Ichigo felt like shit, but at least all the running was almost over. Jounouchi was a shoo-in for the last spot, no one else was as close and Kaitou had little interest after the idiot with the scepter had tried to use it on Ryou and didn't understand the words 'back off', even when confronted by a very territorial 5,000 year old spirit who had zero hesitation stabbing someone who generally annoyed him.

Ichigo had promptly given him a list of names and pictures of people from the Soul Society he could care less if Kaitou stabbed, people he would be annoyed with if he did stab, and people who were simply too much of a hassle to stab if he ran into them.

He had never seen Shirosaki laugh so hard in his life, and even Zangetsu found it hilarious.

Besides, if he were in the tournament then he couldn't ogle Orihime from the sidelines. And watching her was generally entertaining for any hotblooded male. Especially whenever Orihime fell into one of her spastic daydreams that generally lasted a minute or two.

As Ichigo could attest, having seen it in action while bored, she could be very entertaining to listen to, even if trying to follow her mental process to that conclusion could make a logical man cry in less than five minutes.

Kaiba put up with her oddity because to be honest, she was the most normal of the oddballs currently on the dueling circuit next to Mai that he might regularly deal with.

Besides, as Ichigo had pointed out she was good eye candy and might boost the number of serious female duelists which was sadly lacking.

Mai made was a good idol for the women who wanted to be taken seriously, and Orihime was a good example that just because you were pretty and had a big bust didn't mean you couldn't duel with the big shots like Kaiba.

Kaiba actually looked speculative about that idea, and was seriously considering an ad campaign involving both as a way to boost the number of women duelists. Odds were Mai would probably love it.

Then Ichigo got a call from a frantic Honda. Something about the scepter-carrying-moron having brainwashed Jounouchi (who had gotten his last locator card shortly before, and was promptly registered accordingly the moment he won) and forcing him to duel Yugi.

The moment he said where this duel was happening and that Anzu had somehow gotten kidnapped and was now being held hostage as 'incentive', Ichigo knew what to do.

He called Shirosaki and told him to bring ear plugs once he reached Anzu. He would rescue her while Ichigo made sure Jounouchi's sister Shizuka didn't end up as part of the 'hostages' since she had just arrived in town ten minutes earlier and was still waiting for her brother.

"Mokuba, do you want to come with or do you want to watch Kaitou yell at people?"

"Kaitou, if only because I know he'll stab anyone stupid enough to kidnap me," said Mokuba after thinking about it. Odds were Ichigo would be preoccupied and this way he could show the thief where the finals were being held without any casualties.

Ichigo promptly left Mokuba with thief...and if Mokuba happened to learn the fine art of picking locks and slipping knots...well Ichigo had someone to blame. Besides, considering Mokuba had a bad history of being kidnapped it was a useful skill set to have.

Shizuka was worried. Her brother should have been waiting for her at the station.

She could hear panting as something skidded to a stop...did he ride a bike here?

"Are you Shizuka?" the person asked. That was definitely not her brother.

"I am."

"Your brother's in a bit of a mess. Some idiot with mind control powers is forcing him to duel his friend near the docks, and he couldn't come to pick you up. Since I want to avoid having you turn into an extra hostage, I offered to come get you instead."

"...What?"

That sounded way too weird even for her.

The boy sighed.

"I know it sounds crazy, but unfortunately Domino seems to have attracted a bunch of super-powered nut jobs who are obsessed with Duel Monsters. I'm sure your brother will explain it better once I've snapped him out of it, or his friends will."

"How do I know I can trust you?" asked Shizuka.

"If I can get Hiroto Honda on the phone will you believe me?" he asked.

Honda was one of the few friends her brother had that she actually knew. Or their voice anyway.

Shizuka nodded, and there was the sound of a phone calling someone. She heard the other's voice speaking to someone before a cell phone was put in her hand.

Once she heard Honda confirm what he had told her, she believed him.

