Chapter 1: Beginnings of A New Champion
"I won!" exclaimed young, amateur duelist Shawn. He raised his right arm in victory and smiled gleefully. His spiked brown hair gleamed in the sunlight shining through the windows of the classroom.
His chubby opponent scooped up his cards, hanging his head in defeat as he walked away. Two kids, a male and a female, stood behind Shawn, patting him on the back.
"Did you see that, Mindy? I totally kicked that kid's butt!" Shawn said, turning to the female, his joyful attitude causing her to crack up. "Hey, what's so funny?"
Mindy, scarlet-haired and pale, folded her arms and replied, "You're just funny, Shawn. You're so excited about one win."
"Well, yeah, why not? I mean, you never know when you're going to win again, so you might as well enjoy it while you can." Shawn faced the male beside her, who towered above them both. "What did you think, Sam? Did I do okay?"
Rubbing his chin, Sam nodded. "You did fine, but there are a few things I would have done differently." Actually, quite a lot of things.
Shawn leaned in, clearly intrigued, wondering what his friend had to say. "Like what? I thought I did everything as best I could." I did everything the pros would have done; at least I think I did.
"Not exactly. For one, you left yourself open during that last move. If Chum would've had a trap laid for you, you wouldn't have had anything to defend yourself with. Secondly, you're too offensive. You need to scale back and analyze the situation before you go rushing in with your monsters…" He moved to the other side of Shawn's table, taking a seat where Chum had previously been, and removed his deck from his white button-up T-shirt. "Let's duel."
Slightly confused by this request, Shawn asked, "Are you serious? I won't go easy on you just because we're best friends." I hope you go easy on me, though. You're really good.
"Good," Sam said, placing his deck in the middle of the table, Shawn doing the same. They each cut the other's deck, then shuffled and retrieved their own. Hm, if I go first, I'll win the duel in two turns, and that'll shatter Shawn's confidence. I have to let him go first. "You can go first, Shawn."
"Okay, but you'll regret that." Shawn drew his sixth card, beginning his turn. He stared at his hand, then grabbed one card and placed it on the table. "Ah! I summon Ryu-Kishin [3/1000/500] and place one card face-down."
"Decent monster to start with, but not quite good enough, I'm afraid," said Sam as he began his turn, scanning his hand for strategies. "I'll Set one monster, and then put down two face-downs."
Mindy took a seat next to Shawn, straightening out her skirt as she leaned in to get a closer look at his hand. She studied it, humming a song as she did. Shawn bit his lip a little as she got closer to him, finding it hard not to think of her instead of the duel.
"I-I'll attack with R-Ryu-Kishin!" Shawn commanded, trying not to mess up his monster's name in front of his crush. Crap, I hope my stuttering doesn't disgust her!
Sam flipped his face-down monster, revealing it to be Stone Statue of the Aztecs [4/300/2000]. "My monster's special ability doubles any damage you received by attacking him. That means you lose 2000 Life Points already, Shawn [Shawn: 4000 - 2000]. I warned you about being too offensive. You never know what your opponent has face-down."
Shawn groaned, disturbed that Sam was right about his aggressiveness. Too bad he didn't think I'd have a backup plan. "In that case, I'll activate this Spell Card – Fissure! It destroys the monster with the lowest attack on your side of the field, and your Stone Statue is the only monster you control, so goodbye to that!"
"I thought you'd try to get rid of my monster with a Spell or Trap Card once you figured out you couldn't destroy it using conventional means, so I laid a trap." Sam flipped one of his two face-downs, revealing a purple-colored card. "It's a handy Trap Card called Magic Jammer. By discarding one card from my hand, I can negate the activation of a Spell Card and destroy it."
"What? I thought that would have been an Enchanted Javelin or something. Darn." Shawn's face fell as his plan was foiled. Now I look like a fool in front of Mindy. Great.
"If you thought that was all, you're mistaken." Sam flipped his other face-down card. "This is called Compulsory Evacuation Device. It returns one monster on the field to the owner's hand, and I'm choosing your Ryu-Kishin."
Shawn put his hands down on the table in shock. "What! But then I'll be defenseless when your turn begins! Ah, no!" Man, Sam's probably not even trying his hardest and he's still whooping me, and in front of Mindy, no less.
