N. INSIDE LOOKING OUT

Inside my head's a box of stars I never dared to open
Inside the wounded hide their scars, inside this lonesome sparrow's fall
Inside the songs of our defeat, they sing of treaties broken
Inside this army's in retreat, we hide beneath the thunder's call

Inside the failures of the light, the night is wrapped around me
Inside my eyes deny their sight, you'd never find me in this place
Inside we're hidden from the moonlight, we shift between the shadows
Inside the compass of the night, inside the memory of your face

Outside the walls are shaking
Inside the dogs are waking
Outside the hurricane won't wait
Inside they're howling down the gate

- Inside by Sting

Sleeping in a towel was not the best idea, so when Yugi woke up the next morning she felt a bit exposed and the towel was missing. She lifted her head a bit and found that she had managed to snag a sheet during the night and it was curled around her, but she was also sleeping on top of Yami with her back to the door and he looked rather pleased with himself even asleep. She sat up, carefully sliding to his side as the arm that had been around her waist flopped back so that his hand hung off the edge of the bed. She careful turned and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched a bit, wincing as her shoulders protested as did her arms, than she realized her other predicament and quickly pulled the rest of the sheet free and wrapped it around her upper body with a blush. "Is there any way to persuade you to sleep in just a sheet more often?" Yami asked as she glanced over her shoulder and seen he was wide awake and grinning, his other arm under his head. Yugi rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that her blush was now darker, and picked up the second pillow on her bed and hit him in the face with it.

"I'll ignore that question." She stated getting to her feet as he batted the pillow away and watched her gather up some clothes from her dresser, also grabbing the golden engagement ring that he had put on the dresser, and stalked out of the room for the bathroom. He stayed in his sprawled out position on the bed and stared at the ceiling, letting his eyes fall shut again. He knew that she was putting a façade up, trying to pretend that yesterday did not happen, and the only reason why she was doing that was because she did not want to think herself weak. His eyes flew open and and sat up in the bed, remembering the card he wanted to give her and a few other important things.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and than leaned down and picked up his dueling disc, removing his deck and sitting the disc to his left on the bed. He flipped through his deck until he was staring down at the red Dark Magician and the issue of the card's shaved edges, but with a small application of his Shadow Magic the card was back in pristine shape. This card would do better in her deck, he figured, considering the fact he already had a Dark Magician in his deck. A moment later he hissed and dropped the card, as if it burned him, and two familiar Magician's appeared in the room just as Yugi returned from getting dressed. "This is new." She stated in an amused tone as they all stared at her as she dropped the sheet by the door to her room. "Four for breakfast?" she asked as the purple Dark Magician nodded and she left the room.

"What the hell?" Yami asked as both Magician's glanced at one another and shrugged.

Yugi had taken things in stride because she knew odd things happened in concerns to the Millennium Items, so the appearance of two duel monsters did not warrant any real reaction. She settled on making a simple western breakfast of french toast with tea as the three entered the kitchen, the two Magicians without their clunky hats and two staffs, and took seats at the table. "Why did you sudden appear?" Yami asked as the purple Magician accepted a cup of tea that Yugi sat down in front of him and his red counterpart, who nodded to her as well. She turned to the counter and picked up the two remaining mugs and sat one down across from Yami, where she would be sitting, and the other in front of Yami, who smiled at her.

"Excuse me, would you happen to have some honey?" the red Magician asked as she frowned and glanced at the cupboards.

"Possibly, hold on a second." Yugi replied and started her search as the purple Magician rolled his eyes.

"My name is Mahaad, across from me is Maram, and we are here because something is going on here and we wish to prevent a repetition of a dark event in history." Mahaad stated as Yugi growled in annoyance and sat the sugar bowl with a spoon handle sticking out of it in the center of the table, turning back to her search. As Yami reached for it, but Mahaad had quickly taken control first and received a glare for his win. "An event that could have been prevented if we had been on our guard against all fronts."

