Duel One: AbOaRd

Needless to say, I no longer have access to the laptop – or any internet whatsoever.

The next day, I found myself at school once more. It was a typical day, the world outside my classroom window was still a little bleary and gray as it was supposed to rain the rest of the week. Sighing, I absently listened to my sensei's monotone voice as it rasped on about math, or was it Spanish, no wait…I'm not taking Spanish…

Are there even any Spanish courses in Japan? Probably.

I wouldn't mind going to Spain some day…

That was how my day went up until lunch time, when things started getting interesting.

Kids around my age could always be seen playing card games while eating our bento lunches, before I never really cared considering I could never participate. However, I had more intentions now. Walking over, I grew somewhat reluctant until I recognized one of the girls who was, in fact, playing against another classmate.

Ran was her name, not nearly as clever as I, but she was a decent friend I guess - I don't play around with kids outside of school much if that explains anything. Approaching the table, I narrowed my eyes on the cards. They depicted pictures of highly-detailed creatures and were all different colors. I guessed the colors categorized each card, they had funky symbols on each that I didn't understand.

Ran, to whom I was peering over the shoulder of, noticed my shadow and acknowledged me with a welcoming grin – or was it a grimace?

I don't remember, are we friends or acquaintances?

Was that a welcoming grin or a forced out smile?

Because I can't read humans as well I can read a book, let alone remember the last time I associated with them kind of perturbed me. It also bugged me since I wasn't sure, I didn't like being uncertain, guess that's part of my snobbier nature. When I don't know something, I tend to research it until I master it. Plus I have a longer attention span than most of my age group, which obviously helps.

"Hi," I greeted, Ran blinked.

"Hey, um, Kimura-san." My eyebrow twitched.

Definitely acquaintances. I feel shallow, oh well, I smiled back, why did she seem so unnerved?

"What are you guys playing?" I felt rather stupid, not knowing the game even though I had a strong hunch about the title.

"Duel Monsters," the kid Ran was opposing, Minoru, claimed. Pegasus, the silver-haired man, flashed across my mind.

"Did you hear about the tournament?" another spectator piped up, giddy from excitement. Minoru and Ran beamed.

"Yeah, but I wished Rex would've won – bugs are gross! Dinosaurs are WAY cooler!" Ran exclaimed, Minoru stuck his tongue out at her.

"You're such a girl," he stated, she stuck her tongue back out at him.

"Proud of it! I'm also proud to say my Getsu Fuhma-" Ran whipped out a card she had been holding in her hand then placed it on the table in between her and Minoru, "-takes out your Saggi the Dark Clown! Putting your life points at zero!" Minoru yelped out in surprise.

"Man! Knew I should've put him in Defense Mode…" he moaned.

"Nice, Minoru-kun! You lost again!" a boy laughed as the spectators challenged each other, now happy to battle with their own cards. I stood there unsurely, Ran stood up and gave me a thoughtful look.

"Do you have any cards Kimura-san? I'll duel you," she asked politely, I was almost taken back by her thoughtfulness, but unfortunately, had little to act on it.

"I don't, my parents don't let me have that…kind of thing." Was my reply, Ran nodded in understanding, but her face brightened as a look of triumph stretched across her features.

"You do have at least an allowance don't you?" she questioned.

"Of course, but I have to invest it."

"Invest?" Ran said it as if it was a new English vocabulary word she would have to memorize by the end of the week. I changed the subject.

"Nevermind, I manage to save some of it though, why?"

"Do you wanna go and buy some cards later? I'll go with you," she said, a warm sensation flooded into my chest.

"You would? Seriously?" For a moment, images of my parents with upset faces appeared in my head, but I quickly pushed them aside. I'm not an adult, but I should be able to at least decide the way I should entertain myself right? Besides, it's my money they give me.

"Yeah, there's a game shop down the street, I'll meet you in the front yard after school."

"Hey, did you hear Pegasus is going to hold a tournament soon? On an island somewhere?" the boy, Minoru, said as he conversed with a pair of boys a little ways from the us. Ran and I looked at each other, and for some reason, my heart was pounding harder over the concept.

