Give ya bun an inch, and I'll run a mile. I sort of got a hankering for yugioh when a non crossover fic for it i followed updated, and it was so good! And so I started re-reading the manga again, and then an idea was born. I've already technically posted the synopsis/full idea on tumblr, and with the semblance of encouragement I received, here i am, making it an actual fic!

So;;; hope you like! Enjoy and please review!

Kagome stared at the card she was handed and gazed back up to the gentleman in front of her.

"So this is legit.."

"Yes ma'am it is."

She ran her thumb over the glossy emblem, reading the words over again, flipping the card, and back before looking back up to the man.

What had started as a simple side job to bring more tourists in to the shrine, as well as earn some extra cash, snowballed into whatever catalyst that lead an agency agent to their door.

Her junior high days of adventuring to the past had not only put a strain on her, but her family as well. They never said anything, of course not, because they were all nearly as self-sacrificing as her.

Kagome's grades having suffered the most. It wasn't necessarily that she couldn't understand her work but she couldn't keep up with the backlog of excessive work. She had even debated if she'd even be able to get into high school at all.

But she does, because of course, she does. It's not her first choice of school, nor even her second but it's decent. If not a little sketchy, and sure there were a number of kids who thought they could intimidate her, get her to leave or beg and follow. However, Kagome didn't cave for demons, she didn't bend her head to the stares of the past, and getting past a hormonal teenager, even if she were a teenager herself was a walk in the park and she showed them exactly who was who and where in the pecking order of the academic food chain.

All to say, that was besides the point. The point was, she made it in high school, she roped her brother into running the social media page for the shrine which wasn't altogether too hard of a sell considering despite her birth in the present time, technology still escaped her. Still, in an effort to protect her brother's innocence, she set up a few parental controls; ones that Sota was most probably definitely aware of, and something Kagome obviously didn't do on her own but probably out of fear of horror stories of incidents on the internet. And honestly, just with her knowledge of while humans can be great; often they can be mean and downright nasty.

Again, Sota young as he was, could weave circles around his sister when it came to tech and circumventing things, but he let it stay in place, because it was the thought behind the thing, and intent that mattered most.

Kagome isn't a vain girl, but she's not completely oblivious to the fact she draws attention. Her reasoning's for such, however, is different from that of any other person's logical conclusion; she's pretty.

Kagome would never call herself ugly or unconventionally attractive, but she saw her features as oddities. Maybe the residual teasing of children over the color of her eyes, or maybe the more semi-recent 3-year span journey where she spent a trip with a guy who was blunt, crass and had plenty of opinions he just seemed to love sharing with her no matter how they tore down her self esteem.

Objectively, Kagome could see her appeal to some. Personally, she didn't get it, still, she knew how to work any upper hand to her advantage.

She started small with odds and ends kind of jobs; errands and tasks for other shrines, and around the neighborhood. A quick smile and an offering of help, and like magic she found herself with a small job and pocket change.

From there, she worked her way up, until her friend Ayumi suggested she try out a modeling gig.

Truthfully, Ayumi was interested herself and wanted Kagome to go join as not to audition alone. But Ayumi also knew that her friend despite her own thoughts would likely get in.

And she did.

It started with small adverts, and promotional material. Kagome was able to get a decent if not irregular income, and steadily the followers to the Sunset Shrine rose.

Kagome knew, that it probably wouldn't do any good, if they were to come just for her, and while her Grandfather was full of ideas, most were...old school and not to garner a regular modern-day persons interest, unless they were maybe a history otaku or something. Still, progress was progress and none of the Higurashi's would dare look a gift horse in the mouth. They were already known decently amongst locals, but with Kagome taking a step further, they were getting more daily visits.

Sota took it another step further, while Kagome was unsure of the moral and ethical idea of using your looks for publicity, Sota had no qualms, and took to posting occasional candid shots of Kagome doing regular chores around the shrine. One picture that broke his notifications for a bit was one of her, in her priestess garb, asleep under a tree, with a little bird taking nest on the top of her head.

