Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, any of the Japanese words, or otherwise. I own the e-mail addresses, which, as I have said before, you do NOT try to send e-mail to. I also do not own Shaman King's plot, just to make this Disclaimer completely randomish. Or maybe it's there for a reason? Who knows? (I do!)

Well, here's the next chapter of Subtlety. I'd like to apologize to KAylen for using Japanese words. I swore I'd put in translations, but I forgot to!

Here're the translations to the last chapter words:

Konnichiwa: Hello/Good afternoon
Jii-chan: Grandpa (It's a less-honorable way of saying it.)
Kame: Turtle (Kah-may) (The Kame Shop is the name of the game shop in Japan.)
Mou hitori no kimi: The other you (They don't call the spirits that reside in the Items Yami forms. They're just... the other them.)
Mou hitori no Yuugi: The other Yuugi (I think I said that, tho...)
Make inu: Incompetent dog (Seto's such a nice guy, eh? Pronounced mah-kay ee-nu)
Nandemonai: It's nothing/Never mind
-kun: Some ending thing, used commonly for guys. -Chan is used for girls. Sometimes guys, tho, but ONLY sometimes.
Kami-sama: God, respectibly
Uso: Lie/Liar
Iie: No

And, I'll use parenthesis-like thingies to say the definition of a Japanese word from now on. So, it should look like...

Setsunakutenno... Zutto. {{Even though it's painful... Always.}}

That long word's a fun word! ^^() Anyway, back to the story. Starting Honda-POV. We'll finally be able to see just why the bayonet-kid's going crazy. =P


Message From: GameMaster01@hotmail.co.jp
Message To: LooksCanDeceive84@hotmail.co.jp

Anzu-chan!

Kaiba-kun's letting me use his laptop, and he's not putting up a big stink about it. I think he has other things on his mind, though. He's been pretty bearable for the trip. Jounouchi-kin's still not too fond of the idea that Kaiba-kun tagged along, but then again, when has he ever gotten along with Kaiba-kun?

I'm glad to hear Jii-chan's doing better. We got attacked by another monster. It's worse than Leghul. Ansatsu. Remember him? He hit Honda-kun pretty hard. We managed to get him to a safer place. Where? The castle, of course! Strange, isn't it? Nothing was locked when we arrived there. Strange, but it helped a lot.

Jounouchi-kun said Honda-kun was acting pretty strangely. I think it might've been the dagger wound that affected him, but Honda-kun was screaming at the wall. Don't ask. Jounouchi-kun said he calmed him down again. But you have to wonder why he was screaming in the first place, right?

This place is so empty. Jounouchi-kun said it was almost like hell, itself. Personally, I find it more like the graveyard field that Jounouchi-kun dueled Ghost on. {{Ghost is Bonz in America. ~S-F~}} It's so... Dead. No other way to put it. It looks so strange without the Duelist Platforms, Duelists, and such. I found it strange that the dueling stations are gone, and the castle remained unlocked. Maybe it was planned like that?




Subtlety

Chapter Two: The Island's Hidden Secrets

Honda POV



"Usooooooo!" I insisted angrily. How could Jounouchi-kun not see?!? He's right... Right...

"Iie," Jounouchi said, shaking his head. "Honest to God."

I glanced at the wall again. Nothing. I laughed at myself mentally. "I must be cracking," I groaned. "Maybe that sneak attack from the wannabe-ninja messed with my head..."

Jounouchi and I talked for a bit more before he walked off. Strange how much a quick chat can tell you. I found out I'm probably not going to be buried back at home when I die. I'm positive this island is going to be my final resting place. After all, I'm seeing things, I'm weak, and apparently, the monsters are trying to take me down, first. Why else would Ansatsu aim for me, and not Bakura or Yuugi? Kaiba should be pretty content right now. This isn't all a big plot to kill him and give Kaiba Corp. to somebody else.

I sighed and fell back against my pillows. What the hell was this stuff, then? Why're we caught up in it?

Doshite?... {{Why?...}}



I opened my eyes weakly. I had fallen asleep. Go figure. I sat up in bed again and examined the wound. I took the fact that it wasn't bleeding through the bandages as a good sign. I'd replace the bandages later.

The door opened, and a silver-haired teen popped his head into the room cheerfully. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Honda-kun!" Bakura smiled. {{Good morning, Honda-kun!}}

"Ohayou?" I asked. {{Good morning?}}

"You've been asleep since the last time I checked on you," Bakura nodded. "It was last night."

"Oh..." I smirked, nervously scratching my forehead. "That long? Then where'd the rest of you sleep?"

"Other rooms."

I mentally slapped myself. That was a stupid question. But can you blame me? I just woke up.

Bakura started to unwrap my wound. "Is it acting up again?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"The knife injury."

"Oh! No, it's fine. Just fine."

