AJ: Welp, here's Ch. 14.

Bil: Hey there, Moron.

AJ: Must you always insult me?

Bil: I can't help it, I'm good at it.

AJ: …

Bil: Get to the story, Loser.

AJ: sighs and shakes head

XXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 14: Fusion vs. Ritual: Gitenmaru's Heavy Burden

"Near midnight…" Amon yawned as he glanced at the clock on his computer. He sat in his room with the only light coming from the flickering computer screen, watching as the blueprints on the screen ran to and fro. He took his cup and lifted it to his lips, sipping a bit of the liquid into his mouth. His eyes narrowed, as he grew an intriguing

smirk across his face. "Well, now…" he muttered, "isn't this interesting?"

He began to access a file, and scrolled down. "An offer, eh?" he mused. He noticed there was a link at the bottom of the file, which he clicked on.

A hooded figure appeared on the screen. "Good evening, Amon Garam," the person stated. "You are the figurehead to the Garam Corps, no?"

Amon's eyes widened slightly. "May I ask how you know about that?" Kouyou's underling inquired. Amon wasn't sure what to make of this, but he wasn't prepared to cut the man off right away. There was a certain aura about the man that forced him to pay attention to him. He did not, however, like to be considered the figurehead of his company.

"It's fairly obvious when one takes the time and effort to do research. Not too many men lead a company, yet have as much free time to do interviews as you do," the person mocked.

"Don't patronize me," Amon growled, feeling the heat in his face rise.

"Sorry, but I'm just here for a proposition," the man stated.

"Proposition?" the young man reiterated.

"Indeed," the mysterious man continued. "I have heard that your position has made you slightly angry, as of late, being only a figurehead for the Garam Corps."

"That is none of your concern," Amon grumbled. "Don't waste my time, anymore." He began to scroll up to close the box and end the conversation.

"Hold it," the man ordered. "What if I told you I had a way to get you what you've always wanted, superiority over Kouyou and ultimate power in this world?"

Amon's hand froze. He lowered his gaze towards the picture. "You have to be lying. Kouyou-san's strength and charisma is far above that which anyone could fight."

"I'm prepared to take that challenge," the man stated.

Amon felt sweat bead on his forehead. The hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle up. The boy's heart rate began to speed up. "What makes you believe I'll listen to you?" Amon grew a nervous grin. "What makes you think I won't tell Kouyou-san about this?"

"You could," the man answered enigmatically.

Amon wondered what he meant. Wasn't he worried of being discovered? Or was the man so powerful and confident that he could pull something off that he didn't care? Amon gazed at the being. Amon opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. "I'll assume you won't join us. I must dismiss myself. Excuse me. I will contact you again." The screen switched off.

Amon gasped in surprised, searching for a connection that the man was just on. It was gone, as if eliminated without a trace. 'Was it a timed message…?' Amon wondered. "But how could he have known when I would be on the computer.'

He wondered for a moment. Why could the man have possibly wanted with Amon. 'He must be trying to get to Kouyou-san,' Amon muttered. 'I should warn him next time I see him.' The young man switched off the computer and walked over to his bed, laying himself down to go to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Judai laid on his bed comforter, staring at the ceiling. Though it was early, several stray beams of light peered into the room through the openings in the drapes, plastering themselves on the floor. The boy had been awake for a while now, thinking about the past nights' dreams.

'Why?' he wondered. 'Every night, now, I have these nightmares. It's like my only escape is the duel arena. But…there's no way Kouyou could know me now. I've changed so much. How could he?' He turned to his side, staring at the drapes on his window. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance. 'So…why do I feel so uneasy?'

A knock came at his door. "It's open," Judai called, keeping his eyes on the drapes. He heard the door swing open, knowing it had to be one of three people, and ambience he received told him it was Mizuchi.

"Hello, Judai-kun," she began.

He just gestured to note that he recognized her. Mizuchi immediately knew something was wrong with the boy. He was normally energetic and happy. Although the Society of Light and the Light of Ruin had harsh effects on him, he had recently been getting passed all that. 'Or maybe…he just has been trying to bury it…like his past. He seems to be running out of dirt to pile onto it, though.

