It was a dull rainy day, one most people don't generally like. But while they were indoors complaining about how dull it was, Taiyou walked by the local Domino City card shop looking for something to do. After all, he had just come from the custom Duel Disc shop and he needed an opponent to try it out on. Sadly though, it seemed he would not get to try it out until he got home.
Until, that is, he walked by the local tattoo parlour.
As he stepped by the front door, he was so focused on his disc that he walked into the person stepping out without noticing. When he did his disc connected with the guy's rib cage by mistake, causing him to step back a bit. "Whoa, sorry…" Taiyou began.
"Hey, watch where you're going little man!" The man issued. He was a tall man, about 6'2 or 6'2, and well-built. He wore a leather biker jacked with spike-studded collar, sleeve cuffs, shoulders and waist, complete with a skull-and-crossbones pattern on the back and shoulders. His hair was done up in a somewhat triangular upward position, black with red lining the sides. Sunglasses covered his eyes but showed the multiple eyebrow piercing he had. But the most interesting thing was that four women in similar outfits were standing behind him, sharing his disdain.
His opinion, however, changed when he saw Taiyou's Duel Disc. "Ah, I see," he issued calmly with a chuckle emphasis, highlighting what Taiyou missed before; his prominent Texan accent. "You're a duelist. Well, that's different. Pleased to meet ya kid." The man then extended a brass knuckled leather glove for a handshake, which Taiyou obliged.
"Okay," Taiyou replied, slightly confused. "Aren't you mad about that little incident?"
"Meh, don't worry 'bout it. 'Sides, Kyojo Rukshi don't get mad…" With that he took off his sunglasses to reveal flame-orange eyes, clearly the result of a pigment surgery, and smiled darkly, "he gets even."
Taking his hand back in shock as he realized who this was. "You? You're… holy crap! Kyojo Rukshi, the international Pro Duelist?! I am not worthy man."
"Sure y'are. Taiyou, right?" One of the women behind him nodded. "I've heard you're a real hot shot duelist 'round these parts, so show me what ya can do in a duel and I'll forget ya even bumped me."
"Okay," Taiyou replied, regaining his usual confident composure. "But I gotta warn you; I'm damn good."
"'Course y'are. That's why I wanna play ya," Kyojo replied as the rain finally began to led up. "I don't really like the riffraff they call Pro Duelists these days, so I'm itching for a real fight." Turning to one of the women behind him, one with blond hair, he said, "Amber, be a doll and hand me a Duel Disc please."
The woman nodded in oblige and put a large handbag she had on her on the ground. Bending over onto the ground to search through it, Taiyou saw a red lace thong pop up over the top of her back jeans and became interested. He stopped, however, when a redhead among them uttered the infamous phrase, "Take a picture sweetie, it'll last longer."
"Chuckling slightly, Kyojo said to that woman, "I always did enjoy your wit Natalie." The blond then stood back up with an old Battle City disc and handed it to Kyojo. As he took it and put it on, he grabbed her hand and French kissed it before saying, "Thanks baby."
"Okay, enough with the entourage crap," Taiyou said, "let's just duel."
"Hey," Kyojo replied in slight annoyance. "I don't give a shit if ya mock me, but the girls are off limits."
"My bad," Taiyou said to the women, feigning a smile. The women smiled sarcastically and stepped back against the door as Taiyou's Duel Disc activated, turning a single horizontal blade into five separate ones in a sweeping arc.
"Ah, now you gone and done it," Kyojo joked. "Ya hurt the girls' feelings."
"A ladies' man like you can fix that," Taiyou replied as Kyojo activated the old-fashioned disc and produced a deck from his pocket before inserting it onto the slot.
Kyojo simply smiled and snapped his fingers to activate a huge Jumbotron billboard high above their heads. It then displayed the two combatants as they stepped into the empty street and took their places 30 feet apart – regulation distance. "You can go first," Kyojo said succinctly as he drew his hand.
