Well, here is the next update. I tired…I just started fall break though so I'm happy. Got five days off school. ^_^

Anyway, thank you to ShadowSpirit020/Lightclaw's Shadow, Sorcerer of the Stories, Dunka99, a1993, decode9, DisneyOUATgirl1437, Team5dsforever, iloveyugiohGX93, EndlessNight025, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight and bobmanv2.0 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.

And, as usual, a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter and, since a card from the manga appears in this chapter and does not have all the card stats, I've put it at the end of the chapter with what I interpret can be its stats. As usual, reviews are much appreciated.

9

Dueling Sisters

Haou was not happy.

Only a few hours had gone by since his other half—for lack of a better description—had been defeated by Aster Phoenix, and only a few hours had gone by since the connection between them and Yubel was blocked. Haou had always had access to the powers he had been gifted with from the past; he just couldn't use them unless he was in control. Therefore, he could see and communicate with duel spirits just like Jaden could and, therefore, he had lost that ability just as Jaden did when the Light had managed to strike at Jaden after his duel.

Haou still didn't understand the relationship between him and Jaden that well. When he died in the past, he had been expecting to be reincarnated, yes, but he had not been expecting to be a separate entity sharing the body and soul of his reincarnation. He had his suspicions but, so far, they hadn't been proven yet. However, it meant that whatever had happened to Jaden was affecting him as well and he didn't like it at all.

He never liked it when he wasn't in control of a situation and the current situation was not one he could control until he figured out what the hell just happened. Taking advantage of the situation would definitely work but he would have to figure out what happened before he could do that.

Haou had mellowed out quite a bit since he had first been awakened but that didn't mean he had changed completely. He helped Jaden only when he absolutely had to, or wanted to, or when he felt it would benefit him, and he listened to Yubel only because Yubel was the only one who could keep him in line.

Now that Yubel was blocked from his mind, Haou was free to do what he wanted.

And that meant he would be able to do things his way, not Jaden's, without Jaden's guardian spirit bitching about or trying to stop him.

For now, he would remain in the background so as to not draw attention to those who knew of his existence, especially that protective older brother of Jaden's. He would be one of the first to notice the changes. Even if he couldn't take control, he could still manipulate the situation to his advantage, especially with how emotionally unstable Jaden was due to his anxiety and PTSD.

Haou smirked as he relaxed within the Hall of Mirrors that was his only little corner of Jaden's mind, observing through Jaden's eyes as the school's nurse announced that Jaden was all right physically.

"But he's still saying he can't see his cards," that little blue-haired friend of Jaden's, Syrus, Haou believed his name was, said quietly.

"Or Yubel for that matter," Jaden's sister Kasumi said, glancing off to the side.

"I don't know," Ms. Fontaine admitted. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Ms. Fontaine," Jaden assured her. "Not your fault or anything. I think I'm just gonna head back to my room now." He swung his legs off the bed and picked up his deck, even though he couldn't see the cards.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Jaden's little girlfriend Alexis asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Lex," Jaden assured her, pulling her into a gentle hug and then kissing her. Haou rolled his eyes at the mushy scene as Jaden released the blonde girl and walked out of the infirmary.

As soon as he was out of sight of his friends, the façade cracked and Jaden gazed sadly at his cards. "What am I supposed to do now?" he murmured quietly.

'Find a way to regain your ability to see your cards, of course,' Haou said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And how exactly am I supposed to do that, Haou? Jaden thought, putting his deck away and walking down the hall toward the main entrance to the building.

Haou thought about how to use this to his advantage. It really didn't take long for him to come up with an idea. 'Let me take control. The Light may have affected you but that doesn't mean it affected me,' he lied. He knew that the Light had affected him just as it did Jaden but, naturally, he wasn't about to let on about that.

He had considered working from the background but he was presented with a golden opportunity now that his other half was out of sight of his friends and family. If Jaden consented to him taking control, he could simply isolate himself and work on strengthening his powers without any restraints. And find a way to reverse what the Light did, of course.

Eventually.

Jaden frowned, though. I don't know. You haven't actually taken control since the duel against Kagemaru, he thought.

