(A/N: So since I got a few critiques on it, I'd like to clarify something in case the rest of you were wondering about it. My decision to make Mikan put Kaiba's head in between her boobs wasn't fueled by any need for fanservice. Mikan's character, which I've scrubbed with a fine comb her being my #1 ultimate waifu and all, has shown that she likely doesn't care about social conventions—not to mention she and Kaiba were alone—and based on all of her requests to Hajime if she should take her clothes off to salvage an awkward situation, I don't think she'd have any trouble committing to it. Additionally, Mikan has also shown that she isn't above manipulating people to get what she wants. Even outside the Remembrance Disease in case 3, she threatened to cripple Hajime so that he'd have to rely on her forever. Just because she's cute and adorable, doesn't mean she's not harboring deeply suppressed Yandere tendencies. Her actions could also be seen as trying to convince Kaiba to want to be with her since she seemed convinced otherwise he'd never want anything to do with her.
Additionally, Kaiba is in no position or mindset to really care about being in a position that Teruteru would kill to switch with him for. If you read the narration, he's more focused on the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives him rather than the fact that he's getting a face full of boobs. Kaiba's never had a woman in his life. Period. There's never been any mention of Gozaboro's wife or what happened to her, so chances are high Kaiba's never had anyone hug him ever. I'm mostly reminded of that scene in Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask where Link gets a hug and narration states "You feel warm and fuzzy inside. You could get used to this."
So if Kaiba doesn't care about the sexual aspect and Mikan's not doing it other than because she has no other idea on how to make Kaiba feel better, is it really fanservice? Well, I'll leave that for all of you to sort out. Speaking of sorting, I wonder if it would be too arrogant to make a DTF forum here on FF. net. Welp, anyway no time to unpack that now. Let's instead focus on what you all came here for. It's time for Hajime Vs Marik).
After Hajime's big declaration to begin their bout, Marik started to chukle only for it to become full blown maniacal laughter. "Well, I've never seen someone so eager to be destroyed. Well then, Hajime Hinata, allow me to personally welcome you to the Shadow Realm!"
Sunset was already approaching so Marik's call upon the shadows made the sunny, twilit dusk become a horrific nightmare of bleakness and purple fog.
Chiaki gulped. This would be Hajime's first shadow game, and hopefully his last. Her injured leg itched, a reminder of what happened to her during her shadow game. She only prayed that wasn't what Hajime was in for, but what Marik had in mind wasn't exactly any better.
"So," Hajime said. "Who goes first?"
"Well, since you're asking, I might as well start the proceedings," Marik said.
"Be my guest." That lets me attack first and that suits me just fine.
When Hajime and Marik had drawn their hands, Marik stated, "I play the monster Vampiric Leech."
A gigantic green parasite with fangs and red tentacles emerged with only 500 attack points.
"That thing's so gross," Téa winced, covering her mouth.
"And now, attack!"
"Huh?" Hajime was taken off guard when the Leech rammed into him and took a big bite out of his arm. Chiaki held her breath, wondering if she'd see blood, but nothing of the sort happened when the Leech returned to Marik's side. Hajime definitely started breathing heavy though, but that might've been from the shock as his life points descended to 3,500.
Marik chuckled. "My Vampiric Leech can attack even if it's the first turn of the duel."
"I can see that," Hajime growled. As he got his bearings, he then noticed a strange glowing line connecting Vampiric Leech to Marik. "Huh? What's that line?"
Marik chuckled. "Ah, it seems you've finally begun to notice the features of this shadow game. In Ancient Egypt, monsters were summoned using the lifeblood, energy, or if you prefer, ki of their summoner. And when those monsters were destroyed, their wielders felt the same pain they did. In short, all of our monsters are linked to our life force. If they are destroyed, we feel the same pain they do." Marik chuckled sinisterly. "Be careful not to run out of energy just like poor Gundham. AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Don't think I'm going to go down easy. If there's one thing I'm good at it's being determined!" Hajime declared.
"Let's see how long that bravado lasts," Marik said and plucked two cards from his hand. "I set these two cards face-down and end my turn," he said as the holograms appeared.
"Right then," Hajime said, grabbing the top card of his deck, "I draw!"
Hajime's gaze was stern as he saw the monster he'd pulled to his hand. "I summon Battle Ox!"
The bovine beast-warrior snorted as it came out, axe clenched tightly in its strong arm.
"Battle Ox, attack!" Hajime declared.
With a loud grunting charge, Battle Ox raised its axe to cut down Marik's leech.
But Marik had prepared for this. "I activate Nightmare Wheel!" Marik exclaimed, revealing a face-down card.
A gigantic torture device appeared and pulled Battle Ox to it with magical chains, stretching him over it like he was about to star in some creepy bondage furry porn.
Marik chuckled. "Your monster is now set aside from the field. It cannot attack or change its battle position. And during my turn, you take 500 points of damage as long as its on the field."
Effect damage right off the bat, that's Hajime's biggest problem, Chiaki thought. Come on, Hajime.
Hajime looked at his hand. Nothing he had was going to remedy this. "I end my turn," he said.
Marik laughed. "Not even face-down? You disappoint me. I draw!" Marik picked the top card off of his deck and placed it neatly in his hand. "And since it's my turn, Nightmare Wheel's effect activates!"
Battle Ox was stretched on the torture device and Hajime felt his monster's pain as he clutched at his chest and his life points were reduced to 3,000. Sweat started to drip as he did his best to stand back up straight.
Marik laughed at Hajime's pain. "And now, I shall summon to the field my Bowganian, in attack mode!" A strange eyeball with hands holding a crossbow appeared. It had 1300 attack and 1000 defense points. "Now, at the start of my turn, not only will you take damage from Nightmare Wheel, but my Bowganian will deal even more damage, 600 points worth."
"That means he could be defeated in only three turns. This is bad," Tristan pointed out.
"Hajime…" Chiaki whimpered, deeply concerned. No. Not like this. Not her Hajime. She didn't want to see him lose.
Hajime, without even looking at her, could almost feel Chiaki's worry. "Be strong, Chiaki. I haven't lost yet. I'm not going down without a fight."
Chiaki nodded firmly, holding back tears.
"Doing anything else this turn, Marik?" Hajime asked.
Marik laughed. "I think you'll be suffering enough soon enough. My turn is over."
"Well all right then. My draw!" Hajime declared and drew the top card of his deck. Excellent! He exclaimed when he looked at it. "I summon to the field, Inpachi!" A wooden cyborg creature with 1600 attack points and 1900 defense points stood on the battlefield. "And I'll use him to destroy your Vampiric Leech!"
Inpachi swung forward and smacked Marik's monster over the head, destroying it. Marik grunted, barely feeling the effects of his own shadow game, practically laughing them off as his life points fell to 2,900.
