The Duel of Roses Chapter 1

Now , just in case all of you younger readers skipped the foreword , this fic contains LIGHT PROFANITY , COMIC MISCHIEF , MATURE THEMES and MUCH INNUENDO . I have decided to rate this fic as PG-13 , so if you are not at least thirteen , then STOP READING NOW . For everyone else , sorry for the interruption and on with the insanity ...

It is dusk in the bustling city of Tokyo, but as with any large city, there is much activity, even after the workday is over. Cars are still rushing back and forth on the busy city streets, many a young couple in love are taking romantic walks through the park, and as was his habit, the president of Kaiba Corp, was hard at work in his penthouse office.

Seto Kaiba, a seventeen year-old, certified genius and dungeon monsters fanatic, works feverishly on his desktop computer, he simultaneously verifies his company's stock prices, updates his online web site, closes a deal for some new holographic technology, and thumps a wannabe duelist at his favorite game.

"Ah, there goes the competition again AND this pathetic excuse of a duelist! Blue eyes, destroy her wing weaver!" Kaiba laughs megalomaniacally as the competition's stock prices drop and his opponents life points fall to zero. His opponent, whoever she was, types in a frantic reply, unable to believe that she lasted even three rounds with the legendary Seto Kaiba. He types, rather flatly and almost disrespectfully, but he holds back, not wanting to discourage someone who had the potential to give him some competition.

His opponent types back glad to get anything besides criticism from such a dueling legend. She asks, as the computer shuffles their online decks and they commence another round.

Kaiba types his response, casually placing a battle ox in attack mode and equipping it with an axe of despair. He is shocked when, on his opponent's turn, she plays an eternal rest, obliterating his monster, then places two cards face down and attacks his lifepoints with hysteric fairy. He admits, assessing his options and trying to devise a strategy as his next card comes up.

Wrath of Dios responds, watching as Kaiba places a monster in defense mode and two more cards face down. She places another card face down, a mystical elf on the defensive then attacks, only to have her monster returned to her hand by a Wall of illusion, and suffering a loss of fifty life points. She responds, shifting her turn to Kaiba for the moment.

One thing Kaiba knew how to do was accept praise and adoration from fans , another was to reorganize and correct his own weaknesses . Deciding that this will be an entertaining duel , he concludes his online stockholders meeting and his online business transaction , looking to focus on the duel . He makes an uncharacteristic defensive move by equipping his only monster with a horn of light and a ring of magnetism , raising it's defensive power and ensuring that it is the only monster that can be attacked , then plays Maha Vailo in attack position and ends his turn . He types , smirking at his own strategy and his opponent's inexperience .

Wrath of Dios responds by again playing Hysteric fairy , then introducing the field card , Luminous spark , which weakens her defenses , but increases her attack power . She switches her elf to attack position and equips a Malevolent nuzzler , further boosting it's attack points . She taunts half-heartedly , fully expecting him to do just that .

Kaiba types , sacrificing his spellcaster to summon the demonic-looking Swordstalker and equipping it with his second Axe of despair . He decides against attacking , again playing on the defensive , and ends his turn . He asks , wondering if he has heard of it before , being that many schools have requested that he send them Mokuba once he was old enough .

W.O.D responds , playing a Change of Heart and using it to control his Swordstalker . She uses it to obliterate his defenses and to temporarily remove it from the current duel , then attacks directly with her two remaining monsters , lowering his life- points to just under two-thousand . She asks , since she seems to have a legend on the ropes and has a massive lead .

Kaiba warns coldly , activating some magic cards that allow him to draw even more cards into his hand . ( Ohtori Academy ... that sounds framilliar ... ) While placing more cards on the feild , he calls up a search program and lets it run through his personal archives . He asks , waiting to spring his trap on his unwary foe .

W.O.D answers , summoning a Wingweaver once again . Her decision not to attack proves to be a fatal mistake , especially when Kaiba invokes the powers of the Lord of dragons and the Flute of summoning dragons , allowing him to summon two of his legendary and powerful Blue eyes white dragons . Their sheer power , combined with the Luminous spark feild card , then summoning Wingweaver from the graveyard leaves his opponent's forces decimated and nearly defeated . One turn later and Kaiba mercifully ends the duel , and claims victory over a crestfallen Wrath of Dios .

W.O.D types humbly , accepting her loss easily since she had no idea who she was up against from the beginning . Just then , the search program that Kaiba was running ends , yeilding results that surprise even him .

( What ?! Pegasus J. Crawford went to this school ! ) Kaiba is stunned , but also intrigued , since he had been trying to locate the elusive creator of dungeon monsters ever since his disappearance at the duelist kingdom tournament . There had been unconfirmed reports of his death , but Kaiba did not expect that Pegasus would want to be found after causing all that chaos , and therefore , was probably still alive ... Perhaps some records at Ohtori held clues to his wherabouts ? He types , already planning something with all the speed of a computer .

