Negative Chaos

by High Crystal Guardian

*Sequel to Shadow Turned Light* The Shadow Realm's power is growing too high for the Realm to hold, and now it's magic is overflowing into Yugi's Realm. He tries to stop the magic, but can't...so a few old friends come through from the N. Realm to help...

11. Shadows and Knives

HCG: ^^ Yay, I came back with Chapter 11!

Kawari: ¬_¬;; Wonderful.

Kaeru: *rolls eyes* I think somebody gave her sugar.

HCG: Indeed! Pepsi and cookies ^___^ And I'm listening to Evenescene's "Whisper," which is such a kickass song and it's one of my faves. ^_~

Kawari: That song is just weird.

HCG: -_-;; You have no taste.

Kawari: Sure. -_-;;

Kaiba: *breaks into conversation before it turns into a competition* Hey, HCG...what happened to Kaze?

HCG: *sweatdrop* He was muse-napped. By WSJ. I got him back in the end, but he's been left rather disgruntled as a result. Apparently "WSJ is crazy."

Kaze: *irritated* Well, she is! She kidnapped me and dressed me up in leather! I was chained to her desk! And I didn't have coffee! *whiiiine*

HCG: ^^;; poor you...

Kawari: 'Least it wasn't me.

Kaiba: What is with all these people and kidnapping your Negatives?

HCG: I have no idea. They're hot and know how to fight?

Kaiba: -_-;;

HCG: ^^ Don't feel left out Kaiba, I still love you! *glomps him*

Kaiba: *exasperated sigh* That's what I was afraid of...

HCG: ^_^ ANYWAY....Kawari, disclaimer!

Kawari: Right...High Crystal Guardian doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh. She owns me, Kaeru, Kaze (despite WSJ's wishes) and Saguru, as well as all other aspects of the Negative Realm and it's theories and ideas. The Elements belong to Wingleader Sora Jade, but the Scrolls that they're connected to in this story belong to HCG.

HCG: Nice....Righto, Notes!

Kawari ~ NR Ryou

Kaeru ~ NR Bakura

Kaze ~ NR Kaiba

Saguru ~ NR Joey

italicized words are thoughts or memories/dreams

Any notes? Don't think so....*makes faces at the readers, then runs off laughing before they can attack her*

Negative Chaos

Chapter 11: Shadows and Knives

"What problem?" eleven voices asked Kaeru instantly, focusing intently on him with impatient eyes.

Kaeru sighed, shaking his head slightly and looking up from the small scrap of parchment to the rest of the group. "It's this riddle...I don't think we're talking about finding just one Scroll this time."

There was silence at this statement for a moment, a surprised, shocked silence, before Tea finally asked tentatively, "What do you mean?"

"Just listen to it," the Negative tomb robber said in reply, taking a quick breath before reading the next Verse out loud.

"Fifth is next, your Fate to find

Death after, if one keeps their mind

Tied together, they act as one

Far from burning gaze of sun

Yet Darkness lays between the pair

Now separate, trapped in darkened lair.

Shadows sweep and roll and howl

Hiding creatures that snap and growl

One lays on altar of blazing Light,

While second rests in darkest Night."

As Kaeru finished reading, he looked up once again from the parchment slip and stared around at the others. "See? There's no way we're talking about just one this time."

"That's true," Kaze murmured, nodding slightly. "There were two of the remaining three Elements mentioned here--Fate and Death." He frowned. "But why would they both be mentioned in one verse?"

"Maybe...they're in the same place?" Tristan suggested, looking thoughtful. "Or maybe they're close to each other. Why make two verses when it's only one spot?"

Kawari frowned. "Not close together. The verse mentions specifically that the two Scrolls have been separated--supposedly by darkness, but we can figure out what that means in a minute."

"Okay, hold on a minute," Mokuba muttered, thinking. "Let's just take this one line at a time and not jump around, or we'll never get anywhere." He took a momentary breath, then continued. "The first two lines tell us the Scrolls are Fate and Death, we've agreed on that, right?" The others nodded, and he went right on. "Okay. Third and fourth lines. 'Tied together, they act as one, far from burning gaze of sun'. Any ideas?"

"The third line does indeed suggest that the Scrolls are in a similar place, perhaps the same place," Yami pointed out, speaking up for the first time since the Scroll's verse had been read. "It does not seem to make sense, true, and the lines do appear to counteract each other, but what Tristen said holds truth." He frowned. "And the fourth line suggests the Scrolls are held someplace dark...someplace that has not seen the sun in many years."

"What's a dark place that doesn't see the sun much?" Ryou asked himself quietly, but the others heard it and began volunteering information.

"A cave!"

"A hole in the ground."

"Deep underwater!"

"A forest at night?"

"They all do have the opportunity to get sun, though," Kaiba argued, shaking his head. "The verse implies that wherever this is has never seen the light of day, and is too far away from it to be touched by light anyway. You can't get a situation like that unless you venture out of Earth's orbit, or--"

"Or," Kaeru cut in, very calmly, "unless you go to the Shadow Realm."

The comment cut through the loud chatter like a knife through butter, and within seconds everyone was staring at Kaeru.

"What...what did you say?" Joey asked, as if he had not heard properly and was double-checking, but everyone knew he had heard the comment quite clearly.

"I said the Shadow Realm seems a suitable candidate for the riddle. Match it with the rest of the lines and you'll see."

"You're right!" Yugi exclaimed suddenly, violet eyes widening even further. "Most of the other clues fit the Shadow Realm perfectly. Look--'shadows sweep and roll and howl, hiding creatures that snap and growl.' The Shadow Realm has real live duel monsters in it, the creatures. And of course it has sweeping shadows, what else would you find there?" He was getting more excited now that the location seemed to have been found. "It's big enough to separate two Scrolls too, and yet they're in the same place! It's all making sense now..."

"But...." Tristan frowned slightly, shrugging. "I don't know, maybe I just don't know as much about the Shadow Realm as you guys do, but what about the last two lines? 'One lays on altar of blazing Light, while second rests in darkest Night.' Does the Shadow Realm even have altars?"

"Well..." Yami frowned slightly, exchanging glances with Kaeru, whose expression now appeared rather flat. "In a manner of speaking, yes..."

"What do you mean?" Saguru asked, speaking up for the first time and raising an eyebrow at the sound of the ancient pharaoh's voice. "In a manner of speaking? It's gotta be a yes or no answer, doesn't it?"

"The answer is yes," Kaeru broke in. "The Scrolls would have to be at the temples of Light and Darkness in the Shadow Realm, there's no other explanation for it. They're on opposite ends of the Shadow Realm, which explains the 'separation' part of the verse. But the temples are...not quite normal...if you know what I mean." He frowned slightly.

Yugi shrugged. "Normal or not, we're just going to have to go there to get these Scrolls."

Yami shook his head. "It's not that easy, aibou. You cannot just open a portal to the Shadow Realm and enter at the foot of the temples. There is a wide radius around the temple where no portals can be opened. To get to the temples, one must enter the Shadow Realm at the barrier where the radius meets its end and travel across the distance to the temples themselves." He sighed. "The distances are quite far and full of danger; they were originally set up to protect the temples from weak, undeserving hearts. No one who is not meant to reach the temple could cross the range and still be alive afterwards."

There was silence that seemed to stretch on for an age as everyone processed this new, rather foreboding bit of information. To cross the distance could mean death, or other punishments, but to not pass the danger would mean giving up the Scrolls of Fate and Death, something they could not afford.

The silence was finally broken by Kaze, who spoke up rather suddenly. "We have nothing to worry about."

"What?!" Joey yelped, staring at Kaze as if he was crazy. "Are you nuts?! Crossing something like that in the Shadow Realm? It's meant for taking down people like us!"

"None of us have weak, undeserving hearts," Kaze countered, speaking quite calmly. "We all have a good reason to make the journey for the Scrolls. No one could accuse us of having unjust causes, and there is no reason for us to fail on the journey."

Joey blinked at this, considered, and finally nodded, going quiet. The others' spirits were considerably lifted by what Kaze had pointed out, and most were beginning to find their adventurous grins coming back, as though they could not wait for the next mission.

Kaze hadn't stopped talking, however. "I think," he murmured slowly, "that it would be best if we split into two groups for this. We won't waste so much time trying to get both Scrolls then, and every minute counts in this. Each group can go to its assigned temple, win the Scroll that is there, and bring it back with the next clue."

"That's a good idea," Tea said cheerfully. "We can get twice as much done in half the time."

"But there are a few problems with it," Kaiba muttered, ever ready to check the plans for their mistakes. "Firstly, after these two Scrolls there's only one left--Time. That means only one Scroll is going to have the next clue." He shrugged. "And we don't know which one that is."

Kawari shrugged. "So we'll just get both of them. We have to anyway, don't we? We shouldn't even bother with the Scroll of Time until we've got Fate and Death collected and into Kaze's pockets." He smirked a little.

Kaiba frowned at the white haired teen, then shrugged and went on. "Secondly," he continued, tapping his fingers on one of the tables in the library in his mansion, "what about the authorities?"

"What about them?" Kaeru asked rather dryly.

"You just committed a theft, and no matter how well you pulled it off, I've learned precautions should always be taken. You can't just split all twelve of us up and send us off running through another stupid magical dimension! We need a few to stay back as watchmen, to look out for authorities and make sure that if they get suspicious, there's somebody to take care of it."

Saguru raised an eyebrow again and nudged Kaze. "He's got a point," he said, sounding rather calm. "They'll take a little thing like a theft here a lot more seriously than back in our Realm. Kaeru's good, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful."

