Level Values

Thinking back, trying to go back to sleep despite having already decided the effort would be pointless when it was already after twelve o'clock was probably a lost cause. Hell, even trying to calm down after the nightmare hell he woke up out of was a lost cause. Even so, the blond told himself, head currently firmly locked against the shower wall in a slow and constant 'thud' against tiled wall, it would have been nice if it worked. If... Either of the options worked really.

Katsuya sighed after a few more minutes of ice cold water raining down from above, turning the shower off and stumbling out into the bathroom. In the end, no matter how many times he told himself that the 'morning's dream was 'just that'... He couldn't convince himself otherwise. Sure, it was just as bizarre as a 'normal' dream but... Well...

"'M never goin' t' tha' museum again," he muttered under his breath, leaning against the sink's counter as he took rasping breaths. Never, never... With all the sleeping he'd apparently done it felt more like he'd only closed his eyes for an instant. So really, more things to add to the personal secrets from his friends. Speaking of his friends...

...Hadn't he told the others he'd join them at the pool today? ...At one? Katsuya moved toward the bathroom door, looking somewhat blankly at the clock at the side before slamming his head against the doorway with a groan. "Aaaaaaaughhh..." It was 12:30. It would take him half an hour to run to the school from the house. Not counting the time it would take to grab toast or... Something... "Fuuuuuck..." He stumbled into the room, the blond's eyes roaming over the carpet as he grumbled mentally to himself. Damn... Stupid nightmares... Katsuya continued 'grumbing' before the thoughts came to a grinding halt, eyes landing on the paper he'd used to keep clay off the carpet while making Mokuba's present.

Wait... Did that say... He grabbed it from the ground, brushing off some of the dried dust and frowning. 'City to be closed off from all motor traffic midnight July 18th – 6:00PM July 19th...' What the hell..?

"Wait..." Katsuya narrowed his eyes, looking closer at the 'article'. "Does tha' say KaibaCorp?"

Needless to say, despite how he felt for the moment, he managed to pull himself into his clothes and swimsuit, grab a towel, and run as fast as he could to the pool. "Katsuya-nii," Mokuba shouted with a grin as the blond came toward the pool, the boy laughing as his friend smirked. "You made it!" The smirk grew somewhat despite earlier discomfort, the others following Mokuba's gaze as their friend tossed his towel to the side. "We were beginning to think you slept in," he muttered somewhat wryly, a slight wince on his face.

Hahaha, if they only knew... Slept in... He wished! Nonetheless the blond forced a smile to stay on his face, shrugging as he sat on the pool's edge and pushed the mental complaints from mind. "Eh," the blond muttered, shrugging. In the end, when he thought about it... "I almos' did," he said with a grin, before turning to the rest of the group. Bakura was missing he noted... But aside from that, it looked like everyone was there, Anzu, Yugi, Honda... Otogi... Which reminded him... "Oi... Mokuba," he began, the boy in question blinking as Katsuya looked over. "Why did S-" Not slipping was so much easier when he wasn't actively talking about Seto to avoid awkward situations... "Why did Kaiba close off th' city f' th' 19th..?"

The others shared quick looks with that, Yugi swimming over to join his friend at the side. Evidentally being aware of something he wasn't, most of them merely went back to their own conversations as the boy explained. "Ah... According to the 'other me'," Yugi began, pulling himself out of the water to take a seat with his friend, "Kaiba-san's holding a city wide tournament that day... So he closed off the traffic for safety."

Oh, well that expla- Wait what! The blond turned to Mokuba with raised eyebrows, the boy hurriedly throwing his hands up in defense. "H-Hey! I would have said something," he protested, "But you had work, and you'd have been late... And besides," the boy continued, crossing his arms and leaning on the edge of the pool, "I thought you'd have heard about it when... ...Er..." He hurriedly coughed, turning away as Anzu raised her eyebrows from her seat on one of the lawn chairs.

"Heard about it when," she asked with a frown, "Yugi and I only saw Mai that day... And there weren't that many people," she added with narrowed eyes, crossing her arms.

Mokuba swallowed, continuing to pale as he drew away from the pool. "Ehhhh..."

Pff! "'D Still be nice t' know," Katsuya shouted, pulling the others away from the subject as the blond scowled. Damn it! And of course Seto wouldn't say anything! Hell, it was no wonder she had that look on her face... Wait... Katsuya blinked, frown deepening as he realized another small point he was missing. "Wait, how's it 'city wide'," he asked, looking back at the group. "Hell, I though' there w's only one duel box, an' wasn' that thing torn down..?" To make room for an arena... Thing?

"Yea, completely destroyed..." Okay, so he was right with that then. Despite this however, Mokuba grinned, Yugi doing the same as he continued. "About that though... I wanted to tell you today actually," he said with a nod, clambering out of the pool. "See, yesterday," he explained, "Nii-sama announced the release of the new duel disk..." Ooooooh! Then- ...Wait what? "They're on sale starting tomorrow," Mokuba continued with a grin, leaning back somewhat.

They... They were... "Wh- Seriously," he said with a grin, before mutterings from where Honda and Otogi were sitting caught their attention.

"So that's why he was making such a big deal about it yesterday," the taller muttered, crossing his arms 'wisely'.

"I was wondering," Otogi added, nodding somewhat. "I guess that clears it up..."

"Waaaaiiit," Anzu muttered, turning on the teens with narrowed eyes yet again. "How did you two know about that," she asked, the two both tensing under the gaze. "Didn't you both say you were apartment hunting..?"

Why the hell was Honda apartment hunting with Otog- That reaaaaally wasn't the point was it. The two teens both paled considerably, rendered fairly silent as Yugi shook his head at the 'rant' his friends were likely about to be put through. Something told him that the 'other' was muttering an 'I knew I heard someone' in the back of the guy's head right now... Either way. "So," he muttered, opting to change the subject again. "Th' tournament uses th' duel disks," Katsuya continued, staring up at the sky for a moment before grinning. "Heh.. Sounds fun!" Really fun! If they were anything like the ones that Kaiba had last time in terms of holograms... "You enterin' th' tournament Yugi?"

The boy nodded, grinning. "Of course," he said with a laugh, pulling his legs out of the water. "This is my chance to face Kaiba-san fair and square," he continued seriously, briefly staring at the water before turning back to his friend. "Ah... But Jonouchi-kun," he added, biting his lip as the blond blinked. "You'll need to be careful..."

Careful..? "Nyh?" Why would he need to be-

Mokuba as well nodded, continuing on as his friend frowned. "Yugi's right," he said with a frown, the boy crossing his arms. "Katsuya-nii, nii-sama put an 'ante' rule in the tournament," he explained, frown deepening. "All those participating need to have a rare card to offer, and if you lose..." There was a short bit of silence, the boy sharing a glance with Yugi before continuing. "Well...

Gh- A rare card ante... "It... It has t' be rare..!" Ahhhh... Shit... Not good.

"Hey, you sure you want to risk that," Honda asked from the side, Otogi still 'explaining' to Anzu how they knew about the tournament. Given the look on Otogi's face, they were failing horribly but... Obviously Honda was more or less used to conversation while this happened. "I mean... They'll take your 'Red-Eyes'," the teen continued, crossing his arms. "That's pretty much the only thing of value that you have..."

Well, besides his dog tags yea... Y-Yea, it w- "Wai- OI," he shouted angrily, turning on his friend as the teen smirked. "Watch what you say abou' me!" Honda merely shrugged, watching as the blond continued to scowl. "'Sides," he muttered, crossing his arms. "This ain't too bad... Heh... This means I've got a shot at gettin' myself some rare cards," he added with a laugh, a grin replacing the frown.

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba muttered, shaking his head. "Don't be greedy..."

"Well in any case," Yugi's 'other' continued, appearing beside the boys on the pool's edge, "Before we can even think about entering this tournament, we'll need one of Kaiba's duel disks..."

