The snowy environment became one of a calmer, honeymoon-like demeanor. Palm trees and the sound of crashing water were what became of the land beyond the snow hills. The trail had led them to a beach of rich sand and clear blue waves. The wind pushing the palm tree leaves, mixed with the waves, made it all seem so peaceful and harmless. Of course, Seto, Yugi, Jounouchi, and Anzu knew this was not so. The trail kept going on all the way down to a large beach house on shore.
A challenge was to be expected. It had been briefly discussed about who was going to fight him this time. Before Yugi could volunteer himself, Jounouchi had taken the burden. Yugi did not argue with them about it, but was becoming impatient with waiting to face his foe. To him, it was only his fight and no one else's. He did not know how much longer he would tolerate losing his friends.
They walked up the stairs to the porch of the beach house and creaked open the door. It was a one-roomed home, containing only a large family room completely lacking in items such as a table, pottery, or anything else a room such as that might have. The only lighting the room had was from the many windows. The only other thing in it was their enemy, who had been waiting for them patiently.
"I assume that you have already chosen the next challenger," he told them. Jounouchi immediately stepped forward, fearing that Yugi might again try to take his place. "Very well."
There was no need for many words between them. They had already encountered each other earlier, and needed not say anything. Seto, Yugi, and Anzu left the house and watched from the windows outside. The doors which led into the house were shut and locked, leaving only Jounouchi and Anubis inside.
"So…Jounouchi is it?" he spoke to Jounouchi softly, standing on the opposing side of the room. "You have come a long way on your quest."
Jounouchi said nothing. He only wanted to fight, not to talk. He did not want his opponent to get inside his head.
"Do not be shy about it. I know how proud everyone is of you, and how proud of yourself you are," he told him, almost trying to intimidate him. "Too bad it will be all for nothing."
"Shut up. I know you don't mean half the shit you say," Jounouchi was annoyed in waiting for the fight. "I refuse to let my quest end like this! Tell me what I have to do, and I'll do it and beat you at it!"
"Oh but most of it hardly involves you at all," Anubis laughed. "Why, the only thing you need to do is pick three duel monsters which represent you. One by one, they will face off, and the winner, best of three, will emerge victorious. All you can do is watch as they fight."
Jounouchi was upset that he really was not part of this fight. What this symbolized he could not see, but more than anything wanted to beat up on his friends' murderer. Eventually, he calmed himself a bit, and strategically picked three monsters for this fight, all three coming from his deck. Even after seeing Anubis' choices of strong monsters, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Tyrant Dragon, and Berserk Dead Dragon, he had confidence in his monsters, Android Psycho Shocker, Gilford the Lightning, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon, that they would prevail. Ready to begin, the two of them sent one of their monsters to face off. Jounouchi thought it would be better to send his weakest monster out. Therefore, his choice was Android Psycho Shocker. Anubis had a similar strategy, and sent his Berserk Dead Dragon to battle. Surprisingly, the house was able to fit all monsters nicely inside.
Soon enough, the two monsters began attacking each other. Android Psycho Shocker began with its red laser beam blasting at the bone-built dragon. The dragon flew up and dodged the attack. Quickly, its large body dove at Android, which punched it in the face and sending it back. Immediately, Android ran to tackle the dragon twice its size. The dragon, having quick reflexes, slammed it back with its thick tail, and Android was sent flying into the wall.
At that moment, Jounouchi heard his back crack, and an irritating pain covered it. Jounouchi leaned over and held it momentarily, not understanding why all of the sudden had felt immense pain.
"Oops, I forgot the minor detail," Anubis spoke to him. "Any pain your monster feels, you do as well, just like your shadow game against Malik. Can you bear it?"
Angrily, Jounouchi nodded, still holding his back.
The two monsters continued to attack one another. Android Psycho Shocker delivered a few good punches and head-butts to its foe. It was when it was grabbed from behind and held as it flew was when Android began to lose it. Flying high, the undead dragon harshly threw Android to the floor onto its back. Suffering from the pain, Android slowly began to get up, but not in time to evade the gas which burst from Dead Dragon's mouth. The gas disintegrated Android Psycho Shocker, defeating it.
His back beating on him, Jounouchi felt burning on his skin as the gas tore away Android Psycho Shocker. Still suffering from the pain, Jounouchi watched as his monster was destroyed. Berserk Dead Dragon disappeared as well, but it was victorious in its fight. Jounouchi grunted as he sent forth his next monster, Gilford the Lightning, into battle. Anubis, saying nothing but smiling, attacked with Tyrant Dragon.
