ONE AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER THE EVENTS OF "SPENT SHELLS AND HEARTSTRINGS"...

PART THREE: TRUTH OF LINEAGE

Chapter 17: Surprise Guests

"I can't believe you talked me into allowing Mokuba to watch this," Seto drawled as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Aw come on, Kaiba; this is some good stuff. The controversy alone is worthy of a peek. Besides, ya do owe him this much fer helpin' to save yer life a month an' a half back." Jounouchi smirked. "Ya wouldn't want to deprive Mokuba of this once-in-a-lifetime moment—especially since it might get banned again."

"I bet these guys could kick your butt!" Mokuba exclaimed as he grabbed a handful of shrimp chips.

"Yeah, right!" Jounouchi reached into the bowl, grabbing a fistful of the shrimp chips.

"Hey, don't hog them all!" Mokuba cried as he snatched the bowl away from the dirty blond.

Seto sighed as he flipped the remote in his hands. "Children, if you're done fighting over the shrimp chips, I'd like to watch this battle between Hwoarang and Forest Law."

Jounouchi paused. "Hwoa-what?" Mokuba saw this as an opportunity to take control of the bowl of shrimp chips and snatched it away from the dirty blond. "Hey!"

"Hwoarang is a Tae Kwon Do fighter from South Korea," Seto explained. "Apparently, he's a reputed street tough that earns money by fighting in underground circles." He glanced over at Jounouchi.

"What?" Jounouchi frowned. "Are ya sayin' that he's like me?"

Seto smirked. "He's practically your Korean equivalent."

"What?" Jounouchi crossed his arms. "There's no way that punk is anythin' like me!"

Seto glanced over at the television screen. "He just made a face that looked exactly like the one you made."

Mokuba giggled as Jounouchi glared at the screen. He glared back at Seto and Mokuba.

"You both suck." Jounouchi sulked. "By the way, ya know what's up with the hype around that Forest Law guy?"

"His father, the unfortunately named Marshall Law, competed in the first two Iron Fist tournaments. Naturally, expectations are running high for him."

"Fer someone who wasn't all that interested in seein' this, ya sure know a lot."

Seto crossed his arms. "I generally prefer to know what I'm getting myself into, thank you very much."

"Shh! They're gonna start!" Mokuba exclaimed as he bounced in his chair.

[The announcer stood in the center of the arena, reading off the various rules of the match. Standing on the right was a dark-haired man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He was wearing a white wifebeater top, a pair of indigo Chinese-style pants with a scarlet silk sash tied around his waist and a pair of black fighting shoes on his feet. He stood up straight appearing disciplined though his thumbs rested in his belt in a casual act.

His opponent, on the other hand, appeared to be anything but disciplined. His hair appeared disheveled and he wore a bored expression on his face as he slouched forward, not even pretending to show a hint of interest in the rules. He wore a deep blue top, denim jeans with black chaps over them, and motorcycle boots with spurs. His goggles kept his shoulder-length fiery hair out of his face.

"Fighters, READY!" the announcer bellowed. The two fighters initiated their respective stances.]

"Oh hey; I've seen you in that same stance that Whore-rang used."

"It's 'Hwoarang', and I told you; he's a practitioner of Tae Kwon Do, which is what I use."

[The announcer raised his arm.]

Jounouchi snapped his fingers. "That's why it's so familiar. Gotcha."

Seto shook his head and rolled his eyes.

[The announcer lowered his arm. "FIGHT!!"]

"Man...you think he's got a chance against Law's Jeet Kuno Do?" Mokuba inquired.

"We'll see," Seto answered as he laid an index finger onto his lips.

[Hwoarang initiated with the offensive, using a series of high-striking kicks with his left leg. Law easily defended the first three and parried the fourth kick, causing the Korean youth to stumble. Law followed his parry up with a lightning-fast back-knuckle strike, hitting Hwoarang on the jaw and knocking the Korean punk down.

The crowd howled with excitement.

Hwoarang sat up, muttering something in his native tongue as he wiped the blood away from the corner of his lip. He climbed back up to his feet and stood with his right foot forward.]

"Anyone coulda seen them strikes comin'," Jounouchi noted.

"It was a very stupid thing to pull," Seto agreed.

