A/N: Here's chapter 12. I hope you enjoy it! From all appearances, you have been so far, so in return, I hope I'm delivering something of worth. Let me know, either way, would you? Appreciated!

Wolfwings: Hey, there, no dying on me now. *grins* We're nowhere near the climax! This is more like the prelude!

Monica: *falls over* Who's Lenin? ...Well, I suppose you wouldn't have hit that point in History class. Lenin was the Chairman of the Communist party of Russia back during the Depression era, directly before the bloodthirsty Stalin. I've been to Mocsow, where you can't swing a cat without hitting a bust of Lenin somewhere.

Penny: We'll be hearing about them soon enough, though they won't necessarily show up "in person" Not at the moment, anyway. Stay tuned and you'll see for yourself!

Skraku: Good to know I'm yanking the emotional chain around. Enjoy the next chappie!

Ankhutenshi: "Power-after-all" was kind of the idea, yes. And you'd be the perfect one to notice the "fringe" characters' development past "the norm" for me, wouldn't you? *grins* Enjoy the chappie.

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February - One Month Later

--

Kyle and Chubs found Monica to be quite stuck on herself. Of course, seeing Monica stuck on herself was a normal deal, but this was even more so. Suddenly she was flaunting herself around, drawing even more attention than usual. Somehow, she had managed to throw off her cloak of stupid girls; this last one surprised them, because they'd almost never seen her without those girls gnawing at her side. Now, it was purely Monica drawing the attention, not any of those girls grabbing people and making them stare at her as if she were something holy.

Kyle had since finished with the yellow roses on regular occasion, deciding only to deposit them at random. He had no idea what she did with them beyond putting them in her locker, though he had to assume she did something more with them if she didn't want them to start rotting there.

This particular day found Kyle and Chubs at their lunch table, dueling each other. As usual, Kyle was losing to the superior player. Kyle glanced up at his opponent as Chubs made the finishing move on Kyle's Life Points with his Flame Cerebrus. "I don't know if the random roses are having effect anymore."

"It's hard to tell," Chubs agreed. "What, you think you should stop?"

"I'm just wondering if it's really worth it." Kyle shrugged. "She doesn't know who's sending them, so how can she know that there might be someone out there who might really want to be her friend?"

"She'd probably know there might be someone. She just doesn't know if there is," Chubs replied. "And considering her attitude these days..."

"Yeah, I know. It's what makes me afraid to stick roses in on regular occasion anymore, now I'm wondering if she doesn't take them somewhere and crush them underfoot or something." Kyle scoffed.

Chubs rolled his eyes. "Oh, give me a break. Girls love flowers. Ask any girl what she'd like to get from a guy that likes her, she'll put flowers in the Letterman list. Though I understand a lot better why you two have never gotten along." His face scrunched up in an expression of disgust. "I dunno, but she seems to have a vendetta against me now that she knows I play Duel Monsters. I've had her challenge me a couple times. Like, on a whim."

"And what happened?"

"Lost. Every time." Chubs rolled his eyes. "Those dragons of hers are something powerful, I'm telling you. And wherever she doesn't have power in her dragons, she makes up for it through magic and trap cards. No wonder she's such stiff competition. Lemme tell you something, though, I think you should steer clear of her for a while. Ever since she got back, she's been a hell of a lot more bitchy."

"Well, don't think I'm giving her flowers to reward her bad attitude," Kyle responded, chuckling as he shuffled his deck. "They're supposed to promote a better one." He looked up at Chubs and held up his deck. "Again?"

"Sure, we've got time. Get ready to be whipped."

--

Later on that day, Kyle went to Chubs' house. He'd already been there several times in the course of the last month. His parents found it wonderful that he'd finally found a friend – and oh, how woeful I was without friends, he scoffed to himself – to hang out with. They didn't really seem to care where he spent his time, just as long as he was home by 6 p.m. for dinner.

When Kyle got there, as usual, Chubs was going through his binder of Duel Monsters cards. Chubs was always looking for ways to improve his deck. He didn't use his usual deck against Kyle – Kyle didn't yet have the cards or the skill to take that one on. No, Chubs used a much simpler deck against Kyle, and only improved upon it when Kyle defeated it.

Chubs smirked at Kyle as the senior entered his room. "Soon enough, Kyle, you'll see what my real deck is capable of."

"Oh, really?" Kyle took a seat at Chubs' desk, pulled a rubber band out of his jacket, and pulled his long hair back into a ponytail. "How's that?"

"The guy at the card shop said there's going to be a tourney this Saturday. People have been signing up for it like mad. I only barely got my name onto the roster before it filled up." Chubs flipped a page. "Gotta make my payment before the tourney, though, otherwise I can't participate."

