(A/N: I'm glad responses were unanimous that that was a good chapter. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to top that, but I can certainly try. In the meantime, I promised some Byakuya Togami, so let's get started, shall we? But first, intermission with some of our favorite characters).
The first thing Hajime did after getting below deck from the roof was make a break for medical. He wanted to make sure Chiaki was all right since, even though he was feeling plenty more comfortable in his own skin on this blimp, he still felt she was his only real friend here.
Knocking on the door to medical, he said, "It's me," and with a push of a button from the inside, Mikan let him in. Chiaki was snoring soundly on the bed closest to the door, the television on to the image of the KaibaCorp logo on a shield on a metal plated background and the words "Stay tuned" below the logo.
Mikan giggled. "She fell right asleep right after the duel was over. I've been encouraging her to get some rest, but she insisted on watching the whole duel."
Hajime had been so focused on Chiaki and the TV that when he glanced at Mikan, she yelped.
"I-I'm sorry. I-I spoke without permission. Please don't hate me!"
Hajime now looked perplexed and confused. Where had that come from?
"You're not speaking to me. You must already hate me," Mikan said, eyes welling up with tears.
"Hate you? How could I hate you? You saved Chiaki's life. I…thought we were already friends," Hajime said.
"Friends? Really?" Mikan sniffed.
"Er, yeah," Hajime stuttered. What's with this girl?
Mikan looked choked up and nervous. "Th-thank you. Th-that means a lot to me."
Hajime sighed with relief. Well at least that was one less person to be guarded around on this blimp. He took a seat in one of the chairs, hands folded neatly in his lap as he had a view of Chiaki and Mikan, with the TV screen just out of the corner of his eye. "How is she?" Hajime asked.
"Well, I just changed her bandages after administering some localized anesthetic to her leg. As long as Kaiba keeps his promise, Chiaki should be in condition to duel." Mikan then spoke authoritatively, a tone she only took when speaking in her role as a medical professional. "B-but she should come right back to medical once the duel is over so I can examine her. Like I said, if she overexerts herself, she could end up with a limp for the rest of her life." And then she went right back to submissive wimp mode. "And then she'll blame me because it's all my fault."
"What? How is it your fault?" Hajime inquired. "You didn't exactly put magically summoned teeth in her leg."
"But it's my fault Bakura got out of the hospital in the first place," Mikan whimpered. "I was supposed to be watching him and I went to go get something from the medical supply closet and I accidentally locked myself in." She started crying. "It took hours for someone to find me and only because one of the janitors needed tile cleaner off the top shelf."
"Hey, it happens. Besides, it's not like you knew Bakura was housing some evil ancient spirit, nor that he would come after Chiaki. I mean, I'd have to blame you too since he attacked me too right after my duel with Bonz, but I don't blame you. It's not your fault, Mikan. None of this is your fault."
Mikan burst into tears, rubbing her eyes furiously. "Th-thank you, Hajime."
Hajime wasn't sure what to do, but a faint smile did at least cross his lips. He was happy that he had managed to assure Mikan that she hadn't done anything wrong. Now if only he could get her to stop crying. "So, um…"
"Eek!" Mikan jumped. "Y-yes?"
Okay…tread carefully. "Do you, um, duel, Mikan?"
"Duel? Oh, you mean the card game. Um, actually, I'm pretty bad at it," Mikan said, glancing down at the ground. She looked like she was going to cry again. "Not to mention a lot of my cards got stolen when I was younger so I don't have a lot of good ones."
"Er, no, that's fine," Hajime said. "I wasn't asking about your ability, I was just wondering if you had any comments on the tournament itself, seeing as how you're here as a spectator and all, albeit unwillingly."
"Y-you want m-my opinion?" Mikan asked.
"Sure, why not?"
"W-well…" Mikan stuttered.
"Yeah?"
"U-um, I-I think i-it's still t-too early to tell. I-I mean, o-of course I'm going to root for my classmates, but, Seto Kaiba and Yugi Mutoh are really good, the best even." Mikan giggled. "I was actually really surprised Yugi was able to win that duel against Celeste." She looked downtrodden. "Someone like me would've given up turns ago."
That sounds about right, Hajime thought.
"Oh and um," Mikan said.
"Yeah?"
"I'll be rooting for you too, okay. Um…I can do that, right?" Mikan asked with pleading eyes.
"Of course you can," Hajime said, getting up from his seat and walking over closer to Mikan. "Like I said, we're friends, aren't we?"
"Y-yes, f-friends," Mikan stuttered. "Th-thank you, Hajime."
The two smiled at each other, standing there in awkward silence. And as if to compound the awkwardness, Chiaki woke up, eyes snapping open like a light switch had just been flipped on inside her.
"Oh, Hajime, when did you get here?" she asked.
Hajime had to take a moment, having been so focused on Mikan that Chiaki's sudden sentence nearly made him jump in the air. "Oh, you know, just a few minutes."
"Y-you should really get some more sleep, Chiaki," Mikan said.
"But I'm hungry," Chiaki said and then turned a little red in the face, "And, um, well…" she waved Mikan towards her. The Ultimate Nurse leaned down, putting her ear by Chiaki's lips as Chiaki whispered a short sentence into her ear. Mikan herself now looked a little flustered as she made eye contact with Hajime.
"O-oh, u-um, y-yes, I should…probably help you with that under the circumstances. S-sorry, Hajime, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Hajime took one look at the uncomfortable look on Chiaki's face and immediately understood. Nature was calling and she didn't want to say it out loud in front of him.
"Oh, um, right. I'll, um, be going then," he said and quickly made an exit.
He decided to head back for his room only to pass Kaiba in the hallway. "O-oh, h-hey Kaiba," he said, feeling a little intimidated.
"Hinata," Kaiba said, looking as fiercely intimidating as ever. "I take it you were checking up on Nanami."
"Y-yeah, I was. She's…recovering," Hajime said.
"Good to hear," Kaiba said.
"Right, I'll be going then," Hajime said and made to walk past the tournament host.
"Just a moment," Kaiba said sharply. Hajime froze.
"I wasn't going to say anything in front of the other finalists because it would be poor sportsmanship to give the competition a leg up on knowledge only I'm privy to."
"Huh?" Hajime was confused.
"I know you played the Five-Headed Dragon in a duel with Marik's Rare Hunters, Hinata. That's not exactly an easy card to come by, especially for someone with your financial background."
"You…looked into me?" Hajime asked.
"I do what I can for the integrity of KaibaCorp," Kaiba said. "Originally I was curious what exactly you were thinking going into a triangle duel, but after seeing how close you are with Nanami, I think I can put together the pieces myself. What I want to know is though, where did you get the Five Headed Dragon?"
Hajime gulped. That wasn't exactly knowledge he wanted anyone to be privy to. Nervously, he asked, "Am…am I disqualified if I don't tell you?"
Kaiba folded his arms. "No, but judging from your reaction, I take it it's something you can't tell me or don't want to have to tell anyone."
Hajime was quiet, but his body language said everything.
"All I needed to know."
