"I've got to get one of those cards!" Gaius yelled aloud as looked down at the small sealed box in front of him on the living room floor. He prepared to break the seal on the booster box, and thought about why the small box meant so much to him. 'Ever since Maximillion Pegasus announced the tenth anniversary Duelist Kingdom tournament, and that ten entries that would be given to the general public, I knew I wanted to be able to attend. Considering I've saved all of my money since I found out, this booster box is all or nothing.'
Sixteen year-old Gaius Vi Britannia loved playing Duel Monsters, and had played since he was old enough to read. He had learned to play by watching duels on the television, and he always tried to emulate the famous duelists that he watched, such as Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba. Most of his time that wasn't spent eating, sleeping, or in school, was spent on something Duel Monsters related; whether it was buying packs of cards to enhance his collection, or playing with other local duelists at one of the hobby shops near his home.
The young man's mind drifted for a moment as he thought of where he'd rather be. 'I wish I could go to an awesome school like Duel Academy, I hear that all the students there duel 24/7 for most of the year. Even though they take time in the Summer to cram English, Science and all of the other normal school subjects, it would still totally be worth it.' Gaius had always wanted to attend Central Academy, or one of the other Dueling Academies that Seto Kaiba had opened since his Battle City tournament. Due to his family's finances, he wasn't able to get enough money to attend the school, and they weren't poor enough to qualify for free tuition from Kaibacorp. 'There's always hope that if I enter a big tournament and win enough prizes that I'll be able to pay for myself to go next year, or even one of the Dueling colleges for those who started dueling later in life.'
He broke from his daydreaming and refocused his attention to the sealed box in front of him. As he tore plastic wrapper tore away, Gaius opened the flap of the box and prepared to open the first pack. 'Machiner's Command, huh,' he thought, reading the name on the pack to himself, 'I guess most of the cards in here are machine types. I'm not sure how much the cards are going to help me since I already have a fiend deck all set up, but hopefully I can at least get some good cards in general to add to my deck.'
The young man pulled open the first booster pack and looked at the cards inside. 'Common Giga-tech wolf, Launcher Spider, 7 Completed, Stim-pack, Needle Scorpion, Robotic Knight, Oni-tank T34, Cyber Falcon and a Normal Rare Zoa. I guess Metal Zoa and Metalmorph are in here as well, then.' He continued to open packs, now only paying close attention to the rare cards. 'Rare Metalmorph, Super Rare Perfect Machine King, Normal Rare Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive, Normal Rare Machine King, Ultra Rare Limiter Removal, Normal Rare Cannon Soldier, Normal Rare Machine Duplication, Normal Rare Acid Rain, Normal Rare Slot Machine, Super Rare Reflect Bounder, Ultra Rare Jinzo, Normal Rare Mechanicalchaser, Normal Rare Cyber Summon Blaster, Super Rare Reflect Bounder, Normal Rare Dimension Wall, Super Rare Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill, Normal Rare Mechanicalchaser, Normal Rare Malfunction, Normal Rare System Down, Normal Rare Cannon Soldier.' As Gaius opened the latest pack, he looked down and saw only three packs left in the entire box.
'Wow, I've gotten some pretty good cards so far, but I haven't found one of those special entry cards.' The young man sighed and slowly picked up the three remaining booster packs. 'I guess it's now or never. Either I win an entry into Pegasus' 10th anniversary Duelist Kingdom tournament or the opportunity passes me by.' Gaius put two of the booster packs back down in front of him on the floor and opened up the booster that remained in his hand. His eyes slowly perused the cards, seeing nothing of interest until he reached the rare card in the pack.
'What is this' he thought, as he read the name of the card to himself. 'Cyber Dragon, huh. I guess this is a Secret Rare card given how shiny it is. I've only seen Secret Rare cards on television before or in people's collections, never actually had one of my own before.' He quickly read the card's effect and then put the pack's worth of cards in the pile with the others, and then picked up one of the remaining two booster packs.
He anxiously tore away the wrapping on the first booster pack that he had placed on the floor. Once again, his eyes glossed over each of the commons in the pack, until his eyes fell upon the last card. The rare card in the pack was another Dekoichi the Battlechained Locomotive. Gaius felt slightly dejected for a moment, but then he looked towards the last unopened pack. 'The card has to be in there,' he thought, 'I've worked so hard and saved so much to be able to get this once in a lifetime opportunity.' The paper wrapper was slowly torn away and Gaius felt the anticipation swell in his chest as the first card became visible. Quickly, the commons were thrown aside as the young duelist looked towards the last card in the pack.
