A/N: Hey everyone, welcome to Chapter 9 of Death Rising! I've got a special treat as I'm not introducing one, but TWO OCs for this story! One of them uses a somewhat popular deck and the other one will be using an archetype very few use with the exception of maybe one card of the set. So without further ado, let's get started!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise! I DO, however, own my SI Miskai Ryou and the Epitaph/Phase/Avatar archetypes! And introducing the OCs! Yamato Shiru is owned by PurpleNinjaTempy while Raven Hardy is owned by none other than The Duelist Of Dawn!
"Ryou! Ryou!" I heard Lycoris' voice shout in my head.
'Stupid girl, even in death you follow me. Just leave me alone so I can die in peace,' I told the girl through my mind.
"You're not dead Ryou! Wake up!" Lycoris' voice told me.
'Not dead? What the hell?' I asked the deity as I tried to open my eyes, my sight met with a blinding light before I covered my eyes with my left arm to adjust to the brightness. "I'm not dead?"
As I pushed myself up, I noticed I had been lying on a couch. I pulled my arm down from my eyes and looked around to see that I was in someone's home, an apartment by the looks of it.
"Where am I?" I asked Lycoris.
"Oh, you're awake," I heard another voice say.
I turned my head in the direction of the voice, seeing the owner was a young woman appearing no older than myself. She hand long black hair and blue eyes. Her clothing consisted of a blue tube top with a black open vest, long blue detached sleeves, a black skirt with a blue belt around her waist, black combat boots with neon-blue laces and fishnet stockings.
"You're in my home," the woman answered me.
"And who are you?" I asked the girl.
"My name is Yamato Shiru," the girl introduced herself with a bow. "Pleased to meet you."
"Whatever," I muttered as I turned my attention away from the girl to look around the room again.
But then I felt a sharp pain in my head and placed my left hand on the side of my head, but felt that something had been wrapped around my forehead.
"Wrap bandages?" I wondered before remembering that I had been hit by a semi. "So why aren't I dead?"
"Sorry?" the girl, Shiru, asked, probably wondering what I was talking about.
"Nevermind," I told Shiru before turning my attention to Lycoris. 'What the hell happen? You know I was hit by that truck.'
"I…" Lycoris hesitated. "Since I picked you to help me, I have to make sure you stay safe. Before that truck hit you, I was able to move you out of harms way."
'Move me?' I mentally asked the deity. 'You mean you can teleport me?'
"J-Just a limited distance…" Lycoris answered. "And only if you're in danger."
'Well there goes my chance to abuse teleportation,' I thought to myself as I grabbed the wrap bandages that were on my head and pulled them off. "Ryou."
"Nani?" both Lycoris and Shiru asked me.
"My name," I said. "It's Misaki Ryou."
"Pleased to meet you, Ryou-san," Shiru said as I stood up from the couch.
"Where's my D-Wheel?" I asked.
"I parked it behind this building," SHiru answered. "You're a duelist?"
"Hai, (1)" I answered.
"Then would you mind dueling me?" Shiru asked.
"Nandato? (2)" I asked.
"Well, I don't really have much of an opportunity to duel myself, so would you have a duel with me?" Shiru asked.
'I tactually might do me some good. I have no idea how good a duelist this girl is and I still have cards I need to test out,' I thought to myself. "Fine, I'll duel you."
"Thank you very much," Shiru said with another bow. "Your Duel Disk is with your D-Wheel, correct?"
"That's right," I answered.
"Then I'll take you to it," Shiru offered as she walked towards the door leading out of the apartment room with me following behind her.
As I followed Shiru to the back of the building, I had spotted a sky-blue D-Wheel. To my surprise though, it looked like a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 motorcycle from my world.
"This is your D-Wheel, right?" Shiru asked me, taking my attention away from the other D-Wheel.
My D-Wheel was parked against the wall of the neighboring building and was lacking any kinds of scratches, dents or broken parts. Shadow was completely intact.
'Your handiwork I assume?' I asked the young goddess, who merely nodded in response. "Nothing's wrong with it?"
"I went over it after parking it here and nothing appeared to be damaged," Shiru answered.
"And who does that other D-Wheel belong to?" I asked, pointing my thumb to the motorcycle we had walked passed.
"That's my D-Wheel," Shiru answered with a soft smile. "Its name is Overdrive."
I walked up to my D-Wheel and quickly scanned it for any minor damages that Shiru may have missed, but as she said it was perfectly fine. I then grabbed by Duel Disk and deck from my D-Wheel.
"You still want that duel?" I asked.
"Yes, thank you. Just one second," Shiru said before running over to her D-Wheel, probably to get her Duel Disk.
"Why are you dueling her, Ryou?" Lycoris asked.
'I still need to test every card in this deck. Besides, I want to know how strong of an opponent she is,' I answered the deity just as Shiru ran back with a standard Neo Domino City Duel Disk with the same paint job as her D-Wheel while I attached mine to my arm. "When you're ready, take the first move."
"Thank you very much," Shiru said with a bow before our Duel Disks turned on and auto-shuffled out decks.
"Duel!" the both of us shouted as we drew our first five cards.
Shiru: 4000
Ryou: 4000
"Watashi no tān! Doro!" Shiru said as she drew her sixth card. "I play the Permanent Magic card, Barrier Of The Magic Tribe!"
As Shiru played her card, a giant statue of a magician appeared behind her and a magic seal appeared beneath her field.
"Whenever a Magician-type Monster is destroyed, Barrier Of The Magic Tribe gains a Spell Counter!" Shiru explained.
'So she plays a Magician deck. This should be interesting,' I thought to myself with a grin.
"Next I summon Apprentice Magician in Defense mode!" Shiru announced as she played her next card, summon a blonde male wearing purple robes and a red headband while carrying a staff. (2/400/800). "I activate Apprentice Magician's Monster effect! When summoned I can place one Spell Counter on any card that can hold one, so I'll place one on my Magic card!"
The Apprentice Magician waved his staff and a black stone with an oddly designed triangle appeared in one of the four slots in the statue behind Shiru. (BOTMT SC: 1)
"Then I'll set a card face-down!" Shiru said as a reversed card appeared in front of her. "Tān endo!"
