Yu-Gi-Oh: Bridging The Dimensions

Article 1 - Chapter 1 - A Mere Droplet In An Infinite Bucket

Warnings: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, it's intellectual property is owned by none other than Konami and Kazuki Takahashi. If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh - it wouldn't be as riddled with incompetant duelists, ruling errors, and ass-pull bullshit as it was. So there.

Notes: While I planned on releasing this chapter way sooner, but I inevitably 'shelved' the project because of wanting to focus on finishing my Naruto Fanfiction first. I got a few questions from readers "whatever happened to it?", and the story just reached 400 followers, so as a special treat, I figured I'd release what I had finished here and see if there was any interest in it at all. I might start writing both stories side-by-side if there is enough of a demand. (This story was in part inspired by the fanfiction: "State of the Meta" as well as the T.V. show Rick and Morty. I'd heavily recommend both to all of you. Enjoy)

-Also, still accepting Beta readers! Hit me up with a PM-

MATURE CONTENT WARNING:

The POV character's in this story are not posterboys for ethics or morality. People and characters should rightly have flaws, and using derogatory terms, scenes with illegal activities, and characters just making bad decisions in general, shouldn't be a reason in itself to discredit a story. That being said, this story has a MATURE rating for a reason. If at any time you find you can't handle it, feel free to stop reading. That being said, A single character's perspective on a subject, especially a flawed characters - doesn't revoke a stories validity and nor should it be dismissed as something that doesn't belong. Our world is grey, and as such for the sake of mirroring reality, I strongly believe that fiction should also be grey. Sensitive subjects shouldn't be avoided, they should be embraced by writers to start a dialog with readers as fellow people as a tool to come to an informed consensus on real issues going on in the world. Thank you for reading this, and Enjoy the chapter.

┬┴┬┴┤ Chapter 1 ├┬┴┬┴

┬┴┬┴┤寸法の橋渡し├┬┴┬┴

I remember back when I first looked out the window of a plane, I realized just how small I was in comparison to our vast earth. Still, our observable universe is so ludicrously larger than our world and even that can't compare to the infiniteness that is really out there.

I was so naive and comfortable until I stumbled across a great secret hidden from the masses. Something so significant it could change everyone's view of life entirely, but I guess I should start at the beginning, back to the day where everything changed for me.

...

"Gamemaster, I finished my index, can you check it for me?" I heard from the next room over while seated on a couch.

I was too engrossed with my phone to pay attention to the television displaying a college basketball game. Besides - the game was one sided and its results were already cemented in my mind. My close friend Jackson was seated beside me shuffling card sleeves compulsively while swearing under his breath.

"The Gators can't do shit without Billy Donovan. He needs to come back and lead the Gators to a few more championships." Jackson said slapping my leg to get my attention.

"I doubt he'll quit his job as a head coach in the NBA just to return to the collegiate level." I said bored.

Straining my neck and turning my head towards the kitchen behind us, I saw two familiar faces that I'd normally see at least once a day. The two at the kitchen table were cutting out paper with precision tools, making custom cards along with counterfeit 'real' cards.

"Hmm... yeah this looks fine, should— Wait, What the hell is this?" The Gamemaster Mozzie asked pointing at the index paper.

"Uhh... come on, everyone made OP decks." Steve said.

The man was getting tired of his idea's being shot down one after another. Steve had imagination, but he had trouble reigning it in under guidelines and rules.

"Mmmmmm... nope, you're 'gunna have to balance your deck a bit more before it can be accepted for the fantasy gauntlet."

Too bored with the monotony that was the power creeped to hell meta that Yu-Gi-Oh became over the years, we decided to hold a fantasy gauntlet where we created custom decks to use against each other for fun, Steve was the last one out of us four who's card index wasn't accepted yet.

"Bertram's deck is busted as hell and you even accepted it. So, What's wrong with mine?!"

My lips pulled into a crooked smile having overheard him talking about me.

"Bertram is just a strong tactician. He linked his cards together to work smoothly, but I believe there to be sufficient limitations, so it got accepted."

"Ttchh!" Steve clicked brimming with frustration.

"It doesn't matter how powerful an effect is, but with more powerful effects you need to add more limits. Limits are the most important thing for constructing a fun deck." The Gamemaster said.

"Here, what if... I just change 'this' to... something... more like 'this'… and 'this'… hmm… Yeah I'll make 'this' do 'that' instead." He said as he edited effects on a few of the cards.

"Yeah! There you go. Hell yeah, this is awesome. Okay - I approve your deck."

"Finally." Steve said in an exasperated voice.

"Alright everyone's decks are approved." The Gamemaster announced causing Jackson to turn his head back to the kitchen as well.

