Previously on TLA: Yusei's technology proved to be too advanced to interface with the original devices in Yugi's era and derailed his plans to search for Yliaster's agent.

With no competing recourse, Joey's scheme to use Yusei as bait under guise as a bodyguard from Industrial Illusions proceeded instead.

While Mai drew in the easily infatuated crowds (and a pair of collateral paparazzi), Yusei was reluctant to endure the stress of another such excursion.


Getting Yusei into the public gaze without being the focus was a delicate business that needed the group to go about their regular lives as if nothing was afoot. Sudden breaks in routine could rouse suspicion while repetition would fail to retain the interest of the masses. For these reasons, and no others, the males had huddled together and avoided the post-shopping makeover session Mai said they needed to round out the new outfits. With Rebecca still embedded in the library, that left the less imaginative members of Yugi's family to come up with new ideas.

"How about the movies?" Tristan suggested. "Plenty of social presence, great snacks."

"Unless movies have changed in the last ninety years, doesn't it typically involve sitting in the dark doing nothing?" Which, no matter how much his brothers argued, didn't mean he could hire them as philosophers.

"I've got a few Dungeon Dice Monster events coming up." Duke mused aloud. "Could get a bit of talk going."

"You just want the Japanese National Champion to show face at your shops to drum up sales." Joey shot back.

"Yeah?" The businessman shrugged shamelessly. "Who's she these days?" Tristan dragged Joey in search of calming snacks before blood could be shed in a vengeful rage.

Left alone together, Yusei evaluated the gambler twirling a die around his fingers. Tristan and Joey were easy to understand, he had dealt with Jack and Crow enough to cope with their archaic counterparts, but Duke was a new one. "What?" The object of his enquiry had caught the look.

"Nothing." Yusei said evenly. "You're not what I expected." History books verged Duke Devlin between footnote and bystander. Aspects such as his love for dice and brief feud with Yugi were established canon yet that was more or less the extent of his involvement.

"No?" There was a flirtatious angle to that grin. "Fancy finding out more?" The moment (as with many others) was ruined by the entry of Joey Wheeler with food in hand.

"How is he not the size of a house by now?" Yusei asked the carer. Jack was an energy-intense giant, and Crow was constantly on the move, but Joey ate as much as the pair combined and could still see his toes.

"No idea." Tristan shrugged. Like the rest of his family, he was amazed by the shocking amount of food his oldest friend could consume. "We got a full physical to work for Pegasus and even they're stumped. Best guess is high metabolic rate."

In the time it took for the exchange, the dirty blonde had consumed an orange and three biscuits.

"Iuf bun phenkn." A shocking (if garbled) notion. "We haven't visited Grandpa in a while." Joey mused over a slice of toast. "It'd be nice to check in with him."

Yusei reflected on what he had read of Joey Wheeler. "I didn't know you had a grandfather." He delicately enquired. Alcoholic and abusive father, and a mother who had abandoned him to ensure the medically weaker Serenity could get all the attention she needed. No mention of grandparents in his biography.

"Not my grandpa." He waved away the idea that any Wheeler parent would show sympathy to their descendants. "We all call Yugi's grandpa that." All heads turned at the sound of shattered crockery. "You okay?"

Yusei focused on wrapping his bleeding hand in his shirt while scooping up the fractured remains of a coffee cup in his good hand. "Solomon Mutou?" The words barely managed to squeak out.

"Oh, right, you've probably read about him." Tristan shrugged carelessly.

"Are you kidding? Solomon Mutou is a legend in gaming history." Yusei gushed. "He's the reason that Las Vegas casinos started banning players and underground dens suspended life bets. It's been theorised that he was the one who developed the 'double hit' and 'reverse roll' dice techniques, probably more."

"He what?" Duke blurted, dice earrings swinging wildly as his usual fidget toy broke free and landed a six. "When was this?"

"Legend says that he was an unrivalled champion in all forms and travelled the world in constant search of new games and challenges." A modern adventurer who had gambled so much money that it had started to become more burdensome than the points they were meant to represent. "Nobody knows why, only that he moved to Japan and opened up a game store."

Even Joey was starting to realise that excitement was short-circuiting the biggest brain on the planet. "Dude, we know - we used to hang out there all the time." About the gaming store, he was bluffing on the rest.

Tristan wasn't as deeply embedded in the gaming world as half his family but he could see the childlike desire on the new face as well as the next blind man. "Do you want to go and see Kame Game?"

