Kira stared out at the crimson horizons, his hair stirring in the wild wind. The sun was already setting, the 30 duelists already chosen and the ship had already set sail. Below him the waves were gently splashing against the ship, while above the cluds were rolling by. He smiled and closed his eyes.

"This is your entire fault you know."

Kira slowly opened his eyes. "What is?" he asked.

"All of it!" Suain said disgustedly. "Because you decided to show off, now everybody on the ship is scared stiff of us. I can't even walk down the deck without having everyone staring at me. Worse, two ran off when I asked them for a duel, and not a single person is willing to trade with me."

"You're exaggerating again. Besides, it's your fault for trying to surprise me with Lacus. Speaking of which, where did she learn how to duel anyway?"

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just asked me yourself, Kira?"

Kira turned and smiled slightly. "Of course. My apologies."

Lacus walked to stand between him and Suain. "I actually learned it from Suain," she said.

"She's really very good. In just three weeks, she's nearly beat me already. You heard about the competition at Raffles?"

Kira nodded.

"She got runner-up."

Kira turned to her in surprise. "That is good."

"Don't you think that's an understatement, Kira? I did after all master the game in three weeks."

"That would be an overstatement. If you're a master, you should be able to defeat Suain."

"Hey!" Suain protested.

Kira chuckled. For a moment the three of them stood in silence before Lacus asked: "What do you two think things would be like at Icarius Island?"

"Competition will be tough," Kira answered. "If the requirement was the same for every ship—and I'm sure there will be more than one ship for the competition—then we'll be facing only the best. At the very least there'll be three ships, including ours, so that means we'll be meeting 87 other contestants. I think we'll be divided into teams."

"Why?"

"Because there are too many contestants. If they do the standard 1-on-1 duels, it'll take quite a while for this tournament to finish, especially since they'll be recording and showing every duel on television."

"What!" They didn't say anything about appearing on television." Suain protested.

"Grow up Suain. You think with an opportunity to make so much money Kaiba's just going to let it slide? Not even in your dreams."

"But if we're in a team, wouldn't that be a good thing?" Lacus said. "If we're all in a team, we'll reach the finals together."

"Yes, assuming they'll let us choose our own teams—and that I'm correct of course."

"Kira Chihaza I presume," an arrogant voice interrupted them. They turned, and saw a young boy, probably around 13. He had a light-green hair, with almost matching turquoise eyes. Kira noted his expensive clothing, as well as the many rings which decorated his fingers and the dark suitcase he held. He shifted his gaze to the boy's face, noting the challenging look, and the arrogant way he thrust his chin forward. He disliked him almost immediately.

"Yes," Kira answered, keeping his manners. "Is there something you wanted?"

"You can say that," the boy said. "I am Lex Cruset," he declared, as if it was the most important thing in the world. "I saw your duel and noticed the rare cards you used. I would like to purchase them." His manner, although annoyingly arrogant, was almost adult-like. He held the suitcase in front of him, and opened it. It was filled with cold, hard cash.

"Wow!" Suain exclaimed. "That's the most money I ever saw in a place." Lex threw him a disdainful look before he looked at Kira again. He had a smug smile on his face, almost as if he was sure Kira couldn't refuse his offer. He was to be disappointed however.

"No."

Lex was shocked, probably because no one had ever refused him before. It took him a while to gather his wits. "What do you mean 'no'?" he said angrily, his face flushing. "Don't you realize who I am? I am Lex Cruset, one of the richest men in the world."

"I said 'no' and I mean no. I will not be selling any cards in my deck and that's final." He turned to leave, but felt a hand grab him and spin him around. A fist cracked against his cheek and he stumbled backwards.

"Hey!" Lacus yelled. "No need to be violent just because he won't sell his cards to you." Several duelists had already gathered, wondering what happened.

"Shut up you lowly whore!"

