A/N: Finally! First my muse gets lost at the mall, and then the other fics demand attention… I become a mod for a chat room… Oh, it's been heck. Just to let you know, this chap does have violence in it. If you don't like seeing little girls getting beat up, do not read. You have been warned.
Boardwalk Duels
Yugi and his friends marveled as Zeri seemed to come alive on the boardwalk. Gone was her sullen attitude. The slightest hint of joy in her bearing gave her a radiant presence. She practically ran to the boardwalk's metal railing, the group hard-pressed to keep up. She stood on the toes of one foot on the lower rung while balancing herself with her fingertips on the upper rung. Zeri's other leg stuck out slightly as she leaned into the salty wind, the sound of circling gulls crying overhead. The way her hair was whipped about, it almost seemed the smaller girl would literally take flight and join them. Assorted gasps of shock worked their way from the group as Zeri pulled herself onto the top rung, balancing precariously on her feet.
"Get down from there, Zeri!" her twin shouted; concern etched into his childlike features.
"What's your problem?" she asked playfully as she put her hands into her pockets and began walking slowly on the railing.
"This is his problem," Tristan said as he grabbed the slight girl by her upper arm.
The brunette's unexpected action pulled Zeri off-balance. She pulled out and waved her free hand in an empty void, vainly trying to keep her balance as she fell toward the cement below. An involuntary scream slipped past her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Tristan braced her against his side so that she didn't suffer much injury when she fell. It took several moments for Zeri's brain to register that she was leaning against someone. Her eyelids fluttered open; she looked up and saw she was against the pointy-haired brunette. Cheeks tinting a faint rose, Zeri jumped stiffly to her feet. Her fists were balled and her arms were held rigid at her sides.
"What do you think you were doing, you twit?" the crimson-and-gold-haired girl screamed. Her whole being quivered with pent-up fury.
Annoyed hazel eyes met the lithe girl's own. "I was trying to keep you from losing your balance and crashing into the rocks down there."
Zeri crossed her arms over her developing chest; tossing her head defiantly, she huffed, "Oh, like crashing into you was any better!"
The smaller girl's hard stance softened when Yugi put a hand on her shoulder. Those huge amethyst eyes of his were so full of concern. "We just don't want to see you getting hurt. That's all," the smaller boy murmured.
Zeri bit her lip, holding back what she really wanted to say. "You can't protect me from everything, bro," she whispered, gently pushing his hand away. "That's life." Yugi gazed sadly at his sibling. His female counterpart groaned inwardly, "Bro, do you have those big, watery eyes registered as lethal weapons?" He gave her a confused look and she smiled wanly.
The small group of teens began strolling along the rough planks of the boardwalk again; Zeri was more sedated now as she followed Yugi and his friends. Her brother was the first one to notice that the Kaiba Land theme park was nearing completion. While her companions discussed it excitedly, the slight teen girl slouched in boredom, her sneakers the most interesting thing she saw.
When they asked Zeri if she wanted to join them at the arcade, she merely shrugged and followed. While they were headed to the arcade, Ryou greeted them. Introductions were exchanged and the group, now increased by one, continued onward.
Once at the arcade, a brash hotshot challenged Yugi to a duel. The golden glow from his Millennium Puzzle attracted Zeri's attention. After her brother transformed, the slight teen girl's mouth virtually disappeared as her violet eyes threatened to overwhelm her entire face. The flustered teen pointed a trembling finger at her brother. Her lips tried forming words, but her vocal cords were immobilized. Joey nudged the stunned girl on the shoulder.
"That's Yugi's Yami. Pretty cool, huh?" the lanky blonde asked with a broad smile, tossing his bangs out of his brown eyes.
Zeri was still having trouble articulating thoughts as Yami confidently took the dueling arena platform. He glanced at her out of the corner of his crimson eyes and grinned knowingly. Tristan waved his hand in front of the smaller teen's eyes. "Zeri? Earth to Zeri! Hey, are you in there? Blink if you can hear me."
Her violet orbs closed and she shook her head to break her trance. Once she had recovered, she returned her gaze to her transformed brother. "Who'd have thought that was Yugi," she murmured with admiration.