For a brief and terrifying moment, Yusei knew what it was to be Jack and see coffee. "I'd love to, I mean if it's not too much trouble but if we're going anyway," He gabled helplessly.

The three natives watched him stumble erratically back towards his room. "Reminds me of the first time I got an email from Pegasus," Duke admitted. "Damn near pissed my pants."

"But you didn't, right?" Joey slowed his chewing as the silence continued. "Right?"


An hour later, four men were staring up at the unremarkable structure. "What do you think of the place?" Joey proudly asked.

Mirrored glasses appraised the squat building. The building itself wasn't large or particularly impressive. First floor was a shop, second floor was personal quarters. Lower red roof, higher roof was emerald green. Altogether unremarkable by itself. It wasn't until the surrounding areas were brought into consideration that Kame Game came into its own.

Every other building on the block was an expensive high-rise with insane rent prices. The squat little family store was the only structure with fewer than five floors in sight and signs of greenery outback. What few people knew about was that the bushes and trees out behind the shop existed on the same physical property despite seeming like a separate entity maintained by the city. What even fewer people knew was that it was in this humble building that Yugi Mutou had solved the Millennium Puzzle and unleashed the 'Nameless' Pharaoh Atem to begin the rise of the Shadow Games in the modern age.

With all that history now standing proudly in view, there was really only one right way to respond. "I always picture it to be bigger."

"It's bigger on the inside." Joey defended his second home without stopping to think about the physical impossibility. "Come on."

A worn bell gently tinkled as the group filed into the shop."Oh, hello there kids!" Never mind the group were well into adulthood, ignore that the speaker was an old man leaning atop a glass counter with more enthusiasm than Crow playing with the police, it was possible to watch the inner workings of Yusei's mind catch and jar as they tried to process reality. "Are you here looking to pick up some new cards? We've got the latest stock available."

"Any chance of a 'friends and family' discount?" Joey airily leaned an elbow on the other side of the counter. "Maybe a few free samples?" He gave his most winsome grin to better ply the shopkeeper.

"Oh ho ho. For you?" The wisdomly old man smiled. "A special offer: buy one pack for the price of two and get a second pack absolutely free!"

Tristan sighed as Duke restrained the latest in a long line of swindled idiots. "And who's this fella?" Grandpa Mutou seemed to suddenly notice the rigidly controlled stranger hovering on the periphery.

"Kondo." Yusei rumbled respectfully.

"Is that so?" Solomon smiled kindly at him. "Then 'Kondo' it will be. Would you like to come upstairs and have some tea with this old coot?" Hopping off his stool, the squat pensioner straightened his back until it clicked painfully into place. "Business is always slow in the morning."

"Perhaps you could do with some new inventory?" Duke was instantly circling the possible opportunity. "I know a guy who's always looking to invest in small businesses.

"Every time." Tristan conversationally rolled his eyes at Yusei.

"You gentlemen get your boots off," Flapping his hands, he began rustling around in search of something. "I'll shut up shop for a bit."

"You can't close the store on our account." Yusei was cracking through Kondo so much that it would be a miracle if he could put the persona back in place.

"Young man, I can do whatever I want with my store." Triumphantly dragging a drooping piece of cardboard from behind the umbrella stand, he flipped the sign in the door to 'Closed' and propped the cardboard in the corner beneath it. "More customers will be along later."

The three natives fell into their customary file up the stairs (complete with Joey detectoring potential biscuits) as their imaginary bodyguard finished unlacing his boots. Alone in the shop downstairs, and unable to help himself, Yusei slipped the makeshift sign out for reading. 'Family visiting'. No wonder Solomon Mutou expected business to pick up in the afternoon.

What struck him the most as he mounted the stairs (inner child competing with inner fan to scream delight the loudest) was how ordinary the upstairs was. A worn refrigerator with a couple of dents in it, customary scorched toaster. Even the assortment of random mugs protested mundanity. "You okay?" Tristan had seen that look before when the new trainees had first participated in war games and been confronted with the brutal reality of what they were training for.

"Fine." Though he was operating more on instinct than manners as he took a seat across the table.

Scientists helped people by collectively advancing humanity's understanding of existence. Din advanced science more significantly than most. Therefore, Din helped people. Anyone who had met him in person would dispute this fact.

The Legendary Gambler was an unrivalled master of any game he had turned his hand to. Solomon Mutou was the Legendary Gambler. Therefore, the Legendary Gambler was currently pouring Yusei a small cup of green tea. It was easier to believe that Din was a nice person.

