Two mechanized warriors stand on a bridge in a pagoda's courtyard, and bar the way to their master with their weapons. They then gleam with light, and disperse into particles, coalescing into one great big mass, that solidifies into an even bigger robot.

"It's time for the man's Superheavy Samurai to hit the road! Here in their stead is Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei, the biggest, baddest, superheaviest of them all to block your path!" Gong "Strong" Highroad announces broadly, as if speaking to a crowd. To be blunt, he's speaking to one person in particular, who at this moment is nowhere to be seen.

Gong sighs, and demands with a raised fist, "So you can come out now, Yuya! Draw all the Action Cards you'd like, there's no way around this one. Only one route to victory in a man's game!" He points a thumb at his heart, while Benkei spins its weapon around with a mechanized flick of its wrist.

An onlooker mutters to herself, "'Man's game'? Hmph." She props up her cheek with a fist, and pouts. "Not like any of your robots have that attachment. Man's game, my foot."

Gong, infamously immovable... startles, and looks back behind him while waving his hands. "Oh, uh, I didn't mean it like that, Zuzu! I meant it like, uhhh..." He snaps his fingers, "The man really means, 'A Battle of Guts!'"

"That's more like it!" Zuzu Boyle, infamously irritable, nods... then flushes as pink as her hair. "Wait, you heard me!?"

A new voice pipes up from the Arc-V system's speakers, "Well, if you have the intercom on, someone's bound to at any rate!"

Zuzu blinks, then looks down at what she's leaning on. "...sorry." She scoots away from the console, preferring to stand. "Well, Gong does have a point. Do you have the guts to face him, Yuya?"

The voice chuckles. "Oh, I've made my preparations, but the show can't start till the players do!"

Gong smirks. "Alright then! I switch Big Benkei to Defense Position, and initiate the Battle Phase!"

The robot takes on a defensive stance, going as still as a statue. In truth, this defensive stance is anything but, as the robot's visual scanners search the feudal arena for signs of life points and monster signals. It finally settles on something, but before Big Benkei can lock on, it moves!

A silhouette swoops up onto the roof of the pagoda's gate, cutting a dashing figure with his cape, his steed, and the simulated Moon behind him. "Ladies, and Gentlemen! ...and Guts, apparently. On declaration of the Battle Phase, now the Fun begins!" the rider announces with a flourish of his hand.

Zuzu and Gong, expecting little, are instead pleasantly surprised. He does know how to make an entrance.

The rider grins. "And since there's only one route to victory with a man," he points a finger towards Gong's heart, and activates his set Quick-Play Spell with a wave of his hand, "I think it's best to let the experts handle it! Hippo Carnival!"

From the activated spell card, three beings poof into existence!

Zuzu and Gong, expecting a lot, gaze upon the sight in front of them.

Three hippos rise on their hind legs in front of their master... all of them dressed as burlesque dancers. The center one sports a flowery bikini top with blue eyes and big smile, the green one to the left wears a sparkling crystal gem on her forehead that compliments her yellow eyes, and the last one on the right wears a purple-gemmed heart-shaped crest on her forehead proudly while smoothing over the tufts of feathers from her outfit. To top it all off, the Moon itself has started functioning as a spotlight for this... this.

Their master claps his hands, and music starts playing from his duel disk. (Recommended BGM: Panty & Stocking "Pantscada")

They all posing and gyrating in racy positions, the flowery one showing off her belly and hips, the crystal one standing on her front paw while doing the splits, and the feathery one shaking her tail feathers at Gong's vicinity, while the man in the moon seems to be leering.

Off to the side, a visiting study group of elementary schoolers is corralled off by their tutor, who is now being bombarded by questions children shouldn't be asking. A breakaway blue-haired boy watches the duel with wide eyes, unable to tear his eyes off of the hippos' jiggling and flopping... colorful outfits! "Pretty..."

The hippos finally finish their dances, and pose all together!