"An event that you may never remember, due to the your honored Mother's decision." Maram cued in as Yugi triumphantly found the honey, putting it on the table with the maple syrup, and than she returned to the stove top to complete the cooking of the last three slices of french toast in peace while listening to the conversation.

"How would you know of this?" Yami asked with narrowed eyes as Maram opened the small jar of honey and looked around for a spoon, only to have Yugi move to a near by drawer and retrieve one with him.

"Thank you." He stated with a nod and turned back to them while she picked up the spatula and flipped one of the three pieces of bread she put on to cook. "I was one of the five magicians, magic casters, she requested to aide in the ritual."

"How did you become cards?" Yugi asked as she flipped the bread again, drawing some attention to herself. "I doubt that you died of old age and passed into the Shadow Realms." She added in a dry tone as Yami swiped the sugar bowl and dared Mahaad to take it back.

"With the war, we chose to become what you see now in the world. It was our way of watching the items as time passed, since some issues have not been resolved." Mahaad answered as the two tri-color haired teens waited for further elaboration, which was put off by the purple Magician sipping his tea. "The Shadow Realms would have let us pass on if certain things did not come to be, but those things did and here we are. By a vote, we decided that Yugi-sama will require a full-time guard since she will not possess a Millennium item and she is untrained."

"Untrained?" Yugi asked as she carefully removed the fried bread from the pan and added it to the small pile of six on the plate she had begun before they entered.

"Why will she not have a Millennium item?" Yami asked as he got up and was around the table, grabbing four plates from a cupboard while Yugi had the forks and the plate of french toast, which she turned and put in the middle of the table with the small pile of forks, while Yami distributed the plates.

"Yugi-sama can possess the Millennium Puzzle, through her connection to you, but other than that she will have a violent reaction to any of the others." Maram answered as he snatched a fork and stole two pieces of french toast easily and with a grin while Mahaad followed and the two teens watched both of them carefully. "She is different from the rest of you, she will have to go back through formal training."

"What?" Yugi croaked out as both magician's decided to enjoy the breakfast provided.

An hour had passed with discussion of what was going on and what exactly the two Magician's could tell them, both Magician's sat at the table while Yugi cleaned up and Yami got dressed for the day and grabbed the Millennium Puzzle. As Yami had left the Game Shop as Mahaad faded back into the Shadow Realm, but Maram had said he would shadow Yugi through her day and she had shrugged and told him that was okay so long as he knew when to not be around and if he was invisible. Yugi had left ten minutes after Yami with her laptop in its case, having received a phone call from Jonouchi asking if she could visit Shizuka and keep her company for the day since he had to go gain some locator cards.

Fifteen-year-old Kawai Shizuka was a rather pretty teenager with auburn-red hair, from her mother's side of the family, that fell over her shoulders and a clear, peach like complexion that stood out against the white pillows she sat against in her white hospital bed. She was trying to block out the sterile smell of the hospital room and the symphony of beeps, coughs, and muted voices around her. It was hard not to feel bored when all you could do was listen to the sounds around you, which was the situation she was in. She had just recently undergone eye surgery, after a few months of establishing that the trouble was truly in her eyes, and was now sitting in her bed, in one of the hospital gowns, with bandages around her eyes leaving her recovery days in darkness. The monotony of the only day her brother and mother would not be visiting had been broken up when a young boy named Kenta had taken refuge in her room, avoiding whatever tests they wished to run on him, and he started to tell her about everything around them.

She tilted her head to the right as Kenta's story slowly trailed off, she figured a nurse had just entered the room but that did not explain why he did not dive for cover. "Excuse me, I hate to intrude on your conversation." A rather nice voice stated politely, Shizuka idly wondered if the stranger would not mind reading something to her later if she was a volunteer.

"Yes?" Kenta asked as he shifted nervously on the bed, playing with a fold in the blanket that covered Shizuka's legs.

"I am looking for Kawai Shizuka, is this the right room?" she asked as Shizuka sat straight up.

