Strawberry Duel!
*I own neither Strawberry Panic nor Yu-Gi-Oh, in any of its forms. Otherwise the series would probably go almost exactly like this and we'd have more Dueling chicks.
Chapter Fifteen
Astraea Academy's main dining hall hummed with resonating tones of polite busytalk and refined utensil-handling. Nagisa's small hands fumbled slightly, unused to using a knife and fork. Her roast duck confit barely left her plate, constrained to merely being torn apart and messed about upon it. Nagisa blushed at the publicness of her errors. And in such a refined setting!
The Astraea class exchange social dinners provided a good excuse for students of every school to get to know each other. Everywhere Nagisa looked, Spica White Girls chatted politely away with Lulim Pink students and Miator Green somehow managed to put aside all pretense of rivalry to chat it up with Spica White. But proper table manners were always first and foremost. With all their teachers covertly watching them, no student dared try anything if they could help it.
Nagisa nudged Tamao sitting next to her slightly.
"Say, Tamao-chan…that girl over there. Isn't that the Spica White student body President?"
"Yes, it is. Spica White Third Year Tomori Shion-sama. People call her the Ice Queen not only because she's so cool, but also because of her chilling Ice Barrier deck."
"An Ice Barrier deck? Wow! I think I've heard of those cards, but I've never actually seen them. I wonder what it would be like to Duel her…"
Tamao chuckled, making sure to keep it so low that none of the teachers could pick up on it.
"You're gonna want to fight that impulse, Nagisa-chan. This social dinner is all about learning to get along with and befriend students from other schools. The last thing we would want is someone challenging someone else to a Duel."
"More bread, madam?"
All of a sudden, a beautiful young woman with red ribbons in her dark hair leant down next to Nagisa. She wore a crisp monochrome waiter's outfit and carried thin, crusty breadsticks in her little basket. Tamao bowed as low as she could in her seat.
"Oh, Chikaru-sama! We-we're okay here, no need to worry."
Chikaru smiled sweetly and carried on elsewhere, an almost imperceptible skip affecting her walk slightly. Chikaru-oneesama seems a little too excited about this evening, Tamao thought. I just know she's up to something, but what?
A sudden restlessness swept over the room, as though some unknown student had just activated Cold Wave. The main door opened and in walked a Spica White student that no one had seen before, led by one of the Sisters. The pure white of her uniform helped to make her light chestnut hair seem slightly darker, and her androgynous body made some think that she was a boy at first glance. The Sister seemed to blend into the background, the soft clapping of her hands the only sign she was there at all.
"Everyone, if I may have your attention please. I know it seems a mite bit unusual for a new student to enter Astraea Girls at this point in the year, but all the same, I'd like to introduce you to our newest Spica White student-"
"Thank you, Sister Mary Catherine, but I'll take it from here."
The girl held up a dismissive hand and Sister Mary Catherine fell silent.
"Good evening, everyone. My name is Kusanagi Makoto, and I will be entering Spica White's Fifth Year Class Trois sometime next week. It is a pleasure to meet you all."
She bowed low, drinking in the people's admiration of her gallantry and clear, energetic voice. A rose from a table's centerpiece found its way into Makoto's hands and she sniffed at it lustily.
"And now, without further ado, on to business!"
Suddenly, without warning, the rose flew from Makoto's fingers and zipped through the air like a dart. Miyuki barely had enough time to duck out of its way. When the rose-dart came to a stop, it lay in the center of a mini chocolate lava cake…right in front of Amane Ohtori. Makoto followed it, disregarding nearly everything in her path as she spoke.
"Are you Prince Amane? Yes, of course you are, my contact tipped me off. But that's not important now. What's important now is that I have come all the way from North Academy just to clean up the mess you've made of Spica White. Our Spica White, the school that once shone like a thousand stars. But now those stars have faded and the students have fallen into chaos. Unabashed favoritism here, and dozens of fangirls clamoring for this and that over there. But I shall fix it. And, to that end-"
Snap! As soon as she became close enough, Makoto whipped out her Duel Disk so that the blade stopped mere millimeters from the astonished Prince's face.