"Thank you." He automatically sipped the hot drink. "That's good."

"My friend, Mako, taught me everything he knew." Solomon Mutou poured himself a cup and gently blew along the surface. "I'm only capable of a pale imitation but it usually gets me by."

"Selling this in your store would definitely drum up some more business." Joey reached to pour himself a fresh cup only for the elderly gentleman to slap his palms away.

"Good tea is brewed for those close to you." Holding the lid in place, he slowly refilled the empty cup. "Selling it would make it nothing more than any other drink. Don't you agree?"

Yusei was unprepared for the sudden inquisition and took a moment to gather himself. "As you say." Martha had a similar policy for her cookies.

"Mustn't have been teaching him long." He smiled at Tristan.

"Teaching him?" The soldier was confused by the change of pace.

"New guard." He explained. "Still stiff as a board and doesn't look like he could crack a smile if you paid him."

"Kon-do can-do too." Jester Joey detracted the conversation with his sad attempt at humour.

"Ho ho ho!" Grandpa Mutou chuckled. "Say, where is that grandson of mine? I tried calling him yesterday and the connection never went through."

"Didn't he tell you?" Tristan replied. "He's gone to help a couple of friends. Something about covering one of their jobs for a few days but there's no signal out where he is."

"That boy always goes running off to help his friends." The grey head shook mournfully. "Don't you agree, Mr Kondo?"

Remembering the first time they'd met, Yusei cracked a slight smile. "I'd say so, yes."

"And how long did you say you'd known Yugi?" Air instantly felt heavier behind the reflective lenses as instincts kicked in. Even Jack would struggle to rival this sort of pressure. "Something wrong?" The kindly old man continued to sip at his tea without a single care to be found.

"Of course." Even two words were an effort.

"Kondo's only got hired a few days ago." The pressure vanished as Duke stepped in to smooth the issue over.

"Isn't that unusual for a bodyguard?" Went the unknowing smile. "I mean, surely Pegasus wouldn't hire a new bodyguard and send Yugi off unprotected?" Elderly concern quivered in his voice at the end.

"Dr Mutou is perfectly safe." His nerves back under control, Yusei instinctively went to reassure the grandfather. "Another associate is looking after him."

"That's good." Baby's would coo at such a look of gentle relief. "Someone else from your agency?"

"A different branch." He fibbed. "But perfectly suited for Dr Mutou's situation."

"Oooh, you happened to have a bodyguard trained for archaeological research?" Venus couldn't produce an atmosphere with this much pressure. "That's convenient."

"Nah, Yugi's off subbing as a teacher." Joey had certain unresolved issues with teachers and was already concocting Bad Joke No. 23 on the temporary vocation.

"Really?" This time, the pressure hadn't let up. "How interesting! Which friend of his was it that became a teacher?"

Finally, the truth dawned on Yusei. "What tipped you off?" No grandparent as proud as this one wouldn't have more information than a team of dedicated stalkers.

"How?" That pressure slackened as he moved to refill the teacups. "Because I am not an idiot. You gave a false name earlier and your story has more holes than my old socks. Since his friends brought you here, they obviously trust you, but you're no threat to Yugi because Pegasus and that Kaiba boy would have already dealt with you otherwise."

Reaching up, Yusei carefully removed his glasses. "My name is Yusei Fudo." He admitted. "I'm the third King of Games and your grandson is absent because he is saving the life of the second King of Games ten years from now."

Everyone looked carefully at everyone else to gauge their reaction.

"And you're from?"

"2094." He would have to thank Phantom for leaking that nugget of information.

They dissolved into silence again.

Eventually, the pair mutually relaxed on either side of the table. "Either you're the best liar I've ever seen or there's a lot more to the story." For a man learning time travel existed and his grandson was saving lives in the future, it was traditional to do more than gently sip away at their tea.

"Gramps, that was incredible!" Joey practically threw himself on the table. "Teach me, o wise one!"

"Not this again." Tristan rolled his eyes despairingly.

"Dude, you're embarrassing yourself." Duke rolled a natural twenty on hypocrisy.

"Surely there's nobody better to study under than the Legendary Gambler?" Four sets of eyes turned to await the response to Yusei's question. It was not what they expected.

"Do they really call me that in the future?" The tone was an unusual mixture of shame, remorse, and reluctant pride. "I thought I had put that story to bed for good."

