Yu-Gi-Oh: Dimensions In Disarray

by NumeralFuture11

(SI-OC) If you were thrown into a brand new world with a new identity, would you forget your past and start anew? Or remember those previously close to you? In a body that isn't my own, I find myself waking up in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters with no explanation as to why. How will I, a modern day player, go forwards knowing both the future state of the game and anime events?

7. Prelude To Battle City

Welcome back everyone, I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter here! Just reminding anyone who hasn't been here in a while that I'll still try to answer as many reviews as I can. I just ask that you try and keep them constructive.

Happy belated New Year to you all! A new year, brings a new arc. The second arc of this story to be more precise. This is probably going to be more than double the length of the first arc, so we'll be here for a while. Can't give a number of the chapters due to spoilers obviously, but we'll definitely be crossing into the double digits with this arc. This chapter here exists as a prelude to Battle City. After that, it'll be Duels nearly nonstop, so this will be the last bit of peace I get while writing this story. Then again, this chapter, ironically, is the the longest chapter that I've ever written for this story so far!

These next few chapters are going to be rough on my soul…

By the way, do you think we'll be getting another full-on weekly Yu-Gi-Oh anime? No idea if Konami will be satisfied with just the Albaz and Sky Striker videos this year. Feels weird to end twenty plus years of ongoing anime just like that. Also Go Rush teased Ritual Summoning! They can't surely end it there, can they? Hopefully I'll be proven wrong.

Also thank you all for helping this story get past 100 Followers! It means so much to see that!

—

a guy1013 - That's the sad part about having a story update every few months. Alas.

Reader2 - In order of what you said: Yes, Eric won, but originally I planned for Calian to be the victor of that Duel. I changed my mind just before I began to write the Duel. Ah, don't worry, we WILL be seeing some of Eric's past before he lost his mind to someone from a different world. Though I won't yet reveal how he beat Kaiba or how skilled he was. As for Dartz? Well, he is over ten thousand years old, so he will have surely picked up a few tricks along the way. Given how alert he seems to be in Waking The Dragons, he probably sensed the Pharaoh's return. A bit of a headcannon there, but it makes sense to me. If he could sense that, then he would have sensed Eric's body being overtaken. It's interesting that you bring up the disconnect between the Warrior and Reptiles. I can't exactly say anything else on that without going into heavy spoilers, but I think you may like what I have planned.

AjlinParker - Thank you for the kind words! Currently I'm not looking for any artist willing to bring my ideas to life. But it is something that could change.

Zarbonic - Glad I have you excited for what comes next! True, Jaden has some great development, but it comes at the expense of everyone else not getting much development until maybe season 4.

ChroniclerDL - DM is a classic to be sure. Hell, there's a reason why so many people want it rebooted. (Though that can wrong in many ways if they're not careful.)

Guest - Ah, I won't yet spoil the relationship between Eric and Zigfried, but we will see what it is, or possibly was. And yes, Gurimo was the warrior spam guy who Dueled Yugi at the beginning of Waking The Dragons.

Guest - Interesting choices. I feel like Synchros really were one of the biggest steps Yu-Gi-Oh took, both in terms of the card game as well as the structure of the anime.

—

Anyways, enough rambling from me, on with the story!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, or it's spin-off anime's. I do however own the OC's of this story, as well as any custom cards. Do NOT steal them.

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-Yu-Gi-Oh: Dimensions in Disarray-

Arc 2 – Battle City

Chapter 7: Prelude To Battle City

It had been a whole two days since my very first day here in this new world, so that meant I had five days until Battle City begins. I hadn't gone and seen Calian in that time, as he literally hadn't asked for me. The siblings did say that they'd be keeping in touch with me. I wasn't about to rush them.

Anyways, that had given me an amazing forty-eight hours to try and learn as much as I can about Eric Yuriko, including more of the personal information about him. I had taken over someone else's body for crying out loud. I needed to know as MUCH as I could here.

So where do I start here? Christ, I learned a lot. Well, I'll go in the order that I learned these things. I essentially prioritised them in order of how important I felt they were.

So, my financial situation? As surprising as this sounds, I don't think I have to be doing anything to get paid… like, ever. Turns out that Eric's father did own a computer engineering company called Yuriko Automated that was decently big, however, they got bought up by KaibaCorp. This already began to answer a lot of questions for me, the dots connecting in my head.

It would make sense that Eric's father and Seto (possibly even Gozaburo) spent time together in business meetings, while I got to know the younger Kaiba's some more. In terms of how I'm getting money even though the company isn't technically mine anymore, it looks like while KaibaCorp take the company, the employers and any resources, they actually don't take the boss of that company onboard. Ouch.

But in turn they give that former boss lots of money every so often. At least, that's what was happening to me… I didn't actually know if the many other bosses of the companies that KaibaCorp bought out received the same treatment…

Well, at least I didn't have to worry about money or working again. That was nice!

With my financial situation confirmed, I decided to learn more about Eric. Mainly the things that only HE knew. Like passwords, key dates and so on. I didn't bother with learning his handwriting, as that felt like something that would take way too long, and it could hardly be used against me in terms of exposing me.

However, I felt that Eric's birthday was something I should probably learn as fast as I could. Thankfully, Eric's calendar on his computer showed me that he had marked dates that were of importance to him. The first was his birthday, and the second marked a date involving his father. His father had apparently passed away two years ago to cancer, and the anniversary for that was one week ago. After that, I was also able to learn that Eric… well, seemed to not really have any friends, at least from what I could discover on the computer. The computers photos did show me some images of a younger and Eric and his father, but that was about it. Everything else was just nice photos of the holidays that they had experienced together.

I suppose it was better this way. The less people that knew Eric, the less people knew that he was technically gone now.

Before I went ahead and searched this house more, I went to try and see what structure decks existed. The deck I had right now wasn't bad, but I would have liked something a bit faster and maybe more consistent. I went to Duke's shop one day to try and find one. Maybe I could buy three of the same structure deck, so that I could create a very powerful deck. I was hoping to find something on maybe Felgrand Dragon, or the Sacred Phoenix Of Nephilis.

But I found nothing.

As in I found no structure decks at all. I checked with Duke, and he confirmed that they didn't even exist yet, giving a playful dismissal of my question.

Wonderful… Looks like it was only going to be regular card packs then. That was a major blow to my plan in terms of securing a stronger deck…

With that plan of mine scrapped, I went ahead to look through Eric's house. My adventures through his home and personal information did lead me to an interesting avenue. One that I couldn't crack - literally. It was upstairs in the house's attic.

Eric, had a safe. And the combination was nowhere to be seen. Trust me, I looked.

But this wasn't any safe. This was a rather secure and solid one. You couldn't pry your way into this thing. You would definitely need the four-digit combination to unlock it. The actual safe itself was too heavy, so I couldn't life it up and try and feel what was inside it. This was something that I could not crack at the moment. I could always keep guessing… but that would take forever. So the safe had to left alone for now. Ah well.

Feeling like I knew enough about Eric now, I chose to venture online and do some studying about some major political and historical events that have happened in this world. I said that I'd help Calian, so I'd learn what I could here, and hope for the best when I started tutoring him.

I was relieved to see that there were hardly any historical and political differences from this world compared to my world. Just about everything from the dawn of time to the 1970's was the exact same. Thank god for that… But what were the differences? Well, the only one I think I had to maybe try and focus on, was KaibaCorp. They certainly didn't exist back in my world, not to mention they had a rather dark and violent record before Kaiba took over.

Kaiba was a guy that'd easily conquer his nightmares. But other than losing Mokuba, I was fairly confident that his worse nightmare would be KaibaCorp's stock in video games failing so much, that they need to go and start reproducing weapons again. That's how bad KaibaCorp was when Gozaburo was still in charge. I had seen articles detailing the different catastrophes that resulted from the weapons that the company sold, to both sides of any wars for that matter.

Many families, including Alister's had been killed from the testing of weapons. 4Kids be damned, death existed here. Gozaburo had probably used much of his connections to cover up all these dealings so he could get away from the repercussions. I had a feeling any newly historical and political subjects would maybe revolve around KaibaCorp, from its founding to where it is now today. Apart from them, I couldn't see anything else coming up. (Though my eyebrow did raise when I saw an old article detailing how one Lyman Banner made a great discovery in Egypt…)

Similarly to my first day here, I had chosen not to try and delve deeper into the other anime's that would follow this. GX especially. While I still had years until GX actually kicked off, I didn't want to be flying around the world to try and save people when I don't even know when they'll die or have a plot point hit them. Not to mention saving them could result in major shifts to the timeline. I'd maybe wait until Duel Monsters is over before I start trying to poke around with that.

