Yes, a Yu-Gi-Oh fan fiction. Sometimes someone just needs to go back and visit the classics… Okay, I know this isn't really a classic yet, it hasn't been around long enough, but it has been a little while since it aired.

Anyway, this is a story for both Rex Raptor (Ryuzaki) and Weevil Underwood (Haga). Why? Because out of an entire show full of magic sometimes it's just nice to go back to the characters that have semi-normal lives. When's the last time you saw Rex mind crush someone? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Okay, all kidding aside, I just really like these two guys and inspiration sort of struck me. They seem like cool friends and the type to get in contests with each other, not only over cards, but everything. And they're guys, so naturally girls would come up too. Their age is supposed to be 18 in this fic, just for everyone's info.

These two females that I created aren't intended to be Mary Sues. I want them to be interesting but at the same time, not something that's going to make anyone want to strangle me. So please, if there's something you don't like about them, feel free to review and tell me. I promise I won't take offence and after all, that's reviews are for, to hear the reader's opinions. Just don't flame me, please. I can take constructive criticism, but if all you're going to do is throw a bunch of curse words and crap at me, please just save some time and don't bother. You will be ignored.

So, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Someone else does, and that someone is not and never will be me. I don't even own Yu-Gi-Oh abridged, which ironically I think I like more than the actually series. Shouldn't take three episodes to play a children's card game people. And how about we decide the fate of the world with Monopoly every once in while?

…

Okay, let's get started, shall we?

Chapter 1: The Bet

It started, like all things, innocently enough. Rex and Weevil had been talking, killing time while waiting for class to start, and the subject of the school's cherry blossom festival had come up. It was about a month away, and everyone was buzzing in excitement for it.

Classrooms were prepping for stands and themes to create for their homeroom. Permits were getting applied for the cafés and other restaurants. And more than that, girls were being seen everywhere, whispering and giggling about who they wanted to go to the festival with. There was an annual bonfire dance at the end of the day, one the student body would often go hunting for dates for. Things like that would always attractive a romantic atmosphere for the girls it seemed.

"I don't suppose anyone's asked you to go with them?" Rex asked, though his tone let Weevil know it was not a serious question. There was a slight level of taunting in his voice, as if Weevil getting a date was the silliest thing he'd ever heard of.

"No," Weevil snapped at his friend who was sitting at the bug duelist's desk, hand propping up his chin, making him seem as lazy and relaxed as he could muster. It was a little irritating all of a sudden. "Have you?"

Rex shrugged.

"That kind of thing isn't really my style."

Weevil snorted.

"So you haven't been asked once either," he noted, causing Rex to frown.

"There's still time," he muttered. "I'll still have a date by the time it rolls around, unlike some people in this conversation."

Weevil shook his head, letting his friend swell and think he'd gotten the little victory. Girls were hardly a consideration for him, though he would admit it was annoying that they all passed him over so easily. Okay, he was smart and wore glasses. But the way they slapped the label 'Nerd' on him so quickly let him realize quickly he wasn't Mr. Popularity. Even as a duelist champion, he'd never gotten too much attention from the opposite sex.

"Besides, it's not like a girl would say yes to you, even if you asked them," Rex continued. "Apparently bugs are creepy to girls. Go figure."

Weevil glared at his friend.

"Are you trying to prove a point?" he snarled. "You don't have any girls chasing you down I notice. Fossilized old relics aint that much of a turn on, huh? You couldn't get a date if you paid her."

"Oh yeah?" Rex sneered. "This from the only eighteen year old guy in this room who hasn't scored."

Weevil flushed in embarrassment. That was low, even for their usual taunting.

"I'll make you a deal," he seethed. "I bet I could get a date to this thing quicker than you could."

"And if you can't?" Rex asked with an arched eyebrow.

Weevil shrugged.

"I'll do your homework for a month," he said. "Not like that's a big deal. But if I win then have to let me take your car out on weekends for a month."

Rex pondered it for a few moments. Well, he loved his sleek black Matusda, but he knew Weevil was a better driver then he was. It's not like his friend would wreck the thing, and having his homework done for a whole month was a pretty enticing deal. He was an average student, but like all others like him, he hated the drudgery of having his essays and math work follow him home.

