(Chapter 9: Duel for Recommendation?)
After the events of the night before, Kurisutaru had been surprised to learn that Michirure could now see spirits. Although she was relieved enough that her roommate was okay after what had happened.
"How? No idea. I remember seeing Saratu during the duel last night, and then when I woke up afterward I could see her." Michirure told her roommate. They were at breakfast, and Michirure was a little livelier than she had been the day before.
"I've just never heard of anyone becoming able to see spirits." Saratu commented, her arms folded across her chest.
"Though what's the deal between you two and Ayra?" Michirure asked, before returning to eating.
"She wants to turn me into one of her dolls, but for what I don't know. I'd guess she probably wants to use my Ka in some way, but she can't directly possess me like she did you." Kurisutaru answered.
"And why's that?" Michirure questioned.
"Kuri-chan's Ka is too strong for Ayra to control. When she last tried to control Kuri-chan, it almost overpowered and destroyed her. I'm a little surprised to see her coming after us again because of it." Saratu explained.
Kurisutaru shook her head. "That's why she took Michirure-san's body, to protect herself while we duelled." She said, before finishing eating and getting up. "Anyway, I'm gonna go see Naiga-kun." She added, before leaving the cafeteria.
(Obelisk Blue Boy's Dorm)
It was barely two weeks into the new school year, but there was no rest for one Takahara Rianu. Despite being in his third year, the workload this year so far had been light, as he expected, but he had to keep an eye on his fellow students, for anyone that his father may come to sponsor. He'd had a couple candidates already this year, but they'd ended up being not what he was looking for after soundly defeating them in a duel.
"There are some great duelists here at the Academia, but not all of them are cut out for the Pro League." Rianu sighed; wishing his job here was a little easier. He was looking out at the Academia from his dorm room's balcony.
As Rianu walked back into his room, he looked at his laptop that was sat on the table, displaying information. 'I have another opponent soon, Obelisk Blue's Habari Ido.' He thought, sighing as he checked something on his laptop. It was the school's ranking list. As he found the name he wanted, he got up and went into the drawer of the dresser by his bed. 'As he's an Obelisk Blue, I can't play around with him.' He thought as he took his deck pouch from his belt, before taking a new one from the drawer.
(Over at the Osiris Red Boy's Dorm...)
"You're up early, Naiga-kun." Kurisutaru stated as he let her into his dorm.
Naiga sighed as he walked back over to his bed, letting Kurisutaru close the door behind her. "PDA woke me up. Some big duel's happening later. Didn't look at who's dueling." He replied, still looking tired. "Anyway, what brings you here Kuri-chan?" He asked.
"I just... wanted to talk to you. Walk up to the main Academia with me?" She requested.
Naiga gave a grin as he nodded. "Sure, we can probably go see this duel too." He answered.
(Back at the Ra Yellow Girl's Dorm...)
"And that's what happened last night." Saratu finished explaining. She'd reasoned that everyone involved with Ayra should know what was going on.
"I see." Denierure calmly replied, taking a sip of the tea she was holding.
The sight of her action irritated Saratu. "How can you be calm about this?!" She snapped. "You know the danger she puts the Academia in, not just Kuri-chan." She added.
"It's because this is Ayra we're dealing with. Rash actions will only give her the advantage." Denierure answered. "But as long as she doesn't have Kurisutaru-chan, she'll try to tip the odds in her favour. Like she did with you." She added.
"She'll take more innocents..." Saratu drifted off, with Denierure nodding.
"From what happened 8 years ago, from how many Ka they collected, I'd say the Academia would be perfect for her plans, if she really wants to continue that work." Denierure replied, taking another sip of her tea. "We both know how she operates, so tell Kurisutaru-chan and Michirure-chan to keep themselves sharp. Their dueling records are average, but a loss at the wrong time will land them in a Penalty Game."
Saratu nodded, already knowing this. "I'll tell them later." She said.
(Outside Main Academia Building)
The main Academia entrance was in sight for the pair as they walked on. "So your roommate turned up?" Naiga asked.
Kurisutaru nodded. "She said she wasn't feeling too well so she decided herself she wouldn't go to class. Shinoko-sensei wasn't too happy about it but let it slide this time since it was the first time she'd skipped class like this." She answered. She didn't like lying to her friend, but knew she had to.
"Hmm. Well, as long as she's okay I guess." Naiga shrugged, as they entered the main building. "Oh! I checked the PDA announcement. Looks like Rianu's dueling." He added, as he took out his PDA to pass the barriers into the building.
