On Your Mark...
"Ahh... Ahh... A-CHEH!" Katsuya sniffed as the walkway from the ship was lowered on the island, rubbing his nose for what felt like the hundredth time. Thanks to the lack of blankets and general heat the night before, his still slightly damp being ended up leaving him with a cold... And as he and the others walked off the ship, his friends giving him slightly worried glances, he really, really wished it hadn't happened like that. His head hurt, and he couldn't breath through his nose, and.. And... Auuuughhh he was still having the shivers damn it!
Yugi, currently the 'other Yugi', turned to him worriedly. For some reason, the two had switched out the moment the boat arrived on the island. He wasn't going to question it though... Really, it probably saved them the trouble of going back and forth between games, given the absolute look of vengeance 'Yugi' had on the school roof the week before. Thankfully, that wasn't the look he had right now. "I'm sorry Jonouchi," the teen said with slightly narrowed eyes, turning to look at his friend. "Because you went after my cards, you're-"
The blond quickly shook him off, wiping his nose before grinning. "Aww this? This is nothin'! After a year 'f broken arms an' ribs, this is great!" Now that he thought about it, there were bigger issues at hand. Much bigger really... Besides, it wasn't so much of a cold that he'd gotten so much as a stuffed nose. So really, no big deal, it'd likely disappear in a few hours. Hopefully. As he said this, his expression shifted to a glare again, having spotted Haga somewhere in the crowd. "What really ticks me off," he continued, "Is th' asshole who threw yer best cards in th' ocean in the first place!"
At those words, Yugi appeared to look off into the crowd, the two watching as Haga gave them an odd look and vanished back into the horde of people. "All duelists head towards the castle for an important announcement," Saruwatari shouted from the front, the group turning back to face him as they were led from the docks to the castle itself. The island itself was probably only a few kilometers wide... Not much of a big deal. What was a big deal however, was the building that was coming up in their sights right now.
From behind, Honda and Anzu stared in shock, the rest of the group apparently unfazed by the image of an enormous western style castle up ahead. "It's really a castle," Honda was muttering as he scratched his head. The castle stood tall and proud before them, and they stared with wide eyes. "Man... Pegasus has some strange tastes..." The man looked like a woman, and only now they were questioning his tastes! ...He should not be talking about guys that looked like women. Not at all.
"Upon arriving, place wait in front of the gates," Saruwatari's voice continued as they came near. "We will now explain the rules!" A balcony sat almost directly above and in front of them, and within a few moments, Pegasus stood before them.
Tch... That man... He looked down at them all, smiling from behind the curtain of silver hair he had. "Welcome everyone," Pegasus said over the crowd's mutterings. "Welcome, to Duelist Kingdom!" As Katsuya glared upwards, the man continued, still holding that genuine smile that got on his every nerve. "Allow me to explain the rules of this VERY SPECIAL tournament," he shouted, the blond below snorting. 'Special'. That was one way to put it. 'Lets kidnap those closest to the people we really, really want in this tournament and use them as blackmail... That way we're bound to win!' Well Yugi would show them! (And so would he. But while Yugi had the cards, he had his knuckles.) "The duels will take place with official duel monsters cards only, of course!" Of course... Because hey, the name 'duel monsters' didn't say that right? Besides, why would someone bother with fake cards...? "I hope you brought your most powerful decks! Of course, if you're not completely confident, you are allowed to trade with one another..." They'd already been doing that though... What would have happened if they couldn't? (And how would they know..?) He chuckled, holding out a glove and a starchip. "Each of you should have already recieved a duel glove and two starchips, correct?" That or a duel glove and no starchips... "At this time, please put the glove on your right hand!" There was the noise of a few shuffles, the crowd rumaging through their bags for the items. Katsuya himself pulled his on before turning back up to listen with narrowed eyes, his only star chip already clicked into place on the side.
"On the glove," Pegasus continued, seeming to look over Katsuya and Yugi a brief moment. "You should find ten crevices where you can place star chips. Please, insert your two star chips into them now." Another shuffle as a series of clicks were heard. Yugi and Katsuya both sent each other a look, having both done that before arriving. Saying nothing in the end, they ended up looking over the crowd again before continuing to listen. "These stars are essentially your life as a duelist! Whenever you duel in this tournament, you must stake one or more chips on the outcome!" As there was more muttering around them, Katsuya clenched his fist. Alright then... All or nothing- they absolutely had to win their first duel, or everything would be for naught! "The duels can take place anytime, anywhere, throughout the kingdom," Pegasus continued, the blond's attention turned forwards. "The first duelists to win ten starchips will win the honors of entering the castle! Only they will have a chance at the prize! The duels will begin in exactly one hour," he stated as he crossed his arms. "The time limit for the event is 48 hours! One the time limit runs out, those with less than ten star chips will be eliminated," He declared, expression growing a little more frightening and a little less welcoming. "They will be declared losers and deported from the island IMMEDIATELY!" Errr... Wasn't there only one boat? How was that going to work..? "Now duelists! I pray for your success!"
With that, Pegasus left, Katsuya holding back another snort at those last words. People were already beginning to file out of the area to explore the island as he stood there, frowning. Yea... He was praying alright... Probably for Yugi and himself to lose horribly. Now then... Anytime, anywhere right? So that made the entire island fair game, for a full two days... A lot of time to go from one end to the other really. Briefly, Katsuya thought back to what he'd heard earlier about 'new rules'... Aside from that, Pegasus hadn't actually said anything, leaving both himself and everyone else in the unknown. They couldn't be that different though, not really though, could they? Those thoughts continued to sit on the back of his mind, even an hour later as they wandered the grounds... At which point one loud and long 'LET THE DUELING BEGIN' could be heard around the island.
It was time.
"Okay," Honda was saying as they wandered the island quietly. "Let's check this place out!" The island itself seemed to be filled with... Everything really, at least in terms of land. Volcano, beach, lake, forest... It was an interesting mix of land really, and they looked, they could see a fair number of people using their 'Island' card as a map. As to the actual dueling... There wasn't any just yet. Katsuya had a feeling that Yugi had a particular person in mind really, not that he or the others minded. If anything, this was a nice break from school.
Bakura looked around calmly, turning to the others as he came to those thoughts. "This island is so peaceful," he said quietly, a soft smile on his face. Peaceful... That was one word for it he supposed. More like eerily quiet; heck, what was going to happen to this place after the tournament was over anyways?. "It hardly seems to be the place to play duel monsters." Hear hear, and yet...
Beside him, Anzu nodded. "Yea..." As she spoke, the woman frowned, crossing her arms. "And those people aren't playing either," she said as she looked towards a small group aimlessly looking around the island. So far it looked like a lot of people were doing that really, just wandering around like the rest of them. "I guess we're not the only ones who don't know what to do."
