Hajime Shirayama had finished his courses on that autumn Monday evening. Hajime seemed like a normal second year college student, with neck length blond hair and sapphire blue eyes, outside he always wore skin shoes, jeans and a turquoise-colored turtleneck sweater paired with a pale-yellow scarf. Although a bit timid, he was a smart and modest kid with good grades, enjoying detective novels in his free time.
In actuality, his family was very rich and influential, his parents owning a popular fashion company. This was why he attended Sagakin University in the hometown of his paternal grandmother, which although it was in a corner of the country, it still was one of its top colleges to which many youngsters flocked for an education. He lived in his grandmother's mansion, thus avoiding the crowdedness of college dorms. That meant he would usually not share the same path home with the few friends he had, but having a quiet room to go to after a hard day of studies brought its own rewards.
Hajime stood on the side of the hallway with his backpack on, watching the crowds of students make their way out of the large building. Soon enough, a brown haired boy of his age, wearing a green gym suit with white stripes and a pair of black sneakers, made his way out of the crowd to him. It was Ken, his best friend since high school. Unlike him, Ken was more outgoing and energetic, practicing sports in his free time. The one thing that they had in common was their love for video games. This led to a tight friendship where they both helped each other when it came to homework, bullies and sometimes even personal problems regarding family or romantic relationships. Long story short, they had been bros for the past five years. Ken even made the effort to go to the same college with him after high school.
"Late!" Hajime greeted him and they both fist bumped, their usual ritual greeting.
"Coach had us do some laps after training." Ken shrugged. "How long have you been standing here?"
"Doesn't matter." The blond shook his head. "Let's go."
"Right behind you," the brunette replied.
The crowd had dissipated outside, thus enabling them to calmly exit the building as well. The college yard was large, almost the size of a park. Bricked sidewalks made their way through the trees, leading either to smaller buildings such as the cafeteria and gym or to one of the two exits. The sun had set, its final crimson rays slowly fading into the West. A half-moon now reigned above along with a multitude of small blue stars. Streetlights illuminated the busy roads once every five feet. Compared to the capital, this was a way calmer university town. They had both made the right decision to study there.
The bus station was at a five-minute walk from the college. Hajime did not need to take the bus, for he simply had to walk three more streets and he got home. Ken however required it to get to the dorms which were two stops away. As expected, students crowded to get into the bus and more seemed to be sitting in the station.
"That's a bummer," Ken remarked.
"If three's a crowd, four's a mob," Hajime commented, making his friend chuckle.
"Then you up for a duel?" the brunette challenged, his smirk ever so confident.
"Come on, dude, you know I don't play that game much."
"You're just mad that I always beat your slow ass deck."
The blond groaned and rolled his eyes. "I don't care. I play Duel Masters as a hobby. I'm not that crazed about it as you are."
"Don't be a butt-hurt little bitch. Your grandma's a chosen duelist. You've got to keep the family tradition!"
"Was a chosen duelist, there is no more need for six people to solve humanity's problems with supernatural creatures. As a matter of fact, these creatures haven't shown themselves in almost fifty years."
"That doesn't mean you can't accept my challenge."
"Gosh, you're such a baby sometimes, Ken."
"Alright, if you think that waiting for the bus is more productive…"
As much as Hajime hated to admit it, his friend was right. Giving in, he unzipped a small pocket on the left side of his backpack and pulled out a deck of cards which was tied with a small green elastic rubber. Happy that he got his wish, Ken smirked and took out his deck as well, both of them heading into the small park behind the bus stop. Passing by a few swings and slides, they reached a rectangular metallic table located in a corner. Two white horizontal lines were on both ends of the length, along with two squares on their right side.
Both shuffled their decks and placed them on the right side, between the two lines, near the square. Then they both took the top five cards and placed them face down left to the deck. Those were known as the shields. Afterwards they each drew five cards. That was the hand. Usually who started was decided randomly by a coin or dice toss, rock-paper-scissors or cutting the deck and having the card with the highest cost as the winner. Other times one just went first and that was it.
