"So once you have a Level 7 or higher monster in your hand, you need to Tribute two monsters, got it?"

Mako nodded as he finished setting up his custom Play Mat, handmade by him with a vareity of ocean creatures stitched into the fabric." Yes I see! This prioritizes getting your guppies out onto the field so you can swarm your prey with the sharks!" Mana nodded. This guy really liked fish puns. He also was really attractive and from how he was acting, very attentive, so no wonder Gaga tolerated his speech patterns. "I only have one monster above five stars sadly, my prized Amphibian Beast, so the jubilation of summoning my mighty beasts after much trial and tribulation is lost on me." Not to mention he didn't have much in the way of Special Summoning. That was still something people were wrapping their heads around these days in the Duel Monsters circuit.

"Don't worry, I have a big guy myself. He's the-" He's my favorite."

"-Dark Magician, correct?" Mana blinked. "Yes, he is your favorite." Mana stared. "Gaga was very keen in telling me of your love for that particular Duel Monster."

"By that you mean she's complaining right?"

"Uhmmmm…" Mana shrugged. "That does not bother you?"

"We all have things we don't like about the people we hang out with." Gaga didn't get her half the time, she got annoyed whenever Gaga talked about sex without understanding what it meant…man Gaga's parents sucked. "It's no big deal."

"Indeed." That was all Mako had to say. He did not expect his beloved's acquaintance -which was the best word to describe this young lady given how Gaga talked about her- .to have such a level head.

"Are we still going to Duel?" She asked, shaking Mako out of his thoughts. She looked like a cute little puppy underneath that blank stare, her eagerness visible not in her expression, but the shaking of her body and her tapping foot.

"Yes indeed!" Mako brought out his Deck and began to shuffle them, Mana giving him hers so he could shuffle them as well. "Let us see which of our warriors would come out on top in the field of battle! I accept your conditions Mana, now let's duel! This will be quite the swift experience, regardless which of us wins!"

"...Huh?" Mana blinked. "Why do you say that? We're starting with 8000 Life Points, how would that be fast?"

Well, she was shaking, keeping quiet, and staying still. At least he knew she understood how fucked she was.

"So…" Darius began, his tone casual yet laden with the kind of authority befitting someone who once palled with the leader of KaibaCorp. Gagagigo, perched on his shoulder, stared at Gaga with an intensity far beyond what any lizard should possess, his black, beady eyes seeming to say, You're not fooling anyone.. "Let me be the first to say congratulations Kagami." He said with a voice as sweet as poison. " With your grades I'd assume you'd get some middle of the road position at some high end conglomerate, but I never imagined you'd get into college, and at such a young age? Impressive."

A shaking Gaga rolled her eyes before Darius could even finish the sentence, though given how scared she was, it was amazing she had enough courage to even show that level of defiance "Oh, sp-spare me the -l-l-ecture," she muttered, crossing her arms defiantly over her chest, puffing it up as she leaned back against the wall. "S-so i fibbed a little, what's the big deal?"

" I'm no pedophile, despite what you thought when we first met, so stop trying." Gaga let out an offended squeal, but kept her hand to her sides. "Better. Now start talking."

Gaga's eye twitched. "W-what's the big deal?" Despite his outward expression, the former soldier was struggling to keep the condescending laughter from bubbling up. This wasn't a life or death situation with a stupid, horny, teenage girl that didn't know what she was doing -you'd be amazed how many dumb teens were willing to do awful crap for some hot sweet action- this was just a very stupid, horny teenager playing adult, who probably couldn't even handle a kiss on the cheek! So you can imagine, having had both romantic and physical relationships over 2 decades, just how hard it was for him to keep from bursting out laughing in her face. "He's happy, I'm happy, and it's not like he's going to find ooooouuuuuuu….t."

She blinked. "Uhmmmm.." A nervous smile came on her face. "Can I get a redo on that last sentence?" She tried to keep her voice steady, but she knew she wasn't fooling anyone, least of all Darius. 'Decent' was the best she could manage right now, and unlike her parents with her PE grades, Darius wasn't going to let her coast by on 'decent.'

