Chapter 37:

It was early in the morning, the sun had barely started to come out, but a lone figure was already sitting at a table in the café located in the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm. Kami was nursing her annoyance induced headache with a nice cup of coffee. Her father would scold her for the amount of beans and sugar he'd ordered it with, but for once she didn't care about what he'd say.

Every time she'd been close to the answers she wanted, something interfered. Honestly, if she hadn't been so shaken after coming out of the chancellor's office a few hours ago, she'd most likely strangled Bastion, rather than entertain his rationalizing. Was it karma for the less nice things she'd done in her life? A higher power that stopped her? Or just the abysmal luck that seemed to surround Blake starting to infect her as well?

Not that her partners best friend was any better. Seriously, how could anyone think it's a good idea to give an already unstable person, who's also somehow influenced by some kind of dark magic – and isn't that food for thought –, something that has a ninety percent chance of making things worse?! She'd gotten some explanation from the Ra boys about their experiments and the supposed energy related to Duel Monsters. It didn't make much sense at first, but she'd felt it first hand when she opened the box with these cards, and another set of cards was locked under the island with these stupid keys as well. Seemed like the King of Games and his talk about the 'Heart of the Cards' wasn't just hogwash after all.

She took her time sipping away at her coffee. Leaning back, she felt the warm, caffeinated goodness fill her with energy she sorely lacked after barely three hours of sleep. She wiggled around in her seat and felt the cramped muscles in her shoulders and back pop, causing her to let out a satisfied sigh.

A look at the clock told her she didn't have much time left, so she briefly went over her agenda while she still had the chance. First, Doctor Crowler would be announcing that silly game the chancellor had come up with, which made up the second round of her challenge. The chancellor couldn't do so himself, after all. Despite her having him in her hand, Crowler didn't tell her anything about it beforehand. Something about 'fairness between his Obelisk students'.

She scoffed at that. The good doctor had changed from his vain self from the start of the year ever so slightly, no doubt thanks to her guidance and to some effect his more prominent students. One of these students being the second point of her agenda. Even without knowing the exact details of the game, she'd make sure to isolate Blake with her so she could finally get the answers she wanted. With the tide of supporters ready to duel on her behalf, she neither needed him out there, nor anyone besides him with her.

Letting out a small sigh, she looked at her own reflection in the coffee. The conflicted look on her face just felt silly. There was a myriad of questions swirling through her head. How did Duel Spirits really work? How did they choose a partner? Why didn't Blake take the key from her when he had plenty of chances? Did he actually care for her or just the support she provided? Did he … share what she felt? Would her father even approve if this was the case? Did she care about his approval?

She had no answers to any of these questions, but a hand softly gripping her shoulder from behind shook her out of her thoughts. Looking up from her cup, it was none other than her opponent standing behind her. Her almost shoulder-length black hair immaculately styled as always, Seika Kohinata, the current Queen, looked at her with obviously played-up worry.

"Kami, dear, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Seika said.

'A ghost would be easier to explain.' Kami thought before clearing her throat. "Oh, it's nothing. I just lost myself in a good book tonight."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Seika checked their surroundings and leaned in. "Petty grudges aside, I've heard about what happened to Sheppard from Zane." She began, much to the surprise of Kami. "Surprised? It's only natural for good friends to tell one another about their day, no matter how bad it's been. Turns out I made the right choice not getting roped up with these keys after all."

Kami grumbled in response. 'Grudges aside my ass, she's still trying to get under my skin.' But she wasn't wrong about the keys. "You certainly are. But it matters not. It's the mark of a weak ruler not to engage with an important challenge like this."

"It's the wise ruler who chooses their battles carefully, and a naïve one that takes on all of them without thinking about it properly." Seika countered with a sly smile. "Just because you have nearly twice the support I do, that doesn't mean I'm going to make things easy for you."

"Make it easy, make it hard; my win is certain." Kami replied with a smirk of her own.

They shared another look before the Queen gave a her a reassuring clap on the shoulder. "Keep it up and you might just be right. I do agree with your idea of restructuring the promotion system, so it wouldn't be too bad if you actually won. But we should get going, unless you want to arrive all hot and sweaty in the arena."

