Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Kokoro no Maho: Magic of the Heart ❯ Chapter 2: Duel Monsters and School ( Chapter 2 )

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

Chapter 2 ~ Duel Monsters and School

Sonomi woke up the next morning, feeling rested. No dreams about ancient Egypt haunted her that night, and she woke up feeling refreshed. She found her new school uniform lying on her desk and quickly made sure she packed everything in her backpack before going to the bathroom to shower and get ready for school. `I hope today will turn out well . . .' Looking at her reflection, she remembered what her aunt said the previous night. "You're a much better duelist than you think. I think what you're lacking is confidence here." Taking her brush, she slowly brushed the tangles out from her long, raven black hair. `Hmm . . . what should I do with my hair today? Maybe just leaving it like this is fine.'

"Sonomi-chan! Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming!" Running back to her bedroom for her backpack, she checks one last time her deck was in there before running to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Now, the shop doesn't open for another hour, so I can walk you to school this morning. We'll be there half an hour early, but I think you'll be okay. Besides, I've heard from some of my customers that many of the students there arrive as early as an hour before school just so they could duel each other."

"Itadakimasu!" Sonomi says before scarfing her breakfast.

"You're hungry this morning," Hinagiku replies, eating a piece of toast.

Fifteen minutes later, Sonomi and her aunt were well on their way to her new school. Sonomi paused when she saw the number of students there playing duel monsters. Of course, since Kaiba Corp. was run from Domino, everyone was dueling with the latest model duel disc that Kaiba Seto had invented.

"Wow . . .there's Kuriboh, and over there's Alligator's Sword!"

"Here, Sonomi-chan. I think you'll want this," Hinagiku replies, taking out a package from a bag she was carrying. "Call this a welcome present from me." Sonomi carefully undid the wrapping and found a brand new duel disc inside.

"Thank you Auntie Hinagiku!" Sonomi exclaims, throwing her arms around her aunt. "I'll treasure it!"

"Go on, put it on. I'm sure there's someone there who'll want to duel you," Hinagiku replies, returning the hug. "I need to get back to the shop. I'll see you after school."

"See you later!" Sonomi shouts as she eagerly walks in the school gates, putting on the duel disc. A few moments later, a guy with pointy brown hair walks up to her. From the way he wore a duel disc with a deck in it, she assumed he wanted to duel her.

"I haven't seen you here before. Are you new?"

"Yes, I am. I'm Mahoryu Sonomi. I just moved here yesterday to live with my aunt," she politely replies. "I take it you play Duel Monsters?"

"In Domino, you've got to be crazy if you don't. I'm Hiroto Honda," Honda replies. "Since my friends aren't here, why don't we duel? I'll introduce you to them when they get here. Since you're new here, you set the rules."

"Okay! We'll go by Battle City Rules, but with a twist."

"A twist?"

"Yes; it's how my best friend and I play back home. We'll take the alignment of the monsters into account. Ever played it that way?"

"A few times."

"Good, so I don't need to explain it. Alright, ready?"

"Ready." They both shot their hologram projectors into four different corners, forming an arena. "Ladies first."

Hmm . . . I know! "I play Mystical Elf (800/2000, Light) in defense mode and end my turn."

"Good monster . . ." Honda replies, looking at his hand, "I play a monster facedown and end my turn."

Excellent! "I fuse Beta the Magnet Warrior (1700/1600, Earth) with Mystical Elf for Mystical Sand (2100/1700, Shadow). Since fusion doesn't count as summoning a monster, I can also summon Faith Bird (1500/1100, Light) onto the field. I play Mountain to raise the attack power of my Faith Bird (1950/1430)! Faith Bird, attack the facedown monster!" The monster was revealed to be Turu-Purun (450/500, Aqua). "Your turn." Some of the people not dueling were now watching this duel with interest. It was not everyday that a person uses fusion without using Polymerization. In order to fuse without using the magic card, the duelist must know what monsters were compatible; otherwise, all that happens is that the previously played monster gets replaced by the monster that was just played on top of it.

"I play another facedown monster and end my turn."

Hmm . . . who to play next? I know . . . "I fuse Darkfire Dragon with Faith Bird for Crimson Sunbird (2300/1800 => 2990/2340, Pyro)! And I also play a monster facedown in defense mode. Now, Mystical Sand, attack his facedown monster!" It was the Unhappy Maiden (0/100, Light), which was quickly destroyed. "Your turn again, Honda."

"I play Ameba (300/350, Aqua) in attack mode! Attack Crimson Sunbird!" The fiery bird, which looks more like a large red chicken with even larger wings, was destroyed. (AN: Ever seen the pic for this card? It seriously looks like a chicken.)