"I don't get it. Why didn't Hajime attack Bowganian? It's just going to deal so much damage to him next turn," Duke stated.
"He must have some sort of plan," Celeste postulated. "That or he felt 1,100 points of effect damage was worth the risk."
Chiaki smiled. "Hajime's using my strategy."
"Your strategy?" Joey asked.
"Against certain opponents, sometimes the best thing to do is not worry about your life points, except your last 1000, and focus on depleting theirs as fast as possible," Chiaki stated. "After all, that's how you win. It's why I built my deck the way I did."
"Hmph, as expected with someone of the title, the Ultimate Gamer," Kaiba stated. "But Hinata's not you, so let's see if he's able to pull off your strategy, Chiaki."
"I have faith in him." He has to win. I don't know if my heart could take seeing him lose.
"Marik, I'm setting one card face-down," Hajime said, holding up the card before placing it in the spell/trap zone. "That's all for my turn."
"Pitiful fool!" Marik exclaimed. "It's my draw now and now you'll take damage from both Bowganian and Nightmare Wheel."
Hajime got shot in the chest by Bowganian's crossbow bolt and then felt even more pain as his Battle Ox was put through the ringer. His life points became 1,900 and he didn't look so good. He was starting to pant heavily and sweat considerably.
Marik laughed. "What's the matter? Running out of steam already?"
"Yeah, you wish," Hajime growled defiantly.
Marik chuckled. "Well then, let's see how you feel when I destroy that eyesore of a monster! I summon Gil Garth!" Marik's strongest 4-star normal monster hit the table with its strange, mechanical form and dangerous looking blade. "And now, Gil Garth, attack!"
"Walking right into it!" Hajime shouted. "Reveal face-down card! Intimidation!"
"What?" Marik asked. He watched as Inpachi's attack power increased to 2,100 and Gil Garth's fell to 1,300.
"Every time you attack one of my monsters, your monster loses 500 attack points while my monsters gain 500 attack points when attacked. Inpachi, destroy his Gil Garth!"
Inpachi punched Gil Garth super hard and the monster was destroyed, inflicting negligible pain on Marik as his life points dropped to 2,100.
"All right, Hajime!" Ibuki exclaimed.
"Well, color me impressed," Celeste smiled.
Marik growled, not amused. "I end my turn."
Hajime drew the top card of his deck wordlessly. Perfect. Time to put an end to Marik's burn damage. "I activate Polymerization!" Hajime shouted. "This allows me to fuse together my Battle Ox on the field with the Mystic Horseman in my hand to create Rabid Horseman!" The two monsters merged together to form a bull centaur 2,000 attack points. "And since Battle Ox was fused together into a different monster, your Nightmare Wheel goes away!" Hajime exclaimed. The trap card shattered. Marik did not look happy and things were about to get so much worse for him. "And next, Inpachi, destroy Bowganian!"
Hajime's monster punched Marik's monster in the eye, dropping his life points to 1,800, even with Hajime's.
Math never fails, Hajime thought, having had a plan for this since he played Inpachi. "Your move, Marik, make it count, but just as a reminder, you have no monsters on the field and each one of yours that attack lose 500 attack points when they attack mine." Hajime pointed at Marik, his voice oozing confidence. "So I'd say you've got your back to the wall!"
Chiaki smiled, eyes shimmering. He was doing it. Hajime was winning.
Of course, Marik was about to take her hope and happiness and crush it into tiny little pieces. He snickered. "How amusing. You're proving to be quite the challenge indeed, Hajime Hinata." He drew the top card of his deck and the veins on his face pulsed as his expression became craze. "Too bad for you that challenge ends here! I activate this magic card De-Fusion!" Marik exclaimed, "separating your Rabid Horseman down to its components."
Battle Ox and Mystic Horseman each returned to the field.
"But don't worry, I won't be destroying them. I'll be sacrificing them for my Egyptian God Card!"
"What?" Hajime gasped.
"You can thank Kaiba for giving me the idea," Marik said as he activated a spell card. "I activate Soul Exchange! Now I can sacrifice all of your monsters as if they were my own."
"No! Hajime!" Chiaki shouted.
"Please welcome for his triumphant return, the Winged Dragon of Ra!" Marik roared, thrusting his Millennium Rod into the air as the Shadow Realm crackled and thundered. Hajime's monsters lit aflame and Hajime felt searing pain as they were stolen from him to be used as Ra's sacrifice. It was minor, but it still hurt.
And then, from the sky, Ra descended downward in a shaft of golden light, roaring menacingly as it stared down Hajime's empty field with 4,600 attack points. Hajime swallowed, unsure what to do.
"Oh no!" Yami gasped, eyes trembling. "With his Egyptian God monster on the field, Marik is unstoppable!"
"It…is unfortunate that it entered the battlefield this soon. If it hadn't Hajime might've been able to use one of those counter strategies he'd been planning. But now…" Celeste said, wincing.
"Poor Hajime," Téa said.
Marik chuckled. "Fortunately for you, I can't attack this turn thanks to Soul Exchange's effects. How fortunate for you. But go ahead and play your final pathetic monster. I will enjoy wiping it out!" Marik exclaimed.
Hajime drew the top card of his deck. I've got to stay focused. Ra may be powerful, but it's not invincible. It only has 4,600 attack points. If I can just hold out for one of my stronger fusions and a Quick Attack, I'll be able to tear it down and take Marik out before he can know what hit him. And thanks to Intimidate, if Marik decides to attack me instead, Ra's attack points can still be affected. With 4,600 points, I would only need Meteor Black Dragon or Black Skull Dragon at best and an equip spell and my continuous spell card will take care of the rest. Hajime looked at the card he drew. And this might get me just the resources I need to summon one.
"I set one monster face-down on the field," Hajime said. "That ends my turn."
Marik chuckled and then laughed out loud. "How sad. All that bravado and there you stand trembling in fear before the might of Ra!" Marik chuckled. "I'd ask you to be more like Gundham Tanaka, but even then you would only succeed in self-destructing just like him!"
"Make your move!" Hajime shouted. "I'm not scared of you, Marik, or your Egyptian God Card!"
"Well you should be," Marik grinned as he drew the top card of his deck. "Go, My Egyptian God Card, attack! Destroy Hajime's pathetic monster with your Almighty Blaze Cannon!"
"That's odd," Kaiba said.
"What's odd?" Yami asked.
"Marik's Egyptian God card has enough attack points to completely wipe the floor with Hinata if he used its Phoenix Mode to turn his monster to ashes. So why didn't he use it?"
"Maybe he can't," Makoto said. "Maybe it can't destroy face-down monsters."
