Hello once more everyone. Well, at long last, Friday has arrived. I can't wait to see my mate (wife) today. She's driving down to stay the week, so I'll be so happy when she gets here! (//Gets starry eyed\\) To spend a week with her will be heaven, even if I have to work three of those days next week. It should be a fun week.

Well, no one figured out who Shino and Shina. Hmm, I guess I should just reveal their true identities. As I mentioned, they love the same man, and he can't choose between the two of them. Possibly, I should have said that Shino does a lot of traveling also with this same man and four friends. She rides on Iya's (the man) back, while she carries a small child and the other two ride on a large cat. Shina meanwhile walks around with white serpents bringing souls to her to absorb in order to sustain her life force. Anyone getting it yet? Oh, Iya has dog ears. Lol, if that doesn't give it away, I don't know what is. I will reveal the identities at the end before I give my leave.

For now though, it's time for me to answer the reviews.

Tomb Robber Vicky: It seems that is the way most tag duels go, well, other than a few. The exceptions are in GX, where Para and Dox didn't get mad, then the Serena sisters (just Serena split in two, lol) got along as well. Now, Frost and Thunder did get mad at one another, and many of the Yugioh tag teams never got along either. But yes, now it's onto Santa Barbra. Lol, Bakura, you could take a bus to get away.

Ultimate Legendary Master: True, it does seem semi odd, but that's what happens when you let your anger take over. You get angry and try to obliterate someone, or get cocky, and bam! You've lost. I've seen it happen, and I've had it happen. Thanks though for the comments, and yes, I'll be a very happy half demon with my mate living with me.

Isis the Sphinx: Yes, Santa Barbra is in CA, and Death Valley is also in CA. Lol, they're just kind of far apart. Also, that's why I had Illidan and others originally go from San Francisco to Death Valley. It was a good drive or better, so it made it easy to pass the time. I actually did see how long it would take by bus or train, so I based the time on how long it would take them to get there. Lol, but you're not pathetic. I live on the East Coast, so I didn't know much about where stuff was in CA, but I did a lot of mapquest results to get somewhat accustomed to that area. But as I said, I did actually do some homework on it, and took guesses on what cities the shows were actually trying to use. So, there you go.

x-knight20: It's alright. I understand that people get busy. I actually borrowed the names Shina and Shino also from another anime. I know they're in one, but I can't remember which. I actually looked into another fan fic to get the names.

Metal Overlord 2.0: Yeah, true, Shina just blew it in the end. Lol, yeah, it was kind of pointless for Shina to throw a tantrum and lose it all. Hehe, true, Dartz was never good at employing people, but oh well. They got the job done, and that's what he hired them for. I thought about doing that, but if I was going to give her the card, I was planning on doing it in the downtime between leaving Yami and the battle with the Vampire Flock. But yes, now Toboe and Kiba have a chance to redeem themselves in a fight with Illidan and crew. Thanks for the comments, and I'll try hard to get a look at your chapter.

Well, that's it for this time everyone. I guess since no one knew the identities of the twins, it's time for me to reveal them. I think I kind of just plain out said it earlier, so in case no one watches anime, I'll simply say it. I used Kagome (Shino) and Kikyo (Shina) as the twins. They look similar, each have ebony black hair and brown eyes. Inuyasha (Iya) easily confuses the two of them, and then he loves both and can't choose between them. So, there you all have it. The mystery of who the twins is over.

Ok, for now, I'm done for today, so I'll see you all once again Monday. Possibly Wednesday, pending on if I have internet or not at the apartment for Friday, I may post two chapters. I'll figure it out next week though. Anyways, later and enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 40

While Kiba was on the phone with Darcia, Toboe stood next to the road with his eyes closed. His senses were still sharp, but he was waiting for someone. He knew soon that the one he was hunting would come through the same area where he and Kiba were staked out. He also knew the one he was hunting would come seeing how their Master Darcia had called them. Only when things went wrong would Darcia ever call.

He sighed, thinking back on the last few days. He had lost so many friends in only a few days. First he lost Blue, who had been like a big sister to him. Sure, he knew she wasn't gone, but she left the Wolf Pack, thus creating a gap. With her gone, he no longer had anyone to talk to about girls and other things.

