Chapter 17:

Never in her life had Kami been as afraid as she'd been when a large hand suddenly grasped her from behind after she'd shooed away the three Slifer Red boys. She'd just gotten herself a duel with her so called 'rival' arranged, which was even easier than she'd anticipated, when both of them had suddenly been attacked by two hulking men. Just as she had been crying out for help, a strong smell assaulted and knocked her out.

When she got back to her senses, she found herself confined in some kind of sarcophagus with just a small window allowing her to see the outside. Her father had told her that there were always people out to get her, just another 'benefit' that came with being the heir of a powerful company, but until now none had succeeded in kidnapping her. With Duel Academy being situated on a island whose borders were monitored 24/7, it didn't even enter her mind that something like this could happen. And who could fault her? It would be a pr-disaster for Kaiba Crop if something happened to the students of their academy, even they'd taken a backseat in its management.

It took her a few minutes to calm herself down with the breathing-technique her mentor had taught her to use before stepping up for an interview or for important talks, but while she stopped hyperventilating, her heart only beat faster. She carefully looked through the window and saw the circular room she was now in. Right beside her another coffin hung at the wall, most likely holding the Rhodes girl, but she couldn't make it out from this angle. Not far away stood the two masked giants as if they're waiting for something, until the one with the hat noticed her being awake and made his way over.

Grasping onto her arms she tried to stop shivering, but the dimly lit room, the physically imposing figures of her kidnappers, and the realization where she was kept her from doing so. Was this what had happened to the students that had somehow vanished the year before? She shook her head and looked defiantly at the man standing in front of her confinement. "You'd be wise to let me out of here immediately. Otherwise, there'll be hell to pay, you ruffian!" she shouted at him in what sounded to her like a confident tone, if a little shaky.

Her captor seemed to think otherwise. "Or what? You're gonna keep shouting at me?" the man laughed at her. "It'd be best for you if you shut your mouth and keep quiet, missy. You're just bait anyway. But wait …" he took out something she couldn't see and worked at it for a few moments. "Well would you look at that? Seems like we unintentionally hit a gold mine!" She couldn't see his eyes when he focused back on her, but the grin he had on his face was enough to make her skin crawl. "The little Umino heiress, that's gonna sweeten the deal even more!"

"If you know who I am then you know what'll happen to you once this gets out!" she tried to threaten him once more, but it didn't lead to the response she'd hoped for in the slightest.

The man hit the coffin with her inside hard, causing her heart to beat even faster as she held onto the walls for dear life as her face surely betraying her fright, and fixed her with a glare. "This is your last warning: Stay quiet or we'll do worse than sticking you into a box." He left the threat hanging like that before turning away with a sick grin as his accomplice got his attention.

"Our targets are on their way down the stairs," the mechanical voice said and a sharp breath followed.

"Finally! The sooner we deal with these brats the sooner we can cash in with that stupid professor. What a fool to think that the small amount he offered would be enough for this, but what can you expect from a man that looks like he belongs to a circus?!" the hat-wearing man stated with a laugh.

'A professor belonging to a circus? These guys were hired by Doctor Crawler?!' Kami realized, the description fit the man too well for it to be someone else, but it just confused her even more. 'They aren't here for me in the first place but were hired to be here by the professor … but what for?' The question was answered once she saw who charged into the room from the other side. She couldn't believe it. 'This absolute idiot hired mercenaries to deal with Yuki? How petty can this man be?'

She'd heard of the Yuki's boys' exploits, of course. She'd watched him duel against Crowler back at the entrance exam, just as everyone else. The fact that he beat Rhodes and Princeton soon after caused ripples across all dorms and years, since he and Blake were ripping every standard that they knew apart by winning against opponents they shouldn't be able to beat. Speaking of Blake, she was uncharacteristically happy to see the older boy when he stood beside his … friend? It seemed like they were going to duel her kidnappers, which was a ridiculous concept, but honor-dueling had become somewhat of a norm after Battle City. And with him having tagged along the chances of getting out of here rose exponentially as opposed to the slifer teaming up with one of his loser friends.

