(A/N: So after reviewing Battle City a little, I've seen that Yugi's duels are skewed as they come. Good gods with the Dark Magic Curtain the Jam Defender XD. That's not how that works! For the record, I AM axing the "special summons work for both sides" rule since, you know, that's going to be hard to remember. And, in case you haven't been paying attention, set magic cards can be used on your opponent's turn even if they're not quick-play. (Not sure how many of you are hardcore rules Nazis, but there you go).

So, in the spirit of keeping things fresh and LOGICAL—Gundham Vs Sonia not withstanding—Yugi defeated Arkana by discarding Kuriboh from his hand to block Arkana's direct attack and, on his next turn when Arkana attacked his face-down cards were free to be used allowing him to activate the trap card Magician's Circle, summoning the Dark Magician Girl. Same result, LOGICAL solution. Don't ask me how I'm supposed to correct Marik's: "Oh, I'm the one who attacked, but Jam Defender still activates to stop your monster." And OH GOD could Yami be any preachier about the heart of the cards. Good god even Gundham and Espa's duel wasn't THAT narmy XD. I guess I should thank my lucky stars I somehow missed these episodes growing up XD.

And speaking of keeping things fresh, let's get on with the show. I've got some interesting twists to the canon starting now. Consider the first 14 chapters a warm up. Let's go!)

Walking through Battle City, Kaiba and Mokuba stood in the alleyway where Hajime's duel disk had sprouted the Five Headed Dragon. Kaiba was busy looking around for any sign of Hajime Hinata.

"No sign of him, Seto," Mokuba said. "Medical's already fled the scene too."

"Paramedics were here?" Kaiba asked.

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah, you said you wanted to be informed if participants were injured or admitted to the hospital." Mokuba handed Kaiba a folder. "Here, I got a faxed copy of the medical records."

Kaiba flipped them open. "Edan Katsura, huh. Looks like a nobody."

"The hospital said he had a weird looking cloak and thought you should be informed of it. The picture's in the profile."

Kaiba took a look. "I see, so the Five-Headed Dragon was used against one of Marik's Rare Hunters."

"Two actually," Mokuba said. "According to Scott, three duel disks were fired up at the start of the duel."

"Three? That's a violation of the rules."

"Yeah, according to the records two Rare Hunters ganged up on this Hajime guy."

"Well, who would've guessed the owner of the Five-Headed Dragon would have more bravado and honor than the Big Five?" Kaiba asked, chuckling to himself. He then expressed his usual stoic stare. "Although, to be fair, that bar's set pretty low to start with. Did you get the profile I wanted?"

"Yup, check your computer. I e-mailed it to ya," Mokuba said.

Kaiba set his briefcase down on the bench—because sitting down was for peons—and opened his e-mail. Sure enough there was everything Mokuba and KaibaCorp could get on Hajime. "Hope's Peak Academy, huh? How interesting. Hmm? Reserve Course?"

"What's the reserve course?" Mokuba asked.

"Relatively recently, Hope's Peak opened its doors to normal students to pay their way to use a prestigious school. It was so they could have an on-hand comparison between talent students and their normal peers. Personally I think it's disgraceful, not the academy, but the students. Status isn't something you buy, it's something you earn."

"Heh, spoken like the well-respected head of KaibaCorp," Mokuba said arms behind his head, grinning.

Kaiba did a little more digging. "Hmm?"

"What's up?"

"Something doesn't add up here. Are you sure these are the tournaments and schools this Hajime has gone to? Same with his parents' current occupations?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The Reserve Course fee should be way too high for someone of his economic status, that's why." Based on his background, Kaiba could already profile the type of neighborhood Hajime lived in: Middle class, but borderline lower middle class. The very idea that he could afford Hope's Peak for its full three years was absurd given his financial status. No, forget the full tuition, Hajime's parents would've had to mortgage the house to get Hajime into that school. "Mokuba, do a little more digging, this time on Hajime's relations to Hope's Peak."

"Yeah, okay."

However, right that second, Kaiba's instant messenger on his computer started blaring. It was a direct facetime call from a Hope's Peak extension number. "That's odd. The school's supposed to be closed down for the day. Kaiba answered it regardless, plugging in a pair of headphones.

The darkened image—because the office lights weren't on—of a woman in a maid outfit with long, flowing orange hair appeared from the other end of the camera. "Is this thing on?" she asked.

