Edited: 20 April 2016
The Duel Champion's Daughter
Disclaimer: I do NOT own either Inuyasha or Yu-Gi-Oh GX
AN: I have re-done the dueling scene for this chapter to make it more accurate to the Yu-Gi-Oh card game. I also removed cards that Judai didn't have at the beginning of season one.
4/2016 AN: Aside from the duel scene, everything else has pretty much been re-written
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
From the docks, Kagome's friends and family watched as Duel Academy's ship sailed off towards the south. They continued to stay at the dock until the boat was nothing more than speck on the horizon for a human's sight.
After a while the crowd at the harbor slowly dispersed until only Sesshomaru and Kagome's family remained.
When he could no longer see the yacht, Sesshomaru turned towards his godmother, his godsiblings' mother. "Fumiko-oba-san, do you really think it's wise to send Kagome to that island?"
"It might not be," Fumiko admitted. "But it's the best option we have. It's the perfect place for her to recover."
The dog yokai stayed silent as he waited for an explanation.
"You're aware that for a person blocking their own power, the most suitable way for them to recover is to be in an environment where they do not have to use their powers. From what I've seen on the island two, there isn't anything that warranted anyone to use their reiryoku. Aside from their constant opening and closing of Duel Monster gateways, there is virtually nothing that will trigger Kagome's reiryoku. The two things that could possibly be of any threat to her have already been sealed away years ago. Unlike how it is here, that island has little to no supernatural activity. With less use of her powers, Kagome may stand a chance to stay healthy enough to finally breakdown her own block. And…" The event planner trailed off, wondering if she should really be telling her best friend's son this. Her godson was awfully protective of his godsibling after all.
"And?" Sesshomaru prompted, thinking that his godsister could have been sent to many other places over the island academy.
"Perhaps that academy's students may help Kagome more than we can," Fumiko finished with a solemn air.
"Perhaps…" the daiyokai repeated. "Let us hope that you are right, Fumiko-oba-san."
"Do you think Aneki will be alright, Mama?" Souta spoke for the first time since his sister had left.
"We can only hope so," the Kaiba matriarch answered. "We all know how she is," continued Fumiko with a smile on her face, but in her mind she was thinking, 'But finding a fiancé might be a bit of a challenge...'
The group of four stayed at the docks only a little longer before they started making their way back to Tokyo.
Kagome sadly waved goodbye to her friends with a smile as the ship departed from the harbor with her on it.
Once the harbor that the ship had previously been anchored at was out of her eye sight, Kagome let her smile fade away and her arm to fall back to her side. Sighing sadly, she turned around and started to walk to the interior of the ship.
As she made her way towards the ship's interior she heard a large commotion at the front of the boat.
Making her way over to the crowd that had begun to form, Kagome saw that there were already some duelists dueling each other. Some people in crowd were also talking about the strategies that the duelists were using and others she noticed were surprisingly talking about her.
"Hey did you hear?" a random girl asked another duelist next to her.
"Hear about what?" was the reply.
"Well I heard that the Ace Princess was on board to go to Duel Academy with us," she replied in eagerness.
"Really?" was the other girl's astonished answer. "I love her and I heard she hasn't lost any duel that's come her way."
"I know. Why do you think she's coming to the academy anyways?" the first girl asked thoughtfully
"Probably to learn more strategies or something," suggested the second girl while shrugging her shoulders.
As that conversation took place more people began to talk about the Ace Princess once they heard the title.
Taking that as her cue to leave, the blue-eyed teen quickly and quietly left the main deck.
After a short while, she was able to successfully make it to the ship's side deck without any of the other students recognizing her. 'Now I just have to make it to the island without being recognized,' she thought somewhat moodily.
"HEY!"
Did she mention making it to the island without being seen?
She didn't respond, silently hoping that the one yelling would get the idea and leave her be.
"Hey!" The voice wasn't as loud now, but it was closer. "Didn't you hear me? I said hey!"
She sighed and came face to face with a pair of fallow brown eyes, taking a step back she took in the appearance of the overly jovial boy. His hair was cut in an odd shape with two parts framing his face; it was a duo shade of brown and if she were to guess the shades, she would assume Ochre and Dark Sepia. "I had thought it was obvious that I was ignoring you."
"Huh?" He seemed confused, but she ignored it and turned to walk away when he called out to her once more. "You're a duelist!" he called, "Right?"
She mentally rolled her eyes. She knew that he wasn't asking her, only wording it in that of a question. Only major idiots would ask something like that while on this ship.
"Duel me!"
Her eyes widened and her left hand found the black velvet pouch that held her deck on her hip.
"Duel... you?" she asked, trying to comprehend the thought of dueling someone like him. Surely he wasn't serious. She turned around curiously and found a huge grin on his face, cards already on his Duel Disk.
"... You're serious..." she smiled. "If we dueled, will that get you to leave me alone?" she asked with a quirked brow. She was most definitely not in the mood to play with anyone.
"YEAH!"
She sighed as she watched him run to the other side of the ship's deck. Unclipping her Duel Disk from her backpack, she pulled her deck out and inserted it in her own Duel Disk. She made sure her deck was clipped in securely before she strapped her Duel Disk onto her forearm.
"Duel!" the two duelists shouted as they turned on their Duel Disks and drew their starting hand of five cards.
"You don't mind going first, do you?" Kagome asked, her mind already formulating a strategy to finish this duel as soon as possible. She really would rather be napping and sketching out a new idea than doing this.
