6I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Damn it do I wish I did though.
(Tokonosu City Japan, Genie Hobbies - 10 AM)
"I dunno about this. This place is giving me some real bad vibes." Rex said as he and his group of friends stood in front of the game shop that was empty of all customers, and yet was still staying afloat.
"Rex, we all agreed last night that we would pool all our cards together, whatever money we had on hand and meet here by ten in the morning." Serenity looked over at the dino duelist. "Do you want a repeat of last night?"
"Those videos did make us look pretty cool though." Bonz commented, causing all three to look at him. "What? Minus all the swearing that was censored we won over two bullies. And have officially been brought back from the dead."
"Say that about some of the comments I read this morning." Seth was scrolling through his phone, wincing at some of the brutal comments that seared into his brain.
"What comments?" Rex pulled out his own phone and his face turned white after viewing a select few comments before he started getting angry.
Raptor is back? I thought he died with his stupid dinos.
Who's the creepy guy he's dueling with? Gross, he must be bulimic.
They played against amateurs and won, big deal. If it wasn't for a lucky draw they would have been sent packing like the losers they are. Rex Raptor stay out of the dueling circuit if you know what's good for you!
Was that a dueling corpse? Eww and that creepy smile, he needs to be put on a list or something!
I was rooting for that hot guy with the cool pyro deck. Fuck you Raptor! I hope a dog bites your tiny dick off!
"These…these…say that to my face you cowards!" Rex yelled.
"Rex…you're yelling at your phone. In public I might add." Bonz sweat-dropped when several sets of eyes turned towards them.
"Wha?" Rex turned away from the latest comment that threatened him personally before seeing several people looking at him funny. "Uh…oh boy."
"That's enough internet for the day." Seth pushed Rex's phone down before placing his hand on the older teen's shoulder. "I say we get into that shop and do what needs to be done."
Releasing a defeated sigh Rex mutely nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, there was nothing he could do against the tolls and haters on the internet. He wanted to duel, he wanted to win, and most importantly he wanted to show the world he had changed for the better. Last night was his first step in a very long road ahead of him.
The group of four friends entered the shot, the bell ringing behind them as the door opened and closed.
"Welcome…Strangers." The gravelly voice that Seth and Serenity first greeted them said. They gave the Merchant an awkward smile while Rex tried to get his heart working again. Bonz honestly looked content.
"Hey Merchant." Seth greeted the creepy shop owner. He grabbed both Rex and Bonz by their shoulders and dragged them over to the man between the lit braziers that had the pale blue fire roaring from them.
"Morning it's good to see you again." The Merchant said before eyeing the two new clients in his shop. "Ahh…and you brought the two who were dumbfounded from their last visit."
"We were just…uhh…"
"Baa." Seth imitated the sound of a sheep, much to Rex's annoyance.
"Heh heh heh…least they're in here now. So, what're ya buyin'?"
"Um, cards. Duel Monsters cards. My friends need to update their decks and I only have three cards that are a start to a fairy deck I'm wanting to make." Serenity said.
Seth gestured over to the binder he was holding under his left arm along with the ones Bonz and Rex had on their person. "We also got some cards that we can trade in, either for some money or cards you might have that might be of use to us."
"Ahh…Duel Monsters. Still a popular game, and a favorite of mine to watch. Never got into it myself, I've been much too busy with other endeavors." The Merchant said with a chuckle that sent nervous shivers down their spines. "I got plenty of cards for all of you, many are…unique, rare and valuable."
Rex opened his mouth to speak, his eyes sparkling with hope.
"But I got no copies of Exodia," An arrow of disappointment hit Rex like a ton of bricks. "Dark Magician is also very rare, I haven't had a copy in the last two years." Another arrow staggered him. "As for Red-Eyes…heh, not as rare as some other cards, but the last copy I had was bought four years ago."
Rex collapsed onto the ground with a storm cloud appearing over his head, it soon began to rain as he began to mutter to himself.
"I think you killed his will to live." Bonz dully said.
"He'll get over it." The shop owner waved him off. "Now you said there was a fairy deck you were working on. How about you pick your friend up and follow me into the back room?"