[Law dashed towards Hwoarang, quickly closing the distance in between them. Hwoarang sneered; he quickly brought his left foot around in a reverse roundhouse kick. Law ducked and retaliated by thrusting his right fist and landing it in Hwoarang's abdoment. Despite the short distance between them, the blow sent Hwoarang flying back twenty feet.

The crowd was ecstatic.]

"That was the one-inch punch!" Mokuba exclaimed as he grabbed a handful of shrimp chips.

[Law brushed his nose with his thumb, smirking; he appeared sure that he would win. Hwoarang sat up once again, appearing to very agitated. Law smirked; he seemed more sure of himself than ever as he slowly approached Hwoarang.

Suddenly Hwoarang grinned, but by the time Law noticed the mood swing, the red-haired Korean made his move. He leapt up and stepped on the Chinese- American's left knee as if he were a step-ladder and launched himself, using the momentum to kick Law on the back of his head with his right foot—the Human Cannonball throw. Law crashed face-first to the ground. The crowd, despite their collective gasps over the surprise turn of events, cheered as wildly as ever.

Law rolled to the side and stood up. Blood was dripping from his nose; he quickly brushed it away with his thumb, not unlike that of the late legend Bruce Lee. Hwoarang extended his arm, beckoning his opponent with a "come hither" motion. Law instead remained stationary, so Hwoarang shrugged his shoulders, and sprung forward.

Law crouched low on the ground, his weight placed on his left foot. Hwoarang continued his approach; his eyes narrowed as they locked on Law. He then slowed down enough to raise his left leg to prepare a strike, when at that moment Law had launched himself into that air with a back-flip kick attack.

Hwoarang smiled; the Jeet Kune Do fighter fell for it. His left leg remained had remained raised, at a bend—the Left Flamingo Stance. He had safely hopped back a pace right as Law initiated the swift movements used for the back-flip kick. The fiery Korean quickly hopped forward, and Law received a nasty surprise as he landed—a sharp-left-heeled strike to his chin, launching the Chinese-American fighter into the air. Hwoarang timed his next follow-up by turning around and kicking back with his left foot and quickly following with a right back-kick, striking the falling Law on his abdomen.

Law crashed onto the hard surface of the ground, his breathing coming in rasps at best as he clutched his abdomen. An official rushed to Law's side, checking over his condition. He then stood, and pointed his hand at the Korean.

"The winner of the second match of the Iron Fist Tournament is Hwoarang, winning with a knock-out!"

The crowd roared with excitement.]

Jounouchi emitted a low-pitched whistle. "Man; looks like legacy don't mean shit against devious—ow!"

Seto elbowed Jounouchi on his side. "Language."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "What I, uh, meant was that Law's legacy was no good against Hoe-rang's devious talents."

"That's 'Hwoarang'! Jeez, get his name right!" Mokuba exclaimed as he crossed his arms. "That was an exciting match! Loads better than that one between Paul and that robot guy, GunJack!" He frowned as he recalled how soon the latter match had ended.

"Tuesday will be the match-up between Lei Wulong and Eddy Gordo," Seto reminded as he checked a program sheet he printed from the computer. "Unfortunately, it WILL be during school hours, so Mokuba, I will be TiVoing it for us to watch later that day."

"Aw...can't I stay home and—"

"No."

Jounouchi mussed the boy's wild hair. "Eh, so you'll know what happened later than others...it's not the end of the world." He smiled.

"Yeah..." Mokuba agreed. "Are there gonna be any matches before Tuesday's?"

"Not that I have heard," Seto answered as he shut the television off and rose in to his feet, stretching. "Anyway, it's bedtime for you, kiddo."

"Wow; eleven fifteen. Total record!" Mokuba exclaimed as he stretched.

Seto smirked. "And you'll be regretting it when the maid has to literally drag you out of bed."

Mokuba imitated Hwoarang's sneer. "We'll just see about that!" He ran up to Seto and hugged his elder brother. "Have a good night, okay? Don't watch that match before I do!"

Seto reeled back. "Mokuba, have some faith in your big brother." He squeezed the boy gently. "Now off to bed with you. Jounouchi and I will clean up and shall be turning in shortly."

"Okay. Goodnight, Seto...good night, Jounouchi." Mokuba dashed up the stairs, the imagess of the match he witnessed on television still fresh in his mind.

Jounouchi leaned in close to Seto, making sure he would speak in a low voice. "So uh, what about that webcast at school?"

"Mention a word to Mokuba, and I'll beat you senseless," Seto answered flatly.