Kaze nodded. "Well then. I suppose you're willing to stay behind?" he asked, eyeing his opposite. "I'm assuming you're not much of a believer in the Shadow Realm anyway, if you really are my opposite."

Kaiba 'hmphed' and rolled his eyes. "Please. Even this Scroll hunt is hard to get used to. The Shadow Realm? Hah! I'm not going to start listening to you all clamoring about it until I'm force to." He smirked. "I'll stay behind like you said."

Kaze shrugged. "Very well. Now for the rest of the groups." He thought for a minute, then said, "I think we should have one yami spirit in each group to manage the Shadow Realm magics and such. So Yami is in the first group, and Kaeru belongs to the second. I'm going to assume again that their hosts are going to go with them, so Yugi and Kawari have their groups as well." He shrugged. "Other than that, I think it's really up to the rest of you as to what group you go with."

"I'm going with Yug'," Joey stated almost instantly. "He's my best friend and I'm not letting him go to that creepy place without me there too." He stood up, strode confidently over next to Yugi and Yami, and sat back down again on one of the chairs there.

Kaeru looked lazily over the remaining people, saying calmly, "I think Ryou should come with us. It would probably be for the best, in any case."

Ryou nodded, smiling the smallest bit, and murmured as he walked over to his opposite and the Negative yami, "Just in time, too."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kawari asked, looking curious.

Ryou frowned slightly and pointed at his Millennium Ring, which rested gently on his chest. "He woke up a little while ago," he muttered. "He's not happy, believe me. Swearing in his soul room something crazy." He grimaced.

Kaeru rolled his eyes. "I can hear him now," he said, voice again rather dry. "He's making no effort to keep the thought link closed." He looked rather annoyed, but shook it off. "Oh well. More the reason for you to come with us." Ryou nodded gratefully.

Tristan smirked a little before walking towards Kaeru's group as well. "The True Realm still needs an ass kicking representative over here," he said by way of explanation, giving Kawari a side glance. The Negative hikari snickered a little but said nothing.

Kaze glanced around at the groups so far; only he, Saguru, Mokuba, and Tea were left. Glancing off at Yami's group, he made his decision. "You still need a Negative Realmer in your group, to assure that balances are kept within individual teams." He stood calmly from where he had been sitting in one of the library's large chairs, walked over to his selected team (noticeably limping, the others noticed with masked grimaces) and stood calmly, watching the remaining three people.

Mokuba watched his opposite brother limp across the room with noticeable worry, biting his lip slightly. He glanced at his true brother, frowned, and looked back to Kaze, as though he was trying to make a decision; finally, seeming to have chosen, he turned to Kaiba.

"What is it, Mokuba?" the elder Kaiba brother asked, frowning a little at his sibling's expression.

"Well...it's just...you're gonna be safe here, in the real world...but Kaze's going into that place," the boy murmured, not daring to say the name. "And...well...he's my brother too. I...I'm worried about him."

"Ah." Kaiba showed no outward expression, but he understood where Mokuba was coming from quite well.

"Well..." Mokuba frowned again slightly, as if working up the nerve to ask something, and then spoke softly. "Do you think...it would be okay if I went with him?"

"Why?" Seto asked, a little shocked. He knew it was a dumb question; after all, he did know why--his shock came from the fact that his brother would want to go into that dangerous, hellish place. He was sure Mokuba had had enough of it to last a lifetime, and the boy hadn't even been in there as much as some of the others standing in the room. Besides, he wanted to keep his younger sibling safe, and didn't want him going into that place for anything.

"Because...he's my brother. I always stand by you, whenever you need my help...but...but you don't need it, and Kaze...Kaze does..." he bit his lip a little and stared up at his brother with wide, pleading eyes.

Kaze was torn into by these words. He looked shocked, stood stock still, and those in his group standing nearby could see that a fine trembling had taken hold of him. But it subsided almost immediately as the trained Blue Eyes snatched hold of his emotions once more, leaving behind only the shocked, wide eyes.

Kaiba was a bit more skeptical at these words, and looked almost on the verge of saying 'no,' but the tidal wave of thoughts crashing through the thought link he shared with Kaze altered his decision. He felt the smallest touches of pity for his opposite--after all, Kaze's Mokuba had been tortured to death in front of him--and hesitated only a moment before answering, "Fine. I'll let you go on the mission...but," he added, with a suddenly added ordering tone, "stay close to Kaze at all times. I'm trusting you with him." His ice blue eyes rose to meet Kaze's exactly identical ones.

The Opposition leader nodded. To anybody else, his face still would have seemed cold and emotionless--excluding the slightly shocked look he still bore--but those experienced with a Kaiba's emotions (such as Mokuba, or Kaiba himself) could tell that Kaze looked almost grateful.

Tea glanced back and forth between the two groups before shrugging and trotting over to Kaeru's team. "This makes it even," she said, glancing at the two yami spirits. "I don't want to give Yami more of a load in the Shadow Realm than he has to have. Now the groups are even." Kaeru nodded, still standing confidently with his arms crossed.

Saguru frowned slightly at this comment, glancing back and forth between the two groups. "Y'know," he muttered, "she's right, traveling in that Realm is tricky business to begin with and we don't want to overload our only two resident yami spirits--on our side anyway--with too many souls to protect." He grimaced. "That doesn't turn out too well."

Kaze shrugged. "The groups are even, you should stay behind with Kaiba. It would probably be safer to have two people on the lookout anyway, and I want a Negative Realmer to stay behind in case one of these trips proves unsuccessful. We do need to make sure we can get the remaining Scroll, after all."

Kaiba sent his opposite a withering glare at being stuck with a version of Joey, but Kaze ignored him as he received his answer from Saguru. "Righto, man. You can count on me."

"Are we all set then?" Yami asked slowly, glancing around his group quickly and burning the figures into his memory. As far as he was concerned, while they were in the Shadow Realm every single one of them was his responsibility. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Kaze--he knew the Negative teen was familiar with the Realm of Darkness, but wasn't sure of how accustomed to it he was--and so, on the precautionary side, decided to look out for him as well.

Better safe than sorry, as the old saying goes, he thought to himself, even as he and the rest of his group turned and headed for the mansion's main hall and double doors, leaving a glowering Kaiba and a cheerful Saguru behind.

Once outside, Kaeru approached Yami quickly, looking quite calm despite the fact that they were all going to the Shadow Realm for a hike. "Well then. Which temple do you want to take? We can travel as far as needed in the mortal True Realm, then open a gate on the temple ground's border and traverse across it's boundaries from there." He shrugged. "Simple, but effective."

Yami thought momentarily, then answered, "I and my group will head for the Temple of Light. I am more familiar with it's location than that of the one of Darkness."

Kaeru nodded. "Right. Good luck getting your Scroll. Meet back here when we're finished." He smirked a little, turned, and headed off towards Western Domino, the members of his own group trailing after him with Kawari travelling by his side without pause.

The ancient Pharaoh sighed, then turned to his own group, looking them over. Yugi was staring over at him with determination that glimmered in his bright, large eyes, Joey had his "tough guy" look already plastered on his face, Kaze was standing impassively, almost lazily, and Mokuba was close by his side, looking a bit nervous at the prospect of going back to the Shadow Realm but comforted by "his" brother's presence.

"Well then," Yami began, shrugging slightly, "should we start?" The others nodded, and he turned, cutting a path across the mansion's lawn to head towards Eastern Domino, where they would meet with the Temple's guard borderline.

Traversing across the city was rather uneventful; it was still dark out, early in the morning by now, and so very few people were out. The night was cool, as it was November, and the seasons were on the verge of changing, but none of them seemed to mind; all of them had jackets (or in Kaze's case a heavy trench coat) and nobody was concerned with the cold.

Instead, they spent their time looking around in awed interest at the city. Something about it being dark made the whole place seem...different...to the point of being eerie, and it was as if they were travelling a city they had never set foot in. Most of them found the experience touching at their nerves, but Yami and Kaze seemed indifferent to the strange silence and unliveliness of the city. Kaze, in fact, looked more interested, almost amazed, than anything else, and could often be seen by the others in his group gazing at some building or place and muttering under his breath, "it still exists here..." The others attempted to ignore these quiet comments--they brought about strange feelings of disturbance and pity for the Negative Realm and its inhabitants--and continued on their trek without pause.

At last, after nearly an hour of travelling in an Eastern direction, Yami came to a halt and motioned for the others to stop as well. They did so, gathering around him while surveying their surroundings with mild interest.

They were standing in the middle of a deserted basketball court on the outskirts of the city. Several scruffy, unkempt bushes were sitting at odd intervals nearby, trying to make the area more decorative with little success. It was still dark out, but here, without the cluster of buildings around them, they could clearly see the stars and wide, glowing moon sitting in the sky above them, shimmering down like many guardians above them.

"We are at the border," Yami announced carefully, glancing around absentmindedly at where he had brought them. "We must cross into the Shadow Realm here; take any further steps, and our way into the Realm will be blocked by the magic of the Temple."

"We can't go there in the open, though," Joey pointed out, gesturing with wide arms to the basketball court they were standing in the middle of. "I mean, maybe nobody's out, but it's still a stupid idea to go to the Shadow Realm out where anybody can see us."

"A good point," Kaze said quietly. "We'll do it over here." Hands in his trench coat pockets, he strode casually over to a clump of the unkempt bushes, the others following him. He was right; the bushes would provide good cover, if they all crouched down (though Mokuba and Yugi had no need to do so).

