The Duel Champion's Daughter

Disclaimer: I do NOT own either Inuyasha or Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Warning: Some cards names will be referred to by their Japanese names, depending on which I like better. For example, Polymerization will be called Fusion and the E-HERO Avian and E-HERO Burstnatrix are E-HERO Featherman and E-HERO Burst Lady. Also some cards will be treated as separate cards if they have different effects in the anime than they do in the actual game. For example, the card Cards of Sanctity's effect in the game is "Banish all other cards you control and in your hand (min.1 from each); draw until you have 2 cards in your hand." while in the anime, the card's effect is "Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand." In this case, the anime version will be referred by its Japanese name Treasure from Heaven and be treated as a completely different card. The cards used in this chapter (and the effects of the cards, if not stated within the story) will be listed at the end of this chapter. If I change a card effect, the card will be listed with its original effect and my modified effect.

AN: This chapter goes between chapter 1 and the original chapter 2. I can't believe I only just noticed the plot hole in the first episode. There's no way Chancellor Samejima should be able to know that Judai was late or that his lateness was due to a train accident. And before more people go on rampages, 5Ds and later series will not exist in this story's universe. It is not going to happen.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Foreign Language"

Kagome sighed as she stepped out of the hidden underground train platform and onto the elevator that would take her to the regular platform of the train station in Domino City.

The underground platform was a hidden one as it was a private national system specially created by and reserved for Issei Institute alumni and other members of the supernatural community. With speeds nearly twice as fast as any Shinkansen and situated further underground than any subway, the train system was used by Issei students and alumni to quickly and stealthily arrive at specific places for assignments, particularly undercover work and their everyday jobs. The impossible speed of the trains running so far underground sometimes generated tremors that were often mistaken for mini-earthquakes; the more trains that ran on the same line and at the same time, the greater the "earthquake."

Nearly a month has passed since the day Kaiba Seto had called his only daughter to his main office and ordered her to attend Duel Academy and to find a fiancé by her seventeenth birthday. As she had promised her father, she had taken Duel Academy's written entrance exam the previous Saturday after she had returned from visiting her older cousins in Hong Kong.

And a week later, she was again in Domino City. Even though it was a Saturday during summer vacation, she still had to wake up early for the long commute to the Duel Monsters obsessed city. The only good thing was that she didn't have to partake in the skill test of Duel Academy's entrance exam due to her position as a professional duelist.

Keeping a firm hold on her large handbag, Kagome glanced down at the diamond encrusted platinum watch she had received from her godmother for her fifteenth birthday. Judging by the sun and moon clock hands, she still had an hour and a half before she had to meet up with her godfather.

The elevator chimed when it had arrived on the main floor of Domino Station, and the young Kaiba quickly got off and mingled in with the Saturday crowd. Not wanting to draw too much attention to herself, she pulled the brim of her red baseball cap closer to her face as she assimilated into the late-morning commuters.

Unlike the quiet atmosphere of the secret platform, the mundane part of Domino Station was a loud and rowdy place. The volume of the place was so high that she could barely make out the announcement that sounded overhead. If Kagome had to give her opinion, she'd say the Domino residents were a fair bit ruder and a whole lot more naïve than the people in Tokyo and other places in Japan.

After wading through the crowd for a while, she quickly broke free upon seeing the exit she wanted and made a dash for it. Her favorite coffee shop was located near Domino Station, and she really wanted her daily dose of caffeine before anyone could stop her.

"As long as they're not here, I might as well," the raven smirked as she entered the quaint but busy coffee house and quickly lined up to order her favorite latte. Morning tea just didn't cut it for her when it came to waking her up; but her mother and godmother had kind of banned her from drinking coffee related drinks after nearly a week of consecutive all-nighters last winter.

After ordering and the following wait, she was all too happy to receive her double espresso latte with whipped cream and Italian roast drizzle. Taking a sip from the hot beverage, she couldn't help but smile at the taste. The authentic European flavor reminded her of the ones she would almost constantly drink during the year she had lived in France.

Once she was out of the shop, Kagome checked her custom-made watch again. If her estimation was right, the practical half of Duel Academy's entrance exam should already be half finished by now.

