You came to the wrong part a' town [IO]

The sun's orange colors spread over the horizon as dusk neared. Eliza had spent her first half of the afternoon at a local tourney, where she had gotten to play against The Spike King himself and had a taste of the power of a god. The second half was spent with her friends after they were done with school activities and spent their free time wandering around town. At this time, she'd be waving her friends off as they all decided it was time to go home. All of them were lucky, they lived in the same general area but she was the outlier that wasn't. The schoolgirl turned her head to look at her environment. She thought she knew where she was, or at least the general direction she'd have to go to get home. The girl took a few steps and stopped in her tracks upon a certain sight. To many it'd just be a man minding his own business, leaning up against the side of a building and tinkering with a phone. But it was his outfit that had stopped Eliza.

What the adult was wearing was the picture every adult figure painted when telling her about criminals and other  kinds of people she should stay away from. His clothes are of a grungy aesthetic with worn edges and slight tears in the fabric. The girl would decide against going in that direction, turning herself around to walk the other way. She'd just have to make a slight detour to get back on track, that's all. She continued along, the the sun's setting light hitting the right side of her body. Her altered path would soon be stopped as well as she spotted another adult with much of the same looking clothing style as the last. Eliza bit the inner part of her lip and was about to take a step in another direction. That is until the stranger glanced over at her.

Her minutely distressed footsteps sprung into panicked sprinting upon being looked at. This cycle of events continued, her distrust causing her to continue farther and farther south until she ended up in an unfavorable location. Southern Keiritsu.

This change in scenery didn't motivate the schoolgirl into immediately running in the opposite direction in order to end up somewhere in the northern part of the city. It only furthered her panic as now dangerous and grungy looking individuals were much more common, along side the unsettling, industrial scenery. Eventually, her sprinting landed her in an alleyway, hiding behind a pile of concrete rubble to catch her breathe and gather her bearings. The unfortunate part about that was she had no idea where to go from here. The direction being north but she sort of needed more direction than that. Just running north from where she was now could lead her to a walled off dead end and she didn't want that.

(TWC 486)

It was here, in Southern Keiritsu, that Sameonna allowed her Rare Hunters to flourish aimlessly, and perform their bountiful daily duties. Dusk settled and seemed to pass rather quickly, minutes turning into hours that only served to darken the faltering colors of the sky. Oranges turned to purples, and reds turned to dark blues and blacks. Nightly gray clouds strewn above, only being illuminated by the rising moon. It illuminated a feint blue, allowing the spell of night to captivate the world beneath.

Sameonna would have been about three blocks away from the wandering girl, and she'd been out all day, that day specifically scheduled for her to go out and take notes on all duelists traveling within the walls of her lower city. Southern Keiritsu was Rare Hunter territory, and Sameonna worked extremely hard to achieve this. It was only fitting that she did everything truly possible in order to maintain this semblance of order, only accompanied by the chaos that would ensue from the responsibility of a Rare Hunter come nightfall. With a light temperature drop, the surrounding air became quite comfortable to breath in, and humidity almost dissipated completely.

Sammy would walk around, continuing her nightly run. After several minutes of walking, she would eventually pass by the alleyway which Eliza was now down, her position being covered up by a plethora of dumpsters and trash bags from every day living conditions. Not noticing the small child, Sameonna would walk onward, ignoring the alleyway completely, though kept her senses alert and her wits about her. As the leader of the Rare Hunters, it would have been foolish for someone in Sameonna's shoes to ever let their guard down. No less when you are the holder of an Egyptian God.

Spike King was following Sameonna around today on her runs, but his Clock and hood covered him from hair to toes, and he kept a bit of distance, but his face was covered by shadows, and his dueling arm hidden away, so his unique disk was kept hidden away, and he caught a quick glance of the person they were following, He reconized her from the local store tourney, but he wanted to see how this would go.