"Sure thing! Draw!" the excited mystery boy declared as he drew a card to start his turn. "First, I'll play Elemental HERO Bubbleman in Attack Mode. When Bubbleman is summoned and I have no other monsters on my field, I can draw two more cards!" he stated as he took two more cards from his deck.
"An E-HERO deck, eh?" Kagome mumbled softly to herself, her interest piqued. It wasn't very often she met someone who used this archetype of cards. The only pro duelists who even used HERO cards were her and her adoptive brother though the two of them used different strategies and cards with their Elemental HERO decks. 'I might actually enjoy this duel,' she thought, internally debating on whether or not to follow through with her curiosity.
Turning her attention back to her opponent and the blue HERO monster, the blue-eyed girl waited to see what else he'd do. It'd be interesting to see and compare his strategies to hers and Edo's.
"Next, I equip Bubble Blaster to Bubbleman, raising his ATK by 800!" the boy explained as the E-HERO took hold of his new.
"Che," the Ace Princess huffed, miffed at the Equip Spell. She knew the effects of this card rather well as she and her best friend used it often enough with their own Bubbleman. Bubble Blaster was an annoying card when playing against it and it would only hinder her in ending this duel quickly.
"I'll play E – Emergency Call to add one Elemental HERO to my hand," the brown-eyed teen stated with a card materializing behind Bubbleman. "And I'll end my turn with two cards facedown."
'E – Emergency Call, huh? Does that mean he has the other letter cards for HERO Flash?' Kagome thought as she declared the start of her turn and drew a card from her deck.
Taking a glance at it, she quickly three other cards from her hand of cards and made her move. "I activate the Spell card, Double Summon. For this turn only, I can have an additional Normal Summon. And I summon Rose, Warrior of Revenge and Harpie Channeler!" As she said this she placed the three cards onto her Duel Disk and almost instantly the two red-haired monsters materialized onto the field.
"And thanks to Harpie Channeler's special effect, once per turn I can discard one Harpie card from my hand and Special Summon a Harpie monster from my hand or deck. And I summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon in Attack Mode," she declared. Her Duel Disk scanned her deck for the stated card before ejecting it out for use. Soon enough, a red and orange baby dragon appeared on the field with its Harpie Girl trainer holding it by its chain leashed emerald collar.
"From my hand I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Hysteric Party. This card allows me to add one Elegant Egotist to my hand from my Deck or Graveyard," Kagome said as she revealed the Spell card she had drawn at the start of her turn. "And I'll play it to Special Summon Harpie Lady 1."
"But that Spell card only works with a Harpie Lady monster," her opponent pointed out in confusion.
"When Harpie Channeler is on the field or in the Graveyard, her name is treated as Harpie Lady," she explained. Next to her, Kagome's Harpie Channeler snickered in amusement, her body glowing as Elegant Egotist took effect. As the light grew brighter, a myriad of colors blossomed as Harpie Lady 1's form separated from Harpie Channeler's.
"And with Harpie Lady 1's special effect all WIND attribute monsters gain 300 ATK. Additionally, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon's effect activates, and accumulates in accordance to the amount of Harpie monsters I have on the field. And since I have two, you can't target any other Harpie monster for an attack, and my Pet Baby Dragon's ATK and DEF doubles. And when I have a Dragon-Type monster on the field, Harpie Channeler's level rises to seven." Again, Harpie Channeler was surrounded by a pale light as her shoulder-length hair grew past her waist and glistening gems were added on to her feathered staff.
"Now, Harpie Channeler attack his Bubbleman, and get rid of that pesky Spell card!" Kagome ordered her card hand pointed towards the HERO monster.
"Not so fast! Reverse Card, open! A Hero Emerges!" the boy shouted, temporarily halting Harpie Channeler's attack. He swiftly shuffled his hand of cards before saying the Trap card's effect. "When I activate this card, my opponent chooses one card from my hand, and if it's a monster card, I can Special Summon it!"
"The second from the right," the female duelist chose with her arms crossed over her chest and the fingers of her card hand tapping impatiently against her Duel Disk.
"Alright!" the duo-colored teen cheered and took the chosen card and set it on his Duel Disk. "I Special Summon ELEMENTAL HERO Edgeman in Attack Mode!"
Once the Trap card had resolved, he proceeded to open another facedown card. "That's not all, I also activate the Trap Card, Negate Attack!" her opponent shouted as he pressed the Trap card's corresponding button on his Duel Disk. "When my opponent declares an attack, I can activate this card to negate the attack and end the Battle Phase," he explained.
"I'll set one reverse card, and end my turn." Kagome hummed softly as she finished her turn, slightly impressed that the other duelist had the forethought to set those two particular cards.
"Waah! That was close," the boy sighed and patted his chest in relief, thankful that he had narrowly escaped an OTK (One Turn Kill). If he hadn't set those Trap cards, he would have already lost the duel. An excited grin soon spread across his face, replacing his expression of relief. "My turn; draw!" he shouted with a new card in hand. Looking at the card, the duo-colored brunette couldn't help but cheer at his luck.
"I'll start by activating Fusion to fuse Elemental HERO Burst Lady and Elemental HERO Featherman to Fusion Summon Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" he said as he revealed the three cards in his hand and briefly placed them on his Duel Disk. The two E-HERO monsters appeared on the field before disappearing in a swirling blend to have the Fusion monster take their place.
"My favorite card!" he shouted when the monster had fully materialized. "And thanks to your Harpie Lady 1, Flame Wingman's ATK rises to 2400!"
