Small Note

Sakura: Normally I have something to say before each chapter, but this time I'm just gonna say enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 10

Rare Hunters

In a remote unknown location a group had gathered below ground. Their leader sat upon a throne his face masked by the hooded cloak he wore. The only thing visible was the scepter he held in his grip that had the same eye as on the other millennium items. Another cloaked figure stood beside him while all others bowed before him.

One bravely raised his head and reported, "Duelists from across the country have gathered in Domino city. The tournament is being hosted by Kaiba Corporation…"

The leader chuckled evilly, "There's nothing more convenient than all your prey gathering in one place. What fun…" He raised the rod out toward his men and announced, "Now my ghouls… unleash the rare hunters. Our next target is Domino City!"

News of the tournament hit far and wide all around causing even more duelists to show up in Domino City. Though there were some who still had no idea what was going on including a certain blond who got left out of the lope. He only found out about it because of his friend who called him up the day after it was announced and invited him over to talk about it.

"So it's called Battle City?" Joey confirmed as he made himself comfortable on his buddy's couch. Yugi sat across from him on the love seat where he had been previously watching TV.

Yugi nodded as he muted the TV. Once Joey came over there was no need for it anymore. "Yeah, a lot of good players are in town for it. Some I even recognized from Duelist Kingdom."

"Kind of a low blow for Seto to not tell us about it," Joey said with a pout as he crossed his arms. "We are some of the best players out there not to mention you were number one at Duelist Kingdom while I came in second." A thought hit him as he looked to his friend, "You don't think he wanted to leave us out on purpose do you? I mean you told me you and Yami just happened across the place he was going to announce the tournament."

Yugi highly doubted that and he told Joey so, "Yami found out that Seto was supposed to come talk to me yesterday afternoon about it. I think he wanted to hand out our invitation personally. "

"Still he didn't come see me yesterday or this morning…" Joey thought back to the last few days, "Come to think of it we haven't really seen each other lately. The last time we really got together was during your welcome home party. I figured it was just work keeping him busy."

"Could still be work, but as for this morning that could be Yami's fault." Yugi mentioned to his friend, "Yami left early this morning to go talk to his brother about keeping this whole thing a secret. Mokuba even knew about the tournament but not Yami which I think bugs him a little."

Joey could agree with how Yami might feel as he said, "It bugs me even now. I'm his boyfriend and he hasn't told me anything. I thought Seto was getting better about not keeping stuff all to himself."

Yugi could tell Seto had changed but there were still some things that needed to get better. Just like Yami and Seto's relationship as brothers was complex so was Joey's relationship with Seto as a couple. They all made it somehow work for now.

"Even if he really had plans to tell me about it or not I'm still going to enter the tournament."

"Don't leave me out, I'm going to enter too, but after I give Seto an ear full tonight about not telling me about it." Joey said as he was already cooking up some evil ways to get back at Seto. There was no excuse in his book for this when even a simple phone call would have been nice. "You think Yami will enter this time?"

Yugi shook his head, "Nah already told me he wasn't interested." Which didn't bum him out a whole lot like he thought it might, he would still have people he knew entering the tournament. In the meantime it would let he and Joey spend some quality time together as they prepared for Battle City which wasn't that far away.

"Well then I guess it'll just be me and you again just like Duelist Kingdom," Joey said with a grin before he added, "By the way what were those new rules you mentioned on the phone."

"Oh yeah those rules…" Yugi reached over beside him and grabbed the flyer. He then passed it over to Joey, "There are two new rules for this tournament. One being the tournament has an ante rule so we absolutely can't lose a single match. We have to bet our most rare card and the winner gets the loser's card."

Joey tensed up a little had that rule. "Means I'll lose my red eyes…" Not something he wanted to think about losing, but he wasn't some push over duelist anymore.

"Another condition to enter the tournament is you need a duel disk. A new virtual reality card machine Seto invented." Yugi pointed it out where a picture of it was on the flyer. "Sadly our store doesn't carry it, but I hear it's already on sale at card specialty stores… I thought about going later today to get one."

Joey had to admit the duel disk did look good in the picture. Be even nicer if his boyfriend would just be kind enough to give him and Yugi one. "I guess where we get this duel disk is also where we register for the tournament."

"I can only guess it would be one in the same. I'm hoping Yami will come home with some more info."

If anyone could get information out of Seto, Yami would be the best one out of all of them besides the younger brother. But until Yami got back, Joey could just relax and hang out with his friend like the old days. "By the way off the subject of the tournament. I got some other news I wanted to share with you."

"What kind of news?"

"Nothing bad I swear, it's just I heard from Serenity the other day and I think she wants to come live in Domino with me."