"Gotcha." Jounouchi yawned. "Man; I'm beat...off to bed for us, right? Not that we'll get much sleep..."

"Put the shrimp chips away," Seto reminded as he pointed at the large bowl.

"Awww..."

Seto leaned in close to Jounouchi. "If you put them away, I promise that it will be worth the tedium," Seto purred.

Excitement filled Jounouchi's eyes. "I can get this put away in ten seconds."

"Then hurry; you've already wasted one—"

Jounouchi snatched the bowl and immediately dashed for the kitchen.

"Man, is this bed comfortable!" Jounouchi exclaimed as he stretched himself out onto the midnight blue sheets. "I could practically live on it."

"Well, I'd prefer if you simply slept in it," Seto replied as he tossed something at Jounouchi, the article of clothing landing directly onto the dirty blond's face.

Jounouchi hastily removed the forest green material from his face. "What's this?"

"Your new clothes for sleeping in."

Jounouchi snorted. "I don't do those full-on pajamas, man."

"They're only the pants."

Jounouchi inspected the article of clothing, nodding to himself when he saw that Seto was right. "Oh? That's it?"

"Actually...I ordered it as a full set, but you're going to wear the pants. I'm wearing the top."

Jounouchi appeared confused as he glanced over the silky green material he held in his hands. "So ya ordered a set, and we're splittin' it? How very...personal." He smiled.

"I didn't think you'd object once you understood. It's in your size, so the top will be a little large for me."

"Is that so? Put it on. I wanna see."

"Fine. But you better be wearing those pants when I am done changing," Seto said as he walked towards the personal bathroom.

Jounouchi smiled widely. "I'll be ready in two minutes!"

"Sure you will, puppy-dog," Seto drawled as he closed the door behind him.

The instant Jounouchi heard the click of the doorknob, he hurriedly removed his T-shirt, tossing the clothing aside as soon as he removed it over his head, and then unbuttoned and unzipped his ragged blue jeans, pulling and kicking them off as quickly as possible. He grabbed the silk forest green pajama pants and put one leg into the pants; he suddenly noticed that he was putting them on backwards, so he withdrew his leg, turned the pants around, and placed his legs into the pants as quickly as he could without error.

He barely had a moment to admire how well they fit and looked on his strong figure when he heard the click sound of the doorknob. He instantly lay down on the bed, resting his arms behind his head to show that he had been relaxing.

Jounouchi suddenly bolted upright, leaning forward to get a closer look at Seto.

The top half of the pajamas appeared to be a size or two too large on the brunet. The sleeves were rolled past his wrists before the elbow joints, and the top was buttoned up save for two, which revealed the majority of Seto's chest. The top reached all the way down to Seto's lower thighs, and the slight oversize of the clothing seemed to complement the brunet's long, slender legs.

"...damn..." It was all Jounouchi could manage.

Seto smirked as he approached the bed. "Just the reaction I had expected you to make." He sat down on the bed beside Jounouchi, who remained staring at the brunet.

Seto looked over at Jounouchi, lying on his side whilst propping himself up on his left elbow. "Not bad. I made a good choice picking those out for you. You have a nice upper body; I saw no reason to cover that up."

Jounouchi blinked as his eyes locked onto Seto's chest. "...I can totally see your nipple when you lean like that."

Seto blinked. "You certainly know how to compliment someone."

Jounouchi smirked. "Well, I like it when somethin's peekin' like that; I can't help pointin' it out."

Seto sighed as he sat up, his shirt covering up the exposed nipple. "You're such a pervert."

"And yer such an exhibitionist."

"I told you I—Ooooh!"

Jounouchi had suddenly leaned up close to Seto's chest and was gently nibbling and sucking on Seto's recently exposed nipple.

"JonoOOouchi...ahhh, you get—mmm, ohhh...get off of me!" Seto playfully pushed Jounouchi back.

Jounouchi grinned. "I love to get off on ya. 'Specially in the comforts of my bedroom."

"Oh, you are just a naughty, horny puppy," Seto scolded teasingly.

Jounouchi held up his hands to his chest, simulating a pair of paws, and whimpered. "Does that mean I can't hump yer leg?"

"Oh my—"Seto sighed. "You really are something else. You're lucky that I like you so much." He leaned in close and pecked Jounouchi on his cheek.