Joey rubbed his neck and said, "Well… ah… You see, Zeri, technically that's your brother's body. But Yami's soul is in control at the moment."
Finally recovering from her initial shock, Zeri watched the duel. But as the battle progressed, she became more restless. She fidgeted in place, frowned, and sighed. The slight girl's mind didn't register any of the comments made by the others. Since everyone was watching Yugi's duel, Zeri tried slipping away from the group unobserved. As the bi-color-haired teen withdrew, Ryou's attention was drawn to her. His chocolate eyes watched as she slipped outside. Tristan looked around, he didn't see Zeri, but noticed Ryou was staring at the door.
"Hey, Ryou? Where's Zeri?" the pointy-haired brunette asked. The white-haired youth turned his head back.
"She left," he stated. "I'll go keep an eye on her, Tristan, if you want."
"Sure," Tristan agreed, nodding his head. "You do that, Ryou. We'll stay here and cheer Yugi on."
Ryou left. Once outside, his eyes wandered the crowds, searching for crimson-and-gold hair. The boardwalk was teeming with people. Everyone wanted to enjoy their lunch on this beautiful Saturday. His chocolate eyes didn't see her, so Ryou began searching in the crowd. The white-haired teen worked his way to the other side and began walking along the row of shops. He glanced into each window, but couldn't locate the wayward girl. Ahead of him was a martial arts studio; there was an outdoor training area—currently empty—for students. Sighing, Ryou looked within.
Zeri was in there, caressing the training weapons almost reverently. Just as Ryou entered, the smaller girl picked up a hanbo; it appeared to be made of jatoba. She ran her hands down the smooth, round wooden shaft. Ryou smiled; the crimson-haired youth was barely taller than the staff she held. Its honey-colored wood grain stood out nicely from her fair skin.
"I didn't know you were into martial arts, Zeri," the white-haired boy chirped friendly as he neared her.
A look of surprise was quickly replaced by a wistful smile. "Oh, Dad taught me a few things about bushido," the girl admitted, almost too quietly to be heard. She looked down at her sneakers; her feet shifted in a suggestively bashful manner.
"Are you any good?" Ryou asked.
She cocked her head, running the fingers of her left hand through her hair. "Well, I'm still around, so I can hold my own." A genuine smile graced her lips.
Before Ryou could say anything else, an older teen, a good foot-and-a-half taller than Zeri, approached. He was dressed in a martial arts uniform with the shop's emblem on a patch. His toned chest was clearly visible. He ran strong, thick, fingers through the messy seaweed green mat that was his hair.
The older teen practically leered as he leaned close to Zeri. "Hey there, lovely. How about you put down that stick and join me for dinner this evening? We could go dancing afterward." The expression on his face was far more suggestive, however.
Noticing the look on the older teen's face, the bi-color-haired girl stiffened and glared; her amethyst orbs stabbed hotly at his aquamarine. He chuckled, "Oh, come on, don't play hard to get." He tried wrapping an arm around the slight girl's waist.
Growling, Zeri jabbed one of the hanbo's ends into the green-haired teen's face. "Don't touch me," she ground out, an angry hiss issued from her clenched teeth. Her eyes darkened to an ominously dark red wine color as her irises constricted to mere pinpricks. The aquamarine-eyed teen slapped the hanbo out of his face and thrust a finger close to her nose.
"Listen here girlie," he spat. "If you don't want a few broken bones to match that scar on your arm, I suggest you take my offer!"
Zeri glowered at him, positioning the hanbo between their bodies. "You're nothing to me! I've kicked butts bigger than yours!"
The seaweed-green-haired teen then shoved his face into hers. His voice held a deadly edge, "Is that a challenge, little girl?"
Zeri smirked. "Of course it is! If you win, you get what you want. But if I win, you have to keep your paws to yourself!"
Not liking how events were turning out, Ryou thought it best to go find Yugi and his friends. But as he was about to leave, the white-haired teen heard something that made his blood run cold.
The older teen laughed and said, "Oh, it's a shame I have to rough you up first, but I won't lose. I'm on my way to becoming the Bushido Regional Champ!"
