Now here we are at the Duel Ranking Matches arc! The intro of new characters is practically over, and we won't be seeing some new ones in awhile. Will Yuuto become a Duelist Starter? Read and find out!
Ch. 4 Itsuki Suneku
It was a big day in Youth Duel Academy, because it was the week of the Ranking Matches! People were sent into four different blocks, with the top two from each block gaining the right to earn that respective title. The only disadvantage the duelists had was that they were up against Duelist Starters as well. So in order to make the cut, they had to literally beat them in order to make the cut.
These are the order the main characters are in:
Naoto Kurotsuki (Obelisk Blue) - Block A
Tetsu Yoimichi (Obelisk Blue) - Block A
Seiyuki Akarui (Obelisk Blue) - Block B
Heishi Mizugashi (Ra Yellow) - Block B
Sakuya Shindou (Obelisk Blue) - Block C
Inase Misawa (Obelisk Blue) - Block D
Itsuki Suneku (Ra Yellow) - Block D
Yuuto Yuki (Slifer Red) - Block D
Let the duels begin!
"The ranking matches are here!" Shigai exclaimed as him, Sakuba, and Iwa walked towards the Duel Grounds. "I can't wait to see who'll make the cut!"
"Do you think Yuuto has a chance of making it in?" Sakuba asked.
"I'm not sure, but there's a 90% chance that he probably won't."
"Why?" Iwa asked. "He was able to duel evenly with Heishi, who is a Starter?"
"Like I said before, that guy was using a borrowed deck cause his old one got confiscated." Shigai said. "There's no way Yuuto could easily beat a Starter. And he's up against two! If he loses against both of them, he loses his chance!"
"Even with those odds, every Slifer is hoping that Yuuto will win." Sakuba said. "It'll be the first time a Slifer has ever become a Duelist Starter."
Just then, as the trio entered the Duel Grounds, they saw Yuuto, who was watching a duel. He looked with a non-thought process in his head.
"Yuuto!"
The capped Prince looked to see the trio running toward him. Because of all the commotion going on, it would be hard to hear anyone yell, unless it was more than one person.
"We're all rooting for you!" Iwa exclaimed.
"You'll be able to defeat those Starters!" Sakuba said.
"Do you think so?"
The four turned to see a green haired, eyed young man walking to them. He wore a Ra Yellow jacket, but there were words on the back of it. Big blue letters were on the back on the jacket and on the right sleeve that read Youth Duelist Starter!
"Ack! Itsuki Suneku!" Shigai exclaimed.
Yuuto looked at him with no expression on his face.
Itsuki smirked. "You look really cocky. Well, I'll show you the true power of us Starters during our match, young Prince." And with that, he walked away.
"Whoa! That was scary!" Sakuba said. "He looks really confident as well."
"Yeah." Shigai said. "He's gonna be Yuuto's opponent soon since they're in the same block."
"By the way, how does this Ranking Matches thing work, anyway?" Sakuba asked.
"You don't know?" Shigai said, surprised. "Like I said before, students from all over the school play against each other in four blocks to gain the title of 'Duelist Starter'. Depending on how their scores and duels went, they get this chance. Whoever is the top two from each block, makes it!"
"Amazing..." Iwa said.
"And if you make it, you get to where a modified blazer with the words 'Youth Duelist Starter' on it!" Shigai said excitedly. "That would give any duelist an ego boost!"
Near the Duelist Grounds, Mio walked sadly towards the Ra Yellow dorm room.
She sighed. I can't believe I lost again. This makes four straight losses... I wish I could be more like Yuuto...
She was suddenly bumped in the head by a duel disk! She turned around to see Yuuto walking past her.
"Yuuto!" She exclaimed.
"No, not yet." Was the only words Yuuto said without looking back.
Mio blinked, then pouted.
Suddenly, Hikari appeared right behind her! "Mio! It's time for the Ranking Matches to start! We gotta watch Prince Yuuto's duel with Itsuki!"