...

A gust of wind blows through the arena, a discarded booster wrapper soaring lazily with it.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Yuya Sakaki, infamously unstylish, grins proudly.

"I attack with Big Benkei," Gong announces in a fashion as robotic as his monsters.

Yuya gasps, and asks his friend, "Now what kinda reaction is that!?"

"Gong, if you don't destroy him quickly, I'm going to tear him to pieces," Zuzu says calmly over the intercom.

"Whaaaat? What'd I do?" Yuya asks. After a moment of through, his eyes go wide, and he facepalms. "Oh, I see! You probably weren't close enough!

"That's not what-" Gong begins,

Yuya, still in the midst of special summoning the tokens, sets them in attack position, and they charge towards gong. "Ladies, get right up in his heart area!"

Big Benkei catches one of them in the prongs of its bident, only for the Hippo to grab the weapon's shaft with her dexterous paws and manipulate her way onto the pole! Big Benkei lets out a metallic groan in response.

Gong, now being swarmed by the other two tokens, does not move but for a flaring temple and a twitching eyebrow. As his new arm-candies coos at him like a bird and blows cool breath on his ear respectively, he again says, "Big Benkei, attack the Hippo Token!"

Big Benkei nods, and decides on the most optimal way to do this with the least amount of input. It concludes its calculations, and whirrs its wrist around once more, sending the Hippo flying off of the weapon and back to her master.

Yuya smirks, and plays the Action Card from his hand. "Miracle! My monster is not destroyed by battle this turn, and any battle damage I take is- OOF!" he is cut off by the Hippo's hindquarters colliding with his smug face, and sends him crashing into the moon, which cracks in two and falls down to earth with him.

Though not quite a superheavy blow, Yuya's life points take quite the hit. 2250 LP remaining!

Performapal Hip Hippo, Yuya's trusty steed, nudges his master with his snout. Yuya waves him off, and dizzily rises to his feet, still seeing birdies, butterflies, and bunnies circling his head. And now a fox is chasing them, only for that to be chased by a bigger cat. They all get into a scrap and form a big cloud of scratching and growls and yips around his head. Once the smoke clears, Gong and Zuzu see that Yuya is now wearing his goggles, which they know to mean that he's finally getting serious... around half the time. It's not a fun time the other half.

"Well, you've had your fun, Gong the Strong, but now it's time for me to swing into action!"

"Oh, is it!?" Zuzu growls, wapping the console with her hand. "Cuz if you haven't noticed, the visitors have left already!"

"Eh?" Yuya grunts with a dumb smile on his face. He looks through the blue star on his goggles that doesn't allow holographic light through, towards the audience's window. Only a single student is left. "Eh!?" he shouts, jaw now dropped. "But I was just about to-"

"You're a butt alright!" Zuzu rages while banging the console again, causing the screen to freeze. "Do you know the kinds of kids that study groups have? Ones with parents, with money!" Zuzu bashes the computer again, this time causing all sorts of dials and drives to jut out from the impact. "Yuya, that study group had ten students in it. Let's say each student has two parents... okay, let's say one and a half parents. That is One and a Half Money per Student. How much Money did you just cost us with your Hipper Strippos?"

Yuya looks over at Zuzu with a blank expression. He then counts on his fingers, "Okay, so one money, two money-"

"YOU COST US MONEY!" Zuzu roars as she slams her fists on the console, now sparking and smoking. She blinks at the sight, not quite putting together what's going on in front of her. "Uhhh…"

Yuya scratches the back of his head, and lets out a sigh. Then, he lifts the goggles from his eyes, and locks eyes with Gong. "Well, I screwed that up. But I'm still in this duel, and there's still one spectator watching!"

Gong shakes his head in exasperation, but smiles. "That's how a man does it! Focusing on what's important, and letting go of what isn't!" He crosses his arms. "Gong Highroad ends his turn coolly."

