks to the fact that there are now five dragon monsters in the graveyard, Dark Paladin gains an additional 2500 attack points."
Dark Paladin's attack power climbed and climbed and reached 5400.
"But that's not all I'm going to do," Hajime said, plucking the other card he drew with Pot of Greed from his hand. "I also equip Dark Paladin with Black Pendant, increasing its attack power by another 500 points." The mystical pendant hung around Dark Paladin's neck, increasing its attack power to 5900.
"Oh no!" Craig whimpered. He knew exactly what was coming next.
In the alleyway, Chiaki expressed a contented smile. She knew it all along. Hajime was an amazing duelist. The only thing he lacked was confidence both in himself, and in his deck. As long as he had the will to go on, she knew that nothing could stop him.
"And now, Dark Paladin!" Hajime shouted. "Destroy Sword Hunter!"
Dark Paladin attacked with an amazingly powerful blue ball of energy that was ejected from its weapon, annihilating Sword Hunter and all of Craig's life points.
"No…this can't…this can't be," Craig said, squatting on the ground. "I…Craig the Crater…to this nobody."
Hajime ignored him and focused his attention on Edan. "It's just you and me!" He declared. "Get ready to go down! I'm taking Chiaki back and there isn't a thing you can do to stop me!" he roared with such ferocity that it actually made Edan take a step back.
"Hmph, we'll see about that," Edan said and drew the top card of his deck. I said that, but I've gotta think of something. That kid's probably got another monster in his hand and my Infernal Flame Emperor doesn't have the power to go up against his Dark Paladin anymore. Edan looked at his hand. He smirked when he saw a monster in it. However… "I place one monster face-down and switch my Infernal Flame Emperor to defense mode. I'll also play a card face-down and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Hajime said, drawing the top card of his deck. "And I'll start by playing Battle Ox in attack position! And now, Dark Paladin, destroy his Infernal Flame Emperor!" Like before, Dark Paladin attacked, raining down a massive ball of blue energy and annihilating the pyrotechnic elemental monster, raining down bits of fire like a sabotaged firework, the hard light holograms scattering the ground like a mini meteor shower.
"And like that, my trap card activates!" Edan declared. "Backfire!" Whenever a fire monster of mine, like my Infernal Flame Emperor, is destroyed, you take 500 points of damage. "So let's get the fireworks started, shall we? Attack!" A blast of concentrated flames attacked Hajime and brought his life points down to 2750.
"I'll take the hit," Hajime said, doing his best to recover from the assault, "because now I have Battle Ox destroy your face-down monster!"
Battle Ox charged.
"You amateur!" Edan declared. "You walked right into my trap! Go! Fire Hand!"
A glowing, flaming hand appeared, swerving away from Battle ox as the bestial warrior chopped off the pyro-type monster at the wrist, but left the hand itself alone.
"Huh?"
Edan chuckled. When fire hand is destroyed, I can target one of your monsters and destroy it and I choose Dark Paladin!"
Dark Paladin looked surprised as Fire Hand latched onto it and made it go boom, destroying it. "And because you destroyed a fire monster you lose 500 more life points."
Hajime's life points ticked down to 2250 as he took another barrage of fire, grunting in pain and dropping down to one knee.
"Ugh," Hajime winced. He quickly tilted his body and stuck out his chest, declaring boldly, "Black Pendant's effect activates! When its sent to my graveyard, you take five hundred life points of damage!"
"Heh," Edan said, "So what? I've got plenty of life points to crush you with." Edan's life points trickled down to 2700. "Anything else you want to do this turn?"
Hajime briefly looked at his hand. "No," he said, shaking his head, "My turn is done."
Edan laughed heartily, satisfied with the way things were going. "Hahahaha! All you have on the field is your puny Battle Ox. And I have just the cards to bring you to the edge of defeat! Say hello to Solar Flare Dragon!" A monster with 1500 attack points looked like a dragon-headed worm appeared. It was also completely on fire and made out of magma. Edan chuckled, "Heh heh heh, and next I'll equip it with this magic card: Salamandra! This raises my monster's attack power, raising its attack power by 700 points!" Solar Flare dragon burst with fiery energy as Salamandra wrapped around it and brought it up to 2200 attack points. "And lastly, I'm equipping it with my last Burning spear, bringing its attack power up to 2600 points." The monster was now completely made out of dripping lava and magma and looked absolutely terrifying, not that it wasn't terrifying to begin with.