This time, Anubis' monster attacked first. The magnificent dragon flew at ground level in an attempt to grasp its jaws on Gilford. The warrior used its lightning attack to momentarily paralyze it. After doing so, he ran with his large sword at it. Tyrant Dragon shook off its paralysis in time to move away from the swing. Flying fast around the room, Tyrant Dragon again flew at ground level behind Gilford and struck the warrior down with its long and wide, powerful wing. Gilford, being skilled, did not fall to the ground, but rolled to quickly get himself back on his feet. Tyrant Dragon was already on its way to attacking it, trying to tackle it, but Gilford struck it with another lightning attack.
"That's it!" Jounouchi cheered for his monster. Anubis, on the opposing end, was trying act as if he did not feel the shocks from the pain of his monster. He, too, felt everything his monster felt, just like Jounouchi, and while he tolerated it well, he could not help but gripe a bit in pain.
Gilford and Tyrant Dragon exchanged a few blows. The dinosaur-like dragon was able to deliver slashes from its claws to Gilford, but Gilford also struck back with punches and more lightning attacks. The two monsters ended up standing on opposite sides of the room, which was when the dragon decided to unleash its scorching, deadly fire attack. The dragon, using most of its strength, spit fire which covered most of the room. What it had not suspected was the power of Gilford's sword. Using it, Gilford was able to cut straight through the flames right to Tyrant Dragon. In a state of disbelief Gilford could make it through its attack, the dragon continued shooting fire as Gilford drew near. Gilford lifted the sword above his head and dealt a large slash across the dragon's tall body. The attack from Tyrant Dragon stopped as it cried in pain and disappeared, showing it had been defeated. His body still aching, Jounouchi leaped in the air in a small celebration of his monster's victory.
"Alright!" he shouted.
Outside, the remaining three were unsure as of how the battle actually worked. Viewing from the windows, they had seen the two battles between the four monsters, and saw Jounouchi flinch in pain. They worried greatly for him, and hoped that, using his growing knowledge and strength, he could be the one to defeat him and release them from this harmonic prison.
"He's only a bonkotsu," Seto sighed. Anzu slapped the back of his head.
"He is not! He's going to save us all!" Anzu said with confidence.
Yugi was not paying attention to their argument. He was caught up in the battle between his best friend and one of his greatest enemies.
Anubis could no longer hide his pain. He held the chest of his shirtless body after the delivery of the slash from Gilford the Lightning. Gilford disappeared as the two of them sent their final monsters for battle.
"Your life is in the fate of that monster. You have no control over it. All you can do is watch…" Anubis threatened to Jounouchi. Jounouchi just snorted as Red-Eyes and Chaos Emperor Dragon started their fight.
Chaos Emperor Dragon was much larger and much more powerful than Red-Eyes was, which Jounouchi knew, but he had faith in his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. It had helped him out several times before, and he felt that this was no different. Red-Eyes and Emperor Dragon flew at one another, using their long claws to scratch one another. Both attacks drew blood, and their owners both suffered the pain. The two repeated the same attacks, again doing damage. Emperor Dragon, after flying by Red-Eyes, turned around, grabbed its tail with its jaws, and threw it with its neck and mouth. Red-Eyes was sent back into the wall, but got right back up after the collision. Emperor Dragon was already on the attack, attempting to ram Red-Eyes with its hard skull. Red-Eyes leaped up as Emperor Dragon crashed head first into the wall. Red-Eyes landed atop its foe, digging its claws and teeth into its back. While it was quickly shaken off, Chaos Emperor Dragon had definitely been hurt with that attack.
"Your dragon…how does it have more strength than any other Red-Eyes?" Anubis asked him, almost accusing him of cheating.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon has grown with me as I have grown," Jounouchi tried to explain. "We've fought together, and both have become stronger because of those fights."
Anubis laughed at his idiocy and continued watching the fight.
The two dragons stayed about even for most of the fight, each taking hit after hit. Finally, when both had punched one another away from each other, the two decided to unleash their arsenal attack. Red-Eyes blasted its narrow yet obscenely powerful fire beam as Emperor Dragon blasted a beam of light energy. The two attacks were opposite each other, Red-Eyes' attack being below Chaos Emperor Dragon's. Both attacks connected to the heart of its opponent, and both beasts were destroyed.
Recovering from the pain of the last battle, Anubis and Jounouchi realized they were at a stalemate.
"What now?" Jounouchi asked him. "We tied."
Anubis laughed, almost hoping it would come to a situation such as this.
"It comes to a battle between you and I, a battle of words," he said.
Jounouchi raised an eyebrow.
"It is not so difficult. We exchange what you could call insults, and anything you are sensitive to causes damage to your body. When you cannot take anymore, your heart will fail, and you will die," he explained further. Jounouchi understood now.
Back outside, the group was able to hear what had been explained to Jounouchi. They now had reason to worry. Jounouchi reacted to many things, even things that were not necessarily of his concern. If Anubis knew his history, he could do much damage to Jounouchi, and quite easily.
"Shall I begin?" Anubis suggested he start things off. "As I know it, you have a sister, do you not? Shizuka is her name?"
