The duel between Yami and Ryota was just beginning but it looks like it's full of surprises. Ryota's giant water fortress was something to fear, along with his sea monsters hiding within the ocean, making it impossible to know where they will attack from. Not to mention their power boost that allow these monsters gain advantages in the duel. This was his strategy. Usagi was surprised to see that field powers were this useful during duels other than just rising the attack points.

"Urgh... at this rate my strategy will fall back as far as I can!," Yami thought. "I'll have to do something in order to defend myself for the meantime."

He drew a card from his deck.

"Alright! I first play "Silver Fang" onto the field..."

Silver Fang: ATK/1200 DEF/800

Level: 5

"...then I will turn him "savage" with "Mystical Moon!"

Mystical Moon: Equip Magic Card

Effect: A monster equipped with this card gains 200 ATK and DEF

Silver Fang: ATK/1200»1560 DEF/800»1040

HOWLLL! GWOO!!*

Ryota simply laughed at his move.

"Hahaha! Are you seriously going to waste your life with that card? Ha! You'll never take down the power of the sea!"

The group friends weren't losing faith in Yami. They knew he should have some stragedy planned out soon.

"Ay, Usako, what could Yugi do in a situation like this?," Jonouchi asked.

"Hm. If it doesn't seem possible to attack your opponent, then it's best to have some defense on your side of the field. I know for sure Yugi won't have a problem doing that but I'm concerned about Kajiki's monster," she explained, viewing the table of holographic monsters carefully. "I'm not sure how Yugi will be able to lower his opponent's life points if he can't touch them. This is a problem."

"Yeah, but we'll still be cheering him on! I know he will get through this!"

"Of course he will! We'll do everything we can to support our friends!," Anzu added.

Usagi gave a warm smile to her cheerful friends and focused on Yami's duel.

"They're right. Yami will win as long as we believe in him."

*Castle*

As duels were taking place all over the island, the creator of Duel Monsters began observing each one them from the balcony of stone to see if everything was going well. Pegasus then took a walk down the hall of the castle to the dining room to get a better look at the duels. He had one of his advisors, Croquet, along with him to inform information about the tournament.

"Well, Croquet, how is my fabulous tournament going?," Pegasus asked in a positive tone.

"More than amusing, Mr. Pegasus. The holographic duel landscape is working perfectly in each battle box from what I observed. It's quite fascinating I must say," he replied.

"Excellent! This calls for a celebration! I'll enjoy myself with comic books and cartoons of "Funny Bunny," my personal favorite! But first we'll try to focus on what's important."

"Yes sir. Duelists are steps away from entering the castle then they'll lose their winning strike on their way there too. It's hard to determine which duelists will eventually make it to the finals."

"Heh heh... we'll see soon enough..."

Pegasus and Croquet came across the dining room as they stop talking. Croquet opened the door for both of them to enter. The dining room was incredibly large but it was a castle afterall so there must've been other rooms much larger than this one. There was wide thin windows from across the room where the sunlight came through to brighten up the quite room. A fair solid wooden table stood in the middle of the room, large in width. A linen tablecloth covered the table and it had a royal design on the bottom. Pegasus took a seat at the right end of the table and turned on his enormous TV that hanged up from the ceiling to observe the duels around the island much better.

"Now then, let's see what Yugi-boy is up to," Pegasus muttered under his breath as he brushed his long silver-white hair with his hand.

Pegasus pressed on his remote controller and it quickly switched to the battle box where Yugi is dueling Ryota. His brown eyes immediately noticed Usagi from the outside of the box, cheering for him with his friends.

"Well, isn't that sweet. Lady Tsukino finally made friends after all these years. Her beauty sure did grew out a lot and now she really does look like my beautiful lover, Cecelia. I can already say that Yugi-boy must've fallen for her by now."

Pegasus smiled happily and turned over to Croquet.

"Croquet, may you please check how many star chips Yugi-boy and Lady Tsukino currently hold? I just can't seem to stop my curiosity."

"Of course, Mr. Pegasus."

The advisor grabbed the remote control and switched the screen into a chart of duelists numbers in star chips and from who they won it from.

