"Grandpa!?" Rebecca looked surprised. "Why are you in Japan?"
"Arthur?! You're Arthur, aren't you?" Solomon also wore a look of surprise. "We... it's been a very, very long time."
"Yes, it's been a long time, Solomon-san." Compared to the headstrong Rebecca, her grandfather—Professor Hawkins—had a completely different personality, being quite gentle and refined. "My little savage of a granddaughter must have caused you a lot of trouble. My sincerest apologies."
"Grandpa!"
With a smile on his face, Professor Hawkins walked over to Yugi, who hadn't yet left the Duel Arena, and asked kindly, "Yugi-san, may I see your Deck?"
"Of course, no problem." Yugi shifted slightly, revealing his Deck on the Duel Arena, which he hadn't had a chance to put away yet. Professor Hawkins nodded his thanks. He didn't pick up the entire Deck, but merely flipped over the top card.
It was the card Yugi had just drawn and placed back into his Deck.
"Just as I thought. It's exactly like that time." Professor Hawkins showed the card to Rebecca.
After getting a clear look at the card, Rebecca's face filled with astonishment. "No way, (*Soul Release*)?! A Spell Card that can Banish Monsters from the Graveyard... If he had activated it, my (*Shadow Ghoul*) would have been destroyed by his (*Dark Magician*)!"
"Many years ago, the Duel I had with Solomon-san was identical to the one the two of you just had, right down to this very card." Hawkins looked at the card in his hand with nostalgia. "I was desperately sending Monsters to the Graveyard, building up their numbers, all for the sake of victory. But back then, Solomon-chan made the same choice as Yugi—he surrendered."
"Well, before that Duel, we had decided that the winner would get the last drink of water from the canteen. But Hawkins was already on the verge of collapsing," Grandpa Muto said, a bit embarrassed. "It was just the outcome of a single Duel. How could that be more important than the well-being of a dear friend?"
"The most important thing isn't the Duel, but life itself."
*So both of you were physically unwell, yet you could still Duel?* Chumley retorted in his mind.
"Rebecca, back then, I was just like you, blinded by the desire to win, constantly sending Monsters to the Graveyard to Enhance my (*Shadow Ghoul*). But we must also pay respect to the Monsters we sacrifice. This is true for both Duel Monsters and for archaeology, which involves excavating the tombs of the dead."
Crouching down, Professor Arthur Hawkins gently patted Rebecca's head, looking at his granddaughter whose face still showed a trace of lingering frustration. "You must have respect for your Duel Opponent. It was precisely because I came to understand this that I gave the (*Blue-Eyes White Dragon*) to Solomon-san, who taught me this valuable lesson."
Now, with direct testimony from the two people involved, the misunderstanding was finally cleared up. Realizing she had been making a scene for no reason all this time, Rebecca blushed with embarrassment and stammered, unable to face Yugi.
"This is a bit difficult to say, Arthur." Solomon walked up to his old friend, whom he hadn't seen in years, his face full of apology. "That precious (*Blue-Eyes White Dragon*) you entrusted to me... I failed to take good care of it."
"It's alright, Solomon-san." Arthur smiled gently, not at all bothered by the torn (*Blue-Eyes White Dragon*) in Solomon's hand. "The most important thing isn't the card, but the friendship it represents between us, right?"
"You're right about that, hahaha."
The two old men, both in their sixties, shared a knowing smile. Though they hadn't seen each other in a long time, their friendship remained unchanged from years ago, growing even stronger with this long-awaited reunion.
Meanwhile, Chumley took the opportunity to walk up behind Yugi and watch him organize his Hand.
Watching Yugi shuffle several red and green cards that looked like nothing but trouble—like (*Thunder Crash*) and (*Mirror Force*)—back into his Deck, Chumley glanced at Rebecca, who was peeking at Yugi from behind Arthur, and thought to himself:
'Seeing that his opponent was a little girl, has he actually learned to go easy on someone and hide his true nature as a Trap-heavy Strategy player? Yugi, you're so gentle.'
"Listen, Rebecca." Noticing that his granddaughter, hiding behind him, was constantly looking at Yugi, Arthur perceived her feelings and revealed a rare, sly smile. He said to her, "Cards represent the heart. A great Duel can forge a friendship."
"If you can't understand that, you won't be worthy of being the All-American Champion. Go apologize to Yugi."
Rebecca didn't notice her grandfather's strange smile. Instead, his words truly moved her. She hesitated before approaching Yugi. "Yugi, I..."
"It's okay, Rebecca-chan." Yugi smiled gently.
Watching the two of them gaze at each other, Chumley couldn't help but glance over at a deeply moved Téa, half-expecting to see a magical green glow appear over her head. At the same time, he overheard the two grandfathers, with their "cutest height difference," whispering to each other:
"Yugi is such a good kid."
"Rebecca is quite wonderful, too."
"Looks like we're thinking the same thing?"
"The kids seem happy about it, don't they?"
"So, in a few years, we make it official?"
"Totally okay."
In just a few sentences, the two old men had sold off their grandchildren.
However, judging by the smile on Rebecca's face, she probably wouldn't have any complaints and would likely be quite happy about it. As for their ages, that wasn't an issue either. Although Yugi was only 17 and Rebecca was 12 this year, in Japan, a man can register for marriage at 18 and a woman at 16. As for unofficial folk weddings, there are no age restrictions at all.
The only surreal part was that the legal age of adulthood in Japan is 20.
Reunited with his old friend, Professor Arthur Hawkins was inspired by Yugi and Rebecca's Duel. He wanted to have a game of Duel Monsters with Grandpa Muto to relive their youth and also experience the Solid Vision system, which was currently only available in Japan. Naturally, Grandpa Muto didn't refuse.
Of course, the Solid Vision system used in KaibaLand was different from the one installed on the Duel Arena atop the KaibaCorp building; it had the function to adjust the virtual projection level.
It seemed Kaiba still remembered the last time he dragged Grandpa Muto into a Duel, which ended up triggering the old man's heart attack. Without the ability to adjust the projection level, KaibaCorp would probably be buried in lawsuits long before KaibaLand could expand nationwide.
As the two elders stepped onto the Duel Arena, Chumley suddenly heard a voice from behind him:
"Brother Chumley, help me!"
(end of chapter)