//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Welcome Home // Story: Yugioh: Worlds Collide // by ShootingStar25 //------------------------------// Celestia and Luna were both full of enjoyment after watching 2 of their students duke it out in what was a duel that was both enjoyable and fun. On their way back to their respective offices, Luna decided to start a topic of conversation with her sister. "So Celestia, did you get enjoyment out of watching our students partake in that duel" Luna said with a booming voice. "If we're being honest with each other Lulu, I do recall that we were merely there to ensure that no rules were broken during the course of the duel" Celestia responded to her sister. "Indeed, so the little bet we made beforehand about picking the winner has nothing to do with your pleasant mood. Am I right?" "Don't sound so bitter Luna. Just because I won the bet by picking Isaac to win shouldn't mean you have to take your anger out on me. Maybe it you weren't such a sore loser then I wouldn't have to lecture you all the time about fair play." Luna mumbled saying "I knew I should have picked the boy to win." Celestia seemed to have caught wind of what her sister was saying, "What were you saying Lulu? I didn't quite hear you, could you say it a bit louder?" she said with a bit of smug in her voice. "I said I'm glad you won, dear sister" Luna exclaimed trying to put on a straight face as she walked past Celestia. Celestia only chuckled knowing full well how her sister acts whenever she lost to her. "Don't worry about it Luna. How about after work we go eat buy some cake to celebrate." The look on Celestia's face matched that of a toddler getting a brand new toy from their parents. Luna was not at all amused. "Cake? Really Tia?" "Oh come on, I'm buying" said Celestia with a pleading face. "Alright, fine. But we really should discuss your habits on cake; at this rate your flank is getting bigger and bigger with each passing day." the last part Luna said with a snarky attitude. Celestia was offended by what her own sister had just said on her physique. "I'll have you know Lulu that my flank is not getting bigger". Celestia then stormed off angry while Luna laughed at her from behind. After the huge gathering for the duel between Isaac and Cinnamon, things had quieted down for the time being. The only aftermath was that for the rest of the day students were either talking about it amongst themselves or giving a praises as they passed Isaac in the hallway. Isaac didn't mind to be perfectly honest. You would think that someone who had 2 duels in a single day, was something that would create some chatter among the other duelists. Isaac didn't mind since he was the kind of guy who never backed down from a challenge; when it came to Duel Monsters, he always up to taking on anyone. However, he also the kind of person who knows when to call it quits. What he meant was that while he don't mind a couple of duels back to back, he also didn't want overexert himself. The worst thing that could happen to someone is if they suffer from some kind of burnout doing the thing they love the most. It's moments like these that remind Isaac to slow down every once in a while. The school bell rang which not only snapped him out of his thoughts, but also signaled the end of the school day. Isaac went to his locker and after gathered his stuff, Isaac then proceed to head home. On the way home, Isaac had received a message from his parents saying that they would be arriving late due to work. Isaac didn't mind as he knew that the jobs his parents had tend to a bit taxing when it got busy. Isaac replied saying it was alright and that he could handle being by himself for a while. The only real issue was figuring out what he wanted to eat; Isaac could buy something from one of the places on the way home or he could see what we had and make myself something simple. After finishing his dinner, Isaac then began to work on assignments. It didn't take long for certain subjects, but for the ones that Isaac had trouble with it did take a while. By the time Isaac had finished all of his homework it was about 7:50 p.m.; Isaac decided to take a shower in order to get rid of the smell/sweat that he obtained from my duels. Once he had finished cleaning himself it was about 8:30 p.m., Isaac then spent the next hour looking over his planner checking his work and seeing what upcoming assignments he had due. By that point Isaac felt a yawn coming and it was the sign that he should turn in for the night. As he changed into my pajamas, Isaac noticed something fall out of the pockets of his pants. Isaac picked up the object and saw that it was the card he found on the floor prior to his duel with Cinnamon. "I completely forget to find the owner of this card. I hope that whoever this belongs to isn't too worried." With that Isaac put the card on his nightstand and got into bed to enjoy a peaceful sleep. "Hopefully, I can return this tomorrow to the person who lost it", Isaac said as he drifted off into a deep slumber. Waking up to his alarm, Isaac prepared himself for another day of school. Isaac made sure to grab the card from last night and made a vow to find the owner. Once he gathered his stuff, Isaac then began to make his way to school. Upon arriving, he noticed a large group of people gathered around the front of the school stairs; from what he could hear it seemed like they were trying to figure out who among them was going to challenge him next. This wouldn't be a problem if Isaac didn't have a mission on his mind. He needed to return this card to the owner as soon as possible, so unfortunately this time he needed to slip by these students without being noticed. Thankfully he found a nearby window that he crawled through and