The younger Truesdale brother was an embarrassment for his brother. One would've thought that he'd learned from him, but other than using Machine types as well, even though they couldn't be any different from the Kaiser's, there was nothing else the two shared. Life could sure be cruel when one brother got the looks and the skills, while the other got nothing. And that Huffington boy? He's a Slifer in his second run of the third year, the very definition of what less eloquent members of her dorm called 'Slifer sludge'.

No, her reaction to seeing her own duelist-for-hire arrive to save her was justified for sure. She hadn't expected him to, but it seemed like she'd interpreted his character worse than she should've. She really should keep him around for longer than just her ascension to her rightful place as Queen, maybe even reward him a little? If he managed to get her out of here, that was.

Shortly after the duel started, she couldn't help but laugh when one of the men tried to scare the boys with something he called a 'Shadow Duel', which was nothing but some smoke generators and mirrors. She knew because they liked using them in events hosted by their company. She laughed even louder when Blake told them off with his usual attitude, but none of them noticed her. With two of the boys not doing anything productive she thought they'd at least try to look for her and the other girl, but what could she reasonably expect from them other than falling for every trick in the book?

She couldn't help but smirk when the man with the mechanical voice took the other man's golden pendant and stomped it on the floor. Hopefully that unwieldy thing had costed him a pretty penny, but then she raised her brows in confusion; for some reason all four duelists were grabbed by some shadowy … things around their feet. She questioned that thought when one of her captors received a hit from Blakes powered up Maju. One that damaged his clothes. The overconfident face the giant had kept ever since she first saw him broke into panic, going as far as trying to run. Yet he couldn't, as if something was holding him in place. But what happened afterwards made her breathing hitch. The man got covered in these shadow creatures, screaming as they did so, before revealing him once again in a more … unsightly manner.

The other boys were staring in horror, the smaller one even hiding behind the other, but it only got worse. The next attack that targeted the Yuki boy seemed to have knocked him out completely. But … that couldn't be what had happened. A duel involved holograms, very advanced ones at that, they couldn't hurt someone. That was just showmanship to keep the audience at the edge of their seats. A duelist was as much an actor as he was playing a sport.

Shocked by what had happened, the scene flew by until the other man was unmasked and it appeared like he was someone Blake knew. She couldn't make out much off what they're saying as her heartbeat overshadowed the sounds off them talking, but it stopped momentarily when she saw Blake getting attacked directly. There was a visible wound that appeared on his chest, with most of his shirt being burned away as he fell to his knee. This couldn't be just some duel. Duel's didn't hurt people, they entertained them. This was something else. Something she didn't know. Something that scared her.

Just as much as the predatory smile that graced Blake's face once he stood up. Cold sweat ran down her back when he finished the duel and her legs gave out just as his dragon bore down on her kidnappers. No, this all had to be a nightmare. One that was hopefully over now.

She flinched when the front of her confinement was opened not soon after, revealing a ragged looking Blake. "'Sup princess. You ready to go or need a moment to put on makeup?" He asked with a tired smirk, the scar around his neck visible for anyone to see.

She gulped, still frightened by what she had witnessed earlier. Shaking her head, she let out a huff and stumbled out of the box only to slump to the ground, her legs still trembling. Beside them, the other boys got her co-captive out as well before striking up a conversation she didn't pay any mind to. But there was no sign of the two men that'd brought them here.

"Can you stand?" Blake asked to get her attention back. His smirk was gone, and it sounded like there was a hint of worry in his tone, but maybe she'd just imagined that.

She tried standing up, only for her legs to give out once again. Then she tried again. And again. It frustrated her, not only because her body wasn't listening to her, but because she was showing weakness in front of someone that was supposedly beneath her. An underling, even if he's a capable one. But … he's the one who got her out of this. The other boy helped but, in the end, it was Blake who finished the duel, somehow got rid of her kidnappers, and got her out of her cage. After everything that had happened here, she was frightened and exhausted, maybe even a bit scared. Not that she'd say that out loud.

"Didn't think so," he sighed and crouched down in front of her, his back facing her. "Get on."

"W-what?! You don't honestly believe that I'd let anyone-" she started with a huff before he interrupted.

"Or I'll just leave you down here and you come out once you can walk on your own," he stated with a hint of amusement as he looked at her over his shoulder.