"Very well," Yami murmured slowly, glancing around one last time at the group he was traveling with, making sure everybody was there. When he was assured that all were safe and sound, he said softly, "Aibou...I believe I should take possession of your body during the duration of our stay in the Shadow Realm. There will be much going on once we enter, and I want to be sure you are safe."

Yugi nodded. "Sure, go ahead, Yami."

The ancient spirit's physical body seemed to fade away into thin air, but it was not so for long; almost immediately there was a small flash of light from the Millennium Puzzle around Yugi's neck, and the next second the pharaoh was in control, his slightly narrowed eyes glancing around at his companions.

"Right," he murmured. "The time has come. Let us cross into the Shadow Realm."

There was absolute silence as Yami went to work. Dipping into the Puzzle's abilities, he slowly selected his magic, carefully opening a portal into the Shadow Realm. The deep, nightmare-black disk split open in the air silently next to them, large enough for the tallest of them (which happened to be Kaze) to step through without even bending his head. Closing his eyes for better concentration, Yami cupped his hands around the Puzzle and held the position, murmuring softly, "Go through. I must go last so as to hold the portal open."

Kaze nodded, looking quite calm as he looked over the Shadow Realm's portal. Glancing at Mokuba and Joey, the only remaining people, he said easily, "Come on," before turning and stepping through the portal with the air of walking down the street. He vanished into the shadows within seconds, but could vaguely be seen through the portal if one squinted.

"Er....right," Joey muttered, still looking surprised--he'd been to the Shadow Realm before, true, but he was still not completely used to it yet. Mokuba, beside him, looked flat-out shocked and was staring at the portal as though it would bite him. He moved forward only when Joey gave him a gentle nudge, and leapt through the portal quickly, slightly nervous. The taller blonde entered behind him, and Yami followed up at the rear, pausing momentarily to wave his hand and seal the portal closed.

Kaze glanced back at them coolly over his shoulder, saying calmly, "The coast is clear. Nothing nearby."

Mokuba frowned a little. "What could be nearby in here?"

In reply, his "older brother" shrugged. "There are monsters here, of course, but we've only got to worry about the more powerful ones. No, I'm more interested in whatever troubles the Shadow Realm wishes to create for us; if it really is overflowing, the likelihood of a seemingly random, surprise attack is high."

"Oh..." the smaller boy shivered slightly, taking a few automatic steps closer to his Negative brother until he was right by his side. "Right."

Kaze glanced down at him gently. "You don't have to worry about anything here, I promise," he said softly.

"So, now that we're all here, let's get goin'!" Joey exclaimed, partly nervous but unable to hide his excitement from his voice. He glanced back at Yami, whom they'd all been waiting for patiently--the spirit was busy creating shields for the mortals so that they risked no danger from the soul-sucking shadows--but he appeared to be finished now, from the way he was stepping forward.

"Very well, Joey," the Pharaoh murmured softly, slightly tired from sustaining so many spells--though he noticed, with interest, that Kaze already had his own shielding. He kept his observations to himself, adding, "we travel in this direction," and taking off, the others falling into step behind him.

The trip was quiet. Indeed, that seemed an understatement; the travel was unnaturally silent, the absence of sound pressing on them even more so than it had while they had crossed the streets of Domino. The Shadows swirled, dipped, and writhed around them, feeling almost foreboding, and everywhere there was no light, only areas where it was less dark. It was like something out of some strange dream, borderline on becoming a nightmare.

Once or twice, pushed on by his nervousness of such a foreboding place, Joey tried to strike up a conversation. His words usually fell dead in the air, however, swallowed up by the shadows themselves, and the stony silence of Yami and Kaze did not help matters much. Realizing his attempts to lighten the mood were not working, the blonde teen then fell silent as well, simply staying with the rest of the group and trying not to fall behind.

Mokuba, too, was visibly nervous. He disliked this place the first time he came to it, and he hated it now as well. Heart pounding slightly, he stayed as close as he could to Kaze, finding comfort in his Negative brother's own silent confidence that so closely resembled his True self's.

What with the dark, uneasy mood and the nerves of the travelers of the Shadow Realm, all of them would have been quite pleased to have said the trip was uneventful; unfortunately it was not so by any means. For, nearly forty-five minutes later as they cut through the silence and the stillness, something attacked.

It began when the eerie silence was broken by a furious snarl, loud, long, and dangerous sounding. Kaze whirled, managing to shout, "Behind us!" before the beast came pounding through the shadows, another snarl breaking through its fanged jaws.

Joey, having been alerted by the yell of the Opposition leader, whirled quickly, letting a powerful, yet at the same time somewhat random punch crack through the air. Too late he realized his instinctive attack would not work, and tried to withdraw, but without success; the creature cannoned into him, sending the blonde teen flying, then rolling to a stop on his side, groaning slightly.

But it seemed that the teen's attack had done something, for instead of landing on its intended prey, the creature hissed in surprise, retracting its long, tearing claws, and crashed through Kaze and Mokuba, scattering the two apart while it landed ungracefully on four paws and rolled. Yowling furiously, it pulled itself to its feet, tail snapping as hit snarled at them again.

It was now completely visible, no longer hidden in the darkness of the shadows, and it was quite big. A huge white tiger stood before them, black stripes slashing over its powerful, muscular frame and accenting its glittering teeth and claws. One eye glowered at them in a furious amber gaze, but the other was closed, a nasty scar slashing over its eye and proving it had been wounded at one point.

"An All-Seeing White Tiger," Yami said, blinking in surprise. The large cat's head swiveled to look at him momentarily, and then it snarled, looking over the remaining members of the group as though searching for something, tail twitching madly. Without warning, it crouched, seeming to have found what it was looking for--its prey.

With an almighty roar, the White Tiger launched itself forward quite suddenly, charging headlong towards the creature that it had decided would be its next meal--Mokuba, the smallest in the group. The boy found himself wide eyed with terror at the creature charging towards him, trying to crabwalk backwards away from the tiger from his position on the ground where it had knocked him. Frantically he wished that it hadn't knocked Kaze away from him; he was terrified, desperately needing his brother more than anything in the world...

Yami was shocked, lifting his hands hastily to perform the magic that would protect Mokuba from the tiger, but...he was so tired. He'd used too much magic in one time period, along with the continually draining effects of shielding himself and two mortals, and it was wearing him down. He tried to pull his magic together for one blast...but before he even had a chance, he heard a shout, followed by an angry snarl from the beast, and looked up.

He was surprised at what he saw. A dagger had appeared in the White Tiger's side, looking as though it had grown there suddenly and speedily. The Tiger snarled in pain, veering off its original course and sliding to a halt, glaring with its one good eye at its attacker.

An attacker that was Kaze.

The Blue Eyes was standing in front of his True Realm brother protectively, arms crossed over his chest as he glared with icy, chilling eyes at the White Tiger. His eyes were narrowed in anger, but when he spoke, his voice was ultimately calm due to nearly two years as a war leader.

"Those who attack my brother...in any Realm...do not live."

Joey struggled up to Yami quickly, rubbing a bruise that was fast appearing due to the Tiger plowing into him. "Yami...man...why's he talkin' to it?"
"They are intelligent creatures, Joey," Yami murmured softly, staring at the White Tiger and its human opponent and frowning slightly. "But...I don't know why he's stating such a thing...it's almost like a challenge, but he couldn't survive against a monster attack..."

But his words were cut short as the White Tiger snarled loudly again, crouched, and shot forward, tail whipping in the wind it was creating.

Mokuba gave a small yelp of surprise and fright, staring at the fast-charging Tiger, but Kaze said in an assuring voice, "Don't worry. I told you you had nothing to worry about and I don't break my promises." Looking over his shoulder at his True brother, he allowed the ghost of a grin to pass his face before turning, narrowing his eyes into a battle gaze, and charging the beast headlong.

Those watching were sure he was going to die then and there, but miraculously he lived. As the White Tiger roared forward, fanged jaws open, Kaze flicked his hands, allowing two silver blades to slip into them instantly. Closing in on each other by the second, it was like some game of 'chicken;' but then, at the last second, the Opposition leader slipped aside faster than lighting, one of his hands lashing outward too quickly to see, and then slipped by the creature to slide to a halt, whirling to face it.

At first, it looked as though nothing had happened other than Kaze's sudden dodge at the last second, but the others realized only moments later as the White Tiger snarled in pain that he had wounded it, plunged a dagger deep into its shoulder and left it there.

The White Tiger was furious, now. Abandoning its hunt, it turned on Kaze, hell-bent on slaughtering the human that dared defy it. Charging forward with a loud roaring scream, he ran to meet Kaze; and the Blue Eyes did not move, but simply waited, two silvery knives held in his hands and a deathly icy glare in his eyes. And then the two clashed, and all was confusion.

Joey was too stunned to move, watching the battle before him taking place; Mokuba was wide-eyed with shock, and obviously worried; Yami was narrow eyed but feeling useless, knowing he could not attack the monster while it fought lest he hit his companion. Unable to do anything, the three simply watched, trying to make out what was going on in the confusing, fast paced movement of the two combatants.

It was a strange battle. The White Tiger lashed out, swiping with claws and snapping with jaws, hoping to catch hold of the Opposition leader to drag him down and maul him to death, but Kaze was too quick for him, anticipating his movements and dodging with skill. As the Tiger tried to slice him in two again and again, the Blue Eyes leapt, sidestepped, and dodged its attacks, using its own force and brute power against it and throwing it off-balance with its own momentum. And as he dodged, Kaze attacked, ramming knives into the creature with perfect accuracy. He was slipping past the creature's front paw, embedding a blade in its other limb; dodging a snap of the jaws and plunging another weapon into its side; leaping over a lash from its claws to land on its back and stab a third deep between its shoulder blades. The creature screamed each time a blade found a target, driving it further into madness, desperately trying to kill its smaller attacker, only to make it more blinded to Kaze's attacks and weaken its defense.

