Skin

by Usagi Squared

Jonouchi Katsuya will always look out for his friends, no matter how weird things get. That means he will keep on fighting, whether facing maniacs with freaky powers, monsters from a childrens game, or the fact Kaiba's a girl. Wait, what? Warnings inside

99. Chapter 98

The First and the Last

---

When the door closed over to the lift room, he had yet to get inside of his own. It took only a few seconds before he did so of course, but for a moment he couldn't do more than stare at it in silence, the cheerful panic and rush that adrenalin was leaving him with now gone. This match... This match would decide everything after all, and...

"You have the chance to decide on your opponent," the spirit in his mind whispered, Katsuya stepping into the lift and connecting his duel disk as the screen before him clicked on. 'Ready', the screen flashed. He sure as hell wished he was... "How you play this match will decide on a vital decision..." Of course it was vital, he thought to himself. Depending on who fought who, everything would change. The problem was, however, that the others could do the same thing he could; no single person would be able to 'decide' these matches... Not completely at least. "...Hnn... True," the ghost muttered with a shrug. "And then again, In a Battle Royale it's more often than not that either the detested will be targeted, or the weak one..."

Katsuya nodded at that, the lift slowly beginning to move upward in the dark. His decisions were made of course. Malik was the detested one. And in his mind, none of his opponents were weak. But then there was the others. To Malik, he was the weak one, that was for certain. To Seto, he was someone who was likely 'weak' as well, if not someone she didn't want fighting at all for reasons he didn't completely know. To Yugi he was a friend who had promised him a match, and to Yugi there were no 'weak' opponents... And hell, while Malik hated Yugi, everyone hated Malik.

Of course, there were views of others from others' perspectives to think of too. To Seto, Yugi was a rival, and one with a God card; something Seto wanted more than anything from this tournament other than for people to stop coming close to death or simply dying. To Seto, Malik was the source of the endless terror on her ship and in her tournament, sowing seeds of discord without care. He was another with a God card, and one who needed to be stopped... But he was also a threat that could not be taken lightly, a threat that had and would kill without hesitation.

The lift came out into the open 'air' of the rest of the tower, but for some reason that he felt he knew the origin of, he wasn't surprised with what he saw. And as Isono and the others appeared, and rules came to mind, he had a feeling he knew where 'that' came from as well, making a note to at least pretend to pay attention once the rules actually began to be explained. The tower's 'top' was far from sight, each 'lift' stopping about twenty feet from the floor with a large number to spare. There was nothing but darkness above them... And despite everything, he had to swallow in unease. "Damn th' ceilin's tall," Katsuya muttered, looking up as the others entered from below. Ah- They...

"Hooooiiii, Jonouchi! Yugi," Honda called from below, shouts from Anzu and Otogi both coming in addition to his own cries.

"Nii-sama! Katsuya-nii," Mokuba added with a shout. "Good luck!"

Waving came from below, the four competitors looking down for their own reasons as Yugi blinked. "Ah- Guys..!"

"Is that Anzu," his lighter half asked as he looked down at their friend's eyes, "Or M- ...Nevermind."

"So Jonouchi," 'Malik' shouted from below, the slight double from the Millennium Rod's 'spirit' telling him who it was as golden eyes flashed. The typical Egyptian's grin was in place across the woman's face,hands behind her head in another more 'Malik-like' action. "Any idea what you'll be doing now?"

"Errr..." The blond blinked, looking toward Seto before plastering a somewhat pathetic grin on his place with a laugh. "Hahaha... ...S- Kaibaaaaaa? What's goin' on..?"

The woman promptly rolled her eyes, arms crossed as she fixed her 'friend' with a partially annoyed glare. "Hn! Try waiting for the instructions, moron."

"GH!" Oh come on, he was just playing along..! ...Stupid flashes and crap... Fine! He'd listen damn it, and-

"Alright," came a shout from below, the four looking down as Isono again began speaking from the center of the room. "A final briefing before we begin; as you know this will be a battle royale playing by standard Battle City rules! The screens before you," the man explained, "Should your disk be connected properly, read 'Ready' at the moment," he continued, Katsuya not even glancing down to check. "These screens will show an organized view of whatever is on your opponent's field once this match begins. The more lifepoints lost," Isono went on, gesturing to the marked lines along the lift carriers on the wall, "The further your lift will rise up the side of the tower... By the end of it," the announcer told them, "The first two to the top will be the first to fight. Now... In order to decide who moves first," the man went on, "Each of you will choose one monster card from your deck!" One card..? "This card will be removed from the deck for the remainder of the battle," he explained loudly, "And the order of turns will be decided by the attack power of the card chosen! So..."

Make your decision! Each player pulled out their deck at that, Katsuya narrowing his eyes somewhat as he did the same. Down below, he thought he could hear muttering despite it all being out of audible range... 'If it's like this,' Anzu was saying during a momentary return of control, 'It should be easy right? Even if they lose, they'll just be eliminated so-' The woman abruptly cut herself off, eyes flashing gold as the somewhat hopeful expression replaced with a frown.

'No,' Malik said quickly. 'It's not that easy... This is going to be one psychological mess after another with the way it's set up now...' A psychological mess? Eh? As Honda had asked why that was, Otogi continued for the Egyptian, his eyes narrowing in slight anticipation.

'Jonouchi wants to fight Yugi for a promise,' the teen began. 'He might cover for Yugi with that in mind, in an attempt to preserve both their lifepoints. However,' he added, Katsuya attempting to focus on his cards despite the bad habit of picking up on distant conversations coming to play, 'Jonouchi also likes Kaiba a lot from what I can gather... And with Malik there, he'll probably not want Kaiba or Yugi to fight him...' Absolutely right..! And... 'And of course,' Otogi continued with a cough, 'The trend in most battle royales is that one person will be targeted by all the others, so...' Wait? ...So? So 'what', what did 'so' mea-

"'So' it would appear they are thinking of you chabar," the ghost chuckled, Katsuya tensing as his friends slowly looked toward him with somewhat worried eyes. W-What!

Oh come on! "O-OI," he shouted angrily, "What th' hell are y' lookin' at me for!"

Honda tensed, laughing nervously and throwing his hands up in a mock 'shield'. "Nothing! Just keep an eye on yourself alright," he shouted, laughing again as the others shrugged. Ghhh...

"What th' hell... I'll be fine," he growled under his breath, "Morons..." He went back to his deck, grumbling to himself as he looked through his cards and fell back into the thought of who fought who. Seto wanted Ra, the most powerful of God Cards, which was in the possession of a psychopathic sado-masocist. But Seto would also want Osiris he told himself, and more than anything she'd want to fight with Yugi. Yugi would probably be torn between all three though; no one could deny he enjoyed fighting against Seto after all, but he'd also made a promise with him to duel him in this tournament. And then of course, there was Malik, who was the source of all their problems...

And that same 'other' Malik of course, could probably have cared less so long as someone died in the end and he got his fight. As for himself... He wanted to fight Yugi, he told himself with a frown. But...

"But," the ghost in his head asked, narrowing his eyes.

But this thing needed to shut up, he grumbled mentally, the ghost giving a somewhat innocent shrug in response. And besides that... Mai was counting on him, he told himself with a swallow. And moreover, Ryuzaki had sacrificed himself to try and stop this guy, and to ignore that would be an insult. Payback, he thought bitterly to himself. Revenge... And more importantly, to keep Yugi or Seto from falling to the same fate... So, for that reason...

Sorry Yugi, he thought to himself, cards coming to mind as the others made their decisions. But he had his target. He knew he made a promise... But he was going to battle Malik, regardless of those words. A card, the swordsman of landstar was pulled from his deck, and as the others held their own cards out Isono nodded from below. The weakest monster would put him in last; he'd be able to better figure out how to attack if he knew what everyone had played, even if it put him at a disadvantage... "The decisions have been made," Isono announced, before continuing on as cards came to Katsuya's mind. Seto's card was the 'Masked Beast Des Guardius', taken from the masks of light and darkness as ante. Yugi's was the feral imp. Malik's was, just a few hundred points ahead of Yugi's, 'Rekunga'. "The order of play is the following; Kaiba Seto, Ishtar Malik, Mutou Yugi, and finally, Jonouchi Katsuya!"

"You're last..." Of course he was last. "...You did that on purpose," the white ghost muttered, Katsuya merely smiling wryly as Seto gave him a somewhat suspicious look from across him. Yea... He did...

But it wasn't like any one would- ...Notice? "Hey," a voice asked. "Jonouchi-kun..." Eh! The blond blinked, looking to the side as Yugi's lighter half hovered in the air beside him with a somewhat blank stare..

Ah... "Y-Yugi," he hissed under his breath, the call for each player to draw their hand coming as the blond coughed and attempted not to draw attention to his conversation. "What'r you..."

"Other Me is still trying to decide who he wants to fight against," the boy admitted, biting his lip with a slight shrug. "I decided to give him some privacy... ...Ah..." He tensed somewhat, as though just realizing the slight bit of hypocrisy in the words. "Um... I'll leave you to do the same if you want," he admitted with a slight swallow. "I mean, the duel's about to start and all," Yugi continued somewhat nervously, "But I wanted to wish you luck before going back to the puzzle and-"

"Hey," the blond said with a smirk, "'S fine." His friend stared somewhat, and Katsuya's smirk grew. "Bounce around all y' like," Katsuya told him, "I know y' won' cheat. Sides," he added, crossing his arms as he chuckled to himself, "Not like I look at m' hand anyways righ'?"

The spirit blinked, before rubbing his head with a nod. "Well... I guess not... It definitely makes it easier to cheer you on when I don't worry about your plan potentially slipping through to the other me's head," the boy admitted quietly. "But... Do you really not look at your hand at all," he shouted incredulously. "Seriously? You said you could see your draws before it happened," he continued with wide eyes, "But that..."

Again the blond shrugged, his hand folded under his arm already as his hand of cards floated around his mind. "Eh... Comes w' weird psychic abilities I suppose. I got used t' it by th' fight I had w' Kajiki really," he continued with a grin, the spirit beside him pulling a face.

