Authors Notes: Ee-YEAH-UH! Chapter 4! And bluh, another long one! Warnings include more language and shonen-ai than usual, but hopefully not enough to sink anyone's battleships. And me no own Yu-Gi-Oh.
OIOIOIO
When Tristan awoke, he found himself draped unceremoniously on a worn out, but quite comfortable, couch. And with a whopping headache too, uughh... He forced himself to a sitting position on... hey, it IS Bakura's couch! Bakura must have put him there when he conked out. Conked out... now he remembered. That duel with the evil spirit, with all of that ... mystical-ish... stuff. It seemed so real - well, it sure as heck FELT real. He still had a bit of a bodily ache from when the spirit's monsters had blasted him.
That should scratch out the possibility that the whole spectacle was a dream, right?
Then he remembered the feel of the spirit's fingers in his hair, and shivered. What the hell was THAT all about? NOBODY touches the hair! But... but... why did he feel so comforted by the touch? Aw NO! HELL NO!
That's it. He had to leave. So much on his mind... he had to walk it off. But he couldn't just ditch Bakura like that...
"Tristan! Bout time you're up." Bakura walked over to the couch and sat next to him.
Bwuh oh.
Tristan replied instinctively. "Yeah..."
There was silence for a time, and Tristan took a better look at his companion. Bakura looked like his old self again. His voice was back to normal, the mascara was gone, and his hair wasn't as wild anymore. That meant the spirit was gone. For now.
"Hey, what time is it?" Tristan asked.
"Quarter to five. You must've been burnt out."
"Oh." Whoa. How long had he been out?
"There's still time to visit Jay's to get our cards. Want to go?"
Tristan hesitated. He didn't exactly feel like going at the moment. But how would he explain his reasons? Uh, sorry Bakura, I'd love to, but I'm deathly afraid that the evil spirit that lives in that artifact of yours will kind of kill me in the middle of the trip. Yeah, like that'll work. Oh, Bakura's still waiting for an answer.
Eh, why not.
"Sure. We'll take my bike."
Bakura's eyes lit up. "Great. I'll give you directions along the way."
And that was how Tristan found himself sitting on his motorcycle, steadying it for Bakura to settle on. Tristan insisted that Bakura borrow his helmet and textile jacket - after all, Tristan recently custom-built a sports bike from his standard one, and sports bikes were usually the more dangerous of styles.
Unfortunately, another downside to a sportsbike was the location of the seat. The seat was located at the rear-most portion of the bike, forcing both rider and passenger to lean forward in a slanted position. So feeling Bakura's full weight on him felt a little, well, different; not to mention the total closeness between them... Argh - focus, Taylor, focus!
Tristan turned to Bakura. "Just follow my movements, okay?" After Bakura nodded in response, Tristan revved up the engine, and pulled out into the road.
As the ride progressed, Tristan began to feel more comfortable with the seating predicament. Having Bakura sitting behind him balanced his position. It... didn't feel so bad... Whoa, gotta concentrate on the road, here!
Finally, they arrived at their destination, a speciality store simply dubbed: Jay's. They pulled into a parking space, and sauntered into the store. The place was quite large for its choice of stock; that being comic books, collectible toys and of course, card games. There were so many things available, that it was hard to figure where to start. Heh, good thing Bakura was here.
"Over here, Tristan!" said Bakura, near a glass-enclosed case.
"I further studied your deck during your little power nap," said Bakura, smiling as Tristan walked over. "You've mainly warrior-type monsters in your deck now. Adding more monster cards and magic/trap cards to supplement them would vastly improve it."
"Okay coach," said Tristan, rubbing his hands. "What kind of cards should I get?"
"I recommend that we buy packs of Duel Monster cards from a few of the recent series that were released, like Dark Crisis, Pharaonic Guardian and Legacy of Darkness. Those should have more of the warrior-accommodating cards you want."
Then Bakura gestured to the glass case behind him. The case displayed many single, rare Duel Monster cards. "And later, if we need any more cards to add to your deck, we can always buy them individually."
"Sounds good!" said Tristan.
