A/N: Hey peeps, welcome back! Glad you decided to spend some time reading this, and here's some answers to your reviews (AKA the "mailbox"):

The Broken Bow(I'm assuming it was you): Thanks for the review. No, Peggy didn't have his little Funny Bunny comics with him. Hey, did you ever get all of your work done? I know this can be a really stressful time for anybody with finals and papers and projects and all that other crap…so I hope you got all that wrapped up.

Shy and LeighC: Glad to see that you updated one of my favorite stories. Thanks for stopping by, and I appreciate all hugs and giggles. Don't worry, Yami and Yugi will pull through, but the real question is will the team.

Anime Ruthless: Thanks for the props, man. Let's be honest, Navy sucks at college basketball. I don't think they were any good since David Robinson left. The football is good though, they went 11-1 I think, with the only loss to Notre Dame (who is second in my football allegiance only to LSU). Thanks, and I hope you continue reading.

Telecoi: Breathe easy, my friend, Yugi is resting in the ICU ward and will be out in a chapter or two. By the way…someone will be arriving in this chapter that I'm sure you'll be happy to see (you know who I'm talking about). Thanks for reading.

Well, that's all the mail, so here's a little bit of randomness real quick.

True story. I was in this Trig class last fall at LSU. I wasn't feeling all that well one afternoon and decided to skip it. What the heck, who needs trig anyway, I said. Well, the next class, the lady begins her lecture by talking about this very big guy that came to spy on her class. THE GUY WAS SHAQ! I MISSED OUT ON MEETING FREAKING SHAQUILLE O'NEAL IN PERSON! The moral of this story, go to class, get your education, and who knows, maybe a big-time celebrity will come by and speak to your class. Or…maybe you might end up being the celebrity.

On a sad note, Former Saints and Panthers linebacker Sam Mills passed away. I'll remember him for three things mainly: One, He was a stalwart on the very talented Saints defenses of the early 1990s, and was a multiple time All Star (or Pro Bowler). Second, he wasn't very big. Standing only about 5'9'', and less than 230 lbs, this guy played linebacker. If you don't know the average size of these guys, go pull up a roster somewhere. They're pretty darn big. And finally, this quote, describing his life with cancer of the small intestine: "You have your good days and your bad days. I am just glad I am having days, you know." We should all be grateful to be alive, no matter how crappy our lives may be. Godspeed, Sam…

A quick warning, this chapter does contain alcohol usage and sexual references. Please be advised. Enjoy the chapter, friends.

Chapter 22: Challenges

Domino City is pulling away, late here in the second half, they lead Navy 77-60.Devlin driving into the paint, passes it to Fairchild under the basket for an easy layup! The crowd is loving this, and so are the Army Vets watching in the stands. (A/N: The two academies, called Army and Navy, have a pretty intense rivalry when it comes to sports. That's why some of the old Army grads are there, to cheer against their rivals)

As Nathan watched the game from his seat on the bench, he was quite pleased that his team was able to pull away from an inferior opponent, but his focus was already elsewhere.

We were able to beat these guys, but they aren't really that good. Arkansas comes here pretty soon, and if we play like this, they'll run us out of the damn gym.

Seto, Yami, and Joey were already out of the game, and as time expired, they got up to congratulate their teammates.

That's the end of the ballgame, your final score, Domino City U 80, Navy 64. Let's send you now to Raven Gutierrez with some scores of the day's action...

Thank you, Jimmy. We'll start out with the killing machine that is Jump City University basketball. In non-conference action this afternoon, the Titanscrush Mississippi Valley State of the SWAC 117-39. Ouch. Also, Kansas, North Carolina, and Texas breezed to easy home wins. And DCU's next opponent, the Arkansas Razorbacks, defeated Utah 65-56 in Fayetteville. Saffron State was also a winner on the road this evening, they stunned Villanova 86-84.

After dismissing the team, he noticed a familar, raven-haired woman waiting for him near the exit. "Good job...how's Yugi?"

"Everything's fine, Ishizu. He'll be out of the hospital, and I plan to have him back by the time we play Harvard."

Ishizu nodded her head, and approached the coach cautiously. "Are you OK?"

"I'm alright...Look, I have to go study some tape, I can't enjoy these wins like the playersdo."

"Do you mind if I come and...study some tape with you?"

Had the young coach not been in excellent shape, that statement would have probably sent him into cardiac arrest.

"Um...the apartment...um...well.."

"Don't worry. I can make you something for dinner as well...Malik says I'm a pretty good cook."

With a slight smile on her face, Ishizu left, leaving Nathan with a heart pumping as fast as it ever had.

Meanwhile...

"Bakura...come on man! Live a little!"

Duke and Malik were dragging a kicking and screaming Bakura out of the locker room.

