"I thought for the longest time this was just a game."

Anthony was simply talking to himself in the dungeon. Before him were the bodies of the three generals that they had beaten so far: Kayu, Denki, and Ketsugo. And tomorrow, Anthony and Soso were set to lead their groups into Hulao Pass to face the two strongest members of Totaku's peerage, Choryo and Ryofu. And likely, two more people would have their souls lost to the shadows.

Anthony sighed. It was rather late, about nine at night if he were to guess. By now, Kan'u and the others were probably worried about him, thinking that he was going through another episode. He then heard footsteps approaching. He at first thought that Kan'u had come to check on him, but to his surprise, Shuyu had arrived.

"Hm? Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you, in private. Is that alright with you, Lord Anthony?"

The Messenger from Heaven nodded. "Sure. I'll lend an ear."

Shuyu sighed, before she continued. "It's about Renfa."

"Sonken? What's the matter with her? Does it have something to do with Ketsugo?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just what you said, about dealing with loss. You see, we've both been dealing with loss ourselves. How much do you know about the Go Kingdom?"

"I know it's a thing, and that Sonken leads the faction."

"Well, she wasn't always the leader. Originally, it was her older sister, Sonsaku Hakufu, with the secret name Sheren."

"Originally? What happened to her?"

Shuyu looked down. "A few months ago, she mysteriously vanished. We searched everywhere, but after one month, nothing. She was declared officially deceased, and Renfa took the crown, before she was ready for it."

"Oh. That...that's horrible. I'm so sorry. You must have been close to her."

"Indeed. She was...my lover."

Anthony had to do a double take. "Okay, I was not expecting that. So unless I'm mistaken, Sonken feels that she's unable to fulfill the standards of Sonsaku."

"Correct. I've tried talking to her, but she simply shuts anyone out when they try to confront her. Shishun, Non, even her younger sister Shaoren is unable to get through to her." She then sighed. "At first, I had trouble adjusting to life without Sheren, and didn't see Renfa as my lord, until I realized that Sheren would have wanted me to support her sister in her time of need. But even so, I can't do this alone."

"Then why are you asking me? I've known the chick for less than a week, and have had less than five conversations with her."

"You seem to have a way with women."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought it should be obvious."

"So far, the only woman who's let it be known that she's into me molested me inside a crate."

It was Shuyu's turn to have a double take, before she decided to finally get this conversation back on track. "I don't want you to talk to her. I want you to duel her."

"What does that have to do with her sister!?"

"Her deck used to belong to her sister. It's all that is left, as well as her Duel Disk, which is kept in the palace."

"Okay, and do you really think that this will help her?"

"Didn't a duel help you get better after the incident with Kayu?"

"I guess."

"Just give it a try, okay?"

"Okay, just let me get my cards."

"Perfect! Meet us in the training area, the arena might cause too much noise."

"Got it."

~KD~

As Anthony grabbed his satchel from his room, he came face-to-face with Kan'u and Bacho, the latter of which was wearing a short gray nightgown with her hair down.

"Hello, Anthony. What are you up to?"

"Hey, Aisha. Shuyu asked if I could duel Sonken."

"Neat!" said Bacho. "Can we watch?"

"I'm not sure," he said, "I think it's just going to be the three of us."

"Okay then," said Kan'u. "If you need anything, we'll be here."

"Thanks, girls." On his way out, he turned around to ask them something. "Hey, do I have a way with women?"

The two girls blushed. "I suppose," said Kan'u.

Anthony shrugged at the uncertain answer. "Okay then." And with that, he left, leaving two flustered generals in his wake.

~KD~

The training room was from when Kosonsan was using the location for military purposes, and was used for sparring. It was mostly an open room with a wide arena with a wooden floor, as well as a few benches. Currently, Sonken was nervously standing around with her Duel Disk, while her peerage was sitting on the benches nearby.

"He should be here by now, Meirin. What's taking him so long?"

"He said that he needed to get his cards. Trust me, I may not know him well, but he doesn't seem like the type to break a promise."

"I'm here!"