"Jounouchi-kun said you were seeing things last night," Bakura prompted. "What did you see?"

I shook my head. "Nandemonai, Bakura." {{It's nothing.}}

"Uso," Bakura snapped, using a tone I never would have thought him capable of. {{Liar.}} "Jounouchi-kun said you were pretty hysterical when you saw what you did. So what did you see? You can tell me." He then re-wrapped my bandage.

"It doesn't matter," I smiled weakly. "It's nothing, I swear, Bakura!"

"If you were screaming as loud as you were, it wasn't nothing!" insisted Bakura.

"Daijoubu!" I argued. {{It's okay!}} "It doesn't matter!"

Bakura rolled his eyes as he finished the bandage. "Whatever, then," he frowned. "If you insist." Before he left, he added, "If you feel well enough, take a walk around the castle. There's a lot more to it than any of us thought. You might be surprised."

I nodded. I was pretty sure Bakura was talking about the dungeons beneath the castle, where Kaiba and Mokuba were kept during the tournament. I didn't need to see that place again. But there were a couple of rooms I wanted to check out, maybe re-visit.

Like Pegasus's room up in the tower. I'd like to see that place again. It was probably one of the only places that showed the more serious, deep, thought-provoking side of Pegasus on the island. I wouldn't mind seeing if the room remained the same. I instantly jumped up, eager to scan the castle, only to realize I forgot which way it was to the tower.

But I had all the time in the world. No stupid guards to find me this time around. I could be a frequent visitor there. And only the people here would know.

I walked out the door and started walking left. Maybe there was some kind of path outside I could take. My memory was a bit rusty as to this place. I can't remember which way I went to get up to the tower. I'll find it eventually.

As I walked, I came across the deep red stain on the ground again. I stopped short. I saw it yesterday, but I didn't have much time to think about it. But now that I wasn't being carted off to a room to make sure I wouldn't die from a loss of blood, I could actually think about the ominous stain on the ground. And I had to wonder...

"... What the hell is that stuff?" I asked, maybe a bit too loud.

"Blood," murmured a low voice.

I wasn't suspecting the answer. I jumped and whirled around. Dirty blonde hair, stupid bandana, sunglasses...

"You again!" I cried, pointing at the man.

Bandit Keith nodded.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I demanded.

"I died here, so why not?" Keith snapped in reply.

"... Here?"

Keith groaned and started talking in English. Naturally, I couldn't make a word out of it.

"... Nani?" I asked him. {{... What?}}

"Never mind," Keith groaned. "Yes, I died here."

"... How?"

"Pegasus's goddamned eye..." Keith scowled.

I blinked. And I think Keith might've rolled his eyes, but I dunno. The sunglasses don't really tell you much for emotions.

"You are a hopeless wreck," Keith said, shaking his head.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He turned my hand into a gun with the Eye," Keith explained. He made a gun with his thumb and forefinger and pointed it at his head. "He made me bring it to my head, and I think you're smart enough to guess the rest."

"OH!" I was momentarily blinded by realization. Then I slammed a hand against my temple, as if shielding it from an invisible blow. "Ow! Damn, that had to..." I glanced up at Keith. "... Okay, forget I said anything."

Keith scowled and glanced off to the side, away from me and the blood stain on the floor.

"Why'd you decide to show your face around here?" I asked. "Why can't you just be dead?"

Keith only smirked. "It shouldn't matter to you," he answered. "I thought I'd settle a score with an old friend of mine..."

"Pegasus, right?" I responded. "Sorry. I think he's dead."

"Kuso!" Keith swore. {{Shit!}} He stared hard at me. "Who plugged the bastard?"

"How the hell should I know?!?"

Keith groaned. "Then what good are you?!?"

"Don't remind me," I snapped. "Apparently, I've been causing problems for everybody since I got here." I frowned. "And now I'm going crazy. You're dead, you shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be seeing you." I turned around and started walking away. "I should've stayed in bed today..."

I heard a short, 'Hn" behind me, but thought nothing of it. I just kept walking. Briefly. A sharp chill passed through my body quite suddenly. I stopped and rubbed my arms, the frigid feeling starting to creep up my spine. I let out a loud shiver.

... Which resulted in weird stares from Yuugi, Jounouchi, Kaiba, and Bakura. Damn, how'd they get there so fast?

"What's gotten into you?" Kaiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

Quick cover...

"It's too cold in here," I frowned. "That's all."

"It's fine," Jounouchi scoffed.

I rolled my eyes. Great excuse, Honda. Veeeeeery great... Now they're positive you've cracked.

Kaiba stared at me as if I was crazy. And I don't doubt that I am. Jounouchi looked slightly amused, yet maintained a look that asked me if I was positive I was all right. Bakura and Yuugi looked sympathetic, almost. Almost.

I turned one way, trying to avoid the weird stares getting cast at me.