"That's absurd!" Kaiba exclaimed. "What would an Egyptian God care about a monster's position!"
"Pegasus," Makoto said.
"Excuse you?"
"Even if the gods are all powerful, Pegasus still had to design them to work within the confines of a trading card game. Even if they're omnipotent beings, they still have to have specific caveats to their abilities. Otherwise, they may as just well be Exodia. I mean, look how long Obelisk and Osiris were on the field during your duel. They even went to the graveyard. Not to mention, Marik only has 1,800 life points. He'd only be able to use his ability once and what if Hajime's monster has an effect that, when it's destroyed, ends the turn. It's face-down, so Marik can't take the risk!" Makoto explained.
"That's true," Yami stated with a smile. "Gods are not exempt from the rules, even their own."
"Hajime must've realized that and is using that to stall," Nagito said. "As expected of a potential Ultimate."
"Come on, Hajime," Chiaki said, gripping at her chest.
Ra's attack blasted into Hajime's monster, revealing a familiar white gourd shaped monster with a blue face and more sharp teeth than a great white shark. "Cyber Jar?!"
"Cyber Jar might not be able to destroy Ra, but I can still gain its effects by drawing 5 cards and summoning any and all monsters that I can."
Marik only growled.
Hajime drew his five cards and Marik drew his. "I play Ancient Elf, Robotic Knight, and Giant Soldier of Stone all in defense mode!" Hajime exclaimed.
Marik now had a full hand because of Hajime's monster and none of it was playable immediately. However, he wasn't upset. He didn't need any other monsters now that Ra was out on the field. He then began cackling. "You are a fool, Hajime Hinata. Three monsters is three monsters too many," Marik laughed harder, "for your life force that is!"
He wouldn't… Makoto thought, jaw going slack as he turned pale.
Oh he would. This was Marik after all.
"I give up 1,000 life points to switch the Winged Dragon of Ra to its Phoenix Form." Ra ignited and now took the appearance of a phoenix. Marik's life points became only 800.
"Hajime!" Chiaki shouted.
Mahiru's hands shook as she took a picture. It was too picturesque not to snap the photo, but she worried if this moment wouldn't end up being Hajime's funeral procession.
"Is that really the time for this?" Tristan shouted at her.
"Go, my Egyptian God, burn all of his monsters to ashes!"
A powerful inferno raged outward from Ra as each of Hajime's monsters were destroyed by the unfathomable power of the Winged Dragon of Ra. Chiaki could hear Hajime screaming amidst the blaze. She put her hands over her eyes and let out small little sobs. Oh gods, why hadn't she tried to convince Hajime that this was a bad idea?
While most duelists looked at this display of events with either horror or indifference, the latter especially true for Byakuya, Nagito looked excited. This kind of despair to be crushed by hope was what he lived for and he still believed in Hajime's hope.
As the inferno died down, Hajime was slumped backwards, his stubborn cowlick flopping over to one side. His hands were open, fingers tensed unnaturally as his whole body seemed to shake.
Marik, satisfied with his work, held up a card. "Since I have too many cards in my hand, I have to discard one to the graveyard. But that hardly seems important right now. Well, Hajime Hinata, are you ready to give up?" Marik laughed. "Even if you don't speak, your body looks ready to answer for you."
"Hajime…" A pit was in Chiaki's stomach, a gnawing, unsettling feeling that Hajime was going to fall over any second. However, then she saw his lips move. She and everyone else, could barely hear him over the crackling fire of Ra's Phoenix mode.
"…yet…" Was the only thing she heard him say clearly.
"Hmm? What's the matter? I'm afraid you'll have to speak up," Marik grinned.
"I said," Hajime said with far more gusto as his hands tightened into fists and his cowlick shot back up to its usual, stubborn position. His eyes were full of vigor as he shouted, "This duel isn't over yet! I draw!" Hajime pulled the top card off of his deck. He looked at his plentiful hand. Unfortunately, it was time to said goodbye to pretty much all of it with one big play."
"I activate Pot of Greed!" Hajime declared. "So that I can draw two cards." Thanks, Chiaki, Hajime thought. Before the duel, Chiaki had stopped by to load up Hajime on some pretty common, useful cards. Pot of Greed and another card, Card of Sanctity, were two cards she had plenty of that she felt any duelist should have because of their effectiveness. Hajime could only agree. There were a few others she'd given him, but right now what Hajime needed most was draw power. And with the cards in his hand, he had exactly what he needed to turn the tide. Sure, Marik still had one face-down, but Hajime had a plan in case something went horribly wrong.
"I activate Polymerization!" Hajime shouted. "And I'll use it to fuse together my favorite monster. Come on out, Blackland Void Dragon!"
Hajime's signature creature was summoned to the field as Blackland Fire Dragon, Koumori Dragon and Versago the Destroyer were fused together from his hand to form it. The mighty dragon roared with a powerful, otherworldly wail.
"Marik!" Hajime shouted. "Ra might be a god, but just like the others, if something stronger than it is on the field, it's just like any other monster. Even the gods CAN BE OVERTHROWN!"
Blackland Void Dragon's attack points ascended to 6,100 thanks to its special ability.
"And now I'll activate this magic card, Quick Attack, allowing me to attack right away!" Hajime exclaimed.
"What?!" Marik exclaimed.
"Haha! Yeah! Go, Hajime!" Joey cheered.
"Hajime! Hajime! Hajime!" Ibuki cheered alongside Joey.
Chiaki said nothing, her eyes shimmering in hope just as they had before.
"Blackland Void Dragon attack!" Hajime exclaimed. "Wipe out Winged Dragon of Ra with your Void Gale Blast!"
I've got to give Hinata credit. This is the first time all tournament anyone's been able to outmuscle Ra, Kaiba thought. But, his eyes landed on Marik's face-down card. I don't think Marik is going down just yet.
"Oh no!" Marik exclaimed, recoiling and holding up his arms. "How can this be? The mighty Ra felled by some child with a powerful dragon from another dimension! Whatever shall I do?" However, Marik then lowered his arms, swung out his Millennium Rod and declared, "Ha! Fool! As if I would allow Ra to be destroyed so easily! I activate my other face-down, Draining Shield!"
Marik's face-down card formed a green bubble around Ra, blocking Blackland Void Dragon's attack and seemed to absorb it.
"Hahaha!" Marik exclaimed. "Your monster may be powerful, but it doesn't come with the same protections Ra does, such as being immune to trap cards!" Marik then laughed some more. "And thanks to my trap, all of your monster's attack points are added to my life points!"
Marik's life points shot up 6,900.
"That's not good," Téa bemoaned.
"It's okay though," Chiaki said. "Ra's attack power is still significantly below Blackland Void Dragon. Hajime can still win this."