Checking the clock once more, it turned out she's right. Kami quickly chucked down what was left of her lukewarm coffee, and together the two girls made their way to the academy's main arena. They joined up with Doctor Crowler at its entrance, the sounds of the student body already present in its stands was clear to hear.

"Right on the clock, as always a pleasure to work with you, my dears." The man greeted, not looking like he'd had any more sleep than Kami did. "Chancellor Sheppard had a whole speech prepared for this. Unfortunately, he prepared it only in his own thoughts, which is why we'll skip it."

They all shared a short sigh of relief, before Crowler opened the doors and strode out first. They followed right behind him.

On their way to the propped-up duel field, Kami almost tripped when she saw the sitting constellation of her fellow guardians and acquaintances. Blake sat between Princeton and Truesdale junior of all people, Yuki right beside him, with that other Ra student with the scarf right behind him. Behind that guy, Bastion was surrounded with the pesky Ra girls and the even worse cronies of Rhodes. He didn't look all that comfortable, although whether that was because of his seat neighbors or his thoughts dwelling on Blake she didn't know.

'So much for his trouble with girls.'

Once they arrived in the center of the room, Crowler wasted no time and raised his voice into the microphone in his hand. "Quiet, students! Chancellor Sheppard is feeling unwell, so I'll be the one announcing the event that'll be going on for the next three days."

That got everyone's attention quite quickly, so the man took out a remote to turn on the screens hanging above the arena so everyone could see what he's talking about. There, a map of the island was displayed. "With the chancellor out of commission there's a lot work to be done, so I'll keep this brief. After the vote last week, all of you've been assigned with either Signora Umino or Signora Kohinata, depending on who you've voted for."

He pressed another button, and the duel disks on everyone's arms reacted. The round globe in their main body began to glow in either a red or blue color, with red being the prominent one. "With this your team and your opponents are clear, there's no switching teams or dueling inside your own either. If you'd look at the map now."

Kami looked up from her red-glowing duel disk, annoyed that she didn't get the blue that'd fit her much better, and saw how the map started to segment itself. Around the dorms and close surroundings of the academy's main building and the building itself, different areas were split into smaller pieces. Then, the Slifer Red dorm and Obelisk Blue dorm segments lit up in their respective color.

"The Slifer Red dorm and Obelisk Blue dorm will serve as their respective teams' headquarters. The different segments are attributed with points and the goal of this game is to gather as many points and thus areas as possible. Each segment poses a challenge in order to take control of it, ranging from duel puzzles, to short tests, to duels with proctors. The more points a segment gives, the harder the challenge. Once a team has claimed a segment it chooses a representative to defend it. If the other team manages to complete the same challenge and defeat the representative in a duel, they get control of the area instead."

Another button-press later, and numbers were assigned to certain areas like the docks, cliffside, various locations in the main building itself, the Ra Yellow dorm, the Rescue Cat Café, and a few less descript spots. "If one team manages to reach and conquer the other ones HQ, the game is over for the day, with additional points rewarded. Otherwise, the game will end at four in the afternoon sharp."

"The members of each team can challenge the members of the opposing team to a duel at any time, with two exceptions: The representative holding a territory I've already explained, and the team's leader, who's holding onto the HQ's area, can only be dueled after their second-in-command has been defeated. Those seconds-in-command will be Signore Blake Moore for Team Red and Signore Zane Truesdale for Team Blue."

The collective sounds of groans and sighs echoed all throughout the arena. "Now, now. How do you intend to improve if you do not try for the greatest challenge?" Crowler chided. "To make sure no one can be constantly locked into duels, everyone who participated in one will have a grace period in which they can neither be dueled nor make a challenge. Ten minutes for winners and twenty for losers."

"The winner of this game is the team that has the most points by the end of its third day. Any questions?"

No student raised their hand or asked one, instead they fell into excited chatting. Crowler turned off the microphone and sighed, although still talking in his raised voice. "To think the day would come I'd arrange such a silly game in the academy. My wife would have a great laugh seeing me now."