At that moment, Katsuya spotted a sign post, blinking. Oh... At least they had those. "Ah- look, over there!" They approached the sign, the blond crossing his arms. "Forest to th' left... An' th' lake to th' right..." Forest or lake, forest or lake... Looking at the signs, he frowned. Which way... The others came up behind him, also staring before there was an answer.
"Let's go to the forest," Yugi stated calmly, with a hint of vengeance in his tone. "I saw Haga go this way." Haga? 'First to go' indeed he supposed... In fact, Yugi was already heading that way with those words.
He shrugged as they walked off in that direction, sneezing again. Ehhhhck... Sooner this cold was gone the better, seriously. There was a sniff, and he picked up a pace beside his friend. "Okay then..." Hey, if it got them some star chips and him off the island... He looked around, the sunlight scarcely making its way through the trees as the sounds of anything living inside could be heard. The trees in the area almost reminded him of the plastic forest from Bakura's 'Monster World' set; thick, cold, and surrounding. "...Creepy..."
"Hey, YUGI!" The group jumped, turning as Haga's voice broke the silence. The bug user smirked wickedly as he leaned across from them on a tree, hands in his pockets.
Yugi snorted as the bespectacled boy held out his deck, glaring at him. "Hn hn hn... At least you have the 'courage' to face me!" Courage... Interesting choice of words. Granted, that expression Yugi had was a little scary to be honest... He was fairly glad that he wouldn't be on the receiving end. Nonetheless though.
His soon to be opponent grinned in response, laughing. "Of course Yugi! After all, if I can beat you first, the rest will be easy!" Yea, the key word was 'IF' buddy. And Yugi never lost. "I challenge you to a duel, right here right now," he shouted, Yugi instantly agreeing to the conditions. As they followed the boy deeper into the forest ('there's a place to duel right here' he had said), Katsuya stared.
"Hey! It's one of those battle box things!" While he was fairly certain that it wouldn't have that 'penalty' game add on (He'd found that out watching the finals of the tournament on the T.V...), it seemed just a little out of place... What with it being a giant glass box in the middle of the forest with a table and two chairs. Katsuya watched as the two walked in, the box blocking out any sound from the inside. Just like last time... Hahaha... Well, he mind as well cheer him on! "Smash this guy Yug'," he shouted as they began, the pair glaring at each other as they shuffled their decks. "GO FOR IT!"
Haga of course... Was using bugs. It figured. From what he could tell, the field gave them a bonus too, which pretty much sucked for Yugi; nothing he couldn't handle though, hell, he'd beaten Kaiba easily enough hadn't he? True to his word, about half way through the duel, Yugi did a complete turn around; where a few moments before, Haga had been swarming the field with more and more insects, now it was completely clear of monsters. BOY was that satisfying. It was about that moment as well that another spectator came to the match... "Hn hn hn hn hn..." The group turned as a familiar woman appeared, the busty blond leaning against a tree with a smirk on her face. Now what was she doing here..? Stalking Yugi? "That was a smooth play he made there... But Yugi-chan's only taken a small lead..." Yugi-chan? What'd she think the guy was, 10? As Honda stared with wide, lustful eyes, the blond scratched his cheek. Mai Kujaku... And why wasn't he completely flipping out over her again? (She was hot... Maybe it was something he ate... Last night...) "A duel monsters game can go from victory to defeat in a single turn," she said with a smile, turning her attention to the match with a renewed expression of severity. "It's too early to get cocky!"
Anzu appeared to share his idea on the 'chan' comment, the woman turning to glare at Mai with a red face. "What are you doing, calling Yugi 'chan'! He's not a kid!" Yea! Seriously, regardless of the fact that this lady was how old..? (20, 25 maybe... Eh, whatever.) Eh, it was probably Anzu just being pissed about the reaction the others had about her... Seriously, the lady could have been in any one of the tapes he and Yugi had... Any of them.
The woman snorted, shaking her head. "Listen... Insector Haga is the Japanese Champion! He's a master planner with several winning strategies. The real duel, " she continued with a frown, "Is just beginning." Anzu seemed to continue growling at that, muttering a few choice curses about the woman. Mai in question rolled her eyes- this apparently wasn't new to her. Nonetheless...
The lady had a point there; regardless of Ryuusaki's passing comment of 'I just let him win', the fact was that Haga was currently considered the top duelist in Japan. Sure, he knew otherwise... But this still wouldn't be as easy as the matches they had for fun back home he decided with a nod. "I gotta agree with her there Anzu," he said, Honda nodding in the background with a blush. Ignoring Anzu's glare in response, not to mention the apparent comment on 'lust' again (God damn it, that wasn't why he was agreeing!) he went on to explain. "I mean, Yug's gonna win of course... But that doesn't mean he can let his guard down!" Of course he would win! God, why would he doubt that? It was just going to be 'difficult', as Mai was saying.
Come to think, what was this lady even DOING here? Had she been following them or something..? She had shown a fair amount of interest in Yugi; the match between he and Kaiba had effectively been spread through Tokyo within a day, it wasn't surprising that the news caught to the rest of the country afterward. Those thoughts lingering on his mind, he decided to focus on the match again, crossing his arms. The duel progressed. There was one tight spot, just one... This stupid cocoon sitting on the field. He and the others were shouting attempts to help him out of the situation, though in hindsight just about all their comments had the same effect... Save a choice few it would seem. Apparently, him telling Yugi to burn the whole forest down to take out the damn cocoon helped a lot, as a few minutes later (Regardless of Mai's snort at their 'cheerleading')...
There was a burst of flames, a clear path of ground heading towards it. Yugi's knight was able to cut clear through the insect on the other side, the cocoon's weakness becoming his strength. As the pair collided, there was a pause, the group staring with crossed fingers as they waited. Come on... Come on... And yes! The cocoon broke! Yes! Annnnnd there was a pretty big moth in there still. Well shit, that was a bit of an issue... "Damn it!" Katsuya scowled as Haga gained the upper hand yet again, before continuing to cheer his friend on. There was a way to counter this, there was always a way... He didn't really know what it would be, but if Yugi's expression was anything he obviously had something in mind... Ah! He watched as Yugi electrocuted the moth to submission, shutting down Haga's lifepoints completely. "HAHAAA! Yea! He won! How'dyah like that, M-" He turned, frowning as he was met with empty space where Mai Kujaku once stood. "Oi, where'd she go..."
Anzu snorted, while Yugi stepped out of the box. "Away from here is good enough for me..!" Not helpful!
Alright... So now Yugi only needed seven star chips and... He looked at his glove, eye twitching slightly. That's right... This was the first duel in, so of course... "I only have one..." Shaking it off, he pumped his fist in the air and marched forwards. Not the time to complain! Really, he needed to get a duel going for himself, then he'd be just as far! "Whatever... Time tah get outta this forest!" Briefly, he thought he heard the others muttering about him as he left but... Hey, they knew he'd do just as good as Yugi right? ...Right..?