And if she left now, she would get to Domino City Park just before the appointed meeting time with her godfather.

Glancing around, the raven checked that the majority of her hair was still hidden under cap before she took off at a run. Her white sneakers silently pounded against the concrete as she sprinted to her destination.

Walking around the park where he was supposed to meet Tokyo's Ace Princess, Yugi thought about his friendship with the imposing CEO of Kaiba Corporation and his life since Atem had departed for the afterlife.

After the pharaoh had left, he had studied hard to get into a good university, and had eventually been accepted into the prestigious University of Tokyo as a scholarship student double majoring in game design and history with a concentration on Ancient Egypt. At the same time he had also finally entered the second stage of puberty, growing taller and more similar in appearance to the departed pharaoh.

Over the years, he and Seto had become closer friends. Their friendship had actually reached a point where their trust in each other ran deeper than the one he formerly shared with Jonouchi Katsuya. Their trust ran so deep that they were entrusted with the role of godfather of each other's children.

On the other hand, he had, surprisingly or not, had a falling out with Jonouchi, Honda, and maybe even more unexpectedly Anzu. Currently, he wasn't on speaking terms with his three former best friends, but he remained close with Bakura Ryo, Kawai Shizuka, and Otogi Ryuji. He had even attended Ryo and Shizuka's son's birthday party last month.

Possibly due to him going off to university and his move to Bunkyo, Tokyo for his education, he and the two less intelligent Domino City boys had drifted apart. His closer friendship with Seto and his goals and priorities in life were too different from Jonouchi and Honda. And despite everything they had gone through together, the blond and the buzz cut brunette never seemed to learn from their experiences.

Though he had been rather naïve and a little too optimistic during his time with Atem, he had grown out of it and matured throughout his final year in high school and throughout his years in Tokyo. He couldn't say it was the same with his childhood friend though.

With Anzu, he couldn't even say how their relationship was anymore. When he had finally entered puberty in their third year, he lost most if not all romantic notions he originally had for the tall brunette. When the dancer had finally showed some interest in him, he was never sure that she was interested in him for himself or for Atem.

And although he had remained friends with her because of their history together, he was never able to fully trust her again. She had done too many things that placed her in danger with the sole intention of calling out Atem. In the end, he lost touch with the aspiring dancer in his second year of university after she had moved overseas to study professional dance in New York. He didn't know how she was doing now, or if she was even still alive.

Well, he suppose it was a good thing he gave up on pursuing Anzu. Otherwise he probably would have never given into Rebecca Hopkins' affections, and married her fifteen years ago. He currently had two sons and a daughter, with his oldest, Takeo, being the same age as Souta.

Though Rebecca had been rather bratty and unreasonable during their first meeting, the younger duelist proved to be much more mature and intelligent than his original group of just Jonouchi, Honda, and Anzu. She even proved to be a better match for him than Anzu could ever possibly be.

With Rebecca, he, at the very least, knew for a fact that his wife loved him for himself and not for another.

He chuckled to himself whenever he remembered how Atem had assured him that Rebecca only loved him, and not the Millennium Puzzle's spirit. The pharaoh had told him how the American champion had torn into the spirit when the Egyptian had lost his soul during the whole Dartz fiasco.

His only reservations about getting involved with the former American champion had been their age difference and their cultural differences.

Though he had confessed to her when the American had turned sixteen, he had refused to pursue a physical relationship with her until she was at least eighteen. Rebecca's very open display of affections also had taken some time getting used to, but he didn't have to worry too much about their difference in culture. By the time they had officially started dating, Rebecca had already fully immersed herself in Japanese culture and society, having moved to Domino City to work as an archaeology researcher and professor at Domino University when she was sixteen.

Remembering his wife's line of work, he couldn't help but think about his closest friend, and their four years together at the University of Tokyo. Those four years were some of the best in his life, probably only second to the time he had spent with Atem, when he married Rebecca, and the birth of his three children.

He had actually been rather shocked when he had realized Seto was in his game design class at Todai. It was only later on that he learned that the taller duelist had also been accepted at the elite university and was, unsurprisingly, majoring in business and game design.

Thinking back on it now, he probably shouldn't have been as surprised as he had been. After all, Seto had always been at the top of their class despite his many absences for company meetings, but he had always expected the younger duelist to go abroad for his college education.

