December 13 2006: Author Notes: After the chapter I posted earlier I wanted to work on this fiction some more. I have a few others I should be working on but I am just really enjoying this one right now. I was reading a few other fictions today and they made me want to write again. Good stories always make me want to do that. Though I like to recommend the stories that inspire me to work to be a better writer myself so to all Kaiba fans if you haven't read it already I highly recommend the fiction: Secret Indulgences by TwilightEyes8120 which was co-written with Gekkou Hana. Their fiction is one of the most refreshing ones I've read in a very long time. It's currently unfinished but it's worth reading what is there regardless. Anyway on to my fiction ;)
Chapter 3: A day of games.
"Kagome! Kagome!"
Her brother's voice didn't reach her until he'd started shaking her as well, waking her from the dream she'd been enjoying, gone from her memory as soon as she forced her eyes open and tried to focus on her excited sibling.
"I'm awake." She assured, holding his hands to keep him from continuing to shake her. "What's wrong Souta?"
She couldn't really be annoyed when she saw the wide grin on his face.
"Why didn't you tell me that Mr. Kaiba was already planning to help us tomorrow?!" Souta demanded, nearly hopping up and down in enthusiasm. "You never told me you were friends with him either sis, you are so mean!"
"What are you talking about Souta?" Kagome yawned wide, "I hadn't ever really thought about the guy before yesterday. Weren't you here when he said he'd help us with the festival?"
The fog of sleep was still slowly receding from her brain as she tried to put together the pieces of a puzzle that she didn't have all the pieces of. Her brother had always been a little too frantic over things he enjoyed, but she was starting to wonder if he'd lost it after the visit from the famous fellow the day before.
"What am I talking about? Don't tell me you didn't know about this." He demanded, tossing the day's paper in her lap. We already have people lining up outside, mom doesn't know what to do with them all. There are folks already saying they'd be willing to sleep on the steps."
"Huh?" was the only reply she could offer that set of commentary, picking up the paper to search for a clue as to why her little brother had gone insane. Her eyes widened a moment later, it hadn't taken more than a glance to see the wide headline stating that Kaiba would be dueling people for the two days the festival would be taking place at the shrine at the cost of small donation to the cause. The story itself didn't have many details and instead went on to talk about how surprised everyone was by his decision to do something so charity oriented that didn't involve orphans. Learning that he had often helped needy children in the past but that it was new for him to help a older shrine like the one she lived at.
"This is awesome sis." her brother started going on when he'd decided she had enough time to read, snatching the paper back. "We won't have to worry about money for the shrine for years now. Mom talked to a few news reporters earlier and there are still some outside but she made me promise I wouldn't start goofing off around them. She wanted me to wake you up and tell you to go talk to her as soon as your dressed and showered so you could go pick up some things for her at the store."
"Oh." Kagome answered dumbfounded by the new information, "I'll be down soon then…tell mom I won't take long. Thanks Souta."
"Yeah sis, this is amazing! This guy is way better than Inuyasha, I can tell my friends you know him. You are so lucky, you meet the best people." He announced before rushing back out of her room.
The thought sobered her a bit as she got up, knowing she didn't have time to waste if her mom was already so concerned with the people outside. She couldn't start blubbering about Inuyasha just cause Souta had mentioned him, and she didn't exactly think that this Seto was better than the half-demon but he did seem pretty similar. He was rude and had a sort of cold attitude, but he was helping her family and the shrine after all she'd done was slam into him and cause him trouble. He had a heart beneath that icy exterior that was kind enough to aid someone he barely knew, not to mention the charity work he'd done for children.
She moved while she was lost in thoughts, grabbing some jeans and a long sleeved shirt along with the other things she'd need for a shower and heading to the bathroom to start herself one. She knew she didn't have a lot of time to waste dwelling on her past or the strange man that had entered her life recently. She got cleaned up quickly and was almost done drying her hair when Souta ran back upstairs and pounded on the door.