The next friend he lost was his best friend in the world, Tsume. Tsume had been the one person he could always depend on, and that was there no matter what. When he saw Tsume lose his duel to the spirit of the Millennium Ring, Toboe had been in disbelief that his friend could lose. That night he had cried himself to sleep, for the loss of his best friend was too much to bear.

Things didn't stop though, for soon Hige lost his soul in a duel against Blue. Although Toboe had disliked Hige after Blue had left due to Hige's attitude about her, Toboe was slightly sad to see another friend fall.

The heartache didn't stop though, for five of his other friends, the group known as the Vampire Flock, were defeated as well. Deadman, Haru, Suke, Shino, and Shina all five had been defeated by the same group of four that had beaten his other friends.

Toboe was now unsure of what they were to do. "If the Vampire Flock couldn't beat Illidan and his friends, what makes Master Darcia think we will?"

Sighing as he was lost in thought, he didn't hear Kiba slowly walking back to where Toboe stood. Kiba closed his cell phone and said "Toboe, bad news."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Toboe looked up and said "What now?"

Sighing slightly, Kiba said "Illidan and his friends did indeed defeat the Vampire Flock and are headed this way. We have to put an end to this, and fast. The way it'll happen is easy though. We'll take out Vash Ryou first, and then slowly pick our way through. Once Vash is gone, Blue will be unable to concentrate, thus making her an easy target. The spirit will be more difficult, but we'll pick him off too. As for Illidan, once he sees all his friends defeated, he'll lose his temper and then lose his soul and Egyptian God Card."

Toboe only nodded at the plan, and asked "So, how long till they get here?"

Looking at his phone's clock, Kiba replied "They should be coming through within the hour. From what I understand, they're driving two jeeps which belonged to the Vampire Flock. We'll separate them as fast as possible, and take them out separately. You will take out Vash and Blue, while I take out Illidan and the spirit. Be careful Toboe, for Vash is no pushover."

Nodding, Toboe replied "Don't worry, I'm no pushover either."

Smiling at his friend, Kiba said "Let's get ready. They'll be here soon enough, and we need to be ready for them."

Nodding, Toboe grabbed his motorcycle helmet and jumped on his green sports bike. Kiba did the same and jumped onto his large red Harley. The two then moved their bikes in behind a sign and waited patiently.

Elsewhere on the road, Vash and Blue sat in silence. They had hardly said a word to one another since leaving the professor and Rebecca. Blue was staring out the side of the jeep at the scenery as it passed by, thinking on what she should say.

In her mind, she silently said "Should I just tell him my feelings? I know I shouldn't do this now, but I'm afraid. What if the next time I duel, or he duels, we lose? Then the other would never know what the other felt. I don't want to leave him that way, making him wonder if I even cared at all about him. I have to tell him. I just could never make him suffer without knowing what my feelings are."

Meanwhile, in Vash's mind, he silently wrestled with his own thoughts about Blue. "If I don't tell her how I feel, will she always wonder? Or does she think I still hate her? No, she knows by now that I don't hate her. Still, it's not fair for her to think I don't care. I was worried while dueling Haru and Suke that I'd never see her again. That she'd also lose her soul, and I'd never be able to tell her the truth about how I feel about her. I can't put her through that. I need to tell her."

Sighing slightly, he glanced over at her, seeing she was looking out the side of the jeep and was in deep thought herself. He lightly smiled, but then saw her glance at him, making him instantly turn his eyes back to the road. A light blush came across his face due that he was caught, but had he looked back, he'd have seen Blue lightly blushing as well.

Both let out a small sigh, and said simultaneously "We need to talk."

Each smiled at the fact they had the same thought at once, and Blue sweetly said "Vash, there is something I want to tell you."

Seeing that she was slightly trembling as she was speaking, he grabbed her hand with his spare hand and held it, gently saying "You can tell me anything Blue."

This only caused Blue to furiously blush. She closed her eyes, fighting hard to try and gather up her courage. When she thought she was ready, she then realized he was still holding her hand, making her lose control once more.

