Thanks to Houki beating Flint, she now has a total of six stars. She even got a brand new card from it: Coronix the Sun Phoenix. With a powerful card like that, as well as being that much closer to getting in the castle, Ichika and the girls will be ready to face Peggrin soon.

"Nice on getting that new card, Houki." Ichika said.

"Thanks. This card will be a big help." Houki said.

"Are you sure it's wise to put a card like that with your deck? It's not compatible with the rest of your cards." Laura said.

"It might not seem like it, but I can find some powerful combos to use this card with." Houki said.

"Hey, it's getting dark." Rin said. "We might want to set up camp soon."

"Rin's right." Ichika said. "We're going to need our rest. Houki and I will be ready for our next duels if we do."

"Wait. You mean we're going to have to sleep outside?" Cecilia asked as the thought of that seems to make her nervous.

"Of course we're sleeping outside. What did you think? There's no hotel anywhere on this island." Rin said.

"Does that mean we'll also have to deal with all the insects, rodents, and other creatures that move around at night while we're sleeping?" Cecilia said as she was getting nervous more and more about this.

"We'll be fine, Cecilia." Charlotte said. "There's really nothing to be afraid of." They really thought there wasn't, but what they didn't know was that there was something in the shadows that was actually watching them.

"Still, I don't like this." Cecilia said.

"It will be okay, Cecilia." Ichika said as he placed his hands on her shoulders. "We'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"Oh! I guess you're right." Cecilia said as she already felt safer in Ichika's arms. She embraced it as she pressed herself against him, much to the others dislikes. "You'll protect me, won't you, Ichika."

"Sure. There's really nothing to be afraid of." Ichika said. However, he had a change of mind when he saw the glares the others were giving those two. "Of course, I could be wrong."

"Hey, I hate to point this out, but there's another problem we have." Rin said. "What are we going to do about dinner? We don't have anything to eat."

"Good point. This is quite the problem we have." Charlotte said as all of them were feeling how hungry they were.

"Next time we come to an island, we need to stock on cooking and camping supplies." Houki said.

"No worries." Laura said. "I'm sure there are edible plants, berries, and animals around here that we can eat."

"I am not eating that stuff!" Cecilia said. "I rather become skin and bones before eating anything like live animals and such."

"Are you all complaining again?" All of them looked and they saw Hector found them again.

"Hector! What do you want now?!" Houki said as she finds herself constantly getting annoyed by him. Hector pulled out a food bar and took a bite out of it. That certainly didn't help them. "That's it!" She shouted as she went right over to him. "You mocked us, ridicule us, and now you're taunting us with food when we're starving?! If I had my kendo gear, I smack you around until you were black and blue!"

"You're feisty, Houki. I actually like feisty girls." Hector said with a smirk.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?!" Houki shouted. "If you're going to keep being a jerk, get lost!"

"Relax." Hector said as he dropped his bag. "I overheard you guys talking and figured you would like to use this stuff." He opened his bag and showed a bunch of camping supplies and food. "It's all yours."

"You're letting us use this? Why?" Ichika asked.

"Check it out." Hector said as he showed his stars. "Another duel and I'll have all the stars I need to enter the castle. I won't have much need for this stuff anymore."

"That's really nice of you, Hector." Charlotte said.

"A little too nice." Houki said as she wasn't buying this. "Why are you being so nice to us all of a sudden?"

"I'm not heartless. Do you want it or not?" Hector said.

"Take it!" Everyone said before Houki could say anything that would ruin this. Thanks to Hector, they all have the stuff they need to make it through the night.

"We should probably go get some firewood." Hector said. "Orimura, how about you help me out with this?"

"Sure." Ichika said.

"How about you girls go and find some water we can use. We're going to need a lot of it." Hector said.

"How come?" Cecilia asked.

"I have a makeshift shower you can use, but with there being so many of us, we're going to need a lot of water." Hector said.

"Sounds good to me. I would kill for a shower." Rin said.

"I think I saw a stream we can use." Charlotte said as she, Houki, and Cecilia grabbed some buckets to get some water. That left Rin and Laura to set up their campsite.

...

Ichika and Hector

"Here we go." Ichika said as he grabbed a hold of a branch and tried to pull it off.

"That won't work." Hector said as he grabbed some wood on the ground. "Grab some branches that are on the ground. They don't have much moisture in them and will burn more easily."

"That makes sense." Ichika said as he did what Hector suggested.

"Outside of dueling, you don't appear to be all that smart. Still, you are lucky." Hector said.

"What do you mean?" Ichika asked.

"You're traveling around with five cute girls. Guys would kill to be you." Hector said. "Come on. Spill it. What's your secret that you got those five girls following you around?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. They're my friends and we help each other." Ichika said. "Either way, we really appreciate the help. I knew there was a nice guy somewhere inside you."

"Don't let it go to you." Hector said as they kept gathering firewood. "It's like I said. I won't have much use for that stuff tomorrow. I'm just making sure it doesn't go to waste. After tonight, we're competitors again."

"Just because we're competitors doesn't mean we can't be friends." Ichika said. "Hector, you've been on your own for a long time, haven't you?" Hector didn't really answer, but it seems like that Ichika was right. "Well, you can always call us friends. You don't need to take on everything by yourself." Hector never really had to rely on anyone. No one has ever even offered to be Hector's friend. It was through that one simple offer that Hector was beginning to think about what Houki told him.

...

The Girls

"What's with that guy?" Houki complained as she, Charlotte, and Cecilia were gathering some water.

"Who? Hector?" Charlotte asked.

"What's the problem? He's nice enough to help us like this." Cecilia said.

