Zato Sanada leaned back in his chair. "And that's the last injury report, gentlemen. Since it was originally a fatality report, I'd prefer to look on the bright side here."
He was sitting in a sterile, aqua-colored room with a low hum of air conditioning. The office lights were doubled on the wood varnish of their oval table, at whose end he now sat. In front of each copy of his full report was an official, who he'd been introduced to but not retained distinctly as the regional Heart overseer, the director of Atrium Life, and the Heart-contracted safety inspector. The middle one was named Randall, identifiable by the nametag fused into his crisp pinstriped shirt, the glue gnawing the fabric. But Zato had no way of knowing what his job was, precisely. In a similar manner, he remembered hearing that the director of Atrium Life was named Terry; though of the remaining two faces, Terry was a mystery. That left the safety inspector, a man who Zato knew nothing about and cared nothing for.
Oga had handled these meetings for B Block in the past; it didn't look good for him to be playing hooky from a meeting about an incident that had occurred on his watch. But Oga knew Heart, and he felt the blame already descending on him from above, ready to pull tight and corporeal - corporate - around him, putting an end to his career with Heart Excavation. Of course, not showing up was still self-destructive. But Zato understood why he did it.
When Oga had asked him to cover in the meeting for final approval to reopen the mine, there was a sense of passing the torch, of making sure that the mine would be able to operate smoothly with or without its Chief Oga. As for himself, he would figure things out once he won the tournament. Oga had claimed it so plainly, so brazenly, as though daring anyone in earshot to challenge him. But unfortunately, it was only Zato who heard this particular dream.
Sitting in this boardroom with the Heart managers, Zato got the immediate sense that he was being tested for the role he now filled. A gift from a foreman to his deputy, taking him from deputy to foreman.
Zato pitied Oga's misplaced faith. Before too long, he too would vanish from this underground world.
"We have no doubt that the mine is able to operate at full capacity," said the woman. "And, of course, you understand the steps necessary to prevent such a disaster from happening again."
Zato waited for a second before it was clear that she had prompted confirmation. "That's right," he said.
"Well, that's all good. Very good," said Randall, tipping his glasses down to scan the bottom of the page. "I'm curious, though. Did you bring any medical records for this 'Yuu Tokari?'"
Zato dipped his head. "My apologies. The convalescence record should have been made available to you from the Heart Employee Infirmary."
"Yes, we have them here," said the man on the right. His voice was nasally enough to be a Terry. "But we were wondering if there were any records from previous incidents, or DNA tests."
At this point, Randall shot the maybe-Terry man a look.
"He entered our workforce at a very young age," Zato said slowly. "It's possible he was entered without any prior records. We don't have a birth certificate on file, either."
"Around the same time as you, correct?"
Zato nodded. "That's correct. I had been here for one month when he began work. But we hardly had any contact, and it was ten years ago."
The woman cleared her throat. "Of course. We could hardly expect you to remember such a thing. Let us return, then, to the contents of this file. You were present when Mr. Tokari was extracted from the collapse, correct?"
"That's right. We had been drilling into the stone to try and break ventilation shafts, but one of our miners found a weakened area in the wall that revealed a pane of volcanic glass."
"Volcanic glass?" the woman said skeptically. "Mr. Sanada, I assure you that such a thing is frankly impossible underground. Not to mention the Atrium's distance from any known source of Lava." Ah, so this was Terry, then. Knew the Atrium inside and out.
Zato shrugged and went on. "When we broke the pane, we found Tokari lying face-down on the ground behind it. And behind him was a quarter mile of obsidian, smashed to bits."
Randall steepled his fingers as though drawing on the symmetry of the room and his position in it. "Did Mr. Tokari show signs of having been responsible for these features?"
"Kid was half dead. You can be half dead from a lot of things, so at the time I didn't consider it. Everything else you've seen is already in that file."
Zato looked between the three of them. "What is this about, exactly?"
The man on the right spoke. "We're just trying to understand these anomalies, Mr. Sanada. We'd like to understand every detail of this accident, and currently its most nebulous details are surrounding Yuu Tokari."
"Then you'd better go find him," Zato said, "because his personal health isn't in my job description."
There was a tense moment as the upper lips wrinkled on all three of the Heart officials, like they were puppets to a single muscle.
"Of course not," Randall purred. "We're very sorry to have extended this meeting. All that's left is a final safety inspection. Terry-" He gestured to the man on the right, blowing Zato's entire logical thread to smithereens. "-will do a cursory sweep of your equipment status and take air quality readings in the tunnels."
