"According to the map it's around here." Joey said.
"Where is it Joey?" I asked. We were walking down an alley trying to find some shoe store. I think it's following the manga today.
"Don't worry… Anyway there's no rush. Oh! It's at the end of this alley!" He exclaimed.
"Not the best part of town." Yugi noted. Joey looked at us.
"It's alright. As long as you don't come during the bad times." He told us. "Though they say the owner of this shop is pretty rough."
He stopped walking. "Here we are! The Junk Scorpion!"
I sweatdropped.
"What a dump!" Tristan exclaimed, laughing.
"Here it is… they've got what I've been looking for!"
When we entered and after some searching Joey shouted, "Air muscle! This is d-definitely it!" He exclaimed. "I waaant… I want them so much…"
"What the-! This is what you were looking for!?" Tristan shouted. "You brought me here to a shoe-shop!?"
"But these days having high tech sneakers earn you a lot of street-cred." Yugi said. I nodded.
"That is true."
"Hey don't act like you own the place!" The shop keeper yelled. "That item is not for sale! It's very rare and impossible to get elsewhere!"
Joey ran up to him. "Ah! Your da shop keeper? You gotta sell me dese shoes!" He shouted his Brooklyn accent leaking. "I came a long way just from a rumor!"
"There are more people who want those sneakers than there are stars in the sky." The shop keeper said. "But I don't sell to any punk who just walks in… in order to take these sneakers you must meet the requirements! Even if you're willing to spare no expense to get what you want, I wonder if you'd give your life…"
"Are you gonna sell 'em to me or not?" Joey asked through gritted teeth.
Looks like it's the manga today. I really wish they would just decide already.
"Heh heh… To see if you're worthy, how about we play a little game."
"A game?" Joey asked, confused. I gulped. He held up a scorpion.
"With this scorpion! It's my little accessory… Still poisonous too… the genuine article!" The shopkeeper exclaimed, smiling cruelly. "I'll put it inside the sneaker… Now do you have the courage to stick your foot inside?" He asked, holding the shoe up.
"W-What?" Joey asked. "What kind of requirement is that!? We're not masochists!" I saw him look down and my eyes widened.
That idiot!
"Joey! That game is too risky!" Yugi shouted. I watched as Joey took his shoe off and shoved his foot in the sneaker.
"YAAAAARGH! I'll show you a true man!" He screamed. The shopkeeper laughed.
"You pass… Anyway I didn't really put the scorpion in there. Just pretended too! It would've stained the sneaker." He smiled cruelly.
Poor Joey.
"Okay! I'll sell it to you! And even though I should charge you one hundred thousand yen, I have the price just for you!"
"YAAAAAAAAAY!" We shouted.
"But lemme warn you… if you wear those on the street you might meet some trouble," The shopkeeper warned. "I've heard a rumor about some 'Muscle Hunters' who might try to steal those shoes."
They gasped. ""Muscle Hunters!""
"Don't wear them on your bare feet and they'll last longer." The shopkeeper said and walked away.
"Man, that guy was creepy." I commented.
"What a rough guy!" Tristan said.
Joey laughed happily.
"Who cares! As long as da 'Air Muscles' are mine!" He shouted.
"Risking his life for some shoes… it'll go down in History!" Tristan exclaimed.
"That's great Joey!" Yugi congratulated. I sighed.
"What do you expect? It's Joey." I said.
"The mid-sole is a cushion! These are the best shoes ever!" Joey shouted, skipping. Yugi smiled and I laughed.
"Skipping around like a little kid." Yugi mused.
""Acting like such a moron! I'm embarrassed to even be seen with him." Tristan said. Joey took off.
"Hey where are we going?!" I called.
"Let's get a hamburger!" Joey said. Just then he was trapped in a tire wheel.
"Got him!" One of the guys shouted.
"What da Hell are you guys doin'?" He asked.
The guys laughed and began to beat up Joey.
"Joey!" We shouted.
Tristan yelled in pain and I turned my head to see a guy punching him.
"Tristan!" I got angry at this and aimed a kick at the guy's head. Lucky for him he dodged. Unlucky for me I got punched in the back.
"Grah!" I screamed and fell to the ground. I saw Yugi get kicked in the stomach.
"Yugi! Tristan! Naru!" Joey shouted.
A guy grabbed his foot, knocking him down. "Heh heh, I like these shoes you're wearing." He took his sneakers off.
I got up and went to punch him but someone knocked me back down.
"Stay down!" He shouted. I growled.
