Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Judgement ❯ Learning Experiences ( Chapter 1 )

Judgement

Disclaimer: Well, this is a FAN fic right?

Summary: The Chosen bring the sinners in the Otherworld to Judgement. Now the world's best three are assigned a mission together. But the members of the Chimera Brigade are not easily subdued.

Warnings: Semi-Alternate Universe, OOC (on some parts, not all), yaoi/shounen-ai (I still can't tell the difference, gomen), angst, murder, rape, little fluffs now and then, depression, suicide and . . . I think that covers it for the moment. If you don't like, DON'T READ! Sheesh, don't come complaining to ME if you get scared easily or can't take this kind of stuff. I did my job and warned you about it.

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Chapter One: Learning Experiences

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The Chosen are a secret organisation set up worldwide to bring the Otherworld to Judgement. They are humans with varying degrees of supernatural abilities, sixth sense being the general term. Their job is to restore order to the Human World, ridding it of the evils caused by beings from the Otherworld.

Members of TC answer only to an unknown being called Gaea. Rumours are that Gaea is not even human, but no one has ever seen 'him'. Gaea selects members through an anonymous email, then through a test of their own abilities and courage through the riff between the Worlds.

TC's most outstanding recruits, Chosen at a young age, are situated across the Northern Hemisphere, where the most Otherworldly happenings occur. These members are individual fighters, without partners or assistants. The lower level recruits are given partners or teams and a grouped around the area where the better recruits are placed.

The best three Chosen are (not in any order): Kaiba Seto, Bakura Ryou and Otogi Ryuuji.

Kaiba Seto, the CEO of Kaiba Corporation in Japan and also TC's most efficient Chosen in the country, is a high school student. He is cold and calculated; not showing any mercy when on a mission and yet is very compassionate on the inside. Seto has harnessed a great sixth sense in reading people's minds and communicating telepathically, while also moving objects with just his mind. His little brother, Kaiba Mokuba, is yet to be Chosen and does not know about TC at all. Seto plans to keep it that way until his brother is Chosen.

Next is Bakura Ryou. A soft, shy young man at first glance, with his large, brown eyes and white hair to his shoulders. He is an empath, feeling others' emotions and able to use this as a medium to channel their own strengths. When he is worked up, Ryou can cause natural disasters. Extremely good at hiding his emotions, though, and his identity as a top TC agent, working as a novelist and high school student situated in Britain.

Last, but not least, Otogi Ryuuji. The American TC agent with the power to stop time and wipe away a person's memory. He works as a creator of children's games and attends high school simultaneously. Ryuuji can shatter any mental defences upon glance and can break through supernatural barriers easily. Fun-loving and sly, but takes his agent role very seriously.

These are the top three TC agents and, consequently, the main characters of this story.

They are independent agents and unused to working in teams or groups, but when a global scale mission turns up, they are forced to come together in Domino City, Japan, and form the first Elite Chosen Team. This new threat comes from the depths of the Otherworld, committing crimes, which cannot be traced. They leave an untraceable message at TC Headquarters:

Chimera Brigade.

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Domino Airport - Japan

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Unassumingly, they were just sixteen-year-olds on a student exchange trip to Japan. From one arrival terminal came a slender, white-haired youth, carrying a suitcase and a single bag with his belongings. He looked around the airport, scanning the area with his doe-shaped eyes, the corners of his pale lips twitching downwards.

Bakura Ryou was not pleased. He had been contacted by Gaea, who had immediately assigned him what was easily his hardest mission yet, only last night. On his table he had found a boarding pass and flight ticket to Japan, set to go within three hours.

So he had packed and driven off to the airport, bringing with him everything, which wasn't much. He had been moved so many times, it came to a habit only to own a few things and so he could take them all anywhere. It was also easier to keep a check on them all, in case some of it went missing.

This was one of the first lessons learnt by any TC agent. The world needed them and they could not be tardy. Failure to meet deadlines, to answer immediately to summons could cost lives. He never failed to meet a deadline and he always answered immediately to summons. He had worked for TC since he turned thirteen and Gaea knew him well as an independent worker, a silent achiever and anti-social.