"Jesus, how many times did you have to change effects Stevie?" Jackson taunted.

"Like... I don't know, maybe 15 times?"

"Bro, mine got accepted on my 2nd try, you suck at this." I teased.

"Favoritism?!"

"—We should go get food before we duel." Gamemaster Mozzie said looking to the rest of us for confirmation.

The Gamemaster for our group was decided simply by luck for the day. Mozzie had successfully called the most coin flips consecutively, which was fortunate as really only Mozzie and myself were qualified to be able to do the job properly.

"I vote chipotle." Mozzie said.

"You'd go to chipotle every chance you could get. I want... Hmm, I'm thinking hold on - Gimme a second." I said diving into thought.

Anything -Anything but Chipotle again.

"Taco Bell. It has to be Taco Bell!" Steve said, leaving no room for argument while pumping his chest.

"—Taco Bell is just like a shittier chipotle, come-on my guy!" Mozzie interjected.

I didn't want to, but I had to agree with Mozzie on his opinion on food for once. Taco Bell would certainly be worse.

"—Kay, We go to chipotle a lot, but so what? It's because it's fucking delicious." Jackson said before bringing his hands to his mouth kissing them and lifting them up in a stereotypical italian fashion. "I'm down for chipotle—"

"—and it's close. Yeah okay I vote chipotle too." I said hoping to extinguish any hope Steve had to continue on his Taco Bell vendetta.

"That's majority vote, let's go." Mozzie stated with Glee.

Steve looked betrayed by the rest of us, especially by me, before begrudgingly following the rest of us out to Jackson's mustang parked along the curb in the middle of our surrounding suburbia.

Our feet fell in droves. Jackson fiddled with his keychain dongle until both his headlights and tail lights flashed with an accompanied nostalgic beep.

"If you get any dirt or mud in 'the Stang', I'll kick your ass."

The statement was undoubtedly directed towards all of us.

Steve began flexing and slapping his athletic arms in a show of strength to Jackson's challenge.

"You know what Rick James would say about your stang?" Steve asked challengingly.

"—I don't know. His ass would be walkin' to Taco Bell like your about to though."

Realizing his position, Stevie started sulking, slipping into the backseat without another word.

The ride was non eventful besides the fact we somehow managed to get stopped at EVERY red light. The strip mall's parking lot was ill designed requiring us to walk all the way around the building to get to Chipotle's entrance. The mumbles of the boys went one in one ear and out the other as I observed our surroundings.

The streetlights bathed the concrete and asphalt in a yellowish glow paired with the nearly full moon that shone down brilliantly.

This was a somewhat sketchy area and you needed to have your head on a swivel if you wanted to avoid trouble.

Looking down an alleyway, I noticed something odd. Two men in spectacularly intricate black suits with sunglasses walking away from us. Their attire was so contrasted by the trashed surroundings and graffitied brick walls with the local gang logo that I worried for them.

They seemed pretty confident to be out here like this, they might actually be the ones up to no good.

I stopped. Pressing up against the wall to avoid being spotted, I continued gazing down the alley.

"What are you doing bro? Looks like you're snooping. Better not let anyone catch you." Jackson warned without stopping.

The two suited men turned towards the grody brick wall, one fiddling with their wrist.

"Snitches get Stitches." Mozzie said with a grim smile.

The men walked closer inspecting the wall, one with a hand extended outward to lean against it.

No what?!

I rubbed my eyes as I was sure I must have been seeing things.

The two men instead of leaning against the wall disappeared into it leaving no trace of their presence behind. Despite the fact that I rubbed my eyes, and I was in a state of denial that what I witnessed could be reality, the two men were gone without a trace.

"Pick up the pace Snoopie, we aren't waiting on you." Jackson called out reaching for the door handle.

"Guys! Come here! Now!" I commanded in a stern tone.

They stopped in their tracks, confusion evident in their faces.

"Don't get involved in those rich folks bro, its trouble." Mozzie retorted half whispering.

"No its not… dude, they walked through a solid wall… like magic."

"Some Harry Potter platform nine and three quarters type shit? Bro you're trippin'." Jackson said flashing me a disbelieving look.

"No-I swear, get over here." I said ushering them over with my hands.

A few within the group sighed and grumbled dragging their feet as they made their way back. Looking down the alleyway they too noticed the men were gone.

"What'd they actually do? Parkour up the wall or something?" Jackson asked finally.

"In those suits? Pshhht - Rich folks like those would be out of their mind doing something like that." Steve said.

"So… where did they go?" Mozzie asked.

"I told you! They walked through the wall, I swear!" I said nearly not believing what I saw myself.

Quickly, I looked around to make sure no one else was around. The alleyway had no exits, you had to traverse from one end to the other besides for a single door on each side of the alleyway each locked up tight and barred off.