So that was my last two days here in a nutshell. I was wondering what day four would bring, but that was answered by a message from Calian – on the computer. Texting may not be a thing yet, I could still message someone on the computer.

—

Calian – Hey Eric?

Calian – Errrrrrric!

Eric – Yes?

Calian - So, could you maybe try and come over tonight? Me and my sis will be in that night, so you'll see us both.

Eric – yeah, yeah. I'll be round at what, 6:00 PM?

Calian – Sure! See you then!

—

You know, I'm not sure if this sounds like consumerism, but god I could not wait until Apple made the IPhone. Or would it be KaibaCorp in this timeline? Who knows. Technically the technology that they've made already surpasses the IPhone and Android!

Hopefully I didn't have to wait for long until that happened, because I think it'd be tiring to run back to my computer every time I wanted to try and text someone. At least Calian didn't try to text me again. I was allowed to kick back and wait until I had to head over to where he and his sister lived. When it came time to leave, I locked up the house and drove to where they lived.

Yes, drove! Eric had a driver's license! I didn't have to worry about walking everywhere and his car wasn't even that bad! Calian had give me the address back when we decided that this tutoring would be going ahead, so I knew where to go.

It took about fifteen minutes to drive there. The surrounding area wasn't AS fancy as the estate I lived in. I mean, not every house had a driveway, so that was definitely a factor. The houses were still apart from each other, but they were quite a bit smaller than the large one that I lived in. I was able to park not too far away from the house, and walked over to the house that I was supposed to be visiting, before I knocked on the door.

*knock knock knock*

I waited for a response but heard nothing.

'Hm, they should have known I'd been here by now.' I thought, as I knocked the door again. Perhaps they were upstairs?

*knock knock knock*

Nothing again.

'…Should I open the door and just announce myself?'

I tried the door handle and found that it was unlocked. '…It's technically not breaking and entering if the doors unlocked and I don't enter the house.' I remarked internally as I turned the handle all the way down

I opened the door and little and immediately heard why no one had came to the door.

"-That's why I always try and keep your free time at a minimum!"

"Come on I know what I'm doing here! Just give it a rest!"

"I need you to focus and stop thinking about him!"

"Hey! I miss him for a reason you know!"

'Oh boy… I had hoped that first time I'd heard them arguing was maybe a rare experience.' I thought with a sigh. This... seemed to be natural between the siblings. That was bad.

"Hello! Calian! I'm here for the tutoring!" I yelled into the house. This time there was response - well silence from the siblings, but that proved they heard me.

I saw both their heads peer around the room they were arguing in to see me. They suddenly looked a bit embarrassed. "O-Oh! Hey Eric! Didn't see or hear you there…!" Calian greeted me with an awkward smile.

Sophia was also a bit nervous. "I-I'm sorry! Why don't you come in?" She said as she tried to make a welcoming smile to me, wanting to move away from the loud and arguing woman she had been just then.

I entered the house and closed the door behind me. "So, uh, do you want me to take my shoes off? You haven't cleaned here recently have you?"

"Oh no, no!" Sophia said holding up her hands. "You don't need to do that! You can just go into the study with Calian and get going, while I'll just… hang back here in the living room."

Calian raised an eyebrow skeptically at that, while Sophia gave him a menacing glare. She immediately smiled again. "Um, anyway! Just go and knock yourself out!" She said before she walked away into the living room.

She quickly left, which left me and Calian alone. "So. Want to lead me to this study you have here?"

"Sure thing!" Calian said with smile that I could tell was forced. He probably wasn't looking forward to this. Hey, they agreed to it!

I was able to see that the interior of the house they lived in was pretty nice, with nice wallpaper, flooring, and I even spotted some pictures that were hanging up on the wall. I didn't get much time to look at them, as I was led into the study room by Calian. It was a nice small room, that had a desk and a few chairs. On the desk, I saw several papers and textbooks.

As we sat down at the chairs, I wondered just how hard this could possibly be?

---

1 Hour Later:

"Calian."

"Huh?"

"What was the answer to that question?"

"Er… KaibaCorp was founded in… 1980…?"

"No. It was 1963 it was founded."

"Ah, sorry about that!"

I never imagined that a single hour could be so dreadfully long. Calian was definitely hard to work with here. He struggled to keep his focus down on his books, instead choosing to wander off in his thoughts. I mean, I knew how he felt here, High School was rough for everyone, but it was still pretty important.

I sighed before asking out a question. "So tell me this then: What year did KaibaCorp sell weapons to both sides in the Japanese Costal Skirmishes?"

"Oh erm, it was 19…87?"

"…Yes well done." I nodded in praise. Seems Calian wasn't that awful as he said he his grades were. The issue seemed to be that he struggled to care. That I would have to change.

Calian looked over the moon at that answer, but I made sure to get his head straightened up. "Don't get too excited about that. It was only just one question. But it'll be just as easy for you to answer more questions like that if you just maintain your focus more."

"R-Right yeah, I got it." Calian said sheepishly, as he scratched his head.

"So answer me this question now: In what time period did KaibaCorp make the most amount of money by testing their weapons across many of the villages that they bought out?"

"That was 19…90?"

"1989." I corrected. "One year off." Calian looked gutted at hearing that. "Hey, you're getting better, just keep trying to remember the key dates, then you can start writing your facts around them when it comes time to write your tests."

"Huh… That sounds like a good idea…" Calian muttered, putting a finger on his chin. "I guess it's better than writing it out over and over and again."

We spent a bit more time going over the questions, until I spoke up to Calian. Even I wanted some sort of break from this. "So, what do you actually have planned after High School?"

"After High School? Can I say Pro Dueling as an option?" Calian requested with a sheepish grin.

"Why would that be an option? Pro Leagues are already a thing." I replied with confusion, tilting my head somewhat.

"Well, it's just that my sister thinks that Dueling will faze out in the next two years or so, and that there isn't any point spending thousands of hours on Dueling to make millions." Calian said, putting his head in his hands, while keeping his elbows on the table. "I mean I get where she's coming from, but… agh…"

"Faze out huh?" I replied with a hum afterwards, knowing what the future held for the game. "…Well I wouldn't say that Dueling would faze out exactly. As a matter of fact, I think that it'll only keep evolving."

"Yeah! That's what I said to her! I even showed her stats that basically confirmed that Dueling is getting more and more popular over the years, but she was in complete denial!" Calian immediately replied with a grunt. "I'm sure that they'll be plenty of opportunities to do stuff relating to Duel Monsters in the future! What do you think Eric? What jobs relating to Dueling do you think will show up?"

I tried to contain a laugh, letting out a small smile. "How about… being a teacher at a Duel Academy?"

Calian laughed out loud at that. "A Duel Academy! Hah hah, that's a good one! …Then again before Dueling I always wanted to become a teacher, mainly because I wanted to be the one to teach something I like. But yeah, like that'll ever happen.

"Well, what do you know? Both of your dreams lead to you becoming a teacher at a Duel Academy that may be formed in the future." I replied with a small laugh. "Why not try to keep an open mind right now. I'd say that as long as you do something worthwhile in college or university then things will work out for you."

"…So I can ditch High School?"

"No! Because of that, we're running through these questions again."

"No…! Please no…."

Another hour passed, before it was time for me to leave and bid the siblings farewell. Sophia was nowhere to be seen, so Calian was the one to lead me to the front door. The sun had set now, so I'd be having my headlights on while driving home. As Calian opened the door to let me out, I turned to give my thanks to him. Thanks for tonight."

He looked a bit confused. "Huh? Why're you thanking me? It because of me that you got dragged up here."

"Well yeah, but you actually made some effort to improve on that tonight. Try and keep it up." I smiled as I exited the house. "Make sure to tell me when you want me back over here!"

"I will! See ya later Eric!" Calian waved to me as he closed the door.

As I kept walking, I did turn back for a second, and saw that middle top window showed what looked like Sophia at a desk on what might be a computer. She looked frustrated, but it was difficult to make out what she was doing. Realizing I might be a bit weird standing out here, I drove on home to get some rest.

---

4 Days Until Battle City Begins:

Today I found myself driving back to Calian's house in the early afternoon to do some more tutoring with him. He had texted me early saying that he wanted me to come over as soon as I could. I asked why, and he said that it was because his sister was upstairs, so she wouldn't be bothering us. I was amused by such a response that could only come from a little brother, so I decided to get driving and make to their house.