The four girls turned to see Anthony, Duel Disk mounted on his wrist. He then noticed that Kannei and Rikuson were here, and tilted his head in confusion. "Why are they here? I thought it would just be me, Sonken, and you, Shuyu."

"They're here to give Renfa moral support," answered the strategist. Kannei nodded in Anthony's direction, while Rikuson waved cheerfully.

"I understand you're here to test my skills," said Sonken.

"Uh, yeah, I am. I know that Skull Loli is good with her cards, so I wanted to see if you were skilled as well."

"What about Kosonsan, or Ensho?"

"I've heard they aren't very good. Pairen admitted it herself, and Ganryo said that Ensho sucked."

Sonken struggled not to laugh, which didn't go unnoticed by the Kikai leader.

"What's wrong, is it improper to laugh?"

Sonken made a face of irritation as she prepared her Duel Disk. "Are you going to duel me or not!?"

"Okay, okay! Let's do this thing already!"

"Good luck, Renfa!" cheered Rikuson.

"Best of luck, Renfa," said Kannei with the slightest hint of a smile. Shuyu remained silent, eager to just watch.

(Sonken: 4000 LP)(Anthony: 4000 LP)

"If I may, I would like the first move," said Sonken, drawing six cards. "And I summon my Hitotsu-Me Giant!"

The large green cyclops appeared on the field, with a powerful roar (LV 4: ATK 1200).

"Hey, Sui has that card!"

"Who's Sui?"

"Bacho? The one with the headband and the thick eyebrows."

"Hm. Well, my turn is now over."

"That's it? Well, I draw, and I summon my Oni Tank T-34!"

The possessed vehicle of war rolled onto the field, gun barrels aimed and primed (LV 4: ATK 1400).

"And to give my monster some extra strength, I equip it with my Machine Conversion Factory!"

The Equip Spell materialized behind his tank, as the monster gained a bit of power (ATK 1400-1700).

"Now blast that giant to pieces!"

His monster obeyed, firing three rounds of cannon fire directly at the Beast-Warrior-type, as it shattered into pixels (Sonken: 4000-3500 LP).

"And that will end my turn!"

Sonken drew her card with a focused expression, before she activated her own Spell Card, which looked like a padlock emitting a green smoke.

"I play my De-Spell, destroying your Machine Conversion Factory!"

A green fog coated the Equip Spell, as it faded away, reducing the power of Anthony's monster (ATK 1700-1400).

"And now, I summon my Ryu-Kishin Powered!"

The gargoyle-like Fiend appeared on the field with a low growl, as Anthony recognized the monster from when Shokatsuryo dueled Mukade (LV 4: ATK 1600).

"And now, it will destroy your tank!"

The monster lifted a sharp claw and tore Anthony's Machine in half, with the pieces being blasted into pixels (Anthony: 4000-3800 LP).

"And now, I end my turn."

Anthony drew, and realized that he was in desperate need of a better hand. On the bright side, he had the means to do so.

"I play my Card Destruction!"

The new card showed a hand throwing away a handful of cards, as Anthony placed his hand into his Graveyard.

"This card forces the both of us to discard our entire hands, then draw the same amount of cards we got rid of. So we both get four new cards.

As they both drew their new hands, Anthony smiled while Sonken lifted both of her eyebrows in surprise.

"It appears that Lord Renfa has just drawn something good," said Kannei.

"As has Lord Anthony," said Shuyu.

"Well now, it's time to turn things back into my favor! I summon Mechanicalchaser!"

The multi-armed mechanical menace hovered on Anthony's side of the field, ready for combat (LV 4: ATK 1850).

"Now, my monster will attack with Arsenal Medley!"

His monster sped towards the Fiend and struck it with all of its weapons simultaneously, leaving nothing but yellow pixels in its wake (Sonken: 3500-3250 LP).

"And now I set one card to end my turn!"

"Come on, Lord Renfa, we know that you can take this guy!" cheered Rikuson. But as Sonken drew, Anthony immediately played his trap.

"I activate my Secret Barrel, to inflict two hundred points of damage for every card on your field and in your hand! And I count five in total!"