The last card did not seem to be too rare at all, as it looked like just another normal-rare spell card. "Overload Fusion," Gaius said aloud, "I guess this is my rare for the pack." A sense of despair overcame the young man as he was overcome with the realization that there was no entry card in his booster box. 'Oh well,' he thought to himself as he hung his head in despair. 'I guess I won't be competing in the tournament after all.' He began to feel slight teardrops form in his light-blue eyes, but quickly brushed them away with the back of his hand.
Gaius' somber mood was interrupted when he heard the sound of his front door opening. A familiar feminine sounding voice then echoed through the house, calling his name and asking him how his school day had gone. The young man looked up as his mother entered the room and his eyes fell upon her now curled black hair, hair that matched the same color as her son's. "School went fine mom," Gaius replied, "but I didn't get one of those special cards from that box I have been saving for. I finally got the rest of the money today and headed to the card shop right after school to pick it up." He frowned again and looked towards the empty booster box package, wishing that he could have chosen another box as perhaps that one may have had the prize that he sought.
"Aww," Gaius' mother replied as she looked towards her son, "I'm sorry that you didn't get what you wanted dear. Maybe you can try to save up more money or sell some of your extra cards in order to buy another box. You might have better luck then."
Gaius pouted slightly and shook his head. "No mom, the tickets were only placed in the 1st edition version of this pack. I've been looking around for weeks trying to find one and it was almost impossible to find. That particular shop where I finally found some only had one other 1st edition box and it was bought by Garek, who left before I could even get my own box. I wonder if he had any better luck than I did." He once again stared at his newly-acquired cards and his mind drifted to Garek.
'That guy is a real piece of work,' thought Gaius. Garek always seemed to have a penchant for knowing the exact worst thing to say in any setting, frequently employing his talent to make other's feel miserable. Garek Drake was the same age as Gaius, and he was considered one of the most popular students at East Domino High. He took joy in pranking and being cruel to the freshmen class, as well as any others whom he decided weren't deserving of his respect.
"By the way," the woman quipped, breaking Gaius from his train of thought "I saw Kira's mom at the market on the way home. She mentioned that Kira wanted to see you tomorrow between classes. I would guess it was something about cards, from the way you two always carry on."
Kira was one of Gaius' oldest and closest friends. They had met when Gaius was in second grade, and when Kira was in fourth, she being two years his senior. The pair were close ever since they met, and regarded each other as best friends. A few months ago, Gaius had started to teach Kira how to play Duel Monsters, but she seemed more concerned with collecting cards than actually learning how to be a better duelist. The young man smiled as he thought of Kira, and wondered what she wanted to talk about. It wasn't often that she felt the need to plan any conversations that they had.
Gaius quickly packed up his booster box and stored it on his black shelving unit that was next to the television. On the shelves, he also had his deck, which was built around Fiend-type monsters, as well as a foot long cardboard box that contained the rest of his miscellaneous cards. Soon after, Gaius ate dinner that his mom had prepared and went to bed after watching some local Dueling coverage on the television.
The next day, he woke up early for school and ran a comb through his messy black hair in an effort to make it somewhat presentable for the day. A quick check in his bedroom mirror showed that Gaius' normally pale skin had become slightly paler in recent weeks. 'I guess it's all my time indoors playing Duel Monsters,' the teen thought as he finished getting prepared for school and grabbing his dueling deck from the living room before boarding the bus bound for his high school. Gaius normally played cards with some of his classmates at lunch or in study hall if he had no homework to do. If he had his way, the teen would spend even more of his time playing Duel Monsters, but Kira would be upset at him if she caught him ditching his school work.
Once Gaius arrived at school, he tried to look for Kira in the lunchroom before homeroom, however he was unable to find her. He shuffled off to homeroom after a quick trip to his locker where he dropped off his book bag and gathered the books and supplies that he would need for his classes before lunch. Classes flew by as he eagerly awaited lunch and talking to Kira. As the clock struck 12, Gaius left English class and walked to his locker so he could drop off his morning books and head to lunch. While walking, he caught sight of Garek, who immediately turned towards him shouted, "Hey, what's up 'Gay-us?'" The taunt was accompanied by a rude gesture, and Gaius looked away and tried to ignore the bully. 'Why does he have to be so arrogant all the time?' he thought as he passed by Garek. The young man watched as the bully leaned in towards a girl that Gaius didn't recognize, the young man's grey eyes staring into hers.
