The tension was palpable, the stars themselves freezing in the sky in the wake of this frightening development.
Marik (or was he?) smirked, looking around at his foes with a restless, yet lackadaisical expression. He licked his lips, that golden eye never fading from his forehead.
"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" Yugi roared. Marik lazily settled his gaze on the pharaoh, a festering, raw hatred bubbling to the surface.
He laughed, a horrifying sound that would set even the hardiest of men on edge. "Who am I? I am the only and true Marik."
Yugi sighed. "Well, that didn't really answer my question. I guess I'll try again." "Are you a spirit from the Millennium Rod?"
"No, pharaoh. The rod is merely a conduit by which I can focus my powers. What I said before is true; I am Marik's anger, his hatred, his impotent rage and his inability to change the world around him. Odion was able to hold me back, but now I am free. And soon, I will be the ruler of this world! The unbearable vacancy of the throne will be filled, and the new age of darkness will begin!" Marik said, his voice fluctuating between being waspishly quiet and bombastically sonorous.
"So he's even more insane that he used to be! Fantastic!" Tristan, amazingly, was able to find some humor in the situation.
"You won't win. I'll defeat you and your wicked ambitions!" Yugi shouted.
"Then face me, and watch as your throne crumbles once and for all!" Marik cackled, latching a duel disk onto his veiny arm.
"I think not." Kaiba said calmly, stepping between Yugi and Marik.
"Step back, Kaiba. Your turn will come soon." Marik warned, casually pointing the Millennium Rod at the brown-haired CEO.
"Kaiba, let me duel him. He's a menace, and he needs to be stopped!" Yugi protested.
"No. This is my tournament, unless you forgot. Marik here is scheduled to duel…someone besides you. Roland, who is Marik supposed to duel this round?" Kaiba said, his epic speech slightly ruined by his confusion.
"Mr. Kaiba, not only should this man be disqualified for entering the tournament under a false identity, but also for clearly being a murderous psychopath! I'm calling the police!"
Kaiba put a firm hand on Roland's shoulder. "That won't be necessary, Roland. Besides, how would the authorities even get up here?"
"Mr. Kaiba, how can you possibly condone this type of behavior?" Roland began to protest before getting shushed by his boss.
"What if I bought you a new Bugatti after this? Would that make it all better?" Kaiba wheedled. "Yes." Roland pouted. "That can be arranged. Now then, who is Marik scheduled to face in the fourth round?"
"Well sir, we don't know. It's the anonymous eighth finalist. We'll call them up right now." Roland said, making his way towards the intercom system.
"That won't be necessary." A mysterious voice intoned. From the elevator came a lithe, robed woman with tanned brown skin and piercing blue eyes. She wore sandy beige robes of Egyptian style and held a golden necklace adorned with the Eye of Wdjat.
"Ishizu?" Yugi asked, bewildered by the tombkeeper's sudden entrance. "You're a finalist?"
She spared him a demure smile. "Yes, my pharaoh. I entered into the tournament to stop my brother's ambitions. I…I never imagined things would get this bad."
"Hey, are you sure you want to face Marik? You can always back out!" Joey said out of concern.
"I cannot do that. This duel is my concern. Brother, I will free you from the darkness in your heart!"
Marik regarded her with an empty sneer. He laughed again, seeming to regard her as nothing more than a sideshow. "Sister! What a touching reunion!"
"You are not my brother! You merely wear his body like a mask. I will banish you to the darkness from whence you came!" Ishizu declared, activating her duel disk. Kaiba smirked. "Ah, she's got a little fire in her…"
Marik moved to sneer again, but suddenly, his eye twitched in pain. "Sister, help me!" The voice of the former Marik cried from within. Yami Marik silenced his host with a forceful mental slam. "I think that's enough out of you…weakling."
"Um…" Roland pulled at his collar, disliking this whole awkward situation. "Unless the two of you would like to see a therapist, your duel will now begin."
"What are we doing? We need to see if that Odion guy is alright!" Tea gasped, feeling horrible for forgetting about the servant of Marik.
"He wasn't a good guy, honey. At the end of the day, he was trying just as hard to kill Yugi as Marik was. Frankly, I don't see why we should bother." Mai said callously.
Yugi said nothing in response to Tea's plea, a stone cold expression on his face.
"I don't want to leave. If I face Marik in the finals, I'll need to know what I'm up against. I'm sure the doctors will be able to help him, like they did Bakura." Joey reasoned, a guilty feeling tearing through his conscience.