"It's a deal," he responded. "But we should make it a bit more challenging. Lay down some rules we can both agree to."

"Like what?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, it has to be a genuine date for one," Rex replied. "No going to a girl that one of us is friends with and asking them. Too much of a cop out."

Weevil considered it. That more in his favor than Rex's, as the boy had more friends that were girls than he had ever had.

"Sounds reasonable," he replied with a nod. "But we should make it so that it's girls that we don't know period. So no one from class."

"Well, alright," Rex agreed after a moment. "Also, it had got to be romantic for the girl. If I hear she's just doing this so you'll tutor her, and it's a forfeit, got it?"

"No ulterior motives," he grumbled. Well, there went that plan. He smirked as he had a sudden idea. "Well, if we want to know that the girl is in it only for the date, then I say it has to be two girls that we know wouldn't get involved unless their hearts were really into it. I say instead of just any old females, we have to pick each other's targets."

"Hey wait a second," Rex interrupted. "How do I know that you won't pick some dog?"

"Like I'm going to make it easy for you," Weevil snorted. "An ugly girl would jump right in anyone's arm out of desperation. I say we pick someone for each other today, and compare them when we find them. If it seems unbalanced we just try again 'till they both fit. The girl will have to be a challenge, but not impossible. Also, she can't have a boyfriend already. And she has to have something in common with you or me so we have something to build on. No telling me I have to get a date with a girl who does drugs or hangs out with some street gang."

Rex tapped his finger on Weevil's desk. Seemed like a good bet, and he couldn't see any holes in it for Weevil to squirm out a win unfairly.

"All right," he said finally. "You got a deal. We'll spend lunch looking."

The bell sounded suddenly, signaling the lessons were about to start. Rex hopped up and went over to his own desk, not wanting to be reprimanded by the teacher. Weevil started to take notes, but without much enthusiasm. He was already pondering what kind of girl he should find.

Rex wasn't the most popular guy in school, but he wasn't like Weevil. One who could fit in with just about anyone, he was a blend of flavors kind of guy, instead of being particularly good at any one thing like sports or grades. Well, there was Duel Monsters, but Weevil couldn't remember once that it had gotten either of them a date, especially since Yugi had never stopped being so damn popular. The problem was more in finding a girl who wouldn't say yes after just a few casual meetings than one that Rex could find common ground with.

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It seemed to Rex that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally thought. He was wasting his lousy lunch break trying to track down some female that wouldn't sneer at Weevil for even looking at her, but at the same time, a girl who he wouldn't have too much of an easy time with. Rex did want to win after all. He'd scoped out the library first, thinking maybe there was some girl in thick glasses that Weevil might find cute.

To his dismay he had, too many to count. There were plenty of quite, shy girls studying in there it seemed and he doubted any of them would say no to Weevil asking them out. Who cared if they spent the entire festival talking about bugs and Physics and crap? A date was a date.

He needed someone smart, but indifferent. The kind of girl who wouldn't care about the dance at the festival.

"Rex, is something wrong?"

Rex turned around to see Tori, a girl from his class with wavy blond hair. A nice girl, but a little absent minded at times. Not to mention she believed the silliest things about magic. How she had so many admirers was beyond him, especially since her boyfriend was the president of the Kendo club. Akira could kick just about anyone's butts in this school, and was very territorial of his girl.

"Ah nothing much," Rex answered and scratched the back of his head. "I was looking for… well I can't really talk about it."

He could just imagine her slapping him for making such a bet with his best friend.

"Looking for something? Or somebody?" she asked, seeming not to care about him wanting to keep his secret.

"Somebody," he gave up. "But I don't know who, so don't bother asking me for anything more. I'm not saying."

"Sounds like you need some advice," Tori said with a frown. "Things like this, it's always good to get help. Hey, I know, why don't you ask Sheila Winters? She could help."

"Ah come on, the self-proclaimed witch?" he asked. "I really don't think she's going to be much help in something like this."

