Terri: That's nice, now can we get this over with?
KO: {gives her The Look} Okay, then, we'll just go straight to review responses....
crazed fanatic anime fan - Well, thankies for the praise! . And Jou already said he was going after her, sooo...yeah. Besides, not only would it be sad if she never came back, we'd have no story!
KO: One more thing, a shout-out goes to my mom for all her help with this chapter. {cyber-glomp} Now, on with the fic!]
Chapter 3 - AdviceAn abrupt stop jolted Terri awake in Nagano, and she blinked sleepily to clear her eyes as the other passengers began filing out around her. She quickly gathered her things and fell into line, scowling as rain began to fall dismally. "Just wonderful," she sighed. "Could things get worse?"
Kame Game shop, early that morningJonouchi softly tapped on the door to the Game shop, hoping not to wake anyone but Sybil. Luckily, she had slept in the front room and was a fairly light sleeper, so she woke quickly and came to the door, rubbing her eyes with one hand. "Jonouchi?" she said groggily. "I hadn't expected you for over an hour, at least," she added, checking her watch, which read 4:27 AM.
"Well, I said I was leaving early."
"So you did," she admitted with a small laugh. "Would you like to come in for a few minutes, or will you be leaving immediately?"
"Well, I want to get going ASAP, but I guess I can spare a few minutes; dōmo," he replied as Sybil let him in, afterwards putting on a pot of coffee.
"Mm, dō itashimashite," she murmured with a slight nod, still quite drowsy.
"Did I come too early?" he asked a bit guiltily.
"Hm? Oh, iie, I had been having trouble sleeping anyway. Besides, I normally wake up at dawn, so this is no far stretch for me, really."
"Dawn? Every day?!"
"Jonouchi, lower your voice!" she hissed with a grin. "The two of us are the only ones awake at this hour!"
"Oops! Gomen!"
"Sore de kamaimasen; nothing came of it."
"But still, dawn every day?!" he repeated, this time remembering to keep his voice hushed.
"Mine and Yami's tutors woke us daily at sunrise for lessons until sunset."
"I couldn't do it; I'd have hit someone."
"Believe me, it was tempting. However, even the royal children were hardly allowed to strike their tutors," she pointed out, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting back down.
"What a shame," he grinned. "So, what advice was it you wanted to give me before I left?"
"First, travel lightly." He gestured with his single bag. "Second, never carry any large amount of money with you, or if you must, make yourself inconspicuous. My third piece of advice is actually a gift and a lesson, the latter of which must be done outside. My gift to you is this," she said, producing a perfectly round, black crystal about the size of her palm from her pocket.
"What's this, a glass 8-ball?"
"Iie, it's a crystal, forged from pure Shadow magic."
"Shadow magic? Whose?"
"Mine; how else could it be my gift to you?"
"So this thing's your pure energy?"
"Hai, but the purpose of any Kage no Suishō is to amplify the Shadow magic of the holder, so I give it to you to aid you. However, you must be cautious with this crystal; if used improperly, even by its intended owner, it can be dangerous. Another thing, onegai, take care not to let it get damaged; a Kage no Suishō is difficult to create. It was actually part of the reason I was so tired earlier, although I suppose it did help me sleep," she said wryly.
"Are you okay? It sounds like making this thing left you drained," he started, trying to return the crystal. "Maybe you should keep it."
"Sore de kamaimasen," she said again. "I had the energy to spare, and you may need it more than I. My energy will replenish itself in due time; until then, I can get some rest. I needed to get rid of the energy, so it will do me good in the long run. Keep it, Jonouchi. Besides, I still need to teach you one thing."
"What's that?"
"Guess. Why else would I give you a crystal created from nothing but my Shadow magic for the purpose of magnifying your own? Do you have your deck?" she said with a smile.
"You mean you're gonna teach me to summon monsters? Like you did when Kaiba went after Terri?! Are you serious?!"
