Hellowe!
We got a governement! Yay! After more than 500 days... Sinterklaas gave us a governement as a present!
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Now, something way more important. Enjoy the next chapter of Heart to Beat! (Because we don't know how to spell the number that comes after seven.)
Chapter 8
Earlier that night...
Kaiba grumbled as he unfolded a piece of paper. Briefly glancing at it, he recognized it as a manual and stuffed it back into his pockets. Really, who'd need a manual for such a simple task? He looked around and determined a good spot for his tent. A few minutes later, the tent stood. Inside he changed into a white buttoned shirt and equally white pants. He cursed Pegasus as he laid out his sleeping bag. Good thing Mokuba had convinced him to bring it with him anyway.
Though if Pegasus had just let him in the castle there would be no need for it. Why was he so determined in making the participants be social? First, Kaiba had had to buy a one-person tent from him, then there were the dinner table arrangements and now he had to sleep out in the open 'just like the rest', as Pegasus had put it, even though he had already qualified himself. It was just ridiculous.
On the upside, he now had an example of one of these hyper modern tents to take back home to examine. Because he had to admit, the technology used to allow them to be this big yet so compact was quite incredible. Not to mention that it was also easy to set up.
After he was done, he sat down and took his silver briefcase containing all the cards he could possibly need in this tournament and more. He looked through them, carefully weighing his choices. He had no idea who he would be facing in the second round, but a little deck tweaking couldn't hurt. At least he knew Yugi would definitely be there, so he could always just prepare for him. Chances are the others probably wouldn't be much of a challenge anyway. Though you never know of course.
"I wonder if she'll be there.", Kaiba thought as he continued sorting through his cards. "She did seem keen to duel me. I wonder what kind of deck she uses... Wait," He paused his actions as he realised something. He had absolutely no idea what the girl's name was! She hadn't introduced herself at all. Then again, neither had he, but there was never a need to. Everybody always seemed to know who he was anyway.
He shrugged, he'd find out later, and wanted to get back to work when a noise outside caught his attention. He raised his head to look in the direction of the noise, trying to pinpoint what exactly it was. When he found himself incapable of doing so, he got up and exited the tent.
The noise became more distant. Kaiba noticed bright lights not far from his camp, illuminating the area. It would seem that there was still a duel going on at this late hour. The noise also seemed to be heading in that direction. He could faintly make out a rather large shadowy figure in the forest. So it was just a duelist after all. Probably just off to watch the on-going duel. Still, the sound was very strange. Like someone was walking through a swamp, purposely stomping and at the same time dragging their feet along.
Still, to be dueling this late showed determination on the duelists part. Which meant chances were that they were good enough to make it to round two. That made them possible future opponents. With this in mind, Kaiba headed back into his tent, put all his cards back in the suitcase and with it exited again. Even if it had been easy to set up, he didn't feel like breaking up camp just to watch the duel. However, there were always useless cowards around that stole other's cards in order to win, so he decided to play it safe and take his with him. He opted taking his laptop as well, but decided against it. His security was top-notch anyway, so nobody would be able to get to any useful information.
As he started off, he noticed a wet trail leading towards his destination. It looked like someone had decided to scrub the ground. Or at least had tried to. Well, it had sounded like that. Now, the strange noise could no longer be heard. Whoever it was had probably already arrived at the duel platform, seeing as it wasn't that far. Without wasting any more time, Kaiba briskly walked towards the light.
Not long after he had entered the forest a loud bang resonated through the air, stopping Kaiba in his tracks. He knew that sound, there was no mistaking it. A gunshot. But why? He narrowed his eyes. It had come from the duel platform. Something was going on there, and it wasn't just a duel. Kaiba didn't like this one bit. Could there never be a peaceful, normal tournament?
As Kaiba started walking again, a second shot could be heard. He quickened his pace, faintly hoping that for once he had been mistaken. He was nearly there when he swore he heard someone call out his name. He briefly stopped again to look around but he saw no one so he quickly continued on his way. His grip tightened around his suitcase when he heard yet another shot. He didn't stop anymore though.