"I'll start!" Ken announced and placed a green card into his mana zone, then another into the battle zone, turning it to the right 90 degrees. "I charge mana and summon Jack, Bei B. Jack, Bei B is put tapped into the battle zone, your turn."
"I charge mana and end my turn." Hajime quickly did his move.
"Still playing Mono Light Metallica, ey?" his friend asked in a mocking fashion.
"I only play for fun." The blond shook his head. "Besides, I've recently taken a small interest in rare stones."
"Whatever you say, I summon Deathmatch Beetle. Then using Jack's effect, I tap it as mana and cast Treasure Map. With this spell's effect I check the top five cards of my deck, take a creature to my hand and put the rest to the bottom of my deck. I'll take Juranail."
"I summon Crista, First Squad."
With Crista's effect, Hajime's Metallica creatures cost 1 less to summon. It was a good progression, however with Jack, Bei B in the battle zone; Ken's progression was guaranteed to be the faster one.
"I summon Rutsparfait Panzer and with its effect I send it to the mana zone. Then Jack's effect, I tap Deathmatch Beetle and my last mana to summon two Juranail, Seven Quakes World King, both put tapped in the battle zone."
In just three turns, Ken had managed to bring out four creatures, out of which three had great power. But in doing so, he had depleted his hand, and his creatures could not attack his opponent directly due to their conditions, at least not yet. Still, Jack had 6000 power, Deathmatch Beetle had 13000 power and both Juranails had 24000 power, not at all something to joke around with. Even still, Hajime would not give up easily, so he did his turn:
"Crista reduces his cost, so I summon Bernine, Dragon Armored and draw a card."
Whenever he put a Metallica into the battle zone, Bernine allowed him to draw a card. It was also a good progression, one that allowed him to never deplete his hand while filling the battle zone. However, somehow Ken knew it was not enough. Placing his hand on the top card of his deck, he stated, "I can feel my trump card coming."
"Are you sure it's not just the beans you had for lunch?" the blond wondered, crossing his arms.
"Oh yes, I'm sure!" the brunette claimed as he drew. "Yes, here it is – I summon Gale Vesper of Heavenly Winds."
"What the…? That costs 10 mana and you have 4!" Hajime protested.
"Gale Vesper has Double Sympathy for creatures that have power 12000 or more. That means that for each of those creatures that I have in the battle zone, Gale Vesper costs 2 mana less, and I just so happen to have 3 of them."
"It can't be…"
"Now with Gale Vesper's effect, each of my creatures now gains Double Sympathy: creatures that have power 12000 or more."
More so, Gale Vesper itself had 12000 power, meaning that it added itself to the effect which reduced the cost of creatures. Things started to look bad for the blond, which began his turn.
"Tsh, I summon a second Crista, First Squad and draw a card. Then I summon three Faywon, Green Silver and draw three cards. By their effects, I tap each of them and draw three more cards. Turn end."
Faywon had a mere 1500 power, but it also featured the new attack bend effect. It consisted of untapping one of your creatures whenever an opponent's creature attacked and then redirecting said attack, usually to itself or another of the player's tapped creatures. It was a good stalling mechanism, but Ken's creatures were way stronger, meaning that he would wipe most of Hajime's field in no time, so he began his turn.
"I tap 3 mana and untap Jack, Bei B! Then due to Gale Vesper's and Jack's effects, I summon Moai Land, Ancient Paradise by tapping one mana and Deathmatch Beetle!"
"M-Moai Land?!"
"Oh yes, Moai Land won't allow you to cast spells or expand fields and whenever it wins a battle I send three of your shields to the mana zone."
"So strong…" Hajime murmured to himself.
"Jack, attack a Faywon and destroy it! Gale Vesper, do the same!" Ken ordered. "I end."
However, Hajime still had the hand advantage, so he did not allow himself to be backed in a corner yet. Putting his hand on the top card of his deck, he braced himself.
"You brought out your trump card, I will do the same!" Then he graciously drew and a smile appeared on his face as he placed it into the battle zone. "I summon White Night, Edge of Yin Yang! With its effect I add a shield and Bernine lets me draw a card. Then I activate its Labyrinth effect, if I have more shields than you, my Metallicas win all battles until the start of my next turn!"