"Huh?!" Mio gasped as she was dragged along by her friend.
By the time Yuuto got to the Grounds once more, he noticed the mass of Ra Yellows and Obelisk Blues here. As soon as everyone noticed him, they instantly started glaring at him with great intensity.
"Hmm..." Yuuto smirked, causing them to get even angrier.
"Yuuto!" Shigai called as he and the other two ran up to him. "Looks like the upperclassmen are still angry about yesterday."
"They're probably angry because you're the only Slifer in the Ranking Matches." Iwa said.
"Anyway, we came to wish you luck!" Sakuba added.
"Looks like my opponent's already here."
They turned again to see Itsuki standing there with a smile. The trio jumped back in surprise.
"I-Itsuki, sir!" Shigai stuttered.
"No need for the formalities." Itsuki smiled. "Anyways, watching me duel won't get you anywhere because I'm not gonna reveal my true strength during this match."
Yuuto clenched his fist upon hearing this. "Cocky?"
"Of course."
The two rivals stared each other down (except Yuuto was a little shorter, being 5'3 and Itsuki being 5'7).
"Wow." Inase said from far off. "This might turn into an interesting match."
"I wonder what this Prince'll show us." Tetsu said as well. "Anyways, you're gonna go up against them anyway. Shouldn't you be preparing."
"I am." Inase said.
Tetsu frowned, but then stared out into the field.
"Go Neos." Yuuto called. "Direct attack." Neos jumped into the air and slammed it's fist in a skydive punch into his opponent! The Ra Yellow was flung into the air and hit the ground in a hard impact!
Yuuto: 4000
Opponent: 0
His opponent gasped as he realized he lost. "Arghhh..."
"Alright!" Shigai jumped to the air. "Yuuto destroyed his opponent here!"
"At this rate, Yuuto will probably become a Starter after all!" Iwa cheered.
"YAY! GO GO PRINCE! GO GO PRINCE!"
Shigai and Iwa literally jumped hearing this. From the other side of the field, Hikari was jumping up and down, cheering on Yuuto for his win.
"Ack! Yuuto already has fan girls?!" Iwa gasped.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
The two turned again to see an Obelisk Blue blown to the other side of the room. That guy's opponent was Seiyuki, who held up two fingers in victory.
Another explosion occured with Tetsu defeated his opponent easily. He smiled as he helped his opponent back onto his feet.
"Amazing..." Iwa said breathlessly.
"Yeah..." Shigai said. "They win without losing any life points. That's the Youth Duelist Starters for you."
Naoto looked out at the Duel Matches with a look of deep thought. He was so high up in the building so he could watch the entire thing. He did pay attention more to Yuuto though, than anyone else.
"Looks like our little Slifer Prince is doing well, huh?" Mio and Hikari turned to see Prof. Genkotsu walking toward them with a wave.
"Ahhh! Dad!" Hikari smiled.
"Hello Prof. Genkotsu." Mio said while bowing.
"Hi girls." He said. "He's been doing good, huh. Dueling without losing any life points is a great achievement already. And the fact that his face's expression hasn't changed means he's a mature duelist..."
Yuuto walked over to Tetsu, who was recording wins. "Yuuto Yuki, Block D, win."
"Okay." He said, marking it down on his paper.
"Where are you going Yuuto?" Shigai asked.
"Lunch."
The three went to the Duel Shop for lunch. There was a giant box in the middle with a bunch of sandwiches with wrappers on it. All the flavors were random, so you couldn't tell what sandwich you got, but it was fun just picking. The best prize to get was the Golden Egg Sandwich, the one with the best flavor!
"Draw!" Shigai yelled, picking one up. He opened it and took a bite. "Aww... salmon."
"I got walnut-flavor." Iwa said.
Yuuto took a small bite. "Regular egg..."
"Anyways, it's surprising that Yuuto's got two straight wins in the Ranking Matches, huh?" Iwa said. "It contradicts what you said about being 90% sure he won't make it."