"Huh?" Kaiba looked perplexed for a moment only to follow up with. "Wait a second, I know you. You were in the graduating class when I started attending last year."

"Oh wow, a big time CEO like you knows who I am," The woman said with a happy smile. "Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Chisa Yukizome: former Ultimate Housekeeper and currently a teacher at Hope's Peak Academy."

"Your office seems a bit dark," Kaiba scoffed.

"It's not my office," Yukizome responded.

"Oh?" Kaiba asked.

"I was the one who sent you that data on Hajime Hinata. You're not the only one, it seems, interested in that reserve course student."

"I doubt it's for the same reasons. He played a powerful rare card in a recent duel and next to interviewing him myself, I need to know more about him."

"Well then, perhaps we can help one another. You want answers and I want answers," Yukizome said.

"I'll listen, but I'm not agreeing to anything."

"The Steering Committee is hiding something about Hajime and I want to know what. Kyosuke and I have been investigating the underbelly of Hope's Peak ever since we first started attending here."

"Why am I not surprised that the Student Council President Kingpin of Steel wants a piece of the Steering Committee? For a representative of the student body, he could barely stay out of butting heads with the Headmaster."

Yukizome laughed. "Yeah, Kyouske did seem to butt heads with his superiors a lot. That's why he's trying to start the branch office to Hope's Peak with him as the head of everything."

"I hope he doesn't expect KaibaCorp's support right off the bat. I'm spending enough on this Hope's Peak as it is."

Yukizome laughed. She knew Kaiba was half-joking. "So, will you help?"

Kaiba nodded. "Mokuba, give her KaibaCorp's exclusive security clearance to Hope's Peak. That's about the best I can do without getting caught in a corporate scandal. Maybe you can find something we haven't since you're on site and all."

"I'll let you know if I find anything," Yukizome said as Mokuba e-mailed her KaibaCorp's codes off his cell phone. "Oh, and one more thing before I go."

"What's that?" Kaiba asked.

"C037AB360F9."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. He had the string of characters in his head and was curious what Yukizome was playing at. He even knew what the string of characters represented. He accessed his logs for duel disk serial numbers. Sure enough, the one Yukizome had given him was officially registered under her name.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I really did want to participate, but when you gave me this opportunity, well…priorities."

Kaiba didn't look happy. "If the authorities come cracking down on you, we never had this conversation. I will leave you hanging out to dry if you fail me, Chisa."

"No worries on that front," Yukizome said, saluting. "You can count on me, Kaiba."

"Hmph, if things work out, maybe I'll hire you for KaibaCorp's janitorial staff. Only the best for my company."

"We can discuss the details another time. I've got work to do and you've got a tournament to run. Bye-bye!" the video call ended.

Curious, Kaiba pulled up Yukizome's records of her duel when she obtained her duel disk. He blinked in astonishment. She didn't lose a single life point during her duel. Next to winning in a specific amount of turns, it was the highest score Chihiro's AI could record and it was on the second highest difficulty setting. Priorities indeed, Kaiba thought, disappointed that he was denied the chance to have such a prestigious duelist in his tournament.

Mokuba's phone then started vibrating and he picked up. "Mokuba here. Huh? Whoa, really? Yeah, I'll be sure to tell him."

"What's up?"

"Sweet Orchard was defeated."

"Well, well, that's unexpected," Kaiba stated. He had figured the only two people that could've defeated Sweet Orchard's challenge were himself and Yugi. He immediately began pulling up the records.

"There's more. Check out Duel Log 37."

Kaiba pulled up both, watching both Duel Logs at the same time, first between Andrew Karma and Nagito Komaeda and then between Makoto Naegi and Sweet Orchard. He paused when he saw the first turn victory obtained by Nagito Komaeda.

"Exodia!?" He checked the logs. Unlike Yugi's duel with Marik's Rare Hunter, Seeker, these were real. However, Kaiba noticed something odd. Huh? The code's a bit scrambled for the hologram rendering. Looks like nothing went wrong, but… Kaiba checked the code against a series of coding errors in the KaibaCorp hologram bug log. Card damage? How could the most powerful cards in the world not be taken care of in almost pristine condition? Now Kaiba had another name to keep track of: Nagito Komaeda.

