Author's notes: Suc-CESS! Chapter 3! Watch yourselves, this one's long. Warnings include a bit of swearing, a drawn-out duel and some shonen-ai if you look for it (grin). Also, I don't own any Yu-Gi-Oh or Ziploc rights.

OIOIOIO

The following afternoon, Tristan pulled up to Bakura's residence. It was a five-story apartment complex, with small windows, no balconies and a simple brown and white paint job. To Tristan, the apartment sort of resembled Bakura- conservative and withdrawn, impossible to see what was going on inside. But maybe it was just him.

He entered the apartment's basement level, and parked his motorcycle in the guest's lot. He took off his helmet, and unpacked the pizza boxes ingeniously tied to the seat - heh, who says that he wasn't resourceful? He then walked to the call box, where Bakura buzzed him in, and he took the elevator to the fourth floor.

"Room 405... ah, there it is," muttered Tristan. He stood in front of the door, hesitating. For a second, the area seemed to have some kind of creepy aura surrounding it. He brushed off the feeling, and knocked.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal Bakura, dressed in an olive-colored pullover sweater and khakis. His type of dress clashed with Tristan's red jacket, white t-shirt and jeans; in fact, the two boys tended to have entirely different tastes and styles. They were friends, regardless.

"Hello, Tristan," he said with a smile. "Come on in."

"Hey, Bakura. Thanks." Tristan returned the smile and stepped inside. "Erm, where should I put these?" he asked, referring to the pizza boxes.

"Kitchen counter," replied Bakura, nodding to his left. "By the way, did you bring your deck?" he asked, nonchalant.

"You bet," said Tristan, returning from the kitchen.

"Great. Then Duel Monsters 101 is officially in session," said Bakura, with an expression akin to amusement. He ventured toward at a table that was set on the side of the living room. Then he gestured for Tristan to join him. "Care to take a seat?" he asked.

"Sure."

As Bakura sat himself at the table, Tristan picked up the other chair from the opposite side and brought it close to Bakura's. When Tristan sat down, he noticed Bakura's look of surprise.

"Sorry, I thought I could see and hear things better if I was closer," said Tristan. "I'll just move b-"

"There's no need," Bakura murmured. His face was now turned away from Tristan's view. "That's actually a good idea."

"Okay." Hoping to lighten the mood, Tristan opened his backpack and took out a ziploc bag full of Duel Monster cards. "Wanna review my deck for me?" he asked.

When Bakura at last turned around and saw Tristan's zip-locked deck, his face contorted into mild disgust. "Tristan, is THAT how you keep your cards?"

"Eh... heh... yeah," Tristan sheepishly replied.

Bakura shook his head. "Then we ought to get you a proper box to store them in. You should take better care of your cards."

"Well sure, MOM, but shouldn't the effectiveness of my deck be the most important thing here?" asked Tristan, grinning impishly.

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "Just give me your deck," he said, huffing. When his request was complied, he flipped through the cards. "Weak monsters... ineffective magic and trap cards... No coexistent links between your cards... Tristan, your deck irrevocably SUCKS."

"Yeah, yeah, no need to rub it in..." Tristan muttered. He crossed his arms with an exaggerated gloom.

Bakura laughed. "Now, now... All you need is a strategy. What sort of deck are you shooting for?"

"Come again?" asked Tristan, quirking his eyebrows.

"A strategic deck type. Do you want a Burn Deck,' a "Crush Deck...'"

"How about a Kick your damn ASS deck!'"

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Let's just go along with a Beatdown Deck.' Your cards seem to have that kind of style, anyway. In case you didn't know, a Beatdown Deck' Strategy involves monsters hacking away at the opponent's lifepoints through battle damage, until the lifepoint count hits zero. Simple, no?" Bakura's smile came dangerously close to resembling a smirk.

Now it was Tristan's turn to roll his eyes. "Isn't that what you're supposed to do in the first place?"

"It's a way to play, of course," said Bakura, with an air of diablerie. "But there are many ways to win the game, if you do things right."

