4. ... And Then There Were Three
"Twin Sword Marauder, attack!" Jack declared with a flourish, eyes flashing.
"Aw! I almost had my cards set for a counterattack, too." Sasuke griped. "But why do you hafta call it out like you have a duel disk? We can't see your monster attack, you know."
Jack shrugged. "I'll have one one day."
"I'm going to build us duel disks," said Yusei.
"Out of what? Broken pallets?" sneered Sasuke.
"How about out of your broken bones?" asked Jack, raising a fist.
Sasuke was relieved to be interrupted by a voice from above.
"Hey! You! You Jack Atlas?" The voice came from the wall of a ruined building along the alley they were dueling in.
The three of them, Jack, Yusei, and Sasuke, one of Martha's kids, looked up to see a scrawny kid with a huge shock of unruly orange hair. "What if I am?" Jack called back.
"I moved into these parts a few days ago and heard there was a blond big mouth who claims he's a pretty good duelist."
"Claims—! You want to find out?"
"As a matter of fact, that's why I came looking," the boy grinned, sliding down a pile of rubble.
"Well, aren't you cocky?"
"Hey, Jack, that's Crow," Sasuke warned. "The one that Roger told us about yesterday? He's tricky."
"Right," Jack said. But Yusei knew that Jack already realized who it was and that he was about to face all those Blackwing cards they'd heard about. He could see the glint of excitement in Jack's eyes that appeared when he hoped to face a tough opponent. "Should be fun."
A voice called out from the back of the knot of kids that had gathered for the duel. "Hey, Crow, Jack's the best duelist at Martha's … and that's Yusei. He's almost as good. They're always together."
Several minutes and a few plays later, Jack was down 2000 points.
"I thought you said your friend was good," Crow said.
"You'll see," said Yusei.
"Reverse card, open," said Jack, turning over a card. Crow took a look and frowned.
"That sends all my cards to the graveyard. You've had that card out since your first turn. Why didn't you play it before now?"
"If I had, how would I find out how these Blackwings work?" Jack smiled. After a few plays, it was all over.
Crow shook his head. "I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you before."
"What did I say?" said Yusei with a little pride. "You want to duel me now?"
"I think I need a breather," Crow laughed.
"Why haven't we seen you around here before?" Jack asked.
Crow shrugged. "I like to move around. I find a good place, and people tend to move in, you see."
"You mean, you don't have anybody?" Yusei asked. "Hey, Jack, let's take him to Martha. Don't you think we could squeeze in one more?"
Jack shrugged. "Come along if you want, Crow. You duel hard. I like that. Plus, you're tricky. It's fun. Challenging."
"You're a strange one, Jack. Isn't it about winning?"
"Of course it is. But what good is an easy victory?"
"Can we show him our hideout?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
Author's Notes:
Sorry this is so short, but it didn't seem to want to be longer. I'll try to get the next one up quickly.
A couple of things.
Obviously, I'm not one to write detailed dueling scenes. Sorry about that! I just don't feel I have that sort of intimate knowledge of the game ... just a basic understanding.
I hope you don't find the flashback chapters too jarring - I couldn't get them to work out in a neat, alternating pattern.