(A/N: So here's a fun fact for you. Fandom can never quite agree on when despair arc takes place in the calendar year, but I believe I have an answer. Yukizome shows up 2 months after the school year has already started. Additionally, there are cherry blossoms where spring is most appropriate, at the start of episode 5 when she returns from the reserve course, plus you see snow while she describes her experience there. And Yukizome said "six months had passed". What does this mean? Well, the practicals, as I know practical exams, would be akin to mid-terms, so 6 months into the year.
Additionally, Yukizome's calendar in episode 2 shows that the previous calendar month had 30 days. 30 days have September, April, June and November. If the school year started in September (like it does in the west and contradictory to eastern school systems), that means the practical exams would take place in February and Yukizome would've transferred in the month of November and the calendar she's checking off is December. However, the last day she checked off is the 15th, so the date would be the 16th. If it were December, we would be seeing people's breaths AND the leaves would be off all the trees in the background. That's just science. Additionally, her graduation photo with Munakata and Sakakura contains, you guessed it, cherry blossoms.
Therefore, we can only conclude that this is a typical academy starting in April. To further support this, Danganronpa V3's talent development plan has the school year go from April to March. That means, as previously stated, Yukizome transferred in during June and the calendar month she's checking off is July. Therefore, it is currently July in this fanfiction and soon to be August when the Orichalcos arc begins. Additionally, the calendar marks July 4th as a Sunday, meaning Despair arc takes place in the year 2027 or 2032, which are the next two times that July 4th occurs on a Sunday. After all, it would have to be that way, otherwise the series would take place in 2010, the last time July 4th was on a Sunday, which suspends my willing suspension of disbelief thank you very much.
Why is this important? *shrugs* Eh. I thought it was neat.
Right, I'm stalling. I know what you all came here for. Let's begin the showdown of the decade. Here it is: Yugi Vs Makoto! But first a word from our sponsor…)
With the blimp finally taking off, Seto Kaiba stood at the bow of the aircraft and watched Noah's little underwater mobile based explode with extreme prejudice. His stepfather? Gone. His past. Buried…well…not yet, not entirely.
As Kaiba watched the giant fireball die down, he marched out of the bridge and back to the employee only levels of the ship. In one of the rooms, Chihiro had set up and office. Kaiba wanted to talk to the intern right away.
When the door opened, Chihiro was surprised to see Kaiba. "Ah, Mr. Kaiba!"
"You did a lot of good work back there, Chihiro. You even managed to rig a timely self-destruct sequence. I could only have done a better job myself," Kaiba said with his usual scowl and cool monotone.
"Oh, you don't need to thank me," Chihiro said. "I just wanted to help you, Mr. Kaiba. You're an inspiration to me, as a programmer and as a person. I know we're only two years apart, but I want to become just like you."
"Heh, well that's an awfully tall ladder to climb," Kaiba said with a smug smirk. "But of course, you can't be me. There's only room in this world for one Seto Kaiba." He dropped the smirk. "Speaking of this world, what did you do with Noah and Yugi's friend?"
"I managed to transfer Miho's consciousness back to her body and I alerted my friends about her being in the cyber pod. When we get back to KaibaCorp, we can transfer her out of the basement to the Matsuda's lab for further medical assistance."
"Good. I can checkmark off my charity for the day," Kaiba said and then glared, "And Noah."
"I'm right here!"
Kaiba looked all around and then realized the noise was coming from Chihiro's laptop. Kaiba walked further into the room to see a perfect rendition of Noah's face inside of a windowed program on the laptop. "Well Noah, I always knew you had a big head, but this isn't what I meant."
"Very funny, Seto!" Noah exclaimed. "Don't think this is the end of me! I'll be back! I will get a body and escape to the real world!"
"Don't get a head of yourself, Noah. Looks like you're missing legs and a torso before you can even think about getting a body," Kaiba smirked. Noah growled.
Though Kaiba did not asked, Chihiro explained what had become of Noah. "Since Noah's body is gone and the facility wasn't useful anymore, I copied all of the data for his brain into my laptop as a separate Alter Ego to the one I made of myself. But Noah's brainpower itself is actually far more advanced than Alter Ego's, who's whole purpose is to be a self-evolving AI."
"So, what do you plan to do with it?" Kaiba asked.
"Well, I was thinking, Noah's still your family. I know KaibaCorp is better in your hands, but maybe since he's fully digitized, maybe he could act as a security system? He did bring down your aircraft after all. And he seems very familiar with KaibaCorp technology."
"You want to use me…as a security system?" Noah exasperated.
"If you don't like him, you can just delete his programming," Chihiro said. "He's sentient, but he's not infallible."
"Hey!" Noah exclaimed indignantly.
"A fully automated computer system run by the brainchild of an intelligent grade schooler? Hmm, I'll think about it, but only if Noah has a serious attitude adjustment," Kaiba said and smirked, "And admits that I am the superior genius and always will be."
"In your dreams, Seto! I'll never be your slave! I work for me and me alone!"
"Have fun with that. You can accomplish setting the world record for sequential head rolling."
Noah continued to growl. "Awww, I think he's cranky," Chihiro said with a smile. The Ultimate Programmer hit a button on the laptop. Suddenly, a pair of adorable bear ears appeared on Noah's head. "There, now he looks the part of a grumpy bear too."
"Take these accursed things off of my head!" Noah exclaimed.
Suddenly there was the sound of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon roaring. The image of Noah's head zoomed out to reveal a rounded image of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon Head, very reminiscent of a yellow arcade protagonist from the 1980s. It snorted at Noah as he looked at it sideways with extreme fear. It snorted at him and then started opening and closing its mouth repeatedly as it chased after him.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Noah exclaimed as his head ran to and fro. The image zoomed out even further revealing an entire maze designed around the head of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon chasing the head of Noah.
Kaiba did his best not to burst out into a fit of childish laughter. "Remind me to hire you full-time when we get back. I can't fill out the proper paperwork now."
"Okay!" Chihiro exclaimed. Kaiba left the room. "Wait! Did he just say he wanted me to be a full-time KaibaCorp employee?"
"HELP MEEEEEEEEE!" Noah exclaimed.
With Battle City back on track, the remaining eight finalists had returned to their rooms, most of them getting in a quick nap before prepping their decks for the quarter finals.
Although it wasn't his turn yet, Hajime straightened his tie and shuffled his deck with purpose, sealing it inside a pro-tournament deck box that he then shoved into his pocket. He walked out of his room with renewed purpose. To his half-surprise, Chiaki was already waiting for him.
"You look ready for action," Chiaki said.
"Yeah," He nodded. "I know Makoto and Yugi's duel is first, but I want to restart the quarter finals with a strong mentality. I made my way here because of my skill and determination. My deck is my deck because I put my heart and soul into it. I'm not going to make that mistake again. And of course," he smiled at Chiaki. "I've got the best cheerleader a guy could ask for at my side."
Chiaki smiled warmly at this, even blushing a little. "Welp, let's go then. After you, Mr. Finalist."
"Yeah," Hajime nodded. The two walked side by side for the elevator. Hajime's tie was straightened, hair combed, fists clenched and prepped for action. He was going to give this tournament everything he had.
Similarly, Makoto was also patting himself down. Of course, Komaru was more hands on with making sure he was ready than Chiaki to Hajime.
"Deck?"
"Check."
"Showered?"
"Check."
"Phone in case mom calls you after the duel?" Komaru asked.
"Check."
"Shoes tied?"
"Ah…" Makoto double checked for his shoelaces. "Yup, we're all good," he said, pulling the laces tight.
Komaru laughed happily. "Sounds like you're ready. Now let's go out there so you can show Yugi everything you've got. You get to duel one of your personal heroes. I'm super jealous."
"Yeah, it's uh, still kind of surreal."