"I'll just take these… GO home barefoot!" He began laughing and he and his goonies walked away.
"Joey?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah? Yugi, Naru, you alright?" Joey asked us. I nodded and ignored the rubber taste of blood flowing in my mouth.
Yugi put his hand on his cheek where a bruise was forming. "Owww…"
"Tch. I didn't even get to wear them for 300 meters." Joey complained.
"Those must've been the 'hunters'" Tristan gasped.
I want to tell them what really happened but then they wouldn't trust me. I thought sadly.
"Yugi, Naru… that was bad, sorry you two got dragged into this." Joey apologized. I blinked, surprised. "Can you guys head alone tonight?" He asked.
"Eh! But what about you guys?" Yugi asked. I nodded.
"Well duh!" Tristan said. "REVENGE!"
"I've decided I can't go home without those sneakers!" Joey exclaimed.
"Let's pick a fight with them!"
"Can we come?" I asked. "We won't be a burden."
They smiled. "Let's go!"
We took off.
"Yugi! Naru! You guys don't have to get involved! Watch how we fight!" Joey shouted.
"To the right!" Tristan yelled. We turned the corner and followed them into an arcade.
"Unlike you we don't attack from behind." Joey said. "Now that we're face to face It's on!"
Joey and Tristan began beating the guys to a pulp as Yugi and I watched.
When they were done Joey picked one of them up by their collar.
"Where are my shoes?" He demanded.
"W-we don't have it…" The guy said. "We were paid…"
"Oh?"
"Quick money to spend at the arcade." He told him. His nose was bleeding so I guess that they broke it. "The shop owner…" He said.
Joey's eyes widened. I saw a glow out of the corner of my eye and saw Yami in Yugi's place. I held back a gasp. He noticed me looking at him and made a come gesture and walked out the door.
I nodded and followed him toward the shoe store. We eavesdropped on him talking to himself and just like in the manga Yami walked in saying, in an extremely cool way,
"I see… so you use sneakers to steal money from others."
"You little brat! Can't you see we're closed!"
"And can't you see we don't like it when someone beats the crap out of our friends and steals their money?" I asked, appearing from behind Yami.
"Return those sneakers to our friend! We know that you hired the 'hunters' to steal the sneakers!"
"Eh! I don't know what you mean!? Your friend's sneakers?" The shopkeeper tried to play innocent.
"He'll place the scorpion in the sneakers and try to give them to you." I whispered to Yami. He nodded.
The store keeper looked at the shoes and feigned surprise. "What! What's this? I didn't know these were in my hand." He held out the sneakers. "Sorry. Here."
I watched as he held his hand out and dropped coins into the sneakers. I smirked as I found this one pretty cool.
"It's a game! Let's test your own qualifications!" Yami said. "But this time, there really is a scorpion inside the sneaker! The rules are simple. There are ten coins in each sneaker. Each of us gets to try pulling some out without getting poisoned. The one with the most coins wins!"
"I'll accept your challenge on one condition… each coin is worth 100,000 yen!" He told him.
Yami nodded. "Okay, each coin is 100,000 yen. However, if I win, all I want is the return of the pair of sneakers! I'll start!" I watched as he reached his hand into the sneaker and my heart stopped. It began to beat again when he pulled out unharmed with one coin. They continued this for a bit when the Shopkeeper asked a question.
"In this game you can do anything, as long as you reach in and pull out some coins… right?" He asked.
"Yes." Yami replied.
"I'll do it this way!" He shouted as he pulled out a knife and stabbed the scorpion. "Sorry Scorpion but I've got to kill you!" He laughed. "I'm the winner! hand over all your money!"
Yami pointed at him, smiling. "What makes you say that? You've taken a dangerous risk! Your greed caused you to rush in and grab all the coins at once but, look."
"And I wonder if that scorpion is really dead." I said.
I watched as he began to panic.
"In a Shadow Game your heart's weakness is ultimately what causes you to lose!" Yami explained. "You had no love for your pet, nor those sneakers, but only for money!"
I blinked. "You know, he has to be the only person I don't mind getting hurt in a Shadow Game." Yami blinked at me before chuckling.
"They must be worried." He said and looked at me. "When are you going to tell them?" I shrugged sadly.
"I… don't know." I mumbled. "They might not trust me anymore. I can't just go up and say, Hey Guess What? Your anime and manga characters! Can we still be friends?" He put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.
"I still think you should tell them." He said. I sighed.
"Tomorrow."