"The Rose Duelist"
A Yu-gi-oh Fanfic
By: Seto's Princess
Disclaimer – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh… However, I do own Maki, Mr. (Morosou) Kaichi, Mrs. (Yakima) Kaichi, Rick Takinawa, Crystal Takinawa, and Sujiro Mitsuki.
'Words in italics and single quotation marks' are thoughts.
"Words with double" or no quotation marks are dreams.
Well, I will now be using my xanga to post up music videos of the songs I pick for these chapters as well as sneak peeks for future chapters. The song I picked for this chapter is "Breakaway" by "Kelly Clarkson" You can see the video on my xanga! (The link is in my profile.)
Again, I am very sorry for not updating for almost two months. I suffered a bad case of writer's block for this chapter, but I should be better now and I hope you like this chapter. Things are becoming more complicated in the Rose Tournament now as you will see.
I dedicate this chapter to KamiKaze no Kage for the wonderful Maki fanart she sent to me. If anyone else would like to send some fanart, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 25 – The Mysterious Duelist…
Maki woke up and yawned loudly as she sat up and stretched. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunrays streaming in though her half-open window. The clock on her nightstand read 7:30 AM. She climbed out of bed and grabbed her clothes, draping her jacket over her shoulders as she unlocked her door and left her room to go to the bathroom.
After she had showered, brushed her teeth and blow-dried her hair, she went downstairs to eat breakfast. Her father, as usual, was sipping a cup of coffee with the daily newspaper in his hand, his round silver glasses neatly perched on the bridge of his nose.
"Good morning," Maki mumbled, seating herself across from her father.
"Ah, here," her father said as he passed a slim silver flip phone across the table to Maki.
"A cell phone for me?" Maki asked as she picked up the nearly weightless phone. Her father nodded.
"I added you to our family plan yesterday. It will help the three of us keep in touch today once your plan begins in motion," her father explained. Maki nodded in understanding. Mr. Kaichi also gave her the number for her cell phone so Maki could give it to the Kaiba brothers, who currently had her mother's number. Maki thanked her father as Mrs. Kaichi put a bowl of cereal down in front of her.
"You both have the stuff I gave you and you know what to do, right?" Maki asked her parents. Mr. Kaichi nodded.
"We're not exactly sure why you're doing this, Maki, but we'll support you all the way," Mrs. Kaichi said as she sat down.
After they ate breakfast, the three members of the Kaichi family left the house and went their separate ways.
Meanwhile, three figures were talking in a well hidden alleyway, which was fairly dark, despite the bright summer sun shining in the sky. One of the three figures had a long white cloak draped over his shoulders, his head covered by the white hood attached to the cloak; his face was covered by the shadows. He held a second, identical white cloak in his arm. The second figure had on what appeared to be biker attire. There was a bandana of the American flag tied around his head and black sunglasses, which covered his blue eyes. The last of the three figures was wearing nothing but boxers and his arms and legs were tied up.
"Hey! Let me go! What do you two want with me and why do you look exactly like me?" he cried, struggling against the ropes that tied him together. His blonde hair waved around freely now that the bandana he usually wore around it had been taken away.
The man wearing his clothes smirked. "I'm assuming your name is Keith, correct?"
"Yes, they call me Bandit Keith. Why do you- You! You must be the imposter who registered as me in the tournament! What the hell are you after?" Bandit Keith shouted at the man who looked his identical twin.
"Well, just to keep you quiet, I'll tell you something." Keith replied as the smirk plastered on his face widened.
"You see," Keith began, "there's someone in this tournament who owes us something and we won't rest until we see her get her comeuppance. In order to get her, I entered this tournament as you to grab her when she least expects it. I'm sure you'll understand."
"But why me?" Bandit Keith asked.
"We're not from this world. So, Keith here is our world's counterpart of you," the man in the white cloak said.
Bandit Keith looked up at him. "Your voice sounds familiar... Pegasus?"
The man chuckled. "That is my name, but I'm not the same Pegasus you know." He pulled back his hood, revealing long silvery hair and a face Bandit Keith knew all too well. However, something was missing, Bandit Keith noticed - the Millennium Eye. 'So it's true? These guys are from another world? I'm either drunk or I'm dreaming.'
"Well, I think I should start collecting those rose cards," Keith stated and walked out of the alleyway, leaving the real Bandit Keith and Rose Crusader Pegasus behind.
Pegasus nodded and pulled his hood back on. "Don't worry my friend," he said, turning to Bandit Keith, "we'll take good care of you until we grab the girl. Then you can go free."
Bandit Keith stopped struggling and decided to wait for the perfect chance to escape.
"Mokuba, has the mystery duelist played yet?" Seto asked as he walked into the large room in which they monitored the progress of every duel in the tournament.
