YUGIOH: It's Time to Duel!

Chapter 53: Semi-Finals Starts with a Battle Royale!



[3rd POV]

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" Seto's voice thundered through the airship as it finally reached a safe distance from the danger. "Does your life mean nothing to you?"

"I...." Yuna stammered, lowering her head with guilt. "Sorry..."

"Tsk, you better have a good reason," he snarled. "Or else I'm going to throw you off this airship myself."

Yuna gulped and hesitantly reached into her pocket. Opening her palm, a small disk drive lay there as she nervously averted her gaze. "Noah... have to... save him..."

Seto's eyes widened, and a complex emotion coursed through his head. He doesn't understand how he should feel, even if he's his brother. Noah had tried to end their lives.

"Kaiba...." Yuna blurted out: "Please.... accept him...."

"Why," Seto questioned. "To think you would risk all of our lives for an enemy's." His tone was laced with annoyance.

"Because... I promised." Yuna answered solemnly.

Seto remained silent, staring at her outstretched hand. After a moment, he reached out and carefully picked up the hard drive resting on her palm. "I need some time to think..."

Standing, Seto moved to the door. "Go rest. You look like you've been through hell and back." At his remark, Yuna smiled slightly and chuckled. "Can... say the same... about you..."

Seto briefly observed his own battered body. His clothes were torn on the sides, and several areas were blackened from the fire. Bruises and scratches ran along his arms, and he found himself barely having the energy to remain standing.

"And who's fault do you think that..."

Seto stopped and gazed at Yuna, who had fallen asleep with her head against the wall and her long hair draped to the floor. Subconsciously, he approached her and knelt on his knees.

Listening to her quiet breathing, Seto's fingers twitched as he hesitantly reached out. Unaware of his actions, Seto gently tucked Yuna's hair behind her ear, revealing her tranquil face.

"Don't you know, you should never show your weak side to anyone, and yet you have fallen asleep right before me," Seto muttered to no one in particular.

Retracting his hand, his fingers brushed past her lips, and Seto frowned: 'Soft...'

"Tsk... What the hell am I doing?" He abruptly stood up.

Reaching for his phone, he called his right-hand man, Roland and the man dressed in a black suit arrived shortly.

"Did you call for me, Master Kaiba?" Roland asked respectfully as Seto gestured at Yuna with his chin: "Take her back to her room."

"Yes, of course," Roland nodded and approached the sleeping girl.

"Stop." Seto snapped, and Roland froze in his tracks: "I changed my mind; I will do it myself."

"Huh, yes?" Roland answered instinctively as Seto brought one of his arms under Yuna's legs and the other supporting her back.

Without much effort, Seto quickly lifted Yuna into the air and began walking away. Her head rested against his chest, and he could feel her tranquil breath. Shaking his head, Seto continued to move, and all that he could think of was how light the girl in his arms was... An hour later...

At the control of the airship, Seto calmly gazes at the gradually approaching Kaiba Corps Island. "Sir, following this speed, we can still arrive on schedule." One of the pilots explained. "Good," Seto nodded.

Relief sighs filled the room. Earlier, they noticed their boss seemed to be frowning a lot, and they guessed that he was in a bad mood.

"Everybody out." Seto let out a strange order. When he noticed that no one was moving, he scowled, and his tone became more stern: "Don't make me repeat myself, leave!"

Frantically, all the workers quietly ushered out of the room, and Seto locked the automatic door so not even Mokuba could enter. Setting the airship to autopilot, he took out the hard drive and placed it on the counter.

With his technical skills, it wasn't difficult to upload the content in the drive into his system and display the content on the wide-pitch black screen. Gradually, pixel by pixel, an image of the boy with teal hair wearing a long-sleeved jacket with purple markings and white shorts was formed.

The boy slowly opened his eyes and observed his new surroundings: "Have you fully wake up now, boy?" Seto called out.

Hearing another voice, the boy focused on Seto standing outside of the screen: "So I'm alive..."

"No, you're still dead," Seto crossed his arms and smirked: "Despite how great I am, I couldn't revive someone."

"How arrogant of you," The boy, Noah, retorted with a scowl: "How wonderful that the first thing I woke up to is that annoying face of yours."

"Watch your tone," Seto snapped: "Unless you want me to upload your consciousness to a rice cooker."

Noah laughed nonchalantly, unbothered by the threat: "With this level of programming? Good luck with that. In fact, I have already found several problems with your systems."

"Impossible," Seto felt a vein pop on his forehead: "There's no way the interface I designed has any loopholes."

