You know that song "It's a small world, after all?" (That's a rhetorical question, before you ask. And now I have that song stuck in my head, thank you very much.)

Sometimes, you find yourself connected to people in ways you never thought possible. Everything is connected, one way or another.

"There is no such thing as coincidence; there is only fate." That was a phrase I once read in a manga.

And in a way, I find myself wondering if I was connected to myself, in how I presented myself to the world, whether I wore a mask when I interacted with others or when I was just...myself.

This idea is even more important considering how we can talk to people we barely know as long as we stare at a screen in front of is. Through these connections, we find ourselves less lonely and perhaps find a shoulder to cry on. In that world we are whoever we wish to be, even though we return to being ourselves when the conversation is done.

There's a line of an Audioslave song that goes, "To be yourself is all that you can do." and I agree with that statement.

I just wished that myself was more aware of what was to come.

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4th Shot

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This is Acting

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Three days pass without any big incidents.

The news still plays up on the "suicide club" (as it has been decreed) that jumped off the train with investigations going on regarding who jumped and how they are connected. There are rumors that one of the victims involved is the daughter of Senator Hideo Izayoi, but they are only rumors (it turns out she was never there at all).

Jun is doing all right and would be returning to school in a few days. The boy talked to him on the phone once, but it only lasted three minutes before Jun was called away for more "tests'. At the very least, Jun sounded okay.

Domino Below is having its own problems with some strange organization named Cipher, but whenever the boy breaches this subject to Bel, Bel would change the subject without hesitation. Whether or not Bel actually knows what is going on, that the boy can't tell.

And anyway it doesn't involve the boy for the time being.

Carly doesn't come to babysit the boy during those 72 hours, stating that her work in "Chasing Shadows" would keep her busy. That and she probably is avoiding the boy else he starts questioning her about the Dark Signers.

The boy's interactions with Bel are…"normal". Bel walks with him to school, they share lunch together, and they spend two or three hours texting one each other at home. During those times, Bel doesn't say much in what is going on with the other Dark Signers, and Primo is busy with some kind of timey-wimey business so the boy can't get a call of him right now.

The atmosphere at school is still tense, and many of the secondary students who seem to be "out of it" are taken to counseling to help them out before they decide to follow the "trend" by jumping off the school roof. With news about Jun's sole survivor status spreading like a plague throughout the campus, the boy has been on edge with many students discussing what Jun did to try to kill himself even though they are oblivious to the truth of Jun's "status" as undead.

As for "Chasing Shadows"? There's been no information about leads to the suicide club and the boy has been too busy trying to avoid the website to actually pay attention to what's been going on in Domino Below. Even going to the website of the Goodwin Foundation has proven to be a bust (because of course they aren't going to advertise it out in the open that they're secretly a front for a suicide club).

Still, the end of the week signals a slight reprieve from the pity he receives from everyone. Perhaps the boy will spend more time with his mother or just walk amongst the city and take some photographs to get his mind off of everything. The boy needs something to get his mind off of this crazy week he has been having.

But before the boy can race back home that Friday, it is time for after-school club activities. The boy is part of the Photography Club and they need someone to photograph the Drama Club to help promote the school's production of The Halloween Tree for the DCIS Halloween Night of Hullabaloo in three weeks.

And, by complete coincidence, the boy is chosen to take these photos.


At school, Shooti walks down the hall until he finds the drama classroom, taking a quick look on the notice board next to it, where there is a list of people playing which roles for The Halloween Tree pinned with with a tack. Unlike the book (where there are eight boys venturing into the past), the play follows the format of the animated film (having four kids this time around), except with three girls as part of the main cast.

So far, the cast reveals the supernatural reporter-in-training Hikari as Jenny (the witch), nightmare fan Serena as Tawnya Skellington (the...skeleton), fun-loving dancer Tierno as Wally (the gargoyle), fortune-telling Haruka as Rachel (the mummy), an energetic newcomer named Kotetsu as Joe Pipkin, and a senior student named Virgil as Mr. Moundshroud. The position for narrator is still blank, however.

Shooti does note the strangeness of Haruka and Serena playing roles which originally were boys, but easily dismisses it. After all, this is the same school that once performed both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with genders flipped, so nothing new there.

Shooti takes a look at the poster advertising the play (depicting a large tree with glowing jack-o'-lanterns under a full moon that was created by Kenji, one of the members of the school's art club) and takes a photo of it. Then, he quietly opens the door and steps inside, watching as many of the students, and the Drama teacher, Senri, are sitting down as they listen to someone recite a monologue.

Said person is Bel.

Shooti approaches Senri, handing the teacher a permission slip. Senri nods once and pulls up a chair for Shooti, who begins to take photographs of Bel standing on stage, her eyes focused on the audience, and pretending to not take notice of the new arrival (although Bel feels her spirits lift upon seeing Shooti and his camera).