"Rianu-san is?" Kurisutaru asked as she signed in herself. Naiga nodded in response. "If he's announced this then it should be a good game. Shall we?" She added to him.
(Obelisk Dueling Arena)
Having managed to get seats, luckily with the large turnout, Kurisutaru and Naiga watched as the duel was about to begin.
"Just remember to keep your word when I beat ya." Rianu's opponent reminded him. He was a messy brown haired boy of Obelisk Blue's first year.
"You'll get your recommendation to my father, but only if you can beat me Ido-san." Rianu calmly replied before both of them activated their Duel Disks.
"DUEL!"
(Rianu LP: 4000, Ido LP: 4000)
"The Challenger will take the first move. Draw!" Ido called out as he drew his sixth card. Without much of a look at his hand, he took one and set it onto his Duel Disk. "I set one monster, Turn End."
"My Turn, Draw." Rianu calmly began. "I'll summon Six Warmasters – Irou!" He called out as a cloaked warrior with purple armour covering his chest and left arm, wielding a long katana in his right hand took to the field in front of him (1700/1200). "Irou will attack with Precision Slash!" He ordered. His samurai unsheathed his katana, and sliced through his opponent's face-down monster. It was revealed to be a long white haired man in black armour, with crimson shoulder armour lined with gold. Rianu glared at the sight of it as it vanished. (600/1300)
Ido smirked at the reaction. "Thanks for that. My Necro Gardna is much more useful to me in the graveyard." He mocked.
"I'll set two cards and end my turn." Rianu finished as he set the cards into his Duel Disk.
"My Turn, Draw!" Ido drew, still smirking at Rianu. "I'll summon Card Gunner!" He declared as the cannon armed robot appeared on his field (400/400). "By its effect, I can discard up to 3 cards from the top of my deck, and increase its Attack Points by 500 for each one til the End Phase of my turn. I discard the top 3 cards." He explained, taking his cards from his deck and sliding them into his graveyard, a blue glow appeared around his robot. (Card Gunner's ATK: 1900). "Now, attack Irou!"
Rianu pushed a button to activate one of his face down cards. "Reverse Card, Open! Scaring Roar. This makes your monsters unable to attack during this turn." He replied as the glow disappeared from his opponent's monster.
Ido grimaced. "Not bad. Doesn't do you much help though, so I'll end at that." He said as his Card Gunner's ATK dropped back to its original value
Rianu silently drew his next card, carefully thinking about his next move. "I'll begin by playing the Continuous Magic, Unity of the Six Warmasters. Whenever I summon a Six Warmasters Monster; it gains one Bushido counter, with a maximum of two. I can send it to the graveyard to draw cards equal to however many Bushido Counters are on it." He explained, instantly taking another card from his hand. "I summon Relic of the Six Warmasters, gaining one counter on my Magic Card." He continued as the bottom half of his Continuous Magic lit up, and a seemingly empty suit of armour appeared (500/500). "I follow up by playing the Magic Card, Dual Summon, letting me make another Normal Summon or Set. With it, I'll summon Six Warmasters – Zanji!" He added as a golden armoured warrior wielding a spear appeared (1800/1300). The other half of his Magic Card lit up. "I activate Unity of the Six Warmasters' effect, sending it to the Graveyard to draw two cards."
Ido watched as Rianu drew his cards, wondering what his deck had given him. "What kind of move can you pull out on one draw effect?" He asked.
"You won't be finding out just yet. As Relic of the Six Warmasters is a Union Monster, I'll equip it to Irou via its effect, increasing his ATK and DEF by 500." Rianu answered as the suit of armour attached itself to Irou (2200/1700). "Now, Irou. Attack the Card Gunner! Precision Slash!" He ordered as his monster dashed forward, unsheathing his katana and making a quick slash at the robot. The ghostly form of Necro Gardna then appeared to block the strike before vanishing again.
"Necro Gardna's effect. I can remove it from my graveyard to negate one attack." Ido explained as his Duel Disk returned the card to him before he placed it in his pocket.
A smile formed on Rianu's face as he saw Ido's defence. "I'll follow up the attack with Six Warmasters – Zanji! Critical Thrust!" He continued as his second monster dashed ahead before thrusting his spear toward the Card Gunner. A second ghostly form appeared in the way, an armoured warrior wielding a spear and a large shield. The warrior readied his shield and caught Zanji's spear on it.
