Chapter Text
Yu-Gi-Oh!
Duel Monsters.
Known by these names and many more, from the moment a single visionary forged the game into existence over 50 years ago, the card game of Duel Monsters had taken the world by storm.
Young and old, male and female; people from all walks of life found solace and enjoyment in the cards.
Yet quickly, another truth became apparent. The cards themselves were supernatural. They were conduits of ancient and otherworldly power, each monster containing a real spirit, each spell and trap possessing traces of real magic.
The natural magic of Duel Monsters became yet another allure of the card game. Soon, nations and corporations alike were studying it, seeking to find further use for this power than a mere children’s card game. New technologies were developed – Ener-D and Solid Vision – as the world threw itself into the Duel Monster’s craze.
Soon, Duel Monsters wasn’t merely a card game anymore. It was a facet of life. Its influence pervaded the streets, countless industries, and even the bodies of the people…
Ener-D based technologies became commonplace, their magical capabilities outstripping the performance of their contemporaries. But all technologies had potential for both good and bad.
Nobody was quite sure what exactly happened. A reactor meltdown, a terrorist attack, some uber-powerful Duel Monsters card; the theories were endless. Whatever the cause, the end result was the same: A gaping hole in the ground where Domino City used to be. Thousands were lost.
The world trembled, the public shaken. An age of chaos ensued. Eventually, from the masses came a hero, a new figure. A young duelist with an unbeaten record and a golden puzzle on his chest, the one who would later be called the First King of Games. Through charisma and wit, he gathered several corporations and spearheaded the reconstruction effort.
Through the use of Duel Monster’s magic, advanced technology, and some good old-fashioned manpower, the city was rebuilt, now a towering and sleek monument of the future. To go along with its new look, the city was christened with a new name: New Holo City.
The King of Games founded the World Duel Commission, an international organization to regulate Duel Monsters, and headquartered it right there in New Holo City. Soon, several of the corporations involved in the reconstruction – the likes of Kaibacorp, Industrial Illusions, SOL Technologies, and others – similarly moved their headquarters to the city. Duelists from all over the world followed suit, and soon New Holo City had a few more names: The City of Duel Monsters, and the City of the Future.
In the modern day, countless duelists littered the streets of the city, each with their own lives and each with their own destinies…
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“Attack! Black Luster Soldier!”
“Oh crap.” IRyS gulped as the as the armored knight bore down on her. Instinctively she raised her arms up, as did Assembled Nightingale in front of her. It was futile, as the warrior carved up her little bird with one strike of its sword. The resultant blast of air knocked IRyS onto her back. On her arm, her duel disk chimed.
IRyS LP: 2500 -> 0
Duel Over! Winner: Baelz Hakos
IRyS groaned from her spot on the grass. “Darn it.” She propped herself up on her elbows, watching the remnants of her monster fade away into glittering lights, “I lost again.”
Her opponent smirked, patting the back of her monster as it faded away. “Be honest cuz, were you expecting anything different?” She walked over to the downed girl, holding out a hand.
IRyS took it. “For a moment, I thought I had you there.”
“You must train for another thousand years.” Baelz helped her up. “And only then will you be able to beat me.”
“Don’t rub it in, Bae.” IRyS patted her skirt and school uniform, shaking off all the grass from her fall.
Her cousin shook her head, the act causing her rat ears to flap around. “I’m half serious,” she said. “Did you forget about Assembled Nightingale’s effect? If you used it, you would’ve been at the least been able to survive another turn.”
IRyS paused, then glanced down at the field of her duel disk, at the card in her extra monster zone. She groaned, “Aww, I forgot.”
“See what I mean? That’s a rookie mistake, IRyS. Until you stop making those, you won’t stand a chance in the big leagues.”
IRyS sat down on the porch of the house they shared and raised her hand to block the sunlight. She and Bae were outside in the bright morning, having a practice duel. It was something they both agreed on, ever since IRyS moved to New Holo City, something to keep their dueling skills sharp.
Only, it seemed like she never improved, and Bae’s skill level was so far above her own she never got a good challenge. The reason for that was…
“I know,” IRyS sighed, grabbing her cards from her duel disk and leafing through them, “Its hard for me to remember all those effects. This deck is strong but… it just doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t stick in my head.”
Bae sat down right beside her, tail curling around IRyS’ hand. “Yeah, yeah, you’ve said all that before. But IRyS, you can’t keep using that as an excuse. If you want to be a pro-duelist, you’re gonna have to start learning a deck eventually.”
“Yeah…” IRyS moved her gaze up to the sky, watching the clouds pass lazily by. She turned to her companion, “Hey Bae? How did you settle on your deck? What made you think it was the one for you.”
“Me?” Bae pulled her deck from her deck box, letting IRyS see the monochrome monsters inside. “I dunno. I kind of just came across them and knew they were the right ones for me, you know?”
“So what, I’m just supposed to wait until I find one that I like? I’ve been trying that, I haven’t found anything yet!”
