Chapter 2: Shopping
Yugi felt refreshed as he finished putting on his shoes and headed downstairs to the small kitchen that was in the back of his grandfather's game store.
"Hey Grandpa. How are…" Yugi's words ceased when he saw his grandfather looking intently at the television. Yugi knew just what his grandfather was watching, and he quietly walked over to his side.
"Anything?" he asked.
"Not yet, but they said that would have more information, so I'm waiting." Solomon Moto said, and returned his attention to the TV. Yugi watched with him.
"Police are still not sure on the cause of the explosion or how many people were inside the bar when it happened. Fire investigators, however, will not yet say if this is a definite arson. Back to you, Terry." The male reporter said, finishing up a story that apparently involved some building blowing up.
"Thank you Ceci. In other local news, police are exploring new leads in the case of several robberies…"
"Here it is." Solomon said.
"Dubbed the "Dine and Dash" bandits, two men have robbed several game stores over the past four weeks, posing as buyers and then using violent sneak attacks on the game store proprietors when they went to aid them in their supposed purchase. The attacks have grown increasingly more violent, and have left one game storeowner dead and another game store assistant in critical condition. Police tell local merchants not to panic, but to be cautious. Newspapers have released several sketches of the wanted felons…"
A picture of two men appeared on the TV. One had short black hair and a stone-like face with small, cold eyes. The second man was a little smaller and had shoulder length stringy blonde hair. People had described the blonde as flighty and nervous but also with a taste for sudden violence.
"Police say if you see these two men, call them at…"
"Nothing I didn't already know…" Solomon said, and sighed. These attacks worried him, and even though he had had several security measures installed just in case fate decided to be cruel, he was still worried. He didn't care if men came and robbed his shop, or even hurt him, but Yugi, even protected by the artifact he wore around his neck, presented a picture that men like these "Dine and Dashers" found irresistible, in the wrong way.
He, over the course of his life, had made peace with the fact that such men existed, but he still wondered why…
"Any customers Grandpa?" Yugi asked as he began putting together a breakfast.
"Just one. He's out there now."
"Grandpa…?" Yugi said, looking up. While he wouldn't call him paranoid, the robberies had definitely made his grandfather more cautious, and for him to leave a customer out in the store alone seemed odd.
"Don't worry. He doesn't look a thing like the sketches, and even if he IS somehow one of them or another kind of robber, I set the door. He needs me to punch him out to leave, and if I don't want him to, he's stuck between the door, the bars on the windows, and the door that seals behind me to get to the back room and any other way out. And we both know what happens if he tries to bash his way out." Solomon said.
Indeed Yugi did, due to Joey's goofing off setting off one of the security systems. At least his grandpa wasn't leaving them on 24/7 (he'd heard Duke was doing just that). The bandits, so far, had just struck at night, so when the day wore on his grandfather would deactivate the alarm and remove the retractable bars around the windows. When night started to fall, though, they went back up. And so that would continue until the robbers were caught. Hopefully soon…
"In other news, police are also looking for tips about a possible serial rapist…"
Yugi tuned out the news report as he ate, just catching a few bits about six possible sex assaults and the fact the rapist struck in empty parking lots using a disabling drug, maybe chloroform. He disliked the news: the way the people on those kind of shows presented stuff, you almost expected to see the Four Horsemen riding down from the sky and declaring the End Days were here. The world wasn't that bad…
But there were bad things out there. He knew that all too well.
A buzz filled the room. Yugi was closer to the panel that controlled the security systems, so he went over to see who was at the door.
It was a familiar face, as Joey waved at the small camera mounted above the door.
"It's me Yug! Let me in!"
"It's Joey grandpa!" Yugi said over his shoulder, and he turned to put his dishes into the dishwasher as his grandfather went to buzz Joey in.
Out in the store, Solomon passed the lone customer he had let in. He was still doing what he had been doing when Solomon had left: staring intently at the cards. He had moved a few feet, which suggested he was looking up and down the rows of displayed cards. Solomon figured he could deal with him when Yugi had left for whatever he had planned to do: there was still about half of summer vacation left, and the days had to be filled.
