Disclaimer: (I do not own any of Yu gi oh, I only own the OC's and this plot, Also the image im using as a cover belongs to the GX manga).
"To the chopping block you go! Hahaha." Jasper exclaimed as Manjoume was pushed down to the Asuka's feet, head and neck locked neatly into to the stocks.
"Please, Tenjoin-kun…" Manjoume whispered to her, pleading for his life. He was always there for her, he was there when she joined the Society of Light, he was there when they were sucked into "darkness" and he even gave her his own personal apartment in slifer red. She would always reject him though, as had been done countless times… What broke his heart the most this time was the fact that she was going to end his life. All that dedication to her had all gone to waste.
"The bloody love-sick pup…" Jasper shouted, however was interjected by Asuka.
"This one is mine!" She said softly but clearly. Jasper was a very impatient and aggressive duellist as was shown evident by his rock star-like appearance which consisted off a black shirt enveloped by a leather crimson jacket that was then shrouded by rock star "spikes" near his joints. This when added to his alcoholism and drug addiction which he claimed to "enhance his creativity and duelling skills" made him feared by both his enemies and underlings.
"Asuka… I am sorry" The spiky haired prisoner said softly.
"For what?" Asuka replied, annoyed. She really wanted to get this done with, then she could return to the manor and relax and enjoy some quality sleep.
"For everything" Manjoume answered.
"Just kill him already" Jasper urged impatiently.
Asuka lifted the cutlass behind her head and back. The cutlass was decorated with rubies and was gifted to her by her lord, who was now probably working on battle tactics at the manor. Then she swiftly descended the blade towards Manjoume's neck. A whistle was distinctly heard as the blade glided down the air towards the prisoner, this whistle however was then overthrown by a loud gunshot.
"Damn it." Jasper cursed inwardly as the helicopter descended.
Inside the helicopter was an old man probably in his 50's with dark turquoise hair wearing sunglasses who also had a moustache. The helicopter was white and had an iconic "K" logo on it.
"If you at least try to hurt them, this situation will not be pretty." The man who they now recognize as the right-hand man of Seto Kaiba himself, shouted at the two."
"Isono why is it worth risking your life for these nobodies." Jasper asked quizzaciously.
The turquoise haired man entirely ignored this question, focusing primarily and solely on making sure that none of them tried anything fishy or dangerous, holding his gun firmly.
Right after a man that looked like he was in his 30's descended down from his helicopter, again with the letter "K" sewed on his uniform, with brown hair and intimidating blue eyes Seto Kaiba walked towards the prisoners and the two captains.
"Well well if it isn't Tenjoin." Kaiba said in his usual mocking tone.
"Kaiba…why are you here?" Asuka replied.
"Does it matter? Anyways why are you killing these people? Are you people stooping so low that you would harm helpless civilians?"
"I am not at Duel Academy anymore Kaiba, I am no longer your student."
"Well let's see if you have gotten stronger even though you have grown older, and you know what! I will even let your friend help you!"
Kaiba drew out his duel disk swiftly, Isono could've sword Asuka flinch. As ruthless as they are both captains knew that they stood no chance and therefore focused on fleeing the scene.
"Let's go Jasper." Asuka commanded, annoyed that she would have to report this to her lord who would too be annoyed by this sudden intrusion by none other than Seto Kaiba.
"Should we free the prisoners?" Isono inquired.
"What do you think?" Kaiba answered back.
Suddenly an entire force of men in tuxedos descended from the helicopter to aid the survivors. They were then transported back to Kaiba's base via the helicopter and were given food, water and medical treatment for the abuse they had endured. At the base the prisoners were surprised at how the base was not ornately decorated like what they would expect from a man such as Seto Kaiba. Instead of something grand and high-tech as the duel tower in battle city or Kaiba land they just got a regular military base that also looked like a military base, with regular cabins and jeeps driving around everywhere. The prisoners knew what Kaiba would expect from them and what they were going to live their current lives doing. However Kaiba still delivered his speech that was certainly considered redundant by the freed prisoners as they knew that they had a good idea of what is going to happen to them judging from the appearance of the base alone.
"Now you have all been saved from the torture you have been facing and you have been ridden of the pain you once beared, however there is one thing that you have not regained yet. And that is your true freedom! Ever since they attacked us have all been stripped of our lives and family, we have all suffered the same disaster. However those who choose to fight for freedom stay here and serve humanity and more importantly yourself! Or if you refuse you can leave! We don't need cowards!" Kaiba announced inspirationally.
