Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Turnabout Is Unfair Play
Main Characters: Marufuji Ryou, Monkey Saruyama, minor appearance by Satou Kouji
Word Count: 5,780
Genre: General||Rated: PG-13
Notes: I modified some of the dialogue, but kept the essential meaning for some of the scenes. I consider Ryou's speech when he chooses victory at any cost to be some of the best writing in GX, as well as his greatest characterization up until his duel with Yubel in season three, and I wanted that meaning kept, though not to precisely copy everything perfectly.
Challenge: gx_100: Marufuji Ryou: prompt 82: ambition
Summary: Monkey Saruyama wanted to turn Marufuji Ryou into Hell Kaiser, in order to have a powerful duelist who could make him rich. Unfortunately, he got exactly what he wanted.

Saruyama answered his phone when it began to ring, a thin smile bending the corners of his mouth up. "Kouji, my old friend. A pleasure to hear from you again. How is Duel Academia?"

"The same as it always is." Satou Kouji grumbled the words out. "The students are worse every year. Especially this year." Saruyama had heard that tone in his voice every time they spoke, but it was deeper now than it had ever been.

"Really? I've heard such interesting stories about what's been going on at Duel Academia this year. Do tell me more." Saruyama liked to hear about what was going on there. The more information he could get the better.

Satou sighed, shifting around in his chair as he did. "I mentioned that first year, Yuuki Juudai, didn't I? The one who sleeps through most of his classes, if he even bothers to show up."

Oh, yes, Saruyama had heard of him many times. All throughout the year, whenever Satou had called him, he had mentioned this lazy young prodigy. "I believe you've mentioned him before. Once or twice." Or ten times, or a hundred, or a thousand. Saruyama had lost track after a while.

"He defeated the Seven Stars' leader. He saved the world from the threat of the Sangenma." Despite the words, Saruyama thought that the tone would have been more suited to one complaining that the boy had lost and doomed them all. No matter what, he knew exactly what to say in response.

"But he still can't manage to do his homework, can he?"

"Of course he can't!" Satou declared, and while Saruyama couldn't see him, he was certain the other was red-faced and furious. "He isn't the only one, either. It's spreading like a disease. They slack off, they ignore my assignments, if they do show up in class, they go to sleep as soon as my back is turned, and it's all because of him! I should never have listened to you."

Saruyama chuckled. He had heard that frequently as well. "I did what I could for you, Kouji. You needed a job outside of the pros."

"I shouldn't have tried to be a teacher. I hate these vile brats." Seven years and all that had changed was the depth of Satou's hatred. If he were as strong as he is hate-filled, he would never have had to quit the pros. What a pity.

Still, Satou served a greater purpose now than he ever had before. Saruyama had called him now for a particular reason. "Is there anyone interesting in the senior class?" He'd heard of many students as the year progressed, and he wanted to see if he was right about some of them. One of them in particular had always caught his attention...

"Yes." Satou coughed for a moment, and all was silent save for the slightest sounds on his end of the connection. Saruyama suspected that he was drinking something; whenever he went on one of his rampages, it took him a few moments to recover. He's going to kill himself one of these days.

Saruyama heard the faint clink as Satou set the glass down. It wouldn't take long now. "Yes. Yes, there is someone. I wasn't certain at first. But you should keep your eyes on Marufuji Ryou."

"The one they call Kaiser, correct?" Saruyama smiled at the thought and turned his attention to the folder in front of him. There were several pictures from multiple angles of the proud young man Marufuji Ryou, as well as copies of his transcripts and records of all of his duels over the last three years.

"Yes. He will be entering the Pro Leagues next autumn," Satou said. There was a hint of anger in his voice, but Saruyama was well versed in picking out the hints of emotions. "I haven't yet learned who his sponsor is yet, but I'll let you know if I do pick it up."

"Of course." Saruyama trusted Satou's skill at learning what he wanted to know. "And why do you think I should watch this one? He's quite talented." He already had his reasons for watching young Marufuji. But he wanted to know what Satou had up his sleeve.

