Skin Chapter 55, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Black Saturday

Outside the Black Clown store the crowd was as thick as expected. The swarm spread clear to the other side of the street, adults and children alike waiting in line for the 'store exclusive' that had been constantly hyped up through advertizement and rumors. Somehow, despite the clearly heart-broken rage Sugoroku had about his grandson 'backstabbing' him and waiting in line however, he managed to be convinced to come along himself...

Possibly because of the fact that Mokuba mentioned them getting a private tour... Or maybe just because, like his grandson, the man simply couldn't resist the chance to get his hands on a brand new game. Either way, the majority of them were now looking at Bakura's watch, counting down the minutes until the store opened. "Two minutes," Anzu said at one point, the albino beside them holding his watch out in polite silence. "One minute," she said shortly after, soon turning it into a count down. "Thirty... Twenty-nine... Twenty-eight..."

"ELEVEN O'CLOCK," someone shoute from behind, the others turning as the doors were pulled open. Instantly the line began to move, the group caught up in a vicious sea of people as they were pushed around outside and into the store by the massive crowd that were now so focused on moving forward.

"The Black Clown is open," the crowd was shouting, Katsuya merely giving somewhat strangled noises as he was pushed off to the side with Mokuba. Yea, no shit it was open, now when was it going to close? "Don't push me," another voice called out, the blond in the meantime pushing back against the crowd that was doing just the same to him. The sounds were followed and preceded by shouts of "Give me the dice!", from the far front of the store by the register, a few of them gaining the addition of "I want thirty!"

And of course, this was followed by "Limit six per customer!" ...And also a groan, they couldn't forget that.

"Jesus," Katsuya muttered, scratching his head with his free arm while Mokuba held on to the other to keep from 'sailing away'. The two were currently pressed against the wall near the front of the store, shaking their heads. "All these people 're here f'r jus' dice?"

Mokuba shrugged, shaking his head as he attempted to see through the crowd while standing on his toes. "Apparently," he said, grunting somewhat as they were pushed even closer to the front by the continuing wave. "Hey Katsuya-nii," he said with a slight shout, turning to his friend, "Put me on your shoulders!"

The blond blinked, looking down and frowning. "Nyhhh... What?" His shoulders..?

The boy nodded, frowning somewhat. "I can't see anything," he said with a shrug, "And I bet that you're having just as much luck..." Well yea, but that was besides the point... "Come on," he continued, hands in his pockets as he smirked slightly. "Maybe we can spot Otogi and get out of all this!"

Oh hey, getting out of this would be good... "Alrigh, alrigh'..." He pulled the boy up, stumbling somewhat as Mokuba steadied himself on his shoulders. "Ack... Jus' don' move too much," he added, eyes widening briefly as he was again jostled by the crowd.

"Yea yea," Mokuba said dismissively, leaning over Katsuya's head somewhat, "Don't worry alright?" Yea... 'Don't worry'... What was the worst that could happen right..? The boy smirked, looking around the store now that he was sitting a good two feet above them. "Hnnn... Oh wow," Mokuba muttered, coughing somewhat. "Yugi got pushed really far back," he said with a small laugh, shaking his head as he continued to look around. "Ahhhh... I can see the others though. HEY," he shouted, Katsuya stumbling as the boy began waving. "ANZU! BAKURA!"

"O-O-Oii! You trying to fall off?"

"Awww, you wouldn't let that happen..."

"That ain't th' point!

The two in the crowd turned, Anzu abruptly bursting into what seemed to be laughter before pulling Bakura along with her to the pair as they weaved through the crowd. "Well," she said, shoving her way past a few others with a laugh as she came within 'range'. "That's one way to get a look around here I suppose!"

Mokuba merely grinned, while Bakura nervously looked over the crowd on his toes. "Yugi's gotten pretty stuck in there," he said quietly, scratching his head and turning to the others. "I hope he gets to the front alright..."

"Ohhh, he'll be fine," a fifth voice stated, the others turning as Sugoroku came over with six packets of dice. "What I want to know is what these packets have in side," the old man shouted with a laugh, hurriedly digging into one of them. "Hohohohhh..."

The others stared rather blankly, sharing glances. "Er... Jii-san," Anzu asked, shaking her head a moment before laughing. "Didn't you just finish swearing off this place as your 'sworn enemy'," she continued, the old man ignoring her as he looked over the dice.

"Well," a somewhat familiar voice said from the side, the owner shaking his head. "I should hope that's not really the case..."

Mokuba blinked, turning from his position on Jonouchi's shoulders to stare. "Ah... Otogi..."

Sugoroku also jumped, blinking a few times before frowning to himself. "O-Otogi," he repeated, the others turning as the man went pale. The seemingly fearful expression quickly vanished however, the old man crossing his arms. "Hnn..." He stared at the ground in thought, narrowing his eyes somewhat. "Now where have I heard that name before..."

Hahahaha... Yeaaaaa... Otogi merely shook his head, turning to them all as he paid the old man no mind. "I've had someone help Yugi to one of the back rooms," he said with a smile, crossing his arms. "He seemed a little 'swept away'. Come on," he continued with a nod, "I'll show you the room, tell you a little bit about what I'm working on... Better than walking through all of this, right," he added, looking back at the crowd.

They turned, staring at the sea of people and slowly nodding. "Yeaaa," he said slowly, blinking a few times. "Yea tha's probably a pretty good idea," Katsuya muttered, stooping down somewhat for Mokuba to get off. "Ahhhh my neck..."

"Hnnn..." The others turned to where Sugoroku was still frowning, eyes closed in thought for a moment more before he shrugged. "I think I'll go home in case I get some customers myself," the man muttered, hurriedly stowing his purchased goods in a pocket and looking back at the sea of people with wide eyes. "I could have missed someone already, oh no..."

Something told him that wasn't the case, but either way, the old man disappeared so quickly into the crowd there wasn't much of a chance to say otherwise... In the end, the guy was probably going to find out the hard way...

Well, in any case! Back to the 'tour'! The others turned back to Otogi, Katsuya rubbing the back of his neck for a moment while Mokuba shook himself off. "Lead the way Otogi-kun," Bakura said politely, bowing his head. The teen nodded, moving through the edge of the crowd against the still moving 'sea' to show them to a door in the back behind the counter.

"Just over here," he said somewhat confidently, pulling the door open and letting everyone through. "It's dark in there though," he added, the others bumping into each other somewhat as they attempted to clear their vision, "So watch your step!"

Dark? Yea that was an understatement... The door shut behind them, Katsuya looking around with somewhat narrowed eyes as he attempted to figure out where they were. "Well where'r th' lights th-" There was a loud click, the blond hissing as blinding lights struck him in the face. "AAAAAGH. Agggghhh," he shouted, turning around and still shielding his eyes. "Give us a warnin' next time!"

Otogi merely smirked from where he'd stood by the light switch, shaking his head. "What, you thought I'd leave them off?" No, he figured they'd have the lights on already! "Right," he continued, shaking his head and moving to the front of the group, "Well, follow me; this is just the hall, and besides storage there's really only one room that I wanted to show you all..."

"Only one room," Anzu repeated with raised eyebrows, looking around the hall as they went. "If that's the case," she continued, "Then why was there all this talk of a tour?"

"Hn? Oh... Well," he explained with a shrug, "Originally I was asking about Mokuba and his brother to come by... If that was the case," Otogi continued somewhat dismissively, "I would have shown them the security and computer rooms, but the fact is, they really aren't that interesting..."

Mokuba appeared to pout somewhat at that, Bakura giving him a slightly sympathetic look as their 'guide' moved down toward a somewhat 'hidden' door. Yea... Most twelve year olds weren't really into the tech side of things to say the least. Katsuya kept his eyes ahead, watching as Otogi pulled the door in. "Here we go... Hey," he shouted, stepping in. "Yugi, are you alright in there?"

The boy blinked, turning from where he was sitting on a chair of sorts and holding his puzzle. "Ah, Otogi-kun!" He came over from the chair, smiling as the others followed the teen inside. "Hah... And everyone else..."

"Heh... You were pretty far back," Katsuya said with a slight laugh, shaking his head as he looked around the room. Ok... What the hell was with this building and clowns seriously... "'S lucky we were all fished out eh?" Even if the scenery was a little less than... Er...

Yugi nodded, laughing somewhat as he looked back at Otogi and the others. "Hah, yea... Anyways..." He looked back at the large, smooth black table in the middle of the room. "Otogi-kun," he asked, blinking a few times. "What exactly is this room..?"