Tea huffed, clearly displeased with the lot of them. "Fine, I'll go by myself. See you all later." She said curtly before entering the central elevator.
Serenity looked after her with a sad expression. "I feel bad…Tea cares so much…"
"She would understand if she was a duelist. The best thing we can do is analyze what we're up against. That way, we're ensuring Odion's safety, as well as our own." Yugi said, a note of regret laced in his tone.
Marik and Ishizu drew their cards, and the duel began.
"I look forward to seeing you writhe in agony! I shall begin!" Marik growled, snapping his first card off the top of his deck. "I summon Revival Jam (1500/500) in attack mode!" His first monster was a ghoulish, amorphous blue blob of slime, constantly shifting and squirming about.
"Next, I'll cast my Jam Breeding Machine spell! Now, every turn I can summon a Slime Token to my field, as long I don't normal summon any other monsters. I shall end with that." Marik cackled
"My turn, draw." Ishizu said in that eerily calm tone of hers. "I set a monster and end my turn."
"Did you see that, Yugi? She set one of the cards she drew without even looking at it!" Joey noticed acutely.
"I know. It must the Millennium Item around her neck. It allows her to see the future to a small degree. He victory is, in theory, assured, since she can predict her opponent's moves." Yugi said seriously.
"Wait, isn't that cheating?" Duke brought up facetiously. "Shut up, Duke." Mai retorted, chuckling at this insight.
Marik chuckled, also realizing his adversary's advantage. "If you think your little mystic act intimidates me, sister, you are sadly mistaken. Now then, since it is my turn, my Jam Breeding Machine activates, summoning a Slime Token (500/500)." A fiendish blue sphere materialized, leering at Ishizu.
"Now, Revival Jam, attack her monster now!" The azure slime descended upon Ishizu's lone line of defense. The monster was revealed to be a green and brown wooden doll holding a shield. It was Keldo (1200/1600) and it successfully fended off the opposing monster. (Ishizu 4000/Marik 3900)
Suddenly, Marik winced in pain. His fist clenched, and he grinned manically. "Ah, that feels good…" Even as he spoke, purple mist descended upon the field, shrouding everyone in near-darkness.
Ishizu frowned in resignation, as though she knew this was going to happen. "I suppose it was too much to hope for you to play fairly, demon."
"On the contrary, dear sister, the shadows devour everyone with equal prejudice. It is much more fair than the arbitrary rulings of man because in here, only the strong survive!" Marik cackled.
"And what are the rules of this twisted game?" Ishizu's voice smoothly cut through his ranting.
"I'm glad you asked! Now, every time one of us takes damage, we feel the pain of our monsters! When you fended off my attack just now, I was able to feel some of that wonderful pain for myself…" He licked his lips.
"Filthy degenerate!" She cried.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, I believe it is your turn, sister. Be careful; one wrong move could cost everything!" Marik bowed mockingly, like a play-actor.
"Seto, I'm pretty sure this is actually illegal. This has gotta be against the tournament rules, right?" Mokuba, the sole voice of reason, spoke up.
"I'm cool with it. Besides, we can always deactivate their duel disks if things get too out of hand." Kaiba said, having no clue about the severity of the situation.
Ishizu drew her next card, preparing her next move with the help of the Millennium Necklace. However, when she tried to use the power of her mystical item, it was unresponsive.
Slowly, she turned her card over and looked at it with her eyes. It was Exchange of the Spirit. "Why doesn't my necklace work?" She wondered frantically. Marik smirked at her, relishing in her confusion. "It must be his shadow game that's interfering with my precognition!"
Yugi recognized this too, but said nothing. Ishizu's early advantage had quickly been nullified, and now her reliance on seeing the future was backfiring.
"I summon Mudora (1500/1800)!" Ishizu called forth a masked Egyptian warrior holding a dagger. "Next, I equip him with Cestus of Dagla!" Mudora traded his short sword for two golden knuckle armaments. "This spell gives my monster 500 extra attack points, and when it destroys a monster, I gain life points equal to the amount of damage you receive!"
"Strong work. I expected nothing less." Marik said calmly.
"And I'm far from finished! I activate Dragged Down to the Grave! This spell allows us to look at each other's hands and discard one card of our choice. From there, we can each draw a card."
For some reason, this caused Marik's smirk to widen. "Very well." He calmly strode across the platform and held out three-card hand. He was carrying a Drillago, a Mystical Space Typhoon, and his Egyptian God card, the Winged Dragon of Ra.