Mokuba looked up at his older brother and shook his head. "Not yet, Seto, but it's only morning on the second day. I'm sure she'll appear soon."
Seto nodded and watched the screens.
"Alright! Go my Red Eyes Black Dragon! Infernal Fire Blast!" Joey shouted as his prized dragon destroyed the monster on his opponent's side of the field.
"Yeah! Another win for Joey Wheeler!" he exclaimed happily as his opponent trudged over and handed him his rarest card along with a white rose card.
"You're awesome, big brother!" Serenity exclaimed and gave her brother a congratulatory hug as Duke and Tristan mentally put themselves in Joey's place.
"Hey, where are Mai, Téa and Ryou?" Joey asked as he looked around for his three missing friends.
Tristan laughed. "Well, Mai said something about this being an easy duel, so she walked off to find someone to duel her and she took Téa and Ryou with her."
"An easy duel for whom?" Joey asked with a raised eyebrow.
Duke shrugged. "I don't know. Your opponent, maybe?"
"What? Hey! I'll give her a piece of my mind!" Joey exclaimed and stalked off to find Mai, the others sweat dropping as they followed close behind.
"Hmm, I don't see what all the fuss is about. You don't seem all that strong. I attack your defense monster with my Dark Witch! Even though I have to give up 1000 of my life points to do it, at least it will clear your field, leaving you wide open for an attack!"
"I don't think so! My defense monster happens to be Spirit of the Harp! My field is safe and you still lose 1000 life points for attacking me with Dark Witch."
"Damn!"
"Mr. Kaiba! We've located an unknown duelist playing right now."
"What? Put the duel on screen right now!" Seto ordered.
"Right away, sir," the purple haired woman said and typed quickly away.
Just as she said, the duel on the screen was between a duelist, who was the champion of his hometown two years running, and a completely unknown duelist with no name, no picture, and no information on his or her deck, except for the cards that he or she already played during this duel.
'Hmmm... Interesting... Is this the mystery duelist?'
Mokuba watched the screen intently. "Is it her?"
"There's only one way to be sure, Mokuba, and that's if this duelist plays the Blue Eyes White Dragon," Seto replied.
Mokuba nodded. 'If it's really you, then good luck.'
"Now, I draw a card and, oh! I play Change of Heart and take control of your Dark Witch."
"It won't make a difference if you attack me with my Dark Witch. I still have 3000 life points!"
"Who says I'm going to attack you with that monster? No. I sacrifice Dark Witch and my Spirit of the Harp to summon this!" A bright light emanated from the duelist's side of the field as the monster appeared.
"No! It can't be!"
"Yes! My Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The duelist laughed and attacked her opponent, wiping out his life points.
'Kaichi wasn't lying... There really is another Blue Eyes White Dragon out there.' Seto thought as the duel ended on screen.
"Alright! The mystery duelist won!" Mokuba exclaimed. 'I knew you could do it.'
"Well, now that that's over… Roland!" Seto called out as he left the room.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" Roland asked, following his boss.
"There's a duelist in this tournament I need to see personally. I want you to bring him to my office," Seto explained.
"Sure thing, Mr. Kaiba. Name?"
"Rick Takinawa."
"Let's see. Who shall I pummel today?"
"Rick, I suggest you think about this carefully before you pick some random duelist out of nowhere. After your loss yesterday, you were left with only one rose card," Crystal stated matter-of-factly as she, Rick and Sujiro wandered the streets of Domino, looking for someone for Rick's next duel.
"Ugh, do you have to bring that up again, Crystal?" Rick asked with a disgusted tone of voice.
"Man, I'm still mad I missed that duel. How bad did she beat him, Crystal?" Sujiro asked. Rick frowned.
Crystal sighed. "It was kind of pathetic really. There were a few times when I thought Rick could turn it around, but Maki would suddenly come and pull the duel back in her favor."
"Really? What beat him? Was it her Barrel Dragon again?" Sujiro asked as Rick growled slightly.
"That's the sad part of the story. He actually managed to get rid of it with Cyber Jar before she could do any real damage with it and she still managed to-"
"Would you two shut up!" Rick shouted loudly and stopped walking, attracting attention from nearby people who looked at him strangely. Crystal sighed in embarrassment and Sujiro pulled Rick along so they could continue walking.
"Let's just focus on finding someone for Rick to duel so he can get another rose card," Crystal mumbled.
"Yeah, okay," Sujiro replied and the three continued walking.
Rick's cell phone suddenly started ringing and he picked it up and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Am I speaking with Rick Takinawa?" a voice asked.
"Yes, this is him. Who is this?" Rick asked.
