Chapter One – An Opportunity
Rain fell heavily around Hazel as she ran through the construction site, boots squelching against the sodden ground as the darkness of the night surrounded her. Half-erected buildings loomed over her, casting a long shadow with each strike of lightning. The water dripped down her goggles periodically as she ran as fast as she dared, mask warming her face as her breath was caught in its grasp. Her arms felt heavy as she ran onward, but she couldn't allow herself even a moment's pause. There has to be a way through here…
"Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin, attack Ember Soldier!"
Shit. The blast sent her flying to the side as her monster was destroyed, shaving away 1000 of her Life Points at the same time. Landing on her back, she performed a break fall and rolled onto one side, skidding to a halt with one hand planted against the ground. Only 700 left… and I thought I had gotten away from you…
"I activate the trap card Ember Resurgence!" Hazel said, revealing her face-down. "It allows me to add two Ember monsters, one that's face-up in my Extra Deck and one in my graveyard, to my hand. I choose to add Ember Soldier from my Extra Deck and Ember Lizard from my graveyard to my hand!"
A shadowy figure appeared above her on an uncompleted pillar. Beside them stood Chunin, and to either side was a blue pillar of light, each for their own Pendulum monster. In one was Twilight Ninja Jogen, and in the other stood Twilight Ninja Kagen. Although Hazel had admired the Lancers ever since the Arc-V Incident, her admiration would have to wait in the face of this threat. Tsukikage… everything I've heard about you is true. You really are impossible to shake, aren't you?
"I set two cards face-down," Tsukikage said. "Turn over."
Tsukikage – 3400 LP/Hand – 2/Field – Twilight Ninja Nichirin, the Chunin, two face-downs/PZ – Twilight Ninja Jogen (SC:1), Twilight Ninja Kagen (SC:10)
Hazel – 700 LP/Hand – 4/Field – nil
"My turn," Hazel said, drawing a card. He's got me trapped. It's all or nothing now. "From my hand, I normal summon Ember Soldier (Lvl:4/ATK:1300/DEF:1300)."
On her field appeared a humanoid soldier, although unlike a traditional soldier, this one looked as if it was made of charcoal, with pulsating deep-orange lines covering its body. It was a look shared by all the monsters in her deck, and one that she had grown fond of over the years.
"Ember Soldier's monster effect activates," Hazel continued. "If normal or special summoned, I can add one Ember monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose Ember Viper."
"A Pendulum Summon then?" Tsukikage said. "How predictable of you, Spectre."
"Using the Scale 1 Ember Lizard and the Scale 8 Ember Viper, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Hazel declared, placing the cards on the board. "With this, I can summon monsters from Levels 2 to 7 at the same time! Pendulum Summon! Appear, dragon with eyes of the eternal blaze! Flare-Eyes Ember Dragon! (Lvl:7/ATK:2500/DEF:2000)."
The dragon descended from between the two rays of blue light that now stood on her side of the field, with a look similar to the Ember Soldier that had been summoned before. A black dragon with glowing lines shining through the cracks of its outer shell, it stood over 5 metres tall and looked down upon Tsukikage with eyes of flame.
"Flare-Eyes Ember Dragon's monster effect activates!" Hazel announced. "I destroy Ember Soldier in order to special summon one Ember monster from my deck whose Level is equal to or less than the destroyed monster's! Appear in its stead, Ember Eagle! (Lvl:2/ATK:800/DEF:800)."
The soldier disappeared into her Extra Deck once more to be replaced with an eagle of similar design. However, even though it had left the field, Ember Soldier was not done just yet.
"Ember Soldier's secondary monster effect activates!" Hazel said. "If destroyed by a card effect, I can inflict 200 damage. Take this, Tsukikage!"
"I activate the trap card Barrier Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Extinguishing!" Tsukikage countered, revealing it. "Since I control a Ninja monster, all effect damage that you deal to me that is at or below 800 is negated!"
Hazel gritted her teeth underneath her mask. "You know my deck," she noted.
"Reiji Akaba has taken a great deal of interest in you, Spectre," Tsukikage said. "He knows of the duels you had with his staff that even the public don't know about. We know that effect damage is your deck's speciality."
Reiji Akaba… "He can analyse my deck all he wants, it won't help you," Hazel said. "I activate the spell card Ember Burst! I destroy your Barrier, and after doing so, inflict 200 points of damage!"