Yuya grins, and hops onto his monster. "Hop to it, Hip Hippo!" The hippo nods is response, running and leaping off the edge of the roof. "When it comes to Dueltaining, the Show must go on! My turn, DRAW-"

The Arc-V projectors shut off, and the Takahashi particle constructs formed by them disperse. Yuya blinks as he goes up in the air in an arc... and comes falling back down.

Before he eats it, a hand reaches out and snatches him by his jacket. "Gotcha!" Gong says.

Yuya slinks out of his jacket, and falls to the ground on his knees. He looks up at Gong gratefully, then one of his eyes goes off to the side as an idea pops into his head. Yuya holds his arms to himself, and does his best to look bashful as he turns to the side. "Why Gong, how forward. But there is one route to victory in a man's game after all..." He uncrosses his arms, and holds them open for Gong. "Fine, you are my superheavy samurai, c'mere!"

Gong drops the jacket on the jackass's face and walks away, his geta clanking on the ground.

Yuya giggles as he puts on his jacket, and gets back up, only to see the kid's still there, watching him. The two stare at each other for a bit, before Yuya decides to step closer. Once Yuya and the boy are separated by two feet and a window, Yuya hunches down to where he's eye-level with the boy.

The boy's a bit uncomfortable, but he's never seen dueling quite that colorful before. Most dueling he's seen over the past three years is cutthroat battles and trickery. That someone would play a card and move it in a way just to entertain is a new experience for young Tate Bunbury. He gulps down his shyness at the odd man staring directly into him, and looks him in the eye.

Yuya Sakaki sports a serious face as he considers the boy in front of him. He brings up the odd necklace he wears, and swings it lazily in front of Tate, wiggling the fingers of his other hand at it.

Tate is unimpressed, a trick like hypnosis only happens to the suggestible. He read it in a book so he knows it's true.

In response to the kid's loss of interest, Yuya does the oddest thing. One of his eyes moves independently of the other, following the pendant.

Tate jumps, then gets closer to make sure his eyes aren't the ones gone bad! Cram school would be hell!

Yuya smirks while lowering the pendant out of sight, then moves his other eye the opposite direction from the other. Then, he settles his other eye to where the iris is centered... then, his other eye swivels back and knocks the other one to the side again. They continue like this, back and forth.

Tate is mesmerized. Is this something one could learn to do!?

After a bit of watching the odd eyes clack into each other, Tate's eyes droop and he slides forward along the window, smudging it with his kid germs as he literally falls asleep.

Now within the building, Yuya picks up the kid and lets the kid borrow his jacket for a blankie. He walks over to the school's breakroom, and sees Skip Boyle, the current owner of You Show Duel School, waiting for him with crossed arms.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Skip asks as calmly as he can while positively steaming.

Yuya grins. "Quality over quantity, Sensei! This one's in a really suggestible state right now." He presents the groggy Tate like a trophy.

Skip growls, "One!? We originally had ten- wait." The man's aura retracts as he considers the Yuya's words. "When you say 'really suggestible,' do you mean-"

"Allie and Frederick level!"

"Hot dog!" Skip cheers, holding both the boys up like a trophy. "Yuya, you're the school's hidden gem!"

"Oi, hidden gem?" Yuya pouts.

Skip drops Yuya onto his feet, taking Tate with him to the merchandising room. "Everyone knows my daughter's the crown jewel!" he says with full confidence as he turns around the corner. He then pokes his head around the corner. "Oh yeah, heads up, Arc-V's on the fritz."

"Is it because it got old?" Yuya asks.

Skip shrugs. "It aged off the warranty. So right now, I'm gonna focus on turning this kid into a whale before his parents come pick him up, we'll figure out what to do with the Arc-V tomorrow."

