(A/N: So it seems I was unclear about a couple of things in the previous chapter so allow me to clarify them now: The destruction of Scapegoat via Despell was purely one of the anime's logic when tokens weren't necessarily monsters (Isn't that right Living arrow?) Secondly, with regards to Dreadroot, yes, I know that it's effect should not wear off against Obelisk, but that was also a design choice of pure anime logic where the god cards could literally do anything they wanted to because they were so fucking broken it hurt.
Keep in mind, that faulty logic like this will cease being a thing as we reach GX and maybe even as early as the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix. Definitely not for Orichalcos though. That arc is pure fun for the sake of fun, much like how Darkside of Dimensions was like that.
Anyway, enough about that, let's move onto a duel that I thought would be particularly hard to craft, but turned out surprisingly easy once I gave it enough thought. I hope you all enjoy. It's time for a Battle Royale. Let's go!)
With the quarter finals now over, Kaiba's blimp was on a direct course for the ruined Kaiba Corp Island where a tall white, undamaged down stood amidst all the scrap heap and debris of previous bombings when Kaiba took over the corporation from his stepfather, his soul hopefully resting in pieces at the bottom of the ocean for all Kaiba cared.
The blimp landed at approximately 5pm in the afternoon. Passengers were let out and Celeste could only pinch her nose. "Pew, it smells like roasting metal out here."
"No one asked for an opinion of smells," Kaiba said, moving past her.
"This island is to be the final destination of the finals?" Byakuya asked. "Part of me is glad I didn't make it this far."
"No one asked for your opinion either, Togami," Kaiba said.
"You ready for this?" Chiaki asked Hajime.
"Yeah," Hajime nodded. He strolled after Kaiba with Yugi and Marik not far behind.
Makoto marveled at how tall the building was and Mahiru snapped up a photo as all of the other spectators followed suit. The tower door opened as Kaiba swiped a card key through the reader.
The tower was just an empty, circular elevator shaft with four automatic doors arranged in a plus or cross shape depending on where one was standing in relation to them. In each of the four doors sat some sort of apparatus that looked like the top half of a motorbike was fused into the ground.
"What's all this?" Makoto wondered aloud.
"It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Ibuki wants to go for a ride!" Ibuki exclaimed as she tried to climb inside. Roland promptly apprehended her. "Hey!"
"Those are for finalists only. If you want to "go for a ride" you should've tried harder."
Ibuki only pouted silently. Joey put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, which only made her purr and lean against his arm, much to Mai and Celeste's chagrin.
Mokuba got out a notebook and wrote down an idea for a theme park ride for Kaibaland based on Ibuki's antics.
"To determine the order of the semi-finals," Kaiba said, gesturing his index finger at the other remaining finalists, "All of us will duel at the same time. And I'll let Roland explain the rules from here."
Roland walked over to a lift that stood opposite the entrance door where one would imagine a referee should stand. "Each duelist will begin with 4000 life points, same as any duel. No duelist may attack on the first turn and any duelist may attack any other duelist. Trap and magic cards can be activated to defend or even harm other players even if a battle is in progress that does not affect the player activating the card."
"That would mean you could play a card like Attack Guidance armor to conduct battle between two totally different monsters, even if you're the one being attacked," Chiaki pointed out.
"That's the idea," Kaiba said with a smirk. "A complete no-holds barred, savage Battle Royale."
"Ugh, that's so barbaric," Mahiru criticized.
"You kiddin'? That sounds awesome! Man, wish I could participate in this," Joey said, scratching his head.
"I think it would make a great tournament format in its own right," Makoto said eagerly.
"Yeah, I agree," Komaru added.
"The first two duelists to lose all of their life points will be the first matchup of the semi-finals," Roland continued to explain. "Those that survive will be the second matchup."
That means if I want to duel Marik, I'll need to knock out Hajime and Kaiba before they even know what hit them.
"How intriguing," Marik chuckled. "I imagine that the losers will not have to fork over a rare card."
"Not this time," Kaiba said. "Consider this a sporting exhibition match. Losing here doesn't count against any official record. But only a master duelist will come out of here alive."
