AN: Beta Read by Brawn1984 and Starrmastrr.
AN: I do not own Red hood or Yu-Gi-Oh.
One year later.
Jason walked to the closet in his room. He'd been given a house by Pegasus for being to the castle first, or at least that was the official reason. He'd been busy the last year. The first thing he did was test out of school, passing with A's across the board, granted just barely. He was actually really smart, but school was just soooooooo Ra damned boring. Next thing he did was get himself emancipated. The family courts allowed it since he'd turned sixteen in his Coma, his dad was a member of the Yakuza, and his mom had died of an overdose.
He had completed physical therapy six months earlier. He and Mokuba had been cooped up in the Kaiba mansion for those six months with nothing to do but school, physical therapy, talk duel strategies, duel, watch T.V., and play video games. That is until the attacks started.
The first one had taken place a week after they started staying at the Kaiba mansion. A man came in and tried taking Mokuba while they were eating dinner. He hadn't taken into account Jason's mastery of the Millennium Eye. He'd ripped the man's soul from his body and Seto sent the body back to the Big Five.
It wasn't until a month later when they were attacked again. Jason was asleep when the alarms went off. He pressed a button on the remote Kaiba had given him, and the doors locked locking Mokuba in his room. He waited for the attacker to come into his room. When he did Jason locked his door.
"That was really stupid kid." The guy said. "Now you're trapped in here with me."
"I don't think so." Jason said. "You see. I'm not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with me."
"Oh yeah? How do you figure?"
"Because. Unlike you, I know every move you're going to make before you make it."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. This is when you pull your gun on me."
"What? The guy asked when he pulled his gun out."
"This is the point that you question what's going on."
"How did you know that?"
"This is when you shakily aim your gun at me."
The man began shaking as he aimed his gun at Jason.
"This is when you tell me to stop it."
"Stop it. You're freaking me out."
"This is the point you Miss your shot."
The man pulled the trigger and missed Jason.
"And this is the point that I pull you into a Shadow Game and kill you."
"Wait. What?" The man asked before they disappeared into a purple void.
"WHERE ARE WE!" The man yelled.
"Welcome to the Shadow Realm." Jason explained. "Normal humans can't stay here long, the strain is too much for them, but don't worry. You won't be staying long."
"What are you talking about!"
•Come out and play.• Jason spoke in perfect Arabic.
"Wh-what?"
The ground shook with tremendous force, the air filled with the sound of rattling chains, and the sound of blades cutting through the air. "You'll be meeting them soon."
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" The man yelled.
The force sounded like footsteps, the rattling chains became more prominent, and the air was broken by the sound of a terrifying, visceral howl.
"NNOOO!" The man yelled shooting blindly into the purple blackness of the Shadow Realm.
•Fetch.•
A massive black maw appeared from the blackness and the man disappeared with a terrified wail.
•Good Demon Dog.• Jason said walking towards the dog and patting its leg.
The dog licked his face once, and Jason left the Shadow Realm.
He looked around his room. It was empty. He grabbed the remote and unlocked his door. He tried getting up and needed to use the wall to walk.
He walked through the house and checked it. The last room he checked was Mokuba's room, and Mokuba was still sleeping.
With his search of the house done he went back to his room and felt a presence around him. He looked around and found Montgomery sitting at his desk.
"Hello Jason." Montgomery said.
"Montgomery." He replied.
"How's life?"
"Not bad. Need to get full control of my body back, but not bad, how are you?"
"Concerned that you aren't more wary of me."
"Why should I be?"
"Why shouldn't you be?"
"Touché."
"But really? Why weren't you startled by me?"
"I heard your thoughts."
"What?"
"I heard your thoughts. It's part of the package that comes with the Millennium Eye."
"Cool."
"Yeah. It also gives me access to the Shadow Realm, the ability to read peoples thoughts, enter their minds, see the cards they hold in their hands when they duel, know their strategies, take souls, trap souls in cards, etc."
"Um. Isn't that cheating."
"Yeah. I need a way to Metaphorically close the Millennium Eye."
"Do you have any idea about how to do that?"
"No." Jason said. 'Or at least not from here.'
"Too bad." Montgomery said. "I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"I'll have it sent to you this week."
"Okay. Well. I suggest you leave before anyone finds out you're here and starts spreading rumors."
"Good idea. Ciao."
Montgomery left and Jason climbed back into bed.
The next time someone tried to take Mokuba was a month later when Jason was doing his Physical therapy. This time the Big Five sent a woman to try and take Mokuba. Jason was busy with Physical therapy, when she grabbed Mokuba. She wasn't expecting Mokuba to elbow her and cut her across the face with a knife that Jason had given him. The woman let out a scream, and grabbed for Mokuba, but he stabbed her hand.
She ripped the knife from his hand and grabbed him by the hair. "You're going to pay for that you little bastard."
"Actually no." Jason said slamming her head into the wall. "I don't think he will."
The woman turned around and Kneed Jason in the crotch.
Jason fell to the floor, and the woman grabbed Mokuba, and began dragging him out.
"Excuse me." A familiar voice said.
The woman turned to see Montgomery standing in the doorway. "MOVE!" She demanded.
"No. I don't think I will." He spoke.
"DO IT! OTHERWISE, I'LL KILL THE BRAT RIGHT HERE AND NOW."
"No. I don't think you will."
"AND WHY NOT!"
Montgomery's eye's glowed blue. "Because you're about to be... 'Unsummoned'."
The woman screamed as she was wrapped in blue energy and pulled out of the house being forced to drop Mokuba.
Jason got up and looked at Montgomery. "How were you able to do that?" He asked.
"The how and why aren't important. What is important is that you finish physical therapy quickly, so I don't have to keep showing up to save your sorry ass every time it happens."
"And how do you expect me to heal faster than I can!"
Montgomery handed Mokuba a vial of glowing green liquid. "Bathe in this. It has properties that promote healing."
"And why should I do anything that you say?"
"Because next time I won't be here to help you. I have tournaments out of town for the next few months, and I won't be back for at least that long."
"Fine, but I'm not doing it because you told me to."
"Of course not."
"I'm doing it because I need to be ready the next time the Big Five send someone after Mokuba."
"Of course. You should also teach Mokuba to be more fluid in his movements, and not Choreograph his moves so much."
"All right. Anything else?"
"Yeah. If you want to upgrade your decks, I suggest you visit the Card Trader. He owns a... store downtown. It's pretty hush hush so you'll have to look for it."
"It's a card Black Market, isn't it?"
"Pretty much."
"Fine."
"Well. I'm off."
Jason held his hand out to take the vial from Mokuba, and he went to the bathroom. He filled the tub and emptied the vial into the tub causing the water to glow an ethereal green.