"Ehh..."

"LET THE MATCH BEGIN," came a shout from below, cutting whatever Yugi planned to say off as the spirit sighed moved to a more 'middle' point between his friends. Katsuya immediately stood straight, watching the field with those words as he prepared for what was yet to come. "DUEL!" Alright...

Lets do this! "My turn," Seto announced first, Katsuya narrowing his eyes at the field in slight expectation. "I set a card," she began, a searing light growing from the wall behind her to outline a blank-faced tablet, the outline appearing to almost be traced by two glowing and moving points. "In addition," the woman announced, two other 'lights' tracing along the wall, "I summon the Blood Vorse in attack mode!" Alright, now how was the monster's summon going to work with-

The blond tensed as another tablet appeared in the confines of the wall, stone slowly edging its way forward from the edges of the wall they were leveled with. It grew first along the lifts... Then forward to form a 'net', and then a floor... Until, by the time the demonic axe wielding warrior appeared from its enormous and somewhat curved tablet at the side, there was nothing but solid stone meeting his eyes. An arena... And given the 'lines' between each player, each side would move with them, possibly curving the stone to match each height. This...

Briefly, the light Yugi seemed to look at him oddly, floating slightly closer as he opened his mouth to speak. "...Jonouchi-kun," he asked, Malik summoning a monster in defense as the stone carved at his side to reveal the etchings of a demon of sorts, "You're not looking at the field..." No, he thought to himself as the 'Other Yugi' as well summoned a monster in defense before setting a card. No he wasn't...

But by this point, that hardly mattered, did it? "'S nothin'," he muttered quickly as he drew, "My turn!" His hand was fairly bad of course, even with this draw... Not that that mattered. He'd manage nonetheless, mark his words..! "I set a card face down," he called out, biting his lip as the ghost in his mind watched in silence and as those below attempted to ascertain whether or not he'd looked at his hand. The tablet appeared in the wall at his side, blank-faced and hiding behind it his only real option for a play as he frowned. "End turn..!" Now...

Here came the first wave... "Hn... Jonouchi," Seto called from across the blond, Katsuya watching as the Vorse raider at her side twirled it's weapon and sneered, "Allow my to show you exactly how far out of your league you are here..! Blood Vorse," she ordered, the monster halting the spear's movement in his hands before charging toward him. "ATTACK!" Gh... Here it came..! Three he thought, the Vorse's grin widening.

Two, and he could tell that this field had either been lengthened by his mind or that the raider was slow...

One-

"GH- WHAT," the monster snarled incredulously, a shout mirrored by his summoner. "What the-"

"ACTIVATE TRAP," Yugi roared from the side, Katsuya throwing his eyes open as the monster before him was suddenly wrapped tightly by a net of chains. The tablet at Yugi's back was glowing, almost 'spinning' in the center as the chains twisted around themselves, pulling tight on the monster before him. "Regulation of the Tribe," the boy continued as the chains twisted and pulled even tighter, "Allowing me to decide on one type of monster to keep from attacking... And in this case," he announced with a wide grin, "That's Beast Warriors!" Ah... Then...

He made his decision, Katsuya realized with somewhat wide eyes. "Grrrh... Foolish 'KING'," the Vorse spat in response, struggling against his bonds as he snarled. "Our master will have her match damn it! RRGH... Let... ME... Out..!" Katsuya raised an eyebrow at the monster's antics, the Blood Vorse turning briefly as the blond stared somewhat amusedly.

"...Y' done yet," he muttered under his breath with raised eyebrows, Yugi's own spirit momentarily distracted by whatever move Malik was about to make from the side as Katsuya continued to stare. "Cause I really don' have time f'r th's crap..."

The monster instantly froze, 'hovering' in place as the chains around him stiffened. "W- Y-You... An Ancient," the Blood Vorse muttered, single colour eyes widening with alarm. "But how..." Who knew; he didn't even know why they kept going on about all this 'ancient' crap quite frankly. All he knew was that Yugi was trying to protect him. Which meant Yugi wanted to keep their promise, and wanted to fight him in the next round. Which meant that he... Well... Damn it...

He'd have to break that promise.

---

That... Idiot. Seto's eyes narrowed as holographic chains wrapped around her monster, the woman's arms still crossed as she ground her teeth. Defending someone other than himself... Tch! "You... Yugi... You dare interrupt my attack," she hissed, the boy giving no response other than to stare at the field indifferently before smirking somewhat. "...Tch..!" Of course, she reminded herself, the traded conversation from the helicopter a day prior coming to mind. That stupid promise between the two... That 'promise' to duel each other. Though admittedly, she thought to herself, that would be the best way to keep him from potentially getting himself killed against Malik... But at the same time, she knew for a fact that Malik would want to target Yugi above anything. Which meant he would be trying to whittle Kat- Jonouchi down anyways. Which meant, that if Yugi targeted herself and Malik in the meantime, while Jonouchi targeted Malik himself (she was fairly certain the moron would have some excuse like feelings or whatever to not go after her...)...

Tch. The fact was, whoever lost was facing Malik, and as far as things went, she'd rather no one other than herself face the bastard at all. And since it looked as though the 'promise' would be in the way... Well. There was always provoking to try. "Y-Yugi," Jonouchi was muttering at the moment, looking to his friend in apparent shock before turning away almost guiltily. Hn...

Now what was that about... Almost as though he had wanted to be attacked... The woman narrowed her eyes, before shaking it off and steeling her gaze. Whatever. She needed to get her priorities straight. She'd need two God cards to take down Malik. She needed to, no matter what, fight against Yugi to do that- otherwise, no matter who it was that challenged Malik, it would end in disaster. There would be a twenty minute break between this match and the finals for each player to prepare their deck (not to mention stall for the helicopter...)... She would have to make sure she matched the blond against Malik and then somehow convince the idiot to forfeit (somehow) during that time. So... "Hn! What kind of security guard are you," Seto growled, Katsuya instantly honing in on the insult as she gave him a sneering grin. "Relying on your friend's protection... I suppose when it comes to dueling," the woman went on, "It's almost expected..."

The blond tensed, gritting his teeth as he reddened. "GH- What was tha'..?" Already getting a reaction hn..?

That was good... "Hnhnhn... You heard me," she chuckled, a dark smirk coming over her face as she thought of the following matches she had in mind. "I told you you're weak. Useless at this game," she continued, watching as the blond more and more visibly enraged. "But I digress... I'll just let you continue on as though you're all friends in this 'Battle Royale'," Seto 'decided' with a laugh, "Because no matter what, I'll still know this; I'm a challenge to Yugi. Malik is a challenge to Yugi. But you," she went on, eyebrows raising as Katsuya continued to growl, "Well... I can't even count the number of times you've lost to him... And Yugi isn't going to 'save you'," the woman laughed, gesturing toward the blond across from her as her grin grew. "He's going to use you as a stepping stone to the final arena, as an easy way out! THINK," she roared, slipping the hidden message in her words with a grin. "The three you face each carry God Cards..! And you just hold a half-baked deck of luck and chance..! Whoever fights you is guaranteed to make it into the finals... Call it 'sympathy'," she 'sighed', the grin lessening to a smirk, "But I-"

"Kaiba..!" Ah- so much for Katsuya going first. "That's enough," Yugi growled, the opponent whose turn it was currently leaning against the wall in impatience, "Jonouchi and I made a promise... He's more than worthy of fighting anyone here," the boy continued bitterly, "And more than strong enough to defeat whoever he fights against! And no matter what," he shouted clearly, "I-"

"Oi, Yugi!" Hn? Katsuya..? Seto and Yugi both turned, the woman in question frowning as the blond, still red-faced, held a look of apparently calm and contained rage. "Tha's enough," he said with a slight smirk, hand of cards only loosely held in his hand. "I already know what's goin' on here... An' y' don' have t' worry abou' takin' Se-" She tensed; don't say her name...! "...Kaiba's words t' heart..." Thank god... The moron had gone through the equivalent of a few days with nothing but that 'seto-chan' bullshit, and if he slipped even once... A slight chuckle came over the air, the woman pulled from her thoughts. "...Heh..." A smirk came over Katsuya's face, Seto frowning somewhat as the blond went on. "You don' need t' worry abou' me," he said with a slight grin, eyes not moving from her own location. "I'll be jus' fine..." Those words...

He was looking directly at her but...

Were those words for his friend, or for her..? Briefly her eyes narrowed, more than they already were, but in the end the woman snorted and tossed the thought from mind. Fine. He could do what he wanted she told herself with a quiet growl. She'd just have to find a way to make her plan work regardless. No matter what she would fight Yugi in the next match... No matter what, she thought as the time for her turn ran out, she would defeat him, and using the Osiris card she received she would- "My turn," Malik drawled, a somewhat amused expression on his face as the Egyptian pondered what would happen after this. "I set one card on the field and summon Lord of Poison, attack mode," the blond announced. The barbed tentacle beast appeared in a slight shower of holographic light to hover through the air, and their opponent continued on. "In addition," he called out with a grin, pointing his other monster forward as it shifted into the same mode of play, "Newdoria attacks the Blood Vorse!" …

What.

The hologram of the strange zombie-like monster threw up an arm, charging forward as Seto narrowed her eyes. "Interesting," she muttered, those on the field as well staring. Attacking with such a less powerful monster... Now that would mean death for him but-...

Newdoria exploded from existence upon contact with her monster but with it her Vorse raider scattered into pixels in the air, Seto finding herself stiffening as she was caught off guard. "Activate Newdoria's special effect," Malik had shouted, his opponent's slightly curious smirk falling flat as the woman's eyes widened in shock, "When sent to the graveyard, he can destroy one monster on the field... I picked your Blood Vorse," the teen cackled, before the hologram of a spell appeared on a field to continue with the turn. "And in addition," he continued, Katsuya's momentary grin at what would still be Malik's loss quickly fading as he turned to look at the spell with apparent knowledge, "I activate this... Spell of Pain," he announced, the rest of the duelists staring at the card themselves. "Transferring the battle damage I take this turn to another player... And I pick Jonouchi!" Huh. Well.