Yuya nods, and heads off for the day. As he makes his way down the street, past all the businesses that have seen better days as well as those outright closed, he looks over at the skyscrapers in the distance. A mistake. On a giant projected advert screen, he sees The Sledgehammer's mug looking down at him, boasting "Leo Institute of Dueling is better than you, and we know it!" Yuya tries to avert his gaze, but one of his eyes lingers on the "Champ's" message, sinking it in.

Yuya eventually sees the way to his home... but instead takes another direction. The place should be abandoned since it's getting dark. (Recommended BGM: FFX "Tidus' Theme")

Now at the playground he spent his time at as a kid, he decides to reminisce about the past. And there's only way someone in show business can do that: "Monologuing."

Yuya sits down on a swing. "So, my problems: You know how when something really embarrassing happens to you, you'll be told it won't make a difference tomorrow, everybody's gonna forget it when something else happens?"

Yuya sighs. "Well, imagine what'd happen if no one has any memory past fourteen years ago? Yeah, crazy right? But, that's why they called it Paradise City. With everyone ignorant of what happened beyond fourteen years ago, everyone blissfully decided to start with a fresh slate. Everything from the past was forgotten, and in many cases, outright discarded, and living in the present was more important. Everyone decided to Advance forward, and from then on only the Actions one took in the present would decide their future. So, take a guess what'd happen if someone's reputation was mud here?"

Yuya forcefully kicks off the ground. "What happens is that with nothing else to talk about, that's all they ever talk about!" The boy swings wildly for a minute, but eventually the lulling subsides. "Three years ago, since my dad disappeared when he needed to be there, and his reputation... Well, you've seen his school. And his challenger, who is champion now? Oh, for all his hot air, I would love to see him pop when my dragon sinks his teeth into him..."

The boy bares his teeth much like he envisions his dragon would... then recoils. "Ah, that's no good. No, what I want is to show the champion that my father's dueling is the best. Well, it's the best to me, everyone has their own way of dueling, and I love that." Yuya stops swinging, and balls up his fists, "I just really, really need to pound The Sledgehammer into the dirt for all the crap he's put on my father's name, our school, and everyone else's dueling!"

"Well, that-can-be-arranged!"

Yuya flinches with a yelp at the voice, and flips off of the swing's seat, landing on his ass.

A garishly suited man who would be described as looking vaguely like Hitler (if history still existed) smiles down at Yuya. He offers a hand, "Hiya, Yuya! Name's-Nico Smiley!"

Yuya blinks, then reaches for the man's hand. A business card is placed in Yuya's grasping fingers.

"I'm-currently-The Sledgehammer's-agent. I-get-the-gigs, he-gets-the-wins, and-we-all-get-the-glory!" the man announces rapid-fire. "But-here's-an-idea-my-boy, since-you're-so-keen-on-getting-revenge, how-about-we-pencil-you-in-for-a-grudge-match-at-noon-tomorrow?"

"...eh?"

"'School,' you-say? Well-that's-only-a-problem-if-you-let-it-be! We'll-just-tell-your-principal-to-mind-his-own-business, and-who-knows-maybe-we-can-get-all-the-kids-let-out-early-on-the-condition-they-use-a-voucher, kids-with-vouchers-have-parents-with-money-after-all!"

The boy looks down at the ground. "I don't care about school," Yuya mutters as years of bullying flash through his eyes, before he decided to join them in the laughing. Doing that had lessened the bullying in intensity on an external level. Since he let it in however...

"And-how! Lemme-tell-ya-kid, the-only-thing-The Sledgehammer's-done-with-a-textbook-is-rip-them-apart-for-the-press! The-only-reading-material-you-need-is-a-trading-card! Saddens-my-heart-that-they-still-have-you-lot-learning-math-when-the-duel-disk-does-it-for-you! On-that-note, it-also-tells-time, so-be-at-the-Hard-Rock-stadium-in-time-for-the-match. Show-up-whenever-you-wish (saves-us-on-transportation), but-the-match-will-start..." Nico's Smile fades into a smaller one. "With, or Without You."