"I don't know about that," Kaiba said. "I get the feeling Marik hasn't shown us all there is to see about the Winged Dragon of Ra."
"I'll place one card face-down," Hajime said. "And end my turn."
Marik laughed. "Pitiful fool. Do you honestly think you can stand up to the might of the Winged Dragon of Ra?"
"I think I stand a pretty good chance, yeah," Hajime replied bluntly.
"And that face-down, is that supposed to stop Ra's Phoenix Form from wiping out your life points?"
"I'll leave that for you to decide," Hajime replied with a perfect poker face. "Of course, that's assuming you can even use Ra's Phoenix Form after it's already been activated."
"What do you mean?" Marik asked with a surly expression.
"Ra entered its Phoenix form, but it stays like that. It can't enter it again. The energy used for the transformation is what allows Ra to destroy everything in sight. Well, am I wrong?"
Marik growled.
"Looks like Hajime's right," Makoto stated.
"I wonder what helped him figure that out?" Celeste wondered.
"It must be like Makoto said," Kaiba answered her. "The gods were designed to be all powerful, but they're monsters just like any others in this game. They're almighty, but they're not perfect."
"Hajime spent the better portion of that hour figuring out a way to conquer the Winged Dragon of Ra," Chiaki said. "I'm sure he's come up with all sorts of theories on how to defeat it."
Maybe Hajime can beat Marik after all, Yugi thought. But what would that mean for the ancient prophecy?
Marik laughed only to laugh even harder once more. "Foolish fool! If you think Ra's Phoenix Form is its only ability, then you've yet to understand the true power of Ra!"
Here it comes, Kaiba thought.
"I activate Ra's other special ability. By giving up my own life points, I can increase Ra's attack points," Marik declared, holding up the Millennium Rod. He then flashed a wide, toothy grin. "And thanks to my Draining Shield trap card, I have plenty of points to give up." Marik's life points began to drop and drop and drop until it stopped at 1,900, giving Ra 9,600 attack points. It was enough to completely crush Hajime's Blackland Void Dragon and still have points left over in case Hajime tried to use some kind of life point boosting trap. It also was to compensate for Intimidation. And, Marik didn't give up too much so that he had enough life points to use Ra's Phoenix Mode again if it was somehow destroyed and he brought it back with Monster Reborn.
On fire, Ra charged a powerful attack.
"Hajime!" Ibuki, Chiaki, Mahiru and Nagito all shouted.
"Say goodbye to your dragon, and the rest of your life points!" Marik declared.
Ra's powerful, almighty nova blast erupted from its mouth and completely incinerated Blackland Void Dragon. Hajime felt great pain as his monster was completely destroyed by the almighty Ra.
"No…not…yet…" Hajime declared, struggling to reach for the button on his duel disk to activate his face-down card.
He managed to press it just as the attack dissipated. He was gasping for air, wheezing, his body sweating profusely and his skin turning a bit pale, but he was still standing.
"You lose, Hajime Hinata," Marik said.
"I…" Hajime started to talk only to cough into his hand. Fortunately, no blood came with his saliva. He staggered back to his feet. "I'm still standing," he growled. "Check again."
"Hmm?" Marik looked and saw Hajime's trap card had been activated: Nutrient-Z.
Hajime chuckled. "I really must thank Chiaki for helping me. Without that card, I'd be screwed right now." Hajime dropped to one knee.
"Hajime!"
"I'm fine!" Hajime shouted, despite clear evidence to the contrary. He panted down on one knee for a while as he then staggered back to his feet, panting more.
"You don't look so good, Hajime Hinata," Marik said. "Maybe you should sleep. I'd be happy to give you an eternal slumber through a one-way ticket to the shadow realm. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"No thanks!" Hajime exclaimed, his voice gravely from the pain. "I'll sleep when this duel is over! You're not gonna get the best of me!"
"Hajime…" Chiaki remained deeply concerned for him, legs tightening together, hands clenched together in prayer and worry.
"Man, look at him up there. That's two attacks from Ra he's survived and he's still standing. I probably could barely survive one."
"Good thing that's not you up there then," Celeste said.
"He's got guts, I'll give him that," Mai added.
"Raw grit and determination are the mark of any true duelist. I'd say Hajime's soul passes the test. Now let's see if he has the skill," Kaiba said.
The score stood 3,400 life points for Hajime and 1,900 life points for Marik. It was still Marik's turn and while the duel hadn't been called yet, it looked as though a strong breeze could knock Hajime over at this point.
Hajime's giving his all out there, Yugi thought.
Hmm, a bit nostalgic, don't you think? Yami thought back to him.
Yeah, it's just like when we duel, Yugi stated. Honestly, if he wins, I'll be grateful. It's great that we fight for the world and all, but I'm glad we don't have to do it alone because people like Hajime are so willing to stand against people like Marik.
You know, Yami thought. I happen to agree.
I've got to get Ra off the field and fast, Hajime thought, panting, his breathing wet from the pain and suffering. I need to pull the right card combination on my turn or its game over.
"Since I have to discard a card from my hand anyway," Marik said, holding one up, "I think I'll set this card face-down," he said, placing it in the proper slot as the hologram appeared, "And end my turn."
"My…turn…then…" Hajime panted. With great effort, he picked the top card off of his deck. There it was: Card of Sanctity. But, he wasn't going to play it immediately. He still had one more card in his hand worth playing.
"I activate Fusion Gate!" Hajime exclaimed, taking a moment to pant after that uninterrupted declaration. "This will let me banish fusion monsters from my hand or field in order to summon fusion monsters."
"Yes, I remember that from the Battle Royale. But just what do you plan to do with it, with only one card in your hand."
Hajime laughed dryly. "That's because it's not a monster. Go, Card of Sanctity!" Hajime declared. "Now, I can draw a full hand. And since you already have a full one, that means you get nothing."
Marik only frowned as Hajime drew his six cards.
Good. This is precisely what I need. "I activate Future Fusion!" Hajime declared. He went to put the card in the card reader, but he missed the slot on the first try. He got it on his second try as the spell card appeared. "Now, I'll send Curse of Dragon, Fairy Dragon, Meteor Dragon, Winged Dragon Guardian of the Fortress #1, and Divine Dragon Ragnarok from my deck to the graveyard." Hajime pulled his deck out of the reader and accidentally dropped the whole thing. He pocketed his hand in order to pick up his deck. Good thing it had to be shuffled anyway. He sent the appropriate cards to the graveyard and then put his deck back in the card reader. He then pulled his hand back out of his pocket. He continued to pant.
"How much more can he stand? It hurts to watch," Mahiru said.
"Poor Hajime," Serenity whimpered.
