In The Shadow of The Prophecy

Disclaimer - If you need to be reminded of what's mine and what ain't, please refer to my first ten chapters. Thank you.

WT : For results of the Character submissions contest please check the end of Chapter Twelve.

Chapter eleven - Torashibu No Nagumo

All of the dreams we built up from the ground,

They never believed them they just tore them down.

We rebuild them from the start,

We rebuild them from the heart.

Hoobastank

CCC-

" You're a saint, I swear ," said Carmen in exasperation as the infamous King of Games swooped in and rescued her from the clutches of the netherworld. The three fan club girls pouted disappointedly in their corner when their living doll was taken away. When the two were safe in the pow-wow of their own ilk the amber-eyed girl reached into her blazer pocket and took out a navy blue confetti deck, " I brought my deck today ," she told them.

" Really ?" asked Joey eagerly, " Can' I see'em ?".

Carmen looked reluctant for a moment but then handed them to him, " Sure ,". the blond thumbed through the sliver sleeved cards exuberantly, " Hey be careful, don't any of them ," she scolded, watching him closely as a hen watches her eggs.

" Yeah, yeah, I won't ," said Joey, " Ay' Yugi, ya wanna look through dese too ?".

Yugi scratched his head modestly, it wasn't his place to say whether it was, or not, he looked at the deck's owner, " Do you mind ?" he inquired, the strawberry-haired girl shook her head. So he began looking them through himself, there were some he'd never seen before and actually a pretty decent amount of rare cards, " You like Angel-class monsters alot, you've got so many ," said the violet-eyed youth, shuffling through the remaining ones. He stopped sharply, his eyes trained on one card, he could feel a poignant tug at his heart, but it was him the emotion stemmed from, it was Yami. What is it Yami ? he asked though their link.

/ I'm...not sure, but, when I look at that monster... / he paused a moment to compose himself / ...It fills my heart with sadness / .

Carmen turned head to the side slightly to see what card he was looking so dishearteningly at, " Oh , " she said, resting the tip of her index finger on it, " This is my favorite ,".

" It is ?" he echoed, handing the deck back, she nodded vigorously, " you must be a pretty avid player ,".

She beamed, " Yeah I guess ,".

Unbeknownst to the five teens, another gamer was eavesdropping on their conversation with dripping anticipation and a smile teeming with malice beneath his nose.

CCC-

" Hey you ," came an unfamiliar voice behind her as she was heading back to the class from the lavatory. A hand planted itself on her shoulder firmly, causing her to tilt backwards when she halted.

" Huh ?". The voice belonged to a buff dude with bleached blond hair that spiked straight up, he was wearing a purple muscle shirt with a spider printed across the chest.

" I'm Koji Nagumo, " he said, " I hear you play duel monsters, thought we might have a little match, I'll even let'chu see my cards before we duel ,".

There was a weird twinge in her stomach as she thumbed through his deck and got a feel for his style, but she dismissed it, he hadn't done anything overtly suspicious and let her see what he was bringing to the table before hand, a sportsmanlike gesture Or just cocky she thought unbiddenly.

" Can I see yours ?" he inquired coolly, " its only fair ,".For a moment she hesitated, before taking the cards out of her pocket and handing them to him. Good girl he thought hungrily as he took them from her as shuffled through the cards. This is better than I imagined ; Raigeki, Invader of the Throne, Magic Cylinder , .

" These are pretty harsh cards your packin', I think I'll them off your hands ," he said flat out.

" Sorry, I don't trade anything that in my deck ," she told him, reaching for them back.

" I said ," he repeated, more ominously, " I'll take them ,". He picked her up by the collar of her shirt and shoved her aside, into a row of lockers.

" Hey !" she protested, grabbing his arm to stop him, " give'em back, Nagumo those cards are mine ,".

The blond shoved the choice cards in his pockets," What makes a pipsqueak like you think you can tell me what to do ," he replied snidely. Carmen cursed silently, Nagumo was easily twice her size and she hated being pushed around because of her petite stature. Man, I really hate to have to resort to violence she thought to herself, But... she really didn't want to lose her deck.

" Give them back NOW !" Carmen shouted at a volume she didn't even know her lungs were capable of, stomping on his foot with all the strength she could muster. Nagumo, himself, was shock that such a little thing could produce such a massive sound, now he was hopping up and down, holding his foot.

" Why you little ..." he snarl through clenched teeth, pain forgotten, he stepped forward and backhanded the pink-haired girl, mowing her down to one side. With the rest of her cards in hand, he tore each and every one of them into shreds, letting them flutter to the ground in front of her.

" NOOOO !". Nagumo turned on his heels, cackling hoarsely with satisfaction as he walked away.

" Didja' hear all 'dat noise ?" said Joey, poking his head out of the classroom.

" Sounded like it was coming from down the hall ," said Yugi, following to suit. The two guys went to investigate, seeing a familiar person sitting on the floor amid the shred pieces of duel monster card, " Carmen ?". A crowd had started to gather, by the time they reached her.

" Hey, hey ," said the scruffy blond, moving people out of their way, " Get lost, show's ova' ,".

" Carmen, are you okay ?" asked the violet-eyed boy carefully, he kneeled beside her and picked up some of the shreds to examine. he recordnized them immediately, they were her cards.

" My cards ," she said absently, sounding as though she were about to burst into tears, yet her eyes remained dry. Can't blame her, if someone tore up my cards he said to himself I probably be about ready to cry too .

" Who tor' up ya' cards ," asked Joey making a fist, " I'll teach em a lesson ,".

" It was some guy ," she replied hesitantly, " he had really blond hair and a spider on his shirt ,". A red flag went off in Yugi's head, that sounded kind of familiar Wait! That sounds like... Nagumo .

/ Him again / came Yami's voice through their link / Apparently he doesn't know when to quit / ." Hey Carmen, did he say his name was Nagumo ?" asked the spiky-haired boy.

" Uh...," she recalled it, " yeah, I think so ,".

" Did he tear all of them up ?" he asked, it was impossible to tell if all of them were destroyed or not.

" No ," she replied dejectedly, " he took a bunch of them ,".

Don't 'chu worry ya'self Ca'men, I'll get'chore cards back ," said Joey, " Promise, 'n teach dat bastard a lesson ,".

To Be Continued . . .

WT : Uh-oh, Joey sounds pissed, watch out! Next chapter Nagumo get whacked in the head with his karma.