"I know. Mannn...it's so nice to relax." Jounouchi extended his arms in a stretch. He looked over at Seto, who was going through one of his dresser drawers.

"Hey; Seto! Whaddya doin'? Get yer skinny ass back over to the bed so we can make out and fondle and stuff."

"Just a minute. I nearly forgot that I wanted to find something."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Aw, man!"

"It won't be long, I swear," Seto promised as he closed the top drawer and opened the middle, instantly rummaging through it as soon as he opened it.

"Just what is it that ya gotta find that ya gotta interrupt our alone time for, huh? It's not often we get time like this anymore, ya know."

"Three days of private make-out time a week isn't enough for you? Shit; not here either," Seto muttered as he slammed the drawer shut and proceeded to rummage through the bottom one.

"Hey; don't underestimate my drive."

"You mean your 'horny'?"

"Hey; shut up!"

"Just calling it as I see it, Katsu," Seto stated bluntly as he knitted his eyebrows together in frustration; where was that object?

"Oh shit; I nearly forgot..."

"Aha!" Seto exclaimed as he held up a worn composition book.

"Mai wants to meet you tomorrow."

The book slipped from Seto's hands and back into the drawer. Seto rapidly turned around. "Jounouchi...who's Mai?"

"Oh shit; I never told ya? She's this friend o' mine. We go a ways back, from my Crashers days. She taught me how to, uh, ya know; fuck. She taught me how to fuck a person right."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "And may I deduce that this Mai is an older woman? Why Katsuya, I never knew..."

"Hey; don't knock it!"

"I wasn't. I'm just rather surprised that you have a preference for older women."

"They're much better lays than high-school girls. Experience, ya know. Plus, high-school girls are all giggly an' shit. But the thing with me and Mai was strictly business. She taught me how to do it and be serious 'bout it and I learned real damn well."

"Ah...so why is she so interested in meeting me?"

"Well, ah, I've been tellin' her 'bout ya since ya were runnin' 'round in that blond wig. I also told her that ya were my boyfriend, and she was excited. Ya see, she's been waitin' fer the day that I got serious with someone, and so now she wants to meet ya." Jounouchi put on an innocent grin.

Seto closed the drawer, ignoring the book for the time being. "Typical Jounouchi. You can never keep your mouth shut."

Jounouchi laid down on the bed. "Well, your tongue down my throat would make for a nice cure..."

Seto smirked as he climbed onto the bed, atop Jounouchi. "I can certainly administer that, naughty puppy."

"Oh yeah; I've definitely been naughty. Ya might need to kiss me more than once just to make sure I stay quiet."

Seto purred as he leaned in, the tip of his nose brushing softly against Jounouchi's--

--there was suddenly a loud, thumping sound.

"Oh, what the fuck?" Seto demanded as he snapped into an upright position.

Jounouchi sat up. "Man, can't people leave two horny teenagers be? She-it."

"Go see who it is, and tell them to go the hell away, and then remind me to fire the security team on the basis that they were doing a shitty job."

"Wait; what? Why me?"

Seto pointed to his exposed legs. "I'm not wearing any pants."

Jounouchi groaned as he slowly rose from the bed. "Oh; right. Yer lucky I like them sexy legs of yers, too."

"Just remember; the foyer is straight ahead and—AaaAAh!" Seto yelped as he felt Jounouchi running a hand up his thigh. Seto glared at the dirty blond and punched him on his shoulder.

"Couldn't help myself!" Jounouchi teased.

"Just get down there, naughty little puppy," Seto muttered, his face a crimson hue from a flattered blush.

Jounouchi dashed down the stairs as quickly as he could, making sure not to mess the violet carpet that decorated the center from his rough dashing. Thoughts of Seto's long, smooth legs gave a rise to his arousal; all he had to do was tell off the unexpected guest and hurry back to the bedroom.

He unlocked the door and quickly forced it open.

"All right buddy; don't know what yer tryin' to sell, but we don't want...none."

The man that stood in the doorway was huge; he was about seven inches taller than Seto and was muscular like a body-builder. He wore a dark sleeveless leather muscle-tee with a matching pair of leather biker jeans, kneepads, and large armour-plated boots. His golden hair, which complimented his tanned skin well, was swept back in a spiked hairstyle save for his sideburns; each sharply turned at the base of his earlobes, accenting his cheekbones.

"Uh..." Jounouchi's jaw gaped open.