Gaius tried to ignore the rude boy as he neared his locker and then entered his combination. The locker door opened, and Gaius placed his morning text-books back into his book bag and retrieved his afternoon school supplies. As he reached into his bag to grab his deck box, he found the front compartment of his backpack was empty. The young man frantically rifled through his secondary compartment and the main section trying to find his deck, but the search was in vain.
'Where could it be,' he thought as the search continued to the rest of his locker. 'I know I brought it with me this morning, so it must be here!' Gaius knew he only had a few minutes before lunch began, so he grabbed his books that he had set down during the search and headed off to lunch. 'I won't be able to file a report with the vice principal,' Gaius thought, his meeting with Kira all but forgotten as he tried to come up with options. Since Domino high had a strict "No games" policy following the popularity of Yugi Moto, Gaius knew that he would have to solve this mystery by himself.
As he walked into the bustling cafeteria through the sea of his peers, Gaius faintly heard a familiar voice call out amidst the cacophony of voices. He turned and saw Kira sitting at an almost empty table, her pink lunch bag open and a sandwich in front of her.
"Hey Gaius," she yelled as she smiled and looked up when she noticed his presence, "come over here after you get your food." Gaius could see her smile turn into puzzlement as she no doubt saw the glum look across the young man's face. He quickly shuffled through the lunch line, grabbing his usual order of pizza and soda, and then headed off to sit with his friend.
"What's wrong, Gaius?" Kira asked as he sat down in front of her. Her expression was a look of concern, and her deep blue eyes stared quizzically at her friend. Gaius didn't know how to explain, but he slowly began to speak.
"You know how I usually duel people during lunch and after school before the busses come, well," his voice began to trail off as he struggled to find the words. "I can't find my deck anywhere. It's not in my locker, not in my bag, and I checked every pocket too. I don't know what I'm going to do, all of my best cards were in that deck." He depressingly began to nibble at his pizza, still trying to formulate a plan.
"Oh my gosh that's horrible," Kira replied, her bright-colored hair moving around her as she shook her head seemingly in frustration at the situation. "Have you looked in your morning classes? Maybe your deck fell out there or something. Does anyone else know your locker combination?"
Gaius sighed as he spoke. "I didn't have my bag on me in the morning, so I know they can't be in my morning classes, and I don't think anyone knows my locker combination." He looked down at his pizza and felt horrible.
"Well, I'll help you look at your house later tonight," Kira assured, "plus I want to talk to you about a surprise that I have for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled two slips of paper from her wallet. "Yesterday morning one of the radio stations held a call-in contest to get two tickets to the final of the regional Duel Monsters tournament tonight, and guess who was caller number 25!" She sheepishly smiled, obviously in an attempt to boost her friend's spirit.
"Wow really Kira, that's awesome!" Gaius momentarily forgot his current predicament and focused on the tournament. The regional event was invitation-only, and Gaius knew that tickets to the event were sold-out a month before it even began. "Isn't that girl playing that you like so much, Rachel or something?" The young man hadn't paid much attention to the event since neither Yugi Moto nor Seto Kaiba were participating.
"Rebecca," Kira corrected, "and yes. She actually made it to the finals. I don't know who she's facing though. Whoever it is they have to be pretty good to make it to the top two." She smiled for a moment and continued to speak. "Anyway, I can pick you up at 7, the event should be over by 9 or 10 and then I can come help you look for your deck a bit. It could have fallen out in the house after you meant to pack it, you never know."
Gaius nodded and started to actually enjoy the remainder of his pizza. "7 sounds fine," he managed to get out between bites, "I'm not doing much after school, I may check the card shop to see if anyone has turned in my deck, or just thoroughly check the house." He sighed again as his current predicament caught up with the teen duelist. "By the way, my box was a bust too. Got the last one I could find in the whole area and I didn't get one of those special cards. I at least managed to get some good stuff in general though, despite most of it being Machine-type." Gaius and Kira then made small talk for the rest of lunch, with Kira asking about all of the specific cards that Gaius had gotten from his booster box.
After lunch, the rest of the day was a blur, as all Gaius could think about was his missing deck, and how he would do anything it took to get it back. The young man quickly hurried home as soon as school ended, and placed a call to the local card shop, but the call was in vain. No one had turned in a deck at all that week. 'I knew it was a long-shot at best,' he thought as a large frown crept across his face. He then looked all around his house, under his bed, inside the couch, but his deck was nowhere to be found. Gaius finished looking through his room and the house to no avail, and finally reserved himself to waiting for Kira to come and pick him up for the tournament that night. He quickly wrote a note to his mother who was working late, letting her know when he would be home.