Ah, that's right... Katsuya nodded despite being one of two who heard the comment, a few of the others raising their eyebrows in response. "Hey Mokuba," the blond asked, the boy in question blinking. First things first... "How much are th' duel disks..?"

"How much?" Again Mokuba blinked, crossing his arms and frowning. "Hnnn... Around 15,000 yen I think..." F-Fifteen thousand- Katsuya swallowed, the others again raising their eyebrows as the blond groaned at the price. Aww hell... "You know," the boy said somewhat wryly, "You get your next paycheck tomorrow morning, and the disks aren't on sale until then anyway..." They weren't?

Oh, good point then. Maybe if he was lucky it would cover it... "Phew... Lucky f'r me then," Katsuya muttered, laughing somewhat. "Hahaha..."

"We'll have to go down town," Yugi continued, nodding as his friend calmed down. "Our store doesn't carry it, but I hear that there's a specialty store nearby that will..."

"That's right," his other mentioned, Katsuya and Yugi both turning to what was apparently thin air. "They were advertising it at the store I went into with Anzu yesterday," the other Yugi added, nodding despite the fact that only two people could see him.

Hoh... That would work... "Hey, are you going to have enough money even with the check cashed in," Honda asked, frowning as he looked back at the others.

"Gh- Of course," Katsuya protested, scowling. ...Well. He hoped so at least. "An' even if I don'," he continued stubbornly, grinning somewhat, "I'll still manage somehow..!"

Honda blinked, raising his eyebrows at that. "Okay then," he muttered, blinking a few times. "Good luck with that?" Ghhhhh... He would, really!

Oh, and while they were on that topic... "Hey Yugi," the blond called, turning to his friends as 'both' moved to look at him. "After we buy that thing t'morrow, you wanna test 'm out back at yer house," he asked, the pair nodding in response. "I wanna try out my deck, I made a few changes t' it las' nigh' an'-"

"Wait," Mokuba cut in, frowning. "You were messing around with cards while you were working..?"

"Gh-" Ah... No? "Before I started, before I started," he protested, the boy before him continuing to frown. "Honest!"

"Ah-huh..."

Yugi merely shook his head, ignoring the 'argument' as his 'other' vanished from sight. "Well, that sounds like a plan," he said with a shrug, smiling. "We could meet at the store at noon..."

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba was continuing, "If I find proof otherwise..."

He grit his teeth, 'ducking' under the glare. "Gh... I ain't lyin'!" He wasn't, really! ...Well.

...Mostly...

Alright... So his paycheck wasn't actually that much, as he remembered when he got back that evening. What with 'rent' and 'utilities' being pulled out from it, among other things. But there had to be enough for him to afford that duel disk right, he told himself. Hell... 15,000, even if Mokuba was 'right there' when the price was decided, he could be wrong... Right? These were the thoughts that were wracking Katsuya's brain and making him hold his tongue that evening at supper, a slight frown on his face as he tapped a fork against the table. The fact was, after digging out his last check, he'd realized all too quickly that he'd be short when he went in to buy the disk. But hell, he couldn't just not enter this tournament, and-

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba muttered from beside the blond, pulling both his and Seto's attention toward him for the moment. The blond blinked, staring somewhat blankly from his mostly empty plate. "Stop thinking about duel disks," he continued plainly, "I don't mind paying the difference..."

He... He didn't..? Again the blond blinked, before nodding. "O-Oh..." Okay then, that-

"...What." The boys turned, blinking as they were faced with an oddly blank if not clearly surprised look from Seto. "You're buying a duel-disk..?"

Well YEA. Besides the fact that she probably shouldn't have been surprised about this... Well. He snorted, shaking his head in response despite the continued 'blank stare'. Probably should have been a warning sign but... Whatever. "Heh! What, didn' think I wouldn' find out," Katsuya said with a grin, before continuing on despite the tiny alarm bells in the back of his mind. "Hah! You might've made sure not t' tell me," he continued rather 'smugly', "But I've got my ways..."

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba muttered, turning back to the blond with a fairly unimpressed frown. "All you did was ask, it's not that hard..."

"Gh-" Hey hey, ruin his fun wouldn't he... "Yea... Well..."

There was a sound of a moving chair, the boys turning to watch as Seto abruptly moved from the table with the still continuing blank expression. ...She... Wasn't done her food, what... "I'll be in my study," she muttered, pushing past the door to leave the others in silence. ...Hell, that never happened before...

O... Kay..? "...What w's tha' abou'," Katsuya muttered, blinking a few times as he turned back to Mokuba.

The boy shrugged, shaking his head as he turned back to his friend. "I don't know... She's not angry," he continued, looking back at the door as though to wait for his sister to come back, "I mean... She would have said something otherwise, but..."

Yea... Just as confused as he was in the end it looked like. Well, anyways... "Hey..." The boy beside him turned, staring as Katsuya frowned. "Jus' realized, but if th' tournament's open t' anyone with a duel disk-"

"Oh!" The boy nodded, quickly catching on to what the blond was talking about. "It's not like that," Mokuba explained, shaking his head as his friend stared. "Nee-sama set up a 'ranking system'; only duelists of a certain rank will get a disk that allows them a place in the tournament... I'm not really sure how that will happen," he continued, shrugging with a frown, "But..." But...? He shrugged, going back to his food. Yea that wasn't helpful.

But anyways. Ranking system... "O-Oii," he said with a cough, flushing somewhat. "I'm somewhere up top in there right? I mean... I came in second at Pegasus' tournament," the blond continued, nervously reassuring himself.

"Hahaha, I'm pretty sure you're eligible for entry," Mokuba laughed, shaking his head as his friend continued to grow pale. "Even nee-sama wouldn't mess something like that up to keep you out, you shouldn't worry!" Hahaha...

Yeaaa... Yea what was he worried about... She wouldn't possibly do that, riiiight..? The blond sighed, shaking his head. Needed to calm down... "Righ'... I guess y' got a point there," he added with a laugh, scratching his head with a nod. Why did he feel so unsure about this though... ...EH! Whatever. He looked up at the clock, moving from the table with a mental shrug. "Well... Anyways," he said with a nod, "I got work so... Y' wanna come along w' Yugi an' me t'morrow," he continued, turning to Mokuba.

The boy shook his head, shrugging. "Sorry," he said with a frown, turning from his food for the moment. "There's a lot going into the tournament, so I told Rebecca that we'd video chat before it started, hahahaha..." Eh..? That was his reason..? There was a short bit of silence, the boy blushing slightly as Katsuya raised his eyebrows. Alright, now what was that abou- "Katsuya-nii," the boy added, frown deepening. "Remember what I said earlier about the cards alright? Otherwise I'm not giving you the extra yen for that duel disk!"

Katsuya nodded, merely waving away the threat. "Heh! No worries, I won' be bringin' in any cards..." ...For today. "Sheesh... Don' worry about it," he said with a grin, pushing his chair in before walking off toward the door. "It'll be fine... 'Nyways, guess I'll see yah when I get back t'morrow then," he continued, Mokuba nodding in response.

"Yep! See you," he continued with a shout, before going back to his food.

Again Katsuya nodded, pushing the door open and walking off. Hahaha... Okay... Time to go throw on his uniform for work then... The door to the dining room slammed shut behind him, Katsuya walking off somewhat briskly toward his room in silence. Honestly after what happened earlier that morning, a Duel Monsters tournament was probably just what he needed... Sure, seeing monsters everywhere was weird, but anything beat that 'night'mare he'd had earlier on, even if the two were probably (with his luck) connected.

Anything.

Though on his run to the pool, he could have sworn he saw a moth the size of his head fly through a few people... The blond shook it off, shutting the door to his room and pulling his shirt off. Ahhh, whatever. Creepy things were the 'least' of his worries, and all in all it wasn't like he had enough time to think about 'anything' else. And besides tha-

A loud slam came from behind him, Katsuya dropping his uniform shirt and bumping against the back wall as Seto threw the door shut behind her. "O-O-OI," he shouted, flushing as the woman stormed forward, "I don' walk in on you," the blond protested, Seto crossing her arms and pausing somewhat in her approach.

