( video. )

[dualer]

[ by this point, now that they know about it, people might be starting to pick up on the differences between the two yuugis - and the one sitting in front of the camera right now is all angles, sharp-eyed and rigid. his hair is different. he holds himself more proudly. he also seems to be, despite his serious expression, kind of awkward, and he spends a while drumming his fingers on the desk, clearly unsure of what to say. ]

... Everyone got out of Kaiba's Death-T alright. [ starting was apparently the hardest part, because he shifts and continues, now in a strong and confident voice with no hesitation: ] Grandpa is home from the hospital already, and Honda-kun wasn't hurt after we lost him, thanks to Kaiba's little brother. I won the final game, and everything is back to normal. [ a small smirk. ] Well, aside from this latest virus, I guess. But it seems that I'm not affected, and I'm glad for that.

[ he picks up a piece of paper and stares at it for a moment, frowning. ] My partner... wanted me to say this, instead of him. He also wants me to introduce myself to the people of the community. I don't see much point in it, but... [ he puts the paper down and stares, dead serious, into the camera. ] I'm Yuugi Mutou. I am the presence that lives inside of Yuugi's heart. I believe my partner calls me his "other self", so if you want to call me the "other Yuugi", I don't mind. If we haven't already met, it's a pleasure. Any friends of Yuugi's are also friends of mine.

... [ he sighs, eyebrows furrowing. ] I'd like to switch back to my partner now, so that he can talk to you all again after the Death-T incident, but according to this [ waving the piece of paper ] he wants me to be the one to talk. I can't lie to him, which means I'll have to do my best with this. My partner recommended asking a question, and so I've been trying to think of one...

After our duel at the end of Death-T, I shattered Kaiba's heart completely. I broke it so that he can rebuild it himself and be free of the darkness that had consumed him. I can't say for sure that he'll recover; but while he may have done terrible things to my friends and family, I truly respect him as an opponent, and I hope that he finds his way out of the darkness to face me again. He deserves that second chance.

... What I wanted to ask was how the rest of you feel about second chances like that. Do you think that everyone is deserving of them? No one? Or only those who you can see are worthy of it?

Comments

[anothersoul]

Pardon me for not answering your question but I'm curious...what do you mean that you shattered his heart?

[dualer]

Hm... I call it his "heart", but it might be more accurate to say his "mind" or his "soul". With the state he's in now, it's going to be a while before he's capable of anything again.

[anothersoul]

Was that the best course of action?

[dualer]

Yes. If he hadn't changed, Kaiba's darkness would have destroyed him eventually. I didn't want to lose a rival like that... and I didn't want his brother to suffer his cruelty anymore. If Kaiba has the strength to recover from this, he'll become a better person. One that's more worthy of respect.

[anothersoul]

That does seem to tie into with your question, at least. I've never met this Kaiba but to hear of what he's done there isn't any question that there's darkness within him. As for second chances... I do believe in them, myself.

[hardworks]

What do you mean you shattered his heart!?

[ WHAT IS THIS BUSINESS. She just got over the fact that there are magical girls (reluctantly accepting anyway), what is this business about Death-T's (was it a kind of t-shirt?) and shattering hearts!? Aren't hearts squishy anyway!? What is this?! At least she can answer the last couple of questions though. ]

I think everyone deserves a second chance as long as they show intent to change, though.

[stillneedawish]

Ah--! Yuugi-san... [ her face shows a pleased kind of relief at first - so this means that the note system has been working, right? ] It's nice to meet you again.

Ah, but, hmm... I think that everyone deserves a second chance to try and change. Especially if it's obvious that they regret what they did, or that it wasn't completely their fault that they became the way they did... I think that, well, sometimes it's just that people need a little help to get back to where they should be. Not... not always, maybe, but maybe a lot of the time. Um.

... what do you mean that you... shattered his heart? I - that sounds horrible, are you sure he'll be able to get better from that...!?

[seasaltzombie]

Wait - you did what to this guy?

[dualer]

Would you be able to give a second chance to simply anyone?

[dualer]

Sometimes an intent like that has to be forced upon a person, if they don't know any better.

[ psa: don't win the other yuugi's respect if you are a bad person. just don't do it. he will fuck you up and think that it's a good thing. ]

What I mean by his "heart" would probably make more sense if I called it his "soul", instead. He's going to be recovering for a while, and it's possible not to survive it. But if he's strong and he can find his way out of the darkness I broke, he'll pull through.