Upon arriving again, I knocked on the door, and thankfully Calian answered this time. "Eric! Glad you came!"

"Yeah, came as soon as I could. You were worried about your sister?"

"Ugh yeah, she normally ends up causing a real mess with what she does upstairs. She does nothing but huff and puff." He replied looking away. "She's up there now, but it means that she won't be bothering me for a few hours."

"I thought she had a job?" I quizzed with interest.

"Oh, she's not working today. This is one of the rare days that she gets off." Calian answered. "Anyway! How about we get to studying… which is something I never thought I'd say."

"Looks I'm doing a good job then." I replied with a smirk as I moved into the house, following Calian to the study. Along the way I noticed a few photos that did show both siblings at a younger age looking quite happy. They were also a man and a woman behind them.

Choosing not to question this, I headed into the study with Calian.

---

1 Hour later:

"…Uh, I don't know Eric… Sorry?"

"I don't think that your teachers will take sorry as an excuse." I muttered raising an eyebrow. "You seriously don't know?"

"Uh, no…"

I looked down at the notes I had in my hand, obscuring them from Calian's view. "Hmm… the right answer is 1990. That's when KaibaCorp finally dismantled all their weapons. The remains of that final factory can be seen on KaibaCorp island, just a few miles off the coast."

"Ah… gotcha…" Calian muttered, nodding his head. He seemed a little frustrated at his failure there. I tried to cheer him up.

"Well, you are doing better despite that little hiccup there. You have both your tests three days from now. So you better focus." I assured him with a smile.

"And after that it's Battle City time!" Calian grinned excitedly, his enthusiasm almost restored completely.

"…" I raised an eyebrow as Calian quickly tried to form an excuse.

"Uh well, I still have to study hard before that, and after the tournament I still have to try and work hard on all my upcoming tests and assessments…" Calian trailed off, chuckling nervously. "D-Don't worry Eric! I know what my priorities are!"

I sighed a little, giving the boy a break. "There's nothing wrong with being excited about Battle City. Just try and remain focused until then."

"Right! …So how do you plan on going about Battle City?"

I raised my eyebrow again, as Calian pouted, almost begging me to tell him. "Aw come on! You must have some game plan going on right now! Please tell me!"

"Game plan you say? Well…"

I would be lying if I said that I haven't been thinking about the tournament. It's definitely crossed my mind a few times. There was actually one important fact that I remembered which has led me to seriously question how far I should be going here.

You see, Kaiba had (or I suppose will have) asked for forty-eight Duelists to come and participate in the tournament. To get into the finals, you needed six Locator Cards. If you do the math, forty-eight divided by six equals to eight. Eight finalists to be exact. There would be no spare Locator Cards that would be lying around to pick up. Now do you see why I've been questioning this?

Simply put, if I do end up making it to the finals… someone won't be able to make it. It'd be me and seven others… Of course, Yugi, Joey, Kaiba and Marik were the most important people to get in, so I'm not going to try and alter that. So that leaves the quarter finalists. But who is the least important out of them all?

Mai is interesting, mainly because if I somehow end up talking her place, I'd end up Dueling Yami-Marik… which I'd rather avoid. Can you blame me? If Odion isn't on the blimp, then Marik may not end up turning evil. But that'd require more thinking. Would good Marik stay evil forever? Ishizu is also rather crucial. She gives Yugi the millennium necklace, loses to Kaiba, but most importantly, she tells Yugi and the squad that her brother was more misguided than he was fully evil. That's a pretty important conversation that they can't exactly miss out on. Finally, there's Bakura. Out of them all, the least amount of changes would happen if Bakura was absent. The duel between Yami-Marik and Bakura wouldn't happen, and Yugi would have to wait a bit longer to get the millennium ring. But Yami-Bakura would still remain on the prowl…

I mean, this all requires more thinking and planning, but for now, I think that out of all the quarter finalists, Bakura and possibly Mai are the least important out of them all. Odion and Ishizu are huge risks that could result in changes that may not be for the better in the end. Still, I had more time to think about all this.

"Eh, I got a plan of sorts forming." I replied, shrugging in a carefree manner. "Thought I expect you to still be studying for your tests coming up."

"Yeah, yeah." Calian said, sounding bored of me sounding repetitive. "I won't have long to think about Battle City, but I'll be planning out my strategy as soon as these tests are over with!"

"Good. Now let's keep going."

---

1 Hour Later:

"Hey Eric?" Calian asked, his eyes reading over some notes.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"How'd you get into Dueling?" Calian asked, with interest.

Funnily enough, that felt like a question that not many people asked in the Yugiverse. Most people just seemed to… fall into it. "Well that's a long story. Ok, not really, but it feels like one to me."

"Can you tell me? I think I'm beginning to lose focus over here." Calian asked, raising his head to look at me.

"…Yeah sure…"

…Should I tell him the truth? Maybe I can dart around the actual truth so to speak. "I learned about the game a few years back, not long after Pegasus made the first few cards and released them publicly. I was still in High School you see."

Calian looked interested, dropping his notes on the table. I continued. "My time in High School was always rather rough. I didn't have that many friends, and my parents were always away at work. They still loved me and cared for me, but they weren't around as much as I wanted them to be. But… I had a friend that always tried to look out for me." I smiled at the memory. "It was them who got me into Dueling."

"They loved the game and showed me all sorts of strategies that I could use. We even made some custom cards together! I won lots of home Duel's because of him. Of course… I could never beat him in a Duel. He was just too good." I smirked, reminiscing about my past.

"What was his name?" Calian wondered curiously.

"Michael." I answered. "He was a real good guy."

"So, what does he do now? Maybe he can teach me some tricks!"

"…Erm, he's, left town you could say." I said frowning, scratching the back of my head. "I've tried to keep in contact with him, but it's been tough. He's always busy."

"I see." Calian said, tilting his head a little. "Well at least you have some good memories from back then."

"Yeah, that's what important. That I did as much as I could with him while I still had the chance." I nodded, a bit happy at revisiting these fond memories. It wasn't all bad. "So what about you? How'd you get into Duel Monsters?"

Calian scratched his head. "You wouldn't believe if I told you man…"

"What, did a dog teach you how to Duel?"

'Because that does end up happening in the future to someone. Somehow.'

"Nah. Weirder. It was my sis."

I sat up straight. "Hold on. Your sister got you into the game? We are referring to the same woman here, right?" I struggled to believe that the woman that I've been seeing little of could inspire Calian to get into the game.

"The very same." Calian replied, nodding his head grimly. "She actually taught me everything that I knew."

"What!? She knows how to Duel?" I questioned in amazement.

"Yeah, she knows how to play." Calian said, folding him arms. "She was very good before she stopped."

"She stopped? Why?" I inquired with interest.

Calian sighed. "It was when-! …I mean, it was a long time ago. She just… decided to stop altogether. She hasn't picked up a deck in years, let alone held up a card with good intentions."

There was a bit of awkwardness as we both fell into silence. Calian solved some more questions, as I corrected him when he was right, and tuted when he was wrong. After a minute, Calian stood up. "I erm, gotta run to the toilet. I'll be right back!" He quickly sped off, leaving me alone.

'I didn't make things awkward, did I?' I thought with puzzlement. I then looked up at the clock. 'Well damn, it's nearly 8:00 PM. I may as well be off, we finished the last question. I can just say to Calian that I have to get going. We already arranged that I'd be staying until then.' I collected my things and stood up, heading out of the study and back into the hallway that led to the front door.

As I was about to shout to Calian, he seemed to beat me to it.

"Uh? Hey Eric?" He shouted, from behind a door that was close to me. "That you there?"

"Huh? What?" I replied, a bit awkward with the fact that he was still in the bathroom. "Hey listen I have to get going now. It's nearly 8:00 PM."

"Oh no, it's just a quick favor!" Calian cried from behind the door.

"Let me guess, you need toilet paper?" I sighed.

"Yeah I need – wait… how'd you know that?"

"Why else would you shout for me? The only thing you shout for if you were ever in the bathroom is toilet paper." I replied with a deadpanned look. "So where can I get some?"

"They'll be some upstairs in a spare room that we have. It's just to the left as you go up!" Calian confirmed for me.

"Alright, I'll just leave it at the door and leave afterwards." I said, as I moved upstairs, past the bathroom door.

"Thanks Eric! You're a lifesaver!" Calian cheered at my coming rescue as I climbed the staircase.

As I made it to the top of the stairwell and onto the second floor, I was able to spy a closed door that was probably Calian's bedroom, and to the left, I saw that spare room that had the toilet roll. I walked over to it and opened the door… only to find no toilet roll.