"Yo, be a lookout for me right quick. Shout if anyone starts coming over." I said.

Although my friends were mostly all in disagreement, They reluctantly kept an eye out for me as I made my way down the alleyway. I tiptoed trying to make the least amount of noise possible as I approached the area where I could have sworn the men disappeared into.

Reaching the area, I touched the brick wall, The hard stoney exterior with grout made me question my sanity.

"Jump right into it bro - Head first!" Mozzie said jokingly.

"Do a flip." Stevie encouraged while the rest snickered.

I slapped at the wall slowly moving further and further… and… and my hand traveled through where the wall was during the last slap. The wall looked like it was there, but my hand and arm sailed through the illusion causing me to lose balance and trip forward.

My eyes caught sight of High tech machines and a weird sign before I Instinctively crawled backwards rolling back onto my feet out of the gap I had briefly fell through.

Shoes squeaked and slapped the ground approaching me and I turned to see my friends with eyes wide in disbelief.

"No way, Call me a hairy pot-smoker but I coulda sworn he just vanished into the wall. Jack you see that?!" Mozzie said startled.

"I-I don't know what I saw…" Jackson replied eyes unable to be peeled away from the wall, his leg bouncing erratically.

Steve leaned forward sticking his arm through the space and it slipped past what should have been a completely solid wall, disappearing up to his shoulder, and then his neck into the mysterious anomaly.

He pulled his head back out with eye sparkling amazement. "You gotta see this!"

Instantly after he stopped talking, he walked through the wall disappearing fully. The image of my friend vanishing being swallowed by the wall into that unsettlingly futuristic space flashing through my mind made me more than uneasy.

I followed behind quickly, the high tech machinery and monitor displays instead of cementing my eerie sense of danger began impressing me now that I had time to fully appreciate them.

Behind me, the familiar footsteps of my other two friends joined us in the peculiar futuristic room.

"Woah! This is crazy!" Steve said in awe.

"This goes beyond crazy, its freaky. Rich folks always be hiding all their good stuff from us. I didn't even know they could make fake walls look so real." Mozzie said.

"I think we should leave. This seems like trouble." Jackson warned.

"Nobodies here dude, just us." Steve said pacing around the joint.

"Think they'll miss one of these monitors? They look like their 4k resolution or better. Whoever made this has some serious guap." I asked.

"Guap-Guap" Mozzie said dancing rubbing his index finger along his thumb.

"Money-Money!" I sung playfully still careful to survey the area.

"Take anything from people like this and they'll probably hunt you down. Why else would they make an operation like this unless they were up to no good. I bet there's cameras. LETS GO!"

Steve and Mozzie looked at each other, their smiles slowly fading as it dawned on them the brutal truth those words probably carried.

"I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired guys. Maybe they'll let us join them?" Steve announced.

It was a bad idea, my instincts agreed with Jackson saying I should run, but my innate curiosity wouldn't let me leave with so many unanswered questions.

How did they build this? Why? And where did the men run off to with such a confined room with seemingly only one entrance and exit.

The Monitors all showed random surveillance video of outside the alley as well as other weird places I didn't recognize.

"Where did the gap in the wall go?" Jackson shouted panicked.

Steve turned around flashing Jackson a cheeky grin, waltzing up to the area and entertainingly performing a breast stroke with his arms mimicking swimming through the gap, but slammed into the wall to his surprise along with everyone else's in the group.

My sense of danger was superseded by my sense of adventure. At this moment I was certain that whatever was happening, everything was going to change.

Jackson slapped furiously at the wall. Up, down, right, left, he wasn't leaving any brick untouched. Joining him, the rest of us felt around to our joined horror. Our exit was sealed.

How is this possible? The entrance was right here?!

My breathing grew erratic and I feared that I had made a terrible mistake.

I shouldn't have come here. I shouldn't have followed them. I should have just kept walking, Why did I let my curiosity drag me into this!?

"There has to be an explanation!" Mozzie said hushed with a finger at his lips, curiously looking up and around the room.

"The two guys had to get out, so there's got to be another exit anyways!" Steve said assuringly but still disturbed.

It was at that moment that my eyes fixated on the odd sign that I noticed the first time my head poked into the room.

"Dimension 3TK-241"

Dimension? What is going on here?

Underneath it was a mirror affixed to the wall, cloudy like condensation was adhered to it. It was so entirely out of place I questioned why my eyes hadn't been drawn to it sooner.

Slowly I approached the mirror with faulty footing, the boys noticing my hesitancy as I neared it making them fall silent.

I reached out to the mirror to touch its glassy exterior, but my fingertips never met with the expected refractive surface, instead the feeling like a gelatinous liquid met and let my fingers permeate through it.