"He's weaker than he thinks he is. He'll win duels, once he gets into the pros. He is good. Great, even." Satou chose his words with great care. "But he could be better, if he chose to be ruthless. He lives with the ideals of respect, but he doesn't live them as well as he thinks that he does."

Saruyama smiled. He had heard of those who dueled for respect. Those who truly lived and breathed those ideals were rare. But what did Marufuji Ryou truly wish to duel for? Did he himself even know? Perhaps not. Not yet, anyway.

"I will keep my eyes on him. And what of your other young friend?" Saruyama asked, hearing the hiss of Satou's breath between his teeth as he uttered the question. "What of Yuuki Juudai?"

"I'll take care of him. He won't have the Seven Stars next year to use as an excuse for not doing his work. He'll do as he's told or I'll find a way to get rid of him."

Saruyama laughed. "Perhaps once he graduates, you can send him to me. He wants to be a pro, doesn't he?"

"That's what all of these idiots want, and they think that they can get it by lazing around and not doing anything," Satou retorted. "They'll find out one day that it isn't as easy as they think it is. I'll enjoy watching them fail, too."

"I'm sure you will," Saruyama agreed. Those who rose where Satou had fallen were the ones that he hated the most. Saruyama looked forward to grooming his next champion. He bid his farewells to Satou and clicked the off button before he leaned back in his chair, looking over the paperwork he had on Marufuji Ryou.

Virtually no defeats at all in three years. There was one listed to one 'Camula', one of those dark duelists who had been after the Spirit Gate Keys, but Saruyama wasn't going to count that. Those were, as he understood it, extenuating circumstances that wouldn't come up again any time soon.

What would this Kaiser be like if he were defeated? So many options. He could crumble to the point he would never duel again. X would be good for that. But that wasn't what Saruyama wanted. Not that X couldn't be amusing to watch duel. He'd sent more than one duelist into the underground league, though few of those lasted long.

He would have to choose what he did with care. Marufuji wasn't even in the Pros as of yet. So much would depend on what happened after that. He could suffer a humiliating defeat in his first duel.

Saruyama sorted through the information he had again. It was too soon to make many plans, but he did like to have certain points in order in his mind as soon as possible. He plays a machine deck. I'll need someone who can counter it. There were many options. He could think of at least three without even having to resort to his files. That was good to know.

That was all that he could do now. All the rest would have to wait until events played themselves out in the League itself. Just a few more months. He had a very good feeling about Marufuji Ryou. He's going to make me very rich, very soon.

Until then, he would wait and watch. And enjoy a few duels, of course.

He wondered if Kaiser Ryou had a taste for pain.

The cheers in the KaibaCorp stadium were enough to deafen someone. Saruyama had wisely brought along earplugs. A duel between two people such as Edo Phoenix and Marufuji Ryou didn't happen every day of the week, and the stadium seats were packed. He had made certain to get a very good view of the arena. He had followed Ryou's career for the last couple of months, victory after shining victory.

That will change today. He had absolute confidence in Edo Phoenix's talent, and in Marufuji Ryou's arrogance. It had taken him some time to build up what he knew of the newcomer to the circuit, but he was certain of his beliefs. Edo was younger than Ryou, and had been defeated in a duel once already by that boy from Duel Academia, Yuuki Juudai. Satou had been extremely annoyed because of that event, though how he knew about it, Saruyama wasn't certain. Satou had his ways of gathering information.

Teenaged voices shrieked in joy as the two duelists appeared in the arena. Saruyama made himself comfortable. This promised to be extraordinary.

He wasn't disappointed. As soon as Edo summoned his first monster, Saruyama knew that he would win. That tightening of Ryou's eyes, the half-smile of triumph, the simple fact that Edo used Elemental Heroes, just as Juudai did, all of those combined to make it diamond-hard fact.

Yes. Yes. Saruyama leaned forward in his chair, fists clenched, eyes focused on the duel, as Ryou sent Cyber End Dragon to attack Shining Phoenix Guy. Edo's smile dropped both sarcasm and confidence as he activated his facedown trap card. The look on Ryou's face said it all: no!

