Series: To Accept Fate's Will||Story: Fire and Water
Characters: O'Brien, Sea God's Priestess, Shou||Pair: O'Brien x Sea God's Priestess
Words: 2,523/9,539||Chapters: 1/4
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG
Challenges: Diversity Writing: YGO soulmate AUs: H8: 4 chapters; Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #24, embrace; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #31, 9,539 words; IncludeThe Word Boot Camp, #18, comparison; Valentine's Day to White Day 2016, day #1, write a soulmate!AU; Easter Egg Basket Advent 2016, #11, write from a Duel Spirit's POV
Timeframe: Season 3, episode 141 and after, set in a soulmate universe
Summary: She searches for two people: a hero who can defeat Haou and the soulmate she fears to find. And she may well find them in the very same person.


Once, she'd kept a careful watch on her counter, anticipating the day when she would actually meet her soulmate. Whoever it might be, whatever the bond might entail, she looked forward to it with glee. Even the harshness of this world didn't dim her enthusiasm.

I should have known it was too good to be true. She tried not to think much about it these days. But as each moment clicked by, and the counter ticked downward…

No. It won't be. It can't be.

She gripped harder on her trident and hurried along, her fairy friends swooping in her wake. They were lucky. They didn't have one of the marks. They didn't have a soulmate.

They didn't have to take the chance that their soulmate could be one of those who served Haou.

She bit back the thought before it could be fully formed, picking up the pace. She'd tried for ages to ignore the possibility but now that it crossed her mind once again, it hovered in the back of her thoughts, a terrifying concept that churned her stomach and froze her breath.

If I can find the temple again… or a shrine, even. She would pray. She would pray as she had for ages, in the hopes that her god would change her fate somehow. Give her a new soulmate, one who would be kind and helpful. Or just remove the counter altogether.

That's never happened. Do the gods even care? Some tales said the gods were those who designed the soulmate counters, dictating that two or more folk were connected to one another. The bond could be that of friendship or romance or siblingness – sometimes even a mixture of those. But those bonds were there, regardless.

And the fewer people there were in the world, then the more chances that her soulmate, whomsoever it was, would be one of those in Haou's army.

No. I can't think that. I need to find someone who can help us. A hero. If such a person even existed. She'd begun to doubt.

Her fairies squealed and she jerked her head up, stumbling to a halt. In front of her stood a person – shorter than she was, wrapped in a concealing cloak, and accompanied by an Ojama Yellow.

That told her right away this wasn't someone aligned with Haou. He accepted anyone ruthless enough into his forces, with few exceptions. Those known exceptions included Ojamas of any kind.

She'd heard a story once about how Ojama Red and Blue tried to join – the gods alone knew why – and whatever he'd done to them, no one wanted to repeat it.

Before she could speak, the stranger gestured to one side of the pathway. "Over here. They won't see us."

She cast a brief glance behind herself; she'd fled partly to search for a hero and partly to escape Haou's warriors. She'd never known if they knew she was there or not, but she hadn't wanted to stop and ask, either.

So now she hurried off to the side, where concealing undergrowth made a fine place for them to hide themselves. She took the chance to rest, closing her eyes and breathing for a few moments. Her counter hadn't changed at all; she knew she'd feel the warmth coming when she met the person who matched hers. Whoever this was, they weren't the one.

She did look at him curiously, though, and he slid the hood back from himself as she did. He seemed human, with fair aqua hair and gray eyes. A haunting sadness hovered in his eyes.

"Who are you?" She murmured. Was he a warrior? A hero? Could he be the one she was searching for. All of those hovered on her lips but she didn't ask. At least not yet.

He turned away, gaze tracking along the road as the soldiers moved along out of sight.

"No one important."

"Big Bro Shou -" Ojama Yellow tried to say before he caught sight of her companions. "Oh! Pretty! You're very pretty!"

The young man sighed as he turned his attention back to her. "It should be safe for you to leave now."

She glanced that way herself; the soldiers had passed out of sight. She would have to be careful, but it could be done. But she looked back to him.

"Are you a warrior? Someone who can fight Haou?" She hoped. She hoped with all of her heart. She needed someone who could do this.

