As Junko's match with Zigfried was about to get underway, Byakuya Togami was busy out of the stadium, wandering aimlessly.
A monarch before an empty throne. That was what Chiaki had called him. And, unlike many who boasted to him about his lack of skill or prestige, she'd stated her thesis and proven it to his face.
Byakuya was not angry. He was…lost. What was he supposed to do? None of what Chiaki had said was wrong. He was alone. He had no one. He stood atop a pedestal without an equal.
Does that mean that this is my ceiling? He thought, fearfully. Am I doomed to never be the best at this game because of who I am? No…that cannot possibly be. It…but… The sheer paradox was getting to him and eating away at him. And for that reason, he was now pacing back and forth along the same street, trying to solve a puzzle that he, unknowingly, was never going to solve.
Not alone anyway.
"Catch!"
Byakuya hadn't been paying attention, nor realized that was directed at him. And so was completely caught off guard when a cold soda can pelted him in the side of the head and rolled to the ground.
"Pfffft ahahaha. Okay, that was pretty priceless."
Byakuya looked up to see Bianca Bismarck not twenty feet away, trying to keep her laughter to a minimum and failing miserably.
"You'll be paying for my dry cleaning, and my medical bill," Byakuya said, picking up the can. "Also," he said as he lobbed it back to her. She caught it without issue. "I don't drink this drivel. You can keep it. I'm fine."
"You're too big for your britches for even soda. Oh yeah you're really living the high life," Bianca said, cracking open the can.
"Unlike you, I refine my palette with proper drinks like coffee and tea, not food coloring dyed sewage," Byakuya retorted.
Bianca spewed gibberish in a mocking tone, flapping her hand as a stand-in for Byakuya's gums. She then followed up with. "It's not bad in small doses." She took a drink. "Anyway, that's not what I'm here for," she said, holding the can by her hip.
"Then what are you here for?" Byakuya inquired.
"I saw the duel…the last bit of it. I know that look on your face…is not exactly "I'm Byakuya Togami. I'm the invincible heir to the Togami name" that I know. So…did it finally get to your thick skull? What I was trying to tell you for years? You finally get it now?"
Byakuya glanced to the side. "First of all, I don't recall keeping in contact with you for such a length of time. Second of all…" He wanted to continue with his retort, but sighed. "I have no idea what to do for once. I inherited my status by right of passage. I was deemed worthy out of everyone that competed, you, Shinobu and the rest that are dead, both figuratively and literally. There is no problem that I have not been able to solve by being who I am. And yet…with this…"
Bianca saw the look on Byakuya's face, the sheer terror in his eyes and the sweat pouring down his temples and cheeks. "A Togami is not supposed to have equals. I am unparalleled in everything. So why…am I suddenly faced with a choice that makes no sense? To be the best, I would need something to fight for, but that would require deconstructing everything I've built and stand for."
"You ever think the reason that you continue to lose is because everyone else you've dueled has had someone to help them out? Look at all these other Ultimates. They seem to call upon help from someone. Kaiba has his little brother. Hajime and Chiaki have each other not to mention their child. Joey has his sister. And I'm pretty that hammy pet owner and princess chick are doing each other. You've been doing this whole lone wolf and look at where it's gotten you. Sure you have the fame and the prestige, but has it really brought you any joy?"
"What about Celestia Ludenberg? She has no one and she stands tall and she managed to beat Joey Wheeler when I could not. This whole Heart of the Cards thing doesn't make any lick of sense. Every time I think it's within my grasp it defies all logic and reason. I am who I am! So why cannot I grasp such a seemingly easy concept?"
Bianca stared at Byakuya silently for a moment before saying, "You really think she's alone? Really? I might not know her as well as you do, but I saw enough of their conversations before my duel with Chiaki to know that they have something going on. You probably weren't able to hear any of this because you couldn't see the duel, but after everything she said, I think she's glad to have friends with Yugi and the others. You can't go through life by yourself, man. It's a miserable experience. I saw your whole duel with Chiaki. And it's rare, really rare for you to get so angry. Do you know why it got so under your skin? Let me tell you. It's because you know that everything she told you was right. You just couldn't accept it. Yeah, I might not have won the title for heir like you did. I might not be going to the illustrious Hope's Peak Academy like you are. But all things considered, I've done pretty well for myself. And do you want to know why that is?"
"Oh please," Byakuya said, knowing she was just dying to tell him. "Enlighten me."
"Cause I had friends who helped me get where I was. When I left you, I had nothing. And look where I am right now, I'm on the world stage. Sure, I lost the first round, but I bet you ninety-nine percent of the duelists on the planet would've lost the first round. Look at who we were up against. We both lost to the same person for god's sakes. So I don't think my talent is really coming into question here. But that's besides the point. What I'm trying to say this is that I got here because I had people to help me along the way. People that I could rely on, people that pushed me when I couldn't do something myself. You have your head shoved so far up your own ass that because you worked so hard to get where you are that you've basically plateaued. You refuse to grow because you refuse to acknowledge that you need others to help you grow. You insist on using others, claiming them to be "inferiors" because you never stop to examine yourself and remember who you were before you got the fancy suit and designer glasses. What even were you before you got to be dad's winning sperm, huh? Does that boy even exist anymore? Because from where I'm standing, Byakuya Origin Unspecified would've probably grown a lot more than Byakuya Togami!"
"You take that back!" Byakuya shouted, boiling with rage. "Becoming the heir to the Togami family was my dream! I regret nothing! Not the stage, not the actors, not the struggle! That is why I won! All of you were content to try your best! I was the only one with the drive to keep going beyond my limitations! It's why I am who I am now and you are who you are!"
Bianca was going to retort dismissively, but she could tell the pain Byakuya was in and the line she'd just crossed. Being the Togami heir was what Byakuya always wanted. From the moment he popped out of his mother's womb, that was all he wanted. The idea that he couldn't be Byakuya Togami had never even occurred to him. That was what drove him to such extremes and clearly why he won. Bianca could see the fatal weakness in Byakuya's character. It had been there all along, but it was never sticking out more like a giant, jagged piece of glass than it was now: his pride.
Bianca sighed, her eyes turning from snappy to solemn. "You know, that pride is something I've always envied in a way, you know? It's always pushed you and it's always strived you far beyond what the rest of us could do. But the thing is that you're not realizing right now is that your greatest strength is turning into your greatest weakness. Your refusal to accept help and compassion is exactly the reason why you can't master this skill. Because you are who you are, you'll never master it. And because you refuse to accept that, it's eating away at you from the inside."