Saruyama chuckled to himself as the last of the Kaiser's life points dripped away. Perfect. Just perfect. This was what he had been waiting for. He still couldn't approach Ryou, but now he would see what he wanted to see, whether or not the boy had what it took to pick up his life and career and keep going, or if he were going to crumble underneath this assault to his ideals.

Everything will be harder for you from now on. Many have lost to Edo Phoenix, and some have continued to duel afterward, rising from their defeats like phoenixes themselves. Do you have that kind of strength?

Saruyama didn't think that he did. At least, not without a little help.

Ten. Ten more losses, abandoned by his sponsors, and dropped from the pro leagues to the minor leagues. If Saruyama had been a cat, he would have purred with pleasure at how everything was lining up just the way he wanted it to.

The time had come at last. He waited for the boy, and it was harder than he'd thought to keep himself calm. He would have to choose his words carefully to strike just the right note. What wasn't said would be as important as what would be said in this conversation.

"There are no contracts in the underground," he told the boy. "No one ever needs to know that you were there." He smiled just a little. "It's the only way you can keep dueling, unless you want to stay in places like this, and continue to suffer even more humiliating defeats." He did not mention money. Money wasn't important to someone like the Kaiser.

Was it enough? It would have to be. The important factor was that the boy made his decision on his own. Saruyama would not force him. The offer was on the table. No matter his choice, it would be his.

He turned and walked away, smiling as he did so. There was no doubt about it. The boy would make the right choice. He wanted to duel too much to make any other choice.

Three days later, Saruyama watched as the proud duelist entered the cage, his head still held high. That would change so very soon. Inukai will do nicely for this. Inukai and his slime deck had been his first choice when he had considered which duelists to pit the boy against. It would counter his Machine deck flawlessly.

The boy didn't need to know that Inukai was also one of his duelists. It wasn't that important.

Choosing the new name to introduce the boy by had been simplicity itself. He was going to put him through hell, and the boy would either suffer and die, or rise up reborn from infernal baptismal fires.

Inukai wasted no time in bringing as much pain as he possibly could. Direct damage, attacks, anything that would cause screams and suffering. Saruyama smiled a little more with each sound.

"I want out of here! Release me!" The demand was fierce and strident, and Saruyama had expected it all along. He shook his head.

"There is only one way out of here: finish the duel." A thought crossed the promoter's mind and while he didn't think this duelist was quite the type, he had better make certain. "Surrendering is not an option, Hell Kaiser. Surrendering in this duel ends your turn, and I don't think you can last another one, can you?" He knew that the boy couldn't. He only had three hundred life points left.

Once again, Saruyama chose his words with care. "When everything is too hard for you, you quit. If you can't win with respect, you won't win at all. That's what you tell yourself. What if you're wrong? What if that isn't what you really want?" He dropped his voice lower. "Have you ever thought about just winning? If you don't choose victory, then you won't survive. That's what dueling is about. You know that. You've always known that. Stop deceiving yourself and do what you know you must."

The boy's head snapped toward Inukai and his chest rose and fell in quick breaths. Saruyama was no psychic. He couldn't read the boy's mind. But he knew. He was on the brink. One little push was all that was necessary.

"I play Power Bond! I summon a Machine-type Fusion monster and double the attack strength, but in the end phase, I'll take the original attack as damage!" The boy was determined, Saruyama gave him that much. His words had struck a chord. "But I don't need to have monsters in my hand or field for this." This was good, since Saruyama knew he didn't have any. "I play Cybernetic Fusion Support, halving my life points, and using this card to substitute for the fusion material I need. Come out, Cyber End Dragon!"

Inukai pushed. "I'm not going to let you do that. I activate Slime Hole! When you Special Summon a monster, I gain life points equal to that monster's attack, and your monster is destroyed!"

Fifteen thousand. Inukai had fifteen thousand life points. I didn't think that I had miscalculated this much. Inukai was far better than Saruyama had thought he was. If he didn't enjoy the underground so much, Saruyama might well have nourished him into the Pros, instead of this apparent failure.