Uh oh, Kira thought as Suain helped him up. That was a BIG mistake, Lex. He knew nearly everything about Lacus. Her father had died when she was young, and her mother had been forced to sell her body as a living. When Lacus was seven, her mother died, and she had been adopted into another family. Since then Lacus had always held her in high respect, and was very defensive of her and her profession. And now Lex had just insulted it…

As he predicted Lacus stiffened. Her eyes were ice-cold as she walked purposely up to Lex. Her hand caught his cheek, the sound like a distant gunshot. Lex stumbled back, his hand going to the angry red mark where she slapped him. His face was shocked, before anger reasserted itself and it grew crimson with rage. "You… you dare…" He broke off whatever he wanted to say and screamed in rage: "This is unacceptable! I would not be humiliated in public by a lowly commoner! I challenge you to a duel!" His disk fanned out in front of him

"Fine," Lacus said coolly, moving to his opposite, her own Duel Disk activating as well.

Despite the gravity of the situation Kira chuckled. Unlike the anger of most people, which would have resulted in shouting or the breaking of material, Lacus's anger took form in an almost icy calmness. Her eyes would grow hard with resolve, and her body would unconsciously adapt a challenging pose. Now to see how good she is.

Lacus: 4000

Lex: 4000

"I'll start first, as the challenged," Lacus said, drawing her six cards.

"Fine," Lex sneered as he drew his five. "I doubt a freeloader will cause me much problem."

Lacus didn't answer as she set a card in the monster zone and two in her magic/trap zone. Gesturing, she ended her turn.

"Hardly an impressive move, as expected of a commoner." Lex drew his card. "I activate the rare field magic card Gold Mine." Around them the field began to change, turning into large cave. Workers were seen laboriously hacking at the walls, while carts filled with gold were pushed out by even more workers. "Once per turn I can discard one card to either gain 1000 Life Points or draw one card. And to make it even better I play the permanent magic card Infinite Riches, which will enable me to use all the effects of one card if I mean its requirements. Now I discard one card," he picked one card from his hand and put it into his graveyard, "and gain 1000 Life Points and draw 1 card." He added the card he drew into his hand."

Lacus: 4000

Lex: 5000

"Summon Greedy Baron (1500/1500) in attack mode." A paunchy man, elegantly dressed, stepped into the field. "Attack the set card!"

"Mystical Elf (800/2000) has more than enough defense to counter your attack." A blue-skinned woman; fully robed appeared on the field.

Lex grinned as his monster stepped in and punched the elf, destroying her. He waited for the surprised exclamation but none came. "Greedy Baron gains equal attack points to how much Life Points I have over you," he explained in an annoyed voice. (2500/1500)

Lacus nodded; her eyes still cold. "Done yet?"

"Two cards face-down and I'm done." Two brown-backed cards shimmered into the field.

Lacus drew and added the card to her hand. Picking another card, she placed it on her Duel Disk. "Night Elf (1900/800) in attack mode." A dark-haired female elf with pale grey skin, wearing light clothing, appeared on the field. "And I'll equip her with the equipment card Secret Bow of Darkness, giving her the ability to attack your magic/trap cards and to attack twice." An ebony bow appeared in front of the elf. She grabbed and slung it over her shoulder.

Kira turned to Suain. "She uses an Elf deck?"

"Yeah." He gave a sour look. "Can't believe how lucky she is sometimes. Pulled three ultimate rare Elf cards—the major ones at that—out of one booster and decided to create one ever since. She's still missing a few cards, but she can hold her own. I'm amazed you even heard of them. They're quite rare. If Lacus hadn't showed them to me and asked my help I wouldn't even have known about them."

"I've heard about them alright. They're good, but very heavily dependant on their equipment cards, so not a lot of people use them. Not to mention the fact their equipment cards are also monster-specific." They turned their attention back to the duel.

"Now I activate my face-down Forest of the Elves to get rid of your Gold Mine and boost my elf's stats by 500," Lacus announced as her card flipped up. The cave disappeared, and everyone found themselves standing in a dark forest, with two moons—one red, the other blue—hanging in the midnight sky. (2400/1300) Lex seemed irritated as his "gold mine" disappeared. "Night Elf destroys the two cards you just set." The elf drew her bow and shot two arrows at the cards. They exploded into digital dust. "End turn."

