"You know, I live for mornings like this."

I sat in the back seat of my friend's tiny, cramped car, gyrating in a combination of excitement, nerves, and sleep deprivation. The new Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game Limited & Forbidden list had just come out a few weeks ago, and I was ready to test the April 2006 format in a larger tournament setting. "There's really nothing like a Regionals. You feel such a spectrum of emotion throughout the entire day; victory, defeat, elation, despair..."

I looked over to my fellow backseat passenger - Horo, the wise wolf deity and goddess of the harvest, who despite having lived for thousands of years still took on the human appearance of a young girl with wolf ears and tail. "This is your first Regionals, isn't it Horo?" She nodded. The game was still fairly new to her, but she had been learning slowly from my group of friends and I since she found her way into our lives through a chance importation of wheat she had resided in. Although she was reluctant to try at first, she quickly learned that her cunning and wit made her a natural at the game, and after a few weeks she was already placing high at every local Saturday tournament.

Outside of the game, our relationship had grown close in the few months since she had come into my life as well. She seemed to confide in me a lot more than anybody else - I was the only one she was comfortable sharing her past with, including a lot about a traveling merchant she had accompanied a long time ago, and she seemed to look to me more than anyone for assistance in adjusting to 21st century life. One thing that had not changed was her affinity for alcohol. A lot of nights between us were spent staying up, drinking (usually apple ale, which she never seemed to tire of), and playing cards or just hanging out together. A couple times, after too many drinks, she seemed to let her guard down and open herself up to me even more than usual.

Admittedly, I was strucken in love. She was the most gorgeous, intelligent girl I had ever met, and an aura radiated from her that drew me in unlike anything I had ever felt. But I was scared; not because I thought she wouldn't feel the same about me, but I was afraid that I would inevitably hurt her. About two months after our paths had crossed, in a drunken haze and in the midst of reminiscing, she had suddenly and without warning grabbed onto me tight as tears began streaming down her face. Pitifully sobbing into my chest, she confessed how hard it was for her to handle that she would eventually outlive anyone she got too close to. I tried to comfort her that night, but it seemed to only intensify the agony she felt; the next day, however, it seemed like she had entirely forgotten her confession, and I had been careful not to bring it up since then.

I had spent a lot of the ride to Regionals thinking about that night, and the many others we had spent together. It was hard not to, as her hips and silky smooth thighs pressed against me in the vehicle, her tail occasionally brushing against my arm, accentuated by her stunning modern outfit of jean shorts and an adorable crop top featuring a cartoon wolf. I was so enamored by her, and a few times it felt as if she was using the cramped back seat to her advantage, subtly pressing herself closer to me. It was almost as if she always knew exactly when she was on my mind.

"You will be running a Chaos deck at this event, will you not?"

Horo's words broke my train of deep thought, her voice reaching only me as the sound of post-hardcore rock emanated loudly through the car's shoddy speakers. I looked over to her, her arms huddled around her handbag and her gaze upon me quizzical.

"Yeah. It's a build with Strike Ninja though. I think he's going to be one of the best monsters in this format." Horo nodded. "'Tis my philosophy as well, due to the strength of Return from the Different Dimension. I shall be playing something similar, but..." Her face donned a slightly evil-ish grin. "I do not think that people will be prepared for my strategy..." She reached into her handbag, pulling out her deckbox and handing it to me. "Please, tell me what you think of my creation."

I unhinged the box and carefully pulled out the deck of cards inside. Flipping through it, I noticed a discernible theme. "Cyber Dragon...Skelengel...Soul of Purity and Light? Is this a LIGHT deck, Horo?" Her sly look said it all. "I've realized, like you, the power of Graveyard manipulation in this format. See the Freed the Brave Wanderer? 'Tis the true brilliance of this deck."

I glanced over the card, never really paying it much mind before, and realized exactly what Horo had cooked up. This format was going to be determined by quick, out-of-nowhere victories through Return from the Different Dimension, and being able to remove Graveyard monsters from play quickly would be the key to success. Freed the Brave Wanderer allowed a player to do that while clearing the opponent's monsters from the board as well, allowing for an early and simple victory through the resolution of one card. Even before she had played a single card at Regionals, I was already proud of her.

"This is really good, Horo! You've only been playing for a little bit and you're coming up with something like this?" She blushed a little and inched herself the tiniest bit closer towards me. "'Tis only with your guidance I've been able to improve at the game, though..." Her tone was playfully shy, and I knew she could sense my affection for her again - she was toying with me as she seemed to love to do. She knew exactly which of my buttons to press to take full command of me, and I knew I had to change the subject back to Yu-Gi-Oh or else I'd fall into her trap.

"That's not entirely true, Horo; you're a very quick learner, and the game seems to come to you better than it does most people. I really do think this deck is something special though. If you play well today, you could even end up popularizing it in the metagame." She thought about this for a moment and smiled, taking her deck back from me and flipping through it herself before putting it away. "I would have never imagined anything like this...'tis funny to think, in the past I was known throughout the land as a god, and now I shall be known only for my prowess in a simple game..." She started to laugh, greatly amused by her fall from infamy, but also seemingly relieved. "When I looked over the harvest centuries ago, in triumph I was lauded, but in the case of a poor harvest I was reviled. But now..."

She placed her hand on my thigh, sending a tingle through my spine as she leaned in even closer.

"Even if I were to fail...

...I know you'll still stay by my side."

My face turned bright red as I fumbled for a response. Horo could tell she had embarrassed me more than she had intended, and showed mercy as she inched back away from me, quickly gathering herself. "I am confident, however, that I shall do well today", she said as she grinned and shrugged, seemingly a bit embarrassed as well. I let out a large sigh, smiled and shook my head, and gave her my vote of confidence.

Horo and I spent the rest of the ride discussing what different unique cards and deck ideas we expected to see, side deck strategies, and other Yu-Gi-Oh-related matters. I managed to mostly keep my mind on card games as things had simmered down between the two of us, and she seemed content to hold her flirtatious punches back. I knew that if she could manipulate her opponents throughout the day as well as she could mess with me, she wouldn't need to be the best player in the room to have the best results. I already knew she could. She'd been doing it at local tournaments for months now, and I was her favorite victim.