"No. I'm not going to let this happen! I will not lose!" Electricity glowed around Ryou as he shouted the words. He only had two cards in his hand, but the true fire of a duelist burned in his eyes. "I don't care how I do it, but I am going to win! I'm going to beat you!" Inukai sneered at him, not believing a word of it. Ryou wasn't finished. His head dropped for a moment as he spoke, needing the words to justify what he was about to do, Saruyama presumed. "I understand. I truly understand now, as I didn't before. I've been confused and out of sorts since I lost to Edo Phoenix. I wanted to keep on respecting my opponents. If I could do that, then it didn't matter if I won or lost."

He lifted his head, and though Saruyama was behind him, the duelist's spirit was a tangible force all of a sudden. "I know that isn't true anymore. I crave victory more than I crave anything else in my life, and if winning means I have to take your life from you, then I don't care! I activate the trap card, Call of the Living Dead!"

Saruyama didn't understand at first. What was the boy doing? Proto Cyber Dragon was back on the field. That wasn't going to be strong enough to get through Multiple Slime's fifteen hundred attack points, and even if he had something like Limiter Removal in his hand, it still wouldn't be enough to finish off Inukai's obscenely high life.

"From my hand, I now activate the card I placed there with Time Capulse's effect: Overload Fusion! From my field and grave I remove the materials to summon a Machine-Type monster. Come forth and destroy, Chimeratech OverDragon!" The graveyard spat cards back out at Ryou and he held them up. "Chimeratech OverDragon requires Cyber Dragon and at least two Machine monsters as fusion material." Insanity tinted his smile for a moment. "I, however, am going to use six." The quick images of Cyber Dragon, Cyber Giraffe, Cyber Barrier Dragon, Cyber Laser Dragon, Cyber End Dragon, and Proto Cyber Dragon rose up behind him before a moment before Chimeratech OverDragon overshadowed them all. Six heads pointed at Inukai, and the attack points registered on him and Saruyama at the same moment.

Four thousand and eight hundred attack points? "Chimeratech OverDragon gains eight hundred attack points for each monster that I used to summon it," Hell Kaiser spat the words out as he gestured across the field. "Attack Multiple Slime! Evolution Result Burst!"

A beam of light shot across the field, resulting in the destruction of Multiple Slime and in Inukai's life points dropping for the first time in the entire duel. He howled in pain, but shook it off without that much effort. "When Multiple Slime is destroyed, three Slime Tokens are Special Summoned in attack mode." He laughed harder than ever as he gestured toward his final face down card. "I also activate Trap Trip! I can add a trap card from my graveyard to my hand."

There was no doubt about what he chose. Ryou saw it as well as Saruyama did. "Acid Rust Machine Virus. That's given me trouble ever since you first played it. I won't let that happen again."

"Even with your fancy monster, you can't stop me," Inukai retorted. "I have three water monsters on my field now, and all I need is one to activate it." He held Acid Rust Machine Virus tightly; all Ryou had to do was end his turn, and Inukai would win the duel. Saruyama still couldn't be certain of how it would go. Chimeratech OverDragon had another effect, but Saruyama couldn't remember what it was right away. He'd seen so many monsters over the years, and this one wasn't a common one.

"I told you already that I'm going to end it this turn. You won't have a chance to play it. This game is mine!"

Saruyama shook his head; the boy had to have lost his mind. There was no way out of this mess. "Impossible."

"Chimeratech OverDragon can attack as many times as the number of monsters that I sacrificed for it!"

That was it! He had used six monsters for it. Five more attacks ripped through Inukai's monsters and his life points, and Saruyama's jaw dropped as the slime duelist fell backward, knocked out by the explosion of his side of the cage. For a moment, he shuddered. What had he unleashed with this?

Then he knew. He smiled, success thrilling him from the core outwards. "Hell…Kaiser Ryou. The new emperor of Hell, born from the infernal flames of the underground." That was what he had created.

