Akikaze (Autumnwind)

AKIKAZE (AUTUMN WIND)

CHAPTER: 1/??

DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters don’t belong to me. The Series would be very different if they were...Only this piece of fiction as far as the plotline and stuff goes, is mine. So don’t sue. You’ll only get an immensely high lawyer bill because I stated that this is only a piece of Fanfiction and I don’t make money with it. It’s just for fun and entertainment. Flames will be used for heating because I think that my heater’s broken yet again...

SPOILERS!!!!: ent ent Egypt Arc, Doom Saga, End of Battle City etc. (Why? I’ve watched the Anime up to Episode 185 and read the Manga up to the Chapter where Pharaoh’s Real Name was revealed...) So if you really mind...Don’t read. *sigh*

WARNINGS: Very strange grammar ‘cause I’m no native English Speaker(or writer for that fact) and chaos. And a lot of confusion concerning all the Names... Yami, Hikari, Aibou, Mou Hitori no Boku... Because I like them all I’ll just mix everything into this...But if there should be any mistakes or misunderstandings feel free to say so! I know I’m strange. And I’m damn proud of that!
What else is to say? Oh yeah! Shonen-Ai up to mild Yaoi is to be expected in later chapters as well as mild violence, language (I try to avoid that though) and a lot of strangeness. Perhaps a little bit of HET on the side (funny how the things change over the years. I was so used to write Shonen Ai/Yaoi warnings and now everybody has to warn the people of they’re going to put in het... *g*)

PAIRINGS: Seto x Yami; Bakura x Malik; very mild Joey + Mai (only het one so far) ... We’ll see, ne?

ARCHIVES: FF.net ; AFF.net ; If you want to put this fic up onto your site please ask me!

Sign Language:

//Hikari to Yami// - e.g. Yuugi
/~ Yami to Hikari ' - e.g. Yami
/Thoughts/
“Speech”
**Ancient Egyptian** - e.g. in letters
“** Spoken Ancient Egyptian **”


Did I forget something? No? Ok...On with the fic! Please enjoy!


~*~*~


Chapter 01 – The Invitation


Joey laughed triumphantly the mo he he saw the card he’d just drawn. “I’m going to win this time, Yuugi! There’s just no way you can beat me with THIS in my hand!”, the blond continued to cackle maniacally. “That’s the sixth time you’ve said that in the last five games, Joey...”, Duke commented dryly from his place on the wall next to the others who were watching the two duel. It was pretty obvious, that the battles had been rather one sided except for the first one. And it was getting boring. “As much as I like to see Yuugi dueling...Please end this quickly and let’s to something more...Creative!”, Tristan earned several nods of agreement. “Why are you all against me??”, Joey’s expression could only be described with the ultimate ‘puppy dog’ look. No wonders it had earned him the nickname...“Because we all KNOW that you’ll never be able to beat Yuugi. Now Joey, don’t be such an egoist and give up or something...We want to get going!”, this was Serenity.

Stunned silence followed, interrupted by Duke’s muffled laughter. “That must’ve stung...!”, the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters and owner of the game shop on the other side of the road snickered. Even Yami couldn’t help but grin a little at that in the back of Yuugi’s mind. His lighter half scolded him, //It’s not nice to laugh at Joey like that, Yami!// But he too, had to try his best not to laugh at his friend. The former Pharaoh defended himself then, sensing that his Light had in fact a hard timeing ing to hide his real emotions, /~ But Aibou...You have to admit that this was priceless! You’re thinking it too! I can feel it! And... I mean... *Serenity* talking about her brother like that! Kind of reminds me of the time when she and Mai tricked us...Back then after Battle City. Remember the look on Joey’s face back then? '

Before anyone else could say something else, a new voice interrupted the whole scene. “Looks like your sister really got all the brains from your family, mutt. I have to admit that she’s quite right with what she said.”, it was none other than Seto Kaiba himself, stepping out of his car with his younger brother Mokuba, who greeted Yuugi and his friends with a small wave. Joey fumed, not only was his sister falling him into his back, no, on top of that Kaiba had witnessed it all and was making fun of him again. “Come here Kaiba and I’ll give you a piece of my mind! This time for REAL!” The brownhaired CEO of Kaiba Corp. snorted, obviously very amused. “You don’t have any to spare, Wheeler. Dogs aren’t the cleverest of animals, you know?”, he gave the furious blond a confident smirk.

Even though he asked himself, why Kaiba had appeared suddenly, Yami couldn’t help but explain something. He’d regret to do so later but he was blissfully unaware of that now. “You know...Back in Egypt calling someone a dog or dog person was like calling that person piece of human scum. Dogs were regarded very lowly back then...Whereas cats were seen as gods.”, he realized too late, that he’d said that out loud and found himself in control of the body while his Aibou snickered lightly in his transparent form next to him. //Got’cha, Yami! Man, you should see that look on your face right now! I wish I had a camera...Or better, a camera that I could use in my current state...!//, the shorter youth with the mop of gravity defying tri-colored hair was leaning against Yami for support. He’d be rolling around on the floor by now, if not for his darker half./~ Aibouuuu! ', the former Pharaoh had to resist the to to either slap his hand to his fore or or bang his head against the next wall.

Kaiba, even though he was shocked for a moment, had to lean against the car for support and suppress the laughter which was threatening to escape him. He couldn’t hold it anymore and ded oed over, laughing like a madman. “There you have it, mutt! Even he AGREES with me...Need any more proof to that?”, it didn’t last very long and soon, the young billionaire found his composure again. But a nagging thought at the back of his mind made him think for a moment. /The same thought Yuugi just voiced... They were the same ones I had when I started to call Wheeler that in the first place. But how... No...I won’t start to think about that Egypt crap again./ He tried his best to push these thoughts away again but only succeeded in pushing them to the baf hif his mind to brood over them later. Now wasn’t the time for this. There were more important matters at hand. And one of them was standing only a few feet in front of him. It was a certain spiky-haired duelist. The other was inside of his suitcase, neatly resting between his laptop and several contracts for his new company employees. He hated to change the staff nearly every single month. But it couldn’t be helped. It seemed as if his enemies, outside the Duel Monsters world, couldn’t learn their lesson properly and tried over and over again, to take over Kaiba Corp. even though he’d successfully put down every of their attempts. With or without the help of others. And this brought him back to the Duelist in front of him again. Namely, one Yuugi Mutou. He still didn’t want to belief, that there were two of them even though deep inside, he knew there were. But he couldn’t...Wouldn’t accept it. At least not yet.