"Sounds interesting enough."

"Oh, it will be. This is an official tournament. Underground, sure, but official. Whoever wins this one gets to move up to the next level." The stout boy grinned. "Guess that means me."

"Heh. I guess we'll see, at that."

"Want to come along?"

"To a Duel Monsters tournament?" Kyle raised an eyebrow.

Chubs nodded. "Sure. It'd give you a chance to see the different strategies and cards people put to use."

"They're all going to be the same cards, Chubs... the ones that are damn near impossible to find. That's how it always works, right?"

"Not necessarily," Chubs answered. "Just 'cause people participate in tournaments doesn't mean they don't use really common cards." He flipped through his card binder and pointed out three cards in particular. "La Jinn, Harpie's Brother, 7-Colored Fish... all these are monsters with decent attack powers."

"Monsters that are notably not in your deck," said Kyle. He tugged on his dark ponytail.

Chubs shrugged. "True enough. But just because they're not in my deck doesn't mean they're not good. It just means I choose not to use them. I don't find much of an appeal in these particular ones. I prefer monsters with the Fire attribute. Machine-type monsters are cool, too."

"And you like monsters with a higher attack power than 1800," Kyle responded.

"That, too, but Fire monsters with that sort of attack power are not exactly easy to come by."

"Yet you have several."

"And you think that was easy?" Chubs rolled his eyes. "You've still got a lot to learn about the game as a practice, Kyle. But don't worry, I'm willing to keep teaching you."

"You mean, beating me. You've been doing that left and right, every time we've dueled."

"Sooner or later, your deck and your strategy will be solid enough to beat mine left and right."

Kyle scoffed. "You're pretty confident in me, Chubs. Where did that come from?"

"From everything you've told me about yourself, you've changed. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but you've changed. And it's for the better. If you can change your own life so drastically, I think you ought to be able to change your luck for a card game." Chubs chuckled and began to flip through his folder again.

"Who else will be at this tournament?"

"I dunno. I don't go to too many of them. Generally I get whipped by others, so I'm out five bucks and have nothing to show for it except wounded pride. Still, I'd be willing to take an exception, in this case, to show you some other duelists and what kinds of cards you'd want to get your hands on." Chubs glanced up at Kyle. "And with your resources, you could get just about any card you please. Wish I had that kind of money."

Kyle chuckled. "You might yet, if I ever start to beat you."

"Are you bribing me to throw the game?" Chubs raised an eyebrow.

"Nope. I have to beat you, fairly and repeatedly. That's my goal. Once I get enough self-confidence from playing the game..." Kyle shrugged. "Maybe even enter a tournament... then you might find yourself with a little more in your pocket than you expected. Either that, or your birthday will get here."

Chubs snorted. "You're getting me hopeful, Kyle. And no offense, but as much of an ass as you claim you were, a part of me wonders if this isn't just some kind of cruel torture."

"Cruel torture was what I was doing to myself," said Kyle. "Wouldn't wish that on anyone else, I can tell you that. I'm thinking about having laser surgery to erase my tattoos. Maybe I can do something about my vision, too; it's getting kind of blurry."

Chubs idly looked through his folder. "I'd say your vision is a lot more straight than what it used to be. What was it like, getting all those tattoos? Doesn't sound like a pleasant experience."

"I found it pleasant," said Kyle. "I reveled in the pain. But trust me, you don't need a million needles injecting your skin with ink. Don't set your mind to getting a tattoo if there's any part of you that wouldn't want it."

"You sure made it seem like you wholeheartedly wanted all of yours."

"I did. That was a mistake, too."

"Hm." Chubs pulled a card out of his folder and showed it to Kyle. "Tyrant Dragon. That's my best card. I've depended on it before. It ought to do me some good in this tournament, I think." He slipped it into his deck. "Not too many people there would have monsters with an attack power that high."

"Didn't you say that Kaiba had three of the four Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards?"

"Sure did. But not anymore, he doesn't. I dunno if you remember, but his Blue-Eyes cards were stolen a while back."

"Wonder where they might be."

Chubs shrugged. "Doubt if they would be here, of all places. You got a point to this line of questioning?"

"It's got a nearly unsurpassed attack power. Even higher than your Tyrant Dragon."

Chubs nodded. "True. But what're the chances of actually finding a Blue-Eyes at a tournament like the one I'm attending?"

"Slim to none. What if they do end up being there, though?"

"A tournament as unnoticed as this one?" Chubs rolled his eyes. "Please. The duelist with those cards would more likely be using those holographic platforms KaibaCorp conjured up. They wouldn't be here; the prizes aren't that great, comparatively speaking."

"Cash money and free card packs. To most people, that sounds good."