Ishizu's blue eyes widened. "He's already drawn his god card! That must be why he's using that Jam Breeding Machine, to get sacrifices! Well, that won't work on me!"
"Ishizu seems surprised about something." Mai observed. "Indeed. And I have a horrible feeling that I know why." Yugi grimaced.
"I'll discard your Winged Dragon of Ra." She declared calmly. Marik's mouth twitched imperceptibly before he smoothly grabbed his God Card and sent it to the grave. He then looked at her hand. He was uncomfortably close, only a few inches from her.
She only held two cards; Exchange of the Spirit, and Swords of Revealing Light. "I'll discard your Exchange of the Spirit." He murmured before turning about-face and returning to his side of the ring.
Kaiba's calculating eyes were flickering between the two duelists. "What a shame. I was hoping to find out Ra's effect. It seems Ishizu was a bit more savvy than I anticipated. However, her skills are middling compared to mine."
Yugi and Joey were strangely uncomfortable. "This is good, right? This way, Ra can't be summoned no matter what." Joey said.
"Hmm, not quite. Spells work on Egyptian Gods for one turn. Marik could still revive Ra for a turn with Monster Reborn if he drew it." Yugi frowned. The Battle City rules forbade more than one copy of Monster Reborn in a duelist's deck, so Marik's chances of drawing it were slim.
Still, it wouldn't be the first time something unexpected happened.
"Mudora, attack his Jam Token!" Ishizu called, and her warrior leapt forward. The slime was easily chopped up, and Marik felt an electric jolt of agony. Meanwhile, as Ishizu gained life points, she felt a pleasant numbing sensation creep up her fingers. (Marik 2400/Ishizu 5500)
"Is that enough to bring you back to your senses, brother?" She asked, a fierce gaze smoldering.
Smoke furled off of Marik's purple cloak, and he shivered in pain. "Don't you see? I have been brought to my senses! I am the real Marik, and I have never felt so alive as I do right now! All of your efforts are completely futile!" He shouted.
Trembling, she ended her turn. "Nothing to say? That's what I thought. Now, I call forth another slime token! Then, I sacrifice it to summon Helpoemer (2000/1000)" Marik had called forth another hellish creature.
It was an emaciated corpse with blue skin, mounted on an animated cross. Blue letters of foreign origin flowed from its mouth, and everyone present felt an acute chill.
"Now, attack her Keldo, my fiend!" Marik called. The eerie zombie opened its palm ad closed it again. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, Keldo collapsed in on itself, congealing into a mass of broken pieces.
The atmosphere was dangerous and tense, everyone waiting on tenterhooks for the next horror Marik would unleash. "I switch Revival Jam to defense mode and end my turn." He said, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Ishizu drew slowly. She certainly didn't feel like she was winning, but she knew that a few more well-placed moves would grant her victory. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Jam Breeding Machine! From there, I end my turn."
Marik wasted no time in preparing his next move. "First, I change Revival Jam back to attack mode. Now, I summon Drillago (1600/1000)!" From the ground came a humanoid machine made almost entirely of sharp, spinning drills. Next, I attack your Mudora with my Helpoemer!" Once more, that freezing aura came from the zombie.
"Why? They both have the same attack points!" Tristan yelled. "It's so he can attack her directly with his other monsters…" Mai corrected.
The Egyptian warrior shriveled into a gray, decaying husk, as did the Helpoemer. "Now, my Revival Jam and Drillago will attack you directly!" Marik thrust his hand forward as his terrible monsters rushed Ishizu.
Even though nothing happened to her real body, Ishizu felt the pain of being impaled through the stomach by Drillago and being enveloped by Revival Jam's entropy. She gasped and screamed as her life points dropped. (Marik 2400/Ishizu 2400)
"Aw, what happened to that advantage of yours? Hahaha!" Marik laughed. Ishizu dropped to one knee, clutching her side and suddenly feeling very nauseous.
Yugi's forehead glowed with the golden Eye of Wdjat. He knew that he had to help Ishizu somehow, for he could not stand by while she was in pain. Using the dark powers of his Millennium Puzzle, Yugi entered her mindscape, speaking to her telepathically.
He projected himself into a shadowy space, only illuminated by varying shades of dark green on black. His presence created a piercing ray of light that intensely shone upon the dazed Ishizu and the annoyed Marik. No one else could see them in this moment, avatars of three Millennium Items.