Yugi's face lit up in a smile at that. He knew Joey missed his sister and it was only weeks ago he got to go visit her to see her graduate high school. "That's great Joey and now with Yami moved out you have the room for her to live with you."

Joey nodded a smile of his own on his face, "It's so hard to see each other when we live so far away. She's trying to convenience our mother to let her come stay with me. Serenity wants to attend Domino University for two years for her general education classes. Still not sure if she'll stay after those two years, but I'm glad she has a plan and it will be nice to have her here." He spoke highly of his sister proud of her in every way. "It's so strange sometimes to see my little sister growing up so fast."

"Well you two are not that far apart in age," Yugi mentioned. He was so happy for Joey and he really hoped it all worked out. "Let me know if she does move here we can throw her a party. I think the last time I saw her was just after Duelist Kingdom when she went to have her surgery."

"A surgery all thanks to you."

Yugi heard that a million times and he would never regret his decision. "She needed that money more than me." He reminded Joey.

"Still it wouldn't have happened without your help," Joey reminded him right back. He honestly couldn't wait to find out if she would be coming or not and if she came during the tournament would be even better. She could see her big bro in action on the dueling field. The summer was turning out to be a great one so far.

Yami sat staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours which it really was since he had been there since eight that morning and it was nearly eleven according to his watch. His brother's office was quiet except for the ticking from the clock on the wall and it was really starting to get on his nerves. He thought if he got there early enough he could catch his brother off guard and talk to him about yesterday, however according to his secretary Seto came in at seven then left for a morning breakfast meeting with a client.

Since that plan was a bust, Yami figured he just wait on his brother to return not realizing how long of a wait that might be. He was really close to wanting to hack into his brother's computer and cause some trouble for him when the doors behind Yami opened.

Turning slightly he witnessed his brother step inside and close the door behind him. Seto didn't even look at Yami as he made his way across the room and behind his desk. The only words Seto spoke were, "What do you want?"

"Oh no hello good morning brother," Yami said with complete sarcasm as he crossed his arms. "It's good to see you to."

Seto finally looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow, "What's your problem?"

Dealing with Seto was like pulling teeth, so Yami bit his lip and said, "I want to know everything about this tournament."

"You know everything like everyone else."

"Cut the crap!" Yami demanded trying not to get angry, "You just don't come up with this tournament out of the blue unless there is something in it for you. What is it that you don't want me to know… I'm not going to go away otherwise."

Seto knew Yami was true on his word. He would follow Seto around all day if he had to just to get his answers or if Seto made him angry enough… well for Yami hacking into Kaiba Corp was child's play. There were ways to get out of this and not give everything anyway. "Let's just say I was asked by a new client to start this tournament."

Remembering his trip to the museum, Yami dared to ask, "Does this have anything to do with that meeting you had at the museum." He hadn't forgotten how Seto never told him what that meeting was about. At this point it had to be more than being a sponsor.

Seto sighed as he lean back in his chair, "Ishizu Ishtar, as I'm sure you know from your own visit to the museum, bought in that Egyptian exhibit to Domino showing the history of Duel monsters. With it she knew duelists of all kinds would want to see it. That many duelists in one area would defiantly draw some attention…" He looked to Yami already knowing he would know what he was talking about, "You know about the rare hunters?"

Yami nodded, "I do and she thinks they'll target Domino because of all the duelists." The rare hunters were some of the worst out there taking people's rare cards with ease. They weren't easily caught because they were duelists themselves and blended in so easily.

"I believe she simply wanted to warn me about them given some of the top players of the game live here." Seto completely lied through his teeth but Yami didn't look like he was noticing, "I figured what better way to make sure they are drawn here and out into the open is through a tournament. My duel disk were ready to launch anyway so it all worked out in the end."

"What you gotten catch them and turn them over to the police…" Yami was on the border line of not believing a word his brother was saying. Something still seemed off about the whole thing.

"No, turning them in with no evidence would be pointless. But making them go up against the best duelist around and defeating them some crushing blows would be a perfect first step at stopping them."

That still didn't seem like Seto at all but Yami let it slide for now. This was more information than he was hoping to get. Some of this was hopefully true… "I hope you know what you're doing, because you're putting a lot of duelist at risk. Including Yugi and Joey who will have to bet their own rare cards to be in this tournament…."

"And they are not weak duelist, have a little faith Yami. There's also still time for you to enter the tournament." Seto reminded his brother. In the back of his mind he was already thinking of ways to make it up to Joey. As soon as Yami mentioned his name he knew there was something he forgot to do the day before.

