Author's Note: Here we go, Tobias vs Shiro!
Chapter Eleven: Day of the Duel Review, Pt. 3
A man in white armor with rune symbols etched into it was summoned, standing tall with a heavy sword in one hand and a bow slung over its shoulder. "Rune Centurion, finish it! Centurion Slash!"
The former Obelisk Blue took the blade that slashed across his chest with grace, not flinching even as it drove him back. Not letting himself break even as he could hear the sound of his life points dropping. "Mizuki…you're amazing. I never would have thought I could lose to a first year student or even to a Ra Yellow at all." (ELP: 0)
The holograms faded away, leaving the ring looking normal as ever. Both of them walked up to each other and shook hands, Mizuki smiling up at Ensui. "Like I said, it was a great duel. I learned a lot from it."
"I learned a lot as well. Next time I won't be so confident in the power of one monster. After all, I could have negated Rune Symbol-Jera couldn't I? But since I was certain I knew you were just desperately trying to bring back Thurisaz, I waited. It was…fun." The crowd cheered, Mizuki's friends being particularly loud, cheering on the victory of their good friend.
Harrison closed his eyes, looking supremely amused. "Well now, I hardly expected that outcome. Maybe she is worth my time. She's Obelisk Blue worthy, I'll giver her that."
Tobias raged, slamming his fists repeatedly down on the rail in front of him, looking absolutely furious. "No! My plan should have worked; she should have been smashed underneath his feet! But now she's got the chance to move up to Obelisk Blue, and all because of me!"
Mizuki jumped up and down, waving up at her friends, overjoyed at having won, her face split into a huge grin as she danced around. 'This could be it, I could be going straight on to Obelisk Blue!'
Her jump faltered as the screen above them changed, the names of the next duelists being displayed, meaning that they would have to depart. Mizuki shook Ensui's hand one last time before they parted ways, heading back to their seats.
Curious to see who was next Mizuki looked up at the board, and stopped dead at what she saw there. Two very familiar faces were on opposite sides of each other. "No…no way!"
Right nearby in the front row a familiar voice spoke up, sounding utterly confident. "What a perfect way to cheer me up after seeing you actually win. I'll get to stomp that idiot into the ground once and for all, just like I was hoping would happen to you."
Mizuki turned, and found herself face to face with none other than Tobias and Harrison. Tobias swung himself over the railing and dropped down in front of her, smirking as he brushed by. "I'll be sure to leave a piece of your boy toy left when I'm done with him."
Now there was no denying what the screen above them said. There was no denying exactly who would be facing off against who in the next round of the duel review. There it was in big bold letters.
Tobias Emerlo vs. Shiro Akugi.
Tobias stepped up onto the central platform, a little briefcase in one hand. He smirked and sat down cross-legged, opening the case and looking through it. Mizuki watched him carefully, unsure what he was up to. 'Tobias versus Shiro…this won't turn out well.'
The dark haired American boy chuckled as he picked up a deck out of the briefcase, then stood and shoved the briefcase off to the side with his foot. "Come on down Shiro, I've got a surprise for you."
With his friends looking at him intensly Shiro stood, fitting his duel disk over his arm. His jaw was set tight as he started the walk down. 'Of all people for me to have been paired with, it's Tobias. Had I even thought it might be…I would have actually looked over my deck. Can I beat him as things stand?'
Kane met Shiro's eyes, and then gave his roommate a big grin. "Hey, don't sweat it. You'll kick that arrogant jerks ass, right?"
Shiro nodded, but his eyes were still grim. Of all people, it just had to be Tobias, the only duelist in Osiris Red who stood a chance of beating him. "Yeah, absolutely."
Even Janice, who thought Shiro was incessantly annoying, couldn't help but give him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine. Just don't get cocky and stay focused, then it'll be okay."
Again Shiro smiled, but it didn't help him from looking grim. Even Aya's quickly whispered 'good luck' didn't aid him. 'Tobias will be ready for me…I know it. He's probably already figured out just how to fight me. So…guess I just have to show him that it takes more than smarts to win a duel.'