Bae watched her pout. “It’s not that big of a deal. Lots of people don’t have a single deck that’s best for them.”
IRyS was quiet. “Was it really that important?” A voice in her head asked. “Couldn’t she just make do with what she had?” She shook her head. No! She wanted to be the very best! Not just an expert. And she couldn’t do that without her perfect deck!
Having refuted her own subconsciousness, IRyS opened her mouth to talk again. But before she could Bae acted first.
“Welp, whatever!” Bae put a hand on IRyS’ head and ruffled her hair, “You’ve still got some time to find the deck of your heart. You’re only in your second year of high school after all!”
“Yeah.” IRyS shook her head free of the rat-girl’s hand. Though, speaking of school. She checked her duel disk’s display.
“Hey Bae. It’s 7:50, you’ll take me to school right?”
No response.
“Bae?” IRyS glanced to her side. Her cousin stood frozen.
“D-Did you say 7:50?”
IRyS nodded. Bae shrieked and sprang up like a coil. “OH CRAP! I’M GONNA BE LATE!” She ran into the house.
IRyS blinked and quickly followed. “W-wait Bae. What’s up?”
“Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.” The rat-girl raced throughout the living room, quickly throwing on her jacket and stuffing her badge and other stuff into her bag. “I have an important meeting at the station today at 8:15. I can’t be late, Captain Subaru will yell at me!”
“Wha- 8:15? Then, you can’t drop me off at school?”
“Nope.” Bae, threw her bag over her shoulder and made for her D-Wheel in the garage. “Sorry, you’re on your own.”
“Hey wait,” IRyS stuck her head in the garage, watching Bae get mounted and open the door. “But all the busses already came, how am I going to get there?”
Bae glanced at her wristwatch, then met IRyS’ eyes. “If you start running now, I reckon you’ll make it before first period.” With a thrum of her engine, the older woman shot down the street and into the distance, drowning out IRyS’ protests.
“Don’t forget to lock up before you leave!” were the last words left behind in the wind.
“Wha-“ IRyS half-lifted her hands in exasperation. She checked the time. 7:52. She glanced around, spotting her bag on the kitchen table. Half-open, still unpacked.
“Crap.”
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*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
IRyS practically glided across the tiles as she ran down the sidewalk. Her schoolbag pounded against her back with each step as she raced.
“Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.” She checked her phone for the time. I’m gonna be late! Gotta hurry up!
IRyS looked back up, just in time too. In front of her was a horde of litterbots, those garbage-cleaning robots the city installed to keep the streets clean.
They were busy at work cleaning up some spill of some sorts, a spill… right in front of her?!
IRyS gasped. She was coming in too fast, she didn’t have time to slow down!
The litterbots noticed her too, as their comically simple frowning faces whirred towards her. Their arms waved around frantically.
[Warning! Warning! Collision Imminent!]
“Crap!” IRyS acted on instinct. As she neared, she put all of her power into her legs and jumped. The jump propelled her several feet into the air and sent her flying over the group of cleaning bots and over the spill too. She landed a few yards from the end of the puddle, shakily stumbling a couple of paces.
“Woah!” IRyS glanced back. “That was close!”
[Warning! Warning!] One of the litterbots rolled up to her. [Altered citizens should be more careful! Do not run on the sidewalks!]
“Yeah, sorry!” IRyS had half a mind to bow, but… “I’m kind of running late, so I’m gonna go.” With that IRyS took off again.
IRyS was what people called an Altered, a kind of psychic duelist.
Psychic duelists were those rare few people born with the innate power to make Duel Monsters real. In the decades after the game’s inception, more and more psychic duelists were born, and they carried with them strange mutations. Sprouting horns, ears, tails, and all sorts of other alterations, this new generation of people were dubbed the Altered by the public. IRyS’ own changes were a pair of black horns on her head, pointed ears, and blue and purple heterochromic eyes.
In addition to the appearance change, Altered were also capable of superhuman physical feats, such as IRyS’ leap, and the ability to manifest the magic of Duel Monsters outside of a duel.
At first, the Altered were treated with distrust, ostracized from society for their appearances and powers. But eventually, in no small part due to the efforts of the First King of Games, Altered became accepted and loved by most of society. In fact, the majority of pro duelists were Altered, who had a preternatural affinity for the card game.
In New Holo City, which had become the world’s hotspot for Altered, that led to the creation of special schooling institutions, places where young Altered would be able to undergo both conventional schooling and special training to control their own powers. These special schools were called Duel Academies, and IRyS attended one.
But she wouldn’t be for much longer if she kept being late!
Speaking of, IRyS crested a corner and spotted the gates of Duel Academy in the distance. There! She made a beeline for the gates.
As she approached, however, she ran into a problem. The gates were closed! She couldn’t get in. And by the entrance, keeping a lookout was… Gah!
IRyS hurriedly hid behind a lamppost. It did her no good.
“I see you IRyS! There’s no use in hiding.”
