Hello! Welcome to my Yu-Gi-Oh All-Original Fanfiction! I don't want to talk much in this Author's note, as knowing myself, I'd probably reveal too much. But there are some important things to establish before you start reading this fan fiction.
This will be taking place in the real world, but at the same time, it wouldn't be. What I mean by this is that there will be no canon characters appearing in this fan fiction because they're all fictional characters, that the Yu-Gi-Oh series is just that: a fictional series. Konami actually exists instead of Industrial Illusions. However, there will be made-up cards and booster cards because come on, this is what happens in every episode ever.
Also, I've never been in a big tournament before, so I'm bound to get some things wrong (A LOT OF THINGS WRONG) and I'm not well-versed in the meta-game, but I can't change it at this point because everything is already planned out (as planned out as it could be). The point is that this story was always in my head and I feel like if I don't write it out. it's going to haunt me forever.
Anyway! Here we goooo!
Side note: if you don't know how to play, you probably won't enjoy this. This is going to rely heavily on your knowledge of the game.
From below, Raymond could hear the shattering of the vase he bought for his mother.
It wasn't one of those cheap glass vases; it was the porcelain painted with blue flowers and olive branches. A fine piece of art his father helped him choose. He didn't ask money from her or anyone to buy it for her; that would have rendered it meaningless. Instead, he went around the neighborhood asking if anyone had anything that needed to be done and he did it for a low price. Helped mow Mr. Duncan's lawn, walked Mrs. Monroe's dogs, babysat the Rhoads sisters, and so on. All of these things when he was still only nine years old.
It was by the sweat of his brow did he earned the gift to show her how much he appreciated his mom.
And his dad just knocked it out of the shelf like it was a worthless item to relieve his stress.
No matter how hard Raymond tried to cover his ears, he could still hear the heated exchange between them. The wails of his mother and beckoning of his father lessened as his fear took the better of him, making him cower upstairs and refuse to peek down on them.
"Why!?" His mother cried out in confusion as she too took something from the living room and slammed it by the wall. "Richard, why!?"
"For God's sake, if you stop and listen, you'll know why!" His father screamed back. The rest of his sentence were only mumbled as Raymond tried to plug his ears harder. But it wouldn't change anything. Raymond was only refusing to face the truth occurring downstairs. Only a staircase away.
Richard used to always come home with a smile on his face. A buttoned-up suit, chokingly tight tie, and a briefcase of important documents. Raymond can recall the times where he and his sister would run up and scream "Daddy!" as they clutch onto his legs. It brightened any father at the end of the day, to have two children eager to see you home after a long and exhausting day in a cubicle.
Raymond used to call his dad the cookie monster from "Sesame Street" as Richard stuff his face with the snacks before supper to satisfy his growling stomach.
Mom would take time out from preparing the dinner to kiss him a welcoming taste and Raymond and his sister would say a long "Eww…" every time. No shame, just love flowing through the blessed family, as his mom always prayed for every night. Beautiful, wasn't it? A classical family so many singles yearn for and would be jealous of. The most blissful experience to take part in.
So fragile to be shattered by a single mistake.
"I told you to stay the hell away from her, Richard!"
"It was a one-time mistake!"
"One time!? ONE TIME!? She showed me how many times you've called her! It explains everything! Why you keep making excuses and why you've not been home like you used to!"
"We're just friends, nothing more! What we had is dust in the past!"
"A friend who you spend more time with than with your own family! I've seen how she's looked at you, she wants you back!"
"What do you know!? You don't know every single detail of my life!"
"I don't know!? We're married, I know more than enough!"
The raging roars below started to become mumbled again as Raymond felt two warm arms wrapped around him. He turned his head to find his elder sister embracing him as tightly as possible. Her long black hair with blonde tips fell onto his shrinking shoulders like a waterfall and he could feel her arms shaking in crippling fear as he looked upon her eyes, trying to hold back the tears.
"Shh, it's okay Raymond." She began, stroking his cold arms with the comforting warmth of her body. "Mom and dad are just having a fight. It'll pass, and they'll make up."
"Are they really?" Raymond asked with watery eyes. Even Raymond, as a child of five years old, could sense the conquering doubt in her words. He knew what was going on; Mom always said that adultery is not something so easily forgiven. Mom would take them to church every month and teach them the Word of God. Dad would sometimes be there too. The Seventh Commandment to which his mother and father had been teaching to their children.
But Richard was a hypocrite.
"Fine! I admit it! I don't love you anymore! Are you happy now!? You got me! Do you even know how unloved I felt!? You think our marriage was some magical prize you won, and I was supposed to make you happy!? Keep blaming me for our marriage problems." Raymond's father finally spoke the thoughts on his mind and stormed out of the house.
The dust settled, everything was so quiet that the siblings could hear the mumbled whispering of their neighbors a couple of lawns across. Gossips and topics. Soon, it spread to the ears of everyone the family knew; the woman didn't know the meaning of privacy or how to shut the hell up.