That's because you wouldn't let me take control when we were dueling that bastard Kaage. I would have killed him myself if you had, Haou thought, still very peeved by that. But he kept that to himself. Instead, he said, 'I can help you better learn to control your powers, Jaden, but it's much easier to show you how to use your powers than tell you. Yubel refused to let me give you this kind of guidance and, since we both know for sure the Light is back, you're going to need all the help you can get, especially with your anxiety problems.'

Jaden didn't respond, so Haou pressed onwards.

'I can help you find a way to regain your connection with Yubel and your duel spirits,' Haou said, carefully choosing the right words to sway Jaden in favor of letting him take control. As an extra addendum, he added, 'I won't even stay in control all the time.'

Jaden bit his lip.

Haou went on, 'Look, Jaden. Whether you like it or not, you have inherited my powers and, if something hadn't gone wrong with the reincarnation, you would have been me. You need to learn how to use your powers, now more than ever since the Light of Destruction will not wait and let you learn how to use it before it strikes. Your duel against Aster is proof of that. I doubt the Champion will be so lenient.'

He could sense that Jaden was starting to be swayed a tiny bit so he decided to play with Jaden's love for his family and his friends. 'How else are you going to protect your friends and your family from the Light? The Light will do whatever it must to force you to its side or destroy you and it will not hesitate to use those you care about against you. I know because it tried to do the same with me. If you don't do this, your friends and family could get hurt and it would be your fault because you could have stopped it, just like with Kaage.'

If there was anything about Jaden that Haou had learned in the years he had been within Jaden's mind was that Jaden was extremely loyal to his family and to his friends. Not to mention, he was still filled with self-blame from what happened over the summer; Haou played with that, using it to manipulate his other half into accepting his offer.

He had this feeling that the block was only temporary so he was going to take advantage of what time he had to do whatever he wanted without restraints.

Jaden flinched and Haou knew that his words had struck him hard. Despite his friends and family continuously assuring him what happened with Kaage was not his fault, Haou knew that there would always be a small kernel of self-blame and doubt deep within Jaden's soul. It was that kernel that Haou was manipulating to get what he wanted.

He always got what he wanted, no matter what he had to do to get it.

Not all the time, Jaden thought. And only when we aren't around the others.

Haou grinned smugly, not at all surprised he had managed to convince Jaden to give in to his offer. 'Very well, Jaden. I will not take control while we are around the others and not all the time,' he murmured. 'But we are not around the others now, are we?'

It was true, Jaden had been walking the entire time they were talking and they had managed to make it back to the redone Slifer Red Dorm. Haou noticed there was no one around and so pushed himself into control; it wasn't hard because Jaden gave in easily, though Haou was sure he wasn't expecting to fall unconscious as soon as Haou was in control.

"So sorry, Jaden," Haou murmured to himself with a smirk that clearly said he wasn't sorry at all before he strode off.

The Light had caught him off guard the last time, but Haou refused to let it catch him off guard again. The Light had made the first strike but Haou was not going to let it get a second one; he would need to work quickly in order to regain as much of the strength he had lost when the Light struck him.

And he would also have to do it without arousing the suspicion of Jaden's friends, family, the student body and the staff.

His first quest would be to figure out exactly what cut off his ability to see and communicate with his cards, which was something that he needed to find a way around. He didn't have to unblock the connection with Yubel, but he would definitely need access to his cards.

And he would need some peace and quiet in order to delve into his mind and figure out just what caused that block in the first place and how to undo it, without undoing the block on the connection. He didn't want Yubel coming in and ruining his chance to do what he wanted, unrestrained.

. . .

A little while later, the gang was gathered in the new addition to the Slifer Red Dorm, talking about what happened to Jaden in his duel against Aster Phoenix. Jaden wasn't there and neither was Hikari or Kasumi, the former had left to speak to Aster—though the others didn't know that—while the latter had her therapy session to attend.

'It's so horrible,' Ojama Yellow said as he materialized next to Chazz. 'Jaden can't talk to his cards anymore. I would hate if that happened to you, boss.'

Chazz glowered at the Ojama spirit and swatted it away. "I'm more worried about Jaden's mental state," he said. "We all know just how close Jaden is to Yubel. Losing his ability to communicate with her is bound to be tough on him."

"Agreed," Raiden said with a nod.