A few seconds later he had cleared the forest and arrived at an open area. The bright lights temporarily blinded him, but he knew that he had reached the platform. When his eyes had adjusted to the light, they immediately widened at the sight. What was he doing dead on the ground? He stared at his own bloodied form for a few seconds before a voice turned his attention to the duel platform.
"I summon Beelze Frog in attack." Kaiba looked from the boy who was calmly playing his card to his opponent. "It's that girl!" He thought surprised. "Why is she crying? And is that blood?"
"Next I play Card Destruction.", the boy continued, but Kaiba paid him no heed and walked towards Maya, who didn't react until Kai mentioned she'd lose the duel. Fear was written all over her face, but she didn't do anything else.
"Time's up, I'm afraid.", an extremely distorted voice suddenly announced, making Kaiba look at him. His eyes widened slightly at the sudden change and he instantly knew Maya was in grave danger. Without thinking about it further he ran to the platform, swiftly jumping on it. When he landed the laughing body of water was mere centimetres away from Maya. With all his might, Kaiba slammed his suitcase against him. A surprised and pained scream erupted as Kai was splattered all over. The scattered water surged back to the other side of the dueling platform and took form again, a scowl on his face.
"Seto Kaiba.", he growled lowly.
Maya slowly opened her eyes, confused as to why she was still alive. Her eyes widened in surprise and confusion when she saw who had saved her.
"S..Seto!", sheer happiness and relief dominated her tired voice and she instantly hugged him from behind. "You're alive!"
Kaiba, though taken aback by the action, turned around in her embrace and looked down at her. Her grip was tight, almost desperate, and judging from the amount of weight she put on him she had trouble just standing upright.
"Of course I am.", he said.
Maya lifted her head a little so she could look at him. "But, he...", she glanced at Kai, who was staring into nothingness, an extremely annoyed look on his face and mumbling incoherently to himself. Maya looked to where Kaiba's dead body should lay, but it was gone. In its place was a large pool of water. She was confused beyond words. What had happened?
Suddenly she realised this was no time to relax yet. Kai could still kill them and this time for real. She pushed herself away from Kaiba. "Seto, you have to...", she stopped as her head spun again. Her legs gave way. Kaiba quickly put an arm around her waist to hold her up and let her rest against his chest again. Maya growled frustrated. "Please, run. He's dangerous.", she mumbled in his shirt. Every word took an enormous amount of difficulty to get out.
"I hope you're not planning on joining him in that little escape plan?", Kai suddenly intervened, having snapped back to reality. "After all, you forfeited the duel, so that means you must take responsibility."
"Forfeited, really?", Kaiba smirked as he turned to Kai, "And when did she do that then?"
"She didn't respond when I activated Card Destruction. She didn't discard the cards in her hand, so she failed to meet the activation and that pretty much equals surrender." Kai explained.
"Really? If she didn't discard them, then why aren't they in her hand right now?", Kaiba asked as he put his suitcase down and motioned with his free hand to Maya's hands, which were tightly grasping his shirt.
Kai blinked owlishly as Kaiba continued. "Scattered on the floor. If that's not discarding then I don't know what is." Maya couldn't help but grin at Kaiba's manipulation of words, whilst mentally berating herself for treating her cards like that. She hadn't even noticed she'd dropped them.
"This duel isn't over yet.", Kaiba stated. He loosened his grip on Maya so she could bent down and pick up her cards. However, her legs felt like jelly so she could hardly get back up alone.
"Fine with me.", Kai smirked as he watched Kaiba help Maya up and support her. "But is she really in any condition to carry on?" Maya shakily put her cards in her graveyard and started to draw new ones, but she nearly dropped them as well. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to fight off unconsciousness.
"Then I'll duel in her stead.", Kaiba answered, taking the cards from Maya, who looked at him bewildered. Kai put a hand to his chin as if thinking it over. His eyes gleamed dangerously and he smirked back, "Why not. I allow it. On one condition though."
Taking Kaiba's piercing glare as a sign to continue, he explained, "Since you'll be acting as her proxy, you'll be submitted to the same rules."
"Seto! Don't...", Maya managed to get out, realizing full well what Kai was getting at.