Hajime gulped but quickly composed himself. No, he couldn't afford to be intimidated now. Even if he stood among wielders of gods, Hajime had to stand firm on his own merits. He hadn't made it here by sheer luck and grit. He had skill. He knew that now. And he was going to show the world what Hajime Hinata was made of.
I could throw the duel, but that would mean I would have to take out Marik first. I'll just have to play it safe until I know how I can arrange for me to take on Marik.
Marik, of course, was of a different mindset. The most important opponent for me would be Kaiba or Yugi, but I cannot deny that sending young Hajime to the shadow realm would be most wonderous, then I could snatch up both god cards in one fell swoop. No matter who loses this duel, I will win. Hahahahahaha!
The only opponent I care to face is Yugi, Kaiba thought. The trash can come second. And I will not take defeat for an answer. Hajime. Marik. You're both going down.
Kaiba will likely try to get me to confront him. He's been desiring our duel above all else. That means he likely won't attack me unless it benefits his survival, Yugi thought. But I can't allow Hajime or Kaiba to fight Marik. I have to knock them both out and put an end to Marik's schemes once and for all.
The four duelists each got into a terminal and rode up to the starting level.
"Oh, I suppose I should mention one thing before we begin," Kaiba said, pointing to the numbers on the walls. "As you lose life points, your terminal will ascend. I hope none of you are afraid of heights."
"Not one bit," Hajime answered.
Yami and Marik only gave stern gazes.
"To determine turn order," Roland explained, "All duelists must remove one card from their deck for the remainder of the tournament. Turn order will be decided by the attack points of that monster."
To crush my opponents, I must go first, Kaiba thought.
If I want to survive the longest, I'll need to go last. I can gauge my opponent's opening strategies and plot my moves accordingly, Hajime thought.
Marik and Yami only searched their decks for monsters they thought they could do without.
Going clockwise around the room from the entrance, Marik was on the right wall, Hajime was dead ahead, Kaiba was on the left, and Yugi was above the entrance. The turn order, however, became clear enough momentarily.
Kaiba shockingly held up Masked Beast Des Gardius, unambiguously allowing him to go first. Yugi held up Feral Imp, which had 1300 attack points. Marik held up Skull Knight #2 which had 1000 attack, and Hajime held up Magician of Faith. Sure, it was gutsy to throw away such a useful monster, but it was the weakest monster he had that didn't center around his strategy of fusions, fusions and more fusions. And after his loss to The Stern Mystic, he wasn't going to give up his fusion substitute monsters for anything.
"Leave it to Kaiba to ego stroke and remind everyone who's in charge," Duke said, rolling his eyes.
"To be fair, going first works well to Kaiba's strategy," Chiaki explained. "Ordinarily, going first gives your opponent the chance to strike first, but since no one can attack on the first turn, Kaiba gets to make the biggest play first depending on everyone else's move. Hajime going last is much the same. His deck revolves around fusions, so if he can get one up on the first turn, his field is safe and it'll be ready to attack once everyone has caught up to him in terms of monster strength, provided they don't blow each other up in the process."
"Okay, but what about Marik and Yugi?" Makoto asked her.
"Their strategies are the most adaptable. We'll see what happens."
"Duelists, please shuffle your decks and prepare to begin," Roland said as all four terminals emitted a rainbow glow, their hologram projectors turned on. All four duelists drew a hand of five cards. "Duel! Start!" Roland declared, swinging down his arm like he was performing a karate chop.
"Hmph," Kaiba said, plucking the top card of his deck. "I summon Vorse Raider!" Kaiba declared as his ever familiar 1900 point beat stick hit the table. "Then I set two cards and end my turn. Your move, Yugi."
Yami drew the top card of his deck and looked at his hand. "Big Shield Gardna!" He declared as the warrior with the massive shield squatted down. "In defense mode! That's all I will do this turn."
Marik cackled. "I summon this monster, Newadoria, in attack mode!" A red skinned, gangly armed fiend with 1200 attack points floated over the open air like the rest of the cards.
Marik must be up to something. Newadoria is much weaker than Kaiba's Vorse Raider.
"I'll set a card and end my turn," Marik said. "Your move, Hajime."
