While he couldn't exactly understand everything he had to say, Kenta listened on earnestly to Joseph's tale. So it was gift, how touching. It made Kenta a little envious as his friends-Duelists or not-never really gave him a card, something that he would treasure as well. When Joseph had finished his little story he asked Kenta the same question he gave him earlier. The boy scratched the back of his head, trying to explain that his deck would be no match against Joseph's. But, after a while he finally gathered the courage to search his bag and show his deck. Pulling out the stack of cards, he handed it over to boy. "It...It's not much, but I use Gladiator Beasts! I always thought that...Beast-Warriors could use more...attention." Kenta scratched one of his cheeks and tried to avoid eye contact from Joseph, he just knows that his deck would lose in a manner of seconds compared to the other.

"It's more intuition at this point. My father played poker a lot, so I became adept at discerning reactions. Your face seemed a bit tense and your voice a little forced, so it was all a matter of putting two and two together." Fubuki stated, staring at Jack with cold eyes. "You can certainly drop your act now, correct?" Joseph took Kenta's deck from his hand and looked over it carefully. Gladiator Beasts, huh? That was an archetype he hadn't heard about in a while. "More attention? You've teched in two Tenki, which means you're already quite aware of how well Fire Fists have helped boost Beast-Warriors up in the standings. I would suggest running three to make drawing into it a bit more often, but..." Joseph mused to himself before returning the deck to Kenta. "It's a pretty strong rogue deck with the ability to recycle negation with Chariot, but I think you could add some more options with a Wolfbark tech and some more rank 4s. If you'd like, I could help fix your deck up or something in the future. Who knows, maybe you'll be the one standing on top of the world?" he said before taking another sip of his soda. "I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. If everything's a surprise, then nothing really is, right?"

"It wasn't an act, but a game. It's nice to know how much someone will believe." Jack countered, leaning forward to meet Fubuki's eye. "I must say, it was a game you played phenomenally well. However, that was only the opening. I imagine there will be much more to developed in the future, and from this point forth, I will agree to play it straight with you." Jack changed his posture, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs comfortably. He even went so far as to fold his hands behind his head. "But I digress," he continued, "I am not your enemy here, Fubuki, so relax. You've shown yourself worthy of my respect, so I'm happy to give you that much. Besides, I'm hardly anything to be afraid of," Jack laughed at himself. "I really didn't even have any idea where I was earlier when the plane landed."

Making a mental note of everything Joseph had said up until now, Kenta returned his deck back into his bag as he listened once more to the young man's lecture. When he made a mention of helping him fix his deck sometime soon, the boy gave him a big and wide smile. "You...You would...do that?" There was a rush of giddy happiness evident in his face, he would love it if someone helped him tune his deck, Kenta in turn asked if there was anything he could do for the other boy, all the while still muttering words of thanks and praise. "If there was...way I could repay you, then I give!" Oops, there goes his English again, but in this state it would arguably understandable. On top of the world? Could he really win this one? Maybe not even 1st place, as long as he got somewhere. All of this is just making the boy elated and eager to start the tournament proper. "Do you think we are close?" He asked.

"...Fair enough." Fubuki sighed, leaning away from Jack's face as he moved in. "This may just be a game for you, but to me it's a bit more than that. I hope you understand." Turning her gaze away, Fubuki took a small bottle of water from the mini-fridge and began to drink from it. The arid heat of the region was still enough to suck the moisture from her body, even if the limo was air-conditioned. Being more or less stuck in a limousine with such an odd fellow... Well, it didn't sit well with her from the start. It felt like this Jack was being a tad more honest, but... She still wasn't sure what to think of him, if at all. Joseph smiled at Kenta's enthusiasm, especially given the circumstances. But really, to not have anyone else to help refine his deck...? That was pretty sad, in all honesty. The game was more fun with more people, and the only way to get better was by testing yourself over and over. Well, the second part was half right. The only reason he had come to his current deck was because he had gotten destroyed by all of the Duelists that frequented his father's store. 'Blood, sweat and tears' would definitely be an apt description of what he went through to get to this point. But he had made a lot of acquaintances along the way, so getting trounced repeatedly wasn't all that bad. "Yeah, sure. I'd be perfectly happy helping you fix up that deck." Joseph said with a smile before Kenta's words of repayment came out. "Ah... There's no need to repay me or anything. All I really want is a good showing from you during the tournament, alright?" he continued, glancing out the tinted glass windows of the limo they were in. "You know... I'm honestly not really sure where in the city we're headed. We've been moving for a while, but..." he trailed off before shrugging. "Oh well, can't be helped. Why, you eager to get this tournament started?"