"Is there anything we can do?" Alexis asked.

"I don't know, other than be there for him, I guess," Raiden said.

The gang fell into silence for a long time.

Bastion broke it. "I hate to say this, but they might take down this dorm like they threatened to do without Jaden here," he said.

"That's supposing they end up doing that. We don't know if they will," Arina pointed out.

"If they do, we're doomed," Syrus said. "Even with Professor Conway here."

"Our headquarters could be taken from us," Hassleberry murmured.

Chazz shook his head. "We may be one man down, but we're eight men strong," he said. "Well, five men and three ladies. All right, four men, three ladies, and Syrus. My point is; we have to fight."

"Here, here," Bastion agreed.

"I agree, Chazz," Raiden said with a nod. "And, though Little Mist ain't here right now, I have no doubt she'll agree, too."

"So do I," Arina said, standing up.

"I'll stand by and cheer," Syrus said.

"I like to see them tear down this dorm with all of us standing together," Hassleberry declared.

"Exactly. All for one, right, guys?" Alexis said.

"Right!" everyone agreed.

"Now does anyone have an actual plan to prevent this dorm from being taken down?" Raiden said.

The rest of the gang looked at each other.

"I'm going to take that as a no."

. . .

"The nightmares are starting to go away, but they're still there," Kasumi admitted, gazing up at the ceiling as she relaxed in her chair. "It's hard not to think about it, especially since I still have the scar. I see it every time I take a shower and, every time I see it, I think about what happened, about what Kaage Naka did to me. I know it's over and done with but that doesn't stop me from remembering."

"Something like this isn't going to just go away right away," Dr. Nakamura reminded her.

"I know," Kasumi said, lowering her gaze to look at the therapist and smile a little. "Talking about it does help, though." She fell silent and then said, "I'm worried about Raiden, though."

"Your other brother?"

"Yeah. He was stabbed, too, and yet he's acting as if nothing happened. I've tried to convince him to speak to you, but he refuses to admit that he needs help. He insists that Jaden needs it more than he does and that he could deal with it on his own. I just...I don't know if he really can."

"It's not uncommon for someone who experienced a trauma to refuse to seek therapy for it," Nakamura said. "Some believe that they can handle it on their own, some don't think whatever happened is bad enough to seek treatment, some even believe that seeing a therapist would reflect badly upon them."

"Jaden thought he could handle it on his own," Kasumi admitted. "But Raiden talked him into, at least, attending one therapy session. I just wish he would have taken his own advice." She ran a hand through her hair and added, "I know these sessions are working for me."

"I know you want to help your brother, Kasumi," Nakamura said. "But he has to choose to seek help on his own. It won't work if he's forced into it."

"I know," Kasumi said, falling silent.

Nakamura glanced at the clock. "It looks like we're out of time, Kasumi. I'll see you again next week," she said.

Kasumi nodded and got to her feet before she walked out of the therapist's makeshift office. She headed down the hallway and was about to round the corner when she spotted her sister running toward her.

"Hey, Hikari. What's up?" she said as the golden-blonde haired duelist came to a stop beside her.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," Hikari said. "I didn't see you head to the Slifer Dorm with everyone else."

"Sorry," Kasumi said. "I had to go to my therapy session. It had been rescheduled so that I could go to Jaden's duel. But why were you looking for me, anyway?"

"I was wondering if we could duel," Hikari said.

Kasumi blinked. "Well, sure, but why?"

"'Cause I wanna see, for myself, just how good you are with your new deck," Hikari replied with a smile. "I mean, I know you were pretty all right with your last deck, though how did you choose it?" She looked curious.

"Well, the Lightsworn monsters and I just...kinda...connected," Kasumi admitted. "And if you want to duel, all right. Right now?"

Hikari smiled. "Well, before I went to find you, I asked Chancellor Crowler if we could use the main duel arena later. He seemed fine by it, though he was trying to convince me to convince you to rethink your opinion about his idea regarding you and Raiden."

Kasumi scowled. "I am not gonna become a pop-idol duelist who sings while she duels, and definitely not with Raiden, who couldn't sing to save his life," she said. She had heard Raiden sing; it wasn't pretty.

Hikari blinked and then giggled. "He wanted you to become a pop-idol duelist who sings while she duels?"

