Author's Note: Wow, thanks for the reviews! I really didn't expect such a good reception. But anyway, I really wanted to do a minor cameo at work in this story, so this is now an official AU fic. It's a cross between the Yu-Gi-Oh world (Japan?) and St. Louis, MO in America. But only when I want it to be. It's mostly just that world. And also, I've never really played Duel Monsters, though I do have some cards. So don't expect any play-by-play battles. Anyway, please keep the reviews coming! I've got an idea where I'm going now, so I'll write a lot more, though it may take some time.
Escape to Reality
I had been wandering around for the past few days, not really sure what to do with myself. I hadn't gotten hungry yet, so I assumed that I didn't need to eat. This saved me a considerable amount of money. The only note-worthy thing I had done was duel against quite a few people. I lost my first duel spectacularly. When I was a card, I rarely had to worry about strategies! So after that, I dueled a number of young, inexperienced people to get the hang of it. It came to me quickly, and since then I won nearly ever duel. This was partly due to the cards, of course. I believed in them, so they worked well for me. My old master modeled his deck after the one owned by the first person to beat the world champion, so of course it was a wonderful deck. However, he never got even one piece of Exodia, so he still would have had no chance against Seto Kaiba.
Now it was night, three days after I entered this world. I was walking through some sort of park. Nothing remotely interesting had happened lately, except that a small child had called me 'see-through' earlier. I had looked down at my hand. I most certainly was not transparent at all! So I put it out of my mind.
I walked along a circular road next to a large outdoor theater. I could hear someone singing from it. ~"I wonder what the king is doing tonight"~ wafted through the air. I idly approached the box office. A girl in a purple shirt and khaki pants stood outside of it. She looked bored. As I got closer, she looked up at me. Her name tag proclaimed 'THE MUNY,' and under that was her name, which was long and began with an 'A.' I didn't want to appear to be staring, so I didn't look any closer.
"Excuse me," the girl said, approaching me. "I have one ticket for the box seats for $40. Are you interested in it at all?"
I considered. I wouldn't mind seeing a play. But for $40? "Hmm… Do you play Duel Monsters? I'll win it from you," I offered. She looked uncertain. "It would be more interesting than standing here, I'm sure. You look very bored."
That decided her. "Well, okay, but let's go over to that bench over there so the box office people don't see me playing when I'm supposed to be working."
"Aren't you a 'box office person?'" I asked as we walked.
"Oh no, I'm an usher," the girl said, pointing to her sleeve, which clearly read 'USHER.' "I'm just here to answer questions and monitor the lines. Somebody gave me this ticket because her friend couldn't make it tonight. Oh, just to warn you, I've only played this a couple of times. And my cards are at home," she said.
"Well, I suppose you can borrow half of my deck then," I said. I shuffled the deck and cut it, letting her choose which half to take.
She started out with the Sorcerer of the Doomed and I chose the Witty Phantom. While she lacked experience, she had some good strategies. Nevertheless, I won fairly easily.
"Wow, I suck," the hapless usher said. "Okay, here's your ticket. Hey, you know, you look a lot like the Dark Magician! That's my favorite card. But anyway, just go down there, then up to your right and there'll be loads of ushers around who can show you where your seat is."
She held out the ticket to me. I reached out to take it, but… my fingers passed right through it! The usher's smile had changed to a slightly worried look. I tried again, but my hand went right through the ticket and her fingers. This was not good. She looked really suspicious now.
"Never mind, I don't want to see the show," I said, and walked quickly away. What was going on? I reached out to touch a tree. That was no problem. I reached down to touch the grass. It was there too. I picked a blade and it immediately fell through my fingers. Panicking, I took out my cards and wallet. I could feel them. They stayed in my hands.
I decided that this wouldn't do. I needed help badly. So I went to the only source of help I had. I looked through my cards. Who could I ask? Then the Ancient Elf came to my hand. I heard his quiet, slightly raspy voice in the back of my mind.
/Ask the creator. He can help you. The one who created us in the dry golden land./
'The creator… The one who lived 3000 years ago? But surely he's been dead for ages!' I answered the Elf.
/No, he lives, in a manner of speaking. He is a spirit, but he still exists. He woke a while ago. Seek him out./
With that, the Ancient Elf was silent.
I had a spell I could use to find a spirit from the dawn of my existence. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. It was far too late to go on a search.
I looked around and spotted a gazebo on a small island in a lake across from the theater's box office. I went to the shore and looked around. No one was there. The usher had gone. So I levitated over the water and settled down for the night in the gazebo. The sky was clear and the weather was very warm, so I would have no problem sleeping here. Tomorrow, I would begin my search.