Which brought him back to why he was displeased.

Gaea ordered him to go to Domino City, Japan and so he did. What really got to him was that he was expected, also, to meet up with TC's top Japanese and American agents as a team. Having done his homework, Ryou found out about his 'team'.

Kaiba Seto, prodigy of Japan, youngest CEO in the world. He was an exceptionally busy young man, what with schoolwork, running his multi-billion dollar company and being a TC agent. Yet he managed to be the best there was. Equally as busy was Otogi Ryuuji, American-born-Japanese, game creator. They all went to the same high school now and were all living at Kaiba's mansion.

"Bakura Ryou desu ka?"

The speaker was a tall young man with Copenhagen blue eyes and perfectly arranged, brown hair. He wore a dark blue trench coat, black, silk dress shirt and matching business pants with highly polished, black shoes (A/N: Duellist Kingdom clothes). Ryou recognised him.

"Hai," he replied. "Kaiba Seto desu ka?"

"Hai." Seto flashed the TC signet ring on his finger, while Ryou did the same. "We're waiting for the third person. Otogi Ryuuji."

So they waited, in total silence. Seto took this time to study his new 'partner'. Ryou was shorter than him by a head, his eyes a dark brown that looked almost black was. In contrast, he had soft, cloud-white hair falling down to his shoulders in a thick mass. He wore a striped, blue T-shirt underneath a light blue, unbuttoned, casual dress shirt and faded blue jeans (A/N: Battle City attire).

Soon there was someone else approaching them. He had long, black hair fastened in a high ponytail with a red headband and a die earring dangling from his ear. The newcomer wore a black, sleeveless shirt, blood red vest and tight black jeans. There were also an array of different ornaments on his wrists.

"I'm late, ne?" he said cheerfully. "Gomen nasai. Boku wa Otogi Ryuuji desu."

He flashed the signet ring as Seto and Ryou flashed theirs in return. It was made of titanium, light and yet hard to destroy, with the symbol of TC engraved in an ancient script on the smooth, silver surface.

"Ore wa Kaiba Seto desu."

"Boku wa Bakura Ryou desu."

"Yoroshiku Bakura-kun, Kaiba!"

"Hn."

That was Seto's reply. He was already getting impatient, with his work piling up every passing minute. Ryou only nodded wordlessly and they both followed Seto to his limousine waiting outside the building.

'These are the people I have to work with?' Ryuuji sighed.

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Kaiba estate - Domino City

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"Niisama!" a high-pitched voice yelled. "Otogi-san is being disgusting!"

Ryuuji grinned in satisfaction. The little brat had bothered him since they had arrived at the mansion; Mokuba having found him interesting and strange compared to his brother. In revenge, Ryuuji played tricks on him without the boy knowing and, when he sprung the traps, he complained.

"Otogi, this is no time to be fooling around."

"Aw, I was just getting used to my surroundings," Ryuuji replied, smirking at Seto's frown. "Don't be such a kill-joy, Kaiba. We have to get along."

"We all have work to do," Seto said coldly. "Bakura has gone out to familiarise himself with the city. Perhaps you should do the same?"

"The thing you don't know about me, Kaiba, is that I once lived here too. Before I moved to America, that is. I know my way around this town, unlike Bakura-kun, who lived in Tokyo."

Seto raised an eyebrow. He didn't like arguing with people, especially when he was already tense with his company work. A chair drifted across the room to land in front of him with a light 'thud'. Ryuuji smirked and flashed him a thumbs-up sign, moving his eyebrows up and down once.

"Nice," he complimented.

"And you were expecting -?"

"Tsk, tsk," Ryuuji tutted, reclining back on the couch. "We have an ego problem here, don't we Kaiba?"

"Perhaps."

An alarm sounded.

"Kaiba-sama, there's an alert sounding from sector B!"

Ryuuji gave a low whistle as Seto prepared himself. Mokuba had long run out of the room, too frightened to be near Ryuuji any longer.

"Are you coming?" Seto asked, turning to him.

"Of course."

