I thought, maybe, that I would be able to condense this first Magic & Wizards tournament into a single chapter. As it turns out, I was absolutely mistaken. So, welcome to the first half of a two-part series which will detail Seto's first foray into competitive dueling.
It's interesting, I think, to picture Seto at this stage of his career. So to speak. Not yet a champion. Not yet an innovator. Just a kid. A little kid with some cards in his pocket and some dreams in his head.
Now. I know that reading duels in fanfiction is … less than popular. So if that's not really your thing, then I'll recommend right here and now that you skip over the third scene. That's where the majority of the actual dueling takes place.
Be that as it may, I tried to make things as streamlined and engaging as possible, all things considered, and I hope that you'll give this a shot. This is a very in-universe sort of thing, by which I mean only those of us who've watched the game in action — either in real life or in the manga / anime — will probably get the most out of this.
I try to write my stories such that anyone can read them, even folks who aren't in the fandom. But in this case, Scene 3 is … insiders only, I guess I'll call it.
That all said …
DUEL!
1.
Thirty-two duelists crowd the main floor of the Turtle Game Shop on Saturday. Eighteen boys and fourteen girls, each with a varying level of excitement and/or nervousness; it's a spectrum, with Yugi at the first extreme and Seto at the second.
The older set—teenagers, all—seem to be right in the middle; they probably think of this event as just another tournament. There's a prize for everyone who wins a duel today, with a secret prize in line for the winner of the whole thing, and that seems to be all they're here for. Seto spends a fair amount of time trying to pick these ones out of the crowd. It isn't particularly difficult.
They're the ones who look bored.
Yugi can spot them, too, and he's completely unconcerned. "Grandpa taught me better than to lose to someone like that," he says.
Seto is skeptical of his friend's confidence.
Booster packs—the main prizes for the day's events—surely wouldn't impress a boy who got his cards from the owner of the shop where they're playing. It's easy to focus on the spirit of competition when you already have all the material prizes you could ever need.
Then Seto looks down at his cards, given to him by the game's creator, and wonders if his mild irritation makes him a hypocrite.
Seto shakes his head vigorously, and tells himself he can't think about that right now. He has to focus. Everyone in the shop today—aside from Ellie and his brother, who are sitting out of the way at a free table—is a potential threat. A predator.
Yugi asked this morning if Seto had stage fright.
He didn't, and doesn't.
But he is claustrophobic all of a sudden.
Five rounds. He has to make it through five rounds. The first will start at noon. Each participant, all thirty-two of them, will be receiving a promotional card from the first booster set for next year—Pharaoh's Servant—which will be revealed when they sit down for their first skirmish.
Seto, and Yugi, and all the others, will be randomly matched with an opponent, making up sixteen duels. Once those duels are over, so is the first round. The second round will take place at 12:30 PM. The first sixteen winners will be set before each other. Then the remaining eight will sit a new duel at 1, and so on.
Until 2 PM, when the last two duelists will have a full, three-duel match to decide the tournament by 3.
Seto doesn't think of himself as arrogant, but he isn't concerned about the first round. Even if he's matched against Yugi, Seto thinks he should be okay; he's won about half of the games he and Yugi have played. The only thing that worries Seto is a lingering suspicion that Yugi hasn't been playing to the best of his ability up to now. He hasn't been "playing for keeps." Seto isn't sure why he thinks this, but he does.
There are so many more people in the Turtle today than is usual; Seto finds it difficult to stand still. He keeps instinctively trying to step out of the way whenever somebody moves; he's used to having a buffer zone, a bit of space, between himself and pretty much anyone whose name isn't Mokuba.
The Mutous' shop isn't tiny, by any means, but with all these duelists around, alongside the normal comings-and-goings of other customers, there's barely an inch or two for Seto to move around in. He'd been offered a seat next to his brother earlier in the morning, but Seto told himself that he wouldn't sit unless he was dueling.
He doesn't want to lose focus.
He's looking over his cards for the fifteenth time since waking up at . . . what was it, again? 4 AM? Seto isn't sure. His cards aren't the best; even though Pegasus offered him free access to a briefcase full of cards to make up the deck he's holding right now, he hadn't taken up all the rarest and most powerful. Seto had figured at the time that it would have given a bad impression and, after all, he'd only just met the man.
Now, Seto realizes that it wouldn't have made the slightest difference. He could have made himself a deck worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars, and his new guardian wouldn't have batted an eyelash.