Endnote: Not a terribly good chapter, I know, but it's leading up to more, as you can see. I was going to do something about him having no shadow or reflection, but I'd be copying Fushigi Yuugi and many, many other things. Oh well. I promise it'll get a little better, at least! Tell me what you think!
Escape to Reality
I had been wandering around for the past few days, not really sure what to do with myself. I hadn't gotten hungry yet, so I assumed that I didn't need to eat. This saved me a considerable amount of money. The only note-worthy thing I had done was duel against quite a few people. I lost my first duel spectacularly. When I was a card, I rarely had to worry about strategies! So after that, I dueled a number of young, inexperienced people to get the hang of it. It came to me quickly, and since then I won nearly ever duel. This was partly due to the cards, of course. I believed in them, so they worked well for me. My old master modeled his deck after the one owned by the first person to beat the world champion, so of course it was a wonderful deck. However, he never got even one piece of Exodia, so he still would have had no chance against Seto Kaiba.
Now it was night, three days after I entered this world. I was walking through some sort of park. Nothing remotely interesting had happened lately, except that a small child had called me 'see-through' earlier. I had looked down at my hand. I most certainly was not transparent at all! So I put it out of my mind.
I walked along a circular road next to a large outdoor theater. I could hear someone singing from it. ~"I wonder what the king is doing tonight"~ wafted through the air. I idly approached the box office. A girl in a purple shirt and khaki pants stood outside of it. She looked bored. As I got closer, she looked up at me. Her name tag proclaimed 'THE MUNY,' and under that was her name, which was long and began with an 'A.' I didn't want to appear to be staring, so I didn't look any closer.
"Excuse me," the girl said, approaching me. "I have one ticket for the box seats for $40. Are you interested in it at all?"
I considered. I wouldn't mind seeing a play. But for $40? "Hmm… Do you play Duel Monsters? I'll win it from you," I offered. She looked uncertain. "It would be more interesting than standing here, I'm sure. You look very bored."
That decided her. "Well, okay, but let's go over to that bench over there so the box office people don't see me playing when I'm supposed to be working."
"Aren't you a 'box office person?'" I asked as we walked.
"Oh no, I'm an usher," the girl said, pointing to her sleeve, which clearly read 'USHER.' "I'm just here to answer questions and monitor the lines. Somebody gave me this ticket because her friend couldn't make it tonight. Oh, just to warn you, I've only played this a couple of times. And my cards are at home," she said.
"Well, I suppose you can borrow half of my deck then," I said. I shuffled the deck and cut it, letting her choose which half to take.
She started out with the Sorcerer of the Doomed and I chose the Witty Phantom. While she lacked experience, she had some good strategies. Nevertheless, I won fairly easily.
"Wow, I suck," the hapless usher said. "Okay, here's your ticket. Hey, you know, you look a lot like the Dark Magician! That's my favorite card. But anyway, just go down there, then up to your right and there'll be loads of ushers around who can show you where your seat is."
She held out the ticket to me. I reached out to take it, but… my fingers passed right through it! The usher's smile had changed to a slightly worried look. I tried again, but my hand went right through the ticket and her fingers. This was not good. She looked really suspicious now.
"Never mind, I don't want to see the show," I said, and walked quickly away. What was going on? I reached out to touch a tree. That was no problem. I reached down to touch the grass. It was there too. I picked a blade and it immediately fell through my fingers. Panicking, I took out my cards and wallet. I could feel them. They stayed in my hands.
I decided that this wouldn't do. I needed help badly. So I went to the only source of help I had. I looked through my cards. Who could I ask? Then the Ancient Elf came to my hand. I heard his quiet, slightly raspy voice in the back of my mind.
/Ask the creator. He can help you. The one who created us in the dry golden land./
'The creator… The one who lived 3000 years ago? But surely he's been dead for ages!' I answered the Elf.
/No, he lives, in a manner of speaking. He is a spirit, but he still exists. He woke a while ago. Seek him out./
With that, the Ancient Elf was silent.
I had a spell I could use to find a spirit from the dawn of my existence. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. It was far too late to go on a search.
I looked around and spotted a gazebo on a small island in a lake across from the theater's box office. I went to the shore and looked around. No one was there. The usher had gone. So I levitated over the water and settled down for the night in the gazebo. The sky was clear and the weather was very warm, so I would have no problem sleeping here. Tomorrow, I would begin my search.
Endnote: Not a terribly good chapter, I know, but it's leading up to more, as you can see. I was going to do something about him having no shadow or reflection, but I'd be copying Fushigi Yuugi and many, many other things. Oh well. I promise it'll get a little better, at least! Tell me what you think!