(A/N: With Legends Arceus sort of kind of finished and a new job on the way for me, I'm in good spirits to get us through this arc as quickly as possible)
With Makoto taking the first move, Nagito had plenty of time to strategize and look at his hand. He could not believe his luck. His hand consisted of Demise and Ruin and the ritual spell required to summon them. His remaining card was an 8 star monster. If his top card was another one, there would be little Makoto could do in the wake of two powerful monsters beating down on the lower classman.
Nagito wondered how Makoto might counter such despair being thrown at his face…only for Nagito himself to be thrown for a loop.
"I activate Card Destruction!" Makoto exclaimed. And it was not a bluff.
This took everyone by surprise, even Yami.
"There's this gnawing feeling I have in my chest that you have a really good hand, possibly even a piece or two of Exodia already waiting so you can draw the rest. Kaiba set up this tournament so that we couldn't spy on each other's decks, but I remember how you dueled during Battle City. And, I know just how much faith you have in your Ultimate Luck talent. So, I'm taking no chances! Even if my hand is good, I have a feeling your hand is even better!" Makoto shouted. "So our entire hand has to be thrown, at the start of the duel, straight to the graveyard!"
Among the members of Class 78, the only one who found this even tepidly amusing was an unlikely suspect. The girl who rarely showed her emotions and smiled even more rarely: Kyoko Kirigiri.
It's a bold move, but one not without a reasonable deduction. When people say they can count on you, now I see it, she thought.
Nagito…was less than thrilled. However, that was only on the surface. Deep down, he could not be more pleased by Makoto's sheer audacity. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EEEEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! Only you could make such a brazen play, Makoto Naegi! Yes! I agree! Let us toss our entire hands away and overcome this despair together! Truly, you are the best opponent I could ever have faced!"
With this, Makoto would still be at a slight disadvantage of 4 to 5 cards and still couldn't attack, given it was the first turn of the duel. He had indeed thrown several useful cards away, but if his gut feelings were on the mark, he'd just spared himself a world of pain.
Unfortunately, luck was a fickle thing. And while Makoto had, unknowingly, spared himself the pain of a Demise and Ruin power combo, he had put himself into an arguably even worse corner.
Nagito gasped when he saw the new five cards he had drawn. Four out of the five pieces of Exodia. The other remaining card was Giant Soldier of Stone.
Nagito resisted the urge to throw his head back and laugh. But he could barely contain this jittery feeling. Makoto had, unknowingly practically giftwrapped him the game right then and there. With five less cards in his deck to sift through and boundless to get at least two turns, Nagito's chances of drawing the last piece weren't just fathomable, they were practically guaranteed.
Oh Makoto, even when you take reasonable actions, you only end up ruining your chances at victory. I didn't want to win this easily, but I will not turn back now. For the sake of my own hope, I must press forward!
"I summon to the field Maiden of Macabre!" Makoto exclaimed, "In attack mode!"
A pale skinned woman dressed in a kabuki's garb and carrying a hefty sickle appeared on Makoto's side of the field. "Next, I activate Wonder Wand! This spell card will increase Maiden of Macabre's attack by 500 points!" Makoto exclaimed. His monsters' attack points shot up to 2,200.
With two cards left in hand, Makoto nodded and looked at Nagito. "It's your move, Nagito."
"Very well," Nagito said. "Allow me to take my turn then." Nagito drew the top card of his deck to his hand. Not that he expected a first turn draw—though it was possible—his next card was not the final piece of Exodia. Setting aside the four pieces of Exodia, I have two cards with which to use right now. Giant Soldier of Stone will doubtlessly be blown up by Maiden of Macabre and then I'm doubtlessly in for an attack from whatever Makoto summons after that, probably something like this Alexandrite Dragon. And that's assuming he doesn't just draw Monster Reborn and bring back a powerful monster he discarded using Card Destruction. It might take time for me to draw the last piece of Exodia. But…until then…I'll have to hang in there, no matter the cost!
"I set one monster face-down onto the field!" Nagito exclaimed as the face-down sideways hologram appeared. "That ends my turn."
Makoto was surprised. "Huh?"
"Oh, sorry, did you need me to repeat that?" Nagito offered. "I guess my voice doesn't project well."
"N-no, it's fine, I just…" Makoto said, only to trail off. He put his index finger under his lower lip and thought about the current situation. I knew it. Nagito's opening hand was amazing, Makoto thought. But I can't imagine his bad luck is still beating him down. That's not how his luck works. Good luck was his opening hand. Bad luck was getting his hand tossed out. So that means his new hand would be…
Makoto thought for a moment before deducing with an internal shout of I got it!
Good luck…two good hands in a row. But…if Nagito had ritual monsters in this hand, he would've undoubtedly summoned at least one. Add that with the fact that he didn't play any face-down cards and… "AH!"
"Hmm? Something occur to you?" Nagito asked.
"Yeah," Makoto said and then declared, "Here's my answer!"
It was like Makoto's words carried with them a certain power that struck Nagito's calm with a bolt of lightning.
"I didn't discard any pieces of Exodia in your opening hand, four of them," Makoto said as he pointed across the arena at Nagito, "Are in your hand right now!"
"What?" Yami gasped, leaning forward and gazed at Nagito. Surely Makoto was using only guesswork.
Nagito's head gazed at the ground, shadows cast on his bangs.
"Well, am I wrong?" Makoto asked.
"No…" Nagito said. "You're…" he snickered then and then opened his arms wide. "Absolutely right!"
He showed all but one of the cards in his hand to Makoto. All but the head of Exodia was in Nagito's grasp, shocking everyone, including the Pharaoh.