Yugi Muto: 3 Star Chips

Won Against: Insector Haga/Out of the Tournament

Usagi Tsukino: 5 Star Chips

Won Against: The Ancient Triplets/In the Tournament

"Oh my! Lady Tsukino has five star chips already! Bravo to her!," Pegasus cheered. "And as for Yugi-boy, I must congratulate him for winning against Insector Haga, the Japanese Champion! Bravo to him too!"

Croquet switched back to the dueling screen where Ryota was looking at Usagi with a loving face.

"Hm? Croquet, may you turn up the volume, please?," Pegasus asked.

The advisor nodded and turned up the volume to hear what they were saying.

*Television*

"Yugi, are you fighting to win the prize of this tournament or are you fighting for Usagi?," Ryota wondered.

Yami suddenly had a plain face. Why would that be a question he had to answer all of the sudden? What's more, he didn't really had a response yet.

"Grr..."

"...Well?"

Usagi was getting worried for Yami. She believed that Ryota asked him that question to distract Yami from playing the game. She wasn't sure what to do to help but only to cheer him.

"Hey, fish guy! What's up with dat question all of the sudden!, Jonouchi barked. "There's a duel going on and you seriously need to know something like that now?!"

Ryota smirked and gave Jonouchi an unpleasant stare.

"What? This should be a simple question to answer. Yugi shouldn't have any trouble with it, isn't that right?"

"Grr! Why you-!"

"Jonouchi! That's enough!," Yami snapped. "I don't need you to get into this. I'll just have to think of a answer while we duel."

"But Yug-"

"I know, Jonouchi. I will try my best to concentrate on the duel and on the question. Don't worry about me."

Usagi looked quite surprised to hear something like that. How would Yami be able to focus on two different things at the same time?

"Oh Yami... that's not a question that has to be answered if it's not important...," she thought.

Don't worry about me, Usagi. I'll be fine as long as you are with me...

She gasped a little. That voice... it came back to her, in a soft yet confident tone. Anzu heard her from the back and thought something was troubling Usagi.

"Usagi? What's wrong? Did something came up to your mind?," she asked curiously.

Usagi looked at Anzu and shook her head then gave a small smile.

"Oh, n-no, it was nothing."

"Are you sure? You seemed... shocked-"

"No-really I'm fine, Anzu. I was just thinking of... well-oh nevermind. I kinda forgot."

"Oh, okay. If something's bothering you, you can always talk about it with me. I mean, we're friends after all."

"Yes, we are. Thank you, Anzu."

*

Pegasus couldn't stop his smile from spreading all around his face. Just looking at the duel was something so enjoyable for him. Not only had Usagi made wonderful friends but also had so many boys who were appreciating her beauty.

"How romantic! Two boys fighting for the love of Lady Tsukino! My, this sure is quite an interesting duel. Croquet, fetch me some of my favorite Gorgonzola cheese and red wine! Oh! And my "Funny Bunny" comic book too! I certainly can't miss something like this!"

"As you desire, Mr. Pegasus."

As Croquet left the dining room, Pegasus continued to watch the duel between Yugi and Ryota. It was like he was enjoying watching one of his favorite cartoons. Yes, it may sound strange for a grown up to watch children cartoons but that's okay for anyone. Pegasus simply loves them and then read his favorite childhood comics. I guess that's how he shows his cherished memories just like Ryota.

"Oh Yugi-boy, I wonder, how will you get through this duel...? I guess Lady Tsukino will have to help you out with this one."

Not far from the dining room, there was a small hidden room that was very quite and guarded by one of Pegasus's bodyguards. The room was cold and there was a opening large enough for someone to crawl out but it was high up. Inside the small room, was a kid about the age eleven or so. He was tying table cloth and clothes left in the old cabinet by the door together to make a rope.

"I won't staying here any longer, Pegasus! I won't let you take over Kaiba Corp! Once my big brother is awoken from his coma, he'll send you to hell after what you did!," the kid thought angrily.

He threw the rope of cloth out of the opening and tied the other end he was holding somewhere else. The kid then began climbing down the castle slowly, grasping on the rope tightly and hoping that it will not untie itself. Unfortunately, it began untying itself when he was half way down to ground. His feet weren't close to touching the surface.

"Oh no! Please don't-!"

Before anything else could come out of his mouth, the cloth unraveled and fell apart. He let out a yell that was heard by the bodyguard who was guarding the locked room.