Aside from him and Seto becoming real friends with each other, he supposed the best parts of his university years were making new friends and just learning everything he could.

There were two particular things from that time that particularly stood out in his mind. The first had been learning that the number one school in academics and athletics in Japan was actually a safe haven for all things supernatural. He and Seto literally had no idea how much trouble Issei Institute and its students had to go through to keep everyone in Japan safe. This, of course, was all learned from Rebecca, who was an alumnus from Issei's USA sister school, Academy 51.

According to his wife, several students from either Issei or its sister schools always participated in the organized Duel Monster tournaments to regulate supernatural activity; however, the original Battle City Tournament and the Duelist Kingdom Tournament had apparently been the most hectic and chaotic ones the paranormal organizations have ever had to deal with.

The other thing that had stood out during his university years was Seto's courtship of one Higurashi Fumiko; the only woman to have ever been able to capture the CEO's hard heart.

Even after learning about Kisara, the original keeper of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Seto's heart and affections never strayed from Fumiko. When he saw the blue-eyed couple together, he can firmly say that the CEO never looked at another woman the same way he looked at his Higurashi wife.

From his perspective, the couple's courtship had been a rather amusing one. The Higurashi clan particularly Fumiko's two older brothers, Fuminori and Fumihiro, and her best friend and mentor, Hisakata Kimie now Hisakata-Taisho Kimie, presented various challenges for Seto to overcome before he had finally been accepted as Fumiko's boyfriend and later husband. Some of the challenges had been particularly difficult or often lead to embarrassing situations.

He laughed as an image of the blue-eyed duelist covered in honey and feathers came to mind; that had been a rather nasty prank by Fumiko's friends.

Although he had not known that the pair had been dating prior to his third year at Domino High, he had first met Fumiko during the KC Grand Prix welcoming party. During the party, he had been surprised when the gentle and seemly raven had not only stopped Vivian Wong's antics, but had also soundly put the actress in her place. He hadn't known at the time, but the party had not only been the raven's first job as a professional event planner but had also been her and Seto's first date together.

From what Mokuba had told him, the pair's first meeting had been a rather unpleasant one, and had been shortly after the Duelist Kingdom fiasco when Fumiko had been an event coordinator intern at Domino City Museum.

According to Mokuba, the Higurashi had saved him from some kidnappers and stayed with him until his older brother had arrived. But with Seto being as hot-headed as he was, he had mistaken Fumiko as one of the kidnappers, which had led to a heated argument between the two high schoolers.

After the giving their statements to the police, Fumiko had disappeared without either Kaiba brother knowing her name or whereabouts.

When the brothers had returned to the police to ask about the edoko (Tokyoite; a child born and raised in Tokyo and from a family that has been in Tokyo for generations), the officers refused to divulge her name or information. The reason was likely due to her being the younger sister of Higurashi Fuminori, the youngest superintendent general of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, and the officers' respect for the Higurashi family.

Following their first encounter, Fumiko and the two Kaiba brothers continuously ran into each other, and each time the Higurashi would leave them without her name or any clue as to who she was. The mystery of her identity created an obsession in the elder Kaiba to find and learn about her. The obsession was supposedly stronger than the Egyptian reincarnation's bond with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

From his perspective, the blue-eyed couple's relationship from beginning to end was extremely amusing and romantic. Sort of like a comedic romance drama, albeit a slightly scary one. Scary because of Fumiko's friends and family, and because of the extreme measures Seto had taken to find his bride.

But overall, the pair's courtship was, as his wife would say, a fairy tale. Despite all the interrogations, pranks, and near impossible tasks he underwent, the CEO never gave up and willingly braved them all for the privilege to take the Higurashi scion's hand in marriage.

Yugi shook his head as he thought about the Higurashi-Kaiba couple. As an outsider looking in, he couldn't understand how Seto was able to screw up his marriage so much.

Yes, he had always known the taller man was protective of his family and company, but after Kagome's first kidnapping the younger man became too overprotective.

Seto had taken drastic measures to protect his small family. He had moved his family first to America then to France and to Hong Kong before finally returning to Japan. Not only that, but he would purposely take on more extended business trips and go to Duel Monster Tournaments away from home so that the media and rival companies would not be able to connect his family to him.

