Thread: Dueling Hearts (True Grave and Isabelle)

Keller, Wisconsin is a small town where not much really exciting happens. Everyone knows everyone, and local traditions are strictly observed. Local sports, parades, festivals, and other such things were cyclical, and everyone who was anyone was there. However, Jason Price was not just anyone, and he was no sheep that just blindly followed the crowd. He was not a fan of sports, but loved martial arts, and always kept busy doing one thing or another. He was also a huge nerd and proud of it. Jason was short for a guy, standing only 6' and weighing 185 lbs. This lack of size made him a target for bullies most of his life, and by the age of 16, when he was a Sophomore in high school, he was completely sick of them, especially if they also happened to be athletes. He had enrolled at the Keller Martial Arts Academy to learn Shorin-Ryu, or Temple Dragon, Karate, a sub-discipline of Okinawan Karate, which was itself different because it it came from Okinawa instead of Japan and used no high kicks because of the characteristic shortness of the island people. Jason displayed natural talent, and over the next six years, he went from a newbie white belt to a knowledgeable green belt who was best known for his strong and accurate striking. Life was good at age 22, with his cliquey high school left behind and university life in the present, including new ways to hang out with his Karate buddies. Jason loved Karate and video games, particularly the Yakuza franchise, but almost more than both, he loved a trading card game called Yu-Gi-Oh! . While he preferred to call it Duel Monsters, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Given that the game was massive, he had become something of a researcher in order to determine the best decks for him to use to increase his probability of winning. Thus far, he had completed five decks, four archetype-based, or all based around a common theme, and one custom-made by him called the Signature Deck. He did most of his research with online dueling methods, but he was a regular member of a small but elite and thus far unnamed dueling club that was run by his close Karate friend Thomas, though he preferred to be called by his middle name, Kain. They got together every other Sunday, and in addition to playing cards, they would sometimes play video games and watch anime. Emotions could run high and low, with all of them sometimes being joyful and pissed, but no grudges were ever held and a good time was always had by all. Tonight was tournament night, and Jason was excited. It was only going to be four of hem tonight, and honestly, this was just fine with him, because he preferred small gatherings. The other two that were going to be there were Jacob, who had a Gusto deck specializing in Synchro Summoning, which was using monsters, including specially-marked Tuner monsters, that added up to exact levels to summon stronger monsters and Brice, who had a Gishki deck specializing in Ritual Summoning, which was very similar to Synchro Summoning in that it also required specific tributes, but it used Ritual Spell cards, or non-monsters that could be played from the hand at will instead of Tuners, and the specially colored Ritual monsters were kept in the Main Deck instead of the Extra Deck, which was for most special cards but limited to 15 cards as opposed to a main deck that had to have a minimum of 40 to a maximum of 60 cards to be legal, or able to be used in a duel. Though their decks were similar, their accomplishments and level of experience were polar opposites, with Jacob still being relatively new to the game and Brice being their champion for months at a time. Due to Jason's constant research and practice, he was on the high-end of the group, usually managing to take second place, but had never been able to claim the title. He wanted to be champion at least once, and he hoped that tonight was the night that it would finally happen for him. Jason went to the bathroom and saw his face in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. He had a youthful-looking face which caused him, even at 22, to still be mistaken for being 17 or 18. He had cataracts that required him to wear glasses and had worn braces to correct an under-bite. His blondish-brown hair had recently been cut pretty short, and that made it easier to keep it clean and tidy. His eyes were dark brown and often described as deep. He was a handsome young man, though he did not think of himself as being so. Jason slipped out of his sweat clothes and other wear to reveal the conditioned and athletic physique of a martial artist-in training. He did not have defined abs or anything that marked him as obviously strong, but his arms and legs were certainly not lacking for strength or speed. Being smaller meant that he had to rely more on skill, which was how he preferred it and was not something that his broad shoulders could not carry. He stepped into the shower and grabbed the soap to wash all over, including his legs with huge calf muscles, which he had gotten from walking a mile to and from school for two straight years. After he was done washing, he washed his hair and stepped out, the whole thing taking about ten minutes. He grabbed a blue towel and began to dry off with it. When he was done drying off, he put on fresh sweat clothes that he would wear until it was time to go and combed his hair into a nice style. He played some Yakuza 5 while he waited out the remaining two hours, and then got dressed in dark blue jeans, a black Baki the Grappler T-shirt with red lettering, and white shoes laced with silver that had the blue Nike swoosh on them. Due to it being late November with Fall on its way out, he also grabbed his red Hollister jacket, the newest in a series of red jackets. He grabbed his olive green school bag with his decks and some snacks inside, and checked his Droid smartphone as a new text came in, his ring tone being the Wa-Ta kiyai, or shout, that Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star used when he executed a punch. It was from Kain and read, 'U coming 2nite?'. Though Jason ordinarily hated text talk, he only smiled and texted back 'On my way'. After he slung his bag over his shoulder, he walked outside to his prized car, a black Chevrolet Camaro Z28 with green racing stripes and halogen green headlights. The car had been a gift from his parents after he got his license, and they had been logical enough to let him pick out his own car. It was perfect for Summer driving, but had to be weighed down with sandbags in the back during the Winter since it was a rear-wheel drive car, and therefore, was so bad on ice that it could put him in a ditch faster than he could say 'Oh, shit!'. It had snowed a few days prior, and though higher temperatures had melted most of it off, the potential for ice was still there. He was taking no chances, and checked to make sure that he had a few sandbags in the trunk. Once this was done, he fished in his pocket for his keys, which had a tiny figurine of Asura from Asura's Wrath hanging off of it, and started up the car before hitting the road. The roads were clear and ice free, much to his relief. He parked in front of Kain's house, which was a two-story Ranch-style home. Since he was a regular face, he was allowed to walk in without knocking, and made his way past the entryway with the staircase and across the wood flooring of the living room to the kitchen. Hey, guys, he said with a smile as he came in. To his surprise, however, there was a girl sitting at the table, an unusual occurrence considering that the club was mostly a sausage fest. Jason set his bag down and removed his jacket before draping it over the chair across from her and sitting down. Wow, it's the often talked about and rarely seen in person girl nerd. I'm Jason Price, and it's nice to meet you. He grabbed a plastic cup and poured himself some Pepsi from the two-liter. After taking a sip of the delicious drink, which the group always made sure to provide for him, he gave her a sweet smile. So, are you here to duel or just hang out? You are well-received either way.