"I've seen enough horror movies to know where this is going." Bonz quipped.
"He he he sharp as a knife. But I promise no harm will come to you four, especially inside my shop, I'm a businessman after all." He said before stepping backwards and to their astonishment disappeared into the darkness. Or at least until the door behind him opened to reveal another brightly lit room.
The smart thing to do was run the hell out of the game shop and never return. The smarter thing was to also call Rex's uncle to investigate the guy and have him arrested. But instead, the four; with Rex being dragged by Seth, moved behind the counter and into the back room.
And inside was a brightly lit room with shelves of cards. All of them were encased in protective plastic sleeves, proudly displayed on the wall, on tables, card packs were in boxes that went from the oldest packs when the game first came out to the newest ones that came out in the last six months, and there looked to even be a few odd duel disks that were dismantled on a workbench.
"Holy crap!" Rex's depression disappeared and he jumped to his feet. "This is almost like Doma, their room was bigger, but man there are a lot of cards here!"
"Some of these cards are first editions." Serenity bent over to look at the image of the Flame Swordsman. "Yeah, Joey got his hands on a card like this when it first came out."
"Hopefully he kept it in good condition. First editions are worth a good deal of money to the right collector." The Merchant said as he walked past them. "Only Maximillion Pegasus has every single card created in the game…" He paused and put his hand to his chin in thought. "Well, maybe not all of them. There were those one-of-a-kind Egyptian God cards that the King of Games has, but those have been locked away by him, and have not been seen for a long while now."
Serenity bit her bottom lip. That was the story Yugi and everyone used so no one could try and use them again. The real story of him dueling against Atem and them being taken into the afterlife was…unbelievable at best. Even with the Agami incident broadcasted to the entire world that left a lot of people stumped, it was best to bury the truth about the Egyptian God cards. She had not even told Rex and Bonz, then again, they all had their own things to deal with at the time.
"I wouldn't want those in my deck anyways. They clash with my strategies and move sets I've been working on for years now." Seth remarked. He picked up a card pack and balanced it in his left hand. "Hmm…maybe."
"Says the guy with Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End in his deck." Rex said with sourness in his voice. Yes he was jealous, anyone would be.
"Oh, now that is indeed a rare card that even I have not come across." The Merchant said, unknowingly having Rex stagger once again. "I don't suppose you're willin' to part with it. I promise you, I'd pay a good price in yen or trade."
Seth chuckled as he shook his head. "Sorry, not for sale, and not for trade. I literally had to fight for the last five packs of Chaos Realm in the store they were in. A black eye, busted lip and getting bruised and battered by dozens of angry people is the price I paid to get it in my deck."
"That's a shame." The Merchant sighed before waving it off. "But I can respect your decision. It shows determination, I'll not bother by trying to buy or trade it off of you."
"Thank you, but regarding cards…" Seth placed his binder on an emptyish table and opened it up. "Do any of these catch your interest for a trade or even some yen?"
"Mmm…" The Merchant bent over the table and began to flip through it. A few caught his eye, others not so much but he could make a profit off them for the right price. "Not a bad collection, kid. I can offer a fair trade for these when you're ready."
"I know what I'm going for. It's them I'm more worried about." Seth admitted as he turned to Rex looking at a few packs that contained dino cards from long ago. Bonz was actively looking at a few cards encased in card sleeves.
But then there was Serenity, she looked absolutely lost. She was looking at various card packs with a timid expression that certainly didn't suit her, both Seth and the Merchant watched as she reached for a pack and then jerked her hand back, they watched as her head shook back and forth.
"Excuse me." Seth moved away from the store owner and made his way over to the younger sister of Joey Wheeler. "Hey there, need a hand?"
"Yes! I mean, yes." Serenity sighed as she looked over the various card packs. "I don't know what to pick."
"Well, Dragon's Nest is a good pack…if you want to go with a dragon deck." Seth said in amusement when Serenity brought her hand out and then shot it back when he said that. "Those packs mostly contain dragon related cards, but nothing regarding Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Trust me, I tried finding it myself once upon a time ago."