began making his way to class. All day Isaac spent looking for the owner of the card, however every person he asked either had no clue or claimed they didn't know who it belonged to. It felt like he was hitting a dead end. The final bell rang and everyone prepared to head home. As Isaac was walking to his locker, he felt bad that he couldn't return the lost card. "Well this is great, I spent all day trying to return this card and no progress" Isaac let out a sigh after saying that. Due to him being conflicted with his thoughts, he failed to notice someone bumping into him as he turned the corner. "Maybe I'll have better luck tom... Ohf". "Ow... I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" said the person who had landed on her bottom after crashing into him. "No, it's my fault I shouldn't have been so caught with my thoughts." Isaac collected himself as he went to help the girl up. "Here, let me help you" said Isaac as he extended his hand as a way to support her. Once she grabbed his hand and helped her up, Isaac was able to see the girl's features. She seemed to be around his age, possibly slightly a few months younger than him. She had pale light grayish olive as her skin color and had a pale light grayish rose color in her hair. Her attire consisted of a skirt that had a picture of a butterfly on it. One thing Isaac could definitely tell about this girl was that she was shy based on how she hid part of her face behind her hair. Not wanting to make this anymore awkward that it was he decided to introduce himself. "Hi my name is Isaac, what's your name?" "Oh... my name is Fluttershy" the girl said in a soft, low voice that Isaac could barely hear her. "I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said, could you say it again?" asked Isaac. "It's Fluttershy" she said with a bit more volume in her voice that Isaac registered what she said. Seems I was right about her, she really is shy. I'll admit she's cute, heck if any guy meets a girl like this I'm sure they would fall in love with her in a heartbeat. said Isaac in his mind. "Well I better get going, don't want to be anymore of a burden to you than I already have" she said as she tried to rush past me. "Wait, maybe you can help" Isaac called out. "I'm looking for the owner of this card they seem to have dropped it the other day, know anybody who might have recently lost a card?" asked Isaac hoping for an answer. "What does the card look like exactly?" "It looks like this." Isaac pulled the card out of his pocket and showed it to her. What happened next was something he didn't expect. The look on this girl's face changed in a heartbeat. What once was a shy, timid girl morphed into her yelling at the top of her lungs. "Oh my gosh I can't believe it. Where did you find this? I thought I lost this forever. Thank you!" she then lunged at him with open arms and embraced him. This was quite a shock even for Isaac. One minute she had been nervous about everything and when he show her the card she suddenly had a mood change. What surprised him even more was the fact that she was hugging him, it wouldn't be a problem if she wasn't trying to crush his lungs that he could barely breathe. Also the fact that she was hugging him, him of all people, a stranger at most. I know that I said she was cute. Most people wouldn't mind being in my position, but this was out of nowhere said Isaac's thoughts. I mean who hugs someone after they only just met a few moments ago, even if I did return something to her that she valued dearly. Eventually, Isaac was able to muster up the strength to say, "Alright that's enough, could you let go I'm having trouble breathing." Thankfully she let go before he had run out of air. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to hurt. Are you ok?" she said with concern in her voice. After taking a moment to inhale Isaac replied, "Yeah, I'm ok. So you're the owner of that card I presume?" "Yeah I dropped it and didn't notice it was missing till I got home." "I see, so since that card belongs to you I assume you've got a deck and if you've got a deck then that makes you a duelist, am I right?" "Well yes I do have a deck, but to be honest I'm not really a good duelist" she said as she let her hair fall to cover her face. When she said that Isaac didn't fully believe her. He had a feeling she wasn't telling the whole truth, but he decided not to press the issue even if she didn't want to talk about it. Just then he felt something rub against his leg; Isaac looked down to see a white fluffy bunny and when he bent down to get a better look it ran over to Fluttershy's side. "Oh Angel, what are you doing, you know you can't be seen on school property. So sorry about that, please don't tell Principal Celestia. My parents would be really angry if they found out I was breaking school rules by bringing a pet." "Don't worry your secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone." "Thanks." "So I take it your a big fan of animals." Fluttershy's face light up, "Oh yes my dream one day is to have an animal sanctuary where both predator and prey can live in harmony without having to worry about any dangers." "Well that really is a big dream. Well then it seems you have everything so I'll just be on my way then. See you around Fluttershy." Isaac then started to walk a few steps forward when he felt a tug on his sleeve. "Wait, I was hoping that you could assist me with something? If you want to that is." "Depends on what it is. What do you need help with?" "I was on my way to the local animal shelter when I bumped into you. So maybe you could help as a way for me to repay you for finding my card?" This girl continued to amazed him. From her shy nature to her sudden mood change to even hugging a complete stranger. Now she was