While in her hiding spot, Eliza would peek out to see passers by on the street. She didn't think so many people were out at night. Then again she didn't know how this part of town operated. She might as well be on the other side of the planet it was so foreign. She just needed to see an opening, a part where the street would be clear for even a second to just bolt. She'd have to think on her feet but it was better than just sitting here in the trash and rubble. That was the plan until a well dressed woman passed by the alleyway. She looked much different than all those other disgusting people, so she couldn't have anything to do with them. Eliza decided she would ask the woman for help. She began to walk out of the alley,peering out from around the corner.

"Umm...excuse me." Her high pitched voiced call from behind the woman and her companion, positioning herself so that end of her duel disc and the upper portion of her body stuck out from around the corner.

(TWC: 673)

Here Sameonna would hear the voice of a younger woman, a child in nature. She would instantly snap, looking backward to see what she had missed when she initially passed by the aforementioned alley way. It sounded like someone who needed help, possibly an individual in distress, so she took action immediately. Sameonna had a soft spot for those of the younger generation, especially because she had been dealt a bad hand at her childhood. Respectfully, Sameonna would look at Eliza, scanning her up and down briefly.

A small black over-coat covering a white semi dress, a plaid skirt, stockings, complete with the glasses. She seemed like an extremely young secretary, though Sameonna could notice something obviously different about this young girl. Unsure as to what it was, it wasn't until she noticed the duel disc strapped to the young girls arm that Sammy would finally come to the ultimate conclusion that this young lady was a duelist, and likely a rising star at that. She would take advantage of this opportunity.

Sameonna would scratch her head, only to return her hand back to her waist, her EGC Duel Disc sending off a glare as the moonlight struck its polished edging. She'd look at Spike to see what he made of the situation, but then quickly snap her eyesight back to that of Eliza. "Can we help you with something? You seem lost." Sameonna would say, noting that not that many children are really seen throughout Southern Keiritsu due to its recent highly military-oriented background. The war going on often overshadowed the necessity for childrens play, resulting in many being banned from entering Southern Keiritsu. A law Sameonna agreed with, ironically. She didn't want any child getting hurt of course.

Spike Did not know when he lost sight of the girl, but she appeared behind them it seemed, and he turned around when Sammy did, and he stayed quiet still and waited, listening to every word that was spoken, and watched every action taken, he would lean forward to Sammy and whisper to low for the girl to hear him, but Sammy could hear fine, he told her of the Card Shop Tourney and how well she did.

Eliza's lips curled into a hopeful smile as the woman responded to her call. She fully stepped out from the alley, taking a few steps toward the two adults. Her eyes shifted over to the woman's companion as he whispered in her ear. Her lips proceeded to curl inwards for a moment before returning to a neutral position. Her right hand clutched at her left forearm, rubbing it slightly with anxiety. It was clear that the girl was in a frightened state even if her demeanor was an attempt to hide it.

"Uh...Yeah. I'm lost, and I was wondering if you could help me find- or at least point me to the North Keiretsu."

After making her meek request, Eliza's eyes shifted back over the the woman's companion once again. There was something off about him. It wasn't the way he looked, he was covered completely with no physical features present. Maybe it was the way that his first response upon seeing her was to whisper into his friend's ear.

(TWC: 844)

Sameonna would look at the young woman almost cock-eyed as she asked for directions to Northern Keiritsu. Though unsurprised but her intentions because children have been evacuated from Southern Keiritsu for several years now, Sammy was quite confused as to how a Northern Keiritsu child had managed to slip into the borders of Southern Keiritsu, undetected by Sameonna's wandering hunters at that. Sameonna mostly thought the reason behind this was the Rare Hunters populace mutual understanding of Sameonna's respect for that of the children.

She'd smile as Spike whispered into her ear, having mentioned Eliza's former achievements at the Kame Game Shop Tournament. Sammy would then look at Eliza as he finished elaborating to Sameonna about the skill level of this young lady. "Well, it would appear that you are definitely in the wrong part of town.." She'd walk toward her, stopping just about three feet away. Sameonna would study Eliza, having finally recognized her, having trouble doing so from the essence of darkness having now consumed the world around them.

