Chapter 12: Past

"Comrade~!"

"You bastard! What did you do to my comrade!"

Seeing the Dark Mask lying on the ground, the Light Mask abandoned his struggle with Jonouchi at once, letting go and rushing toward the Dark Mask.

You Tian: "As if I were some kind of villain."

"Relax, he's just a little dead—nothing else wrong."

Light Mask: "Damn it! I'll fight you to the death!"

Saying this, the Light Mask lunged for You Tian.

Seeing this, You Tian immediately bent his knees, lowered his body, raised his right fist to eye level, and formed a defensive posture with his Duel Disk in his left hand.

As the Light Mask drew near, there was another sudden bang!

And just like that, the Light Mask rolled his eyes back and collapsed stiffly onto the ground.

Jonouchi: "Are you okay, You Tian!"

You Tian waved his hand, signaling he was fine.

"Amazing, You Tian-kun! I never thought you were this good in a fight!"

You Tian's lips curled into a faint smile.

Come on, I used to play God Stele, okay? If I didn't know moves like Crab Ascension Fist, how would I still be alive?

"A great Yu-family Duelist once said: if the right hand is a sword, then the Duel Disk is the shield—then I'll make my enemies taste the power of Sword-Shield Impact!"

(PS: From anime episode 129, Seto vs. Game)

Although he'd never heard this before, Jonouchi somehow felt You Tian's words had been heavily modified.

You Tian: Since the Gurus have been dealt with, it's time to ask Jonouchi why he's been following me.

"Hahaha!"

Walking beside You Tian, Jonouchi let out an awkward laugh upon hearing the question.

"At first, I thought you were one of the Gurus. After all, you easily beat YuE. So I secretly followed you..."

You Tian understood.

That was exactly the kind of thing Jonouchi would do.

"So, you don't suspect me anymore?" You Tian asked again.

Jonouchi's expression was complex as he stared at the bulging bag in You Tian's hand.

This guy, after knocking out the Light and Dark Mask, actually stripped them naked.

While muttering things like "Cut the grass, remove the roots—don't give them a chance for 【Neighbor's Grass Cutting】," and "Defeat CG needs updating," he efficiently took their card decks, Duel Disks, even their clothes.

At this moment, the Light and Dark Mask lay completely naked in the alley, with only their underwear remaining.

"It probably isn't..."

You Tian burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, not far from Jounouchi Town, a yacht was sailing toward Jounouchi Town across the sea.

Malik stood at the bow, holding the Millennium Rod, pacing anxiously.

"Damn it! Where the hell are those two Light and Dark Mask idiots? Why can't I reach them?"

"Malik-sama, what's wrong?" Rishid, his face covered in tattoos, stepped out from the cabin behind him.

"Hmph! Those two Light and Dark Mask brats are getting harder to control!"

"I just tried ordering them to delay the Pharaoh, and they said they were in a Duel with someone else and would contact later."

"Now look—they're completely unreachable!"

Rishid paused to think for a moment.

"Could it be... those two have already been defeated?"

Malik shook his head.

"Impossible. I know those two well."

"They only ever fight team Duels, and their Dueling strength is no joke."

"Even I, if I faced them alone, probably wouldn't come out ahead."

Rishid nodded.

"Then it's probably just a weak signal from the Millennium Rod."

"Malik-sama, try holding it higher."

Jounouchi Town.

Jonouchi eyed You Tian's "loot" with a strange look.

You Tian: "Don't worry—I'll sell these things and split the money with you, half and half."

Jonouchi rubbed his forehead.

"No need!"

"By the way, are you really short on cash?"

You Tian shrugged, silently acknowledging it.

The 20,000 yuan he swindled from YuE went entirely to buying booster packs. Right now, he had not a single yen left on him.

It was nearly noon, and he didn't even have money for lunch.

"A single coin can humble even a hero," You Tian could only sigh.

Jonouchi nodded. He deeply understood that sentiment.

Back then, his sister—Shizuka—suffered from an eye disease and urgently needed a large sum for surgery.

At the time, Jonouchi's family situation was simple: a drunkard father, a mother who left, a sick sister, and a powerless him.

Jonouchi had been troubled by this for quite a while as well.

Fortunately, Pegasus later held the "Duelist Kingdom Tournament," and Yugi gave the final prize money to Jonouchi, which finally gave him the money to pay for Shizuka's treatment.

"By the way, You Tian, why are you participating in Duel City?"

You Tian smacked his lips twice.

"In order to… buy a ticket home."

Jonouchi was a little puzzled.

"But this tournament doesn't have any prize money, does it?"

You Tian was momentarily at a loss for words.

How could he explain that the ticket home was the ThreePhantomGods in his bro Mutou Yugi's hand?

"Isn't honor also a kind of ticket home?"

Jonouchi's heart gave a great jolt.

That's right! Honor!

Perhaps You Tian wanted to prove himself to someone, wanted to earn that person's recognition through honor, which was why he entered Duel City.

Wasn't he himself the same way!

(PS: In the manga's plot, at Duelist Kingdom, Jonouchi and Yugi skipped the semifinals because they wanted to rescue Jii-chan, who had been sealed by Pegasus — this point differs from the anime.)

(Therefore, that unresolved match became a regret in both their hearts. Later on, Jonouchi also participated in Duel City based on this reason. This point also differs from how the anime portrayed it.)

(Personally, I prefer the manga's plot. This part fleshes out Jonouchi's image as a man of loyalty and affection.)

Yugi, just wait for me!

"Go for it!"

Suddenly, Jonouchi turned around and cheered You Tian on.

"I believe you can definitely make it into the top eight!"

You Tian was stunned for a moment.

"Uh, you do your best too…"

Jonouchi raised both hands and struck a rather meme-worthy expression.

"Of course this great lord will do his best! I'm going to have a proper showdown with Yugi! Hahahaha!"

"You know Yugi, right? Mutou Yugi — the one who defeated Pegasus at Duelist Kingdom! That's my friend!"

"I'll introduce you to him in a bit!"

Once the topic turned to Yugi, it was as if Jonouchi had opened a floodgate. He kept telling You Tian little stories of his friendship with Yugi.

You Tian watched Jonouchi chatter nonstop along the way, and broke into an auntie-like smile.

This guy Jonouchi really does have a great relationship with Yugi.

How nice — having someone important in your heart.

A sudden wave of loneliness welled up in You Tian's heart.

Someone very important… why does it feel like I used to have someone very important too. But now I can't remember…

"Do we really have to go back? What's wrong with this world?"

At the same time, a string of words, faint as if present yet absent, once again appeared out of nowhere in You Tian's mind like a phantom.

"Ah!" Abruptly, a sharp pain shot from deep within You Tian's brain, followed by a wave of dizziness.

You Tian, who had been walking, also stumbled involuntarily.