Hell Kaiser breathed deeply as Saruyama opened his side of the cage and the attendants removed the damage amplifiers from him. Before he could try to leave, Saruyama came up next to him. "This is only the beginning. You will return to the Pros, in good time." He glanced again at his new protégé and saw a glint of uncertainty in those eyes. "Come. We have to talk."

Fifteen minutes later, he sat across from the other. Ryou stared into the plastic cup of coffee that Saruyama had bought him. He hadn't spoken at all since they'd arrived here. Saruyama could see that second thoughts spun through his mind. He wanted to put an end to those.

"There was another young man I knew of once," he said at last. "He was quite skilled in dueling, and many people praised his skills. But when he entered the Pros and saw how ruthless they were, and how difficult it was to lose and rise again. He was defeated, in an extremely humiliating duel, and he spiraled into a losing streak not unlike yours." Saruyama sipped his own coffee. He seldom spoke to his clients about the others that he managed. Each one was unique, and he didn't like to mingle them.

The newborn Hell Kaiser said nothing in response, but Saruyama knew that he listened. What else could he be doing? "He had enormous potential, and I decided to give him a chance. I brought him to the underground, and he dueled a vicious duelist, one far worse than the one who had defeated him." He sipped again, recalling that night over three years earlier. "He failed. He was capable of winning the duel, but the pain of the damage amplifiers scared him and he refused to do what he could have done. He claimed that he held onto his honor, but I saw the fear in his eyes. He lied to himself."

Saruyama sipped more of the coffee; it was truly inferior, and he wanted to find a better place before the night ended. "He surrendered in the duel, and barely survived the aftermath when his opponent crushed him on the next turn. He tried again to return to the Pros but no sponsor would touch him. At last he left dueling altogether." He finished the last of the coffee and waited for the question he knew was to follow.

"What happened to him?" Hell Kaiser appeared to be asking the question of the full cup that still sat before him.

"He's right over there." Saruyama gestured to the counter and his companion turned. Sure enough, there was a young man there who was only a few years older than Ryou himself. Weariness sat hard on him, as well as forced courtesy when he greeted customers and took their orders. "He's worked in a series of jobs like this ever since he quit dueling. He has a child on the way as well."

He paused, ready to deliver the last blow. "He will be twenty-two next month." He could have said something else, but he waited to see if Ryou understood it with no further words.

Hell Kaiser stared at the cashier. Confusion and uncertainty had touched his eyes before. Now, determination and confidence wiped both of those away. He stood up and started for the door. Saruyama followed without question and smiled.

All hail the Hell Kaiser.

"Cyber End Dragon! Eternal Evolution Burst!" Hell Kaiser commanded, and the holographic monster obeyed, blasting a stream of pure power from all three mouths and reducing his master's opponent to zero life points. Saruyama smiled in deep pleasure. Yet another win.

But the last win, at least where the underground was concerned. He stepped closer to his client. "I've made arrangements for you to duel in the Pros again." He always kept his promises, after all.

Hell Kaiser glanced down at him, his gaze hard and unyielding, the true master of Hell. As the weeks had passed, he had grown stronger and stronger with every duel. He was no longer the fool who thought respect was the pinnacle of his dueling. "What about sponsors?"

"I have contacts." Saruyama's smile held a bit of a twist to it. There was no lie there. Nor was it the entire truth. "You'll be dueling a newcomer, one who bought his way in on his father's money. Hardly anyone will watch this duel, but it will be recorded, and you will be getting more offers after you finish this fool."

The tall teenager slipped his duel disk off and removed his deck from it, eyeing it with mysterious, unknown thoughts in his eyes. Saruyama knew that he wanted to duel in the pros again, more than he wanted to breathe. The pros were the pinnacle of a duelist's career, especially a duelist like Ryou.

"I want two sets of those damage amplifiers," he said after a few moments. Saruyama raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

The answer wasn't something that he had expected. "I want to be able to use them later."

"You know they're illegal in the pros," Saruyama pointed out. No one else he had trained had wanted to keep them any longer than they had to.

Hell Kaiser only shrugged. "So?"