Yuya's breath picks up at that. He swallows, and asks, "Tomorrow at Noon?"

"High-Noon!" Nico says with a finger-gun and a wink. "We-hope-to-see-you-there, Young... Sakaki."

As the man walks off, Yuya is on the verge of hyperventilating on the dirt. He really thought he'd have a ways to go till this match could happen. And now it's right there!

Of course, he's no dummy, well, a dummy who needs to count with his fingers, but he knows when he's getting played. Years of bullying will do that to you. And catching on to ambushes and avoiding them when they're teasing you for being a chicken, well, that leads to feathers in your desk pasted in there with tar. So, he weighed both options on the scales, so to speak. Either he refuses cuz he's not ready on grounds that the Sledgehammer's last opponent is still in the hospital from a suplex, or he goes, he duels his duel... and loses. Everyone will be proven right, that his father's dueling was no match for The Sledgehammer's, which is why he became "No-Show" Sakaki.

On one of the scales is a tarred feather, and on the other, it gets hit by a sledgehammer and the other scale goes flying. Either outcome would be terrible. Yuya Sakaki really was in between a rock and hard place.


NEW HARD ROCK STADIUM – Noon

Nico smiles for the crowd. (Rec. BGM: FFX "Luca") It's a bright and sunny day out, kids are out with their parents on a school day, and even the crocodiles off the coasts have seemingly come out for this spectacle, smelling blood in the water.

Of course, it would be a surprise if Yuya Sakaki actually showed up. But to ensure there's not a riot, they were already prepared to pivot to their backup. Oh, the wonders you could pull off by catching a grown man in a room alone with a barely conscious boy! A huge no-no! Well, here's hoping Skip doesn't live up to his name as much as Sakaki. Heck, if he does that he can Skip out on home-life with his daughter too!

Yes, with three years of No-Show, and him not coming to defend his son nor his school, it would be the final nail in the coffin for his legacy, with The Sledgehammer ready and willing to drive it in.

Nico pantomimes checking his watch for the crowd, and lets out a rehearsed sigh. "Seems-the-apple-doesn't-fall-far-from-the-tree, folks! Yuya-Sakaki, like-his-father-before-him, is-nowhere-to-be-found!" Nico then looks around the stadium exaggeratedly, -jingle- and hears the crowd laughing. Ha, good response today! -jinglejingle-

Huh, Jingling? Must be the new Vuvuzela. Not skipping a beat with the audience so receptive, he continues which a disappointed shake of his head, "I'm-afraid-to-say-that-we'll-have-to-cancel-today's-match!" -jingaling-

"No!" the audience shouts... a bit more cheerily than Nico had been expecting.

Nico looks around at the stands in a small bit of confusion, -jinglejanglejingle- okay, what is that sound? Who is jingling a bell while he's saying stuff? Whoever it is needs be thrown out to the crocodiles lest they disrupt the match!

-jingle-

Nico looks over his shoulder, turns around the opposite way, then nods when he sees no one standing around him. -jinglejingle- The crowd is laughing at him, and he is making an ass of himself right now, but he has to make sure he's Smiley instead of Looney for the sake of his image. He bends down to look between his legs, and sees no one there.

He lets out a sigh of relief, then raises his head only for his gaze to come across a discarded piece of paper on the ground. Nico Smiley picks it up to see "Nico Smiley" printed on cardstock from the material they were going to use for Super Rares. Huh, must have fallen from his pocket. Well, he'd better get on with the show.

"Ahem, so-with-him-not-here, and-since-you-all-came-to-see-a-show-today, I'm-glad-to-inform-you-that-we-do-have-a-replacement!" With a flourish, he gestures to the entrance to the arena. "Skip-Boyle, current-Principal-of-You-Show-Duel-School!" -jangle-

"Booooo!" the audience jeers as Skip walks into the arena, waving.