Mizuki walked up to the front row, setting herself just a few feet away from Harrison. She might not have liked the guy, but she'd tolerate his presence so she could cheer on Shiro. "Good luck Shiro…"
Harrison chuckled, adjusting his glasses as he looked down his nose at Mizuki. "Oh please, that Osiris Red drop out has no chance against Tobias. I've seen him duel, and compared to those other drop out boys he's in an entirely different level."
"What is he? Your evil protégé? Better watch out, he might be able to give you a run for your money in the 'evil jackass' department." Harrison easily matched her glare, not even blinking against that fiery gaze.
"Why do you even care about that weakling? You have the power to be an Obelisk Blue, to stand above him in every way. Why not take it, you'd enjoy lording it over him, I'm sure of it." He smirked, his glasses glinting as they continued their staring contest.
"You're so heartless that power is all you think about it, is that it? No wonder you're the Dark Prince, you must be lonely." Mizuki smirked, feeling a small victory with this comment.
"Ah yes, it's lonely at the top. But it's comforting to look down at those on the bottom." Mizuki grimaced at how casually he said it, her right hand balling up into a fist. She was very tempted to punch him right then and there.
She was ripped from her internal debate by Shiro's arrival on the scene, jumping up onto the dueling ring. He glared across the field at Tobias, his duel disk at the ready. "Okay Tobias, let's get this thing going. I'd like to beat you down and get it over with."
The American boy chuckled at his currently red haired roommate, tapping a hand on his duel disk. "Don't be in such a rush to lose. I've actually got an interesting proposal for you."
Shiro paused in the process of turning on his duel disk, wondering if he should even give Tobias a chance to speak. Finally he sighed and decided to get it over with. "Fine, what's your proposal?"
"A simple bet for the winner. My end of the deal would be that should I win, you have to be my personal slave for a week. Of course, should I lose you'll be able to make some demand yourself. What would you like?" Shiro smirked, seeing definite potential in this.
"Okay then, I accept! If I win, you'll have to dress up like a chicken and run around clucking in school for a full week. That should put a little bit of respect into you. So what do you say, are the terms cool?" Tobias approached, and the two shook hands, finalizing the deal.
Both of them turned around, walking back to their starting positions. As they walked their duel disks clicked into on position, and Tobias got one last chance for a barb. "Maybe as my slave, I'll have you do something to Mizuki…you never know what." (TLP: 4000)
"That won't even be a factor, because I'm not going to lose. Now, first turn goes to the guy with at least some honor, so let's start!" He whirled around, his duel disk flipping into place and he drew his six cards in one swift jerk. (SLP: 4000)
Shiro started to look down at his hand, but was halted when Tobias burst out laughing, that evil villain laugh of his. "What's with that irritating laugh? It's not even your turn!"
To Shiro's surprise a card slid out of Tobias' deck, and the other Osiris Red caught it and held it out for Shiro to see. What from it looked like, the card was a magic card that showed two men sitting at a table, holding knives over their outstretched wrists. "Let's kick this duel off right, with my deck magic card Ultimate Ante!"
"Ultimate Ante? A magic card that's played from your deck? What the heck kind of card is that?" Their was a ruckus from the crowd, most of them sounded confused or horrified. Harrison on the other hand was laughing.
Tobias smirked darkly at his roommate as he began to explain. "Ultimate Ante is a truly deadly magic card. Once activated it sets a special program on our duel disks. The loser of this duel…will have their deck shredded by their duel disk!"
Shiro's jaw dropped, and then his gaze lowered to his deck. Finally he brought his head back up to look at Tobias, a fierce glare evident. "You…you're scum! I'll kick your ass for playing a card like that!"
"Oh no you won't. First of all this card perfectly legal, since Kaiba Corporation can't limit, restrict, or ban any cards even at Duelist Academy that aren't banned by Industrial Illusions. Second of all, if you move closer than ten to fifteen feet from me, or farther, then your deck is automatically destroyed. So let's have some fun!" Shiro couldn't help how tightly his fist was clenched, but he knew he couldn't get out of it.