"Can, I, um, go now?" Hajime asked, sweating a little.
"Just one more question. Why is Hope's Peak Academy's Steering Committee interested in you?"
Hajime gasped. Just how much did Kaiba know about him? He couldn't keep silent this time. Girding his nerves, he said, "I'm not at liberty to say. I signed a binding contract."
"Does Nanami know about this?"
Hajime's frustrated grunt was answer enough.
"So much for friendship," Kaiba scoffed.
"That's got nothing to do with it!" Hajime shouted.
Kaiba and Hajime stared at each other for a moment, Hajime's now intense gaze meeting Kaiba's calm and composed one.
"Fine," Kaiba said, tilting his head back as though looking down on Hajime. "Not like it's my problem…yet." He then began to walk away.
"Wait, you're not going to tell Chiaki what I said, are you?"
"That's between you and her. It's got nothing to do with me or this tournament. But rest assured, Hinata, if you and the Steering Committee are conspiring against KaibaCorp, I hope you're prepared to face the consequences."
"Well, I can at least say that as far as I know, they're not interested in dragging you down, via me."
"I'll be the judge of that," Kaiba said and walked away.
Hajime swallowed hard, took a deep breath and thought it best to hurry to his room and waste time reconfiguring his deck and try his best to forget this little altercation just happened.
Meanwhile, Mahiru was sitting in the guest suite she was sharing with Serenity, Ibuki, and Téa looking at the photos she had taken during Yugi's duel with Celeste.
"Whoa, awesome shots," Téa said, looking over her shoulder.
"Don't underestimate Mahiru," Ibuki said with a twinkle in her eye, "Her pictures are the best. She's taken one for every special occasion we've had at school…well, I mean, we've only had like two as a whole class…but…"
Serenity stood off to the side still blind as a bat with her bandages on.
Mahiru quickly put her camera away. "Er, sorry, I don't mean to make you feel left out, Serenity."
"It's fine, Mahiru, really," Serenity said. "I said I wanted the first thing I see to be my brother dueling in the Battle City finals and that's what I'm going to do."
"You sure about that?" Téa asked. "What if it's Joey dueling Chiaki in the last round? Then you'll miss seven duels."
"Mahiru's taking pictures, right?" Serenity asked. "So as long as that's the case, I can still see the duels through her photographs."
"But that's hardly the same!" Ibuki interjected.
"It's good enough for me," Serenity said with a smile. "And Joey's got good luck, I doubt I'll have to wait all the way to the last match to see him duel."
"Of course he does! That's why Ibuki wanted to see him duel Nagito and see whose luck is superior."
"I'm…pretty sure that would end badly for Joey," Mahiru said. Joey might've been lucky, but Nagito's luck was on a whole different scale from what she'd seen. Serenity suddenly looked nervous. "N-not that he wouldn't put up a fight or…I mean…you know…"
"Do you even know what Nagito has in his deck?" Téa asked.
"Not exactly," Mahiru said, rubbing her head. "Honestly, I didn't even think he was going to get to the finals. Nagito's an oddball if you haven't noticed. He entered the tournament wanting to make one of my other classmates shine brighter than ever before by being their stepping stone. His words, not mine. Even if I did see his deck, I probably wouldn't know if it was good or not. I'm not exactly the best player, you know."
"Can't be any worse than me," Téa said. "Hey, I know! Why don't we have a duel, you and me? It'll be fun to play against someone around my level, especially another girl."
"You sure we have time for that?" Ibuki asked. "What if the next match gets called?"
"Then we'll leave the cards where they are and go check it out," Téa said. "Come on, it'll be fun."
"Well," Mahiru said, not sure at first only to smile, sigh and surrender. "Okay, sure, why not?"
"Great! I knew it was a good idea to bring my deck along with me!" Téa exclaimed, pulling the cards out of her skirt pocket. "Man, it's been so long since I last had a chance to play this game myself."
"When was the last time you played?" Mahiru asked as she got a chair and sat down at the table in the suite.
"Um, well, I did duel against Mai once, but that was when the rules were different back in Duelist Kingdom?"
"You dueled in Duelist Kingdom?" Ibuki gasped.
"It was, um, kind of special circumstances," Téa said. "I'll tell you guys the story after the duel, how's that sound?"
"Sure, sounds good," Mahiru said and put her deck on the table. "Mind if I go first?"
"Go right ahead," Téa said.
"Let's duel!" they both exclaimed.
As the female spectators of the Battle City Finals enjoyed a friendly match, Celeste currently found herself walking through the hallway after her light snack, exploring the blimp as she hadn't had time to do so beforehand.
As she rounded a curved part of the hallway, she spotted Joey heading towards her, a slice of pizza in one hand, the other slack at his side. "Oh, hello, Joey. Funny how we keep bumping into each other."
"What do you want, Frenchy?" Joey asked.
"Oh don't act like you aren't happy to see me," Celeste chuckled. Joey's gaze narrowed. "Fine, fine, I suppose I'm not exactly your favorite person ever. I can understand that." She smiled slightly. "So, to extend the olive branch, I come bearing free advice."
"Give me one good reason I should listen to you!" Joey snapped.
"Well if that's how it's going to be, maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut and you can get booted out of the tournament just like I did."
Joey took a deep breath. Maybe he was being a bit harsh. "What do you want to tell me?"
"Joey, you're a good duelist, there's no denying that, but your luck will only carry you so far. Where you excel in luck and heart, you fall short in knowledge and skill."
"Can you not talk in riddles?"
"I'm talking as plain as I possibly can, but if I must I will express myself as I would a five-year-old."
"Hey!" Joey snapped in annoyance.
Celeste chuckled only to then speak politely. "One thing you should consider, Joey, especially in a competition like this, is protection."
"Protection?" Joey asked, scratching his scalp.
"Every monster, spell and trap card offers some kind of protection to your life points. Some cards, like my formerly held Fire King High Avatar Gairunix, are designed so that when anything other than battle destroys it, it comes right back from the graveyard next turn. Also, take for example your First of the Dragons, which is protected from monster effects, but can easily be destroyed in battle by, say, Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon."
"What's your point, Frenchy?"
"My point is that you don't think a lot when you duel, you just act. And that can easily put you in a position where you will end up beaten before you know it."
"Well, I mean, my gut's never let me down before."
"Quite, but you need to give serious consideration to what kind of cards you actually run in your deck. Aside from a few powerful cards, what exactly can you do against a powerful opponent."
"Hey, it ain't easy being in my position, you know. I scraped together what little I could with what cash I have on me when I have it to spare. Some of the cards I had to earn by scrubbing my neighbors' kitchen floors. I'm not like you and I can buy whatever I want."
Celeste sounded and looked surprised. "But what about your prize money from Duelist Kingdom. Surely not all of it went towards your little sister's operation."
"I invested it," Joey said.
"In what?"
"A college fund for Serenity."
Celeste just blinked, barely able to believe what she was hearing.