That worked out too she supposed. "E-EH!" For a brief moment, Seto had to smirk as the spell took effect and as Kat- (JONOUCHI!) paled. It looked as though her opponent's attempt to destroy Jonouchi would work in her favor after all, allowing her to get both blondes closer to defeat. But as the hologram flashed out of existence and the lifepoints fell, the blond seemed to buckle in an unseen fit of pain. His lift was raising up to almost the '3000' line so it was hard to tell from her position of course... But it looked almost as though some invisible force had constricted him. As though something was coiling around him, squeezing him tightly beneath an undying and pressurizing force. And as the lift came to a stop and the blond looked downward with a still pale and laboured looking expression she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, eyes somewhat wide with confusion.

"You... ...What's happening to you..."

---

As tendrils of shadow wrapped around his body from the spell of pain it took all he could not to reveal any form of reaction to the attack. For the moment, his thoughts were whirling. He knew what Seto was trying to do for match ups now. She was going to fight Yugi, then fight Malik with two gods, that was her plan. And between that, before his own match, she was going to try and somehow convince him to pull out of the match against Malik. Hell, he'd even seen a snippet of that conversation, the raged yet fearful look in her eyes as she shouted at him! As she said...

'He'll kill you.'

He hadn't heard much of the conversation obviously. But it was more than enough to catch on. A part of him almost wanted to say 'awwww, she cares..!' Another wanted to cheer and scream and shout that she was at least somewhat returning some affections, regardless of whether they were as a friend, family member, or simply a member of the staff. Just wanted to say 'maybe, there's a chance...'

But the pain that was now squeezing at him was more than enough to take his attentions away from this, and as the chains that had once held the blood vorse fell limp and vanished, he had a feeling Yugi noticed. "...Jonouchi-kun," the boy was whispering, his friend gritting his teeth as he appeared to 'look over' the side of his lift. Fact was, he couldn't see shit over this... The 'stone' that took up his field was too far out, and the most he could see was around the edges of the tower where each opponent sat. All he could see was rock. But it was better than looking up through this pain. As he noticed the 'ghost' standing at his side however he steeled himself, swallowing back the wave of intense pain as the tendrils finished their constrictions and vanished with the wall carving it came from. "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi was repeating, his friend breathing somewhat haggardly as the screen made its corrections to the field and as tablet dust filled in the etched carvings on the wall. "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi called out, "Are you alright..?"

"H... Heh..." Suck it up, he told himself. Suck it up..! "Gh... Never better," he said with a swallow, the other Yugi making his own move as he tribute summoned the 'Demon Gilfer' below. This monster didn't need the stone arena for his support he noted as the etchings appeared along the wall; in fact, rather than settle with stepping out to the stone it flew out into the upper reaches of the tower from a burst of dust and sand, its form chuckling and laughing as Katsuya's eyes followed it through the room. "...Never better," the blond repeated somewhat quietly as the demon chuckled, taking form and stretching its wings with a roaring laugh. Never...

Better. ...And here he'd gotten somewhat used to not hearing them go all out like this... "Haaahahaaaaaahhhh! This is nice~," the monster roared, a toothy grin in place as it swirled through the air. "I've never been able to fly this high in a match before Normally there's a roof, or some kind of stupid field limit, but damn! HEHEHEHE... This'll be fun..!" Er... Glad to hear, he thought to himself. And seeing how Yugi ordered an attack...

Should probably get moving he muttered mentally, watching as the monster charged a blast of fire within its mouth. "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi asked worriedly as the blond watched flames blow down toward Seto only to be pulled toward Malik's monster by the activated trap she retaliated with. Seto was of course amused by the fact that the attack from her rival would be used to bring Malik closer to a match against the one she planned to talk into forfeiture, but as yet another trap was activated there was a brief scowl... "What are you looking at..?"

The blond blinked, shaking himself off and looking back to the spirit at his side as his friend's other half used a 'Seven Tools of the Bandit' to allow Seto's attack through regardless, despite the fact that it had been his attack in the first place. The machine rose... Malik's lift was now even with his own, creating an even slope between one half of the field and the other. But no one else could see this, he reminded himself. No one! He shook himself, drawing a card and setting it on the disk as a tablet began to carve beside him from the curved 'steel' wall. "Nothin'," he said with a forced smile, making sure to keep his voice down while he spoke to the spirit. "Nothin'..."

Dust and smoke rose along the cracks of the carving, and without looking he could see steel forming. "'If by 'nothing' you mean 'me'," Gearfried muttered with a stretch as he stepped out onto his summoner's currently sloped arena, "Then I suppose it's not a 'lie'." The monster cracked his neck, looking out to the rest of the field before gesturing around them. "Hnn... … Are you going to announce the summon anytime soon," he asked somewhat absently, "Because I'll be completely useless until then you know." Wh- Oh come on..!

Katsuya instantly gave the monster a pointed look from the corner of his eye before looking forward, leaning somewhat against the stand and choosing not to give him a verbal response. "My turn," he announced, the others watching with varied expressions as the blond went on. "I summon Gearfried in attack mode," he shouted, before narrowing his eyes and staring at the field. And now... To make sure he fought Malik instead of her... "ATTACK S- KAIBA," he ordered, the woman in question tensing somewhat in shock.

"W-!"

"Got it," Gearfried shouted, blades sharpening against each other as he grinned. The monster skidded down the stone 'hill' that the raised arena had formed, blade held at the ready as it cut toward the woman before him. Keeping to the strangeness of the 'nature' of these duels the blade passed through without a single mark. There was a slight grimace from whatever holographic reaction occurred of course... Not to mention a look of absolute rage, but in the end all he could do was grin even as the woman muttered threats and growled in anger. This kind of duel...

Even with everything at risk, it was still fun, wasn't it? "Hehehehe... Am I still 'useless'," he 'asked', a smirk on his face as the stone field around Seto's lift rose into a hill that moved high above the '1000' mark to hit '2200' lifepoints. "Am I still a 'make-inu'..? Someone who can't stand on their own two feet?" There was no answer, and as he folded his hand again he crossed his arms. "My turn's over," he continued with a laugh, leaning back as he grinned. "So do yer worst, Se... ...Kaiba..."

"You... Moron..!" Ooooh, she was pissed... Three new blank tablets were carving themselves out as Yugi continued to stare at his friend oddly, and as Seto took her turn with grit teeth. "Set three cards," she snarled, before a fourth tablet formed among the trio to etch into its form a masked swordsman. "And next, I summon the Blade Knight in attack mode..!" From the blade knight's carving smoke poured forth, and as the blue metal formed and glinted from the dust the knight's summoner continued. "As for my target," Seto snarled, briefly looking down upon the blond with a snarl. It was... "I ATTACK..." Not him. "YOU! MALIK," she snarled, the blade knight charging toward the teen before 'cutting' him through with a shout. The lift began to move in an instant as the summoner chuckled, relishing in her opponent's aggravation; they'd hardly expected that after all... "Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn..!"

Malik was silent as his lifepoints fell, a leering glare upon his face as he looked down upon the woman who had attacked him. His own corner of the arena rose far from its previous position, higher than the blond beside him, higher than the hill that Seto's own arena had formed... And the expression of distaste didn't change one bit. "...My turn," the Egyptian finally sneered, Katsuya only just now realizing that any cheers below had been muted out by the stone arena beneath them. Craaaaap... "I summon Dark Jelloid in attack mode," he cried, smoke searing from the tablet that carved behind him to send out a mess of flesh and veins. "And now..."

Seto had two trap cards, his mind told him. And Yugi's monster was more powerful that the summoned beast. But even without that knowledge, he knew who Malik would have picked for a target, and the fact was that he would have to wait before he used this trap. "Brace yerself," he muttered under his breath, briefly forgetting the fact that 'light' Yugi was still behind him and listening as he warned the monster on his side. "This'll hurt..."

The steel warrior at his side merely snorted as the demon above them pawed at the ground, taking a defensive stance and preparing to counter. "Hn..! ...No shit..!" Three... Two...

One! "ATTACK GEARFRIED," Malik cackled, a wide grin on his face as the mutated and 'centaurian' monster charged. "And activate his effect..! Lowering the opposing monster's attack by 800 points," he roared, the monster he was attacking hurriedly ducking a strike even as the demon lashed toward him. Gearfried was weakened by a poisonous mist from the charging monster's mouth, the smoke filling the air... Katsuya closed his eyes, covering his mouth as he attempted to hide a rasping cough, the poison entering his own lungs as well...

"Jonouchi-kun," he dimly heard, the blond reaching out with his mind as the tablet beside him 'rumbled'. "Jonouchi-kun," he heard someone calling, "Are you..." Now...

Now, the ability had been used, he had to act now..! "Hehehe... Try again," he shouted up with a slight cough, "I act'vate my trap!" The tablet beside him began to carve its image forth, and instantly the poisonous mist vanished. "Sword an' Shield," the blond announced, still laughing somewhat as his lungs began to clear. "You mighta lowered my attack... But not my defense! Gearfried," he ordered, the monster holding a blade forward as he resumed attack, "NOW!"

"Alright," the other Yugi and his partner both shouted, "Jonouchi..!"

"Jonouchi-kun!"

"Go for it, Katsuya-nii-!"

. . .

Crap.

A sudden vision flew across his mind at that moment as Gearfried charged. As Malik paled and as another tablet far at the side began to mist into existence, before smoke poured forth from its form and those below widened their eyes. This card..! "G-Gearfried," the others were whispering in shock, "Gearfried is..."

"Gh- This... Shrink..!"

"Shrink," Katsuya repeated, eyes wide as a wave of acidic smoke blasted forth from their opposing monster, taking advantage of the now halved power and size of it's target. "SHIT!"

"HnhnHAHAHAHA!" Oh come on, was it really that funny! "That should teach you to overestimate yourself," Seto cackled from above with a triumphant grin. "Shrink has been activated," she continued, the grin widening as he scowled. "So much for your 'attack'... Mutt!"

