https://youtu.be/7LH95oiiFF0
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"Well, that was a rough ride," Tristan groaned as he stood from the ground, "I would never head back to that catastrophe, even if you paid me a million dollars."
"Even so, I do feel really bad for Noah." Tea's eyes softened as she looked down at the sea, "I mean, in the end, he did sacrifice himself to save us."
"I don't think he did." Joey shook his head, "That kid's a genius, he gotta save some file somewhere. He'll be back."
"You really think so?" Serenity looked at her brother and watched him nod.
"Well, all things aside, I can't wait to continue this duel right Yu-" Joey turned and noticed his short friend is gone, "Ey, where's Yugi?" He blinked and everyone looked around to find Yugi gone.
"I have no idea, did he head to his room by any chance?" Tristan asked as Duke smirked,
"....and what a coincidence guys, (y/n)'s gone too." Duke hummed as his head rested on his fingers, "Wonder where she went~"
"Oh stop it Duke." Tea snarked, "I am sure there's an explanation-"
"Speaking of (y/n)," Joey's eyes narrowed as he looked at Tea, "Cause literally no one is bringing it up, I will. Tea, why do you hate (y/n) so much?"
"Wh-" Tea stared at Joey in shock, "I-I don't hate (y/n)!"
"Then why you talk so badly of her?" Joey asked, "You act like she's trash or that she's someone untrustworthy."
"It-It's not that." Tea shook her head, "(y/n)'s my friend-"
"When Noah took her back in the virtual world you didn't seem to care much about it besides Yug'." Joey sneered, "In fact, you tried to tell Yugi to move on-"
"I didn't tell him to move on." Tea shook her head, "I tried to tell him that she's going to be o-"
"Telling Yugi "who cares she's fine now" doesn't sound very concerning of ya, Tea." Joey interrupted, "Especially when the pharaoh was having a literal heart attack."
"...Tea did you really tell Yugi that?" Tristan gasped,
"Don't tell me it's cause Yugi has a crush on (y/n)-" Duke smirked as Tea glared at him,
"Yugi doesn't like (y/n)." Tea shook her head,
"You're right, Yugi doesn't." Joey shook his head as Tea smiled at him with relief,
"Thank you...someone-" Tea sighed with relief
"I think you're missing my point." Joey crossed his arms, "Yugi doesn't have a crush on (y/n). The pharaoh does."
"He does?!" Tristan gasped, "Wait, the pharaoh likes (y/n)?!"
"Tristan, you are by far the most oblivious person I've ever met." Joey shook his head with a smirk and pointed at Duke, "Even Duke figured it out and he hasn't been around long enough like you."
"Even I noticed," Serenity mumbled as Tristan turned red,
"Well...I...I don't see things as clear as you guys do can it be helped?!" Tristan mumbled,
"Even Mai knew and we literally don't see her." Joey raised an eyebrow and averted his gaze to Tea, "I don't know why you're actin' so jealous, do you like the ph-"
"It- It's not like that!" Tea shook her head as her voice grew, "I don't have a crush on the pharaoh! I truly think (y/n) is a good friend of mine-"
"Then why don't ya start actin' like she is." Joey sneered,
"It's just..." Tea bit her lip,
"Just?" Joey's eyebrow quirked,
"Just what? (Y/n)'s fine in my book." Duke tilted his head,
"Guys?" Tristan came in,
"It's just that....ugh..." Tea stared at the ground,
"Guys. Ya might wanna take this conversation elsewhere." Tristan came in with a low voice,
"Why?" Joey asked,
"Oh! Hey Yugi!" Duke emphasized as he greeted Yugi, "Where were you?"
"Oh, The pharaoh took (y/n) to her room for her to rest for a bit before we continue the finals." Yugi explained,
"Where is she? In your room~?" Duke asked with a grin, Yugi perked up and blushed,
"...No...she's in her room," Yugi answered and looked at Joey and Tea, "Hey- Did something happen?" Yugi asked, a little concerned as he felt the intense atmosphere.
"Nothin'," Joey sighed, "We were just talkin' about Marik. That's all." He lied,
"Oh...yeah..." Yugi looked down and clenched his fists, "...I...I know he's been around messing with us but I am sure we will win this tournament and beat Marik!"