"Fin then, I will," Taiyou replied as the upper side of his disc produced his five card hand into a holding tray, followed by a sixth card his turn. "I think I'll set 1 monster and 1 Spell or Trap Card." Before him appeared the horizontal image of a card for the monster and a vertical one for the other, both face-down to the road and hovering. "That's all for me."
Taiyou: LP 4000/Kyojo: LP 4000
As a crowd began to gather around the two players and two police officers corded off the street, Kyojo drew his card. "Really now kid? Ya think moves like that are going strong against me." He seemed smug in tone but intelligent in thought. "Not that it matters; they'll have to scrape you up off the road by the time I finish with you. From my hand I activate the Arduous Decision Spell Card. Since my field has no cards, I draw 2 new cards and you pick one. You pick a monster; I summon that monster and add the other card to my hand. You pick the other, I trash both."
As he pulled his two cards, Kyojo kept his poker face strong but smiled in his mind; both drawn cards were monsters. Holding them up in front of Taiyou, the young duelist said, "I'll pick your card on the left."
Putting the other card in his hand, Kyojo smiled and said, "Thank ya kindly, because now I Special Summon Axe Dragonite (ATK: 2000)." In front of the biker pro materialized a black human-like dragon with a huge axe in its hands. "And that's not all; I activate Arms Hole! By discarding my top card, I add I Equip Spell from my deck to my hand and forego my Normal Summon this turn. I choose Big Bang Shot."
"Crap," Taiyou said as his opponent placed his top card in his Graveyard before pulling out the whole thing and searching it. He picked out one card, gave the deck a quick shuffle and put it back.
"By equipping my Spell onto my Dragonite, I give it 400 extra points (ATK: 2400) and the infamous piercing ability. Ready kid?" As he played his card, it formed a red aura around the black dragon before it leapt into the air and brought its axe down upon Taiyou's monster. The card sliced in two as a purple-armoured sorceress formed and was also cleaved in two. A dark aura formed around Taiyou and drained his points.
"Since my monster was Apprentice Magician (DEF: 0800), I take 1600 damage," Taiyou admitted bitterly. "But, I also get to take my Frequency Magician out of my deck and set it." Before Taiyou appeared a new set monster card. "And since your Dragonite attacked, it switched to Defence Position (DEF: 1200)."
"Very well," Kyojo said smugly as he played another card. "From my hand I activate Ties of the Brethren, so for 1000 Life Points I play 2 Level 4 Dragons from my deck in Defence Position. I'll pick two Golem Dragons (DEF: 2000) (DEF: 2000)." As the spell activated, it spawned two identical dragons made of huge pucks with large frames.
"I set 3 cards and end my turn." Kyojo smiled and laughed as members of the crowd began to applaud, but Taiyou did not understand.
Taiyou: LP 2400/Kyojo: LP 3000
"What's so funny?" he asked strongly.
"Simple; I've left ya nothing ya can do next turn. Thanks to Golem Dragon's effect, no other Dragon can be attacked, and since I control 2…"
As it dawned in Taiyou, be expressed great shock. "…I have no viable attack target!"
"Precisely."
"Well, I'll still do something!" Taiyou declared as his new card slid out. "First I flip up my Frequency Magician (ATK: 0800)." His set monster then flipped over and changed into a white-clad magician with cybernetic arms. "And next I discard my Maiden of Macabre to Special Summon the Tricky (ATK: 2000)." Joining the magician was a jester-like figure with question marks over its body, even over its face.
"And now I tune my Magician to my Tricky!" The white-clad magician then changed into an orb of energy that produced two glowing green rings. These rings surrounded the other monster and changed it into five glowing orbs of light. They then fused into a beam of white light that formed a red and blue-armoured mage with a white orb over its body.
"I Synchro Summon Arcanite Magician. And just for being Synchro Summoned, it gains 2 Spell Counters that each give it 1000 more points (ATK: 2400). Bit that's not all; I play Spell Power Seize, and add 1 counter to my Magician while adding another Grasp to my hand (ATK: 3400)."
