Shadgirl2: After over 2 years, I've finally got something ready for this story! Sorry, there's been a lot going on lately.

Midna: Rest assured, though, this story hasn't been abandoned. Also, Misadventures in Kalmar should be ready for another update soon.

Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.

Judai and Asuka didn't have any luck finding Ed or Saiou that day. Fortunately, they did have a couple of allies who were aware that these two were suspicious. And these two allies just so happened to run into Ed and his partner.

"Hey. Look, partner," Manjoume said to Fuyuko, pointing at the two. "Isn't that Ed Phoenix heading toward the cliffs?"

Sure enough, it was Ed, wearing his usual white suit. There weren't many duelists that Fuyuko knew who dressed like that and had gray hair. And his partner was a wealthy-looking young man with short purple hair who was also wearing white. Fuyuko believed he recognized him, too—the crown prince of the kingdom of Misgarth.

"Why, yes, it is..." Fuyuko answered. "Hmm..."

While Fuyuko contemplated the idea of talking to them about Saiou and the Society of Light, Manjoume called, "Yo, Phoenix! Come here a minute!"

Ed turned around, saying, "Hm? Someone call me?"

"Yeah! I did! Get over here already! We've got some questions for ya!"

Ed turned away again. "Sorry. I don't do autographs," he said before starting off.

Right, unless it's been scheduled into your day, Fuyuko thought with some amusement. "We don't want one. We've got some questions for you."

"Just go play your games, Pro League reject," Ed said to him, still walking away.

Irritating, as usual.

Fuyuko was only a part-time duelist. His real job was top secret, even hidden from his own family. With that in mind—along with the fact that this job had him traveling a lot—he had a cover-up career as a Pro League duelist. His manager was a co-worker, who only booked him for events in areas where he was needed for his real job. As a result of this and the fact that his real job often required going off the radar for awhile, he wasn't often seen in the Pro Leagues. Ed seemed to take this to mean that he was always getting bumped down to lower dueling circuits.

Typical Ed. Thinks I'm a lousy duelist because I don't stick around for long, Fuyuko thought. Not taking that for an answer, Fuyuko darted forward, blocking Ed's path so quickly that Ed stopped, startled at the sudden appearance of a man in his path. "Then how about we duel? If we win, you let us ask you some questions," he said. And, if we lose, I'll use that compassion I know he has against him.

Ed just stared at him, seemingly too stunned for words. "How'd you—"

Manjoume seemed caught off-guard as well. He looked from where Fuyuko was previously standing to where he was now and back again, his eyes wide. "Good question..."

Ed's partner chose this moment to say, "I'm sorry, sir. Is there a problem here? Or do you just really want your butt kicked by my partner and me?"

"We only have a few questions for your partner, but, if you'd rather duel first, your highness," Fuyuko said, adding a bow for politeness, "then I would be happy to oblige."

Ed sighed. "Alright, fine. If you guys will leave us alone afterwards, then we'll do as you ask, okay? But only if you beat us in a duel first."

Manjoume walked over, still stunned. In Fuyuko's opinion, he looked like an idiot just then.

"In that case, we accept," Fuyuko said. "This is Jun Manjoume, and you clearly already know me, Ed." Though what you know is basically nothing.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Prince Ojin of the Misgarth kingdom."

Manjoume gaped, looking even more foolish. "P-p-prince!?"

"Alright, then," Ed said, activating his duel disk. "If we're gonna duel, let's do it, already. I've got more important things to do."

Prince Ojin activated his duel disk as well, but Manjoume just stood there, still gaping. "We're ready when you are," Ojin said.

Fuyuko looked at his partner and said, "Manjoume. Focus, or I will steal your girlfriend."

"R-right!" Manjoume said, activating his duel disk.

Fuyuko followed suit, muttering, "Really, I called him 'your highness.' You'd think that would have been a hint."

"You ready!?" Ed called. "Here goes!"

"DUEL!"