"A specialist in deductive historical reconstruction was able to track your endeavours." For a man who could crush people with his mere presence, the unparalleled champion seemed displeased with his legacy. "I'm sorry if it's a personal matter."

"Well, I suppose it would come out sooner or later." He admitted. "Did your deductive historian go through a lot of effort?"

"Nearly twenty years of research." Yusei assured him. "Maybe the only major detail that was never discovered was why you retired. Rumour has it that you would only do so if you lost a game but there's no record of your ever doing so."

"Oooh, I didn't lose a game." Solomon Mutou, The Legendary Gambler, calmly refilled the teacups. "Tell me, Yusei, what do you know of my grandson's old necklace?"

"Not enough." He conceded over his new cup. "Only that it was called the Millennium Puzzle and housed the soul of Pharaoh Atem. Yugi said it had been put to rest."

Grandpa Mutou evaluated the others at the table for any sign of revelation. He found none. "You truly are a good friend." The storyteller shuffled deeper into his chair. "But do you know where it came from?"

"Yuge said he got it from you." Straightforward answers are never the solutions to obvious questions and Joey was a 'straightforward' kinda guy.

Tristan thumped his brother on the arm. "Grandpa means where did he get it from before giving it to Yugi."

"Hang on," Duke interrupted with his usual smoothness. "I heard that it was a group of archaeologists who found the Puzzle."

"No," Corrected the seasoned adventurer. "They found the location of the Millennium Puzzle. In their haste, they dismissed the notion of the Shadow Games as nothing more than an ancient fable and fell prey to them." That caught all their attention. All of them knew the Shadow Games had lain dormant until Atem and Zorc had descended through their reincarnations. Except for those that had been lying dormant for centuries. "Unless you have any other objections?" Amidst resounding denials, he began the tale.


"In 1965, I was travelling through Paraguay after a cultural misunderstanding in Bolivia. It was customary to show deference to ranking officials by letting them win but, to me, holding nothing back was showing respect and the disagreement meant leaving in a hurry. It was in Foz do Iguaçu, in front of a splendid view to the Devil's Throat, that a card shark told me the tale about 'a Game of Darkness to test the soul of whoever dares face it'. Nonsense, obviously, yet I let him wager what he knew to earn another hand. From there, I followed the trail to Sri Lanka where an Arabian prince liked to play the tables. He had heard the tale from a dignitary in Hyderabad who had learned the tale growing up on his grandmother's estate in Pakistan and was happy to discuss as much over a game of baccarat. My journey continued through Iran, Jordan, until I found myself circling dusty villages in Egypt in 1968.

There was a small cluster of buildings outside Kharga. Too small to have a name, the residents were shunned by society for peddling petty crimes. A pair of brothers, Ahmet and Mushura, were mostly known for sneaking tourists into the Valley of the Kings and pilfering whatever they could lay their hands on. As locals, they knew the legends of the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. As thieves, they knew the wealth it could contain. A deal was struck: I would receive the credit for conquering the tomb and they would be allowed to claim any treasures it contained.

The first room was ingenious within simplicity: a pressure trap upon entry, followed by distraction with ruby snake eyes. But those snake eyes were designed to lure prey towards them for the needles the statues could shoot.

The second room was designed to fool the average thief into believing they had been beaten to the treasures. Empty, except for a giant statue of Horus with a blank slate at the base. Reading was a rarity in Ancient Egypt and the text was written in a heat-reactive material that would have been thought magic but the riddle opened a passage forward.

It was the third room where everything started getting interesting. The third room was a simple maze with two simple alterations: chasms instead of walls and statues guarding each path. A simple enough puzzle until the walls start closing in and the statues swing swords at anyone who gets too close. A couple of archaeologists in Cairo talked over poker, told me that the key to investigating a tomb is to imagine the designer as the opponent in a battle of wits: it is not enough to know the culture unless you can also understand the mind that interpreted it. Looking closer at the statues showed that their left foot was dominant. In Egyptian culture, putting the left foot forward was a sign of loyalty to the Pharaohs and this was a Pharaoh's tomb. Walking with the left foot ahead would keep the statues from attacking but Mushura panicked and ran, triggering the statues." The storyteller paused to refill his cup amidst the heavy silence. "Ahmet threatened me with a gun to say that I was responsible for his brother's death. All I could offer was that they had both entered the game with the same knowledge of risks that I had as we moved into the next room.

