(A/N: If last chapter was the soup and salad, this chapter is your meat and potatoes. What do I mean by that? Figure that out for yourself XD)

The next day, Makoto Naegi was dressed and ready for a new day. He was a little later than usual as he left his dorm room to head for class. However, he still had plenty of time. Still, it seemed that even after two months in this school, it still took some getting used to.

As he rounded the corner to the main path and up to the double doors, he saw Seto Kaiba leaving the building. He gaped, surprised at first, only to remind himself, Oh yeah. Kaiba attends Hope's Peak, doesn't he?

Kaiba happened to spot Makoto and walked straight up to him.

He's walking straight towards me, Makoto thought, getting nervous.

"Naegi," Kaiba said, standing before him.

"O-oh. H-hey, K-Kaiba," Makoto stuttered, inadvertently trembling.

"I never thought I'd see you on Hope's Peak grounds. But if you're looking for the reserve course, you're in the wrong section of the school."

"Huh? N-no. I'm uh…" Makoto chuckled nervously. "I'm in Class 78. I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student."

Kaiba's gaze narrowed, but in a way that made him seem intrigued. He then broke out into a self-satisfied smirk. "Heh, you don't say. Well then, Mr. Lucky Student, today's your lucky day. You've saved me quite a bit of trouble by appearing before me." Kaiba pulled out an envelope from the inside of his coat and handed it to Makoto. It was addressed to him directly. Not only that, it had the Kaiba Corp's logo on it.

"Wha…that's for me?" Makoto asked, receiving the envelope from Kaiba.

"I did say that the next time I hosted a tournament that you would get a personal invite," Kaiba said.

"You mean…this is…" Makoto excitedly tore open the envelope.

Inside was a card that simply said: "Makoto Naegi, you are cordially invited to take part in the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix." Then it gave the date and time with details on the back.

"Whoa," Makoto felt breathless. This was truly an honor, a chance to stand on another glorious stage. "Kaiba, I don't know what to say."

"Do you accept?" Kaiba asked.

"Of course I accept! I'll be there!" Makoto exclaimed. He smiled at Kaiba. "Count on it!"

"Good. I look forward to seeing you compete," Kaiba said and then proceeded to walk past Makoto to leave Hope's Peak's grounds. He then stopped while Makoto was still reading the fine print on the letter. "Oh, by the way…"

"Yeah?" Makoto asked, turning towards Kaiba, though Kaiba's back was still to Makoto.

"You and I should have lunch at some point. We are both students at this school after all."

"Lunch? With you?" For a second Makoto thought he was dreaming.

Kaiba gave Makoto an icy stare. "Is that a no?"

"What?! No! Of course not! I'd be honored to eat with you! It's just…I kind of have arrangements during the school day to eat with my friends."

"A weekend then. It's no big deal," Kaiba said, showing off his usually calm poker face.

"I'd love to," Makoto said.

"Then how about this Sunday, my office. One o' clock."

"Yeah, no problem," Makoto said.

Kaiba then headed off. "Well, see you then."

Makoto thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest. How many people could say that they were formally invited to lunch with the Seto Kaiba.

After an exchange like that, Makoto's first instinct was to run straight back to his room and call Komaru and tell her what happened. And, after that, he'd have to book it to class before he was late or Ishimaru would let him have it.

Meanwhile, at Domino High, Téa tapped her pencil continuously and nervously on the desk. Every few seconds or so she would glance at where Yugi used to sit, the seat now occupied by some unknown fat kid taking detailed notes. Serenity's seat was just as newly occupied, much to Téa's displeasure. Everything felt so foreign, so new. She and Yugi had been in the same school in the same class since the third grade. And now…it was like he was just gone.

"Mister Wheeler," the teacher said. "Kindly quit doodling in your notebook and pay attention."

Téa sighed. Some things never changed, but too much had already. And, after ten minutes, she could take no more. She bolted from class, uncaring of the disturbance.

"Miss Gardner. Where are you going?"

"The nurse's office!" Téa lied. In reality, she had a different destination in mind: The roof.

"Hajime, look! Izuru is flying! Wheeeee!" Chiaki exclaimed, zooming her little baby through the air like a kite, hands firmly on him.

Hajime smiled. It seemed like Chiaki was doing better.

"Hinata! Chiaki! Good. There you are."

Hajime and Chiaki stopped their antics to see Kaiba's approach. The baby stared at him, having never seen him before, not that its cognitive functioning would ever remember this meeting.

"Oh, good morning Kaiba," Chiaki said, smiling at him. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. Hajime drew his fingers across neck to indicate that Kaiba shouldn't inquire about Chiaki's question. The young boy knew that her positive attitude today was a work in progress. It would be another month or so before Chiaki was completely back on her feet.

"How's production coming?" Kaiba asked Hajime.

"It's…coming," Hajime replied. "Renders are up by sixty percent. I'm on standby if something comes up. Being a parent isn't easy, you know?"

"Wouldn't know. Never had a girlfriend," Kaiba replied bluntly to Hajime's unintended interrogative tone. "But that's hardly the main reason I'm here." He pulled out two envelopes. One was addressed to Chiaki and one was addressed to Hajime.

Chiaki, to properly receive her letter, put Izuru in his stroller and tore the letter open a few seconds behind Hajime.

"Whoa! No way! A new tournament?" Hajime exclaimed.

"You're not using this as an excuse to collect rare cards, are you?" Chiaki asked.

"No," Kaiba replied. "In fact, I actually won't be dueling in this tournament myself."