The battle was short, efficient, and brutal, decided within seven minutes. The White Tiger finally gave one last screaming roar of pain, thrashing and throwing Kaze off its back, where the Blue Eyes had just finished planting another of his blades. The Opposition leader flew clear, landed on the ground, rolled, and came to a stop in a crouching position, the silver and blue flames of his trench coat pooled around him for an overall mysterious effect, two blades still in his hands. The White Tiger, meanwhile, was much worse for the wear, looking like a living pincushion, knife handles protruding from limbs, side, chest, neck and head. It snarled its pain to the darkness above them in the Shadow Realm, and then stumbled, beginning to fall to the ground on its side; it hadn't even reached the ground before it disappeared, fading away into tiny bits and pieces as its substance returned to the making of the Shadow Realm, knives in it clattering to the ground.

"Hmph," Kaze muttered, coming to a slow, graceful stand and half glaring at where the All-Seeing White Tiger had been. The two knives in his hands disappeared into his trench coat within seconds, and he slowly moved forward to collect his remaining knives that had scattered over the ground when the White Tiger disappeared. His limp was noticeably worse now.

The others simply stared for a minute, surprise evident on all their faces, and then...

"Holy crap!" Joey yelped, startled, as he ran after Mokuba, who had run to join his "brother" once the immediate shock left him. "How the...what the....'ow the hell did you do that?!"

Kaze glanced over at Joey, slipping his final two knives into the sheathes up his sleeves. "War training." He raised an eyebrow. "I am the leader of the Opposition, remember?"

"But...well, yeah, 'course I remembered, but I didn't think you could beat a friggin' duel monster," Joey said, staring at Kaze with slightly more respect (even if his language didn't show it).

The Negative Kaiba chuckled slightly. "There is a reason they gave me the nickname 'Blue Eyes' back home, you know," he said, a characteristic Kaiba smirk playing over his face. Joey simply blinked at this, then shrugged, still looking a little surprised.

"Are you hurt?" Mokuba asked anxiously, as Yami joined them gazing at Kaze with slight curiosity, but also newfound respect.

Kaze shook his head. "I'm fine. It didn't get me with its claws, so there's no cuts, I just got knocked around a bit from his size." He shrugged. "A few bruises at best."

Yami raised an eyebrow. "What about that limp of yours?"

The Opposition leader looked away slightly, though the rest noticed that almost unconsciously his weight changed from resting on his once-injured leg to his regular one. "It's...fine. A lot of action makes it act up, but it'll be fine in a little while."

"D'you want us to wait a few minutes for you?" Mokuba asked, frowning slightly. "Give you a chance to rest?"

"No," Kaze said, voice slightly curt. "We need that Scroll. My personal comfort can wait." Turning, he headed off in their original direction, giving them no choice to follow, but their gazes were drawn for some time to the uncomfortable looking stronger limp the Blue Eyes kept with him, until it finally left to be replaced with his usual one.

Roughly another hour and a half passed in silence, with very little conversation between the group members. Most were on edge after the White Tiger attack and were constantly looking around, searching and listening for any possible future monster meetings, but they never came, leaving the group with slightly worn nerves, but satisfied over all.

It was after this long length of time that they had traveled when they saw it in the distance.

Far ahead of them, looking miniscule against the dark colored horizon--if indeed there even was a horizon--was the white shape of a building. Its color, already pure and unblemished, seemed blindingly bright against the black of the Shadow Realm, and stood out quite clearly in front of them.

"The Temple of Light," Yami murmured softly, nodding at the building. "That is our destination."

They headed unquestioningly towards the Temple, each one silent and ready for the Challenge they would have to face soon enough. All showed their determination openly; Yami walked with the straight posture of a ruler that suggested he already knew he was bound to win, Joey was cracking his knuckles in readiness, Mokuba was trotting faster and had even moved a little bit away from his Negative brother, and Kaze's icy blue eyes were narrowed as he walked silently.

As they neared the Temple, its details became clearer, becoming unmistakably a beautiful sight to behold. It was built of a pure white marble that seemed to radiate light, and there was no doubt as to where its name had come from. It was large, with wide pillars the size of tree trunks supporting the structure and great, wide steps leading up to it's one large entrance.

"I guess this is it then, guys," Joey remarked, grinning slightly.

Yami nodded. "Indeed. Let us enter, but tread cautiously--we do not know what could be waiting for us in there."

The others nodded, moving slowly towards the steps. Almost instinctively, Mokuba and Joey gave way for Yami and Kaze, the two with leaderlike qualities, to move ahead, going first up the stairs towards the Temple's entrance.

The two had just reached the first step when a voice called out to them. But it was not the voice of a Scroll Guardian; this seemed a small voice, compared to such monstrous ones, and quite human.

"Ah, visitors that approach the Temple. Do you come in good spirits, or do you contain evil in your heart and soul?"

Blinking, the four group members glanced up, staring in surprise at a person standing at the top of the stairs, in front of the Temple's entrance. It was a man, looking young, no more than twenty-five. He had deep, rich black hair, very long and held back in a simple pony-tail, though a few stray bangs chanced to fall into his face, creating what looked almost like a wall between his eyes and those he stared at. A deep tan set off amber-colored eyes nicely, and he wore a set of white robes, immaculately clean and so bright they nearly blended in with the Temple walls.

Yami frowned slightly, but then answered, "We do not bring evil. We are friends; sent here to collect the Realm Scroll that resides in this Temple."

The man cocked his head quizzically, then nodded. "Very well. You speak true; you harbor no evil. Come, follow me." He turned, heading back into the Temple of Light, looking almost as if he was gliding.

"What do we do?" Joey asked, looking slightly confused.

Kaze shrugged. "Follow him, of course." Without hesitation he began climbing the large, white marble steps, Mokuba hastening to catch up, Yami and Joey following after a second's hesitation.

They followed their guide into a wide room, devoid of any objects or furnishings beyond a pedestal in the center, on which sat a Scroll, looking deceptively innocent. The man glided over to the pedestal, coming to a stop next to it, and turned to face the four travelers that had come to his temple.

"My name is Kanshinin. This is what you wish for, no?" he asked, indicating the Scroll with a wave of his hand.

Kaze nodded. "That is what we seek." He moved forward a pace to reach for the Scroll so as to activate the Challenge, but Kanshinin slid in front of him, holding out his hand.

"I am afraid you cannot take it," he said, quite calmly.

Kaze frowned. "I couldn't take it yet," he murmured. "I was trying to bring about the Challenge to see if we were worthy of this Scroll."

"You are familiar with the terms?" Kanshinin asked, looking slightly impressed.

"Yes."

"Very well. Then you will understand why I cannot allow you to take the Scroll yet."

The Blue Eyes raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
Kanshinin chuckled slightly. "Because I am the appointed Guardian of the Scroll of Death, and you must win a Challenge against me, first."

Joey's jaw dropped, Mokuba gave a gasp of surprise, and Kaze's frown deepened. Yami, however, spoke up. "How is this possible?" he asked, a slightly suspicious tone in his voice. "All the previous Guardians we have faced did not take a physical form."

Kanshinin shrugged. "Most likely," he answered, his formal tone disappearing somewhat. "I am not a true Guardian. I was appointed by those that guard the Scrolls to protect this one."

"Why would that be?" Yami asked slowly, still rather distrustful of the white-robed man.

The Guardian shrugged. "I do not know, of course," he answered. "It isn't wise to meddle in their affairs. I believe they dislike the Shadow Realm, but it was an intelligent place to hide a Scroll, so they have assigned others to the task of protecting their items." He smirked. "But does that matter? You have no dealings with them at the moment, only me."

"Okay then," Joey snapped, not liking this new personality that had come about, now that the formal guardian was gone. "What the hell do we have to do to get the Scroll?"

Kanshinin shrugged. "Simple. You must face me in a Shadow Game and win." He chuckled. "But I warn you, it will not be easy. I have never lost."

Kaze looked at him with a rather dry expression, and asked flatly, "Have you ever won one either?"

"Don't test me, mortal," Kanshinin hissed, looking in irritation at the Negative Kaiba. Joey smirked; so this version of Seto did know how to push somebody's buttons after all...

Kanshinin turned away from the Opposition leader, then asked quickly, "Well? Who shall the Challenger be?"
Yami sighed. A Shadow Game...he would have to play, obviously, but he was being worn down by the constant goings-on in the Shadow Realm, and was not looking forward to this Challenge, or summoning dozens of monsters for a drawn out fight. Stepping forward, he raised his hands wearily to the Puzzle. "I--"

Kaze, however, suddenly stepped forward, giving the ancient Pharaoh a glance. "Don't waste your time on him, he isn't worth it, and frankly I don't think you should be wasting your magic on him. I'll take care of him."

Yami blinked, startled. Was he hearing things? How could Kaze possibly fare well in a Shadow Game?

Kanshinin appeared to be thinking along the same lines as well. Bursting into laughter, he said rather loudly, "You? A mortal? How can a mere mortal expect to win a Shadow Game against me when the very Pharaoh himself would have trouble defeating me?" He laughed again.

Kaze crossed his arms over his chest again. "You can beat me, is that so? Very well then. You can beat me however harshly you choose, so long as I have first say on how this battle will be conducted."