"Look, I know my only chance at gettin' anywhere is the big leagues as a professional duelist. But it's a long shot. I figure I'm gonna have to work dead-end job after dead-end job to make ends meet before I can even think about chasing my dream, but Serenity…she's a smart one, even if she's fragile. I want to give my little sis every opportunity I can for a future. That's why I struggle like this, for her."
Celeste was quiet before saying, "Let's go to my suite for a moment."
"Heh?" Joey grunted confused.
"I'm out of the competition, so there's no issue with me helping you, is there? I have plenty of spare cards you can use to boost your deck for this tournament that I don't mind parting with in the slightest." Celeste's eyes narrowed. "Joey, if you want to stand any sort of chance as a professional, you need to sometimes make the hard decisions to be a bit selfish, cold and calculating." Celeste gave Joey her hand to shake. "I can help you there."
"Well, I…" Joey said, rubbing his head, hesitating.
However, as he debilitated his choices, a calm, yet gentle voice called out, "Oh, Celeste, there you are."
Celeste turned to see Marik, the real Marik, behind her. He was acting friendly, likely to keep his Namu alias up since Joey was right there. "Do you mind if we chat for a bit? We kind of were cut short by the duel announcement last time?"
"I'm sort of busy at the moment, Namu," Celeste said. "Can we do this later?"
"Hey, what's the rush?" Joey asked. "Go chat with Namu for a bit, I'll uh, I'll have your answer for you when you're done."
Ugh, idiot! Celeste thought, not willing to, even now, expose Marik for who he truly was. "Very well, I'll talk to you later, Joey. Do give some serious consideration to my proposal."
She soon found herself in Marik's suite, Odion standing by and then blocking the door. She was, effectively, trapped.
"You've annoyed me for the last time, Celestia Ludenburg," Marik said. "It's time for you to pay the penalty. You said you were on my side, and what do I find but you offering to assist Joey Wheeler."
"What's the matter, Marik?" Celeste chuckled. "Afraid of a little sporting competition?"
"Silence, witch! The only reason you're not a mind slave or banished to the shadow realm right now is because I still have one thing to ask you."
"Then you're not getting an answer," Celeste said. She had to keep her wits about her. One wrong move and she was as good as gone. "I see how it is. You're fed up with my quips and my cleverness, so like a big baby, you're just going to take swift vengeance on me. Is that how a just king behaves?"
"Then perhaps I should send you to the shadow realm right now!" Marik exclaimed. "Last time you escaped me because Odion, who is currently posing as me, was not present, but I have you this time. Even if Joseph Wheeler thinks you came to chat with me, I can always say that Odion broke in and attacked us. By the time anyone figures out the truth, it will be far too late."
"Sure it will, Marik," Celeste asked, continuing to act in mockery despite her heartbeat suggesting otherwise.
Marik held up the Millennium Rod as if to make it clear he was serious.
Celeste, unwilling to provoke him further, said, "What do you wish to know?"
"You promised to help me in any way you could, did you not? Having dueled Yugi yourself, even though you lost, I thought you might have some insight on an easier way to crush him."
"I'm afraid I can't help you there," Celeste chuckled.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Marik, I dueled Yugi, not the Pharaoh. Although they're both dueling geniuses, their mannerisms and psychology are completely different. And it is unlikely Yugi himself will be the one to duel you, we both know that. You already have the Winged Dragon of Ra, so I don't know what sort of strategy you hope to gain when you're likely already confident you can win anyway." Celeste chuckled. "Or has my defeat given you pause?"
Marik raised his Millennium Rod, keen to use it on Celeste, but a deep voice called out, "One moment, Master Marik."
"What is it, Odion? Certainly you do not care what happens to this feeble wench?"
Celeste looked over her shoulder. If only momentarily, Odion had just saved her life. What the hell was going on?
"Master Marik, with all due respect, perhaps you are being a bit hasty disposing of Celeste. She could've exposed you in front of young Wheeler when she had the chance, but she held her tongue. She is far too clever to have not figured out we were taking her right into a trap. I want to believe that that has some meaning to it."
"He's right you know," Celeste said. "I could have done precisely that." If only because it's my only way to keep what little trust I have of yours.
"I could still banish you to the Shadow Realm," Marik said. "If I did, you couldn't tell anyone anything."
Celeste scoffed. "I look forward to your very short-lived rule as Pharaoh if that's how you solve your problems. Such words are the mark of a true tyrant." Celeste gave Marik a very serious stare. "Face it, Marik, you need me on your side or your whole plan goes up in smoke."
"What good are you to me, eliminated?"
"Plenty," Celeste said. "You just have to wrack your brain to figure out how."
Marik sneered.
"May I leave?" Celeste asked. "Ordinarily I like being locked in a room with two handsome men, but in this case I'll have to make an exception."
"See her out, Odion," Marik said.
"As you wish, Master Marik," Odion said and escorted Celeste out of Marik's suite.
"You didn't have to do that," Celeste said once she and Odion were out in the hall, walking in the same direction towards their respective suites. "I was perfectly capable of defending myself."
"I don't doubt that," Odion said. "Of course, I doubt myself that you were ever in any danger."
"Oh?"
"Master Marik has trouble expressing himself, but…I believe you are actually a comfort to his emotional stability."
"You don't say," Celeste said.
"Master Marik wasn't always like this. He used to be a much nicer person. It was when he obtained the power of the Millennium Rod that everything went dark."
"Oh please, spare me your bleeding heart," Celeste said. She turned to face Odion. "Let's get one thing straight here, I'm not a friend to either of you. I'm no one's friend. I move how I see fit so that at the end of the day, I come out on top."
"I wonder how true that actually is, Queen of Liars," Odion said. "I have observed you for long enough and I know that, despite how much you lie to yourself, that you are a kind person. And you have been kind to both Master Marik and to Yugi Mutoh and his friends, regardless of your own personal investment in either side."
"Hmph, believe what you want, but you're wrong."
"If I'm wrong, you wouldn't even hear me out when I say, I have a small request."
Celeste rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
"In order to keep up the façade of my posing as Master Marik, I may need your help." Odion held up a fake Millennium Rod that Marik had made specifically for him. Its presence did startle Celeste as she did not know it was fake. "Relax, it is merely a replica."
"Don't scare me like that," Celeste said through gritted teeth.
"My apologies. Anyway, as I was saying, it may become necessary for me to act as though this rod is the genuine article."
"And you want me to act as though I'm under your control to complete the illusion. Is that it?"
Odion nodded.
Celeste sighed. "Fine, I suppose playing the part of the puppet is easier than actually being one." Celeste chuckled. "See? I said I was still useful even though I've been reduced to mere spectator."
"I must admit, I doubted you at first, Celeste, but you truly—"
The sound of the announcement system chimed overhead, followed by Roland's voice. "All participating duelists and spectators, please report to the main hall. We are ready to announce the second match of the first round."
"That's our cue," Celeste chuckled.
"Indeed," Odion said and the two headed for the main hall.
Once everyone was assembled, Roland started the machine in order to begin the selection process. Eventually a ball dropped out of the machine. "The first duelist of this match has been announced: Duelist number 4: Joseph Wheeler!"