"Sis, Mokuba came by but he says he's here to talk to you. He's in the living room, I'm gonna help mom with the people he brought by until you are done talking to him." The boys yell carried through the door and past the hum of her hair dryer, used to yelling to his family. He didn't wait for a response before moving off again.
She finished with the dryer and starting brushing her hair. "What would Kaiba's little brother want with me?"
She couldn't figure out an answer for her question and instead gave a final glance in the mirror and nodded before heading down to find out for herself. Astonished by the strange small dueling system she found on the coffee table with the young boy seated and waiting with a deck on one side of it.
"Morning Mokuba." She greeted curiously. "What can I do?"
"Kaiba wanted me to help you learn some more about Duel Monsters." Mokuba answered cheerfully. "I brought by some extra people so they could help in your stead and your mom said that it was fine so do you have your deck?"
"Wow…um…it's on the end table here…but I haven't put any of my boosters with it, should I put all the cards together?" She asked uncertainly, knowing that the boy had to be better at the game than she.
"Naw, but we'll go over them and I'll help you put together something with what you have." Mokuba answered cheerfully. "Let's make you a deck so we can get started."
Switch Scene (cause I see no reason to write out Kagome learning the details of the game, I figure as this fic is in the Yu-gi-oh section that most people should know already)
The game was simple to grasp but had so many possibilities that it was no wonder that it was actually so difficult to win and had so many players obsessed with getting the right cards in the correct combinations to do well. The lessons took up most of the day and she spent a good portion of the evening helping to keep people in order with her mother and brother, having gotten to bed late to wake up early. This Seto was gifted at leaving her speechless she realized the next day when a large dueling holographic sight had been set up in the middle of the open pavilion along with some bleachers for people that just wanted to watch. The festival going on around it even for those not in line to duel the event had brought in more people than they ever could have prepared for. Her mother had replaced the idea of a line with a raffle and that had actually made people more amiable as they could move around and enjoy themselves without having to just stand somewhere to wait.
She had to admit that Kaiba was naturally intimidating as he stood in his specially tailored trench coat and awaited his first challenger. The device on his arm she didn't recognize but figured what it was after all the things she'd learned from Mokuba the day before. She went over and sat near where he was standing. Smiling at the people he'd brought to work the festival for them so her family could enjoy it as well, her mother was still off helping but she would stop to relax and watch the other people from time to time and took up the personal job of calling out the names pulled to duel Kaiba.
He had quite a few fans that where taking up the majority of the bleachers except for the small area reserved for Mokuba and the family members. Her brother hadn't budged from that spot and seemed as taken with the young CEO as his younger brother was, they were their own private fan section. She had to admit that she wouldn't be too willing to step up and play against Seto.
"That rat." she overheard an accented voice complain nearby. "He thinks he's so great and he's not even the master of games. I hope you get picked and kick his butt Yugi. Remind him who the real master is."
"I don't think that would be too nice Joey." another shorter boy replied. "He's helping this place, I don't want to stand in the way of that."
"I'm surprised that Kaiba would help anyone though." Tristan added. "I bet he is up to something."
"Yeah," the accented guy jumped in. "He's just trying to get his name famous again cause of the tournament he's running in a couple months that lousy…"
"That's enough." Kagome jumped in with a frown. "If you aren't enjoying being here then you can leave instead of insulting the man that was kind enough to offer to help us."
Joey was taken aback by the girls sudden reply, stuttering a moment before snapping. "yeah? Well you don't know him then. Kaiba is a pompous ass who is just out for himself."
Kagome resisted the urge to slap this infuriating man. "Well if you feel so strongly about him you should sign up and duel him."
"Already ahead of ya." Joey returned with annoyance. Pausing when Anzu kicked him in the leg and glaring at her.
"You'll have to forgive Joey. He's got a few issues with Kaiba." the girl explained and offered a hand kindly. "Don't let his attitude get to you, he's just a big softy at heart. I'm Anzu, this rude guy is Joey, this is Tristan, and Yugi."
Kagome nodded to each one, relaxing a bit at the girl interceding and introducing everyone. Still annoyed with the one boy but the rest hadn't really insulted him. "I'm Kagome."