"After which, the Atrium will have its mine back," said the Atrium Life director, who was not named Terry. "The workers can refocus on their careers and dispense with these distractions."
"You don't approve of dueling, Miss…?" Zato phrased a blank space into his question.
"Director." The woman didn't take the bait. "And not on company time, with company resources, no. We distributed a pamphlet last year about the dangers of unvetted duradine usage in duels."
"I'm familiar." The pamphlet had only concerned dueling, to say nothing of the haphazard stacking and carrying that miners were doing with raw duradine.
"Of course, we respect your autonomy with legally bought duradine. It's simply that such behaviors promote an illegal counterpart market, in some cases. Rest assured, we are already apprised of the best way to solve this problem while protecting our workers' rights."
A chill ran down Zato's back. "Good luck to you, then."
Randall, the Heart regional overseer, stood up. "That's everything on our agenda. Terry, Mr. Sanada will see you into the mines. We will expect good news."
Zato stood up and shook hands with Randall and the woman whose name he had never learned. "We've put in a lot of work for this," he said. "I'm glad it's all come together."
And in truth, for Zato Sanada, it was close to all doing just that. The winding path of Yuu Tokari's awakening had been treacherous to navigate, but if handled correctly, it would become Zato's greatest advantage in the coming battle.
Vaguely, he remembered a string capsule from his youth, the kind parents would hang from a tree during parties. Most of the strings were fake and came right off, and many of them would manipulate the shape of this capsule, making it contort in unique and exciting capsules. But there was one string that, if pulled to completion, would release the entire thing, and all of the candy inside. So now, like a child, Zato searched in that forest of strings. If he pulled just so, then everything would simply collapse all around him.
Hannah - 4000 LP
Yuu - 1900 LP
On Yuu's field, Crime of Prometheus floated triumphantly, flanked by Ebon Sun and Raigeki Ookazi Tower, which would defend and adapt to any instance of destruction. Meanwhile, Hannah's Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice strutted onto her field, accompanied by two face-down cards which she could use to do quite possibly anything at all.
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice / Level 1 / EARTH / Beast / ATK 600 / DEF 600
The crowd began to buzz:
"Such a long name."
"So weak!"
"What do rhinos have to do with dice, anyway?"
"I hear it's a pun in Japanese."
"What the hell is Japanese?"
Hannah spread her hand in a proud, professional manner. "Let me tell you how this card works, folks. See, Royal Rhino's a real showman, so he always loves when we stack up our Chain Links! His dice powers change depending on what Chain Link he's activated in! On Chain Link 2, he gets to boost his attack points. On Chain Link 3, he gets to deal direct damage! And on Chain Link 4, well, he gets to just start breaking stuff!"
"You've got two cards face-down," Yuu observed. "So, you're trying to go for Royal Rhino's Chain Link 3 effect and take out the rest of my life points?"
"You're darn right!" Hannah said, winking. "Now, I'll start things off by activating my facedown card, Axe of Despair! This card will let me boost my Rhino's attack points by 1000!"
Axe of Despair / Equip Spell Card
A wicked axe with a gnarled wooden handle rose from the card, floating towards Royal Rhino. But, as before, its progress slowed with the activation of another card.
"I'll chain this Trap Card," Hannah continued, "Dealer's Choice! We'll each shuffle, draw and discard! But don't worry, Royal Rhino runs a respectable gambling establishment!"
Now she's on Chain Link 3, Yuu thought. I have to force her off of it! Wait - I can activate Quick-play Spells in Chains, just like Traps! "I chain, Hannah!" he cried. "I activate Supernova Shield!"
Crime of Prometheus began to glow with a destructive sheen. "By destroying a monster I control, I can protect another card on the field from all card effects this turn! So, I'll defend my Ebon Sun!"
Supernova Shield / Quick-play Spell Card
"Once your Prometheus is destroyed, you'll get life points?" Hannah surmised. "Because of your protected Ebon Sun. And Raigeki Ookazi Tower also charges a Plasma Counter."
Yuu smiled. "You saw right through me."
"Well, you don't work with dynamite for five years without thinking ahead. But what won't happen won't matter, anyway! Because I'm activating the effect of Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice!" Royal Rhino's dice-stacking cup began to glow golden as it swept up the dice again. The cup expanded to the size of a barrel as the rhinoceros placed it under its armpit, aiming it across the field.
