(A/N: Ladies and gentlemen, I have been waiting for this. Look alive, cause here we go!)

"COME ON, TAKIMICHI! YOU GOT THIS! WIPE THAT SMUG LOOK OFF THAT BASTARD'S FACE!" Mondo shouted from the audience.

Homura began to scold him. "Mondo, pipe down before I—"

"I CONCUR!" Taka interrupted, shouting just as loudly. "SHOW THIS SO-CALLED GENIUS WHAT HARD WORK IS ALL ABOUT!"

Homura rolled her eyes. "I give up."

"What's got you so fired up?" Hina asked. "I thought you and Mondo hated each other."

"Hate each other? Pssht, what're you talkin' about?" Mondo asked with a grin.

"Indeed! Though we may disagree! We are men! And as men, we understand the power of a man's noble spirit and hard work of effort!"

"Kay, I'm just gonna…sit closer to Sakura," Hina said, having no idea what they were talking about.

"One wonders though, will manly and fighting spirit be enough," Hifumi murmured to himself.

"You've drawn quite the crowd," Zigfried stated to Takimichi. "Well, best not keep your posse waiting. It is your turn first."

"Hmm," Takimichi hummed in acknowledgement and then slapped a card onto the reader. "I summon to the battlefield Diskblade Rider in attack mode!"

A space biker with two metal chakrams for weapons to use while he was riding appeared on Takimichi's side of the battlefield.

"And that's not all," Takimichi said. "I'm also activating the power of Double Summon, allowing me to add the additional summon of Chaos Rider Gustaph!" A green alien in red armor, driving a red motorbike appeared next to Diskblade Rider.

"HELL YEAH! THAT'S THE WAY TO PLAY!"

"Next, I set a card," Takimichi stated. "My turn is over."

"Hmm, as predictable as Loki betraying Thor on any given day. Your skill is subpar compared to my own. Allow me to show you the strength of a true duelist. Quite pitiful really. Of all the thirty-two contestants, you must be the least capable."

"WHY I OUGHTA…COME UP HERE AND SAY THAT YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mondo shouted furiously as both Homura and Taka worked to get his foot down from off the railing.

Zigfried paid them no mind and focused on the stone-cold Takimichi. "Vell, I can't say it's been fun, because it's quite boring right now, but I suppose I must do vat I must do." Zigfried drew the top card of his deck and smirked confidently. "I activate ze spell card Ride of the Valkyries! Now, come forth! Valkyrie Erste! Valkyrie Zweite!" Two Valkyries charged onto the battlefield from on high. Erste had turquoise hair while Zweite had pink hair. Both had 1,600 attack points, but Erste had 1,800 defense points while Zweite had only 1,600.

"And now, ven Zweite is summoned to the battlefield, I can activate her special ability and immediately destroy one of zor monsters. And I shall choose," he said, pointing to Diskblade Rider, "Herr Diskblade Rider!"

Zweite galloped forward on her horse and cut it down in one swing.

"And your problems only get vorse. For once per turn, Valkyrie Zweite can banish one monster from your graveyard to gain power equal to its original attack power. I believe zat is 1700 attack points, non?"

Zweite cut across the battlefield, forcing an eject of Diskblade Rider from the graveyard as she then raised her blade to the sky and her blade was blessed with a bolt of lightning. Her attack power skyrocketed all the way up to 3,300.

"Vell, I believe zat's almost curtains wouldn't you say?" Zigfried asked. "Ah, but I am forgetting one small detail." He activated another spell card. "Rainbow Bridge Bifrost!"

A rainbow of light showered down on Zweite, upping her power to 3,800.

"Well, Herr Takimichi, what else is zere to say other than," Zigfried said as he pointed his index finger towards Takimichi. "Auf Wiedersehen."

Zweite and Erste gallopsed towards Gustaph like bolts of lightning and cut him down and then made for Takimichi. His sole trap card having no activation condition against the likes of these ruthless ladies. In a cross pattern they struck him down, dropping him to 0 life points in a single, powerful blow.

"You gotta be kiddin me…" Mondo was at a loss for any other words, and the anger to yell.

Zigfried was instantly declared the winner.

Takimichi groaned as he got up from the ground. Zigfried walked briskly past him and into the break room, leaving the biker to fend for himself without so much as a "thanks for the duel". He pulled out another silver rose and smelled to savor the scent of victory.

"Man, that was ruthless," Yugi thought.

"Indeed, Zigfried will prove a tough opponent for any duelist," Yami stated.

