I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Seriously if I was Kazuki Takahashi's successor, I would be so happy. Not only would I have access to every card in the game, but I would...actually that's it. The money would be cool but getting every card would make me a God among men MUHAHAHAHA!
(Fujimi Academy Class 3-B, Tokonosu City Japan, Lunch time)
Wednesday was one of the few days in Fujimi Academy where things cooled down from the hustle and bustle of class life. But for Serenity and the entire school for that matter the atmosphere had been lighter for the first time in years.
Damien had been absent since Tuesday, word around the school was that he suffered from a seizure for being so strict and uptight all the time. His parents reported that he was overstressed and suffered a mental breakdown. But she knew the truth, Seth did something to him revolving around a Penalty Game.
It was honestly uncomfortable knowing what happened. Every single time she looked at Seth she couldn't help but feel a sense of mistrust, she knew it wasn't fair to the guy who had been nothing but kind to her and her friends, but after Battle City she couldn't help but be on edge.
And yet here she was having lunch in the classroom with him along with Rex and Bonz. It was a bit odd not having to find a new place every day, and the fact the student body looked at them like they were in a zoo was also off putting.
But at the same time…
"You're so full of crap!" Rex nearly choked on his food from laughing. "There is no way you beat Jean-Claude Magnum!"
"It's true. It was literally in the first round of a tournament hosted in Beverly Hills." Seth replied, with the look on his face he was far from offended from Rex calling him out. "It was a ritzy screw you peasants I have money only tournament where movie stars and other celebrities who played the game could show off. I crashed the party and called them out for being a bunch of preppy elitists."
"Oof I bet you were enemy number one." Bonz creepily remarked.
"You bet; it just ticked me off that they just excluded people just because they weren't rich. I didn't care about the prize money, I just wanted to show them that because they had rare cards and money, they weren't invincible." Seth replied, leaning back in his chair as he took a sip of his strawberry juice.
"Hah! I bet it looked like they swallowed a lemon." Rex laughed in glee. "So did you win the entire thing?"
"Honestly? No, I didn't." Seth replied, much to their surprise. "I got to the finals where I faced a kid my age. Magnum wasn't a challenge, Hilton was even worse, and…ugh I don't even want to think about Bono as the semi-finalist I had to face. But Bellamy Cross, man we traded blows back and forth the entire match."
"Cross?" Serenity pondered for a second before her eyes widened. "Hold on, is he related to the actor Victor Cross?"
"The eldest son actually." Seth replied. "He's a real chill dude, and a rival of mine ever since that tournament."
"But you still beat Magnum? I heard he was supposed to be a good duelist." Rex said. Even forcefully retired he kept up on the news of the who's-who in the dueling world. Jean-Claude Magnum was known as the twelfth best in the world, and the fifth best in America with his ninja deck.
"He was a chump; his ninja deck was honestly garbage." Seth waved him off. "It only took six turns to beat him. Six turns, and he is supposed to be the fifth best in America? Yeah right."
Bonz chuckled in a creepy manner and popped the last of his sushi into his mouth. He was honestly feeling good ever since Monday ended, and with Damien being gone since then his stress levels had dropped significantly.
"Where are we going after school today?" He asked after finishing. "The easy stuff has finally landed on our laps, Seth, have you had a tour of our city yet?"
"Not really. I only moved in a week before officially starting here. I was using that time to polish my Japanese and help my mom out with setting the apartment up." He replied.
"He did offer to pay on Monday." Rex grinned, honestly, he looked like one of his dinosaurs that was about to eat someone. "I say we head to Burger World. It's a decent hangout spot. Then I say we go to the mall!"
"Why do I get the feeling my wallet is going to hate me?" Seth asked, seeing both Rex and Bonz cackling in a creepy manner.
"You offered." Serenity said before sipping on her chocolate milk. "Don't worry I'm sure they will go easy on you." She giggled.
"You're lucky I like you guys." Seth said. He tried to look serious and failed miserably. The three of them called his bluff and openly laughed.
At his desk enjoying some green tea, Endo Wakisaka smiled behind his cup. This was why he enjoyed teaching, to hear the laughter of his students, talking about their bright futures, or simply having a good time. As a father of two it was worth getting out of bed in the morning and coming to work.
For almost three years it had not been like that, not since Chono became the principal. The school was a firm, but fair place, he personally didn't mind his students having fun with a game or two in his classroom. And while he didn't understand the popularity of Duel Monsters, as long as it didn't distract the kids from their work he didn't mind if they showed off their cards or traded.
But lately it was like Imperial Japan. He watched as students who had a bright future get expelled over petty offenses, he also watched those who didn't belong get expelled over big matters as well. But most of them revolved around games, Principal Chono absolutely loathed them, and her attack dogs within the Student Disciplinary Committee either agreed with her stance or didn't care and abused their authority to do whatever they wanted.
But with Damien hospitalized, and his muscle Fu and Rai expelled for having contraband in their lockers, the school seemed to be at ease for once.
Sipping his tea again, Endo honestly hoped this wasn't the calm before the storm.
Principal Chono was not in a good mood. Even after expelling those idiots Fu and Rai for having cigarettes in their lockers it didn't do a thing to improve her mood. When she sent Damien in to do her dirty work, she expected results. Instead, he has a mental breakdown, and not only did she not have any proof of Seth and those three rejects being on the roof or dueling, but she was now down three people for the Student Disciplinary Committee!
Snapping her pencil in half the woman in heavy makeup snarled as she looked at the computer screen showing the email for Damien's absence. She would have expelled him too if not for a simple reason.
He was untouchable at the moment. She searched his desk and locker and found no contraband, and she could not expel him for being hospitalized. His parents and doctor did the proper paperwork, even she couldn't overturn it, the backlash would not be worth it.
So here she was once again unable to expel anyone again. Just like in Moby Dick, Seth Armstrong was her white whale, and she was Captain Ahab looking to spear it. She lost her own white whale in Domino High School; she was not going to lose it again!