Ahead of Blue and Vash's jeep was Illidan and Ryou's jeep. Illidan was driving and glanced up in the mirror and smirked, saying "Way to put the moves on her Vash."

Ryou only let out a small grunt and said "About bloody time! Those two are driving me crazy. They're worse than you and Marie…"

Realizing what he had just said, Ryou looked at Illidan, expecting some kind of reaction. There was none though, just a cold stare ahead on the road.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Ryou then jumped when he heard Illidan say "Worse than me and Marie how?"

"Forget it." Ryou simply said, knowing he'd only anger Illidan if he persisted.

Letting out a soft sigh, Illidan became lost in his own thoughts. "Marie… I'm coming Marie. Just hold on a little longer. Soon you'll be free, and this whole ordeal will be over. I miss you so much."

In Vash's jeep, Blue just sat there with her eyes closed. Finally, she felt control once more over herself and let a smile show on her face. Slowly, she began to say "Vash, I know we haven't known one another for very long, but I know how I feel about you. I …"

Before she could say anything, a motorcycle appeared behind the jeep. Vash noticed it as it came up beside of the jeep. Blue looked over and gasped, saying "Toboe…"

Hearing her say that name, Vash took it that she knew the biker and guessed it was another Wolf Pack member. He gunned the motor, hoping to escape his pursuer, only to find out he was mistaken. Before Vash could gain any speed, the pursuer threw a small device onto the side of the jeep, which stuck to it.

Vash heard a small beeping sound coming from the device and quickly realized that the device was meant to stop the jeep, one way or another. He quickly slowed the jeep down, but the beeping became shorter and louder. Soon, it let out a single long beep and a sphere of electrical energy fired from the small device. The jeep's engine instantly shorted out, causing Vash to take evasive maneuvers. He quickly put the jeep in neutral, and let it slowly coast to a stop.

The biker then pulled up and took off his helmet, letting his hair flow freely into the air. His light brown hair slightly moved in the light breeze. His golden eyes showed determination. He was dressed in black boots, green khaki pants, a red button up shirt with his sleeves rolled up, and had several small silver bracelets on his right hand. He lightly smiled as he walked towards both Vash and Blue.

"Good to see you're well Blue." he kindly said.

Blue only nodded, and gently said "Toboe, why are you here?"

Smiling, Toboe calmly said "I'm here to do my hunting. As you know, I'm the one to take down Vash."

A small bit of fear went up her back at those words, but she gathered up her courage and replied "Toboe, please, don't do this. We don't want to fight the Wolf Pack anymore. We only want the masters to return all the souls that were taken. There is no need for you to fight."

Toboe only lightly chuckled and said "Blue, you always were one that was a bit slow. If we don't continue to gather souls, Paradise will never be opened. You know that our masters want Paradise to open, and I will do all that I can to make it so."

"What makes you think Paradise will be all that great?" Vash asked, making his presence known.

Smiling, Toboe replied "It will be. The ancient texts tell us that Paradise shall rise once again once the Great Leviathan has swept away the evil of this world. Only the good people of the world shall go there. No evil will be left, and if it is, the Leviathan will finish it."

Vash only frowned at this and said "So, to open this Paradise, people must suffer? What kind of reasoning is that? You can never force people into that kind of ideal."

"If they want to live in Paradise, they will accept it. Those who don't shall power the Great Leviathan, much like how your friend Marie did, and your brother Bakura." replied Toboe smugly.

Blue knew this would send Vash over the edge, and tried to calm him, putting her hands on his chest, saying "Vash, easy now."

Vash only growled at Toboe and angrily said "So, due that they didn't believe in Paradise, they had to fall? Those two were the most peaceful, good people ever, yet you all took them!"

"They stood in the way, and needed to fall." Toboe only simply replied.

Vash was furious now, and yelled "Just due that they didn't follow the same doctrine as you all don't give you any right to destroy them! How dare you think it does!"

Smirking, Toboe gingerly said "If you don't follow the same thing, then you shall fall as well. I'll give you one chance to convince me that you do follow. If you don't, then I'll duel you and take your soul."