"What?" Hajime and Chiaki gasped.

"Production is moving forward with Kaiba Land. I'm actually heading for the airport in a few hours. Our first venture will be in America. I've already bought the location and rides are being constructed."

"That's amazing!" Chiaki exclaimed. "It was always your dream to have your own Duel Monsters theme park!"

Kaiba smirked.

"So, what's the tournament for then?" Hajime asked. "If you're not competing, I mean."

"Well, I suppose I can tell the two of you in advance, but this isn't common knowledge yet."

Hajime and Chiaki nodded.

"I'm inviting the best duelists from all around the world to compete in a highly competitive tournament. The preliminaries are in two weeks and after that, only the thirty-two best duelists will compete at the end of this month in the tournament proper. The prize money is inconsequential compared to the true top prize."

"Season passes to the new park?" Hajime asked.

Kaiba snickered. "Close, but no. The park won't be open until next year at the earliest. No, I've prepared a much bigger prize."

"A duel with Yugi?" Chiaki guessed.

"Exactly right," Kaiba smiled with pride.

"So that means you and Yugi won't be competing in the tournament," Chiaki beamed with the biggest smile Hajime had seen on her in a while. "That's really exciting! That means the door is open for almost anyone to win!"

"That's the idea," Kaiba remarked.

"You just want to make sure that only you're capable of defeating Yugi, right?" Hajime asked.

Kaiba's glare swiftly returned.

"I suppose that makes sense. He is your true rival after all. It wouldn't due for him to lose to anyone, but you, right?"

"I wouldn't expect any less of an understanding from one of my employees," Kaiba responded.

"Well, I'm an Ultimate Duelist too, don't forget," Hajime said. "And I've been improving my deck a lot since Battle City. I got really close last time. What will you do if I win?"

Chiaki was beaming at Hajime's confidence. Over a year ago, he was dragging his feet through Battle City, but now, he had his heart set on taking the biggest championship of all.

"I don't know. Throw a party, I guess? Make you my new rival," Kaiba shrugged like it was no big deal. He smirked. "But, your plan involves defeating Yugi and that is almost impossible."

"Almost means there's still a chance of success," Hajime said. "And I'm going to give it everything I've got!"

"Me too!" Chiaki suddenly exclaimed. All the excitement seemed to have woken her up. "I'm going to do my best! For Hajime and for Izuru!"

The sudden outburst caused Hajime and Kaiba to look the young gamer's way. "Ch-Chiaki?" Hajime stuttered.

"I…I think I'm going to be all right now, Hajime," Chiaki said. "I think a tournament like this to awaken my competitive spirit. This is just what I needed."

Hajime smiled. "Well then, let's both do our best."

Back at Domino High, after class let out, Joey, Tristan, Miho and Bakura booked it for the roof. After they found out Téa wasn't in the nurse's office—courtesy of Bakura feeling light headed in the middle of class—they could only assume that that's where she was. They found the brunette sitting in front of the fence with her arms around her knees, head tucked in, looking miserable.

"Téa?" Joey called out to her.

Téa turned her head, looked at her friends then turned back towards the fence. "Oh. Hey, guys."

"What's the matter, Téa?" Tristan asked her. "It's not like you to just go bolting out of the room like that. You're usually the level headed one."

Téa didn't even try to act coy. "I miss Yugi, okay?" She replied. "Him and Serenity. Everything's just so…different, you know?"

None of her friends knew how to approach the issue. Téa and Yugi's relationship was a pretty touchy subject. Of the four students, it was Bakura who approached Téa. He put a hand on her shoulder and sat next to her.

"I don't think Yugi would want to see you miserable, Téa. I'm sure he misses you as well."

"Yeah, sure. He misses us so much he picked Junko over us," Téa grumbled.

"You're still on about that?" Joey complained. "Lighten up. It's one beach weekend. There's gonna be others."

Bakura, in an attempt to soften the blow, said, "Just think of all the nice souvenirs Yugi might bring back for us."

"But…"

Joey grabbed Téa by the arm and pulled her to her feet. Nodding to Tristan, they both put their hands out face-down, Joey guiding Téa's hand adjacent to theirs. "Weren't you the one who said no matter how far apart we are, we'll always be together?"

Although the symbol had long since faded, although Yugi wasn't even here, Téa could recall the marker smiley face she'd used to connect her friends and she could still see Yugi's hand help finish the shape.

She smiled, wiping an oncoming tear from her eye. "You're right, Joey," she sniffed. "I'm sorry. It's just…"

"Just nothin'," Joey said. "We're friends, pals. Amigos to the end! And the one person that would never ever forget that, more than anybody, is Yugi!"

"He's right you know," Tristan said. "There's no way Yugi would straight up abandon our friendship. It's just not in him."

Téa's heart hurt. Friendship. It all came back to friendship. Sure, she knew her and Yugi's friendship would last eternal. But she didn't want to be friends with Yugi, not anymore. And she couldn't tell anyone around her the pain she was feeling regarding being unable to speak the feelings inside her. This weight. This guilt.

This despair.

On Monday morning, Yugi sat still in his commercial flight sandwiched between Mukuro on his right and Junko on his left. The plane had already left the runway and was about to reach cruising altitude. After a few minutes, the seatbelt required lights came off.

"Finally," Junko grunted, stretching.

"Seatbelts are there for your protection, Junko," Mukuro reminded her.

"Pffft," Junko scoffed as she put the arm rest separating her and Yugi into the upright position. She then grabbed the blanket from under her seat and unwrapped it, quickly using it to cover her and Yugi. She then put her head halfway between his head and his lap. "Cuddle me," she demanded cutely.

