Chapter 61: Blue-Eyes

Seto stepped out of the bath, and it began draining. A powerful blast of warm air dried him from head to toe. Joan followed, but the air failed to activate. Seto remedied the situation with a simple voice command, making a mental note to update the bathroom's programming to detect a second person as he strode to the sink to finish his routine.

Once in the bedroom, Joan found her luggage on a stand, placed there by one of Seto's servants. She pulled out her toiletries bag and went back to the bathroom. She squeezed in beside Seto as she fixed her hair. She then pulled out a few cosmetics and applied them while Seto stared. Joan finished and packed the cosmetics back into her bag. She turned to Seto. "Damn, you have it bad."

"Have what bad?"

"The love bug." Joan gave Seto a quick kiss and skipped back to the bedroom, where she slipped into a classy dress, leaving her bras and panties untouched. She then turned to admire Seto as he donned slacks and a shirt.

Seto caught her staring and smirked. "Seems you have it just as bad."

Joan smirked back. "Maaaaaaybe."

Seto pressed a claw on one of his dragon figurines. The display shelf slid into the wall, revealing a vault full of Duel Monsters cards.

Joan blinked. "Oh. Um . . . OK?"

"You're looking at the world's biggest collection of rare cards and all you can say is OK?"

"You know I've never even played, right?"

"What!?"

"Well, Marc taught me Monsters of the Duel, but I've never even held an actual Duel Monsters card."

"So you're a Duel Monsters virgin."

"Correct."

Seto deactivated the vault's extra security measures and picked up a deck at the back of the vault. He fanned out the cards until he found what he was looking for. "Are you ready?"

Joan sensed from his tone of voice that this meant a lot more to him than it did to her. She nodded and let Seto hand her three cards. She stared down at three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, the edges of the cards a little rough from years of use before they'd been locked away in the vault. Not knowing what to say, she kept looking at them, admiring the artwork as well as the wear on the cards.

Seto watched Joan examining the cards and realized she could never fully understand what they meant to him, unless . . . A light pulse surged through his brain as he tapped into the ring's power and released his memories to her.

Joan saw a pale woman with white hair and blue eyes. Unlike the cosplayer Seto had dueled, the real Kisara wore a plain linen dress, not an evening gown. Something about her soul radiated pure light and grace. Joan saw visions of Seto's past life in ancient Egypt, of him first meeting Kisara and freeing her from slave traders, of her dragon spirit coming back to blast white lightning on the bandits who destroyed his home. Nothing could compare to the bond they'd formed that day, and Joan instantly knew why the modern Seto had never bothered trying to find love.

Kisara's downfall came in a torrent of evil magic as she jumped in front of the ancient Seto to save him from an attack brought on by his corrupted father. Her spirit infused with Seto's as her life faded, leaving him with the power of the dragon in his ancient life. The modern Seto had felt mysteriously drawn to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon until some adventures with his high school classmates revealed his past life to him.

The vision faded, and a moment passed before Joan finally spoke. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I see now why you distrust anything magical."

"Just promise me you won't die trying to protect me from some evil nutcase."

Joan laughed. "Don't worry about that. I have too many reasons to live, and you're only one of them. Of course, if I have the option, neither one of us will die."

Seto took both of Joan's hands in his. "Then let's make sure you have another option."

"Sure. What are you thinking?"

"Evil assholes like to use Duel Monsters to get what they want. If we build you an unstoppable deck, they won't stand a chance against you."

"I see. You'll also have to teach me how to play, then."

"The game itself is so easy that children play it. Mastering it is another matter. Fortunately, you're looking at the best duelist on the planet."

Joan smirked. "Even Nathaniel knows that."

"Good. Then he should make a decent practice opponent for you."

"It's a good idea in theory, but I'm not sure when I'll find time for that."

Their stomachs rumbled. They would have to finish this another time.