asking him for some help in taking care of animals. Isaac didn't have a problem with animals, but it all came back the fact that he had just met this girl and now she was asking for help like they were already friends. Isaac looked at her and saw her giving him the pleading eyes. The sight alone was enough to make him feel bad if he declined. So he asked, "Don't you have other friends who could help you with this task?" "Sadly, no. All my other friends are busy today. So I have no one to turn to. If it's too much trouble I completely understand?" Isaac looked at her one final time. Eventually, he came to a decision, "Alright I'll help you." "You will? Oh thank you, you don't know how much this means to me." "Don't sweat it. Let me just grab my stuff from my locker and I'll meet you outside." "Alright then." she said. Once Fluttershy had left, Isaac then went to his locker to get his stuff needed for homework. Isaac then made his to the front of the school where he saw Fluttershy waiting for him. Isaac informed that he was ready and they then proceed to walk in the direction of the animal shelter. Once they arrived at the place Fluttershy pulled out a set of keys and opened the doors. Once they stepped inside, she went to the front desk where she wrote her name down. "Everyone who's a volunteer has to sign in just in case there's an emergency for the following person." "Makes sense. Don't want to run into any problems. So what exactly do you do here?" "Well lots of things. I mostly have to make sure the animals are fed and that they get their daily dose of fun/exercise. Today I happen to be selected to clean the hamster's playground. That's why I needed your help; I was hoping that while I clean their place you could perhaps watch them along with the other pets. All you would need to do is make sure their fed and play with the dogs." No wonder she asked for his help. There was no way she could get all this done by herself. Now Isaac understood why she was so desperate for assistance. Though he doubt that was enough for her to ask a random person; there had to be another reason. Isaac told Fluttershy to not worry and that he would do his best to look after the animals for her. With that he started walking to the cages to let the animals out. Before Fluttershy left to clean the hamster exhibit she looked at Isaac while he was heading towards the back of the building. "I'm really grateful that Isaac was able to help me. Due to the girls having their own commitments, I was worried I would have to do this all by myself. Not to mention that he returned my card there's not many people who have a big heart as Isaac. It's kinda makes him look handsome in a way." Fluttershy was lost in her thoughts that she started to blush and she didn't know it until she put her hands to her face and realized how warm it had got. "Oh my goodness, well time to get started." Isaac made his way to the back where he saw a couple of dogs and cats lying in their cages. "Alright, settle down everyone. Fluttershy is busy cleaning the hamster's home so I'll be taking care of you guys for a while." The only response he got was a few meows and a couple of barks. "Ok, not the response I was looking for, but better than nothing." Isaac then unhooked the locks on the cages and set the animals free. At first the animals were a bit hesitant about meeting someone other than Fluttershy, but after he showed them some food they started to sniff and saw that he posed no threat. Soon thereafter Isaac began to play with the animals. While the cats didn't do much but eat and lay about; the dogs required a bit more energy so he found a couple of toys and balls for them to play with. Isaac did admit that this wasn't how he saw his day happening, but man was he glad he came to the shelter. After about an hour or so, Isaac was worn out by playing with the dogs that he had decided to take a little break by sitting down against a wall and just toss the ball for them to fetch. Even some of the cats decided to relax by laying in his lap. Isaac was so distracted that he failed to notice Fluttershy had entered the room until she said something. "Boy, you guys really know how to keep me on my toes don't cha?" said Isaac with a tired voice. "They sure do, looks like they did fine with you being around." "Oh hey Fluttershy didn't see you there, how cleaning the hamster's home go?"' "I just finished when I came in to check on how you were doing. I say everything turned out alright wouldn't you agree?" Fluttershy said as she took a seat next to Isaac. "Listen I really appreciate you helping me in my hour of need, you don't know how much it meant to me." "Don't sweat it Fluttershy. It was the least I could. I'll admit it felt strange that you asked me of all people to help you considering we never met before until today, but I can honestly say I'm glad I decided to come with you to this place. Thanks to you I got play with some animals and make new friends." "Well that's good. Anyways it's time we put them back into their cages and get ready to leave. Mind giving me a hand with putting them back?" "Sure." After they rounded up all the animals, they made sure to give them their dinner and then put them back into their cages for the rest of the night. After all that both Isaac and Fluttershy were exhausted from all the work they accomplished. "Well, that's the last of them." "Alright Fluttershy then lets..." before Isaac could finish his sentence he heard a sound. Isaac followed the source and found a cat that was by his feet brushing its fur against his leg as he heard its purring. "Come on girl, time to get back into your cage." Isaac called out to the cat, but it didn't move. He tried again but yet it still refused to leave his side. "I think this cat likes you Isaac. It's