Komaru then looked way more serious. "Hey, Makoto, are you sure about this. If you win, and I do mean if, you'll probably have to face Marik at some point. Are you sure…that you want to do that?"
Makoto gave Komaru a tough look. "My experiences in Noah's virtual world taught me something. I can't be a doormat. Even if things are scary, I have to stand up for myself and hold my head high. Besides, if I don't give Yugi everything I've got, I'll blow my one and only chance to duel in a high stakes tournament with him. Kaiba didn't get where he was today because he was ever afraid. He took risks. He held his head high and he didn't take abuse from everyone."
"Ooookay, slow down there, tough guy. If you turned into Kaiba, mom's gonna send you to military school."
Makoto laughed embarrassingly. "No, I don't mean I want to…" he sighed. "I'm just saying, that I have to be strong in my own way. That's all."
"Cool, then maybe you can tell Sayaka you like her at school tomorrow."
"Komaru!"
"Whaaaat? I'm just saying. Come on, don't deny me my chance to be the sis-in-law to a top-level idol."
I think that's exactly what I'm doing, Makoto thought. Sayaka's nice, but she is totally out of my league.
That was neither here nor there though for Makoto. For now, he had to march forward to that elevator and face off against Yugi Mutoh, the Yugi Mutoh in the Battle City quarter finals. Taking a deep breath, he went for the door. Komaru followed right behind him with a smile until they reached the end of the hall where Roland and Yugi were already waiting.
"Guess this is where we part ways," Komaru said. "Good luck, Makoto."
"Yeah, thanks," Makoto said.
As the elevator went up, Yugi looked at Makoto. His peer looked contemplative and Yugi couldn't fathom what for.
"I hope for his sake that contemplation is for whether or not he should duel at all," Yami said.
"Why do you have to be like that pal?" Yugi asked his other half. "Makoto did just fine against Noah."
"Yugi, Noah and Marik are to entirely different forces to be reckoned with. Shinato is nothing compared to the power of the Winged Dragon of Ra, which you and I have already seen."
Yugi's mind flashed back to the uncomfortable memory of watching Sonia get savagely blasted by Ra's attack.
"I'll take it from here, Yugi. Just relax and support me as you always have."
"All right," Yugi said and shifted to let Yami have control.
By this point the elevator had stopped and the shining light of the sun beat down on Yami and Makoto. Yami stayed by the elevator as Makoto walked to the far end of the dueling platform.
"Makoto," Yami said. "This is your final chance. Will you stand down? You don't stand a chance against Marik."
"Sorry, but no," Makoto said. "I'm not backing down!" Makoto pointed at Yugi. "You want to get Marik, you'll have to defeat me, fair and square!"
"Makoto! Be reasonable!" Yami exclaimed.
"I am being reasonable. What? You want an easy victory just so you can get to Marik?" Makoto asked. "You have to earn that!" He exclaimed. "If I'm so easy, then defeating me should be simple for the King of Games, right? I'm not gonna drop out just because of personal squabbles between you and Marik. Sure, the shadow realm is terrifying, but the best duelist should have the chance to take on Marik. It's not like it's your birthright or something."
"Naegi's got a point," Kaiba said, smiling. Okay, maybe he didn't regret that head pat. "I don't know what kind of games you're playing at my tournament Yugi, but rules are rules. You may believe in your ancient Egyptian fairy tales and destiny that you and Marik have to square off, but Naegi is standing in your way!" He shouted, pointing at Makoto. "If you want to get to Marik, it'll have to be through hard work, sweat and strategy. Not because of something so flimsy like destiny. Besides, Naegi's already proven that destiny is nothing but a big joke when he beat Ishizu. So why don't you pull up your big boy pants and duel?"
"Kaiba's right," Yugi said. "We have to fight our way to Marik just like everyone else."
"But…"
"It sucks, I know, but we'll defeat him in the end, together partner. And we'll have to beat Makoto to do it." Yugi floated nearby, fists clenched, eyes at the ready and on the prize right in front of him and down the line.
Yami became in sync with his other half. "Very well, Makoto! If that is your decision, I shall hold nothing back. If a duel against me is what you want, a duel against me is what you will get!"
Yugi and Makoto shuffled their decks fervently, handed them to the other person to shuffle a bit and then swapped them back. Their competitive gazes held tight.
"You got this, Yug! Show Makoto why yoos da King of Games!" Joey cheered.
"Don't give up, Makoto! Give Yugi everything you've got!" Komaru cheered.
"Who do you want to root for?" Chiaki asked Hajime.
"Honestly. I thought I'd just stand here quietly and not pick sides. I just want to see an awesome match."
Chiaki smiled. "Sounds good to me."
Naegi, you're good, but I doubt you're good enough to beat Yugi, Kaiba thought, Besides, he and I have a score to settle. So, as much as I appreciate your existence, I'm going to have to root against you so that Yugi and I can have our rematch. But that doesn't mean I want you to make it easy for him. You managed to beat Noah using my cards so I know you're not a pushover. Show Yugi why you worked your way into this tournament!
"Since I'm the challenger to the title of King of Games, I'll go first!" Makoto exclaimed, drawing the top card of his deck. He seemed pretty confident in his starting hand.
"I activate the field spell, Mountain!" Makoto exclaimed as Mountains surged all around him higher than the blimp was below him and Yami. "As long as this is in play all dragon, winged beast and thunder type monsters have their attack and defense values raised by 200 points. And I'll play one right now. I summon Blizzard Dragon!"
The blue, icy dragon that had helped Makoto win his duel with Rex Raptor, hit the table at 1800 attack points strong, which were immediately boosted to 2000 from Makoto's field spell. "And that's not all. I'm boosting Blizzard Dragon with his: Dragon Treasure! This raises my monster's attack and defense by an additional 300 points each!"
A glowing green jewel embedded itself in Blizzard Dragon's chest as its stats now stood at 2300 attack and 1500 defense points.
"That concludes my opening move."
"Whoa," Téa uttered.
"How's Yug gonna get around a monster that strong?" Joey asked.
"There's no way he doesn't have some sort of plan," Mai said. "Otherwise he wouldn't be Yugi Mutoh."
"You got that right! Give him hell, Yugi!" Tristan cheered.
"My move," Yami exclaimed. "I draw!" He swiftly pulled the top card off of his deck. "I activate the spell card Soul Taker! This magic card allows me to target one of your monsters and sacrifice it as though it were my own. In exchange, you gain 1000 life points."
"Ah!" Komaru exclaimed. That couldn't be good.
Makoto faced the turned tables head on though.
"And I will do precisely that," Yami stated. "I sacrifice Blizzard Dragon in order to play Summoned Skull!"
Makoto's dragon disappeared as the white and purplish, and blue-winged terror known only as the Summoned Skull appeared on Yugi's side of the field.
"BAHAHAHAHAHA!" Gundham cackled. "Twould seem the archfiend of lightning does not have one true master! Most interesting!"
Makoto gulped as his life points ascended to 5000, but they wouldn't be that high for long.
"Makoto, you have no trap cards to defend yourself with. A grave mistake. Summoned Skull, attack! LIGHTNING STRIKE!"
Summoned Skull gathered lightning in its body and it rained down on Makoto for a direct attack, bringing Makoto down to 2500 life points. It stung like hell. That was KaibaCorp holograms for you.
"If you think that hurt," Yami said, arms folded, "Imagine now the power of Marik's shadow game, amplifying that attack."
Makoto, still hunched over, smiled, "Sorry, but, I'm not gonna stop here." He rubbed the underside of his nose with he back of his hand and gave Yami a tough look, fist clenched. "I'm going to fight until the very end!"
"Very well, I end my turn," Yami said.
Makoto drew the top card of his deck and added it to his hand. Unfortunately, he could not give as much of a beautiful comeback as Yugi had just done. "I set one monster in defense mode," Makoto said, as the hologram appeared, "And I set one card face-down on the field." The spell/trap hologram appeared. "My turn's over."