Seth led her towards another area away from the card packs. This was where Bonz was spending a majority of his time, creepily muttering to himself. "If you want to go for a fairy deck, then let's take a look at some of these cards."
"I have a small idea of what I want in my deck. The spell cards Pot of Greed and Monster Reborn. Joey also told me about this one card Yugi used quite a bit called, um, Swords of Revealing Light." Serenity placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Um, there are also trap cards called Waboku, Bad Reaction to Simochi and The Eye of Truth."
"You seem to know more than you let on. You have a trap card that reveals your opponent's hand, but at the cost of giving them a thousand life points. But combining it with another trap card that negates that effect but instead damages your opponent." Seth gave her a sly look. "You're more devious than you look."
Serenity blushed in embarrassment. "I watched the tournaments my brother and Mai participated in. And Mai came across an opponent that had a nasty burn deck where he took nearly all her life points before she used Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy Bad Reaction to Simochi and several other cards he had on the field."
"It sounds like she won by the skin of her teeth." Seth remarked.
"He was a very good opponent. Mai never gives praise unless it's well deserved. And I learned a lot by watching it." Serenity replied with a small smile.
"It seems you didn't hate Duel Monsters as much as you thought." He looked over a few cards and snapped his fingers. "Ah, here you go. Mystical Shine Ball."
"Oh right! Venus can have me special summon them by paying five-hundred life points. If I have three of them in my deck I can have four monsters on the field in one turn."
"Keep them in defense mode, but they can be used as tribute summons. I think there are a few we can find. If not there are a few packs…"
While Seth and Serenity were lost in their own world Rex approached the Merchant and cleared his throat. "Uh, hey. I think I got a few cards you might be interested in. For some recently made dino cards I'm willing to trade in."
"Mmm…show em' to me."
Setting his binder on the nearest table Rex flipped through it and pulled out three cards to present them to the creepy man. "They're pretty rare, so I'm hoping for a good deal."
Looking at the first card the Merchant found himself mildly impressed. "The Ankh version of Monster Reborn. I haven't seen this card since the game first came out."
"I heard it was a very limited release and I won it at a local tournament in my old hometown." Rex puffed out his chest in pride. "It was the first tournament I won, actually. I'm sure you can put it to good use."
"Indeed. I got a client who has been pestering me for this version for quite some time." The older man looked at the second one. "Dragon Nails? I could have sworn you lost that along with your Red-Eyes."
Rex deflated a bit after hearing that. "Yeah…and after Duelist Kingdom I scoured and searched through every pack, but all I got was this. I figured I could keep it and use it again after I beat that punk Wheeler."
Rex then looked over at Serenity and he smiled seeing her laughing over something Seth said, and she pointed at some monster card he couldn't see. "But that changed. I don't need it anymore."
"Very well, I can use this. Now…mmm Tyrant Dragon. Oh my, I haven't seen this one in quite a while." The Merchant said.
"I don't hold any sort of ties with this card. It clashes with my deck, and while the effect is pretty cool…I can't use it again." Rex pointed at it. "Look, it's a dragon, and people like making dragon decks. Perhaps he can be the ace in some smuck's deck."
"Indeed, it can be. Rex Raptor I believe I have a good deal for you." The Merchant pulled on his mask briefly before heading over to several card packs next to a wall of cards. "Come take a look over here. I'm sure you'll find everything…enlightening."
"Do you have to say it so creepy-like?" Rex asked with a shiver running down his spine.
"I don't know what you mean."
'Bull crap.' Rex dryly thought.
"Two more Poison Mummies, Book of the Moon, oh Painful Decision I'll take that…" Bonz was flipping through card sleeves like a nerd flipping through comics. "These aren't bad but I need a little more oomph in my deck."
Bonz was far too aware that he didn't have many zombie monsters that had high attack points. He needed a few that could be used for one heck of a tribute. Pumpking the King of Ghost was no longer an option for him to use ever since they got rid of the ability to get rid of his special effect to power up his zombies.
"Such a stupid thing to do. It was fine the way it was…ohh hello there." Bonz found a pair of cards and began to laugh creepily. "Hello, my pretty, I have no idea how you came to be here but you're mine now along with your sisters…he he he."