"I am her, who are you?" Shizuka asked, her heart speeding up a bit about an unknown visitor after everything her brother said about his adventures.

"Ah, sorry." The girl stated with a nervous laugh and Shizuka heard her move a bit further into the room. "Jonouchi asked me to stop by and keep you company, since he wanted to get some locator cards before the day ended. My name is Motou Yugi." She added as Shizuka heard Kenta gasp in shock.

"You're THE Motou Yugi? The King of Card Games, who beat Maximillion Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom, and the head of the Battle City tournament?" he asked in shock as the newcomer laughed, but it was not a bitter nor arrogant laugh but one that just spoke of amusement at Kenta's reaction.

"That would be me." Yugi stated as Shizuka heard a chair barely scrap across the linoleum floor and Yugi was sitting down. "I thought you would like to hear what is going on with your brother in the tournament so I brought my computer with me."

"Thank you, Motou-san." Shizuka stated with a smile as she relaxed, listening to the rustling of clothing and other things. Kenta was up out of the bed and helping her set her laptop up, she figured, from the boy's excited cooing and the tap of keys. "Aniki said you are engaged, is that true?" she asked with a smile, internally laughing because she swore Yugi had just muttered a few interesting curses.

"I am, to a sweet guy that I can see driving me up the wall in the near future." The other girl stated as Kenta snickered and Shizuka actually laughed this time, pressing a hand to her mouth to stifle the fact that she wanted to laugh out loud. Some more clicks of the computers keys and she felt Kenta settling back on to the bed by her side as Yugi scooted her chair over so that she was sitting by the bed.

"Wow, your brother is dueling Insector Haga." Kenta told Shizuka, who stayed silent because she had no idea why that name should be relevant to her. "He's losing, too."

"Nah, lulling Haga-baka into a false sense of security." Yugi stated as the boy shifted and Shizuka smiled.

"You believe in my brother, Motou-san?" she asked as the other girl tapped her fingertips against the computer in her lap.

"Of course, he's a wild card in this shegbang… he has also improved since Duelist Kingdom, since I duel him about once a month." Yugi replied in a tone that did not quiver or betray and lying to appease her and that made the recovering teenager let out a breath she did not think she was holding in. Shizuka relaxed a bit and listened as Kenta played announcer, making both girls laugh as he added commentary.

Mazaki Anzu had taken it upon herself to hunt out Satou Yami and persuade him away from Motou Yugi, which was why she stalked through the crowds of people dressed in a strapless red shirt that did not fit right on her frame with a short black skirt and black thigh high stockings that had bows and red, slipper-like shoes. Her brown hair was down and looked rather odd, almost as if she had not washed her hair in a week, with heavy black make-up around her eyes and shiny, red lipstick on her lips. Many cringed away from her, others just whispered, but no one told her anything to her face and she took that as a compliment and a sign that her quest would go well.

She had followed rumors all day and that had led her to the only small river that ran through Domino City, which was near the park that was one of the more secluded and quiet dueling areas. She walked along the path and seen Yami was laying in the grass with his hands folded under the black jacket that he was using to pillow his head, the duel disc still attached to his arm. Her breath caught and noted that his hair obviously spiked out and he was wearing a pair of tight black jeans with a sleeveless leather top that fit him well and had silver buckled straps going up the front from waist to the last one that was at least two inches wide around his throat. The golden puzzle rested above his navel and glinted innocently in the sunlight while the trap was brown and slack around his neck. She was mentally stripping him down while he slept, which caused him to shiver in his moment of relaxation. "Yami-kun!" Anzu shrieked and began to attempt to run towards him, but her shriek caused him to sit bolt upright.

"Banshee?" he asked shaking his head, turning a bit and seeing the approaching brunette. "What the hell is that?" he asked himself while grabbing his jacket and getting to his feet, slinging it around his shoulders like a cape. Approaching him was a brunette in attire that, while nice in coordination of color, did not work for her body and made him cringe. It made him appreciate his Hikari's fickleness about her clothes, as well as Mai's sharp eye since the blond woman had been the one that forced his Hikari to buy most of her skirts and such.

