Thanks for all the support and encouraging words. I'm posting this chapter a bit later than usual due to real life things that have happened this week. Also, due to a new work commission, I might not update as frequently with new chapters although I'm definitely not abandoning this story. ^^
Chapter 10
It was early Friday afternoon, and Alex and the others had just finished classes for the week. They passed by uneventfully, for the most part, although Joey and Kaiba kept giving each other death glares. Alex would sigh inwardly and have passing thoughts about how ridiculous guys could be at times.
Anyway, Alex was with Joey and the others shortly after the final bell rang. Joey grinned at her and asked,
"You're gonna watch me beat moneybags, right?"
Alex grinned back and replied, "Of course. I want to go back to my apartment first and change, but I'll definitely be there. I'm curious to see what strategy you've come up with."
Joey replied, "Ya gonna love it."
Alex, Joey and their friends continued to talk for a bit, and then Alex said,
"Ok, I'll go, but don't worry. I'll be there."
Yugi smiled and replied, "We'll see you in a bit, Alex."
Alex waved goodbye to Joey, Yugi, and the others and then hurried out of the building to take the bus and head to her apartment.
About an hour and a half later, Alex left her apartment and took the bus, having changed out of her uniform and into a dark green dress with black leggings and matching shoes. As she sat in her seat, heading towards where Joey and Kaiba were to have their duel, Alex was thinking to herself.
I believe in Joey. I know he can win. I want him to prove Kaiba wrong. Joey is a worthy opponent. Besides, the thought of spending alone time with Kaiba unsettles me.
Alex couldn't figure out why she had that latter thought. She thought that perhaps it was because she knew that she shouldn't get too close to Kaiba. He was just a target, after all, and Alex knew that previous agents who became too personally involved ended up terminated. It rarely happened, but still. She shook her head and thought,
Joey will win, and I'll get my mind back on track.
The bus made its stop, and Alex got off. She walked over to the location of the duel and there, she saw Joey and Kaiba getting ready. There was also a bit of a crowd forming, which made Alex uneasy. Joey looked towards where Alex was standing, and she simply waved at him although she didn't approach him. Although he was standing a bit far off, Joey noticed the look of uneasiness written on Alex's face. Remembering what Alex told him about her fear of crowds, he nodded towards her and briefly talked to Yugi. Then, he and Yugi walked over towards where Alex was. Kaiba noticed this and yelled,
"Where are you going, Wheeler?"
Joey yelled, "Be right back."
Joey and Yugi made their way to where Alex was. As soon as they made their way to her, Alex smiled and said,
"Hey, you two. I would have walked towards you all, but-"
Joey interrupted, "I remember. I hope it's ok I told Yugi about your deal with crowds."
Yugi added, "Joey explained it to me. We can watch the duel from a nearby building. If you're ok with heights."
Alex nodded and replied, "Sure. High places don't bother me." She looked at Joey and added,
"Thanks for thinking about me. I know you should be focusing on your duel and not worry about me."
Joey grinned and replied, "You're awesome, Alex, and I wouldn't have gotten this duel without ya. It's the least I could do."
Alex blushed a bit and replied, "Thanks. Ok, I guess Yugi and I should hightail it, but I just wanted to wish you good luck. I know you can win. You have our friends behind you."
She looked towards where Tristan, Tea, Bakura, and Duke were and waved at them. Then she returned her attention to Joey and continued,
"Also, I believe in you and most importantly, believe in yourself. Umm, there's just one other thing. I mean, I know you don't need anything else, but…"
Alex looked down at her feet, a rare case of shyness overcoming her. Joey looked at her with concern and asked,
"Hey, you ok?"
Alex quickly looked up and deciding to go with her instincts, she reached up to give him a quick peck on his right cheek. She then said,
"For extra good luck."
Joey blushed deeply and was speechless. Yugi looked at him and asked, "Uhh, Joey? Are you there?"
Joey quickly snapped out of it and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." He then looked at Alex and said, "Now I really have to win."
Alex nodded happily and replied, "Yup, you do. We'll be watching."
She then looked at Yugi and said, "Lead the way."
Yugi nodded and then he and Alex walked away from Joey and the crowd, while Joey slowly walked back to where Kaiba was.
Meanwhile, Kaiba had watched the whole exchange. Of course, he couldn't hear what they talked about although he had a pretty good idea. Then, he saw Alex kiss Joey on the cheek, and it was like he had been struck by lightning. Logically, he knew that it shouldn't have bothered him, but for some reason, he felt this anger inside. Mokuba had watched the exchange, too, and seeing Kaiba rendered speechless, he asked,
"Uh, Seto? You ok?"
Kaiba snapped out of it and replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm ready to win."
However, his fists were clenched, and Mokuba noticed. Mokuba replied, "That's great, but you need to calm down. I saw that just now, but I think Alex was just wishing Joey good luck because they're friends. We all know you're going to win."
