AN: Hi to all my readers! This is my first attempt at a Yu-Gi-Oh fic, and it's not that great, but I think it's pretty good, so read and enjoy please!
A new Saga Begins
A beautiful morning sun glitters off the bustling town of Domino. Birds sing merrily as people bustle back and forth along the streets of the city. Our story, a story of new beginnings, starts at a small game shop located near downtown Domino, and the man sitting at the dining room table on the second floor.
This man was most noticeable for his not only his oddly pointed hair, but the fact that his hair had three different colors in it. Clad in a black sleeveless T-shirt and blue pants wrapped in a metal-studded belt, this man was Yugi Mutuo, winner of the Battle City, KC Grand Prix, and Duelist Kingdom tournaments, and current Duel Monsters World Champion and the King of Games.
As he ate his breakfast, his mind drifted, to how it was obvious to anyone that the five years since the KC Grand Prix had done wonders for Yugi. Though still showing the innocence of his teen years, his eyes had taken on the sternness he seemed to only get when he dueled. More noticeable was the fact that he had sprouted up height wise three feet, now as tall as most people his age. Chuckling, he thought of how Joey always says it seems as if no longer having the Millennium Puzzle stunting his growth worked wonders for him.
Smiling, Yugi stood and put his plate in the sink, his ears caught the sound of a newscaster on TV. "...And in other news, the final qualification matches for the new class of Kaiba Corporation's Duel Monster Academy finish up today, as 100 new hopefuls try and make their way into Seto Kaiba's prestigeus dueling school . . . "
Yugi only sighed, as he reached for the remote and clicked the TV off. Usually he would try to keep up the tradition of attending each year's qualifying duels, but he soon realized he wasn't seeing what he was really looking for: someone who could take over one day as the next King of Games. Sure, Seto Kaiba and Joey both were great, but Kaiba had officially retired out of dueling three years ago, and Joey, though still in the various tournaments, just didn't seem to be the right one for the job. Yugi knew Joey would be honored to take over if offered, but Yugi was looking for that spark the thing that just said there was something original about them. And sadly, Yugi just hadn't seen it in any of the duelists that were applying for the academy.
Yugi was brought out of his thoughts as the phone on the counter rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he smiled as he picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hi honey!" A happy female voice he identified as his girlfriend answered. "Are you ready?"
"Yep, I am Tea, I just finished breakfast. I'm glad you liked dinner last night by the way."
"Of course I loved it! I would have loved it even if you hadn't taken me to that French restaurant."
"Well only the best for the girl of my dreams." She giggled.
"You're sweet. Do you want me to swing by and pick you up and then we just see where we go today?"she asked.
"Hm..." Yugi thought about it. Sure, they could do that, but somehow, a voice in the back of his mind seemed to be telling him that there was a better idea. Glancing out the window for inspiration, his eyes landed on trees in the distance. "That'd be good, but what if we do like we used to, meet somewhere and then just walk around the city?"
"Sure, that works for me. You're right, we haven't done that in awhile. Where do you wanna meet up?" Moving from the kitchen to his bedroom, he grabbed his blue jacket off the doorknob.
"How about Domino Park? We can feed the birds, stop by the café there, anything."
"Great, I'd love to! How about I meet you by the fountain near your shop in ten minutes?"
Yugi nodded. "Sure, I'll see you there."
"Right. Love you."
"Love you too." Hearing the click, he turned the phone off. Pulling the coat on, he turned to leave the room, when a glint of sunlight caught his eye. Looking, he saw the sun reflecting off the second belt he usually wore, the one with the holder for his Duel Monsters deck. Not knowing why, he felt an impulse to put that on, so he did, though he had no clue why he'd need his deck.
Snapping it in place, he walked out of his room and down the stairs and out the front door.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, a brown haired woman frowned as she looked at her watch. "That boy, he's going to be late!" Stomping purposely, she headed down the hall from the living room to a door and knocked loudly on the door. "Jaden!" Hearing no response, she knocked again. "Jaden!" Rolling her eyes, she shoved the door open and yelled at the boy sprawled sleeping in the bed inside the horribly messy room. "Jaden Yuki, wake up, you're gonna be late!"
Sitting up, Jaden blinked groggily at the sunlight before looking at the woman. "Huwah, late, late for what mom?"
"You foolish boy, the Duel Academy's entrance exams are today remember?" Jaden blinked twice, before springing up out of bed and hurriedly grabbing at random pieces of clothing from the floor.
"Aww, mom, why didn't you tell me! I'm gonna be late, and that's so not gonna be sweet!" he demanded as he furiously started pulling clothes on.
"I've been calling you for the last half hour Jaden. It's not my fault you sleep like a rock."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He pulled a grey coat on and then started looking around frantically again. "Hey, where's my duel disk?"
"On the table by the front door where you left it sweetie." She moved aside as Jaden frantically rushed past her and down the hall.
Following him, she said, she found him in the front hall pulling the weird round contraption onto his arm. "Are you absolutely sure you wanna join this Duel Masters academy Jaden? There's so many other thing's you could be doing with your life."
Jaden shook his head as he sat down and started pulling his shoes on. "No way ma, this is gonna be great. Duel Monsters is my life, and this is my chance to become the next King of Games!" Standing, he spun in a circle. "How do I look? Ready to get my game on and show those guy's whose boss?"
Shaking her head at her son's stubborness, she smiled. "Like a million bucks son. You just go and show them who's boss."