"I now hereby challenge you, Prince Amane!"
At Astraea Girls, opening one's Duel Disk in such a manner was a definite challenge, one that you couldn't back down from. Amane coolly removed the rose from her cake and stood up.
"Must I? I don't really like being called up in front of everyone, but if I have to, then I accept."
Both players drew their first five cards and spoke as one.
"Duel!"
(Amane-4000 Makoto-4000)
"The first move is mine!" Makoto crowed. "And, from my hand, I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4!"
A silver dragon with a sharpened hawk face appeared on Makoto's field and roared.
"And then I place one card face down and end my turn."
Amane drew next. "My move then! And I'll start by activating this: Cards of Consonance! Now, by sending Dragnity Pilum from my hand to the Graveyard, I get to draw two new cards. Next I summon Dragnity Legionnaire! And, with his special ability, I can summon back Dragnity Pilum and use him as an Equip Card."
"Good." Makoto snickered. "Now my Black Flame Dragon can take out two monsters for the price of one."
"You'd think so, but no. Not once I play my Dragon Mastery card. Now, not only do all my Dragnity-equipped Dragnity monsters gain 500 Attack Points, but now I can Equip them with extra Dragnity monsters once per turn. So now I attach Dragnity Brandistock onto Dragnity Legionnaire. And, thanks to his effect, my Dragnity Legionnaire can attack twice per turn. So now I'll aim my first attack straight at you!"
Makoto looked stunned as she lost her first Life Points of the Duel.
(Amane-4000 Makoto-3575)
But Amane was equally confused.
"What just happened? My Dragnity Pilum should have had that attack deal half of Dragnity Legionnaire's Attack Points to you as damage. That should have been 850."
Makoto gestured to her face-down Trap card, which she had activated just in time.
"You would think so, but thanks to my Damage Diet Trap, that half was halved again, dealing me only 425 points of damage. Not only that, but, until the end of the turn, all damage I take is halved! Ha ha!"
"Impressive card, but your little Trap can't stop me from using my second attack!"
(Amane-4000 Makoto-3525)
Makoto no longer had her monster out on the field. Students whispered here and there, incredulous of the newcomer's chances against their Prince. But Makoto was far from finished.
"You have some good cards there, O Prince. Perhaps you would have made a worthy Spica White champion after all. But, unfortunately, we will never find out. My move! And now, with one single card, I cripple your entire Deck! Go, Deadly Wind!"
A strange green tornado whipped all over the playing field, causing Amane to instinctively shield her eyes.
"What is this?"
"Your end, Prince. You see, as long as my Deadly Wind card remains on the field, neither one of us can Special Summon Wind Attribute monsters, and all those already on the field lose 500 Attack Points! And now I think I'll bring out my second Black Flame Dragon."
A second Black Flame Dragon, exactly like the first, appeared on the field. And this one wasn't going anywhere.
"Now attack!"
(Amane-3600 Makoto-3525)
"And now, since Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level Four just destroyed one of your monsters in battle, I can sacrifice it in order to summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level Six!"
Horus had grown stronger with new Levels, and his silver wings radiated strong bursts of fire.
"Your move, Prince Amane."
Now Amane was the one with no monsters to hide behind. Her Special Summons were cut off, meaning no Synchro Summons either. And anything she did manage to summon would have its ATK cut so much that it could never rival Makoto's Black Flame Dragon. She drew her next card hesitantly. Hmm…that move may be risky, but it just might be worth it.
"Fine then, I draw! You may have stopped the first effect of Dragon Mastery, but not the second. Now I summon Dragnity Dux from my hand and use the effect of Dragon Mastery to Equip it with Dragnity Achilles to end my turn."
The falcon-headed Dragnity Dux stood proudly on Amane's field, facing down Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 6 with no fear. Makoto drew her next card.
"My move! For all your effort, Prince Amane, that card is still just another domino for me to knock down. Show her what I mean, Level Six Black Flame Dragon!"
(Amane-3200 Makoto-3525)
Amane had taken some damage, but she still stood tall.