"...and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman." Bel recites, hand placed over her heart. "I believe that mankind's destiny is in the stars. I believe that candy did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bee to fly, that light is both a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself. I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went to hang out with his girlfriends and doesn't even know I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of casual chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck. I believe in…"

"Stop right there," Senri interrupts. Bel blinks as Senri continues. "I felt like your presentation could have been better if you didn't stress 'I believe' at the beginning of some parts then start rushing off to finish the sentence. Your expressions also needs a bit of work; you want to state what type of profound ideas that you believe in, not rattle on like a robot executing commands.

"But aside from that, everything else was flawless. I believe we have our new narrator, don't you agree?"

The rest of the class nod their heads as Bel smiles widely. Shooti smiles back as Bel practically skips to her seat, five seats away from Shooti, beaming with excitement.

And, when Bel winks at him, it is the go-to for Shooti to take his picture.


That smile, that moment of pure joy, those green eyes that shine with happiness...these are the types of expressions that the boy wishes to share with Bel more often.

But he knows that that can only happen if he decides to join the Dark Signers, where they have eternity to be forever.

The boy still thinks about Kaibaman, Carly and Kurotsugu and how they have all warned the boy to run away while he has a chance. Despite all of these warnings that these Dark Signers will lead him to his doom, the boy cannot do as they say.

His brother is out there, his best friend is involved, he has seen what has happened to half of Team Satisfaction, and the girl who has slowly captured his heart is asking for his help.

The boy says nothing else for the last fifteen minutes of class, as Hikari proceeds to narrate from a Catherynne Valente story, "Bones like Black Sugar", where an older Gretel has developed Stockholm Syndrome over the witch who wished to eat her and her brother.

In a way, it is a terrifying tale, as it reminds the boy that Kiryu and Yusei are now puppets to the Dark King and how they are no longer terrified of their undead state, but now yearn for the Dark King to devour them mind, body and soul.


"I know each time I breathe the air of that furnace that I will always taste of this house, I will taste of witch and grief, I will taste of the laughing fire even as I taste of wife and sister," Hikari recites, her voice sounding guilty yet simultaneously filled with desire for something absolutely wrong. Her hands are clasped in prayer as if she's confessing her sins to a priest. "The smell of flesh cooking will cling to my nose, the cloy of gold teeth melting will stick in my sleeves.

"I will never recover from this, I will never be well, I will never grow up."

And the emphasis on that last "never" makes Bel flinch slightly.

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After drama class ends, the boy returns to the Photography Club and uploads the photos onto the school's hard drive before racing to meet Bel at the front of the school. Bel is looking at the sky when he approaches her.

"Hey," says Shooti, noticing Bel turn to him. "Something on your mind?"

"...I wish that I could be part of the production," Bel sighs. "But the main parts have already been taken."

"Well, you're technically a main character as the narrator," says Shooti, hiding a blush forming on his cheeks. "After all, you have a really nice voice."

Bel blinks. "You think so?"

Shooti nods his head. "I love the way you talk and how you drag people into the worlds you describe. This narrator role is perfect for you! I mean, Ray Bradbury's prose just drag you in, right? I remember reading 'I Sing the Body Electric!' months ago and felt so many emotions pouring through me when I finished the story. I even watched the episode of The Twilight Zone with the same name - even though the episode was conceived first, then the story - and…" He smiles. "It was very beautiful."

"Kamitsure once read that story to Molly. Molly ended up crying for quite some time after it ended. Did that happen to you, Shooti?"

Shooti just nods his head and looks away as if embarrassed. Bel just smiles and slowly slips a hand into his.

"It's okay if it made you feel like that," she says. As the two begin to walk, she looks off into the distance. "Stories have a power to make you feel, and to feel is one of the most important aspects of living. That you are here and alive, and that makes everything better, doesn't it?"

Shooti stays silent as Bel stops talking. Then, he asks, "Do you...regret dying?"

Bel shakes her head. "I only regret not being able to live before Ascilla piscu resurrected me. My wish was to see and do more, not just be cooped in my house with all the toys I wanted but with no experience at all. I don't have any idea how this will all end up, but I want to be able to spend as much as I can...with you."

At this, Shooti blushes. The two continue to walk, all while a crow watches them on a street lamp before flying off.

"So Bel," Shooti adds. "Can you tell me something?"

Bel giggles. "I've told you so much about myself within the span of these four or five days. What else do you want to know?"

"Um, Bel, this is gonna sound kind of awkward. But...were there other boys before me?"

At this, Bel freezes and squeezes Shooti's hand in a powerful grip. Shooti winces as Bel wipes a tear down her eye.

"There was one, back at my original home," she answers. "His name was Cheren, and he was quite the opposite of me. Studious, serious, had a goal in life, was going to rise up and become some great CEO one day and all of that. Despite this, he was my only friend at school even though we were absolutely nothing alike. In fact, many girls teased me that I was only going out with Cheren so that I could get my grades up (which is a downright lie, I'm actually a very capable student).

"And…" Bel swallows. "It's all thanks to him that I ended up here."

"What do you mean?"

Bel sighs as she looks off into the distance. "On the night that I snuck out for the performance art show, Cheren had found a flyer advertising it in my locker. He then went to my house right when my father was in a blind panic for me. Cheren put two and two together and…"

Shooti stays quiet. "Oh. I see."