"Tell me, then, what is this to you?" Jack asked. "This tournament. If it isn't just a game to you, then what is it that you have at stake?" Jack grabbed a bottle from the fridge for himself and took a small sip. "I understand this might be too personal a question to ask, the circumstance of our acquaintance aside. Let me know if I overstep my bounds." It was strange, most people were so predictable, so boring. Especially duelist. It was a rarity for Jack to meet someone that he actually enjoyed talking to. Yet, here he was genuinely enjoying himself.

While walking towards her limousine, she noticed that 2 duelists were finished dueling, with one walking away with a disapointed face. "Either that guy is major idiot, or he was just testing his opponent out.." She said to herself, looking at how he entered the limousine. "Wait a second... its that guy who I gave that card years ago... And he uses a warrior deck? It must have been a fake deck.." She said to herself, as she suddenly felt a weird presence behind her. After waiting for a while, she noticed it was somebody with a mysterious eye... and out of all limousines, he is entering the same limousine as her! "This will get interesting!" She said to herself, as she continued walking to the limousine, noticing somebody else enter the limousine as her. "Damnit.. lets hope he won't ruin my plan..." She said to herself, as she entered the limousine, noticing that that the second guy was offering a chip to the first one. As she sat down, she spoke up to the first guy. "I don't know what it is about you that makes me have interest you.. But I want to duel you right here, right now!" She said, looking Ryo straight into the eyes, putting her alt deck in front of her on the table. "That is... if you dare to duel me!" She said, with a mockingly tone in her voice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Aono entered the limousine, he didn't even notice somebody else was sitting in there, and he place both feet on the table, as he grabbed a bottle of vodka next to him, starting to drink it a bit. "That sure was an interesting duel.... I wonder what would happen if I would have used this guy..." He said to himself, loud enough for the other person to hear, while he was looking at his Void Ogre Dragon which he grabbed from his deck

"Yo~" Ryo replied vaguely to Alexander as he was engrossed in the game that he was playing. He was in the process of a boss battle, thus a split second of mistake would cause his characters to die and restart from save point. Pausing the game, he turned to look at Alexander, taking the chip he offered. "Thanks, name's Ryo~" Ryo bit on the potato chip, unpausing his game as he took another piece of potato chip right from Alexander's packet. 'He seemed pretty decent from his color~' What the heck? Ryo looked up to see what all the commotion was about. It was the girl that he saw earlier, with a stranger aura as compared to the rest. Sooo... the color purple stands for mental retardation... He thought as he facepalmed in response to this awkward situation. He turned his attention back to the game, only to see a "GAME OVER" on his PSVita screen. "Tsk... Miss, you should've learnt a bit more manners..." Ryo turned off his Gameboy, stuffing it back into his schoolbag while taking his deck of cards out of the bag, slamming it onto the glass table that was in the middle of the limousine. "If I win, I get your share of snacks of the minibar; If you win, you get my share of snacks. Also... something fun shall happen to the loser ^_^ " He made a playful but mischievous smile while he shuffled his deck, sitting crosslegged beside the small glass table. "Sooo... shall we start?" He replied with his preshuffled deck has been placed on the table, the atmosphere around the table having a slight, grey tint that can only be seen amongst the players. To the spectators, a shadow game looks more like an ordinary tabletop duel, without holograms & shitz~

Accepting his request, Kenta felt like he fulfilled a childhood promise or finally got the girl in one of those Visual Novel games. He let out a happy shout and repeatedly pumped his fist in the air, all the while exclaiming "Yeah!". Best of all, he didn't even have to repay the guy, although he could find a way to later on. But right now, his focus was on both the tournament and looking forward to Joseph's help. When he had asked him if he was eager to get started, he simply nodded back and forth. "I wish trip was...shorter." He could barely contain his excitement, his own enthusiasm would probably get the best of him but, who cares? "Being...pumped is natural. Is Joseph, pumped?" Kenta asked with a goofy smile on his face. For quite a long while Miwa was all alone in the limousine, she was getting bored and frankly, she would've liked some company. After all, it's a worldwide tournament, it puzzled her as to why she's the only one in this particular limousine. Was it the way she looked? Maybe the way she smelled? She could've sworn she sprayed some perfume on earlier... Thankfully, the girl's prayers were answered as another person joined her! He looked like a rather rugged-looking young man, Miwa looked on warily on the man near her. His appearance gave her the impression that he was a delinquent of sorts...Punks they called them, this made the girl uneasy to be in the same vicinity as him and she did not speak, lest her life be endangered. Although, that suspicion was removed entirely from her mindset when he took out a card from his deck. The girl scooting over to where he was glanced over to the card, although her English skills aren't perfect, her parents didn't spend a fortune for her to just waste it...With her lessons still fresh in her mind, she read the card's name as..."Void...Ogre...Dragon?" The girl muttered "Oh no..."from under her breath, as she quickly scooted over back to her original seat.

