Dusk fell on Kaiba Corp. A week ago Kaiba witnessed for himself one of the many exploits of the Shaman Tournament; however, severely one-sided from the start. The fight he watched was overrated, almost making him uninterested in the tournament altogether if Kalim didn't mention the fact that Yugi was in the Shaman Tournament. He tapped the keyboard of his laptop in his usual business, next to the laptop computer was the crystal pendant that held the spirit of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
All through the week, Mokuba has been admiring the pendant, but been good knowing that the White Dragon's Tear belonged to his brother. He remembered several days ago that he and Kaiba could commune with Kisara on a level ground, though goals were different. Kisara still urges that she can feel the anticipating peril, and her moment of emerging into the mortal plane from the Dominion was the moment she began to protect her human master and all he cares for. Kaiba, as he says, would accept Kisara's grant only if she can pull off potential in the tournament, and the fight tonight would be her trial in a real fight.
Pi pi pi pi pi pi pi…
Kaiba's
white Oracle Pager signaled a reminder, one hour before the fight at
Domino Aquarium. He shut off his laptop and closed it, tucking it
under a sliding drawer in his desk. He sighed and took the pendant
around his neck, carefully over his card pendant of his brother.
Mokuba glanced up to his brother. "Can I come, Seto?" He asked
timidly. Kaiba took a moment to think for himself, his mind balanced
with the answers' consequences. He knew if he'd said "yes"
that he'd have to keep one eye on Mokuba at a safe distance and the
other on his competition. If he said "no" and left without Mokuba
that he'd be risking Mokuba's safety alone, even with the
security.
Finally Kaiba reached a decision, but called out his Guardian before giving his answer. "Kisara, I summon you." He declared and added on to keep things discrete, "Give me your form of the Paladin of White Dragon's Mount." The pendant flashed brilliantly and a beam landed on the floor. Normally a Blue-Eyes White Dragon would stand at the least two stories compared to a human's height. Kisara's form presently stood as high as a horse and twice as long. The Dragon bowed upon her summons and growled solemnly. Kaiba understood the Dragon clearly. "To approve yourself in your grant of protection, Mokuba will be on the sidelines in our fight tonight. I expect no attack debris to come into his direction. Do I make myself clear?" Kaiba's voice grew cold with demand but Kisara stood fast in her bow. She nodded with an additional growl.
Mokuba's voice lit up with excitement, "Yes, thank you big brother!" He cheered as Kisara withdrew into the pendant.
"We're out of here. My first step to getting revenge against Yugi will be tonight." Kaiba hissed and opened the elevator, Mokuba trailing right behind him.
Kaiba arrived at the aquarium. Although closed to the day's shows, he managed to sneak past the security by code encryption. He and Mokuba wandered around, Kisara scouting from the sky for the opponent. A white beam zipped back into the pendant and Morse coded itself. Kaiba looked ahead and increased pace towards one of the show stadiums. He arrived at the stands and a quick glance to the enter stage found his opponent.
"It's unbelievable, my first prelim match is against the Great Seto Kaiba. This should be interesting." The opponent boasted in a grand voice. His trident struck the water-treated cement and swells stirred in the water. Behind the stage a sleeping killer whale awoke and moaned its solemn tune.
"I doubt it. I have never seen you in any of the Duel tournament finals and I doubt even more you are a decent shaman." Kaiba hissed in response. Finally his opponent came into a spotlight. His ocean blue hair spiked in waves over his headband; blue was his theme of attire as he was the sea-theme Duelist, Mako Tsunami.
Momentarily, two Patch officiants arrived by their winged spirits: Kalim, Kaiba's officiant, and Stelet, Mako's officiant. They stood off in the distance and found extra eyes of the fight. "What is he doing here?" Kalim asked and Mokuba stared blankly after getting the highest seat in the stands.
"He is my little brother and I vow to protect him with everything I have from harm's way." Kaiba answered. "I couldn't leave him at Kaiba Corp. without my watchful eye." Kalim and Stelet took a brief moment to consider.
"Alright, your brother may watch the fight. If need be we will intercept any debris from the fight." Kalim nodded. "There are several minutes to prepare yourselves."
"Who needs several minutes, I'm ready now!" Kaiba acclaimed and unleashed Kisara from her pendant. She hovered above Kaiba's head in her full Dragonic form.
"I agree! I summon you Dynamene!" Mako called and a blue glimmering spirit escaped the jewel embedded in the trident. Her hair waved like the water and her eyes as crisp as the ocean's surface.
"At ease, both of you!" Kalim boasted and both shamans replied and stood down. "Your Oracle Pagers will sound alarm when the fight is about to begin."