"Let me go, you Ra-damned fools!"

"NO! You're going out with us tonight, no but's about it!" Malik said as he and Duke threw him into the back seat of Duke's car.

"I don't want to behave like a drunken fool in public...we could be suspended for that you know."

Duke nodded his head in agreement as he started the ignition. "We could...so that's why we're going to a frat party!"

"YEAH! Listen to me Bakura, if I have anything to say about it, you're going to get drunk tonight. You're going to cut loose tonight. And maybe, just maybe, you're going to get laid tonight. And we're gonna kick some Razorback ass, but not tonight, so just chill already!" Malik said as he pulled out a small bottle of Captain Morgan's and took a small sip.

Bakura, realizing that resistance was useless, fixed his wrinkled shirt and checked on his hair. I miss the good ole days...when Ryou would stay over in London with our mother and I wasn't dragged to some damn frat party.

Domino City Hospital

Yami walked into the room, his brother waiting for him, sitting up.

"Hey, did you guys win?"

Yami nodded his head. "We played like crap...but they weren't that good. They played hard though."

Yami sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed. Yugi had made a full recovery, and was expected to be out of the hospital by that Sunday. "Yugi...I talked to Tristan. Coach says he will let you back on the team after you get out. And Tea...Tea's really sorry...that you found out about you-know-what the way you did. She says that-"

Yugi waved a hand dismissively. "I don't care. If she has something to say, she can say it to me."

Yugi still had hard feelings against Tea after what had happened, and decided that he would simply avoid the subject for the moment.

"Hey...how's Joey doing?"

Yami laughed a little at the question. "He's with Mai right now...what do you think?"

Yugi laughed as well, knowing full well what the couple was probably in the middle of right now.

"Um...Yugi...I'm so...so sorry that I wasn't able to see that-"

"Yami...I made a mistake...you're my brother, not my father. I can take care of myself."

"THEN WHY YUGI? WHY WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO THROW AWAY YOUR LIFE THAT WAY?"

Yugi frowned a little, then turned away. "I was frustrated. It seemed like everyone was against me...I guess."

"How can you say that? When we heard you were hurt, everyone rushed here and waited on the news about you. And you know that when you manage to pull Coach Colby away from the film room, Kaiba away from his laptop, AND Joey out of Mai's appartment, something called "caring" is involved. We care about you Yugi, and no matter how tough things get, we'll always be ready to help...we'll always be there."

Yugi turned to his brother and teammate, and smiled. He knew he was right.

Kaiba's Bedroom...

The brunette tossed and turned in his sleep, a cold sweat slowly pouring over his body. The physical pain may have healed, but the mental scars were still deep.

"SETO! Hurry up..."

The young basketball player ran as fast as he could, trying to finish his fifth mile of running for the day, his father pushing him. He fell to his knees with about 50 feet to go, exhaustion taking its toll on the twelve-year old.

"Gozaburo...please...I'm tired. My legs hurt so bad."

The CEO of Kaiba Corps responded by kicking his adopted son in the stomach. "Now your stomach hurts. So what? Finish the damn mile."

Setokeeled over in pain, tears welling up in his eyes. "Please, sir! I'm...too...tired."

Gozaburo kicked him again, and Seto could hear the sickening crunch of one of his ribs being cracked. "You're weak, Seto...just like that runt Mokuba. I should have left you bothin the gutter where I found you. NOW MOVE!"

Seto could see him raising his leg up again to kick him...

Kaiba nearly jumped out of the bed, his heart racing. "Old bastard...even now you won't let me live a normal life..."

Nathan's Apartment

Nathan was cleaning his apartment at the speed of light, preparing for the arrival of his guest. This is going to suck so badly...I don't have anything to cook, no music, no candles...not even a friggin' flower! How am I supposed to win her over with nothing but basketball game films and old episodes of 'Dukes of Hazzard'!

In the middle of his frantic cleaning, he heard his telephone ring.

"Hello, Coach Nathan Colby speaking...how can I help you? You're kidding right? It's you? Jessica...it's been a while...yeah...uh-huh..."

KNOCK!

Nathan heard what he thought was his guest outside his door, knocking to see if he was there. This is just brilliant. A woman asks to come over to my apartment, and I'm on the phone with my ex-girlfriend from high school. This is just fucking great!

Domino City Airport

Ryou looked around, anxious to get his tenure at Domino City University started. So anxious, he arrived more than two months early to settle in. However...the education in Domino wasn't the only thing on his mind when he enrolled. So was Tea...

Somebody call JR, because buisness just picked up big-time! How will Nathan handle this one? And what does Ryou want with Tea? Also, The Arkansas Razorbacks come to town for the biggest home game of the year! Who will come out on top? Find out next time!