"Good, but not great. And 'great' would be the kind of prize the duelist with the Blue-Eyes cards would be looking for."

Kyle shrugged. "Whatever."

"Yeah, whatever. You want to come to the tourney or not?"

"I don't mingle well."

"No one said you had to. Just stand around and watch. Be surly and people'll leave you alone." Chubs grinned. "You pull off 'surly' so well."

"Yeah, it's something my parents hate me for."

"Your parents hate you for a lot of stuff. What's one more thing?"

"I suppose that's true enough. Sure, I'll tag along."

"Goody."

--

Saturday - Four Days Later

--

When Kyle and Chubs got to the store, there were already several duelists there. This was hardly a tournament of the proportions that they were constantly bombarded with on cable television during prime time; these were more of the "low-down", scrapping-type duels. It was here that the "weeding" process began, where the weakest duelists were plowed over by the better ones. From here, it was to all begin and eventually escalate into the higher echelons of dueling.

It was strange to consider that prospects for becoming a famed duelist began in a seedy store like this.

Kyle felt himself unqualified to judge, however, as he was not yet as experienced as Chubs, or most of the others here, for that matter.

Not for lack of trying, he thought.

Chubs registered himself with the cashier, a plain-looking college-age guy with buzzed hair. Kyle hadn't seen him here before today, but something nagged him about the guy's appearance. He looks familiar...

"So when are we going to get any good duelists in here?" Chubs asked the cashier, as he handed over the entry fee.

"C'mon, Chubs, you know these are the weakling tournaments." The cashier rolled his eyes. "But I'd beware if I were you. I heard Monica plans to make an appearance."

Chubs glowered. "Dude, you know how I feel about her."

"Who doesn't, in this neighborhood?" The cashier grinned. "But like I said, I'd be careful. She wouldn't even bother with these tourneys unless she wanted something."

"Yeah, to make a statement," Chubs snorted. "That's the kind of person she is."

"I know, I know. Just be careful. She's good."

"Duh." Chubs went back to Kyle's side; the long-haired teen was perusing the Duel Monsters card binders.

"Monica may be coming here," Chubs muttered. "Figured I'd give you a heads-up."

Kyle shrugged. "As long as she doesn't bother me, we'll get along just fine."

"This is Monica we're talking about here."

"Good point. I'll go huddle in a corner somewhere."

"Ah-ah. I have to deal with her, so you do, too." Chubs inspected the cards Kyle was checking out. "Hmm. There're a couple of good ones in here."

The cashier sauntered over to the two. "Anything I can do for you guys before the tourney starts? Last minute buys, that sort of thing?"

Chubs chucked a thumb at Kyle. "Maybe you can help him out. He's a starting duelist, so he needs to get his hands on some goodies."

The cashier glanced at Kyle and raised his eyebrows. "Kyle McCraine? Whoa. Now, this is a surprise."

Kyle blinked, and tentatively asked, "Do... I know you from somewhere? You seem familiar."

"You used to know me." The cashier grinned and stuck out a hand. "I'm Zack. We used to hang out, back in elementary school."

Kyle blinked again, finally recognizing the boy – now a man – and shook the proffered hand. "Well, I'll be damned! A welcome surprise if I ever saw one."

"Heh, I suppose so. Came back into town last summer. There were a whole bunch of job opportunities back here, couldn't miss them. Not like where I was, there was a load of layoffs there. Been hopping from job to job. Good experience."

"You're not in college?" Kyle was surprised once again. "I thought your parents always wanted you to get a higher education."

"I'm saving up. I don't really have the discipline to make it through college yet, anyway. I'm taking this year as a kind of 'off-year' from school, so I can focus on the real world. I've found a job creates a measure of discipline. Deadlines, that sort of thing. Just what I need for classes. But I haven't totally laid the school thing away; I'm taking an online course, just to keep my groove in that area."

"Hm. Good deal, then. And you're here now?"

"No, this is a hologram of me, I'm actually over at Wal-Mart." Zack scoffed. "Yes, I'm here now. Wasn't exactly easy for me to come back, though. I mean, after Jason... well, I'm sure you remember."

"Yeah. Tough times."

"Yep. But like I said, too many jobs to miss out on. I've got quite a résumé now. Wide range. Pretty much any employer would hire me." Zack grinned. "But I've gotta keep working, otherwise I have no apartment."

"Hm." Kyle glanced around the store. "I doubt if I'll have that problem for a while yet."

"So do I, you rich bastard." Zack chuckled. "So, you here for the tournament?"

"Nah, didn't sign up in time, and probably wouldn't have even with the opportunity. Like Chubs said, I'm just a beginner. I need some good cards first."

"Huh. Didn't actually think I'd see you playing Duel Monsters."