Two hours later…

"Don't get your hopes up, Kimura-san-"

"It's Penny, Ran," I corrected her, it was after school and we were making our way to the game shop Ran talked about earlier. She grinned shyly.

"Okay, but don't get your hopes up, even if you do become good with duel monster cards, you can't enter the tournament." Ran explained, I peered over at her.

"You had the same look I did, you want to do it too!" Ran shook her head.

"I know! But we're too young! The tournament Minoru-kun was talking about has one of those age-limit things. I think we have to be fourteen to even set foot on the boat to get there."

"So it really is on an island…"

"Yeah, what did I just tell you?" I smirked at her, she smirked back. I felt we were going to be good friends, but in my case – my first real friend.

"Here we are," Ran announced five minutes later, we were in front of a small store. Through the sliding glass doors though, I could see shelves lined with protection glass over the contents throughout the store's interior. I gulped, I hadn't realized how popular this game actually is. Meanwhile, as Ran led the way in, she explained the finer details of the game and the cards.

"You have to have at least forty cards – of whatever amount of monsters, magic, and trap cards you want-but you can only have three of the same card in your deck, are you following?" I nodded absently as we walked down one of the few aisles, totally transfixed by all the pretty packaging.

My mind began reeling, thinking of all the possibilities this little game could lead my life to. Ran had told me the boat would be leaving in a week and a half, I was already planning on stowing away since I was underage.

Ran rambled on, but jumped when a small man appeared from behind the counter in the back of the store.

"Hello," he greeted, his gray hair tucked under an orange bandanna with a mustache under his nose. Was it me, or were his bangs shaped like lightning bolts? Dressed in green overalls and a beige, collared shirt, I assumed he must be the manager of the game shop.

"Hi, Mutou-san! " Ran greeted happily, the man's violet eyes widened in recognition.

"Good afternoon, Ran-chan. Weren't you here just a couple of days ago? You need to save some of your money," he inquired good-naturedly, Ran frowned then smiled.

"I'm not here for me, Mutou-san. This is my friend – Penny, she doesn't have any cards." She explained, Mutou turned his gaze on me and smiled warmly.

"That's a shame, every kid should have a deck of cards to call their own. Let me know if you need any help," he said before vanishing into the back of the store again, I looked over at Ran.

"How much should forty cards or so even cost anyway?" I asked, she smiled.

"Oh, maybe about three thousand yen…"

"That's…nice…" There goes my monthly allowance…

I'll miss you, I'll miss you, I'll miss you… I thought as I counted each individual piece of yen before handing it to the older man, Mutou-san took it then counted my change before finishing the exchange.

"Enjoy your cards!" he cried out happily, the three of us thoroughly oblivious to how this would be the last time we would speak to each other in a while. With several small packages of duel monster cards in the game shop featured plastic bag, Ran followed me outside.

"I can't believe there's an age limit," Ran piped up suddenly, I sighed, I knew where this was going. "Maybe I – or we – should stowaway! We might not be able to duel…I heard there was some sort of glove or something and you had to have an amount of something or another…" She sure is talkative, but dang, it would be nice if she knew what she was speaking about!

"You're not planning on stowing away then?" I replied, she blinked, her big brown eyes on me. My eyes were different than most people's, mine weren't violet or brown or black or green, mine were orange – none of the Kimuras held such a color gene, but Pegasus had orange eyes (or at least one orange eye considering only a single eye was visible.)

"What are you saying? You ARE going to stowaway? Penny-chan! That's not a good idea!" Ran instantly went into panic mode, since she was my age I guess that's pretty natural for someone who doesn't think outside the box and might be tempted to tattle. A thought raced through my head and sighed, giving in.

"Look, I do want to stowaway, but not to duel and become famous or whatever, a moment ago you were all for it!" I said, even though the idea of being on television seemed rather fascinating to me. Ran looked at me as if I just told her I had a pet tarantula and asked if she wanted to hold it one day.