Sam nodded his head. "That's right. Now you see why blindly attacking is not always the best choice. Now, my move begins." He drew a card and grinned. "I'll summon Hitotsu-Me Giant [4/1200/1000], and attack you directly!" [Shawn: 2000 - 800]
Gripping his spiked hair, Shawn was blown back by how easily his friend was destroying him. Since enrolling at his school, he'd never dueled anybody as skilled as Sam. He looked at his hand and checked the card he had face-down on the field. I have no options left. Sam's got my number, and there's nothing I can do about it. If I drew the right card I could save myself, but…the chances of that happening are slim to none. Maybe I should fake a stomach ache, but I doubt Sam would believe me. He's too smart. Crap, what should I do?
Seeing her friend in trouble, Mindy chimed in, "You can do this, Shawn." She laid her hand on top of his, squeezing with just the right amount of pressure to let him know she was there for him in her own way. "You just have to believe in your deck, that's all."
Shawn stared into her eyes, looking for confirmation. "But… Are you sure?"
She smiled comfortingly, raising Shawn's spirits, and giving him a confidence boost. "Trust me. Believe in your cards and they won't let you down."
His heart beating twice as fast, he could feel the adrenaline pumping through him. Mindy's encouragement gave him new hope for defeating his best friend, and maybe even scoring some points with her.
A small crowd of fellow classmates had begun to form around the table as the duel continued. They all wanted to see two best friends, who just happened to be the best duelists in the school, duke it out. The aura around the duel changed from a friendly competition to a slugfest in a matter of seconds. Sam sat on his side, arms folded and with a poker face on, waiting for his opponent to make his move.
Shawn took a deep breath, then exhaled deeply, placing his hand on his deck. All right, cards, this is it. I know it's just a duel with my best friend, but could you help me out here? I'd really appreciate it. I know we can do this. He gritted his teeth and looked around him at all the onlookers, and then back at Sam. His mind suddenly became a dark void, the cards in his deck floating in front of him, all neatly lined up and organized. That's the card I need! Almost as if in slow motion, he lifted the card from the top of his deck and immediately placed it on the field, not even looking at it.
Sam's eyes widened a bit as he peered at the card opposing him. "But you didn't even look at it before placing it on the field!"
A smug grin across his face, Shawn yelped, "That's right, and it's the one card I needed to beat you – Ancient Rules! This Spell Card allows me to Special Summon one Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand, and I choose Cyber-Tech Alligator [5/2500/1600]!"
Mindy couldn't help but smile as Shawn started his one-turn-kill maneuver. I knew you could pull this one out, Shawn. You just needed a little encouragement.
"T-this doesn't change anything," Sam said, a little flustered by Shawn's sudden comeback. "I have a card to get rid of him, and next turn I'll win this duel."
"Well, then it's a good thing there won't be a next turn." Shawn chuckled, overflowing with confidence.
"W-what? What are you talking about? You can't wipe out my Life Points this turn. Your monster isn't powerful enough."
"Not as he is," Shawn began, pulling out two cards from his hand. "But he will be when I play these two spells." He set them on the table, watching as Sam's fists clenched in frustration. "First is my Megamorph card. While my Life Points are lower than my opponent's, all monsters on my side of the field have their attack doubled [Cyber-Tech Alligator: 2,500 - 5,000]. Next is my Limiter Removal. It doubles the attack power of all Machine-Type monsters on my side of the field, bringing my Cyber-Tech Alligator's attack points to a grand total of 10,000. I'll attack your Hitotsu-Me Giant, dealing you a wicked 8,800 points of damage. That's game."
This took Sam by surprise at first, but he quickly recovered his calm and collected personality. I never expected him to pull off such a grand move like that. He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes. "Well, Shawn, it looks like you won this. Congratulations. I thought I had all of your moves predicted, but this is one that I did not see happening. Next time, though, I'll be prepared." He scooped up his cards and shook hands with Shawn, who looked like he was about to burst with excitement.
"You went easy on me, didn't you?" Shawn asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sam bowed his head for a moment, sighing. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry, but I didn't want you to feel bad if I beat you quickly. I wanted to teach you a lesson, but it looks like you learned more than I planned on thanks to Mindy."