The CEO distanced himself from his family so much that Fumiko had filed for legal separation, no longer able to stand the lack of contact or the many lonely nights.

The King of Games sighed again. His best friend's marriage was on the rocks; and although the couple was attempting to mend their rift, Fumiko may still file for divorce, breaking a Higurashi clan taboo, if the eldest Kaiba could not prove his true feelings.

His godchildren and their mother had been led to believe for far too long that Seto cared more for his favorite card game than he did about his own wife and children.

That belief was also the reason behind his and the elder Kaiba's predicament with Kagome. The Kaiba heiress pretty much hated her formerly favorite game, blaming it for breaking up her family. Though the raven, who looked so much like her mother, still sometimes enjoyed dueling with him and some of her friends and cousins from her father's side of the family, it was heartbreaking for him and her father to know she hated the game they love.

Looking back at the main Kaiba Corporation building, the tri-colored duelist considered the conversation he had had with his best friend. He couldn't say he agreed with what Seto and Fumiko had planned. It certainly wouldn't have been what he'd suggest the couple do to release their daughter of her hatred, but he would remain supportive of their plan.

In contrast, he was sure that his goddaughter had been terribly upset with the news last month. He knew how much Kagome loved and enjoyed attending Issei Institute. Then again, if he had been able to attend a school that catered to his talents, interests, and learning abilities, he would have loved learning there too.

Truth be told, he and Seto actually should had attended Issei for their own spiritual abilities. It was just unfortunate that Issei's scouting methods back then had not been as efficient or effective as it was today.

Sighing again, the corners of his mouth momentarily turning down in a frown. The issues in the Higurashi-Kaiba family had him sighing a lot more than he was used to.

Shaking his head at the unneeded thought, he listened to the calls from his Duel Monsters deck and the chattering of his many Duel Spirits. Hearing three particular cries, he smiled as the spirits of his Kuriboh and two Winged Kuriboh cards materialized beside him.

When he had gotten his first Winged Kuriboh card four years ago, he had promised Kagome that if he ever got a hold of a second copy, he would give it to her. Now that the Kaiba heiress had completed the first term of her final year in high school, he had planned to gift it to her as a present. Knowing how upset his goddaughter probably was with the current situation, he hoped having Winged Kuriboh would cheer her up a little.

"…Watch out!" a young males shouted as the sound skidding feet followed.

Hearing the warning, Yugi turned towards the source of the sound, and was barely able to brace himself before a body collided into him. He watched bemusedly as the teenager bounced off of him. What could possibly put the younger male in such a rush? It was summer vacation for a majority of the schools in Japan after all.

"Gomen," the brunette apologized as he picked up his scattered belongings.

Noticing the duel disk and Duel Monster cards, the King of Games asked, "So, I take it that you duel then?"

As he spoke his second Winged Kuriboh moved in front of him and began gesturing wildly to the teenager, making its desire obvious. He didn't know why his third Kuriboh wanted to be with the young duelist, but there must have been a good reason. He knew he likely wouldn't go against the little Duel Monster's wish, but he was hesitant to pass it on to the young man instead of his goddaughter.

After all, this particular Winged Kuriboh was one of his last hopes of getting Kagome to love their favorite card game again. He had a feeling that the Duel Spirit would have a large impact on several duelists in the next generation. Whether the effects Winged Kuriboh caused were for better or worse, the Duel Monster had the ability to create change in people much like how his goddaughter did.

The only kink in that plan was that Kagome had subconsciously sealed away part of her memories and spiritual sight five years ago, rendering her incapable of seeing, much less interacting with, Duel Spirits.

"Ah, I'm trying out for the Duel Academy," the boy answered as he picked up the last of his cards.

Hearing that answer, Yugi felt himself relent a little and his hand moved towards where he kept his Duel Monsters deck. Given that this boy is actually accepted at the Kaiba family owned school, he suppose he wouldn't mind passing it on to him too much. His second Winged Kuriboh would still be at the same school as Kagome after all, and it'll hopefully still be able to help her.