"We so match!" she stated excitedly, hands clasped in front of her as she came to a stop with a wide smile and a leaning forward a bit to show off her lack of clevage. She ignored the odd look that crossed his face as he turned to head down the path away from her, only she was not going to let him go that easily. "Yami-kun, why don't we go out to a late lunch? I'm sure Yugi-chan would not mind you accompanying one of her friends." She purred in a tone she believed was seducative and tried to latch on to his arm, only to have him pull away before her nails could sink into his bicep.

"Last time I checked you and my Hikari were not friends but rivals and on that note I doubt she would appreciate you using her name in such an informal manner." Yami remarked with a narrowing of his eyes, but Anzu was not listening. She did not care about his defense of her rival and enemy, she would make him see her since Yugi was busy with other things.

"Rivals are secretly friends, Yami-kun." She sweetly stated and continued to follow him as he picked up his pace a bit, hoping that she would get the clue and leave him alone. "Please? It is only lunch." She whined as he shivered and came to a stop and turned to her.

"No, not going to happen." Yami hissed out as he rounded on her, but she did not take the hint than. "I am not interested in you. One, I love Motou Yugi and I will not betray her for a person of your sort and two, I hate those that lie to themselves." He snarled as she ignored what he said and smiled sweetly again and he twitched and slapped his forehead with his left hand, turning to continue down the path. "She's ignoring me, great." He muttered, biting back a whimper, as she continued to follow him like a lost puppy. With a sigh he glanced around for an escape, but only found a rather dark person sitting on a bench in front of him.

"Come on, Yami-kun, it will be fun!" Anzu whined as he batted her hands away from him, having the sudden urge to Mind Crush her but he restrained that urge because he was in public and had no means of hiding the body in such a forum.

"Excuse me." A soft voice stated as he paused by the bench and turned to the person on the bench. "Are you participating in Battle City, too?" she asked without looking up at him and barely moving her lips.

"Of course he is, can't you tell from the duel disc?" Anzu sneered as Yami batted her hands away from him, yet again. He was a step away from slapping the annoying girl, which was saying much about his patience.

"Ignore her, she has nothing better to do than stalk people." Yami remarked as the doll-like girl cracked no smile or anything. "I am a participant in Battle City." He added as she glanced up at him.

"Than I challenge you!" she stated with a small smile as Yami stared down the girl, giving Anzu the chance to latch on to his arm. This resulted in Yami ripping his arm out of her grasp and causing the brunette to fall back from the force, but she just stared up at him with a blush.

"Do not ever do that again." He sternly told the brunette before turning to the girl on the bench.

Back at the hospital, Otogi Ryuuji had been visiting his comatose father when he heard the familiar voice of Motou Yugi. He ran a hand through his black hair, which was pulled back in his trademark ponytail, and squared his shoulders to enter the room and apologize to Yugi for his attitude in the beginning and to clear the waters between them. Running his hands down his black t-shirt and than dusting off his green cargo, he politely knocked on the frame of the door. "I am sorry to interrupt your gathering, ladies." He stated with a grin, his green eyes sparkling… but it was lost on the two girls. He noted that Yugi, while looking relaxed in her faded blue jeans with an un-tucked red button down shirt with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, had her laptop in her lap and the auburn haired teenage girl was in the hospital bed with with bandages around her eyes.

"Black hair and green eyes with an earring." Yugi told her friend who tilted her head to the side, in place of any facial expressions. "Otogi-san, is your father doing well?" she asked as he nodded absently, staring openly at the girl in the hospital bed with his jaw dropped a bit. She was beautiful! He suddenly blushed as Yugi was grinning now, which made him blush and nervous at the same time.

"He is doing better, Motou-san, the doctors say that the comatose state saved him from the stroke he was throwing himself towards… which I do not understand at all." Otogi answered as he continued to stare at the other girl.

"He has a nice voice, Yugi-chan, how does he look beyond coloring?" Shizuka asked in a loud stage whisper as Otogi was now red and both were laughing.