"Forgive our intrusion; this will only be a minute," the man spoke in fluent Japanese.

"What...whaddya want?" Jounouchi demanded as he cocked his head to the side. That's it Katsuya; hide the fear of a two-hundred-somethin' pound wrestler- lookin' guy choke-slammin' you...hide the fear...

"We're here in search of a missing person."

Jounouchi furrowed his brow. "A missin' person?"

% "Anyway, this guy, he looks right at Hirutani, and holds up a photograph and asks 'Have you seen this kid'?" %

A look of horror came upon his face.

Hirutani's killer! It must be him! He raised his fists. The man appeared confused by Jounouchi's actions.

Suddenly, Seto had joined Jounouchi. "Jounouchi, why is it taking you so long to get rid of a big hulking brute of a man, standing right in my doorway." Seto trailed as he too stared at the unusual guest. Although he had put on a pair of black and blue trackpants, the green top remained, though it was buttoned up.

The large man looked over at Seto. "You must be Seto Kaiba, correct?"

Seto threw his arms into the air. "All right. Who the hell is telling these people about me?"

"We're wondering if perhaps you could direct us to the location of a missing person."

"Do I look like the 'Missing Persons Department' over at the Domino P.D.?"

"You don't understand," the man boomed. "He is an important asset to our team."

"Team? Asset? Listen, whoever you are, it's very late, and I tend to be a little on the irritable side (shut up, Jounouchi). If you don't start making any sense, then I'm going to slam this door in your face." Seto folded his arms. And hope that you don't tear it off with some freakish brute strength.

The man stood there, unsure of what the make of the proposition.

"Let me handle this one, Rafael. Relations is more my thing!" A voice exclaimed in French.

The brute, Rafael, gave a slight nod towards the unseen individual. Out of the shadows stepped another man. He was about the same height as Jounouchi, and just as muscularly toned. He wore a skin-tight sleeveless top, accented with oversized shoulder-pads. Like his companion, he wore leather jeans with kneepads and armoured combat boots. His bronze hair was spiked upwards, though his bangs remained down and were held in place by a pair of aviator goggles that rested on his brow.

"Hi," the young man greeted in Japanese as he extended his hand. "The name's Varon. That hulkin' brute there is Rafael. We make up two-thirds of a mercenary group known as the Death Three, and we're wondering if you've seen our third half."

Seto shook his head. "If you would make some sense of things, then I could answer your question. As it is, I don't even understand why you've sought me specifically."

"Let me get to that." Varon cleared his throat. "You see, about three and a half months ago, our third left for inexplicable reasons. Now, this was bad not only because he's the assassin in our group, but also because he's the best when it comes to tracking people down, and that is not at all a good thing. It took us a month, but we were finally able to pinpoint his last known location to be here, in Domino City."

"So where do I come in?"

Varon held up a finger. "Just a second! You kids really have no patience. Anyway, we tried to hit up as many resources as possible—especially myself since infiltration is one of my talents—but we exhausted them pretty quickly. Our little third was certainly an elusive one. Two weeks ago, we were about to give up when a man showed up on our doorstep claiming to know where our third was.

"His face was obscured by this hood that he wore; plus his head was always low so that helped. The first thing he did was show me a photograph asking if we knew where the person in the picture was."

Jounouchi's eyes widened at the last testimony.

"Of course, we didn't know, but we recognized the photo. You see, it was like the one our third had right before he disappeared on us. The mystery guy explained that our third had accepted a secret mission from him, but had not heard from him in a while, and decided to seek us out. There was something about that guy that really gave me the chills...and I don't get the chills often."

"Your third," Seto interjected, "His name didn't happen to be 'Amelda', did it?"

Surprised, Varon arched a brow. "Really, now? There's not many that know about him and are actually left alive."

Seto slowly raised his hands in a defensive stance; Jounouchi followed in suit.

Varon held his hands out in front of him. "Whoa; hold on! We're not here to fight! We're just here to know if you've seen him! Man; kids these days...can't think of anything other than fighting..."

Seto's arms fell to his side in an instant. "You could have said so rather than beat around the bush, jackass."

Varon shrugged. "I figured maybe you guys wanted the full story. So, have you or haven't you guys seen him, considering that you two are the last ones to have seen him and all..."

Seto shook his head. "I threatened to cause him harm if I ever saw him again."

Varon whistled. "Damn. Amelda's not one to be scared too easily, though. Probably licking his wounds...how long's it been?"