"GH-" Ghhhh... Damn it... While he had the feeling that this was the only way to fight Malik now, this... Ghhh... They couldn't see it thankfully... Maybe the 'light Yugi' could, depending on how close he was to him right now, but the light burn resulting from the mist simply left his skin in a slightly irritated, reddened state despite the incredible damage to his lifepoints. Of course, the mist he'd inhaled was dealing with that just fine... Burning his lungs just as quickly as he recovered from the attack... "Hah... Hahh... D-Damn it... S... Se..." Couldn't say 'Seto-chan', he reminded himself. He couldn't...

"Jonouchi-kun..!" Ah... That was... "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi shouted, still hovering worriedly beside him, "What's going on..!" S-Shit... He was still there...

"Heehhh..." If he saw too much more... They wouldn't be able to duel, and... The blond took a rasping breath, looking down upon the field and swallowing. "...Hahh... ...Hahhhh..." Yugi still had all his lifepoints... That was good... So for now... "Yugi," he whispered, the redness vanishing from his skin as it rehealed. "Hah... You should go sit w' yer other f'r a bit, alrigh'," he wheezed, standing up as he rubbed his throat. "'S 's turn... So..."

"Jonouchi-kun..." The boy seemed to hover backward somewhat, a look of confusion increasing over his face as he bit his lip. "...What's going on," he repeated, eyes dimming somewhat. "You're... ...Your skin was..."

That was the thing though. It 'was'. ...And now... It wasn't. "'M fine," he said flatly, looking at the field as a tablet with Kuriboh's image carved out behind the other Yugi. "But I-" The blond froze, stiffening as the sound of a shout rang through the back of his mind. 'Gilfer attacks,' he could hear his friend roar, Katsuya turning downward with wide eyes as the demon stood beside his summoner with crossed arms. Gilfer... The monster hadn't moved yet though so... 'NOW, KAIBA..!' No...

No! He couldn't let that- "Now... GILFER ATTACKS," the other Yugi was shouting, pointing forward as Gilfer spread his wings and launched into the air, "AND THE TARGET IS-

"YUGI," the blond shouted, cutting his friend off, those below and above both turning in shock. "WAIT!" The boy frowned, looking up as his friend swallowed. This... He couldn't let this happen..! He wasn't letting Yugi attack to avoid him, not today..! "Yugi... What is a 'real duelist'," he asked cryptically, the burn across the inside of his lungs only slightly fading in comparison to the already healed skin over his body. The other Yugi appeared to stare up quizzically, those around doing the same as the blond held his serious gaze. "R'member tha' question," he 'asked'. "I stayed in th's competition t' find that out... But more importantly," Katsuya went on with a slight frown, "While I was fightin' t' find tha' answer, I was aimin' t' fight w' you in an official match instead 'f some table-top game..." And Yugi was confused... And Malik didn't care... And Seto thought this was sappy as hell, her expression said it all, but who really cared any more? And Honda was questioning why he was bringing this up, and Otogi was calling Shizuka to find out how the others were doing while Anzu and Malik both looked up through golden eyes but this wasn't the time right now. "Yugi," the blond shouted, decision made. "No matter what, I never back down from a challenge... You know tha'! I fight w' th' monsters in my deck no matter how bad it looks..! So tha's why I'm bringing th' words 'f another friend in here," he continued, Mai appearing in the back of his mind as he bit his tongue. "'Besides yourself, everyone is th' enemy here'! An' tha' applies here too..! YUGI," Katsuya roared, eyes wide as he continued with his request. "Don' hold back jus' because 'f our promise. My field is empty... And my life points 'r low. So don' waste this turn! Make th' righ' decision... ATTACK ME," he shouted, his friend looking up with somewhat wide eyes as others stared with narrowed ones. "No matter what, I'll win th' next match I have... An' I'll face you in those finals, so ATTACK," Katsuya shouted.

The other Yugi and 'light' Yugi both looked up as the blond grinned from above. As Seto's expression of incredulous and almost haughty mirth in the face of a sappy speech faded to a slight expression of confusion and possible realization. Yea... He knew what she was trying to do. But now she knew that he wasn't trying to fight Yugi any ways.

He was gunning for Malik the entire time, and unbeknownst to them they'd just been helping him along. Malik was close to 'death'. And so was he. So rather than target the others now... Why not target himself? 'I understand, Jonouchi,' he thought he heard Yugi say, before his vision was 'corrected'. "GILFER! ATTACK JONOUCHI DIRECTLY," Yugi shouted, the demon taking to the skies in an instant. "...Jonouchi," he continued, the blond biting his lip and closing his eyes as he waited for the flames to strike, "I'll see you in the finals!"

Yea..! Alright he thought, the sensation of movement coming over him as his lift began to shift under the hologram's already decided damage run. Alright... But...

Where was the attack? "Yo," a somewhat gruff voice said, the blond opening his eyes to stare at the source. That sound...

"E-Ehhh..." Katsuya blinked as his lift slowly continued to move in response to whatever attack hadn't happened, before shaking his head as the demon in front of him crouched on the lift end and stared. "...Wh..."

More silence. The demon seemed to study him for a few moments before bringing a finger up. W-What... That...

-poke-

"Wh..."

"There," the demon said almost plainly, pulling his arm back with a somewhat cheeky grin. "I attacked. See you later." What...

What the fuck..? The blond looked over the bottom of the lift as the demon tipped off backward, giving a slight salute as he flew back to his summoner to allow Katsuya's move to come through. What...

He didn't... Katsuya continued to stare as the lift shuddered to a stop, looking down with somewhat wide eyes. The monsters...

They could choose how severe the attack was... So then... Back on the pier... 'Hey man,' he could remember the Alligator Sword warning him, the Millennium Rod forcing the attacks through despite his cries. 'Watch it... I think we caused some real damage there..!'

Was that what they meant? Was it the will of the duelist that controlled the damage..? Or was it something else? Did they just act this way because they knew he could feel the pain..? Heck, he didn't want anything to happen to Seto, but Gearfried certainly had no qualms in running her through with a sword...

Katsuya mentally shook it off, steeling himself as he sent a look down toward Malik's position. Malik... He wasn't far from him now, but at the same time he had only a one chance left. He wasn't sure why, but he knew this..! The blond narrowed his eyes, teeth grinding as he clenched the sides of the lift. He'd better prepare himself... And as for Malik... He'd be getting what was coming in just a moment! "...My turn," the blond announced coldly, hand reaching for his deck. Draw..! And in his hands... A smirk came over his face, and again without looking the card was placed on the disk. "I place one card face down," he announced, a new tablet carving appearing behind him to slowly seep smoke into the air as it prepared to launch its effect. "And next," he announced, yet another tablet etching its carving out on the stone behind him, "I summon the Legendary Fisherman in attack mode..!" Now...

Though the killer whale appeared on the tablet's surface it was only the man who rode the beast that stepped forward, much like he had on the field against Rishid. "This place... A tower," he asked almost confusedly, looking around as the blond nodded and smirked. Man... He'd been wondering why he missed this when the poison hit, but now that both Yugi's were on the 'main floor' and he was way up here...

It was nice, being able to talk to these guys again. "Heh... Yep," he whispered, careful to keep his voice down and mouth more or less closed as he spoke. "This shouldn' take too long though, alrigh'," he added more seriously. "Jus' one turn." That was all they had... And all they would need.

The fisherman turned at that, seeming to study his summoner's face before nodding. "I understand... I'll fight until the very end," he continued determinedly. "No matter what lies in store..!" Good..!

"An' so will I... So," he continued, raising his voice, standing up straighter as he looked down upon the field. "The one I attack... I CHOOSE TH' BLADE KNIGHT," he announced, looking down as the woman below him smirked victoriously from below. "S... KAIBA..!"

As the fisherman threw his harpoon forward, he already knew what was coming. Chuckling came from far below him, and as the woman's triumphant grin came into place she laughed. "Activate trap cards," she announced, her plan supposedly coming into fruition from the blond's 'stupidity'.

"Ring of Destruction," those it the tower heard as the grenades launched forward, "And Ring of defense."

Had Seto been paying attention, she'd have realized the blond across from her was muttering the same thing she'd just called out, having seen both traps in his mind before even attacking. Had the spirit of the 'real Yugi' been standing closer, he'd have realized his friend was literally counting down for the moment the tablet released the ring of grenades forward, and the moment that the shield-laden one sprung forth to protect its caster. As it were however when the ring latched around his monster the Fisherman gave him a sad nod, eyes filled with understanding despite the grave situation he was currently in.

"I'm ready," he said plainly, the bombs beginning to shudder.

He as well nodded, before closing his eyes. "Alrigh'..." And in the light of the explosion, the shrapnel seemed to pass through him completely, the trap behind him releasing a thick wave of smoke to both shield him from harm and shoot toward the stones of Malik's own field. The bits of flesh and bone remaining from the Fisherman's charred body fell to the ground harmlessly in the aftermath, but with a jolt it was Malik's lift that began to move upward, the smoke from the tablet shrouding him from view. And in his hands, Katsuya held a card forward, smirking with narrowed eyes as he laughed. "Hihihihihihhh..."

"What is this," Malik was hissing, a slight wind seeming to pass through him as the dust vanished and left his lift sitting at the very top of the structure. "My lifepoints... Are zero..!" Heheheh... This situation...

He just had to laugh... "Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... HAHAHA..! Damn straight," Katsuya said with a smirk, those below staring up in incredulity as the stone around Malik's field and all tablets he'd summoned into existence faded from the walls and scene both. "I act'vated th's! Graverobber! R'member tha' card y' used on me," he bragged, the hooded robber twirling his tools in hand as he chuckled at his summoner's side. "I used it righ' back on you... 'Th' Curse 'f Pain'..!" Sending all that battle damage right back at him... "...Word t' th' wise," he continued with a quieter tone, his lift and Malik's own just close enough that all those beneath him would hear was incoherent muttering. "Don' mess w' someone who c'n pr'dict yer moves..."

"Predict," Malik repeated, before a dark grin came over his face in response. Well... He certainly pieced the dots together quickly with that. "Hnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... You're more interesting than I thought," the Egyptian chuckled. "I'll be waiting," he hissed, the door above his lift clicking open as he sneered. "You'll be the first to enter the world of darkness..! Hnhnhnhnhn..."

