Thousand Strings
Within the Central Administration Building of Neo Domino City was the Neo Domino Police Department. Although the tenth floor usually hosted Duel Crimes, for now it was working with the First Investigative Brigade after the Arcadia Movement's latest explosion.
This was the reason for my current situation. Although as Captain of the First Investigation Division this was beyond me, there was pressure being placed upon the NDPD to resolve this issue. The fact that there was potential police corruption meant that Internal Affairs might be breathing down our necks at any moment. Times like this made me doubt my own choice of entering the police academy.
As I reviewed the Beckman case once more, I felt my lips thinning and umbrage build. This man...
"Hasegawa," I called to my Lieutenant.
"What's wrong, Yuuko-kun?" Hasegawa-san asked. Although he had been passed over for promotion, he claimed to hold no hard feelings for the Captain's chair.
"This man, Sergeant Yamamoto..." I volunteered. "Why is he on the case? And wasn't it murder?"
"Oh, the Beckman case, you mean?" Hasegawa-san volunteered. "They died by freak plague, right? Sergeant Yamamoto did everything to procedure. Why, you think he's a dirty cop?"
"No... I was just wondering... how did he end up in Duel Crimes?" I pasted a fake smile on my face. "After all..." I let my voice trail off. Despite working with the Arcadia Movement, Duel Crimes was one of those departments in NDPD which still ran on a shoestring budget. The recent increase in budget was set to pass, though, due to the escalating issues the Movement was hardly equipped to handle alone.
Hasegawa-san filled in the blanks for me. "Former boxer. Got punch-drunk, then turned to Duel Monsters. Pretty good at it, since his entire acceptance into the Duel Crimes Unit was based on his Duel ability."
"I see," I faintly murmured, recalling a girl and her ability to control ice...
As expected, having a female captain ask around for a male sergeant was bound to make tongues wag. Especially since I was doing the asking, but I hardly cared.
I found Sergeant Yamamoto in the gym, taking it out on a punching bag. The Sergeant was tall and muscular with a deep tan. Short, thin black hair covered his scalp, and a moustache covered his face.
On the surface, Sergeant Yamamoto Akashi had no reason to fudge the Beckman investigation. Yet he had been the one to close it, not that anyone would blame him. Yet every sense that warned me of danger every time I approached that girl was warning me that here was a link.
I studied his footwork, biting my lip as the Sergeant made a bag-shattering blow. That was not a symptom of dementia pugilistica. Somehow, one way or another, the man had recovered.
Impossible... or improbable?
"Kaname-taicho?" I was broken out of my reverie as the Sergeant stopped his practice for a brief moment to stare at me.
"I'd like to talk to you," I answered.
The Sergeant nodded, leaving the punching bag to head for his bag, peeling the bandages off of his knuckles with his teeth in a casual, practised move. He grabbed a two-litre bottle of water, downing part of it in a gulp and then splashing a toned bare chest with more water as he then faced me. "You've been looking for me, Kaname-taicho?"
"Yes." I took a deep breath. "It's about the Beckman case."
A flash of something found me crouching, the Sergeant's fist claiming the space where my head would have been half a second earlier. His face broke out in a grin. "First time I've seen anyone make such good footwork. You do boxing too?"
"Kick-boxing."
"Ah, that," Sergeant Yamamoto grinned.
"Back to the investigation, you filed it under freak accident instead of noting the coroner's report that the odds of contracting so many plagues were infinitesimally minimal to the point of not existing," I continued.
"Physical evidence, Captain," he answered.
"Ignoring all earlier reports in favour of your own eyes?"
The grin had dropped. "What are you implying, Captain?"
I matched his stare evenly. "You're lying."
"I did my job," he repeated.
"You know what I think?" I pressed. "The footwork, the lack of tremors, the lack of speech problems. And yet your entire reason for joining NDPD was because your fight promoter wouldn't let you into the ring after your doctor outed you. DP doesn't stop or reverse so quickly."
His jaw had set. "Today's a good day."
"That good?" I felt sceptical as I glared at him. "I think someone made you an offer you can't refuse."
"Well, then I gotta thank that someone, don't I?" Yamamoto Akashi grinned.
"And betray the core tenets of the police? Betray justice?" I growled.
"The police exist to maintain order," Sergeant Yamamoto clarified. "I did nothin' wrong, and I don't have to justify my medical treatment to you. But, if you don't believe me, let's have a Duel, shall we? I win, you take back those insinuations. You win, I talk."
"And you pull yourself before Internal Affairs when I win," I added as I withdrew my DuelDisk.
"That's not quite fair," he answered as he unfolded his own red DuelDisk. "To you."
"Duel!"
Yuuko: LP 8000
Akashi: LP 8000
"I'll begin, draw!" I called. "I summon Aratama [800/1800] to the field." Fire burned as the Fiend appeared on the field. "When he's normal summoned, I can add a Spirit monster of my choice from my deck to my hand, and I choose Susa Soldier. I then activate the Continuous Spell, Spring of Rebirth, and set a card. End phase, Aratama returns to my hand, triggering the effect of Spring of Rebirth. In short, I gain five hundred life points."