"What is that light? Is that you, my pharaoh?" Ishizu asked weakly as she covered her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"That is what I would like to know." Marik snarled. Yugi paid him no mind, instead speaking directly to Ishizu.
"I know how hard this must be for you, having to fight someone who looks so much like your brother. But I assure you, this pain is not real. All of this will go away once you have achieved victory. I know you can do this, The fate of the world is in your hands, Ishizu!" He yelled ferociously.
"I feel so small…I can sense my energy slowly evaporating…" She mumbled.
Yugi frowned. "If you believe you cannot win, then you're probably right." He strode over to her kneeling frame and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "It's going to take everything you have to win. He's not going to give an inch, so neither can you. He's enjoys seeing others in pain; do not give him the satisfaction." Yugi did not know what else to say. He knew that he did not have to be gentle with her; she was a warrior who had made it into the finals. He just needed to put her on the right path.
She slowly stood, a new determination in her eyes. "I won't let you down, my pharaoh."
"You could never let me down. Do this for yourself; do it for your family." Yugi said solemnly.
Marik started laughing again. "I grow weary of hearing these ridiculous speeches from you, Pharoah. I look forward to shutting that mouth of yours soon."
Yugi chuckled softly. "You won't get the chance, Marik. Ishizu will defeat you here and now.
"We shall see." Was the villain's last words before their spirits returned to the corporeal realm. Their exchange seemingly took 20 minutes, but only a few seconds had passed in the real world. Still, the change in Ishizu's countenance was undeniable.
"Come on, demon! Let's fight!" Ishizu declared fiercely, a sharp contrast from her normally serene personality. "I summon Zolga (1700/1200) in attack mode!" From the shadows came a floating purple-cloaked marionette. Its red eyes glowed dangerously.
Wordlessly, the doll attacked Marik's Drillago, enshrouding the machine monster in a strange void-like attack. Marik felt another stinging sensation as he took damage. (Marik 2300/Ishizu 2400)
This time, the fiendish tombkeeper looked distinctly unamused. Perspiration gathered in droplets on his forehead, and his posture was noticeably shaky. In a seemingly affable tone, he said, "Very well, then. I must admit, I never expected this game to be so…even."
Suddenly, his voice rose to a demonic fever pitch. "Scum! I've had enough of your petty resistance! I'm going to finish you off now!"
The spectators flinched, many of them openly trembling. None of them knew that things would get this bad, that Marik would be this unhinged. Even Kaiba gulped as he fought to keep a rising sense of trepidation down.
"I equip my Revival Jam with the Black Pendant spell!" Despite Revival Jam being a constantly shifting mass of blue slime, it was still able to wear the Black Pendant. It was an ornate bangle, a pitch black crystal hung around a gold chain. It emitted a cold aura that was fitting of their shadowy surroundings.
"This increases my monster's attack points by 500, totaling 2000! Now, attack her Zolga now!" Marik shrieked.
"Activate face-down trap, Mirror Force!" Ishizu had used every duelist's simultaneously favorite and least favorite card. Marik's seemingly indestructible Revival Jam was shattered into a million pieces by the trap.
"Wow, she's really making this comeback!" Mai commended. "Indeed. If Ishizu draws a monster next turn, she wins." Yugi nodded, smiling.
"You may have destroyed my Revival Jam, but with it you have destroyed my Black Pendant. When it is destroyed, my Black Pendant inflicts 500 points of damage upon my opponent!" Marik cackled. Ishizu suddenly felt deathly chills that froze her very bones. She was nearing her limits now; she would need to finish the duel quickly, or else she would be the first to fall. (Marik 2300/Ishizu 1900)
"I set one card face-down and end my turn. What's the matter, sister? Out of breath already?" Marik jeered. It was disturbing how he seemed so at home in the freezing darkness.
Ishizu's breathing was hitched as she drew. "Zolga…" She had to pause her command to regain her breath, a process that too nearly thirty seconds. "Zolga, attack him directly."
The marionette fired two thin red lasers from its eye sockets, the beams racing desperately towards Marik. He smirked, crossing his arms. "I activate my Negate Attack trap. As the name implies, your battle phase is immediately ended. Bad luck, sister."
Everyone let out a breath they did not know they were holding in. Ishizu put her hands on her knees; she felt like a fish trying to swim upstream. "I place a face-down card an end my turn…" She conceded.