Heck, he had an amazing deck now! They couldn't be talking about him losing already right..? As they left the forest, his eyes widened, sunlight bathing the group as they exited the trees. "Whoah..." The blond grinned, running out into the field they'd come onto. This place was... Incredible! Compared to the beaten paths they'd taken to enter the forest, the scenery was just... Indescribable! "YEA!" His grin grew as he charged off, backpack thumping behind him as he held one of the straps. "I bet the view is great from that hill over there! Lets go!"
"Geez," he heard Anzu shout as he ran, "This isn't a field trip!" It was still a good view though!
Katsuya ignored her, looking over the field and island with distant eyes. Incredible... Regardless of all the people on the island, it was almost like some uninhabited realm they'd come across. Obviously any wildlife there were avoiding them but... In the field to the distance, he could still see a few blurs that were far from human quietly making their way through. Birds called in the distance, and beyond the line of trees he could get a clear view of the ocean. The view was more than great... So much more... He clenched his fists. He wanted to show Shizuka this someday... Show Mokuba and his older sister this as well, regardless of what that stick in the mud of a woman said about it... They could just sit here, enjoy the sun for as long as they liked... Not for the limited time that he and the others had right now. The blond gritted his teeth as the others came up behind him, pointing out the various duel boxes that duelists were finally frequenting. Promise... It was a promise, he'd get through this..! A promise... "Alright," he said as he nodded to himself. "Next time, I'm gonna duel!"
He decided to ignore the 'you better pick a weak one first!' from behind him, instead turning as Yugi looked at him. Come to think, 'Other Yugi' seemed to pretty much be dominating the body for the moment... Wonder what that meant? Maybe it was an unspoken agreement; after all, 'this' Yugi felt completely at fault for the loss of Sugoroku. Maybe he was going to stay like this until he 'fixed' the problem. Speaking of Sugoroku, the camera had been in the backpack for just about the entire time there as well... Though that was probably because no one wanted to explain the 'two Yugi's situation again. "Be careful when you choose the site for your duel Jonouchi," the teen said as he turned to him, expression somewhat blank.
The blond nodded. "Yea..." he looked through the field again, before pulling out his deck. "Based on the field my monsters could get a bonus here... No worries," he added, grinning again. "I got it Yug'!"
Yugi smiled, nodding as well. "Right... Keep in mind, other duelists have likely figured out the rules of the island by now," the teen added, crossing his arms. "They'll stake out the areas that put their monsters at an advantage, and wait for a duelist to come by!" Like hunting. Except with people. ...Those thoughts sounded weird together, try something else... Uh...
As his friend said this, Bakura looked over Katsuya's shoulder at the blond's cards. "What field works best with your monster cards Jonouchi..?" He just said! Though he should probably double check that actually...
He blinked, looking over his cards. Volcano, Mountain, Plains, Wasteland, Forest, Lake, Ocean... A few of them seemed pretty obvious really but he should probably think it through- heck, someone's life was on the line wasn't it? Folding the cards back up, he bit his lip. Most battles in terms of swordplay happened in places that were clear and easy to traverse so... "Well... I have a lot 'f warrior an' beast warrior cards, so my best guess would be 'Sogen'... Th' plains."
Honda looked around, nodding. "So I guess right about here would be Jonouchi's territory... Mountains to the left and sea to the right..." He nodded again, the others agreeing. "You should probably sit tight, where you've got the advantage." That was a good plan, but he'd kinda figured that out!
As he was about to turn and tell the teen he wasn't an idiot, a rather familiar voice shouted over the plains. Wait wait wait... Again? Her again? "We're done," Mai shouted, a few clicks being heard over her laughter. "Give me your star chips and leave!" Who knew how many it was, but she was obviously feeling rather happy about the win... Unlike her opponent.
"T-That voice," Bakura said with a nervous laugh, as they turned to look at the nearby duel box. Yea. 'That voice'. There she was... In all her large-breasted, hot-yet-apparently-not (He would never get that) glory. At the moment, she was gathering her cards, having finished placing in the chips she'd won.
Mai continued to laugh as her last opponent left the box, the woman smirking. The expression "Run home to your mommy, 'little boy'... Hnhnhn!" Said 'little boy' actually did look a little younger than most of the competition... Though it seemed that age was not a question in getting suckered, as his face, while obviously torn with grief over losing, was a beet red.
Honda stared with the same wide lustful eyes again, face just as red as the kid's was. "K-Kujaku Mai!" Kujaku Mai was right, what was she, a magnet? Seriously forty people all on an island, how did they manage to encounter her three times already? How! Speaking of how...
For his part, Katsuya was staring at the woman's wrist rather than her chest... Probably a near impossible feat for most men around at the moment. "She's already got four star chips!" Then again... If it hadn't been for him, Yugi would have four as well... So... Er... Maybe he should rephrase that statement...
The woman skipped over by them, looking at the group before stopping. She skimmed over the group, hand on her hip as she pocketed her deck again. "Hnhnhn! Ah..." She smiled rather falsely, looking at Yugi. "And how are your duels going Yugi..?"
The boy stared, not really showing any reaction to the question before answering. Hah, so he wasn't the only one 'unaffected' by the boobs? ...Or maybe that was just the side effects of being a super-powered, game playing 'other self'. The original got all the sex drive. "Not bad," he muttered, arms crossed. He was gaining this look on his face that essentially said 'come on... Come on, fight me!' For a moment, it seemed that the situation would end at an obvious note, and in favor of that expression. Mai was clearly raring for a battle, having gotten hyped up by the last one... And it was only obvious she'd challenge Yu-
"Alright," she said with a smile, standing straight again. "I've decided! I want to have a duel..." The woman trailed off, before turning to Katsuya. Hang on, him? She was looking at him? Mai appeared to be drawing out her decision, and it didn't help that he was right beside Yugi. Within a few seconds however, the fact that she was looking across rather than down gave it away. Oh shit. "I challenge you, Jonouchi!"
He paled, jumping slightly. God, even when he sort of kind of saw it coming it was a shock! "H-HUH? What?" This was more surprising than when Mokuba had hired him for security! More surprising than when Seto turned out to be a she- ...Actually no, no it wasn't. "Me!" The others voiced their surprise as well, rather loudly in fact, while Katsuya himself turned slightly to see their own takes on this. Gee Yugi, thanks for the look of confidence... Was that a raised eyebrow of little faith there, thanks man... Thanks soooo much... Not that he blamed him really but... Augh... Continuing to laugh a little nervously, Mai merely smirked. Not a good expression...
