"Dry land in sight!" Akia yelled out, really excited about getting off the boat. She didn't exactly like large bodies of water, considering the fact that she couldn't swim.
Honda looked a little worried, and he started whispering his worries to his two friends, "Anzu, Akia, what if they figure out that we don't have Star Chips? Don't we stand out?"
"It's alright," Anzu reassured him, "they won't check again, but they'll suspect you if you're uptight."
"I might not have any Star Chips now, but I'll get them soon," Akia stated with confidence.
She smirked from the excitement that was filling her as they got closer to the island.
When the ship docked, they all started disembarking from the boat. One of the security people called out to Honda, "hey!"
Honda, surprised and panicked, looked back at him.
"You should relax a bit," the man told him.
"Y... Yes! Thank you!" Honda stuttered and hurried to join the others. Having safely gotten away from the security guards, he panted loudly, "I thought my heart was going to stop!"
"Geez, you were frightened like a little kid," Anzu teased him which made Akia giggle at the comment.
"Alright! At least we all got here safe-" Before Jounouchi could finish his sentence, he sneezed and Akia barely dodged it.
"Jounouchi!" She told her friend off.
"Akia, it's all my fault... Sorry, Jounouchi-kun," Yugi apologized.
"Don't worry about it, Yugi. But I can't forgive that bastard who tossed your precious cards away," Jounouchi replied then turned his gaze towards Insector Haga.
"Yugi, can I take him on?" Akia asked.
"I think I should be the one to do that," Yugi explained to his sister, "I mean, it's my cards that he took."
"Fine..." she resigned.
"All Duelists..." everyone's attention turned towards the source of the powerful voice calling for their attention. A tall man with pointy hair and sunglasses, one of those who were in charge of security on the ship, stood in front of a long staircase leading to a majestic palace, "...gather around the castle gates."
"Wait... we have to go all the way up there? I thought this was a Duel Monsters Tournament, not a workout session!" Akia complained.
"Stop being lazy, Akia..." Yugi called her out.
"Yeah, this is Pegasus' castle, after all, so let's go!" Jounouchi exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Damn it... Guess I have no choice..." The red-eyed girl surrendered.
They all started going up the huge set of staircases. On their way up, something caught Anzu's attention.
"Hmm?" Anzu interjected.
"What's wrong, Anzu?" Honda asked.
"Wasn't that Bakura-kun over there?" The brown-haired girl pointed in a far off direction.
"Bakura-kun?" Yugi inquired.
"Ryou?" Akia thought to herself as she averted her gaze to where Anzu was pointing. All the others did the same, but there was no sign of Bakura anywhere.
"Huh? He's gone? I guess I was just imagining it," Anzu replied, starting to doubt what she saw.
"No you weren't... That was probably Ryou. I would tell them about it, but he didn't seem like he wanted them to know he's here. Besides, I owe him for getting me this far," Akia reasoned internally.
"Let's go," Honda ushered them.
They all started going up again, but Akia's gaze still lingered on where Anzu pointed. That was when Bakura reappeared again. They looked at each other and he put a finger on his mouth, telling her to keep it a secret that he was really there. Akia nodded, confused as to why he would want to keep it a secret.
"Akia! Don't fall behind!" Yugi called out to his sister.
Akia redirected her attention to Yugi, and followed the group up the stairs.
"But why... Why would he want to keep it a secret from them that he's here? Should I really just keep it to myself and not tell everyone? Well, it's none of my business I guess..." The black-haired girl decided to just let it go.
After they all arrived in front of the gate, Akia let out a giant sigh, "man, we made it alive!"
"That was a lot of stairs..." Anzu agreed.
Akia started looking around for any potential duelists that she could go after. She found two guys talking worriedly about the other duelists, "hey, look! Those are some amazing members...!"
"That's Japan's Champ, Insector Haga. and Number Two, Dinosaur Ryuuzaki!" One of them exclaimed.
"And there's Ryota Kajiki, who came in third place!" The other added.
"Well, that means I should stay clear of those three... At least for now," Akia concluded internally.
"Everyone, the host, Pegasus-sama, will now explain the Dueling rules of this tournament," the same security man as before announced.
Everyone looked up at the balcony, awaiting Pegasus to make an appearance.
"There he is..." Akia uttered under her breath while clenching her fists. Jounouchi put a hand on her shoulder, to calm her down.
"Welcome! Welcome to the Duelist Kingdom!" Pegasus greeted in a loud voice.
The crowd cheered.
"Now," the tournament organizer started explaining, "allow me to explain the rules to you. Please use your Duel Monsters cards freely during this tournament. You will hold 2000 Life Points. Players are strictly forbidden from attacking the opponent directly. Only one monster can attack per turn, and, if a monster is destroyed by an effect, then the controller loses Life Points equal to that monster's attack. Please use the strongest Card Deck you've brought with you while Dueling in this competition. Every Duelist received a Duel Glove in advance..."
