The hum of the Duel Disks wound down as the monsters vanished from the streets. In the gleam of the morning sunlight stood two opponents. One a short youth with spiky hair and the other with brown hair. The sun hit the streets and the short one spoke. "Good game Jou-kun. You won."

Walking over to Jounouchi, he took a card from his deck and handed it to him. "As promised, your Red Eyes Black Dragon."

"Thanks Yugi, this means a lot," said Jounouchi as he added his Red Eyes to the depths of the duel deck.

Yugi nodded as the brilliant sunlight hit their faces. "Lets go, Jou-kun. It's a new day."

Time Left Unspent

written by Shaun Garin

Kazuki Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh.

Battle 01 : The One Who Succeeds Yugi

"School break is almost over," remarked Jounouchi as he and Yugi sat on the edge of the riverbank. The pair were throwing stones into the river, watching the ducks swim by. "One more term and it'll be second year of high school."

"Mmm," said Yugi thoughtfully as his hand brushed against the disk that still was wrapped around his own arm and Jounouchi's.

"Something bugging you, Yugi?" asked Jounouchi as he stretched his long legs out in front of himself.

"Just thinking," said Yugi as he reached into his backpack and held up a gleaming golden scepter into the light. Jounouchi blinked twice.

"The Millennium Rod," said Jounouchi. "Don't tell me that you're carrying around all of them in the same bag?"

Sheepishly, Yugi nodded as he reached into it and pulled out two more items. The Millennium Tauk and the dangerous Millennium Ring. It was not the Ring that was so dangerous but rather the spirit who inhabited its' halls. "I keep them on me just in case someone tries to break into the house and steal them."

"It's the God Cards that I'd think someone would try and steal," remarked Jounouchi. "Don't tell me you're carrying those too."

"I am actually," said Yugi. "Grandpa wants to sell them."

Jou made a chuckling sound in his throat as Yugi pulled out the three cards and peered at them. "So much trouble for three cards. Pegasus never really knew what he was doing when he made them did he?"

"I'm sure he did, but there was an ever looming presence of danger," said Jou with a wrinkle of his nose. "They're powerful but you need to earn their respect before you can wield a God."

"Yeah, you can't exactly give them to someone and let them use it properly." Yugi sighed as he picked up the Millennium Tauk in the other hand. "I wish we could see what was to come."

"Forget about it," said Jounouchi flippantly. "The future isn't written in stone. I'd like to see into the past."

"Oh? What would you like to see?" asked Yugi curiously.

"Like during class A-1 back a few years ago. I'd like to really see if it was Honda putting stuff down Anzu's shirt. I got blamed for that." Jou smirked. "Or maybe look into the early days. Just me and you fighting for what we believed in during Duelist Kingdom."

"Yeah," said Yugi with a smile as he held up the Tauk. "I wish we could see those days again."

Suddenly without warning, the Tauk flared and the other items flared in resonance to Yugi's wish. Jounouchi backed up a bit. "That's not good."

Then, the God Cards flared and in a twist of yellow, blue and red, the pair vanished from the riverbank, leaving nothing but the bent grass.

"Jounouchi! Jounouchi!"

"Merph, two more minutes dad..." grumbled Jounouchi. Yugi sighed and kicked him in the back of the head. "OW! What was that for?"

"You didn't get up," said Yugi in a matter-of-fact voice.

Jounouchi rubbed the back of his head and glared at his best friend. "When did you turn into such a wiseass?"

Yugi stuck his tongue out at him as Jounouchi got up and dusted off his clothing. "Where are we?"

"It looks familiar," said Yugi as he cast a glance around the trees and underbrush. "Very familiar."

Jounouchi pushed aside several tree branches and crashed through the underbrush. "Lets get outta this thicket so we can see something!"

The pair slogged through the underbrush, clothing and disks and bags catching on the branches until daylight broke through the trees. Emerging from the last part of the forest, Jounouchi whistled. "There's the sea. Where?"

A sharp intake of air. "Jou-kun! Look behind us!"

Jounouchi turned and his eyes widened. "Duelist Kingdom! That's Pegasus' castle!"

Sure enough the castle of the wealthy and eccentric man loomed overhead and shining in the sunlight as it was built anew. The whole island spread out before them and Jounouchi whistled. "This is nuts! How did we end up here?"

"I think it was magic," said Yugi as he looked through the pile of Millennium Items in his bag. "There was a lot of magic all together and when I said I wish we could see the first days..."

