Nozomi could perhaps be forgiven for her spit take when Jamil dropped the bombshell that she was the next head of Industrial Illusions, the company that made Duel Monsters.
"What?"
"You didn't know?" said Jamil, surprised.
"Of course I didn't know! No one's said anything!" said Nozomi frazzled.
Kalim looked at her, before a thought occurred.
"Maybe the reason you didn't know is because the paperwork was misfiled?"
Nozomi paused, her heart calming down considerably.
"...That might be possible. My friends were calling me 'Yugi' through the entire tournament because it's a nickname my grandfather gave me," said Nozomi, thinking about it. "For that matter, even after the Battle City tournament people were calling me 'Yugi', not Nozomi."
With that in mind, Nozomi went to visit Idia. He was her best bet for contacting Pegasus and find out if Jamil was telling the truth.
Idia was so intrigued at being talking to someone who had created such a fun and unique game that he didn't mind helping. The real headache was working out the time difference.
"Yugi-boy! I'm surprised you reached out," said Pegasus.
"It's Nozomi, not Yugi. And the only reason I'm reaching out is because someone alerted me to the fact that you apparently made me your heir or some such nonsense," said Nozomi flatly.
Pegasus' smirk didn't diminish.
"Well that would explain why the paperwork had trouble reaching you," he commented. "And I made you the heir because you genuinely love the game, whereas Kaiba-boy has his head stuck up his ass to the point it's more of a sad joke."
Nozomi had an oddly commiserating look.
"Believe me, I know. I know for a fact my brother tracked down all the best videos of me giving that damn stalker a reality check laced with a rather nasty gut punch."
"That was hilarious," said Idia, as he had immediately looked up copies the second she told him about it. Vil had no issue sharing.
"By the way...how did you manage to bypass all my security to call me directly?" asked Pegasus, curious.
"Idia-sempai helped," said Nozomi, panning the camera out to Idia. "He's a genius at programming."
If she really was the next head of Industrial Illusions, she was absolutely hiring Idia as the head of R and D, with Azul as head of marketing.
Nozomi worked over a few things with Pegasus, who would have the paperwork to turn over the duties as the next head of the company now that he had her actual name, rather than a nickname.
A week later...
Vil looked at the corporate paperwork, and then at his sister.
"Do I want to know?"
"Pegasus didn't want his company to fold into Kaiba Corp, so he named me as the next head after the Battle City tournament when I took possession of the God Cards. However since everyone has been calling me by a nickname, the lawyers were having trouble delivering the paperwork."
Vil looked at the top sheet of paperwork. It was written in a large amount of legal jargon that gave him headaches just looking at it.
"Please tell me you're not planning to read this solo," he said.
"Of course not," said Nozomi. Vil breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm asking Azul-sempai for help and offering him a position in the company to get through half this nonsense. I might bring Riddle-sempai as well, since between them, they're more likely to find out any surprises that I might miss."
Well at least she had a solid plan of attack.
"Just remember that the Spelldrive tournament is coming up," said Vil.
"Thanks for reminding me," said Nozomi, making a face. She had zero interest in that, and Grim had already agreed to cheer on the Pomefiore team with Epel. He was allowed to attend practice the their team, but he wasn't allowed on the team because his aim was still shoddy.
Azul had an unreadable expression on his face, as did Riddle.
"You want us to help you go through this?" he said.
"You two are the most detail oriented people I know. I know you specialize in contracts, so if anyone can spot a loophole or surprise, it's you," said Nozomi. "Riddle-sempai is rather good at making sense of nonsensical laws and insuring the rules are followed."
Riddle blushed at the compliment, though he was beyond pleased at the praise. Azul wasn't much better, though he hid the blush well. It was nice to be appreciated.
"What's in it for us?" asked Azul.
"If I really am the next head of the company, I'm going to want a board of directors I can trust. The last one agreed to follow through on Pegasus' insane plan to kidnap the younger brother of a rival company...I would rather not have anyone who thinks such an act is a smart move working with me."