"Well, you have your secrets and I have mine. I'm not going to lay all my cards out on the table that easily." Fubuki said, a small smirk on her face. It was a battle of intellectuals in this limousine, and both of them were carefully calculating their moves. It was as entertaining as a duel, trying to outwit one another. Well, that's how duels usually went, right? It was a battle of resources, and whoever managed to deplete the enemy's first won. "So I believe we should leave that topic aside. After all, you've got your own motivations to be here, correct?" "Er... Yeah, I guess you could say I'm pumped for this. In a way. I'm excited, certainly. Not even for the tournament itself, but also the city we're in. I mean, you've gotten a free trip to one of the most famous cities in America- Dueling isn't everything in life, after all. That doesn't mean it isn't a big part of it, though." Joseph said as the limousine they were in began to slow down near the Palace they were slated to get to. "Huh. Well. I guess that's what happens when you leave early, right? Missed the worst of the traffic, I think." he said, finishing off the rest of his soda and looking at the Palace from inside the limousine. It was large. He knew mansions were usually large, but this... This was on a different scale by itself.

"Yes," Jack mused, "naturally." Such a strong defense. You love playing the game more than you realize, don't you Fubuki? "We all have our reasons, true enough. I suppose it is a chat best left for another day." he said, deciding it best to leave it at that.

Moros got off the airplane eagerly looking around. Wow, they got to get into limo's and everything. Moros had never even seen a Limousine before only heard of them. Woah it looked like there were a lot of other duelists here, at least one of them would probably be friendly right? Moros scanned the crowd and saw a well dressed man carrying a hologram thingy with his name. Presumably he was supposed to go over there and get in one of the fancy cars. However it looked like he was already late as most of the duelists had all ready gotten into vehicles. He quickly picked up his bag and ran over to his limo, almost causing his headphones to fall out. He opened the door to find a real tough guy looking guy examining one of his cards, a void ogre, and a real shy looking girl on the other side. Moros was going to ask the big guy to move over but the girl looked like she was kind of scared of him for some reason. "Let me just squeeze through here big guy." He said grinning in a friendly fashion as he carefully sidled past him. As he got into his seat he looked around, "Wow they have a lot of cool stuff in here, ohhh looky this, a TV and free food." Moros said excitedly as he grabbed some food from the fridge and turned the TV on.

Aono heard a voice in the card, and as he looked up, he saw a girl sitting, making the Void Ogre Dragon fall out of his hand out of suprise. "Oh... I didn't notice you sitting there... Wait a second, where are my manners.." He mummbled out loud, as he put the flask of vodka next to him on the table. "The name is Aono.. " Aono tried to say, as another guy just entered the limousine, walking past Aono, sitting next to him. "So yeah.. Sorry for me not noticing at you first." He said with a gentle smile. "Damn... there goes my opportunity to get a chick.." He thought to himself, as he looked towards the guy who just sat next to him. "And yeah, I'm digging the free stuff here too.. This vodka is quite good!" He claimed, as he took another sip. "So how come you guys are here too, you guys are duelists too i guess?" He asked with a gentle tone in his voice.

Jack turned his gaze away from Fubuki. There would be more to say, but now was hardly the time. After all, they had only just met. Instead, Jack peered through the the limo's shaded window, observing the Rengo Rico streets. Crowded and busy even in the daytime hours, this city never stopped moving. He imagined what powers lurked behind the doors of the large and luxurious clubs and casinos: how many throats had to be cut for these men to stand on top of the world? The duelist, however, would be safe from the dangers of Rengo Rico politics, at least for now. Their host, the elusive Khan, had quite the reputation in these parts of the world. Jack needed to learn more. Jack could see the mansion drawing nearer and nearer, the had finally arrived. They called it a mansion, anyway. A palace. A grand home for a man of great wealth. Jack suspected he knew better. It was no mansion, but a castle. Nothing else would do for a man who surely thought himself to be a king. "It looks like we're here," he told Fubuki after a long silence. "Best gather up your things."

