In a world much like our own there is a card game that many people play. This is no ordinary card game however. It is in fact a magical card game. In this game people square off against each other with cards known as Fighters, augmented with Magic and Item cards. the Fighters were people at one point that were turned into cards. How they became Fighters differs. Some choose to become Fighters, others became Fighters when they lost a battle, and still others are convicts that were sentenced to be Fighters. The later has really cut down on the prison population since the game came out.
There are four different types of cards; Magic cards that have a green border, Item cards that have a purple border, Fighter cards that have either a pink or blue border depending on the gender of the Fighter, and Capture cards which look like Fighter cards except they have a blank face where the Fighter picture would be.
To use a Fighter card the Owner says "I summon you" and the name of the Fighter. The Fighter then appears in human form. To return a Fighter to it's card form the Owner says it's name and "return". A Fighter can be summoned outside of battle. A summoned Fighter can get hungry, thirsty, and may need to use the toilet. A Fighter card can not be destroyed in any way.
To use a Magic card on a Fighter the Owner says the card's name.
To use an Item card the Owner says "Equip" and the card name. Items can be unequipped by saying "Unequip" and the card name.
To use a Capture card the Owner points the blank face at a person and says "Capture now". The person's gender may change depending on the Capture card used. Once the capture process starts the Owner can choose a new name and age for the person by saying the name and age.
The Owner can release a Fighter by saying "I release you" and the Fighter's name. This does not apply to convicts however. A convict's card is run through a special machine to prevent someone from releasing the convict. There is a padlock symbol in the lower right corner to show that the Fighter can not be released. When a Fighter is released they remain the same age and gender they were as a Fighter.
The goal of the game is to "kill" the other Fighter. Each Owner is allowed to use three cards to augment their Fighter before the battle begins. Once the battle begins each Owner can use whatever cards they have to try to gain an advantage over their opponent. The battle ends when one Fighter manages to "kill" the other. When the Fighter "dies" it returns to it's card form.
Now, who does our story focus on?