"Yugi! Wake up! We're going to be late!" Akia pulled and pushed her brother who was lying on the bed.

"...Hm? Akia...?" Yugi mumbled in confusion. He then rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Since when do you want to get to school early?"

"School? I wanted to go get the new duel disks now!" Akia exclaimed.

Yugi sighed. He figured as much. "Now? They're probably not even open yet. We're only going to be able to go get them after school."

Akia's face then became devoid of emotion as she processed what her brother just told her. She then turned around. "I'm going to sleep."

"Don't!" Her brother jumped out of his bed and tackled her on the floor.

On their way to school, Akia didn't stop pouting, annoyed that her brother forced her to get ready earlier than she was used to.

"Stop pouting. It's better that you don't have to rush in the morning," Yugi told his sister.

"No... It takes away from my precious sleeping time," Akia whined.

"Sleep earlier, then."

"I can't!"

"Stop watching those dramas; it's got you hooked."

"You just don't know how good they are..."

Anzu was walking with them, listening to them and giggling.

Jounouchi ran up to his friends just like every morning, interrupting their bickering. "Good morning!" He put an arm around Yugi's shoulders.

"Good morning, Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi greeted his friend.

Jounouchi then noticed Akia pouting. "What's up with you? Slept on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Hmph!" Akia turned her head away from Jounouchi.

"Did I say something?" The blond teen asked her brother.

"No, it's not you..." Yugi then explained the situation to Jounouchi.

The latter then blinked a few times. "Wait... There's a new Duel Monsters Tournament?! How come no one told me earlier?!"

"You didn't know?" Yugi asked.

Akia smiled smugly at Jounouchi, "have you been living under a rock or something?"

"Yeah, even I know about that," Anzu joined in on the fun of teasing their hyperactive friend.

"Come on! How was I supposed to know?! I bet Honda doesn't know," the targeted boy exclaimed.

"We'll see about that." Jounouchi paid no attention to Akia's comment, not wanting to think about it.

The group arrived at school laughing together. When they got to class, Honda revealed that he also knew about the Battle City Tournament, since it was all over the news.

"See? Even Honda knew," Akia poked fun at her friend.

"Shut up..." The blond teen mumbled.

After teasing Jounouchi some more, Akia went up to Bakura who was already in the class. "Ryou!"

When Bakura saw her, he smiled widely, "Akia-chan!"

Both of them talked a bit until the teacher came in and the class started. During the break, Akia, Yugi, Anzu, Honda, Jounouchi, and Bakura all headed up to the roof to talk about the tournament.

"So? You guys are planning to participate?" Jounouchi asked the twins.

"Yup, that's right. There's just this Ante rule that we need to be careful about," Yugi replied.

"Ante rule?" The blonde inquired.

"Card trading. The winner can take a rare card from the loser," Yugi answered.

"What?! Rare card?!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

"You look way too excited for something like that," Akia interjected.

"Look who's talking..." Her brother commented.

"Aren't you? Imagine all the rare cards you can get!" Jounouchi expressed his enthusiasm.

Akia smirked. "It's not that I can get them, it's that I will get them."

"You're always so confident," Bakura complimented her.

"I'm guessing the ones joining will be me, Yugi, and Akia," Jounouchi said.

They all nodded. Akia then looked at Bakura. "You don't want to try and join?"

Bakura then scratched the back of his head. "I'm not really that good with all the competitiveness..."

Honda nudged Jounouchi. "You're planning on joining? Doesn't that conflict with your sister's operation?"

Jounouchi put his hands up in front of him in an act to protect himself. "Relax! I'll register and then go be there for her during the operation. I'm sure I'll make it on time."

"You better. You know how important this is for her," Honda urged his friend.

After school, Akia took Yugi's hand and bolted out of the classroom. Jounouchi, Honda, and Anzu did their best to keep up.

"Akia! Where are you going?!" Yugi called out to his sister.

"We need to get the Duel Disks! Right now!" Akia responded without slowing down.

"Shouldn't we wait for the other?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll catch up."