Yea that was a... Good question... The others looked around curiously, expressions largely varied among the group; Bakura for his part seemed largely indifferent... Mokuba more or less trying to look indifferent about the 'interesting' décor... And while in his opinion all the clown masks were just one more weird point to the room, Anzu seemed largely uncomfortable about it...

If the fact that she was deliberately keeping away from the walls were any sign at least. While they were looking around the room however, Otogi was busy pulling out a bag of dice from his pocket and walking over to the table. "This," he began, turning to the others as he pilled a few coloured dice out, "Is a table for the game involving these dice. It's called 'Dragons-Dungeons-Dice'," he continued, smirking as the others watched in silence. "D-D-D for short. Now currently," the teen said with a slight shrug, "I can't actually demonstrate the game as we're still working out the power controls for this table... You see," Otogi continued from the side, "We requested that it be powered separately from the company that made it... If you can guess what that means," he added with a wink, turning back from the table as the others frowned somewhat.

"Ahhh..." Mokuba nodded, turning to the others as they looked back at the boy. "Most of Kaiba-Corp's major devices, such as the duel-tables," he explained plainly, "Are all connected to a central computer in the main building... Not necessarily the best defense if anyone hacks it," he continued with a shrug, "But it's a lot simpler when it comes to running the devices and programming the updates, and it's not like it's that easy to hack. Actually," he added with a frown, turning back to Otogi, "It's pretty much mandatory for all the devices to be connected because of that... So how..."

Otogi shrugged, smiling. "Like I said," he said with a laugh, "I do the rest by hand!"

The others blinked, expressions somewhat blank with that comment. "By hand..?"

"Otogi-kun," Bakura said with a somewhat surprised expression, looking at the dice he'd managed to purchase himself, "Do you mean to say that you designed this game yourself..?"

The teen nodded, taking a seat on one of the two chairs attached to the table with a smirk. "Yep! My dad might own the store," he said with a shrug, brushing a bit of hair from his face, "But the game was my idea. I spent a few years on it actually," he said with a laugh, shaking his head. "A long time... But it was well worth it."

Wow... He came up with this on his own..? "Huh... That's pretty cool," Katsuya said after a moment, before grinning. "So... How th' hell do y' play a game with nothin' but dice then," he asked, hands in his pockets as he looked at the large table.

Otogi continued to smirk, pulling out a few of the dice from his bag. "Well, the fact is, it's mostly a free-for-all... Everything depends on what you roll," he continued as he spun them around his fingers, "So it's a little hard for me to explain right now..." Oh... Really..? That didn't sound like a really well working game... "Summon crests summon monsters, magic crests allow for magic attacks, battle for physical... The more crests you get," the teen added, holding his dice up between his fingers, "The more powerful the effect; two out of three for a successful roll, three out of three for a bonus."

Oh, well that made more sense... He guessed. Why were they all different colours though... "Hn... So then how does one or the other win then," Anzu asked, frowning somewhat. "I mean... I get how you start it but..."

...Yea that was a good question what- "Ryuji," an aged voice called, Otogi instantly going white with the sound. "Ryuji," the voice continued calling, "Are you in there..?"

The others turned, looking toward the door with somewhat wide and confused eyes before looking back at their 'host'. "Er... Who's that," Katsuya asked, blinking as the rasping voice continued to call out.

"That's... That's my... My father," he said with a cough, the others raising their eyebrows. That was his DAD? "He's... He's got a throat cold," the teen added, shrugging as the others blinked. Wow... That was... That was one nasty cold then... "Aaaaaah..."

"...He... Doesn't know we're here... Does he," Mokuba said somewhat nervously, laughing.

"Nooooo," Otogi said, rubbing his head. "No he doesn't..."

Greaaaaat... "...That's the real reason why we could only come to this room... Isn't it..."

There was a short nod from their guide, the others trading awkward looks as the shouts drew closer.

Okay... That wasn't good... "Ryuji..." Not good at all... "Come on now," Otogi's father continued with a shout, "I haven't got all day... The store closes early today, remember..?" Early? Why early?

The others looked back from the door to Otogi as the calls came even closer, blinking as their 'guide' rubbed his head. "Ahh... This isn't good," he muttered under his breath, eyes closed.

"Otogi-kun," Bakura asked with a slight frown, shaking his head. "If we aren't allowed to be here, then why exactly did you invite us all..?"

There was a knock on the door, Katsuya turning as Otogi looked up from the table. "Er... I don' think we really have time t' discus that..." At all...

"This way," Otogi quickly said, motioning toward a blank 'wall' at the other end of the room. Er what? The teen quickly slid the side open, pushing it out into another room and looking back at the others. "It leads to one of the storage rooms," he said with a slight frown, "But there's another door to the hall in there you can use..."

Kay, that was... Weird. Secret doors! ...What the hell... "Otogi-kun," Yugi asked, "If we aren't allowed here," he continued with a frown, "Shouldn't we just tell your dad the truth and leave..?"

He shook his head, looking over at the door with somewhat wide eyes. "Trust me, it's better this way," he muttered quickly, pushing Yugi somewhat toward the door without taking his eyes off the 'real one'. "Just take the hall back through the main entrance," he said just as quickly, "I'll explain later alright?"

Er... Alright... They hurried through the door, listening as it closed behind them before finding themselves in a dark room. "...Huh. That was weird," the blond muttered, shaking his head as they stood in the storage room. Nothing but piles of dice-packets and weird looking disc container things... And stuff...

"Did... Any of you feel like we were being rushed out," Anzu asked somewhat nervously, the group slowly making their way toward a door as they spoke. "Because... I definitely felt it..."

Mokuba nodded, scratching his head. "Yea," he muttered, frowning. "I don't know what Otogi was planning, but that wasn't really a tour either... I get that he wasn't supposed to have us over but he could have said something..."

"Well... I don't know about that not being a 'tour'," Bakura said calmly, smiling somewhat as they came to the door to the hall. "The fact is," he continued optimistically, "We were given an exclusive look at the device for this dice game... And you did say that Otogi-kun planned on showing us something that wouldn't be released for another month or so," he added, turning to Mokuba for a moment.

The others nodded, stepping out into the hall and moving down to find the next door. "Yea... I guess," Mokuba said with a shrug, hands in his pockets before he laughed. "I guess I got a little hyped about it, ahaha..."

Yea, just a little given everything else early in the week... That was putting lightly. "Well, not like there's much we can do about it now," Katsuya said with a shrug, pushing the door open to walk into the relatively empty store and freeze. "Wow," he said blankly, looking around the suddenly cleared room. "This place really ccleaned out huh..."

Bakura nodded, turning somewhat as they looked at a sign on the side. "They completely sold out," he muttered, looking back to the others. "I guess there's not much else they can do..."

Yea, he guessed... They made their way toward the store exit, shaking it off for the moment before a voice stopped them. "Excuse me..." The group turned, blinking as one of the store guards from earlier came over. These guys... They'd been scattered among the crowd trying to put it in order earlier... Didn't do much, but at least they tried right? The guard coughed, looking over at Yugi. "Sorry to disturb you with this," he said somewhat awkwardly, "But the store manager would like to have a word with you..."

Yugi blinked, pointing at himself for a moment. "Er... Me," he asked, frowning. "Why..?"

The guard shook his head, also frowning as he spoke. "We believe we have something of yours," he said somewhat plainly, "This shouldn't take long really..."

"Oh... Alright then..." The others frowned somewhat, Yugi shrugging and turning to them. "I'll be back in a bit," he said with a small smile, shaking his head. "I'll meet you at the Kame Game alright?"

They nodded, the guard leading Yugi off to the back rooms before another came over. "I'm going to have to ask the rest of you to leave," he said calmly, gesturing to the door. "We are closed after all..."

Closed? It was only two! "Wow," Katsuya muttered, blinking as he looked from the guard to the others. "Wasn' jokin' when he said 'early'..."

The guard continued to stand there, before the four nodded and left the building. "Well..." They stood outside for a moment, simply looking out at the relatively empty street and trading glances. "...That was weird," Mokuba eventually said, scratching his head and turning to the older three. "What do you think Yugi left in there?"

"Perhaps he dropped one of his dice packets," Bakura suggested, the four walking across the street and toward the Kame Game. "I don't think he had anything else with him... Though I'm not too sure he bought any dice either," he muttered with a frown, crossing his arms. "Hnn..."

"There's also his wallet," Anzu added somewhat offhandedly, crossing her arms as well while they made their way to the crosswalk. "That's not something he would want to lose," she continued, frowning. "He has his bus pass in there, he needs it for school."