"And that's precisely why I can't understand it," Byakuya replied. "Why? Why is it like this?! Why should I have to choose? There should be nothing in this world that I can't master! Nothing! It's inconceivable! With the right teaching and the right amount of experience, I am theoretically capable of anything!"
Bianca laughed, but not at him. It was a mirthless, hollow laugh that was more of a coping mechanism than it actually being funny. "Yeah, it is kind of a cruel joke, isn't it? I never thought I would live to see the day. You finally want something so badly but the world is saying "No". And you can't stand that, can you, Mr. Perfect? If you would open your heart once just once you'd find that there might be people that actually care about you. Or do you want to let this eat away at you so much that you become so hostile and toxic you make dad look like Jesus Christ!"
"Byakuya?"
Bianca and Byakuya turned their heads to see out of nowhere, Makoto Naegi.
"Hmm? What are you doing out here?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm not allowed to watch the duel, but um, Sayaka texted me and said you hadn't rejoined the class. So I thought I'd come look for you. You doing all right? I…can understand if you're pretty bummed out about losing."
Byakuya bristled and snarled. "I don't exactly need someone like you to make me feel better!"
"Dammit all!" Bianca shouted angrily. "Did you not listen to a word I said earlier? This is exactly what I'm talking about! This is a prime example of someone trying to give a damn about you, but you and your stubborn pride refuse to let anyone in!"
"Huh? You two…know each other?" Makoto asked.
"It's…complicated," Bianca said.
Makoto stood there, confused. Bianca, for her part, remained silent, head bowed. She wanted to see what Byakuya would say.
"Where is your heart, Byakuya Togami?"
Byakuya looked at Bianca and Makoto. He shouldn't have really been acknowledging the former in public, let alone having this discussion with her. And the latter made him physically ill to be around. And yet…as he quickly realized, having them both here was not a bad feeling all things considered. Sure, Makoto irritated him, but it wasn't like how Toko would stalk him if Yugi wasn't around.
"I can feel their support. It makes me strong. Can you say the same?"
Is this the answer? It seems so…mundane, but…no…I couldn't possibly…
"Um, I could just text her that I found you," Makoto said to Byakuya.
"It's fine. I'll rejoin soon enough," Byakuya said. "I just needed fresh air away from the rabble."
"Oh, uh…sure," Makoto said and turned to leave. He didn't get very far before Byakuya called out to him.
"Makoto!"
"Oh! Uh, yeah?" the lucky student asked, turning around.
"You might have seen her at the tournament, but…you don't know Bianca Bismarck like I know her. No…allow me to introduce you to Bianca Togami…my older half-sister."
Bianca's eyes widened. That was the first time, the very first time Byakuya acknowledged anyone that shared his blood of their generation, publicly or otherwise. She used her hat to hide her oncoming tears, but she was smiling, not a shit eating grin as she was often known for, but a genuine smile.
"Oh! Uh…nice to meet you?"
Bianca quickly did her best to compose herself. "Yeah, crazy isn't it? This guy my brother! Tell you what! When the tournament's over, let's do lunch!" she exclaimed, over enthusiastically shaking Makoto's hand. "I'm gonna go get hot dogs for me and my sister." She left Makoto feeling completely discombobulated and began to briskly walk back to the stadium. "Oh, and one more thing."
"Huh?" Makoto gaped, dumbfounded.
"Not you, him," Bianca said, referring to Byakuya.
"Yes?"
Bianca smirked at Byakuya, posing with one hand on the back of her neck and the other making a finger gun. "Once you open the door, you can't close it. Understand…little brother?"
"I can still throw you out of it," Byakuya said, trying to still play things off as normal.
Bianca laughed. "You can, but you won't. Later!" She exclaimed and ran off.
Byakuya then looked at Makoto. "If you tell anyone about what you witnessed here, so help me no Ultimate Detective will find your body or be able to trace it back to me."
Makoto gulped. "U-understood."
Meanwhile, Junko's duel with Zigfried was already kicking off. "I draw!" Junko exclaimed and pulled the top card of her deck to her hand.
"Let's start with this!" She declared. "I activate Frightfur Patchwork, allowing me to fetch any Edge Imp monster from my deck, plus 1 Polymerization!" Junko now had 7 cards in her hand. Excellent, she thought as she saw the cards. "I now activate said Polymerization, allowing me to fuse together Edge Imp Sabres with Fluffal Cat, allowing me to fusion summon Frightfur Tiger!" A cute little winged kitty cat was suddenly enveloped by the demonic energies of Edge Imp Sabres, resulting in a patchwork nightmare with glowing red eyes and blue taxidermy fur.
The creature growled menacingly. It had 1,900 attack points and 1,200 defense points.
"And that's not all," Junko said with a smirk, "Since Fluffal Cat was used to make a Frightfur Monster, I can return the Polymerization I just used from my graveyard to my hand. Which means I can fusion summon yet again!"
"Whoa! That's one hell of an opening hand!" Tristain exclaimed.
"So, feast your eyes on this!" Junko said as she activated the same copy of Polymerization. "I now fusion summon together Edge Imp Chain with Fluffal Sheep to create Frightfur Sheep!"
A deranged looking, brown, woolen sheep with cymbals levitating it into the air, sawblades spinning in between them appeared on Junko's side of the field. It had 2,000 attack points and 2,000 defense points.
"But I'm not done yet!" Junko exclaimed. "Thanks to the power of Frightfur Tiger, all of my Frightfur monsters gain 300 attack points for each one I control."
Frightfur Tiger's attack points increased to 2,500 and Frightfur Sheep's increased to 2,600. Despite the big play she'd made, she still had 2 cards left in her hand.
"And now, I'm setting one card face-down onto the field!" Junko exclaimed, as the facedown card appeared. She then held up her last card to her forehead and leaned back a little. "So, what will you do now?" she asked in a dull monotone. "It's only the first turn of the duel, but I've taken complete control of the board. Deepest apologies, but I can't afford to hold back against someone like you."
"Mein Fraulein I am truly flattered by your determination and skill," Zigfried said with a devious smile. He drew the top card of his deck to his hand. "But I'm afraid zat all your efforts vill be in vein. Let me show you just how out of your depth you are. I summon to the field my Valkyrie Zweite!"
A horse-riding gilded warrior with pink hair stormed to the field. Her horse neighed, standing on its hind legs, boasting its 1600 attack points and 1,600 defense points.
"And since Valkyrie Zweite vas just summoned to the field, I can destroy any monster to the field vith her special ability. Zweite! Destroy Frightfur Tiger!"