"I'm not one for big tournaments and you know it." Yami said as he stood up from his chair. This seemed a little too easy and he was sure there was more to the story however he got more then he thought he would. "Just let me know if you need any help for the tournament." He left without another word. There were never any plans to enter the tournament, but working behind the scenes could help him keep an eye on his brother, Yugi, and Joey during the event. If the thing about the rare hunters was true, Domino truly would become a battle field.

As promised once Yami returned home he, his partner, and Joey piled into one car and headed over to one of the specialty stores so Yugi and Joey could register for the tournament. The closest one was downtown on one of the main shopping streets leaving the three with a little bit of walking to do to get there. Of course a little fresh air never hurt anyone after the morning Yami had.

"It should be around here somewhere," Joey said as he looked around hoping they hadn't already gotten lost. He knew the area pretty well but never been to the card store they were going to. "This would be less of a pain if Seto just put us down on the list of duelist."

"He never makes anything easy even for the people he is close to," Yami said still a little miffed about his meeting with his brother.

Yugi could tell Yami was still upset and he pointed it out, "I thought he told you why he was holding the tournament. What more do you think there could be?"

Yami shrugged, "I don't know I just get the feeling he's hiding something from me mainly because of this new ante rule. That's not fair to make duelist bet up their rarest card that they may have taken forever to get."

Yugi reached into his deck box and pulled out his own deck. Right on top as always was the Dark Magician, the card that never let him down when he needed it. "I don't feel good about that rule either. It just means I'll have to fight harder not only for my title but to hold on to my cards as well." He looked toward his fiancé, "However I refuse to take a card from another player if I win. They may have to bet it but it doesn't mean I have to take it."

Yami smiled at that, "I can see why, your deck is the best the way it is because you picked the cards."

"Well mostly, a few are from my grandfather's old deck." Yugi admitted since his deck had started out as his grandfather's until Solomon gave it to him. He just worked with it over the years and changed it up to work better with his style.

"Hey you two I found it!" Joey shouted from up ahead pulling them from their conversation. The two quickly caught up with the blond who stood outside the store they were looking for. The three walked in together to find the place surprisingly empty except for the shopkeeper standing behind the counter.

"How may I help you find gentlemen this afternoon?" The shop keeper asked.

"We were told this was one of the stores that carried the new duel disks." Yugi replied hoping they had found the right place.

"You guys must be duelists entering tomorrow's tournament," He watched as Yugi and Joey nodded while Yami just hung out in the background. Checking behind him real quick the owner looked to see how many he had left. "I've been busy all day with customers like you and luckily it looks like I have five left." Turning back to them he went up to his computer, "Now these disks are only available for the time being to those who are going to be in the tournament. Now could you tell me your names?"

"Yugi Mutou…."

"Joey Wheeler…"

The owner typed in the first name and his eyes widen a little, "Wow this is excellent…"

"What do you mean?" Yugi wondered, he figured he was giving his name to register for the tournament.

"Oh… I'm looking you up in the duelist data base," The owner explained to the confused duelists, "Kaiba Corporation collected data on duelists across the country and sent it to card and hobby stores. Stuff like your type of deck, tournament records, duelist level and number of rare cards…" He turned the screen to where they could see it, "Yugi's duelist level is the highest at eight stars…."

Yugi almost couldn't believe it as he saw his picture along with his dark magician on the screen with a level of eight.

The owner turned the screen back and typed a few more things in before turning and grabbing a duel disk. He handed to Yugi and said, "Since you qualify for the tournament you get this duel disk free. Only duelists of level five or higher can enter the tournament and get these disks."

Joey and Yami were pretty surprised to hear that. So it seemed so long as you are a duelist for the tournament you don't have to buy a duel disk like others would when they become available to the public. However the level requirement meant that only high level duelist would be at Battle City.

Joey was curious to see what kind of rank he had according to Kaiba Corp. Sure he was dating the CEO but things were different for them on the dueling field. He was strong but still wasn't on the same level as Seto and Yugi yet. "What about my level?"

The shop owner typed in the name he had been given and his eyes widen for just a second when he got Joey's profile before it disappeared before they noticed. "Joey here has a level of five which is the lowest in the tournament but still able to register."

It wasn't something to be overly excited about in Joey's book but he would take it as a win. He took the duel disk that was handed to him as the owner signed him up for the tournament. After everything was squared away the three made their way out of the shop with duel disk in hand not even noticing as the shop keeper made a quick phone call.

The night before the big tournament was to start Joey cursed his luck as he left the restaurant he worked at. The sun had long since set and he was the last one besides the manger to leave. Since he was asking for time off to be in the tournament the manger saw fit to work Joey as much as he could before the blond took his vacation time for the tournament. Joey wanted to be able to put all his focus on Battle City then have to worry about getting to work and being in the tournament.