"You would actually risk your own deck just for a chance to destroy mine? What the hell is wrong with you?" Tobias shrugged, and slid his deck out of his duel disk, briefly fanning it before snapping it together again and slamming it into his duel disk.
"This isn't my personal deck at all little Shiro. In fact, I assembled this deck specifically as a counter to yours. Meaning not only do I not care if its destroyed, but it can't lose to your deck anyways!" Tobias just laughed as Shiro continued to glare at him, completely unaffected.
"Jerk…even with that advantage I'm still gonna kick your ass! Now, it's time to start things off and get showy! Action Warrior-Slow Mo.(1600/1400) in attack mode!" In super slow motion the movie star warrior moved out into position on the field.
As soon as it was finally still, Shiro grabbed two of the cards he was holding and practically slammed them into his duel disk. "I throw down two cards and end my turn! Go ahead Tobias, show me whatever this counter deck of yours can do, and I'll still beat it down!"
Tobias drew, still grinning. "Oh please, don't make me laugh. Your pathetic Action Warriors on their own wouldn't be a threat to moldy cheese, let alone a tactical duelist like myself."
"Think what you like, but me and my Action Warriors will defeat you. Besides, if that's all you think then you've got the wrong idea about my deck. I may use that set, but that's not the whole theme of my deck." He cracked his knuckles, looking confident despite Tobias' declaration.
"Of course it's not. But the rest of your deck theme, it revolves around recycling your cards. You throw everything you've got out, and then get it back to send it out again. Of course, that always posses a risk when you put things in the grave to have them recycled." Shiro blinked, not liking the sound of that one bit.
"What are you talking about? What kind of risk is there for having cards in the grave? Besides something like Monster Reborn, I don't really see anything wrong with it." To his surprise Tobias burst out into his semi-evil laughter just like he had before.
"I'll demonstrate the first flaw of your deck shortly. Now, I draw!" He snapped a card off the top of his deck, looking truly fierce despite his mostly unimpressive appearance. He brought the card down so he could see it, and then he smirked.
Grabbing another card from his deck he held it out along with his drawn card. "Flaw number one…if you intend to send a card to the grave, you better hope it doesn't leave the field first. In other words, watch out for removal cards."
Shiro's eyes went as wide as they could go as he recognized the image of one of Tobias' two cards that he was holding up. "Oh no…not that…"
"That's right! Magic card activates, Dark Core! By discarding one card from my hand I can remove a monster on your field from the game! So I'll discard this little number in order to remove Slow Mo. from play!" Shiro's monster opened its mouth to do something, but a miniature black hole had already appeared above its head, pulling it upwards.
"Slow Mo!" Without another word the warrior was pulled up into the black hole, gone forever. Shiro's jaw creaked, his blood pumping furiously through his body as he slid his removed card into his back pocket.
Tobias held up a hand, forestalling any further comments. "But wait, there's more! The card I discarded is known as A Second Chance! When this card is discarded from the player's hand by an effect it can be removed from the grave to draw two cards. So I remove it to replenish my hand!"
He took his removed card and placed it in his own side pocket, then slid two more cards off the top of his deck, returning his hand size up to six. Shiro grimaced, realizing that Tobias really had gone through a lot. 'Okay, so he's calculated one way to get at my deck. But that can't be all, can it?'
"I can see on your face that you're worried about what's next. Don't worry; I won't be going on the attack quite yet. I've got some preparation to do, so I set a monster in defense mode. Then I play two cards face down behind it. Your turn Shiro." Off to the side Harrirson smirked, guessing what the set monster was.
Shiro drew, looking for an option in his hand. He saw it immediately in the card he had drawn. "Whatever traps you've set, I hope you like them, because they're useless now. Action Warrior-Cyclist(1700/1300)!"
The movie star monster in leather jacket drove on out, sliding its motorcycle to a stop. It gave Tobias a harsh glare, looking ready to commit murder. "Did I forget to mention that my monsters have picked up some traits of mine? Well looks like they don't like you either!"
"Really? Well I don't like the way it's looking at me, so I guess I'll have to do something about it. Go face down card, Trap Hole!" Cyclist grunted in shock as the ground beneath his motorcycle collapsed, dropping him into the earth and destroying him.