"All right! My time to shine!" Joey exclaimed.
"Hey, that means you can finally take off your bandages, Serenity," Mahiru said happily.
"Yes, and after Joey wins, I can finish watching your duel with Téa," she said joyously.
"You two are dueling?" Yugi asked.
"Old style," Téa said. "You can come watch us later if you want."
"Sure, that sounds like fun," Yugi said.
"Looks like Joey's opponent is getting selected," Tristan then pointed out.
Roland picked up the ball. "This match has been decided. Duelist Number 4: Joseph Wheeler versus Duelist number 13: Byakuya Togami!"
"Heh," Byakuya smirked smugly.
"What's so funny?" Joey asked.
"Nothing, I just thought how ironic it will be that your sister will finally get to see again," Byakuya said as he pointed at Joey with a competitive gaze, "to the sight of your being crushed by me. Now that I've been decided as your opponent, your time in the Battle City Finals is over before its even begun."
"In yer dreams, rich boy," Joey said. "I'm gonna make my little sister proud of me! And if you're the one in my way, then I'll just have ta give it everything I've got!"
"You could give 200, no 1000 percent and I would still be beyond your skill, Joseph Wheeler. But enough talk, I'll show you the skills your own mentor taught me during this very tournament."
"My...mentor?"
Tristan cupped his hand by his mouth and spoke directly towards Joey's ear, "He's talking about Yugi's grandpa. I told you, he dropped by the game shop and clocked my sorry keister so many times I thought my deck was going to start screaming in protest."
Joey clenched his fists. "Well that was you and this is me and I ain't afraid to beat up a guy in glasses."
"Congratulations, you've now reached an all-time low for neanderthalic threats. Are we done here or will you be telling me to talk to your fist next?"
"T-too cool," Makoto said, in awe of Byakuya's calm composure.
"Participating finalists, follow me," Roland said. "All others, please head to the main elevator if you care to spectate the match."
Soon, Joey, Byakuya, and all the others made their way up to the top of the blimp. After being made to face the arena, Serenity reached up and took her bandages off, which Mahiru folded neatly in her hands to dispose of later.
Serenity's first sight was, as she always hoped, the sight of Joey standing armed with his duel disk active. However, she then got a good glimpse of Byakuya. "Whoa, check it out, he's really handsome. Hey, Joey!" Serenity called up to him. "You should wear a suit sometime. I bet it'd look really good on you."
Joey rubbed his head and blushed a little at his sister embarrassing him.
"-Aw, how touching to have a younger sibling's embarrassing commentary," Byakuya said with a chuckle.
"Screw you!" Joey snapped, fist clenched. "Let's do this thing!" He shouted.
"Let's duel!" Joey and Byakuya declared simultaneously.
"You can go first," Byakuya said with a smug grin, "If I went first, the match would be over simply too soon. Consider it a gentleman's sporting chance."
"Yeah, whatever," Joey said, irritated and drew the top card of his deck. "I summon to the field Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, in attack position!" The green armored Samurai with 1100 attack and defense points appeared, body turned, sword ready to draw. "And I'll throw down two face-down cards," Joey said, setting them from his hand. "That ends my first turn."
Celeste sighed. Such weak warriors. Under my tutelage you could be so much better. She turned beet red. Wait, tutelage? She smacked her cheeks and covered her lips with her fist. I merely was going to improve his deck. As if I care to take someone like him under my wing. The very thought makes me ill.
"How dull," Byakuya stated. "I expected more from someone who beat the woman that beat me." Byakuya calmly picked up the top card from his deck and placed it in his hand. "I play Flame Ruler in attack position." The bare-chested, blue haired, vest wearing pyromaniac appeared with 1500 attack points and 1600 defense points.
Hajime gulped. He was getting flashbacks from his duel with Marik's Rare Hunters. If Joey didn't know what it did, and it was likely he didn't, he'd be in for a world of pain if he didn't destroy it this or next turn.
"And now, my monster attacks," Byakuya declared calmly, palm spread open towards Joey.
Flame Ruler cast a continuous stream of flame from its hand and incinerated Joey's monster. His life points fell to 3600.
"Chin up, Joey!" Téa called out. "It's only the first turn."
"Sure, cept it's Byakuya he's up against. Maybe it's the post traumatic duel stress talking, but that guy is relentless. Even the smallest amount of life points shaved off could mean Joey's end in a single turn."
"Is Byakuya really that good?" Yugi asked.
"He's better than Wheeler, that's for sure," Kaiba said, arms folded. Anyone who forces me to use my Egyptian God Card and destroys my Blue-Eyes is more than Wheeler's superior.
Come on Joey, Mai thought.
"I'll place only one card face-down," Byakuya said. "Quality over quantity. That ends my turn." He stood, arms folded, almost bored with the situation.
"I'm gonna wipe that smug look off your face," Joey said. "Draw!" He shouted as he performed the appropriate action. "I'm summoning Panther Warrior in attack mode!" The purple beast-warrior appeared, literally armed to the teeth. "And then I activate the spell card Scapegoat," Joey said as four balls of fluff with horns appeared. "This gives my Panther Warrior the chance to attack without forcing me to sacrifice an actual monster. So now watch as I make an exchange: one scapegoat for 500 life points of damage." Joey said as one of the scapegoats vanished. "Panther Warrior, attack!"
"Amateur," Byakuya said, annoyed, "Do you think you're playing with a child? Reveal face-down card, "Escalation of the Monarchs." Byakuya's monster suddenly vanished as his trap card was revealed.
"Huh? What happened to your Flame Ruler?" Joey asked.
"He's been sacrificed for a more powerful being. Escalation of the Monarchs lets me tribute summon once per turn, during your turn."
"Say what?" Joey gasped.
"And thanks to Flame Ruler's special ability, I can treat him as two tributes if I'm offering him up to summon a monster with a Fire attribute."
"Aw no," Tristan said, eyes shrinking in with terror.
"I summon Thestalos the Mega Monarch in attack position!" Byakuya declared. A light red armored monster with a blue cape, with a red inside, appeared. It had 2800 attack points and 1000 defense points.
"And when Thestalos is summoned to the field by tribute, I get to look at your hand and discard one monster card from it. Then, you take damage equal to 200 times the number of stars that monster has."
Joey looked at his hand. Huh? Aw, no! Gilford the Lightning's in my hand!
"Heh, judging from the look on your face. I imagine this will hurt," Byakuya said. "Show me."
Joey pressed a button that revealed his hand holographically. Byakuya smirked.
"Ah, Gilford the Lightning. How appropriate for me. You can send that to the graveyard."
Joey growled and sent Gilford to the graveyard.
Byakuya then held up his hand, readying a finger snap. "Thestalos, burn this peon."
With a blast of fire from its right hand, Thestalos, burned Joey for 1600 life points of damage, bringing him down to 2000.
"Oh and that's not all," Byakuya said. "Since I summoned Thestalos with the power of a fire monster, you take an additional 1000 life points worth of damage."