While his three Kuribohs chatter amongst themselves as if they were saying goodbye to each other, he felt an internal sigh build within him. He just knew his goddaughter was going to be really disappointed; she didn't like broken promises, but he hoped she would understand.

The boy laughed as he stood up before recognition hit him. "H-hey, you're..."

The recognition in the teenager's voice tone snapped Yugi out of his conflicting thoughts. Realizing that he needed to get out of here fast, he quickly took out his newest Winged Kuriboh card. Like his goddaughter, he easily garnered the attention of others through his accomplishments, but like in high school, he didn't like or know how to handle the fame too well.

"This is a lucky card," the veteran duelist said as he handed the card to the teenager. "It seems like it wants to be by your side."

He didn't wait for the boy to respond as he hastily made his exit. "Do your best," he encouraged as he walked around the young duelist.

"Ano… arigato gozaimashita!" Yugi heard the boy call out to him when he was a distance away, and briefly gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement before continuing his fast paced retreat.

Not even a moment later, the King of Games chuckled as a panicked shout from the prospective Duel Academy student rang through the air.

Knowing that he was no longer in danger of being swarmed, the Duel King returned to walking at a leisurely pace, and began making his way to the other end of the park. Checking his phone, Yugi noticed that it was nearly time for him to meet up with his goddaughter.

Arriving at the appointed meeting place, Yugi checked his cellphone and noted the time. It was already nearing noon, and Kagome was still nowhere in sight.

"I hope that boy will make it to the exam in time," he said to himself as he took up a spot by the park's wishing fountain. "There isn't much I can do if he's late."

"If who's late, Yugi-oji-sama?" a voice asked from behind him, startling the King of Duelists.

"Kagome-chan," he scolded as soon as his heart returned to his chest. "How many times have I told not scare me like that."

"A lot," Kagome snickered. "But it's the same with you, oji-sama. It's Gome, not Kagome," she huffed. She hated it when her family and close friends called her by the Japanese translation of her name. She was no caged bird.

"Right, right. Your actual name is closer to that pronunciation than the katakana translation."

"Ne, oji-sama who were you talking about just now? It wasn't about me, was it?"

"Oh that's right. Could you do me a favor?"

"What for?" the Ace Princess blinked, her curiosity sparking. It was rare for her godfather to ask for anything. The older duelist was pretty self-sufficient, and didn't particularly like asking for help if he could help it.

"I ran into a Duel Academy examinee not too long ago," Yugi began.

"An examinee? They shouldn't be out for another hour or so," the blue-eyed teen said as she checked her wristwatch. "Chronos-oji-san isn't going to accept anyone who comes to the exam late."

"About that... I was hoping you could make a few calls."

"You mean you want me to pull some strings for the examinee," she deadpanned at the request. Seeing the pleading look, Kagome sighed as she took her cellphone from her bag and pressed a button to turn on the screen. "I'll call Samejima-oji-san and a few of the proctors," she relented.

The king released a breath in relief as he watched his goddaughter walk a small distance from him to make the calls. He needed to distract Kagome from asking for the Duel Monsters card, and he knew there was a chance that the heiress might throw a fit over the loss of her promised card.

"Moshi moshi!" Kagome greeted as she made her final call. "Eh, there's apparently an examinee running late due to the train accident today. Yugi-oji-sama ran into him not too long ago, and we're both a little worried that he might not be able to take his test."

"Un, we'll leave it up to you, Samejima-oji-san. I'll see you in a couple weeks," the professional duelist smiled as she ended the call.

"It's done, Yugi-oji-sama," Kagome stated as she slipped her phone back into her purse.

"Arigato, Gome-chan. Why don't we head to the Space Burger in the Fountain Plaza?" Yugi suggested when his goddaughter came back. "You can tell me about this game idea you have for Seto over lunch before our weekly training session. You have a pro duel waiting for you tonight, ne?"

"Un! Actually, I was wondering if you could help me set the game up. Chichiue's going to be the first to play…"

"At last, the big match has come to fruition. Achieving her desire to reach the top ranks in the last week and having created and played over seventy unique decks, the undefeated Ace Princess of the Pro League and the Asia Champion, A. Higurashi!" the announcer spoke through the Kaiba Dome speakers. "What deck will she be playing today? One of her previous decks or will it be another new one?!"