Zweite charged across the battlefield and sliced Junko's monster down so quickly that it took a few seconds of the sword swiping past it before the monster burst and Zweite returned to her master's side.
"Und now, since Frightfur Tiger vas destroyed, Frightfur Sheep's attack lowers to more…manageable levels."
Frightfur sheep cackled to itself as its buggy eyes moved to and fro as its attack power dropped to only 2,000.
"And now zat your Sheep has lost all of its additional power, I can activate zis spell card: Swan Maiden! Zis will allow me to summon any Valkyrie monster directly from my hand. So please give a grand Kaiba Corp Grand Prix velcome to Valkyrie Erste!"
This time a blue haired Valkyrie took to the field at the side of her ally Zweite. She had 1,600 attack points and 1,800 defense points.
"When Erste is summon to ze field she can remove a monster from your graveyard and gain power so that her attack points become the power of zat monster, so I do believe I vill do precisely that to your Frightfur Tiger, Fraulein Enoshima."
Erste raised her blade to the sky as Tiger was ejected from Junko's graveyard. Erste's blade shimmered and her attack power increased to 1,900.
"And all of zat effort just so I could activate zis magic card, Rainbow Bridge Bifrost! Zis spell card will allow me to increase ze attack points of any of my Valkyrie monsters for each monster I have banished from your graveyard. And I shall grant zose points to Valkyrie Erste!"
Erste's attack power climbed to 2,400.
"Anyone else got chills?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah, I hear you. It's not even the first turn and already both of them are making really good moves," Téa said.
"Hmmm, comparing their strategies just based on their favored monsters, I would say that at the pace this keeps up, Junko may very well lose," Solomon said.
"Don't give me hope," Téa said, sighing. Somehow she just knew Junko would be able to squeak out of this.
"Uh, you okay, Téa? Aren't we all supporting Junko?" Tristan asked her.
"Huh?" Téa just realized she'd slipped.
"Yeah, Téa," Junko said, all cutesy. "Aren't you going to support me like a good bestest friend? I'm in danger, you know."
"I mean…"
"All right, knock it off!" Mai exclaimed, cutting in. "Junko, get back to dueling! Téa, if there's something personal going on between you two, that's fine, but try to remember what side you're on."
Téa sighed inwardly. What a mess, she groaned internally.
Junko resumed her elaborate pose and dull monotone. "Well, Zigfried? Are you going to attack?" Junko asked him. "I will remind you, I still have one card face-down."
"Ah, but zat would imply I find your face-down card to be a threat," Zigfried said with a confident smirk. "But I believe in ze power of destiny and I am destined to bowl you over, Miss Fashionista, and set my sights on Heir Yugi."
"Then go ahead," Junko said, gaze narrowing, "Make my day."
Zigfried raised his arm and then took aim at Frightfur Sheep. "Valkyrie Erste, attack! Destroy Frightfur Sheep!"
Erste charged forward and cut Sheep down to size, reducing Junko's life points to 3,600. Chunks of the monster burst into bits and rained down upon the battlefield.
"First blood," Junko said, barely fazed, "not bad."
"Ah, but it is about to get so much vorse for you, mein Fraulein. Valkyrie Zweite—"
Zigfried stopped when he noticed the pieces of Frightfur Sheep wriggling. Charmless laughter echoed as the pieces began to glom together and Frightfur Sheep returned to the battlefield with 2,800 attack points.
Zigfried gasped. "Vat is zis?"
Junko eagerly explained. "You see, Zigfried, when Frightfur Sheep is destroyed, once per turn, he can come back for free, stronger than ever. Suffice to say, but while your play was good, it just came up short compared to mine. Sorry, but you'll have to wait a little longer to do any damage to me, if you do any damage to me at all."
"Hrrrrn," Zigfried said, clenching a fist. Junko had really caught him off guard it seemed.
"All done?" She asked.
Zigfried quickly scanned his hand. He'd used a lot of resources to try and get rid of both of Junko's monsters. He only had 2 cards left. Nein, zere is no reason to be concerned so quickly. Enoshima can only destroy vun of my monsters on her turn. I vill lose some life points, but I vill not lose zis duel. "My turn is over Fraulein."
"I thought so," Junko said and went for the top card of her deck. "I draw." She looked at the two cards in her hand. "I summon to the field Fluffal Leo!"
A fluffy, plush yellow lion appeared on Junko's side of the field. It had 1,600 attack points and 1,200 defense points. Rather than roar, it mewled.
"And now, Leo attacks your Valkyrie Erste!" Junko declared, behaving normally.
"You fool! Ze'll both be destroyed!" Zigfried exclaimed.
Junko adopted her exotic pose. "Perhaps under normal circumstances, but when Leo declares an attack, its attack power increases by 500. So, your monster will be destroyed."
Erste raised her blade and moved to strike Leo down but the monster leapt over the blade and then spun into a ball. Then, like an adorable wrecking ball, it smashed into Erste and knocked her off her horse. The monster, as well as her horse, burst into light fragments and Zigfried paid the price for it.
The pink haired duelist sneered as his life points dropped from untouched to 3,500.
"And there's more where that came from," Junko said. "Frightfur Sheep, do me a favor and take out his annoying Valkyrie Zweite," Junko stated.
Sheep cackled delightfully and cut Zweite down to size as its hooked right arm gutted the fairy monster and sent her to the graveyard. The damage to Zigfried's life points was significant. From 3,500 he dropped to 2,300.
"I'll spare you further humiliation for now," Junko said. "It's your move…Ziggy."
Zigfried growled. Junko was starting to get on his nerves. Enoshima…you vill not stop me from realizing my destinty! Wordlessly, he drew the top card of his deck to his hand. He smiled. Und speaking of destiny. "I shall now summon to the field Valkyrie Dritte!" A valkyrie with short red hair appeared. She had only 1,000 attack points but 1,600 defense points. "Und next, I shall activate the spell card Valkyrie's Embrace! Now, by switching Dritte to defense position, I can banish any monster on your side of the field. Und I do believe your sheep has bleated for ze last time, mein Fraulein."
Junko adopted her miserable persona with the Mushrooms on her head and everything. "No, please not my sheep," she said, fake tears appearing on her face. "I couldn't bear to lose him."
"Sorry, but it's time to say auf wiedersehen,"
The green haired Valkyire in the artwork of Valkyrie's Embrace floated across the battlefield and grabbed hold of Frightfur Sheep. Both then disappeared into a shaft of light.
Valkyrie Dritte then shifted to defense position, remaining with 1,600 attack points. Zigfried now only had a single card in his hand. "Hmm, I shall set zis card face-down onto ze field and let you have your turn Fraulein Enoshima. Do not vaste it, nein?"