On some level, I knew that there was something off about the fourth room. Similar to the one before, it had a chasm on either side of a bridge that led to the other side but it felt unbalanced within the tomb, as if there should have been more. Another inscription was waiting that said 'The cowardly will be eaten by demons, the courageous will be shown the way'. There were five stone slabs laid into the bridge and I suspected that the trap was to make the superstitious walk around the tablets onto unsafe purchases which would fall into the abyss. Ahmet forced me to walk the bridge first and I did exactly that, testing each foothold before placing my full weight behind it. I made it all the way to the final slab before he finally betrayed me, shooting me in the back to let me fall to my death. Of course," He smiled ruefully. "I didn't get to be a stubborn old coot without being a stubborn young fool first. As I fell, I managed to grab the edge of the bridge and hold on for dear life and Ahmet sauntered on past. What happened next haunts me to this day." It took another minute and another cup of tea to let the tension ebb away enough for the tale to resume.

"There had been talks of dozens of curses from the ancient world. Stories of adventurers and archaeologists who suffered disturbing and painful deaths. Some, like the curse of Tutankhamun, gradually revealed themselves as hysterical nonsense. Others had more mundane explanations, like fungal spores that infected the tomb raiders. As Ahmet set foot on the fourth tablet, it released an odious mist like nothing I had ever seen before. What remained of my rational mind suspected that he had stepped on a trigger I hadn't. But seeing a monster emerge from the vapour and tear him apart… I couldn't rationalise that. Nor the hand that reached down to lift me to safety."


For a minute, the group had a jarring sense of dislocation as they were dragged from a dusty tomb in Egypt to a comfortable kitchen in Japan. "I came to on the fifth tablet, surrounded by pools of blood. I tried to convince myself that Ahmet had fallen off the other side of the bridge and my mind had hallucinated the stone carving, that the blood was my own. But the foul stench of the monster still lingered and the pain in my arm was all too real. In his dying act of treachery, Ahmet proved to me that I had overcome trials that nobody else alive could say the same." They all paused to reflect on the irony of a traitor proving to act the part of a prophet.

And then Joey said his inevitable line: "I don't get it." Which, for once, was reasonable. "Yus said you'd retire if you lost but it sounds like you won this one. What gives?" Grandpa Mutou smiled mysteriously.

"In that moment, as I dangled off a cliff in a cave under Egypt, I thought my life complete and was content. Then a young man lifted me to safety." He sipped from his cup as the flickering oil lamps from decades before reflected off his face. "I stood there with the Millennium Puzzle in hand, conqueror of the Shadow Games, at the pinnacle of my accomplishments… All alone. You see, I had done everything I had ever dreamed of and had nobody to share it with. Oh, there were disciples and followers enough to start a religion but there was nobody to call my own. I'd won every game I'd ever played and had nothing of worth to show for it."

"Life." Yusei was the first to grasp the notion. "You'd failed to win at life." Their host smiled at the revelation.

"My birth name was 'Suguroku' but I spent some time in Israel and was given the name 'Solomon' for my cunning in games." He carefully poured the last of the tea into his cup as the audience sat hung on his every word. "It means 'a person of unusual wisdom'. After realising what a waste I had made of my time, I decided to leave Suguroku at the height of his accomplishment and strive my hardest to live a life worth living, one where I could be worthy of a name I hadn't given due care."

"And?" Duke said breathlessly, enraptured by the story.

"And I came to learn that you can fascinate anyone long enough to finish drinking the tea before they realise." Solomon calmly sipped from his cup with a smug grin.

"That's quite a tale." Yusei inclined his head respectfully. "Thank you for sharing it with us."

"Keep an eye on those manners of yours." Grandpa Mutou chided gently. "No bodyguard is that polite."

"Hey!" Tristan protested.

"We should renegotiate your salary later." Joey patted his friend on the shoulder. Tristan punched him in the chest. Duke calmly sipped his tea as the pair devolved into petty slaps and blows.

There was something about the story that tickled at the nape of his neck. Yusei had read every book published on the Mutou family and a few more that were still in revision. "What's got you stuck?" Grandpa smiled across the table.

"Sorry." He shook the cobwebs from his thought. "Mind drifted a bit."

"Don't underestimate your instincts." The Legendary Gambler rebuked him. "There was something strange from the moment I entered the tomb. I shouldn't have ignored it but there was no time to waste in the Shadow Games."

"1968?" Duke drained his cup. "You didn't start working with Prof Hawkin until 1985."