Solomon punched in the temporary alarm deactivation code and Joey carefully opened the door and closed it.
"Hiya Gramps! Hiya…you!" Joey said, in a good mood as he addressed Solomon and then turned to the other person in the store before realizing he didn't know him. It was a big guy too: with a long black duster coat and black hair that fell over the man's right eye as he looked at Joey.
"How are you sir." He replied, and then went back to looking at the cards on display. Joey dismissed him and turned to Solomon.
"Yug ready?"
"Almost…"
"Hi Joey!" Yugi said as he bounced out of the back door, the Millennium Puzzle now hanging from his neck. "How are…YEEK!"
No, Yugi had not recognized V as he stood there looking at cards. Rather, his grandfather's new security systems had caused a few subtle changes in the store that Yugi wasn't used to. One of them was a rather thick cord that ran across the floor of the gap in the counter that allowed Solomon to go from behind to in front of his displays and also read to the back. Yugi, intend on heading over to Joey, had forgotten once more that cord was there, and his right foot snarled on it and stole his balance, causing the small boy to pitch forward towards the floor.
"WHOA!" Yugi said.
His descent abruptly halted as soon as it had begun, as an arm in black clothing zipped across Yugi's field of vision, and a half-second later gripped his chest, stopping his fall. V leaned back up, helping the boy regain his balance.
"Careful there." V said to Yugi.
"Thanks mister!"
"Not a problem." V said.
"Whoa! You're fast, dude." Joey said. And he meant it: he had barely seen the guy turn away from the counter and lean down slightly, slipping his arm under Yugi and catching him. He was amazed such a big guy could react so quickly and precisely. "Good thing! That Puzzle of yours probably isn't the most pleasant thing to land on."
"Probably." Yugi said, taking a quick look around to see if he had dropped anything. He saw nothing.
"Well, I'm going now grandpa! I'll be back before dinner. Thanks again mister!" Yugi said as he headed out the still open front door with Joey.
"You're welcome." V said after Yugi, and went back to looking at cards. The door closed and buzzed slightly as Solomon reset the alarm.
"And I thank you too." Solomon said, walking over to stand in front of V. He had been nervous when he had first seen the man: despite not matching the robber descriptions, he was a big guy: nearly twice as tall as him, and over twice as tall as Yugi. The fact that all he wore was black was rather disenchanting as well. However, the way he had caught Yugi dispelled some of Solomon's doubts: most robbers were FAR too stupid to use such a degree of subtlety in the act of thievery that they would catch a small child in the midst of falling to lull the shop owner into a state of false security.
"It wasn't a problem. Just doing what I could." V said.
"Are you looking for anything in specific?"
"Not really…I wanted to start playing this game…was it Duel Monsters or Magic and Wizards, I keep messing the names up…"
"Duel Monsters."
"Yes, well, like I said it interests me…but the precise rules are still unclear…"
"Well, what would you like to know?"
"Well, are these good cards?"
"These? Well, these are more common cards…what level do you want to duel at?"
"I may be a rookie, but I thrive on challenges…so the higher the better, and the quicker I get there, the better too."
"Hmmmmm. Well if you really want to duel like that, these cards may help, but they would be far too weak by themselves. I keep the rarer, better…abet more expensive cards in the back. I'll go get them…" Solomon said. V sighed as he left. This coat has already taken a fair bite out of his funds, but it was necessary. His outfit was unusual looking and could draw attention, and he didn't want to do that. He had figured out the rudimentary currency system of this world, but he still had no idea how expensive good cards could be.
"Here we are." Solomon said as he returned with a thick book. He gave it to V and V opened it.
He gaped. These were DEFINITELY better cards: while the ones he had been looking at before had had only two, three, and some four, dots to indicate how strong they were, every monster card in the book had nothing less then a six. And most of the numbers in the prices were a lot higher then six.
"Holy sh…utterbugs." V said, biting off a curse. He didn't want to swear in front of this man: he seemed nice and undeserving of such crudeness.
"Indeed, they are rather pricey." Solomon said.
No kidding. I could afford maybe one or two of these…unless I go burn down a few more biker bars, and methinks that they aren't THAT common here. V thought.