"Makoto, I don't know what your problem is with me, but I'm not going down without a fight. You were so focused on Dragnity Dux that you forgot all about Dragnity Achilles. You see, when Dragnity Achilles is sent to the Graveyard while its attached to a monster, I can select one card on your side of the field and destroy it. So now I'll destroy your Deadly Wind card and remove those limits!"
Spica White students applauded their Prince. Makoto managed to growl out a few last words. "I throw down a face down and end my turn." Amane drew her next card, while Makoto exuded some sort of ferocious dark aura.
"My move, then! I summon Dragnity Partisan from my hand in Attack Mode. Whenever he's summoned, I'm allowed to bring out another Winged Beast Type Dragnity monster to join him. So say hello to Dragnity Angus!"
A tall humanoid with a bird-like cape and cowl appeared on Amane's field, attacking Makoto's Life Points directly.
(Amane-3200 Makoto-1425)
Makoto's arm moved swiftly to raise her face-down card.
"You just did exactly what I wanted. Now, by activating my Damage Condenser Trap, I can send one card from my hand to the Graveyard to summon anything from my Deck I want, as longs as its Attack Points are less than or equal to the damage I just took. So now meet my Hyozanryu!"
Ever fickle, the audience cheered at Makoto's sparkling new diamondesque dragon.
"I end my turn."
"Then I draw! And, from my hand, I summon the Tuner monster Sinister Sprocket. And now I Tune the Level 1 Sinister Sprocket with the Level 7 Hyozanryu for a Synchro Summon. Come forth, Dark End Dragon!"
Everything about Makoto's new monster spelled Mean. Two sets of smiling sharp teeth glared at Amane from two different points on the monster's body. Several weaker students fainted in terror.
"Now, since I just performed a successful Synchro Summon, I can bring out Synchro Magnet directly from my hand. We've had some good fun, Prince Amane, but nothing and no one will stop me from saving Spica White. Least of all a phony Prince like you?"
"A phony Prince?"
"That's right. Your conduct has hardly been becoming of a true star of Spica as of late. A star belongs to the world, and that star's love should not be withheld by only one person. As the new star of Spica White, my love shall belong to all. Now it's time to end this. I activate Dark End Dragon's special ability: by removing 500 of its Attack Points, I can instantly destroy one monster on your side of the field. Go, Dark Evaporation!"
Amane could only watch as her two Dragnity monsters disintegrated before her. Nagisa whispered to Tamao.
"Hey, Tamao-chan, that girl can't really end the Duel right now, can she? I mean, her Dark End Dragon still has 2100 Attack Points left, and her Synchro Magnet has 1000. That totals only 3100, but Prince Amane still has 3200. Even if she attacked with everything, she'd still have 100 Life Points left."
Tamao lowered her water glass and pointed at the determined young emperor, for that was what she was fast becoming in some minds.
"Just watch, Nagisa-chan."
"And now, for my final card: the Spell Card Battle Tuned! Now all I have to do is remove the Sinister Sprocket I just used from play, and I can give all 400 of its Attack Points directly to my Synchro Magnet! You are the star of Spica White no longer! Attack now, my monsters, and finish her!"
(Amane-0 Makoto-1425)
As the smoke cleared, Makoto turned and threw herself into her new crowd of adoring fans.
"Thank you, my dears! As always, I dedicate this victory to my one true beloved-the lost star of Spica White! The one whose seat remains empty to this day! I solemnly vow that I shall return this school to her ideals, that we may never again waste our energy on petty things like flash-in-the-pan romance."
Spellbound by Makoto's Duel, Nagisa almost didn't notice when something landed on her head. It was a solid sapphire blue card protector sleeve, its backside metallic blue as if made from the gem itself. Looking around, she could see hundreds of them, falling from the ceiling like some magnificent rain.
"Everyone! As a symbol of our meeting, I grant you all at least one sapphire card protector apiece. All are welcome-I love you all!"
And, needless to say, what had started as a peaceful and refined dinner function then proceeded to erupt into chaos.
To be continued…