They all did. Haou already destroyed every scrap of resistance in this part of the world and once he had it all under his armored thumb, he would move on to another one. No one knew how large the world was, but the idea of all of it belonging to Haou filled her sleep with nightmares.

But he shook his head, dropping his gaze. "No. I chose a different path."

Her heart sank. She didn't dare try to persuade him otherwise, though. Instead, she looked down the path, wondering how far it might be until she could reach another settlement. If there were any others. Everything she'd heard said there weren't. They were the last outpost, the last gathering of anyone who had even a scrap of resistance to Haou in their souls.

Then he met her eyes again. "But if you go down this way to the wastelands, you could meet someone who might be able to help you. He hasn't chosen his path yet." From underneath his cloak he pulled out something long and wrapped in cloth. "If you find him and he's willing to help you, then he should be able to use this."

She took it; it wasn't very heavy but unwieldy. A weapon of some kind? She wanted to unwrap it and see for herself, but there wasn't time. Whoever this potential hero and helper was, he could be found by Haou's warriors or just turn off along the path and she'd not find him.

"Thank you," she said, with a quick bend of her head. "Please be safe yourself."

He smiled, or at least his lips moved a trifle upward before he turned away. "Good-bye."

She barely had time to notice him start walking again before she hurried down the way that he'd pointed out to her. It wasn't the way that she'd been going, so if she hadn't met him, she might have missed this hopeful warrior entirely.

Faster and faster she raced down it, her fairies buzzing beside her, until they all squealed.

"There he is! That must be him!"

She hadn't been paying attention to where she ran, especially as behind her, she could hear the sounds of pursuit. That wasn't a good sign at all. But now she brought her head up and saw a tall figure ahead of her. He wasn't anyone she knew at all, but if she'd imagined a warrior, this would have been him.

He turned towards her, and their eyes met.

The counter on her arm flared up with an unexpected warmth and she stumbled to a halt. At the same moment, he raised his own right arm and stared from it to her, eyes round in shock.

"Are you..." She wasn't certain of what she wanted to ask suddenly. Was this the warrior she'd come in hopes of finding or was it the soulmate she'd given up hope of ever meeting?

She shook her head. "Are you a warrior? Can you fight Haou? Will you fight him?"

The stranger stared back at her, one hand covering his right forearm. "I-I can't. I'm...I thought I was a soldier, but...I'm not." Thick, bitter hatred coated his every word. "I'm only a coward."

His eyes kept tugging back to his arm, casting between there and her. She took a step closer and he took one back.

"You should find someone else," he murmured. "I can't help you."

For a few seconds she wanted to keep going. Soulmate or not – and it was far easier to find one of those than it was to find a hero – she needed to continue her search. But she couldn't quite bring her feet to move. As dangerous as it was, she wanted to talk to him, to get to know him, to learn what he was like.

From above them, without warning, there echoed a fierce cry, followed a heartbeat later by sharp claws striking deep into her new companion's shoulders. She fell backwards in surprise, staring at the unexpected arrival.

There were wings, brilliant and metallic, covered in blazing scarlet and gold flames. Then from the flames there peered a head, staring at the two of them as the monster withdrew his talons.

"Those who stand against Haou-sama will fall to me!" The metallic creature declared, voice hissing and burning with flame.

Her companion – soulmate – fell back as well, eyes wider in shock as he started to shake his head, his hands raising to touch where blood came down from his wounds.

"Who are you?" She asked, stepping forward, getting in between the attacker and the other. "What is it that you want?"

"I already told you. Those who stand against Haou will fall to me! I am Plamen: the Bomb Phoenix!"

"I've heard of you." The muscled man said, not taking his eyes off of the creature. "You're a fusion creature: born of any Machine-Type and any Pyro-Type."

The metallic firebird preened for a heartbeat, coming to rest on the path, claws digging into the earth. "I am. Do you stand against Haou?"

For a brief second their eyes met. Then he looked back to their attacker. "And if we do?" His fingers clenched, shaking ever so slightly.

Plamen's beak opened. She wondered if he considered that a smile. His expression didn't look very kind.

"Then I'll eat you. Both of you." Plamen bent his head closer, noticing the tiny fairies. "All of you."