As 7 neared, Gaius began to check his phone and see if he had missed a text from Kira. She usually was very punctual, and as the clock neared 7:20 he began to worry. As he was contemplating calling her mother to see if she was ok, he received a text message from his friend saying that she was in the driveway. Gaius quickly put on his shoes, grabbed his wallet and headed out the door. As he got into the passenger side of Kira's car, a plastic bag was sitting on the back seat.
"What's in the bag?" Gaius asked as he looked towards his newly arrived friend. The young man wondered what Kira was up to as usually her car was immaculate.
"Oh," Kira replied slowly, as she began to back out of the driveway. "I made a quick stop earlier, that's why I was a bit late. I'll show you what I got after we get back to your house."
As the pair left for where the finals were taking place, the drive was uneventful and within an hour they were at the dueling arena. They parked, quickly walked in, and showed the attendants their tickets.
Gaius was surprised as Kira led him not only to the bottom row of the stands, but his excitement grew with each step that they took towards the front row. As they reached the front row, his eyes were afire with glee. "You never told me the tickets you won were for the front row," the young man explained, a wide grin forming on his face.
"You never asked," Kira replied as she laughed and the pair took their seats. Within 20 minutes, the seats around them had filled and suddenly a loud voice could be heard over the sound system.
"Attention Duelists," the voice boomed, "are you ready for your regional championship event? We have several preliminary exhibition matches to whet your appetite for the main event, but first let's meet the man who has made all this possible, the creator of Duel Monsters and the owner of Industrial Illusions, Maximilian Pegasus!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and jubilation as the man's name was announced, and Gaius joined the fray with whooping and hollering of his own. Soon he could see a figure walking out from a corner of the arena, an older man with white hair draped over his left eye and dressed in an expensive-looking red and white pin-stripe suit. Gaius immediately recognized Pegasus, and became excited as the man began to walk past them to greet the crowd. As the man moved towards the pair of teens, a smile started on his face. As Pegasus looked towards the group, it was almost as if he was looking past them, and when his eye met Gaius the young man felt as if the card creator was staring into his soul.
The feeling quickly passed as Pegasus walked on, and the man took a seat at a table near the front row on the opposite side of the main stage. The announcer then announced the duelists for the first exhibition match, apparently two local duelists who were knocked out of the regional tournament despite being early favorites. Gaius' eyes glazed over as the first match passed with little interest, and the second match was just as boring as the first. The young man's ears perked up when he heard the announcer's voice announcing the third match.
"All right folks," the announcer exclaimed, "the match you've been waiting for is upon us. This is a battle between two high-powered duelists, one new to the competitive scene, and one a long-time veteran. Although the two of them have already secured a place at Maximillian Pegasus' upcoming Duelist Kingdom 10th Anniversary tournament just by making it this far, the winner of tonight's match will get a prestigious trophy for being crowned the Kanto regional champ, as well as a special secret reward at the tournament itself! Now, it's time to meet the two who will be battling it out for the title tonight. First, I give you Apollo Navarro, an 18-year duelist fresh out of Duel Academy in his first major tournament"
A young man stepped onto the center stage as he walked from one of the doors on the arena floor. Dressed in khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt, his clothes like the epitome of casual attire. Burgundy hair was parted down the middle of his forehead, and his bright blue eyes reflected the white hot lights of the arena. As he neared the left side of the stage, a section of the floor came away and a large structure came out of the ground.
'Wow," Gaius thought, 'now that the exhibition matches are over they're going to be actually playing on a Duel Arena. I've never seen one in person before.' He continued to watch as Apollo stepped onto a step near the base of his platform and rose until he reached the top of the arena terminal. The spectator's train of thought was interrupted when he heard the announcer's voice yet again.
"Now," the voice bellowed, "time for Apollo to come face to face with his competition. Former United States champion, semi-finalist in the KC Grand Prix, and now taking on her first major event since her move to Japan last year, I give you, Rebecca…Hawkins!" The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as a young woman stepped out from the opposite side of the arena.
Gaius looked towards the girl who looked several years his senior. Her clothes were as black as midnight, as a fastened corset clung to her slender frame. A short miniskirt accented the top, with lace stockings and a garter belt. Rebecca smiled toward the crowd and waved, her long arms covered in black lace glove sleeves as well. She stepped onto the dueling platform and then was lifted, standing face to face with her competition.
"Attention Duelists," the announcer boomed, "place your deck into the deck receptacle and your cards will be automatically randomized. Place your cards onto the respective card zone and the card will be displayed on the holoprojectors. If you have any questions about your opponent's cards, the screen to the right of your field will help. With your decks shuffled and the holoprojectors engaged, it's time to duel!"