The Boeing plane stamped with the Kaiba Company logo pierced through the sea of clouds, slowly dropping in altitude. Following its designated path, it returned to the embrace of the earth and came to a stop after a long taxi.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the aircraft has come to a complete stop. Please disembark from the rear door. Thank you..."
The announcement sounded, and the passengers streamed out of the cabin, filing along the long jet bridge into the terminal.
"Please show me your ID." the customs lady said.
She was a girl with dark brown hair and a warm, friendly smile.
The young man set his wheeled suitcase upright in front of him, reached into the inside pocket of his dark blue jacket, and took out his passport to hand it over.
The girl took the passport, casually opening it as she said, "Thank you… Just back from the States?"
"Yeah, had some work to take care of over there."
"From Domino?"
"Born and raised."
The first glance she cast at the name field after opening the document made her freeze.
She looked up, her face full of shock. Only then did she really notice the young man's distinctive, multicolored starfish-like hairstyle, and the Gold inverted triangle pendant on his chest, gleaming in the sunlight streaming into the airport hall.
Her breath practically stopped. "Mr. Muto… Yugi?"
"That's me."
Muto Yugi showed a gentle smile.
"You… came back?" The moment she asked, she realized how obvious—and kind of silly—that question was.
So she hurriedly added, "I'm a fan of yours, I've always followed your Duels… But it feels like you haven't had any public matches in a long time?"
"Some people say you've quit the Duel World and don't Duel anymore, is that true?"
"...I've just been busy with other things." Yugi lowered his eyelids, making it hard to read his thoughts.
"Oh, oh."
The girl handed his passport back.
"You're all set, thank you. I hope you have a pleasant time back home."
As Yugi took back his passport and started to walk away, she hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help saying, "I look forward to seeing you on the stage again someday, Mr. Yugi."
Yugi's footsteps paused for a brief second. He didn't say anything, just quickly rolled his suitcase away.
Not long after he left the airport, the "smart terminal" on his Duel Disc chimed with a message notification.
It was a message from Jonouchi.
"Yugi! I heard you wrapped things up?"
"Yeah, just got off the plane." Yugi replied.
"Perfect. Want to grab dinner together tonight?"
"Sure." Yugi thought for a moment and sent a smiley face. "Let's ask Mai to come too, it's been a long time."
"Haha, sure. Let me tell you, that Mai's gotten more and more hot-tempered. Last week I got the urge to buy her a lipstick, and she actually got mad, asked if that color was what you'd get if eyeshadow glitter fell onto a lipstick..."
Yugi: "..."
For some reason, he felt like he could picture that scene perfectly…
Yugi changed the subject. "By the way, I heard you guys opened a hotpot place?"
After all, Jonouchi was one of the OG "Legendary Duelists". Not only was his own strength top-tier and honors countless, he also carried the title of "Best Friend of the First Duel King Muto Yugi". His current standing was self-evident.
That much was still normal enough. Even more ridiculous was that he was also known in the Duel World as the "God of Dice", practically synonymous with insane luck. Some business tycoons and big shots even liked to specifically invite Jonouchi to endorse their projects and products, as if that way they could catch some of the fabled gambler's luck...
"Yeah, we just opened."
Speaking of this, Jonouchi got resentful all over again.
"That bastard Kaiba, he actually made a special trip just to roast me on opening day, it ticked me off so bad!"
"Haha." Yugi replied. "But thanks to Kaiba, you probably got a lot of traffic on opening day, right?"
"That's true. Guess you could say I ended up riding that bastard's coattails..."
Apparently two days before Jonouchi's opening, Kaiba had "casually" brought it up in an interview, mocking it in a super contemptuous tone, saying how even a Normal Monster could open a store these days...
And just because of that one line from the President, Jonouchi's grand opening got swarmed by a huge wave of curious customers coming "for the meme".
That was just how President Haima was—arrogant and tsundere. He always talked down about Yugi and his old friends, and especially when it came to Jonouchi it was always "Normal Monster" this and "Normal Monster" that, full performance mode. People who didn't know any better might really think the person he despised most in life was Jonouchi.
But in reality, over the years in Domino City, where President Haima's actual power and status had long surpassed the mayor's, he'd taken care of Yugi and his friends in a lot of ways. After all, they were comrades who had literally gone through life-and-death trials together.
Of course, if you asked Kaiba that to his face, he'd obviously never admit it. That kind of thing is way too hard for a tsundere to say.
"Oh yeah, what about Honda? Is he in town?" Yugi asked.
"Doesn't seem like it, he said last week he was heading out of town on business. That guy inherited the family factory, he's crazy busy now too..."
"I see." Yugi thought for a moment. "Then… I think Youyu's still around here, right? Maybe we can ask him to join us tonight?"
"Youyu, huh? I've got no idea. Why don't we ask?"
Jonouchi quickly found Youyu in his contacts and set up a temporary group chat for the three of them.
"There's food? Of course I'm in!"
Once he got the gist of things, Youyu replied without a moment's hesitation.
"Awesome, then come to my place!" Jonouchi sent a smiley face. "It's on me this time!"
"That might be tough." Youyu replied. "I'm a bit tied up lately, can't get away from Duel Academy."
"Eh? Youyu's teaching at Duel Academy now? That's awesome." Yugi sent an impressed emoji.
Youyu replied quickly. "How about you guys come out to the island instead? The Academy's got some pretty decent restaurants too. My treat this time, I'll even cover the travel."
"Deal, but you better be prepared." Jonouchi said. "When Lord Jonouchi opens his stomach, I'm a serious heavyweight!"
"Don't worry, money's no issue." Youyu was extremely generous.
"Duel Academy, huh… I've always wanted to go take a look." Yugi replied. "Then it's settled. I'll meet up with Jonouchi today, and we'll head over to you tomorrow."
"Great, I'll be waiting."
After Youyu sent the last message, he happened to hear Judai yelling next to him.
"Ooh ooh ooh, Sensei, did you see that announcement?"
"What?" Youyu lifted his eyelids a bit.
"It's Mr. Yugi! Mr. Yugi's Card Deck is coming to the Academy for an exhibition!" Judai's eyes were shining. "That's so awesome! It's Mr. Yugi's Card Deck!"
"They're replicas." Youyu said offhandedly.
"It's still awesome!!!"
Youyu shot him a side-eye.
It's just the Duel King's Card Deck, what are you freaking out about? Your teacher here is a Duel King too, you know?
And what's a replica Card Deck compared to the real thing? The man himself is literally coming to the island for dinner tomorrow night...