"How are we going to reach the other end of town though?"

She could practically hear the smirk.

"Quick question...you're not afraid of roller coasters or high-speed rides are you?"

"Not particularly, but it became less fun when I started to loose my sight."

She felt herself being put on something warm, not very soft and breathing. It took her a few moments to realize the unknown person had put her on his back. She promptly wrapped her arms around his neck in shock, hoping he wouldn't drop her.

"Hold on tight. You're about to experience the same thing Mokuba did while I was playing taxi for the past week," he warned her.

There was a burst of speed and she could hear the sound of cars and shocked voices as they raced past. Just from the wind alone she knew they were going faster than any bike she had ever heard of. And from the sound alone, she had the distinct feeling they were completely ignoring multiple traffic laws in the process.

In practically no time at all, she could hear the sounds of the docks. Strangely, she felt disappointed that the entire thing was over.

Ichigo took one look at the entire mechanism and grimaced. That was a nightmare to deal with even on a good day, and according to Honda the winner would be released and the loser sent swimming with a heavy chain attached.

Not on his watch.

There was one thing Ichigo hadn't tried, primarily because he didn't really have the energy for it, but Mokuba had called to tell him that once they were done dueling they should head to the finals, which meant no more high-speed running.

It also meant he had called Orihime to head to their location, just in case they had to do an emergency healing. Ichigo could guess who told her what was happening when she showed up ten minutes after he did.

Ichigo looked at her with a serious expression.

"If this doesn't work do you think your fairies are up to task?" he asked.

Orihime didn't need to ask questions. This was the leader Ichigo at the moment and she could already see she had to do a little healing anyway from the bandages on the girl's face. Best to save her energy though. She nodded.

Ichigo smiled, and took out Zangetsu. Seeing the stance he then took, Orihime's eyes widened in recognition as she backed away very quickly. Honda took her hint and did the same, bringing Shizuka with him.

"Ban...kai!"

The energy that soul reapers and hollows used, reitsu, had never fully recovered from the shock Ichigo had given his system. And it wouldn't recover for another month if he were lucky.

However ever since Pegasus hit Ichigo with his shadow magic (thus freeing Shirosaki to act on his own, albeit weaker than before since he was also recovering from the battle in Karakura with Aizen) the two sides had been drawing from an alternative, although just as dangerous power source.

The shadow realm.

The amount of shadow magic one could draw from that realm was equal to the strength of one's mind and soul. For people like Yugi and Ryou, who drew from their darker selves, it made them dangerous opponents against others with similar abilities.

For someone like Ichigo, who was born with an abnormally high amount of reitsu courtesy of being a soul reaper captain's son in a human body, and who spent nearly two years training his soul to match that of the likes of Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Ulquiorra Cifer and Aizen... he wasn't dangerous, he was practically god level on his own.

And he would only grow in strength once his soul fully recovered from expending all the energy he had in his body to defeat Aizen. It wasn't gone, it was just waiting for his body to recover.

His power right now was at a trickle...once his ability recovered, it would be more appropriate to call it a flood that could wipe out towns.

When the smoke cleared away, where Ichigo had been standing in his bodyguard's outfit, was now a dark cloaked figure in samurai outfit with a long black katana that had a short chain at the end.

In a single blink the moment Ichigo took a step, it was all over.

The chains binding the Pharaoh and Jounouchi to the rigging above them were cut into pieces too small to use again, and the amount of weight on them dropped drastically.

Ichigo released his technique once he was sure they wouldn't end up dragged into the ocean once the duel was over.

However there was a drawback to drawing that much power all at once and then releasing it. Ichigo collapsed on one knee and started coughing up blood as a side effect of using shadow magic like that for the first time.

Orihime's hands flew to her hair pins.

"Sôten Kishun, I reject!"

Two fairies flew off her hair pins to create a shield around Ichigo. He could feel himself breath easier as the fairies healed him.

