Seto Kaiba carefully walked down the streets, looking stolidly around at
the friendly people. His hands were shoved in his pockets. His right hand
fingered the box that held his Narpakgür cards.
He stopped walking. A man across the street stood on a ladder, hanging decorations for Halloween. There was nobody supporting the ladder, keeping it from falling. The man was smiling, adjusting one particular decoration. Kaiba stared at him, noticing the ladder was about to give way.
"Hey!" Kaiba shouted, running across the street, ignoring the angry drivers.
As the ladder fell, the man suddenly realized what was happening. He grabbed onto the side of the roof, holding himself up. It was obvious he couldn't stay there long.
"Help! Someone!"
Kaiba ran up the driveway, grabbing the ladder. Deftly, he righted it next to the man. Kaiba climbed the ladder as fast as he could, disregarding the fact that if the ladder fell, they would both be trapped.
"Hang on!" Kaiba replied.
Kaiba reached the roof. Climbing onto it, he prepared to pull the man up. The man's left arm gave way, and he swung precariously.
"Give me your hand!" Kaiba commanded calmly.
The man raised his hand as high as he could. Kaiba cursed to himself, leaning dangerously far forward to try and grab it. As he caught his hand, he started to fall. Righting himself, he hauled the man upward.
"Just a little farther," Kaiba groaned.
The man fell forward, onto the roof. He sighed, realizing he was safe. He turned and looked at his savior, a well dressed young man with neat brown hair. The man smiled at him, extending his hand.
"MacWilliams."
"My name is Seto Kaiba," Kaiba took his hand and shook it, nodding slightly.
The two climbed down, one at a time. Kaiba went first, then held the ladder for MacWilliams. MacWilliams thanked him again, brushed his hand against his brow, and returned to work.
Kaiba went back to walking. He didn't notice the shadow behind him. The girl, a year older than he, followed him, watching his every move.
Seto Kaiba stopped to look at a few kids. They were a couple years younger than him. They had Narpakgür cards. They were dueling. Apparently, there was no order to who dueled whom. They were sprawled out over the lawn, cards quickly being played, and then destroyed.
A kid walked up to him, "Hey."
"Hello."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Kaiba."
The kid nodded, "I'm Stephen."
Kaiba nodded back, "These your friends?"
"Yeah," Stephen explained, "you play?"
Stephen held up a card. It was Flare Warrior, a miscellaneous type unit. A small star was placed on the bottom of the card.
"What's the star mean?" Kaiba asked nonchalantly.
"You must be new to the game," Stephen grinned, "A star means it's a personalized card. My Flare Warrior if the only Flare Warrior in existence, unless someone else has it as a personal card, but it wouldn't have the same stats or abilities."
Seto nodded.
"You play?" Stephen repeated.
The girl following Seto Kaiba grinned as she saw him remove his deck. He sifted through it, then looked at Stephen, "Where do we duel?"
Stephen smiled again, "I can tell by the way you look you don't want to lie on the grass with the rest of us. We have a table in the backyard, follow me."
The girl brushed a wisp of purple hair from her eyes as she trailed the two into the backyard. She hopped the fence, rather than open the door, so they didn't hear her.
"Alright," she heard Stephen say, "you know the rules, right? We each start with eight cards, you can go first."
Seto nodded, shuffling his deck. Stephen did the same, smiling broadly. They each drew eight cards.
"Okay, so now we play our lead-off units?" Seto asked.
Author's Note: a lead-off unit is a unit played at the start of a game or between turns when you have no units in play. Lead-off units are played face-down, then flipped when your opponent has a lead-off unit ready, too.
Stephen nodded and played his. Seto played his, also. They flipped. Stephen revealed a Scorpion, a level three type none unit. Kaiba had a Paladin Apprentice, a level two swordsman.
Seto drew. He looked at his hand. He had a Tsetch, a level four. He also had a level four sword. Together, he could take out that Scorpion right away.
'But is that how this game is played?' Seto thought, 'Should I kill things quickly, or draw it out, hoping for him to slip up?'
