Chapter 1

With the way things ended at Duelist Kingdom, Jounouchi knew he should be satisfied. Considering the sheer miracle of how well things turned out he should just take his happy ending and be happy. After all, he and Yugi both ended up getting what they went for. Old Granpa Motou was back at Kame Game Shop as eccentric as ever and Shizuka would be getting her eyes operated on within the month. She had called all excited and confirmed it herself. He hadn't heard anything from their mom and hadn't expected to. She made it pretty clear how much she cared about him when she left him with her alcoholic ex-husband knowing full well the man couldn't be trusted to raise a hamster. But at least his sister could have a stable life. That was good enough for him. He was used to being the tough one.

Yes, there was plenty to be grateful for. Which was why it felt like crap that something still nagged him. That 'something' being that smug bastard Kaiba. The fact that he'd never been able to defeat him stayed with Jounouchi like a piece of glass embedded in his skin that was just too deep to dig out. Everyone assumed that he was over his last match with Kaiba and in a since he was. He was living his life. He wasn't moping. But even though they couldn't be seen, the scars were still there. But still, with everything else that could have gone wrong how could he still be selfish enough to want more? He wanted to win. It was always Yugi that clobbered the big opponents. Sure, he knew he had been by Yugi's side through it all. But Kaiba was his main rival. He needed to defeat that guy to shut up the insecure part of himself that whispered to him that maybe money bags was right: he was still a defeated dog. He hated that part of himself. It was the kind of thinking the old Jounouchi would indulge.

Things had changed for him when Yugi had befriended him at one of the lowest parts of his life. He hadn't deserved it. He and Honda had treated Yugi like crap. All he had to do was walk away and let Ushio continue pounding the snot out of them. But Yugi had protected them instead. He'd accepted Jonouchi for who he was even when who he was wasn't much to brag about. He'd always be grateful. But he needed to feel like he could still hold his own.

Just waltzing up and challenging Kaiba to a rematch wouldn't work. Not until he fixed his strategy. There had to be a piece missing.

Well even Yugi has a bit of help, he thought pensively. I mean, he has his other self.

And it was that thought that sent all the events that were about to happen into motion. He sat up straighter in his desk. Of course. Yugi had his puzzle. Kaiba had his Blue Eyes and his stupid money. (Even if he had no personality to speak of, the ass hole.) Jou had determination and no small amount of guts, so what was missing? Whatever it was, that was the answer.

He tried to brainstorm. So the card game was ancient right? They all knew it could be traced back to Egypt. And shadow magic. All he had to do was get in touch with the supernatural side of this and he could stand a chance. Come one, Yugi was so immersed in it that it was no wonder he understood the heart of the cards so well. If he got a fraction of that, he'd annihilate Kaiba!

The bell rang making him jump. Yugi seemed to mirror Jounochi's relief that classes for the day were finally over.

"Hey, Granpa gave me some extra money. Want to grab a burger? I'll buy."

Burgers! No wonder he looked happy. If only he didn't have a grand scheme to set in motion….

"I'm sorry, man." he winced. "I have to pass. I gotta run some errands for my Dad today. I already blew it off once and he's been all over my case since."

"I'll go with you." Yugi offered. "We'll get them done, then grab something after."

Damn. Now what? He trusted Yugi, but he just didn't want to get him involved in this. It was his problem and though it might not be important to anyone else, it was a big deal to him. But he didn't want his best friend knowing how much this thing with Kaiba was still bothering him. He spotted Anzu out of the corner of his eye as she was gathering her books and got an idea.

He raised his brows slyly. "You sure, man? Anzu doesn't have dance club today. You want to pass up a fine opportunity like that to run some dull errands for my old man?"

Predictably, Yugi went as red as a brick. "W-what?!"

"Oh come on, dude." He gave said good friend a patronizing look. "It's been obvious since Duelist Kingdom that you like her."

Actually it was Honda that had to point it out to him, but Yugi didn't need to know that. Without waiting for a response he called out, "Hey Anzu! Yugi wants to know if you'd want to go get a burger with him!"

Yugi's jaw dropped and it looked like he might scream but no sound game out. Anzu drifted over.

"Sure, I'd love to go. It's been a while since I ate out." she beamed at Yugi who was still very red.

He placed a hand on the smaller boy's should and put his mouth very close to his ear. "No need to thank me."

And with that he bolted. Yugi would be oblivious to anything else but his crush for the rest of the evening now. He scrounged up what little money he was carrying for the bus. He silently mourned the loss of a free hamburger plus money that he could spend on real food instead of going home and braving whatever lived his refrigerator now. But he needed to get to the museum.

When he got there he walked through the double doors with a sense of purpose. He was a man on a mission. There would be something here that would help him and he was not going home until he found it. It was packed with tons of old Egyptian stuff in here. He was sure to tap into whatever mojo he needed it he looked around hard enough. He grinned a trademark Jounouchi Katsuya grin and made his way to an exhibit of stone carvings and hieroglyphics. And it looked like they had gotten some new stuff.