The CEO had never seen Ryuuji so serious-looking before, not in their brief period of meeting. He supposed the game creator had different personalities when dealing with different situations. This was probably one of them.

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Sector B - Domino City

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Ryou saw the reflection of his opponent in the window of a nearby store, darting past him. Whipping around, he came face to face with the blood-red eyes of the vampire he had been following. The white fangs were bared at him, hissing and spitting angrily.

He reached into his belt and pulled out his pocketknife, flipping out the blade part and holding it out in front of him. If he had known he would face one of these today, he would have brought his stave. The only 'weapon' he had for self-defense was this flimsy pocketknife.

Not that he was ever this disorganised. It was just today, because he was so tired and his sixth sense was rendered temporarily useless. Nevertheless, he was thoroughly unprepared and this was a major disadvantage. The vampire was, unfortunately, a very powerful one and it didn't help that the moon was at its fullest. To be tired on today of all days!

"You are weak, Chosen One," the vampire hissed.

"Don't be so quick to judge."

"Ah, but I am not." Pale lips were twisted in a sneer. "You are weak, barely enough power to hold your own against me. I am not easily defeated."

"I'll show you just what I can do."

Ryou darted forward, knife in hand, only to have the vampire disappear from in front of him. A sharp pain on the back of his neck told him that he had just been struck. In a moment, he would be unconscious. And it happened.

"Britain's top Chosen? What has Gaea resorted to?"

He reached out and grabbed the boy's collar, hauling his body upright. Ryou sagged limply, head falling backwards, exposing his pale neck. The vampire licked his lips and prepared to feast on his prey. He knew why the boy's performance had been so poor. His fatigue clouded his sixth sense and thus rendered him defenceless against Otherworldly beings. A spectre had gotten into his power sources and drained him before their battle.

He licked his lips again. Oh well, it was the mortal's loss.

A sharp pain shot through his back. He looked down and a long, wooden stave had pierced right through his body, and his heart. With a strangled cry, he shattered into dust, dropping the boy. Ryou fell, still unconscious, until he suddenly froze in mid-air.

"There's a shadow clouding his third eye area," a crisp voice said. "It was no wonder he was so easily beaten. How pathetic."

"Let's just get him out of here."

A pair of strong arms encircled the boy's limp body and he unfroze, dropping silently into the arms. Kaiba scooped up the boy into his arms and stood, turning to face Ryuuji, who was standing a few feet away. The black-haired boy looked at Ryou in slight concern.

"He'll live," Kaiba said shortly. "We just need to get rid of the shadow."

"You don't think it's the Chimera Brigade, do you?"

"No." The CEO began walking in the direction they came from. "If it were a member of the Chimera Brigade, he would have detected us. But there may be another being around here, otherwise Bakura's powers wouldn't have been drained so thoroughly."

He looked down at the boy in his arms. Ryou was surprisingly light for a sixteen-year-old boy. It was almost as if he were anorexic or something, if he hadn't known that he was so athletic from his previous school records. He built more in height than in weight, it seemed.

But it was the shadow that disturbed him the most. He would have to deal with it when they got back and contacted headquarters.

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Kaiba Mansion - Domino City

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Ryou was put to bed. Soon after Seto and Ryuuji had contacted headquarters with a report, the CEO returned to examine the boy's condition. His face was ashen and his lips dry, breathing ragged and seemed to be sweating, though his hands were ice-cold.

"Mokuba's asleep."

Ryuuji sat down in a chair beside Seto, who was checking Ryou's pulse.

"How is he?"

"Unstable. His pulse comes irregularly, sometimes slow and sometimes fast, he keeps sweating, but he's freezing and he seems to be dehydrating."

"Do you think he got - you know?"

Seto frowned. He was sure they had gotten to the vampire before he did anything to Ryou. Unbidden, a surge of guilt from his compassionate side (A/N: * gasp! *) flooded into his chest. It was his fault they had come so late. He had been stubbornly refusing to cooperate with Ryuuji, who wanted to work together so they could get rid of the vampire. They spent so much time arguing, it took up a lot of their time getting to the place of attack.