'Well shit. Everyone's worst nightmare…' I thought with a mutter. 'Maybe it was misplaced? The right thing to do would be to go down and say to Calian, but he probably won't know if he sent me to the spare room up here.'

'Maybe his sister would know?' I thought with skepticism at the idea. "I mean she's got to use it too.' I looked around the second floor. I was able to spy a slightly open door that had some light coming out of it. I think that led to his sisters' room based on the room that I saw yesterday when I looked up and saw Sophia.

'Hope she isn't doing anything too important…' I thought, as I moved over to the room and knocked on the door lightly.

There was no response, so I knocked again. "Hello? Sophia? It's me Eric?"

Again, there was no response. "Hello?"

"I'm just gonna open the door now…" I said, hoping wasn't barging in on anything that important. "Don't mind me…"

The door opened with a creak, and I saw that Sophia has a nice bedroom, with all the usual bedroom things. A double bed, a dresser, a window, curtains for the windows, some nice wallpaper, a small desk that was next to the window, and a computer that was on the desk. 'Ugh, where is she? I can't help but feel like I'm intruding here.' I thought with a wince, looking over at the computer.

Curiosity got the better of me as I walked over to the computer and took a look at the home screen. There wasn't an image, so it was the standard plain background, but there was several files that had lots of documents in them. There were also a few tabs open at the bottom. My eyes also spotted that there was-

"What are you doing?"

I immediately turned around and saw Sophia standing there. I saw that she had came out of a door that led into a bathroom. She had an en-suite? Lucky her. My eyes flicked back to her, and I saw that she was looking rather sternly at me. Shit. I did technically intrude in on her room here.

"Oh, uh sorry to barge in. I just needed to borrow some toilet paper. There's none downstairs." I said, quickly trying to explain myself to her. "Calian needs it."

Sophia gave a low 'oh', as her eyes no longer showed any suspicion. She immediately reached behind her and pulled some off a railing that was in the bathroom behind her. She threw it at me, and I caught it. "Did you look at what was on my computer?" She questioned once.

"No." I defended quickly.

Sophia nodded once. "Right, right..."

I felt a terrible sense of awkwardness roll over us, as I moved to break the silence before it could get any more unbearable. "It's er, after 8:00 PM now." I spoke, looking at a clock that was on the wall. "I'll be going now!" I said, trying to smile as best I could. I don't think Sophia cheered up that much. I quickly left the room and headed downstairs.

"Just leaving the toilet paper here Calian. See ya soon!" I quickly said as I opened the door and left the house. I was able to hear Calian give off a thanks just before I closed the door.

As I walked to my car, I did choose to turn around and look up at Sophia's window. I saw her there just watching me walk away. She did seem a bit caught off by this however, and quickly closed her curtains.

I chose not to question this, and just drove home that night. I'm sure she wasn't that upset at me. Calian would vouch for me!

If they didn't get into an argument that is…

---

3 Days Until Battle City:

I woke up this morning, wondering if Calian would text me early on the computer like he did yesterday, asking if I could come over. His tests were tomorrow after all, so I'd assume he needed all the help he could get today. I suppose in actuality, it was a matter of when he'd want me to come over.

About an hour after I got up and was sitting down in the lounge editing my deck, I heard my computer ding.

'Ah. That must be Calian there. I wonder if he's asking me to come over again?' I thought, taking a look at my computer screen.

—

Calian – Excuse me, Eric?

Eric – Hey Calian. You want me to come over now or later?

Calian – About that, this isn't Calian, it's me, Sophia

I blinked. This was certainly a surprise.

Eric – Oh, is something up? Calian isn't hurt right?

Calian (Sophia) – I'm afraid he's sick today. Don't worry he's ok, but he is still choosing to try and revise over his notes, which I am happy about. Anyway, I was wanting to talk to you actually

I raised an eyebrow. Talk? About yesterday?

Eric – Sure, that's fine by me. I'll make my way over to your place

I was about to get up and go, but I heard an immediate ding from the computer

Calian (Sophia) – No

Calian (Sophia) - I'm sorry, I mean, no, I'd prefer we talk somewhere where Calian isn't present. I'd rather we not have him listening to us

Eric – Ok… Where do you want to go?

Calian (Sophia) – Can we meet up at Domino Park, at the edge of the City? That's not far from either of us

Eric – Sure, I'll get you there in an hour?

Calian (Sophia) – Yes, perfect

—

There were no further replies from the computer, or rather Sophia. I guess this is what my morning was going to be about then. Sucks to be Calian, I hoped he was doing ok. Still though, I wondered what exactly Sophia wanted to talk about.

---

1 Hour Later:

I had arrived at the park and looked around for Sophia. My eyes were able to spot her sitting a bench, wearing almost the exact same clothes that she wore the night that I met her. Now she wore black trousers to match her black jacket, and wore a dark blue shirt underneath her jacket. She wasn't doing anything in particular; she was just looking around, waiting for me.

I walked over to her, and she spotted me coming. She stood up as I approached her. "Thanks for coming out here. I appreciate you doing this."

"You know, I'm fine being here, but I don't even know what it is that we're going to be talking about." I said, hoping she'd clarify that detail. Did it involve Calian? Perhaps both siblings?

"Oh right, how about we walk and talk?" Sophia suggested, gesturing to the path that led through the park. It cut through some trees and bushes.

"That sounds good." I agreed, as we began to walk through the park at a good pace. I was a bit worried about trying to start conversing with Sophia due to me not knowing her that well. She always seemed to shy away from conversation with me. To my relief (and admitted surprise) she began the conversation.

"So, about why I called you out here." Sophia began, wanting to get straight to business. "I wanted to talk to you about some things that Calian may not have told you about."

"How come?" I questioned with interest.

Sophia sighed a little as she kept looking forwards. Her face dipped into a sad frown, but an odd smile crept up. "It seems like the two of you are good friends. It was after yesterday when… erm, after you left. You got brought up in a conversation between me and Calian."

'It wasn't an argument?' I thought with doubt at the possibility. No disrespect to the siblings, but all I've seen from them is bickering and squabbling. I had concluded that their relationship was… strained to say the least. Sophia moved to elaborate on what she was saying.

"Calian does appreciate the help that you give him, and so do I." Sophia said, sounding grateful. "I felt it'd be nice for me to just tell you some things that he may not have told you. Mainly things about the both of us. I wouldn't want you walking into a metaphorical minefield with a blindfold on."

She hesitated before she spoke up again, looking ahead. This seemed to be a difficult subject for her. "Did he… tell you about our parents?"

I took a deep breath before replying. "No. But I came to the conclusion that they're no longer here. The pictures in your house gave that away, and the fact that you seem to work to support Calian."

Sophia nodded grimly. "Yes. They both died three years ago."

I felt immediate anguish at what Sophia said there. I had somewhat suspected that their parents had passed away a while ago, but I really didn't want it to be true. But it explained quite a lot between the two siblings.

"I'm sorry about that. I know how it feels to lose parents…" I apologised solemnly, letting loose a truth for both me and Eric.

"Then you know how it feels to try and support yourself amidst all the pain that you feel." Sophia spoke as we turned a corner. "But it wasn't just me that I had to look out for…"

"Calian. He would have been twelve years old, right?" I figured grimly. "That's not something that a kid like him should have gone through."

"Yeah." Sophia spoke with sadness. "Ever since they died, he's always tried to avoid talking about them. I think it just hurts him to remember them. Even I've tried to stop mentioning them to him. He was really close with our mother, and I was close with my father. After that, we've both changed."

"Calian started to have a rougher time at school. He got bullied a lot, which infuriated me to no end, and he did start to struggle at his grades." Sophia said through gritted teeth, showing distain towards whoever had hurt her brother. "Though the kid that was bullying him got expelled about a year ago, which did help him a bit." She said with some sense of relief. "But his grades haven't improved that much."

"I see… what about yourself?" I asked carefully, happy that Calian had improved somewhat from being bullied, but also wary as to Sophia's situation.

"I had to get a full-time job to support my brother." Sophia replied with a rather tired frown. "The house was inherited to us from our parents, and the cost for it wasn't that bad overall, but it was still a lot for me to handle. I did get a job, and for two years I worked as hard as I could in some god-awful conditions. But after turning nineteen, I did get a bit of a break – a somewhat decent job."

"Really? What was it?"

