I do not own the R.O.D characters. I own Shuffles and any other non related R.O.D character, no stealing! If there are no paragraphs, don't blame me, blame the thingy cause it won't let me see the paragraphs. Well, any hoo, Read on!
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There was nothing but silence as Yomiko and Drake stared at Shuffles. The only part of his face that they could see was his eye and some of his hair, the rest of his face was concealed behind his high collar and slanting hat.
"You!" they both exclaimed again, Shuffles mearly raised his right arm in greeting and continued shuffling the deck of cards in his hands
"Oh, I see you've met" Joker said "Wendy can we have some tea?" she nodded and ran off
"Your the one who saved Nancy-san!" Yomiko cried noting that he wore a fignerless glove on his left hand and a whole glove on his right
"Is she doing well?" Shuffles said in almost a whisper
"Eh, Hai" Yomiko answered. He nodded and took a seat on a nearby couch shuffling his cards in his lap
"Good."
"So," Drake said taking a seat beside him "Have you been debriefed yet?"
"Inlighten me"
"Well," Yomiko said fixing her glasses "Out mission is to protect Nancy-san in case the attacker tried to attack her again"
"Hm," Shuffles said "If we're suppose to be protecting her and we're here, do you have other agents there to protect her until we arrive?"
"Um," Yomiko glanced at Joker who nodded
"I see," Shuffles said sliding the deck into his pocket and standing up.
"Where you goin'?" Drake asked, Shuffles remained silent and stood still and rigid.
The door opened as Wendy walked in carrying a tray of tea, the cups jingling together making all them nervous
"Here's the t-" Wendy started but of course, her foot began to slip beneath the rug.
"Whoa..." Yomiko said wide eyed just like everyone else in the room. Shuffles was standing there with Wendy underneath his arm and the tray of tea in his hand
"Be a bit more careful" he said putting Wendy upright and set the tea on the table, Everyone seemed to sigh in relief.
"Whoa, he got skills" Drake said taking a cup
"That was too close..." Yomiko said picking up a cup of tea and taking a sip "Mmm, tea...." Sitting back down, Shuffles picked up a cup as well pulling down the collar of his cloak. now they saw half of his face. His facial exspression seemed soft and kind, but there was no smile, high on his right cheek though was a burn mark, but other then that, they could see no more of his face due to the hat that slanted to the side.
"So," Shuffles finally said "Can we get on with the debriefing?"
When they walked towards the bench, Nancy stood and smiled
"Yomiko-chan!" she said cheerfully then looked at Mr. Drake and Shuffles
"Nancy-san" Yomiko said "These are my friends Drake-san and Shuffles-sama"
"Hiya" Drake said, Shuffles raised his arm in greeting and continued to shuffle cards.
"Hello" Nancy smiled then tilted her head ot the side when she saw Shuffles "
"Hm?"
"Do I know you?" she asked
"Remember that person I told you about?" Yomiko said "The one who saved your life?"
"Oh!" Nancy smiled again "Arigato!" Shuffles nodded.
Everyone found something to occupie themselves while their stay with Nancy, Course, Yomiko was reading with Nancy, and Shuffles was playing Cheat with Mr. Drake
" Three 5"
"Cheat"
"Damn it!" Drake cried as he collected the cards and handed Shuffles 50 cents
"You better smarten up if ya wanna win, you've nearly got the entire deck" Shuffles said with four cards in his hands
"Damn you youth....." Drake muttered placing down another card "One 2"
"I win" Shuffles declared putting down all his cards
"Cheat!" Shuffle turn over the cards to show four 3's
"I won" Shuffles said grinning behind his collar.
"Damn you kids these days!" Drake yelled slapping the cards along with 2 dollars on the ground for Shuffles to collect.
Hours passed, Yomiko was folding origami with Nancy and Shuffles decided to join them. Picking up a piece of paper, he began folding it, his hands moving quickly and in a matter of seconds, made a paper dragon.
"Holy!" Drake said from behind him, "You made that outta that teeny tiny piece of paper?" Shuffles nodded and handed the dragon to Drake, who examined it closely and cried out in surprise as teh dragon began to move and spew out fire like a real dragon.
"That was not funny Yomiko!" Drake yelled
"It wasn't me" Yomiko said. Shuffles began to laugh
"Why are you laughing?" Drake growled.
"Seems that Joker hasn't told you about my special abilities yet" Shuffles said "But I doubt that he knew in the first place" Holding up his hand, he did a lifting motion and Drake screamed as he began lifting into the air.
"Drake-san can fly?" Nancy said giggling
"Put me down!" Drake cried "I'm gonna get you for this Shuffles!" Then screamed again as he fell with a thud on the grass.
