[closed] Another 'coming of age' episode involving card games

[pintsizeduelist]

Who: Yuugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba
What: The day after Kaiba's raeg entry. Kaiba's pissed at Yuugi. Yuugi makes a perfect portable punching bag. How do they reach a resolution? By playing a children's card game!
When: 11am today.
Where: Carpal Tunnel Arcade, and then to a nearby park for EPIC DUELING.
Warnings: Kaiba anger, seizure inducing holograms

Comments

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba never slept on a good day. On a bad one? He had been pacing the arcade and roaming the island all night, too angry at Yuugi and himself to focus. Before returning to the arcade after his roaming, he picked the lock of Usagi's house (thankfully not running into Atem or Yuugi himself) to take a quick shower. It wasn't long after he returned from the house that Yuugi entered his store front.

From his position in the back office, Kaiba could hear the other clearly. It was perfect really. They could get this out of the way. He could do his penance for losing sight of his brother in the midst of competition. He might even actually not mind this duel, if only because his expectations had been suitably lowered in the previous duel. And most importantly, he could make Yuugi suffer. Anyone who dared touch anything that was left to him from his brother deserved no less.

Kaiba didn't waste time in appearing, stepping out of the arcade office with Duel Disk, deck, and the deadly expression on his face already prepared. "Just you?" He sneered, happily indulging in his crueler streak. "How disappointing. But I suppose everyone will find out the result eventually."

[pintsizeduelist]

Yuugi turned, glancing toward Kaiba as he made himself known. If Kaiba was making himself come off as more cruel and harsh, Yuugi was doing his best to come off as more... apathetic. This kid had been targeted by people who tormented him for years, so being threatened didn't phase him as much anymore. Plus... it was just Kaiba. He didn't have a Millennium item, nor was he able to go after his grandfather or anything. While Kaiba was scary while pissed... the only person the CEO could do any legitimate 'damage' to was Yuugi himself. And if he could keep it just between just those two?

He tried to straighten up, but really, force of habit and his slouch didn't let that happen for long. Even so, his height wouldn't be very intimidating regardless, and Kaiba was definitely good at making that uneasy feeling return and stay there.

"I'm leaving it up to you, Kaiba." He replied softly, managing a shrug and trying not to cringe at the way he held back on the honorific. It was... awkward. He hated being so unfriendly. "If you want the whole island to watch, they can do so through your LP. I just came to duel."

While he wouldn't have minded an audience, there was something about having Kaiba being completely pissed off at him in front of his friends that bothered Yuugi. Call it a way to try to protect the two of them, but if Kaiba really felt the need to not hold back on Yuugi at all, the small duelist would be certain to be there and take as much of it as possible. He did feel bad still, that wasn't going to change (especially since he tended to feel bad about things beyond his control anyway) but he didn't want Atem or Jounouchi or Usagi to try to 'save him' if Kaiba got out of hand.

Besides, he didn't want the distractions. He had to make this duel worth it.

[shutupandduelme]

The CEO strode past Yuugi, keeping his head high and focused straight ahead. Yuugi wasn't even worth his attention. Not while the scab had been ripped off that never healing hole in his already damaged heart, anyway.

"Come with me or run, then," Kaiba said icily as he walked out the door. "If you do not crumble from the lack of support on the way."

He didn't look back or slow his stride once until they got to the park. It was the just the easiest suitable place to get to.

[pintsizeduelist]

Yuugi followed after him, not bothering to try to quicken his stride to walk along next to him. Kaiba would probably keep walking quicker on purpose, just to stay ahead of him.

He followed after, not saying anything, though he couldn't help but manage a small smile. The other duelist hadn't changed at all, even if he was truly angry, he was still oddly calm and serious business.

Eventually, he'd decide if that was a good thing or not.

[shutupandduelme]

At a random unremarkable spot, Kaiba stopped abruptly. He turned on his heel and stared down coldly at the shorter man. His face was unreadable as always, though there was an intensity in his stare that had only ever appeared in the presence of Pegasus or his stepfather, maybe even Kia.

"Here," he said with a growl. "Do keep in mind that you asked for this. DUEL!"

He snapped his arm out as rapidly as the Duel Disk snapped together. All the while, the tension around his eyes and in his hands grew a bit more visible.

[pintsizeduelist]

What a spot it was, too. Obviously, Kaiba had picked it for a good reason. Yuugi felt cut off enough from the rest of the island to that it wasn't going to interfere, and yet... nothing was around to take away from the duel itself. He moved to stand across from Kaiba, initiating his own Duel Disk with a sharp motion of his arm as well.

No turning back now.