"What the… then the high power of my Gransects is useless in this case," his opponent uttered with a dropped jaw.
"Exactly! I also summon Ka Doubler, Red Attack Silver and put him tapped into the battle zone, I draw another card thanks to Bernine. Crista, destroy Jack! My other Crista, take down Gale Vesper! Faywon, get rid of Deathmatch Beetle! Bernine, destroy a Juranail!"
Ken was impressed. Hajime had evolved a lot since last time. Usually those slow attack bends were easily dealt with by his early spam of fatty creatures and then when his opponent was out of creatures, Ken would just go for the win with a mass swarm. But now his friend had an ace up his sleeve, and boy did that White Night creature turn the tables around. Truly he did not regret the decision of having a quick duel before the bus arrived.
"This is far from over, I cast Jumbo Rapadise and reveal the top 4 cards of my deck, I'll take all creatures with power 12000 or more to my hand," the brunette said and showed the cards. "Kirikami Panzer! Kolencoco Tank! Xenoxemitsu! Deathmatch Beetle! All go to my hand!"
"My turn. Because I have more than two other creatures, I untap Ka Doubler. Then I summon Wonder Turtle, Great Labyrinth Turtle." Hajime placed another strong Metallica into the battle zone. "With its Labyrinth effect, if I have more shields than you, until the start of my next turn all of my creatures don't leave the battle zone!"
"Heh, so I guess it's time for a full-out attack, ey?"
"Exactly – White Night, double break his shields!"
Ken checked his shields and shook his head.
"Ka Doubler, double break his shields!"
Once again Ken took two shields to his hand and shook his head.
"Bernine, break his final shield!"
A smile appeared on Ken's face as he revealed the last shield and said:
"Shield trigger activate, I cast Revolution Taiman! With its effect, your creatures can't attack me until the start of my next turn!"
"Alright then, it's your move." Hajime passed.
Ken clenched his fists. His opponent simply had too many creatures for him to do anything anymore. Even a quick spam would have been useless, and Moai Land sending three shields of Hajime's to the mana zone would not have helped much either. Such a thing had never happened before, but in a way he was grateful for that. A drop of sweat fell down his face as he charged mana and ended his turn there. His opponent then spoke excitedly, "Very well then, it's my turn. Wonder Turtle, todomeda!"
And thus Hajime was the victor. The blond blinked as he witnessed the defeated one pack his cards. He exclaimed, "I don't believe it… once in a blue moon I manage to win!"
"And here you were going to puss out on me." Ken stuck his tongue out.
"That was unexpected, I never thought this deck could resist your giant creature spamming. But I guess I was just lucky." Hajime shrugged as he also packed his cards.
"I should get going, the bus is here."
"Alright, see you tomorrow!"
As he watched his best friend run away from the park, he could not help but crack a smile. Despite the occasional banter between them, especially when it came to that card game, he knew that deep inside they both cared and wanted to help each other evolve. Walking out into the loneliness of the night city, he began to wonder how his life would have looked like if he did not have someone like Ken.
Hajime woke up early on the next morning, in the comfort of his bed's cotton sheets. That rest was more than satisfying. He felt pumped up and ready to go face that busy day of college like it was nothing. As he got out of bed, he received a phone call from Ken, which he quickly answered, "Good morning."
A mocking response followed, "Look who woke up with the roosters."
"Eat a dick!" Hajime laughed.
"Listen, dude, my roomies are all going home for the weekend, meaning that I'll have the dorm room all to myself."
"Really? That's awesome!"
"Yeah, so I was wondering if you'd like to hang out at my place, play some video games, watch some movies, order a pizza, you know… a chill weekend."
"Oh yeah, count me the fuck in!"
"Awesome! I'm at the snack bar now, so I'll be early in class. Do you want me to keep a seat for you?"
"Sure thing, see you there."
And thus Ken hung up. An exciting fun weekend awaited both of them, what more could go better? Quickly, Hajime began stripping himself of his turquoise pajamas that matched his turtleneck sweater as he headed to his room's bathroom.