Huhhhh... Questions questions... "Well," Katsuya finally said, shrugging as they waited for the light to change, "Not like anythin' bad'll happen from it righ'? He'll be out as soon as it's all cleared up..."

The others nodded, briefly turning to look back at the building with those words before crossing the street. "I just hope he doesn't take too long about it," Anzu said with a slight frown, biting her lip and somewhat leading the others toward the Kame Game. "I have work later today..."

"Oh, that's right," Mokuba said with a slight jump, "Katsuya-nii, you still have night-shift too, so we can't stay too long... We should probably leave around three thirty I think..."

"I would think you would have to head home soon anyways," Bakura said with a slight nod, looking down at Mokuba with the words. "After all," he added slightly warningly, "If you're going to keep your older brother in the dark about all of this..."

Oh, that was a good point... "Eh," Mokuba said with a shrug, Katsuya turning to open the Kame Game door for the moment. "We've still got time... Right Katsuya-nii," he asked, the blond turning back to look at the boy and the 'Black Clown' building behind him.

"Righ'," he said with a grin, nodding, "We've got a good-" ..Hour... Katsuya froze, frowning somewhat as he looked at the building behind the others with narrowed eyes. For a moment... For a brief moment the sky had... The blond blinked a few times, shaking his head and continuing to stare. Nothing. It was normal again but... For a quick 'flash'... There'd been a black sky, but the entire building had been completely lit up, more so than even a campfire blaze...

And then it was gone. "...Katsuya-nii," Mokuba asked, frowning somewhat as he looked up at the blond. "...O-Oii," he continued, waving his hand in his face, "Katsuya-nii, are you alright..?"

The blond shook himself, turning to the others and throwing a grin back in place despite the raised eyebrows. "Eh? Y-Yea! Yea! 'F course! ...Hey," he said with a cough, smirking, "Why don' we go see if Jii-chan figured out how t' play that game yet... Compare what we know," he said quickly, the others nodding as they headed into the Kame Game. That sounded like a good idea...

Yea... That last thing had probably just been a trick of the light...

"So," Yugi said somewhat nervously, blinking a few times as he was led through the halls by the two guards. "...You said I left something here..?"

The guards guiding him through the hall nodded, bringing him to a 'room' that was built into the hall before sitting him down on one of the chairs. "That's right," the first one said, pulling something from a box on the side. "We found a wallet, with a bus pass belonging to a 'Mutou Yugi'... According to the manager's son," the guard continued, looking down at the boy as he frowned, "That would be you..."

His wallet? But that was impossible... "That... That can't be right," Yugi said with a slight laugh, reaching for his vest pocket. Sure the crowd had been rough, but it couldn't have been rough enough to knock it out of his vest..! "My wallet's right here," he continued, "It's-"

...Right... There... He froze, a few packets of dice falling from the pocket as he pulled out his wallet. How did those... "Those are dice packets," the guard at the side said, frowning as he looked from the floor to the boy. "But I was on duty the entire time by the front desk," he continued with wide eyes, "This boy never reached it!"

What... A wave of panic washed over him, a voice stirring in the back of his mind. "...Aibou, what's going on," his other self asked curiously in the back of his mind, Yugi swallowing. "...Is everything alright..?"

Hah... That... That was a good question... And right now... He wasn't too sure of the answer... "Sir," one of the other guards stated clearly, moving from where he stood from the side, "We're going to have to search you for any other stolen goods..."

"W-What..." This... This wasn't happening, this wasn't... "But I didn't steal anything," Yugi protested, eyes wide as he looked at the guards surrounding him. "What kind of joke is this..! I didn't-"

One of the guards immediately grabbed the boy by the shoulders as he attempted to stand, forcing him down into the chair. Gh-! "Come on now," he said with a frown, shaking his head. "Just cooperate and we'll sort all this out..." He pulled off the vest, still holding Yugi's arms tightly in place as he struggled.

"Ghnn..! But I'm telling the truth," he shouted, looking at the guards as he continued to panic. "This is all one big mistake," the boy continued, "I wouldn't do that kind of thing!"

"Aib-" Yugi froze as his other self was momentarily cut off, the chain around his neck pulled up and over by one of the guards. N-N...

"Take this as well," the man said, ignoring the wide eyed look of horror he was now receiving from the boy before them. "It sounds hollow, he could have stored something in there..."

N-No... No no no no no... "G-Give that back," Yugi shouted, eyes wide as he began to struggle more fiercely. "That's a really important item to me," he called out loudly, the guard grunting against the force it was now taking to keep him in the chair. "Give it back!"

"Look," the guard said with a frown, putting the puzzle on the table at the side, "We'll return your things to you after we sort this out, just calm down now..."

Like hell! "G-GIVE IT BACK!"

A third guard tapped the first on the shoulder, holding up a collection of dice packets. Impossible... Yugi again froze up, staring at the packets in the man's hand with wide eyes. Impossible... "Found more in his vest pocket," he said with a frown, shaking his head. "There's at least eight all together..."

No... No that wasn't possible, that wasn't... "N- What..." He didn't take those, he didn't... "What!"

"Oh my my my..." Yugi tensed even further, a hoarse and rasping voice coming from around the corner as the guards turned to the source. The seemingly mute clown from earlier in the week walked forward, hands gripping a tall cane rather firmly as he hobbled over. "Such a headache you're giving me," he rasped, giving a long and almost ancient sigh as the boy swallowed. The heavily disguised clown came closer, picking up the puzzle from the table and tossing it a few times before shaking his head as he held it in his grip. "With such an innocent face," he continued, expression completely hidden by the mask, "It's hard to believe that your true nature is so ugly..."

The clown from earlier... His voice... "You... You sound like... Otogi-kun's..." He steeled himself, shaking his head with narrowed eyes. Right to the point... He had to get right to the point! "I didn't steal anything," he said clearly, swallowing as he sat in the chair. "You can ask Otogi-kun," he continued loudly, "He can vouch for me! Just please," the boy shouted, eyes trained mostly on the puzzle rather than the clown, "Give back my Millennium Puzzle... Now!"

The clown merely shook his head, clicking sounds coming from behind the large painted grin. "Tsk-tsk-tsk... Such a naughty little brat," the man hissed, Yugi tensing as the elder's eyes visibly narrowed. "Lying through your teeth like this... There's only one thing to do," he barked, the guards grabbing Yugi roughly and jerking the boy from his chair with a start. "Take him away," the clown shouted, still gripping the puzzle tightly in his hands. "The testing room is a good place to hold him for now," he continued, Yugi's feet dragging across the ground as he struggled. "I'll contact the authorities in the meantime..."

The guards nodded, Yugi's eyes widening as he was pulled away despite his attempts. "H-Hey," he shouted, gritting his teeth. "Damn it, let me go," he shouted, pulling as roughly as he could against the grip. "LET ME GO!"

"Quiet down," one of the guards barked, dragging him toward the same room he'd seen from before. 'Testing room'... But this was the same room Otogi had shown them, the one with the table... He stared, momentarily going silent as the door across from him was opened. This was...

"Gah!" He shouted as he fell to the ground, pushed roughly inside by the guards. "Ung..." The door slammed shut behind him as he pulled himself up, stumbling to his feet and looking around. "G-Gnn..." Dark... This room was... "Ah..!" He stared, tensing momentarily as a light clicked on above the familiar table he'd seen before. He was right... This was the same room... But... In the white, dull light, the room that had formerly been almost cheery was suddenly dark, frightening...

Even Otogi looked frightening in this light, with the shadows hanging on his face far too eerily for his comfort. "I've been waiting to catch you alone," he said darkly, the light highlighting a small cut that he'd missed earlier in the day. That cut... It looked like it hurt a- Wait, 'alone'? Why would he... "...Yugi..."

"O-Otogi-kun," Yugi said with a frown, rubbing his arms. Alright... He could deal with his questions all at once right..? "...What happened to your cheek," he muttered, stepping forward. "And what's going on here," he continued with a slightly louder tone, "Why aren't the other lights on?"

The teen ignored him, folding his hands over on the table as he stared across the room. "We're going to play a game Yugi," he said plainly, tone almost monotonously dark as he gestured to the second chair. "Take a seat..."