Caught, IRyS slowly slinked out from behind the lamppost. The speaker was a young woman, a girl with short bob-cut gray hair and purple eyes. The pair of small feathery wings by her shoulders marked her as an Altered. She was dressed in the same yellow and black uniform as IRyS, but with a student council armband on her right arm.
“H-how’s it going Kanata-senpai?”
Kanata crossed her arms, “Nothing much. I’m just doing my job, closing the gates after the start of first period, and keeping watch for late students.”
IRyS flinched at the word her senpai put emphasis on. She glanced at her pocket. Drat, was her phone’s time misaligned?
“Oh, I’m late. H-ha ha. I hadn’t noticed.”
Kanata wasn’t fooled.
“Mmhmm, like you didn’t the other half-dozen times?”
Was I really late that much? IRyS’ eyes glanced about, seeking a solution.
…Come to think of it, that wall wasn’t all that high was it?
IRyS slowly stepped backwards. “Um, any chance you’d be willing to give your favorite kohai a pass this time?”
Kanata sighed, “Look. IRyS. You’re a student at the Duel Academy founded by THE Yugi Moto himself. You should show some more responsibility befitting a student at this prestigious institution.”
Yeah, yeah. IRyS nodded her head absently, she had heard the whole spiel from the student council several times already.
“Here, I’ll open the gates for you. But you’ll have to come with me to student affairs and have your tardiness marked again. I’m sure you’re use-”
Now! IRyS cut off Kanata by spontaneously breaking into a sprint, racing for the gates at max speed.
“Wha-?!”
IRyS once again leapt off the ground in a powerful jump, jumping clear over Kanata and managing to get a hand on the top of the school gates. She pulled herself up with one hand and landed on the other side.
A bang sounded on the doors. Kanata’s outraged voice came from the other side. “Oi!”
“Sorry Kanata-senpai.” The magenta haired Altered called, “I really can’t take anymore tardiness penalties. I’ll buy you lunch sometime as an apology!”
With that, IRyS hurriedly scurried off towards her classroom.
After a few minutes hurrying around the large campus, IRyS finally reached her classroom. She opened the door, nearly falling in. She looked up to see everyone looking at her. She turned to her teacher.
*Pant* *Pant* “Sorry, Calli-sensei! I’m a little late.”
The teacher, a mature pink-haired woman with red eyes, sighed at the front of the class. “It’s okay. I was kind of expecting it. Go ahead and take your seat IRyS.”
IRyS slinked off under the short-lived gazes of her classmates. They were mostly used to her shenanigans by now. She plopped down at her seat in a corner of the classroom, setting her bag beside her.
“Now that that’s out of the way, if everyone will take out their textbooks and turn to chapter 4…”
IRyS reached into her bag, for her textbook. She grabbed air. Uh oh. She frantically searched through all the pockets.
…She couldn’t find her textbook.
IRyS was about to slam her head on her desk when a soft tap on her shoulder grabbed her attention.
A hand held out a textbook to her, already open to chapter 4. IRyS took it and looked at the face of the giver. It was a girl with bluish-gray eyes and long, straight dark purple hair. She had two locks of hair on the sides of her face that ended in orangish tentacles and a pair of cute cephalopodic ears on her head. This was Ina’nis Ninomae, one of IRyS’ friends.
“Here,” her classmate smiled at her, “We can share mine.”
“Ina…” IRyS grabbed her friend’s hands emotionally, “You’re my savior!”
Ina giggled. “Thanks. I figured you might have forgotten yours.”
“By the way,” She asked, “Did you get in trouble for being late again? I saw Kanata-senpai watching the gate when I came in and you know how she’s like.”
“Oh, don’t remind me.” IRyS slumped her shoulders. “I ended up running past her and climbing the walls. I didn’t get marked up, but I’m sure the student council has it out for me now.”
Ina shook her head, “As if they didn’t before. What made you late this time?”
“Oh! I was having this awesome duel with Bae this morning!”
“Let me guess. You lost?”
IRyS gave her a look, “Well, yes. But I almost had her this time.” At Ina’s raised eyebrow, IRyS felt the need to explain, “Look, I used Leeching the Light to-.”
“Hey!” Calli-sensei’s voice reached them. “Quiet in the back!”
Suitably chastised, both girls lapsed into silence. Before turning their attention to the class, IRyS mouthed to Ina: ‘later’. Ina shook her head ruefully.
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“So, remind me again.” Ina asked, a juice box in hand. “Why are we having lunch all the way out here?”
“Because,” IRyS responded through a mouthful of onigiri, “I saw a few members of the student council barging into the cafeteria and I’m pretty sure they were looking for me.”
“So, you roped me into hiding with you.” Ina glanced around.
The two of them were located in an oft-forgotten corner of the Duel Academy campus. Though Ina and IRyS both belonged to the high school division of Duel Academy, there was also a middle school and elementary section of the school, all located within the same campus. Add in the large sports fields and the many dueling arenas both traditional and state-of-the-art and the grounds reached quite the impressive size.