After accumulating the suggested card packets, Tristan skipped over to the cashier, with Bakura following behind him, laughing. As they waited in line, Tristan noticed Bakura taking out a wallet.
"WHAT are you doing?" asked Tristan, with a mock-stern look.
"Well, it WAS my idea to get the cards, so it's only fair," replied Bakura with a lopsided smile.
"Don't be ridiculous. I can't be your mistress until the third date, at LEAST," said Tristan, pursing his lips.
Bakura chuckled, a little color in his cheeks. "Relax, Tristan. You can be my ho anyday."
Tristan's light-hearted expression was soon replaced with that of horror. "Oh crap, HIDE!" he said, pulling Bakura behind a bookcase.
"What's wrong?" asked Bakura.
"It's him," Tristan hissed. He pointed to a teen standing in the Dungeon Dice Monsters section.
"Hey..." said Bakura, looking at the said teen. "Isn't that Duke? Duke, uh..."
"DEVLIN," said Tristan, growling. "That jerk," he muttered.
"I take it you two get along," said Bakura, lowering his eyelids.
"Not EVEN. That bastard was making the moves on Serenity by stealing MY lines, copying MY technique, and giving her his number before ME... Gah-h-h, I hate this guy!" Tristan clenched his fist.
"All right," Bakura said, rolling his eyes. "But why are we hiding?"
"To examine his secret life as a... thing," said Tristan. His eyes narrowed as they focused on Devlin.
"We await here now, hidden beneath the brush of the safari, to examine the lifestyle of the specimen, Dukous Devlinium," whispered Bakura, mock-imitating a narrator. "So what now, chief - we going to get the nets and tranquilizers for him, too?"
Tristan laughed and turned back to Bakura with a devious grin. "Not a bad idea..."
Bakura stared ahead, looking surprised. "Hm, now we'll be needing a tracking device."
Tristan's cheerful visage faded into shared surprise. "Why's that? He's right in front of us."
"Not anymore. He's gone."
Tristan whipped his head around to find that Devlin was indeed gone. Aw, dammit, where did he -
"What's this, a hunting expedition?" said a voice behind them. It nearly made Tristan jump.
"What's it to you?" said Tristan, glaring at the owner of the voice.
Duke Devlin stood there with his usual stuck-up look. Cocky bastard.
"With the way you two are squatted in the corner, gabbin' about tranquilizers and such, well, I had the urge to discuss the secret hideouts of those pesky rhinos and elephants." Devlin smirked and crossed his arms. "Hello, Bakura."
Bakura smiled weakly. "Hey, Duke."
"So, Bakura, what's Monkey Boy doing here? Isn't he a little out of place?"
Before Tristan could retort, Bakura answered; "He's here prepping for a Duel Monster's Tournament."
"Him?" Devlin snorted. "Good luck."
Tristan bristled. "Look, you..." he said, growling. "Why don't we take this outside?"
Devlin's conceited expression slightly lifted into that of surprise. "Fine," he said, leading the way out of the store.
Tristan began to follow, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Tristan. Don't." Bakura had a dead serious look now.
Tristan grasped Bakura's hand, smiling. "Don't worry, it won't be anything major. And besides, THIS time we're not on a blimp that's hundreds of miles above the ground."
Bakura furrowed his brows. "What happened at the blimp?"
"Long story, I'll tell you later. Really, it's okay, I won't take long," said Tristan.
Bakura finally relented, and shrugged. With that, Tristan jogged after Devlin. Tristan grimaced as he ran. Gr, that Devlin jerk has really got some nerve for...
"Tell me, why are you entering this tournament?"
Tristan stopped still at Devlin's voice. He turned around to find the teen leaning on the wall next to the doors.
Tristan didn't answer. What kind of dumbass question was that?
Devlin got up from the wall, and walked towards Tristan. "With your LOUSY dueling ability, I know you wouldn't get into that just for kicks. There must be some important motive behind it."
WHAT! Why that - where does he get OFF with that know-it-all bullshit? Tristan knew he should've told Devlin to take his questions and shove it. But somehow, he found himself answering it truthfully: "I want the prize money for some people."