Yuuko: LP 8000 → LP 8500
Akashi: LP 8000
"Turn end."
"Spirit monsters? Interesting," he grinned. "My turn, draw! I summon Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw [2000/0] to the field!"
"What?" I shouted as the hulking green boxer appeared on the field. "Two thousand?"
"Glassjaw, attack her directly!" he called.
"Continuous Trap, Ultimate Offering!" I retaliated. "By paying five hundred life points, I can summon during my opponent's battle phase! And I summon Susa Soldier [2000/1600]!"
"Stop!" Akashi called as the green boxer stopped. "Well, not entirely defenceless... I'll set two cards, turn end."
"End phase, Susa Soldier returns to my hand," I called. "Spring of Rebirth activates."
Yuuko: LP 8500 → LP 8000 → LP 8500
Akashi: LP 8000
"Draw!" I called. "I summon Aratama again, and search for Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi. Now, I pay five hundred life points to summon Susa Soldier to the field. Battle! Susa Soldier, attack Glassjaw!"
My monster raised his sword, only for the green hulk to... implode?
"Yeah," Akashi confirmed. "When he's targeted for an attack, Glassjaw has a glass jaw, so he self-destructs."
"Roll back and replay," I tersely called. "Susa Soldier, direct attack!"
"Trap card, Negate Attack," Akashi defended.
"I shall set a card, turn end," I defended. "Spring of Rebirth allows me to gain five hundred life points when monsters are returned from the field to their owners' hands, so the return of Aratama and Susa Soldier grants me a thousand life points."
Yuuko: LP 8500 → LP 8000 → LP 9000
Akashi: LP 8000
"Draw!" Akashi called. "I summon Battlin' Boxer Switchitter [1500/1400]. When he's normal summoned, I can target another Battlin' Boxer and special summon the guy in defence mode, so return, Glassjaw!"
The Hulk monster appeared next to the slim boxer once more, crouching.
"But, during this turn I can't special summon any other monsters than Battlin' Boxer monsters," Akashi clarified. "Let's go for the uppercut, boys! I construct the overlay network with these two monsters! Exceed Summon! Come, Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!"
The new Exceed monster was dressed as a Roman gladiator. It carried two large cudgels, far too large for any normal man to hold [2200/2000].
"Now, Lead Yoke, attack!" he called.
"With this compensation of blood, come, Susa Soldier!" I called as I set the monster. Although Susa Soldier was destroyed, at least it was in defence mode.
Yuuko: LP 9000 → LP 8500
Akashi: LP 8000
"Testing the range, huh?" Akashi snickered. "Turn end."
"Draw!" I called. "I banish Susa Soldier in my hand to special summon Izanagi [2200/1000]. Now, I play the Field Spell, Mausoleum of the Emperor. By paying two thousand life points, I summon the strongest of the Spirits, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi [2800/2900]!"
My monster appeared, burning fires about him.
"Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, attack Lead Yoke!" I called. "Fire Fist!"
"The effect of Lead Yoke; if a Battlin' Boxer I control would be destroyed, I can detach one Exceed material from him instead," Akashi replied as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi made contact. "Also, when an Exceed material is detached from Lead Yoke, he gains eight hundred attack power [2200/2000 → 3000/2000]."
"But, you'll take damage," I retaliated as my monster's fire scorched at him.
Akashi: LP 8000 → LP 7400
Yuuko: LP 8500 → LP 6500
"I shall set a card and equip Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi with Mirror of Yata. Turn end." I called. "By the effect of Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, before your draw phase next turn you must discard your entire hand."
"Troublesome," Akashi muttered as he discarded before he drew. "I draw! But you don't think I don't know the lynch-pin of Spirit monsters? Lead Yoke, attack Izanagi!"
"Trap card, Call of the Earthbound," I called. "I redirect the attack to Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi!"
My strongest monster was beaten down, as the gladiator growled and showed itself off.
Yuuko: LP 6500 → LP 6300
Akashi: LP 7400
"What's with that?" Akashi pointed to the shattered Mirror of Yata.
"When a Spirit monster holding the Mirror would be destroyed by battle, Mirror of Yata takes its place," I answered.
"I call turn end, and pass the baton to you," Akashi smirked. "What d'you think?"
"My turn, draw!" I called. "I'll summon the Spirit monster, Rakshasa [1500/1900]."
"Isn't that weak?" Akashi pointed out.
"Rakshasa allows me to reveal one Spirit monster in my hand, such as Aratama, and then use it to bounce one monster in attack position on the field that my opponent controls," I replied as the armoured whip-carrying Fairy dived to tangle the Lead Yoke. "Of course, Spring of Rebirth grants me more life points."
"My monster!" Akashi yelled.
"Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, attack directly with Flame Fist!" I cried. "Izanagi, Rakshasa, follow him!"