Hidden in a crook between the soccer field and the nearby artificial forest, it would be hard for the Student Council to track IRyS down here. A perfect place for the two to have their lunch.
“Well, not just that.” IRyS responded. “I also wanted to finish telling you about my awesome duel with Bae.”
“Yes. You did tell me all about it.” Ina paused for a moment. “You know, forgetting such an important effect isn’t really like you IRyS.”
“Urgh.” IRyS laid down on her back. “I already got flack about it from my cousin, I don’t really want to hear it from you too.”
“Don’t eat while lying down,” Ina scolded. Then she continued, “But Bae has a point you know. I’ve seen your duel theory scores. You shouldn’t be making those kinds of mistakes.”
“I know. I know.” IRyS sat up. “It’s just… I don’t know. I have trouble remembering what those cards do sometimes.”
“It doesn’t feel right, right?”
“Yeah.” A pause, “Say Ina, how did you come across your deck.”
“My deck?” Ina’s hands went down to the box at her hip, caressing it unconsciously. “It’s just always been in the family, I guess. I got a couple decks from my grandma before she passed away.”
“And how did you know which was the right one for you?”
“Because it wasn’t the one on the left.” Ina quipped, then hesitated. “…I don’t know. I don’t think there was anything in particular.”
IRyS flopped back onto her back. “Then how am I going to find my deck?!”
“I don’t know. But you might want to find it soon,” Ina added. “We’ve got our year finals coming up in a few months after all. With the WDT next year, those ones are going to be pretty important.”
“Hmm?” IRyS looked at her friend askance. “What are you worried about? You’re the best duelist in our grade, maybe even the school. You’ve mastered all the summoning mechanics, and I’ve seen you beat some of our teachers.”
Ina seemed uncomfortable at the praise. “I didn’t master all the summoning mechanics,” she defended, “I still haven’t incorporated pendulum summoning. And there’s plenty among the upperclassmen I haven’t dueled yet.”
“Still, you’re leagues above most duelists. You’ll do great.” IRyS’ body drooped, “Not like me, who can’t even remember all the effects of her boss monster.”
“There, there.” Ina awkwardly reached over and patted the magenta haired girl’s back. “It’s okay, I’m sure you’ll find that deck that speaks to you soon.”
“Waaaah! Ina, you’re so nice and supportive!” IRyS pulled the other girl into a hug.
The hug was interrupted by the sound of the bell, playing via the speakers scattered throughout the school.
“Looks like lunch’s over.” IRyS separated and packed the remains of her foods back into her lunchbox. “C’mon lets get back to class.”
“Okay.”
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IRyS hummed as she finished putting away the fabricator wafers.
“Okay, I’m finished. I’m gonna leave now!” She called to the professor. He waved her off.
IRyS had stayed behind in her last class, Card Workshop, after volunteering to help Professor Banner put away the supplies. Out of the kindness of her heart of course, and not at all because she had gotten paranoid the Student Council was going to jump her outside the classroom.
IRyS snuck out from the side entrance of the supply warehouse, looking around suspiciously for any armband wearing students. The coast seemed clear.
Now more relaxed, the magenta haired Altered fished out her phone from her pocket. She checked it – a couple new messages.
Bae: Hey, I’ll be at the station pretty late today, so it looks like you’ll have to walk home.
IRyS sent her a thumbs up. The second message was from Ina.
Ina: Saw someone at the front entrance as I was leaving.
Ina: She seems mad.
Attached was an image, one the octopus-girl had taken discretely. Pictured was Kanata, standing with another member of the student council, both looking at the throng of leaving students with crossed arms and frowns on their faces.
They’re not looking for me are they? IRyS worried. All I did was jump the fence… Regardless, she wasn’t going to risk it. She’d heard the stories of what Kanata did to repeat offenders. She didn’t want to get gorilla grip-ed! The back entrance it was!
Or maybe not, IRyS amended, spying on the back entrance from her spot in the bushes a couple minutes later. More students in armbands were there, watching the few students trickling through the back entrance. IRyS recognized the purple haired girl with the demon-like tail, she was attached to Kanata at the hip. Did she really mobilize the entire student council for me?!
She couldn’t get out this way either. Was she destined to get gorilla grip-ed in her future? Did she have to climb over the walls every morning and afternoon? No, she couldn’t give up! The Duel Academy campus was large, surely there were other ways to sneak out. With that resolve in mind, IRyS began to discretely trail the edges of the school grounds, looking for another way out.
Soon, she came across a passage, between the artificial forest and the elementary school grounds. It was a beaten path, off to the side and semi-hidden between two trees. Curiously, the magenta haired Altered followed it through the artificial forest, eventually coming across a small hut in a clearing. In front of the hut was a large wooden table, a traditional duel mat inscribed upon it.
Huh, IRyS noted the metal display board jutting out of the ground next to the table, its futuristic shine standing out among the rustic surroundings. This must be one of the arenas for the Duelist Kingdom festival. Wonder what field bonus this place would give.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a rustle from within the house. A young voice sounded out from within. “Is that you, sis?”