The red haired Osiris Red grimaced, then pointed to one of his two set cards. "Reverse card open, continuous trap card Parting Gifts! From now on whenever a card goes from our field to the cemetery we'll gain two hundred life points!" (SLP: 4200)
Tobias' eyes darkened again, and he snapped his fingers. Immediately one of his own two sets flipped up, also showing an infinity symbol. "Flaw number two, damage effects involving cards going to the grave are your bane! My permanent trap card will capitalize on this: Skull Invitation!"
Mizuki winced, understanding what it was. "Careful Shiro! While Skull Invitation is in play whenever a card goes to the cemetery the owner of that card takes three hundred damage!"
Shiro winced in pain as a spirit burst out of the trap card and wrapped around his body, squeezing him tight to drain his life points. "That's okay, he loses three hundred from Trap Hole going to the grave, right Mizuki?" (SLP: 3900)
His roommate shook his head before Mizuki could reply. "Sorry Shiro, but not a chance! Second continuous trap card reveals itself, Deck Synergy! Instead of cards going to my grave, they are immediately shuffled back into my deck! So while you suffer the effects of Skull Invitation, I'm safe!"
He picked up Trap Hole and then shuffled it back into his deck, smirking the whole time. Shiro grimaced, realizing that the only thing that kept this from being a truly deadly situation was his Parting Gifts card. "I set one card face down. End."
Now it was Tobias' turn, and he looked quite satisified at what he saw. "Before I go on the attack, let's reveal my set monster. It completes my strategy; it is the combination of both flaws. Banisher of the Light(100/2000) appears!" The face down card faded away, replaced by a regal man who was staring across the field at Shiro.
"Next I play the magic card Pure Banishing! This card can only be played if I have no monsters in my cemetery. It forces you to send three monsters from your deck to the grave!" Shiro grimaced and fanned out his deck, swiftly selecting three monsters and inserting them into his cemetery.
Banisher's body glowed, and the cards shot back out of the cemetery. "Oh yes, while Banisher of the Light is face-up all cards that go to the cemetery are then removed from play. So your three monsters are removed. And now, Skull Invitation does its thing!"
Three spirits burst out of the card, wrapping around Shiro's body even as his own continuous trap card healed him. Despite the increasing pain, Shiro managed a cocky grin. "You've got a good strategy going, but its still just minimal damage." (SLP: 3600)
"Minimal? Let's increase that then! Immortal Lion(900/400) in attack mode!" A muscular lion with flowing mane appeared, its body wreathed by a minor red aura. Shiro grimaced, knowing he couldn't afford the thousand damage he'd be hit with.
"Immortal Lion, Banisher of the Light, double direct attack!" A beam of light shot from Banisher's finger tip, striking Shiro in the chest. Then the lion jumped over the Banisher's head and slashed Shiro across the chest, causing him to stumble backwards clutching at the point where he had been hit. (SLP: 3490)
"Heh…sorry Tobias, but before your attacks could hit I triggered the trap card Reduction Barrier. During the rest of this turn nine tenths of all damage and life point gain I make is removed, leaving me at one tenth." Tobias growled, irritated that his serious damage had been averted.
"Fine! Immortal Lion's effect activates! One random card is discarded from your deck whenever it deals you damage. So here comes an additional shot of damage, even if minor!" A card slid out of Shiro's deck, and he placed it in his removed from play pile. At the same time he was assaulted by a spirit. (SLP: 3480)
"Still haven't gotten me yet. Got anything else?" Tobias frowned, still bothered by the minimal damage for the turn. Finally he sighed and slid one of his remaining cards into his duel disk, and then gave a brief nod to Shiro.
Shiro snapped up his card. "Action Warrior-Brawler(2000/800) takes the field! And he'll take it by storm as well as he beats up on Banisher of the Light!"
A handsome but muscular warrior rushed straight of the holographic card representation and then at the regal man in robes on Tobias' field. "It's not that easy at all! Reverse card open, Shift! This swaps the target!"