~~~
Just as Ryou made his hasty way back to the arcade, he saw the group leaving. The white-haired boy rested his clenched fists against his knees. His lungs gulped air greedily as he came to a stop. "Guys…" he gasped. "…Zeri's… in… trouble…"
Tristan grabbed Ryou by the arm, forcing the chocolate-eyed Ring-keeper to stand. "Tell us what happened!"
The white-haired teen was still catching his breath. He shook his head, "No… time… follow… me…"
Ryou pulled out of Tristan's grip and jogged ahead; he motioned for the others to follow. The group of teens dodged their way through the throngs of people. When they made it to the martial arts studio, they had to push their way through the tight knot of onlookers gathered outside. Yugi and his friends were hard-pressed to reach the training area, which was bordered on all sides by rails to keep people out. None of them noticed the training equipment that was waiting to be used. When they got there, Zeri was already fighting with the older, muscular teen. Their feet were bare, as per the rules of martial arts.
Zeri, being shorter and weaker, was doing all she could to block the green-haired teen's punches and kicks. One particularly strong punch connected with the small girl's cheek, knocking her to her knees. Her attacker stepped back and smirked. She got up on unsteady feet, a trickle of blood oozing from a split in her lower lip. A bruise was already purpling on her cheek. Once she recovered, she returned the smirk, and then wiped away the blood.
"Is that the best you've got? I have better warm-ups in my sleep!" she asked.
The aquamarine-eyed teen scowled. "Oh, you think you're something girl? Let's see how well you handle two training wakizashi!"
The bi-color-haired girl nodded her assent; the two antagonists went to the far sides of the training area, where the training weapons waited for use. They picked up their wooden wakizashi, one in each hand. But whereas the green-haired teen's face was a snarl, Zeri's betrayed nothing with its glacial placidness.
The lithe girl went to the middle of the training area, while her opponent approached half that distance. He swung his two wakizashi in an impressive show of dexterity, whipping the air around him. She merely held her training weapons at the ready.
Once he was through posturing, the bi-color-haired girl sneered, nearly reopening the split in her lip. "What do you intend to do next, beat your chest and grunt? Would the ape care for a banana?"
Many of the crowd gasped at the girl's audacity. Yugi visibly winced, and both Téa and Tristan were stunned. Joey's mouth hung open, until he remembered that he could use it for speech. "Uhh… Yuug, has your sister flipped? That's Shouten she's fighting!"
"I think not, Joey," the white-haired teen uttered thoughtfully. "It's a risky ploy, but I think she's deliberately making her opponent angry."
Down in the training area, the teen with the mat of seaweed-green hair shook with fury. "Why you little…! I'm gonna…!" the older teen snarled and charged.
Their training weapons clacked together repeatedly as Zeri blocked his attack, blow for blow. Seizing a brief opening, the teen girl landed a glancing blow against Shouten's toned chest. This enraged the older teen further; he bellowed and began thrashing at the slight girl wildly.
The onslaught caught her by surprise. She tried her best to block his weapons, but his wakizashi left darkening bruises and blood seeped from jagged scrapes on both of her arms. With her face set in determination, Zeri managed to ram the tips of both wakizashi into Shouten's solar plexus.
Her larger opponent grunted from the blows and kicked the girl in her stomach, knocking the wind from her. The slight girl dropped her weapons. She landed heavily on the ground and clutched her gut, her face a grimace of pain.
Shouten leered over her doubled-over body; his posture basically declared himself victorious. "If you think it hurts now, girlie, wait until I get through with you tonight."
Zeri winced as she regained her feet, causing her opponent to back up. She stood there for a time, clutching her stomach; her breathing slowly returned to normal. The signs of pain smoothed away as her violet eyes reached for his. "I'd like to see just how good you are with a hanbo," she expressed; her posture slowly became erect once more.
"Give it up!" Shouten commanded. "Any more fighting and you'll be in the hospital, or worse!"
The slight teen girl smirked; blood started oozing from her split lip. "Better there or dead than with a lecher like you." She then wiped away the rivulet of blood with her thumb. Beads of sweat on both teens had long-since turned into rivulets, soaking hair and clothing.