It came to no surprise to the four teens when they learned that they spent over two hours in the shop looking over cards and judging which packs they wanted to pick up. Serenity thought it was weird seeing the three boys balancing a pack in each hand as if weighing them, she did it herself and honestly couldn't tell the difference.
She also watched as the three of them haggled and bartered with the Merchant. It was odd how they went back and forth over what many would consider thin layers of cardboard.
But right now they were sitting at the table in the exact same game shop, their money spent, cards traded, and her properly learning how to play the game. Never again would she try to set a monster in defense mode, only to play it in attack mode instead.
"Okay, so…I would activate this card at the beginning of my opponent's turn so next time I draw I can gain five-hundred life points." Serenity pointed at the Solemn Wishes trap card. "And should I have Graceful Charity I would get fifteen hundred life points, and even though I discard two cards it can even be one of the ones I draw…" She pointed at another card. "And Marie the Fallen One is one of the cards I should toss for her graveyard effect."
"That's right. Those life points you gain can give you an extra turn, or free life points for that Venus card of yours to bring out those Mystical Shine Balls." Seth pointed out.
"Huh, who knew fairy decks had that many strategies?" Rex remarked as he looked at his dino cards. He removed several that no longer would be part of his deck and was shuffling in his new cards. "Honestly, it's kind of scary."
"Not as scary as my zombie cards." Bonz giggled as he looked at his new cards with a creepy grin. "No one can stand up to me now."
"Easy Bonz, no one is invincible." Seth gave the ghoulish teen a friendly reminder.
"Says the guy with Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End in his deck." Rex grumbled.
"I've only had that card for nearly four years since the last packs were discontinued, and even with him in my deck I still lost twice." Seth scratched his chin in thought for a few seconds after that. "Mmm…actually, ever since Duel Monsters started, I've only dueled maybe fifty times and lost ten of them."
"Bullshit, I got to look this up." Rex pulled out his phone and logged into the Kaiba Corp website. He clicked on the Duel Monsters link, clicked on the Duelist Profile link and typed in Seth's name. "Uh, where were you born in California?"
"I was born in Frankfurt, Germany, actually." Seth replied.
"Wait, you're German?" Serenity blinked in surprise. She looked him up and down and said, "Where's your accent?"
"I was born on an Army base; from what my parents told me I was born before they could get back to the states." Seth shrugged in response. It wasn't a huge deal to him, if anything it was normal compared to what he learned from his mother regarding his Egyptian heritage, Ba, Ka and Shadow Games with his Shadow Pendant.
"I guess you moved back to the states, eh?" Bonz pointed out the obvious.
"Eh…I moved to the states when I was maybe eleven? Dad's career along with my mom's took me almost everywhere." Again, it was not a huge deal to him. For him it was just life. And seeing so many different cultures and countries was simply kick ass.
"Alright and…huh. Yeah, you're right." Rex set his phone on the table and showed them Seth's profile.
Name: Seth Armstrong
Nationality: American
Age: 17
World Ranking: 145
Duelist Rank: Four Stars
Rarest Card: Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
Wins: 48
Losses: 10
Notable Achievements: Placed first in the 2003 San Diego Duelist Tournament. Placed first in the 2003 San Francisco Duelist Tournament. Placed second in the 2000 Beverly Hills private tournament.
Side Notes: Made Jean-Claude Magnum cry after beating him in six turns. Banned from future Beverly Hills Tournaments.
"Huh, only forty-eight? I guess I haven't dueled that much." Seth remarked after scratching his cheek. "I guess that isn't too bad."
"You're not world famous like me though." Smirking, Rex tapped in his information. But when he saw the results a tic mark formed on his right temple. "Oh come on! Screw you Kaiba!"
Name: Rex Raptor
Nationality: Japanese
Age: 19
World Ranking: N/A
Duelist Rank: One Star
Rarest Card: N/A
Wins: 21
Losses: 5
Notable Achievements: Runner up in the 1997 Regional Duel Monsters Championship.
Side Notes: Extreme narcissist. Former member of Doma. Was One-Turn Killed by Zigfried von Schroeder along with Weevil Underwood.