"How does it feel, Makoto?" Nagito asked, his voice dropping several octaves. "Knowing that at any moment I'm just one step away from victory. You threw out five cards of my hand right to the graveyard. Impressive, but ultimately it backfired. With five less cards to look for, it's only a matter of time before I draw the final piece. Your attempts to rid me of a good hand," Nagito said with a wide grin, maddened eyes and an elated tone, "Have only HASTENED YOUR DESTRUCTION! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Uh…does anyone else think Nagito's still got Orichalcos something running through him?" Ibuki questioned.
"Holy cow, this guy's nuts!" Tristan exclaimed.
"So, this is the inheritor of my Exodia cards, hmm?" Solomon asked, studying them.
"Huh? Your Exodia cards, Mr. Muto?" Tristan inquired.
Solomon nodded. "Yugi told me about his brief discussion with Nagito during Battle City about how the cards he'd lost to Weevil had washed up at Nagito's feet while he was fishing."
"Well…sounds like they ended up in really questionable hands, huh?" Tristan questioned.
"Hmmmm, I wonder about that," Solomon said, gazing up at Nagito.
"Y-you're kidding, right?" Tristan asked. "Come on, if that guy was any nuttier, he'd double as a Snickers bar."
But Solomon did not respond to Tristan. He just kept staring at Nagito.
"Don't be so sure," Makoto said. "Having the four pieces of Exodia in your hand now means you'll have very little room to counter my moves," Makoto said. "If I can just deal enough damage before you draw it, I'll beat you without you even touching my life points."
"You're really willing to take that risk?" Nagito asked.
"There's no choice but for me to try!" Makoto exclaimed with conviction. "I'm not going to let the prospect of defeat by Exodia intimidate me." He extended his non-duel disk arm out towards the audience. "There's no way I'd let something like that force me to give up!"
Up in his suite, Kaiba smirked. So, first Yugi and now Naegi is up against the unstoppable power and looming threat of Exodia. But it's going to take a lot more than luck to outmaneuver Komaeda, Naegi. Do you have the skill?
Nagito smiled…practically normally, arms folded. "I'd expect nothing less from my junior in luck. Come at me with everything you've got, Makoto Naegi!" Nagito goaded.
"All right, I will!" Makoto shouted and drew the top card of his deck to his hand. If Nagito defended against my monster, then clearly he doesn't have anything that can overtake my Maiden of Macabre. However… Makoto looked at his hand, I shouldn't assume that it's a monster with defense points too low to stop a second monster. Makoto pulled a monster from his hand. And, with the looming threat of Exodia, I should try to do as much damage to Nagito as possible!
"I summon Element Dragon to the field! In attack mode!" A pink dragon with a long neck and a green membrane for its wings appeared on Makoto's side of the field. It had 1,500 attack points and 1,200 defense points and a parrot-like jaw. "And now, I attack with Maiden of Macabre!"
Makoto's spellcaster sped towards Nagito's monster, quickly revealed to be Giant Soldier of Stone and was immediately turned to rubble by one swing of her scythe.
As the hologram shattered, Makoto was pretty pleased with himself. "Since Maiden of Macabre destroyed a monster, she gains a part of that monster's soul in the form of a spell counter, increasing her attack points!"
Makoto's monster increased in power from 2,200 to 2,400.
"And now, Element Dragon attacks your life points directly! Attack with Element Breath!"
A beam of light mixed with wind and fire emitted from Element Dragon's mouth and struck Nagito in the chest, knocking him over. The direct attack immediately dropped Nagito's life points from 4,000 to 2,500.
Almost halfway there. On my next turn, I'll summon a stronger monster and…if my luck holds, I can equip Maiden of Macabre with an equip spell just powerful enough to wipe out the rest of Nagito's life points.
Nagito got up, dusting off his legs. "I'll admit, I expected I would take damage on your turn. Are you doing anything else?"
"No, that's it," Makoto said with a serious stare. "Much as I would like to, there's no preparing for the might of Exodia. I know you're basically on defense."
"Well then, let's see what luck has in store for both of us, shall we?" Nagito inquired. He went for the top card of his deck. If it was the final piece, the duel was already over. Fortunately for Makoto, and unfortunately for Nagito, the card he drew was not the final piece of Exodia. However, what he'd drawn was hardly any better for Makoto. If anything, it all but guaranteed Nagito's victory.
The card he'd concealed from Makoto was Advanced Ritual Art. And now, he'd drawn a monster that would make depleting the rest of his life points all but impossible.
"I activate the spell card Advanced Ritual Art!" Nagito exclaimed.
Makoto gasped.
"You thought you were safe just because the remainder of my hand contains pieces of Exodia? Sorry, but that's wrong!" Nagito shouted, the intensity of his shout temporarily making Makoto feel short of breath. "With advanced ritual art, I can send monsters from my deck to the graveyard, as long as they don't have special abilities, in order to summon any ritual monster in my hand, like the one I just drew for instance. Now! Behold one of my favorite ritual monsters in my deck! A monster with defense unparalleled!" Nagito declared as no less than three monsters were sent to Nagito's graveyard, thinning his deck further. "Come and be my shield! Herald of Ultimateness!"
A shaft of light shone above the sky parting what flew clouds hung above as the hologram seared the arena. A shining white monster with rainbow wings and beads of rainbow light pouring out of its body emerged upright on Nagito's side of the field. It had 2,000 attack points and 3,000 defense points. And Nagito had played it in defense mode.
