Introduction to Dueling 101(OPEN)

[Ryoma Kishomo]

Academy Island. Duel Academy. Academy Student. Slifer Red. Library.

"The first step to becoming the best is becoming the worst." Those were the words of Ryoma's father, Kaito, just before Ryoma left for the Academy. They still rung in his head, and Ryoma was bound to heed his father's advice. He was going to become the best, no matter what it took. Lives were at stake here...all because of his failure....

Ryoma stepped foot in the library's halls and looked around at all the books and shelves. He knew not ALL of those books could be about dueling...but at least a good sized section should be available, right? He moved from shelf to shelf, looking for the most basic of duel monster information. He would have to start from the very bottom and move his way up. He was going to act as if he'd never dueled....he was going to lose many duels....he would soak in as much information as possible....and then...he would come out on top!

He finally reached a group of shelves in the center of the library, where he found what he was looking for. He scrolled through the books until he found one that looked promising: Introduction to Dueling 101.

[Cirno Hanayuki]

Cirno had rushed into the library in the Obelisk uniform, with a squeak and was running around wildly. The librarian looked at her and, with a roll of the eyes, returned to the book that was being read. Cirno wasn't being loud. If anything, she was just running around. So there wasn't really a good reason for the librarian to stop her in the first place. She'd giggled lightly and continued to run around until she'd stopped at a certain person, noticing that he was a Slifer and that he'd picked up the "Dueling 101" book that she'd read a couple of times. She'd giggled a bit and moved towards the boy, a smile gracing her face~

"Hi there~ You look like you're reading the beginner's book~ Need any tips~? Hm~?" Cirno wasn't trying to be stuck up and snobby about her position. She genuinely wondered if there was anything that she could do to assist him with anything. She thought that, as an Obelisk, she had an obligation to assist those of lower rank than her. Was that so wrong?

[Ryoma Kishomo]

Ryoma's reading was interrupted by a young, blue-haired girl....who apparently happened to be an Obelisk Blue student. She seemed a bit hyper....and she was asking if he needed assistance. At first, he wanted to ask her to bug off. After all, he was trying to read. And her hyperness was a bit annoying while he was trying to study. Perhaps if he wasn't trying to learn right now, he might be inclined to play with her or something.

But he decided not to get upset with her, or yell at her, or kindly ask her to dismiss herself from his presence. After all, he DID come here to learn. But as of right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted her looking down on him, and although the book he was reading wasn't going to help with that....he wasn't going to add to it if he could help it.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I don't think so....at the moment, I'm just doing a bit of reading....making sure i get all the rules down and such. Being a new duelist means i need to start from the bottom and make my way up. Best to start with the basics, am I right?" He smiled at her with a kind, soft smile as he spoke, placing his finger on the right page as if to hold his place just in case he closed the book.

[Cirno Hanayuki]

Cirno listened to him and giggled, nodding in agreement with him. Of course it was good to start at the beginning, but Cirno was the type to just... jump into it~ She enjoyed learning new things and all, but she'd mostly learned all that she'd learned on her own. She'd remembered the days that she'd run Elemental Heroes and then moved on to Destiny Heroes. She'd definitely learned on her own at the time. That was probably the most interesting part to her.

"You're definitely right about that one~ But it's always fun to learn with another person, right~?" Cirno had no idea that she was annoying him and she'd settled in a chair not far from Ryoma's giggling a little as she'd looked through the cards in her deck. She'd suddenly come to the realization that she hadn't updated it at all since... well, a long time ago. Perhaps a stop to the card shop was in order. But not know. Until she had a chance to, she'd decided that it'd be nice to hand out here and have a little fun~

[Ryoma Kishomo]

She....didn't....get....the....hint. WTH? Ryoma sighed silently as she sat beside him and she began rummaging through her deck. "I guess I would have to agree with you there...." Yeah...it really was fun to learn with someone else....but usually it was more fun if that person was someone you loved. Then the two of you could enjoy everything together. He looked down at the book, his vision shifting out of focus as he seemed to be looking through the book into a different world.

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She was laying there on her bed with her arms at her sides. She looked so at peace in her deep slumber. If it weren't for the machines and IV's hooked up to her body, he would have thought she was really just asleep.

Someone tapped him on his shoulder. "Ryoma....its time to go."

Ryoma stood, still holding her lifeless hand in his own trembling hand. First, he didn't know what to say....he felt so awful. This was all his fault.....all his fault......

He clenched his hand tightly around hers and stood straighter as a realization came to him right at that moment. He looked at her closed eyelids and grit his teeth. Then he decided to make a vow to her....a vow which he would never break, even if meant his own life. "Princess Mizu.....I will become stronger...." His voice was serious, placing everything his body, mind, and soul contained into his words. "...and I WILL bring you back! This I swear!" He kissed her hand, and was led away by the bodyguard who was in charge of her hospital security.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was the last time he'd seen her....and now he was preparing himself to fight for her soul one more time. It was infuriating that he had to start from the bottom...as if he'd never dueled a duel in his life. Ryoma realized he was staring and he shook his head. There was someone still there....watching him.

Then he felt something else....like a cool breeze against his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder and saw that it was Fortune Lady Light, or Hope as he called her. She must have sensed his emotions start to fluctuate and now she was here to comfort him. He patted her spirit hand on his shoulder and turned to look at his visitor. "So, what deck do you run?"