W.O.D explains , never really starved for attention herself , but admittedly enjoying the attention from her many worshippers anyway . She types , following her message with a yawning emmoticon , but Kaiba is anything but bored .

( An entire school full of talented duelists ... This could be a way to end my own boredom ... ) Kaiba thinks to himself , hungry for a new challenge ever since his last tournament , especially from the current world champion , his main rival , Moutou Yugi . He types , fed by his passion for his favorite game and his hunger for competition .

W.O.D types frantically unable to believe what Kaiba is proposing .

Kaiba types rather flatly , looking for an answer , not more questions .

W.O.D types , readily endorsing the idea , and giving Kaiba the impression that she is jumping up and down in joy at the other end of this online chat .

Kaiba types , signing-off once the message has been recieved and almost smiling at the prospect of another tournament . ( Now , what do I put up for a prize ? ) He leans back in his red , velvet chair , swiveling around to look out over the city as he considers the situation . ( How do I get a bunch of talented and rich kids into a duel such as this ? ) He thinks , absently noticing a discarded one-hundred yen piece on the floor , then is struck with inspiration .

After spending the whole night on the company intranet , Kaiba and several of his top advisors have already set his plan into motion . A large college scolarship would be offered to the winner , or a cash award , depending on what the winner wanted . Since many of the contestants already had their post-secondary education paid for due to their rich families , however , Kaiba had to offer something else , of course . His marketing genius came into play from there and he decided that the winner would be immortaized on an actual , high-level duel monsters card !

( Now , if I can find Pegasus , I can have him hand-paint the card himself ! It's the least he can do after all the trouble he caused me ! ) Kaiba proceeds to laugh in his usual , megalomaniacal way , but then realizes that locating the elusive creator of dungeon monsters would be next to impossible , if he was still alive ...

" Onee-sama--! Seto ! " A vrey joyous Mokuba calls , bursting into his office and launching himself at his older brother . " It came , Seto ! It's finally finished ; my secret dueling weapon ! " He exclaims , babbling happily even as Kaiba rises to his feet , still wrapped firmly around his neck .

" Excellent , I knew that even the R&D numbskulls couldn't screw this up ! " Kaiba almost smiles , since only a handfull of duelists had ever seen what he had now given to his little brother . Then he gets a sudden burst of inspiration , and carefully sets his brother down to convey his thoughts . " Mokuba , I'm going to be throwing another tournament soon ... How would you feel about entering ? It would be a great test for that new card of yours and for you ... " He offers his younger brother , who proceeds to go into what can only be described as a fit of happiness .

" Oh , wow !!! I finally get to duel in a tournament with my big brother !!! " Mokuba and his long , wavy , black hair are soon somersaulting around the room in supreme joy and confidence . ( And this'll be easy , since I've got the world's best duelist as my teacher ! ) He is totally extatic ; not only did he now have an excellent platform upon which to make his dueling debut , but he now had one extremly ultra-powerful card with which to crush his competition . " I'll do my very best , Seto , and I'll take-out anybody in a duel that you ask me to !" He agrees readily , anxious to make his beloved older brother proud .

"Just be ready , Mokuba ; this won't be any simple tournament ." Kaiba warns his younger brother , sitting back down at his computer to do some research and to organize some of the major details of this new tournament . ( Now , if this is going to be any kind of worthwhile tournament , I'm going to need to recruit some serious duelists ... ) Kaiba muses , going over the data from the last tournament for the top-ranked duelists going into it . Of course , his chief rival , Moutou Yugi , the only duelist ever to defeat him cleanly , goes at the top of his list . Kuyaku Mai would prove formidable as always , being the newly crowned European champion , and as such , would increase the hype surrounding this tournament greatly . Rebecca Hawkins , the reigning American champion , would also have to be invited , if only to bloster the already star-studded list . He and Mokuba would also enter , bringing the list up to five ... He was certain that 'Wrath of Dios' , whoever they were , would be entering as well , but he needed at least twenty duelists to make this anywhere near entertaining ...

"Onee-sama ? It says here that you're trying to find Pegasus J. Crawford ..." Mokuba comments nervously , afraid after his first and only experience with the somewhat derranged creator of dungeon monsters .

" He's only going to design the prizes , Mokuba , we won't be dueling him this time , and he hopefully , won't even have to be there ." Kaiba explains , thinking that a one-of-a-kind prize hand-painted by the creator of the game would seriously increase the popularity of this tournament . " The participants get to be immortalized in high-level , monster-cards , Mokuba . How does that sound ?" He asks his younger brother , who proceeds to jump for joy and begin whooping loudly .