He continued watching Makoto's duel and pulled up both his and Nagito's profiles. Nagito was a year younger than he was and was also a student at Hope's Peak. The Ultimate Lucky Student. Great, the most powerful cards in the entire game given to the worst person to possibly use them. No…it's okay, I have Obelisk. I'll wipe him out just like the rest.

Kaiba pulled up Makoto's records as he watched Makoto duel. So, he's the same age as Yugi. But he's got quite the luck streak. Kaiba pulled up Makoto's previous duel with Rex. Heh, so now I've got another dark horse creeping up on me. I really must thank Chihiro. This tournament's shaping up to be far more interesting than if I had only sent out invitations. A bunch of interesting duelists are coming out of the woodwork. But no matter how good they are, they aren't powerful enough to stop Obelisk and prevent me from claiming all three Egyptian God Cards!

Kaiba closed his computer and his briefcase along with it. "Let's go, Mokuba."

"Right behind you, big bro," Mokuba said, jogging after Kaiba as his big brother sauntered down the sidewalk.

"Marik's been laying pretty low for a while, don't you think?" Yugi asked his counterpart as the young boy walked through Battle City.

"Yes, whatever trap Marik's planning to throw at us, he seems in no hurry to spring it," The Pharaoh's transparent apparition responded.

"Maybe there are other things that are keeping him occupied," Yugi speculated.

"Maybe, but any schemes he could be cooking up can only mean trouble for us, Yugi. We must remain on our guard."

"Yeah," Yugi nodded, walking around and looking for The Quiet One, unaware of the bald mime keeping watch on his every move.

For Marik Ishtar, hopping from one mind slave to another was a simple matter. He could see through their eyes, direct their actions and even influence their five senses. So, when one of his Rare Hunters noticed Celestia Ludenburg make contact with Chiaki Nanami, his interest became piqued. After all, she was travelling with the boy carrying the Five Headed Dragon. This would give Marik a chance to see Chiaki's dueling skill and see the true power of his newest cohort.

"Chiaki Nanami, Hope's Peak Academy's Ultimate Gamer. Among those in the Underground few haven't heard of you, saying their defeat at your hand drove them away from the spotlight," Celeste said with a giggle.

Chiaki looked unhappy, arms folded.

"Chiaki would never do such a thing!" Hajime exclaimed.

"Excuse me, but who rattled your cage?" Celeste asked sharply.

"It's fine, Hajime, she's not entirely wrong," Chiaki said, remembering the past. "My talent, though I've used it for the sake of having fun…has driven others away."

"The winner is, Chiaki Nanami!" The host of a fighting game tournament declared.

"This can't be!" Chiaki's opponent screamed as heaps of praise were thrown on Chiaki's shoulders by the audience.

"Hey, did you hear about that guy?" Chiaki heard someone whisper as she arrived at middle school that morning. "Apparently ever since he lost to Chiaki, he's been doing some pretty shady stuff in the underground, but, it's just a rumor."

"I believe that takes out all of your life points."

"Did you hear about who's running that new underground gambling ring for Duel Monsters in eastern Tokyo?"

"I've always loved games, but the people I've beaten, to them winning was everything. They acted like I took away their skill, like some sort of vampire. Eliza was the first not to run away from me. She always challenged me, but she wasn't a big name. She wanted to improve. And me, I just coasted, playing games because I loved them." Chiaki began to blink up tears. "But…I never liked the fact that my gameplaying hurt people. Games are supposed to be fun. What does it matter whether I win or lose?" Chiaki snapped at Celeste.

"I'm sorry, but your distraught is going to fall on deaf ears," Celeste said, looking uncaring. "I didn't come here to drudge up old wounds. I came here looking for a challenge. I have four locator cards and I only need two more to reach the finals. I'll be relieving you of both of yours. So dry your tears and put your gamer's and dueling soul on the line because I don't hold back. As far as I'm concerned, Chiaki, you've done nothing wrong. No one should hold back their skill." Celeste glanced aside, pinching the metallic guard on her index finger, "If you coddle a foe, you never will know when a lion is disguised as a lamb. As long as you have your claws out, you can at least say you gave it your all. It is a fool who cannot take a defeat and learn from it. Take me from example, whether it's been roulette, poker, a survival game, concentration, duel monsters, or your precious video games, I can count my losses on one hand. However, I've learned from each of them and I always know when to fold. Only a fool lets his way of life be beaten and refuses to accept defeat. I can, it just doesn't happen often. So, I'll say it again," Celeste said as she unfolded her duel disk and let fly the hologram projectors. "Get your duel disk out and show me a true challenge. If you let your emotions get in the way of a proper duel because I hurt your feelings, I'll keep challenging you until you harden and give me a real show." Celeste swiped her arm across the air. "Are we clear on that?"