Tsukikage weathered the damage with ease as his Life Points dropped to 3200, barely feeling it as he sent the trap to the graveyard. However, Hazel was aware that he knew what was about to come. I wonder what his last face-down card is…
"Flare-Eyes and Eagle share an effect, in that they gain ATK equal to any effect damage dealt to my opponent until the end of the turn," Hazel explained. "Therefore, Flare-Eyes and Eagle now have 2700 and 1000 ATK respectively!"
"That's nowhere near enough to defeat me, Spectre," Tsukikage noted.
"I'm not done," Hazel answered. "I activate the Pendulum effect of Ember Viper! Once per turn, I can target one monster you control and inflict damage to you equal to half the difference between its ATK and DEF. Since Chunin has a difference of 1300, here's another 650 damage!"
Tsukikage took the attack once more, refusing to show any signs of worriment as his Life Points fell to 2550 and the ATK of Flare-Eyes and Eagle rose to 3350 and 1650 respectively. As the rain continued to pour down, the wind began to pick up, causing Hazel's black coat to rustle as the freezing air rushed through her as if she were nothing. She shivered involuntarily, but her opponent seemed completely immune to the wind's effects. Damn ninjas…
"I then activate the Pendulum effect of Ember Lizard! Since I control an Ember monster in my other Pendulum Zone, I deal 200 damage and destroy this card!" Hazel said.
As Tsukikage's Life Points fell to 2350 and Flare-Eyes and Eagle grew to 3550 and 1850, Hazel knew that victory was almost within her grasp. Just one more effect and I'll be free of this guy… he's been more relentless than anyone else so far. I suppose that's why Reiji sent him after me…
"I activate the second effect of Ember Eagle!" Hazel said. "By tributing this monster, I can give its ATK points to Flare-Eyes! Soar, Ember Eagle!"
The bird screeched as it disappeared from the field, its aura flowing around Flare-Eyes and raising its ATK to 5400. Despite staring at 3100 damage and a loss, her opponent made no move to activate the face-down card that still lay at his feet. I have to attack, Hazel reasoned with herself. Even if that trap can stop my attack, I might be able to escape in the chaos…
"Battle! Flare-Eyes Ember Dragon, attack Twilight Ninja Nichirin!" Hazel ordered. "Blaze Reckoning!"
"I won't lose just yet!" Tsukikage declared, jumping out of the way of the breath of fire, his monster following him. "I activate the trap card Illusion Ninjitsu Art of Hazy Toad! By discarding one card, Chunin's ATK becomes 3300 until the end of the turn!"
Dammit. Flare-Eyes quickly redirected its attack to where Tsukikage was now standing, engulfing both him and Chunin in an inferno that caused the wet air to fizzle at its touch. Knowing that her opponent would still be in the duel after the attack, Hazel made a break for an exit from the site to her right. However, before she could even make it more than a few steps, lightning struck and revealed that Tsukikage was already in her path, blocking the way out. How did he…
"I won't be fooled that easily," Tsukikage said even as smoke from the attack continued to flow from his body.
"I… I end my turn here," Hazel conceded. "At this moment, Flare-Eyes' ATK returns to normal. Your move, Tsukikage."
"My…"
Tsukikage's left hand paused above his deck, his head flicking to the side slightly as if he was listening to something. Hazel watched in confusion as Tsukikage almost immediately stood down, his duel disk powering down and his Pendulum Zones disappearing from the field.
"What are you doing? Forfeiting?" Hazel demanded.
Tsukikage chose not to answer her question, instead leaping unto a nearby pillar, and from there he disappeared into the night without a trace. Wary that perhaps another trap had been laid for her, Hazel analysed her surroundings as best she could, but she quickly came to the conclusion that she was alone. He had to have got an order from Reiji to disengage, Hazel though to herself. I can think of no other reason why Reiji's personal ninja would just abandon his mission like that.
Hazel turned her eyes to the sky. Just what are you planning, Reiji Akaba?
The rain had stopped by the time Hazel had changed back into civilian clothing and headed back to her apartment. She had chosen a new location for the changeover to the time before, and had picked a different route through the winding canyons of concrete in order to make her way home. Although a voice in the back of her mind was telling her she was being over-cautious, but she also knew that it would be worth it in the event that she was indeed being tracked. By the time she had made it back to her apartment, her watch told her that it was past midnight. However, as she unlocked and opened the door, she found the light on.
"You're still awake," Hazel commented.
"I recorded some stuff for you on the television," a male voice came from around the corner in the loungeroom. "Different broadcasting station to yours. You might've missed it at work."