"Battle! Flame Wingman attack her Warrior of Revenge! Flame Shoot!" he said enthusiastically as he punched his card hand in time to his orders. The Fusion monster took to the sky and dived towards the Warrior-Type monster in a ball of flames.
"Not likely, Hero Boy!" Kagome interrupted as she pressed a button on her Duel Disk. "Trap card, open! Harpie Lady Sparrow Formation! When I control two or more Harpie Lady monsters I can negate an attack and end the Battle Phase."
Just when Flame Wingman was a mere foot away from Rose, Warrior of Revenge, a wall of burning red feathers shot from the ground. Harpie Channeler and Harpie Lady 1 also became engulfed in red flames to form a bird of fire that intercepted Flame Wingman, halting the HERO monster's attack.
"So it's like Negate Attack but only for Harpie Ladies," the newly dubbed Hero Boy said to himself in understanding, slightly awed by the Solid Vision holographic of the Trap card.
"If you're quite done gawking, can we please move on?" Kagome asked with a quirked brow, a habit she had picked up from her older god brother. Amusement glittered in her sapphire orbs from the other duelist's reaction; it was strange seeing another person her age be so enthusiastic over Duel Monsters.
Back at her old school, she, Souta and maybe two or so others were the only ones that played the card game. Everyone else preferred more physically active, mentally challenging, or simpler games. Nobody really wanted to deal with a game that was originally and at times still is a life and death matter.
"Right! I'll switch Bubbleman to Defense Mode, and I'll end my turn by setting two reverse cards," he said, the cards materializing in the Spell/Trap zone.
"My turn; draw." Looking at the card she had drawn, the pro duelist couldn't help but smirk as she played it. "I activate the Spell card, Treasure from Heaven. This card allows both players to draw until they have six cards in their hand," she said as she took six more cards from her deck.
Once she was able to scan over her cards, the blue-eyed girl's lips lifted up into a fond smile as she saw that she had drawn two more Harpie monsters.
"I'll start by summoning Harpie Dancer in Attack Mode. With a third Harpie monster, I can activate Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon's third effect. Once per turn, I can destroy one of my opponent's cards. So let's get rid of his Flame Wingman, ne?" Kagome asked her Pet Baby Dragon.
The Dragon monster made a soft cooing purr in agreement before opening its mouth and blasting a burst of green-white lightning at the Fusion monster.
As soon as the attack connected a cloud of black smoke exploded and covered the deck where the duel took place. When the smoke cleared, the Fusion monster missing from the field, but surprisingly in his place were Elemental HERO Burst Lady and Elemental HERO Featherman, both set in Defense Mode.
"Nice try, but I was able to activate De-Fusion at the last minute," the brunette laughed, happiness and excitement just seeming to flow out of him.
"That won't save you," the pro duelist retorted. "I activate Harpie Dancer's effect. Once per turn, I can return one WIND monster I control to my hand, and then Normal Summon one WIND monster. And I'll return Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon," she began as Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon disappeared from the field and its card was returned to her hand. "To re-summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon. Because Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon is newly summoned, I can activate her third effect once more. This time let's get rid of his Bubbleman. Holy Purge!" she ordered the Dragon monster.
Again green-white lightning burst forth from Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon. A cloud of black smoke erupted as the monster effect struck the sole WATER attribute monster, and grunts of pain could be heard from within the smoke cloud as Bubbleman attempted to fight against the monster effect.
"Because Bubbleman was destroyed by a monster effect, Bubble Blaster's effect doesn't activate," Kagome declared as the smoke cleared, revealing a field void of Bubbleman and his Equip Spell.
She was slightly impressed with her opponent's tactics in preventing her from ending this duel quickly, although she would never admit it. But despite how interesting her opponent was turning out to be, she really didn't want to drag this out.
"Harpie Channeler attack his Featherman! Shadow Chain!" she called out, reminding the other duelist that she had yet to enter her Battle Phase.
The chain leash and collar that Harpie Channeler held emitted a nearly pitch black aura. As she unleashed the chains and threw it towards the Featherman, the leash and collar disappeared from view.
The green HERO monster looked around him, anxiety seeming to come over his person. Suddenly the Harpie Channeler's chain leash and collar, still emitting the black aura, emerged from Featherman's shadow. The collar latched itself onto Featherman's neck and the chains wrapped around each of the HERO's limbs. The two items then proceeded to drag him into shadows despite the HERO's panic filled movements.
As soon as the E-HERO disappeared into the shadows Kagome ordered her next round of attacks. "Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon incinerate his Edgeman with Holy Flare! And Harpie Lady 1 show Burst Lady how a woman really fights; Scratch Crash!"
The Harpie Lady gave an excited screech before taking to the sky. When she reached the appropriate height the Winged Beast about faced and dived at the sole female HERO in a falling dropkick. As soon as the Harpie Lady collided with the HERO Burst Lady shrieked in pain as she was destroyed.
Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon let loose a roar, a rather fearsome one for a baby dragon, as she released a fireball of dancing blue and green flames at the EARTH attribute monster.
The male Warrior monster groaned as he was engulfed in the ball of fire and was destroyed by being literally burnt to a crisp. And as the last E-HERO disappeared from the field, the brunette's Life Points dropped to 3900.
"Rose, Harpie Dancer, let's wreak some havoc on Hero Boy's Life Points and give him a Direct Attack!" Kagome shouted as she ordered a direct attack.
Rose ran across the ship's deck towards the other duelist with her hands on her sheathed sword. The female monster unsheathed her katana as she jumped into the air and came down swiping at the brunette in a flurry of shining metal. When the red head landed on the other side of the boy, her katana once again sheathed, Hero Boy cried in pain as the Duel Disk replicated a fraction the simulated pain into his nervous system. He cried out again as the blonde Harpie dove at him from above, swiping at the brunette with her talons.