Tristan was the first to emerge from his shocked state. “Care to tell us why you came here in the first place, Kaiba? It’s not exactly like you’re here very often to not notice your come and go.” That brought the others back as well and their gazes rested on their classmate and owner of the worldwide company expectantly, the Duel between Yuugi and Joey long forgotten.

“I was coming to that.”, Kaiba retorted, producing two envelopes from his suitcase. “These letters were sent to me this morning. One was addressed to me...The other one...”, he turned the letter towards the group so they could see the golden... Well, letters?

A collective, “Huh?” was heard from the group around Yami, who was still in control of the body and their stares wandered from the strange inscription to their spiky-haired comrade. Yami’s eyes widened and he quickly snatched the envelope from Kaiba. “You were able to read it, I suppose? Did you open your letter already?”-“No. There was a small piece of ... Papyrus or something... Saying I should wait until I gave the other letter to its respective recipient. As to how or why I could read it...I don’t know the answer to that. I just could. But I suppose you know what that is?”, he had a suspicion. The signs were equal to those he’d seen on something else already. Would Yuugi recognize them as well? Or had he already? “These letters...It’s the same ancient language that was on the card of the Winged Dragon of Ra...It’s an ancient Egyptian language.” Bingo. Still... “So we’re back to that stupid Egypt and Magic crap again, are we? Well, that aside...Can we open those letters now or do you plan on standing here all day and stare at your envelope?”

Seto didn’t have to say this twice and they opened the envelopes to reveal two cards. “It’s an invitation. An anonymous one...”, Yami stated as a matter of fact, one fine eyebrow raising slightly. //What does it say, Yami?//, Yuugi looked over his partners shoulder but he couldn’t make out any of the strange characters on the paper. It was written in Hieroglyphics or at least some of those letters were Hieroglyphics. /~ I’ll read it out to you... '


**Your Majesty, Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, King of Games and Emperor of Darkness...**


//That’s an awfully long title, Yami...And there still wasn’t a name...Your name to be precise...//, his Light mused while his darker half sighed. /~ Important Ministers or someone of the like addressed me that way. To flatter me or something. But... Well, it WAS my official title. One of my Priest said once, that it was hard not to fall asleep during the introduction already instead of during the speech. ', his eyes flickered over to Seto for a split second, a wistful look in his eyes which quickly vanished again, as if it had never been there in the first place and they wandered further down the parchment.


**I herewith invite you to a humble assembly which will certainly be to your liking. Only the best of the best will come to this event because only the best is good enough for you. The contest will solve a very crucial question. The question of who shall be the ultimate master of the Shadow Realm and its powers. You haven’t been able to seal the Realm yet, haven’t you? No, you haven’t or you wouldn’t be reading this, right? As to who it is you will be encountering... Let’s say that it is one of the most powerful playehe She Shadow Games have ever seen from their very beginning. I was there, when the gates to the Darkness opened up to this World and I saw the Monsters who entered this Realm...

Your past still is an unsolved Puzzle to you and those around you, isn’t it? Perhaps I should tell you that you will certainly get a very important clue as to who you where and what happened back then. I knew your father, better than most of the people who’ve ever meet him or been around him. Better than you, obviously...? And I knew what happened. I was there, all the time

The Thief King will know me... As well as Shadi and the Tomb Keepers of today...And another person close to you. I think you know him under the name of Seto Kaiba these days. He’s had many other names before, didn’t he? Such as... Blue Eyes... Or Master of the Dragons...**


He’d stopped talking to Yuugi in the middle of the first block when the Shadow Realm hat been mentioned for the second time. This invitation was more than it seemed to be. /This person really knew me... When I was living in Khemet.../


Only a few feet away from him, Kaiba was equally troubled by his invitation even though he didn’t show it on his outside. Inside he was boiling because it was about those things again and on the other side there seemed to be something inside him, which screamed for him to believe, to follow...


**You Highness, High Priest of Upper and Lower Egypt, Master of Dragons and Blue Eyed Devil...**


Those names sounded so familiar. The last two, he still encountered every now and then today but the first ones triggered something inside him, which made his stomach twitch. He didn’t knew if in a good or bad way. /Why... Why do I get this feeling? Why do I KNOW that I have been called these names in the past? And most importantly why do I know that I lived in the past?/ He tried to avoid these questions by continuing to read, ignoring the strange looks the others gave him and Yami.


**I know, that you memories have not faded but you are too stubborn to accept them. To accept who you really are or were. Your roots. How do I know? Because I have been very close to you back then, physically and theoretically psychically. But it changed over time. It’s your uncanny ability to build very high and very firm walls around you nobody can pull down easily. Even me... Only one person was able to do it back then. To look behind those walls you’d build. And you let him willingly.**


Groaning inwardly, he closed his eyes. This was too much. Why did random people or letters appear suddenly, telling him he was some reincarnation of a High Priest from Ancient Egypt all the time? He was Seto Kaiba, President of the Kaiba Corporation. And... /My brain is get aff affected by these things again.../ But even though he tried to resist, he continued to read.


**Lets get down to business now. This invitation will lead you to a tournament, which should be to your liking. The best of the best will be there, including me. One of the Old Masters of Duel Monsters, having played it from its very beginning. You will encounter not only some very old but very interesting strategies but you will also find the answers to those questions you’re constantly asking yourself. Sound promising to you? Then come...**


The feeling in his gut said, ‘Go!’ his mind told him, ‘This is just some kind of stupid joke.’ Torn in two he looked over to Yami. Why, he didn’t know. Perhaps to confirm either his feeling or his thoughts. And judging from the former Pharaoh’s facial expression... “We’ll go.”, he put the letter away again after memorizing it and the location where the tournament would be held at and closed his suitcase. “Who asked you to decide that, Kaiba? What if Yuugi doesn’t want to?”, Joey barged in, his mind having automatically translated the ‘we’ to ‘Yuugi and I’. The CEO turned and gave the blond a rather cold glare, “Who said I was speaking about Yuugi and me? I could’ve spoken of Mokuba and me. But I did indeed mean Yuugi. I know he wants to go too. I’ll pick you up on Monday, then. Be in front of the shop at 8 o’ clock sharp. And before you ask...Your little Fan Club can come with us.”, with that, Seto turned and disappeared again, leaving Mokuba with the others.