"'87." Grandpa corrected.

"'87." Echoed Duke. "Then how did you read the hieroglyphs in the tomb in 1968?"

"Very good." He smiled. "True, I knew a smattering of different languages but not to the extent I could have read in that tomb. And that feeling that there should have been another room… Sugoroku would have chased that mystery all the rest of the days." Joey and Tristan straightened up enough to pay attention again. "But, as Solomon, I decided that I'd missed too much of my son's life already. It wasn't enough to be an adventurer who showed up a few times a year with fantastic tales and shiny trinkets. Still, there were times that I wished for nothing more than searching for the next horizon."

"Sounds like something Yuge would say." The dirty blonde mused.

"Yes." Grandpa sighed heavily. "It seems the adventurous spirit is hereditary. My son was much the same as I was and wanted to travel the world. It would have been hypocritical of me to tell him not to, but I promised to be here for his family like I was not for mine. Except for a few archaeological excursions with Arthur," Duke nodded smugly at the concession. "I stayed here to support the family while he worked elsewhere to provide for them."

"Wanderlust seems to be a recurring theme in the family." Yusei deliberately mused to nobody.

"Is that so?" Yugi's grandfather might be taking the stranger at the word of Yugi's friends but even he wasn't foolish enough to blindly accept claims from the future. Yusei did nothing except calmly sip his drink.

"Hey, Gramps." Being friends with one King of Games (and making firm connections with another) was enough for anyone normal but Joey's reach had a bad habit of exceeding his capabilities. Worse, he had an uncanny ability to extend both without notice. "Since you had this whole 'Legendary Gambler' bit, does that mean you've got a pile of secret stories we could hear?"

Grandpa Mutou glared at Yusei. Yusei stared back with the slightest twinkle in his eye. Citizens of the future would certainly come to know a few tales of long odds and high stakes. Stories of impossible games and forgotten relics? Well, those tended to be passed onto those held in the strongest confidence. "A couple."


Lunch had passed and dinner was looming dangerously close for someone with Joey's appetite when the entourage returned to Industrial Illusions. Grandpa Mutou had offered to let them all stay the night until word of the shopping trip had reached his ears. Suddenly, retirement was a sufficient excuse for the trailblazing gamer to require a week of rest before interacting with the triad of formidable ladies.

"Man, I knew you were dumb but not Tristan-dumb." The national champion who still needed to count on his fingers was rarely in a position to brag and was making the most of it.

"Because it's not possible!" Duke blustered in furious embarrassment. "No matter how skilled he is, it's physically impossible to keep doing it."

"If I might interject," With his hair pulled back and those reflective glasses in place, Kondo was still trying to patch up a few cracks in his overlay after the revelations. "It is statistically improbable but not physically impossible. Rolling thirty with a single die is impossible." Seven had been thought to be impossible until a shady producer had been ensnared by a Shadow Game but thirty was definitely beyond the total of pips. "How much did you end up with?"

After the thought-provoking talk, they had lingered at Kame Game long enough to enjoy another pot of tea and let a substantial crowd gather before wading through the masses on exit. There had also been enough time for another pursuit.

"120% of the profit margin." Far from a devilish duke, he was acting more like a miserable miser. "Remind me never to mess with Yugi's grandpa again." Eager to prove himself against the Legendary Gambler, Duke had challenged him to a simple dice game: if Duke rolled higher, he could sell Dungeon Dice Monsters through Kame Game, with Solomon Mutou gaining an extra five per cent of the profit margin each time he won with a tie giving way to neither of them. Fair enough. Except that he had proceeded to lose the next fifteen rolls in a row and always by a single pip. By the time the shop owner finally capitulated in recognition of his stubbornness, Duke would be paying more than the stock was worth simply to get it through the door.

"Look on the bright side," Kondo tried to provide comfort, though it was outside the usual scope of duties for a bodyguard. "Games tend to sell quite well through Kame Game."

"Really?" Magically, a dice was already twirling around his fingertips. "And my agreement could be argued as limited to that physical store. Expand the empire, keep supplying product, profit naturally increases over time…" Before the doors had even swung shut behind them, the mood had shifted from despair to incipient hope.

From across the lobby, an invisible figure watched them crowd into the lift. Yugi hadn't been seen in days and Yusei Fudo was getting far too comfortable for it to be mere coincidence. It looked like the plan would need some adjustments.


I'm not Legendary but I'll Gamble you'll leave a review.