"Calm down…you'll cause unnecessary wrinkles." She said to herself. Pulling out her new vanity mirror she looked at her face, she saw the beginning stages of her makeup beginning to crack. That was no good at all, she had to stay beautiful in order to get the foolish men to fawn over her so she could break their hearts.
Principal Chono applied some makeup where the cracks were forming, the damaged parts flushed back together to create a perfectly smooth surface once more. All was right with the world again…for now.
"I'll get those brats soon enough. But not today…I'm going to need a little bit of me time. Perhaps I'll take that sucker up on his offer for a date tonight." The smile on her face turned revoltingly evil.
Pity the poor fool who asked her out that day.
(Burger World - 4:10 PM)
Seth had been to Burger World several times in America. It was either with his family or with his best friend, but Burger World in America was a disservice to Burger World in Japan. For one, the waitresses had cute outfits that weren't skimpy, but not modest either. They were just enough to catch a glimpse of something sexy, but not to the point the women were oversexualized.
And the second was he was feeding three mouths. Serenity was modest with her order, but Rex and Bonz surprised him with their eating habits when all four of them racked up a ten thousand yen bill that he said he was going to pay for.
"I can't believe you nearly made me spend sixty-eight US dollars' worth of food on you guys." Seth said, glaring at Bonz and Rex.
"You shouldn't have offered." Rex snickered after devouring his second burger. "Don't worry we're not gonna be the jerks who don't pay you back. We'll pay for what we pigged out on."
"Plus Serenity would be very disappointed in us for doing such a thing." Bonz said after finishing his chocolate shake. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to disappoint her."
"Guys you're making me sound like the mom of the group." The auburn-haired girl exclaimed.
"Well then I'm the cool friend of the family, Bonz is the creepy uncle, and Rex is the misbehaving raptor dog." Seth said, taking several jabs at the two sitting across from him.
Bonz choked on one of his fries and Rex darn near spat out his soda. The two of them began laughing like idiots.
"Ohh burn." Rex wiped a tear from his eye.
"I need to go to the burn ward for that." Bonz snickered.
Serenity politely covered her mouth and shook her head. Those two definitely warmed up to Seth faster than she thought, she figured it would be just the three of them until graduation, but it now seemed that it will be a fourth.
"Oh! Before I forget I got some great news!" Rex proudly exclaimed. He reached into his backpack and to Serenity's surprise he pulled out his deck box that had an image of the Two-Headed King Rex on it "Ta-da!"
"No way! You got that back from your uncle?" Bonz gasped in astonishment.
"Hell yeah! I went to him man to man and told him I changed, I acknowledged all the stupid stuff I did in the past and was given a chance to use it again. But one more screw up and he'll donate it to a game shop." Rex replied and he opened his deck box, taking out his cards he inhaled their scent. "Ahh…I'm back baby!"
"Rex I…"
"Uh, actually…" Bonz cut Serenity off pulling, to both her and Rex's shock his own deck box that had the image of the 13th Grave on it. "I'm back too."
"Aw yeah! Bonz is back in the picture too! This is sweet, Seth I'm challenging you right now!" Rex pointed at their new friend.
"Denied." Seth crossed his arms across his chest in an X shape with a dull look on his face.
That took the steam out of Rex's sails and he face-faulted onto the floor. He immediately jumped to his feet. "What!? Why the hell not I've been itching to stomp you flat ever since you beat Damien!"
"Hold on Rex I'm sure he has a good reason." Serenity said after calming herself down. She could handle the fact both her friends used to be duelists, she could also handle the fact Seth was a duelist, but the fact that Bonz wasn't freaking out over holding his deck and willing to play again, along with Rex who somehow happened to get his deck back was quickly making her feel like she was being abandoned.
"Serenity is right. Rex, while I'm sure you barely lost a step as a duelist, I'm afraid that your deck is…" Seth tried to delicately explain his reasonings but fell flat. Rex wasn't the type to tiptoe around the issue anyways. "Your deck is outdated. In the years since you were forced to lay it down, new cards have come out that will honestly stomp you flat."
Rex gritted his teeth. It honestly hurt his duelist's pride to hear that, especially with his own catch phrase. But the years of getting disciplined calmed him down, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized Seth was right.
"Damn it, I hate to admit that you're right." The dino duelist sighed, sitting back down before looking at his deck. "There are new spellcaster, pyro, dragon, machine, fiend, and warrior cards out there that'll kick my teeth in. Those Elemental Heroes I made fun of are no joke with their screw you number of fusion cards. Then there are those level cards like your mimic card I saw on Monday."
"Dark Mimic LV3 is just one of many out there, and it's an archetype that has been gaining in popularity in recent years that can go with many decks." Seth replied, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sure you know that there are new various types?"
"Yeah, and one is an insect. No doubt Weevil got his grubby hands on them." Rex growled thinking about the little weasel. "Damn it! How can I catch up?"
"Rex, you don't need to do anything." Serenity said in a calming manner. "You're just getting back on your feet. There is no need to rush into things."
"But the urge to duel is crazy Serenity! Now that it's right in front of my face I can practically…" Rex fell silent, his shoulder slumping in defeat.
"Hey Serenity, why don't we use this time to work on our decks together? I'm sure it will be fun." Seth turned towards the auburn-haired girl. "I personally wouldn't mind seeing what you play."
"Uh, Seth, Serenity doesn't have a deck." Bonz popped his bubble. "In fact, Serenity doesn't even duel."
Seth turned to the girl next to him in surprise. The look of surprise soon went away seeing the look in her eyes, there was a heaviness that burdened her, and each time they started talking shop about Duel Monsters she became more withdrawn. He didn't want to steal her friends; Seth was not that type of person.
"How about we put a lid on this for now?" He suggested. "Duel Monsters is great and all, but I don't know about the local places around here. Is there a mall or game shop? I really have been itching to get either a modeling kit or a board game."
Bonz mentally sighed in relief, the topic of Duel Monsters was a subject both him and Rex tried to avoid. He got carried away and Serenity was dealing with the fallout. A good change of subject was needed.