Manjoume and Fuyuko: 8000
Ed and Ojin: 8000

"Okay. Time to impress a prince! Ready, partner!?" Manjoume asked, giving Fuyuko a serious look.

"Ready!" Fuyuko answered.

"Here goes!" Manjoume drew his card, taking the first turn. "Okay! First I'll summon my Armed Dragon LV3!" (Atk 1200)

As Manjoume played the card on his duel disk, a small orange dragon with gray plating and yellow eyes appeared on his field.

"Then I'll use this Level Up card to turn it into a LV5 dragon instead!" (Atk 2400)

A quick search of his deck led to Manjoume sacrificing the small dragon for its bigger and stronger form, a red dragon with black plating covered in spikes.

Ed wasn't impressed. He crossed his arms and said, "Oh. A power deck, huh? Typical for an amateur." He closed his eyes, grinning.

Manjoume glared at him, insulted by that remark. "Amateur!? Hey, I'm tops in my class, ya jerk! And I'll prove it to you soon enough! I play one card face down and end my turn! Come on! Let's see what 'big move' a pro's capable of!" he finished, heavy on the sarcasm. The duel's barely even started, and he's already insulting my deck!

Ed opened his eyes, looking serious. He glared at Manjoume. "Very well! I will! This duel was decided before it even began!" He drew his card and stared at it for a moment. Then, looking serious, he looked up at Manjoume and said, "So you think a powerful monster is all you need to win a duel? Well, what if that monster wasn't there to defend you?"

Manjoume raised an eyebrow, looking a bit concerned. "What are you babbling about?" His eyes widened, and he leaned forward slightly as he started, "You don't mean—"

"You're not as dumb as you look! I summon my Destiny Hero Doom Lord!" (Atk 600)

A humanoid monster appeared, wearing black armor and a tattered red cape. Its hands were equipped with claws as long as its forearms.

Manjoume's eyes widened in surprise. He had heard about Elemental Heroes, but they were the only kind of Hero monsters that existed, as far as he knew. "Destiny Hero!? There's no such thing!" He glared at Ed.

Fuyuko crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "New deck, Ed?"

Ed's tough expression didn't waver. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "Wrong. Both of you! There is such a card, and I've had it for years! The Destiny Heroes are a special deck that was made by my father. They're one of a kind. And far superior to any Hero monster out there!"

It was Manjoume's turn to not be impressed. He gave a lame and annoyed look to go with his sarcastic response. "Well, gee. It sure looks tougher than the E-Heroes." He glared at Ed again, continuing with a wave of his arm, "What kind of an idiot do you take me for!? That thing's weaker than Bubbleman, even!"

Ed narrowed his eyes again, then gestured dramatically to his Destiny Hero. "Oh, is it? Then tell me. Can a Bubbleman monster do this!? I activate my monster's effect! It can send your dragon two turns into the future!"

Manjoume's eyes widened. "What!?"

Doom Lord charged at the dragon, holding up one clawed hand, and the dragon roared as it was removed, sent into the future by Doom Lord.

Manjoume's eyes widened more. That was unexpected. "No! My Armed Dragon is—"

Ed grinned, crossing his arms. "Relax. You'll get it back. In two turns' time, that is." He closed his eyes and laughed at his taunt. Opening his eyes, he finished, "I play two cards face down. Your move, reject." He grinned at Fuyuko.

"Reject..." Fuyuko said, narrowing his eyes in annoyance as he drew his card. "That insult does get tiresome after awhile."

Ed held out an arm, stopping Fuyuko, saying, "Well, that's too bad for you! Because I'm about to show you how a real pro duels! Reverse card, open! Ultimate offering! Now, even if you destroy my monster, I'll get another one out easily." He grinned, looking rather arrogant.

Fuyuko narrowed his eyes, his knowledge of the prince's deck giving him a good idea of what that card was for. Oh, how he wanted to wipe that arrogant look off Ed's face. But his turn certainly wouldn't be doing that. Taking a card from his hand, he said, "I play a monster in defense mode and one card face down. Turn end."