"And now, Solar Flare Dragon, destroy his Battle Ox! Solar Flare Blast!"
A hot blast of fiery energy came out of Solar Flare Dragon's mouth, disintegrating Battle Ox into nothing more than a rising wisp of ashen colored smoke. Hajime's life points fell all the way to 1350.
Edan laughed. "And there's more, thanks to my monster's special effect, you lose 500 life points whenever I end my turn. Go! Solar Flare Dragon! Attack!" Hajime was attacked by a lash of Solar Flare Dragon's tail. His life points dropped to 850 as he clutched his ailing chest.
"WAHAHAHAHA!" Edan bellowed. "It's over! With my monster's attack points the way they are, you can't destroy it in a single move. Even if you somehow managed to fuse a monster with enough attack power, you'd lose 500 life points. Then all I'd have to do is sacrifice a monster by attacking to lose life points so that backfire activates and I'll win the duel. You put up a job well-done kid, but this duel is over! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Is that a fact?" Hajime asked, his voice practically hissing with determination.
Edan stopped laughing. "Huh?" Edan then noticed the spell card that was face-up on the field. He gasped. I completely forgot about his Future Fusion!
"It's my turn," Hajime said. "And now that it's been two turns since I played Future Fusion, I summon my most powerful monster! Come forth, o' mighty beast of legend, a monster so dangerous, even the Blue-Eyes White Dragon quakes in fear! I call forth Five-Headed Dragon!" A pillar of white light appeared behind Hajime and out into the street behind him. However the monster that emerged was so massive that it completely took over the streets behind the fencing rail behind him. Its tail reached all the way out to the other side of the mall and into the parking lot down the cliff behind Hajime. One, two, three, four and then five heads emerged high into the air and over the building Hajime was facing. Each head roared in defiance and anger, becoming the very embodiment of rage and determination befitting what lurked deep inside their summoner's heart. It was even more imposing when the creature took flight so that only its tail was anything close to ground level.
Edan just stared up at the jaws of impending doom. With any luck, Hajime would just attack and get it over with.
In the alleyway, Chiaki looked up at Hajime's massive beast. Although the creature could inflict despair, she was happy. To her, it was a beast of salvation. Once Hajime attacked, the duel would be all but over.
Everywhere in Battle City, people were stopping and staring at the gigantic dragon in downtown Domino.
In particular, Kaiba took one gaze at the beast and, unceremoniously dropped his briefcase. "What the hell is that thing doing here?" In virtual reality that monster had nearly annihilated him, destroyed Mokuba and would've been the end of his very existence if Yugi hadn't combined Black Luster Soldier with his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Kaiba had heard that Pegasus had recently made the card for printing, but it was an incredibly rare card, practically unobtainable.
"Big bro, are you seeing this?" Mokuba's voice echoed from the radio inside Kaiba's jacket collar.
"I see it, Mokuba," Kaiba said. "Find out whoever's controlling that dragon. I want a name, origin, dueling history, even their shoe size."
"Got it," Mokuba said. "I'll find out whatever I can, Seto."
The Five-Headed Dragon, Kaiba thought as Mokuba hung up. A monster created only by my wildest fantasies that my former employees twisted to their own malicious ends. No one but me should have a card that powerful. And soon, Kaiba said, whipping out Obelisk and looking at it, I will. Kaiba only currently didn't have the card because that would've required likely having to talk to Pegasus and he wanted to stay away from that lunatic as much as possible.
Kaiba, of course, was not the only person reacting to the Five-Headed Dragon's appearance. "What the heck?" Joey Wheeler exclaimed. "Is that what I think it is?"
"You recognize it?" Teá asked.
"You darn right I do. Hard to forget the very monster that vaporized ya from the face of da Earth. I still have nightmares about that thing."