Shiru's hand: 3
'Not bad. If I destroy her monster then she'll just get another one was well as a Spell Counter. Then there's that face-down,' I thought to myself as I placed my hand on top of my deck. "Boku no tān!"
I pulled by top card and scanned through my hand when my eyes widened a little.
'Here's a new one,' I thought to myself with a grin. "I summon Epitaph 01 – Haseo V1 in Attack mode!"
As I played my card, the white-haired, black-clothed teen appeared on my field, wielding his twin weapons. (4/1800/1000)
"Next I play the Instant Magic card, Twilight Symbol!" I announced as I played my card, changing the field to the interior of a gothic building with Shiru and I in the center of a circular room and eight paths branching to the eight compass directions. "With this card, I release Epitaph 01 – Haseo V1…"
When I pulled my card from my Duel Disk however, the Monster didn't change into the same vortex as seen with other card releases. Instead, Haseo looked as though something was lifting him off the ground.
"…to Special Summon Epitaph 01 – Haseo V2 from my deck!" I announced as a card stuck out from my deck, which I grabbed and slapped onto my Duel Disk. "Job Extend!"
A surge of power coursed through the field as Haseo's attire began to change. Instead of the leather shirt and shorts, Haseo now wore full-body clothing, leaving only his head and shoulders revealed. The belt-like vest still remained, but was now placed over a black shirt with a red design in the center. He also wore black detached sleeves, fastened on by belts tied around his forearms and upper arms. Half gauntlets were placed around his forearms as red tattoos appeared on his shoulders and the ones of his face altered in shape. A thick leather-like material appeared around his neck with what looked like a gold belt buckle in the center. His boots were now at knee length and covered the lower half of his new black pants. With the transformation complete, Haseo slowly landed back onto the field and drew out a giant purple broadsword with serrated teeth on the sides, the sword itself acting like a chainsaw when Haseo gripping the hilt. (5/2000/1400)
"When Epitaph 01 – Haseo V2 attacks an opponent's Defense Position Monster while his ATK is higher than the opponent's Monster's DEF, the difference will be inflicted as Battle Damage," I explained and the look in Shiru's eyes told me she knew she wasn't as protected as she thought. "Haseo, attack Apprentice Magician! Bone Crusher!"
Haseo revved his chainsaw sword and charged across the field.
"Activate Trap, Guard Block!" Shiru announced as her card rose, depicting a Monster being destroyed while the duelist drew a card. "This card reduces any Battle Damage I take from an attack to 0 and allows me to draw!"
As Haseo's sword cleaved through the Magician, Shiru pulled a card from her deck.
"With the destruction of my Apprentice Magician, my Magic card gains another Spell Counter!" Shiru explained as a second slot in the statue was filled by a black stone. (BOTMT SC: 2)"And with Apprentice Magician's Monster effect, I can set a Level-2 or lower Magician-type Monster from my deck!"
Shiru's deck then auto-shuffled before she grabbed a card and placed it down on the field, hiding the Monster from me and my cards.
'No telling what the monster is, but I think I have a feeling,' I thought to myself as I looked through my hand again. "I set one card face-down! Tān endo."
Ryou's hand: 3
"Watashi no tān!" Shiru said as she pulled her next card. "I Flip Summon Old Vindictive Magician!"
As Shiru's set card rose and flipped, a decrepit old man appeared on the field wearing pieces of armor and tattered robes. (2/450/600)
"I activate Old Vindictive Magician Flip Effect!" Shiru announced. "When my Magician is flipped face-up, I can destroy one monster my opponent controls!"
As I only had one monster on my field at the moment, Shiru's Monster waved its staff and fired a ball of magical energy at Haseo, causing him to shatter to pixels.
"Next I activate the Magic card, Mana Seize!" Shiru announced as she played her card, depicting a Magician wearing black armor and robes while raising their staff. "With this card I can place one Spell Counter on any card that can hold one, so I'll place it on my Barrier Of The Magic Tribe!"
A third slot in the statue was filled by a black stone. (BOTMT SC: 3)
"And then Mana Seize allows me to add another Mana Seize from my deck!" Shiru announced as her deck auto-shuffled and she grabbed another card. "However I can only play one Mana Seize per turn. Now I'll activate the effect of Barrier Of The Magic Tribe! By sending it and one Magician-type Monster I control to the cemetery, I can draw one card for every Spell Counter on my Barrier! And currently I have three!"
As Shiru pulled the cards off her Duel Disk, the statue behind her started to crack before crumbling to dust while Old Vindictive Magician vanished and she drew her three cards.
"Now I summon Mage Knight Defender in Attack mode!" Shiru said as she played her next card, summoning a blue-skinned human wearing heavy armor and carrying a large shield with a small dagger. (4/1600/2000) (MKD SC: 1) "Mage Knight Defender, attack the player directly!"
The Magician-type monster charged across the field and slashed its dagger, which I blocked with my Duel Disk, but still suffered the damage.
Shiru: 4000
Ryou: 2400
"I set one card face-down!" Shiru said as a reversed card appeared in front of her again. "Tān endo!"
Shiru's hand: 5
"Ore no tān!" I said as I pulled my second card. "I activate the Magic card, Rip Maen! This card allows me to Special Summon one Epitaph Monster from my Cemetery! I choose Epitaph 01 – Haseo V2!"
As I pushed the Magic card into the Cemetery slot, my newest Monster reappeared on the field. (5/2000/1400)
"Next I summon Epitaph 06 – Endrance in Attack mode!" I announced as I played my card, summoning the slender swordsman. (4/1800/400) "Now for the Monster effects of both Haseo and Endrance! If I control another Epitaph Monster, Haseo's ATK increases by 800!" (5/2000-2800/1400) "And if I control a Monster with Epitaph 01 in its name, Endrance's ATK increases by 1000!" (4/1800-2800/400) "Endrance, attack Defender! Distaster Sword!"
"Activate Trap, Pitch-Black Power Stone!" Shiru announced as Endrance dashed across the field, her face-down card rising. "When this card is activated, it gains three Spell Counters!" (PBPS SC: 3) "And then I activate Mage Knight Defender's Monster effect! If a Magician-type Monster I control would be destroyed, I can remove a Spell Counter from my field instead! So I remove the Spell Counter from my Monster!"
As Endrance brought down his sword, Shiru's Monster raised its shield and blocked the attack, shattering the Spell Counter in the process.
