Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX
A Note to fans of my previous fic, A New Duelist Legend: Hello. Yes, I'm not dead. I do, however, come bearing sad news. This is an official announcement of the cancellation of 'A New Duelist Legend'. Sad, I know, but quite frankly, that fic was a mess. Abandoned plot hints, an inconsistent story, poorly written duels and unbalanced characters all ran rampant through that fic. It had its moments, but I was all and all unsatisfied with it, hence my lack of updates for multiple months. With this sad news, however, comes good news. I'm going to try again! Many of your favorite characters, such as Tsukanna, Rita and Vincent will return in this story, set in a unique new setting with a new main character. I hope my previous failure won't tarnish your enjoyment of this story. Now, without further ado, on with the (new) fic!
Yu-Gi-Oh GX – A League of Their Own
Chapter 1 – Great Star of Tomorrow! Shibai Takes Center Stage!
There are millions of people in Tokyo. Every one of these people has their own life, their own job, and their own idea of what it means to be entertained. However, a very large chunk of those people seem to agree on one thing: Dueling is entertaining. Not about to let a great opportunity pass them by, corporate Japan created the Pro League, stage of the Dueling elite. Duelists from all over the world come to compete in Japan's Pro League, many of them making as much money as any professional athlete. The rise of Dueling's popularity as entertainment meant that special schools were created simply to train future dueling stars. However, these schools are not the point of this story. This story follows a young man who has left school behind for a promising future in the Pro League…
"Mr. Hitori?" A young woman in a conservative black business suit asked from her seat in the back of a limo. "Were you listening to me?"
The person sitting across from her, a young man, about nineteen years old, started and ran his hand nervously through his spiked white hair. "No, sorry. I guess I'm still a little… disbelieving, that's all."
The woman smiled slightly. "That's perfectly understandable, Mr. Hitori. After all, just six months ago, you were just a student. Now you're about to be thrown into one of the most hyped duels the Pro League has ever seen."
The young man smiled nervously. "Don't remind me. That disturbs me almost as much as the fact that my entire life's worth of dueling has been made public as part of your propaganda campaign."
"You'll do fine, Mr. Hitori." The woman said, "Mr. Mashimoto has a lot of faith in you."
The young man smiled winningly back at the woman. "Thanks, Ishita. And I've told you before, you can just call me Shibai."
Ishita was about to respond when the driver called from the front "Ms. Toriya? Mr. Hitori? We're here."
"Thank you." Ishita replied, before turning to Shibai. "Your public awaits."
Shibai nodded and got out of the car. He was immediately faced with a crowd cheering "Shibai! Shibai! Shibai!"
He waved to the crowd as he walked down the aisle that had been cleared for him. When he reached the doors, he whirled around and yelled "Alright! Everyone remember to cheer for me as loud as you can in there, because your cheers help me win!" He pumped his fist into the air, and another cheer rose from the crowd. With that, he walked into the building.
Still sitting in the limo, Ishita smiled. "Mr. Mashimoto was right in sponsoring him. I don't think I've ever seen anyone play a crowd like he can."
A short walk through the halls later, Shibai had reached his dressing room. He walked in, and was immediately greeted by a young American woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and glasses. "Hello!" The woman said cheerfully, in perfect Japanese, "My name is Kelly Reynolds, and I'm your general advisor!"
Shibai stared, thinking, "What's an American doing here?"
Kelly continued, seemingly unfazed by Shibai's stare. "I give you the info on your opponent, your gear, and anything else you need to know about!"
"Okay…" Shibai said. "So, what sort of information do you have for me?"
"You only have nine minutes until your match starts, so I'll tell you while you change." Kelly pointed to a screen. "You can change behind that."
Shibai walked behind the screen, and stared at his outfit for several seconds. He broke into a smirk. "I like."
"I'm glad, Mr. Hitori." Kelly replied. "Now, about you opponent. Normally, an rookie in the pro league gets the opportunity to cut his teeth on some of the lower ranked duelists, but someone must think very well of you, because you're starting against a 'C' rank opponent."
"Ok," Shibai replied, continuing to change, "So what can I expect?"
"Just about to get to that." Kelly said, "Your opponent is Matsu Nichiba. He uses an Alien control deck. It's primary weakness lies in its reliance on A-Counters. If you can keep switching monsters fast enough, you'll win for sure."