Hajime nodded and drew the top card of his deck. It was time to show his foes he had what it took to stand on the same stage as them. He had hoped when the duel started that he would have one playable fusion monster. He didn't count on having two. "I activate Fusion Gate! This field spell allows the turn player to fuse monsters together without using Polymerization." Hajime held up four cards. "And I'll use my turn to fuse together Meteor Black Dragon and Black Skull Dragon!"
All of the spectators, and even Yugi and Kaiba went wide-eyed at Hajime's brilliant display of a first turn play.
"Whoa, check it out. Hajime just pulled out two huge monsters," Tristan said, stating the obvious.
"Helluva first move," Joey said, gripping a fist.
"It's quite the strategy in a duel like this. Hajime now controls the entire board. Unless another player wants to override that, playing something like Dark Hole would be ill-advised unless you can steal the advantage for yourself," Byakuya pointed out.
"Agreed. Negotiation is an important factor of a duel like this. It's a free for all, but one should not neglect the idea of temporary alliances," Chiaki stated.
Gritting his teeth, Kaiba drew the top card of his deck. "Vorse Raider, attack Newadoria now!"
Kaiba's monster charged at the easily dispatchable Newadoria and succeeded in destroying it, reducing Marik's life points to 3,300. Marik's terminal then went ascending to the appropriate spot up the tower.
"How careless," Marik chuckled. "When Newadoria is destroyed, your monster is destroyed as well."
Vorse Raider spontaneously exploded.
Marik chuckled.
Kaiba growled. "I'll set a monster then, and end my turn." The sideways face-down hologram appeared.
As Yami and Yugi drew the top card of their deck, they looked at their hand at and the field. With Hajime well-defended I'll need to take advantage of Marik's open field. If I weaken him enough now, he'll hopefully start antagonizing me. I might have to throw this duel if I can reduce Marik's life points to zero, Yugi thought for both of them.
"I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior, in attack mode!" Yami declared, as the Magnetic monster appeared. "Beta! Attack Marik directly, electromagnetic punch!"
Beta charged at Marik, but the fiendishly crafty wielder of the Millennium Rod was prepared for such an assault.
"I activate the spell card Dark Wall of Wind, nullifying all direct attacks upon me this turn," Marik chuckled as Beta's hologram harmlessly passed right through. "Better luck next time Pharaoh."
Beta returned to Yami's side as the pharaoh declared, "I set two cards face-down onto the field and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn now," Marik said. "And I'll summon Mystic Tomato in attack position." The long tongued, creepy looking fruit appeared. It had 1400 attack points. "Attack Kaiba's monster now!"
Kaiba's face-down card turned out to be none other than Saggi the Dark Clown. His 1500 defense points bounced back Marik's predatory plant and brought his life points down to 3,200.
Marik must be trying to lose this duel on purpose, Yugi thought. That must be why he wasn't enacting a shadow game for this duel. He doesn't want to duel me, not quite yet. He'd rather target Kaiba or Hajime first just to cause more pain and suffering. Dammit! What do I do?
"I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn," Marik chuckled. He then gave a sneer in Hajime's direction.
Hajime looked at the field as he drew his card. Fate… he said as he looked at the field with gusto …is in my hands! He stared down Yugi's monster. Sorry about this Yugi, it's nothing personal. "Black Skull Dragon! Attack!" He pointed right at Beta. "Molten Fireballs!"
"Huh?" Téa gasped. "Why is Hajime attacking Yugi? Shouldn't they concentrate on Marik?"
"Did you forget the rules already?" Celeste asked. "The two losers will face off as will the two winners. If Hajime and Yugi ally, it will be Kaiba facing Marik in the semi-finals."
"Yeah, but…" It just seemed so savage to Téa.
"Don't worry. Hajime knows what he's doing and I'm sure Yugi isn't taking it personally…probably."
Beta the Magnet Warrior was reduced to smoldering ash from Hajime's dragon. Yugi's life points dropped down to 2,500 as Yugi's terminal shot up higher than even Marik's.
"He's not gonna cripple Yugi, is he?" Joey wondered.