Shiru: 2800
Ryou: 2400
"Doesn't matter to me, I still have another Monster to attack with!" I announced as Endrance returned to my field. "Haseo, attack Defender! Bone Crusher!"
Once more Haseo charged across the field with his sword ready.
"I activate Mage Knight Defender's Monster effect once more, this time removing a Spell Counter from my Permanent Trap!" Shiru announced as one of the black stone circling the Trap shot forth and blocked Haseo's attack, but the shards shot back at Shiru. (PBPS SC: 2)
Shiru: 1600
Ryou: 2400
"Tān endo," I said.
Ryou's hand: 2
"Watashi no tān!" Shiru said as she drew her next card. "I summon the Tuner Monster, Magical Ficialist!"
As Shiru played her next card, a human wearing light-purple robes and some kind of mask-like hat with what looked like mechanical gloves appeared. (2/800/400)
"Now I tune my Level-4 Mage Knight Defender with my Level-2 Magical Ficialist!" Shiru announced as her two monsters jumped into the air, turning into the standard discs and stars. "Bakugeki no jumon wa, akarui pawā no hikari no naka de issho ni kite! (3)"
A burst of light shot through the discs and engulfed the stars.
"Shinkuro Shoukan!" Shiru shouted as the light started to fade. "Hakka, Ekusupurōshibu Majishan! (4)"
Emerging from the light was a human wearing what looked like a combination of white robes and armor, both with gold trimmings. (6/2500/1800)
"Next I play my second, Mana Seize! This time I'll place the Spell Counter on my Pitch-Black Power Stone!" Shiru explained as another black stone started to circle around the Permanent Trap while Shiru added another copy of Mana Seize to her hand from her deck. (PBPS SC: 3) "Now I activate Explosive Magician's Monster effect! By remove two Spell Counters from my field I can destroy one Magic or Trap card my opponent controls!"
As I only had my one face-down, Shiru's Synchro Monster absorbed two of the Spell Counters from her Trap card before releasing an explosive burst of energy that obliterated my face-down card.
"Now I play the Permanent Magic card, Pain Of The Leader!" Shiru announced as she played her card, the artwork depicting someone's hand reaching into a bird's nest that was made inside of a crown. "With this on the field, all Monsters my opponent controls lose 100 ATK for each of their Levels!"
Shiru's Magic card began to glow red as the same aura appeared around my two monsters, weakening Haseo further than Endrance due to his higher Level. (5/2800-2300/1400) (4/2800-2400/400)
"Explosive Magician, attack Haseo V2! Spell Bombardment!" Shiru declared, to which her Magician raised its staff and channeled magical energy, creating a sphere of magic before flinging it at Haseo, the sphere splitting into several orbs and slammed into Haseo.
Shiru: 1600
Ryou: 2200
And with Haseo removed from the field, Endrance grew weaker. (4/2400-1400/400)
"I activate my Trap card!" I announced.
"But you don't have any cards on the field!" Shiru countered, but soon gasped as the card she had destroyed reappeared on the field. "Cross Counter Trap?"
"When Cross Counter Trap is sent to the Cemetery by my opponent's card effect, I can use it to activate a Magic or Trap card from my hand at any time during the same turn it was destroyed," I explained as I grabbed a card from my hand and turned it over, the artwork depicting a hand reaching up from a grave while holding five cards. "So I choose my Card Of Last Will! When a Monster I control is destroyed I can draw five cards!"
As I pushed the Trap card into my Cemetery slot, I pulled the next five cards from my deck into my hand.
"I play the Field Magic, Mahōzoku no Sato! (5)" Shiru said as she played her card, the field suddenly starting to shift, the buildings around us turning into twisted trees with glowing lights inside their trunks. "With this card on the field, as long as I control a Magician-type Monster and my opponent does not, my opponent can't activate Magic cards!"
'Damn, and noen of mine are strong enough to take down her Monster,' I thought to myself as I grit my teeth.
"I set one card face-down!" Shiru said as a reversed card appeared behind her Synchro Monster. "Tān endo!
Shiru's hand: 1
"Boku no tān!" I shouted as I drew my next card. 'Damn, not a lot I can do. So I think I'll do this…' "I set one card face-down! Tān endo!"
Ryou's hand: 6
"Watashi no tān!" Shiru said as she drew her next card. "Explosive Magician, attack Epitaph 06 – Endrance! Spell Bombardment!"
On command, Shiru's Magician once again launched its attack and destroyed my monster.
Shiru: 1600
Ryou: 1100
"Next I activate my Trap card, Magician's Circle!" Shiru announced as her card rose, showing a magic seal at the center of a platform made of ice. "When a Magician-type Monster attacks, this card allows me to Special Summon another Magician-type Monster with 2000 or less ATK from my deck!"
Shiru's deck auto-shuffled before she pulled out a card.
"And I choose Black Magician Girl!" Shiru announced as she played her card, the field soon filled with flying hearts as the Monster that spawned countless fanboys appeared on the field and struck a pose, causing me to slap myself in the face. (6/2000/1700) "And now you're wide open! Black Magician Girl, attack the player directly! Black Burning!"
The female Magician did as instructed as waved her wand.
"Activate Trap, The Fool!" I announced as my face-down card rose, depicting a man with a rather idiotic grin on his face run right into another man. "When my opponent's Monster declares an attack, I can switch that Monster's target to one my opponent controls with the lowest ATK!"
Shiru gasped as she watched Black Magician Girl hold her head in pain before turning her attention to Explosive Magician. The two Magician Monsters generated magic energy into their weapons and fired at each other, but Black Magician Girl was soon overpowered and destroyed by Explosive Magician.
Shiru: 1100
Ryou: 1100
"I summon the Tuner Monster, Sunny Pixie!" Shiru announced as she played her next card, summoning a very tiny monster that most likely should've been listed as an Angel-type Monster. (1/300/400) "Now I tune my Level-6 Explosive Magician with my Level-1 Sunny Pixie!"
Once again Shiru's two monsters took to the air as Shiru began her chant.
