Darksidechick – I have so much surprise in store I feel like bursting! Let's hope they can

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters. Just the OC.

There was crying heard in the room. Three boys and three girls were standing in a line next to each other. The boys tried their best to keep a brave face on; it wasn't "tough" to cry after all. The girls had no problem letting the tears fall, the three of them holding each others hands as they watched the two people in black trench coats stand in front of them.

The children all came from the same school, they all knew each other. That was the one comfort for them right now; they weren't "alone". Sniffles and sobs filled the room, that being the only thing breaking the silence. The children had no idea where they were, why they were here...did they do something wrong? Did their parents send them here as a punishment? It made a certain brunette think. Her brother was never naughty...they couldn't be here as punishment could they? And after all it was the school that organised everything! So was the school behind it?

"Quit your crying and listen up!" One of the trench coated figures demanded; making the girls instantly clam up and hold each other hands tighter as they watched the figure slowly come forth from the shadows that cloaked them. It was a woman; she looked like she was in her mid twenties. Her black hair covered half her face, leaving one green eye to peer at them all. Her hands were held behind her back, almost like she was addressing military personal.
"All of you are here because we think you could be useful to us." She continued peering up the group; her eyes stopping on one of the brunette girls. It narrowed as she walked forward towards the girl, forcibly grabbing her chin to have a good look at her. The girl froze in fear, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched the woman. Grumbling, the woman let go of her chin, turning her head to her companion.
"That's a girl. We're meant to have four boys and two girls. I know Akira and Ito are identical but how can you mix them up?! She's clearly female!" The woman demanded from her team mate who calmly shuffled through his papers trying to see if there was a reason for why Ito was there.
"In our "taste tests" Ito stepped forward. She said she was worried that it would affect her brothers heart so she would take his place." He explained to her.

The woman growled once more, storming over to the man and snatching the clip board from him making him flinch. She was known for her anger clearly around her.
"You imbecile that's exactly why he was needed!" She yelled at him, reading over the notes. Clicking her tongue she slammed the board back into the man's chest, keeping a firm eye on him.
"No worries; we'll have to make do now it just means a slight change in strategy that's all." She said to him, turning her attention back to the children. The woman placed her hands onto her hips as she looked over them, taking in each of their appearances.
"We'll make do without our trump card. Now...where was I; ah yes!" She began saying, walking slowly in front of the line as she kept a firm eye on the children who stood in fear of her.
"The world owes us something, it's power. Those who rule the world are the most powerful beings on the planet; and what better way than to use children to get what you want?" She began saying, questioning them although not expecting an answer.

Ito remained quiet as the woman's words rung through her mind. If it hadn't been for her taking her brother's place in the taste test then he would be here...assuming he woke up after his "death". What did that woman mean by "Trump card". Ito frowned and knitted her brows together; in a way she kept her brother safe...but at what cost? And why were they all here...how could children help these people take over the world?

Ito wanted know part of it but she knew she didn't have a choice now.

-x-

It had been several weeks now since Ito disappeared from the house. Akira didn't dare speak about her appearance to his parents when they returned home. He didn't think they could deal with the heart ache...he didn't think they deserved the heart ache. If he was going to let them know she was alive and well; they will need to see her for themselves. That was the only way Akira could think of that would make it any better.

Mokuba had dragged Akira in the two weeks to Yugi's game shop and explained everything that was told to him. Akira didn't mind; he just never took Mokuba for a gossip. Although now that he thought about it he probably wasn't gossiping. Either way, Yugi agreed to help out with the situation of getting Ito back to him; he also took Mokuba's side that it did indeed sound like magic that was controlling her. Yugi's friends also seemed to agree that it was magic.

The situation was also explained to Seto, seeing as he was Mokuba's brother; Akira had no doubt it's eventually slip to him. Seto also agreed that it "could" be magic but didn't rule out the possibility that it was something else too. This just made Akira feel uncomfortable and out of place. He was the only one who didn't think it was magic. Akira wondered if maybe she was possessed. He wondered if maybe he could take her to a shrine and see if one of the monks could get rid of the spirit; if he could keep a hold of her long enough that was.