It was settled, almost everyone stayed. The ones that didn't were parents with their children that seemed to hide rather than to fight. Everyone were given cabins that were designated by rank. The higher rank you were the more comfortable your accommodation would be. Manjoume walked to his cabin and was disgusted when opening the door. There was only 1 regular fan and no TV or even radio. This was truly not one the young man was accustomed to. He would usually be on the lookout for five-star hotels with an indoor spa and plasma television… and that was his unlucky days when all the famous and world-renown hotels and the ones considered "six stars" had no rooms available. Manjoume plopped his body on his stiff bed and sighed. Then suddenly a huge knock on the door, He really couldn't be bothered opening the door for him or even giving him permission for entering because he already knew that it was his cabin mate. Besides, it is not like this is his cabin, this is owned by Kaiba.
Finally the door busted open and in came a man that looked like the stereotypical surfer with spiked black hair that wasn't as well-combed as Manjoume's, that man also wore a purely black shirt and shorts that were had a tint of black on the bottom that made it look like his shorts were partially burned. The man forcibly took Manjoume's hand and shook it.
"Ryota Kajiki, and you?" The man cheerfully greeted.
"Jun Manjoume" Manjoume replied, reenergized by the surprise that came with the other man's name.
Manjoume could have sworn that he had heard of Ryota before in a history book during his time on duel academy.
"Have you ever duelled Yugi Mutou?" Manjoume inquired.
"Yes, yes I have." The other answered proudly.
"I think I have heard about you before."
"You have?"
"From history class."
"And I think I have heard about you too!" Ryota said mockingly.
"Ojamanjoume!" Ryota added, looking to poke fun at the younger man.
"Thunder" Manjoume turned to face the wall, effectively revoking the topic at hand.
"Hey, I am sorry about that. And I am also sorry about … what happened." Ryota apologized, changing from a cheerful to a low and sorrow tone.
"It's ok, it is not like it matters anyways as the world is likely in an apocalyptic state" Manjoume reassured the older man.
"There was also something that I wanted to know. You don't have to answer this but, how did you fall from Black Thunder to a joke? Like all of a sudden you were on a huge losing streak."
"I guess I just all of a sudden sucked. However I did notice something fishy. I have no evidence but if you think about it, ever since Pegasus's assassination I actually began to lose. I mean think about it, the founder of Duel Monsters was killed and then I, who was an undefeated pro duellist began losing. Something was obviously rigged."
"Maybe it was a coincidence."
"No think about it Ryota. Pegasus always held rights and oversaw the legitimacy of all tournaments as well as the legalization of cards in all official tournaments. Ever since he was killed we had this Kazuto guy who was running the tournaments. What is interesting is ever since Pegasus died do you know what cards got unbanned?"
"Last turn, Chaos Emperor Dragon, Cold Wave, Royal Oppression and Harpies Feather Duster."
"It was like they specifically wanted to counter my deck. Harpies Feather Duster destroys my main field spell which is Ojama Country along with my back row which consisted of vital cards such as Solidarity and Spell Jammer. Whilst Cold Wave and Royal Oppression prevented me from fusing my VWXYZ cards and Polymerization. And you can't forget Chaos Emperor Dragon as a backup board wipe and Last Turn as a last resort if everything fails."
"Hmm now that actually seems fishy. And the people who defeated you literally only had monsters that were normal summoned and they didn't even special summon once!"
"Hence how I lost my reputation and hence why I am thinking that they are specifically trying to counter my deck in the pro league. They are using cards that directly hinder my deck style whilst their deck is unaffected. I mean who runs Last Turn unless they are trying to combo with it?
"Hmm you're right, maybe they are biased against you. Unfortunately I can't help with that."
"I am not asking you to help me. Besides it doesn't matter now that we are here."