"First, he acts like a real jerk and creep. Then, he tries being nice to us all of a sudden?" Houki said. "I just find it weird. He just better watch it or I'll give him more than my dueling to worry about."

"You know, for someone that doesn't seem to like him, you sure do seem to talk about him a lot." Charlotte said.

"Oh my! Miss Shinonono, you wouldn't happen to have a small attraction to Hector now, do you?" Cecilia asked.

"What?! Of course not!" Houki said. "Between him and Ichika, there is no contest. Ichika is clearly the better man, even if he does act like a dense moron." Houki just left it at that and just walked back with some of the water.

"I suppose." Charlotte said. However, when she stops to think about it, she noticed something strange with Ichika. "Cecilia, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Cecilia asked.

"Haven't you noticed something strange with Ichika when he duels?" Charlotte said. "He seems more calm and radiates with confidence. He seems to act more serious. It's almost like he's a different person."

"Oh, Charlotte. Don't be silly." Cecilia said. "Ichika's just passionate about dueling. He probably just wants to do his sister proud."

"Yes. You're probably right." Charlotte said, but she wasn't entirely convinced.

...

The Campsite

Once they got all that they needed, they got a fire going. With Hector's help, and the girls gathering all the water that they needed, he was able to set a small shower for them to use.

"Okay. It's all set. Who's first?" Hector said.

"I think the only fair way to do this is alphabetical order." Ichika said. "In which case, Cecilia should be the first one to go."

"Thank you, Ichika." Cecilia said.

"Good point. She'll cry like a baby a lot less if she just takes one." Rin said. Cecilia just ignored her comments and went inside. She closed the curtain around and was about to start. However, she thought she heard something coming from the other side.

"Very funny, Rin." Cecilia said as she thought was just trying to scare her.

"What? I didn't do anything." Rin said. She hasn't moved at all. Cecilia looked to where the sound came from and she thought she saw the shadow of someone move. Being a girl about to take a shower, she screamed.

"Cecilia, what's wrong?!" Ichika asked.

"I think there's someone out there." Cecilia said.

"Really?" Hector said. He and Ichika went to take a look, but they didn't see anyone anywhere. "Well, whatever it was is gone now. I think you're okay now." The two of them went back to the fire while Cecilia tried to take her shower. As she was, everyone else was eating and it felt nice to eat real food.

"Hector, thanks again for doing this." Houki said.

"Don't mention it." Hector said.

"You know, maybe you're not such a bad guy after all." Houki said. She actually smiled at him and Hector blushed a little.

"I'm going to get more firewood." Hector said as he got up and left. He went out to be by himself and tried to clear his head. As he stood out in the open, staring at the moon, he thought about what he's doing. "Maybe those guys aren't so bad after all." Hector's not use to having so many people around. He also couldn't stop Houki flashing in his mind. "Why can't I get Houki out of my head? It doesn't matter in the end. I can only here for myself." Hector was so distracted by these thoughts that he didn't notice someone behind him until he was grabbed and taken away.

"Hector's been gone for a while." Houki said.

"Yes. Do you think he is injured?" Laura questioned.

"I hope not." Charlotte said. That was when they heard someone coming their way. They looked and saw a young man with black hair. He wore a white buttoned shirt with black pants.

"Ichika? Houki? Rin?"

"Ryu?! Ryu Kazame?!" Ichika said as the three of them were happy to see him.

"I can't believe it!" Rin said.

"It really is you!" Houki said.

"Yes. It's been a long time." Ryu said.

"You know him?" Cecilia asked.

"Yeah. That's Ryu Kazame. The four of us went to elementary school." Ichika said. Ichika invited Ryu to join them by the fire and the four of them loved seeing each other again. "It's been a long time since the four of us were together like this."

"It sure has." Ryu said.

"The last time we saw you was before we started middle school." Houki said. "You were accepted into a different school than us."

"You were also one of the nicest guys around." Rin said.

"Oh, I wouldn't go that far." Ryu said.

"I forgot you use to be so modest. So what have you been up to?" Houki said.

"Are you competing here too?" Ichika asked.

"Well, not exactly. It's complicated." Ryu said. "However, I am glad I'm here since it means I get to see the three of you again. I heard you defeated Conner Knight in a duel, Ichika."

"Yeah, and now you see I'm competing here." Ichika said.

"In that case, how about we have a little duel ourselves. Not for stars, just for fun." Ryu said.

"Sure. It's been a while since I dueled just for the fun of it." Ichika said.

"In fact, I know a fun way where it will feel like all of you can be a part of the fun." Ryu said.

"How?" Charlotte asked.

"Just wait and see." Ryu said as he held his hands close to the face. It was then that the air around them began changing and the area around them became nothing but darkness.

"Ryu, what are you doing?!" Ichika said. Ryu didn't answer, but something appeared hanging around his neck. It had the same round mark as Ichika's charms with three spikes dangling from it. "It's another Mystic Artifact! Ryu, what have you done?!"

"Ryu's not here." His voice sounded different as it appeared his hair stood like horns and there was evil in his eyes. He used the power of his artifact on all six of them. They all had their souls extracted from their bodies and they were all sent in Ichika's deck. Without their souls, their bodies were empty vessels as they dropped to the ground. "Their souls are now lost in the shadows. What fools." Something has taken over Ryu and it's evil. "Now the Mystic Charm is mine." He reached for Ichika's bracelet, but it glowed with the spirit inside taking over Ichika's body. "It can't be!"

"You want my charm?" The spirit said as he stood up. "You'll have to duel me for it."

"A duel? Fine with me, but the stakes will be much higher than you think." Ryu said as he evilly laughed. Who is this strange threat? Either way, the spirit must win or else Ichika and the girls could be lost forever.