Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Kokoro no Maho: Magic of the Heart ❯ Chapter 1: Brand New Home ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, blah, blah, blah.

Chapter 1 ~ Brand New Home

Sonomi woke up the next morning feeling a bit depressed. She looked at the clock; it read 9 o'clock. Aunt Hinagiku would be there in a few hours to pick her up and help her move. She slowly walked over to her student desk, taking her deck out of her belt carrying case. Flipping through the cards, she realized that she had not dreamed that she now owned some of the rarest cards in all of Duel Monsters. She silently takes out one of the copies she had of Black Dragon Jungle King and slips in the Dark Magician Girl card that Minako gave her the day before. `I still have a little while . . . I think I'll call Minako on her cell.'

"Moshi moshi?" came the sleepy reply.

"Gomen Minako-chan! Did I wake you?"

"You did, but that's alright."

"Care to come with me for a walk? I still have some time before Auntie Hinagiku comes to get me," Sonomi replies.

"Alright; I'll be out in half an hour. Wouldn't miss going out on a morning stroll 'round the neighborhood with my best friend one last time."

Half an hour later, the girls were walking down the sidewalk, enjoying the sunshine, light breeze, and the fresh air. "So, Sonomi-chan, what're going to do once you get there? I mean, doesn't school start tomorrow?"

"Un!" Sonomi replies. "I think I'll get there early and see if I can't slip in a duel or two. May as well . . ." her voice trailed off.

"Don't get depressed, Sonomi! You'll make friends in no time! Besides, it's just the beginning of the year! I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."

"You're right, Minako. Hey, let's go back to my house and help me plan strategies to use with my improved deck! I've got the monsters in there, but I still need to incorporate them into my strategy."

"Good idea, now we're onto something! C'mon, I'll race ya!" Minako shouts, turning around.

"Minako-chan! No fair! Wait up!" Sonomi shouts, laughing as she runs to catch up to her friend.

Several hours later, the pair had decided that with the right hand, Sonomi could most certainly beat just about any duelist in as few as three turns. And that they were quite hungry. Their hunger was easily fixed when Sonomi's mother made the Duel Monsters fanatics a plate of sandwiches. Just as the pair finished going through the last strategy (and sandwich!), the doorbell rang. Sonomi's mother opens the door to see that it was Hinagiku.

"Sonomi-chan!"

"Auntie Hinagiku! I love the cards you gave me!"

"I most certainly agree," Minako replies. "She creamed me with them yesterday."

"Ah, you must Minako! Sonomi's told me a lot about you. Here, I have a card you might want. It should go well with your deck, especially Dark Magician Girl." Hinagiku replies, handing Sonomi a foiled card.

"The Dark Magician?!" Minako exclaims. "You're giving it to me?"

"Of course, you're Sonomi's best friend; it's my way of saying thank you. Now, I'm sure you know why the Dark Magician goes with the Dark Magician Girl, considering that Sonomi tells me you are just a big Duel Monsters fanatic as she is," Hinagiku replies.

"Yes . . . Dark Magician Girl's special ability to increase 300 points in both attack and defense when the Dark Magician is sent to the graveyard; she also gains 500 attack and defense points if Dark Magician is in my hand," Minako recites. (AN: That last bit with the 500 attack and defense point increase is actually Dark Magician Girl's special ability from DDS. Figured I'd just throw it in there anyway even though I have no idea if this is true for the card game.)

"You are a fanatic," Hinagiku replies. "Sonomi, ready?"

"Yes, I'll go upstairs and get my stuff. Care to help me, Minako?"

"Sure!" The pair rushes upstairs, slowly coming down with a series of suitcases. "Sonomi-chan, what did you put in here, bricks?"

"Nope, half of it's my clothes, but I think the other half are my spare Duel Monsters cards. My deck didn't get this good without me buying quite a few booster packs."

"No doubt," Minako replies, carefully carrying the suitcase down.

"Bye, Minako-chan," Sonomi says, giving her friend a hug. "I'll miss you! I'll keep you in mind!"

"Me too . . . remember the Dark Magician Girl! She'll always remind you that I'm always there, so duel your best out there!"

"Thanks, Minako-chan! I'll send you an email tomorrow after school! And don't you forget about Mystical Sand! We'll always stick together!"