Seto decided to see how Stephen played. He played an obvious card, Faith, which made him draw five cards in three turns. Then he ended his turn.
Stephen drew. He played another Scorpion. He destroyed Seto's Paladin Apprentice and finished his turn.
Seto gritted his teeth. Throwing down his Tsetch, he drew a card. He read the top of the card, "Vengeance". "Draw cards equal to the amount of units in your discard pile".
'Hmm,' Seto Kaiba thought, 'this will help later.'
He added it to his hand and equipped his Tsetch with a weapon. His Tsetch attacked one of the Scorpions, destroying it.
"I end my turn, Stephen," Kaiba spat.
Stephen drew. Smiling, he placed a single card on the table.
"Defenseless Mage", "10HP, can do 120 Damage per turn."
Stephen played "Allies", to draw 3 cards. He then attacked the Tsetch, ending his turn.
"Draw, Kaiba," Stephen grinned, "I'll let you draw before playing your lead- off unit."
Kaiba looked at his hand, he had no units. Stephen allowed him to stay in the game. But he couldn't have known he didn't have any units, it must've been a guess. Seto glared across the table and drew a card, immediately playing it.
"I bring out my Legionnaire!" Seto shouted, playing his Thesman card.
Equipping his Legionnaire with a level three sword, it destroyed the Defenseless Mage. Stephen's eyes glimmered as Seto Kaiba ended his turn.
"That's all?" Stephen mocked, "I would've expected more."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Seto sneered, "My Legionnaire's more powerful than anything you've played!"
"Power isn't everything."
Stephen placed one card on the table. "Haltsee". "Both sides discard their highest leveled units in play".
Stephen shrugged as he placed his Scorpion in his discard pile. He patiently awaited Seto's reaction. Seto merely narrowed his eyes, discarding his Legionnaire. Stephen played a Gnome Dragon and ended his turn.
Kaiba bit his lip. He had nothing to save himself. Staring at his hand, he tried to find something to save himself.
"I'm waiting, Seto Kaiba," Stephen smirked.
Kaiba lifted one card from his hand, placing it on the field. "Retreat". "You may have no units in play for one turn". He then drew, adding the card to his hand.
'Ah,' Seto thought, 'I'm saved, at least, until next turn.'
The card was a Paladin, a level 7 card. Seto grimaced as he ended his turn.
Stephen drew, adding the card to his hand. Having nothing to attack, he ended his turn.
"Alright, Seto, this is it," Stephen laughed.
"No it isn't," Kaiba answered.
"Oh?"
"It's been three turns," Seto grinned, "I draw five cards from Faith."
Seto drew his five. Unfortunately, there were no units. He played his Paladin and drew to start his turn. The card was a Fields of Phateris, which recovered the HP of all units in play. He sighed, removing Vengeance from his hand. Playing it, he drew 3 more cards.
"Sword of the Forgotten Arts", "Fairy Mail", and "King's Ransom".
Seto laughed out loud, playing King's Ransom. He drew 20 cards. Sifting through them, he grinned. Now all he had to do was destroy all the units Stephen played, and he would be in the clear!
"I equip my Paladin with Sword of the Forgotten Arts and it attacks your Gnome Dragon, destroying it!" Seto declared.
Stephen nodded, placing the Gnome Dragon carefully in the discard pile. He then played a Flare Warrior, his personal card, and drew.
"I'm afraid this is game," Stephen grinned, "unless you have a Hallucination or Tranquility card in your hand."
Stephen played his card, "Price of Greed". It allowed Stephen to either draw double the amount Kaiba drew last turn, or have Kaiba discard double. Stephen chose discard, making Kaiba discard his hand. All that was left was a single Paladin against the Flare Warrior. Stephen equipped Flare Warrior with Flame Kahriemourie, making it powerful enough to destroy the Paladin.
"Game over, Kaiba," Stephen smiled, extending his hand, "you lose."
Kaiba shook his hand solemnly. He picked up his deck and turned to leave. When he turned around, he faced a girl. She looked slightly older than he. She had black hair with a single strand of purple. She wore a trench coat, black, with a white tank-top beneath it. She also wore baggy black pants. She was smiling, even if she seemed slightly menacing after Seto's crushing defeat.