"Th-three thousand defense points?!" Makoto exclaimed, sweating.
"What do you think?" Nagito asked, as calm as ever. "A monster so sturdy not even the fabled Blue-Eyes White Dragon can knock it down. Can you knock it down? The strongest stepping stone in my deck? And since I just had to shuffle my deck, do you even know how many turns you have left before the final piece of Exodia is drawn? It was towards the bottom before I shuffled. Who knows where it is now?"
Komaru…was beside herself with worry. I want to tell Makoto everything's going to be all right, but…with those kinds of odds…
How troubling, Kyoko thought. She was well-versed on Nagito's insane luck. If this keeps up…Makoto might find himself able to knock down Nagito's Herald, but by that point, will he still be able to stop him from summoning Exodia?
"Hey…Makoto can still win right?" Hina asked.
"What the hell are you asking me for?!" Mondo shouted.
Hina yelped.
He quickly calmed himself down. "Sorry, didn't mean to yell."
Homura munched on popcorn. "Man, talk about your unorthodox duels, am I right?" she tossed a kernel into her mouth.
"Um, teach, ain't you concerned?" Leon asked.
"Hey, either he does it or he doesn't. Sink or swim, I always say," Homura said, reaching her hand into the bucket.
"Assuming Nagito is working off a forty-card deck, the least amount of cards you could possibly have in a tournament legal deck," Taka stated, "Holding four cards with ten in the graveyard would mean he would have precisely a one in thirty chance of drawing the final piece of Exodia! In other words three and one third percent!"
"Perhaps, but with Mr. Komaeda's crazy luck that's like…a thousand percent!" Hifumi shrieked.
"Inconceivable!" Taka retorted. "Mathematically, all statistics must add up to exactly one hundred percent!"
"Still, I get what Hifumi is saying," Homura said, finishing the mouthful of popcorn currently in her mouth and took a sip of soda. "When it comes to Ultimate Luck, you may as well throw statistics in the trash can." She then took a much louder sip.
"But…Makoto can win, right?" Sayaka asked.
"If he was up against anyone other than Nagito, I'd call it a losing strategy for the latter, but…it's Nagito," Homura said.
At the same time, Class 77-B was offering their own finer points of the situation.
"Fate's Jester has brought out quite the remarkable summon," Gundham remarked.
"Nagito's monster does seem quite difficult to destroy," Sonia said.
"Man, talk about strategy," Kazuichi said. "I always thought ritual monsters were primarily used for offense, but leave it to Nagito to find one that fits in with his Exodia strategy. I'm impressed."
"Don't tell me you actually want him to win!" Hiyoko exclaimed.
"Hey, like him or not, Nagito's still our classmate," Kazuichi said. "I think he's a complete creep, but he still deserves our support…right?"
At first, it didn't look like anyone was gonna say anything…and then Ibuki chimed in, finger guns and all. "Of course Nagito deserves our support! But if we started cheering, it might ruffle him up, you know? Nagito doesn't think he deserves our support, but we're secretly gonna give it to him anyway."
"Th-that's right!" Mikan exclaimed, finding her voice. "L-let's all support Nagito as best we can. Qu-quietly."
"It better be quietly," Hiyoko said. "He's such a sore winner…and a loser."
"Still, Ibuki's got a point. I'm behind him, just not out loud. It'll drive him nuts."
Nagito didn't have to hear his classmates to know that his classmates had their support thrown at his back. He could practically feel it. Still, am I good enough to keep winning in this tournament? I made it this far on my talent and basic understanding of the game alone. I entered because it would increase Kaiba's hope just to have me compete, but…there's so much hope around…my loss wouldn't elevate anyone's at all. No, he thought, no sense in wondering about what's to come. He stared Makoto down, who still looked shaken up. I have to focus on the foe in front of me first, then I can worry about the consequences.
Makoto looked at his hand. It was a good hand. Sadly, under the circumstances, it wasn't going to get him past Herald of Ultimateness any time soon. His heart sank, his palms grew sweaty. He swallowed with his drying throat. At any time, Nagito could draw the one card he needed to beat him and Makoto had to somehow knock down a huge wall to get to Nagito's otherwise easily depletable life points. He wasn't going to give up, not by a long shot, but…could he still win? Was his upcoming struggle just pointless flailing about and good sportsmanship?
The only card in my deck that can destroy Herald without any assistance is Blackland Void Dragon, but that requires four cards to summon, Makoto thought, looking at his hand, none of which are in my hand or graveyard. He looked at his deck. White-Horned Dragon would definitely come in handy right now, but I would need three spell cards in my graveyard and right now I only have two. I'd have to sacrifice Maiden of Macabre to get the third and that would only let me strike with just Element Dragon right now, giving Nagito another chance to draw the final piece of Exodia. Even Fog King would only destroy Herald and leave me no chance to get at Nagito's life points.
Makoto grabbed at his hair in frustration. Argh! What am I supposed to do?
With tensions riding high and everyone on Makoto's side worried for his chances, the hearts and souls of all those supporting him remained silenced. Well…all but one.
"Don't give up, Makoto!"
Makoto looked up at the audience. The last person he expected to have such a loud voice over the silence…was the first one jumping to his defense.
With her gloved fist gripped in front of her chest and eyes full of emotional apprehension he'd never seen on her face before, Mukuro Ikusaba met his gaze. "I believe in you…so…please don't give up. Please…"
Mukuro… Makoto gazed at her in wonder. If his predicament could bring out her voice, could push her to jump to his corner without hesitation then clearly not all hope was lost. "Yeah!" He declared, giving Nagito a tough look. "I can't worry about what's going to happen. All I have to do is press forward!"