Saruyama considered a few moments more before he shrugged as well. If Ryou wanted to torture himself and others, who was he to argue about it, as long as he received his cut? "I'll see to it. Your duel is this weekend. Be ready for it."

His protégé gave a slight nod, and then left. Saruyama watched him until he left, his lips thinned in a pleased line. This was everything that he had ever dreamed of from the moment he had first heard of Marufuji Ryou from Satou. His bank account was much, much fatter than it had been, and he would be moving into a fine apartment at the start of the following week. His cut of the payment for Ryou's new pro duel would be more than enough to cover the down payment, even if he hadn't already had it built up.

Perhaps I can even buy that new car. Ayanokouji Motors had recently released a very nice two-seater that Saruyama had his eye on. Having Hell Kaiser on his payroll had made his life better and easier in so many ways. He would keep this duelist around for as long as he possibly could. There was so much more money that he could milk out of him, before the burning fire that was Hell Kaiser's soul burned out completely.

"You can do it, Kinjo!" The shriek came from the stands, where a small group of teenagers had gathered. They weren't there to cheer on Hell Kaiser, though. Their attention was for the young man on the other side. "He's nothing! He's just a crap Kaiser! He hasn't won a duel in months!"

Saruyama smiled. This was the beauty of the divide between the Pros and the underground. No one had any idea of how much his Hell Kaiser had changed.

"Yeah! You're nothing!" The duelist laughed at the black leather clad fighter facing him. "Just changing your clothes doesn't make you a better duelist, Marufuji. I've heard about you. What kind of a stupid name is 'Hell Kaiser' anyway?"

Hell Kaiser only shuffled his deck and set it into the duel disk. "Cut my throat with your cards, not with your voice."

Excellent. Saruyama hadn't wanted to admit it to himself, but he had been a little concerned with how Hell Kaiser would react to being in the pros again. If his opponents stirred up those memories of 'honor' and 'respect' again, then it could be trouble. So far so good, however.

This opponent was almost an insult to his Hell Kaiser's talents, even as they had been before his rebirth, and not only because of how he had entered the pros. This boy played a simple enough deck and Saruyama looked forward to seeing how long it took Hell Kaiser to finish him. He had bets riding on this.

Kinjo drew his first hand. "I've got the first turn, and I play Pot of Greed!" He added the two cards to his hand and pulled one out. "I summon Demon Soldier, in attack mode, then I equip him with Black Pendant and Lucky Iron Axe!"

Saruyama had placed himself where he could see Hell Kaiser, wanting to watch the play of emotions, such as they were, across his protégé's features. At the moment, Ryou looked bored. Kinjo's turn continued. "Now, I play the field spell card, Array of Revealing Light! I name a type and no monsters of that type can attack on the turn that you summon them. The type that I name is Machine!"

Was that a flicker of annoyance? Perhaps a small one. Kinjo had three cards left in his hand. "Next, I play the continuous spell card Banner of Courage! On my turn, all of my monsters' attack strengths go up by two hundred points! Last but not least, I set two facedown cards. Turn end."

Snickers came from where the teenagers gathered. "Kinjo is so going to win this! What can that failure do?" Saruyama didn't bother looking to identify the speaker. They would learn soon enough.

"My turn." Hell Kaiser drew his card. "Since you have a monster on your side of the field and I don't, I Special Summon Cyber Dragon!"

Kinjo motioned toward one of his facedown cards without hesitation. "Oh, no you don't! I activate Black Horn of Death! It negates the Special Summon of your monster and destroys it!" Cyber Dragon appeared for a moment, then vanished in an array of sparkles. More laughter echoed from the gallery, but Hell Kaiser only smiled a thin, tight smile. "Then I summon Proto Cyber Dragon, and use Raise Dead to Special Summon the Cyber Dragon you just sent to my graveyard!"

A few startled noises came from the gallery. You haven't seen anything yet, Saruyama thought. This might not be the pain-filled duel of the underground but Hell Kaiser had his own ways to inflict torment on those he defeated.

