"Oh? Yugi, don't tell me you were the first to arrive? And that lady over there must be... Miss Mai Valentine, right? I've heard so much about you."
Arriving earlier than in the original timeline (mostly because there'd been no Rare Hunter interference), Youmi reached the still-under-construction stadium and immediately spotted Yugi Muto with his friends—and a blonde woman who could only be Mai Valentine.
"You're Youmi, right? I heard your name from Joey. So you were the one hanging around him the other day, huh? I'll admit you're pretty, but in terms of charm—" Mai strode confidently toward her, clearly having prepared her lines, when abruptly halfway through, she caught sight of the others watching and abruptly stopped. "Let's settle it in the quarterfinals."
Leaving that declaration hanging, Mai stepped aside, giving Yugi room to greet Youmi—though her gaze lingered.
"Good morning, Youmi! I didn't expect you to collect your Locator Cards so fast. Actually, I'm not the first one here—I'm the third. Kaiba and Mai were first and second." Yugi smiled and waved her over. "I was worried about another Rare Hunter ambush, but after the first attack, they never showed up again. Joey told me you were attacked too… did they come after you again?"
"They did, once more." Youmi opened her spare card case and pulled out the [Dark Magician] she'd won from Pandora. "See? My spoils of war. That said, their organization's been dissolved now, so you don't have to worry about your safety anymore, Yugi. Still, keep an eye out when you're walking around."
Yugi's eyes sparkled as he stared at the [Dark Magician]. "It's the [Dark Magician]! And it's different from either of mine."
Youmi's brow lifted. "'Either'? You mean you and a-another Yugi both have your own [Dark Magician]? Why'd you say 'different from both'?"
The [Dark Magician] was a shared signature card between Yugi and Atem and had been reprinted many times; however, during the Duel Monsters era, they should've both used the same copy. Was this another parallel-world difference?
"Yeah. We both have one each. Look." Yugi pulled out two cards—one with the original artwork and one from The Dark Side of Dimensions. "They're both ultra-rare Spellcasters, and it took me forever to find different artworks for each. If I could get another variant someday, that'd be amazing."
"Sorry, but this one's a bit damaged. The opponent I won it from cut the edges, so it's not really fit for dueling." Youmi pointed to the trimmed corners on Pandora's card. "It'd be hard to fix, honestly."
Hearing the concern in her tone, Yugi smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I wasn't trying to buy your [Dark Magician]. I just think it'd be great if it could be restored."
"You've got [Slifer the Sky Dragon] now, and you're still worried about that monster?" Kaiba's familiar voice cut in as he walked over. He glanced at the card in Youmi's hand. "If it's only that level of damage, KaibaCorp can easily repair it."
"'Only that level,' huh..."
Whether Kaiba meant more by that or not, Yugi shot him a subtle glance. No matter how much time passed, it was hard to completely forget Kaiba tearing up that Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "Would you really help us, Kaiba?"
It wasn't Kaiba who replied—it was his younger brother. Mokuba came running over, voice full of cheer. "Of course! You're both Duel City quarterfinalists. As event organizers, it's only fair we help out. Give me the [Dark Magician]; I'll have it fixed before departure. Whoa, triple-sleeved! You really take care of your cards."
Passing the triple-protected red-robed [Dark Magician] to Mokuba, Youmi nodded gratefully, then looked at Kaiba. "As expected of KaibaCorp's CEO and the man who owns three [Blue-Eyes White Dragons]. I'm guessing you didn't abuse your privilege to skip your way here, huh?"
"Hmph. Even if you flatter me, I won't go easy in a duel. I'm only here to challenge Yugi. And to make sure potential opponents don't have their Deck strength compromised over trivial issues."
Kaiba huffed dismissively, not even looking at her as he turned toward Yugi. "Yugi, even though four of the top eight have yet to appear, remember this… you will lose only to me. I'll claim the other two Egyptian God Cards myself and obtain ultimate power."
While Kaiba continued his inevitable victory speech, Youmi drifted off to chat with Tristan, Téa, and a girl she didn't know—Rebecca Hawkinss stand-in, or rather, the manga version of Ryuji Duke, Duke Devlin—and Serenity.
