I won't stop updating this version until the rewritten version is all caught up! :)

In the assembly room, everyone was gathered once more to hear the announcement of the next match-up. When Yugi saw his sister come in, he walked up to her.

Yugi: "Akia! How are you feeling? How is Bakura-kun?"

"I'm feeling great! And Bakura's resting."

Yugi noticed the big smile on her face and raised an eyebrow.

Mai: "Did something good happen in there with Bakura-kun, Akia-chan?"

Mai came up to her and teased her. Akia gave a small nod. The others had joined up with them too.

Jounouchi: "Something good...? Tell me what happened!"

Jounouchi grinned and gave Akia his signature headlock.

"Ah! Let go! You're messing my hair!"

Anzu: "Just start dating, already! You and Bakura-kun are so cute together."

"I would, but it's a bit complicated..."

Shizuka: "I'm curious about the good thing that happened too."

Otogi: "Did you go all the way? No wait, that would've been way too quick."

Honda: "Have some self-decency, Otogi!"

"Calm down, all of you! We just kissed... once... With the real Ryou this time!"

Marik, who was standing not too far from the group, felt a pang of jealousy in his chest. He didn't know if it was because another man had kissed her or if it was because, this time, she was a lot happier than the last time about it.

Mai: "This time?! So it's not the first time! I knew you got game, girl!"

They all kept teasing her until Isono finally spoke up to get everyone's attention.

Isono: "May I have everyone's attention please. The next draw for the upcoming duel will now commence. Ultimate Bingo, start!"

The same process as the first time unfolded and the first number was revealed.

Isono: "First Duelist, Number 1, Kaiba Seto-sama!"

Mokuba: "Yeah, it's your turn, big brother!"

Akia and Jounouchi looked at each other.

"I wouldn't mind going against Mr. Arrogant."

Jounouchi: "Nah, he's mine. I can't wait to beat him in a duel."

The organizer of the tournament scoffed.

Kaiba: "I have no business with either of you weaklings. If you think you can defeat me with no God Card of your own, you're sorely mistaken."

Jounouchi: "What'd you say, asshole?!"

Shizuka: "Calm down, big brother!"

Akia chose to ignore Kaiba's comments, confident in her abilities enough to know she could take on anyone in the tournament.

Isono: "The next number is... Number 4, Jounouchi Katsuya!"

Jounouchi: "Wait, huh?!"

Even though he was talking big, Jounouchi was taken aback after hearing his name being called out.

Shizuka: "Big brother, it's your turn!"

Shizuka was really excited to finally get to see her brother duel for real.

Kaiba: "Tsk."

Jounouchi: "Hey! Don't think I'll go easy on you!"

Kaiba: "I can beat you with my eyes closed, deadbeat duelist. I won't even use my God Card for this."

With that, Kaiba walked off to the central elevator, taking it up on his own, not waiting for Jounouchi.

Jounouchi: "That bastard!"

Yugi: "Don't take it to heart, Jounouchi-kun. You know how he is..."

Honda: "Go kick his ass!"

Anzu: "Good luck, Jounouchi-kun."

Otogi: "Don't let your sister down!"

Pumped up by his friends' encouragement, Jounouchi felt more confident about his upcoming duel.

Mai: "Show him what you're made of, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi gave Mai a thumbs up.

Jounouchi: "Count on it!"

Akia gave Jounouchi an encouraging tap on the back and he went on his way up to the dueling platform while everyone else went to take the spectator elevator.

"Ah, Yugi, can you wait for me?"

Yugi stopped and looked back at his sister. The elevator went up with everyone else except the twins. Yugi raised his eyebrows at his sister.

Yugi: "Is everything okay?"

Akia got closer to her brother, not wanting to risk anyone hearing what she had to say, even though there was no one left around.

"Yugi, I have to tell you this since I've known it for a while now... Marik is not who he seems."

Yugi looked perplexed by his sister's words.

Yugi: "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the person claiming to be Marik is not actually Marik. His name is Rishid."

Yugi: "How do you...? Did you see him when you went to find Marik back during my duel with Jounouchi-kun?"

Akia nodded.

"Exactly. I'm sorry I kept it from you for so long, but Ishizu warned me that it would put everyone in danger, including Marik, if I reveal who he is. I still don't understand why, but she seemed genuine about it."

Yugi: "So do you know who the real Marik is?"

"...It's Namu. He's the real Marik."

Yugi's eyes widened in realization.