"J-Junko," Yugi stuttered.

"Just do what she says," Mukuro sighed. "It'll make it easier on you and every passenger on this flight."

Yugi stared at Mukuro in confusion, but she offered up no explanation. In his confusion, Junko had fetched a mostly flat pillow from under the seat as well. She put that on the arm rest by the window, splaying herself across Yugi, shifting her body backwards into him and pretended to nap. She purred loudly until he took notice.

Her smile grew as Yugi put his arm on the side of her stomach, stroking gently and nervously. Like warm putty in my hands, Junko thought. Téa's probably bemoaning that Yugi is slipping away from her, but he's already exceeded her grasp. Images of Yugi and Yami acting as her new King of Despair filled her degenerate brain. And he's firmly clenched in mine.

Now that Junko was quiet, Mukuro decided to take herself out of the situation as well as she plugged in her ipod. She had a bunch of music suggested to her by Makoto, Sayaka, Sakura, Hina, and even Celeste and an international flight was the perfect chance to figure out what she liked.

While Junko, Mukuro, and Yugi were all high in the air, Téa, Tristan, Bakura, Miho, Joey and Serenity were all at the beach. Tristan and Joey were acting like giant children as they ran around the hot sand with super soakers.

Téa sighed as she stood around in a lime green one-piece swimsuit with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She'd gotten this swimsuit to show it off to Yugi and now he wasn't even here to see it.

Bakura came over to her with his shirt unbuttoned, sweat dripping down his body and feet covered in sand. "Téa, why are you standing around moping? You're missing out on all of the fun."

"It's just…" she sighed. "I made this beach vacation so that I could spend some time with Yugi, but he's not even here. And now…well, I mean, I'm happy to be with you guys, but…"

"Téa, just have fun. The beach is the best place to forget all of your worries. I was going to build a sandcastle if you'd like to join me."

"I don't know," Téa stated, grabbing her arm.

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen while Yugi and Junko are alone?"

Téa's imagination generated an image of Yugi and Junko stepping off the plane with rings on their fingers and a baby in Junko's belly.

"Yoohoooo!" the imaginary Junko waved.

"Not happening!" Téa exclaimed, punching her own thought bubble to smithereens. Bakura backed up so he didn't get socked in the jaw.

"I'll show that hussy!" Téa exclaimed, grabbing Bakura's bucket. She then quickly began filling it with sand by digging it furiously through the ground. "Téa Gardner doesn't lose!"

Bakura sighed. This was going to be a loooooooong vacation.

"We're here!" Junko proclaimed in a sing-song voice as she, Mukuro, and Yugi exited the gate at their destination. She handed Mukuro her credit card. "Go get us a rental. Yugi, let's go get some snacks!"

Led by the arm by the blonde, Yugi was pulled in every direction while Mukuro secured transportation and confirmed reservations at the hotel. Meanwhile, Yugi helped Junko stuff an empty bag full of all sorts of junk food. He also got dragged into Victoria's Secret with her where she pretended to model a racy bra just to make him hide his face and blush.

It was right after the bra incident that Mukuro came back with a set of keys. "I have our car," she said.

"Excellent!" Junko exclaimed. "Shotgun!"

Thanks to Junko's salary, parents' life insurance, and life savings, renting a sports car convertible was easy. The group spent the day sightseeing and then checked into the hotel closer to dusk. Well, Junko and Yugi went sightseeing. Mukuro drove.

"How come you didn't have your agency pick us up, Junko?" Yugi asked.

"Pfft, get stuck with my agents already barking orders in my ear? No thank you. I want to spend what little free time I have with one of my best friends," she said beaming. "Cause starting tomorrow it's work, work, work, work, work! Don't sweat it, you'll be fine. Oh, but Yami's probably a better model than you so he'll probably have to do most of the work. It's like…how do I put this…?" Junko thought, swaying back and forth. "It's kind of a poise thing."

"It's fine," Yugi said. "I'm a bit nervous posing for a magazine anyway."

Mukuro then returned from the reception desk at the hotel with room keys. "Two king sized beds and a sofa bed," she said.

"Huh? We're all sharing the same room?" Yugi asked, blushing.

"Of course, we are. It's less expensive that way," Junko said. And it keeps you closer to me. "Don't worry, Mukuro and I are super neat. You're not gonna find any discarded braziers on the floor. Heck, sis usually lives out of her suitcase when we travel. Kind of something that was ingrained into her when she was a soldier."

Mukuro nodded to confirm this fact.

"Well, it's just…"

"Don't worry, don't worry," Junko reassured Yugi. "This is America. There's absolutely no trouble with boys and girls our age sharing a hotel room together. We're sooooo far away from anything remotely connected to our social groups that no one will ever know." Unless I tell them of course.

Yugi let out a sigh of relief. Last thing he needed was people thinking he and Junko were sleeping together in a no tell motel.

As Mukuro was used to a lack of comfort, she took the sofa bed. Yugi and Junko divided living space and who got which bed among themselves. Junko ended up closer to the window. Yugi ended up closer to the bathroom. The window also happened to be closer to the desk in the room, which is where Junko set up her laptop.

With jet lag finally settling into Yugi, the young boy was starting to get drowsy. Junko, for her part, dug into her carry on, tore out a bag of powder, and poured some water into an empty tumbler in the hotel room. She poured the powder in next and then stirred well with a stick normally used to mix coffee, turning the liquid a reddish color.