"Rose's effect now activates. Whenever she deals Battle Damage, she inflicts an additional 300 points of damage to my opponent's Life Points," Kagome added as Rose struck the brown-eyed duelist again with her katana, forcing another cry of pain from the male. Hero Boy's, as Kagome continued to call him, Life Points fell to a flat 800.
"I'll end my turn with one card facedown," the Ace Princess stated, not at all worried about her monsters or Life Points. With the hand she had and her current monsters, there was no way she could lose especially not to an amateur duelist using one of the decks that she has and knew the ins and outs of.
"My turn; draw!" Hero Boy called as he added a seventh card to his hand. "From my hand, I activate the Spell card, O – Oversoul. With this I can Special Summon from my Graveyard one Normal monster, and I'll bring Burst Lady!"
As he said that the Spell card materialized on the field and within seconds Burst Lady emerged from an inferno that erupted from the Spell card.
"Next, I'll play Fusions Recovery to return Fusion and Bubbleman from the Graveyard to my hand, and I'll activate Fusion to fuse Bubbleman and Burst Lady to summon Elemental HERO Steam Healer!" the brunette shouted as he revealed the two cards he had just retrieved.
Again the two HERO monsters appeared on the field. As the Spell card's effect activated the two Warrior-Types blended together in a storm of hot steam. The purple and red E-HERO materialized in the eye of the mini tornado, and his form became clear when the steam faded.
'He's going to use Steam Healer to bring back up his Life Points.' Kagome clicked her tongue as she figured what her opponent is going to do. 'Not like that will help him if he doesn't have Skyscraper in his hand.'
There wasn't much that she didn't know about HERO decks and their strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. Mainly because she had a HERO deck of her own that she sometimes played on the Pro Circuit.
And as she thought her opponent did exactly as she expected.
"My HEROes can't fight in a watery place like this, so I'll set a better place! Field Spell, Skyscraper!" Hero Boy shouted from his side of the duel field. All around the two duelists, buildings grew from the ship's deck, and the wooden floor transformed to appear as if it was concrete. The Solid Vision System's projections made it impossible to see through the holographic to the original background.
"When Skyscraper is on field, my Elemental HEROes gain 1000 ATK when they battle against a monster with a higher ATK. Steam Healer attack Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon! Steam Halation!"
"Reverse card, open! Permanent Trap, Curse of the Hexagram!" the blue-eyed duelist declared as the Trap card revealed itself. "While this Trap card is on the field, the targeted monster cannot attack or change its battle position!"
As Kagome explained the card's effect the Trap card glowed yellow and hexagram shot forth. The Trap took effect as the hexagram surrounded Steam Healer, and the E-HERO's assault was forced to an end.
The opposing duelist gritted his teeth as he was once again prevented from landing a hit on the girl's Life Points. "I'll set three reverse cards, and I'll end my turn by activating the Permanent Spell, Mirage of Nightmare."
"My turn; draw," Kagome declared.
"At this time, Mirage of Nightmare's effect activates. During my opponent's Standby Phase, I can draw until I have four cards in my hand," the brunette said as he added four cards to his hand.
"What good will that do?" the blue-eyed questioned. "You'll only have to discard those same cards during your turn."
"Heh," the boy smirked as he pressed one of the buttons on his Duel Disk that controlled the Spell/Trap zones. "I activate the Instant Spell, Emergency Provisions. For each Spell and Trap card I send from my field to the Graveyard, I gain back 1000 Life Points. And I'll send Mirage of Nightmare and one of my reverse cards to bring my Life Points back up to 2800."
Kagome watched as three of the cards from the Spell/Trap zone area disappeared from the field. "But that still leaves one reverse card," she muttered to herself.
With a hand pointed towards the last Spell/Trap zone card, Kagome activated her monster's effect. "No matter, Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon get rid of his last facedown!"
"What? You can destroy Spell and Trap cards too?" her opponent shouted in disbelief as Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon released a blast of green-white lightning at the designated card.
"I did say my Pet Baby Dragon can destroy a card. I never stated it had to be a monster card," Kagome smirked, thinking she had this duel already won.
"In that case, reverse card, open! Instant Spell, The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! When this card is activated I can Special Summon one Kuriboh or Winged Kuriboh from my deck. Come on out, partner!"
Kagome clicked her tongue in annoyance as she remembered the Fairy-Type monster's effect. It took a moment for it to register, but when it did Kagome's eyes widened in disbelief and slight anger.
"How do you have that card?" she shouted, her eyes narrowing at her opponent. Winged Kuriboh was an extremely rare card; it was almost as rare as her Black Magician Girl and Harpie's Feather Duster cards. She should know as she had been attempting to collect the Fairy-Type monster card since its release five years ago.
"Oh, you mean Winged Kuriboh? Yugi-san gave it to me right before the practical exam last month. Pretty cool, huh?"
Kagome didn't answer the boy and only glared at him as a low growl vibrated her throat. 'So that's what happened to the Winged Kuriboh Yugi-oji-san said he was going to give me,' she thought. 'He gave it to this guy.'
Her earlier anger began to simmer as she connected the dots and remembered the apology her godfather had given her when they had met up. Her godfather had promised the rare Level One monster as a gift for completing the first term of her final year in high school.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome attempted to calm herself before she did anything she'd regret. She'd often gotten in trouble with her maternal family, her godmother, and her older godbrother for letting her temper get the better of her.
