The Stones of Fate
Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction Series by Cosmic Jester
Story One: The Lonely Child


"I summon Big Bang Girl to the field!"

As the card was set in its space the field in front of the duelist erupted into a vortex of flame. A beautiful princess in burning crimson robes emerged like a phoenix from the inferno that faded behind her. She herself was a living flame, burning but never being consumed, beautiful and horrible to behold. The sleeves of her attire were trimmed with runes embroidered in gold thread. She wore a simple diadem to show her rank, and had branch-like metal combs tucked in her hair. Two gold bracelets clicked delicately at each wrist as she brandished her staff of twisted, unburning wood. The fiery princess looked over her right shoulder at the one that called her forth, awaiting command.

Chapter Four: Opponent (Part 2)

Jonouchi smirked to himself. Big Bang Girl had 1300 attack points compare to his Thousand Dragon's 2400. She was no threat. "You've got a strange dueling strategy, Sumiko. "

Sapphire eyes sparkled across the dueling field at him. "That's probably the nicest way anyone's ever put it. " She slid a card from her hand into her disk. "Well, I'm going to play another 'Blessed Rain' now--and not only do you lose the thousand from the continuous trap Simochi Allergy, you lose another 500 because I increased my Life Points with Big Bang Girl on the field!" A gentle, merciful rain covered the field as the girl spoke, inciting the spirits around Jonouchi into another frenzy as the flame princess raised her staff a moment before pointing it at the attacked duelist, shooting a stream of fire from it.

He winced inwardly. 3,100 of his Life Points were gone, and his opponent hadn't attacked once!

Sumiko had to admit it; the duel disks added a lot of fun to the game. As she pulled the card off the field she surveyed her opponent's forces. "Big Bang Girl, attack that silly Time Magician of his."

The girl nodded and ran at the monster, holding her staff like a baseball bat and pulling it back to swing at the mechanical wizard like it was a piñata. Jou's Life Points went down once more, from 4900 to 4200.

The duelist glanced at her remaining card then at the Life Point counters. 'Hm, 10,000 to 4,200.' Doing some quick mental calculations she slipped the last card of her hand into a spell slot. "As the last move of my turn I play 'Goblin Berries' on myself, increasing my Life Points by 600, and my dear Princess takes away another 500 of yours."

Yami frowned as the girl laughed a dark, vicious chuckle of amusement at her opponent's plight. What the hell was going on..? True, he hadn't known her that long, but Sumiko had seemed quiet and almost shy; she kept to herself unless asked something directly, and her odd yellow-green eyes were thoughtful, gentle, and intelligent.

Wait. Green eyes?

The duel king gazed intently at the girl across from his best friend, truly noticing for the first time by the light of her monster's blaze her eyes were a dark blue that was as hard as stone.

[Ooohhhhh shit.]

Yugi glanced up, startled. The spirit had spoken 'aloud', though only he himself could hear it. {What is it?} He turned back to the match as he thought at his other half. {Yeah, Sumiko's better than we thought, but...}

Yami paused thoughtfully before shaking his head. [It's probably nothing.] He settled back against the pole. 'At least, I hope it's nothing.'

Jou was setting the trap with a cute black shadow holding a red die (which he had drawn during the Yugis' brief conversation,) as he spoke, his honey eyes sparkling. "That Big Bang chick might have a good effect, but it's kinda stupid to leave her in attack position with Thousand Dragon on my side."

Sapphire eyes glinted with a dark humor. "Is it, now?"

"Of course it is." He pointed dramatically at the maiden of flames. "Thousand Dragon! Take her out!"

As the elderly dragon reared up onto his back legs intending to crush the girl under the massive weight of its claws Sumiko's voice rang out. "I don't think so! Activate trap--'Mirror Force'!"

Jonouchi could only watch as his pride and joy struck the ordered attack... and was enveloped in a stream of light coming from the invisible wall protecting the smaller monster before breaking apart into shards of light that fell like shimmering snow and vanished. "No! Thousand Dragon!"

