Disclaimer: We own nothing except the plot.
The Power of Spirit
Chapter 10 ~ Regionals
Yugi was shivering in his shoes, nerves racing from the tips of his toes straight up his spine. He started pacing to alleviate the pressure. He hated breaking promises, and he felt guilty knowing that he would have to; he had told Sakura that he would leave her alone until Monday, let her have her rest. But, that cursed invitation demanded immediate attention. He reached toward the doorknob, then backed away and started pacing again.
"What are you doing? Just knock on the door," Yami stated from within Yugi's consciousness.
"It's not that easy," he replied, fear lacing his words.
"Of course it is." A second later, Yami was in charge, for which Yugi was relieved. He walked up to the door and rapped on it three times.
Sakura answered almost immediately, cheeks glowing with excitement. "Yu- Yami! I was just about to call you. Come in." She waved at him and trotted back into the house and up the stairs.
Yami entered the house at a more respectable pace. "Ready yet?"
"Nope. You can take point on this one," replied a skittish Yugi.
"As you wish."
Just then, Sakura came bolting back down the steps, Kero following in her wake like an golden shadow. In her hand, she held the crystal box. "Guess what I found?"
Yami glanced at the box, a fair assumption on his tongue; however, Sakura was so excited that she didn't allow him the chance to speak. She held up a bronze card with the name Hidden Water Wisdom. It was undoubtedly a Serenity Card. "Look!"
Yami smiled. "Congratulations."
Sakura was ecstatic. "And the best part is that I didn't even have to fight for it. I just bought it!"
"That's amazing!" Yugi replied, taking back control.
"Thanks. Tomoyo and Syaoran should be here soon, then we can get back to training. I'm so pumped right now," said Sakura as she led Yugi to the kitchen. Yugi noticed that her Duel Monsters cards were scattered all over the table.
"Get new cards?" he asked.
"Yes, but that's not why the table's a mess. I want to keep my deck as close to forty as possible, so if I want to add the Serenity Cards, then I'll have to take some out." She gazed at the Hidden Water Wisdom card, then she pulled the SHIELD from her pocket. "I wish I could incorporate the Sakura Cards too. They would be a great addition."
Almost as if she had uttered a spell, the card started to glow and wind whipped around the kitchen. Sakura could only watch in shock as SHIELD shrunk to half its original size and wrapped itself in a magenta coating.
"Wha-?"
"Sakura!" Kero shouted, worry lacing his voice.
"SHIELD transformed itself… into a... Trap card..." Sakura muttered once the light faded away.
A moment later, her father emerged from his office, frantic, and wielding a baseball bat. "Sakura, what's going on?"
Sakura gasped and waved her arms in the air. "No danger! No danger! We're okay!"
Later, Syaoran and Tomoyo arrived to find Sakura in an excited hysteria. "Guess what I can do?" was the first thing out of her mouth.
000
"Yugi?" Yami asked during lunch. He had been pretty quiet the whole morning while Sakura had adjusted to dueling with the Serenity Cards and the transformed Sakura Cards; so far she'd only done three, SHIELD, SWORD, and ILLUSION. The transition was pretty easy and Sakura started playing better and more confidently. She had finally found the heart of her cards, and Yugi couldn't be prouder. However, the result of the cards transforming was that Sakura grew a bit tired and had to drink double the amount of tea in order to stay awake.
"Yeah?" Yugi replied, watching while Sakura dueled a freshly equipped Tomoyo. From what he could see, Tomoyo was a pretty tough opponent.
"What about the tournament?" Yami answered.
"Oops. I almost forgot." Yugi cleared his throat, preparing to speak aloud.
"Wow!" Tomoyo cried. "I won!"
"Excuse me," Yugi said.
"Yeah, Yugi," Sakura replied, smiling happily and shuffling her cards for round two.
He fished in his jacket pocket and found the envelope. "I received this yesterday when I got home. It's an invitation to a pairs tournament sponsored by Kaiba Corp. And the prize is an Ultra-Rare card."
"So?" Syaoran said. "Why are you mentioning this to us? If you want to enter, why not ask one of your friends?"
"Kaiba Corp is run by Seto Kaiba, a collector of rare cards. Usually, if he holds a tournament, the prize is more monetary," Yugi explained. "Basically, it's not in his nature to just give cards away, especially rare ones that he can use for himself, which makes the whole situation suspicious."
"You seem to know an awful lot about this guy," Syaoran commented.
"Not my decision. Seto Kaiba thinks that I'm his rival and is constantly trying to defeat us."