Junko grinned. "Gonna be honest, I know you're from Germany, but the exaggerated accent is totally tacky. You speak Japanese, so how about you let the viewers at home understand what you're saying without subtitles?"
"Watch your tongue!" Zigfried hissed. "You vill rue ze day you crossed paths vith Zigfried Lloyd."
Junko fanned her hands out and stuck her tongue out. "Oooh, I'm shaking in my high heeled boots," Junko said sarcastically. She stood up straight. "Listen to me you wannabe German Pegasus. I get what you're going for. Really, I do. But as long as I go all out, I just can't see myself losing to you. Do you know why that is?"
"Oh by all means, enlighten me," Zigfried said.
"Because I've got people that are counting on me to win. Yugi. My classmates, heck even my sister. They might not be shouting their little lungs out, but they don't need to. Their support pushes me forward," Junko said and gave an intense stare to Zigfried. "And I'm going to use it to crush you." HA! As if! Junko thought. Like I'd believe any of that mushy crap, but I bet Yugi's eating it up like discount pancakes!
"Take 'em down, Junko! Wipe that smug expression off his face, you hear me?" Mondo shouted.
"Boy, someone's fired up," Hina said, chuckling.
"He probably just wants revenge for his friend," Sayaka said. "I'd probably be the same if it had been one of my band members."
"Hey! Mukuro! Cheer with me!" Mondo demanded.
"No thanks," Mukuro said.
"The fuck? That's your sister ain't it?" Mondo asked.
"Junko wouldn't want me cheering for her," Mukuro said. "I'll leave it at that."
"I should look up backwards in the dictionary. I'd probably find your sibling relationship there," Homura said as she sipped her soda.
Down on the arena, Junko was preparing to take her turn. "I'll admit, you play the game well, Ziggy," Junko told him. "You're one heck of a challenge." She picked up the top card of her deck. "But…you really don't stand a chance against someone like me. You might be protecting your life points this turn, but that won't save your monster. Fluffal Leo! Attack!"
Zat is vere you are wrong. "I activate Loge's Flame!"
A blue wall of fire erupted from the ground and created a barricade around Dritte. Fluffal Leo backed away from it. "Ach, careful around fire, mein Fraulein, you vill get burned. I activated my trap just in time too. For vith it active, you cannot attack me with monsters zat have 2,000 attack or less. Sincerest apologies, but I do believe Dritte vill be surviving for one turn longer."
"Eh, kind of expected something to happen," Junko said. "But its fine, I have backup plans."
"So you say, but let's see if zose plans remain, shall we?" Zigfried asked and drew the top card of his deck to his hand. "Ah, excellent, I have just drawn ze key to my victory."
"Now when you say victory, do you mean ending the duel or taking control?" Junko asked, not one to really be taken off guard.
"Mmm, more of ze latter zen ze former, but zat depends entirely on you," Zigfried said. "I activate Soul Release! Zis allows me to remove up to five cards from your graveyard! Zat will include your Polymerization, and all of ze monsters you used to make your Frightfurs!"
"But that would mean—"
"Zat your graveyard is empty, nein? I do sincerely hope you vere not intending to use it for anything."
Junko could feel the creeping chill of despair crawling up her back. She let it and gave Zigfried a most gentle smiled. "No, if anything. I feel…fantastic," she stated without a shred of sarcasm.
"But zere is more to my strategy zan simply emptying your graveyard. Vatch as I now switch Valkyrie Dritte into attack position!"
Junko watched with earnest, saying nothing.
"And now, I shall explain Valkyrie Dritte's ability. For you see, Dritte gains 100 attack points for every monster zat has been removed from your field. Vich I do believe is a total of six, yes? Zat means our monsters are now equal in power!"
"And now what? If you attack, you would leave yourself wide open," Junko said, resuming her exotic back arched pose.
"You vould be correct…under normal circumstances."
Junko's heart began to race. Despair crept upon her like an oncoming tidal wave.
"Valkyrie Dritte, attack Fluffal Leo!"
Junko watched to see what would happen. Fluffal Leo curled up into a ball and dashed towards Dritte, knocking her horse out from underneath her. The petite Valkyrie leapt from her horse and dove towards Leo to impale the stuffed toy.
"I should mention zat when a monster is able to attack, Loge's Flames are destroyed," Zigfried said.
"Junko!" Yami called out in alarm. He had a very bad feeling about this. The shaking of his eyes said it all.
Fluffal Leo then smacked its stubby stuffed forearm into Dritte's face just as she impaled it with her sword. Dritte fell over to the ground and both were destroyed, along with the barrier of Blue Flames.
"Und now, ze fun begins. I summon to ze field Valkyrie Brunhilde!"
A valkyrie with blue hair rode down from the heavens to the battlefield. Her white horse neighed loudly. She had 1,800 attack points and 2,000 defense points.
"Where did you get that from?" Junko asked, curiously.
"Ven Loge's Flames are destroyed, Brunhilde can be summon straight from ze deck."
Junko actually seemed impressed. "Hmm, not bad. I was trying not to underestimate you, but it seems even when giving it my all, you find ways to surprise me."
Zigfried took in Junko's praise. "Mein Fraulein, I do not mind ze compliments, but I would be remiss to point out vun very important detail."
"What's that?" Junko asked.
"You have no monsters to protect you from battle. Zwould appear zat you are, as we say it, vide open."
"Aww, man! He's gonna direct attack her!" Tristan shouted.
"It's true, the Battle Phase is still active," Bakura said. "But will Junko's trap card save her?"
"Gonna be honest, I didn't think we'd get this far," Junko said, grinning, but not too widely, "But I suppose you've set the conditions, I may as well take advantage of them."
"Hmm?" Zigfried hummed curiously.
"I activate my trap now, Fluffal Crane! This trap card will allow me to return Fluffal Leo…to my hand since it was destroyed by battle this turn."
Zigfried was now more confused than ever. "Your trap card was…?"
Junko stuck out her tongue and gave Ziggy jazz hands. "Oh Ziggy, you were never in any danger. I just did a bit o psychological warfare. It worked pretty well, I gotta say, but now I've got the one monster I need for my next turn back to my hand." She gave Zigfried a smug, self-assured smile. "And I know I'll survive to next turn." She pulled Leo back to her hand. "Oh, and I also get to draw an extra card since activating my trap was successful." Junko now had three cards in her hand.
Zigfried was hardly amused. "Vatch yourself! I attack vith Valkyrie Brunhilde!"