"That's because he only dueled normal people." Shigai explained. "He hasn't dueled a Starter yet. But even though he probably won't win against Inase, he might beat Itsuki..."
"Hmm..." Iwa murmured.
Just then, the door slammed opened. Sakuba ran inside in a hurry, almost bumping into Yuuto in the process.
"Ah! Sakuba! Did you get to see Itsuki's match?!" Shigai asked.
"Yeah! I must say, I'm really- Wait. Where are you going, Yuuto?" Sakuba asked as the Prince walked out the door.
"For a walk." And he left.
"He's always like that." Shigai said. "So what happened. Is he good?"
"He's strong! He won without losing any life points at all!" Sakuba could barely breath. "But the worse thing about him is the deck he uses." He got closer to the two and whispered to them about his deck.
Shigai stepped back in shock. "No way... maybe Yuuto won't win after all."
Iwa looked away. I still think Yuuto will win though...
Back at the Duel Grounds, Inase walked over to Tetsu and said, "Inase Misawa, Block D, win."
"You got straight wins too, huh?" Tetsu remarked. "Do you have enough research on your soon-to-be Slifer opponent?"
"I hope so. I'll use Itsuki's match with him to find out more though." He said. "But I'm not sure if I need to, since my father was familiar with his dad's deck."
"Don't let your guard down, Inase." The Vice-Captain said. "He's a good duelist, so he might surprise you."
Inase walked down the road a little and looked at the green-haired boy standing in the hallway. "In any case, I have another opponent to worry about. One, confident, younger Ra Yellow Starter..."
"Are you challenging me right now?" Itsuki smiled.
The glasses-wearing Obelisk just smirked. "No."
"X-Saber Urbellum! Attack him directly!" Heishi ordered his monster. The muscular man with iron armor and a viking look (even a viking helmet) took out both it's swords and slashed his opponent, causing him to yell out!
Heishi: 4000
Opponent: 0
"Heishi's ace, X-Saber Urbellum huh?" Sakuya smiled. "What a flashy finish."
"Looks like you're doing well, with your deck back in your hands!" Seiyuki called out.
Heishi grinned, then he blinked as he saw a familiar guy walk pass him. "Oi Yuuto!"
Yuuto turned to see Heishi walk towards him. "What?"
"I'm just gonna warn you, but be careful of Itsuki." He said. "I'm not saying this to scare you, but he's probably as strong as I am."
"That's not saying much." Yuuto said without looking back.
Heishi grinned. "Cocky brat."
Seiyuki and Sakuya walked towards Inase, who was watching this. Another young man was right beside him, this one wearing an Obelisk Blue uniform and had orange hair spiked up. He had big muscles though, despite his friendly face.
"Riki! You became a starter?!" Seiyuki said coming up to him.
"Yeah, I only lost to Sakuya in my final match. But I'm really happy to be with you guys." Riki said with a smile. "Anyway, I'm more interested in Itsuki's opponent. He's dueling a talented Slifer, huh?"
"Yeah. I wonder if that so-called Prince will be able to win." Inase muttered.
Naoto continued to watch at the top.
Itsuki walked up to the platform and faced Yuuto, both opponents looking at each other with great intensity. Itsuki let out a smirk, causing Yuuto to glare at him. The two activated their duel disks, placing their decks into it and shouted, "Duel!"
Yuuto: 4000
Itsuki: 4000
"It begins..." Sakuya murmured.
"I'll go first. Draw!" Yuuto shouted, drawing his first card. "I'll place Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin in defense mode." A dolphin standing upright with a man's appearance appeared (3/600/800). "Next I activate Fake Hero, which allows me to special summon one Elemental Hero from my hand, although it can't attack. I summon Elemental Hero Neos!" His familiar alien hero appeared in a battle pose (7/2500/200).
"Does this mean-" Shigai began.
"Contact fusion?!" Iwa and Sakuba finished.
"I activate Aqua Dolphin's ability! By discarding one card, I look at your hand and choose a monster. If it has less attack points than one monster on my side of the field, I destroy it and you lose 500 life points. However, if there isn't one, I take 500 life points."