"Whenever I look at you, I think of him. I think of what he's doing right now and whether or not I should go back to see him. The last time I saw him, it was after I erased his memories of me."

"You what?!"

"I had no choice!" Bel exclaims, gritting her teeth. "It was better that way! Better that Cheren got to live the life where he was successful and had no problems with some no-good, ditzy girl who had her head in the clouds all the time. I was so useless, so helpless at that time. There's no way Cheren and I were going to have a happy life anyway. There were better girls out there for him."

"But to me, you're exactly who I want."

At this, Bel gasps as Shooti wraps her into a tight hug.

"I feel so strongly for you," he says. "I know I've only known you for less than a week, I know that you want me for your schemes of the Dark Signers, and I know that you don't mind seeing Team Satisfaction being slaves to the Dark King…

"But I know that I honestly want you by my side. And I know that you're not what you say you are!"

At this, Bel pushes herself away from Shooti, turns around and asks in a cold voice, "Then...what am I?"

This causes the boy to freeze.

Compared to when he was in Bel's bedroom those nights ago, the boy has to say the right thing else he is making Bel feel worse about herself...

But what is the right thing to do or say when your entire life is upside-down?

Shooti sighs and says, "You're the reason why I am here, and not jumping off the school rooftop right now. You brought me into your home without hesitation and I found myself intrigued into the life of a Dark Signer. You always answer my questions without hesitation, even when they're personal. You keep walking with me to school and home so I wouldn't be lonely. You express yourself fully to me and I've never given you anything in return."

"That's not true," Bel points out. "You let me have dinner in your home the first time."

"But after that, I just keep asking you question after question even though I feel selfish because I could be using it as a way to make myself famous by exposing the Dark Signers lives as if it were celebrity gossip." Shooti replies before hastily adding, "But I don't plan on it! I just want to know you better, Bel. Because…"

Shooti swallows as he grips onto Bel's shoulders and says,

"Bel, you saved my life."

Bel gasps before Shooti leans close enough for them to kiss. And he does…

On the cheek.

If Bel can see the look on her face, she would be looking like a love-struck teenage girl as Shooti steps back, looking proud and embarrassed at his bold move. As Bel places a hand on her cheek, Shooti immediately steps back.

"Oh my god, I am so so sorry!" he says. "I...I didn't mean to go that far. Please don't be mad at me, Bel! I…"

Bel giggles before she leans towards Shooti and returns the kiss with one of his own. On the cheek, that is.

"Thank you," she whispers. "I really needed to hear that."

The boy feels like he is on cloud nine at this point. His first kiss from a girl that wasn't his mom or Carly, came from the girl who he wanted it from the most.

But as he kissed her, the boy thought, and this was only a thought, he saw Bel replaced with someone else.

It was brief, but it was a girl with black hair and and equally black cloak and veil decorated with feathers of a crow. There, she stood above water as a black crow that was perched on her shoulder flew off. She was like some sort of goddess, but one unlike the boy has ever heard of before.

The image disappears like the flash of a camera, leaving the boy bewildered at what he has just seen.

"Shooti?" Bel asks, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you okay?"

Shooti blinks and shakes his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just...this is the first time this has happened to me."

"You mean the first time a first girl has physically shown her love for you?" Bel teases.

"That and more."

The two continue to walk once more, heading pass the bridge that shows off a beautiful sunset. At this, Shooti would like to take a photo of it, but instead, he just gently bumps Bel's shoulder with his own, causing them to smile.

"I bet you're gonna ask Primo to rewind that moment over and over again when you get home," Bel notes, placing a finger above Shooti's left eyebrow, at the green gem on his forehead. "I'm sure you noticed by now that only you and I can see it, right?"

Shooti nods his head. "Yeah. Oh, I've been wondering...what's Primo's deal with Yusei?"

Bel tilts her head. "What do you mean by 'deal'?"

"When I saw that memory of you at that 'Ritual Room', I noticed that Primo looked very, how do I put it, jealous of Kiryu and Yusei. Seeing as you made that contract with Primo for me, I thought you…"

"I may be a Dark Signer, but that doesn't make me omniscient," Bel winks at him. "If you want to know what Primo's deal is, you need to ask him yourself. All you have to do is place your two fingers on the gem and call his name, and he'll come for you. And no, you can't ask him for the answers on next week's math test."

"Why should I ask him when you've helped me out during free period?"

Bel laughs once more as they walk down the stairs that leads them to Shooti's apartment. Then, Bel adjusts her glasses.

"This is where we part for today," she says. "So...do we do it again on Monday?"

"I hope we do it every single day," Shooti states. "But until then, take care of yourself."

"Same goes to you," Bel replies. "See you then,"

The two wave good-bye as Shooti heads towards his apartment, feeling his heart beat against his chest as he feels like he has become braver than before. Going so far as to kiss Bel, and to be kissed back…

But that's when he stops.

The boy closes his eyes shut as he tries to recall the girl that stood before him, the one with black hair and cloak standing on the water...he's certain that he's never seen someone like her before, whether it be in real life, a movie or a video game, and yet...