[Cirno Hanayuki]

Cirno looked over at the boy as he seemed to be staring into his book oddly. Maybe it was something she'd said? He'd seemed to have this really sad look on his face as well. She couldn't identify why he'd have that sad face, but it'd probably been a memory of sorts. She'd had times like that too, but as of right now there was nothing that she could remember that would make her flash back to a sad point in her life.

She could remember the happy times, though...~ Like her short time with Hibana... or perhaps the night with her thief-lover. All in all, she'd had an interesting year last year and things would perhaps be even more interesting as time passed! And then she'd realized that she'd had this weird, goofy smile on her face from imagining the nights with Rubicante the demon and then the night with the pantie-thief. Yup...~ Amazing nights~

She'd returned to herself when she'd noticed that the boy had asked her a question. She'd giggled lightly and shook a finger at him, giving him a bit of a coy look. "Ah, ah, ah~ 'Name before deck' is my policy~ So let's introduce ourselves~ I'm Cirno Hanayuki~ Just Cirno is fine~ How about you?" She hadn't really had that policy before, but she'd decided that now was as good a time as ever to take it up.

[Ryoma Kishomo]

Ryoma raised an eyebrow as she shook a finger at him and childishly rebuked him for his questioning order. Regardless of how annoying she was, she was intelligent, and she did have a good point. He'd never even thought of that before. "Alright, Cirno. My name is Ryoma. Ryoma Takeda Kishomo. A pleasure to meet your acquaintance." It was awkward to be sitting down and introducing himself...but it would be even moreso if he decided to stand up right now. So he just satisfied himself with inclining his head towards her in a small bow.
Hope giggled at his ear, nearly making him jump. He'd almost forgotten she was there. "Looks like you're making a friend, Master! Congrats!" Ryoma shrugged in response.

[Cirno Hanayuki]

(Sorry for the short post. Gotta run. x x;

Cirno noticed the small jump, but decided to pay it no mind. She'd smiled and offered her deck over to him, just to show him. "It's an old deck~ E-Destiny Heroes with focus on Destiny End Dragoon and Absolute Zero~ In my opinion, those are the absolute best Hero fusions~ Now then, might I ask about your deck~?" Cirno was genuinely curious to see what Ryoma was running. After all, he was reading "Dueling 101." But, perhaps he wasn't a newbie and maybe he was just brushing up on his skills. She didn't mind either one and would have loved to offer some advice or help.

[Ryoma Kishomo]

Ryoma accepted her deck, then pulled his own out of its slot in his duel disk. One would notice that his duel disk was not of regular make, and certainly was a rare kind. This disk bore the gold royal crest of Japan amidst its dark purple hues, and that in itself was sure to raise questions which he didn't want to go into. But, it had been her duel disk....and it had been her last gift to him before....before.....

He shook the memory away and handed her his deck. "Fortune Ladies, with Spirit...if you know what i mean." He smiled as he thought of the idea that he'd stumbled upon by accident. Spirit cards combined with the Fortune-driving power of Future Visions definitely provided good fun. Yamata Dragon and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi were extremely helpful, constantly either blessing his hand with new cards, or destroying his opponents hand. It was beautiful, esp when combined with his beautiful Fortune Ladies. As he handed her the deck face up, she might notice that Fortune Lady Light was at the very front, smiling as she held her staff, ready for action. That was his favorite card, hence why she was also his duel spirit.

He began sifting through the girl's deck. Impressive. It wasn't a common combo these days...but it would certainly get the job done. He had never really thought of the Hero cards before...and now he began to wonder how they might fit in with his Ladies. Every lady needs a hero, right? Certainly an idea to toy with.

[Cirno Hanayuki]

As he'd said "with Spirit", it'd made her think of the incident from last year. Duel Spirits, the souls of monsters within the cards. She'd never before seen a Duel Spirit apart from the demons, but she'd learned to accept that they existed. But what were the chances that this deck had a duel spirit attached to it, hm~? She'd giggled and looked through the deck, giving him a nod of thanks as she'd looked through it. So, it ran Spirits, which gave reason behind the title. She'd thought it was an interesting combo and seemed to enjoy it as she'd looked through it card by card, not even bothering to read their effects since she knew them already. But, beyond it all, it gave her the sense that he was no beginner to the game. Which definitely intrigued her.

"Sp, Ryoma~ This is an interesting deck idea~ Have more like it~?" She was genuinely interested now, rather than just hyper and squirrel-y. She'd sat behaved on the couch and lightly placed his cards down on the table, wondering if he'd run multiple decks and if this was just one of them. Perhaps a little satisfying of her curiosity would be nice. "I don't run any more decks than that deck, though I think I should update and maybe branch out sometime~ How about you~?"

[Ryoma Kishomo]

Ryoma sat down on the other side of the table and placed her deck on its wooden face. "No. I used to run a different deck a while ago....small warriors focused on working together to summon grand synchros...especially numerous times in one turn." He smiled slightly. "But i gave them up. This is the only deck I run now." And there was a reason for it too. But he wasn't about to go into all that right now.

"I do think i could use some upgrades for the deck though....and seeing your deck has given me a couple ideas." Right then, an idea struck him. Maybe Hope was right. Maybe he really was making a friend. Not exactly what he had planned....but perhaps it was for the better. And she wasn't that annoying....at least now that she had seemed to calm down. However, his guard was still up, and he was cautious in his next words.

"Perhaps we could make a trip to the Card shop together. You could show me around...and maybe show me some more cool ideas."