"What the-! The hell was that?!," said the bodyguard, grabbing the keys to the door and unlocking it quickly.

The boy was no longer there. All that was left were a few pieces of cloth left behind from the rope.

"That brat! He escaped! I can't believe he actually succeeded this time after so many failed attempts!"

The bodyguard ran towards the dining room to alert Pegasus about their hostage escaping. Now, why would they keep a kid as hostage, you ask? Well, it won't be long till you see yourself.

The boy thankfully fell into some bushes and didn't end up breaking anything of his body. If the bushes weren't there, well, it might've been a painful fall.

"Phew! That was a close one. I have to go look for him as soon as possible before that strict bodyguard finds me. I need to find Yugi!"

Back to the duel, Yami had nearly all of his side of the field covered by the sea. Ryota's plan worked perfectly so now the majority of the field power was now his. All that was left of Yami's field was his "Stone Soldier" in defense mode.

Stone Soldier: ATK/1300 DEF/2000

Level: 3

"Hahaha! This is the end for you, Yugi! There's nothing else you can do to stop my unbeatable sea creatures! You're surrounded and my monsters are advancing towards your "Stone Soldier!" By the end of my next turn, you're done for!," Ryota announced proudly.

Usagi glanced at Yami, expecting to see a sharp look on his face but instead, there was a smile. She knew he had already thought of something to finally end this duel in his victory.

"Hehe..."

"Hm. So you think laughing is the best option? Ha! Don't laugh when you have nothing to laugh about!," Ryota pointed out.

"Of course I do. Kajiki... I've been waiting for this moment!," Yami declared.

"What!? You can't be serious! You're trapped! My monsters are all over the field and you have nothing except that "Stone Soldier!"

"I switch my "Stone Soldier" into attack mode!"

"Are you seriously that dumb!? My sea creatures are hidden! How do you think you'll be able to attack them if you can't see them at all!"

"Heh heh... who said I would be attacking your monsters?"

"Huh...!?"

"I'm going to attack... the moon! The card I played myself!!"

The group of friend were astonished. Just what was Yami thinking to attack his own card? Is that even possible?

"Yami... you can do it...!," Usagi thought happily.

At once, the "Stone Soldier" swung its stone sword to the moon, so hard that the moon shattered into pieces and fell down like a shooting star. The tides of the ocean were going backwards, revealing all of Ryota's monsters on the field. They looked very dried up.

"Crap! How could the tide be pulling away?"

"Heh... the gravitation of "Mystical Moon" rises the water level. Just how the real moon affects the ocean! My moon created high tides and improved your leviathans tidal wave power! Now that the moon has been shattered, half of the power has been reduced! Your sea creatures are helpless without the support of water!"

"Wh-what?! H-He used his own card to take over my terrain?! He got me...!"

"Out of the water, your sea creatures are nothing but small fry! Now I shall finish you with these cards!"

Curse of Dragon: ATK/2000 DEF/1500

Level: 5

Burning Land: Magic Card

Effect: Destroy all field magic cards.

"Accursed Dragon"! "Flames of Hell"! Die, monsters, die!"

Ryota let out a cry.

"Wagggh! I lose!!"

Ryota Kajiki: LP/0

Winner: Yugi Muto

"Yeah!! Yugi won!!," the gang cheered with joy.

"Heck yeah! I'm smelling some barbecued squid!," said Honda.

Ryota gave Yami a big smile even after he was beaten.

"Man! You sure are a big fish!," Ryota stated.

"You're not bad yourself either!," Yami responded. "It did took me a while to figure out a way to beat you!"

Usagi then entered the duel box to join their conversation.

"You two were amazing! Your tactics and strategies were really good during this duel! I'm impressed!," she pointed out with a beaming smile.

Yami suddenly thought of something at that moment. The question that Ryota asked him to answer.

"Kajiki... remember that question you asked me earlier? I believe I have an answer to it."

Ryota fixed his eyes on his.

"Niether. I'm here to win something far more valuable and important to me than a title or money. And as for Usagi, she's not the only one who I'm fighting for. I'm fighting with my friends to reach to the castle and open the gates where will lead us to our success. Among them is what I'm really fighting for, Kajiki!"