Sameonna would pull a small deck box out filled with select cards, and hold it out for Eliza. "Consider this not as bribery, but more of a courtesy. If you're going to walk around in my territory, at night no less, you'll need cards like these." Sameonna would hold the box out, awaiting a response from the young girl. Concurrently, the box would contain a series of useful cards, including a few extremely powerful rare cards that were almost unseen by the dueling world. Sameonna would look at Spike to see if he had anything else to say in addition to this, as she began walking back to her original location after Eliza would have taken the deck box.

Spike would Reveal himself and with a smirk he asked the girl, "With those new cards, hows about a rematch?" and he would hold up his duel disk that had his deck already in it and ready, better then taking his word for it, Sammy should witness the strategic Genius of the little girl.

The girl was at first confused about being given a box instead of directions, but her eyes lit up as she looked inside. Rare cards! Really good ones too! Stuff like this was exactly what her deck needed, a perfect balance of offensive and defensive capabilities. She was quick to add them to her own deck box in her satchel, but there was still the matter of finding out how to get home. Clasping the latch on her bag, the girl would begin to approach the woman again, until interrupted by the sudden reveal by the hooded man.

"The Spike King?" she asked in confusion.

What was he doing in this part of town, with all these criminals and thugs. Actually, that begged the question. What was this woman doing in this part of town, with all these thugs and criminals? With all these rare and powerful cards to just give out to a girl on the street? It took a moment for her to realize, but the answer came quick. She was a rare hunter. A person who shook down duelists for their cards. She didn't know how to feel about this. Her initial reaction was to push the possibility away. She could just be a very rich and confident duelist. She looked up at Spike as her presented his challenge, biting the inner parts of her lip before speaking.

"Actually..." she began to speak, looking over at the well dressed woman.

"You have these kind of cards on hand to just give away...Are you a duelist too?" she asked with a gleam of hope in her tone.

"If so, do you want to duel?"

(TWC: 1111)

Sameonna would smirk at the question. "Well, everything you see around you, the very ground you walk on, I've dueled to acquire. So I would very well hope so I'd be considered a duelist." Sammy would giggle, a thing that hadn't escaped her lips for several years. She would then revise the memories of her prior actions, just simply handing out extremely rare cards to someone she had just met. Though, in hindsight, she would realize it was a well placed move. If she was to survive, even after this encounter, she would need stronger cards. Sameonna provided her with just that.

Sammy would then look at the girl again, briefly pausing to look at Yami and back at her. "Would you fancy a duel? Perhaps your skill level is above that of the Northern Keiritsu average. Based on the evaluation Spike here has given me, you seem like quite the skilled strategist. I'd like to experience this for myself, if you'd accept. It would honor me. Sammy would proceed to smile, and bow, but then immediately prepare her duel disc, its lower bracket sliding out and exposing a larger, more extended version of the disc, allowing for monster, spell and trap card usage.

Spike was brushed off for Sammy, he backed off grumbling a bit and a bit resentful, but he stood off to the side, mostly to make sure no one else interfered

Eliza's face lit up as she was spoken to as if of high prestige. First The Spike King thought she was skilled enough to bring it up to his friend, and now she was curious enough to want to see it for herself. It was a young duelist's dream to even remotely be recognized by experts and as of this moment, it was a reality for her. Her lips formed into the widest smile, the corners of her mouth practically reaching for her ears.

"Yes! Yes I'll accept!" she giddily exclaimed.

Her left arm flicked forward, the clasp around her arm locking nice and tight for a better fit. The two halves of the field portion of her duel disc came together and re positioned properly. Electronic noises could be heard coming from it as it began shuffling her deck for her, displaying the default number of lifepoints a player started off with, and booting up the holographic projector.

It was an exciting duel to say the least, Sameonna having the upper hand for a majority of the duel only to be taken down by a Fissure Spell Card. Of course, for her, this was all par for the course. This young child was obviously gifted, whether it was destiny's gift or one inspired by her superior intellectualism in comparison to those her age. Her maturity, both in life and in the card game, has been shown here, today. Sameonna would praise Eliza on her good job.