Nico Smiley sports a cringing smile, "I-know, I-know, but-let's-see-some-positivity! At-least-he-showed-up!" he reasons with a shrug. -jinglingle- "Otherwise, save-it-for-his-dueling!"

Skip Boyle stands in front of Nico Smiley with a smirk and crossed arms.

"Oh, I-like-your-energy-today, sir! What's-the-story-behind-it, some-big-secret-weapon?"

Skip shrugs. "Kinda."

Nico nods, and prods further, "So, can-I-call-ya-Skip? Skip-it-is, well-Skipper, how-do-you-think-you'll-fare-today-when-your-school's-founder-and-his-son-as-well-as-your-student-gave-up-before-the-match-even-started?"

Skip looks taken aback. "They did?"

"..." Nico Smiley adjusts his glasses. "Yes. They did," he speaks slowly, so someone like Skip Boyle will be able to understand him.

"News to me!" Skip replies. He looks over Nico's shoulder, "Well Yuya, is it true?" (Rec. BGM: FFX "The Blitzers")

-jinglejanglejingle-

Nico turns around to see a clown standing right behind him, shaking his head.

The clown then looks up at him, and does a silly face with his hands.

"GAH!" Nico Smiley recoils. "When did you get there!?"

"12 sharp, seems like," Skip says, checking own duel disk. "If you don't believe me, you can check the recording."

Nico Smiley glares at the two of them with a smile on his face, then snaps his fingers as he turns toward the jumboholo. On the screen, it shows the clown-garbed Yuya Sakaki sneaking up behind him on his tiptoes while he's addressing the crowd. The clown boy motions the crowd to be quiet with but a finger.

Then, the clown starts mimicking Nico's movements. Throughout everything he did, up until Nico had gotten suspicious of the jingling which came from the outfit's jingle bells. It was then that Yuya Sakaki started dodging his line of sight, somersaulting, and backflipping over him while he looked for the boy. And then the boy dropped a business card in front of his mark while he was bent over, and he stopped to pick it up while Yuya pivoted on his feet like a dancer till he was once again behind Nico Smiley.

Nico Smiley laughs loudly for effect, and with that grin still on his face, he leans in to whisper to Yuya while the microphone is safely away, gripping the boy's shoulder tightly, "You will never make a fool of me again, you hear? The Sledgehammer will make sure you never show your face in the light of day again."

Yuya blinks at him, and holds up a finger,

-FAAAAAARRRRRRbbrbrbt...-

Laughter fills the air as Nico Smiley looks down at the microphone he's holding at pelvis level, and sees a deflated whoopie cushion fall from Yuya's hand to the ground. He looks up to see Yuya backing away from him while waving a hand in front of his big red nose. He stomps toward the boy thinking of where he'd like to shove the mic-

A hand grips his shoulder, hard. As Nico winces, Skip whispers, "Assaulting a boy outside a duel is a big no-no. Especially with everyone watching." Skip happens to remember hearing something along those lines the day prior, and hopes he did a good impression. He pats Nico on the back, and waves at his student. "Well, break a board, Yuya!"

In response, Nico Smiley smiles as wide as he ever has, temples throbbing and turning red -crack- ah, a molar. That'll be an appointment. Well, after a show like this, he could gild all his teeth. He walks away from the two horrible people, and announces, "And in this corner, you love to see him, you hate to see his enemies after, it's the one, the only, The Sledgehammer!"

The current champion (by default) walks out of the halls of the arena. -...clang! ...Clang! ...Clang!-

His fans hold up signs in support, roaring in approval. "SMASH HIM! WRECK HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!"

The Sledgehammer walks out of the tunnel with his namesake in hand. He hits it against the wall one last time -CLANG-, cracking some stone off of it. He steps out into the light, and holds his arms out as he basks in sounds of the crowd, nodding with an evil smirk on. Then he puts a hand up to his ear, and the crowd chants louder. The Sledgehammer then stomps on the ground twice, and hits the arena floor with the Sledgehammer, putting a crack in the reinforced glass beneath him.