Kagome had never really expected the response she got, to be honest, she hadn't even really considered that she'd get a callback in the first place, but here she was now, doing local promotional pieces.

Eventually, she fell into a sort of routine, of schoolwork and shrine duties with the occasional modeling gig. To a degree, she was getting bored of the well, simplicity behind it all. While it was definitely a privilege not having to watch your back every forth night, she carried those instincts with her and they didn't just disappear.

The moment she had gotten back. The Edo period wasn't always constant stimuli, but it had certainly felt it when it was a literal life or death battle every time her group ran into a demon and had to discern whether friend or foe. Going to school, then home without threat of being nabbed, of having to fight, the normalcy was something to adjust to. And it wasn't as if there weren't modern-day struggles and fears just as strong as those in the past, but they were different. She was different now.

She wondered if this would be how she played out the rest of her high school days, partially glad that maybe now she'd get to be a regular student, but Kagome knew even at the back of her mind fate would hardly stand idly by.

And it happened when she got a rather oddity of a modeling request.

Sure she had received a good amount of requests that she ultimately turned down, either because of the ethics of the company was something she didn't want to endorse, the requirements were peculiarly specific to an uncomfortable degree, or the rare reason; because the pay was too low.

Most of them were simple things like ads for local cookware, doing a small advert for a restaurant where she took promotional photos. She even got one or two clothing shoots with boutiques near the shopping center.

But she had never got a cosplay request before...

Technically it was a position to be a trade show model. And, hmmm...

'Duel Monsters' the game was called. The position paid quite well, and asking her brother about it lead to a moment where he had looked at her an expression of you're kidding right? Before shaking himself and reminding himself that his sister, unlike the regular populace, tended to block out most of the latest trends. He had sighed and explained that it was the latest new thing, a lot of his classmates were talking about. Only a few shops actually sold the cards, and how nice the offer was.

Nevertheless, Kagome did her due diligence and researched it, as not to only rely on her brother, though she did heavily take his words into consideration.

And looking into it was interesting. Kagome was never really one for video games, and board games bored her at times, but from what she could find, it looked interesting.

She figured it couldn't hurt to reach out and look into it, right?

~.~

As she stared down the picture of the costume she'd be required to wear, she could only ponder the horrible decision she had made.

Really, she was only going to see what they had to offer, checking the conditions of the set and people, sure the company seemed legit. And a children's card game? With technical and strategic elements? It sounded fun but she had kept her guard up.

The weekend before her meeting her brother showed her the basics of the game, so she wouldn't run into it blind; and it certainly had piqued her interest.

Even with all the pros of the job the position offered her. The cons, despite the obvious dress, well...trade booth representatives weren't seen in a great light...

Promotional models were common, especially in places like Tokyo shopping centers, and any girl who was one, was often applauded as the job was usually one for those who we're "pretty". Unfortunately, there was also a thread, with nothing against the girls who willingly and gave consent started off as a promotional model moved to gravure modeling.

Not to mention the lascivious comments, the term "booth babe", just, the whole shabang, even if a respectable position in it's own right, society,...well,...

It was safe to say it didn't quite get cast as such.

Though compositely a lot of current-day models started off as gravure models...but that was neither here nor there.

Kagome wasn't set out for either of those things. She was just barely there for modeling, the pay was decent though.

And cosplay was always a favorite appeal amongst fans, and the company behind the job offer genuinely seemed to have her best interest in mind.

Kagome couldn't say she was necessarily business savvy, but one thing she prided herself on was how to spot a con. And her holy friend of the past definitely aided in that specific endeavor.

So the contract was definitely up to par, but was she?

Sure she liked the pay, and wouldn't mind putting her support behind a card game, but the connotations weren't something she was looking forward to, nor the exposure. As little as her modeling did, the shrine did get a decent boost of visitors, however, they also got a boost in visitors who came just to get a glance at her as well.

All the same,...she thought of her brother, and his aspirations...