got a deep attachment to you." Fluttershy said as she bent down to pet the cat. Isaac smiled responding "Is that right? Well how would you like to come home with me girl? I'll give you a loving home and be filled with people who love just as much as I do. What do you say?" His only response was meow. "I'll take that as a yes." Isaac turned to Fluttershy to inform her of his decision in which he saw her face full of tears not of sadness but of joy. "Isaac you have no idea how happy I am for the both of you. What are you going to call her?" It took him a while but eventually Isaac settled on a name for the cat that not only described her attitude but also the pattern of her coat. "I'll call you Tigre. Like the sound of that name, huh." "Tigre that's a perfect name. Uhh... what does it mean exactly?" Fluttershy sounded a bit baffled by the name you suggested. "Sorry, it means tiger in Spanish. Plus she's got that demeanor that screams natural predator and let others know not to mess with her. Anyway, mind helping fill out the paperwork Fluttershy." "I'd be happy too." After Isaac completed the necessary paperwork to adopted Tigre, Fluttershy and him finish cleaning up and locked the doors for the night. When they got out, the sun was barely disappearing behind the horizon. Seeing how late it was getting, they decided to part ways. "Well, thanks again Isaac for helping, I hope we can still hang around school and do other stuff if you don't mind?" Isaac chuckled "Not at all Fluttershy I'd be happy to hang out with you, plus I could have a look at your deck and help you to modify it if you want to get better that is?" "I'd appreciate that. Well I'd best be on my way. Take good care of her and once again thanks for everything." With that Fluttershy began running in the direction of her house until Isaac could barely see her. "Well girl, time for us to get home too. Come on." "Meow" By the time Isaac had arrived home the sun had completely left the sky was was replaced by the rising moon and he could see a couple of stars despite their being a couple of street lights on. As Isaac entered his house, he let a shout to see if his parents were home. "Mami, papi are you guys home?" "We're in the kitchen, mijo" his mom shouted. "Hey mijo, how was your day at school told?" his father asked. "It was ok. I did well in school and I made a new friend today." "See I told you that you would be making friends in no time. Now wash up dinner is about to be ready, we're having tacos tonight." "So son, tell me a bit about this friend of yours. What are his interests, what does he like? Furthermore, is he someone who can give you a challenge in a duel?" Isaac was hesitant to answer his father, but eventually he told him. "Actually papi, it wasn't a guy but rather a girl. She helped to adopt a pet today. Come here girl. Mami and papi say hello to Tigre." His mother had overheard the conversation between her son and her husband. She was shocked to say the least that he feared she would give him a talk in Spanish. Instead she seemed happy in a way. "A cat? A girl? Seems you did have a good day, my boy." Isaac's dad was grinning with a smile on his face. "A girl, mijo. Well no wondered your happy. You really are growing up if you just started school and not only getting good grades but also finding yourself a girlfriend. Must be that Latino heat of our family, sooner or later I'd expect more girls to be chasing you around. Not to mention your superb dueling skills. Well done, son." Isaac merely rolled his eyes at his dad's comment and decided to clear the air to avoid any miscommunication. "Dad, she's not my girlfriend. She's a friend who just happens to be a girl. Nothing more, nothing less. Besides I was trying to return a lost card I found and she just happen to be the owner of it. After that she asked for my help down at the animal shelter so I said yes. When we getting ready to leave I made a friend in Tigre and she helped me to adopt her. I'll be honest this whole situation is strange in a way." Isaac's mom seemed concerned, "Oh, why is that Isaac?" "Well before today I'd never met Fluttershy. I know that we've only been here for a couple of weeks but I'd think she would have heard of new student and at least be interested in seeing what they look like. To think that I would meet her by bumping into her after trying to return a card. Then suddenly after that we got to know each and became fast friends. It's all just weird, I mean stuff like this only happens in TV/movies. It doesn't happen in real life, it can't be. Can it?" His parents understood what he was trying to convey, but they were mostly happy that their son's new life here was off to a great start. Eventually his mother spoke saying, "Alright that's enough of that now why don't you wash up, the food is almost ready. And Isaac that cat is your responsibility so I don't want to see any poop/pee on my sofa or else you'll be scrubbing them out. Don't forget about the chancletas. You're never too old enough to get disciplined by your own Momma. Am I understood?" "I understand mami. Trust me the last thing I want to suffer is having a print on my back, that will hurt for a week. Come on Tigre, you'll be sleeping in my room tonight." With that Isaac made his way upstairs to his bedroom with the cat slowly following behind me. Once he got to his room, she immediately jumped on my bed and began lay down on it to signify her territory. "Already taking my spot? You rascally girl. You know I'm glad I got to meet you, I think this is start of an amazing friendship between the two of us. Don't you agree." She got up and licked Isaac's nose while putting her paws on his face and gave out a meow. Isaac smiled back at her, "Welcome home, Tigre. I promise to take good care of you."