Chain Link 4 - Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice
Chain Link 3 - Supernova Shield
Chain Link 2 - Dealer's Choice
Chain Link 1 - Axe of Despair
"It's time to roll!" Hannah called, tossing a die forward.
Dice Result - 3
"A 3! That means Royal Rhino's gets to demo three cards!" Hannah crowed, pointing at Yuu's field. "Ebon Sun! Raigeki Ookazi Tower! And - Cramp! Of! Prophylactic!"
Huge dice flew from Royal Rhino's cannon, shredding through Crime of Prometheus and exploding Yuu's Spell Cards. "You mean that name registered?" Yuu asked, slightly miffed.
"Since Supernova Shield's targets have left the field, its effect to destroy and protect them can't apply," Hannah explained. "So we're on to Chain Link 2! Dealer's Choice!"
She started jogging towards Yuu, again seeming to teleport in front of him the moment he blinked. He flinched and stepped back as Hannah chunked her deck out of her Duel Disk and handed it to him.
"Figured we'd cut each other's decks, keep things fair," she explained.
"I'm not sure that's how duradine cards work," Yuu confessed.
"Ah, well, then maybe I just wanted a break." Hannah smiled.
Yuu looked at his field. His combination of Crime of Prometheus, Raigeki Ookazi Tower, and Ebon Sun had been obliterated, leaving only Supernova Shield face-up on his field. With only Dark Crusader in his hand, he needed a new strategy.
"Sure thing," he said, holding out his deck.
The two duelists shuffled each other's decks, oblivious to the impatient stares of the crowd around them. Pulling out sheafs of duradine and re-randomizing them, Yuu found himself calmed by the smooth motion with which they snapped back together.
"So, have you got anyone special watching today?" Hannah said, nudging Yuu with her elbow.
Yuu turned pink. "I mean, everyone here is really special, when you think about it."
Hannah laughed bawdily. "I guess so! I'm sorry, hon, just taking an interest. I've got my hubby over there in the front row," she said, waving to a scruffy man with a violent widow's peak. "He thinks I'm kinda loony for dueling at my age."
Yuu thought of Clavis. "You don't have to worry about age," he said. "Right now, I'm the one who has to worry about you!"
Hannah laughed again and nodded. "Still, I can tell this really suits you. Kids your age should have hobbies."
"Ma'am, I'm nineteen."
Hannah gave him that motherly handwave that meant she was rounding down. "Yep, the Atrium's no place for thoughtful boys like you. Not much place for children at all, really. Suppose that's why I never had any."
She smiled. "Sorry to talk your ear off, hon. Your deck's ready to go." She held it out to him.
"Yours too. Thanks," Yuu said, getting his deck back before realizing he didn't thank her specifically for talking to him. But she was already halfway across the field.
Hannah reached her spot and whirled around to face Yuu. "Now we draw! Then we discard! Then the chain goes on!"
"For sure!" Yuu called, drawing from his deck. He now held two cards: 'Dark Crusader' and 'Magical Spring.' Magical Spring is a Quick-play Spell that can help me draw more cards, but only as many as the face-up Spell or Trap cards my opponent controls; then I have to discard for every face-up Spell or Trap I control. Axe of Despair will stay face-up, so I'm guaranteed one card, but Magical Spring counts as a face-up card when it's activated, so I'll also have to discard one card. It's a net loss. Better stick with Dark Crusader so I can attack if I draw something else helpful. His hand hovered over Magical Spring, ready to discard it.
Hold on. His eyes had wandered past his hand, looking at the face-up Supernova Shield on his field. Being a Quick-play Spell, it wouldn't remain on the field after it had been activated. So why was it still face-up on his field?
Suddenly, inspiration struck him. Without a second thought, he grabbed Dark Crusader and slotted it into his graveyard.
"And at last, Chain Link 1 resolves," Hannah narrated as Axe of Despair finally found its way to the hands of Royal Rhino. Yuu took notice as the chain ended, and the face-up Dealer's Choice and Supernova Shield were sent to the graveyard.
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 600 ~ ATK 1600
"Looks like your field's wide open! So, Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice! Attack Yuu directly!"
Yuu braced himself as Royal Rhino charged forward, deftly cleaving his torso with the axe.
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 1600
Yuu - 1900 LP ~ 300 LP
Back to 300, Yuu thought as Hannah set two cards face-down and ended her turn. One Raimei and I'm finished. If either of those face-down cards deals me damage, I'm as good as gone. Even if they're not, if Hannah is able to activate them in a chain, or if I do anything that starts a chain with just one of them, Royal Rhino's Chain Link 3 effect will wipe out the rest of my life points. This situation couldn't be any worse.