Not wanting to remember all the times she had been scolded and punished for her temper, she pushed her anger back. She tried rationalizing that her godfather wouldn't give her gift to a random stranger without a reason.
"Oi? Is everything okay over there?" the brunette called out when he noticed how quiet the blue-eyed girl was being.
"Just dandy," she snapped back. Taking another deep breath, Kagome forced herself to focus back on the current duel. It wouldn't do if she somehow lost to this amateur because her anger had clouded her judgment.
Finally taking a look at the card she had drawn, the pro duelist couldn't help but smile when she saw that had drawn one of her favorite cards.
"I activate Harpie Dancer's effect and return Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon to my hand to once again summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon in attack mode. I might not be able to do any damage to you this turn, but I can still get rid of your cards!" Kagome shouted as she had her Dragon-Type monster destroy the brunette's Field Spell.
"Next, I'll offer up my Rose, Warrior of Revenge and Harpie Dancer to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon!"
As soon as she announced that Rose, Warrior of Revenge's form shot towards the sky in red colored lightning and separated into four shining stars. The stars then expanded into glowing green-colored rings that surrounded Harpie Dancer, turning the Winged Beast's body transparent and four bright stars emitted from her body in a straight line. The two monsters held this form for a moment when suddenly a beam of white light struck and engulfed the pair, momentarily blinding the two duelists and alerting the other students on board the ship of the current duel.
A split second later, a blue and silver dragon burst from top of the tower of light and shattered the tower into literal stardust that floated down from its wings. Cries of amazement and screams of fear could be heard echoing from all around as Stardust Dragon continued to fly above the ship.
"Whoa!" the boy cried, absolutely astonished by the Dragon-Type monster. The strength of the dragon's flapping wings nearly knocking him over. The monster wasn't one he had ever seen or heard of, and he didn't remember every reading anything about the Dragon monster's creation on the Industrial Illusions' website.
"Don't forget about Harpie Channeler's effect," Kagome said as she continued her turn when her vision had returned. "And since you played your favorite card, I'll return the favor two fold! I activate Harpie Channeler's effect and discard Harpie's Pet Dragon to Special Summon one Harpie monster from my deck. Let's go, Harpie Queen!"
As soon as soon the cards were set in their proper zones a beautiful, turquoise-haired Harpie with white wings appeared.
Kagome couldn't help but smile as she watched her royal Harpie fly around the field before circling back to land next to her with an adoring coo. She didn't know why, but she always got the feeling that her Harpie Queen was much more than just a card; the queen was almost sentient with how she would act whenever she was on the field. The actions her favorite Harpie Lady took often reminded her of some parts of her childhood that she had never been able to recall.
Shaking her head, the blue-eyed girl pushed the notion to the back of her to ponder on later and carried on with her Main Phase 1. "I'll equip my Harpie Queen with the Equip Spell, Raregold Armor. While this card is on the field, my opponent can't attack any other monster besides the one it's equipped to. And thanks to Harpie Lady 1, her ATK goes up by 300 points!"
As the Spell card was played a platinum and gold plated armor appeared on Harpie Queen's upper body. A blue cape draped over the Winged Beast's shoulders and down her back. In the queen's hand appeared a gold handled saber, which she swung about in quick swipes before sheathing it in the chain belt that was slung about her armored waist.
"But your Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon is already protecting your Harpies," Hero Boy pointed out. "What are ya trying to do? Make a lock?"
"That's right, and now my Harpie Lock is complete," Kagome smirked before shouting out. "Battle! Harpie Queen, Harpie Channeler show his HERO and that little fairy to an early grave! Royal Harpie Shadows!"
When the attack was announced, the two designated Harpie Ladies vanished into the shadows on Kagome's side of the duel field. Though their bodies were gone, the two duelists could hear the two Harpie Ladies' giggling as the two monsters moved in the shadows.
Hero Boy and the two monsters looked around the field as they attempted to pinpoint where the laughing was coming from, but no matter how much they tried, they just couldn't. It was as if the giggles were echoing from all directions, filling the entire duel field in a continuous stream of amused laughter.
For a moment the two Harpie's laughter fell silent, leaving the brunette duelist and his two monsters in suspense.
The giggling returned full force as the shadows on the brunette's field began to move. The shadows shifted until the parts of Harpie Queen and Harpie Channeler's bodies formed behind their respective prey. With the upper halves of their bodies out of the shadows, the Harpie Ladies wrapped their arms around their chosen monsters.
Winged Kuriboh and Elemental HERO Steam Healer struggled fiercely as they were dragged into the shadows by Harpie Channeler and Harpie Queen. The monsters cried and grunted as they tried to dislodge their respective Harpie captor from their bodies. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain when the difference in ATK and DEF were taken into account, and the shadows that covered half of the Harpie's bodies quickly consumed the two lower ATK monsters.
Immediately after engulfing the boy's monsters, the shadows swiftly moved back towards Kagome's side of the field. Reaching their monster zones, Harpie Queen and Harpie Channeler quickly reappeared from the shadows they had hidden in with their bodies fully intact.
"I'll end my turn with that," Kagome announced, knowing better than to continue attacking for a useless endeavor.
"My turn; draw!" the brunette called as he drew from his deck. "I'll activate the Spell card, Pot of Greed to draw two cards. And thanks to Mirage of Nightmare I have the perfect card to get rid of your monsters! I'll discard one card to activate Special Hurricane! When activated I can destroy all monsters that were Special Summoned to the field."