"A journalist working for Domino Press. I mean it's a big organisation, one of the largest in Domino as a matter of fact, but I'm their lowest paid journalist out of all the ones that they have. Competition is a bit tough there." Sophia said sighing, rubbing a hand through her dark-purple hair. "The other journalists there never even give me a break, and my boss definitely prefers them over me. He just hasn't fired me as I often end up doing errands for him while I'm there." She finished with her voice a bit wavy at the end.

'Sophia thinks that if her boss were to hire an actual secretary then she might be fired…' I thought carefully. I decided not to speak up about that.

"So is it just tricky to try and find material to work with?" I asked. This was an anime world after all, so it really shouldn't be that difficult for journalists to find huge scoops. Then again, other than Duelist Kingdom and Dungeon Dice Monsters, nothing else has happened. Not yet at least.

"It is. I've tired to get Calian to maybe interview Yugi Muto for me or even that Joey Wheeler guy, but he can never find where they hang out after class." Sophia explained with annoyance. "I know that he wants to see them as well, so it's not like he isn't trying. Still… sometimes it can be a bit hard to believe that he's trying to help…"

'If my memory is correct, then Yugi and the gang all hung out at the school's roof…' I thought, recollecting my memories of the show. 'There wouldn't be anything wrong with maybe dropping a hint to Calian or Sophia, right? It'd just be an interview; I doubt the Pharaoh would get involved.'

"Has he… checked the schools roof?"

Sophia paused, as she slowed down. "No… I don't think so… I mean, he never tells me where he checks, so I don't know. I guess I can drop him that hint. If he is up there, then hey, I guess I owe you one Eric."

Nothing was said as we kept walking through the path, with the trees over us. I did speak up to Sophia at one point however. "You know, I'm surprised that you can keep up with me while I walk. I'm normally quite the fast walker."

Sophia turned her head to face me, a bit of surprise on her face. "I actually noticed. But Calian has always told me that I can be a bit fast while walking. In my workplace, running isn't allowed, so I've tried to speed walk as much as I can to get to where I need - mainly my bosses office."

"Has he always told you about how he wants you to slow down?" I asked, figuring the answer already. "Something along the lines of 'Sis! You're going too fast!'"

Sophia held back a laugh, it almost escaping her mouth. "Oh my god! He said that when we were going home that night I met you!" She laughed a little at my correct guess. "I'm guessing that for you to figure that, you've been told to slow down a fair bit in your life."

I simply shrugged out of blunt honestly. I was happy that the mood between us had been made into a much more positive and relaxing one. "In fact, I think Calian might have said that at some points while we walked to Domino Stadium and back to the Plaza. Maybe he's the odd one out here."

As we kept walking, one question did come to my mind relating to Calian. "Say, did Calian tell you everything about me?"

"More or less. He explained to me all the things that you two got up to on the day that you met. I can't believe that he ended up playing Duel Monsters under some criminals!" Sophia was frustrated at that memory. I mean I get that they were in disguise but still… "Well, he told me about that, how you met, the ordeal with Kaiba and the announcement of Battle City."

I looked at Sophia curiously. "I'm a little surprised that you haven't asked me for an interview - not that I'm complaining."

This was a rather risky question to say. I still don't know all the personal history between me and Kaiba, only that KaibaCorp bought out my fathers company. Any personal conversations, history and Duels were all lost to me. It'd be difficult if someone asked me about that sort of stuff and I had no time to prepare beforehand.

Thankfully Sophia gave me an answer that made me well relieved. "I figured it wouldn't be worth anything. Not to mention I had no idea if you even wanted one in the first place. No offence, but my boss also seems to not care that much about you seeing as you've never been brought up. Seems you don't want an interview, so whatever."

I blinked in surprise. "What's this? A journalist that is actually being respectful of the individuals that could have interesting scoops? How rare indeed." I smirked with amusment.

Sophia rolled her eyes as if she had heard this a thousand times. "Shut up. I'm just trying to be better than my colleagues."

"Well I can respect that. You should always feel better at the fact that you're doing better than your rivals." I encouraged with a smile. "I'd rather not have that interview, but I have a feeling that you'll get your big break eventually. Just keep holding on."

Sophia chuckled and gave a lovely smile. "I'll try. But what was all that about with my rivals?" She wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"Well aren't they?" I pondered. Sophia blinked, thinking about that with a somewhat amused look.

"Hm, I guess." She chuckled again. "Never really thought about them that way." We had now both came to the end of the parks pathway, back where we began. Sophia turned back around and faced me. "Well, I have to be walking back home now. Calian is still sick after all."

"He's doing ok, right?" I asked, hoping for the best.

'Maybe I should have asked that first…' I thought with some embarrassment.

"Oh he's fine." Sophia said with a casual sigh. "I'm sure he'll be up and running around in a few hours. Still, I doubt you'll be able to come over today. I wouldn't want you getting sick."

That means I wouldn't see Calian until after his tests. Here's hoping I taught him well enough… I was confident in him, but I was still a bit nervous.

"Do you need a lift back? I can easily drive you home." I suggested, pointing to my car.

Sophia looked surprised by that. "Oh no, I couldn't ask for that! I only live ten minutes away from here. I can just walk it." She said, holding up her hands to deny me.

"Well, if you insist." I shrugged lightly. Before I walked away back to my car, I remembered something Calian told me yesterday. "Oh, yeah. Calian said that you could apparently Duel."

Sophia looked a little embarrassed as she looked away. "Y-Yes I got him into the game a few years ago before our parents died. Unfortunately, I've had to prioritise other things above a children's card game." She awkwardly said, dismissing the idea.

Noticing her slight discomfort, I broke away from that line of conversation. "Hm, well I'll see you around then. Take care Sophia!" I waved as I headed back to my car, before I got in and drove away. Here's hoping Calian had what it took tomorrow.

Still, it was a bit odd that people in the press didn't want to interview someone who had beaten Seto Kaiba. Why? …Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad that don't care enough about me for it.

---

2 Days Until Battle City:

Calian Field:

Calian sighed as he leaned against one of the walls of the schools' hallways. He felt exhausted, tired, hungry - everything that could slow a human down. But, despite this, he felt nothing but relief.

He had did it!

All those days of looking over his notes weren't in vain. He had-! …Well he didn't know if he passed but he certainly done a pretty good job! He had just finished his Politics and History tests and answered as many questions as he could, with many of the answers just coming to him as if they were the exact questions Eric asked him! He felt so satisfied that he could put his paper down for good.

Calian stood up straight as he walked though the hallway. He couldn't wait to tell Eric how he did! Oh, and his sis as well. She'd be happy as well. Sucks that Zack wasn't here, and Rei was ill… oh well.

But the best thing was that because all these tests are over, now he could focus on Battle City! Calian had been waiting for this moment for what felt like years now! He try and maybe edit his deck today, and tomorrow he and Eric would head out and get their Duel Disks from the store that was handing them out. They had agreed on that last night over the computer.

'Hehe, I can't wait!' Calian thought with excitement. 'Not only did I do well in school, stunning everyone in my class, but Battle City is coming up in two days!'

Before Calian went to get his lunch, he remembered something rather important that he nearly forgot to do.

'Oh yeah… My sis gave me the hint that Yugi Muto was upstairs on the roof. She's been wanting to try and get an interview from him – and I've been wanting to meet him as well! ...But how the hell did she get that hint?'

'And… how do you get up on the roof?' Calian wondered, as he stopped walking. 'I've never been up there before.'

'Do I just try a bunch of different doors that I've never opened before? If Yugi's up there, then the door would unlocked right? Maybe not open, but definitely unlocked.' Calian wondered, before he began to move through the many different hallways in the school.

He tried several doors and found no stairs that led upwards. All Calian found were empty closets, dead bathrooms, some couples engaging in some activity that'd be best left undisturbed – He was always the one to shut the door when seeing that. He had spent most of lunch trying to look for this mysterious roof door.

Just when Calian was about to give up, he found one doorway that did infact lead upwards. He knew this led up to the roof, as he was on the highest floor that students were allowed. 'Whoa, never knew this was even here. It definitely goes up higher than the third floor of this school!' Calian wowed as he climbed the stairs, each step making feel like he was ascending to some sort of mysterious realm.

Eventually he came to a doorway at the top of the stairs. It was a single door and Calian could see sunlight coming in from the dimmed window. He put his ear to the keyhole and swore that he could hear voices – four voices to be exact.

'Is that him? Is that Yugi Muto?!' Calian thought with excitement, as he turned the door and opened it up.

Calian opened the door and stepped out onto the roof of Domino High School, and saw that he was not alone up here. They were four people who turned to look at him as he emerged from the doorway. Calian was able to recognize them all.

