ow the edge (open)

[blue_ice]

Who: Kaiba (blue_ice) and you!
When: One early September morning
Where: All over campus!
What: DUELS. In any and every game. Or try to talk him down from this madness, idk.
Warnings: Excessive edgy shonen rival behavior. Possibly some dark themes, will be labeled in subject lines!


Kaiba's request, in hindsight, was a foolish one. Every interaction between their worlds and this one thus far had been a disaster with unintended consequences, why would this be any different? And why would he risk his most priceless possessions this way? He could kick himself, but that's not going to save his Blue Eyes White Dragons. His hand trembles as he holds them, watching their attack and defense values slowly tick toward zero.

You are not the worthy heir we chose, says the trio of voices in his ear. Your emotions have made you weak. We seal our power from you until you prove that the spirit of a champion lurks within. Crush your foes with precision! Or are you now a coward?

No. He's no coward. Kaiba sweeps through the hallways with an icy expression, searching for prey. Any instrument they might hold for a game draws him...a deck of Fantastic Foils cards. A basketball. A chess board. A wand. Any game, anywhere...he absolutely must win. He swivels to face his chosen opponent.

"You. Duel me. Now."

Are you game? Or more inclined to tell him he's out of his mind? It's your move.

Comments

[blue_ice]

"All right."

His mind works quick, but he's careful to keep on his toes. He can tell she's no newcomer to this game...honestly, she probably has more experience than he does. It's a simple game of math, or at least it should be...but there's more to it too.

"You play often?"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba groans. Of course.

"Relax, I wasn't going to actually hit you. Here."

He tries again. Rock, his fist shaking only slightly. Try that.

[blue_ice]

"Good enough"

Kaiba sets up the board. "I'll let you pick your color. But don't take too long."

Please don't take too long. He reaches into his pocket and glances at the card in his hand, frowning at the ticking numbers.

[blue_ice]

"It was."

Kaiba stands with some effort, readying another spell. Those cuts and burns are taking their toll, and his arm hasn't quite healed yet. But if he can just take the force in her spell and turn it around, a simple inversion equation...

He goes for a simple gust of wind this time. He knows why he needs to win, but...why does she? Honor's not quite it. There's something else.

"But what about you?"

He hollers across the space over the roar in the wind, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

[blue_ice]

"Dragons have their reasons to distrust humans in this world," he mutters, though he's not entirely sure. He holds tight to Yugi's hand drawing strength, the first smile he's felt all day stretching his mouth when he looks down at the wet mop of his boyfriend's hair.

As much as he feels conflicted about his emotional weakness...he can't resist. He roughly pushes Yugi's hair out of his eyes, stealing a brief kiss before they continue on the path.

"Blue Eyes is the ultimate symbol of destruction and dominance. Her White Lightning can conquer any obstacle...except you or the pharaoh," he adds with a shake of his head. "I believed domination was the true goal for the longest time...it brought me far, further than almost anyone, but I hit my ceiling."

His ceiling was rather short, actually. He gently squeezed Yugi's hand.

"Domination was gratifying. It kept everything else at bay. But there's another reason to wield power: to protect what's yours. That's my reason to keep fighting now...for a future."

He pauses at the fork in the road. Left or right. Either way, they'll get through...though as they get closer the sky darkens and the wind howls.

"Think she'll understand?"

[blue_ice]

She's good. Kaiba mutters something under his breath, but that just fuels his determination to fight harder. He dashes forward, lunges sideways, dodges around her to the best of his ability and tries to get a little fancy with a backward throw.

So close...but he misses. Rats.

He tosses her the ball without a word, frowning as he chases her this time.

[noasark]

"Hm."

He's thrown paper.

"Best two out of three- frankly, this is faster than you harassing every student in sight; not everyone is liable to agree to a game."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba bites back a curse, flinching as the values drop even faster for a moment. He's tempted to turn and run, but...

"Fine."

This time his throw is two fingers spread, poised to slice. Scissors.