The thought of being left behind was enough to spur her into action, wrapping her arms around his neck and getting onto his back. He shot up the moment he had a good grip on her. "You better keep your hands where they belong." She growled weakly at him and saw how Rhodes was led by the other boys, supported on each side. While Rhodes managed to walk with the support, she herself was in a more embarrassing situation, one the others noticed. "None of you tell anyone about this, you hear me?" She hissed at them, causing the Slifer boys to nod feverously while Yuki and Rhodes shared a short laugh. It was bad enough she'd to expect help like that, if word came around that she was carried by someone, especially Blake …

As they made their way out of the basement and through the building, her carrier moved over to his previous duel-partner and handed him something that looked like a photograph. Only then she noticed that there were scars like the one around his neck on his arms as well, and they didn't look any lighter. She'd speculated about his history before getting him to work for her, but tonight she got the definitive confirmation about him. Blake Moore had been an underground duelist before coming to the academy, and he had to be a dangerous one at that. Why else would there be a mercenary coming after him?

She felt his left side struggle to support her when reaching another set of stairs they walked up, his hand quivering as it held her up by her leg. A quirk she'd noticed before, one that made more sense now that she knew about the scars across his body. Since Blake had handed his duel-disk to the boy leading them out, the even worse state of his left arm made her question if he carried her by sheer willpower and defiance. After this whole fiasco, he's still trying to be strong, even when it was clear he's not feeling well at all. She couldn't help but admire that. "You better not let me fall. If you need a break just stop for a second," she whispered diplomatically.

"I'm fine, you're just heavier than I thought," he shot back and she could almost see the smirk on his face as he did so.

"Are you saying I'm fat?!" she hissed just quietly enough for the others not to overhear.

He snorted in response and shifted around a bit, causing his shivering hand to not be as noticeable as before while his grip secured her better. "I mean, you've got quite some thighs …"

"It's muscles from swimming you dolt!" she responded and weakly hit him in the shoulder. He laughed at that, and while he annoyed her to no end, she felt a bit better after that. With the rest of their group laughing as well, the atmosphere got better overall. That stopped when they made it outside, where they were blinded by flashlights.

"Halt! You lot aren't getting anywhere! Round them up, we're taking them straight to the chancellor!" the commanding voice of a woman in green thundered, the beret she's wearing identifying her as chairman of security.

Underneath Kami, Blake sighed. "Great."

After a long walk, on which Kami got down from his back after half the distance, opting to get walking support from him rather than keep getting carried, they arrived at the chancellor's office. Syrus and Chumley were scared, especially after being told by the head of security that they'd face expulsion for not only coming near the abandoned dorm, but also entering it. 'Not if I have a say about that. You better play along or you might be out of your job after this.' Blake thought as they were lead inside and forced to sit down in front of the Sheppard's desk.

The older man looked tired, while Doctor Crowler, who stood to his side, had a mix of nervousness, annoyance, and horror in his face. "Good evening, children, albeit I doubt it has been a good one for any of you," Sheppard said. "I imagine you all know why you're here?"

Chumley gulped loudly. "Because we went near the Abandoned Dorm?"

The man nodded. "And if you know that I imagine you know what the punishment for that is?"

The older Slifer boy sunk in his chair, with Syrus following soon after. Not about to let the boys take the fall here, Alexis entered the conversation. "Chancellor Sheppard, this is my fault. They wouldn't have been there if not for me."

Glancing over to her, Sheppard sighed. "I understand why you visited that place, Miss Rhodes, but rules are rules."

"Even if we broke them because your security fucked up?" Blake asked bluntly, earning him shocked looks from his classmates and a sharp one from the chairman.

"Whatever are you talking about?" she inquired with a tone that bordered threatening.

"I mean us," he countered, pointing at himself and the Slifer boys, "going into that blasted dorm to help out Alexis and Kami, after they'd been kidnapped by two men that you somehow missed to stop getting here in the first place."

All of them nodded along, even if it was nervously, to which the chairman huffed. "Impossible, we're monitoring everything that comes and goes off the island. Noone enters or leaves without our knowledge."

"So, you let them get here willingly then? Or are you just that shitty at doing your job?" he taunted. After that shitshow he'd to go through earlier he needed to let out some steam and he wasn't going to take shit after cleaning up their mess.

