It was coming for him, he knew it. Every time it was the same, he could feel it getting closer, turn to look, then take off as it ran . . . no, floated after him. No matter how fast he ran, though, it would always manage to close the distance between them. He cursed his luck as he risked a glance behind him. It was within grasping distance. He could feel its hot breath on his back. He returned his attention to the road in front of him. That's when he saw the wall. It was big, black, and right in front of him. He tried to see a way around it, no luck. He tried to climb it, his fingers struggling to find nooks and crevices to slip into and hold onto. He actually managed to make it a few feet off the ground before hitting the ground. He flailed about, struggling to get to his feet. Every time he managed to make progress, his feet flew out from under him. His eyes locked with the eyes of this creature. I'm dead, he thought. The creature opened its mouth and let forth a piercing wail as it stretched its claws towards him. * * * * * Katsuya sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath. That unbearable sound was still plainly heard. His head darted to the left and right, searching for the creature. His eyes came to rest on the clock near his bed and, sighing in relief, he shut off the alarm. "It's just a dream . . ." he repeated to himself, fumbling to find the headset for his CD player. Placing the speakers over his ears, he pressed play and let the harsh, gritty techno music lull him into a state of apathetic denial. He closed his eyes and chased the remnants of the nightmare out of his mind. "It's just a dream," he whispered. * * * * * High Stakes starring Jinsaku Nagaoka Chapter Five: Raise the Bet by Clint Milton(cmilton@gci.net) High Stakes started by NeoVid presented by Beware the Radish * * * * * Jinsaku woke up to a massive headache, as usual. As he stumbled out of bed, he noticed Katsuya in his chair, eyes closed and ears covered in his headset. "Isn't it a bit early for that," Jinsaku said, poking his friend with his finger. Katsuya opened his eyes, saw who was before him, then closed his eyes again and turned his head away. Jinsaku sighed and shook his head. There's just no hope for him, Jinsaku thought. He was still sighing when he walked into the kitchen looking for something to eat. After several minutes of foraging, he managed to scrounge up a banana. He was soon munching away on the banana. It was at that moment that the doorbell rang. Jinsaku didn't even have to ask who it was, he knew. Only one person would appear on his doorstep at . . . he checked the clock . . . three in the afternoon. Sighing, he made his way over to the door. "Good afternoon, sleepyhead!" Tyrell said, grinning brightly. Jinsaku sighed angrily. "Why are you always coming over here right after I get up?" Jinsaku asked. "Just lucky, I guess," Tyrell shot back. Jinsaku snorted. "So, you going to invite me in?" Jinsaku stepped out of the way and Tyrell walked in. Katsuya opened his eyes and adjusted to this new arrival by closing them again. Tyrell shot a questioning look at Jinsaku, who shrugged. "Don't look at me," he responded, "I told him it was too early." Suddenly, his eyes glazed over and his body grew rigid. This moment passed and, shuddering, Jinsaku went back to what was normal for him. Tyrell looked at him, concern flashing across his face. "You got another challenge, didn't you?" Katsuya asked blankly. Everyone turned to look at him. "Uh . . . yeah," Jinsaku replied hesitantly, "I did." "I want to go too." "No way, man. I'm not taking that chance again." "You owe me." Damn, Jinsaku thought. He would have to bring that up now. "Not now, Katsuya. This is not the time or the place to . . ." "You owe me." "No, Katsuya. I can't do that. You know the . . ." "You owe me." "Why are you being so stubborn about this?" "It's something I've got to do, and something you . . ." "Owe you, I know." Jinsaku let out a long, drawn out breath in an effort to calm himself down. He turned to Tyrell. "Talk some sense into him." Tyrell just smiled. "Actually, I see his point. Besides, what else is he going to do? Stick around this apartment?" "You both are crazy! Fine, Katsuya, you want to come with me? Then be ready tonight. I'm supposed to meet up with my opponent then, so you'd better be ready or you'll be left behind." Jinsaku threw up his arms and walked off muttering something about being the only sane person left on earth. Tyrell turned to Katsuya. "So," Tyrell said, "spill it. Why do you want to go with him so badly?" But Katsuya couldn't answer, he never heard the question over the music blaring into his head. Tyrell just shook his head, chuckling. * * * * * "Please stop," the young man begged. Campbell just sneered. "So you concede?" he snarled. "Anything, anything! Just take the card and leave me alone." Campbell smiled as he watched the young man run off. The Card was weak, true, but it had what he was looking for Element-wise. He immediately fused it with another card of his. A low, ominous laugh began to boil up in his throat. "Soon, Jinsaku," Campbell said menacingly, "we'll meet again. Next time, I won't go down so easy. Next time, I'll be the one laughing." * * * * * Terry Peterson ducked into an alley, panting. This couldn't be happening, not to him. Two challenges in one day, the