He slipped into the tub and fell asleep.
"Hello Bird boy." Joker said. "Did you miss the time we spent together? Is that why you came back for more?"
Jason was terrified. Joker, the man who killed him, was standing in front of him, and it enraged him.
The Joker swung his crowbar at him, but Jason caught it with reflexes faster than he'd ever had, and it didn't hurt. He swung the crowbar at Joker and hit him hard enough to shatter ribs. The Joker laughed a little hoarsely. "Good on ya kid. You are the only one who truly gets it. Bats has his rules, but you. You actually understand. Now, use what you know and do what Batman can't!"
Jason looked at the crowbar and snarled. He used it to beat Joker, used it for what Joker had done to him, used it for what he did to Barbara, used it for all the people the Joker had killed, murdered, tortured, raped. Used it so that he couldn't do anything else to hurt another living person, and when he was done. He looked up to see Bruce standing there, judging him. "I did what you were too scared to do!" He exclaimed.
"We! Don't! Kill!" Bruce snapped back.
"Well maybe if you did then I wouldn't have died!"
Bruce looked hurt. "You don't understand Jason. You never did. I can't kill. If I do... if I cross that line. I'm no better than him."
"BULLSHIT! YOU WOULDN'T BE ANYTHING LIKE HIM! HE WAS A PSYCHOPATH AND A MONSTER! YOU'D BE DOING NOT ONLY GOTHAM, BUT THE WORLD, A FAVOR BY KILLING HIM OFF!"
"And what about you Jason? You're just as much a monster as him."
"FUCK YOU BRUCE! AT LEAST WHEN I KILL PEOPLE ITS PEOPLE WHO ARE MONSTERS! ITS PEOPLE WHO WANT NOTHING MORE THAN TO HIRT OTHERS FOR SELF GAIN!"
"You can kill a killer, but the number of killers stay the same."
"THEN KILL ONE HUNDRED AND ONE KILLERS! PROBLEM SOLVED!"
"You still don't get it."
"THEN EXPLAIN TO ME YOUR DELUSION SO I CAN UNDERSTAND!"
"If I kill the Joker, what's to stop me from killing Penguin, or Harvey, or Ivy?"
"AND YOU'RE MISSING THE FACT THAT BY KILLING JOKER YOU CUT CRIME IN HALF IF NOT MORE!"
"I never should have picked you up off that street all those years ago. I was a fool for believing in you. You're a disgrace to the Family."
Jason looked at Bruce with hatred burning behind his eyes. "Maybe you're right Bruce. Don't worry. I'll stay away from you, so you won't have to look at me any longer. Now leave me the fuck alone."
"Jason..." Bruce began.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jason yelled.
Jason woke up when his head hit the back of the tub. "Ow!" He shouted. He stood up and felt better, no. He felt better than he'd felt in four months. He stepped out of the tub and drained the water before drying off. He dressed in his clothes and walked to his room before changing into something a bit more... comfortable.
Mokuba was sitting at the table. He'd made lunch and was just about to eat when he saw someone standing in the doorway. He looked over and saw another woman.
"Are you here to try and take me?" He asked.
"Yes." She spoke. "It's not like I want to, but the Big Five have my daughter. They said that if I don't come back with you then they will kill her."
Mokuba growled. "Why do they want me so bad?"
"So, they can use you as leverage to get Seto to sign the company over to them."
"I don't see why." Jason said walking into the kitchen wearing a pair of black tactical boots, charcoal grey tactical pants, and a black undershirt. The Millennium Eye glowed gold in his socket. "The company is useless to them once Seto gives it to them."
"What do you mean!" She demanded.
"Do you know how much free time I've had?" He asked. "I know how to hack, and I made a change to the terms and conditions of the contract. If Seto Kaiba, Mokuba Kaiba, or a relative or descendant is not kept in charge of KaibaCorp then all assets will be divided up among several charities with strict instructions that if anyone tries to take the money for anything other than its intended purpose, they will be arrested within 24 hours of the withdrawal."
"What! No! That's impossible!"
"You mean like how I know that you are Katherine Higgins? The Big Fives Espionage specialist? The same Katherine Higgins who doesn't have a child, hasn't adopted any children, got a hysterectomy so she couldn't have children, and has said on multiple occasions that she would rather get a root canal done without Novocain before she considered having children?"
"That's... how do you know that? You shouldn't know that."
"Like I Said. I've had a lot of time." Jason said. "Now. Begone!" His Millennium Eye glowed brightly and Katherine let out a wail as he entered her mind and made her see what he wanted her to see.
Katherine looked around and saw children, babies and children everywhere. She felt her clothes tighten and when she looked down, she saw that she was pregnant with her stomach deforming whenever a foot or fist pressed against her. She sat down and looked up to see a dentist sitting next to her. "Oh. I'm sorry Miss Higgins, but it looks like you need thirty two root canals. Sadly, today is the only day we can do them, and your file says that you are allergic to Novocain. Unfortunately, that's all we have, so it looks like we're doing this without."
Katherine let out a shriek of terror and cried out in pain, and kept mumbling: "No, no, no. Make it stop! Make it stop!"
Mokuba looked at her before looking at Jason. "Is what you said true?" He asked.
"As far as she knows it is."
"Did you actually know all that stuff about her?"
"Yes."
"Will she ever stop screaming?" Mokuba asked going pale.
"No."
"What did you do to her?"
"I'm making her live her worst nightmares all at the same time."
Mokuba shuddered.
"Don't feel any pity for her. She was going to use you as a bargaining chip in order to force Seto into handing control of KaibaCorp over to the Big Five who are war profiteers and got rich by selling weapons that were used to kill people, some of whom were innocent. I'm sorry If I don't feel any pity towards her."
"What are we going to do now?" Mokuba asked.
Jason looked at the woman in contempt. "Grab your vest. We're leaving."
"Are you strong enough to leave?"
"Yeah. It seems like whatever was in that vial worked like a charm. I feel better than ever. Strong too."
"Cool." Mokuba looked at the woman. "Are we just going to leave her here?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
They left the house and headed for the garage. Jason snapped his foot out and caught a man in the crotch with the heel of his foot.
Both Jason and Mokuba cringed when they heard the man whimper in agony.
"Let that be a lesson to you." Jason said before they walked into the garage and jumped into a 1967 Chevy Impala.
"So why did you want this car?" Mokuba asked. "You could have had any car you wanted. Why did you choose this car?"
"Have you ever seen something, and it resonated with you? Like your Hieracosphinx, but on a whole other level entirely?"
Mokuba thought about that. He couldn't think of any situations like that. "I don't think so."