"We ended up here," said Jounouchi. "So we're in the past?"

Yugi shrugged. "Could be. Or we were transported here. Either way, we should set up camp."

Jounouchi blinked at the suggestion. "Why for? We can ask Pegasus for a lift home."

"If you don't remember, Pegasus wanted one of our souls," said Yugi blandly as he started to pick up firewood and rocks that would produce sparks. "And he's dead too."

"Eeesh! Right." Jounouchi stooped down and picked up some wood for a fire. "There's no telling how long till that boat arrives, if it ever does. If it doesn't, we'll have to really bum a ride off Pegasus if this IS the past."

"Shall I steal his soul?" asked Yugi and Jounouchi snorted in laughter.

"Fish, the only decent food on this island." Jounouchi munched on the fish as Yugi polished the items one by one. "Hey Yugi, are you going to carry around that bag all the time?"

"What do you mean?" asked Yugi as he set to cleaning the pair of Disks that had gotten dust onto the sensors. "We're in the middle of nowhere and I can't just leave them here."

"That's not it," said Jounouchi, swallowing his fish. "That's a lot of gold right there. And Pegasus hired some real nasties. I think I should carry a couple of them. If he finds out someone is carrying around items like that, it'll spell trouble."

"You have a point." Yugi spread out the items and looked them over. "There are three of them. The Rod, the Ring and the Tauk."

Jounouchi's brow furrowed as he picked up the Rod and the Ring. "I'll take these."

"But Jounouchi, the Other Bakura is in there," reasoned Yugi. "I could deal with him."

"No, I'd feel more comfortable with the other Bakura running around in my head than yours," said Jounouchi as he slipped it over his head and set the Rod to the side. "I had MALIK crawling around in there. I'm sure I can fight of Senor Psycho-bad. And I need a God Card."

Yugi blinked. "But Jounouchi, you have to EARN a God Card."

"I know. I won't use him, just keep it safe." At Yugi's questioning gaze, Jounouchi sighed. "I'd feel more comfortable if you were carrying around less magic than usual, Yugi. If some duelist finds you with a ton of Items and three God Cards, cards that could knock a Duelist on their back in three turns flat... well..."

"I see..." Yugi reached into his deck and pulled out a yellow card. "Take the God of Ra. You can't use it without the chant and I'm sure you haven't memorized it yet."

"I know some of it, being on the receiving end of it," said Jounouchi, rubbing his arms in memory. "And I know all of the effects of the God of Ra if ever push comes to shove."

"Take care of it," said Yugi as he handed it to Jounouchi. "And don't forget that a God has to be earned and not used lightly. I don't want to see you get hurt because I gave you Ra instead of you winning it."

"I will, Yugi." said Jounouchi as he tucked the card away into his deck.

"Breakfast is served," said Jounouchi as he set down a pile of berries. "It's the best I can do right now."

Yugi nodded absently as he popped a few into his mouth. Checking his watch, Yugi sighed. "The boat is due to arrive in a half an hour."

"Nervous?" said Jounouchi. "Don't be. We'll just keep out of sight until all our problems are solved and we can go home."

"Thanks," said Yugi. Casting a glance against the golden object that hung around Jounouchi's neck, he said, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," said Jounouchi. "He hasn't stirred yet. I haven't felt it."

"All right. Just don't let him take control. There's no telling what could feasibly happen."

Jounouchi nodded and the pair ate breakfast in relative silence.

The hour struck thirty minutes later and a ships horn wailed from the beach. Jounouchi looked up and said, "They're here."

"Yeah," said Yugi as he stood up and placed his Disk into the bag. Putting the Tauk around his neck, he looked over at Jounouchi who was placing the rod on his belt and putting the Disk on his arm. "Are you going to wear that while out there?"

"Don't think anyone will notice much," said Jounouchi with a shrug. "Besides, I have this feeling we'll be trailing our younger selves."

"Duelist intuition?"

"A hunch."

The pair shared a chuckle and they headed out to mingle with the crowd as unobtrusively as possible.

Unobtrusively was something Yugi was beginning to regret. It was DAMN hard keeping Jounouchi from doing a very obvious "Secret spy" maneuver. Then again, Jounouchi could be as subtle as a Sherman tank is to discretion.