[puzzlers]

"???" He looks confused. "Really? Did... something happen..." He hadn't heard anything about humans and dragons, but, then again, it's not something he'd really been researching.

He feels his face color as Kaiba brushes aside his hair and their lips meet for the first time in what feels like forever. "But we're not an obstacle... n- not anymore, right... heh." He gives Kaiba a lopsided smile. He nods though, listening as they continue along.

"I think that's a great reason to keep fighting. It's the reason I fight. To be able to protect what means the most to me. My family and friends. My loved ones too." He smiles up at Kaiba. And for his future, obviously.

"I think she will. What you've decided to fight for... I think it's great. It's what anybody would choose to fight for and what most do, honestly. We fight for the same thing, Kaiba, and I think- hope- she'd be honored to help you reach the future you've got in mind."

[shiningkindness]

She nodded. "Um...I'll take red, I guess."

[blue_ice]

"Mmm. She may think I've dishonored myself by relying on others, but I still make my own rules. They just so happen to include you."

Kaiba slows to observe their surroundings, mindful of the creeping thorns. He sees red lights in the distance...what could they mean? Likely not anything good.

"I never got around to explaining that. In this world, dragons were originally the masters of humans. With their far superior size and power, why shouldn't we be their slaves? Our pitiful existences were solely for the purpose of serving dragonkind, or so the only dragon I've ever spoken to has told me."

And he sure sounds unhappy about that. That had been a scary few minutes.

"The humans grew to resent their oppression, and so with the help of magic they launched a sneak attack, killing most of the dragons in a desperate bid for freedom. Only a few survive. The ghost below the castle, who tried to enslave Noa and I, and another one that Spyro seems to know---who thankfully sounds far less insane."

Kaiba scoffs as the wind rises, whipping at them as if being summoned by broad wings. A prelude to a trap? "Let's just get through this and I'll make her my offer. We might be getting closer...or it might be what they want us to think."

[blue_ice]

"Then it's your move."

Kaiba folds his arms and studies the board. It's a very simple strategy, but not one he can afford to make mistakes with.

Normally he'd at least make small talk, but...with that distracted look on his face, he's not really in the mood. "And...uh. Thanks, I guess."

[replaceme]

Lady gets to her feet, but she doesn't bother with another spell just yet. "I'm not just going to hand you a win, Kaiba, that would be insulting. You have to earn it and that's exactly what I'm making you do. It's as simple as that." She shakes her head. "There is no what about me. I don't care about winning or losing this duel. It will have no effect on me." It's now that she readies a spell, but it's a ward this time... or it would be if her hand could stop shaking.

Fine. Forget it. She abandons the idea of a protection spell and decides to send the half baked shield at him as a force spell.

[hyperdrivemonalisa]

She's used to that--at least when it comes to sports. Martial arts, in competition, has a bit of that going on, after all, and in actual sports? Basketball especially? State of the game, as it were.

It's why Isabel was heavily considering bala-inlota, though she'd wanted to have a better foothold in her studies before adding sports into the mess.

But even dueling with cards was a sport of its own--and Kaiba was probably used to being faked out. So even with her skill, his greater height and reach has Isabel's shot fouled up when she goes to make it.

"You pick things up fast, I'll give you that!" Isabel said, throwing him the ball.

[noasark]

And Noa...

Is paper. "Hmn! Alright. That brings us to a tie then...Again."

JAN-KEN-PON !

[blue_ice]

Kaiba nodded and took to the court once more. He moved more confidently as the game went on, this time going for a side shot---and it rolled around the rim. He hoped.

It fell through the netting. He smiled.

"All yours!" But of course he'd be right on her heels still.

[blue_ice]

Once more. One-two...paper. Maybe this time.

[blue_ice]

"I'm no coward!"

A flare of anger bursts inside him when he hears that. Kaiba refocuses his spell on drawing energy from the shots fired at him, though he's still knocked aside. He stumbles but thrusts his wand at the sky, calling three hits from three directions toward her. Fire, lightning, wind. Dodge them all if you can, Lady.