"Vash, please, don't duel him!" Blue said, still holding onto his chest.

"Stay out of this Blue. This is between me and him, not me and you." Toboe said with a bit of sternness in his voice.

She turned back to Toboe, saying "Toboe, we don't need to fight! Please, stop this! Help us save the others and put an end to this."

Toboe only shook his head, saying "No, I won't stop this. I had to stand by and watch my best friend lose his soul to that spirit, and I won't stop till I've avenged him and my other friends."

"But if you stop now, we can save them!" Blue argued back.

"He won't listen to you Blue. His mind is made up, and there is no changing it obviously." Vash said as he pulled his deck out of his deck holder.

Turning back to Vash, she said with sadness on her face "Please, don't do this. I don't want to lose you, or him."

With the saddest look she had ever seen Vash give, he softly said "I'm sorry, but I must do this. We have to continue on to save Bakura and Marie. I don't want to fight him, but I have to."

Tears formed in her eyes as she knew he was right, but embraced him tightly. He returned the embrace and then pulled back, saying "Please, be strong for me. I'll return to you, I promise."

She sadly nodded as she watched Vash walk forward. "Please come back to me." she silently whispered.

Vash and Toboe then took their positions and shuffled their decks. Once done, they inserted them into their Duel Disks. Toboe's black Duel Disk activated and the black blade came out. Vash's meanwhile unfolded and powered up. Both drew five cards and said "Let's duel!"

Toboe drew his sixth card, saying "I'll begin this little duel. First, I'll set one monster in defense mode, and then place a card face down. That ends my turn." (Toboe 8000, Vash 8000)

Vash drew his sixth card and looked at it. Slowly, he thought "I wonder why he didn't play the Seal of Orichalcos on his first turn? Maybe he's holding it for now, or didn't draw it. Either way, I have to hurry before it's played."

Looking over his hand, he smirked and said "I first play the field spell card Pandemonium!" The scenery of the duel quickly changed as a darker looking field with small statues formed. A pit of fire also appeared on the side as well.

"As long as this card is out, we pay no life points for Archfiend monsters. Next, I'll summon my Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1600) in attack mode." A bronzed armored winged creature with a sword for his right hand and a three pronged large bronzed claw for a left hand then appeared.

"Shadowknight, attack that face down monster with Twin Shadow Slash!" The bronzed fiend quickly leapt across the field, letting his wings spread as he leapt, allowing him to glide over. He then swung both his weapon hands at the face down card, instantly shattering the card image. A small brown flying squirrel with blue eyes then appeared out of the broken card image and was instantly destroyed.

Toboe lightly chuckled, saying "Thanks Vash for destroying my Nimble Momonga (1000/100). Since he just went to the Graveyard, I now gain 1000 life points. Also, I get to special summon from my deck up to two more Nimble Momonga (1000/100) in face down defense mode." Toboe then looked through his deck and picked out the two monsters and placed them both on the field, making two new monster card images appear.

Slightly growling at this, Vash replied "I'll place two cards face down and call it a turn." (Toboe 9000, Vash 8000)

With a smile, Toboe drew and said "I'll place another monster in defense mode and end my move." (Toboe 9000, Vash 8000)

Slightly growling at this, Vash drew and said "I'll summon Vilepawn Archfiend (1200/200) in attack mode." A white armored creature with a sword for a hand and a small round shield for another hand then appeared on the field.

"Vilepawn, attack the face down on the far right with Vile Slash!" The white armored creature quickly crossed the field and slashed downwards with it's sword arm at the face down monster. The card image was slashed in half and revealed another flying squirrel, which was easily destroyed.

"Now I gain yet another 1000 life points. Thanks again Vash." Toboe said smugly.

Slightly smirking, Vash replied "We'll see how much you thank me in a few more turns. Shadowknight, attack the left hand monster with Twin Shadow Slash!" The bronzed fiend leapt into the air and easily came slashing down on the monster card image. The card image was easily crushed and revealed yet another flying squirrel.

"I know I just boosted your points by another 1000, but now you're down to one monster. Now I'll end my move." (Toboe 11000, Vash 8000)