Makoto drew the top card of his deck. He gasped. I totally forgot I had this card! "I set a card face-down!" Makoto declared, setting a face-down card into his back row. "And next, I sacrifice Element Dragon in order to summon Genesis Dragon!" A red scaled beast with 2,200 attack points and a spiked tail stormed onto Makoto's battlefield. "That'll end my turn." I just have to hold out and hope that Nagito doesn't draw the final piece. It all comes down to my next turn.
Nagito nodded and drew the top card of his deck. He didn't expect to draw the final piece of Exodia and, much to Makoto's relief, he didn't draw it. "Looks like you live one more turn," he told Makoto. "But the clock is ticking."
"Sorry, Nagito, but your time is up!" Makoto exclaimed. "I activate the trap card Magician's Summoning Gate!"
The trap card flipped face-up, revealing the spellbinder's circle lookalike trap card with a crystalline field in the background and two torches lit with blue flames. "Here's how it works, whenever a spellcaster monster attacks, both duelists summon a spellcaster monster with 2,000 attack points or less directly from their deck to the field."
"Okay, I follow you so far," Nagito said. "But how does that…?"
"It's a mandatory effect, Nagito," Makoto told him. "So like it or not, you'll have to summon the final piece of Exodia directly to the field! All of the pieces are spellcaster-type monsters, which means that…" Makoto took in a deep breath, voice shaking. "You'll never have all the pieces of Exodia in your hand at a single time!"
"Can…can he just do that?" Téa asked.
Mai nodded. "Magician's Summoning Gate isn't limited to once per turn. So, as long as both duelists can summon spellcaster monsters, they're forced to come to the field."
"It's an impressive display," Bakura commented.
"YAHOO! You get him, Makoto!" Komaru shouted. "No mercy!"
"It might cost me some life points," Makoto said. "But this is how I stop…" he said as he aimed his index finger at Nagito, "The otherwise unstoppable Exodia! Maiden of Macabre! Attack Herald of Ultimateness!"
Maiden of Macabre, of course, stood no chance of breaking through Herald of Ultimateness' attack power directly, but it didn't have to.
As Makoto's life points dropped to a still favorable 3,400, Magician's Summoning Gate activated.
"The monster I choose is Neo the Magic Swordsman!" Makoto declared, the light element long haired swordsman appeared on Makoto's side of the field.
Makoto was shocked when Nagito did not in fact bring out the final piece of Exodia. "Huh?"
"Did you think Exodia was the only spellcaster-type monster in my deck that wasn't a ritual monster? I mean, really Makoto? This is one of my stepping stones! The fabled Aqua Madoor!" Nagito exclaimed, showing off the blue clad, purple haired, masked magician in all its splendor. It had 1,200 attack points and 2,000 defense points.
"Well, I didn't think you had only Exodia," Makoto said, "But, your monsters will invariably all have low attack points because you focus primarily on defense. Can your life points withstand the assault from my monsters?"
Nagito's jaw fell agape. That's right, every time I summon a Monster…it has to be in attack position…and Makoto can keep attacking as long as he has monsters to summon and space on the field!
"Genesis Dragon, attack! Genesis Gale!" Genesis Dragon beat its wings and sliced apart Nagito's monster with razor sharp wind, destroying it and reducing his life points to only 1,500.
"Since a spellcaster didn't attack, I'll have to give up some life points and attack with Neo the Magic Swordsman!" Makoto shouted.
Neo's Sword blade bounced off Herald of Ultimateness' body, reducing Makoto's life points to 2,100 in the process, but it was worth the effort.
Magician's Summoning Gate took effect on both sides of the field. With Gemini Elf in my graveyard because of my own Card Destruction…my next monster should be… "Come to me! Illusionary Gentleman!" Makoto exclaimed. A strange monster dressed in red and orange appeared on Makoto's side of the field. It had 1,500 attack points and 1,600 defense points.
"Let's go! Barrier of Illusion!"
Still not Exodia?
"What's wrong, Makoto? Surprised? I have quite a few spellcasters to protect my life points with and, in this case, prevent you from drawing out Exodia."
A blue and green palette swap barrier of Wall of Illusion with the Wall's "face" wearing a magician's cap appeared on Nagito's side of the field. It had the same stats and caused the exact same effect.
I don't have a choice, Makoto thought, I have to keep on the attack. "Illusionary Gentleman attack! Ice Storm!"
The Illusionary Gentleman sprayed cold, frigid air towards Wall of Illusion, shattering it and reducing Nagito's life points to 1,000.
"Per the rules of Barrier of Illusion, since I own the card myself, I have to return Illusionary Gentleman to my hand," Makoto said. "However, that also means that you have to summon another spellcaster just like I do!" Makoto exclaimed. "And I choose…Mystical Elf!"
"What a coincidence," Nagito said. "As do I!"
"I figured you might," Makoto said. "That's why I summoned her now! Mystical Elf! Attack!"
Makoto's Mystical Elf clashed with Nagito's, destroying both monsters. Magician's Summoning Gate activated yet again.
This time for certain he has to summon the Head of Exodia, which means I have to summon a monster strong enough to destroy it! "I summon the all powerful Lady of Dragon!" Makoto exclaimed.
The blonde, red-eyed female counterpart to Lord of Dragons appeared on the battlefield. She had 1,500 attack points and 1,100 defense points. "Well, Nagito, do you have another monster to summon that's not the final piece of Exodia?!" Makoto shouted.