"So are you all duelists then?" she asked to return the conversation to politer bounds.
"Yeah. But Yugi is the master." Tristan laughed. "He's the only one here that's beaten Kaiba. That's why Joey mentioned it, Yugi's the one that took the title away from the guy."
"Really?" Kagome seemed a bit surprised that the far less intimidating kid had beaten the more awe-inspiring teenager. "You must be really good. I hope you both duel again, I bet it would be amazing to watch."
"I'd rather not." Yugi replied with a small smile, blushing. "I do it for fun and Kaiba tends to take it really seriously. No reason to cause any problems at your festival."
Kagome laughed. "Naw, he won't lose."
Her simple certainty surprised the rest of the group, making them consider her a little more.
"No reason to fight about it." Anzu wisely injected, not wanting to see them break into a fight again. "I signed up though, I put all of them in the drawing too already."
"What? Anzu!" Joey protested. "That's just wrong."
"Worried he's gonna kick your butt again?" Tristan asked and started wrestling with Joey after the insult.
"Yugi." Yami contacted him mentally. "This girl…there is something about her. Different than when I feel the millennium items but somewhere on the same level of power. Be careful, maybe Kaiba contacting her really is more than just charity."
"But Kaiba doesn't believe in any of that stuff." Yugi answered. "He's the biggest skeptic I know."
"Doesn't mean he isn't always involved in all the things that happen to us. It might be subconscious but this girl is more than she appears and we should be careful when she's around."
"Well, I hope you all have a good time. And you get picked cause I would like to see what you are capable of." Kagome finally said her goodbyes on better terms, wondering how the group knew Kaiba or why they had such harsh feelings but not wanting to pry she returned to watching the current duel.
Or the end of it, Kaiba had just finished his opponent off. The kid moaned but then smiled, heading back off with a smile despite his loss. Kagome chuckled at the amount of time and money people put into the hobby but was glad to be a part of something larger after her months of depression.
She headed to get a drink and something to snack on for the famous duelist, he hadn't had anything the whole morning and he was bound to be at least thirsty, moving over and climbing up the small makeshift steps that had been erected while they were between duelists.
"Here you go." she offered the drink and small bag of sweets over to him. "I haven't gotten a chance to thank you today and you could use the refreshment I'm sure."
He accepted the cup and bag with an uncertain look, those indigo eyes staring with a bit of suspicion. "You didn't need to bring me anything. I'm more bored than hungry."
"I think you mean 'thank you'." Kagome corrected with a smirk before continuing. "You might not be bored all day, some people were wandering around that said they knew you and claimed they had someone that had beaten you in Duel Monsters before."
"Yugi." he recognized immediately. "Does he have his name in the raffle?"
"Yeah, they said he did." Kagome replied curiously. "Did he actually beat you?"
"Don't remind me." Kaiba returned harshly. "He won't always be so lucky."
"Well. I wanted to give you this card as thanks. I know it's one of the rare ones I picked up but your brother kept telling me how you used your dragon cards all the time and thought you would get more use from it than me." She said awkwardly, holding the card out.
He raised an eyebrow but reached out and took the card. "Could you leave now so I can get back to dueling?"
She frowned at him and ruffled at the continued rude behavior. "You know, Joey was right. You are a pompous ass."
He glanced after her outburst for a moment and shoved the card in his deck with no where else to put it at the moment, shrugging at the girl's annoyance. "Whatever." Then calling. "Who's next!?"
There was a small silence that fell over most of the crowd when Kagome's mother called out 'Yugi Moto' as the next challenger. The never-ending rivalry between the two infamous enough that the crowds that had been dispersed started to gather around the small playing field.
End Chapter
Okay guys, stick with me, I know the last two chapters haven't been the best but it's gonna start picking up a little more next chapter and having some more action. What Yugi-Kaiba battle isn't fun filled after all?
-Aura
To my reviewer:
Lyn Dulce - Hope you continue to enjoy the story, it's just really starting to sort of get pulled together. I was trying to go for something different and hope it works out.