The statement made Tristan think. He truly did appreciate Bakura's knack for Duel Monsters and gaming in general. He had to admit that the guy was gifted. And maybe something more...

"Tristan, you okay?" asked Bakura, eyeing him with suspicion. "It's a lot to chew on, isn't it?" he teased.

"Uh, yeah! It is," said Tristan. C'mon Taylor, find something to change the subject... Hey! I totally forgot to show him... "Bakura, I forgot that I've got some other cards." He reached into his backpack, and brought out a binder. He took out the cards, which were tucked in the side pockets, and gave them to Bakura. "These were the ones that Yugi, Joey and Tea gave me for the Tournament. Bet THOSE are better."

"Hm Goodness, 'Magical Cylinders,' 'Stray Lambs,' 'Maha Vailo' They certainly have good taste, that's for sure." He eyed Tristan with a smile. "Strange how you don't take after them."

Tristan gasped in mock-surprise. "Just for that, I challenge you to a DUEL, good sir!" said Tristan, pointing dramatically. "Um, that is, after lunch?" he asked, patting his stomach.

Bakura laughed. "All right then, challenge accepted, after lunch." His eyes held a rather mischievous light. "Just don't go crying when you get beat, Monkey Boy."

OIOIOIO

On their second game, Bakura finally finished Tristan off with a snatched "Goblin Strike Force," whose controller switched from Tristan to Bakura.

"And THAT, my friend, is why Change of Heart' is my favorite card," said Bakura, triumphantly. "The last two games are mine. Convinced NOW that your deck needs work?"

"Three's a charm - one more duel!" said Tristan, cheerfully.

Bakura sighed. "Fine, but afterwards, I insist that we visit a card store to get you better supplied for the Tournament. Especially getting a box for your cards." He grimaced in memory of the Ziploc horrors.

"Deal," Tristan agreed. "But this time, I'll show you what my deck has really got!" He then turned his attentions to shuffling his cards to prep for the new game. Had he looked up, Tristan would have noticed the soft glow that emanated beneath Bakura's pullover.

When third duel between Tristan and Bakura commenced, things didn't differ any more from usual; they switched decks to cut, and determined who would make the first move. But after the first few turns, Tristan began to sense that something weird was going on. He normally wouldn't notice anything at all; he'd be too occupied with his cards to catch things other than the vocal broadcastings made by his opponent. But strangely, Bakura hadn't said a word since the duel had begun.

"Man, Bakura, you're so quiet..." he said, initially out of concern. Then, thinking of the silence as Bakura's method of throwing him off, he smiled bemusedly. "...But if you think giving me the Silent Treatment will save you from defeat, think again," Tristan finished. He looked up at Bakura to find his own good-natured smile met with a broad, maniacal grin.

"Rest assured, Tristan, silence is the least of your worries."

Wow, thought Tristan. For an act, Bakura was doing a bang-up job. He was looking crazier by the minute. He had a different voice, a feral visage, and - damn, he must have put on mascara and messed up his hair when Tristan wasn't looking.

Wait... He had seen this face before. It couldn't be! Didn't Marik send... No. But it IS. Bakura must have gotten back the Ring somehow. And the evil spirit that inhabited the Ring had returned to possess him. Again.

"It's you," he said numbly. He glared at the figure ahead of him. "There's no getting rid of you, is there?"

"I reside in shadows. And shadows are quenchless. Remember that." Bakura' had a relaxed expression now, like a predator eyeing a piece of meat.

"..." Tristan didn't know what to do. He knew it was useless to dispose of the Ring - it would just mysteriously return, like it always had. Violence was out of the question - once was enough. After pondering his options, Tristan decided to chuck prudence out the window and go with his gut.

"So, Evil Spirit... you here to train me too?" asked Tristan. Though he had a sarcastic tone, he really was curious of why it was here. Hopefully he'd get an answer before he was stripped of his flesh or something.

Bakura' laughed, darkly. He eventually settled into a diabolical smirk. "Why not. What better way to improve your skills than challenging yourself at a whole new game?"