“Well...I originally thought he’d drop me off with you today because I asked him if I could hang out with you...But it seems as if he had some business with you as well.”, the younger Kaiba brother smiled and approached them now, greeting the group properly. Nobody noticed Yami, who’d deactivated the Duel Disc and had put away the letter as well, standing thoughtfully at the shop door. //Mou hitori no boku...What was that all about? What was in that letter? You stopped letting me hear after a little while. What will happen now?//, Yuugi’s transparent form appeared next to him, invisible to the others around them. /~ It’s about my past again, Aibou. But not only mine alone this time...Kaiba...Is in this as well. And whoever wrote these invitations knew us very well. Us in Ancient Egypt. This is what concerns me. It can’t be ne wne with an Millenium Item because we know who holds which item. We have 4... Shadi has 2 and Ryou has the Ring. So there is no one who would come to my mind right now. I want to find out. There can’t be just any random people appearing here and telling us they know my past...It’s not possible for my entire country to be reincarnated...Or is it? ', dark violet eyes were clouded over with concern as he spoke those words, his expression getting somewhat solemn. This worried Yuugi quiet a bit, Yami always had a re to to get this concerned over something and he tried to reassure his darker half by agreeing to go to the tournament, //You have a point there, Yami. Let’s go to the Tournament. We don’t have anything better to do anyway, ne?//

A voice pulled them out of their silent conversation. “Hey Yuugi, we want to go to the Arcade. You coming?", Tea smiled sweetly at them. Yami sighed and let Yuugi take over again, he had to think. He was sure, his Light would understand. “Sure thing, Tea! Let’s go!”, Yuugi smiled in return and tagged along. He knew that Yami would tell him if the right time came. He trusted his darker half. But from what he’d heard, Yuugi got an idea of what was going on. If it had something to do with the Shadow Realm, the Millenium Items would also be involved in one way or the other. That meant of course, they’d see some familiar faces again. Something he personally looked forward to. He hadn’t seen Malik since the end of Battle City again, nor his sister Isis and Rishiyou you and Bakura had also disappeared after the latest incidents. The teacher had said something about going to Egypt and help his father with a few excavations. “Yuugi? Spaced out again, pal? Everything alright?” Brought back to reality by this question Yuugi quickly put his smile back into place and nodded,“Yes Joey, everything’s ok. Let’s go! I think the others are waiting.”


It seemed like the Weekend just flew by them and now, the group was standing in front of the Kame Game Shop, waiting for Kaiba’s car to pick them up. “Where are we going, Yuugi?”, Duke asked, putting down his backpack. They hadn’t talked much about the subject because Yuugi himself, hardly knew anything about it. “Well, there wasn’t an address on my invitation. I guess that’s why Kaiba-kun is picking us up. He seemed to know where to go. Did you pack something useful or just clothes?”, he then switched the topic. The darkhaireuth uth nodded, “Yeah, I have something to eat with me as well as a... Well, survival set and stuff. Because I heard a rumor in my shop, that it’ll be something like the Duelist Kingdom and as far as I know, DK was held on Pegasus’ private island. I’ve visited it before so I know what went on back then.” His first and only visit to the Duelist Island during the Duelist Kingdom had been to promote his newly invented Game Dungeon Dice Monsters. Duke had been a big fan of Pegasus back then, adoring the man as his idol and seeking for vengeance against Yuugi, who’d beat the in in his own game. After that, Pegasus had simply vanished only to return at a later time, when he and his cards were needed. His soul had also been captured by the Doom Oranisation though. Specifically by Mai, who’d joined them for a short time but had gone up against them after Joey had sacrificed himself to save her soul from being taken.

“I thought so too. Because...Only Kaiba has enough resources to sorta... ‘Rent’ a whole City for a Duel Monsters Tournament.”, the shorter youth agreed and turned, when Joey and Tristan stopped bickering, over whatever they were talking about and Tea spotted two black cars coming down the road. A BMW and a Lancia Thesis[1]. “Ok... Off we go!”

The cars stopped and Mokuba hopped out of the first, along with two chauffeurs who took the luggage and put it into the trunk while the youngest Kaiba explained, “We’ll go in two cars. Three and Two. So if you’d split up...? Ah, except you, Yuugi. Your errr...Ride... Will arrive shortly. Duelists will be treated differently, you know? They’ll be on a separate deck on the Cruise Ship.” Some members of their group gulped and looked at their luggage uncomfortably. It seemed that they hadn’t packed the right things. It was too late now. “So it IS an Island again.”, Duke made a triumphant gesture towards Yuugi, who just nodded politely and smiled. He felt a little bit awkward to be collected...Separately.

/~ Don’t worry, Aibou. It’ll be alright. Remember? You’re never really alone. I’m with you. ', Yami’s voice reassured and the transparent form appeared next to him. His smiled widened a little, //Thank you for reminding me, Yami. It really makes me feel better. And-// He couldn’t finish his sentence because it was interrupted by a loud roaring sound. Another car stopped directly in front of him and his eyes widened a little. It was a sleek sports car. A metallic silver colored Viper to be exact. As the windows came down, Seto Kaiba was revealed, sitting behind the steering wheel. “Get in.”, his voice was commanding and Yuugi felt how his stomach notched up. //Yami...Do you think we could...?// His darker half nodded and within the blink of an eye, the former Pharaoh had taken over. Grabbing the backpack he opened the trunk and put it away, before opening the door on his side. “Nice car.”, he commented, when he buckled his seatbelt and Kaiba put the windows up again. “Hn.”, was the grunted reply and a moment later, they’d sped off again, leaving the stunned others behind.

Joey was still gaping and Tristan whistled, “He’s got taste...Concerning cars. Even though his choice of colors reminds me of his Dragons...Yet again.” It was then, that Mokuba commented, “It’s one of his favorite cars. The baby can go from zero to 300 in about 3 seconds...[2] And now... Lets get going! The ship won’t wait for us forever!” This said, the group split up and the cars drove off towards Domino Harbor, where the large Cruise Ship awaited them.


Meanwhile in the Viper. The drive was awfully...Silent. Yami was starting to get nervous. The former Pharaoh had the feeling that he was being watched by his ‘driver’ and he had decided that he didn’t really like the looks Kaiba gave him. “What?”, he finally asked, the deafening silence getting the better of him. The brownhaired CEO smirked, “What, what? Is something wrong?” It hit Yami like a ton of bricks [3]. This smugness in Kaiba’s voice reminded him of himself. It was very ...Unnerving. Now that he thought about it, there were a lot of parallels between them.