Gathering up their courage, Raymond and his sister slowly crept down the staircase to check the terrain after the storm. Of course, the first thing they see was the broken pieces of the vase thrown off the shelf, shattered near Raymond's school backpack. A few other things broken as well: the tea set given to them on their wedding day, the photo of the family camping trip to the Jasper National Park, his sister's trophies, and so on.
Mom was going to be okay, right? She wouldn't let this cripple her just yet. Mom and Dad would come back to amend what damage he did, and—
They found their mother sobbing helplessly, sitting on her knees.
"Come on kid, get up!"
Raymond started to open his eyes again, finding himself laying face-down on the fighting ring. A mat surrounded by a wild audience cheering and booing at him.
"Get up!" Someone from his corner shouted at him. A man's voice. His sponsor Ben.
Right. Raymond was in the middle of a fight, wasn't he?
His neck felt a little sprained and his legs were asleep, felt like his legs were stuffed with needles inside. Though it didn't take long for the numbness to go away and returned to his control. Every muscle in his body began to stretch out as he moved, adjusting to the now active body that he commanded. His heartbeat returned to normal and his eyes were no longer weary. It wasn't any good of a sleep he ever had, but it certainly returned his energy to continue again.
"Seven!" The referee shouted.
Raymond tried to get up by pulling on one of the ropes. Instead, his tired arm gave into the nulling pain and collapsed weakly on the mat. In retrospect, he did a pretty good job at protecting his head, no more than a couple for hits. That didn't make it easier on the rest of his body though.
"Eight!"
Raymond tried again; this time, he managed to push down the feeling of the screeching bruises that covered his body. They were begging for him to stay down, that this fight wasn't worth fighting for. Never listened to them, because they're a bunch of liars, no matter how much they're a part of Raymond.
"Nine!"
His opponent turned back to him. His cocky smile just ticked off Raymond even more, though it didn't tick him off as much as the first time. Both of them knew that Raymond threw some heavy punches as well. If he could just throw a few more punches in, he'd win this fight. He had to.
Not to mention that when the ten seconds was up, his opponent was free to beat on him even more.
"HE'S UP!" The referee announced, much to the temporary dismay of those who betted against him. Why wouldn't they be? He was going up against the reigning champion after all. "You okay? You think you can still fight?"
Raymond only nodded. His mouth guard didn't allow him to speak.
"Beat his shit, Greenie!" A spectator shouted from the audience as a right jab got Raymond on the side.
The hard, bare knuckles clashed against the side of his face, knocking him off balance and he lost sight of his opponent for half a second. Half a second was less than enough for his opponent to clock his face again, as Raymond blocked that incoming attack.
Raymond countered with a mirror jab, repaying his opponent with the same treatment as he received. But that only made the guy angrier; each of his hits were only coals fueling the fire within the other fighter. Raymond kept his fist guards up, blocking the fists from knocking his teeth out. Over and over, he couldn't move his arms from guarding as his opponent rapidly shot his fists that aimed for his pretty face.
"Finish him, Greenie!" Another spectator shouted from the gathering crowd. "Fuck him up really good! Let his mama see his fuck-up ass!"
"Argh!" Raymond cried as Greenie kicked him on the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel on one leg. That was all the time Greenie needed to dominate Raymond; he pulled back his fist like he was pulling the string of a bow and let his punch soar across Raymond's face like an arrow. Right at the left eye, confusing his sense of direction and balance, Raymond fell. His left eye was now temporarily blind, and his damaged knee wasn't listening to any command his brain was telling it to do.
Greenie jumped on top of Raymond, swinging his fists back and forth aimed at his head. He only had one arm to guard; the other arm was pinned down by Greenie's leg. He could parry one swinging fist, but then it left him open to the other fist, hammering down at the side of his head. Desperately, Raymond tried to wiggle his other arm free; little by little, it came closer to becoming loose, despite Greenie's best efforts to keep his other arm bounded. So instead, Greenie pinned down Raymond's arm down with his own.
Now both fighters had only one arm to work with. Raymond saw his opportunity right at that second; he punched the guy straight in the nose. It distracted him; his face felt caved in, he teared up almost immediately and a painful headache quickly followed. It really knocked the wind out of him and his nose started bleeding. He wouldn't be able to breathe through his nose at all, drowning in his own blood.
Greenie lost focus and Raymond freed himself from his grasp. Now was his chance; Raymond readied his punch and smacked it right up Greenie's jaw, distorting his sense of balance even further. Again, he smacked on Greenie's head, then kicked him at the back of his knees to pin him down. Raymond now had the leverage, beating and kicking Greenie until his body gave out and couldn't fight against Raymond's assaults any longer.
He was down. Greenie was down.
"One!" The referee began. "Two!"
Greenie didn't stay down easily, as he too tried to pull himself up by the ropes. As if mimicking Raymond's previous actions, his arm also collapsed on the mat. He tried again, pushing himself up to stand, but failed again. His actions weren't fast enough to catch up with the referee's countdown, as he neared to completion.
