Skraku: Heh, I think The Original Monica would object to that idea. Though I'm glad you're continuing to enjoy Zack, and that you're paying attention to the dialogue. Fun for me! Kudos to you!
Ankhutenshi: There's something to be said for making sure the duels are as accurate as possible. I wonder just how many of us have gotten annoyed at the effects "as seen on TV". And you scared people with your laughing? Yay! This story is starting to take effect. *evil grin* Meantime, I hope you enjoy this chappie.
-------
Two Weeks Later
--
This day again saw Kyle and Chubs sitting at their lunch table, and now they were obsessing – as they had been since that fateful day – about the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Chubs shook his head. "Man. Can you think of anything else?"
"Maybe she peeled the holographic backing off another card?" Kyle suggested. "Which could be how she got the authentication stamp on the corner. That's just another part of the backing."
"Nah. The picture's holographic, too, so it's also part of the backing. So is the name. Which means it's genuine."
They'd been throwing around theories as to how the card could be fake every lunch period since that day. So far, they'd yet to come up with any plausible theory. The card couldn't have been photocopied because of the holographic markers, it probably wasn't a duplicate because even Monica didn't have the money necessary to convince Industrial Illusions that it was worth the trouble, the name was written in both Japanese (as its origins were in Japan) and English so that no one would mistake it for another monster...
"The picture's unique, too." Kyle shifted around in his seat. "I looked it up on the Net. There're only four Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards. Three of those four are unique pictures, each one different, while the fourth was classified as a duplicate misprint that was accidentally released. No one knows who has the fourth one. But my research did show which one was the duplicate, and the one she's got isn't that one."
Both of them sighed in unison. Kyle tossed up a hand, a sign of intellectual defeat. "So as far as we both can tell, that thing is real. How did she get it?"
"Beats me, but I could probably give it a couple guesses."
"Go for it."
"She could have dueled someone for it, or she could have bought it off someone."
Kyle frowned. "But they were stolen. So the only way she could have gotten it either of those ways is–"
"If she was somehow involved with the people who stole them in the first place? Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But would even Monica stoop that low?"
"Let's assume she would. What now?"
"I imagine someone would probably try to get hold of Kaiba and tell him that one of his Blue-Eyes cards is here in America."
"And would he believe that one of his beloved Blue-Eyes fell into the hands of a whiny brat like Monica?"
"Well, hey, if you think about it, she idolizes him. She's got the same snobbish attitude, the same confidence in herself, the same sorts of cards he favors – specifically, dragons – and at this point, she's probably got any number of ways of ensuring that Blue-Eyes makes it into the duels that count. She's gonna level up in the tiers pretty quick."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Tiers?"
"Yeah. When you're wanting to go through tournaments, you start at the lowest tier, Level One. So you and I are Level One duelists. When you win a tournament, you level up. So say if you won a Level One tourney, you'd be a Level Two duelist. At that point, you can enter a Level Two tournament. Even if you lose a Level Two tourney, you'll still retain your rank, and you can try again whenever they have another Level Two tourney. Each tier has a different location where it's played. Level One, that's like the underground. Level Two is regionals. Three, that's state-wide. Four's national. Five is international. Each tier is held at a different location."
"So the tournament at the card shop is what level? Two?"
"No, One."
Kyle frowned. "Then what were you doing there? You said that you'd won tourneys before."
"Yeah, but the tier system resets every year, so you have to go through it all over again. Otherwise Monica probably wouldn't have shown up there, either. It's meant to be a constant challenge to duelists. This is serious stuff."
Kyle scoffed. "I guess so. And here we are close to the end of February. Doesn't afford a whole lot of time to get to the international level, huh?"
"Hell, international level's, like, impossible. That's where people like Kaiba have a standing."
"And Monica, too, pretty soon. With that Blue-Eyes..."
...blue... eyes... blue-eyed... creature...
A slight frown creased Kyle's brow as he tried to ignore this voice that had been pervading his thoughts for some time, now. It appeared only occasionally, but it seemed to happen during the most inconvenient times, and it always seemed to mimic what he was saying. Yet the tone of this voice – if a mental voice could have a tone – was clearly not his own, and it was beginning to worry him that there seemed to be another... presence writhing within him.
And yet, for some strange reason, he found himself unable to tell Dr. Dawson about it. Something seemed to be keeping him from doing so. Maybe it's because this voice started after we came home from Egypt, and all that nonsense... and I'd have to tell him about everything that happened there, and...hell, I just don't want to tell him.