Out of the ground emerged five multi-colored gun turrets, which fired sporadic blasts at Sonken before disappearing (Sonken: 3250-2250 LP).

"It seems as if Anthony had brought his A-game," said Shuyu. 'And hopefully, it will be enough to get through to Renfa, for her sake.'

"Well, I play my Quick-Play Spell, Shrink, in order to cut the power of your monster in half!"

As Sonken said this, a card showing an orc getting shrunk down to half its size appeared, as Anthony's monster underwent the same fate, becoming smaller and smaller (ATK 1850-925).

"And now, I summon my Kaiser Sea Horse!"

This brand new monster was best described as a black knight wearing seahorse-themed armor. The armor was scale-like plated armor, blue and purple in color with massive plates around the hips and shoulders. The helmet was a deep purple, and covered in long spikes. Mounted on its right arm was a spiky shield, and it carried a golden spear in its other hand (LV 4: ATK 1700).

'Hold on, all of these cards seem familiar. Where have I seen all of these cards before?' thought Anthony, as Sonken entered her Battle Phase.

"Kaiser Sea Horse, attack his monster with your King's Pike!"

Her monster raised its spear as the tip began to glow with a bright golden sheen, as it rushed towards the miniature machine. Mechanicalchaser attempted to guard itself, but the Sea Serpent-type simply tore through it with its weapon (Anthony: 3800-3025 LP).

"And I end my turn by setting one card."

Anthony then realized the theme of her deck. 'These cards have all been used on the show by Seto Kaiba! Does this mean that she has…no, she couldn't!' But as he drew, he was still unsure; one of his peerage members did have Red-Eyes Black Dragon, so the other dragon could still show up.

"I draw! And I play my Cost Down, discarding one card to reduce the level of all the monsters in my hand by two!"

As he sent his Cost Down and another card, Weapon Change, to the Graveyard, he then summoned his ace.

"Now, I can summon my Machine King without having to tribute!"

The mighty metal monarch stood tall, power increasing due to its effect (LV 6-4: ATK 2200-2300). Naturally, the four members of the Go Faction were taken aback by this new monster, not having seen it for themselves.

"That thing is huge!" said Rikuson.

"Even larger than both his Jinzo and Barrel Dragon, although not quite as powerful," noted Kannei.

"Perhaps it could be," said Shuyu. "It became stronger as soon as it entered the field. Perhaps it has an effect that raises its power?"

"You've got it, Shuyu! Every Machine-type on the field, including itself, boosts my monster's power by one hundred, giving it up to a thousand extra attack points! Now, where was I? Oh yeah, Machine King, send her Sea Horse back to the water with your Jet Punch!"

As the monster reared back a powerful metal fist, Sonken took priority and played her face-down, which flipped up to reveal a Counter Trap with an image of a vortex on it.

"I activate my Negate Attack, which, true to its name, stops your monster from attacking and ends the Battle Phase."

Machine King then returned to normal, as Anthony ended his turn (LV 4-6). Sonken drew, then looked directly at her opponent.

"It's time for you to face my own signature monster, one that's a bit more powerful than yours. As you may or may not know, Kaiser Sea Horse can be used as two tributes for the Tribute Summon of a LIGHT monster."

'No way, she can't actually be about to bring out what I think she is, is she? Maybe it's a different monster!'

"I tribute my monster…"

'Something like The Creator…'

"So that…"

'Or Mystical Knight of Jackal…'

"I may summon…"

'Hell, even Gilford the Lightning! There is no way that this woman has…'

"BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!"

Anthony's jaw dropped as her Kaiser Sea Horse disappeared, and a huge dragon took its place. The dragon was pure white, with a rigid torso, sharp claws and talons on its arms and legs, two large wings growing out of its back, a long neck, and a rounded head with a large mouth, and two small blue eyes. It reared back its head and let out a massive roar, as Anthony could only stare in shock (LV 8: ATK 3000).