Devlin smirked, to Tristan's chagrin.
"How generous of you."
"None of your business," said Tristan, narrowing his eyes to slits. "I hope that you signed up for the tournament too, because I can't wait to whup your ASS in it."
Devlin smirked still, and defiantly. "Fortunately for you, I've decided not to attend the tournament. I have other plans. Besides, I'd rather not stick around to to see YOU get tossed around by the competition."
Tristan forced down an urge to CLOBBER the simpering dirtbag. "Well, that's too bad. With Bakura's help, I'll be MORE than a match for you OR the competition. Who's a man of action' NOW, huh?"
"Hah, keep dreaming." Devlin closed his eyes, STILL smirking.
"If I'm dreaming, then this is a helluva nightmare," said Tristan. He shook his head. "I'm sorry I asked you out here. It's a waste of time for us BOTH." He turned around to go back into the store, suddenly feeling stupid.
"Wait, Tristan."
Tristan stopped. Huh?
"You'll be needing ACTUAL GOOD cards for the Tournament." In a flash, Devlin had some Duel Monster cards in his hand. He held them out. "Take them."
Tristan stared at the cards, then at Devlin. He didn't know WHAT to think or do. An appropriate response would have been to scoff at the offer and walk away. But instead, Tristan stood there, silently.
"What's the matter, Tristan? A little dumbfounded, emphasis on DUMB?"
Tristan glowered. "Zip it, Dice Boy." He settled on peeping at the cards in Devlin's hand. Upon viewing them, he raised his eyebrows in thought. "Gambling-type cards?" he asked, facing the other teen. "Isn't that more of JOEY'S niche?"
Devlin shrugged. "Gambling-type cards can often be the quickest way to get you out messy situations. Knowing you, you'll be getting into MANY."
"Yeah, if gambling won't get me INTO those messy situations. Risk-taking AIN'T my style," said Tristan, folding his arms.
"Sometimes taking risks is the only way to further yourself," Devlin replied, matter-of-factly. He held out the cards to Tristan in second offering.
Tristan gazed at the cards once again. After a second or two of hesitation, he slowly reached out and took them. Then he sniffed it, ignoring Devlin's quizzical look. Hm, it's not sprayed with cat piss after all... Tristan had to admit, upon further inspection, that these were very good cards. But, he was still suspicious about those few gamble-cards...
Tristan looked up. "Uh... thanks?"
Then, to Tristan's surprise, Devlin smiled. SMILED, not smirked. Gee, he has a nice smile when he's not sneering like a sniveling jackass... Suddenly Tristan DIDN'T feel a need to re-arrange Devlin's face.
After showing an oh-so-lovely smile, Devlin ended the conversation by turning and walking off. As he did, Tristan remembered something. "Hey!" he called out. "That gamble-card of yours needs DICE to work! Where can I ge-"
He was cut off when a six-sided die clocked him in the forehead.
"OW! Son of a-" said Tristan, scowling.
Devlin's fading laughter was his only response.
"Rassum frassum..." Tristan mumbled. Scratch that earlier thought. Come school year, Devlin's face is LUNCHMEAT.
Shaking off those thoughts, Tristan crouched down to pick up the die. Then he put the cards and die in his left pocket, and walked to the front doors. As he pulled open the store door, Bakura was standing right there, his hand raised. By the looks of things, he'd been fixing to open the door, too.
"Tristan! Hi," said Bakura, a little nervously. "You all right?"
"Yup." Then Tristan grinned. "Coming to my rescue, huh?" he asked, ruffling Bakura's hair.
Bakura laughed, ducking his head. "Well, can't have your bum pounded on MY watch," he replied, grinning in return.
Tristan smiled. "Thanks. So... shall we pick up where we left off?"
"On deciding who gets to pay for the card packs?" Bakura crossed his arms, good-naturedly. "By the way, you realize you could have been busted for bringing the packs outside."
Oy vey. Tristan had forgotten that he had put the card packs in his right pocket when he followed Devlin out of the store. "Whoops," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Anyway..." said Tristan. Suddenly, he raced towards the cashier section. "First one to the cashier PAYS for the packs!" he crowed over his shoulder.