The older teen snorted disbelievingly and went to his side of the area. Both adversaries picked up a hanbo from their respective sides. Rather than make another display of his prowess, Shouten returned to the middle of the training area, while Zeri stood where she was.
The bloodied and bruised girl's eyes narrowed into death-packing slits. Her mouth—though battered and bleeding—also became a ferocious snarl; her own blood stained her teeth. With a guttural cry that seemed too impossible for a 14-year-old girl, she charged at her opponent, hanbo held at the ready. Shouten prepared to block low, but just before she reached him, she executed a spinning jump and knocked him in the head with her own weapon. The older teen fell to his knees; his temple developed a bruise and a nasty bump.
When Zeri landed on her feet, she backed up out of reach and waited. The aquamarine-eyed teen pushed himself back onto his feet and glared at her. He charged her, screaming, his hanbo was raised high above his head, ready to strike her down with all of his strength. But just as his weapon began arcing down, she moved aside, spun, and broadsided his abdomen with her staff. The impact could be heard by even the furthest onlookers.
As he clutched his stomach, the slight teen crouched as low as she could and connected the base of her palm with his chin, whipping his head back. Then, to add more injury, she whacked the sides of his face with her weapon. Shouten tried backing up, but his injuries were multiplying. Zeri backed up a few steps, just enough to get a running jump, and screamed another war cry. She rammed the butt end of the hanbo against her opponent's skull while he was still doubled-over. Though not sufficient to do severe damage, the blow was enough to knock Shouten out. The whole crowd gasped as he fell at her feet.
Zeri made a decisive, satisfied noise as she acknowledged her opponent's downfall. Once certain he was no longer conscious, she walked away and began putting on he socks and shoes. Unwilling to be held back by the railings, Yugi and his friends managed to overcome the barrier. They surrounded his sister, pleased to see that she was still relatively okay.
"That was so incredible, Zeri!" Téa exclaimed. Not wishing to damage her lip further, Zeri smiled with her eyes. She began walking out of the training area, with the rest of the group in step. As soon as they were away from the shop, Ryou bade farewell.
Once the white-haired boy left, Joey scratched his head, looking confused as he stared at the smaller girl. "So, Zeri, what did that guy do to you that you had to take a beating like that?"
The bi-color-haired girl snorted derisively and pointed her thumb at the martial arts shop. "He tried hitting on me in there. I refuse to be treated like a piece of meat."
They continued walking for some distance, with Zeri trying to keep her physical pain hidden. Though still concerned for his female counterpart, Yugi nodded his understanding and agreement. "I'm just glad you're not hurt too badly, Zeri." He patted her shoulder.
The younger girl winced slightly and hissed through her teeth, "I am hurt… pretty bad. Pain control… is one of the… techniques… our father… taught me. Comes in handy… in a pinch... But… I've just about… reached… the extent… of my endurance."
Zeri leaned her back heavily against the boardwalk railings. Eyes closed and face contorted in pain, she panted for breath, her chin angled down. The pendant around her neck began to glow and the faintest whisper of foreign chanting—emanating from the pendant—caressed the group's ears. The ocean's breeze, though cool, began to shimmer like summer's heat around the petite girl. Everyone, except Zeri, gaped in surprise as the bruises and wounds gradually disappeared. When the chant ended, the bi-color-haired girl stood erect once more, her breathing was easier and her face was back to its unreadable state.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the stares. "What's wrong with you guys? The way you're all looking at me, you'd swear I'd grown a second head!"
"I thought you said that pendant of yours doesn't do anything!" Joey yelled in her face, forcing her to lean back.
Her lips pressed together in an angry line and she leaned toward the blonde, her fists clenched, intimidating him into backing up. "I said I didn't know! Are you intimating that I'm a liar?" she gritted through her teeth. She glared into the tall blonde's eyes, resembling an attack dog ready to bite. The amethyst-eyed girl was distracted, however, when Joey's stomach told the group that he was starving to death. The whole group broke out in laughter as Joey cradled his unhappy gut and blushed from shame. Agreeing that it was time to eat, the teens headed for the nearest Burger World.