"I see... then let's see who will get there first! I may be down to my last star chip but that won't stop me from winning! I still won't give up on my dream to buy my boat and fish again among the ocean. May the best duelist win!"

Both duelists shook each other's hands and exchanged confident smiles. They were now friendly rivals.

After that, Ryota came up to Usagi and held her hands with his. She immediately blushed.

"Usagi, you truly have an important person who'll look after you. Yugi's the right guy for you."

"O-Oh...! Well... we're just friends... at the moment..."

He let out a laugh.

"Don't worry, my beautiful Usagi! If you two are somehow still friends at some point, I might have a chance with you!"

She blushed so much that her face began turning red. Ryota was too positive.

"Though, I don't think that will be happening soon. But I'll be happy to take you anywhere you desire! You're someone who'll always be in heart."

He gave a wink to Yami.

"Right Yugi?," he asked.

"Huh? About what-?"

"N-Nothing, Yugi! You don't have to answer!," she scampered shyly. "It's nothing important!"

Yami stood there with confusion while Ryota was chuckling at Usagi. Sure, she wasn't ready to have a date but that won't stop Ryota from going out with her someday.

All three of them stepped out if the battle box and waved each other goodbye. Yugi and his friends moved on to the next battle. Who will battle next?

"So long guys! Good luck to all of you! Especially to you, Usagi!," Ryota shouted.

"As well as for you, Kajiki!," she answered back. "Let's try to duel each other sometime!"

As they were a fair distance away from him, Jonouchi couldn't help it but admire Ryota's pride. He was willing to live up his dreams even though he was down to his last star chip.

"What a guy... Ryota Kajiki! There's something about him that you just can't hate!," Jonouchi pointed out.

"You're right, Jonouchi. It looks like all duelists on this island have their own hopes and dreams...," Anzu added.

"And so do we!," Yugi, Usagi, and Jonouchi declared.

It has been five hours into dueling and the gang were roaming around the island not for long. It seemed peaceful and duelists were still battling to the path of victory.

"Hey, Usagi, what kind of deck do you control?," Bakura asked. "I just thought of it since you never had the chance to tell us back at the pier."

She looked at his direction and took out her deck from her small pink backpack.

"My deck is based around "Sailor Scouts" monster and magic cards. Like what I said back at the pier, I've cherished this deck for five years but it was given to me by Pegasus. I... admired him so much but... I can't believe that he's been doing awful things behind my back."

"C'mon, Usako! I don't want you to start thinking about stuff like that. We only wanted to know what kind of cards you play with," said Honda.

"Oh, my bad. I didn't mean to start talking about that. Here. You guys can have a look at my cards."

Usagi handed over her deck to them and they were amused by the cards as soon as they looked at them. They've never seen those cards before. Only a few were recognizable.

"Woww! These are the cutest magic cards I've ever see! Pegasus sure did spend a lot of time to design them for you," said Anzu, holding an equip magic card called, "Swords of the Hidden Moon."

"Ay, Usako! This is probably the cutest monster card I have ever laid eyes on. I don't even know if it should be considered a monster," Jonouchi stated, showing off one of the "Sailor Scout" monsters known as, "Sailor Jupiter."

"Haha! Jonouchi, are falling in love with a card?," Honda asked.

"What! N-No way! I was admiring it, that's all!"

"Jou! You do realize you can't date a trading card, right?"

"Shut up, Honda! You wouldn't know any better because you don't even have a girlfriend!"

"Neither do you!"

Yami was viewing the cards carefully, ignoring Jonouchi's and Honda's argument and one caught his eye.

"Unbelievable! I wasn't aware that there was a female version the "Black Magician!"

The whole gang gathered around Yami to see what he meant. It was true indeed. The monster card he was holding had similar features to "Black Magician."

"Oh, that's "Black Magician Girl" you're holding right now. She's my favorite monster out of any of the others from my deck. Pegasus said that I might have a strong bond with it when he gave it to me. He was right. I did have a close connection to "Black Magician Girl," like how Yami has a close connection to his "Black Magician," Usagi noted.

Jonouchi took the card from Yami and glanced at it then looked at Usagi.

"Hey, Usako, I ain't lying to you but you and "Black Magician Girl" look a lot like twins."