"Hey!" cried Bakura. He frantically chased after Tristan. "No fair!"
OIOIOIO
By the time Bakura and Tristan arrived at the former's residence, it was already past ten at night. Tristan pulled into the guest's parking stall, and stopped to let Bakura get off the motorcycle.
"Whoo-hoo!" Bakura shouted, jumping off the bike. "That was awesome! Thanks for today, huh!"
Tristan grinned at Bakura's burst of hyperness. "Eh, I should be thanking you," he admitted. Really, he owed a lot to Bakura. Because of him, Tristan had better cards, better strategies, and best of all, a better chance of winning the Tournament money. And THAT meant that the Cabezas could stay in business! Tristan smiled. Things didn't seem so hopeless after all.
"Well..." said Tristan, turning back to Bakura. "I better head home before my folks give me the third degree." He playfully knocked at the helmet on Bakura's head, silently requesting it. Bakura took it off, and handed it to Tristan, rather somberly.
"Actually, Tristan, it's late. Why not, you know, spend the night? Then you won't have to bother your parents..." he said, trailing off.
Spend... the night? With Bakura? That would be nice... Tristan felt his face heat up at that. Then he suddenly froze. Spending the night possibly meant spending quality time with the THING inside Bakura's... Millennium Ring. In that case, he wasn't sure if he could exactly spend the night if he couldn't survive it.
Then again, Tristan's house was a long way away... and he could spend time with Bakura... And he WAS invited... Did he mention he could hang with Bakura?
Eventually, Tristan decided that some things mattered more than paranoia of evil spirits.
OIOIOIO
Once they were inside Bakura's apartment, Tristan made a quick call to his parents before being ushered through a shower and borrowed clothes. When it was Bakura's turn to shower, Tristan decided to relax on the livingroom couch. After settling down, he looked around the room casually. Now that he had time to better observe his surroundings, he found that Bakura took good care of his apartment, despite living alone.
Now that he thought about it, Tristan always did think it was weird that Bakura didn't stay with other parents in the foreign-enchange program. Ah, maybe Brits can well take care of themselves. Or does Bakura live alone because of the Millennium Ring...
Argh, Tristan couldn't get the Ring, specifically the evil spirit, out of his head! Questions regarding the spirit swirled in Tristan's head: WHO was it? WHERE did it come from? WHAT are its motives? WHY is it doing this?
Why me?
Tristan could find no answers. Sighing, he put his arms behind his head, and leaned back into the couch.
"BOO!"
"GAH!" Tristan jerked up.
"Heh, heh, heh..." Bakura joined him on the couch. "You've a lot on your mind, don't you?"
"Ha, yeah... just got the Tournament jitters, I guess," said Tristan, smiling. Heh, man, Bakura could be a friggin' NINJA, he's so sneaky...
Bakura patted Tristan on the back. "Not to worry, with me, you'll be so good that it'll no longer be an issue." Bakura paused. "Say, you up for a couple more games tonight? It'll be good practice."
"Sure! And THIS time, I got things right with my new deck!" said Tristan, beaming.
Bakura smiled skeptically. "We'll see."
After a few Duel Monster games, the two boys decided to pack it in and hit the sack. Tristan took the couch and found it to be very comfortable... Whoa, deja vu - lying in the very same couch as he did when he woke up from that tricked-out Shadow Duel. Hum, life and... its... funny... ironies... z-z-z...
OIOIOIO
Oh no. Not this place again.
Tristan found himself in familiar surroundings: a dark, empty void, murky with fog. Well, it would've been more familiar if a certain evil spirit were present. Whew, good thing it wasn't here... who knows what would happen if -
"Welcome back," said a harsh and all-too familiar voice. Tristan heard it right by his ear. He spun around to face... well, speak of the devil.
"What, here to settle unfinished business!" yelled Tristan. He struggled to control the quake in his voice.
The evil spirit only smirked in response. Tristan just noticed that just how close it was, as it reached out and trailed its fingers down his cheeks. He shivered at contact. What...
"Are you afraid?" it smugly asked.