At this, Tristan shivered, sick to his stomach. He looked around him. The table and chairs - the whole living room, in fact - was gone. Both duelists were standing in a dark, empty stimuli, murky with swirling fog.

Even more outstanding were the appearances of the Duel Monster cards on the field - it looked almost exactly like Kaiba's VR technology that makes the game look almost life-like. The mat-sized, face-down cards were floating parallel to the field a short distance away from him.

Then he looked in his immediate vicinity. The huge spectacle mimicked the regular cards that were suspended in air directly in front of him: His deck of cards floated to his right. His graveyard was a blurry dark patch on his left.

While the playing field became grander, the stakes grew higher as well. Tristan was sure that this had to be one of those "Shadow Duels" he's heard of so often. And he knew that if he lost this "Shadow Duel," he'd get a one-way ticket to the Shadow REALM. Not a good place to be. And ... who else would keep Mr. and Mrs. Cabeza in business?

"Shall we continue?" asked Bakura, er, the evil spirit.

Tristan swallowed nervously, gripping the Duel Monster cards in his hand. There was no use in asking why this was happening - with all the crazy goings-on lately, this should be routine enough. After a deep breath, he stood straighter. "It's your move," he replied.

OIOIOIO

The Game continued.

The evil spirit drew a card and added it to its hand. "I set a monster card in defensive mode, and set a magic/trap card. Your turn."

Well, at least Bakura' was talking again.

"Ergh..." Tristan drew a card, and looked at his hand. He was at a total loss. What to do? he thought. At least the evil spirit's monster isn't in attack mode - I could always nail it, and keep the spirit on defense. But it could be bait for something else!

Tristan looked at the spirit's side of the field. So far, it had one monster set in defense, and three magic/trap (m/t) cards set. Meanwhile, Tristan's side of the field was completely empty. All of his monsters were wiped out by Bakura's Needle Ceiling,' and he had no relevant m/t cards to play. Then Tristan took note of the lifepoint count: the spirit's lifepoints were at a full 8000, and his were knocked down to 4500. Unfortunately for Tristan, this game hadn't been in his favor from the start.

Gotta risk it... thought Tristan. "Okay... first, I set a m/t card. Then I summon Command Angel, in attack mode!"

A winged woman dressed in military attire then appeared with a flash of light.

"Command Angel - attack the spirit's face-down monster!" The woman flew, blazing towards her target, and with a fierce, one-two punch, shattered the card, revealing it to be... huh, he'd never seen THAT monster before...

He looked at the spirit to find that it was pleased at this.

"You've destroyed my Emissary of the Afterlife. When it's sent from the field to the graveyard, its effect allows us to select one level 3 or lower monster from our deck to add to our hand." The spirit looked through its deck, and pulled out a card. "I will choose the Goblin King." It revealed the card for Tristan to see. "And you?"

Aw man, he had to show it, too? "I choose the Magician of Faith," he said, holding up his card.

"Have you finished your turn?" asked the spirit. It shuffled its deck.

"Yep," said Tristan, who also shuffled his cards. He was feeling pretty confident - the monster chosen by the spirit was the weakest he'd EVER seen, an incredible 0 Attack and 0 Defense.

"Now, for my turn, I activate the trap cards Ultimate Offering and Life Absorbing Machine!" With flashing sparks, two trap cards flipped up on the spirit's Spell and Trap Zone.

"Ultimate Offering allows us both to summon as many monsters as we desire to fit the Monster Zone, granted we pay the 500 lifepoint fee for each extra monster. However, with Life Absorbing Machine in play, I alone will pay any fee at half-price."

"Deal of the century," said Tristan, dryly.

The spirit seemed something short of amused. "With this, I summon Skull Knight #2, in attack mode." A skeleton garbed in ebony armor with gold linings rose from the murky ground. "Now, paying the fee for an extra summon, I sacrifice my Skull Knight #2 to tribute summon Dark Ruler Ha Des!" The Skull Knight swirled into nothingness. Then, with a deafening rumble, colorful sparks preluded the arrival of a richly robed monster, carrying a goblet of wine. The monster looked so regal and important, that Tristan figured it was probably a big part of the spirit's plan.