“Uhh, no?”
The brief commotion of things falling over resounded before the door opened and a figure tumbled outside to land in a heap.
It was a kid, a lightly tanned young boy that looked to be about ten years old or so. He had some ridiculous gravity-defying red and black spiked hair and was wearing a red vest the same color as his hair and eyes. The boy scratched his head as he got up from the heap he was in.
“Hi!!” He said chipperly, “Who are you? Ooh, you’re wearing the same uniform as my sister! That means you’re a duel academy student too, right?”
“Oh. Yeah!” IRyS was slightly taken back by the kid’s enthusiasm. She noted that he was wearing the elementary division’s uniform under his vest. Is he a student too? “I attend the high school division. What about you?”
“Yep!” The boy puffed out his chest, jerking a thumb towards himself. “My name’s Yuma Tsukumo! This here’s my secret base!”
“Your secret base?”
“Yep! I hang around here while I wait for my sister to finish with her club stuff and then we head home together.”
Head home? IRyS got an idea. “Say, does that mean there’s a way out of the school here? Other than the standard entrances.”
“Of course.”
Salvation! “C-Could you show me where that is please?”
“Sure thing!” Yuma took two steps to the side before stopping and swiveling around to face her again. “Wait!”
He pointed at her, “If you want to help me, you gotta do something for me first!”
IRyS pointed at herself, “Me? Um, what is it?”
The boy beamed up at her, “Show me your cards!”
“What?”
“I want to see your Duel Monsters cards! Your deck! Please?”
“Sure, I guess.” IRyS retrieved her cards from the deck box on her waist and spread them in her hands. “Here they are.”
“Woah!” Yuma leaned over to get a closer look. “So cool!”
IRyS was amused by his fascination. Actually, just a few years ago, she was much the same, wasn’t she? Encouraged, wanting to brag a little, she began to introduce them one by one to her onlooker. “Here, this one is…”
Yuma listened the whole way through, occasionally interjecting with a comment, eyes sparkling. IRyS preened under the attention. Eventually, IRyS put away her cards.
The boy excitement wasn’t stemmed at all, as he gazed at her hip and wrist. “Wow! A deck box and duel disk! You’re like a real pro duelist!”
“Ah… I wouldn’t say that. I mean, this is just a school-issued duel disk. Plus…” IRyS paused, “I wouldn’t consider this my deck either.”
“Huh?” Yuma cocked his head, “What do you mean?”
“Err. It’s like… Look, I built this deck, yes, but it doesn’t really feel like it’s mine. Like, I know how to play it, but it just doesn’t fit with the ideal deck in my mind. I’m still looking for it.”
IRyS felt a little absurd. What point was there is explaining all this, a kid probably wouldn’t understand anyway. “Never mind. It’s silly, most people make do with whatever deck.”
“No! I get it!” Yuma punched his fists in the air. “So you’re not feeling the flow with this deck!”
“Feeling the flow?”
“Yeah!!” Yuma rocked on the balls of his feet, gesturing animatedly. “It’s something my dad taught me! Its like, when you never give up and always go for what you believe in! If you dream of an ideal deck, then you should chase that dream!”
“I… guess?” Though, IRyS thought there was something off with Yuma’s conclusion.
“Here, take a look at mine!” Yuma fumbled with something by his belt, pulling out a makeshift deck box made from old leather. He opened it and enthusiastically pulled out a set of cards, handling them with tender care. “Check it out! I made this from cards I was feeling the flow with. A full 40 cards.”
“Wow.” IRyS looked at the cards. “The school doesn’t provide structures until middle school. Kids your age don’t usually have full decks, do they?”
“Nope.” Yuma puffed out his chest in pride, “I had to collect all these guys myself!”
“Hmm.” Looking at the whole set thoroughly, IRyS couldn’t help but mentally shake her head. There’s what, only two traps? A lot of spells and not many monsters… I can’t see a game plan. Also, what’s with these names? Gagaga, dododo… Well, hardly the strangest I’ve seen. “They’re pretty cool too.”
Yuma beamed toothily, “Thanks!”
He pulled one in particular out from the pile. “Check this one out! It’s my strongest monster!”
IRyS took a look at it, “Dododo Swordsman…?” What a name.
“Yeah! Look, it’s got 3000 DEF, and when it’s flip summoned it gets 3500 ATK!”
“That’s pretty good.” If a little unwieldy. She considered the deck again as a whole. But for an elementary schooler’s deck it’s not bad. Maybe it could even give some of my classmates a run for their money.
“And see this too…” The spiky-haired boy leafed through his deck for another card to show. IRyS had a premonition that if she didn’t stop him here she would be stuck for a while. She coughed into her hand and changed the subject.
“About that path out of school grounds…”
“Oh! Right!” Yuma returned his cards to his makeshift deck box. He turned and began to lead her through the trees. At some point, he stopped and turned back to the older girl, looking faintly nervous. “Um, will you be coming here again?”