Shibai zipped his costume closed and smirked. "I can handle that." He walked out from behind the screen. "How do I look?" Shibai's costume was a black jumpsuit with neon green lines crisscrossing it. He was wearing a silver coat over the jumpsuit. The jumpsuit had a customized silver and green duel vest built into its chest.
Kelly smiled. "You look great, Mr. Hitori!"
Shibai smirked. "Thanks." He walked off in the direction of the arena.
"Good luck, Mr. Hitori!" Kelly called to him.
Shibai waved in response.
"Ladies and gentleman!" An announcer called from up in the dueling ring's press box. "Are you read for the most anticipated duel of the season?"
"YES!!!" The crowd roared.
"Alright!" The announcer said, "It's time! Let's introduce the players! First up, we have recent Duel Academy graduate Shibai Hitori!"
"Shibai! Shibai! Shibai!" The crowd called, as one of the walls of the arena opened up, revealing Shibai in all his costumed glory.
"Yeah!" He yelled to the crowd, "This win if for each and every one of you!" The crowd continued roaring his name in response.
"Well," The announcer said, "Shibai is obviously the crowd favorite. Not only that, he's so confident that he's already declared himself the winner. I'll bet his opponent has something to say about that… come on down, Matsu Nichiba!"
The other side of the arena opened, and Shibai's opponent walked out. Matsu wore a grey bodysuit with a number of red domes on it, giving him an appearance similar to that of his alien monsters.
Matsu frowned and activated his duel disk. "Just because you're the crowd favorite doesn't make you a better duelist then me, Shibai! You're going down!"
Shibai's duel vest slid into place, and he smirked and pulled his starting hand off of his deck. "I'm not backing down, Matsu! One of us is leaving here with a win, and it's not going to be you!"
MLP: 8000
SLP: 8000
"I'll go first! Draw!" Shibai called out. He fanned out his cards, and selected one. "I'll summon Nanomage Scryer in defense mode!" The monster that appeared was a humanoid in silvery robes with various neon green wires poking in and out of random places. His eyes were solid green, and he was sitting on the floor, staring intently into a green crystal. (500/1200)
Matsu's eyes narrowed. "I see… so that's what a Nanomage looks like, huh? What's this one do?"
"When Nanomage Scryer is summoned, I get to make a choice." Shibai said, smirking. "Either I get a monster with Nanomage in its name from my deck, or I get a spell or trap card with Cyberspell in its name from my deck. Also, either way I choose, I lose 500 life points. I'm going to choose the latter." Shibai fanned out his deck and selected a card from it. He smirked and placed that card onto hid duel vest. "I'll just set the card I searched for and end my turn."
MLP: 8000
SLP: 7500
Matsu silently drew a card from his deck, looked at it, and then grinned. "I already know just how I'm going to beat you, kid. I summon Alien Warrior in attack mode!" Matsu slapped a card onto his disc, and a giant, grey alien with huge claws shimmered onto his side of the field. (1800/1000)
"Attack!" Matsu yelled, "Alien Claw!" The bulky alien rushed forward and slammed on of his claws into the Scryer, shattering it instantly. The crowd cheered, apparently liking Matsu's bold move.
"Look's like the crowd's turning, kid." Matsu chuckled. "Ah well, them's the breaks. You can save a little face if you give up now."
Shibai smirked. "Why would I give up when I'm going to win?" His set card flipped up. "I activate Cyberspell Data Collector!" This quickplay spell can be activated whenever one of my Nanomage monsters is destroyed, and it lets me pay 500 life points to either draw a card or take a spell or trap back from my graveyard! I'll choose to draw!"
MLP: 8000
SLP: 7000
"That's not going to help you." Matsu said, frowning. "I'll set this one card, then end my turn."
Drawing, Shibai grinned. "I think I'll turn things up a notch! I activate the spell card Cyberspell Charger! This card costs 500 life points to activate, and gives me one of two effects. Either I gain 1500 life points, or reduce the level of a Nanomage in my hand by two for the rest of the turn. I'll go with the second option!"
"And," Shibai continued, "Since it's now a level four monster, I can summon Nanomage Enforcer!" This monster was also dressed in a sliver robe with various neon green wires sticking out of it. It had neon green eyes as well, and clutched a glowing green staff. (2300/1700)
Shibai pointed at Matsu's Alien. "Let's go! Nanomage Enforcer, attack his Alien Warrior! Enforcement Staff!" The cyborg mage nodded and whirled his staff around, then charged the grey Alien. He slammed his staff into the alien's head, and the Alien shattered.