"And facing her is one of the world's strongest veteran duelists! A previous Asia Champion, a competitor of the inaugural KC Grand Prix, and the reigning Duel Queen of Asia, Vivian Wong! Just what kind of dueling will these two tenacious ladies show us in tonight's title match? Will it be the princess or the current queen who will come out supreme?"

"This is so boring to think I'm going up against a little girl like you. I hope you can give me a good duel, chibi-chan," the pure Chinese woman stated.

"I'll show you little, you old hag," Kagome hissed under her breath as her toes curled in her white platform ankle boots. She was no longer in the baseball themed outfit she had worn earlier, and had changed into a dark grey dress that had small light pink and periwinkle flowers embroidered throughout the layered flare skirt. The dress had been a gift from Yuuki-senpai, one of her favorite upperclassmen and OB. "I hope you can defend your title from me, oba-san. You're not as popular as you used to be, you arrogant panda!"

"Duel!" the two women shouted as they took the starting hand of five cards.

"My turn; draw!" Kagome smiled as she saw the monster card she had drawn. "I'll play House Duston in Defense Mode, and I'll equip it with the Spell card, Magicalized Duston Mop. And I'll end my turn with two cards facedown," she stated as five colored Dustons and the two Spell/Trap cards materialized on the dueling field.

"A 0-ATK monster? What is Ace thinking?! Is this going to be a throw-away duel?" the announcers yelled into the microphone in disbelief.

Vivian laughed as she started her turn. "Thanks for giving me such an easy win! I'll end this duel in one turn," the former Kung Fu champion gloated.

"My turn; draw! I'll summon Swordsman of the Dark Demon World, Dark Sword in Attack Mode. I'll equip him with the Spell card Lightning Saber, not only giving my Dark Sword a 300 ATK bonus, but once he destroys your little Duston he can attack your Life Points directly. Next, I'll play the Quick-Spell, Flying Dragon Whirl. By sending four Dragon-Type monsters from my Deck to the Graveyard, I can raise my Dark Sword's ATK by 1200 points, bringing his ATK to 3300! I'll also equip him with Meteor Strike to deliver piercing damage!"

"Dark Sword destroy that puny Duston monster of hers!" Vivian ordered as the ominous looking Warrior-Type monster charged at the 0-ATK monster.

"Reverse card, open! Holy Life Barrier! By discarding one card from my hand, all damage I take this turn will be reduced to 0!" Kagome interrupted as she placed her remaining monster card in the graveyard slot.

"Not so fast! I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Trap! Now the damage will still go through!" the older woman laughed.

"You must be getting really old to have missed my other facedown, Wong-san. I activate Curse of Royal! When a Spell or Trap card's effect includes the destruction of one of my Spell or Traps, I can activate this card to negate and destroy that card instead!" the princess declared as ghostly skulls emitted from the newly revealed Trap card and the Spell card shattered. "With this Holy Life Barrier's effect continues through."

With the resolve of the Trap and Spell cards, Dark Sword continue its battle with House Duston, obliterating the monster and its equipped Spell card.

"House Duston's effect activates! When House Duston is destroyed by my opponent's monster or card effect, I can Special Summon any number of Duston monsters from my deck to anywhere on the field as long as there is an equal number on both sides. And I'll summon three White Dustons and another House Duston to my side of the field in Defense Mode while giving you Yellow Duston, Blue Duston, Red Duston, and Green Duston all in Attack Mode!" As she spoke all eight Duston monsters appeared on the duel field.

Panic showed on the reigning Duel Queen's face as her remaining monster zones became filled. Her disgust was evident as the floating dust balls were placed under her control.

"And with the destruction of Magicialized Duston Mop, I can add one Duston monster from my Deck to my hand," Kagome declared as she picked her favorite Duston monster out from her deck. "I should tell you now. Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow Dustons cannot be tribute, and if they are destroyed, they each come with their own penalty."

"Che, I'll equip Dark Sword with the Equip Spell, Raregold Armor, and I'll end my turn with one facedown card," Vivian scoffed at having her easy victory stolen from her.

