Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Selflessly – Chapter 4
Emiko stood out in the middle of the plains, watching the sky as fireworks exploded into bright colours, signalling the start of the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. She looked to her left, people were already getting together and challenging each other to duels, hopping onto the nearby duelling platforms. She looked to her right. The same thing. She looked behind her and saw a few people heading towards the forest and decided to go and challenge one or two of them. She thought, "Alright. My first duel in this tournament." She walked in the same direction, taking her deck out of its case. She was about to head into the forest, when she heard a voice behind her.
"Excuse me," the male's voice behind her said, "Are you seeking a duel?" She turned and her eyes lit up. She said, smiling, "Hi. Yes, I-I am. Sorry, but are you...Mako Tsunami?" He proudly said, "Why, yes, indeed. I see my reputation as a duelist preceeds me! And judging by that jacket you're wearing, you must be with Kaiba Corporation." She nodded. He asked, "So, what brings you all the way out here?" She bit her lip nervously for a moment, then said, "I'm here on a mission. I'm Emiko Kaiba. My brother is Seto Kaiba. Our company is in danger and I'm here to save it." He said, taken slightly aback, "Well, well. That's very courageous of you, Emiko. I'll tell you what," he took one star chip out of his cuff, "since it's our first duel of the tournament, we'll each wager one star chip." She nodded and took one out of her own cuff and they walked to the nearby duelling arena. She said, setting her deck face down on the board, "Watch your back, Mako, because I won't lose. My brothers are counting on me." Mako smirked, the life point counter set itself to 2,000, and the duel began.
The arena lit up and a holographic projection appeared in the form of the plains around them. The plains were skirted on Mako's side by a very small amount of water and there was a small portion of the map dedicated to the nearby forest. Emiko looked down at the screen in front of her where it showed her the percentages of each land type.
The duel started out fairly evenly matched with Emiko and Mako knocking down life points. Little by little, when one would take a small lead, the other would catch up or surpass the other within the next turn or two. As the duel progressed, Emiko started to understand one of the new rules. As she placed certain monster cards, they would sometimes have higher attack and defense points, depending on the type of monster she used. She also noticed that Mako's monsters, who only had a small amount of water to use, would get a bonus as well. She had suspicions that it was some type of field power bonus, based on the types of monsters whose attack and defense would be raised, but she couldn't be sure yet.
Emiko looked over the cards in her hand. She had a few good spells, but nothing that could turn the match in her favour. She decided to place a monster in defense mode to guard her life points, but Mako used a trap card, preventing her from using defense mode. He wiped out her defense card, along with a decent chunk of her life points. Just as she was about to give up, she drew the Magician's Valkyria. Combining her trusted monster with a few spell cards, she overcame Mako, winning the duel.
"Well," Mako said, handing her his star chip, "You've certainly got Kaiba's spunk. That was a great duel." Emiko said, taking the chip and placing it, along with her previous one, into her duelling glove, "Thank you. You duelled very well. I would expect nothing less from the duelist who placed third at the Regionals!" He laughed heartily and held out his hand. He said, "Likewise, I couldn't have asked for a better duel from the famous Seto Kaiba's little sister! Well, Emiko, I hope we can duel again someday." She smiled and said, shaking his outstretched hand, "Until next time we meet, Mako. Best of luck in the tournament." He thanked her and said, "And I hope you are successful in rescuing your brother and your company." She nodded. He turned and walked away, leaving her standing alone in the field. She smiled and thought, "Well, as eccentric as he is, Mako was an excellent first duel. I have three star chips, now."
The day trailed on as Emiko trudged ahead, the sun now high in the sky. The puffy white clouds floated by peacefully, though the duels below were getting more exciting as the day went on. She wandered through the massive expanse of green fields, stopping occasionally to duel a few others along the way. She fought hard against them, winning four more star chips. She finally decided to walk towards the castle, wondering if she could find a way to get in without duelling. It was a long walk through the forest that awarded her no entrance. She sighed sadly, taking her locket in her hand again and opening it. She gazed down at the three of them, smiling happily, and thought to herself, "It's already mid-afternoon. I've already done pretty well so far, but I just can't help but worry." She had just snapped the locket closed when she heard voices in the distance. It was faint, but she could have sworn she had heard Mokuba's shrill voice.
"Mokuba," she thought, breaking into a fast-paced walk towards the voices. She stumbled through the woods, even tripping over branches here and there, scraping her knees, but she didn't care. She was already close enough to hear her little brother. It really was him. Her breathing grew heavy and ragged from running and stirring up the dust and pollen. As she reached the edge of the woods, she saw in front of her, Yugi and Joey, along with Tristan and Téa. She looked beyond them and saw her little brother's messy, black hair. As she ducked behind a tree, Yugi said, "Mokuba, you will never save Kaiba Corporation that way! Your big brother is just confused. After I defeated Kaiba in our duel, I opened his mind." Emiko's eyes widened. He said, "I removed from him all the dark influences that clouded his thoughts and actions." Emiko thought, "Of course! That's it! That's why he has been acting strangely!" Yugi continued, "Free of that evil essence, Kaiba is struggling. Your brother realizes that his way was not the right way. He's searching his heart for answers and you know in your heart that what you're doing isn't right, either." Mokuba turned and asked, "Then, what can I do?"