The boy just shakes his head and brushes the thought aside as he heads towards the door, wanting to just rest up before the weekend started and he can (momentarily) get his mind off of this entire week and prepare for when Jun returns on Monday, knowing that, for the time being, this will turn out okay.

...not knowing that he was making another mistake in the process.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'm home," says Shooti, opening the door to the apartment. He can hear the sounds of a movie playing (Edward Scissorhands, which his mother plays whenever she needs a pick-me-up).

"Welcome back!" says Saya, poking her head from the living room. "How was school today?"

"It was fine, mom," Shooti answers, slipping his shoes onto the shoe rack. "So, no work today?"

"I asked for a day off," Saya answers, placing the DVD player on Pause. "What about you? You haven't been needing tutoring for math, right?"

"No. Bel's been helping me on it."

"Really? Wow, maybe I should start paying her for giving my son an easier way to understand algebra!" Saya chuckles as Shooti sits down next to his mom. Then, with a cat-like smile on her face, she wraps her son in a tight hug.

"Mom, stop that!" Shooti says, trying to wiggle his way out of his mom's grasp.

"Say the magic word, love!" Saya replies, lightly tugging on the strands of Shooti's green hair.

"Fine, fine, 'Harryhausen'!" Shooti says. "Mom, I'm not a cat!"

"Of course you aren't," Saya says, releasing the hug and smiling. "You're my Shooti."

Shooti smiles as he leans on his mother's shoulder. "So, what are we doing for dinner tonight?"

Saya giggles. "Well, I hear that there's this cool bar in Domino Below that's hosting a Dueling Night."

At this, Shooti freezes. "Uh, what's the name of this place?"

"Oh don't play that game with me Shooti. You and Carly went there last Saturday for one of Carly's scoops!"

And at that, Shooti gulps. "...Satisfaction Town?"

"Ding-ding-ding!" Saya says, poking Shooti on the nose three times. "What do you say? I hear that they make some of the tastiest rice burgers in Domino Below! And besides, we haven't eaten out since…"

"...since Shuta's disappearance," Shooti finishes, looking at the framed photo on the table of him, Shuta and Saya at Kaibaland.

Saya nods her head and kisses the top of her son's head. "Come on, don't keep me waiting!"

Despite the alarm bells ringing in his head, the boy decides to answer with...

"Sure...why not?" says Shooti, watching his mom smile back. "What's the worse that can happen?"

...Don't you dare answer that.

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After changing into some normal clothes, the boy and his mother travel across the Daedalus Bridge that connects Domino Below and Neo-Domino together. The boy's mother hums along to a song on the Kamen Rider Fourze soundtrack ("Switch On!", which is her favorite song...even if she can be a bit tone-deaf) while the boy stares past his window, trying to make sense as to what has happened over the past few days.

He had just kissed a girl (on the cheek) and he was kissed back, then there was that image of a girl with that crow...for some odd reason, the boy knows that face, as if that face has been with him since he was a child.

But that is absolutely ridiculous; if the boy had met someone like that strange woman before, he would have remembered it. And surely, he would have been able to see her before he met Bel.

So...how does Bel fit into this?


"Tomaranai Growing Choushigekiteki

Hibi nayami Growing Chousubarashii SCHOOLDAYS!"

With his mother singing the last lines of the song, Saya puts the car into park and pats her son on the shoulder.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she says, turning the engine off. "Let's go! Duel Night commences!"

"Even though I'm not participating in it at all," Shooti mutters as he removes his seatbelt. Still, to see his mother so cheery days after the suicide makes him feel slightly better…

And also a little guilty for not telling her the truth about what he's uncovered during the past few days.

Still, tonight he is going to focus on spending time with his mother. And, seeing all of the other cars in the parking lot, it looks like Satisfaction Town is having a lot of business tonight.

"Okay then," says Saya, locking the car. "Time to get our Satisfaction going on!"

The two walk into the bar and see various patrons already enjoying their meals. Compared to the scene a few nights ago, Shooti can see that it is based off of the saloons found in old Western movies, mixed with images of Duel Monsters and a large picture of Team Satisfaction on the opposite wall. The speakers are playing some kind of rock song that Shooti can't identify due to the noise. (If he could, then he would be surprised that it's Queen's "I Want To Break Free")

Waitresses are serving food with blinding speeds, families are enjoying their food, and some patrons are preparing their Duel Disks and decks for tonight. In the center of the bar is a large space like a dance floor as one member of Team Satisfaction shouts into a microphone in hand.

Kiryu Kyosuke.

Shooti stays nothing as he and Saya are lead to a table by a waitress named Rhoda, but he thinks he is seeing things when he notices two peculiar teenagers at a table. One is a boy with grey hair, amber eyes, wearing a long blue coat with the left sleeve lined with red. The other is a girl with short red hair in pigtails, a pendant of a crescent moon on her neck, a denim jacket with pink trim and large blue eyes staring into his soul…

Which somehow flicker into the color of ink and red markings accent her eyelids.