"You won't be, today," said Kyle. "Just along for the ride, s'all."

Zack shrugged. "Whatever. Interested in our stock?"

"Depends on what you've got. I don't care about rarity, I only want what's good in a deck."

"Well, then, let's see what I can do for you." Zack turned around and pulled a black card binder off a shelf packed with similar binders. This was the only black one to be seen, however. It bore no insignia, save a small infinity loop in the spine.

"This is my restricted folder," he said, his voice low. "The kids who come in here don't know about it because they're so obsessed with booster packs."

"Booster packs haven't done much for me," Kyle responded.

"They don't do much for a lot of people. They're always scrabbling for more because they think they'll find better. And I won't say that they can't find better, but in here..." Zack patted the folder. "...these are the cards that've been restricted to one per deck because they're so powerful. Feel free to take a look."

He opened the folder, to reveal row after row of holographic cards. For every card in the folder, there were at least three copies.

"Swords of Revealing Light, Pot of Greed, Jinzo, Magic Cylinder, Monster Reborn, Change of Heart, Mirror Force, Graceful Charity, Harpie's Feather Duster, United We Stand, Morphing Jar, Limiter Removal, Witch of the Black Forest, Sangan, Mage Power, Raigeki, Dark Hole... Exodia pieces." The cashier allowed a small grin.

Kyle breathed out a curse. "Where did you get all these?"

"I'm the administrator of a website that's always on the lookout for cards like these." Zack tapped one of the pages for emphasis. "We get over a hundred thousand hits daily from people who want to both sell and buy, as well as just ogle the selection. Our provider pays us to maintain the site because we attract so many customers and give them so many hits. It's big publicity; that's how I get the money to nail all these."

"But you've gotta be getting freaking loads from your customers on the side," Kyle replied, trying to take in the implications of the folder. "What're you doing working at a place like this? You could be sitting at home and watching TV twenty-four seven."

The cashier allowed a small smile. "I could be, yeah. But I'm finding that I like this sort of work."

"Something tells me you don't offer cards like this to just any hopeful who walks in the store."

"You're right, I don't. I have to have a reputation to work with first. And everything I know about you tells me you've got a deep enough wallet to justify breaking them out."

"What have you heard about me?"

"That you've become an outcast, overly gothic and dramatic pain-in-the-ass who's obsessed with tattoos, self-mutilation, and habits that will eventually lead to suicide, if you don't happen to die before that particular decision."

Kyle snorted. "You're pretty blunt."

"Oh, those were the highlights. You probably don't want to hear the details."

Kyle shrugged. "Fair enough. Just so you know I'm not quite that way now."

"I'll have to figure that out for myself, if you truly plan on coming back in here while I'm behind the counter. In the meantime, your money's good. So what'll it be?"

Kyle took a deep breath. "I'll have to think about it a minute or so. I didn't bring all that much along with me. Hadn't really planned on buying boosters here, much less individual cards."

Zack shrugged. "I can give you a layaway deal, if you like."

"What's the length of the layaway?"

"Depends on how much money you put on what you want. More money equals more time to pay the rest. My maximum is two weeks; that's a fifteen buck layaway."

"Per card?"

The cashier nodded. "That's how rare these things are. My prices range from twenty to thirty per."

"Do you deal entirely in the restricted cards?"

Zack shook his head. "Wouldn't make much money that way, but a goodly amount of my profits are derived from transactions involving the restricted cards."

Kyle cocked his head. "I'd expect someone with cards like these to be in the tournaments. Why aren't you participating?"

Zack shrugged. "I'm more of a collector."

"Do you duel at all?"

"Sure. Though I generally don't do it here. My boss doesn't know about my dabblings on the Net, and if he saw that I had my hands on cards like this..." The cashier rolled his eyes. "Let's just say that he's not big picture. All he can see is this store and what profits he can make for it. He'd probably snatch my cards somehow."

"Then why risk bringing them in here and showing them to me?"

The cashier gave a small grin. "Because he's daft, and I like to find out just how much I can sneak past him. It's a challenge. Besides which, people like you might come in wanting something a bit more. And more is what I have to offer."

Kyle continued to peruse the folder. He glanced back up at Zack after a moment, and grinned. "I think I might be interested."

"Great. Which catches–?"

The bell to the store's door went off.

Kyle's eyes narrowed... he knew who it was without even having to look. He stayed hunched over the counter; his back was to the door, enough so that he couldn't be readily recognized.

"Uh-oh," Zack muttered, straightening up. He quickly stashed the folder.

"Well! I guess I'm here just in time."

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Coming up next, the tournament everyone's been waiting for. Plus, Monica has a little something up her sleeve – the reason she visited Russia is revealed!