"Nine! Ten! HE'S OUT! HE'S OUT!"
Raymond collapsed on his knees, rewinding every scene in his mind. He could've arm-dragged Greenie when Greenie went to the punch; instead, Raymond chose to take that and attempted to counter. An arm-drag would've been more successful. His second mistake was to assume that Greenie at least had the honor of a fist-fight; how wrong he was when Greenie tried to shatter his kneecap. This was an illegal and dirty fight, why did Raymond assume honor was here in the first place?
The fight was done, Raymond had won. It was about time he got off and rest up for another day. But Raymond was stopped by his sponsor, excited that the horse he had bet on was the winner. But he was still not satisfied. He—the crowd—they all wanted to see brutality. "What are you doing!? We came to see a show! Get in there and beat him up really good!"
"Ben, he's down; we both agreed that I just had to win." Raymond pointed to the still-conscious man lying on the mat with pain all over his body. It was obvious to everyone that he cannot fight anymore. "I've won; now give me the money promised."
His sponsor tsked, regretting that he should've added more to the deal. But there was one idea in his mind. "How about I pay you double to mess him up really good?"
Double… Raymond looked back at the defeated Greenie. Should he? Greenie was already down… what kind of a man would Raymond be if he attacked someone who already lost? Looking at him, Raymond felt a bit of pity even; Greenie must have his own reasons for entering the pit. It was over however, no need to humiliate and injure Greenie any more than it was.
But… Double… it'd too much to refuse.
"Fine." Raymond submitted to the money.
Raymond returned to Greenie, fists ready and will determined. He was going to have to get that double. Greenie tried to back away, but Raymond was faster, jumping on top of him and bound him to that location. Raymond was going to give the crowd what they want: Greenie's brutalized head on a stake, and there was nothing his sense of pride and morality could do to stop him.
His sister came first.
"Yo! Some nigga called the cops!" Some lookout thug shouted into the warehouse. "They're here!"
Raymond stopped; what timing they have. Good or bad, he couldn't decide. They could bust in here at any minute now and arrest everyone, arrest the crowd, his sponsor, him. He needed that money; any money he could get his hands on: he needed it. Although… this was the perfect excuse to spare Greenie from pain; he can make a run for it and his sponsor will perfectly understand. Sure, he'd have to give up the doubled payment, but he'd still have the money he agreed upon.
Raymond quickly ran to his sponsor, hitting him on the back of the shoulder like hitting a horse to hasten its legs. "Come on, let's make a run for it. Follow me."
Most of the people in there was heading for the back door, but Raymond led his sponsor upstairs, skipping steps and moving their legs as fast as they could. The door started banging, and banging, and banging, until it finally gave in to the ramming outside.
"Freeze!" The police busted in shouting, with guns and cuffs ready and chasing the rest of the people in the fight club. "Nobody moves!"
This would've all been avoided if some idiot kept his mouth shut about fight club. It was the first rule: never talk about it. But otherwise Raymond would've never found out about it.
The metal staircase sure as hell wasn't quiet, echoing every running steps Raymond and his sponsor was making, attracting some of the other officers that begin chase after them. They passed the second floor, third floor, fourth floor, until they reached the roof. Raymond peeked over the edge, watching the police having this building surrounded with their siren cars and uniforms standing guard outside. Must be a slow day for them to have so many gathered for such a petty thing.
"What the hell are we doing here?" Ben was angry; how'd someone escape in this situation? "You weren't hit that hard in the head, were you?"
Raymond pointed at the side of the roof that led to the next building. The two roofs were close enough that one could jump from one side to the other. This was his plan; the police shouldn't have that much people to cover the whole block of buildings. From one glance, Raymond could count the number of uniforms on the ground, and it sure wasn't enough to surround them.
"Oh, never mind, I take that back." Ben declared. He ran after Raymond who already had a head-start, faster and faster, picking up the pace if he wanted to make that jump. The police just arrived on the roof right on time, spotting the two fleeing away from the scene.
"Freeze!" One of them shouted. "Stay where you are!"
Ben stopped at his tracks; cursing himself for actually listening. Now he didn't have the speed to make the jump anymore. Perhaps it was for the best; rather to be arrested than to risk broken bones or even death. Looking at it now, Ben backed away from the edge and raised his hands above his head and got on his knees, waiting for the officers to come and put cuffs on him. His mind shifted back to the logical as he was kneeling; he could always pull a few strings to untangle the mess of yawn he was trapped in.
But Raymond didn't stop. No. He couldn't stop. As he ran, there was only one person on his mind: his sister. Forget the police, forget the possible death that would occur if he didn't make it, forget even the money he fought so hard for a second. Last thing she needed was to worry about him over the news that he had been arrested while she laid on that hospital bed, slowly having the sickness take over.
No. Not today, not ever. She didn't deserve that heavy weight on her mind.