Kanshinin nodded, still laughing. "Of course! It doesn't matter, come up with as many dueling rules as you damn well please. No mortal could hope to summon monsters without fainting dead on the spot! You're already at a disadvantage, mortal, no matter how strong you may appear." He smirked.

To the surprise of all, however, Kaze began to laugh--a deep, merciless, grim sound that rang through the Temple in which they stood. The laughter faded away shortly, and it was then that the Blue Eyes spoke, his voice cold.

"You're very amusing. Just how long have you been guarding this Scroll?"

Somewhat taken aback at this sudden question, Kanshinin answered slowly. "I have only been the Guardian for a few centuries, since the last appointed Guardian passed on." He frowned. "Why?"

Kaze shook his head. "I thought so. You're very young for this job--and very foolish."

Kanshinin glared at the Challenger. "How dare you insult me! What gives you cause to say such a thing about me?!"

The Opposition leader's voice was ultimately calm, quite a contrast to the Guardian's. "Because you've neglected one vital fact in the way a Shadow Game works. It does not have to be a duel of monsters, though this is the most common. A Shadow Game is a duel of wits, not of strength." A ghost of a smirk passed over Kaze's face. Yami, behind him by about ten paces, raised an eyebrow slightly--how could Kaze have known that?--but nodded as well. That technicality was going to cost Kanshinin greatly.

The Guardian paled slightly, realizing he was trapped, tricked into his predicament by this annoying mortal and his own fool pride. "Well then," he managed to mutter after several minutes, "What do you plan to do?"

Kaze gave another grim laugh, though no smile flickered on his face or reached his eyes. "Simple," he said, voice calm. "This is a game where you will test my skills."

Kanshinin raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

In reply, the Blue Eyes flicked his hand, one of his throwing daggers sliding into it in the blink of an eye. He raised the blade calmly, holding the sharp edge between two fingers, and then began toying with it almost absent-mindedly, flipping it from one hand to another and twirling it with the most extraordinary ease.

"As you can see," the Negative answered coolly, "the throwing blades are where my fighting skills are best seen. I can almost always hit the target I desire, and these blades rarely let me down."

"And?" the Guardian asked, looking irritated.

Kaze chuckled. "Impatient, aren't we?" he asked, still calm. "The game is this: you will pick three targets, absolutely anything at any distance within this room. I must hit all three designated targets from where I stand right now. If I miss even one, you win the game. But if I get all three...the Scroll of Death is mine."

Kanshinin raised an eyebrow. "That is the game?"

"That is the game," Kaze answered, nodding.

The Guardian considered for a moment, then responded slowly, "I'll agree...if I may add an additional price."

"And that would be...?"

"If you lose," Kanshinin said, smirking a little, "I wish to keep the souls of the Pharaoh and his precious little pet--the hikari. Keeping them as servants would be most entertaining. I would love to see a Pharaoh waiting on me hand and foot."

Kaze's eyes narrowed slightly, their icy blue very cold as he glared at his opponent. "That is the price?"

"Yes," Kanshinin said, smirking.

The Blue Eyes frowned...and then, to the surprise of all, asked a question. "If they were used as bartering chips, as you have named for your price...would they be considered a part of the Challenge?"

Kanshinin blinked. "Yes...yes, I suppose they would..."

Kaze nodded. "Very well then. I accept your terms."

Yami's eyes widened, and then, infuriated, he yelled, "What are you doing, Kaze?! You would bet my hikari's soul away, not to mention my own?!"

Kaze turned to look over his shoulder. "Relax, Pharaoh," he said, voice calm. "Recall that we need to have both a True Realm and Negative Realm candidate in these Challenges, and that requirement has now been fulfilled."

"At the price of--" Yami began, angry, but Kaze cut him off.

"What was it my True self tells me you always demand of him? Ah yes: 'you have to trust me, Kaiba.' Well, I'm going to ask you to do the same thing, Pharaoh," he said, voice soft, icy eyes connecting to Yami's own dark violet. "You have to trust me on this."

Yami blinked, startled...and then, very slowly, nodded. "Very well, Kaze," he murmured, voice soft to hide the growl in his throat. "I suppose I have no choice in this matter...but do not fail."

"I won't, rest assured." The ghost of a smile on his face, Kaze turned back to his opponent. "Well?"

"The terms have been made and agreed to, and the prices are ready to be paid," Kanshinin said, smirking. "We are both ready. What is left but to see how this plays out?" He gave a wide grin, looking quite confident, and then said loudly, "Game start!"

"Good," the Negative Kaiba said in reply, still twirling the silvery knife between his fingers. "Choose my first target."

Kanshinin nodded, glancing around the Temple's inner chamber. There was not much in the room by way of furnishings, and this therefore left a certain lack of targets. Shrugging, he smirked a little. "I'll just have to summon a target then, hmm?"

"Whatever you like," Kaze answered, idly watching the flashing silver in his hands.

The Guardian narrowed his eyes at his Challenger's offhanded way of speaking, then concentrated, closing his eyes. He held out his hands in the air as if he was holding something; the atmosphere in those hands seemed to solidify, pulling itself together, and very suddenly there was what looked like a polished staff resting in them.

Joey's jaw dropped. "How'd he do that?!" he yelped, startled.

Kanshinin glanced over at him, a superior look on his face. "Pfft, simple magic, mortal. I summoned this from the natural Realm that leads to the Shadow Realm. You call it the True Realm." He chuckled. "But I wouldn't expect you to know that anyway, mortal." Turning, he carried the staff some distance across the room, finally setting it on the ground, where it miraculously stood upright without any aid.

"Your first target," the Guardian said, smirking at Kaze as he strode back to stand next to the pedestal, "is that staff. See if you can get it, mortal."

"I already have," Kaze said quietly. "Next target."

Startled, Kanshinin whipped around, staring in shock at the staff. It was no longer standing up on its own, but had been knocked backwards due to the heavy momentum of something ramming into it at full force--a something that was revealed to be a knife, point embedded in the wood, a moment later.

"How did you--" Kanshinin sputtered, looking between the knife and Kaze in surprise.

The Opposition leader shrugged. "You weren't paying attention," he said, his voice flat. "If you don't watch you won't see me move."

"I think you cheated!" Kanshinin hissed, glaring at the Challenger.

"You know better than that," Kaze snapped back, looking annoyed. "The Shadow Games do not allow for cheating, and in any case I have witnesses to show that it was my work." He pointed at Mokuba, Yami, and Joey behind him.

"I wouldn't believe them. They're on your side."

"He did hit it!" came an angry voice--Kaze identified it as Yugi with interest, and turned slightly.

Yami had separated from Yugi, allowing the boy to take back control of his body while they stayed in the Temple. The Hikari seemed mad, and it was obvious he disliked Kanshinin's distrusting, sneaking nature.

"He did hit that staff on his own, without cheating! I watched it from where me and Yami were bonded!"

Kanshinin glared at Yugi, positively seething, but then whirled and turned back to Kaze. "Fine. You have your first win--but you must still win two more."

"Of course," Kaze answered, nodding slightly, but the iciness in his eyes never once faltered.

"I think," the Guardian hissed slowly, "that your next target will be a moving one." Holding out one hand as he had before, he concentrated, and once again the air solidified into a new shape. It was round, and bright red, identified after a few moments as an apple.

Kaze raised an eyebrow. "A moving target? It's just a fruit."

"That's what you think," Kanshinin snapped, waving the apple in his hand as he did so. A fly dislodged itself from the apple stem and zoomed off through the Temple's chamber, but the Guardian paid it no notice. "This apple will prove your downfall, you won't be able to hit it once I set it up, and--get it if you can, mortal!"

Yugi gave a shout of anger at Kanshinin's sudden tricky move, his call echoed by the others around him. "Unfair!" he yelled, watching as the Guardian suddenly threw the apple into the air without warning. Kaze hadn't even had a knife out, it didn't seem fair, and those watching knew for a fact that if the apple hit the ground it would be considered as a 'loss.'

But Kaze didn't even bat an eyelid. With extraordinary swiftness, his hand reared back, blade sliding into it in perfect throwing grip even as he gathered the momentum for the throw. With a quick, practiced snap, he sent the throwing knife flying, silver flitting through the air to slice the apple cleanly in two as it reached the tip of its ark. The two apple halves fell to the ground with a wet plop and sat there, dripping juice onto the perfect white marble of the floor.

"I get the feeling you were attempting to be underhanded," Kaze observed, his voice extremely dry, icy eyes boring into the amber ones of the Guardian. Kanshinin blinked, staring in shock at the apple halves on the floor.

"You...you can't have..."

"You are forgetting," the Opposition leader said, acid in his voice, "that I am a war-trained resistance leader. I should be expected to be able to react to something like that at the very least."

Kanshinin's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed in anger and partial humiliation. "You have two wins," he snapped, as though it pained him to announce this. "One more and the Scroll is yours. But you will not win it," he snarled, black bangs sweeping in front of his amber eyes and almost hiding them from view.

"Think what you will," Kaze answered. "Now...the final target."

"Let me think," the Guardian hissed, giving his opponent a quick look before his eyes fell on the apple halves. He fell to staring at them, contemplating deeply, wondering what he could possibly pick for a target that would stump the Blue Eyes.

His concentration was cut short as a noise disturbed his thoughts. It was a continuous buzzing, monotonous and annoying, and he found himself becoming infuriated with it. Glaring around, he was startled to discover it coming from a fly; the same fly that had alighted from the apple, and was now returning to the fruit, attracted by the scent of the juice. He swatted at it as it passed; it flew aside easily, avoiding him.

"Flies," he snarled to himself, low enough so that Kaze could not hear him. "Stupid annoying little pests, one can never...hit...them..." his face lit up suddenly as he found his next target.