"Well…Junko's next," Yugi pointed out.

Yami nodded.

As Zigfried walked back into the break room, Joey was shocked. "What the…it's already over?"

"Hmm," Zigfried said and sat down where he'd left a cup of coffee. "Hmmm, and my coffee is just perfect now." He took a long relaxing sip.

"Yo, Byakuya, do me a favor and duel him so at least one of you is going down," Joey said with a glazed look. "I can only take so much smugness in one place."

"Worry not," Byakuya stated smirking, "For I plan to win the whole tournament. You should do yourself a favor and drop out early and spare yourself the embarrassment."

Joey immediately took offense. "No way! I'm gonna go all the way to the top! Yugi's countin' on me! It'll be our greatest rematch ever!"

"Ladies! Ladies! You're both pretty, but it's not your turn to shine," Celeste chimed in, smiling, head ever so slightly leaning against the back of her left hand. "I believe a certain blonde needs to prove she's not a bimbo."

"Ohoho, scatching," Junko said sarcastically, approaching the trio. "Where'd you get that one, a fortune cookie?"

"Just having a jest, Junko dear," Celeste said, chuckling to herself, fingers in front of her lips.

"I don't know about this," Joey said. "You sure you're up for this Junko? Last time you dueled was uh…" He was trying to avoid the subject of her duel with Yugi under the power of the Orichalcos.

Junko gave Joey a friendly pat on the chest. "Oh pish posh," she said, adopting a faux British accent. She adopted her queenly persona and turned to face her classmates, and Joey. "We are superior and shall not be deterred or impeded en route to our goal. You peons sit back and watch as we sweep the competition out from under you, starting with Little Miss Kung Pao."

"Oh is that about right?" Vivian happened to have been listening to the whole conversation, getting up from her baozi. "And how about I teach you a few manners, little girl?"

Junko did a 180 on both her position and her personality, switching both in posture and tone to her Dio-mode. "Little girl, hmm? Pretty sure you're the little one here when it comes to actual talent. In more ways than one."

Celeste held back an unladylike guffaw at Junko's insult.

"All right, ladies," Yukizome said, pushing on both of their shoulders. "Save it for the ring. You wouldn't want to act unsportsmanlike and get disqualified before you've even activated your duel disks, right?"

Junko briefly looked like she sucked on a lemon before defaulting to her normal personality, visibly pulling herself together in a manner of speaking. Well…what counted as normal for Junko. She rolled her eyes back. "Yeah, you got a point there, Teach. All right, baozi for brains, shall we?"

Halfway across the break room, Gundham shivered. "I sense a great calamity approaching."

Junko walked out of the break room first much to the roar of her fans and classmates.

"Come on, Junko!" Hina cheered.

Junko waved at her classmates and blew kisses to her fans, keeping up appearances, and then promptly did a butler bow so Vivian could walk by her, gesturing to the arena.

"Hi, Yugi, my little dumpling!" Vivian waved as she ran onto the stage. "Are you going to cheer for me?"

Yami, stiffened embarrassed.

"Oh, don't be shy. Once I'm done with her, it's all about us, babe," Vivian said with a sweet smile.

As Vivian prattled on, continuing the flirty talk with Yami, something primal sliced through Junko's brain.

Worse, Matsuda could sense it. Oh. This can't end well, he thought.

Junko didn't know quite exactly what it was she was feeling. Nevertheless, she walked up onto the arena, one shin high boot at a time.

"So, are we going to do this or what?" Vivian asked.

"Oh, it's been on, sister," Junko said, adopting her punk persona. "Hope you've already picked a seat in the stands, cause when I'm done with you, it's where you'll be parking your Chinese ass for the rest of the day!"

"Ha! You really think you, some gaudy fashion girl, stands a chance against my dueling skill? Please. I defeated the Clan of Nine Dragons and I'm also The Queen of Chinese Dueling."

Junko rolled up her eyes, switching to default on a dime. "Yeah, says more about them and your country than it does about you. Everything you are Mai Valentine does better."

Vivian did her best to not let that one get to her. "Well you talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" she asked.

Junko went teacher persona on her. "To be quite honest, while you were still learning to spell your name, I was already beating people at Shogi, Risk, and Chess."

…She's technically not wrong, Mukuro thought, recalling fragments of their childhood.

Vivian crinkled her lip and almost stuck up her nose. "Hmph."

Junko smiled at Yugi. "Don't worry about me, Yugi. I'll make quick work of this skank. You can expect to see me in at least the semi-finals."