1.) They were both ‘obsessed’ with Duel Monsters
2.) They only saw the other as a worthy opponent. A rival...
3.) Both of them were, in their own ways, powerful
4.) Their past lay in Ancient Egypt and was connected
5.) Typical Characteristics of them were smugness andfidefident smirks

Even though they had very big differences...These parallels were enough to make Yami think. He had the feeling that there was something else...Something even deeper than just the same interests, something that had to do with their past.

Suddenly he remembered that the other had asked him a question in return and he flustered. /I spaced out in front of Kaiba of all people!/, he thought embarrassed and turned away. “No... Nothing is wrong...Except for...You’re so quiet! And why do the Duelists travel separately? I mean...You even left your brother with the others...”, and that was quite something. Yami idly wondered what had caused Kaiba to leave his brother out of eyesight. Let alone traveling separately. It was not something you saw everyday. “I have my reasons. Besides...He’ll be save with your so called friends, won’t he?”, the other teen gave Yami a questioning look. “Of course he’ll be! They’ll take care of him.”, Yami defended the others, glaring at Kaiba who just smirked again. /How come HE annoys ME today and not the other way around? Where is my calmness when I need it? And why am I so nervous today?/, he sighed inwardly, frustrated already after merely 5 minutes with Kaiba in one car.

//Is everything alright, Yami? Should we...Switch back?//, the concerned voice of his Hikari could be heard coming ‘from the Puzzle’. That was where their Soulr wer were. /~ No...It’ll be alright, Aibou. I can handle this. Don’t worry about me. I’ve dealt with Kaiba before! ', he sighed and send a reassuring feeling to his other half. /~ I don’t know why I’m so nervous and jumpy right now. Perhaps it’s the upcoming tournament combined with all those mysteries connected to it. ' This seemed to satisfy Yuugi and he went back into his soulroom.

“That’s good. Well...As to why we are traveling separately...The instructions were in my invitation. It was also written there, that I should come with you and only you. Your friends and my brother have never been mentioned but there was a note that ‘audience was allowed’. And I think that applies to them, doesn’t it? But to reassure you, in case you’re still worried...We’ll be traveling on the same ship as far as I know.”, the taller Duelists explained, while keeping his eyes on the road. Yami nodded and thought for a second before stating, “So the Duelist travel like some sort of VIPs on the ship if I got it correctly? Or is there another separation?” To this, Seto only answered with a shrug. He’d tried to find out everything he could but he didn’t know everything, yet. So instead of continuing on this line he switched to another topic, which would be of interest to both of them. “Say...Did you prepare well for this Tournament? Changedot oot of your deck?”, he had noticed, of course, that Yami wore the same belts around his waist he had during Battle City with the attachable Deck Boxes. He himself had his cards in his inner pocket of the trench coat he was wearing. The crimson eyed teen smirked, “You’d really like to know that, don’t you? But...Would you, in my place, tell me what changes you made to your deck?” Touché. Good question. “Hn. No.”, was his slightly grunted answer.


It was then, that they arrived at the port. The huge Cruise Ship, named ‘Lady Mizuno’, was waiting there and the two of them were greeted politely. Their luggage was taken out of the trunk and brought on board as well as Kaiba’s car. It was lifted up by a crane and ‘disappeared’. Yami whistled in astonishment. This seemed to be someone rather wealthy after all. And a very big event. “I wonder how many Duelists will be participating.”, he mused aloud. Seto put on a pair sunglasses and looked down to his companion as they walked up the stairs leading up to the VIP - Duelists deck. “It onl only Elite Duelists were invited to this... And the Elite isn’t a very large group. But if I have to beat them in order to duel you in the finals again...I’ll just do so.”, they’d be no challenge for him. Only Yami or Yuugi was an opponent worth fighting with. He’d never met an individual like him before whom he could battle with equally. Where he realld tod to use his wits, to make up a good strategy as well as adjusting the strength of his deck. The element of surpriseld bld be a very big advantage in a Duel after all and a useful one at that. He’d experienced it himself before many times. And that was the reason, why neither he nor Yami had revealed the changes to their Decks earlier.
Seto was getting exited. A new round was about to start, another battle between him and Yami.


‘...But if I have to beat them in order to duel you in the finals again...I’ll just do so.’
These words flustered Yami a bit. But they also made him feel kind of...Proud. He had to admit that the Duels between Kaiba and him were those he was really looking forward to. Even in his 3000 year long existence it had been a rare occurrence that you had to fight at your full strength, give everything you got in just one match. Only a truly, worthy opponent could do that to you. Push you to your limits and bring you into a position with your back against the wall. It were those Situations and Duels the former Pharaoh enjoyed the most. A challenge was always good and the adrenaline rush was something you could get addicted to after you’d experienced it a few times. But even though both, Yami and Kaiba enjoyed tressressure they were far from being ‘adrenaline junkies’ like some other people, mostly the ones practicing ‘extreme sport’ like free climbing and things like that.


A couple of servants greeted them on their way to the VIP – Duelist Deck and opened the door for them and bowed respectfully. “Welcome, your Majesty and High Priest.”, they muttered in unison and Yami halted. Seto stiffened but continued to walk, pretending he didn’t hear. But the crimson eyed teen looked from servant to servant suspiciously. /Something’s going on here...And I don’t like it. If this is only some sick joke and doesn’t help me with discovering my past at all...This person will either get a nice trip to the Shadow Realm. Without a return ticket...Or a very good Mind Crush./ He’d felt very uneasy since they’d gotten those strange invitations. Why were there suddenly so many people seemingly popping out of nowhere, telling him they knew something about his past or how to rediscover or remember it. But it all came back to the Millenium Items in the end. Like a vicious circle, pulling Yami into its endlessness. Very frustrating.

Brooding over those thoughts would have to wait though, since he and Kaiba had entered the VIP – Lounge now and came face to face with a familiar face. “What the hell are YOU doing here?”, the voice of the brownhaired teen was icy. Old memories and an old grudge resurfaced, bringing with it anger and the urge to wreck vengeance right there. Revenge... Was the thought that crossed Seto Kaiba’s mind right now. /I’ll never forgive you for what you did back then...To my brother and to me. I swore that I’d get you back one day...But you disappeared...Vanished into thin air. Nobody could find you. But now I think...Now is the time for us to settle this.../

Icy blue eyes pinned the silverhaired man down into his chair but the owner of Industrial Illusions remained calm in his seat, twirling the wineglass between his fingers. “Well, well...Isn’t this a pleasant surprise? Has been long, Kaiba-boy...Yuugi-boy...”, he still spoke to them so mockingly. It made the brownhaired youth furious. “Laugh as long as you still can, Pegasus... Because as soon as this Tournament starts... I’ll pay you back, what you did to ba aba and me back then...I swear.”, Seto growled and stormed off, towards their rooms or rather suites. The VIP – Passengers’ rooms were divided into: a Living Room, with a large sofa, comfortable chairs and a coffee table as well as a small bar on the side, with the view over the sea; a Bedroom and a large Bathroom with a whirlpool tub, a shower stall and a sink with a large mirror above it.


