On the way back, the energetic Akasha was bouncing around, while the exhausted and weak-footed Hoshino created a stark contrast.
"I'm so envious of how kids seem to have endless energy. If I were 10 years younger, would I be like this too?" Hoshino mused, glancing at the lively Akasha, thoughts more fitting for an old lady creeping into her mind.
"Hoshino-nee, are you hungry?" Akasha asked with concern.
"It would be a lie to say I'm not."
Though she had already missed mealtime, Hoshino no longer felt the intense hunger she had while climbing the stairs earlier. In simple terms, she had "Too hungry" for hunger and was now numb to it.
"But right now, I just want to go back and rest, lie on my not-so-soft bed, and cuddle Akasha-chan and squish her all over."
"Hoshino-nee, you're such a perv! (ノ>ω<)ノ"
.
..
…
"We're almost there! Kame Toy Shop!" Hoshino perked up a bit and pointed ahead.
Tilting her head, Akasha smiled and said, "It's a very unimpressive store."
"Akasha, you shouldn't say that in front of Grandpa, okay? He'll be heartbroken."
Indeed, after just visiting Kaiba Corporation's massive, over-the-top building, even Devlin's toy shop seemed shabby, let alone the Kame Toy Shop.
"Ah, this is the power of money~" Hoshino sighed softly, once again reminded of how important money is in every world.
"Hoshino-nee, there's a crowd in front of the toy shop!" Akasha said after closely observing the scene.
"Huh? Really?" Hoshino hadn't paid attention earlier. Since it was the day of the Battle City tournament, she thought there wouldn't be many people at the shop.
After all, Domino City was in a festival state. Not only were their duelists participating, but even kids who couldn't afford Duel Disks had hit the streets to enjoy the Hollywood-level special effects brought by the new Duel Disks.
Hoshino activated her "Hawkeye."
"You're right!"
Recognizing the familiar faces, Hoshino waved excitedly and shouted, "Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu!"
Even though they had only seen each other that morning, Hoshino felt a nostalgic longing, as if it had been ages. Ignoring her fatigue, she ran over.
However, the three friends didn't share her excitement; their expressions were much more complex.
"What's going on, everyone? Why are you gathered at the toy shop? Have you all collected your six puzzle cards already?" Hoshino, unaware that the Battle City tournament had been paused due to her duels, made this assumption.
After all, despite spending most of her time dealing with Yako and his crew, Hoshino had already collected four puzzle cards.
So naturally, Hoshino thought her friends had easily secured their place in the finals. "I didn't expect it—Yugi, sure, but even you, Jonouchi, managed to pull it off?"
"Why is everyone so gloomy?" Hoshino finally sensed something was off with the group.
"Hoshino-nee, what happened?" Akasha, who had followed her, was equally puzzled.
"We're busted! It's been exposed!" The three had originally planned to stay silent, but now their eyes darted nervously toward the toy shop.
"Someone just said 'Hoshino,' right?" A girl's unfamiliar, though youthful and angry, voice called out from inside the shop.
Suddenly, a yellow blur rushed out like a hungry tiger, stopping right in front of Hoshino.
"You're Hoshino Chiyuki?" The girl staring at Hoshino had blonde hair, much like Akasha. But unlike Akasha's smooth complexion, this girl's face was dotted with freckles. Not that freckles are a bad thing—freckles can add a unique charm and highlight a different kind of cuteness.
"Uh... yeah, that's me," Hoshino replied, puzzled by the hostility from this girl, who hardly seemed the "cute" type.
"Little girl, do you need something from me?"
"How dare you call Rebecca a 'little girl'! Do you think being older is an advantage? Let me tell you, men only like younger girls!" the girl snapped.
"Oh, so your name is Rebecca? Well, what can I do for you, Rebecca?" Hoshino asked, still unsure of what was going on.
"Hmph!" Rebecca scoffed, scanning Hoshino from head to toe. "I guess you're a bit pretty at first glance."