"If you lose, you will die. Of course, Maya will too, seeing as she was the one who started this duel.", Kai finished, waiting for Kaiba's answer. To him, it was a win-win situation. If he had to actually duel Seto Kaiba, it was more beneficial to him to do so when he was using a weakling's deck instead of his own. Not to mention the gap in life points.
Kaiba closed his eyes and laughed, leaving both Maya and Kai puzzled. Maya could actually feel his body move as he laughed. Suddenly it stopped and he looked at her.
"Maya is it?", he checked. She nodded slowly; thinking now wasn't the time to think how nice it sounded to hear him say her name. "Do you really think I'd lose?" Maya shook her head, "No...but, maybe with my deck...", she added, her voice barely a whisper. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.
"Is it that weak then?" Maya's eyes narrowed and flared up with determination at the question. "NO! Of course not!", she yelled.
"Then why are you worried?", Kaiba grinned at her. Having drained all her energy with that last outburst, Maya fell limp in Kaiba's arms. But her heart felt relieved. She had been right. Seto really isn't like they say he is. And despite the immediate danger she was in, she'd never felt this safe in her entire life.
Kaiba carefully put her down, allowing her to rest her back against the platform, next to his suitcase. The little platform was very crowded. "I'll win.", he told her before standing upright again and turning to Kai. "I accept your condition."
"Perfect.", Kai said, having patiently waited all this time. "It's still my turn, I believe."
Kaiba didn't reply. He studied the situation as it now was. He had Flamvell Guard(2000DEF/100ATK) in defence, Spirit Ryu(1000ATK/1000DEF) in attack and one face-down. They had 2400LP left.
Kai had two face-downs and Beelze Frog(2100ATK/800DEF) in attack and his life points were at 3000.
"Hmm, let's see...Beelze Frog, attack Flamvell Guard.", Kai ordered. The demonic frog hovered over the wet field and landed with a huge splash in the water, creating a miniature tidal wave that extinguished Flamvell Guard's flames. The monster scattered as the frog went back to its place.
"I'll end my turn for now."
"My turn!" It was the last thing Maya heard before falling unconscious. Kaiba looked at the card and his hand, then to the graveyard before smiling slightly. Dragons. And Maya had thought he would have trouble with her deck? Really now. And he had just drawn a good one too.
"I tribute Spirit Ryu to summon Prime Material Dragon(2400ATK/2000DEF) in attack." A golden dragon with three pairs of wings appeared on the field. It looked like it was made out of wood.
"Prime Material Dragon, attack his Beelze Frog!" The golden dragon flew over, claw raised, ready to strike.
"Star Changer!", Kai yelled as one of his face-downs lifted, revealing a card with orange one-star balls on it. "With it I lower my monster's level from three to two. Which means it now receives a bonus from Wetlands.", Kai laughed as Beelze Frog's attack rose to 3300.
"What?", but it was already too late. The dragon missed and was scattered by Kai's frog. Kaiba felt a sharp pain as his life points dropped to 1500. He momentarily clutched his heart, but quickly recovered. Groaning, he placed two more cards face-down. "Turn end."
"It's about time I end this.", Kai said as he drew a card. "I set one monster face-down", a card appeared next to Beelze Frog, "and then attack you directly with Beelze Frog." The demon frog began hovering over to Kaiba, but before it was even halfway it stopped.
"I activate Negate Attack.", Kaiba said. The frog hopped back. Kai merely shrugged, "I end my turn for now. Struggle a little more, if you really want to.", he added nonchalantly.
"My turn!" He studied the situation. It was indeed a little more tricky to duel when you had no idea what other cards you had in your deck. But it didn't bother Kaiba that much. He looked at Kai's face-down card, deducting that it was most likely a countermeasure in case he attacked. Having decided on a plan, he put one monster face-down and ended his turn.
"My turn again already?", Kai half stated, half asked in a mocking tone.
"Just get on with it."
"What is it tonight? Everybody seems to be in such a hurry to die." Kai wondered as he drew a card. Without even looking at it, he ordered his monster to attack once again. The amphibian obeyed and plopped down on the card. A light red dragon with large patches of what appeared to be white armour flickered briefly before disappearing.