Zigfried's monster charged at Junko and slashed her from shoulder to hip. Junko only rocked her body backwards and moaned as she was struck. She then smiled. "Thank you daddy, may I have another?" Her life points descended from 3,600 to 1,800.
"Is…is she enjoying this?" Yugi asked Yami.
"I wonder…" Yami mused.
"Aw, man! One direct attack like that and it's over!" Tristan exclaimed.
"Come on, Junko! You can do it!" Serenity cheered.
Ugh, take me out of my mood why don't you? Junko thought, posing yet again. I didn't think a duel against some nobody could be so heart pounding. Well…he's not really a nobody after what Monaca told me. Still, it would be a poor song if I lost now. She looked at the hand she'd slowly been drawing since her second turn. Right into my hands. I suppose strategy is always a worthy substitute for experience. How sad. And here I thought I might get a kick out of this duel. Oh well, the brief taste of despair from earlier will have to tide me over. Time to show them all… Junko thought as she pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. The devil within.
"From my hand, I activate the special ability of Edge Imp Scythe!" Junko said, revealing the serrated razor blades with eyes and 1,000 attack points in her hand.
"Vat does zat do?" Zigfried asked.
"It's basically a free Polymerization," Junko told him.
"VAT?!"
"Now watch as I fuse together Scythe with Fluffal Leo in order to create Frightfur Daredevil!"
A fluffy imp doll with googly eyes that looked like Satan himself had been turned into a plush doll appeared on Junko's field, floating with its little bat wings, carrying a pitchfork in its right hand. It had 3,000 attack points and 2,200 defense points.
"I'll be honest, I had planned on a different plan in mind to take you down, but I commend you for backing me into a corner. Sadly, by granting Fluffal Leo back to my hand, you gave me the keys to the kingdom for eliminating the rest of your life points. Frightfur Daredevil," Junko said, putting her knuckles by her chin, "Be and dear and end this. I'm getting bored."
Frightfur Daredevil flew forward and made to jam its pitchfork into Brunhilde's face, only to be blocked by her shield, shocking everyone from the audience, to Junko, to Kaiba.
Half the shield was destroyed, but Brunhilde remained on the field.
"A splendid effort Fraulein Enoshima, but when Valkyrie Brunhilde would be destroyed by battle, I can simply have her lose 1000 defense points instead. Twould seem your grand finale has been postponed."
Valkyrie Brunhilde's life points fell from 2,000 to only 1,000.
"Maybe," Junko said with a smirk. "But you're still going to take damage."
"A small price to pay," Zigfried said as his life points fell from 2,300 to 1,100. He then tightened his gaze and added with a harsh tone, "For your inevitable destruction."
"Blah, blah, blah," Junko said. "Destiny and fate are a load of garbage. I'd use stronger language, but we're on television."
"Destiny and fate are fake you say?" Zigfried asked, not upset by her dismissal at all. "Vell zen, I believe I have been verbally accosted and have no choice but to show you how wrong you are, mein Fraulein."
Junko blinked. Well…this was different. She fully expected Zigfried to get mad and tell her off. She cooed inwardly. Why Zigfried, if your deck can back up what your mouth is spewing, I do believe I'll have further use for you.
Zigfried drew from the top of his deck and was satisfied with his draw. "I activate Nibelung's Treasure! First, I must give a gift to you, the magical Nibelung's Ring!"
"A ring? Oh, Zigfried, I didn't know you cared, but oh my the scandal that will erupt from this," Junko said, smirking.
"Make your lackluster jokes vile you can, Fraulein Enoshima for Nibelung's Ring is the ring of your destruction."
The ring was activated on Junko's side of the field and turned out to be large enough for Frightfur Daredevil to wear as a choker.
"It is a fabulous ring," Zigfried explained. "Vile your monster cannot attack, be sacrificed or change its battle position, it vill allow you to draw two cards per turn as opposed to vun."
"And…why would you give me this? Card draw is everything," Junko said.
"Ah, but in exchange, I immediately, thanks to using Nibelung's Treasure, get to draw five cards," Zigfried said as he placed his fingers on top of his deck.
"Oh come on! That's practically cheating!" Tristan exclaimed.
"It's a big sacrifice to be sure, but Zigfried must think it's worth it given he was otherwise out of options," Mai said.
With 5 cards in his hand, Zigfried began the next phase of his plan. "I summon to my field my Valkyrie Funfte!"
A pint-sized Valkyrie with purple hair and a white horse appeared on Zigfried's side of the field. She had 800 attack points and 1,200 defense points.
"…You're joking, right?" Junko asked.
"Hardly," Zigfried said with a wicked smile. "For you see, Valkyrie Funfte and all Valkyrie monsters gain 200 attack points for each monster you have zat is banished. And, as I recall you still have six of those."
Brunhilde's attack points soared from 1,800 to 3,000, even with Daredevil's.
Meanwhile, Funfte's increased from 800 to 2,000, giving her just enough to edge out almost every 4 star monster in the game.
"Und now, just to be safe I shall equip Valkyrire Brunhilde vith ze Enchanted Sword Nothung! This vill increase her magnificently increased attack points by an additional 400 points!"
Equipped with the glistening, jeweled blade, Brunhilde now had 3,400 attack points.
"Now, I believe zat zat vill be zat, nein? Brunhilde! Attack and destroy Frightfur Daredevil!"
Brunhilde charged forward to destroy Frightfur Daredevil, only for Edge Imp Scythes to emerge from the monster's stomach and get between the blade and the monster's stuffing. Scythes was destroyed instead and Zigfried's monster's attack was called off.
"Sorry to disappoint your grand finale," Junko told him. "But when Scythes is in my graveyard, I can banish it when a Frightfur monster I control would be destroyed by battle. I might lose some life points, but it's worth it to keep Daredevil on the field."
Junko's life points fell to 1,400.
"Hmph, go ahead. Your monster is still forbidden from attacking and zince you banished yet another monster, mine grow stronger!"
Brunhilde now had 3,600 attack points and Funfte had 2,200.
Zigfried looked at another Valkyrie in his hand. Ja, vith this, young Enoshima's fate is all but sealed. Another victory for the von Schroder family. "I vill now move to destroy my own Enchanted Sword Nothung in order to summon Valkyrie Sigrun!" A valkyrie in purple armor with long, flowing black hair and carrying a spear rather than a sword appeared on Zigfried's side of the field. She had 2,200 attack points and 2,400 defenses points. "Had I known zat your Edge Imp Scythes could block a destruction by battle, I vould have summoned Sigrun sooner, but ve cannot all know everything."