The parking lot was void of life and was partly dark due to a few street lights being out. But Joey made sure to have keys in hand as he walked to his truck at the back of the lot. However when he got closer to the vehicle he noticed something off and only when he got closer did he see what it was.

"Damn it!" Joey cursed out loud as he saw the two front flat tires. The back ones had been left alone but the front two were gone and he only had one spare tire. He kneeled down to get a better look and that was when he saw the knife marks meaning someone did it on purpose. "Who the hell would do this?" He wondered out loud pretty sure no one he knew at work would be this cruel.

Since the tires had been slashed, he quickly unlocked his truck and checked to make sure nothing had been taken. There was nothing of value in the vehicle besides his duel disk that he left in the back floor board under a blanket. He had been to Yugi's earlier that morning working on his deck and had come straight to work after leaving no time to take his disk home.

The duel disk was still inside the vehicle which left him to believe that maybe the person had slashed the tires on the wrong vehicle and this may have been meant for someone else. Either way he still had to pull out his phone and called Tristan to see if he could get a lift home.

Before he could hit the call button he heard footsteps causing him to look over his shoulder to see three cloaked figures coming his way. They stopped before him making so Joey couldn't run for it. Well Joey wasn't one to back down from a fight and he would fight his way out if he had to.

"Who are you guys?" Joey asked with a glare set on his face. Then a thought hit him and he added, "Are you the ones who did this to my truck?"

The one in front pushed part of his cloak aside revealing a duel disk on his arm, "Rare hunters is what we are called and Joey I challenge you to a duel right here, right now…"

Joey remembered hearing about these freaks from Yami. They stole rare cards from duelist and were supposed to be coming to Domino because of the tournament. Well if they were coming to steal his cards he wasn't going to let them. Grabbing his duel disk he placed it on his arm and put his deck in the slot. "I'll take you on! I'll take you down like the crooks you are!"

Not one to back down from a challenge Joey prepared himself for an easy duel as he and the rare hunter drew their cards. The hunter went first summoning Hannibal Necromancer in defense mode and then Joey summoned his panther warrior in attack mode. Panther Warrior attacked Hannibal Necromancer taking it out with ease.

"One swing's enough for that monster. How do you like that?" Joey laughed believing this duel was already in the bag.

The rare hunter drew one card before playing his next cards, "I'll play the spell card graceful charity," He drew three more cards and discarded two before summoning three headed geedo in defense mode.

"Trounce it, Panther Warrior," Joey called his monster to attack again. Two monsters down and the guy hadn't drawn anything good yet. "C'mon is that all you got?" If they were these so called rare hunters he would think they would put up more of a fight.

"On this turn I'll draw three and discard two using another graceful charity."

'What is with this guy? All he does is change the cards in his hand.' Joey thought wondering what was up. He watched as the rare hunter put yet another monster in defense mode. 'Why won't that dumb chicken attack?'

"I'm gonna play Red eyes black dragon!" Joey announced on his turn when he drew his favorite dragon. He would use the card they were mostly likely after against them. "Attack with Black Fire Bullet!"

"Is that your rarest card? Your arm must be heavy with burden but don't worry I'll lighten it soon…" The rare hunter said as he drew another card and then got this creepy smirk on his face. "I win…Behold Exodia!"

It was right before Joey's eyes as he got to witness a creature he had only seen Yami summon once. The rare hunter played down all five cards unleashing the Forbidden one as if it was child's play and it only took him a few short turns.

'Wh-What? Exodia? That can't be! He gathered all five pieces in his hand!' Joey watched in disbelief as Exodia wiped him out in one turn.

"We ghouls are master counterfeiters. We can even duplicate the pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One… I have three of each of Exodia's parts cards in my deck. No duelist can beat me." The rare hunter felt the need to tell Joey distracting him as the other two moved up behind Joey without him realizing it.

Joey growled balling his fist, "Why you dirty-!"

The sentence died in Joey's throat as he was clocked over the head with something and he started to see black dots in his vision. He fell to the ground and didn't even have the strength to stop them as they stole his red eyes black dragon and walked away disappearing as if they were never there. Joey could only rest there on the ground trying to get his bearings back. However he swore right there on the ground that it was not over by a long shot, Joey would have his revenge and get his red eyes back from this freaks in cloaks.

Sakura: Battle City starts next chapter! I almost wasn't going to add the tiny duel with Joey and the rare hunter but I thought it fit and it's a big part of Battle City. Also I hope everyone noticed Seto is purposely not telling Yami about the god cards. He doesn't want anyone else to know about them as he tries to hunt them down during the tournament. Although Yami's not stupid and knows there something else going on.

Yumi: Please Review!