It was then that Sameonna would pick up and gather her cards back up into a deck, and place them into her duel disc, the final card on the field being the set trap card "Magic Jammer". Pulling it from the field, she'd hope that Eliza wouldn't notice which card it was, because then that would have meant that she threw the duel. Which wasn't entirely true. After all, Eliza did extremely well and she should definitely feel like an accomplished duelist. This was Sam's plan though, and she knew exactly where she wanted to go with this.

Slipping Magic Jammer back onto the top of her deck, she'd smile at the young girl. "You did very well, Eliza. You should be proud of both the person and the duelist you have become. Should you ever need help, at all, you may contact me directly using this." She would reach into her small waist satchel, pulling from it a futurist ring with a built in transponder and location emitter software. "It would seem that Spike wasn't lying when he said you were quite the duelist." Sameonna would smile at Spike, as chances were, he had already known what happened. At this point, Sameonna was also holding two individual Rare Cards for Eliza's victory, and held them out alongside the ring.

Spike knew what happened, and as he was currently the darker personality that resided in the body, he was not happy with the results, and he would turn to face the little girl shouting to her "That was just a fluke, try your luck once more, besides, you need to avenge your loss in that card shop" Spike chuckled as he readied his duel disk

This was undoubtedly the peak of Eliza's life so far. First she had stood her own against a god card an even tamed it for a turn, and now she actually took one down. She had to stop herself from jumping up and down and shouting out of pure joy. It was so amazing, this tower tall god figure being sucked into the ground as a giant fissure opened beneath it. It would seem as though Mother Nature was on top in the spirit world. The girl would manage to calm herself down enough to be able to pay attention to what the woman had to say.

Admittedly, her victor came primarily from the new cards granted to Eliza by the older woman. If they had faced with the deck she had beforehand, her chances of winning would be rather slim. The gleam in her eyes only grew though as she was given praise, in addition to some new cards and a ring with a beautiful orange gem decorating it. Use it whenever she needed help? How would she do that, she asked herself. Upon giving the ring a proper examination, she would discover two buttons on the sides of the ring. She assumed she would be meant to press the buttons in unison if a situation where she needed such assistance were to occur, but she had no idea how the thing worked.

"Well thank you! That was really fun!" Eliza exclaimed.

In her state of bliss, she could still hear the person who had been with this woman the whole time, Spike. Who seemed to be making a really nasty accusation. Calling her hard earned victory a fluke? Just where did he get off. She turned her head to look at the older male with an angry expression on her face.

"The only thing that was a fluke was your win!" She shouted, raising a finger to point directly at Spike. The only reason he won was because of that stupid Kuriboh card. If that was anywhere else but his hand at the time, she would've won!

"But if you're so eager for a rematch..."

Her left arm rose up as her right hand worked to put all her cards back into the deck slot and then press a button to initiate the shuffling mechanism.

"I'll give you one."

(TWC: 1661)

Sameonna would watch the match unfold before her, and it would surprise her, the outcome of this. Even with Sameonna having been defeated, Eliza also actually managed to defeat Spike as well. This girl was something else, truly. It was amazing for Sameonna to witness the oncoming generation as proud and wise as they seem to be becoming. Unsure of how the situation would play out, Sameonna kept silent, though maintained a steady view on Spike to see how he would react.

Spike having lost would throw his Slifer the sky dragon at the Eliza girl, and removing his deck from the duel disk and dropped the Disk on the street and tossed his rare hunter cloak to Sammy, He did not throw the duel like Sammy did, however he lost, so he obeyed all rules and he would turn and walk away, he had to rebuild..

The girl flinched as the tossed card, her right had coming up to gently rub the area of impact with a scowl on her face. Well that was pretty rude, throwing a something at her because he lost. She watched Spike begin his exit and throw down his duel disc and everything. Yeah, he was throwing a temper tantrum. Just what did he throw at her anyway. She knelt down and picked up the card that had previously struck her, turning it over to see the card art. Her face had turned into that of pure surprise and confusion. Her head turned to look at the older woman who had been watching her and Spike duel, showing her the card.

"Did he...I mean...did he just?