Yugi: "That's why... He so conveniently brought an injured Bakura-kun to our friends. They were probably working together by that point."

"Yeah, that's what I think too... But, just in case Ishizu's warning is real, let's keep this between us for now..."

Yugi agreed with his sister and gave her his word that he'd keep it to himself for now. They both then went up to the top of the blimp, where the duel between Jounouchi and Kaiba had just begun.

Kaiba drew his first card. He then summoned Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200) in attack position and set two cards facedown.

Kaiba: "Turn end. Let's end this farce quickly."

Jounouchi: "You bastard...! I'll make you eat your words, Kaiba! Draw!"

Jounouchi drew on his turn and summoned Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack position. He then used Gearfried to attack Seto's monster, prompting the young CEO to activate his facedown Shrink, halving the attack of his own monster, Ryu-Kishin Powered (800/1200). Gearfried destroyed Ryu-Kishin Powered, bringing Kaiba's Life Points down to 3000.

Jounouchi: "Did you hit hit your head or something or do you want to lose that badly?"

Jounouchi acted smug, but all Kaiba did was scoff at his ignorance

Kaiba: "A low-level duelist like you doesn't belong in this tournament."

Seto then activated his facedown Crush Card Virus to destroy Jounouchi's Gearfried the Iron Knight and every monster in his hand, on his side of the field, and in his deck that have 1500 or more attack. Due to the lingering effect of Crush Card Virus, those monsters cannot be special summoned from the graveyard.

Jounouchi: "Wha-!"

Kaiba: "I told you. I will make it clear how unworthy of this tournament you truly are."

Jounouchi frowned, not having anything in his hand to defend himself for the next turn. Kaiba drew his next card and summoned La Jinn the Demonic Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000) in attack position. He then attacked Jounouchi directly bringing his Life Points down to 2200.

Shizuka brought her hands to her mouth.

Shizuka: "I can't watch...!"

As she turned her gaze away, Akia put a hand on her arm. When she looked up at Akia, she saw reassurance in her eyes.

"Don't look away. Jounouchi won't give up until the end."

Mai: "I'm sure whether he wins or loses, he'd want you to be there, watching him."

Anzu: "Jounouchi-kun was very excited when he learned you'd be able to see him duel."

Honda: "He may have started off as a weakling, but he's improved so much."

Yugi: "Jounouchi-kun is one of the best duelists that I know."

Shizuka felt encouraged and so proud of her brother when she saw all the respect he'd gained from them.

Otogi: "Hold my hand if you feel overwhelmed."

After hearing that, Honda held Otogi in a headlock.

Honda: "Otogi!"

"Settle down, pay attention to the duel!"

Jounouchi summoned Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200) in attack position. He then activated Graceful Dice. He rolled a die and multiplied the attack of Swordsman of Landstar by the result. Since Jounouchi rolled a four, Swordsman of Landstar's attack became 2000, making it strong enough to attack and destroy Kaib's monster. Seto's Life Points drop to 2800 as a result. When Jounouchi ended his turn, the effect of Graceful Dice expired, bringing his monster's attack back down to 500.

On Kaiba's turn, he drew a card from his deck and then summoned Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack position. He then attacked Jounouchi's Swordsman of Landstar, bringing his Life Points down to 1100. He ended his turn after setting a card facedown.

Jounouchi drew. He then summoned Little-Winguard (1400/1800) in attack position. The blonde then activated Legendary Sword with the intention to equip it to his monster and raise its attack and defence by 300, but Seto activated his facedown Absorb Spell to switch the target of Legendary Sword to his Blade Knight instead (1900/1300). Jounouchi then set a card. Kaiba drew the next card from his deck. He then activated Enemy Controller, paying 1000 Life Points, bringing his Life Points down to 1800, to take control of Little-Winguard. Kaiba then activated Cost Down to downgrade the level of every monster in his hand and field by two this turn. Since Kaiba had at most one card left in his hand, the effect of Blade Knight increased its own attack by (2300/1300).

Kaiba then sacrificed Little-Winguard in order to Tribute Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack position.

Kaiba: "Time to end this! Blue-Eyes, Destruction Burst Stream!"

Jounouchi: "I'm not done yet!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacked directly, but Jounouchi activated his face-down Scapegoat to Special Summon four Sheep Tokens (0/0) in defense position. Kaiba used his two monsters to destroy two of the Sheep Tokens.

Kaiba: "You're like a pesky cockroach. I'll snuff your life out myself!"

Jounouchi: "I'm not going down that easily! Draw!"

