Chapter 32: Could Shadi's Hairstyle Under the Turban Be Bald?
"Hayato, you truly are quite the young hero."
After seeing off the students, teachers, director, and interview team who had successfully basked in Hayato's popularity, the principal mysteriously kept Hayato behind, seeming to have something to say.
However, he didn't get straight to the point, instead continuing to exchange pleasantries after the interview ended, adeptly trading compliments.
"This is all thanks to the school's cultivation of me. How could I have achieved this without the teachers' education?" Hayato replied with a fake smile, having no intention of beating around the bush with the principal any longer. "But Principal, you didn't keep me here just because you think I'm handsome and want to look at me a bit longer, did you?"
"There's naturally a reason for asking you to stay, Hayato." The principal still wore that mysterious smile. "Because a certain important person entrusted me with something to give to you."
"An important person?"
Hayato was a little puzzled, watching as the principal, who looked incredibly like GabeN, pressed down on his large belly and struggled to bend over, retrieving a moderately sized box from his desk drawer and placing it in front of Hayato.
"This box is what someone asked me to give to you. However, they emphasized that only you can open it, so I don't know what's inside either." The principal pushed the box towards Hayato. "Remember to take it home before opening it, Hayato. That's also one of their requests."
"May I ask first, who is 'they'?"
The principal shook his head. "I cannot tell you; that is their request. However, he said you'll know once you open the box."
Seeing the principal was surprisingly tight-lipped, Hayato didn't press further, picking up the box by its handle. It was unexpectedly light.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head home first, Mr. Principal?"
"Mm, go ahead, Hayato. Be careful on your way~" The expression on the principal's face remained unchanged.
This lasted until Hayato walked out of the principal's office and closed the door.
The closing door seemed like a switch being flipped. The principal's expression suddenly became somewhat dazed, as if his mind had wandered. His hands, which had been resting on the desk, dropped down. As he puffed out his chest, a button on his suit jacket popped off, revealing his chest.
If Hayato were still here, he would definitely be extremely surprised, because on the principal's chest, there was actually an ancient Egyptian Wedjat Eye emitting a faint golden glow. In ancient Egyptian culture, this symbol represented punishment, but in the world of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", this eye could also refer to something else—the symbol of a "Shadow Game"!
Somewhere unknown, a man dressed in Egyptian attire with a white turban wrapped around his head and a white robe opened his grayish-blue eyes, murmuring to himself: "An aura entwined with both the Pharaoh and Plana... Hayato, just who are you?"
"I hope you won't become a variable in the Pharaoh's return to the Netherworld..." The man's voice, along with his figure, gradually faded into the void and disappeared.
"Big Bro, what on earth is in the box?"
After leaving the school, as soon as the crowd began to thin, Ojama Yellow climbed onto the box Hayato was carrying, tapping its shell quite curiously, wanting to find out what was inside.
"Alright, you have 9 sentences left in your quota for today."
"Eh? Why does even asking a question count, Big Bro~"
"8."
"I'll shut up!"
"7."
Counting down to "7," and seeing that Ojama Yellow had indeed obediently shut his mouth, Hayato explained this time: "You guys heard it in the office earlier, didn't you? Some unknown person entrusted the principal to give it to me."
"Although the principal has been acting strangely ever since the interview ended today, there's one thing I can be sure of: I'd best do exactly as that mysterious person said and open the box only after I get home." Hayato paused here. "However, I plan to go find Yugi and the others first. I arranged to have a duel with Joey Wheeler today."
"How could that guy, who's no different from a vanilla monster, possibly be Big Bro's opponent!"
"Big Bro is the strongest, Big Bro is the best~"
Ojama Green and Ojama Black also climbed onto the box to join the fun.
"You two have 9 speaking chances left for today. Don't forget, whoever has the fewest speaking turns, I'll use them as a punching bag in the next duel." Hayato gave a "kind" reminder, and the Ojama brothers, who were about to get noisy, immediately quieted down obediently.
Walking near Yugi's house, Hayato spotted the "GAME" sign of the Kame Game Shop from afar, but sensed something was off.
The sky was darkening slightly now. Usually at this time, Grandpa Solomon , who tended the shop, would have already turned on the sign's lights. He wasn't the type of old man to be stingy and refuse to turn on the lights at night. But today, why wasn't the "GAME" sign of the Kame Game Shop lit up?
He was almost at the shop's entrance, yet there wasn't a single sound coming from inside, as if no one was home?
Hayato quickly sped up, reached the game shop's door, and pushed it. It didn't budge; clearly, the main door was locked.
Wasn't this quite strange? Setting aside Grandpa Solomon , he had arranged to meet Yugi and the others here today. Even if Joey Wheeler got out late today, shouldn't Yugi and Téa be here?
Something must have happened!
Involuntarily, Hayato thought of Grandpa Solomon 's miraculous 'Millennium Hostage' constitution – kidnapped whenever something major happened, almost on par with Ayumi from the Detective Boys in that other show.
With a suspected direction, and considering the timing, wasn't it about time for Kaiba to kidnap Grandpa Solomon for a card-betting duel?
Turning his head to glance at the towering KaibaCorp building, which could always be seen no matter where one was in Domino City just by looking up, Hayato couldn't help but smile wryly. "Looks like I'll have to play the runner today too. Hope I'm still in time?"
He vaguely remembered that Solomon Muto had agreed to the duel to awaken Kaiba's heart, which had gone astray, relying on his powerful drawing ability, meticulous dueling tactics, and perfect deck construction.
Then, just as the duel began, he got scared by the Duel Monsters' holograms, suffered a heart attack, and immediately lost the match.
Therefore, besides interfering women and a per☆fect☆hand, a duelist's greatest enemy is heart disease.
Not just Solomon Muto, but in the future, there would be another scummy duelist who liked to make huffing sounds, tell people not to blink, and start struggling even at full life points, who similarly lost a victory within his grasp due to heart problems.
End of Chapter