"Oh please," she growled, rolling her eyes, "You're wearing boxers, you've seen me naked," she pressed with a far angrier tone, "And really, this could be far, far worse." Ahahahahah... Aha...

Katsuya blinked, leaning back somewhat against the wall and closet door as he looked away awkwardly. Ehhhh... Y-Yea... Um... "...R-Really?" There were some strange, strange images coming to mind with that one... ...Besides the fact that the topic was apparently coming up without the threat of impending doom and-

The teen tensed as an even stronger glare came up, refusing to die down even slightly as Katsuya backed up further against the wall. "Get your mind out of the gutter Mutt," Seto hissed, leaning in rather imposingly as her 'employee' swallowed. H-Hahh, okay... "And listen very closely." He... He was listening..! (Just please stop scaring the crap out of him...) "This tournament is NOT something I want you participating in," Seto warned darkly, "Nor is it something YOU should want to participate in." ...What. "People are going to die in this tournament," she spat, Katsuya staring back with confusion clearly written across his face. "Whether I like it or not," Seto added bitterly, hand gripping the desk beside them tightly as she continued on. "And if you think I'm going to risk you putting my brother through that," she continued, cutting herself off with that warning hanging. Wait... She thought he would...

"...Die," the blond whispered, swallowing as the glare continued to persist. But why would people...

"Oh good," Seto muttered dryly, "You're actually listening." Hey, hey... The woman pulled back, gritting her teeth. "Listen; I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you don't screw this up Jonouchi, but so help me," she continued under her breath, "If you decide to get yourself KILLED, I will personally find a way to bring you back and beat you half to death for it!" E-EH!

Aha... Ahahaha (God damn it why was she so frightening...)... "O-Only half," he muttered with a weak laugh, only to catch a well lit and inflamed glare from the woman. "Nhy-!"

"Did I not just tell you how much I don't want you dead," she growled, the blond before her attempting and failing to avert his gaze.

"Hahaha..." Oh if he could only find a real reason to laugh here... "Y' really do ca- gk!"

Katsuya's breath hitched as he was pushed against the wall by his throat, Seto's glare managing to still continue to intensify as the woman half strangled him. Gh... Air... Aiiiiiir... "I'll say it again... If you somehow manage to get into this tournament," she growled, momentarily tightening her grip, "Don't screw up... Got it?"

The woman released her hold on Katsuya, blond taking in a gasping breath as Seto moved to leave the room. "C-Crystal," he wheezed, swallowing back a choke as he looked forward. "W-We're crystal..." Holy shit the grip she had...

"Good," Seto muttered curtly, before looking back as she opened the door to leave. "And by the way," the woman added, cold gaze softening just slightly. "Provided you can afford the disk, you have from the 18th to the 20th off." With that the door closed, leaving Katsuya to stare a few moments in silence as he ran over the 'conversation' he'd just had. 18th to the 20th... So the tournament nights then..? ...Assuming that was how long it was, but...

'Don't screw this up'... The blond looked over his dog tags, frowning as he slowly picked them up between his fingers. Much as he got the reasoning behind all of that... Behind the threat... Holy shit that was the last time he tried to lighten up a mood with that woman. Holy shit... Don't make lightly of things concerning Mokuba, just don't... Don't...

It was probably expected really, what happened the next afternoon. After a 'dreamless' sleep that only gave the blond slight comfort, a quick 'breakfast'... For the most part he was as usual, 'late' to meet up with the others. Hell, with the excuse that Mokuba had told him the address of the card shop they were going to, he'd literally 'run in' just as the others were entering the store, barely convincing them that he had 'gotten lost'. It was either that or admit to following them around on Marine Day after all so...

Yea. Didn't mean he wasn't stuck running like hell to get there. "H-Haaah... Made it," the blond shouted with a laugh, gasping somewhat for air as he skidded to a stop at the store. Three barely missed stoplights, about double the amount of narrow encounters with cars... Anzu and Yugi both shook their heads, watching as the blond looked around and continued. "Hah... So I'm guessin' no one else came along then righ'," he asked, rubbing his head. He didn't see anyone else at least... So...

Yugi nodded, before turning toward the card store behind him. "Yep... Did you manage to get enough for the disks," he asked, glancing back at his friend.

The blond pulled out his wallet, waving it somewhat with a nod. "Yep- didn't have 'nough wi' jus' th' check," he added with a shrug, "But Mokuba said I could pay 'm back after th' next few." Which was fine with him really... The three walked into the store, stepping to the side as a few people shoved past to leave. Just briefly, Katsuya found himself staring back at them. Did he see something..?

...

Nah...

Katsuya shook his head, turning his attention back to the store itself. Definitely a card store... And hey, he didn't see those booster packs before...

"Be right with you," the store clerk called out, carefully stacking a few boxes along the back shelf as they walked toward the front. The three nodded in response, waiting for a moment before the man turned around as they waited by the store counter. "Alright then..." Another pair of boxes were pushed in along the side, the man adjusting his glasses as he typed a few things into a computer at the side. "Anything I can help you with," he asked, leaning somewhat on the counter.

Yugi nodded, stepping forward as his friends both looked past the clerk at the boxes in the back. There they were, boxes gleaming in the store's light with a slight glare. 'Duel Disk'... Huh... It really was drastically different... Looked more like a shield or... Or if the picture on the box was anything, a sword even... "Hi... We were wondering if you had the new duel disks here," Yugi asked, eyes trailing back to the boxes the clerk had only just finished stacking.

The clerk followed his gaze for a moment before nodding. "Ahhh... You must be planning on entering tomorrow's tournament," the man said with a smile, the boys before him both nodding. "Am I right?"

The boys both nodded again, grinning while Anzu gave an amused smile beside them. "Heh! Yep," Katsuya said, the grin widening as he leaned against the counter.

"That's right!"

"I thought so... Well," the clerk said with a nod, briefly looking back at the stack of boxes. "I have a few tournament-level disks left..."

"...Tournament level..?" Yugi blinked, turning to Katsuya as the store clerk rooted through the boxes. "Do you have an idea about that?"

The blond blinked, before nodding. "Yea... Yea, Mokuba mentioned tha'," he muttered, turning to the boy and again nodding as he explained.. "Somethin' abou' usin' duelist rankin's t' keep th' number of people in th' tournament in a decent range. We're fine though," he said with a grin, laughing at the slightly raised eyebrows he got in response. "No worries, it'll be fine! We're definitely in!"

"Ah, if you say so," Yugi said with a nod, turning back to the counter.

"I've been busy all day with customers like you," the clerk was muttering, hauling a pair of boxes up to the counter as he shook his head. "Hah... After this I'll only have three left, and it's only two in the afternoon!" The three before him laughed somewhat at that, watching as the clerk continued muttering off with a grin. "I'm going to have to close early at this rate... Not that I won't have made enough when that happens... Now then," he said with a cough, tapping a few things on the computer at the side before turning to the three. "Could you tell me your names?"

"Ah... I'm Mutou Yugi," Yugi stated first, swallowing somewhat as he gave a slight bow.

Katsuya as well swallowed, a slight wave of nervousness coming over him before he followed suit. "Jonouchi Katsuya..."

The clerk nodded, turning back to his computer. "Alright then..." Fingers flew across the keyboard, the man adjusting his glasses as he started at the screen. "Mutou, mutou... Aha! Here we are..." He tapped a few more keys in, moving the mouse over some unseen point before jumping back with wide eyes. "Oh WOW! This," he muttered, blinking a few times with surprise, "This is incredible..."

Ahhh... What? Yugi blinked, tilting his head somewhat as he frowned. "Eh..." He shook himself, the frown lightening up somewhat as he coughed. "What are you talking about..."

