The Nihilist

Zaigou had been walking through Vulcanity City for some time now, and by now, he managed to wander his way into the slums. It was well into the night, but he had no place to sleep or stay since he was technically homeless. Having abandoned his father, and being no where close to his old town, there was no where he could call home. He didn't know where was. He didn't even know Vulcanity City had a 'slum' area. He knew little about the metropolis. He'd just been walking aimlessly for a while now, lost in his own thoughts. But, even if he had known of the area's nefarious qualities, Zaigou would not have backed down from going there. It's not because he's particularly courageous, though. But he's not foolhardy either. While walking through the slums, as usual, Zaigou's mind drifted elsewhere. He couldn't help but think of the past because of the flashbacks that crept into his thoughts to very often...

Zaigou lowered his duel-disk, staring at his father. He managed to beat the man again for the umpteenth time. His father was approaching him with that venerable smile on his face as it always was. "I don't get it, son. You never fall for my bluffs with face-down cards. Are you that straight-forward and headstrong that you'll attack despite possible danger?" his father asked.

Zaigou shook his head quickly. That wasn't the case...people always confused his actions for courage. No, he wasn't someone who possessed any degree of courage. It seemed even his own father made this mistake. But by now, he was planning on leaving his home town for bigger and better things. He'd despised dueling because his father forced it on him so much when he was younger. He'd felt obligated to play along and become a duelist since his father had been grieving over the lost of his wife and Zaigou's mother. He supposed he could've accepted circumstances if they'd been just that, but no...his father--while skilled in his own right--was not a very good duelist. But Zaigou had this...affinity. This natural talent, and his father saw a lot of potential. Enough that he wanted to live his aspirations of being a strong duelist through his own son.

He thought about his father's vicarious actions daily. He hated being used by his own father so that the man could feel like he accomplished something. Was he just a monument to his father's hopes and dreams all along? Had he simply been his father's harbinger? Had he even been his own person? His father's love was undeniable, though. That's what had once had him torn...

...but his father's love, and dueling were connected. They were the closest when they dueled. Their 'bond' was strongest through battle between cards. But if he failed at dueling--if he'd just been mediocre, would his father's love had been the same. That man, who lost everything when his wife died and could only live his dreams through his son...what if his son hadn't been good enough for him to live those dreams through? Would the love have been there? Would things have been the same? The nights where he'd been forced to go to tournaments and revise his deck and work out strategies against his will made him think otherwise.

It was at this point that he decided that while his father 'loved' him, it was merely conditional. And he would ultimately leave the place he'd spent so much time in with his father.

"It's not that I'm headstrong. And it's not courage, or anything like that, dad," he began.

He simply didn't like the man anymore. If he could've had things his way, he would have severed the ties between them and been on his way without another thought of the man. But dueling brought the two together. Their decks, DARK and LIGHT respectively, were connected in this symbolic way that his father intricately planned out. They co-existed. So too did light and dark in the mundane world. Light is needed for there to be shadow, or, what we inherently know to be dark. Likewise, without what we know is dark, the concept of light could not exist. If people didn't know anything other than light, it could not be categorized. The relationship was amusing to him. If only it didn't remind him so much of his father, and the way the man consumed his life with his own aspirations, hopes, and dreams. But so long as he dueled, so too would his father be with him.

He shook his head...

"It's because I just don't care. I don't care about anything. I don't care about anyone. What happens to me, whether it be pain or otherwise is not something that concerns me. If I were to trigger a trap card that causes me the game, so be it...if I were to die today..."

His father had cut him off at this point. "Don't talk like that! I wish you wouldn't say things like that. You're not my son when you say things like that. Such awful things..."

"...so be it," Zaigou continued.

Those were the last words he spoke to his father before he left town the following night. Weeks of wandering, catching buses, and surviving as best he could manage on his own had brought him to where he was now--Vulcanity City's slums. Despite it growing harder to see where he was going, and despite the moon having replaced the sun that was hanging in the sky last time he looked up, he just kept walking. It didn't matter in what direction. It didn't matter where he ended up. No...he traversed these treacherous, dark streets at night not because of courage. Not out of foolhardiness.

He just didn't care.

As Zaigou kept wandering around in the Slums, the moon began to peek, higher and higher into the night sky. Many people, at this point, have begun to go inside their houses, and run out of the current neighborhood. Unbeknownst to Zaigou, this area was notorious for gang activity done by "The Dangers."

Zaigou began to slow his walking pace, looking around, and walking once again. Eventually a woman entered Zaigou's line of sight. She was a rather large-set woman, wearing raggity, self made clothing. She was jogging quickly to get home, as the street lights began to come on. Street Lights are popular by the local residents as "The Danger Times." The woman slowed down and then stopped, looking at Zaigou and his clothing. She hollered out to him "Booooooy! You ain't from here, ain't ya!." She laughed out loud. "I already know that ya ain't, just by tha clothes ya wearing there boy!" she bellowed out once again. She quickly quiet down, hunched over and looked around, and got back up. "Don't you know what time it is!?" she said to him quietly, pointing at the street lights too. "Do you have a place to stay? I don't like people getting hurt by the Dangers..." she said as the looked down. "If you don't have anywhere to be, come stay at my place! What do ya say?" she asked.

Zaigou paused, hearing a woman's voice in the distance, not quite sure if she was calling out to him. He decided to stop when the woman initially called out. Eventually, he was able to see the person behind the voice when he was close enough. As per usual, he remained quietly, listening to her words and taking in what she had to say. Apparently she was offering him a place to stay. But, he didn't know this woman at all, and he preferred solitude over being with anyone. The idea was not only abhorrent to him; it confused him. Why was she being so kind to him? Were there ulterior motives? That was his initial guess. He wasn't used to anyone being kind simply for the sake of being kind.

After a long period of silence, Zaigou opened his mouth to speak. His voice was deep, yet reserved. It easily conveyed his held back nature, but also held an underlying melancholy tone. He'd decided not to address her offer for him to stay at her house--at least, not just yet. There was something he was even more curious about. "Who are the Dangers?" he asked.

The woman burst out in laughter and then quickly hunched back down, looked around and got back up. She seemed very jumpity about everything that goes on. "I cant believe you ain't heard of the Dangers child, they be a gang of ruthless thugs in the slums here." She then leaned in and motion her hand to come closer. She began to whisper. "They all cowards, usually dueling 5 people against 1, cowards I tells ya!" she said very low and softly so no one could hear her, even though there was no one around. She put her arm over his shoulder and led him. "Child you have to come take shelter, I run my house a shelter for those who ain't have any homes in the slums just to protect them from tha Dangers! Come on, come on" she said to him.

Zaigou was quick to pull away from the woman when she put her arm over his shoulder. He stared at her with blank eyes, and a face that carried no expression. "I don't like being around other people. If I find a place, it would be on my own." he said curtly. He backed away slowly. He seemed to be intrigued by this gang that she mentioned...the Dangers, supposedly. The fact that she mentioned 5-on-1 duels didn't scare him either. No, on the contrary--it only intrigued him. He glanced at the street-lights around the area mentioning the word 'danger', as well as taking in his surroundings for the first time since he'd been walking aimlessly through Vulcanity. Letting out a sigh, he continued speaking. "Regardless, I do not fear this gang. I don't need protection."