The tension in the air thickened. Gaga found herself sinking to the ground from his glare, but not in the way she'd imagined when she first laid eyes on him and let her hormones control her brain. Ever since she got her monthly visitor downstairs, she'd been capable of running circles around every hot guy she laid her eyes on. She had the looks, the brains, the bunker busters and the booty that made people think she was older than she actually was, and a bony, skinny, mocha skinned pile of muscle to bail her out should things go south, but here she was, defenseless and Mana-less.

"The ocean of Umi is wide and vast!" Mako declared. "Your Illusionist Faceless Mage floats above my mighty ocean, unaware of the threats I have waiting below it's murky depths!"

'But I can see your cards right there.' Mana wanted to say, since she could see all three monsters he had, face up, on his side of the field, but that would be very rude. "What to do…" The Burning Land card in her hand would destroy any Field Spell, but Umi wasn't a field, it was the ocean; it's in the name after all. Maybe a weather phenomena could force the monsters to the surface, but that card wasn't in her hand. But she did have a way to hide her monsters from him. "I activate Makiyu, the Magical Mist." Since there weren't any Thunder type monsters, it's destruction effect wouldn't trigger, but that was ok. "Since it's all misty and stuff, your guys can't see me,so now we're even."

Mako let out a cheerful laugh. His laugh was funny. "Excellent maneuver! It is rare to see someone use the flexibility of this game to do something so simple!"

"Most people aren't very creative."

'You are very right. Now I believe it is my turn, correct?"Mana nodded excitedly. What a nice guy!

"N-now I know you're angry-"

"That's an overstatement if I ever heard one-"

"-Look!" Gaga yelled, face red and close to tearing up. I-I just wanted to have a hot guy all to myself, okay?!" The words spilled out of her mouth faster than she could stop them. "That bitch Gwen was over there talking about getting her freak on with 8 college guys at once-" Darius made a coughing noise that sounded like the word 'bullshit' but Gaga, scared out of her wits, couldn't hear him, "so I decided to one up her -" A shadow formed over Darius's eyes but she couldn't shut up. That's the power of a former KaibaCorp General; U.S. R2I was jack shit compared to what Gozaburo put them through. "-s-show her up by getting some h-hot tail of my own?"

"...And you lied about your age to get someone just a year older than you, and of all the students in that prep school that'd either believe you were legal or wouldn't care, you chose Tsunami." Gaga nodded fearfully. "Tsunami." Gaga nodded faster. Of all the- "So you fibbed about your age to make yourself look good-" Gaga nodded panickedly. "-and that was the extent of your little plan." The young blonde let out a fearful squeal." And what, pray tell, would have happened if your plan worked and you got Tsunami in bed?" If that kid wasn't so obsessed with the ocean he'd be a turbo Christian!

"Iwouldhavegottenlaid!" Gaga shouted, completely missing the emphasis the older man placed on who exactly she tried to get with. "Gotallthedickformyself!"

"Uh-huh." Said with all the confidence of a virgin who'd never seen a bare pair of tits. 'God just look at that face, she doesn't even know what the hell she's talking about.' Yeah, the type of boy who didn't even know what a pussy looked like, the type of idiots he ran through the ringer in basic training until they learned to actually pay attention to what's in front of them, that's the vibe Kagami was giving him right now. "So that was the extent of your thought process. Yes, yes, I see." Gagagigo giggled.

"I w-wanted to get to fir…first base you know!" Oh wow she actually knew what that term was. "I—I get some…" She managed to stammer out. "A-all the p-p-p-pen-"

"Penis." Gaga let out a squeak. Oh dear lord. "That thing you want to stick in you."

"Y-yeah! Get that hot white stuff all over me!" The nervous smile and poor shaky posture, combined with what she just said, painted a very poor picture of this little idiot for Darius.

"God damn it, why do I have to be your parent?" Gaga opened her mouth to reply, but fell short. It wasn't because of fear mind you'; it was because he had a point. If you looked at her and Nakamura from the outside, you'd think Kagami was the one who had her head on her shoulders. She could focus on what you were saying for one, she wouldn't need to be held down to keep her in the conversation, and she was a social butterfly, or at the very least bothered to pretend to be one. You'd be mostly right on that, and sorta wrong. "Kagami, what do you expect to happen once this hot white stuff gets all-" Oh god he couldn't even finish that sentence without wanting to retch! "Ok, let's start all over again…."

