Authoress Notes: (9-8-02) Okay, so I lied. My stupid 'conscious' here wouldn't shut up about this.

Sanji: C'mon! You owe it to your readers to rewrite this! Besides, isn't it one of your goals to not write anymore Mary-Sues?

Yeah…well…fine. Here it is minna. By the way, I want to send out a big thank you to Shadow Takeru for being my beta-reader! THANK YOU!!!!

All rights reserved.

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The sun was at its peak that afternoon, making it a bit too warm out for some people. The wind blew gently, counter-acting the warmth. Under the shade of a large sakura tree, Yuugi Mutou and Joey Wheeler were busy playing a game of Duel Monsters. Well, they were playing a game…

"Aw man!" Joey shouted, throwing his cards down, groaning. "I lost again!" Yuugi chuckled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself Joey! You're getting there! You just need more practice and patience!" Joey huffed, sitting back down.

"Yeah, well, with your Grandpa constantly hounding me about this, I don't know…" This made his friend laugh and he shot him a mock glare.

"Sorry Joey!" Yuugi said, noticing this, though smiling. Joey just smiled back, waving it away.

"It's okay Yug, don't worry about it. You wanna play again?"

"Sure." Gathering his deck, Yuugi shuffled his cards. After doing this, he set his deck down in its designated spot on the game mat. It was then that the wind decided to blow. "Oh no! My cards!" Scrambling to his feet, Yuugi chased after his cards that were tumbling across the grass. Joey got up to and ran to help him. Between the two, they managed to gather the cards. Shifting through his deck, Yuugi checked to make sure he had all of his cards. "Hang on, where's my Dark Magician?!" Frantic, he looked around.

"This your card?" Joey and Yuugi saw a girl walking towards them, holding a card in her hand. Handing it to Yuugi, she smiled. Yuugi took it and his eyes lit up.

"My Dark Magician! Thank you!" She chuckled.

"It's no problem. I have his sister, ya know?"

"Whose sis?" Joey asked, confused. She pointed to the card in Yuugi's hand.

"I've got the Dark Magicians sister, the Dark Sorceress."

"I've heard of that card," said Yuugi, nodding. "It's a little weaker than the Dark Magician, but it has a high defense."

"YO! ARIANNA! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" The red haired girl sweatdropped.

"Well, glad you got your card back. Jaa ne!" She smiled and waved, walking away. Joey and Yuugi saw four people waiting for the girl. One of them was a tall female who looked as though she could kick any guy's ass if they laid a finger on her. Her cropped short violet hair brought out her bright green eyes. She was dressed in black leggings and a one-strap violet tank. Around her neck was a gold chain with an amber pendant dangling from it. Next to her was a shorter girl, her dark green hair hung over her shoulders. She was giggling, her red eyes sparkling. A boy with messy blue hair with bits of violet leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing her to laugh out loud. The girl was dressed in red mini-skirt and black long-sleeve top. The boy beside her was in baggy jeans and a large black-hooded sweatshirt, his hands in the front pocket. Next to him was guy with a soft smile on his face, his brown eyes glittering. The very ends of his black hair were dyed gold and so was the long side bangs. He was dressed in khaki pants and an over-sized black long-sleeve shirt. The girl, who the two boys guessed was Arianna, was wearing black jeans, a red tube top and a black jacket over it. Around her neck, she wore a thick black cord with a strange golden pendant.

"Wonder who they are," Yuugi commented, as the girl returned to her group of friends.

"Ahh, they're a bunch of orphans. They've been wondering around the city for awhile now, making enough money to support each other," Joey explained, hands in his jean pockets. "I guess they're a family themselves. I know the guy with the blue hair. His name is Tama. I see him at times at the arcade with the other guy. His name's Chris. They also play Duel Monsters. I don't know about the Chris dude, but Tama is a damn good dueler."

"And they have no relatives to take care of them?"

"Nope." Yuugi looked at the group sympathetically. Perched on the green-haired girl's shoulder was a small cat with tan, brown and gold fur. As Arianna returned to the group, it meowed happily and jumped into her arms, purring.

"What were you doin' over there Aria-chan?" the girl with violet hair demanded.

"Chill Iris, the kid lost one of his cards and I was just returning it," she answered, petting the cat on the head. The boy, Chris, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her close.

"Well, what now?" he asked gently.

"I dunno. What do you think Em-chan?" Arianna asked, looking over at the green-haired girl. Emerald shrugged as well.

"How much cash do we have Iris?" Tama asked her.

"Enough for a couple more days."

"Then I'll go out and get us some more. Or at least some food or lodging for tonight," Chris offered. "I'm in the mood for a duel anyway."

"Let me Chris," interrupted Arianna, looking up at him. "I can get us some money quicker and easier." He smiled kindly and gave her a quick hug.

"All right. Just…be careful." Suddenly, Emerald snapped her fingers, gasping.

"Dude, Aria-chan, that guy! I recognize him!" The entire group blinked.

"You do?" questioned Arianna.

"Yeah! He's that kid who defeated Seto Kiaba!" Everyone stopped walking and glanced back. The two boys were back under the tree, dueling. They all blinked, mouths hanging open.

"You mean, that squirt over there…defeated Seto Kiaba?" Tama asked, amazed.

"Yeah!"

"Sweet!"

"Incredible!"

"Are you serious?"

"No way…"

"I'm positive that's him!" Arianna cracked her knuckles, grinning.

"Well then…I know who I'm gonna duel." Putting her hands into her jacket pockets, she began to walk back towards the two.

"Go Arianna!"

"Kick his ass!"

"You and Nitari kick serious butt!"

"Dude, look! The new bookstore opened! I need some manga!" Iris whacked Emerald over the head with her book bag.

"Idiot."

"Eh-hem, excuse me?" Joey and Yuugi looked up form their match.

"You again?" Joey asked, cocking an eyebrow. Arianna simply smiled, turning to Yuugi, fingering her pendant.

"You are Yuugi Mutou, right?" she asked him. He nodded.

"I am. What can I do for you?"

"Would you be interested in a duel?"

"Um…all right…"

"How much would you like to bet?" Yuugi blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"I asked, 'how much would you like to bet?'." Joey and Yuugi both blinked. Arianna rolled her eyes, standing straight again, hands on her hips. "Listen. Whenever I duel, I ask my opponent how much money they wanna bet on the match. If you win, you get to keep your money. If I win, I get it. We clear now?"

"And why should Yuugi bet on da match?" Joey asked, eyeing her.

"Look, the money is for me and my friends. We need it to survive, got it? I promise I won't cheat. I'm not that kind of duelist."

"Can we put this duel on hold Joey?" Yuugi asked his friend.

"You're gonna actually duel her?!" Joey asked in shock. His friend smiled, nodding.

"Hai." Arianna smiled.

"All right then! How much kid?" Yuugi dug into his pockets and pulled out his wallet.

"How about two thousand yen?" Arianna nodded.

"Okay." She pulled out her deck, fingering her pendant again. Joey collected his cards and gave the game mat to Yuugi, who placed it in between himself and Arianna. Shuffling their cards, they each took five cards.

"Duel!"

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No…I'm not even gonna bother writing their duel. I'm saving that for their next one. ^^ ~Lady Saturn aka Sanji

Beta Reader: Shadow Takeru