She sighed and sat down on a chair nearby staring at the boy. "Is there something troubling you?" she asked.

"Just tired," Judai answered emotionlessly, "haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Any reason why?" Mizuchi pressed.

"Not used to comfy beds," Judai lied jokingly. He rolled to his other side and leapt off the bed.

"Judai…" Mizuchi began.

"I'm gonna get something to eat," Judai announced, cutting her off. "See ya," he waved, leaving the room.

Mizuchi sighed and lowered her head. 'My brother's right. Something's eating away at Judai. But if he doesn't come out and say anything…he may end up hurting others around him.'

She stood up and walked to the window. 'I'm sure it's something he dreamed of. That time, when he screamed out in anger and terror after he awoke after defeating the Light of Ruin…could they still be haunting him?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Judai munched on some fried shrimp in the hotel's cafeteria. He soon felt many eyes upon him and began to turn peer out of his peripheral vision. Everyone was muttering at their table and glancing his way. Judai suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as the eyes didn't look all that welcoming many times.

He finally caught the whisper of some folks at the table next to him. "I thought that he cared about that Tenjoin girl, and now he's going with that Pro, Sennyuu. Was his interview really a lie?"

The surprising comment caused the shrimp Judai had just placed into his mouth to go down before Judai was ready to eat it. Judai coughed for a moment, before choking out a "What!?"

He glared at the table next to him, before hearing a pair of chairs sliding out at the table he was at. Judai turned to face Edo and Saiou, who had joined him. "Judai-kun," Saiou greeted.

"What's up?" Judai asked. "Why is everyone staring and muttering that I'm going out with that Sennyuu girl?"

Edo smirked, covering his mouth to hide his glee, before revealing a magazine that had a picture of himself with Sennyuu kissing him on his cheek. The headline read: 'Pro Relationship Hoax'.

"WHAT THE…!?!?!" Judai shouted loudly. He snatched the magazine from Edo and stared at the picture. "WHAT IS THIS!?!?"

"Apparently, Judai-kun, that Sennyuu chick had some photographers following her, and they snapped a picture of her kissing you," Saiou explained, narrowing his eyes at Edo, who could barely contain his laughter. "But that's not all, apparently, she conducted an interview with the tabloids, and stated that you agreed to go with her on a date."

Judai let the paper fall from his hands as he stared at Saiou and Edo. "I never agreed to that!" he howled.

"I didn't say that you did, but it doesn't matter," Saiou stated.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter!?" Judai roared.

"Because she already mentioned it," Saiou firmly replied, obviously getting annoyed with the topic. "If you go out and decline going on a date with her, it will make you look like the villain, as she has already made it clear that you have practically professed your love for her," the man flipped the pages of the magazine to the article and gestured to the article he was referring to.

Judai felt his face go pale. "It's a lie…" he muttered. He lowered his head into his hands. 'Great, another problem I have to deal with…How'm I gonna explain this…?'

"Right now, you need to focus on your title run," Saiou explained. "We can worry about that later." Judai, who was in no mood to discuss much of anything at that particular moment, merely nodded.

"We have information on your next duel," Saiou continued. "Apparently, you'll be facing Gitenmaru."

"Gitenmaru?" Judai inquired.

"He's a Ritual duelist who's been in the Pros a little while now," Edo stated. "He has a good run going, but hasn't really beaten anyone of a major name, yet. That's why they have scheduled him to face you. It's a test for both of you, as you have proven you can match up with several famous Pros, but have never publicly faced anyone who's been on the roll he's had. He, meanwhile, can make himself more famous by beating someone who has consistently competed with duelists like Kaiser, Manjoume, and myself."

"He doesn't sound all that tough…" Judai remarked.

"That's his strength," Edo retorted. "People go into a duel with him expecting to come out with an easy victory, so they play to get in and out. You can't underestimate this man."

"Got--CHAAAAAA!!!?!?!" Judai coughed in shock as someone, or something, latched onto his neck, draggin him backwards and almost out of his chair.

"Hello, Donna!" a female voice squealed. Judai turned his pupils upward to see the green hair of Sennyuu.

"YOU!?" Judai hacked. Sennyuu released her hold of him, causing his chair to fall down, with him landing on the back of his head, knocking him senseless.

