Gaiden of Darkness [Prequel to Legend of the Five Knights]

Gaiden 26: Duel at the Card Shop

As soon as we arrived at the store, Kaoru peered inside and knocked on the door. A minute later, a handsome brown-haired man with blue eyes opened the door.

"Oh, hey there, boss!" the man said, smiling. "Here to buy cards? Hmm, who are the kids? Friends of yours?"

"Boss?" I asked, blinking.

"He likes to call customers that," Kaoru said, laughing.

"Hey, don't I know you?" Selena said, pointing at the man.

The man tilted his head. "Do I?"

"Yeah! I'm sure of it. You're Jun! Papa's friend."

He leaned forward. "Those dog-like eyes." He gasped. "Wait, are you Selena?"

Selena barked. "Yup."

"Did she just bark?" Kaoru asked, chuckling.

My cheeks warmed. "Yeah. She does that when she's excited."

Jun laughed. "I didn't recognize you in that form."

I gulped. Why did he have to bring that up?

"Guess that her abysmal form is a dog?" Kaoru asked.

"Huh?" I said.

He turned to look at me and laughed. "What? Surprised? I'm an abysmal too."

"Ehh?" Selena said, as shocked as me.

"What can you transform into?" I asked.

He winked. "That's a secret!"

"Please tell me."

He shook his head. "Nope."

I huffed. "Fine."

Jun laughed. "You kids really are like your dad. Well, come inside." He motioned toward the interior of the store.

I smiled and went inside.

"Jun, get the dueling machine ready. Skah and I are going to have a match."

Jun nodded. "Right away, boss," he said with a slight bow.

Kaoru said that Jun calls all customers that, but it's almost as if Kaoru were his boss. Maybe it was just his way to ensure great customer service.

"So, how is my old friend doing?" Jun asked as he walked toward one of the tables in the large empty space in the center of the shop.

"Daddy is doing well."

Jun smiled. "That's great. You kids seem cheerful and healthy too."

Selena grinned. "Thanks."

Rocio glanced at the machines as Jun started to tap away at a white keyboard. "This takes a while to set up?" Cio asked.

"A couple of minutes. We must run daily maintenance to make sure that the holograms run properly. A fault in it could ruin our customer's dueling experience."