Pegasus held a Duel Glove in his right hand, to show what he was talking about.
"I need one of those... And so does Jounouchi," Akia thought.
"...and two Star Chips," Pegasus held up two Star Chips in his left hand. Yugi put on his Duel Glove.
"On the Glove's ring, there are ten holes in which you can keep your Star Chips. Please keep your Star Chips inside them," the man continued with his explanation.
Yugi had given Jounouchi one of his two Star Chips, therefore, he was only left with one on his Glove.
"Those Star Chips are proof of your status as a Duelist. Every Duelist will bet on these Star Chips while Dueling," Pegasus described the rules.
"This will make things really difficult for me... I don't think anyone would want to duel against someone who has no Star Chips. I'll have to think of something…" Akia concluded.
"This whole island is a battlefield for Dueling. The ones to survive this Battle Royal and obtain ten Star Chips will be permitted to pass through this door. You just have a 48 hour time limit to duel, and you start in one hour. When this time ends, anyone with less than ten Star Chips loses. Then, these people who lost will have to leave the island. Now then, my cherished Duelists, I wish you all the best of luck!" The silver-haired man finished saying and officially started the tournament. Pegasus then turned around and disappeared in the castle.
"This sucks... How am I supposed to find anyone who's dumb enough to duel me when I don't have any Star Chips?" Akia whined.
"You don't have to duel, I can duel for both of us," Yugi suggested.
"And what's the fun in that? I'm going for the finals, trust me," Akia determined.
Akia looked around, trying to find some easy prey. The others started following her, since there wasn't really anything better to do.
They got to a clearing where a bunch of people were gathered around.
"I wonder what all this commotion is about…" Akia pondered.
"Maybe it's not a good idea to get involved," Yugi told his sister.
"Too late!" She replied, going off on her own.
Akia arrived at the scene where everyone was gathered. Jounouchi followed her closely.
"What the…" The red-eyed girl wondered.
In front of them, a tall guy, with a huge build, a shaved head, and a thick moustache was beating the living crap out of a much younger looking Duelist. What was even more upsetting was that no one was interfering!
"Hey! Big guy!" Akia called out.
"Akia, you idiot!" Jounouchi reprimanded her.
Jounouchi tried to hold Akia back, but she was already standing in between the aggressor and the victim, facing the aggressor.
"Hm? Little ladies like you shouldn't interfere with men's business. Get lost before you regret messing with Kungo the Great," the big man threatened Akia.
"Not until you give me a good reason why you're beating up that poor kid!" She retorted, unafraid.
Jounouchi came and stood next to Akia and started whispering to her,"...Akia I don't think it's a smart thing to do to get involved with him..."
"Well, it's not really your place to know now, is it," Kungo replied to Akia's previous statement.
"How about we make a deal?" The red-eyed girl suggested.
Kungo raised his eyebrows, and Akia knew that she now had his attention.
"It depends on the kind of deal you want to make," the man responded, mildly interested.
"What I want is very simple. I want your Star Chips, and your Duel Glove," she replied.
"What makes you think I will give them over to you?" Kungo said, confused at where she was getting at.
"Well, of course I won't take them just like that. I'll challenge you to a Duel, and, if I win, I'll get the Duel Glove and the Star Chips," Akia explained.
"What's in it for me?" The man asked while crossing his arms.
"If you win, I'll take that boy's place. You can do whatever you want with me," Akia said with a nonchalant attitude.
Kungo's lips curled in a sadistic smile.
"You don't know what you just got yourself into, girlie," he chuckled.
"He fell for it! Now I just need to make sure I win this," Akia thought to herself.
"You're insane! What if you lose?" Jounouchi reprimanded her.
Akia turned to look at her friend. She smirked.
"Don't underestimate me," she cheerfully informed him.
By that time, Yugi, Anzu, and Honda had joined them too.
"Wait, Akia, you're going to duel that guy?" Anzu inquired.
"That's not all... She made a pretty crazy deal with him. If she loses…" Jounouchi started saying.
"She won't lose," Yugi interrupted his friend.
"How come you're so laid back about this, Yugi? She's your sister!" The blond reproached his friend.
"That's exactly why I'm so laid back about it," Yugi explained, "I know what she's capable of."
Akia and Kungo got into place, and a huge Duel arena started rising from the ground.
"Cool..." Akia let out, excited to duel with holograms.
Akia got on the platform, and so did Kungo.
"Alright, now I have to make sure he's going to keep his word," Akia thought as she took out her Millennium Scale.
"So we have a deal?" She asked her opponent.
"Of course. Now prepare to lose!" Kungo shouted out.
"Since the millennium scale is now involved in this, whoever doesn't keep his part of the deal will have their soul eaten by Amit the demon, according to what I read about it, or maybe just get into a permanent coma... Let's hope it's not too bad," Akia tried to reassure herself.
"Ready, girlie?" Kungo said in a mocking tone.
"Duel!" Both yelled out as the duel started.