AJ: Here it is, finally, the start of the second Arc in my story!
Bil: I can understand you wanting to write more, because it gets you out of training, but must you drag ME along, as well?
AJ: Nobody demanded that you come, Shisho.
Bil: But you know I'm the one who checks on your writings to make sure you're not being stupid.
AJ: Oh, shut up. -is hit with a Shugeki Tosei and is knocked back into a tree-
Bil: DON'T TALK BACK TO YOUR MASTER!!!! Now that we have an understanding, go get me some lunch; getting pissed of makes me hungry.
AJ: …Okey-Dokey…
Chapter 1: Arrival! The Grand City Of TokyoA door slid open, revealing a dark, morose room. Light peeked inside, but only went so far, not really illuminating the pitch-black corridor. A man stood in the doorway holding a briefcase. He gazed into the room and searched from the entrance for any other inhabitants. "Hibiki-kun," the man called, "I know you're in there. Come on out. I have news for you."
The man in the door had spiked red hair and wore glasses. He had a soft but powerful voice that commanded attention to himself. He looked much like a scholar, and bore a sleeveless brown and white vest. He wore beige pants and dark brown leather boots. Over his odd clothes was a dark-brown cloak that was wrapped around his neck.
The room suddenly illuminated itself dimly, so not much of the room could be seen by anyone. "Close the door," the arrogant voice of a young man demanded. The man obliged, sliding the door shut. It was an effort to adjust his eyes, but he had been in there so many times before, so he knew exactly where everything was, allowing him to easily glide across the floor with the little light provided.
"What is it this time, Amon-dono?" the younger man asked. "I'm very busy."
"With what?"
"You know damn well 'what'," the younger one snapped. "I'm busy attempting to find my nemesis. The one who watched my sister get murdered without doing anything about it."
"Ah ,yes, well, don't forget, you are using Garam Finance Group resources in this mad attempt to find him."
"They may be 'Garam Group' finances, but I am the founder of the company," the younger one retorted. "I may only be eighteen, but I have control of the company. Don't you forget that, Amon-dono."
"My apologies, Hibiki-kun," Amon stated.
"That's fine," Hibiki answered, calming himself down, "now, then, what do you want?"
"We believe to have found your 'missing person'," Amon grinned.
Hibiki's eyes widened. "Indeed…? Where is he now?"
"Actually, he's heading here right now, sailing forth from Duel Academia. It's that boy who won the Genex Tournament, Yuki Judai."
"How do you know it's him?"
"His description is identical to the one you gave us," Amon scoffed slightly. "Do you doubt your own workers?"
Hibiki sighed. "It isn't that, Amon-dono. I'm sorry you took it that way. I just don't want to follow in that man's footsteps. I don't want to harm any innocents. My anger and revenge are directed at Richter Davis and at Richter Davis alone. I don't wish to drag anyone else into this unnecessarily."
"Well, if you need proof, here's something my men picked up while searching the island." Amon opened his briefcase, revealing a laptop inside it. He removed a projector that was lodged into the side of the case and placed it next to the computer, aiming it at the wall. He selected a file, and began playing a video.
It showed a duel between a duelist in a white overcoat and another duelist who donned a red jacket. The red-coated duelist took an upper hand early on, but quickly relinquished it. "This is it?" Hibiki inquired, rather annoyed.
"Just watch," Amon told him. The red-coated boy slowly raised his head, and revealed a dark glare that seemed to bear down on the screen. Amon paused it here to give the younger man a good look at the boy's face.
Amon turned his gaze back upon Hibiki. "So, what do you think?" Amon noticed that the boy was shaking. "Don't tell me that after all this time you fear the one you've been searching for," Amon wondered disapprovingly.
"Not at all," the boy grinned. "I'm not quivering in fear, but in joy!" The young man looked down at a picture of Judai, Jaycen, Himself, and a female. "Rejoice, Onee-san! The one who didn't raise a finger as he watched your death will now be brought to justice! Richter-dono!" The boy turned his gaze back upon the wall that displayed the dark visage of the hero-user. "Or should I now call you Judai-dono? Either way, you will soon meet your end!"
"What do you plan to do, if you don't mind me asking?" Amon questioned.
"Well, first we will observe him," Hibiki responded. "We need to find out a weak-point. Once we find that weak-point, we will exploit it. Judai-dono will rue the day he removed the one person in my life who cared for me like no other." The man held his fist clenched tightly. The hand soon began to bleed.