"Oh please, you're going to be out of life points so fast, it'll make Zigfried's duel look tame by comparison. And if I win the tournament," Vivian put her knuckles on her hips and scoffed, correcting herself, glancing towards Yugi. "When I win the tournament. Yugi and I will be the world's hottest power couple."

At that moment, whatever previous emotion had rattled inside Junko's head had just been crunched compactly into a paper ball before rapidly beating like a war drum. Junko broke out into the biggest, strained grin she could muster. Something in her body was eating away at her, making her feel in a way that was chemically impossible for her brain to properly process. Vitriolic anger was seething away inside her, but at the same time so much despair was building up inside her like a volcano that all Junko could do was smile. It was a nice smile, far from her Cheshire Cat Grin and her serial killer smirk, and yet there was still something unsettling about it, especially as she spoke.

"I'm sorry. What did you just. Say. BITCH?!"

Vivian opened a fan in front of her. "When I win the tournament, Yugi's going to be my boyfriend," Vivian said.

"Like hell he is!" Téa roared, standing up.

"Hush, Téa. The grownups are talking. Sit down," Junko requested cheerfully, smile never fading.

"Oh don't think I—"

Junko glared at Téa with unprecedented frightening malice. "I said sit," she said in a contralto tone, her devoid of emotion.

Téa did as she was told. She'd never seen Junko like that. And, at least they could agree on one thing right now: Vivian was not going to be Yugi's girlfriend, not in a million years.

Junko went back to smiling at Vivian. "Whoops lost control of my emotions for a minute there," she said, slapping her cheeks. "And yeah, that's what I thought you said, you dirty rotten skank. Date Yugi? Your dress must be so tight around the waist it's cutting off circulation to your brain." Her smile got so wide that, if it were a mirror, it would've cracked. And Junko continued to talk in an upbeat fashion despite the fact that she was hurling insults. "You know, I wasn't going to thrash you. I thought I would have a little fun, gauge your abilities, give you a chance." She held up her hand in a peace sign. "But I'm so fucking angry right now that I have no choice but to completely destroy you!"

"Huh?" Vivian asked, completely confused.

"Uh, if she's angry, why is she smiling?" Yugi asked Yami. His counterpart did not have an answer. His eyes simply widened in astonishment.

"I don't like the look of that smile, you guys," Tristan stated.

What the hell was that just now? Téa asked herself, still rattled from Junko's glare and now even more confused by her current behavior.

"Say, judge, instead of random chance, how about you give Ox-Horns and slippers here the first turn? I insist." Yami looked to Mokuba as if to wonder if that was okay.

Kaiba pondered the proposition for a moment. The first turn was always the most crucial in any duel. His randomizer for the tournament was to keep arguments from breaking out among the duelists. That said…

"Oh, don't worry. I am so confident in my ability to absolutely pulverize this worthless piece of trash, I will pass my turn if I go first just to prove a point."

The crowd was silent for a moment. Kaiba still wasn't sure what to do. That said, he had an idea in mind. If Junko was that confident in her abilities to crush one of China's best duelists, well there was only one thing he could do. "Mokuba, shuffle their decks for me. I'd ask Yugi to do it, but he's too close to Junko. Not that I don't trust him to be impartial, but it'll erase all doubt."

"Ah, right," Mokuba said. He lifted himself onto the stage, explaining the situation and shuffled each contestants deck, watching closely for any funny business. He then asked if Vivian Wong was okay with going first, otherwise the whole thing was pointless.

"Sure, why not?" Vivian asked rhetorically, oozing confidence. "I'll show her what a mistake it is to be underestimating me."

Junko laughed mirthlessly, but kept up the smile. It made her laugh sound unnervingly squeaky and creepy. "The only mistake here is the fact that you were born." Junko opened her eyes briefly, giving Vivian half a heart attack as she swore Junko's pupils were red in the brief time they were open.

Life points climbed to 4000 per person. Duel disks activated. However, before either could give the mutual, "Let's duel!" Junko spoke up alone.

"All right, panda fucker. Your move first," she said, still brimming with seemingly forced cheer, clapping her palms together, some finger tips not touching.

"Junko, please, we're live," Mokuba chided her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Junko said, letting out a breath, but keeping up a smile. "I'm usually far more composed than this. It's just, I'm just a little bit ABSOLUTELY LIVID!" She screeched.

"What the heck is going on here?" Yugi asked Yami. "Is she okay?"