While Kaiba had stormed off, Yami had remained calm and collected, eyeing Pegasus thoughtfully. He too, hadn’t seen the man for years. Since the incident back at the Castle on the Duelist Kingdom Island. “It’s not a conscience we met you here.”, he stated calmly before he too, walked down the hallway towards his room. The silverhaired man’s smile faltered and his expression turned serious. /You have both changed a lot since we last met...This will be interesting./


/~ Aibou? ', Yami closed his eyes and concentrated, his soul retreating back into the puzzle after he’d entered the suite. He was now standing in front of Yuugi’s Soulroom, knocking lightly. When he didn’t get an answer, he entered, quietly and not making a sound in case his Light was resting. And he was. The younger boy was lying on the bed in the Soulroom, sleeping peacefully. Deciding not to wake the youth up, the former Pharaoh exited the room again and opened his eyes back in the real World and in control of the body. /I think I’ll take a shower then. Yuugi complained about not being able to take one this morning since the others had arrived to early./, he decided and walked over to the bathroom, unbuttoning his shirt in the process.

Meanwhile on the Non – VIP – Duelists Deck. The group around Mokuba was encountering quite a few familiar faces. “My! What a surprise to meet you here!”, a familiar shock of long blonde hair appeared from one of the rooms. “Mai! Well, figures you’d be invited to such an event, too.”, Serenity ged ted the blonde happily. The two of them had become good friends since the end of the Battle City thing and during it, when Mai hadn’t been in the Shadow Realm yet. “I see you’re well, Serenity. Your brother must’ve looked after you then like I advised him to. Can’t let a cute girl like you get hurt, ne?”, the lively female joked and flashed Joey her provocative trademark smile.

“Looks like a happy little gathering over there. Care to let us join, Mai? Or do you want to have all the fun yourself? How mean...”, a male voice spoke up behind them. Turning, they came face to face with the former ‘Doom Soldiers’[3], Varon, Raphael and Amelda. The latter looked at Mokuba questioningly but friendly non the less. “Is your brother not with you?”, he’d looked forward to face off against the elder Kaiba once more, this time without any grudges and orders from a ‘higher instance’. The ravenhaired boy shook his head in denial, “No, Seto’s here. But not on this deck. He and Yuugi are one storey above us on the VIP – Deck. Personal invitation from the...Well, you could say host I guess.” Raphael raised an eyebrow and whistled. “Not bad! But considering the fact that they’re both Top Duelists of the absolute Elite...It’s not very surprising for them to be ‘special guests’ here. As for us and the rest... There are few, who already got permission to participate. Others will be chosen by lottery or a KO round. I heard a rumor that there will be special rules for Doubles this time.”

Duke looked at the tall blond man questioningly, “Lottery? KO round? Does that mean that we can still participate even though we weren’t invited?” Varon nodded and pulled out a small card with a number on it. “You can register down in the main hall. They give you a number and you’re either drawn for a match up or win by default or something. I haven’t understood the whole system yet but it way way to enter the tournament. Even though it’s really confusing.”, the brownhaired duelist with the trademark pair of goggles on his head explained. A large grin spread itself on Joey’s face. “Well, what are we waiting for? I’ll go and register. Lucky I brought my Deck with me! I’ll kick your butt again, Varon!” And with that comment, the two Duelists began a long anticipated bickering session in the middle of the hall, slowly moving towards the main hall and thus, the registration area.

Mai sighed. She’d seen this coming. “It seems as if you’re not the only wants who were waiting for a re-match, Amelda...Raphael...Oh!? Duke?’re ’re going, too?”, it surprised her a little, that the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters would actually apply to participate in a Duel Monsters Tournament. Twirling a lock of black hair around his index finger Duke answered, “I’ll just give it a shot. Since everybody with a Deck can apply... I promised this to an old friend of mine. Perhaps he too, is on this shie vee very moment we talk. Let’s just say, I owe him a Duel.”

His eyes had gotten a little misty while explaining this and Mai, noticing the slight shift of his facial expression as well, smiled warmly at him before he blushed lightly and turned, running down the hall after the very audibly quarreling pair of Joey and Varon. /I knew your ambitious behavior around Serenity was just to mock Tristan...Your heart belongs to someone else already./ Turning back to the others, she then realized, that they were still standing in the middle of the hallway. “Come on in! We can sit in my room and talk until the others come back. It’ll be more comfortable than standing out here. Don’t you think?”, she moved aside, emphasizing her statement with an inviting gesture.

The others gladly took this invitation and settled on the couches or chairs in the living room of Mai’s room. It was only divided into two separate rooms. A living room and a bathroom, whereat the living room was also used as the bedroom.

Right now, most of them were cramped on the large sofa and struggled for space, when Mokuba fell off and ‘into’ the wall behind him. It wavered a bit and the others stared. Mai chuckled lightly, “I guess I should’ve told you. This Cruise Ship, although very flashy on the outside, has its glitches. For instance this one. Some of the rooms are still, let’s say ‘unfinished’ and are only divided by a curtain. I discovered it it earlier when I was rearranging the furniture to my liking. And another thing...I’m glad that Tea and Serenity will be occupying that room and not some guy.” Amelda, helping Mokuba up again, smirked goodheartedly. “You wouldn’t have minded it being Joey, though, ne? And you’re lucky to have discovered it so early...Imagine if it had really been some guy rooming next to you...And he had walked in on you coming out of the shower or something. I admit, I’d like to see the shocked look on your face if that happened but... Just be glad it won’t.”

Though Amelda was only joking while saying this to Mai, others were had no such luck concerning this issue. Seto Kaiba, too, had just discovered said fact about the curtain and was currently looking at a very wet, very shocked and very ‘not-really-clothed’ Yami. The latter had just come out of the bathroom with nothing on but a towel wrapped around his waist and another resting on his head, which he’d obviously used to dry his hair. Crimson eyes were staring at him with a mixture of shock, surprise and embarrassment. “S-Sorry!”, and the small opening in the curtain disappeared.