The first was a rather cute girl who Calian recognized as being in his senior year, Tea Gardner. The next was a boy who had brown hair that was spiked up. Tristan Taylor. The next was a boy who had blonde hair that was all spiky. Joey Wheeler. Tristian and Joey always had a foul reputation until a few months ago. Calian never bothered to try and hang around them, but recently, they seemed to have softened up somewhat - not that Calian complained.

And there… there he was! Just next to Joey!

A short boy with extremely extravagant hair, featuring multiple layers including long blond crooked, pointy locks for the fringe; the rest featured a set of five large spikes and two smaller spikes coloured black with a magenta sheen along the edges. Around his neck, he wore some weird golden 3D pyramid thing that looked like it had been pulled straight from anywhere that related to Egypt or Aztec. It was Yugi Muto!

Calian grinned as he saw him, the four seniors turned to look at him with some confusion. Their looks didn't stop Calian though. "Ah! It's you! Yugi Muto! I've finally found you!"

Yugi tilted his head a little in confusion. "Huh?"

Joey looked down at Yugi, confused. "Hey Yug', you know 'dis guy?"

Yugi looked up at Joey before looking down at Calain. "No I don't… I don't recognize you I'm afraid."

Tea was next to speak up, seemingly recognising Calian. "I know who he is! I had to come into your class and help give a presentation one time!" She spoke, recalling that Calian. "You're a year... two years below us?"

Calian scratched the back of his head, turning red a little. "Yeah… that's right…" He said, glad that Tea remembered him. Then he remembered WHY he was up here. "Ah, Yugi! I need you for something!"

"You gonna tell us what?" Tristan said, matching the confusion of Joey. "What's your name anyway?"

"It's Calian. Calian Field." He answered proudly. "Anyway, I've come to ask you to do an interview for me Yugi!"

Yugi as well as everyone else looked surprised. "An interview!?" They all exclaimed in unison.

"Well it's not for me, it's for my sis. She's a journalist you see, and she's been wanting to get an interview with the King Of Games for some time now." Calian explained as he made his way over to Yugi. "So, uh… could you do it? For her and well.. me?"

Yugi surprisingly, looked like he was about to answer saying 'yes'! …But then he stopped suddenly, as if he were thinking about it. Yugi looked up in the air a little, as if he was looking or listening at something. Only Tea seemed to understand what was happening, which confused everyone else. What was he doing? Eventually, Yugi spoke up, seemingly out of his... trance.

"Sure. That's ok with me." Yugi confirmed with a nod. Calian beamed with joy.

Joey and Tristan looked a bit surprised at this. "You goin' through with it Yug'?"

Tristan scratched his chin "Honestly I'd thought you'd say no seeing as Pegasus was basically-"

Tea immediately threw her hand over Tristan's mouth. "Tristan! Just shut up!" She hissed with annoyance.

"Uh, can we get on with the interview?" Calian suggested, pulling out a notepad from his pocket. "I only have a few questions Yugi, so this won't take long!"

Yugi nodded, as he waited for the first question. "So, first thing I wanted to ask you: How do you feel about being King Of Games?"

Yugi thought about that before answering. "Well it doesn't feel all that different to be honest. I don't get anyone running up to me asking for Duels or autographs. In fact if anything it might end up putting a bit of a target on my back when Battle City happens."

Calian nodded, as he scribbled what Yugi said. He wanted to inject saying how he would be participating in Battle City, but that could wait until the end. "Right, right. Ok next question: How do you feel about taking part in Battle City?"

Yugi gave a small smile. "Well I am looking forward to having so many Duels, but…" His smile faded. "Well I've er, heard things about Battle City that would maybe cause some discomfort for some of the people taking part." He said awkwardly, scratching his large head of hair.

Calian noticed the change in tone. He chose not to press too hard. "Ok, I understand, next question! What do you think about the disappearance of Maximilian Pegasus?"

Yugi looked a bit shocked. For a moment, he hesitated again as if he was just listening for a voice that wasn't heard, or seeing something that wasn't there.. "Disappearance? Well I guess he hasn't been in the public that much… Um, I'd say Duelist Kingdom was a bit hard on him…?" He said, sounding unsure of what he said.

Tea, Tristan and Joey winced hearing that. Were they thinking of something discomforting? Who knew…? Calian continued. "Well it may be a bit of exaggeration to say that he outright disappeared, a lot of people are just wondering where he went to. Alright, next question: Do you think Kaiba will try to Duel you again in Battle City?"

Yugi straightened up a little. "I think so. Kaiba wasn't really happy with how things turned out in Duelist Kingdom. I'm sure he'll be wanting to settle the score with me there."

Calian furiously scribbled notes, nodding as he did. "Ok, ok! Next question: This one is kinda different, but… what are your plans after High School?"

The four of them looked a but surprised at that somewhat out-of-place question. Yugi struggled to answer. "I'm… not sure… I feel like I've not had that much time to focus on thinking about that. I was just in Duelist Kingdom, and now Battle City's coming up. But I'm sure I'll have plenty of time after to think about that more!"

"Ok... ok..." Calian took more notes. He then paused as he looked at Yugi, rather his chest. "Thanks for doing this, Yugi, this is the final question! …So, what is that around your neck?"

Yugi looked down at his chest, smiling. "This is my millennium puzzle. It's something that my grandpa got for me years ago. It was all broken up into pieces, so I had to put it back to together." Yugi answered as he looked down at the puzzle.

Calian was intrigued. "It was in pieces? That… doesn't seem like that great of a gift to give someone if it's in pieces."

Joey folded his arms. "I hate to say it, but he's got a point Yug'."

Tea knocked him on the head. "Joey, no-one asked for your input." Joey looked like he was going to protest, but Yugi spoke up.

"Well I think the real gift is the challenge that comes with trying to solve it. It took a really long time to put it back together, and ever since I've put it together, I've never really felt alone."

Joey and Tristan scratched their heads in embarrassment. "Aw, jeez Yug', you didn't have to." Joey said with a silly grin.

"We're always here for you pal." Tristian smiled as silly as Joey had.

Tea looked like she would knock them both on the head, but Yugi just gave a small laugh. "So, is that everything?"

"Yeah!" Calian said as he finished scribbling notes. "Thanks for that Yugi, it'll really help my sis out. By the way, about Battle City, I happen to be competing as well."

Yugi and Joey looked interested to hear about that piece of news. "Really?" Yugi said, looking wowed. "Wow, that's great Calian. Maybe I'll see you there."

Joey didn't look angry, but he crossed his arms. "Hold the phone, how'd you get an invite?"

Calian gave a smug look. "Wellllll… None other than Seto Kaiba himself gave me one."

"WHAT?" Joey yelled in anger. "Rich boy gave you an invite?! Why not me!? I was in Duelist Kingdom, made second place!"

"He said that he needed a forty-eighth participant as someone had dropped out." Calian explained, looking a bit smug. "Don't worry Joey, I'm sure you'll get your chance one day. Meanwhile, I'm heading to Battle City!"

He turned away from the four of them. "Well, thanks again Yugi! I gotta get going now!" Calian waved, leaving Yugi, Tristan, Tea and the seething Joey on the roof.

'Aw, that was great!' Calian thought as he ran down the stairs. 'Sis is gonna love this and how I got on at the tests today!' He pulled out his phone from his pocket.

'I just gotta call her.' Calian thought as he pressed the call button on his phone.

---

1 Hour Later:

Sophia Field:

Sophia held her bag tightly as she made her way to her boss's office. She felt exhausted, tired, hungry - everything that could slow a human down. But, despite this, she felt nothing but relief.

Finally, she had did it! This was her chance at some recognition! That she was better at doing nothing but getting coffees for everyone. She finally had the chance to move up in her work, giving a leering look to everyone who laughed at her. They all said she couldn't do it, but she was about to prove them all wrong!

Calian (as annoying as he could be), actually came through for her! Not only had he scored the interview with Yugi Muto, but she heard that he actually done well on his tests today! Sophia was stunned to hear both of these things back-to-back. For the first time in a while, she felt... well, delight at her brother. She moved fast, excusing herself from work to meet her brother to get that interview script.

Calian had ran to meet her halfway to give her the notebook that had the interview transcript. She had made sure to thank him for doing so well, and then sent him home, so he could then finally prepare for Battle City. A deal was a deal.

She also owed Eric as well. He had given her that hint that Yugi would be on the roof, as well as helping Calian. What could she do to thank him though?