Nagito looked through his deck. There had to be a card, some card somewhere that could still defend him, but…no…he hadn't a single other spellcaster he could summon other than the sole card that would invalidate his entire hand.
Nagito hugged himself. "I can't believe this…that you…managed to thwart my ability to summon Exodia. And, as your luck would have it," Nagito said, holding it up. "That was the top card of my deck. But I have no choice, because of your trap card, but to summon it in attack mode!"
The Head of Exodia was placed on Nagito's field face up and in attack position.
"And now, Lady of Dragons, attack the Head of Exodia!" Makoto exclaimed. "Light Wave of Dragons!"
Lady of Dragons held up her hands, index fingers angled towards each other as diamond shaped waves of light emitted from her palms and zoomed towards the Head of Exodia, effectively destroying it. As a result, Nagito's life points crumbled to 500 along with his best chance of winning the duel.
Magician's Summoning Gate activated yet again, forcing Makoto, and only Makoto, to summon another monster. "I call upon Witch's Apprentice!" Makoto exclaimed. A woman garbed in blue with pink hair appeared. She had only 550 attack points. "But she's not staying for long. With Exodia no longer a threat, I can now use my built up field by sacrificing my two weakest monsters to bring out one of my strongest! At the expense of Witch's Apprentice and Neo, I summon to the field Dragonic Knight!"
A dragon clad in armor stormed to the field, carrying a sword and shield. It had 2,800 attack points and 2,300 defense points. "That ends my turn, Nagito! It's your move! But as long as Lady of Dragons is on the field, you're forced to attack her or Maiden of Macabre! You can't target either of my dragons for attacks! What do you have to say to that, Nagito?"
The white-haired student was staring at the floor.
"Did…did he give up?" Téa wondered aloud.
"He did just have his whole strategy torn wide open," Tristan said. "I wouldn't be surprised."
"Aha…haha." The giggle was stifled, but everyone knew it came from Nagito.
"Oh no, here it comes," Kazuichi groaned. As the person in his class that, regrettably, knew Nagito best, he knew exactly what was coming.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nagito cackled, his eyes full of chaos and disorder. He sucked in a deep breath and continued to laugh. "WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! To have Exodia's power ripped away from me right before my very eyes while I'm so close to summoning it…I never thought I'd see such a splendid strategy. Such a masterful craft of skill and talent! I've got chills! To think I'd befall such awful luck!"
Kazuichi sighed. "Yup. There it is."
"Are…you okay, Nagito?" Makoto asked him.
"Me? I've never felt better. Truly, you are worthy of that talent of yours, Makoto. Only luck could've had you draw such a powerful trap card, right when you needed it," Nagito said, catching his breath.
"You're wrong," Yami said, causing both to look at him. "It was the Heart of the Cards that guided Makoto to Magician's Summoning Gate and his faith to keep fighting despite the odds that have led to Exodia's destruction."
Kaiba pinched the bridge of nose. Oh spare me, he grumbled. He folded his arms and gazed down at the duel. Naegi got past Komaeda's Exodia because he's a truly skilled duelist. Heart had nothing to do with it, Yugi!
"No, I think we're both wrong," Nagito said. "I think it was hope."
"Huh? Hope?" Makoto asked, confused.
"Yeah, right when you were feeling despair, Mukuro gave you hope," Nagito said. "That's what allowed you to cling to hope." He balled his fist. "the Hope to take down Exodia!"
"It doesn't matter what either of you call it!" Makoto exclaimed. "Exodia is gone now and what matters now is what you plan to do about it, Nagito?"
"What I plan to do about it? Why I plan to keep on dueling of course," Nagito said with a pleasant smile.
Makoto was confused by Nagito's calmness. "Huh?"
"You caused me an awful lot of bad luck just now, Makoto," Nagito said. "That means that, no matter what I draw right now, it's guaranteed to turn this duel back to my favor!" He reached for the top card of his deck. "You might have defeated Exodia and brought my life points close to zero, but don't think for a second that that means you've already won! I draw!"
Nagito pulled the top card of his deck to his hand. He smirked. "How unfortunate for you, Makoto." Nagito flipped around the card he'd just drawn. Another Advanced Ritual Art.
"Another one?" Makoto gasped.
"I activated Advanced Ritual Art!" Nagito exclaimed. "Now, by sending two normal monsters from my deck to the graveyard, I can summon a monster that will end this duel! Come to me now, Garlandolf! King of Destruction!"
A pillar of green light shot up into the air as a blue behemoth of a monster stormed onto the battlefield with its skull white mask, black hair and large, spikey fists. It let out an unholy screeching roar as it stood upon the battlefield with 2,500 attack points and 1,400 defense points.
"This is the end," Nagito said, lazily raising a hand to the sky. "Garlandolf's special ability now activates. It immediately destroys all monsters on the field with fewer defense points than its attack points. That will also include your more powerful Dragonic Knight."
"Makoto!" Komaru called out in alarm.
"You will fall to my direct attack once all of your monsters have been plainly wiped out," Nagito said. "Garlandolf! Wipe out all of his monsters," Nagito said with a contemptuous sneer. "Fist of Destruction!"
Gathering energy into its large, blue right hand, Garlandolf made a fist as it tore towards Makoto's side of the battlefield. Like a miniature Obelisk the Tormentor, it unleashed a significant amount of energy that caused a huge explosion, creating a smokescreen-like effect upon Makoto's field.
To defeat Exodia, only to be trounced by a ritual monster. It's fine, you did your best, Naegi, Kaiba thought, only to notice the HUD of the duel he was granted in his office. Huh?
