Disclaimer: I don't claim to own any rights regarding to Yu-Gi-Oh, the original series, or the characters within. Now I'll stop talking like a lawyer.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy of the Cards

A Fan fiction by G SAN

Luna City Central High

The applause and cheering lasted for several minutes. Bets where paid off, and Garrett was swarmed with congratulations. Eventually however, the crowd ebbed away, leaving only a few behind in the setting sun of the schoolyard. Mira unclipped her duel disk from her arm and secured her deck in her pocket as Garrett Walked over. He grinned. "That was one hell of a duel. I haven't fought anyone as good as you in a long time." Mira grinned inwardly, but the crush of defeat weighed on her. "Yeah, well, I'm hardly the best around here, and most of these guys won't be as nice as I am."

The image of the Cyber Harpy smashing into him at mach speeds flashed through Garrett's mind, and he flinched. Mira stood up straight and shouldered her bag. She grinned oh so sweetly. "And next time, I won't lose." Garrett almost cringed in the malice in her voice, but Mira lightened up and winked at him. "Relax! Learn to take a joke, or the stress will kill ya…" Jake finished up talking to a pair of girls near the school gate and rushed over to Garrett and Mira. "Hey sis, you ok?" Mira glanced at him. "Of course I'm ok. Why wouldn't I be?" Jake sighed inwardly. Even if sis had every bone in her body broken, she'd forge on with all the bluster she could... "Whatevea. That was some dueling… Uh…" "Garrett. Garrett Hart." Garrett finished for him. "Cool. Da name's Jake Wheeler. I'm this crazy chick's brother. Nice ta meetcha." "Same here. Say, you got the time?" Jake pulled back the sleeve of his usual leather jacket. "Uh, about 5:45." Garrett froze. "Uh, I gotta run…" Oh Geez, sis'll murder me if I'm out too late… "S'cool. Seeyas later then."

"Bye Mira. Jake." Mira grinned as Garrett sped off with all the speed he could. "I'd say he's gonna be late." Jake watched Garrett until he rounded the corner and was ought of sight in the still falling sun. "That's the run of someone who has a strict sister at home…" Mira laughed. "How can you tell?" "Remember your fourteenth birthday?" Mira fake scowled. "YES. You where TWO HOURS late, and you came home all bloody and…" Jake laughed. "It wasn't THAT bad. Come on, Mom's making a roast tonight." Jake started off, and Mira followed, flinching with every step. I guess I got careless…. Damn but feedback hurts, and this wasn't anywhere near the professional levels. Mira grinned a secret grin. Still, even though I lost to him…. She sped up to catch up with her brother's long strides, casting strange shadows in the setting sun.

Elsewhere, the duel was still fresh on most people's lips. Ban and Yoshino talked and laughed about it as they made their way to their respective homes, Tea not far behind, although she was more concerned with tomorrow's assignment than the duel. But she looked up and caught her son in just the right light… He looks so much like his father… She cast a plaintive glance up at the sun. Yugi… Come back home soon… Don't miss your son's childhood…Or what's left of it….

Garrett was moving at speeds exceeding mach seven as he dashed up the stairs of the apartment building. He almost broke the key off in the lock in is hurry, glancing over his shoulder repeatedly. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, crap, crap……. Just gotta get into the apartment before sis gets back from work…. Damn! Wrong key! He fumbled quickly with his key ring. Here we go… almost there… YES! He threw open the door and rushed in, slamming headfirst into his sister. She recoiled only slightly, but Garrett hit the floor harder than a ton of bricks. "And where have YOU been?" "Hey Sis…" His sister scowled, but helped him up off the floor. "Are you hurt?" "No more than usual…." His sister's face softened. "I was worried, you know. After all, we just moved here to the city, and I didn't know what to think when you where gone for hours after school ended…" "Sis…" His sister grinned. "Come on now, don't go all teary eyed on me now. I was almost finished cooking dinner when I heard you run up here, not that the rest of the apartment didn't. Come on, let's eat."

Meanwhile, back at the Wheeler residence…

It was the usual chaos in the dining room. Jake had polished off a fourth of the roast, and his old man wasn't far behind. Jake slurped thirstily at his water and cast a wary glance at the remaining slices of the roast while his father, Joey, ripped another dinner roll asunder, watching the remaining roast with the same intensity as his son. Sitting detached from father and son was the other half of the family, by now well accustomed to the war that was dinner. Mai sipped at her water as Mira stared at her plate, obviously not all there as she pushed her last piece of roast back and forth across her plate. Mai set her water down, sighed and focused o her daughter. "Something on your mind honey?" Mira looked up distractedly. "Yeah, but it's nothing really."

