EQUUS CITY

Yuka found it difficult to sleep. Try as she might to bundle herself up in her sleeping bag, she could still feel the chill of the night air hit her. It was enough to wake her up multiple times during the night. From the pale blue color of the sky, it was very early in the morning - probably sometime between two and four. Hugo was lying a few meters away, sleeping soundly. The fire had died down hours ago; the wood wasn't even smoldering at this point.

"How can Hugo sleep like that?" she wondered as she sat up. "Guess he must be used to it. Something I'm going to have to do." She pulled the sleeping bag tighter around her as she held her arms around her chest, trying to get warm. She hadn't gone camping in a long time, and even then, it was with a mobile camper with electric heat.

Yuka lay back down and tried to get back to sleep. She rolled back and forth, tossing and turning, trying to ignore the small stones that were poking into the sleeping bag and against her back.

Before long, she woke up to Hugo nudging her shoulder.

"Rough night?" Hugo asked.

Yuka slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Not used to camping out like this," she said groggily.

"You'll get the hang of it," Hugo said as he backed away to a now burning fire. A small kettle kit had been set up. Steam was billowing from the kettle's spout, and the kettle was lightly squealing.

"When did you set that up?" Yuka asked.

"About twenty minutes ago," Hugo answered. "Got some coffee going." He reached into his bag and pulled out two small cups. "It'll just be pure black, though; ran out of milk yesterday morning." He poured out two cups and handed one to Yuka.

The coffee tasted bitter, and burned Yuka's lips and tongue, but it was better than nothing, she supposed. At least it would help her wake up after that rough night.

Less than an hour later, Hugo had packed up his kit and kicked some dirt on the campfire, putting it out. The fire sizzled before completely dying. As he did, Yuka rolled up her sleeping bag and slipped it into her backpack.

"We'd better get moving," he said as he and Yuka slung their packs over their shoulders. "If we limit our breaks, we should be in Equus City by sunset."

"Lead the way," Yuka said as they started walking.

An hour passed as they walked in silence. Yuka had to struggle a bit to keep pace with Hugo, who was walking much faster than she had expected. Hugo eventually slowed his pace, letting Yuka keep up with him. Walking used more energy than riding a bike, but it was the only means of transport she had at the moment. She'd have to walk faster than she'd ever walked before if she wanted to keep up with Hugo if he picked up his pace again.

"So, curious," Hugo said. "Since you have a duel pad, is it safe to guess you're going to Equus City to challenge the gym leader?"

"Yeah," Yuka answered. "I want to compete in the Duel Monsters Championship League, and the only way to do that is to beat the eight Duel Gym leaders and earn their badges so I can qualify. It's something my dad always wanted to do when they first annoucned it, but he was too old to qualify."

"Isn't the age range somewhere around seventeen to twenty or something like that?" Hugo asked.

"Seventeen to twenty-five," Yuka replied. "My dad missed the cutoff date by one year when the DMCL started. That was around the time I was born. So you could say I'm doing this challenge for my dad."

"I bet he'll be real happy for you if you make it all the way to the end."

"I think he would be," Yuka said solemnly, quietly adding "if he were still alive."

"Oh," Hugo said. It took a few seconds for Yuka's words to register. "O - Oh, wow, I - I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Yuka said. "You didn't know."

"Still, there I go putting my foot in my mouth. If you don't mind, if it okay if I ask..."

"Car accident three years ago. So yeah, like I said, doing it for him."

"Well, I guess all I can say at this point is, good luck."

"Thanks, Hugo." She booted up her duel pad. "I wonder if this can tell me anything about the Equus City Duel Gym?"

"Duel pads do have information on registered duelists," Hugo explained. "Each duel pad is connected to the KaibaCorp mainframe, which then stores information on each duelist who has one. That way you can look up information on other duelists, including potential opponents, so you can see what decks they use and the best strategies to overcome them."

Yuka stopped walking, letting Hugo go ahead of her; she cocked an eyebrow at him. "You seem to know a lot about them."

"Well," Hugo said as he stopped. He turned around and took his pack off his back, opening it up and producing a lime green duel pad. "I'm a duelist too. I'm not competing in the same competition that you are, but come on, admit it - dueling's fun."

"It can be," Yuka agreed. "I've only ever played tabletop before this, though."

"Then you don't know the thrill of a real duel," Hugo jeered playfully. He strapped his duel pad to his arm. "Want to go right now?"

"No thanks," Yuka said as she looked up information on the Equus City Duel Gym. "I want to look at this right now. Says here the gym leader's name is Flynn Hartmann and he uses a Drytron deck."

"Drytron; that's a good deck," Hugo said with an admiring whistle. "They went all the way to the championship match last year, but lost."

"Is the champion that good?" Yuka asked.

"Of course he's good," Hugo answered. "He has to be if he's been the reigning champ five years running. Phantom Knights cards are good. Then again, even bad cards are good in the hands of a competent duelist, just like good cards are bad in the hands of a poor duelist. What kind of cards do you use? I use dinosaurs."

"Dragons."

"Dragons are cool."

They stopped for a bit to rest their legs and drink some water. As the day went on, the temperature began to rise. The canopy from the trees shaded them from the sun. A few moments of rest later, they were on the move again. Yuka handed Hugo a packet of trail mix to eat while she ate one of her own. The small packet of nuts and chips would be enough to hold them over, at least until they got to the city and found a restaurant.

"Do you know where and when the DMCL is going to be held?" Hugo asked as they walked.

"Domino City," Yuka answered. "The actual tournament begins in mid-October. So that gives me just a little more than six months to get all eight gym badges I need to qualify."

"More than enough time," Hugo mused.