"Nuh... no." He couldn't be afraid. No way! But... why was he shaking? Why did his voice quake? And... why has he avoided Bakura all this time until now? No...
"D-don't kid yourself. I'm not afraid of you..." said Tristan. He clenched his fists, then his eyes, knowing that he really was.
The spirit lowered its eyelids and calmly smiled, too calm for Tristan's liking. "Then prove it. Wake up."
Huh?
OIOIOIO
Tristan's eyes popped open. In the dark, he could see moonlight framing the silhouette of the couch. He found himself lying on the cushions in an awkward position, with a leg over the backrest, and his head cocked to the side. Trying to fix his position, he turned his head.
And met another face grinning down at him.
"Boo."
Tristan's breath hitched. "It's YOU!" he cried. He bolted over the couch, placing it between him and the evil spirit.
Argh, talk about waking up from a nightmare to another one!
The spirit sneered as it slowly circled the living room to turn on a nearby lamp. Then it walked to the table, and began arranging what appeared to be Duel Monster cards. Tristan watched as it shuffled and moved the cards until there were three isolated ones, turned over from view.
Curiosity overcame Tristan's better judgment, and he hesitantly joined the spirit at the table.
"What are you doing?" he asked, peeping over the spirit's shoulder.
It didn't even bother to turn its head. "Bakura has often wondered about you... What you're like. But he's polite enough to keep his questions to himself. I, however, have no such contentions."
It finally faced Tristan, who flinched at the sudden attention. "Ever wondered about yourself, Tristan?"
"Yeah, sure," he replied. Like if I'm capable of lasting the night, for starters...
"Then you won't mind if I examine your soul with these cards." The spirit flipped over the first of the three turned cards. It was the trap card, Reinforcements. Pictured was an army of armor-clad soldiers.
"Hm," The spirit seemed amused. "This card reveals that you live to support others. Your family. Your friends. Even former employers."
"What! How..." Tristan was shocked. The spirit was talking about Mr. and Mrs. Cabeza! How did he - er, it - know?
It continued on to flip the second card. A monster card. When Tristan saw its picture, he couldn't help but grin in amusement. "So what - I'm some kind of kung-fu guy with an enormous fro?"
"Why, yes - like you, Karate Man is weak and usually useless. And when Karate Man actually is effective enough, he'll only destroy himself in the end."
Tristan felt a wave of inadequacy wash over him. What good had he been this whole time with his friends, or ever, in fact? How could he help anyone if he was so useless?
"Perhaps it's best if you don't help at all."
Say what! But
The spirit flipped over the final card. Another trap card, and it had a picture of a woman tormented by ghostly entities (1). "Interesting. You resemble the trap card, Bad Reaction to Simochi. This card makes opponents lose the lifepoints they try to gain. It seems that when others try to help themselves, you step in to unknowingly make it worse."
It couldn't be... Tristan fixed his gaze to the floor. No matter how hard he tried to help, he'd only make things worse?
Wait a sec...
"I may not know much," said Tristan. "But even I know that it's better trying to help than not try at all."
"It is said that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Suppose you help others by not helping."
"Whu - But - STOP CONFUSING ME!" said Tristan, shaking his head. "Look, all I know is that if my friends thought the same way, they would have never attempted to give me that cards that HELPED me whup YOUR butt in that quasi-Shadow Duel." He smiled in self-satisfaction, crossing his arms.
The spirit seemed to smile in amusement. "Then perhaps you can only be of use when others help you."
Tristan turned his face, looking away. "Whatever, if I means I can be of service..." he said, trailing off.
Tristan heard the spirit laugh, softly. "What would you say if I told you I would help you?"
Tristan froze at this, the idea overwhelming him. The spirit - the EVIL spirit, who had sucked out the very souls of him and his friends in a previous Shadow Duel, and had done even worse things than that - HELPING him?
Tristan shook off his thoughts. "Bakura's already taught me all the moves I need. There's no use in teaching me further at his expense," he said, looking back at the spirit.
The spirit cocked its head slightly. "It won't be longer than necessary. I do take precautions for my host."