"The monster I played last turn was Cocoon of Evolution (0/2000, Forest)! And it has now evolved into Great Moth (2600/2500, Forest)! Great Moth, attack Ameba!" The moth attacks the ameba, bringing Honda's LP down to 1750. "Now, Mystical Sand, finish him off! Attack his life points directly!" And Honda's LP counter ran down to zero. "Good duel. I won't take your rarest card; I've already got more cards than I know what to do with."

"Wow, that was some loss," a blond haired guy says, walking up to Honda.

"So you saw?"

"We all did, Honda," said a brown haired girl. Standing next to her was a boy that appeared to be no older than ten with a familiar pyramid pendant around his neck. Sonomi, however, recognized the small duelist in an instant.

"Aren't you Mutou Yuugi, winner of the Duelist Kingdom and Battle City Tournaments?" The small duelist nodded. "I'm Mahoryu Sonomi. I just moved here yesterday. My parents are archaeologists, so they're off on a dig in Egypt for several months, so they decided I should live here with my aunt."

"Yes, and these are my friends, Jounouchi Katsuya, Masaki Anzu, and Hiroto Honda, who you dueled, Bakura Ryou, and Ishtar Malik" he said.

"Nice to meet you all," she replies.

"It's not everyday I see someone fuse monsters without using Polymerization," Yuugi replies. "You must have spent hours working experimenting."

"I did," she replies, nodding. "Care for a friendly duel? My aunt gave me some cards for my birthday and I wanted to see how well they fit into my deck." Before Yuugi could respond, Kaiba walks up.

"I'll duel you. Forget those him and his loser friends," he replies, confidence and arrogance lacing his voice.

"So, I guess what they say about the head of Kaiba Corp. is right," Sonomi replies.

"And what would that be?"

"That he's a jerk who cares for no one but himself, a genius programmer, but acts like he's got one huge massive pole stuck up his ass," she replies, earning a few snickers from Jounouchi and Honda. "And I will accept your challenge. Same rules as the ones I used with Honda-san. Battle City, but with a twist. Alignment now matters. I'm sure a duelist such as yourself will know exactly what I mean. Loser forks over rarest card. And mine will be one you want. It's this." She takes the top card off her deck, revealing one of the most powerful cards in all of duel monsters.

"That's-"

"The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon." Yuugi couldn't believe what he saw.

"You have the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon?! It's one of the rarest cards ever! How did you get a hold of it?" Yuugi exclaims.

"My aunt gave it to me for my birthday. So, I'd rather win this duel and keep it."

"It doesn't matter. If you can't summon it, it's as good as mine!" Kaiba replies.

"We'll see. I'll let you cut my deck, so you know I'm not cheating." Sonomi hands Kaiba her deck after placing the rare card back in the deck. Kaiba shuffles the deck and cuts it, wordlessly returning the deck to its owner. "Ready?"

"Why don't you go first. After all, you're a girl." (AN: Both Kaiba and Yuugi don't have their God Cards at all, so Kaiba's best will still be the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. And Kaiba fans may not want to read this next bit . . . I personally don't like Kaiba all that much, so he's losing this one.)

"Don't blame me when you lose," Sonomi replies, looking at her hand. `Perfect! Thank you Minako-chan for working with me on those strategies!' "I play Castle of Dark Magic (1200/2500 => 1560/3250, Shadow) in defense mode! Its special power allows me to cover my end of the field with darkness, not allowing you to see where my monsters will be! On top of that, my castle also gets a power boost, since the field is now changed into Yami!"

"Wow, didn't that guy at Duelist Kingdom use this card?" Honda asks.

"He did; this won't be easy for Kaiba. He won't know where her monsters are coming from. And the darkness also boosts the power of magician and fiend class monsters, while weakening the power of fairy class monsters," Yuugi replies.

// Heh, I'd love to see Kaiba squirm his way out of this one, Aibou. // Yami says from his soul room, amused.

"Your move, Kaiba-san."

"I play a monster facedown in defense mode and end my turn," the CEO grudgingly replies.

'Fairy's Gift . . . Excellent!' "I play Fairy's Gift (1400/1000 => 1820/1300, Forest)! Its special power allows me to regain 1000 LP. I end my turn."

"I sacrifice my facedown monster and summon Invitation to a Daydream (1500/1800 => 1950/2340, Dreams)! Its special power puts your Fairy's Gift to sleep for one turn. Invitation to a Daydream, attack the castle!" The castle was destroyed. Kaiba smirks. "Your turn."