"You can start by trusting in me," Yugi said, "Together, we will defeat Pegasus. We will help you protect your brother." Emiko finally took a deep breath and stepped out. The rustling of the leaves made the group turn in surprise. Her breath hitched in her throat as Téa asked, "Emiko?! Hang on, what are you-" Mokuba said, cutting her off, "Emiko!?" He ran to her and practically leaped into her outsretched arms. She knelt down and embraced him, letting him cry into her shoulder. She shushed him softly and said, "It's alright, I'm here, now. I was so worried about you. Are you okay, Mokuba?" Mokuba said, his voice shaking, "I-I'm okay! You came for me!" Emiko smiled and nodded.
"Of course, I came for you," she said, teary-eyed, "We're a family. We have to look out for each other." Yugi said, putting the pieces together, "Emiko? Are you...?" She looked up at him, then back down at Mokuba. She gently nodded and said, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you." Téa said, finally understanding, "Emiko Kaiba!" Joey said, surprised and a little confused, "Wait, you're related to Kaiba!?" Tristan said, "You're kidding! Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Emiko said, running her hand over Mokuba's hair comfortingly, "I...I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be my friend...especially after what Seto did to you and your Grandpa, Yugi." Yugi said sincerely, "Wow, Em...I had no idea." Joey said, "What a ridiculous thought! Of course we still wanna be your friends!" Téa said, "It doesn't matter who you're related to. You're already a great friend who's never let us down." Tristan nodded. Emiko smiled and let out a sigh of relief, a tear dripping down her cheek.
"You," she took a trembling breath, "You really mean it?" Yugi nodded and said, "Of course, Emiko. We would hate to lose you as a friend." As Emiko smiled and wiped her tears on her sleeve, Yugi turned his attention to Mokuba. He said, "Now, Mokuba, you need to go back and return those cards and star chips to the kid you stole them from." Emiko gasped and said, "Mokuba, you stole-" He pulled away and said, evading her questioning, "You're right, Yugi." Emiko sighed and said, "Alright, let's get going, then." Mokuba said, taking the lead, "Then, we'll face Pegasus together." Téa looked down at her wristwatch as they ran towards the edge of the island and said, "We've only got five minutes until the boat leaves! We need to hurry!" Emiko followed her friends and her brother all the way through the green meadow until they all reached the dock together. As they came to a halt, they saw that a small rowboat was already being sent away from the island. Tristan said, "Hey, what gives? The boat's already gone!" Joey pointed at the tall bodyguard standing on the dock and said, "And there's the sleazy lowlife that shipped them out!" The guard smirked. Emiko's eyes narrowed. She recognized the guard as Kemo, a Kaiba Corporation employee.
"You're too late," he said with a smug grin on his face, "Those losers are already on their way back home." Mokuba ran up to Kemo and pleaded, "Hold on! You've just gotta call the boat back! I need to return that kid's deck and star chips to him!" Kemo snickered and slapped Mokuba's outstretched hand, sending several glittering star chips into the ocean. Joey snapped, "Hey! A bunch of those star chips were Yugi's, you big jerk!" Mokuba turned back to the group and said, "Oh, Yugi, I am so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Kemo said, "You all should really keep a tighter grip on your valuables." Just too late, Emiko saw the guard wrapping his massive arm around Mokuba's shoulders, lifting the little one off the ground effortlessly as he struggled, kicked, and squirmed, trying his best to escape, to no avail. Emiko started to rush to Mokuba's aid, but Tristan held her back. Emiko growled, "Hey! You let him go!" Joey barked, "Hey, you! Let him go or I'll have to knock you into next week!" Kemo jeered as Mokuba stopped struggling, his entire body trembling out of fear, "Oh, I'm scared. This little ingrate is a special guest of Mr. Maximillion Pegasus'. He's been invited to attend a special dinner in his honour back at the castle."
"H-help me," Mokuba choked out, "Emiko! Yugi!" Yugi said, stepping forward confidently, "Hold on! I still have three of my star chips left. I challenge you to a duel and if I win, Mokuba comes with us." The guard said, adjusting his grip slightly on Mokuba, "I don't know why you'd risk your chips for this little punk, but if that's how you want to waste your last star chips, then meet me back at arena 146 in exactly two hours. You'll have your duel." As Kemo pushed past them, Tristan dug his heels into the dirt, struggling to hold Emiko back until the guard left their sight. As Tristan finally released his grip, she fell to her already roughed-up knees and asked, "Why did you hold me back, Tristan?!" Yugi said, "Emiko, that guard could have easily gotten you, too." She gritted her teeth and slammed her fist into the grass. She shrieked, "I just got my little brother back and now he's gone again!" Yugi knelt down and said, "Don't worry, Em. I will win and get your brother back." She looked up at him, her eyes locking with his, and said, "I...I hope so, Yugi."
October 20, 2020 – 2082 Words