Marik drew, and an exultant, horrifying expression gleaned across his features. "Haha! I must admit, sister, you've pushed me quite far. I never imagined I would have to summon my Egyptian God against the likes of you!"
"Impossible! Ra's already been sent to the graveyard! Besides, spells and traps don't work on Egyptian Gods, right bro?" Mokuba questioned frantically. "They do, Mokuba. But only for one turn. One turn will be all that he needs." Kaiba was fearful and excited in equal measure.
"No way…" Yugi murmured in shock. "I activate Monster Reborn!" A red cross materialized behind Marik as a ferocious wind whipped up behind him. From the heavens, golden light poured down, illuminating the long night.
"At last, I'm going to see the third Egyptian God in action!" Kaiba said, feasting his eyes on the holographic display.
From the sky came a golden orb, blinding in its brightness. It was mechanical in an otherworldly way, shifting and squirming in ways a machine shouldn't.
"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry! Transform thyself from orb of light, and bring me victory in this fight! Come forth, Winged Dragon of Ra (0/0)!"
The sphere turned and transformed from a ball into a strange mechanical leviathan, a fusion between dragon and phoenix. It let out a battle cry truly befitting a god, and Ishizu could only stare, dumbstruck.
"What is everyone so scared of? That thing looks impressive, but it's got no attack or defense points!" Mai was one of the few who were able to keep her cool, even as the temperature raised 30 degrees and the mighty dragon roared.
"You don't understand…it is said to be the strongest card in existence, the powerful creature that rules over all beings in this world. Even Obelisk and Slifer pale in comparison…to this." Yugi said, encaptured.
"Ra normally gains the attack points of the monsters sacrificed for its summon, so its attack points are zero now. I assure you, that should be the least of your concerns. Prepare to feel a force like no other!"
Ra was suddenly engulfed in hellfire, intense orange-yellow flames that licked the sides of the blimp. "By paying 1000 life points, I can activate Ra's most powerful ability; the Phoenix transformation! When Ra uses this attack, every monster on your side of the field is destroyed, and you burn with them!" Marik shouted, beguiled by his own power. (Marik 1300/Ishizu 1900)
Ishizu's eyes had dulled; she knew it was over. Slowly, she turned to face Yugi. "My pharaoh…you must succeed where I have failed. Please…please save my brother from this darkness. This is my last request."
"What are you talking about!? Get out of there!" Joey roared, moving to step in. Even Roland knew what was about to happen, having taken cover some time ago. Ishizu gave the blond-haired man a sad smile before looking at her deck.
"The game must be seen to completion."
Ra swooped down, incinerating Zolga within seconds. A pillar of flame descended upon Ishizu, who shrieked in sheer agony as the fire engulfed her. She was not burnt, but it certainly felt that way, thanks to the rules of the game.
Marik's move wasn't even good from a strategic standpoint. He had a monster in his hand capable of beating Zolga, but he chose to revive Ra merely to cause Ishizu as much pain as possible. He succeeded; there are not many things in this world more painful than getting burned alive.
"Enough! I think my dear sister is quite well-done at this point." Marik commanded after 45 seconds. Ra faithfully returned to its master's die before disappearing, leaving only white ash rising to the sky.
Ishizu collapsed, and it was only a moment before Yugi, Joey, and Tristan ran to her side. The game had been dramatically decided.
"What? Doesn't she get a ten-count? I haven't finished my fun yet!" Marik laughed, wheezing in exertion from the fierce battle.
Yugi's pupils shrank to the size of pinheads. In a second, he left Ishizu to the care of the emergency medical team that had been waiting on standby and walked up to Marik. Everyone had hurried to the elevator, partially out of fear and partially out of concern for Ishizu. Only Yugi, Kaiba, and Marik remained.
"Does it make you mad, pharaoh?" Marik asked mockingly. Yugi's fists clenching and his eyes narrowing were answers enough. "Why don't you just kill me then?" The tombkeeper postulated, drawing the knife hidden in the Millennium Rod.
Yugi pursed his lips, practically shaking with rage. "You know what I think?" Marik laughed as he twirled the knife like a toy. "I think you rather enjoy this, as I do. The King of Games would never cheat, would he? No, no matter how many people die, the rules must be observed-"
Yugi lunged, showing surprising speed. The pharaoh grabbed Marik's wrist and twisted, causing the villain to drop the Millennium Rod. A punch to the face sent Marik to the ground, the Pharoah holding his elbow to his enemy's throat.