Sigrun's horse neighed proudly as her attack points shot up to 3,600 thanks to Valkyrie Funfte's effect. Brunhilde's lowered to 3,200 due to the loss of Nothung.
"And zat is not all, since Sigrun was special summoned I can special summon another Valkyrie. Behold! Valkyrie Erda!" A valkyrie in brown armor on a gigantic horse with plantinum blonde hair appeared. She had 2,000 attack and 2,000 defense points. Her attack power shot up to 3,400 because of the power of Funfte.
"And when Valkyrie Erda is on the field, all of your monsters lose exactly 1,000 attack."
Frightfur Daredevil's attack power dropped to 2,000.
"Und lastly, I shall now I set one card face-down onto the field," Zigfried said as the face-down hologram appeared "Your move, mein Fraulein. But I vorn you, fail to destroy me and you vill lose zis duel." Not zat you can. Ze card I've placed face-down is Mischief of ze Time Goddess! Ze moment you gain any kind of advantage, I vill skip straight to
Junko's analyst talent went full throttle as she began to analyze the field, Zigfried's unknowable hand, her hand, the cards that remained in her deck and the risk assessment of all possible strategies. "Thanks to you, I draw two cards this turn," Junko said and placed them into her hand, giving her a total of four. "It really is a shame Zigfried. If you'd committed to an overkill, you probably would've won, but as things stand now, I'm going to tear your Valkyries down and turn your horses into glue. It's a shame you're German not French. Otherwise, I could've made a killer Waterloo joke."
"Bad humor won't save you now, mein Fraulein," Zigfried told Junko.
"Yeah, but it's how I cope," Junko chuckled. "Besides, I'm still going to win. I don't care what your stupid destiny says," she said, tongue out, hands spread out with her thumbs aimed at her ears."
"Zen by all means, give it your best effort," Zigfried told her.
Oogh, I said that, but I'm in a really bad spot here. Erda's going to be a problem if I don't take care of her immediately. She looked at her hand. No Edge Imp Saw? Guess victory by Leo is out. And I just so happen to have another Polymerization and another fluffal monster. Perfect. "I activate Polymerization!" Junko exclaimed. "So now I'm fusion summoning by sending Fluffal Rabbit and Edge Imp Tomahawk to the graveyard in order to summon my Frightfur Cruel Whale!"
Junko said whale but it was more like a shark with a ribcage of scythes sticking out of the gut. The monster had 2,600 attack points and 2,400 defense points. "And when Frightfur Cruel Whale is summoned, I can destroy 1 card on each player's field. And the monsters I choose are little miss lowering my attack points and the ring you gave me. So, sorry, Ziggy, the engagement's cancelled. Foppish men like you aren't my type."
"No! You fiend!" Zigfried exclaimed.
Cruel whale fired off its own rib cage scythes and destroyed Nibelung's Ring and Valkyrie Erda, the scythes cutting her and her horse to ribbons.
Frightfur Daredevil flexed when it had been freed from the cursed ring and floated over by Cruel Whale.
"And now for the fun part," Junko said. "I—"
"Shall end your turn!" Zigfried exclaimed.
Junko blinked. "What?"
"I activate the quick play spell Mischief of the Time Goddess!" Zigfried exclaimed.
A magician with blue hair in pig tails appeared on Zigfried's field carrying a scepter with a ruby orb at the top end. "Ze rest of your turn is skipped and most of my turn is as well…straight to ze Battle Phase of my turn."
Hina gasped. "Oh no! Junko's monsters are completely outclassed by Zigfried's!"
"R-remain calm!" Taka shouted. "I have faith in Junko! She can still win this!"
"Guys, come on. It's over," Leon said. "She gave it her best shot."
"No, don't count Junko out just yet," Mukuro said. "She isn't done fighting quite yet."
"Let us end these charades, mein Fraulein," Zigfried stated. "You may have destroyed Erda, but Valkyrie Sigrun is more than powerful enough to send Cruel Whale to ze bottom of ze ocean!"
"Or so you think! I activate Cruel Whale's special ability! Once per turn, during either turn, this will allow me to target any of my Frightfur Monsters not yet summoned this duel and send them straight to the graveyard," Junko said and held up a lionlike monster with a purple background, slipping it into her graveyard. "This will increase the monster of my choosing by half the attack points of the monster I send to the graveyard."
Cruel Whale's attack power surged all the way up to 3,800, giving it just enough to defeat Sigrun in combat.
"Sigrun! NEIN!" Zigfried shouted, watching as one of his most powerful monsters' weapon broke against patchwork and cloth and then was promptly cut down by Cruel Whale opening its mouth and revealing sharp, nasty scythe blades instead of teeth as it bit down on Sigrun's upper body, destroying the monster with a toothless chomp.
Zigfried's life points fell to 900.
"How unfortunate for you zat your can only activate zat effect once per turn for now I shall eradicate Frightfur Daredevil vith ze power of Brunhilde!"
Zigfried's monster clopped forward and cut down Frightfur Dareevil. The patchwork monster fell over and floated belly up towards the sky as black smoke began to permeate from its body.
"Vat is happening?!"
"When Frightfur Daredevil is destroyed," Junko explained. "It inflicts 500 damage to your life points for every Frightfur monster in my graveyard. That includes itself. Looks like we're both going to take damage."
Zigfried's life points fell to 400 and Junko's fell to 1,200 from the attack.
"Better switch that little upstart of yours to defense position," Junko said, only to cock her head to the side and stick our her tongue. "Oh, who am I kidding? You've already lost. The moment it's my turn, I'll activate Cruel Whale's effect and send another Frightfur to the graveyard and wipe out Brunhilde. I still have Sabre-Tooth left that I haven't summoned for a nice beefy 1,200 point boost. That'd be 600 points of battle damage and a victory for me. So, if you concede now, I won't hold it against you. Consider the rug effectively pulled out from underneath you. By the way, you're a terrible husband. 0 out of 10. Would divorce again."
"No! Zis is not over! For you see! I can now activate ze power of Enchanted Sword Nothung in my graveyard! By banishing two monsters from my graveyard zat were sent zere zis turn I can equip it to a monster of my choosing! And I choose Brunhilde!"
Zigfried's monster's attack points increased as the magical sword returned to her hands. Her attack power was now a mighty fine 3,600.
"And, as you suggested, I shall switch Valkyrie Funfte to defense mode. It is your turn mein Fraulein."