"You dare insult our work?! Do you have any proof for these ridiculous claims or are you just making stuff up to save your own skin? You're not getting out of getting expelled anyway, so you better not give me a reason to-"

"I do," he responded and took out his PDA. "Doctor Crowler, if you'd be so kind and connect this to the large screen? The newest recording, if you would." He fixed the older man he knew being responsible for all of this with a stare. Crowler gulped and took it, surely thinking about deleting the evidence straight away. In the chair next to him, Kami glared at him for giving it to the man, but he mouthed her a 'Not yet' which she got the meaning off if he interpreted her eyes widening correctly.

But since Sheppard looked at the PDA as well, Crowler didn't get the chance of sweeping this under the rug, instead being forced to play the recording of Alexis and Kami being assaulted and kidnapped by two tall men, and then dragged into the dorm. Things were coming along nicely.

"Perhaps there are visitors for our classes or some event I'm not aware off, but I'm pretty sure even then it wouldn't be okay to take the girls like that," Blake said smugly and leaned back in his chair.

Grumbling at the evidence, the chairman wasn't ready to stand down just yet. "And where are these men supposed to be now? You were the only ones coming out of there and the men I had stay back and sweep the building haven't reported finding anyone else back."

'Either Banner hid his laboratory really well or you really suck at your job. Considering what's going to happen from here on out, its probably the later.' "Syrus, your recording," he prompted the boy, who in turn fumbled about to get his PDA out. He also gulped when looking at Blake, doing his best to look anywhere else.

Once the recording reached the point of Panik calling for a Shadow Duel, Sheppard paused it. The man rubbed his temple and groaned. "Chairman, if you'd be so kind and let the rest of your men wait outside …"

"What?! Why should they-"

"This is an order," the chancellor said decisively, to which the woman begrudgingly obliged. Now only she, Sheppard, Crowler, Blake, and his classmates remained. "This isn't something that should be known and it's bad enough that any of you have been pulled into this." The chairman looked at him in confusion, but Sheppard let the recording play until it finished. Once the duel turned dark the quality dropped, but not enough to be unrecognizable. "I hoped this wasn't the case when I saw the state of you two," he said and looked at Jaden and Blake, "but considering what I just saw this is much worse than just some rule breaking."

Everyone looked nervously to one another, the wording prompting a smug smile on the chairman. "None of you will get expelled for this." Her smile vanished in an instant. "After what all of you have been through tonight it's the least, I can do. This doesn't mean you'll be allowed to break rules in the future, mind you. I understand that you must be shocked after this, which is why I'll have Professor Fontaine give you a check-up first thin in the morning and give you a break from classes for a few days. If there's anything you need to talk about, she's the best one for it."

While the students were relieved to hear they wouldn't get expelled, the head of security was enraged. "You can't be serious! All of them broke the rules clearly, and now you're going to let them off because of some spooky recording they made?! There're no hints towards these men ever having been here, and my men just turned the whole building upside down!"

"As that may be, the proof is right here," Sheppard countered sternly. "More than that, I can't help but question your work after these men managed to not only get onto the island proper, but also kidnapped two of our students. If anything, it should be you apologizing after you let them down like this."

"I can't help but agree on that, Chancellor," a new voice entered the conversation. It was a tired one, but one that held bite and annoyance.

It sounded all too familiar to Blake when Sheppard hurried Crowler to disconnect the PDA from the screen, which showed who the voice belonged to. He saw his classmates' jaws drop when Seto fucking Kaiba was shown on the screen.

"Imagine my surprise getting called by my secretary in the middle of an important experiment, only to hear about my company getting blackmailed over students of Duel Academy having been kidnapped on the island itself. By notorious duel-mercenaries no less."

'Seems like Katherine didn't want to wait this one out. Looking forward to the money to keep her quiet about this and destroy the recording I assume. I wonder if security will keep their jobs if Kaiba has anything to say about it,' Blake thought as he looked at the chairman with a smug look. He's surprised by this course of actions, but he's more fixated on Kaiba actually showing himself, as he'd only ever seen him on tv. And the man looked just like he remembered, not letting the few years after the movie get to him in the slightest. Even at this time of day, the man just radiated power and respect.

"So, tell me, Chairman, how is it possible you fucked up this hard?" Kaiba asked in an unamused tone. The woman was about to respond but he simply raised his hand. "You know what? It doesn't matter. You and your security personal are all fired. Sheppard, I'll send you a new team before the end of next week." The woman was flabbergasted and shook her head to retort but she just couldn't get a word in. "What're you still here for? Scram before I revoke your license of being on the island as well!"