A towering gray hurricane appeared in the center of the dueling field. The wind generated from the storm whipped the hair of the two duelists and the monsters on the field. As the hurricane gathered more speed and strength Kagome's monsters were gradually being pulled in.
"Not so fast! I activate Stardust Dragon's special effect. Victim Sanctuary!" the blue-eyed teen shouted. Stardust Dragon flew forward from behind its duelist. Enveloping the twister in its wings, the Synchro monster dispersed in a shower of glittering gold stars, taking the Spell card with it.
"What?" the brunette cried out in shock. "That should have gotten rid both your Dragons and Harpies. Why did only the silver one disappear?"
"When a card effect destroys one or more of my cards, Stardust Dragon's effect Victim Sanctuary has the ability to negate the card effect and destroy the card," the pro duelist explained while pushing away a stray lock of hair. "And what were you trying to accomplish? In case you've already forgotten because of Harpie Dancer's effect, only Harpie Queen and Stardust Dragon were Special Summons."
"Ah! I can't believe I forgot about that!" the male shouted, grabbing the sides of his head as he beat himself up over his forgetfulness. The sudden appearance of the new Dragon-Type monster and all the action up until now had distracted him from remembering about the Harpie monster's effect.
Shaking off his negativity, the boy couldn't help but let an excited grin breakout across his face and his shone with enjoyment. He couldn't be upset over his forgetfulness. He was up against a really strong duelist and a brand new monster that he didn't know the effects of. How much more exciting could this duel get?
"Well then I activate Double Spell! By discarding one Spell card from my hand, I can target a Spell card in my opponent's Graveyard and treat it as if it was my own. And I'll be using your Treasure from Heaven, and we'll both draw until we have six cards in our hand," the brunette called out as he took four cards from his deck.
In response Kagome also added four more cards to her hand.
"Alright!" Hero Boy shouted as he looked at his new cards. Grinning widely, he grabbed a card from his new hand and played it on his Duel Disk. "I'll play Monster Reborn to Special Summon ELEMENTAL HERO Edgeman from my Graveyard."
As he said this, the Spell card appeared on the field, and Edgeman stepped out from the card's image of a blue ankh.
"I'll also activate the Spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive, to return one monster in my Graveyard to my hand, and I summon ELEMENTAL HERO Sparkman in attack mode!" he announced with the blue LIGHT attribute monster striking a pose as he appeared.
"So what?" Kagome asked with a quirked brow. "Unless you can break through my lock, there's no way you can beat me."
"I'm not done yet! I play the Spell card, R – Right Justice. With this I can destroy your Raregold Armor and attack your Pet Baby Dragon!"
Harpie Queen gasped as a large crack appeared on the armor she wore. The crack gradually spread, leaving smaller fractures in its wake. When there were cracks everywhere, the armor finally gave way and dispersed.
"Next, I activate H – Heated Heart to boost Edgeman's ATK by 500 points, and I'll also play the Continuous Spell, Kishido Spirit. While this card is on the field, my monsters can't be destroyed when battling a monster with the same ATK. Edgeman, Power Edge Attack!" the male duelist shouted.
The wings on the gold armored HERO monster's jetpack spread out as he sped across the field. With the monster's speed, he sliced straight through Kagome's Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon, and cut the girl's Life Points by 400 points.
The Dragon monster gave a loud, high-pitched cry before her body shattered into pieces.
"Next up is your Harpie Lady 1! Sparkman, Spark Flash!" Lightning burst forth from the blue HERO's hands. The magenta-haired Harpie released a pain filled shriek as the bolts of electricity struck her, but attempted to retaliate by swiping a clawed hand at the visor wearing hero.
"And with that, your Harpies lose their power-ups!" Hero Boy yelled, feeling accomplished at taking out three of his opponent's monsters.
"I'll end my turn with one card facedown," he said, setting his last card.
As soon he finished speaking a white light flooded the deck, nearly blinding the two duelists again. When the light faded and the two Duel Academy students could see again, Stardust Dragon was once again hovering behind the blue-eyed girl.
"What the?" the brown-eyed teen gasped in shock.
"Don't get cocky, boy," Kagome warned with steely eyes. "When sent to the Graveyard by Victim Sanctuary, Stardust Dragon can be Special Summoned from my Graveyard the turn this effect is used."
"My turn, draw!" Looking at the card she had drawn, the raven-haired teen couldn't help but smirk.
"If you think your sole reverse card is going to save you then you better think again. When I have exactly five WIND monsters in my Graveyard I can Special Summon Wind Spirit God - Wind Rose from my hand. Let's go, Wind Rose!"
As this was announced a large green and purple Winged Beast monster materialized on the field. Despite its monster-Type, the Elemental Lord with its leafy body and rose petal wings bore a stronger resemblance to a rosebush than it did to a bird.
"Five? When did you get five in there?" the boy asked he counted on his fingers the number of monsters he had destroyed. "There should only be three in there!"
"Did you forget about the Harpie cards I discarded through Harpie Channeler's effect?" Kagome inquired snootily "Because of her effect I took the chance to put Harpie Girl and Harpie's Pet Dragon in my Graveyard."
"Ah man!" her opponent cried as he grabbed his head in frustration. She was vaguely able to hear him cursing himself for letting his guard down.
"I activate Wind Spirit God – Wind Rose's effect. When Wind Rose is successfully Special Summoned, it destroys all Spell and Trap cards on my opponent's side of the field." While Kagome spoke the Winged Beast monster spread its wings and began flapping them, creating a strong gale of wind. The brief squall flipped and revealed the brunette's facedown card before destroying it and her opponent's Continuous Spell.