…

Kami blinked at the man, before looking at her rival to make sure she'd heard that right. Seika appeared to be just as shocked as she was, if her widened eyes were anything to go by. If this was any other day, she would've kept her thoughts to herself. But she lacked the energy and restraint to do so now.

"You have a wife?!" She asked louder than intended.

A cup could be heard falling to the ground and spattering its contents. The arena fell into dead silence immediately after. Every student turned towards the excentric man, whose appearance and manners were the reason for many laughs and less savory rumors.

"He has a wife?!" Almost every student echoed.

Doctor Crowler looked pissed-off, perhaps rightfully so, at the genuine surprise and maybe even horror of his students.

"There's hope for us!" A short blue-haired Slifer student shouted loudly.

"Signore Truesdale, detention for the rest of the year!"

Blake plopped down in a plastic garden chair with an exasperated sigh. Letting all the tension in his body go, he deflated and sunk deeper into his seat. He'd been forced to help in setting up the location for the past hour, with the now almost noon-sun shining down warmly onto the island. A lazy look around told him he wasn't the only one in need of a break, but he'd wisely chosen a spot more distant to the other students.

Content with just being for the moment, he leaned back and pulled down his hat. The feeling of lightness hadn't escaped him yet and not even the combined nuisance of an aching charm and voices from beneath the island had managed to put a dent in either. There was a question burning in his mind, however.

'Say, what happens to a duel spirit when their card gets destroyed?' He asked no one in particular.

'They lose the connection to the place their card was in, meaning they'll have to get there once more all the way from the Spirit World.' Jinzo answered matter-of-factly.

'… that's all?'

'That's all. A spirit's card can only be destroyed if they're not sufficiently linked to it in the first place, as you could see with that oaf of a dragon.' Jinzo continued. 'It is a long way through several different layers to get to your world, however. Especially considering the Spirit World's current state. Why, do you regret your actions already?'

Blake scoffed. 'Pff, nothing like that. What good are cards I can't rely on, no matter how powerful they are?'

'You think you can trust these mechanical beasts?'

'I think I can trust you and 'the oaf', Jinzo. Which is both funny and concerning, considering how you got here in the first place.' He replied. 'But I'll give the Cyberdarks the benefit of the doubt. While they tried … whatever they did, they at least haven't been used against me. Plus, they fit my usual strategies well, although the brute-force approach is a bit …'

'Unsophisticated, yes.'

'I miss my Virus cards.' Blake lamented.

'What an odd thing to say. Then again, you're an odd human.'

'What makes you say that?'

'You say you trust us. Two historically notorious spirits that are only out for their own gain.' Jinzo explained, his voice traveling around him as if the spirit was going circles. 'Yet you do not trust your fellow humans, not even those closest to you.'

'I never said I didn't trust them-'

'You don't trust them enough to leave them to their own devices. It's the same thing.' The spirit interrupted. '"Trust is good but control is better" has always been my mantra. For all intents I should agree with you on this, but I do not.'

'… ouch.' Blake thought after a while. He'd been too pent up on negativity the night before to acknowledge it, but Jinzo was right. Despite what he'd told Bastion and Kami, they still believed in him, although with at least some healthy reluctance. Yet here he was, thinking he had to do everything himself, thinking they'd fail without him. Was it his own pride telling him that, or maybe twisted thoughts about needing to be relevant in this world? His own hubris to think he could improve how things went just because he knew about them beforehand?

Originally everything would turn out alright, even though the keys were lost at the end – although through complete bs. Even with the changes to everything he knew, or maybe even because of them, the outcome should be the same. Every guardian, save for Alexis and probably Kami, were stronger than the counterparts he knew. Especially Jaden. And with the hints he'd been showing already, Jaden would skyrocket out of everyone else's league quickly for sure.

Jinzo's voice got closer. 'I've been working on analyzing this piece of dark magic day and night, yet despite all this I have to agree with your male friend: It would be best for you if you lose and thus hopefully get rid of this trinket. You will suffer some backlash, naturally, but it's better than risking everything as you do now. If you can't do this for yourselves, then do it for us.'