They had been able to cover all expenses pretty well; her school fees, her brothers and basic costs for the house. But expenditures, like new supplies for his club activities, things like buying and replacing a new boiler, or even new tiling ... They had put off buying and or substituting for the things they lacked. The Higurashi's, all of them were good at making due when the had to. But...if they didn't have to, if Kagome could in, any way, help so they didn't have to, shouldn't she?...

Thinking over it and that she had more to gain than lose, she agreed to the position.

Considering all she had been through, it certainly wouldn't be her worst experience.

~.~

Overall, she was right. The trade show wasn't all too bad.

The outfit, wig, and makeup were all handled by the providers, Kagome simply had to be there. She felt a little like a living doll, being maneuvered this and that way, but considering both the job and her previous experiences in life, it was wholly tolerable.

There were a few questionable men who lingered a bit too close, but the guards around the booth, a security measure provided not by the venue but by the duel monsters team themselves.

Whoever was behind the ingenious card game, wasted no expense in marketing, security and promotional measures.

It made Kagome wonder all the more, just who was it behind the scenes, running things.

There was one other both model, a guy posing as her opposite; the Dark Magician, the model didn't say much. He had seemed to turn up his nose when she first met him and offered a hand to shake.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem to want to have anything to do with her until after she had changed into the costume; and suddenly his tune changed. His eyes raked over her form, which gross.

The moment small as it was, made her question the jobs she took. There was always someone...either they were snooty, and uppity in regards to her and her lack of experience with bigger projects, or they would leer and showed a different kind of interest...

Even so, despite being on the job and the cons that came with it...she had fun.

The staff had given her the an more in-depth rundown about the character on the card she was portraying, and what her job entailed.

Most of which, she was to smile and take pictures. Essentially she wasn't just posing and modeling for a picture, she was acting, putting on a front to present for a short while.

Kagome was naturally extroverted, friendly and bright, but her character was almost more so, and it was kind of draining. Especially posing for pictures, both officially for the events web page and more casually for any fan brave enough to ask.

Her breaks were small, but during the time of rest, she acquainted herself more with the card game, beginning to appreciate the character she was chosen to portray while also finally getting the novelty of the game in general.

She even took a few photos of herself with her new phone.

While still technology challenged, both her brother and even her mother had jumped on the idea of getting her a new phone. Initially, she hadn't seen the point of it, not when she really had friends to keep up with and in contact with anymore...

But her mom had hooked her with the simple but honest plea, of, she could keep it to keep in contact with her if she were ever out and in trouble. And while Kagome could handle herself, she could never deny her mother anything.

It was actually quite funny considering, her mother seemed more on top of the game of social media than Kagome herself. She figured that's what happens when you spend your youth chasing demons...haha...ha...

Sota had even gone ahead and set up a social media account for her, both linking back to the shrine, and to her specifically; he had commented it'd be equal exposure.

A few of the staff she did end up befriending were happy enough to show her how to take photos, taking a couple for her as well.

So she posted her newfound photos to her account and didn't think much of it, except to take a moment to like a comment from her brother who responded instantly,sharing his excitement for the character since she had been mum's the word until the day of; she wanted to "surprise" him. She'd say so to anyone who'd ask, the reality of it was she was too embarrassed to tell anyone right away; because anyone who would know would also know the costume she had to wear and anyone else would didn't would look at her funny.

Honestly, she should have thought on it more, while she had been getting better at reacquainting herself with her worth and recognizing her talents and beauty. She still was rather oblivious to the grand scale of attention she got...if only she had paid more attention she wouldn't have been so caught off guard and would have prepared even minutely for the storm of a response she was going to incur...

me: watched the actual 4kids show on and off as a kid

me: watched the entirety of the abridged show, it was my entire middleschool life

me: rereading the manga currently and checking the wiki

also me: but am i really familiar enough with it to make a fic with it?

Anyway, that's how it be, me doubting myself every second lmao, anyway, i hope y'all liked and will stick around long enough for this adventure to get off the ground!

Please, if you liked, leave a review! and i'll try to have the next installment as relatively soon as i can;;