"Don't let it get you down Makoto, the duel's far from over!" Komaru cheered.
Yami began his turn and drew the top card of his deck. "I summon to the field, the Feral Imp! In attack mode!" The ever common green, winged imp appeared with 1300 attack points and 1400 defense points. "And I'll also equip it with the spell card, Malevolent Nuzzler, raising its attack power!"
The astral form of a green, humanoid-demon appeared and pecked Feral Imp on the cheek, engulfing it with demonic energy and raising its attack power all the way to 2000.
Makoto has one face-down card and one face-down monster, Yugi thought. It's probably a trap card, but what if his monster is also the trap. He probably knows Summoned Skull can wipe him out with a direct attack, so he probably set his field expecting me to attack with my new monster first. I guess I'll have to be cautious.
"Summoned Skull, attack Makoto's face-down monster!" Yami declared, pointing at it.
Lightning rained down, obscuring Makoto's smirk from Yugi's sight. Makoto's monster was revealed to be the Wall of Illusion.
"Oh no!" Yami exclaimed.
"Looks like I guessed your next move perfectly," Makoto said with a tough stare. "Now, since you attacked Wall of Illusion, I won't lose all of my life points from your next attack."
"Excellent move! Woohoo!" Komaru cheered.
"To mentally manipulate even Yugi. Kid's got style," Kaiba commented.
Yami returned Summoned Skull to his hand. "Your life points are still wide open. Feral Imp, attack with Demonic Lightning!"
"I don't think so! I activate a trap!"
"No! Not a trap!" Yami exclaimed.
"And it's a card I think you're all too familiar with, Spellbinding Circle!"
The circle of light emerged from the trap card and stopped Feral Imp dead in its tracks, reducing its attack power by 700 points down to its original 1300.
"Earlier you said I was naïve for forgetting to play a trap. I didn't forget, Yugi. But I have to play smart and not reveal every card in my hand if I want to win. With the way Duel Monsters is balanced, it's next to impossible to win in one turn, so I baited you into thinking I wasn't prepared. I wanted to test the waters, to see how you would counter such a strong monster!"
Impossible! He lured me in? Yugi thought.
"Whoa, Makoto's savage," Tristan commented.
"That's my brother! Way to go, Makoto!" Komaru continued to cheer.
Mahiru took a snapshot of the duel.
"And now, the field is set and it's my turn," Makoto said. "I draw!" He was exuberant over the card he drew. Perfect! "I summon to the field, Alexandrite Dragon, in attack mode!"
Makoto's favorite monster slammed onto the field with its hard to counter 2000 attack points for a 4-star monster. The points then surged to 2200 attack and 300 defense points thanks to Makoto's mountain field spell.
"Alexandrite Dragon, swoop and attack!" Makoto shouted.
Alexandrite Dragon swooped down onto Yugi's immobilized Feral Imp, destroying it and bringing Yugi's life points down to 3100.
"All right, Makoto! You did some damage!" Komaru exclaimed.
"It's way too early to celebrate over a small scratch," Kaiba said.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Komaru asked Kaiba, fists raised. "Not everyone can deal damage to the King of Games. I call that in a win in Makoto's book."
"Well aren't you the collector of small victories," Kaiba said as he gave the battlefield a stern glare. "Let's see if Naegi can win it big." And if he does, I'll be very disappointed in you, Yugi. Only I'm allowed to defeat you.
"One more card face-down," Makoto said. "That ends my turn." Makoto's heart started to pound. I can't believe I actually damaged Yugi. I didn't think I'd even get this far. But I can't relax. This duel is just beginning.
"My move," Yami declared, drawing the top card of his deck. The card he drew seemed to jump out of him. Awesome! Joey's Red Eyes. With this and Summoned Skull, I could summon a really powerful monster. All I need is a Polymerization magic card. Wait! Yugi calmed himself down. Makoto played a face-down card earlier. I need to be cautious. I just need to hold out for now.
"One monster in defense mode," Yami declared, playing a monster face-down. "And next, I activate Swords of Revealing Light!"
The swords of light rained down on Makoto's side of the field. He flinched from the blinding light, but adjusted pretty quickly.
As Makoto lowered his arms he said with a friendly smile. "Swords of Revealing Light, huh? You must be holding out for a pretty big play."
Yami smiled smugly at Makoto. He had to keep up his poker face. He could not underestimate this opponent. "Have any idea what it might be?"
"I have one idea," Makoto said, drawing the top card of his deck. "But I'm not going to give you that chance. I activate Stamping Destruction!"
"Oh no!" Yami exclaimed.
"Since I control a dragon-type monster, I can activate this magic card and destroy any spell or trap card on the field and that cards controller loses 500 life points."
Alexandrite Dragon beat its wings rapidly and with a powerful gust of wind, Yami's spell card was destroyed. He braced himself against the wind as his life points now stood at 2600.
"Whoa. Check it out. Makoto practically tied the game," Tristan said.
"Yeah, but things are about to get a lot worse for Yugi," Téa said worryingly.
"Nnnnnnn, Hang in there, Yug!" Joey exclaimed, fist clenched.
"Next, I activate Card of Sanctity!" Makoto declared, activating another magic card. "This allows me to get a full hand of six cards while letting you only draw two more given you're holding four cards."
Makoto looked at his hand. Almost his entire hand was monster cards. But the two spell cards in his hand would be exactly what he needed to turn the tide in due time. This should do it! "I summon to the field, The Illusionary Gentleman!"
Out came a strange looking monster dressed like a court jester with a cane, but with one eye and a jester hat for a face. It had 1500 attack points and 1600 defense points.
"Next, I attack with Alexandrite Dragon!" Makoto exclaimed. Since he wasn't going to win the game anyway, it made sense to attack with the stronger monster first. Yugi owned copies of both Mystical Elf and Giant Soldier of Stone. Neither one would survive the beating from Makoto's dragon.
However, Yugi's monster turned out to instead by the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. As it was revealed, its sword repelled Makoto's dragon as it flapped back to Makoto's side of the field.
"Wait, why is Yugi's monster still alive?" Mahiru asked. "It has lower defense points."
"Obnoxious Celtic Guardian can't be destroyed by monsters with 1900 attack points or more. Damn," Komaru hissed. "Yugi just pulled the same move on Makoto that Makoto pulled on him earlier. That's the king of games for you."
"It's not quite the same," Duke said. "Makoto had a trap card when Yugi attacked, but Yugi doesn't have quite the same field set up. And look at Illusionary Gentleman's attack points."
Illusionary Gentleman had 1500 attack points. Obnoxious Celtic Guardian had 1200 defense points.
"Aw, no!" Joey exclaimed.
Celeste chuckled. "My, this duel is quickly turning interesting."
"My sentiments exactly," Byakuya stated.
Mahiru snapped another photo.
"Illusionary Gentleman, attack with Dark Mist!" Pink mist flowed out of Illusionary Gentleman's cane, destroying Obnoxious Celtic Guardian.
"Man, Yug's got no monsters and now Makoto's got two," Joey said. "This isn't looking good."
"Keep it going, Makoto! You got this!" Komaru cheered.
Yami drew the top card of his deck, only to smile. "I must thank you, Makoto."
"Thank me? For what?" Makoto asked, confused.
"Thanks to your Card of Sanctity, you've allowed me to draw the exact card I needed to tip this duel in my favor," Yami said, smirking.
"Well, I knew it was a risk," Makoto said, "Bring it on."
"Careful what you ask for so earnestly," Yugi said. "I activate the spell card Polymerization! This allows me to fuse together Summoned Skull with Red Eyes Black Dragon to create BLACK SKULL DRAGON!"
"YEAH!" Joey exclaimed. "I knew Red-Eyes would help ya, Yug!"
Yami smiled at his friend. "Now my beasts, fuse together and combine!"