Tristan felt himself bristle at the word host.' Bakura... having to co-exist with that parasite... And as IF that thing looked after Bakura, after all it's put him through. Then again, Tristan remembered that the spirit took the full brunt of Slifer's blast for Bakura after that Malik creep made them switch places. Maybe the spirit really DID look after Bakura, somewhat. And Tristan had to begrudgingly admit that the spirit has saved HIM on numerable occasions... But...
"Why?" asked Tristan. "Why help me, what use would it be to you? I mean, especially since our last meeting, where I blindsided you and everything..." Tristan winced, knowing he shouldn't have mentioned that.
The spirit merely smirked. "Maybe I'm not as bad as you think."
Tristan pursed his lip in thought. Seriously, is THAT the real reason? That the spirit just happens to be a nice guy? Naw, it had to be a trick, a ruse, something. And besides...
"I thought you said helping people made things worse for them."
"You're right," said the spirit, slyly. "But I'll leave that for you to decide. The choice is yours."
So he had a CHOICE, then. Tristan thought it over. No matter what choice he made, the spirit would still possess Bakura, all the same. But Tristan could keep an eye on the spirit if he was around it... learn more about it. Tristan finally made his decision, and nodded.
"Let's do it."
OIOIOIO
The Lesson' of sorts began with Tristan's deck. The spirit sorted through his cards, discarding some of them, before handing the deck back to Tristan. The spirit claimed that Tristan should keep his cards to a bare minimum to have the maximum effect.
"Geez... at least let me keep the rest of the cards for my sidedeck, or something," said Tristan, nursing the rejected cards. Then Tristan paused, remembering something. "Oh yeah... Dammit, Kaiba eliminated the sidedecks for the Tournament!" he exclaimed, slapping his forehead.
The spirit looked mildly irritated. "There are limitations?"
"HELL yeah," said Tristan, sharing the frustration. "Pair that up with the Forbidden and Limited Cards' list. Monster Reborn, Dark Hole, Fiber Jar, United we Stand, Yata-Garasu, Graceful Charity, Imperial Order, Witch of the Black Forest, Harpy's Feather Duster and Raigeki - ALL of them, BANNED from the Tournament (2). That's why some those cards aren't in my deck anymore." Tristan sighed. "Sucks, huh?"
"It's a challenge, then. All the better."
"Guess so..." Tristan found himself beginning to relax in the spirit's presence. Gee, the situation didn't seem so bad. It seemed like he and the spirit were even on friendly terms. Unbelievable.
"Well, now. Shall the games commence?" The spirit mysteriously conjured a deck in its hand.
Tristan gulped. "Uh... can it be a NICE duel? You know, without all of the magical stuff?" He grinned nervously.
The spirit laughed, amused. "As you like."
OIOIOIO
The following duels were... interesting to say the least. Boy, the spirit could be so damn pushy...
"How long do I have to WAIT?" exclaimed Tristan. "C'mon, let me DESTROY that sucker of a trap card!"
"Don't." The spirit was remarkably patient. The argument had been going on for some time.
"But if you keep gaining lifepoints with the trap card, I won't be able to beat you -"
"It is NOT of importance. Save your Mystical Space Typhoon for other cards."
"Like WHAT?" asked Tristan, his nerves frazzled.
"Like this. I activate the magic card, Snatch Steal." The spirit laid the card on the table. "I can equip this card to your Dark Blade monster, and take full control of it. Then I can sacrifice it to tribute summon my Great Maju of Garzett. With your field now completely empty, I can attack you directly, and end this duel." The spirit put an elbow on the table and rested a chin on its hand. "That is, unless you have other plans."
"Er..." said Tristan. He drummed his fingers on his cards. "I'll, heh, activate my Mystical Space Typhoon card to destroy your Snatch Steal?"
"Smart move." The spirit discarded the Snatch Steal card to its graveyard pile on the tabletop. "Your turn," it said.
Tristan yawned. "All right..." he said, stretching. He happened to glance at a clock, which read half-past three in the morning. Uh oh. "Hey, does Bakura have anything in the morning? It's really late," said Tristan, concerned.
The spirit smirked. "Bakura has no such arrangements. Do you want to continue the duel?"