The two cards appeared on his field, effectively "proving" how weak he was.

Ojin grinned, though he didn't look quite as cocky as Ed. "That's all? It's my turn, then! I draw!" He stared at his card, a dark expression on his face, before calmly speaking, his tone indicating their doom. "And now, my friends, this duel has come to an end." His attitude turned serious as he said, "I activate Snatch Steal! And take Ed's Doom Lord as a sacrifice for my Satellite Cannon!" (Atk 0)

A satellite appeared above them, the cannon in question aimed at Manjoume and Fuyuko.

Manjoume braced himself. "Here it comes, Fuyuko!"

"I know."

Ojin laughed. "Aw, how cute. So you both know what's coming next. I activate my spell card, Machine Duplication! Now I can search my deck for two more satellites. Since the original has far less than 500 attack points, that is."

Two more satellites appeared, identical to the first. Manjoume narrowed his eyes, tensing up even more.

"Then I play the spell card Charge! Twice over!"

Manjoume's eyes widened. "Say wha!?"

Fuyuko's stoicism didn't waver in the least. He simply observed, "As expected of your One-Turn Kill deck, your highness."

Ed grinned, as if this duel were in the bag, his arms crossed again. "Heh. Told you both the duel was decided before it began! Thanks to our Charge cards, those satellites all get 4000 attack points on the spot! Since one card is worth 2000 points, that is." He closed his eyes as he finished, that smug look still on his face.

"Right," Ojin agreed. "And, thanks to our Doom Lord's effect, your only defense is one face-down monster. This duel is over."

Manjoume braced himself, narrowing his eyes. "Tch!"

Fuyuko gave an icy smile worthy of his name. "Is that a fact?"

Smiling, Ojin answered, "Of course. I've still got one last card to play! Quick attack! This lets me attack on my first turn! Now, go! Satellite one attacks your face-down monster!"

The first satellite started charging up an attack.

Looking serious, Manjoume stepped forward slightly. "Now!"

Ojin's eyes widened in surprise. "What!?"

"Reverse card, open! Weathered Ruins! I'm blowing up your attacking cannon! Weathered Ruins normally destroys the toughest monster out, but, since all three have the same attack strength, I get to choose the target!"

Both Manjoume's opponents looked too shocked for words, staring with wide eyes. "I can't believe you—" Ojin started before his satellite was destroyed. The prince glared at the opposition, seemingly getting more into things. He growled. "You think that's enough to stop me!? Satellite two, finish what the first one started!"

Manjoume eyed Fuyuko expectantly as the second satellite charged.

Fuyuko pushed a button on his duel disk, saying, "Trap, activate! Ice Barrier! This negates your attack, reduces your monster's attack to 0, negates its effect, and prevents it from switching battle modes."

Ojin's eyes widened even more than before, and he moved back a bit, shocked. "You wha—!?"

"Yes!" Manjoume exclaimed.

The second Satellite Cannon stopped its attack, and its attack went back down to 0.

Ed was just staring, his eyes wide. "Y-you just—" He cut himself off.

Fuyuko smirked, crossing his arms. "Not bad for a team made up of a pro league reject and a student, huh?"

Manjoume mimicked Fuyuko's look, although his was more smug.

Ojin recovered quickly, looking disappointed. "Quite. Fine move, Fuyuko," he said, then he smiled at the other duelist.

Manjoume gave his partner a thumbs up and a grin. Their plan to counter the one-turn kill had worked!

Fuyuko returned Manjoume's gesture with a smile, then turned to Ojin and bowed as he said, "Thank you, Prince."

Hmm. If I attack again, my satellite will lose all of its power and deal no damage for it. That's too big of a risk for now. I'd better leave it at this, Ojin thought. "Well, since my monster can't deal you gentlemen any damage this turn, I choose to end my turn without attacking a third time. But don't think just because my satellite has 0 attack points that you can destroy it next turn. Because it cannot be beaten by anything less than a level 8 monster, and the odds of that are slim to none."