The conservation was held short and was interrupted by an announcement on the speakers stating for all "Rookie" rank people to move towards the training area. Both Manjoume and Ryota walked towards the training centre which just looked like a colossal plain white garage that spanned about 5 kilometres by 5 kilometres which also had a garage door hence why it resembles a white garage in the first place. The "captain" rank officers referred to as obviously "captains" called the garage door to be opened for everyone to come inside. As Manjoume and Ryota walked into the training centre Manjoume felt a sense of nostalgia as it was understandable that the duelling arenas inside the training centre were exact copies of the ones in duel academy. There were duel arenas with duel bots, duel arenas for 2, 3, 4, 5… up to 20 people at once! There was even a database for every card known in existence and every recorded combo and strategy ever played in an official tournament. Ryota and everyone else around were very excited about this duelling training centre due to its grand size and large number of assets. However their attention was shifted towards one of the captains, who Manjoume was also familiar with due to the fact that everyone had to study every opponent of Yugi, Jonouchi and Kaiba during history class at Duel Academy. The captain wore a green coat and yellow glasses, had light blue hair and had a rather mocking demeanour.
"I am the great Insector Haga you can train and duel freely in this centre at any time and for how long you want. We have a near limitless selection of each and every common to uncommon card here. We do have rarer cards, however they are… reserved for a higher rank and privilege. Anyways, construct your deck from the card pool or use your own deck if you so happen to have it with you or back at your cabin. There are also a ton of Duel disks in that room over there if you don't already have one. Good luck rookies!" Insector announced with a noticeable smirk and snicker when he said "rookies".
The entire crowd excluding the few who already had their deck with them raced to the card pool to build a deck. Manjoume and Ryota however stayed back.
"Insector! May I negotiate my accessibility of rarer than uncommon cards? I know I am only a rookie but I assure you Manjoume and I are… "
"Ah! If it isn't Fishman and Ojamanjoume! Nice to meet you." Insector said in a mocking tone whilst raising his hand for a handshake.
"Thunder" Manjoume retorted
"Fishman? What the heck is that? Say my real name thank you."
"Oh! Look like someone wants to…. fight." Insector mocked. Insector was born a brat and had virtually no respect for people other than other brats. He would only show respect to Dinosaur Ryukazi, who was another brat. And Dartz because he along with Ryukazi wanted the power of the Orichalcos. There were also a few others that had Inspector's respect but none are worth mentioning.
"Just you wait!" Manjoume exclaimed as he scurried furiously of to the card pool. He had lost all his cards, his Ojamas, armed dragons and VWXYZ when he lost his duel to Asuka, which also meant that he nearly lost his life until Kaiba and Isono saved him and everyone else.
"Wait wait wait!" Ryota called out to Manjoume, who already looked like he was going to literally murder Insector.
"WHAT?!" Manjoume shouted.
"Uhh, I know he is a bit of a prick but think this through man! I mean we know that he has rare cards and I am assuming you don't even have your original deck with you judging from the fact that you are sprinting to the card pool."
"Don't worry, he is a pushover"
"We will see about that… Manjoume! Be prepared to lose!" Insector giggled.
Absolutely no one has gotten to Manjoume's nerve this much before. Sure, Manjoume did have a big ego. Even though he had been humiliated and mocked before it had never been this annoying. Judai may have beaten Manjoume near a dozen times but at least Judai did not rub it in too much. And all his other losses were alright as they were during serious times such as the Trueman attack or when the Light of Destruction was devastating the Academia. The blue haired brat just had this hint of annoyance and irritation in his voice that made Manjoume really snap.
When he reached the card pool he quickly started constructing his deck. After a long moment of pondering what type of deck he would use. He finally concluded that he would build a tempo deck which prevented his opponent from developing the field whilst he himself was accumulating field advantage at the cost of card advantage. He included cards such as magical cylinder, Compulsory Evacuation device, Book of moon and many more cards that greatly hindered the opponent's development. He had also added 1 pot of greed to compensate for his card disadvantage also.
Finally Manjoume was prepared. He walked up to the duel arena. The feeling of climbing up the stairs reminded him of his younger years. Walking up the stairs to duel his brothers for the fate of the Academia… And walking up the stairs to duel Judai.
"I'll make this quick!" Insector teased.
Manjoume ignored this and prepared and activated his duel disk.
"Duel!" They both shouted.
To be continued…
Author's Note: Thank you guys for reading! It would be grateful if you provided feedback for this chapter as long as it is constructive! I will also be introducing many many more characters from various series of yu gi oh as I am planning this story to develop into a big conflict!
Also I would like to give a special thanks to Higuchimon for providing CRUCIAL FEEDBACK That I missed.