"Give dat back!" Joey suddenly shouted as his son snagged one of his dinner rolls. "Yer getting slow, old man." Jake said with a slight laugh. Joe's temper flared. "I'm not that old! Now, gimme that…back!" He lunged across the table, but Jake dodged, holding the dinner roll away from his father tauntingly. Mai looked across at them disdainfully. "Joey, I told you, keep your shirt off the table!" Mira sighed, but not at the continuing battle of the dinner roll. Mai gave up and turned back to her daughter. "Ok, now seriously, what's on your mind? I haven't heard you sigh like that since finals last year." "I lost a duel today…" Joey's head snapped around. "You WHAT?" Jake took the momentary distraction to wriggle free of his father's death grip on the diner roll, and stuffed the whole thing down his mouth. "You SNEAK!" and then Joey was back in the fray, grappling for the last precious pieces of roast.

Mai was taken aback. "That's not like you. You haven't lost since you started." "That's nah all." Jake interrupted around a mouthful of precious roast, of which his father had the other end securely in his jaws. "She losht…Grrr! To shome new guy. Hey! No punching!" Mai looked at her daughter, who was blushing readily. "Really? He must be good to beat you…." There was a crash as Jake and Joey hit the ground, both fiercely determined to eat the last slice of roast, sitting like the Holy Grail on the fine silver platter in the middle of the table. Jake had made a grab for it, but Joey had tackled him.

Mai ignored them and stared with greater scrutiny. "A guy huh?" Mira blushed greatly. "Yeah…." Mai grinned, more to herself than anyone. "Really? So, is he….cute?" Mira was redder than a ripe tomato. "Um, he's… He's nothing special…" Mai laughed. "Really? Your face says otherwise…." CRASH! Jake had his dad in a suplex hold. "Come on old man, submit… You… Can't…. WIN!" Joey was fighting back. "NEVAH… THE LAST SLICE OF ROAST…. WILL BE MINE!" Agitation flashed in Mai's eyes. "For Pete's sake…" Mai reached across the table with her fork, picked up the last slice of roast, and neatly ate it. "MOM!" "MAI!" "That should teach you two. Now go and clean up the mess you've caused." Jake and Joey glowered, but Mai gave them a signature 'I'm-not-only-his-mom-but-also-your-spouse-and-if-you-value-your life-you'll-do-this-RIGHT-NOW' looks, and they scurried away. Mai relaxed as the boys cleared the table, mumbling about great roast lost, and looked back at her daughter. "So, tell me about this boy…"

The Hart Apartment

"So, you managed to pull of a win, huh?" Garrett sat back from his stir fry. "Yeah, but it was way too close. Good stir fry, Jenny." Jenny grinned. "You like? It's Uncle Mako's Recipe. He swears by it." Garrett laughed as he thought about his seafaring uncle. He had been a compatriot of His father's, not an uncle by blood, but a great man nonetheless. "Speaking of Uncle Mako, he's going out on another long trip at sea, and he was wondering if Ebi could stay with us. I said yes, sorry not to give you much warning." Garrett laughed again. "It's been years since I've seen Ebi! Of course I have no problem with it!" Jenny downed the rest of her Chai Tea and sat back. "I'm glad you feel that way, because she may very well be moving out here…"

Garret looked at his sister quizzically. "Really? That's a switch. This is a big city. I mean, I'm having culture shock and Terra City wasn't THAT much smaller, I can't imagine Ebi, who's lived on the deck of a ship pretty much since she was born not being thrown out of place…" Jenny sighed. "Yeah…I know what you're talking about…" Garrett sensed there was something she wasn't telling him, and he could tell that she wasn't about to tell him, either. So he switched topics.

"How was work today?" Jenny rolled her neck. "Not that bad, not too much different from working at the Kaibacorp in Terra. Except for this is the big thing- the headquarters…" She leaned forward and pulled a small package from her pocket. "These came with the station here, and seeing as how I'm sure not the one to use them…" She set the package on the table. It had the Kaibacorp insignia on the cover. Garrett could guess from the shape that they where duel monsters cards. He picked them up and opened the seal. He flipped through the new cards, and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Wow sis, these are some really good cards! And they just gave these to you?" Jenny sat back. "Pretty much. Ever since Kaibacorp took over Duel Monsters production from Industrial Illusions, the cards have become a symbol of Kaibacorp in of themselves… And, here. I know it's a few months late, but, happy birthday little brother." She handed him one last package, this one obviously just a single card sleeve, wrapped in brightly colored paper. Garrett set aside the Judge Man (ATK/2200 DEF/1500) he was looking at, and accepted the small card in wonder. "Thanks si-" he began as he unwrapped the card… But as he saw what it was, he cut short in mid sentence. "This…This Can't be…." Jenny grinned. "It is. Dad's best card. He gave it to me before he…disappeared…" She looked away painfully for a second, but turned back, a new light in her eyes. "He told me to give it to you when you turned sixteen, but in the chaos of the move I…. Garrett? Can you hear me?" Garrett was still staring at the card, tears welling in the corners of his eyes. "When I was little… When dad taught me how to play… He told me… That this card… This card… Would be mine someday… And now… Holding it in my hand… It brings back so many memories…" Jenny stood, walked around the table, and hugged her little brother. "He WILL come back some day, Garrett… I promise…"

Luna City Central High, One Week Later….