Chiaki stared at Celest wordlessly.

"Don't get me wrong," Celeste said, glancing aside. "I enjoy psychologically breaking a foe just as much as the next person to disrupt their thinking, but I only like doing that when the playing field begins even. It's not a gamble if you don't start on the same, even ground. No one will ever call Celestia Ludenburg, someone who took the safe path to victory."

Chiaki rubbed her eyes and did her best to will away the tears. "Well then," Chiaki said. "If it's a challenge you want, it's a challenge you're going to get!"

"Let's Duel!" Both shouted at the same time.

Celeste drew the top card of her deck. "To show you just the kind of duel you're in for, and to give you a change to stabilize yourself, I'll start us off. I summon Phantom Gryphon in attack mode." The powerful, 2000 attack point phantasmal beast appeared on the battlefield.

2000 attack points on the first move? Hajime questioned.

"It's your move, Chiaki," Celeste said.

"Very well," Chiaki said and reached for her deck. "Draw." She drew the top card off of it and placed it into her hand. "I set three cards face-down onto the field," Chiaki said as the cards appeared via hologram "And I'll also set one monster card in face-down defense position. It's your move," she told Celeste.

"Defending already?" Celeste asked. She smirked and chuckled to herself, fingers barely touching her lips, "But of course you are. My Phantom Gryphon is one of the strongest first turn monsters in all of Duel Monsters." Celeste then drew the top card from off of her deck. She played a spell card. "I activated Harpie's Feather Duster, which will remove the field of all your face-down cards."

"No it won't because I counter with my trap card, Magic Jammer!" Chiaki declared, flipping the trap card face-up. "By discarding one card from my hand," Chiaki said, sending said monster card to her graveyard, "Your spell card is voided of its effects."

Magic Jammer activated and the card of Harpie's Feather Duster began to short circuit and then exploded.

Hajime rubbed his brow in relief. "Phew."

Celeste chuckled. "Oh don't sound so relieved," she said to Hajime. "You don't honestly think I'm that scared of a few trap cards, do you? Harpie's Feather Duster has now relieved you of your counter trap, leaving you wide open for a powerful assault." Celeste played a spell card on the field. "I activate Change of Heart, letting me take control of your face-down monster!"

Hajime gasped as the hologram of Chiaki's face-down monster was switched to Celeste's side of the field. "Next, I sacrifice both of my face-down monsters to play the all-powerful Invader of Darkness!" Celeste slapped a cloaked being with a demonic looking hand onto the field. It had 2900 attack points. "Thanks to this monster's effect, quick-play spell type magic cards cannot be activated by you. And now, I attack you directly with Invader of Darkness!" Celeste declared.

"Activate trap!" Chiaki declared, flipping another card face-up. "Widespread Ruin!"

A powerful explosion detonated where Invader of Darkness had stood, destroying the monster and leaving Celeste wide-open. "Well-played," she complimented sincerely in spite of her frown and serious expression. She then plucked two cards from her hand. "I shall place two cards face-down and end my turn."

"My turn," Chiaki said. "I draw." She placed the card in her hand along with the only other card in said hand. "I summon my Bistro Butcher in attack position!" Chiaki declared, the fiendish, hook handed butcher appearing on the battlefield.

"Such a predictable move," Celeste stated, unimpressed. "I activate my two face-down cards: Ring of Destruction and Ring of Defense!"

A grenade-laden collar appeared on Bistro Butcher's neck.

"With Ring of Destruction your monster is destroyed and we lose life points equal to its attack, but with Ring of Defense, my life points are safe." Celeste smiled like a troll at Chiaki. "So sorry."

Bistro Butcher exploded and Chiaki's life points fell to 2200.

"I end my turn," Chiaki said, her expression unchanging from its usual calm, somewhat blank gaze.

Celeste chuckled to herself. "Very well," she said as she drew the top card of her deck. "I draw." She chuckled even louder this time. "Well now, since he was such a big hit the first time, let's bring out his twin brother." Celeste slapped a monster card onto the reader in attack position. "I play another Phantom Gryphon!"