"Pardon?" Kaze asked, forcing a polite word to his lips even if his tone did not match it at all. He disliked this Kanshinin very much; the Guardian was nothing more than a jerk that liked to pick on those less superior to him.

Kanshinin smirked, amber eyes glittering with a devilish look. "Your third target," he said, his voice hissing and low, "is that fly." He pointed at the insect that had landed on the fruit, then waved his hand slightly to stir it up and send it zooming off in a completely random direction.

There was an odd blur of movement from Kaze as he moved so fast that those watching could not see what he did; then he was standing, as unmoving as a shadow, arms crossed in front of his chest as he stared down Kanshinin with his cold blue eyes. "I win."

Kanshinin blinked, shocked. "You couldn't have." Whirling, he turned to look at the dagger, still quivering, its tip planted in one of the Temple's walls. "It's impossible...nobody could have made that hit, I won't believe you..."

The Opposition leader trained a powerful, almost commanding gaze on his opponent. "If you do not believe, simply check the dagger's flight itself. But whether you believe it or not, it does not matter; I won the Scroll of Death fairly according to our terms, and it is mine by right of the Shadow Realm."

"You can't have..." the Guardian was still muttering. Looking almost desperate, he scrambled over to the wall where the knife had embedded itself, wishing to prove the Blue Eyes wrong...

...And stood there, staring in shock, unbroken gaze staring straight at the dagger's point. For there, pierced neatly through its center, was the black speck of a fly.

There was a moment of absolute silence, in which those watching took the time to register the shock of the situation. Kaze had won, just as he had said he would. Not only that, but he'd won by slicing a fly clean out of midair...his blade skills seemed impossible, bringing quite clearly to their minds just how bad the Negative Realm had to be for that kind of accuracy to be needed.

Kanshinin was enveloped in shock as well. He was still staring at the dagger's point as if the fly would somehow disappear, and he could claim himself the victor instead...but he knew, deep down, that that wasn't going to happen. Sighing, he turned, looking rather sullen but speaking in an at least semi-formal tone.

"Three wins, as per the rules. The Scroll of Death has been rightfully won by you." He looked partly downcast, partly furious, but moved to the pedestal on which the Scroll sat innocently; picking it up, he moved over towards Kaze and held the magical item out respectfully for him to take.

"Thank you," Kaze said, voice still calm, eyes finally beginning to lose their furious, icy look. He took the Scroll with utmost care, placing it within his inner trench coat pockets among a crowd of knives.

"And now, I would appreciate it if you would leave," the Guardian continued, voice rather stiff. "I am tired and will not look after visitors anymore." And without so much as a goodbye, Kanshinin turned and glided out of the chamber into rooms farther into the Temple, disappearing from sight.

"Nice guy," Joey commented dryly, watching the white-robed Guardian retreat. "Never want to see him again."

"I don't blame you," Yugi murmured, blinking his large eyes. "That was completely underhanded!"

Yami nodded slightly. "And yet Kaze beat him despite the tricks that were played in this game," he observed. Though he didn't say it, he quite approved how the Blue Eyes had handled the Shadow Game, and instinctively knew that the Negative Realm was in good hands with the brunette as a leader.

Kaze had reached them now, and on hearing this last comment, shrugged. "I knew he would try something like that," he said, his voice flat. "You can always tell how a person will act in one of these games. That's why I picked something that was based on one of my better skills."

Mokuba came trotting up, holding in his hands the three knives that his Negative brother had used during the Challenge. "Here you go," he said, looking quite cheerful. "I got them for you!"

Kaze grinned ever so slightly. "Thanks, kid."

The five of them stood for several moments in the Temple's main chamber, before Yugi ventured, "Er, well...should we start heading back? Maybe Kaeru and his group have got their Scroll, too."

"Right," Kaze agreed, nodding. "Let's move out." And, turning, he headed out of the Temple's chamber, down the steps, and out towards the darkness of the Shadow Realm, the others following and turning their backs on the single speck of light in such a place of darkness.

"By the way," Joey said, striking up a conversation as they left--it seemed a lot easier to break the silence and talk, now that they had achieved their goal--"where on earth did you get so good with those knives? You were awesome!"

"Yeah!" Mokuba agreed, grinning up at his Negative version of his brother. "I've never seen anybody do it before!"

Kaze shrugged. "Practice. Nothing more than that."

Joey smirked, elbowing Yami, since he was taller than Yugi and easier to reach, and speaking just loudly enough for the Negative to hear. "Will ya look at that? It's a modest Kaiba!" He chuckled at the joke that had been made. Kaze just gave him a look and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"But seriously," Mokuba pressed, interested, "where did you learn all that stuff?"

Kaze shrugged. "I wasn't that good at it before the war started," he admitted. "Then, once the Opposition started, I had to learn some form of a weapon practice. Sure, I knew how to use guns and other similar weapons, but you can't always rely on them, they can fail on you more than you think." He looked off in the distance as if relieving a memory. "Then Kaeru got into the Opposition, and he was like a Godsend. Knew tons of blade styles...you probably figured that out easily enough from watching Kawari." He smirked a little. "At any rate, he showed me how to use throwing blades, and I caught on pretty quickly. They've been my weapon of choice since."

Mokuba grinned. "Cool."

As their conversation on the blade practice continued, Joey, Yugi, and Yami struck up their own conversation, this one concerning the Realm Scroll they had just received.

"D'you think we should open it up?" Joey asked, looking curious. "See if it's got the final clue in it or not?"

Yami shook his head. "No," he murmured, frowning slightly. "I think we should leave it alone until we get back into the True Realm. It's too dangerous to open up in the Shadow Realm."

"I wonder what kind of spells are on this one," Yugi murmured, thinking. "I mean...they've all had some sort of theme by now...Desire had healing spells, if I recall...War had war-related destruction spells...most of them stuck with the name of their Scroll, now that I think about it..."

Joey shivered slightly. "Death spells," he muttered, glancing in Kaze's direction, where the Scroll was currently residing. "Now I'm starting to see why the people that made these Scrolls wanted to keep them hidden."

"Indeed," Yami murmured, voice quiet, thinking over their latest discovery while sustaining the shield spells that kept them all alive.

They traveled for some time, crossing ground in the Shadow Realm at a rapid rate, all the while keeping to their quiet conversations. Kaze was just explaining the finer points of blade slinging to an interested Mokuba, and looked as though he was debating whether to give the younger boy a quick lesson ("Heh, bet Kaiba wouldn't be too happy about that," Joey had commented quietly to Yugi) when an ear splitting shriek ripped the air around them and hell descended.

The shriek came from above them, in the direction of the "sky," if it could indeed be called that, and within seconds the sound was connected to a monstrous bird. If the White Tiger had been large, this bird was positively enormous; its wingspan had to have been at least eighteen feet from tip to tip, perhaps even more. Its plumage consisted of mostly reddish-pink and creamy white, with deep, bluish-purple eyes accenting its form. It had a long, almost serpentine neck, which balanced out its equally long, jagged beak; to finish the creature off, large, sharp talons sat on the end of long, spindly legs, looking quite dangerous. All in all, it resembled something like a majestic, long-beaked vulture, and its hideous shriek, along with its form diving straight at them, was enough to cause shivers of terror rippling through the group. It was a Queen Bird, another duel monster that most of them were familiar with, yet while it seemed almost useless in a card duel it looked anything but useless here.

The Queen Bird dove straight towards Yami, who had taken possession of his aibou once again at the first sign of danger. He tried to charge up his magic to protect himself, but the creature could sense it all too easily, explaining why it had gone for the ancient Pharaoh first--it wanted to get rid of the powerful magic before it was able to be defeated. With a loud, shrieking caw, it lashed out with its heavy, large wings, catching Yami a sound blow to the head--the Pharaoh was out within seconds, collapsing to the ground.

"Hey!" Joey yelled, suddenly angry, and worried for his friend. "You get moving! Leave my friend alone!" He dived forward towards the bird, driven by the sudden urge to help his friend, no matter how stupid his attempt was. He drew back his fist, but before he even got close to the creature's head, it snapped out one wing, catching Joey another strong--if not as powerful--ram to the head. Stunned and with spots dancing before his eyes, the blonde withdrew and collapsed on his back, falling into unconsciousness almost instantly.

The Queen Bird gave another call of triumph, but then abruptly took flight from where it had landed near Yami, rising into the air as a knife thudded into the ground where it had been a moment earlier.

"Leave them alone!" Kaze snarled, eyes terrifyingly icy once more, glaring up at the Queen Bird with two knives in hand.

The bird, in reply, shrieked again through its long beak and dived at him, calling loudly. Kaze managed to duck under the flurry of heavy wings as they passed over him, but was not so lucky in evading the talons--one of them slashed into his shoulder, tearing at his flesh and causing him to gasp in pain. Before he could retaliate, the bird retreated to the sky, swooping overhead and waiting for another chance to attack him.

Kaze gasped in pain again, pressing one hand to his shoulder to hold the bleeding. This would not be so easy as the last battle, his opponent had the advantage of flight this time...

The bird dived at him again, calling loudly, and he dodged, managing to avoid both talons and wings. At the same time, he threw one of his knives, sending it thudding into the creature's side; it shrieked but snapped out with its large, sharp beak, clipping him on the arm and causing another wave of pain to shoot through him, though not as powerful as the last.

Damn, he thought to himself, gasping slightly, I have to get rid of its advantage or it'll kill me...but what the hell could I do?