On the other side, Seto slumped into the nearest chair, heart pounding against his chest rapidly. He couldn’t remember to ever have pulled a curtain shut this fast before in his entire life. And he couldn’t remember to ever have been this embarrassed. /Ra...Why me? Do you have too much free time on your hand to have to keep yourself busy with torturing me??/ He paused at that. Something had been wrong with that string of thoughts. /Did I just...Why... Ra?? I have never...But.../ Seto didn’t have the time to think about that because something else hit him. /It hasn’t been the first time I’ve seen him... Naked...? But... That can’t be it just c-/, a very familiar golden object lying on the coffee table in front of him caught his attention then. The Millenium Rod. It gleamed in the dim light as if it was mocking him from where it lay innocently on the cool, glass surface. /How in the name of Ra did it- NO! Not again!!/, he didn’t dare to curse, afraid that ‘Ra’ might pop up in his ‘speech’ again. But still, he wondered how the Item had found it’s way into his room. Nobody had been here... And why was it here? Seto felt a strange sense of belonging wash over him, as if he was the rightful owner of the golden Rod or as if this thing was a part of him. Shaking his head to clear it from these strange thoughts he stood up, grabbing the golden object and securing it on his belt before he knew what he was doing there, it was already resting there, hidden by his long, white coat. /I’m going nuts.../

He let out an inaudible sigh. /This could turn into a very...Very long journey.../

Refreshed by the warm water of the shower, Yami had wrapped one of the towels around his waist and taken another one to dry himself off as well as his hair and had stepped out of the bathroom only to come face to face with his rival, standing there in the middle of his bedroom, one hand still holding what looked like a curtain, dividing their rooms instead of a solid wall. To say that he was shocked and extremely embarrassed would be an understatement. He stood there for a while, frozen to the spot until his mind realized what had just happened. Hastily, he retreated back into the Puzzle, slamming the door of his Soulrohut hut behind him with a loud bang.

And with that, Yuugi found himseack ack in control of hi body, mind still a bit groggy and fuzzy from being asleep. He wondered idly, why Yami had switched so abruptly but shrugged it off quickly and went over to the bed, where his luggage had been dropped off and searched for something to wear for Dinner, as he’d noted that it was almost 6 o’clock already. Time seemed to fly by today.

Picking a pair of comfortable dark pants and a n but button down silk dress shirt, he put them on after removing the towel around his waist. After he’d dressed he continued to dry his hair and secured the Puzzle around his neck, before he closed his eyes to look for Yami. He still didn’t feel very comfortable and his Darker half was the Duelist anyway, so... //Yami?//, he knocked on the door to Yami’s Soulroom and waited. /~ Wh...What is it, Aibou? ', this was strange. His darker half was had a stutter in his speech. And that rarely, almost never, occurred. Something must’ve happened while he’d been sleeping and not been in control of his body... Concern rose up in him as he asked, //Are you alright, Yami? I was just wondering why you ‘left’ so quickly and...It’s almost time for Dinner. I don’t think that I’ll be comfortable around all those...Well, ‘classy’ people.// Since Yami had been Pharaoh, Yuugi had figured that he was more comfortable and used to be around such ‘important’ and ‘upper class’ people, than he was. He was afraid to do something wrong and embarrass himself, as well as Yami, in the process. Yuugi just didn’t want people to think... Bad of him or his other half. And he knew that Yami would like to be regarded as someone equal to them, instead of something of a ‘lover rank’ who was only around because of a conscience. Before he’d went into his Soulroom completely, he’d noticed a few people in the VIP – Lounge who, judging by their behavior, were not Duelists. And earlier on, he’d noticed a sign saying that only special departments of the ship were for Duelists only and that others were free for public. Meaning, that this was just a normal Cruise Ship going somewhere and just happened to stop wherever the Tournament would take place.

Reluctantly, Yami opened the door to his Soulroom, facing his Aibou. /~ Ok...I...I’ll do it. If it makes you feel better...? ' As if he wasn’t feeling very, very uneasy himself already. But he had to put his Aibou’s wishes in front of his own. He owed Yuugi that much for...Well, sharing a body with him, for being alive once again. The bright, golden light emitting from the Puzzle indicated the switch and Yami opened his eyes to look at his image in the mirror. The dark pants hugged his legs and the silk shirt was revealing but not too much. Just the right amount you could say.

Only the Puzzle stood out a bit from the rest but that was a necessity. He was used to it already, having worn the ancient item back in Egypt and so was Yuugi, since he’d solved it and worn it constantly ever since. And it wasn’t as if they didn’t stand out enough already because of their spiky and strangely colored hair. /My hair is my hair and nobody else’s business. I could tell them to look at themselves first before criticizing anybody else./, gathering his confident and smug air around him again to cover the embarrassment and uneasiness he really felt, he made sure he had his most important belongings with him before exiting his suite and making his way down to the Restaurant, hoping that he wouldn’t bump into Kaiba again, even though a part of him knew, that it was impossible to not do so because everybody would be present at Dinner. At least the Duelists. An opening speech would be held to explain further Details of the Tournament and the Journey.

/I hope there are free seat arrangements.../, he’d really like to sit with his group of friends but the question was, if they were allowed to do so. Yami knew from his past as a Pharaoh, that upper class people were really picky about who was sitting with them. He’d always detested this trait as had his High Priest both having rather enjoyed the company of ‘normal people’ outside the Palace in their childhood, when they’d snuck out occasionally to venture into the outside World.

A distinct feeling of sadness swept over him. /I promised not to forget you...Yet I can’t remember your face anymore...I’m sorry I broke my promise to you.../,sighsighed and nodded his thanks to the two ‘guards’ opening the door to the Restaurant for him and he stepped into the brightly lit room.


There were two levels. One for the VIP – Guests and one for the normal people. Currently, he was standing on what looked like a balcony, looming over the ‘normal people area’, facing a stage. He supposed that the speech would be held up there. /Well...Looks like I really can’t sit together with the others, then. Since they are down there...And I’m up here.../, he let out another sigh and wandered around the tables, looking for his name on the ‘occupants lists’, next to the decors. He finally discovered it on the list of a table labeled ‘Duelists’ and under a name, he’d dreaded to be there as well. ‘Seto Kaiba’. The other names he couldn’t recognize. But he’d meet them soon anyway so he just sat down at the table and waited. He wasn’t alone for long bse ose only a few minutes later a familiar mop of brown hair moved towards him, the owner of said hair towering over most of the other guests being rather tall for both his age and origin. Yami fidgeted with the rim of his shirt.