"Would I need cards like this to duel at expert levels?"
"Well no, but still…" Solomon said. The man's ambition was obviously quite high: how much it outscored his abilities Solomon didn't know, but he figured it was probably a fair bit. "Casual duelists use cards like the ones on the racks, but dedicated ones have cards like these, which far outstrip casual decks. But as you can see, these cards are therefore rarer and more expensive. Expert duelists have either the great amount of funds needed to acquire such cards, or spend years besting opponents and collecting cards that way. My grandson, Yugi…that child you caught, he's got great skills in dueling, but his success is also because of his deck, which was once mine. I worked on it for years."
"I don't have years…" V said, slightly cross.
"Well, there are always those who want to jump in feet first, but that's really not practical or even possible in Duel Monsters…I could always sell you a pack of normal cards and you could go from there, but even with luck it could still take you months…"
"Don't have months either…" V said, sighing within. He had a problem now, and a solution didn't seem to be easy in coming. He closed the book and put it down, and for the first time noticed a card framed on the wall.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Oh, that was one of my best cards…a Blue Eyes White Dragon. There are only four like it in the world, including that one." Solomon said.
"Whoa. That is rare."
"Rarer now. There are only three working ones: that one was torn in half…"
"What? Why? Who?" V said, somewhat surprised that someone would want to destroy such a rare and valuable card.
Solomon looked unhappy.
"You must be new in town…"
"I am…"
"Well then. A man named Seto Kaiba did it. He owns a large corporation, and he also owned the other three Blue Eyes. He challenged me to a duel, I wasn't prepared properly, he beat me and torn the card up so it couldn't be used against him." Solomon said.
"He did? What a bastard…" V said, muttering the last bit under his breath.
"Well, he's a haughty and proud man, so I suppose it could be expected. I don't really harbor any ill will, especially since my Yugi bested him in a Duel recently…and that reminds me. I think I may have a solution to your problem."
"Oh?"
"Mr…?"
"V."
"Vee?" Solomon said, a bit confused.
"Yes."
"Unique name, that is…well Mr. Vee, I must ask you, would you consider yourself intelligent?"
"How important is it?"
"Fairly, I would say."
"I would say I possess a fair amount of brains."
"Well then, since you want to duel at an expert level with the appropriate cards but don't have the ability to buy them or the time to acquire them, there is another option…but I must ask, do you have any restrictions on how you wish to play this game?"
"Not really."
"Good. Just a moment, let me get a piece of paper…"
Over the next fifteen minutes Solomon carefully explained something to V, who listened quietly and nodded every now and then.
"That's about it. Here are the directions." Solomon said, handing over written instructions for V.
"Thank you sir. I appreciate your help in this." V said, taking a quick look at the paper and then folding it and putting it in one of his jacket pockets.
"Not a problem. Come back any time." Solomon said.
What Solomon Moto did not know was that his grandson had not gone far. He had stopped Joey a few feet from the game shop and engaged him in small talk while he waited. While the man who had caught him seemed peaceful enough, his size had caught Yugi's eye too. Just to be on the safe side, he was going to wait until he left.
"The challenges have slacked off lately, which I suppose is more good then bad…but I admit they kept me sharp and gave me something to do…" Yugi was saying when the door opened and the man walked out. He saw Yugi and gave him a slight wave as he walked past Yugi. Yugi returned it.
When the man had walked some distance away Yugi headed over to the window of the game shop and peeked in. He saw his grandfather fiddling with the display counter and sighed a short sigh of relief: nothing had happened.
"Ok, we can go now…Joey?" Yugi said.
"Maybe it was the light, but I could swear that guy had a large scar on his face…not sure, but it gave me a bad vibe, Yug…I don't suppose your resident pharaoh felt anything weird, did he?"
"Yami? Hmmmmmm, I'm not getting anything from him…maybe he's resting though…I did have an odd dream last night though, and he said…"
Yugi and Joey wandered off as Yugi spoke, while V headed for the place Solomon had told him of.
Their paths would cross again, sooner then later, and in far more dire circumstances then Yugi would have ever predicted…
To Be Continued.