The Queen Bird took another pass at him, and he dived sideways, managing to avoid being hit at all, but not without a price--the creature managed to catch the edge of his trench coat in one of its talons, tangling it and pulling him off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground. Most unfortunately he landed on his wounded shoulder, and gave a hiss of pain, but pushed himself to his feet quickly, ignoring the wound for the moment.

His mind went to work, whirling quickly as he tried to think up every possible move he could make to defeat this creature. Maybe when it tries to dive at me again I can attack one of its wings, he thought to himself, frowning slightly. It would be difficult, but he was sure he could do it...

His leg was pounding. He registered this rather suddenly; the old bullet wound was acting up again, protesting to so much rapid action when it was not strong enough to keep up. He shifted his weight to the other leg, trying to ease some of the pain, and watched the bird with focused eyes, waiting for the right moment.

It came soon enough. The bird gave another ear-splitting cry and dived again, talons forward to strike, beak pointed like a lance to stab. But Kaze was ready, counting down the seconds, waiting for the right chance....just a little closer, come on, you stupid bird, just a few more feet...NOW!

With a sharp movement, he sent several of his knives slicing out to plunge into the bird's left wing joint, where it connected the flying limb to the body. Shrieking in pain, it swept its wings out in an attempt to slow itself, but Kaze was waiting for this; he sent a barrage of knives slashing into the tender membranes of the wing, ripping and slicing at feathers and impaling the appendage itself. Pinion feathers torn apart and a hole cutting deep through its wing, the bird shrieked again, now rendered flightless. However, its momentum carried it onward, and it plunged downward at Kaze, beak snapping wildly as it lowered its talons, hit the ground, and slid forward crazily.

Kaze slashed out with a long-bladed dagger, managing to somehow 'parry' the bird's beak as it snapped at his face. Its momentum forced him backward, feet sliding on the ground as he attempted to hold firm, and then he was thrown onto his back, the creature slicing at him with sharp talons as continued to slide forward a few feet before falling clumsily forward onto the ground itself. Wings and feathers splayed around it in a confusing pattern as it fluttered crazily, attempting to get back on its spindly legs.

Hurriedly, the Blue Eyes pulled himself onto his own feet, stumbling away from the bird as quick as he could and pressing one hand to his injured shoulder. His bad leg felt as though it was on fire by now, and was protesting painfully, screaming for him to stop moving, but he couldn't. The bird was going to come around for a counter attack any minute now, and flightless or not, it was still very dangerous.

He whirled just in time to see the bird shriek in outrage, then stomp forward with surprising speed for its large build. The wings, though useless, were held out to its sides for balance, and the long, serpentine neck and beak were held outward towards him, again like a lance, as though it thirsted to impale him.

Wearily, he brought the long-bladed dagger to hand again, blocking the creature's steel-like beak with his blade. He vaguely felt another dagger slip into his hands from his instinctive wrist flick, and without hesitation he threw it, watching in satisfaction as it plunged into the base of the creature's neck. More knives found themselves in his hands, and then in turn in the creature's torso...but it was stubborn, refused to die, and it was snapping out at him in an outrage with its beak, trying to get past the blade defense to tear at its opponent's head.

The Opposition leader thought he was doing well enough, under the circumstances, and knew that if he kept up his pace the creature would eventually die from the amount of blades that were impaled in its body. He found himself in shock, then, when his bad leg suddenly crumpled underneath him, having finally given out from the stress it was being put under, and dragged the rest of Kaze down with it. He felt himself crash down onto his back, long-bladed dagger clinking away just out of reach of his fingers...and then the bird was on him.

He'd seen something like this once before in the wild, he remembered distantly. An eagle had snatched a fish from a river, and feasted on the water-dwelling creature by slowly tearing it apart while it still lived. This felt much the same, and he supposed vaguely that it was the same, just on a larger scale.

The Queen Bird had leapt forward when it saw its prey fall, shrieking in triumph as it placed one large talon on the Opposition leader's chest, holding him down so he could not escape. It held its wings in a wide arc around itself and its fallen opponent, almost like a shield, and then, cawing in a sickening way, its beak descended, tearing at the teenager in its grasp.

"NO! Brother!" Mokuba cried, voice desperate, as he watched helplessly from the side. He realized in the back of his mind that Kaze wasn't actually his brother, but it didn't matter to him--what mattered was that somebody who was enough like family to him was being torn apart in front of him, and he could do nothing but watch. Furious, he ran forward, hoping maybe he could distract the bird somehow...but it only lashed out one wing, crashing into his head and sending him spinning, stunned as Joey had been.

Gasping, he hit the ground, rolling to a stop and feeling suddenly very tired and nauseated. He realized that he could still see what was going on, and tried to pull himself up to charge the bird again, but...

"NO! Stay where you are!" Kaze gasped, eyes clouded with pain but staring at him for a fraction of a second before returning dully to the bird. Mokuba gasped, but stayed rooted to the spot as commanded.

In truth, it was really that cry of alarm from his True brother that had saved Kaze's life. He had been drifting away, almost dully, but the shrill cry had snapped him back into full realization of what was going on, and he knew for certainty that he could not afford to die.

The bird was still tearing at his skin, the talons on his chest squeezing hard and burrowing deeper into his torso. He screamed in pain, and was suddenly aware that those screams had translated themselves into words. "DAMNIT! You're not taking me out like this!"

There was a dagger in his hand, though how he had gotten it out of his trench coat in such conditions was a mystery he didn't think he would ever solve. It didn't matter; what mattered was that it was a weapon. With a wordless roar he plunged the blade deep into the creature's head, satisfied as a shriek of pain erupted from the beast. Its talons slashed further into his torso, but he ignored it, instead pulling out the dagger and plunging it back into the creature's head again.

It gave a final scream of agony, head rearing up to call to the shadows above, much as the White Tiger had done. And again, just as with the White Tiger, it slowly faded away, daggers within it clinking to the ground when there was no longer anything to hold them up. The Queen Bird was dead.

Gasping slightly, Kaze laid still on the ground for several moments, thanking every god he knew for the life he still had. His wounds were pounding, his brain so overloaded with the sense of pain that it was making him dizzy, but he was undoubtedly alive.

After several moments, he very slowly dragged himself to his feet, pressing one hand to his torso where the talons had bit deeply into him. Gasping slightly, he moved forward, collecting his daggers and slipping each back into its customary sheath with an unnatural slowness.

It startled him when Mokuba was suddenly at his side, staring up at him with wide, worried eyes. The boy was still dizzy and slightly nauseous from the bird's strike, but felt for the most part fine, and he was incredibly worried about his Negative brother.

"Kaze?" the black-haired boy asked, voice tentative, as he stared upwards at his brother. "Kaze...are you okay?"

"I'm...fine..." Kaze answered, voice unusually dull, and almost as if it had the intent to betray him a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.

"No you're not," Mokuba murmured, frowning slightly. He glanced over his brother's frame; every inch of him seemed to be practically covered in blood. The bird was dead, but it had left its mark without question. "You're hurt..."

"I'm fine, Mokuba," the Negative said again, trying to sound more gentle and reassuring, but the effect failed and only made his voice sound weaker. "Don't...worry."

"But....but brother...you're bleeding really badly!" Mokuba protested.

"I've bled before...and I will again," the Blue Eyes murmured softly--his voice didn't seem to be any louder than just above a whisper, now. He scooped up his last dagger with a soft groan and turned towards the unconscious Yami and Joey. "We'd better...see to those two..."

He walked slowly towards the two fallen comrades; his limp was incredibly heavy, and Mokuba noticed with increasing worry that he kept one hand pressed to his chest at all times, as though holding it together. Frowning, he trotted after his opposite brother--he didn't really feel like a person who wasn't his brother anymore, he realized-- staying right by his side, hoping he would be able to help if something went wrong.

But he wasn't expecting what came next.

Still nearly ten feet from the fallen pair, Kaze suddenly stopped short, clutching at his torso with both hands and groaning in an intense wave of pain. The groan gritted against his teeth as he clamped his jaw shut, attempting to hold the sound back, but it broke through like water from a shattered dam, turning into a cry of agony that fell dully against the silence of the Shadow Realm.

"Brother?!" Mokuba yelped, startled, eyes glittering with unshed tears as he looked in fearfully worry at his Negative relative. "What's wrong?!"

But Kaze did not respond. His eyes were clamped shut now, and he was pressing so hard on his chest that blood ran in little rivers over his hands to drip to the ground below. Then, suddenly and completely without warning, his legs buckled underneath him again and he fell, landing face down on the ground of swirling shadows with an eerily silent impact and not moving again.

* * * * *

HCG: And that's a wrap. I know, it be an absolutely terrible cliffie, indeed it is! Hah hah! So now you'll just have to wait...like two more months...before I update again! ^_~

Kawari: You enjoy being evil, don't you?

HCG: I wouldn't call it evil...I just like to torment the readers.

Kaze: @_X AND ME!

HCG:...hmm...and you. *nods in agreement*

Kaze: *furious* You sicken me!

