Author's Note: Reposted. This has been changed quite a lot from my other fanfiction, which was titled An Encounter Unforeseen. Its plot has been changed dramatically, but stay with me here.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yuugiou, its characters, monsters, etc. All belong to Kazuki Takahashi, respectively.
"I didn't choose the God; the God chose me."
At that time, that was what he really believed too.
He had calculated everything.. He had carefully balanced his magic, spell, trap and monster cards for an entirely impeccable deck. All of the odds had been in his favor. His strategy had been completely invincible..
And for a period of time, everything had went according to plan...
You have no idea what you're in for, he thought confidently.
(1) "I activate the magic card, Virus Cannon. This card will wipe out ten magic cards in your deck!" He paused, musing at the ingenuity of his plan, "I'm destroying your deck. First, my Deck Destruction Virus of Death annihilated the monsters on your field, and now my Virus Cannon will do the same to your magic cards! -- Do you still think that I'm going to lose?"
Was he going to lose? At that time, the idea seemed completely ludicrous. But he had disregarded one thing..
...One single thing that he hadn't considered.. One meager fault that he had been absolutely oblivious to... Entirely overlooked... Totally ignored. A single malfunction that could have led to his downfall..
And lead it did...
"I activate Reversal of the Worlds! (2) Now, at the cost of one thousand life points, we are forced to replace the cards in our decks with the ones in our graveyard."
He stared, horrified.
What? They had just.. How could his opponent have.. Now his deck...only consisted of six cards! Six cards? What was he going to do?
Even as he thought about it now, he couldn't believe the predicament he had positioned himself in. Six cards.. He had had to duel with six cards. Many would think of it as being impossible, unachievable...
But he wouldn't go down without a fight... Perfection. He had nearly acquired victory.
"I play Cross Sacrifice! Now, your three monsters, Kelbek, (3) Zolga and Agido, will be sacrificed to summon the legendary God of ultimate destruction -- (4) Obelisk no Kyoshinhei!" A column of light rose from the field behind him as he laughed in triumph. He gazed at his opponent complacently.
It was true; he had been close. But he should have realized the what ifs and let's says that were targeted against him. He should have listened to the suppositions..
But no, he had chosen otherwise..
Rather regrettably...
"Now, Obelisk, attack! Eradicate what's left of their life points!" he affirmed, his right arm outstretched in front of him with conviction.
(5) "I now play my trap card, Blast Held by a Tribute."
His eyes widened in alarming shock. What? A trap? (6)
"This card, which could only be activated when you declared an attack on my side of the field, destroys all face-up monsters on your side of the field. One thousand points of damage are then dealt directly to your life points."
His teeth clenched together fiercely as, piece by piece, his God began falling apart. As his mighty beast crumbled, so did his stamina. For a brief second, he felt hopeless...
Desperation..
Even now as he thought about it, it was an emotion he had long forgotten the sensation of. But he knew for a fact that he had felt it relentlessly as a child, especially when he lived with his step-father..
All those hours studying stocks, finances, and every aspect of the business industry. Not only that, he had to learn extreme amounts of the basics, such as arithmetic. And as for foreign language, for him it had been foreign languages--every dialect you could think of: English, Japanese, Chinese, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and even Arabic. The thought still sickened him..
But he had survived it all--the extreme amounts of studying, the fatigue, even the sleepless nights. He had never given up; with the support of his brother, he had been invincible. And that determination had finally paid off when he had came out victorious..
And perhaps... Just perhaps, that was the same realization that had caused him to get back up to his feet..
Staggering, he got to his feet as his life point counter dropped to three hundred fifty. No.. There was no way. He had nearly.. He had almost.. -- He had to do something. This was his tournament, he couldn't possibly lose. No, he had to maintain his dignity! After everything he had worked for, a setback like this wasn't going to trodden his aspiration of regaining his title!
With a quivering hand, he reached down and drew a single card from his deck. He stared at it, almost hesitantly, wondering whether or not to play it. After all.. Was his draw really indefinite to his opponent? He glanced up.
"Play the card; do as you must."
He snarled. But he had to admit, his hand didn't look too promising. Sure, there was his most trusted card, but he needed two sacrifices to summon it. And, at the moment, he had no cards on the field.
Then again.. Neither did they.
"I play Pot of Greed," he replied as he set the card face-up onto the spell compartment of his duel disk, "This allows me to draw two cards."
Withdrawing the two cards he was entitled two, he glanced down at both of them hopefully. Almost surprised with his luck, he stifled a laugh. He was still in this.
And he could win..
Yes.. His draw had been exceptionally timely. Perhaps 'luck' did hold some of its self-proclaimed truths. Maybe the adage, 'Luck favors those who are skilled' did apply in some cases..
But well.. If it did...
Then why hadn't it favored him later on?
"I play the spell card Monster Reincarnation! By discarding one card from my hand," as he said this, he disposed of a spell, Silent Doom, "I am able to add one monster from my graveyard to my hand." Extracting the large amount of cards that rested in his graveyard, he quickly searched through them. Finding the monster card that suited him well enough, he placed it into his hand, returning the rest of the cards back to his graveyard. "Your move."
