I didn't expect that much good reviews for that chapter! Thanks people!

Review Replies:

Kausi - Aww... Samurai Jack confuses me... And he's so silent... Hmm...

l33t k1w1 - Is it that long? It was confusing? Which part? If you look back at chapter 3, Yui asked Reiko and Omi to research Mikuni, Kokujo and Knight. That was Reiko looking at Kokujo and Omi looking at Knight. The Omi-Knight confrontation is the most confusing, in my opinion. It's just that Omi is a really rich kid and has a business which Knight needs. Anyway, thanks for continuing with reading my story!

SxT - Um... Yui isn't exactly as new as Mimi in Duel Masters. She's been playing it for three weeks unlike Mimi who 'started' it when she met Shobu and the others. Norihiro is the one who is more like Mimi. Anyway, you'll see there is a difference between Yui and Mimi with their 'first impressions'. I am trying not to turn Yui into another Mimi. Thanks for reviewing and putting up with my story!

Deathliger - Thanks for all the info! By the way, who was the former Fourth Guardian. My kid relatives tell me that Kokujo wasn't the original Fourth Guardian but I seem to have missed that episode...

The Terminator - Thanks for the compliment! You're so nice! Both you and Deathliger give me info all the time! It really, really helps.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Duel Masters!

Please read! Um... Anyone tell me what age Hakuoh is? I'm guessing here people! Do you think he's still in high school? I need to know!

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Duel Guard

The Annual Duel Masters Competition Invitation

XDXDXD

"Um... Did I do that right?" Norihiro asked confusedly as he stared at his cards.

"You tapped the mana the wrong way," Rakudah said with a sigh.

"Oh!" Norihiro corrected his mistake with a sheepish smile.

"You just made a huge mistake my friend," Shobu said with a grin. "Todome da!"

"You're too good Shobu," Norihiro said, smiling as usual even though he just lost.

They were in the usual place where they practice, near the river. Shobu and Norihiro were having a practice match. Rakudah, Mimi and Saiyuki were watching.

"Want a try Mimi?" Shobu asked. "I need to practice and you're one of the best!" Mimi blushed and looked away.

"Not really Shobu... But okay, let's have a go."

Norihiro smiled mysteriously. We'll see how good the former Second Guardian is.

But before the two could start, Knight suddenly arrived in his car. Shobu and Mimi paused and looked up at him.

Drat, Norihiro thought darkly. Omi was supposed to keep Knight busy! Where is he?!

Knight went down from his car and towards Shobu. He gave an envelope to Shobu.

"What's this Knight?" Shobu asked curiously, eyeing it.

"Open it."

Shobu slowly opened the envelope and took a card out.

"Um... 'Dear Mr. Kirifuda, you are invited to the annual Duel Masters competition. Please register at the nearest booth to join one of the biggest Duel Masters competition each year.' Hey! It's a competition!"

"Yes it is," Knight said with a smile. He took another envelope out and gave it to Mimi. "You're also invited Mimi."

"Yay!" Mimi cheered. "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!"

"What about us Knight?" Rakudah asked. "Can't Saiyuki, Norihiro and I join?"

"I'll see what I can do," Knight replied. "But you have to register now Shobu and get it out of your hands."

"Is anyone else we know joining?" Shobu asked.

"Yes. I think Jimirah, Kintaro and Toru will join as well. I'm not sure if Hakuoh will take on the invitation."

"He should," Mimi said solemnly.

"He is good," Rakudah added. "And besides, what would stop him from doing so? He can't be thinking about his defeat from Shobu!"

"There is a very good possibility that some people from the Temple will be in it as well."

"Like the Guardians?" Saiyuki asked.

"Probably," Rakudah said.

I should check that with the others, Norihiro thought. Are we joining?

"Norihiro? Yoo hoo! Norihiro?"

Shobu was snapping his fingers in front of Norihiro's face. The boy snapped out from his reverie.

"S-sorry!" he said quickly. "What were we talking about?"

"Do you want to join?" Shobu asked. "So that Knight can do something for you."