"Heehee Hahahahahahaaaaa," Nagito cackled. "You must be in despair right now, right? You came so far, only to lose. But don't worry, Makoto. I believe in your hope. It just means that your hope wasn't strong enough to conquer my own! But this duel is over!"
"NO! THAT'S WRONG!"
The words pierced the air like a bullet ringing loudly through the sound barrier.
The smokescreen seemed to clear at the strength of the words. When it finally settled down, everyone, including Yami and Nagito were extremely perplexed by what they saw. Almost all of Makoto's monsters had been destroyed, sans one: Lady of Dragons.
"But…how?" Nagito wondered aloud, eyes shaking with confusion.
Makoto ejected a dragon monster from his graveyard and held it up. "When your effect activated, I sent Black Dragon Jungle King to the graveyard," Makoto explained. "I could do so because Lady of Dragons has a special ability. Whenever she would be destroyed by battle or a special effect, I can discard a dragon monster from my hand right to the graveyard!" Makoto exclaimed. "In doing so, she's protected from the effect whole and complete!"
"All right! Way to hang in there, Makoto!"
"Garlandolf has more than enough attack points to wipe out my monster," Makoto said. "But…I'll still stay in this duel for one turn longer!"
"Quite the impressive display. But don't think you're going to lose only one thousand life points," Nagito said. "For you see, when monsters are destroyed by Garlandolf's effect, he gains 100 attack points for each monster destroyed!"
Garlandolf's fist began to absorb fiendish energy as the monster's eyes glowed red and its attack power increased to 2,800.
"If you don't have another dragon monster, you probably won't be able to counterattack next turn," Nagito said. "Oh, who am I kidding? This duel is basically over. Garlandolf! Attack!"
Garlandolf's fist tore towards Makoto's monster and decked Lady of Dragons in the face, sending her careening to the ground and destroying her. Makoto's life points fell from 2,100 to 800.
"That ends my turn," Nagito said calmly.
Makoto looked at his hand. He had two cards in hand, including Illusionary Gentleman. But…he wasn't about to give up hope. Not now. Not ever. This duel was still on. "I draw!" Makoto exclaimed. He gasped when he saw the monster he drew. White-Horned Dragon! He looked at the field, running the numbers in his hand carefully. I have three magic cards in the graveyard right now, Makoto thought. The images of Wonder Wand, Card Destruction and Dragon's Gunfire, the last of which had been sent to the graveyard with Card Destruction, all flashed in his mind. If White-Horned Dragon emerged on the field, I could raise its attack power to 3,100. I could then destroy Garlandolf, but… Makoto took a deep breath. It's a gamble, but…if there really is any truth to my talent, now's the best time to use it! "I set one monster face-down onto the field!" Makoto exclaimed. "And then, I'll set a card face-down as well."
"I suppose that must be your Illusionary Gentleman," Nagito deduced. "I guess you have no other moves left to play, huh?" Nagito inquired.
"If that's what you think, go ahead and find out," Makoto said.
Nagito stared at the field. It's the oldest trick in the book, he thought. Play a monster in defense move and set a trap face-down. He's baiting me to attack. Well, I'm not going to be fooled that easily. Even if Garlandolf is destroyed, there's no way he could fight his way past Herald of Ultimateness! With him guarding my life points, there's no way I could lose, even if I trigger a Mirror Force. "I draw!" Nagito exclaimed and pulled the top card of his deck to his hand. He looked at what he'd drawn. It wasn't playable. Figures. Oh well. "Garlandolf! Attack!" Nagito exclaimed.
That's what I was hoping you would do, Makoto thought. He watched as Nagito's monster's fist drew near…and completely obliterated Illusionary Gentleman, shocking Nagito.
"What…but…your face-down card…"
Makoto let out a breath of relief. "You fell for it," Makoto said.
"Fell for what?" Nagito was completely confused right now.
"Well, no sense in revealing the truth just yet. I just hope this works!"
Hope. That was the key word. With hope, faith and luck pushing him, Makoto's hand dove for the top of his deck and he ended up spinning around out of sheer pent up energy to draw the top card of his deck.
He looked at the card he'd drawn, praying that it was exactly the card he needed. It was. "ALL RIGHT!" Makoto exclaimed. He smiled. "Nagito, you should've had more faith in yourself. You see everything as bad luck and good luck and you assumed that I was plotting something, but you never realized that the cards you had to worry about the most," Makoto revealed White-Horned Dragon and Monster Reborn from his hand, "Were the ones in my hand."
Nagito gasped. "But your trap!"
"It wasn't a trap at all," Makoto said, giddy. "It was just an equip spell I couldn't activate because I didn't have the right monster."
Komaru started laughing her ass off. "Aw, yeah! That's bluffing your way to victory!"
Nagito gazed at his palm. "To think someone like me would fall for such a cheap bluff…no, it's fitting I suppose." The math then caught up with him. "Wait a minute, even with Monster Reborn, you should only have three spell cards in your graveyard for White-Horned Dragon's effect!"
"Sorry, but that's wrong," Makoto said calmly. "I actually have four."
"But…how?" Nagito wondered aloud.
"I activate Card Destruction!"
"No way…from…back then…" Nagito could barely believe it.
"I know what you're thinking and no, I didn't plan this," Makoto said. "It just worked out that way."
Nagito smiled. "I guess there's something to your luck after all, Makoto. It's fine! Go for it! Our hope has collided and yours has won out!"