"There will be plenty of time to ask her after the duel," Yami replied, only to gulp. "I hope."

"My move first," Vivian declared, doing her best to at least put her best foot forward. "And I'll start by summoning to the field Master Kyonshee, in attack mode!"

A jiang-shi martial artist appeared on Vivian's side of the field with 1750 attack points and 1000 defense points.

"And next, I activate Double Summon, allowing me to summon the additional monster Kung Fu Nyan Nyan to the battlefield."

A martial artist lady wearing a pink apron appeared on Vivian's side of the field next to Master Kyonshee.

"And next, I'll activate the magic card, Luminous Clouds, allowing me to summon one of my most powerful monsters!" her current two monsters began to phase out of existence. "Come forth, Dragon Lady!"

A female samurai carrying twin swords and a stern disposition appeared on Vivian's side of the battlefield. It had 2,500 attack points and 2,100 defense points.

"And to top it all off, I'll equip her with the magic of Lightning Saber! Raising her attack points by an additional three hundred points." Vivian's monster's power increased to 2,800. She fanned herself. "Let's see you do better than that, dorky boots."

"Heh…heh…KYAHAHAHA…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Junko threw herself onto her back and kicked her legs, laughing her ass off. "Stop! Stop it hurts! Oh my god, you can't be serious!" She rolled onto her side holding her stomach.

After a minute or two, Junko got up and fanned out her short skirt. "Okay, I'm good." She said, relapsing briefly with a grunting snicker.

"You mind telling me what that was all about?" Vivian asked.

"I told you, didn't I? I planned to destroy you, but boy oh boy you sure made it easy."

"Excuse me?" Vivian asked.

"Pay attention Bamboo Bimbo," Junko said, with a now frighteningly calm voice. "Because I'm about to ruin that nice dress of yours. Gonna be honest, in all my years of being me, it was rarely personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do you, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to enjoy it very, veeeeery much."

Vivian took a step backwards, unsure what was about to happen.

Plucking a card from her hand of six, Junko declared. "First, I'm activating Hammer Shot just to rid that foolish samurai warrior from the field."

A goofy looking wooden mallet emerged from Junko's spell card and smashed Dragon Lady over the head, destroying it instantly.

"Oh, look at that," Junko said, cracking her knuckles. "Your monster's gone." She held up her entire hand and then said in a frighteningly calm voice. "And I'm about to kill you. I activate Polymerization! And using the power of Edge Imp Sabres and every card in my hand, I summon Frightfur Wolf!"

An angry looking patchwork stuffed toy appeared on Junko's side of the field. It was barely taller than coming up to her shins as it growled and glared menacingly at Vivian. It had 2,000 attack points and 1,500 defense points.

"You chucked your entire hand for that?" Vivian asked, dumbfounded.

"Oh, I wouldn't be laughing if I were you. Frightfur Wolf…fetch."

The patchwork creature's tail waggled back and forth briefly as it launched into a furious attack and slashed Vivian down her dress, dealing 2000 points of direct damage before returning to Junko.

"Okay, I guess it's my turn."

"Ehhhh!" Junko exclaimed, making a buzzer noise. "Wrong. See, when Frightfur Wolf is fusion summoned, I get to attack for every monster used to patch it together. Let's see, how many was that? Oh right four! Now be a good boy, my little terror demon," Junko said, as she smiled ever so sweetly at Vivian. "And tear her limb from limb."

Junko's little toy slammed into Vivian and brought her life points straight down to 0.

"And again," Junko said, even though she'd already won, prompting a subsequent attack from Frightfur Wolf against Vivian, who had already fallen on the ground as it raked its claws along her body.

"And one more for the cameras. She deserves it," Junko said, glaring, the sun casting a shadow on her bangs. "Show her that there's only room enough in my life for one love rival and it's not her."

"STOP!" Yami barked, standing. "This duel is already over. Junko, enough! Calm down! It's over!"

Junko blinked overdramatically, pretending as if Yami just snapped her out of an adrenaline-induced madness. "Oh, wow. I don't know what came over me," she said demurely, blushing.

"I…I lost," Vivian stammered, slinking to her knees. She then burst into tears over her defeat. Yami turned around surprised.

Oh, that is just precious, Junko thought. She pat Yami on the shoulder and walked towards Vivian. "Hey, come on. It's only a silly game. There's no need to cry. I mean, come on, Yugi's love is a coveted prize by a lot of women." She turned towards the audience and shouted. "Am I right, ladies?!"