"N-No w-way...no fucking way...it's Blue-Eyes, in the goddamn flesh…"

"He seems mildly surprised," teased Shuyu, a smirk gracing her face. At the same time, Rikuson began to rapidly scream her excitement, while Kannei simply smiled, a rare show of emotion from the ninja girl.

"My monster will now attack! White Lightning!"

Her monster opened its jaw and began to charge a large blue ball of energy, before a stream of energy spewed forth, hitting Machine King and completely demolishing the massive monster, as Anthony was forced to bring down his sunglasses and shield his eyes from the blinding display of incredible power (Anthony: 3025-2325 LP).

"And now, I end my turn."

As Anthony drew, he decided to do a tiny bit of prying, thinking it would help. "So, I imagine that card means a lot to you."

'More than you can imagine.' But despite her thoughts, Sonken remained silent. Anthony caught on, and simply dropped the issue, choosing to focus on the game.

"I Normal Summon my Drillago!"

His new monster was quite an unusual beast to say the least. It had a yellow torso, a rounded purple base, and thin metal limbs, but as for the rest of it? Drills, and lots of them. Its hands, its feet, and even its head were iron drills (LV 4: ATK 1600).

"And it had a pretty sweet special ability. If all of your cards on the field are monsters that have 1600 or more attack points, then it can attack directly! Go, Spiral Thrust!"

All of the drills on the Machine-type began to spin, as the monster ran under Blue-Eyes and jumped towards Sonken, piercing the lotus queen (Sonken: 2250-650 LP).

"And now I end my turn."

"Lord Renfa is fairly low on life points, so she'll have to keep up her guard," said Kannei.

"Anthony is the one who needs guarding," said Rikuson, staring at the huge white reptile.

"Then I draw! And I summon my Saggi the Dark Clown!"

Despite its name, the new monster had more in common with a jester. It wore a blue outfit with puffy sleeves and a red collar with dangling golden orbs, a painted face with a star over one eye, a crooked mouth, and a purple pointed hat like a wizard (LV 3: ATK 600).

"First, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon will destroy your monster with its White Lightning!"

The dragon spit out a stream of energy that swallowed Drillago (Anthony: 2325-925 LP).

"And now, my Saggi will attack directly with Dark Light!"

The monster let out a sinister laugh, before it shot a beam of darkness at Anthony (Anthony: 925-325 LP).

"Now the lord of Kikai has half the amount of life points as Renfa," said Shuyu, watching the duel closely as Sonken ended her turn. As Anthony drew, he immediately played his new card.

"I need to stall for a bit if I want to win this thing! I activate my Nightmare's Steelcage!"

Suddenly, a round steel cage with net-like bars and spikes covered Anthony and his side of the field.

"I've heard of this card," said Shuyu. "Now for two of Renfa's turns, neither player can declare an attack."

"And that should give me enough time to pull off a miracle! I end my turn."

As Sonken drew, she decided that with her life points so low, she should play defensively and put most of her monsters in defense mode.

"I switch my Saggi into defense mode, and set one monster to finish my turn."

As a horizontal face-down appeared next to her dragon, the Spellcaster-type folded its legs and sat on thin air, while grabbing onto its shoulders with crossed arms (DEF 1500).

"Well I draw! And I end my turn by setting one card."

"I draw, then set one monster. That ends my turn."

As Sonken concluded her turn, the cage over Anthony disappeared, leaving him open for attack once more.

"It all comes down to this," said Kannei, not rooting for either of them in particular, but rather both of them.

"I draw!"

As Anthony saw what he drew, he smiled super wide, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses.

"You put up a great fight, Sonken, but now you have to face the future! I summon my Cannon Soldier!"

The purple robot landed on the field, beeping and whirring as it got into a battle stance (LV 4: ATK 1400).

"But this isn't all! I activate my face-down, Metalmorph!"

A mercury-like substance coated Cannon Soldier, before it was covered with a layer of light gray metal (ATK 1400-1700).

"Now my monster gains three hundred attack and defense points, as well as half of the attack of any monster it attacks! So now my Cannon Soldier has the power to take down Blue-Eyes White Dragon!