His fingers danced on top of his deck. But even so, I'm really excited right now.
"I draw!" Yuu declared. 'Night Assailant.' If he set this Flip Monster, it might be possible to destroy Royal Rhino next turn with its Flip Effect. But he didn't have until next turn.
As if to prove his point to himself in his internal monologue, Hannah pressed the activation key on her Duel Disk. "In your Draw Phase, I'll activate! Disturbance Strategy! This card makes you shuffle your hand into your Deck, and draw the same number of cards!"
Disturbance Strategy / Normal Trap Card
"Here's Chain Link 2!" Hannah continued. "I'm activating my Trap card, Miracle Locus! You'll get to draw a card, but it'll boost my Rhino's ATK by 1000 this turn!"
Miracle Locus / Normal Trap Card
Both of her face-down cards were now face-up, activated in a chain. Hannah raised her arm for one last declaration.
"Now go, Royal Rhi-"
"No."
Hannah recoiled. "Come again?"
"There's still an effect I can activate," Yuu said. "A move only made possible by a Quick-play Spell. Chain Linking straight from my hand! I activate Magical Spring!" Glittering light began to appear on the field as the holograms created artificial depth in a pond of crystal clear water, looking down into a diamond lakebed. In the center of the pool was a statue of the guardian spirit, "Layard the Liberator," protecting the secret village of spellcasters.
Magical Spring / Quick-play Spell Card
Hannah was silent for a moment as she read the card on her Duel Disk display. "So you'll draw for every face-up Spell or Trap I control? But I've only got Axe of Despair…" She gasped.
"That's right, Hannah," Yuu said, pointing to her Trap Cards. "By activating those Trap Cards, you've thrown them right into my Magical Spring! Are you still activating your Royal Rhino's effect?"
"You've got no cards on your field," Hannah pointed out. "I'll pass."
Chain Link 3 - Magical Spring
Chain Link 2 - Miracle Locus
Chain Link 1 - Disturbance Strategy
"Then we have our chain," Yuu declared. "Now, I draw!"
Yuu drew 3 cards, bringing his hand total to 4. He read the cards carefully, considering their effects. Oh. These cards aren't very good here.
Lava Golem - Iron Chain Coil - D2 Shield - D2 Shield
I have to discard one, so I guess I'll get rid of one of these D2 Shield, he reasoned, dropping it into the graveyard. He then watched as the chain link moved down, and crystalline rings began to spin and center on Royal Rhino.
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 1600 ~ ATK 2600
I'll draw one more from the effect of Miracle Locus, aaaand it's D2 Shield. I'm running three copies of D2 Shield.
"Hope you're not too attached to those cards you drew!" Hannah called. "Because Disturbance Strategy's shuffling them all back into your Deck!"
Yuu tried to look neutral as he shuffled his bricked hand back into the deck. His nerves had worked up to a fever pitch; this would be his last chance.
Four cards. Clean break. Just the way Clavis taught him. From the first card, he knew what he was going to do. Hannah's field was now completely free of face-down cards.
"I'm activating my Spell Card, Battle Reborn!" he shouted. "It'll revive my monster to fight one last time! So return to us now, Crime of Prometheus!"
Battle Reborn / Normal Spell Card
"Hold on, hon!" Hannah called. "I'm activating Royal Rhino's effect at Chain Link 2! Now, I can roll a die, and Royal Rhino will gain 500 ATK for each pip!" Instead of hoping to catch him in a chain again, she'd decided to bet it all on her Rhino's attack power.
Chain Link 2 - Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice
Chain Link 1 - Battle Reborn
"Let's go!" Yuu cheered Hannah on as she raised her die one more time. The crowd roared as it flew from her hand.
Die Result: 6
Another cup fell out of Royal Rhino's dice-catching cup, replete with new dice. Then, these two cups spawned two more cups, each new addition multiplying until Royal Rhino stood atop a castle of cups and dice, looking imperiously over the land.
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 2600 ~ ATK 5600
Battle Reborn's ankh symbol plunged into the ground and twisted like a key. When it came back up, a glowing hand was seized around the shaft.
Crime of Prometheus emerged from the earth, staring up at Royal Rhino's high tower. The monarch gripped its Axe of Despair menacingly, ready to take on the Scion of Light.
"When the monster revived by Battle Reborn destroys your monster in battle, you'll take damage equal to its ATK. Now, I Normal Summon my Second Booster!" Yuu called. A concorde jet with afterburners and two small dangly arms appeared next to Prometheus, and immediately began glowing.