Raymond ran, at this point let gravity and momentum fling his legs as far as possible, then putting energy back to his legs to push him forward. This was it; take the chance. One shot to make it. Here goes, he leapt...
And his legs failed to land onto the next building's roof.
He fell, quickly closing in the five-story length between him and the concrete ground. Would've had his blood spattered on the ground below had his hands not grabbed onto the edge of the other roof.
"Damn…" Ben muttered in awe as the two police officers chasing them caught up and arrested him. "Didn't think he would actually make it."
Raymond pulled himself up to the platform, crawling his way over the ridge and hide from a gun's line of sight. But there was no time to waste, the cops must've spotted him running away from them and they must've radioed about it about now.
"We have a runner," one of the officers spoke to his radio. Raymond got back up, running further away and not looking back.
God damn this all; he fought Greenie for naught. If he ever found out whoever made that call to the police and made Raymond lose that money he earned, he would personally sucker-punch that son of a bitch and throw him in front of the angry people stolen of a show they paid to enjoy. But for now, he fled…
It had been a few days before things calmed down with the police. It was no miracle that he didn't get caught; he used a stage name after all. And even if his sponsor Ben did talk, he only knew Raymond's pseudonym. One could never be too careful.
Raymond walked through the waiting room on the far left of the corridor. The hospital was crowded as usual; heck, even the same people were still there when he came over this evening, and that was five hours ago. Just waiting and waiting and waiting… some just got here, other have been waiting here for hours just to see a nurse. Some already saw the nurse and was told again to seat down in the triage and take another number to wait for the doctor to come. There were people with just minor injuries, a sprained wrist sitting across from him and a teenage boy wearing a surgical mask, coughing frequently.
People came, and people went. That sounded nice, until one realized that people came to be treated, only to be ordered to sit around for hours. Once they get tired of waiting, they simply went away, unable to find the patience to wait anymore. They risked their own health to spare themselves from the boredom.
Not that Raymond could blame them, he would've done the same thing if it was him. Time always tended to stretch itself out to as if it was a conscious being that took pleasure in aging people's minds and imprisoning them in a jail made of their own volition, never knowing if their time have come.
"Raymond?" The young nurse at the front desk called out. "Visiting your sister again today?"
"Yeah…" Raymond was handed the visitor's log which he quickly signed. "It's pretty obvious."
She smiled, not knowing whether or not that was a sign saying he didn't want to talk. "Yeah, it is."
He left the conversation awkward. In truth, he didn't care much for small talk with some people, even those he kind of knew. He was here for just one purpose and one purpose only.
And after he made his way through the elevator on the second floor, down the corridor at the room second last, there was that special someone who slept on the bed he laid his eyes on.
It was her, Reynalda.
Beautiful Reynalda, a woman who knew how to calm a raging nova and a woman who could stop floods running down from a child's eyes. But in front of Raymond, she would act as a child herself from time to time. Only to him, she would act that way. He didn't know if she just still saw him as a child, or that she trusted him enough to reveal her inner child around him. Maybe she just liked annoying the heck out of him, that was certainly seemed like what she would do.
She looked adorable when she slept; Raymond was thankful that she didn't snore like their mother. Moments with her put his heart at ease, knowing that she was always there for him, and now he would always be here for her. His hand moved towards her, stroking her long blonde hair, and running his fingers down her pale face. Until he touched the drooling parts around her mouth.
"Raymond…" She yawned as she stretched her limbs and quietly got up, careful not to wake the other patients in the room. "How long have you been here?"
Raymond pulled out a napkin out his pocket and started wiping the drool off. Despite his best efforts, it had already stained deep on her gown. "I just got here."
"Raymond…" She yawned again, punching him on the same shoulder that was still healing from the fight days ago. He held his stature, biting his tongue down to not show any pain. "Don't you have school? You should go."
"School's already over." Raymond reached for her hand and grip it as tight as possible without hurting her, as if she would leave him for Heaven if he didn't do it. After realizing that he is however hurting her, he let her go and patted her head, soothing her back to leaning on his shoulder. "And besides, you're more important than a day of school."
"Raymond," Reynalda plead. "As your responsible older sister, it's my duty to make sure you have a proper and good education."
"But—"
"No buts!" Reynalda countered with a hint of authority over him. Raymond tilt his head down in shame and obedience, but Reynalda raised it back up with her gentle hands and radiate her smile upon him. "Raymond, Mom wanted the best for you. I want the best for you. I especially want you to be the best you can be. A good life, happy future, maybe introduce me to your girlfriend…"
"That's assuming I have the time to be intimate with another human being." Raymond joked. "You're already a handful; I doubt I can handle another one."
"Hey!" She threw a slap on his wrist. "That… that… um…"
"You can't even defend yourself?" He chuckled.
"Shut up!" She pouted. She even folded her arms and shook away her face! Oh, that was just adorable. But then some idea popped up in her head and she smirked. "I'm just too good that you keep coming back."