HCG: I'm sorry. o_O *gives Kaze a hug*

Kaze: GRR! *throws up his hands and stomps off, searching for coffee. REALLY EXTRA CAFFINATED COFFEE*

HCG: ^_^;; Oopsie...so...he didn't really like the ending...what about YOU guys? Okay, I realize you're all pulling out whatever spiffy weapons you own right about now to strike me down where I stand, but...erm...please don't? You won't figure out what happens otherwise! *sweatdrop*

Kaeru: *rolls eyes*

HCG: Erm...what else...oh yes! Firstly, Kanshinin's a bastard, ain't he? Meh. Name means "defender" in Japanese. Stupid jerk. Secondly, what'd you guys think of Mokuba "adopting" Kaze as another older brother? *snickers* Yeah, not a true brotherhood, but you know, it's cute and Kaze really needs a brother, poor guy. You guys seemed to like it last chapter and it wasn't even intentional then, so I figured, "'ey, perfect chance to add more!" And Thirdly...did this seem short to anybody after all the stuff I've written previously? XD, it's a good 23 pages without authoress notes and responses, but meh, that's pretty darned short for me. *sheepish grin*

Kawari: Oo;;

HCG: Er, yes. So. Review responses. On a general note, a lot of you said the Challenge from last chapter was similar to the plot for InuYasha. Actually, I didn't know this; I've never seen an episode of/read the manga of InuYasha, so I had no idea that there was a similarity. Had I known, I woulda come up with something else. ^^;; Anyway. Sorry 'bout that! Now, individual responses!

Evil Neptune ~ Yes, long chapters are good, but this one is short to give peoples' eyes a much needed break. ^^;; Nope, I haven't seen Ocean's 11, but high tech robberies are cool, meh heh heh *grin*. Nitpicky is good! I hadn't noticed the "ascent/accent" problem before, it doesn't show up on spell check and that was pretty much all I used to edit that chapter (tiredness will do that for ya ^^;;). No problem with the deadline, too, I knew a lot of people needed it. Anyway, thanks for your review!

Aurora-Lee ~ Well, you got more Kaze, that's for sure...Oh, and as to answer your questions: I thought I put it in one of the earlier chapters before, chappie 6 I think, but the Guardians' voices are more than actual sound, part of it is that they use a person's thoughts themselves to speak, so really only Kaeru, Kawari, and Mokuba were hearing it. And as for the Scroll, the Museum people can't read it, of course, but then it's kinda like the God of Ra/"Winged Dragon of Ra" card...only certian people can read that "brand" of hieroglyphics. Three guesses who can in the group. ^_~

Quintessence ~ Yeah, Kaiba's computer gets no credit in anything. It saved Yugi in a duel, after all! Poor thing...XD. Oooh, so we've got a fencer in the house? I'm not surprised those terms aren't used, most instructors don't do that...a "passata-sotto" is a dodging move in which you basically duck under your opponent's attack, "round six" is when, while blades are engaged, you disengage and twirl your own blade all the way around theirs back to the starting point (most confusing for the enemy) and an "in-quartata" is when you side-step the attack your opponent makes (or at least attempt to). As for the rest of your review, although I would love to say I had a reason for 17 pieces, I didn't (^^;;) and as for the climates, I wanted to emphasize how strange the place was and how seemingly random the Guardians are, so I brought them to a place where a desert can sit right next to an arctic blizzard and seem "normal." And as for your final question, it's a good one. Myself, I'd say that I originally created the Realms as different histories, almost, so in one maybe Yugi has kids, but in the other the Mouto line is wiped out. They are meant to be different, after all...but I'm sure there's many theories as to how this could be answered. Whooo, what a long response!

LoneWolf16 ~ CARPS, that is one long review. I think I'm just going to pick out the questions and answer those, that's it ^^;;; Yes, I was using fencing terms. You're right, a dirk is shorter than a foil, but keep in mind that it is a European blade, those blades originating from Japan and other countries, European blades tend to follow a more strict, not as varied style. 'Sides, a lunge with a dirk and a lunge with a real foil will both kill ya if they go through your heart, so...*shrug* And Kawari did use a few modified fencing moves in Chappie 7. *chuckle* As for me, I learned this all in my school, there's a fencing class in the gym/wellness department and a fencing club after school. They only teach foil, so that's my style, but I'd love to use epee, that one looks fun, if slightly painful. Yes, Kawari holds many convenient things in his pockets, that's the beauty of those big baggy pants--like the ones you find in Hot Topics but without so much chain and bondage, XD. Let's see, the Challenge...no, I did absolutely no research whatsoever, I just listened in biology class when ecosystems was the topic of the week ^~ The Scrolls: you point out that the guardians have been described as "male" while some of WSJ's elements are female. Actually, I'm not basing this on the elemental figures themselves--people like Fate and Passion aren't the guardians here. I'm just using the Elements themselves. As for your questions that were answered, note: this chapter was NOT the "big bang." This was a little bang, not particularly important. The SR is still building up...*evil grin* *looks at response* Geeze, that was long even without me commenting on everything you said. Oo;; Well...to more reviews...

Aisu ~ Aisu it is. Hey, my spell checker does that to their names too! XD, Microsoft Word is silly...*snicker* Oh, and as for the duel, I didn't think you could save a given summon either, but hey, creative liberties, right? I mean, if Yami can fuse a magic card to a monster in the show, I don't think it matters if you save your summon. XD.

Wingleader Sora Jade ~ XD, I saw that episode. Except for the fact that both hologram and regular Kaiba had extremely large egos, I woulda mistaken one for Kaze too *snicker* Well, 'cept that I saw the whole thing, didn't just walk in on it...*coughs, continues* So, you are one of the many people that thought Mokuba calling both Seto and Kaze "big brother" was cute, eh? Well, what'd you think of the "adoption?" XD. Um....and the ending? @@;; *holds Kawari in front of her like a shield* You can't kill his bishie-ness to get to me! I am safe! HAH! *blinks* OOH, you have Sacred Cards too? I love that game! Beat it in three days by playing it whenever I had a free moment, which wasn't often...bwahaha, I beat Yami Malik 4 times by using Obelisk and my Barrel Dragon...*snicker* He was hard to beat though...and Kaiba, sadly, was a piece of cake. *tuts*

Windswift ~ Another person that pities the computer! I've only ever seen it in ONE other fic besides this one. Poor thing. *smirk* And you'll see if Ryou gets to be in a Challenge or not...*chuckle* Hm, I influenced Yami no Yuugi? Well, as long as he isn't a complete rip-off, which doesn't appear to be the case...*shrug*

Chan ~ Hiya Chan! Did I fix the its/it's problem? Or at least do better? @_X I tried! oO I didn't mean to keep you up so late. This one is shorter, maybe it'll be a faster read! ^^ *gasp* TILLY! *takes Tilly from a confused Kawari, hugs him, and gives him treats* YAY! TILLY!

The Mad Tortoise ~ How do I tie up all the details for later when they're more important? *shrugs* I have a whole outline of this story. It's been planned out since last February in 2003, from beginning to end. I just have to write it all out. *cheery grin*

Daricio ~ Okay, let me see if I can explain this. You say the Negatives appear way too calm, yet when you get into one of their POV's, they suddenly have emotion. This is because of two reasons. Firstly, the Negative Realmers are war-trained, and this is a very vital part as to why they act the way they do. They have learned not to show their enemy how they're reacting to whatever is going on, despite how they feel, and they've learned how to keep a straight face despite what's going on. So while the TR characters might be startled or freak out about something that happens and show it, the Negative Realmers could be just as scared but covering their emotions. Secondly, recall that after what they've been going through in the NR, the TR seems like a piece of cake and they may just not be phased by it at all--they've seen worse. You've probably experienced something like that too...maybe, for example, a younger sibling is having trouble with their math homework, and while they're panicking 'cause they don't understand the material, you can react with a "pfft, that's nothing, wait until you get into my math class," type of attitude. Same thing for the Negatives, just in a war sense. When they're put back into context in a Realm where things are tough for them, you would probably see more emotion, since the Negative Realm is something they can't handle (which explains how they are less calm in STL, they're in their own context in a place where the outcome is not going to be a clean win for them). Am I making any sense?

As for Darika's comment on fencing, well, she obviously hasn't fenced before, not to sound rude. When you're practicing different movements and techniques, first you just practice the style of whatever it is you're doing, before you try it on an opponent. I can't tell you how often I've been in my fencing class and have advanced on, retreated from, lunged at, stabbed, and parried against thin air. It's when you understand the basics of what you're supposed to be doing, or when you've finished warming up, that you use an opponent, and if you'll notice, that's what Kawari did. He warmed up first, practicing all the movements, then had some target practice with the grapes, and finally he used his skills against his trainer, Kaeru. Kawari by no means taught himself to fight by poking thin air for the past six years. No, if his defense is bad it's because it's a difficult thing to master, especially in the heat of battle. CARPS, that was the longest review response of all of them...*sweatdrop* Well, hope that answers your major questions...

Trinity Star and her Muses ~ Oh, hey, happy laaaate birthday. Glad the chapter came up in time for that, hee hee.

Ebony Kuroneko ~ Keep Nozomi as long as you need to ^^ But I'll have to give him an extra glomp when he gets back. Hee hee. Kawari with a Bandit Keith voice, eh? Well yes, I have to agree that I can't imagine him with an accent. Kaeru's the same, although that grating tone he has in his voice in the show I can imagine. ^^;; I can't imagine Kaze with a Kaiba voice either, strangely enough, but maybe it's because whenever he speaks on the show it's like he keeps half his ego in his freakin' voice, and Kaze doesn't act like that. Ah well.

HCG: *cough* AAAAND that's it for review responses! Geeze, took me two hours...oO I had a lot more reviews than I usually get. I feel loved! ^^ Thanks guys!

Kawari: *rolls eyes*

HCG: *cough* ANYWAY. I think I'll just go to sleep now....I'm exhausted, and I didn't' even stay up late this time writing...but ya know, when you get a free day off of school, use it...to sleep! Hee hee hee...so review, folks, I'd appreciate it! And DO NOT HARM THE AUTHORESS! @_X Or you'll NEVER figure out what happened to Kaze! BWAHAHAHA!