His adversary drew in accordance, pulling out a solitary card from their deck. Without even bothering to glance at it, they placed it onto the field, "I play a single card face down. With that, I end my turn." His eyes narrowed forward. A conclusion of their turn...already? Yet another thoughtless mistake--that he could use in his advantage.
This was his chance.
Indeed, it had been the perfect opportune chance to take hold of victory. It was risky; he had realized that from the beginning.
However, chances like the one he had been given weren't always so easy to stumble upon.
And that was why he had to grasp it..
..Grasp it while he still had an opening...
"First off, I'll lay one card face down." He then placed a card face-up onto one of the partitions. "I summon Gadget Soldier in attack mode!" he declared as a machine-type monster made itself present on the field.
"Now, I'll attack! Go, Gadget Soldier, and finish them off!"
"Not so fast! I counter with Negate Attack!" ..Predictable.
"That won't work!" He revealed his face-down card, "I play Trap Jammer, which sends your trap to the graveyard!" He paused as the hologram of the trap shattered.
"Now, I can continue with my attack!"
He had continued with his attack self-assured. In spite of everything, he had already ridden the field of the only card that could possibly have been a detriment to him. His opponent had been completely defenseless. Who wouldn't have attacked?
Victory had been in his reach.. It had been the best thing to do, right?
Wrong.
"I now activate the trap card Holy Barrier Mirror Force!" (7)
His eyes widened in alarm. Another trap? ..But he wasn't even prepared for this one!
"What?"
"With this card, I am able to negate the attack of your monster and destroy it. In addition to this, your monster's attack points are deducted from your life points." (8)
He glanced down at his hand, desperately searching for a card to counter with. His anxiety, however, completely in vain. There was no card in his hand that could counteract the trap.
He watched in misery as his monster's assault was reversed. In moments it was destroyed, his life points taking a similar turn. A severe subtraction of eighteen hundred.. It was more than enough to...
To actually.. To thoroughly lead to his...
Defeat.
He had lost. He had truly been defeated. Sure, losing was one thing, but what was even worse was the fact it had happened in his own tournament. His failure to win signaled his official disqualification. The thought still frustrated him. Everything he had worked for.. It was all gone. All had been utterly pointless... Every moment of preparation, every move he had made, every duel he had fought, every card he had gained... Even Obelisk..
Obelisk.
He lifted his right hand, moving it to one of the many inner coat pockets of his trench coat. Entrapping a single card within his fingers, he pulled it out and set his gaze upon it, his emotions a mixture of anger and regret. Even the most powerful card in his entire deck hadn't had come through. And now.. Now he had to hand it over..
"You may give me back Obelisk no Kyoshinhei within the hour."
He grimaced. Because of them he had been humiliated in his own competition. How it irritated him, the fact that they were using his tournament to settle their family issues. He hated them. No.. More so...
He hated her.
Everything about her angered him. Her dueling tactics were designed to both alarm her opponents and throw them off-guard by putting down and playing cards without even glancing at them. Even her composure and calmness was enough to drive anyone mad. Moreover, there were her foolish beliefs--in fate and in the past. Did she actually believe that destiny had helped her win their duel? And that his failure was due to his disbelief in the past?
"It was destiny that aided me in my battle against you. If you had accepted your past, then perhaps you would have won."
Ridiculous.
Destiny was one thing, but the past was another. Even if he had come to terms with his "past," how would it have helped him in the duel? Would he miraculously have been able to draw the card he needed to claim victory? The chances still seemed unlikely..
It was hard to believe... So hard to believe, in fact, that he had begun to reconsider what she had meant. Was she truly telling him what he had done wrong, or was she simply trying to assert her cleverness? Had she been taunting him? He growled under his breath...
Not only did he hate her, but he loathed her.
And yet..
Here he was, walking to her room, fulfilling the request that she had given him after their duel. Why he was living up to her demand baffled even him. Perhaps it was his conscience? He mused at the thought. His conscience. He had never really listened to the ethics of choosing right over wrong. For most of his life, he had simply used force to change the outcome into his favor.
But now.. There was no way that he could alter the result. After all, the duel had already taken place and happened. He couldn't go back and vary time. His future, however, was in a class of its own.. Now, perhaps, he needed to take heed of his sense of right and wrong...
He halted at the front of a single door. This was her room. He felt himself become reluctant for a passing second. Disinclination? What did he have to be hesitant about? The quicker it was done, the faster he could put this all behind him..
He took a step forward. After all, what need was there to knock? As far as he was concerned, most rules and formalities didn't apply to him--if any at all.
The door slid across to the left at once, leaving a gap for him to enter. He did so, the door instantly sliding shut behind him. His former rival sat gazing out of a window intently, evidently unruffled at the abrupt intrusion. In silence she turned her gaze to meet his. Instantly, he found himself staring at a pair of azure eyes.
Blue eyes.