The sensation filled me with equal parts terror and excitement. The earth I had largely believed to be nearly fully explored, No uncharted discoveries and true wonder would be left behind for the future. But in this instance, behind this mirror, I couldn't tell what awaited me. It was the true unknown, something I hadn't experienced for a long time.

Wiggling my fingers from the other side, I bravely gathered my breath and discarded my indecision plunging into the unknown.

My ignorance of that day has haunted me as well as filled me with a new sense of purpose. A strange fulfillment that I doubt I could've arrived at in my old life - the dead end I had arrived at before this inciting incident. There was no turning back, there was only facing forward and accepting the consequences of my decisions.

Light blinded me forcing me to block it out with a hand while my pupils constricted trying to adapt to the change in environment. A mass bumped me from behind, and turning to look, I noticed a swirling green and white glowing vortex behind Steve who knocked into me.

Above the Vortex was a floating hologram with the text "%øpk8uyk 3TK-241"

The beginning text resembled characters I've seen before, but never had I seen the actual characters. I could only compare them to what I have been exposed to before. These were new, different, but the ending 7 characters were recognizable as they were the same from the sign just above the mirror I just entered.

The unfamiliar was confusing, grasping at my heart in my chest feeling like it was being crushed by a hand.

Blood pumping through my veins in a frenzy, I spun around to soak in everything around me, lines and lines of other green and white vortex's were all lined up with different ending 7 characters.

"3TK-361, 3TL-002, 3TL-109, 3FJ- 497…"

Are all these… pathways to different dimensions?

I couldn't help it, my jaw hung open in awe and terror at what all this information I was accumulating really meant.

Still surveying the area, I spotted two figures who resembled humanoid lifeforms, but their skin was a bleached blue, and folding wrinkles covered their entire bodies. My eyes were pulled back to the familiar… well tailored black suits they both wore jump started my imagination causing it to run wild.

Those two are the men we saw aren't they?! Aliens?!

"GŽu&úúy!?" one of the monstrosities bellowed from their unhatched maw.

Survival Instincts overwrote any logical thought processes I may have been having. I had two primal options, fight or run, and fighting was unthinkable. I pressed off the floor as hard as possible, leaning forward to add distance between me and the monsters.

RUN - RUN - RUN.

After taking several steps, I was near a new portal I could leap into, perhaps a freedom away from the monsters who looked so upset at the sight of me. The portal was so close, maybe two feet, and my legs continued to pump, however stopped making contact with the marvelous pure white floor. I was floating with a strange constricting feeling wrapping around my body.

Horror enveloped my psyche. The portal only grew in distance from me, my escape plan had failed.

"AGHHHHHH!" I heard a shrill scream.

"-FUCK! I KNEW I SHOULDA' WALKED TO TACO BELL!" Steve shouted.

I felt light headed. The color of the surroundings faded. My vision distorted.

This… this is it isn't it?

┬┴┬┴┤寸法の橋渡し├┬┴┬┴

I awoke to the uncomfortable metallic chill sapping heat from my back. Slowly regaining my witt and realizing the situation I was in, I thrashed about, however my appendages were immobile.

"Calm down Homo-sapien. There is nothing you can do."

A normal looking man sporting the memorable intricate black suit and sunglasses stood in front of me without a definable expression.

"We are going to be demoted… The last time a three dimensional monkey slipped into the federation HQ the team responsible was sacked."

"-Stop, I have a plan." The 'man' in front of me said.

"We don't have the clearance to modify conscious thought within the fourth dimension. They have located a hub, we can not send them back."

"I know, which is why we paint over our mistake by injecting them into a different dimension. They won't have any crucial knowledge if we place them into a new reality. Besides, their faith can still be harvested if we choose correctly not upsetting any balances."

My brain hurt, I couldn't comprehend all the insane things I was hearing.

"Your right, besides, more than half of all homo-sapiens still have double digit intellect quotients. There feeble minds couldn't fathom the gravity their dimensions are merely fuel cells."

"Our reality… is just an alien battery?" I found myself spit out.

"Precisely Human. Your realities are simulations projected as third dimensional holograms experienced by the conscious mind located in the fourth dimension." The man responded before me.

Impossible… That can't be…

"Why are you informing the monkey? Just finish finding suitors compatible with their conscious so we can wash our hands of it."

"The conscious... My mind… resides in the fourth dimension?" I asked without regard to my safety. At this point all I could do was soak up knowledge.

"It must be a hard concept to understand monkey, since most of your species ignorantly believes that time is the fourth dimension, but such a claim is asinine. To claim that time would be so lowly as the mere 4th dimension of the nine would be idiotic."

There are… nine dimensions?