Everyone who had working ears had heard of Sheila. Not so much a freak, but definitely odd. She took to reading people fortune through tarot and palm readings, and always had about a million 'talismans' in her bag to give away. It wasn't uncommon to see her with a book on magic either. She was sort of popular with girls it seemed, but only for getting romantic fortunes told and things like that. She rarely spoke unless she was sought out, though he'd heard she was pretty smart and gave practical advice.

'Wait a second,' he thought. 'It's perfect. She'd never go out on a date with Weevil, or anyone for that matter. But she is a bit of a nerd, so he can't tell me I'm not giving him a chance.'

"You know," he said triumphantly. "I think I will go check Sheila out. This could be interesting."

"Great," Tori said. "She's in class 3B. I'll take you to her now. She's always reading fortunes for people during lunch."

Rex followed the blond to a classroom he'd never really been to himself. He saw immediately where Shelia was, though with the few people crowded around her it wasn't hard to tell. She had several cards laid out in front of her, and a freshman was sitting in front of her, looking heartbroken.

"There's no chance at all?" the girl asked.

"I'm afraid it's slim at best," the one reading the cards, Sheila, replied. She was shaking her head, her purple ponytail swishing lightly as she spoke. "He is already chasing another according to the cards, and he may not appreciate you stepping while he's making good progress. My suggestion is that you stay his friend. It would be better for you both in the long run."

The freshmen looked as if she were about to cry. She stood and left the room briskly without a word, perhaps trying to save face.

"Poor thing," Tori said. "Well, do you want to talk to her? She doesn't seem too busy today."

Rex peered at the girl sitting down, collecting her card and shuffling them. Without even giving it a second thought, he moved over to her desk and sat down. She peered at him, though her eyes looked disinterested.

Her face looked a little shadowed, and he had no doubt that it was from the make-up she was wearing. She wore a little bit of jewelry with some necklaces and rings, but not too much to make it look gaudy. She looked as weird as he'd ever heard.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice calm but inquiring.

"Yeah, I was curious about you," he said with a shrug. "I heard you claim to know magic."

"And is there something I can help you with?" she asked. "Or are you here simply as a thrill seeker? I'm not much into proving myself to nonbelievers. You either believe in this or you don't."

'Oh, this girl is perfect,' he thought, grinning inwardly. "Well, I did have a question I hoped you could answer. I need to know if I'm going to get a date for the cherry blossom festival."

"Are you interested in anyone in particular?" she asked.

"Nah, just anyone," he supplied.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I suppose I could, since you are curious," she said with a sigh. She had been shuffling her cards throughout the entire conversation, and was now placing three facedown. "Since it's a simple question, I hope you don't mind a simple spread. These three cards will be you recent past, present and future."

Rex shrugged. Honestly, this was just for show more than anything else. Anything too complicated and he would miss the rest of his lunch.

She flipped over the first revealing the Five of Wands, several young men all fighting with pole arms.

"Conflict," she stated. "Or more accurately, competition. You are, or were involved recently in some kind of competition. I would say the competition is for your date, but as this is in the past and you don't know who your potential date is, it seems highly unlikely." She flipped the next card, showing a cup overflowing with water. "It seems you are going to meet someone who inspires love, and a great abundance of it, according to this Ace of Cups. You're emotions are going to be strong, and certain to spill out and affect others." She flipped the final card and frowned as she looked down at it. The Three of Swords, a gruesome picture of three sword piecing a heart and blood dripping from it. "It doesn't seem good in the end though. Often this card represents heartbreak, often caused by cutting ideas or sharp words, although it can also mean love-triangles. The only good thing I can say about this card is that it sometimes represents the words and thoughts, possibly poisonous, have been bottled up. They will come out into the open, and the cutting truth may be harsh, but will need to be heard so the poison can drain along with the blood."

She smiled at him.

"An interesting reading for something so vague," she concluded. "You are certain to find someone, but I'm sad to tell you it may not last. There are going to be problems between you two after a short while, probably from the cause of this conflict you had earlier. It's possible that you may simply repeat the problems that you could have had in a previous relationship, or the person from your past may involve themselves somehow. In any case, I would think it's best for you to live this relationship in the moment, as it will no doubt be short and full of strong emotions. Just keep in mind the more intense a flame burns, the quicker it goes out."