She then handed the drink to the tired Yugi. "Here, Yugi," she said. "Drink this. It'll help you relax and get a good night's sleep."

"Thank you, Junko," Yugi said, already dressed for bed. He slowly sipped the drink, unaware of its contents. His eyes felt heavy almost instantly and he barely had enough time to crawl into bed, hang the Millennium Puzzle around the nightstand lamp, and fall asleep.

Junko's wily grin appeared. That special little knockout drug would keep Yugi sleeping like a baby until morning.

Thanks to some conversation on the plane, Junko knew exactly which bag Yugi had packed the Millennium Necklace in. She carefully fetched it out and placed it on the windowsill. Then she fetched a device from one of her bags. One on end was a USB key, on the other were two cables that kind of looked like alligator clips, except without the "clip" part. They were like oversized headphone jacks. They were designed to interface with an archeological program that Junko had downloaded and bought with Ishizu's help to know what she was looking for.

Inserting the key into the computer and booting up the program, Junko then took the pair of jacks and carefully laid them over the necklace. She then meticulously put the jack tips into the "eye socket" of the Millennium Necklace. Instantly, data began feeding into her computer like the matrix. However, the info granted to Junko was less a jumble of hexadecimal numbers and more a continuously downward scrolling PNG image of what looked like dirt, bronze, copper, with golden zigzagging lines.

"What the hell is this? I can't read any of it!" Junko exclaimed, slapping the side of her monitor with her palm. "It's not even gibberish. This…I don't even know what this is!" Junko's theory was that she could use the program to glean some data off of the magical inner workings of the Millennium Necklace. Even if the info appeared coded, she'd almost completely deciphered the Millennium Spellbook, so garnering more information from hieroglyphs would not be anywhere close to impossible.

Junko tried several attempts to get a positive result. From adjusting the position of the cables in the eye socket, to turning the program on and off again, to even running the program with admin rights. She even tried waiting an hour or two until the file had completely loaded—which it never did. And then she tried saving a snippet and opening the snippet as a text file, but that was completely unhelpful when the text file just seemed to be generating Ascii art of the Millennium Necklace itself.

Junko started twitching. No. She did not come all this way just to fail. There had to be a solution.

"Messing with powers beyond your control, are we?"

Junko whirled her head towards the back of the room by the recliner. Mukuro had already grabbed, loaded and aimed her firearm at the room intruder: an Egyptian man in prayer robes, a golden ankh hanging from his neck and his head wrapped in a turban. He had faded blue eyes and golden hoop earrings hanging from his ear lobes.

"Put your weapon down. It will avail you little," the stranger told her told her.

Mukuro, however, did not move her weapon even one iota.

Junko leaned back in the desk chair. "Sup?" she asked very casually, crossing her legs.

The man approached her. Before Mukuro pulled the trigger, Junko said, "Sis, hold, but don't shoot." She grinned. "Not yet." She was eyeing the golden ankh around Shadi's neck. "That must be the Millennium Key."

"You know of it?" the man asked, stopping.

"Ishizu told me the names of all of the Millennium Items, but she doesn't know what all of them can do. But I can at least identify yours on sight," Junko stated. "That just leaves the Millennium Scale unaccounted for."

In a surprising twist to Junko, the mysterious man slammed the Millennium Scale onto the table."

"Well, well, well, two millennium items for the price of one man. You have my attention."

"You must cease investigating the Millennium Items," the man warned her.

"Or what?" Junko replied. "Awfully rude to demand things out of someone when you haven't even told them your name."

"I am Shadi," the man replied. He nodded his head to Junko, expecting her to offer the same courtesy.

"Junko Enoshima," Junko replied. "Charmed, I'm sure."

"Miss Enoshima, I'm only going to ask you one more time, cease meddling in the affairs of powers you cannot hope to control."

"Nah, I think I'll keep it up," Junko said.

Shadi looked at the Millennium Scales. They appeared to be not moving at all. Strange, I can tell just from looking at her that her heart is unbalanced. So, why…?

Shadi couldn't tell, but in fact the scales were moving. They were vibrating so swiftly that they appeared to have the quality of complete stillness.

"Right, lemme guess how this goes," Junko said, jarring Shadi from his thoughts. "If I don't cease being a curious little cat, you'll challenge me to a shadow game?"

Shadi lifted his key. I haven't a choice. "No, I'm afraid I am far less forgiving than that."

"Junko!" Mukuro cried out in alarm, but it was too late. Shadi had pressed the key to Junko's forehead and turned.

The next thing Shadi knew, he was falling through an endless black void. Whispers of dark secrets echoed in this vast emptiness. Wretched, bulbous growths with more teeth than a great white kept growing out of the "walls" of this world as Shadi eventually hit the "ground". In total blackness, noting illuminated but himself, Shadi had no sense of scope or scale of where he was.

Well, he knew the basics of where he was: inside Junko's head. However, he could not see anything to discern the value of her heart. It was certainly a wicked one to be sure given the monstrous mouths chomping at the air nearly a kilometer over his head. Unfortunately, the power of Junko's mind was vast and Shadi could not leave under his own will. Even if he wanted to, if she was a wicked soul beyond redemption, then he had to destroy her soul from within, lest she plunge the world into darkness.

As Shadi tried to get up from the "floor", a tar like substance stuck to his robes like a stubborn spider web. He was able to pull himself free, only to find himself sinking into the "floor" like it was quicksand or a singularity.

"Ahhh…AHHHHHHHH!" Shadi shouted as he fell further into Junko's dark mind.