"Well, you will. One day. That's what this car was. I saw it, and I knew that I had to have it. So, I bought it."
"Do you have a license?"
"As far as Domino City is concerned, I do."
Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Can you make me a license?" He asked.
"Sure." Jason said.
"Really!"
"Yeah. When you're sixteen."
"Very funny." Mokuba said.
"I'm serious."
"Oh, come on!"
"Sorry, but technically I'm not supposed to be driving. I can ride a motorcycle, but not a car."
"Then why are you driving a car?"
"Because my bike is in the shop."
"Wait. You have a motorcycle too?"
"Yeah. I chose a 1967 Chevy Impala, and a Harley-Davidson XL1200C Sportster."
"What's that look like."
"Let's go take a look." Jason said shifting the Impala into gear and taking off.
They stopped at a garage, and went in.
"Anyone home?" Jason asked.
"Yeah." A gruff voice said. "In the back."
They walked to the back to see a tall tan guy wearing all black. His hair was dark black, and his eyes were pale blue.
"What's up?" He asked.
"I came to get any information on the Harley."
"Let me check. I'm not the one working on it." He walked towards the office. A minute later a pale bombshell with orange hair, green eyes, and curves that made most people jealous or lustful walked up to them. She wore a tight yellow tank top that showed a large portion of cleavage leaving nothing to the imagination, a pair of green coveralls that she'd tied around her waist, and a pair of brown and yellow work boots that were tied tight and gave her the look of a warrior rather than a mechanic.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yea-yeah." Jason's voice cracked before he said. "Yeah. I came in to ask about the Harley-Davidson."
"Oh. I just brought it back from a test drive."
"And?" Jason asked.
"It's like a vibrator on wheels. I know what I'm doing tonight."
Jason felt his pants tighten at the thoughts that ran through his head.
"So. Do you want to take her for a test drive?"
"Would I!" Jason yelled before looking at Mokuba.
"Don't worry." She spoke. "We can look after Mokuba."
Jason stepped in front of Mokuba and got ready for a fight.
"Dude." She spoke. "Chill. Hey Mokuba." She nodded.
"Hi Shiera." Mokuba said.
"Who's the stiff?"
"Jason. He's my bodyguard now."
"What happened to Johnson?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay." Shiera said before she grabbed Jason's shirt and threw him over her shoulder with a war cry. "Listen up shit for brains!" She yelled. "Apparently the last guy didn't take me seriously, but if you hurt Mokuba I'll lock you in a car and put you in the car crusher! Alive and fully conscious!" She stepped on his neck. "Do I make myself clear?"
Jason tried moving, but she put more pressure on his throat.
""I said. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?"
Jason grabbed her ankle and squeezed, hard, before pushing up pulling her ankle off his throat. "I just wanted you to know that I have no plans on hurting Mokuba, and you have my respect. Not an easy feat."
"What did you say?"
"I said that you have my respect." Jason said. "Not many people have earned my respect, so congratulations."
She pulled on her leg ripping it from Jason's grip. "What makes you different from the others?" She demanded.
"Well for one..." Jason said. "...I could have ripped your soul out of your body and locked it in a Duel Monsters card, trapped you in your worst nightmare, or ya know, fought you. Though I'm sure that Mokuba wouldn't want to see us fight."
Shiera threw a punch a Jason who blocked it and countered with a palm strike. Shiera pushed down blocking Jason's strike and snapped out with an elbow. Jason blocked her elbow and tried sweeping her legs out from under her, but she jumped up and seemed to fly over him before kicking him in the face with her heel.
Jason flipped with the kick and kicked Shiera knocking her off balance and sending her to the floor. Shiera rolled to her feet and ran at Jason. Jason landed on his hands and flipped up landing on his feet before he ran at Shiera.
The two clashed, and locked hands straining against each other, trying to get the advantage. Shiera lashed out with her foot trying to kick Jason in the groin, but Jason locked their legs and pulled.
They both lost their balance and fell to the floor. Shiera rolled onto Jason, straddling him, and elbowed him in the face. Jason lashed out wildly, hitting her in the stomach, the solar plexus, and her right breast.
"Break it up!" The man yelled picking them both up. "What the hell was this!"
Shiera smiled at Jason, a black eye starting to form and a split lip bleeding freely. "Just making sure the new guy isn't going to hurt Mokuba."
Jason had a bloody nose, and his socket with the Millennium Eye was tender. "Did I pass your test?" He asked spitting blood out on the floor.
"Yeah. You passed. Now, take your bike out for a test drive." Shiera said tossing him the key.
Jason ran to his bike and inserted the key before revving it's engine.
As soon as Jason left two men walked in. "We're here for Mokuba." The first man said.
"Yeah..." Shiera began before she heard the sound of a Harley roar to life before it began purring. "...I don't think so." She spoke.
"And how exactly do you expect to stop us?" The second guy asked pulling a gun on them.
"Seriously?" She asked.
"Yes, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"What about him?" She asked pointing to the back.
"Who?" They asked.
Jason tore out of the back on his Harley before he spun, knocking the guys down. "You wanna take these guys?" He asked.
"Yeah." Shiera said. "Conner and I will take these ass holes."
Jason gave her a two fingered salute and nodded at Mokuba before he tore out of the garage.
"All right." Shiera said punching her fist into her open palm. "Time to crack some skulls."
Jason tore through the streets letting the wind rip through his hair. He drifted in and out of traffic as he rode through the streets of Domino City.
He stopped at a traffic light when it changed to red. He was waiting for the light to turn green when a Ducati 1000 Sport Classic Biposto pulled up. He nodded, and the rider nodded back under its helmet.
Jason revved his engine. The other rider revved back. The light turned green, and the two riders took off.
The riders fought to gain ground as they drove through the streets of Domino City at near illegal speeds. They rode for maybe ten minutes before they parked at a diner.
They got off their bikes and ran for the door, Jason vaulting over the railing and into the diner proper.
The other rider came in not even two seconds later. "What was that?!" The other rider demanded ripping his helmet off to show short, straight, messy pink hair, green eyes, and standing roughly at 5'7".
"I don't know what you're talking about." Jason replied.
"You jumped the railing!"
"Race wasn't finished."
The other rider looked quizzically at Jason. "All right, I'll give you that one."
"Names Jason." Jason said. "You handle that bike pretty well."
"Ryder." The other rider said. "And so do you."
"Can I get you gentlemen something?" A Barista called from the counter.
Jason looked over and his eyes went wide. Standing at the counter stood a girl about his age give or take a year or two. She had long blond hair, the deepest blue eyes he'd ever seen, so deep that he could drown in them if he weren't careful. She was shorter than Ryder, but only barely, and she seemed to give off an air of faux clumsiness.