Ido smirked as he watched; removing another card from his graveyard "Shield Warrior has a similar effect. When I remove him from the graveyard during a battle, my monster's destruction is prevented. Only downside is that I still take damage from the battle." He replied as his Life Points dropped. (Ido LP: 2600). Confusion formed on his face when he saw that Zanji was still struggling against his Shield Warrior.
"I saw your card hit the graveyard last turn. Shield Warrior does prevent your monster's destruction, but only in the battle. It doesn't count for Zanji's effect." Rianu spoke, before Zanji's spear pierced through the shield and struck a hole in Ido's Card Gunner, forcing it to explode. "My Six Warmasters have effects to support each other that only activate when I have more than one in play. Zanji's is that when he attacks a monster, that monster is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step." He explained, before folding his arms over his chest confidently. "Its mistakes like that which will cost you my father's consideration." He remarked.
A comment that Ido didn't taken too well, shown by the angered look he gave in reply. "Haven't researched into too many other decks so your Zanji's effect caught me off-guard, so don't label me a failure after one mistake!" He retorted.
"He'd rather not waste making an investment in bad players. That's partly why I'm at this Academia." Rianu replied.
"My destroyed Card Gunner's other effect activates, letting me draw a card when it's destroyed and sent to the graveyard. You done?" Ido questioned as he drew a card from his deck. Rianu nodded with a sigh. "Finally, Draw!" He continued as he drew another card. "Alright, during my Standby Phase, I activate the effect of Treeborn Frog! When I have no Magic or Traps out on my field, I can Special Summon it from my Graveyard." He explained as a small winged frog appeared on his field. (100/100) "I'll sacrifice him to Tribute Summon Fire Emperor – Thestalos!" He called out as a large, red armoured figure wearing a blue cape took form as his frog vanished. "His effect activates when he's tribute summoned, letting me randomly discard a card from your hand, and if it's a monster, you take 100 points of damage for each of its levels. I pick the card on the right." He said, pointing to the mentioned card.
Rianu glanced at his hand, before taking the card and revealing it to his opponent. "You pick Six Warmasters – Yaichi." He spoke as he slid the card into his grave.
"That'll deal 300 points of damage!" Ido replied as the giant formed flames around his fist before shooting at Rianu. (Rianu LP: 3700). "I'll activate Foolish Burial, sending Necro Gardna to the Graveyard, and then have Thestalos attack Zanji!" He continued, dropping another Necro Gardna into his graveyard before the giant figure formed a large fireball and tossed it at Zanji.
Rianu's monster prepared to strike the large monster, but Irou dashed into the line of the attack and took it. "When one of my Six Warmasters would be destroyed, I can destroy another on my field in its place. Irou took Zanji's hit, and the Relic of the Six Warmasters takes the destruction for Irou." He explained as the antique armour on Irou broken apart and vanished. "But I still take damage as Zanji is the one who battled." He added (Rianu LP: 3100)
Up in the stands, Kurisutaru and Naiga were both surprised at how well Rianu was playing. "So this is why Rianu-san is so high in the rankings...." Kuri said as she looked on.
An annoyed look formed on Naiga's face as he looked on beside her. "...He played with me. He wasn't using his real deck when we duelled..." He spoke, before he lowered his head.
Kurisutaru turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure we can both catch up to his sort of skill eventually Naiga-kun." She assured him with a smile.
Back down on the field, Ido had ended his turn. Kurisutaru noticed that Rianu had closed his eyes as he placed his hands on his deck, as if concentrating. Shock formed on her face when a green aura briefly formed around him as he drew. "I'll summon Hand of the Six Warmasters!" He declared as a woman dressed as a servant holding a knife appeared. "I'll activate her effect. When I have more than one Six Warmasters monster out on my field, I can tribute one and destroy one monster on your field." He calmly explained as he dropped the Hand of the Six Warmasters card into his graveyard and on the field she vanished. She quickly reappeared behind Ido's Fire Emperor, before stabbing the knife into his back, forcing them both to shatter.
Another angered look formed on Ido's face as he realized what it meant. "A lucky draw." He huffed.
"It was a decent strategy; it just didn't work out for you in the end against my deck." Rianu replied. "Zanji, Irou. Finish this up with a direct attack!" He ordered. His two monsters dashed forward and struck Ido with their respective weapons, sending him to the floor. (Ido LP: 0)
As Rianu turned to leave the arena, Kurisutaru stood up. 'I... have to find out what that was.' She thought, before rushing out of the area after the Obelisk.
(End of Chapter)
