Note: Ani requested this. I was more than willing to do it.
arcade
He was the one who discovered this place during a family trip, years ago.
This closed arcade was once a place he used to frequent when he was younger. He would go here with Rio all the time. She always wanted to play air hockey with him or go through those giant tubes. He always just stood there watching her from afar. His aunt chastised him a lot of times, telling him to have fun with his sister because she must be feeling very lonely since she's playing alone, and come on, Ryouga. You're a kid, you deserve to have fun, don't grow up too fast. Ryouga would scowl at his aunt first, but then he would go in the tubes to follow his sister into the ball pit, and when he came out she'd start throwing multicolored balls at him, laughing. He'd always act annoyed at first, but after that he'd laugh and play with her.
Come to think of it, Rio was really good with the arcade games. She won a lot of prizes and she'd always make him carry her stuff for her. A fond smile crossed his face as he remembered the grinning face of his sister when she handed him a shark plush toy saying it was for him. He couldn't look her in the eye because he was so embarrassed. That was the first gift his sister gave him that he accepted. Rio had kept the rings she bought for them in her closet, saying something like them needing it very soon or something.
Ryouga frowned. He wonders how Rio is now. It's been such a long time since he last talked to her, he would usually visit her every week, but now he just didn't have the time to anymore. He clicks his tongue, so many kids wanting to duel against him and they can't even match his level. They're just a waste of his time. Then, there was his embarrassing defeat to that Tsukumo guy; he couldn't even face his so-called 'lackeys' anymore. A sigh escapes his lips. Maybe he shouldn't even bother going back to school anymore. It's not like he attends his classes anyway, and it's not like his sister would get angry, plus he didn't live with his relatives anymore. No one would really care if he disappeared from school forever. He chuckles grimly, what a depressing thought. So, with nowhere to go now, he'll stay here, in this arcade; a sort-of secret hideout for himself.
He smirks, how childish. Nonetheless, he opens the door, stepping inside to what he expected to be a dark, abandoned lot.
Instead, some lights were illuminating the abandoned place, and he could vaguely make out a group of people inside the lot. He slowly approached the group, they probably weren't aware of his presence yet.
Trust his bad luck to make him step on shards of glass on the floor, cracking under his shoes.
"Who's there?" Someone tosses a card in his general direction and he dodges it.
Fuck.
Someone approaches him. Another person switches on more lights, showing more of the desolate area. He can see their faces now. An ugly group of people were gathered inside the old arcade.
"Oh? Look who we have here," the guy who approached him speaks up. Ryouga deduces that since he held himself with pride and authority, like he once did in school, he was probably the leader of the pack.
The tall guy looks to another person, who was just as ugly, if not more so than he was, "What do we do with this kid, Rikuo?" Oh, so the Rikuo guy was the leader. Or the two of them co-lead… whatever.
"Dunno." He shrugs, he doesn't look like he cares at all, "What's your name, kid?"
"Hey, Rikuo, Kaio! I know his face! Isn't he that kid from that Asia Duelist Championship?" Some guy with a high-pitched voice speaks up.
"Yeah, Ginji's right! Ain't he the guy that cheated or somethin'?"
Ryouga cringes. God, did they have to bring that back? But whatever, he plays it cool. He looks up at the leader, who he notices has finally showed some interest in their 'intruder', and shrugs, "Yeah, that was me. Name's Shark."
The guy, Rikuo, stares at him, scrutinizing, "So, Shark. What business do you have with us?"
He smirks confidently.
If he's lucky, these guys will let him in their turf.
Maybe, just maybe, he'll have a place he belongs in again.
End note: I never want to write Rikuo and Kaio ever again. No. Just no. Also, it's fairly obvious I didn't know how the frick to end this, ugh. Sorry.