"No, you know I can't!" Yugi mockingly whined as they were now laughing. He watched the tri-color haired girl pick the laptop up from her lap and sit it on the edge of the bed and picked up her bag before she got to her feet. "Otogi-san, I need to run an errand… would you mind keeping Shizuka-chan here company? We have been following her brother's dueling." She asked as the dark haired boy nodded, inwardly he was jumping up and down and squealing about the chance to get to know Yugi's friend! "If Jonouchi stops by, I left an hour ago due to an emergency. If you do anything to her that is bad, they will not find the body." She told him as he paled and stood stiff and snapped off a salute.

"I will be the perfect gentleman, Motou-san." He stated with a nod and serious expression while Yugi palmed her face.

"Shizuka-chan, if anything bad happens remember what Kenta told you." With that Yugi left and Otogi moved to take the seat where the girl had been and picked up the laptop.

"He told me to scream bloody murder and to kick anything that moves." She sweetly told a now sweating Otogi. "Yugi-chan said she would leave her laptop here until I get out on Friday and that she would send the official bag over with Mokuba tomorrow."

Yugi paused outside the doorway as both fell into their own little world, getting to know one another with the occasional statement about Jonouchi and dueling. It was a precaution to make sure they got along, nothing else, so she left everything else to fate and made her way out of the hospital. It took her five minutes to make it out the main doors and down the sidewalk, crossing the street into a nice little grouping of shrubs and trees around a cement ground with wooden benches arranged around six evenly spaced granite ables that had chessboards carded and painted into the top. "I have been waiting for you, Motou-san." A familiar voice stated as she spun around and came face-to-face with someone she never thought she'd see again.

Yami took in the attire of his opponent and found that the teenage girl, maybe child, was rather interesting in her looks. She wore a knee length black dress that had puffy shoulders and bell sleeves and a high collar, the hem of the dress and sleeves trimmed in inch-wide delicate white lace. A white apron covered her front as her legs were clad in white silk stockings with black buckle shoes that had a small heel and silver buckles. Her hair was black as night and fell straight over her shoulders, only seen against the white of the apron, while her pale face was brought out by black make-up around her equally dark eyes with black lipstick coloring her lips. He could see three bars piercing the skin above the bridge of her nose, between her blank eyes, with a silver ring in her bottom lip. "I challenge you." She repeated as her eyes moved to stare up at him with an innocent smile curling her lips. "I have a card that you have to earn, he said that if you beat me I can give it to you with a free conscience but if you don't I have to go challenge Motou Yugi."

"What is your reason for this?" Yami demanded as he stood fully before her, arms crossed with eyes narrowed in a suspicious look.

"Don't trust that freak, Yami-kun." Anzu stated as they ignored her. This was not the bruentte's idea of snagging her future boyfriend, considering he was paying more attention to the freaky goth girl. She had gone through all that trouble to attempt to dress like Yugi only to have him totally ignore her in favor of a girl that had no taste! Who would wear such a dark and heavy dress in this weather? Better yet, who would try to look like a child?

"Curiosity." She stated and offered a hand to him, not losing her smile. "I am a member of a small club called the Rare Hunters and they call me Strings, for I love puppets and devoted myself to learning the art of puppetry, doll crafting, and fashion. I do apologize if this deck I use is not what you expect of me, but I gave up dueling a couple years ago. This deck was also based around the one card you want." She stated as Yami politely took her hand in a firm handshake, taking a few steps back after he released her hand and let her get to her feet. "Even with that small handicap in your favor, do you accept my challenge?" she asked, cutey tilting her head to the side as Anzu was all but shouting in the background now.

"I do accept your challenge." Yami stated with a nod as she sighed, pouting a bit while rolling her right sleeve up to show the duel disc. "Is there something wrong?" he asked, a bit confused.