Second Booster / Level 3 / FIRE / Machine / ATK 1000 / DEF 500
"By Tributing Second Booster, one monster on my field gains 1500 ATK until the end of the turn!" Yuu explained.
Crime of Prometheus - ATK 2500 ~ ATK 4000
"Now, go! Crime of Prometheus!" Yuu howled. "Attack Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice!"
There were shouts and groans of confusion from the crowd. Even those paying only marginal attention could tell that Yuu's Crime of Prometheus was weaker than Hannah's Royal Rhino. He'd done this kind of crashing move before, but without a monster to inherit Prometheus's powers, he had no way of continuing his onslaught after Prometheus's destruction. The only one who believed that Yuu had not thrown away the game entirely was up in the stands, patiently waiting for his victory.
"Now, I activate a Quick-play Spell in the Damage Step!" Yuu declared. "Forbidden Lance!"
Forbidden Lance / Quick-play Spell
Strolling its castle's ramparts, the Royal Rhino noticed a spear that had been wedged in between the masonry, likely a relic from an ancient battle. Unable to resist its allure, it took hold of the weapon.
"The monster who holds the forbidden lance loses 800 ATK. What's more, they're no longer affected by Spell or Trap Cards. Like Axe of Despair!"
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 5600 ~ ATK 4800
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 4800 ~ ATK 3800
Hannah's eyes widened for a moment, and then she tilted her chin down. "That's it, then," she said.
"Crime of Prometheus!" Yuu shouted. "Ignite the world with stolen fire! Star Strike!"
Crime of Prometheus - ATK 4000
Royal Rhino with Deceitful Dice - ATK 3800
Crime of Prometheus propelled itself up the castle walls, its flames melting the stacked cups beneath it. In a frenzy, Royal Rhino began tossing cups and dice down at it, which only made its tower shorter, brick by brick. In one instant, Crime of Prometheus was floating in the air in front of Royal Rhino, putting its palm forward. In the next instant, a blinding light consumed the top of the tower, and melted all its dice to plastic slag. Battle Reborn's ankh appeared on Hannah's chest as she braced herself for the fatal effect damage.
Hannah - 4000 LP ~ 3800 LP
"Battle Reborn!" Yuu called as the ankh manifested itself at the end of his fist. "Blood Oath Reckoning!"
Hannah took a bow as the ankh sunk in, reducing her life points to 0.
Hannah - 3800 LP ~ 0 LP
Yuu Tokari - WIN
The crowd began cheering loudly as Fey's voice came amplified by a microphone. "It looks like we have our winner in Duel Field D, folks! Give a round of applause to Yuu Tokari!" Yuu's face, which seemed to have been sourced from his employee ID, appeared on the monitor display. Ori, who Yuu just now noticed was back in the stands, stared down at him beside her brother. Clavis gave him a thumbs up, and there was something kinglike about the gesture now.
Yuu took a deep breath, hands on his knees. Adrenaline had been searing his blood vessels since the first turn, and only now did he feel it venting out the back of his neck. Breaking Hannah's Chain Links had taken perfect timing and considerable luck, both of which had pushed him into overdrive in the very first round.
Hannah was just about to sit down before the fans stormed the field, led by her husband. They lifted her on top of their shoulders and showered the field with dice from their pockets, which scattered like aleatoric gold coins. "I'd like to remind our fans to please keep the Duel Fields clear, thank you!" Fey called, a bit exasperated as he waved the security down to break up the crowd and sweep the plaza. Yuu found himself walking alongside Hannah's human palanquin.
"That was some close duel!" Yuu said. "It looked like you really had it there at the end!"
Hannah leaned down, hunching over and resting her chin on her palm. "And by that, you mean I could have, right?"
Yuu was stunned by the sudden insight, as Hannah laughed. "If I hadn't activated my chain proactively, I could have waited for your move to form the first Chain Link instead. That would have left me the last Trap card I needed to make Royal Rhino Chain Link 3. Something like that, right?"
Yuu nodded. "That's right. You're a great duelist, Hannah."
Hannah reached down and ruffled his hair. "You're pretty shrewd yourself, hon. Hope you take this all the way to the top."
As her procession departed the field, Yuu saw Hannah lean down and talk excitedly with everyone she recognized. Of course, she'd known what she could do, but also known that she couldn't really do it. It wasn't what made Duel Monsters fun for her. The electric face she'd made after rolling the 6 told him everything he needed to know.