But is it really me that doesn't want to tell him, or this voice...?
No. No way. That's ridiculous. This voice can't be making me do what it wants.
Can it?
...Boy, I'm not gonna sleep tonight.
"Even with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, she's not guaranteed the win," Chubs pointed out. "With a single power-up, my Tyrant Dragon could take it down. It just wasn't my turn when she brought it out. She's got a one in forty chance of drawing it, and that's the most generous fraction you could give it, since most decks tend to have more than forty cards."
"Yeah, but if she had a forty-card deck, and she drew her first five cards from the top and didn't get the Blue-Eyes, it'd be one in thirty-five. And then her opening draw, so it's one in thirty-four... gets better and better, huh?"
Chubs rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, okay, one in thirty-four, at best. This is why you're a senior and I'm a sophomore."
Kyle snorted, then pulled his deck out of his coat pocket and idly began riffling it. Chubs watched his companion carefully. "Still think Monica needs a friend? I'd say that Blue-Eyes is doing her quite well these days."
"Depends on what you think. Is it friendship to make sure your cohort doesn't get a swollen head?"
Chubs scoffed. "Jeez, Kyle, don't tell me you're getting into this 'wooing her to my tune' crap. Allow me to be up-front about the woman: she's a conniving, self-absorbed brat who's got too much money to grow up. Why you're chasing after her, I'll never know, except to hope that perhaps, in your own twisted way, this is how you're trying to scare her off, like you said you wanted to."
The senior shrugged and raked his fingers through his long hair. "Plans change. So do people. Like myself, and I seem to recall you noting that on several occasions."
"Well, yeah. Mom heard a few horror stories about the infamous Kyle McCraine before sending me off to his school, y'know." Chubs chuckled. "Tell you the truth, she got real nervous when I told her who I'd made friends with that first day back. She thought I was gonna start smoking and hanging out with gangs after school."
Kyle's expression was one of concession. "That's how I used to be. Not these days, though."
"Which is just as well, since Mom seems to like you now." Chubs loosed another sound of amusement. "She thinks you're quite well-mannered. Though she does have a few choice things to say about how you dress."
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, it's all hideous. I've been meaning to go out and get some new clothes, just haven't had the time for it."
"Oh, that's a lie, you just haven't bothered," Chubs chided knowingly. "I say 'I meant to do this and that, just haven't had the time' whenever it involves something I'd prefer to avoid. How about you?"
Kyle shrugged. "Depends. Sometimes I don't even go to the effort of trying to fake someone out and flat-out say, 'Don't remind me.' Why bother beating around the bush?"
"True enough," Chubs conceded. "But getting back to the subject at hand... what're you gonna do about Monica? You mentioned something about humility; I'd love to see that in her. I'd pay to see that in her."
"Well..." Kyle shifted around in his chair. "I think I should try to keep up."
Chubs raised an eyebrow. "And how, pray tell, are you planning to do that?"
"Enter a tournament."
At this, Chubs blinked. "You serious?"
"Yeah. I know the rules, I've got a good deck going when dueling against you..."
"You haven't dueled against the deck I use in tournaments."
"Maybe not, but it would at least give me the experience I need, if nothing else. Right? I can't just duel you all the time and make that the standard by which I judge my skill. I could duel you and win until I'm blue in the face and still get knocked out in the first round of an underground tourney."
"Thanks for your vote of confidence in my deck," Chubs snorted. "Just because Monica blew my Tyrant Dragon away–"
"I'm not dissing your deck, and you know it. You know what I'm getting at. I should start competing."
"Wonder what your parents would have to say about that."
"You don't seriously think I give a damn what my parents think, do you?"
"Nope, not at all," Chubs answered. "Just curious, s'all."
--
"A what?"
Kyle had to fight down a grin as he chewed his mashed potatoes. He'd expected this reaction, and in his own way, was gratified to see that he could predict his parents so well. They make this all so easy. Yay me.
He looked back up at his father, who was offering him an incredulous expression. "A Duel Monsters tournament? Why would you want to go to one of those?"
Kyle shrugged. "Chubs took me to one, and I liked how it all worked out, so–"
"Don't you have studies to worry about? Homework, that sort of thing?"