But before Shooti can question what he has just seen, he and his mother are at their seats. Rhoda hands them both the menus before she rushes off to pick up an order. Shooti opens the menu and looks at the appetizer section while his mother is practically drooling at the pictures of rice burgers.

While this goes on, Kiryu is already announcing the beginning of Duel Night. Shooti places the drinks menu down and watches the leader of Team Satisfaction move about. Compared to that version of him swearing allegiance to the Dark Signers and their Dark King three days ago, he acts more like the ringleader of a circus.

"So boys and girls of all ages, don't be shy!" Kiryu shouts. "Step up and try your luck tonight at Satisfaction Town where we can all get our Satisfaction on! Who will the first one to duel?"

"ME!"

That comes from a young boy with a white coat and shorts and a blue shirt with a gold design on it. He has a blue and yellow Duel Disk strapped to his left arm and his sea-green hair is tied into a high ponytail. He hops out of his seat where two other people (a girl with a matching outfit and hair, but their hair is in two pigtails and the shirt is magenta, and a burly man with blue hair that spikes up like someone has jabbed needles into his head) sigh in annoyance. The boy takes his place on the dueling floor and takes the microphone into his hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages!" The boy cheers. "Outside these walls, I am simply called Rua. But tonight, you are about to see the dazzling debut of The Amazing Leo and his Morphtronic monsters! And who dares to step up and take this challenge?"

"I do!"

Shooti turns and looks in alarm to find Haruka approaching the dueling floor, eating from a small plate of nachos before wiping her mouth with a napkin. Haruka grins as she points at Rua, her face basically saying, "Come at me, bro!" with enthusiasm. Many of the patrons just coo at her, while her mother and father take photos and her little brother, Masato, cheers her on.

"Isn't she that girl you dueled months ago?" Saya whispers, seeing her son freeze up. "The one known as the 'Princess of Prophecy'?"

"The very same," Shooti murmurs as he watches Rua laugh.

"You must be either very daring, brave or foolish to challenge the likes of me!" The boy gloats. "Why don't you go back and play with your dolls because my monsters are going to clean your clock, girly girl!"

This causes many of the diners to gasp, his sister to sigh, and the man, next to Rua's sister, to shake his head in disapproval. Haruka, with a tortilla chip in her teeth, takes a bite, quickly swallows, then sets the plate on the nearest table.

"...What did you just say?" she asks, activating her Duel Disk.

"Ooh, is someone afraid of little old me?" Rua mocks, oblivious to the fiery aura surrounding Haruka. "Well, you should be! Come on, let's do this!"

"Be careful, Rua!" Rua's sister exclaims. "She looks pretty strong!"

"I'll win this easy, Ruka!" Rua boasts, drawing his cards. "There's no way she can beat me!"

The boy would have warned Rua that this type of thinking usually ended up with someone's ass handed to them on a platter, but decided not to. Rua needed to learn this lesson the hard way.

"The Wheels of Fate are turning," Haruka recites, drawing her cards. "Let's fight."

Their lifepoint counters raise to 8000 as Rua takes his first move. As he draws a card, Shooti looks past Haruka and notices someone else watching the duel.

That person turns out to be Bel, alongside Kamitsure and Korni.

Shooti rises from his seat, only for Bel to shake her head and point to the duel. Shooti nods and seats himself down just as the duel starts.

"I summon Morphtronic Celphon in Attack Mode!" Rua says, slapping a card onto his Duel Disk.

A yellow flip phone appears before transforming into a robot with two pairs of wings and his chest, torso and legs made out of the phone's keypad. (100 ATK)

"And check this out. Once per turn, I can choose to let my Celphon dial a number between 1 and 6. Whatever number it lands on lets me draw that amount of cards. Then, I can Special Summon any Level 4 or lower 'Morphtronic' monsters that were drawn onto the field. So…."

Morphtronic Celphon beeps as a light flashes on its chest before it lands on '3'.

"Cool!" Rua cheers as he draws three cards. "All right, now I summon Morphtronic Magnen onto the field in Attack Mode!"

A new monster, a dark blue humanoid with a streamline metal body, descends to the field. (800 ATK)

"I end my turn with a face-down card. And then you'll see my powerful combo! Shiver in fear, girly! I'm winning this duel."

At this point, Rhoda returns to take Shooti and Saya's order (a basket of garlic fries to share, a rice burger for Saya and a black hole burger for Shooti with a black and white milkshake for later). After Rhoda leaves, Shooti watches Haruka staring at the cards in her hand before giving Rua a smirk.

"For my first turn," she says. "I summon...Magician of Prophecy in Attack Mode!"

A young boy in blue and white robes appears with a book in hand. Topping a head of white hair is a large white and blue hat. He looks somewhat bored at Rua and proceeds to read through his book. (500 ATK)

"And when my Magician is Summoned, I can take one 'Spellbook' card from my deck to my hand."

A card pops out of Haruka's deck which she quickly she adds to her hand. Then, she pulls out that card and two more Spellbook cards before showing them to a confused Rua. They are all Spellbooks of different colors.

"Oh no!" Ruka exclaims. "I know of this combo!"

"You do?" says the man (probably their caretaker, Shooti guesses).