"Hey." She said snapping her fingers. "Are you going to order something or not?"
"Uh, um, yeah." He said walking up to the counter.
"What'll it be?" She asked a little sternly.
"Coffee." He spoke. "Large."
"Okay. Is that everything?" She asked. 'Oh my gosh!' She thought. 'He's looking at me. He's paying attention to me. Is it the good kind of attention, or the bad kind? Wait. What if he's a creep? Damn it. What am I supposed to do?'
"I'll take your name and number if that's all right." Jason said.
'What!' "What?"
"I asked for your name and number. Sorry. You probably get that a lot since you're hot and everything... sorry. I'll just leave."
'He thinks I'm hot? He doesn't think I'm weird or quirky or nerdy? Holy shit. Either I got a weirdo or I'm having a dream.'
Jason sat down at the bar and waited. He "closed" the Millennium Eye so he could think. He'd learned how to "Close" the Millennium Eye after he'd heard Seto's thoughts one night. He shuddered at the memory and wished he could erase that night from his mind forever. The mental images of Seto's dreams would forever haunt him. What would a hybrid child of Seto, and 'Blue Eyes' even look like?
As soon as he thought that two people, a man and his daughter or niece, got up and left after paying for their food and drinks. A third, Montgomery, made a gagging sound and spilled his coffee in his lap and glared at Jason.
Jason turned around and looked at Montgomery before nodding at him, not realizing that he was the cause for Montgomery's misfortune.
"What the fuc..." Montgomery began before looking at his sister and another woman. "I mean." He began again. "What is your problem, Todd! Why the hell were you thinking of that!"
"Hey!" Jason snapped. "Don't blame me! Blame him for dreaming about that!"
"Who?"
"You know who!"
Montgomery shuddered. "That guy has issues."
Ryder and the Barista looked at the two in confusion.
The door opened and a blonde guy came stumbling in.
"Oh no!" The Barista said. "Joey! Are you okay?"
Everyone turned to look at the new comer and Jason saw Joey stumble in looking like he'd had the shit kicked out of him. "'Ey Kazu." He said leaning against the bar. "Two of da usuals."
"Joey." Jason asked walking up to him. "What happened?"
"It's nothing Jay."
"It's not nothing. Something happened."
"Back off Jay! It's not yer problem."
"One of my friends walks in here looking like he got mugged, it becomes my problem."
"If ya really we're my friend den where were ya for da past year?"
"In a coma and then physical therapy, but that's not important. What is important is that I'm here now. Now tell me who did this to you." He said in a dangerously low voice.
"What are ya gonna do about it?"
"Tell me what happened."
"Why should I tell ya Jay?"
"Because. You either tell me, or I find out on my own."
Joey grit his teeth, which was a mistake because his teeth hurt, one of his teeth must be loose or something. "My old man. He found out about da prize money, an' figured I owed 'im for takin' care of me for da last ten years or somethin'."
"That's horrible." Kazu said.
"Stay here." Jason said.
"No Jay!" Joey snapped grabbing his arm and wincing as he did.
Jason noticed and glared at Joey. "Joey..." He said in a low tone. "...Your dad took three million dollars from you. Money that you were going to use for Serenity's operation so she can see again. Are you just going to let him get away with that?"
Joey closed his eyes, but Jason could see tears squeezing out through his lids. "I don't know Jay." He whispered, his voice cracking. "I just don't know."
"Tell me where you live. I'll take care of it."
Jason ran through the apartment building and ran to the door Joey told him he and his dad lived. He ran to the door and kicked it open.
"Who the hell are you!" A man demanded.
Jason looked at the man, he looked like Joey, but with a beer gut, greasy goatee, and thick, hairy arms. He glared at the Man. "Why did you take the prize money Joey won!" He demanded.
"Oh great." The guy thought, Jason refused to think about him as Joey's dad. A dad was someone who protected you and cared for you. This guy wasn't a dad. "The brat went and told his friends. Well, what do you think that you'll be able to do?"
Jason glared at the man with the Millennium Eye, and they disappeared into the Shadow Realm. "Not much in the real world." He spoke. "But here. I'm here I can do whatever the hell I want to you, and you can't do shit to stop me. It's your turn to feel powerless."
"Do you honestly think that I'm scared of you?"
"Not me." Jason Said. "Them."
The Shadow Realm blinked out and reappeared as the 'Pandemonium' field spell, a Platform shrouded in darkness and storms formed.
An orange figure with black demonic Wings and charcoal grey bone armor wielding a blackened bone sword walked up the stairs towards them. He was followed by the 'Imprisoned Queen Archfiend' who ripped her chains from the wall that imprisoned her and began walking towards Jason. 'Terrorking Archfiend' walked beside her, and they fused into a creature of terrible power. The creature was as tall as 'Imprisoned Queen Archfiend' but wore the 'Terrorking Archfiend's Armor, she wore the 'Imprisoned Queen Archfiend's chains, and wielded 'Terrorking Archfiend's sword.
She was followed by an Archfiend wearing red boots, yellow and black pinstripe pants, red bracers, bone armor and had an orange beard, red hair, and crazed eyes. It's skin was grotesque and desiccated, and it looked like it was split in half and had a mouth where the separate halves met, and in between the halves was a humanoid skull.
This was followed by the 'Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning' who was followed by 'Shadowknight Archfiend'.
A sorcerer wearing red and blue robes with blue orbs forged into them and used a staff with a blue orb fused into the top with red demonic wings on either side of the orb walked up to Jason and stood by his side.
'Skull Archfiend of Lightning' walked up behind Joey's and Serenity's Sperm donor.
A pale figure with blood red hair and shrouded in a black traveling cloak walked up to Jason's other side. It let an arm outside the cloak and showed a pale clawed hand with blood red fur going up its arm.
A purple Archfiend with gold and silver armor with a cape billowing in the wind and a wicked looking long, curved sword on his hip walked up to the man's other side and waited for Jason's command.
The 'Beast of Talwar' and the 'King of Yamimakai' Panik edition also walked up to the group, Panik glaring at Jason, but too scared to actually do anything about it.
The 'Summoned Skull' also appeared on the far side of the platform.
Finally, the fire erupted and an Archfiend who looked like the 'Summoned Skull' with purple sinewy muscle, midnight blue and silver white armor, and pitch-black horns crawled out of the fire pit.
"Wh-what the hell!" The man yelled. "What is this!"
"You just said it." Jason said. "It's hell. Welcome. Do you have anything to say before you die?"
"I TOOK THE MONEY TO GIVE IT TO SERENITY!" He yelled. "JOEY'S JUST AN IDIOT KID! HE WOULD HAVE SPENT IT ON THAT STUPID CARD GAME!"