The winged beast monster appeared with a loud screech.

"Phantom Gryphon!" Celeste declared, pointing at Chiaki. "Attack her life points directly!"

With a screech the big bird swooped in and scratched at Chiaki with its powerful claws knocking her on her backside, causing her to wince. Her life points fell to 200.

"Chiaki!" Hajime called out in alarm.

"Don't worry," Chiaki grunted as she pushed herself up to a standing position, "I'm fine."

Celeste chuckled. "You won't be soon. One more attack and you're finished."

"Don't be so sure," Chiaki said. "I don't stop dueling until I've officially lost the game!" she declared defiantly. "I draw!" Chiaki pulled the top card off of her deck. "I place a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn."

"Of course you do," Celeste said, unamused. "I draw." She smirked at the card she drew and played it. "I play Dark Elf in attack mode!" The blue haired, dark skinned elf appeared on the battlefield. "Sure, it costs 1000 life points to attack with it, but sometimes you have to take damage to give damage. And now, Phantom Gryphon, destroy her face-down monster!"

Phantom Gryphon swooped in and attacked Chiaki's face-down monster, revealing a ferret with a tail shaped like a snake sword.

"Fencing Fire Ferret's effect activates," Chiaki declared, "When its destroyed, I can select one of my opponent's monsters and destroy it and then my opponent takes 500 life points of damage."

A burning soul version of the destroyed ferret zoomed towards Celeste's Dark Elf and engulfed it in fire, sending it to the graveyard. Celeste's life points fell to 3500.

"A lucky move," Celeste stated. "But if you're expecting luck to hold out against a seasoned gambler, you're sorely mistaken. It's your turn."

Chiaki nodded. "I draw." She looked at the new card she drew. "I place one card face-down on the field," she said, playing it. "My turn is over."

"Then I'm afraid the duel is over," Celeste said and drew the top card of her deck. "Phantom Gryphon, wipe out the rest of her life points!"

"Activate my face-down card, Negate Attack!" Chiaki declared.

Celeste seemed displeased with this. "You're just delaying the inevitable." She placed a new monster onto the card reader. "I'll end my turn by summoning my last Phantom Gryphon." The winged beast appeared.

"My turn," Chiaki said and drew the top card of her deck. "I'll start by playing the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!" Celeste's Phantom Gryphons were frozen in place. She snarled. "And next, I'll place another card face-down," Chiaki said, emptying her hand. "That's the end of my turn."

"I draw," Celeste said. "I summon 7 Colored Fish to the field, in attack mode!" The rainbow colored trout appeared with 1800 attack points. "I end my turn."

"Then I'll draw," Chiaki said. "And I'll play the spell card Dian Keto the Cure Master!" an elderly woman holding a crystal orb appeared, sprinkling Chiaki with magic particles, increasing her life points back up to 1200.

"My turn then," Celeste said, since Chiaki had no cards in her hand. "And I'll sacrifice my 7 Colored Fish to play Phoenix Beast Gairuda!" A large, red bird appeared with 2500 attack points." Celeste chuckled. "I like to think of this move as an insurance policy. With such a strong monster on the field and only two chances to draw a card, I've assembled plenty of fire power to wipe you out. Go on and make your next move."

Chiaki drew her card and wordlessly placed it down on the field, nodding for Celeste to go.

Celeste drew the top card off of her deck. "I place Mystical Elf in defense mode." Now, just in case one of Chiaki's face-down cards happened to be a Mirror Force, she had a powerful defensive monster that would be unaffected by the trap card. "My turn is over, Chiaki, and you haven't played a single monster on the field, just a few face-downs. Truthfully, I'm disappointed. This duel will be over soon enough."

"Don't be so sure," Chiaki said. "I may not have played any monsters, but I've assembled all the cards I need to set my plan into motion!" She declared courageously. "Draw!" Chiaki pulled the top card off of her deck in a superfluous manner, holding the card stylishly between her index and middle finger. It was as if she knew instinctively that she had drawn the card necessary to complete her combo. "I play Card of Sanctity, forcing us both to draw until we're holding six cards."

"Hoping to draw a big play to save you? I suppose you're that desperate, hmm?"