"Sājingu wa, mahō no chikara no shita o akiraka ni suru tame ni ketsugō suru! (6)" Shiru chanted a her two monsters were engulfed by a burst of light. "Shinkuro Shoukan! Okoru, Ākanaito Majishan! (7)"
As the light faded, the newest Monster to appear had purple skin and wore white robes with purple designs. In his left hand he held a staff with a glowing green orb. (7/400/1800)
"When Sunny Pixie is used for the Synchro Summon of a Hikari-Attribute Monster, my Life Points increase by 1000!" Shiru explained.
Shiru: 2100
Ryou: 1100
"When Arcanite Magician is Synchro Summoned, he gains two Spell Counters and gains 1000 ATK for each Spell Counter he has!" Shiru explained as two black stones appeared and floated around the Magician, granting him power. (7/400-2400/1800) (AM SC: 2) "Then I activate the effect of my Pitch-Black Power Stone! Once per turn I can move one Spell Counter from it onto another card that can hold Spell Counters! I move it to my Arcanite Magician, destroying my Permanent Trap in the process!"
As the final stone floated from the Trap card to Shiru's Monster, the Permanent Trap shattered as Arcanite Magician grew stronger from the new Spell Counter. (7/2400-3400/1800) (AM SC: 3)
"Next I activate my last Mana Seize Magic card, placing one more Spell Counter onto my Arcanite Magician!" Shiru announced as a fourth black stone floated around the Magician. (7/3400-4400/1800) (AM SC: 4) "Tān endo!"
Shiru's hand: 0
"Boku no tān!" I announced as I drew my next card, my eyes widening a little at my overall hand. 'Here's a new one. Let's take it for a spin.' "I summon Epitaph 04 – Yata in Attack mode!"
As I played my next card, the Buddhist-appearing man with orange glasses appeared, but was weakened by Shiru's Permanent Magic. (3/1500-1200/1700)
"Now I activate Yata's Monster effect! Once per turn I can destroy one Magic or Trap card my opponent controls!" I explained as I pointed at her Pain Of The Leader card. "Clairvoyance!"
Yata pulled out his fans and waved them downward before fireballs rained down and shattered the Permanent Magic card, restoring Yata's ATK. (3/1200-1500/1700)
"Next, since Yata is a Magician-type Monster, I activate the Instant Magic card, Ani Zot!" I announced as I played my card. "If I control a Yami-Attribute Monster, this card inflicts 800 damage to my opponent!"
A dark portal soon opened up beneath Shiru and razor=sharp claws shot upwards around her.
Shiru: 1300
Ryou: 1100
"Next I play the Magic card, Party Of Three! Since I successfully Normal Summoned an Epitaph Monster this turn, I can Special Summon up to two more Monsters from my hand, but I'll only Special Summon one! The Tuner Monster, Prophecy Phase!" I announced as I played my card.
The Monster that appeared was made of patterns similar to the past Phase Monsters, only this one was orange and the most distinct part was the disc-shaped pattern around where the left eye would be. The Monster itself though looked like it was meant to be paired with Yata. (2/0/0)
"Now I tune my Level-3 Epitaph 04 – Yata with my Level-2 Prophecy Phase!" I announced as the Phase Monster overlapped with Yata, an orange glow appearing from my left eye. "Kiri ga burokku mirai ga yogen-sha no sonzai-ka de fēdo shimasu! Tasogare wa yoake mae ni kuraidesu! (8)"
The two Monsters were then enveloped by a flash of light.
"Shinkuro Shoukan!" I shouted as the light began to fade. "Purofesaizu! Abatā Yon – Fidchell! (9)"
When the light faded, the Monster that appeared looked like a man sitting on a giant metal lotus flower, his hands clasped together in front of his chest. Surrounding the Monster were four large disc-like objects. The one thing different about Fidchell from my other Synchro Monsters was that, instead of having a white doll-like mask for a face, it had no head at all, and floating above its shoulders was an orange disc with three blades. (5/2100/1800)
"Now I activate Fidchell's Monster effect! Once per turn I can either negate the attack of an opponent's Monster or negate the effect of an opponent's Magic, Trap or Effect Monster until the End Phase!" I explained, causing Shiru to gasp. "I negate the effect of your Arcanite Magician!"
At the declaration, the four large discs flew away from Fidchell and surrounded Shiru's Monster, beams of energy firing from the discs and draining Arcanite Magician of its power, leaving the Spell Counters behind. (7/4400-400/1800) (AM SC: 4) The discs then returned to my field and circled around Fidchell once again.
"Now then… Fidchell, attack Arcanite Magician!" I announced, but before I could say the name of the attack, a loud rumbling shook the field.
"All will be flayed alive by my electric fury," a voice bellowed and I knew it came from Fidchell, making a grin appear on my face that the card even recited its own lines from its game counterpart.
"Thunder Cry!" I declared, to which the four discs once again flew from Fidchell, this time flying high into the air before firing beams of electricity down upon Arcanite Magician, causing the weakened Synchro Monster to explode.
Shiru: 0000
Ryou: (winner)
With the destruction of Arcanite Magician, the field slowly changed back as Fidchell and the orange glow from my eye faded.
"Wow, you're really strong!" Shiru complimented me.
"Thanks, I guess," I shrugged off as I put my cards back into my deck to be auto-shuffled. "You weren't exactly too bad either. Powering up Arcanite Magician that much, it you did it from the start you would've beaten me."
"Well, I usually only use him as a last resort," Shiru said before giggling. "My favorite card is Black Magician Girl."
"I see..." I said, knowing that I would have a sweatdrop above my head right now if I were an anime character, before putting my Duel Disk back in my D-Wheel.
"Where are we going now, Ryou?" Lycoris asked, causing me to freeze up momentarily. "Ryou?"
Well I certainly wasn't expecting that. I actually didn't have any set place in mind to go after getting Shadow back and Lycoris hasn't exactly told me exactly how I'm supposed to save this world.
'I don't know,' I answered and saw that Lycoris was thinking from the corner of my eye.
"Well, why don't we stay with Shiru then?" Lycoris suggested.
'Are you kidding me? Why the hell would I do that?' I mentally asked the deity.
"You said you don't know where we should go from here, right? Maybe we could stay with her until we think of something," Lycoris pointed out.
Unfortunately the girl was right, to a point. With no real plan to go anywhere, and no place to stay, I had little choice in this matter.
"Hey," I spoke up.
"Yes?" Shiru asked before I let out an irritated sigh.