"Graaa I can't believe it! One star!? No world ranking!? And that freaking side note!"
"You have been in retirement for almost five years. Of course, your ranking is nonexistent, and one star is…probably the best you can get given your former status." Seth winced after looking at the profile. It wasn't great, it could have been worse though.
"Oof better than mine." Bonz looked at his phone and showed his profile.
Name: Bonz Kozuka
Nationality: Japanese
Age: 17
World Ranking: N/A
Duelist Rank: Zero Stars
Rarest Card: Call of the Haunted
Wins: 10
Losses: 2
Notable Achievements: None.
Side Notes: Tried to cheat his way into the Battle City finals with accomplices Sid and Zygor. Scare tactics were reported by five other duelists. Was found in the same graveyard a year later. If participating in a tournament again it's recommended that he is observed by an official to prevent cheating.
"Geez…Bonz, buddy I know you said you were not exactly a good person." Rex winced after reading the profile. "And I know you told us everything, but this is a bit…much to see."
"I was angry at what Bandit Keith did to me on Duelist Kingdom. He was honestly a bad influence, Sid and Zygor weren't exactly good either and…" Bonz sighed and looked at the table. "I made mistakes. I paid for them too, and I'm willing to show that I'm not some rotten cheater like Weevil Underwood."
"There, there Bonz we're not judging you." Serenity patted his shoulder.
"Yeah…I'm not exactly squeaky clean myself." Rex rubbed the back of his neck. "I got a lot to atone for to show everyone I'm not the old Rex Raptor."
"I think I can help ya'll with that."
The Merchant's creepy voice caused the four teenagers to scream in terror and literally jump out of their seats in fright.
"God damn dude!" Rex patted his chest. "You just took ten years from my life!"
"I'm supposed to be the master of horror! I didn't even hear you sneak up on us!" Bonz seconded.
"He he he sorry." The four of them knew the Merchant was far from it, if anything he seemed to get a kick out of scaring them. "Couldn't help but overhear the conversation you four were havn'. Oh, don't give me that look, there are only five people in this shop, and I was tending to my stock up front."
Thoroughly chastised, the four watched as he reached into his coat and pulled out a flier. "I am actually going to host a local tournament. It's open for all comers. Perhaps this can be used to show everyone your changed ways, eh?"
"Mmm its next weekend on a Saturday." Bonz took the flier and looked it over. "The reward for first place is fifteen thousand yen and four packs of cards of their choice."
"That isn't much of a reward." Rex scoffed.
"It's a small tournament so I'm not surprised that there isn't a huge reward." Seth could relate to Rex on that subject. "This is definitely for amateurs. I'm going to bow out this time, but you three should definitely enter."
"I ain't an amateur!" Rex protested.
"Rex, you're using a new deck after years of having it locked in a vault." Serenity gestured towards his phone. "Plus, your profile doesn't lie. You have one star and no world ranking. You might have been a top duelist years ago, but that was…well, years ago."
"I could chime in, but Serenity is right. Take the L here, and just enter the tournament for some practice." Bonz said.
Gritting his teeth, Rex forced himself to calm down. He knew they were not trying to be hurtful, but this was a blow to his duelist pride. "I'll think about it, okay?"
The Merchant listened to them in amusement, he knew his first prize was not the greatest, but he didn't expect people like Seto Kaiba to walk in to sponsor his small tournament like it was Battle City. "That's the spirit. I suggest you three work on any strategies yer deck might have. I'll wish ya'll luck."
"Thanks Merchant. But fifteen thousand yen and four packs of cards does seem kind of cheap." Seth did not mean to sound insulting; he was just trying to get his own thoughts sorted out. "Is there something you know that we don't?"
"He he he, let's just say…yer card packs are going to be something special should you choose them correctly." The Merchant said.
"Fair enough. Um, well we still got a couple of hours. Should we continue going over strategies?"
"I'm down for it. My deck might be upgraded, but besides my Skull Servants I need to do a bit of tinkering." Bonze remarked.
"Well, good thing I still have my folder." Seth set the binder of cards he didn't sell or trade to the Merchant onto the table and opened it up. "I don't know what you need, but I've collected plenty. Take a look, and if you want something say it."