"Masked Dragon's effect allows me to search a Dragon-type monster in my deck and special summon it.", Kaiba explained whilst taking Maya's deck and looking through it. He was a bit surprised to see a bunch of non-dragons in it. It seemed like a strange mix of randomly chosen cards at first glance, but even from briefly skimming through it Kaiba could already think of multiple great combos. Well, it was certainly unique, that's for sure.
He suddenly stopped, eyes widening slightly at a certain card. "How did she get this?" He glanced at Maya's sleeping form. "I didn't think she'd have such powerful and even rare cards. Especially this one..."
"Staring won't wake her up, you know." Kai said flatly. "Or does she perhaps not have a good enough card after all?" His words ripped Kaiba from his thoughts. However, he didn't reply but merely took the card he wanted and summoned it in face-up defence mode. Two-Headed Behemoth (1200DEF/1500ATK), a purple headless dragon standing on its hind legs entered the field. Though maybe headless isn't the right word, seeing as it did have two heads. They were, however, attached to its arms, replacing its claws. It crossed them, indicating he was in defence.
"So defensive!"
"Are you going to do something else or not?" Kaiba asked, ignoring Kai's words.
"No, I'll leave it at that."
"So, you're entering your End Phase?"
Kai raised an eyebrow at Kaiba."Yes...", he replied, sounding a bit suspicious.
"In that case... Nordic Relic Leavateinn activate!" A golden mix between a spear and a sword shot out of the freshly raised card and pierced Beelze Frog, shattering it. Kaiba smirked at Kai's surprised face. "I can target one face-up monster that destroyed a monster this turn and destroy it," he explained, "and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Kai's eyes narrowed and he glared dangerously at Kaiba. "Your turn", he said almost vehemently. The CEO was not impressed and simply drew his next card. "Just what I needed."
"It seems my drawing skills are still superior, even with somebody else's deck." Kaiba laughed. "First, I'll summon Mirage Dragon (1600ATK/600DEF) in attack." A long golden Eastern-style dragon floated on the field. The end of its tail was a scythe and its head was longer than normal. Long green-bluish hair started from its neck and gently waved in the holographic wind. The moment it appeared, water seemed to evaporate and turn to mist surrounding the dragon's body.
"Next, I activate the ritual spell card White Dragon Ritual. I sacrifice Twin-Headed Behemoth on the field and Poki Draco from my hand to ritual summon Paladin of White Dragon!(1900ATK/1200DEF)" He yelled the last part as if he were summoning his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. A younger version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon flew over, circled through Mirage Dragon's mist, before settling down next to it. Its eyes were like miniature suns as they shone with determination. On top of it sat a knight in silver armour, cape swaying softly and sword in hand.
"Now, let's start. Paladin of White Dragon, attack his set monster. Burst Slash of Destruction!", the young Blue-Eyes flew up high, before charging down at dazzling speed, right at the card. A burst of teal light shot out, flew up and mingled with the knight's sword, giving it a teal hue as well. The knight slashed at the card, making it shatter without revealing the monster. "When Paladin of White Dragon attacks a face-down defence monster, it is immediately destroyed. Its effect won't be activated nor will battle damage be applied."
"I saw that.", Kai growled annoyed.
"I know.", Kaiba smirked, "Did you also notice that due to Mirage Dragon's effect, trap cards can't be activated during the battle phase?" Kai glared at him, but said nothing. "Now, Mirage Dragon, direct attack! Fata Morgana!" The golden dragon shone brightly and it looked like there were suddenly three of them. They flew over to Kai and strangled him, bit his head and flew back. Three became one again as Kai's life points dropped to 1400. He let out a roar and for a moment his body seemed to turn back to water. As soon as it had happened, it was gone again. Kai looked absolutely livid.
"Seto Kaiba, I'll make you pay for that.", he threatened in a sickly distorted voice.
"Hmph, your turn.", he said after placing another face-down.
Kai wordlessly drew a card. He smiled when he saw what it was. "I..."