"I know more then that" Shuffles said pulling down his collar again and bit his thumb making it bleed
"Crazy person!" Drake said shaking his head "What are you gonna do now?"
Snaping his fingers, a flame lit up on teh tip
"If this involves setting me on fire," Drake said backing away "I don't want any part of it"
"Relax" Shuffles said extinguishing the fire and taking out his deck of cards again.
Suddenly, Shuffles stopped and stood up
"Something's coming" he warned the others drawing a card. There was a long silence as Mr. Drake snatched up his gun and Yomiko grabbed a handful of paper,
"Heh heh heh," a voice laughed and a dark shadow splashed out of the water creating a wave that crashed over them. Spining around with the reflexes of a cat, Shuffles quickly threw the cards as it barely missed the shadow, then dashing forward, wrapped his fingers around the intruders throat.
"Marco" he said
"Polo" the stranger said grinning.
The new stranger had short blue hair and bright green eyes wearing a simple deep blue trenchcoat, his right hand was also covered with a glove.
"Long time no see" Shuffles said tightening his grip
"Same to you," the other boy said then smirked "Yoshivu nee-san"
"Nani?" Yomiko said looking from Shuffles to the other boy "You two are brothers?"
"Don't use that name, the person by that name is dead" Shuffles growled his eyes blazing "My name isn't Yoshivu, my name is Shuffles!" with that Shuffles hurled the boy to a nearby tree and yanked off his right glove.
"Well, Yoshivu," the boy grinned also yanking off his right hand glove "I guess you did get some skills during the last few years, but unfortunatly" The boy's right hand suddenly began commpletly incased in black ice as it formed into a monsterous claw "I learned them first"
"Shut up!" Shuffles snarled and his right arm burst into flames also taking form of a claw, one of a dragons.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Mr. Drake said "Rewind and freeze! How the hell are you two brothers? And how the hell you you burning your arm?"
"Two words" Shuffles answred "Pyrokenisis"
"Are you sure that's two words?" Yomiko said cocking her head to the side and pushing Nancy behind her.
"How'd you end up with these losers?" the boy asked
"They're my companions, brother" Shuffles replied "Or should I say, Ryuku nee-san?" The boy narrowed his eyes
"I guess that was uncalled for," Ryuku said "Hand over the girl and you and your pitiful "companions" can live"
"And why," Shuffles said raising his clawed hand "Should I do that?"
"Are you challanging me now little brother?" Ryu smirked "Last time I remember you were at the brink of death last time we fought, if it weren't for the others-"
"Shut up!" Shuffles screamed dashing forward and swinging his claw.
Mr. Drake, Yomiko and Nancy watched as Shuffles and Ryuku fought, clawing, punching and kicking eachother.
"Wide open!" Ryu said as he plunged his claw into Shuffle's shoulder who at the exact moment, shoved a card into Ryu's shoulder as they both bled.
"What's wrong," Shuffles said "Are you playing with me? Or are you scared?"
"Silence fool!" Ryu said shoving his claw futher then jumped away as as mirage of bullets missed him.
"Damn" Drake cursed as he slammed in a new magazine "Shuffles! You ok?" Shuffles nodded and surveryed the area and not seeing his brother, ran to Yomiko and Nancy.
"The Paper, Get Nancy-san out of here to safety, I'll deal with my brother" he ordered then whiped around. Getting Yomiko and Nancy out of here alive was the only thing on his mind, then saw a shadow in the corner of his eye.
"Watch out!" Shuffles grabbed both Nancy and Yomiko and leapt away just as Ryuku's ice claw smashed into the ground
"Hold still! You'll die much faster that way!" Ryu laughed, Landing near Mr. Drake, Shuffles winced and turned towards him
"Get them out of here," he ordered and when Mr. Drake seemed to hesitate, he yelled "NOW! GO! That's an order!"
"Last time I checked, you weren't the one giving orders" Drake said
"Just go, otherwise you'll all end up dying" Shuffles grimaced rubbing his shoulder that still bled freely.
"But, you'll die from blood lose!" Yomiko cried
"That doesn't matter! Go now!" he yelled waving his arm at them.
Drake felt as if someone just slammed a jeep into him as he, Nancy and Yomiko were thrown by Shuffles psychic energy near the gate
"He must've really wantted us to go" Drake said rubbing his head
"Nancy!" Yomiko called to her friend "She fainted!"
"Ah crap..." Drake said "What an unlucky day."