Suddenly, another Skull Knight #2 appeared in attack mode on the field.

"Hey... you didn't pay the fee for THAT guy," Tristan pointed out.

"There's no need to. Once a Skull Knight #2 is tribute summoned for another fiend-type monster, another Skull Knight is special summoned from my deck. You realize I only have to pay for normal summons." The spirit smirked. "Really, Tristan, you should brush up on your homework."

"Yeah, whatever. Are you DONE, Coach Carter?"

"Not yet. I will once again pay the extra fee to tribute my other Skull Knight for the Patrician of Darkness." Through a plume of smoke, a vampiric being emerged, sporting black and crimson armor.

"Ooh... So where's your other Skull Knight?" asked Tristan, smugly.

"Fortunately for you, Patrician of Darkness is a Zombie-type monster, and not a Fiend-type. Another Skull Knight will not be special summoned. Next, I activate Monster Reborn to special summon an old friend; my Lesser Fiend." A bright beam shot out of the spirit's graveyard, and out stepped a grotesque mixture of a wolf and a minotaur.

"And now, my final summon..." the spirit said.

WHAT! Another summon? thought Tristan. Look at how many monsters it's got on the field already in just one turn! That had to be a miraculously excellent hand. Or more likely, the bastard cheated! Yeah, had to be... Then it started to sink in. Three high-level monster on the spirit's field, so far. One low-level monster on his in ATTACK MODE. Oh LORD, this was going to SUCK!

The spirit interrupted his thoughts. "I will make one more payment to summon one of my better monsters: the Goblin King!"

A multi-colored pool formed on the spirit's field. Then it began to writhe and contort, shooting upwards to form a large throne. Seated in the blue-plushed throne was a tiny green creature dressed in a crimson, fur-lined robe and a gleaming crown.

And both of its Attack and Defense points were zero.

"Some monster," said Tristan, "Even Kuribo can beat THAT thing." Then he watched in horror as the Attack and Defense number increased. And increased. And increased some more.

The spirit laughed insanely. "He is called the Goblin King for a reason. For every fiend-type monster on my side of the field, excluding himself, he gets a power boost of 1000. There are two other fiends on my field. Even you could do the math."

Tristan's eyes widened. A 2000 Attack! Combined with all those other monsters... Even with his Command Angel there to block some of the damage, it'll still be enough to take him out.

Then... that meant it was all over. He couldn't... Wait. There was still that trap card he laid down, from his last turn. If he could pair it up with any of these cards... Yeah, that could work...!

"Now I enter my battle phase," said Bakura, smiling wickedly. "First, my Lesser Fiend will attack your Command Angel." The Lesser Fiend reared, and shot out a huge stream of fire that burst through the Command Angel, and slammed right into Tristan.

"Gahh..." he groaned. He actually... FELT that?

"You remember that thanks to my Lesser Fiend's special ability, your monster is now removed from play." The spirit narrowed its eyes. "It seems you've lost your only monster on the field. Now the rest of my monsters can attack you directly. Let's hope that face-down card of yours will help you."

No kidding, thought Tristan.

"Now my monsters will attack!" the spirit declared. The Patrician of Darkness extended its claws and slashed. Dark Ruler Ha Des, using its free hand, expelled a large stream of dark energy. The Goblin King rose from its throne and transformed into a huge beast that spewed a surge of black goo. All three attacks headed Tristan's way.

And then...

"I activate my trap card, A Hero Emerges!" Tristan's card flipped over revealing itself. "Whenever my opponent declares an attack, he chooses a card from my hand. If the card's a monster, it's immediately special summoned onto the field. If it isn't a monster, it's sent to my graveyard."

Tristan held out his four cards. "So, Evil Spirit... which card will you choose?"