"You know, there is this new hobby shop that opened up sometime last week." He spoke up to grab their attention. "I don't know exactly what they sell, but it could be fun to go there and see it."
"A hobby shop? Man, those places suck! It's all model boats and hot glue and stuff." Rex complained.
"I think it sounds like a good idea. What do you think, Serenity? I'm sure you'll find something to look at." Seth asked.
"Uh, sure. I guess it might be fun. Let's go right now!" Serenity said.
"But I haven't finished my third double-bacon cheeseburger!" Rex complained once again.
"Dude, where do you put all that?" Seth asked. How the dino duelist wasn't close to throwing his guts up was beyond him.
"In my stomach, and don't you think I'm bad. Bonz is the worst out of the three of us." He gestured towards their ghoulish friend. "He could eat everything we ordered and still have room for dessert."
"I'm not that bad!" Bonz protested.
"Bonz you once ate an extra-large deep crust pizza by yourself in five minutes." Serenity deadpanned.
"I was hungry…"
Seth couldn't help but chuckle. What an amusing group of people he was befriending.
(Genie Hobbies Game Shop)
"What in the world is this place?" Rex asked, his right eye twitching.
The new game shop that Bonz mentioned was colorful to say the least. The glass window had the image of a very buff blue genie coming out of a lamp, the sign itself was a red and golden color with a heart replacing the dot over the top of the i, the color scheme was a mishmash of light green and blue. Peering into the store itself they saw shelves and tables of games, even a stairway that led to a second floor.
The problem was it looked completely barren. There were no customers at all, not even a peruser. The people walking past them seemed to avoid the place like a plague.
"I didn't know it would be so…" Bonz failed to find the words to describe the place.
"Now this looks like a cool place! Come on guys, there is something with my name on it in here!" Seth barged through the door and a bell rang to signal his entrance.
"He is an eager one, isn't he?" Serenity said before following after him, the ringing of a bell signaling her entrance to the store.
"Welcome…Strangers." A gravelly voice greeted them, it caused their hearts to leap into their throats and turn towards the western side of the store.
Strangely enough that part of the store was dark and only lit up by two small blazers filled with pale blue flames on a counter. In between them was a remarkably tall man wearing a long, hooded black coat. Fingerless cotton gray gloves and a dark purple bandanna that covered his face from the nose downwards revealing some creepy gray eyes.
"Good God, you scared a decade off my life!" Seth yelled out after patting his chest with his left hand to calm himself down.
"He he he, sorry." The man laughed. Good God he would give Bonz a run for his money for how creepy he was. "You two are my first customers since I set up shop last week. I guess I got a little excited."
"No harm done." Serenity put on a brave face, and even a braver smile. "We heard from a friend that you opened up and we couldn't help but be curious."
"Now only if they weren't being such cowards." Seth looked through the window and saw both Rex and Bonz standing outside without much of a care in the world.
"Ahh…they must be stunned from the oddities I purposely put there to separate the wolves from the sheep." The man cackled. "I don't have use for those who aren't serious about what I have to offer in my shop."
"I'm not an expert in economics, but don't you need a good clientele in order to keep your store from going under?" Serenity asked. "I mean, even if we did come once or even twice a week, that is not enough to pay for all your products and rent."
"Smart lass ain't you? Don't worry about my shop, this is more of a…hobby of mine compared to my real job that keeps me pretty wealthy." That was definitely a red flag warning. "But enough about me and mines, what're ya buyin'?"
"Well, I'm new in the city and have been wanting to get a new game for a while." Seth looked over the store and saw several board games, some ranging from the Cthulhu Mythos, Monster World, Capsule Monsters, the classic Dungeon and Dragons tabletop game, and many more.
"Ahh I can see it in your eyes, a gamer. An' a passionate one at that." The man laughed before he reached under the counter and pulled out a thick book that had the picture of a barbarian and a scantily clad woman clutching his leg while he fought off what looked like a kraken's tentacles with a greatsword.
"What in the world is this?" Seth asked as he looked the book over. It definitely screamed Sword and Sorcery; it was one of his favorite genres after all.
"I got a client who is in the middle of publishing this game, not a lot of takers unfortunately, so I've been selling his stuff to get folk to talk about it. You know the word-of-mouth deal, it'll start off small, but it'll gain popularity when folk start playing it." The man chuckled. "For you I'll sell this for eight thousand eight-hundred and sixty-seven yen. Pricy I know but this is the Mythic Edition. It has everything you need to play the game, and normally this goes for a bigger sum with everything sold separately."
Seth winced, he was paying sixty bucks in US currency, but compared to the add-ons other games had, he would be paying near one-hundred and fifty odd bucks normally. "Alright, what does it come with, exactly?"
"It comes with the player's handbook, monster manual, and several campaigns to start you off with until you get the swing of things." The man reached under the counter once again and pulled out a small box. "An' I'm even throwing in a bunch of six-sided dice with figurines included. Gotta make yer own though if you want a custom character or pay me to do it." He ominously chuckled.
Creepiness aside, the deal wasn't bad at all. Seth reached for his wallet. "You have a deal. I look forward to playing this."
"And I look forward to returning customer." The man chuckled in a creepy manner.
"Sir, um what is your name? I don't think I recall getting it." Serenity said.
"Don't really got one lass. Call me Merchant if you want, the less you all know the better." The Merchant said, causing the hairs on their arms to stand on end. The way he said it was dangerous as hell.
"Ooookaay then." Visibly creeped out, Seth paid the man and grabbed his purchased items. "Thank you for your time, uh, Merchant. I'll be sure to pay you a visit soon."
"He he he thank you."
Giving the Merchant a polite bow, both Seth and Serenity bowed to the strange, scary man and retreated from the store, immediately confronting Rex and Bonz.
"You cowards. I can't believe you didn't follow us inside." Seth said to the duo.
"Come on look at that place it's just so…so…" Rex tried and failed to properly explain exactly what was wrong with the store.
"Baa." Seth imitated the sound of a sheep before looking at Bonz. "You would have liked him. He's creepier than you."
"No one is creepier than me!" Bonz protested.