"Trust me, I won't forget about that! I'll go first!" With a quick motion, he drew out six cards. Since he was challenging - technically - he would go first. Lol lets pretend this makes sense And, as he expected, the start of the duel... would be rather slow. He needed to get the right cards, but he trusted that his deck would give them to him over time.

He had to believe that they would, especially now.

"I place one card face down, and set two more!" He called out, doing so and making the holograms react in kind. "Your turn!"

[shutupandduelme]

The brunet chuckled darkly before pulling what would be the first of many monsters that would just utterly destroy Yuugi's. He enjoyed every lifepoint that ticked away. If he could not apologize to his brother for his failure to keep his promises, he could take revenge for the boy.

"You're doing it again Yuugi," he mocked, just as he pulled his first Blue Eyes White Dragon. "This will be the second and final time I waste my time on you."

The Blue Eyes burst onto the field with brand new holograms. It was months, maybe a year of work that had gone into it. Every movement that made the monster look real had once been mirrored by a little dragon Yuugi had once seen hauling coffee across a counter top.

[pintsizeduelist]

It was impressive. Awe-striking, really. It was obvious which card was Kaiba's favorite, and it showed. Becoming a Blue Eyes must have been inwardly enjoyable for the CEO, and he couldn't help but smile lightly, despite the HP of his that counted down.

Then again, he wasn't making it easy, able to deflect or block most of it. Like in real life, he knew how to take a punch... or hits to his life points.

"The duel isn't over yet, Kaiba-kun!" Perhaps he forgot the threat, or did it completely intentional. Kuriboh would take the hit of the dragon, blocking the blunt force of it.. and it would only be one draw phase before his favorite card came out to play.

The Dark Magician, who was nowhere near as impressive, but as eager to duel as any other hologram. He still had trap cards face down, still had strategy.. other monsters; Silent Magician wasn't far off, neither was his Dark Magician Girl.. his magnet warriors were on hand as back-up, but considering how Kaiba dueled..

He'd continue to raise the bar, push Kaiba to attack. He wasn't holding back as much as he used to.

[shutupandduelme]

Kaiba hissed, both in anger at Yuugi's continued insistence to be friendly with him and his frustration at his tactics. He wanted Yuugi to hurt. He was a tangible enemy, unlike the one Kaiba had been fighting for so long on this Island. His dragons would be sacrificed a hundred times over if only he could score direct hits against the other duelist.

Because of that, it wasn't too hard to figure out how he was playing. Trap, magic, or pathetic monster, Kaiba was barrelling through each and every one. But as strategies failed or succeeded, and as his life points started ticking down along with Yuugi's, the brunet's fury started showing up on his face.

"Is this what you showed him in Egypt, then?" Kaiba cried after one particularly bruising loss of one of his dragons. "There's no death here, fool. I'm not going to roll over for you like him. I've broken too many promises to Mokuba already recently. I refuse to go back to him in third place!"

A spell card is placed. Enemy Controller. The Dark Magician was like a completely different monster when it was projected from Kaiba's Duel Disk. He had upgraded it too, same as most of the others that were in Yuugi's deck. Or rather, Atem's deck.

[pintsizeduelist]

"I play a spell card!" Yuugi called out, voice taking on an almost.. angry tone. Perhaps it was having Kaiba be mad at him so openly. Perhaps it was the sight of his beloved Dark Magician standing opposite him, in better graphics than he thought possible.

Or perhaps... it was the way Kaiba spoke of his duel with Atem, in Egypt. That duel meant everything. He lost so much but gained a great amount, and to hear anyone insult Atem's dueling skills. His other gave it all.. and so did he.

"Magic Dimension!" The quick play magic card was played in response to the controller, and with a fluid motion he sacrificed Silent Magician to place Dark Magician Girl onto the field, the girl ready to attack with an acknowledging glance to her male counterpart... and an added boost to her attack points.

Also, one monster was to be destroyed. Yuugi couldn't help himself. He had no choice.

"And I choose your Blue Eyes White Dragon to be destroyed!"

[shutupandduelme]

The recoil forced Kaiba to step back, though when the smoke cleared, he was smirking.

"Certainly not the first time," he said. "and likely far from the last. Try something that won't leave me standing next time."

In retaliation, his strategy for the next few turns simply revolved around throwing the Dark Magician into battle.

[pintsizeduelist]

Despite the fact that he knew how important it was to stop the attacks, it was a difficult choice to use. It was his monster Kaiba was using. His favorite. And it was the most difficult decision in the world to have it attack. It clipped off a few hundred more life points, slowly widening the gap between their life points. It became apparent how he was defending his Dark Magician Girl over his other monsters at the moment, keeping her alive as much as possible, despite the toll his life points and other monsters might have taken.