"That's… not a good comeback."
"I don't care! My words are final!" She pouted again! Oh, how he just wanted to poke her cheek with his finger. She really acted like a child sometimes. Speaking of which…
"I object!" Raymond humored her. "I propose we settle this in a children's card game!"
"What?" Reynalda was baffled.
"You heard me." Raymond smiled. His hands reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of sleeved cards and placed it on the breakfast table. "I found our old Yu-Gi-Oh cards when I was looking for stuff to sell. I tried selling them, but nobody would buy it, so I'm stuck with it."
"You tried to sell it?" Reynalda was a little shocked. "Raymond, these are your favorite cards."
"Were." He corrected. And honestly, it hurt him to hear that she thought that he wouldn't sacrifice a mere childhood nostalgia for her well-being. He reached out and held her cold hands, warming them up. "Sis, I would sell anything for you to get better."
"Mom used to buy them for us…" She spoke softly. Her eyes became entranced as she went down on memory lane. Raymond couldn't understand how she could've found that memory something good to remember, when he was jumping up and down and crying out loud for her to buy one for him.
"Yeah… she did." He lost his first deck on their trip to China. It was a starter deck with Junk Warrior as the cover card. It was way back when he thought that anything a Yu-Gi-Oh anime protagonist played was automatically good because they would always win with it. back when… well, when she was never divorced.
"You used to be so obsessed with these." She chuckled. "You kept nagging me to play them with you."
"Yeah, I did." It gave him a thrill, he wanted to feel like the king of games himself. What four-year old boy didn't want to feel that way?
"I…" She choked a bit. "I miss her."
"Me too…" Raymond then shuffled the deck and drew five cards. "Same as always?"
"Of course." She smiled as well and drew five cards from the same deck. "Ladies first."
[TURN 1 Reynalda LP/4000 Hand/5 — 6]
She took a long and hard look at the cards she had in her hand. It's been so long… how many years had it been? Six? Nine? Thirteen? Raymond didn't keep track, not when his memories were as fallible to insignificant things as any memories from his childhood. Time indeed flew so fast for him to have felt that it wasn't that long ago. But if memories served him enough, she should always have that one card in her hand.
"When I control no monster, I can special summon Photon Thrasher [LIGHT Warrior LV4 ATK/2100 DEF/0] from my hand. Then, I summon Photon Chargeman [LIGHT Warrior LV4 ATK/1000 — 2000 DEF/1000] and tribute the two to special summon the Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon [LIGHT Dragon LV8 ATK/3000 DEF/2500]."
Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Of course, she would have that in her hand. She always had it in her hand. It was like she was connected to the card or something.
"No fair! You're cheating!"
"How so?"
"There's just no way you always have Galaxy-Eyes in your hand! Dragons are for boys! You're a girl!"
"Maybe it just likes me more than you."
"No fair! That's my favorite monster! Why does it always choose you!?"
Raymond chuckled, much to Reynalda's confusion. He could remember it like it was yesterday. It was more like a curse in this case however, as he could categorize that moment under cringe things he said as a kid.
She set one card and passed the turn over to him.
[TURN 1 Reynalda LP/4000 Hand/2]
[TURN 2 Raymond LP/4000 Hand/5 — 6]
"I activate Luminous Dragon Ritual to ritual summon Paladin of Photon Dragon!" Raymond dramatically declared, mimicking the all-beloved sexy voice that was Yami Yugi. Why? Why not? Childhood nostalgia was too hard to resist. Reynalda tried to hold in her laughter as he grabbed the deck and searched through it. "Then I'll tribute it for my own Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
Reynalda flipped over her set card. "I activate Bottomless Trap Hole to banish your dragon!" She played along, channeling her own anime duelist.
"Not good enough," He smirked. "I activate the equip spell, Different Dimension Reincarnation. By discarding a card, I can special summon back Galaxy-Eyes."
"Clever." She smiled.
"Now! Galaxy-Eyes attacks and banishes both of our monsters!" Raymond declared. "Then, both of our monsters return at the end of the battle phase. Now my monster's fate is no longer linked to my equip spell! I set 1 card and end."
[TURN 2 Raymond LP/4000 Hand/0]
[TURN 3 Reynalda LP/4000 Hand/2 — 3]
"I activate Polymerization to fusion summon Twin Photon Lizard!" She grabbed the two monsters out from her hand and sent it to the graveyard, then she searched through the deck for her monster. Yes, the main deck; neither of them never bothered to separate the extra deck from it before and they sure weren't going to change it now. It practically became tradition.
"Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon attacks your copy and banishes both, allowing my Twin Photon Lizard to attack you directly!"
Raymond's hand was already on his face-down card. "I don't think so."
"What?"
"I activate my trap, Ring of Destruction! Now Twin Photon is destroyed and we both take damage equal to its attack!"
[TURN 3 Reynalda LP/4000 — 1600 Hand/0]
[TURN 3 Raymond LP/4000 — 1600 Hand/0]
"And since you've got nothing in your hand and on your field, I'm assuming it's my turn now?"