Argh. I have to purposely loose if I join so that they can't figure out who I am! But I hate loosing! What to do... What to do...

"But if Norihiro joins, he might loose at the first round," Rakudah said thoughtfully. "He can't even tap is mana properly!"

"R-Rakudah's right," Norihiro said nervously. "I'll just make a fool out of myself. Maybe next time Shobu."

"Aww," Shobu said with a pout. "All right. It's just me, Mimi, Rakudah and Saiyuki then."

"All right," Knight said. "Now come with me. We have to register."

XDXDXD

"Are you registering for that Hakuoh?" Mikuni asked as he looked at Hakuoh's invitation.

"Are you Mikuni?" Hakuoh asked with a soft voice.

"Yes," Mikuni said with a grin. "I want to face Shobu again in a match." His face then turned more serious. "Some White Soldiers may join... Maybe even the current Temple Guardians."

(A/N: How do you spell the former Fourth Guardian's name? Asen? Aisen? Isen? And what about Hakuoh's other friends like the guy with the ponytail?)

Hakuoh and Mikuni were currently in the garden where Knight and Hakuoh had tea a few days ago. This garden belonged to the house that Hakuoh, Mikuni, Aisen (I'm taking this spelling for now) and his other friend (don't know his name) owned.

"I know that," Hakuoh said quietly. "I have given it a thought. I am not scared to face Shobu off again but what about the rest of the world? They are so used to me dueling people exclusively. Wouldn't it be awkward to just suddenly show up in a competition to duel? Without any exceptions?"

Mikuni was silent. After a while, he said, "But Hakuoh... What matters is if you want to duel. If you feel uncomfortable then don't. But you will have to duel with others in the future."

"I know but..."

...Am I ready to face the world again?

(A/N: Okay! Voting! Who wants Hakuoh to duel in the tournament and who doesn't? I just want an idea of what is best. But what the majority decides may not be what I take but please still tell me! I want to know your opinions. TY!)

XDXDXD

A pair of brown eyes watched as a black-haired boy signed up. The owner of those eyes smiled.

"Perfect."

"Are you joining Yui?" Akio asked, watching Shobu. "Norihiro surely isn't. Reiko, Omi and I cannot face Shobu before we give him an invitation to the Temple under the Master's orders."

"Of course I'm joining," Yui said with a bright smile at him. "I need something to amuse myself with as I wait for him. Master allowed me."

"But aren't you one of his friends?" Akio asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Are you planning to loose to him when you get the chance to face each other?"

"Of course not," Yui said, looking back at Shobu, a twinkle in her eye.

Akio's expression didn't betray his feelings though he tilted his head. "Yui, you know I rarely ask too many questions. If you're not planning to loose to him then what's the use of inviting him to the Temple if you defeat him? We would know the outcome if you two duel again."

"From what I learned, Shobu Kirifuda learns fast," Yui said calmly. "There might be a change the second time we duel. If I still win the second time we duel, then Master shouldn't bother with him."

"You are determined to defeat Shobu, aren't you? But how come you are helping him as well?" Akio asked.

"I want him to defeat me," Yui said quietly. "But he will defeat me at my best, not because I let him. And I also want him to defeat me at his best. I want to give him the chance to study my moves. You know that it is extremely rare for someone to beat me first time in a duel. So extreme that it has only happened once and that is to none other than Master... I also don't want to stay in the Temple for too long..."

Akio looked thoughtful. He then smiled at Yui, one of his rare smiles.

"It is extremely rare for someone to beat me first time in a duel too, you know," Akio said with a smirk. "It has also happened only once to me and that is to you. You talk as if Shobu can get past me."

Yui laughed. "Oh Akio... You know what I mean."

XDXDXD

"Oh yeah! We're registered, we're registered..." Mimi and Saiyuki were cheering.

"I am so going to win this!" Shobu said, doing a high-five with Rakudah. Knight had registered them already and went to another area of the building to get their special passes.

"Don't be so sure Shobu."

Shobu and the others looked up and saw a smirking Jimirah with Toru.