"Not funny," Kasumi grumbled.

"It kinda is."

"Shut up."

. . .

Jaden woke up in his dorm room, unsure of how he got there or why he felt lightheaded and tired. He sat up slowly and gazed around, noting that he was still in his uniform, though his duel disk and his deck were placed on the table next to his bed. Blinking, Jaden swung his legs off his bed and rested a hand on his head when it started to ache.

Just what the heck has Haou been up to?

'Just exploring the island, investigating, and training,' Haou said nonchalantly.

"What did you do? Walk to the other side of the island and back?" Jaden wondered aloud.

'Something like that,' Haou said.

Jaden sighed and laid back down on his bed. "So, did you find out if you can see and interact with duel spirits when you're in control?" he asked.

'I cannot interact with our own cards, but I can still interact with spirits, albeit weak spirits, and that even tires me out since I have to tap into what power wasn't blocked by that fucking Light,' Haou said.

"So all of my powers weren't blocked?" Jaden wondered.

'Hmph, of course not. The Light that had attacked you was not looking to block your powers, it was looking to turn you into its servant. That backfired and, instead, made you incapable of seeing Yubel or your deck. How it did that, I'm not entirely sure, though,' Haou said.

Jaden sighed. "So, what now?"

'Well, your sister is dueling, if you want to go watch it,' Haou said.

Jaden didn't respond for a moment. "I don't really feel up to watching a duel," he murmured.

Haou didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, 'Then let's continue with the training.' Without waiting for Jaden to reply, he took control, ready to continue working on his current plan.

. . .

"Hey, does anyone know where Jaden is?" Syrus asked as the gang all took their seats in the arena. News about Kasumi and Hikari's duel had spread throughout the school like wildfire and so the rest of the gang had decided to show up right away to watch it. Syrus was surprised to see that Jaden was nowhere to be seen, though.

"I haven't seen him at all since he left the infirmary," Raiden admitted, looking worried.

"I'm sure he's fine," Alexis said, hoping to convince herself just as much as the others.

Down in the duel arena, Hikari and Kasumi were walking onto the dueling platform and met each other at the center. Crowler, Bonaparte, and Conway were seated in the first two rows of the stands, the first two were talking to each other about the duel.

"I say we should put the Red Dorm on the line in this duel," Bonaparte said.

"It won't work," Crowler said, shaking his head. "Kasumi Yuki is staying in the Red Dorm at the moment, you know. I know! We should make it that if Kasumi Yuki loses, she has to, at least, try out being a dueling pop-idol! That'll definitely up the ratings for this school!"

Dueling pop idols? Conway resisted the urge to smack his forehead.

"And get her away from the Red Dorm," Bonaparte agreed.

Almost everyone had shown up for the duel. Unlike with the duel against Aster that morning, this one was one in which everyone was allowed to watch.

"Are you ready?" Hikari asked with a smile.

"Ready," Kasumi said with a grin as they took each other's decks and started shuffling them.

"Ahem," Crowler called into the microphone. "We have decided to add in a little stake to this duel."

"Stake?" Kasumi repeated.

"Yes, yes. If you lose, Kasumi, then you have to, at least, try out being a dueling pop idol," Crowler said gleefully. "Just one duel doing it and then you can see if you like it or not. What do ya say?"

Hikari started laughing again at that.

"It's not funny!" Kasumi cried, flushing in embarrassment.

"It kinda is," Hikari said through her laughter.

"I just has a great idea!" Crowler exclaimed. "Why don't we make it that Miss Yami has the same condition? If she loses, she has to try out being a dueling pop idol?"

Hikari's laughter abruptly cut off. "What?!" She exclaimed, whirling to stare at Crowler in shock.

Kasumi snickered. The idea is ridiculous but this is still funny, she thought.

Hikari glared at her but she just smirked back at her.

"Good luck, sis," Kasumi said with a smile.

"Ehhh?!" the entire crowd, who had heard that, exclaimed as one, with the exception of those who already knew.

"Sis?" one student said.

"They don't look a thing alike," another student said.

"Don't they have different last names?" said yet another student.

"You, too, sis," Hikari replied, ignoring the murmurings that were going around her.

