365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Interview

4/15/19

Judai really should've expected this, considering how he'd been entered into the tournament in the first place, but he still found himself caught off-guard when he was singled out in the competitor's room by security to get ready to go on stage. He vaguely listened to the announcer outside going over a list of introductory events from behind one of the doors to the arena, waiting for his cue to go out.

"Judai, stop biting your lip so hard or you're going to break it," Yubel warned him.

Oops, he hadn't even noticed he'd been biting it - he sighed as he stopped, suddenly very aware of the slightly metallic taste in his mouth.

Sorry, he replied mentally.

"Stop biting your tongue now, too."

...Oops?

He winced slightly at the admonishment and annoyance that got sent to him by both of the other two, feeling a bit bad about worrying them. He couldn't help it though, as he hadn't exactly been prepared to be singled out on stage - not yet at least, not until the finals.

Remembering what Yusei'd told him earlier, he took a couple deep breaths, which helped him calm down a bit. What else had he said to do if it got bad?

Right, think about calming things, or really just anything that made him happy. He resolved himself to thinking about how lucky he was to have Yusei as a significant other, and how utterly thankful he was to him for letting him stay around and helping him have... well, have a home. This place was home now.

A small smile formed on his face at the thought, his chest warming at how nice it was to think about.

"-winner from the New Year's After Party tournament whose quick rise through the pro-leagues is unprecedented, Judai Yuki!" The announcer's voice yelled out, breaking Judai out of his thoughts and reminding him of where he was.

Well, now or never, he guessed. He pushed open the doors and walked out, glad that it was still fairly early in the morning so the sun wasn't too bright and hard to adjust his eyes to. The first thing that hit him was the absolute roar of the crowd, which reverberated throughout the stadium in a rumble he could physically feel; the second was the sight of the crowd, which was basically a blur of colorful dots that spread out and everywhere he could see.

It was jarring, and yet... it wasn't hitting him as hard as he thought it would, which was pretty damn relieving. Damn it, he must've been stressing out too much again and caused himself to worry for no reason.

He smiled brightly and waved to the crowd as he reached the center of the arena next to the announcer, eyeing the champion box for a second on the way there. There was Yusei, and it would seem that both Jack and Crow had been able to make it - the twins were there too, which was great for them. He could practically see Leo's excited expression in his mind, and he had to hold back a chuckle.

He squinted though when he noticed the door to the room open though, revealing Jun and Edo. What were they doing there? They hadn't said anything to him about coming to watch, let alone that they knew he was dueling in the tournament in the first place. Then again, it had been announced in that first tournament that he would be dueling, so they probably just found out through that.

"Mr. Yuki, tell us- how do you feel about dueling with the pros already? You've climbed the ranks faster than anyone has in the past ten years, and it's a very impressive feat! You haven't lost yet, either!" The announcer asked, holding the microphone out for Judai's answer.

"Firstly, just call me Judai," he grinned, slowly starting to get into the crowd's hype as he felt his nerves turn into excitement instead, "As for dueling with the pros- well, I'm just as surprised as you at being moved up so quickly! I'm hoping to have some fun duels today more than anything, so I hope everyone enjoys the show!" He gave a wink at the end since he'd noticed he was front and center on some of the side screens, and to his delight this caused the crowd to cheer loudly in support.

Yeah, this definitely wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be.

The announcer took back the microphone, continuing, "Well, you're definitely a crowd favorite already! Not just that, but a favorite of sponsors as well it would seem, eh?"

Wait what? He was sponsored?! By who?! WHEN?!

"...Aren't you supposed to be informed about this sort of thing?" Haou asked, amusement flooding out of him, "Then again, it's you, so I'm not surprised things didn't happen the way they're supposed to."

Yubel simply cackled, confused as well but more than willing to just focus on the hilarity of it all.

"The Manjoume Group and The Phoenix Company have both sponsored you as a duelist, so you've really made a name for yourself! We'll be looking forward for some fantastic duels from you today!"

...Those fucking bastards- they didn't tell me, damn it! No wonder they're here!

As much as Judai appreciated the support, they could have, y'know, told him!

After a bit more back-and-forth and some quick, on-the-spot improvisation to explain his 'gratefulness for the sponsors' and his 'surprise at being approached for one in the first place' - ha, what a lie that one was - he barely kept himself from glaring at the champion's box as he walked off the stage.

He noted the smug smirks on the two businessmen's faces at having pulled one over him and vowed to get back at them for this somehow. At least it'd been something good in the end, but still, was this really necessary?

The thing he really kept note of, though, was Yusei's slightly-guilty, sheepish smile that he gave him as he looked up. Yusei was the only one who knew he could see that far and clearly, so he knew he would see him, and he wasn't even trying to hide that he'd known about this happening.

Judai was so using that 'make-him-do-anything' pass after this, damn it! Yusei was definitely not getting any mercy from him this time, that's for sure.