Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Unbelievable Connections ❯ An Agitated Seto Kaiba ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (That includes any card names I mention.) However, I DO own Marissa, Keline, Symari, and Joseph.

Chapter 10~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the naked eye, morning dawned bright and clear, but anyone with magical energy could see that darkness crept around every corner and hid in every crack of every worn building. Darkness personified by Rare Hunters secretly lurking about the city, in such a way that a duelist could never tell when and if one would suddenly strike up a duel.

Seto Kaiba trudged across the crowded streets in his usual lofty manner, Mokuba close by his side. Fresh whispers of “Look, it's Seto Kaiba himself!” or other such excited declarations flew up each time they took a step.

“Where is he…?” he mumbled to himself, glancing around at the hundreds of faces in view.

“Seto?” Mokuba spoke up, inclining his head to look at his older brother. “Did you say something?”

Kaiba transferred a piece of paper from his pocket to Mokuba's hands before answering. “I'm looking for Keline Magentos. It seems he was somehow illegally entered in my tournament.” Mokuba didn't say it, but he knew what Kaiba meant. He somehow illegally entered himself in my tournament… In order words, this Keline Magentos guy hacked into Kaiba Corps's mainframe, which was something Kaiba's pride couldn't bring himself to say.

Mokuba transferred his eyes to the paper he had been handed. It was a profile picture of a young teenager, tan skin, brown hair…Black eyes appearing to reflect mischief and malice caught the viewer's attention. Something about him told Mokuba he was up to no good. Just when Mokuba was about to return the picture, his hand brushed over a crease in the paper. In a flash he had it unfolded, revealing that it was, in reality, a printout of a page of Battle City Duelist Information.

“Eight-star duelist, too!?” the boy exclaimed in surprise. “That's impressive. But he's not nearly as good as you, Seto.” This addition brought forth a cocky smile on the CEO's face.

“That's right, Mokuba.” However, his grin did not last long. It gradually declined into a frown as its owner caught sight of an eminent group of teenagers some distance away. “Hey, you!”

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Joey finally caught up with his group of friends. After waking up late, he had proceeded to forget his deck, not realizing it until halfway down the stairs (the elevator was conveniently broken), thus requiring him to go back and get it. Huffing and puffing, he stopped running when he reached Téa's side. `Good thing they didn't run off to find duels without me,' he thought thankfully.

“Are you okay, Joey?” she asked, half-worriedly. “You look like you just ran the mile.”

“Well, how far is it to here from my apartment?” he returned, not really expecting an answer. He glanced around the collaboration and saw that Yugi, Tristan, Marissa, and Keline were standing nearby. Well, except for Keline - he was sitting sideways on his motorcycle.

“Hi, Joey,” greeted Yugi. “Are you ready for some more duels?”

“You bet I am! Just as soon as I sit down for a sec.” Joey started to take a seat right on the ground, but what Tristan said next caused him to jump back up.

“I don't think you have enough time to do that.” Tristan motioned towards his right with his head. “Look who's coming our way.” Sure enough, one important person was methodically walking towards the congregation.

“Seto Kaiba,” Keline muttered, almost sinisterly.

“Hey, you!” said person growled, lifting his finger to Keline. “I have a bone to pick with you.”

“What do you want?” the angered Joey inquired. However, Kaiba completely ignored him. Instead, he continued to “talk” with the one on the motorcycle.

“Do you, now?” Keline retorted calmly. But Yugi saw through his collected aura. It was that right hand of his again. The blood wasn't visible at first, but if you looked closely you could see the small stream of crimson running across the black leather. Another sign of this was how Keline desperately tried to conceal himself wincing.

Fortunately, Kaiba didn't seem to notice this pretense. “Talk is cheap, so I'll get to the point,” he said. “I challenge you to a duel.”

“What!?” shouted the rest of those present, minus Keline and Mokuba.

“I accept,” the former replied smugly. He started to stand up, but Marissa pushed him back.

“NO!” she objected, quite loud and upset, thus startling everyone. Then, she turned to Kaiba. “If you're going to duel someone, you're going to duel me.”

“WHAT!?” they reiterated, this time including Mokuba and Keline - as well as the challenger. At first, she didn't reply. Instead, she whispered to her boyfriend, inaudible to the others. After much protesting, she managed to convince him to sigh and reluctantly drive off. Turning back to surprised faces, Marissa raised an eyebrow.