IRyS looked at him. Poor kid, he seemed lonely. Or maybe he just wanted someone to talk to about Duel Monsters.
“We’ll see.” Depends on if the student council is going to keep looking for me…
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They did indeed continue to keep a watch out for IRyS. For the next few days, she had to take the forest path in and out of school.
Bae had a new position at work that was keeping her pretty busy, so IRyS ended up taking the bus to a stop nearby and walking the rest of the way. At least she wasn’t late anymore. And the small chats she had with Yuma when leaving were pleasant too.
Still, as IRyS maneuvered through the trees one afternoon, she couldn’t help but wonder. How long would she have to keep doing this? Maybe she should try to smooth things over. Show up to the student council with a box of pastries and an apology? She heard their little president liked sweets. It was an idea.
Soon, she reached the little shed that marked the halfway point of the path.
“Hey, Yuma.” She called inside, “Are you here?”
No response. Huh. Is he not here today? IRyS wondered. The sound of a muted sob echoing from the shed disproved that theory. IRyS frowned.
“Yuma? You okay?”
He didn’t answer. IRyS debated for a moment before deciding to go inside. She found the spiky-haired kid, sitting quietly in a corner, head in his arms and knees drawn in. Sniffling sounded from his defeated form.
With a sigh, IRyS sat beside him. Ten-year-olds crying wasn’t anything new, but Yuma had always been fiercely upbeat and energetic. Besides, she couldn’t exactly do nothing when someone in front of her was hurting, could she?
Eventually, the boy calmed down enough for IRyS to ask what had happened.
“I-I lost my deck,” he admitted.
“You lost your deck?” IRyS repeated in confusion. The deck he had showed her? The one he had collected himself, that he had put so much clear care into? Something didn’t add up.
“…How did you lose it?”
*Sniff* “There were a couple of kids in my class. Bullies.” Yuma explained through his sniffles. “They were picking on another kid I know, and they stole some of his cards so I went to go stop them.”
“One of them, the ringleader, a boy named Shark; he had a full deck too, like mine. He challenged me to a duel, he would give back the stolen cards if I won and he would get my deck if I lost.”
“And- and,” Yuma’s eyes welled with tears, “He won! He took my cards too!”
IRyS patted the kid’s back, waiting for him to calm down. Really, she mentally griped, what are kids this young doing ante-ing. IRyS considered leaving the matter as it is, a lesson for the future. But for a duelist their cards were practically their life, and it didn’t sit right with her, letting an entire deck get taken.
Plus, it had only been a couple of days, but she was pretty fond of Yuma. His energy was infectious.
“So, when did all this happen?” If I remember, elementary school didn’t finish that long ago, and most students waited around for a couple hours.
“I dunno.” *Sniff* “Maybe half an hour ago, why?”
“Alright, get up,” IRyS stood up, pulling up Yuma with her. “Do you think you can lead me to where this Shark was? Maybe they haven’t left yet.”
“Y-yeah.” Yuma nodded. His eyes then widened, “Wait are you saying-“
“C’mon.” IRyS pulled the boy behind her, “Lets go get your cards back.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lucky for them, it seemed that Shark and his gang of schoolyard bullies hadn’t left the campus yet. It took the pair a while, but they were able to track down the group to their own little hideout – a nook located next to one of the miniature lakes on school grounds.
IRyS stood before an enclosed cave, hands on her hips, and ignored the glances she sometimes got from the elementary students walking by.
Yep, she thought, this sure looks like a place where a group of 5th graders would make their secret base. Still…
“You sure this is the place?” she asked her companion.
“Pretty sure! I’m feeling the flow here!” Yuma said at her side. At some point in their walk, he had thrown off his melancholy and regained most of his fiery enthusiasm. “So, what’re we gonna do?! I say we bust in!”
“Hopefully we won’t need to do anything so drastic.” IRyS said. She walked forward and rapped on the crude door placed at the front of the cave. Soon a slit in the wall was pulled back and the upper half of a prepubescent face peered through.
“…What’s a big kid doing here? What do you want?”
“Hi,” IRyS responded, “Is there a Shark in there?”
The pair of eyes squinted suspiciously at her. “Maybe. What’s it to you, big kid?”
IRyS flashed what she hoped was a diplomatic smile. “I want to talk to him about some cards that may have fallen into his possession, and the fact that he’s been participating in ante duels.” Little kids usually listen to what their elders tell them, right?
The kid behind the door disappeared for a few moments, seemingly conferring with his friends. Soon he appeared again. “We’re not interested. Get lost!” Then he slammed the slit closed.
“…” IRyS stared at the closed door for a few moments. Freaking kids. She turned to her side. Yuma was looking at the closed door anxiously. Well I didn’t walk all the way here to give up that easily.
The girl reached for the doorknob and turned it, trying to open the door regardless. A muffled, “hey!” could be heard inside as the kid behind it grabbed the other side and tried to hold it closed. He had the enhanced strength of an Altered but…
I’m not going to lose to a ten-year-old. IRyS easily pushed the door open and forced herself inside. Yuma followed after her.