"A month and a half."

"What?" He turned to Rafael. "Shit; Rafael! We just missed him! Hopefully, he's still in the country." He faced the teens again. "You see, there's another reason why we're concerned about Amelda. He's considered a political criminal for pretty obvious reasons, and one of his main pursuers, a Hong Kong police officer by the name of Lei Wulong, is in Tokyo for that big fighting thing that's got everyone buzzed. Although word on the street has it that Wulong's after someone else that's in the same tournament, we just can't take any chances. Amelda's an important asset to our cause, plus he's our friend. You know how it is."

Seto raised a brow. "Actually, I—"

"—can relate perfectly!" Jounouchi quickly interjected, gently cupping his hand over Seto's mouth. "I got one quick question though, b'fore ya guys get goin'."

"Shoot."

"That man in the hoodie...did he, uh, carry some kinda sword?"

Varon shrugged his shoulders. "He carried something with him, but it was wrapped up, whatever it was. Pretty long object; it could have been a sword."

Seto shoved Jounouchi to the side. "There's one more thing. That man that had approached you; how did he manage to direct you to me?"

"The photograph. It was a picture of you." Varon smiled. "It was nice talking with you gentlemen tonight. Sleep tightly now." He motioned to Rafael to get moving. He stopped midway and glanced over his shoulder. "By the way, your little rent-a-cops will be okay; we just needed to be able to talk in peace and all. Good night."

Seto promptly slammed the door shut.

"Huh...didn't know Amelda was part o' some mercenary group...crappy name," Jounouchi yawned.

"That man...he had my photograph."

Jounouchi nodded. "Yeah...that's pretty eerie."

"You don't understand!" Seto exclaimed as he whirled around to face Jounouchi. "Nobody knows the face of Seto Kaiba."

"Uh...yer gonna have to forgive me; it's late so I'm a little slow...whaddya mean that nobody knows yer face?"

Seto sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What I mean is that nobody knows what I look like as the CEO of Kaiba Corp. I often obscure my face with sunglasses and wear a wig so nobody knows what I really look like. It allows me more freedom to act as I please without recognition."

"So that's why ya do normal things like take the bus, go to 7-11 for smokes, huh?"

"Right. To the world, I'm just Seto Hirano, an apathetic game-playing smart- ass with little care for anything that's not his book, his video games, or his music. For someone to have knowledge of my true name and the true face that goes with it is very dangerous."

"I'm startin' to get it."

"Jounouchi, you acted as though you knew about this mysterious man."

"Uh, yeah...he killed Hirutani."

"Then this means that he's quickly becoming a threat..." Seto clutched his abdomen. "This must have been the warning Amelda meant months ago after our last encounter."

"So ya think Amelda's gonna try again?"

Seto shook his head. "Not while his pursuer is here in Tokyo. I really ought to take this matter more seriously and start investigating, but tomorrow we have to be at the hole, and then you want me to meet Mai—"

"I could get 'er to cancel that, if ya need to—"

"No need to. I'd rather get that done than put it off. Besides, I'm very good at running on little sleep."

"A'right." Jounouchi raised his arms to stretch. "I guess it's back to business as usual fer us..."

"What do you..." Seto paused to yawn. "What do you mean by that?"

Jounouchi smiled. "Trouble, baby. Trouble is our business."

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS

The newest arc has the series taking place a month and a half after the events of Spent-shells and Heartstrings. That can be quite a gap, but in order for the main story's flow to continue, it's a necessary move.

For those of you that are DOOM/DOMA fans, you'll see that Rafael and Varon have made a cameo appearance. I felt that it would be wrong of me to include Amelda with little to no mention of Rafael and Varon. However, don't count on Dartz making any appearances! Speaking of Amelda, there are still some loose ends to tie up with him from Part II—so you can expect to see him make his return.

I know some of you will find the innumerous Tekken references to be seemingly daunting if not self-absorbed on my part; please don't let this stop you from reading. The Tekken references are a necessity to the series, and as you continue reading, you will begin to see why (though I promise that the next chapter is very light on the Tekken references). I must also remind you that I try to write the characters as if they were everyday people, so to have them watching the tournament on television is among one of the more "human" things they do.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your reading and for your reviews—over 120 already! I'll be taking some time over the weekend to do some reading, so be on the lookout for my name on your reviews list!