"But... what about all those portals, it seemed to be far more than nine dimensions." I asked straining to comprehend anything.

It felt like they might just be saying anything to try to confuse me. I just don't see a reason as to why? How could they possibly benefit from that?

"There are infinite amounts of parallel universes, and within each universe exists a total of nine dimensions."

"Why are you informing this monkey? Information is on the opposite spectrum of faith. An informed specimen cannot awaken faith and is thus is useless for energy production. I see no reason for it."

The energy they harvest from our battery simulation thingies are from our faith? Faith in what? God? Our reality? I'm not understanding, not at all.

It felt like I was trying to view a puzzle but only had a few of the necessary pieces. There were holes in the logic they said in perspective from my understanding.

"It is no different than talking to nothing. They can never comprehend, how many ongoing 3D simulations have stumbled upon hints of the secrets and have never progressed. Nothing it can do will change that."

"..."

"Perfect, coordinate analysis complete. 100% compatibility for all four subjects. Initializing transfer."

"What is happening to us?"

"You monkeys are being re-simulated at the cost of others. You all are being provided with a new start, which is more than you deserve you lower lifeforms. Seems with this data we might even be capable of providing each of you with concessions for our error. Rejoice in our mercy and spend your new lives in pursuit of faith."

"Whaa—" I started.

A green retina burning light beamed towards me and everything cut to black.

┬┴┬┴┤寸法の橋渡し├┬┴┬┴

Warmth enveloped me causing my wrinkled sheets to be stained of perspiration. Unwilling to drag myself out of bed after the horrifyingly odd dream I experienced, I instead laid still with my eyelids closed relaxed focusing on my breathing.

Reaching off to the side of my bed, I grasped for my water bottle groggily but knocked something metallic over instead. The crash from the floor forced me to sit up causing a wave of panic to spread over me.

This isn't my room. I've never seen this place before!

Pulling myself from this foreign bed, and scouting around the room, I quickly realized that something went terribly wrong.

My physique which had once had bulging muscles beneath the layers of fat from more recent inactivity were nowhere to be seen. Instead I felt light as a feather, and as thin as a twig.

The reflection of myself off the unpowered monitor alerted me to the fact that I was no longer the person I had once been. Blonde swept hair flowed around my head just above the ears. My now green piercing eyes stared back at me in uncertainty.

"You monkeys are being re-simulated at the cost of others." rung from inside my head.

The surrealism of the situation was maddening.

I had just replaced someone else's consciousness? What happened to them?

"Kisuke! Breakfast is almost ready! WAKE-UP!" a booming feminine voice shouted from within the home.

I had always been an only child, but now I couldn't be certain the voice was even calling out to myself. I quickly fumbled through drawers and my closet hoping to get an idea as to what my identity was.

Inside a backpack, I found a photo with the boy who formerly inhabited this body, another male, and a female, all looking to be about grade schoolers. On the back in ink was penned "Kisuke, Don't ever forget our promise. - Aketo"

It seems that I was now this person named Kisuke, and that means…

"Get your butt down here Kisuke! NOW!"

Yup… that would mean she was talking to me… I wonder what kind of people were this boy's family.

After heading downstairs, I found to my discovery the meal was oatmeal with raisins. Disgusted by the idea that I would be eating this, I still convinced myself to give it a chance.

I could very well have different taste buds correct? Perhaps this will actually taste lovely now...

Sitting down at the table, The woman behind the counter was busy scrubbing away at the counter. Her long lustrous dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and petite thin frame clued me in to who the boy probably took after physically.

"Thanks Mom." I said.

"Your welcome honey." she responded with cheer.

I looked at the spoonful of mush with dejection forcing it into my mouth, and after swallowing I let out a reflexive gag.

"Honey are you not feeling well?" The woman asked in a now concerned tone approaching me.

"Uh… I feel a little sick to my stomach, I'm not sure why." I said hoping to sidestep the real issues.

"You hardly ever get sick... I bet it's from running around wet the other night. I told you to be careful."

"Oh— I'm sorry Mom, but it's all fine, maybe I'll just skip breakfast."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, sweetie even if you aren't feeling well you should eat a little." She said encouragingly.

Looking down into the bowl of slop, I realized I'd be willing to make concessions so that wouldn't happen.

I got up and hugged my mom, which surprised her but she hugged into me back. "Are you sure everything is fine?"

"Yeah Mom, I'm just sorry you went through the trouble of cooking and I'm not going to eat it."

"Your over-reacting. you get that melodrama from your father... not that I don't appreciate it." She said as she poked my forehead.

I felt my cheeks get hot. I'm a fully grown man in this teen's body and am enjoying having an actual family this time around? Preposterous…

Despite trying to deny it, a warming sensation was spreading from my core and I fought back a gladdened smile.