Jounouchi set a card and set a monster in defence position, ending his turn.
Kaiba drew Card of Demise and activated it to draw until he had five cards in his hand. Five turns after Card of Demise's activation, Kaiba Seto must discard his entire hand during his Standby Phase. Blade Knight's attack dropped back to 1900, since he had more than one card in his hand. Kaiba then summoned Kaiser Sea Horse (1700/1650) in attack position. Blade Knight, Kaiser Sea Horse, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacked and destroyed Jounouchi's Battle Warrior and two remaining Sheep Tokens.

Jounouchi drew Pot of Greed and activated it to draw two cards. Jounouchi then used his facedown, Graverobber, to steal Enemy Controller from Kaiba's Graveyard. He then activated it as his card, allowing him to pay 1000 life points, bringing his own down to 100, to destroy one of Seto's monsters. The blonde chose to have Enemy Controller's second effect destroy the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Jounouchi then activated Monster Reborn to revive Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in Attack Position and under his control. Jounouchi used the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to attack and destroy Blade Knight, bringing Kaiba's Life Points down to 700. Jounouchi then set a monster in defence position and set a card facedown.

Kaiba: "How dare you use my Blue Eyes White Dragon? You are unworthy of such a privilege!"

Kaiba drew his next card, determined to take back his Blue Eyes. He then sacrificed Kaiser Sea Horse, which counted as two tributes for any LIGHT monsters, in order to summon another Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in Attack Position. Kaiba used Blue-Eyes White Dragon to attack the one that Jounouchi was controlling, causing them both to be destroyed. The Tournament Organizer then activated Monster Reborn to revive one Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) in attack position.

Jounouchi drew a card and set a monster down in defence position.
Kaiba drew Stop Defense, which he used on Jounouchi's Hayabusa Knight (1000/700), forcing it into attack position.

Kaiba : "This ends here!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacked Hayabusa Knight, wiping it out.

"Jounouchi!"

All of his friends yelled out to him, but Jounouchi activated his face-down Nutrient Z to increase his Life Points by 4000 before the battle damage was calculated, bringing his Life Points up to 4100 and back down to 2100 after the Blue Eyes' attack. Frustrated that the duel was dragging so long, Kaiba had no choice but to set a card and end his turn.

Mai: "Oh thank goodness..."

Everyone who was cheering for Jounouchi let out a sigh of relief.

Jounouchi drew Time Wizard and summoned it to use its effect with Baby Dragon. Jounouchi succeeded in activating the effect, so his Baby Dragon transformed into Thousand Dragon (2400/2000).

Before Time Wizard's effect can affect Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Seto activated his facedown Interdimensional Matter Transporter to remove his Blue-Eyes White Dragon from play for one turn. At the End Phase, Blue-Eyes White Dragon returned to the field (3000/2500) in attack position, safe from the time magic. Jounouchi grit his teeth as he saw the end nearing. He had no cards left to save him at that moment.

Kaiba drew Thunder Dragon. He then activated the effect of Thunder Dragon, discarding it and adding two more Thunder Dragons from his deck to his hand. Kaiba then fused the two dragons together using Polymerization Fusion Summoned Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) in attack position.

Kaiba: "You're done, Jounouchi! I activate Quick Attack, making my fusion monster attack the same turn that it was summoned. Go, my dragons, attack his Thousand Dragon and his life directly!"

Jounouchi braced himself for the attack, his life points dropping down to zero.

Shizuka: "Big brother!"

Isono: "The winner is Kaiba Seto-sama!"

Jounouchi let out an annoyed sigh.

Kaiba: "At least you managed to entertain me."

The CEO said condescendingly before leaving the field. Jounouchi came down from the field as well, going to his friends who were waiting for him.

Jounouchi: "I can't believe I lost on the first round of the finals...!"

"Don't sell yourself short!"

Mai: "Yeah, you held your own very well against a guy who has access to a lot of rare cards."

Yugi: "Kaiba is a very strong opponent. You did amazingly, Jounouchi-kun."

Anzu: "You really grew a lot as a Duelist, Jounouchi-kun."

Shizuka: "I'm really proud of you, big brother. You were so cool up there!"

Honda: "Hold your head up high, man! That was an awesome duel."

Otogi: "Don't let Shizuka-chan down, Jounouchi-kun."

Jounouchi smiled at everyone's encouragement.

Jounouchi: "Heh, thanks. You guys are the best."

They all headed back inside, since the next match-up was going to be announced soon.