Summary: It wasn't just Yugi and Jonouchi out on the deck when Exodia was lost. Three people jumped into the churning waves that night.
(A/N) This is my first Yugioh fanfiction and I'm really excited about it! I've gotten back into Yugioh after years of just. Y'know, not being into it. Now here I am with this fic! I've been planning it for a while, but it's also kind of practice for another series. I need to get better at manipulating multiple characters at once, so that's where this comes in! I am not confident in my characterization of the characters here and this is exactly why I'm using them. If I want to get as good as possible, I'm gonna have to push myself out of my comfort zones!
I do have to put in this warning though, my original character is prone to some really foul language use and tends to refer to a lot of violence. And is violent when the time calls for it. If violence and foul language upset you, you should not read this story. (Hence why I'll be marking it as rated M) My original character is also meant to challenge certain stereotypes and traditional roles in society. If that makes you uncomfortable, this is also not for you. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to chase y'all off, but from my own experience having an idea of what story or character I'm getting into is always nice.
I also want to note that for certain characters (Like Joey/Jonouchi) I will use both their English titles and their Japanese names. For Jonouchi I can really see Joey being like a nickname for him, so I thought that'd be a fun detail to incorporate. I will also be including my own personal headcanons in here, but I don't have too many yet so I'll mostly be using what's canon. I'd really liked some of what I saw in Season 0 so I've decided to include a couple things from that as canon for this story.
Please leave a review once you have finished reading, all the help I can get to improve my writing is appreciated!
Disclaimer: I'm not going to make much of a disclaimer because Yugioh was made before I was even born… so… I couldn't claim ownership of the manga, the first anime series, and I was way too young to have come up with the second series anime too. So yeah. I definitely do not own Yugioh.
Chapter 1
Exodia Lost
…
"My cards!"
Yugi watched in despair as Exodia's cards drifted to the water below, the waves carrying them into darkness. The only sign of them in the dark of night was the glint of light produced by the ship, reflected off the thin glossy layer applied to every Duel Monsters card.
They were the impossible collection, the Forbidden One only found complete in the deck Yugi Muto had received from his grandfather. The sentimental value those five cards had to the Muto men was far greater than any monetary worth they had. They'd been an example of the powerful bond the two shared. Now Exodia's cards were all drifting away, stolen in different directions by the currents. Was it fate that kept these cards from being together? Yugi was certainly beginning to think so.
The seething rage that had his heart pounding the very moment Haga had cast Exodia away was steadily building up in his chest. Yugi knew this hatred didn't belong to him, even as his own blood burned hot in his veins. The Spirit that resided in the Millennium Puzzle was itching to take control and he could feel it in that strange link between their two minds. He agreed that they had every right to be enraged… but the small youth denied the wordless request to swap places with a pained sort of acceptance. A Shadow Gamewith Haga would do nothing to bring those precious cards back (even if it was tempting to just punish him). Though this didn't mean Yugi was alright with this. Not one bit.
"My grandfather gave me those cards!" The Duelist mourned aloud, his best friend coming to a halt beside him. It'd been apparent Jonouchi was going to chase after Haga, but the blond had whipped around the moment those words left Yugi's lips. With his amethyst hues turned towards the rolling waves, Yugi had no idea what the expression on Joey's face might be. Couldn't see the determination burning in the other Duelist's eyes to try and talk him down. Before Yugi had realized it, Joey had launched himself over the railing with a curse.
Yugi blinked, uncomprehending at first of what he was witnessing. The moment it clicked his eyes went wide as saucers while his best friend plummeted like a rock right in front of him. "Jonouchi!"
The blond was submerged with a splash audible even from where Yugi stood, several stories above the ocean's tremulous surface. Despite the raging waves trying to throw him about Joey swam through the freezing waters undoubtedly in search of the Forbidden One.
Gripping the cold metal of the railing hard enough to turn his knuckles white, Yugi leaned over it, gritting his teeth under the suspense as he struggled to get a better glimpse of his friend. Both the Spirit's rage and Yugi's grief was immediately replaced with panic. Sometimes it was hard for him to tell their emotions apart, they were so similar!