He stood in front of a stone slab that depicted a dragon. He was flying down from the sky. It was hard to tell with the crude drawings, but it looked like he was heading towards some kind of town. Or was it village back then? Who could tell…. The next panel showed the dragon airborne again with what looked like broken shackles hanging from it's claws. Why was it familiar.

"It's Red Eyes Black Dragon!" he realized aloud.

"You could tell it was Red Eyes?" said a deep voice behind him.

Jounouch turned to see a foreign looking man wearing white robes and a turban. Yes. A freaking turban. Despite the outlandishness he seemed familiar.

"You!" he yelled, pointing.

"That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" came the stoic reply.

"You're the guy we saw here last time! You made Anzu into a mindless doll and turned the professor into a lunatic! You bastard, he almost killed me!"

"You I also remember." Shadi replied. "You are the uncouth little boy who accompanies the puzzle bearer."

Jounouchi clenched his fists and bared his teeth. "I'll show you uncouth buddy, you – did you call me little?!"

That was just plain uncalled for. Yugi was little. He might be skinny, but he was nowhere in the category of little. In the kingdom of 'little' they had never heard of him.

But Shadi was no more paying attention to Jou's rage than a squeaking mouse. His focus was back on the etchings. "You knew right away which dragon it was. That is unusual. Most people would mistake him for the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"Red Eyes and I are partners." Jounouchi huffed, crossing his arms. "How could I not recognize him?"

"Well for one thing," Shadi pointed out. "Unlike their depiction on the cards, you cannot tell what color they are. And without that they look very similar making them hard to distinguish."

That gave him a pause. Turban head was right. There really was no way to tell. But somehow when he had looked upon that carving he'd never doubted what dragon it was.

The Egyptian gave him a knowing smile. "You're ba's connection to that monster must be strong."

"My what?"

"Your soul."

Jounouchi gave the Key bearer a sideways look. "Yeah….ok."

Suddenly Shadi's eyes shifted toward a corner where three rambunctious middle schoolers were laughing rather loudly. And apparently angling to see if they could fire spit balls at a sarcophagus without getting spotted by the security.

"Excuse me." He slinked off in the direction of the kids.

"That guy is so weird. Run kids, run."

The lights started to flicker. What was going on? A power surge? Suddenly everything shut off and Jounouchi stood in the dark. He could hear several murmurs of protest around the room and several lights appeared in the air – people clipping open their cell phones for light.

A voice sounded over a speaker. "Everyone, please be calm. We are having technical difficulties and will have to respectfully request you return when we've sorted it out. The weather has taken a turn for the worst, so we suggest you come back tomorrow. Security will help escort you out. Please form a single file near the emergency exit."

Thunder sounded soon after the announcement was done. This was odd. It was cloudy when he came in, but he didn't expect the weather would turn so quickly. Sighing he hefted his book bag onto both shoulders. Figures. Something would happen before he even got through looking at everything. Something caught the light and gleamed. A pair of scales.

He approached the item cautiously. "Where'd this come from?"

He could feel a memory coming on. These scales. He's seen them. They were a sennen item. What were they doing just sitting across from the display? Had Shadi left them? He knew he shouldn't touch them. But something was compelling about them. He could almost feel the power emanating from it.

And that's how he ended up being ushered out of the museum with his backpack weighing slightly more than usual.

(Thirty minutes later….)

Oh he should not have done this. He should not have done this. Was he crazy? He had to have a death wish to pick something up that was Shadi's. He paced his room.

"He's gonna be pissed." Jounouchi trilled. "He's gonna be pissed, he's gonna be pissed and he's going to come after me with his freaky powers and his key and he's going to turn me into a drooling moron!"

Now he knew what people meant when they felt like they hadn't really been there when they did something bad. Even as he was taking it he knew better , even then he knewthat it was a bad idea , that it was wrong and he was going to be sorry. Maybe he was that desperate.

"I don't suppose you have a spirit in you that could take over and kick your boss's ass?" he asked it.

From his dresser the scales gave no response.

"I am so screwed." He buried his face in his hands.

Ok, this was what he'd do. He'd tell Shadi that he just couldn't find him after the lights shut off. And it seemed irresponsible just to leave something that powerful lying around. He'd done the right thing to at least make sure no one else grabbed it. Right?

He walked over to it and picked it up. It was heavier than it looked. But it would be, being made of real gold. "At least tell me what you do. I took the risk in taking you, at least tell me you can help me."

"It's a tool to separate the innocent from the guilty." said a familiar voice from the corner. "That scale can weigh a person's sins."

Jounouchi nearly dropped the scales. He whirled and there was Shadi. He was just standing in the corner of the doorway looking casual. Which the blonde noticed at least was better than him looking angry.

"How'd you get in?!" he demanded.

The sennen guardian did not give him a very friendly smile. He merely brought a hand to the key hanging around his neck.

"Okay, so you can open anything!" Jounouchi snapped. "But my Dad…"

"Was passed out drunk on the kitchen floor." Shadi finished. "A weak man. But we aren't having this meeting over him, are we?"