"I so wanted to challenge Motou-san, since she is close to Kujaku-san, and see if they could help me with a project." She whined as the teenage boy decided to let the subject drop, taking a position about five feet down the path from the girl while Anzu sat on the bench. "Let us begin now." Strings cheerfully stated as they drew their opening hands.

"Go Yami-kun!" Anzu cheered as both paused in arranging their hands to glare at the lone spectator.

"Do remember manners, I would appreciate it if you did not cheer." Strings dryly stated with a glare aimed at the brunette, who ignored her. "How do you stand her?" the girl asked as Yami sighed.

"She is a stalker with issues, I do not since she ignores me." He told the black haired duelist, who shivered. "Stalker issues?" he asked as her nose twitched a bit.

"I would rather not discuss that in public." Strings stated quickly and with a shiver as she looked down at her hand. "Since I issued the challenge, would you…" she trailed off with a motion of her hand as Yami chuckled, it seemed he was stalling too much for her.

"I must insist you go first, since it is only polite." Yami stated with a mock bow as the gothic teen blushed and drew a card.

"Your so noble." Anzu stated as Yami cringed, he really wanted to know how to get the brunette to leave.

"Than I play one magic card face down and one monster face down." She declared placing both cards in their place as they appeared on the field and waved for Yami to go. He drew a card and slipped it into the middle of his hand and thought about his move, than he mimicked her by placing on magic/trap card down with one monster face down. "I see you stick by your strategy, Yami-san, and it is very admirable." Strings stated as she drew a card.

"Oh?" he asked as Anzu began a cheering routine that made both duelists shiver.

"You, unlike many duelist, do not go into the duel with guns blazing. You are cautious and patient, much like a chess player, until you get a feel for your opponet's own strategy." The Gothic teenager pointed out as she played the card she drew in attack mode, causing the card to appear beside the face down defense card and a hideous green work with gold segment breakers and an eye for a tongue and red spines appeared— the Worm Drake, attack 1400 and defense 1500. "Regal and honorable in your ways, rarely reckless and always collected." She mused as the fingers of her free hand twitched while she waved for him to go, watching with a smile as he drew a card and tucked it into the side of his hand.

"I would have to say the same from you. Besides my Hikari, you duel like a refined lady with your cool control and calculated moves." He remarked placing another card face down in defense mode as she giggled and brought a hand up to cover her smile. "Your turn, dear lady." He said as she brought her hand down and drew a card.

"I will switch my defense card to attack." Strings declared as she switched it and the illusion appeared above the switched card, in the form of a nearly human looking glob called Humanoid Slim, attack 800 and defense 2000. "Now I will use Polymerization to summon the Humanoid Worm Drake in attack mode." She proudly stated as both cards disappeared and the creature that appeared from the Fusion Deck look like the brother of the Curse of Dragon or even something from a sci-fi movie, with its bluish silver and the body was worm like and its attack of 2200 and defense of 2000. "Than I activate my face down card, Quick Attack." She stated as the creature went to attack.

"I activate my own face down spell card— De-Fusion." Yami stated as his card flipped up and the fusion monster split into its two base monsters and Strings ended her turn with a sigh.

"Well played." She remarked with a nod as Yami drew a card.

"I switch one card to attack mode." He stated as the first card switched and Gazelle the King of Mystical Beasts appeared in his primal glory, with an attack of 1500 and defense of 1200. "Attack her Humanoid Slime." He ordered as the beast darted forward and took the aqua creature out with a swipe, taking her life points from 5000 to 4300. "Before I end my turn I will tribute Gazelle and my face down card to summon one card in defense mode." He stated as the two cards were moved and he put the one card face down.

"Kick her ass, Yami-kun!" Anzu stated as she jumped up and down like a cheerleader as Yami turned and glared at her, but she did not stop.

"It would be nice if you stayed silent, you are embarrassing me with your lack of manners." He snapped as she pouted and he turned back to Strings. "I would apologize, but we are not associated with another in any way." He added as Strings shrugged and drew a card.