"Then how do you think I hacked it in the first place? I have lived as a digital data for years. Of course, I can spot things even you can't find." Noah said smugly as a virtual keyboard appeared by his side: "Don't believe me, I will fix it right now."

Seto watched as Noah began modifying the codes: "Hey, by the way," He said while his eyes were focused on the keyboard: "Is she alright?"

"What does it matter to you?" Seto responded, a sense of unease in his voice.

"Yuna Sano is my benefactor. Should I not be concerned about her health?" Noah answered as if it was obvious.

"Stay away from her." Seto suddenly warned, and Noah's fingers paused on the keyboard.

He glimpsed at Seto with a hint of displeasure and curiosity: "What does it mean to you?" Noah observed keenly, and his interest was piqued when Seto didn't answer his question. "Haven't you noticed? You seemed always to treat her a lot more differently than other people." Noah pointed out: "There must be something going on between the two of you." "What are you getting at?" Seto snarled, his mood sour by the second: "There is nothing between us. She was just someone I had to defeat."

"Then what happens when you win? Are you going to toss her away?" Noah's pupils turned cold: "If so, you disappoint me, brother."

Seto clicked his teeth as he already began to regret ever reviving this snarky boy. However, Noah's words set deep in his heart. What will Seto do once he defeats Yuna?

"Just stay quiet and repay my favour," Seto ordered, wishing not to talk further.

"Yeah, yeah," Noah shooed him away: "Whatever you say."

Seto scowled but remained silent. He closed his eyes and tried to sort out his thoughts as Noah seemed to affect him more than he ever imagined.

'What does she mean to me....'

[Yuna's POV]

A few hours later...

"M... Mn... Where am I?" I mumbled and slowly opened my eyes.

I gazed at the familiar ceiling, and it didn't take me long to figure out that I was back in my room. I remembered that I had fallen asleep near the entrance of the airship, so there was no way that I could make it back to my room by myself.

So, who carried me here...

"You're awake." I heard a voice and glanced in the direction where the sound came from.

There, on the TV screen of my room, was Noah, who was calmly smiling at me. My first thought was why he was on my TV, but recalling that, I handed Kaiba the hard drive, and he must have already done something about it.

"Noah...." I called out, and his smile visibly widened.

"You must be surprised." Noah said and shrugged: "I am too."

I nodded and lowered my head. My hand clutching the blanket subconsciously tightened as I

felt the anxiety slowly seeping out of my body. After rescuing Noah, there was a thought in the back of my mind that what if I didn't get the correct hard drive or I accidentally broke it, and I would've killed him?

"Thank you, by the way," Noah said out of the blue, causing me to flinch in shock: "You saved

my life."

Embarrassed, I turned my head to hide my face: "Only fulfilling... my end.. of the deal..."

"But still, you almost died because of me. It's natural for me to feel grateful." Noah explained

and then bowed: "So thank you for giving me another chance."

Being extremely flustered by Noah's sincerity, I frantically waved my arms. I felt my cheeks

heating up, and my embarrassment grew even further.

Staring at my expression, Noah laughed: "Anyway, I should probably leave now. I don't want

that guy to get jealous of me again."

"Who..."

"Catch you later," Noah said and vanished from the screen.

His last remark left me stunned. Who in the world will be envious of Noah? I tilted my head,

deep in thought, but no matter how much I pondered, I couldn't seem to find the answer.

I sighed and slipped out of bed, but my body instantly ached from all the bruises and cuts underneath my clothes. I should probably visit the clinic, and I wonder what the doctor will say when they see me for the third time.

*Knock Knock*

Huh, who would knock on my door at this hour? With curiosity, I opened the door and was shocked to find Kaiba standing at the entrance.

"I heard you're awake." He stated and tossed something at me.

I frantically caught the item in mid-air and was surprised to find myself holding a first-aid

kit. Upon my questioning gaze, Seto explained that I might have needed it.

"Thanks?" I thanked him with awkwardness.

He nodded, seemingly satisfied: "Once you're done. Wait until the airship lands for further instructions." Kaiba notified and swiftly walked away.

As I closed the door, I stared at the first-aid kit in confusion. To think that Kaiba would personally deliver a first-aid kit to me. Knowing his personality, it was honestly quite a surprise for him to be this considerate.

Wait, was Kaiba the one who would be jealous? I froze in silence upon the realisation. However, I immediately burst into a fit of laughter; who the hell am I kidding? Kaiba, being

jealous, there's a higher probability that pigs will grow wings and fly compared to that!

