My first update from a new town. My roommates and I moved into a new apartment recently, and our internet has just been turned back on. Aside from arranging various knickknacks, and learning the limits of just how far I can walk in one stretch before my legs give out, I've been doing a lot of planning. Fanfiction, original fiction, a potential blog (I'm iffy on that one, given my history with blogs, but it's still on the table), and a long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
Suffice it to say that my mind has been a bit all over the place.
But, now that the intar-webz are back on my table, I figured it was time to get back into the swing of things. And so, I present to you this.
Let us begin.
While Seto busied himself in the kitchen, Sotaro sat in the parlor next to his father, reading a book of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales, while Kohaku built a castle out of Magic & Wizards cards.
"Where did you get those?" Yuki asked her husband, raising an eyebrow.
"Joey Wheeler," Kohaku muttered, tongue stuck out of one corner of his mouth as he finished the roof of his second level. "Said . . . I should learn it. Also said he didn't figure I'd beat little genius-boy over here, since he's already the top dog. But . . . bonding." He didn't sound incredulous or exasperated, but neither did he sound particularly convinced. "I might be doing it wrong." Sotaro glanced up from his book and watched the man build for a while. The boy offered a little smile.
Yuki sat down and turned on the television, which was about ten times the size of any screen she had ever seen outside of a movie theater. She began flipping through channels, not idly but searchingly; so many things flashed by her eyes that she'd never seen before.
"Oh!" Sotaro cried out suddenly, excitedly. "Stop! Go back!"
Yuki flipped back a few channels and stopped on some sort of competition. Scoreboards reading "5700" and "4900" were superimposed on the bottom corners of the screen, and above them was a huge arena.
It was a Magic & Wizards match.
"Mokuba was telling me about these," Sotaro said, leaning forward with keen interest. "He said there are professional tournaments, and they're always recorded."
One of the players laid a card down onto a wide board in front of her, and in the center of the arena, a gigantic green imp appeared and started gnashing its teeth and gibbering. Yuki blinked. "How in the . . . ? Are you sure this isn't a movie?"
"Solid Vision holograms," came Akiko's voice from the doorway as she stepped into the room. "Built into the players' grids. They read the data on the cards, and those projectors there, those poles at the corners, build a holographic version of whatever card it is. That one, there, I think, is a Feral Imp."
"Mister Mutou played one of those," Sotaro murmured.
"You haven't ever seen a Solid Vision hologram?" Akiko asked.
"No," Yuki said. Kohaku shook his head.
"I'm surprised. That's an old model, from back when Kaiba-Corp was working with Industrial Illusions. Really? You've never seen these?" She frowned. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder about that man."
"Huh?"
Akiko chuckled. "The Solid Vision technology was Seto-sama's first major breakthrough. One of Kaiba-Corp's flagship products. You know, it just figures. You'd think, just watching his appearances and things, that he's full of himself. But he never shows off anything he makes if he can avoid it."
"Makes . . . ? You mean, he made those holograms?" Kohaku asked.
"Of course. He first patented Solid Vision about . . . five years ago." Seto stepped into the room, and Akiko leveled an accusing stare on him. "Seto-sama, honestly. You never even told your own family about your first invention? They've never seen Solid Vision before!"
Seto blinked, glanced at the screen, and said, "At its inception, Solid Vision was exclusively used for dueling. It never crossed my mind to show it to people who would never use it." He gestured to Kohaku.
"And Sotaro-kun?"
"He was two years old at the time."
"Mmmm . . . I think you're just humble, that's what I think. You like to hide it, pretend it's not true, but it's there." Akiko tapped her temple with one finger. "I'm a professional. You have to listen to me."
Seto nodded gravely. "Of course."
"You do realize you'll have to show them what else you've done with those holograms before they leave. If you don't, I'll have Bocchan do it when he's feeling better. Is he sleeping right now?"
"Yes."
"Good." Akiko nodded, and it struck Yuki again that this woman treated Mokuba more like her own child than a client. This led Yuki to think down a dark corridor in her mind, but she shut the door on it before it went too far. She didn't have enough information yet to—
"Oh!" Sotaro called out in surprise, pointing at the screen. "I know that strategy!"
Seto raised an eyebrow. "The Imp's Arrow Gambit," he said. "Mutou's 'perfect strategy.' I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that someone else would be using it by now."