Makoto nodded and activated Monster Reborn. It didn't matter what monster he summoned from the graveyard, it wasn't staying for long. It was only an offering for White-Horned Dragon. As soon as the red dragon hit the field, it roared loudly and flew quite a few meters up into the air. Makoto then activated its special ability, banishing every single spell card from his graveyard, raising White-Horned Dragon's attack power all the way up to 3,400. It was just enough to end the duel.
"White-Horned Dragon, attack!" Makoto shouted. "Destroy Garlandolf the King of Destruction! White Drill Breath!"
Makoto's dragon inhaled a deep breath and then breathed a powerful white breath down onto Nagito's monster, causing the other lucky student to flinch and shield his eyes from the bright light with his arm. The power disintegrated Garlandolf and the shockwave blew Nagito off his feet…simultaneously dropping his life points down to 0.
Nagito sat on the ground, shaking his head back and forth from the disorientation.
"He did it! Makoto did it!" Sayaka exclaimed. She jumped up and down and then hugged Mukuro without thinking. She then realized what she was doing and backed away, embarrassed…only for Mukuro to pull her back in and rub the top of her head affectionately. She was just as elated at Makoto's victory.
Gundham cackled. "What a feast for the eyes! To think Fate's Jester was brought down by a well-timed bluff."
"Makoto did nearly beat Yugi that one time," Mahiru pointed out. "I suppose it was kind of obvious who would win."
Nagito opened his eyes, expecting he'd have to stand up on his own, only to find Makoto reaching his arm down to him. "Need a hand, Nagito?"
The other student smiled and reached up to let Makoto pull him to his feet. "You're amazing, Makoto!"
"Huh? N-no, I-I'm just—"
"Don't be so modest!" Nagito praised. "That was absolutely incredible!" He held up his right index finger. "I look forward to seeing how far you'll get in this tournament."
"Oh, uh…thanks."
"Oh, and one more thing," Nagito said.
"Y-yeah?"
Nagito gave Makoto a serious stare. "Don't doubt your talent for even a second. It's real. There's no doubt about that."
"Oh, uh…thank you," Makoto said.
And with that, Nagito left for the stands to join his class.
Upon returning to the break room, Makoto began to think about the quarter finals. He was going to be up against Celestia Ludenberg, one of his own classmates, and someone that also pushed Yugi into a corner. It wasn't going to be easy.
Celeste has beaten me in a lot of other games and even in draft duels. When it comes to gambling, her luck is unparalleled, even to mine. Do I even stand a chance against her and her vampire deck?
"Makoto! Wake up, or you're going to walk into a table!" Byakuya's shout startled Makoto just in time for him and several others to watch the poor kid trip over his own shoelaces and stumble over a chair.
"Ouch!" Makoto exclaimed, falling elbow first onto the ground. He got up, rubbing the back of his head, wincing. "Ow. Ow. Ow. My luck's the real deal, huh, Nagito?"
"That had nothing to do with luck," Byakuya said cuttingly. "You need to pay more attention to your surroundings!"
Makoto sighed. When Byakuya was right, Byakuya was right.
"Hmm? What's that by your foot?" Byakuya questioned.
Makoto gazed down and noticed a card face-down by his back foot. "Huh? Did this fall under the table?" Makoto picked up the card.
"Yours?" Byakuya asked him.
Makoto shook his head and took a look at the card. The card was a fusion monster with 3,000 attack points and 1,500 defense points. "Huh? No. I've never seen this before. Hey! Hajime!"
"Yeah?" Hajime asked, coming over to where Makoto and Byakuya were. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I just…did you drop this?" he showed the fusion monster to Hajime.
"Huh? Whoa! That's Mysterion The Dragon Crown! No. It's not mine, but I've been looking for one of those. They're…really expensive to find online. None of the local shops carry them, and even with the allowance Hope's Peak gives me I can only buy so many booster packs. Where'd you find that?"
"Under the table," Makoto said. "I think. It's not mine though. I want to do the right thing and return it to the person that owns it."
"I think Ace was sitting there, actually," Chiaki said, walking over to join the conversation.
"Ace?" Hajime questioned.
"Ace Konami," Chiaki pointed out. "That guy in the red hat. He was up against Nagito in the first round."
"Oh yeah, that guy. Man, he was in and out of here so fast I totally forgot he was even here," Hajime said. "Anyone know how to contact him?"
"I do. He and I have crossed paths before at sponsored tag tournaments. One sec." Chiaki took out her phone and started texting the silent duelist.
There was a small pause before Chiaki spoke up, a sound effect indicating Ace's response.
"Oh. He said you can keep it. He said he already has three copies so he wasn't too worried about a loose fourth one."
"Hmph, and they said Marik was in command of the Rare Hunters," Byakuya mused.
"Really? I can keep a card like this?" Makoto asked.
Chiaki nodded. "Yup. Yup." She showed Makoto the text. "Finder's keepers. I don't need it so let the lucky guy that found it have it if he can put it to good use."
Hajime tried not to laugh too much, but laughed nonetheless. "Man, talk about your bad luck becoming good luck. You tripped over a chair only to find a really powerful card left behind by someone already out of the tournament."
Makoto chuckled nervously.
"You all sicken me," Byakuya said with contempt and stormed off.
"What's his problem?" Hajime wondered.
"You let me worry about him," Chiaki said with a serious expression. "You just focus on preparing for your duel with Leon."
"All right, I'll leave it to you," Hajime said.
An awkward silence fell over the trio of duelists standing there before Chiaki finally broke it. "I think I'm supposed to kiss you now."
"I'm almost certain you're wrong about that," Hajime said, feeling embarrassed.
Chiaki giggled. "You should still wish me good luck."