The fact that that a spirit that was portrayed so sadistic and evil would be the one trying to help him, caring enough for him, was something Blake couldn't get over. Perhaps Jinzo was right. Who the hell was he kidding, of course he was. The only one being fooled by his 'I'm fine, I got this under control'-charade was himself, and even then, only to some degree. Maybe he should take a backseat-

Suddenly, pain shot through his body, even stronger than what he'd experienced in his first Shadow Duel, stronger than he'd thought he could even feel anymore. He tensed up in response and the reaction caused him and his chair to fall over to the side. His hat fell off causing him to get a face full of grass as he clutched this right arm where the pain was the most intense. When he could open his eyes, his vision was hazy with a distinct red rim.

'Or maybe I should just go and fuck shit up! Banner's gonna need a new body once I'm done with him for getting my cards destroyed. Then I'll shove Zaloog's knifes right down his throat and give Camula someone new to worship. Opening the Spirit Gates will be a breeze for me, who needs the rest.' Visions of him following these thoughts flashed in his mind, up to the point were only two people stood between him and the Sacred Beasts. It was the sight these two and his unwillingness to harm them that helped him get a hold of himself.

Gritting his teeth so hard he could hear something crack, he pushed away these thoughts and the sheer fury attached to them. He heard a familiar voice calling out to him in concern as his vision slowly went back to normal. Crouching in front of him was Yuma of all people. She looked as worried as she sounded, with light rings under her eyes.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

He focused himself and the DE inside him towards the Shadow Charm hidden beneath his sweatband, reducing the intensity of the pain by the second until it was manageable enough to talk. Unfortunately for Yuma, he was neither in a good mood now, nor all too happy to see her. "What do you care?"

She looked taken aback by his response, but then puffed up her cheeks like an angry chipmunk. "This isn't the time for that. Tell me what's wrong. Should I get Professor Fontaine?"

He scoffed at that. "She's got enough to deal with. It's just a cramp, I'll manage." 'More like a freaky gut punch, but nothing she needs to know.' Blake thought, wondering what caused it in the first place. Perhaps his unwillingness to fight? Banner told him his charm had a failsafe to make sure he couldn't take it off, who's to say that's the end of it? 'I really should lose it rather than looking for an alternative…'

"… will you really though?" Yuma asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"None of your business." With a good enough grasp on his body once more, he slowly got up and put the chair back on its legs.

"It is! You're clearly unwell-" she countered.

"Is it? Not like you cared about me last time something happened, probably because you were part of its cause." Blake shot back as he grabbed his hat and began dusting it off.

"That was..." Yuma deflated.

"Yes?"

She sighed wearily. "… it was stupid."

"It was pretty fucking stupid." Blake agreed. "Imagine listening to what a corrupt policeman tells you …"

"What are you talking about? Bright's dad has never done anything wrong."

"Well- … you know what? No. You'll see soon enough." He shrugged, knowing what should be happening in Domino City and wondering how far they were by now. "Where are you going with this anyway?" He prodded, putting his hat back on.

She shot him a look, staring at him for a few seconds before sighing once more. "I wanted to apologize for treating you the way I did these past days. I'm sorry, but I was … put off to say the least. As I said, I believe her dad never did anything wrong, nor has he ever lied to us. So, there was no reason to question what he told us. Still, l I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

Blake sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I guess that makes sense." 'Shows just where the difference between her, Bastion, and Kami is, huh. Not like I can fault her not communicating either, considering my "top-notch" communication skills…'

They stood there for a while in silence. She didn't meet his eyes, fidgeting with her skirt as she waited for a response. He let his eyes roam, seeing that the preparations appeared to be done. Walking towards them was his partner, subtly waving him over. Whereas his mood had been bad after his sudden whatever-attack and dropped further when confronted with Yuma, Kami's sight made things better.

"You know, I was looking forward to our date during the break." Blake said eventually.

This got Yuma's full attention, as her eyes snapped back to his.