Téa, Mai, Yugi, Ibuki, Celeste and Serenity all looked on with shocked expressions. Tristan simply shut his eyes and clenched his fist while gritting his teeth.
A stream of flame came from Thestalos' left hand this time, bringing Joey's life points down to merely 1000.
"Oh and you declared an attack with Panther Warrior, didn't you? I suppose I'd better return the favor. Thestalos, destroy it."
Conjuring fire from both of its hands, Thestalos thrust both hands forward, palms touching in a deadly, continuous blast that left Joey's Panther Warrior naught but ashes. Joey then braced for impact from the residual damage, bringing him down to merely 200 life points.
"200 life points on his second turn?!" Téa shouted in alarm.
"Oh no! Joey!" Serenity shouted.
Kaiba was most pleased. "Good move, Togami. See this, Wheeler?" he asked, pointing at Byakuya. "This is what real talent looks like! You never belonged in my tournament so you may as well just surrender now!"
"Never," Joey said stomping his foot. "My little sister came all this way to see me duel, the hell I'm just gonna back down!"
"Whatever," Kaiba said, folding his arms. He wanted this farce over and done with as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, Kaiba," Byakuya said with a smug smirk. "I'll make it quick and painless for our little lost lamb here." He chuckled. "A rather fitting analogy, I'd say, considering his choice of cards."
"Just go," Joey growled.
"Oh, I shall," Byakuya said. He drew the top card of his deck. "I summon The Trojan Horse to the battlefield." A large wooden horse with 1600 attack points and 900 defense points appeared.
"Aw man, if Byakuya's got an Earth monarch waiting in the wings, Joey's a goner thanks to that Escalation of the Monarchs trap card."
"Wait a sec, that's a continuous trap?" Ibuki gasped.
"It is," Mai said. "Never thought I'd live to see the day, an actual perfectly put together monarch deck."
"Unsurprising if you have enough money to throw around," Celeste said with mild disinterest. "Byakuya could buy this blimp from Kaiba were it up for sale. In fact, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that the Togami Corporation and the Kaiba Corporation are the two richest corporations in the entire world. I hear Byakuya's personal net worth reaches into nine or ten figures."
Upon hearing this, Mahiru snapped a photo of the heir to the Togami fortune.
"Now I'll attack with The Trojan horse," Byakuya said. "Destroy one of Joey's scapegoats."
"And I'm activatin' my trap card: Magical Arm Chain!" A spring-loaded chain shot out and grabbed Thestalos, pulling him to Joey's side of the field. "Thanks to my trap card, your attack's been redirected. Thestalos! Turn that wooden pony into firewood!"
Byakuya's Thestalos, currently under Joey's control, attacked and destroyed Byakuya's The Trojan Horse, reducing his life points to 2800 as the flames licked at him and his monster was destroyed. Of course, unlike Joey, Byakuya didn't even flinch.
"I'll set one card face-down on the field then," he said calmly. "And with that, I end my turn and demand Thestalos come back to his master." With a snap of his fingers, Joey's trap card vanished and Byakuya's monster floated back to his side of the field.
"Wow, talk about unfazed," Bakura said.
"Pretty sure you'd be the same way if you had this huge of a lead this early," Komaru said.
"Well, you know what they say," Celeste said and narrowed her gaze. "Arrogance before the fall."
"I think you're the last person to be stating that particular phrase," Téa said.
Joey drew the top card off of his deck. "You know, Byakuya, Celeste was telling me earlier that every monster has a weakness and thanks to the card I drew, I see your Monarchs' weakness plain as day."
"Oh? Do enlighten me," Byakuya said, slightly intrigued.
"Your Monarchs might be powerful in attack, but defense is another story," Joey said and held up a spell card. "I'm activating the spell card Block Attack, switching your monster to defense mode."
Thestalos was forced into a crouching position, protecting Byakuya with only a measly 1000 defense points.
"Impressive puppet show," Byakuya said, barely amused. "Do you plan to perform a dance number with a top hat and cane next?"
"Actually the next act on the Joey show is for me to summon Rocket Warrior in attack mode!" One of Joey's favorite monsters took to the battlefield with 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to have a last second cancellation of that skit. Reveal trap card: Champion's Vigilance." A trap card emerged with a man standing stalwart over a fiery background, sword poised towards the 4th wall of the artwork. "Since I control a monster that's level 7 or higher, I can activate this trap card, which negates any card played, including the summoning of a monster."
In an instant, a fiery wave emitted from Byakuya's trap card and Rocket Warrior instantly vanished.
Celeste sighed, It's good that you're taking my advice Joey, but you missed a key detail that Byakuya understands perfectly well. His Monarchs have devastating abilities, but they lack any sort of spell and trap protection on their own. Playing Champion's Vigilance is something only an expert would know. And quite frankly Joey, Celeste's gaze narrowed, You're no expert.
"All that effort and it amounted to nothing," Byakuya scoffed. "I told you this would be over soon."
Joey growled.
"It's my turn, if you don't mind," Byakuya said and drew the top card of his deck. "I summon to the field, Archfiend Soldier." A purplish fiend in a green cape with 1900 attack points and 1500 defense points appeared. "And I'll use it and Thestalos to destroy two of your precious scapegoats."
Fire and claws smashed into two of Joey's fuzzballs, leaving him with only one scapegoat to protect his life points. "And with that out of the way, the floor is now yours, Joseph. Try not to embarrass yourself," Byakuya told him, knowing the chances of Joey making a comeback were extremely low, but, thanks to his knowledge of the Heart of the Cards, did not think his victory certain yet.
Joey muttered to himself as he began his turn, much of it inappropriate for children under the age of 12. When he finally drew his card though, he felt loads better. "Ah, sweet!" He declared joyously. "I'm activatin' Monster Reborn to bring back Gilford the Lightning from my graveyard." The powerful warrior of 2800 attack points strong hit the table. "And there's more, what better way to pump up a monster with the title, the Lightning than with his very own Lightning Blade!" Joey increased Gilford's attack power with an equip-type spell card to bring its attack power all the way up to 3600.
"You go, Joey! Bring down the thunder!" Ibuki cheered.
"One step ahead of ya, Ibuki!" Joey declared, eyes fierce with determination, fist clenched. Gilford! Destroy Thestalos! Lightning Blade strike!"
Gilford charged, but Thestalos put up a fierce counterattack with a stream of flame. Gilford blocked with his equipped lightning blade and then attacked Thestalos outright, splitting the monster in half from the shoulder down and destroyed it. Byakuya's life points fell to 2000 thanks to Joey's efforts.
Byakuya raised both of his eyebrows, "Impressive," he admitted. "But my life points are quite literally ten times your own." He put his hand on the top card of his deck. "Now watch a master at work. I draw." He drew the top card of his deck and smirked. "Heh, it's amazing how much your efforts end up being in vain, Joseph. I now tribute my Archfiend Soldier to summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!" A kabuki looking, white armored monarch appeared with 2400 attack points and 1000 defense points.
"And when Zaborg is summoned by tributing a monster, I can target any monster on the field and destroy it instantly."
"Say what?" Joey gasped.