He'd rather pass on that, personally... "O-Otogi-kun... I don't..." The boy swallowed, taking a deep breath and steeling himself. "I don't have time for this," he protested, swallowing. "Otogi-kun, I think... Your father... He took my puzzle, I need to get it back... Otogi-kun," he repeated, shaking his head again. "I need you to talk to him, I-"

"I know," he said bluntly, hitting a switch of sorts on the side of the table for a small glow to emit beneath it. Small white dots lined the board, each outlining a series of squares. He knew about the puzzle, about his father? But then why... "But right now, that's not the problem..." Not the problem! "Right now," he continued, leaning back against the chair, "We're going to play a round of D-D-D..."

But that was impossible... "But... You said the power wasn't running yet," he protested, eyes wide. "That the machine was... Was incomplete," he said quietly, shaking his head. What was going on here... "Otogi-kun, I-"

"Here," Otogi said clearly, pulling a case from under the table and ignoring the boy's words. "The dice we'll use for the game..." The case was slid across the table, lid already opened and the case itself filled completely with multi-coloured dice. "I already chose mine... And earlier I explained a little bit about the crests remember," he added, pulling a smaller case from the side and pulling out his dice. Yea... The crests, but there were others besides the three he mentioned and... And he didn't have time for this! "Each player starts out with twelve dice... There's over five hundred to choose from, ranging in level and ability," the teen stated, folding his hands over once again. "You can choose whatever ones you need... So go ahead," he continued calmly, eyes narrowed as he stared at the boy. "Choose your dice..."

What... Yugi looked over the dice in the case, swallowing. He... But they had his puzzle, his other-self out there, he... He couldn't...

...He wasn't getting it back until he did this, he thought to himself, still staring at the dice. Not until the end... Was he... The boy again swallowed, nervously picking up one of the dice and looking it over. The colours were completely different, as were the patterns on the faces... How was he supposed to choose, all he knew were that different 'crests' had different effects..! And he only knew about three of them at that..!

"There are six different colour categories," Otogi called out, Yugi looking up from the case as the teen continued. Alright... "White, or Magic, Grass, the Warrior, Yellow, the Undead, Green for the Beast and Red for the Dragon," he explained, tone still just as plain and cold as it had been the moment the light came on. "And each of them hold different forms of monsters... But the black dice," he added with a slight nod, eyes narrowing even further, "Have a 'special', 'hidden' ability..."

A hidden ability..? Yugi looked back at the dice, pulling out a small handful and looking them over. In that case... "Alright then," he said somewhat confidently, looking forward as he grabbed a few others and closed the case in front of him. "In that case, I pick the colours Grass, White, and Black!"

Otogi nodded, leaning over to pull the case back and under the table before leaning back on his seat. "Good," he said with a small nod, before smirking. "Now... The stage for this game is the 'Dark Arena'... You could call it a void," he continued with a slight shrug, "The area of the board where nothing can exist..."

H-Hah... That sounded comforting... A loud clunking sound came through the air as Otogi clicked another switch, a pair of holes opening up in the table before them. "A-Ah..." Two holes... Now what...

"The game is about to start," Otogi said clearly, dropping his dice into the first hole with a blank expression. Hn..! "Drop your dice in the hole before you," he continued, Yugi nodding as he did so. The dice clattered down into the hole, sound of a motor came through the air as the holes re-sealed. Yugi sat back somewhat in his seat as the sounds continued, before jumping as a series of dice came through the side, neatly lined up in a row. "The machine mixes the dice randomly... In this game," Otogi explained, "The line up and combination of the dice is a key part of determining victory and defeat both." Alright then... He understood that much at least... "Now... We both take out the first three dice," he said clearly, pulling out his own set and holding each one between his fingers. Red... All of the dice were red...

He pulled out his own three, swallowing. Grass-green, grass-green... And white. So two 'warriors' and a 'magic' type monster. Another click came over the air, Yugi staring as a small doll of sorts appeared from a panel in the table. "Ah..." The small 'wizard' like figure stood on what looked to be a peg, surrounded by a block of 'land'.

"This doll," Otogi explained, a small clown appearing on his side of the field as he spoke, "Represents the player's health. The 'dungeon master' you could say," he continued, before smirking and continuing on. "It has three hearts as you can see," he stated, the three lights pulsing somewhat on each doll in the meantime. "And whoever is attacked three times, losing those points, will also lose the game... So," he continued, his opponent looking across the board nervously. "Let's begin... Game start," Otogi shouted loudly, spinning the dice between his fingers. Game start... Haha... That was all great but he didn't even know how to play this game..! "I'll attack first," the teen continued, tossing his three dice on the field. "On your turn, the player throws their three dice! Clear?" Er... Right! "Now then," he continued, watching as the dice clattered to the ground to reveal a set of two stars and a pair of crossed blades, "I've rolled two summoning crests..." The stars then... "Which means I get to summon a monster..." Oh shoot... "To do that," Otogi explained, still smirking as his opponent paled, "I place one of the die on the table... And push it down. Watch! Come out," he shouted, the die unfolding to reveal a small holographic monster. "Wizard Dragon!"

The dragon gave a fearsome 'roar', clawing at the ground it stood on before looking forward in wait. A... A monster and a path...

"Hehehe... Look closely," Otogi said, his opponent staring at the 'path' that the dice had unfolded to create. "In order to reach the opponent's dungeon master, you need to create a path using your summoned monsters... And while you could use my paths for that," he said with a smirk, Yugi staring in silence as he logged the info in the back of his mind, "Well... You still have to go through my monsters first, so I wouldn't recommend it..." Of course... "Now Yugi," he continued, smirking at the unease his opponent held. "...It's your turn."

That was right... But first... "Otogi-kun," he said with a swallow, frowning and looking forward. "I need you to promise me... If I win this game," he continued, narrowing his eyes, "I need you to swear that you'll return my puzzle... Promise me!"

The teen across from him stared, before slowly nodding. "Alright," he said calmly, smiling as he spun his two spare dice in his hands. "That sounds fair..."

Alright then... The boy nodded, letting out a held breath before clutching his dice. He was going to get the puzzle back... Alright... Ok... He had to win this on his own now... "Thank you," he said with relief, shaking his head and composing himself again. "Now..." He tossed the three dice to the table, watching them clatter across the ground only to swallow. "Gh..." Arrow, pentacle, crossed swords... "They're all different..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... You failed to summon a monster..." Eeeeeee... Not good... "Too bad," Otogi said with a 'sigh', shaking his head as he looked across the board. "You chose such high-level dice, you're going to find it really hard to do any better than this..."

W-Wait... What? "H-High level..." They had levels..? How did..!

Otogi nodded, smirking as he continued to spin the dice. "Let me explain... There are six types of crests... There are the three I mentioned earlier, summon, magic, attack," he began, flipping the dice in his hand to reveal a star, pentacle and blades for a moment, "And then there are three others, defense, the shield, along with traps, and the option to 'go forward'... The arrow," he continued with a smirk. "And the number of summoning crests the die has defines the level of the monster inside. Take my monster, the 'Level Two Wizard Dragon' for example," he said with a nod, crossing his arms as he continued. "There are three summoning crests on his die, so there's a fifty percent chance of summoning. Because of that," Otogi stated, pulling the dice back into his hand, "He has a low level... Take a look at your dice," he continued, his opponent doing just that for the moment. "How many crests are on yours..? All in all, all three of them only had one crest... That was it.

Uh oh... "Gh... One..."

"That's right," Otogi said with a grin, smirking as his opponent continued to look over the dice. "Which means your chances of summoning are very slim... Of course," he said with a somewhat dismissive wave, "This also means that your monsters are very powerful... But if you rely on just gathering powerful monsters, you'll lose very quickly... Now, you could very well get lucky," he added, giving a shrug. "And manage to roll the two summoning crests you need... But even so," the teen continued, looking at his opponent almost darkly as he spoke. "Four crests for a level one monster, three for two, two for three, and one for four... If I were to hazard a guess Yugi... I'd say that all of your dice are somewhere in the level three level four zone... Aren't they..."

Damn... Damn it, he was right..! Besides maybe two or three, most of the dice he'd picked out had varied crests..! Yugi bit his lip, looking back at the dice in his hands. It hadn't even occurred to him that not having a wide selection of crests would be bad... He only had high-level summons now... Not good...

His opponent sighed, pulling another dice from the side and adding it to his other two. "Well," he said with a shrug, "Seeing how you failed to summon a monster, it's my turn now... As with before," he called with a shout, tossing the dice to the table, "I roll three... And as before," he added with a smirk, and arrow and two stars appearing as the dice clattered into place on the ground, "I get to summon a monster. So," he continued, grabbing the dice with a swift movement and clacking one of them into place on the table, "Dimension dice! The path extends," Otogi shouted, "And I now have two dragons on the field... And in addition to that," he said with an almost menacing grin, Yugi growing pale as the second monster's path clicked in place on his side of the board, "This 'forward' crest means that my monster moves one step..."