"You won't run away will you... Little boy?" Ooooooooh that was... He narrowed his eyes, while Mai continued. "As a duelist, of course I want to fight Yugi..." Of course... But he was not going to let being called a 'little boy' just slip by! "But with the rules of this island, that's not a good strategy. After all, look what happened to Insector Haga!" ...This was true. The woman smiled, turning away slightly. "First, I need to crush the weaklings and collect my star chips... I'll fight Yugi after that..."
Weakling? For the love of... He'd show her weak! He might not be as good as someone like Yugi, or Kaiba, but he certainly wasn't 'weak'! "Jonouchi, you can't beat that woman," Anzu shouted, the blond turning to her with raised eyebrows. "Don't accept her challenge!" Thanks Anzu... Thanks so much for the vote of confidence...
He quickly found himself looking at the others as well, who were also speaking. "Jonouchi," Honda called out. "If you lose man, it's all over! Don't do it!" Thanks... So much... This really wasn't helping his mood! Or his drive! Katsuya shook slightly, before he heard Bakura as well. Him too?
"You should have Yugi accept the challenge for you..." Aaaaaauughh! Why was everyone so insistent on him not playing! So what if he was barely in this (Not to mention the fact that he hadn't been considered for the sign ups as it was...)... Damn it! Show a little faith! ...Please?
"Tell him, Yugi," Anzu was saying after the teen told him this, Katsuya still shaking. Come on guys, not one bit of faith in his ability? Seriously..? Yugi wouldn't say that... No way he'd say that right... Hell he was his best friend...
His best friend stood there, silent for a moment. The teen's expression was notably neutral as he stared at the ground, before turning to look at the blond. "Jonouchi," he finally said. "Do your best!"
The blond beamed. "Y-Yea!" He nodded, ignoring the protests from the others. Really, he'd show them..! "I knew you'd say that!" He knew it... He just knew it! There was no way Yugi would have a lack of faith! Even if it was the 'other one', he considered both of them his friends! Key word being both, they were very clearly two different people from what he'd seen... Though recently it'd been debatable. "If I run away here," he muttered, looking up at the sky. "Then whenever I look up at the sky from now on... Or when I look at anything... All I'd remember was my cowardice..." All he would be able to think of was him standing at the side feeling sorry for himself when Mokuba was taken... He steeled himself, turning back to look at the others. "An' I don' wanna be a wimp! I might be scared... But if there's anyone I'm gonna end up being in th' future, I want that someone t' be strong!"
Honda blinked, scratching his cheek as he took in the fairly over-the-top words. "I... I get it dude, sorry I told you to back out..." As the others muttered behind him, Katsuya turned to face Mai with a smirk. Alright... He was ready!
"Kujaku Mai," he said with a shout, grabbing his deck. "I accept your challenge!"
Let the REAL games begin... Now!
Okay, actually sitting in the box now, his fear of dropping out of the tournament completely was really, really catching up to him. His heart thumped loudly against his chest, the shouts from the others managing to shake him from his paralyzed stance as the decks were cut and shuffled. Oh god, oh god what had he gotten himself into... "You only have one star chip, don't you," Mai said with a slightly pouting tone. "Well, then I'll bet one too, alright?" Yesssss such a feat for her wasn't it...
He nodded, pulling out another chip as he looked at the board. "Sheesh, what's with this field," he muttered, visibly drawing back. Small 'block' mountains rose up on the woman's side of the field, and he frowned. This wasn't like the board that Yugi and Haga had played with... Back there, the trees had fairly obviously been holographic. Here however... "It's 3D..." It was weirder than Mokuba's CapMon boards... Well, maybe not weirdER but... Still.
Mai ignored him, instead looking down at the board. "Well now... This 'field' we're playing on is 40% mountains and grassland, and 20% wasteland... If that answers your question hun," she said with a slightly sultry tone. Katsuya didn't know if she was trying to hit on him (Which he doubted... Wasn't working in any case), or... If she was just trying to psych him out.
Well... It was psyching him out... At least he had the grassland side though, giving him an advantage... "Hey, Kujaku," he said, the woman fixing him with a confused look as he spoke. "B'fore we begin... I wanna ask yah... Why did you come to this island?" Before the woman answered, he continued. "For honor? F'r money?"
She smirked. "BOTH!" Giving a playful wink, she leaned back in her chair and continued. "Really, what else~? If I win the money, I can travel the world... No... I could live in Paris for the rest of my life, and buy all the chanel and vutton I want!" Chanel..? Was that a perfume, he was pretty sure it was a perfume at least.
He snorted. "Heh... That's..." He shook his head, giving her a slightly amused and pitied look. "That's a pretty weak reason t' be here." Perfume, hotels, and France... Yea... Just a little bit shallow really.
"How DARE YOU," she shouted, practically turning into a monster at the words. Woah... Lady! Don't start shouting at him about it, sheesh! (He was pretty sure he was right..!) "Well, if my reasons are so petty then," the woman spat out with a glare, "How about you explain why you're here?"
Katsuya stared at her, looking her in the eye for a few moments. Alright... Let's just make sure she wouldn't rip off his head and eat it or something first... He closed his eyes, gaining a slightly distant look before answering her. "I'm here... T' save a life." As Mai stared at him in silence, possibly confusion for a moment, he continued. "Three, act'lly... Jus' don' tell any 'f them I said it w's that many..." He snorted, shaking his head. "They'd probably tell me off for adding a person..." But he had no doubt that the number was 'three'.
The woman stared at him oddly a few moments, frowning. Eventually, she snorted, forcing a smirk into place. "As if I would care about that... Whatever... Duel start!"
He nodded, drawing his cards and placing them in his hand. Alright... Some decent monsters right off the bat, that was alright... As he turned to face Mai, he found the smile drop rather quickly, staring at his opponent in shock. What the fuck... The woman had drawn each card face down, and, without looking at them, placed them in the same position on the table before her. "What the hell..." He shook his head, staring at her incredulously. What the fuck was she doing, she wasn't even blinking, or shaking... Not a single sign of a bluff! "Why the hell aren't you looking at your cards!"
She smirked, clearly enjoying his reaction. "It's simple, isn't it?" No, no it really wasn't... They were all face down damn it! "I already know my hand!" The blond's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head just slightly from the denial. No way... That was impossible, unless she had some kind of trippy, 'millennium item' thing going on as well, that was impossible... ...Now that he thought about it, there was obviously more than one item out there so that could be possible. Normally though, they were pretty obvious.
Why did the entire room reek of perfume... He passed it off, holding back a slight urge to puke at the scent instead. Probably whatever she was wearing... She did list perfume on her list of things to buy with prize money... (Dear lord it smelled terrible... Like a melting pot of flowers...)
The woman smiled, continuing. "My turn," she stated calmly, grabbing one of the cards. "For my first card..." A monster was flipped and placed on the mountains, Mai smirking. "The Harpy lady! Gaining a power boost from the mountains!"