"Oh..?" The clerk blinked, before nodding. "Right... Sorry..." The man coughed, shaking himself again before explaining. "You see," he explained as he gestured at the screen, "I'm looking you up through the duelist database, which records the rankings and achievements of all 'official' duelists." Oh... This was the thing Mokuba was talking about then... "It records all 'official' players," the clerk went on to explain, crossing his arms. "Tournament level entrants, 'working' duelists... Kaiba Corporation started it up a short while ago using the national tournament records to filter out eligible competitors," he continued, "Logging their rarest cards, their skill level in comparison to others..." He coughed yet again, going somewhat red as he looked at the three standing before him. "The remarkable thing however, is this... I'm obligated to offer a discount depending on the level of the duelist after they pass the 'tournament' level range... And your level," he continued, shaking his head as a shocked grin grew on his face, "Well... It's the highest one on the charts! Champion of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, level 8 out of 8... It's incredible!"

Yugi went somewhat red at the compliments, Katsuya chuckling at the look on his face. "It... It's not that much," he protested, bowing his head.

The clerk merely continued to grin, still laughing. "It most certainly is; level 8 rank gets you a free duel disk," he continued, eyes wide. "There's only two in the entire data-base!" O-Only two! ...He had a feeling he knew who the other one was... And the 'price' wouldn't have mattered with that one.

But either way, grins grew on their faces instantly with that in mind. "Wh-What, really," Yugi shouted, watching as the box was handed forward. Despite the box being about the size of his entire torso, he somehow managed to balance it in his arms while still staring at the clerk incredulously. "I... I can just take it!"

Another nod, the clerk going back to his database with a smirk. "Of course," he said with a grin, shifting his glasses again. "Level 5's get 10% off, and anyone from that level on are eligible for tournament entry..." Hoh...

"So that's Kaiba-san's limiter then," Yugi muttered, sharing a look with Anzu for a moment.

"Ah- Hey, what abou' me," Katsuya shouted, leaning over the counter. There was no way he could get a bad ranking but... He had this really nasty feeling... "What kinda discount d' I get?" ...Maybe he could pay for it himself though..?

"Ah... Jonouchi right," the man asked, getting a nod from the blond and turning back to the computer. A few quick key strokes was all it took, the man scrolling down the list with narrowed eyes. "Lets see... Jou, jou... Ah, here we are..." There was a quick click, and the man pulled a face before looking at the blond and shaking his head. "Ooooh... Level 2," he muttered, shaking his head. "So sorry..."

W-What..! "L-Level two..?"

"Eh... But Jonouchi-kun," Yugi protested, staring unblinkingly at the store clerk as the man shrugged. "I thought you said Mokuba already knew you would get in..!" Yea, he DID!

"Even I have to admit that should be higher with the Duelist Kingdom's records," Anzu muttered, crossing her arms. "Strange..."

Strange... Yea, nothing 'strange' about it! Katsuya merely bowed his head, gritting his teeth as the others continued to mutter about the 'oddness' of the situation. "'If you manage' she said, oh haha," he muttered under his breath, Anzu blinking.

"What did you say," she asked, staring as the blond tensed slightly.

Shit-! ...Oh what ever! "I said it figures tha' S-" Stop slipping! "Tha' Kaiba would do this, th' ass!"

"OH, heyyyy..." The three turned, blinking as the store clerk coughed and tapped the keyboard a few times. Five..? Did he just type- "Sorry about that," he said with a nervous laugh, shaking his head. "I read the label wrong.. Hahaha, darn resolution right?" Erm... Resolution probably wasn't the problem. They stared, watching as the man moved over to the cash register with another box. "Level 5 out of 8, ten percent off the duel disk... You're good for the tournament," he continued, smirking. The clerk rang in the numbers, Katsuya eagerly running to the counter and pulling out his wallet as the man continued. "That will be 13,500 yen please..." He owed Mokuba money now. Oh well.

The blond nodded, grinning as he handed over the cash in exchange for the box. "Heh! No probl'm, 's long as I'm in th' tournament," he said with a grin. Three nights off, three nights off...!~

The others laughed, shaking their heads as Katsuya grabbed his box and turned to leave the store. "Jonouchi," Anzu said with a grin, shaking her head as the blond pushed past the door. "If you keep showing it off like that you're going to drop it..."

"Oh man... Yugi," Katsuya said with a laugh, turning to his friend as they moved into the street. "We've got to test these things..!"

"Definitely," Yugi shouted, Anzu giving a somewhat exasperated sigh from behind the boys.

"Are you even listening," she asked, raising an eyebrow as they moved to cross the street.

There was no answer, Katsuya merely continuing his conversation with Yugi. "So how th' hell are we gonna wear these things anyways," he muttered as they left out to the streets, both boys eagerly attempting to open the boxes. The other Yugi as well appeared, staring at the boxes with narrowed eyes as he crossed his arms.

"Looks like they attach to our arms," he observed, taking advantage of his 'ghostly' status and 'sitting' in mid-air

"Hey," Anzu said with a nervous laugh, "Shouldn't you two at least wait until you're inside, or even near your house..?"

"Hey, 'no assembly required'," Yugi noted, looking at the box with a grin.

YES. "Thank god f'r tha'..."

"Hahhhh!" The two turned as Anzu sighed, the woman crossing her arms as she stopped at the crosswalk. "That's it... I'm going home alright," she said plainly, pushing the button on the side and waiting for the light to change. They continued to stare, watching as the woman walked off shaking her head. "Men!"

Erm... The 'three' boys blinked, each sharing odd looks before the 'other' Yugi shrugged.

"...Oops?" Hahaha... The other two smirked, before moving on their way.

"Heh... I don' even think tha' covers it..."

Time really passed playing cards it seemed. Though the duel disks were all set up and ready to play with, the two having latched them to their arms for a short bit, the boys had opted to practice the 'normal' way rather than struggle to find room for a twenty foot field as the sun went down. The fact was, it wasn't hard to guess at the reasoning behind closing off the city... Not to mention the reasoning behind doing that on the evening of the eighteenth, not that they were playing in the dark. Despite the 'arena' flaw however, Katsuya still had his disk latched to his arm, deck locked in place as he lost (yet again) against his best friend. Make that 'loss' streak three hundred fifty three to zero... "Aaaaaaagh," he groaned, rubbing his head as he looked at the few remaining cards on the carpet. "Jus' what th' hell 'm I doin' wrong!"

As the 'other' Yugi shook his head from the side, his lighter half laughed, watching his friend cross his arms. "Nothing, nothing," he said with a grin, gathering his cards back up. "You're doing fine," the boy pressed. "You've gotten a lot better," he added, smiling.

"A lot better," his other added, crossing his arms and leaning back from his spot beside the two. "Maybe this time when we make the finals," he continued with a smirk, "We can have a match as well!" A match against 'that' Yugi..?

Ehhhh... "Hahaha, maybe so," the blond decided after a few moments, "But I don' think I'll do too much better than I am now..." Katsuya gave a nervous grin with those thoughts, gathering his own cards and putting them back in the deck holder on his duel disk. There was a slight whirring noise, the three staring as the cards shuffled among themselves before falling silent as it had before each duel. "...Man," he muttered with a laugh, shaking his head as the others stared at the disk. "It's gonna take a while t' get used t' that..." The three glanced at the clock, Katsuya standing and stretching as he looked at his friends. "Anyways... I better head out now," he decided, Yugi nodding in response as his 'other' moved out of the way. They'd done a bit of 'experimenting' with the whole 'ghost' thing after watching the 'other' float through a wall... Mostly, the question was 'if normal people walk through you, what about Jonouchi?' (Going through Yugi just got them back in the puzzle, or even switched out.)

The answer was one falling over the other, as apparently, 'ghosts' could be solid too. ...That was an interesting 'find'.

In any case... "That's probably a good idea," Yugi said with a nod, biting his lip. "The tournament officially starts at eight thirty," the boy continued with a nervous smile, "And it's already eleven..." Hahaha...