Bringing him closer to his 'Dungeon Monster'... This was alright though... It was just one step... Just one... He nodded, grabbing his dice again. Alright... "My turn then," he shouted, sweating somewhat. He couldn't lose... He couldn't... The dice clattered to the ground, Yugi wincing. "Ah..." Summon, forward, 'attack'... The star, the arrow, and the crossed blades. Damn. "I missed again..."

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Better hurry up and summon something Yugi," Otogi said with an odd grin, folding his hands in front of him before grabbing another die. "At this rate, things will be over in seconds... Hahahahaha!"

Gh... Not good... Not good... If this kept on happening...

The boy swallowed, biting his lip. 'Other me...' He'd never hear that voice again... He'd never-

'...Aibou...'

"What do y' mean, 'he's not there'!"

The guard outside the store sighed as the blond shouted at him, hat under his shoulder as he looked over the five questioning him. It had been about half an hour since Yugi 'disappeared' into the store; and as the clock struck three, most of those in the Kame Game had decided that maybe they should check to see if something had happened...

Which brought them there, catching one of the guards as they left the building to finish their shift. "Look," he said with a sigh, scratching his head and looking over the small crowd that had cornered him. "I wasn't even there when they took him in... All I know is that they found his wallet and sent him on his way," he continued, shaking his head. "I mean, he's not in the building any more!"

But that couldn't be right, they were just down the road and they didn't see a thing... Not a single person left the building! "But there's no way," Katsuya protested, shaking his head and scowling at the man. "There's no way he'd just 'vanish' after somethin' like that," he continued, "He said he'd meet us back at th' house!"

"Yea, well, I'm not him," the guard said, giving a shrug and pulling off his jacket as he shook his head. "I'm not even on duty any more. If you're so worried about him," he continued, folding the jacket over his arm as he pulled out his car keys, "Then call the police." Yea because that would do much... The guard moved off for the parking lot, still shrugging. "Like I said before... I can't do anything."

Damn it damn it damn it..! "Jonouchi," Sugoroku said from behind, shaking his head with a somewhat exasperated sigh. "Let's just go back to the house," he continued with a shrug, turning back to head for the crosswalk. "He's probably caught up with your friend... Otogi right?"

The group nodded, frowning somewhat as they headed back and waited for the light to change again. "Yea... 'Otogi Ryuji'," Mokuba said, shaking his head. "But... Jii-san," the boy asked, looking at the man, "Are you sure that this is alright..? Just leaving it like that I mean..."

Sugoroku nodded, walking across the street and back to their house. "Of course," he said with a slight shout, arms crossed behind his back. "Listen... Yugi isn't some little boy," the man said with a frown, "He's a senior student, like all of you! Well... Most of you," he added somewhat offhandedly, looking at Mokuba as the boy continued to frown. "The fact is, he's able to handle himself! We'll just go back to the house and wait for him to come back alright? Like I said," he continued with a smile, "He's probably just gotten a little caught up in something or other."

There was another round of hesitant nods, Katsuya crossing his arms with a frown as they came to the Kame Game entrance. "Still... 'S not like Yugi t' jus' vanish without a word..." Wasn't like that at all, he was normally pretty good about keeping track of things like that... He paused for a moment, looking back to Bakura as the albino stared at the building. Huh... Looked like he wasn't the only one wo- "Gh!" Briefly the blond's eyes widened again, staring over the 'Black Clown'. Another flash... Black sky, red glow, what the hell was that even supposed to mean, seriously... The blond shook it off, blinking a few more times as the flash stopped again. "Oi, Bakura," he called, the teen jumping somewhat before turning. "You comin'," he asked, jerking his head back toward the game store behind them.

"Erm... Y-Yes," he said with a cough, turning back to the others and running over from where he was standing. "Right... Right... Ah..." He looked back at the blond, before frowning somewhat. "Ahhh... ...Jonouchi-kun," he asked, blinking a few times, "What exactly is that..?"

That? The blond looked down at his shirt where Bakura was staring, before hurriedly grabbing the dog-tags around his neck and stowing them underneath it. Aaaaack, shit, no one was supposed to see that! "Ehhh... Nothin'," he said with a laugh, coughing somewhat and shaking his head, "It's really jus'-"

"Were those dog tags," Anzu said with raised eyebrows as the blond turned back, Katsuya mentally nailing his head against a wall in response. Ahhhh damn it. Mokuba silently laughed at the side, Anzu and Bakura continuing to 'stare' somewhat. "I knew you had something around your neck," she continued with a smile, "But... I didn't think you'd go near anything with the word 'dog' in it given how you react to it..."

Yea haha, very funny... "Yea, well, now y' know, an why don' we jus' leave it at that," he said fairly quickly, moving toward the door to open it.

Anzu smirked, shaking her head. "Sure thing... But where did you even get the tags," she pressed, shaking her head, "I don't think you regularly have enough for those... If you're even interested in getting things like that..."

"Gh- None of yer business," he shouted somewhat loudly, still holding the door open for the others.

Bakura blinked, rubbing the back of his neck somewhat nervously. "We were just asking Jonouchi-kun..."

"Yea," he responded somewhat testily, "Well I ain't answerin'!"

"Oh... It can't be that much of a big deal Jonouchi..."

"I'm sorry if it bugs you..."

"Now where have I heard that name..."

Eh? The three turned, looking at where Sugoroku was apparently talking to Mokuba. "Er... What," Katsuya asked, blinking. "Y' mean 'Otogi'," he added, the old man merely continuing to stare at the ground in response.

"Otogi, Otogi..." Guess that answered his question. Sugoroku continued to frown, shaking his head. "Just how is it written exactly," he asked, looking toward the others.

Er... Written..? He hadn't really... Mokuba shrugged, hands behind his head as he answered for the others. "I'm pretty sure it's 'O' as in 'honorable' and 'togi' as in 'entertainer'... Why," he asked, blinking as he brought his hands back down. "Does that remind you of anything..?"

The old man continued to frown, arms crossed as he looked down in thought. "Hnnnn... It seems familiar," he muttered, eyes narrowed as he shook his head, "But I just can't place where I heard it..."

Huh... The others stared, sharing glances and shrugs before walking into the game store.

Yea...

Weird thing that...

In the time that the others had spent in trying and failing to locate him, Yugi had ended up frantically shouting from within his mind to the voice that he thought he'd heard. 'Other me,' he 'shouted' loudly, eyes wide and staring at the board in a panic. 'Other me? Are you... Are you there?'

But of course, there was no answer... The voice he'd thought he'd heard remained completely silent. The connection was held through the puzzle after all, so how could there be an answer..? It was just... Just his immagination... Yugi looked back at the board as the words 'summoning crests' came through the air, swallowing as a third monster was brought to the field by his opponent. A third dragon and a third chunk of 'path'... And only three or four squares between the edge of it and his dungeon master. "Something wrong Yugi," Otogi asked from his side of the table, smirking as his opponent pulled himself back to reality. "Am I maybe coming a little too close to your side for comfort?"

Gh... This wasn't good... If he didn't summon something soon... Then he would lose more than just the puzzle... He'd lose... Yugi grabbed the dice from the board, breathing raggedly in his panic as he tried and failed to calm himself. "...My turn," he shouted loudly, swallowing back a choke as he gripped the dice in hand. Please, please, please, he begged mentally, tossing the dice to the table and watching as they clattered about. Please give him summoning...

Damn it! The boy bit his lip, head bowed as he was greeted with two 'forward', 'arrow' crests and a 'magic', 'pentacle' one. Damn... Again! He'd failed again!

"And here I heard that you were the 'king of games'," Otogi said from across the table, Yugi looking up with narrowed and angry eyes. "Is this really all that the 'king' can do," he asked, shaking his head as his opponent stared in silence. "Hn, Yugi?" Gh... Don't talk about that, please... That title meant nothing, especially with how he had to get it... He didn't even know what happened to Pegasus afterward, he'd ended up leaving him there at the table... "Well... Then again," Otogi said with a laugh, pulling the boy from his thoughts, "That was all the 'other you', wasn't it?" ...What... What... He knew about... "Without the power in that puzzle," he continued, shaking his head as he looked over at the wall, "You're just a weak little boy..." What..? Yugi's eyes widened, frozen in a mix of shock and fear. No... This wasn't... He wasn't... "Of course," the teen added, "We aren't done yet... Are we Yugi," Otogi said with a smirk, grabbing his next die and adding it to his two as he had for all of his previous turns. "I intend to completely destroy you with this game... And I'm not going back on that..." Not going back... What did he mean..? "Now," he shouted, rolling the dice and watching as a pair of summoning crests appeared. "For my fourth monster," Otogi announced, "I can now reach your area! Go," he continued, pushing the die into the table before allowing it to unfold. "Twin-Headed Griffin!"