Banisher vanished, and the Lion immediately took its place. Brawler's fist slammed into the monster's body, driving it backwards. But to Shiro's surprise it remained standing. "Damn…it's immune to battle destruction?" (TLP: 2900)
"That's right. So, was there anything else useless you wanted to try?" Shiro shook his head, having nothing else to work with at the time. All he had was his stronger Brawler, which neither of Tobias' monsters could break down.
"Right then, it's my time to beat you down isn't it? Thanks to my superior tactics and strategizing you've been doomed since the start of this duel. So my next card is perfect, it's Tribute to the Doomed!" Shiro grimaced as Tobias slid his two hand cards back into his deck.
A giant mummy hand came up from the ground and squeezed around Brawler, dragging it under. Once again the spirit came after him, dropping his life points, although it was only minor. Then he removed his Brawler from play. 'He's comboing me to death…he really does have this completely planned out!' (SLP: 3380)
"Double direct attack!" Shiro braced himself as the monsters launched the same attacks as they had the previous turn, one firing a beam of light at him while the other charged into cut him with its claws. This time however he had no way to reduce the damage. (SLP: 2380)
"And you know what happens next right? You lose a random card from your deck thanks to Immortal Lion!" Shiro gulped, knowing that he was still surviving just barely on the pure basis of his Parting Gifts trap card. And it couldn't last forever. (SLP: 2280)
'He's tearing my deck and my strategy apart. This isn't good, how am I supposed to beat him when his deck is completely set up to knock mine down?' He bit his bottom lip, struggling to come up with an answer, but with nothing coming.
"Don't' think I'll allow a cheap shot on Banisher this time. I switch it to defense mode. Then I end my turn." Shiro gulped, looking down at his deck. If he didn't draw something useful soon this duel wouldn't last long.
"I activate the Scapegoat magic card, even though it'll cost me a hundred life points!" Four different colored goats formed on his field, even as a spirit shot of Tobias' trap card. As it squeezed more of his life points away, he found himself actually bored of the feeling. He had gotten used to it by now. (SLP: 2180)
"One card face down, then end turn!" He was getting nervous now, not seeing a way out of this. And it was only made worse by the knowledge that he was doubly screwed if he lost the duel. He'd be Tobias' slave for a week, and his precious deck would be destroyed.
Tobias drew, and then burst out laughing. "The last thing protected you falls now! Quick-play magic card, Cyclone! Destroy his Parting Gifts continuous trap card!"
Shiro gulped as the winds swept away his trap card, allowing him to take the full force of Skull Invitations damage effect. "Great, it's just an entirely different type of pain. Jerk." (SLP: 1880)
"You're weak! Immortal Lion, destroy a goat token!" The lion's claws shredded the little sleeping pink goat easily, which wasn't hard considering each of them had zero attack points and zero defense points.
"Weak? Well I'll recover from your damage with my newest card, the permanent trap card Solemn Wishes! Thanks to it I gain five hundred life points every time I draw a card!" Tobias crossed his arms, looking cross at the recovery card.
"Draw! Now, I gain five hundred life points because of my trap card!" He breathed a sigh of relief, glad to know that he could recover for the time being. But he was still in a bad position. (SLP: 2380)
"Okay, comeback time! Action Warrior-Knife Flinger(1300/1600)! And when he's summoned I get to destroy one of your monsters, so your strategy goes down the drain. Banisher of the Light is banished!" A handsome man in a karate Gi emerged, then hurled a handful of knives at Banisher, shredding the monster.
"Next up, Knife Flinger attacks Immortal Lion! Even though he can't kill it, he'll still get in some damage on your life points!" Another barrage of knives struck, and though the lion howled in pain, it remained unharmed thanks to its special effect. (TLP: 2500)
When Shiro did nothing else, Tobias drew, then smirked. "Oh look, you get a good card, and I get a better one. Power Burn! This magic card doubles the attack strength of one monster on my field with under a thousand base attack strength!"
Immortal Lion increased in size, making it bigger than Knife Flinger was by far. Its attack points were now set at eighteen hundred, which while not normally impressive would do the trick in this situation. 'Come and get it Tobias, I'm waiting.'
