The Pharaoh and the Wayfarer (Atem/Yami Yugi x Spirit! Reader)

Chapter 4: Joey vs Mai

I own nothing.
Chapter 4: Psychic Scammer

The group bid farewell and continued onward, making their way through the woods to a clearing overlooking the sea.
Joey, who wanted to be the next one to duel, cracked his knuckles with determination.
"I'm itchin' to duel, and I'm takin' on the next player we see!"
He took off, leaving the others behind.
Tea looked a bit worried. "You know, I'm not so sure Joey's up to this."
"Yeah." Tristan Agreed. "There are tournament-level players here. Don't you think he's smart enough to realize-,"
"Here I stand, the next Duel Monsters Champion!" Joey yelled from the cliff side.
Everyone sweatdropped, now feeling even more nervous for the blonde boy.
"Oh, he needs a reality check." Tea declared, not so subtlety looking to Rain.
Tristan sighed. "Guess he's as smart as he looks."
Taking the hint, Rain tugged on Yugi's jacket. "Maybe we should reign him in."
Yugi nodded lightly. "Right."
Everyone walked over to Joey, but before Rain could say anything, (Y/N) stepped.
"Leave him be."
She side eyed the spirit, and then noticed that despite his bold declaration, Joey had a serious look on his face and was lost in thought. It was then she remembered why Joey was here: his sister, Serenity. If he didn't win the prize money, they wouldn't be able to afford the surgery that would prevent her from going blind. That kind of pressure must have been eating at him. Rain then turned to Yugi.
"Hey, Yugi?"
He looked at her. "Yes, Rain?"
"How come you're in this tournament? Joey and Tea mentioned something earlier, and judging by the faces you guys make whenever he's brought up, you don't care for Pegasus in the slightest."
Yugi looked down, a troubled look in his eyes. "Well-,"
A loud cheering interrupted their conversation as Tea glanced over her shoulder.
"Look there!"
To their left, the fields were covered in arenas, and people either dueling or spectating.
Tristan whistled. "Look at 'em. They're all over."
"You said it!" Yugi agreed as Rain smiled.
"Now this is a proper tournament."
Joey pumped himself up. "Right. I'm goin' in!"
Tristan quirked a brow at him. "You sure you want to do this? If you lose, you give up your only star chip."
"That's right." Joey groaned, falling back.
Rain glanced down at him. "Well, if he wants to get to the finals, he's gonna have to."
"Don't panic." Yugi reassured him. "You can do this, Joey."
He then bounced back. "I hope you're right, Yugi. This'll be my first official duel, and I can't afford to get knocked out at the start."
"True, but not everyone here is a pro."
Rain patted Joey on the back and began pushing him towards the fields. "Come on, Blondie. Let's go find someone your level."
"Oi, don't call me Blondie! But I guess I should think about what kind of fields my cards are best suited for. Really hoping you're right about the meadows, Rain."
"Hey, I was right about the forest and beast types, wasn't I? And Yugi agreed with me!"
Rather than side with either of them, Yugi opted to keep his best friend's mind in the game. "See? You know what you're doing."
Before Rain could get Joey too far (the woe of being a short female), an unkind voice caught their attention.
"You lost, crybaby. Now give me your star chips."
Tea clenched her fist. "A voice that annoying can only belong to Mai."
Sure enough, they saw the older girl by a dueling arena, laughing at another duelist.
"It's not fair! You cheated somehow! How could you know what your cards were when they were still face down!?"
"I'm psychic." Mai insisted. "And you're done."
The kid took off as Mai cackled.
Rain rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."
That caught her attention as she put her hands on her waist. "Well, look who's here."
"Mai's already won 2 more star chips." Joey noted as Mai eyed Yugi.
"Hey Yugi! Are your duels going well?"
"I'm making progress." He answered hesitantly before having wrist snatched.
"So, you have 3 star chips, do you? I might be up for a duel myself."
Tea was fuming at the back, but it was Rain who took the initiative, much to Yugi's gratitude.
"Bold words from someone who was trash talking him throughout his duel with Weevil."
She punctuated her statement by slapping the blonde's hands off her new friends.
Mai looked positively offended, glaring down at the opposing female's dueling glove. "I see you've four star chips now."