Red-Eyes and Summoned Skull appeared briefly above Yami's head only to merge into the mighty and powerful Black Skull Dragon.
Hajime looked at it in awe. It was his first time seeing the hologram of Black Skull Dragon without summoning it himself.
"And since Black Skull Dragon is a dragon type monster, your mountain boosts it as well," Yami said as Black Skull Dragon's attack points were now a mighty 3400.
"And next, I shall activate the spell card, Quick Attack. This allows my monster to attack immediately. But that's not all. I'm also summoning to the field Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress! And it is also a dragon type monster!" The extremely common, blue Winged Dragon appeared with its ever familiar 1400 attack and 1200 defense points which got boosted to 1600 attack points and 1400 defense points.
"Now, go, Black Skull Dragon! Attack! Molten Fireballs!" Yami targeted Alexandrite Dragon as Makoto's favorite monster was completely crushed by Yami's dragon's assault. The residual damage reduced Makoto's life points all the way to 1300.
"And now, Winged Dragon, destroy Illusionary Gentleman. Fireball assault!"
A mighty fireball was launched from the mouth of Winged dragon, destroying Illusionary gentleman and reducing Makoto's life points by another 100, bringing Makoto to only 1200 life points.
"Awrite! Way to go, Yug!" Joey cheered.
"You have lost both your monsters and the strongest monster on the field is Black Skull Dragon, a fearsome beast like no other," Yami said to Makoto. "This duel is over. I commemorate you for at least coming so far, Makoto."
However, Makoto did not waver and he spoke without a hint of fear in his voice. "Sorry, but you've got that wrong." Makoto said, drawing the top card from his deck. "You're not the only one…with that kind of firepower." He drew exactly the card he wanted. "I activate Polyermization!"
"A fusion summon?" Chiaki didn't know Makoto even had any.
"I fuse together Koumori Dragon, Blackland Fire Dragon, and Serpent Night Dragon together!"
"AH!" Hajime's ahoge stood straight up as his eyes shrunk in with surprise. "No way!"
"Come on out, Blackland Void Dragon!"
Hajime didn't think any other competitive player even used his signature monster.
"Interesting," Byakuya said, raising his eyebrows.
The ever-familiar monster to all the spectators hit the table in its sleek, black form with 3100 attack points and 2900 defense points. It quickly surged to 3300 attack points and 2900 points thanks to the mountain field spell.
"And don't forget Blackland Void Dragon's special ability. For every fusion monster in my deck, on the field, in my graveyard and removed from the game, its power rises even further. And that includes itself. Lucky for you, I only have three fusions monsters, including Blackland Void Dragon itself!"
Yami growled in fear and panic. as he watched Blackland Void Dragon's power rise up to 3900.
"Oh no, that makes Blackland Void Dragon stronger than my Black Skull Dragon," Yami gasped, gazing down at his duel disk.
"Yup, so prepare yourself!" Makoto declared as Blackland Void Dragon growled hungrily. I can't win by destroying Winged Dragon, Makoto thought. So the better option is to take out the more dangerous threat from the battlefield. "Blackland Void Dragon, attack! Void Gale Blast!" He pointed at Black Skull Dragon.
Makoto's monster attacked and blew up Black Skull Dragon before it even knew what happened. Yami's life points fell to 2100.
"I don't understand," Celeste said, confused. "Why didn't he eliminate Winged Dragon Guardian of the "It would've obliterated Yugi down to only 300 life points and he has no face-down cards."
Chiaki was quick with an explanation. "There are any number of ways to boost a monster's attack power up to close the gap. If Makoto lost Blackland Void Dragon next round due to his lack of foresight to Black Skull Dragon, he'd be unable to win completely. That must be how he sees it."
Celeste suddenly sounded annoyed. "Has no one here honestly heard of burn spells? That mistake may just cost Makoto the duel."
"That remains to be seen," Byakuya stated.
Celeste let out a small gasp of shock. "Do my ears deceive me? You're the one saying that?"
"Makoto has proven himself in battle time and again," Byakuya stated. "He has just the same chance as anyone else at taking the king of games down. A small chance, but a chance nonetheless." He smirked. "Besides, doesn't the thought of the King of Games being dethroned by some nobody newcomer ring so poetic to your ear given how Yugi rose to stardom in the first place?"
Celeste laughed. "I suppose it does a little."
"Wow, some friend you are," Joey said.
"I said I would be your friend. I never said I would be a very good one," Celeste huffed.
"My turn's over," Makoto said. "I'm eager to see how you'll come back from this, Yugi. Oops, sorry, I mean Yami," Makoto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Is it just me or is Makoto unlike any opponent we've ever faced before?" Yugi asked his alter ego.
"Indeed. Makoto has no malice and no ill will. His heart is pure and gentle," Yami said.
"But that doesn't mean we're gonna hold back, right pal?" Yugi asked.
"No. Not at all." Yami said to him and then went for the top card of his deck. "It's my turn now! I draw!" Yami looked at his hand, nodding. "I sacrifice my Winged Dragon to summon Dark Magician Girl!"
Makoto blushed at seeing the female monster every teenage fanboy and creepy old man found fascinating among the world of Duel Monsters. Of course, Dark Magician Girl took one look at Blackland Void Dragon staring hungrily at it, freaked out and hid behind Yami.
"It's okay," he said to the hologram. "Just trust me."
Dark Magician Girl then took her spot back on the field.
"I activate Magical Hats!" Yami declared.
"Magical Hats, huh?" Nagito commented, having mixed feelings about the situation.
"Something on your mind, Nagito?" Chiaki asked.
Nagito scratched his chin. "Ordinarily that would be an excellent move on Yugi's part, but it relies on luck and faith to pull off."
"So? What's wrong with that?" Hajime asked.
"Oh," Nagito said solemnly. "I guess I'm the only one who noticed. I'll shut up."
Everyone, confused, just decided to ignore Nagito.
"I'm setting one more card face-down on the field," Yami stated. He now had no cards in his hand. Until he drew some draw power cards like Pot of Greed or his own copy of Card of Sanctity, everything had to rely on his current field presence. "And I end my turn."
"My turn," Makoto said and drew the top card of his deck. Examining the field, he figured his best course of action was just to attack.
"Blackland Void Dragon, attack the hat second from my left!"
Yami sucked in a breath and looked panicked. How? How did he know?
Makoto's monster unleashed its hellish purple blast at the hat that, unknown to him and everyone else, but Yami, contained Dark Magician Girl.
With no other choice, Yami activated his face-down card.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the hat was destroyed and a pigeon sat on another hat.
"Impressive. I don't know how you managed that," Yami said solemnly, eyes closed. "But you were able to guess the correct hat on your first try. Fortunately, I planned ahead and played this magic card, Magical Pigeon, face-down, protecting Dark Magician Girl until the start of my turn."
"Awww, I thought Makoto had that," Komaru said. "But hey, Yugi's gotta draw to stay in the game or he's in really big trouble!"
Kaiba chuckled. "I'll say. That brother of yours has the devil's own luck."
"Oh, I get what you were saying earlier, Nagito. Makoto's lucky, just like you," Chiaki said.
Nagito smiled. "Yup. I had a suspicion ever since his duel with Ishizu. Now he's holding his own against Yugi Mutoh. And I heard from a few of the others how he drew into Card of Sanctity to beat Noah." He looked serious as his smile faded. "If Makoto tempers that luck, it may turn into a stronger force to be reckoned with than even my own."
"That's…a scary thought," Mahiru said with a nervous smirk.
"The devil's luck is never a force to be trifled with. To master it means to conquer thyself," Gundham said.
Luck, hmm? Byakuya thought, watching the battle carefully. He was using it to craft his thesis about the heart of the cards. It seemed Makoto was turning into quite the interesting specimen.
"My turn's over," Makoto said, holding onto the two cards in his hand.
"My move," Yami said and put his hand on his deck.