Yea, if he'd still had work, he'd be screwed by now! ...Good thing then. "Hah! Yea..." He shook his head, shaking the thought off. "Domino Plaza right," he asked, Yugi nodding in response. "I'll see yah there then," Katsuya said with a grin, heading down the stairs and toward the door. "Hey... Thanks f'r th' tips, alrigh'," he added, gesturing to his disk before looking at the deck holder in question. "I'm feelin' a lot better abou' this deck now..." Even if he had to hold his breath when normal fighting resulted in miniaturized figures of the monsters charging at each other. ...Though at least they were less 'gory' about it, and opted to keep whatever mutterings they had to a minimum. (The fact that they even were muttering...)

"Of course," Yugi said in response, grinning as his 'other' also nodded.

"Not a problem!"

The blond gave another wave, heading out the door as he grabbed his jacket from the side. Thanks to the blistering summer heat, the jacket was largely useless but... Well, with the sun down and all... "See yah in th' mornin'," he called out, receiving the same words from the others as they grinned. The door slammed shut behind him, Katsuya looking up at the sky for a moment as he started heading back home. "Man," he muttered, heading down a near-by alley to pick up on lost time. The blond shook his head, laughing quietly as he pulled off the duel disk to get his jacket back on. "We really lost track 'f time wi' those duels," he muttered, clicking the disk back on his arm. Eerie silence answered the blond, Katsuya shuddering somewhat as he continued off in the dark. These smaller streets were pretty well empty now... Sheesh... Almost as bad as where he used to li-

-clank-

"What..." Katsuya froze, watching as a can rolled out into the middle of the alley. Hang on... The blond stiffened, turning as a shadow of sorts moved from the side before leaving him with more silence. That sound... He narrowed his eyes, staring out into the dark alley with clenched fists. Briefly he thought he saw flames, but... He stiffened further as a crowd of cloaked men stepped out from the shadows, blocking both ends of the alley without another word. Tch... Shit... "Damn," he muttered, shifting into a loose fighting stance. "An' here I thought this w's a better area 'f th' city..." The cloaked men gave no answer, one of them merely stepping closer enough for the blond to make out a chain and an 'eye' on the hood of the cloak. That eye...

'Eye of Wadjet,' he heard his own 'voice' mutter, tone slightly 'older' than his own. 'It's believed to protect those bearing its mark...' Greaaaat... Besides the fact that hearing voices was never good...

He was surrounded by an Egyptian gang. Or something along those lines, but gang or no gang, why the hell did it have to be EGYPT? God fuck his life... ...Didn't change the fact he was stuck dealing with this he supposed... "...Who are you," he growled, clenching his fists as the cloaked figures continued to stand where they were. Their faces were almost completely hidden under the cloaks, nothing but an oddly detailed 'eye' staring back from the tops of the hoods. Flames... He swore he saw flames on these guys damn it, but how...

"We're Rare Hunters," a man from the front muttered hoarsely, cloak unfurling to unveil black clothes and a duel disk. The man held his arm forward, face still largely hidden by the hood as he stepped forward to face the blond. Oh come on, Katsuya grumbled mentally, narrowing his eyes. The yo-yos were ridiculous enough despite all the pain they involved but...

...Actually, he noted somewhat blankly, these things could probably cut someone in two if they didn't watch it... ... Wait. The blond tensed, his 'opponent's 'introduction' abruptly coming back to Hun-

Shit. Shit this was the card-theft ring... Aaaaaaack...

"Jonouchi Katsuya," the man continued, the blond tensing as he heard his name. Shit... Guys like this, he had no idea if they had guns or what... And hey, the fact that they knew his name was even better right? "We've heard that you're in possession of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon..." And they knew what cards were in his deck... Somehow... "We offer you the chance to duel for the right to keep it," he muttered on, Katsuya swallowing as he narrowed his eyes. Yeaaa... 'Chance'... "Unless you prefer your... Other chances," the man added, a slight smirk barely visible under the moonlit alleyway.

Tch... This many people, possibly armed..? He looked around him, before clicking the disk 'on' with narrowed eyes. Eight people; hah! Even he knew when he was out numbered he told himself, watching as the disk's two halves sprung into place before settling at the side. "Heh! I'll take you on," he growled, watching as the Ghoul across from him clicked his own disk into place with a single smooth motion. "I'll take you down like the crooks you are, each and every one of them... GO," he shouted, drawing his hand of cards with narrowed eyes. "DUEL!"

Chuckling filled the air as the Ghoul grinned wickedly, his opponent swallowing as he pondered how 'different' 'reality' would be for the new duel disk matches. His answer was going to be soon, he knew that much... "I summon Hannibal Necromancer in defense mode," the man announced raspingly, tablet appearing tall before him after the card was placed on the disk. No monster appeared from its form as it was summoned into place however, the image of a crouching and thorn covered beast merely appearing on its cover. Huh... Alright then...

So defense mode was 'tablet' mode. He could deal with that. "In tha' case," he decided, placing a card on the disk, "I summon th' Panther Warrior," Katsuya shouted. The blond watched as the monster he'd recently added to his deck appeared in tablet form, rising from the ground seemingly out of nothing but the shadows at his feet. The outline of the armored and anthropomorphic beast appeared clearly on its cover, a smoking energy of sorts streaming along the stone before its carving glowed. With a howling cry the monster tore free, the tablet remaining tall and firm behind it as it stepped out from its form. Blade in hand it came to stand on the ground, light detailing every detail on the monster's form. Fur bristling clearly, the beast turned a moment to bow its head in respect to its summoner, before looking back to its opponent with narrowed eyes.

"Attack position," it growled, sword at the ready as its summoner tensed. H-Hah...

Well... He supposed that answered the question of what the duels would be like... The blond steeled himself, pointing his monster forward with a curt nod. Alright... "Panther Warrior... Attack!" With a jolt the panther charged, blade slicing cleanly through the carved stone tablet. A mere milisecond later and the crumbling rock fell to the ground in pieces, leaving nothing but rubble as the 'winner' scoffed at their opponent. Heh! Easy... "One swing's plen'y f'r that monster," Katsuya bragged, grinning somewhat wickedly as his opponent showed no reaction. The Panther as well smirked, Katsuya continuing despite the 'chill' his opponent seemed to emanate. "How do y' like that?"

The Ghoul merely drew his next card, looking over his hand and remaining silent. Sheesh... No reaction from these guys... "Hn," he muttered, staring over his hand briefly. "I'll play the spell Graceful Charity," he announced, tablet appearing at his side as the card was set. Again a carving appeared across its form, an ethreal smoke wrapping itself around the outlines of the tablet. From it's carved form came a white robed angel, the creature's light shining over the Ghoul only to shroud its master in shadows as a result. "Draw three cards, discard two," the Ghoul muttered, the angel behind him doing the same as she vanished into a 'dust' of sorts and crumbled with her tablet. "Next," the man continued monotonously, "I'll play Three-Headed Geedo in defense mode!"

Again with the defense? Katsuya frowned as the tablet appeared, the outline of a mutated looking creature etching itself in the stone. Even with the slight confusion however, the blond pushed it from mind, shaking it off as his opponent's expression remained hidden under his cloak. Tch... Looked like this guy was stalling for a monster that could face his Panther... Even so! "Trounce it Panther Warrior," he shouted, the monster giving a curt nod as it charged forward. With another cloud of dust the tablet was rendered nothing but rubble, Katsuya holding a smirk in place even as his monster fixed a frown at the wreckage. "Two down," he cheered, those around him remaining silent. Evidently, this wasn't a problem for them... But whatever. "That really all y' got," he taunted, grin still in place as he stared his opponent down. Come on... If he had this guy on the defensive, there couldn't be that much wrong right..?

And yet the Ghoul continued to remained calm, drawing his next card before setting it on the disk. "On this turn," he announced, a familiar tablet forming beside him as smoke wrapped about it, "I play another Graceful Charity... Exchanging two cards for three." What... Again! Katsuya watched as the angel again appeared, light shining as its master cleaned his hand out. Again the tablet crumbled into dust, angel vanishing from sight as the Ghoul set another card. "And now Death Hand," he stated plainly, a new tablet appearing with the outline of a crude palm-monster on its front. "Defense mode..."

