Around two the next day, I went over to the mall to meet up with Mai and the others. I was the last to arrive, and already, everyone was planning out what we should do for the afternoon. Surprisingly, we did not spend that much time at the mall, as neither Mai, Anzu, nor myself was really into all the clothing stores that made up most of it. Shizuka, however, did do a good amount of shopping there, and she got many really cute outfits, from summer dresses to simple t-shirts. Mai bought a few things as well, and Anzu and I saw the occasional shirt or pair of jeans that we liked.

After the mall, we all decided to go to the arcade and played a few games. Anzu was on fire on the dancing games, horribly beating anyone who dared challenged her. Mai moved from game to game, not really sticking to any specific one, getting a lot of high scores. I mostly focused my attention on the classic, but still very fun game, Pac-Man, and getting surprisingly really far. Shizuka wandered between the three of us, not really being a gamer, but still enjoying herself nevertheless.

After about an hour of being at the arcade, we all decided to end the day at a nearby café and just hang out. We were all sitting outside on the patio, the four of us each having a our own cappuccino as we chatted and watched the sun slowly start to set. Mai let out a heavy sigh.

"You know, I'll be honest, this is the first time I've really tried to make friends while I'm at one of these tournaments," she said as she took a sip of her cappuccino. "And I will admit, it is kind of nice. I've never really had a close group of friends before."

Shizuka smiled.

"Life is always a lot better if you have a bunch of people you love around you. You can't always do everything on your own, you know."

Mai gave a soft chuckle.

"About a month ago, I would have laughed in your face for saying something like that. But...maybe there is a bit of truth to it."

I nodded in reply, for I understood perfectly what she meant.

"So, Mai, where is the next duel monsters tournament that you are going to enter?" Anzu asked. "I mean, if you know."

Mai casually shrugged her shoulders.

"As of right now, no. I mean, duel monsters tournaments are popular, but they rarely ever get as much advertisement as Battle City did. Though usually they take place in big cities like Domino City, so I'll probably head to one of them first."

Anzu nodded.

"I see. And once you get to another city you'll look for advertisements or signups for a tournament?"

"Basically," Mai answered. "I just wander around until I find something interesting."

"That sounds like fun," I commented. "I wish my life was that simple to where I can just go where ever I wanted until something caught my interest."

Mai smiled and laughed.

"Well, I never said it was that easy! But it can seem that way, and it is not a bad way to live."

I smiled back.

"Yeah, just make sure you give one of us a call if you enter a tournament. Or just keep us updated on stuff so we don't lose contact."

Mai nodded.

"And I plan on doing that, though don't expect me to call all the time. I've already got everyone's number, though surprisingly, I don't have yours, Roxanne."

I blinked.

Wow, I've been so busy with everyone else that I never thought twice about getting Mai's number. I kind of felt a bit guilty about ignoring her, but I guess this was my time to redeem myself.

And keeping in touch with her would be good, in case Dartz tries to convert her to join him.

I smiled.

"I'm sorry about that," I said. "With everything happening...it just never crossed my mind."

Mai nodded.

"It is understandable, with what happened. And it wasn't like I was the most sociable back in Duelist Kingdom."

"Though you did save Roxanne and I from sleeping with the guys, which was a blessing," Anzu added jokingly.

Mai and I laughed, while Shizuka gave a puzzled look.

"Is that a bad thing? Do all of them snore as bad as my brother?" she asked innocently.

I couldn't help but smirk at that comment. As Anzu tried to explain what she meant, I reached into my pocket to grab my cell phone. But before I could get a hold of it, I felt it started to vibrate and ring. Wondering who it could be, I took it out and saw it was a call coming from Ryo.

What Ryo could want that he couldn't text me about?

"Sorry Mai, but I need to take this call real quick," I said causally. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, no problem," she replied. "I'm in no hurry."

Nodding in reply, I got up from the table and I walked towards the little, quiet alleyway next to the café. I then answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Roxanne, where are you?!" Bakura suddenly exclaimed, almost sounding like he was ready to either panic or about to rip someone's throat out. "Are you alright?! No one has tried to hurt you, have they!?"

My eyes widened.

"Bakura, what are you talking about?!" I questioned, shocked to hear his voice instead of Ryo's. "Nothing bad has happened to me."

My heart skipped a beat.

"...Has something happened to you or any of the others?"

I could hear sigh of relief on the other side of the line.

"Thank the Gods," Bakura finally said. "That bastard better thinktwice before he tries to kidnap you!"

"'Kidnap me?'" This just kept getting worse and worse. "Bakura, what is going on?!"

"While Ryo was checking his email, he came across a very suspicious email from an unknown source," Bakura explained. "And what made it even more suspicious was that it wasn't addressed to him, but tome."

I blinked.

"...How could it possibly be addressed to you?" I asked puzzled.

"I don't know, but on the subject line it said 'Note for Yami Bakura.' Ryo panicked at the sight of it, but I quickly took control so I could handle it. I opened the email and saw that it was a threat. A threat to kidnap you, Roxanne, and if I didn't comply to give them the Egyptian God Cards, they would torture you."

I was silent for a second. There was no doubt about it, that note had to come from Dartz! I knew he wanted the Egyptian God Cards, but why get Bakura to do it? In the anime, he just sent that one guy to steal them and then give them to Rafael and the others. It didn't make any sense.

"Bakura," I finally said in a soft voice, "tell me, did the email mention who it was from? Was it from a certain organization called DOMA?"

"'DOMA?'"

I could clearly hear the puzzlement in his voice.

"No, but the bastard was indeed stupid enough to tell me his name," Bakura finally answered. "It said that his name was Yako Tenma."

I felt like my heart just stopped in my chest. I leaned against the wall of the alleyway, my legs shaking as used all my strength to not drop my phone.

Oh...my...Ra...

No, this can't be happening! This can't be happening! How...how could we be in the Walking with Dragons arc from the anime and also have Yako from the manga spin off, Yu-Gi-Oh R?!