With just one little dragon in his possession, Seto's deck—as unimpressive as it might have looked to a seasoned duelist—is probably already worth hundreds of dollars, if not more.
He's admiring that dragon, as he's done nearly every day since his birthday, when someone collides with his shoulder and sends him—and his cards—sprawling to the floor.
2.
Elliana Josephine McAllister.
It's got a noble sort of sound to it. And honestly, that's half the reason Ellie doesn't like her name in the first place. The last thing she'd consider herself is noble, and yet that's the only word she's ever pinned down that seems to . . . encapsulate the whole operation.
Unless it's "regal."
But who the hell uses that word in conversation, anyway?
All this said, she supposes there really isn't a word for what she's doing today, unless it is noble. She could be hanging around that little mini-mart Rosco likes so much. She could be practicing guitar. She could be watching TV, or sleeping.
She could even do her homework if she felt like being frisky.
But instead of doing any of that, Elliana Such-and-Such McAllister is sitting at a flimsy plastic table, looking after this squeaky little proto-human so his brother can focus on card games.
She doesn't read too much into this, though. Not really. Yagami's a good enough kid, easy to deal with, and the pipsqueak's pretty damn cute when you stop and give him a chance. Like there's the fact he keeps looking around every handful of seconds to make sure he can see his brother. He knows you're supposed to keep an eye on your family. That's what Nii'tama always does. So Mokuba tries to do the same thing.
Owing to this, he's the first one to notice when some uppity teenage snit in a polo shirt hip-checks the elder Yagami and sends him flailing.
As Seto bites it on the linoleum with a hard cracking sound that makes Ellie flinch, the kid's prized Magic & Wizards deck—slipped so carefully into those card sleeves Yugi got him for his birthday—makes like a puddle of milk, spreading out from the busted saucer of his hands.
Seto's eyes harden.
So do Ellie's.
Polo Shirt sniffs. "Watch yourself, Junior. This isn't Free Comic Day. Ought to go somewhere more suited to your skill level. Duel someone your speed. Like at kindergarten."
He thinks he's clever. Ellie knows Polo Shirt's type. He's got frosted tips, khaki shorts, sandals. He's a walking joke, and the only think that would make everything worse is if his shirt had stripes.
Seto stays on the ground, lifting himself up on one knee. His eyes are downcast. "How about you go jump under a bus?" he snaps. "I know where I am. Apparently you're the one too blinded by your own effervescent fuckery to pay attention."
Ellie smirks. Yeah. This is one of the good ones.
Polo Shirt doesn't share her opinion. He puffs up. "What'd you say?"
Ellie makes a point of being as loud as possible as she shrieks her chair across the floor. "You heard the man," she says. "Pay attention next time." She walks over. Anyone standing between her and her target knows better than to stay there. "This ain't the time or place for hierarchy bullshit. One, you're in a freaking comic store. Chill out. Two, y'ain't won yet. Right now, you're on a level with the rest of these kids."
"Who are you?" Polo Shirt snaps. "You look like you just came out of the gu—"
Ellie's arm snaps out like a coiled viper and grabs the punk by his collar. She twists, pulls, and suddenly he's eye level with her. "Keep talkin', Spanky. Gimme an excuse." She pauses; her eyes say what her voice doesn't. "Now. You gonna apologize? Or'm I gonna make you?"
A quiet "Ooooooooooh . . ." resonates through the crowd, backed by soft laughter.
Polo Shirt doesn't look so confident anymore.
Ellie grins like a shark.
"It's fine," Seto says into the stand-off. He's still on one knee, and he's started gathering his cards together in a pile. "Don't . . . worry about it."
"Clemency," Ellie says, through clenched teeth. She lets Polo Shirt go. "Lucky you. My knuckles are almost healed. Been itching to fix that." She straightens, turns away, and heads back to her table. "Grind that stupid hair into the dirt, Yagami," she says as she sits back down. "Ain't gonna forgive you if you lose."
Seto puts on a smirk of his own. "Please."
"Nii'tama good job," Mokuba says decisively.
The smirk softens into a smile. "You bet, Mokie."
Mokuba giggles, and drums his hands on the table.
The tension in the room dissipates as Polo Shirt slinks away, and Seto stands back up.
3.
Polo Shirt's name turns out to be Graham Miller, and he's the one who sits at the other side of Seto's table as the first round is set to begin. While chairs scrape across the tile floor of the shop and everyone prepares for war, Seto paints a coy little smile onto his face.