They walked for a few more hours before the forest started to thin out, and before long, found themselves at a paved road. The road eastbound went uphill, westbound downhill. The eastbound road went to more wooded areas where they could see some secluded houses poking out through the trees; westbound, they could see the tops of different buildings, the signs of a city.

"That's Equus City down there," Hugo pointed out. "Home of the Equus City Jockeys baseball team, and the Equus City Duel Gym. We'll be in the city within the hour. And then when we get there, what do you say about getting some real food?"

"Real food sounds pretty good right about now," Yuka said wistfully.

An hour later, they reached the city. Cars rolled up and down the street, the hum of their electric motors filling their ears. The first thing they noticed was the plaza on their left, home to a grocery store and a pharmacy, with a seafood restaurant and an Italian restaurant not far off. To their right was an abandoned carpentry store. Directly in front of them was another pharmacy. Along with the cars on the street, there were people on the sidewalk - some by themselves, some with dogs, some with baby strollers.

"So, where do you want to eat?" Hugo asked. "We got a couple of places right over there. If you're not in the mood for seafood or Italian, I know a nice Chinese place a few blocks down."

"Not a fan of seafood," Yuka said. "And Chinese doesn't really agree with me. But I'll never say no to Italian."

"Italian it is."

The sweet smell of pasta and various sauces met them as they stepped into the restaurant. The lights were dim, creating a comforting atmosphere. Soft piano music played over the speaker system. They could hear the patrons in the restaurant talking, the different voices and conversations melding together.

A dark skinned man in his mid-twenties met them as they closed the door behind them. "Good evening. Table for two?"

"Yeah, just us two," Hugo said.

"Right this way, then." He led the two of them to a table. "Take a seat; your server will be with you shortly."

"Thanks," Yuka said as she and Hugo sat down. "Haven't been in one of these for a while."

"Really? When was the last time?" Hugo asked.

"I think it was my thirteenth birthday," Yuka answered. She opened one of the menus on the table and flipped through it. "Hey Hugo, my mom gave me some money if you want me to help pay for this."

"Don't worry about it," Hugo said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It's all on me."

"Okay, but why?"

"I'm hungry, you're hungry, and I'm a nice guy."

A few moments later, their server arrived, a tall, fair-skinned woman in her late twenties. "Good evening. My name is Cera, I'll be your server for tonight. What can I get started for you?"

"You go first, Yuka," Hugo offered.

"I'm kind of feeling a shrimp scampi," Yuka said. "And a pink lemondade for the drink."

"And I'll go with some veggie lasagna and a glass of cola."

"Okay, I've got all that," Cera said as she finished writing down their order. "I'll take your menus and be right back with your drinks."

A few moments later, their drinks arrived, their food arriving fifteen minutes later. The smell of the food was making Yuka hungrier than she already was.

"I just realized something," Hugo said. "You said you're not a fan of seafood, but you got a shrimp scampi."

"Just because I'm not a fan of it doesn't mean I won't eat it," Yuka explained. "Besides, it's got pasta with it."

They ate, paid the bill, and exited the restaurant. The sun was setting by now, painting the sky with a beautiful tapestry of deep purples and rich oranges. The first few clouds of night were starting to move in.

"You want to go find the gym now, or wait until morning?" Hugo asked Yuka.

"I think I have time to look at it tonight," Yuka guessed. "I can look for a hotel to stay in after."

"I think you mean 'we'," Hugo corrected her.

"We?" Yuka repeated.

"Yeah. I mean, I've been to this town before; I can show you where the Duel Gym is, and then, well, since we're in town, why go back to the woods to sleep?"

"Huh. I guess that makes sense."

The sound of glass breaking caught their attention. They looked in the direction of the grocery store. A group of people had gathered around, their phones out to take photos and videos, as two other people broke the windows. Yuka and Hugo pushed their way through the crowd to get a better view. The two vandals were dressed muchc differently than the other people, wearing long cloaks that ended in shredded hems that resembled raven wings, and they could see the vandals wearing what looked like expressionless face masks.

"What's going on here?" Yuka asked.

"Looks like a couple of cosplayers are upset that they didn't get the last hams that were on sale," one of the spectators guessed.

The two vandals turned to the crowd. "Those windows represent the planet under the rule of humanity," one of the vandals said, addressing the crowd. "Broken. Shattered. Doomed to be destroyed. And that is where we come in. We are here to protect the planet from the poison that is humanity. We are the Cultura Mortis. And our goal is the extinction of humanity."

There was a murmur amond the crowd. Some people were on the phone. Yuka could hear them say that they were calling the police.

"You're a couple of vandals, that's what you are," Yuka said. She stepped forward. "And I don't know what this crud you're spouting about human extinction, but I also don't care. The cops will be here soon to pick you two up."

"We'll be gone by the time they show up, kid," the other vandal said.

"I don't think so," Yuka said as she activated her duel pad.

She couldn't see the two vandals' faces beneath their masks. It was hard to tell what they were thinking. They turned to each other, before turning back to her and revealing their arms from under their cloaks, duel pads at the ready. Their duel pads whooshed to life.

"Two against one, huh?" Yuka observed. "That hardly seems fair."

"Then let's even those odds," Hugo said as he joined her, his own duel pad ready. He turned to the crowd. "You guys might want to back up and give us some room." Slowly, the crowd backed away; people could be heard murmuring among themselves. "So here's how this is going to go," he continued, turning back to the two vandals. "You two against me and Yuka. But before we get this show on the road, how about you give us your names?"

"Konton."

"Jakotsu."

"Okay, Konton, Jakotsu," Yuka said. "I hope you're ready."

The four duelists' life points were set to 8000, their first five cards were drawn, and they all said two words:

"LET'S DUEL!"