If Ryou were attacked, it would be his fault.

"Hey, let's just check," Ryuuji reassured him, seeing the distress in his eyes.

The other nodded and leaned forward, reaching to pull down the sheets. Upon doing so, to his relief, they found no bite marks on Ryou's neck. He heaved a sigh of relief and sat back down.

"I almost caused the eternal damnation of one of TC's best," he muttered, looking down at his hands. "Perhaps I should just quit."

"Ne, Kaiba, it's just one set back. Besides, none of us knew what was going to happen. We were doing what we usually did, only that it didn't work in this case. It's time we changed our tunes. You know, kind of . . . changed our methods. We're all independent people, but seeing as we're stuck together, I suppose it's time to cooperate."

"I don't cooperate with people," Kaiba ground out.

"Yeah you do," Ryuuji insisted brightly. "Remember when we saved Ryou? We worked together. You've just shown you have a softer side."

"But before then, I was such a . . . jerk."

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Flashback - two hours ago

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"It's a vampire."

"I know that, Otogi."

"And - oh, Bakura-kun's there already."

Seto watched the map on the screen as it showed two forms. One was a flashing red figure and the other was a blue one. The red one had been selected and there was a separate window on the analysis of the entity. A rate two vampire, known for his incredible speed.

"There's something wrong with Bakura-kun."

"Concentrate on the vampire."

"But we're a team, Kaiba," Ryuuji pointed out, shifting in his seat. They were riding in the back of a limo. "Bakura-kun's possibly injured and is having trouble defending himself. We have to help him!"

"I'm not part of your so-called team! I've never had to stoop so low so as to rely on others to help me! I never needed to start from such a low level!"

Ryuuji punched him hard and fast. No one insulted him, however indirectly. As long as he felt his honour was at stake, he would defend himself. Seto blinked a couple of times before turning on him in anger.

"What was that for?" he demanded angrily.

"For being selfishly conceited! Kisama, you've got to learn to cooperate! Do you think I want to? Gaea's probably testing us you know! We Elites have never had to cooperate! We aren't team workers! But I refuse to give them the satisfaction of seeing us fall to bits because we can't work as a team!"

Silence greeted his rant. After a few moments, Seto blinked again and turned back to the screen, bringing up a window of Ryou's status. He didn't say a word, only processed the data and began analysing Ryou's current situation. Ryuuji took the CEO's silence as a sign that he was indeed correct and grinned.

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End Flashback - Present Time

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"You've learnt something, ne?" Ryuuji clapped him on the shoulder. "We both have. Team work isn't such a bad thing."

"Don't start preaching on me," Seto grumbled.

"I won't." A chuckle sounded. "Back in America, I had this friend who used to always talk about friendship and the like. Ugh, I hope never to see her again."

Seto managed a weak grin, his softer side finally coming through. He grasped Ryou's hand on top of the covers and Ryuuji covered them both with his.

"We'll show Gaea we're not only lonewolves," Ryuuji announced. Then he frowned in a confused sort of way. "Is that a word?"

"No, I don't believe so."

"Ah."

"Come on, then. Let's see if this - um, teamwork is it?" Ryuuji nodded. "Ok, let's see if this works to heal Bakura's sixth sense."

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End Chapter One

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That's how the Elite Chosen Team (ECT, as it will be referred to from now on) came to be able to cooperate. It took a near-damned experience for the most stubborn of them, Kaiba Seto, to cooperate, but it worked.

But what is the Chimera Brigade? Just how much do Ryuuji, Seto and Ryou know about them? And what about their first day of school?

Drop in for the next chapter of 'Judgement'!

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Author's notes:

Um . . . was that strange or what? I think it was strange. Personally, I was impatient with getting to the good stuff, so it might seem a bit rushed. Like Seto doesn't just cave in so easily to teamwork, but like I said - OOC, ne?

Next chapter: first day of school at Domino High, meeting Yugi-tachi. Jounouchi picks on Ryou and earns himself a black eye, courtesy of Seto. Ryuuji gets glomped by Miho and the spectre that drained Ryou makes itself known.

ENJOY!

Relinquished