"Zaborg," Byakuya said. "Destroy Joey's Gilford the lightning with your special ability."
A big bolt of lightning rained down from the sky, blasting Joey's Gilford down to dust, lightning blade and all.
"And since my monster has not officially attacked yet, I'll use him to destroy your last scapegoat. Zaborg," Byakuya said and snapped his fingers. "Have at it."
Firing a bolt of lightning from his hand, Zaborg destroyed Joey's scapegoat, leaving him completely defenseless.
"Joey, no," Serenity said, getting choked up, putting her hands in her face. This was all wrong. This wasn't what she wanted to see. Joey was getting chewed up and spat out. It was painful to watch.
As Joey put his hand on top of his deck, he looked tense and frustrated. Sweat dripped down his face and his teeth were clenched tightly, heels dug into the floor below. He started to feel like he was all out of options. Byakuya had ten times his life points and any failure to fight back would result in an instant loss. What the hell was he supposed to do?
After snapping another photograph, Mahiru took one look at the miserable, shivering Serenity and scowled. Pointing a finger at Joey, she shouted, "Hey! Is this the first thing you want your sister to see? You losing a one-sided duel?"
Joey looked at Mahiru with a confused expression. "Eh? But I—"
"But nothing!" Mahiru snapped. "What happened to "she came all this way to see me?""
"That was before he found himself in a hopeless situation," Kaiba said. "Even a casual duelist like you must see that."
"You stay out of this!" Mahiru snapped. The last thing she needed right now was Kaiba putting Joey down when she was trying to pep him up.
"Man, she's got guts standing up to Kaiba."
"I think I'm falling in love all over again," Duke said.
Kaiba folded his arms in tighter. "Hmph. Say whatever you want. Whether I say it or not, it doesn't change the fact that Wheeler's been in over his head since the start. I can't believe I was the least bit concerned over the fact that Togami's rare card is in his deck. What a joke."
"Shut up, Kaiba!" Joey shouted.
Kaiba looked at Joey who had turned his whole body to face him, glaring down at him from on high. Kaiba had to admit, Joey barking back at him so fiercely was unexpected.
"I've had it up to here with your insults. Like Mahiru said, you stay outta dis," Joey said clenching his fist, which he then unfolded to point his index finger at Byakuya. "This is between me and rich boy number two," Joey clenched his fist again, "And I ain't done, not yet!"
"Then make your move," Byakuya told him. "Only the heart of the cards can save you now. But I guarantee even a decent reversal won't win you the match, just prolong the inevitable."
"We'll see about that," Joey said. "I draw!" Joey looked at the card he drew. He remember when this card saved his ass during his duel with Celeste. "Luck don't fall me now!" Joey declared. "I play Roll of Fate! With this spell card, I roll a die and then draw cards equal to the number I roll." Joey stared forward. "The downside is, I then gotta send cards to the graveyard equal to that number."
"Seems like a gamble you would play, Nagito," Gundham said.
"Yeah, I thought about running it, but it's tricky with my luck," Nagito said.
"What do you mean?" Sonia asked.
"Depending on the situation, a four may actually be better than a six, given the penalty. And considering what's in my deck, sending cards there directly from the graveyard would actually be a bigger risk than I'd be willing to take."
"Odd to hear you doubt your own talent," Gundham said.
"It's less doubt and knowing the vicious cycle that would make a card like that do more harm than good for me in most circumstances," Nagito said. "I mean, sure, sometimes I want to lose, but that's by my own merits or by my opponent's cleverness. I don't want my talent to work against me in a duel or have the circumstances be so volatile that I don't know if my luck is going to be good or bad. Besides, I have enough luck that I just pull the cards I need when I need them so a card like that just does more harm than good."
"Odd that you would say that," Celeste said. "I would figure anyone with good luck would run at least one of those, just like me."
"If you knew what was in my deck, you'd understand," Nagito said.
Celeste looked at Nagito puzzlingly. There were several possibilities, but she wasn't quite sure which one was the case.
But that was hardly important right now, what was more important was the holographic die that had been summoned from Joey playing Roll of Fate, which was now being rolled across the battlefield. It landed on six. "Aw, yeah, baby! Jackpot! Dat's what I'm talkin about!" Joey said and drew six cards from his deck and then sent the next six straight to his graveyard. He looked at his hand. It was full of good cards he could use to turn this duel right around fast. "First, I'm activatin' the magic card Shield and Sword, switching all the attack and defense points of all monsters in play." Byakuya's Zaborg had its attack and defense points flipped to 1000 and 2400 respectively.
"How naïve," Byakuya said. "Have you forgotten about my continuous trap card: Escalation of the Monarchs? In response to your spell card, I'll activate it, tributing my Zaborg the Thunder monarch to play Delg the Dark Monarch." An monarch in dark gray armor and a dark cape appeared with the same attack and defense points as Zaborg before Sword and Shield flipped them. "Since Sword and Shield was played before it was summoned, it isn't affected by it. Also, since Delg was tribute summoned, I can force you to remove two cards in your graveyard from play. Monster Reborn and Gilford if you please."
Joey grunted, but did so.
"Excellent, now you can send the top two cards of your deck straight to your graveyard, courtesy of the next half of my monster's ability."
Joey did so without complaint.
"Now then, if you're quite through screwing around, play your pointless defense position monster and let's end this farce," Byakuya said.
"Who said anything about the defense position?" Joey smirked. "I just wanted you to waste yer trap card so I could do dis! I activate the spell card Polymerization, using Tiger Axe and Battle Warrior to bring out First of the Dragons!"
What?! Kaiba knew pretty much every single dragon card in the game. Where did Wheeler…get that?
The gigantic, powerful 2700 attack point behemoth appeared with a deafening roar.
"Yahooo!" Ibuki cheered. "That's the card you got from Fuyuhiko!"
"An excellent move," Celeste deduced. "Not only is First of the Dragons powerful, but it can only be destroyed by monsters without special abilities. Joey might take damage one time if Byakuya summons a more powerful monarch, "but it will only bring his life points down to 100 and give him ample opportunity to counterattack, provided Byakuya doesn't use an attack power enhancing spell card beforehand."
"First of the Dragons, attack! Ancient Roar!"
A powerful blast of darkness exuded from the mouth of Joey's monster, destroying Delg and cutting Byakuya's life points down to 1700.
"Now I'll place one card face-down on the field and end my turn," Joey said as the hologram appeared.
"Impressive," Byakuya said, "I must admit, I underestimated your tenacity. But you're not the only one with the power to make perfect comeback draws."
Joey scowled. "You're bluffin'. Ain't no way a creep like you understands a thing about the heart of da cards."
"If that's what you believe I can't wait to see the look on your face in a moment." Byakuya closed his eyes and put his hand on the top card of his deck. "One card in my hand, no monsters on the field. I constructed this deck to be like me, powerful, overwhelmingly so. Show me that my faith is not misplaced. I draw!"
Joey waited with baited breath as Byakuya pulled the top card off of his deck like a samurai making a quick draw. When he saw what was in his hand, he smirked.