"The second card to your left. Is it a monster?"

Tristan smiled. "As a matter of fact..."

He was interrupted by an explosion created from the spirit's attack. Resulting smoke blocked the vision of both players for a few seconds. When the field cleared, a monster was crouching in front of Tristan, intact.

"What's this? A Celtic Guardian?"

"Wrong," Tristan wagged his finger. "It's an OBNOXIOUS Celtic Guardian. And you should know that this guy can't be destroyed in battle when he spars with monsters with an Attack of 1900 or more. And judging by your monsters' powerful attack levels, NONE of them can do a thing about it."

The spirit looked mildly surprised. Then it smiled, rather pleasantly. "Well done."

Tristan blinked. "Wh... Why... ARE YOU DONE?" He stammered, flabbergasted at the strange remark.

The spirit swept its hand, palm up, in invitation. "Go ahead."

"About time... sheesh..." Tristan drew a card. Hey, this card'll do... "I play the magic card, Pot of Greed! I get to draw two more cards." A giant green pot appeared on the field, and Tristan reached inside to grab two cards. All right... I've got a pretty good selection here...

"Okay, now I summon Giant Orc in attack mode!" A large gray behemoth appeared, brandishing a huge bone-club. It had a large attack power of 2200, enough to destroy most of the other monsters. Tristan decided to take out the Lesser fiend, because of its devastating special ability.

"Giant Orc - attack the Lesser Fiend!" The Giant Orc roared, rushing forward to bludgeon its target.

"Not so fast... or have you considered the Patrician of Darkness' special ability?"

The eyes of the Patrician of Darkness glowed. Then it slowly raised a hand to point at the Dark Ruler Ha Des. Hypnotized, the Giant Orc swerved away from the Lesser Fiend to attack Dark Ruler Ha Des instead. With its stronger attack power, Dark Ruler Ha Des counter-attacked and blew away the Giant Orc.

Tristan got clipped from the attack, and his lifepoints were shaved down to 3750. "Let me guess..." he said. "The Patrician of Darkness can direct my attacks to whichever monster it chooses on your side of the field."

"Clever boy."

"Heh, you don't know the half of it. I set this m/t card, and end my turn." Tristan was feeling pretty good. That trap card he just laid down will do a great deal of damage. Best of all, the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian will buy him time to draw the cards he needed to turn this duel around. He silently thanked Yugi Moto for lending it to him.

It was the spirit's turn again, and it drew a new card. It grinned devilishly at its choice. "Bad news for you, Tristan. Now I play the magic card Stop Defense!"

Tristan watched in horror as the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian stood up, switching from defensive mode to an attacking position.

"Your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian won't be destroyed by my monsters because of its special effect. You WILL however, take battle damages once it is in attack mode."

Gulp. It's got him there.

"Now my monsters will attack the Celtic Guardian - and you." The spirit's monsters released their respective energies aiming at the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. The attacks passed through their target harmlessly, only to pummel right into Tristan's body.

"Aagh!" Tristan doubled over in pain. He couldn't imagine a simple game hurting that much... Now he knew how Joey must have felt back at Battle Ship. With the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian to filter the attacks, his lifepoints were drained to a minuscule 800.

"My turn ends."

It was now Tristan's turn, as he shakily drew a card. He knew he had to tough it out, or he might not even have a next turn. He looked at his selection of cards, and felt a smile creep on his face. Getting even wasn't a virtue, but it sure as heck felt good.

"For my turn, I activate my face-down trap card, Just Desserts! This card ensures that my opponent loses 500 lifepoints for each monster they have on the field!"

Upon activation of Just Desserts, a rotund, pink creature appeared on the field, and counted the number of monsters on the spirit's side. When it counted four, it raised its hands, and fired four bolts of energy at the spirit, who took the blow full-force. Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark. Tristan noticed that the spirit's lifepoints were now cut down to 5250. Yay, he actually caused direct damage that time!