He faltered, before shaking it off. Whatever... So she could tell what her cards were, big deal right! Hell, he still had his own cards, and that was all that mattered right? "I play Tiger Axe," he called, placing the card on the field. A small 'shimmer' told him that their earlier hunch about 'field bonuses' was right, and he grinned. "He gets a power boost from the plains! ATTACK!" Yea their attack was the same now, but still... At least they'd knock each other out! (...Sorry Tiger Axe...)
Wait, why was everyone drawing his attention to the fact that the monster he was fighting had wings? "Ohohoho~ Scratch Clash," Mai shouted with a grin, her monster avoiding his tiger's axe with ease as it dipped around in the air. Wait, it was able to do that! Sheesh, no wonder Pegasus hadn't actually gone through the new rules, they were pretty much being created as the game went! The Harpy continued to tease his monster, before destroying it with a well placed slash. "The Tiger Axe is killed instantly!"
Shit... Shiiiiit... His life points dropped slightly, the tiger's advantage having vanished when taken from the air by the harpy. That was just fucking great now wasn't it... Two bonuses at once, just lovely... "Hn hn hn..." The woman smirked as he looked at her with a glare, merely chuckling in response to it. "No 'newbie' can beat me, little boy!"
Little boy... Again with that comment... He was probably taller than this lady too, not that he could tell with the heels! He listened as the shouts from the others (Save Yugi, who was merely watching with narrowed eyes) came through the glass. Great... Just... Great... They were already doubting- FFFFF. Why. WHY. He wasn't that bad was he? Heck... He'd come close at least a few times right..? Why, he'd even come in eighth for the regionals, that was all of Tokyo! Which meant that before the finals, he was eighth to Haga! ...That wasn't a good thing damn it. He tensed, his turn coming around. How... How did she do that, read the cards when they were face down? It was unnerving... Each time she drew a card, she did the same thing too, place it on the table edge with her others. "Okay," he shouted, shaking it off. "My next card is Demon Hunter Kojikocy, and he gets a power up from the plains!" There... This monster beat out the harpy lady easily, there was no way that it'd beat him even with the flight advantage... He'd have to make it attack him though, lest he be taken out by the same flight-maneuvers from befo-
"Hnhn hn..." He frowned as the woman chuckled, listening as she continued. "Then I'll play this," Mai began, flipping over a spell card and equiping it to her harpy. "Electro whip! Harpy Lady's attack goes up by 300 points!" Shit! The monster charged his demon hunter, whip cracking as it ensnared it. The sounds of his own monster groaning as the whip burned into his skin was blotted from existence as it vanished from the field. "Hahaha! Prepare to die boy, because you're next! The demon hunter is destroyed!"
Katsuya grimaced as his lifepoints decreased yet again, eyes narrowed. Again... She knew what the card was before she flipped it over again! Granted this was only the second card, but still... It was creeping him out! He drew a card, continuing grit his teeth as the woman laughed. "Hnhnhn... You won't be able to beat my Harpy Lady with a card like that," she said smugly, only serving to tick the blond off even more. "Each turn, she becomes more beautiful, more elegant... And most of all, stronger!"
Beautiful? HAHHHHH. "Beautiful," he said with a snort, shaking his head. A creepy looking bird lady with a fairly suggestive whip? Yeaa... "If that's what yer into..." Ignoring the indignant glare sent his way with those comments, he looked at his card, placing it on the board. "Take this! Warrior of Gardna!"
The woman merely smirked at the challenge, though there was a slight 'twitch' in the expression. Most likely, he decided later, it was because she still had the obvious advantage. "With pleasure! I play Cyber bondage," she called, Katsuya watching as the metal armor with spikes in all the wrong places appeared over the woman. Dear god... It was even called bondage... What was this deck, a porn nightmare! "Harpy Lady's attack and defense get even better!" How did this make it better! The monster screeched with glee as the armor was applied, before its owner continued. "Cyber lightening whip! Destroy the warrior!" The bird charged forwards, his monster shouting in pain as the whip cracked across his back. A few seconds later he was reduced to nothing, and as the points decreased yet again to leave him with 810, the blond winced. "Ahahahaha! Have you learned your lesson," Mai said with a wink, before giving a coy smirk. "You're nothing but prey to me!" He was just going to ignore that last line and somehow focus on the game...
Somehow... Tch... How how how how how! How the hell was she reading her cards face down? What was this, ESP? A creepy psychic act? Or... A really really really successful bluff even! This was bugging him so much right now, like with Kaiba's briefcase from before, seriously... Damn it... He gritted his teeth. If creepy powers and shit was what it took to win this... He couldn't do this... There was just no way that if he was expected to face against that sort of thing... He couldn't... As Anzu fruitlessly shouted at him in encouragement, he tensed. Yea... Now he was getting support, but for what point? Slowly, he watched as Mai smirked and turned to the woman outside the box to respond to the cheers.
"Hey, you out there," she shouted with a point, voice almost a roar so that those outside would at least hear a whisper. "What was it you said? 'If you shout, the duelist will hear your 'feelings', and you'll help him win?" ...Right... That's what Anzu had said earlier when Mai commented on their 'cheerleading' at Yugi's match... The woman continued to smirk cruely as Anzu faltered, visibly drawing back from the box. Yea... She knew what was coming. "Then make this wimp win! He needs all the 'feelings' you've got!" Tch...! The woman laughed at her target's fallen expression, Katsuya wondering if he'd be disqualified for punching the bitch in the face. This. Was. Not. Fun. At all! Clenching his fists as the woman continued, he held back. For Mokuba and Shizuka... And for 'Seto-chan' as well, he had to hold out... (...Since when did he mentally refer to Kaiba as... Aw screw it, like it mattered right now.) "Well... Do you see now? That kind of things useless! And for you," Mai continued, turning to the blond in front of her, "Some more free advice 'boy'... You can't become a true duelist and play with your friends at the same time! Today's friends are tomorrows enemies! That's what it means to be a duelist!" As Katsuya gritted his teeth, clenching his fists even tighter with rage, the woman still went on. "Duelists can't trust anyone but themselves... Take that to heart from todays defeat!" So she was knocking down his friends now was she? Crazy fucking...
As Anzu growled in anger, a shout from outside took the blond's attention. "In that case, I'll make Jonouchi win," came the other Yugi's voice from outside the glass, both Mai and Katsuya turning in response. Yugi... "With just one word!" Huh... One word- "Jonouchi... This is a riddle!" A riddle? Seriously, was now really the time for... And that wasn't one word! "Answer it," the teen continued, expression serious. "What's something that you can show, but you can't see!"