Joey looked nervous, not knowing what to expect.
"First, I activate spell card: Last Breath of the Monarchs. Now, for every Monarch card in my graveyard, I gain 200 life points." Byakuya's life points jumped back up to 2300. "Oh, but that's just the card I had in my hand to start with. I now activate the quick-play spell: The Monarchs Stormforth!" Byakuya activated the card by throwing it into the card reader. "This nifty little spell lets me use your monster as an offering to summon one of my monsters. And seeing as you only have one monster on the field to choose from, I think I'll do precisely that."
Joey gasped. "No! My First of the Dragons!"
"Oh this does not bode well," Celeste commented.
"Game over," Byakuya said calmly as Joey's monster disappeared. "I summon to the field Granmarg the Rock Monarch." A big, bulky, and downright heavy golden monarch appeared with arms as thick as tree trunks. "And since Granmarg was tribute summoned, I can destroy your face-down card there on the field meant to protect you. Granmarg," Byakuya said, snapping his fingers. "Destroy it."
"I don't think so!" Joey declared as Granmarg's arms raised up to smash the ground and destroy Joey's face-down. "If it's gonna be destroyed anyway, I'm activatin' my face-down card! Go! Graverobber!" Joey's faithful goblin companion appeared with a snicker. "And just look at what my little buddy's brought to me."
Byakuya's jaw hung open. "Is…that my…?"
"Bingo, it's the card you played just this turn, The Monarchs Stormforth!" And I'm gonna tribute your Granmarg the Rock Monarch to play my Flame Swordsman!"
Byakuya's monster vanished and in its place, Joey's favorite monster appeared on his side of the battlefield.
Byakuya looked absolutely panicked. With no cards in my hand and nothing on my field aside from Escalation of the Monarchs, I'm wide open! No! How could this have happened? If he draws a monster card or an equip-type spell.
Joey drew the top card of his hand. Byakuya was, fortunately for him, spared an immediate loss. "Get ready, cause this is the part that hurts! Flame Swordsman, attack Byakuya's life points directly. Flaming Sword of Battle!"
Byakuya grit his teeth and grunted as Flame Swordsman's sword came down right on his arms, crossed over his body to brace for impact. Byakuya's life points fell all the way to 500 as he glared and grit his teeth from behind his glasses.
"What's going on, Mahiru? Can I look?" Serenity asked, still shivering, head arched towards the ground with her hands covering her eyes.
"Of course you can look," Mahiru said, putting a reassuring hand on her back. "Joey's doing fine."
"Really?" Serenity said, picking her head up and looking at Mahiru.
"Take a look for yourself, hon," Mai said, pointing. "Joey just turned this whole duel around, taking away almost all of Byakuya's lead."
Serenity looked up and looked at Joey's field and Byakuya's field and the score for each. Her worried face broke out into a happy smile. "All right! Go Joey!"
"It's still too early to celebrate," Tristan said, gazing at the battlefield with a determined expression, "Byakuya's got plenty of nasty cards that could finish what little's left of Joey's life points." Serenity looked disheartened. "I'm not saying it to be mean. I'm saying it cause I fought the guy 25 times in a row. I know practically every single card in his deck." Tristan closed his eyes and scratched his head. "Some of 'em are summonable monsters with 2000 attack points flat."
Mai bit her lip. "And Joey's only got 200 life points."
Now even Yugi looked worried. "And since Byakuya believes in the heart of the cards, it doesn't look good." He then thought encouragingly, Come on, Joey. I know you'll pull through somehow. I believe in you.
"I'm settin' one card face-down on the field," Joey said, tossing the card into the spell/trap zone. "My turn's over."
Byakuya concentrated momentarily and made another dramatic quick draw. He'd already proven his connection to his deck once already. He didn't need to make a spectacle of it a second time. "And with your turn goes the end of this duel. I summon to the field Gene-Warped Warwolf."
Joey's friends all looked disheartened.
"See! What'd I tell ya?" Tristan shouted.
"Don't go all doom and gloom on us just yet Tristan," Duke said. "Look," he pointed.
The others all looked at Duke's finger pointed directly at Joey. The Brooklyn-accented duelist looked laser focused, fist clenched. It was a far cry from his earlier worries and sweat covered face.
"Well, I'll be damned, he still thinks he can win this," Tristan said.
"Bracing for impact?" Byakuya asked.
"Maybe," Joey said, unwilling to say one way or the other.
"Hmph. I must admit, you put up quite the admirable struggle, but this is where it ends. I told you my victory was inevitable. Your brain was simply too underdeveloped to realize it. Now go, Gene-Warped Warwolf," Byakuya said and fanned his arm out over the arena, palm open. "Attack!"
"Kunai with Chain!" Joey shouted as his trap card activated, binding Byakuya's monster.
"What?!" Byakuya shouted in surprise as his Warwolf was caught and bound by Joey's trap card. "Now hang on just a minute! What's going on here?"
Joey thumbed his nose. "Awww, what's the matter rich boy? Did somebody forget about the state of the field. Try to take victory back from me now Byakuya!" Joey shouted angrily. Joey drew the top card of his deck. "Go, Flame Swordsman! Attack Gene-Warped Warwolf!"
Since Byakuya's monster was in defense mode when Joey attacked, due to the effects of Kunai with Chain, Joey didn't do any damage to Byakuya's life points, but he did destroy his monster.
Forced into a corner, Byakuya concentrated briefly, his hearbeat quickening as he drew the top card of his deck. He nodded when he saw what he drew. "Once again, precisely what I need. I summon Chainsaw Insect to the field, cutting your monster down to size!" Byakuya declared as a gigantic, buzzsaw pincered bug appeared with 2400 attack points and 0 defense points. It darted at Joey's Flame Swordsman, destroying it and bringing Joey down to 100 life points.
"Because of Chainsaw Insect's effect, you get to draw one card because it engaged in battle. Consider it a gift," Byakuya said and then glared icily. "It will be your last."
"We'll see about that," Joey said and drew the top card of his deck, placing it in his hand. "It's my turn now, so I draw again." Joey picked up the top card of his deck and placed it in his hand.
"Well?" Byakuya asked. "Has your faith in the heart of the cards guided you to victory? Surely with three cards you have what it takes to crush a measly insect in your eyes." Byakuya's glare intensified. "Rest assured, I will destroy you next turn if you fail to beat me quickly or have you forgotten that I too have a Monster Reborn lying somewhere in my deck. If forced with no other way out but that, I will draw it. I can guarantee that," Byakuya emphasized.
"You might be right about that," Joey thought only to clench a fist and give Byakuya his most determined look. "But even so, my little sister is watching me duel so I can't give up, no matter what happens! I gotta show Serenity the big brother she always believed in. That's why I'm standing here right now, not for glory or fame, but for her! And nothing, not even the heart of the cards, surpasses the bond I've got with my little sis."
"Oh Joey," Serenity said, touched.
"Now, check this out!" Joey declared. "I play Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!" Joey's iron knight appeared with 1800 attack points and 1600 defense points.