The lift vanished up through a hole in the ceiling with that... His field was empty thanks to that move too, but as he crossed his arms and looked down to his remaining opponents with a smirk he still had to laugh. Exactly as planned... It went exactly as planned..! Fighting Malik... It was going to be scary as hell he thought to himself, a somewhat frightened gleam entering his eyes, but at least he'd made it this far. "End turn," he called down, hand folded back into his hand as he looked down at his opponent's eyes. "So... Le's get th's over with," he shouted louder. "C'MON!"

Somehow Seto's grin seemed half hearted after he'd said that. As though only now she'd realized that it was awareness and not stupidity that led to that attack. But to ignore a direct attack that would kill him would be foolish... Not to mention, 'out of character' if such a thought had ever really come to her mind. So with an apparent grin, the woman drew her next card and pointed her monster forward, the faceless knight taking his blade in hand with a curt nod. "BLADE KNIGHT," she ordered, the knight in question looking up the immense hill before him with a battle ready stance. "ATTACK KA-" Ka? "-JONOUCHI DIRECTLY!"

Did she say 'Ka'..? As the knight charged Katsuya stared, blinking a few times as he waited for his opponent's attack to connect. "O-Oi," he muttered under his breath, shaking himself as he swallowed. "Did... She jus' pull a... 'Me'..?" There was...

No way she'd slipped on his name right..? "Who knows," the knight responded fiercely, appearing in a flash before the blond as Katsuya stumbled back from what had moments ago been empty space. "But if you even consider breaking what little has been rebuilt," he snarled, blade abruptly raised to the blond's neck as he swallowed in growing fear, "Know that we won't hold back next battle... None of us!" N-None... Eh-EHHH!

The blond continued to swallow as a slight cut came at his neck, but as a shout came from below the monster slowly began to vanish, along with any sign of stone and dust on the field. "H... Hahh..." That...

That was way too close damn it..! "Jonouchi-kun," Yugi called out worriedly, floating up as Isono announced the match end from below. He was going to fight Malik... Yugi was then going to fight Seto, and then the final match would begin... "Jonouchi-kun," his friend pressed, the door above them clicking open as Katsuya stared. "You... Did you know that would happen, that last move..? Did you know," he continued on, "That when you attacked..."

The lift was going upward now... As the ghost beside him looked to him with more worry and fear than he'd ever seen in a long time the blond nodded, smiling weakly and answering as honestly as I could. "Yea," he admitted, putting his cards back in his deck with a small smile. "I did..."

The worry in his friend's face increased, and Yugi grew pale. "But-"

"Hey," Katsuya said with a grin, giving a somewhat 'corny' thumbs up as he continued to rise upward. "Don' worry... After all," he said with a weak smile, the lift disappearing through the hole above. "Shadow games... They don' mean a thing t' me..."

And with those words he left the ghost to stare at where he'd vanished from in horror, with the door closing over to leave him in some unknown dark room...

A room which filled with light from a lamp above him just seconds later. "Hnn... Th's place..." Yugi had returned to the puzzle with his other half for some reason beyond him; that was the only thing that would explain why he'd suddenly stopped following him after all... But this room...

The lift had risen along the edge of the wall and room, as expected. It would probably do that until the end of it as well. Not as expected however, it had also stopped before its apparent destination. There was a hole above that was closed off for a moment in fact, a door which the lift was clearly meant to pass through at some point. But for the moment he was inside a curved, quarter-circle room with the 'corner' cut off from in front of him, a corner that was replaced by a door in the middle of a long flat wall. There was a speaker on one side of the room he was in, along with a table, a chair...

"-Attention Duelists,-" a voice announced through the speaker system at that moment, Katsuya turning to step out of the lift as Isono's voice carried through the air. "-We now enter an intermission between now and the following semi-final matches. For the next twenty minutes,-" Isono stated clearly, "-You will be given time to rest, look over your decks, and use provided facilities if needed. Visitors will be allowed during this time,-" the man continued, "However, entry into each room will require either admitance from the inside, or the pass-code, which is provided on the desk in each room. With that, I wish you good luck..!-"

And that was done. Katsuya stared at the speaker for a moment as he disconnected his duel disk, looking over at the table to blink at the card with neatly written numbers on it. Not that he could read it from here but... '0125'... "Hahaha... They used m' birthday," he muttered to himself with a sigh. Clever...

But wait... How did they know he'd be in this room! The blond shook his head, taking a seat on the chair and pulling his deck from the duel disk with a sigh as he pushed the thought from mind. Ahh... Probably just a coincidence, he told himself. Nothing more than that...

"Hn. If you believe in 'coincidences'," the ghost in his mind muttered, the owner of said mind briefly closing his eyes as the image of the spirit came through his head.

Katsuya sighed in response to the words, idly looking through his deck as he frowned. "Hnnnggg... Can't y' jus' leave me alone already," he asked, rubbing his forehead as he put a few 'sorted' cards on the table. "I mean, bad 'nough I don' know who y' are," he continued, the ghost seeming to frown with the statement, "But-"

"Jonouchi-kun," a faded voice shouted from outside, the blond looking up in slight confusion. "Is it alright if I come in?" Ah?

Hah... So that was the reason why he hadn't followed... He was being his usual polite self. The blond put his deck on the table, nodding before giving his answer with a smile. "Eh... Sure," he called out, the smile widening into a grin. "C'mon in..!"

At those words the spirit poked his head in, a somewhat worried frown on his face as he made his way further into the room. "Hi... ...Um.." There was a somewhat awkward pause, the spirit looking to the side and flushing somewhat as he attempted to properly phrase his thoughts. "...About earlier..." Errr... Earlier. Right. Mentioning shadows... Yeeeaaaaaaa, he didn't exactly leave with the best line did he... "When you said the shadow games wouldn't mean anything," Yugi began somewhat nervously. "I... ...What exactly did you mean by that," he asked, biting his lip. "I mean... I know I said I wouldn't bug you about this... And that you've already shared what you can," the boy continued, rubbing his arm with a frown, "But with everything going on, I'm worried and..." Aww Yugi...

Stop making him feel guilty damn it... He... He'd say something, honest! Just not now, not before this match... Not when everyone he knew would want to pull him out with that knowledge... "...'S nothin'," the blond lied, mentally kicking himself in the crotch for his words before continuing. "Heck... It ain't so bad righ'? I figure tha' if th' shadows weren' suff'catin' me b'fore," he went on with a smile, "It'll be abou' as bad as if you were playin' righ'?"

Yugi pulled a face at that, looking to the side in worry for a few moments. "Jonouchi-kun," he began, hesitating somewhat before continuing on. "...That... That may be so but... Why would you put yourself up against Malik," he asked, biting his lip. "Why..."

That... The blond smiled sadly, looking back to his deck and staring at the few cards that were looking up at him. "Truthfully," he 'asked', before looking back to the boy. "B'cause... When you were out cold on th' airship, an Malik stood above me... What he said..." What he didn't tell anyone he said... "...I can' live w' myself if I pass up th' chance t' beat him," Katsuya said quietly, eyes growing dim as they moved toward the floor. "F'r Mai, f'r Bakura, f'r Ryuzaki... Hell," he added with a slight snort, "F'r everyone..! I know I said I'd fight w'th y'," he continued, smile dropping as he looked to the boy seriously, "But I stand by m' word... I'm gonna win agains' Malik... Mark my words! An' while I can't read tha' card," he added with a grin, tapping his head as it twisted into a darkening smirk, "He'll be in f'r a nasty surprise when he tries t' summon it," he laughed, his friend pulling a slight but sad smile in response.

"Jonouchi-kun..." Come on Yugi... Don't be upset about this... He'd be fine... He'd be fine..! The boy nodded slowly as he studied his friend's face, before making the action again and with more confidence. "Alright," he decided, forcing a smile to appear. "I understand. I can't change this anyways so... Jonouchi-kun, no matter what you have to win okay," he told his friend determinedly, Katsuya nodding in response. "I'm counting on you... Keep your promise," he called out seriously, "No matter what..!"

"I will," the blond said with a grin, giving a slight 'salute'. "Count on it!"

"Alright... ...I'm going to go check on the other me now," Yugi said quietly, fading from sight with the smile still in place. "Jonouchi-kun... ...Good luck..." …

Yea... Good... Good luck, he told himself. He...

"Oooooiii..." . . . That... That sound...

Someone please tell him he didn't hear that.

"Psssstttt," the voice repeated, "Katsuya-jun..!" Tell him. PLEASE. Someone tell him he wasn't-

Wait 'jun'? "I'm fairly certain that it's 'real' chabar," the ghost in his mind muttered, more noises coming over the air before he could complain about stow-away spirits.

A slight rumble came from the cards he'd placed on the table, Katsuya looking back to them with a swallow as the hissing sounds arose again. What was this... ... "Errr... ...H'llo...?"

"FINALLY," an annoyed, if not slightly familiar and high-pitched voice called out. "MAN! We've been trying to talk to you for AGES," the voice groaned, a shaking head with glowing gold eyes coming to mind. That face... That was...

Hey wasn't this the voice of- "...L... Little Winguard..?"

"Yea! Yea it's me," the Winguard shouted cheerfully, "And-"

"And we're ALL here," a somewhat more mature voice said gruffly, Katsuya narrowing his eyes somewhat. Okay... He didn't know that one, so who... "Flameswordsman by the way- you haven't summoned me long enough for us to have a chat," he continued plainly, "So I don't expect you to know who it is." Oh.

Um. That made sense he supposed... "O... Kay..." The blond coughed, looking around somewhat awkwardly. Man. He sure as hell hoped there wasn't any audio in this room... ...Course, by this point he looked crazy enough as it was, so he'd mind as well heap on some more right? "...Ah... How are you guys talking," he asked, shaking his head. Because he was pretty sure he had to summon for that. Just a thought.

"Well," the somewhat lax tones of the Alligator Sword began with a stretch, "It wasn't easy..."

"That's right," the Flame Swordsman continued. "Even with how close you are to the realms," he went on seriously, "Piercing the veil without a summon takes some serious skill."