A cruel laugh was his opponent's response.

Jonouchi's honey eyes closed. Over half of his Life Points were gone and he just lost one of the best monsters his deck could produce. After taking a moment to clear his head the blond reviewed his turn in his mind. 'Oh, right. I haven't played a monster this turn.' He glanced over his hand. 'Demon Hunter or Landostar Swordsman...?' It didn't take him long to decide and summon 'Demon Hunter' in attack position. "I end," he said as the barbarian appeared on the field, brandishing his sword.

Behind the tree to the side of the duel the figure in white robes stood, silently watching this girl's dark, cruel manner. Shadi's kohled eyes were almost imperceptibly sad as the match progressed. A breeze caught the hem of his robe, causing it to sway.

The duelists were too wrapped up in their match to see him, but a set of crimson eyes narrowed sharply, having noticed the Egyptian at last. The guardian's presence disturbed the former pharaoh greatly. 'Maybe I'm not being paranoid...'

Sumiko glanced at the card she drew, her grin replaced by a frown as she read the name 'Double Snare'. "This is useless to me right now." After a quick survey of the field and of her options she gave Big Bang Girl a ninety-degree turn on her disk. "Since Mirror Force was the last of the defensive traps I had laid I'll put my dear princess into defense mode to protect my Life Points then end my turn." As her mistress spoke the duel monster brought her staff up protectively in front of her body, kneeling down so the length of it would protect her.

Yugi shook his head. "C'mon, Jou," he murmered.

His darker half shook his head. [He's got a chance. Remember, Labyrinth Wall has amazing defense power but absolutely no attack.]

Seeing where Yami was going with his comment Yugi nodded. {But can he draw it?}

[Look at his face. He already has it.]

Indeed, as Jonouchi drew his gaze turned to his hand as a grin formed once more on his lips. "I've got it now. How I'm gonna clear the field of both your Big Bang Girl and your stupid Wall in one turn!"

Sumiko scoffed. "Now *this* I've got to see."

"Just wait." Jou grinned and played the only monster in his hand. "I'll summon Landostar Swordsman in attack mode."

His opponent sneered. "My Wall and I cower before your 500 attack points."

He met her sarcasm with a triumphant smile. "And now..." He picked a card out of his hand and played it in a magic field. "I play the spell 'Shield and Sword'!"

The blue-eyed duelist scowled. "Damn! That card swaps the attack and defense of all monsters on the field! That means-"

"That's right! Your Wall just became a monster with zero defense points, while Landostar Swordsman's attack goes up to 1200!" and give him the equip card I just drew--Blade of Lightning!" As his tiny warrior struggled with the large blade Jou watched its attack points rise. "That boosts his attack to 2000!"

"Argh!" Sumiko's fist clenched. 'This can't be happening...' She gazed in disbelief at the tiny swordsman struggling to heft the large sword.

"Okay! Swordsman! Attack Big Bang Girl! 1300 defense is nothin' ta ya now!"

The feminine monster's mouth opened in a silent scream as the little warrior's slash tore through her body before melting into shards of light.

"No! Princess!" The duelist pounded her right fist downward. "Dammit!" She cleared the card from her disk, reluctantly slipping the monster into her graveyard.

With a broad grin the blond continued his onslaught. "Alright! Now Demon Hunter, take out the Labyrinth Wall!"

The barbarian bolted towards his master's opponent, whose rock monster came forth from the ground to defend her. The warrior's blade sliced through the wall of stone, causing it to crumble into dust that faded into nothingness.

There was a pause before Sumiko pulled her last defense monster off the field. She spoke as she did so, in a cold, dangerous tone. "You realize, of course, this means I'm going to have to quit playing around."

"Yeah, whatever." Jou waved at her dismissively; his confidence was rising. After all, he'd just defeated what seemed to be her strongest defense and he hadn't even gotten to Psycho Shocker or Red Eyes yet. "I'll end my turn." As he spoke the attack and defense points of both of his monsters returned to normal.