Hm, she could worry about that later. Her boss's office was right ahead of her, everyone else was working around her at desks, as she walked right past them.

Despite all the loud noises of typing, the clicking of keyboards, occasional phone calls, conversations, people moving around her throughout the building, holding coffees and loose papers it didn't disrupt Sophia from making it here. She knew how to avoid everyone that was annoying or too irksome to be around. She was always used to coming to her boss's office.

Most of those times though, she left feeling disappointed. But not today! Surely not!

She knocked on the door, waiting for a response. 'Ok, this is it, Sophia. You've been waiting for this moment for too long now!' She took a few deep breaths, mentally preparing herself. 'I got this.'

"Who is it?!" Came a rather annoyed and gruff voice from behind the door.

"It's me!" Sophia cried out, knowing that her boss could recognize her voice.

"Ah, Sophia…" Grumbled the man. "Come in."

Sophia opened the door as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. Her boss's office wasn't anything that special, other than the soundproof walls, as well as the large window that allowed him to look at all his employees as they worked their hardest. Behind the desk ahead of Sophia sat a middle-aged man with grey hair – dyed grey hair mind you, and blue eyes. He wore a white shirt and red tie, with a brown coat that was hung over his chair.

"Sophia… Just what are you doing here? You're meant to be out getting either coffees for everyone or stories for me…" Her boss Mr. Pitts questioned with some warning in his words. He didn't look pleased to see her.

"I have rather good news Mr. Pitts! I got that interview on Yugi Muto!" Sophia said quickly, trying to change her boss's sour mood.

Me Pitts sat up immediately. That did the trick. "Wha-!? You actually-!? …I mean, let's see it." He said, addressing himself as he cleared his throat.

Sophia reached into her handbag and pulled out the notepad that had the interview details. It was as she handed it to Mr. Pitts, she realized that she hadn't actually looked at it. She had immediately chose to ran straight here. Calian… wasn't messing with her right…? Fear took over her as she watched her bosses expression.

"...Well, well, well. What do you know. You actually got me something solid here Sophia." Mr. Pitts admitted begrudgingly as he looked over the notepad. "The handwriting is a little iffy here and there, but it's not the worst I've seen."

Sophia felt a wave of relief and joy wash over her. She had did it! She… actually scored a decent piece of work! She braved her next few words. "So… what does that mean for me Mr. Pitts?"

Mr. Pitts eyed her carefully. "Nothing yet, we still gotta get this published. But I'll think about it…" He said as he looked down at the pad again. He frowned though, as Sophia caught that shift in expression.

"But goddamn, your handwriting took a serious nosedive Sophia…" Mr. Pitts winced a little, cringing at the writing. "I can't help but wonder if it was actually you who wrote this."

"Well that's because she just scribbled down as much as she could as fast as she could." Came a posh and outright condescending voice from behind Sophia.

Sophia's blood froze at hearing that voice. 'No… not now…' She thought with fear and dread. 'Not her...'

Sophia turned around to see a women her age with long blonde hair, with bangs that came over her shoulders and her forehead. Her eyes were a pretty pink colour and she wore some light makeup over her face. Sophia saw that her eyelashes had been done up - probably for in here. The lady wore a pink buttoned shirt with frilly sleeves. Underneath that, she wore some black jeans. It didn't look too fancy, but it was still breaking the rules of what you could wear in here! That came from the obviously exposable cleavage. The lady also wore earrings that definitely had an expensive mineral in them and wore some slip on high heels, making her look a bit taller.

"Sophia scoring a good story? Please. There'd be better odds of me winning the daily jackpot than that happening." She spoke, covering her mouth to hide a scoff.

"What do you want Penelope…?" Sophia said with gritted teeth. "I'm in the middle of something. Go wait outside!"

"No, because I'm willing to bet that Mr. Pitts was about to make a huge mistake submitting your fake story." Penelope argued with a smirk, placing a hand on her hip. Penelope was confident in her stance, grinning wickedly at Sophia.

Sophia grunted, as Penelope strode into the room, like she owned the place, arriving at her boss's desk. She lightly took the notepad off his hands, just making sure to trace her fingers along the edge of Mr. Pitts hand. She gave a tut as she examined the notepad. "As expected. You think THIS was meant to be your big break Sophia? I see nothing but what I'd expect; mistake after mistake."

"What are you trying to say?" Mr. Pitts questioned with intrigue. He didn't want to dismiss the interview yet... but Sophia doubted it was for her sake.

"Take a look at the information on here again Mr. Pitts." Penelope said sweetly, handing him back the notebook. Mr. Pitts looked over the notebook again, and his eyes widened.

"Wait, Sophia, there's nothing here that proves that you actually interviewed Yugi Muto! This could all just be fake!" He exclaimed with wide eyes. "TH-THERE'S NO NAME, NO MENTION OF A DATE OR WHO HELD THE INTERVIEW!" Mr. Pitts was aghast at such a piece of work being handed to him.

'WH-WHAT?!' Sophia screeched internally. 'D-Did Calian forget!?'

Penelope smirked, humming lightly as she glared malicious daggers at Sophia. Sophia only panicked. "No wait! It's true, definitely! It was definitely Yugi Muto that I interviewed, I swear! P-Penelope's lying!"

"Oh how desperate of you. All I've done is expose the fact that you've been trying to publish fake and outright untrue information! With no evidence that this was actually done by Yugi, it's worthless!" Penelope argued with a scoff. "I get that you're desperate, with your brother and all, but surely you know better to break procedures like that." She said with a fake pout.

"You bitch! Take that back!" Sophia shouted with anger, almost losing herself then and there. Penelope did not care about slandering her as long as it made her happy.

"That's enough!" Mr. Pitts said sternly addressing both ladies. "Ahem, Penelope, you may leave now." He said, turning to her with a kind smile.

"Yes sir." Penelope giggled as she turned around and left the office, giving Sophia a smirk of victory. She closed the door as she left.

Mr. Pitts sighed as he tossed the notebook back to Sophia. "Well, that's another bust of a story you've brought me Sophia. What a shame indeed."

"Sir please, I swear this story is-"

"Enough!" Mr. Pitts repeated, once again raising his voice. "You've brought me material that has no credible evidence whatsoever! My family have been working for Domino Press for decades now – and I can't help but feel that'll continue. Point is, we've always maintained a fact-true procedure of things, and you nearly gave me information that broke our record!" Mr. Pitts said with annoyance. "In fact, I would have sent it though to be published if it were not for Penelope. I really owe that woman, she's a good example of what you ought to be Sophia."

'Yeah right, like I'd stoop as low as that bitch.' Sophia thought with an internal snarl. 'She's everything I DON'T want to be.'

"You've been working here for a few years now, and you've always been better bringing coffees for everyone than you have finding good scoops. I'd maybe keep you as a little coffee lady… but I've got some kid coming in here about to take that job." Mr. Pitts said spinning his chair to look away from Sophia.

Sophia was struck silent, becoming stiff. Had her worst fear came true? "A-Am I…"

"Fired? No." Mr. Pitts answered, filling Sophia with waves of relief. "But… You've been failing to get anything tangible for me to work with! There have been moments where I've had faith for you, but you've always came up short of anything good. So here's the deal Sophia: You've got one month."

Sophia took a step back. "A… month… for what…?"

"A good story! Preferably one that is actually new. Don't think about getting me a story about some Duelist or anything Duel Monster Related. Battle City is coming up, so the papers will be filled to the brim about Duel Monsters. I want something that'll get the readers attention, get them invested, will make them want to buy more issues of Domino Press!" Mr. Pitts clarified as he turned back around to face Sophia. "If I get nothing by then… well, you're out."

"Out…?"

"Yes out!" Mr. Pitts said with annoyance. "As in you'll be fired! I like you Sophia, but you've always been a spare body around here. All you do is coffee and running around outside. But I can't keep this going on for much longer. Either you find me something good, or you'll be looking for someplace else. Got it?"

Sophia was still stunned. "Y-Yes sir…"

"Good. Glad to hear it. Now get out of here, you've got the rest of the day off." Mr. Pitts said, dismissing Sophia. "You start looking for a good story tomorrow."

Sophia just turned and exited the office, closing the door behind her. She walked as if she were a zombie, before she made it into an empty corridor, and leaned against the wall. She rubbed her hands over her eyes as she moaned lowly.

'I was this close, THIS close… but then Penelope had to come in and ruin it…' She thought with sorrow and rage. 'I don't know who is worse, her or her brother…' She thought about him with particular distain.