The blond grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes. God damn it..! Why wouldn't this asshole attack! A slight breeze of sorts passed through the alley, both Katsuya and the Panther Warrior growling at their opponent's tactics. There was so much off about this, so much... Nonetheless the blond drew his next card, ignoring the tenseness of his monster as the next tablet appeared. Tch... Fine then, if that was the case... He'd just have to use scare tactics! He looked over his card, nodding to himself. "Whatever," he muttered under his breath, the breeze increasing to the level of a small gale as he set it on the disk. "I'm playin' this," he shouted, motioning forward and not waiting for the summon to 'finish'. "Red-Eyes Black Dragon! ATTACK!"

In a roar of flames the tablet appeared behind him, immense stone radiating with a power that somehow seemed completely different from those that he'd felt so far. Without looking back he could see the outline of the dragon traced out in entirety, indents glowing a rage-filled 'red' rather than steaming with the smoke of the other tablets. Seconds afterward a jet of flames passed above him, followed by black scales and an echoing roar, huge wings held folded inward as the beast's body grazed the robes of the men standing around them. The dragon was here... And before him, the Ghoul stared at his opponent, chuckling even as his tablet crumbled to dust under the intense heat of the flames. "Hnhnhnhnhn... So that's Red-Eyes," he muttered, a grin appearing on his face as both his opponent and the monsters stared back with near identical frowns. "A monster with such power and potential," he whistled, traces of emotion seeping through his words, "You must be breaking under the weight of that burden..." The blond grit his teeth as his opponent laughed, drawing his next card. "I'll have to relieve you of the burden," he muttered, Red-Eyes growling angrily at the statement. "And would you look at this..." The Ghoul continued to grin, before placing a set of five cards on the disk and motioning forward with an almost manic expression. What was that look... "I win."

There were no tablets appearing... Five cards were placed, and yet... "What..."

"BEHOLD," the ghoul cried, Katsuya stumbling back as an immense wind blew his monsters into nothingness, a pentacle appearing in the air. Hang on... How, there was nothing- His eyes widened as the pentacle before him grew, chains rattling as they tore free of the star's hold. "EXODIA!" E-Exodia! But there was no way... No... Oh god...

The ghoul before him continued to laugh manically as limbs reached out from the star's points, a looming and mummified monster rising stories above his opponent. Looking every part the Egyptian 'king' he was based upon it stared forward, eyeless sockets somehow narrowed with sick mirth as it stood to block the moon from sight. "All five of Exodia's pieces are rare, this is true," the Ghoul explained, crossing his arms as his 'partners' drew close to the ground for an attack. "And it's nigh impossible to find all of them this quickly in a match," he went on, Katsuya merely swallowing as he unconsciously stepped back. "But I have three of each in this deck... And we ghouls can find and copy as many rare cards as we want..." Oh god... Ohhhh god...

Cheaters... Figured... That they were... Exodia continued to loom above the blond, Katsuya gritting his teeth as he moved to charge forward instead. Tch... "You BASTARDS," he shouted, only to be held back roughly by the first two of the ghouls behind him. "Ugn!" The blond struggled to escape the hold, elbowing one of the men in the face before tossing the second over his shoulder with a growl. Cheating pricks! Katsuya kicked the fallen ghoul to the side, continuing forward with rage filled eyes. Exodia was still there... But with the duel over.

"Hnhnhnhnhn... Pathetic boy," the monster growled, momentarily shocking the blond in place. "You think to stand against me?" Tch! Katsuya ignored the voice of Exodia, instead punching down another of the ghouls as they attempted to take him down from behind. Nahhh... Just its owner, he thought, looking directly up at the monster with narrowed eyes. Evidently, this was a big mistake... "HN! PATHETIC!"

With a sudden jolt the wind was knocked out of him, one of the Ghoul's punches landing just as Exodia's fist slammed into the blond's gut. A fist easily the size of his body, the blond noted in the back of his mind, eyes widening just briefly under the force of the blow. "G-OH!" G-Gh... Something told him... He was holding back with that... Katsuya stumbled to the ground, wheezing as he blearily attempted to pull himself to his feet. Across from him the Ghoul that punched him was looking at his fist oddly... Heh, that was right, no one saw Exodia did they...

"Get his Red-Eyes," the 'main' ghoul ordered, the blond's slowly closing eyes watching as Exodia vanished with a cackling laugh. Rough hands pulled him to his feet, Katsuya holding back a shout as the grip further irritated already bruising points. Gh... Shit... That hurt... Hurt like hell...

But even with that... "Don'," he rasped, attempting to fight back despite his weakness. He pulled his arms out from the first Ghoul's grip, stumbling as he attempted to turn on his attackers again. "Get th' hell aw- GNK!" Another 'punch', this time in the form of a duel disk to the back of his head as he collapsed forward. O-Owwww... Ow... Katsuya's body quivered violently as he attempted to pull himself to his knees, only to have his support knocked out from under him again. Gh... Someone was grabbing something from his arm... Someone... "G... Gk... Get... Back 're," he whispered as he was dropped to the ground, still attempting to pull himself to his knees as the ghouls began to leave. "You f'ckers... don' d'serve... GHAK!" Another blow was landed, this one to his stomach, the last of the Ghouls kicking the blond to the other end of the street. "Gh... Gk..." Pain... Been a while since he felt like this... Sitting in an alley, with some kind of gang leaving him twitching as his vision continued to fade. Couldn't let them get away though... No... No...

As he lost consciousness, he could only think of one thing... Just a few words, a repeat of what he'd heard the night before. 'People are going to die in this tournament... Whether I want it or not!' No...

No... 'Yugi... Careful...'

When he woke up, he could see sand. Miles and miles of it, stretching as far as the eye could see. And yet for some reason he couldn't convince himself that this wasn't normal, and despite the nagging feeling in his mind he told himself this was as average and mundane a sight as any other. He could see sand...

And the setting sun, if he turned his head westward. Its colours bled across the horizon like a bleeding wound, another sight that he was supposedly used to. As normal as it was though, it was nonetheless beautiful, in its own way.

He was sitting in the middle of the desert at sunset he told himself, with a boy sitting beside him in the sand. The boy, like 'himself' had darkened skin, tanned by both years under the sun and years of their ancestors living by it. A fact that he wasn't trying to deny, for some reason. He was telling a story as well he noted, or at least finishing one, his staff held loosely in his hands as the boy beside him stared upward. A pity he'd missed it really... He suddenly couldn't recall the tale, and from what he knew, it was an important story...

'Why do they hate us,' the boy asked, face set with confusion. His attention was pulled out of his thoughts, out of the ponderings of the desert around them with those words, staff shifting in his grip as he looked down. Hate them..?

For some reason, he knew who the boy was talking about. And for some reason, he knew the answer. 'It's because they fear us,' he explained, a slow wind blowing through their hair as he looked away. 'None from the lands to the south can ever understand our ways... Particularly not the ways of our past,' he stated calmly, watching the bleeding streaks of red blend across the dusk sky. 'We live among things that most would normally abhor, and we accept what most would turn away from their steps...'

'Because no one else will,' the boy asked, blinking.

'Because there is no reason not to,' he stated, turning to the boy. A small bit of silence settled in, the boy turning away and nodding.

'Then... The stories my mom tells me...'

'Are true, to some extent,' he admitted, despite a small nagging feeling that told him he shouldn't have known nor stated this aloud. 'But you know,' he continued on, still looking at the boy. 'There is a reason why they are stories... Times have changed... The days of Gods and Monsters are over,' he stated, looking back out at the desert

The boy turned back, blinking. 'Really..? Then... I won't get to see...' See... Ahhhh. For some reason, he knew what the boy was talking about. 'That' thing... Hahahahaha...

At this he laughed, shaking his head before ruffling the boy's hair and smiling. 'That depends- the road between cities is dangerous little one, too dangerous to go alone like you planned... But perhaps if your mother gives you permission to join me on my trek this year you'll get your chance.'