"Meteor Black Dragon, destroy Saggi the Dark Clown!" Hajime exclaimed.
"T'would seem that is not his intention," Celeste said.
Meteor Black Dragon let out a blazing heat wave and made Saggi disappear with a scream.
"Hajime! I demand an explanation!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Sorry, but I made a promise I intend to keep," Hajime stated, staring up at Yugi with no remorse or compassion in his eyes. "If you don't like it, you'll just have to outplay me."
Kaiba laughed loudly. "Well said, Hinata. You've got guts. I respect that. But now, it's my turn."
"Yeah, go on, Kaiba," Hajime told him.
Kaiba smirked and drew the top card of his deck. "I activate the spell card Ancient Rules, this Magic card lets me summon a stronger monster from my hand without having to sacrifice a monster. And I choose my Blue-Eyes!"
The duel was definitely heating up now and it was only the third round. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes was on the scene. "And, thanks to Ancient Rules allowing me not to take up my summon for the turn, I'll also play this, my Blade Knight!" The blue clad knight appeared stalwartly alongside Kaiba's Blue-Eyes. "And since I have one or fewer cards in my hand, Blade Knight gains an additional 400 attack points. Now watch as I activate my face-down card, Shrink!"
Meteor Black Dragon suddenly became smaller and smaller to about half its size. Its attack points also dropped to only 1,750.
"Now, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroying Meteor Black Dragon! White Lightning!"
Kaiba's monster annihilated Hajime's bringing his life points down to 2,750, rocketing him up the tower higher than Marik, almost even with Yami. The two duelists stared at each other with competitive levels of hostility. There was no friendship between them, not this duel.
"And I'm far from done. Now, Blade Knight!" Kaiba shouted. "Destroy Mystic Tomato! Attack!"
Kaiba's monster struck straight through Marik's defenses and sliced his tomato in half. Marik's life points fell 2,600, evening him with Hajime and Yugi. This left Kaiba as the only duelist untouched so far.
"Looks like I'll have to make a monster salad later," Kaiba chuckled. "Hahahahahahahaha!"
"Laugh all you want, but destroying Mystic Tomato lets me summon a new monster. Say hello to Mystic Clown." Marik's strange looking cyclopean clown crouched with its gangly frame with 1500 attack points.
"I am laughing. How's the weather up there, losers?" Kaiba chuckled. The taunt fazed none of his opponents. "I end my turn."
Yugi drew the top card of his deck and looked at the field. Marik has the weakest monster out of everyone else on the field. But if I want to face him in the semi-finals and put an end to his schemes, I need to keep him in the duel for now. He looked at the cards in his hand. And I know just how to turn this duel to my favor.
"I activate the power of Fusion Gate for myself, fusing together my Buster Blader and my Dark Magician to summon Dark Paladin!" Yami's green clad warrioresque spell caster hit the table at 2,900 attack points strong. "Dark Paladin gains 500 attack points for every dragon-type monster on the field and in the graveyard and between Hajime and Kaiba, I count 4 in total." Dark Paladin's attack power rose up to 4,900. "And now, I activate Quick Attack, allowing my monster to attack this turn. Dark Paladin! Attack! Destroy Black Skull Dragon!"
Uh oh, Hajime thought.
Dark Paladin blasted Hajime's powerful dragon with a powerful blast of dark energy, ridding it from the field and causing Hajime to stumble back against the wall and clutch his chest. His life points dropped to a mere 1,050 as his terminal rocketed up to twice the height where it was before. Hajime gulped. He was pretty high up. The spectators all looked like ants from up here. No, now was not the time to get a case of vertigo. He had a job to do.
"Don't give up, Hajime!" Chiaki shouted from the ground.
Hajime gave her a thumb's up, but from this altitude he wasn't sure if she could see it.
Field empty, Hajime could only pray that Marik wouldn't try to wipe him out. And after doing so, realized just how uncomfortable that made him feel.