She spoke in fragments, this was a huge surprise that a holder of such a legendary could would give it up so easily.

(TWC: 1811)

Sameonna would watch Spike as he wandered by her, nodding as he walked past. Sammy certainly didn't need to tell Spike what his loss meant, and he already knew from when he picked apart Oracle like a piece of popcorn. However, she was surprised to see that he threw Slifer at Eliza, as it wasn't common that someone just throws a legendary card away. Slifer the Sky Dragon... The thought would cross her mind. There was no doubt in her mind that this girl would likely become the Tiny Terror of Keiritsu. Her eyes wandered back to the young girl.

A sly smirk would form. "Yes, he did. As is per my rules, if one of my men lose a duel to another individual, they must hand their rarest card over and are then accordingly removed from the organization. Spike knows what he has to do now, and thats all that matters. You, however, just took your first step into Duelist Kingdom." Her smile would curve upwards, her cheeks forming dimples as the edging of her lips met its mark.

She'd scan the girl up and down again. "So.. Are you planning on retiring to the former life you used to live? Or would you rather have me teach you what I know so that you can one day become powerful enough to look at Slifer on an equal pedestal, in the same sense in which I look at Obelisk the Tormentor." Sameonna was rather curious about the answer the girl would give her. She knew the girl was smart enough to interpret the meaning behind her words, hidden or not.

If acceptance was of the essence, it would mean abandoning the life she had before in a sense. She would have to devote more and more time to dueling, and it would cause the initial few years to develop a hardened strain on the young lady's lifestyle due to not being capable of seeing her family for extended periods of time. Eventually, though, this was something she'd manage to get over, or bypass effectively, as her love for the game would increase as a result.

Sameonna would smile at her, trying to show the young Eliza a certain semblance of kindness, making sure she knew that Sameonna was completely neutral, and wanted no harm to come to her. "You may make this decision on your own, and of your own accord. Your answer will guide your faith, but only your legs will walk the path. Your body, merely experiencing everything thrown at it. Your mind, faltering and withering away in a guided hypocritical society. Should you say no, you may leave, and I will send directions and coordinates to Northern Keiritsu to your ring. A hologram will appear once you receive an email. Should you say yes, you will be given a Rare Hunter cloak, and I will take you under my wing." Sameonna hoped she would say yes, but, ultimately, if she did say no, no harm would come to her at all.

Chills ran down the young girl's spine as the woman spoke words of temptation in her ear. Duelist kingdom, becoming a god's equal, being taken and taught to further hone her dueling skills. It all sounded so nice. She had been having trouble getting enough notoriety to receive an invite to the tournament and even with her amazing display here, there were little witnesses to spread the word. Also according to this woman at least, she was skilled already. Imagine where she could go with someone teaching her along the way. But all of this would mean...leaving her life behind. She wouldn't see her parents, her friends, she'd abandon all previous relationships. It also meant becoming a rare hunter, the boogeyman beneath every duelists' bed.

Eliza wandered up to the duel disc Spike had dropped in the middle of the street, picking it up and giving it a look over. So many people underestimated her, sometimes she wondered if that was the reason she won half her battles. But to take on the appearance of a rare hunter...maybe she could make more of a name for herself. But still...doing so would mean to leave all she had behind.  What could this woman have to offer anyway? Eliza beat her on her fist try. She even destroyed her god card.

The little girl bit down on the inside of her lip. This sort of choice was like no other she had to make in her life. To continue her life as it was or practically start a new under new circumstances. Liza held the custom colored duel disc under her arm as she reached under the primary core of the standard duel disc on her arm. The sound of pressure being released could be heard, followed by the cylinder gripping on to her forearm loosening, allowing it to fall off her arm and onto the street.

"I..." the child spoke with hesitance in her voice.

Her mind raced with memories of the past and thoughts of the potential future. Her almost daily hangout sessions with her friends, holidays with her family. But potential glory and infamy, at the cost of her past and future. She grabbed the duel disc under her arm and slid it down her wrist, pressing the button underneath to core to tighten the grip on her arm, holding it in place.

"I accept your offer."

(TWC: 2093)