"They look like twins in beauty! Usagi is as pretty as her favorite monster card!," Bakura complimented.

"Th-Thank you, Bakura. You sure like complimenting people."

"Probably only to you, Usagi!"

Their conversation stopped when someone was scooped into Saruwatari's arms. They were kicking and demanding to be freed. Yami and the others gave Usagi's cards back to her gently and then came over to see what was the problem.

"S-Somebody! H-Help me-!! Let go of me-!!," a duelist demanded as he kicked and struggled to get out.

"That's enough! Stay quiet, you kid! I can see your duel glove is all empty! Too bad you lost all your star chips because you need to get out of this island now!," commanded Saruwatari sternly.

"Argh! Th-That's not true! They were stolen by some wierd kid! My cards were stolen too!"

"Stop yapping! I don't care if you lost your star chips and cards by some kid! You must leave the island at once! Those are the rules of this tournament so just give up already!"

Yami and Jonouchi knew those were one of Pegasus's bodyguards. He was big and extremely mean but that's pretty much how all the bodyguards were. Don't expect them to say anything in a nice tone with their rude looks.

Jonouchi couldn't stand watching the poor duelist being embraced by the tough bodyguard. He decided to have a talk with him.

"Hey! Let him go! Didn't you hear him! He said that his star chips were stolen! That isn't the same as losing a duel!"

"Silence! Duelists are forbidden to interfere-unless you want to get disqualified!"

Jonouchi kept his mouth shut for a bit then came close to the struggling duelist.

"Hey! I'll get your star chips and cards for ya! Just tell me how this kid looks like!"

"Really? Thank you! I'm not sure how his face looked like since he was wearing a bandana. He wanted to duel me out of nowhere so I accepted. As soon as I placed down my deck and star chips, he took them and ran off!"

"Which way did he go?"

"Th-That way...!"

"Hey! Man in black! I'm off to look for his star chips and cards so don't kick him out yet!"

"Eh... I'll think about it...," the bodyguard replied.

Jonouchi turned his hands into fists and looked pissed.

"Star chips are like a duelist's life! I wouldn't forgive anyone who steal star chips from others who worked hard to earn them! Once I find that thief, I'll give him a good beating!," he thought.

Jonouchi leaned to the duelist with a poker face.

"Oh, by the way, if I catch that kid, as payment, I'll be taking half of your star chips!"

"What?"

"Okay! Follow me everybody! Let's go find that thief!," he announced proudly.

"Hmph. He's only doing this to get star chips easier, isn't he?," Anzu wondered.

"Yep. Pretty much," Honda replied. "He's a terrible altruist."

As the gang were off, Saruwatari immediately contacted Pegasus with his walkie-talkie to tell him about their escaped hostage.

"Mr. Pegasus, we've tracked down the boy in block "D". Repeat! Send all personnel to block "D!," he commanded.

"Yes sir! We will capture him and bring him back to the castle at once!," a voice answered from the walkie-talkie.

The duelist tried to slowly get out of Saruwatari's arms when he was distracted but didn't quite make it out on time.

"Ha! You're not going anywhere, loser! No star chips! Off the island you go!!"

"Aggh...!"

*Castle*

The dining room was quiet and still with Pegasus reading his favorite comic book and eating well-aged Gorgonzola cheese along with fine red wine. He truly was a rich guy. Croquet was there to inform him about the tournament and their hostage.

"Hahaha! That silly rabbit has tricked the police dog again! How could he fall for a joke that easily? Oh, this is so funny!," he laughed happily as he took a sip of his wine.

"Mr. Pegasus, it seems like one of your personnel have located that thief somewhere in block "D". Shall I follow them as well?," Croquet questioned from behind.

"No no, I believe they'll be fine. Besides, who'll be here with me to read "Funny Bunny?" I don't want to be left alone."

The advisor nodded.

"As you wish sir. They will bring the boy back here soon enough."

Pegasus continued reading his comic happily, thinking about how Yugi and Usagi are doing with their duels. He couldn't wait to meet them at the castle.

"It won't be long till you arrive here, Yugi-boy. I have special surprise waiting to be opened by you. It all depends if my plan goes well with Lady Tsukino... she's been helping me without even noticing. Let's see what awaits for the three of us..."