“Now you have to duel me, Seto Kaiba,” she stated with a mixture of confidence and satisfaction. He snorted.

“You must be a fool to think you can actually beat me,” Kaiba smirked. In return, a glare formed on her usually smiling face.

“What, are you scared?” In her thoughts, she added, `Of destiny?'

Again, his smirk turned into a frown. “Never. Very well, let's get this over with.” He turned on his heels and walked a sufficient distance away, enough for an adequate playing field. Mokuba followed, but stood off to the side.

“Marissa, are you sure you're up to this?” asked Yugi, worry residing in his voice.

“Don't worry about me,” she consoled, turning to start the duel. “I can handle him.” Yugi nodded, but he knew it was not going to be as easy as she indicated it to be.

“Why did you want to duel Keline anyway, Kaiba?” Téa called.

“Oh, I'm sure you already know,” he answered, gradually becoming more irritated. “No one joins in my tournament without my permission!”

“So that's what it's all about…” Tristan spoke up, as if “that” wasn't very momentous.

“All right,” began Marissa, furrowing her brow, “Then how about we risk mine and Keline's places in the tournament, but we risk your Eg-” She instantly stopped herself, then calmly continued as if she hadn't misspoken. “Strongest card.” On the other hand, both Kaiba and Yugi picked up her mistake. Neither of them mentioned it, but they both knew what she had almost said. (A/N: Do you? *pokes reader*)

“Fine with me,” Kaiba agreed. “I'll start the duel.” And so, they both drew their first five cards. `This girl has no clue what she's up against,' he thought confidently. `Just wait until I summon Obelisk…' “Vorse Raider, in attack mode!”

`He has no idea of what he's up against,' thought Marissa, unaware of the verisimilitude between her and Kaiba's statements. The duel raged on as normal duels would, yet with neither side showing any signs of weakness. Marissa's strategies and cards were surprisingly greater than Yugi and company had expected…

“My move,” she said, slightly worried. She wasted no time in protracting the length of her draw, yet still closed her eyes as if hoping for a certain card.

Without this “certain card,” disaster would beyond doubt fall upon her as her victory was swept away with the changing winds. XYZ-Dragon Cannon lay on the field of Seto Kaiba, her prestigious opponent, while she was unfortunately without a defense. Of course, XYZ-Dragon Cannon wasn't enough to summon Obelisk the Tormentor, but that could all change with the application of one simple card…known as De-Fusion.

When the newly drawn card was right in front of her face, Marissa opened her eyes one by one. Téa could have sworn she saw her jerk back in surprise. Whether Marissa actually did recoil or not could not be discerned from her now collected expression. Somewhat by rote, her life points meanwhile increased by 500, due to Solemn Wishes being played.

“I play Bubonic Vermin, defense mode,” continued Marissa, slapping down a card, “Whose special ability allows me to summon the other two Bubonic Vermin in my deck.” Two more cards on the field. “Plus, Swords of Revealing Light!”

“Retreating to the defensive, are we?” mocked Kaiba, to which he received a snort.

“Come on, Marissa!” Joey cheered from the sidelines. “Beat the crap outta this guy!”

“I will,” she assured. “But for now, it's your move, Kaiba.”

“Don't be so confident,” said duelist warned, drawing a card from his deck. “Your little magic card won't stop me for long.” Yet, despite his proud words, he did nothing besides placing one card face down in the magic/trap card zone. `It would be useless to summon my Egyptian God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor, now,' he mused, agitated, `since I don't have De-Spell at my disposal.' As a result, it immediately moved to Marissa's turn.

“Thank you, Seto Kaiba.” He opened his mouth to reply, but she cut him short. “Your defeat starts now.” The ominous manner in which she spoke struck the onlookers with a sense of peril and finality. Suddenly they were shrouded in a figurative mist of darkness, feeling as if a thunderstorm had just begun right above their heads. However, looking up revealed a clear, blue sky.

“What on Earth are you talking about!?” The (for once) distraught Kaiba desperately tried to hide his confusion. In one swift movement, Marissa swooped up her three Bubonic Vermin and cast them into the graveyard.

“I hereby sacrifice these three creatures to summon a unparalleled force known as…

…The Winged Dragon of Ra.”