"Hmph. Yeah. I know." Manjoume eyed Fuyuko's hand curiously.

Fuyuko looked at him, smiling slightly—a silent answer as to what was there. Manjoume nodded, readying a plan.

Ojin smiled politely at the two and said, "Your move, Manjoume. And, with that, my cannon gets another 1000 attack points. Well, the one that still works, at any rate."

The third Satellite Cannon's attack rose to 5000.

Manjoume scowled at the overpowered thing. "Well, that's just great. We need to take out that cannon ASAP." He looked at his hand and gritted his teeth in frustration. "Because I can't do anything against it!" He turned his head slightly to glance at Fuyuko, concerned.

"Do what you have to," Fuyuko said.

"Well, okay. But you better have a plan!" Manjoume said before drawing his card.

Ed was still staring at his opponents, his eyes wide. "I-I can't believe you two outmatched our one-turn kill combo... H-how did you—"

Manjoume smirked. "Hmph. It's simple. We knew all about your decks and prepared a little strategy for facing them moments before our duel began! That's how good our teamwork is. Right, partner?" He turned his smirk on his partner.

"Right," Fuyuko said, smirking as well. "Besides that, Ed, the Pro League's too dull for me. I like a little more...excitement. I'm no reject."

Ed just stared, stunned.

Manjoume put his game face back on, saying, "Right! For example, before I even shuffled my deck, I stuck some new cards into it! Like this one, for example! Graceful Charity! With this, I draw three cards and discard two! Now I play one more discarding card, Card Destruction! Everyone who has a hand, please discard them now."

Ed scowled. "Ugh. Deck destruction, huh?" He tossed his hand into the grave and drew new cards.

Fuyuko did so as well without complaint.

Ojin's eyes widened in surprise. "W-wait a moment! Does that not hurt your partner as well?"

Manjoume smirked again as he drew his new hand. "No." He gave his hand a smug look as he said, "Not after I do this, that—" He cut himself off, eyes widening in horror, and stammered, "W-w-wait a minute!" He stared intently at one of his cards, trembling suddenly. "What's this one card in my hand!?"

Fuyuko sighed. Not again...

Ojin looked somewhat concerned. He raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Something wrong?"

Ed closed his eyes and grinned, his arms crossed again. "Heh. Just another amateur card, Ojin. No need for alarm."

Manjoume, meanwhile, was now also glaring at his card, gritting his teeth. Great Just what I needed! A weakling who can't do anything, right when a real monster would have helped! How does this keep happening!?

Ojama Yellow appeared on his head, looking down at him. He glanced up at it, glaring, a vein throbbing in his head. "Aw, Aniki. That's not nice. I am a real monster. Just not a very good one alone!"

Manjoume jerked his head up slightly, knocking the startled Ojama off as he snapped, "Ya got that right! Get away from me already!"

The Ojama cringed, screamed, and vanished with a puff of smoke. Manjoume closed his eyes, then gritted his teeth and growled, a vein still pulsing in his head.

Ed raised his eyebrow again, looking slightly disturbed but mostly amused. "Uh, is he talking to his cards? What kind of a weirdo did you team up with?"

Manjoume snapped, "Zip it!" as he glared at Ed.

Fuyuko looked at Manjoume, calm but serious. "Manjoume. Calm yourself. He's trying to get to you. Don't let him."

Responding to that, Manjoume instantly regained his composure, calming down. "Right." He pulled a card from his hand as he got serious again. "I play the spell card Soul Release! I'm gonna remove five of our monsters from play. Starting with my three monsters I just discarded!"

Ojin looked surprised again. Manjoume's moves were making no sense to him at all. "Hold up! Would that move be better suited for dealing with my satellite and Ed's Destiny Heroes? Why remove your own beasts?"