She looked around. The interior of the cave was a series of lightly lit rooms; judging from the duel stand in the corner it seemed to be another Duelist Kingdom battle area. The elementary gang had clearly taken it over as their own, as beanbag chairs and half-eaten food littered the ground.
At their entrance, the kids lounging around or playing on the ground had stood up. IRyS took notice of one in particular, a boy that seemed to be a year or two older than Yuma, with M-shaped purple hair and blue eyes.
“Hey!” Purple hair exclaimed, “You can’t be here!”
IRyS took notice at how the other kids in the room looked to the boy for guidance. “You must be Shark, then? I’m here to talk about some cards you’ve taken that don’t belong to you.”
“Cards…?” Shark took notice of Yuma, standing slightly beside IRyS, and scowled. “What, Yuma? You went crying to a high schooler for help? That’s weak.”
“No!” Yuma retorted, “Bullying others for their cards is what’s weak!”
“It doesn’t matter.” IRyS cut Yuma off before he could continue. “We’re here to get back his deck.”
“Oh yeah? What if I don’t want to give it? What’re you gonna do?”
IRyS was not above bullying little kids. She gave him a pointed look and brandished her duel disk laden wrist.
Shark lost some of his bluster. “I won those cards fair and square in a duel.”
“I could beat you in a duel and take them if you’d like.”
Shark looked nervous, glancing at her duel disk and deck box. “I, uh. That’s not fair, you’re a high school student.”
“Ante duels between elementary students aren’t fair to begin with,” IRyS pointed out, “You’re still not taught how to duel properly, so some kids have an unfair advantage. Nor is betting an entire deck proper. Even in cases of an Ante, its usually a few cards at most.”
“Tch.” Shark clicked his tongue. He glanced around, looking for a way out before his expression relaxed.
“I sure would like to give you back those cards, but I’m afraid I don’t have them anymore. I handed them over to our boss.”
Yuma was surprised. “What the- Aren’t you the leader Shark?”
The bully shook his head. “Nah, our leader is way cooler. Way stronger too. Probably stronger than you.”
Yeah, sure. I think I can take a fifth grader. “Are they here?” IRyS asked, more worried about the location of Yuma’s deck.
“Yeah, just through here.” Shark led the two of them through a couple doors and into another room of the cave, a cocky swagger in his step. They entered another room, one with a small pond formed from the lake leaking inside.
“Hey boss,” Shark called towards a figure on a beanbag chair lying surrounded by tables at the center of the room. “I’ve got a couple people here to see you.”
“Huh?” A head of white hair turned towards them. Blue eyes blinked at them in surprise, before scrambling to get up. The gang’s boss was a short girl, wearing a blue hoodie over a school uniform; her Alteration a blue-scaled shark’s tail sprouting from her tailbone.
As she spotted them, she muttered with a mouth of sharpened teeth, “IRyS…?”
IRyS blinked. “You know my name? I didn’t know I was famous among the elementary kids.”
“Wha- kid?! I’m a high school student! And my name’s Gura! Gawr Gura!”
IRyS looked at her suspiciously. “Really?” With that height?
Gura seemed offended, “We’re in the same class!”
IRyS did a double take, “Wait, really?”
Gura nodded. Weird. IRyS thought. I guess I never noticed. Then again, I’m not very close with any of my classmates except Ina.
“Uhm,” Shark’s uncertain voice sounded out. “D-do the two of you know each other?”
“Not really,” Gura responded. She crossed her arms and attempted to make herself look taller. “So what’d ya want?”
IRyS briefly explained the situation. “We came to get back Yuma’s stolen deck.”
“Oh yeah? But from what I hear, he lost it fair and square.” Gura paused briefly, before picking up a pile of cards scattered haphazardly on the table next to her chair and sorting through them. The other three crowded around the table too.
“That was a fluke!” Yuma yelped.
“And it doesn’t matter anyway. Taking an entire 40-card deck is too much!” IRyS added.
“So!” IRyS slammed her hands on the table, “Hand over the cards!”
“…If he didn’t want to lose his cards, he shouldn’t have lost.” Gura muttered lowly, almost darkly. After a moment, she pulled out a group of roughly 40 cards from the pile and glanced at them. IRyS recognized the glittery sleeves that Yuma used for his deck.
After looking through them for a moment, Gura scoffed. “Really? You came all this way for these?”
IRyS frowned at her tone, “What does that mean?”
“It’s just,” she waved the cards around, “This is a bunch of junk.”
“Hey! You can insult me, but you can’t insult my cards!” Yuma protested angrily.
“I’m being honest.” Gura defended, leafing through the deck. “Look at this. Gagaga Magician, Dododo Witch. These are silly little baby cards. They’ve gotta come from a kids show or something!”
The boy in question seemed struck. “B-baby cards?”
Shark broke into laughter, “Haha! That’s a good description! It fits you Yuma, you crybaby!”