"Would it be alright if I stayed a while? I don't really have anywhere to go at the moment," I said requested, but instead of a spoken answer Shiru responded by trying to place her hand on my forehead, but I grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"
Instead of responding, the girl kept trying to put her hands on my head, to which I kept grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away, my irritation building.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" I asked the girl, but flinched from a quick pain in my head.
"Just as I thought," Shiru finally said.
"What are you talking about?" I asked as I rubbed my head.
"You're still injured," Shiru answered. "Even if you tried leaving I'd have to stop you. After all, someone has to treat that injury and I doubt you'd do it yourself."
"Just give me some asprin and I'll be fine," I told the girl.
"Exactly. You'd just take something to dull the pain, not treat the injury," Shiru said. "So you'll stay until you're treated, understood?"
"Whatever," I replied with narrowed eyes.
"Good. Now let's get back inside. I need to replace that bandage you took off," Shiru said as she walked back into the apartment building while I let out an irritated sigh.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" I asked quietly.
"Well you didn't exactly have much of a choice," Lycoris stated.
"Just shut up," I grumbled as I followed Shiru back to her apartment.
The rest of the day was dull and quiet. Well, as quiet as it can be when you have someone continuously playing a flute, so I just laid on the couch, a new wrap bandage around my head, and tried to sleep off the slight pain in my head. The sun was quick to set as I continued to rest on the couch when there was a knock at Shiru's door.
"Coming!" Shiru called out to whoever was in the hallway as she walked over to the door and opened it. "Huh?"
"What is it?" I asked but soon heard the door shut. "Stupid kids playing a prank most likely."
"No, it's a letter," Shiru said as she looked over both sides of the letter.
"Well what does it say?" I asked.
"It's address to you," Shiru said, finally earning my full attention.
"To me?" I asked as I sat up on the couch as grabbed the letter when Shiru handed it to me, ripping the top open and reading the disclosed letter. "Greetings, Misaki Ryou. You have been cordially invited to join the Fortune Cup Tournament with the chance to prove yourself against the strongest of duelists with an opportunity to duel the strongest duelist, The King, Jack Atlas."
"Fortune Cup?" Shiru repeated.
"Some kind of tournament by the looks of it," I answered as I pulled out a ticket with my name on it, a grin on my face. "Well, I'm definitely not going to pass up a chance like this to find opponents worthy of my deck."
"But will you be okay for the Fortune Cup when the time comes?" Shiru asked, probably wondering about the head injury.
"Why are you so concerned about it? You don't even know who I am," I answer as I rose to my feet and stuff my invitation into my pocket. 'Didn't think I'd have to meet back up with him. But I wasn't exactly expecting this invitation.'
"Still, you should get your rest before you leave," Shiru said.
"I don't need it," I said as I walked out the door, but as I walked down the hall I heard someone following me and turned around to see Shiru, now carrying her Duel Disk, an instrument case, which I assumed was for her flute, and some notepads and pens. "Now what?"
"If you get hurt again you'll need someone to treat your wounds," Shiru continued to push the subject and there were even some fights I knew I would never win no matter how much I fought back.
"Fine, do you what you," I sighed heavily as I walked down the hall and left out the back of the building with Shiru following me
I climbed onto my D-Wheel, put on my helmet and started its engine as I saw Shiru do the same while putting her things in a hidden compartment, noticing her helmet was white with a blue stripe going over her head. The two of us slowly drove out onto the street before revving our engines and speeding down the streets. My monitor then started up, showing Shiru's face.
"Where are we headed?" Shiru asked.
"There's someone I have to meet up with in the Diamond Area," I answered as the two of us turned down a corner.
As we kept driving, I saw a familiar red D-Wheel turn down a corner. I signaled Shiru behind me and the two of us turned down the same corner, eventually seeing Yusei and Saiga pulling the D-Wheel into a garage, closing the shutters behind them. As Shiru and I stopped in front of the garage, the two of us climbed off and I knocked on the garage door.
"Who's out there?" Saiga's voice asked.
"Open up, dumbass. It's Ryou," I called back.
The door slowly opened as Saiga peeked out.
"Ryou? What are you doing here?" Saiga asked.
"Had a feeling you and Yusei would be in the area," I answered as I pushed past the man and walked inside. "And you can let the girl in, too."
Saiga was at a loss for words as I heard Shiru walk in before Saiga closed the door.
"What are you doing here?" Yusei asked.
"What, you still pissed at me for what I did at the detention center and destroying your Monster to beat Ushio?" I asked. "Just let it go."
"Detention center?" Shiru asked.
"That's right. Yusei and I are both convicts. Couldn't you tell by these?" I asked the girl as I pointed at the red markers on my cheeks.
"I thought those were tattoos," Shiru said.
"Nope. Yusei and I were both arrested for bullshit reasons," I said before digging into my pocket. "By the way, you get one of these, Yusei?"
I pulled out my invitation to the Fortune Cup and tossed it to the D-Wheel. Yusei glanced at it before turning his attention to me.
"So you got one as well?" Yusei asked as he tossed back letter.
"Yep. With an opportunity to duel against the strongest duelists, including The King," I answered. "So how'd they reel you in?"
Yusei then pulled out his own letter and handed it to me, to which I opened it and looked at the picture inside.
"Fitting they'd get you in with something like this," I said.
"What are you two talking about?" Saiga asked.
"Tell you about it later. After all, it's a little late," I said with a yawn. "Gonna get some sleep."
I then walked over to a spare couch and slumped down before closing my eyes to fall asleep.
(3rd Person POV)
As Ryou slumped down on the couch, Shiru, Yusei and Saiga just looked at each other before Yusei turned to work a little on his D-Wheel.
"So how do you know him?" Saiga asked Shiru, pointing towards Ryou. "Didn't think he was into the whole friends thing."
"Oh, we're not friends. I just helped him after a vehicle accident last night," Shiru answered.
"Well I'd advise you to stay away from him," Saiga warned the girl. "He's already killed the chief of the detention center."
"He did what?" Shiru gasped. "But he doesn't seem like that kind of person."
"Looks can be deceiving," Saiga said as Yusei stopped fixing his machine. "You done for the night?"
"Yeah. Might as well get some rest to prepare for the Fortune Cup," Yusei answered.