"Joey! What's going on, man?" Tristan asked, running up to him.
"I'll tell you what: bad news!" Joey exclaimed.
Solomon was the only one of the group not freaking out. Instead, he was more fixated on the massive beast towering over a few buildings like some kind of kaiju. Such a truly fearsome beast makes for quite a formidable foe. Yugi, good luck.
Yugi, of course, with The Pharaoh in control, had also stopped to stare at the giant dragon lording over the city.
"Oh no!" The Pharaoh exclaimed. "Not the Five-Headed Dragon!"
"You think it's one of Marik's Rare Hunters?" Yugi asked, his spirit appearing next to the ancient Egyptian soul currently using his body.
"I don't know," The Pharaoh said, "But if it is, then whoever their dueling is about to lose much more than their life points."
"We need to get over there, fast!" Yugi declared.
"Agreed," The Pharaoh nodded and ran off to check things out.
Of course, while Yugi had to run to get to the dragon's location, Marik had eyes everywhere and used the eyes of the still panicked Edan to see the foul beast up close and personal. "What sorcery is this?" he declared in the comfort of the cabin of the boat he was sailing on. "The Five-Headed Dragon, the only card in all of Duel Monsters said to rival the power of the three Egyptian Gods, wielded by a mere boy? Where? Where did he get such a rare and powerful card?" Through Edan's eyes, Marik then noticed the shivering, sweating Craig.
"Man, screw this! I'm out of here!" Craig declared, running away, leaving Sword Hunter and a locator card behind.
"Wait a sec. These were the Rare Hunters I sent after Chiaki Nanami," Marik said. Through Edan's eyes, he looked at Hajime. "So who is this boy? And why does he command such a ruthless beast so flawlessly?"
Edan continued to stare at Hajime as Hajime held up another card. "Before I attack," Hajime said, "Since I have life points to spare. I activate the spell card Smashing Ground," Hajime said and placed a spell card on the field that had a fist driving into Blue Earth. "This spell card lets me destroy the monster on your side of the field with the highest defense points and since you only have one monster, Solar Flare Dragon is destroyed."
A giant fist came from out of nowhere, struck the ground and erupted it in blue light, destroying Solar Flare Dragon. Although Hajime's life points dropped to 350, the game was over now.
"Five-Headed Dragon," Hajime said as he raised his arm and pointed straight at Edan, "Attack! Multi-Element Blast!"
One by one the heads of Hajime's Five Headed Beast unloaded a blast of energy down onto Edan, absolutely massacring his life points. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGH!" Edan screamed as he was completely annihilated.
"This duel is over!" Hajime shouted. "Now, give me back Chiaki!"
Edan, slumped to his knees could feel a burning sensation in his head. "Agh! Master, I'm sorry! I got the girl, but I…AAAAAAAGH!" Edan started to look like he was having a seizure with the way foam escaped his lower lip and his fingers clutched, eyes bugging out. A millennium eye symbol appeared on his forehead. He then stood up, slightly hunched over.
Voice distorted, Marik, controlling Edan, said, "Greetings, Hajime Hinata."
"What? What's going on?" Hajime asked.
"I am taking control of my pawn," Marik said. "I am Marik, leader of the rare hunters!
"So you're the person that ordered Chiaki be captured," Hajime declared angrily.
"It was an error in judgment," Marik said. "I told these fools that I wanted the rare cards belonging to Chiaki Nanami. They took it upon themselves to kidnap her. You have my sincerest apologies."
"Uh huh," Hajime said in a way that indicated he wasn't buying it.
"I believe you and I can work together," Marik told Hajime. "Your dueling skill is quite remarkable. It is not easy to defeat one of my rare hunters, let alone two at the same time. Perhaps you would consider joining me. I can give you the greatest cards imaginable. All the rare cards at your fingertips."
"You're only saying that because you're afraid of me," Hajime said calmly.
"Huh?" Marik was confused by Hajime's comment.