Téa was disturbed by the sheer volume and number of swoons she heard.

Junko helped Vivian up. "Come on, let's go fix your makeup. You're gonna turn into a panda bear. Come on, I've got a full line of cosmetics that would look perfect on you." She slapped Vivian's back, albeit rather hard, but only Vivian knew that. Clearly Junko's anger issues with her hadn't completed petered out.

"Is…is this her idea of making friends?" Yugi was completely confused.

What the heck is going on? Téa wondered, just as dumbfounded.

"Come on, we just had a duel, however brief it was, doesn't that make us friends?" Junko asked, rubbing Vivian's back.

Vivian stared at Junko, completely confused. One second the girl is trying to figuratively murder her, the next she's acting like her best friend. "Uh…uh…"

"Well, we'll work on it." Junko took her hand off Vivian's back and bowed to the crowd, putting on her moe face. "You guys don't hate me, right? I didn't do anything baaaaad, right?"

Junko's fans all cheered and heaped praise at her. "We love you Junko!" Could be heard hurled from the crowd above the noise.

"I love you too!" she exclaimed, blowing a kiss with both hands. "Mwah!"

"So, was she just…acting?" Yugi wondered.

Yami, like before, had absolutely no idea. At the moment, he was a bit too transfixed on the way Junko's butt was shaking.

"Hey, I see where your eyes are!" Yugi shouted at him.

Yami turned his head and did not blush one shade. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Yami replied, arms folded.

Vivian thought to approach Yami to say something, but Junko slung an arm around her and started leading her away. "Sorry about earlier. But when someone tells me they're going to take what's mine away from me, I just kind of lose it. Come on, let's go have a nice long chat and fix your makeup." She turned her head as she walked away with the confused Vivian. "Bye, Yugi. I'll see you next round." She blew him a kiss and winked. "Mwah!"

She and Vivian then disappeared into the shadow of the inside of the stadium.

"That was terrifying," Tristan stated.

Yami Bakura, who'd borne witness to the duel from the recesses of his host's mind, was actually quite intrigued by Junko's little show just now. Apparently the girl wasn't all talk. Briefly possessing Bakura, he stood up, mimicking his host's voice. "Oh, sorry, could you guys clear a way to the bathroom. I'm afraid I've sat down for far too long."

His friends helped him get by. Of course, Bakura's destination was far from the bathroom.

In between the rounds of the tournament, Kaiba had arranged that there would be extra long commercial breaks to give everyone a break from the action. The break could also build up anxiety among the remaining contestants. For those of them that were paying attention, they knew who their opponents were and could formulate a strategy accordingly. Most of the contestants—aside from those attending Hope's Peak—did not know each other and therefore couldn't formulate a strategy.

The other reason for the extended commercial break was to allow Kaiba to check business related things for Kaiba Corp as well as do maintenance checks on duel disks, microphones, etc.

It also gave the audience a chance to chat about what they'd experienced up until now and get up and buy more refreshments. The line to the bathrooms would also be long.

Amidst the long break, a voice called out to the group of spectators that made up the members of Class 77-A. "Hey, guys. What I miss?" A young man too old to be a normal high school student and an afro too stupid to have been born on accident approached his fellow classmates.

"Oh nothing much," Miaka said sarcastically. "Just the entire first round."

"You're late, Yasuhiro," Madarai told him.

"Well excuse me, I was down at the casino making bets on the tournament. I'm of age! I'm allowed!"

"Making bets? You still owe me money!" Kotomi exclaimed.

"Me too!" Aiko shouted.

"H-h-hey, chill out! I'm gonna pay you both back, honest. Where we at? I gotta a bunch of betting tickets just waiting to be cashed in."

"Let me see," Miaka requested, encouraging him to hand her the slips of paper. She went through them, making comments. "Let's see…No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. God no. No. No. No. No. No." She then chuckled. "Wooooooow, Hajime winning the whole thing huh? Hope you didn't put too much money on that?"

"You kidding? I got faith in the guy. I put most of my life savings on it."

Miaka raised a fascinated eyebrow, shook her head and faced forward, saying nothing.

"Wait! Bandit Keith's out already?" Yasuhiro cried out in alarm, looking at the slips of paper Miaka put in the "No" pile.

"He cheated," Aiko frowned.

"Cheated? You gotta be kidding me! Maaaan, that's 30,000 yen down the toilet."

"Thirty thou—WHAT THE…you could've paid me and Aiko back with that money!" Kotomi shouted.