"Aw what the hell, I'm not going to say no to taking a look." Rex leaned over to take a look at the various cards that he couldn't help but tilt his head at. "Huh, where the hell did you get this?"
"Hmm…I have no idea where I got that dino card. I think I traded a card for it or won it from an ante duel or tournament." Seth rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.
"Wait, you did an ante duel?" Bonz asked in surprise.
"I only did two of those, and that's just because I kind of had no choice. It's a long story that I really don't want to get into." He said, ashamed that he actually participated in such a thing.
There was an untold rule within the dueling community that doing an ante duel was more or less forbidden. After all, if someone lost their rarest card, it could ruin their deck and make it unusable. The fact that Battle City where the ante rule was one of its selling points to get the Rare Hunters to come into a trap that was set for them when he was bound and determined to get the three Egyptian God Cards.
Since then, it fell out of favor and was more or less made illegal. Granted it wasn't also heavily enforced either, it was like some sort of honor system that only duelists upheld. The good ones never asked to do an ante duel while less reputable people did it without a second thought.
"So long as you did it because you had no choice, yer hands are clean." The Merchant said, breaking the small tension that was building in his store. "Sometimes these things happen, yer put between a rock and a hard place, and all you can do is pick the lesser of two evils. That's life after all, yes?"
Serenity thought back to her parents' divorce and how it separated Joey and her for years. It was a very bad time, back then she didn't fully understand why her terrible father took Joey and her mom took her. But now that she was older, she understood why her mother did it, how much it clawed at her that Joey was forced to stay with her dad.
"It's life. We learn and move on, right?" Serenity said.
"Yeah…I'm not casting the first stone on this one." Rex relented after scratching the back of his neck.
"Me neither, you all know what I did and…where the hell did you get this card?" Bonz picked out a zombie monster with a surprised look on his face.
"Ah, that I know I traded for. And Serenity I think these cards will be a good addition to your deck." Literally flipping to the near back of his binder, he presented the cards with a flourish. "Ta-da!"
"Enchanted Javelin, Cestus of Dagla…Mudora and…Seth I can't take these." Serenity said in surprise.
"I don't have a use for them, they deserved to be played. Go on take them."
"Hold on, I think I might have something for you." Rex set his binder on the table and flipped it to a certain page. "Ah there we go. You think this card will give your deck an edge?"
"Oh, you bet!"
The Merchant left the kids to continue trading and looking at their various cards. Even though the store was fully lit, in that one spot of the shop it seemed a little brighter with those four going through animated discussions.
Yeah, they were some good kids. He had a feeling they would do well in his little tournament.
(Tokonosu City Japan, Happy Cat Cafe - 2 PM)
"You are by far the evilest thing I have ever encountered." Noah Raptor said.
In response the brown cat with golden eyes yawned and flopped onto his lap. The feline soon pawed at his lap, making biscuits as all cat owners called the action, and curled up to sleep on him without a care in the world.
"Oh, Noah you say that every single time we come here." Ai giggled as watched two calico kittens play with each other off to the side.
"This one is out to get me. I know it." The Chief of Police groused.
"I could have sworn that was all the criminals you put away over the years." Ahmya remarked as she took a sip of her tea. The black cat on her lap blinked with large yellow eyes before snuggling into her black dress to completely hide itself.
"Ugh, don't get me started. I filed away another guy who stole a bunch of Duel Monsters cards." Taking a sip of his black coffee, the uncle of Rex Raptor sighed in defeat. "What has this world come to where someone steals a bunch of cardboard and get some odd years behind bars with a hefty fine?"
"I believe you asked that last week." Ai pleasantly remarked.
One would think seeing these three widely different individuals in a Cat Cafe would be odd. And in a sense, it was, but ever since their children; or in Noah's case, ward, became friends they decided a meet and greet when it first happened.
It went as well as anyone would expect. Noah did background checks on them, Ahmya unnerved them with her morbid stories, and Ai herself was the normal one out of them all. But after any mistrust, bickering and in Ahmya's case terrifying encounters, the three warmed up to each other. Whenever they had some free time, they met up at a cafe to catch up, and just like the children under their care they did build up a nice friendship. And when Ahmya's husband was in town it was remarkably lively.