Jounouchi was already reacting to the subject. That is when he felt his strength being sapped from him. He felt his muscles weaken, and even standing began to hurt. The pain he had inherited from the battles with the monsters was being added onto what he was taking now.
"And she almost went blind," he continued. "Her eyesight, well let us just say it sucked. The damage to her eyes was almost irreparable, and it must have burnt, like being sprayed in the eyes with some kind of liquid. Worst yet, the surgery was beyond expenses. She could not afford it. How horrible that must have been. Lucky for her, she had you, or she would see nothing but black. Of course, she was nothing but a pussy with or without her sight. All she did was cry and coward in fear."
Jounouchi did not like it when someone spoke of her sister like that. He was infuriated that a stranger would talk such things of her. This only caused more pain to him, and he lost his strength to stand. He fell to the ground, clenched his fists as his opponent stood with what looked like hardly any damage.
"Such a stupid fool she was," he was going to continue, but Jounouchi knew he had to cut him off.
"A stupid fool?" he began. "What about you, Mr. I-hate-the-world-because-my-past-sucked? You could have made something of yourself, especially with the powers you had, but you didn't! The only thing you did was mope around, feeling sorry for yourself, continuing to take the abuse which you could have prevented! And you dare call my sister a coward? You made this place to hide away from the world, to get away from your fears! Even if my sister had gone blind, she would never be blind to what she cared about, or what was important to her, unlike you! You gave up on your dream because you thought it was unreachable, which was far from the truth! So do you think you're really that much better than my sister, just because you call yourself a God? Face it. You're nothing but a no-good, reborn reject!"
Jounouchi had picked the right spot to attack. Anubis definitely felt resentment towards Jounouchi's statement, which resulted into taking damage. He too lost strength in himself, and his muscles ached. He was brought to his knees, but was able to stand back up.
"And what about you?" he began to make another comment. "What about you and your cowardice acts? Your sister would have never been saved had it not been for your companions. They helped you in ways unimaginable, and it is because of them you have overcome so much. Without Yugi, without Anzu, without Honda, even Kaiba, what would become of your sister's sight without them? You relied on them so much to pull you through, even though you were determined to prove otherwise. Both of us know you failed to prove that. Your friends pulled you through, and eventually were the key to saving your sister. What would you be without them? Nothing. The only thing you did for them was give them the gratitude of feeling of importance! Without that gratitude and without each other, they are just like you: nothing."
Any comment directed towards his friends, Jounouchi could not help but feel anger. In this case, that was bad. Jounouchi felt his bones crack, muscles and insides rip, and many of his muscles no longer active. Even breathing caused pain to him, and he could no longer see straight. Eventually, blood dripped from Jounouchi's mouth.
From the outside, the group was pounding on the windows, trying to get it to stop. The pounds on the unbreakable glass could not be heard, nor could their screams. Yugi went to the nearest door and began trying to break it down. Soon enough, Anzu and Kaiba joined him in his attempt. They rammed it quite hard, and the door did not even suffer a crack or budge.
"Asshole…" Jounouchi could only silently whisper.
Lying on the ground, hardly able to do anything, Jounouchi was helpless. Speaking was difficult, seeing how almost all his muscles had been disabled. He wanted to crawl to Anubis and beat him up, but he could not walk let alone crawl. Jounouchi was in trouble.
"You put yourself in situations that are not yours to be in," he told him. "You take things far too personally and thus become enraged. What happens when that rage becomes uncontrollable? Nothing good can become of you for that reason. Your rage is too dangerous, and since you put yourself in situations to your liking, many could be hurt by your anger. On your own, you are such a worthless piece of shit."
Jounouchi tried not to take that comment to a personal level, but he couldn't help it. When he growled in his anger, he felt a sharp pain in his heart. He heard a sound of spilling blood from inside his body, and then nothing. His head, which he had held up, fell to rest on the floor, and did not move.
Anzu looked in from the window, and saw Jounouchi not moving. She pounded on the window, trying to call to Jounouchi to get up. Tears ran down her face as she continued screaming to him. She waited a few minutes before she concluded that Jounouchi was not going to get up on his own. She looked at him once more, and saw he was not breathing and not moving at all. His eyes were shut tight, and blood ran from his mouth. She had the feeling that Jounouchi, like the others before him, had lost.
"Jounouchi…please get up," she gave a final pound on the window before stumbling to her knees.
Yugi and Kaiba stopped ramming the door. Yugi breathed heavily as he leaned against the door, crying for his friend. Kaiba only stared at the ground, as he too was emotional about Jounouchi's death.
"You, too…Bonkotsu," he said to himself. "And you came so far. How does it all go to waste like this? It can't."
Having nothing left, the group left the beach house and beach. To them, anything beautiful like that beach became a wasteland of haunting memories and tragic events.