"That's where you're wrong!" Jason snapped. "Joey went to Duelist Kingdom! Put himself in danger time and time again! DID EVERYTHING HE POSSIBLY COULD! AND WHY! HE DID IT FOR SERENITY! HE'S HAD THE DAMN CHECK FOR NEARLY A YEAR AND HE HASN'T SPENT IT YET! WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT HIM!"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
"IT SHOULD TELL YOU THAT HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN DUEL MONSTERS AS MUCH AS HE'S INTERESTED IN HELPING HIS BABY SISTER!"
"I'M SORRY!"
"You should be!" Jason snarled. "Now die."
The Archfiend's descended on the man who let out a shriek of pain and horror as he died.
Jason blinked and he was standing in Joey's apartment. He began looking around the apartment, looking for the money for Serenity's operation. He found it in the man's pocket. He took it and left the apartment.
He walked back to the diner and walked to the table that Joey was sitting at with Ryder and Kazu. "Here ya go." He said tossing the envelope on the table.
Joey grabbed it and opened it. "It's da money for Serenity's operation!"
"Yeah. Your Sperm Donor said that he was going to give it to Serenity because he said that you would just spend it on Duel Monsters cards."
"WHAT! NO, I WOULDN'T!" Joey demanded.
"I know." Jason said. "Is there a reason why you didn't take it to Serenity right after Duelist Kingdom?"
"Well, I did. But when I did, I found out dat someone else paid for it."
"What?"
"Yeah. I handed da money ta my ma, and she asked me what it was I told her dat it was da money for Serenity's operation, but she told me that Industrial Illusions sent a check for da operation, and she told me ta keep da money."
"So, what are you going to do with it?"
"Ima save it and use it ta move outta my dad's place when I'm old enough."
"You could get emancipated." Jason suggested. "That's what I did."
"Emancipated? Ya mean like Pegasus?"
"What?" Jason asked.
"Ya said emancipation, like how Pegasus created Duel Monsters?"
"Not imagination." Jason said. "Emancipation." He enunciated the word. "It means that you prove that you are capable of living on your own before eighteen."
"I don't know. I have a record, and the judge said dat he expected ta see me in prison before I turn 21."
"Wow." Jason said. "No faith inhumanity anyone." 'As if I'm one to talk.' He thought.
They sat and talked for a while before Kazu said. "Are you going to be okay Joey?"
"Yeah. I'm feelin' a lot better since I got da money back. Thanks again Jay."
"Hey. What are friends for if not beating the shit out of terrible fathers?"
"Language!" Montgomery barked. "My sister is sitting right here!"
"Oh, come on Onii-Chan." The girl sitting next to Montgomery and a girl who looked familiar to Jason, but he couldn't place her, said. "I've heard worse at school, not to mention what they show on T.V. And the adult channels."
Everyone looked at the girl.
"What did you just admit to?" Montgomery asked horrified.
'Shit!' The girl thought. 'I wasn't supposed to say that! What do I do now?'
"Sina Chan." Montgomery Said. "Did you just admit to watching the adult channels?"
"Kinda, yeah."
"Why? There's a reason those shows are meant for adults."
"Oh, come on Montgomery." The girl sitting next to him said. "She was probably just curious. You know how kids her age can be. Plus. It's a good way to reduce stress."
Jason noticed how Ryder was trying to hide from Montgomery's girlfriend. What was that all about?
"But it's my sister!" Montgomery countered.
"So, it's okay for me or you or Jason or Joey or Ryder or even Kazutaka to watch the adult channels, but not your sister? Isn't that a little... I don't know, chauvinistic, misogynistic, or hell, even sexist?"
"I don't know! The last thing my parents told we before they died was to take care of my sister, and I already fucked up once with Panik! So, you'll excuse me if I just don't know what the fuck to do in this scenario!"
Everyone looked at him and felt for him. At the end of the day, he was just trying to do right by his sister.
"Well maybe you should ask someone for help once in a while." The girl said. "It's not a sin to ask for help."
"But I'm the oldest one of us here. If I don't know, then how will someone younger than me know?"
"Sometimes the hardest questions have the easiest answers. Like. Hello Ryder. How long were you planning on ignoring me?"
"Oh. Hi Mina. I didn't see you there."
"You do realize that I have Tina on speed dial, right?"
"Eep!" Ryder squeaked. "Please don't tell her I'm here. I almost didn't survive our last encounter."
"You locked yourself in your hotel room and jumped out your window with all your belongings and left a five hundred dollar tip for the staff. Tina told the concierge that she was your wife and that you locked her out of the room because you were nervous because it was your guy's honeymoon across the world."
Ryder went beet red. "I am 18!" Ryder yelled. "She's older than me!"
"So, she's a cougar." Jason and Montgomery said in unison. "You should be ecstatic that an older woman is interested in you." The two looked at each other before they burst into tears, they were laughing so hard.
"Ya know." Mina said. "I should probably be insulted that by calling Tina a cougar that you're calling me a cougar but considering that she has the sex drive of a cougar, and I don't, I got the endurance of a bitch in heat. Something that Montgomery has experienced firsthand."
"Oh fuck!" Sina yelled. "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah! I'm not hearing this! The last thing I want to hear about is my brothers sex life!"
Montgomery went beet red.
Mina held up six fingers followed by nine fingers.
Kazutaka's face heated and she sent a text to Mina. Mina responded quickly causing Kazutaka to blush crimson with her response.
"I heard someone was talking shit." A voice called from the door.
"Eep!" Ryder whined. "Hide me!" He yelled hiding under the table.
"I know that you're here Ryder Furukawa." The voice said. "Come out and play."
"Hi Tina." Mina said.
"Mina." Tina said. "Thanks for sending me that text."
"You what!" Ryder yelled from under the table.
"FOUND YOU!" Tina yelled diving under the table.
Jason spun out of the splash zone and watched Joey and Kazutaka do the same before Tina dove under the table and the table began rocking before Tina dragged Ryder out by his leg.
"Now you can give me what you owe me!" Tina demanded.
"What?" Ryder asked.
"You owe me a rematch at 21." She spoke.
"Is that all?" He asked.
"No. There's one or two more things."
"I don't like we're this is going."
"Good. You shouldn't." Tina said before grabbing Ryder by the shirt and dragging him outside the Café.
They watched as he got on his Ducati, and she got on after him wrapping her arms around his middle and holding on tight.
"Wow." Jason said. "No offense Mina, but your sister is crazy."
"Yeah. I know. I'm the sane one, except when I'm in bed."
"La, La, La, La, La!" Sina yelled. "I'm not listening to you talk about your and my brothers sex life!"