But as the Spirit focused his eyes right where they needed to be, Yugi remembered he could always recognize the differences in their capabilities.
Heavy, rapid footsteps came from behind him and the spiky haired boy barely turned his head in time to see a dark figure fast approaching the rail. Yugi expected this person to make some exclamation about a man overboard, or running back to go get help.
What he did not expect, however, was for the stranger to leap off the edge of the deck. They sail through the air in a short arch before gravity fully takes hold of them, pulling them into the ocean deep as though they were magnetized down. When the resurfaced it seemed they too were looking for the lost cards, moving towards those faint little glints of light too sharp to be natural.
If Yugi wasn't afraid before, he certainly was now. Two people were taking a late-night swim in the middle of the ocean because of him! They could die down there! What if the ship kept going and the two couldn't make it back? What if they were left out here to freeze and drown? Yugi couldn't let them take that chance over some cards. No matter how sentimental.
"It's no use! Come back to the ship!" The Duelist called again and in the back of his mind, he wondered why none of the other people on the ship came to investigate the racket. Surely someone would've heard him by now! Two people were in a life or death situation right now the two continued their endeavor to retrieve Yugi's cards. While this was certainly a noble effort, both Yugi and his Spirit could continue to agree on one thing. Those two could drown down there. That could not be allowed to happen. "Your lives are more valuable than those cards!" He cried. Yet still they didn't listen, and continued swimming from spot to spot in search of Exodia's pieces. The dark mass that was the stranger was hard to pick out from the waves, so Yugi focused on Joey more. He seemed to be struggling to swim more than they, anyways.
"Please! You two need to come back to the ship! It's too dangerous!"
It seemed like Joey had found something (again?) when he turned around to swim in another direction. But as soon as Jonouchi went for another- a hefty wave came crashing down over his head dragging him down into the black waters.
Terror surged through Yugi's small frame as he watched the blonde head of hair disappear and he wasted absolutely no time waiting for Jonouchi to surface. He hoisted himself over the metal bar just like the other two had done, falling with frightening speed towards the darkness. Except Yugi wasn't looking for cards. The wind howled in his ears and tousled his rebellious hair further, his heart jumping into his throat. He probably should have been afraid of the impact he was about to have but to be honest, the thought of his friend dying out here overrode self-preservation and the fear of pain.
The moment his body sank into the waters the Duelist knew the two were absolutely, without a shred of a doubt, insane. The water was freezing! How could the two stand this? They would all get hypothermia if they stayed out much longer! This was horrible! The youth hastily swam back up towards the surface, the Spirit giving him the extra strength to do so. But this time around, all that effort came from Yugi.
Breaking the surface with a gasp, blinking away the salt water from his eyes, Yugi glanced around to orient himself. The ship was still behind him and thankfully, he spotted a blonde mop of hair reflecting the ship's light like solid gold. Joey had resurfaced, but seemed just barely to keep his head above water. Tit was evident that he didn't have much time.
The closer Yugi got the more he could see. Jonouchi's skin was pale and clammy and his teeth were chattering like mad. Both Yugi and the Spirit of the puzzle agreed they needed to get him out of the water- but how would they get back on the ship from here?
Frowning hard, Joey's stuttering mumble caught Yugi's attention. For a moment he thought his heart would break when Joey brought the two Exodia cards he'd found up for Yugi to see. His teeth chattered hard and Joey looked ready to pass out at any given moment. Sometimes, Yugi really hated being right. True to his suspicions, Jonouchi fainted from exhaustion and fell beneath the waves once more. Luckily Yugi was there to pull him up again. But it was hard, Joey was heavy even when not soaking wet and with water logged dead weight, the odds were against him. Even with the Spirit taking control of his arms Yugi's small muscles couldn't do much, he simply didn't have the physical strength. The Duelist struggled to pull them both up, heart racing and using up the oxygen he desperately needed. But right as he began to run out of air something gripped the back of his jacked and PULLED-!