"Indeed I do." Rain answered back. "Feeling brave?"
"Take her, Rain." Tea egged like a devil on her shoulder. "Knock her out of the contest and off the island!"
"Tea, am I going to have to stop you from getting the assault charges now?"
"Hmm." Mai seemed to recover from her burst of aggression. "You know, I'm definitely in the mood for a duel right now. So get ready, because I choose to challenge you, Joey!"
"What!?" He said, shocked. "You challenge me!?"
"Do you have the guts to accept? Get it? I want to play you, kid."
"She's totally baiting him." Rain mumbled as (Y/N) appeared beside her.
"Without question."
"Ha!" Joey feigned confidence. "Guess you heard about my skill!"
"Don't flatter yourself." Mai shot back. "I overheard you and Yugi talking on the boat. I know he gave you the only star chip that you have. My motto is 'take out the weakest players first'. And considering that you wouldn't even be here if Yugi hadn't given you one of his chips, you've got to be the weakest duelist on the island."
"Hey, do you have to be so insulting?"
Tea eyed Joey. "This time she was being truthful."
"Huh?!"
"Joey, she's egging you on." Rain warned. "Do not fall for it."
"She's right, Joey." Tristan joined in. "Don't you get it? If you lose this contest, you're out for good."
"Yugi, Rain, stand up for Joey." Tea encouraged. "One of you has to fight her in his place."
Rain was just about to step in between them, but Yugi nudged her shoulder with his, shaking his head when he got her attention.
"This is his decision to make. Show Mai what you're made of, Joey."
"Right." The brown eyed boy said. "She thinks I'm a pushover, but she'll see."
"Like a fish to the hook." (Y/N) sighed, as Joey and Yugi argued with Tristan and Tea respectively. "Whatever the case, Joey must learn to fight his own battles."
Evidently, Joey agreed. "This is my chance to prove myself, to show everybody. Don't forget, gramps trained me. I mean, sure, gramps didn't get a chance to finish my training, and granted, I wish I'd had a chance to practice more before getting thrown into a tournament this huge with so many heavy hitters, but honestly, I think I can take her."
"Oh man." Tristan sighed. "You'd better be right. For your sister's sake."
"Yeah." Tea jumped in. "You better not screw this up, Joey."
"I accept!" He decided. "Let's duel."
"Get ready to lose." Mai answered back.
As the duelists took their positions, (Y/N) stood beside Rain, arms crossed.
"I'm not certain a trial by fire is the best approach." The spirit said.
Rain gave her a side look. "Hey, you're the one who said he needed to fight his own battles. Still." Rain looked up and cheered. "You can do this, Joey!"
Tea joined in. "Go get her!"
"Kick her butt!" Tristan said.
Joey nodded. "Yeah!"
"He'll do fine." Yugi mumbled, almost as if he was trying to convince himself.
Rain, hearing this, elbowed him lightly and smiled. "He'll be okay."
Yugi smiled back, encouraged by her words.
"Since you only have one measly star chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you." Mai said confidently.
Joey seemed to be calm at first, until he noticed the field. "What the-!? What are all those mountains doing on my field?!"
"The field we'll be battling on is 40% forest, 40% mountain, and 20% meadow, so deal with it or surrender." Mai explained.
Rain facepalmed. "And this is why you do everything you can to not have your opponent pick the battlefield."
Yugi tried to be more optimistic. "Calm down, Joey. You'll be okay! Your monsters will still get a field power bonus on the meadow part of the field."
That did seem to calm the blonde boy down. "Right. Listen, Mai, not for nothing, but I gotta ask you one question before we duel."
"Hm?" This seemed to genuinely take the older female by surprise. "What?"
"Why did you decide to take part in this tournament? Why is it you duel?"
"Why do I duel? For all the comforts that I crave: designer clothes, travel, perks, hot cars, turbo-charged for livin' large!"
"Huh! So that's why you want the prize money? How selfish."
"Don't you judge me! Who do you think you are?!"
"Hey, you're only dueling for yourself, but for your information, some of us duel for the people we love."
Rain sweatdropped. "Why do I suddenly feel inadequate?"
"Because you only came to this tournament for a distraction." (Y/N) chimed in.
"You know, you could encourage me more."
"Someone has to keep you in check."
"Duel!" Both duelists shouted.