"Your friends leaving so soon?" Ryu called from a nearby tree
"It's better off that they did go" Shuffles replied firing up his arm again "Now you can concentrate on me instead of them"
"Oh dear little brother," Ryuku laughed "I can't waste my time on you, already now I'm already ready to kill them" Shuffles was slightly taken a back by those words and then throwingt a card at Ryu, saw it was only an illusion.
"Fall! Damn you fall!" he heard Mr. Drake yell and turned around and began running towards them just as Drake and Yomiko got swatted into the wall like flies.
"Mission accomplished!" Ryu announced as he raised a sword of ice over Nancy, who was cowering in fear, all she saw was a red streak in front of her.
Why do you do this to yourself for these people?" Ryuku asked
"Because...." Shuffles gasped holding the sword in his stomache as more blood gushed out "I choose to!" he yanked the sword out and threw it aside and fell on one knee
"Shuffle-sama!" Yomiko cried dashing to her friend. Pushing Yomiko aside, Shuffles stood up gripping his wound
"Just stay behind me," he whispered to her then spoke up "Apparently Ryu, You forgot something about me"
"Oh?" Ryu said with a hint of amusment "Show me then"
"You forgot," Shuffles said shoving Yomiko back into Drake "My blood is flamable!" Suddenly red flames burst from his wounds and fire engulfed him
"Nancy! Go to Yomiko and Drake!" Shuffles barked as Nancy obeyed. With a roar, the flame around Shuffles changed from yellow, to blue, To hot white, the heat making his hat fly off
"This it from what you did to me five years ago!" he yelled, and latched himself onto Ryu.
"Let go of me! NO!" Ryu screamed trying ot pry Shuffles off "LET ME GO!!"
Yomiko and Drake shielded their eyes against the intense heat as Nancy hid her face in Mr. Drake's vest. There was the sound of hissing steam and Ryu's screams mixed in with Shuffles, then, there was nothing.
Uncovering her eyes, Yomiko watched in time to see Shuffles fall to the ground, his clothing nearly charred black.
"Shuffle-sama!" she cried and picked up Shuffles limb body, he was breathing deep breaths, which meant he was alive and sleeping, but all his wounds still leaked blood
"Shuffles!" Drake called "At least he's still alive, thank god we're at a hospital..."
Yomiko jumped as Shuffles stirred and tried to sit up
"Ouch...." he muttered staggering as he started to stand.
"Holy..." Drake said
"What? Is it so bad that I'm alive?" Shuffles grinned
"Are you human?" Drake asked with a look of disbelief on his face. For the first time, they heard Shuffles laugh
"I guess not" he said and looked at Nancy. Apparently, when he stood in the way of Ryuku's blade, his blood had splashed onto her white gown,
"You ok?" he asked, Nancy nodded and held out his hat
"Arigato" she smiled. He said nothing, but he took the hat and set it back into it's slant over his right eye.
"Man, last time I do that" he said brushing off the black that was on his clothes as it came off easily and in big clouds
"Heck even your clothes aren't normal!" Drake cried throwing up his hands "You are beyond normal!"
"I'll take that as a compliment"
As they bid Nancy farwell Shuffles stayed for a moment
"You take care now ya hear?" Drake said to Nancy
"I will" she said then looked at Shuffles
"Hm?"
"Shuffle-sama" she started towards him then wrapped her arms around him "Arigato" Shuffles cringed slightly at the pain, but ignored it and planted a feather light kiss on her forehead. Nancy began to blush
"It's to give you hope," he said and strode off with Drake behind him
"Show off," Drake said grinning "With all that hope stuff, what ya a ladies man?"
"Some of us need hope, something to hang onto" Shuffles replied "And besides, don't you have someone that's important to you? That you hold onto and say to yourself that your going to see them again?"
"Hell ya," Drake answered "Like my wife and daughter" Shuffles remained silent, but was shuffling cards again.
When Shuffles and Drake were far enough Nancy smiled
"My knight in shining armour" she said to Yomiko
"Heh heh" Yomiko giggled "Your starting to read as much as I do Nancy-san"
"It's just like out of a fairy tale" Nancy said "But a bit different"
"How?"
"This is real" Yomiko smiled
"Yo!" Drake called "Hurry up or we're leavng without you!"
"I have ot go now Nancy, but I'll come back tomarrow" Yomiko said running towards he friends "Bye!"
"Bye Yomiko-chan!" Nancy said waving.
Author notes: Ok, So this wasn't the best and there was too much Shuffles action, I'm, working on it! Well, I hope you liked this chapter, but I"m gonna give it a rest for now. School started and my brain hurts . WEll, I'll see you all later. Bye and thanks for reading!!