"Hm…"
Kaiba groaned, studying the water spirit that is Mako's Guardian
Ghost. As did Mako, seeing that a Duel Monster could be a Spirit
Ally. Mokuba watched eagerly from the stands, recalling the Shaman
fight he witnessed. He figured this would be a one-sided fight also,
confident that his brother would triumph with ease as always. "Tell
me Mako, how did you come into the Shaman Tournament?" Kaiba asked
in a demanding hiss.
"It shouldn't come as a surprise if you
know your mythology but Dynamene is no myth." Mako began, "Dynamene
is a Nereid, one of fifty daughters born from Nereus and Doris.
Dynamene is one of two Nereids that control the ocean swells. It was
over the spring after your Battle city Tournament that I found her,
or rather she found me. And what about you?"
"Hmph." Kaiba
huffed unimpressed. "I'm here for one reason only. Yugi is in
this Shaman Tournament as well and I plan to defeat him in the most
inhumane way possible. And with Kisara's power, my dream will
finally be realized!"
Beep…beep…beep…
"Thirty
seconds," Kalim announced. Both shamans prepared themselves.
Kaiba warmed himself up by cracking his knuckles. "Kisara, just
like against Kalim. Mako will be an easy win." he muttered and
Kisara nodded in response, letting her hindquarter talons grip the
ground.
Mako practiced his handiwork with the trident he crafted
for his spirit. He showed his finesse of a staff-like weapon,
demonstrating by letting the trident circle around his body while
keeping it rotating in his fingers. "When I become Shaman King, no
one will lose their love one at sea again, and when I become one with
the King of Spirits I vow to find my father." Mako murmured in a
low tone.
Beep…beep…beep…BEEP!
"Dynamene, Spirit form! Into the Trident!" Mako declared instantly. Dynamene shifted into a blue aura and became absorbed into the weapon, more specifically, the sapphire engraved in the trident that fed mana throughout the weapon and wielder.
"Kisara,
Spirit form! Become my Armor!" Kaiba acclaimed and the Blue-Eyes
White Dragon transformed. White metal clasped to Kaiba's body,
right down to the wings on his back. Just as quickly, Kaiba made the
charge with a clawed fist ready to nail Mako hard and fast.
"You
were always eager to make the first move, Kaiba. But I assure you
I'll make the last!" Mako raised the trident over his head and
slammed one end into the ground. The water in the aquarium rippled
and moved at a fast current out of the tank. It encircled Mako to
make a whirlpool shield and stopped Kaiba in his charge.
"What's
this!" Kaiba asked in front of the waterspout.
"This is
only a small sample of Dynamene's true power." Mako smirked and
raised his weapon again, swinging it forward inside the waterspout.
The water responded and bent forward in Kaiba's direction; Kaiba
dodged easily with a dart to the left and the waterspout fell into a
crashing wave that sprinkled the stands but soaked the Patch Tribe
Officiants.
Stelet and Kalim stood for a moment with water
dripping from their cloaks and feathers. "Maybe we better go into
the stands with Kaiba's younger brother." Stelet suggested in a
sotto after being disturbed from the tidal wave.
"Good idea,"
Kalim nodded.
Up in the stands, Mokuba was sprinkled from the
water Mako threw. After the first hit, he looked down and saw dents
in the middle rows of the stands and there barely was a front row.
Mokuba gasped, "No way! Mako has that kind of power!" Kaiba's
attention was brought to him as Mokuba scrambled to the highest row.
He contacted Kisara. "If we dodge the attacks, damage will be
done." He murmured but enough to let his armor hear what he has to
say and Kaiba turned to see the damages from the first strike alone.
"We have to muffle the damages, and I know one way to do it."
Kaiba regained his stance and came for another charge.
"Again?"
Mako's grin spread wider and manipulated the water again, now
throwing the wave straight at Kaiba without the defense first. Kaiba
reacted fast and slid to the ground, talons first, and divided the
water in two with one of the wings. Though the successful effort, it
took a bit for Kaiba to recover, giving Mako an opportunity. Before
Kaiba knew it, a whip of icy water slapped his face and knocked him
to the ground.
"Seto!" Mokuba cried. Ultimately Kalim and
Stelet activated their Oracle Pagers for the shamans' status.
"Interesting,
Mako spends little mana to manipulate the water." Stelet pondered.
"He did say he lived by water all his life."
"Thins aren't
looking all that good for Kaiba though." Kalim doubted. "Even
though he hasn't lost a single point of mana however his Ghost
Power weakens within each attack Mako throws at him."
"Seto!
Get up, please!" Mokuba yelled from the stands. Kaiba snapped back
and made his stance, only to find that Mako's trident has grown in
power and height exponentially. The water surrounded the trident and
maintained a solid form without turning into ice, and remarkably, the
last attack left Mako to stand on the surface of a fifty-foot pool.