He shuffles his cards almost daintily. "What a fun coincidence!" he says. He gained his confidence back in spades as soon as he recognized the man in the wide-brimmed hat and the long coat, who showed up right as noon rolled around.
Apparently Pegasus wants to make a surprise entrance later.
But he's here, whether anyone else knows it yet or not.
He's here, and he's watching.
Graham grimaces. "Cute, Junior. C'mon. Let's get to it."
Sugoroku claps his hands together. "If I might have your attention, Duelists!" he calls out in a declamatory thunderclap of a voice that surprises even Yugi. "You have thirty minutes to do battle! If a duel is ongoing after thirty minutes, the duelist with the most life points will be declared the winner. Each winner of this first round will automatically qualify for our next regional tournament, to be held at Grand Violet's Convention Center five months from now! Everyone has their promotional trap from Pharaoh's Servant squared away, I trust?"
Gift of the Mystical Elf. A new trap card offered, ahead of its set's release date next year, specifically to the participants of this tournament. Seto isn't entirely certain why a card that grants life points for each monster on the field qualifies as a trap, but he supposes now isn't the time to think about that.
Maybe he'll ask Pegasus about it later.
Sugoroku goes over more fine print. More rules. The list of illegal cards, which is thankfully shorter than Seto might have expected. He smiles when he realizes that his opponent is clearly bored, not to mention insulted that he's been set up to duel against a grade-schooler.
Good, Seto thinks with more than a little smug satisfaction. Underestimate me.
The duel begins.
Seto wins, scissors to paper, and chooses to go second.
They draw their first hands.
8,000 life points, and five monsters.
No spells or traps at all. Seto bites at his lower lip. Not optimal. But, he supposes, he can make do. He has one tribute monster—Firewing Pegasus; how fitting is that?—one defensive wall—The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave; again, a fitting first draw—and a couple of effect monsters he should be able to make good use of.
Seto watches as Graham sets one monster onto his field, then gestures dismissively for Seto to take his turn.
"Draw," Seto declares out of habit; he and Yugi call out each move as they take it. Graham gives him a look, but doesn't say anything. Seto can hear Yugi doing the same thing on the other side of the room.
He smiles again.
Banner of Courage. An attack boost that only activates during his Battle Phase. Yugi has made use of that particular loophole more than once.
"I summon Fencing Fire Ferret," Seto declares with conviction, "and activate Banner of Courage. Battle!" He points at Graham's monster. "I attack your set card!"
Graham smirks. "Sorry, kid." He flips over Battle Footballer, which boasts a defense score higher than even Seto's magically-charged ferret. "Looks like first blood is mine."
Seto frowns. "Hm."
7,800.
Not bad, considering. But still. It's the first turn.
Graham puts on a taunting little smirk. "I'll take that little scowl of yours as license to take my next turn, then? Or has Junior got an extra trick up his sleeve for Main Phase Two?"
Seto imitates Graham's gesture, waving a hand. He tries not to sulk.
Graham switches his footballer to attack, and then summons a second monster to join it on the field. Even though this new addition has substantially fewer attack points than Seto's ferret, Graham sacrifices 500 of his own life points to attack with it. Its effect sends both it and the ferret off of the field.
Banished from play.
Leaving Seto wide open for his other monster.
"Oh-ho!" Graham chuckles. "Sorry about that. Looks like even with that little handicap, I'm still on top. Whatcha at after that one, little guy? 6,800? And it's the second turn, right? Mm. Not looking too good for you."
Seto ignores him. Takes a new card to start his next turn.
"I activate Shard of Greed!" Seto slams his newly-drawn spell down on the table. "And then I'll summon Armored Bee! Your pesky little football player loses half of his attack points for this turn!"
Graham quirks an eyebrow. ". . . Huh. All right. Not bad."
"Battle!"
Seto doubts that Graham is doing this, but he's picturing the monsters actually fighting somewhere. Maybe a field, like the kind where soldiers in early wars would come with their banners and trumpets and muskets. So when Graham tosses his Power Footballer onto his pile of used-up cards, Seto pictures a huge insect covered with plates and chainmail, piercing a hulking sportsman right through his ribcage.
He chuckles darkly to himself.
"Welp," Graham says as he draws his next card, "I guess I'll just have to replace that monster with another one." He puts on a thoughtful face. "Like this?" He sets down Battle Ox, and makes quick work of Seto's bee.
6,700.
". . . All right," Seto says as he draws another cave dragon. "That's about enough of that." He grins at Graham Miller and chuckles to himself again. "You did better than I thought. Luck of the draw. But I'm not losing any more life points. Not one."