Fortunately, Marik seemed to play into Hajime's desires. As he drew his card, he declared, "I play Melchid the Four Faced Beast. And with it and another monster in play, I can special summon Masked Beast Des Gardius!" The nightmarish three-headed fiend that had accompanied him in his duel with Gundham was now on the battlefield. "Masked Beast Des Gardius, attack! Destroy Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
"You fell right into my trap!" Kaiba shouted. "I activate Tyrant Wing! This trap card raises my Blue-Eyes' attack and defense by 400 points each, making it stronger than your monster!"
Kaiba's Blue-Eyes beat its wings triumphantly and fired back fiercely at Marik's fiend, destroying it and reducing Marik's life points to 2,500. However, it was not time to celebrate.
"Fool! Have you forgotten about Des Gardius' special ability? Since you destroyed Des Gardius, his mask now takes possession of your monster."
A mask affixed itself to Blue Eyes' chest and brought it over to Marik's side of the field.
"Normally I don't like it when someone other than me takes control of my Blue-Eyes, but this time that's exactly what I wanted you to do."
"What?" Marik growled.
Kaiba looked at Yami. "Yugi, don't screw this up."
"Don't forget about me," Hajime said, drawing the top card of his deck. He looked at the three cards in his hand. Almost. I just need two more cards. "I activate Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards." By a miracle of luck, they were exactly the cards Hajime needed. "And next, I'll fuse together Koumouri Dragon, Blackland Fire Dragon and Versago the Destroyer to bring out none other than Blackland Void Dragon!"
With so many fusion monsters in his opponent's decks, Hajime saw Blackland Void Dragon's attack power at 7,100.
Hajime's ultimate behemoth hit the field and its serpentine body could barely fit inside the tower. "And with this Quick Attack spell card, I'll attack Yugi's Dark Paladin!" Hajime shouted, pointing at Yami from above.
"I don't think so!" Yami shouted loudly. "I activate Magical Hats!"
Yami's monster was concealed by the hats as Hajime's attack blasted through the completely wrong hat. However, the hat was not completely empty. It ended up containing Big Shield Gardna."
"Oh no!" Yami gasped.
"Well, at least it's something," Hajime mused aloud.
"Nagito…are you…crying?" Mahiru asked him.
"I'm just…so happy…" Nagito sniffed. "Seeing so many powerful hopes collide at once, holding nothing back. There are endless possibilities to how this duel will end!"
"I think this is the part where we back away from him slooooowly," Ibuki stated.
Back up the tower, Hajime called down to Kaiba. "It's your turn. I've got nothing left in my hand!"
"Right," Kaiba said and drew the top card of his deck. "I activate Card of Demise, letting me draw up to five cards." Kaiba now had a full hand. "Next, I activate spell reproduction! By discarding two spell cards from my hand, I can bring back one spell card in my graveyard. Next, I'll set a card." Kaiba said, placing a card face-down. He then glared up at Yugi. "Yugi, I'm counting on you to make the right decision." Kaiba said, ending his turn.
Kaiba obviously wants me to take advantage of Marik's weakened field and use Dark Paladin to finish the duel, but Marik also has a face-down card. I may not have the power to destroy Hajime's Blackland Void Dragon, but I can at least save Kaiba from Marik. And besides, Kaiba cares more about our rivalry than I do. I'll gladly duel Kaiba, but only after I take care of Marik.
"Dark Paladin! Arise from your hat!" Yami exclaimed. "Destroy Blade Knight!"
"WHAT?!" Kaiba was livid. He was flattened with 3,400 points of damage, bringing him practically even with Hajime at 600 points. Kaiba went from untouched to having the lowest life total in the entire duel. As his terminal finally came to a stop, above eye level with Hajime, Kaiba shouted at Yugi angrily. "Yugi! What in the world are you doing?!"
"Kaiba, you make place our rivalry above all else, but I am not of the same mindset! My aim is to take down Marik once and for all! Then, I will gladly settle things between us once and for all!"
"Yugi," Kaiba growled. "You disappoint me."
Marik chuckled, grinning. "Having a bit of a lover's spat?"
"I'm pretty sure that's not what this is," Hajime said, sweating.
Yugi then looked at Hajime. "Hajime, please see this through. I'm counting on you," Yugi said.
Yugi, you misunderstand my intentions, Hajime thought. I'm not looking to take on Kaiba like you want. Marik…is mine.