IRyS scowled at the both of them. She was starting to get angry, and she didn’t like the other high-schooler’s attitude. Senior duelists should encourage their juniors, no matter what. That was what good sportsmanship was!
She also didn’t like the way Shark was laughing at Yuma. It brought back bad memories, from before she was adopted. Not wanting to stay here anymore, IRyS leaned over and snatched the cards from Gura’s grasp.
“I’ll be taking these back.” And she glared at the white-haired girl, daring her to object.
“Whatever.” Gura waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
The horned Altered grabbed Yuma by the shoulder and turned the two of them around; they began heading out of the room. As they were leaving. IRyS felt tugging at her sleeve. She looked down to see Yuma almost pouting. “You don’t think my deck is a bunch of trash do you?”
IRyS glared over her shoulder at the others. Look what you’ve done.
“No, I don’t. No Duel Monsters cards are trash.” IRyS reassured Yuma. An idea sparked in her brain. “And I’ll prove it to you.” She turned around.
“Hey!” She called, “Short shark girl!”
“It’s Gura!” The shorter girl snapped back, facing her. “And what is it now?”
IRyS deployed her duel disk, the wrist-mounted device unfolding and expanding until it covered her entire upper arm and displaying a field of 5 monster and spell and trap zones. A screen slid up at the far edge of the device, still blank. She pointed her duel disk covered arm at the shark girl.
“I challenge you to a duel!”
“Wha-?!“ Gura frowned. “Why? You already got what you wanted.”
“Well, now I want more. I want you to take back those words you said, calling my friend’s deck here junk! And I want your little group to return every card they’ve taken to their rightful owners.”
Gura glanced down. “…The cards aside, do you want me to lie? Any halfway competent duelist could tell that deck’s nothing to write home about.”
“No, I want you to tell the truth. And I’ll give you evidence!” IRyS inserted Yuma’s 40 cards into the deck slot of her duel disk, the act causing the screen to flicker on. “I’ll duel you with this deck, and I’ll win!”
Gura stared at her with disbelieving eyes. “You want to duel me with that garbage pile of a deck? Are you serious?”
“I’m dead serious! What’s wrong? Too chicken?”
“As if!” Shark was the one who answered instead, the purple-haired boy enthusiastic. “I was able to demolish that deck. The boss could do it easy as pie! She isn’t scared of nothing!"
Gura glanced at him and sighed. “Okay, lets say I accept. What would you place on the line? I can’t be the only one giving up anything if I lose.”
“Which won’t happen!” A purple-haired annoyance interjected.
“I’ll give you whatever you want from this.” IRyS said unhesitatingly, showing everyone her deck box. “A complete Lyrilusc deck, my personal one.”
Gura stared at her, and for a moment a strange light flickered in her eyes. She seemed irked about something. “…You’re serious about this. Fine then. I accept your challenge.”
IRyS let a smile through. “Cool. Then lets duel here and now!”
The shark girl got up from her suit and brandished her own duel disk. “I’m down. Standard rules?”
After IRyS agreed, both duelists began walking to the to the center of the cave. As she walked Yuma followed, tugging on her dress again.
“A-Are you sure about this?”
She shushed him. “I know what I’m doing.”
She could prove to Yuma that his deck wasn’t trash, could show up that annoying white-haired girl, and could get the bullies to return their stolen cards at once. All she had to do was win a duel!
Not to brag, but she was one of the best duelists in her class and she had never heard of this Gura girl before, so she liked her chances. Her plan was perfect!
She stood across from Gura, who had likewise fully deployed her duel disk and inserted her own deck.
“Ready?” The shark girl asked.
“Ready.” She confirmed.
In unison, both of them pointed their duel disks at one another. Their duel disks beeped as one, a mechanical voice coming from both.
Connection Established. Entering Duel Mode.
Mentally, IRyS reached inside herself, feeling the warm psychic energy of her core thrum as it rushed towards her arm and the cards adorned there. Dimly, an indistinguishable whisper resounded for a moment before fading.
Psychic duelist detected. A-Solid Vision initialized.
New advancements in technology led to the ability for duel disks alone to create realistic life-like holograms using an Altered’s innate magic as fuel. This was called A-Solid Vision.
Waves of magical power pulsed out from the two’s duel disks and suffused the area around them. A grid of holographic lines appeared, swiftly shaping itself into the familiar shape of a Duel Monsters’ field. Each side has 5 spell/trap zones, 5 monster zones, and an extra monster zone.
Shuffling Decks. Drawing Starting Hands.
IRyS reached for her duel disk with her free hand, retrieving the five cards it dispensed.
Deciding Turn Player.
A large holographic coin appeared in the middle of the field.
“I call heads!” IRyS spoke first. Gura shrugged in acceptance.
The coin flipped end over end, landing on the grid-like field. It was heads; IRyS smiled. “I’ll go first!”
IRyS LP: 8000
Gawr Gura LP: 8000
Duel Start!
““DUEL!!””