'Ah... Really,' the boy asked, beaming as his 'friend' nodded. 'Even in the middle of the desert!'

He grinned, standing up and grabbing his staff with a nod. 'Of course...!'

'But...' The boy frowned somewhat, looking up with an oddly 'adult' expression in place. Strange... That look was different than normal... Familiar, and yet... 'We don't have time to go into the desert now,' he stated, the man beside him frowning at that.

No time? That's right, the nagging voice in the back of his mind said. No ti- But wait... 'Why wouldn't we,' he found himself saying instead, a slight and confused frown on his face. 'It's my 'job' to be nomadic; I move from city to city, and to the villages between. I can't stay in one place to long... And for that reason,' he stated with a smile, 'We have all the time we need.'

But the boy appeared to disagree with this, shaking his head. 'No you don't.' He didn't? The boy continued to look up with a frown, and the desert appeared to mist away into the night sky and reveal nothing but darkness. How odd... 'You have to be somewhere at 8:30,' the boy stated, 'Remember?'

Eight... Thirty? What did that even m- The nagging voice grew louder in the back of his mind, the desert continuing to fade out to reveal solid stone and brick. Wait, that was right... It was... 'Eight thirty...'

'You need to wake up,' the boy pressed, his own form vanishing into nothing but dust. Suddenly he was left in complete darkness, the staff in his hands gone as well and replaced with a device on his arm. 'Wake up...' Wake up? That's right, he... Katsuya jumped, shaking himself as his senses returned. Gh- That's right, eight thirty, the tournament... 'Wake up..!' He'd love to, but how was he supposed to-

"Wake UP!

"

"Gn..." Katsuya's eyes blearily opened, a rough and throaty voice continuing to growl at him from slightly above. "What..."

"Ugh... I said GET UP," the voice snarled, aggravation evident in its tone. The blond continued to blink, vision slowly clearing as he stared at the ground. Sunlight... Morning then...

Ugh... Weird dream... Probably the first 'real' dream for a while though he admitted, mentally wincing at the pain he was in. Ow... Bruises... The blond rubbed his head, groaning as he cleared his eyes. Pavement... Pavement... Feet..? Weird feet, looked almost like paws... "What..?" Katsuya's eyes followed the 'feet' upwards, only to swallow as he was met with a furred and quite clearly incensed 'panther'. Armor... And a cape...

Oh yea... Probably should have realized the feet were covered in fur... Haha... Hah...

What.

"P-Pan... Panther..." He swallowed, choking on his words as he stared at the red-eyed monster with wide eyes. "Panther Warrior..."

"Oh please," the monster growled, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. Interesting how unlike the card he could actually see somewhat slit pupils... (Wait that wasn't the point.) "Just get UP so I can go to sleep already!" Ah wait, what?

"S-Sleep," he asked, coughing as he stared. These things slept..? "Y... You shouldn' even be real," he muttered, shaking himself. "An' I'm talkin' to..." Alright, way to prove his case there... ...Waaaaait... The blond tensed, hurriedly pressing himself against the wall as he looked at the monster. Way to be slow of mind there! "H-HOW ARE YOU REAL!"

There was a sudden rapid 'flapping' sound as a few pigeons above them flew off, the two looking up briefly before looking back at each other. "Ughhh..." The panther rolled his eyes, pulling the blond roughly to his feet by the back of his jacket.

"W-woah," he muttered, stumbling somewhat as he leaned against the wall. Katsuya swallowed, turning back to the panther and watching as it shook his head.

"Just calm down already," he growled, crossing his arms as his ears fell flat. "I've been waiting for hours for you to wake up! Do you have any idea how aggravating your world is? I can't do a thing here!" Ahhh... O... Okay..? S-Sorry..?

Katsuya stared, watching the panther rant before shaking his head. "...'M I still dreamin'..." This had to be a dream right, hell, intelligible mutterings were one thing but entire conversations..?

Again the panther rolled his eyes, sword held tightly at his side in a belt that was notably missing from the card counterpart. "Look... This isn't my problem," he stated flatly, leaning in to speak at eye-level. "I was already finding it hard to believe that a moron like you managed to get this close to the other realms. This is just making me more exhausted..." Yeaaaaaa... Tell him about it. "Try not to call me out for a while, got it," he continued with a growl, baring his teeth momentarily. Sheesh... Angry enough..?

Nonetheless he nodded, despite having no clue as to what the monster was talking about. "S-Sure..." Honestly, it was really difficult to realize he was talking to thin air here...

"Good! And next time," the panther growled, walking over to where his summoner's cards lay scattered on the ground, "Catch the obvious strategy your opponent is making and THINK AHEAD!" HEH? And with that, before Katsuya had the chance to argue that he shouldn't be listening to 'hallucinations', the monster vanished, a card on the ground shivering slightly as a result. What what what..!

The blond blinked, slowly at first, before walking over to where the few cards were and staring at the piece of 'paper' blankly. Most of his deck was still in his duel disk... Which was, in question, still on his arm. But his hand was scattered along the ground, along with...

Panther Warrior. Even though that should have been on the disk, he noted, looking at the device as he picked up the card to put it back in the deck. But where was...

All at once the night's events returned to him, Katsuya barely keeping his grip on the cards he'd gathered from the ground. Oh shit... "Red-Eyes," he muttered, before turning to look down the alley. No... More than that... Far far more than that... "Th' Ghouls!" With teeth ground together the blond took off, fists clenched with one thought in mind. Domino Plaza... If the ghouls were targeting cards, then there was no way they wouldn't be there! But while that thought took control of his actions, it never occurred to him...

Panther Warrior had been standing there to wake him up but...

Hadn't Exodia destroyed Panther Warrior the night before?

AN: Battle City! And leave it to the Panther Warrior to screw with your head. For... Some reason. (Yeaaaaa don't ask. It's not his fault~)

Believe it or not, that dream was probably closer to a 'normal' dream than anything else. Though in its defense, most normal dreams are completely bizarre. As in, things like eating a stack of firetrucks. Whaaaaaaaat?

In any case, there's not much I feel like saying today so...

Off to business then!

Poll Results are unchanged, but someone said they'd voted (On the 'main' page, my Author page) and... They didn't. The poll is still being counted, but...

Yea...

Now then!

Anonymous Review Responses

Let the arrows fly!

What can I say Cynical Gamer… Freaky is something I enjoy. Same with Awesome. Actually, I think both in equal serving is the best thing to do…

And this is where I get to be cryptic. Minor role yes. Caring for goats, another yes. He most certainly was not a survivor, or a soldier or something like that… As to what he was in terms of everything else… Well, until I reveal that, the guesses are just going to have to pile unfortunately.

Jou does have his monsters, but not as expected… Winged Kuriboh however, does not have anything to do with it. As stated in the note, it's the Kuriboh that judged Tragoedia's heart; it's tied to Kul Elna in the fanfic in a very interesting way though…

He really should talk to Yugi, but the fact is, he won't… He really won't. Yugi will find out of course, along with a few others but by the time it actually happens… Seeing them isn't normal, but actually talking to them is worse. There's still more though, and HOOOOOOO boy.

No, no I wasn't… And that's right! Bakura was number 100; after he died (Or turned to sand..?), Zorc was summoned up by Ahkenaden. As to whether or not his death was required is up for debate though… And I sincerely doubt that Bakura was aware of that little tidbit himself.

Yea we should probably stop talking about the squiggly…

It's mostly little mini reveals for those connecting dots. But I can almost guarantee that it'll still end up with a 'big reveal' by the time things are 'settled'. Poor poor Jou indeed...

Of course they followed them Iona, what kind of friends would they be if they didn't?

…Probably more polite, that's for sure. And you know, I can picture that too… Hehehe…

No, no breaks for the blond it would seem. He really is a magnet, and when he's not a magnet, it seems that the weird-stuff attracts him. As to what Fluffy is plotting…

Actually, I can safely say without spoiling anything that he's honestly letting this slide. Because quite frankly, a lot of Bakura's actions were twisted from his drive to avenge Kul Elna… And the look on Jonouchi's face as he left kinda tells him that the blond isn't going to be an idiot about blabbing or anything, and likely feels for it to some extent.