"Something else to do, something new, something with someone I thought cared." He looked away from her and towards an annoyed looking Kami who stood a bit away, tapping her foot. "It's a shame it never happened. And never will." And he really meant it. If things hadn't unnecessarily escalated from the police's position, they might be dating now.

Yuma crinkled her skirt, nodding as she looked to the ground. "I understand."

"But since you apologized to me, and for the sake of Bastion, and Dimitri I guess, I'd be willing to, you know, return to normal with you again." He said, extending the metaphorical olive branch. "Just that and just you though. Don't expect anything else."

She shook for just a moment, then quickly wiped her face before looking back up at him with a bright grin. "Sounds good to me."

"Alright, listen up everyone!" Kami shouted through a megaphone, getting everyone's attention. She was standing on a makeshift pedestal as she's overlooking the gathered Team Red in front of her.

With the vast majority of students in the academy supporting her and thus joining her team it should be easy to win this type of game. All the more time to go out and pick off the Shadow Riders. At least, that's what Blake thought while rubbing his ear from the sudden noise. He picked a bad time to stand beside her, so he took a step back.

"You all heard what Doctor Crowler said and I came up with a plan that'll give us certain victory!" She continued, causing the other students to cheer. "We have the clear advantage so let's make this swift! There are a few priority targets to secure asap, but luckily, we have a whole lot of capable duelists and bright minds among us. The plan we'll go with for today will be as follows."

Kami then explained on who would be going where and in which constellations.

She assumed that the challenges for the different sectors to conquer in the academy's main building would be filled with academic questions and tests, thus sending the ones with better grades there. This included the whole Ra Yellow gang around Bastoin minus Blake, along with additional manpower provided from older Ra students and a handful of the few Obelisk students that were with Kami.

The less valuable sectors away from the central area would be taken by the Slifer students. There were more of them than areas on their side of the island, so they'd be free to support the rest of the team once they're done with that. Potentially they could even go as far as go behind the lines of duels that'd form around the central area to steal areas from the enemy team.

With the central area around the Ra Yellow dorm being the potentially biggest battleground, she decided to have the main bulk of their team going there, lead by the students with the best dueling records. There were two important spots for gaining lots of points that weren't covered with this. One would be spearheaded by Chazz, who was tasked with taking control of the main bridge separating the Obelisk dorms from the central area. The other was the cliffside, which Jaden would go to, since it was the most expected path for Zane to take, given he liked hanging around the docks.

Spotting the Kuriboh-haired student shouting in approval of this, Blake decided to add onto that with a smirk. "Jaden's gonna get bored if you send him alone, though. Nor can he sit still at the cliff. Why not send Syrus with him? I heard he'd improved. Who knows, he might even beat Zane before Jaden gets the chance."

"M-m-me?!" Syrus cried out in shock.

"Are you sure about this?" Kami whispered.

"He's the only liability that'd cause Jaden and Zane to throw a duel against a Shadow Rider. If he's with either of them, that won't happen." He replied before shouting towards Syrus again. "Of course, what better time than this?"

"Yeah, Sy, lets show that big brother of yours how good of a duelist you are!" Jaden clapped his friends back in support, nearly causing him to fall over.

The two started bickering, so Blake turned back to Kami. "So, what about me? Should I head straight for the other team's HQ?"

"Oh no, I have a very special job for you." She said with a mischievous smirk and checked the time on her PDA. "The game's gonna start any second now, so get ready!"

The students went around to find their assigned groups and got ready to start the moment the game would begin. They got done just in time before everyone's duel disks glowed in their respective teams colors once more and the loud sound of the main buildings clock could be heard all over the island. Bastion, accompanied by a happier looking Yuma, shot one last nod to Blake before he took off.

With everyone leaving, Blake noticed there were no students left beside him, Kami, and Chumley. The latter decided to go back to his room with a large amount of painting supplies. Curious, he turned towards Kami, who put away the megaphone.

"I thought you'd at least leave someone here to see if anyone comes to attack you here." He said.

"But I did: You're still here. Come on." She ordered, waving him to follow towards two deck chairs with a large parasol and a camping table with drinks between them.