"Yeah," Joey nodded and gave Yugi a smile, "We got about a while before we land, so might as well hang around until then!"
"Mhm! Oh, wait I gotta get my duel disk from my room - I'll catch up with you guys!" Yugi perked and bolted back towards his room.
"Aight, don't forget your deck too!" Joey smirked as he watched Yugi take off. Once he was out of sight, Joey turned to Tea with a frown,
"Look Tea, you may have your weird reasons why, but I love and care for (y/n) as a friend. Rather than just saying you care for her, start actin' like it. You may think otherwise, but I am sure that even the pharaoh notices it just as I and everyone else do." Joey sternly told Tea as he kicked himself off the wall and walked over to Yugi's room. Silence filled the room as Serenity awkwardly followed her brother, then Tristan, then Duke - leaving Tea alone.
"...I do care for her..." Tea mumbled to herself as she shook her head and turned around to meet up with everyone else in Yugi's room.
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Taking a huge sigh, you stared at the hot water that splashed down your entire body as you took the shower you felt was a necessity.
You. Needed. This. You nodded upon that thought as you rinsed your hair that was soaked with shampoo that looked and smelled expensive. The shampoo slithered down your body and towards the drain as you whisked the conditioner for your hair. As you massaged your head with the conditioner, your head pondered about what had happened in the past, what seemed to be days when it could've been hours, events.
If this whole virtual crisis didn't happen, you could very well be in the finals and possibly dueling Yugi. But noooo, the universe doesn't seem to be in your favor; especially you. Taking a sigh, you washed your body as you thought of the whole ordeal and how stressed everyone was...
well, except for Tea.
Speaking of Tea, you wondered how she had been since Noah decided to gain custody of you and Mokuba and ditched you to some old mansion. The only "stress" Tea must've felt was when she dueled that penguin -
Oh, you gotta make fun of her for the penguin. A thought popped in your head, She's been indirectly bullying you for no reason, might as well bully her cause of a penguin.
Yeah, you nodded, "except I fought a door." You told yourself with a sigh,
"Except you won without a scratch." You heard the Seal, "She almost lost to a penguin."
You had to bite your lip to hold back a laugh, "...true." You agreed, "Very true."
Changing the subject from Tea and penguins, you thought about Noah, now from what Yami had told you about recently. Speaking of....your cheats heated when you thought of Yami and how he reacted when he was in your room.
~45 minutes ago~
"Y...Yami hold on.." You were shocked as Yami held you tightly, "...What...What the hell happened-" You slowly rubbed Yami's back and felt him relax against you along with a long sigh from him.
"Y...Yami?" You ask again as you stopped rubbing his back,
"...Sorry, (y/n)." Yami spoke as he turned his head in your direction.
"What?" You blinked, "For what?"
"For letting all of this happen to you." Yami explained, "If I had known that Noah was going to take you, I would've been more careful."
"To be fair, I didn't know too." You said, "So, don't blame yourself for that."
"If Noah had you, what did he do to you." Yami tensed up, "He had Mokuba too, did you see him?"
"Oh...yeah." You nodded, "He can be a really good actor by the way."
"Why?" Yami asked,
"Well, I had this small act-" You froze as you explained - this could possibly inform him of the Seal. You could slip up.
"Small act?" Yami asked, "Did he think you had something?"
"Yeah.." You slowly responded, "He thought I had something I didn't, and I kinda lied and went along with it and...he tried to attack Mokuba with it so I had to scheme up with him." You vaguely explained,
"Ah, Mokuba did mention that." Yami sighed. You froze when you heard that. Come again? Mokuba, do I have to slap you?
"What did Mokuba say?" You cautiously asked,
"He said that you pretended you have powers to remove memories and Mokuba played along, but the next thing he knew you were gone." Yami explained, "What happened?"
"Oh, he kinda ditched me?" You bit your lip, now realizing this is one awfully long hug, "I got thrown down to some old mansion."
"Why?" Yami tensed up as he rose his head from your shoulder and stared at you, "What did you do?"
"Uh.." Your cheeks heated, "...Noah...found me out? And he almost uh.." You started to get embarrassed, "....he told me he was gonna send you to some like....inescapable hell and I got really mad." You weren't lying there, Noah did say that and you did get mad. Whatever events that lead you to be flying towards a mansion were a blur to you.