"They seriously did that?" asked Riddle, appalled.
"Pegasus had his thugs kidnap Mokuba and used it as leverage against Kaiba during the Duelist Kingdom tournament. It was kept under wraps, but it's part of the reason Kaiba hates the man and is actively trying to buy out his company," said Nozomi shaking her head.
"You plan to offer us a position in the company to use as we see fit," said Azul, guessing her aim.
"You'd be perfect as head of marketing, and you could use the company to promote the Lounge on the side," said Nozomi. "Riddle-sempai would be an excellent head of the legal department, and I'd love to have Idia-sempai as the head of R and D."
Rather than dismiss the idea, both males looked intrigued at the idea. Industrial Illusions had swept the game market when Duel Monsters first came out, and it was keeping Kaiba Corp from buying it out...for now. If they could out-do the duel disks Kaiba had made, they could keep the dragon-obsessed teen from buying it out entirely.
Something Idia could do in his sleep, if she could get him on board.
"Would you be willing to sign a contract to that effect?" said Azul.
"Only if you both agree to the idea," said Nozomi.
Riddle considered his options.
"...Would you have any objections to me continuing to follow the Queen of Heart's rules or making my department follow them?"
"If they can't handle the insanity that is Wonderland rules, they'll never survive the weirdness that follows me because of the Puzzle," said Nozomi flatly. "So long as you don't expect them to follow them off the clock."
"Fair enough," said Riddle.
She looked to Azul.
"I'd be a fool to turn down such a lucrative offer," said Azul. "Especially if you manage to get Idia and Ortho on board."
Considering that Idia could work remotely while helping develop new ideas, she would bet he'd love to join in.
Several hours later...
Nozomi looked drained. Azul and Riddle had gone over the paperwork with a fine-toothed comb and were more than happy to explain this clause and that, down to minute detail. She was dead serious about bringing them on board, because she at least had a good read on their personality.
Vil handed her an herbal tea.
"That bad?"
"I knew they would be...intense, but at least both of them agreed to helping me in exchange for a position on the board," said Nozomi tiredly. "Thankfully we made it through halfway into the paperwork before the tournament."
All three had agreed to take a breather, and finish this up after the inter-house tournament. Nozomi fully planned to join Idia in an online game, rather than get involved as she wasn't a huge fan of sports.
Nozomi saw a familiar head of hair and golden pendant.
"Ryou? What are you doing on Sage's Island?" said Nozomi.
"Nozomi?" said Ryou in surprise. "Wait, you attend Night Raven?"
"I'm in Pomefiore," said Nozomi cheerfully. She eyed the outfit he was wearing and grinned. "You must be a new student at the Royal Sword Academy. Finally, a decent challenge!"
Ryou smiled back at her.
"I woke up and found myself enrolled...apparently he (the spirit of the Ring) looked up magical colleges after you mentioned them briefly and applied to both. While I didn't make it into Night Raven, the RSA accepted my application," said Ryou.
"This is great! I can't wait to introduce you to nii-san! I was wondering why you weren't there when I made that call to home."
"Nii-san? You have a brother?" said Ryou, shocked.
Nozomi was already texting her cousin, and got a confirmation. She cheerfully began to drag Ryou with her to meet her older sibling.
Ryou, mostly due to the influence of the spirit, pickpocketed random people on the way there because he could and because he knew Nozomi would vouch for his innocence.
He was rather baffled as to why he had a rather odd potion in his pockets by the time they reached Vil.
Vil looked the innocent seeming albino, and then at his sister.
"Is this the same person possessed by a similar spirit who's highly antagonistic to Yami?" he asked.
"Yup," she said cheerfully.
"I have no issue with you visiting my sister, but try to keep the pickpocketing to a minimum in my dorm," said Vil.
Ryou looked at him.
"What about the other dorms?" he asked.
