Bonds That Can Change the Future (Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

Friends or Foes: Team Sherry

Chapter 29

(following anime episodes from 97 to 103)

          It was already late at night when Crow was accompanied back to the garage of Poppo Time house by his friends. The door to the garage was left open with Crow silently standing before them and facing the exterior's scenery of heavy rain vesting Neo Domino City from the above. The sound of rain drops hitting the ground kept echoing through the spacious area of the garage, mixing with the sound of Jack's proud and loud voice and Yusei's calmed one, as they were both trying to discuss the best option for participating in the tournament now when Crow was not able to compete due to his injury.

"What should we do?" Jack questioned, sitting around the table with Yusei to his right, "Should we participate with just the two of us?"

          "But for the rules of the tournament", Bruno started protesting, while standing behind Jack, "You have 12 000 Life Point to fight with between the three of you!"

"Bruno is right", Hanako agreed, approaching the table and placing two cups of coffee onto it, "If only two of you fight, team's Life Points will be reduced to 8 000!"

          "That handicap will be too great!" Yusei added, still focusing his eyes on Jack, trying to agree with what Hanako and Bruno just said, knowing that team with just him and Jack will never work, not if they wanted to come closer to Yliaster.

"Are you telling us to give up?" Jack hit the table with his wide palm, leaning over it in attempt to get into Yusei's face, while his arm muscles tensed up at the motion of his body.

          "No!" Yusei threw abruptly, with strong determination in his voice, "We've already come this far!" He explained, so Hanako nodded her head, slightly opening her mouth to say something, but Yusei's continuation shattered her idea into pieces, "I want to go as far as possible!"

"Then we'll win!" Jack angered his face, hitting the table once again, only this time curling his hand into a fist, while his voice resolutely answered Yusei's decision, "This is what Jack Atlas declared! A duel played with the intention of losing cannot exist!"

          "Guys", Hanako muttered into her chin silently, once more trying to have the right to vote in this situation, as she kept watching the tensed and powerfully decisive gaze between the two. She came up with the idea of participating in the tournament and suddenly, just for a moment, she hope for her dream to come true... Only if they let her duel in Crow's place and help them win, "Maybe I..."

"Yusei, Jack", Aki broke her sentence in half, as her idea was shattered into pieces once again, while Aki just approached the table and placed a hand on her chest, pointing at herself, "I am also part of Team 5D's... Leave it to me!" She added, feeling nervous and insecure, but her will to help her friends was stronger. And even though Crow's body slightly twitched after hearing what she said, since he wasn't indifferent to those words, no one seemed to have noticed his reaction.

          "Aki?"

After Yusei gave a surprised face with both his eyebrows raised, Jack's voice soon followed behind, "Are you serious?" He questioned with his eyes salivating in expectation to see agreement from her side, which was soon accomplished once Aki nodded her head. With a satisfied smirk, seeing her answer, Jack gave a humph.

          "Good idea!" Bruno smiled, giving his own opinion on the topic, "Fighting with the three of you will be the best advantage!"

Hanako looked at Bruno, seeing how happy he was by the idea, so she felt how tears started threatening to break through her dark sapphire eyes, "But..."