"Yuya?" Yoko headed toward her son, who was sitting by the waterfront across from the Duel Stadium.

The little boy didn't look up at her. Instead he continued to swing his legs while staring at his reflection wiggling in the gentle current while attempting to keep his tears at bay.

"Yuya," the mother bent over just enough for her to place her hand on top of his head. "Are you all right?"

Yuya shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut in order to further impede the onslaught of tears threatening to fall.

"Oh, Yuya. It's all right," Yoko knelt down and gently attempted to pull his face toward her, but the boy just wasn't having it. Her touch only seemed to upset him more as a couple of tears finally slid down his cheeks.

Yoko's heart ached at the sight. She placed her hands on both his cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe away his tears, but it did nothing to comfort the boy. He shook his head and pulled his goggles over his eyes, then turned away from the woman as he attempted to hide his sobs.

She sighed. Her heart felt like a ten-ton weight in her chest; she absolutely hated seeing Yuya so upset, but it was evident that there was nothing that she could do for him. Yoko ruffled Yuya's hair as she stood up, and with one last forlorn glance at her dejected little boy, she headed back toward the Stadium.

Yuya stopped kicking his feet as the hot tears spilled from his eyes, blurring his vision as they caught in his goggles. He couldn't believe it. He had wanted to win duels and be just like his dad, but he had lost today. His first real duel, and he had lost! He wasn't very good at dueling at all! It wasn't fair!

Someone suddenly grabbing the bridge of Yuya's goggles and pulling them onto the top of his head interrupted the boy's thoughts. Yuya gasped in surprise as the pools of tears that had been trapped within the goggles spilled down his cheeks; his father's reflection was now wiggling and dancing beside his own in the water. A few more sobs escaped the boy at the sight as he rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands. The man knelt down beside his son, placing a hand on top of the boy's head.

"Take your dad's advice, Yuya," he spoke with a gentle voice and a jovial smile. "Try to laugh when you feel like crying – laugh with all your might. And when things get tough, respond with a smile. It will give you the strength to keep moving forward."

Yusho continued to smile warmly as he pulled the pendant charm Yuya wore around his neck up over the boy's head and held it in his hand. Yuya watched in confusion as his father swung the charm, causing it to sway in his hand.

"It's like a pendulum," Yusho continued. "If it swings one way, you know that it will swing the other way, too. It's the same in a duel."

"A duel?" Yuya asked as he looked at his father, a few tears still in the corners of his eyes.

"Mhm. The key to dueling is to believe in your deck and yourself. If you get scared, then you can't do anything. If you want to win, then you have to have courage and step forward. A duel sways back and forth like a pendulum, Yuya. When you're falling behind, you can always make things swing your way again. So don't worry about anything. Just try to enjoy the ride."

"But…" Yuya sniffled. "But I lost my duel…"

"That's all right," Yusho smiled. "It's not the end of the world, Yuya. No one wins all the time, especially when they're just starting out. It's not important whether you win or lose, Yuya. Dueling is about having fun and bringing joy to those both spectating and participating. As long as you have fun, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose as long as you had a great time."

"But I wanna be as good as you…"

Yusho smiled as he placed Yuya's pendant back around the boy's neck, then placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"If you want to get better, you have to practice and experiment with different cards and strategies and not be afraid to try anything out. I didn't start out as a pro, Yuya. I was just like you when I was little."

"Really?" the boy marveled at that. His dad was so good, though! How could he have ever been anything but the best?

"Mhm," he nodded. "Practicing makes any duelist better. You didn't do as badly as you think you did, Yuya. You did very well out there for your first public duel."

"I did?"

"You did. I think you may have had a bit of stage fright, though. I understand that. Getting out in front of a crowd for the first time can be a bit nerve wracking. But don't hesitate, Yuya. I think doing so tripped you up a bit out there. Believe in your cards, son, and they'll never let you down."

The boy bowed his head in shame.

"Hey. Cheer up, Yuya," the Duelist gently grabbed his son's chin and lifted it so that Yuya was looking him in the eyes again. "If you're a true duelist, then you have to be able to pick yourself back up when you're down. A true duelist never gives up. No matter what. Don't throw away your deck just because of one loss. Are you a true duelist?"

"Y-yeah," he mumbled.

"Hm. That didn't sound very convincing," Yusho shook his head. "Are you a true duelist, Yuya?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?" Yusho cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes! I'm a true duelist!" the boy declared while puffing out his chest.

"Good," the man smiled as he hugged the six-year-old.

Yuya giggled as he nuzzled his father's chest.

"All right, Yuya. Let's go home," Yusho picked the boy up.

"Okay," Yuya seemed crestfallen again.

"Hey. Smile, Yuya. The pendulum will swing your way again," Yusho bounced the boy. "I promise. Losing certainly isn't fun, but it is inevitable sometimes. Don't be afraid of it. You have to learn from it. If you do that, then you'll do better next time."

"Yeah?" Yuya cocked his head to the side.

"Mhm. How about you and I go over your duel when we get home. We'll practice together. Sound good?"

"Yeah!" Yuya grinned.

"There's that smile," Yusho grinned as well. "And remember, Yuya. Try to smile when you're feeling down. I promise it'll help you get through it just the tiniest bit easier."

"But what if I don't want to smile?"

"Why that's preposterous! Who doesn't want to smile," Yusho tickled the boy, causing him to wriggle and giggle in his arms. "See? Smiling is better."

"Yeah."

"I know it's hard sometimes, son. Sometimes you just have to make yourself smile, even if you don't want to. But enough about that for now. We have to get home. Your mother wants to start dinner, I think."

"But aren't you gonna help me duel when we get home?" Yuya blinked.

"Yes. We'll do that while your mama cooks."

"Okay!" Yuya beamed. "Dueling and food are the best!"

Yusho chuckled as he hoisted his son up onto his shoulder. Yuya still had a lot to learn, but Yusho knew that his son had a great amount of potential. And he would be there to guide his young son every step of the way.

DGG: Ooh. The author's note is at the end. What a twist. Haha. Anyway...yeah! It turned into that flashback from the first episode! And then some. Haha. But the first part with Yoko was inspired by a picture drawn by one of the animators from the show. It's in the Arc V Wikia gallery for Yuya (and probably also Yoko? I don't remember), but it's the picture of Yoko comforting Yuya by Hidekazu Ebina. I really like that picture just because it's of Yuya and his mom. I'd been wanting to do some sort of story that incorporated it for awhile, and I was finally like..."Yo! What if Baby!Yuya lost a duel?" and it all spiraled from there. Haha.

Thanks for reading!