"Hai, I am. This is why it has to be done outside. Come with me," she directed, putting her coffee cup in the sink and walking out. The pair walked into an alley that Sybil said would be dark enough for her purposes. "Now, choose a card from your deck, preferably a low-level monster; they make the easiest summonings."
"Hmm, how about this one?" he suggested, pulling out Baby Dragon.
"Good, you should be able to summon that one easily. The first thing you need to know is that each summoning will consume some of your energy, so naturally, high-level summonings will be more trying on you, as will several in rapid succession. The ease or difficulty of performing summonings differs from person to person based on stamina, so you should have little trouble. Now, in order to actually perform the summoning, you need to focus on willing the card into existence; you don't necessarily have to call the creature's name, nor do you have to even have the card if you know what monster you want to summon or what spell to perform."
"You mean you can use Magic cards, too?"
"And traps, but it would be best to start with normal monsters. Effect monsters are a bit harder to summon, then Magic cards, and Traps are the most difficult. Now, try to call forth your dragon."
"All right, but it probably won't work." He held the card up, and had just opened his mouth to speak when Sybil cut him off abruptly, eyes narrowed.
"Your own hesitation and negativity will hinder you, Jonouchi. You need to think positively and have confidence in yourself, or it won't work," she said sternly. He shrank back almost indiscernibly and sweatdropped nervously.
"Okay, I got it, I got it!"
"Good. I think maybe you should wait until tomorrow to leave; this could take the entire day to learn."
"And how long did it take you to learn?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A year or two, but I had absolutely no prior knowledge, whereas you know everything you need to. I also had no interest, yet you have the dedication to learn it quickly, possibly within a single day. Now, try and summon your dragon."
"All right, let's try this...." He trailed off, focusing his energy into the card and calling, "Baby Dragon!" For a moment, nothing happened, and he sweatdropped, until the card's picture began to glow, Sybil's Kage no Suishō began to swirl dark blues and purples in addition to its normal black, and in a bright flash, the aforementioned dragon stood before them, heralding its arrival with its trademark squeaky growl.
Eyes widening, Sybil said, with no small degree of surprise, "You did it! In all honesty, I never expected you to master it on your first attempt!" Regaining her control, she said, "Let's move on, shall we? Try an effect monster."
Nagano"Now, where do I need to go first?" Terri pondered to herself, walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. "Probably to find an apartment, then a job; I'll need to be able to support myself, and I'm not gonna stoop to being homeless, either." She turned to a passerby on the street. "Sumimasen, do you know where I can find an apartment at a decent price?"
"Ano, I think there's a building down the street that's pretty cheap, right down there at the corner," he said, pointing.
"Dōmo arigatō!" she sighed in relief, jogging down to the corner he indicated. "He had to have been kidding," she muttered, sweatdropping at the sight of the dilapidated complex. "Terri, my girl, you can afford better than this." To another local--she hoped--she asked, "Do you have any idea where I can find an apartment and a job? I just got to town, and I don't quite know my way around yet."
"Well, I hear Sony's hiring secretaries downtown."
"Actually, I'm not out of high school yet, but I don't have any family, so I need to find somewhere that'll hire a student...."
"Oh. In that case, I don't think I can help you, but there's a nice apartment complex a few blocks down that way," he said, pointing to his right.
"'Nice' being better than that one?" she asked hopefully, pointing to the previous hovel.
"Much," he replied with a slight grimace. "You'll know the place when you see it. Good luck."
"Dōmo!" she called, running off again.
[KO: There, chappy 3 done!
Terri: Do you always call them chappies?
KO: Yeah, it's easier than saying "chapter."
Terri: -.- Yeah, whatever.
KO: Oh, don't give me that look! Now, I've been wanting to do this, so....{deep announcer voice} Will things get worse for Terri? Will Jou master summoning? Will Terri find an apartment? Where will she work? Find the answers to these questions and more when Friends to the End, or the End of Friends? continues.
Terri: -.-'
Translations from Japanese:
Dō itashimashite - You're welcome
Kage no Suishō - Shadow Crystal
Dōmo arigatō - Thank you very much
KO: 'Kay, review please!]