"Be sure to tell me what the deal is with that the next time I'm here then," Saiga said before turning his attention to Shiru. "Unfortunately this place doesn't have a lot of comforts, so you'll just have to pick somewhere for the time being."
"Thank you very much," Shiru said with a bow.
Saiga merely nodded before leaving the garage as Yusei picked another couch to sleep on. With not much choice, Shiru took another empty couch to sleep on for the night.
(Ryou's POV)
The following morning I was woken up by Yusei working on his D-Wheel. I looked around and saw Saiga was sitting on one of the other couches while Shiru was nowhere around, probably went out or something.
"The Public Security Maintenance Bureau has their eyes on you for more than just your D-Wheel, don't they?" Saiga asked the Satellite D-Wheeler.
Yusei answered by pulling out his Fortune Cup letter and handing it to Saiga, who opened it and looked at the picture of Yusei's friends that was inside.
"These your friends?" Saiga asked.
"Yeah, from Satellite. I don't participate in the Fortune Cup and I'd put them all in danger," Yusei answered.
"That's a downright threat! Do you have any clue why they're after you so bad?" Saiga asked.
"No," was Yusei's short answer.
"I see," Saiga said before glancing at the photo again. "Mind if I borrow this?"
Yusei turned his attention from his D-Wheel to Saiga.
"I'm going to investigate into how they're doing at the moment," Saiga said as he stood up from the couch.
"You have connections in Satellite?" Yusei asked as Saiga as the man walked towards the stairs.
"I'm a Jack Of All Trades. Besides…" Saiga said as he flashed the photo to Yusei. "These are your bonds, right?"
After Saiga left, I continued to lounge around while Yusei worked on his D-Wheel. In that time, Shiru had returned with breakfast for the four of us, not knowing that Saiga had left. As we ate, with Yusei working on his D-Wheel at the same time, the door opened and I glanced to see Saiga, Himuro and Yanagi walking down the stairs, though the three of them covered their ears as Yusei revved his D-Wheel's engine for a test.
"We have guests!" Saiga shouted over the engine.
"Hey, Jī-san," I greeted Yanagi.
"Heya, sonny!" Yanagi greeted back as he jumped off the stairs and walked over to me with a smile on his face. "How are you? Has my card helped you any?"
"I'm doing fine. And I actually haven't had the opportunity to use your card," I answered the old man.
"Well I'm sure you just haven't needed to use it yet," Yanagi said before turning his attention to Shiru. "And who's this lovely young lady?"
"My name is Yamato Shiru. Pleased to meet you," Shiru introduced herself to Yanagi with a bow.
"Such a courteous girl. You may call me Yanagi," Yanagi said as he bowed back before turning his attention to me. "Where did you find just a gentle girl?"
"She helped me after a little… accident," I said, not wanting to have the old man flip if he knew I had been hit by a truck.
"Oh, I'm sure she did," Yanagi said with a sly grin on his face while he jabbed his elbow into my side, but I knew where he was going and figured I should stop him before anyone got the wrong idea.
"Get your head out of the gutter, old man!" I warned Yanagi as I lightly hit the back of his head, but I could hear the giggling of Lycoris.
"Yo, how's it hanging?" Himuro asked Yusei.
"Himuro?" Yusei said, surprised to see the ex-Pro.
"So? Surprised?" Saiga asked.
"Thanks to you, sonny, we got out. They even wrote off our half a year of forced labour!" Yanagi said to me. "I tell ya, it's always good to have a strong duelist around!"
"And I see you two aren't so upset about what happened back there," I made note.
"Ryou, are these friends of yours from the detention center?" Shiru asked.
"That's right," I answered as I pointed a thumb to Himuro. "Himuro there is a former Pro Duelist while Yanagi here… I guess you'd say he's a seasoned traveler."
"Seasoned? What's that supposed to mean?" Yanagi said, probably feeling insulted.
"Wow, you must know a lot, Jī-san," Shiru said.
"Well I've picked up a few things here and there," Yanagi said with a laugh.
"So, this is your D-Wheel?" Himuro asked, looking over the Yusei Go. "Saiga told me about it. Getting it back from Security like that makes you quite the guy. And, above all, you carve your way with any card, no matter how difficult they may be You're simply a great duelist."
"If you want to see my D-Wheel it's parked outside," I told the former Pro as Yanagi had a look over Yusei's D-Wheel.
"Is see. That deck must be yours too, then, sonny," Yanagi said as he spotted Yusei's deck sitting on the D-Wheel.
"How about it, Yusei? How about a duel with your own deck?" Himuro asked as he pulled his deck from his pocket.
"Ooh! I've gotta see that!" Yanagi shouted in anticipation while Yusei nodded in agreement.
"Those two are going to duel?" Shiru asked.
"Looks that way," I answered. "Want to go watch?"
"Sure. I love watching people duel as much as I love dueling," Shiru said with a smile.
Shiru and I got up from our seats as Yusei led all of us out of the garage and to an abandoned area between two buildings, just large enough to act as a dueling field. Yusei and Himuro put on their Duel Disks and let their decks auto-shuffle.
"Y'shoulda seen it," Yanagi spoke up. "When Ryou and sonny there played Himuro-chan in the detention center, they scored an amazing win usin' my deck!"
"Himuro told me about it. What was it, the 'Ludicrous Deck'?" Saiga asked.
"No! No! It's the 'Hidden Treasure Deck'!" Yanagi corrected before he started pulling out his cards. "Wanna see? Here, here. This 'un is Crystal Skull."
"May I see your deck?" Shiru asked Yanagi.
"Why sure!" Yanagi agreed happily as he fanned out his cards for the girl. "I've collected these rare cards from all over the world!"
"Wow, these are amazing cards," Shiru said as she looked through Yanagi's deck.
"Thank you very much. Of course, I gave sonny here one of my cards for helping us back at the detention center," Yanagi said as I saw him glance towards me.
"When I get the chance I'll play it, old man. Not like you can force a card from my deck into my hand," I pointed out.
"Duel!" Yusei and Himuro shouted.
However, before the two could start their duel, the sound of a D-Wheel's engine caught everyone's attention, prompting us to look over and see a familiar white, one-wheeled D-Wheel pull up between Yusei and Himuro.
"Jack…" Yusei said.
"The King!" Himuro said in surprise.