Lex was fuming as he snapped his next card. Looking at it, his drew back and laughed. "Time to give you a taste of the true power of the nobility. But first I'll get back the Sinister Serpent (300/200) I discarded."

"For a guy who insults the commons so much, I'm surprised you even use one," Lacus said.

Lex glared at her fiercely, but she stared back at him calmly. "Greedy Baron destroys your pathetic elf. Crush her!" The baron drew back his fist and surged forward but the Night Elf vanished. "What!"

Lacus grinned as she showed him her activated face-down card. "Mystery of the Forest says you can't attack me or my elves when Forest of the Elves is in play. And it's permanent. Anything else?"

"Fine! Feel the true power of the nobility then. I tribute Greedy Baron for Baron of Injustice (2400/1300)." The paunchy baron disappeared, replaced by a large man with even more elegant clothes. He held a large hammer, and there seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face. "His effect activates! Whenever Baron of Injustice is on the field, your field cannot have more cards than mine."

In the midst of the trees there was a sharp snap, and something dropped onto the ground. It was the Night Elf's bow. It slowly sunk into the ground, and when it was gone, a small shoot stood where it was. Lacus calmly put the card into her graveyard pile, but there was a worried frown on her face.

"A shame that Forest of the Elves is a field card, or it will be destroyed as well. Oh well, I end my turn."

Lacus drew her card and considered her options. Setting a card face-down, she ended her turn. On the field, her permanent trap Mystery of the Forest exploded.

Lex, of course, couldn't miss this chance to throw in another insult. "Running out of plays now are we? Too bad." He drew his next card and played it. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards." He drew two, and smirked as he saw the cards. "One face-down card for now. End turn."

"I was hoping you would do that," Lacus said without looking at the card she drew. Her face-down card flipped up and a large spring suddenly materialized in the field. "Pure Spring Water activates at my standby phase if you didn't attack in your battle phase. It lets me shuffle my hand back into my deck and draw that number plus two. So that's five!" She reshuffled her hand back into her deck and snapped five new cards, giving her entirely new options.

"I tribute Night Elf for Huntress of the Night (2300/2100) (2800/2600)." Another elf rose in the field to replace the Night Elf. Its appearance appeared to be the same, save that it wore a light armor and thigh-length leather boots. "And by the effect of my Secret Bow of Darkness, I can remove it from play to put an equipment card from my deck to my hand." She put the card in her removal pile and her Duel Disk spat out a card.

"It's a common trait shared by all Elfish magic equipment," Suain explained. "All of her equipment can be removed from play to get—or as she calls it—'form' another equipment card from her deck."

Kira nodded. So far Lacus's performance had been impressive. The question now was could she keep it up?

"I equip Huntress of the Night with Bow of the Huntress." The huntress grabbed her bow which just appeared on the field. "Attack the Baron!" The Baron shattered as the arrow pierced through his lungs.

"Activate trap!" Lex shouted as his card flipped upwards. "Double the Pain doubles the damage you receive."

"What are you talking about? It's you who's receiving damage."

Lex smiled slyly. "Any damage done to me through Baron of Injustice is returned to the owner of the monster which destroyed it, doubled. And with Double the Pain it's quadrupled. That means 1600 Life Points is deducted from you."

Lacus looked at her Duel Disk and saw it was true.

Lacus: 2400

Lex: 4600

"Three cards face-down."

"Since you have no cards left, I guess that's my turn," Lex said smugly. He made to draw but then noticed the arrow from the elf-huntress lodged on his deck. "What is this?" he hissed.

Lacus smiled coldly. "In the hands of Huntress of the Night, Bow of the Huntress is deadly. When she deals damage to you, several interesting things happen. First effect: Fall of the Day. Call a card type and discard it if it's what you called."