Gh..! The boy tensed, watching as the die's net locked into the board to reveal a two-headed, cyclopean dragon. One step, he thought with a swallow, watching the holographic figure's wings beat at the air. Just one step and he'd be vulnerable to attack...

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Check," Otogi said clearly, smirking. "And if you can't summon anything," he continued, opponent gritting his teeth in panic as he stared at the board, "Then it's 'mate'." Not good, not good... If he didn't summon anything this turn... "Your turn Yugi," Otogi drawled, eyes still narrowed in a dark glare. "I'm waiting..." If he didn't do anything, he told himself as his eyes closed over, then he'd never-

"...Aibou!" That voice-! The boy's eyes snapped open, Yugi looking back at the table with a swallow. He knew... He knew it hadn't been in his mind! He could not lose... He couldn't..! If he lost, then the puzzle... His other self...

Yugi gripped the dice tightly, steeling himself as he looked over the crests. There was only one summoning crest on each die... A 1:6 shot he'd get the crest on each one, even slimmer chances to get two... 'I have to do this... I must get you back,' he told himself, 'I have to do this...' He looked across the table, tossing the dice forward with a silent nod. He wouldn't lose! No matter what..! Otogi was smirking... The dice were spinning across the table, clattering against the set paths... But against all the odds, he would do this... He had faith!

The white one was 'magic', bearing the symbol of the pentacle... But the grass-green ones... "Ha... HAHAHA!" Yes!" The two stars stared up from the field below, Yugi taking hold of the white die and grinning. "Two summoning crests," he shouted with a laugh, unable to keep a triumphant grin off his face. "Go!" He clacked the die into place, watching as Otogi tensed on the other end. "Little Wizard, Level 4," he shouted, still grinning. The screen in front of him had flicked on and was detailing the monster now... There was a hidden ability... When a magic crest was rolled, an attack from two spaces away was possible... And two spaces away from the magician right now... "Hehehe... Attack the Twin-Griffin," Yugi ordered, the small holographic figure striking down the monster projected on Otogi's die. With a resounding and thundering roar the attack was made, Yugi still grinning as he shouted. "Thunder Rod!" The holographic dragon vanished in a show of light, leaving his mage to stand in place with a smirk. Just try attacking his dungeon master now... He could do this...

And he would do this! "So you summoned a monster," Otogi said, shrugging as his opponent looked across the board with a slight nod. "You might be safe now," he stated calmly, "But let's review... My path has already reached your area," he continued, gesturing at the field before crossing his arms. "And in addition to that... I have three dragons all waiting to strike... So tell me this Yugi," he continued, grabbing his dice as he was answered with silence. "How do you expect one monster to defend my next move?"

The boy merely steeled his expression remaining silent as he stared across the board. The real game had only just begun... No matter what the odds, he was going to win this... No matter what... Just because it was one against three didn't mean he would give in... No matter what!

"Roll," Otogi shouted, tossing his dice to the table top. They clattered about, coming to a stop as the series of red dice resulted in the exact same result as they always had. "Two summoning crests," he called loudly, grabbing one of them and moving it forward. "I summon Grenadier, level 2," the teen continued, pressing the die into the ground and moving back as the monster came into sight. "Now Grenadier here has a special ability," Otogi explained with a smirk, the monster sitting in place beside his closest dragon and tossing a bomb in its clawed draconic hands. "If I roll two trap crests," he explained, crossing his arms, "Then I can destroy any monster on the field..."

Gn... Any monster on the field..! Yugi swallowed, grabbing his next die and adding it to his other two. Hnn... He needed more monsters on the field... If not for an attack, then at least for a defense... He couldn't just go through with one monster if he didn't have to after all... "My turn," the boy shouted, looking over his new white die with a mental nod. Three summoning crests on this one... If he combined this with his other die, then it would be easy to fill his side of the board right? He nodded to himself, tossing the dice to the ground and watching as they clattered about. "Alright," he shouted, the white and first of the green dice landing with a star. "Summoning crests..!" He grabbed the green one, pushing it down into place as the information appeared on the screen. "Crocosaurus, Level 4!"

Phew..! This monster was pretty strong... Not only would it provide a good defense he noted, but it could potentially clear a path too... He moved his eyes from the axe wielding alligator, instead listening as his opponent began to speak. "Hn... My turn," Otogi called, pulling out his next die and rolling. The dice clattered across the board, both sides watching carefully as they fell.

Star... Trap, if the 'spike' symbol was any sign... And tra- He missed? Yugi frowned, before paling as he quickly remembered the last monster Otogi had summoned. No... No he hadn't missed... He'd...

"Hnhnhnhn... Exactly what I wanted," Otogi shouted, crossing his arms as he looked over the board. "Grenadier's ability activates," he announced, the holographic monster tossing a bomb forward with those words. A large 'explosion' occurred on the field where Yugi's recently summoned monster stood, leaving nothing behind as the light cleared. "And Crocosaurus is destroyed!" Gh-! Right after he'd summoned it too... "Hnhnhn... Too bad Yugi," Otogi said with a shrug, shaking his head. "That was a good summon..."

Hn... There was still another shot... There was still a shot... "My turn," Yugi shouted, pushing the thought of defeat from mind as best as he could while he grabbed his dice. There was still a chance... He still had a shot. He still had a shot at this! "Go!" The dice clattered to the ground, only for the boy to wince as he looked over the symbols. Forward, Summon, and Magic... Damn, he muttered to himself, gritting his teeth as he looked at the dice and re-gathered them. Miss..!

"Hehehe... Dice roll," Otogi roared, throwing his own dice forward while his opponent looked back across the field. "And once again," he shouted loudly, "I summon a creature! More over," he added with a dark laugh, the third of his crests revealed to be a single arrow as his monster was summoned from the die, "Girafuse moves forward!"

No... He had his mage, but he didn't have anything else... If he didn't make the right roll... No no no no no... No... Was... Was he really going to lose then..? Was this really...

"Your turn Yugi," Otogi was saying, the boy merely biting his lip as sweat continued to drip on the side of his face. Not good... Not good...

Otogi created this game, built it from nothing but a single thought... He knew all the rules, and all of the strategies... He himself however, had literally come in with no knowledge, no strategy, no way of preparing, no way of even knowing he'd be in this mess..! How...

How would he do this... "Hey," Otogi said from across the table, eyes narrowed as his opponent bowed his head, "Are you giving up?" The boy grit his teeth, looking up weakly only for his opponent's glare to intensify from across him. "Is this all you're capable of? Are you really as disappointing as you seem?" ...Otogi... Yugi swallowed, breathing raggedly as he looked over the board. What was he talking about... "Listen up Yugi," the teen said coldly, sitting up in his seat. "I know... That after you unlocked and solved that puzzle you defeated many people... And not just in card games," he added, the boy across from him tensing. "Not by a long shot..."

What did he mean by that... Yugi continued to stare, eyes wide as he looked at Otogi. He couldn't... He couldn't possibly know about...

"...The 'Shadow Games'," the teen stated plainly, "'Games of Darkness', whatever you want to call them," Otogi continued with narrowed eyes, ignoring the shocked look from his opponent. "My dad told me about the powers of that puzzle from the moment I could understand what came out of his mouth... 'He who solves the puzzle will be granted the powers of darkness', those are the words engraved on the side of its container... And now," he continued, expression stern as he looked at his opponent, "That person has appeared... After thousands of years, 'Mutou Yugi', you solved that puzzle!" How did he know all of this... And what was he talking about... "The 'King of Games', not just duel monsters... It's my dream," he shouted, still frowning, "To face off against that person, to prove myself worthy of solving that puzzle myself! If I can beat you... If I can solve that puzzle..."

How did he know all of this... ...No... How did... How did his... "...Otogi-kun," Yugi said slowly, still frowning with wide and shocked eyes as he looked across the table, "How... How did your father know of all this..?" How did anyone...

Otogi merely snorted, leaning back on his chair as he stared the boy down. "How did he know," he 'asked', shaking his head and turning away. His expression fell from the somewhat smug looks he'd been holding the entire time he'd been in front of him, fading even further into an almost depressed and blank stare. "...That's a long story..."