He felt cheated. He had planned to have more fun. But it felt like as soon as the field was locked, his nerves took over and strung him through with strategy. It was a lonely way to duel.
Eager to get back to the stands, he melded into the crowd and shook hands with the folks congratulating him. Most were either much older or much younger than he. He even recognized the Badtown kids that had flung algae scum at him and Matsu the other day.
Valz was waiting at the bottom of the stands and gave him a solid high five. "That was one of the craziest duels I've seen," he said earnestly. "Makes me want to build a Chain Burn deck myself!"
Yuu chuckled shortly. "Don't."
Further up on the bleachers, Ori, Otaro and Clavis sat, clearly in a league of their own. The other duelists had either come back from their duels successful, or were anxiously anticipating their first round match. Yuu hadn't noticed Fey's announcements for the other duels, because it looked like he was the last one back.
"You handled yourself quite well, Tokari." Gozu Daimonji was standing in the row above them, adding to her already impressive height. Beside her, taller still, was a sheepish looking Matsu Monji.
"Thanks!" Yuu flushed, unsure what else to say. "Um, good luck on your next round!"
Gozu's face turned severe. "Never wish a Monji such things. There is no luck, only an acquittal of one's own talents. To imply otherwise is to suggest that a Monji unsupplied by luck is insufficient."
There was a brief silence before she coughed. "That was a joke."
"Ha ha! Ha! Haaa." Matsu burst into choppy laughter. He seemed hesitant to meet his boss's eye.
Succumbing to the awkward atmosphere, Yuu changed the subject. "So Matsu, are you here to cheer Gozu on?"
Matsu froze, then began a string of contradictory babble perforated by emphatic Monji-isms.
"He signed up for the tournament in secret," Gozu said, cutting him off. "He was supposed to guard the eminence of the Monji representative, but now it looks like there will be two."
"I do not mean to insult the Daimonji, ma'am!" Matsu had become constipated with stricture. "I just hoped to potentially double the amount of duelists defeated firsthand by the Monji, securing our dominion over duradine!"
Gozu waved him off, clearly uninterested in the excuse. "You say that, but," she said, more to herself as she looked towards the professional duelists, "they've been running affairs for a while now, with the cards to back it up. That Yamatano girl dispatched Oga without issue. And we'll be likely to face one of the other two in our first match."
"Oh, yeah, Yuu, you should have seen it," Valz said. "She totally changed up her deck from before, it was like a whole new duelist! Like she'd just now gotten serious."
Yuu felt a pang of sadness. If Ori had stopped using the Duston cards, then something had changed in her dueling since their last encounter. "I wish I could have seen," he said, looking up at Ori. "She was already a strong duelist."
Gozu sighed. "Well, you'll just have to make do with watching me."
Valz wormed between the two of them, wearing an impish grin. "Is that jealousy I hear, Miss Daimonji? By the way, do you think Yuu Tokari has a chance? In this tournament, I mean."
Gozu kept her voice level as annoyance simmered in her eyes. "I don't believe we've met."
"Valz Lemora, representative of the press," Valz said without skipping a beat.
"How about I press your legs with cinder blocks?" Matsu started, grabbing Valz's shoulder, only to be stayed again by Gozu, who shook her head.
Yuu took his cue from her. "Come on, Valz," he said, pulling him back. "Lay off the journalism for a bit. Besides, the next set of matches is gonna start soon."
He'd only just said it when the holographic display shot up from Fey's Duel Disk, creating a window of light in the dusty air. Yuu squinted hard at it, unsure what he was reading. Fey looked back at the duelists on the stands, seeming to realize quickly that they were seeing the display backwards. He hit a button on his disk, and the window began rotating about its vertical axis, bobbing up and down slightly.
Duel Field A - Valz Lemora / Stan Mochrie
Duel Field B - Otaro Yamatano / Cael Newhart
Duel Field C - Clavis Barnes / Gozu Daimonji
Duel Field D - The Puck / Matsu Monji
Valz clasped his hands behind his head and blew air from his cheeks. "Aw, man. I'm up against some nobody this round."
Yuu, reading properly now, still squinted. "Who's 'The Puck?'"
"More like who the puck cares, once I take him down," Matsu said. He seemed to be very quick with wordplay today.
Valz and Matsu weren't facing anyone Yuu knew, though he thought he recognized Cael Newhart from the B Block roll call. Still those matches paled in significance to what he was seeing on Duel Field C.