"Impressive little combo there," Kyojo declared as Taiyou pulled his new spell. "But pointless before my Golem Block here."
"Yeah, well I'm about to fix that and win this game. I discard my Spell Power Grasp to activate Counter Blast! I activate this card when I control a Spellcaster with 500 or fewer original attack, and have it attack you directly. So I'll have it do just that!" The white-robed figure leapt up and headed straight for Kyojo, but he reacted calmly as he flipped a card.
"Nice try, but my Trap Card is about to save me. With Nutrient Z, I gain 4000 points before your Mage can even touch me!" Reeling his fist back, Kyojo thrust it forward and punched the oncoming sorcerer, who jumped back to its spot on Taiyou's field.
"No biggie. I use Arcanite's effect to…"
"Don't even try it!" Kyojo said as another card flipped. "My Zero Hole negates the effect of a monster summoned in this turn and destroys it."
"Then I play Interdimensional Matter Transporter to remove my Mage until the End Phase." The magician disappeared into a rift in space as Taiyou continued his move. "I set 1 card and end my turn, so my Mage returns (ATK: 0400)." Seemingly from nowhere the mage returned.
Taiyou: LP 2400/Kyojo: LP 3600
"Then I draw," Kyojo said as he pulled his card. "I activate Blasting Vein, so I destroy my set card and draw 2 cards." The set card he had exploded as he pulled two cards. Then, the set card reassembled and flipped over. "Next, since my set Dummy Marker was destroyed, I draw another card." With a third card in hand some crowd members clapped or cheered as Taiyou questioned what would be next.
"Perfect," Kyojo sneered. "I'm glad you've played as well as you have kid, but that's over. I remove my Dragonite from play to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (ATK: 2800)." The axe-wielding dragon changed into an orb of black energy that quickly changed into a gigantic black armoured Wyvern with a metallic coating over its body and rubies encrusted into its body.
"And that's not all kid," Kyojo issued as his beast built up a crimson flame in its mouth. "Once a turn this dragon calls forth a fellow dragon from my hand or Graveyard. So give rise to the mighty Tyrant Dragon (ATK: 2900)!" The flames were released onto the ground below the wyvern, which collected and condensed into a huge orange dragon with massive limbs and frills around its head. Its underbelly was covered in beige armour, and it roared angrily at the weak magician before it.
"And finally," Kyojo bellowed, holding up his final card for Taiyou to see, "I Tribute both of my Golem Dragons to summon White Night Dragon (ATK: 3000)!" Holding his card up with his arm fully extended, the two rock dragons froze over and shattered into ice particles, then formed together into a dragon with monstrous wings, enormous talons and a maw full of icicle fangs large enough to chew through a German Sheppard.
"Damn it!" Taiyou exclaimed in his head just as the entire crowd began to clap and whistle for Kyojo's move – after all, Taiyou had to admit, that was very, very impressive. "You don't pull and punches, do you?" Taiyou asked jovially to the pro before him.
"I just do whatever it takes to entertain my fans," Kyojo said strongly. Turning his face into a snide, almost evil smile, he followed up with, "and you getting pwned should be plenty for my adoring fans!" Pointing at the magician before Taiyou, he finally said, "Because your friend left the field, he lost all his Spell Counters, so he's powerless before my beasts."
"We'll just see," Taiyou said.
"Yes, we will. Tyrant Dragon," his orange and beige dragon reacted to its name by growling and forming a fireball in its mouth. "It's feeding time! And that Arcanite Magician is tonight's main course!" The dragon released its orange flames in a stream at the magician, but Taiyou was ready.
"Not so fast," he shot out as his set card flipped. "I play Spell Grasp Barrier! This trap activates when you attack a Spellcaster that collects Spell Counters. It ends the Battle Phase and gives my mage an extra Spell Counter for each of your monsters." The attack struck a green orb that appeared in its path. When it shattered, the pieces turned into energy and were absorbed into the mage (ATK: 3400).