The limo rolled down it's windows as it arrived at Shambala palace and pulled up to the front gate. A hologram projected from the small box on the brick next to the gate emitting a Winged Kuriboh who seemingly flew around the limo peering in the now open windows. Then after it did a full lap retreated into the small box it came from. The gates opened and the limo drove up the long driveway passed the beautifully lit courtyard and up to the front steps. The Limousine doors swung open gracefully on their own. The driver nowhere to be found however there was a small green disk on the driver seat. The gigantic doors intricately detailed with hieroglyphs that depict some sort of feast was opened from the inside by two massive battle steers. They snort and gesture inward into a magnificent dining hall lined wall to wall with duel monster statues, paintings, miniature holograph simulations of the greatest duels of all time. Harpie Lady Sisters swoop from the skies providing food and beverage that is wanted while a dark Magician Girl guides duelists to their chairs. Which are leather reclining chairs, with built in massage, cup holder, deck holder, and all the other works you could want. However there is an empty chair to accompany your own, and that seems to be the case for everybody. The floor appears to glow under the feet of the seemingly real duel monsters. An Amazoness Tiger struts around flaring it's nostrils, Gemini Elves that are skimpily dressed seem to be flirting with the patrons, Time Wizard hops around refilling drinks and restocking food, An Obnoxious Celtic Guard plays the piano at a self-explanatory level of volume (Obnoxiously loud), and finally Command Knight donning a tuxedo and slicked back hair is singing to a band of rag tag duel monsters in wannabe Zayne Lewton fashion. A massive area of the hall is empty however towards the back of the room there is an empty space with bare floor and no decor on the walls. However original dueling platforms used in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament are mounted to the wall high above the floor.

"The man certainly has quite the sense of showmanship, doesn't he?" Jack mused at the spectacle. Predictable, he thought. Jack picked up his bag, a small back-pack, an exited the limo. He offered out his hand to Fubuki in a gentlemanly fashion. But of course, you'll help your self out, won't you?

Fubuki quietly broke off the conversation as Jack took his time staring out at the city. There was no more to say- simple as that. The city was quite lively, though- definitely a far cry from her hometown. As the limousine she was in rolled up to the palace, Fubuki... Well, to be blunt she wasn't impressed. Period. It was thematically fitting, at least, but that's where her admiration stopped. She had tried doing some research on the host of the tournament, but to no avail. It unnerved her- how could someone so extravagant retain such a low profile, especially given his contacts with Industrial Illusions? It felt wrong. But her own inquiries would have to wait for a later time. The limo doors opened on their own, which, though strange, wasn't all that jarring. Jack had left first and extended his hand out to her. "It's only fair to return his courtesy, if he's being so polite..." she mused to herself as she took hold of her luggage and, after a bit of hesitation, Jack's hand as she exited the limo. It was weird, given their initial meeting, but she wasn't about to show herself as an ungrateful individual this soon. Joseph stared in wonder as the limo pulled up to the Palace gates, wonder in his eyes at how extravagant the presentation was. There was no way he'd ever see something this big unless he was watching it on the TV. Seeing it in person just made it all the more amazing, honestly. As the limo pulled to a stop, Joseph took his luggage and stepped out of the limo, taking in a breath of fresh air as he waited for Kenta. "Waitin' on you, man." he said, a bright smile drawn across his face as he eagerly waited for his new acquaintance to come along.

In his travels, Jack had learned that every interaction was significant. You could learn a lot about a person by how they reacted to you. Not disappointed in the slightest with her response, Jack helped the young lady to her feet. A lesser person would have been too proud, too desperate to prove their own strength and independence to have accepted his aid there. It was a subtle play, but an important one. Fubuki was in a higher class than most, indeed. Jack had suspected this might have been the case from their conversation in the limo, but still, he wanted to be certain. "I should have given you a lot more credit from the start," Jack apologized. "Please forgive me, I have the habit of assuming everyone is a moron until they prove otherwise." But she didn't really seem to be listing at this point. There was something in her expression; concern, perhaps? She appeared to be eyeing the palace gates. "I'm not judging you at this point," he said rather bluntly, as it was indeed the truth. "Tell me what's on your mind."

Fubuki remained silent as she stared on at the gates of the Palace before sighing. Gathering information on her own would probably dredge up little information, if any. She needed more details- everything here seemed too convenient. For all of this to fall into place... There had to be more to it than that, after all. Before her train of thought could continue further, Jack had interjected with his own comments. Right, she wasn't alone here. He was older than she, so there was a chance he knew more about the situation. If not that, then maybe he could help her search. His actions, too, felt more sincere. Turning to Jack, Fubuki began to speak, this time a bit more openly. Maybe she was being a tad naive, but there was a chance he could help uncover some information she was missing. "It's strange, don't you think? How our gracious host is so rich and has all these connections, yet nobody knows anything about him?" It was a passive remark, but the meaning was clear enough. It'd probably be written off as a harmless curiosity by the staff if overheatd, but the context made it clear enough.

"Strange," Jack repeated, "Yes, curious indeed." Fubuki was sharp, and she knew well enough not to be too overt. What a coincidence they had been brought together here and now. He needed to learn more about this girl before he could give her his complete trust in this game of theirs. But, at least, they were already off to a start. "But I'm sure that The Khan has a reason for the value his puts on his privacy. Like you said earlier, we all have our own motivation for these things." he said loudly enough for anyone who might like to hear. But he leaned in a little closer and whispered, "and I imagine you've just scratched the surface of mine." "Come on," he said in his normal volume once more, "Let's go inside."