When he landed again, different colored heads of Junko began appearing, saying the word "despair" over and over again. Red. Yellow. Green. Blue. Purple, even orange. They began repeating the word over and over again, spinning around Shadi faster and faster, growing far away and then zooming close together like a haunted amusement park ride.

Shadi covered his ears and closed his eyes, hunched over. "Begone, haunting visions!" He exclaimed, using his will to maintain his sanity. "You will not claim my soul here today!"

The word despair began to merge with distant giggling. The rattling of chains soon followed. Shadi found his arms being pulled in by chains that wrapped around him from wrist to shoulder. He was so surprised his eyes shot open and he began to try and free himself.

"Running away from despair?" A Junko head asked, appearing larger than any head before it. The head was colored normally, but the eyes were hollowed out into huge, hypnotic swirls. In addition, Junko's mouth was twisted up in an almost orgasmic smile.

Shadi was caught staring into Junko's eye sockets before he was able to overpower the hypnotic pull, shaking his head, staring at the ground. That was when the chains tightened around his arms, pulling the shoulders out of their sockets, forcing Shadi to scream out in pain.

On his knees, Shadi began to sink beneath the floor again, listening to Junko's incessant giggling all around him as he inadvertently tilted his head up to look at Junko's massively enlarged face. The fear. The terror. It struck through him like a frozen lightning bolt.

"What…are you?"

Shadi was only answered by his arms being ripped off by the pull of the chains as he then collapsed onto his cheek, his own blood pouring into his mouth as he writhed and spasmed in agony, but in too much shock to scream.

Something pink and slimy then slid underneath him, scooping him off the ground: Junko's tongue. It had become as long and slender as an Akaname's. It rolled around him like bubble wrap, ensnaring his armless body further. Shadi could see Junko's open mouth filled with more teeth than any creature alive, even a lamprey.

Shadi screamed as he was pulled into Junko's mouth and swallowed hole. Then, the only visions he could see was an epileptic fit of Junko's outline growing and shrinking while grinning. Growing and shrinking. Growing and shrinking. Her laughter loud, a symphony of dread in the background. Then it got quieter. The growing and shrinking continued. Then it got number. The growing and shrinking continued. Then it got slower, the growing and shrinking continued.

The outline of Junko's body, like it was drawn in moving chalk, moved around Shadi's waning vision. Her laughter became distant, like a giggling child echoing in an empty warehouse. She was all he could see as things got darker. The laughter muted.

And then, finally, nothing.

"Achoo!" Junko sneezed with all her might. She sniffed. "Oh jeez, don't let me be coming down with a cold." She then noticed Mukuro inches from her face.

"Gah!" Junko grabbed a book off the desk and tried to smack Mukuro in the head with it. She blocked.

"Back up, you idiot! You're stealing all my oxygen."

Mukuro smiled as she backed up. "Good, you're back to normal."

Junko rubbed her eyes. "How long was I out?" she groaned.

Mukuro checked her watch. "Barely five minutes."

"I felt like I just had a power nap," Junko said. "Hey! What happened to Shadi?" She looked all around the room, but didn't see any trace of him.

"I-I don't know," Mukuro stuttered. "He turned that key into your forehead, then you just zoned out and started drooling. Then he disappeared and now…you're awake."

Junko stood up and flexed and unflexed her right arm. She felt…different.

"Junko, look!" Mukuro exclaimed, pointing to Junko's stomach.

It was only then that Junko noticed that the Millennium Key was hanging from her neck. "What the…?" she held it up. "Why's this here?"

"I don't know. Shadi never took it off," Mukuro said.

Junko quickly moved to examine the key with her software. Data was at her fingertips. She could read the image generating as though it were written in plain katakana. "The Millennium Key: the ability to enter and dive into the mind of anyone the user chooses."

It didn't take Junko long to realize that the Millennium Spellbook was working again, using the Millennium Key as a conduit.

"Mukuro," Junko smiled, holding up the book, "The plan is go. All conditions are green."

Mukuro was happy, but also confused. "Why are you able to use the key, Junko?"

Junko shrugged. "Maybe cause that Shadi guy got his soul devoured by me or something? Or maybe it's a kind of you kill it you bought it sort of thing. Or heck, the spellbook was made using dark powers, maybe now that that bald dillweed is out of the picture, the key wants me instead." she speculated. She then scoffed. "All that talk about powers beyond one's control and he couldn't even control the power of despair." She held up the key and looked at it. She talked to it in the same babyish voice one would talk to their pet. "You're going to help me plunge the world into despair. Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

Mukuro sighed. Clearly you could pick your friends, but you couldn't pick your family.

By the time Yugi woke up the next morning, Junko had completely removed all traces of Shadi's visit, the fact that she'd ever acquired the Millennium Key, and that she had drugged him the night before. The Millennium Scale had seemingly vanished without a trace, which Junko actually considered a good thing. It was one less loose end to tie up and it kept her plans from being too easy. Additionally, she had managed to return the Millennium Necklace to where she had borrowed it without Yugi even noticing. The drug had knocked him out so hard that Yami hadn't even been on watch.

Fortunately for Junko, she'd given Yugi just the right dosage that he slept through the night and got up with just the right amount of time for breakfast and his morning routine. And Yugi felt fully refreshed and ready to get out there and model, even though Yami would be doing most of the work.