They were so much like his own--and yet, so much different. Instead of keeping her emotions locked behind a thick cavern of ice, her eyes portrayed feelings vividly. The emotion held in her eyes was as plain as an open book..
Apprehension.
Regardless of the familiar expression, he stared back rigidly. After all, what was he supposed to do? Furthermore, what could he do? -- Ask her what was wrong? Absurd. He wasn't the type to do so. As a child, he had always been rather alone. Save for his brother, his "friends" had been his Magic and Wizards cards. Whenever he did have a chance between his studies, he would perfect his mastery of them. Gradually, and almost unconsciously, each passing year had made him colder. Soon, he was only a pale shadow of his former self.
Even now he wondered... How would things be if his childhood had been different?
After a few more minutes of deliberation, he raised his right hand. He threw her the card with poise, nimbly letting it brush against his slender fingers before it fully exited his hand. She caught it just as gracefully, trapping it between the middle and index fingers of her left hand. Without even taking so much as a quick look, she slid it into the deck of Magic and Wizards cards that rested on the table in front of her.
"I thank you."
As her gaze switched back to the scenery of the darkening sky, he wordlessly turned on his heel. Facing the door, he briefly studied its silver frame. He stood completely still, standing far enough so that the entrance wouldn't slide open.
"..You're doing all of this for him, aren't you?"
He felt her eyes turn back towards him questioningly. He had even surprised himself in asking her such a question. It was as if the words were out before he had even processed them.
"Yes, I am." Shock almost undetectably lined her tranquil voice.
"Why?"
"He's the last heir of our family, the only blood relative that I have left living. It is what my parents would have willed, and a duty that I will gladly accept. Moreover, I choose to, for the purpose of his life." He continued to gaze in the opposite direction.
"What if you don't succeed in saving him?"
"Failing in my attempt is not an option. I will do anything in my power to save him from the presence threatening to take over his life. Regardless of the obstacles that line my path, I will succeed." Her determination was impressive, he'd give her that much.
"But what if you don't?"
"I will succeed." Her voice was pressing.
This woman.. She was so firm in her quest to save her brother. She was so resolute, in fact, that she seemed almost stubborn. -- No, she did seem stubborn. So stubborn that no matter what was said, she wouldn't change her resolve. So stubborn that a barricade of any size or matter wouldn't be enough to impede her in her mission. So stubborn that absolutely no one would stand in her way. So stubborn that she actually reminded him of someone..
Himself.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of her hands reach up and graze the golden eye-shaped center of her necklace. Was she actually trying to find an answer to her problem with a necklace? Then again, he wouldn't put it pass her..
As if impulsively, he lifted his left arm towards him, his right hand instinctively drawing the topmost card of the deck that rested in his dueling disk. He raised the Magic and Wizards card to his face, studying it carefully.
"The odds of you actually succeeding in your pursuit are slim to none."
"Perhaps, but I choose to take the chance."
He continued to gaze at the card, letting another curtain of silence pass between them both. This silence, however, briefer than the pauses before as he cut through it with his next move.
With a fleeting motion of his right wrist, he threw the Magic and Wizards plated card in her direction. He could sense her uncertainty as she took hold of it, this time glancing at it. He caught her stunned expression in a nearby window glass.
"..This is..."
"I know what it is."
"..But why would you.."
"Use it for the remainder tournament."
He felt her eyes once again glance up at him. An appreciative smile graced her countenance as she finally spoke, "Thank you."
He took a step forward, the door once again sliding open. "..Use it for his sake... Use it..." He paused, his body fully exiting the room with his back still turned towards her.
"..For your sake."
(1) - The Japanese card Virus Cannon is a magic card, not a trap card.
The Japanese Crush card, called Deck Destruction Virus of Death, works differently than the American Crush card played by in the first segment of the duel. Rather than destroying all of the monsters in your deck, it destroys all monsters that possess 1500 or more attack points on the opponent's field, in their hand, and any that they draw for the next three turns from their deck.
(2) - From my understanding, it is the Japanese name for the card Exchange of Spirit in the American dub.
(3) - Alternate spelling: Zorga.
(4) - Literal meaning: Obelisk, the Great God of War.
(5) - Before reading this, please take note that I used the effect of the real card Blast Held by a Tribute. I also used it in the context of a real game, and not how it was played in the American episode. This card states the following:
You can only activate this card when an opponent declares an attack with a monster on his/her side of the field that has been Tribute Summoned or Set. Destroy all face-up monsters on your opponent's side of the field and inflict 1000 points of damage to your opponent's life points.
(6) - I did a lot of speculation on this since the card is a trap. And, as you know, direct traps cannot be used against the God Cards. But, when reading the effects of this card, I decided it could be used against Obelisk. To me, personally, the methods seem indirect. If this is a mistake, please excuse it. I'd like to mention, however, that it will remain unchanged either way, just for the sake of the fanfiction.
(7) - Known as Mirror Force in the American dub.
(8) - In a couple episodes of the anime, Holy Barrier Mirror Force also inflicted life point damage to the opponent. Because of this, I will be using the same effect in this fanfiction.
Please review, or at least leave a note saying that you read this.