"Since you gentlemen seem to have forgotten, its my turn now," Marik said and drew the top card of his deck. "Since I seem to have Kaiba's Blue-Eyes still under my control, I'll use it to finish Kaiba off with his favorite monster! AHAHAHAHA!"
"I don't think so!" Kaiba shouted. "I activate Negate Attack!"
Blue-Eyes' attack was swallowed into a swirling vortex. Kaiba's field was now empty though.
"Looks like my turn is over then. Go on, Hajime. Finish it."
Hajime examined his options. If I take Kaiba out of the duel, Yugi will automatically go next and if he draws a monster reborn, he could cripple Marik. Hajime looked at Kaiba. But, if I leave Kaiba alive and pit him and Yugi against each other, not only could I take on Marik, I might just survive this duel. "Blackland Void Dragon!" Hajime shouted, pointing at Yami. "Destroy Dark Paladin!"
"Argh!" Yami growled as his monster was banished from the game, reducing his life points to 800, 100 lower than Kaiba's. Yugi's terminal shot up to be closer in scope to his archrival, leaving Marik with the most life points out of anyone in the duel.
As a result, Blackland Void Dragon's attack power dropped to 6,900
Those fools keep wailing on each other and ignoring me, Marik thought. I don't even have to do anything. All I need to do is keep Kaiba's Blue-Eyes here and they'll destroy each other. It doesn't matter who I face, they'll all be annihilated by me! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!
"It's my turn now," Kaiba said, drawing. "And I'm activating Ancient Rules again!"
So that's what he got back from Spell Reproduction.
"And thanks to it, I'll bring out another Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
While this Blue-Eyes was weaker than the one Marik had, Kaiba had had it up to here with Yugi's betrayal. If their rivalry meant that little to him than Kaiba needed to blow off some steam. "And now, Blue-Eyes! Attack Yugi directly!" Kaiba would count this as a victory over Yugi if this connected. He would hold it over Yugi forever.
Unfortunately, Yami wasn't going to give Kaiba that satisfaction. "I activate the trap card Pinpoint Guard! This allows me to bring back any weaker monster in my graveyard and prevents it from being destroyed this turn!"
From beyond the grave, Beta the Magnet Warrior crouched in defense position and the power of Yugi's trap card kept it alive. "I'm not finished quite yet Kaiba," Yami declared.
"So I see," Kaiba was almost proud of this fact. Destroying Yugi in such a blasé fashion would've hardly been worth their rivalry. No, they needed a proper one-on-one bout between them.
Now it was Yugi's turn once more. Yami drew the top card of their deck. With Beta still on the field, he had just the card combination to help with the problematic situation in play. "I sacrifice Beta the Magnet Warrior in order to summon the Summoned Skull!" Yami declared as his mighty demonic fiend stood on the battlefield at 2,500 attack points strong.
"The heck's Yug gonna do with dat?" Joey wondered aloud. "It ain't got nearly enough attack points to stop any monster on the field."
"Next, I shall combine my skull with the magical Horn of the Unicorn, raising its attack power stronger than Kaiba's Blue-Eyes!"
"Hmph, for someone who seemed so uncaring about me last turn, you sure seem to care a lot about defeating me," Kaiba smirked.
"Wrong, Kaiba," Yami shot back. "I'm destroying both of your dragons with this!" Yugi held up a spell card he rarely used, but in this situation was exactly what he needed. "Behold Maiku, the Magical Mist!"
A thunderclap resounded as mist covered the battlefield.
"Hey, if that's supposed to be a hologram, why is it suddenly so humid in here?" Komaru asked.
"You're telling me," Mai said, fanning herself with her jacket. "This humidity is bad for my jacket."
"And my perm," Celeste said, twirling a lock of her hair.
"Would you two get your priorities straight?" Joey barked at the two women.
"Since Summoned Skull now has over 3,000 attack points, the defense of both Blue-Eyes monsters on the field are lower than its attack meaning that this assault will completely wipe out both dragons!" Yugi declared.
Lightning began to arc through Summoned Skull, gathering through its equipped horn and its claws.
"Yugi! Don't you dare!" Kaiba shouted.