"Tis fine." She stated waving the hand that held her drawn card before she put that card face-down in defense mode. "I am used to such people, they are freakishly common in society." That was said in a bored tone as he chuckled. Yami knew that he had found a friend, if not a possible kindred spirit, that he would not mind introducing to Yugi himself. "Now I play Jam Breeding Machine." She declared and pulled another card from her hand and slipped it into a slot as a large, semi-circular machine with yellow metal plates forming an edging around the open places and the segments and a round opening at the top. "It will produce a slim token during each of my stand-by phases, if you are unfamiliar with it." She noted as it spat out a glob that turned into a Slime token (attack 500/defense 500), which was in attack mode on her side of the field.

"That is a risk you are taking, all things considered." Yami commented as he drew a card.

"Why does that matter? Kick her ass!" Anzu stated as Yami ignored her and drew a card while Strings titled her head to the side and glared at the annoying brunette.

"You are very shallow and a bit delusional, as well." Strings stated coldly as Anzu glared at the goth and stormed halfway across the 'playing field' with her hands at her sides and in fists. "Do not get into something you cannot finish, I will not be as kind as your other opponents." The goth continued, eyes narrowed and teeth bared a bit as she lifted her head up with a superior look on her face.

"Can you both save the cat fight till later?" Yami drawled out as Strings blushed in embarrassment, having let her emotions out a bit too far while Anzu tried to look cute, but he just stared them both down with a neutral look. "First I will I switch my defense card to attack mode." He stated switching the card as rather intimidating knight in purple armor with gold accents appeared with a large sword in hand, the Buster Blader with his attack points of 2600 and defense of 2300. "Than I will summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in attack mode." He continued putting that card down as the yellow, round bodied warrior with magnets for ears and fingers appeared (attack 1700, defense 1600). "Now, Buster Blader attack Drake Worm!" he declared as the pusedo-knight took one step and made a sharp, downward slash with its massive sword and the worm was gone, as was 1200 life points bringing Strings down to 3100. "Beta, attack her Slime Token!" he added as the Magnet Warrior went to do so.

"I activate Jam Defender." His opponet calmly stated as she put the card into its proper place, causing Revival Jam to move between the token and the attack. The aqua creature was destroyed as the goth sighed. "Now I sacrifice 1000 life points to activate Revival Jams effect." She added as her life points dropped to 2100 and Revival Jam appeared on the field, again, in defense mode.

"Ouch." He stated as she looked resigned to what she was doing. "Didn't expect that." He added as she shrugged.

"If I had kept my original deck, things would be easier." She admitted as he nodded and she drew a card, her face suddenly lighting up in a true smile. "Seeing I have no other means of guarding my tokens and the fact that I have yet to draw the needed card, I play Nightmare Steelcage." She cheerfully stated slipping the card into the proper slot and a steel cage materialized around a surprised Yami. "This makes sure you can't do anything for two of your turns!" now she was bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, another Slim Token being spat from the machine and landing by its counterpart.

"Okay." He muttered and drew a card as Anzu began whining again. "Go ahead, I've got nothing." He remarked as she drew a card and groaned and forgone her own turn as well as a third token was spat out.

"I knew I should have gone searching for the four-leaf clover this morning!" Strings whined as Yami drew a card and than placed it face down, the card appearing behind his two monsters as he than played a third in defense mode. He ended his turn as the cage disappeared.

"Troubles?" he asked as she drew a card and looked ready to scream.

"Yes." She muttered and put down a trap card, the Swords of Revealing Light, causing a row of white energy swords to separate the field into two halves and revealed his face down card to be Kuriboh. Than she played Pot of Greed, drawing two extra cards from her deck, and letting out a frustrated sound before ending her turn with a fourth Slime Token on the field.

"No luck?" he asked drawing a card as she shrugged. "Well, I hate to break up your chances but… I play Dark Hole." He stated smugly and put the trap card in place, watching as a swirling black hole appeared in the center of the field, sucking in all the monsters while Strings groaned with the lose of her entire tribute line but the Jam Breeding Machine was still present so all was not lost.