Kyle rolled his eyes, also having expected this part of the conversation. He hadn't really been looking forward to it. "I get all my homework done on Fridays. You know that. The tourney is on a Saturday afternoon. I just told you that. I know the game doesn't interest you, but if you're going to ask me what's been going on, could you perhaps do me a courtesy and hear all of what I'm saying? It may not sound like it's going anywhere, but it does all tie together. Just like a good novel."
...tie... together...
His father frowned and rolled his eyes. "Kyle, I must say that while your language has improved remarkably, your rudeness remains quite the thorn in my side. There are more tactful ways of attempting to ensnare my attention, and before you launch into discussion of a subject that, as you yourself said, does not interest me."
"Fine, I'll just make it short and sweet. Duel Monsters tournament. This Saturday. I'll have my studies finished by then. I plan to attend. I'm already on the bracket."
"Hm. There you go. Just don't make this card-playing thing such a hobby that it distracts you from what's important. You can't really get anywhere just playing silly games all your life." His father gave Kyle a pointed look.
Kyle, for his part, shrugged. "Who says so? Sports players do it all the time."
"Yes, well, you're not going to be a sports player, are you?"
Cripes. "I'm going to be what I'm going to be," Kyle answered neutrally. "And I'll make sure it's a profession that I'm good at, and one that I enjoy, so that I'll stick with it and continue to be good at it."
His father didn't seem willing to let that one pass. "Kyle... medicine is your future."
...future...
Kyle ignored the voice and concentrated on his father. "There's a difference between medicine being my future and being in my future. I'm sure there'll be plenty of medications I'll take later on in life, but for the moment, would you at least allow me to entertain the thought that I have control of myself and who I'll become?"
"You do have control of who you become," his father answered. "We simply want the best for you. Being a doctor is one of the best professions anyone could ask for."
Kyle chose not to dignify this lecture with a response. He simply continued to eat.
--
Friday afternoon, Kyle decided to drop by the card shop. Chubs and his mom were going to visit his aunt that evening, so he had to go straight home, but Kyle felt secure enough in what he was doing. Besides, Zack was working there, and he was the one Kyle really wanted to talk to.
When he arrived, he noticed that unlike the day of the tournament, the place was rather bare of customers. Zack was sitting behind the counter, reading a Duel Monsters magazine. From the look on his face, Kyle decided to hazard a guess that Zack wasn't very pleased with what he was looking at. Zack took a few moments to notice Kyle approaching the counter, but when he glanced up, he immediately straightened and snapped his magazine shut. "Hey, Kyle."
"Hey." Kyle glanced around. "Is your boss here?"
"Nah, he doesn't come in much these days. Called in last week, said he had stomach problems."
"Well, flu's still around," Kyle said. "Anyway, I'm asking because I need some cards."
Zack raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Cards this shop might not be able to provide?"
"You've got it."
"Hm. I hope you'll understand if I'm leery about actually conducting my own business while I'm getting paid to conduct someone else's."
"Oh, please," Kyle snorted. "You showed me the cards in the first place, so obviously you're not leery about advertising your own business while conducting someone else's. You said my money was good, and you were about two seconds away from selling some of those goodies to me. That was even more risky than it would be now, because there were other people present who could have seen them at any time. Now you've got practically no business, and no boss hovering over your shoulder. And you'll refuse yourself business because of a reason you seemed to consider insignificant three weeks ago?"
"Relax, Kyle, I intend to sell you the cards you want," Zack replied. "I wanted to know how sure you were that you wanted them."
At this, Kyle frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Exactly that. If you had backed down, that would have shown me you were still unsure about yourself and the choices you're making. But you stood up instead." Zack smirked. "I need to see you duel sometime."
"If you're here tomorrow, you'll have the chance. I am on the bracket, you know," Kyle remarked. "Now, about those cards"
"Yep, just a minute." Zack retrieved the black binder, which had been moved from the shelf to his backpack. Zack noted Kyle's questioning look. "The boss almost caught these. Can't have him picking through it. So I made the wiser choice to keep them with me."
Kyle flipped the folder open and began perusing it. "Might I ask who else buys from this folder? As in, not online clients, but people who come to you directly and say, 'I want this.'"
"Not many at all, really. Only people who have a rep in their game or their wallet. Bonus if both."
"But not Monica."
"Ech. Don't remind me of her." Zack made a face. "I'd give a lot to find out how the hell she got her greedy little hands on arguably one of the rarest cards on the planet."