"Our Galaxy-Eyes return at the end of the battle phase, and I end my turn." She frowned.
[TURN 3 Reynalda LP/1600 Hand/0]
[TURN 4 Raymond LP/1600 Hand/0 — 1]
"I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Paladin of Photon Dragon!" He cracked up his victorious laughter up five notches, purposefully annoying Reynalda. Oh, how he loved to rub it in her face! "I then tribute Paladin of Photon Dragon to summon the third copy of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon from the deck!"
"Oh no!" She cried out, still in character.
"Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon attacks your copy and banishes both, allowing my second Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon to attack you directly!"
[TURN 4 Raymond LP/1600 — 0 Hand/0]
"Noooooo~!" She raised her arms and prolonged her voice, crying out like an actual photon stream of destruction was destroying her inside out.
"You can stop now." He suggested, giving her a deadpan stare.
She burst into laughter a second later. He never enjoyed this specific laugh. There was the genuine laugh when he break-danced for her on her birthday, then there that wicked laugh she had when his first-grade teacher had to call Mom to tell her he peed in his pants and needed a change of clothes.
But her laughing soon turned to coughing. At first, he thought it was just a regular one, the one someone would have after breathing in too much dust. But when the coughing persisted, he immediately shot up from his seat and eased her onto the bed.
Blood got his sleeve.
"Reynalda!" Raymond panicked. "Hold on! I'll get a doctor!"
"It's fine…" She wiped her mouth with the box of tissues on her nightstand, to which she tossed into the garbage bin a little further away. "The doctor already gave me my meds this morning. I shouldn't have stressed myself."
"But—"
"It's fine, Raymond." She emphasized.
Raymond didn't want to stress her any more than she already was, but neither did he miss the inside of the garbage bin, which was halfway filled with bloody tissues. He hoped for a second that it belonged to the patient next to her… he wanted for it to be the patient next to her. He wanted anyone else to die, as long as it wasn't Reynalda. But he knew better.
"It's getting worse, isn't it?"
She didn't want to answer, but she couldn't hide it, not from him.
"Don't worry, sis." He placed his hand on her shoulders. It wasn't gentle, though it wasn't strong either. It was the touch of hope that he tried to give. "You'll get that surgery."
She chuckled, her face downcast. "Raymond, we don't have the money for that."
"We will…" He gulped. "I'll make sure we do."
"Raymond…" She was suddenly terrified of what he implied. "What are you—"
"I found…" He threw up in his mouth a little. "I found Dad."
Her eyes widened. "Dad? He— you've met him!?" Her eyes glittered with hope. Hope from a worthless man that surpassed any amount Raymond had given her. It disgusted him. "How is he?"
"I didn't say I've met him, I only said I've found that son of a bitch."
"Raymond, don't call him that…"
"Why not!?" He didn't mean to raise his voice at her like that, but he couldn't lower it even though he wanted to. "He left us to be with some D-Class whore!"
"Raymond…" She took hold of his hand. He suddenly felt himself getting calmer as the seconds went by without her letting go. "I just want go back to the times when we were all together."
He wanted to combat her. Oh, how he wanted to scream just about how wrong she was to easily forgive that man. Mom recovered, but she was never the same ever again. Night after night she overworked herself to maintain the life they lived. That is until she got sick just like Reynalda now.
If that man had remained faithful, Mom would still be alive.
"I'm sorry, sis…" Raymond sighed. "But that'll never happen."
"I know, I just…" She couldn't finish her sentence. Instead she opted to squeeze her bed sheets as she pondered the thought in her mind. If only… if only…
"On another note," Raymond forced himself to smile as Raymond raised his bag of DVDs. "I borrowed some the new documentary this time."
"Really?" Reynalda's eyes sparkled, willing to forget the conversation that happened only a couple of seconds ago. "Is it—?"
"Yes sister, it's about space." He smiled as he went over to the television set and inserted the disk. The film immediately began to play and the first thing to appear was the moving picture of the Milky Way Galaxy.
"Oh my God! I could kiss you now!"
"I rather not." Raymond grinned.
Seriously, she was so obsessed with space and all the things associated with it. In fact, the only reason she agreed to duel him when he was little was because he agreed to let her lecture him about all the planets of the solar system and the stars well beyond man's reach. She even got a telescope which she used every night to gaze on the stars way past bedtime.
It was their little secret when their parents thought they actually slept after bedtime.
She would make him stay watch every Friday and Saturday night to look out for any aliens that might accidentally blow their cover. Of course, even at his age, he knew aliens didn't exist. Although if he confessed the truth back then, Reynalda would've never played with him ever again.
The telescope was still in their house after all these years; a birthday gift from Mom's first and only husband.