"Seto Kaiba," the voice replied. Rick gasped as his eyes widened slightly and he stopped walking. Crystal and Sujiro looked at him oddly and he mouthed "Seto Kaiba," causing them to make an "o" with their mouths in understanding.
"Yes, what can I do for you, Mr. Kaiba?" Rick asked, trying to sound confident although he was nervous. Who would not be if he or she was talking to one of the greatest people in Duel Monsters?
"It's about my co-host, Maki Kaichi. I previously did a little research on her past and as I was watching her duel with you yesterday, I noticed you two have some sort of connection."
"Um, yes, we both came from the same hometown," Rick stated, frowning at the fact that this was about Maki.
"Are they talking about Maki?" Sujiro whispered to Crystal.
"Figures the only reason someone like Seto Kaiba would call my brother is because of her," Crystal mumbled. Rick heard her and glared at her. Crystal crossed her arms and smirked.
"Well, I'd like you to come to my office here at Kaiba Corp, ASAP. What time is convenient for you?" Seto asked.
"I'll come over right now!" Rick exclaimed, not betraying the excitement in his voice.
"I'll be waiting."
"Oh, and can I bring my sister and best friend?"
"Are they connected to Kaichi as well?"
"Yes. She and my sister were best friends from Kindergarten to third grade."
"Very well, bring them too. Goodbye, Mr. Takinawa," Seto said and hung up.
"Goodbye," Rick said and pressed the "End Call" button on his phone. He stared off into space in some state of euphoria. Crystal waved a hand in his face to capture his attention.
"Hello? Earth to Rick!" she exclaimed.
"Are you okay, dude?" Sujiro asked.
"Oh 'Icky Ricky'!" Crystal shouted.
Rick blinked and looked down at his sister, glaring at her. "I told you not to call me that!"
Crystal crossed her arms again and smirked. "You looked like you just got high off that phone call. What did Kaiba-sama say?"
"Kaiba-sama?" Sujiro asked, giving her an odd look. Crystal blushed slightly and looked away.
Rick smirked. "Oh, that's right. Little 'Crystal-whistle' has a crushy-wushy on Mr. Seto Kaiba," he said in a sing-song voice, earning him a threatening glare from the younger Takinawa sibling.
"You know I hate that name! Crushy-wushy? What am I, a two year old?" Crystal snarled. Rick laughed as Sujiro gave them both funny looks.
"After all these years, I still don't understand your little 'sibling moments'," Sujiro commented as Crystal whacked Rick, stopping him from laughing.
"Ow…" Rick muttered, rubbing the side of his head.
"Serves you right for laughing at me," Crystal said, still glaring at him.
"Yeah, whatever. Kaiba wants to see us in his office so let's go," Rick muttered, still rubbing his head.
Crystal blinked and looked up at him expectantly. "Kaiba-sama wants to see us?"
Rick rolled his eyes. "Don't get your hopes up, Crystal. I get the feeling this is all about Maki."
Crystal growled. "What's so special about her?"
"Don't be jealous. She is co-hosting this thing with him after all, right? Besides, you're dating Sujiro and you don't want him getting jealous of Kaiba now, do you?" Rick asked, earning him another glare from Crystal.
"Why are we talking about me in the third person? I'm right here!" Sujiro exclaimed, frowning at his best friend and girlfriend as they started walking away from him, toward Kaiba Corp., bickering away as siblings usually do.
"Thanks, dad. I'll see you in two hours," Maki said and waved as her father drove off. Her new cell phone started ringing.
"Hello?" she asked as she flipped it open and put it to her ear.
"Kaichi, you missed the first duel of our mystery duelist," Seto said.
"Oh, really? How did it go?"
"Quite well. I almost doubted you, but you were right; there is another Blue Eyes out there."
"Of course. I never lie."
"How are your duels coming along?"
"I haven't had any duels yet today, but I'll be fine. It's still pretty early."
"Yes, well, I'll keep you posted if there's another sighting of the mystery duelist."
"Same here. Bye Kaiba."
"Bye."
"Mr. Kaiba, Rick Takinawa and his guests are here to see you," Roland said, poking his head into Seto's office.
"Good, let them in," Seto replied, once again looking at the old news articles about Maki Kaichi's disappearance three years ago.
"Sit down," he said without looking up, as Rick, Crystal and Sujiro walked into the office.
"What did you need to see us for, Mr. Kaiba?" Rick asked.
Seto finally looked up, which made Crystal's cheeks redden slightly.
"Tell me everything you know about Maki Kaichi."
TBC…
This story is coming to an end pretty soon, which is kind of sad for me, but anyways… So, Seto is still looking into Maki's past. What will happen? Will Bandit Keith escape? Who is the mysterious duelist? I hope you liked the little Takinawa sibling argument in this chapter. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!