Ruka nods her head. "Jin-san, students at ISDC spread rumors about this girl, the duelist with the Tarot Deck and her victories over all who try to challenge her. They call her the 'Princess of Prophecy', and she goes by the name of…"

"Haruka Sakurada," Haruka finishes with a smile of a vampire about to have a bite to eat. "And she's about to play her favorite monster, High Priestess of Prophecy!"

Appearing in a pillar of light is a woman dressed in a white outfit: a white halter top, white opera gloves, a white skirt, white knee-length boots and a white hat that covers her hot pink hair. Each article of pristine clothing is decorated with silver trim and green orbs. Her green eyes scan through the contents of a Spellbook before she stands up and unleashes a smile that reads "I'm gonna kill you." (2500 ATK)

"And I am assuming that face-down card is to protect you from damage, no?" asks Haruka, raising an eyebrow.

Banishing a Spellbook card from her hand, Haruka points at the face-down card and High Priestess complies. Rua looks in horror as a tennis ball sized orb of magic flies at his card, destroying it.

"All right then," says Haruka. "Magician of Prophecy, destroy Morphtronic Celphon with Infinity Blast!"

Magician of Prophecy draws a white infinity symbol in the air before flinging it at the cellphone monster. Rua grunts as his lifepoints drop to 7600.

"And High Priestess, destroy Magnen!"

High Priestess of Prophecy raises both hands into the air before firing a concentrated beam of magic at the lone monster, obliterating it. Rua's lifepoints drop to 5900.

"I end my turn with a face-down card," says Haruka. "So, ready to make a comeback?"

Rua snarls and curls a hand into a fist. "T...this is just a minor setback! I'm gonna make sure my monsters make you eat dirt!" He draws a card. "It's my move!"

Needless to say, despite his words, Rua ended up losing in a spectacular fashion when Haruka's High Priestess, and later Hierophant, tore through his machines like scrap metal. The kid never stood a chance.

"Ow…" Rua groans as his lifepoints drop to zero. Haruka giggles and bows to the applauding crowd.

"Thank you, thank you!" she exclaims. "The Princess of Prophecy has slain another foolish knight who wishes to obtain her hand. Now…" she grins. "Who's next?!"

"We'll take a five minute break from here," says Kiryu, watching Rua return to his seat. His eyes then widen slightly when they see Shooti at the side. "And then, whoever wishes to duel our precious Princess of Prophecy must step up to the dance floor and show us their moves! Thank you."

Haruka walks back to her parents as Shooti looks to see Bel's face. She taps the left pointer finger to her cheek and nods her head. Shooti then clears his throat.

"Hey mom," he says. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Okay then," says Saya, looking at something on her cellphone. "But be quick! Our food's gonna come soon!"

Shooti nods his head as he makes his way towards Bel's table, ignoring the really creepy stare that Kiryu is giving him. Bel smiles and hugs Shooti, while Korni is too distracted playing Xenoblade Chronicles on her 3DS.

"Isn't this a coincidence?" says Bel, lowering her arms. "Who knew that we were both gonna be 'eating' here tonight?"

"What are you doing here?" Shooti whispers, looking back to see whether his mother is paying attention (she isn't). "Is there anything strange going on in Domino Below? About the suicides? About Team Satisfaction?"

"Didn't you hear me earlier?" says Bel. "You have to ask them yourselves."

She points to Crow at the bar, preparing a mug of beer for a patron. Next to Crow is Yusei, who is interacting with a female patron with a smile on his face.

Shooti gulps and Bel nods at him as if to say, "Go on." He sighs as he approaches the bar, where Crow is wiping his hands off with a cloth. Upon seeing the boy in the orange jacket approach them, Crow chuckles.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" he asks.

"I came to ask some questions," Shooti answers. "I mean, I was there when Kiryu went...missing."

"Really? Oh!" Crow smiles. "You're that kid who was interviewed by Security last week, right?"

"Yeah. The name's Shooti Hayami. I already know who you are."

"Crow 'The Bullet' Hogan," says Crow, extending his hand out. Shooti takes it and they shake hands. "So, what brings you here tonight?"

"Well, my mother and I wanted to eat here and…" Shooti lowers his voice. "I wanted to ask what happened ever since that night."

This isn't a lie, per se. What exactly did Kiryu and Yusei do once they returned to Domino Below? What type of madness has ensued now that they became the watchdogs of the Dark Signers?

Crow frowns as he leans over the bar. "Well, you didn't hear this from me, but after Yusei returned with Kiryu four nights ago, the two of them changed."

"...How so?" asks Shooti.

"I know that Kiryu and Yusei have been together for a while, but they're getting way too close. I mean, do you know what it's like to see them going at it in the middle of the night?"

"I can only imagine."

"Not only that, but they seem to be a bit more...aggressive, so to speak. Like, just two nights ago they freaked out and started to physically beat up these strange duelists dressed in blue soldier uniforms. Then, they bolted and Jack and I ended up following them. When we finally found them, Kiryu and Yusei were squaring off against two strange black clothed figures."

