Hello, this is fifth chapter work coming up. Once again I would thank ALL of my reviewers, thank you, thank you, because I loved very much to hear from y'all. To respond to one:

miyabi-kkg: I'm sorry, but I don't really write slash...so no SetoxJonouchi. Sorry!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh....to all my successors, I...I....I'm sorry I couldn't do any better, turns head in shame.

Chapter Five: The Man

Call away. That's all he ever did in my dreams. Curse him! He tormented me so...I wanted him to die...I almost had him....damn! I woke up sweaty and out of breath.

I was getting better.

No longer did I mope around the house calling for Mokuba in a blind state of despair. No.

I had a cane, now. This is what I used to tap my way around my home and my building. Yes, now I went to work again...and I actually did something.

You will have no sense of what this felt like, ever. It was a mix of happiness and irritability for me. I was so glad and relieved to be useful again in my company...but the people around me...they were more than nervous around me. I don't know why.

If I'm going to tell what happened at all, I have to go back to this one day when I believe it all started. I was sitting at my desk in the top floor of the Kaiba Corp. building working on my new laptop, based on sound, of course, because I couldn't see. (I would like to take this opportunity to say that this laptop was not nearly as good as the one I lost in the accident. But it had to do.)

"Mr...Kaiba," my secretary Lola stammered out as she stepped in the doorway. (People there sometimes hesitated when saying my name. Odd, no?)

"What?" I didn't look at her; this was a thing with me. I constantly looked in one direction—right in front of me—because hearing the voice and then staring at it, which is more or less what I had to do, stare at someone's voice and hope I was looking them in the face, was difficult at first.

"Umm...well for some reason there's a person here to see—AHEM—speak with you." They got choked up with the "see" thing.

"I know, I heard him walk up. And there are going to be people to see me, Lola. I am the president of Kaiba Corp. Things like this happen." If they were going to treat me like a freak, I was going to treat them like slow people.

"Umm...ok..." I heard her call in the hallway, (her voice became an echo in my very large hall so I knew what she was doing), and "You may come in, now, Sir."

The footsteps of the visitor were different—slow and deliberate. They seemed to be made by large shoes, boots. They stomped and jingled a little bit when he walked. He was trying to intimidate someone. He would have to try harder then that to get to me, though.

"What have you come here for?" I still did not look towards the racket he was making with his shoes.

He stood in front of my desk; I sensed him, smelled him and heard his breathing—like the breathing of a wild, furious animal. His presence gave off an aura of claustrophobic darkness, the kind that gives you a lump in your throat. He smelled of dirt, graveyard earth from six feet under the surface. Very creepy.

"I have come," he began, his voice like that of a bull; low, deep and rounded. "to notify you of a challenge."

"What kind of challenge?" My eyes needed not to move because he was right in front of me. He beginning to draw my attention, I stopped typing on the laptop, but I was far from interested.

He growled a low laugh. "That is the right question."

"So glad. Now answer it." Really, I didn't have the time for this. Ever since blindness struck me, I had to work doubly hard to keep up with everything.

"Very well. A tournament is to be held."

"A tournament?"

"Yes. A duel monsters tournament."

"And....how does this effect me?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're invited."

Was he insane? There was no way in all of the seven hells that I—blind Seto Kaiba—was going to compete in a duel monsters tournament. Ever again. "Are you out of your pitiful little mind? I can't compete in any more tournaments."

"Why not?"

So he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. I guess guys who smell like they just rose from the grave really aren't. Shame. "I am blind, you fool."

Now he burst out in a roaring laugh similar to a wild-man's. "So," he started again, winding down a little bit. "The great Seto Kaiba has finally given up, and dulled his sharp soul."

He was getting personal. I wouldn't let him see he was eating at me. I remained indifferent until he finished his laugh. "Are you done?" I asked.

"Almost."

"Took that long. First of all, I don't know how you can expect me to play that game again. I can't even see the damn cards. Second, you couldn't be more wrong about me. Third, if you have come all the way here to waste my time insulting me, let me know. Because I'd be more than happy to throw you out of this window here with the promise that your dirty, graveyard digging ass is so far gone from this life that you're going to wish you never showed up in my office offering my an unacceptable challenge." Looking back on it, I guess I was giving him a reason to believe he got to me. Oh well, what I said took him down a few pegs on the arrogance scale.

"Alright....alright..." he said after he recovered. "So you won't accept my offer, then?"

"No."

He sighed. "Fine. Suit yourself. But if you change you mind call me. My name is Lock." How he expected me to call him without leaving a phone number, I have no idea. But I just wanted him out of there. He left with a few stomps of his over-sized boots.

"Finally," I said once he left. I turned my attention, (not my eyes), back to the laptop. "That guy has something wrong with him."

I thought it was over. But the next day frightened Lola showed up at the doorway again. "Mr...Kaiba? I have a letter here for you. There's no return address, though, so I don't know who it's from..."

Interesting. She dropped the letter on my desk. I felt her staring rudely at me for a few seconds before she turned and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" I asked, slightly amused at her foolishness.

"Umm, well, I was just, umm, ok, yea, I was just, umm, going to....my desk sir!"

"Why? I need you to read this letter for me. Out loud."

"OH! Right, well, I was just...you know...yea." She picked the letter up again, gently and read:

"Seto Kaiba,

I have taken it into my hands to re-invite you to my tournament. Only this time, I'll make it worth your while and effort.

Come to the Domino clock tower on Thursday at 5:00 pm. There the opening speech will be made. If you listen to the speech you will find out why you should compete, even though you are now blind.

If you do not come, you will be sorely cheated.

Lock

It ends there, sir."

This was beginning to sound like MY own tournament, the one I recently held, which turned out to be very uneventful in truth because I did not achieve my goal of defeating Yugi and everyone there was totally swept up by this Egyptian fairytale thing that they all insisted I was one of the characters in. So, yes, Yugi "saved the world" from this evil guy named Marik only to find NO gratitude other then his little circle of friends cheering for about five seconds. The whole Ishtar family basically disappeared after that, thank god. Just waste my time, why don't you?

But then I thought: I could see then. Now...I hadn't been practicing or even thinking about my duel monsters. I was too busy learning how to get around and do all the things seeing people took for granted every day. No. This was not good for me.

Yet...the duel monsters game was my passion. I had to go at it again...but how? Ok, so I'd go to Lock's little opening thing and find out what he was raving about. Maybe even play a game or two. But I wouldn't win, and that was the most important thing.

I was still pondering this fact when Lola interrupted me and asked, "Is Lock that menacing gentleman from yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Oh. If I may, sir, I would advise you not to go."

"And why is that?"

"Because, well, sir, he was very creepy. His hair was black and long and greasy and all in his face and he was wearing these dirty clothes that were ALL black and cape-like and these boots with chains on them and well...he..."

"He what?"

"I shouldn't say, sir, I do not mean to, ahem, ahem..."

"Just say it."

"Well, he was blind, too, sir!"