"I still just can't wrap my head around it. Ever since that game became popular my job has just gotten strange. I can understand a criminal wanting to steal money, push drugs, or traffic weapons of people...but cards? I guess cardboard is worth more money than cocaine to this crazy world."
"Haa...I unfortunately know what you mean." Ai said as she took a sip of her green tea. "There was an incident on Wednesday where someone was stabbed because they beat someone in a duel. Apparently, he was brought in from an underground ring where illegal stuff happens."
"I know what you're talking about! When my boys went to that place it was deserted, not even a rat was there." Noah exclaimed.
"I honestly thought we moved here to get away from that nonsense." Ahmya cooly said. "But last night my little zombie boy broke out his deck and played besides Rex to beat some miscreants."
"Yeah, my nephew was fired up over it." Noah sighed with a roll of his eyes. "I mean good for him and all, but this is a slippery slope. I don't want him doing something stupid again."
"At least I don't have to worry about Serenity getting into the game." Ai replied with a soft laugh. "She supports Joey, but she's never shown interest in playing."
"Serenity? My son has mentioned that name a few times." A female voice interrupted them. They turned their gazes and were greeted by a woman with Egyptian features. He smiled at them with a cup of tea in her hand and a leather satchel hanging off her shoulder. "I'm sorry to interrupt. But I couldn't help but overhear those names."
"And what is it to you exactly, ma'am?" Noah raised his scarred eyebrow in questioning.
"Ah, pardon my manners. My name is Aisha Armstrong, and if I'm correct in my assumptions then my son; Seth is friends with your kids." Aish greeted herself.
"Oh, you're Seth's mother?" Ahmya said with some surprise lacing her voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Bonz mentioned your son for quite some time."
"All of them are good things I hope."
"And what are you doing here? This doesn't seem to be your...usual hang out- OW!"
"Noah be nice." Ai said after kicking her friend in the shin. "I'm sorry for his rudeness. It's hard to turn off his hard ass detective mode persona. I blame all the dime store detective noire novels he read as a kid."
"Persona? That's just mean. I'm this way because I choose to be." Noah barked in disgruntlement.
"And that is why you remain unmarried." Ahmyla cooly said, causing the man to flinch as an arrow struck him. "Please pull up a seat and join us. I'm Ahmya, the man rubbing his shin is Noah, and this wonderful woman is Ai."
"A pleasure to meet you three." Aisha smoothly moved to join them in their booth. Her features were serene and pleasant, and soon eyed Noah. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but as you all probably know from your kids my son and I just moved here not too long ago. I decided to do a little exploring and when I saw a cute ginger cat sleeping on one of the tables I knew I needed to come in here."
"This is our usual spot for Sunday afternoons. Mister Grumpy here pretends to dislike it, but he lets everyone crawl all over him." Ahmyla pointed at Noah who tried to keep a stoic face when four cats decided to use him as their sleeping posts. One came to rest on his head, two on his shoulders, and the last one cuddled with the brown cat on his lap.
"Evil little beasts." He grumbled.
"Well, it's still a pleasure to meet all of you. It's always hard to meet new people when you're constantly moving around." Aisha said.
"Constantly moving around, you say?" Ahmya's dark eyes danced in amusement. "From that bag of yours I see it's seen some use. Let me guess...you're definitely a learned woman. I'm going with college professor."
"I did teach at Cambridge University for a few years when my husband was stationed in England." Aisha admitted with a proud puff of her chest. "But I'm mainly a historian for the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiques, whatever my organization digs up in Egypt we do our best to date, preserve and learn from it. Our Secretary General has kept us busy the past couple of years rediscovering relics and tombs from the past."
"All while your husband...I'm sorry to pry, but is he a military man?" Noah asked.
"Indeed. He's a Major in the United States Army, but he has a specialty shall we say when it comes to his role in it." Aisha flicked her palm in apologetically. "Sorry I can't say more, but it's classified information."
"Understandable. I'm former JSDF I know when not to pry."
