Past Repeating - Book 1

Beautiful Harpie Lady

Star Chips: Yugi: 3/Joey: 1/Sarah: 2

We finally emerged from within the dark and stuffy forest, inviting the rays of warm sunlight that bathed our bodies. Glad to have finally made it out into the open again, we followed the path back into the lush meadows. I dropped my bag by the edge of a cliff that was overlooking the ocean and plopped onto the green grass. Leaning back on my arms, I breathed in a deep breath of fresh air.

The few duelists who had found Yugi's duel against Weevil talked to him about it for a while after it was over. They were excited to meet the duelist who was at the top right now, and after dawdling and thrilling conversations about dueling, they wandered off in search of duels in the opposite direction we were headed. They mustn't have wanted to duel against Yugi, fearing they would easily lose their Star Chips in a match with him.

The Pharaoh had retreated back into the Millennium Puzzle once we had begun walking. Yugi was probably going to take a break from dueling, which meant that either Joey or I were going to duel next. I wasn't sure if I could handle one at the moment.

However, Joey was on the opposite track I was on. He looked completely ready with that bounce in his step and smile on his face. The duelist glove made him look official. He seemed excited.

"Alright!" he said cheerily. "Seeing Yugi's match pumped me up. I'm ready for a duel and I'm taking on the next duelist we see!"

Téa sighed as we watched Joey bound for the cliff and stare off towards the shimmering ocean. "I worry about him sometimes..." said the brunette.

"We should be worrying," said Tristan. "There are tournament-level duelists here. Joey needs to be really strong."

I glanced towards the blond as he gazed thoughtfully over the beach, a hopeful twinkle in his honey eyes. He must have been thinking about something important, most likely his sister and how he had this sudden opportunity to help her. Joey knew how much this meant to him. His honey-coloured eyes held determination - pure determination in helping his sister.

I smiled, admiring that drive. "He seems ready," I said.

Yugi nodded with a bright smile of his own. "Joey can do it," he said encouragingly. "He's worked so hard already. Grandpa trained him well, and for the past week, he's had nothing but practice."

Téa nodded. "He should be fine," she agreed.

Joey's smile was thoughtful. "Guys... come take a look," he said. "It's so beautiful here."

After exchanging curious glances with one another, we joined Joey at the edge of the cliff. Our eyes began to sparkle just from the sight of the ocean. It was so vast, stretching far towards the horizon. A few duelists raced across the small beach below us, chasing each other, laughing and smiling. When we turned our attention towards the other areas of the island that we could see, we spotted many duelists everywhere, scattered over the island with Duel Monster stadiums set up at every twist and turn.

"There are so many duelists here," commented Tristan, looking around at all the stadiums that were open. There were only a handful we could see with duelists surrounding each one, and there were bound to be more open on the other side of the island.

"Right," said Joey, putting his game face on. "I'm going in."

Tristan blinks. "Are you sure, man?" he asked him. "You've only got one Star Chip. If you lose it, you're out of the tournament."

Joey's face paled at the realization.

Yugi gave his friend a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Joey," he said, trying to calm his friend down. Some colour did return to the blond's face at his reassurance. "You can do it, I know you can."