"I'm afraid Seth is right. He was creepy, yet…I would go back into the store." Serenity scratched one of her cheeks. "He didn't have any Duel Monster cards though."
"Lame!" Rex blew a raspberry.
"Super lame." Bonz seconded.
"We didn't exactly search the store. Might have some next time even if I have to drag you two by your ears to go inside." Seth readjusted the bag in hand. "That will be for next time though. I think we all should head home."
"Ah crap! It's later than I thought, and I have a stupid assignment to finish on tree frogs due first thing tomorrow!" Rex's eyes widened before bolting away. The trail of dust he left in his wake was impressive.
"What is with the random assignments our teachers give us anyways?" Seth turned to Serenity in confusion. "Seriously, you had giant pandas, Rex got tree frogs and…Bonz what did you have again?"
"The howler monkey." Bonz replied.
"And I got the Ussuri brown bear." Seth scratched his chin. "Seriously, are they being lazy or is this just busy work until they figure out something?"
"It's still the start of the year, normally the teachers give us something easy to get ready for the harder stuff." Serenity replied. "For us Seniors, it's our last year and everyone is going to start going to cram schools to get the best grades possible."
"That is soul crushing." The dual-haired teen deadpanned. "Please tell me you guys aren't going to do that."
"Nah, Serenity is at the top of her class and I'm twenty people below her." Bonz replied, he puffed out his skinny chest in pride and pointed at himself. "I plan on going higher this year, it's Rex who might need some help."
"That is what the study group is for of course." Serenity said. "With a little more work he can at least be at the lower end of the top of the class."
"Study group? Don't you guys take time off?" Seth asked.
"What do you think we're doing right now?" Bonz replied.
"I mean a weekend! Come on, don't tell me you guys spend all the time studying."
"Of course not, but weekends are for our families and stuff. I mean we also hang out but…" Bonz turned his head to the side. "It's complicated, sorry I don't know how else to explain it."
There was that nagging feeling again. Seth knew something was still going on, it wasn't just the school that had bad vibes, but something hung over the three he was hanging out with. Granted he wasn't exactly clean either, he had a few skeletons in his closet that he didn't want to let out into the open.
So instead of prying he let it go. Waving his hand in a dismissive manner he gave the two a smile. "Don't worry about it, but we should at least plan a day to try and hang out. I don't want this game to go to waste after all." Seth held up his bag and gave it a slight jingle.
"Of course. We're not trying to-"
"I get it, don't worry." Seth interrupted Serenity. He gave them another smile before looking at where home was. "It's getting late though; we should all get home before our parents get worried. See you guys tomorrow?"
"Of course, see you then." Bonz replied.
Seth was the first to walk off and headed towards the direction of his apartment. Serenity and Bonz weren't too far behind, but they were far enough to speak to each other without being overheard.
"He's not playing at an angle, if anything he's probably one of the most genuine we've met." Bonz said to Serenity.
The auburn-haired girl nodded looking at Seth's strong back. In the three days they had known the new transfer student he came off polite, easygoing, but also very mysterious. What he did to Damien shook the three of them to their cores, but his intentions towards them becoming friends was genuine, unlike past people who only wanted her for her connections for her brother.
"I still can't help but think something is off regarding him. I've felt it before, but Joey told me about…well you know." Serenity discreetly regarded the events of the Millenium Items.
"Buried and gone once again after Kaiba dug them up. Yeah, I remember." Bonz remembered when Yugi Muto dueled against someone named Aigami for a part of the Millenium Puzzle on live television. Then the crazy stuff that happened after Yugi beat Kaiba in a duel once again, and after that everything went back to normal.
If it wasn't for Joey telling his sister about it, and previous experience with shadow magic they would not have believed a word of it. Last thing Joey told them was that the items were taken and buried deep, very deep by the Ishtar family and never seen again.
Bonz could only thank every single God for that. The less he had to experience another Millenium Item the better off he would be.
The two of them were silent for a long while, Seth turned and went down the street that led to his place, the two of them stayed together for a little bit longer near the crosswalk. It was when Serenity broke the silence.
"Bonz, when did you pick your deck up again?" She asked.
"Honestly? It was Monday after getting home."
"Why? Whenever you tried getting back into the game you always had a panic attack, the last time was really bad you know."
"I'm aware." Bonz swallowed the lump in his throat. "But after watching Seth duel, I felt…I dunno something. If he could face off against Damien the Demon, the student who terrorized our school, the infamous deck taker without batting an eyelash and beating him. Then maybe I could do the same by overcoming my own trauma with my deck."
Serenity watched as her ghoulish friend placed his hand on his backpack where his deck was held. She did see that his hand was trembling a bit, but he wasn't shaking like he was having a seizure. He was still scared, but she was he was doing his best to work past it.
"Are you really going to duel again?" She asked.
"Eventually. I might try this weekend against Rex, maybe Seth if I feel like losing to shake the rust off." Bonz chuckled before turning serious. "Serenity, you know Rex and I would never do anything to make you feel bad right?"
"Of course! If you're talking about what happened at Burger World…" Serenity trailed off and looked to the side, dozens of people walked by them as she thought about what to say. "I was just surprised. With what happened on Monday it didn't cross my mind that you and Rex would get back into it."
"That's where I'm going with this." Breathing through his nose, the zombie duelist looked at her. "Serenity, I really think you should consider building a deck."
"What!?" She looked at Bonz like she was struck. She honestly couldn't believe what just came from his mouth. "Bonz…you have to be joking. I'm no duelist, the first time I even tried I did so badly that we nearly…what Tristain did…"
"I know." Bonz placed a bony hand on her shoulder. "Listen, I don't know much about that virtual world thing, or Battle City. I cannot imagine what you had to go through, but I do understand that a bad first time can ruin things for you. But you can't let it define your life."
"I'm just no good though. I couldn't even put a monster in defense mode! And what happened to Mai and my brother-"
"So? The first time I tried I played Zombie Dragon in attack mode…in the spell/trap area." Somewhere in the world several people face-palmed themselves. "Again, I can't imagine seeing it, but I know what it felt like. Remember I went through what they did…just think about it, okay? With Rex and I about to get back in the game, neither one of us wants you to be left out."
