The first day of duels had come to a close.
The Friendship Cup was scheduled to last about two weeks.
With two duels already completed during the opening ceremony alone, the entire tournament could realistically be wrapped up in just a few more days. But since the event emphasized "friendship," interdimensional social exchanges and activities were also woven in between the duels.
So alongside the matches, there were diplomatic exchanges between the worlds.
After Day One, both dimensions had gained a rough understanding of each other's Duel systems. But with only two matches played, it wasn't nearly enough to claim familiarity. The more critical developments were in the talks between the Security Bureau and KaibaCorp.
Truth be told, Seto Kaiba found all this tedious and beneath him. His interest was lukewarm at best.
Still, as the head of KaibaCorp, he had responsibilities to fulfill, and he saw it through.
After the duels ended, the cameras were packed away, but the number of Security officers actually increased around the area.
The Security Bureau allocated a stretch of land to KaibaCorp. Within that space, KaibaCorp was free to do as they pleased—as long as they weren't constructing any weapons that could threaten the City, the authorities wouldn't interfere.
Naturally, KaibaCorp didn't hold back. They immediately bulldozed the surrounding run-down buildings and quickly erected new structures to serve as temporary lodging for the duelists.
During this lull in activity, Jaden Yuki and Jesse Anderson—already fast friends—grabbed a table somewhere and started playing cards. Chazz Princeton hovered nearby, grumbling and nitpicking their moves, while Alexis Rhodes, curious as ever, headed to the City's duelist area with Hikaru Amagi.
There, in the Satellite Zone's section, they spotted Yusei Fudo and Yuugo. Including those two, only seven duelists were physically present; the rest seemed to be upper-class duelists, probably selected by City officials, who hadn't shown up yet.
The Security Bureau didn't seem to care that Satellite duelists were mingling with interdimensional visitors during downtime. They weren't worried about them causing any trouble.
To them, the Satellite residents were too weak, too poor, too insignificant to pose a real threat. Even if they tried to conspire with outsiders, what would it matter?
It wasn't arrogance, just cold logic.
No matter how friendly Hikaru or KaibaCorp were, they couldn't remain in this world forever. And if interdimensional cooperation ever became a serious thing, it would obviously be better to deal with a stable governing body rather than the gutter rats of Satellite.
No matter what scraps they got from the other side, it wouldn't change anything.
So, the dueling candidates were free to chat with Hikaru in their downtime. Alexis, seeing Rin for the first time, felt a strange curiosity and joined Hikaru to approach her.
Unlike Hikaru, who simply wanted to meet the characters he once admired like Yusei and Yuugo, Alexis had a deeper motive. As the girls' dorm representative at Duel Academy and someone who'd spent a lot of time looking after Serena—who lacked common sense—she had formed a bond with her. Now, seeing Rin, who looked exactly like Serena, stirred up all kinds of questions.
Like: So there really are duplicates across worlds?
Would there be a parallel version of herself somewhere?
If her world had someone like Hikaru, a duelist obsessed with fusion, would this world have someone obsessed with Synchro?
Her thoughts ran wild.
Rin, normally wary of outsiders, warmed up to Alexis surprisingly fast. The kindness, the shared gender, the photo of Serena—everything worked. Before long, Rin was calling her "Big Sis," visibly happy.
And since Hikaru was Rin's master in another world, she held great respect for him too.
More importantly, Hikaru wasn't some crazed zealot despite his fusion obsession. He was polite, composed, and had even cheered for Yuugo mid-duel. That was enough for Rin to lower her guard.
That night, Hikaru moved into the temporary housing provided by KaibaCorp. After checking his deck, he opened his Emerald Grimoire to contact Byakushin and check in on his workshop.
Of course, his goal in getting close to Yusei and Yuugo wasn't just to meet his favorite characters. He was laying the groundwork. One day, he'd like to form a pact through his book.
He didn't know if this world's version of Declan Akaba would try to reforge his daughter from the four Yuzus, like in the original timeline, but if he did, Hikaru wanted to be ready.
Day Three.
Like clockwork, the helicopters descended again. The enthusiastic MC shouted into the mic while the City's security officers watched on, expressionless.
The high-tier systems were up and running. Today, however, Seto Kaiba himself did not attend. Likely bored of the spectacle already, he sent subordinates to handle the lottery draw.
Today's duelist? Jaden Yuki.
But his opponent was… nowhere to be found.
"Huh? That's weird. Where is he?"
"Oh dear! Duelist Leo? Duelist Leo, are you present?" the MC scanned the crowd, shouting into his mic. "Did something come up last-minute? Should we kill some time with a story?"
Moments later, word came through his earpiece. It wasn't that Leo had been delayed—he wasn't on-site at all.
Leo was a rookie officer from the Security Bureau, just a couple years older than Jaden. A rising star, handpicked by the Elder Council to show the power of their world.
Naturally, someone from the upper city wouldn't be caught dead hanging around the filthy Satellite Zone. But since he was the Council's chosen rep, he couldn't skip out either. Once summoned, he raced in on his standard-issue D-Wheel.
When he finally arrived, he took off his helmet, dusted it off, glanced at Jaden, and with a smug tone said, "Sorry I'm late—though it hardly matters. I'm going to win anyway."
"What was that?" Chazz clenched his fists below the platform, visibly pissed.
"So cocky?" Jaden blinked.
"Not cocky—just factual," Leo replied, yanking off his gloves and tossing them onto his ride, his words dripping with contempt. "If you clowns can barely handle Satellite trash, what chance do you have against me?"
Even Jaden, normally unshakable, was visibly annoyed now.