Kyojo smiled and chuckled a bit before saying, "Pretty good blockade, but it comes at a price. Right Taiyou? I get one free draw." Pulling his card, he looked at it and immediately set it. "I'll toss this down and call it a turn."
Taiyou: LP 2400/Kyojo: LP 3600
"Okay, I draw!" Taiyou yelled as he pulled his new card. "I play Card of Demise, so I draw 5 new cards!" Picking up five cards, he immediately played one. "Next I discard my Dark Magician to play Lightning Vortex, and destroy all your monsters!" A huge swirling lightning storm struck all Kyojo's dragons, exploding them instantly.
"Damn…" Kyojo said, observing the situation. "Good move kid, but I'm not going anywhere."
"You are after this. I play Monster Reborn, and Raise my Dark Magician (ATK: 2500)!" The said figure, a mage with white hair, red armour and tanned skin appeared before its master.
"So, you've got one of those Dark Magicians eh?" Kyojo replied. "There a rare find these days."
"Making small talk at a time like this? No thanks. Arcanite Magician, direct attack!" The white magician rose into the air, staff extended, and dove for the biker below.
"Sorry son," Kyojo issued as a familiar and classic Trap Card appears. "I play my Mirror Force trap card to destroy your attacking monsters!"
"No!" Taiyou's magician struck a prismatic barrier that shattered, the fragments striking him and the other magician Taiyou controlled. Both then exploded.
"When are ya gonna learn, kid?" Taiyou jeered. "Think I lucked my way to the top 5 duelists worldwide? I earned my stay with skill and by staying 5 turns ahead of my opponent."
Confused, Taiyou asked him, "And how do you do that?"
"Simple. I use the Equation."
"What?"
"Physicists recently developed a prototype equation for actually predicting the future. It's a mathematical formula that, with the right variables entered, can predict the very outcome of anything down to the millisecond and cubic millimetre. All I have to is enter our deck constructs as variables, and I know every move before it happens."
Drinking in his statement, Taiyou replied jokingly, "And here I thought entertainers like you didn't have to think."
"I was an honours student my entire life kid," Kyojo shot back. "Don't go smartass on me, or I'll have to go kickass on you."
"Yeah, yeah. I play Swing of Memories to revive my Dark Magician (ATK: 2500)." Reappearing on the field, the magician was glowing red for some reason.
"And let me guess," Kyojo interjected, "Next you'll play Non-Spellcasting Area from your hand. That way, Swing of Memories won't destroy your monster."
"Yep," Taiyou said as said spell appeared, dissolving the aura. "I end my turn."
Taiyou: LP 2400/Kyojo: LP 3600
"Fine by me," Kyojo said as he drew his new card. "I play Dragon's Mirror, so I remove from play the Five Dragons fallen to my Graveyard, and Fusion summon Five-Headed Dragon (ATK: 5000)!" Kyojo's Graveyard slot spit out every dragon present as a beam of red energy appeared behind him. From it spawned an enormous dragon, at least 10 stories tall, with a massive beige body and five different heads – one for every alignment except LIGHT.
"No… it… it… can't be. I've…" "…lost." Taiyou hung his head over as he realized that.
"'Fraid so little man. Five-Headed Dragon, incinerate that little pet of his!" The five heads combined to form five different coloured streams of fire, which struck and instantly incinerated the Magician.
Taiyou: LP 0000/Kyojo: LP 3600
As the audience began to applaud, cheer and yell Kyojo's name, he deactivated the Duel Disc and stepped over to Taiyou. "That was a good match son. We'll need to duel again some time."
"Yeah," Taiyou said sarcastically, "I'll have plenty of chances to do that."
"Sooner than ya might think," Kyojo replied as he produced a sheet from his coat. "This is an invitation to the Duel Party at my penthouse tomorrow night. The festivities begin at 8pm, there's a tournament staring there at 10pm, and first prize is a thousand big ones. You in?"
Smiling as he took the invite, Taiyou said back, "You bet." Kyojo then nodded and walked toward the crowd.