The Cost of Victory

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Silence reigned, and the click of the door behind him echoed jarringly loud. There had been a time when there was never a moment of silence in this place; when laughter could be heard, when loud voices rang above the buzz of the television, when footsteps sounded as the members of Team Baron went about their day – training and planning, testing out their latest moves and practicing their routines, or just plain hanging out and lazing around. Now, though, there was only him, Kumon Kaito. He could still remember the looks of utter betrayal on Zack and Peco’s faces as he dismissed them; the rest of the team had gotten off lightly, but for the two he considered to be his most trusted, his words had been harsh and his tone hard – he had had to be tough on them, especially them, because he couldn’t drag them into this battle, this war. ‘I don’t need people who can’t fight, and right now, you’re useless to me.’ And, there was only Jounouchi Hideyasu. The leader of Team Invitto – or former leader, as Kaito soon discovered, Jounouchi had too disbanded his own team – had turned up at his doorstep, his usual smirk in place, but his eyes colder – sharper and darker – than Kaito had ever seen them. There was no explanation as to where he had been, where he had come from or even why he was here; he looked neither threatening nor particularly eager. But, he was clearly here, at Kaito’s doorstep, with a purpose. ‘I would like to offer you a deal.’ So, here they were – the two of them - no longer leaders of Beat Rider Teams, no longer young adults with naïve dreams and illusions about their futures. After all, who would spend the time and energy to think of the future when they didn’t even know if they were going to live past tomorrow? ‘... ... middle of paper ... ...room. Unconsciously, his hand retrieved his deck of cards from his pocket, and he began to shuffle it. ‘Oh, and Kaito,’ the former Invitto leader popped his head back in, as Kaito started laying out the cards on the table, ‘remember, this isn’t your war to win.’ Don’t forget what you are really fighting for. Kaito’s eyes landed on the cards that he had pulled from the deck. Ten of Diamonds. Jack of Diamonds. Queen of Diamonds. King of Diamonds. Ace of Diamonds. Gaim. And, her. Takatsukasa Mai. The cards said it all really. Kaito would not – would never – lose sight of his goal; he knew what he wanted. They weren’t riding out to win a war; they were riding out to reclaim what they had lost. And, like Jounouchi, he was going to do anything to get it. And, this time, they would not regret the choices they made; the price they had to pay. No matter the cost.

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