Ed was even less impressed than before. "'Cause his deck's a mismatched mess," he said, looking annoyed. If there was one thing Ed hated, it was amateurs. They were a serious waste of his time.

"Yeah, well, we'll see about that!" Manjoume countered. "I end the effect by removing two monsters from Fuyuko's graveyard as well!"

Checking his partner's grave, he removed two of his best cards—a high-level one to beat the satellite and a defensive monster with a useful effect.

Fuyuko raised an eyebrow, looking nothing more than curious. "Your plan?" he asked, trying to figure out what Manjoume was up to.

Manjoume was holding a single card and glaring at it in annoyance. "Well, it's not this, that's for sure!" He slapped the card face down on his field aggressively, then glanced at Fuyuko out of the corner of his eye with a confident grin. "But relax. All goes well, and this match is as good as ours."

"Alright," Fuyuko said, choosing to trust his partner.

Ed just looked at Manjoume lamely. "Heh. You're kidding. Why, I bet you don't even have a plan. You're a one-pointer, aren't you?"

Manjoume glared at him, gritting his teeth. "So what if I am!?"

Ed closed his eyes, looking disappointed. "And that's a yes." He reached for his deck, eyes still closed, sounding disappointed as he said, "Why would a real pro duelist ever join forces with academy trash? You're just not worth my time at all."

Insult delivered, he drew his card. Well, this could help a little later, but... He looked over at Manjoume, looking both bored and unsatisfied. "...At this point the Red gets his dragon back." He closed his eyes again and added, "Not that I'm worried, though. It probably won't last long anyway, so what's it matter?" He shook his head. This isn't even good enough for a practice duel. It looks like all they've got is one good move.

Armed Dragon LV5 reappeared on Manjoume's field as Manjoume glared at Ed. "Laugh it up! You'll see how good I am soon enough!"

Ed shrugged and said, "Whatever kiddo. We'll see who's right." He opened his eyes and took a card from his hand. "But, first, I think I'll summon my Fear Monger in attack mode! (1000) That should be just enough to take out either of you two, so I think I'll attack you first, One Point. Go get him!"

An armored monster appeared on Ed's field, and, as it moved to attack Manjoume's monster, he narrowed his eyes, tired of the insults. "First of all, I'm not a Red reject, and—"

"O-Ojama Yellow!?" Ed exclaimed.

Fear Monger had hit its target, revealing the little fairy monster in question.

Manjoume's eyes snapped to the field. He stared at the Hero that couldn't beat his 1000-defense Ojama, looking a bit startled. Ed's eyes were the size of pinheads, and he was sweating slightly.

Ojin mirrored Ed. "Huh!?"

Manjoume sweat. This is embarrassing... Even worse, it was proving Ed's point. Why did this idiot have to come out right now? Seriously, of all times! He's making me look bad!

Ojama Yellow just sat there nervously, barely blocking the attack with his matching defense.

Ed's eyes were the size of pinheads. "Ojin?" he asked, disturbed. "What is that doing in that guy's deck...? It's a—"

"Maybe he is an amateur after all..."

Fuyuko put a hand to his head. "That's all you had, isn't it?"

That made the other two's eyes bug out. "All!?" they both exclaimed.

Ed pointed a shaky finger at Manjoume, looking horrified. "Y-you mean there's more!? What kind of an idiot is your partner?"

Ojin looked just as horror struck as Ed.

"Look, if there's one thing I've learned from teaming up with him, it's that all cards have their uses, no matter the appearance. Just get on with your turn, Ed," Fuyuko said by way of answer.

Manjoume put on a brave face and glared at the two gawking fools. "Yeah! It stopped your attack this turn, didn't it?"

Ojama Yellow stopped trembling then and grinned, looking rather proud of himself. He looked touched as Manjoume continued, "Don't underestimate the power of the weak!" As the Ojama started to wiggle and laugh at the compliment, Manjoume glared at it and muttered, "Even if its timing was way off this duel."