The crowd follows his lead.

-Stomp, stomp, Clang! Stomp, stomp, Clang!- "SMASH HIM, WRECK HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!"

The crowd chants along as The Sledgehammer slowly advances toward his opponent, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

Finally, he gets within ten paces of Yuya, and swings his hammer to the side. The crowds go silent. (Rec. BGM: FFX "Face-Off") The Sledgehammer then turns on his duel disk, and projects his voice for the whole arena to hear... in what sounds like an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression (but not actually one since no one's ever heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger), The Sledgehammer asks his opponent, "So, when did the Circus come to town?"

The audience laughs.

Yuya Sakaki, dressed like a clown, looks The Sledgehammer up and down, and gestures a hand to him with a frown.

The audience chuckles some more while some boo in support of their idol.

The Sledgehammer grins maliciously. "That's cute. So, where is your daddy, and when can he duel?"

Yuya shrugs and shakes his head, honestly not knowing.

The Sledgehammer growls. "Boy of few words, are ya? Well, I'll just make sure Yusho Sakaki can hear your screams in every corner of the world. Then, when he doesn't show up, that'll prove once and for all, that he's a has-been, and always will be!" he announces to the crowd.

They cheer in response.

In response to those words, Yuya looks up and away, tightening his fists. He was so close; he couldn't lose it now like he did three years ago; he was suspended for weeks from punching a security guard. He had to keep his cool outside while letting it all boil underneath.

"Try to laugh when you feel like crying. And when things get tough, respond with a smile. It will give you the strength to keep advancing."

So, Yuya smiles.

The Sledgehammer notices, and asks him while pointing the hammer at him, "What's the smile for?" Then, he has a realization, and smashes the ground between them. -clangSNAP!- The champion discards his broken tool, and points at Yuya. "Ah, wait don't tell me. It's what your chickenshit daddy did when he was backed into a corner. Well, your levity is good. It relieves tension," he says, then grins at Yuya like a predator, "And fear of death."

Fidgeting, Yuya crosses his arms, and taps his foot. -jingljingljinglealltheway-

The Sledgehammer decides that should do it for intimidation, and decides to offer the easy way out. "I am not completely without mercy... outside a duel." He offers a hand to Yuya. "Beg for mercy, and admit that your coward father ran away. Surrender to me if you want to live!"

Yuya looks down at the offered hand. He licks his painted lips, and salivates his mouth, and takes some deep breaths.

"Huh?" The Sledgehammer asks. "Sorry, clown boy. Afraid I can't hear you. Can you speak up, or was that outfit supposed to be a mime's?" He steps closer to Yuya, recording the boy's response with his duel disk's camera for the world to see.

Yuya nods, removes his clown mask, and holds up his own microphone, testing a beep noise.

Nico Smiley looks down at the banana he's been holding, and searches his person.

Now Yuya wasn't no dummy, he knew the smart thing to do would be to accept the champ's offer, never show his face again, drop his surname, and maybe then everyone would laugh at him the one time and never again. But as he was weighing his options the night prior, he thought to himself, "Wait. What if I was that dumb?"

"When the odds are against you, you can always make things swing your way again. So don't worry about anything, just enjoy the ride!"

Yuya looks right at The Sledgehammer towering over him, and says with a smile, "Look, fu*k you, fu*k the screens with your face on 'em, fu*k that makeup, fu*k that shirt with the belts on it, fu*k your tryhard wrestler persona, fu*k them cheap-ass hammers, fu*k your yuck-ass smell, fu*k your hairdo, fu*k your LID, fu*k Battleguards, fu*k the last three years, fu*k your mercy. This is Paradise. My duel school is back and my blood is boiling, Champ-by-Default. Now, get the fu*k off of my duel field and if I see you in the street, I'm slapping the sh*t out of you."


It was said on that day, in that packed stadium you could hear a pin drop... as well as the microphone.