Upon arriving at the studio Junko's agency had rented out for the shoot, Yami was instantly bombarded with instructions. How to bend, how to stand, how to pose and how to smile or move his eyes ever so slightly. They were so fast and so chaotic, Yugi knew he would've felt overwhelmed, but Yami posed with all the calmness and tranquility of a professional right alongside Junko.

"Amazing! Yes, darlings! Yes!" The cameraman exclaimed, flashes going off repeatedly from multiple angles. "The camera loves you!"

Yami currently stood back to back with Junko in his tank top, their finger tips pressed to their faces like they were doing their best Dio Brando impressions.

"How many breads have you eaten?" Junko said at one point for the sake of being funny.

Later, the two were asked to extend one arm, touching skin to skin, palms open. "You do this on a regular basis?" Yami whispered to Junko, in between shots.

"Not like this, love. This is a special occasion. I normally pose alone."

Things got a bit uncomfortable when Junko was asked to lean back against Yami and Yami was explicitly told to put his hands on her chest. He blushed. Hard.

Junko tilted her head back and reached up and stroked her hands along Yami's neck. "Just relax, darling. It's all for the camera. It doesn't have to mean anything." She snaked one arm down and stroked his upper left leg. "But it can mean something if you want."

Despite not being in control of his body, even Yugi could feel the red-hot embarrassment coursing through Yami.

"Trust me, it's fine," Junko said. She loosely grabbed Yami's wrist, putting it on her shoulder. "Just let it lay across my chest. You don't even have to grab. Chances like this don't come often. Just relax."

Yami took multiple deep breaths, trying to calm down. He tried pretending it was Téa leaning against him rather than Junko, but that only made it worse. Téa would've been outraged.

Resigning himself to his fate, he put his hand over Junko's bust, letting his hand gently cup around the large roundness.

Junko licked her lips since her mouth was obscured from Yami's view. A few photos were taken and then Junko was called over by her manager for a brief conversation.

"You okay?" Yugi asked Yami.

Yami only stared down at his hand which had been touching Junko's breast not moments ago, flexing and unflexing it.

"Don't fantasize about it!" Yugi chastised, causing Yami to lurch in one direction.

Junko then came back over to the pair, though unaware of Yugi's astral image. "Hey, so, like my manager was kind of hoping you would do some topless shots."

Yugi and Yami blushed.

Junko laughed. "No. Not with me…Well, not yet anyway," Junko chuckled sinisterly. "Just take off your shirt and do what the cameraman tells you. I'll be back in a flash."

"You know, you could do some of this too," Yami told Yugi.

"No, no," Yugi responded, sweating. "You seem like you have a pretty good handle on it."

Yami sighed. Never before in his life had he felt so exposed. Sure, going to the beach left him even less dressed, but at least cameras weren't pointed directly at him, profiting off of his slender torso.

"It's all for Junko," Yugi said.

"Right. It's to help her career," Yami agreed. Neither one cared about the paycheck—if they were getting one at all—or the fame they might receive being seen in a magazine. This was all for Junko, to help a friend.

Junko eventually did return to the studio from the back and she had changed her outfit completely. Previously, she'd been dressed like an Egyptian Queen to match Yami's "Pharaoh" look, but now she was dressed like an exotic dancer: blue veil, blue lipstick, assless chaps and a transparent skirt, and silk, blue panties. Complete with fine jewelry, including the Millennium Necklace, and ballet shoes.

Her figure was completely pronounced in the outfit. It left very little to the imagination and both Yugi and Yami were getting their eyes full. Picking up on this, Junko ran her hands down her body from lips to thighs, making sure to stroke her breasts on the way down. She leaned towards Yami.

"Like what you see?" she asked.

Yami, trying not to look like a drooling pervert, turned his head and blushed. "It's…it's very nice."

"Okay, everyone!" Junko's manager announced with her megaphone. "Last shoot."

Junko wasted no time wrapping her arms around Yami while he was still without his shirt.

"Wh-what…?"

"Don't move. Don't worry, you're only getting shot from below the neck this time. No one will see your face."

"That's not what's concerning," Yami said, getting a bit stressed out.

In full control of her body, Junko slid down Yami's torso, her breasts pushed into him.

"Sorry, about this," Junko said, even though she was not sorry at all, "But it's the easiest way to make sure I'm at the right angle."

Both Yami and Yugi briefly entertained the idea of something lewd, Yami chasing the thoughts out of his head faster than Yugi. Fortunately, Junko stopped her descent around Yami's navel, her cheek pressed his abdomen. The camera went off a few times before Yami felt something wet below his ribs. Further stimulation of the sensation revealed the culprit: Junko's tongue.

"What are you doing?" Yami asked in an angry whisper.

Junko responded only by using one finger to poke him firmly right in the back. She was trying to convey that she wasn't in a position to answer his question and for him to just suck it up. When Yami called her name in an angry whisper, Junko dug her nail painfully into his back to try and get him to shut up. Despair was great, and his reactions were fantastic, but sometimes she had to play up her persona so no one would suspect a thing.

Yami got the message and fortunately the sharp pain of Junko's nail against his skin calmed down his wonderful pants feelings.

A few more flashes went off and then Junko came up to eye level. Tongue still hanging out of her mouth, Junko tried to kiss Yami on the lips, but she missed when he backed up.

"Awww, what's the matter? We're done. Let me have this. It's not like we haven't kissed before."

"Not unless you explain to me what that was about," Yami said, grabbing a nearby hand towel to wipe Junko's drool off his stomach. And he wasted no time grabbing the rest of his clothes.

"Wait, when the hell did you two kiss?" Yugi asked, having never been told that detail when he was a prisoner of the Orichalcos.