"That's gonna be so cool , Seto !" Mokuba exclaims , glomping onto his older brother , already picturing himself as a rugged , armored warrior with a massive sword . "Hey , looks like someone sent you a private e-mail ..." He comments , attracted by the flashing light at the bottem of the screen .

"It's from Otogi Ryuugi , and he says that he'll enter if I have room ..." Kaiba summarizes the message , mulling it over in his head . Otogi was a gaming master like himself , and was accomplished for a part-time duelist , having already amassed an official record of sixty-six wins and no losses ... Deciding that Otogi would make a fine addition , Kaiba sends him an invitation , but also recommends that he get at least one-hundred official victories before the tournament so that he will not be accused of favoratism . "That makes seven , but we still need a few more from outside the school ..." He says aloud , wondering who else is worthy of such a glorious privilege .

" How about Katsuya Jounouchi ? He's pretty popular these days ..." Mokuba suggests , unafraid of the scowl of disapproval from hi older brother , who was less than fond of Jounouchi . "I know you guys don't really get along , but he's ranked as one of the ten best in the world , and after your last tournament , I'm sure that he's got a decent deck this time ..." He explains to his glowering older brother , who seems less than thrilled about the idea .

"I had better not regret this , Mokuba ..." Kaiba warns him , adding Jounouchi to the list , but only giving him a coach ticket for his flight . "Now , that's all I can think of at the moment ... Perhaps Yugi will have some ideas ... or better yet , I'll search for the deck with the most rare cards besides those I've entered , and add a few of the best !" He quickly begins to type-up the program , excluding the national top three , since all three of them had lost to Jounouchi in the past , making them hardly worth considering . He then sends an e-mail to Moutou Yugi , instructing him to enter and to invite anyone else that he might know of .

" Oh , yeah ! I forgot earlier , Seto , but I got this envelope adressed to you downstairs ." Mokuba exclaims , then produces a fair-sized , white envelope , sealed with a wax impression of a rose .

" Feh ! What the hell is this ? A love letter ?" Kaiba snorts sarcasticly , opening the envelope and reading through its contents . ( Wh- what !?! What the hell ?!? ) He is stunned when he notices that it is dated for over a month ago , then compares it to the contents of the letter :

To the duelist Seto Kaiba ,

I understand that you intend to hold a tournament at my esteemed Ohtori Academy . I grant my permission on behalf of the acting chairman , and I can gaurantee a warm reception for all involved . However , there is more pressing buisness to attend to ...

Otori Academy is no average school , Seto Kaiba . In fact , it is but a gateway to the ends of the world , and I offer you the chance to see it for yourself . Upon the holy grounds on which Ohtori was built sleeps the power of world revolution , and that power can be claimed by you , Seto Kaiba .

However , you will be offered the choice between this power , and a treasure that is unequalled in all creation . Few can ever hope to grasp either one , but you will have your choice of both , Seto Kaiba , and they are yours if you choose to come and claim them . I trust that you will make a wise decision in this regard ... provided that you are victorious . So give it your all , for the duelists of Ohtori seek the world revolution as well , and will let nothing stop them on their quest for what they desire .

Yours , End of the World .

P.S : I have a suggestion for the name of this grand event saeled within this envelope , I do hope you will consider it .

Kaiba is in total shock , especially since this person , even if the date is fraudulant , would have had to mail the letter first , and there was no way that the mail was that fast . Deciding that since he cannot explain this for now , he checks the envelope and produces a small , silver ring with a pink rose crest engraved upon it .

One week later , virtually the entire world is competing in duels on a grand scale , trying to become the duelists who will enter this prestigous new tournament . Finalists from the Battle City tournament have an automatic invitation , and the rest of the world has to compete for the few remaining slots . Kaiba had wanted to enter one Bandit Keith Howard , but no one had seen him for nearly a year and he was rumored to have died in an alley somewhere in America ... The national champion , Haga Insector , was indeed a worthy duelist , but Yugi and even Jounouchi had defeated him , thus nullifying his eligilibility for an automatic invitation . Ryuzaki Dinosaur had not even made it past his first match in battle city , and Kajiki Ryouta , the last at the top of his list , was indeed worthy , but Jounouchi had defeated him as well , thus forcing him to raise his rank with the rest of the world . This was beginning to get rather frustrating , in that Kaiba could not seem to find enough duelists worthy of attending . He needed some fresh insight ...

"Mokuba , do you know anyone else who might make this a worthwhile tournament ?" Kaiba asks his younger brother , who is busy nearby with thier trademark metal briefcase , scouring it for rare cards to support his new secret weapon .