"...I'm not going anywhere," Yugi answered after a few moments, bowing his head politely.

"...Then I'll begin..."

"This is a story that began just a short time after we were born... Maybe even before it," Ryuji added as he crossed his arms on the table. "Seventeen years ago there was a man, a single man known across the underground gaming circuit known for leaving an endless trail of defeats behind him... The 'undefeated champion', the master of any and all games be it poker, chess, checkers, old, new... Even if he was completely new to the board," the teen continued, "He would topple his competition in an instant," he stated plainly, snapping his fingers. "Just like that..."

My father was also a member of that dark ring... And so impressed with this man he'd heard so much of, he approached him and begged to be taken in as a student. And to my father's surprise he did just that," he continued, leaning against his seat as he recalled the tale with ease. "Gathering and testing out games from worldwide, he learned in his ways... And then one day," the teen stated, seemingly neutral tone quickly taking a turn for a darker sound, "He asked about a box he had sitting at the side, a golden 'chest' embedded with a symbol known as the 'Eye of Wdjat'... And he told him," Ryuji continued, "'This box contains a puzzle... A treasure so valuable that only one man survived pulling it out from its tomb..."

The boy across from him swallowed, frowning. "That man," he stated clearly, blinking slowly before continuing. "That man was my grandfather, wasn't it!" As a matter of fact...

Yes. It was. However, he didn't answer, merely continuing with the story. "Now," Ryuji said with a half-hearted shrug, eyes growing dim as his vision blurred over with the past, "When my father asked for the opportunity to solve this puzzle, he was of course refused the right... 'Only the person who defeats me can be given that honor,' he was told. And only that person... Needless to say," the teen stated darkly, abruptly looking up with cold eyes. "How could my father pass the chance? So they started a game... But rather than go with the standard," the teen stated, voice lowering almost to a whisper as his opponent listened intently, "They decided to try something different, something new," Ryuji said darkly, eyes narrowing.

"But if Sugoroku knew the secrets of that board they decided on," he continued with a jump in volume, "He sure as hell didn't share them with my father... And at first, when he was defeated, it seemed nothing had changed. My father left his studies with your grandfather and everyone moved on..." Or so they thought. So they thought... "But that board had a dark curse... A terrible curse," he muttered, looking at the side. The reason he was here, the only reason... "How do you think it would feel," Ryuji spat, glaring at the boy across from him as he was answered with a single steady glare. He couldn't know. Of course he didn't. But even so... He had to at least come close. "To watch, as over night, your father suddenly succumbed to the same bone pains of a man at least thirty years older than him? As his bones and muscles suddenly became brittle and worn, hair going grey and falling out, all within the first day! 'Premature aging' they called it," he spat with a snarl, face growing red as he revealed the well kept secret he'd held between himself and his father. "For two entire years, I got to watch as my father went from less than thirty years old to triple that amount, and THEN SOME!"

And still he was answered with silence, opponent merely staring with no apparent change in emotion save maybe the twitch of an eyebrow. Nothing... Nothing at all. Ryuji grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes. "This fight isn't just some game Yugi," he said darkly. "This fight has been fated to happen since that night all those years ago... And for my father, not only will I avenge this unspoken crime that I've been raised to fight against, I'm going to earn the rights to that Millennium Puzzle... I'm going to defeat you," he stated clearly, "And with that, I'll inherit the powers of that device... But I'm going to do it fairly," he continued, narrowing his eyes. "So you show me," he growled, looking across the table as his opponent's expression shifted even further into anger. "Show me the power and skill of the one who could solve the millennium puzzle!"

Silence... Ryuji's opponent sat across from him, holding his dice in his hands. "My turn," he finally said clearly, voice devoid of both hatred and anger. He merely stared across the board, and then back at the dice in his hands. He had to hand that to the guy... Keeping his anger out of this...

Personally, he thought, as the boy looked over his two summoning crests and trap crest, he wasn't able to do that any more. The teen watched as his opponent silently looked over the dice, before placing his on the side. No move... He placed the die, but he didn't summon...

"That's right," his opponent stated, answering the unspoken question and looking forward. "I decided not to summon just yet..."

Hnnn... Now what was he planning then... He narrowed his eyes briefly, grabbing his dice and fingering them as he looked over the board. It didn't look like there was anything... ...Hn! Whatever! Leave it be... He'd just have to take the chance during this 'break'... "Dice roll," he shouted, tossing the three red die to the table top. He watched as they fell to a stop, before smirking as he looked over his result. Exactly what he needed... "Hehehe... Two forward and an attack crest... So not only can I send my two monsters in range of your Dungeon master," the teen continued, watching as his opponent went pale in response to the advancing army, "I can also use this attack crest to make the first hit! Lizard Dragon," he ordered, the more powerful of his monsters opening its mouth in the face of Yugi's 'dungeon master', "Attack!" In a roar of flames the figure was struck, one of the three pulsing lights quickly fading out from the small figurine. "Hahahahaha..! Only two hearts left," Ryuji shouted, smirking as he leaned back in his seat. "What next?"

His opponent merely looked over at his other die, tapping it into the board. "This," he shouted, the cube unfolding to link up with his own paths. "Iron Demon Gorugon, Level Three!"

The iron de- Ryuji went pale, watching as the large, spherical monster stared at the two dragons before it. It was lined up perfectly... And had it been any other monster he wouldn't be worried at all... But the special ability of that monster was..!

"Rolling crush," Yugi shouted as the monster became a perfect sphere, barrelling toward the row that his two monsters formed. "Destroy the Lizard Dragon and Grenadier!" With a single movement the monster advanced, crushing the two dragons and coming to a stop at the other side of the path. Gh... Two of his monsters... He just sacrificed one of his 'lives' to destroy most of his monsters in one shot... "Otogi-kun," Yugi said clearly, glaring at him from across the board. "No matter what happened in the past... I won't let you take my Millennium Puzzle!"

Tch... Ryuji looked across the board, a small smirk coming over his face despite the loss. Huh... He hadn't thought of that trick... Heh! Not bad... He looked back at his opponent, narrowing his eyes. "Hnhnhn... As I thought... You're no coward," the teen said, shaking his head somewhat. "It wasn't luck that allowed you to solve that puzzle..." This just made things even better..! More fun..! ...But he couldn't let that distract him... Not today.

Now what was he thinking right now... The two stared at each other in silence for a moment, eyes narrowed. Did he think he was playing... For himself? To get the puzzle for his own gain? No... He could care less about the 'powers of darkness' to tell the truth. That... Was merely a bonus. But for revenge... The boy across from him looked up from the board, expression shifting somewhat as Ryuji looked down momentarily. Of course... Of course it was for revenge... For his father... And for himself. To make right the wrong that had turned his father into the man he was today... To make up for the cane, the shouts, the mask... And for the leather-beaten face beneath it... But...

He looked up, steeling himself as he narrowed his eyes. Well... While 'power' was not on his list, even he could not ignore the mysteries that the puzzle held. And to solve those mysteries, he had to win this fight... Defeat Yugi... And earn the right to wield the puzzle himself. "Yugi," Ryuji called out, breaking the silence with narrowed eyes. "It's your turn!"

The boy nodded, grabbing a new die and picking up his remaining two. Thanks to his last move, the 'Iron Demon' was ready to defend the dungeon master... But Yugi likely knew damn well that defense wasn't the only answer. Ryuji watched as the boy rolled his dice, grinning as he again earned the right to summon a monster. "Alright," he shouted, placing the dice on the field. "Duker Twin Swords!" The boy looked forward, grin vanishing in the place of a frown as the tall, dual-wielding swordsman appeared on the field. "My monster stands by for now," he said clearly, bowing his head. "And like the other crests," he continued, "I'll add them to my pool..."

So he'd figured out about that then? Hn... Like his Grandfather... As expected. "Of course," Ryuji said with a nod, narrowing his eyes. There was no rule that said you had to use your crests on your turn after all... And gathering them together was always something that could come in handy... "My turn," he continued, grabbing his dice. Star, star, swords! "Dimension dice... Flame Armor Dragon, Level 3!" The teen watched as the path merged with that of the 'Duker Twin Swords', before smirking as his monster swung its axe. "And during this turn, I'll make use of my crest pool... Go! Two forward crests," he shouted, two of his three vanishing from the screen, "And the attack crest... I'll use them to have the Flame Dragon move forward and attack! DRAGON SWORD!"