"Not such an easy win, now is it?" the Kaiba heiress taunted, her temporarily purple eyes glistened challengingly. "My turn; draw! I'll start off by sacrificing my three White Dustons and my House Duston to Special Summon one Duston monster from my hand. Let's go, Starduston!"

When the black dust ball monster appeared on the field, it danced around Kagome's head before settling in its monster zone. It was relatively small compared to the other four Duston monsters on the field, but the star on its forehead showed why it was given its name.

"So what? It's just another 0-ATK shrimp," the queen sneered. "It's not like it can do anything to me."

Kagome smirked, "Starduston's ATK is 1000 multiplied by the amount of Duston monsters I send to the Cemetery for its summoning. And I sent four of them."

"4-4-4000 ATK?!" Vivian screeched in disbelief. As the older duelist was in shock, Starduston grew nearly ten times its size and now towered over Swordsman of the Dark Demon World, Dark Sword.

Shaking off her shock, the Duel Queen snapped, "Even with a 4000 ATK monster, I'll still have Life Points left."

The smirk returned as the contact lens wearing girl announced her next move. "Shows what you know. I play Opti-Camouflage Armor. This Equip-Spell can only be used with a Level 1 monster, and allows the equipped monster to attack my opponent directly."

"But I have Raregold Armor equipped!"

"Raregold Armor's effect only applies if I'm attacking one of your other monster. Starduston attack Wong-san directly!"

The stardust monster swiftly darted over to Vivian, jumping over the heads of the other five monsters on the field.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, chibi-chan! Reverse card, open! Attack Nullification! With this the Battle will end!"

"It's useless! Starduston's special effect prevents my opponent from activating any set Spell or Trap cards! Starduston, Cosmic Air!" Kagome ordered her monster.

Glittering black smoke wafted off the Duston monster, and it swiftly filled the arena grounds of the Kaiba Dome. Whispers, shouts, and wonderment burst out around the stadium as the arena took on the image of a dark night filled with bright stars, showing off Starduston's name and why it was the star of the Duston monsters.

As if on cue, the darkness disappeared from the stadium and all at once transformed into an air current that concentrated around and surrounded Vivian Wong. The older duelist's cheongsam lifted in the Solid Vision generated wind, and former Asia Champion's form disappeared in the twister.

When the black stardust and wind had dispersed, Vivian had fallen to her knees and her Life Points had been reduced to zero

"I can't believe I lost!" the pure Chinese woman whined as she began crying tears of frustration.

"There we have it! A new Duel Queen has been born! The Ace Princess has now been crowned the Duel Queen!"

Kagome tuned out the rest of the announcer's speech and waved to her fans in the audience, graciously accepting their cheers and applauses, as she walked off the dueling field. She occasionally stopped to talk with some of the children that were eager to speak with her and sign autographs for the fans that had crowded around the staff only entrance. Being a high ranking duelist and one of the few females in the Pro League, not to mention her uncanny resemblance to Lady Luck's Kotori and the idol Mika, made Kagome extremely popular with the masses.

When the door to the staff entrance closed behind her, the raven breathed out in relief finally being able to relax and get away from all the Duel Monsters craze. Irritation radiated off the fifteen-year-old as she thought back on the day and her opponent.

'According to what Yugi-oji-sama and Rebecca-oba-sama have told me, Wong-san hasn't changed much since they first met her. Still an uppity whiner from what I see,' the newly crowned Duel Queen groused as she walked down the hallways towards the front atrium of the Kaiba Dome. 'Can't believe she was so stupid to give up her entire career as an actress, only to duel for the last decade.'

Because of her rocky relationship with her father, the Kaiba heiress never had a high opinion of people whose only occupation was being a duelist in the Pro League. The only professional duelists that she cared about had additional careers outside of dueling such as being a jewelry crafter and designer, a corporation executive, and a professional athlete. Even she had several other occupations and professions to fill when not dueling, and she was still in high school.

Aside from having to duel today with a virtual stranger, she was irked by the loss of her promised Winged Kuriboh. She had been trying to get her hands on the rare Level 1 monster for the better part of five years now. Not only did she find it irresistibly cute (she had a couple plushies of it back in Tokyo), but it was the only card she needed to finish the Kuriboh deck she had been working on.