MLP: 7500
SLP: 7000
"That's not all, though!" Shibai continued, "The first time each turn that my Enforcer destroys a monster as a result of battle, I can pay 500 life points. If I do, one of two things happens. Either he can attack another monster on your field, or you take the attack of the monster that was destroyed as damage. Since you've got no monsters, the choice is obvious!" Nanomage Enforcer pointed his staff at Matsu, and green electricity shot out of it, slamming into Matsu's chest and knocking him back several steps.
MLP: 5700
SLP: 6500
The crowd cheered excitedly, with yells of "Shibai!" coming every so often. Shibai grinned and waved at them, and the crowd grew even more fevered.
Matsu brushed off his jumpsuit. "Not everything's good for you, kid. Take a look." He pointed at two small, wriggling parasites that hat attached themselves to the Nanomage Enforcer. "Whenever Alien Warrior gets destroyed an battle, the monster that destroyed it gets two A-Counters."
Shrugging, Shibai said. "Not a big deal. I'll just set this one card and end my turn."
Taking a card off of his deck, Matsu smirked. "I'll wipe out that cocky attitude of yours, kid. I activate the effect of this monster in my hand, Alien Parasite!" One of the small parasites on Nanomage Enforcer began to swell. The parasite burst and a small Alien that was basically a mouth with legs and a tail appeared on Matsu's field. (1000/0)
"Alien Parasite's effect allows it to be special summoned from my hand by removing an A-Counter from a monster on the field." Matsu explained. "Now," He continued, taking another card from his hand, "I'll tribute Alien Parasite for Alien Mother!" The small alien faded from Matsu's field and was replaced with a towering grey and purple alien colossus. (2300/1500)
"As impressive as that is," Shibai said, "It doesn't matter. Our monsters are evenly matched."
Matsu shook his head. "Typical mistake. You forgot about my A-Counter!"
Shibai's eyes widened, and the Alien Mother charged his Nanomage Enforcer. The two monsters clashed, and a timely jolt of electricity from the parasite on the Enforcer's side gave Alien Mother the chance she needed to ram her claws into the Enforcer's stomach. The Enforcer fell down, dead, and Alien Mother roared in triumph, the crowd echoing her roar.
MLP: 5700
SLP: 6200
"I'll set this one card." Chuckling, Matsu eyed Shibai. "If you ever manage to get your career back together after I trash you, look me up for a rematch."
"After you trash me?" Shibai asked rhetorically, "Not gonna happen."
Matsu frowned. "Oh yeah? Well I end my turn, and the effect of Alien Mother kicks in! Since it destroyed a monster with an A-counter on it, the destroyed monster is summoned back to my side of the field!" The dead Nanomage Enforcer jerked upright, looking for all the world like a cybernetic zombie, and walked over to Matsu's side of the field. The odds continuing to marshal against Shibai, and the crowd had turned completely in Matsu's favor.
Up at the top of the stand, Ishita bit her lip. "If he loses now, Mr. Mashimoto's investment will be down the drain! You'd better get through this, Shibai…"
Shibai slid a card off of his deck, looked at it, and placed it on his duel vest. "Card of Sanctity! Now we both draw until we're holding six cards!"
Fanning out his new hand, Shibai grinned. "Alright folks, it's time for the grand turnaround! I activate Cyberspell Overload! At the cost of 500 life points and a card from my hand, this destroys either all monsters on the field or all spell and trap cards on the field. I'll pick monsters, so say goodbye!" A glowing green orb appeared on the center of the field. It began to crackle with energy, and after a few seconds, exploded, taking Alien Mother and the reanimated Nanomage Enforcer with it.
MLP: 5700
SLP: 5700
"And I'm just warming up!" Shibai continued, "Next, I'll summon Nanomage Adept in attack mode!" Another Nanomage shimmered onto Shibai's field, this one shorter then the others, clearly only a teenager. (1400/1000)
"Nanomage Adept, Attack!" Shibai pointed at Matsu. "Particle Beam!" The teenage Nanomage raised his hands and fired a blast of green energy at Matsu, which slammed him in the chest and knocked him off of his feet.
