Mizuo Ryugami was living just outside of Domino City when Zero Reverse happened. She survived the blast through sheer luck, but her family died - just like her favorite duelists, Seto Kaiba and Yugi Moto. With nothing left, she wandered the shatter...
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"I wish my deck was better," Mizuo, now a mature age of ten, threw her cards down on the table in despair. "I shouldn't even enter the city tournament. Everyone there will just laugh at me."
"If you compete with that attitude, of course they will." Her father said sternly. "No matter what happens, you must believe in your cards. Your deck trusts and protects you. You must do the same for them." He started gathering up the cards on the table.
"But I don't have anything rare or special." Mizuo sighed. "They're not strong enough to beat anyone, even if I believe in them. They can't be stronger than what's printed on them."
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes unwavering. Then he smiled, pressing the deck into his daughter's hands. "You think that your deck is so bad, you won't be able to win a thing?"
She nodded. "Yeah, of course. I can't even beat you!"
"Everyone in that little city tournament will be better than me? Wow, the competition this year must be pretty fierce. And I thought that this was for entry-level Duelists only. Things sure are different from my day. I guess I'm not as good as I thought."
Mizuo looked up at him, wonder in her eyes. In only a few words, he had calmed her fears, restored her confidence, and given her the strength to keep fighting. "Love you Dad." She threw herself into his arms, her deck clasped tightly in her hand.
He smiled, holding her tightly. "Love you too, my little Ryugami dragon. Don't worry so much, OK? Everything will be fine."
---+++---
"Fine," Mizuo murmured, echoing the words she had dreamed of. These strange dreams, which were really memories, were driving her crazy. They were just tantalizing reminders of what she would never have again.
The sun was just barely rising over the eastern horizon, casting a dim blue-grey glow over everything. Shaded by the trees, Mizuo was still more in darkness than light, so she took out her flashlight and her map.
The coldness inside her had been broken by the fear and horror of death, and the love of those who's dreams went with her. She was still far from being whole, but she had seen the light, and couldn't turn away now. Her soul longed to find somewhere that it could belong again. But where did she belong?
She had missed two years of high school, but had enough knowledge to build and program computers, thanks to her father's willingness to teach. She was a strategist and intelligent, but couldn't let herself kill another human being again. The cards in her hands were her family, her friends, her reminder of life. She was a Duelist, but what did that mean?
"Am I really even human anymore?" Her voice was strange, even to herself. However, with no readily apparent answers to any of her questions in sight, the best thing to do was to stick to her plan. Mizuo would hide out in her basement shelter until Domino City's rebuilding had progressed enough for the gangs to be driven out of the area. Then, she would quietly slip into the growing urban community, find a job, and learn how to be a true Duelist.