Yugi had to pull Jounouchi away from where he was peering over a group of younger duelists shoulders in a very suspicious manner. "Unobtrusive my butt," he grumbled, yanking on Jounouchi's ears.

Jounouchi pulled away and rubbed his ear. "Ow. Hey, there's us."

Yugi looked over and grinned. "Was I ever that short before?"

"You're still short. Just grown a little since then," replied Jounouchi.

Yugi checked his watch and said, "We have thirty minutes before the opening spiel. We should watch ourselves from the cover of the bushes."

"Right," said Jounouchi as they split from the main group who were streaming up the large stairway to the castle.

Anzu looked over and blinked as she saw a familiar crown of hair and a tall blonde slip from the group and scurry off towards the bushes. "Huh?"

"Something wrong, Anzu?" asked Honda.

"I thought I saw Yugi and Jounouchi running off," she said.

Honda scratched his head. "I dunno, they're up front, remember?"

Anzu sighed. "I must just be tired."

She didn't get halfway up the stairs before seeing Bakura Ryou standing behind a group of trees. After looking back, he was not there. 'Now I KNOW I'm going crazy.'

"There, half for me, half for you," said Jounouchi, fishing the star chips out of his wallet. "We should secure a glove just in case."

"I don't think so," said Yugi with a shake of his head. "The gloves would just draw attention to ourselves."

Jounouchi held up his arm with the Duel Disk on it. "You mean like these oversized watches? Yugi, we're going to stand out no matter WHAT we do."

Yugi sighed. But before he could speak, the Start Buzzer rang. "So what are we going to do?"

"First off, you go and watch yourself for any problems. I'm gonna scout around." said Jounouchi.

"All right. Be careful."

Flashing a thumbs up, Jounouchi headed off through the bushes.

"So far, so good," remarked Jounouchi to himself as he looked around the fields. Many duelists had already gotten started on their duels including the ones he typically faced in any major competition.

Suddenly Jounouchi felt a stirring. And then the voice of Bakura welled upwards.

"Mutt... where is Ryou?" the voice snarled.

"Keep your pants on," Jounouchi growled. "There's a big problem."

"Whatever it is, it can wait. And I see you have another Millennium Item with you." A sharp gasp and a sinister chuckle. "And a God Card. I'll just take control right now!"

Jounouchi slammed backwards mentally, getting a stream of curses from Bakura. "I don't think so," he growled. "This isn't the time."

"Fool, it is ALWAYS the time," growled Bakura.

"Not in my head and body you're not," snapped Jounouchi. I'm watching over you, bastard. You do ANYTHING without me knowing and I will be pitching this ring into the middle of the ocean."

A long pause. "You wouldn't."

"I would," said Jounouchi. "Here's something to keep you entertained." With that, he slammed the door on Bakura with the image of Pegasus in a Chicken Suit.

Bakura cried out in horror as the door was sealed.

"Cluck, cluck," remarked Jounouchi as he wandered out of the thicket. He didn't get five steps before getting a yell directed in his direction.

"Hey! Yeah, you!" Jounouchi looked over at a small girl that looked remarkably similar to Rebecca. Although the last time he had seen her, she was carrying a teddy bear and had a dirty mouth. This girl had blonde hair going to her neck and carried a glove. "I want to play you!"

Jounouchi blinked with an internal "Uh oh." He recomposed himself and said, "Me?"

"Yeah, you!" She held up her hand with the glove on it. She already sported three star chips. "I challenge you to a duel! How many star chips do you have?"

Jounouchi sweated and then sighed. "Five." Lying would just get him into MORE trouble.

The girl gaped. "Wow, you must be strong! All right then! Right here, right now!"

"Hey, you're kinda pushy, ain'tcha?" remarked Jounouchi.

"I'm American, I can afford to be. Samantha Wylde! And you are?"

This is where Jounouchi sweated. He couldn't give out his real name with everyone focusing on his younger self. Not with him being railroaded into dueling like this. And this girl didn't look like she knew how to take no for an answer. "Jou... Joey. Joey Wheeler." Inwardly he grimaced. Wheeler? What kinda stupid last name was that?

"All right, Wheeler. You, me, now."

In response, a duel stadium emerged from the ground, one previously unused. "C'mon Wheeler. If you're not AFRAID that is."

Jounouchi bristled at the remark. No one had called him a chicken since his early days! Cept for Haga and Ryuusaki but that was besides the point. He jumped onto the machine and cried, "You're on!"