"Prez, help!" Yasuhiro pleaded, thinking he was about to get beat up by an angry Kotomi.

"Now, now, Kotomi, I'm sure Yasuhiro has his reasons. How much does he owe you, I'd be happy to clear his debts on his behalf."

Kotomi frowned, puffing one cheek. "President Murasame, no, that's not the point. You give Yasuhiro way too many free passes. I could never accept your money."

"You'll accept something else of his though," Aiko said with a glazed look.

Kotomi blushed hard and whapped her classmate sharply along the back of the head for her insensitive remark. She then coughed, trying to chase the red away from her cheeks.

"I am surrounded by children," Matsuda sighed, turning the page of his magazine.

"I'd rather children than idiots," Miaka said.

"For once we agree on something," Matsuda stated.

After stumbling out of the exclusive contestant's men's room, Hajime found Sonia waiting a rather comfortable distance from the entrance. "Oh, Sonia. Did you uh…need something?"

"Actually, yes, I was hoping to talk to you before our match," Sonia said.

"Oh, uh…yeah, sure," Hajime said.

The two walked over to a secluded area. "Hajime, we went through a lot together during the time Dartz was afflicting our class with the Orichalcos, is that fair to say?"

Hajime nodded. "Yeah, I remember. How could I forget?" Considering I was right in the thick of it, we lost Chiaki for a good long while and the aftermath was how I got her pregnant.

"Well, I don't want your bad memories of me at the time to make you think you need to go easy on me. We didn't get to duel in Battle City, but you managed to defeat a duelist I did not…or rather could not," Sonia said sadly.

Hajime started to realize where the conversation was headed. "You're not still bothered by Marik, are you?"

Sonia shook her head. "No. All wounds heal over time. I've been seeing Miaya-senpai. And she has been helping me with my condition. She has even said I am fully recovered. I just can't find it in myself to stop seeing her, or that adorable mascot of hers."

"Yeah, she's been helping Chiaki cope with the whole teen mom thing," Hajime admitted.

Sonia smiled, chuckling happily. "Well, I just wanted to say good luck and don't think I'm the same Sonia Nevermind that lost to Marik." She flexed her arm. "You might be the Ultimate Duelist, but I have the entirety of Novoselic to represent! The royalty of our country does not go down without a fight!"

Hajime nodded. "I can't afford to go easy on you, Sonia. Izuru's watching, remember?"

Sonia smiled even brighter, laughing even more cheerfully. "You're a really good father, Hajime."

Hajime rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Oh, uh, you think so?"

Sonia nodded. "You did not ask for that burden, but I believe you have owned up to it properly. I am expecting good things from our duel. There are few I could ask to be such a fitting opponent."

"Well, I could say the same," Hajime said. "Your Darklord deck is going to be tough for me. I can already estimate."

"Same for your fusion monsters," Sonia said to him with a smile. "Having said that…both of us should be prepared for the duels beyond our own."

"In what regard?" Hajime asked. He followed Sonia's gaze to Yukizome. "O-oh. Right." There was a 6 – 25% chance either one of them could be facing Yukizome in the semi-finals. And among the duelists in their half of the bracket, she was probably the most terrifying to think about going up against. Even if he and Sonia both had talents, Yukizome was their teacher. The idea of dueling her did not sit well in Hajime's stomach and, judging from her body language, it didn't sit well with Sonia either.

"Well, to challenge us, Miss Yukizome would have to beat Mai and then Gundham or Joey," Hajime said.

"No small feat by any means, but this is Miss Yukizome we are talking about," Sonia said.

"Well…that's true," Hajime said as he started to sweat over it, only to stop after a bit of thought. "No, there's no reason in fretting over it. Whatever happens, happens. I'm here to make my kid proud of me and to show Chiaki I can stand completely on my own without her coaching."

Sonia laughed. "That would be so adorable if it was the two of you in the finals."

"Yeah, I doubt it'll happen, but it'd be nice. It'd make a hell of a story though."

Sonia laughed. "Well, I suppose I'll go freshen up as long as I'm standing near here. It was nice talking to you, Hajime."

"Yeah, likewise," Hajime responded and watched Sonia walk into the lady's room. He strode back to the table he'd been sitting at earlier. Gotta remind myself, this is just a normal tournament. No Ancient Egyptian shadow magic, no Atlanteans out to steal people's souls. This is a stage of fame and glory and nothing else. What Battle City should have been. He sat down and rolled his eyes. I mean, really, what is there to even be scared of besides a humiliating loss?