"There are two cards in my deck that can save me now. I only have to draw one. And, if nothing else, I can delay the game with more life point gaining spells," Chiaki said.

"Well then, draw your six cards. You're dealing with a veteran gambler here. Make no mistake, I've closed the walls completely in on you," Celeste said behind the comfort of the defenses of her two Phantom Gryphons and her Phoenix Beast Gairuda. "Your Swords of Revealing Light only served to box you in."

Chiaki was decisively unimpressed with Celeste's commentary. "Are you finished gloating?"

Celeste looked confused.

"Um, my trap's already set. It's been set."

"What are you talking about?" Celeste asked, her face becoming more and more inquisitive.

"I activate my two face-down cards: Skull Invitation and Coffin Seller!" Chiaki declared, revealing her two face-downs. Skull Invitation would deal 300 damage to a player each time they sent a card to the card graveyard for each card and Coffin Seller dealt 300 damage to Chiaki's opponent whenever a monster of theirs was destroyed.

"And how do you plan to take advantage of those traps with no monsters on your side of the field. Even if you did summon one, you'd be shooting yourself in the foot thanks to my Phoenix Beast Gairuda."

"Not with this magic card I won't. I activate the spell card Monster Reborn!"

Celeste was still unimpressed. "Monster Reborn? Even if you bring back my Invader of Darkness, the strongest monster in the graveyard, you won't be able to deal enough damage to wipe out my entire field. You'd only do 900 damage destroying Phantom Gryphon plus an additional 600 from your trap cards. I'd still have 3500 life points left and you're going to be down to 900 simply for sending Monster Reborn to the graveyard!"

"It's true, Invader of Darkness is the strongest monster in the graveyard," Chiaki said matter of factly. "But, who said I was targeting any monster in your graveyard?"

"What?" Celeste asked flatly.

"Go! Monster Reborn! Return my Thunderclap Skywolf from the graveyard!"

A bolt of lightning struck the battlefield as, from below the ground, rose up a furry, dark blue wolf with lightning sparking from the inside of its jaws and its eye sockets. Chiaki's life points fell to 900 due to Skull Invitation's effect.

Celeste looked rather perplexed. "What trickery is this? I never sent that monster to the graveyard. I never even made you discard..." Her face went pale, "any...cards..." Celeste realized when and how Chiaki had discarded Thunderclap Skywolf to the graveyard. "Magic Jammer," she said softly, eyes wide with shock.

"Correct?"

"Then…you were planning this…from the start?" Celeste asked, still in shock.

"You could say that I guess," Chiaki said.

Celeste looked dumbfouned. This...can't be. I...Celestia Ludenburg have been...been...

"You've been out-gambled," Chiaki declared, taking the words right out of Celeste's mouth. "I activate Thunderclap Skywolf's special ability, allowing me to destroy every monster you control! Thunderclap Destruction!" Chiaki declared as her wolf howled to the sky, raining down bolts of lightning on each of Celeste's monsters, destroying them. "Now, Coffin Seller and Skull Invitation activate and you lose life points for every single monster I've sent to the graveyard, plus an additional 300 for Coffin Seller."

Celeste's life points fell all the way to 2000.

"So you managed to destroy all of my monsters. Big deal. I still have plenty of life points left and Thunderclap Skywolf can't attack this turn because you used its special ability."

"Next," Chiaki said, ignoring Celeste's rebuttal to her plan, "I place two cards face-down and one card face-down on the field." Chiaki was now holding only two cards in her hand.

"And now, I'll activate the spell card, Card Destruction, forcing us to discard our entire hands. I only have two cards, but you have…"

"Six," Celeste noted.

"Then you lose 1800 life points," Chiaki stated.

Skull Invitation activated, sending Celeste's life points straight into the gutter at a mere 200. Chiaki lost 300 life points for her Card Destruction and the card she discarded. She now had only 300 life points left.

Celeste began to chuckle as she looked at the scoreboard. "Oh you poor fool. How does it feel to come so close only to fail? You can't attack this turn and I've drawn precisely the card I need to destroy that eyesore of a wolf. And once he's gone whether battle damage gets inflicted or not, you will lose the duel by virtue of your own trap cards," Celeste stated.

"Then I guess it's a good thing there's not going to be a next turn," Chiaki said.

"What?" Celeste asked, agitated.