Syaoran nodded, seeming to understand. Knowing one's opponent is basic when it comes to strategy.
"So you want to enter the tournament?" Tomoyo asked.
"Yes. I think the prizes might be Serenity Cards."
Sakura looked up from the table where she had her Sakura Cards were set out like a tarot reading. "There will definitely be Serenity Cards there," she stated.
Kero checked the reading over her shoulder and nodded. "Something powerful at least. Does this Kaiba guy have monsters that he could sick on you?"
"No," Yugi replied.
"Then it's probably the cards. And if we read it wrong, then you two get to split some wicked cards."
"You'll do me the honor of being my partner then, Sakura?" Yugi asked. He could practically feel the icy daggers that Syaoran was sending his way because of that sentence. Oddly enough, Yami found it highly amusing.
"Of course," Sakura replied, smiling politely.
000
The rules of the tournament were fairly straightforward. Each team had to have one participant who received the invitation. There were a total of five rounds through which to traverse for the Regional aspect of the tournament.
The tournament took place in a run down mall that was destined to become a Kaiba Corp game emporium. Each contestant was given a badge that they had to sign and hang on a red lanyard.
The object was fairly simple. Wander the mall, floor by floor, in pairs, and when you encountered another team, you dueled. The losers had to forfeit one of their badges. They had two chances and losers were dismissed from the building. Each team had to beat five other teams to advance to the next floor of the building. The last team standing on the fifth floor won the tournament and moved on to the Sectionals.
000
"What is this again?"Sakura asked, hefting up the heavy contraption that Yugi and Yamazaki had affixed to her wrist. She all ready had a hard enough time moving in the black cat-suit that Tomoyo had insist she wear ("a battle is a battle and you need a battle costume," she'd said). And the black tulle tutu wasn't making her feel any better about the situation. She felt like a girl dressing up as a ballerina with cat ears for Halloween.
"It's called a Duel Disk," answered Yugi. "It's a Kaiba Corp invention that allows Duelists to duel basically anywhere."
"Why's it so big?"
"Dunno. I'll ask Kaiba when I see him next."
"Was that sarcasm, Yugi?" Tomoyo asked, a small smile alighting on her lips.
Yugi blinked. "No."
000
"Contestants! Get ready!" Sakura gripped her deck tighter. "Get set!" She took a deep breath, and grabbed Yugi's hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. "DUEL!"
Hand in hand, they bolted from their starting point. They didn't want to get caught in a duel right off the bat. Yugi was a juicy target after all. Because she was the more athletically inclined of the two, Sakura ended up pulling Yugi along behind her.
They paused for breath in what used to be a salon. They ducked behind a divider with peeling blue paint. Yugi huffed heavily for a whole minute; Sakura, however, was barely panting. "What's the plan?" she asked.
Naturally, Yugi couldn't answer right away, so he used the time to think and consult with Yami. By the time they finished, Sakura was getting antsy. The longer they stayed put, the less secure she felt. She was even fiddling with the star-shaped pendant she had on a string around her neck.
"We duel," he replied at length. "By now about half of the teams have been disqualified, so there's the risk of going against some really strong opponents. We'll just walk around and the challengers will come to us. Ready?"
Sakura gulped. "Not sure, but I'll do my best."
He smiled at her admiringly. "That's the spirit."
000
Awhile later, Sakura's lanyard was bogged down by the tags of two other contestants; and three more teams had flat out run at the sight of them. It was a miracle in her opinion. She spent most of the first duel trying to learn how to use the Duel Disk in the first place and asking Yami – who took over for Yugi during formal duels, she was surprised to note – about this thing or that thing. Their opponents became quite angry because of this, and Sakura was basically a big flop. The second duel ran a lot more fairly. As an added bonus, her confidence level had risen considerably.
"Hey, Yugi," Sakura asked, fiddling with the red cord of her lanyard.
"Hmm?" he replied, eyes scanning the corridor for duelists. They were headed toward the food court in search of others.
"Does it bother you when Yami takes control of your body?"
"Not really. Well, not anymore. When it first happened, I was blacking out, and that scared me. But since then he mostly takes over when I need his help. He's a really good friend."
"Even when he wins the duels and you get the credit?"
Yugi stopped. "I don't know how to explain it. Somehow, I just feel like it doesn't matter, like we're the same person or something, even though we're so different. Besides, I don't like entering tournaments unless I have to. Duel Monsters should be a fun game to enjoy, not stress over. So, when Yami can help by taking care of them, I really appreciate it."