"It really bites because you still have all of your life points!" the goth whined as Yami shrugged.

"Pure luck." He admitted, spreading his hands out in front of him. With a laugh he looked at his hand again and than put a card face down in defense mode, ending his turn. Strings sighed and drew a card, whimpered, and placed her own card face down in defense mode before ending her turn, a Slime Token was spat out and Yami drew a card and laid that in defense mode and ended his turn.

"Do something!" Anzu shrieked, reminding them that she was still there.

"Did you hear something?" Strings asked as Yami shrugged.

"Not really." He answered as the goth drew a card twitched and put that face down and a card appeared by the Jam Breeding Machine and she ended her turn, a third Slime Token being produced. Yami drew a card and laughed. "I tribute both of my face down cards to summon this card in defense mode and end my turn." He stated putting the card down after moving the previous cards to the card graveyard. He ended his turn as the Swords of Revealing Light faded away and Strings drew a card and looked ready to cry.

"I forfeit." She declared as Yami stood straight up. "You summoned a high level card, I have no defenses, and you will take me out in one attack. It would be best to forfeit." She reasoned holding her hand over her deck as Yami just stared at her in shock while Anzu cheered for his win.

"That's a first." He commented as they both walked forward and shook hands. "You dueled well, minus the run of bad luck." He remarked as she sighed and pulled her deck from the slot and turned it over and began to laugh as he looked at her oddly.

"I would have still lost!" she declared and showed him why, Osiris the Heaven Dragon was on the bottom of the deck! He laughed at that stroke of luck, for him at least, as she shook her head and offered it to him. "You won it fair and square." She stated as he reluctantly took it from her and slipped it on top of his deck, vowing to shuffle it when he had the chance.

"Now, I believe I owe you an introduction to my Hikari." Yami stated as both of Strings's eyebrows went up in surprise. "I believe you both will get along rather well and I did promise…"

"Hikari?" Strings asked as he nodded.

"My pet name for her, since we are engaged." He admitted as the girl was now starry-eyed with hands clasped in front of her.

"Before anything, can you do one thing for me?" the goth girl asked, grabbing his wrist as he looked curious. "Can you bring your arm up like this while holding your jacket?" she asked bringing her right arm up in front of her mouth with her first touching her shoulder. Yami frowned but grabbed the edge of his coat and mimicked her and she laughed, clapping her hands together. "If only it was a tiny bit longer you would make the perfect Bela Lugosi vampire!" she added as he let his arm drop and stared at her in question.

"Bela who?" he asked as she reached out and patted his shoulder, ignoring the fuming brunette behind them.

"Don't worry about it, if Motou-san does not know than I will educate you both." She stated with a smile as they both set off again. "So, how did you both meet?" she asked clasping her hands in front of her like a lady while Anzu trailing like a lost puppy. Yami could not help but laugh as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, amused by the fact that as soon as she asked the first question she continued to rattled off more and more questions. The duel may have been a severe let down at the end, but he knew that the entertainment that Strings would bring to the group would last longer.

A/N:I know, and it has been pointed out to me, that the Strings versus Yami duel is anti-climatic... but be realistic! Not all duelist are that lucky! Marcy be, how can a person draw the cards they need in the right time all the time? Selling said soul to the devil is out, so figured this would be the best time to have a few losing duels. To be honest, this will happen at least once or twice more to set up for the end (it is my only regret that I did not have that happen in Duelist Kingdom, minus Yugi's forfeit). Changed hte duel a tad bit and, even if no one has complained about my duels, I do look up the cards and try to fix some of the original series mistakes. On that... yes, I know Strings is male in the anime but there is not enough female characters and I needed a third person in there for the Senior Projects.

To your comment, Rocky Oberlin, Nepha is a very twisted character and a bit of her history will come out in the end of Battle City.

On that note, the poll was up to seven people last I seen and will be up till... around September 3. By that point I should be nearly ready to start posting again (since there is an interlude to this chapter that will be up on Wednesday).