Sumiko's eyes closed as she focused. 'I can do this. There are at least three cards in my deck that will save me this instant. I just have to draw one.' Her right hand moved to hover over her deck. 'Concentrate on the card I need, and draw it.'

'The suspense is killing me!'

The girl's expression darkened further as the thought came unbidden. 'Shut up, you!' The sapphire on her ring seemed to flash in the moonlight briefly as she stamped down that inner voice before she settled in to duel once more.

Shadi's eyes narrowed. There had just been a surge of shadow-like energy from the girl. Not simple ordinary Shadow power, either. The energy had an almost ice-cold feeling to it. A glance at Yugi's ghostly other half showed he was not alone in sensing it. The two locked eyes for a moment before they both nodded. The Egyptian turned and walked away, his decision made.

The girl in question quieted her mind, took a deep breath, and pulled the first card her fingers touched. Dark blue eyes opened and her smirk returned as she peered at the image. "Oo, now this should be interesting."

Yugi groaned inwardly. Any time she got that look on her face the round had ended poorly for his best friend. {I wonder what she's got planned now?}

Sumiko slipped the card she drew down into a spell slot. "I play 'The Shallow Grave'!" She pulled her graveyard out of its place and continued. "This allows us both to choose one monster in our graveyards and special summon it in face-down defense position."

When there was no answer, or even acknowledgement, violet eyes turned to gaze at the 'empty' space beside him as Jou surveyed his graveyard. {Oi, Yami?}

The former Pharaoh started out of his thoughts. [Yes?]

{What's the matter? Aren't you having fun watching the duel?}

Yami considered his answer before speaking. [Yugi, I just saw Shadi. He was watching the duel like there was something more than a date on the line.]

The blond duelist slapped a monster face down, as he had been told to do. "I guess you got your 'Labyrinth Wall' back."

{What do you mean?}

"Maaaay~be," she caroled. "That does it for my turn, since I'm top-decking it."

Confusion filled her opponent's expression almost comically. "Top-decking? Whas'sat?"

Sumiko chuckled amusedly. "It means I have no hand and very little on the field to work with, so I have to buy myself time with what I draw from the top of my deck. Top-decking."

[For a moment she practically radiated Shadow magic.]

{Shadow magic?!}

"Oh, okay." Jonouchi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 'Okay. Keep it together, Jou. Just trust in yourself and your deck like Yugi taught ya. You can come back from this.' He drew and let his breath out before opening his eyes that immediately widened as his grin reappeared. "Alright! Go 'heart of the cards'!" He swiped the face down card off his monster slot. "I'll sacrifice my Armor Lizard to bring out the 'Android Psycho Shocker'!"

[But not just that. It was... It was evil.]

"Android Psycho Shocker?!" Girlish excitement momentarily overcame the jade-eyed duelist. "How on earth did you get it? It's really really rare!"

"Remember how we were tellin' you about the Battle City Tournament?" Seeing her nod the blond continued. "The winner of each duel got to pick a card out of the loser's deck to keep."

Her hand moved to her lips in horror. "That's awful!" She shook her head. "There's no way I could part with any of my cards, they're far too much a part of me. I've put my heart into my deck."

{Evil?} Yugi gazed at the young girl confusedly. {How can Sumiko-san be evil? And how can she have Shadow magic without an Item..?}

"Now your precious 'Simochi Allergy' can't touch me because of Psycho Shocker's effect," Jou smugly stated. "All traps are negated. But I'm guessin' you got that damn Wall back from that Shallow Grave spell, so it'd be pointless to attack." He gave her a thumbs-up to let her know he ended. "At least I'm protected from your direct spells."

[I don't know, aibou, but I certainly intend to find out.]