Byakuya looked unimpressed. "That suit of armor is nothing compared to the pincers of my Chainsaw Insect."
"You know what," Joey said with a small smile, "I have to agree with you there."
Upon seeing this and hearing Joey, Makoto tilted his head towards the floor, finger pressed against his chin. "What is it, Makoto?" Komaru asked.
"I was just wondering why Joey played such a weak monster in attack mode. He'd need to increase its attack power by at least 800 points to win the duel and he already used Lightning Blade, but Gearfried destroys spell and trap cards that become equipped to it." Makoto thought a little harder and then came to a realization. "Ah! Could it be?"
Joey then said, "But there's something about Gearfried's armor most duelists don't know. It's not for his protection, but for the protection of his opponents."
Makoto was sure of Joey's plan now. "No way!" he exclaimed, hands raise and eyes widened in surprise.
"What? What is it?" Komaru asked.
Makoto immediately turned to his left towards Mahiru, "Um, Mahiru, right?" he asked, needing to reaffirm that that was her name.
"Yeah?" Mahiru asked, turning towards Makoto.
Makoto looked at the battlefield with an intense gaze. "Might want to get that camera ready," he said and smiled a little. "This is going to be really cool."
Kaiba looked at Makoto with mild interest. Interesting, Naegi already has Wheeler's strategy down pat when even I'm not sure what that dweeb is up to.
"What's Joey doing, bro?" Mokuba asked.
Unwilling to admit to Mokuba that he had absolutely no flipping idea, Kaiba simply said as he looked back towards Joey, "I suppose we're about to find out, aren't we?"
Joey chuckled. "Gearfried the Swordmaster, I loved that story as a kid. Who woulda guessed it'd actually be a real myth you could live out in this game?"
Kaiba gasped, looking a bit nervous. What? That dweeb has...
"I activate my spell card Release Restraint, allowing Gearfried to shatter his iron armor. Behold, Gearfried the Swordmaster!"
A powerful aura emerged from within Gearfried as his Iron armor shattered, revealing a shirtless, muscular man with long black hair and a warrior's disposition. It had 2600 attack points and 1800 defense points.
"And with this spell card, Legendary Sword, not only does Gearfried's attack go up, but your monster gets destroyed," Joey said, giving Byakuya a thumb's down, "automatically."
Byakuya backed up, panicking. "No!" he declared, glasses tilting on his face, "This can't be happening! This has to be a joke!"
"Then here's the punchline!" Joey shouted, rearing his tight, shaking fist back, "Go! Gearfried! Destroy Chainsaw Insect and the rest of Byakuya's life points!"
With a swipe of his newly equipped sword, Gearfried the Swordmaster created a tunneling wave of energy that completely enveloped and annihilated Chainsaw Insect, leaving Byakuya wide open.
"And now, AAAATAAAAAAAACK!"
Gearfried rushed towards Byakuya and his finely pressed suit, the heir of the Togami family still in dumbfounded shock at his undeniable, incoming defeat. Fortunately, he still had enough self-preservation instinct to shield his body with his arms, but was still thrown back by the shockwave from the sword strike, throwing him against the back railing of the dueling arena. Byakuya's life points fell and hit 0 as he slumped backwards on his legs. He looked at Joey with irritated gritted teeth as his vision cleared and he blinked a bit of sweat out of his eye.
"Joey won!" Ibuki and Serenity cheered, jumping up and down for joy.
"Ibuki always had full confidence in him!" Ibuki declared, hands on her hips, chest puffed out and nose growing out like Pinocchio.
"Oh really?" Mai asked. "Is that why your knuckles were turning white around the time Byakuya's first monarch hit the field."
"Geh!" Ibuki exclaimed, hands lurching forward and hair horns wiggling.
Byakuya Togami…lost to Joey Wheeler? Hajime could barely believe it. His mind flashed back quickly to when Joey gave him a high five.
"We underdogs gotta stick together."
Seeing Joey's victory now, Hajime felt plenty confident that he could do this now. If Joey could conquer impossible odds, so could he. In that moment, a change took hold in Hajime Hinata. Gone was the timid boy, uncertain of his skill and terrified of his talented superiors. With a slight nod of his head and a brief closing of his eyes, Hajime firmly clenched his fist and a confident, defiant look appeared on his face.
Before Duelist Kingdom, he thought, Joey Wheeler was a duelist no one had ever even heard about, but he made it all the way to the finals. Hajime thought of all of his trials up to this point, starting with Eliza and concluding with Bonz. He raised his arm up to his shoulder and clenched a fist. Well then, Battle City will be my Duelist Kingdom. I've come this far, I may as well try to prove that I can go even farther. With any luck, I can prove I have talent and then… Hajime thought about all of his happy moments with Chiaki, I won't have to say goodbye. Hajime then walked away with his head held high, eager to inform Chiaki of his new change in demeanor.
He wasn't the only one making a quick exit of course, Byakuya was also heading for the elevator. "Pathetic, Togami," Kaiba said. "All that talk and you lost to a third-rate duelist like Wheeler?"
Byakuya glanced back at Kaiba. "Third-rate? I think you need your eyes checked Kaiba. I accept my loss with dignity. Joseph Wheeler belongs in this tournament as much as the rest of us. Only one with the soul of a true duelist could've turned that duel around quite so skillfully."
Kaiba scoffed as, behind him, Joey was busy showing off his prize, Thestalos to his friends, who were heaping compliments upon compliments on him.
As the top of the blimp began to become devoid of people, Marik was one of the few to stick around aside from Yugi and his friends. Celebrate while you can, fools, for soon all your joy and merriment will be cut short when I send you all to the shadow realm! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
(A/N: And so yet another Danganronpa character gets kicked out of the tournament. That's 2-0 Yu-gi-oh. But wait, Joey dueled Byakuya not Odion? Then who's going to duel Odion? You'll find out next chapter since Marik's stand-in is next up. And yes, I am, for the first round, keeping things Danganronpa Vs Yu-gi-oh so that significantly limits your choices doesn't it? After all, not counting Chiaki, since she's going last, there are only five people to choose from. Hell, with the fact that I'm now stating outright that the rest of this first round will consist only of a Yu-gi-oh character versus a Danganronpa character, I'd like to see if any of you can perfectly guess the rest of the first round.
Oh and before I forget: Last Breath of the Monarchs is a custom-made card. I had a math boo-boo while making the chapter and didn't want the duel to end with Joey direct attacking with Flame Swordsman...if only because I wanted to keep all that stuff with Makoto, Mahiru and Kaiba surrounding Gearfried in.
Anyway, like with this chapter, next time will also feature some scenes before the actual duel…and we're also going on hiatus given that, heh, I haven't exactly figured out what to do for Odion's duel yet ^^;. He has so few cards that he used in the anime and I'm not terribly familiar with his video game appearances. B-but I'm sure I'll figure something out. And no, that's not an excuse to start messaging me suggestions, I'm perfectly capable of doing research on my own, thanks -_-
When we do return, it will likely be after Monday after I've started my . Er, more details on that when we do return. Until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)