"Hey Jimirah, Toru," Shobu greeted.

"You're really over-confident if you think you'll win this competition too," Toru said with a grin. "Watch out! I've been training really hard!"

"And so have I!" Jimirah exclaimed.

"Mimi's joining as well so you'll have more than me to worry about," Shobu said with a grin. Mimi smiled and winked.

"Are you joining Saiyuki?" Toru asked. Saiyuki blushed and nodded.

"Yeah..."

"You too Rakudah?" Jimirah questioned.

"Yes," Rakudah answered.

"What about you Norihiro?" Toru asked. Norihiro sweat dropped and looked away.

"Er... No. I don't want to make a fool out of myself."

"Hey guys!"

Everyone looked up and saw Yui. Everyone sweat dropped when they saw her huge glasses reflecting light again. Norihiro, however, was extremely puzzled.

What is she doing here? Unless...

"Hey Yui!" Shobu greeted. "Toru, Jimirah, this is Yui Koumyouji. Yui, this is Toru Kamiya and Jimirah."

"Pleased to meet you," Yui said with a bow. Toru gave a bow as well while Jimirah jerked his head in recognition.

"Yui, are you joining?" Shobu asked excitedly.

"Of course," Yui said, he lips visibly smiling though you couldn't tell anything about her eyes. "I wouldn't miss it. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to get through the first round."

SHE'S JOINING?! Norihiro thoughts exploded to every direction. He then spotted Akio in the shadows, watching them. Norihiro looked back at Yui, expression worried.

This means Master let her... But why? What are these two up to?

"By the way Yui, what kind of civilization deck do you have?" Rakudah asked.

"Light," Yui replied with a huge smile. "I like it very much. The first Duel Masters card I've ever seen was a Light Civilization one so I really like it."

Knight arrived, carrying four passes. He gave one each to Shobu, Mimi, Rakudah and Saiyuki.

"Here you go," he said. "Hey Toru, Jimirah... Who are you?"

I wonder who he is... Yui thought. Wait a minute... Tall, dark, mysterious-looking, long hair and signature sun glasses... He's probably a registration guy. (A/N: And you would think she knows Knight!)

"I'm Yui Koumyouji, sir," Yui said with a bright smile. "And you are?"

"How could you not know Knight?" Saiyuki asked in surprise.

Knight? Oh... "I'm sorry... I wasn't expecting to see a Duel Masters champion today."

"You should get used to it Yui," Rakudah said proudly. "Shobu also knows Hakuoh!"

"Really?" Yui said, smiling mentally. Of course she knew that. "Wow! Cool!"

"It's nice to meet you Yui," Knight said coolly. "Are you joining as well?"

"Yes," Yui said with a bright smile, at least her lips had a smile. No one could see her eyes (how many times was that mentioned?).

"Good," Knight said. He then looked at all of them. "There will be a time when you might face each other. I wish you all luck."

"Thanks Knight," they said in chorus.

XDXDXD

Omi appeared beside Akio. He was smirking evilly as he watched all of them.

"Everything's going according to plan," Omi said with a grin. "It's a good thing I have some influence on my father. He was planning to skip this competition this year."

"Wonderful. Good job Omi," Akio said, keeping his eyes on he group. "Now all you have to do is hack your father's computer and make sure that Yui doesn't face any of them."

Omi placed his hands together and cracked his knuckles. "That will be so easy. Reiko also told me that she already had a chat with Kokujo Koshiro (right spelling?). She's already seen Mikuni as well and she is very much sure that Mikuni's style is nowhere near her one. They don't even use the same civilization."

"Perfect," Akio said. "Is your deck like the former Third Guardian's?"

Omi shook his head. "He used a water civilization deck on Shobu."

"Wonderful," Akio said, taking a final look at Yui. "Let's go. We have to start planning how things would go."

"Okay," Omi said cheerfully. He took a look at Knight.

Thank you Knight for entering Shobu in danger.

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Hmm... I wasn't too satisfied with that chapter either... But it was all right, right? looks hopefully at everyone

Chisakami Saiyuki