Sonken's eyes shrunk to pinpricks. "What?" she said weakly.

"Cannon Soldier, Cannon Blast!"

A mighty bolt of blue light cut through the air like a javelin, as the strength of Cannon Soldier spiked to tremendous levels (ATK 1700-3200). The blast managed to pierce the chest of Blue-Eyes, who let out one final roar before exploding (Sonken: 650-450 LP). Sonken weakly reached out her hand, trying to grab at the pixels before they shattered.

"And now, I use the effect of my Cannon Soldier to tribute it and wipe out your remaining life points!"

The robot began to malfunction, as it fired a blue beam from its barrel, dealing enough damage to end the game (Sonken: 450-0 LP)(Winner: Anthony).

"Good game," he said, when he noticed that Sonken was still reaching out, trembling.

"Sonken? Is everything okay?"

Just then, she broke down crying and fell to her knees, causing everyone to rush over to her.

"Renfa! RENFA!"

~KD~

In the courtyard of the Go palace, a duel was taking place, between a man in common garb and a much more regal woman. She had tan skin, blue eyes, long light pink hair, a small beauty mark on the left side of her face below her mouth, and a regal mark in the center of her forehead. She wore a red bow, a golden tiara, a red choker with pink lace, and a gold necklace. She wore a sleeveless red dress which exposed a fair bit of her sizable chest, and detached white sleeves with gold braces around the parts that connected to her biceps. She completed her outfit with purple fishnets, red sandals, and a pink-trimmed Duel Disk with eight pink plates opposite of the wing, resembling a lotus flower. This was the queen of Go, Sonsaku Hakufu.

The duel was being spectated by Shuyu, Kannei, and Sonken, who had much longer hair, reaching all the way down to her calves. Sonsaku's opponent controlled only Serpent Night Dragon (LV 7: ATK 2350), while Sonsaku herself had both Spear Dragon (LV 4: ATK 1900) and Battle Ox (LV 4: ATK 1700). It was her turn, as she drew her next card, before grinning.

"This duel has reached its pinnacle! I tribute both of my monsters to summon my pride and joy, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The mighty dragon flew onto her field with a mighty roar, making her opponent flinch in terror (LV 8: ATK 3000). It blasted his monster to pieces, deciding the winner (Commoner: ?-0 LP)(Winner: Sonsaku). Her sister and lover ran up to her, embracing the victor in a hug.

"That was wonderful, Sheren!" said Shuyu, before bringing in Sonsaku for a brief, but passionate kiss. When it broke, Sonsaku could only laugh lightly.

"It was nothing, really. To me, dueling is a way of life. And with it, we'll be able to unite this country."

"I don't really see how a game can unite a nation," said Sonken, crossing her arms.

"Well, maybe you could try the game for yourself. You might like it."

Sonken shook her head. "No thanks. I prefer more peaceful forms of entertainment, like books."

Sonsaku laughed again. "Okay, but if you're ever willing to change your mind, I'm willing to teach you."

"I'll keep it in mind." Sonken then went off to her room, Kannei trailing her, while Sonsaku and Shuyu remained behind for a bit.

~KD~

When Sonken woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find that her sister had not woke her up herself. Puzzled, she went to her sister's room, believing that her sister had simply slept in. To her disbelief, she wasn't there either. Nor was she with Shuyu, or in the throne room, or even the courtyard. Her sister had simply disappeared. When searching the outskirts of the palace, however, she gasped when she saw her sister's Duel Disk and deck lying on the ground, completely abandoned.

"SHEREN!"

~KD~

One month after her sister's disappearance, Sonsaku was pronounced dead, and Sonken took on the role of leader. She had cut her hair, making it shoulder-length. She also was given her sister's deck, although the Duel Disk was hung above the throne as a decoration, not to be used by anyone. Currently, she was standing before Shuyu, who was the one who knew about Sonsaku as much as her family.

"You want me to what?"

"Teach me how to duel. I need to know how, if I want to be as good of a leader as Sheren was. And with her gone, you're the best duelist in Go. Can you please teach me, Meirin?"