"Let's duel," they declared as they drew their opening hands.

Kasumi: 8000

Hikari: 8000

. . .

In his white room, Sartorius shuffled around the cards a few times before he picked up a few of them and turned them over, studying them with an unreadable expression on his face. "The girl is strong, no doubt, but she is conflicted, though the conflict will not hinder her in this match. Hmm, I will have to keep my eyes on her," he murmured to himself as he turned the cards over again.

His thoughts went to Jaden. The boy was supposed to fall under the sway of the Light and yet, that had not happen. He did feel as though the boy could be one of two that he sought and there was definitely something about Jaden Yuki that cautioned him to keep an eye on him. The boy had managed to avoid falling under the sway of the Light and the reading had told him that something else was intervening and would make Sartorius's quest all the harder.

An enemy with a power equal to the power of the Light of Destruction.

The power of its ancient enemy; the Gentle Darkness.

That boy...could he truly be...Sartorius's thoughts trailed off and he resolved to keep looking into the matter. If that boy truly was the one who harbored the Gentle Darkness, then Sartorius would need to deal with him before he became a threat.

. . .

"I'll let you go first, Hikari," Kasumi said.

"Okay," Hikari said, drawing a card and then picking another card in her hand. "I'll summoning Shining Angel in Defense Mode." The blonde angel-winged fairy appeared on the field before kneeling down (A: 1400/D: 800).

"And then I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Hikari added as a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.

Wonder what she has up her sleeve, Kasumi thought as she drew a card. "I activate the Realm of Light Field Spell," she said.

The arena changed and they were standing in a brightly lit field with a temple rising up with four cylindrical columns on either side of it.

"And then I activate Solar Recharge and discard Gragonith to draw two cards and hten send the top two cards of my deck to the Graveyard, which adds a Shine Counter to Realm of Light," Kasumi added and did that, milling Lightsworn Barrier and Aurkus, Lightsworn Druid as a glowing ball of light appeared floating in front of the temple (Realm SC: 1).

"Now I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner in Attack Mode," Kasumi added and the blonde, dark-skinned Summoner materialized on the field (A: 1000-1100/D: 1000). "And I'll activate her effect and discard one card"—she discarded Jain, Lightsworn Paladin—"to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Lightsworn monster from my Graveyard and I'll go with the one I just discarded: Jain, Lightsworn Paladin." Lumina's hands glowed pink and a portal on the ground appeared before the silver-haired paladin rose out of it (A: 1800-1900/D: 1200).

"I'll then equip Lightsworn Sabre onto Jain, increasing her Attack by 700," Kasumi added, inserting the card into her duel disk and Jain was suddenly wielding the golden-hilted blue saber (A: 1900-2600).

"Lumina, attack Shining Angel," Kasumi ordered and Lumina launched a blast of pink energy at Shining Angel, destroying it.

"I activate Shining Angel's effect to summon another one to the field," Hikari said and another blonde angel appeared on the field (A: 1400/D: 800).

"All right, Jain, take out that Shining Angel too and she gains 300 Attack during the Damage Step," Kasumi said, watching as Jain shot forward and slammed the blue saber into Hikari's second Shining Angel, destroying it.

Kasumi: 8000

Hikari: 6500

"And I use Shining Angel's effect to summon Silent Magician LV4 to the field in Attack Mode," Hikari said, placing the card on her duel disk and the small white-clothed magician with the white hair and pale-purple skin appeared on the field (A: 1000/D: 1000).

Kasumi nodded, inserting a card into her duel disk. "I place this facedown and end my turn, which means milling five cards because of both Lumina and Jain's effects," she said and then milled five cards: Ehren, Ryko, Vanquishing Light, Monster Reincarnation and Lyla. "And Realm of Light gains two total Shine Counters." Two more orbs of light appeared on the field (Realm SC: 3) (Lumina A: 1100-1300) (Jain A: 2600-2800).

"My turn, I draw," Hikari said, drawing a card and glancing at it before adding it to the other cards in her hand. She then picked up another card. "And I activate Level Up! And I use it to tribute Silent Magician LV4 and Special Summon Silent Magician LV8." Silent Magician LV4 was surrounded by bright blue light and suddenly grew much taller and his white hair was much wilder (A: 3500/D: 1000).