If I don't draw the right card out of this mess, Makoto could defeat me on my next turn. I've got to believe in the heart of the cards!
"I draw!" Yami shouted and drew the top card of his deck. "Yes!" He exclaimed. "I activate the spell card Pump Up! This doubles the attack points of any monster on my side of the field for one whole turn. And since your monster lost attack points after destroying Black Skull Dragon, this will give Dark Magician Girl just enough power to destroy it! Now, go! Dark Magician Girl! Dark Burning Attack!"
With Dark Magician Girl's attack power boosted all the way up to a massive 4000 thanks to Yugi's spell card, he attack vanquished Blackland Void Dragon, sending it to the graveyard. Makoto's curled his lip in frustration as his life points lowered to 1100.
"Too cool," Hajime said. The duel was already in its 7th turn per duelist and this was still anyone's game. Most duels were close to over by now.
Makoto only looked contemplative, his brain already trying to come up with a way to fight back. He looked at his hand. A spellcaster would come in handy right about now, or even Golem Dragon. He drew the top card of his deck. Well… he thought, surprised by what he drew. That works too. Could I…could I really pull this off?
"Something the matter?" Yami asked.
"Sorry, just gimme a sec," Makoto said, shocked out of his mind. This next move would forever change the flow of the duel. However, holding back was not an option. "I activate Monster Reborn!"
Everyone was shocked. Not a face in the audience wasn't surprised by this move. Even Marik, Kaiba, Chiaki and Byakuya had shrunken pupils and irises. They knew, as well as several others, that that was because Makoto had to have just drawn that card, else he would've used it last turn to summon Black Skull Dragon to his side of the field.
And everyone knew exactly what was coming back.
"Rise again, Blackland Void Dragon!"
Yami could only look on in terror. This was not good.
"Blackland Void Dragon, attack!" Makoto shouted. "Void Gale Blast!"
Dark Magician Girl cringed and cowered, but nothing could stop her from being vanquished and banished from the duel by the awesome and mighty power of Blackland Void Dragon.
Yami's life points plummeted all the way to 200.
"What do we do?" Yugi practically screamed.
"Calm down," Yami stated. "We need to only believe in the heart of the cards. Our deck shall see us through. We haven't lost yet!"
As Yami drew the top card of his deck, Mahiru snapped up a photo.
Yami pulled the top card off his deck.
Awesome! This is exactly what I need, Yugi thought.
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Yami exclaimed. "So now, I can draw two cards," he said, plucking them out of his deck.
Marik grinned. It's so wonderful! The two most heroic tournament finalists will destroy each other! And if little Makoto wins the duel then the Pharaoh will be unable to stop me!
However, Yami was about to gravely upset the twisted and demented holder of the Millennium Rod. "I summon to the field, Kuriboh, in defense mode!" Before anyone could even question Yugi's sanity, Yami then declared, "And next, I cast the spell card multiply, allowing me to multiply my Kuriboh endlessly!"
Huh, so this is what it's like to mutually share pain with someone else, Kaiba thought, reminiscent of Duelist Kingdom.
As more and more Kuribohs took to the field with cute little cries, Komaru and Ibuki exclaimed in unison. "Awwwwww, they're cute!"
"Joey! I want one!" Ibuki exclaimed. "Get one for me!"
"But it's a hologram."
"But I want one," Ibuki whined, pouting.
"But Ibuki, they aren't real," Serenity tried to help out.
"Just…just stop, Serenity," Mahiru said, holding her head, one eye closed. "You're only going to waste breath and brain cells."
"Not a bad draw," Makoto said. "But that's just what I would expect from the King of Games." Let's see if my luck can hold out too. I'm so close to victory, but I can't get overconfident. "I draw!"
Makoto looked at his hand. Nope, nothing in his hand was going to help him out of this situation. It seemed Yugi would be getting his next turn. Makoto examined the field more closely. Oh, maybe his Blackland Void Dragon could seal enough Kuribohs that they wouldn't be able to multiply fast enough. It was worth a shot.
"Blackland Void Dragon, attack! Void Gale Blast!"
The dragon attacked, but it had as much of an effect as when Kaiba tried blowing them all up. Yup, there went more mutual sympathy. Kaiba truly knew what it meant to be Makoto right now. Well, okay, at least Komaru's soul wasn't on the line.
"Looks like you've bought yourself another turn," Makoto said. "You're up."
Yami nodded and drew. Unfortunately, the card he drew was unhelpful, at least for now. "I pass. Your turn, Makoto."
Makoto drew. I got it! "I activate Swords of Concealing Light!" Makoto declared.
"Swords of Concealing Light?" Joey scratched his head.
Well now, this just got interesting.
Swords of darkness rained down from above onto the Kuribohs, making them all vanish.
"My Kuribohs!" Yami shouted. "What have you done?"
"Swords of Concealing Light flips all of my opponent's monsters into face-down defense position for two whole turns. And they can't be flipped face-up until then. And, according to the rules of Duel Monsters, spells and traps cannot be equipped to face-down monsters." Makoto pointed at Yugi with the utmost seriousness. "Which means, Kuriboh's multiply effect is no longer valid!"
Yami growled as his eyes shrunk inward.
"Yugi!" Téa exclaimed.
Kaiba gazed at Makoto with his typical expression. However, his blue eyes hid a secret amount of pride. Makoto just pushed Yugi into a corner past a move Kaiba himself knew he would've been hard pressed to sidestep. Kaiba contemplated the possibility of how he could get Makoto on payroll on his sheer dueling skill alone.
"Blackland Void Dragon, attack!" Makoto exclaimed. "Destroy Yugi's face-down Kuriboh!"
The Void Gale Blast was overkill for the tiny Kuriboh as it too was banished from the game. "My turn's over," Makoto said.
It's now or never, Yami thought, concentrating. I must draw a card now and it has to count.
Yugi put his hand on the deck with Yami. We'll do it together.
Heart of the cards, guide us! Yami and Yugi exclaimed together and Yami pulled the top card off of his deck. Excellent!
"I activate Dark Magic Curtain!" Yami declared. "By cutting my life points in half, I am able to summon none other than the Dark Magician, in defense mode!"
Dark Magician emerged crouched on the ground with one arm raised defensively and its staff held horizontally. Yami's life points were reduced to only 100.
"Ho man, Yugi's gotta be desperate if that's his best move," Tristan said with a sorrowful expression, rubbing his temple.
"No! Yugi can't lose!" Téa exclaimed. "It can't be over."
"I'm also setting one card face-down on the field," Yami said. "That ends my turn."
"Have to give Yugi credit," Celeste said. "His poker face is exceptional."
"Come on, Yug! You can do it!" Joey cheered.
Makoto drew the top card of his deck, examining both the field and his hand. I've still got Swords of Revealing Light. If that face-down goes awry, I can still protect myself provided Yugi doesn't draw spell destruction. Either way, I've got no choice, but to push forward. "Blackland Void Dragon, attack and destroy the Dark Magician!"
Finally! Yami exclaimed. "I activate Magician's Selection!" Yami exclaimed, revealing a trap card with the Dark Magician printed on it in front of a blue magic circle. "When a monster targets a spellcaster on my side of the field, I can activate this trap card and negate the attack. Additionally, I can destroy the monster on the field with the lowest attack. But since you only have one monster," Yami said and pointed at Makoto in the way that Makoto had pointed at him earlier. "I think we both know which monster gets destroyed! Go, Dark Magician! Destroy Blackland Void Dragon!"
With the power of a trap card empowering it, Dark Magician cast a powerful spell, trapping Blackland Void Dragon in a runic, spherical, blue cage. The monster was sent to the graveyard.
"With the way you've been playing, I thought you wouldn't have walked into that," Yami said.
"I had to take the risk," Makoto said. "And I was perfectly willing to take it because I have this: Swords of Revealing Light!"