Jason looked at Kazutaka. "Are you still on the clock?" He asked. "Because I was wondering if I could get my coffee."
"Yes!" Kazutaka yelled. "Let me get you your coffee!" She ran behind the counter to get the coffee. "What was it again?"
"Coffee, cream, and more sugar than should be strictly legal."
She laughed and got his coffee before writing something on the side. She gave it to him, and he saw her name and number.
Kazutaka Nozomu
(201)-120-1552
He flipped his phone open and put her name and number into his phone before flipping it closed and putting it away. "So." He asked. "Did you maybe want to go out sometime?"
"Uh... sure." She spoke. "Where to?"
"Well, we have the Arcade, the theatre, we could get lunch, if you're into Duel Monsters we could..."
"Ugh." Kazutaka complained. "Duel Monsters!"
"What? Do you not like it?"
"No. I do, it's just. They don't like me. I have this deck built that's built just like my cousins deck, but I can't even win a casual duel. Everyone else is like: "oh. Go duel Kazuta because she always loses!" And it gets annoying you know."
"Don't I." Jason said. "Well maybe it's not you. Maybe it's your deck."
"Maybe, but I don't really know how to build a deck. I just copied my cousins."
"Well how about we build you a better deck?" He suggested."
"Really! How?" She asked.
"Are You're free on Saturday?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I know a place we can go."
"Okay." She spoke.
"Cool. I have to head out now, but it was nice talking to you."
"It was nice talking to you too." Kazutaka called after him.
"Ooh." Mina said. "I think someone just got bit by the love bug."
"We just talked." Kazutaka said.
"That's how Montgomery and I started and look at us now."
Kazutaka looked at her. "Oh my gosh!" She cried out. "I have a date on Saturday, and I have no idea what I'm going to wear!"
"Don't worry. Mina's got this."
Jason drove back to the garage and saw Shiera showing Mokuba how to pop the back lights out of the trunk of a car.
"... and just like that. Someone will know that you were probably kidnapped." Shiera finished.
"Cool!" Mokuba said. "Thanks, Shiera!"
"You're Welcome." Shiera said turning to look at Jason. "So? How did it run?"
"It's amazing!" Jason said. "What did you do with the guys?"
"Oh. Conor tossed them into the trunk of his car and took them to wherever he hides the bodies. That's how I taught Mokuba how to get out of a locked trunk."
"That'll come in handy if he gets kidnapped and tossed in a trunk."
"Will that happen?" Mokuba asked.
"Not if I have anything to say about it." Jason and Shiera said in unison. They looked at each other and laughed. "Let's go." Jason said. "We have to prepare."
"Prepare for what?" Mokuba asked.
"Saturday, and for the next guys who try to kidnap you."
"Oh. Okay."
"Hey! Wait!" Shiera called after them.
"What's up?" Jason asked.
"I need to give you, my number." She spoke. "In case something comes up."
"Oh. Okay." Jason said handing him her phone.
She put her number in her phone, and then handed it back. "Now take a picture so you know who's calling you."
Jason took a picture, and nearly blushed at how good she looked. He put his phone away and nodded before Jason and Mokuba climbed into the Impala and drove off.
Shiera watched as they left and turned around to go back to work.
Saturday was fun. They went downtown and walked to an alley where they walked to an alcove that led down to an underground room.
Jason reached under his belt and pulled a Kris Dagger from a sheath on his belt. "Hello?" He called out.
"Hello." A modified voice said. "Why are you here?"
"We were told that you sold rare cards."
"This is true. If you can pay."
"We can."
"Then yes. I have rare cards."
"Can we see them?" Kazutaka asked.
The cloaked figure waved them into a room and pointed at tables with cards sitting on them. The room filled with guards as they entered, and Jason grabbed his knife, and pushed Kazutaka and Mokuba behind him.
"No!" The hooded figure yelled. "They are merely my guards! They are here to ensure that no one steals any of the cards that I sell!"
Jason slowly put his knife down before putting it away. He kept his head on a swivel to keep an eye on the guards.
"Please." The figure said. "Come view the cards at my disposal."
They walked around the 'shop' and looked at the cards on the table.
"You can buy as few as one card, and as many as sixty cards. Please. Feel free to browse as long as you wish."
"Whoa." Kazutaka exclaimed. "I haven't even heard of some of these cards!"
"But of course, not my dear." The figure said. "I collect cards from tournaments, cards discarded by other players, and... Whoops. If you will excuse me." The figure said before reaching into their cloak which glowed blue and black before they pulled out a card that was being shredded. They put their hands together and showed a repaired card. 'Chaos Emperor Dragon'.
"Whoa!" Kazutaka and Mokuba said. "How did you do that?"
"Magic." The figure said.
"So how much for that card?" Jason asked.
"This card?" The figure asked looking at the card. "Fifteen dollars."
"Fifteen dollars!" Kazutaka yelled.
"Yes. It is an older copy, a rare, and it isn't a foil which means that it's not as much as it could be."
"How expensive is a foil!"
"Mint or damaged, Rare, Super Rare, or Ultra Rare?"
"All of them!"
"A mint Super Rare 'Chaos Emperor Dragon' would cost you about 6853.09 Yen."
"WHAT!"
"A damaged Ultra Rare would cost 3955.33 Yen."
"WHAT!"
"This is actually quite a steal."
Jason walked up and took the card to read it. "I'll take it, as well as a deck."
"I see. With this card you will be a truly terrifying opponent."
"I know. I figure that I'll cause some Chaos."
"If that's what you want. Then do I have a deck for you."
"I'm listening."
Jason looked at his new deck with a smile on his face. "This will cause some Chaos." He spoke.
"Can I look at your new deck Jason?" Mokuba asked.
"Here ya go." Jason said, handing Mokuba the deck.
Banisher of the Light X3
Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning
Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End
Chaos Sorcerer
Dark Magician of Chaos
Dark Valkyria X3
Gren Maju Da Eiza X3
Old Vindictive Magician
White Ninja X3
White-Horned Dragon
Worm Apocalypse X2
Dark Core X3
Foolish Burial X3
Primal Seed
Self-Mummification X2
Soul Absorption
Bottomless Trap Hole X3
Dimensional Prison X3
Disappear X3
Graverobber's Retribution
"WHOA!" Mokuba yelled. "ME NEXT! ME NEXT!"
"And what deck do you want?"
"Well. My current deck works well with Criosphinx and Hieracosphinx, so maybe something that?"
"Hmm. Not many sphinx cards, and not many cards that work well with Sphinxes. However, how about a rock deck? I can recommend a decent Rock deck."
"Can you show me?"
