Original Yu-Gi-Oh Series
Parallel
Chapter 026
Originally Written: Monday, April 11, 2022 1047AM to 1137AM
. . . . .
Long after the crowd dispersed, Joey Wheeler lightly pressed a hand to his stomach with his free hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, reminding himself to keep the excitement to a minimum. In front of him Espa Roba stood, dressed in a pink button up shirt and dark pants. Espa was slowly coming to terms with a loss that put him ever closer to elimination from the tournament. Bakura walked over to both with an entire squad of smaller Espa Robas behind him.
Joey snorted. "They're your ESP trick, eh?"
Espa Roba ducked his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
"No hard feelings. How I hear it, everyone 'n their mother is cheating fo' dis one. But if ya really feel bad, after the tournament, we and your siblings can go out for lunch some time. Play a few games at the arcade me and my buds hang at. Whatcha think?"
"Really!" The oldest of Espa's brothers bounced on his feet. "Like friends?"
"Sure, why not?" Joey smiled. "Got a sibling 'f my own. I know what it's like."
"Wow! You're cool like Ryou!" He bounced over to Espa, and whispered something in his ear. Espa and his younger brother looked at Bakura.
Bakura pressed a finger to his lips and smiled. His siblings looked ecstatic.
Epsa teared up and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you!"
"Ya gotta get going now though." Joey looked solemn. "It's about to get unpleasant, I think."
"Of course!" Espa bowed again. "I do have a bit of information I think you would like to know. If you want to hear it?"
"Eh?" Joey tilted his head, "Spill the beans."
"I overheard that even though Weevil Underwood was eliminated from the tournament, he's looking for you. Something about Duelist Kingdom?" Espa frowned in confusion. "I'm not sure why though."
"Ah, gotcha. I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks." Joey nodded. "Smell ya later."
Espa returned his nod, then looked at his siblings. "C'mon. C'mon. Let's go." He ushered his siblings in front of him and walked away.
Bakura looked at him. "Are you gonna try to befriend every duelist you meet, Joey?"
Joey shrugged his shoulders and grinned, "Life's too short to have no friends." He rolled his shoulder, which was wrapped in bandages under his blue and white t-shirt. After Bakura picked him up from the hospital, he removed most of the bandages, but that was of the ones that stayed. It was helping to brace his shoulder.
He picked up Seto Kaiba's briefcase, determined to hand it back to his classmate. It also helped him get opponents. They ran right up to him, thinking he had access to Seto's rare cards or was stupid. The 'DA' logo on the front was unmistakable, and many believed only a complete idiot would walk around with Seto Kaiba's briefcase. Joey was quick to show them otherwise, baffling them with his dueling skills.
They walked through the food court, where his Duel Disk had told him Yugi previously walked through multiple times during his hospital stay. He wanted to find Yugi and check on him in person, but he was too far behind. He was starting to think he'd need to settle for surprising Yugi at the location the locator cards would lead him to for the finals. His new Jinzo card would surely surprise him. "Whatcha do for Espa anyway?"
Bakura stood on his tip toes, and whispered something in his ear.
Joey whistled. "Nice. Will that put 'em on you-know-who's radar?"
Bakura shook his head. "Uh uh. They're worth a lot, but only on the cusp of rare."
Bakura had convinced him that even though his Duel Disk could track them, he shouldn't run out to find any Rare Hunter to duel in his condition. Yet, he couldn't help but feel antsy. Every time he said "Blue Eyes", more and more dots marking rare hunters filled in the map on his duel disk.
He turned a corner. Specifically to a more secluded, yet still open area.
Bakura hummed in the same sound he used when the teacher was looking at him right as he was about to pass a note to Tristan in class. He didn't know how Bakura could tell he was about to pass a note when he was looking at the teacher, especially because he sat a few rows in front of them, but he did. The teacher never caught on either. Call him impressed.
"You ain't gotta worry 'bout me so much."
"I'm your guard, and friend, Joey." Bakura gave him a knowing look. "I'd be worried regardless of the situation."
Joey stopped walking. He knelt, and put his duel disk, deck and locator cards away in Seto's briefcase. He locked it afterwards. "Ya ever heard of a guy named Jounouchi Katsuya?" He tested its weight, and nodded in approval.
"Of Hirutani's gang?" Bakura looked at him, "Why?"
"'Cause these assholes followin' us 'bout to learn why I was Hirutani's second." Joey stood and picked up the briefcase. "I ain't in the mood to duel no more, sorry." He looked out the corner of his eye.
A long haired man with a duel disk stood behind them, wearing the purple cloak that marked him as a rare hunter. "You're gonna wish you accepted that duel instead, Joseph Wheeler."
A sizable group of rare hunters slunked out the shadows of alleys and side streets. One immediately went down, holding his shoulder and screaming as he rolled around on the ground.
Bakura flipped out a full set of knives from his pockets and twirled them around his fingers. They settled in between his knuckles.
Joey scoffed in amusement, "Snipers, eh? Hope their aim is better than dat. Tore your guy's shoulder up. Goddamn."
A/N: As I understand it, or as the media makes it seem, which is what I'm going with here, good sniper shots are supposed to be clean shots, a lot of immediate pain that drops the target, usually dead, with little mess. Joey critiques the shot because it was not.
I believe Hirutani's english name is "Diesel Kane". I used Hirutani, because it fits with the Japanese name = gang theme I randomly decided upon for his gang while writing this chapter.