"Welp, guess I gotta do this the hard way then," Junko said and drew the top card of her deck to her hand. "Since I can't wipe out your life points, I guess I'll take out little miss boosting your attack points. And since her defense points are low enough, I can save Cruel Whale's effect until my turn and devour her."
Cruel Whale swam across the air and devoured Funfte whole and complete, horse included.
Because of this, Brunhilde's attack power dropped significantly, plummeting all the way to 2,200.
"So yeah, your time is running out Ziggykins," Junko said, making a peace sign. "Just give up already. It's easier than this pointless struggle. I'm going to win. I'm too pretty to lose."
"Sorry, mein Fraulein, but I am far from ready to concede," Zigfried told her.
"Welp, guess I gotta set a card face-down then. You know, just in case. Then, I'll end my turn."
"You talk about the power of your friends backing you, Fraulein, but I have the goddess of fate herself on my side."
"Yeah, no you don't. Not even as a joke. Funny that you're going to use that as a boast though," Junko said.
"Mind your tongue," Zigfried told her.
"You'd like that, but, unfortunately for you, in this instance, I happen to know exactly what I'm talking about. So, unless you want me to expose you like the Emperor with No Clothes, how about you keep playing and keep the fate talk to a minimum, yeah? Come on, you're killing this super rad vibe. Kaiba hates all that fate and destiny talk just as much as I do," Junko said with a smirk. "We make our own destiny with our own two hands!" Junko exclaimed, donning a cape and enacting her heroic persona. "If you say fate is set in stone then I shall challenge my fate and see to your unambiguous defeat!"
"Fraulein, you have tried my patience for ze last time!" Zigfried exclaimed. "I vill not have you mock ze power of destiny!"
Junko sighed, taking a deep breath. "Zigfried, I'm warning you. Chill your rage, or you're really not going to like what happens next." Junko glared at him. "Don't put me in a bad mood."
"Junko, is something the matter?" Yami asked.
"Nothing's the matter. I want to win the duel by playing the game. I want to stand on my own two feet and seize victory through skill and grit alone. I'm not changing destiny! Hell, I can barely keep myself consistent! And if Fabio here wants to stand there and talk about how the goddess of fate is on his side, I've got a few choice words that'll send him leaving this arena in shame before the duel is even officially over. Nothing grinds my gears more than a celebrity whose ego and gimmick is overblown, outdated and, for lack of a better term, worthless. Zigfried, to sum it up, and I hope this is the last I have to say about it, if you really had the goddess of fate on your side, you wouldn't be standing in this tournament in the first place!"
Junko's words cut deeper than any life point damage she'd caused today. What does she know? How can she know what she implies to know? Zigfried thought angrily, snarling, clutching his chest.
"Got the point? Good. Now how about you fight me like a duelist and quit with the charades?" Junko requested and then adorned her cutesy persona. "Cause I've got a date with a hot guy in leather pants in a few hours."
Téa twitched at this.
Zigfried took a moment to compose himself. "Fine, you vant to play zings zat way. Fine." He dusted off his lapels. However, the way he was doing it was the visual shorthand for telling Junko to go fuck herself. "Destiny or not, I shall win and you shall lose. No, more importantly to say. I must win."
There it is, Junko thought, knowing she'd drawn the real Zigfried out into the open. Not hiding behind showmanship anymore, are we, Zigfried von Schroder?
Zigfried looked at the card he drew. Yes, this is exactly vat I needed to see right now. "I summon to the field…another Valkyrie Zweite!"
Zweite's horse neighed.
"Ohhhhhh, that can't be good," Tristan said.
"Achtung, ladies and gentleman," Zigfried said, snapping his fingers. "But it is time to draw the curtain on this duel. Zweite," He then lowered his arm and pointed his arm straight across the arena at Curel Whale. "destroy Cruel Whale."
As another version of her had done to Tiger earlier in the duel, this new Zweite sailed across the battlefield and cut down Cruel Whale, causing it to disappear a few seconds after it had been sliced to bits.
"Well, I can't say it hasn't been fun, because it has. You certainly have a unique way of making a duel interesting, Fraulein Enoshima. But I'm afraid that zis is where we part ways."
"Just remember I get custody of the children," Junko said, keeping up the running gag she'd started.
Zigfried actually chuckled. "Truly, I will miss that cutting wit of yours. Zweite! Strike her down! End zis!"
Valkyrie Brunhilde stormed towards Junko for direct damage…only for a wall of Kuribohs to suddenly appear out of nowhere and block the attack.
"Vat?!" Zigfried shouted.
Junko doubled over laughing. "Oh my…" she wheezed, laughing to hard. "Oh my god. You should see your face. Ahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Up in the booth, Junko didn't have to be there to know that Kaiba was scrunching his face up in absolute irritation.
Junko calmed down from her laughter and wiped a tear from her eye. "Okay…okay…I think I'm good. Ahhhhhh. Honestly, Kuriboh often gets mocked for being weak and pathetic, but it's absolutely adorable and one of the best save your ass cards in the game. I don't know why more people don't use it."
"You are only delaying the inevitable! Zweite! Attack!"
"Oh? Did you forget about my little trap?" Junko asked, being cheeky. "Didja? Cause it's called Designer Frightfur! And with it, I can immediately special summon Edge Imp Tomahawk right from my deck to the field!"
A weird fiend creature made up of axe blades to vaguely resemble a cello appeared on Junko's side of the field. It had 1,800 attack points and 800 defense points. Several of the glowing axes dislodged from the living weapon and carved up Zweite like a human sacrifice.
Zigfried found himself with only 200 life points to Junko's 1,200.
"Not bad, Fraulein, but I still have Brunhilde and you have nothing in your hand and a monster on your field zat cannot defeat her.
"Yeah, I suppose that's true enough," Junko said. "Oh well! YOLO!" She drew the top card of her deck to her hand. "I guess I'm setting Edge Imp Tomahawk into defense mode and placing one card face-down onto the field. All right, Ziggy. I'm counting on you to make this interesting."
Zigfried smiled. "I don't intend to bore you, mein Fraulein. I promise to make your defeat swift und painless." He picked the top card of his deck to his hand. Ah! Most excellent! "I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards so long as I discard two." Zigfried did so and then sent two cards to the graveyard. "Let us bring zis duel down to ze wire, Fraulein Enoshima. I activate ze spell card Pegasus Wing! Since zere is a Fortune Chariot in my graveyard, all part in thanks to Graceful Charity, I can half ze attack power of my monster until ze end of zis turn and zen…I can attack you directly."
Junko gasped as Valkyrie Brunhilde's attack power became only 1,100 as her horse grew wings.