This was certainly better of a home life than I received last time… but its not mine, it's Kisuke's.

I looked around the living room, gazing at the many framed pictures around the house. The sight of seeing someone else's life through the frames of these pictures to fill in the nonexistent memories which I never experienced made me feel like a villain... I invaded this family and took away the child they held so dear.

"You either die a hero or see yourself live long enough to become the villain, huh?" I whispered.

"Now your looking at our photo album? What's with the sudden interest of memory lane my boy?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, quickly turning my head to see what I could only assume was my 'father'.

He was tall, towering over me by at least a foot, his short curly brown hair merged seamlessly with his full flush beard which reminded me greatly of James Harden's in my former reality. His brown eyes sparkled with curiosity complimenting his confident grin.

"What is this?" I asked pointing at an odd picture I had been staring at in disbelief for several minutes.

The father looked shocked I would ask such a question and narrowed his eyes at me.

Oh no, did I blow my cover?

He began laughing deep from his chest, it was loud enough to fill the house with the sound. I immediately began laughing too recognizing this was my opportunity to glaze over my mistake.

"Like you could ever forget your 8th birthday at the Kiaba Dome where that king of games Yugi took on Kiaba in an anniversary match."

My heart cramped, the room seemed to sway and my legs which I was sitting on felt numb and weak. Surely if I weren't sitting down that lightheadedness would have swept me off my feet.

Wait, no. Okay calm down... perhaps they just showed a movie of—

My father turned on the television blaring the local news broadcast network which declared:

"Industrial Illusions has announced that it will be holding a seeded youth Tournament on July 28th in the Kiabadome. So-far, only one contestant is confirmed at this time Kiaba Jr. already well on his way to joining the pro circuit with his astounding semi-pro performances. Any fans of duel monsters should pre-order the tickets while they last at Industrial Illusions website!"

My eyes' widened in bafflement. I'm sure my face is betraying me right now... Has he noticed?

"-Ah, you've always loved watching duel monsters. If only you had practiced more instead of spending all your time on fan websites that could have been you."

I realized my situation, but It was absolutely unbelievable. "Impossible."

I thought back to another quote: "There are infinite amounts of parallel universes."

So… I'm to believe, that one of these parallel universes contains the universe from Yu-Gi-Oh?

"Oh come now kid, what did you think this whole time when I said that you could do whatever you set your mind to. You didn't believe me all this time?" He said starting to sound a bit offended.

Oh no, navigating around these people that have known this 'Kisuke' person their whole life and staying in character is like walking through an active minefield blindfolded. There is absolutely no reason for any increased difficulty modifiers! Curse my luck.

"N-No dad! I-I think you're right! I just... I need to put more effort into what I care about."

My now dad looked even more shocked at my statement.

I internally clicked my tongue. I don't know anything about who this damn person was. Every step further takes me deeper into the minefield. Will I ever escape?

To my surprise, a wide smile spread across my dad's face.

Just what are you grinning for?

"That's my boy!" He said while rubbing my hair with the same goofy grin on his face.

"Hey - I just combed that." I said annoyed hoping to sound like an angsty teen.

"Looks like you'll be at it again huh?!" he said before letting out a burst of boisterous laughter.

┬┴┬┴┤寸法の橋渡し├┬┴┬┴

After returning upstairs, I tore apart my room familiarizing myself with all the possessions and resources I found myself acquiring through this odd ungodly inheritance. Pulling out a heavy duty case from the closet that had to be at least half my weight, I picked through the decent lot of cards the kid had stashed away, but 'decent' referring to the number of cards and not their power or utility.

I found a deck box inside with sleeved cards, the sleeves having designs of dragons on the back. The deck itself was an odd hodgepodge of dragons and water monsters.

It seems the star of the deck was Penguin soldier running three copies, but the deck was weak, inconsistent, with no unifying theme, and didn't even have all the staples which he would need to really challenge relevant decks of... hmm... What era of Yu-Gi-Oh is this? What cards are even publicly available?

Deciding to immerse myself in this world's meta, I booted up the boy's unimpressive computer. Recognizing this type of technology was reminiscent of the early 2010's of my last world.

Curious as to what timeframe I was dropped into this Yu-Gi-Oh-Verse, I checked the on board memory for the date and time.

July 17th - 9:29am - 2022

"This kid seemed to own a fair amount of dated technology for this to be 2022, It's surprising he didn't run a Dino deck" I said cutely.

Looking at cards online on retailer websites, I pulled up multiple card shop tabs to compare prices before finding the all inclusive Database. I scrolled through the available search criteria and noticed there were none for Synchro/XYZ/Pendulums.