"What, you want me to just stay here and do nothing?" Blake scoffed. "With everyone busy I should use the time to go after-"

She turned around in an instant, her finger pointing dangerously close to his face. "What you should do is to take a break, calm down, and most importantly; answer my questions. If you start running around the island looking for a fight the way you were last night, you'll only get in trouble." She took a seat on one of the chairs and pulled out a pair of sunglasses with a smirk. "Besides, didn't you proclaim you'd 'make sure no one would get me'?"

"That's not-" He growled in return.

"Nuh uh. You heard me." She interrupted. "We finally have the time and space to talk, so we will. Or didn't Bastion and I make it clear you needed to think things through?" She sounded a bit annoyed mentioning his best buddy for some reason.

Blake glared at her, but she simply put on her sunglasses, took a can of iced coffee from the cooled bucket standing on the table and opened it.

'This is stupid I could just … no, let's think about this for once.' He thought angrily before pacifying himself. 'Let's not forget what happened a few minutes ago. Listen to them for once.'

With a sigh, he sat down on the other chair. "… alright, but don't expect me to do this all three days in a row." He skimmed through the selection of drinks and settled on an ice-cold not-Sprite. "Couldn't help but notice none of our fellow guardians asked any questions, didn't you tell them?"

"Don't worry, I don't expect that of you. And no, we didn't. We don't really know how to breach the topic just yet, given security should have info before us." Kami replied and leaned back, took a sip, and put the can on the table. "But we'll use this little game to come up with an explanation like 'We saw these strange people duel random duelists, that's how we know.'"

"But enough about that, how about I start with asking what your encounter with your little Ra friend was about earlier?"

"What about it?" He asked, soothing the few still aching spots on his arms from earlier with the cold can.

"Well, what did the two of you talk about?"

"About how stupid her reaction to the whole extra information about me was. She apologized at the end."

"Is that really all of it?" Kami questioned further. "I don't think that's enough reason to make her cry."

Blake snorted. "What are you, my mom?"

She wagged her finger and reached for her drink. "Just answer the question."

"Urgh. Since she started behaving differently during the break, she canceled our date. Told her it's a shame but that there won't be one in the future either."

Kami, who had just started drinking, spit out her drink. "Excuse me?!"

"What?"

"You were looking forward to a date with her?! That little tomboy?"

He shrugged, unsure what her problem was. "Why not? She's cute and we share the same hobbies. Now that I think about it, maybe I should go back to jogging in the morning with her after all this Spirit Key nonsense is over …"

"Men …" She shook her head. "So that's your type?"

Blake looked at her for a long while. "That's a trick question, isn't it?" 'Katherine had questions like that for me as well. Always ended in more house work.'

"No, no. I'm just wondering. You know, most guys I've had to deal with had very simple types."

His guess came immediately. "Tall, pretty, and busty?"

"With every guy salivating when they see Alexis, and even Bastion apparently having a crush on her, I thought you'd be not far off either." She reasoned.

"I mean, I get it." He said and opened his drink with a loud click. "Not like they have any chance with her since she just wants to focus on her dueling, she is pretty, though. But to get back to your question; I don't know. I'd say 'cute girl that knows what she wants' is enough." 'Where is she going with this anyway?'

"O-oho, is that so?" Kami said after letting that sink in. "So, who'd fall into that category, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Didn't you want answers on more important topics?"

"This is important!" She shot back.

"Alright, alright, geez." He waved her off, before it finally clicked. "Yuma obviously fell into that, given how persistent she was. Alexis technically does but I don't see her as anything, honestly. Then there's my guardian, but we've got a little age gap between us …" He prattled on with a smirk.

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Kami asked with an annoyed look.

He laughed. "I dunno, I get the feeling you wanna hear me say you're my type."

"Urgh!" She rolled over to her side, looking away from him.

"But I guess you are." Blake confessed eventually. "Didn't tell the boys it's great to have the prettiest girl in school as boss for nothing."

She froze up in her chair, causing him to chuckle. He took another sip from his drink.