Sakura smiled. She had pretty much guessed the answer, and liked how he phrased it. Suddenly, a thought, or rather, a couple of people, popped into her head. "You know," she said, "there's a couple of friends I'd like you and Yami to meet when we get home."
They moved to keep walking, but a snarly voice from the shadows froze them in place. "Now what do we have here?"
The duo turned and faced the speaker and his teammate. Yugi knew them on sight, so he leaned over to explain to Sakura. Unfortunately, the taller one talked right over him. "The King of Games himself. We heard you were going to be participating. Although, I have to say I'm surprised at your choice of partner."
The shorter snorted. "Indeed, was that imbecile Jonouichi unavailable?" He turned to Sakura and offered her his hand. She took it politely, although, she felt like she was holding her hand out to a snake. She did notice, however, that magic flared from Yugi, which meant that Yami was in the driver's seat. Considering the circumstances, she was proud that she was getting better at noticing the change.
"My name is Insector Haga, and this is my partner Dinosaur Ryuzaki. A pleasure to meet you..."
Sakura looked at them both closely. They were finally close enough to see in the dim light. Insector Haga had beady little eyes that peeked out from behind thick glasses, bridge bound by a layer of tape. His bowl-cut turquoise hair hung just over the upper rim of the frames, and his clothes fit him well, even if the colors hurt her eyes. Sakura thought that he looked a little like an bug; specifically, a praying mantis. His teammate, Dinosaur Ryuzaki, just looked wild. His dark hair was unkempt and barely fit under his ski cap, and his large eyes just seemed to be able to follow a person anywhere. He was taller than Haga by an easy foot, and was positively swimming in his clothes. Total opposites, she decided.
"I'm Sakura Kinomoto," she responded politely, releasing Haga's bony fingers.
Haga grinned at her, looking positively impish. Sakura returned to Yami's side, tense. His hand was hovering over his cards, and once Sakura was back at his side, he smirked confidently.
"Shall we begin?" he asked, brandishing his Duel Disk.
Sakura gulped and prepared herself. She closed her eyes and fumbled with her Star Wand. She exhaled deeply and opened her eyes. She saw that their opponents were focused. Game on.
000
"Damnit," Yami cursed when his Dark Magician was obliterated by one of Haga's insects. Their life points dropped to 500.
Sakura stilled her rising fear and drew her next card. She gritted her teeth when she saw the face: Time Guardian, a level eight monster. She would have to be tribute summoned, or, as she preferred to think about it, sacrifice summoned. Sakura looked at the other cards in her hand. She decided to place Zolga and Witch of the Black Forest in face up attack position on the field, both level four monsters. "I now sacrifice these two to Tribute Summon Time Guardian. I will also activate Zolga's special effect, gaining 2000 life points."
What she said was done, then she used Time Guardian to attack on her next turn. Who, once she was summoned, was wearing an armored sailor suit with a violet skirt, collar, and bow; she was also faceless, not a single distinguishing feature. This surprised Sakura, but she got over it quickly because Time Guardian quickly dispatched one of Haga's monsters. Their life points spiraled to 100.
Ryuzaki set a monster in defense position, then Yami used the Dark Magician Girl to attack Haga and finish them off.
Yami and Sakura collected their badge and moved on. "Good job," Yami praised once they were out of earshot. Sakura could help but smile.
Unfortunately, that was about as challenging as their opponents got. Sakura and Yami advanced easily and were the first ones to the fifth floor. When their final challengers arrived, Sakura was afraid they would forfeit like a few of the others had.
They didn't and, as a silent thank you, Sakura and Yami drew the duel out as long as they could. In the end, Yugi and Sakura won, and were advanced to Sectionals. Afterward, the other team came up to congratulate them.
"It was fun," one said. "Even though we knew you were going easy on us."
"Sorry," Yugi replied sheepishly.
The other shook his head. "No, it's okay. We knew we weren't going to win. We just aren't good enough yet. We didn't even expect to get this far in the tournament. But thanks to you, we were able to give everybody else a good show."
Their positivity, even if a little negative, was infectious. Sakura smiled widely. "I hope we get to meet again someday."
End of Chapter 10.
Word Count: 2553
Credits:
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon co. Naoko Takeuchi
Cardcaptor Sakura co. CLAMP
Yu-Gi-Oh co. Kazuki Takahashi
Written By: QueenyLeAcH
Edited By: CrystalKaori, Sockera
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- LeAcH & Kaori