A few more seconds passed, tense and harsh. But she couldn't lie, even if she'd wanted to. She stepped forward. "I can't fight him myself, but I stand against him, even if it means my life!" She wasn't a duelist. She never had been. Her power couldn't stand up to his, either. But she would find someone who could do it, no matter what.

Plamen spread his wings, the flame around them starting to burn hotter. "Then I will destroy you!"

A large burly figure interposed himself between her and the flaming phoenix. "No! I won't let you!"

Her heart beat faster at that. Plamen stared down at him, head tilted to one side, attention on the both of them.

"And what do you think that you can do to stop me?" He began to beat his wings, rising up. "I can destroy the lot of you!"

That couldn't happen. She could see his hands fumbling for something; a weapon, perhaps? But there wasn't one.

At least not one that he had.

She pulled the wrapped package from where she'd kept it on her back and cried out to get his attention. "Use this!"

He caught it effortlessly, pulling the wrapping off to reveal an oddly shaped duel disk. At least odd for a human; she'd seen a few who carried duel disks and this wasn't like one of those.

But he slung it on his arm with perfect ease and long practice before he drew a hand of cards from the deck, a monster materializing a heartbeat later: Fire Trooper.

Plamen only laughed, head darting forward. Fire Trooper tried to strike as well, but fire flared, and Plamen's laughter echoed sharply back from the surrounding rocks. When she could see again, Fire Trooper wasn't there anymore.

"There has to be something else," the other muttered, taking a step back, but keeping himself in between the flaming bird and herself. "But I don't have anything right now!"

She didn't know his deck, didn't know his strategy, but she stepped to where she could see his hand, hoping for an idea. What she saw were mostly Fire and Pyro based cards, nothing that would give them any sort of advantage.

But then one of the cards caught her attention. Why what was obviously a fire duelist would have that card she didn't know, but it offered the chance they would need.

"What we need is the ocean!"

He turned toward her, only for a second before he had to bring his attention back to Plamen before another attack struck at them both. Each of them rolled in opposite directions, but she made certain to get to where she had room to work.

She raised her trident, holding it between her hands. "I call upon the power that dwells within me! Great God I serve, I call upon the power that you've granted to me! The power to change the field to the sea!"

All around them came the unyielding waves of the sea, circling him, her, the fairies, and Plamen. He pulled a second card from his hand.

"Anchor Bind! When the field is the sea, then all Fire monsters are destroyed!"

Plamen's wings beat faster for a few seconds as he rose up higher, staring down as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard. He had no time to protest any further, since the enchanted chains bound his feet together. This lasted only for a few moments before the effect activated and a high wave overcame the firebird, extinguishing the flames, and he exploded into a pile of dust.

For several long minutes he and she stared at one another, each breathing a little heavier. Then she essayed a smile.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

He shook his head, sheathing his wonderful duel disc in a holster by his side. "Don't expect me to be your hero. I can't be anyone's hero."

"But you're so strong! So brave!" The fairies darted closer to him, pleading. "Please help us! There's no one else who can!"

She came closer herself. "They're right. We've searched for a hero who can defeat Haou, and you're the only one that we've found who might stand a chance."

He turned away. "No. I… I fled from Haou when he killed my partner. I couldn't even avenge him." He swallowed. "I'm no one you want. No one at all. For any reason."

She started to reach for him, but pulled her hand back as he moved away.

"You are that hero. You can be." She believed he could be. She wanted to believe with all of her heart.

Blood trickled down from his shoulders. She started to reach again, before stopping once more. "Please. Let me at least dress your wounds."

He glanced towards her, and she could see the denial rising on his lips before she raised her hands. "I can cover them. I won't touch your skin – unless you allow it."

He knew. She knew. Their countdowns matched. But until that first touch between them happened, the bond would not establish itself. She refused to do that without his consent.

For a few moments, he kept on staring at her. Then slowly, he nodded. "Very well."


To Be Continued

Notes: I wanted this to be a one-shot but it grew a bit on me. I'll update it once a week. There's also a reason I haven't used a name for Sea God's Priestess/Maiden of the Aqua. It will be revealed by the end.

Also, why does O'Brien have Anchor Bind in his deck? He's a fire/pyro type duelist and Anchor Bind only works when Umi (Ocean) is on the field. I may decide to explain that.