Chapter 69: Confronting Dark Ash—I Mean, the Rabbit-Eared Devil King
Walking down the excessively long steps, even with Hayato's decent stamina, he couldn't help but sit down to catch his breath. Ignoring the strange gazes of the duelists around him, he spoke to the empty air beside him: "Yellow, which way?"
"There's still a ways to go, Big Bro. Why don't we rest a little longer?"
Floating in the air, invisible to all but Hayato, (Ojama Yellow) glanced at (Ojama Green) waving at him from a distance, then looked at the scorching sun overhead. He materialized a small fan in his hand and began fanning Hayato, muttering as he did, "Big Bro, look, you're all sweaty. Just take a break, okay?"
"That rainbow ball is useless; all it does is act cute. I'm the only one who really cares about Big Bro~"
Hayato couldn't be bothered to question where (Ojama Yellow) had learned that line. Once his breathing had calmed down a little, he took off running again in the direction Yellow pointed.
Meanwhile, on a path in the woods.
A white-haired boy with a youthful face and an innocent and harmless appearance was walking alone. While the other duelists around were paired off and battling fiercely, the white-haired boy, strolling leisurely as if he were a tourist, was certainly an odd sight.
Stopping in a patch of shade under a tree, he watched two duelists not far away locked in a heated battle. The corner of the white-haired boy's mouth curled up slightly. "Oh my, how strange. Why do I always feel like someone is following me?"
A dark figure leaped down from the treetops above him, landing just a short distance behind him. Gaia was not on his warhorse, his lance dragging on the ground. His eyes were fixed on the white-haired boy. "By my master's command, I am to keep you under surveillance."
The boy turned around, his harmless face obscured by the shadows cast by the canopy, with only his body below the neck exposed to the sunlight. "What a loyal dog."
The golden disk-shaped ornament on his chest glittered in the light.
Everything seemed perfectly normal, but the very fact that the white-haired boy could see Gaia, who was invisible to ordinary people, was anything but normal.
Raising a hand toward the invisible card spirit, the white-haired boy gave a harmless smile. "Perfect. I was just thinking this Duelist Kingdom was getting a little boring. Why don't I use you to make a little doll to pass the time?"
Just as the white-haired boy and the card spirit were about to clash, a voice cut into their standoff. "Instead of going after my subordinate, why don't I be your opponent, classmate Ryo Bakura?"
The white-haired boy turned to face the speaker's location, a flawless performance of surprise on his face. "Why, if it isn't classmate Hayato. I never expected to run into you at the Duelist Kingdom Match. Congratulations on eliminating Japan's strongest player, Weevil, to claim your first victory."
"It was just a fluke. I got lucky." Hayato stepped out from the shadows, sweat from his intense exertion still clinging to his forehead, unwiped. He was holding five Duel Monster Cards in his hand. After brushing past Gaia, the card spirit of (Gaia The Fierce Knight) returned to its Card.
"But you, classmate Ryo Bakura... you're usually so low-key. I never thought you'd also be a powerful duelist invited here by Pegasus. I thought you were like Yugi, and had no interest in the empty title of 'King of Games'."
"That's not entirely true. I'm only human, with my own desires, you know. Besides, aside from the 'King of Games' title, Mr. Pegasus has also prepared a handsome prize for the winner."
Hayato smiled. "Oh? A prize, you say? So which prize is it that drew you here? Is it the wealth symbolized by a duelist's right hand, or the glory symbolized by their left?"
"Or could it be... Pegasus's left eye?"
Bakura's expression froze for a moment, and his gaze instantly sharpened. "I knew it. That scent of the (Millennium Items) on you wasn't my imagination. You bastard... you really do know something!"
As he spoke, Bakura's hand reached for the golden disk on his chest. An invisible power began to ripple out from him. (Ojama Yellow), hiding in the cards in Hayato's hand, was the first to notice. "Big Bro, that white-haired guy is about to make a move!"
"Don't even think about it!" Hayato gripped the five Cards in his hand and threw them forward. Despite using no special card-throwing technique, the five Cards each carved their own trajectory through the air, striking in unison at the golden disk on Ryo Bakura's chest. But just as they were about to hit, the power around Bakura surged outward. The five Cards only held it back for an instant before scattering to the ground.
Having faced Pegasus's (Millennium Eye) once before, Hayato knew that his own power and that of his card spirits were not yet sufficient. However, he had dared to seek out Bakura because he had a Trump Card of his own. "System, deploy the Barrier!"
[Understood. Dueling Field deployed. Automatically adapting to Shadow Game Rules.]
[Unknown power detected. Resisting. Deducting 500 DP.]
Almost the instant the power erupted from Bakura, an invisible force spread out from Hayato as well. As the 10,000 DP balance in Hayato's System decreased by 500, Hayato's power preempted Bakura's by a fraction of a second, enveloping the surrounding space.
"A Shadow Game!? You... don't tell me you have a Millennium Item too?" Bakura, his demeanor completely different from before, looked tense. With the formation of the Barrier, he could feel the aura on Hayato more and more clearly. Besides the presence of the (Millennium Eye), he could even sense the very faint scent of the (Millennium Key).
"Who knows? Maybe it's the (Millennium Eye), or maybe the (Millennium Puzzle). Oh, or perhaps it's the (Millennium Ring)."
Seeing Bakura suddenly grow tense, Hayato wasn't quite sure why he was reacting this way, but that didn't stop him from trash-talking. "If you want the answer, then beat me in this Shadow Game where we wager our souls, you Bakura who isn't like Bakura at all."
Of course, Hayato actually knew exactly who the soul currently possessing Ryo Bakura's body was: the one who appeared from the first episode to the last, who only won a single Duel in the entire anime's plot, one of the rare few who didn't have a 'duelist's brain', the final boss who would use means other than dueling to achieve his goals—the Great Evil God, Zorc.
However, that information was a bit too advanced for the current timeline, so it was better not to reveal that he knew.
"A Game of Duel Monsters? Hmph, how troublesome." Ryo Bakura reluctantly took out his Deck, looking at the strange device that had materialized before his eyes. "What is this thing?"
Sliding the arm-blade-like item onto his wrist and placing his Deck in it, Hayato flashed a battle-hungry smile. "Just an interesting little thing fabricated by the temporary field we deployed. You can call it a Duel Disk, and it's much more convenient than a Duel Stage."
"Let's fight to the death, Bakura! Wager both our souls and enjoy this Shadow Game to the fullest!"
The battle in this chapter might seem a bit confusing, but it will be explained in the next chapter.
And asking for monthly passes.
(end of chapter)