Through Tristan and Téa, she learned that in this world, Duke wasn't the anime's Dungeon Dice Monsters creator who failed after Pegasus's death, but the manga version whose family had long feuded with the Muto family over D.D.D. (Dragon Dice Dungeon).
Fortunately, that generational grudge had already been settled, and he was now friends with Yugi and the others.
Because so many events had been skipped, Joey's progress was a little slower. Serenity had come ahead with the group, confident her brother would make it to the quarterfinals.
Before long, another figure appeared at the stadium entrance.
"Yo, Yugi! Serenity! Téa! Tristan! Oh—Duke! Youmi!" Joey, wearing his blue-and-white short-sleeved shirt, came running full speed—only to trip and crash face-first onto the ground, making Téa and Mai wince. "Ow ow ow... but hey, no biggie—I got all my Locator Cards!"
He held them up proudly. "Yugi, get this—after that so-called psychic duelist who peeked at my hand yesterday, I ran into Weevil while collecting cards! He tried to sneak something into my Deck, though lucky for me, I copied Youmi's trick!"
Joey pulled out his Deck—all sleeved in black protectors.
"They're not as fancy as yours, Youmi, but man, these helped a ton. My Deck's thicker now, and the grip feels great." Joey rubbed the matte sleeves against his cheek, starry-eyed. Classic Joey.
"Those sleeves…"
"They're from my family's store! Hardly anyone buys them; we mostly use them as table coasters now. Although the Duel Monsters cards are tough enough to slice fruit with, after seeing Youmi's setup, we all started sleeving ours too." Yugi laughed. "I've even got some shares in Industrial Illusions, so maybe I should suggest this to Pegasus himself."
While they chatted, Kaiba whispered something to Mokuba, who quickly pulled out a notebook and jotted it down.
Surely he wasn't planning to release Blue-Eyes-themed card sleeves, right?
Youmi smirked at the thought—then turned toward a new arrival.
"Well, if it isn't Bakura." She narrowed her eyes and clapped her hands lightly, feigning delight. "The last time I saw you, you tumbled down the stairs. Not bad, recovering this fast—ready to duel again, huh?"
At the same time, Yugi stiffened, calling Bakura's name sharply. His eyes flickered with recognition, though he stayed silent.
Bakura, still outwardly normal while under Yami Bakura's control, had both arms wrapped in bandages, with a bandage across his cheek.
Youmi, having fought him once before, knew exactly how he'd been injured. Fortunately for her, as a Duel Spirit, her body healed far faster; there was no trace left of the damage from [Zoma the Spirit]'s explosion.
"Bakura, what happened to you?"
As soon as he appeared, Yugi and the others rushed over, worriedly fussing over him. Only Youmi stood apart, coolly observing, her narrowed eyes glinting with amusement—as though plotting how to further toy with one of her rarer, not-entirely-evil playthings.
"Youmi-onee-san."
"Miss Youmi."
After Bakura came Marik and Ishizu.
"I'm here to fulfill my promise and my duty, Youmi-onee-san. And... Yugi, I owe you an apology." After greeting Youmi, Marik stepped up to Yugi. "Yugi Muto, my name is Mar—"
Yugi's eyes turned toward him immediately. "Marik, right? I recognized you the moment you arrived. You seem... different from before. Did something good happen?"
"Yes. Something wonderful. So... for everything I did before..." Marik bowed deeply, voice earnest. "I'm truly sorry… for ordering my followers to attack you, for my arrogance and my attempt on your life. I know it's unforgivable, but still… I'm deeply, deeply sorry."
Standing nearby, Youmi and Ishizu watched as Marik went from shame to tears to heartfelt reconciliation, Yugi's angelic kindness melting his guilt. Youmi turned to Ishizu and asked dryly, "Came to see your little brother get over his emotional baggage?"
"And to duel," Ishizu replied with a serene smile. "I have five Locator Cards already, so I don't really need to—however, since I'm here, I might as well."
Once staff verified everyone's Locator Cards and arranged for their companions to watch, the Duel Airship finally descended—marking the official start of the Duel City Quarterfinals.
...
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