"Thanks Orihime."

Orihime's happy smile told him all he needed to know.

"I'm just glad you're not being pushed around by Rukia and the soul society anymore Ichigo."

In the end Yugi won, though if Ichigo hadn't destroyed most of the chains he would have let Jounouchi win.

As it was, it took a firm slap to the back of the head from Ichigo to break the mind control on him. Jounouchi was just glad his little sister had been picked up by Ichigo and not the jerk who forced him to duel Yugi.

Orihime then healed Shizuru's eyes so she could remove the bandages.

Jounouchi was just relieved his sister's first sight after having the surgery wasn't him being forced to duel his best friend.

Ichigo was about to leave with Orihime when he got a call.

"Ichigo. Yeah, it's been resolved. Okay, we'll wait."

"What's that about?" asked Yugi.

"In order to insure you two don't end up being kidnapped...again... or otherwise sabotaged Kaiba's sending a car to pick us up. All of us, since there are three finalists here and he wants to avoid a lawsuit."

Ichigo then turned to Orihime.

"He also wants to know if you'd be willing to have an exhibition match with Mai once this is over as a way to promote female duelists, since he's hoping you two would boost the number of girls in the international circuits that are serious competitors," said Ichigo.

"I don't see why not."

"Hold up, she's a serious duelist?" said Honda incredulous.

Orihime had a strange smile on her face.

"I'm currently the only female duelist able to give Mai Kujaku a run for her money," said Orihime.

It was Shizuru who recognized her before Ichigo could spoil Orihime's fun.

"Oh my gosh, are you Inoue Orihime, the Fairy Queen?"

As one, the others turned to look at her.

"I am."

"Can I have your autograph?"

Orihime tried very hard not to laugh at the disbelieving look on her brother's face.

"Of course you can. It's not often people as me for the autographs and not Mai."

"Sis...how do you know her?" asked Jounouchi carefully.

"You didn't think I wouldn't look up the who's who of duelists when I found out your new hobby did you?" said Shizuru sensibly. Besides, she liked fairies.

Ichigo snickered at the dumbstruck look on Jounouchi's face.

A very posh looking limo showed up near the dock district, and Ichigo gladly sat in the back. He had called Kaitou who would be bringing Mokuba with him.

They would be waiting at a small cafe where the food and drink was on the house...courtesy of Kaiba agreeing to pay the tab while they waited for the other finalists to arrive.

It was easier to make hungry duelist wait at a restaurant or cafe than it was to make them wait in the field Kaiba had bought specifically so they could have the blimp land long enough for everyone to get on board.

Orihime took Shizuka aside for some 'girl-talk' and Anzu had seen the looks both girls had shot a certain bodyguard.

Needless to say the friendship Otaku knew exactly what they were going to talk about and wanted nothing to do with it. She was more interested in Yugi...more specifically the taller, more regal Yugi that everyone simply called Yami.

"I noticed you were looking at Ichigo pretty intently."

Shizuru managed not to gulp, but there was something about Orihime that made you relax.

"You're not the first person to fall for him, and you won't be the last. The problem is he's either unbelievably dense or completely oblivious to girls for some reason. I know for a fact he's never been on a date and that he's never had a girlfriend."

"He hasn't?" said Shizuru in shock. Someone like Ichigo, kind, courageous and strong...someone should have snatched him up years ago!

"Which is why I'm proposing a way for both of us to get what we want. If Ichigo is that oblivious to one girl trying to snag him, imagine how hard it would be to remain blind with two attractive girls trying to get him together?"

At this point Orihime was fully prepared to share if it meant not losing Ichigo. Sharing him was better than never having him.

"Let me think about it," said Shizuru.

Nearby Anzu, who overheard the entire thing, snickered. Ichigo wouldn't know what hit him...two girls instead of one?

Jounouchi was sure to have a fit that his baby sister had a crush on Ichigo.