"Sweet! Thanks mom! Wish me luck" He pulled the door open and started running towards the park and in the direction of the shiny tower in the distance.
"Good luck Jaden, and have fun!" She called after.
Meanwhile, Yugi was sitting on a park bench, lost in thought as he stared at the Kaiba Corp tower in the distance.
"You miss it don't you?"Tea said, as she walked up to him. "Dueling I mean?"
Standing, he hugged and kissed her, before replying. "Well, sort of, I just wonder who could take on my legacy and if I should have stayed in the game and seen if I could have lost to somebody."
Tea frowned, and hugged him reassuringly. "Don't worry, you did what you thought was right, and that's what really matters in the end. I'm sure there'll be somebody who comes along who'll be able to take that torch from you, and when they do, you'll know it. You're Yugi Mutuo, and that's the best you can be."
Yugi, nodded. "Thanks Tea, you're right.I couldn't see it like that."
"I understand completely Yugi." Smiling, she twirled around, basking in the summer air. "So, where do you wanna go first?"
"How about just a nice stroll through the park and we'll see where it leads us?" he offered.
"That works, we'll let the wind be our guide." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him down the path.
For a few minutes, they walked along, pointing at various birds, trees, and even people; but Tea saw that Yugi kept giving glances at the tower in the distance. Stopping she turned to him.
"Yugi, do you just wanna cut to the chase and go watch the entrance duels?"
Yugi blushed, realizing that he was neglecting for the thoughts that kept running through his head. "No, I promised I'd spend the day with you, and that's what I'm doing." At her skeptical look, he frowned. "What? Besides, I'd probably be swamped by reporters begging me to tell them when I'd duel again."
She raised an eyebrow, then glanced downward at the belts on his waist. "Is that so? Then why'd you bring your deck?"
"Well, I, um, it goes with the outfit." he said sheepishly, rubbing his head akwardly. She gave him a knowing look. "I'm telling you, I'm just here for you, and you alone. No duels, no cards, nothing."
She stared at him for awhile more, then finally sighed. "Alright, fine, be that way." She glanced behind him. "Then I'm going to go get us some ice cream, and when I come back, you better be focusing just on me." Smiling, she pecked him on the lips before moving around him and heading towards the ice cream stand a bit aways. Yugi only shook his head, and crossed his arms
before turning away.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to either, Jaden Yuki was running like crazy through the throngs of people who seemed to have chosen today to pack themselves into the park. Aww man, I'm gonna be so late! And then I'll get kicked out, and I'll be a laughing stock to all the kids who said I'm stupid for trying out and...So lost in his worries, he didn't notice the person who hadn't seen him rushing in his direction and had moved aside. "Whoah, watch out dude!" The guy turned, only to have Jaden crash into him, sending Jaden falling backwards, spilling his cards out all over the sidewalk.
"Oww, sorry about that mister." Jaden said sheepishly.
The man, sillouetted by the sun behind him, chuckled. "It's alright, you remind me of somebody I know. A good friend of mine's never looking where he's going."
"Yeah, that's me alright." Noticing the cards scattered around him, he groaned. "Aww man, I had those organized! And now I'm gonna be even more late!" Scrambling, he started picking them up.
Kneeling down, the man started picking some of them up with the boy and setting them on top of the pile Jaden had started. Glancing at the boy's Duel Disk he asked "Hm, Duel Monsters eh? You heading for the Duel Academy's Entrance exams?"
"Totally, I wanna try and join that school. It'd be totally sweet!"
The man chuckled at Jaden's excitement. "Big dreams I take?"
"Exactly, I'm gonna be the next King of Games! Well, if I'm good enough that is. I don't know if my deck's got all the right stuff, but I'm sure I'll make it as far as I can go!"
Yugi frowned, there was something about this kid, something, different from the rest...
Standing, he handed the rest of the cards to Jaden. "There, I think that's all of them."
"Thanks, gotta go, or I'll be late!" He started to move past, when something told Yugi to stop him.
"Wait, hold on, I think I've got something for you." Jaden stopped, and looked at him.
Reaching into his deck holder, Yugi pulled out a card. "Here, I think this'll help, it seems as if it belongs to you. Better hurry or you'll be late." With that, Yugi turned and started walking away.
Suprised, Jaden looked down at the card, seeing a brown furball with big eyes and cute wing on either side. "Winged Kuriboh? What'll this do?" The man didn't say anything, just kept walking.
"Weird..." Jaden shrugged, and turned to leave, when a girl's voice suddenly shouted.
"Hey, Yugi, you won't believe the line!" Jaden's eyes widened as he spun around to see a brown haired girl running up to the man with two ice cream cones. A man with a very familiar hairstyle...
"Wait, Yugi...It can't be...Hey mister!" he called after. "Aren't you...!"
Yugi didn't turn back, just raised his hand and waved. "Keep it! Consider it a good luck present."
Jaden could only stare in shock as Yugi chuckled to himself, maybe Anzu was right, maybe there was somebody out who could be even greater than him...
Well that's it, short and sweet. I always wondered what Yugi was doing in the park, and what made him want to give Jaden Winged Kuriboh. I hope I got everything mostly right, as I didn't rewatch the episode and mostly took what I can remember. I tried to get everyone's mindset down, and I wanted to get the sense of Yugi passing the torch to Jaden in the scene. So do you think I did? Please review and let me know