Chapter Nine - Learning to Duel
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh, though I claim the characters Kyla, Nia, and Riku, and I'm not making any money from this fic
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"What should we do?" Kyla whispered to Nia.
Why don't you see what he wants? Nareen suggested.
I wasn't asking you! Kyla retorted.
"What did your yami say?" Nia wanted to know. "That we should see what he wants," Kyla answered, shooting a discreet glance at the tall, slim, brown-haired man watching them.
"Well... Maybe Nareen's right," Nia said. "After all, she wouldn't do anything that would be dangerous to you, Kyla."
She's right, Kyla, Nareen said softly. You should go talk to him. He already knows who you and Nia are.
Nia's eyes widened, and Kyla guessed that Ina was saying pretty much the same thing to her.
"You want to go see him?" Kyla asked. "Our yamis will never leave us alone unless we do what they want." She smiled, and it felt a little strange.
Nia blinked. She couldn't remember ever hearing that tone from her friend before. Maybe there is some hope for her after all? she thought to herself.
But remember what you've learned about Kyla's life in her foster home, Ina cautioned. She's had to become extremely tough to survive. She won't change completely, Nia. Not while she's still living with her foster parents. Not unless she wants to go mad or lose the tiny bit of hope she has left.
She still has hope? Nia asked, mentally narrowing her eyes. I would have thought that she would have lost all her hope by now.
No, she hasn't, Nia, Ina replied. If she had lost all of her hope, she wouldn't be acting like she is now.
Not showing any sign of the conversation she and Ina had just had, Nia straightened to her feet. "All right," she said. "Let's go and see what's so important about this man."
Kyla nodded, and led the way over to the man. "Hello," she said.
The man bowed his head to Nia and Kyla. "Hello," he replied. "My name is Riku."
"I'm Kyla, and this is my friend, Nia," Kyla said.
"Why were you watching us just now?" Nia demanded bluntly.
"Nia!" Kyla gasped.
It's all right, Kyla, Nareen's voice said in Kyla's mind. He's a friend.
"I wonder if you might like to learn about Duel Monsters," Riku answered.
"Duel Monsters?" Kyla frowned.
"Isn't that the reason why Yugi and the others went to that island?" Nia asked.
"Duelist Kingdom," Riku corrected.
Kyla looked from Nia to Riku and back again. "How come I don't know anything about Duel Monsters?" she asked.
Probably because you refused to listen to anyone, Nareen replied.
Nia tilted her head to the side. "Do I really need to answer that?" she wanted to know.
"Guess not," Kyla muttered. "Nareen already answered it."
"Well?" Riku asked.
"I don't really see any point in learning about Duel Monsters..." Kyla began.
"I think that we should learn," Nia interrupted. "It'll be a good way to pass the time until..." Her voice trailed off.
Until what? Ina asked. Until Yugi comes back?
Nia blushed. Of course not! she replied, feeling embarrassed.
You can't fool me, Ina laughed.
"Something wrong, Nia?" Kyla asked.
"No!" Nia replied.
Kyla sweatdropped slightly. "Ok, if you say so," she murmured.
Nia turned to Riku. "We want to learn about Duel Monsters," she told him without bothering to ask Kyla.
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Later, Kyla was looking through her dueling deck while Nia was reading one of the rule books for Duel Monsters.
"How are you doing, Kyla?" Nia wanted to know.
"Ok, I guess," Kyla answered. "At least, I'm beginning to understand some of the rules of Duel Monsters... But I keep coming back to one card in particular." She held up a card for Nia to see.
The monster was a lithe woman with long wood-brown hair wearing a long dress that seemed to be made out of leaves. The card was called 'The Wood Nymph', and had an attack power of 2500 and a defense power of 2300.
"I have one that I keep coming back to as well," Nia said, holding up a card of her own.
The card was called, 'The Light Princess', and had on it a white shape which seemed to be in the form of a woman. Its attack power was 2300, and its defense power was 2500.
"Hm, weird," Kyla commented, looking at the card.
"I can't wait to test mine out," Nia grinned.
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