As he said her name, Mindy popped up next to Shawn, a cheeky smile upon her face. "Oh, it was nothing. Just something I learned from watching Yugi Moto's Battle City duels about a dozen times. Speaking of Battle City, did you guys hear about the tournament starting in a couple days? I heard a lot of really good duelists from around the state are going to participate."
Sam nodded slightly. "Yeah, I've already signed up. I'm preparing a whole new deck for the tournament. What about you, Shawn? Shawn?"
Shawn stepped over to the window, peering out at the KaibaCorp dueling stadium a few miles from the school. Even though it was a ways away, it stuck out as the most brilliant structure in the city. Man, what I wouldn't give to duel competitively there. I've heard so many great stories. I just wish I wasn't such an amateur compared to the pros…
"What's on your mind, Shawn?" Mindy spoke, her soft voice grabbing his attention. She looked outside and noticed the stadium. "Ah, the dueling stadium. Why don't you enter the tournament?"
Shawn bowed his head. "I don't know. There'll be so many great duelists."
Mindy sighed. "Remember what I told you about believing in your deck?"
"Yeah, but this is different," Shawn said, a defeated tone in his voice. "This was an amateur duel at a school. That's a professional tournament. They're in two different dimensions."
Mindy pulled a flyer out of her bra, slapping it onto the window. "Look, it says everybody is welcome to try out. That means you, Shawn. Sam's already entered, and you just beat him, so I know you can do this as well. Go show those pros that you don't need a stupid title to be a good duelist. It's all about your heart and your faith in your cards."
Shawn raised his head, facing her. "What would I do without you, Mindy?" He looked at the flyer, seeing three duelists standing out from the others. "Hm, who are they?"
Sam stood between them, commenting, "The tan one on the left is Derek Myers. From what I've heard, he's the best duelist in the state. He's only been defeated twice in his ten years of dueling. The one in the middle with the McAwesome shirt on is Don Gojira. He's a two-time regional champion, and likes to stomp his opponents with the dragons in his deck, literally. The last guy there is Gavin McKnight. He won the regional championship once, then retired, so for him to be competing here must make this tournament special somehow."
Mindy looked to Shawn, expecting to hear him moan about how great they were and how pitiful he was. She was pleasantly surprised to see a huge grin on his face.
"All right! This sounds awesome!"
"Really? A minute ago you were dead inside, and now you're happy that there are such strong duelists at the tournament? I'm lost." Sam raised an eyebrow, curiosity overcoming him.
"I realized I really should start believing in myself, even in the face of such adversity. Besides, if all else fails, this'll be a fun experience."
"Then it's settled," Mindy spoke, retiring the flyer to her bra. "You two will duel in the tournament, and you better make it to the finals."
Shawn chuckled. "Don't worry about us. Why aren't you entering?"
Mindy waved her hand. "I don't do tournaments. They're too competitive for me. I prefer the free-spirited, less technical tabletop dueling." One of her perky breasts began to vibrate, catching Shawn and Sam by surprise.
"Uh…?"
"Sorry, it's probably my mom," Mindy said, reaching into her bra and taking out her cell phone. "I forgot how late it was getting. It's already five o'clock, guys. I'll talk to you after dinner. See ya!" With that, she took off, sprinting out of the classroom and down the hallway.
As her footsteps faded, Sam turned to Shawn, a serious business kind of look on his face. "I guess we should get going as well. I have to work on my deck, seeing as the tournament is in two days, and I assume you do as well."
"I probably should," Shawn responded, rubbing the back of his head. "I won't get very far with my current deck." No offense, cards, but I think a little tweaking wouldn't hurt. "I think I'll stop by the card shop on my way home and see if they have any deals. I'm thinking of trying out EARTH monsters, since I already have quite a few in my deck. Peace."
Sam nodded as Shawn left the premises. Aside from two students playing Go Fish in the back of the room, he was the only person left. I hope you know what you're getting yourself into, Shawn. This isn't like anything you've ever experienced before. The players at the tournament won't go easy on you like I did. He shifted his position, facing the stadium outside. As for you, Don, I'll be waiting. I won't forgive you for what you did to my father.