Mako could only watch as his three beasts were laid to waste, landing on the now barren landscape that was his ocean with three wet plops. In Duel Monsters, one card could always turn the game around, and Mystical Space Typhoon did just that, destroying his Umi Field Spell and exposing his monsters to his opponent's wrath.

"Heeeey, why'd you put your Field Spell in the Graveyard?" Of course that was all hyperbole, he did have a flair for the dramatic after all. "Typhoons can't destroy the ocean." And it looks as though she may have brought into it the theatrics. "So put it back."

"But I cannot!"

"Yes you can."

Mako let out a dramatic laugh. "Oh but did you forget the name of your own card?" Mana shook her head. " It's a Mystical Space Typhoon! It is far grander and far deadlier than any ocean based weather phenomena! My monsters are scattered to the ends of the earth, and your card has taken my waters and reduced the mighty ocean to a barren canyon!" He shook his head and gave an evil smirk. "But next turn, my worthy foe, I shall have my revenge! I end my turn."

Mana nodded with a massive smile on her face. 'Please don't ruin this with your stupid, Gaga!' This was a seemingly nice guy who did a good job playing along with her, not like those teachers in her old school! She was really hoping, begging, that-

" PENISES MAKE BABIES?!" ….And there it was.

Darius blinked…wow. "You..you seriously didn't know?" Gaga frantically nodded her head in disgust. Darius and Gagagigo looked at each other in utter shock. "Ok then." Right there, right fucking there, was a good indicator as to how much Kagami's parents were involved in her life and how much of her biology homework Nakamura did for her,- but this…Jesus fucking christ,and everyone said Nakamura was naive?! Oh this was going to hurt, but it was for her own good. "Ok,listen very closely."

Mako blinked. "Is..is she ok?" She always said she wanted him to make her scream, but not like that! Then again given how bad she was at basic biology, she probably would scream like that if he acquiesced and took advantage of her.

"Yep." Mana answered, a frown coming over her face in disappointment as she drew a card, nodding at what she drew. "She probably just got her first course cra..crash-crash course into what a dick probably does." She noticed Mako was taken aback. "What? Were you shocked?"

"N-not at that." Gaga didn't even know there were other forms of kissing besides sharing tongue and thought that privates came with their own mosaic, so in retrospect that shriek shouldn't have come as a surprise to him. "I did not think you were one for profanity."

"I hear it all the time." Mostly directed towards her when they thought she wasn't listening, which admittedly, she wasn't most of the time, or whenever Gaga was using her as a sounding board. She sure did like to talk a lot. "And if you ask me, it's about time someone knocked some sense into her. I get mad when I beat people she pissed off up-" She blinked, noticing Mako still looked out of it from the shock. "...Do you want to contin-"

"Yes, yes!" Mako nodded frantically. For all the cynicism his opponent just showed, she wore her innocence on her sleeve. "So what did you draw?"

"I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD!" Greatly amused by this, though not the only one having all the fun, Gagagigo let out a low hiss, scaring the blonde even more.

"I see." Yeah, he was going to have a nice long chat with her parents whenever those idiots decided to grace their daughter with their presence. "Now, what are you going to do once we leave this room?" Darius asked, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Gaga shifted uncomfortably. "T-tell the truth?" she offered weakly, knowing it was her only option."B-but what if he acts like every other guy this happens with?"

…The fact that she said that without a hint of self reflection was…jesus. 'How many times has this happened?!' Christ, this kid needed a hobby! "Then I'll beat his ass before Mana gets a chance to," Darius replied calmly, crossing his arms. Gagagigo gave a small, approving nod from his shoulder. The lizard's silent menace was somehow even more intimidating than Darius's glare, if only because a part of her was trying to comprehend how the fuck that thing was so intelligent.

Mana's eyes wide, her heart racing. Her fingers trembled slightly as she pointed at Mako, her voice filled with a mix of excitement and awkwardness. "Your Life Points are 0 now. That means you lose." She said plainly, repressing her excitement as hard as she possibly could.