"Be careful, Sonomi-chan! Your father and I will email you from the site everyday," her mother says as Sonomi got in the front seat next to her aunt. They loaded her suitcase in her aunt's car; Sonomi waved to her best friend and her mother as her aunt drove off.

Somewhere during the long drive to Domino, Sonomi fell asleep and had another dream.

~ In her dream ~

"Sonomi, I love you, but we can't be together! There are too many people out to kill me and for your sake, I can't let anyone know we're together!" It was the spiky-haired pharaoh again and, as usual, his entire body was shaded in black. Only his clothing, a red cloak, (AN: Is it red? Correct me if I'm wrong.) a white linen wrap around his waist, and a necklace with an upside down pyramid pendant was in color.

For the first time, she heard herself respond. "But, Yami-sama . . . but what about my feelings? I don't care if I'm in danger; I just want to be with you!"

"But don't you realize that the simple fact you're the daughter of a disgraced High Court Magician? Your revelation of your father's fraudulent ways should have sent you into the streets!"

"Can't you change that as Pharaoh? The people cannot oppose your actions!"

"I'm sorry, Sonomi, my love, but I can't. So, from this day onwards, I'm assigning you to the kitchen as a chef for Priest Seto. Do this as the last thing for me." He tilts his head up to give her a quick kiss on the lips as he swept out from the room, not looking back.

"H-hai, Yami-sama," she quietly whispers as she falls to her knees and cries.

~ End dream ~

"Sonomi-chan, Sonomi-chan!" Hinagiku says, shaking the girl awake.

"Huh?" she says, rubbing her eyes. `That dream seemed so real! What's going on?! Am I losing it, or are these memories of my past life?' Sonomi was always fascinated with the idea of reincarnation, and had read that dreams could be memories form a past life. (AN: Dunno if it's true, but I do know dreams are sometimes premonitions.)

"We're here. Welcome to your new home, Domino City! This is my shop right here," Hinagiku says, parking her car. "Why don't you take the keys and take a look inside. I live above the shop." Sonomi excitedly grabs the keys from her aunt and runs in for a look. Inside, amongst the greeting cards and figurines was a small section just for Duel Monsters. Sonomi excitedly started examining the cards on display for individual sale.

"Sugoi . . . I didn't know Auntie Hinagiku has such good cards for sale here," Sonomi mused. Among the more common cards, there was the Dark Magician, Magician of Black, Red Eyes Black Dragon, Seiyaryu, and Living Arrow.

"Good cards, aren't they?" Hinagiku says from behind.

"Wow, where did you get these?"

"I just open a few of the booster packs with every shipment. Most of the common ones just sit here, so I often throw them in with the duelists who come in here to buy the rarer cards. Since the prices aren't really set for the rarer cards, there's a lot of bargaining here. I was thinking, since you're such a fanatic, maybe you could help me run this small part of the shop."

"Really?"

"Yep, just a few days after school. I'll let you have the weekends off, unless I really need you here. And I'll also pay you $6 an hour for it."

"Thank you!"

"But promise me you'll save up that money for college, 'kay? Although with your dueling skills, I don't think you'll have to. You could just duel your way to a scholarship. Domino University has a competition once a year for scholarships. Winner gets a full ride scholarship, second and third place gets a half tuition scholarship."

"Really? But I'm going to have really tough competition. Kaiba Seto and Mutou Yuugi are the same age I am!"

"True, but Kaiba Seto also runs Kaiba Corp. He has more than enough money for college. You still have a chance. Besides, you can't possibly tell me that your birthday present didn't help you," Hinagiku replies with a smile. "I do seem to remember Minako saying you creamed her with them."

"That's true . . . but I did get lucky; I managed to draw Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and had Brain Control in my hand at the time."

"It's not all luck, my dear. You trusted your deck, didn't you? You remember what your parents told you about Duel Monsters' origins. The monsters were real at one point in time. Trust your deck and your dueling skills. You're a much better duelist than you think. I think what you're lacking is confidence here," Hinagiku replies, pointing at Sonomi's heart.

"Really?"

"Yes, now, why don't we unpack and then go somewhere for dinner?"

"Okay!"