"Too late!" Yami bellowed. "Summoned Skull! LIGHTNING STRIKE!"
With a loud roar, lightning zapped through the battlefield, making Hajime duck on instinct as the powerful plasma annihilated Marik and Kaiba's monsters, leaving both of their battlefields empty.
Yugi let out a deep sigh. "Since Makiu prevents me from attacking during the turn I use it, my turn is over."
"Yugi, I'll make sure you regret that!" Kaiba growled.
Marik chuckled. "Apologies, Kaiba, but you won't stick around long enough to try." Marik drew the top card of his deck. "I summon to the field, my Gil Garth! And with it, I'll put you out of your misery! Gil Garth! Attack Kaiba directly!"
As the fiendish monster slashed at Kaiba's terminal, Kaiba never felt so humiliated in his entire life as his life points hit 0. It was bad enough that he'd lost this 4-way match, but to lose first! Sure, it didn't count officially and was just a formality to decide the semi-final matches, but it was still a sting to Kaiba's pride.
Chiaki looked a bit saddened. Oh, Kaiba. If only you could let go of your rivalry with Yugi. Maybe you could've done a bit better.
Nagito tapped Chiaki on the shoulder and pointed at Hajime. It was his turn after all. Chiaki then realized something. Though Marik still had a face-down card left, Hajime had complete control of the board with Blackland Void Dragon on the field. Since Blue-Eyes Ultimate now no longer counted as being part of the duel with Kaiba eliminated, Blackland Void Dragon's attack power was only 6,700, but it was still way more than enough to strike down Yugi or Marik if the attack connected.
Chiaki could barely believe her eyes. Not only did the prospect of Hajime dueling Marik seem very likely, but he could right here and now, bring Yugi's life points to 0 to do it. Even amidst this crazy Battle Royale, that possibility seemed impossible at the start.
Yami, of course, realized this, and did his best to reason with Hajime. "Hajime, don't act foolishly! I need you to attack Marik."
"Why Pharaoh, look at you placing faith in someone else after you so callously betrayed Kaiba's trust in you," Marik chuckled.
"This is completely different."
"It's hardly different at all," Marik chuckled. "All three of you are savages aimed at different goals. It's why I currently have the most life points. And Hajime, if you attack me," Marik stuck out his tongue, "you will sorely regret it."
"Don't be discouraged, Hajime!" Yami shouted. "If Marik destroys your dragon, you can be sure I will end this duel!"
Yeah, but wiping out the rest of my life points, Hajime sassed inwardly. Yugi, I get it. Marik is your fated enemy. You want to put an end to everything he's done to your friends. But he also kidnapped Chiaki and sent my friends to the Shadow Realm. I'm not about to let him get away with that!
"What's the hesitation for, Hajime Hinata? Attack and finish the Pharaoh off. It's what you want, right?"
"Hajime, I know you're angry, but don't let your emotions stop you from doing what's right. I don't know about your chances, but I know I can defeat Marik. It's the only way!"
"Yugi…" Hajime spoke calmly as he raised his arm. "I swear…" He drew the top card of his deck and placed it in his hand, but only as a formality. He then fanned his arm out in the general direction of his chosen victim. "This isn't personal!" He shouted as his palm was extended towards Yugi and his Summoned Skull.
"What?" Yami's gasp was drowned out by Hajime's next declaration.
"Blackland Void Dragon, attack! Destroy Summoned Skull! Void Gale Blast!"
"NOOO!" Yami yelled, but his protest was ignored by Hajime's monster's mighty attack, wiping out Summoned Skull and, with it, the rest of Yugi's life points.
As Yami came to eye level with Kaiba, they looked at each other with competitive gazes, but also a little bit of sadness. They got what they wanted, but they didn't want it like this. Both felt defeated, a direct result of Hajime and Marik getting the better of them, a direct result of their petty squabbles and naïve trust.
Hajime and Marik were then pulled up and all four were brought above the tower to the roof. They dismounted their terminals and Yami marched up to Hajime, glaring. "I hope you're happy, Hajime Hinata."
"I wanted to duel Marik, simple as that," Hajime responded.
