Takes place: At the end of the first round of the Friendship Cup. Technically spoils all first round matches, up to Chapter 41 of the fic.

"After the heart-pounding second day of the Friendship Cup, I am here with the King of our City, Jack Atlas, to get his opinion on the remaining competitors!" Yuno watched the television screen as the camera turned towards Jack Atlas, who looked like he did not want to be there in the slightest. The television and the program had just turned on out of nowhere. Propaganda, maybe? Melissa Claire turned over to look at Jack Atlas. "Any general comments you would like to give, King?"

Jack looked at her silently, before he spoke up after a moment, seeming far too serious. "They have all fought their way through one round. That is worthy of praise."

"Well, we can go through the matches in order," Melissa Claire said cheerfully. "And get your opinion on each of the remaining competitors! So, our first match was between Yuno Sugisaki, one of the Lancers, and Enjoy Chojiro! What did you feel about that match?"

"... I felt Enjoy Chojiro's heart in his dueling. As always, there is a part of him that longs to make others happy. I continue to respect that."

"What about the winner, Yuno Sugisaki, then?" Melissa Claire asked. Yuno leaned forward, listening carefully.

For a moment, he saw the corner of Jack's lips curve up in a smile, before he went back to the neutral expression of before.

"Sugisaki is an interesting duelist," Jack said. "He seems to be quite empathetic to his opponent, but he didn't hold back just because of that empathy. And more importantly, he clearly wants everyone to enjoy the duel, including his opponent. I have yet to see enough of his strength to judge it properly, but he certainly has pure intentions."

"... aww," Yuno said with a chuckle. "Thanks, King." He still wasn't that happy about what Jack had said to Yuya though.

"Well, that's flattering from you!" Melissa Claire clicked her tongue. "The second match, however—"

"I have nothing new to say about Kiryu Kyosuke," Jack said, interrupting her. "He remains as strong and domineering as ever. However, for once, I am not certain that he is the one that will make it to me."

Right, Kiryu, Sherry, Misty and Naoya had all participated in the tournament before, being part of the maximum security prisoners. Jack would have seen them before.

"The third match, then."

"... I was looking forward to seeing Reira Akaba duel," Jack said, much to Yuno's surprise. "They have a look in their eyes that reminds me of my own, back when I was a child."

In her own room, Miharu frowned for a moment.

"What the hell is that King talking about?" Crow muttered. "As though he has anything to feel empty about…"

"And they did not disappoint. They are a very strong duelist, and I look forward to seeing more from them."

"I see," Melissa Claire said, still smiling with that artificial cheer. "And the fourth match? Sherry Leblanc and Tsukikage Fuuma…"

"There is no reason to talk about a match with a fixed outcome," Jack said, sounding somewhat annoyed. Yuno blinked in surprise. Huh? What did he mean? Was he saying that Tsukikage losing was inevitable?

Meanwhile, at the High Council's building, Reiji frowned as he looked at the screen.

"I—I see!" Melissa Claire sounded somewhat flustered, swiftly trying to move the conversation along. "And the fifth match? It was between one of the reporters at the Daily News, Carly Nagisa, and cute Yuzu-chan!"

Yuno snorted. "So much for professionalism…"

"It was a very interesting duel," Jack agreed. "Yuzu Hiiragi certainly deserved the win." He cleared his throat. "... not that Nagisa-san didn't also duel well, of course. But there can only be one winner, and with her passion and clear motivations, Yuzu Hiiragi has certainly proven herself to be a worthy competitor."

"I agree! And besides, she's cute!"

"No comment," Jack said, which was good, because making any comment to that effect would most definitely have made him seem creepy.

"Then, after Yuzu-chan…" Melissa Claire glanced at the sheet of paper in her hands. "We saw Yuya Sakaki show off his skills properly. What did you think. King?"

"I was very disappointed by how the crowd treated Yuya Sakaki," Jack said bluntly. "He has proven that he can win, and he has proven that he is trying to take a step towards his own dueling. If he continues to grow and I can find something genuine to his dueling, I may be able to find it in myself to respect his dueling."

Yuya stared at the television, before glancing away, clearly trying to avoid thinking about those words.

"Alright. Then, the seventh matchup was between the High Council's main enforcer, Mitsuba Taki, and the Lancer, Miharu Kogami—who looked a lot like Yuzu-chan, didn't she? What did you think of her?"

"... I have no complaints about Miharu Kogami's dueling style," Jack Atlas said. "Every move that she makes is polished to the finest degree. She does not hesitate, she knows what the most logical decisions are, and she treats every move by herself and her opponent like an equation to solve. She is content to take damage and heal herself over and over because she trusts her own judgement of what her win condition is. And more importantly, she is focused. I sense a goal there—a goal that she herself has committed to completely."

Yuno, being an absolute simp, nodded along emphatically.

"High praise from you!"

"She may be one of the duelists that I am truly interested in facing in this tournament," Jack mused.

"Wow, Jack is actually pretty smart," Yuno said aloud.

In her own room, Miharu glanced at the screen, considering something, before she shook her head.

"And what about the final match of the first day? It was between Mion Myojin, one of the Lancers, and Rua Sagiri of the Tops, I think—"

"That was…" Jack glared at the wall for a moment, as though he was thinking about something else. "An utter disgrace of a duel. On the same level as Sherry Leblanc and Tsukikage Fuuma's duel, and even less worthy of discussion. That girl will never be able to make it to me with the weakness that she holds."