Lex called magic, and cursed as he saw the green background of the card he drew. He dumped the card in his discard pile.

"Second effect: Rise of the Night. Call another type and place it on your field if it's what you called. Otherwise discard it."

This time he called monster, and smiled as he drew exactly that. He set it on his Duel Disk; the card shimmered on the field. "What else, wench? And spare me the pretty names this time."

"Final Effect: Calling of the Night," Lacus said, ignoring him. "If you summoned any monster through the first two effects, they are forced to attack any monsters in my field with the word 'Night' in its title. Since I only have one, you are forced to attack my Huntress of the Night."

"Your funeral, for I have my second Greedy Baron on the field!" The card flipped over and the same paunchy man emerged. Lex grinned as his monster charged at the huntress, only to stare in shock as she put an arrow in his eye. "What the hell happened? My Baron had 900 more attack points than your elf." He then noticed the three cards she previously set were gone.

"I activated Emergency Provisions to destroy my two face-down cards to gain 2000 Life Points; therefore your Baron was still 1100 attack points short."

Lacus: 4400

Lex: 3500

"Does she have a Mirage of Nightmare in her deck?" Kira asked, raising his eyebrow.

Suain shook his head. "No, she doesn't have one, and neither do I. Besides, doesn't that make her plays quite predictable? I mean come on, everyone who plays Mirage of Nightmare is almost certain to chain it with Emergency Provisions once its effect activates."

"True. But that's if her opponent's know she has the card. Remind me to give mine to her after this is over."

"You're going to give yours to her?" Suain asked, surprised.

"I don't use it," Kira told him. "I have other methods to bring the cards I need to my hand."

"Someday you'll have to show me that."

"You'll see it at the tournament." Kira smirked. "Now let's enjoy the show."

Lacus was still wearing the same cold smile on her face. "Since I destroyed your monster with Huntress of the Night, the same special effects activate again!"

Lex blanched as he realized the dilemma he was in. If he called and summoned weak monsters, he was trapping himself in a loop. If he was to hope he would summon strong monsters, he would be risking decking out, since he had little monsters with equal to 2800 attack points. He called monster on the first and trap on the second, and grimaced as he discarded both. Drawing his card, he set it on his field and ended his turn.

Lacus activated her drawn card as she saw it. "Mystical Space Typhoon on your set card." The wind picked up and blew away his card. "Direct attack!" The elf-huntress drew her bow and struck.

Lacus: 4400

Lex: 700

Lex was trembling as he drew his card. Glancing at it, he nervously set it down. "Come…come and attack me…" he stuttered, ending his turn.

"Worst bluff I ever heard," Lacus said, not bothering to see her drawn card. "Huntress of the Night, attack!" The last arrow destroyed what remaining Life Points Lex had.

Lacus: 4400

Lex: 0

Lex was trembling as their Duel Disk shut down. "You…you…" He seemed to be having difficulties finding words. "Daddy!" he cried as he ran away. Several duelists stared after him and, slowly, the crowd to disperse.

"You know," Kira said as he and Suain rejoined Lacus, "I think while we were busy being angry with that rich snob, we completely ignored the fact that he's a 13 year old rich snob."

"He deserved it," Suain said. He looked around, and saw it was quite dark. "Isn't it dinner time?"

At that, Lacus's stomach growled, and she blushed. "What!" she yelled as Kira and Suain stared at her.

Kira sighed. "Never mind, let's just go eat."

Not far away, a man was leaning against the ship's railing, staring at them. As the trio went below deck, he chuckled. "You keep interesting company, Kira Chihaza."


To Rex the Emerald Dragon: Thanks. You do the same on your part.

To john: They have an affection for each other XD

To Scotty Boi: Thanks. I plan to do better.

To Meowth's Toon Dragon: I am finding more books written by Alfred Hitchcock. I like them, and am planning to increment some more suspense in my works.

To Demon Fan: You'll have to wait a bit longer to find out I'm afraid.