Jack Atlas stepped out of his D-Wheel and walked up to Yusei, taking off his blue helmet.
"Why is the King here?" Shiru asked.
"Don't know," Saiga answered, to which jack turned his attention back to us, causing Saiga, Yanagi and Shiru to freeze up from his presence.
However, when Jack saw me, his attention seemed a bit focused towards me for a moment before Himuro spoke up.
"Never thought I'd see you again, King," Himuro said before Jack returned his attention to Yusei.
"It looked like that man is interested in you," Lycoris said.
'That man is Jack Atlas, the current King Of Duelists,' I told the goddess.
"He's the King?" Lycoris gasped in surprise. "So what would he want with you?"
'Maybe Godwin told him about what I said, desiring to face strong opponents,' I told the girl through my mind, remembering back to the detention center. 'I would enjoy facing him in a duel. He'd be a real test of my strength.'
"Can I help you?" Yusei asked the King.
Jack answered by pulling a card out of his jacket and showing it to Yusei. The shock on Yusei's face told me it was Stardust Dragon.
"It appears that you'll be in the Fortune Cup," jack said.
"How do you know?" Yusei asked.
"Never mind that. I came here to return this," Jack offered. "It only makes sense for Stardust if you use it. Use it and settle the scores from that night!"
"Were you the one who sold out Rally and the others?" Yusei asked.
"What?" Jack asked, the surprise in his voice saying he didn't know what Yusei was talking about.
The Satellite D-Wheeler reached into his jacket and fished out the picture of his friends, flashing it at Jack.
"I was given this photo by a man claiming to be from the Public Security Maintenance Bureau," Yusei explained.
"Oh?" Jack asked.
"If I don't enter the Fortune Cup, Rally and the others will be put in danger," Yusei explained more as he put the photo back in his jacket. "The only reason I'm entering is to fight against that rotten Public Security Maintenance Bureau."
"In that case, it's quite fitting that you have Stardust!" Jack said before tossing the card to Yusei, who caught it. "That settles it. I came here. Next time, you come to me!"
Jack climbed back into his D-Wheel and started its engine.
"I will say one thing. That day will not be the only day you see the Crimson Dragon!" Jack proclaimed.
"What?" Yusei asked before Jack took off, but not before the King took once last quick glance towards me.
"Crimson Dragon?" Shiru asked.
"Just stick around and you'll find out," I told the girl. "Or you can ask Yanagi some time. He knows the legend."
"Let me take a gander at that Dragon!" Yanagi called out as he ran over to Yusei along with Himuro and Saiga.
"Looks like you'll have to wait a while then," I pointed out as Yusei flashed his card to Yanagi.
"Ooh, finally! It's called Stardust Dragon, huh? Fantastic!" Yanagi said with glee. "So, that means, sonny, you really are Signer!"
"Signer?" Shiru asked.
"Again, stick around to find out or ask Yanagi later," I answered.
"Then, you don't mean that the fellow that dueled you that one time was…" Yanagi continued.
"It was him," Yusei answered.
"The King? I'll be damned!" Yanagi said in surprise. "So, is the King a Signer too?"
Later that day, the five of use went wandering around the Diamond Area while Saiga went elsewhere. We soon found a small area with a dueling field and some people gathered around to watch two duelists. One of the duelists had an appearance similar to Jounouchi Katsuya. I remembered in the 4Kids dub they called him Jesse Wheeler, Joey Wheeler's cousin. There was one thing wrong with that since all the characters from the GX era and earlier are long dead by this point.
"Yusei," Saiga spoke up as he walked up behind us while we watched the duel. "I struck a deal to sneak into Satellite. I'm leaving tonight."
"That's surprising! You're not supposed to be able to go in and out of the city and Satellite," Yanagi noted.
"Officially, yes. But there's a ship working on the system that sends out, reproduces and returning trash coming," Saiga explained. "I bargained so they would let me go aboard."
"Travel by garbage barge. Not classy, but what can you really do in a city like this," I said.
"That's the Jack of All Trades for you. There is nothing he can't do," Himuro said.
"And yet nothing he can master," I added, mentally slapping myself in the head again for that Dragon Quest IX joke.
"I could do it since this city has gathered all the right reasons," Saiga said.
"Yeah, true enough. We don't exactly stick out around here," Yanagi pointed out as we watched the people dueling and the other spectators.
"They can't go to the city with their markers and they don't want to drop to Satellite," Himuro explained. "It's a city where people like that live, shouldering their past."
"Leave the Satellite business to me. You just raise all sorts of hell in the Fortune Cup," Saiga said to Yusei.
"Sure," Yusei agreed.
"He'll have a hell of a time trying," I said as I raised my invitation. "After all, he'll have to face me at some point."
When we turned our attention back to the duel, we spotted two young boys, one with brown hair and glasses and the other with bluish-green hair.
"What the hell?" I wondered.
"What are those children doing here?" Shiru asked before the boy with bluish-green hair spotted us.
"Ah, Yusei! Yusei!" the boy called out as he ran over to us.
"Friend of yours?" Himuro asked.
"Yeah," yusei answered before walking up to meet with the boy.
"So, you're here too, Yusei!" the boy greeted the Satellite D-Wheeler.
"Why are you here? This place isn't for kids," Yusei said as the rest of us walked up to him. "Where is Ruka?"
"She's looking after the house," the boy said as his friend ran up to us, but upon seeing all of us the brown-haired boy froze up, probably from our markers.
"Who might you young'uns be?" Yanagi asked the boys.
"These are all your friends, Yusei?" the boy with bluish-green hair asked.
"Right, this is a kid from Tops who took me in for shelter," Yusei told us.
"I'm Rua," the boy introduced himself before turning to his friend. "This is my friend, Tenpei."
"P-Pleased," Tenpei greeted, but it was easy to tell he was scared by his voice.
"Oh, right, Tenpei! Why don't you duel against Yusei? He's super strong!" Rua suggested.
"U-Umm…" Tenpei said as he looked at Yusei, or to be more accurate, at Yusei's marker, but then noticed what Yusei was holding. "Aah! Look at that!"
"Ooh! Yusei! This is an invitation to the Fortune Cup!" Rua said, turning into a giddy child. "You're entering too?"
"Yeah," Yusei answered.