"Of course, I can." The figure said rounding up all the cards he would need. "How does this deck look?" He asked handing Mokuba a completed deck.
Mokuba took the deck and looked through it before smiling. "I think this will work." He said showing the Deck to Jason.
Barrier Statue of the Drought
Criosphinx
Dummy Golem
Elephant Statue of Blessing
Elephant Statue of Disaster
Evilswarm Golem
Evilswarm Heliotrope
Giant Soldier of Stone
Gigantes
Gigastone Omega
Golem Sentry
Guardian Sphinx
Guardian Statue
Hieracosphinx
Labyrinth Wall
Lost Guardian
Master Monk
Medusa Worm
Megarock Dragon
Mine Golem X3
Moai Interceptor Cannons
Monk Fighter
Morphing Jar
Obsidian Dragon
Shadow Ghoul
Stone Statue of the Aztecs
The Rock Spirit
Canyon
Earthquake
Gaia Power
Wasteland
Draining Shield
Magic Cylinder
Minefield Eruption X3
Release from Stone
Rock Bombardment X3
Shield Spear
Spikeshield with Chain
Threatening Roar
"Huh." Jason said. "It looks like it will be able to hold its own. We'll test it out when we get home."
"All right!"
"And what about you Miss?" The figure asked. "Do you know the type of Deck that you want to build?"
"Not yet." Kazutaka said. "There are just so many cards. I'm not sure which deck to build, or even if the deck will be good."
"That is why we build deck though, no? In order to test our mettle?"
"I suppose so."
"Then what do you want to do with your new deck?"
"I don't know. I've been playing with Aliens, but they just don't work. I've tried everything to make them work, but they just won't."
"I... See." The figure said trying not to laugh. "When you duel, what do you want to do?"
"I want to break through my opponents for laughing at me and thinking that I'm a weak duelist."
"Ah. This is good. This I can work with. Might I interest you in Dragons?"
"Dragons? But I can't play Dragons."
"And why not?"
"Because Seto Kaiba has dibs on Dragons."
"No, he doesn't!" Jason said. "Get Dragons. If he starts talking shi... crap, I'll have words with him."
"Okay. Show me what ya got." She spoke.
"As you wish." The Card Trader said before going around the different tables collecting cards. "I think this will be to your liking." He said, handing her the deck.
Kazutaka looked through the deck before she took in a breath and dropped to a knee."
"Kazutaka!" Jason and Mokuba yelled.
"Don't be alarmed." The figure said. "She is just resonating with her deck. It happens to all duelist's when they get a deck that resonates with their soul."
Jason remembered when he first looked at his Archfiend deck. It had made him feel like a kid on Christmas when he first looked through it. Why had Kazutaka's reaction been so drastic then?"
"This is probably the first time that she has experienced such a thing. Give her some air."
Jason and Mokuba backed away, and after a moment Kazutaka stood up and showed Jason her deck.
Alexandrite Dragon
Ancient Dragon X3
Axe Dragonute
Black Dragon Collapserpent
Blackland Fire Dragon
Divine Dragon Apocralyph
Divine Dragon Ragnarok
Dragard
Dwarf Star Dragon Planeter
Hunter Dragon
Hyozanryu
Infernal Dragon
Koumori Dragon
Krystal Dragon
Lancer Dragonute
Light and Darkness Dragon
Mirage Dragon
Rabidragon
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
Seiyaryu
Tri-Horned Dragon
Wattaildragon
White Dragon Wyverburster
White-Horned Dragon
Dragon Treasure
Dragon's Gunfire
Dragonic Tactics
Inferno Fire Blast
Mountain
Stamping Destruction
Burst Breath
Dragon's Rage
Dragon's Rebirth
Dragoncarnation
Magic Cylinder
Mirror Force
Robbin' Goblin
Tyrant Wing
"Wow. You're packin' some serious heat with that deck. Dragon Chaos. This deck is really amazing."
"I know! Isn't it cool?!" Kazutaka said before getting confused. "Dragon Chaos?" She asked.
"Yeah. Chaos is a play style where you remove your own cards from play in order to screw over your opponent. I do that, but it's general Chaos. Your deck is Chaos, but with a theme. Dragons."
"Oh. I think I understand."
"If that is everything." The figure said.
"It is." Jason replied.
"Then now it comes to the price."
"How much is it?" Jason asked.
"114,085 Yen."
"WHAT!" Kazutaka yelled. "Jason! I can't let you pay that!"
"Don't worry." Jason said taking out a bat-shaped money clip out of his pocket, and taking a handful of Yen from the clip, and handing it to the Card Trader.
"Jason!" Kazutaka yelled, exasperated. "I can't let you spend that much money on me!"
"Why not?
"Why not?!"
"That's what I asked."
"Because! That's a lot of money!"
"Um..."
"No, it's not." Mokuba said.
Kazutaka looked at them. "Are you serious?"
"Yes." Mokuba said.
Kazutaka looked flustered. 'I can't believe it. He asked me here so he could brag about how rich he was! What an unbelievable ass hole!' She tried leaving but Jason stopped her.
"You're wrong." He spoke. "I didn't bring you out here because I wanted to brag or anything. You said that you wanted help with your deck, and I found out about this place, and decided to bring you here. That's all there is too it."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I don't care about the money."
"Why not?"
"Because. I've survived on the street. I don't need material items. I want them, but I don't need them."
"Wait." Kazutaka said. "What did you say?"
"I don't need material items. I want them, not need them."
"No, before that."
"I survived the streets?"
"Yes. How can you go through something like that, and not become bitter about it?"
"Because. The streets aren't the thing that hurt me. It was my father who hurt me, and he's dead. I don't have an outlet except to take it out on the criminals of Domino."
"So why do this for me? Why buy me this deck?"
"Because. I earned 1,026,976,500 Yen at Duelist Kingdom, I make 57,054,250 Yen a month for watching Mokuba, I don't even spend 100,000 Yen a day. This will be the most that I've spent in a single day, and it won't even put a dent in my Bank account. I try and help people when and where I can, and today I want to help you. Will you let me help you?"
Kazutaka bit her lower lip, but she finally gave in. "Fine, but don't you dare think about getting me anything for my Birthday, Christmas, Easter, or any other Holiday where it's customary to get a gift for at least a year."
"Yeah. Okay. Fine."
"Then I'll let you get me the deck."
Jason continued to hand the Card Trader the money for the decks, and they left the room. As soon as they left there was a flash of light and the room and the alcove disappeared.
"Okay..." Kazutaka said. "...that was weird."
"Agreed." Jason said.
They left the alley and headed to a restaurant to grab something to eat.
