Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!) Anyway, this fic is written with permission from WolfGeneral. I think that Adriel is a bit of an ambiguous character in his own LDD fics, so I decided to write this to just give a bit of a background on how Adriel became the arrogant Obelisk Blue that he is. On a final note, I am using some cards that haven't even been released in Japan yet, so I kinda made up some of the defense stats... Anyway, I present to you...
Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc
Chapter 1: Ryu's Pride and Joy
Ryu smiled. One last look and he was off, returning to his wife Amy Hiroshi. "Good luck, son." he whispered, the wind carrying his message to a slightly nervous-looking boy with unruly black hair...
"What will we name him?" asked Amy.
"I don't know. I haven't looked into it." Ryu replied to his wife. The two of them were looking down lovingly at a newborn half-demon, sleeping placidly in his mother's arms.
"Names aren't something you're supposed to research, they're supposed to be something with meaning." Amy said, half-scolding her husband.
Ryu thought to himself, trying to come up with a name that would fit. Then it hit him. He had adopted the last name of his best friend a while back after the Shadow Tournament, opting to stay as 'Ryu' rather than 'Jourgen' for legal purposes. 'Zaytel' was the last name that he used in accompaniment with this new title.
"Adriel." Ryu announced firmly.
"...I like it." Amy replied after a few moments of pondering.
Adriel wound his way up the path leading to the academy, taking in the view of the forest, ocean, and active volcano that constituted his new home. "Father said to try my hardest and make him proud. That's what I'll do." Adriel assured himself, subconsciously flicking the cards in his deck which was lodged in his pocket. A breeze blew past Adriel's spiky black hair and the bottom of his black, longsleeve shirt, causing it to flare out in front of him. Good luck, son...the wind whispered to him. Adriel turned around to see the form of his father flying into the horizon.
"I wish I could fly...but father said not to let anyone know I'm a half-demon." Adriel said to himself quietly...
Ryu's phone rang in the pocket of his shirt. "Hello?" he said into the speaker.
"Honey, Adriel cracked one of your card display cases. You have to teach him how to hide his powers!" Amy's frazzled voice moaned over the connection.
"Amy, Adriel is only six. He's only coming into his powers. If we force him to repress those powers now, they may never evolve to their full potential." Ryu explained calmly, having repeated that exact string of words infinite times before.
"Well wouldn't that be a good thing? Demons aren't accepted in today's society. People will think he's some sort of freak!" Amy cried.
"But it's who he is. If we teach him that he should be ashamed of his identity, he will get nowhere in life. We have to trust that he'll be able to take care of himself." Ryu replied, still maintaining a calm tone.
"He won't get anywhere in life if he keeps breaking everything!" Amy yelled. Ryu jerked the phone away from his ears.
"...At least wait a few years. Then he'll understand." Ryu compromised, hanging up before he got an answer.
Adriel's mother won out in the end. Ryu had taught Adriel how to hide his demonic half well before Adriel even heard of the Duel Academy. The tail, wings, claws, and scales that represented Adriel's dragonic half had retracted into his body. His deep blue eyes and razor-sharp teeth, however, still showed faint signs of a supernatural presence. Turning a corner, Adriel got his first good look at the Duel Academy. Sighing, he stood in the breeze and absorbed the feeling of the cool, salty air around him. His black overshirt billowed out behind him, exposing his thin white undershirt. Adriel's pants were a set with his overshirt, black and riddled with pockets. Adriel had found a purpose for each one. The bottoms of the legs of his pants stopped right above his ankle, well out of the way of his black boots. The boots had steel-capped toes. However, none of this would matter very soon, for the Duel Academy called for a strict uniform.
Adriel continued on his way, getting closer and closer to his goal. He felt his deck in his pocket and his DuelDisc on his hand. The DuelDisc was a cutting-edge model of the DuelDisk made for portability. Ryu had bought the original model for Adriel on his tenth birthday, but the tech came with a lifetime warranty. So whenever a new model came out, Adriel's disc would 'mysteriously' break, and rather than spend the money on discontinued parts, KaibaCorp simply gave Adriel a newer model. The specs for the system were printed on a reversible panel that the deck was placed on top of:
KC DuelDisc Model 5
LEFT DISC: Attaches to the hand via an elastic band that the hand is placed through and four leather loops through which the four main fingers are placed through. The top of the disc is flat with a colored, engraved image chosen by the customer, protected by a solid glass dome.