45 minutes had passed since the commercial break started. At this time, Junko sat in a secluded room, shrouded in darkness, sitting with her legs crossed, filing her nails. The big, heavy door to the room was slowly opened, letting light in…to the sight of her sitting on Vivian Wong. The woman was collared and chained with a dead kind of look in her eye. Also in the room, leaned up against the wall was Yami Bakura, drinking in the sight.

Junko looked at the intruder and just said, "Get in here before someone sees." She then dangled her index finger in front of Vivian's lips and the Chinese woman obediently sucked on it like it was something far more phallic.

"You've uh…" Mukuro gulped as she shut the door behind her. "Been busy." Her eyes adjusted to the darkness rather quickly.

"Oh, trust me, I gave Florence here quite the show." She smacked Vivian's ass, causing the woman to moan and convulse.

Mukuro was at a bit of a loss for words. Sure, this was nothing new by Junko's standards, but the problem came of what came after. "Um, what am I supposed to…?"

"Oh don't worry about that. I got some of the Egypt boys on their way to pick her up." Junko leaned over Vivian and squeezed her chest. "She's gonna make us a big pretty penny on the Arab market." She then said cutely to Vivian as their eyes met. "Aren't you?"

The woman responded with a mindless moan and a smile, shaking her ass. Clearly, Junko had been quite effective in tearing her down both emotionally, and physically, without leaving visible scars.

"I must admit, Miss Enoshima, I did not think you were capable of such depravity. All I had to do was watch. I don't know if I should be impressed or disappointed."

"Why not both?" Junko asked cheerfully.

Yami Bakura chuckled. This girl amused him greatly. Teaming up with her had been the right decision.

"Aren't you worried that Yugi and the others might catch onto you?" Mukuro asked.

Junko shrugged. "Eh, s'okay if they do." She rolled her eyes back. "That might be worth the despair in and of itself. That said, I don't think they'll catch on. Well, not unless you say anything."

Oh. Of course. Put it all on her. Honestly, for a moment, Mukuro entertained the idea of selling out her own sister. For some reason she felt…repulsed by what she'd done to one of China's most prominent duelists. She raised her objection in an…interesting way. "Isn't this a little ambitious? She's famous, isn't she?"

"Eh, a bit of mud slinging and some porn tapes and that'll go away pretty fast. Long as it doesn't get back to me, no one will suspect a thing. Hell, with Ishizu at my back, I could even sell out a sect of the tomb keepers, or just the ones picking her up and keep moving forward." She did stuff on her phone. "Social media's blowing up though. Man, a girl says a few little f-bombs on camera and suddenly it's a travesty. Jeez, talk about a PR nightmare. Oh well, that's what the help is for."

"You…don't sound concerned," Mukuro said.

"Eh, I've got plenty of fans. What's like, thirty or forty percent of them? I'll make new ones and recoup some more as time goes on. Odd for you to be so concerned though."

"I just thought—"

"And that right there is the problem. You thought. Just do what I tell you and kill people when I say so. That's all your good for anyway," Junko said, returning to filing her nails.

"By the way, the five minute warning was called. I know your duel isn't until the very end, but the others might grow suspicious if you're away from the break room for so long."

"Eh, I'll be along once I know Little Miss Lost Her Dad on Tuesday has been properly shipped off to the Middle East. Might miss the first duel. No big. I already know who's going to win."

"Oh, really?" Yami Bakura sounded intrigued.

Junko nodded. "Why don't you go back to your seat and watch. If I'm right, well, that'll just tell you even more about how good I am."

Yami Bakura chuckled. "You know, I think I will," he said.

"Why don't you stay here with me for a bit, big sis. You know, just to make sure I don't get found out. Besides, I want to play with my toy a bit more," she said, rubbing the back of Vivian's head.

Mukuro sighed. "As you wish, Junko."

Yami Bakura exited first and Mukuro not too long after, shutting the door behind them and standing inconspicuously nearby trying to blend in with her surroundings in a sixth sense sort of way. Anyone looking at her would know she was there, but she was enacting the technique of erasing her presence. She pondered again if she should just stop Junko right now. But at the same time, where would she be without her sister? She wondered.

She stared at the floor. I need Junko. If I cannot have Makoto at my side, I need my sister…or I would be truly alone.

Mukuro and Bakura managed to make it back to their seats before the commercial break was over and Junko also returned to the break room.