Hajime flashed his fusion monster in Marik's face. "You want my Five-Headed Dragon on your side. That's the only reason you'd make a proposition like this," Hajime said and slipped the card back into his deck. "You think I can forgive what you did to Chiaki with a simple apology? Sorry, but whatever you're selling, I'm not buying!" Hajime snapped. "You could promise all the rare cards in the world, you can promise me fame and fortune, but Chiaki means more to me than you'll ever know. She's the only one that believes that I'm better than I think I am and after this victory just now, I'm starting to see it. Hope's Peak might not agree, but it appears I've got some true dueling talent in me and Marik," Hajime said, giving the Egyptian his toughest look, "I will take you down! Send one Rare Hunter! Send them all! I'll make sure that none of you harm Chiaki, or any other duelists like this again! The game of duel monsters is meant to be a free-spirited game where winning and losing don't matter. I won't ever let someone hurt innocent people just to get their hands on rare cards. Because there's no doubt in my mind that, even for a second, that someone that Hope's Peak academy does approve of, would allow!"
Hajime, Chiaki heard the whole speech and she was incredibly proud of him. He finally understood what she was trying to tell him all along. That was the Hajime that always came out when they played games. With enough confidence, Chiaki was confident that Hajime could do anything he set his mind to. It was just society's words that kept him from achieving his full potential. But even without his full potential, Chiaki liked Hajime just the way he was: someone who liked games, especially the classics, with a strong heart and an even stronger willpower when his mind was focused. She turned her head to look at the opposite wall and tilted her head up. Hmm, maybe I should go for the Hajime route, she thought.
Her thoughts of Dating Sim romance were interrupted by Marik's response to Hajime's rejection to join forces. "Fine, have it your way," Mairk responded irritably. "However, I must let you know that you are making a big mistake. We could've been such powerful allies, you and I. And when I'm through with you, you'd wished you'd joined my side willingly. AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Marik cackled and then sent Edan's mind to the shadow realm, causing his body to collapse on the ground, eyes rolled into the back of his head.
With the madness cleared, Hajime approached Chiaki and worked quickly to get her binds undone and then removed the tape from her mouth. "Hey," he said to her, "Are you o—" Hajime suddenly stopped talking when Chiaki lurched forward and gave him a big hug. She wasn't shaking or trembling and she was actually smiling.
"I'm really proud of you, Hajime," she said. "Excellent dueling."
Hajime smirked. "Really? That's what you care about?" He stood up and helped Chiaki to her feet. "If I hadn't won that who knows what that Marik creep could've done to you."
"But you were there the whole time and I know I can count on you," Chiaki said and smiled. "Because we're friends and no matter what, friends help each other when they're in trouble."
"I…uh…suppose that's true," Hajime said. He was then surprised when Chiaki began digging through Edan's pockets. "H-hey, what are you doing?"
"I'm getting your locator card for you, obviously," Chiaki said. "You won, so loot your spoils of war. Obviously he won't be handing it to you any time soon."
"This isn't an open world RPG! You can't just take things from people when they're unconscious!" Hajime exclaimed.
"But it's yours," Chiaki said.
Hajime sighed in frustration. There was no point in arguing. He grabbed the locator card and rare card that Craig had left behind. "Why don't you keep that locator card, Chiaki?" he suggested.
"Why me? You won, you take it."
"But I never could've fought my way out of that situation if you hadn't given me the message to keep struggling," Hajime told her, turning around.
Chiaki dashed towards him, practically pushing the locator card into his chest. "Take it," she said, "I insist."
"O…kay then, that settles that I guess."
Chiaki fanned her arm out. "Don't get the wrong idea. I understand what you're trying to do, but you won it fair and square." She held up a finger informatively, "I want to earn my way to the tournament. Don't worry, I can get four locator cards pretty easily. That's only two duels minimum." She smiled at Hajime. "Just be happy for yourself and don't worry about me for once. This is your big victory so bask in it a little. It's not every day you win a tag duel by yourself."
Hajime smiled. "Yeah, I suppose your right about that."
Chiaki then began looking around.
"What's the mat…oh," Hajime said and walked over to where he threw her bag at Craig's head. "Sorry, here's your bag," he said.
"Oh, thank you," Chiaki said and instantly opened it to make sure the contents weren't damaged. She suddenly frowned. "Hajime."