"Good chance. Office had me doing overtime filing," Hazel lied. "Sorry I didn't get a call, Dan."
"God, you really must be tired," Daniel replied, standing up in his pyjamas and kissing her on the forehead. "You wouldn't call me by my name like that otherwise."
Hazel held him tightly. "You shouldn't have stayed up."
"Eh, couldn't sleep without you there anyways," Daniel replied with a smirk. "Do you want a coffee or something?"
"No, no, I'll be fine," Hazel answered as she let him go. "What's this about recordings?"
"Right, right," Daniel said, heading for the television. "There was an announcement this evening from Reiji Akaba. Said something about an opportunity for budding duelists or whatnot. Thought you might be interested."
"Sure," Hazel said, sipping on some water. "What time was the announcement?"
"About 10-ish," Daniel said as he got the record ready. "Rather late for an announcement like this, but he probably had a reason for it."
Right after my run-in with Tsukikage. "If it's something to do with dueling, perhaps he didn't want children involved with it."
Daniel huffed slightly. "Children defeated Zarc."
The news report began to play. "Reiji Akaba made a surprise announcement tonight, announcing the launch of a new tournament for Maiami City," said the female news anchor. "The announcement came only minutes ago from his headquarters at the LDS tower, and has already had over 50,000 views on social media and other sites."
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to announce the new LDS Maiami Championship," said Reiji, whose face now filled the screen. "However, unlike the goal of previous tournaments which were for money, this one will provide a different, and unique opportunity. The winner of this tournament will be granted an opportunity to train with the elite amongst LDS, and in addition, they will be working personally alongside myself and other executives within LDS in order to get a better understanding of the world behind the pro circuit. Any and all duelists not on the pro circuit will be allowed to complete. If a duelist outside of the city registers for the tournament, they will be granted passage to Maiami City and paid for by LDS. This is an opportunity for duelists the world over to head straight for the pro circuit. The tournament will begin in one month, and registrations will close in two weeks. Make your decision, duelists, and choose whether or not you wish to pursue your dreams of becoming a pro duelist!"
"This is the fifth Maiami Championship now, but the first since the Lancers to be about other than money," Hazel commented.
"Wonder why he's changed it up," Daniel pondered.
He's trying to draw me out, Hazel thought to herself. He knows that I'm trying to get information from LDS, and this would provide me with a perfect chance to get close to the higher-ups of their company… Damn he's good. As the anchor went about dissecting Reiji's words, Hazel considered her options. She knew that no one outside of LDS, possibly no one outside of Reiji's inner circle knew about her deck, meaning that she would not be outing herself if she entered. On the other hand, it also meant revealing herself to Reiji as well, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing either. By drawing attention to myself, it might mean I can get an audience with Reiji earlier…
"There's more by the way," Daniel said, noticing that Hazel was no longer paying attention.
"In breaking news, the Spectre has made another appearance tonight," the reporter continued. "It's the Spectre's eighth appearance at LDS, and the motives of the vigilante are still unknown. Unlike previous encounters, the Spectre managed to get away without interference from any LDS members unlike the previous three occasions. However, no other information has been released about the vigilante, and people on social media are beginning to question whether or not LDS is hiding information about the Spectre. Reiji Akaba has made few comments about the vigilante, but is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow about the Spectre."
"You'd have thought they'd have given up by now," Daniel noted. "I've been thinking about it since it was initially shown. I can't think of why they'd keep trying."
I can. "Maybe each attempt is getting them closer to their goal?" Hazel commented.
"Pfft. Doubt it," Daniel said. "LDS has some of the best security in the world. They'd change protocols after every attempt, surely."
They do. That's why I've made so many attempts. "Is there anything else you wanted to show me?" Hazel asked him, yawning.
"That's all, beautiful," Daniel said with a slight smile, switching off the television. "I've got to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Boss wants me in early to do checks on the machines."
"He's giving you a lot of those," Hazel commented as they headed for the bedroom.
"I think Jon's wanting to move me into a managerial position," Daniel replied. "That's been the rumour around the yard anyway."
"Really? That's awesome news babe," Hazel said enthusiastically. "Will it be a desk job?"
"Desk job," Daniel said with a nod. "And much better pay than what I'm getting now."
Hazel smirked slightly. "Always good," she said as she slipped into her pyjamas. "God I'm tired."
Daniel leaned over and kissed her forehead once more. "Goodnight babe."