first being that Campbell creep and the next that Jinsaku . . . something-or-other. To top it all off, he lost his favorite Card to that Campbell. That set the tone to the Jinsaku fight for sure. He glanced through his cards, counting them slowly. Four, and the best one was long gone. He sighed. I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed, he thought. Today is just going to suck. Well, no longer. Today can change, he decided. I'm not going to lose again. I've still got four cards, and this Jinsaku couldn't stand a chance against his best card. Nah, he couldn't stand against Flareshot. Nothing ever had so far, and he wasn't expecting anyone to have a Minion that was capable of standing against his Minion. "Today will change," Terry stated slowly, "today will be a good day. Jinsaku will go down." * * * * * Jinsaku, Tyrell, and Katsuya were seated at Denny's and just about to order. Annette was suspiciously absent, but the management had explained that she ("luckily") had the day off. Tyrell sighed, thinking it would have been nice to see her again. Katsuya just blankly ran his eyes over the menu, seeking an edible-looking . . . anything. Not finding anything that jumped out at him, he decided on the hamburger. Tyrell, thinking that looked . . .edible, also ordered the burger. Soon, it was burgers and sodas all around. Unlike their last time at Denny's, this one passed without event. It was quiet, which gave them the opportunity to discuss the morning's events. "What gives, Katsuya?" Jinsaku asked. "You've never wanted to go on one of these battles before. Heck, you've never wanted to do anything before." "You never asked," Katsuya shot back. "Now to be fair," Tyrell offered, hoping to diffuse this scenario quickly, "he was there when I fought Annette." "Yeah, but he just followed along. He's never voiced his opinion like this before." Jinsaku turned his attention back to Katsuya. "Why do you want to go with me?" "It's something I have to do." "But why?" "You know." "Don't even go there." "Why not?" "It has nothing to do with this." "You're wrong." "No I'm not. That's in the past. If you haven't gotten past that yet, there's a problem." "It wasn't that long ago." "It was before we left Japan." "Which wasn't that long ago." "Excuse me," Tyrell said hesitantly, "but would you mind telling me what, exactly, you guys are talking about? I really tried to follow, but I have no idea what's going on." "Jinsaku knows," Katsuya stated. Jinsaku sighed and slapped his forehead. "Oh, God! I can't believe you still feel that way. You still haven't let that go, have you?" Katsuya said nothing. "You do! My goodness! I do NOT believe this!" "Are you finished?" Katsuya whispered, barely audible. Jinsaku placed both hands on his forehead. "This always gives me a headache. I don't know why I even try to understand you." Katsuya stood up and left enough money to cover his part of the bill. "You don't," he said as he walked off. Tyrell looked at Jinsaku. "He's right, you know," Tyrell said gently. "Shut up," Jinsaku growled, "Just . . . shut up." * * * * * Terry wandered around the city, waiting for the appointed time. He was mumbling to himself, trying to psyche himself up for the upcoming battle. He pulled the brim of his ball cap down over his eyes. "I can't lose this time," he said, "whoever this Jinsaku character is, he's going down this time. I'll show him the power of Terry Peterson's Minions. Jinsaku, I hope you're not too connected to your cards, `cause I'm taking one of them. I don't know which one yet, and I don't care. All I know is I'm not going to lose this one." He began to laugh low and deep. It soon grew into a full out laugh. It lasted long enough for him to run out of breath. Finally, he reached the area where the battle was to begin. The abandoned lot had a single tree in the center of it. He surveyed the area gently. Yes, he thought, this will do nicely. He then sat down under the tree, leaned up against it, and closed his eyes and imagined Jinsaku's fall. * * * * * "Katsuya!" Jinsaku called. "If you're coming, you'd better hurry. We're leaving now." "Coming!" Katsuya responded. In no time at all, he was ready to go with Tyrell and Jinsaku. "What, no headphones?" "Nope." "But don't you always take them with you?" "Not this time." "And what makes this time so special?" Katsuya didn't answer. Jinsaku sighed. "I figured you'd respond that way. Come on, you. Let's get this over with." "Smiles, folks," Tyrell said, smiling brightly, "this'll be fun." "Sure," Jinsaku said through gritted teeth. "Close enough," Tyrell said as he walked through the door. Jinsaku and Katsuya soon followed. * * * * * Terry opened his eyes to see Tyrell, Katsuya, and Jinsaku looking down on him. He jumped to his feet and brushed the grass off his pants. "So," he said quickly, "you brought help. It won't do you any good, I'll still beat you. You haven't seen the Minion I've got planned for you." "Then stop talking and let's get this party started," Jinsaku sighed. He whipped out his MechaPug card and closed his eyes. In a flash, MechaPug appeared before them. The pig-nosed mole-like creature licked its metallic claw and scratched its fur. It then looked right at Terry. Terry showed no fear. Instead he drew his card and smiled. "Flareshot!" he cried, "Come forth!" There was a flash of light, a gust of wind, and a fierce blast of fire. The flames soon coalesced with the wind, and began to form a bird-like creature. Flareshot spread its wings and screamed. * * * * * It's not going to come after me, Katsuya thought. They're just going to fight. Besides, neither one of them are the one that . . . he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Jinsaku won't bring that one out. Not this time. Besides, I have to do this. I'll make it through. I'll be fine. I can make it. I'll get past this. I can do it. This isn't going to be too bad. It's just another battle. Katsuya took slow, deep breaths. He clenched and unclenched his hands. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them. He wiped the sweat away from his brow. "I can do this," he whispered. "It's just another battle." * * * * * "Your friend looks a little nervous," Terry said, indicating Katsuya, "maybe he should leave. This battle won't be pretty." "You gonna worry about my friends, or are you going to fight?" Jinsaku said through gritted teeth. "Hey, I just want you at the top of your game. I don't want you to be distracted. When I win, I don't want you to be complaining that it was because you had . . . other things." "Two things wrong: One; I never complain and Two; you won't be winning." "We'll see. Flareshot, starfire." Flareshot flew towards MechaPug, flames swirling and growing brighter. It impacted right into MechaPug's chest, then reformed just out of arm's reach. Jinsaku checked the damage using his Card. Only 50 points? What was this guy thinking? A quick glance at his opponent revealed nothing. Terry showed no sign of suprise. It was almost like he expected this. Jinsaku's brow knitted in confusion. Surely this guy wasn't expecting to win with attacks like that. There must be something going on. Could this guy be playing? Did he think this was a game? Nobody was that stupid. He must be up to something. "Is that your best?" Jinsaku snarled. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to win. MechaPug, do your worst." MechaPug nodded and pointed its mechanical claw at Flareshot. The claw shot off and impacted, then ripped through, its target. Flareshot screamed and fell forward. Jinsaku checked the damage. 100 points, not bad; not too good, but not bad. It was definitely better than that Flareshot's attack. Jinsaku smiled grimly. Chalk up another win, he thought. * * * * * Katsuya winced as he heard the scream. While it wasn't the scream he heard, it was blood-curdling enough to make his skin crawl. He could feel the adrenaline beginning to fill his veins, and fought hard against the impulse to run far and fast that came with it. I can't leave, he thought. Not yet. I have to see this through. I know it'll be good for me. No matter what, I have to overcome this. "I can beat this," he muttered, "I'm not going to be ruled by fear. Not anymore." * * * * * Tyrell cast a quick glance over at Katsuya. He doesn't look good, he thought. He patted his pocket, making sure the package he brought was still there. It was, a fact that Tyrell found very comforting. "Hold on, Katsuya," Tyrell whispered, "I don't know why you came here, but hold on." * * * * * Terry was hiding his concern well. He hadn't thought that Jinsaku would have a Minion as powerful as MechaPug. Heck, he hadn't even considered that MechaPug would be as powerful as it was. Things were going badly for him. He checked the stats on MechaPug. Earth/Blood, this did not bode well for him. Then, he remembered Earth's weaknesses and smiled. He just might win this match after all. "Flareshot, Searing Wind," he said calmly. Flareshot flared into a huge ball, then slowly transformed into a young woman who slowly raised her hand to her lips, kissed it, then blew towards MechaPug. An intense blast of superheated air struck MechaPug, throwing it backwards and causing its fur to burst into flames. Flareshot smiled, winked, then reformed itself back into its normal form. Jinsaku cursed. The attack didn't do much, only 75 points. The real problem was that MechaPug was engulfed in flames; which would, given time, wear it down with a small but steady amount of damage. Jinsaku sighed. He had no choice. "MechaPug, return," he said as he held out the Card. MechaPug flickered, then vanished in a flash of light. Terry smiled in triumph. "Does this mean you're done?" he asked condesendingly. "Hardly," Jinsaku spat out. He'd had enough of this punk. "I'm just getting started. Shade, your turn!" He held out Shade's card. The area actually grew darker, like a huge cloud bank was passing over the sun. In no time at all, it was as black as night. A thin shaft of light pierced the sky and impacted with the ground. It slowly grew wider, and the shadows began to swirl and collect around it. There was an explosion, and when the flash died down all that remained was a dark robed creature floating where the light shaft had been. The creature slowly pulled back the hood, revealing a glowing white skull. If skulls could grin, Shade would be. It almost seemed like Shade was laughing. Shade opened it's mouth, and Katsuya screamed. * * * * * Katsuya went seven shades of white before settling on pure "I've just seen the ghost of the guy who savagely killed my family before slicing his own throat open before my eyes" white. His skin went cold and clammy. Shade. It had come