"I'll bet a lot of people would give just as much," said Kyle, as he began making his selections. "But you don't sell to people like Monica?"
"Not directly, I don't. People I sell to on a real-life basis have to have some sort of integrity about them. Otherwise, I don't give a damn what their reputation is or how rich they are as compared to Mr. Gates."
Kyle scoffed as he pulled out another card. "This one, too."
"Good deal. You gonna put them on layaway, or you gonna pay for them now?"
"Right here, right now. I've got the cash for it."
"Hm. Not many people I know tend to carry that much cash on them, either. Too much chance of getting ripped off."
"How do I know you're not ripping me off with your prices?" Kyle grinned.
Zack responded to Kyle's expression with a grin of his own, albeit a wry one. "Touché. You don't, really, unless you happen to buy a price guide."
Kyle made a few more selections, and Zack raised an eyebrow. "You planning on putting all of those in your deck for tomorrow?"
"Nah, I just want to have them for when the time comes to modify my deck. By then, I'll know what works and what doesn't, and what the best strategies are."
Zack nodded. "Good idea, then. You have this much money on you?"
"Sure do." Kyle offered a wry grin of his own. "Apparently, my apparel is enough to make most people think twice about trying to rob me."
"Ah-ha. Yeah, that would do it." Zack inspected the zipper-laden pants and black overcoat Kyle had grown accustomed to wearing. "You know, black's out this year."
"Yeah, yeah, keep talking."
"I would, but I'm probably distracting you from making your choices, right?"
"Something like that. And this one." Kyle pulled out a card that had been put in the back of the folder. "I trust you have more copies than just three of each."
"Of course I do. I just keep these with me, just in case."
"Probably a good idea. What's the damage?"
"Umm" Zack flipped to the front of the binder. Glued to the inside cover was a sheet of laminated paper, festooned with colorful texts and fonts – a price list for every card present within the folder. "You're looking at about a hundred twenty."
"Hm. All right." Kyle pulled out his wallet and promptly deposited six $20 bills on the counter.
Zack whistled. "Jeez, you weren't kidding. Anything else I can help you out with?"
"I suppose, while we're at it. What are some good, strong monsters to have, besides the Blue-Eyes cards?"
Zack thought on this for a moment. "Well, there's a series of cards almost as rare as the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. They're called the Labyrinth Brothers, and if you ever run into one in battle, never ever try to destroy it with a direct attack. You're pretty much guaranteed to lose the duel automatically."
"Why's that?"
"They're effect monsters. They all have the same effect of reducing the attack power of an attacking monster to zero. But the attack still goes through. So it's like having a monster with an attack power of zero – say, for example, Unhappy Maiden – is attacking a monster in attack position on your opponent's field. The Brothers all have attack powers well beyond two thousand. And that's why you'd lose the duel."
"And just how rare are these Labyrinth Brothers?"
"Each Brother, I hear, is as rare at the Blue-Eyes White Dragons are. Only three for each."
"How many different Brothers are there?"
"Three, which makes for nine Labyrinth Brother cards total. And as with the Blue-Eyes cards, the Brothers have a combined form. When three unique Brothers are in play, you can use them somehow to bring out another monster called Gate Guardian, which is" Zack blew out a breath. "I've never even seen a picture of a Gate Guardian card, so I've got no idea what its attack power is or what it does. I know it's an effect monster, but no more than that."
...Guardian...
Zack offered an encouraging smile. "But you shouldn't worry about that. I kinda doubt you'd be seeing a Labyrinth Brother show up in a tournament here."
"A Blue-Eyes showed up here," Kyle pointed out.
"True enough. But the odds are still against you seeing one here."
"If you say so. I don't suppose you've ever come into contact with a Labyrinth Brother before, have you?"
"Mmm, I wouldn't say that," Zack answered cryptically, accentuating his response with a small smile. "Let's just say I have a little knowledge in these matters."
"Uh-huh." Kyle gave Zack a look. "I'm gonna keep my eye on you."
"You do that."
"I will." Kyle picked up his purchased cards, stuck them in his coat's inner pocket, and headed for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."
As the door swung closed, Zack returned his binder to his backpack, removed a Duel Monsters deck from a smaller pocket, flipped through them until a particular card shone up at him...
...and he smirked.
-------
Makes you wonder what's giving him cause to smirk, hm? Hope you're enjoying so far! Next up – Kyle's tournament. Stay tuned!