Yu-Gi-Oh! Love Unconditionally (Version 1 - SEMI FINAL)

Chapter 3

Emiko hummed to herself absentmindedly as she adjusted her Duel Monsters card-shaped locket and the black strap at the top of her new white tube-top, excited to join her second-ever Duel Monsters tournament. She looked at herself in the mirror, making sure she looked cool in her black shorts and putting her wireless receiver in her right ear before sliding her duel disk onto her left arm.

"I guess this is it," she thought, turning and grabbing her deck and putting it into the case on her belt, "I'm joining my first tournament since Duelist Kingdom. I still can't believe Seto is actually letting me compete in his tournament! This will be fun!" She ran down the stairs and through the halls of Kaiba Manor, slipping on her black boots and sprinting outside to get her bike, swinging her leg over and pedalling down into the streets of Domino, where Battle City was to begin in just under an hour.

Yami placed his hand over the Duel Monsters deck on Yugi's bedside table and said, "You have assembled a very powerful deck, Yugi." Yugi sighed.

"What if it isn't good enough to win," he asked, "What if I...What if I can't stop this great evil force?"

Yami said gently, "There comes a time where you simply must believe. This tournament is unlike anything we have ever faced before. The fate of the world depends on us, so you have to be strong and trust in your cards."

Yugi said, "But, there's still so much we don't know."

Yami said, "Our destiny will reveal itself when the time is right. According to Ishizu, an ancient, evil force will return to threaten the world and you and I must defeat it by winning Kaiba's Battle City tournament with these cards." He held up the stack of cards.

"If we believe in the Heart of the Cards, we can unlock the secrets of the past and save the world."

Joey sat on his bedroom floor, an assortment of notebooks, packs of cards, snack wrappers, and his laptop scattered haphazardly around him. He growled, frustrated, "I gotta figure out how to win back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" He scratched his head and shouted, flopping backwards onto the ground.

"If I can't get back my Red-Eyes, how do I expect to keep up with everyone else in this tournament? This sucks!"

He sighed and thought to himself, sitting back up and shutting his laptop, "Oh, well, not much I can really do until this thing starts. I might as well call the hospital and check on Serenity before I head out." He stood up and picked up his cell phone off the floor beside him.

"Hello," a familiar male voice said, "Serenity Wheeler's room."

Joey stuttered incomprehensibly for a moment. He yelled into the phone, "Tristan?! Is that you?!"

Tristan laughed and said, "Oh, Joey!"

Joey barked, "What the heck do you think you're doing in my sister's room?!"

Tristan said, "I know how busy you are, getting ready for Battle City and all, so I'm just keeping her company. It's kind of a coincidence that you called, actually. We were just talking about you!"

Joey snapped, "You're the last person she needs hanging around, Romeo! You better not be trying anything funny!"

Serenity said sweetly, "Hi, Joey! Why didn't you ever tell me about your friend? He was telling me all about how he taught you everything you know about Duel Monsters and that you came in second at Duelist Kingdom thanks to his training! I can't believe you have such an awesome friend!"

"A-anyway," Tristan cut in, hastily taking the phone from Serenity, "best of luck out there in Battle City! Don't forget about that super-cool three-card combo I taught ya! Bye!" Before Joey could retort, Tristan had already hung up the phone, leaving him on a dial tone.