Yami didn't answer him.

"Hey, gotta fill out the ads somehow," Junko responded. "It's for a men's hygiene product. I was supposed to look attracted to you and that was what I had in mind," Junko said. "Come on, don't pretend like that wasn't hot."

Yami cleared his throat and blushed.

"Sooooo, can I kiss you now?" Junko asked.

"No," Yami responded bluntly. He was far too embarrassed to even consider such an action.

"Aww, come on. One little kiss, really?" Junko folded her arms and looked annoyed. "I pay all your expenses and take you out on an amazing week-long trip to America and you can't be bothered to give me an obligatory kiss? What the hell?"

"N-no, th-that's not," Yami started to try and apologize, but, with his guard down, Junko took action. She grabbed his cheeks and planted her lips squarely on his. Apparently Junko's idea of "one little kiss" varied greatly from Yami's. She even moaned into it. While she didn't get him to kiss back, she did manage to get her tongue briefly inside his mouth, and left a big lipstick mark when she was done.

She laughed as she pulled away, Yami looking like a deer caught in headlights. "You should see your face. Oh my god. Now that belongs on a photo. Satisfied, and giggling, Junko walked away, shaking her butt at Yami as she faded into the backstage area to put her normal clothes back on.

"Yami?" Yugi called, trying to get his partner's attention. "Yami? You okay? Hello? …Could I get my body back?"

Half an hour later, Junko was back on the road with Yugi in the back seat. Yami had relinquished control in an attempt to get his mind off things. Mukuro drove as usual, her face having all the emotional output of a rock, helped further by the rockin' shades she was wearing at Junko's suggestion. She was one corded earpiece away from looking like a bodyguard.

Yugi sat quietly in the backseat trying to figure Junko out. The two had hardly said a word to each other at all since she kissed Yami. Right now, they were on their way to grab some lunch.

Finally, Yugi broke the silence. "Hey, Junko, why are you…the way you are?"

Junko's response seemed a little too well rehearsed. "Why does anyone do anything? I'm a creature of habit and so are you. What's wrong with being a little spontaneous every now and again? The unknown is interesting. If you act counterintuitively to people's expectations, you make new social discoveries."

"Yeah, but…back there…"

"Yugi, that was all professional work," Junko said.

"Professional?!" Yugi exclaimed. "You licked my stomach!"

Junko made a silly face. "Well yeah, cause it was funny. Here, shove over."

"Junko!" Yugi exclaimed when he saw what she was doing.

Mukuro rolled her eyes as Junko unbuckled her seatbelt and almost seemed to throw herself into the backseat. Her sister and seatbelts never were one to get along.

Junko quickly sat in the center seat of the back seats and slid up against Yugi, buckling herself back in.

"That face you made was priceless," Junko cackled.

"Junko, that was dangerous!" Yugi exclaimed. "You could've been hurt."

"But I wasn't! Moot point. Look on the bright side." Junko stretched her legs out and put them up on the back of the console. "You got me sitting next to you now, don't you?"

Yugi wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

"You could afford to be a little more spontaneous, you know?" Junko stated. "Stop thinking so hard and just let the instinct juices flow. Kind of like what your friend Joey does."

"That…seems dangerous," Yugi said.

"Oh come on, it's fun. Watch. Mukuro. Purse."

Mukuro lobbed Junko her purse as Junko tore into it and closed her eyes, pulling out a random object. "Ta-da!"

"Your lipstick?" Yugi asked.

"Oh, so it is," Junko said and fetched her finery mirror in order to reapply.

"I…don't think I understand," Yugi stated.

"I pulled out an object at random," Junko said, putting both items away as she smacked her lips together to press the lipstick down. "But I did it so enthusiastically you didn't know it wasn't on purpose."

"I'm still lost," Yugi responded.

Junko sighed and put a finger to her temple, trying to figure out a good way to explain things without overdoing it. "It's like…you can't always overthink things, you know? If you're always thinking and you're always analyzing, you never have any fun just randomly guessing at stuff. That makes life boring."

"I'm not really sure I understand," Yugi said. "Is that how you live your life, Junko?"

"Eh, kind of," Junko said. "I like to mix the two. It makes life a little more exciting when you leave some things to chance while planning out as much of your life as you can. You should act a little more assertively, even if you have no idea what you're doing. That makes life fun."

"I don't know if I really understand," Yugi said. "But if that's what makes you happy, Junko. Then that's fine with me."

Junko sighed inwardly. Ahhhhh, baby steps. He may not understand now, but sometimes you just have to plant the seeds, she gazed up towards the sun, and watch them grow later.

The restaurant that Junko deigned that she, her sister, and Yugi ate at served outdoors. Under the summer sun, the trio had a nice meal together. Yugi, for his part, looked over the horizon to where a bunch of construction vehicles seemed to be putting up high rising, painted steel beams.

"Huh. I wonder what's going on over there," Yugi said.

Junko checked her smart phone. "Kaiba Land America is under construction over there according to the news."

"Oh, right. Kaiba's building a theme park," Yugi said. "Why all the way here in America? Doesn't the Kaiba Corporation have more pull in Japan?"

"According to some interviews, the land was cheaper over here and construction could go up faster. Besides, if it's a commercial flop, then he can just sell it to a subsidiary and doesn't have to be reminded of his failure," Junko explained.

"Not that it's going to be a commercial flop."