Still giggling to myself, I glimpsed at the first-aid kit with a small smile. Despite how

snobbish he was sometimes, he's pretty kind...

Thirty Minutes later...n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

After using the first-aid kit, I patiently waited for the airship to land. Thankfully, with Serenity and Mokuba entertaining me, times went past faster than I had expected. "Big brother said we should meet up at the entrance," Mokuba explained and stood up. I

nodded and followed him to the door, but Serenity suddenly grabbed my hand, stopping me

in my tracks.

"Hey! Let go of Big Sister, or else she will be late!" Mokuba frowned: "Do you want her to get disqualified?"

However, despite Mokuba's warning, Serenity didn't let go; she held on even tighter: "Serenity..." I called her name when I realised something was wrong.

"Big sister..." Serenity mumbled and lifted her head, revealing the tears threatening to drip

down her face: "Are you really going to duel him?" Understanding what she meant, my face turned serious, and I nodded. Serenity trembled at my answer as she struggled to open her mouth: "Why... If you... If you lose..." Serenity cried as she couldn't imagine my fate. She must have been traumatised by what

happened to Joey, and now she thinks the same thing was going to happen to me. I turned around and held Serenity's other hand as she leaned against my shoulder. "What if you just forfeit?" She asked optimistically: "Then you will be safe."

"Serenity," I said, my voice turned slightly cold.

Hesitantly, she met my gaze: "You... think... I'm weak?" I questioned, and Serenity's face

turned pale.

"No, of course not! Big sister is powerful," Serenity yelled, and I saw Mokuba agreeing at the

corner of my vision.

"Then... why doubt?"

"I will never doubt big sister's skills!" Serenity exclaimed: "I'm... I'm just scared..."

"I know..." Pulling Serenity close, I calmly embraced her: "But... I will never... surrender."

Serenity's fingers weakened, and the last ounce of her willpower to oppose me had vanished. She could do nothing but cry and nod helplessly as I gritted my teeth.

I'm sorry, Serenity. Losing was never an option for me, or else I will die. I let go and moved

towards the door: "Serenity..." I called her name one last time as she slowly met my gaze. "Believe... in ... me.." I smiled.

"Her eyes widened, and Serenity gasped: "UWAHHH BIG SISTER!" She cried and charged at

me.

Together, we fell to the ground as Serenity clung to my side. I sighed and patted her head. Glimpsing at Mokuba, I noticed that he was about to say something, but I gestured with my

eyes, and thankfully, he understood my intention.

Ten minutes later...

Luckily, I was able to calm Serenity down. However, in doing so, I was pretty late to the meet- up time, and I rushed outside of the airship, where everyone was already waiting for me. "Took you long enough..." Kaiba grunted, and I hurriedly apologised, causing him to scoff in

annoyance.

He walked ahead while everyone except Marik gave me an understanding smile: "I'm sorry,

Big sister." Serenity whispered while we followed after Kaiba: "You got in trouble because of

me."

"It's okay..." I reassured as we moved towards the centre of the island. Glancing around, there were countless large rubbles from various buildings and machines. Beside me, Mokuba's expression was a little grim as he observed the rustic structures. "You know, this island used to be a military base owned by my father." Mokuba mumbled:

"Each of these buildings stored countless deadly weapons that have taken many lives in the past." With this knowledge, I looked at the debris in a new light, and I was hesitant to get too close. Before I knew it, we had arrived at the centre of KaibaCorp Island, where the colossal metal monolith that I had seen on the airship stood.

From a distance, the tower was already very tall. However, now that I am standing at the foot

of the building, its size feels highly intimidating. Approaching the structure, Kaiba placed his

hand on the wall, and the door beside automatically opened with a hiss. Entering, we were

brought to an ample space.

*Rumble*

The floor we were standing on trembled and began to elevate as the hidden elevator brought

us all the way to the highest floor of the tower. Eventually, the elevator stopped, and a door opened, revealing a flat space on the top of the building.

Standing in the middle of the field was the referee, Roland, who seemed to have arrived much

earlier than us.

"Welcome, duelists. This will be the ground where the four remaining contestants shall

battle." Roland greeted with his arms behind his back: "Marik Ishtar, Seto Kaiba, Yugi Mutou

and Yuna Sano. Please step forward."

Following his instructions, the four of us moved in front of the crowd, and Roland adjusted

his glasses before continuing to speak: "Before we start the semi-finals. A small event will be held to determine your opponent for the next match."