"Eh, I think I'll forfeit. We present-day humans' need our sleep, you know?" said Tristan, rubbing his eyes.
"Very well." The spirit stood from its chair and strode towards Bakura's bedroom. Probably to put Bakura's body to bed, thought Tristan, bemusedly.
"Hey, wait up," said Tristan, softly.
The spirit stopped and turned, silently.
"I, uh, am much obliged for your help," said Tristan, looking at the floor. "I don't exactly know your reasons, but... thanks anyway."
Then he heard the spirit's suppressed laughter.
"You're welcome..."
When Tristan finally looked up, the spirit had already disappeared into Bakura's room. A few minutes later, Tristan snuck in to find Bakura spread on his bed, sound asleep. And without the covers, thought Tristan, rolling his eyes. He lifted the blankets from one end of the bed, and folded them over Bakura. There...
Then Tristan lumbered over to the livingroom couch, and collapsed on it, uttering a curt "Oomph!" on impact.
Tristan put his hands behind his head in thought. What a night... Who'd believe that an ancient, evil spirit would give him pointers on Duel Monsters? Well, maybe it wasn't THAT evil... maybe just misunderstood. Certainly, Tristan could relate. And besides, an evil spirit wouldn't help someone for seemingly NO personal gain whatsoever...
Or would it?
The spirit said that helping someone could make things even worse. What'd that MEAN, anyway? Did it mean that there could be a sinister agenda hidden beneath the spirit's helpful facade? Wait a minute, if THAT were the case, why would the spirit even mention such a thing?
As hard as he tried, Tristan found that tonight, sleep would come sooner than answers ever would.
Continued...
OIOIOIO
Afterthoughts: Hey cool, you made it! I dunno if even I could last that long... my attention span is so... Ooh, COOKIES!
(1) Bad Reaction to Simochi: The picture is more of a woman tormented by ghostly HANDS than ghostly entities. Seriously, that picture's perverted! Um, yeah, just wanted to share that...
(2) In real-life Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments, there's an actual list of Banned and Limited cards. Last time I checked the website for the list, there were NO banned cards at ALL this time - I think they're talking about the less advanced rules or something. Huh, well I made a Banned List just to make things harder for Tristan. Bwa ha ha!
Thank You's:
Madja - Duellist of the Roses: Yo, I'm so happy... (cries) THANK YOU for adding me to your fav author's list! I'm truly honored. Eh, don't worry about Tristan's dog... I actually should have stuck with "Jill," seeing that I'm using the American Dub names, after all. Finally, I THINK it's possible to run a hand through someone's hair... or is it threading... or combing... Argh! My brain!
Peter Kim: You nailed things right on the head - glad you caught all the details! True, if Kaiba or Yami Bakura entered this duel, Tristan wouldn't have much chance of winning - that's why NEITHER of them will participate! You'll see why later (grin). Dude, you've got some great ideas going on here - but I can't use them because I'll spoil the ending! Weevil and Rex, huh? Maybe... I love them guys! Also, yeah, I heard about the GX series, and saw a smidgen of it via internet. Interesting theory about Judai, by the way... I heard this other rumor that Judai's school could be run by Kaiba because of the student rankings: Blue (Obelisk) for top-notch students, and Red (Slifer) for the rookies? Hm...
Nanashi Ni: Yay, Cheerleader Nanashi! Thank you for such kind words, I aim to please! (bows) And... wait a sec, you admire me? No, no, no, my head... can't... take it! Quick, switch the nouns around! Now ME admire YOU! Yes, yes, better! Seriously, I love your work. Gotta pay homage to an awesome writer, here! (nods)
Valon's Princess: Thanks so much for your review! After hearing such wonderful comments, I feel, well, kinda invincible! (poses) Hehe. Glad to hear you're feeling better. I think all writers will face criticism of their work someday or another (raises hand). And I wuv money too - dammit, who DOESN'T love them Benjamins? And Chocolate, can't forget the Chocolate!
OIOIOIO
Coming up: "The Tournament Cometh!" OR "Tristan, Scared Shitless!"
See you soon!