"I activate my face-down, Raigeki Break!", Kaiba interrupted. "With it I destroy your face-down." He dropped a card to his graveyard and a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, striking Kai's card. It was briefly shown to have been Froggy Forcefield. "And with this, everything is set for my victory next turn.", Kaiba thought satisfied, not bothering to hide his smirk.
"As I was saying", Kai carried on, "I summon Star Boy(550ATK/500DEF to 2250ATK/500DEF) in attack!" A red sea star with one eye and a mouth filled with sharp teeth appeared. Colourful tentacles sprout out of its backside. "Not only does it get a field bonus but its effect also powers up all Water-type monsters on the field by 500, including itself. And with it I attack your paladin." Star Boy spun around, turning into a sort of Frisbee and launched himself at Paladin of White Dragon. The knight raised his sword to block but it would seem he would be too late.
"Hold it right there. I activate Graceful Revival and special summon Wind-Up Kitten!(800ATK/500DEF)" Now there was something he had never thought he'd yell out loud. A pair of little angels carried a colourful mechanical kitten and dropped it next to Paladin of White Dragon. They turned the wind-up pin on its back three times before flying off. The mostly orange kitten's movements were clearly robotic as it stretched. "And immediately activate its effect! I can select one monster on your field and return it to your hand." Seeing as there was only one monster on Kai's field it was unnecessary to point out which. The kitten let out a mechanical little screech. Star Boy reeled back and disappeared from the field, leaving the paladin unscathed.
Kai was seething with anger and, after looking at his hand, started to panic. He had nothing to special summon, his normal summon had been used and he had no useful traps or spells. He stared, contemplating his possible courses of action.
"Are you going to do something or not?"
Kai could barely suppress his murderous instinct, when an idea struck him. He smiled evilly, "Oh, I'll do something alright..."
Kaiba hadn't heard him. He just stood waiting, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently. He had had more than enough of this Kai guy.
"I end my turn."
"Finally." Kaiba drew a card, but didn't need to look at it. This duel would be over in mere seconds. "Paladin of White Dragon! Direct attack! Burst..."
"Nii-sama!" Kaiba immediately froze as he heard that voice.
"M-Mokuba?" At the mention of the name, Kai lifted up the younger Kaiba from behind his side of the duel platform. He held him up high, hand tightly wrapped around the boy's wrists. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Kai, anger flaring up in them. If looks could kill, Kai'd be dead meat by now.
"Now, now, Seto Kaiba. Calm down and I'll make you a proposition."
"H-help me...", Mokuba meekly begged. "You...", Kaiba spat, voice dangerously low.
"It's simple really. Either you carry on with your attack and win, saving Maya.", he began explaining, "Or you surrender and then your dear little brother will be saved."
"Hmph, I'll never surrender."
"Really now? Is that girl worth more than your brother?", Kai asked, "Or do you only care about saving your own skin?"
When Kaiba didn't reply, Kai continued, "Your choice, your brother or that foolish girl."
Kaiba closed his eyes for a few seconds, in what Kai presumed was thought. Then suddenly, he started laughing.
"What's so funny?", Kai demanded, but Kaiba merely laughed some more.
"You worthless piece of trash!", He yelled when he finally stopped. "I have no idea how you do it, nor do I care, but did you really think I would fall for such stupid trick?" Kai remained silent. "And how dare you imply that my brother is a whining weakling? You'll pay for this, for everything you did tonight. Paladin of White Dragon! Burst Slash of Destruction!", he ordered without giving Kai even a second to retaliate. The dragon flew up again and dashed at the boy. A burst of energy from its mouth mingled with the knight's blade. The knight struck, reducing Kai's life points to zero. He let out a loud and pained scream, before briefly shutting up and exploding. Water rained down above his part of the duel platform.
Ignoring the supernatural phenomenon, Kaiba took Maya's deck and put it in his suitcase. When the platform was lowered, he picked her up in bridal style. Then he bent down to take his suitcase in one hand. Like that he walked back through the forest to his camp.
