Disclaimer: I'll post it, but I don't even know why. No, I do not own Yugioh GX. If I did, you'd know it because I'd wear a t-shirt that says "I own a freaking anime, what can you say you've accomplished?"

Yes, I have my shallow moments from time to time, why do you ask?

The Infinity Chronicles-Second Semester Arc

Chapter 10: Resshin's Inferno (Part 1)

The sun poured into Ichigo's bedroom, showing that his alarm clock said it was nine. And next to the clock there was a big post-it note with "Tournament at one" printed on it. Suddenly the peaceful silence was broken as the alarm clock started to screech into the air.

Groaning, Ichigo reached out from his bunk to hit the snooze button. After a few seconds of grasping at air, he wondered how he was missing something that should have been only a few inches from his head. Finally giving up on hitting the button, he proceeded to sleepily grab his pillow and throw it on top of the alarm, stifling the noise. Letting out a yawn, he rolled out of bed and landed on the floor in his normal undignified position…though this time something felt wrong. It was like the drop to the floor had taken a lot longer than it normally did, and it actually hurt a little bit this time.

Erian had already left a little earlier this morning, saying he had something or other to attend to. Ichigo really hadn't been listening at that time, since he had been half-asleep.

Stumbling to his feet, his blanket wrapped around him like some kind of impromptu toga, Ichigo wandered into his bathroom. About three seconds later a dull thud sounded from inside the bathroom, like someone had nearly fallen over. There were a few more seconds of silence, followed by a scream that was rather high in pitch.

--------------------------------

Eri ran her brush through her hair a few more times, making sure her raven-black hair was perfectly straight. ("Today's the Ice-Breaker Tournament, and at the moment I hold the highest official score in the whole school.") She looked over at the deck lying next to her vanity mirror. "We'll show them the real power you possess. I finally found my ultimate deck, one that will fight on the same standing as Ichigo's Final Shadows and beyond." She was brought out of reverie as a beeping came from her door. Putting her deck and brush away, she walked over and hit the intercom button. "Yes, what is it?"

"Miss Amero?" The voice on the other end was that of the security. "You have a guest…sort of."

"What do you mean?" Normally security never sounded quite as unsure as it did right now. "Did they declare themselves a guest?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And they are unarmed?"

"Yes ma'am."

She sighed. "Then send them up please."

A few minutes later a knocking came from the door. Opening it, she blinked when there was no one there. Sticking her head out to check again, she still saw no one in the hall. "Hello?" Something tugged on her skirt. "Hmm?" Looking down, she blinked a few times and stared at what was standing there. From her current point of view she could only see a head of brown hair and a pair of little wolf ears atop that head. "….." Taking a big step back, she took in the full picture. It was a hazel-eyed child wearing what looked to be a shrunken Osiris Red uniform, though it still seemed a bit big on him. "You're…not…"

The very red-faced boy, eyes closed, nodded slowly. "Yeah…it's Ichigo."

-----------------------

Eri sighed and searched about her room for her address book. "You know, most people tend to get sick sometimes, or have a bad day. Why is it that you keep winding up looking different all the time instead? You should start carrying something for good luck, Chibi Ichigo."

"Stop calling me that…" Ichigo's face was still numerous shades of red. Standing at 4'8" and considering how he currently was a little kid, the fact that his blushing struck a nerve in the demoness' mind as being 'cute' had brought about her new nickname for his current size. "I just came to you because I woke up like this, and I don't have Ryu-san's phone number memorized."

"You think he'll be able to help you?" Eri stuck her head under her bed for a few seconds. "And how old did you say you felt?"

"Yes and ten." Ichigo was sitting at the foot of her bed, trying to look serious.

Lifting her head up from under the bed, Eri giggled. "You're short for a ten-year old. Are you sure you're not lying?"

"One hundred percent." Ichigo sighed again, for what must have been the tenth time today. "I was short for a kid, that's all."

"Whatever you say, Chibi Ichigo." The demoness stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Now where's my address book?" She realized something. "Wait, where did you find a uniform near your size?"

"I've had this uniform since the first time I did laundry at the Academy." Ichigo's blushing had died down a little bit. "For the first time ever I'm glad I made the mistake of leaving it in the drier for so long."

She walked past him, stopping a second to ruffle his hair and wolf ears. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm sure Ryu will be able to fix this problem for you." Then she kept moving, going over to check her other chests of drawers.

Ichigo stared at her back in confusion. She was never this nice to him. "Do you pity me right now?"

"It'd be hard not to." She started rifling through the contents of each of the drawers. "Your luck in general is horrible, as it seems that every strange event at the academy likes to hunt you down. Then again, I guess that's the price you pay for being such an amazing duelist, right?" She glanced back at him and smiled sweetly. "Actually, I'd pity you even more if stuff like this stopped happening to you. You'd become boring."

Ichigo laughed and hopped off the end of the bed. "I guess so, but this…" He blinked. "Wait, the tournament is today! I need to go watch!" He was about to run out the door when Eri's hand snapped out, grabbed him by the collar of his coat, and pulled him off his feet. "Let me go Eri!"