"Yeah?"
"Did you throw this?"
"Oh, yeah, uh, I did."
She took out her metal collector's tin, which now had a small dent in the side of it. "I know you were angry and I don't blame you, but please be a little more careful next time."
Hajime just laughed nervously.
Chiaki smiled as she put it away and took out some gummies to munch on before checking the rest of her bag. "I know it sounds silly to care so much about your belongings, but Duel Monsters is special to me out of most games I play."
"Really, why?" Hajime asked.
"Because the creator, Maximillian Pegasus, put so much heart and soul into the game," Chiaki said and stood up, sliding her bag back on. "He wants everyone to enjoy the game he made above all else, so to respect that, I try to take good care of the things he made for the people that play it. This tin is just one example. Well…" she said, glancing down at the ground, "That and my dad gave it to me for my birthday."
"O-oh, s-sorry," Hajime said.
"It's okay," Chiaki said, "It's not like it's a limited edition collector's item or anything, but…" she sighed, smiling. "No, maybe I'll tell you another time. Today's supposed to be a happy day."
Hajime looked confused, but said nothing.
"Besides, that dent adds a special memory to an otherwise ordinary item," Chiaki said, "I can look at it and remember it as the time you got really angry for my sake and saved me. So," she smiled, "thanks for the memory, I guess."
"Well, as long as you're happy," Hajime said.
"I am," Chiaki said. "And I'm glad to see you are too."
"Yeah," Hajime nodded. "I'm gonna win. I'm going straight to the finals and I'll give that Marik creep what's coming to him."
"Well, it's good to see you fired up," Chiaki said. "It's like I believed, when you're determined to do something and your own fear and uncertainty aren't in your way, it's like you're a completely different person."
"I get like that?" Hajime asked.
Chiaki pulled her hood up. "I noticed it a few times when we played a few games. When you were focused, you were a fierce opponent or an amazing co-op partner, but when you were distracted or feeling like you couldn't accomplish a challenge, you got nervous and you completely fell apart. I thought if I brought you along on the tournament today, I'd see more of the confident Hajime than the scared one." Chiaki smiled and laughed happily. "I'm glad to see I was right."
Hajime nodded. "To be honest, I was just really lucky, but luck is part of the game so—"
"Speaking of luck, that card you played, Five-Headed Dragon, was it?"
"Oh, yeah, it's like my best card now," Hajime said.
"Where did you get it?" Chiaki said. "It was given away at a special distribution event as a prize. I went and even I didn't manage to get it despite dueling so many times to try and win it."
"Oh, um…it was a…gift?" Hajime said, though his inflection sounded more like he was asking a question.
"A gift?" Chiaki asked, curious. "From who?"
"I…uh…" Hajime thought of any way to dodge the question. "Oh, um, maybe when you're ready to tell me about you and your dad, I'll tell you how I got this card."
Chiaki thought about it for a moment. "I suppose that's a fair trade of secrets. Later then, I suppose. For now," Chiaki looked ahead. "I've got catching up to do. Next duelist we take down is mine to face so try not to fall behind. Let's go!" Chiaki then dashed off with gusto.
"Hey, wait up!" Hajime exclaimed, running after Chiaki. Fortunately, she wasn't a very fast runner compared to him. As the two briskly jogged together, they smiled as they kept in pace side-by-side. To the finals they vowed to get to, to the tournament's end they vowed to view. And if it came to pass that Hajime had to face Chiaki in the finals, suddenly that didn't seem so scary.
I'll just have to remember what she taught me today, Hajime thought. To have fun, to act calm and to never give up. Because a duel isn't over, until the last card is played.
(A/N: Well...that happened. Did anyone think I would give Hajime the one and only 5 Headed Dragon? Let me know what you think of that. And yes, there is more to him having the card that I'm letting on, obviously. Those of you who are genre savvy might already be able to figure it out.
Next time though, we move away from character growth and shift back towards a duel of fates when two friends who made a promise decide to clash and see which one of them is truly deserving of going to the finals. Don't know what I'm talking about? Then until next time, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)