"But that's not all," said Tristan. "I'll play the magic card that will CRIPPLE your army of monsters - activate After Genocide! When my turn ends, this card will destroy every monster involved in any damage calculations. Unfortunately, it'll take my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian. But say sayonara to ALL of YOURS!"

Tristan couldn't help but add a dramatic flair to it all. DAMN, this was cool! "Finally, I'll place this monster in defensive mode." He looked up to grin at the spirit. "Oh, and did I mention that I'll end my turn?"

At this, a grassy area littered with fallen medieval knights appeared on the dueling field. Abruptly, the whole field crumbled into a darkening abyss, taking most of the monsters with it. Some of the spirit's monsters actually screeched as it plunged into the narrowing crevice below. Then the field returned to normal, supporting only Tristan's face-down monster.

Tristan looked up again, expecting to see a royally pissed-off spirit. Instead, it seemed to be... pleased?

"Impressive."

Man, what will take to SHAKE this bastard?

"My turn." It drew a card. "I activate the magic card, Dark Snake Syndrome. Starting from my next standby phase, 200 points of damage will be inflicted to us both, and damages will double for each of my turns. I suggest you find a way to defeat me quickly, before this card will finish you."

Tristan watched in horrid fascination as a snake-like tattoo formed on his arm, and entwined its way to his shoulder blade. He shuddered to think of how it would finish him off.

"I will also set a monster in defensive mode, and end my turn."

Tristan found himself in a bit of a pickle. He had, what, two more turns to beat it? He couldn't normal summon enough powerful monsters in that amount of time to do the necessary damage! Sure, even though the spirit will lose lifepoints too, it will long outlast him to be of any relevance.

He took a deep breath, and drew a card. Then he reviewed his cards looking for something to jump at him, a solution, ANYTHING.

And then it came. Aw, yeah.

Tristan straightened up for his move. "Okay, Evil Spirit, you ready for this! First, I activate the magic card, Monster Reborn! Hm, who to resurrect? Choices, choices... I think I'll settle on your Dark Ruler Ha Des!"

Another bright light shot out of the spirit's graveyard, and Dark Ruler appeared on Tristan's side of the field.

The spirit looked slightly surprised at the move. Tristan shrugged. "It's true, my monsters really ARE weak. So, it's better for me if I can steal away more powerful monsters from my opponents. But if there's one thing better than my opponents' monsters, it's monsters borrowed from FRIENDS!" He slapped down a monster card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight!"

With a flash of sparks, a warrior emerged, garbed completely in black armor. "The story of Gearfried goes that he blocked up all of his potential because he was afraid to use it," said Tristan, taking out a card. "Well, no more! Witness Gearfried in his true form, as I play the magic card, Swordsman Released! I can remove one Gearfried the Iron Knight from play to special summon his alter ego from my hand or deck - The Master Swordsman!"

Gearfried was awash in blinding light, as the armor broke away to reveal a man, tanned, with flowing black hair. The Master Swordsman had many attributes, but the most outstanding was his humongous sword.

Whoa... To think, that actually worked. Joey, wherever you are... thanks.

"Next, I'll flip summon my face-down monster on the field!" The card flipped over to reveal the Magician of Faith. "Using the Magician's special ability, I can retrieve one magic card from my graveyard and add it to my hand. And I'll choose the ever-reliable magic card, Nobleman of Crossout!"

The Magician of Faith mystically retrieved the magic card from Tristan's graveyard and added it to his hand. "Now, I can activate the Nobleman of Crossout on your facedown monster card, removing it from play without activating any flip effects!" A man sporting metallic armor appeared, charged towards the spirit's facedown monster card, and slashed it in two with its blade.

Boo-ya! Thank you too, Tea!

Tristan took another deep breath. Whew, all this talking was wearing him out! In any case, Tristan knew that the spirit's field was now left wide open for a full-frontal attack to its lifepoints. And with Dark Ruler's 2460 attack power, Master Swordman's 2600, and the Magician's 300, that was enough to wipe out the rest of the spirit's lifepoints! The spirit probably knew this, too.