Something you can show but can't s- He looked at Yugi with wide eyes as Mai laughed in the background, howling with mirth at the seemingly pointless message. He knew the answer to that... He knew... But even that couldn't do it... Katsuya's eyes fell, and he turned to look at the table again. 'Friendship'... That was the answer he'd given Yugi those months and months ago, in that same cheesy, corny line he'd used. But 'Friendship'... No matter how he looked at it... 'Sorry Yug', he thought to himself. 'I'm too dumb to figure out what you mean...' He rubbed his face, with one hand in an attempt to calm down, eyes shut. Damn it... Damn it... He couldn't help Shizuka, he couldn't help Mokuba... Couldn't help anyone... "What would you say now, Seto-chan," he muttered under his breath, holding back a few tears. It wasn't as though anyone outside would hear him, and if Mai did she'd probably just ignore it completely. "What would you say..."
He could swear he got a response actually... 'Try thinking outside the game for a moment, moron.' Hahaha... He almost felt like he could hear her for a moment there... Like she was standing behind him, glaring at his back. She wouldn't care if he lost really... So all in all, this voice was probably just him being stupid... Katsuya took a deep breath, the others watching in silence as he leaned back against his chair. His turn... Now why couldn't he have ESP or something, instead of the ability to hear voices that didn't exist... 'I said, think outside the game, MORON.' Just shut up already, he thought as he held his hands over his eyes. For an invisible and non-existant voice, this was really loud... And not helping his cold, though it had died down mostly...
The blond sneezed at that moment, sniffing with a frown. Key word being most- Wait... Katsuya sniffed, frowning. Over the course of the game, his nose had cleared up somewhat... That smell from earlier... It was stronger now. Think outside the game... Something you can show but can't see... Both of those clues were... His eyes widened as he leaned forwards with a jolt, looking over at the cards. He thought she was just wearing a crap load of perfume but... This was too much. These were all really intense, and really, REALLY varied perfumes!
As he continued to stare, nose twitching slightly as he took in the scents, he idly heard his opponent speaking. "Come on," Mai was saying as he went over this, the woman scowling. "It's your turn! I haven't got all day!" He knew... He knew how she was doing it now!
The blond merely laughed in response, grinning. Esp... Hah! In the end it was complete bullshit! She was no better than he was! "I got it... I know your card trick," he shouted with a laugh, grin widening. At the woman's shocked frown, his grin grew even more, before shrinking to a smirk. "By putting different perfumes on all the cards in advance... You can tell which cards are in your hand by scent!" He continued to laugh, before adding in a little extra. "You can show the cards," he added with a glance to a winking Yugi, "But yah can't see the smell!" As Mai continued to reel back, clearly shocked at her plan being found out he continued smirking. "Heh.. Man... That was close! That stuff weired me out so much I couldn't pay attention to the battle at all..." He chuckled as cheers sounded from outside, and he rubbed his head. "I thought it was some weird creepy occult powers or somethin', you really scared the crap outta me! But now..." He drew a card, smirking again. He could do this now... "I'm onto your game you faker! Get ready!"
Mai seethed, face growing red. "Oh yea," she screeched, Katsuya mentally wincing. "So you saw through my trick then? Big deal! You won't be able to beat me in a hundred years!" A hundred years huh...? He could vaguely recall something about a hundred years in a conversation with Yugi, but what was it about...
He shook his head, smiling as he crossed his arms. "Hehehe... It's strange," he said as the woman continued to glare at him. "Just havin' my friends here watchin'... Just knowin' that you aren't all you made out t' be... Makes me feel like you ain't so tough after all." He looked over his card, already forming a loose stratedgy of sorts. If he got the right draw, he could do this... Alright! "Here I go! I play the Baby Dragon in defense mode!" This card... Yugi gave it to him. And he wasn't going to waste this card!
Across from him, Mai snickered, before bursing into laughter. Oh sure, laugh at his little dragon... Jerk. "AHAHAAA! Good choice, a card for babies!" Why that... He watched the woman wipe a tear from her eye, before smirking. "Well, at least you were smart enough to put it in defense mode so you won't take damage when I KILL IT!" Oh shit! That's right, he needed two cards... Acccckkk... As she continued to laugh, she grabbed another card and shook her head. "That very thing has saved you from an attack this turn; instead of attacking, I'll play this! Kaleidoscope, the Splendid Mirror Image!" Oh..? A card that needed her to skip an attack to play..? Wait... What was it doing! He watched as the card was played, the first upgraded harpy lady suddenly splitting into two others. Oh come on! "Now I have three harpy ladies," she said with a grin, the three bird-women cackling.
"Wha..!" Katsuya gritted his teeth. "What! There's more now!" Great, he avoided an attack but what about next turn? He couldn't get enough monsters out to defend with three out there!
The woman continued to smirk. "I can't attack on the turn I play Kaleidoscope..." And thank god for that, or he'd be a goner... "So go on boy... It's your move~" That should not sound the way she was making it sound. Ever. ...Why was his brain picturing Kaiba saying- OK! Stop thinking now!
His turn, his turn... He needed to focus, or he wouldn't make it through... Gh... Katsuya drew a card, frowning. Not the one he needed... But at least it would help him out a bit. "I play Garoozis," he called, the monster getting a bonus to his already decently high attack power. "He gets a 30% power up from the plains!" Which made for almost... A successful shield.
Mai grinned. "Ohoho! Prey! Go my Harpies," she cried with narrowed eyes. Garoozis was in attack mode... It was the only real way to keep his dragon on the field, he was sure. At least this way Mai would pick the seemingly 'worse' target. (This was gonna hurt though...) "Whip Garoozis! Punish him!" Ah wait wait what? Punish? As in... That... Punish..?
The blond shuddered slightly, trying to banish the images taking place on the table from his mind. "I don' wanna even ask what yer preferences are..." They were probably a little... Erm... Questionable. His point count dropped to 120, along with his spirits as Mai continued to cackle. Harpy Lady's 10 hit combo, she was saying... Damn it, he didn't have a card that could beat three harpies! Yea he was counting on that dragon Yugi had mentioned with the one on the field, but right now his back was literally against a wall! If he didn't get this card soon...
Across from him, Mai continued to laugh, shaking her head at the comment he'd made with narrowed eyes. "My 'preferences' have nothing to do with this, 'boy'... Why, looking for a 'date'?" The woman leaned in, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Maybe if you win," she said with a husky grin, "I'll consider it..."
"Hihhh!" He shook his head, pulling back. Alright... Given the images currently in his skull at that moment, he was already very very far from being turned on at the moment! Very. Far. "Trust me lady, that's th' last thing on my mind!"
She blinked, apparently genuinely surprised by the comment. Nonetheless, though it took a few seconds before the woman did this, she merely smirked. "Well," she muttered, shaking it off rather quickly. "Not that you could win anyways..."