The schoolyard was abuzz as the two duelists faced off. Garrett sat back and sipped his soda as one took his turn. The guy, dressed heavily in blacks, drew his card and grinned. "I've got you now, fool! I summon The Mystic Clown (ATK/1500 DEF/1000)!" A mad-looking clown covered I an odd tunic with eyes all over it appeared in a flash of shadows, and laughed manically as it flexed. The guy in black laughed right along with it. "Mua ha ha ha! Your feeble little Skull Servant (ATK/300 DEF/200) doesn't stand a chance!"

Meanwhile, his opponent, Ban, was busy downing a sandwich. "Mmph?" He said around a mouthful of sandwich. He washed it down with a soda. "I'm sorry, what?" His opponent ran a hand through his dyed black hair. "I said you're doomed! You may have had the upper hand for a while; you may have gotten my life points down to 1800, but now, now my fortunes are looking up!" Ban adjusted his glasses and sighed. "I'm sure they are, D'Arque. Just like the last fifteen times I the past month they where looking up. I say, can we finish this? I have better things I could be doing…" D'Arque bristled at this. "Is that you surrendering, Ryou?" Ban ran a finger through his platinum blonde hair in agitation. "Look, D'Arque. In the two years that I have had the dubious pleasure of knowing you, you seem to have gotten it in your head that you can defeat me by sheer persistence alone. In the 350 games we have played, I have won a total of 350 times…." D'Arque seemed a little confused at the big words. "How's this now?" Ban sighed, glanced at his amulet, and looked at his opponent. "Just make your move…" D'Arque seemed to swell. "That I will! Mystic Clown- Psycho Charge attack!" The mystic clown made some odd hand signals, and a blast of dark energy formed at its fingertips. It made ready to launch this blast at the unprotected skull servant.

"Die, Ban Ryou! DIE!" D'Arque shouted. "Not likely." Ban countered. "I activate my trap card- destruction ring." Suddenly, a ring with a bomb in it appeared on the mystic clown's finger. The clown froze for a second, and then tried frantically to pull the ring off. However, just when it came loose, the ring detonated, its explosion immolating the clown, and hitting both of the duelists. It made a two thousand damage dent in Ban's previously untouched life points, but it took D'Arque out of the game.

"DAMN YOU, BAN RYOU!" He bellowed as the blonde duelist walked off, shaking his head sadly.

Garrett walked with Jake and Yoshino to catch up with Ban. "Man, that D'Arque guy is a loser…" Jake said, looking over his shoulder. Ban sighed. "Persistent though…" Garrett looked at the defeated duelist, who was raging aloud in the now-deserted schoolyard "How'd he get so obsessed with beating you anyways, Ban?" Ban shrugged." "I can't really recall. Something about getting the last club sandwich…." Yoshino stretched, his massive hair almost bowling Garrett over. "But with his defeat comes spring break! So you guys, what do you have planned?"

Ban glanced at a couple of girls form school passing on the other side of the street. "As for me, mother said she needed help categorizing the latest batch of artifacts dad sent back from Egypt." Jake made a face. "Come on, Ban! It's spring break! LIVE A LITTLE, you bookworm! We're planning to head to the beach on Wednesday. We've got some family coming into town on Friday, though." "Who is it?" Yoshino enquired. "Our mutual uncle, who's here on business, and my cute little cousin Symphony." Jake replied. "Uncle Tristan? Wow, but it's been a while…" "Seriously." ban added.

Garrett was lost. "This somebody I should know?" Yoshino glanced back at him. "Nah, you probably wouldn't…" "You could say that he's a family friend…Of all of our families…" Jake said, trying to find some way for it not to sound awkward. He failed. "I think I get it though. You mentioned that all of your folks where friends for years, right?" "Indeed." ban said. "In fact, my Father and Mr. Moto work together, as it would happen." Something suddenly came back to Jake. "Oh, dat's right! You all, and Garrett, too, you're all invited to my place next Saturday! Dad's throwin' a barbeque!" "I'll be there." Yoshino said. "Count me in, too." Said Ban. "Cool, but can I bring my sis, and someone else?" "Sure, but who's the "someone else"?" "My…well, cousin. Ebi." "Is she hot?" Jake asked, but laughed. "Just kidding, man. Sure, the more the merrier!" Garret took his corner off and called over his shoulder. "We'll be there! Later, you all!"

--------------------------------

G: That's the end of this chapter. What is Ebi Like? What is the mysterious card that Garrett received? And when will I come up with another plot hook? The answers to these questions and more, as well as the next epic tournament, is all coming up next, in Yu-Gi-Oh: Legacy of the Cards!