"Immortal Lion, attack Knife Flinger!" Shiro smirked as the lion came charging in, having been waiting for this for quite some time now. He extended his hand out, and the last trap he had left which had been set on his first turn finally revealed itself.
"Since you've targeted an Action Warrior with battle I can use this trap card. Cliched Power-Up! This adds the attacking monster's base attack strength to the attacked monster's! So now Knife Flinger(2200/1600) counter attacks!" Knife Flinger unleashed a double barrage of knives, knocking the lion out of the air in mid-leap. (TLP: 2100)
"You won that round, but your monster loses its attack points when the turn ends. So I'll just end it quickly to get that out of the way. You're still going to lose thanks to my counter strategy, and then Ultimate Ante will destroy your deck!" Tobias threw back his head to laugh, which for once Shiro didn't found annoying. He found himself afraid, because it didn't look good.
Shiro reached for his deck, drawing slowly and praying for something good. However, the card he saw just wasn't going to cut it. 'Damn, both of these cards require cards in my grave to work. But all that's in my grave is Cyclist!' (SLP: 2880)
"I switch Knife Flinger into defense mode. End turn…" He closed his eyes, feeling like he was putting his Knife Flinger out there to die. He couldn't imagine this actually working well for him. There was just no way to win as things stood, with his strategies locked down like this.
Tobias chuckled as he held up his newest drawn card. "Pity I don't have Solemn Wishes or this would work well for me. Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" A green grinning pot appeared on the field, then shattered as Tobias drew his cards.
His chuckle grew into full laughter as he lifted up one of the two drawn cards. "Research on the Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards during the turn Pot of Greed has been played!"
"Perfect draw! Power Shut-Off permanently deactivates the effect of any continuous card in play, so Solemn Wishes gets its plug pulled!" Shiro felt it like a stab in the chest as his last true defense card against Tobias' strategy darkened, becoming useless.
"Next up I play Mystic Study! This lets me search my deck for a level four or lower spellcaster and add it to my hand. I've chosen and I summon Banisher of the Light(100/2000) in defense mode!" Shiro's head dropped in despair as the strategy was once again restored.
"Immortal Lion, destroy Knife Flinger!" The lion's mighty clawed paws ripped through his defensive monster, leaving him with only his chump token defense. And there was no way that was going to last long. (SLP: 2580)
"Don't think I'm done breaking you quite yet. Token Destruction obliterates all tokens and counters on the field, getting rid of your final defense!" Shiro threw up an arm to cover his eyes as the three goat tokens exploded, sending pixels flying his way.
Tobias smirked, spreading his arms out wide to encompass the field. "Don't you see Shiro? There's nothing left for you to do, you've already lost! Give up, surrender and spare yourself the misery of losing so pathetically!"
Shiro considered it for just a second, but he looked to his right, his eyes briefly meeting Mizuki's, which were bright as ever, filled with confidence. "No…to surrender would be the truly pathetic thing to do, so I'll keep fighting! Draw time!"
He looked down at the drawn card, and then stopped himself just in time from giving away his despair. 'Shit, that confident stuff about not surrendering and where am I now? Another useless card. Guess it's bluff time!'
"I'll thrown down a face down! Tobias, I'm going to win this, no matter what I will! Even if you've got my strategy locked down, I won't lose!" Tobias just rolled his eyes, drawing a card from his deck without another glance.
"Oh please, what a pathetic bluff. Immortal Lion, slash away more of his life points!" Shiro bit back a scream as the lion's claws dragged across his stomach. Had the attack been real he would have been gutted, but as it was it just really hurt. (SLP: 780)
"Destroy a card from his deck!" Shiro couldn't help it this time, whimpering slightly as the spirit of Skull Invitation slammed into his body, dragging away most of his remaining life points. (SLP: 480)
"You've already lost Akugi! I told you before, give up now. You're just going to suffer more, it's better to forestall that pain than go through with it. Heh, you're done. I'll place this card face down, then end my turn." A card appeared behind his Immortal Lion, and then he folded his arms over his Osiris Red uniform, looking cocky.