So why did it look so calm and collected?

Oboy... it could be because of that facedown m/t card on its side of the field. Yeah... But Tristan couldn't back down because of a possibility. And yet, Tristan still found himself hesitating to do what could be the finishing move. But it wasn't because of the spirit's facedown card - THAT he could handle. But could it be because... no. He had to do this.

One more deep breath.

"Now Dark Ruler, Master Swordsman and the Magician will attack your lifepoints DIRECTLY!" shouted Tristan. Dark Ruler Ha Des extended its hand to fire black lightning bolts. The Master Swordsman jumped up and brought down his sword with a mighty slash. The Magician of Faith raised her staff to expel a stream of mystical energy.

Then Tristan thought he saw the spirit reach for its facedown m/t card... but the resulting explosion from the attacks blocked his vision. His heart pounded heavily as he squinted his eyes, straining to see past the wafting smoke. Did the attacks go through?

A few seconds later, the smoke cleared, and Tristan could see across the field. The spirit was there, clutching its chest in pain. Its facedown m/t card was untouched.

Tristan had won.

Their shadowy surroundings begun to twist and contort until it faded away. Then he and the spirit were back in Bakura's living room again. Never before had Tristan been so happy to see things back to normal.

Then he looked over at the spirit nearby who was still possessing Bakura, by the looks of things. Huh, how fair is that? If Tristan had lost, HE'D been sent to the Shadow Realm to rot for all eternity. Yet the spirit lost, and it's still here. Figures. Then again, the spirit didn't actually say it WAS a SHADOW duel, per sé... Screw it, Shadow or no Shadow, it lost, and it's a damn shame it was still here.

But still...

"Are you all right?" he found himself asking the spirit. He received no reply.

"Say what you will or won't, but you still lost," said Tristan, stepping towards the spirit. "Now give Bakura's body... back..." Uh oh. The strain of playing a Shadow Duel... or whatever... has taken its toll. He felt his body shut down and lurch forward to fall. Oh great ...What a way to make an impression by kissing the floor...

Then something stopped his fall, and propped him up. His mind was too numb to really question what was going on. Then he caught sight of the olive-colored sweater and felt arms wrap around his back to keep him supported.

Then he felt cold fingers run slowly through his hair...

"All in due time," he heard the spirit say.

Tristan's eyes widened, then slowly closed shut.

Continued...

OIOIOIO

Thank you's:

Jaye-R Scarab: YO! I really appreciate you being such a kind and faithful reader so far... it's so incredibly inspiring! Yay, glad to hear that you agree that Tristan is an underappreciated character, even if he isn't your favorite! (grin) Also, yeah I figured that I should pass Kaiba off as calm, seeing that he doesn't know Tristan that well (yet, meh heh heh), and the fact that he was at work, so he'd have a somewhat professional behavior. Thanks so much for everything, Jaye-R, means a lot to me!

MADJA; DUELLIST OF ROSES: What a cool name of yours! Thanks for the compliments, I'm trying to make it as meaningful as possible! (smile) As for Tristan's dog, wow I didn't know that her name was Jill! Cool! I did, however, know her name in the Japanese version, which was Blankey. And yeah, I heard that Jill was a she-dog too, but I was somewhat uncomfortable with calling her a "bitch." Hey, I don't hate her THAT much! (LoL!)

Peter Kim: Hm, I don't really know Tristan's deck much, but I THINK that he has a warrior/army-esque deck, from what I've seen. And hey, those ideas are quite interesting... Tell you what, I'll put both of those characters in future chapters, though it won't be in the exact manner you described. Keep a sharp outlook for em. And you have a point, Tristan would benefit from learning from Bakura's yami as well. Only time can tell if the spirit will help him or not. (hehehe!)

Nanashi Ni: Hey, you changed your name! It's the same in essence, tho! Oh, it's quite all right for missing the update, can't catch everything, you know. (heh!) Many thanks for the compliments too, huh? And look for more development between Tristan and Kaiba - they'll meet again!