The next chapter! There should be one, maybe two more after this. Enjoy! I don't own Yugioh or Yugioh GX.
Ryo frowned. "Wait a minute, you guys," he said. "If someone else is after this treasure, do you really think it's a good idea for us to keep looking for it? I mean, who knows what we're up against. This could be dangerous."
"Ryo, don't worry so much!" Fubuki said. "With you and me around, there's no way our opponents stand a chance, no matter what they do!"
Sighing, Ryo realized it was useless to try to talk sense into Fubuki. Once he got an idea in his head, he didn't care what anyone else said; he was going to go through with it.
"Then it's settled!" Fubuki said, taking that sigh as what it was, a surrender. "Let's not waste another minute! While we stand here talking, the enemy draws nearer to the prize!"
"Alright, luv, we're almost there," Valon said as he glanced at the map. "Just a little farther."
"You'd better be right about this, Valon," Mai said testily. "Because you've said that twelve times already."
Agent 46 smirked as he watched Mai and Valon. It was starting to look as if they would never find the treasure, what with Valon's inability to read a map.
"Now all I have to worry about is those kids," he mumbled. "Especially their idiotic ring-leader."
"Let's see, if we keep going this way, we should reach the treasure by nightfall." Fubuki turned the map as he spoke, looking at it from different angles.
"Are you sure about that?" Ryo asked skeptically. Fubuki had underestimated the distance once already; it was highly possible that he was doing it again.
"Sure I am! Ninety-five percent sure."
"What about the other five percent?" Sho asked.
"Don't worry about it, guys. If we need to, we can always camp out again," Johan pointed out. "We still have plenty of supplies. We'll be fine."
They came into a clearing. Fubuki, staring at the map, wasn't paying any attention to where he was walking. Eyes widening, Ryo grabbed his shirt and pulled him back.
"Whoa! What was that for, Ryo?" Fubuki asked.
Ryo pointed at the ground in front of them and said, "You should be more careful when walking through the woods." He grabbed a rock off the ground and tossed it forward. The rock sank beneath the ground. "It's quicksand, just as I thought."
Seeing how close he had come to an untimely death, Fubuki's eyes widened. "Man, thanks, Ryo."
"Don't mention it. Come on, let's keep moving. And watch where you step."
They kept moving, being more careful about where they stepped now. Soon, they came to a cave. Fubuki pointed at it dramatically and said, "Behold, the treasure awaits!"
Excitedly, Judai, Johan, and Sho ran into the cave.
"Hold it, you three! Don't just rush in there!" Ryo called after them, but they didn't listen.
Later, they would wish they had.
The cave was deep. They weren't sure how far they would have to go to get to the treasure. They stopped for a moment to let Fubuki and Ryo catch up, pulling out their flashlights while they waited.
"So, how much farther, Fubuki?" Judai asked.
Fubuki looked at the map and said, "Just head to the back of this cave. Let's go, everyone!"
"No." Everyone turned to look at Ryo. "There's no telling what's in this cave. Besides, there are other people after this treasure, which, may I remind you, is still a mystery to all of us? What if Asuka was right and there is no treasure? I'm not risking my neck for some mystery treasure, and you shouldn't either."
"But, Ryo—" Fubuki started.
"No, Fubuki. You aren't dragging us all off to our doom. I'm not going any farther." He glanced expectantly at the other three. "What about you?"
Judai frowned. "We haven't really run into any trouble up to this point. Don't you think that we would have by now if this were dangerous?"
"I'm with Judai," Johan said. "We haven't had any trouble yet, so there's no reason to think that we will."
Everyone looked at Sho. He looked at the ground as he spoke. "You have a point, big brother, but so does Judai. I mean, the only trouble we've had so far was when the map was stolen, and nobody was hurt. Don't you think that whoever took the map would have killed us then if they were going to?"
Ryo sighed. "It seems that I'm outvoted. Fine, go on and get your treasure. I'll wait here, just in case."
"Great idea, Ryo!" Fubuki said enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around his friend's shoulders. "Stay here and make sure that our competition doesn't get in! We'll go get the treasure." He let go of Ryo and started forward, waving to the others. "Come on, gang!"
With that, the four ran deeper into the cave.
Ryo sighed. He had been hoping that at least one of them would see sense. This was not smart at all, to put it nicely. Running into a cave where there was supposedly treasure that someone else appeared to be after as well when you're alone on a desert island, after all, was pretty dense. Only Fubuki would think it was a good idea. Really, the reason Ryo was waiting had nothing to do with keeping the "competition" out, but with warning the others should anything enter the cave.
A noise behind him caused him to jerk around, pointing his flashlight at the spot it had come from. The beam of the flashlight fell on a man—probably about five foot eight; spiky, tri-colored hair, mostly black with red on the tips and yellow bangs. Some of the blonde strands went through the black body of his hair like lightning; his eyes were violet; and he was dressed head to toe in black, with leather pants and jacket.
"Who are you?" Ryo asked, trying to keep his voice steady.
"My name is Yami Mutou. I'm a government agent, searching for that treasure your friends are after."
"Wait, you're saying there actually is a treasure in this cave?"
"So to speak. You and your friends are in way over your heads. We aren't the only ones looking for the treasure—and the others are much more dangerous than your friends can imagine."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ryo asked. It didn't make a lot of sense that a secret government agent was spilling the beans to him.
"Two reasons: One, you seem like the most reasonable of the group, and someone has to stop those four. Tell them what you must to get them to leave, but make sure you leave me out of it."
"And the second reason?"
Yami smirked. "I'll tell you later. For now, you should go stop your friends. I think the other group that wants the treasure is here already."
At those words, Ryo's eyes widened. There were dangerous people after the treasure after all, and they were already there!
"Crap!" he cried as he ran into the cave.
Yami just watched him go for a moment before following.
