A small, tiny frown came across Jaden's lips, as he narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of the words the document spouted. Alexis sat across from him, playing with the ends of her hair, though she reflected the same, worried expression on her face. All the while, the warm aroma of food diffused through the air, with the familiar bell signaling that it was time for lunch. People migrated toward their own little cliques, though Jaden knew all eyes were on both he and Alexis. Still, he wasn't really worried about their onlookers; their voices were quiet enough, and even if someone did overhear them, it wasn't like they'd understand much anyways.

It'd been three days since Aki was hospitalized. She hadn't woken up yet, and though the doctors keep saying it won't be long, Jaden knew better than to believe them. But he made it a point not to say anything, considering the argument he had with Yusei. Though, of course, Jaden was already on edge, what with his friend being held hostage, along with the lack of progress Ms. Raines had made on the case. And Yusei just happened to be nearby.

At some point in time, Jaden knew he was going to have to swallow his pride and apologize, but not right now; maybe after Aki wakes up. And who knows? Maybe Yusei had a momentarily lapse of sanity; maybe his brain just broke under all the stress, and he couldn't remember some things, like where he lived. But even then, the excuse was laughable.

"Here," Alexis pointed out, as she leaned over. As he read through her notes, with Alexis's tiny finger to guide him, he could hear the whispers already swirling around the classroom. That was another thing the two had to deal with; both Alexis and Jaden were close to Aki, as well as the twins in the lower grades, so they've had to deal with whatever the hell people were saying. Things were really bad right now, considering the fact that Ms. Raines caught sight of the roses the hijackers wore when they took over, then proceeded to blab it all over the internet. Aki used to be the Black Rose Witch before, and that title alone was already suspicious enough as is.

When Jaden was finished, he leaned back. "What'd you think?" he heard her ask.

He ran his fingers through his hair. "You smelled bitter almonds in the room?"

"Yes."

"We already know these men were killed," Jaden stated. "And nowadays, people can literally just buy cyanide off the streets, if they know where to go."

"That's what bothers me," she replied, as she dropped her chin to her desk. "If that's the case, then Ms. Raines would need to look at all the syndicates in Neo Domino. We've already got a list of the major ones on the Internet, but the rest are more or less obscure. It's like finding a needle in some stupid haystack."

Jaden narrowed his eyes. "What I'm concerned about are the reports."

"Huh?"

"Look here," he said softly, as he passed the cellphone over to Alexis. "The medical staff was supposed to be the first to examine the bodies. Not the ones that were poisoned, but the ones that were mutilated, right?"

"Right."

"But as we both know, neither the morgue nor Sector Security nor any of the families gave them permission to perform autopsies. And on here, they keep saying the victims died of cardiac arrest, when we know that isn't the case," he continued as he kept scrolling through the statements, finding cardiac arrest written all over the papers.

Alexis's lips parted, watching him go through the phone's contents.

Jaden watched her reaction unfold, before turning back, gripping the edges of phone tightly. There was nothing at all pertaining to the actual causes, from suffocation, to beheading, to hypothermia, to even bleeding yourself out until you've lost all feeling in your fingers and toes. The bodies in both the news articles and the photos proved that much.

But what's more, some of the names on the victims weren't even right. They've gotten each and every one of them mixed up, misplacing papers over and over again until it was nearly impossible to find. Jaden spent the past few nights just trying to get everything together just to even look at the stupid thing.

And even then, it was still hard to read. Alexis did tell him that when she came down to the basement, it felt like she'd just "walked into a freak show," and from what she's shown him, she was right. There was lipstick all over the men, with long, fake eyelashes seared onto their eyelids. The women wore big, bright ribbons on their necks, with large, fake diamonds clutching their long, bony fingernails. The victims were all strapped to the table, with embalming liquid poured all over their limbs, the small, puddles forming around them. Honestly, Jaden was starting to wonder if he should report on the funeral home, rather than the murders.

But the scene as just so chaotic, so immature. The entire thing seemed like something out of some horror movie, and it was through that Jaden took interest. Even now, it seems someone was playing with the bodies.

"Sloppy."

Alexis looked up. "Huh?"