Yami's eyes shook. Makoto certainly found new ways to surprise him.
"And now, I'm setting a monster, just in case," Makoto said. "Your turn, Pharaoh."
Yami nodded and drew the top card of his deck. Skilled White Magican, Yugi thought. This could come in handy later. He looked at the field. I could put Dark Magician in attack mode, but with so few life points I can't take the risk that Makoto won't wipe it out with a powerful dragon next turn. I have to play cautiously.
"I end my turn, leaving my Dark Magician in defense mode," Yami stated. "And I also set one more monster face-down."
Makoto drew the top card of his deck. "That was a smart decision. Because I'll admit, if you had switched it to attack mode, well, then you would be losing the duel this turn."
I knew it! He has a monster with enough power to destroy Dark Magician!
"I tribute my face-down monster to summon White Horned Dragon!"
"That's definitely not good for Yugi," Chiaki said, worryingly.
"Ya think?" Tristan shouted.
White Horned Dragon hit the table in all its white-horned, red scaled glory. It had 2200 attack points right out of the gate and they only increased to 2400.
"Wait, why are you worried? It only has 2400 attack points," Tristan said. "If Yugi had left it in attack mode—"
"It would still be destroyed," Byakuya cut him off. "Watch."
"I activate White Horned Dragon's special ability!" Makoto exclaimed. "By removing 5 spell cards from your graveyard, I can increase White Horned Dragon's attack points by 300 for each card."
"Man, does this kid ever run out of good plays?" Tristan exasperated.
"Kid? Makoto's the same age as you, buster!" Komaru exclaimed.
"He's WHAT?!" Tristan shouted.
"Please don't shout," Byakuya stated. "It makes me ill."
"I choose to remove from your graveyard Quick Attack, Polymerization, Pot of Greed, Dark Magic Curtain and Swords of Revealing Light. That brings my dragon all the way up to 3,900 attack points!"
"No! My Dark Magician!" Yami exclaimed.
"White-Horned Dragon, attack!" Makoto shouted. "White Drill Blast!"
White-Horned Dragon unleashed a powerful beam of energy at Dark Magician, obliterating it completely. Yugi needed a plan and fast, or this was one duel, he simply wasn't going to win.
"This is totally the best!" Junko exclaimed, putting her palms flush against the TV. "Look at that face of pure anguish, of despair! It's the best!"
"Please take your hands off the TV," Mukuro said to Junko.
"Oh be quiet," Junko said, jumping back onto the bed with her sister. "Nobody cares about your stupid boy toy except you."
Mukuro blushed. "You were…interested in his dueling ability…as I recall."
"Hmmm, yes, I suppose I was. And he's not disappointing me, either. I'm learning so much just from watching this duel."
Mukuro watched her sister's eyes bug out and crisscross in varying directions as she analyzed the duel between Yugi and Makoto. No matter which one of them lost, Junko won.
Mukuro sat on the crappy bed underground, in front of the wide-screen TV Junko had yanked out of the private jet the pair had used to get here and somehow gotten a cable signal down here. In her heart, she actually found herself hoping for Makoto's victory. Yes, for some reason, that boy made her feel something that Junko said was terrible and now Mukuro found her questioning the validity of that claim because the pitter patter of her heart, could not possibly be a bad thing.
Speaking of the pitter patters of hearts, Yugi's was less doing that and more thumping loudly with anxiety. How the hell was he supposed to conquer yet another monster with 3900 attack points and very few resources to conquer it with. Tempering his spirit, he pulled the top card off of his deck.
Yami breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Card of Sanctity in his hand. Finally, he could begin a counterattack. "First, I flip-over my face-down monster. Behold! Skilled White Magician!"
"Oh! I know that card! It can summon Buster Blader to the field if it gets three spell counters on it and it gains a spell counter every time a spell card is played!" Komaru exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Thanks for the info, but Yug's only got the one card," Joey pointed out.
"Not for long, Joey," Yami smirked. "I active Card of Sanctity!" Yami declared. "Now we both must draw until we are holding six cards!"
Makoto and Yugi both replenished their hands.
"Next, I activate Graceful Charity!" This will allow me to draw three cards as long as I discard two. Two spell cards down, one to go.
Yugi was now holding 6 cards. "And next, I activate Monster Reborn!" This lets me bring back from the graveyard, my Dark Magician!"
From the grave, Dark Magician rose once more to the field.
That was all three.
"Now, I sacrifice my Skilled White Magician, to summon Buster Blader from my deck!"
The proud dragon slayer emerged on Yugi's side of the field.
"And there's more!" Yami exclaimed. "I'm activating Polymerization!" Yami exclaimed, "Fusing together Dark Magician with my Buster Blader! Now, combine to form, Dark Paladin!"
Makoto stared at the sleek, pale-skinned, sword and scepter as the same weapon spellcaster appeared.
"You've been playing dragons all duel Makoto and my Dark Paladin will now become the envoy of your destruction! My Dark Paladin gains 500 attack points for every dragon on the field and in the graveyard. And combined, I count 9, 7 from your deck and 2 from my own."
Makoto watched and tried not to squeak as he sweated when he saw Dark Paladin's attack points jack up to 7,400.
"I may not be able to attack this turn, even without Swords of Revealing Light, but once they wear off, this duel will be over!"
Makoto had to admit, this didn't look good. He needed a strategy quickly. He gulped and drew the top of his deck. And it seemed that his luck would continue to hold.
This should do it!
"I set one card face-down onto the field," Makoto stated. "My turn's over."
He left it in attack mode? Yugi thought, What's he thinking?
Yami simply drew the top card of his deck. Unfortunately, he hadn't any form of spell/trap destruction in his hand. His deck included Seven Tools of the Bandit, but that was useless to him with his life points so low.
I guess all I can do is prepare for Makoto's trap and cling to the hope of victory. I can't lose. No, I won't lose! Yugi exclaimed internally.
Yami set a card. "My turn is over," he said as the hologram appeared.
"My turn then," Makoto said and drew. "I have to admit, Yugi. 7,400 attack points is pretty impressive. What's less impressive is your monster's defense."
"That is indeed true," Yami said. "Dark Paladin only has 2400 defense points. But the same could be said of White-Horned Dragon's 1600 defense points."
"True, but I'm not comparing defense to defense. I'm comparing your defense, to my attack, with this! I activate the trap card Burst Breath!"
"Yugi!" Téa, Tristan and Joey exclaimed simultaneously.
"Here's how it works," Makoto said as powerful dark energy began to circulating around White-Horned Dragon's Mouth, "I sacrifice one dragon monster on my side of the field, and then I destroy all monsters on your side of the field with less defense than my monster's attack. So, that means Dark Paladin is destroyed!"
Yami, growled, eyes fraught with fear, teeth clenched and visible.
"And now, I summon to the field, Fog King!"
The armored, sword wielding spellcaster hit the table with 0 attack and defense points.
"Huh? Why did he play it with 0 attack points?" Komaru asked.
"Shouldn't you know? He's your brother," Joey said.
"Yeah, and I know that card. It doesn't self-increase. So why…Oh…maybe!"
"You think of something?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, and I…I think Makoto just won," Komaru said.
"What? No way!" Joey exclaimed.
"Go for it, Makoto!" Komaru exclaimed.
"I equip One-Shot Wand to Fog King!" Makoto declared as his monster traded out its sword for a mighty wand with a crescent moon shaped tip. "This raises its attack power by 800 points." Makoto said, taking a deep breath, and then showed Chiaki she wasn't the only Phoenix Wright fan among the contestants and spectators. He pointed at Yugi with deliberate force, "More than enough to end this duel!" he declared. "Fog King, attack!"
Yami smiled, "Makoto, you are truly a one of a kind opponent. But I'm afraid this duel isn't over yet!"
"Another trap?" Makoto gasped.
"You guessed it. I activate Reduction Barrier!" Yami shouted. "This reduces the damage of your attack down to ten percent of the damage you would deal to me."