Gozu met his eye - she was thinking the same thing. "I hope you don't mind, Tokari," she said. "I know you were hoping to face him, but I don't intend to hold back against your friend."
Yuu put his hands up. "Once you're done, I'll just duel you for his honor back." Thinking about it, it didn't have to be him necessarily that dispelled this image Clavis had created for himself. Anyone, except the pro duelists, could defeat him to prove the integrity of the Atrium's dueling scene. Then Clavis would come back to them.
Yuu recoiled all of a sudden, shocked by what had just crossed his mind. Was he only hoping to beat Clavis in order to drag him back down to his own level? Was his dream threatened by this new development in his oldest friend? That couldn't be. He only wanted the best for the man who had given so much for him. So why, just now, had he wished for Clavis to lose his dream?
Yuu's hand unconsciously traced his heart, as though to search it. Do I really want to beat him?
Clavis stepped down beside them, heading down the stairs to Duel Field C. For a moment, he and Yuu locked eyes, and the capacity of Clavis's dream seemed to swallow Yuu into the darkness he had known all his life. "Nicely done," was all the old man had to say. It was only a moment, and Clavis was already at the bottom of the bleachers. Soon he would be in the crowd. Yuu quickly cupped his hands around his mouth, unsure if he would be speaking out of loyalty for the old man or his own conscience. Still, he spoke:
"Dig it up, Clav!"
The old man put his fist up without looking back. Then, he vanished into the crowd.
Gozu stepped onto the staircase. "I wouldn't dare underestimate him, but I won't show mercy if he does the same to me," she said, looking back. "Wait for me, Tokari."
There were many complicated feelings inside Yuu Tokari now. "Okay. Good- good dueling."
Matsu followed after her, grabbing his shoulder as he wheeled his arm, as if dueling were a complete body workout. The two Monji parted the crowd in front of them, the miners and Badtowners recognizing their institution.
Yuu watched Gozu for a moment before turning to Valz. "Shut up."
"I didn't say anything! I didn't say anything." Valz put his arms over his head as Yuu playfully battered him. "Alright, I gotta get going too. I'd ask you to watch out for me, but I figure Daimonji's match will get your undivided attention."
He paused, another sentence curled in his lip.
"What is it?" Yuu knew he would regret asking.
"Well, you know, with Daimonji dueling Clavis - it's kind of like asking for the father's approval-"
"My god, Valz, go."
Valz scampered off, and Yuu felt his hackles settle again. A few weeks ago, he wouldn't have had this nearly this range of emotions in a day. Just as Clavis had changed on the outside while remaining the same, kind man, Yuu had changed on the inside. All of this, thanks to the experiences dueling had brought him. He was happy to change. But now, he would need to apply this new, unfamiliar self to his surroundings, and change Duel Monsters forever.
First things first, though. That aspiration would remain pretentious for as long as he was an unranked duelist. Given his distance from Clavis in the bracket, it would be a while before he was forced to reconcile their individual desires for victory. Or if Gozu succeeded, he wouldn't have to reconcile it at all.
Ori Yamatano was sitting alone, both of the other pro duelists gone down to the field. Otaro had gotten down without Yuu noticing, as though he'd teleported right to his place. The other victors from the first set of matches were seated together, gossiping; apparently, one of their matches had ended before Ori's.
"And she only took down the chief because of those high-grades," a man with a closely cropped crown of blond hair said. "Summoned twenty monsters per turn. Big ones, too."
"Is it even a game at that point?" A younger man with multicolored eyes - one red, one green - asked with a hint of disdain.
The blond man shook his head. "Not one you or I have ever played."
The two of them made the barest attempt at furtivity, directing a glance every now and then to Ori. They took notice of Yuu as he walked past; the heterochromic youth offered a fist bump, being closer.
"That was a sick game you played," the young man said as their knuckles made contact. "Battling the Rhino even though Prometheus could have destroyed it with its card effect? That's what this game is all about."
"Ah, thanks." Yuu hadn't realized they'd followed his duel so closely. "I felt like Hannah deserved that kind of fight, you know?"
The blond man spoke with the grave tone of a lost sailor, a light Irish accent in the back of his throat. "We may be starved of such delights as this tournament goes on," he said. "The surface duelists may squeeze the life from all of us."
"You're friends with that redheaded guy, aren't you?" the young man accused. "I'd be careful around him if I were you."
"What, Valz?" Yuu shook his head. "Valz isn't like that. He's been living here the past month, same as any of us."