"I activate my face-down spell card, Red Medicine, increasing my life points by 500, though I'll lose 300 due to Coffin Seller," Chiaki stated as her life points readjusted themselves to 500. "And finally," she said, "I activate my last trap card, Cemetery Bomb! Now you lose 100 life points for every card in your graveyard and thanks to Card Destruction and Thunderclap Skywolf, you have plenty of them."

Celeste gasped. This wasn't happening.

"I suppose it might be a bit overkill, but then again I hadn't planned on drawing Card Destruction. I was lucky enough just to draw Card of Sanctity. It's too bad you didn't have more life points, that might've been more dramatic...I think."

Celeste now could only watch in horror as a blue ball of energy began to envelop the graveyard portion of her duel disk.

"Oh well," Chiaki said calmly and then declared loudly, "Cemetery Bomb, Detonate!"

The ball of energy in Celeste's graveyard began to grow and expand rapidly, "THIS! CAN'T! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Celeste shouted as the bomb went off in her face and knocked her to the ground.

"All right, Chiaki!" Hajime declared, ecstatic. He'd been watching the whole duel with baited breath, hoping for Chiaki to pull out a win and he was never happier to see a duel conclude in the favor of a friend.

Celeste lay on the ground for a bit longer, shocked out of her mind. She could not believe she lost. No, that wasn't accurate. She couldn't believe how she lost.

Chiaki, concerned for her opponent, squatted down next to her and poked her cheek with her index finger. "You okay?" she asked.

Celeste, not one to cause a scene more than she had to, quickly gathered her wits and her demeanor and promptly stood up with no assistance asked for or given by Chiaki. "I'm fine," Celeste said calmly, eyes closed. She put on her best poker face, not trying to show the disappointment of her defeat. She always tried to maintain the picture of grace even when at her worst. "You defeated me fair and square. I shall take this loss and learn from it." Celeste rummaged through her deck and handed Chiaki both her locator card and her best monster: Invader of Darkness. "I must say," Celeste said, fist by her lips, "You are quite the skilled duelist. I look forward to seeing how far you'll go." She interlocked her fingers and gave Chiaki a warm, but seemingly deceptive smile. "Au revoir, Chiaki Nanami. I hope to see you again in the finals."

Celeste then briskly walked away from Chiaki and turned down a street corner, vanishing from the view of Hajime and Chiaki. "So," Hajime said to Chiaki, a question on his lips. "Does that count as being in trouble?" Chiaki had mentioned that her previous opponent had been a complete amateur, so Hajime wanted her assessment of this duel to get a clearer understanding of Chiaki's thought process.

"Yes. She was quite skilled," Chiaki said. "I have no doubt she'll bounce back from her defeat and win enough locator cards to go to the finals." Chiaki looked at the three she had in her possession. "And I have some catching up to do to you, Hajime. You have four cards and I have three. So let's do our best to get to the finals together."

"Do you…really think we can both get to the finals?" Hajime asked.

Chiaki nodded. "I do. To be honest, I wasn't actually sure if you would get to the finals. I just wanted you to have fun today, so I asked you to come along with me, but after seeing you duel and defeat Marik's Rare Hunters…" Chiaki looked sentimental as she said the words, "after saving my life," she went back to looking cheerful, "I have no doubt that you can get to the finals, Hajime."

"I'd like that," Hajime said. "And, when I do, if I face you, Chiaki, do you promise to hold nothing back?"

"Of course, especially since you've made a lot of improvements to your deck since we last dueled. No, that's not accurate. Your deck hasn't changed much since we last dueled. All you were lack, Hajime, was confidence. You believe in your deck now and you just have to keep believing in it, just like I believed in my deck this duel."

Chiaki pulled her Thunderclap Skywolf rom her deck and looked at it. "I can always count on my Thunderclap Skywolf," she said.

"Is that your favorite card?" Hajime asked.

Chiaki nodded. She rubbed the back of her head, smiling embarrassingly, "The very first time I competed in a public tournament, my dad bought me this card. He said it was a gift because I was brave enough to participate in a tournament with so many adults, even though I was only ten-years-old. And I won…because I was able to play this card during the final duel. If it hadn't been in my deck, there's no way I could've won that duel."

"I guess we all have a card we show sentimental value towards," Hajime said and pulled out his Blackland Void Dragon.

"Your Blackland Void Dragon?" Chiaki asked.