RIGHT DISC: Attaches to the hand via an elastic band that the hand is placed through and four leather loops through which the four main fingers are placed through. The deck and graveyard slots are facing away from each other on opposite ends of the disc. The top of the disc is flat and features two LED bars, the top displaying the life points of the user and the bottom displaying the life points of the opponent.
CHAIN: Five rectangular devices with curved corners are connected together and to the LEFT DISC via a system of gold-plated wiring with black plastic insulation. A metal ring clasps around the forearm to attach to the user. Each device functions as one card pad with a monster zone on its surface and a spell/trap zone in its center.
OPERATION: The system uses a personal IP address that connects to the main KC server. The projection units are stored perpendicular to the deck and graveyard slots on the RIGHT DISC.
Adriel pulled open the doors to the academy and walked through its threshold. The inside of the entrance hall was a cool, sterile-looking room adorned with statues etcetera. Further up the hall, a set of lines were forming. Adriel was stopped by a man in a white coat. "Excuse me, sir, but are you a member of this academy?"
"Oh, uh...no, but I'm going to audition...I mean apply to the uh...academy..." Adriel stuttered, looking down the entire time. His cheeks were flushed.
"Alright, then. What's your name?" the man asked, feeling sorry for Adriel.
"Adriel Zaytel." Adriel replied as quickly as he could.
"Alright. You'll be in that last line. Make sure you have your forms with you, because that's one of the registration lines. As soon as they make sure everything is accurate, they'll let you into the test room." the man said.
Adriel nodded and moved towards the lines. "Oh," the man added, "Make sure your deck is accessible. They'll want to give it a look to get an estimate as to what your skill level is." Adriel's hand shot into his pocket.
"Hey son," Ryu said. Adriel was seated in his room at his desk. He hadn't noticed his dad unlock the door and walk in.
"Oh...hi dad!" Adriel said, rapidly concealing his demonic attributes.
"Remember, I don't care that you're half-demon. You don't need to hide it around me." Ryu said, reassuring his son.
"Oh...yeah." Adriel said.
"Anyway, since you're going to take the entrance exam for the academy soon, I thought we might look over your deck, but it seems you've beat me to it." Ryu explained.
"Yeah...but I don't think it's so good yet. Can you help?" Adriel asked.
"Of course. Now what kind of deck are you going to use?" Ryu asked.
"Dragons." Adriel said flat-out. Ryu chuckled in response.
"Well if that's the case, then I can definitely help you." Ryu thumbed through his son's deck. "They sure have interesting cards now." he said as he reached the end. "First of all, you need to focus on just dragons. Right now it looks like you're also trying to focus on stalling your opponent, but that doesn't fit this deck." Ryu said, pulling out Swords of Revealing Light, Big Shield Gardna, Gravity Bind, Level-Limit B, Curse of Fiend, and Man-Eater Bug.
"Additionally, some cards just don't seem to make much sense. For instance, Koitsu and Metamorphosis."
"See? I'll never be able to do this." Adriel said in defeat.
"Hmm. How about this." Ryu said, trying to encourage his son. "Look at this combo here. You put in three Cyber Dragon cards. Now do you know a way of getting those monsters on the field faster, since they require tributes?" Ryu questioned.
"Uhh...how about this?" asked Adriel, taking Change of Heart from his deck and showing it to his father.
"Yes, that is one way. However, you should never rely on your opponent to make your plays. So how about a way that relies only on your monsters?" Ryu asked.
Adriel pulled out two cards from the pile his father had discarded. "That's why I put in Koitsu and Metamorphosis. That way I can bring out Cyber End Dragon really fast."
"But have you thought of how to get Koitsu on the field?" Ryu asked.
"Uhh..." Adriel replied.