//You’re nervous, Yami...What’s wrong?//, Yuugi’s voice spoke up in his head, providing a welcomed distraction from the taller youth. /~ It’s been long since I’ve been to a gathering like this. I think I’m not used to it anymore...But don’t worry. I’ll survive. ', well he seriously hoped he would. And his confidence level was dropping rapidly when he looked up, only to meet Kaiba’s eyes and noticed, what the other was wearing. The brown-haired CEO had switched his white trench coat for a dark, burgundy red one with long sleeves. Underneath, he wore a black silk shirt and matching black pants.

For a split second, Yami swore he’en aen a strange flash of gold under the trench coat and he touched his Puzzle. It was warm. No...He scolded himself mentally. Kaiba didn’t have a Millenium Item. He couldn’t have one. They were in his and Yuugi’s possession. Well, most of them anyway. Weren’t they? He put those thoughts aside quickly and gave Kaiba the smuggest grin he could muster at this moment but he was fighting hard against the blush which threatened to crawl up into his cheeks because 1.) the previous incident in the suite and 2.) Kaiba looked very, very handsome in his outfit.


Said CEO was also having a hard time containing a blush but he succeeded in giving Yami one of his custom glares, before settling down in the chair next to the smaller Duelist. He wondered how Yami could stay so calm in this situation whereas he, Seto ‘Icy’ Kaiba was having a hard time controlling his facial expression and feelings. He didn’t notice Yami fidgeting with his Puzzle and his shirt at that moment because his attention was turned towards the other side of the table where a small group of people had arrived and Seto moaned inwardly. Snobs. He could already tell from the way they dressed and the looks in their eyes. To top it off...A bunch of giggling girls. The sort of ‘Duelists’ who only had the minimal necessary knowledge on Duel Monsters and were just dueling because there were a few handsome guys around. He’d experienced it first hand already and judging from Yami’s horrified look, the other teen had as well. /The share of female customers at the shop must’ve risen since he became popular.../, he mused. Seto himself had the same problem whenever he was at Kaiba Land to check the games and machines and install new ones from time to time.


An elderly looking woman, obviously very overdressed, sat down next to the brown-haired teen, batting her eyelashes and smiling at him. “So you’re Seto Kaiba...The young CEO of Kaiba Corporation and one of the Top Duelists in the World...My daughter admires you and she started to Duel because of you...” Kaiba had to fight down the feeling of nausea when he smelled the perfume which lingered around the woman like an oversized cloud. He swore he could almost see it there. Fighting down the urge to retch he nodded politely and said, “I’m glad that I can motivate others to start dueling and I’m always looking forward to duel them sometime because new opponents are also a new challenge.” Even though most of ‘these’, namely the girls, were always rather poor Duelists as explained before. His eyes darted over to Yami for a second. /You are and will always be my only one...Truly worthy...Eternal Rival./ And he doubted, that this fact would ever change.


Watching this short exchange from where he was sitting, next to Kaiba, Yami to to admire Seto’s way of dealing with this kind of situations. But the former Ruler of Egypt didn’t have much time to do so because he saw that problems were approaching. Literally, in form of a group of girls. /Just what I need right now...Why me?/, he sent a prayer to Ra, who, in Yami’s opinion, had a very twisted sense of humor and seemed to like to torture him today, wouldn’t help at all and so he found himself being surrounded by three, extremly flashy, girls. Inside of his mind, he felt Yuugi panicking and hiding himself in his Soulroom. Great, even his Aibou had let him alone.

Well, he didn’t have a choice, did he? So, time to deal with it, with them. “Hi Ladies...What can I do for you?”, he asked in his usual tone, still hiding the nervousness behind his smug mask. A fit of giggles was his only answer until one of the girls put her hand onto his arm. “You must be Yuugi, right? Are you really the King of Games? We saw you on TV ones...Playing against Duke Devlin...”, oh there was the wind coming from! A plan to escape from this situation formed in his mind. “You don’t know?s hes here today...I mean, Duke Devlin. Look! Over there he is! Talking with Mr. Pegasus!”, he wt sut surprised he’d see the ravenhaired teen talk with the silverhaired man sometime but this was a welcomed conscience. The girls took his bait and ran over, nearly tackle-glomping the poor green-eyed teen in the process. Yami let out an inaudible sigh. He was save. Well, for the moment.


“Smug, little coward.”, Seto murmured, having fended off the women now himself. Yami shot him a dirty look, “Better be a coward than having your nerves ruined. Don’t you agree, *Mr.* Kaiba?” He emphasized the ‘Mr.’ to give his speech a more mocking tone. The other joined in to his game, “But what will you do without your Fangirls, oh King of Games? Won’t you be terribly lonely? Oh no, wait! You still have your personal ‘cheering squad’. Consisting of a dog, a guy with strange hair and yet another annoying Fangirl...” He didn’t mention Duke or Serenity because he got along with or or was at least on a somewhat neutral basis with them. Grinning, he noticed that Yami’s eyebrow had started to twitch. The Gameking couldn’t deny what he’d just said. Gooood!

Yami was cursing r hir his breath. /Damn you Kaiba! Damn you, damn you damn you!, he couldn’t think up a counter argument because...Kaiba WAS right. Joey, well he couldn’t say anything because of the incident this afternoon. Tristan, he had to admit it. The guy HAD strange hair. Not that he would be the one to talk but at least his spikes looked good. As for Tea...Yes, she was annoying. The speeches about friendship were making it even worse. “Ra damned bastard...”, he muttered in defeat.

Ra. There ‘he’ was again. /Why does he seem to follow me today?/, Seto’s grip on the rod, he hadn’t realized he was gripping at all, tightened. As if his hand had just been drawn to it. Then it hit him, /Wait a second...Yuugi used it...But.../ His own mind corrected him once again. /Yami. Stop denying it Seto, you knew since you first dueled him that there was something ‘strange’ about him. That he changed every time he would step onto the platform or activate his Duel Disc./ No, that couldn’t be! He didn’t believe in that ‘magic’ crap. ... Great, now he was arguing with himself.