Kaiba looked at Mokuba and replied, "That's right. Wheeler won't be around her for much longer."
Mokuba looked a little worried upon hearing Kaiba's comment although he decided not to say anything. Kaiba then saw Joey returning and said,
"Ready to get crushed?"
Joey replied, "I should be asking you that."
Alex and Yugi made it to the roof of a nearby building, where they had a really good top down view of the duel. Joey and Kaiba had just started their duel, and Alex watched with interest and a bit of nervousness. She glanced at Yugi and noticed that he had changed into the pharaoh. Wondering why he suddenly decided to appear, Alex couldn't help but ask,
"Um, you're him, aren't you? Joey explained it to me."
Yami replied, "That's right. I was curious to watch this duel although I have another reason."
Alex replied, "That must be the case since I heard that you usually only appear when there's a duel."
Yami replied, "Do you remember when I asked you about your bracelet last time?"
Alex glanced at her bracelet before returning her attention to the duel on the ground and replied, "Yeah, I remember. What about it?"
Yami replied, "I cannot say, but it feels like something from a long forgotten memory."
Alex replied, "I heard that you're missing pieces of it. Like, you don't know who you are, but when there's a duel and there's a lot at stake, you show up."
Yami smiled and replied, "Yes, I suppose that's right. With your permission, I wish to ask a few contacts about your bracelet. It may be connected to my past."
Alex thought about Yami's request. To be honest, she was curious about the bracelet, too, although she hadn't put that much thought into it. She nodded and replied,
"Sure, I have no issues with it. Why don't I send a couple of pictures of it later to Yugi's email? I don't know much about it myself, but I would like to find out."
Yami replied, "Thank you, Alex. Also, I may wish to talk to you every now and then although I will ask for Yugi's permission first."
Alex smiled and replied, "Sure, I'd like that. It'd be nice to have more friends."
Yami nodded, and then the two of them paid attention to the duel happening on the ground. Joey had summoned his Red Eyes Black Dragon as well as a female knight in the guise of a small child. However, Kaiba had just destroyed Red Eyes with his Blue Eyes White Dragon.
Yami commented, "Joey's hanging in there, but Kaiba looks to have the advantage. He no longer has Jinzo and his Red Eyes just got destroyed."
Alex nodded and replied, "Yeah, but I believe Joey has something up his sleeve. He won't throw in the towel. I like that about him."
Alex blushed a bit, and this didn't go unnoticed by Yami. He replied, "That is true. Joey is a great duelist and a worthy opponent as well as a good friend. I had his Red Eyes for a while during Battle City, but Joey won it back afterwards."
Alex replied, "That's proof that Joey is a great duelist. I don't get why Kaiba refuses to acknowledge him."
Yami replied, "Kaiba is Kaiba. He only sees me as a rival, and I don't know what'll get him to change that."
Alex nodded although she didn't make any further comment. The duel continued and there seemed to be a pivotal point taking place.
Meanwhile, Kaiba smirked at Joey and said, "Just give up now, Wheeler, and save yourself the humiliation."
Joey scoffed and replied, "Never. You think you have me beat, but I have ya just where I want ya." He then summoned Time Wizard and had it use its effect to age the female child knight to that of a young teenage girl. Then, he said,
"But that's not all."
Joey activated Call of the Haunted to bring back Red Eyes. Next, he used polymerization to fuse Red Eyes and the female knight to make a new fusion monster. Then, he activated the spell card Premature Burial to bring back Jinzo. Finally, he looked at Kaiba and said,
"There. Jinzo's back, making all your trap cards useless. And with my new fusion monster, the best of me and an awesome girl, it's more powerful than your blue eyes. Attack!"
Joey's fusion monster attacked Kaiba's Blue Eyes, destroying it. Then, Jinzo attacked Kaiba's life points directly, putting him at zero. The duel was over, and the crowd was rendered speechless for a few moments. Then, there was shouting and excitement as the people were amazed at what happened.
Back on the roof, Alex and Yami watched the end of the duel, and Alex said,
"Joey did it. I knew he could. He's really something."
Yami nodded and replied, "I cannot disagree. He actually beat Kaiba."
Alex smiled and replied, "He did."
Of course, Alex was happy that Joey won although a small part of her couldn't help but feel a little sad for Kaiba. Sure, Kaiba was arrogant and egotistical, and Alex felt that a loss would be good for his humility. However, she thought,
Why do I feel sad for him? I mean, it's not like I wanted to spend more time with him.
Alex snapped out of her thoughts when Yugi said,
"Hey, Alex. We're heading back to my place to celebrate."
Alex looked at Yugi, who had returned to his usual self. She replied, "Welcome back, Yugi, and that sounds great. Let's go."
Deciding to leave her lingering thoughts alone for now, Alex left with Yugi, heading towards the game shop to celebrate with Joey and the others.