Chiaki eyed Hajime sternly. She prayed and prayed and prayed that he could keep going, but Mahiru was right, this was just plain awful.
"Now," Hajime said, panting. "I have…nine dragons…in my graveyard. That means…I fuse…this monster…Dark…Paladin." Hajime sent Buster Blader and a fusion substitute monster to the graveyard to bring out the same monster Yugi used to defeat Kaiba. "And since there are ten dragons in my graveyard, Dark Paladin's attack points are 7,400."
"That's adorable," Marik chuckled. "Ra's attack points are more than 2,000 more than that."
"Yeah…well…I've got something special for that." Carefully, Hajime held a spell card in his hand. "I activate this magic card: Half-Shut." This was not a gift from Chiaki, but a card Hajime himself owned, but didn't always use.
"Half-Shut?" Marik questioned. "That cuts a monster's attack points in half, doesn't it? In exchange, that monster can't be destroyed during the turn its activated."
"Oh good, that saves me an explanation," Hajime laughed, using his mirth to suppress his pain. "But…here's something to take into consideration." Hajime lifted his arm and pointed at Ra. "The Egyptian God Cards are immune to spell, trap and monster effects, unless those effects affect their attack and defense points."
"So? What's your point?" Marik asked.
Hajime grinned. He was waiting for this moment. "All effects, Marik. Not just the bad ones."
Marik's face went pale.
"Oho? Do I hear technicality? I think I hear technicality!" Joey cheered.
"I'm surprised you even know what that word means," Celeste chuckled. Joey just gave her a look in response.
Kaiba smiled. "Well, well, so he found a crippling weakness after all. Well, perhaps I should say, he turned a god's own strength into a weakness."
"So, even if you find a way to survive this attack, Marik," Hajime said, as Dark Paladin raised its scepter to strike down Ra. "Your Egyptian God Card," Hajime mustered all his strength to fan out his arm with gusto and declared, "Is Gone!"
Ra's attack power was cut in half, leaving it with 4,800 attack points.
"Dark Paladin attack and, hopefully, END THIS DUEL!"
Floating into the air, Dark Paladin blasted Ra, wiping it out from the field. It left everyone with slack jaws. A god card had fallen to a card that was decisively not a god card.
"Is…is it over?" Mahiru wondered.
"Not quite, look!" Tristan pointed to Marik's face-down card, which was now face-up.
"You've made mistake Sonia made," Marik said, showcasing his Dimension Wall trap card. "You may have been the one to destroy Ra, but you will be the one paying for it, Hajime Hinata. Not I."
Hajime took a breath and his world went photo negative as he felt and incredibly amount of pain wrack his body. "Ah…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGH!"
Chiaki's heart bled, not literally of course, but all she could do was watch Hajime clutch his body in anguish as he dropped to both his knees this time, sweat pouring down his face. His life points went from a healthy 3,400 down to 800, less than twice Marik's. Blood dribbled out of Hajime's nose as his whole body shook like he was catching Hypothermia.
And yet, in spite of this, Hajime soldiered on, rising to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but he managed to gain stable footing. He looked awful though. His healthy skin tone was completely pale, almost green. His legs were shaking and he could barely clutch his fingers. Aside from what could be seen by others, his body felt numb and everywhere hurt. Hajime's only small victory was that the pain was what was keeping him standing, but by god did he half-wish that was not the case.
Coughing, Hajime held the last card in his hand. "I play…Pot of…Avarice." He struggled to get the card in the reader, barely able to feel it in his hand.
"By shuffling Cyber Jar, Robotic Knight, Ancient Elf, Versago the Destroyer, and Battle Ox back into my deck, I can draw two new cards." Hajime got the cards out of his graveyard with little trouble only to spill his entire deck again when he tried to shuffle it. As he amassed the cards together on the ground, sweat dripped onto the backs of some of them. His vision waned and became blurry multiple times. Yet, in spite of all of this, he was able to give his deck a good shuffle and slide it back into place on his duel disk. He then drew two cards and looked at them. "Turn…over," he panted.
"Poor Hajime," Marik said sarcastically. "Barely hanging on by a thread. Don't worry," Marik chuckled. "I'll be more than happy to put you out of your misery. But first, I draw." Marik placed the top card of his deck in his hand. "And I think I'll start this turn by bringing back an old friend. I activate Monster Reborn!"
"No!" Chiaki shouted.
"YES!" Marik declared with satanic glee.
Ra appeared once more, back in its normal state and with 0 attack points. Chiaki knew what was coming. Everybody did. And nobody liked it, except Marik of course. "Now, I give up 1,000 life points," Marik declared as his life points fell to 900, "So that Ra can enter its phoenix form!" The battlefield ignited once again as Ra's Phoenix Form appeared. Hajime could barely stand. Everyone figured that this was truly the end. "Go, my Egyptian God!" Marik bellowed. "Rid this field of that Paladin and end this duel."
Hajime did his best to steel his might against Marik, but what defense he could muster he knew was nowhere near what he would need to survive this onslaught of pain.
Chiaki could hear his screaming over the roaring blaze of Ra's flames. She dropped to her knees and pounded the ground. "No…" she sobbed sniffing, "More."
"No," Marik grinned, "MORE!"
Hajime continued to scream in utter pain and agony as the flames finally died down. Hajime was still standing, his eyes staring weakly at the battlefield. He felt like a man who hadn't eaten in three days. His body leaned forward, but his foot shot out catching himself. His eyes kept threatening to close, his head bobbing. If someone touched him, it was likely he would collapse.
"I hope you're not planning on surviving long enough to direct attack me next turn," Marik cackled. "Allow me to put an end to that idea right now. First, I'll play Vengeful Bog Spirit. Now, any monster that enters the battlefield can't attack the turn its summoned. And, if you somehow managed to get around that, I'll summon a monster, Grand Tiki Elder, in defense mode!" A strange looking fiend creature in a cloak appeared on Marik's side of the field with 1500 attack points and 1200 defense points. "I know that I can't attack unless I control a monster with more attack than the strongest monster in your graveyard, thanks to your Intimidation magic card. But I'm not too worried about that. After all, I have plenty of ways to bring Ra back in all of its glory. You lose, Hajime Hinata. Admit defeat!"
Hajime remained standing though.
"Hmph. Stubborn boy. Very well then, I end my turn."
It's…my…turn… Hajime thought. My…turn… He moved his head around, but his eyes were too weak to see. Was he looking at his deck? Was he looking at Marik? He could hear blurred voices echoing around him. He just wanted them to stop. He just wanted it all…to stop.
Chiaki watched as Hajime fell forward, planting onto the ground on his cheek, duel disk at his side. "No…No…"
"Heh heh heh…oh well," Marik grinned. "Looks like he can't continue."