"Bonz…" Serenity honestly felt touched. Her feelings of being left out faded away, but she honestly was on the fence whether to join them or not. "I don't even know where to begin."
"My parents told me to take baby steps. That's all I can say to you." Bonz watched as the lights for the crosswalk turned blue. "Anyways I gotta go, see you tomorrow!"
Serenity watched as her friend ran across the street. Her pretty face set in a confused frown, and many thoughts plaguing her mind. To duel or not to duel, that was the question.
(Serenity's room - 10 PM)
Later that night after eating dinner and finishing some math homework, Serenity honestly found it hard to sleep. The conversation with Bonz and the events of the past three days had plagued her mind.
Seeing Rex's excited face showing off his deck case, Bonz pulling out his own, and Seth summoning Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. It did bring out a tingle of excitement in her, but also remembering Nesbit of the Big Five trying his absolute best to destroy them brought back the bad memories of her first time dueling and of Battle City.
Huffing in irritation she sat up in her bed and ran her hands through her long hair. Serenity really hated feeling like she was holding her friends back, he hated feeling like she was useless in trying to move on and not moving a single step.
With reluctance she got out of her bed and got to her computer. After turning it on she began to do some research, she saw photographs of Joey raising a crystal trophy above his head in triumph, Yugi clashing with some random duelist and winning, Mai's determined face as she summoned her Harpie Lady to win her own tournament. The articles detailed what they played, interviews of how they anticipated their opponent's moves, and how it felt to win.
Serenity paid special attention to Mai's articles. She was affected most after Marik issued a Penalty Game and nearly destroyed her mind, and from what Joey told her she went on a bad path working for Doma. After Doma was dismantled with the loss of Dartz she spent several years on a hiatus before returning with a vengeance to become the fourth best duelist in the world.
A thought then crossed her mind, and looking at the clock that showed it to be eleven o' clock at night, Serenity went to her phone and dialed a phone number.
At the same time in Domino City, a beautiful, fair-skinned woman with purple eyes, and long, thick, wavy blonde hair that went to her waist was laying in her large purple bed. Her big breasts barely fit in the white robe she was wearing, and it was parted to reveal her long slender legs she had bent at the knees and tucked to the side.
In one of her hands was a book she was reading over with serious intent as the tv in front of her was just for some background noise, she was barely paying attention to it, but she heard some boring voice talking about the latest cards being played in Duel Monsters. The sound of the shower was running as well, it was also something she barely paid attention to.
The phone next to her nightstand began ringing, breaking her concentration from her book. "Now who is calling at this time of night?" Setting it down she answered the phone. "Who is it?" She demanded.
"Hello, Mai?"
"Serenity!" Mai Valentine said in glee. "Is everything okay? You don't usually call this late, especially on a school night."
"Sorry, a lot is on my mind, and I could use some advice. I'm not bugging you, am I?"
"Not at all. I was just doing some reading regarding what Joey and I are planning on. I assume he told you all about it?" Mai said with a playful smirk.
"Yes, the casino idea. I honestly didn't see it coming, tell me was it your idea or did Joey just come up with it?" Serenity asked over the phone.
"Honestly Hun it was a bit of both." Mai said as she looked at her book labeled Property Rights and Casino's. "We both met up after a tournament a year and five months ago where I came in second. Though I'm sure you remember that."
"Yeah, I saw it. You came really close to beating Joey, I mean it was really close!"
"Yeah, him and his Time Wizard." Mai playfully huffed. "One draw, one lucky draw, and one lucky spin with his time magic effect. And I lost. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Anyways we got to talking and he asked if I had any plans should I retire."
"And you said something about the casino?" Serenity asked.
"I did tell him I had an idea to open up a business revolving around Duel Monsters. Believe it or not I did spend my hiatus finishing getting a business degree." Mai said, looking at her nails. "It was him who said a Duel Monsters themed casino. Honestly, I told him it wasn't the worst idea that he ever had."
"I'm sure he took that well."
"Oh he took it the usual way." Mai giggled. "But in total honesty I thought he was going to be a lughead who would duel until his arms fell off. To think he was thinking far ahead made me think about this idea of his. We both used our free time to think it over, iron out all the details and as of last week Pegasus became a partner and it's a sure thing!"
"Aren't you nervous though? I mean what if it goes wrong and fails?" Serenity asked.
"Hun, there is always a risk in doing something in life. Am I nervous? Of course, but with Pegasus and your brother I think this will be a big hit. Plus, once I do retire in the next year or so, I do have something to fall back on."
"Hold on, you're actually going to retire!?" Serenity's voice was filled with shock. To hear her idol say something like that was definitely something she did not expect.
"Serenity, I'm thirty years old. Unmarried and my days of excitement are long past me, I need to do something more stable besides playing Duel Monsters until my fingers don't work anymore. I had my time in the sun, and I don't regret a single bit of it, but eventually it'll be the new generation who have their time to shine, and I can start cheering for a fan favorite…or an underdog."
"Well…that is what I'm calling you about." Serenity paused hearing a curious noise come from her idol. "A new student transferred to my class on Monday, and due to his actions both Rex and Bonz picked up their decks again."
"So Raptor finally got off his leash and your zombie friend is rising from the grave." Mai should have felt bad for those puns, but she didn't, she even giggled over them. "This new kid got them to do it, huh? Where does this come in involving you? Last time we talked you were still very anti-dueling."
"Well, ever since Seth dueled this…um, person who had been causing trouble." That definitely caught Mai's attention, it was the first she heard of it. "And with Rex and Bonz planning on shaking the rust off, plus Bonz pretty much saying I should think of making a deck myself I've found myself pondering about it."
"So the dueling bug finally got to you?" Mai moved to properly sit in her bed. "I'm all ears, Serenity. What's going on?"
"I don't even know where to start. I mean, Duel Monsters is not what it used to be back when I watched you guys in Battle City. There are new archetypes, different types of strategies, and decks I have never seen before. Can I even think about doing it or is it just some fool's errand?"
