Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dark Dueling ❯ Demonstrative Battle ( Chapter 3 )

Dark Dueling

By FlikFreak

 

Chapter Three: Demonstrative Battle

 

~*~

 

As Yugi exited the small room where Boss had been, he was met with an impatient Jounouchi glaring at him. “What took you so long?” he asked. “I've been waiting out here for ages!”

 

“Jounouchi,” Yugi began sheepishly, “It's only been five or ten minutes.”

 

“That's not the problem,” the blonde continued, walking with his friend back to the main lobby. “What'd he do to you in there?”

 

“He asked why I was here,” Yugi replied. “Said I shouldn't be ashamed or something. He was kind of slow in getting it out, like he was trying to find the words or something…”

 

“Something about him grates for some reason if you ask me,” Jounouchi muttered, glancing at a few people passing by and gawking over their new cards. “When he was looking at me it was like he was reading my mind or something.”

 

Yugi couldn't help but agree with that. Something about Boss was very odd indeed…for one, he never revealed his face. It also didn't help that he had given Yugi that puzzle completely out of the blue. Deciding he would worry about the puzzle later, he and Jounouchi headed to the arenas to watch a few duels. “Did you pick up any information on the duels while that guy was questioning me?” Yugi asked.

 

“Only that they aren't typical duels,” Jounouchi replied. “I only know a few basic rules. In this game, the monsters act much differently than in the Duel Monsters we usually play. Beyond that, I'm not sure. Quick Matches are the event for today, so let's go see those.”

 

For being called quick matches, it took Yugi and Jounouchi a while to get to an arena. There were traditional games of Duel Monsters happening in the lobby and the smaller arenas - Duel Disks and all - but since they were so interested in the new version of the game, they headed for the first large arena they could find. Two boys that the duo vaguely recognized from school were beginning a match. A referee stepped in momentarily on the overhead screen. “This match will be judged by the beginner's quick-match rule set. The first player to destroy their opponent's monster will win the duel. Magic and trap cards of all kinds are prohibited. Monster effects are nulled. Contestants, begin match!”

 

“Duel!”

 

The crowd around the arena cheered as the duelists drew a single card each from their decks. “Who's dueling?” Yugi asked a girl next to him.

 

The girl eagerly answered. “These two are only beginners, but outside the Den they're kinda well known. The blonde haired kid on the left is Light Master Rixo. His deck specializes in Light-based monsters. That other kid is the Beastmaster Jinu.

 

 

Rixo played first, holding a card in the air. “I summon Hyozanryu!” He cried. As he did, a white glow shone from behind him, and an enormous dragon flew into the scene, sparkling in the light of the stadium. Its horns and claws glittered like gold, the rest of its body seemingly composed of pure diamond. It was indeed a majestic beast, and its high-pitch roar caused the stadium to respond with a great cheer.

 

Jinu sneered, looking at the card in his hand and nodding. “I summon Soul Tiger!” An eerie, aqua-blue mist rose from the ground, forming into the shape of a great, striped, feline beast. Before long, the monster took a more solid appearance, growing claws and fangs, its eyes glowing blood-red. A slow yet steady mist rose from its body. The crowd cheered again.

 

“Battle!”

 

A fight commenced, with the crowd cheering loudly and peering through the chain-link fence. The beautiful dragon flew into the air as Rixo threw his hands upward. Jinu waved an arm forward, and his tiger lunged toward the dragon ferociously.

 

This is the new dueling system? Yugi wondered as the tiger sent blows to the dragon, whom only raked its claws inches from its nose in return. It looks so intense…!

 

Rixo raised a firm fist into the air. “Now, Hyozanryu! Attack!”

 

The dragon roared, rising into the air and launching a beam of light at the soul tiger and demolishing it. The crowd cheered loudly, rumbling the stadium. Jounouchi fit right in, throwing a fist into the air and yelling something along the lines of “That was awesome!” (only with much more colorful language), but Yugi just stood in awe.

 

This is amazing! He thought. I can't wait for my first duel…this'll be so much fun!

 

~*~

 

Yugi and Jounouchi left the Duelist's Den that night after the closing of the duel between the two boys and headed home. As soon as Yugi made it back, he snuck through the house - careful not to wake his grandfather - and went to his bedroom, taking the golden box out of his backpack and setting it on his desk. He locked his bedroom door and rushed to his chair, slowly opening the golden box to reveal many fragments of gold inside. Taking them out, he recalled Boss's words:

 

“Inside this box supposedly lies an incredible power, but this power is split into pieces. Only when united is that strength true. If you can solve this puzzle before the tournament ends, you will be rewarded.”

 

Now, Yugi didn't care too much for what the reward was. He was, however, interested strongly in the puzzle itself. He loved games of all kinds, puzzles included. As he began to slip the pieces of gold together, he felt a strange sensation prickling up his spine that caused him to pause. For a moment, he felt like he was being watched again, but as he turned around, nothing was there. Shrugging, Yugi went back to the puzzle and continued piecing it together. It was incredibly difficult, that was true, but he remained focused. Jounouchi didn't particularly like Boss, but Yugi didn't seem to mind him…though Boss didn't seem like the kind of man to disappoint.

 

After a while, Yugi found that none of the pieces he had played with went together. Sighing, he put the puzzle back into its box, hid it deep in his backpack which he slipped under his bed, and went to sleep, completely unaware of the shadow watching him.