Mako grinned, not at all upset by his defeat. In fact, his eyes gleamed with pride as he nodded in agreement. "Indeed I have." Mana tilted her head slightly, trying to figure out if he was being sincere. Sometimes people said things like that just to be nice, because they didn't want to talk to her anymore, but something about the way Mako spoke made her think he actually meant it."This sacrifice rule you implemented makes the game a lot more strategic!" Mako continued, his enthusiasm bubbling over. "I've rarely found need to use my Magic or Trap Cards in my many Duels across campus, so it was quite the treat to be put on the backburner like this! This was an excellent Duel!"

Mana's smile grew wider, but there was still a lingering doubt in the back of her mind. Did he really enjoy the game? Or was he just trying to make her feel better? She knew it was the former, but couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he was just being polite.

Mako extended his hand toward her, his grin widening. Mana hesitated for just a moment before taking his hand in her own. Her grip, however, was far stronger than she intended. Despite the fact her hand was two sizes too small, she was controlling the handshake entirely, jerking his arm around like a first time fisherman trying to reel in a big catch. Mako winced slightly, though he quickly tried to mask his discomfort with a nervous chuckle. "You are… quite spirited," he said, his voice strained as he managed to free his hand from her grasp.

Inwardly, Mako marveled at her strength. 'She's nothing but skin and bones, yet her grip is tighter than a barnacle on the hull of a ship!' He flexed his hand subtly, trying to shake off the lingering discomfort and pain from having his palm squeezed so tightly. 'My sweet little minnow wasn't kidding about her strength, yeesh!'

Mana blinked, completely unaware of the pain she had caused. She tilted her head again, her wide eyes searching Mako's face for any sign that she had done something wrong. When she didn't find any obvious signs of distress, she smiled again. "Thank you," she said, her voice soft but genuine. Mako really was a nice guy. Usually, people screamed when she shook their hand and tried to punch her for some reason, then she'd punch back, and then she had to run before anyone called the cops. Gaga said it was because she was too strong, but she always held back, so that didn't make any sense.

Mako seemed to be enjoying himself, but was probably still chewing Gaga out so that wasn't going to last. "Hopefully, your friends will like it." She began. "I tried getting my brother to give the idea to Industrial Illusions, but he says it's a bad idea."

Mako raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "It is a great idea!" he said enthusiastically. His tone was filled with sincerity, though he was hamming it up a bit after seeing the look on her face. The small flicker of worry that crossed Mana's face at the mention of her brother was blatantly obvious. The fear wasn't in regards to her sibling, no, this was something else entirely. Curiosity gnawed at him, but Mako knew better than to pry into personal matters during a first meeting. "Do you wish to play again?" he asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Mana nodded eagerly, her smile returning full force. But just as she was about to reset the game mat, the door to the back room swung open, and Gaga emerged, looking thoroughly exasperated and dead inside. And she was blushing and green. , Gagagigo laughing as he rested on his head, followed closely behind, his face set in a stern expression that made it clear whatever conversation they'd had wasn't a pleasant one. Not as pleasant for Gaga that is, because he was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Ah, my sweet little minnow!" Mako exclaimed, his attention immediately shifting back to Gaga as she approached. He opened his arms wide, ready to sweep her into a hug, but Gaga quickly sidestepped him, clearly in no mood for affection, or for anyone's touch given how much she was shivering.

Mana saw 's mouth move, something about a fucker, and naive. Given Gaga's face, she probably got the birds and the bees talk after all these years, because her parents sucked. Still sitting at the game table, she watched the scene unfold with mild interest. She had seen this kind of thing happen before—Gaga rejecting some guy's advances, usually with a snappy comment or two, but that hollowed out expression on the blonde's face told Mana all she needed to know about what was about to happen and while this would be good for her friend… poor Mako.. She glanced back at her cards, knowing what was coming next.

The car headlights cut through the darkness as they pulled out of the shop's parking lot. Mr. Shields drove in silence, the dashboard softly illuminated by the pale glow of the instrument panel as Gagagigo slept shotgun. Mana, now nestled into the backseat, gazing out the window. The soft hum of the engine and the occasional squeak of the windshield wipers were the only sounds as they drove through the quiet, empty streets. She chewed absently on a Now n' Later, her mind mostly checked out again since nothing interesting was happening.