Suddenly, both Joey and Yugi had their heads above water.
Both young men, even the unconscious Joey, gasped for breath and coughed up any water they may have inhaled. "I have to get the remaining cards… "Jonouchi mumbled the moment he could breathe again, just barely loud enough for Yugi to hear. Even then the smaller male wasn't sure he'd heard the blond right.
A sigh of exhaustion pulled his attention away from the other Duelist and Yugi instead looked at the profile of a stranger treading water beside him. The back of his jacket was still balled up and it didn't take Yugi long to realize this was the stranger in grey… and the one who was keeping all three above water.
It was too dark to take in anything more than her strong nose and the pallor of her skin before someone called his name. A very familiar voice. The sound of wood and rope clanging against the hull of the ship had both conscious teens swiveling around towards it. Delighted surprise brightened Yugi's eyes. The rest of his friends! Anzu and Honda were on the ship too, standing at the top of a rope ladder. The two brunets waved the trio over and he could already imagine how worried they must be Yugi grinned in relief and delight, calling their names in return. The stranger cast him a glance but turned away before he could meet her eye to eye and decipher it.
Yugi blinked as he felt a tug on the back of his jacket once more, the currents beneath the rolling waves trying to pull him in the opposite direction. The young woman pulled him close, but spun just enough so her back was to him. Around her neck was a soggy collection of fabric that looked to be a scarf, dark hair plastered to barely visible slivers of alabaster skin.
"Hold onto me and your friend, I'll get you both back to the ship. "
Now Yugi found himself incredibly grateful he paid attention in his English studies. This was likely an American, which surprised him. She didn't seem to have an accent and well- she spoke English instead of Yugi's native tongue despite being on an almost entirely Japanese cruise ship.
While Yugi may have blushed at this in any other circumstance, now wasn't the time for indecency or immaturity. He obeyed and carefully wrapped an arm around her waist, the other coiled around Jonouchi's like a vice. Determination set in. There was no way he was letting go until they all got on that ladder. The cold was also setting in too, Yugi found himself keeping close to his and Joey's savior for her warmth. A surprising amount of warmth from someone who'd been swimming in these waters almost as long as Joey had. He'd question that after they got out of here though. There is a time and a place for these things!
She seemed to take the tightened grip as a signal for her to move because the miniscule movements in his arms came right before she surged forwards, releasing her grip on his jacket to paddle herself forwards. Despite the weight of two teenage boys on her back and fighting the rolling waves, the stranger still determined to maintain her course. Her shivering and the pre-existing exhaustion from her swim did nothing to hold her back. She was a lot like the ship they swam towards in that respect, just kept going, water be damned.
Thankfully the ship hadn't moved far in the short period of time they'd all been down here, and the girl finally brought them to the rope. A small hand resurfaced and she gripped tightly to the rope of the ladder with a sigh of relief. Wordlessly, Yugi detached himself from her and wrapped his own, now free hand around the opposing rope. But what was he to do with Joey?
"Climb up, I'll carry your friend. "
He nearly choked at her command and both he and the Spirit turned to face her, disbelieving. The palest eyes he'd ever seen burned with a wordless challenge, holding his gaze with her own. The smirk on her lips bore teeth looking just a little too sharp in this lighting. She was daring him to question her strength, baiting him.
Yugi wasn't called the King of Games for nothing.
Instead of opening his mouth and saying something foolish, he simply set his jaw and nodded. If she had the strength to get all three of them here, she definitely had the strength to carry Jonouchi up this ladder. If she believed in herself, Yugi would too. This didn't look like a bluff.
He continued to climb up the ladder, occasionally glancing back down to see how the two were doing. The girl grunted something below as she shifted Joey around, draping him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. In the blond's hand he still clutched the two Exodia cards. It didn't look like he'd be dropping those any time soon. The stranger (Yugi really would have to ask for her name) soon followed Yugi up, albeit slowed by the weight of his friend. The ladder creaked and croaked under the weight of them all, but held strong as they came up. Yugi was immediately wrapped up in a warm hug from Anzu and a flurry of questions he couldn't begin to answer yet, but released him once the stranger came up with Jonouchi in tow. Honda and Anzu both took Joey from the stranger and the second sigh of relief was not missed by Yugi's ears.