Shooti feels like the equivalent of a plate dropping onto the floor. "Black clothed figures? W...were there any other colors on them?"

"One of them (the guy) had his entire left arm covered with purple lines, and the other (a girl) had green lines all over her body."

"That sounds like an...interesting fashion choice."

"I know, right? Anyway, Yusei challenges the guy to a duel and beats his ass real good. And, after the duel was over, Security comes to arrest the kid. Now, Jack and I try to calm Security down, but what do Yusei and Kiryu do?"

"Uh…"

"Kiryu starts spouting lightning and Yusei starts going stark-raving mad! Jack and I had to restrain them before they went crazy and…" Crow sighs as Shooti darts his eyes back and forth. "I shouldn't be scarring you with these details."

"No, I've seen plenty worse," Shooti mutters, trying to scrub the image of Kiryu and Yusei having sex out of his brain.

"After we finally got out of that kerfuffle, Jack and I spent an entire hour trying to figure out what happened to these two. Kiryu and Yusei give us some philosophical shit or the like in regards that they sensed 'fresh blood' then promised that they wouldn't do anything like that again. But still...all of this is sending signals that something isn't right."

"But still"...those words make the boy feel uncomfortable. At this point, the boy can easily tell Crow that Kiryu and Yusei are slowly planning on how to kill the remaining living members of Team Satisfaction, giving Crow and Jack enough time to come with a plan…

But he doesn't.

How can the boy say such a thing? There would be no way that Crow would believe this at all. And if Crow did believe in it, both Kiryu and Yusei would either a) be in denial about it or b) start the killing either way. No matter what the boy does, it's going to end in a tragedy.

So, mistake number 14...the boy stays silent.

"And on top of that," Crow rambles on, oblivious to how quiet Shooti has become. "Yusei's been singing some creepy song about spiders for the past few days. Any reason why?"

"Um...no?" Shooti answers. "What...what type of song has he been singing?"

Crow just jerks his thumb at Yusei calmly wiping a wine glass with a clean cloth, humming to himself as he lifts the glass into the air.

"When I went out this morning

Spin, spider, spin

Just as the day was dawning

Spin, spider, spin

"I saw a tiny spider

Its pretty web begin

I saw him swing from a silver string

Spin, spider, spin"

"Um...maybe he heard it from some child?" says Shooti, ignoring Yusei's soft voice humming the second verse of that strange song, his blue eyes empty and unfocused as he continues his cleaning. Shooti then recalls something Bel said to him on their way to school three days ago.

"Kamitsure-san sings plenty of songs to Molly at night. Molly wanted a song about a spider after the meeting was over, so Kamitsure sang that song to her. Now Molly can't stop singing it!"

"Yusei has been taking care of re-opening Satisfaction Town these past few days," Crow elaborates. "There's no way he would've been hearing a child sing this sort of thing. Plus, there's also the matter of fact that Yusei hates spiders."

Shooti raises an eyebrow. "He's arachnophobic?"

"Yeah, yeah, that. But after rescuing Kiryu, I've seen him wearing some sort of choker with a spider on it. He gets pretty defensive if someone asks where he got it from."

"Maybe…" Shooti looks at Kiryu interviewing Haruka in regards to her victory. "Maybe Kiryu gave it to him?"

"I asked him that, but Kiryu said that wasn't the case. In fact, ever since that whole Magician's Four massacre, he hasn't been the same."

"Gee, I wonder why…"

Shooti glances at Yusei pouring up a drink, eyes concentrating on the flow of wine dripping onto the clean goblet.

"He's not the kind that bites you

Spin, spider, spin

He's the kind that just delights you

Spin, spider, spin

"He's a tiny harmless spider

The kind that catches flies

So let him on a silver string

A pleasure to the eyes."

At this, someone laughs.

Yusei, Crow and Shooti turn to see Kamitsure sitting on a stool, chin resting on her tented hands, elbows propped on the bar. Yusei blinks and stares at the newcomer as Shooti notices Kamitsure's neck. Her spider choker is no longer there.

"Hello, boys," she says. "Could I have a word with that fantastic tenor over there and have a little something to drink? I'm feeling quite parched, you know?"

"Here," says Yusei, handing her the half-filled wine glass. His eyes are filled with such adoration for the woman. "Would you like anything else?"

Kamitsure takes the wine into her hands and smiles before swirling it round and round in its glass. Yusei just stares at the woman's movements, eyes never blinking as Kamitsure's smile grows wider and wider. Shooti wants to look away, but something is keeping him transfixed by that simple motion. He's aware that his breathing has slowed down, and through the corner of his eye he can see Crow also looking at that wine spinning round and round and round...

Everything is starting to dull. Shooti is aware of someone trying to speak to him, but he can barely register that voice. All he wants to do is see that swirl of wine go on forever and ever and ever and...

"Shooti, there you are!"

Shooti feels a hand gripping his arm, and he turns to find Bel standing behind him, green eyes looking on with concern. "Your mother's looking all over for you! What are you doing here?"

"I...I was…" Shooti turns to see Kamitsure taking a sip of the wine, Crow is now heading off to pick up an order, and Yusei is back to cleaning glasses. "What just happened?"