Amon glanced at the man, and felt the back of his neck begin to sweat coldly. 'This man…is not to be trifled with…'
Hibiki glanced at his hand and smirked viciously. He then returned his gaze back upon Judai's hatred-filled complexion, chuckling evilly.
"Wow, we're finally here!" Judai hollered.
"Yup," Edo agreed. "The Capital of Japan, Tokyo!"
Judai stood near the edge of Edo's boat and looked out to the city. He gasped as the boat pulled into the docks in the city. The boy felt as if he needed three more heads, or at least a few more eyes, in order to register everything. "Amazing!!! This place is gigantic!!!"
Edo chuckled lightly. "What, you've never been to Tokyo before?"
"Nope, not ever," Judai replied. "All the big cities I've ever been to were while I was in the DDL, and not once were we ever allowed outside during the day. At night was normally when we dueled, so we couldn't leave then, either."
"I see," Edo smirked, "deprived as a child."
"Can it, you," Judai shot.
The boat slowly sailed forward, as the enormous city grew even larger with each passing moment. Judai saw the docks ahead and noticed something else. "What the…?"
"What?" Edo questioned. "What's wrong?"
"Who…are they!?!?" Judai howled as he pointed at a large group of people standing on the docks.
"Just fans and reporters wanting to chat and take interviews," Edo told him. "Don't forget, sitting on this boat are the Genex Champion and the PDL Champion. It's natural they'd want to get a first glimpse at the two of us."
"You mean, they're gonna wanna talk to me!?!?" Judai asked wide-eyed.
"No, they want to talk to the other Genex Champion," Edo stated matter-of-factly. "Of course I mean you, you idiot! Are there any other Genex Champions here!?"
"Well…it's just…" Judai muttered poking his fingers together, "I've never done an interview before…what am I gonna say?"
"Anything you want, though I suggest keeping your past a secret for the time being," Edo noted. "Doubt anyone will believe you, and if they do, they won't want to allow you to duel."
"Good point…" Judai thought. He sighed heavily and sat down. "Hope they don't make too big of a deal. I'm not exactly prepared for this, you know? Which side is my good side…?"
Edo rolled his eyes. "Don't put your head too far up your ass, or you'll never find your way out," he grumbled.
"What did you say?" Judai angrily asked.
"That's enough, gentlemen," a mystic voice behind them cut in. "Save it for when you two finally duel. Tear each other apart now, and there'll be nothing left." Saiou march down the stairs on Edo's boat.
"Good Morning, Saiou!" Edo greeted.
"Yeah, G'morning," Judai said, though less enthusiastically.
"Hello to you," Saiou responded. "Are you ready for your big night, Judai-kun?"
"What's tonight?" Judai asked.
"Your duel, you fool," Edo told him, now becoming annoyed. "Don't tell me you forgot?"
"Well…"
"It doesn't matter," Saiou announced. "Once we dock, we will try to move through the crowd as quickly as possible. Then we can go to the Tokyo Dome and find out your opponent for tonight. Both of you will have to be prepared for your duels tonight. Word is, you're dueling a foreigner, Judai-kun."
"Really…?" Judai gasped. "Interesting, I'd like to see his deck. They must have awesome new cards from other continents!"
The boat docked shortly thereafter. Try as they might, the two renowned duelists were still managed to be captured and held back for several long interviews. By the time the crowds had dispersed, it was already nearing two o'clock in the afternoon.
"Yes, yes, thank you all!" Edo waved, as his fan-girls literally threw themselves at his feet. "Wish me luck tonight!" He waved again, causing one girl in the front row who thought he was looking at her specifically, fainted and fell backwards.
"Geez, that was long and boring…" Judai gasped. "It was getting hard to breath in there."
"Quit your whining. As boring as it may be, a duelist isn't anything without his or her fans," Edo stated as he waved one last time before disappearing inside the limo with Judai and Saiou. Once Edo had buckled in, the car ignited and was off.
"You guys always travel in limos?" Judai questioned.
"They're standard issue by the League, everyone is allowed one whenever they are traveling to an event," Saiou explained. "It allows us to have dependable service, while being separated from the rest of the world."
"Oh." Judai sighed. He couldn't wait for the 'dueling' portion of this trip. It was the reason for him coming. He couldn't care any less of what else happened, and didn't care for the interviews. Dueling was the main thing. After that Society of Light mess, he couldn't wait to just get back to dueling for fun.