"Do you even realize the gravity of what you've just done? You don't stand a chance, and you've given Marik exclusive rights to your Five Headed Dragon!"
"Don't act as though the duel has already been decided," Hajime spoke in unnerving calmness back to Yami. "I think I handled myself pretty well back there, honestly. And I won't lose. I absolutely," Hajime's eyes flashed red as he said in a much deeper monotone, "will not lose."
Yami's eyes shrunk in, disturbed by Hajime's sudden change in eye color. "Hajime?"
Hajime turned around and headed for the elevator to go back down. "I'll see you in the finals," he said, walking away, only to stop. "Well, assuming you beat Kaiba of course."
Yami could only sigh and pray for Hajime's safety and the sanctity of his soul. He, Kaiba, and Marik all headed down the elevator to ground level.
Upon exiting out into the center of the ground floor, Chiaki smiled at Hajime, "You were really amazing up there, Hajime."
"Yeah, no kidding. You got Yugi's life points to zero. ZERO! Who else has done that? No one! That's who!" Ibuki cooed.
Kaiba knew that he had technically done so at Duelist Kingdom, but then Yugi upped the ante by beating Pegasus when he could not. As a result, they were right back where they started when their rivalry began.
"That was amazing!" Nagito exclaimed, giddy. "As expected of a potential Ultimate Duelist. You really handled yourself well up there, Hajime." He then gave Hajime a tough look. "Now you just have to do the same to Marik. Hope like yours won't lose to his despair."
"I gotta admit," Mahiru said. "That was pretty cool. Good job, Hajime."
"Yeah, I uh…kind of surprised myself, actually," Hajime said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yo, Yug! Earth to Yugi! You all right?"
Yami had been staring so fiercely at Hajime, he'd barely realized Joey was talking to him. "I'm fine, Joey."
Joey slapped him on the back, arm around his shoulders. "Hey, so you didn't win dis duel. Don't sweat it. It's not like yer outta da tournament."
Yami took a deep breath. "Never in my wildest imagination did I think Hajime wanted to face Marik. Had I known…I might've…" Yami stared depressingly at the floor.
"Oh, please," Celeste said. "Do not have a pity party right now. You made a mistake. We all do. It's called being human. Learn from it, hike up your big boy leather pants and get your act together. You can't even worry about Marik until you beat Kaiba. Those are the facts and nothing will change that."
"Celeste is right," Mai said to him. "Don't get sidetracked. If you do, you'll end up like Gundham, and I doubt Kaiba's going to give you a pep talk mid-duel. Buck up, kiddo. You've got a job to do. Or do I have to duel Téa again to snap you out of your funk?"
Yami sighed again, but this time it sounded like he was holding back a chuckle. "Thank you, Mai, Joey, Celeste. I'll be returning to my room to work on my deck."
"You get one hour," Yami heard Kaiba bark from behind.
Yami turned around to face his rival. He and Kaiba locked metaphorical horns. Although Yami had intended to wait until the end to deal with Kaiba, he was now forced into battle with him whether he liked it or not. And he would defeat Kaiba. After all, the fate of the world depended on it.
Seeing this, Nagito wept with joy. Today would be a glorious day of hope. A day when he got to witness the rematch between Kaiba and Yugi.
(A/N: I don't think anyone called the fact that Yugi and Kaiba would be facing off first, let alone have it be that Hajime managed to savage Yugi's life points to zero. Next time on Dueling Trigger Finger, as tensions rise for Hajime Vs Marik, we get to revisit some nostalgia between Kaiba and Yugi. I would advise re-watching the episodes either in advance or alongside the chapter as you read it so that you have a better representation of visuals, especially since I'll be playing out the duel card for card. The dialogue will certainly be different, but the match is virtually unchanged. It'll just be a fun little romp to poke fun at the dub's ridiculousness—it's the greatest thing about early 2000s cheese if there even is such a thing. Not to mention, it's basically like doing rifftrax or MST3K with the Danganronpa cast. And quite frankly, I think that'll be a bit fun to do. I mean, quite frankly with all that's happening and going to happen, we are going to need a bit of levity. So I'll see you next time, probably tomorrow.
And as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)