"Not my problem," deadpanned Vil. "Keep it that way and I'll say nothing about your spirit's...habits."
Ryou found the entire thing highly amusing, even if Vil had an odd expression on his face when he examined the vial he had pilfered from someone else on the way there.
"This is a magic enhancing potion...it's also very difficult to brew and has nasty consequences if used too often."
Nozomi considered something, and pulled out her phone to make a call.
Her expression was unreadable.
"Nii-san, I think we might want to have a word with Leona," said Nozomi.
"Why?"
"According to Azul, he sold a potion like that to Leona two days ago. I might not have much interaction with him, but he doesn't seem the type to cheat during a spelldrive game," said Nozomi.
"Why do I sense this is going to become a massive headache," said Vil with a sigh. He didn't particularly like Leona, but Jack respected him a great deal and he would be devastated if this wasn't resolved.
In Savanaclaw...
Ruggie glared at Ryou. He knew immediately this was the jerk who filched the potion.
It irked him that a superior pickpocket had taken the potion before he could use it. They were on a time crunch after all.
Leona sneered at Vil, not considering him a serious threat. His sister was even less of one considering her size and lack of muscle tone.
"You really think I'm going to back down from you?" sneered Leona.
"Is this because you keep being outclassed by Malleus in Spelldrive?" said Vil, shaking his head. "Maybe if you actually attended practice more you'd have a chance. The Headmade did say he was planning to make it so Malleus couldn't participate this year."
"Say what now?" said Nozomi. This was the first she heard about that.
"Crowley said he wanted to put Malleus into the school's hall of fame before the tournament, but the other housewardens voted it down for ridiculous reasons. If they hadn't, Malleus would have been blocked from participating because it would have stacked the deck too much for Diasomnia," explained Vil.
"Wait, what?" said Ruggie in shock. This was the first he heard about that. "You mean to tell me we could have avoided all this if they had allowed put him into the record books?"
Leona growled.
Vil gave Leona a flat look.
"You put your own ego and pride above the potential careers of your housemates. You're as bad as her stalker is when it comes to proving yourself."
"Nii-san, don't be insulting. Leona has far more class and charisma compared to Kaiba," Nozomi scolded her brother.
Leona's rage was only rising. Unnoticed by him, his pen began to darken on it's own.
He was beginning to Overblot.
Vil's expression grew alarmed, as did everyone else.
Nozomi, however, had an exasperated look on her face.
"Not this again."
As the monster grew from Leona's shadow, everyone else prepared for battle.
"Yami, do you mind handling this?" she quietly asked.
There was a flare from the Puzzle as her darker half took over.
"Nozomi?" said Vil, concerned.
"...I had no idea that mages allowed their shadows to overtake them," commented a voice. Vil turned to see Ryou. Or the darker half of Ryou.
"Shadows?" said Vil.
"Just watch and learn, mage," sneered Bakura.
Vil turned in time to see a stylized eye appear on Nozomi...no this was Yami right now.
Leona's roar was loud and defiant, but Yami's power over the shadows was absolute.
Thick black chains appeared from beneath the shadow monster, gripping it tightly. The ink-pot creature screamed in rage.
Something was ripped from Leona, as the connection between him and the...creature...was forcibly cut off.
Vil watched in disbelief, as the chains dragged the ink-creature down into a shadowy vortex, leaving Leona behind.
A piece of paper seemed to shoot out of the vortex at the last second, floating down until it landed neatly in Yami's hand.
"That's the second Shadow beast I've had to subdue because someone let their magic run amok," said Yami frowning. "I do hope this isn't going to be a pattern."
Vil looked at the card, which presumably contained the ink creature.
On the card was a fierce, pissed off lion creature that bore striking resemblance to not just Leona, but the King of Beasts himself. There were smaller creatures in the background of a desert wasteland, with it roaring into the distance off a rather impressive rock formation.
He couldn't quite make out the name of it though.
"You and I are going to have another talk later," said Vil.