"But that's all tact, don't you think?" the young man continued. "Besides, it don't mean a thing when you always have the option of going back. Think about it, man. They have a life outside of this. Every second they spend here develops the person who leaves it all behind. They'll be nice, sure, but it's so they can what they want."
"But as long as we're still in this tournament, couldn't one of us win and go to the surface?" Yuu asked.
"That is the case," the blond man replied, "for one person. What do you think will happen to the rest of them?"
"We're gonna go back to this, this self-evaluation," the young man stuttered. "Against the surface duelists looking down on us. This isn't just about winning, man. We're talking about honor here."
The blond man nodded. "For the people of the Atrium, the honor of their duelists is all that will sustain them."
Yuu looked down at the audience. Ecstatic from the duels they had just seen, they were all eagerly awaiting the next matches. With their hands, he saw them mime the explosion of a Trap Card, the blustering force of a Spell Card, the overwhelming might of a monster card. Each recreation of the duel's narrative was amplified by bias, by the participation of those they knew, heroes and villains for the people of the Atrium. Yuu thought briefly back to his first duel with Gozu, in which she had played the villain for the sake of Monji politics. That had only been a duel, though its stakes were her standing in the organization. But now, in this tournament where factions had been so clearly drawn between surface and Atrium, it seemed that dueling itself was at stake. And the professional duelists, in those stakes, played the part of very real villains. The miners' pride was being tested here. And how could they be expected to duel without pride?"
When he looked back, it was into the heavy brow of the blond man. "So, why don't the three of us make a pact to never let ourselves be burdened by their strength? Swearing by name."
He put his fist in the center between the three of them. "Beaumann Black."
The young man followed suit. "Shurit Johnson."
Yuu thought of Clavis's new strength. How could he become unburdened by it? Accept it as it tore them apart, or relieve him of it to surpass him?
"Yuu," he said, realizing he'd been silent. "Tokari."
"Our names are our oath," Beaumann swore. "And it is so."
"Yeah," Shurit said, shaking out his hand. "Let's send those cheaters back to the surface."
Unsure what to make of this pact but hoping he'd made friends, Yuu politely excused himself from the other victors. Their gazes followed him all the way up to Ori.
She gave him a guarded look as he sat down two meters away. "Congrats on your win," he said awkwardly.
"Thanks," she said. "You too."
Their gift for mutual silence prevailed.
"I heard you're using a new deck?" Yuu asked.
"Yeah, it's not Dustons anymore."
"Sorry to hear that. But I'm sure this one's great, too." Yuu rubbed the back of his head. "If we both get eliminated next round, I hope you can show me."
Ori exhaled out her nose, something tempering inside her. "I don't plan to lose today," she said, staring down at the field. "Not even to him."
Otaro was glaring daggers at Yuu from down on Duel Field B. Searching for a friendlier face, Yuu scanned the area and met Gozu's eye which looked coldly at him from Field C. On Field A, Valz had noticed the pair and was making an exaggerated scandalized face.
Down onstage, Fey was fiddling with his Duel Disk. "Just a moment, folks!" he called. "We're activating microphone attachments on some of the Duel Disks to bring
you more of the action!"
They watched the black-suited security men dart around and affix new speakers at the corners of the field.
"The thing you were going to tell me that day, about Clavis," Yuu said. "Was it that he'd joined your agency?"
Ori nodded. "He also said why. But he didn't want you to know until the time was right. Until he could face you in a duel."
"Oh, okay," Yuu said, not wanting to force the matter. "I'll let him tell me, then."
Ori's eye slid to him. "He's planning to leave with us if he wins."
The truth struck Yuu blunt in the chest, knocking the air out of him. His head roiled with the implications. The truth he had shoved down, forcing Ori into silence, had now sprung forth; the Dust Lord now unfurled her posture slightly, maintaining her distance.
"So, now you know," Ori said, a quiver manifesting beneath her bored tone. "Do you feel better? I didn't want to deceive you, all this time. Anyway, it doesn't matter." Her lips pressed together, and she was silent.
Stunned, Yuu barely registered Fey's command to start the duels. As the crowd erupted in cheering, half of each field turned blue as the first players entered their main phase: The Puck, Valz, Otaro, and Clavis.
Clavis was the first to make a move. As he raised his card, Yuu saw clearly the man he had become, one who would break through the earthen sky to the light beyond, leaving only a trail of dust in his wake. And when that card came down, summoning a monster to the field, the duelist who held it was almost unrecognizable as he spoke.
"I summon Kashtira Fenrir."