Noticing how close she was now to the atrium entrance, Kagome took a deep breath and recomposed herself, not allowing her annoyance for this card game craze to show.

As she stepped out of the hallway, Kagome's attitude and composure completely changed, becoming the eloquent, graceful, and well-mannered woman that was the Ace Princess; the perfect lady from a noble house by both East-Asian and European standards.

When the reporters noticed her, she was immediately swarmed by the media. Lights flashed as cameras shutters clicked repeatedly, and the reporters fired off question after question until all the duelist heard was a blur of words.

Kagome only smiled through all the torture, and waited for the reporters to calm down before she began responding to their queries.

"As usual, that was a magnificent victory."

"Thank you. I suppose it was a good duel, but for someone crowned Duel Queen, I had expected her to be more of a challenge. I think it could have gone better if the former queen had done a little studying before our match today."

"This time you used a Duston deck, ne? Was there any particular reason why you chose to showcase a deck of low-level monsters? And why do you continue to use a different deck for every duel?"

Kagome chuckled softly with a coy smile as she answered jokingly, "Do I really need a reason?"

The reporters laughed along at her response.

"There's actually a reason why I chose to use my Duston deck today. I don't like it when people look down on others very much, and from what I know of the former Duel Queen, Wong-san generally belittles her opponents if they are not men or do not meet her standards. I know there are some people who don't agree with or like my methods, but I wanted to show Wong-san and my fans that anyone, even a weakling can come out a winner. All anyone needs to do is keep an open mind and be creative enough to find a way."

"What do you plan to do now that you've beaten the best woman duelist in the Pro League?"

"Well, I'll be taking a break from the Pro League until after my birthday."

"And just why might that be, if you don't mind me asking?"

"No, I don't mind at all. As some already learned, I'm a member of one of Issei Institute's sports teams, and tomorrow is the start of the second week of the summer national sports competitions. So after tonight, I want to put all my focus on my school competition."

"But why for so long if the competition is only for a week?"

"Well a month isn't exactly a very long time, but I'm enrolling in Issei's exchange program and I'd like to take the time to assimilate into my new surroundings."

"Issei Institute's exchange program allows students to physically attend other schools while keeping up with Issei's intensive coursework, right?"

"That's correct."

"Which school will you be attending?"

"I don't really think that's any of your concern. I'd like to keep my private life private. Thank you very much."

"Just when are you going to reveal your name to us, Ace? The people have been waiting years since your World Junior League debut to learn who you are!"

"Perhaps next month after my birthday," Kagome answered, her smile turning secretive. "I'd be more than happy to answer everyone's questions at the next interview, but for now I would very much like to head home and rest for tomorrow's competition. After all, I am still just a high school student, and there's a very long commute to Tokyo ahead of me."

With that said, the newly crowned Duel Queen left the reporters and exited the Kaiba Dome. She didn't pay the complaining photographers or interviewers any mind as she boarded the helicopter provided by Kaiba Corporation.

The raven sighed as the helicopter took off, glad to be away from all the Duel Monster insanity. She hadn't been lying about her sports meet the following day, but her commute to Tokyo wouldn't be until tomorrow morning. She just didn't want to deal with strangers and the craziness longer than she necessarily had to.

As her flight drew closer to its destination, she felt dread curl in her stomach. Though she may love her father and Uncle Mokuba, she didn't want to spend the night at the Kaiba Chateau with either of them. She could already guess what the two elder Kaiba's would say about the duel, and she didn't want to hear any of it.

Kagome scowled at that thought, bearing a striking resemblance to her father in that moment. She would rather not talk to either males if all they wanted to talk about was that stupid card game. For once, she'd like to be able to have a normal conversation with her father and uncle without it revolving around Duel Monsters or business.

Frustrated tears pricked her eyes. She just wanted her family back.

AN: This chapter was originally going to have two duel scenes in here, but the first was unneeded length and wouldn't help the chapter flow to the next scene. The original chapter 2 is currently under reconstruction. If you have a problem with me having an intense dislike for Anzu, Honda, and Jounochi, please take a hike. I could really care less about your opinion on my opinions.

AN-2: Chapters 1-10/11 are undergoing major rewrites right now.