Jason and Mokuba spent the next two months at the Kaiba Mansion. Jason taught Mokuba more about defending himself, and how to fight with a knife. He'd also ordered a gun license so he could legally carry a firearm. The last thing he needed was to get arrested and let the Big Five take Mokuba that way.
On the last night of the six months Jason and Mokuba were eating dinner when the lights went out. Jason and Mokuba stood up and walked to the sitting room where they had practiced. Jason put on the helmet that Montgomery had given him and could feel the world go quiet as the helmet cut off the influence of the Millennium Eye. He reached into twin holders on his belt, and pulled out his Kris Dagger, and a razor edged combat knife while Mokuba pulled out the Combat knife Jason had given him.
The people came in and Jason exploded forward kicking one of them in the kneecap breaking it and slamming his forehead into the persons head knocking him into the ground with a crack.
Mokuba used his short stature, and speed to dodge the people who tried grabbing him and cutting them with the blade.
They were doing really well until there was the signature *CRACK-COOM!* of a gun going off and Mokuba looked over to see Jason fly through a window. "JASON!" He shouted. His pupils dilated allowing him to see more. His body released Adrenaline, Fats, and Sugars giving him energy to do what needed to be done. He began hyperventilating, pulling more oxygen into his body. And he exploded forward. He ducked, dodged, bobbed, weaved, and spun out of the attackers way, cutting at them, slicing through Hamstrings, Achilles tendons, Femoral arteries until he was completely drenched in the blood of his enemies. He looked around and saw that he was surrounded by the people who were trying to kidnap him to use against Seto...
"Cut!" Jason yelled.
The room lit up, and the holograms disappeared leaving Mokuba standing there breathing hard, and not covered in blood.
"Good job Mokuba!" Jason called out to him. "I think you're ready."
"Really?"
"Yes. I'm really glad that Seto let us test out his knew Virtual Reality console to finish your training."
"So, am I, but isn't virtual reality different than reality?"
"Yes, but this was a program I designed. It was meant to test your skills."
"What level was that?"
"One. Don't worry. I'll increase it until you are on my level."
"What's your level?"
"Run the simulation again at level five, then again at level ten."
"Will do Mr. Tod... I mean Jason."
"Thanks Roger."
They ran the simulation at level five, and Jason ducked, dodged, bobbed, weaved, and spun under gunfire before killing all of the opponents in ten minutes.
They ran the simulation again at level ten, and this time Jason had to work a lot harder, and ended up with cuts, scrapes, bruises, a broken nose, and a few broken ribs, which cleared when they cut the simulation.
"I'm not even close to your level." Mokuba said.
"Not yet, but you will be... not as violent though. I'm going to try and smooth out your style, so you take less damage than I do."
"Why do you not care about the damage you take?"
"Would you look at the time. Let's go."
They exited the Virtual Reality pods and saw Montgomery standing in the room. "Jason." He nodded. "Mokuba."
"Montgomery." The two said in unison.
"Thanks for being here while we were in the Pods." Jason said.
"No problem. Happy to help."
"Let's head to the diner." Jason said.
They headed to the diner, but they picked up Mina and Sina from Montgomery's apartment first and made their way to the diner. When they entered, they waved at Kazutaka and headed for the corner booth where Tina and Ryder were sitting. Tina and Ryder looked standoffish, but reasonable.
"What happened?" Jason asked.
"Well." Ryder began. "Tina can be very insistent, and we had to have a talk."
"When a mommy cat and a daddy cat love each other very much." Mina and Montgomery said in unison before they began laughing.
"Kinda." Ryder said. "Tina is very passionate, and she is also very... Um. How do I say this?"
"I want to hit my high notes every once in a while." Tina explained. "Which someone obviously doesn't understand. I mean Seriously. How can a guy go so long without rubbing one out?"
Jason and Montgomery looked at each other. "Ryder?" They asked in unison.
"What?" Ryder asked.
"Are you one of those guys who believe in abstinence before marriage?" Montgomery asked.
"Well... Yeah. I mean, isn't love supposed to be something between a husband and wife?"
"Yes, but it's also a way for two people to express love in a way that isn't normally possible. It is literally the act of bringing two people closer... not porn. I want to make that very clear. Porn is not love, no matter how many times they say "I love you" in a porno that's not love. That's lust, two totally different things."
"So, what, you want me to toss aside my morals and conform to societies whims?!" Ryder asked harshly.
"No. That's not what I'm saying. If you aren't ready, then don't do it." He looked at Tina. "That means that you have to respect his boundaries. Talk about it, and see where you guys fall, and make your relationship based on that... if you have a relationship after your talk."
"We already talked." Tina grumbled. "He made viable arguments, but still. I have needs that need to be met."
"Well, what did you guys talk about?" Mina asked.
"Ryder said that if something went wrong, we wouldn't abandon the child, which means that we would have to settle down, and not go on as many adventures."
"Condoms?"
"With my luck?" Ryder asked. "I'm lucky, she's not."
"Then I asked him where his sense of adventure was." Tina said. "And do you want to know what he said?"
"What did he say?"
"I said: 'Somewhere else.'" Ryder said.
The group burst into tears they were laughing so hard. When they finally calmed down enough to breathe again, they continued talking.
"That's when I grabbed him by his shirt collar and asked him if he would ever want to have an actual relationship, or if I should just move on to someone who actually wants to be with me."
"Ooh." The group winced in unison.
"Yeah."
"That's when I replied with: "I want to get to know you better before we get serious. We can start slow, work up to a relationship."
"Well, that doesn't seem too bad." Jason said.
"So how are you going to handle your urges?" Kazutaka asked.
"The old fashioned way." Tina said. "Alone, in my room, with some Erotica, toys, and lube."
Everyone looked at Montgomery who didn't seem phased. They looked over to see Sina wearing headphones that were connected to a handheld cassette player.
"Oh please." Montgomery said. "Ever since we started hanging around with you, I've made her carry that around."
"She's older than Mokuba, and Jason doesn't make him listen to music when we talk about mature topics." Tina said.
They looked at Mokuba who had a pair of wires going from his ears to a CD-Player.
"Just because I'm a berserker doesn't mean I'm Stupid." Jason said. "Seto would try and kill me if he found out that I'd corrupted Mokuba."
The group enjoyed each other's company until it was time to go. They planned on meeting up again and departed for the evening.
Jason looked in the mirror. He was wearing his Duelist Kingdom suit, and he looked good in it. He donned the helmet, grabbed the keys to his Impala, and he an Mokuba headed out for the day.
Jason woke up and looked around. He was sitting next to a fire and surrounded by a forest.
"Hello there, young traveler." A man said. "What is your name?"
"What the fuck?" Jason asked himself.