"Who are you?" Kaiba asked coldly.
"Me?" the girl asked in a friendly tone.
"Yes."
"I am Yasumi Shiroko. You are Seto Kaiba, are you not?" she greeted, "You saved that man on the roof. But more importantly, you play Narpakgür."
"More importantly?" Seto raised an eyebrow.
Yasumi's hand flew forward, pointing straight at Kaiba, "Seto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!"
Seto's eyebrow stayed put, "That's all?"
"No," Yasumi grinned, "we each wager a card."
"What are you wagering?" Kaiba asked.
"I'll put up my Dragon of Dark Lore," Yasumi smiled, knowing Kaiba couldn't resist a shot at a dragon, not to mention a powerful one.
Seto's heart jumped, "Fine, I'll put up my Vengeance card."
"Alright," Yasumi smirked, "Let's duel."
~
Bakura walked down the street, alone. The cold wind chilled his neck. Pulling his coat closer about himself, he proceeded down the street. Shinobu had to go home, and he needed some time to think. He hadn't talked to his friend Tristan in a while, maybe he would visit him. He lived down here, quite near the large corporations.
'It's a nice neighborhood,' Bakura thought, 'Maybe I'll come here more often.'
Bakura stopped walking, hearing kids yelling.
"Hey!" one yelled.
"Yeah?"
"You know that Narpakgür duelist. . .what's her name? Yasumi?"
"Yasumi Shiroko? The really good one?"
"Yeah, her!"
"What about her?"
"She's dueling some new guy, I think his name's Kaiba!"
"Ha! He doesn't stand a chance against Yasumi Shiroko!"
'Kaiba?' Bakura thought to himself, 'I didn't know he played Narpakgür. . .'
And so Bakura ran after the kids, but being sure they didn't notice him. He didn't want them to think he was stalking them or anything, just trying to find Kaiba.
~
Author's Note: I know most people won't like this chapter, but then again, most people don't read my fic. Did I get Yasumi right, Alyee? I tried to make her seem like the best duelist around, after all, you're the best reviewer around!
He stopped walking. A man across the street stood on a ladder, hanging decorations for Halloween. There was nobody supporting the ladder, keeping it from falling. The man was smiling, adjusting one particular decoration. Kaiba stared at him, noticing the ladder was about to give way.
"Hey!" Kaiba shouted, running across the street, ignoring the angry drivers.
As the ladder fell, the man suddenly realized what was happening. He grabbed onto the side of the roof, holding himself up. It was obvious he couldn't stay there long.
"Help! Someone!"
Kaiba ran up the driveway, grabbing the ladder. Deftly, he righted it next to the man. Kaiba climbed the ladder as fast as he could, disregarding the fact that if the ladder fell, they would both be trapped.
"Hang on!" Kaiba replied.
Kaiba reached the roof. Climbing onto it, he prepared to pull the man up. The man's left arm gave way, and he swung precariously.
"Give me your hand!" Kaiba commanded calmly.
The man raised his hand as high as he could. Kaiba cursed to himself, leaning dangerously far forward to try and grab it. As he caught his hand, he started to fall. Righting himself, he hauled the man upward.
"Just a little farther," Kaiba groaned.
The man fell forward, onto the roof. He sighed, realizing he was safe. He turned and looked at his savior, a well dressed young man with neat brown hair. The man smiled at him, extending his hand.
"MacWilliams."
"My name is Seto Kaiba," Kaiba took his hand and shook it, nodding slightly.
The two climbed down, one at a time. Kaiba went first, then held the ladder for MacWilliams. MacWilliams thanked him again, brushed his hand against his brow, and returned to work.
Kaiba went back to walking. He didn't notice the shadow behind him. The girl, a year older than he, followed him, watching his every move.
Seto Kaiba stopped to look at a few kids. They were a couple years younger than him. They had Narpakgür cards. They were dueling. Apparently, there was no order to who dueled whom. They were sprawled out over the lawn, cards quickly being played, and then destroyed.
A kid walked up to him, "Hey."