"Shall I call it sir?" Roland asked Kaiba.
Kaiba looked at the field. Hinata's Intimidation magic card has yet to leave the field, that means he hasn't surrendered, not officially. "Give him the usual five minutes, Roland. If he doesn't stand by then, call it."
With a glimmer of hope restored, Chiaki began shouting as loud as she could through tears, "Hajime! Please get up! Please! Stand up! Open your eyes! Do something! Hajime! HAJIMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Yami put a hand on her shoulder. "It's…too late," the Pharaoh said with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry, Chiaki. I promise I'll—"
Chiaki broke free from Yami's concerned hand and started to try and climb up on the platform.
"Chiaki, get down from there, this instant!" Kaiba shouted at her. "If you don't, I'll disqualify Hinata for outside interference."
"But…" Chiaki hiccupped.
"Rules are rules," Kaiba said to her. "Hinata knew the risks when he thought to challenge Marik in the first place. It's his own fault for trying to tangle with an Egyptian God Card. This is the penalty you suffer!" Kaiba shouted at her fist clenched.
Chiaki accepted Kaiba's words as truth. She then dropped to her knees, hands on her skirt, head tilted to the sky and started wailing uncontrollably.
Void. Noun. A completely empty space. That certainly fit the picture of how Hajime felt right now. Wait…where was he exactly? He couldn't see or feel anything. But…he could hear something, maybe.
It sounded like…crying? But…who was crying?
I don't care…sleep, his thoughts said to him.
So that's it, you're giving up? Another voice in his head said.
Giving…up?
The duel isn't over. Have you accepted defeat that easily?
The noise was still muffled, but clear. Someone was crying, a girl.
Are you going to let her down? Are you going to accept defeat?
Chiaki? It wasn't the other voice, but Hajime definitely could hear Chiaki crying.
You still have 900 life points left? Are you just going to lay there and give up?
Life points? Hajime could see a blurry image as Chiaki's crying got clearer. He could see what looked like the top of the dueling arena and…thick black shadows. That's right…I was in a shadow game.
Was? Is that past tense? Have you accepted defeat?
Defeat?
Is this how you show your resolve, Hajime Hinata?
That voice sounded like Gundham's, but why?
You've come so far, Hajime. Are you just going to lay there and lose?
Sonia?
Well, are you?
That voice sounded like himself. Wait a second. Hajime knew where he was now. I blacked out. I'm…in my own consciousness.
900 life points.
Something pulsed within Hajime.
2 cards in my hand.
It pulsed fiercer.
1 monster in defense mode.
It pulsed even fiercer.
Monsters can't attack the turn their summoned.
Hajime slowly started to come to his senses.
I know what I have to do. I can't give up now. I refuse!
As Chiaki cried and carried on like a five-year-old, some of the other girls were starting to join in, like Mahiru, Serenity, and Ibuki. The former two of which had linked hands and were sniveling like grade school children.
And then, the banging of metal jarred them from their thoughts and stopped their tears
"Eh?" Chiaki stood up and tried to get her best look at the arena.
She heard Hajime grunting like he'd just woken up from a bad dream and had just pounded the floor of the arena with a tightly clenched fist. She covered her mouth and gasped as tears started to flow freely. Hajime was getting up.
"I told you…didn't I Marik?" Hajime asked, pushing himself up off the ground, slowly rising to his feet, as though an invisible marionette was pulling his strings to get him to stand. But there was something else, a golden light was circulating around Hajime. This was just like his duel Nagito. No, it was far greater than that time and the energy showed no signs of stopping. "I'm not afraid of you. 900 life points…two cards in my hand…I can still fight…and as long as I can still fight…I…I…"
Hajime let out a defiant roar of energy as his eyes turned bright red and his hair shimmered bright and gold.
"I REFUSE TO LOSE!"
"WHAT?!" Marik exclaimed. Impossible! Moments ago he was down for the count. Now he's standing as if he's not bothered by the shadows at all. What in the world is going on?
"I draw!" Hajime exclaimed loud and proudly. He swung the card out at his side as he drew it. He looked at his options. "One monster face-down on the field. My turn's over. But next turn, my Five-Headed Dragon will storm the field!"
Marik chuckled. "I don't know what's going on or where you suddenly got so much energy, but that just makes me want to destroy you even more," Marik chuckled. "I'll set a monster," he said, as the hologram appeared. "And then, I'll activate Silent Doom, allowing me to place Gil Garth back in defense mode." Marik's fiendish mechanical creature squatted down on the field.
"Marik's got three monsters again. Not good," Tristan stressed.
"Bring back all the monsters you'd like," Hajime said calmly. "I'll win." His right eye flashed with immense determination. "Because I carve my own future. I won't lose to someone like you who relies on the ancient past and cheap magic tricks to hurt others."
"Whoa, that's kind of awesome," Komaru said. "It's like something out of a movie trailer."
"Hajime's hope has shined forth to overcome Marik's despair!" Nagito exclaimed. "Ah, how beautiful! How wonderful it is!"
"Whatever it is, he better keep it up, the fate of the world depends on it!" Ibuki exclaimed, shocked out of her mind.
"I think three monsters is enough for now," Marik said. "Your move, Hajime Hinata."
"Very well. I draw then," Hajime said and drew the top card of his deck. "Two turns have passed since I activated Future Fusion. Come forth," Hajime stated, extending his arm forward, "My Five Headed Dragon."
Hajime's titanic beast of godly proportions appeared from the shadows, all five of its heads roaring at Marik at different intervals.
"Hey, does Hajime seem a bit different to you?" Mai asked.
"Yeah," Chiaki said. "I remember Hajime being like this once, back in Noah's virtual world."
"I know what you're thinking, but…that isn't Izuru," Nagito said.
"How can you tell?" Chiaki asked.
"Remember what Miss Yukizome said, that there would be some side effects as a result of saving Hajime from the Steering Committee. It seems what information they did give him before we rescued him he kept," Nagito said with a smile, "Like enhanced reflexes and even, possibly, greater determination. Hajime was already a stubborn guy, but now, that's been amplified. His hope isn't ultimate level, but it's extremely strong. His dueling skill hasn't changed at all either. I confirmed that myself when I dueled him."
"So…then…what is this, if not Izuru?" Chiaki asked.
"The power of hope. Or, maybe you could call it, Hajime's own will and determination combined with his hope made manifest."
"That's absurd," Kaiba said.
"Perhaps," Yami said. "But there's certainly something going on and it's definitely not connected to the ancient past."
"Do you think Hajime can win now?" Chiaki asked the Pharaoh.