'Humans are so weird.' DAD grumbled suddenly, appearing beside him in a crouch, barely fitting underneath the parasol.

'The intricacies of human mating are a topic I will never understand.' Jinzo agreed, standing to his other side.

"Oh, shut it you two." Blake said out loud.

"Who're you talking to?" Kami asked, looking at him over her shoulder with a noticeable blush.

"My spirit buddies. You remember Bastion and I telling you about them?" He replied, jabbing his thumb to where they were.

"A little. Your friend's explanation went a bit too far of the rails for my taste." She turned away from him again. "So, they're standing there?"

"Standing and crouching. They're big fellas." DAD clapped his chest plate at that.

"… so why can't I see them?"

"Because you don't have one yourself, which is why you're not sensitive enough to see those of others either." He explained. "Right?"

'That is correct.'

"He said that's right." Blake added.

Taking a deep breath, Kami turned back around, looking at Blake directly with almost no red left in her face. "So, how do I get one?"

He rested his head on his fist. "By getting noticed by a duel spirit that wants to be your partner? Should happen if you have something in common or a deep connection to their card." 'Probably why my partners are nutjobs.'

Kami hummed to herself, taking out her deck. "I got this deck, minus the changes I made because of you, from my father, so there's a lot of sentimental value to it. Especially this card." She took out Superancient Deepsea King Coelacanth, making Blake cringe at the sight.

"Has he used it before you?" He asked. She nodded. "Then the spirits attached to the card could be with him, I guess. I actually have no idea how you could call out to one, given that I was the one being found or the cards already housed spirits when I got them. But you could try talking to the cards I gave you. Their spirits surely aren't connected to me." 'And switch up that strategy of yours as well, hopefully. Fish …' he added mentally.

"You mean the Daedalus cards?" She asked with a frown. "They're … well, I guess they're strong and fit in with the rest of my Umi cards. But …"

"But what? Don't like how they look?" Blake teased. When she didn't respond, he didn't know how to react. "Really now?"

"It's not my fault!"

"Really, really? I didn't think someone playing an ocean deck would be this shallow." He said with a smirk.

She threw her empty can at him. "Don't you dare! Do you have any idea how many stupid puns I've had to endure during my life already?!"

It bounced off his shoulder, clattering to the ground. "Thanks for telling me. I'll make shore not to do it again."

Kami glared daggers at him, grasping for another can, but stopping herself. "Urgh … I'll try with the other card the next chance I get. But I still have a question regarding … our previous topic …"

'Not again!' DAD cried out before turning away and walking over to the cliff. Jinzo, shaking his head at that, followed with a low laugh. Whether to see what he'd do or jump of the cliff along with him remained to be seen.

"And what would that be?" Blake asked, trying not to laugh at his spirits antics.

"… I've been wondering about why you're so against me taking one of the Spirit Keys." She began. "After what you told us last night, I wondered even more why you didn't just take it from me. Do these two things have anything in common?"

"You mean besides not wanting to give the bad guys a free win?" Blake questioned back, an unfamiliar feeling in his stomach. It felt like a knot. "Guess I just didn't want you to get targeted and more importantly hurt. You looked like you had enough after what happened at the Abandoned Dorm."

"… is that all? You didn't stop Bastion, who's your best friend, or Jaden, who suffered injuries like you did. Just me." Her voice got quieter. "And don't say that it's because I'm the weaker duelist."

'"It's because I care differently when it's you."' Blake thought, surprising himself as he did. At least, he thought he did, but Kami's widened eyes and returning blush made him suspect otherwise. At least the knot in his stomach eased, so that was a plus.

But before either of them could argue what that meant, another voice interjected. It was male and crude, mocking in every word. "Ah, young love. How precious. Seems like I couldn't have chosen a better time, isn't that right, darling?"

Another voice, this time female, agreed. "We got a perfect timing indeed, honey."

Surprised, Blake and Kami stood up turned to the side the voices came from. In front of them stood a pretty woman with long brown hair, dressed in brown leather garbs with a few red highlights and a red scarf around her neck. Next to her was a familiar man in a similar getup, a golden eyepatch looking out between his shoulder length gray hair.