Yami's eyes softened, "I was never sent to anywhere like that though."
"Yeah, I figured." You shrugged your shoulders,
"Noah eventually went on our side and helped us escape." Yami explained, "He fought Kaiba earlier only for us to discover that Noah was Kaiba's stepfather's real son."
".....so we were involved in family drama." You narrowed your eye as Yami chuckled,
"Yeah, we were." He nodded, "And Gozaburo tried to keep us in the virtual world to take over Kaiba Corp, but we managed to escape because Noah sent us all back."
How weird, you never saw Noah. You only saw the-
....in hopes to not see the dragon while in this moment, you didn't say its name.
"How did Noah send you back? I remember Noah said he couldn't find you." Yami asked, a little concerned.
"Oh..." How in the hell are you gonna tell him that a dragon waltzed in and whisked you away like some feather? "...Noah found me." You lied.
"Ah, so he did." Yami took a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness he di-" He seemed to stop talking and you saw his face turn red. It seemed he realized this was an awfully long hug as well as he quickly zapped his hands off you and held them together behind his back,
"W...Well...u..uh..." Yami gulped as he cleared his throat, "I-It's good that you're here- it's good that we're back." He rephrased, "w-we were all...well...we were worried about you."
"Everyone?" You cocked an eyebrow, this caught your attention; does that mean Tea worried about you as well?
"Well..." Yami bit his lip, almost as though he hesitated, "Yeah, everyone did."
Nope. You mentally shook your head, it seems not everyone. Yami's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer,
"...(Y/n)...you look incredibly tired," Yami noted. You didn't seem to realize it yourself until you felt your legs scream for some form of rest.
"...(y/n), I recommend you go rest up a bit before we make it to the finals." Yami advised as he took your hand and pulled you to your bed. When he said 'I recommend' he meant 'I'm just letting you know this is what you're gonna do' because he gently pressed you in the bed, "You've been through probably more than everyone in this ship, so how about you rest up?"
You don't really remember much after that besides Yami leaving the room to leave you be, and soon you crashed onto your pillow and fell asleep for around 30 minutes.
~Present time~
Finishing up your shower and wrapping yourself with a towel, you hopped out of the shower and stared at yourself in the mirror. You stared at your own reflection, now feeling a little better but at the same time, you felt confused.
What was the Great Leviathan showing you to be exact? So much happened at once you didn't find time to sit and try to get things straight. Well, first things first you gotta think more about who the Great Leviathan was showing you.
Dartz.
You have no idea who that man is, but you had the worst feeling he was going to be trouble. You soon recalled what Shadi had warned you before you were thrown in this loop
"You must take the Great Leviathan and make sure it doesn't go to the wrong hands, as you are the rightful owner. Or else the world is to fall in the clutch for despair and vengeance."
You thought that was Yami's job to take care of, guess you were wrong. Not to mention you had this tiny feeling that the "wrong hands" Shadi was inferring to was probably Dartz's.
You bit your lip as you walked to your closet and pulled out an outfit to wear. Once you put on your undergarments, you picked a pair of black leggings and a purple turtleneck shirt. You tied your wet hair to ensure frizzliless hair by the time it gets dry and sat on your couch. You pulled out your deck and stared at it for a bit before you heard a notification go off. Blinking, you rise and click on the communications button to find Yugi and everyone else outside. Allowing access, you opened the door, got your eyepatch on, and peeked out as Yugi walked down with a big smile,
"Hey, (y/n)!" Yugi greeted, "How are you feeling?"
"A little better, and you?" You tilted your head as Joey practically bolted down,
"Yug' told me your room is big and I wann- HOLY SHIT." Joey gasped when he saw your room. You scooted a little to allow Joey inside, which he gladly did so while staring agape at your room.
"Holy cow, (y/n)!" Tristan whistled as he strolled in, "This place is huge!"
"I know," You nodded, "Like some apartment."
"I approve, hope you wouldn't mind if at random times you'll find me chilling on your couch." Duke sat on the couch, "Holy shit it's really comfortable too." He muttered,
"It's....nice." Tea mumbled and looked at you, "...hey, (y/n)?" She asked
"Hm?" You turned to look at her,
"...I just want to let you know that I see you as a really good friend." Tea clenched her fists as she spoke, "So....i-if you want to talk with me you can."