She sighed, easily holding him up with one hand. "There's no chance you're going out to watch those duels as you are now. It didn't take me long to figure out who you were, and it won't take anyone else that long either. Sorry, but you'll be staying here or in your room."

He stopped squirming and turned to glare at her. "And where will you be while all of this is happening?"

She winked and sat him back down on the bed. "I'll be out at the Obelisk Blue tier destroying the opposition, that's what I'll be doing."

He sat there for a second, and then grinned. "I know how I can go!" Hopping off of the bed again, he threw one hand up into the air. "Awaken, Soul of the Stars!" Nothing happened. "…or not."

Eri patted him on the head. "Sorry Chibi Ichigo, you'll just have to wait here for now. The competitors need to be at the tourney really soon." Giggling at the disappointed look on his face, she winked again. "Just hang out here for now, okay?" When he nodded she ran out the door to her room. "Don't worry; I'll be back right after the tournament ends!"

-----------------------------------------------

Trumpets played in the background, and lights flashed down onto the illuminated dueling rings as picture after picture was taken of the three dueling arenas which indicated the three different levels of duels.

Standing at the Obelisk Blue field, Eri smiled and glanced up at the first row of the stands. ("It's a shame Adriel didn't participate in the Ice-Breaker Obelisk Blue tier, but I guess he didn't want to lose to me. Oh well, just one more duel before I'm the winner.") What was the best part was that she hadn't even used her new deck for this tournament. She intended to keep it a surprise for the tournament tommorow when she dueled against the best in the school.

Up in the stands, Adriel crossed his arms across his chest and sat back. ("It's a good thing for Eri that I didn't enter. I'd prefer to not have to beat her in a duel, since then she'd get really angry.")

"And in the Obelisk Blue dueling arena, the final duel of the tier three battle begins now! Our current holding champion is Erika Amero, who at the moment is the top-ranked duelist in the entire school!" The announcer motioned to the other end of the dueling ring, where her opponent stood. "And the challenger for our school's current top-ranked duelist is a newcomer who just arrived at the school this year. His entrance into Obelisk Blue was by special request of his examiners! Ladies and gentlemen, let's here it for one of the most sensational new duelists to enter the academy! I present to you Resshin!"

Standing at the other end of the dueling field was the orange long-haired young man from before. His orange eyes glimmered slightly, even in the bright lights of the dueling ring. "Erika Amero, is it?" He sneered, baring his fangs. "This will be interesting…so you're ranked number one in the school, are you?"

The demoness nodded. "For the time being I am. Why, do you intend to 'strip that honor away from me' in this duel?" She was obviously returning his sneer at the moment.

"What are you talking about?" Resshin brushed back some of the locks of his hair, which had been hanging down in his face. "I entered this to make sure that I got into the tier four tournament tommorow, that is all. You are but a stepping stone on the way to my real duel against Ichigo Pilkington."

Eri felt her blood boil for a few moments, and then cool warmth took its place. "You're a pretty smug bastard. Do you know that?"

"Stop wasting my time with talking." Resshin activated his duel disk. "I don't have the patience to waste my breath with one as weak as you!"

Eri activated her duel disk as well. "I'll enjoy cleaning the floor with your tears when I crush you underneath my deck's raw power!" She drew her opening hand. "Duel!"

Eri- 4000

Resshin- 4000

Resshin flexed his hand a couple of times. "Is that so? Crush me with raw power? Even as a joke that's not funny." He drew his opening five cards. "I am raw power. It is impossible to defeat me in that way."

"I'll be the judge of that! I draw!" Eri drew and fanned out her hand. "I begin with my Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400) in defense mode!" An undead turtle with a stone pyramid for a shell appeared on her field in a crouching position. "Also, I place a card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Resshin drew from his deck, even though he didn't bother to look at what he had drawn yet. "At this time, the effect of my monster activates now."

"Monster? What monster?" Eri wondered if he had summoned a monster that she had yet to see. But there was nothing. "Where is it?"

He removed a card from his deck. "When I have no cards on my field during my standby phase, I may special summon Burst Brawler from my deck or hand to the field!" (?) Nothing appeared in play, but there was a holographic statistics counter over his head. "Burst Brawler's first special ability removes all monsters in my hand from the game." Flipping his hand over, he revealed a single monster card that burned to ash. "Next is its continuous effect. As long as this monster remains face-up on my field I may not summon, and all monster cards I draw are sent to my graveyard immediately."

"So far, even if I can't see your monster, I can tell that it's weak." Eri smiled. "Or was the point?"

"Weak?" He laughed. "You are an idiot. Burst Brawler is the strongest monster of them all. Its third effect is that its attack and defense are equal to the number of cards removed from the game times 200."

"Where is this monster you keep talking about?" Eri was tired of waiting his monster to show up so she knew what it looked like.

Resshin smirked…and pointed at his own chest. (200/200) "I am Burst Brawler."

"You're your own monster?" Eri stared at the new Obelisk Blue like he was crazy. "You're willing to take all that damage directly?"