"The
element of water is on my side, Seto Kaiba. The ferocity of the sea
in this aquarium backs my power, led by Dynamene." Mako preached,
"I will show you the power of the mighty ocean, and break your Over
Soul without breaking a sweat!" It looked as Mako glided just on
the surface with a sharp wake in his path. "Rip Tide Assault!"
"You've forgotten one thing, Mako. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon
has an attack that will overpower your little squirt gun." Kaiba
cocked back and threw his right arm out. The Dragon's head opened
its jaws and quickly charged for an electrical attack. "White
Lightning!" He commanded and a white electrical burst fired to
counter attack Mako's bombardment.
Mako
realized the oncoming attack and had to make a quick decision of
which way to dodge. The White Lightning went straight through the
wakes and ended at the large plasma screen, short circuiting the
large television. After the attack ended in itself, Kaiba managed to
regain his balance; Kalim noticed that his Ghost Power returned to
normal. Kaiba and Mokuba both shared glances around the stadium, now
showing some damage to the quickly brewing battle.
"Where did
Mako go?" Kaiba muttered.
"Seto!" Mokuba caught his
attention. "Mako's under the water!" Kaiba took a look into the
water. Sure enough Mako darted around twenty feet under, taunting
Kaiba. Kaiba watched in a slight shock.
"Clever." Stelet
commented, "Dynamene is helping Mako survive underwater like a
frog."
"Well he's going to croak like one!" Kaiba
claimed and threw a punch into the water, attempting another White
Lightning attack. The water surrounding Kaiba's hand held fast like
cement. What! He thought in a panic right before he was
pulled under.
"No, Seto!" Mokuba screamed in terror, Kalim
and Stelet were also shocked. The surface ripples ceased and the only
movement was the two shamans under the water.
"Stelet,
what in the world is Mako doing?" Kalim's eye twitched in the
question.
"Mako has expelled most of his mana throughout the
pool. Every molecule is at his command, and he began by making the
surface solid as ice without changing the water's temperature."
Stelet answered while looking at his Oracle Pager for Mako's Mana
Points reduced to a mere one-fifth of its full gauge. "This has
become a test of endurance for Kaiba. Mako can hold his breath for
almost three times longer than any normal human being." Mokuba
listened to the Patch officiants in desperate disbelief.
Underneath, Kaiba snapped to his senses that he was drawn underwater.
Just great… He thought in skepticism and eyes scanned for
Mako. Finally he looked down and saw Mako coming from the floor at
top speed of a Great White Shark with trident set to impale him.
Kaiba only wished to react as quickly as he could when he was out of the water but his timing was enough to hold the trident in between the three teeth. More so, the force drove Kaiba until he was pressed in between the surface and Mako's force, the only thing keeping him from an instant loss was his stiff elbows.
Give
it up, Kaiba. I can hold my breath longer than most normal people.
Mako spoke through aquatic telepathy.
Well aren't you a
regular Aquaman. Kaiba thought in sarcasm before bringing his
wings behind his back and letting him slip away while Mako rammed the
surface but didn't scratch it. Kaiba was beginning to feel his
lungs burning from being underwater for so long. Dangit, any
longer down here and I'll drown. But I can't lose this fight, I
can't DIE in this fight. Not when I have to protect Mokuba, and I
can't rest until I defeat Yugi! Mako began to charge again with
another full-forced impact. Kaiba reacted more quickly on the defense
and kicked aside the trident. In reflex, Kaiba charged up for the
surface, Kisara pounding her wings in the struggle. By ten feet,
Kaiba charged for another White Lightning; the sparks were visible
from under the hardened surface, making Kalim and Stelet stand in
shock.
"Is he insane!" Both officiants stood pale. "We'll
be held responsible if he goes off and commits suicide in the middle
of a fight!"
"He's not insane, he'll just do what it
takes to win!" Mokuba smirked.
Below, Kaiba finished charging
and fired a White Lightning straight to the surface, the lighting
scattering throughout the pool and Mako getting damaged by the
aftershock. But Kaiba focused all his mana into a single beam. Mako
couldn't hold the manipulation of the water when bits of his mana
were evaporating and lost his focus completely. The surface shattered
and Kaiba broke free from the aquatic imprisonment, the consequence
was half his mana points spent in one attack. But Kaiba had a feeling
Mako spent more than he did. Both officiants stared with mouths agape
and pupils the size of pinheads. Mokuba jumped in celebration, "Yes,
Seto. Way to go, bro!" In a brief moment of victory, Kaiba
catapulted out of the water, reclaiming his breath and watching the
aquarium roar in waves just feet below the stadium support beams
lining the roof.