Hearing the younger girl starting to get worked up, Mai's sisterly instincts kicked in. "Shh…take a deep breath hon." She waited as long as it took for Serenity to calm down, there was no rushing this. "Listen, I am not going to say what you should do. But I can tell you one thing that might be able to help."
"W-what is it?"
"Trust in your instincts. When I first started playing there were hundreds of cards, but none of them suited me until I found the Harpie Lady. When she was in my hand it instantly clicked and I built my deck up around her, improved her with each pack that was opened. And you should do the same."
"How will I know that it is the right choice?"
"Honey you will just know. It's instinct and you should trust your instinct."
"But what if it isn't the type I like, I mean I'm not a fan of fiend or machine cards."
"Serenity, I doubt that will be the case. If you don't like them, then you won't play them. As for everything else, it comes with experience. Play with your friends, take their advice, look up strategies online or think of them yourself, win, lose, tie, it doesn't matter so long as you try your best and have fun." Mai's tone was soft, but wise. "Did that help?"
"Yeah. I think it did. Thanks Mai, I think you helped me out more than I thought."
"It's no problem hon. Now you go to bed, you have school tomorrow young lady." Mai teasingly said.
"I will thank you Mai, good night."
After hanging up the phone the sound of running water stopped, and a minute later a male figure emerged from her bathroom.
He had dirty blond hair in a sporadic, taper-like unrealistic hairstyle and dark brown eyes. Mai's purple eyes roamed his athletic body, his fair skin still somewhat wet from the water, a towel covering his decency along with another resting over his shoulders.
"Hey Mai, who was on the phone?" He asked with a Brooklyn accent.
"It was your sister. She apparently had something she needed to get off her chest." She replied.
"Serenity?" Joey asked in surprise. "Is she doing okay? Did something happen to our mom?"
Mai only giggled in response. Even though he was eight years her junior, Mai couldn't help but adore the knucklehead. He made her happy and filled in the lonely void she nursed for years, Yugi and the gang were fine and honestly her first real friends, but Joey definitely earned his place in her heart.
She would be the first to admit she didn't deserve it. During her stint in Doma she did a lot of bad things and even took Joey's soul after he dueled his heart out against Valen. During her hiatus she did a lot of thinking and a lot of soul searching. When she entered her first tournament after several years a lot of people were booing her.
Many called her a washed up duelist, a has-been, yesterday's news, and those were just the PG things. But out of all the people in the crowd she heard the loudest, most obnoxious voice telling them all to shut their yaps and for her to beat her opponents so hard they would go home crying to their mommies.
And that very person was Joey Wheeler, the rookie underdog who became the third best in the world. And most importantly her boyfriend as of a year and four months ago.
"Down boy, your sister is fine." Mai said as if she was talking to a dog. It got his hackles up which greatly amused her. "And so is your mom. She was actually calling because the duel bug finally bit her."
"Oh yeah?" Joey's eyes practically sparkled in excitement. "Awright! This is awesome, I can't wait to show her the ropes and see her in action!"
"Easy there tiger, you're going to be busy for the next few months." Mai admonished him. "We have that casino to build, deeds and plans to go over, and you're going to be busy with the security and entertainment like you promised. No running off to teach her how to duel."
"But Maiiii…"
A smirk came to her lips, he was just so cute when he whined. "She is not a little girl anymore. She's got Bonz, Raptor and apparently a new friend that can help her out. She's just nervous and I can't blame her."
Filing away the new friend comment and frowning at the thought of his former enemies teaching her and not him put a damper on his mood. "But I'm her big brother. I just want her to enjoy the game instead of hating it. I just figured if I showed her the ropes she would have an easier time."
"She will be fine Joey. Now stop moping, we have a lot of work to do." Seeing a storm cloud develop over his head, Mai's purple eyes glimmered mischievously. "But first…let's have a bit of fun before we do."
Mai pulled open the front of her robe to let her girls out, and two perky pink nipples greeted Joey's vision. It wasn't the first time he had seen them, but they always perked him up and made him smile.
"You know me so well." A smirk coming to his face Joey jumped high into the air and practically dived onto Mai, his towels flying off in the process.
"Joey!" Mai laughed as the two of them embraced in a hot, passionate kiss.
Unknown to Serenity that her brother and Mai were doing the devil's tango, after she hung up the phone and shut her computer off, she slipped into her bed to try and get some more sleep.
It didn't come easy, but eventually it did come. Oddly enough she dreamed about seeing Bonz and Rex dueling while she looked at three blank cards.
(Tokonosu City - 4 PM)
"Aww yeah it's the weekend!" Rex cheered in delight.
"Two days to have fun. Freedom never smelled so good." Bonz seconded.
"Are they always like this?" Seth asked.
"Only on Fridays after a long week." Serenity replied. "But compared to most it hasn't been that bad."
That was an understatement. It had honestly been the best week she could recall ever since starting high school. Damien was still hospitalized, Fu and Rai were expelled, and everything just seemed to be brighter.
"It's been an interesting week for sure." Seth remarked, rubbing the back of his neck. "I need to wind down. What's fun to do on a Friday night?"
"Tons! I don't know what you do in America, but in Japan things are different." Rex smirked and pointed in a random direction. "I say we head into town and paint it red!"
"We do need to be back by our curfew though. Remember what happened last time you broke it?" Bonz gave the dino duelist a creepy grin.
"Ugh don't remind me. I still feel the phantom pains in my wrist."
"I really don't want to know what that even means." Seth deadpanned before looking at himself. "Are we going to go and change into normal clothes or are we going like this?"
"We're going to go home and change real quick." Serenity replied. She may have been a good girl but even she had her limits on wearing a school uniform. "Meet in the usual place at the intersection in thirty minutes?"
"At the stoplight in front of the noodle shop. Got it." Rex nodded for Seth's benefit.
"See you all in thirty then."
The four separated and returned home and met up in the area completely changed out of their school uniforms.