Yea... Got that right... 'Something you can show but you can't see'... He'd said friendship, and at the moment he thought it applied to the perfumes... Was there something more..? Something else...
'I thought I told you,' he heard, the blond frowning as Seto's voice continued to pound at the back of his skull. 'Think outside the game, MORON!' He jumped as the last part practically shouted in his ear, before thinking again. Where did that riddle come from again..? Yugi had been the first to say it, before he'd put together the puzzle-.
Something you can show... His eyes widened as he stared at his deck, realization hitting him abruptly. The box. The riddle was carved on the side of the BOX, the same one that Yugi had originally held the pieces of his puzzle in! He remembered that day... He could remember it clearly now, when the guy was helping him put a deck together..! Yugi used the box to store his important cards now, and he'd pulled out a few to give him. 'Here, Jonouchi,' he'd said with a smile. 'Let me give you this card before I forget!' That card... He'd given it to him with 'Baby Dragon', it was the card he was waiting for! 'It can do lots of things... If you use it with Baby Dragon, it can fast forward 100 years and turn the dragon into an adult! It's an incredibly reliable card, here, take it!'
Shaking hands went over to the deck. Think outside of the game... So that he could think of the game... He held back a smirk, thinking of Seto for the moment. If he wasn't so sure that this voice was just his head being weird, he'd want to thank the lady... As it was, he'd probably get sacked between the legs for his efforts. Katsuya nervously moved to draw a card from his deck, ignoring the taunts from Mai as he moved. One chance, he told himself. Just one...
"Come on," Mai shouted as he took a breath, hand placed on the deck and grabbing a card right that moment. "You've got one turn to live! Why don't you just give up and give me your cards right now?" He didn't have the Time Wizard in his hand at the moment... His only chance... Was this draw right here...
Here goes... For a moment, he thought he saw a flash from Yugi's millenium puzzle... It was only a moment though, one brief second that he passed off to the back of his mind. Nervous eyes looked over the card, and as he got over the shock of what he'd gotten he grinned. "YES!" He summoned the card, watching as Mai looked at it confused. Of course she didn't know, she was too focused on her weird feathered porn rejects! "This is the time wizard!" Looking over at Mai's still confused stare, Katsuya continued to grin. He had her now... He had her! "Don't you know? Th' Time Wizard can speed time up! It zooms forward 100 years an' turns th' Baby Dragon into an adult!" The smirk grew, and he watched as the small time wizard raised his wand. "Go! Time Magic! Baby Dragon becomes the Thousand Dragon!" The wheel on the wizard's staff swirled, and for a moment an odd wave of light passed over the table.
Mai snorted as the infantile dragon grew into an aged adult, before scowling. Thousand-Year Dragon... Well damn it, it's attack woudn't beat the Harpies... "So what," she cried. "That senile dragon is nothing! My harpies attack is still stronger!" Yes, he knew that. Shit... And this was probably his strongest monster too god damn it! As he thought this however, he found himself staring at the board with wide eyes, ignoring Mai's next words of 'Kill it, Harpy Lady sisters!' Mai as well looked down at them, frowning as their attack plummeted... Along with something else. "W-What... WHAT?" The ladies groaned, the sound of joints cracking sounding about the air. Their hair became dull and grey, feathers loosing their luster as a few fell out. Their once loud and ear-splitting screeches had even changed, growing hoarse and dull. All together... Another bit of fuel for his nightmares really.
Across from her, Katsuya continued to stare with wide and fairly horrified eyes. "H-Hhhhhh..." S-Scary... This was... Um... The harpies were suddenly all old and wrinkly... That was just a bit unsettling. "Uh... If it's any cons'lation," the teen said with a cough, blinking. "I'm s'prised to... Uh... Didn' know it could do that..." He shook it off, noting that Yugi appeared to be giving him a knowing smirk. Well obviously someone knew about that ability... "Alright!" Time to win this! "Now that that's settled, go, Thousand Dragon!" The dragon roared, the Harpy Ladies card effects tying them together for the same attack three times. "Thousand nose breath!" And no matter how silly that attack sounded, that move would forever be considered amazing in his mind. Always.
As the dragon blew away the entire field, Mai's points dropped to zero, the woman going red in embarassment. "I... I don't believe it..." She better! "I... I lost..."
Katsuya gave a thumbs up to Yugi, before turning to Mai with a blank stare. Ignoring the shouts from outside ('It's a miracle', Bakura was saying. THANKS... so much...), he smiled. "Kujaku Mai," he said quietly, the woman not looking up from her cards. Almost like she'd lost her friends... Interesting thought given her speech on not needing any earlier. "I may not be a 'true duelist' by your definition... But let me tell you this," he continued as he gathered his own deck, pocketing it. "There's one thing that doesn't change, even over 100 years..."
The woman turned, eyes slightly wide from the shock of her loss. She swallowed, a light frown developing across her face. "W-What," she said, sounding almost slightly desperate over the defeat. "What is it..?"
The smile grew into a grin, and he said one last thing before leaving the box. "Something you can show... But you can't see!"
There was no answer to that statement as he left with his friends, the group simply leaving Mai to stare at her cards with that message in mind.
AN: This riddle has many answers it seems. SEE IF YOU CAN GUESS THEM ALL.
Is Kaiba's voice in Jonouchi's head real? Or has his conscience taken a turn for the worst? Even I don't know...
On another note, current 'challenges' are still in place. In addition, after the next chapter, I'll be putting up a poll... And in this one, the question for that very poll, along with another one. In order of age, youngest to oldest!
First: Recently, my art has been invaded by this fanfic; currently, it hasn't gotten further than uncoloured pencil-line art, what with my tablet pen being out of commision, but let me know if you're interested in even that, and if that's the case, I'll add a section just for it at the very bottom!
Second: After the Duelist Kingdom, as well as the 'Legendary Heroes/Dungeon Dice Monsters' arc, we're going to be seeing the oh-so-famous tablet depicting Priest Set and the Pharaoh. (I'm not giving the Pharaoh's name yet, in case there are those who don't know what it is.) So here's the question that will be put into a poll in a bit, handily laid out in an underline: Should Fem-Kaiba's past incarnation, Priest Set be male, as in the canon... Or female?
Third: Not a question or a challenge so much as a reminder; if there's a scene I've 'skipped', or something just chronologically relevant that I've skipped over in your opinion (IE, Seto's birthday, Health and Sports Day, Death-T, etc.), and you want to see it written, let me know! I'll write it up in a one shot.
Last: The 'Kaiba's Voice' challenge; if you're listening to music, be it any language, and you hear a voice that you think suits Fem-Kaiba's 'real voice', send it over in a review, or a message! I'll list any results I get here in the Author's Note, as well as thank you a lot... Because all I listen to all day is Vocaloids and Nico Nico covers of said Vocaloids, so my own music isn't the best resource.