Yami smirked. "I'd say if he continues to hold onto his determination and faith, he stands a better chance now than when he began. Marik's reliance upon Shadow Games will be his downfall. He's a formidable duelist, but he wastes his time on cruelty and tricks and now those tricks have come back to haunt him so. Marik pushed the wrong opponent a bit too far."
Marik growled, finding some semblance of truth to Yami's point.
Hajime, however, was focused squarely on the duel. He looked at his options once more. Oh yeah. This spelled trouble for Marik. "Since you seem keen on reviving Ra, I'll activate this, Soul Release. This will remove Ra and four other cards from your graveyard from the game."
"WHAT?!"
Kaiba chuckled and then he laughed heartily. "What's the matter, Marik? Did Hinata's little strategy mess with your plans?"
"Reviving a monster from the graveyard is simple business, but bringing it back from outside the game," Byakuya chuckled. "Well, that's a whole different matter, especially with how many life points Marik has left."
"And just in case you're holding something useful in your hand," Hajime said. "I activate Card Destruction. Now, we must each draw brand new hands."
Marik sneered and discarded his hand as Hajime drew one new card.
"Normally, a monster summoned by Future Fusion can attack immediately, since Future Fusion's two turn delay makes up for the turn delay effect of fusion monsters being unable to attack," Hajime said. "However, your Vengeful Bog Spirit prevents me from attacking so my turn is over."
Marik growled. "Very well, then I shall draw." He drew the top card of his deck and became surprised by what he drew. "Heh heh heh. HAHAHAHAHA! You said that returning a monster from outside the game was not simple business, Byakuya Togami?" Marik chuckled, mocking him, "Then feast your eyes on this Magic Card: Tombkeeper's Ancient Ritual! By discarding every card I currently have in my hand, I can take a card removed from play and place it in my hand."
"So, you had a plan to summon Ra from outside the graveyard all along," Hajime said with a somewhat bored tone.
"You seem unimpressed."
"I told you. I refuse to lose. Until my life points hit 0, I'll stand tall. Come at me with everything you've got!" Hajime shouted.
"I'll make you regret those words!" Marik shouted. "Now then," Marik said as he discarded his whole hand and pulled Ra out of his pocket. "It's time I ended this duel once and for all! I sacrifice all three of my monsters to bring back to the field my Winged Dragon of Ra!"
Ra screeched as it flapped its mighty wings over the battlefield. Its attack power was only 4,800. But that didn't matter. Its special ability would fix that soon enough. Since Marik didn't have enough life points to activate Phoenix Mode, he would have to destroy Hajime's Five Headed Dragon the old fashioned way.
"I give up 899 life points to boost Winged Dragon of Ra's attack points. All I need now is more life points and your monster won't be able to destroy Ra at all!"
"Right, because you can't equip it to raise its attack points and if you attack, Intimidation will make Five Headed Dragon stronger than Winged Dragon of Ra. Unfortunately, you won't get that chance."
"Oh, and why is that?" Marik asked smugly.
"I'll show you." Hajime drew the top card of his deck, but it was just a formality. He already had the card he needed in his hand. "Thank you, Marik, for falling right into my hands."
"Explain."
"I knew that if I played Five Headed Dragon, you knew you had enough life points to make Winged Dragon of Ra stronger. What you didn't consider, was that the card in my hand, had I played it last turn, would've made you rethink your strategy." Hajime flipped the card around, revealing good, old-fashioned Horn of the Unicorn.
Marik stared at the card. No, Hajime had to be mistaken. How was that supposed to…
His jaw went slack and he started to sweat as he realized what Hajime was getting at. Horn of the Unicorn grants 700 attack points to whatever monster its equipped to and that makes it 1 point greater than Ra. If I had left my monsters in defense mode, I might've been able to buy time to make Ra even stronger. No! Impossible! How could I be played for a fool by this normal human!
"This nightmare is finally over," Hajime said. "I equip Five Headed Dragon with Horn of the Unicorn." Hajime activated the spell card smoothly, no hesitation, no missing the card reader. The horn appeared on the middle head of Hajime's Five Headed Dragon and its attack power climbed to 5,700. That made it 1 point stronger than Ra, which was just enough damage to take Marik down. "I said it before and I'll say it now, Ra might be an almighty god, but even the gods," Hajime said as he pointed his arm out at Marik the way Chiaki loved to, "CAN BE OVERTHROWN! FIVE HEADED DRAGON, ATTAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"
Five Headed Dragon began to charge a different elemental blast with each of its heads as its horn crackled with lightning.
"No! NOOOOOO! This can't be! There must be something I can do!"
"There is nothing," Hajime said. "You threw away all of your resources just to summon your god. And now, you will fall. Your ambition ends here!"
No! This can't be! Marik began to back up. This can't be!
"Where's your face-down cards now, huh?" Ibuki asked.
"Hajime," Chiaki smiled. He did it. This was truly it. Marik had nothing on the field other than a god that was about to topple over and a spell card that had lost its effect.
Five Headed Dragon unleashed all of its might unto Ra and Marik. Both monster and man were engulfed by the elemental insanity that was Hajime's ultimate beast.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Marik shouted as he was blinded by the blast. The whole stadium then lit up like a solar flare, blinding everyone.
When the dust settled, Marik, not his dark half, was standing. His eyes were closed and he fell forward, collapsing on the ground, the Millennium Rod falling from his hands. Hajime stood triumphant, his hair and eye color back to normal. Most notably, the light of dusk was back and the shadows had vanished.
And, finally and most importantly, Marik's life points went from 1 to 0.
Hajime stood there, breathing heavily, heart racing. It took him a moment to realize everything that had happened. He smiled. "I won. I won!" He shouted, raising a fist to the sky. "I…won…" He started to feel woozy as the arena lowered to ground level. His legs gave out and he started to collapse.
"Hajime!" Chiaki darted over to him as quickly as she could, grabbing him before he hit the ground. He was smiling, but he looked exhausted.
"It's okay…Chiaki," Hajime said, eyes closing, head tipping back. "It's okay." He then passed out.
"Unbelievable," Yami remarked aloud. He was still trying to wrap his head around the impossible. Hajime didn't just beat Marik. He'd completely defied the very course of destiny itself to do so.
"That was cool," Makoto said.
Click! Mahiru snapped up a photograph.
Mai walked over to Chiaki, struggling with her small body to hold up the 120+ pound Hajime. "You've got a good guy there, Chiaki. Don't let go of him," she said.
Chiaki sniffed and blinked out tears and nuzzled her head against Hajime's chest.
When Hajime finally woke up, he was in bed. He bolted upright. "Well, that's one way to wake up," Celeste's sarcastic voice quipped.
"The duel…the tournament…" Hajime panted.