Examining the machine, Jounouchi removed his Duel Disk and set it to the side. 'Kaiba probably didn't program it for Duelist Kingdom Rules.'

"C'mon, I haven't got all day!" exclaimed Samantha as she placed her deck down.

"I'm going, I'm going."

"DUEL!"

"I'll take the first go!" exclaimed Samantha as she drew her hand and the first draw. "And I summon Ruiz, sign of attack!"

The small Ruiz appeared on the field, chattering. "Ruiz gets a source power bonus from the plains on the field!"

Jounouchi grumbled. "Hate those source bonuses." Drawing, Jounouchi examined his hand. And then grinned. "No sacrifice..."

"C'mon, I haven't got all day!" exclaimed the girl hotly.

Jounouchi grinned widely. "You asked for it! Android Psycho Shocker, attack position!"

The large android appeared on the field and Jounouchi pointed at the Ruiz. "Attack the Ruiz!"

The Ruiz exploded in a flash of light as her life points dropped like a rock from 2000 to 1200. Jounouchi then set a card face down and ended his turn.

The girl grimaced as she summoned another monster, this one face down on the field. "Go," she said.

'No Direct Attacks. Damn it,' Jounouchi thought to himself. 'Summoning another monster is pointless then.' He then set another card on the magic field and ordered his Psycho Shocker to attack.

The face down Sound Maiden was blown away. Monster after monster was wiped out by his Psycho Shocker as Jounouchi sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Boy, I never knew how slow it goes."

"Damnit, fight me for real!" exclaimed the girl, having doing nothing but setting her monsters in defense position. She set another and folded her arms angrily.

Jounouchi looked at his field. Despite the full field of five monsters and five magic cards, he wasn't doing much except for tapping his fingers on the side. "Well this would be over if I could attack directly," he growled as he tossed another monster to the graveyard.

Other duelists were watching the hideously one-sided battle and mutterings of "He's got too strong of a deck" were running wild through the group.

"How can a guy like you have a deck like this?" exclaimed Samantha angrily. "You have monsters nearly as strong as the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Jounouchi sighed as he palmed his face. "Because I can. Forget this. I'll just finish this now." Flipping over his Stop Defense magic card, the face down monster flipped into attack position. She gasped as it was her Skull Servant, a rather weak monster.

"HEY!" she exclaimed in shock.

In a tired and bored voice, Jounouchi said, "Sorry kid for the trouble. Attack!"

In a blast of light, the duel was over.

Samantha slumped to the floor of the platform. "I can't believe I lost so badly..."

"Hey, kid." Jounouchi said, coming over to her side. "I wasn't planning on dueling anyhow. You can keep your star chips. I don't need them."

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" she exclaimed hotly.

"What? Well, I suppose so..."

"Then you're not!" shouted Samantha. "You have a deck so strong, it belongs with the top duelists in the country! I haven't even HEARD of you before!"

Jounouchi sighed as he looked at the deck in his hands. "I suppose by your standards, it IS too strong. Maybe I should keep to myself."

Crouching down, he helped the girl stand up. "Look, I didn't mean to demoralize you like that. You just kinda railroaded me into dueling you. My deck is built around a different set of rules, which means I have a ton of magic, trap and monster cards all mixed in together. I can't help it if I have a bigger edge than most people."

Samantha looked at him and scowled. "You're not making me feel any better."

"I know. I'm kinda bad at it." Jounouchi scratched his head. "Sorry kid, I didn't mean to give you a rough time."

"Hmph. Whatever. Look Wheeler, I'm sticking by you until I can beat you."

"Say WHAT!"

Samantha gave him a glare. "From this day forward, you are my rival! I'm gonna follow you to the ends of the earth before I can beat you down in a REAL duel!"

Jounouchi sweatdropped. "Oh boy."

Yugi took a sip of clean water before sighing to himself. News of Jounouchi's insane one-sided duel had reached him via a group of kids. Only Jounouchi would maim his name like that just to try and remain anonymous.

Looking through his deck, Yugi had to admit that it was built for Battle City. In a deck environment at Duelist Kingdom, he could easily get out all of his strongest monsters without sacrificing. Even the God Cards. And with the increased mix of magic, trap and monsters, it was more than likely that he himself would not get any sort of challenge from over ninety percent of the duelists on the island.

Sighing, Yugi left his post and headed towards the beach, not noticing Bakura staring at him from within the trees.