When Dennis returned with two bags of refreshments, he was not expecting to find their party's table sparse of people. The only ones remaining in their place, guarding the assortment of bags and belongings their parents lovingly packed for them were Sawatari Shingo and Gongenzaka Noboru. Both of them acknowledged Dennis' return but none thought it be urgent to tell him where the others had gone to. The toilet?

"What happened?" he asked, sitting down and grabbing his can of soda.

Shingo, with a smile of exhilaration from his tea soda, replied, "The children went out to explore."

Gongenzaka looked displeased. "To do dishonorable things."

"Dishonorable things? Wait, even Shun?"

Shingo looked at Dennis disbelievingly before laughing. "'Shun?' Don't tell me you call him that in front of him."

Dennis grinned. "We're all friends and we're both Xyz-users. That makes us twice closer, right?"

Shingo laughed again to Dennis' annoyance. Was it that funny? Dennis hid behind his smile and turned to Gongenzaka.

"So, where did they go?"

Gongenzaka looked at Dennis critically, getting Dennis even more curious. "Why? Do you intend to follow them?"

"Relax, relax. I'm only asking a question. If they were getting themselves in trouble, I might follow them to get them out of it."

"They went to the casino," he said in disdain.

"Oh? Well, I doubt they'll be let in. We have fake IDs, but not even Shun will look like he's eighteen. What's the problem?"

"Hmph."

"Kurosaki actually left to sneak in and gamble," supplied Shingo. "Said the extra money wouldn't hurt."

"Ah. Well, he's not wrong on that."

"That man has no honor." Gongenzaka crossed his arms, bowing his head in deep shame for Shun. "He asked that I come."

Dennis smiled faintly. "I wonder if it will make you more honorable to starve out in the streets and be dressed in your own grime. Not all of us can choose suffering over the good conscience in our hearts like you, Gon-chan." Dennis stood up and clasped his hands together. "We Standard folks all had pretty comfortable lives back home. I say there would be a lot more times in the future when we disagree on matters so we should give way when possible."

"You may be right," said Gongenzaka. "But don't misunderstand me, Dennis. I believe Kurosaki to be a good man but he might have been alone for too long. He's no longer fighting a desperate battle. Maybe it will take some time for him to heal."

Ah, thought Dennis. He should have expected Gongenzaka to be thinking like this. Personally, Dennis thought it was simply Shun's nature, but Gongenzaka wasn't completely wrong. Shun was a wounded falcon who'd lost everything he had and haven't stopped to rest his wings for years. Did it make him stronger? Or was he digging his grave, soon to one day fall from the sky without ever finding what he wanted to see?

If Shun left, Selena and Yuya might have followed for his sake. What about Reira though? Another thought crossed Dennis.

"What about you?" he asked Shingo, who looked at him questioningly. "Aren't you interested?"

"Haha. Are you implying I'm a man of no honor? You expected that I'd jumped in and gambled?"

"Ah, no."

Shingo grinned. He leaned backward, tilting his chair on its back legs. "It's as you said. We lived pretty comfortable lives back in Standard, but that's a big understatement on my part. Unlike Kurosaki, I don't have an unhealthy compulsion for money. I've had a lot of it all my life without effort, you see. What about you, Macfield?"

"I'm from a middle-class family. Nothing interesting."

"Really?" asked Shingo. "LDS tuition isn't cheap."

"LDS hadn't always owed the Broadway School. And you also pay in talent to get in there," answered Dennis with a wink of insolence. "Anyway, I'll go have a look on how they're doing."

Dennis followed the signs and advertisements in the mall that pointed toward the casino. He eventually followed the sound of slot machines and jiggling coins when they reached his ears. Soon, he found himself standing before its entrance, six feet wide and six feet tall, pouring with molten gold light from chandeliers in high ceilings that coated every inch of the floor, walls, and machines with a shiny enamel. Dennis stared in awe. He stepped back and tilted his chin as he followed the glass walls rise to a third story floor.

His hometown was technologically more advanced, but the Synchro Dimension flaunted its technology in extravagant architecture. Lots of construction. Lots of people.

Noticing the lack of guards, Dennis warily made his way inside. There weren't many people in the first floor. When Dennis saw several teenagers casually walking around, he relaxed. Maybe this wasn't the real inside of the casino yet? Dennis looked around and it didn't take long for him to find the others.

"Yo. You guys look like you're having fun."

Yuya waved at him. "Ah, Dennis! Are Gongenzaka and Sawatari with you?"

"Nah. They're back at our table, waiting. How's gambling going?"

"Gambling? Nah. Well, not really," he said sheepishly. Yuya stepped back from the slot machine, revealing young Reira sitting in front on it from a high stool. Dennis grabbed Yuya.