Serenity was the first to arrive wearing a pair of blue pants and white shoes. She wore a white shirt with a red jacket with a watch to keep track of time.
Bonz was the second to arrive. He wore a pair of black jeans and shoes; his t-shirt was a red color that had the mask of Jason Voorhees on front of it. Around his wrists were black leather bands, a belt that had his deck holster on his left hip, and a gray necklace around his neck.
Rex was the last to arrive. He wore a pair of black shoes and tan pants with a dark green unzipped hoodie that had the Jurassic Park logo on the back. He wore a gray shirt that had the image of Two-Headed King Rex on it and a belt that held his deck holster on his left hip.
"Well, well look who's running late." Bonz teasingly said.
"Shut up, my uncle was going over the usual spiel with me. If I didn't listen I wouldn't have come at all." Rex grumbled after crossing his arms. "Hey, where's Seth? I thought he would be here."
"Perhaps he's running a little late. I mean we don't exactly know how far he lives from us." Serenity pondered.
"I should have at least given him my cell phone number. Some friend I am." Bonz moaned.
That surprised the auburn-haired girl. It was true the four of them were getting along but to declare Seth as a friend so soon was just unexpected. "You consider him a friend now?"
"Of course. After risking his neck when he didn't have to against Damien, and then hanging out with us all week, I can say he's a friend now." Bonz said.
"Yeah! He's a decent guy, and I really can't hate him. He's a pal in my book." Rex nodded as well. "I can't wait to take him on though."
"Of course you would." Serenity shook her head. She loved Rex but he definitely had a one track mind. "And I see you have your decks. Please tell me you're not going to try and duel tonight."
"You never know what's gonna happen. I don't have my duel disk though, so there won't be any street dueling." Rex gestured towards his bare arm and the lack of a backpack.
"Relax, we're here to have fun. Dueling or not I say we head to the mall first and fool around there." Bonz suggested.
"That sounds like fun. Sorry I'm late guys, I had a bit of trouble finding this place. Thank God I recognized you guys."
Turning their heads to hear a familiar voice, the three teens saw Seth walking towards them. He wore a pair of blue jeans and white and black shoes, a belt that held his deck holster on his right hip, a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a plain black t-shirt. His dual-colored hair seemed to be even spikier than normal, and a watch was on his left wrist.
"If it wasn't for that hair of yours I wouldn't have recognized ya." Rex greeted him.
"That's not surprising. We all do look different outside our school uniforms." Bonz remarked.
"You look nice Seth. Those colors really do suit you." Serenity said.
"Thanks. I like how you all look too, seriously it suits you guys." Seth said with an easygoing smile. "So, what's the plan tonight? Are you all planning on showing this foreigner the sights?"
"You bet we are!" Rex exclaimed. He pumped both his fists and smirked. "We're heading to the mall. It's not like Domino's but it's still good."
Seth chuckled, for once he was getting excited. "Lead the way my noble tour guides."
Before the four entered the Grand Tokonsu Mall, Seth was greeted by the barrage of nightlife. Neon lights illuminated the town square, giant advertisements were shown on the buildings, cartoons and Duel Monster characters popping up on the tvs. And the people, he never knew how crowded or packed a Friday night would be!
The mall itself was huge with so many stores and attractions that he was almost overwhelmed. Serenity dragged them to a stand where he got his first taste of bubble tea, and it was freaking delicious!
"Ahh man, I've been missing out." Seth said with comical blush marks on his cheeks from the intense taste of his strawberry bubble tea.
"And this is only the first stop. I'm thinking of us hitting the arcade next." Bonz said before giving a creepy laugh. "There is this new game I've had my eyes on. Apparently, the virtual reality in it is so real you can feel it!"
"Let me guess, it's a horror game where you get attacked by vampires. Or zombies. Or maybe vampire zombies?" Rex said.
A tic mark appeared on Bonz's forehead. "Not even as a joke. Those are two different things and you know it dino brain!"
"I'm sold on trying it out." Seth said after finishing his drink and tossing it at a garbage can. He fell short and watched as it clattered onto the floor. "Damn it!"
"Bwahah! Man, you missed, loser!" Rex laughed in good nature before he attempted the same thing. He overshot it and actually hit a passerby.
"Oi? What the fuck!"
"Sorry!"
"You were saying?" Seth said with a shit eating grin.
Serenity could only shake her head as the two of them went to pick up their garbage, and Rex profusely apologizing to the stranger. "This might be a common thing now."
"Eh, it could be worse. A year or two ago Rex would have told that guy to shove off. And Seth is at least easygoing when things aren't going…whatever happened on Monday." Bonz finished up his drink and sighed in enjoyment. "All's good Serenity. Try and lighten up, you're always so tense."
"Sorry. I guess I'm still mulling over a few things."
"Hey, we're your friends. Don't forget that, now let's head to the arcade. I know Rex wants a rematch against you in that racing game."
Serenity smirked for the first time that night. "It's not my fault he doesn't know how to drive a car."
The foursome made it to the arcade, Rex thoroughly chastised and Bonz thoroughly amused. They separated and made their way to their games of choice, Bonz and Seth making their way to the House of Death video game while Serenity took on Rex in a real-life version of Mario Kart with several other people.
"Gahh! Damn banana!"
"Who's the jerk who used the blue shell!?"
"Woohoo I got the star baby!"
"Hey where did the lightning come from!?" Rex demanded.
"Sorry boys, but you have to do better than that!" Serenity said as she raced with Princess Peach, dropping a banana behind her she caused whoever was playing Mario to skid and fly off the map of rainbow bridge.
"You cunt!"
"Chill dude, it's just a game." Rex said. Inwardly he would keep an eye out for the guy, sore losers were known to do stupid stuff. "Gah! A blue shell dang it Serenity!"
"Sorry-not sorry!" She said before crossing the finish line. Whoever was playing Luigi came in second, Rex came in third, and so on and so forth.
"Man, I was once second away from willing." Rex complained.
"Sorry, but if you didn't always pick Bowser I wouldn't always target you." Serenity teasingly said.