"Mirror Force, huh?" Ace observed. "You're going to have to do a lot better, if you want to use that against me."
"Sugoi! Sugoi! This is so cool!" the brunette shouted as he bounced from leg to leg, seemingly incapable of containing his excitement. "I want one of those. Either one of them would be fine! I really want one!" he continued with a wide eager grin splitting his face.
"Eh? You okay there or have you had too much pain from Solid Vision?" the she questioned in honest confusion, completely perplexed by the other duelist's reaction to her Synchro monster's effect.
"I'm in major pinch, but I'm up against an extremely strong monster," Hero Boy explained as he continued to bounce in place.
Bringing a hand up to cover her mouth, Kagome attempted to smother the sudden bubbly feeling that filled her chest. But it did no good as a chuckle burst past her lips. As if the escaped chuckle was the catalyst a stream of laughter spilled from the WIND duelist.
"You're an interesting guy," she said once her chuckles had died down. "It's been a while since I've met someone like you."
"You're not too bad yourself," the boy replied back.
"Ne?" she called out to the other duelist.
"What's up?" the brunette replied back.
"I know this is a little late, but what's your name?"
"Me? Yuuki... Yuuki, Judai," the now identified duelist introduced himself laughingly. "Yours?"
"Higurashi... Higurashi, Kagome," the blue-eyed duelist responded. "I hope we can duel again sometime," she said, her own words surprising her.
She loved her Duel Monster cards, but aside from Tag-Duels, she generally hated dueling especially her duel training.
Shaking her head to rid herself of any lingering thoughts, Kagome shouted, "Duel resume! Since it's my turn, your Edgeman loses his 500 ATK bonus from H – Heated Heart. Wind Rose, Tempest Slicer!"
The Wind Spirit monster took to the sky, a strong gust left in his wake as he rose higher. However, that was nothing in comparison to what came next.
When Wind Rose reached a higher enough altitude, he flapped his purple and green wings. A visible torrent of fast moving air was generated in front the monster.
A cry of pain could also be heard from within the storm as Edgeman was encased in the twister. Flashes of silver could be seen whirling throughout the storm as blades of wind began attacking the HERO monster from all sides.
When the screams were silenced, the tornado gradually shrunk in size until it disappeared, taking Edgeman and 200 of Judai's Life Points with it.
"Harpie Queen take out his Sparkman!" the blue-eyed teen said to her strongest Harpie.
Said monster bowed to her duelist for show before taking to sky and diving at her target. The speed at which she flew far exceeded the other Harpie monsters. The royal Harpie was a blur of green, blue, and white as she dove at Sparkman. Using her taloned hands, Harpie Queen destroyed the HERO monster and cut another 300 Life Points from the brunette.
"I really have to say congratulations, Yuuki-san," Kagome smirked. "It's been a long while since anyone's last against me this long."
"That must make me a great a duelist, huh?" Judai asked with his chest puffed out.
"Maybe, but I guess you should be happy. You're the first person outside of my family to ever witness one of my Synchro monsters be summoned in a duel."
"Really? But why wouldn't you use such an awesome card more often?" Judai questioned all the while scratching his head in confusion. "Seems like a waste to me."
"You'll find out later, but this duel has gone long enough. Ready Stardust Dragon?" Kagome asked her Synchro monster. The Silver dragon released a thundering screech as if agree with his master's suggestion. "Then let's say good-bye! Shooting Sonic!"
As soon as the command had left her lips Stardust Dragon took to the air, rising high until the other students on the ship were sure to have seen him. Bright light engulfed the playing field as Stardust Dragon released his attack with a roar and a cone of blue-white burst from his mouth. The attack was fast, and caused the ship to rock with the aftershock of the digital blast. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind that everyone would be curiously making their way to them soon. "You lose."
"Aw man! I can't believe I lost. I was so sure I could have won on my next turn," Judai complained as he checked the card he would have drawn. His attitude quickly did a 180 when he faced his raven-haired. "But that was the most fun I've had since I got on this boat! It was an amazing duel."
"Hm?" Kagome hummed as she placed her cards back in her deck carrier and re-attached her Duel Disk to her backpack before moving to his side of the deck.
"..."
Reaching Judai, she offered a hand out to him for a handshake that he took. "I guess it was pretty amazing. It was... fun dueling you. I hope we can do it again sometime."
"Yeah, definitely!" he grinned. "I won't stop till I beat you!" he laughed, "I have to duel you, but I'll wait a while, until I know I've improved!"
She nodded and pulled her hand free before walking away, leaving him to deal with the large group of duel students that were still at the ship's bow.
With the duel over with, Kagome continued on to the destination she had previously chosen while taking off her Duel Disk and putting away her deck. She quick returned both items back to where she originally had them, being careful so that she had stored them properly; she didn't want to risk the chance of damaging or losing either, more so for her deck than the Duel Disk.
Finally making it inside the ship, Kagome was more than happy that she hadn't crashed into another person.
Being that she was still on the main floor, the Pro Duelist headed up to the higher decks, and to where there were hopefully less people.
It wasn't much later that Kagome found herself settling into an armchair in the VIP lounge on the top deck, and her belongings resting by her feet.
Because of the area she was in, the heiress desperately hoped no one would come barging as she attempted to relax.
It had been a ridiculously stressful month. With work, school, the National Gymnastics tournament, and then the secrecy of her leave, she was in dire need of destressing. She felt like she'd explode if she didn't get a break soon.