"Easy there, tough guy," Joey's voice pierced the air. "It's all over. You kicked Marik's sorry behind and sent that freakshow dark half of his back to the shadows."
"Yes, you were very brave, Hajime."
That voice…
Hajime turned to see Sonia nearby his bed with Gundham's hand on her shoulder. They were awake. They were okay.
"Sonia…Gundham…"
"Heh. It's like I sometimes say, when gambling in hell, always place your bets on the darkest horse," Gundham smirked.
Hajime looked around. Pretty much everyone was here to check up on him. It all started to come back to him. Holy hell, he'd actually won. He'd gone up against Marik in an act of defiance. Most of him didn't think he'd actually pull it off. Yeah, there was a chance, but to actually do it? He could barely believe it.
As his heart stopped racing, Hajime rubbed his forehead. "How long was I out?"
"Three hours. It's almost midnight," Kaiba said.
"Oh," Hajime said, gazing down. "So I guess Yugi won by default then?"
"Heh," Kaiba smirked. "Well, I was going to let that happen, but after a stunt like you pulled, I figured I could make an exception, just this one time, since it is the final match after all."
Hajime smiled. "Thank you, Kaiba."
"Don't thank me just yet. I let you have your nap, but now that you're awake, you've got one hour to recuperate. I will not allow any further delays, understand me?"
Hajime nodded.
Kaiba then placed his hand to his ear. "Hmm? What's that?" He was quiet for a long while. "I see." He took his hand away. "Well, congratulations Hinata, looks like you get the night off."
"Huh? Why?"
"PR," Kaiba said. "Human resources polled that more of the fans would want to see you duel at dawn, 9am sharp, than to stay up for a duel, especially the young children."
"But…I have school tomorrow," Hajime said. "Hope's Peak only shut down for two days."
"You let me worry about that," Kaiba said, grinning. "I have some choice words for Hope's Peak."
Chiaki pushed through the crowd. "I told Kaiba everything Nagito and I experienced about the Kamukura Project." Hajime looked ashamed, staring at his lap. Chiaki put a hand on his left hand. "You're not going anywhere," she said to him. "You saved the world from Marik. That good deed isn't going to go to waste, I promise."
"Hey, Hajime," Joey said.
"Hmm?" Hajime looked at him.
"How many life points does it take to stop a megalomaniacal psychopath?"
"Huh? Uh, how many?" Hajime asked, not sure where this was going.
Joey held up his index finger. "Just one."
Hajime grunted and then broke out into a laughing fit. He got it.
"That joke is stale, Joey," Celeste chastised. "It was barely funny, the first time you made it."
"Hey, he's laughing," Joey pointed out.
"He'd only heard it just now," Celeste shot back.
"Oh, by the way," Yugi said, now back to being himself, "Marik told me to give you this." Yugi presented Hajime with the Winged Dragon of Ra.
"This…is mine?" Hajime blinked.
"You earned it," Yugi said. "Well, at least for now anyway. We'll be dueling for the god cards in the championship and I expect your best. It'll be nice to have a championship that doesn't have the fate of the world riding on it. Seriously, Hajime, thank you. Words are not enough."
"Thanks, Yugi," Hajime said. And after a few seconds realized something that stuck out to him. "Wait! Marik's awake?"
"Don't worry, he's not a nutjob anymore. He actually apologized to Sonia and Gundham's faces," Joey said. "You were unconscious so you don't remember."
"Marik's as exhausted as you, so he's recovering in his own room," Yugi said. "He seems genuinely sorry for what he did." Yugi held up the Millennium Rod. "And I plan to make sure this never hurts anyone ever again."
Sparked by instinct and terror, Hajime grabbed it out of Yugi's hands. "Give me that!" Hajime then tried, to no avail, to break the Millennium Rod in half.
"H-hey, easy," Yugi said, taking it back when Hajime was thoroughly exhausted from the attempt. "Don't worry, I'll make sure this rod doesn't hurt anyone ever again." Yugi held up his millennium puzzle. "After all, it's not always the Millennium Item that's the problem, but its wielder."
Hajime smiled, knowing that the Pharaoh inside Yugi's Millennium puzzle was a decent guy. "Yeah, you're right." His head then bobbed. "Oh, I don't feel so good."
"Well, rest up," Kaiba said. "You're expected at dawn. Everyone out. Hospital visit's over."
Everyone started to shuffle out. Kaiba waited at the door for Chiaki to leave last. "Good luck tomorrow," she said with a smile. "You really are incredible you know."
"Heh, thanks."
"That…was you, right? You didn't like activate a split personality or something?"
Hajime shook his head firmly. "No. I remember everything vividly. I can just…barely believe it happened."
"Well it happened Mr. Ultimate Hero," Chiaki giggled. "Now get some rest. You deserve it." She then left and Kaiba followed her down the hall. Hajime then lay flat on his back as Mikan put a buzzer next to his bed.
"Hmm?"
"Press this if you need anything," Mikan said. "I'm the medical professional for this aircraft so I'll help you no matter what the trouble is."
"Thank you, Mikan," Hajime said, "But right now, all I want is some sleep."
Mikan nodded and then shut off the lights before leaving the room, leaving Hajime alone in the medical room. As he drifted off to sleep, he was eager to trade blows with none other than the King of Games. Tomorrow would be exciting. A new dawn would arrive and Hajime Hinata would make his mark in the history books as the Battle City finalist, or, if he was lucky enough, the champion!
And, with that thought in his head, Hajime drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face, content in knowing that all of his friends were safe from the darkness that engulfed the tournament. Now it was just a showdown between him and the King of Games and he simply couldn't wait. But that was tomorrow. Right now, he definitely needed some sleep. So sleep he did.
(A/N: And the winner is: HAJIME! Oh the canon purists are pissed now. But for those that were hoping Hajime would win, you can all rest easy with Marik defeated! Screw destiny, indeed! To be fair, I don't know if that was the power of Hajime and not the power of Johnny Yong Bosch. Right, Yu Narukami? (My props to anyone who gets the joke). And yes, for those who called it, the side effects to being temporarily merged with Izuru is Hajime's "Awakened Mode". Really, it's just a culmination of Hajime's determination going up to 11. Izuru is not part of him. This is just what he left behind in Hajime's body. …That sounded way better in my head.
Anyway, next chapter, the duels to Battle City conclude with a final showdown between Dan Green and Johnny Yong Bosch. I-I…I mean Yugi and Hajime. I'll be taking a day or two off from writing unless the feedback I get from this chapter is just really, really positive.
Side note that the Battle City arc itself will actually conclude with chapter 59, the chapter after the duel, in order to provide ample length for all the fallout and character development from the previous 58 chapters to settle in. But that's later. For now, as always, until next time, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human, and your wrath draconic! Ja ne!)