Soon he felt the warmness of shower water pour down his slender body as he cleansed himself. He was wondering what sort of video games Ken had in mind, seeing how he was a guy who always liked challenges. Were they some difficult platformers, shooters or even something logic-based like puzzles, tetris or quizzes? Whatever it would have been, he was sure that they would have lots of fun. Besides, he spent most of his weekends at the mansion with his grandmother, usually locked up in his room with books and internet to keep him company. Changing up his routine every once in a while seemed like a good idea.
As he dried himself with a towel, he suddenly had a short vision of a floating dark purple gem with hands and a red eye in its center. The gem was staring at him, almost as if it was calling him. He could have sworn that he had seen it somewhere before. The boy walked out of the bathroom and went to his desk, where he had his deck along with other Light civilization cards lying scattered. He noticed that one of the cards was glowing weakly for a moment until he set his sight on it fully. Picking it, he saw that it depicted the same gem in his vision, reading its name solemnly, "Ov Sidia…"
Maybe the creatures were not gone forever, as everyone else thought. He considered talking to his grandmother about Duel Masters one day when he had spare time. Maybe he needed to know more about the game.
Breakfast was waiting for him in the dining room when he went downstairs all dressed up. On the table were a finely made omelet with ham and cheese, tomato salad, a slice of buttered toast with jam and a glass of warm chocolate milk.
Tsugumi Shirayama was a woman in her early seventies. Her once blonde hair now grayed, she kept it in a long ponytail. Her body covered by a red sweater and yellow dress, she walked inside the mansion with a pair of comfortable slippers. Her beautiful blue eyes remained unchanged from her youth, yet they were covered by a pair of glasses. Usually she would have greeted her grandson with a smile and a hush to eat the meal she had prepared, but on that morning she did not. Tsugumi stood by the window, aloof and worried, looking into the distance.
"Good morning." Hajime broke the awkward silence.
"Oh…" She turned to him and put on a smile. "Good morning, sweetheart. Breakfast's ready."
"Is something wrong?" the boy asked as he took a seat at the table.
"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about stuff." Tsugumi brushed off his masked concerns. "You should finish your meal quickly, or else you'll be late for school."
"Understood."
Ten minutes later, he picked up his backpack and ran out the door. She watched as he exited the yard's gates, after which she reactivated the security system.
"He's back, I know it, I can feel it," she uttered to herself and turned to a cell phone lying near her computer. "Please, answer my calls…"
Hajime arrived at college in the nick of time, five minutes before the courses started. When he entered the classroom, he had the surprise of not seeing Ken anywhere. Thinking that he was late or pulling some kind of stupid prank, he went to his unoccupied seat and prepared his laptop and notebook.
More hours had passed and there was still no sign of his best friend. That was strange, although Ken was not the most enthusiastic of students; he was always present at courses, even when he caught a cold. At lunch time he went to the cafeteria and asked some of their common friends about him, only to be answered that none had seem him the whole day. Deep inside, Hajime was starting to get a little worried, but he brushed it off with thoughts of Ken having some other plans for that day. Maybe he was preparing things for their weekend together. But it was Tuesday, he had plenty of time for that…
All of a sudden, a scream echoed in the cafeteria, startling everyone. It came from the cook, who was breathing heavily and staring in disbelief at the chicken stew container which he had just opened. A few students rushed to him and all backed down in terror, a few gasped, others covered their mouths. Hajime made his way through the small crowd, pushing a few peers aside until he reached the source of everyone's dread. And then his blood turned cold and his heart's beats slowed. Time itself seemed to have stopped for him.
Ken's head floated in the chicken stew, a look of pure fear on his dead eyes, his mouth open wide. Before Hajime could even process what was going on, another scream echoed, this time from the kitchen, turning everyone's attention to it. Above the electric stove, Ken's decapitated body was found hung upside down from the ceiling with a wire tying the feet, his torso ripped open and his guts hanging out. Sheer terror filled everyone who witnessed the gruesome scene, some rushing to call the authorities.
From the darkness of the shadows, two glowing red dots witnessed everything with glee.