For a while, the Pro Duelist just sat in her meditating in an attempt to get herself to relax. Her breathing deepened and became rhythmic as she grew more relaxed.
Just as she was about to doze off into dreamland, she was abruptly awaken by a vibration from the pocket of her jeans. Taking out the offending object, Kagome noticed that it was the new cell phone her father and uncle had gotten her as an apology present for forcing her come to the academy.
Flashback
One Month Prior
Kagome nervously walked into her father's company office. Her fingers restlessly played with the fabric of her designer black jeans as she wondered why her father had called her to his office. To her knowledge, she hadn't done anything bad enough to warrant being called to her father's place; not that he was aware of the other things she did. But after her last disastrous visit two weeks ago, where she was ordered to find a husband by her seventeenth birthday, she didn't really know what to expect.
Seeing that her father and uncle were already in the room, the Kaiba heiress tried to calm her nerves. She quickly took a seat in the leather armchair that she had claimed as her own over the years.
Silently, she prepared herself for whatever disaster her parents may have cooked up this time.
"Kagome," Seto said as got up from his seat and moved to the front of his desk. "You're not here because you're in trouble.."
'Why would I be in trouble?' thought Kagome with a deadpanned expression upon her face, but nodded her head to show to her father that she understood. "Then what am I here for?" asked Kagome.
"You're here because your father and I have something to give you," Mokuba answered, pushing himself off the wall he been leaning against to stand by his brother.
"And that'd be?" inquired Kagome curiously as she relaxed slightly into her chair.
Instead of answering with words Seto just took a small sliver papered wrapped box from his desk and handed it to her.
Taking the present, Kagome looked at it curiously, carefully examining the box. "What is it?" she asked upon finishing her examination.
It was her Uncle Mokuba who answered her. "Well why don't you open it?" Mokuba prompted as he gestured towards the box with his hands. And with a nod of her head Kagome began to tear off the wrapping paper and opened the box. She gasped at what had awaited on the inside of the little box.
Lying inside the little box was a brand new shiny silver smart phone. With all the little detail she could, she could tell it was the newest and most technologically advanced phone that wasn't even on the market yet.
The entire front of the phone was video-touch screen with a small camera nestled in at the top center. And on the back was a imprint of the three Harpie Lady Sisters surrounding a Harpie Queen protectively and behind them was a Blue Eyes White Dragon all etched in and outlined in black ink.
Immediately after Kagome was shaken out of her awe stricken state, she was out of her seat and hugging both her uncle and father all the while shouting thank you over and over again. Her uncle and surprisingly her father, both just chuckled at her excitement of receiving her new cellphone.
End Flashback
Snapping out of her memory, Kagome quickly answered her phone. "Moshi moshi?"
"Kagome," a somewhat familiar baritone replied.
"Chichiue," the blue-eyed girl gasped. "Is there any particular reason why you have called?"
"Yes, do you remember why you're being sent to Duel Academy?"
"Yes, Chichiue," the heiress sighed as she obediently answered her father. "I'm supposed to be looking a husband you approve of."
"It's good that you remember. Now can you repeat the list of requirements your future husband needs to meet?"
"Chichiue, are you insulting my intelligence?" Kagome blurted out, feeling offended by the question.
Hearing his daughter's tone, Seto quickly changed his approach. "I have faith that you've memorized the requirements, but I would prefer to know that it is actually true."
"So you wish for me to recite the list?" the teen questioned, a little confused by statement. It wasn't like her father to use words like faith.
"Yes."
As soon as her father finished speaking, Kagome was already listing off all the requirements that she knew her future fiancé would have to meet. She spoke as fast as she could, wanting to get this conversation over with as soon as possible if this was all her father wanted to talk about.
When she finished, she immediately took a breath of much needed air. At the same time her eyes darted about the lounge, checking to see if anybody had come near her temporary sanctuary. It just wouldn't do for a Kaiba, even if it wasn't known to others, to be caught rushing through anything.
Once she was sure nobody had seen her, she relaxed back into her seat, having stiffened up at her father's phone call.
For the next half hour, the Ace Princess would spend it conversing with her father. And surprisingly, Kagome found herself enjoying the conversation because for the first time in god knows how long, they weren't talking about Duel Monsters. Her father sounded awkward and seemed to be stumbling through the call, but she could tell he was at least trying to be the father he was supposed to be.
By the time the conversation ended, Kagome was starting to dose off; the rocking of the ship and the sound of crashing waves always had that effect on her.
With a final "love you tou-san" and a flip of her phone, Kagome put away her phone and curled up in on the armchair. Once she was sufficiently comfortable, she promptly dosed off into a light nap.
Hours would pass before the Kaiba heiress would wake up to the yacht's captain announcing their imminent arrival to Duel Academy Island.
Thanks for reading and remember I like criticism! :)
Please review.
Harpie Channeler:
Original:You can discard 1 "Harpie" card; Special Summon 1 "Harpie" monster from your Deck in face-up Defense Position, except "Harpie Channeler". You can only use this effect of "Harpie Channeler" once per turn. While you control a Dragon-Type monster, this card's Level becomes 7. This card's name becomes "Harpie Lady" while it is on the field or in the Graveyard.
Adjusted: You can discard 1 "Harpie" card; Special Summon 1 "Harpie" monster from your Deck, except "Harpie Channeler". You can only use this effect of "Harpie Channeler" once per turn. While you control a Dragon-Type monster, this card's Level becomes 7. This card's name becomes "Harpie Lady" while it is on the field or in the Graveyard.