Makoto's monster slammed its wand against Yugi, who was now protected by a glowing barrier. Yami's life points, instead of hitting 0, held on by a thread at just 20 points.
Makoto gulped. He really hadn't expected that. He then looked at what remained in his hand. "I guess I've got no choice. I play Mage Power!"
Another spell card equipped itself to Fog King, giving it a glowing orange aura.
"And since I control 3 different spell cards, my monster's attack points go all the way up to 2300. It's your turn, Pharaoh."
"Man, Makoto's relentless for a little guy," Joey exasperated.
"Sometimes strong things come in small packages," Duke said.
"It's not the size of your deck, it's how you use it!" Ibuki exclaimed.
"Who's side are you on?" Joey shouted at them.
Yami did his best not to chuckle as it became his turn. "I set one monster face-down and one more card face-down onto the field. Back to you, Makoto."
Makoto nodded and drew the top card of his deck. "First, I set one card face-down onto the field. And now, I attack your monster!"
"You did exactly as I thought. I activate my trap card, Soul Shield!" Yami exclaimed, showing off the card of someone's soul flying out of their mouth. "By paying half my life points, your attack is negated and the battle phase is over for this turn."
Yugi's life points dropped from 20 to just 10!
Makoto then caught onto Yugi's plan. "Oh, Yugi, I guess it's only courteous for me to tell you. If you're trying to buy time to summon Osiris, Fog King has a special ability. As long as he's on the field, monsters are prevented from being offered as a sacrifice, for any reason.
"WHAT?!" Joey shouted from the audience. "You gotta be kidding me!"
"My, my, Makoto certainly knows how to shut down all of Yugi's strategies," Celeste stated.
Yugi's only hope is to summon his god card, but if he can't get Naegi's Fog King off of the field, he won't be able to summon it at all. Heh, oh well. I guess beating me and Pegasus was just a fluke. Kaiba shifted his gaze from Yugi to Makoto. Guess we'll have a new King of Games to crown today.
However, among all the people panicking over Makoto's declaration, the person decisively not panicking was the person who should have been panicking the most: Yami. He simply smirked at Makoto and gave him a thumb's up. "You let me worry about that, Makoto," he said, sound as if he had a plan in mind.
Makoto's jaw went slack and then suddenly turned to worry. I don't get it. What's he up to? His only option to beat me at this point is Osiris. I've shut down every other option he has. Makoto felt woozy and nearly stumbled backwards. Holy crap! I've really gone and done that! I've pushed Yugi into a complete corner! No, more than that! I might actually win! Makoto glanced down. My face-down card is good old-fashioned Mirror Force. If all Yugi does is increase the attack points of one of his monsters, I can just activate Mirror Force to protect Fog King, attack and win the duel. What am I not seeing? Why is Yugi so confident he can still win?
"My move!" Yami declared. "And now, I shall switch Queen's Knight into attack position and then summon King's Knight alongside her!"
"So you can summon Jack's Knight, right?" Makoto asked.
"Indeed," Yami said, snatching the card from his deck with a smirk, holding it between his fingers. He then slapped Jack's Knight onto the table as it appeared alongside the other two knights.
"Now, I set a card," Yami said. "And my turn, is over."
Makoto drew the top card of his deck and looked at the battlefield. Yugi was definitely banking on that trap card to save him, but Makoto knew that it could also be a huge bluff. He had no choice, he had to attack. If he could destroy something, anything he'd win the duel.
"Fog King!" Makoto shouted, "Attack Jack's Knight!"
"Sorry, but I'm afraid that won't work. I activate Windstorm of Etaqua!" Yami declared. "This trap card changes your monster straight to defense position!"
Makoto watched as green hurricane winds whipped up his monster and caused Fog King to hunch over into defense position with only 1500 defense points.
"I'm setting one more card face-down and ending my turn!" Makoto exclaimed.
Now, it was Yugi's turn. He drew, but it didn't matter what he drew now. Makoto's fate was sealed. I could attack with my knights, Yugi thought, but Makoto's face-down cards are worrying. But if I summon Osiris, those trap cards won't mean a thing!
"I activate the spell card, Forbidden Chalice! This magic card increase's Fog King's attack by 400 points, but it also negates all of its special abilities, including the one that prevents me from sacrificing my monsters."
Komaru gasped. "Yugi has three monsters on the field. That means he's going to summon his god card!"
"If he's going to, this is his only chance to do so," Celeste said.
"All right, go ahead, summon Osiris. I'm not afraid!" Makoto shouted.
"You should be, behold the dragon god of Ancient Egypt. I sacrifice Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight, in order to summon OSIRIS, THE SKY DRAGON!"
For the second time in the finals, Yugi summoned his god card to the field. He only had 2 cards in his hand, but those two cards were enough to plow through the defense position Fog King.
"Makoto, thank you for a great duel," Yami said. "But this is truly the end. Osiris! Attack! Destroy Fog King!"
Osiris let out a powerful blast of energy from its mouth that completely obliterated Makoto's monster, leaving Makoto's battlefield scorched and with nothing to defend himself. "Now do you see the power of the gods?" Yami asked Makoto. "Do you truly think you can stand up to their might?"
Osiris roared.
"Actually, yes, I think I can," Makoto stated.
"What?!" Yami gasped.
"When you acted like you had some sort of plan to summon Osiris, I realized I would have to force you to play it on my terms. That's why I laid out an extra face-down."
"You mean…?"
"Yeah," Makoto said activating his second face-down. "I bluffed, pretty well I might add," Makoto said. "I forced you to play Osiris the Sky Dragon in attack mode so I could activate this: Go Premature Burial!"
Makoto's life points fell down to 300.
"Well, I'll be damned, he managed to pull it off," Byakuya said.
Komaru just screamed in ecstasy. She couldn't believe it. Her brother didn't just duel Yugi Mutoh, he beat Yugi Mutoh.
Kaiba, however, knew exactly what Makoto was up to and could only chuckle. Naegi, I know what you're planning to summon and I commend you for coming so far, but this is Yugi's victory. You just don't know it yet.
"I bring back to the field my Blackland Void Dragon!"
The black, serpentine behemoth of a dragon, doing its best to match Osiris coil for coil returned to the battlefield glaring hungrily. Its power completely outmatched the dragon god's. Osiris, thanks to Makoto's mountain had 2200 attack points, but Makoto's monster had 3900.
To almost everyone observing, it was game over.
But not to Yugi.
"Makoto, you have never ceased to continue to impress me with every move you've made. And this was certainly your best course of action, but I'm afraid that you lose."
"What do you mean? You have no trap cards on the field," Makoto pointed out. "This duel's over!"
"You're right, it is over, but as I told you before, you would be wise not to underestimate the power of the gods." Yami took a trip down memory lane to his duel with Celeste the night before to explain himself. "In my duel with Celeste, summoning Osiris had clenched me the duel right then and there, so you were unable to bear witness to its special ability," Yami said and forcefully pointed a finger at Makoto, the wind blowing across his body as the afternoon sun cast a shadow on him, "It's second mouth attack!"
"Huh?"
The expressions on the spectators made a complete turn around as though it were shot in slow motion. Komaru's giddy expression turned to one of horror and disappointment, while Joey, Tristan, Téa and even Mai were all brightening their expressions, Joey, crouching down to launch up into the air with a fist-raised cheer of triumph.
"Go, Osiris!" Yami shouted. "Unleash your fury upon Makoto's dragon and show it why the gods are not to be taken lightly!"
Osiris took a deep breath and launched a blazing ball of blue energy from its upper mouth, hurling it straight into Blackland Void Dragon, plummeting its attack power down to 1900.
"When summoning a monster in Osiris' presence," Yami stated. "That monster loses 2000 attack points and if its attack power is reduced to 0 by this ability, it is automatically destroyed. Your monster is powerful, but its attack points will not recover, just in time for my turn," Yami pointed out.