"Reiji is going to murder us!" he hissed, sincerely terrified for his life. "It's bad enough you brought him here but you're also letting him play!"

"It's not what you think!" said Yuya, prying Dennis' fingers from his shoulders. "Look – " Yuya pulled something from his pocket and let its end drop to the ground. A long string of tickets rolled on Dennis' feet.

"Tickets? A game?" Dennis peered over Reira's. 7, 7, 7, the fourth column still rolling.

"Yeah. We're not playing for the money. Reira's really good at it."

"Oh. That explains why there was no guard at the entrance."

"Yeah. The casino is at the second floor."

Dennis smiled. "That's a relief. Gongenzaka was upset, you know. He said Shun wanted to gamble."

"Oh, he does. But Selena and I managed to stop him - with Reira's help. He wanted to play and Shun felt guilty enough to stay."

Dennis looked over beside Reira where Selena was playing the same game. Her screen had different symbols each. She didn't seem to be the lucky type. Shun was over a different machine.

"Tsukikage?"

Yuya took a moment to look around. "Not sure..."

Dennis, followed by Yuya, went over to Shun's and saw him concentrating on virtual roulette. A countdown was ticking at the top right screen, indicating a time limit for whatever Shun was after. Dennis identified it as the picture of a card at the left side of the screen, a monster called "Blackwing – Mistral The Silver Shield."

"Changing deck?" asked Dennis.

"It's a tuner monster," said Shun, taking a card from a small pile of deck at his hand. To Dennis' shock, Shun inserted the card into the machine without a care. Yuya was trying his best to keep his thoughts to himself.

"They're spoils of war," explained Shun, paying no mind to Yuya. "A rare card for a rare card."

Yuya couldn't hold it in. "Treating cards like they're commodity – " Dennis reigned him in.

"Now, now, it's just like trading, isn't it?"

Shun input his bet on the machine and turned to Yuya. "Our enemy had superior cards. Obviously, we'll take what we need and put them to good use." Shun turned back to the machine. It seemed like it was the end of conversation for Shun, but Dennis saw him hesitate. "...I don't enjoy this method either, but it's a small price to pay considering what's at stake."

Yuya sighed. It was good enough a reason for him.

"Is it that important of a card?" asked Dennis, watching the virtual roulette spin.

"Who knows."

"Eh?" exclaimed Yuya.

Shun shrugged. "It's a gut feeling."

Yuya grinned at Dennis. "That actually makes more sense. Nakajima told me that Shun was too proud to fight with Pendulum cards during the tournament. Huh?" Yuya sensed Shun's look on him. "What?"

When Shun didn't reply and turned his eyes back on the screen, Yuya realized it.

"AH! Sorry, sorry. It was a slip." Yuya glared accusingly at Dennis, who raised his eyebrows and hands questioningly. Before Yuya could spell for him his treason, the ball had stopped and they heard a card popped out of the machine. Shun pulled it out and both Dennis and Yuya saw for the first time what it looked like for Shun to be perplexed.

They huddled behind him and looked at the card.

"Huh. It's a different one," said Dennis, reading the text.

"Mm. A visual bug? It looks good though."

"Mm-mm. It's still a tuner monster."

"A special summon with 2000 DEF isn't bad either."

"Many viable tactics on this one!"

They fell silent.

"Kurosaki," began Yuya, "Are you going to use this?"

Shun inserted the card to his deck, stood up, and walked away. "If it can stand alongside my Raidraptors, it might stay."

"It isn't really a bad card," said Dennis once Shun was out of earshot. "But..."

"Yeah... Imagining Kurosaki saying it..."

Dennis coughed, turning away so he could discreetly wipe a tear on his eye.

After 30 minutes, the party headed back, content and a bit giddy from the new cards they won. Selena was the only one whose efforts bore no fruit. She didn't care; she didn't find it as fascinating as the others made it. A game of luck was nothing. Reira thought differently, however, and thoughtfully presented her "Spiritual Forest." She hesitated – she didn't need a card to protect her monsters – but Selena was a little loss for words on the gesture that she ended up not saying anything at all. Reira seemed to take silence as a good sign.

Shingo rose from his seat upon seeing them back. "Finally! Let's get going already!"

"Well? Did you get what you want?" Gongenzaka looked at Shun indifferently.

"Ah..." Having forgotten that his last words to him were to gamble and profit, Shun reached for his deck and showed him the new card he got. Gongenzaka, having not expected a card instead of a wallet full of cash, leaned close until his nose was an inch before the card and, with a deep frown, read it aloud...

"Cockadoodledoo."