In her room, Mion shrugged, completely unaffected. "And why would I want to make it to you?" She murmured. "I have bigger fish to fry…"

Melissa Claire looked rather surprised at the statement. "I…" She seemed to think better of voicing her opinion, however. "And the ninth match, between Aki Izayoi and Noboru Gongenzaka…"

"As everyone should know, Aki and I have been good friends ever since the Divine incident," Jack said. "She has not disappointed—she continues to be as strong as she has always been. It is her first time participating in the Friendship Cup, but she is a strong contender to be the one facing me at the end."

"And… the match between Serena Akaba and Hitoda Makishima?"

"Serena is a very driven girl," Jack said. "She shows a lot of potential—I would like to see her duel at her best, someday."

Serena scoffed. "If he wants that, just wait until I defeat him."

Melissa Claire went on to ask about Crow, and Jack actually smiled widely.

"I did not think highly of Crow Hogan when I first saw him duel," he said. "But the end of the duel… that was interesting. He may be a hero of the Commons that can truly help to unite them—as well as Shinji Weber."

Both Shinji and Crow had the same response—choking, scoffing and turning away from the screen. (They were definitely not touched by the words. Not at all.)

"You seem to think highly of the Commons!" Melissa Claire said obliviously. "They are fortunate to have your regard."

"Isn't he a Common too?" Nue muttered, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Or is her selective memory failing her?"

"What about the next match then? There's one of the Commons in that match too—Yugo-kun, if I remember correctly!"

"Yugo comes from the same orphanage that I was in," Jack said calmly.

Yugo, being an absolute fanboy, was the absolute opposite of calm. "Jack knows my name!" He exclaimed, dancing around his room and tossing a pillow in the air with glee.

"He has shown that while he is an idiot, he is also very capable," Jack continued. "As I'd expected, from someone raised by those two…" His voice was a lower volume, but it was still caught on the microphone, and Melissa Claire raised an eyebrow, seeming curious.

"Oh?" She said, in the voice of someone searching for the newest gossip. "Is Yugo-kun someone special?"

Jack seemed to snap out of his train of thought. "That's none of your business," he said brusquely. "There are only three matches left to comment on, correct?"

"Uh—yes! The next match was between the infamous Misty Lola and the Security Overseer, Kaname Mizuchi-san."

Jack took a moment to consider his words before he spoke up again. "The Ghost is an overpowering force, as per normal," he said. "There is nothing else to add. Director Roget's choice—" His voice dripped with distaste when talking about the Security Director. "To send her into the Friendship Cup is certainly valid, if he wanted a representative that would show Security's strength."

There was something clearly hidden to the words, but Melissa Claire moved on, completely oblivious. "And she's a pretty lady, too! Even if I can't really remember how she looks that clearly… and next up… ugh, it's that fight that destroyed the track."

"Do not look down on that fight," Jack said. "That fight… out of every duelist in this tournament, I have the greatest respect for Shun Kurosaki, as of now. He is a man that throws every part of himself into the duel. He will risk himself, his mind and his convictions in every battle—and to him, every battle is one worth fighting with all his desperate strength. Out of all the duelists in this tournament, if I were to say who would be the most deserving of being the King, excluding myself, it would be none other than him. He understands war."

Melissa Claire was clearly struck into silence. Yuno wondered if other people in the Tops were silent too—hearing about the King's respect for desperation, something that the Tops had never had to deal with, had to sting, even if they were too naive to understand why.

Shun covered his face in his room, overwhelmed by a strange feeling that made his eyes burn.

"And for the final match," Jack said, standing up. "I only have one thing to say."

That final match…

No one else looking at the television could read Jack's expression. But Jack himself, of course, knew his own feelings. He knew his own thoughts and opinions.

He knew enough to recognise agony.

He knew himself well enough to know that even he had been shaken, sitting on a throne above a city that he had once longed to unite.

When had he become complacent?

"Every part of your city disgusts me from the ground up! Every part of it is built on suffering and hatred and every part of it was cemented with your own hands!"

"Sometimes," he said, "rage and ruthlessness is necessary to break that which will not change."

And he turned around, walking away.

Nothing more than that.

End Notes:

I'm basically just handing everyone cut content here, huh? *sighs*

Lmao, this scene is entirely born of me forgetting that I hadn't written the interview scene that I wanted to write and it being too late to change it. I'm kinda fine with not putting it in the fic though, because the tone of it does clash a bit with Chapter 41's ending, which would have been the only place I could put it. And yes, I won't deny that it's partially inspired by Fifth Circuit and Fifth Factor, though it's mainly motivated by me wanting to sneak in a few jokes. :D But yeah, this scene is basically fully canon, though I guess you could call it cut content. *stares at the 70 page cut content document* Someday I'll actually make use of some of this thing.

I'm considering also writing a second part to this for the end of the next round as well, since… *side-eyes my own writing* some of the comments here are said by a Jack that has not seen the utter bullshit that the characters in Round 2 are going to go through.

I'm also considering writing a short prequel fic (like ten chapters long or so) about Aki and Jack and how they faced Divine in this AU, because there's really just not enough space to organically exposit all the shit that they went through, lmao. And I don't want to put so much focus on them by making a long flashback arc because it would ruin the story's pacing too.

This short 'chapter' is honestly one of like seven things in this universe so far that I really want to make a 'Director's Cut' of, where I point out worldbuilding stuff and stuff that isn't that obvious. Like, for example, in reference to Kaname, Jack never actually talks about her at all. He uses the nickname that was given to her by the Commons who are afraid of her, and he talks about how Roget made a good choice with choosing her. To Jack, she's literally just a tool for Roget, and so he never acknowledges her as a person, except in reference to Yugo. But I can't reveal that in universe, because Jack himself isn't aware that he thinks that way, and no one else except Kaname "I am constipated in terms of communication" Mizuchi could pick up on that. There's so many small details like that which I would love to just talk about, but just can't be put in the story naturally. *sigh*

Hope you enjoy though!