Hajime looked around to make sure not a lot of people were paying attention to them and then gave Chiaki a brief, tight hug and pat her head. "Want me to have anything waiting for you when you get back?"
"Ooh! As long as you're offering, I want some more of those fried pork cutlets with the bacon!" Chiaki exclaimed, drool starting to collect in her lower jaw. "No! Beef! With the cheese!"
Hajime laughed. "I'll get a variety, how's that?"
Chiaki laughed happily. "I'm looking forward to it." She then darted off towards the front of the break room, knowing she and Byakuya would be called soon.
"I sometimes forget you two are actually married," Makoto said, scratching his cheek. "I mean, I respect you a lot, Hajime, but you're like, only a year older than me and you're married with a kid."
"Yeah, it's definitely not going to be easy, especially once Chiaki and I graduate. There are going to be a lot of people that bully Izuru that I'm going to have to deal with. And the only reason Chiaki has anything akin to a fanbase right now is because of Hope's Peak not dropping her. We're both Ultimates so we're both high society, but every so often I wake up in a cold sweat over the fact that, if we were just normal kids how much we'd be faced with several difficult life challenges."
"Hey, no sense in worrying over what's not true, right?" Makoto asked. "Just take it one day at a time."
Hajime laughed. "Now you sound like Chiaki. She says that a lot. But yeah, I'm trying, but worrying about the future is just something I've always concerned myself with. It's mine to make, so if I can do anything now to push back against the hardships I'll face later, I want to be prepared, not just for me but for Chiaki and for Izuru."
Makoto smiled. "Well, when I find someone to fall in love with, I hope our marriage is filled with just as much happiness as yours."
Hajime smiled at Makoto. "That's the spirit."
When the time finally came, Byakuya was already waiting on the far side of the arena when Chiaki emerged to challenge him. "I'll be honest, I'm actually looking forward to this duel," Byakuya stated. "I fought several of the duelists in Battle City that made it to the finals. You are one of the few I have not with respectable skill. And I intend to show this audience exactly why your skills as a gamer are inferior to the skills of the Togami Bloodline."
"I see, so that's how you feel," Chiaki said and activated her duel disk right then and there. "This won't be easy. You are a duelist of commendable skill, strategy and heart, but…you won't be able to beat me."
"Excuse me?" Byakuya asked, irritated.
"Your lack of compassion and empathy will be your downfall in this duel. I've heard you talk about how you want to master the Heart of the Cards and become a true duelist. So face me with everything you have and I'll show you exactly what it is you're lacking," Chiaki said.
Byakuya raised his eyebrows. "Interesting. You claim that you can teach me through force of will what I lack?"
Chiaki nodded. "I can at least set you on the right path. You can only prove my words wrong by winning, but I don't think you can…probably."
"Well, you have my utmost attention, Chiaki Nanami. Let us spark the crowd with skill only people like us can utilize. Do not disappoint me," Byakuya told her.
Chiaki merely nodded. Byakuya, I can't say it aloud because you'll never understand if I do, so for this duel I'm just going to show you, Chiaki thought, I'm going to show you what real dueling is all about!
Byakuya activated his duel disk as he and Chiaki's hologram projectors set the stage for their match. Matches prior were hyped up, but the upcoming duel was, to the crowd at large, on a completely different scale of hype.
On one side stood Chiaki Nanami, the gaming prodigy, someone who pushed Seto Kaiba to his limits in Battle City and publicly had his respect. She might have lost a large chunk of her fanbase due to being an underage mom, even though she was married, but that didn't mean her skill could simply be laughed off.
On the other side, there was Byakuya Togami. A young man born of strong blood that fought and earned his way to his current position as heir to his father. He was the only one in the tournament whose money and status could rival the tournament's host Seto Kaiba, and he had the attitude and ego to match. Not a single person in the audience underestimated him.
Both Class 78 and 77-B wanted to cheer for their respective classmates, but no one could find their voice, not even Ibuki. The tension was charged. A pair of among the most highly respected duelists in the Duel Monsters meta were about to square off. The audience was captivated, eyes glued to the arena.
Chiaki's life points climbed to 4,000 and then so did Byakuya's. Each duelist slowly drew a hand of five cards.
Then, giving each other a stern, competitive stare, they both shouted at each other "Let's duel!"
As the screen flipped back and forth to determine which one of them would take the first turn, the audience waited with baited breath, pounding hearts and swallowed cheers of excitement. The 7th match of the second round of the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix was about to begin.
(A/N: Whoof. Talk about suffocating tension. I don't know how I keep churning out awesome duel finales when we're only in the second round, but I keep freaking doing it! I really hope I can keep the gas going for the entire tournament! Yeah, gentle reminder, I do all of these duels off the cuff using resources to let me know cards that exist that I have access to. And I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to make the hype between Chiaki and Byakuya match what the audience is going through right now. But man am I going to try.
As for the duel that was the meat and potatoes of this chapter, whoo boy that was fun. I got so worried when I couldn't figure out how to have Nagito progress after losing Exodia. Thankfully, as it turns out, even cards that say "can only be ritual summoned with [spell]" can still be summoned with Advanced Ritual Art. A friend of mine checked it out for me via EdoPro. Thank you, Ultimate Black Ace!
Byakuya vs Chiaki and then Junko Vs Zigfried. The tournament is drawing closer to its despair fuel. Can you feel it? The powder keg you're all sitting on, but can't find the fuse? Tee hee hee. Welp, enough tormenting you all, I wanna see some hype and gushing in the reviews, pretty please and thank you! And, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic! Ja ne!)