Ed and Ojin gaped for a moment longer, just looking stunned now. After a second, Ed regained his composure, followed by Ojin.

"Fine," Ed said. "I play the field spell Clock Tower Prison. With this, I get a Clock Counter at the start of your turns, clowns. Get on with your turn so my partner can finish you off." Looking disgusted, he added in a mutter, "You're too embarrassing to be called 'duelists.'"

"Right," Manjoume said. "Speaking of... It's gotten stronger with Ed's turn's end." He narrowed his eyes, looking at the 6000-attack Satellite Cannon. He turned a worried look to Fuyuko.

"No problem," Fuyuko said, hiding any worries he may have had. He drew his card and looked at it.

Ed raised a finger, pointing up above his head and said, "And now my clock moves forward in time, too!"

The hands of the clock moved, indicating the existence of the Clock Counter.

Manjoume looked at the clock. "Hmm... That thing looks like trouble." He looked to Fuyuko again. "What do you think?"

Fuyuko smiled. "Thanks, Manjoume."

Manjoume raised an eyebrow. That wasn't an answer, after all.

"Your Card Destruction brought me closer to one of my favorite cards," he clarified.

Manjoume grinned and nodded, turning back to their opponents.

"First I switch my monster to attack position!" Fuyuko said, flipping his defensive monster. "Sacred Spirit of the Ice Barrier!" (Atk 1600)

An old man, dressed all in blue from head to toe, appeared on the field.

Fuyuko smiled and continued, taking the card he had just drawn, "And you're both about to witness the power of the Ice Barriers! I summon Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier!" (Atk 1700)

The female monster appeared, light purple hair in pigtails, wearing a red and black bodysuit with fur lining the waist.

"Tch. Two tough monsters," Ed said. He eyed Ojin's frozen satellite warily.

"It gets worse," Fuyuko said. "Ice Barrier monsters can't reveal their true power unless there's another Ice Barrier monster on my field. Since I have two, these guys can now use their effects! The first: Dance Princess. By revealing a number of Ice Barrier monsters in my hand, I can return the same number of spell and trap cards to my opponent's hand." He took a card from his hand, holding it up, and continued, "I reveal my Medium of the Ice Barrier to return your set card, Ed."

Ed started, his eyes wide. He hadn't seen that coming, especially from a guy like Fuyuko. "What!? You can't—"

Ed's face-down card vanished, though, and he took it from his duel disk, returning it to his hand.

Returning his Medium to his hand, Fuyuko said, "Now that that's out of the way, I'll attack your disabled Satellite Cannon, Prince Ojin! Dance Princess, Sacred Spirit! Attack!"

"Drat!" Ojin said as both monsters—neither being high enough level to destroy the Satellite Cannon—prepared their attacks.

The Dance Princess tossed one of her weapons into the cannon, while the Sacred Spirit fired a burst of ice at it.

Manjoume and Fuyuko: 8000
Ed and Ojin: 4700

Ed turned wide eyes to Ojin. That was intense. "Prince Ojin!"

Ojin recovered quickly from the blast. "I'm fine. But...that man is—" He glanced at Fuyuko, his expression serious.

Ed looked as well and said, "Yeah, no duh. He's a real duelist!"

"I play a card face down and end my turn," Fuyuko finished. "At this moment, my Sacred Spirit's effect activates. It's a spirit card, so, normally, it would return to my hand after a normal or flip summon. However, since there's another Ice Barrier on my field, his effect is redirected to one of your monsters!"

Ed's and Ojin's eyes both widened simultaneously. "What!?" They cast nervous glances at the Satellite Cannon with 6000 attack points, clenching their teeth.

Manjoume pumped a fist, smirking. "Oh, yeah! Get 'em, partner!"

"Your supercharged Satellite Cannon, Prince!" Fuyuko said, pointing at it. "Return it to your hand!"

Ojin took a step back, his eyes still wide. "This can't be! My satellite is—"

It vanished as it was returned to its owner's hand.