Raymond sat back down next to her. She never took her eyes off the screen, but she cozied up to him, using his warmth as an enchantment to daze her into the immersion. As he took the journey with her, the space around him felt like they've transformed into the void of space. Just seemingly flying among the stars until he realized they were not stars, but galaxies each containing millions, billions, and even trillions of stars, most of which have their own planets and celestial bodies orbiting around.
It truly revealed a sense of scale how small humanity were.
As the two delve deeper into the galaxies, individual dots emerged from the chaos, and they began to realize what one trillion stars actually looked like. A fraction of an overwhelming sensation arose, that somehow everything in the universe was connected. National boundaries completely vanished, coupled with the realization that the world was incredibly fragile.
When he looked back at her, he found the galaxy reflecting perfectly in her eyes.
"You enjoy the show," Raymond rose from his chair. "I'm going to make a call."
After gently closing the door behind, he sighed and leaned his head against the wall. He wanted to just slowly slouch to the floor instead of standing, but he didn't. Maintaining his composure wasn't easy, neither was walking to the waiting room and inserting coins into a pay phone as he dialed the number written on a piece of paper.
"Come on, answer it, you little—"
"You have reached the voicemail of 'Richard Ortega', please leave a message after the beep."
Ortega. It still bothered him that the man changed his last name. What kind of person does that in an attempt to escape his past? Had he not at least some dignity to own up to what he did!? The man did not understand even the concept of shame! Or was it the surname of the woman who snared her claws into his balls? He must be so emasculated to let her strip him of his role as a man and as the head of a family. No doubt it was one final icing on the cake, to salt the wound on his mother's heart.
And the Goddamn voicemail again! It was always his voicemail! Not once did he bothered to answer the phone. He tried calling his business number, his personal number, heck, even that home number of his California mansion. Nothing worked.
"It's Raymond. You listen close and you listen really good." Raymond started ranting immediately after the beep. "I'm going to say this as much as I need to, just like the past seven times I've tried calling you: Reynalda is going to die. She's sick, she's in the hospital right now, and the doctors can't help her because they're too fucking incompetent. But I've found a U.S. hospital that can treat her, maybe even cure her, but I don't have the money. And don't you dare pull some bullshit about how you don't have the money either; I doubt being the CEO of some major corporation leaves you dirt poor."
Raymond breathed out a sigh. If he didn't, then the pay phone would've found itself smashed out of order. Plus, he found himself just a little bit calmer. "Now I know that you want nothing to do with us, but at least acknowledge that she was once your daughter. If you didn't get my previous messages, I'll say it again: she's at Quebec General. And… she doesn't hold the same grudge as I do."
Raymond refused to elaborate.
"Good bye."
He hung up.
Just as unreliable as ever. He had some hope that the man would at least have some sort of responsibility to his former family, but alas, he had hoped too much. He could not be thinking clearly if he thought a man who never came back to visit would come back ever.
As the only man left in the household, he must find another solution. But the fact that he himself couldn't do anything wasn't going to change anytime soon. He needed a miracle to happen.
It was then he saw a sign leading to a chapel.
It was strange to see such a sign, as he never really paid much attention to it before. It was the moment he thought of the word miracle, there it appeared. For some reason, he thought he might be hallucinating for unexplained reasons. But when he reached and turned the corner, he dispelled such notions as the hospital indeed had a built-in chapel.
It was small, of course. There were only two columns of chairs on each side of the center walkway, which both contained five chairs per column, giving it a grand total of ten chairs in the room. The altar was extremely small as well compared to the normal altars he would see whenever he passed by the open doors of his local church. It was only about a yard long and held two unlit candles with a shroud covering the surface.
Jesus Christ was crucified at the center.
He felt awkward to say the least. After all he had said about the Abrahamic God, he felt like someone who relentless insulted someone over the internet and then having absolutely nothing to say when he had to meet them face-to-face. Yes, that was exactly what was happening.
But he did wish for a miracle…
"Who would want to believe in a kind of asshole who takes kids away from families because someone believes something else? Not me."
Raymond knelt down.
"I'm submitting; are You happy? I admit defeat."
"Monsters should not be worshipped. If you are worshipping a kid killer and abuser then you're a really messed-up person."
It was so easy to say those things when things went his way. Maybe it was because that he was left with no father at the age of five did he started to blame his problems on anything—anyone—but himself. Even after Mom had died, he refused to change his mind.
"Why would a perfect God need worship of any kind, other than to satisfy his own ego?"
Come on, he should look at himself. He's been fighting and dislocating jaws since he was fourteen. Even after Mom and his sister found out, he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop. The smell of money was too alluring.
"Yes, the all-loving, all-powerful God torturing an innocent girl to death because her brother doesn't believe in Him. Exactly. Fucking idiots."
"I don't suppose You've conveniently forgotten everything I've said before, have you?" He bit his lips. The things he said in the past now coming back to hinder his chances. He wanted to just lash out, completely wreck the chapel as he give this imaginary being exactly the treatment it deserved.