Judai's mind began wandering. He thought back to the time he had spent the last year at Duel Academia. The fun the year had started out with, then his downfall at the hands of the man sitting next to him at this moment. At that time immediately after his defeat, he'd never think he'd be sitting next to his rival hero-user. Then, he remembered going to Neo Space, and meeting and gaining new friends and cards in the Neo-Spacians. He remembered how he beat Edo a second time, and all seemed well with the world. Really, it was the 'eye of the hurricane', the calm before the storm. He thought about his friends and what it took to get each of them back. His thoughts then slipped upon her.
Tenjoin Asuka, a lady with as much grace as she had determination and strength. He thought about his first meaningful duel with Asuka since the year prior when he had dueled for Sho's release from being caught in the Girls' Obelisk Dorm. He remembered how hard he fought, just to get her back, only to almost lose her a second time, permanently. He wondered now, if he could survive without her. He wondered if he could go on if he found out something had happened to her. She was at the Academia, so she was safe, but Judai had this strange feeling…
"Judai-kun," Saiou stated, snapping Judai back into the real world. "I think it I imperative that you watch whom you interact with, here. Not everyone here is out for profit of others, and that means managers, too. Many are out for personal gain, and will use anyone to get it. All I'm saying is, be careful."
"We'll be arriving in five minutes," the driver announced from his intercom into the back of the limo.
"OK, now is the time where we figure out what we are to do," Saiou told the two. He glanced at his watch, revealing it to be three-thirty. "You'd think they wouldn't have one duel on their first night in. Oh, well. It can't be helped. Judai-kun, it appears you won't be able to prepare much for your match against whomever you are facing tonight. As far as I can tell, you will be up first tonight, meaning you'll start approximately at five o'clock."
"So, it'll be a surprise duel, almost?" Edo inquired. Saiou nodded. Edo smirked and chuckled. "To think, he's going up against a duelist whom he has no clue on, and since the opponent is a foreigner, we haven't even seen his deck yet."
"I'll be fine," Judai snapped. "It's not like I knew who I was facing next at the Genex Tournament. I'd rather go in without any preparation. It's just not my style."
Saiou smiled at the boy. "I'd definitely have to agree."
The door to the dim room slid open again, revealing a somewhat large, muscular man with slightly long blonder hair that was tied into a ponytail at the end. It tickled his shoulders and swayed back and forth with each of his steps. The man had blonde facial hair that grazed his chin gently. He bore dark generic sunglasses that hid his jade green eyes. The man stepped forward into the room, each step from his gator-skin boots echoing throughout the room. He wore a dark jean jacket with white kanji on the back. He also donned dark blue jeans.
The man strode across the floor and stood in front of the desk. He stared directly into the younger man's eyes. "You wanted to see me, sir?" he gruffly inquired.
The younger man picked up his eyes from the papers he had been reading, and his eyes widened. "Ah, Christopher-dono!" the younger man stated, "I have been waiting to meet you for so long! It's good to see you again!"
"And you, as well, Hibiki-sama," Christopher greeted.
"Oh, please, don't use that honorific," Hibiki stated. "We are old friends, and have no need for such pleasantries. Not only that, it makes me feel like I have a strong name to live up to, and I'd rather not fail that."
"Fine, but enough with the pleasantries," Christopher stated. "You calling for me can only mean one thing." He lowered his glasses and glared into the man.
Hibiki smirked back at Christopher. "Yes," Hibiki said, licking his lips, "we have found him."
"So, what is our first move?"
"Well, I'd like to test his strength," Hibiki explained. "And, seeing as you're his opponent tonight, I'd like you to do it. I want you to send your strongest against his."
"Send up my main deck against him? You must be joking, it won't even be fair."
"I don't want it to be fair," Kouyou answered. "I want it to be a demolishment. Send him a message that he will have a hard time dealing with us. Let it be known to all our Comrades, that today is the beginning of the end of the Reviled Demon, Richter Davis!"
AJ: Meh, not a bad opening chapter. Mainly just created to set up what's coming up.
Bil: It really didn't do anything.
AJ: Yes it did. It set up the upcoming duel between Christopher Gale and Judai.
Bil: And what's up with the Garam Group? Why be called that if it's run by Kouyou?
AJ: Do you honestly think that a man looking to kill another man would leave himself open to the public?
Bil: …Shut up.
AJ: Thank You. Be back for next time for Chapter 2: Opening Night! The Undefeated Wind From The West. You won't wanna miss it! (I hope)