Chapter 75: If Our Eyes Meet, It's a Signal for Battle
Just as Hayato was worrying about his physical condition, Ryo Bakura, who had been deep in thought, walked up to him. He bowed very solemnly to the dazed Hayato and said, "Thank you so much, Hayato. Thank you for saving me."
"Huh? Oh. Does that mean you remember now, Ryo Bakura?" Hayato looked up at Ryo Bakura, thinking to himself, 'That Rabbit-Eared Devil King from the Duel earlier is a completely different person from this cute kid now.'
After the Shadow Game had started, "Dark Bakura" had completely abandoned any pretense of not being the original Ryo Bakura. Not only was his face ferocious and twisted, but his hair was also a mess, as if unkempt for over ten days, with two particularly long strands sticking up like rabbit ears.
But the real Ryo Bakura standing before him, thanking him with a sincere expression, had a handsome face and skin so fair and delicate it seemed water could be squeezed from it. His white, layered hair fell over his shoulders, and his two large, watery eyes projected a gentle gaze. His slender frame gave off a very—
What am I thinking!
Hayato quickly pinched his own thigh, his brows furrowing together. He silently blamed Joey for infecting him with his strange thoughts.
Ryo Bakura, however, didn't notice Hayato's odd behavior. He said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Hayato. My body has been controlled by that demon all this time. I couldn't resist him at all and did many things I shouldn't have. I even nearly hurt you."
Hayato waved his hand. "That doesn't matter. Beating that Rabbit-Eared Devil King was a piece of cake. More importantly, how's your mental state?"
"Mm, my head hurts a lot, but that groggy feeling I used to have is gone. It's like a river channel with the filter removed; my previously blocked thoughts are now flowing freely." Ryo Bakura gave a wry smile. "Before, I could never become aware of the existence of my other self. Even when I was being controlled, I could only watch, and I'd forget everything after waking up."
As Ryo Bakura and Hayato were talking, the bushes nearby were pushed aside, and several staff members in black suits emerged. They were from Industrial Illusions. Seeing Hayato and Ryo Bakura sitting together, they paused for a moment before walking over.
One of them greeted Hayato, "Mr. Hayato, we're here to escort Ryo Bakura, who has lost his qualification for the Match." The other men gathered around Ryo Bakura and, seemingly politely, pointed him in the direction he was supposed to go. However, Hayato had no doubt they would use force if Ryo Bakura showed any resistance.
"Hey, how did you confirm that Ryo Bakura lost his qualification?" Hayato was a bit confused.
The man in black explained, "It's like this, Mr. Hayato. We've hidden exclusive information within each star chip. When a chip is set into a Duelist Gauntlet, the gauntlet activates this information and sends feedback to the Host Server."
"So, while preventing counterfeit chips, you can also keep a real-time tally of which duelists are worth watching and which ones have lost all their chips?" Hayato easily understood the logic behind the star chips.
As for how the chips and gauntlets achieved this function, Hayato didn't care. The authentication system used by the Duel Monsters cards themselves was even more ridiculous.
Seeing that the men in black were about to take Ryo Bakura away, Hayato thought for a moment and spoke up, "I remember that I haven't used up my Special Invitation Qualification, right?"
"Uh, yes, Mr. Hayato. You have used three of your Special Invitation Qualifications, and you still have one spot left," the man in black recalled and answered.
"In that case, give the last spot to Ryo Bakura. He's my classmate. But since he's lost his duelist qualification, you can reclaim his duelist gauntlet. Is that okay?"
"...Yes, that's no problem, Mr. Hayato," the man in black replied after only a brief moment of thought. Although adding a special invitee on the fly wasn't standard procedure, Hayato was one of Pegasus's specially invited contestants for this event, a rather important VIP. His request wasn't too excessive and could certainly be accommodated.
Watching the men in black leave with his Duelist Gauntlet, Ryo Bakura looked at Hayato, who was leaning leisurely against a tree trunk, and thanked him once again, "Thank you so much, Hayato."
"Don't be so formal. I was just thinking it would be boring to be alone with nothing to do, so I wanted someone to chat with." Although he had mostly recovered, the side effects of Summoning the Earth Spirit God still left Hayato feeling a bit listless. He fiddled with the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck. "But as payment, I'll be holding onto this for now."
"Hayato, you must be careful." Watching Hayato carelessly toying with the Millennium Ring, Ryo Bakura couldn't help but recall his past experiences and warned him with concern, "That is an object of misfortune."
"An object of misfortune?! Where, where!"
The response to Ryo Bakura came not from Hayato, who was leaning against the tree, but from a voice behind him. Both of them turned to look and saw a large, bearded man, about 1.9 meters tall, running towards them with an excited look on his face, shouting, "Where is the object of misfortune!!!"
"Boss!!!" Following behind the bearded man was a man in a suit, carrying a backpack almost larger than himself and a briefcase in each hand, struggling to keep up with the running man. "Boss! Please slow down!"
The excited bearded man in front paid no heed to the calls of the man in the suit behind him. He just ran right up to Hayato and Ryo Bakura, his face flushed red from either exertion or excitement, and bellowed in a loud voice, "Where is the object of misfortune!"
"Uh... probably, maybe, it's here?" Hayato was baffled. Who was this guy? He subconsciously held up the Millennium Ring he had been playing with.
"Ooh! This is it! It just looks like an object of misfortune!" The bearded man's eyes lit up as he stared at the Millennium Ring, saying excitedly, "Young man, I'll buy this—!"
"Please wait!"
The man in the suit finally caught up, reaching the bearded man's side. Still holding the two briefcases with one hand, he stuck his free hand between Hayato and the bearded man. He first nodded apologetically to Hayato, saying, "Please excuse us," then immediately grabbed the bearded man's hand and said, "Boss, please stop buying these weird things!"
"Haha, no can do." The bearded man laughed heartily, pushing the suit-clad man who was blocking his way aside. He continued speaking to Hayato, "Young man, name your price! I'm buying this 'object of misfortune'!"
"Um, sorry, mister, but this isn't for sale," Hayato said, scratching the back of his head as he looked at the strange bearded man before him.
It was unclear what the bearded man imagined, but he suddenly burst into laughter, startling Hayato. "Hahahaha, I see, I see, I understand!"
"Now that our gazes have crossed, let's have a Duel, unknown duelist!"
(end of chapter)