Aisha turned towards the two other women at the table. "And may I ask what you both do?"
"I'm the head nurse at the hospital." Ai said.
"And I am an author, I'm actually in the finishing stages of my latest book." Ahmyla giggled. It may have sounded sweet to her husband and son, but it was extremely unnerving for them. "My fans will be tearing down the doors like a hoard of undead to get to them."
Aisha sweat-dropped as the conversation continued. It seemed her afternoon just got mighty interesting.
(Tokonosu City Japan, Burger World - 3 PM)
"Now that is a scary strategy, Serenity." Rex pointed a fry at the only girl in their group. "Are you sure you're not going for some sort of burn deck?"
"It never crossed my mind." Serenity admitted with a blush. "It just seems normal for me to use these cards to take out an opponent quickly. Is that a bad thing?"
"Not at all. A duel can last a couple of turns, or it can last near twenty. Yugi and Kaiba have a history of going back and forth with unique and scary moves, but in the end, no one will ever forget about it." Bonz said after taking a sip of his coke.
"Bonz is right. If Damien didn't discard my hand earlier, I could have used a few combos to make him sweat before taking him out without using Chaos Emperor Dragon." Seth used the example he had to offer. Unfortunately, he never expected Morphing Jar, and that screwed him up a bit. It happens of course, such is how dueling goes.
"Ugh, speaking of him when do you think he'll be back? It's going to be an absolute shit show with him. Plus, Tsunoda and Miuena are coming back tomorrow." Rex let out an irritated sigh as he dropped his burger in disgust.
"I think Damien is going to be out for a while. He's obviously unwell." Seth said.
'Yeah, lie to your friends asshole. Lie to them about exactly what you are.' His inner thoughts hit him hard, he forced himself to lock them away.
"But are those other two really that bad? I mean yes, they are foul-mouthed, and bullies. But between them and Damien who's worse?"
"Them." All three said in a union.
"Don't get me wrong, Damien is a grade A jerk with his demented sense of right and wrong. But he went after everyone who broke the rules, those two and their crew of jerks were always in his sights." Bonz was definitely singing praises towards their former tormentor, but he would definitely choose him over the others.
"Tsunoda is a freaking menace to society. Between being a hot head he's also very prone to get physically violent. A lot of people wound up in the hospital because of him because he was either in a hostile mood or something else." Rex gripped the edge of the table in anger. "Don't get me started on how he treats women."
"Like they're pieces of meat. Him, and Miuena have done things that make them enemies to all women." Serenity showed an uncharacteristic look of anger on her face. "Their girlfriends are just as bad, they're real...umm..."
"Skanks." Rex filled in for her. "They're skanks pure and simple. They blackmail a lot of people for favors, and yes, they use their bodies for it. Hot or not, I wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole."
"Believe it or not they tired too." Bonz said. "They thought that down and out of his luck Rex Raptor would join them. He told them to go screw themselves." Bonz laughed and wiped a tear from his eye at the memory.
"I got standards dammit. Sides I like you all better." The dino duelist huffed.
Seth could feel the pulsing of his Shadow Pendant against his chest. The tales his friends were telling him were not boding well, between them and any of the other bad stuff going on in the school he had to calm himself from doing anything foolish.
"We'll face them all together. Besides..." He glanced over at Bonz and Rex. "Those two don't have much to hold over you. After all you humiliated them, and it's being viewed all over the internet. So, if they give you a hard time..."
"Hah! Things are starting to change; I can feel it! The four of us are going to kick so much ass and take so many names!"
"Easy there dino boy, place high in a tournament first, then we'll talk." Bonz said.
Serenity couldn't help but giggle. As ludicrous as it sounded, she was feeling more optimistic for the first time in years, with her new deck she was starting to understand what her brother felt. For all his faults, even she had to admit that he was a better person not just by playing a card game, but also having a group of friends that supported him. It was how he got the money for her eye surgery, got as far as he did in Battle City, graduated high school, and now was becoming a business owner.
Perhaps after her first real duel, Serenity would be one step closer to living the way she wanted to. A normal, peaceful life without all the craziness of high school drama.
It was a shame that once she started, it would have the opposite effect.