....did Tea have some sort of existential crisis or something?
"...uh....yeah." You nodded as Serenity stared at your room with awe,
"This is amazing!" Serenity gasped, "How did you get this room?"
"My grandfather was involved with the making of this tournament, so Kaiba made this as gratitude." You explained,
"Never in my life have I ever heard the words "Kaiba" and "gratitude" in the same sentence." Joey stared at you in shock,
"He may seem....egotistic...mysognistic....cruel..and occasionally risky.....but he does have some small episodes of gratitude." You shrugged in response,
"Attention duelists, we will be landing soon to Kaiba's Tower, please head towards the front gate and exit as soon as we land." The speaker went off,
"Even the speaker sounds expensive." Duke looked up at the speaker,
"We better be heading over to the front then! I can't wait to duel!" Joey jumped and ran towards the door,
"Joey! Wait up!" Tristan gasped as he bolted after the blonde,
"Oh yeah! (Y/n) this means you'll be dueling very soon!" Yugi perked up with a huge grin, "I can't wait for that!"
Oh yeah!! You perked up upon remembering you are to duel very soon, "You're right!" You clasped your hands together as you quickly pulled out a black coat from your closet and grabbed your duel disk and deck.
"I can't wait to watch (y/n) duel!" Serenity said excitedly as she took your hand, "I heard from Yugi you're really good!"
"Oh...well...not really but I try." You sighed in response as Serenity wrapped her arm around yours. Tensing up a bit upon contact, you watched Tea sneer at you,
"Well, she did fight a door." Tea recalled,
"Yeah, as you did with a penguin. And almost lost." You sneered back as you pushed aside your slight discomfort with Serenity and walked out of your room. Yugi, trying to hold back a laugh, followed you and Serenity while Duke laughed loudly,
"That is true!"
"Oh shut up Duke!" Tea snapped,
"Oh come on it was a joke!" Duke rose from the couch and walked out of your room, "Let's go, Tea. This isn't our room after all and we gotta go."
"yeah...I'm coming." Tea clenched her fists and walked out of the room with Duke.
Once everyone made it to the front gate, you tensed up already thinking about the possibilities of who you're going to duel,
Could it be Joey? If you fought him you could have a slight chance on winning; especially since you have an idea about how he plays.
How about Kaiba? He admits you're a good duelist, but knowing his ego and his deck, it could be a difficult one. Especially with the spell card Enemy Controller, ooh boy that'll be a drag.
Wait wouldn't that just make it harder for him to get the card that he wants?
You blinked and slowly averted your eye to Yugi, what would happen if you ended up dueling him?
Well, you'd probably lose. Yeah, no way you'd win. Besides, he has a destiny he needs to do with this tournament. If you get Yugi as your opponent kiss your luck goodbye.
Who else do you need to-
You froze upon thinking of the last person to duel; Marik. The likeliness of winning is very slim, but possible. If he doesn't cast The Winged Dragon of Ra, you should be good....
Again, if he doesn't cast his Egyptian God Card. As if he's not going to cast that card.
Soon, you felt a tiny bump from below and soon the gates opened to ground.
"Finally...real ground." You rolled your eye,
"I know!" Serenity giggled in response as everyone walked down to the ground. Kaiba soon emerged shortly and stared at you,
"(y/n). As the rules apply, you have to fight one of the final duelists that are still around. Unfortunately for you though, you cannot choose your opponent, the lottery machine chose it for you and I have the number here." Kaiba pulled out a slip of paper,
"Alright! I want her to duel me!" Joey smirked, "That'd be fun."
"It would!" Serenity nodded,
"Nah, I want her to face Kaiba." Duke smirked, "I want to see Kaiba's face when he gets beat."
Kaiba sneered at Duke but opened the paper nonetheless and stared at you
"(y/n), you'll be facing number seven." Kaiba responded,
"Number seven?" Tea blinked, "Who was number seven again?"
"No." All of a sudden you heard Yami and within seconds he was standing in front of you. "Kaiba there is no way in hell you're having (y/n) duel Marik." Yami hissed with a glare.
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https://youtu.be/S7w6Fqa_Fn0