"Nothing important," says Kamitsure, tipping the glass to her lips. "I was just letting this wine breathe a little before taking a sip. Can't you smell it?"

As she sets the goblet down, Kamitsure leans close to Yusei. But just as Shooti is about to hear what she is about to say, Bel yanks him back to where his mother is waiting for him, along with their burgers and fries.

"Oh, Bel!" says Saya, seeing the blond haired girl seating her son down. "I didn't know you were here too!"

"Hello Saya-san!" Bel states sweetly. "My sisters and I are having a bite to eat before they go to work."

"Really now? What do your sisters do?"

"Kamitsure-san is a DJ at a bar and Korni is part of Security," Bel answers.

"Really?" asks Shooti. "That's not what she said when-"

Underneath the table, Bel squeezes onto Shooti's hand hard enough for it to break. Shooti winces as Bel shakes her head.

"Anyway," Bel continues. "It's so nice to be here after the news of what happened last Saturday!"

"I know, right?" says Saya, taking a French fry into her hand like it is a cigarette. "Although, that's been nothing compared to the…"

Bel goes silent. "Yeah, that. Have you found anything new in regards to the victims?"

"Investigations are going slowly, " Saya admits. "And while I'm not supposed to reveal the identities of the dead, we just learned that they all had something in common."

Bel blinks. "What's that?"

"The backs of their left wrists had the same strange design on them. Here, like this."

Saya pulls out a pen from her purse and draws the image on a napkin. After she is done, Shooti pauses. It is a circle with branch-like wings composed of two horizontal lines..

"This leads me to believe that all these students might have been dragged into some sort of cult," Saya states solemnly. "Bel, I just want you and your sisters to be careful. There's something out there...something that is going to turn Domino City upside down when we least expect it."

Bel leans forward and nods her head. "I'll keep that in mind, Saya-san."

"Oh, and one last thing. I didn't catch your last name when you came by Tuesday. What is it?"

"It's Amsel," Bel answers with a smile. "It's German for 'Blackbird'. Why do you ask?"

At this, Saya pauses as Bel stands up. Meanwhile, Shooti faintly hears Haruka challenging the next competitor in a duel, but he is too focused on his mother's reaction to Bel's question to see who it is that the Princess of Prophecy is dueling.

After three seconds of silence, Saya shakes her head. "Nothing. I was just curious."

"All right then," Bel leans close and hugs Shooti. "See you later!"

The boy quietly waves good-bye before he decides to have a bite of his black-colored burger. Meanwhile, he can't help but notice the way his mother is trying to distract herself by loudly proclaiming how delicious all of the food is. Which can only mean one of two things.

Either the boy's mother is nervous from going through twenty four corpses and is trying to shake her mind off of how she's seeing death everywhere.

Or…

The boy isn't the only one in the family who is keeping secrets.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

An hour later, mother and son drive back home. The boy is quiet once again, trying to make sense of everything that he's heard from Crow in regards to Yusei and Kiryu. On one hand, Crow is probably exaggerating some of the details of that night, but on the other hand, why would Crow just openly tell the boy about these things? After all, there's no way this boy could understand just what has happened to half of Team Satisfaction.

If only Crow "The Bullet" Hogan knew what he was getting into.

After the boy and his mother enter the apartment, the boy works on his homework in the kitchen while his mother makes a few phone calls. A part of the boy wishes that he had an Extendable Ear so he can eavesdrop on the conversation, but that is absolutely disrespectful.

And besides, why have an Extendable Ear when the boy has the guidance of a Guardian of Time who will answer all of the questions that is rattling in his brain?

After spending two to three hours on his homework, the boy decides to go to bed. Ten minutes after he has brushed his teeth and is dressed in his pajamas and sent a text message to Bel, his mother knocks on the door.

"Can I come in?" Saya asks from the other side.

"Yeah, sure," Shooti answers, finishing his message to Bel before placing his cellphone on the bedside desk.

Saya opens the door and smiles when she sees the bedroom. There are various film posters decorating the wall, a Duel Disk hanging on a shelf alongside some of Shooti's favorite books, and in the bed is her son, whom she wishes that he never has to grow up.

"That was a lot of fun, don't you say?" she says. "We should do this more often, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Shooti answers. "Say, mom?"

"Yes, Shooti?"

Shooti sits up. "You're gonna think I sound crazy, but I had this strange vision of a woman dressed in black with a crow on her shoulder while walking home today. Would you know anything about it?"

Saya pauses, then she leans forward and places a kiss on her son's forehead.

"You're probably stressed out over what happened on Monday," she said. "Now, get to sleep, okay?"

"But mom…"

"Good night, Shooti."

And with that, the boy's mother leaves his bedroom, closing the door behind her. The boy waits a few seconds before he lies back on his bed and places two fingers over the gem above his left eye, resisting the urge to be angry at his own mother hiding secrets from him.

"Primo," Shooti whispers.

Yes? says Primo, standing by Shooti's closet. What do you need?

Shooti sits up and stares into the crimson eyes of this strange man. "I have some questions that need to be answered."