"They're sloppy," he muttered. "Practically anyone who works there could find this. What're they trying to pull anyways?"

She blinked, before looking down. "You said we would've had to sneak into the morgue, right?"

"What about it?"

"The mortician let me down into the basement."

"Alexis-"

"I'm serious," she said calmly. "I asked him, and he told me he'd let me do whatever I had to do. He even left all the doors unlocked for me."

That was…impossible.

Anyone Jaden knew who had some sick fetish would die of humiliation if anyone saw them. After all, no one wanted to be discovered with their pants down.

So why?

Why would the freaking funeral director, of all people, let Alexis in, just to catch a glimpse of the corpses? He had to know that she was going to tell someone, that this might even lead to a full-blown criminal investigation. He could wind up in prison for the rest of his life, considering how influential the victims' families are. Did he think Alexis was different, special in some way? Did he want her to see stuff like that, just to get a rise out of her? Was he planning to do something with her, alongside those bodies?

His eyes flickered toward her. "We can't tell Ms. Raines about this."

"Agreed," Alexis said, as she turned to stare out the bright, afternoon skies. "She probably won't believe us."

"No," Jaden muttered, the anger slowly pouring into his veins. "Considering what people are saying about Aki, I don't even think we should get her involved."

Alexis stared up at him, before fixing her gaze on that same phone. Slowly, he watched her expression change, as if for the first time, she finally saw the seriousness of the situation. "How do you know it's not just some prank?" she asked then.

"Death is serious business. No one sane enough would dare desecrate a body," Jaden sighed. "But yeah, I can see what you're saying. She won't even look at the facts if we told her straight up."

"So what's our plan?" Alexis asked. "A full background check on this guy? He gave me his card, if you're wondering."

"Got a picture?"

"It's on the website."

"Driver license number?"

She nodded, much to his surprise. When Jaden started to ask, she simply smirked playfully, and put her head up. "He left his wallet in a picture at the front desk."

"…Why would-?"

"Clearly, he hates his credit cards."

"…You have them with you?"

"Yeah!"

"Right now?"

"Hmm."

"Like, right right now?"

She laughed lightly. "Yeah, and I'm the idiot."

The title, Domino Finances, flourished overhead in golden letters, the sleek sophistication contrasting to that of the sullied streets just a few feet away. Tall, steel arches gave way to the decadent, evening light, as the nostalgic rays cascaded down the glass windows. Large, maroon banners swayed on the outside, the small artificial trees seemingly shivering at the presence of the edifice. If he looked up, he could see the plentiful balconies all towering above him, and with it, the busy workers striving to maintain the bank's reputation. He'd almost forgotten that this was the one place the higher-ups could entrust all their money to, where only the elite had dared come; anyone else would've just been laughed at.

Sayer examined the documents, his eyes looking over the words with ease. Just yesterday, Amrbosine called him from the hotel. She asked him to go to the bank to check up on Nikolai's bank account, just to make sure the assets were still there, that no one had taken out any money. She sounded alarmed, frenzied almost, but he decided not to think too deeply into it, nor did he decide to question her either; he knew full well what would happen had he argued back. So with his deck in his pocket, Sayer took a deep breath, then proceeded to walk through the glass doors.

The gray carpet touched his new, brown dress shoes, though the black trench coat Sayer carried in his arms looked cheap compared to everything else in the lobby. Workers passed him with their own, clean uniforms. Footsteps upon footsteps piled onto each other, the silence desperately clinging to the atmosphere as phone calls kept ringing on and on, on and off. Tiny, black computers sat on the crystallite desks toward the edge of the windows, the few customers there endeavoring to draw out their money from their accounts. A bight, golden logo appeared on the black tiles, the vain reflections giving way to the bank's grand interior. As Sayer came toward the middle of the lobby he saw a young woman working at the front. Brown hair, with big glasses; in sight, she reminded him of the young mouse who snuck into the Arcadia Movement.

Slowly, he came toward her, the documents in hand. Amrbosine assured him that as long as he showed the files to the bank, they'd let him in. After all, there was no picture ID to go off of, and once a familiar name was mentioned, the bank would've done whatever it took to please the person saying that name. And besides which, she's already secured the bank's cooperation, forcing them to tell her everything that went on in that bank account. As of this point, no one could touch that money, and if someone tried to, she'd know about it.