"I also activate Limit Reverse to Special Summon Silent Magician LV4 from my Graveyard to my field but he won't be here long," Hikari added as the shorter Silent Magician returned to the field before being surrounded by a blue light. "I tribute him in order to summon Silent Swordsman LV5 in Attack Mode." Out of the blue light stepped a tall, dark-blue robed warrior wielding a large silver broadsword (A: 2300/D: 1000).

"Now, Silent Magician LV8, take out Jain," ordered Hikari and the magician unleashed a blast of blue magical energy that slammed into Jain, destroying her.

Kasumi: 7300

Hikari: 6500

"Silent Swordsman LV5, attack Lumina," Hikari added and the swordsman darted forward before slamming his large blade into Lumina, cutting her in half.

Kasumi: 6300

Hikari: 6500

"And I place this facedown and that's it," Hikari finished, inserting the card into her duel disk.

Well, we're still pretty close on Life Points, Kasumi noted, studying the field and then her hand before she placed her hand on her deck. "I draw," she said and drew a card. This will come in handy. "I'll start off by activating my facedown, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon in Attack Mode." Her facedown flipped up and, rising out of the ground, came the large and beautiful Pegasus-like dragon with its wings outstretched (A: 2000-2300/D: 1600). "Also, he gains 300 Attack for each Lightsworn monster with a different name in my Graveyard and there are currently six." Gragonith roared as its power increased (A: 2300-4100).

"Strong monster," Hikari said before pressing a button on her duel disk. "Before you go further, though, I play Solar Ray. This deals 600 points of damage to you for each Light monster on my side of the field and I have two." Two blasts of sunlight shot toward Kasumi and slammed into her duel disk.

Kasumi: 5100

Hikari: 6500

"They're both doing really well," Crowler noted. "And it honestly doesn't even matter who wins 'cause I'll still get someone to try out being a dueling pop idol! Though I wonder who I can have Hikari sing with." He trailed off thoughtfully.

Conway sweatdropped. Why is he so insistent upon this ridiculous plan? He thought and shook his head, returning his gaze to the field.

"I'll have Gragonith attack Silent Magician LV8," Kasumi said, pointing at the magician and Gragonith roared before bounding forward and crashing into the Silent Magician, destroying it.

Kasumi: 5100

Hikari: 5900

"And then I'll place this facedown and end my turn, milling three cards because of Gragonith's effect. Your move, sis," Kasumi added, inserting a card into her duel disk and then milling Beckoning Light, Lightray Grepher and Monster Reborn as another orb of light appeared in front of the temple and Gragonith grew stronger (A: 4100-4200) (Realm SC: 4).

. . .

Haou was meditating.

Meditating always helped him to focus his powers; it helped him to clear his mind, which aided in whatever it was he was attempting to do, whether it was simply summoning a monster or something else entirely. Even Haou didn't know the limits of his own power and he had more experience with them.

He hoped that if he delved deeper into his power, he would be able to find a way around the block placed upon them to gain access to his cards without releasing the block that prevented Yubel, or any of the other cards in his other half's deck, from interfering. Unlike the Elemental Heroes or Yubel, the Evil Heroes were more than willing to do whatever it was Haou asked of them.

They had always been that way, extremely loyal to Haou, back when they were his soldiers in his past life.

That was the main reason why Jaden couldn't use Haou's cards right away. Yubel had told Jaden that he couldn't use all of Haou's cards because he didn't have enough control of his powers yet and, while that was technically true, Haou knew it was more the spirits within the cards had to judge him worthy of using them before they would consent to being used.

That was why Jaden couldn't use some of Haou's more powerful monsters, because those were the cards that were so extremely loyal to Haou that they deemed anyone else as less than worthy without given them much of a chance, unless they showed they held power on par with the power Haou held. Basically speaking, they would only work with someone who had as much training and experience as Haou did.

And, as of right now, Jaden did not, though he was working on it and Haou was helping him since Yubel was being too cautious and insisting on taking things too slowly for Haou's taste. So Haou was going to make sure Jaden had enough training and experience to be on par with him when he was his other half's age.

And Yubel couldn't say a thing about it since Jaden had willingly consented to it.