//Hey Yami...You don’t seem so nervous anymore.//, Yuugi appeared next to him and Yami looked up at his Aibou from his sitting position. /~ Huh? Oh...Now that you say it... ' ic, ic, how Kaiba had been to one to make him that nervous in the first place and at the same time be the one to calm him down again. //But now...Tell me... WHY were you so nervous in the first place? It had something to do with Kaiba-kun, ne? Don’t lie to me, Yami because I know you!//, the smaller youth ‘poked’ Yami mentally, something very painful. Imagine you’re hit with a giant mallet. Then you get the feeling. [4]

Of course, Yami surrendered rather quickly. /~ Yes, it has something to do with Kaiba! But I can’t place my finger on that feeling... These feelings. Right now, I still have the feeling that he’s in possession of a Millenium Item but that is impossible because all of them, except Bakura’s Ring, are in our possession, aren’t they? You didn’t check, did you? ', he looked at his Light questioningly. //Well, Shadi would tell us if there was a disturbance, wouldn’t he? And as long as he doesn’t suddenly appear again, everything should be alright. Or am I mistaken?// The former Pharaoh had to admit, that the young one had a point there and so he relaxed visibly in his chair. /~ Guess you’re right, Aibou. I shouldn’t worry so much. But...So much has happened in the last weeks...Months...Years? Or do you remember a quiet and peaceful period ever since you solved the Puzzle? Because I don’t. '

Silence. Yuugi seemed to think about what Yami had just said and came to the conclusion, //Life wouldn’t be fun if nothing haed, ed, ne? But you’re right. A little bit of quality time wouldn’t be bad once in a while. Perhaps after this Tournament is over? I mean, we can quit any upcoming ones if you don’t feel like dueling or something. I wouldn’t mind either. Neither of us has slept enough as of late. I know you’re always awake and watching me during the night...Don’t deny it.//

Before Yami could say anything else, the lights dimmed and the stage was lit. /Time for the opening speech it seems./, Yami turned a bit to get a better look at whoever would be talking to them. He doubted, that their host would talk to them. /He’ll use the element of surprise I guess...Because he indicated that he knew me in the invitation. So he’d run the danger I’d recognize him too early./, Yami didn’t know why or how he knew it. He just did.

After a while, when the room was absolutely silent, a tall man, dressed in a pristine white uniform stepped onto the stage. It was CapiCapitain of the ‘Lady Mizuno’ or Lady of Water, how it’d – or she, because ships are always female - be called in English. “Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Capitain Jonathan Kudo and I welcome you on this cruise on the Lady Mizuno from Domino to Hawaii with a short stop on ‘Nidanuka Duelist Island[5]’ where the Duel Monsters Tournament will be held. We will notify the Duelists on Board when you should prepare for leaving this ship. The Selection Rounor tor the Tournament will be tomorrow. Since every Duelists should have a portable Duel Disc there shouldn’t be a question as to where the Duels will take place. But I’ll have to ask you to avoid stepping into the way of our guests. Thank you very much and enjoy your journey and dinner now.”, loud applause filled the room and the Capitain left the stage.

Concerning the Duelists, this speech was a bit disappointing because of the lack of Details for the Tournament itself but this was something nobody could change right now. They just had to accept it and wait for the arrival on ‘Nidanuka’ Island for more information.


Dinner itself proceeded very uneventfully and when it ended, Yami sought the refuge of his room to avoid another meeting with unwanted people. And, as Yuugi had pointed out before, he lacked sleep. He hadn’t slept more than a few hours in the last three or four weeks. Since i’s i’s Soul had been taken away from him he’d become more protective of his Aibou than before. /~ Aibou? I’m going to rest for a while in my Soulroom. Are you ok with that? ', he asked sily,ily, settling himself on the bed. Yuugi nodded and took over again. //You don’t have to ask, Yami. Just get some rest, will you? I’ll handle everything myself. And I might as well get a bit more sleep.//

With this matter taken care of, the former Pharaoh went into his Soulroom and let his mind drift into the relaxing state of rest and sleep. Yuugi too, was preparing to go to bed. He smiled at the thought of sleeping in tomorrow. Nobody would wake him. His Jii-chan was in Domino, his friends wouldn’t be able to come up here either and he doubted that Kaiba would wake him up except he intended to do so for whatever reason. //Good Night, Yami...//

Said CEO had also literally fled to his Suite after Dinner before any of the girls or women around him could approach him and ask him more of those silly questions he’d had to answer during the dinner already. He’d excused himself and ran down the hall towards his room when he’d been out of sight. Now he slumped onto his bed, having taken off his coat and flung it onto a nearby chair. /I hope this was the only meal we had to take together with the rest...I don’t think I can take more of this./, he put down the Millenium and and was about to prepare himself for bed when he heard something from the room next to his. There was...A Shadow behind the curtain. But it was not Yuugi. The figure was too tall to be his fellow Duelist. And...

His eyes caught a gleam in the faint moonlight. A knife! His mind registered a raised knife and...Dear Lord, Yuugi was sleeping! Was that guy about to... “Yuugi!”, he dashed forward, yelling the others name but before he reached the curtain he saw how the knife went down and...

To be continued...


[1] – I have a fable for nice cars...Can you tell?

[2] – But I don’t know anything about their technology... Well... As good as nothing.

[3] – (I lost one of my footnotes... Whoever finds it...Can keep it! Or ask for an explanation... Well I made a second one so sue me!) I SAID soin the Disclaimer, didn’t I? SPOILER! For the Doom Saga follow up of the Battle City Arc (which int interrupted by the Noah Arc)...

[4] – In honor of one of my favorite Fanfics (Weiß Kreuz) Noat Iat I’m one to talk about stuff like that anyway. I mean, Psy-Powers etc.

[5] – This Island doesn’t really exist. I made it up. Place it somewhere between Japan and Hawaii.


~*~*~

Cliffhanger! I know, I’m evil...A lot of people have told me so already. But if you want to you can do it too. I don’t mind. *g* Well, like every author does at this point, please read and review if you want to see this story continued ONLINE. Otherwise I’ll just write it for my friends and send it to via via email or ICQ or just as a simple, old, letter. On PAPER! Yes!

Thank you for the (at this point) 2 Reviews after I posted the Prologue! I was very happy. ^^ This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfic by the way. The first I’ve ever written and liked! Woow!

So...I think I’ll continue with the second chapter later today. Hope you enjoyed this one! I try to make the chapters as long as possible to compensate with the (perhaps) rather long waits between chapters. I’m still a student with not soo much time at hand...


S-chan (aka ShadowAndromedar)