"In that case," his opponent responded, "I also activate two crests from my pool," Yugi shouted, pointing forward as his monster blocked the strike. "Go..! Twin Blade Attack! Destroy the Flame Armor Dragon!" In a flash of light the blades clashed, the higher level monster easily barrelling through his dragon. The boy across from him grinned, nodding to himself as the field was left in his favor once more.

Again... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." As expected of course... But how soon would it be before he realized what kind of hole he was in? What kind of advantage he now had? "Hahahahaha!" Yugi frowned, looking at the teen as he continued to laugh. "It's great that you destroyed my monster... Really," he said with a smirk, "Good on you! But I already knew what crests you had in your pool... And I had a pretty good feeling that you'd destroy my monster... But Yugi," he continued with a grin, crossing his arms. "The results of this game isn't something determined by the attack or defense of the monsters... Something you don't seem to have figured out. Maybe a little too much time playing Duel Monsters," he asked, shrugging. "Either way... Take a look at the battle field," he said with a smirk, watching as his opponent grew pale.

When summoning a dice monster, there had to be space for the dice net. The way it unfolded would eventually set a complex series of puzzles... But the paths had to connect back to the base, and while he himself had a majority of his field free, his constant summoning had done one thing that just set the game for him.

On the entire field, thanks to the solid line created...

There wasn't a single place for Yugi to place and summon a monster.

AN: Yeeeeess, I split the 'fight'. Mostly because there is a lot of story to this arc, particularly when compared to the few episodes replacing it that completely jossed the manga's story line. Who knows why they had to do that... But either way. Next chapter expect to see clowns, dice, Bakura... More dice...

And if I manage to compress 'duels' as I normally do, you will also see what Jonouchi's silly little brain is trying to tell him. WHOO!

Things obviously moved fairly quickly with the tour, mostly because it was supposed to seem like that; Otogi is a little eager to get things over with you see. He is not so eager that he will take a forfeit though; he might have helped to frame Yugi in order to get him in there, but he has a pretty heavy sense of 'gaming honor' at the very least... Despite setting up bar-bets to be an ass.

Did I mention that Otogi is a VERY CONFUSING CHARACTER? Yea, he really is...

Poll Results are obviously still the same, so take a look at the last chapter for those...

And as a reminder, The poll will be closing at the end of the D-D-D arc, so get your votes in fast!

Anonymous Review Responses

Since this was a double post (Meaning I updated with two chapters rather than one... Mostly because I had internet issues, so I was on a typing spree), there aren't any reviews for this chapter. Which is part of the reason why this chapter looks so short, despite it actually being longer than the norm; very few notes, no review responses... Yay~

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that has little to say, since most of the cool stuff is in the last chapter. Or in the next one. Foo...

Today's title references 'Black Friday'... You know, that day in the 'States where everything is on sale, so everyone's waiting outside for the stores to open so that they can swarm the aisles... Possibly trampling people to death?

Of course, in fanfic-land, 'today' is Saturday sooooooo...

Guys, this place was so crowded that they had police sitting around to make sure nothing happened. It was… Amusing. Though in hindsight, that's probably just the building security staff, which is what I ended up rolling with.

Either way, the crowd situation was fairly amusing to say the least. Particularly since there was one panel where poor Yugi was just looking back going on about how far he's been pushed away from 'Jonouchi-tatchi' (Jonouchi and the others; 'tachi' is pretty much plural when talking about people and the closest thing to get to 'we' is, in fact, 'watashitachi' (So 'watashi', or 'I' and 'tachi'.)…

And there's this arrow waaaaay in the back of the panel, pointing at this tiiiiiny head, which barely resembles a mini Jou. It's really hard to spot, I actually missed it first time around.

Originally in the manga, everyone left the store to figure out the game, assuming that Yugi was just caught in the crowd... Which was a fairly accurate assumption at the time. Later however, they got worried and questioned the guards… But the guards claimed that he'd already left, so everyone had to leave again…

Of course, Bakura found a way around that particular issue… But that's next chapter.

In the manga, the game 'Dungeon Dice Monsters' was originally called 'Dragon-Dice-Dungeons'… Or 'D-D-D'. I kinda switched it around… But yea. Makes sense when you think about how pretty much all of Otogi's monsters were... Dragons.

I was tempted to have a scene referencing the abridged series, going on about how 'it's just like duel monsters', but lets face it guys; while I don't know about the anime, the manga version of this game is so radically different, it's not even funny. If anything, I would compare it more to say Bakura's 'Monster World', except... A lot more luck-based.

When Otogi says he can't completely explain the game, it's obvious he's pulling everyone's leg; but that's mostly so he has a bit more of an upper hand against Yugi really… He explains everything during their match, sure, but he does it when there's an added element of fear, which really, really helps... Not to mention, he does it after the dice are picked, which pretty much screws Yugi over to start off.

Otogi's actually telling the truth when he says that his dad doesn't know that everyone's there... See... He was going to say something, but the cane got in the way. While he hinted at using this tactic to get Yugi, he never said everyone else was coming!

Though most of Otogi's rush is to get them the hell out of there before things like 'It's time to get back at Sugoroku~' come out over the air. Because that would kind of kill things.

In the manga, Otogi's dad slips a pile of dice-packets into Yugi's pockets, and guides him to the front to give him a shot at buying the dice. He specifically makes sure the guard sees this, and then the guard pulls him aside for theft... Before he can buy any dice, poor guy. In this case however, the guards are left completely out of the loop, which means that they end up acting without realizing that they're playing a part. Yayyy~ (It also means that those questioning the guards can't say they're lying, because in all honesty, the guards are saying all they can.)

Yugi's swearing is 100% cannon~ YAAAAAAAAAAYYYY. I love the manga so much~

What the hell manga… For some reason in the manga, rather than maybe asking about leaving, or getting his puzzle back, Yugi just starts playing the game with Otogi. Otogi doesn't even say anything about the puzzle. He just says they're going to play a game… Which is interesting… But aaaaaah, it's not until the dice are picked and everything that Yugi makes him promise this!

Here's an interesting point; Otogi says that you need twelve dice to play the game... Now, earlier in the chapter, we have the store clerk saying 'Only six per customer!'... There's two dice in each packet.

So basically, the 'limit' makes sure that each person has just enough to play the game. Sweet eh?

No seriously, they have levels? None of the rules are written down, and Yugi really doesn't have any chance to figure things out in this game. The fact that the dice have levels is something completely unknown to the guy so… YEA. And besides, who expected that?

Really guys, his last name actually means 'honourable entertainer', or at least an esteemed one... The 'o' is the same as the honorific version, like 'Ojii' or 'Oba', where as 'togi' means 'entertainer', or 'attendant'.

And on another note, 'Ryuji' means 'Dragon Child'; 'Ryuu' being 'Dragon' and 'Ji' being one of the readings for 'Child'. Suddenly, the spam attack of dragons makes sense.

WHAT'S WITH ALL THE DRAGON PEOPLE, REALLY?

The 'Eye of Wdjat' as it's known (It's not the 'Millennium Eye' that's on all those items. It's the Eye of Wdjat.) is also more commonly called the 'Eye of Horus', and is a symbol of protection, royal power, and good health. It was personified in the Goddess 'Wadjet' (Wdjat), an early Egyptian deity who would eventually represent Lower Egypt as a cobra.

So it's... Um... Really important, hn?

Anyways. Also, I took a bit of creative licence with the 'curse' that Otogi's dad got stuck with, mostly because of the fact that not only am I pretty sure Otogi's mom wouldn't have hung around for too long but… I also can't help but notice that Sugoroku in the flashback looks bad ass. Seriously. It's INTENSE. I came to the conclusion that he was clearly around his fifties at the time… Anyways. I could say sixty as a stretch though, since it's really only the last few years that tossed Sugoroku in the crapper, so really… Yea. Curse came into being when Otogi was like… 1 or 2. Didn't clearly rear it's ugly head until he was around four…

Now here's something weird. In the manga, Otogi says something about being raised up for all this vengeance for eighteen years… But… They're all in class 2-B, the oldest he should be is seventeen… And since his birthday is February 28th, that's a really big stretch; it would mean he entered the school system late and… I don't even know if that's possible in Japan, since Elementary and Middle School education are legally required. In any case, as you can see, I went with that… Because for some reason, it seems… A lot more likely that Otogi's one of the oldest of the 'main cast' rather than the youngest. (It's 'funny' with Kaiba when you say 'one of the youngest'. For some reason with Otogi, it's just weird. Hnnn…)

And now you wait for the next chapter...

Updates will be much slower by the way, as Job hunting and Christmas continues! (And hopefully, actual job related things...)