Anzu looked at the three of them, her hazel eyes filled with worry and confusion.
"Just what happened out there? "
Pale green eyes watched the group of Japanese kids talk among each other, probably explaining what had happened and why they decided to take such a lovely midnight swim. It… really was a mistake to not have brushed up on her Japanese, 'cause all of what little knowledge she'd had before was long since forgotten. Yet here she was, the ignorant fool who would probably just have to guess whatever was being said. It was a crutch, and she needed a translator… but the one person she knew could duel and translate with her here had been a no show.
At least that one kid, the one with the crazy hair, seemed to understand what she'd been saying.
Although he hadn't actually responded in English so she had no idea if they'd be able to do much besides nodding and shaking their heads at each other. Sign language probably wasn't much use here… What a shame.
Hoisting herself back onto the wooden deck, her feet barely made a sound on impact. Her shoes had been kicked off and left behind with her jacket on the upper deck and now she wished she had some form of foot protection. The wood splinters nipped her numbed feet and she was beginning to get a little cranky. The clothes she'd dived in were completely soaked now, each droplet making a pitter patter noise strongly reminiscent of rainfall. Fitting, she thought, considering her homeland couldn't function without it.
The brunette eyed the little gang again before she reached into the pocket of her jeggings, grimacing as long tendrils of wet hair slid freely into her line of sight. Two cards resided there, two of the Exodia cards she'd fought to collect from the waves. Fury ignited within her when she remembered how close she'd been to grabbing the third- her hand had been just inches away from it! But low and behold the ocean decided to say "Fuck you, Salto, you suck!" with an oh so perfectly timed wave that sent her spinning under the furious surface water. It'd taken a lot out of her to resurface, following her bubble trail up again. After that she hadn't been able to locate the other card. It just… vanished.
It was infuriating!
When the smaller boy had jumped into the fray with them, she'd really been hoping the cards would return to their rightful owner. Instead she watched as the blond struggled to keep awake and fell under just as his friend arrived to help him. Instincts she'd previously ignored warned her to make a move, something was wrong. So move she did. The two didn't resurface like she had, only one of them was conscious and fighting to pull the blond out into the frigid air. The salt irritated her eyes but she resisted the urge to close them until she grabbed the conscious one- gritting her teeth and releasing a stream of bubbles from between them in the effort to get them out. The extra weight, she figured, came from the solid gold hanging from the little one's neck.
How was he carrying that anyways? Must have quite the back bone in more way than one if he dared swim out here with it.
The cold wet she was drenched in should've had her shivering like mad, but considering her genetics and the climate she usually lived in, this wasn't too bad. Well, okay it was pretty bad if her paleness was anything to go by along with how hot she felt, now that she wasn't absolutely freezing. Color was beginning to return to her skin, alabaster slowly darkening into a more olive hue. Like the rest of the teens here she'd have to hunker down under a pile of warm dry blankets to recover. Preferably blankets stolen from the private room the little piece of shit who'd gotten them all into this mess.
The thought returned her attention to the slippery, cold cards in hand.
Four out of five Exodia cards between them all was definitely not a bad thing, but Salto, despite her wild nature, was a perfectionist. It was she who hesitated on interfering when she KNEW the bug twerp was planning something. She just didn't think he'd actually vandalize someone else's property. In a way, in her words, she just didn't think.
Salto was ashamed of that.
It was her fault the Japanese boy with the fancy hair lost something so incredible. It was highly unlikely anyone else would have a piece of Exodia within their decks here, even less likely that it would be the one needed to replace his. The Duelists here had their complete decks, there wouldn't be much point in having an unusable piece. Fuck.