Makoto smiled brightly, knowing that he had lost. He didn't shed a single tear. "Yugi, thanks for the duel. This has truly been the best tournament I've ever participated in."
Yami smiled back at Makoto, and Yugi, though Makoto could not see him, did the same. "OSIRIS!" Yami bellowed after drawing his card for that turn, "ATTACK BLACKLAND VOID DRAGON NOW!"
With Osiris' attack power boosted to 3,200 thanks to the card Yugi drew, it was powerful enough to completely obliterate Blackland Void Dragon, along with the rest of Makoto's life points.
And as Makoto's life points hit 0, he sunk to his knees. His legs just gave out from all the excitement. He didn't have the strength to stand anymore.
"Need a hand?" Yami asked, offering it to Makoto. Makoto smiled and let Yami pull him to his feet. The two then stood only so far from each other.
"You did a excellent job to have been able to come so far, Makoto," Yugi said to him. "You really didn't have any other moves left. You should feel honored to have fought so valiantly."
"Of course I feel honored!" Makoto said with a bright-eyed smile. "I fought a duel with the King of Games with everything I had! You even had to use Osiris to beat me! I may not have one, but…" he seemed to smile even brighter. "I had a great time! For my first real tournament, this was a lot of fun."
Yami smiled at him in a way that he could never recall smiling at a defeated opponent before. "Makoto, I'm glad you decided to duel me," Yami closed his eyes with a shameful expression. "I'm sorry if I pushed you against dueling. While the prospect of dueling Marik was always on the line, I've had far too many opponents whose hearts were stained with evil or corruption." He went back to smiling. "But your competitive nature and determination are as pure and wholesome as my own. I look forward to the day when we will duel again." Yami then gave Makoto his hand to shake.
Makoto struggled to find words from the praise that Yugi, the Yugi Mutoh, was giving him. Taking a deep breath, he just said, "Yeah! Great duel, Yugi!" He clutched Yugi's hand and shook it firmly. The two stood there smiling at their newborn friendship as the duel platform lowered.
"Yugi!" Téa exclaimed, running over to him.
"Awrite, way to go, Yug!" Joey exclaimed. He ran over and slung an arm around his buddy, slapping him on the arm.
"You had us worried there, buddy," Tristan said. "That duel bounced around so many times it was like Tennis."
Yugi's friends continued to heap praises onto him. Makoto decided it was best to leave them to it and walked away. He found Komaru not that far from him. "You were awesome out there, Makoto. Sorry you didn't win." She rubbed the back of her head. "Man, you almost had him though. If it just wasn't for Osiris' ability, you would've totally won just now."
"Indeed," Kaiba said, standing not too far from the Naegi siblings. "You made zero mistakes in that duel, Naegi. I could've barely done a better job myself. The next time I hold a tournament, you're getting a personal invite."
"Eh?" Makoto was shocked to hear this.
"Heh. I owe Fujisaki for making that AI program to expand Battle City. If she hadn't, I never would've gotten a chance to see this duel. Naegi," Kaiba said, gazing at Makoto with the utmost professionalism. "No, Makoto. I am forced to concede it. You are one of the few duelists I know that has my respect."
Kaiba then walked away. "You should think about competing in other tournaments. If fees are an issue, call the office. I'll waive it for you."
"Did Kaiba just…?" Komaru could barely believe what she and Makoto had just heard.
"Hey, Seto! Wait up!" Mokuba exclaimed, running after him.
"Komaru," Makoto said.
"Yeah?"
"I think I need to lie down. I've had too much excitement for the last couple hours."
Komaru laughed. "Yeah, okay. Come on, I'll help you get a comfortable nap." Komaru put an arm around her brother's back and helped walk his woozy legs back to his room.
"Well?" Byakuya asked, barely gazing at Celeste.
"Well, what?" she asked.
"What's your take on the results of this duel?"
"I have to admit, Makoto might be an even better duelist than I am right now. I'll have to step up my abilities."
"Heh, I was thinking the same thing. I still have much more research to do on the Heart of the Cards." He adjusted his glasses. "I will master this game. No matter what I have to do in order to do so. Seeing duels like this though, you'd never think it was about that, though, winning and losing I mean."
Celeste chuckled. "No, certainly not. Well then, adieu, Byakuya," she curtsied.
"Heh, adieu, mademoiselle." Byakuya then walked away.
Back in Egypt, Junko was screaming into a pillow. Makoto had ruined the end of the duel for her. She wanted to see the look of despair on his face, not watch him smile like an idiot and make friends with Yugi. That wasn't despair! That was gross!
Mukuro could only smile and blush. To her, that was the best thing she had ever seen. Now she really wanted to see Makoto again.
Junko threw the pillow she'd been screaming into at the back of Mukuro's head. "Fuck this, I'm getting some fresh air again. Let me know when Kaiba's dueling."
"Yes, Junko," Mukuro said and watched her sister stomp out of the doorless bedroom.
Makoto, Mukuro thought. I really hope we meet again. I want to see if Junko was wrong. I want you to teach me more…about hope.
Back on the blimp, some of the spectators still hadn't left the roof. Among them, were the Hope's Peak students. "Some duel, huh?" Nagito asked.
"It was really impressive," Chiaki said.
Nagito looked at Hajime. "Looks like you and I are next," he said.
"Yeah, and?"
"And nothing," Nagito said with a wave and a smile hiding his true feelings. "Don't go thinking that just because Makoto can duel that well that you can too." He gave Hajime a serious stare. "You and Izuru are two entirely different people. You're not talented. I won't lose to someone like you."
Hajime glared. "Fine. Whatever. I don't care anymore. Talented? Talentless? Who cares? I'm going to duel you with everything I have, Nagito with my pride on the line."
"Heh, seems like that trip to Noah's virtual world gave your confidence quite the boost," Nagito said. "But the same goes for me," Nagito said and gave Hajime a competitive stare. "I can't get kicked out of the tournament, not yet. There's still so much more I can do in order to foster hope, and I'm not about to let you stop me."
"Well then let me know how much it stings when I kick your ass!" Hajime exclaimed.
Chiaki could only look at this rivalry unfolding worryingly. The next quarter final match was about to begin. And things were about to get ugly.
(A/N: Phew. Done. And that officially marks the longest single duel in the story barring Chiaki Vs Kaiba. I hope that for those of you who felt the Izuru duel was lackluster that this duel more than made up for it. What a great way to kick Battle City back off am I right?
But don't relax just yet, we've got Nagito Vs Hajime up next. It's time for Danganronpa's 2nd protagonist to take what he learned from Noah's arc and put it to good use going up against the wielder of the Ultimate Bullshit. And for those wondering, yes the 4-way duel is still going to happen. Meaning that Joey (since he's dueling Kaiba and the result of that is a foregone conclusion) will be absent from it. So who will be participating in it besides Yugi and Kaiba? Will it be Nagito or Hajime?
And man, it felt so good to write those ham-fisted Dan Green Yami Yugi lines. Like ahhhhhhh, this is literally the first time since the story began that Yami Yugi has had a chance to duel and ham it up. I hope the length of this duel made up for the lack of it until now. And don't worry, Dan Green, er I mean, The Pharaoh, isn't going anywhere, any time soon.
Oh, by the way, I should mention that with the conclusion of this chapter I don't actually have any more duels planned out turn for turn, so there's going to be a mini-hiatus while I work them out. Having said that, I've got good news, I now have a basic outline for the entire Orichalcos arc and even some chapters that succeed it. I am planned (to a degree) up through chapter 87 of this story. In fact, outlining the next arc is why this chapter is being posted really late at night rather than mid-afternoon yesterday while I was still on vacation from work. And hang tight everyone, because there are plenty of twists and turns both up close and coming and farther down the line.
But until any of that comes to pass, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)