The water began to calm, as Mako's body was still submerged. It didn't take long when the waves rose, more vicious than ever. "This is it Kaiba, I will not lose!" Mako's voice rumbled and the waves turned catastrophic. The three onlookers turned nervous as all of the aquarium water was absorbed into one massive water tower. "This is it, the full power of Dynamene and all her glory! She sees through sailors in the fiercest of storms, and she will see to my victory!" he declared atop the liquid column that beat the stadium roof in height but the roof stopped at the front row in the stands.
Kaiba winced in nervousness himself, but the unnerving came from another subject. "Mokuba! Get out of here! Now!" He commanded over the oceanic roars. Mokuba understood clearly and was ushered out by Kalim and Stelet. Once assured, Kaiba looked back at the waterspout that seemed to take some sort of form, a mythic sea serpent.
"Dynamene! Tenbatsu no Taikai – Wrath of the Water God!" Mako declared his most powerful attack and the head of the serpent began to lunge to Kaiba.
Kaiba saw what was coming and called forth the ultimate attack. He felt Kisara's energy reach its peak in power. "Kisara! Destructive Burst Stream!" He darted straight up, the White Lighting covered his body in a full-blown final assault.
Both
met in an explosion so loud it exceeded the decibels of normal human
hearing. Kalim, Stelet, and Mokuba ducked inside a nearby shark
exhibit, but the vibrations of the explosion made all three of them
shudder. "Seto!" Mokuba shrieked and tried to get up. Both Kalim
and Stelet held him back.
"Are you crazy!" Kalim asked
while the vibrations sent the sharks in frenzy behind them. "I'm
sure your brother pulled through. You can't doubt him now, I've
seen your optimism even when he was pulled under and trapped in the
water."
The
struggle kept at it high above the aquarium; the constant tremors
bothered the killer whale behind the stadium. And in the surrounding
aquariums the sea lions and dolphins cried in agony of the deafening
fight. Kaiba's Dragon head came face-to-face with Mako's trident.
Thoughts ran through the both of them as what was left of their mana
depleted quickly.
I will win this fight, for my brother's
safety, and for my revenge. I will not lose in the first round!
Kaiba's thoughts ran through him like clockwork.
The animals… They're suffering in this battle. I can hear their cries, and I know Dynamene shares the same pain. I've carried out this battle long enough. You win, Kaiba…. Mako admitted defeat mentally and threw off his attack to one side, letting Kaiba advance.
Kaiba's attack scathed Mako and cracked the stone Dynamene possessed. Mako released his Over Soul and entered a free-fall past Kaiba. Kaiba let up his attack but did relieve his Over Soul. He watched Mako fall semi-conscious to the water below before he went into a dive and swooped in to catch Mako by his arms, letting the two of them drift to the ground. Upon landing, Kisara broke from Over Soul and returned to the pendant. Dynamene's ominous image kneeled next to Mako with a worried expression in her blue eyes.
The
vibration of the explosive battle subsided, only followed by beeping
from the Patch Tribe's Oracle Pagers. Kalim and Stelet looked to
their displays. "Kaiba won…with ten points of mana left." Kalim
stated and Mokuba went into a victory celebration.
"Yes! Yes!
Yes! I knew my big brother would win!" Mokuba cheered ad rushed out
of the exhibit. "Seto! Seto!"
Kaiba
lifted his head to his brother's return and his wide smile. Kaiba
replied with a rare smile of his own, thoughtful of Mokuba's safety
despite the fight's aftermath. He then turned to Mako whom was
reclaiming consciousness. Kalim and Stelet weren't far behind from
Mokuba. Mako couldn't help but give a smile to Kaiba.
"Congratulations, Kaiba." He whispered.
Mokuba looked over,
Mako's overall condition. "Mako doesn't look all right, should
we take him in to see a doctor?"
"No
one will be open this late at night. But our staff is 24/7." Kaiba
answered while aiding Mako to his feet. "I never thought I'd get
a fight like that from you." He commented.
"Heh, you're
good yourself, Kaiba. But I'll win my next two preliminaries and
we'll face each other again." Mako smirked despite his condition.
"Yeah, right. As much of a challenging fight we had, there won't be any 'again.' There's only one person I'm looking forward to fight and it's Yugi." Kaiba huffed. Behind him, Mokuba held Mako's trident and Dynamene drifting not far behind. Kalim and Stelet stayed back from the group, watching them disappear into the night.
After
a moment, Kalim spoke up. "Find the nearest all-night
dry-cleaners?" Their soaked cloaks and the cold night settling in
bothered the both of them.
"And an open-late restaurant…as
long as there's no fish." Stelet answered back as the two took
the opposite direction out.