Still… she tried to sooth herself with the knowledge that finding one more card wasn't impossible. Just… really hard. At least he had four out of five instead of only two. Yeah.
They say the last mile feels like half the journey.
The brunette suddenly felt eyes upon her and duly noted the silence hanging in the air. Her pale, shockingly piercing eyes raised from the two cards in hand to peer through her shadowy locks. Low and behold, all those strangers were staring right back at her. They looked curious and grateful all at the same time, perhaps even a little startled by her appearance, and Salto noticed with some relief that the blond guy seemed to have roused from his cold induced slumber and he too was eyeing her in return. A little suspiciously too. Why?
Then it clicked.
'Oh. The cards. Right.'
Salto closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, sending a flurry of tiny droplets all over the place. The squeaks and yelps from the group were ignored as the brunette grinned a little, pushing her dark hair up and away to the top of her head. What a way to break the nearly nonexistent tension! They were scowling a little and wiping their hands and faces free of sea water, but didn't seem particularly angry. More annoyed than anything, but not a whole lot. The little guy most of all seemed the least bothered, only blinking his own impossibly large eyes (which were actually purple for one thing like what the fuck) andmeeting hers without hesitation. Expectant, as though he knew Salto had something to say.
The miniscule bravado from moments ago faded away and the shame of failure crept up to weigh on her shoulders yet again. Her eyes, usually penetrating and sharp, dulled as they fell from to her hands. Guilt was her least favorite thing to feel. Hence a generally guiltless and unrepentant nature. Seemed like today of all days would be the exception! Wonderful!
"I'm sorry I couldn't get the last one." She sighed, voice soft and solemn. A far cry from the powerful voice that had nearly rumbled in her ribcage down in the deep. "I almost had it, but lost it under the water."
Salto risked a glance at the Duelist's face and witnessed him staring in awe at the two cards in her hand. Those bright eyes shifted back up to her full of a mixture of gratitude and shock. If she thought his eyes were big before holy shit, was she correcting herself now. Guy had eyelashes for days too. Damn. Maybe it's Maybelline?
Letting him take the pieces of the Forbidden One, the young woman was surprised when he only shook his head and smiled at her. His voice was soft and light, but had an edge of authority that stilled the need to apologize. "Thank you so much for rescuing these cards, they mean a lot to me. It doesn't matter that I don't have all of them as long as we're all alive." He spoke English. Almost perfect English if not for the slight accent and even then who actually cared? "Thank you for getting Jonouchi and I out of there, we might not have made it back if it wasn't for you!"
Salto was momentarily blinded by the light that shined from the boy's smile. She immediately felt the need to warn him off, this wasn't a selfless act. This whole ordeal was her fault.
"It… It wasn't exactly nothing, I'll admit. But I couldn't stand by and watch you suffer at the hand of that little shit any more than I already had. I knew he was up to something and I didn't act. I appreciate… you thanking me, but I really, really don't deserve that. If I'd spoken up earlier you, your friend, and your cards wouldn't have needed rescuing at all. "
Silence hung in the air once more. To her surprise though, the blond who'd been unconscious during the return to the ship seemed to regain his strength. He stumbled over to the little one's side with a smile directed right at her. It seemed like the whole gang spoke English well enough because he was just as easy to understand as Exodia's owner.
"It ain't anyone's fault but Haga's for those cards going overboard. He's the one who tricked Yug and threw them away. Even if we didn't grab all of 'em we got what we could. I'm just grateful you didn't let us drown down there." His grin was infectious, even if there was something hidden behind that smile, and the approving look from the smallest teen was the extra push Salto needed to return it whole heartedly.
Her trademark, feral grin ripped across her face and exposed a mouth full of shiny pearly teeth to the world.
"If anyone's going to drown when I'm around, it'll be because I'm holding them under."
Perhaps she'd said that a little too seriously… because everyone sweat dropped right after she opened her big mouth. Damn. Now she kind of wished they didn't understand a word of English.
"It… it was a joke guys."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next episode of… Yu-Gi-Oh!