"Penny-chan…I don't know, are you serious?" I gave her a stiff look, "oh, you are…"

"Look, you know how my parents are – everyone at school does since I do little in comparison to them like watching T.V. – I – I don't think they're actually my parents." I sounded lame, like I was one of those pitiful actresses who feels down because she just found out she had been orphaned (from what little time I spent watching T.V. I learned), but on the other hand, I'm not down and could care less if I was abandoned on a doorstep – I was just curious.

"Ooooh, okay, so you think your real parents will go to Duelist Kingdom then?" It was if she was in a dream, Ran transformed from anxious and nervous to excited and devoted. "Do you think they'll be more fun than the ones you have now?"

I nearly face-faulted, I hadn't even considered that, but I guess that could be a perk right?

I recalled the number of times I couldn't watch T.V., play or even buy a game console, surf the Internet for games on Poke'Mon, or even invite friends over.

ANYONE could be more fun, I thought glumly. Ran grinned.

"It'll be an adventure, Penny-chan!" she cried, I smiled awkwardly.

"That sounded a little cheesy Ran, don't say it again please."

"Right! Hey!" Ran caught sight of someone behind me and pointed an accusing finger. I jerked around to find someone approaching us. It was Minoru.

"I want in!" he exclaimed, I raised an eyebrow.

"On what?"

"Operation Stowaway!" He stated promptly, Ran frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"No way!"

"Why not! I wanna go too!"

"So does the rest of the kid population!" Ran retorted, Minoru huffed.

"I don't see why I can't go, we're friends right?" He swung a arm over my shoulders and I couldn't help but glare at him.

"What's your deal?" I snarled as I ducked out from under his arm, my new cards still lying snugly in the bag hanging from the crook of my left arm.

"My deal is I wanna go and I might as well have company, I'll have you know I've been planning to stow away before the two of you – so you stole my idea!" He raised a fist and thumped it against his chest proudly. I rolled my eyes.

"We didn't invite you!" Ran cried, her teeth clenched, her hand on my left forearm. I suddenly was under the impression I was being fought over.

"It's not up to you! Penny-chan wants to go for personal beeswax!" Minoru replied shortly as he grabbed my other arm. My suspicions were confirmed.

"It's business baka!"

"Says who!"

"Says everyone!"

"I'm not everyone!"

"Thank kami cuz the world would have been blown to pieces by now!" Each time they spoke they jerked me in their respective directions, as much as I liked them fighting over me, I had to put my foot down.

BAM! Literally.

"OWWW!" Minoru cried, I smirked. I wouldn't stomp on Ran's shoes, she would throw more of a fit over me damaging her shiny black school shoes than the pain in her toes. As for Minoru, he needed to learn how to take pain as a man.

"You have been initiated," I said before looking over at Ran to see if she was satisfied, over his agony her anger had evaporated and a look of content passed over her features.

"You have been forgiven too, Minoru-baka," Ran claimed, through the tears in his eyes he glowered up at us. I thought about going back home, but my parents would not be happy with what I had spent my allowance on.

"We'll go to your house, Minoru," I stated, he got over his pain and stared at me.

"Wha-huh? Why?"

"Because I said so," I replied, "if you do, you can come with us."

"Are you sure you'll be all right with that your majesty?" he mocked, his eyes switching from me to Ran then back to me.

"Of course," although Ran didn't fully like the idea, she followed Minoru to his small apartment – he was an only child like me, therefore space wasn't a big deal.

His parents were home and cheery, unlike mine. When we arrived, his father served us riceballs and other snacks. The three of us made up plans that eventually led to making up stories as to what might happen if we tried to stowaway. Taking our words in stride and in the mindset that we were just playing around, Minoru's parents said nothing but smiled and encouraged our imaginations.

I also opened and saw my first ever cards.

Unfortunately, my fun had to come to an end. Around five, Ran and I left, then after Ran and I separated did I arrive home. My cards were hidden in the depths of my backpack, well out of harm's way of my father's paper shredder.