Graham leans back in his chair. "That right?"
Seto nods. "Yep." He sets his dragon face-down on the table. "Your turn."
4.
". . . and thanks to its effect, your Fiend Megacyber is barely a distraction! I'll attack it with Armored Bee—welcome back—and attack you directly with Firewing Pegasus and Blazing Inpachi!"
Graham Miller is outright scowling now. True to his promise, Seto's life points have stayed at 6,700 ever since he proclaimed they would stay there.
While Graham is now left with a measly 100.
Graham grunts as he draws a card. "Kageningen," he declares with quiet finality, "in Attack Mode."
It's a pitiful move. Kageningen is a filler monster. Weak, disposable. Tribute fodder. But he doesn't want to draw this out any more than he has to.
Seto nods, more to himself than to his opponent.
The duel ends after the twelfth turn, and no question as to who conquered whom. As both boys gather together their cards and stand up, Seto finds himself stunned when Graham holds out a hand.
"Sorry 'bout before. Sure showed me, didn'tcha?" he offers with a lopsided smile. "Guess I'll think twice before I make fun o' the younger set next time, won't I?"
Seto smiles. Shakes the offered hand. "Thanks for the game," he offers.
Graham winks. "Now. You win this one, huh? Don't make me bowin' out in the first round count for nothing."
Seto nods decisively. "Sure thing."
5.
An hour later, Seto and Yugi meet outside, near Natsumi's car in the parking lot behind the Turtle. Neither has to ask the other how things are going. They skip over that and start straight into the specifics of their exploits.
". . . Swords of Revealing Light. Twice in a row!" Seto sniffs derisively. "But, whatever. I didn't even lose life points. The first round was harder than the second."
Yugi lifts up his booster pack. "You gonna look at your new cards?"
"No," Seto says. He hasn't even picked out his free pack, earned by winning his way into the third round. "I'm going to wait until the end of the tournament." He lifts up his cards. "I'll use this deck for all five rounds."
It's no longer a question. Seto knows he's going to make it to the final match.
From the way Yugi's eyes are sparkling, he has a similar sentiment. He puts on a shifty, conspiratorial smirk. "How many monsters did you get? When you got the swords, I mean."
"Four," Seto says. "Gravi-Crush, Breaker, Red Lotus, and Alector."
Yugi lets out a low whistle. "Bet that wasn't fun from the other side, huh?"
Seto grins toothily. "Nope."
They share a laugh of shared triumph.
Seto has a sixth sense when it comes to his brother, such that Yugi doesn't even react when his friend turns away before there's any kind of indication that Mokuba's nearby.
The toddler rushes outside with his hands up, and Ellie coming up behind him. "Nii'tama win!"
Seto grins and bends down to lift Mokuba up into his arms. "Not yet, Mokie. The tournament isn't over."
Mokuba looks crestfallen. "Not over?"
"Mm-mm. But! Just a couple more rounds and . . ."
Mokuba's face brightens as he throws his hands up again. "Ulmit vickery!"
Seto laughs as he hugs Mokuba to him like he hasn't seen his brother in a month. "That's right, little guy. Ultimate victory!"
Mokuba cheers.
"Don't get too confident, there, Master Yagami," Yugi says, sauntering over and crossing his arms. "One of these rounds, you're gonna face me."
"Bring it on," Seto shoots back. "I'm unstoppable."
As Seto and Yugi continue posturing, Ellie leans against the back wall of the Turtle. She plucks a cigarette out of her jacket pocket, looks at it for a while, then rolls her eyes and puts it back.
Mokuba waves at her; she waves back.
Seto turns and grins at her; she grins back.
Yugi, ever the supreme nerd king, bows low at the waist.
Ellie rolls her eyes again, and affects a curtsy.
". . . Frickin' kids."
.
For the record. These cards are all legit. I used the PlayStation 4 game, "Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist," to plot out Seto's duel with Graham, to ensure that things would be accurate. As you can see, though, I don't intend to give a play-by-play breakdown.
It is my intention to cover only the vital moves in a given duel. The most important. The most … interesting.
Incidentally, if anyone is curious. The full names for the monsters Seto mentions in Scene 5 are:
Gravi-Crush Dragon
Breaker the Magical Warrior
Knight of the Red Lotus
Alector, Sovereign of Birds
All right. I think that's all the fine print out of the way. 'Til the thrilling conclusion, take care of yourselves, and be good to one another.
Au revoir.