"You may have destroyed the castle, but I'm nowhere near done yet." Sonomi looks down at her hand. Fusion for Mystical Sand is useless for the time being. I know! "I play Swords of Revealing Light! Now you can't attack me for three turns, but that's not all! I play Cocoon of Evolution (0/2000, Forest) in defense mode! Your move, Kaiba-san."

"In exactly three turns, that cocoon will be a moth!" Yuugi exclaims.

// I've seen this combo before . . . // Yami says, half sure.

/ Really? Maybe she's from your past! / Yuugi excitedly replies.

"Gr . . . I play another monster facedown in defense mode and switch Invitation to a Daydream into defense mode as well. Your turn." The cocoon now hatched to show Great Moth (2600/2500, Forest).

'Darkfire Dragon . . . hmm . . . this could get interesting.' "I fuse Alpha the Magnet Warrior with Fairy's Gift for Mystical Sand! I play Faith Bird (1500/1100, Light) in attack mode! Attack the facedown monster!" It turned out the facedown monster was Hitotsu-me Giant (1200/1000, Fiend). "Great Moth, attack Invitation to a Daydream!" The moth made short work of the Dreams monster. "Good job, Great Moth! Your move."

"I play monster facedown in defense mode and play Change of Heart!" Great Moth migrated over to Kaiba's side of the field. "Now, Great Moth, attack Mystical Sand!" 500 LP were removed, leaving Sonomi with 4500 LP.

'Hmm . . . Cosmo Queen. In this field, she'd get a field power bonus. Let's try out that little strategy Minako-chan and I came up with.' "That's it? You haven't seen anything yet. I've drawn a good card," Sonomi replies, smirking. "I know you won't surrender, so just watch and be a good sport when you lose. I play the magic cards Change of Heart and Brain Control! I take control of both of your monsters!" The other monster was revealed to be Battle Ox (1700/100, Forest). "I now sacrifice them both to summon Cosmo Queen (2900/2450 => 3770/3185, Divine)!" All around them, the entire school stood in awe as they saw Sonomi summon Cosmo Queen. A blue-skinned female magician in long robes with her hair held up with a futuristic golden hairpin appeared on the field. "As you no doubt know, Cosmo Queen is a Magician class monster and gets a 30% field power bonus! Now, Cosmo Queen, wipe out the rest of his life points!"

"Wow, Kaiba-san lost!" someone said.

"How did she get those rare cards?"

"Good duel, Kaiba-san," Sonomi replies, smiling. "And keep your Blue Eyes. Wouldn't want to rob one of the world's best duelists of his best card."

"Wow, that was amazing!" Jounouchi exclaims. "Where did you learn to duel like that? The only one here who's ever beaten Kaiba was Yuugi! You're the second person to have ever done that!"

"I just taught myself. I also lost many duels before I really started to get a feel for deck building," Sonomi replies. "But it did help that my best friend helped me . . ." her voice trailed off as she thought about Minako-chan.

"I know what you mean," Yuugi replies. "If it weren't for them, I'd never make it through the tournaments." Just then, the bells chimed. "That's the bell. The teachers here don't like it if we're late. What class are you in?"

"Uh, 2B, I think," Sonomi replies, removing her duel disc and placing it in her backpack.

"Great! That's our class! Come with us!" Yuugi replies. (AN: I have no idea if it's accurate. Someone tell me if I'm wrong.) As she walked through the halls, whispers followed her. Everyone was whispering about how she possessed some of the rarest cards in Duel Monsters and how she managed to beat Kaiba. Some were speculating she cheated, but she was used to the whispers. Before she got the hang of the game, it used to be people whispered about how she always won without strategy, even after she beat the best duelist there, who was several years her senior. But since then, people had gotten used to her, and she was hailed as a brilliant duelist and a pretty girl. She mentally sighed as she enters the classroom and introduces herself to the teacher. She really missed her old school and its familiarity.

"Ohayo gozaimasu. I'm Mahoryu Sonomi and I just moved here yesterday," she says greeting the teacher.

"Good morning Mahoryu-san. Good duel outside this morning. Don't think I've ever seen that one summoned on the school grounds." Sonomi flushed. "Didn't realize just how many people were watching, did you? Your aunt called me, figuring you'd get yourself into a duel and would forget to come introduce yourself. Why don't you sit over there with Mutou-san and his friends? You seem to have become acquainted with him already."

"Thank you, sensei." She quickly moved to the seat the teacher directed her to and got out her notebook and pencils.

"Class, we have a new student joining us just this year. I believe most of you know whom I'm referring to, no thanks to her display of Duel Monsters skills this morning." Sonomi flushed again as she stood up. "This is Mahoryu Sonomi. Now then, I will begin with role call and get on with today's lesson."