"Try again." Ryu said a bit sternly. Adriel thought for a moment before pulling out one card from his collection and one from his deck. "Tribute to the Doomed and Monster Reborn." he declared.
"Exactly." Ryu beamed. "That way, you get to destroy one of their monsters as well as getting a strong monster into the graveyard and then back onto the field. Now try a way that takes advantage of your monster's effect."
Adriel, more confident, pulled the card Burst Breath out of his collection. "This one." he decided.
"I was thinking maybe something less...permanent." Ryu said patiently. Adriel tried again and showed his father a card.
"Interdimensional Matter Transporter is exactly what I was thinking of." Ryu said as appreciatively as he could.
"...Am I done?" asked Adriel.
"Not yet. A few more changes, though, and you should be fine." Ryu replied. Adriel returned to work.
"Excuse me, sir!" shouted a harried voice. Adriel snapped out of his trance.
"Huh? Oh, sorry..." he said, hurrying over to the vacant registration desk and handing the woman the necessary papers.
"That's alright...Adriel, is it?" she said, butchering his name. Adriel opted not to correct her.
"Anyway, you're all cleared. The written exam is in the large room to your right. Have your deck on the desk in front of you and an official will check it while you take the written exam. Good luck." she said, stashing Adriel's papers in a file.
Adriel continued into the examination room and chose a seat close to the front of the room. Many other students were already seated. Adriel's desk was next to that of an incredibly attractive girl. Their hair colors matched perfectly. Her body fit into a petit frame, and she was staring ahead in a bored manner. Adriel's heart began to race a bit...especially when he noticed her two wolf ears protruding from her head. He sat down next to her. "Hi...my name is Adriel," he said, letting his fangs grow out a bit.
"Congratulations." the girl replied as she continued to gaze a hole into the wall.
"...what's your name?" Adriel asked, a bit surprised at this girls' lack of manners.
"Does my name matter to you?" she asked.
"...yeah, sure. I mean, you know my name now, so I should know yours, right?" he replied.
"Wrong." the demoness replied.
"..." Adriel would have continued, but a professor walked into the room with a massive amount of paper in a wagon that he pulled behind him.
"Everyone please come up here and get a copy of the test. When I say so, you have an hour and a half to complete the examination. In that time, I and several other professors will be examining your decks, which I see are all on the tables in front of you. More instructions will be given out after the test." the man said, moving aside as students began to file down the rows.
Forty minutes left...Adriel thought as he wrote. "Which of the following is not a technique in summoning a high level monster?." Adriel chuckled to himself as he chose his answer; "B) Drawing cards equal to that monster's level"
Fifteen minutes... Adriel thought, now on the final question, which was to write a micro-essay on the construction of his deck.
"My deck is based around dragon-type monsters. Dragons have high attack powers and many combos exist to quickly summon out these creatures. Additionally, support for dragon-type monsters exists in the form of cards with strong effects that work only for dragon monsters, such as 'Stamping Destruction'. Finally, dragon monsters often have powerful effects, such as the effects of the Horus dragon family.
The main creature of my deck is called Cyber Dragon. Although this monster is a machine, I believe it belongs in my deck because of its overall theme. To give my monster the full benefit of my deck, however, I have added several cards which change the sub-type of that monster and its evolved forms."
Adriel finished the exam with ten minutes left. In this time, the deck inspector came by his desk and looked through his cards. Adriel pointed out some of his favorite combos, which the deck inspector took note of on his grading sheet. The girl next tohim finished with three seconds left, but he noticed her essay appeared more as a novel than a "micro-essay" which insinuated something the length of a paragraph.
"Thank you, the examination period is over. Please hand in your papers, and in a few minutes, the results of the written exam will be displayed on the wall behind me." said the supervisor.
A few minutes and loads of paper later, the wall flickered to life, changing from the convincing default image of the wall to a computer monitor. Names began to appear.
"...what number did you get?" Adriel asked his seat mate.
"Keh! Don't think I'm that stupid! ...although I see that you are number 17. Congratulations, I suppose." the girl replied before turning on her heels and walking through the next door. Adriel followed her, much to the dismay of the supervisor, who had not yet given out instructions.