"Not perfect," Sotaro murmured, starting to smile. "I beat it. Mirror of the Ancients and The Gravekeeper's Wife."
Seto blinked; clearly he understood this. He stared oddly at the boy. "He would have countered. Corrosive Discharge or Malicious Intent."
Sotaro nodded. "He did. I used Vindicated Ritual."
Another blink. "Needful Anointment," Seto said.
Sotaro grinned. "Serrate the Edge."
And so they went, back and forth, reciting names of cards and combinations that none of the others understood. Kohaku picked up a card from his dwindling deck and stared at it for a moment before using it to lengthen a wall of his tower. He glanced at Yuki, saw that her grin was reaching her ears, and chuckled helplessly.
". . . How long have you been playing?" Seto asked suspiciously.
"Since I got here," Sotaro said.
"Uh-oh," Akiko said. "Does someone have inside competition?"
Seto seemed to be calculating something as he studied Sotaro's face. Then he left the room.
"Well, that was fun," Akiko said, laughing. "You're quick on your feet, aren't you?" she asked Sotaro. "I don't think I've ever seen someone keep Seto-sama on his toes like that."
"That's our Sotaro," Yuki said. "He's a little miracle." She glanced at Akiko. "Seto is a, ah, duelist. Isn't he?"
Yet again, that odd look, but Akiko recovered quickly and said, "He used to be, yes. He built his reputation on it. Top player in the world for a good couple of years. He doesn't play very much anymore. If at all. Bocchan is learning, though, so the torch has been passed, I guess."
"I'm sorry," Yuki said with a smile. "I know all these questions must seem strange to you. Honestly, it's been so long since we've spoken to Seto that . . . "
"We kind of had a falling out," Kohaku said suddenly, "when my, um—when my brother and his wife . . . ah . . ."
He trailed off, and Yuki thought there was a calculating look on his face; she looked back at Akiko, and saw that the young woman's face had gone pale, her expression stricken with something like dread.
"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry. Yes, yes, I . . . understand. That explains so much."
"Seto and . . . Yugi Mutou. What's their history? They do have a history, don't they?" Yuki asked quickly, filing this exchange away for later.
Looking grateful for the change of topic, Akiko pounced on it and said, "Yes. They do, indeed. He's the one who dethroned Seto-sama, actually. I believe he's still the top-ranked tournament duelist, overall."
"Really?" Sotaro asked, intrigued. "Mister Mutou is the best duelist in the world?"
"Technically. Yes, he is."
Sotaro grinned devilishly. "Really . . . ?"
Akiko quirked an eyebrow. "You dueled him, didn't you?"
"Uh-huh."
"When you first got here. When you were learning the game."
"Uh-huh."
"Did you . . . ?"
"Uh-huh."
"But if Yugi-kun is the best duelist in the world," Yuki said, "then—forgive me, sweetie, but he must have, you know, gone easy on him. Right?"
Akiko shook her head decisively. "I doubt it. The concept of mercy in the dueling arena is as foreign to Mister Mutou as it is for Seto-sama. It's probably one of the only things they appreciate about each other."
"You saw how he was acting before that match, Yu," Kohaku said. "He looked like he could give a shark hunting lessons. There's no way he held back."
Sotaro sat back, setting his book in his lap, looking rather kingly; Akiko looked suitably awed.
". . . A little miracle," Yuki murmured, and laughed as she ruffled her son's hair.
Aside from referring to the Feral Imp (and a certain Arrow which may or may not be Living), every card name in this chapter is entirely fictional. I never did play the official YGO trading card game for very long, and more recently I've been dipping my toes into the oceanic expanse of Magic: The Gathering, so I honestly don't know the names or strategies involved with various cards in the YGO universe. And to be honest with you, I'm just fine with that. I know well the issues that tend to bog down fanfiction in this particular series when authors try their hand at writing out duels. I've only ever done it once, for "Cult of the Dragon King," and it was a highly experimental, somewhat distant portrayal. I don't do card-by-card matches.
You may be wondering how I can reconcile the fact that Yami could duel Seto so many times in canon, and always come out on top, yet lose to a seven-year-old boy who's just learning. This question may have been on your minds when that duel was first mentioned. I'll say only this: I have a reason behind this logic, and it will show up later.
As I said: I've been doing a lot of planning lately.