"... This happened before."

Everybody, including me, sent a confused glance at Yuugi.

"Think about it," Yuugi said. "Didn't Honda do something like this before Ansatsu attacked? He stopped suddenly, a lot like he did just now. Of course, the shiver thing wasn't as obvious, since he was swearing when it happened, but still..."

Bakura blinked. "I get it..." he smirked a bit. "I think Honda-ku---"

He stopped suddenly. He tugged at a rope around his neck and revealed the Sennen Ring. I was the only confused person in the bunch, of course. I thought I had thrown that away? The confusion soon spread to the others, but for a different reason. I quickly joined the confusion, as well.

The Ring was glowing. Not like one single tassel on the side of the Ring, as I had seen once before in the caverns below the island... But the pyramid inside the large Ring was glowing. The Sennen Ring started shaking slightly in Bakura's hands. To be honest, I was slowly realizing why I had feared that damned piece of jewelry back when Pegasus was alive.

"What the... hell?" Jounouchi said, breaking the steady silence between ourselves.

"Duck!"

I was the only one that searched for the source of the noise. The others didn't seem to hear it. But before long, I found myself sprawled on the floor, knocked over by an unknown entity. I was not happy when I found Keith crouched next to me.

It took a while for logic to kick in. He knocked me over. Keith knocked me over. Keith's spirit knocked me over. An intangible essence knocked me over. Off my feet. Impossible, right? I was seconds from actually questioning this before a loud explosion sounded behind me. I whirled around and found myself staring into a black void. My friends looked a little dazed, but no worse for the wear. Gray smoke slowly cleared from the area.

"Roll right!" ordered Keith's voice.

For reasons I'll probably never know, I did. In doing so, I avoided a dead-on attack. The bright black bomb exploded, blowing me back probably about ten meters.

I blinked at the length I fell. What happened to the walls? I frowned as I thought about this. Slowly, it sank in. Slowly, I realized we weren't in Pegasus's castle anymore.

What was this place called, again? The Shadow Realm? Strange place...

And slowly, just as I realized my current location, a creepy-looking machine appeared. He tossed a bomb to himself lightly with one giant white hand. Just before pitching it towards the rest of the group.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"The Blast Juggler." Keith again. I want to know why the hell he's still here. Wait a sec...

"Blast Juggler?"

"Stupid little robot thing, throws bombs?" Keith mused.

"I know that! What the hell's up with this one?"

"I don't know," Keith frowned. "I don't really know what happened. All I know is that one day, a ton of monsters from the game showed up. Now, they show up at random, wreak havoc, and go away when they're satisfied. It's getting out of control."

"How long has this been going on?"

"How should I know? I was dead for the latter half of Duelist Kingdom, remember?"

I didn't respond. A loud explosion cut me off... Again. I inwardly expected to see Jounouchi as the Flame Swordsman, torching the Blast Juggler. Of course, it didn't happen. Another bomb, followed up quickly by another one. But a thought just occured to me.

"What's the Blast Juggler doing?" I asked him. Before Keith could reply with a crude remark, I quickly added, "It doesn't look like he's aiming to kill, does it? Sure, my friends look a bit disheveled, but they don't really look hurt, do they?"

Keith glanced back at the battle for a quick second. Then, something seemed to click almost immediately for him. "It's a cover!" he gasped. "The Blast Juggler's only covering for somebody else!"

"What?!?"

"There's something else here! It's definitely stronger than the Blast Juggler, but not by much. The Blast Juggler to distract the group so the stronger monster can attack without being spotted."

"... So they're not all gunning for me..."

"I think the first one used you as a distraction. This one, however..." Keith motioned towards the Blast Juggler. "... Is doing a better job than you did."

I opened my mouth to say something when I saw a glint of silver, behind the smoke, and a faint yellow light.

"... What is that?" I asked, pointing beyond the smoke.

"I'm not sure..."

I finally stood up. Keith sent me a surprised look. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I have to help them!" I argued. "They're too busy dodging bombs to worry about the ominous thing behind the smoke! I don't have a deck, so I can't do what Jounouchi did, but I have to do something!"

Keith cocked his head. "Honda, was it?" he asked. "I have a theory. You don't mind if I try it, do you?"

"Does it involve me?"

"In a way. But it could help you out if it works," he smirked.

"... What do I have to do?"

"Just clear your head," he instructed me. "It shouldn't be too hard for you."

I frowned, but did as he said, against my better judgement. I shut my eyes slightly, only to have them snap back open as something freezing touched... no... entered through my back. My breathing quickened sharply, then slowed. I felt my eyes droop, then nothing...







Scary, no? Next time, the fight unfolds (after Anzu replies to the e-mail thing), and we continue the story in Seto Kaiba's POV. Enjoy! (*blinks* Wow. Longest chapter I've ever written... Ever...)