"Lucky for ussss however," the familiar voice of the Insect Queen muttered, Katsuya staring at the deck with a fairly odd and disturbed expression, "We managed to gain a verrrrry powerful ally from your lasssst battle..." Erm...

"Th'... Th' las..." But how was that even po-

"Hello boy..~"

"N-NYYHHHHHHH!" Katsuya hurriedly fell back from the chair, the sound of scorpions skittering through the air amidst the clattering chair as he choked and sputtered. "Y-Y-YOU!" That monster... The one from Rishid's deck, it was-

"But of course," Selket drawled, the image of the currently humanoid 'scorpion' coming to mind as she yawned and stretched almost seductively. "You defeated my master in a battle... It's only fair that I join your deck," she continued, giving the blond a smirk as a 'third eye' peered forward from her brow. H-Hah..

Hahahaaaa... "B... But I... I didn' ev'n take th' card," he laughed somewhat nervously, scratching his head and putting the chair back up as he gathered the cards in his hands. "So how..."

"Oh... Well I'm not really in the deck," the 'goddess' added as an apparent afterthought, shrugging as her extra limbs adjusted their positioning. "I just thought I'd drop by before your match... Your opponent has been causing some incredible problems I hear," she added, a smirk coming over as her 'new summoner' frowned.

The blond's scowl deepened somewhat, Katsuya looking at the deck in his hands almost incredulously. "...Tch... 'Incredible' ain't quite my words for it," he said after a moment, deciding to ignore the fact that he was talking to his deck for the moment so that he could keep himself sane. "An' what're you all doin' 'here' anyways," he added with a frown. "I'm s'pposed t' be gettin' ready f'r my next match."

"Believe me," the sarcastic growl of the Panther Warrior muttered almost 'painfully', "We know..." They knew? And what was with the tone, last he checked they enjoyed these fights and- "The thing is," the monster added somewhat stiffly, "You need to get your bearings straight before you start; we don't plan on entering a shadow game without you being prepared!" AH...

Wait what? "H-Hang on..." They knew that it would be a shadow game? And they knew what that meant? Wh... "What?"

"Shadow games are dangerous stuff," the Little Winguard piped in almost worriedly, adjusting his hat with a sigh. "They've always been dangerous of course," he added 'knowingly', "But in this case it's especially so..!"

"We won't be on the field with you this timmmeeee imago," the Insect Queen added, her usual slur creeping across the air to leave a chill down her summoner's spine. "Your opponent fights with souls... Though our formssss will be there," she assured him with a scowl, "The battle will be only yourssss..." Um...

O... Okay but... "Wh... Why," he asked, shaking his head as he neatened the deck out and held it. "Whatdya mean, 'fight w' souls'," he continued almost in protest, "Why 'm I on my own!"

There was a short span of silence, before one of them answered. "Your opponent plans to do to you what he did to your friend right," the Flame Swordsman asked, Kastuya nodding in response. The action was evidently picked up upon by the monsters before he could voice this however, and the Swordsman continued. "What he did to your friend wasn't the same as normal summoning," the monster explained. "He pulled the monsters out using their 'human' souls, instead of activating our contracts."

"Uhhhhhh... ...What..." Contracts..? ...Seriously... Guys...

Stop filling his head with confusing crap, it was- "Hahhh... Allow me to explain." Ex- Ah! This guy! "The cards won't have any effect," the ghost growled in the back of his mind, ignoring the mental shouts to leave his head as he continued on. "Remember those tablets," he asked, the blond pausing his mental protests to listen. "They won't appear, because your monsters won't appear either. All you'll be doing is throwing your own life energies onto the field in a pathetic excuse for your monster's form..." ...Cheery. Really... Cheery... "Think of it like this," the spirit continued, Katsuya snapping himself from his thoughts to pay more attention. "You're playing another video game; the monster is your player. Your mind is the controller. Lose," he continued bitterly, "And you're fucked."

Eh... "...That... ...That is..."

"Actually really accurate," the Alligator Sword said pointedly, his summoner sighing in response. "You'll basically be in as many places as there are monsters on your side of the field, plus yourself... At once," he finished, the Little Winguard seeming to frown.

"Hnnn... Well not really," the child-soldier continued with an uncharacteristically serious tone. "It's more like you're controlling up to five people at once using a remote control in your head, that's a little different..." Yea just a little but- Hey wait a second!

"Th... How th' hell is th's even possible," he muttered to himself, before abruptly looking back to the deck with a frown. "Wait... But tha' didn' happen w' Mai," Katsuya protested. "Tha' didn'-"

"Hn! Of course it did," Panther Warrior snorted, apparently more than happy to prove his summoner wrong. "You don't think her mind filled in the blanks? Attack means 'attack', in whatever way possible," the warrior explained shortly. "Imagination runs rampant when you're influenced by your emotions... Once you lose yourself," the cat hissed darkly, "You never go back..." Then...

The reason they were giving him this warning... "...Yer sayin' tha' 'f I go in thinkin' you'll do all th' work..." That they wouldn't...

"Bingo kid," the Swordsman shouted out, answering the mentally asked question with an approving frown. "Nothing would happen! Because we won't be there..!"

"We know of course, that you won't want to back down regardless," the Alligator Sword added with a smirk. "That just ain't your style Katsuya-jun."

"We just wanted to give you fair warning," Little Winguard shouted.

"That's right; we're 'your' monsters after all," the Panther told him with a smirk. "If you think we'll just sit by and let you kill yourself," he continued, "Then you have another thing coming!"

"And while we aren't on the field, we're always just a realm away, sitting within your shadow darling," the scorpion from before chuckled, Katsuya giving an involuntary shudder in response as Selket gave a frighteningly coy wink. "Keep that in mind, hmmmmmm..?" Stop that.

As the other monsters began throwing in their own two cents Katsuya had to drop the uneasy frown that was still on his face. This... Hell, getting a pep-talk from his deck was weirder than normal but even so... "You guys," the blond began, staring at the deck of cards in his hand. All his monsters... He could see all of his monsters, however faded, looking up from that deck of cards and... "...Thanks guys," he said with a small smile, before locking the cards in his disk. "You really..."

"Ten minutes left chabar," the white ghost warned, his friend pulling himself from his emotions with a nod.

"Righ'! Okay... Lets do th's then," he said quickly, making sure each of the cards were in place as he moved for the lift. "Off we-"

-fzzt-

Eh? Katsuya turned, blinking as Seto walked in and closed the door behind her. Her expression was more than steeled in appearance, cold blue eyes looking forward as she walked toward the blond. Whatever was on her mind, he probably didn't want to know but...

Well, that was quite obviously not going to happen. "We need to talk," she said flatly still walking toward him, "Now." Oh. Talk..? Right! That 'flash' earlier...

"Kay," he said somewhat laxly, calming down from his initial 'freeze'. "Whatdya wanna talk abou'..?" ...Probably shouldn't have asked, but oh well.

"Your upcoming match for one," the woman began, eyes narrowed dangerously as Katsuya abruptly paled in response to a sudden flash of words. "And for another... I want to know exactly how you got this scar, MUTT." A-Ahhh...

Shiiiiiiitttt! "S-scar," he said with a nervous laugh, stepping back to bump against the wall as an accusing and 'pointing' finger pushing against the scar in question. Searing pain ran from the spot, the blond wincing as he hissed. "Sfff!" Crap not helping.

"That's right," Seto growled, albeit lessening the pressure on the injury. "Your SCAR. I know what I felt in the Virtual World," the woman hissed lowly, "And it's more than evident that what is under this," she continued in gesture to the shirt, "Is no different. There was no scar when you were looked over on the air ship," she added darkly, "So explain... NOW!" Erk... This wasn't good...

"It's nothin'," he said with a slight laugh, rubbing his head. "Jus' th' lightnin' fr'm earlier I bet, nothin'- GLK!" The blond was slammed against the wall, shaking himself as Seto continued to hold him in place to shout in what was apparently a sound-proof room.

"THIS," she roared, holding the blond up with her forearm and hand both, "IS NOT NOTHING! Your neck BLEEDING after a match is not NOTHING!" S-Shit, she saw the cut- "An all encompassing SCAR resembling a CRATER is not NOTHING! You will explain to me what the hell is going on Mutt, RIGHT NOW!"

The blond's face fell, becoming one of eerie and almost cold severity to throw off his 'captor' as he stood partially on his toes. "...'S nothin'," he repeated, the woman before him looking to him in almost shocked rage as he continued on. "Tha's all there 's. Nothin'. An' nothin' y' say will change tha' either Seto-chan," he added with a smirk, the woman's grip loosening from his shoulder. "Got it?"

"You... You're a complete MORON," she spat, clenching her free hand as she looked darkly to the blond. "I want you to forfeit this match," the woman continued stiffly. "Right now, before it starts..!" Wh-

Forfeit! Katsuya's face immediately twisted into a scowl, the blond's eyes narrowing. "You know damn well I ain' doin' that," he growled, growing somewhat red as the time until 'match start' ticked away in his mind. "So what th' hell gives you th' right t' tell me t' do tha'? You got yer fight with Yugi didn' you," he continued, the woman before him scowling herself in response to the comment, "So what's yer probl'm?"

"My problem," she snarled, "Is you! You crawl into my life like some pathetic homeless mutt... Make yourself at home in my house, with my brother... You..." She was shaking, Katsuya noted with a less agitated frown. Trembling even. So why... "Katsuya," she hissed, the blond's eyes widening at the use of his given name. "I made you swear not to die and I will make sure that you keep that promise..! You cannot win this match," the woman warned him gravely. "Even GOD himself would not be able to win you this match... So forfeit. Now."

There was silence for a moment. In the back of his mind, he wondered if Seto would have bothered with this if they hadn't met. If she'd have even cared. Hell... She'd have probably put 'honor' in front of 'safety' in that case, throwing him in regardless but... "...Tha' all there is," he asked, the woman pulling back slightly as her 'friend' stood before her.

"All there- You... You dare joke about this," Seto hissed, staring as Katsuya gave a somewhat flippant shrug.