"Yeah," Rex said as he stood. "I'll keep that in mind."

He didn't pay Tori's questioning gaze much mind as he left the classroom. Seemed fortune telling involved a lot of guesswork, and it had been pretty vague the whole way through. Well, the competition thing was true if had meant the bet, but everyone had some kind of competition in their lives. Besides, he was a duelist. He was part of competitions all the time.

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Weevil was more than a little annoyed when Rex came back in the classroom after lunch, looking very smug and proud of himself. The dinosaur duelist didn't even have to say anything. Weevil knew the boy had found someone already for the little bet of theirs. He frowned and did his best to ignore his best friend for the rest of the day and snapped he'd rather walk home when offered a ride by the smug boy.

As he walked, he mused over his situation and how he hadn't found a single girl that would be suitable for this. He feet led him in whatever direction seemed all right at the time. He was a little too preoccupied to really pay attention

Unfortunately, it didn't seem as if coming up with a girl for Rex was any easier than finding one for himself. Rex had had a few girlfriends already, a lot of them attractive but average. Mostly duelists, but it seemed they would always bicker and break up over it quickly enough. He needed someone who wasn't going to ever accept Rex to begin with, but would be intriguing enough to the dino boy that he wouldn't shoot down Weevil's challenge.

He passed by a little hobby shop and looked though the window. There were Duel Monster cards for sale inside. With a little shrug, he walked inside. Who knew, maybe distracting himself would clear his head. Flipping through the packs, he pondered his little predicament.

The thing about Rex was he adored the strong girl type, but at the same time found them so infuriating that it never lasted long. He liked a challenge, but he liked being the best even more. The girls he picked out never dealt with his attitude for long.

But Weevil needed a girl who wouldn't put up with him in the first place. Someone harsh but still enticing to his friend.

"Why's he have to be so popular?" Weevil snarled.

"You always talk to yourself like that?"

Weevil looked up and saw a girl behind the counter, feet kicked up and tuning a guitar. Her hair was a burgundy, but a black streak in the middle on her head showed it was dyed. She was in the school uniform of the one he attended, but her jacket was off and tossed next to the cash register. She had a pierced ears and a lollypop hang out of her mouth.

"I was just thinking out loud," he replied, a little snidely. He had heard the condescending tone in her voice when she spoke to him.

"Ah, I see," she said and went back to her guitar. Her voice came out a little funny sounding because of the candy. "Weevil Underwood, right? Aren't you a dueling champion or something like that?"

"Yes," he answered. "Why?"

She shrugged.

"Curious I guess," she replied. "We sell individual cards too you know. Incase your interested." She indicated her head to the other side of the shop. "Over there, next to the comic books."

She stuck a few cords with her fingers, cursed lightly and sighed.

Weevil arched an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Huh?" she asked. "Oh, nothing much. Trying to tune this damn thing for practice. My band is trying to audition for the upcoming festival and my old guitar had some strings that broke. But there's a bit of a difference between electric and acoustic. Not to mention I haven't played this one in forever. It's pretty badly out of tune."

"Band?" he asked.

"Amazons," she replied. "I know, dumb name but it kinda stuck to us. I guess I'm not surprised a guy like you never heard of us."

Weevil shrugged. There were plenty of clubs and so forth that had music in them, some of them bands. He thought he recalled hearing them play once at a school event, but he couldn't be sure.

"You play Duel Monsters?" Weevil suddenly asked.

She shrugged.

"A little, but not much. The games okay, but between working here, school and practice I never did get into it much. Why, you wanna play a game? I'm afraid my deck is at home."

"What's your name?" he asked.

She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Why?"

He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. Actually, this girl did look the type to attract Rex. But if she was as busy as she claimed, there was no way Rex would be able to get her involved in a date.

"Amber Sutherland," she replied. "You buying anything or what?"

Weevil grabbed a pack at random and put the 300 yenn on he counter. Walking out, he smirked. Well, seemed he had his target all picked out for Rex the next morning.

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'Kay. Loved it? Hated it? Please let me know in a review and it will be appreciated.