"Okay, Duel Monsters fans, are you ready for Round Two?!" Mokuba shouted to the audience. A resounding loud group of cheers was sent the younger Kaiba brother's way. "Great! Cause we got a great line up for you all!"

With only sixteen contestants left, a filled out bracket showed up on screen with mug shots of the remaining contestants.

"Oh man, Hajime and Sonia, who does Ibuki root for?" Ibuki wondered, looking like she was going to have a seizure.

"Do we have to pick sides?" Mahiru asked.

"I want Hajime to win! Sonia's so gaudy," Hiyoko stated.

"I-I also want Hajime to win," Mikan said. "He's extra nice to me."

"Bastard better win," Fuyuhiko stated.

"Well you all know who I'm rooting for and that's Miss Sonia!"

"Wow, betrayal much?" Fuyuhiko asked him. "Aren't you and Hajime practically best friends? Besides, I thought you gave up on Sonia."

"Hey, come on! If I don't cheer for her, who else is gonna?" Kazuichi asked him. "A good chunk of our class is in this tournament!"

"All right, Hajime! Let's go!" Serenity cheered.

"Calm down, Serenity, they haven't even shown up yet," Téa said to her.

"Why Hajime, if you don't mind me asking?" Tristan wanted to know.

"Well, I got to know Hajime during that convention big brother took me too. So we're kind of friends," Serenity said.

"Hajime Hinata and Sonia Nevermind, please report to the arena now!" Kaiba exclaimed.

"Here we go," Tristan said, sitting up straight, eyes forward.

"Good luck to both of you!" Téa exclaimed.

Hajime permitted Sonia to walk out first, being a gentleman, and then followed suit. Sonia walked past Yami to the other side of the arena and stopped, turning to face Hajime with a calm smile. "I guess this is it," she said.

"Y-yeah," Hajime said.

"Hmm? You seem nervous," Sonia said, curiously.

"Sorry, it's just…this is kind of a big deal, you know? When I was in Battle City, the only Ultimate I really dueled was Nagito and that was kind of a personal thing," Hajime admitted. "And at the time, I was still in the Reserve Course. But…now I'm standing here, facing an Ultimate in a real, large scale tournament as an equal. It still barely feels real."

Sonia smiled and laughed as if she could understand how he felt. "Well, I have confidence in you, Hajime. I'm sure you will make this a duel to remember."

"She's right, you know," Yami said, turning his head towards Hajime. "You have earned every right to be here, Hajime. I'm looking forward to seeing what you're capable of." He gave Hajime a thumb's up. "And you as well, Sonia," he said, looking at her. "Both of you are fantastic duelists. I can't wait to see what you're capable of against each other."

"I agree," Sonia said with a smile.

"Just duel already!" Hiyoko exclaimed impatiently.

Well then, Hajime thought. Here we go.

Their duel disks activated as the screen above flashed back and forth between Hajime and Sonia. Ultimately, it was decided that Hajime would go first.

Just stay calm. Hajime thought. Don't let her gentle presence fool you, he told himself. You know what she's capable of when she gets serious. Don't give her an inch, or she'll take a foot. His life points climbed up to 4000.

Here I go, Sonia thought. This will be a true test of my abilities. Aiko was capable, but I know Hajime well. He's on a completely different level. I will not hold back. I cannot hold back. For my kingdom, she held a fist resolutely in front of her chest, my family, and for Rafael, her gaze tightened. I will do my best. Her life points now too climbed to 4000.

She and Hajime each drew five cards. This was it. No turning back now. Both duelists bore amazing skills, but only one would walk away from this duel to advance. Although they were friends and classmates normally, here, in this moment, they were rivals and enemies. And one mistake, no matter how small, could mean the end of the duel right then and there and both knew it.

Confident, competitive gazes were shot by both duelists at their opponent. "Let's duel!" They declared in unison.

The first match of the second round of the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix was about to begin!

(A/N: Wow. I can't believe I got this done all in one night and on the same night as 115. I only delayed posting it for reasons related to my discord server.

So, uh, yeah, Junko's a total bitch. Are we surprised? Apologies to Vivian's fans out there. And sorry for anyone who was made uncomfortable by the aftermath of Vivian's defeat. I have sadly been planning that scene for a while now. Yes, I know I'm sick in the head. I'm writing a Danganronpa crossover, what was your first clue?

Not much else to say other than I hope I properly hyped up Hajime Vs Sonia and I hope I do not disappoint your expectations. Until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)