Gaga sat beside her, her head leaned against the cool glass of the car window, her reflection barely visible in the dark as she spared a look towards Mana, who just zoned out again, completely uninterested in what was going on around her. 'Lucky bitch.' The blonde's eyes were half-closed, the weight of the night pressing down on her as the soft lights of passing cars occasionally flickered across her face. 'I should have just told her no when she wanted to go into that damn store?!'' She thought to herself. 'Why is it so hard to tell her no?!' Her magazines didn't tell her about any of this! She thought that gunk was magically cleaning, it always was in the next panel! How could her parents' manga lie to her?! And why did it take for her to realize what the R-18 sticker meant?!

"I can't believe you tried to sleep with him," Mana said, breaking the silence. Her tone was flat, more observational than accusatory, as she chewed obnoxiously on her candy.

Gaga groaned, her breath fogging up the glass of the window. "Please... don't talk." Her voice was muffled and heavy, like she hadn't slept in days. She slumped lower in her seat, her fingers loosely gripping the edge of the door. "Why does your brain have to work now?" she muttered, too drained to even face the comment directly.

Mana, uncaring towards Gaga's frustration, continued to chew loudly on her candy, her thoughts drifting back to the duel, to Mako, to the quiet of the night outside. "Of course," Mana murmured under her breath, offering a piece of candy to Gaga, who barely acknowledged it with a wave of her hand.

Gaga was the first to get dropped off. She didn't say anything as she slunked away into her apartment. When Mana waved her goodbye, Gaga flipped her off before slamming the door and began ranting in Japanese. "Huh." Mana shrugged as Darius drove off to take her home. 'She's really mad.' Mana didn't know why Gaga was so rude to her. If you were going to walk the walk, the least you can do is talk the walk…or was that the other way around? Oh well.

Once Gaga texted him to verify she was safe and sound, Darius drove off to take Mana home. He took a second to glance at her through the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed slightly in thought. She didn't seem that affected by what happened to her friend, but she could just be bottling it up like she did at the start of their game earlier. "So, Mana," He began, his voice gentle, trying to break the awkward quiet, "Mako really liked your Duel, huh?"

Mana blinked, her eyes still fixed on the passing streetlights, having completely checked out. The game had ended, it was time to go home and do her homework, which meant that it was back to business as usual. The haze in her mind, where everything floated in and out without any particular urgency, was back, and she didn't even notice or care.

Darius waited for a response, but none came. He took a second look at the rearview mirror. Her expression was blank, but not in that vacant way he usually saw her with whenever Duel Monsters wasn't involved. Her mind was still on the card game, and everything else might as well be a backdrop to her thoughts. "Mana?" he tried again, a little louder this time.

"Hm?" Her head turned slightly toward him, but it was clear her mind was still elsewhere.

"You did good today," Darius said, trying to keep the conversation alive, even if it felt like trying to light a fire in a rainstorm. "You know that right?"

Mana nodded, turning her gaze back out the window. Darius sighed. This was a major step up from how she was back when Mahad brought her here, at least there's that. The rest of the ride was uneventful, and Darius knew if he tried to converse with her more, she'd end up a drooling mess as her brain tried its damndest to be invested. Mana lived pretty far out near the countryside, and given how traffic was around this time, he was not taking the main roads. 20 minutes and three suburbs later, and Darius was at Mana's home.

"Oh we're here." The familiar surroundings help to force her mind to ground itself back to reality. The car pulled into the driveway, the low rumble of the engine the only sound breaking the quiet of the neighborhood. "Thanks for the ride," Mana said as she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and grabbed her bag. "Goodnight, Mr. Shields."

Darius gave her a small smile, though the worry in his eyes hadn't fully faded. "Goodnight, Mana. Get some rest."

Mana nodded and slipped out of the car, her feet barely making a sound on the pavement as she rapidly headed inside. As the door clicked shut behind her, she felt the fog of her thoughts slowly creeping back, the weight of the real world starting to slip away once more made even worse now that she was in the sanctity of her own home. And within the safety of her home, alone with no one in sight as usual, Mana fell into a deep sleep, a small smile forming on her face as she drifted away into dreamland.

And unbeknownst to her or anyone else, the game of Duel Monsters was going to expand in ways none of them thought possible, and it all started in KaibaCorp's U.S. headquarters.