Thankfully, I returned home before Father and Mama came back from work. Only Auntie Ai was there to snivel over my return.

"You've never been gone so long!"

"I was at a friend's house," I said, Auntie Ai appeared stunned, but her expression softened.

"That'll be a secret between you and me, kay?" she said, leaning down to my level then placing a hand on my shoulder. I nodded, I wondered why it had to be a secret? Was it possible my parents were trying to isolate me?

"Auntie Ai, can I ask you something?" I peered up at her with big eyes, acting innocent again. A look of concern crinkled her facial features, but the expression passed quickly and was then replaced by a curious one. Gazing down at me, I made a mental note of how much she looked like Mama – black hair and an obvious eastern lineage shining at every slim curve and slanted eyes.

It only motivated my plan more, I wasn't Japanese, I don't even think I'm from the East. With my fair skin I glowed in comparison among my Asian classmates, don't even get me started on my hair…because of the light, blonde hue I had been nicknamed as a fair child, Goldilocks, even 'albino.' I always kept it short, thinking if it got too long the tangles would get overwhelming and too agonizing to brush.

I was definitely adopted – I don't understand what's keeping Father and Mama from confessing? I guess it could be considered a difficult topic to bring up let alone admit to, but they must know I would begin to grow suspicious at some point – I won't always be a kid.

"Sure honey, what's up?" I swallowed, my eyes meeting hers. Deep, smooth black ebony against sunny, citrus orange.

"Nevermind," I decided I wouldn't find out through her why my parents were as silent as they were, maybe she just knew about it and didn't really know the whole story and I wanted the whole story. Auntie Ai frowned.

"Are you sure?" she questioned, I nodded.

"Don't worry Auntie Ai, I'll find out on my own." The hidden meaning in the words wasn't perfectly clear, but the older woman must have sensed something was off and her frown deepened.

"Find out what?"

"A question on my homework, Sensei didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about today. But I'll be fine," I lied, my conscience scolded me, but I didn't care. It shouldn't be me that should have to bring up my origins, it should be the people that have been caring for me for as long as I could remember. Leaving Auntie Ai, I went up to me room, shut the door, then sat on my bed with my backpack in tow. Pulling out my new cards, I stared at them, as if hoping they would answer my questions.

I skimmed through them, I'm sure I had more than forty and was reading the information written on the cards. Then for some reason, one card got my attention, then another did, then another…I plucked those from my developing deck and placed them in a line in front of my crossed legs.

Last Will…Judgment of the Desert…Celtic Guardian…Castle Walls…Dragon Capture Jar…Illusionist Faceless Mage…Monster Reborn…and Shining Angel…

What was this feeling of connection I had with these cards? I stared at them, wondering silently to myself. At last, I sighed in disappointment and frustration.

Did I mention how much I hated being uncertain?

Little more than a week later…

"The boat will be leaving tomorrow night!" Ran announced quietly to my and Minoru's bowed heads. It was lunch again, but since befriending them last week, we had grown closer. Ran and Minoru still butted heads, but it was more amusing than unhealthy. The two worked well together – it showed when they taught me the basics of duel monsters and dueling with them, but if they got annoyed or found something wrong they went at it.

Blinking, I grew serious.

"No backing out got it? You don't wanna go, speak up now and forever keep it a secret!" I hissed, as I expected, neither of them turned back. The adventure was too tempting.

The following night after dinner, I clambered everything I would need into my backpack, including expansive walkie-talkies I managed to 'borrow' from the next door neighbor's spoiled twins (like they would notice.) A blanket was shoved in along with a pillow, fortunately, Ran was in charge of snacks – I couldn't fit much more into the bag.

The plan was after school tomorrow we would head to the harbor, our excuse to our parents was that we would each be sleeping over at a friend's house. I had already seeked out permission and surprisingly gained an 'all right' from Father after Mama gave him a very heated pointed look. Minoru, I heard, didn't have to do much convincing, but Ran seemed to have the hardest time of us all. Apparently she lived under pressure at home, but I didn't press for details when she said she was in the clear for that night.