"Hello."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Kaiba."
The kid nodded, "I'm Stephen."
Kaiba nodded back, "These your friends?"
"Yeah," Stephen explained, "you play?"
Stephen held up a card. It was Flare Warrior, a miscellaneous type unit. A small star was placed on the bottom of the card.
"What's the star mean?" Kaiba asked nonchalantly.
"You must be new to the game," Stephen grinned, "A star means it's a personalized card. My Flare Warrior if the only Flare Warrior in existence, unless someone else has it as a personal card, but it wouldn't have the same stats or abilities."
Seto nodded.
"You play?" Stephen repeated.
The girl following Seto Kaiba grinned as she saw him remove his deck. He sifted through it, then looked at Stephen, "Where do we duel?"
Stephen smiled again, "I can tell by the way you look you don't want to lie on the grass with the rest of us. We have a table in the backyard, follow me."
The girl brushed a wisp of purple hair from her eyes as she trailed the two into the backyard. She hopped the fence, rather than open the door, so they didn't hear her.
"Alright," she heard Stephen say, "you know the rules, right? We each start with eight cards, you can go first."
Seto nodded, shuffling his deck. Stephen did the same, smiling broadly. They each drew eight cards.
"Okay, so now we play our lead-off units?" Seto asked.
Author's Note: a lead-off unit is a unit played at the start of a game or between turns when you have no units in play. Lead-off units are played face-down, then flipped when your opponent has a lead-off unit ready, too.
Stephen nodded and played his. Seto played his, also. They flipped. Stephen revealed a Scorpion, a level three type none unit. Kaiba had a Paladin Apprentice, a level two swordsman.
Seto drew. He looked at his hand. He had a Tsetch, a level four. He also had a level four sword. Together, he could take out that Scorpion right away.
'But is that how this game is played?' Seto thought, 'Should I kill things quickly, or draw it out, hoping for him to slip up?'
Seto decided to see how Stephen played. He played an obvious card, Faith, which made him draw five cards in three turns. Then he ended his turn.
Stephen drew. He played another Scorpion. He destroyed Seto's Paladin Apprentice and finished his turn.
Seto gritted his teeth. Throwing down his Tsetch, he drew a card. He read the top of the card, "Vengeance". "Draw cards equal to the amount of units in your discard pile".
'Hmm,' Seto Kaiba thought, 'this will help later.'
He added it to his hand and equipped his Tsetch with a weapon. His Tsetch attacked one of the Scorpions, destroying it.
"I end my turn, Stephen," Kaiba spat.
Stephen drew. Smiling, he placed a single card on the table.
"Defenseless Mage", "10HP, can do 120 Damage per turn."
Stephen played "Allies", to draw 3 cards. He then attacked the Tsetch, ending his turn.
"Draw, Kaiba," Stephen grinned, "I'll let you draw before playing your lead- off unit."
Kaiba looked at his hand, he had no units. Stephen allowed him to stay in the game. But he couldn't have known he didn't have any units, it must've been a guess. Seto glared across the table and drew a card, immediately playing it.
"I bring out my Legionnaire!" Seto shouted, playing his Thesman card.
Equipping his Legionnaire with a level three sword, it destroyed the Defenseless Mage. Stephen's eyes glimmered as Seto Kaiba ended his turn.
"That's all?" Stephen mocked, "I would've expected more."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Seto sneered, "My Legionnaire's more powerful than anything you've played!"
"Power isn't everything."
Stephen placed one card on the table. "Haltsee". "Both sides discard their highest leveled units in play".
Stephen shrugged as he placed his Scorpion in his discard pile. He patiently awaited Seto's reaction. Seto merely narrowed his eyes, discarding his Legionnaire. Stephen played a Gnome Dragon and ended his turn.
Kaiba bit his lip. He had nothing to save himself. Staring at his hand, he tried to find something to save himself.
"I'm waiting, Seto Kaiba," Stephen smirked.
Kaiba lifted one card from his hand, placing it on the field. "Retreat". "You may have no units in play for one turn". He then drew, adding the card to his hand.
'Ah,' Seto thought, 'I'm saved, at least, until next turn.'