"Valkyrie Brunhilde! Strike! And I'm afraid no adorable furballs vill be coming to your aid zis time."
Junko watched as Brunhilde flew forward and struck her directly with her blade, causing her to cry out as she put a hand by her chest, panting from the pressure of the hard light hologram.
"Not bad," she said with a strained smile. She now only had 100 life points left.
"Our life points now hang on by a thread, nein?" Zigfried asked. "Ze first person to make a poor choice of strategy vill be ze first to taste defeat."
"Yeah, and I gotta admit, didn't see the direct attack coming. Honestly, at this point, I don't think I can rely on my trap card. If I want to win, I'll just have to strike Brunhilde down directly."
"You can try," Zigfried told her.
"Not hard," Junko said to him. "She only has 2,200 attack points. All I need is a monster with 2,400 points or more. And unless you draw a monster, my life points are safe on your turn, assuming I don't first play one of my own."
"Zen go ahead and make your move. I will not stop until you are beaten!" Zigfried declared.
Junko smiled. "And it's that determination that I can't wait to knock to the ground." She went for the top card of her deck. "it's time to end this. Heart of the Cards! Guide me!" Despite being cruel and twisted. Despite her heart being cloudier than the murkiest of bogs, a glint of red appeared in Junko's left eye as a dark streak accompanied her card draw. She saw the spell card she'd drawn and was barely surprised. Got you.
"Well, Zigfried, it's been fun, but I have places to be, duels to win."
"Inconceivable! What did you draw? Tell me!"
"Oh don't you worry, I'm about to use it! I activate but a simple spell card known only as Frightfur Reborn!"
Junko's spell card depicted Frightfur Bear crawling out of a discarded toy box.
"This spell card is basically a Frightfur-specific Monster Reborn. It's over Zigfried. GG."
"Nein! NEIN! Zis cannot be!"
"Frightfur Daredevil! Return to my field!" Ahhhh, that look of despair. How I've missed you.
The impish Frightfur Daredevil returned to Junko's field and then flew towards Brunhilde.
"One heavenward Valkyrie," Junko said and gave a thumb's down. "Bound for hell."
It didn't matter that Brunhilde could survive the attack. Zigfried's life points were too low. In fact, he was in such despair from Junko's victory that he didn't bother to activate her effect and she was struck down. She was kicked off her horse, struck in the chest and her arm jolted up off the ground only to go limp on the ground before she disappeared.
"Mwa!" Junko exclaimed, blowing a kiss. "Thanks for all the fun, Zigfried. You've been tepidly amusing."
"This! Isn't! Over!"
"Uh, your life points hit zero, Zigfried," Junko chuckled. "That's about as over as it is."
I'm starting to regret letting her participate, Kaiba thought, eyes tilted towards the ceiling. He then smiled, shutting his eyes. Well, it hardly matters. Her next duel is against Chiaki. That's a duel she absolutely cannot win.
Zigfried eventually did pick himself up off the arena and exited out of the colosseum to collect himself. He gazed down at the Golden Castle of Stromberg clutched in his hands. Leon, he thought. It vill have to be you.
With the second round concluded, an extended break was put in to refine the cameras, let the spectators get more food without missing the action, run commercials, all that fun stuff.
Junko returned to the break room with a high five to Joey and hugging Celeste around the back of the neck. "Aren't you glad I made it back?"
"Oh yes," Celeste said. "I almost started to grow bored of the quiet without you around."
"Charming," Junko said, letting go and stood up straight. "So, what do you two think? Getting exciting, huh? There's only eight of us left."
Joey looked around. Besides him, Junko and Celeste here, only Makoto, Yukizome, Hajime, Chiaki and Leon remained. "Man, I barely noticed how empty it got in here."
"That's because you've been too busy stuffing your face," Celeste told him.
"Boy did I draw the short straw though. I have to face the Ultimate Gamer next," Junko said.
"Honestly, I think she needs to be more worried about you than you of her," Celeste said. "With her, you know what you're up against. The other way around is not clear cut. Even I would be wary of a duel with you knowing that you've made it this far. Still, between the three of us, I think my matchup is certainly the easiest. Makoto is skilled, but he doesn't have a reputation for being particularly threatening."
"Yeah, he only just barely lost to Yugi, no big deal," Joey said sarcastically.
Celeste chortled. "Ah, quite right. I suppose that is something he and I have in common."
At this, Junko's phone started ringing…to the sound of a cat's meow on loop with the sound of drums and other instruments. Junko let it ring for several seconds before Celeste got irritated.
"Answer it and shut off that infernal racket or I will break your phone!"
Junko grunted in laughter before finally answering. "Talk to me!" She listened to the other end. "Ah, now hold on, I'm around people. Let me go somewhere more private." She began to walk away.
"Must be her job," Joey said.
"She gets calls like that rather infrequently," Celeste said. "You get used to it."
As the break neared its conclusion, Mukuro's cell phone buzzed. It was a text message. Glancing at it, she nodded and put it away. "Sensei, I'll need to excuse myself for a bit."
"Sure, go ahead. Bathroom's down the hall on the ground," Homura said, leaning back in her chair.
However, Mukuro's destination was not the bathroom and it wasn't anywhere within the arena perimeter. There was an observation deck within the premises of Kaiba Land. Due to the tournament, most of the rides had been shut off, but the manual walkway for repairs up to the top of the deck was still available. Mukuro made sure to get over there without being seen. The rides themselves did not have security cameras. Even if they did, Monaca was covering her tracks.
Mukuro made it to the top and set down a large bag she'd procured from the storeroom where Junko had broke Vivian. She unzipped it and quickly assembled a mighty sniper rifle. Real. Loaded. And unjammed. She had two bullets, but she'd need only one. She then took out her phone and texted Junko.
"Wolf in position. Awaiting orders."
Junko saw this and grinned, exiting the break room to go outside and into the streets.
Junko began composing a text message on her phone to a new contact. I love it when a plan comes together. Puhuhu. "Puhuhuhuhu."
She then hit the send button.
(A/N: UH Ohhhhhhh! Just what is Junko planning now? I'll let you figure it all out for yourselves. And for anyone not getting the joke, yes Junko's ringtone is Nyan Cat.
This duel was a ton of fun to write. And yes, that does mean we are going to get Junko Vs Chiaki. Get all of your Despair Side Episode 10 anxiety out now while you still can XD.
The third round is afoot and Hajime Vs Leon kicks it off. But will the tournament come to an abrupt end? Just what is Junko after? The pieces are starting to fall into place this arc. Join us next time on the next exciting chapter of Dueling Trigger Finger! And, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)