If you can't beat the heat, stay inside.
When the camera flashes died down, the two duelists shared a laugh before they wheeled their runners back to the garage.
"I have to ask: what made Jack cancel on you?" Yusei wondered.
"It was either a promotional appearance or a party," Leo hypothesized. "That's what I've whittled it down to." No other words were exchanged once they reached the garage and found Luna waiting for them. The first one she strolled up to was her brother.
"You held your own against Yusei a lot better than I originally thought," the young woman complimented him. "I'm proud of you, regardless." She gave him a light hug to be sure he didn't suffer any whiplash from the duel. Then she turned her attention to Yusei and gave him a salacious look.
"Here it comes…" the scientist exhaled before the college girl squeezed him tightly and locked lips on his.
"What is this?" the male twin asked in shock. The embracing pair looked at each other and knew they had to spill the beans eventually.
"Um…Leo, remember that internship I told you about that got me and Yusei back together?" Luna posed nervously.
"Yeah," the up and coming champion replied.
"Well, we kind of progressed to an openly romantic level," she confessed. "I'm not sure what's next for us."
"I'm not sure what I can to make you feel more at peace with me and your sister being a couple and all," Yusei interjected.
"If it was anyone else with Luna, I'd be more apprehensive," Leo wavered. "However, since it's you, Yusei, I know I can trust you. I just have one question."
"Shoot," the marked man refuted.
"Didn't you and Akiza have a…thing for each other or something?" the male twin surveyed nervously. Luna looked up at her arm candy, wondering what he might say.
"I think there's still a part of me that wants to know what could've been had I told her what I really thought of her that night," Yusei explained. "That's not to say I'm settling for Luna. At this point, I'm thankful she's here. I've yet to find a major female influence in my life, and your sister may be the starting point."
"In any case, I believe you'll treat her right," Leo signed off verbally. "Yusei, you're one that puts the needs of others well above your own." The boy hopped back on his ride, gave a two finger salute to his sister and Yusei, and drove away.
"That went smoothly," Luna quipped to break the silence. The scientist just shrugged at this and the two sped off for home.
Meanwhile, at a far-off hospital in Germany, a female doctor just entering her late twenties was scrolling through her computer in her office when she came across an article that caught her eye. It was titled New Domino savior pushed to the brink.
"What's this all about?" she wondered. "Yusei vs. Leo? This I have to read." She went through the rest of the article to learn that Yusei put on a show for the ages against a rising star in turbo dueling.
"He still hasn't lost his touch," the doctor mused with a smile. "And I'd love to see how Leo's performing as well." The metaphorical light bulb hovering over her head lit up and she picked up her office phone and pressed a single button.
"Hello?" a meek male voice answered.
"Sam, Dr. Izinski here," the woman replied. "Since you are our facility's human encyclopedia, I want you to do something a little different for me."
"That's what I'm here for," the voice squeaked back.
"I want you to track down a quality recording of the most recent duel that pitted Yusei Fudo against a boy named Leo," Akiza instructed.
"You got it ma'am," the voice confirmed her request before hanging up. The doctor rolled out of her chair and proceeded to look out her window over the extending land.
"What are you up to now, Yusei?" she pondered pensively.
A New York art gallery was where the great Jack Atlas was spotted at. In his quest to become a better duelist than his friend and rival, Yusei, he traveled the world and met other duelists and celebrities, one of whom was an artist. This artist was also a fan of Jack's dueling style and wanted put his image on a canvas. While he strolled around the gallery, waiting for the unveiling, taking in the other multitudes of creativity, his Smart-phone went off in his blazer pocket. The caller ID displayed a familiar name: Crow.
"What do you want?" the arrogant blonde snarled.
"Not even a hello?" the former tail Signer greeted on the other end.
"Just get to the point, if you will," Jack snorted back. "I'm at an art show."
"This won't take but a few moments," Crow assured him. "You know how you always say that you're the only that should defeat Yusei?"
"What about it?" Atlas fired back.
"Well, he came real close to being beat by Leo," the once thief revealed. "This article I'm reading says that Yusei kind of struggled out of the gate, but he worked his magic and came away with a win." It was as if something had set Jack off inside his mind. Rather than create a public explosion, he kept his cool the entire team.
"If he struggled against that kid, then he's either rusty or something entirely different," the proclaimed "king" answered.
"Why not rather say that Leo's a champion in the making?" Crow put out in the open.
"He is not a champion yet," Jack growled. "His domination of the minor leagues means nothing. All I can say is that he got lucky." He clicked his phone off and went back to his task at hand.
The sun had set on another day in New Domino. With Leo's stunning and almost explosive entrance into the big league of dueling, the citizens may have very well seen the birth of a new legend. Conversely, others were thinking why Yusei had trouble against the kid. As the scientist slept like a rock, Luna lied next to him in his bed with her eyes fixated on the TV. The city's dueling channel was bringing recap, analysis, and commentary of the day's match. The continuing tagline read, "Could Yusei have met his match?"
"He's still number one to me," the young woman mouthed to herself. "Nothing will ever change that." She deftly threaded her fingers through his hair as she continued to watch television.
"Nothing," she emphasized.
How did this chapter play out to you all? I ran out of plot elements after Leo found out about Yusei and Luna's relationship and decided to shift to other characters' reactions of the duel. Did I portray Akiza, Jack, and Crow effectively when they learned of the shootout? Review if you choose and I'll step away from this story for a short spell, just so I can let new ideas come to me. Stay cool, all.