Akia and Yugi reached one of the shop that were in charge of handing out Duel Disks and registering Duelists for the Battle City Tournament. Jounouchi and the others were able to catch up with the twins not too long after Akia greeted the shopkeeper. Bakura, however, had opted to head home instead.

"Welcome, welcome. I assume you're all here for the Duel Disks, right?" The shopkeeper greeted and smiled at all of them, while talking in a very friendly manner.

"Yes! And to register for the Battle City Tournament, too." Akia replied eagerly.

"Wonderful. Did you know that, depending on your level as a Duelist, you could get the Duel Disk for free?" The store owner informed them.

"Our level?" Yugi inquired.

The shopkeeper adjusted his round glasses. "That's right. You're ranked according to your past achievements and recorded duels. Now, who wants to register first?"

"Me! Me!" Akia almost jumped over the counter out of excitement.

"May I ask for your name?" The man questioned the young lady.

"Mutou Akia."

The shopkeeper typed in her name into the computer in front of him. "Oh! You are very strong!"

"Really? Can I see?" Akia requested.

The shopkeeper then rotated the computer screen towards the group to show them Akia's profile. On the screen, Akia's level is displayed as Level 8. Her picture is there with also a picture of Golden Homunculus listed as her rarest card.

"Woah! It's you! Where did they get all that info?" Jounouchi exclaimed.

The shopkeeper turned the screen back to him. "Kaiba Corporation has been gathering information about Duelists and their recorded achievements and duels. They then rank them from levels 1 to 10. Those whose level is five or more get a free Duel Disk." The store owner then got a brand new box containing a Duel Disk and handed it to Akia, "therefore, this is for you."

Akia's eyes started sparkling in excitement. "Mine!" She took the box and hugged it tightly. "Yes! All mine!"

Yugi's eye twitched at his sister's behaviour. "Stop acting weird in public..."

Akia didn't seem to pay any attention to Yugi, too engrossed in her excitement.

"Alright, who's next?" The man asked the group.

Yugi stepped up and gave his name as well.

"Are you her brother, perhaps?" The shopkeeper inquired.

"That's right. We're twins," Yugi replied.

"I see talent runs in the family. You're also a Level 8. Your rare card is listed as the Black Magician," the man informed him.

With that, Yugi was also given a free Duel Disk.

"What about me? What about me?" Jounouchi interjected.

"What's your name, lad?" The store owner asked.

"Jounouchi Katsuya!" The blond teen answered.

The shopkeeper typed in Jounouchi's name and cocked his head. "Ah? Level 2, Nobody? What's this "nobody"?"

Jounouchi was then taken by a fit of rage. "WHAT?! NOBODY?! THAT KAIBA BASTARD!"

Honda then went behind him and restrained him. "Calm down."

"How am I supposed to calm down?!" Jounouchi yelled out.

Anzu gave him a pitying smile. "Level 2 isn't qualified to participate."

"Why doesn't the runner up in Duelist Kingdom qualify?!" The targeted boy shouted in indignation.

"It does seem pretty biased on Kaiba's part," Akia confirmed

While they were all busy calming Jounouchi down, the shopkeeper noticed that Jounouchi's rare card was the Red Eyes Black Dragon. Seeing how rare the card was, the shopkeeper frowned. He then went and changed Jounouchi's level to level 5 instead of 2. He then called out to the group to get their attention. "The system seems to have malfunctioned. If you take a look carefully, you're actually a level 5! You meet the standards!"

Hearing that, Jounouchi went to check the computer screen. "Really?!"

"What the...?" Honda exclaimed.

"Then I guess I have no choice but to take the Duel Disk, then." Jounouchi smiled smugly. The shopkeeper then handed him a box, which he immediately snatched while thanking the shopkeeper. He then proceeded to laugh triumphantly. "This is great!"

"That's a relief, Jounouchi-kun," Yugi told his friend.

They all then left the store. As soon as they left, the shopkeeper smirked and picked up his phone. "Ah. It's me. I found a new prey."