"Well I think everyone's as sick of a few of these guys as we are , so I wouldn't even bother , Seto , since I think it'd be boring watching them lose to the same people again ." Mokuba answers , reaching over and deleting the names that Kaiba has not highlighted . "I think that since we've got new faces like Otogi and Rebecca competing with us for the first time , maybe a couple more new faces would add to the hype and make people take notice ." He explains , going for a longshot , but also intriguing his older brother .

"Hmm ... You might have something there , Mokuba , but who do you have in mind ? It's hard enough to organize all of this already , so you'd best have someone in mind , otherwise , we'll have to resort to something boring and unistering ..." Kaiba warns him , deciding that he only wants worthy challengers and not rank beginners in his tournament . He wanted duelists with youth and potential , like his brother and the students from Ohtori , so that he could truly call this a new kind of tournament .

"These two , onee-sama ." Mokuba proceeds to scroll down through the list of rare card holders and finds two in the top one-thousand that surprise Kaiba slightly . " Mazaki Anzu and Hiroto Honda are always following Yugi-san and Jounouchi- san around , and they were there for all of the battle city finals . They must have some experience , at least enough to compete , anyway , and they do meet the rare card requirement , Seto ." He explains thoughtfully , knowing that these friends of Yugi should know more about dueling than most low-level duelists and should provide more than decent competition .

" I don't know , Mokuba , the other duelists might accuse us of favoritism ..." Kaiba warns , not wanting his integrity to be tarnished , or for anyone to say that someone was only invited because they were friends of the world champion .

"They meet all the requirements , onee-sama , and besides , YOU already have Otogi and me invited , and we're both associates of yours ..." Mokuba reminds him , causing Kaiba to mentally slap himself for such a major oversight .

"Fine , but they had better not make me sorry about this ..." Kaiba then adds their names to the official list , grumbling the whole way about how much he hates this new arrangement . "Now we've got just enough to make this interesting , and Ohtori finishes choosing it's duelists today as well , so anyone new who qualifies one week from opening day will be sent tickets accordingly ." He says to himself , slightly proud that things are comming together so nicely , but still displeaed that Moutou Yugi has yet to accept his invitation . Besides a way to turn a second-quarter profit that met projected estimates for his company , this tournament was also a way for him to reclaim his world title from Yugi . Then there was also what the mysterious 'end of the world' had promised him ... Not that he believed in such nonsense , even after some rather bizzare occurances during his last tournament , but it was worth pursuing at any rate , if only to disprove that such things exsist .

"Thanks , Seto ! You won't regret it as long as the Ohtori students can hald their own against Yugi and the others ." Mokuba says just before glomping his older brother in an adoring hug , overjoyed that one of his ideas would be used in this tournament adn that his friends would now be entering as well . Kaiba simply tries not to lose focus as he arranges the invitations , ensures that anyone who is entering has accepted his invitation , and arranges for the equipement to be delivered to Ohtori . "By the way , do you know if the person you met online will be entering too ?" He asks Kaiba , releasing his grip , wondering if perhaps his older brother has actually made a new friend .

"I still don't know who this person really is , Mokuba , but I know that they will be entered into this tournament for certain ." Kaiba answers , tracking the worldwide stats to see if any new names keep surfacing , or just how many times a name may appear at the top of his list , waiting to see if anyone in particular comes up . "They could even have been this 'end of the world' that sent me that letter a week ago ..." He muses , wondering if someone is attempting to manipulate him again , or if this is all some sort of elaborate hoax . Despite his caution , however , he still intended to proceed despite his lack of trust in 'end of the world' .

"Oh yeah ! My computer's overloaded with messages asking me what you're calling this tournament , onee-sama ." Mokuba remembers that even he does not know what Kaiba is calling this mysterious , new contest .

"All they can think to ask you is the name ?" Kaiba asks skeptically and critically , wondering what sort of dolts his younger brother is consorting with . " It's going to be named after the Ohtori school crest , 'the tournament of roses' , Mokuba , and the participants have to wear these ." He tosses a ring to Mokuba , and holds up his own 'rose crest ring' , unaware of it's true implications .

"Wow , Seto , this looks really nice !" Mokuba exclaims , sliding the ring onto his finger , admiring how it seems to fit him perfectly . Kaiba simply cringes at how sickeningly sweet his brother sound when saying the woed 'nice' . "Hey , Seto , it looks like we're engaged !" He exclaims innocently , but causing Kaiba to brace himself against a face-fault . Despite their overall mood , however , they have no real idea what awaits them at Ohtori , or that they have been drawn into something far more serious than a simple dungeon monsters tournament ...