[dualer]

Madoka-san. [ he smiles genuinely at the sight of her, much brighter than his usual smirks. ] I have you to thank for this! Without you, my partner and I would never have been able to reach an understanding as soon as we did.

It's not certain; the effect it has on him will probably leave him lifeless for a while. But I have faith in Kaiba's strength. I think that he has the will to piece his heart back together. [ he hums. ] It's just as you said, in fact. Sometimes, people need a little help to get back to where they should be. I've given him the help he needs to get started, and the rest relies on him.

[dualer]

I broke apart his heart, so that he can put the pieces back together with his own strength, free of the darkness that had overcome him. It's not pleasant, and it's possible for it to kill a weaker-minded person, but it had to be done.

[stillneedawish]

A-ah--! W-well, I don't know about that... but um, I'm glad that I could help you and Yuugi-kun, even if it was just a little. I know he was really worried about everything, so... I'm glad that things are going so well between you. I really am!

I-- oh... [ it sounds as though he's thought about this, but even so... then again, she has a feeling that the old Yuugi-san, the one from before Yuugi-kun talked to him, would probably just have-- ]

What... can I ask what would have happened to him, if you hadn't done that?

[aquaticrush]

Hello, Mutou-san!

Um... are you sure that that's the right thing to do?

[dualer]

Don't be so modest! I'm very grateful towards you for talking to him about all of this. You gave him courage when I couldn't reach him, and now I'll be able to support him without frightening him. [ he chuckles, and then his smile turns a little more serious. ] If there's ever something that I can do to repay you, let me know.

Hm, without that... [ a scowl takes over his expression. ] I can't say for sure. He would have been consumed by that darkness, definitely, and he would have been irredeemable. Considering the point that he was at already, with Death-T— [ he pauses. ] Ah, you didn't see that, did you? It's better that you didn't, but... he put me and my friends into a theme park designed to kill us all, to avenge the loss that he suffered at my hand once before. He was turning down a path that I didn't want to see a worthy rival like him follow.

[dualer]

I know that it seems cruel, Retasu-san, but it's what had to be done. And if Kaiba is as strong as I think he is, he'll be better for his suffering when he comes to face me again.

[aquaticrush]

I hope it works the way you say it will.

[seasaltzombie]

But you can't even know if he'd be able to do something like that on his own. I mean - breaking someone's heart apart, that's-- ... he might never wake up again. Not without help, anyway.

[ mnnr. this is so Not Okay. but... ]

... what was that you were saying about the Darkness, anyway? That's why you did it, right?

[stillneedawish]

Ehehe... sorry, I'll try not to be. I really am glad that I could help you both. And um, if I ever do think of something, I will let you know. I promise.

[ hearing about Death-T, she looks shocked and horrified. ] He really did all of that? I - I somehow didn't see that at all! I haven't been able to access the community for a while, so... [ she shudders. ] I'm really glad that you managed to get out of something like that okay... that's horrible. It's really horrible. None of your friends were hurt either, were they?

[hardworks]

[ Not his heart, but his soul.. ]

Isn't that somehow worse..?

[oceanicbreak]

I can't say that I agree with your methods, but your intent...Anyone can change, as long as they take that chance and want to. Kaiba might have had a lot of darkness in him, but it's something he might have been better working his way out of with a friend to help him.

[dualer]

It's the same. The mind and soul are both a person's "heart", to me. In order for me to get through to him, I had to shatter all of it, despite what he might suffer for this.

[dualer]

No, my friends are all fine. We were fortunate enough to make it through those sick games. There was a moment when we were afraid that we'd lost Honda-kun, but it turns out that Kaiba's little brother isn't as far gone as him... When Kaiba intended to torture Mokuba for losing to me, I rescued him, and he saved Honda-kun to repay me.

[dualer]

Yes. I don't know what it is, but something has happened to make Kaiba twisted. He has pride, and honour - I can see it in him - but whatever monster he's become right now tried to torture his own little brother, and aimed to kill me, Grandpa, and all of my friends just to avenge his loss to me.

That darkness that he carries was taking over his heart. Even though I know what state it's going to leave him in, I had to destroy that.

[dualer]

Me too. It would be a shame to lose a skilled duelist like him just because he couldn't overcome his own flaws.