"The rules were relatively simple: it will be a battle royal duel with all four duelists being at

one thousand life points. With this duel, the winner of this battle may choose their opponent.

Then the remaining two contestants that haven't been chosen will be duelling each other instead."

"Are there any questions?" All of us remained silent as we gauged each other's reactions: "Good, now please choose a corner, and the match will start shortly." Without hesitation, all of us moved and found a corner for ourselves. When I got into position

and turned around, the three others were also ready, eager to duel.

"Is everyone ready?" Roland asked.

Kaiba: "Hmph... Yes."

Yugi: "Of course!"

Yami Marik: "Heh, heh, let's get this thing started!"

All three eyes turned to me. I took a deep breath and lightly patted my chest before nodding:

"I'm ready."

Roland: "Now, let's begin!"

"Duel!" x4

[Seto Kaiba: 1000 LP]

[Marik Ishtar: 1000 LP] [Yugi Mutou: 1000 LP]

[Yuna Sano: 1000 LP] [3rd's POV]

"I will go first!" Seto declared: "I will activate Polymerisation and fuse the three Blue-Eyes

White Dragons to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Three dragons covered in scales soared over Seto's head before merging and becoming a

much stronger beast.

[Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon: 4500 Attack, 3000 Defence]

"I will end my turn," Seto said with a smirk, satisfied that he started this duel with a bang.

"It's my turn, I draw!" Yami Yugi, who had already emerged for the battle, yelled: "I will first play Card Destruction to discard my hand and then draw the same amount of cards." Dumping his hand into the discard pile, Yami Yugi drew the same number of cards from the

duel disk and nodded to himself: "I will play Monster Reborn to special-summon a monster from the graveyard! I will choose my Buster Blader!"

Before Yami Yugi appeared a tall, armoured warrior, the warrior reached for his back and

pulled out a massive sword the size of his body. [Buster Blader: 2600 Attack, 2300 Defence] "While Buster Blader is on the field. He will gain five hundred attacks for each of my

opponent's dragon monsters on the field or in the graveyard!" [Buster Blader: 2600 -> 4600 Attack, 2300 Defence]

"I will set a card and end my turn." Yami Yugi announced and glanced at Yami Marik.

"I shall play..." Yami Marik smirked: "I will activate my ritual spell, Curse of the Mask Beast, using my God Card, Winged Dragon of Ra to ritual summon the Masked Beast!"

Seto and Yuna frowned in unison at the familiar name of the ritual monster as the Masked

Beast rose from the ground. [The Masked Beast: 3300 Attack, 2800 Defence] "Then, I will set a card face-down and end my turn." Yami Marik said calmly. Finally, it's Yuna's turn, and after this, all hell will break loose. Yuna examined the field with a

composed expression, and eventually, she smiled.

"I will use Polymerisation, fusing my Herald of Creation and Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand to summon Mudragon of the Swamp!" Gradually, a fusion dragon composed solely of mud and water was formed. The monster dragged its heavy body onto the field and roared.

[Mudragon of the Swamp: 1900 Attack, 1800 Defence] "Mudragon of the Swamp's effect will activate, allowing me to change its attribute to a dark

type and following up with that, I will summon Keeper of the Shrine."

[Keeper of the Shrine: 0 Attack, 2100 Defence] "Finally, I will use polymerisation again, summoning Starving Venom Fusion Dragon in

defence position!"

[Starving Venom Fusion Dragon: 2800 Attack, 2000 Defence] Hearing its name, the three duelists all showed various reactions. Seto frowned in

displeasure, Yami Marik whistled, and Yami Yugi chuckled while shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" Tea wondered out loud: "Why are they reacting so much to Sano-san's monster?" As everyone tried to figure out the answer, Mokuba laughed from the side, and all the heads turned to him. With pride, Mokuba puffed out his chest and explained confidently: "Don't you guys get it? With only one thousand life points, anyone could lose in simply one turn, so you

need to protect your monsters as much as possible. Also, do you remember Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's secondary effect?"

Instantly, a couple of people's eyes widened, and Mokuba eagerly wagged his finger: "Exactly, Big Sister essentially just placed a nuclear bomb onto the field. As soon as Starving

Venom Fusion Dragon dies, it will blow up every monster they own, and you can imagine how well that will go."

"But have you also considered that Big Sister will just blow Starving Venom Fusion Dragon up herself? Basically, the outcome of this duel can very well be over in a couple of turns!"

I hope you enjoy it. If you like it so far, please give it a review, and if you want, you can tell me what to add in the future!