...if he can keep standing, that is. He crouches lower for balance, preparing to dodge if necessary. He pours his burning resolve into his conjured elements, honestly forgetting about things like safety for a moment.

[replaceme]

She doesn't bother a single one of the shots and because she's already expended a dangerous amount of her energy on not only taking several direct hits, but also firing several strong spells she's knocked to the ground. Lady struggles to get up, her wand having been knocked aside. She staggers, growling under her breath. It doesn't help that it seems like she can't fight off the infection that's traveling up her arms when she's in a poor state like this. It seems like you've won, Kaiba. Congrats.

[puzzlers]

He frowns at that. "Really? I think that's just... silly. I don't think relying on others is a weakness. It takes somebody strong to be able to admit that they, themselves, have a flaw and, therefore, need to kind of, well, fill in the gaps using other people. Nobody's perfect, y'know, and to be able to finally admit that..." He trails off. "I don't know where I'd be without my friends. You only knew me briefly back then... but look how far I've come." He clenches a fist. "I never thought I'd get to this point, Kaiba, not in a million years."

"..." He blinks, surprised. "W- What?" Oh wow. Well that's definitely not the story he was expecting to hear. Yikes. "And what dragon was this? Are there anymore left? Aren't there a couple of dragon students here? Do they know about this? Seems kind of..." He makes a noise, seeming equally unhappy.

"This sounds all sorts of bad. For both sides, actually." Hm, so there are at least two dragons? "This is getting complicated..."

Yugi squeezes Kaiba's hand. "I'm sure you'll make her an offer she can't refused. She's not like those other dragons and you've already fought tooth and nail through many a tough battle. You're partners. Not enemies. Not master and servant. And we'll get through this too."

[blue_ice]

"What, that's it?"

Kaiba frowns. He glances down at the ticking cards for a few seconds, noting that they've stopped ticking down. But as the haze of battle clears his mind, what he notes even more is that Lady hasn't moved.

"...Lady?"

Curses. He'd been holding back for a reason. He rolls up his sleeves and sprints over, kneeling next to her. He looks down at her labored breath, and when he reaches to take her wrist he's startled to find that it's black. Did he do that?

He bites his lip. He's going to be in detention for the rest of his time here, isn't he? "I'll get a nurse. Hold on."

[replaceme]

Lady has taken a knee and is staring at the ground, taking a couple of uneven breathes as she tries to recollect herself. She feels sick, especially since the necrotic magic seems to be getting worse and worse. S- Shit. Lady almost doesn't notice Kaiba coming over, but as soon as she does she knocks him back, "G- Get away from me." Her voice cracks as she gets to her feet and... falls right back onto her ass. "No!" A shriek, her wand called back to her hand as several metal bars shoot up to cage the two of them in. "No... you can't... they can't help... nobody can help me..." She shakes her head.

"I did this to myself. It's not anything that you did. O- Or anybody did. I... this is just me and my... my magic..."

[noasark]

Ohoh!

[It's rock!]

There we go, two out of three then!

[That better count you stupid cards.]

[shiningkindness]

Glancing up at him, she smiled. "You're welcome."

She still didn't know what all this was about. But if it would help, then it didn't really matter.

With checkers, at least, the moves weren't all that complicated. So she moved her first piece forward.

[blue_ice]

"I didn't notice you back then, but when I look back...you held everything together through all of that. You overcame incredible obstacles, led through inspiration, and finally showed me your strengh...and no matter how many times I insulted you or pushed you away, you kept seeing right through me. We're a team now."

He gives Yugi a fond look as they tread carefully. "I'll let you know if I find out any more, but the dragons won't really talk to humans. We're relying on Spyro as a go-between. But Blue Eyes...I have to prove my worth to her somehow."

Hopefully not through a death-defying stunt, but...the wind's picking up. The red glow intensifies, and there's a roar in the distance.

"Yugi, do you feel anything? Is that Gandora or a trap?"