The boy paled. He held out the scales to the Egyptian. "Here. You came for this , right? I took it and it was stupid and I'm sorry and I swear I will never do anything like that again I just thought it could help and I didn't know what else to do and my whole trip was ruined and I'm sorry I wanted to give it back the moment I got on the bus and …"

Shadi held up a hand to halt Jounouchi's rambling and growingly hysterical rampage. "I get the point. But you will still have to be judged. I will not harm your father and for the time being, I won't harm you either."

The foreigner gave the boy a searching look. He seemed to be considering Jounouchi as if he were some rare and new species.

"I could force my way into your heart and rearrange it so that you are left as nothing but a raving lunatic." he said thoughtfully.

Jounouchi grabbed a bat lying in the corner with his free hand and pointed it at the Egyptian. He tried to come up with something tough to say but his voice died in his throat.

Shadi gave him a look that seemed to say 'please.' "I won't do that however. Instead I will let you atone."

"A-atone?" the blonde stammered.

"Yes. I sense you took the sennen scales for a reason. But I cannot discern just now whether your intentions were good or ill. Or either. Yet."

"I wanted to understand the heart of the cards." the boy admitted. "I know it's stupid, but a relic that old…well, I thought maybe it could lend me some help."

"You stole a powerful shadow object which you do not have the first clue know how to wield…..over a card game?" Shadi's tone stated clearly what he thought of that. The Egyptian looked incredulous. "Do you have any idea how fortunate you are to have not been driven insane?"

"Um….."

"It is that very thing that interests me." Shadi spoke over him. "Your mind is whole and the scales didn't harm you. So instead of simply punishing you and moving on, I'll give you a chance."

"What kind of chance?" Jounouchi asked nervously.

"The only one you have. Come with me."

He barely remembered the trip back to the museum. By now it would be closed even if electricity was back. And dark outside. He'd said as much to Shadi. But the man had ignored him and promptly paid both of their bus fare and been creepily silent the whole ride. And even more oddly, he had been allowed to hold on to the scales through the journey.

When they arrived at the place the doors were chained and locked.

"See, I told you." the boy said. By now he was worried and really wished Shadi would just stop dicking around and make his point.

But the man had merely raised the key. There was a glow and a feel of energy pushing through the air and the chains fell away. "Come."

"Uh….this is illegal." Jounouchi stated, following him through the doors. "You know that, right?"

"You are hardly in a position to speak of such things." came the curt reply.

They walked, the only light in the building coming off the sennen items. When the scales lit up in his arms he gave a surprised start. But it wasn't hurting him and the energy didn't feel threatening.

"I came back to this place because I was drawn here." Shadi admitted. "I assumed it was because of the new artifacts that had arrived at this museum. I like to check up on where pieces of my people's history end up in any case to be sure that they are being treated with the proper respect. But there's always a chance that the fools bring something dangerous here and that would be when I would have to step in."

They stopped at the tablets depicting the Red Eyes Black Dragon. Now they were at the picture of Red Eyes shedding his shackles. Another dragon was present, keeping the enemies at bay as the other broke free.

"That's the Blue Eyes." Jounouchi said.

"Yes. And that's not the only place he appeared. Look at the stone that is next."

It was both dragons again. Both had their head turned, bellowing flame at some unseen foe. It looked like the dragons were fighting side by side. But against what it was impossible to tell. The image was worn away.

"They're in some kind battle." Jounouchi said as he stepped closer. Almost unconsciously he reached out to press his hand to the etching of the Red Eyes, something he would never have been allowed to do during operating hours. But Shadi didn't stop him. "They fought as allies. But who won?"

"Who indeed?" the Egyptian mused. "It is time. Hold the scales and stand right there."

The boy turned to face him holding the ancient sennen item. He looked clueless for a moment and they the scales began to shake. To his horror on one side was a beating heart and other a feather. The scale continued to shake as though it could not decide which way to tip, or as if what it were holding were of equal weight.

"As I thought." Shadi looked weary. "Your fate hangs in a neutral position. It is not an auspicious time to pass judgment."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jounouchi demanded. He was still staring in absolute fear and the objects on the scales. What if the thing just decided to explode or something and take him with it?

"It means your fate must be decided through a trial." Shadi pointed his key forward.

At first Jounouchi thought he was pointing at him. But instead the tablet behind him seemed to grow less solid. And then there was nothing but a black hole behind him that seemed to get closer. It was the last thing he saw, before he vanished . The portal closed and nothing was there except the tablet once more. The scales lay on the ground where he had stood. A shadow fell over them as their owner picked them up. The guardian stared pensively at the scene before him. Now it was in the hands of Ma'at. There was nothing to do but see how this played out.

Author's commentary: Well that was fun. I wonder where Jounouchi spirited to? Just joking. I know exactly where he went, but you can probably figure it out. If not, well, please wait for chapter two.

I don't usually like to work on two stories of the same series at once, but this idea hit me with all the blunt force of a truck. Then I got so excited I had to start working on it. I actually started it on a worn notepad at work. Business has been slow so, why not? You Jou fans will like it. He's definitely going to be the hero of this story.

One of the most enticing things about this series is its characters. It's hard not to like any of them. They're all so interesting. (Well, maybe not Anzu and Honda so much. Sorry to fans of them, but without the others they kind of bore me.)

This is very different from anything I've ever written before so please let me know what you think.