Ojin stared at Fuyuko, seemingly amazed. After a moment, he said, "You truly are good!"

"It's your turn, your highness," Fuyuko said, crossing his arms and smiling respectfully.

Ojin closed his eyes, smiling. "No doubt about it. You're a true duelist, Fuyuko. Your partner, however, has some growing up to do." He drew, looking a tad disappointed.

"Hey!" Manjoume protested with a glare.

Ojin looked at his card, then the field, slightly concerned. "Well. Since I cannot leave that worthless satellite out any longer, I think I'll sacrifice it to summon my other one back to the field."

The final Satellite Cannon in Ojin's deck reappeared, replacing the broken one.

"Then I'll play one card face down. It's your turn now, young duelist," he finished, giving Manjoume a respectful yet disappointed look.

Manjoume narrowed his eyes slightly. "Hmph. And, of course, that means that cannon goes up in attack, as well," he said as its attack strength rose to 1000.

Ojin just nodded politely, his arms crossed and a slight grin on his face.

"Tch." Mumbling, Manjoume said, "Creep." He drew his card.

Ed raised an arm to point towards the clock again. "I think it's about time we moved the destiny along again! Clock Counter two! Appear!"

As he said it, the hands of the clock moved again.

Ojin interrupted then again, saying, "That's not all! Your dragon is far from safe! I know it's risky, but a LV monster such as the rare Armed Dragons is well worth the risk to destroy! Trap card, activate! Ring of Destruction!" He held out a hand, activating the card.

Manjoume's eyes widened in shock. "What!? But your life's way lower than ours! That's suicide!"

"Perhaps. But it's better than the alternative, young duelist," Ojin said seriously. "With Ring of Destruction, your dragon is destroyed. And we all take damage equal to its attack points!"

"Argh!" Manjoume braced himself, covering his face with his left arm as the ring of grenades wrapped around his dragon's neck.

"Tch." Fuyuko braced himself, as well.

The ring exploded, taking out the dragon and knocking Manjoume back slightly.

Manjoume and Fuyuko: 5600
Ed and Ojin: 2300

Ed looked toward Ojin, looking a bit concerned. "Uh, your highness? With all due respect, was that really a good idea? Our life's pretty low now, isn't it?"

Ojin, arms crossed, didn't even glance at Ed as he answered, "I realize that, Ed. But that dragon could have destroyed my Satellite, had he used its effect. And then, if he attacked you with it, it would have evolved and gotten stronger. It was the only way to prevent such a tragedy."

Ed closed his eyes, shrugged, and gave a smug grin. "Heh. Whatever. Guy probably didn't know how to use the card anyway, but—"

Manjoume cut him off, glaring, a vein pulsing in his head. "Oh, so just because I made a strange move last turn, I'm too dumb to know my own card effects?" He clenched a fist, stepping forward slightly, as he continued, "Why, I oughta—"

Fuyuko gave Manjoume a stern glare. "Manjoume!" The ebony-haired duelist stopped, turning his glare toward his partner as Fuyuko continued, "If you get this worked up when you get insulted, you'll never survive the Pros. Calm down."

Manjoume stopped glaring and looked over his cards. "Yeah, yeah. Let's see here..." Then he started debating his move. No. Not yet. I might still need this later, he decided. He dropped his arms to his sides, much calmer now, and said, "I end my turn. This is good for now."

Fuyuko nodded. His trust in Manjoume was much higher when his partner was calm.

Ed and Ojin both leaned forward, shocked. "You WHA!?"

Ed looked like he had just walked into a horror film, raising a shaky hand to point at Manjoume. "Y-your partner's pathetic, Fuyuko!" He couldn't figure it out. How could anyone be this bad and still have a pro duelist for a partner!? He had to ask. "Why are you with him again!?"

Ojin's reaction was much more mild. "It's pity, right?" he asked, his eyes wide. He leaned forward slightly, looking a bit more anxious. "Right?"