Still, he just hoped that maybe he would see her around. It was the beginning of the tournament now after all. He didn't know if she was a duellist or not; but he didn't mind. If they were planning to take over the world then a tournament filled with lots of people would be the best bet for them. From what Akira understood there would be people all over the world from here. Duellist of all skills, ranging from complete and utter novice like him, to reining champions like Yugi. If there was one thing all those duellists had in common was, was that they wanted a shot at Yugi's title.

Seto, even though he was running the tournament, was also participating in the tournament too. Mokuba had explained that he had a long living rivalry with Yugi and was determined to win back his King of Duel monsters title. Akira couldn't understand the hype of it but he said he'd support Seto with Mokuba either way. The older Kaiba brother was nice enough to let Akira help out with the tournament he had to repay him somehow.

What Akira was trying to work out is why did he have to hold it during the rainy season?! The duels would mostly be outside as not many places were happy opening their doors to allow duels to take part inside he could have chosen a better season, or when it had stopped at some point in mid July. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't chucking it down with rain.

Seto had explained how the tournament worked earlier in the day and that was by gaining five coloured cards; all of which must be a different colour in order to enter the finals, they also had to give up their rarest card; a stable in the tournaments Seto held it seemed. Each duellist had two different colours. The rules seemed simple enough. Akira was offered two coloured cards to participate but he declined. As generous as that was he was no strong duellist and knew he'd be kicked out instantly. Plus he'd feel bad taking part of the tournament when he was meant to be helping Mokuba with look out.

The two boys waited anxiously for the tournament to begin. Being look outs gave them perks; such as front row standing away from the crowd with the rest of the look outs who were dressed as body guards and actual body guards of Seto while he announced the tournament. Akira couldn't work out why him and Mokuba were not dressed in suits but could only assume it was because people would have guessed that they would be look outs; or at least guessed Mokuba was. Akira was there for the ride as some might say. The brunette looked through the crowd, he could spot Yugi straight off; his multi-coloured hair stood well out from the crowd. He could also spot Joey, Tea, and Tristan; those two he was introduced to when Mokuba dragged him off to the game stop to explain what had happened. He could remember briefly meeting Tea a few weeks ago when he fainted inside Kame Game. She was very nice to him and had kept an eye on him until he woke up. She was pretty; Akira would admit that. Mokuba had mentioned that her and Yugi were a couple. He thought that was sweet; they seemed like nice enough people.

"Welcome to Domino City's Duel Monster Tournament!" Seto had yelled out to the crowd through a mic that attached to an ear piece. The announcement made Akira's heart race in his chest. This was it, it was starting! He had to admit, he was excited to see what people would be playing. He didn't agree with the giving up your rarest card thing but that was not his decision to make. The rain that poured from the skies helped calm his nerves slightly but not a lot. Like Mokuba he stood with his hands behind his back watching the crowd of people.
"Each of you participating have been given two different coloured cards. To enter the final grounds you must gain five different coloured cards. On top of that, you must give the winner your rarest card so I hope you bought you skills with you." Seto explained to the group gathered as they waited patiently for him to officially open the tournament.

As Seto went over it, Akira drifted into his own small world. Thoughts played about in his head. What if he did spot Ito here? Could he convince her to come with them and they try and find a way to help her? He could only hope that they could but even then he wasn't too sure. The brunette felt a small jab into his side making him look at the person who did it.
"We'll be heading off soon...Are you okay?" Mokuba whispered lowly to him so that the crowd couldn't hear the two. Not that they were probably going to listen to what two teenage boys had to say. Akira nodded his head at his friends question, giving him a small smile to try and cover the small lie.
"I'm fine; just anxious." He said to him. That was far from the truth however. He was far from fine and "just anxious." His heart pounded in his chest so much it began to hurt. This was the first tournament he had ever been up front and close to; let alone even help with. But he also dwelled on his sisters words.
"Don't worry; if Ito shows up we'll get her. We have Yugi and the others helping too now." Mokuba said, seemingly having looked through his lie entirely and picked up on what his friend was worried about. Akira couldn't help but give an apologetic smile for the lie and turned his attention back to the crowd just as Seto was announcing the tournament open.