back for him. Distant memories, long since repressed, came flooding back. * * * * * "You're planning _what_?" "I'm leaving for the States. I can't take it here anymore." "And why do you think I would want to go along?!?" "It's obvious! You hate it here more than I ever did. The only reason you've been here this long is because you're scared of what would happen if you tried to leave. If you went to the States they'd never be able to do anything about it. And... I can't go without a translator, anyway." Katsuya poked the much thinner and lighter upperclassman in the chest. "So that's your real reason? You almost had me convinced until then." Jinsaku remembered a saying about desperate times. "You want my real reason? Then watch real close!" He got out his Cards, there was the *FLASH*, and Katsuya was left staring at the Minion that had appeared right in front of his eyes. It slowly removed the dark hood to reveal a grinning, glowing skull. Katsuya screamed. * * * * * This creature had come back for him, Katsuya knew it. Jinsaku had called this . . . demon back to get him. Jinsaku, his friend, had brought this thing forth. It was bad enough he couldn't get any sleep because of this creature. He was going to die, he knew it. It was just like his dream. * * * * * It was coming for him, he knew it. Every time it was the same, he could feel it getting closer, turn to look, then take off as it ran . . . no, floated after him. No matter how fast he ran, though, it would always manage to close the distance between them. He cursed his luck as he risked a glance behind him. It was within grasping distance. He could feel its hot breath on his back. He returned his attention to the road in front of him. That's when he saw the wall. It was big, black, and right in front of him. He tried to see a way around it, no luck. He tried to climb it, his fingers struggling to find nooks and crevices to slip into and hold onto. He actually managed to make it a few feet off the ground before hitting the ground. He flailed about, struggling to get to his feet. Every time he managed to make progress, his feet flew out from under him. His eyes locked with the eyes of this creature. I'm dead, he thought. The creature pulled back its hood, opened its mouth and let forth a piercing wail as it stretched its claws towards him. * * * * * "Don't let it get me!" Katsuya screamed as he dropped to the ground and backed away frantically. Tyrell ran to Katsuya's side and reached into his pocket and fumbled around for his package. "Easy, man," Tyrell said soothingly, "it's going to be all right. Just get it under control." "I'm going to die," Katsuya repeated quietly. Tyrell finally managed to get the package, Katsuya's CD player, out of his pocket. Quickly, he placed the speakers over his ears and pressed the play button. Katsuya went limp, then sighed and closed his eyes as the harsh music overwhelmed him and he fell into a blissful state of apathy. "It's all a dream," Katsuya whispered. "Yeah, man," Tyrell whispered, "it's all a dream. You just relax now." He turned to Jinsaku, who was staring in horror at what he had just seen. "I didn't know," he said slowly, "oh God, how could I have forgotten?" "Forgotten what?" "Forgotten that Shade was the first Minion that Katsuya saw. It all makes sense now. It's all my fault he's like this. I did this to him." Tyrell stood up and grabbed Jinsaku by the shoulders. "Get a grip, man. You have a battle to win, and you don't need this. I'll take care of Katsuya, you just worry about the fight. You hear me?" Jinsaku nodded weakly. "We'll discuss what happened with Katsuya later. You focus, man! Remember what's at stake here. This isn't a game you can afford to lose." "I . . . But . . ." "Knock it off! You can do this. Look, Shade's a what, 2000/2000 Minion? He's going to roll over Flareshot. It's a cakewalk, man. So make it quick. You owe Katsuya that much." Jinsaku nodded, then turned to face Terry, who was white as a sheet. "Let's finish this," Jinsaku said evenly. * * * * * Author's Note: It's late, I know. But I'd like to think it was worth the wait. To you Katsuya supporters, I hope you're happy with what I've done. I really enjoyed this, and hope that you did as well. I'll admit that I dropped the ball with him my first time; I hope this makes up for it. I decided to do some character development with him to make him a bit more . . . human. I'll be the first to admit that I've taken some serious chances with the character; and I also know that this could be fatal to my future concerning this fic, if it's not accepted by the readers. I really like this fic, and hope I get to write for it again. Don't worry, though, not all my parts will be this late or this deep into character development. Special thanks to: Ian, as usual, for his feedback concerning the dream scene; BTRadish, for allowing me to write another chapter for this fic; Laura Mills, for prereading this (don't worry, folks, you don't know her); and everyone who provided feedback on my last chapter of High Stakes and FAQing Hostile (that one's on Improfanfic). I bet you're looking for an apology regarding length or content. Well, sorry but you won't find one. Nope, no apologies here. I like this chapter and how it came out. Take care now. Clint Milton, signing off. Beware the Radish http://btradish.tripod.com/ 1/28/00