We could only imagine how much trouble we were going to be in once our parents figure out we weren't in any safe, warm home slumbering in a friend's room. There was no telling how long this tournament was going to be, but I was willing to take the risk. It was Ran and Minoru I was worried about, kind of. All well, their behinds.

"Ready?" I asked after the last class bell rang the next day, Minoru and Ran nodded.

Our first step: following the directions to the dock.

"It's telling us to go left!"

"You're reading it upside-down baka!" Ran growled, her dark brown hair pulled back in a messy bun. Minoru huffed.

"Am not! You are!" Shaking my head, I took the map and led the way. The directions Minoru had collected led us onto an hour-long train ride and a forty-five minute stroll to a dismal looking section of town. My instincts were alive with fear gritting at my nerves, but as the sky darkened, we quickened our paces.

More people showed up and we knew we were on the right track, there were several duelists with a velvet, maroon glove clasped around their dominant hands – the one Ran had mentioned a while back. It had a strange, thick, metal band around the wrist containing hollow, star-shaped holes (ten overall.) One, however, was filled with a five-point star chip.

I gulped, would we even get onto the boat at all?

Looking in between bodies of people and shoving our way through, the three of us saw the ocean and the waves splashing against the dock. A shadow of a ship in the distance bellowed a horn, catching everyone's undivided attention. When the ship came to the dock, I stared at it – a five-star vessel no doubt. Security guards and men in shades donning earpieces like they do in the movies left the boat and started talking in harsh tones to the duelists. I could hardly hear, my heart was pounding so hard.

How were we going to get on? I eyed all the guards in fancy, black suits. Looking around, I decided a distraction would be best and with all these tall teenagers surrounding us, our short height could easily sneak us in.

"We're gonna have to move fast and pick the biggest people here," I explained my idea as casually as I could to my companions, Ran and Minoru nodded.

"Let me figure out the distraction," he said, Ran and I gave him a skeptical look.

"What did you have in mind?" Ran questioned coolly, Minoru smirked before going toward the back of the group of duelists now making their way toward the boat's entrance. We watched as he kicked the shin of a tall, bulky gangster-looking man. Swinging around, the man didn't even spot the tiny eight-year-old when it was a leering hulk of another man that stood behind him – appearing oblivious and angry.

"Whaddya want, punk?" the hulk asked, the gangster snarled.

"Ya hit me, idiot!" Minoru had rejoined Ran and I swiftly before the gangster slugged the hulk square in the jaw, this inspired more fights and with the guards' attentions and eyes peeled away from scrutinizing every oncoming duelist. Ran, Minoru, and I maneuvered between the crowd and made our way across the small bridge and onto the ship.

Duelist Kingdom here we come!

To InTheShadowOfSignifigance: Thank you for your review, I will take your advice to heart and hope you continue reading! I do intend to bring a lot of depth into this story and don't worry, I meant for details of my characters to be revealed at some point!

To Shirachi-ko: Thank you!!! I'm curious about where this story will lead to as well, I'm really excited!

To Cube: You're review was unacceptable, without explanation or reason I deem you an idiot. Not to mention a coward. It's called fanfiction and because hardly much of Pegasus' past was revealed to readers, I can do whatever I want with it and Penny's birth WILL BE EXPLAINED, why must I reveal every speck of detail in the first chapter? Lastly, Penny is no mary-sue I am proud to say.

A/N:

Thank you to those who were kind in their reviews and loaded with advice! I am looking forward to adding more depth to Penny and her story and seeing as it has been a long time since I've seen the original YGO, I will try my best to keep the story line as straight as possible! I've also learned readers may be concerned about how realistic Penny will be - I hope this chapter has cleared some of that up, as she is 8 and is somewhat afraid of leaving home for the first time without her 'parents' knowing. Now that she has made friends, I'm looking forward to adding more to her character and in no way, am I intending to make her a perfect little girl (how does she come across as one? She's mouthy!)