When he came near, the woman at the desk looked up. She scrutinized him for a brief moment, before turning back to her job, her fingers quickly typing onto the keyboard. "Name?" she asked.

"Nikolai Izinski," he automatically answered. He laid out the documents in front of her then. "I just need to check something."

The woman scowled, as she swiped the papers from his grip. She stared at them for only a split second, before narrowing her eyes. She sighed exasperatedly at the thought of doing her job, as she pulled up the account balance. "What'd you need?" she finally asked.

"I just want to check my statements."

"Fine; come around back." she said then, as she pushed herself off the seat. She walked around the corner, and flickered her eyes at Sayer, gesturing him to follow her. He stared at her for a bit, before doing so, gripping the papers apprehensively. She opened the door for him, and waited for him to come through. When he did, she closed it behind him, then proceeded to take the lead.

The dark, grey walls didn't imitate the lobby's splendor. There were no windows, and only flickering lights helped them see, lights that reminded him of the prison cell. He warily stared down at the black tiles, as they made their way down the corridor. Soon, they both came to a small office toward the back. The woman opened the door, and swept inside, a tiny, frustrated grunt escaping her lips, as Sayer following closely behind.

As he shut the door, and flicked on the lights, he observed the rundown office, one he wouldn't have expected from such a prestigious company. An old, rusted desk settled next to a petite window, and with it, a white chair, with paint eroding from it. Although there was a gray computer there, on that desk, it was old, so old Sayer was a bit speechless. The ruined binds hardly covered the glass, and if he squinted, he could even see dust particles swirling around her. And yet the woman sat down, and jiggled the mouse, all the while gazing worriedly at the processor, as if at any minute, it would burst into flames. When it didn't, she sighed in relief.

"Give me those papers again," she ordered. Obligingly, Sayer did so.

He stared at the computer for a while, before turning his gaze elsewhere. As he paced across the room, he couldn't help but notice some old, manila folders, all of which were in a messy pile in the back corner of the room.

"Where were you?"

Sayer turned back to the woman. "Excuse me?"

"You haven't been to this bank in a while," she said then, her amiable smile taking him by surprise. "What? Get caught up in something?"

"I…yes," he fumbled, as he turned back to the files. "There were a lot of personal issues I had to deal with, but everything's fine."

"Huh."

"When was I hear last?" Sayer asked then, as he crouched down and opened up one of the folders. His name was there again.

"It says…it says ten years ago." she read.

What?

Sayer looked back up at the woman. "That can't be right."

"Well, says it here sir," she said, as she turned the screen toward him. "I didn't recognize your name from anywhere, so I figured you were buried here somewhere. The only reason why the bank hasn't terminated your account yet was the fact that you had a lot of investments somewhere. Which were incredibly profitable, I might add."

"…Ten years."

"Ten years sir," the woman said, placing her hands neatly on the desk. "So…what'd you want to check? How about-?"

"The investments," Sayer interrupted politely, as he placed the files back down. "I want to know the stocks on it. You know, with Neo Domino and everything…"

"I understand," the woman said happily.

Sayer regarded her evenly. The girl must be new. Ambitious too, considering the way she was treating him now.

Then again, Izinski was a pretty well known name in Neo Domino. And it'd been ten years this guy was here. It was through that simple fact Sayer couldn't help but wonder if Nikolai was connected to the senator in any way. Then of course, the account wasn't a joint one, and there was absolutely no way the senator would make that much money, even if he was taking bribes. There was no one powerful or affluential in his circle enough for that, no businesses he was connected with that would stoop so low, and not even the politicians he was acquainted with would dare try bribing the senator.

"Okay," the woman chirped finally. "Well, the land in Bucharest is doing just fine. Everything in Russia is okay too, but your EU points have dropped, but only just a bit. Do you want us to sell the land there, or do you want to leave it?"

"Just leave it," he said quietly. "Were there any transactions made to the Arcadia Movement, by any chance?"

"Ah…yes. Yes, there were. I can print this out for you, if you want."

"It's fine," he said, as he thought back on the number. "If you could, can you remind me when I made the account?"