"Eh... Maybe. I don' plan t' lose after all," he said with a slight laugh, ignoring the steadily growing, albeit oddly displayed rage from the woman before him. "I told y' tha'... So you don' need t' worry, okay, Seto-chan?"

He supposed that by this point she'd given up on correcting him really. "Gh- Who told you I was worried," the woman growled, the 'five minute' marker passing in Katsuya's mind. "You made a promise... I expect you to keep it..! That's all there is!"

"An' I will," he said honestly.

"How do you know," Seto spat, "He has GOD in his deck..! Even your friend can't defeat him right now..!"

"Then I'll beat God," the blond responded.

"He's KILLED someone already-"

"So've I," he added weakly, looking to the side somewhat awkwardly as his 'employer' grit her teeth. "So stop tryin' t' convince me t' quit." He knew the risks damn it...

That was why he was fighting. "You..." She was still shaking. Why... "You complete and utter moron," Seto hissed, leaning in as the blond was again pushed against the wall while backing away, "Is there NOTHING that will convince you to pull out of this match..?"

Nothing..? As he was held up somewhat by the woman's forearm again, Katsuya found himself drifting off into thought. ...Seto couldn't kick him out of the house anymore, not really. Mokuba would fight her on it, and she would cave. He probably wouldn't be fired either, and even if he was, Mokuba would likely find some excuse to keep him there. And if he didn't... ...Well... Maybe one of the others would take him in for a bit, he'd figure something out but. He wasn't going to rely on this after all. And...

Hehehe... He... He could really die here, couldn't he? "'Could give me a kiss," he joked, a somewhat goofy smile on his face as he was answered with a look of disgust.

"I wouldn't kiss you if you died," Seto retorted rather bluntly, despite the fact that her face was probably a few inches from his own at the moment anyways. "The fact that you would even suggest that is frankly disturbing."

"Heh." Of course it was. "...What abou' 'about t' die' then," he continued, the woman across him stiffening as the possibility of the blond being serious came to mind. Just as quickly however the scowl returned, her eyes narrowing.

"You... What did I just s- Nh-!"

For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence in the room. Seto's eyes widened further than she would likely think possible, while Katsuya's were simply closed in a sense of calm. While his fingers dug into the white jacket the woman before him wore, while Seto's own arms fell somewhat limp, and as his lips pressed against her own for just one simple...

-crack!-

Yea. He expected that reaction. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT," Seto snarled, backing away with wide eyes as Katsuya rubbed his nose and head, a slight bit of blood coming through the injury the woman had inflicted. "WHAT... You..! You..!" Nose wasn't broken... That was good, and it wasn't really bleeding so...

"If I'm abou' t' die," he said seriously, bringing his hand back down after wiping the blood away, "Then... I don' wan' t' die w'thout knowin' what a real kiss was."

"So you pick ME," the woman growled, still a brilliant crimson in colour from where she stood in the middle of the room. "You're a hell of a lot more idiotic than I ever thought," she hissed, neither moving from their spot as the time ticked down to one minute remaining. "You..."

"Of course I picked you."

Silence. Seto's scowl fell for shock, and she stared confusedly at the blond. "...What..."

He could die out there, he thought to himself again. He could die. So... Here... Here it came. He didn't really know if he'd live against Malik, truth be told. He'd gotten himself all fired up, and ready to go, ready to win that fight..!

But in the end, he just didn't know. And while he'd normally charge in anyways without worry... There were things he wanted to do first. At least while he had the chance. "I..." Which was why... Before he left... "More than anything," he began, swallowing as he looked to the woman with a serious gaze. "I really... Really love you. And... 'F I die, I want t' make sure I got t' say tha'," he continued, barely keeping his voice steady as he continued on. "I... I wanted t' make sure tha' b'fore I die, I got a chance t' say tha', and t' show tha'... So for you," Katsuya told the woman, "I'll make sure I reveal as much about Malik's cards as possible. I'll make sure tha' no one else can suffer from th's guy. An' if I win," he said with a weak smile, "And if I don' die," he continued, eyes growing somewhat teary, "Then we can act like it never happened... We can... Go back t' when I didn' say anythin', and back t' b'fore tha' kiss. But until then... Well..."

The hole to the side had opened up already, and glancing at it on the side the blond slowly stepped into the lift beneath it. His time was up. And Seto was silent. Whether in shock, rage, or anything really, she was silent, for at least a moment.

"Moron," she finally hissed, the lift clicking on and starting to move as the woman snapped out of her stupor. "MORON..!"

"Heh.. Yea," Katsuya responded with a small and sad smirk. "I really am one, aren't I?"

"Gh... Katsuya..!"

The lift began to pass through the door...

And a few seconds later, it didn't matter what Seto had said, because he was outside and standing on the arena across from Malik.

And Seto could hardly complain about a kiss in front of him.

---

AN: . . .

N... No comment.

What's Seto's reaction? We get it next chapter of course, but the fact is, it may or may not be what you expect..!

Continuing on, most of the music notes and things are in this chapter, as they kind of apply more to this half. You also get your usual 'battle plan' for what happens next, and speaking of that...

Though I compress duels into one chapter (Meaning that all together, there's not much time left), there's going to be a lot of stuff on the side..! Semi-Final matches will still be one chapter... Mostly. Yugi's may or may not end up cut in two, or even end up a 'mammoth chapter', like the last one was, depending on how I split up the occurrences around it.

And I think you know what I mean by that, or at least , those that watch the anime do.

Of course, then we have Yugi VS Yami Malik, which is horrendously long in comparison to other duels I find. That one will definitely end up a super chapter, though whether or not it'll be mammoth is really just time's decision. So... The game plan?

Jou VS Y-Malik, Yugi VS Seto (1), VS Seto (2), The Aftermath (You know, with Ishizu and all that?), Yugi VS Y-Malik (which will probably end up 'mammoth' in size, like the second half of the Virtual World finale), annnnnnd... Finale!

Normally the finale would be tacked onto the final battle. But this finale is... REALLY finite, given just how much everyone wants to go home now.

Speaking of this, the chronology has been fixed for all but the final arc, which is still bouncing around... A lot. (See, in the manga, the Ceremonial Battle happens a full month after the Millennium World arc.)

HOWEVER. Certain dates have been set; for example, the only reason why Yu-Gi-Oh! R ever happened was because Seto and Mokuba were in the USA; this is because of that jet trick they pulled at the end of Battle City, where they flew off... For the US. For that reason, 'R' will occur just shortly after school starts again (they kind of need to be in school for it.).

Following that however, the next arc is 'Capmon'... Which will be DRASTICALLY different from the original, and happen during the short holiday they get between the middle of March and April 1st; Japan's school system runs in three terms. April to July, after which you have the month long summer break, September to December 24th, and then January 7th to EARLY March, leaving, and I quote, 'several weeks of spring break'. (Given that 'White Day', or March 14th, happens in school however, I would say it's a two week break. Really though, it depends on the school; they'll all be in full swing by the 20th though.)

That's right guys, my graduation ceremony was off. However, I can still get away with it; Mokuba started Middle School in the chapter I screwed that up, which means he would have still had his enrollment ceremony. Yay~ Now quick, hide the inaccuracies...

Any ways, Doma should happen around the summer of that year, so you can probably guess where the KC Grand Prix goes from that. After that... There's just the Millennium World left.

And I need to organize that fast; the next year will be the last year they have highschool..!

With that out of the way...

Anonymous Review Responses

Ahahaha, I just got the review from chapter 96 CynicalGamer…

Yea, I'd been wondering if anyone would be worried; it was like 'ahhh, need to finish editing..!'

I probably should have just cut my losses and not done a double post, but oh well. Glad you liked both chapters! Time to respond to your other super-long review now…

It was pretty epic huh..? I have to admit, I really went nuts here. It almost makes me regret the fact that we're going back to the 'real world', which has a fair amount of restriction on it, but while my limits are a lot heavier there, I do have a few things in mind…

Hahaha, more like Malik revealed to everyone, but yea. And if you think she's showing emotions now, just wait; maybe not in this post, but the chapter after the duel should have something interesting in store for you. I'm quite glad at how everyone is receiving the ghosts here; it's making me really anticipate the Doma arc, despite that being a whole year away from this point chronologically (I think I explained that above…).

And… RIGHT. Nobody, not Heartless. And it's true; he was trying very hard not to lose those parts, he did a fairly good job while still holding the ability to help everyone escape period. I wish there was a way to get Shinato Jou back out… But there really isn't I don't think… I think the closest I'll get isn't coming until much later either, so 'ick' to that I suppose. While there aren't many occasions to wear costumes, that doesn't mean I can't draw them any-ways! Not to mention that after this, everyone has to change their clothes.

Normal clothes are fun to draw as well.

That chess game was so damn fun to write...

It is a shame really, but without their 'summoners' to draw power from, the shadows are really… Really weak. Though I should probably rephrase given how similar to the 'ka' system that sounds. More that those things are just the favourites of the deck, or in Mai's case, the 'guardian' of it.

And… Hohhhh, you've got a point, they could have killed Malik… …Oh well. And hey, what'd I tell you? I'm focusing on keeping the partial side-characters from being side characters~.

I should think it's scary; I've already hinted on it a number of times! If it's hinted at again, it will likely be during a mindscrew. And ooohhh… Bakura…

He'll get more love from meeeeee…

.. … Fine you. You win. No more squiggly.

NOW GIVE ME YOUR LOVEEEEEEEE…

Hehehehehe… I'll just say that the Parent isn't an OC and leave it at that. As to roles, who knows, but don't expect them to show up for a good long while… And SECRETS! They came so close, but the matches just pulled him away…

And if you think about what happens in the next match (unless of course you don't know), that's really not a good thing. At least we know (thanks to that hilarious move on Gilfer's part) that the monsters don't necessarily have to move with motive to kill though. But yes. If she isn't now, she's going to kill him, and possibly regret what she said above.