"What damage? So far you haven't injured me." Resshin inserted a card into his duel disk. "I activate the continuous magic card Blazing Bonfire. This card selects one fire monster on my field with less than 1000 attack points and raises its attack points by 1000." (1200/200) "When that monster's original attack exceeds 1000, then Blazing Bonfire removes itself and the top two cards of my deck from the game." Another two cards from his hand was inserted into his duel disk. "Now then, I place two cards face-down on my field and end my turn."

Eri drew. ("In just one turn his monsters will overwhelm mine!") She pointed at her turtle, which stood up. "I switch my Pyramid Turtle into attack mode and attack Burst Brawler! Go Undead Trample!" The creature rumbled and charged, while the demoness smirked. ("He'll try to trap my monster, and when he does my face-down Tutan Mask trap card will negate his trap!")

Resshin pointed at his set card. "I reveal my face-down trap card, Bunsen Burner!" A piece of alchemic equipment appeared on his field. "This trap sends itself to my graveyard after activation. While it sits in my graveyard, all cards that are sent on top of it are removed from the game." The piece of alchemic equipment then disappeared into his graveyard. "Now then, Burst Brawler counter-attacks with Inferno Strike!" Lifting up his free hand, he released a fireball that swallowed up the turtle at the same time it tackled him. He slid back about five feet, while the turtle was burned to ash. "This means my Burst Brawler was removed from the game, as it was sent to the graveyard atop my Bunsen Burner."

Eri reached for her deck. "When Pyramid Turtle is sent to the graveyard…"

"Who says it was sent to the graveyard?" Resshin removed his Blazing Bonfire continuous magic card from its slot and removed it from the game, since it was going to be sent on top of his Bunsen Burner trap card. "Any monster that is defeated in battle by Burst Brawler is removed from the game."

Eri growled and threw a card onto her disk. "I place a monster face-down then. End turn."

Resshin drew and pointed at his set card. "I activate the continuous trap card Inferno Revival. This continuous trap card can only activate if I have a Burst Brawler removed from the game and no monsters in play. During my standby phase I may discard a card from my hand to return my Burst Brawler to the field." This time a flaming version of the kanji symbol for fire appeared on his chest. "Good, my attack is approaching a level where I actually emit its strength." (800/800) "Here I come, Inferno Strike!" Another fireball leapt from his bare hands across the field and melted Eri's face-down monster card. "A Des Lacooda? Was that the best you could do?" (500/600) "And because Burst Brawler defeated it, it is removed from the game." (1000/1000) "End turn."

Eri drew. "This time I won't hold back! I summon Regenerating Mummy in attack mode!" A legless floating mummy appeared on her field. (1800/1500) "Attack Burst Brawler now! Dark Retribution!" The monster punched forwards and struck Resshin in the chest, the flaming kanji on his chest disappearing. "End turn."

Eri- 4000

Resshin- 3200

Resshin brushed his chest off and drew. "At this time my Burst Brawler revives, while I discard another card from my hand into the graveyard, which in turn gets removed from the game." The flaming kanji once more appeared on his chest. (1200/1200) "Your attack was good. However, your overall skill still lacks." He flipped one of the cards in his hand up. "I play the magic card Dragon Mark Saiha!" The magic card he revealed had a picture of a dragon made entirely of flame on it. "When this card is played it is sent to my graveyard. It cannot be removed through any effect as long as Burst Brawler remains in play!" A flaming mark appeared on his right arm. "As long as this card remains in my graveyard, Burst Brawler gains 500 attack points and can deal damage through the defense of a defense mode monster it attacks!" (1700/1200) "And my final hand card?" He sneered and flipped it over. "I activate the magic card Upstart Goblin, which gives you a 1000 life point gain in return for me drawing a card." As he did so, Burst Brawler's attack points increased because his Upstart Goblin was removed. (1900/1400)

Eri- 5000

Resshin- 3200

Eri snarled at the insult he had just given her. "You just gave me an advantage. There is no reason for a deck like yours to play that card…"

"It's there to let my opponent live a little longer. I don't like tearing down weaklings." Resshin leapt across the field, a blazing scythe made of fire extending from his arm. "Shin En!" Then he passed through the Regenerating Mummy, the undead creature burning away as it lit on fire. (2100/1600)

Eri- 4900

Resshin- 3200

Resshin stopped right before he ran into Eri, his face just inches from hers and his fangs bared wildly. "So far, I don't see what makes you special!" Then he leapt back to his side of the field in one jump. "However, maybe you're just building up suspense? Regardless, I place one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Through the still smoldering fire that had been her Regenerating Mummy, Eri could see the inner fire that Resshin was emitting. ("This guy isn't human…") "What are you?"

"It's your turn." Resshin's tone was forceful, showing he had no intention of answering her questions until he thought higher of her.

"Very well, then I'll beat the answers I want out of you!" Her hand rested on top of her deck. "I will show you the power of the Dark Demoness of Duelist Academy right now!"

To be continued…