"Atem-kun was right." Yuugi stated a few turns in as he drew another card, adding it to his hand. "You haven't changed at all."

He almost left it at that. Pot of Greed drew up more cards and... finally. Something he could work with. He smiled lightly as he glanced across the field.

"There is more to dueling than just winning."

Two cards face down, and Skilled White Magician was summoned, to hang out with the Black Magician Girl on his side of the field. However, he wasn't done... though he did hesitate.

It was unavoidable, really. At least... for now.

"I'm sorry, Dark Magician.." He said quietly, before he held up a card: Mage Power.

"I attach Mage Power to Black Magician Girl, and use her to attack the Dark Magician!" The bonuses from the trap and spell cards he had face down on his side added 1500 attack points to her baseline, giving her enough to overpower the enemy controlled Magician... and hit Kaiba with the difference.

/DID YOU JUST SUMMON A BUNCH OF MONSTERS IN ONE TURN? /asspulls to be dramatic *shot*

[shutupandduelme]

"Who won and lost is all anyone ever remembers. One would think that would have sunk into your head by now," the brunet sneered, his irritation rising at that smile. Who the hell did Yuugi think he was, grinning like a fool while he was just holding on. Kaiba clenched his fist, just waiting for Yuugi to crack and make the mistake he was sure was coming...

But the only thing that came was the blowback from Dark Magician Girl's attack. Kaiba braced himself, throwing his arm up to protect his eyes as the air whipped around him, catching his hair and his coat. He wasn't done yet..but just barely.

Pressing his lips together hard, he closed his eyes and drew one more time. Yuugi wanted to waste his time continuing on about the heart of the cards? He would indulge.

"Lord of Dragons!" he barked, dropping the card he had just pulled onto the plate. "Equipped with the Flute of Summoning Dragon I set facedown!" The holograms whirred to life accordingly.

"And I use the Flute's ability to summon my other two Blue Eyes White Dragons!" he called, the appearing dragons roaring in unison with him.

THIS CARD GAME MAKES NO SENSE also ridic combos is what all main characters do in this show

[pintsizeduelist]

Well, that was one way to get Yuugi to stop smiling. His eyes widened and he stepped back, head tilting to take in the sight of not one, but two powerful, yet stunning, dragons.

One was bad enough. But two of them? At least his Dark Magician Girl was still equipped with enough attack points to survive the attack of one of them, but his Skilled White Magician wasn't.

"But however the duel changes you stays with you, regardless of winning or losing!"

However, if Kaiba was going to do what he thought he was going to do..

"I play Card Destruction! Both of us must discard our hand and draw the same amount!" Which he did, and... okay. Slightly better hand this time. "Also, since that is the third spell card, I add a third counter to Skilled White Magician, and activate his effect which allows me to tribute him to summon from my deck.. Buster Blader!"

Graphic improvements or not, the dragon slayer was not phased at all by the two dragons looming over him, once he materialized in a bright yellow glow, sword at the ready.

"Dark Magician Girl! Dark Magic Attack!"

[shutupandduelme]

"Negate attack!" Kaiba hissed, though it wasn't going to do him much good. That Buster Blader would be enough to knock out the rest of his life points. It was unlikely he would even be able to summon the Ultimate Dragon...a disgrace, when he was facing Yuugi. The tension in the CEO increased.

"Only one monster left in the draw," he murmured, though it was at a level that Yuugi would certainly be able to hear. He placed Pitch Dark Dragon out in attack mode, as well as another card face down.

Yuugi was known for irrational bouts of conscience. If he chose to delay the duel and attack the weaker monster to make the duel last longer, or to make a point.....well, he doubted even this kid would fall for it. But it was the only option he had at this point.

[pintsizeduelist]

Indeed, Yuugi caught it, hearing his last statement. Was Kaiba... giving up? The duel had been rather intense so far, but now that it was winding down.. was it really?

"My turn!" He hesitated, reached for the top card, and removed it to add it to his hand. "Draw!"

If Kaiba really had nothing.. he had to at least get his favorite card out of the graveyard before the duel ended, just in case Kaiba was setting him up for something further.

"Monster Reborn!" He called out, activated spell card rising onto the field. "Dark Magician, return!" He summoned the Dark Magician back to the field, hologram returning in place though the purple magician wasn't there for very long.

"I play Polymerization, and combine Dark Magician and Buster Blader to become the Dark Paladin!" The two monsters merged and became the one stronger spellcaster. Now, both monsters on Yuugi's side outnumbered the dragons in attack power.

Yuugi could win this, with one more word, one more gesture and call out to his monsters. However.. instead, he set another card face down, raising Dark Magician Girl's attack further.

"I end my turn."

Something didn't feel right about this. Not at all.