Yugi and Junko whipped their heads around. For a moment, Yugi thought that Mukuro or Junko were just doing an uncanny impression of Kaiba. However, it turned out the man himself was here, at this restaurant, standing and brooding as only Kaiba could. Mokuba was with him, but that was to be expected.

"Oh, hey, Kaiba! Are you breaking for lunch here too?"

Kaiba nodded. "Overseeing construction of Kaiba Land America is my mission for the week. Well, that and I have news to give you that couldn't wait. Since you don't have a phone, this was my next best option."

"Boy, the dispensable income you must have when a flight to a different country just to deliver a message in person is an acceptable solution," Junko said with a smirk.

Kaiba looked at her and then promptly ignored her, returning his focus to Yugi. "I'm hosting a tournament at the end of this month. Naturally, you'll be there."

Yugi stood up and Yami shifted into control. "If it's a duel you're looking for, Kaiba, why bother with the tournament? I'm happy to take you on!"

"Love the enthusiasm," Kaiba grinned. "But I'm afraid I'm ill-prepared today."

"Yeah, my bro's super busy," Mokuba stated. "We've only got just enough time for lunch and then we gotta rush back to the site for business."

"So, the tournament it is then," Yami stated.

"Not quite," Kaiba replied.

"Hmm?"

"Our duel will come, Yugi, but I'm afraid this tournament isn't about settling our rivalry, it's about ensuring it. You see, I'm inviting all of the best duelists from around the world to compete in a Kaiba Corp sponsored tournament. The winner," he said, pointing at Yami. "Gets the honor of dueling you, Yugi."

"So, a duel with me is a prize to be won?" Yami asked.

"I suppose you could look at it that way. Naturally you'll defeat your opponent. The honor of dueling you should be more than enough. For no one will unseat your title as King of Games, but me!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"Oooooh, sounds like fun. Sign me up!" Junko exclaimed, grinning.

"I'm sorry, but the tournament is invite only and last I checked fashion models aren't well-renown duelists."

"Ho? Saying that when I was the one that beat the guy who took Yugi's title from him last time and he had to get it back from me via the transitive property?" Junko asked.

Kaiba smirked. "Merely a fluke and you had the power of the Orichalcos backing you up. This tournament will have the best duelists from around the world competing in a no holds barred single-elimination tournament. You'd get booted out in the preliminaries. Don't waste my time."

"Is that a fact?" Junko asked, smirking. She picked up her soda, drank what little was left of it and perfectly hurled it into the trash bin with one arm without looking. "Then let's go. You and me, right here."

Kaiba laughed. "Thanks. I needed a good laugh. Did you just honestly challenge me, the world champion, to a duel?"

"I'm pretty sure I just did," Junko said with a smirk.

"Mokuba, how much time do we have?"

"Less than an hour, Seto," Mokuba stated.

"Hmph. Give me fifteen minutes. Plenty of time to get our food to go. In fact, why don't you order our food while I take care of this," he said, setting his briefcase on the floor and popping it open. He then strapped on his duel disk and glared at Junko. "This won't take long."

"Oho," Junko smirked. He took the bait. "Tell you what, Kaiba. How about a little wager? If I can keep this duel going significantly longer than you think I can, you let me into your tournament. Fair?"

Kaiba let out a cocky chuckle. "If you can, I suppose you could qualify for my exclusive tournament. But this duel will be over before you even blink. Your little stunts you pulled during your duel with Yugi won't work on me, Junko Enoshima!"

"Mukuro. Duel Disk," Junko said, snapping her fingers. Mukuro fetched it from the car before anyone could blink, presenting it and its corresponding deck to Junko.

Junko strapped on her duel disk. "Well then, this ought to be fun." Let's see if I've learned anything since back then? Junko thought, recalling her duel with Kaiba as Monokuma.

The two activated their duel disks as Yami and Mukuro stood on the sidelines. Their life points climbed to 4,000 each.

"So, any wager if I fail?" Junko asked.

"Hmph, the humiliation will be punishment enough," Kaiba remarked.

"Oho, big talker I see," Junko stated. She struck her Dio Brando pose. "So, for me then, the day I dueled with Seto Kaiba will be the most important day of your life, but for you…it was Tuesday." She ceased the pose. "That about sum it up?"

Kaiba chuckled. "Precisely."

Junko drew her hand and Kaiba drew it after her. "Then I look forward to gaining entry to your tournament, Kaiba."

"And I look forward to smacking you aside just like any other wannabe third rate duelist," Kaiba said.

"Smack my ass?" Junko remarked, putting a hand on her chest, showing faux offense. "Kaiba, you monster."

"That's not what I said and you know it," Kaiba said. "Let's get started before I change my mind."

"All right," Junko said. "Then why don't we start this properly?"

"Fine. We'll do this by the books," Kaiba said.

Then, at the same time, he and Junko declared, "Let's Duel!"

(A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, for the 100th chapter of Dueling Trigger Finger, I present you a very special chapter: Kaiba versus Junko! Just how much has the mastermind of Danganronpa improved? Will she end up impressing Kaiba enough to gain access to his tournament? Or will Junko's plans be crushed just as she's slowly gaining momentum, and force her to go back to the drawing board?

As for Shadi, I hope I scared at least some of you with that scene. Literary nightmare fuel is hard to write, but I tried my best. If I creeped you out, that's a win in my book.

But gear up your hype for one epic showdown as a precursor to the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix! Next time, the Despair arc Part 1 finale: Seto Kaiba Vs Junko Enoshima. Ladies, gentlemen and those of unspecified gender, this has been draconic hero and, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic, and I will see you all next time! Ja ne!)