The crowds began dispersing to either seek sanctum from the rain or duel for the coloured cards they needed. The two younger boys walked to the group of men dressed as body guards to go over one last time where everyone was headed and where to meet up at the end of the day. They made sure their walkie talkies worked before leaving each other to their designated spots. Akira and Mokuba quickly met up with Yugi and the others. As far as Akira knew, only Yugi and Joey were duellists in their little group.
"Where's Mai?" Mokuba asked Joey, a small smirk on his face as he shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.
"She's out duellin' people. Said she wan'ed a 'ead start." Joey replied in return, seeming not to happy with this "Mai's" decision. Mokuba looked at Akira slightly who stood with just a blank expression.
"Mai is Joey's other half. She's also a strong duellist." Mokuba explained to his baffled friend, who hummed slightly and nodded his head.

"So, we're also looking out for Ito right?" Tea asked, turning the conversation around to focus on Akira. Akira nodded his head in agreement.
"Yes...thank you for doing so you didn't have to." Akira said to them, giving them a thankful smile. He was glad they agreed to help even if the whole "it's magic" thing didn't sit with him. He felt an arm around his shoulders pulling him into someone.
"Hey don't worry about it; a friend of Mokuba's is a friend of ours. We'll track your sister." Tristan said with a large grin on his face, his spare hand on his hip. Akira nodded slightly, almost stiffly. He wasn't expected to suddenly have his arm around his neck and be all "buddy buddy" with him. Akira would admit though, it was a nice feeling to have. Mokuba was his closet friend, even considered him as a brother; having different friends was nice.
"Right so you guys have our numbers. Ito looks like Akira, but with longer hair and obviously a girl. Give us a call if you spot her and we'll there right away. We don't know if she's a duellist so having the entire city to duel in instead makes it a huge advantage for us in a way as well as a disadvantage." Mokuba explained to them. If she wasn't a duellist that would be good as it would mean they didn't have to watch every duel to see if they could spot her. At the same time it was that very reason why it was a disadvantage. They would have to look harder. They agreed to meet up at around five PM to discuss if they did see anything strange and with that left their separate ways.

The two teenagers had watched multiple duels happen. People were gaining coloured cards here, there and everywhere. They even managed to catch a couple of duels between Seto and other competitors as well as Yugi and competitors. Akira could notice a difference in their play style. Seto was aggressive. He spared no time laying his opponents to waste and taking from them what was rightfully his after the match. Yugi on the other hand was much more calmer about it. He tried to guide his opponent once the duel was over and often refused taking their rarest card. Akira could only assume it was because it didn't sit well with Yugi to take such a thing.

One duel did catch their eye however. It was between a masked figure and a total novice. The mask on the mysterious figure was a mask called Hannya; it was regularly used in Noh theatre to represent a jealous female. The two teenagers stopped to watch to make sure the duel went well. This masked figure was brutal. He managed to beat his opponent in three turns. Akira didn't know if that was skill or down to luck when it came to drawing cards; either way he didn't want to find out first hand himself. The masked figure chuckled darkly to himself as his opponents life points dropped to zero, totally destroying the novice. The brunette couldn't help but knit his brows together; he had never seen anything like it not even with the duels he witness from Seto.
"That's so cruel." Akira commented quietly to Mokuba who nodded his head although didn't seem phased with what he had seen.
"It happens. I've never seen anything like that myself though and I thought Seto could be ruthless." Mokuba said back to him as the figure walked up to the novice who had fallen to his knees and watched the ground in pure shock. They held out their hand, demanding their coloured card and rarest monster. The novice looked at them, gingerly handing over their things. The figure looked at the card that was given to the and promptly tore it into two, dropping the pieces to the ground only upsetting the novice more.
"Hey you can't do that!" Mokuba yelled over at the figure, making them turn their heads quickly towards the two teenage boys.

The figure remained silent as it starred at them. The novice looked like he was on the verge of bursting into tears. Akira quickly made his way to the duellist on the floor to make sure he was alright while Mokuba dealt with the cloaked figure. Akira placed his hands onto the novice's shoulders as he kneeled down next to him; he didn't seem that old maybe just starting secondary school. He seemed only twelve.
"You can't just rip the card up like that! It's against the rules!" Mokuba shouted at the figure.
"Nothing said anything against what I did to the card once it was mine. Once it's in my possession I can do with it what I will." The figure spoke bluntly and in an all too familiar voice. This caught Akira's attention. He drew his attention to the figure, his eyes wide in shock.
"Ito?" He questioned, drawing the figures attention. The masked person lifted a hand to their mask and tilted it up enough to peek at Akira through the bottom. He could tell from what he could see it was Ito. The twelve year old boy remained quiet as he looked at the girl before looking back at Akira.
"You know her?" He questioned him grabbing Akira's attention again. Akira could only nod at the boy. The boy frowned; pressing his lips together.
"Please make her pay for ripping my card!" He said to him. Akira was a little bit taken back by this, he wasn't too sure what this boy expected him to do. He couldn't ask either as the boy had pulled himself away and got up, leaving the three behind.