Shuyu saw that she was desperate, and decided to concede, removing her pink-trimmed Duel Disk.

"Alright, I will do my very best. Here, you will need this."

Sonken stared at the device. "But how will you duel?"

"I won't. Besides our teachings, I'm retiring from Duel Monsters."

"But why?"

"Without Sheren, it doesn't seem right. Don't worry, we can duel without using the Duel Disks for now."

"Okay then…"

"Now, the first thing you want to do is draw the top five cards from your deck…"

And with that, a new era began for the Go Kingdom.

~KD~

"Holy shit, I think she's having a panic attack, Shuyu!"

"Well don't just stand there, do something! How did you get out of this situation!?"

"Well, Shuran bitch-slapped me across the face, but I doubt that will help!"

"Sheren…"

The two stopped arguing, as all four of them stared at Sonken, who was finally speaking.

"I miss my sister...I tried to live up to her expectations, but I can't...I could never be as good as her!" And with that, she began to sob even louder. Then Anthony spoke.

"You aren't your sister."

This caused her to look up, eyes red and puffy, face flushed. "What?"

"You aren't Sonsaku, you're Sonken. I admit, before Shuyu told me about her, I didn't know shit about your sister or what she was like. But I know about you. And I know that you have the potential to be a great leader, in your own way. Maybe instead of following in your sister's footsteps, you could try to be somebody that she's proud of instead. And I would be honored to help you with that."

As he said this, he lifted his sunglasses so that he could look at her directly, and placed his right hand onto hers. As he finished, Kannei, Rikuson, and Shuyu did the same, as Sonken's sobs began to die down.

"Thank you...all of you…"

Anthony smiled. "It's not a problem, Sonken!"

"Renfa."

"Excuse me?"

Sonken stood up, a smile on her face. "My secret name, all of our secret names, are yours to use. As a token of my appreciation."

Anthony grinned. "Alright then! So, that's Renfa," he pointed to Sonken, who nodded, "Shishun," he pointed to Kannei, who blushed and lifted her scarf over her mouth, "Non," Rikuson, who beamed cheerfully, "and Meirin." This was Shuyu, who adjusted her glasses. "Sweet!"

"One more thing," added Sonken. "Could you come into my chamber, alone?"

Anthony was confused, but nodded. "Sure."

~KD~

The two faction leaders were now in Sonken's room, which looked exactly like Anthony's. Sonken reached under her bed, before pulling out a box. She then opened it, revealing a cavalcade of rare cards.

"You probably didn't know this, being a relatively new lord, but Go is the second largest card distributor outside of the capital. As thanks, I want you to have one of these."

"Any one I want? Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Anthony scanned the cards, before noticing a blue-skinned fiend that had long ears.

"I'll take this one, Zoa. I have a card that can be used with it."

As Sonken gave him the card, Anthony suddenly had an idea. "Hey Renfa, I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Well, I was just wondering, are you up for an alliance?"

"We're already in an alliance."

"I mean after we stop Totaku. An alliance between Kikai and Go. I mean, you're much better company than either Ensho or Skull Loli, and our peerages are on good terms. With my dueling skills and your resources, the two of us might have a better chance of bringing peace to this land."

Sonken thought about this for the longest time, before she extended her hand. "It's a deal." And the two newly forged allies shook hands, before Anthony left to return to his tent.

'He's rather kind and considerate. I understand why Shishun is so fond of him.'

Meanwhile, Anthony walked back to his quarters with a spring in his step. Sure, he got a new card, and better yet, a new ally out of the deal, but to see Sonken smile? That was the best reward he could have asked for.

Hooray, Blue-Eyes made its long-awaited appearance! So yeah, before her disappearance, Sheren was twenty years old. The reason why she, and later Renfa, use the Kaiba deck is pretty simple: both the Kaiba and the Son families are well-known and powerful families, with access to powerful cards due to their wealth and their involvement in the game's distribution. Meirin's deck, however, is a mystery for now. By the way, no, Renfa is not in the harem. Don't worry though, another member shall be revealed next chapter. Starpion out!