"Awright! I get to duel against Yusei again!" Rua cheered. "Yusei, I'm not losing this time. See now, Tenpei? Yusei's a duelist awesome enough to enter the Fortune Cup!"
Before another word could be spoken though, I felt a quick sting of pain through my head and Yusei dropped to his knees as he held his arm.
"Yusei, what's wrong?" Rua asked.
"Sonny!" Yanagi said with concern in his voice.
"Are you hurt again, Ryou?" Shiru asked.
"It's the same as that one time…" Yusei said.
"Someone… or something… is coming," I said.
"It's the Witch!" we heard the other duelists and bystanders shout in fear as the ground began to shake.
"The Witch? She really showed up? Where? Where?" Rua asked in excitement.
"It's the Witch! We'll get offed! Run!" the duelists and spectators shouted as they ran off in all directions.
"Hey, you punks! Wait!" one of the duelists shouted as he remained on the dueling field.
Appearing in front of the duelist was a small tornado created by unnatural power.
"What Witch?" Yanagi asked.
"So, she's here now, huh?" Saiga said.
"She?" Himuro asked.
"The Black Rose Witch," I answered.
"We'll get dragged into this. We need to run," Saiga warned us.
The area around began to tear up as gigantic thorns ripped up from the ground and crashed through nearby buildings. One even snaked its way towards us, forcing the eight of us to jump out of the way, Yanagi and the kids being knocked to the ground. When Yusei and I looked into the cloud of dust ahead of us, we saw the silhouette of a Dragon as it roared. Yusei groaned in pain as he pulled up his sleeve, revealing a glowing mark. I wasn't much different as I could see a dark-red glowing light emanating from my forehead.
"Sonny…" Yanagi gasped in awe.
"Hey, when did you two get those?" Himuro asked us, telling me that there was something on or around my forehead giving off the red light.
"Sonny here has the symbol on the Signer, the Dragon's Birthmark," Yanagi said as he looked at Yusei's arm, then he turned to me. "But I don't know about that mark. You had something similar when you dueled Takasu, didn't you?"
From Yanagi's words I figured out that the red light was a piece of my Phase Monsters, and as the light was red, I had a feeling I knew which Phase it belonged to.
'But why is it reacting now? I'm not in a duel and I haven't summoned that Avatar yet,' I thought to myself.
A bright flash of light appeared at the base of the dust cloud as the Dragon roared again.
"What is that Monster?" Rua asked when Yusei rose to his feet and ran towards the Dragon. "Yusei!"
As Yusei ran into the dust cloud, Rua ran in after him. Most of the dust had settled and revealed a figure wearing a dark cloak and white mask with long dark burgundy hair. The rest of us ran over to Yusei and Rua to get a better look at the figure. However, their body was completely covered by the cloak and mask.
"The Black Rose Witch is real…" Saiga was the first of us to speak up.
"Well, I'll be damned!" Yanagi gasped.
We all braced ourselves for whatever the Black Rose Witch might do, but she seemed to become rather ticked off when her attention was focused on Yusei.
"You as well?" the Black Rose Witch asked, to which Yusei looked at his glowing mark.
"You as well?" Yusei repeated before slowly walking towards the Witch.
"Wretched mark!" the Black Rose Witch shouted as she placed a card on her Duel Disk, causing a swirling force of energy to erupt from underneath her and create a pillar of light.
I braced myself from the force that tried to push us as the children were knocked down while Yusei fell to one knee and the other tried to block out the light. When the light faded, the Black Rose Witch was gone.
"She's gone," Himuro said in awe.
"What th'heck was that? How was she able to blow us back with a Magic card's power, even though it's just Solid Vision?" Yanagi wondered.
"She is… She is real!" Tenpei said, both he and Rua having shocked looks in their eyes, though whether it was from fear or awe was up in the air.
"I'm so glad we didn't get offed…" Rua said.
"Seems the Black Rose Witch has some kind of interest in you, Yusei. Judging from her reaction," I said as I saw the light from my forehead fade away and Yusei looked at his arm to see his mark disappeared.
"Aah! It's gone!" Rua gasped after he and Tenpei got back to their feet.
"Why? That's a shame!" Yanagi gasped in disappointment.
"I'm positive… the Witch has a birthmark too," Yusei said, causing the others to gasp. "The Witch said, 'you as well'."
"It could mean anything," I pointed out. "But you might be right."
(3rd Person POV)
As night fell, the Black Rose Witch ran into an alley within the city and leaned her back against the wall before slowly sliding herself down to sit on the ground. She then pulled off her white mask and was panting, probably from running from Yusei and the others.
"Aki-chan…" a voice spoke from the alley.
The Witch, now known as Aki, looked down the alley to see a young man no old than 17 walking towards her. The young man had long black hair that stopped to his shoulders with green streaks and brown eyes. His attire consisted of a black long-sleeved shirt with a single yellow stripe down the middle, black pants and dark shoes.
"Raven-onii-san… (10)" Aki said with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Having fun?" the young man, Raven, asked, but then saw a look on her face that was a mix of anger and depression. "What's wrong?"
Aki was silent for a moment as she glanced at her arm.
"Wretched mark…" Aki answered.
'Did something happen to her?' Raven thought to himself. 'Or… could there be someone else with one?'
(1) Yes/Sure/Okay (pretty much every various form of "Yes")
(2) "What did you say?"
(3) "Bombarding Spells come together in a light of bright power!"
(4) "Ignite, Explosive Magician!"
(5) Secret Village Of The Spellcasters
(6) "Surging magic combine to reveal the power underneath!"
(7) "Arise, Arcanite Magician!"
(8) "The mist that blocks the future fades in the presence of the prophet! The twilight is darkest before the dawn!"
(9) "Prophesize! Avatar 04 – Fidchell!"
(10) Onii-san = Big Brother (Raven is NOT Aki's real brother in this story, she just looks up to him like one)
A/N: And that's the chapter! Hope you all enjoyed seeing Shiru's cards. Raven's deck will be revealed later. Also, the next chapter will be an update to Ryou's decklist for the Fortune Cup onward, this time I'll be putting up other Magic and Trap cards he'll be using (other than the ones I personally made) as well as a list of his Speed Spells for his Riding Duels.
Please R&R, everyone! And don't forget to leave detailed reviews!