"Pretty? You're talking about me?" Hoshino frowned slightly, unsure whether she had been complimented or insulted, but feeling oddly irritated.
"Yugi, what's up with this kid? Why did she rush out of the toy shop like she was about to fight me?"
Hoshino wasn't stupid. She could sense the hostility in Rebecca's tone. Combined with her friend's strange behavior earlier, Hoshino was sure this girl wasn't here for a friendly chat.
"Actually, Hoshino..." Yugi tried to explain.
"Yugi, don't say a word!" Rebecca interrupted him before he could continue.
Then, straightening her posture, Rebecca declared, "Hoshino, prepare to be shocked by my true identity!"
"Oh?"
"I, Rebecca, am the youngest Duel Monsters champion in U.S. history, and I am Yugi's official fiancée!"
"Wow, becoming the U.S. champion at such a young age? That's impressive," Hoshino said, her compliment sounding incredibly insincere. After all, to her, being the U.S. champion didn't seem like a big deal. Even Keith had held the title multiple times.
"Wait, what did you just say at the end... you're Yugi's fiancée?! Yugi actually has a fiancée?" The news was so shocking that Hoshino's brain took a moment to catch up.
Rebecca smirked triumphantly. "Heh, heh! Surprised, aren't you? I'm the official future wife of Yugi Muto!"
"Wow, Yugi, you've got such a cute fiancée. I didn't expect you to be so capable," Hoshino remarked sincerely this time, her expression one of genuine admiration.
"No, wait—why are you reacting like that?" Rebecca was taken aback, not expecting this kind of response.
Tilting her head in confusion, Hoshino asked, "Huh? Was I supposed to react differently?"
"Shouldn't you be panicking and stammering, like some homewrecker caught by the girlfriend in those TV dramas?!"
"Huh? Homewrecker?" Now it was Hoshino's turn to be confused.
"Yugi, your wife is saying some weird things!(・∀・*)"Hoshino furrowed her brow, her gut telling her something was very wrong.
"W-Wife?" Yugi's face turned bright red, unsure whether it was from embarrassment or panic.
Suddenly being referred to as Yugi's wife, a slight blush also appeared on Rebecca's face. But she quickly regained her composure.
"You think flattering Rebecca will change the fact that you're living with Yugi?"
Standing nearby, Sugoroku awkwardly tried to mediate, "Rebecca-chan, as I said, Hoshino is just staying with us temporarily."
"Yeah, exactly!" Hoshino quickly chimed in. "I'm squeezed into a tiny, rundown storage room in this inconspicuous toy store. How could you call that living together?!"
"A t-tiny, rundown toy store (￣△￣;)!" Sugoroku was deeply hurt.
"You think such small tricks can deceive me!" Completely ignoring the explanation, Rebecca continued her interrogation.
"Even if you claim you're staying in this practically unprofitable toy shop..."
"P-Practically unprofitable (°△°|||)!" Sugoroku was heartbroken again.
"Aren't you eating most of your meals with Yugi?"
"Uh, I guess that's true," Hoshino admitted. She usually freeloaded breakfast and dinner at Sugoroku's house, and lunch was typically handled with the group at school.
"Don't you spend most of your time with Yugi?"
"Ugh, well, if you put it that way, I guess it's true." Besides being together at school, Hoshino also spent after-school hours and weekends helping out at the toy store with Yugi.
"And haven't you dueled fiercely with Yugi?!"
"Why does this question pop up all of a sudden?! How is that connected to the previous questions?!"
"As I thought, Yugi has been cheating on me! Poor Rebecca, betrayed by Yugi, her fiancé, while she's far away!"
Suddenly, Rebecca dramatically fell to her knees, looking skyward and crying. "I was first! Rebecca was first in everything—dueling and the engagement! How did things turn out like this?!"