"He's one of the best duelists in this school," Fuyuko answered, his arms crossed. Then, a lame look on his face, he shrugged and added, "Besides, it's better than teaming up with Natsuko."

Their opponents just gaped some more.

"The best, huh?" Ed asked, sounding almost too stunned to speak. Okay, if that's true, why is this school still open? All it's bringing up is a load of weaklings! I could train duelists better than this!

Manjoume pointed a finger at them, glaring fiercely. "Hey, quit underestimating me! This is what we real duelists call 'strategy.'" He crossed his arms. "Look it up. 'Cause you two ain't got any! I can tell."

Knocked back to his senses by the insult, Ed glared at Manjoume and said, "Yeah, sure, we don't. We would have been just fine if you two hadn't slipped through our one-turn kill!" He drew his card and glared at it, still mad about Manjoume's words.

Manjoume looked at Fuyuko and said, "Trust me. There's a method to the madness. Back me up, okay?"

Fuyuko looked at him a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Ed looked over his cards, annoyed. "Method to the madness. Yeah, right. Amateurs," he muttered. He pulled a card from his hand and said, "Enough nonsense! I summon Diamond Dude in attack mode!" (1400)

A white-haired man appeared, wearing a tattered green cape. Diamonds jutted out from all over his body.

Ed put a hand on his deck, saying, "Now I'll activate his effect! He lets me draw a card, and, if it's a normal spell card, I get to activate it next turn!"

Manjoume crossed his arms with a humph. "What are you? Psychic? That's the second fortune-telling card you've used!"

Ed glared at Manjoume. "Hmph. My deck is built around the power of destiny! Everything that comes out of it was destined from the start!" He drew a card, then turned it toward his opponents. "I drew The Warrior Returning Alive! So I send it to my graveyard, and its activation is already decided!" He inserted the card into his graveyard.

Manjoume turned away slightly, looking disgusted. "Geez. And this guy called me nuts! He sounds like he's in the Society of Light." His eyes widened as he realized what he said. "And he's wearing white, too..." Slowly, he turned back toward Ed, looking at him with suspicion.

When Manjoume mentioned the Society of Light, Ed and Ojin looked slightly startled.

Fuyuko crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Leave that up to Judai. Still, it would be best to be on our toes."

"What are you two talking about now?" Ed asked. "Do you know something about the Society of Light!?" He glared at Manjoume, determination on his face.

Startled, Ojin stepped back. Ed!

Manjoume pointed an accusing finger at Ed as he said, "Ah-ha! So you do know what's going on!"

Ed's glare turned to a look of indignation. "No, I don't! I just know something big's going on, and—"

Fuyuko smacked himself in the face, then glared at Manjoume, cutting Ed off. "Manjoume! I just said leave it up to Judai. For all we know, Ed knows less than us. It's difficult to run around this island dueling people without finding members, after all."

Both the accusers looked down for a moment. "True," they said.

Ojin looked from one to the other in concern.

Ed crossed his arms. "Fine. Whatever. We'll discuss this more after I beat you. Starting with ridding the field of that eyesore you call a monster, Manjoume! Diamond Dude! Attack!"

Ojama Yellow screamed and cringed as Diamond Dude attacked him. Manjoume just looked lame, eyeing Fuyuko out of the corner of his eye as if to tell him not to waste any cards on this monster. Fuyuko nodded, understanding, and the Ojama was destroyed.

"I play two cards face down. Turn end. Ojin?" Ed turned to his partner, saying, "Your satellite gets stronger now, don't forget."

Ojin nodded as his monster's attack strength rose to 2000.

Ed narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Manjoume. He knows something. He said he had questions for me, then accused me of knowing what was up. Saiou...what are you doing?

Manjoume narrowed his eyes at Ed, turning away slightly. No doubt about it! He knows something! Why else would he agree to talk willingly after this duel's end? Hang on, Judai. I'll get your answers soon enough!