"Now, from my hand I activate Photon Generator Unit, tributing Cyber Dragon and Proto Cyber Dragon in order to Special Summon Cyber Laser Dragon!" Silence fell across the entire field. "Cyber Laser Dragon can destroy a monster with attack equal to or greater than its own: such as your Demon Soldier. Photon Extermination!"

Cyber Laser Dragon's tail glowed for a moment, then a beam shot out that exploded Demon Soldier and the two equip cards on it. Kinjo shielded his eyes, then shouted, "You still can't win! You have to wait until next turn to attack and I won't let you do that even then!" He pointed to his other facedown card. "I activate Depth Amulet! I can negate any attack you make, starting next round when I draw a card!"

Ryou took out the next to last card in his hand. "I play Cyclone, and destroy your Array of Revealing Light."

"You…do what?" Kinjo stared in utter disbelief, and from the noises coming from the stands, everyone who had come to see him felt much the same way. "Why did you do that?"

"To win. I play Limiter Removal, doubling the attack of all of my Machine-Type monsters. Cyber Laser Dragon, attack him directly."

The silence was deafening as Hell Kaiser turned and walked out of the arena. The applause that followed, even from those who had been there to support Kinjo, was sweeter than wine to Saruyama's ears. A one-turn kill. So much better than he'd thought when he'd placed his bets. The amount of money that he'd won from his wagers would be triple what his cut of this prize money would be.

Look out, Pro Leagues. Hell Kaiser has arrived.

"A meteoric rise to the top! Will we see a hellborn rematch between Hell Kaiser and Edo Phoenix one of these days?" The announcer shrieked the words into the microphone as Hell Kaiser departed the arena, having once again been triumphant. "His strength is unstoppable! Hell itself walks with him!"

Saruyama settled into the limousine and ordered it to take them both back to the hotel. The thought of arranging a duel between Ryou and Edo pleased him. It would be magnificent, and this time, I'm certain that my Hell Kaiser would win. He totted up the potential wealth in his mind and smiled. Yes. He would see to it at once.

"You've certainly come a long way, Hell Kaiser." Saruyama congratulated his protégé. When there was no answer, he glanced over to see Ryou reading some piece of mail that he'd received earlier. That was unusual; Ryou seldom bothered to read the fanmail that choked his mailbox. He paid his secretary to deal with that.

No matter. Saruyama made himself more comfortable. "You're the terror of the Pro Leagues. When you face Edo Phoenix again, it will draw the biggest crowd ever. I think I can have it arranged to happen next month." He couldn't help but verbally pat himself on the back. "You'll be able to pay him back for what happened. And you owe it all to me for showing you the path through Hell."

Ryou folded his letter and put it away in an inner pocket. "The road ends here for you."

Saruyama glanced outside for a moment through the smoked glass. "What are you talking about?"

"I don't need you anymore. Get out." Hell Kaiser tapped once on the glass that separated them from the driver, and the limousine stopped at once. He reached across Saruyama and opened the door.

"Hell Kaiser!" Saruyama could not believe what was happening. "You're back in the Pro Leagues because of me! What are you doing?"

The only answer he received was a rough push out of the limousine. He stumbled, just barely getting his feet under him properly before the limo drove off into the dark night. He stared after it in confusion as the lights faded away.

I don't need you anymore. Hell Kaiser's words echoed in the vaults of Saruyama's mind. How could he not need a manager? Was he going to quit the Pros? He was rich enough to; Saruyama knew that. But he couldn't believe that. Not with Hell Kaiser's love of dueling and his love of pain.

He adjusted his coat and found his hat, settling it back on his head. He still had a fat wallet, and many other duelists who could do just as Hell Kaiser could. Revenge didn't even enter his mind. He had more important matters to deal with than one teenager, even one such as Hell Kaiser.

Satou had called him not that long ago and warned him of another potential newcomer, a girl this time. What had her name been again? Yes. Kouchou Ran. Perhaps she would need a manager one day.

Saruyama walked off into the dark night. It wasn't so bad. There was always new talent out there somewhere.

He didn't need Hell Kaiser anymore either.

The End