So this more or less puts Jou in a neutral zone for the moment; Bakura won't go out of his way to help the blond, but he won't go out of his way to kill him off either… And not just because of 'appearances'.

In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next!

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that says... YESSSSSSSSSS.

Another pun filled chapter title! You could use it to refer to the 'levels' in Duel Rankings... Or you could also use it in the values of say... Sanity. 'Level-headed', you know? In other words, this title has lots of meanings; they're up to you though.

Some of the dialogue, as usual, has been moved around. Mostly, lines from Yugi and Honda have been split, with a few portions handed to Mokuba. And then of course there's the obvious changes…

Alright! Math time; there are eight finalists in the Battle City Tournament, which means there could only be (at maximum) 8x6 locator cards, plus 5... Thus ensuring that there wouldn't be a random 'ninth finalist'.

With this in mind, we have a maximum 53 competitors... Though it's probably more like 52, or 50 to keep things nicely rounded. In any case, you know what that means?

With 47 prefectures (And therefore, 47 regional champions), adding in Yugi and Kaiba... There were probably maybe three 'extra' disks. Of course, Bakura stole his, Malik got his from his ghouls and...

Well who the hell knows how Ishizu did it. (We already know about Jonouchi) Most likely, a good number of Japan's 'real' champions ended up 'hacked out of the system' by the ghouls unfortunately though, as a number of the ghouls that Yugi and Kaiba face have locator cards.

Of course... There's always the possibility that a few of those ghouls were the champions, but I sincerely doubt that was the case, given the 'average' age demographic of all the competitors. (Namely between 14 and 18, with a few exceptions... Like Mai.)

What's with the price of the Duel Disks Usagi! Well, lets face it, you buy one of those things, they will last forever. The fact is, what with buying crap loads of cards to play on the system, the Duel Disk is to Duel Monsters what the Wii is to Nintendo Wii games. It's a console.

Therefore, I will price it like one.

And you can bet that Kaiba Corp gets a share of the profit from cards thanks to partnership with I2… Lets face it, if these things really existed, would it really be surprising that it was one of the more popular things? Your card game is now a Battle Royale of LIFE SIZE PROPORTIONS. It's more realistic than all your video games COMBINED.

SIGN ME UP!

You might think the other Yugi's comment is a bit of a 'throw in', but Anzu and Yugi really did go to that same store; she mentions it on the next page of the chapter in the manga…

What? Kaiba cares? Of course she does… Mostly. Ironically, the main reason why she bothered warning Jou of this is because of her suspicions concerning the stores selling the duel disk in question; after all, as soon as the store owner realized that Jonouchi had a Red Eyes

…

Hence the 'if you somehow manage…'

In any case, is she really doing it for Mokuba? Or is it an excuse? To be safe, we'll roll with the first one...

For now...

For those curious, the 'ranking' system from five and up is like this. Level 6 gets 25% off the disks, with level 7 getting a whopping 50%; while it's not a mere 'two' at that level seven level, I can tell you quite honestly that despite the fact that no 'level seven's made the finals save one, there are very very few at that rank.

Try like... Five. And you can probably guess who one of those five is.

And if you're especially 'genre savvy', you might just guess the remaining four too... ...Particularly when I tell you this little spoiler; fanfic Jonouchi was considered as more than a level 5 by Kaiba... The level down-sizing was (obviously) another obstacle.

So yea; while they (Yugi and Jonouchi and Anzu) were talking, our crooked ghoul-cardshop owner noticed that Jonouchi has a Red-Eyes Black Dragon… Which isn't as rare as Blue-Eyes in that universe, but it's still pretty damn rare!

Speaking of conversations, despite Honda and Anzu being there in the manga, they mysteriously vanish after entering the store... Despite the fact that both would clearly have no interest in what was on sale, Anzu especially; she was just there the day prior.

Originally when Jou is attacked by the rare hunters, he still has the disk in the box it came in. The hunters actually let him put the thing on, set his cards in, and start the duel before winning…

And then beating the ever loving crap out of him. Because hey, lets just rub his nose in the loss more shall we?

Either way, besides the fact that Jonouchi and Yugi would have likely torn into those things like a pair of kids on Christmas...

Back to the cards! Technically, the way Exodia works is that having it in your hand you win instantly… No really; once they're there, you win. But Since it was summoned in the manga (artistically anyway), we'll say that the Ghoul summoned it to be an ass.

Actually, this is probably because the duel disk automatically knows what cards are in the deck; this way, when you draw a card activated by the draw, it'll still appear, as with Parasite Paracide.

...I still had the ghoul summon Exodia though. Just to be a complete dick. (Also to punch poor Jou across the alley.)

Speaking of that punch, on an 'actually pretty funny' note, you can bet that the ghoul who 'punched' Jonouchi at the same moment Exodia did decided to try it on a wall later on. Hehehehe...

I pick on poor Jonouchi so, so much don't I? Actually, this is another 'vote induced' dream. Originally, the chapter ended with Jou passing out… But in the end, this works in the chapter's favour, as the next chapter starts on such a different note that I would end up with this chapter a good two-three pages shorter than it should be.

OH WELL. You'll see what I mean later.

Clever plot hook hunters will already know what the heck is going on. Also Taffy, but she doesn't count because she beta's my plotline. (In fact, if you're a dork like me and enjoy reading the reviews to fanfics, you'll notice that waaaaay back around the first few chapters, she commented on this. Taffy was beta-ing chapters at that time as well.)

As a side note, the real Panther Warrior can't attack unless a monster is tributed from your side of the field… However, it was obviously made in manga before the card was, and the manga version lacks this… Therefore, the ability 'doesn't exist' here.

And as another note, the Japanese name for this guy is 'Shikkoku no Hyousenshi Pansaa Woriaa. The last two words are Romanized; in other words, english words. Namely 'Panther Warrior'. (The particle 'no' is also used to attach certain colours to subjects/objects in a sentence.)

The other two words however, Shikkoku and Hyousenshi mean 'jet black' (Using the kanji for 'varnish' and 'black' respectively, which makes sense) and… Panther warrior. I''m serious. 'Hyou' means Panther, whereas Senshi is soldier, or warrior.

So the card's name is 'Jet Black Panther Warrior - Panther Warrior.' I guess that means its his name, hehehe.

Also, the reason why Panther Warrior is a dick is because he's kinda meant for fighting, and he spent the last 9 hours or so 'babysitting'… Also because he's a cat.

Can't get any more stereotypical than that!~

More importantly now, a note on speech; relatively humanoid monsters can speak. Things like Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes and most other monsters can NOT. There will be exceptions… But these will be very rare, mostly because Jonouchi is largely one of the few people who would hear them.

Also, there will be a few humanoids who can't talk either. You'll find out who as we go along… For the most part though, they obviously won't be chatting since that requires being summoned aaaaaaand… Yea. Bad enough how crazy it seems to us, even when we know it's real right? Imagine what the 'normals' would think!

Well, that's it for now... Got a doodle of the Panther Warrior there for you; fun fact, had it not been for the existence of 'Lady Panther', a monster that Shizuka has, I would have actually been tempted to gender swap him. Fun stuff!

FanArt and My Art Section

Remove spaces, past link. Da-da-daaaaa!

Just one today, a design with some chibis... You'll notice that rather than the boots he has in the card, Panther Warrior has paw-feet and greaves. This was both a mistake and a design point for me, ahehehe...

Concept/Chibis - Panther Warrior - http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ panther. jpg - In which, besides seeing Panther Warrior in all his monster-y glory, we also have him being bored, cutting bread, catching his 'sister' having tea with the other monsters in Shizuka's deck, and staring confusedly at Jinzo with the company of the Flame Swordsman. ...So things that don't happen or happen when no one is looking I guess, hehehe.

And with that, I say enjoy this chapter! I'll see you in the next one!