The card was a Paladin, a level 7 card. Seto grimaced as he ended his turn.
Stephen drew, adding the card to his hand. Having nothing to attack, he ended his turn.
"Alright, Seto, this is it," Stephen laughed.
"No it isn't," Kaiba answered.
"Oh?"
"It's been three turns," Seto grinned, "I draw five cards from Faith."
Seto drew his five. Unfortunately, there were no units. He played his Paladin and drew to start his turn. The card was a Fields of Phateris, which recovered the HP of all units in play. He sighed, removing Vengeance from his hand. Playing it, he drew 3 more cards.
"Sword of the Forgotten Arts", "Fairy Mail", and "King's Ransom".
Seto laughed out loud, playing King's Ransom. He drew 20 cards. Sifting through them, he grinned. Now all he had to do was destroy all the units Stephen played, and he would be in the clear!
"I equip my Paladin with Sword of the Forgotten Arts and it attacks your Gnome Dragon, destroying it!" Seto declared.
Stephen nodded, placing the Gnome Dragon carefully in the discard pile. He then played a Flare Warrior, his personal card, and drew.
"I'm afraid this is game," Stephen grinned, "unless you have a Hallucination or Tranquility card in your hand."
Stephen played his card, "Price of Greed". It allowed Stephen to either draw double the amount Kaiba drew last turn, or have Kaiba discard double. Stephen chose discard, making Kaiba discard his hand. All that was left was a single Paladin against the Flare Warrior. Stephen equipped Flare Warrior with Flame Kahriemourie, making it powerful enough to destroy the Paladin.
"Game over, Kaiba," Stephen smiled, extending his hand, "you lose."
Kaiba shook his hand solemnly. He picked up his deck and turned to leave. When he turned around, he faced a girl. She looked slightly older than he. She had black hair with a single strand of purple. She wore a trench coat, black, with a white tank-top beneath it. She also wore baggy black pants. She was smiling, even if she seemed slightly menacing after Seto's crushing defeat.
"Who are you?" Kaiba asked coldly.
"Me?" the girl asked in a friendly tone.
"Yes."
"I am Yasumi Shiroko. You are Seto Kaiba, are you not?" she greeted, "You saved that man on the roof. But more importantly, you play Narpakgür."
"More importantly?" Seto raised an eyebrow.
Yasumi's hand flew forward, pointing straight at Kaiba, "Seto Kaiba, I challenge you to a duel!"
Seto's eyebrow stayed put, "That's all?"
"No," Yasumi grinned, "we each wager a card."
"What are you wagering?" Kaiba asked.
"I'll put up my Dragon of Dark Lore," Yasumi smiled, knowing Kaiba couldn't resist a shot at a dragon, not to mention a powerful one.
Seto's heart jumped, "Fine, I'll put up my Vengeance card."
"Alright," Yasumi smirked, "Let's duel."
~
Bakura walked down the street, alone. The cold wind chilled his neck. Pulling his coat closer about himself, he proceeded down the street. Shinobu had to go home, and he needed some time to think. He hadn't talked to his friend Tristan in a while, maybe he would visit him. He lived down here, quite near the large corporations.
'It's a nice neighborhood,' Bakura thought, 'Maybe I'll come here more often.'
Bakura stopped walking, hearing kids yelling.
"Hey!" one yelled.
"Yeah?"
"You know that Narpakgür duelist. . .what's her name? Yasumi?"
"Yasumi Shiroko? The really good one?"
"Yeah, her!"
"What about her?"
"She's dueling some new guy, I think his name's Kaiba!"
"Ha! He doesn't stand a chance against Yasumi Shiroko!"
'Kaiba?' Bakura thought to himself, 'I didn't know he played Narpakgür. . .'
And so Bakura ran after the kids, but being sure they didn't notice him. He didn't want them to think he was stalking them or anything, just trying to find Kaiba.
~
Author's Note: I know most people won't like this chapter, but then again, most people don't read my fic. Did I get Yasumi right, Alyee? I tried to make her seem like the best duelist around, after all, you're the best reviewer around!