That would mean that the cards shouldn't go past 'Duel Terminal - Synchro Awakening!' ... but I kept finding cards that betrayed that idea.

Hmm... okay, so it looks like they have Tin Goldfish, okay, wow... and Proton Saber Tiger, weird.

Well... I guess I can organize and price check all my cards so I can see how much value worth of cards I have. That should let me estimate what kind of deck I can afford.

I looked up the prices of cards one-by-one, but the value wasn't going up by a whole lot... until I stumbled upon a sleeved "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon." The value was absurdly high, it would seem this card is highly valued by the rest of the world because of the current format of the game.

I don't have anywhere near the rest of the cards to play dragons, let alone chaos dragons.

Hmm... perhaps before trying to trade away my cards, I should ask the opinions of my parents. They may after all despise the idea of trading the cards they likely bought the boy. It's a semi-reasonable conclusion, but perhaps I can convince them the necessity behind it.

His father and mother had differing viewpoints on the idea, but after talking it over, if I wanted to trade or sell "Red-Eyes" then my father wanted to be present to make sure I didn't get scammed or robbed.

I felt anger bubbling in the back of my mind at the idea of being babied like this, but I guess I can understand my father's request especially since he still believes I am his Kisuke.

I could get all the staples and the engine I need to make the deck I had in mind if I could trade off this card. In other words, there was no question as to what I would do.

"I'm going to sell it. I want to construct the strongest deck I can. I want to be the best duelist I possibly can, and I'm willing to do anything to achieve my dream."

My mother stared at me flabbergasted. A few tears forming in her eyes before she quickly wiped it away turning around to hide. My father snaked his arm around her waist and I could hear him whisper into her ear:

"If this is what he wants, we should just support him. He'll be going off to a private duel school soon enough. He's basically a man now."

A private duel school?

"Central Duel Academy?" I asked uncertainly.

My father just stared back at me in surprise.

"Of all the times you finally decide on a school, you decide you want to go to the most prestigious and difficult school to be accepted in? I doubt you can make the cut if you applied this late." He said sternly holding eye contact with me.

"I'll make it dad… I've… I've been studying in secret all this time. I… I was afraid of voicing my goal because I wasn't sure I could do it, but now I'm certain I can do it!"

The confidence I projected was real, and fumbling about on the sentences was only due to having to navigate the tightrope between what I wanted and what they expected of me.

Tears started leaking down my new fathers face having heard this, him approaching closer to me and taking a knee, looking up at me with his pride on full display.

"I knew that you'd follow your passion one of these days. I always had faith in you my boy." He said clapping a palm over my back and embracing me.

"Promise me you'll work hard, and I'll do everything I can. Promise me." He whispered into my ear.

"I promise that I'll work harder than you ever imagined capable of me until now. I'll surpass every expectation you have. I… I want to be the best dad."

He choked on his breath a little, hugging me even tighter.

"That's all I had to hear. I'll find a way, I promise." He said softly but sternly.

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I jotted down a list of all the cards I needed to form the 40 card deck of my imagination, what my expected total cost would be, as well as multiple sources appraising the value of "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon." Best case scenario I'd still have 36,000 Ryo after the transaction.

My dad lead the way with the card in question in a hard plastic protective case to avoid damaging the mint card.

We had already been to two local card shops that either wern't willing to buy the card for fear that it was a fake, or didn't offer a good enough price for it trying to gain a steal from it. These card vendors were sharks, even more cut-throat and deceptive than the Yu-Gi-Oh player vendors that set up shop at Regional tournaments and YCS's. They made me realize how lucrative it would be to become a card merchant.

Walking alongside my father, The power doors slid apart allowing entry into the largest and most prestigious card shop in the three surrounding cities. There were floors and floors of commons displayed in glass cases along all the walls and in isles like the cards were video games.

We hadn't made an appointment, but this shop is known for accepting walk in's of any variety and making offers on just about any cards, so we continued the climb up the levels riding escalators.

Making our way to the upstairs where the card security skyrocketed and the most alluring cards were stored in a vault with proxies holding their placeholders to show what was available to the general public.

Stopping at the counter, a shrewd elder with a salt and peppered halo adorning glasses, greeted us. His pupils peering out of his narrow fixed gaze.

"How can I help you today?" The man asked ignoring me favoring to only stare at my father.

"My son wishes to sell or trade his Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.

I saw the elders eyes widen at the words of the card, but carefully he held his composure trying to hide his excitement.

"Yes, yes. It is certainly a relevant card and a valuable one at that, it's a shame the ban list targeting chaos dragons has diminished its value somewhat."

"The ban list targeted their power to swarm from the grave, making Red-Eye's even more valuable. Are you sure you know your stuff old man?" I prodded aggressively.

