Author's Note: Okay, before everyone goes and tries to kill me 'cause this fic is so horrendous and all the characters are OOC, I will say this is my FIRST (and possibly only if this goes sour) attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh fic. Normally, I wouldn't be nervous about venturing into a new universe and screwing with canon, but YGO is something I still know very little about, so I could make this go horribly wrong. Please tell me this isn't crap, 'cause if it is I'm totally dropping it. Oh, and by the way, the current version of this story that you see here (or at least the first chaper of it) is like the third revision of this story so far. The other two were just...bad. So, yeah, let it be said that this could definitely be worse. At least that's a good thing...right? Heh-heh.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor am I affiliated with anyone who does. I own whatever you don't recognize, basically. Though there might be others that you don't recognize and I don't own either, but they're planned for later in the fic.
Additional Author's Note: No flames for any Mary Sue-type stuff, please! The original character here is a shinobi white mage for Ra's sake -immediately shuts her mouth as she realizes she's said too much- Okay, go read the story now -slowly walks away from the keyboard, slapping herself in the head all the while-
Relics of the Past
by Judanim
Chapter One: "A New Battle City Tournament"
A twenty-one year-old Seto Kaiba sat silently as he watched people walk up to the new Battle City Tournament registration booths. He and Mokuba had decided to start a new tournament, but they definitely hadn't expected this big a turn out. From his seat he could see the competitors and almost immediately he could tell who were the strong, strategic duelists, and who were the ones just out to see if they could even keep up with everyone else.
Of course, this was all before Yugi Moto and his friends walked up to the booth. Seto inwardly groaned. It's not that they weren't on at least partly-friendly terms after all the stuff they'd been through together, but sometimes he was just annoyed by their constant cheerleading. He only hoped they didn't notice him now.
After Yugi was finished registering he looked over and spotted Seto. "Hey Kaiba!"
He sighed and shook his head. Too late. He gave a slight wave and tried not to look annoyed. The least he could do was be decent to Yugi, who after all had saved his butt on a few occasion. "Yugi."
"I think it was a good idea starting this new tournament. It might show people that Duel Monsters really isn't all that dangerous," Yugi replied. "Well, that and people might finally get the idea that you didn't have anything to do with all those monsters coming to life and running rampant throughout the world."
Seto waved a dismissive hand. "None of that inspired me. Mokuba and I just got bored."
Even though his normal arrogant tone had slipped through in that last statement, Yugi still managed to smile and nod, like he knew that Seto was lying to keep up his cool image. Problem was, he was probably right.
"Hey, Yug, let's go kick some amateur duelists' butt!" an overexcited Joey Wheeler called from near the booth. He seemed surprised to see the corporate executive just idly sitting nearby. "Kaiba? What are you doing here?"
"I'm hosting the tournament. What do you think I'm doing, Wheeler?" Seto shot back. He definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Joey's annoying antics.
"That a challenge?" Joey exclaimed with shaking fists.
The CEO gave a short laugh. "Please. I don't know who the genius was that made Solitaire, but he still made it a lot harder than playing Duel Monsters with you."
For once, Joey didn't lash out. Instead, he played it cool...for some odd reason that only the gods could determine (and Seto was sure that even they might not know). "Usually, I'd say that them's fightin' words, but today I'll let it slide, since I know that you're really just playing it cool when you're actually not such a bad guy."
Everyone around them (including Seto and Yugi) raised an eyebrow. No one was sure which was a scarier thought: Seto being a "normal" guy, or Joey having the insight to notice it.
"Well, look what we have here? Joey's actually got some brains. Look out, Kaiba, Joey might just be the new big guy in town," a very feminine voice said from nearby, but just outside the group.
"Hey, thanks Mai, you mean it?" Joey asked, turning to the owner of the voice and trying to look confident.
Mai Valentine shook out her blonde hair and laughed a bit. "No. I just said that to scare Kaiba."
"Too bad it didn't work," Seto answered, rolling his eyes.
Their conversation was cut short by someone being practically thrown into their direction. Joey fell over from the impact, while Yugi managed to keep his balance, but was pushed forward a couple feet. They both turned around and helped whoever it was stand up. Because he was sitting down and the others were blocking the view, Seto couldn't see who it was, but he could see the look on Mai's face, and it was murderous. For once, the CEO was clueless as to why.
"I'm so sorry," the mysterious person said.
"It's all right. What happened?" Yugi asked.
Seto heard the shuffling to cards and readjusting of a Duel Disc. "Some rude guy pushed me out the way after I was just finished signing up for the tournament. I mean, I know this thing is a big deal, but is it that serious that people totally forget their manners?"
"Well some had none to begin with, you know what I'm sayin'?" Joey replied. "Did you see who pushed you anyway? 'Cause I'll pummel him for you, if you'd like."
"Some blonde muscle guy with sunglasses and an American flag for a bandana."
Instantly, the Kaiba Corp. executive recognized the description of Bandit Keith. He shook his head with a small laugh. It figured that guy would be so anxious to enter a tournament and attempt to get a shot at redemption. Of course, after being publicly trounced twice in Pegasus-related situations, it was almost impossible to come back.
"So you're here for the tournament too, hmm?" Mai asked. Her voice was coated with a poisonous honey, and she wasn't doing anything to hide it. This action seriously confused Seto. Of course, if he could see the face of the mysterious person, he might not be so bewildered.
An uncomfortable silence followed Mai's statement, the kind that has some kind of revelation hidden within its layers. As much as he hated to admit it, Seto really wanted to see the face of that person and find out exactly what the revelation was. It typically wasn't in his personality to do it, but something about this was nagging at him.
"Yeah, I am," the unknown person (who sounded very female as well) said. "But, unlike you, I earned my way to get here. I wasn't simply given the opportunity. I had to work for the registration money and the cards."
Seto saw Mai roll her eyes, as if she'd heard this speech before. Considering Mai's personality (or what he knew of it and what he'd seen in the past), she probably had. "Save it. You're just jealous."
"Jealous? Of you?" The stranger laughed. "Anyone who's jealous of you needs to get their head checked."
"Then it sounds like you are in serious need of a mental scan."
Through a small break in the bodies standing in front of him, Seto could see who he thought was the stranger clench her (at least he thought it was a woman) fists. For the first time in ages, he felt a confused look find its way upon his normally calm face. What in the world was going on here?
"We'll settle this in a duel," the mysterious individual retorted before stalking off. Seto tried to get a glimpse of her face, but Mai's turned back blocked his view. He cursed and leaned back in his chair.
Normally, he wouldn't care. Other people had their own problems; why should he get involved? This, however, was different somehow. That person was familiar. In fact, he almost recognized her voice. The only question was: Why?