Itsuki revealed his hand. In it was Pot of Avarice, Venom Swamp, Premature Burial, Field Barrier, and Venom Boa. He chose Venom Boa, making Itsuki discard it and lost 500 life points.
Yuuto: 4000
Itsuki: 3500
"Yes!" Shigai cheered. "Yuuto was able to damage him on his first turn!"
"I wouldn't get so cocky yet." Prof. Genkotsu, Mio, and Hikari walked behind him. "Itsuki's strategy hasn't even begun."
"I'll place two cards face down and end my turn." Yuuto said. "Now, Neos returns to my hand."
"Why didn't Yuuto contact fuse his Neos with Aqua Dolphin?" Seiyuki asked.
"Probably because he didn't have cards to keep them on the field." Inase suggested.
"Not bad." Itsuki said. "However, this is only the beginning. Draw!" He drew a card. "I'll start by activating Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Next, I'll play Heavy Storm to destroy your facedown cards!" A giant storm occurred, destroying Yuuto's Draining Shield and Negate Attack.
"Now Yuuto can't defend the destruction of his Aqua Dolphin!" Shigai cried.
"Yuuto..." Mio whispered worriedly.
"I activate Premature Burial now, paying 800 life points to revive the Venom Boa you destroyed." A big blue snake appeared, with it's swift tongue ready to strike (5/1600/1200).
"What's with that weak card?!" Hikari said. "My Prince can easily destroy it."
"Here it is." Riki observed. "Itsuki's ace monster."
"Next, I'll discard my Pot of Avarice to activate Tribute to the Doomed to destroy your Aqua Dolphin!" He said. A mummy appeared from the ground and grabbed Aqua Dolphin, causing it to shriek as it was pulled down.
"S-Scary..." Hikari muttered.
"This means that Yuuto is now defenseless." Inase said. "This will hurt."
"Before I attack, I'm gonna activate the field spell Venom Swamp!" Itsuki inserted the card into his disk, with the entire platform becoming consumed in murky water!
"Yucky!" Mio shouted.
"This is bad." Prof. Genkotsu observed. "Now Itsuki has the pace of this duel."
"It's effect, I'll reveal later because I can't activate it right now." Itsuki explained. "For now, I activate the continuous spell card, Field Barrier. This prevents my swamp from being destroyed and you can't activate a field spell to destroy it either. Now, attack him directly my Boa!" The snake snapped right at Yuuto, biting him! He jumped back in pain as he flew back to the ground!
Yuuto: 2400
Itsuki: 3500
"Now Yuuto's losing." Sakuba said in horror. "This is really bad."
"N-No wait!" Hikari yelled. "The Prince will be able to do something about it!"
"Where's your cockyness now, hmmm?" Itsuki smiled, but then dropped it as Yuuto smiled back.
The Prince pointed two fingers at his opponent and said, "No, not yet."
"Looks like Yuuto's still confident, huh?" Seiyuki said.
"Draw!" Yuuto yelled, and grinned at the card. "I activate my own Pot of Greed to draw two cards, and then Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Neos and Cross Porter in my hand. Come on, Elemental Hero Neos Knight!" His heroic knight appeared wielding it's blade in glory (7/2500/1000).
"Yes! Yuuto's favorite monster is here!" The trio including Hikari yelled.
"Looks like the Prince is starting to get serious." Inase observed.
"Attack his snake now!" The monster with an increase of 200 attack points (7/2700/1000) struck down the snake with a strike of it's massive blade!
"Maybe he'll win after all!" Mio said with hope in her eyes.
"Don't be so sure." Prof. Genkotsu said. "That Venom Swamp card still hasn't been used yet."
Although Yuuto smiled, Itsuki smirked in the inside. Be cocky now Prince. I'll show you the true wrath of my Venom Deck in time.
Sorry for the late update guys. I was busy with school, but now I'm in vacation so hopefully I can update! Anyway, please review!