"Hoshino-nee, I can't believe you're such a sinful woman." Akasha's gaze turned complicated as she looked at a completely dumbfounded Hoshino.
"But even so, Akasha will still support Hoshino-nee! I've seen it in movies—when it comes to love, you can't say who's right or wrong! Besides, when it comes to appearance and age, Hoshino-nee wins!"
"You little-, don't make things worse! Can't you see how tense things are?" Hoshino almost wanted to cover Akasha's mouth to stop her from saying more.
Feeling troubled, Yugi stepped forward to comfort Rebecca. "Rebecca, it isn't what you think."
Although the engagement had been one-sidedly decided, Yugi, being kind-hearted, didn't want to see a girl cry because of him.
"In that case!" Rebecca suddenly stopped crying. Tears still shimmered in her blue eyes as she glared fiercely at Hoshino.
"A duel!"
"Huh?"
"Rebecca will duel you, wagering Yugi's ownership—let's have a duel of pride between women!"
Rebecca wiped her tears and stood tall, her resolve firm.
"Kotowaru!"(I refuse)
"Hm?"
"I said, I refuse!" Hoshino firmly responded.
"Eh? Why?" Rebecca, completely stunned, looked like her fighting spirit had just been doused with cold water.
"Yugi isn't an object. We have no right to wager him in a duel." Even though Hoshino was well aware of this world's duel-centric rules, she still refused to go along with it.
"Hoshino..." Yugi, unsure of what he was feeling, looked at Hoshino, speechless.
Hoshino continued, "But if it's just a duel, I accept! I just hope that after the duel, you'll listen to my explanation calmly."
"So cool!" Akasha's face lit up with admiration. "This is what it means to be a confident woman! Hoshino-nee is charging ahead for love!"
Hoshino's words made even Rebecca realize that wagering Yugi in a duel might not be right. However, she still refused to back down. "Fine, if we can't wager Yugi, then the loser of the duel has to leave him. That works, right?"
"Whether you leave or not is your decision, but I'm not going to lose." Hoshino's confidence showed. Even though Rebecca was the youngest Duel Monsters champion in America, there was still a significant gap in skill between her and Hoshino.
Hoshino swiftly unfolded the Duel Disk on her arm.
"Ahem... Hoshino." Jonouchi coughed awkwardly, finally finding an opportunity to speak up. "The Duel Disks aren't working right now, you know."
"Hm? Not working? Why?" Hoshino, surprised by this news, looked to Jonouchi for clarification.
Jonouchi explained, "Kaiba Corp just made an announcement. Due to the overwhelming enthusiasm for Duel City, there were too many participants, and the satellite computer was overloaded. So, the tournament's schedule is paused for today. It'll resume tomorrow after the second satellite is launched."
"Kaiba Corp made an announcement?" Hoshino, more confused than ever, murmured to herself.
"How could they make an announcement? Kaiba Corp was under the control of Yako and his group when I was just there," she thought, unaware that she was the reason behind the chaos.
"Well, it's no big deal. If you want to duel, we can just use the mini duel arena in the store!" Seeing that the intense situation finally had a solution, Sugoroku quickly stepped in.
Hoshino suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah, that thing! The mini duel arena! Even though it's just outdated equipment..."
"O-Outdated equipment (;′⌒`)!" Sugoroku once again hurt.
"But it should still get the job done."
Hoshino walked into the toy shop and approached the mini duel arena. She placed her hand on the activation button and sighed. "Once Duel Disks become common, there won't be any market left for such inconvenient devices."
"N-No market left（;´д｀）"
"Hoshino, if you keep talking like this, Grandpa won't be able to handle it anymore!" Yugi quickly intervened to stop Hoshino from saying anything more hurtful.
"I know the store's falling behind the times, but he's still trying hard to keep it going!"
"F-Falling behind the times!（□`）"
Muto Sugoroku, dead—
"Yugi, you're quite evil, aren't you?"
(*****)
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