But nothing good would come out of that. At best, he would be arrested for public vandalism; at worst, he might actually find out for himself that God exists and just how wrathful He could be other than in his mother's Bible.
"Believers are some of the most shallow, pathetic people on this planet."
"I suppose not…" Raymond hung his head. "And I suppose I'm in no positions to make demands, am I?"
"If 'God' is too much of a coward to confront me directly and chooses to go after my sister instead, it's beyond me why anyone would worship Him."
"But Mom believed in You." He affirmed. "You remember her, don't you? The lady who spent every Sunday helping out in Your churches. The young woman who went as a missionary to countries where kids couldn't afford education and people who almost starved to death. Remember how many lives she helped. Surely, You have to give that credit when credit is due."
"If you rely on a fairy tale to get your life together, you are in need of a lobotomy."
"I don't expect You to do this for me, but please, do it for her. Consider everything that she did in Your name, even after You let an temptress destroy her marriage. She kept her faith to You."
"God helps those who help themselves. Therefore, help yourself. There is no God. Weaklings cling to a god when they have no hope left."
"Give me a chance to save her."
Raymond paused. For all his talk of dystheism if there really was a deity… he had no words to describe it. He was going against everything he believed in. Once he said the words to seal his confessions, there was no going back. If he turned out to be right all along but still bent the knee to a man-made concept, there would be nothing but disgrace left for him to return to. But if he was wrong…
"I'm opening my heart up here… I'm willing to accept you into my heart and praise Your name…" Raymond paused. He took a deep breath. This was not easy. Not easy at all. "Heck, I'll dedicate my whole life to You."
A tinge of instant regret shook him out of his prayer.
"What the hell am I doing?" He got up from his knees. "This is stupid."
Something caught the corner of his eyes as he was about to walk out. On the second chair of the right column, a pamphlet was sticking out from the corner. Normally, he wouldn't care for things like that; he ignored those people standing out in the sun handing out flyers all the time. But this one was special. He recognized the logo that was on it.
Curious, he walked over and picked it up. It was exactly the logo he thought it was.
"'Yu-Gi-Oh!' TCG Exclusive Tournament?" He read out-loud. "Attention duelists, Konami Entertainment of North America is hosting this unique tournament experience. In the spirit of celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary of the launch of this popular card game, we have decided to host a Duelist Kingdom theme tournament with some of the most memorable and iconic things that happened in the original 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' anime!"
Next to it was a pack of cards. More specially, it was addressed to someone named 'Dash Brohan'. Opening it, he found three cards inside. A 'Set Sail for The Kingdom' card, a 'Duelist Kingdom' card and a 'Glory of the Kong's Hand' card. Obviously, they couldn't be used in duels; its text read so on the bottom part. But there was some text on the bottom box as well. 'Used for Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Celebration'.
"To fully replicate the Duelist Kingdom in the anime and manga, entry to this tournament will only be allowed by showing the 'Duelist Kingdom' card. So, it's very important that you do not lose it. There will be no registration before showing the card and deck lists are only required after the first phase of the tournament is over."
Raymond skipped the boring stuff, mostly because of the repetitiveness.
"Third place shall win an opportunity to work alongside our best card designers to create an incredible custom card of an archetype of their choice. Second place will have the added prize of winning a week-long vacation for two at the Tropical Caribbean. First place will be crowned as this year's King of Games, as well as the previous prizes mentioned but with the addition of three million dollars as prize money just as in the anime. Hurry, spots are—"
Wait a second. WAIT A SECOND.
THREE MILLION DOLLARS?
THREE MILLION DOLLARS!?
That was just a little bit more than enough to pay for the operation, transport and hospital stays combined! The thought of even having a little more money left to save for the future! He could never need to work ever again! Or he could start his own business!
And to top it off, he could take her on a free, all-expenses-paid vacation to celebrate her recovery!
Wouldn't Reynalda be happy!? Wouldn't she be glad to see how he won not only her cure, but also winning a bright future they could take hold in their hands!? They could finally make something of themselves instead of slaving away for someone to get the glory!
Wouldn't he make Mom proud?
Raymond snapped his gaze back at the crucifix. Jesus Christ looked different; Jesus looked resurrected.
This settled it. This was the answer to his prayer.
"I will honor what I've said."
He would win that tournament.
He needed to.
He was destined to.
I just want to say this now so that anyone who does actually enjoy this would not be disappointed: I have no schedule for this fan fiction. Life always tend to get in the way. On the times it isn't, procrastination usual competes for my time. Therefore, this story is only planned for under 10-15 chapters. Hopefully, I can finish it as soon as possible.
Also, if you like to know how the main two characters look like, check out my Deviantart page! Same user name! I'm the one who did the cover art for The Beacon Civil War and Relic of the Future by Coeur Al'Aran, The Knight of Lancaster by College Fool, What Embers Remain by A Stereotypical Gamer, etc.
Side note: This is also ALL FIRST DRAFT. This is fan fiction, I'm not going to make any money off of this anyway.
11/13/2018