As Yutaka was leaving the room and heading towards the common area, he heard a shout.
"JOEY! NO!"
It was obvious that Joey had jumped aboard the ship to retrieve the Exodia cards that Weevil had thrown overboard. In fact, Weevil could be considered a hero. After all, if not for his insidious behaviour, there wouldn't be any Yu-Gi-Oh! anime at all. I mean, knowing the nameless pharaoh, he would always draw Exodia just when he was about to lose and win the game. In fact, with his despicable cheating ability to draw whatever he wants, he might even draw all five parts of Exodia in his starting hand.
So the only thing Yutaka could say about Weevil was 'Good Guy'.
The question was whether to get involved with the protagonist group. There were pros and cons to this. If he got involved with them, he would draw the attention of Pegasus, who was currently under the effect of the Millennium Eye, and later on Kaiba.
As everyone knows, Kaiba is a guy completely obsessed with Yugi, or rather, the nameless pharaoh. Kaiba did not allow Yami Yugi to rest in peace and even found a way to enter the underworld just to duel him.
Yutaka just wanted to be a passerby in this world. His only goal was making sure the true potential of Red-Eyes Black Dragon emerged, and now that he had a legitimate reason to go after Rex, he didn't even need to follow the group and NTR the Joey and Rex fight.
With his objectives in mind, he could basically coast through the Duellist Kingdom arc and just ride along. Even in the Battle City arc, he could just surrender in the quarter finals and above if he ever versed against Marik and his cronies.
Yes, this was the correct decision to make. Red-Eyes had no connection to ancient Egypt, unlike Blue-Eyes, so he just had to stay away from the protagonist group, and that way he would not get wrapped up in any annoying, world-destroying incidents.
Then why?
*Splash*
Then why was he currently in the sea, wet to his underwear, trying to save an idiot with a Brooklyn accent?
"Come on! Grab the ladder!" shouted a female voice aboard the cruise ship.
Yutaka swam back to the ship with great effort and managed to climb up thanks to the help of Yugi and Tristan.
He was drenched like a rat, and the wind made him shiver.
Why was he here?
Why didn't he just leave?
Even if he didn't come, Yugi or Tristan would have found a way to save Joey anyway.
"Here, Yug, I managed to get 2 of your grandpa's cards," said Joey as he struggled to breathe. He was in worse shape than Yutaka, and even his lips had started to turn purple.
"That's okay, Joey." Yugi tried to comfort him, but he didn't anticipate Joey's oncoming outburst.
"No, that's not okay, Yug... Always... I always screw up when it comes to people important to me... I thought this time would be different... I thought this time I would be useful and not mess things up like I always do! You see, Yug, I have a sister... Serenity... Our parents divorced when we were kids because of my dad's gambling, and Mom chose her... I understand... I am a man, so I could find a way to live even under that drunkard waste... Yesterday, Serenity called me... Told me she was goin blind... She always had bad eyes... Told me before she goes blind she wanted to see me one last time... But that's not all, Yug... There is a way... There is a way she can regain her eyesight, but it's a lotta money... That's why I need to win this tournament..."
"I didn't know you had a sister, Joey." Tristan looked taken aback, as he had never heard Joey mentioning a sister. Mind you, the two of them were best friends since they were very little, and they could even name the moles in each other's bodies.
"That's okay, Joey, we will find a way to get the money," Tea said as she covered Joey with Tristan's coat.
"Thanks for your help as well, Yutaka," said Yugi as he tried to lift him up and noticed the two cards he was clenching. They were the left arm and head of Exodia, which Yutaka handed him promptly. With the two that Joey got as well, the only part missing was the right leg.
"No need *Sneeze*" Yutaka cursed his new body.
Hopefully, he wouldn't catch a cold tomorrow, as the Duel Kingdom was going to take place over 2 or 3 days.
So even spending a single day sick would be a big detriment to him. He also took a mental note train when he returned after the tournament.
Maybe it was because of the albinism of his new body, but he was weak, and as everyone knows, in this world if you wanted to play cards, you needed to have a strong body.
It would be embarrassing if he lost the duel even though he had a winning combination in his hand just because his body couldn't take it.
"Thanks, Yuta... you saved my bacon... you are a good guy..." said Joey as he got up with Tristan's help.
Yutaka, who was leaning on Mini Yugi, was surprised for a second before the guilt came over him.
"No, I am not. In fact, I already knew about Weevil's plan to throw away Exodia, but I didn't stop him. I could have warned you, but I didn't."
"That's understandable. Since you joined the tournament, you must also have your own reason to want to win. So, even I would just be a bystander in your position. Not to mention, you went out of your own way to help Joey and grab two more cards on the way back," said Yugi with a smile.
Yutaka's nose started to sting, and he understood why Yami Yugi was so obsessed with his 'partner'.
"You are mistaken; what I did was not okay. I even know someone in the common area who possesses the missing part of Exodia that you need. But I won't tell you. Am I still not a bad guy?" When Yutaka said this, a yellow light shone out of his Millennium Puzzle, and Yami Yugi took the wheel.
"No, you are not. I valued Exodia because it belonged to my grandpa, not because of how strong it is. Even if you told me, I wouldn't trade for it, because even without Exodia I can win the tournament."
Seeing Yami Yugi's blind confidence, Yutaka didn't know how to answer, as the guy was right. Even without Exodia, he had easily won the tournament, and the only person who troubled him was Pegasus, and the reason for that was because the guy cheated by reading his mind, rendering his strategies useless.
Yutaka started to get emotional. This guy truly deserved to be a ruler with how big his heart was. He wasn't just a guy who knew how to play cards and cheat.
"Hol'up Yug! You might have forgiven him, but I didn't. I just wanna ask. If you knew that snivelling trash was going to throw the cards and let it happen. Why did you jump and save me and even grab Exodia parts? What if you managed to get all of them? Were you going to give them to Yugi?"
Hearing what Joey said, Yutaka wanted to shout it had nothing to do with him, but he swallowed his words.
"... I don't know. I just heard Yugi's scream, and before I knew it, I was already in the water."
Joey let go of Tristan and walked over to Yutaka's side and lifted his fist and bumped him on the chest while giving a big grin.
"See, you are not bad at all, pal. I am the same. I need to win this tournament for my sister, but I still jumped without a second thought. That's what it means to be friends."
Hearing Joey's cringey words, Yutaka had goosebumps all over his body. This guy did not have Yami Yugi's charisma, so his words disgusted him instead. Maybe his original possession of Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the anime also played a part. The point was he didn't move Yutaka at all.
"What friends? I don't even know you guys at all!" said Yutaka as he stopped leaning against Yami Yugi got his backpack, which he threw to the ground before diving, and left the scene.
"Why you little!?" Joey was flabbergasted, as he thought he had gotten a new friend who knew the guy would leave so rudely.
"Umm, Joey, I think you scared him off. Before you spoke, he looked normal, and when you mentioned friends, he looked disgusted and left. Maybe he doesn't want to be friends yet because you guys are going to face each other in the tournament, and there can be only one winner?" Tea said as she looked towards Yugi and Joey. She didn't know much about Duel Monsters, as she was just a casual player, but at least she knew how tournaments worked.
"Oh, I get it. What you are telling me is he is just shy, right? And here I thought he didn't want to be friends with me, The Great Joey Wheeler."
Tea wanted to correct him, but seeing that he didn't want to talk about it, she didn't force it. This also made her notice that in the tournament Joey and Yugi would also have to fight eventually. So maybe Joey was evading this question just like Yutaka did.