Lion's Mouth: Part I (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Here I come, hotshot!" Mai said.

"Right!" said Yugi.

Then they both said: "Duel!"

Ma started off the duel by playing her Harpie Lady in attack mode. I recognized the card from her duel with Tea.

"That move is Mai's standard opening ploy," Tristan said.

"Yugi, be careful! Watch out!" Tea called.

"Nothing to worry about," Joey said. "Yugi knows what's coming, Tea. He's seen Mai's Harpie Lady in action like a billion times already."

"And now I'll lay down a second card, which will finish my turn," Mai said as she set down either a trap or magic card.

It was Yugi's turn, and I focused on reading his emotions. He was nervous and anxious. It seemed like he wanted to act quickly and defeat Mai without the help of the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. That could spell trouble if he rushed and didn't think things through.

Yugi summoned Gaia the Fierce Night, one of his strongest cards, and attacked Harpie Lady. However, Mai used her trap card, Mirror Wall, to reduce Gaia's attack power by half and stop his attack.

"Yugi, slow down!" I shouted at him. "Even I know Mai wouldn't summon Harpie Lady without a plan to block your attack!"

"I know what I'm doing!" Yugi said forcefully. There was anger in his voice, but I felt fear behind it.

"Don't worry, Samia," Joey said. "He just made one mistake. He was probably so eager to duel in the finals that he let his guard down. It won't happen again."

I glanced at Joey doubtfully before biting my lip and gripping the railing tightly. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and turned to see Bakura looking at me sympathetically. He was worried as well, but his presence helped.

Mai played Cyber Shield, which powered up Harpie Lady enough to destroy Gaia. Yugi seemed shocked that his monster could be defeated so easily.

"You know, you're friend's right," Mai said. "I'm amazed you fell for that trap, Yugi. Don't tell me you're losing your edge in the Championship Game. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're holding back."

Yugi ignored her and drew card. He played Summoned Skull, another powerful card, and attacked Harpie Lady again. Just like before, Mirror Wall took effect and cut Summoned Skull's attack power, making it too weak to finish the job. Apparently, Mirror Wall was a permanent trap, which Yugi would have figured out if he had noticed there was still a hologram of the card on the field.

"You better hurry and get that little brain of yours in gear, Yugi," Mai taunted.

"Most of the trap cards I've encountered before disappear from the field once they've been sprung, so your permanent trap took me by surprise," Yugi said, speaking way too honestly. "It's the exception to that rule."

"It's very exceptional, just like me. As long as it's on the field, it will unleash the same delightful effect again and again every time you launch an attack. Get it? No matter how many times you try to come at me, your monsters can never reach my Harpie Lady. Let's face it, you're gonna have to bring your game up a few notches just to keep me interested, Yugi."

"Mai's right," Bakura said. "Yugi's game seems off."

"His strategy is whack, man," Joey said, finally feeling frustrated. "He can't just attack. Why isn't he thinking through his moves like he's always telling me?"

"Oh, Yugi, what are you thinking?" Tea murmured.

My jaw hurt from clenching my teeth. Now that everyone else had noticed, I had to speak out again. "Yugi, stop letting your fear control you! I know you think you're just being cautious, but if you follow fear you won't be able to tell what your intuition is telling you. You can't trust your heart if you're trusting your fear. I would know!"