Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. If I did I'd print more rank down magic cards.
Riley's pov
Ben's birthday had been yesterday and we were now on our way to Kame games which thankfully was close enough to Ben's house that his parents allowed us to go unsupervised now that Ben was seven. The excitement was almost enough to cancel out the pit of guilt that had settled that had taken up a permanent residence in my thoughts. Ben after learning of what was to come was slowly losing his ability to enjoy the moment. He'd become so devoted to preparing for potential future threats that I could slowly feel him losing his ability to have fun and pulling away from everyone else in his life. I was taking a gamble taking us to Kame games. Best case scenario either Yugi, Joey or Solomon was there and were able to distract Ben enough that he'd have fun and we got the cards we'd need. Worse case I was mind crushed out of existence and Ben continues to be crushed under the weight of the burden I'd forced upon him.
{"Riley this is the right place right"} Ben's thought jolted me out of my own thoughts as I looked through his eyes and saw the game store that served as Yugi's home.
{" Yeah this is the right place."} I thought back " don't be nervous Solomon Muto is a very nice man. From what I remember. "
Ben's hand hovered above the door handle for a few seconds before grasping it and pulling it open. A bell rang alerting an old man who was talking to a long haired man in a red red suit.
" Hello youngster, " Solomon Muto warmly greeted as he looked past Maximilian Pegasus, " what brings you down to my shop?"
" A friend of mine said you carried Duel monsters cards." Ben began, " I was hoping to build a deck around some cards I found."
" Well let's see what you've got." Solomon said.
" Oh yes I'm quite curious myself." Pegasus said
Ben reached into his pocket grabbing the five Exodia pieces and handing them over to Solomon and Pegasus. I'd had Ben bring them hoping to have Solomon confirm if they were fake or not.
" Well now it's been a long time since I've seen a complete set of these." He asked in mild shock.
Pegasus seemed interested in this development but said nothing as he looked at us.
"During the battle city tournament one of the duelists who lost ended up throwing his cards everywhere," Ben said " these were just the ones that landed in front of me. I tried to return the cards but by the time I got to the front of the crowd the duelist was already being taken away."
" Ah that must have been the rare hunter my grandson Yugi defeated. He mentioned defeating someone who was cheating with an Exodia deck." Solomon recalled with a fond smile as he handed the cards back to Ben.
"Ah yes the rare hunter whose deck was all Exodia cards with invisible ink on the back. Unfortunate Yugi-boy destroyed the rest of his deck. I would have liked the opportunity to try and remove the ink from those cards." Pegasus said. " I do so hate it when the things I create are destroyed needlessly."
"So I can't use Exodia," Ben said sounding mildly disappointed.
" Well not exactly." Solomon began. " Just not this set Mr..."
" Ben Poole." Ben politely answered the implied question.
" Well Benny-boy unfortunately this set has been vandalized by some secret ink so it can't be used ." Pegasus chimed in. " Fortunately for you I've recently been attempting to restore certain cards with limited copies. In fact I'm actually here to deliver one of Solomon's cards that had to be restored. If you give those Exodia cards to me I can likely restore them. It would undoubtedly take a lot of time and forgive me for saying this Benny-boy, but I don't think Exodia would really suit you."
Ben seemed upset at Pegasus's statement but did say anything allowing him to continue.
" This isn't to say that you couldn't use Exodia but I believe a duelist is at their best with cards that suit them." Pegasus continued, " Compatibility with your cards is possibly the most important thing in all of duel monsters. I brought several cards with me that I originally intended to leave with Solomon for his shop but if he's not opposed perhaps you might find some cards that would be better suited for you amongst those and I could trade you for those Exodia cards."
"I don't have a problem with that idea." Solomon said doubtlessly trying to avoid crushing Ben's hopes. " Tell you what young man, assuming Pegasus has something for you I'll teach you how to play."
{" Well this worked out way better than I was expecting." I told Ben. " I say we take their offers. Solomon taught both Yugi and Joey Wheeler. Pegasus made the game he probably has a better understanding of the cards then anyone else. If he says we're ill suited for Exodia, then we probably are."}
{" I know you're probably right but I'm mildly disappointed that I won't get to use Exodia." Ben replied back to me.}
" Sure that works." Ben said handing the cards to Pegasus.
" Marvelous." Pegasus said as he placed the cards in his pocket. He then lifted the briefcase he was carrying onto the counter and opened it. " Go ahead pick out whatever you like."
Looking at the case I was surprised to see several cards I recognized. I stayed quiet wanting Ben to make this decision for himself.
Ben took several seconds looking at the case before grabbing a card.
"Imaginary Actor." Pegasus said, " Interesting choice. He's a key part of one of the new types I recently designed."
" New types?" Ben asked confused. " Isn't it just a machine monster?"
Pegasus pulled out five fusion monster cards, five normal monster cards, three spells and two traps . " Yes a new series of light attributed fusion monsters with the type Cyborg. These and another set of fusions designed to support Panther warrior are the only cards currently with the type."
{ " What do you think Riley?" Ben asked me.}
{"I've never heard of cyborg type." I said, " but Pegasus seems to not think it's a bad fit since he hasn't said anything so we might as well try them out."}
" Well these seem perfect for me then." Ben told Pegasus.
" Excellent. Well Benny-boy unfortunately I've got to run but I'm sure Solomon here wouldn't mind helping you build a deck." Pegasus said with a smile on his face. " Solomon enjoy that Blue eyes and here have these special packs for your shop tournaments. Bye now."
With that Pegasus left the shop and was picked up by a limousine.
" Well let's see what Pegasus gave you and then we'll build a deck around that." Solomon Muto said as he grabbed a couple of boxes off the shelf.
After about twenty minutes of discussion with Solomon we had finally put together a deck and paid for the cards we bought. Which took all of Ben's savings. The deck wasn't perfect but it would be serviceable for the next couple of years. Or until we could find better cards, some of our cards left a lot to be desired. I could tell through our link that Ben was happy though so mission accomplished.
" The shop has a small tournament next Saturday." Solomon told us as we were getting ready to leave since Ben's parents had told him to be back by four pm. " You should come by and participate."
" I'll be there." Ben said with a smile on his face as we exited the store and headed home.