Akashi: LP 7400 → LP 900
Yuuko: LP 6300 → LP 6800
"I'll end here," I finished once my barrage was concluded. "Izanagi allows me to retain Rakshasa here on the field."
"Interesting..." Akashi merely growled, smiling. "My turn, draw! Right here and now, I'll make you regret not taking me down faster! I draw!"
He studied his cards. "Right, then. I activate the Spell, The Warrior Returning Alive, to take back Switchitter to my hand. Then I summon Switchitter, and its effect summons Glassjaw to my field in defence mode. I activate the Spell, Spellbook Inside the Pot, and that allows the two of us to draw three cards each. With that, since I control a Battlin' Boxer monster, I can special summon from my hand Battlin' Boxer Sparrer [1200/1400] from my hand at the cost of forfeiting my battle phase for the rest of the turn. I set a card. My monsters... forgive me."
"What?" I blinked.
"I construct the overlay network with these three level four monsters!" Akashi roared. "The fallen star that punches down from the heavens, crash into the stage of the battlefield! Show yourself, Number 105: Battlin' Boxer Star Cestus!"
Unlike the impression I got, the monster that crashed down in a burst of flame from the heavens wore skin-tight yellow and blue armour, framed by mechanical devices that looked to be merely cosmetic [2500/1600].
"What the...?" I murmured.
"Trap card, Dimension Slice," Akashi added, as Rakshasa winked out of existence. "This card can be activated the turn it is set in response to an Exceed summon. When a monster is special summoned to my field, I can banish one card on the field, and I chose Rakshasa. Turn end."
"That..." I trailed off. "My turn, draw! Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, attack Star Cestus with Fire Fist!"
"The effect of Star Cestus!" Akashi defended. "During either player's battle step, if a Battlin' Boxer monster I control battles an opponent's monster, for the cost of one material I can negate the effects of the opponent's monster until the end of the turn, and the monster I control not only cannot be destroyed by that battle, my opponent also takes any battle damage I would have taken from that battle. Stardust Brilliance!"
Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi won, but at the last moment of brilliant blast of light hit me.
Yuuko: LP 6800 → LP 6500
Akashi: LP 900
"I see," I decided. "Main phase two. I summon Aratama to the field, and equip it with the Equip Spell, Spirit Burner. I choose to add Inaba White Rabbit from my deck to my hand. End phase, I allow Aratama to return to my hand, therefore triggering Spring of Rebirth and Spirit Burner. When the equipped monster is sent back from my field to my hand and Spirit Burner is sent to the graveyard, my opponent takes six hundred damage."
Akashi: LP 900 → LP 300
Yuuko: LP 6500 → LP 7000
"I move Izanagi to defence mode," I continued. "Turn end. With that, shall I elaborate your situation? You have only three hundred life points left. Next turn, I can add Spirit Burner from my graveyard to my hand, and repeat the combo with Aratama. Which means that you have only one chance before defeat is certain. I have seven thousand life points. What do you say?"
"... I want to win."
"E- Excuse me?" I echoed.
"I will win! I draw!" he yelled. "This is... my counter-attack! I play the Spell, Brain Reboot!"
"B- Brain... Reboot...?" My nerves failed me. "At the last moment...?!"
"Your monsters all return to your hand, and you take damage equal to the combined levels of the monsters multiplied by five hundred," Akashi confirmed. "Your Spring of Rebirth will save you, but not by much. Izanagi is level six, and Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi is level eight. That's seven thousand damage!"
Yuuko: LP 7000 → LP 7500 → LP 500
Akashi: LP 300
A former boxer, nearly punch-drunk and balding, ageing... and yet, to pull a miracle draw at the last moment... I closed my eyes. "The gods of the Duel have a cruel sense of humour."
"Go, Star Cestus! Direct attack!" Akashi yelled as the boxer made a boxing stance and threw its fist forth. "Stardust Impact!"
Yuuko: LP 500 → LP 0
Akashi: LP 300
"And that's knock-out!" Akashi beamed at me as I got back up. "Good Duel, Captain! You were really good there, I thought I could have lost!... I'm not in trouble, right?"
"N- No!" I waved my hands. "It's... troubling. I thought... I thought..."
His face clouded over. "You thought I clouded the investigation, Captain?"
"Not anymore," I shyly admitted. "Just that..."
"I understand," he shook his head. "Well, then. Can you teach me some kick-boxing moves?"
"Number 105... Cestus the Meteor..." I mumbled to myself.
"Captain, why is that guy here?" Hasegawa-san complained as I spotted Sergeant Yamamoto approaching.
"Because he's part of the Duel Crimes Unit," I snapped back as overhead, the typhoon approached. "And he's a better Duelist than even me."
Sergeant Yamamoto grinned, running to leap and tackle the Psychic. As his fist sailed in the air, I thought, for a moment, how strange that he seemed so much like his own Cestus the Meteor.
Kaname Yuuko
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