Speaking of music, I've essentially been listening to the same five Nico Nico covers over and over again while drawing; this is because my MP3 player sucks, and divides everything into folders. In any case... For the sheer sake of showing you just what kind of soundtrack this fanfic is being written to, I'll list those five songs right now... Just remember that they're covers; specifically, they're a 'Nico Nico Chorus', a mix of various different covers from Nico Nico for one song. (The results are often incredible.) I'm listening to...
Bad Apple (Done by Touhou, not Nico Nico.)
World's End Dancehall (Which, for some reason, immediately results in the image of each and every 'main' Yu-Gi-Oh character singing in it. NO EXCEPTIONS.)
Nisoku Hokou (This one I'm just listening to... It's one of the ones that I will occasionally skip, even though there's only six songs in the folder.
Ura-Omote Lovers ('Two Faced Lovers'. AHAHAHHAHA. Has nothing to do with this fanfic, honest... You'll know why it has nothing to do with it if you look at the lyrics though. O/O )
And 'Rolling Girl'. Which actually does serve some signifigance to the fanfic, regardless of the fact that the only reason is because I keep comparing the girl in the song to Mokuba... In that the girl is trying to get the guy's attention... Obviously they aren't doing it for the same reason (Mokuba going after Kaiba's attention), but nonetheless. The Nico Nico cover is very, VERY good... You'll know it when you hear it, trust me.
And with that...
Anonymous Review Responses
We have two today! First, from Iona. Yea... I was kinda hoping it was the Hot Pockets. CURSES.
I think I've missed what you mean by see... Unless you're talking about my silly 'Ice Queen/Tsundere' comparison, in which case that's fine. Most people don't think with my brain... That would be bad, and likely cause worldwide insanity. (Ahaha~ -cough-)
Oh mah! Kaiba the super model, that's going right in the sketch book... Super tall is right though; though looking at Japan, a fair amount of the cast is actually rather tall. Jonouchi could probably call 'foreigner' given that he's blond (Oddly enough, if the cover for one of the Bunkoban versions of the manga is any sign, so is Shizuka. Shocking!), so it's fairly likely... (But then there's Yugi's hair, which KILLS IT.) But Honda has no excuse! Or does he? We don't really know anything about the families of the main cast now that I think about it... It's nice to see that Kaiba's height is a plus rather than a minus though, and I hope I keep you entertained with the Mai - Jonouchi scenes!
Now, to Lukerella! Sorry to break this to you, but the reason why I'm updating so quickly is because all of these chapters were written before hand... Which means that in about two, three chapters, it'll probably be two-three days between each one. And that's only until I get a job, which should happen sometime in either late October and Early November. You've been warned! (So if I'm suddenly slow, that's not me on hiatus, that's me at WORK... No worries!)
No worries about the name thing! From what I can tell, the use among genders varies heavily among the Asian countries... In any case, wow...! These compliments on the fanfic are... Amazing... -loves them- I hope I don't fail these expectations!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section so bold, it's not afraid to say things like 'sex'. Wait, you aren't either?
Some might wonder why Yugi's acting perverted. I assure you, this is cannon; in fact, ninth page into the first chapter and he's already fantasizing about what's underneath Anzu's skirt... OUR HERO FOLKS. There are actually a number of chapters where Jonouchi and Yugi are talking about porn (What else would they be squinting at the 'pixels' for?), or talking about trading porn tapes... All the way into the Millennium World arc, where Jonouchi mentions that he's gotten his player fixed and wants to borrow a few. Ooooooh boy... Boys... Anyways.
Fun fact, but 'Kujaku' from Mai's name means 'Peahen'... You know... The female counterpart to the peacock? Fitting. Jonouchi's comment on perfumes early on is technically manga based; he mentions smelling the perfumes earlier, and thinking them as a collective... However, near the end of the duel, he realizes that this is obviously false. Now that his head isn't completely in the 'Mai's Breasts Are As Big As Me' clouds, he's also being a little more snarky about things... Like... 'Cyber Bondage'. And... 'PUNISH HIM~'. I'm sorry but... Just... Yea. Obviously not much in the direction of what will be different from the manga and anime relationship, but that's mostly because this is effectively where both of them got started... To be completely blunt, it was actually Mai who made the first clear move in the manga (not sure about the anime, but I'm fairly sure) in terms of thought towards Jonouchi; noted by the blush and the immediate notice of his presence later on... Jonouchi's blush is in the category of Honda's; it's because Mai's 'hot'. But Mai's is completely 'red string' based.
Can anyone else see the blatant Sado-Masochism references in the Harpy Ladies' 'Ten Hit Combo'? Because I can. And it hurts my eyes when combined with all the innuendos that Mai uses, it really does... Seriously. Whips, spiked armor (As in, spiked on the breasts guys. You Dub-Anime watchers got lucky and had those censored out.), 'PUNISH HIM~'. Haaaaaaaggghhhhhh I'm gonna have nightmares.
An interesting form of lampshade-hanging is seen in this chapter, when Jonouchi is wondering if Mai has a millennium item... What with them having weird mind-soul related abilities and all, and no one in the group knowing just how many there are just yet. (Save 'Yami Bakura', but... He's not really 'in the group'.) The fact is, when someone with a millennium item shows up, you tend to be able to tell... Really quickly... Where it is. Scales, Tauk, Ring (Arguably the easiest to hide, those last two), frigging ROD/STAFF/SPEAR THING... EYE... And of course, the puzzle, which can't be hidden in anyway if you're actively using it.
In the anime, rather, the Japanese anime, Jonouchi is mentioned to have entered the nation-wide tournament that Haga and Ryuusaki faced off in; specifically, he made eighth place in the regional matches, which would cover the Tokyo area... To be specific, there are 47 regions (Rather, 'Prefectures') in Japan. Given the total population of the one that Jonouchi is in however, eighth place isn't too shabby; remember, this is Tokyo we're talking about. To put it into perspective for you, the entire population of British Columbia (Where I live... It's a province in Canada for those who don't know, and larger than Japan.) would be less than HALF the same number of people in Tokyo alone. That's crazy; BC has a population of around 4.5 million... Tokyo however, has almost THIRTEEN MILLION people. Now add in the fact that it's fairly likely that Jonouchi would have had to fight his way through a city-wide tournament before entering the regionals, which would have, as a result, gathered people from at least 30-40 different areas of Tokyo as is, his ranking is nothing to sneeze at. There's a reason why he makes it as far as he does later on after all.
Duels are obviously accurate to the manga, and so is (as usual) most of the dialogue. This includes 'With just one word!'. Though I added dialogue in some areas, that wasn't one of the things I added... Nor was 'This is a riddle!'. Really Yugi, you should know what 'one word' is... That isn't it, even in Japanese!
Well, that's all for now! See you soon!