Shiro started to reach for his deck, his hand shaking as he did so. His deck seemed so far away, and his entire chest was shaking with the force of his thundering heart. 'If this drawn card doesn't help then I'll lose and my deck will be destroyed. I…I can't win can I? This sucks…'
Off to the side Harrison was leaning in close, looking satisfied. He tilted his head in Mizuki's direction, smirking down at her. "You see? He's weak, incapable of fighting back. He's been broken, he's not even worth the time or attention of a person of your caliber."
"Bastard, it's not about caliber it's all about the…that's it! SHIRO!" The despairing duelist lifted his head, looking over to see Mizuki looking directly at him, her green eyes aflame just as she was in duels.
"This isn't the you I know at all! You're standing there wallowing in despair and fear over losing your deck and losing to Tobias, but that's not what you seemed like to me when we dueled! You said back then that regardless of how serious the circumstances were, you wanted it to be a fun duel. So stop panicking and have a little fun!" Shiro stared at her blankly for a moment, and then broke out into a grin.
"You're right Mizuki, I've been taking this whole thing way too seriously and haven't been having any fun at all. Heck, this has been a great duel, and no matter what I'm not going to let it fall out from under my feet without going out with a bang first! So guess what Tobias, it's my turn!" He drew with renewed vigor, grinning as held up his new card.
"Alright, let's start off the fun by getting greedy! Pot of Greed activates!" The pot appeared and shattered, letting Shiro draw two cards at swift speed. (SLP: 180)
"Next up, Emergency Provisions! I'll sacrifice Solemn Wishes and my set card to gain two thousand life points, even though I'll lose nine hundred!" Both of his cards faded away, letting him take the spirits that attacked him head on. (SLP: 1280)
"You…you can't stop my strategy with just gaining life points! They'll be drained away in no time at all!" Tobias' voice to Shiro sounded a little on edge, as if he were nervous about his chances now.
"You don't sound so confident anymore. Well, I'll tell you that some of my hand is useless right now. Of course, that'll be taken care of with this: Reload! Now I can shuffle my hand into my deck and draw an equal number of cards!" He slid the two cards in and then shuffled up before drawing.
"You take damage!" Shiro flinched against the attack of the spirit, but he still looked happy and confident. He wasn't going to let a little bit of pain and damage stop him now that he was in stride. (SLP: 980)
He looked down at the two new cards and then flipped one over. "Action Stunt Doubles activates! At a cost of five hundred life points I can special summon two Action Warriors from my deck to the field, who at the end of the turn lose the ability to attack!" (SLP: 480)
"It won't do a thing, which drains you of all but your last handful of life points! Skull Invitation, strike him now!" Tobias growled as Shiro shrugged of Skull Invitation's damage effect. Although his roommate looked tired, he was still grinning like the idiot he was. (SLP: 180)
"Life points don't mean a thing here to me! I'll special summon my two Action Warrior-Knife Flingers(1300/1600 X2) and together they blow away both of your monsters!" The two identical monsters formed, and a double handful of knives shattered each of Tobias' creatures, clearing the way.
Tobias took a step back, his eyes wide with fear as he saw what was coming. Even Harrison looked surprised, while Mizuki was hopping from foot to foot in anticipation. "Come on Shiro, take him down!"
"That's exactly what I intend to do! Knife Flinger number one, direct attack!" Tobias winced as the holographic daggers slammed into his chest, draining away most of his life points. The whole time in the duel he had barely been hurt, but now his opponent was recovering! (TLP: 800)
"Next one up, Knife Flinger number two, finish him off!" The knives flew true, hitting Tobias head on. He nearly fell backwards over his own feet, but he managed to catch himself before he fell. One hand went to his chest as he breathed heavily. (TLP: 500)
Pushing himself back to full height, Tobias smirked and held up the card that had previously been set on his field. "Silver Ointment lets you draw one card at an exchange of me gaining a thousand life points. Guess I survived your finishing move, right?"
Shiro drew, still looking happy. "It's pretty impressive that you made it through, but I'm not surprised, you're no slouch at dueling, just overconfident. Guess I'll just set this new card face down and leave it at that."
Tobias picked up the top card of his deck, trying to hide his nervousness. He looked at the drawn card, and then smirked. "It's your end Shiro. But before I get to that, I'll set this final card face down. End."