MLP: 4300
SLP: 5700
"I'll end with this one set card." Finishing his turn, Shibai placed the card on his duel vest.
Matsu drew a card, and then scanned his seven-card hand. "This works." He took one of the cards out of his hand and placed it on his disc. "I activate Corruption Cell 'A'! This spell card will put an A-Counter on your monster." A small parasite flew across the field and attached itself to Nanomage Adept, who didn't seem to notice.
"Next, I'll activate my facedown card, Brainwashing Beam!" Matsu's set card flipped up, and a glazed look came over Nanomage Adept's eyes, and he walked over to Matsu's field.
"Since you just took control of one of my monsters using Brainwashing Beam, I assume you're about to tribute it for Cosmic Horror Gangi'el?"
"Exactly!" Matsu replied, "I tribute your Nanomage for Cosmic Horror Gangi'el!" The Nanomage disappeared and in its place appeared a massive, multi tentacled monster appeared. (2600/2000)
Smirking, Matsu pointed at Shibai. "Gangi'el, rip him apart!"
The massive space beast charged at Shibai, who just smirked. "I activate Cyberspell Barrier. By paying 500 life points, I can either destroy an attacking monster or negate its attack and end the battle phase! I'll use the first effect to destroy your Horror!" A green energy bubble appeared around Shibai, and Gangi'el rammed into it and was hit by a massive backlash of electricity. The alien roared in pain before shattering.
MLP: 4300
SLP: 5700
Matsu growled under his breath. "You think that that's going to save you, rookie? I'll show you how wrong you are. I end my turn."
Shibai pulled a card off of his deck with a flourish. He raised the card up into the air. "This is the last turn, Matsu. You've put up a good fight, but it's over."
"Ha!" Matsu replied, "I'd like to see you try and beat me in this one turn with only three cards."
"Get looking, then!" Shibai said, "I activate Cyberspell Time-Warp. At the cost of 500 life points, this card can retrieve either a Nanomage or Cyberspell from my graveyard. I'll bring back my Cyberspell Charger!" The named card popped out of his graveyard, and he added it to his hand.
MLP: 4300
SLP: 5200
"I'll once again activate Cyberspell Charger, and I'll once again make on of my monsters two levels lower!" Shibai placed the card onto his duel vest. "Now, I'll summon the level six Nanomage Blader!" A new Nanomage appeared on Shibai's field, this one with a blade on one of his arms. (1000/0)
MLP: 4300
SLP: 4700
Matsu licked his lips. "A level six with those kind of stats has to have some kind of lethal effect. What does it do?"
"I'll get to that in a second." Shibai took the last card from his hand and placed it on his duel vest. "I activate the quickplay Cyberspell Amplifier, playing 500 life points to either increase the attack or defense of one of my monsters by 700 for the turn." A green energy field surrounded Nanomage Blader, and his attack rose. (1000/0)—(1700/0)
MLP: 4300
SLP: 4200
"You were curious about what kind of ability my Blader has, right?" Shibai smirked. "He can attack three times in one battle phase!"
Matsu's eyes bulged. "WHAT?!"
"Nanomage Blader, attack with Triple Blade!" Shibai yelled. The Blader nodded, then streaked forward, slashing Matsu three times and knocking him off of his feet.
MLP: 0
SLP: 4200
The crowd got up on their feet and roared "Shibai! Shibai! Shibai!"
Shibai walked towards his fallen opponent and offered him a hand. Matsu took the hand and got up. Shibai pumped his fist into the air. "I couldn't have done it without each and every one of you! Keep cheering me on, and I'll keep winning!" With that, Shibai walked out of the arena, waving as he went.
Matsu sighed. "Guess the rookie was a bit better then I thought."
In the hallway just outside of the arena, Shibai was met by Kelly. The advisor grinned at him. "That was quite a duel, Mr. Hitori! You must really love to duel!"
Shibai smiled back. "No, that's not it."
Kelly blinked in confusion. "If you don't love dueling, then why do you do it?"
"Simple." Shibai replied. "I love applause."
Next Time: Japan isn't the only country with a pro dueling circuit. A young American duelist with everything to prove steps up against an opponent with amazing drive, and Shibai gets an offer he can't refuse. Don't miss "The Two Heroes! Strike of the Three-Turn Killer!"