His posture slumped a bit after hearing my words, finally appearing to give me some respect. "Oh, why yes your correct. My mistake please forgive me." He said sounding sincere, but I saw through the veil of his facade. "May I see the card in question to accurately appraise it?"

My father retrieved it from his pocket, still in it's hard protective case, lying it on the mirror that was the countertop.

"A2 Rarity card, authenticity kit please!" He shouted causing a teen to jump out of his seat and duck into the back. Moment's later he returned carrying a white case and quickly handed it to the elder.

Opening the case, I saw an assortment of tools, the ones he reached for was a black light, a magnifying glass, and an infrared scanner.

After passing several tests he ran on my card proving its authenticity, I could tell the greed in his eye's only grew.

"Yes, yes. Indeed a fine specimen. It seems to have slight wear and tear around the corner here which depreciates the value, but I can offer you 479,000 Ryo at this time, or 525,000 worth of in store credit."

My eyes' shot down to my paper in my hand locking on the several figures I penned in haste.

"—Seems like the fairest offer we've received today Ki—"

"—No deal, the holographics on this card are the rarer of the two prints. I would be willing to part with it for 615,000 Ryo." I announced with a victorious grin at the merchant.

His calculating eyes fined locked heatedly with my own.

"While, yes this is true, the wear and tear on the corner—" He started.

"—Don't try to cheat me. That wear and tear is well under the accepted norms of "Near Mint" condition. My offer stands as I made it." I said nodding at my father.

His genuine surprise at how I was dealing with the crafty merchant nearly made me crack out into a smile, but I couldn't afford such a showing as I would lose leverage in the trade if he knew how badly I wanted to get rid of it.

"While I can't offer so much cash, I can offer you 610,000 in store credit, but that is my absolute limit." He said with a defeated sigh.

The offer was perfect, with that i should have roughly 9,000 Ryo leftover after buying all my cards here. That was acceptable.

"I agree on one stipulation…" I said ripping my appraisal values off the sheet of paper I was carrying and jamming it into my pocket. "Fetch me all of these cards on this paper and whatever is left over load onto a gift-card for me."

The man quickly snatched the paper from my hands, pushing it close to his face, turning his face with micro-movements as he scanned through it. He rung up each card on the computer, and after showing me the final price and the credit leftover, we both smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you." I said with a grin.

"Yes, pleased to have you, young master." The man replied back with a slight twitch of his brow.

Having the cards bagged up for us, my father took possession of them until we returned to the house.

The car ride back to the house was solitary and quiet besides the hum of the automobiles engine and the occasional crack in the road.

"It was almost like you were a different person back there. Where did you learn to haggle with such grace?" My father finally asked.

Honesty here will be key.

"I did a lot of research on the card in question I was about to sell. It is very valuable, so of course I would need to do my due diligence. I've also studied techniques of merchants because I hope to be a card merchant at school to pay for tuition so that I don't have to trouble you and mom with the bills."

The pace of the car crawled, slowing down as my father kept sneaking gazes over at me.

"You've… You've become so responsible in such a short time!" He said laughing. He slapped my back hard causing me to cough lightly. "Don't grow up all at once ya hear, you're still ma' boy, and your mother and I will figure out how to deal with the bills of Central Duel Academy. Don't worry yourself, and don't underestimate us now!"

I was adamant on not wanting to take his charity, but I figured arguing about that could wait, he was in far too great a mood to drop that on him now.

"Okay. Thanks so much, for everything." I said.

"That's what parents are for. Just count on us!"

My emotion started to defeat me. I tried to hold it all back, but the dam welling my tears back snapped causing a stream to drip down my face.

"Haha. It's alright, you're acting like it'll bankrupt us, have a bit more faith than that will you? Your old man isn't useless ya' know?"

I don't know if Kisuke cherished his lot of being gifted these wonderful specimen of parents, but I would certainly do it in his place. They were more than anything I could ask for, and I owe them everything because I took their child from them.

I will fill his shoes and never grow complacent. I will do everything in my power to return the favor for them. I made this vow to myself still crying.

I'll be worthy of them. I don't care if this world is some sort of battery or whatever. I'll do everything I can because I know how futile it is. Doing nothing and everything would amount to the same in the grand scheme of things, so I might as well seize my dreams. Former competitive duelist extraordinaire, I am now Kisuke Tashiro, set to become the top ranked duelist of this reality!

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A/N: Like I said, if you enjoyed the story, show your support by leaving a comment stating what you either liked or disliked about this first chapter. I have a lot of ideas for the plot progression of the story, but a limited amount of time to write with. Had fun writing this first chapter, and even more dressing it up for the release today to bump up the quality. Let me know how I did and If you all would like more! -Zemptai Out.