Shiro's heart was beating in his chest as he reached for his deck, his fingers just itching to draw what could be the last card of the duel. Though the duel had returned to being fun, he knew deep inside that it was risky. "One last draw right? Well, let's go!"
He snapped the card off and up to the side, but then his eyes met Tobias', and he realized something was wrong. Tobias seemed way too confident. 'What's with that asshole smirk he's got? No way that single face down card can stop me now!'
"Shiro, you lose! Reverse card open, Drop Off! This trap card negates your draw and forces you to discard it, and you know what happens then. Skull Invitation deals you three hundred damage!" Shiro's grin faded to a look of utter horror as he dropped the card into his grave, and Skull Invitation fired a spirit at him to drain away his last life points.
"I guess that means this duel is really over…right?" The spirit struck him, and his field exploded, spreading flames across the dueling field. Tobias stepped back to avoid the blaze, but Shiro was caught and he fell to his hands and knees, panting. (SLP: 0)
"You lose! And now Ultimate Ante does its stuff, and your deck is destroyed!" Shiro's duel disk began to whir, and Tobias started to laugh his cartoon villain laugh. Mizuki and all of Shiro's friends could do nothing but watch in horror as the duel disk began its forced task.
To everyone's complete surprise, Shiro burst out laughing, lifting his head up and holding up his duel disk. "You sure about that? If that's the case, then why don't you check your disk?"
Tobias frowned, holding the duel disk up. "What are you talking about, my duel disk is…what the hell?" There, right in front of his eyes, was the display of his life points. And above his head it was there was well, displayed for all eyes to see. (TLP: 0)
Shiro grinned, picking himself up off the ground. "It's pretty simple, since I was going to take effect damage I was able to activate my set trap card, Action Stunt-Stunt Dive which lets me sacrifice Action Warriors to deal three hundred for each. So I just tributed both my monsters to deal you six hundred damage."
Silence filled the arena, not a single soul able to say that they had expected such an outcome. Both duelists pictures on the big screen above dimmed, showing that it was a simultaneous defeat. Shiro winked at Mizuki, looking happy. "Guess nobody loses there deck, and nobody wins the bet since it was tie. Maybe next time, right Tobias?"
The American teen frowned, and then slowly his frown changed to a smile, albeit a minor one. "Yes, next time. Next time there will be a real winner, I guarantee it."
Turning without another word he walked off the platform, stalking away and out of the arena. Shiro walked right up to the front row, grinning up at Mizuki. "I did good, right?"
To his surprise Mizuki flashed him a wink and turned to walk off. "I don't know, you didn't exactly win did you? But…you had fun didn't you?"
He paused, looking at her back. Finally he smiled, feeling the rush from the duel fading away. "Yeah, yeah I did."
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Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed that, because it was fun to write.
Next Time: Shiro and Tobias' duel is done, and without incident the day of the duel review comes to a close. However, one event is left before the day can be over. The challenge presented before those with the potential to rise to the next level in Osiris Red and Ra Yellow. And Mizuki is going to have a real challenge if she wants into Obelisk Blue. Especially considering who her opponent is…
See it all in, VS The Dark Prince; Demon Leeching!
Review Response
WolfGeneral: Good to know Shiro and Harrison have a fan.
Time Mage: You misunderstood, Tobias didn't alter Shiro's deck. Instead he formed a counter strategy to beat said deck. Heh, I'm glad I have props from you about Black Dragon King, especially since I had originally slated it to be named 'Red Eyes Ultimate Black Dragon' and then I realized it was a dumb name.
John: You didn't say anything? Guess I misread.
Vyser Adept of Dragons: Opposite of a Rune Deck? Runes are an ancient form of writing that were also used in divination. How do you create a deck that's the opposite of a deck based on a language?
Gearfried the Iron Angel: Welcome to the reviewing circle Aaron, and don't worry, I'm balancing fics quite well I think. As for Shiro, guess you just found out.
G.O.T. Nick: Oh yeah, Harrison is an arrogant ass. Hehe, good to know I fooled you there.