"My parents would always buy me a booster pack for my birthday and for the holidays. Neither of them really understand the game all that well, but they know that I like it."

"So you got that card in one of those packs?" Chiaki asked.

Hajime shook his head. "My family isn't very financially stable. Almost all of my cards I've gotten either by trading, participating in local tournaments as giveaways or the few times I've won tournaments and all from booster packs. Buying powerful, single rare cards is expensive, you know?" He flipped the card around to look at it. "My parents never really understood the game, but my mom would drive me to the tournaments I participated in. And a couple of years ago, after I opened my birthday pack, disappointed yet again with the lack of good cards I got in it, my mom…handed me his."

Chiaki's mouth dropped open a little.

"She said she spoke with a couple of other parents and they understood the game a bit. The sales clerk at the card shop I frequented kind of understood how my deck worked and suggested this card. It was really expensive, but my mom said she had to get it for me, because she knew how much I loved the game and then she said Happy Birthday, Hajime."

"That's really sweet," Chiaki said.

"Yeah, sweet," Hajime said slightly sourly.

"What's the matter?"

Hajime sighed. "It's nothing. I just…remembered something bad that I don't want to share."

"Okay," Chiaki said. She and Hajime both put their decks away.

"So, is your dad watching the tournament?" Hajime asked. "Both of my parents are too busy, but they just told me to have a good time."

Chiaki pulled her hoodie up over her head. "Actually," she said, looking sad.

"Chiaki?"

"Sometimes my parents forget…that they even have a child. Gaming is in my family's blood. My dad and my mom both grew up with current and previous generation consoles and brought me up on it too, but sometimes, they get so involved in their activities that they forget to buy groceries or even pay the bills. I've gone without heat, air conditioning and even dinner because of my parent's neglect." Chiaki folded her arms and stared at the ground. "It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens enough that they aren't always around to be proud of my accomplishments. So that's why Thunderclap Skywolf is extra special to me because…it was a time…when my dad…paid attention to me. They aren't the best parents, but they're my parents and…and…"

Hajime gave Chiaki a warm, reassuring hug. "It's all right, I get it."

Chiaki briefly hugged Hajime bag and then pushed off from him before people saw them. "Thanks," she said. "You're a really good friend, Hajime."

"Only because you've been so good to me, Chiaki," Hajime said. An awkward pause permeated through the air.

"Well, we're not gonna get to the finals just standing around, let's go look for some opponents," Chiaki declared with gusto.

"Sounds good to me. You duel next," Hajime said. "You need to catch up."

"Sounds fair," Chiaki chuckled and the two friends headed off to find more duelists so that they could get enough locator cards for them both to get into the finals.

Simultaneously, headed in the opposite direction of the two Hope's Peak students, Celeste walked upright, trying to clear her head of her defeat. Unfortunately, Marik wouldn't let it go and used one of his mind slaves to call out to her from a dark alley.

"That was a pathetic display, Celestia Ludenburg," Marik taunted. "How do you intend to beat Joey Wheeler with that kind of ability?"

Celeste turned towards Marik's mind slave and simply said, "I'd like to see you do better," she chastised. "Chiaki Nanami is a strong duelist. But, of course, you already knew that."

"If it were me, I would crush her, easily!" Marik declared. "You're not sparking confidence in me to meet you in person, Celestia Ludenburg."

"Then watch me," Celeste said, turning away from the mind slave and giving it an evil eye. "I'll show you that I'm not all talk. Joey Wheeler is going down," she said and then walked off with her head held high, eager to find duelist kingdom finalist and, purely for her own selfish desires, duel him into submission. For she was Celestia Ludenburg, the greatest teenage gambler in all of Japan.

(A/N: Aaaaaand scene. Good stuff all around and a fine duel to return to on. And for those of you that read my Danganronpa fanfic, One Year Ahead, One Mile Behind, that stuff Chiaki said about her parents neglect is canon for my headcanon across all iterations of the character. I actually did want Hajime to ask Chiaki if she's all right given the stuff Celeste said about Chiaki's background, but the conversation wound up taking a different turn and I couldn't re-railroad back to where I wanted. Also I'm short on time. Oh well. Next chapter, prepare for a clash of egos. Byakuya Togami will enter the on-screen dueling scene. But who will be his chosen opponent? Who could stand up to the heir to the Togami name? Guess you'll have to wait and see. And until then, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)