"Man, you're a nice girl all the time, but when it comes to racing games you're super cut-throat!"
"Get on my level."
Rex could only laugh in response; he blamed his bad influence rubbing off on his auburn-haired friend. "Let's go find Bonz and Seth. I wonder how they're doing with that game of theirs."
"AHH MY BRAINS! WHY MY BRAINS!?"
"MUAHAHAHA!"
"I think we know now." Serenity deadpanned as they arrived at the scene of Seth cradled in the fetal position and Bonz cackling like a maniac. The screen showing the two of them was Bonz unleashing dual machine guns on a hoard of zombies. Seth was graphically getting his brains eaten.
"GAME OVER WINNER BONZ!" An epic voice said from the machine and the game itself stopped.
"Never again! That was terrible!" Seth said after taking his helmet off.
"That was awesome! I want to go again!" Bonz cheered.
"How about later? There's something I wanna try." Rex gestured towards them to head over to the other side of the arcade.
"I should have known this was coming." Serenity sighed.
There was a crowd of people surrounding a device that was built to resemble the Slot Machine duel monster card. He could see a lot of people depositing money and pulling the crank where the three slots began spinning.
"I'm lost, I know that is Slot Machine but what exactly is it supposed to do?" Seth asked.
"Ah you ignorant fool." Rex wagged a finger. "In this game a person deposits two thousand yen and pulls the lever to see what sort of Duel Monsters cards they can get. You get three cards in total, and it's all completely random."
"Okay, that's cool and all. But what's stopping someone from doing it again and again if they don't like what they got?"
"That's simple, the machine has a facial scanner and denies you access until the next day. Take a look." Pointing at the round head of the duel monster, they watched as a customer deposited his money into the machine and pulled the lever. The slots moved landing on icons that showed a light tan color for two monster cards and purple for a trap card.
After the cards were deposited the green mechanical "eye" of the machine turned red indicating he couldn't try again for another twenty-four hours. The customer looked at the cards, nodded and left without a word.
"That was anticlimactic." Seth deadpanned.
"Not everyone is stupid enough to try it." Rex shrugged before he reached into his hoodie for his wallet. "Besides nothing happens besides you're unable to give it money."
"Huh, I was expecting something more drastic."
"This isn't like Robocop or whatever you're thinking." Bonz said before stepping forward. Taking out his wallet he looked at the machine so it could scan his ghoulish face. The black lens soon turned green, and he slipped the money inside the feeder and pulled the lever.
Lights flashed and sounds echoed like a regular slot machine would do in Vegas, and thirty seconds later the slots stopped spinning, landing on two monster cards, and a green icon for magic cards.
The cards came out another slot and Bonz picked them up. Looking through them he had the biggest grin on his face. "Awesome! this is my lucky day!"
"What did you get?" Serenity wasn't the biggest fan of the Slot Machine, but she couldn't help her curiosity.
His grin not falling from his face, Bonz showed his cards to reveal Castle of Dark Illusions, Poison Mummy and Call of the Mummy. "I got the jackpot! These will go a long way to restructuring my deck."
"Then that means tonight is my lucky day!" Rex gleefully approached the machine and inserted his money. After the process of getting identified and pulling the lever he watched with anticipation as the slots rolled and landed on two monsters and a magic card.
Rex's glee soon turned to horror when he saw the cards. "No! No! Oh God why?"
Bonz began laughing when he saw the cards in Rex's hand. They consisted of Flying Kamakiri #2, Basic Insect and the equip spell Insect Armor with Laser Cannon. "Wow, maybe the universe is telling you to model yourself after Weevil."
"That's fighting words come here!" Rex threw the cards to the ground and began to chase after a laughing Bonz.
"That's not how you treat cards." Seth got to his knees and scooped the cards up before they got trampled on. Serenity watched as he carefully grabbed them and checked them over for damage.
"Seth, those cards aren't exactly useful. You don't have to collect them if you don't want to." She said.
"Serenity, it doesn't matter if the card is useful or not." He said after checking the cards over and opened his own deck protector and slipped them inside. "It doesn't deserve to be treated this way. Sure, Weevil is a snake of a duelist, and he honestly gives insect cards a bad name, but one person shouldn't define an entire archetype."
That was exactly something Joey would have said, and it caused Serenity to pause her thoughts. What Seth said wasn't wrong, Damien's archetype was mostly fiends, but there were players who also used them. Weevil was a famed cheater who used insect cards, but not many touched them because of that.
"Would you use them in a duel?" She asked.
"If I had a proper deck I would. But for now I'll just hold onto these guys until I can donate them to a card shop. I'm sure someone would want to use them." Seth patted the top of his deck case before turning to where Bonz and Rex ran off to. "Let's go and make sure that those two don't cause a scene."
"I'll follow you in a minute, I need to use the ladies room." Serenity pointed to the restroom area.
"Say no more."
After watching Seth leave to make sure Rex and Bonz didn't somehow get kicked out of the mall, she turned her attention towards the Slot Machine. Pulling out two bills for two thousand yen she deposited the money and pulled the lever.
She watched as the slots stopped on two monster, and the magic card symbols.
Armageddon: Hello folks, well here is the second chapter of this story. I honestly had this finished two weeks ago, but I wanted to do a dual chapter release of one of my other stories. But...well I couldn't get the chance to finish one of them in time. I tried, really I did. But it just didn't. Oh well hopefully next month.
Now there wasn't much action or any dueling. It was more character building, and it was more fun than I expected. There is a reference here that I practically beat you over the head with, and if you don't get it...man you need to play more video games. Especially one of the best Resident Evil games that came out for the Gamecube and a remake recently!
Ahem, now for the whole culture shock thing regarding a night out. I was honestly trying to imitate that one scene I saw in Tokyo Drift. As a kid seeing all those neon lights, big screen tvs, all the people and frankly it was so freaking cool when I was a kid. Plus, a friend of mine went to Japan recently and said I wasn't too far off with the arcade games, the neon lights and all that stuff. Though the vending machines regarding used panties are waaay exaggerated...ahem, anyways, read review and have a safe Halloween.