"That little bit of protection won't do you much good." She rested two fingers on her deck and tugged the top card free. Her eyes, once more cold sapphire hues, surveyed the level four monster she had just drawn. 'A 'Spirit Dragon', huh? I don't have any other dragons to sacrifice to boost its power, and my Labyrinth is the only defense I need right now. If nothing else I should wait until I get more dragons in my hand and then use Double Snare to get rid of his damned Android so it can attack the Swordsman. On the other hand,' she debated mentally, 'who knows what he's got up his sleeve. He might have another damned Shield and Sword.' Out loud she said, "I'll set this monster in face-down defense mode then end my turn."

A glance at the Life Point count on his duel disk display showed Jou his 3700 Points in large numbers, his opponent's 10600 declaimed in smaller print above it. 'Man, I'm gettin' my butt kicked here. I've gotta get rid of her face-down monsters so I can get some direct attacks in.' A quick flick of his wrist brought his next card into his sight. "Oh yeah!"

As their friend cheered a single sweat drop formed on both Yugi and Yami's foreheads despite the seriousness of their conversation. {We need to talk to him about his game face.}

[Or lack thereof?]

{Something like that.} Yugi gave a small mental chuckle through his worry. {One thing's for certain, though. Sumiko's game face is scary.}

The girl in question had a deep frown, her narrowed blue eyes as hard and cold as ice. "Are we here to duel, or are you just going to prance around like a moron all night?"

Jonouchi cringed before pointing at her. "I'm here to duel, and I'm here to win that duel."

"Big words from a little man."

"You'll eat those words when I play this! I summon Severing Samurai in attack mode!"

A small whirlwind of light on the field revealed a small figure even tinier than the Landostar Swordsman. It was humanoid, though with a head that was a perfect orange sphere with no nose or mouth. A warrior's topknot made out of three kunai knives stuck out of the back of his head and a full set of green samurai armor covered his body. The gloves and guards were brown leather reinforced by steel. Impossibly pale blue eyes narrowed as the little samurai drew his katana while shifting in his zori sandals, waiting eagerly for the order to attack.

There was a small pause as Sumiko frowned. "Alright, then. Which card does he attack?"

Yugi tipped his head. "You know what Severing Samurai does, Sumiko-san?"

"I'd better, I've got three of the things."

The blond nodded. "Well, since I still think you've got that Labyrinth Wall down I'm gonna have 'im attack the card you just set."

Sumiko shrugged almost boredly as the tiny samurai of doom slashed its sword through her face down card, which flashed a small deep indigo dragon before splintering into snowy light. "Severing Samurai destroys any face down defense position monster it attacks without flipping them face up or damage calculation."

As calm as she was outwardly she chanted a mantra deep inside her mind. 'Shit shit shit shit.' She pulled her card off its space and into her graveyard.

At Jonouchi's signal that he was done she rested two fingertips lightly on her deck, her eyes closing before she pulled her next card, holding it parallel to the ground for a moment. 'C'mon deck, show me some love.' Her dark eyes opened as she brought the card in to read.

And smirked.

)TO BE CONTINUED(



[Yugi's voice:] Next time, the duel is over and Sumiko-san is back to normal. Does she have a dark half like me, Bakura, and Malik? And how did she get Shadow power? It seems like the more questions that are answered the more appear! See you next time, for Opponent Part 3!



Author's note: Another cliffhanger.... Don't kill me! It wasn't my intention to, but I wanted to update reeeeally badly and this is already about 3000 words. C'mon, show Jester love for updating. ...please?



Here's a list, for those of you who didn't figure out from my hidden hints what the cards are in English, in order of their appearance in this part of "Opponent":

Japanese Name // American Name

Big Bang Girl // Fire Princess

Blessed Rain // Rain of Mercy

Simochi Allergy // Bad Reaction to Simochi

Time Magician // Time Wizard

Goblin Berries // Goblin's Secret Remedy

Demon's Dice // Skull Dice

Demon Hunter // Kojikocy

Landostar Swordsman // Swordsman of Landstar

Blade of Lightning // Lightning Blade

Spirit Dragon // Spirit Ryuu

Severing Samurai // Sasuke Samurai