Haou smirked and then refocused on his meditation, since he had unwittingly brought himself out of it with his stray thoughts. He evened out his breathing, in out, slowly as he relaxed his body. His mind was still active and he focused on his current goal; finding the block the Light had placed upon him.

Once he found it, then he would work on the next step of his plan.

. . .

"They're both doing well," Raiden commented.

"I wonder where Jaden is though," Syrus said with a frown. "I mean it isn't like him to miss a duel."

Raiden didn't respond but he was thinking the same thing. He resolved to track down Jaden to check up on him later.

"My turn. I draw," Hikari said, back on the duel platform as she drew a card. "I summon Shining Abyss in Attack Mode." A golden winged blue creature appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1800). "And then I activate Riryoku and target Gragonith. Now his Attack is cut in half and Shining Abyss's Attack is increased by that amount." Gragonith drooped in weakness (A: 4200-2100) as Shining Abyss's power increased (A: 1600-3700).

"Now, Shining Abyss, attack Gragonith," Hikari ordered and Shining Abyss unleashed a blast of blue energy that slammed into the Pegasus-like dragon, obliterating it.

Kasumi: 3500

Hikari: 5900

"Silent Swordsman LV5, attack Kasumi directly," Hikari added and Silent Swordsman shot forward before striking Kasumi with his blade.

Kasumi: 1200

Hikari: 5900

"And I end my turn," Hikari said and Shining Abyss's attack went back to normal (A: 3700-1600).

"Hikari has the lead now," Celina commented. "Wonder how Kasumi is gonna get out of this."

"She's still in this," Arina said with a shrug.

"I draw," Kasumi said, drawing a card and glancing at it before grinning. "Yes! Since I have at least four Light monsters in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my Lightray Daedalus in Attack Mode!" With a roar, the beautiful blue serpentine dragon appeared on the field, coiled above Kasumi (A: 2600/D: 1500). "And I activate his effect. Now I can target one Field Spell and two other cards on the field and destroy them and I'll go with Realm of Light and your two monsters."

"Wait, your destroying your own Field Spell?" Hikari echoed.

"No, I activate Realm of Light's other effect," Kasumi said. "I can remove two Shine Counters from Realm of Light to prevent its destruction." A wave of powerful blue energy shot across the field and crashing into Silent Swordsman LV5 and Shining Abyss, destroying them as two orbs of light floating in front of the temple winked out of existence (Realm SC: 2).

"Lightray Daedalus, attack Hikari directly," Kasumi ordered. With a roar, Lightray Daedalus released powerful stream of blue energy that surged across the field and slammed into Hikari, sending her flying off her feet.

Kasumi: 1200

Hikari: 3300

"And I end with that," Kasumi said.

"Not bad, sis," Hikari said, climbing to her feet. "Not bad at all. I ain't giving up though."

"I'd be disappointed if you did," Kasumi said with a smile.

"My move. I draw," Hikari said, drawing a card. This will help, she thought. "I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two," she said and did, grinning as she held up another card. "You know, I never thought I'd have to use my ultimate weapon against you.

"Ultimate Weapon?" Kasumi repeated, confused.

"Yup, I activate Premature Burial and pay 800 Life Points…" Hikari trailed off as she was surrounded by a red aura.

Kasumi: 1200

Hikari: 2500

"…to summon this monster," Hikari said, retrieving the card from her Graveyard slot and slapping it onto her duel disk.

Dark clouds seemed to gather above the stadium and then, in a burst of light, the oddest monster that anyone has ever seen appeared from the clouds. It was a round and dark-blue with a mask-like face at its center painted with blues and whites and various markings around the face as it slowly descended to float behind Hikari (A: 2900/D: 2300).

"I summon The Despair Uranus!" Hikari shouted.

"WHAT?!" everyone in the audience exclaimed.

"No way!" Chazz said, shocked.

"That's a Legendary Planet monster," Raiden breathed.

"I didn't think anyone else had one of those," Arina breathed.

"Anyone else?" Alexis said.

"Well, I was given Splendid Venus for my birthday. I don't know how Mama got her hands on such a rare card, but she did," Arina admitted.

"If you have Splendid Venus and Hikari has The Despair Uranus, I wonder if anyone else has the other Legendary Planet monsters," Raiden mused.