Awww, hey… Least I can do for such a loyal reviewer! He's very huggable I must admit. And… I know… Sometimes, I'm disgusted with myself… They get a slight reprieve; they can't remember the full severity of how graphic the world got, and how intense the pain was. Think of it as the difference between holograms and what Jonouchi sees on the field. Of course, it's like Noa said; he can't change what they saw in the memory. And as you can see above, Anzu got a lot more than she bargained for with Malik…

Heck, even without the Arabic, this will make things really awkward for her for a fair bit. Definitely not worth it.

And oooooh… Wait until I get Haga. Not quite the same in terms of forms of trauma, but in Fanfic land Haga's trauma has happened… And it'll be quite depressing when I get there, despite it being drastically different in tone from poor Ryuzaki.

Again, I'm glad you liked these two chapters… I hope you enjoy this next pair, and with that, I say good-bye!

Hahaha, not a problem Iona! (Two reviews! WHOO!) Actually, if you do that again after the update I post after this, that's probably safer than waiting around; I won't be able to do much on the fanfic from the 16th to the 22nd, as I'll be going through another move. (Back to BC~ In the end, it's likely I might have a job there so…)

A lot did happen huh? I really have fun with finales I admit… Though I try to do just as much for regular chapters as well! (I need to watch myself though, these last ones have sent the fiction spiralling into horror/gore levels.) Adding things like this are only possible because of the responses from you and everyone else reading though; they give me the confidence to deviate from the original more than I normally would, and the better the reaction the further I go..!

Valiant indeed… I don't know about you but I find the tongue pretty damn creepy myself.

AND… A very good question! I won't answer it now, because you'll get a small hint as to which 'past' it refers to before the end of Battle City. I say this because while the Millennium World was created from Yami Yugi's forgotten memories, I'm pretty sure he didn't just disappear after giving the Priest the puzzle.

Actually, I have a feeling he just died. Owwwwwwch… Very right though in that the second half of the past is a hint to the future! But that's another story altogether, and one that isn't due for a little bit now.

Gozaburo was a scary scary man… Somewhat interesting to get behind I admit though. You're right though; she could do that, but since it's already been over a year she'll either see no point (probably that one), or refuse because it would involve playing a 'trauma' card. Which she will most certainly not want to do.

Yessss… Gundam Chess… Kaiba would probably love that actually, though neither incarnation would admit it.

Ohhhh it was a fun perspective too, that computer version of Jonouchi. I always found programmed emotions to be a little silly; after all, in certain circumstances, those emotions could end up completely turned on their head, but with a computer, you can't do that. So it's like having no character development at all. That was a mouthful wasn't it though? I do like how well it's being received though, particularly in regards to the 'less than main' characters. They all got their development, that's for sure…

Even if it was a little painful. Knifed is putting it lightly, look at the sketch below! Ryuzaki is a nice mix of brave, stupid, and in love. He won't admit the last part, but there's really no denying it… Very smart too; how many people would have thought of that cable trick?

Gozaburo should have, but I suppose this is what happens when you're a ghost. You don't think, so you don't consider the fact that Naked!Jenga (Hihhhhh!) would put things in your favour.

Bittersweet and rather gloomy with what they went back to… And again, I'd have never gotten as far as I have without you and all those reading; so here's to everyone! We're almost at 100 chapters, WOWWWWWW!

Enjoy the reading; and here's to the next update!

---

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that wonders which is worse; being Jonouchi in a duel, or being a normal person in a shadow game?

---

This chapter? . . .

No comment, no comment! The 'First and Last' refer to Jonouchi's thoughts on this kiss, and also Seto's. Seto's pretty much certain that Jonouchi will die. Jonouchi's just not completely sure, is hoping to hell he beats Malik first (he's worried about injury transfer; it's actually possible for him to win and still 'die'.)... So it's still a 'now or never' situation.

One that has Seto absolutely FUMING.

Of course, I will also point out that Seto moves first and Jonouchi moves last in the featured duel here, but we'll just smile and nod at that one.

---

So many scenes cut out! Mostly because they're flashbacks from Ishizu, or cuts to the events on the airship. But really, do you need a reminder that things are going crappy? I can do that at the beginning of the next one.

Also most of the scenes were inner thoughts. From EVERYONE. REPEATING.

---

Yugi's words are kind of a reference to why the promise exists in the first place; namely to give Jonouchi the chance to win Red-Eyes back and prove himself (which was his reason to enter the tournament in the manga/anime- to prove himself as a duelist.). And yes Seto is getting carried away with her words; but only a little. She's also a very good actress, remember?

Clarification on things here though, the fact is that in her head, it's like this. She sees herself as better than Yugi (of course she does, she's determined to beat him), BUT… Malik is an incredible threat. Add in the knowledge of Ra's effects, and she really is quite wary of that card, just as in canon. So she believes her best shot is essentially the two gods (and later, the one card).

This is where things diverge. In canon, Seto wants to fight Yugi to get Osiris, and doesn't care what happens to Jonouchi; if anything, he's more than happy to watch Jonouchi fight Malik, and tells the blond to draw out the fight so that he can see all of what Ra does.

But fanfic Seto cares. A lot. Heck, she's reminding herself not to refer to Jonouchi by last name in her head. Given how many people there are on a first name basis with Seto that's… Kind of impressive. In any case, at the same time, Seto's not about to challenge Malik when she doesn't think she'll win. Nor will she let Yugi challenge Malik, since she doesn't think he'll win… And if Yugi loses, Malik has another God card.

Her solution? Force Jonouchi to forfeit after the matches are decided. It… Doesn't work, but in her head it's a good plan. Of course, with that in mind, most of the crazy grins she uses with Jonouchi aren't actually honest. The anger is though. Mostly because Jonouchi has that way of ticking her off though.

---

Fanfic!Jou always fumbles with not calling Seto by first name. You can probably guess what he means by pulling a 'Jou' for that reason.

---

Facilities? Well… I was typing this, and it suddenly hit me.

What happens when a duelist has to pee in the middle of a match? Like. Really bad. What, is it put on hold? Do they forfeit? I DON'T KNOW!

I would think that to prevent such a tragedy, a break would be crammed between major match ups.

---

S-Selket! What's she doing there? Well, it's an Ante tournament...

Technically, Selket is Jonouchi's now. He'll never get the card, but she'll be a fairly large pain in the ass during deck conversations from this point on. Also, there's a sketch of her below. (I know I said no art, but the sketch happened fairly quickly between updates so... HUUUGE sketch sheet which includes a line art of her)

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Actual line from the original guys; 'even god can't save you'… And not God as in God card either.

Japan does a lot of referring to God despite 99% not believing in the guy I find, but really, who doesn't? Even if you don't believe in the omnipresent guy/thing/IDFK, it's easy to refer to one single being when it comes to fate.

---

WOAH.

WOAAAAAAH.

HOLY SH- Yes, they did. And yes, Seto's going to acknowledge that.

She will not do that easily though, but that's a given. On a somewhat more amusing note (because frankly this chapter ended up far more depressing with that ending than intended), it's possible that not only did Jonouchi's entire deck see all that (they're technically with him!), but Yugi, who likely came back to wish his friend luck again, could well have seen the entire thing...

And Seto would never know...

(By the way, no he didn't.)

And of course, we know what's going to happen next...

---

FanArt and My Art

Cut the spaces, paste the link!

A bit of technically nude reference work here (), but there's some good stuff too! Also kissing.

Because I got bored.

SketchConcept: The Monsters of the Deck/Realm+ SketchReference: Ryuzaki's Scars, Anzu's Eyes, & Kissing – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ sketch2. jpg - Technically, Selket isn't a member of Jonouchi's deck. She's just there, being a pain. And of course, we also have Little Winguard, who, having no visible head, was kinda fun to mess with. Eventually, 'she' (Yeaaaaa I got bored. Also, Winguard sounds young enough that 'she' passes far too easily as a boy. I'm just throwing this here now because I don't want it to be a 'drama' point.) ended up a jackal oddly enough...

As to why Winguard is still referred to as 'he', it's simply because she hasn't done anything to reveal herself as a girl. Particularly since most of the monsters (save the smug ones like Panther warrior, or the 'foreign' ones, like Alligator Sword) use 'Jibun', the unisex, and fairly militaristic personal pronoun. (Panther uses 'ora', a somewhat older deviant of 'ore', whereas Alligator Sword uses 'Wo', the Chinese equivalent of 'I' or 'Me'.) The fact is, Winguard is admittedly female just because of how many of Jonouchi's cards are male.

Which is pretty much all but like... Two. I wanted to throw in some variety, while putting a slight twist on things. (And yes the others know that Winguard is a girl. Well, most of them do. Like I said; it's not supposed to be a big deal, not like with Kaiba.)

Ryuzaki has fairly extensive scars but that's not the only damage! His eyes will be golden after this. Partially because of all that fighting and getting shards of cursed gold in his freaking bloodstream... But also simply because of the powers involved leaving their mark. He doesn't have any special abilities or crap (though he /does/ feel a little more connected to his deck after this), but the Millennium Rod left a DEEP mark on him, and I'm not talking scars. Of course, it would be silly to think otherwise...

The rest of these are kinda self explanatory I would think.

---

Musical Notes

Time for shameless music sharing!

Not much this time; worse, almost none of it is subbed! Ahhhhh…

On the 'Not Subbed' end, we have the following covers that Ciel did on Youtube; 'If' by Megurine Luka' (But not the quiet one; the one you're looking for starts off with an almost scream-y tone, but there are TWO SONGS by Luka with this same name!), along with Honaka (Hatsune Miku) and Hachimitsu Honey (Gumi)

On the subbed end however, we have 'Tsumi to Batsu' or 'Sin and Punishment'. I was still listening to a cover for this (Ciel!), but it's easy to find this song subtitled if you look for it. It's sung by Miku. This song started off in a way that had me thinking of Jou and Seto… But then it took a weird turn, and that idea vanished quickly.

Any ways, that's it for now! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up before the 16th; leaving to move back to BC on that day, and what with the fact that I'll be in a car for four-five days... Yea.

If I can get a hold of a netbook by then I'll probably just spam you all with multiple chapters when I get back, but if not then expect a week break with nothing to show for it in terms of writing.

Until then, see you next time! And enjoy!