"Are those … the Dark Scorpions?" Kami asked in a baffled voice.

"I see our names have reached even the high and mighty of this world." Zaloog replied with a light bow. "The Dark Scorpions, Don Zaloog and Meanae the Thorn, at your service. Or that's what I would say if I weren't already at the service of someone else."

"Surely not someone wanting our lovely golden trinkets?" Kami replied, crossing her arms underneath the Spirit key hanging in front of her chest.

"I'm afraid so, my dear. However, I am no dirty rogue wanting to hurt a beauty like you." Zaloog continued, raising his hand. "Which is why I have a proposition for you."

Blake was incredibly annoyed and reached for his duel disk, but Kami put a hand on his arm to stop him. "And what would that be?"

"It's nothing big, I assure you." His eyes went to Blake, hardening in an instant. "All I ask is that you hand over your key to that young friend of yours so you don't have to duel. You know what he's been doing behind your back after all, don't' you? But if that's not enough for you, I'd be more than willing to discuss a partnership after our current contract is complete."

Blake's eyes widened at that. How did he know? None of them, nor his spirits noticed anyone spying on the when he explained what he'd been up to. Was it just a bluff or did they somehow manage to listen in? Camula's bats, maybe? Or even the Shadow Charm …

"Hmm …" Kami hummed loudly. "Not needing to duel and getting a group of professionals working for me, not a bad offer." Then she smirked. "But I'm afraid you've come at a really bad time. Plus, I already have a well-performing professional working alongside me."

"So, you decline. Are you sure?" Zaloog asked one last time, duel disks appearing on both his and Meanae's arms.

"I am." She replied and readied her own, Blake following right behind her.

"Then I guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." Zaloog said, activating his duel disk before looking at Blake. "Best regard from Amnael, traitor."

Guess who's back, back again. The big game for the Queens title has finally started, but its beginnings are rocky already. Shout out to my boy Mac for the idea with Crowler! Lightening up the mood a bit after last time hopefully worked. Other than that, we got some reconciliation between Blake and Yuma, with a clear line drawn. Why's that? Because Kami finally got some answers. I wonder what's the mysterious card she got from Blake ~

More info on operation "fuck the police" will take a bit longer, probably gonna make another interlude somewhere before the arc ends. Bastion's inclusion was a mixed bag, which I can totally understand given the expectations. I wanted to have the talk here instead, isolating Blake and Kami for an opening, however. Sacred Beast talk will have to wait just a little longer though. Likewise, no information about the Shadow Riders had been shared just yet.

What was done to the GBs had mixed results, as was to be expected. Happy to see that most of you still liked it, even if you disagreed, though I agree that its been handled a bit abrupt. Totally not because there was no real setup, nuh uh. But they at least didn't suffer physically (spiritually?) from what happened.

Nonexistent Existence and the reactions to his reviews sparked some very interesting points, especially regarding the consequences of burning the GBs and thus the power they have. Looking past the Shadow Riders, people like Aster and Sartorious, Viper, Yubel, Tragoedia, and Darkness (good point about Honest there too, actually), the power of the GBs would've been nice, on a technical standpoint even more so. Then again, the Heart of the Cards is a thing, even if Blake had been playing well-tuned decks rather than relying on that. I mean, Jaden's original HERO + Neos deck isn't exactly what I'd call a balanced deck. Another great point is about who's the MC of what story. Jaden is the MC of GX, Blake that of Hound. Who duels which villain remains to be seen, wouldn't you say? Nevertheless, there will be consequences to ridding himself of such powerful cards, but right now Blake doesn't really have the peace of mind to think or be confronted about it, even if he should know better. But that's the beauty of the MC; he's very flawed. Thank you for the sharing your thoughts so extensively.

One last bit to Reader2 for almost perfectly calling out the Arcana's back from the Interlude chapter – sorry I forgot you in the last AN. Except for Emperor and Hierophant, you're spot on, although the World is a difficult topic, as you might guess.

That's it from me! Thank you everyone for your continued support through this mess 3 See you next time!