She gritted her teeth and stomped out of the room, so Kaiba focused back on Sheppard. "I hope you didn't come up with some nonsense like punishing your students for this?"

The chancellors head dipped a bit at that, but now it was Crowlers time to intervene. The man was obviously unhappy about how things had gone and with Kaiba himself putting down the law there was no way of arranging that silly expulsion-duel for Jaden and co, instead he altered his plan to what Blake thought wasn't that bad of an idea.

"Signor Kaiba, sir, after what happened tonight, I believe more is in order than just save our dear students from expulsion," he said benevolently. Blake had no doubt he wanted to get on his good side in hopes of replacing Sheppard.

Kaiba grunted in approval of that. "You're right. Students, your tuition fees will be taken over by Kaiba Corp and any money you'd paid for it already will be returned. What is asked of you in return is that you'll hand in any evidence of what transpired tonight and speak about this to no one. Especially you, Mister Moore." He added that last part with a slight sneer.

"Of course, sir," Blake responded with a smile.

"If I hear any of this getting out, you and your guardian are in for a bad time, so make sure she holds up her part of the deal. Miss Umino, my secretary will call yours first thing in the morning. Sheppard, send me everything else that can be used as evidence. If anything like this happens again, you'll be out of your job as well." With that, Kaiba cut the line and everyone let out a shared sigh of relief at that. Well, everyone except Sheppard.

After they all got a few moments to gather themselves, Sheppard spoke up again. "I believe we're done here then. Again, I must apologize you all for what happened tonight. Doctor Crowler will escort you back to your dorms. Once you're up, please visit Professor Fontaine for your check-up. I hope you'll have a good night sleep, children."

The doctor led them out, the security guys having left already, and out of the building. A few steps behind, it was Jaden who sparked up a conversation with Blake first.

"Hey man, tough night we had, right?"

Blake nodded to that. "Not how imagined my evening to go."

"Yeah, me neither! But there's something I gotta ask you about …"

Blake raised an eyebrow and waved for him to continue before he realized that he was walking around with his scars on full display. "Ah … shit." He cursed and turned to the others that were walking behind them. "Could y'all do me a favour and not tell anyone about these?" He wiggled his arm and pointed at what he meant. "Not exactly something I want everyone to know."

Syrus and Chumley gulped but quickly nodded and he had no doubt that if they'd been intimidated by him before, they're afraid of him now. Great, how's he supposed to interact with Jaden now? Alexis grimaced but gave him a tight nod, while Kami was back in control of her emotions, no doubt wanting to talk about this at a later date. Now that he thought about it, it was a great way to blackmail him into doing her dirty work. The thought of her rewarding him for getting her out of there seemed to be just wishful thinking at this point.

"That's one thing I wanted to ask about, the other being what else happened back then …"

They reached the crossroads that lead to the Slifer and Ra dorm respectively, prompting Crowler to send them off. "I imagine you boys can reach your dorms from here on out by yourselves. I'll see the girls back to their dorm now." Kami fixed Blake a look before nodding at him and leaving with Alexis and Crowler.

"I'm sure you've got some questions, but can they wait until tomorrow?" he asked Jaden who yawned just now.

"Yeah … I think they can. Good night, Blake!"

'Oh, I wonder about having a good night, Jaden …'

Hey everyone, hope you liked our surprise guest for today chapter. Before someone might ask why security was at the dorm at night, rather than getting everyone at the morning, I imagined that two high-profile girls missing from their dorm that late at night would cause someone - cough Crowler cough - to look into that. Blake played his cards right this time and was rewarded with not having to pay his remaining tuition as well. But in return, everyone present now knows about one parat of his not so great past. How they'll act around him from now on we'll have to see.

I hope Kami's POV and character was entertaining to read for you all, especially since we're gonna follow that plotline for a while. With the tagduel of Jaden and Syrus against the Paradox brothers not happening, there will be some shifts, and Blake will stay away from most of the filler episodes as well.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews, seeing you guys like what I'm doing is a great motivator and tells me that I'm doing something right, so really, thank you. Hope to see you around next time