"You're lucky the others aren't here, scum…I'm going to make you pay for what you've done!" The Pharoah roared, even as Yugi's voice pleaded him to stop. Kaiba's eyes flickered between the Pharaoh and Marik, the billionaire taking no steps to physically interfere.
"Yugi. If you attack another finalist, you will be disqualified from my tournament. What happened to Bakura, Odion, and Ishizu was part of the game, but I cannot allow you to attack him right now. Save it for the ring." Kaiba finally said, his clear, cold voice slicing through the emotionally torqued atmosphere.
"Really? You would let this man walk free?" Yugi growled, tightening his chokehold on Marik.
Kaiba was about to reply, but was interrupted by the soft sound of elevator doors opening. From the lift came Tea, of all people. Her posture was stiff and her normally vibrant blue eyes were strangely dull and flat.
"Tea? What are you doing here? Leave, now!" Yugi protested.
"Tea's not home right now, pharaoh." Marik's voice echoed from the girl's body. Kaiba, Yugi, and Yami Marik flinched at the sound.
"I have used my hold over your friend's mind to maintain some level of consciousness. It was all I could do after he took over." Marik said, pointing at his darker half's frame. "For this, I apologize. Tea had no part in this."
"He is like a parasite, wouldn't you agree, pharaoh?" Yami Marik chimed in, receiving additional pressure on his throat for his trouble.
"As If I would help you after how you've manipulated us!" Yugi roared, his anger reaching untold heights.
"I want him finished as much as you do. He has stolen my body, and he has harmed my sister. For this, he shall go back to the hell he came from!" Marik declared.
Yugi nodded, sensing that these words were true. "I see. Very well then. After I defeat your brother, I will allow you your body back. You have my trust, for now at least. The only way I can make things right is if I defeat your darker half in a duel." Yugi said, calming himself down slightly. He released his hold on Yami Marik, who scrambled back to catch his breath.
"Right." Marik said diplomatically. "Well, I think that's enough drama for a night, boys. Go back to your quarters immediately. We will arrive at the next stage of the tournament in nine hours. There will be armed security in the hallways, and if anyone is caught roaming about, they will face disqualification. Am I clear?" Kaiba ordered, being rational as usual.
Yugi and Marik nodded. Yugi suddenly felt a heavy weight on his body. He felt very tired, and a dismissal to his master bedroom sounded just like what the doctor ordered. Yami Marik smirked at Kaiba's authoritarian stance. He would play by the rules for now, if only for a fleeting amusement.
"A good night's sleep sounds wonderful. Have a nice evening, boys!" Yami Marik cackled before entering the lift. As the doors closed, he stared at the three remaining duelists.
The wind died down and the night had seemingly become calmer with the villain's departure. "I will release Tea now, pharaoh. I apologize again. Once you defeat him, I promise not to take vengeance upon you or your friends anymore." Marik said remorsefully.
Yugi didn't know what to say; less than two hours ago this man had been trying to kill him, and now he was trying to apologize. Still, he would take allies he could get.
"Very well, Marik." Was all he needed to say. The man in Tea's body turned around silently and departed the arena as well, leaving only Yugi and Kaiba. The two rivals did not look at each other, each staring off into opposite portions of the starry sky. They had been through a lot together, and they were content with a silent understanding.
After a few minutes, Yugi spoke. "Thank you for stopping me back there. I don't know what came over me…I wasn't myself."
Kaiba made a noncommittal gesture with his shoulders. "I've been there, Yugi." He muttered.
"Hmm? What was that?" Yugi asked. He smirked slightly; he had heard what Kaiba said the first time, but he couldn't quite believe it.
"Never you mind. The only reason I stopped you was because I didn't want you disqualified from the tournament before we have our rematch, that's all." Kaiba said haughtily.
Yugi's smile widened. He turned towards the elevator. "Ah, that's what I thought you said. Have a good night, Kaiba."
"Don't tell me what to do." The CEO blustered.
A/N
Greetings, and thank you for reading he fourth chapter of Luck of the Draw!
I went for a dramatic/horror theme this chapter, as befitting of Halloween. I hope you guys liked it! Strangely enough, it seems like even though the lottery changed, the same four finalists made it to the semi-finals. Perhaps it is fate? I dunno haha. The timeframe for the next chapter is between three weeks and three years. I believe that's a reasonable deadline. Anyways, have anise Halloween dudes, and leave a review if it pleases you.