She squinted her eyes. "That was…thirty years ago," she answered, before turning up to him, with that same smile. "You were saving it for siblings."

"And what were their names?"

She fell silent for a bit, as she searched the computer. Finally, she smiled. "Christoph and Arise?"

"Have they touched my account?" he asked.

"Yes. They withdrew around $7,000 from the account just last month."

He furrowed his eyebrows. Strange; it says on the documents that only Nikolai had access to these accounts, and aside from payments to the Arcadia Movement, no other transactions were made. "What were they paying for?" he asked.

"It seems like tuition and fees," the woman answered aimlessly. "The check was made out to Duel Academy."

"And when did those checks start?"

"Around...eight months ago."

Yusei closed the door tiredly, resisting the urge to drop the red toolbox then and there. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, as he descended down the staircase. Seriously, as of this point Yusei has no idea what that guy wants to with that stupid air conditioner. If he's just going to ask Yusei to fix it up so he can throw it at those kids again, he might as well just find someone else.

"Oi, Yusei!"

He really wasn't in the mood right now.

Still, Yusei looked down at Jack, as he placed the toolbox on the floor. His eyes flickered to the white duel runner plainly sitting there, with its rider carefully looking it over, an incredibly pleased smile on his face. The irritation slowly came away from Yusei then, as he sauntered down the steps and over to his own runner. Well, at least something was working today.

"What'd you do to it?" Jack asked, as he crouched down, and examined the engine with his own eyes. "It runs better than ever."

"Rearranged some parts," Yusei answered. "I also hammered out some code parts to add to the program. But never mind that; how fast did you go?"

"One-twenty," Jack stated proudly. "Almost there."

"Right. What is it?"

"What?"

Yusei smirked, as he plopped himself onto the couch. He took off his blue jacket, then regarded the blonde evenly, who was staring at him in utter confusion. "You're never this nice. What? You get fired from another job?"

He scoffed, as he stood. "Work isn't my thing. And no, I didn't do anything." His eyes flickered sideways.

Yusei blinked, before following his gaze. A tiny, brown box sat on the desk next to the computer. The seal was open, of course, with tiny streams of bubble wrap thrusted everywhere. Other than that, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He turned to to Jack. "Is that for me?"

Jack shook his head, a serious frown on his face. "No," he began, as Yusei walked over to the package. "Crow and I think the stupid thing was delivered to the wrong address. Crow opened it because he was curious."

"Huh," Yusei said aimlessly, as he looked over the box, before opening the covers. Jack was saying something, but Yusei didn't hear what. He could only stare down at the five clear bottles staring back up at him, alongside the tiny pills resting inside.

Before long, he could hear Jack coming toward him. "Yeah, that's what I can't figure out. Crow and I figured it was some kind of medicine or something. Problem is, there's no return address, and Crow found it lying here, at our front doorstep."

It was a while before Yusei could say…anything. "You just found it here?"

"That's right," he replied, folding his arms in front of his chest. "No label, no nothing. I honestly think we should just toss the thing."

"No."

"Hmm?"

Yusei narrowed his eyes, all the while tracing the bottles back up to the pills residing inside. Carefully, he picked one of the bottles up, searching through his mind and labeling them with their own consistency. It was then he turned to Jack. "We should keep them. If the real owner comes here looking for them, we'll just hand it to them."

Jack sighed frustratedly, before moving back to his bike, wondering if he should ride it out again. Yusei stared at the blonde for a moment, then turned back to the box.

Cyanide.

Yusei blanched as he rummaged through the box. Jack said Crow found at the front door, just lying around, waiting for someone to show up. Whoever this person was, why they would just leave a box of poison lying around was just…strange.

More than strange.

"Jack," he suddenly called.

"What? You still looking at that?"

"Other than the medicine, did you find anything else in there?"

"Nope…wait," he corrected, as pausing to ponder on the mysterious notes. He then dug out whatever he had in his pocket, his fingers fumbling around. Finally, he pulled a single, piece of paper with masking tape all over it. "Here."

Carefully, Yusei set the box down, then took the paper. He unfolded the creases, and stared down at the name.

Nikolai Izinski.