Once there he dropped his suitcase in the tent and walked to the sea. There was a small pathway that he could use to get down to the water. He carefully laid Maya down on a spot of soft sand and, using his hands as a bowl, got some water to wash the blood off her face and arms. Some of it had already dried and could be peeled off. When he had gotten most of it off, he picked her up again and walked back to his tent again.
Though his tent was pretty spacious for a one-person one, he still only had one sleeping bag. Remembering he still had a spare blanket, he let Maya sleep on the much more comfortable sleeping bag because he thought she needed it more. He covered her as best he could, but she had become quite restless and immediately started moving in her sleep.
After changing into a new white shirt, seeing as his old one was covered in Maya's blood, he took out the blanket and laid down on it to sleep.
However, Maya grew more and more restless with the minute, kicking and mumbling in her sleep. Eventually it got so bad that she kicked the sleeping bag open and off her. She was having a terrible nightmare. Kaiba sat up and moved over to her, intent on waking her up, and crawled down next to her.
"Wake up.", he whispered first, then said and eventually tried yelling but to no avail. He bent over her to grab her shoulders and shake her awake, but all that got him was a few hard kicks. Noting that she packed more of a punch than you'd expect at first glance, he ignored the pain as it blended in with the remnants of the duel.
If he couldn't wake her up, he should just comfort her. So thinking, he lay down on the now open sleeping bag and put his arms around Maya, pulling her close. He rubbed circles on her back and whispered what he hoped were comforting words. It had always helped Mokuba whenever he had a nightmare, so why shouldn't it help now?
Maya's mumbling continued, but it was incomprehensible. Kaiba noticed she was crying, but at the very least the kicking stopped. Suddenly Maya's eyes shot open, wide with fear and clouded by tears. Though awake, she wasn't aware where she was and seemed to still be stuck in her dream.
"...anything wrong... why monster..? ...don't call me that...", she choked out, still crying.
"Monsters don't exist.", Kaiba whispered softly.
"You don't even know me... just like the rest..." Maya looked up, as if suddenly realizing she wasn't alone. Her vision was blurred, but she could just make out two hazy pools of blue in the dim moonlight that filtered through the tent. She looked straight at them.
"...so then why do you hate me?" The question was barely a whisper, she sounded so desperate and so broken.
Kaiba returned her gaze, looked her straight in the eye and immediately answered, "I don't hate you." There wasn't a shred of hesitation in his voice. Maya instantly relaxed at those words, her fear dissipated and her tears ran dry. The adrenaline gone, she felt extremely tired again and fell back asleep in mere seconds.
Kaiba wanted to roll away again, but noticed Maya was holding on to his shirt. He sighed, reached behind him to grab the blanket and threw it over both of them. Maya still in his arms, he fell asleep as well, briefly wondering what strange mess he had been dragged into this time.
Rex: CAN I GO PEEING NOW?
Rose: Yes, Rex. See you in the next chapter.
Maya: Oh, by the way, Rose ate takoyaki last week.
Rex: What? Where?
Maya: In Belgium!
Bandit Keith: NO! In America!
Maya + Rose + Rex: Who let him in?
Maya: I thought you locked the door?
Rose: I did...
Bandit Keith: I came through the window. In America!
Maya: It doesn't make any sense...
Rex: Who cares about that? Where is the takoyaki?
Rose: In Belgium.
Bandit Keith: NO! In America!
Maya: Somebody please, throw him out of the window again...
Kaiba: With pleasure.
Rex: Where did you come from?
Kaiba: Through the window. My Blue-Eyes Jet is standing outside.
Rex: Please tell me where the takoyaki is, Rose! I have to pee!
Rose: It's in... (thinks twice).
Maya: You don't remember do you?
Rose: Of course I do remember! You took me to a Japanese restaurant. Remember?
Maya: I do.
Rex: Okay. Take me there after I went peeing. (runs off through the window).
BOEM!
Kaiba: NO! My Blue-Eyes Jet!
Rose: NO! My Blue-Eyed Rex!
Maya: ... (sighs)
Rose: (jumps through the window)
Kaiba: NO! Not again!
Maya: Don't worry, she doesn't weigh a lot. Now that we're finally alone Seto...
Bandit Keith: Hello!
Maya: Grlmbl!