'I can't get fired… I don't know what I'll do if things go that way… I'd be failing mom, dad… and Calian… I took this job to support him, and now I'll be kicked out if things don't work out that way.' She moaned as she thought about the possibility that would follow upon her firing. It couldn't happen. It just couldn't.

She'd have to get a story that'd really impress Mr. Pitts. Anything Duel Monsters related was off the table from what he said back then. This has to be something new… but what?

…Sophia couldn't think of anything. At least not right now.

She still had time. Time to think, time to prepare.

Everything would be ok.

---

1 Day Until Battle City:

Eric Yuriko.

Arriving downstairs, preparing to leave my house, I made sure that I was ready for what would be happening today. Today was the day that me and Calian would head out and get our Duel Disks.

Yesterday, Calian had been able to ace those tests. He had phoned me after he got home, saying how thankful he was of me for helping him. I just told him that it was no issue, and that I was simply helping a friend. He then told me that he was planning on editing his deck for Battle City, and wanted to have it ready for the tournament.

I wished him luck, and confirmed that we would be heading out today to pick up our Duel Disks. After that, nothing was really planned. I'd be picking up Calian, and we'd just drive to the shop in question. These last few days I had gotten used to driving around Domino City, so I knew where we'd be going. He said that he'd gotten up to some other stuff yesterday, and he wanted to tell me what in person.

I felt confident enough with my deck. I had bought some more booster packs and made some small changes here and there, but other than the really good cards I got from Duke's shop the day I arrived here, nothing incredible had came up. Ah well.

As I got into my car and began to drive to Calian's house, I did wonder exactly what it was that he got up to yesterday after those tests. My mind was blown when he revealed that he actually scored yesterday.

"Let me get this straight, you talked with THE Yugi Muto?" I said again, ensuring that what I heard was true.

"That's right." Calian grinned as he leaned back in his seat. "Feels pretty good to be talking to a celebrity."

I could hardly believe myself when Calian said that he had just had an interview with Yugi. I nearly threw on the brakes right then and there in complete denial and shock. Seeing that he was… you know, still here and not in the Shadow Realm, it showed that the pharaoh hadn't taken action. Maybe I was worrying about him a bit too much.

I was interested to learn about how Sophia had asked Calian to go and interview Yugi for her. Apparently when Sophia got home, she told Calian that the interview went ok. Then she just went upstairs. Maybe things were getting a bit better for the siblings after all.

I gave a quick glance to Calian, still focused on the road. "Well don't get too ahead of yourself. There'll be plenty of Dueling celebrities at Battle City. Try not to fall head over heels if you see Mai Valentine, got it?"

Calian's face turned red. "Wh-What are you saying?! I'd never get distracted from some of the most important Duels of my life because of who'll be there! I'm in this to win it!" He said proudly.

I chuckled in amusement, keeping my eyes ahead. "Yeah, we'll see about that. For now, let's just get our Duel Disks."

Turning a corner, I drove up and parked in a car park that wasn't that far away from where the shop was. Me and Calian got out of the car as I clicked the key to lock it.

It took us less than a few minutes to make it to the shop. As we approached it, I was a little wary at the fact that the man running the place was a Rare Hunter…

Things would get pretty bad very fast if they had their eyes on me or Calian's cards. My Taladon cards were probably brought into this world using my memory as some sort of reference to create them. How that still happened is beyond me. If anything, the Rare Hunters would rather target my Gogiga Gagagigo, that was an actual registered card that existed before I was dropped in here. In the case of Calian, the Hunters may eye up his Gilford The Legend. The possibility of that troubled me, but I could watch and see any comments that this Rare Hunter here would maybe make.

As we entered the shop, I saw the disguised Rare Hunter behind the counter of the shop. He was looking at the computer ahead of him. The dickhead was probably sending off the information about rare cards to the other Rare Hunters. As the door closed behind us, he looked up at us, looking surprised.

"Ah, more customers." He said with a welcoming smile. "Have you come to collect your Duel Disk? I believe that you are the last two to arrive to collect them."

'We're the last two customers?.' I looked up at the clock and saw that the time was 4:00 PM. 'Well I guess that everyone just got here early then.'

We walked over to the counter, and Calian was the first to speak up. "Hey there! My name is Calian Field. I may be a late addition to the roster of participants, but I'll definitely be there!"

The Rare Hunter clicked a few times. "Ah yes here you are, Calian Field. You're right about the late entry, you don't have a ranking here, but there is a notice saying that you are definitely in the tournament." The Hunter turned around as he reached up on a shelf behind him and took a packaged Duel Disk off of it. "Here you go."

Calian took the boxed Duel Disk and grinned. "Aw yeah, one step closer to becoming number one!" He moved aside to let me move forwards.

As I moved forwards, I gave my name to the Rare Hunter. "My name is Eric Yuriko."

The man clicked a few times, as he pulled up my menu. "Here you are, Eric Yuriko, with four stars. Very impressive." He praised. I just smiled and nodded, unsure how this information would be relayed forward to his allies. The Rare Hunter looked at the screen a bit more, his eyes focusing with interest. "I must say it's impressive to have a rare monster like Gogiga Gagagigo who has 2950 ATK. That's only a few points away from rivalling the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."

'…Fuck.'

"Well that's nice to hear." I chuckled lightly. "Not everyday you get praise like that."

'Well shit. They've definitely got their eyes on me at least.' I thought with a chill running down my back. But will they stalk me heading home? You'd think so because Joey was targeted as he had Red-Eyes Black Dragon, while I have a monster that's way stronger than it. But Red-Eyes was like, super rare. There were only a few copies in existence with Atticus Rodes having the only other known copy. Is Gogiga Gagagigo as rare as Red-Eyes? Maybe… either way, the Hunters definitely have some interest on me. At least they didn't see my Taladon monsters, and they didn't look bothered by Calian. The lack of a ranking probably helped with that.

The Rare Hunter handed me a Duel Disk from the shelf. "There you go. Remember, you only get one Duel Disk. If it breaks, you can't get a new one." He informed me.

I nodded. "Well, let's get going then."

"Right!" Calian said as we left the shop, heading back to the car.

On the way back to Calian's house, there was little small talk. A few conversations here and there, but nothing of importance. As I dropped him off at his house, I spoke up to him before he ran off.

"Hey, before you go, remember that we're meeting up at Domino Plaza tomorrow at noon." I reminded him.

"Don't worry, I remembered!" Calian said. "Today I'll show some of the kids around here my Duel Disk. I can't wait to see their reactions!"

"Well make sure that you get home safe. I hear that there's a lot of cases of robberies going around recently." I warned him. "Just promise me that you'll be careful."

Calian looked a bit surprised at that warning. "Really? Wow, I've heard nothing like that… Yeah, I'll be careful… you better be careful too Eric." He said with a smirk.

"Pff, I'll be fine." I scoffed lightly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yup! See ya later!" Calian waved.

I waved back before I drove away back home. The drive home was uneventful thankfully, much to my relief. As soon as I made it home, I locked the doors and made sure that the windows were locked as well, while also pulling back the curtains. I wasn't taking any chances here. Plus I wasn't really heading outside for the rest of the day.

I entered the living room and sat down on the couch, before opening up my Duel Disk box. There I found the Duel Disk, as well as rules for how to work it, the Battle City rule book/banlist, along with the single Locator Card that you needed to enter.

I picked up the Locator Card and examined it. While I knew where the finals were being held, I still needed six cards to enter the finals. As I had more time on my hands recently, I decided to try and take Battle City as it comes. There was no way for to watch everyone at once, unless I was Kaiba who was just spying on everyone. I'd just try and avoid most of the main cast, and Duel my own Duels.

With that decided in my mind, I picked up my deck which was in my pocket and slotted it into my Duel Disk. I already knew the rules and what cards were banned for this tournament, so I didn't need to edit my deck in any way. Unfortunately for Calian, his Pillager card is banned. Quite unfortunate for him, especially since he has the risk of going up against the Rare Hunters.

But I had confidence in his ability to deal with them. He put up a very good fight against me when we Dueled. I'd just keep checking up on him through phone calls every so often.

Rather exhausted about thinking of Battle City for a few days straight, I decided to try and watch T.V. Who knows? Maybe I'd find something worth watching.

After all, this was my last few hours of peace. Battle City began tomorrow, and it lasted three days. Things would be hell from then onwards…

---

How'd you like the small sections on the siblings? The next chapter will be the beginning of Battle City! Place your bets as to who will Duel who!

The question I have for you all is this: What Yu-Gi-Oh character from the animes do you think is the strongest? (Taking into account strength and skill)