Ito continued to peer at Akira as he stood up from the floor just starring at her. He heard clapping mixed with the patting of rain coming up from the right side of them and quickly looked in that direction.
"Well done Ito." The feminine voice said as she stopped just away from the three. She looked between them, a smirk playing on her face. Her long black hair covered half her face leaving one green eye visible to look at them. Mokuba quickly walked up to Akira standing by his side and glaring at the woman. Ito stood quiet, just watching her as did Akira.
"So...this is the brother you stood in for all those years ago. My my...even when you two are away you still look like each other." She continued saying, almost mockingly as she walked towards Ito; her heels clicking against the ground. She stood next to the brunette female who turned her attention back to the two teenage boys.
"Leave my sister alone! Give her back!" Akira demanded only to be greeted with laughter.
"You pathetic boy you honestly think I'm just going to hand her over just because you say so? What are you five? Absolutely pathetic." The green eyed woman commented, placing a hand onto Ito's shoulder as she kept the smirk on her face.

She looked between the two, taken note of how much they looked like each other. There was something she could see though. Ito was quiet and strong, her brother on the other hand while he did seem like the quiet type he was not strong. Not like her. The woman hummed to herself as she watched the brunette boy continue to glare at her.
"I don't care if it's pathetic, she's my sister! I want her back you had no right to take her away from me!" Akira shouted at her angrily. Mokuba quickly glanced at his friend before looking back at the woman once more. He couldn't think of words to say that would help the situation, not while Akira was growing angry and frustrated. No, he needed to remain calm for his friend so he could help him in any way he could. The woman chuckled once more, her smirk widening at the two.
"Alright how about I make you a deal. Meet me in one hour back here. We'll have a duel. If you win you can have your sister back, if I win you become a puppet for us." She said to him, pointing a long index finger at him. Mokuba looked a bit shocked at the proposal. He knew Akira was not a strong duelist, did this mean that woman knew too? Was she planning on taking advantage of that?
"Akira yo-"
"I'll do it." Akira said, cutting off Mokuba from his words. Mokuba furrowed his brows as he watched Akira, hearing the woman laugh more.
"It's a date then. Remember one hour." She said to him, pushing Ito away. Ito had remained quiet throughout the entire encounter. It was almost like she wasn't completely there.

Akira dug his fingers into the palm of his hands. Once they were gone, Mokuba quickly stood in front of him, glaring at the brunette.
"What is wrong with you?! Are you mad?" Mokuba questioned him. Akira frowned at his friend, knitting his brows together and shaking his head.
"I...I just want her back." Akira began saying, dropping his head to look at the floor. "I'm not good at decision making on the spot you know that. I just...I just want my sister back, if I can get her back this way then I want to try it. I don't mind risking myself to help her." Akira said to him, his fingers continuing to dig into the palm of his hands. He could feel his finger nails beginning to pierce the skin. Mokuba sighed, his glare turning into a frown as he watched his friend. He could understand. Taking a deep breath, he sighed and patted Akira on the shoulder.
"I want to prove I am a good big brother like I should have done five years ago. If I can redeem myself this way I want to do it." Akira continued taking Mokuba back slightly. He was not expecting that. Was Akira blaming himself for what had happened five years ago? From what Ito said, he had no way of knowing. Mokuba could only assume this is what it felt like to be a big brother, blaming yourself for something that happened to the younger sibling even though you had no control over it. He had seen that happen a few times with Seto.
"Okay...put we'll need some advice. You said yourself you're only a novice and if Ito can can in three turns who knows what that woman can do. I'll call Yugi..." Mokuba began saying although not receiving an answer from Akira.

The brunette knew what he had to do to help his sister. He was nervous and scarred he wouldn't deny that. He could also tell though, something didn't sit right with the whole thing. That didn't matter now though, he had the chance to help his sister and get her back; he was going to grasp it and do his best to succeed.

He will prove he can protect her, like a big brother should.