"Who knows," Celina said.

"Can't believe Jay's missing this, though," Syrus said with a sigh. "He probably would be so excited."

"Ten-four," Hassleberry said with a nod.

"Wow, I can't believe you have a Legendary Planet monster," Kasumi exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the large monster.

Hikari smiled. "I only use him on occasion," she admitted. "Now, The Despair Uranus gains 300 Attack for every face-up Spell and Trap card I have on my field and I currently have two." The Despair Uranus's attack jumped up (A: 2900-3500).

"And I also activate United We Stand and equip it onto The Despair Uranus, incrasing its Attack and Defense by 800," Hikari added and The Despair Uranus's attack jumped up again (A: 3500-4300-4600/D: 2300-3100).

"Now, The Despair Uranus, attack Lightray Daedalus, Despair Blast," Hikari commanded.

"If this Attack goes through, Kasumi will lose," Syrus said.

The great monster behind her unleashed a circle of powerful light that spun forward.

"I'm not outta this yet. I activate Breakthrough Skill and target The Despair Uranus. Now its effects are negated until the end of your turn," Kasumi said, revealing her facedown and The Despair Uranus's power decreased (A: 4600-3700).

"I'm still going through with my attack," Hikari said and the rings of light slammed into Daedalus, causing the great sea serpent to roar in agony before it shattered and Kasumi was knocked off her feet by the aftershock.

Kasumi: 100

Hikari: 3300

"Way to give us all heart attacks, Little Mist," Raiden said wryly.

"Ten-four," Hassleberry agreed.

"I end my turn," Hikari said as the light around her Legendary Planet monster faded.

Kasumi gazed at her sister's monster. That card is going to be troublesome. It's strong, but if I can draw the right card, I can get out of this and win, she thought as she drew a card and then glanced at it.

This could work. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot," she said and they each drew three cards. She grinned when she spotted what she drew. Yes!

"You've got a powerful monster, sis, but this duel's over. Since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters with different names in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon this card to the field: Judgment Dragon!"

With a great roar, the large white dragon with the red claws appeared on the field, red eyes flaring with power (A: 3000/D: 2600).

"You don't have enough Life Points to activate Judgment Dragon's effect though," Hikari said.

"Oh, I know," Kasumi said. "Judgment Dragon, attack The Despair Uranus!" Judgment Dragon began to gather its power to unleash its attack. "And then I activate the effect of Honest in my hand and discard it in order to increase Judgment Dragon's Attack by the Attack of The Despair Uranus."

Hikari swore as Judgment Dragon's skyrocketed (A: 3000-7600) right before he unleashed his blast of energy that slammed into The Despair Uranus. There was a great big boom as the monster shattered into millions of tiny pixels and the entire field was covered in smoke and the last of Hikari's Life Points.

Kasumi: 100 WINNER

Hikari: 0

"She just took out a Legendary Planet monster like that," one student said, awed.

"Wow. She's good," another student said.

"Not a bad job," Crowler mused.

Hikari got to her feet and deactivated her duel disk and Kasumi walked over to join her. "Congrats, Kas," she said.

"Thanks," Kasumi said with a smile and then grins. "And this means that you get to try out being a dueling pop idol!"

Hikari scowled at the reminder.

. . .

"So Kasumi Yuki won, just as the cards predicted," Sartorius murmured to himself. "But the duel itself has shown me another possible candidate for the two that I seek. I will need to keep an eye on Hikari Suzuki as well."

. . .

The Despair Uranus

DARK

9

ATK: 2900

DEF: 2300

Rock-Effect

Gains 300 ATK for each face-up Spell and Trap card on your field.

[I just chose an Attribute and a Type that I thought fit what I saw so yeah…]

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: and that was chapter 192

Bakura: (rolls eyes) it was chapter 9, idiot!

Blaze: (pouts) I've had a rough week. Don't be mean, Bakura

Bakura: (raises eyebrow) you do know who you're talking to, right?

Blaze: true

Bakura: (wanders off to go steal something)

Jesse: he really does like to steal things, huh?

Chazz: no duh. He ain't called the Thief King for nothing

Jaden: true that. So Haou's playing a larger part?

Blaze: yup. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.