"C'mon, Judai-donna, you don't need to be so rude!" Sennyuu sweetly remarked. "After all, we are the hottest couple in the Pros!"

"WERE NOT A COUPLE!!!" Judai hollered, as he swiftly rose to his feet, glaring at the girl.

"You and I know that, but you think everyone else will believe that?" she wondered aloud. "All I'll have to do is act all sad and lonely, and they will never believe you over me."

"What's with you anyways?" Edo asked, sticking up for Judai. "Why do you want this over Judai's head anyways?"

"I just wanna take Judai-donna on a date!" she told him. "That's all!"

"So basically, you want to ride Judai's coattails?" Edo asked. "You can't get famous by yourself, so you wanted to jump on someone else's bandwagon?"

"Not only that," she mentioned, gazing at Judai. "He has a certain…charisma about him. Many people are interested in you Judai." She sat down next to him and leaned towards him.

Judai felt his face redden. "Back OFF!!!" he shouted. Sennyuu sadly looked at him. "Look, I'm sorry. You're a nice girl, but I'm just not interested, especially after that stunt you pulled."

Sennyuu tilted her head. "But you'll still have to go on that date with me, or else you won't have a decent rep anywhere you go!"

Judai stared at her for a moment before slumping back into his chair, whimpering. "This is not gonna be a good day…" he muttered. Sennyuu lightly patted him on the top of his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"WHAT!?" came a loud eruption of voices from the common room of the Osiris Dorm.

"Look!" Junko and Momoe stated, revealing the picture. "That Sennyuu and Judai are a couple!"

"I don't believe it!" Sho remarked.

"Yeah, Aniki wouldn't do that!" Kenzan shouted. "He didn't even know what a significant other was until a week and a half ago!"

"Plus, that's a tabloid!" Sho added. "Couldn't they have just superimposed Aniki's picture onto it!?"

"I'd say that if that were the case, they definitely found the correct picture to put in there," Fubuki stated, nodding intelligently.

"But how could he…after all that Asuka did for him…!?" Manjoume grumbled. "After I even gave him my respect…!"

"I think we should wait until we hear Judai's side of the story," Misawa told them.

"That's right," Areka said, "That Sennyuu girl looks awfully familiar to me, somehow…I can't put my finger on it though. However, I'm pretty sure she's not one to be trusted. I mean, Judai didn't comment in the article, did he?" The two girls reread the article before raising their heads and shaking them. "So we can't be certain of what happened."

"Even so," Fubuki stated, "Judai's got a lot of explaining to do after his duel tonight."

Asuka just stared dumbfounded at the picture. 'I knew if I waited too long…' she lowered her head in despair. 'I should've told him…'

XXXXXXXXXX

Judai stared out into the arena and sighed. 'I have too much weighing on my mind…at least I'll be able to forget it all in a few moments…' the hero duelist mused.

Once again he felt someone latch onto his neck, choking him. "SENNYUUUUU!!?!?!" he howled. "LET GOOOO!!!"

Sennyuu pouted. "Oh, come on, Judai-donna…" she groaned. "Can't I give a good luck hug and kiss to my boyfriend…?"

"I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!!!" he roared.

"Technically, you're going on a date with me…meaning you're my boyfriend!" Sennyuu smirked. Judai moaned in annoyance and anger.

"Sorry if we are interrupting you," Edo arrogantly cut in, grinning from ear to ear. Saiou and Mizuchi were close behind him.

Judai scowled, mouthing, 'You're enjoying this, aren't you?' Edo simply nodded in amusement.

Saiou coughed to gain the attention of everyone. "Judai, be careful. This duelist is one who doesn't have much to lose. You mustn't be overly aggressive, but that doesn't mean take your time. While Rituals are difficult to summon, if you give him time to develop, he can overrun you."

Judai nodded. "I'll be careful."

"Your best bet will probably be your Fusions," Mizuchi informed the boy. "That will bring out your stronger monsters quickly and be able to overtake him. Hopefully your Fusions will come faster than your opponent's Ritual Summonings."

"Thanks for the help, guys," Judai mentioned.

"We've also got a message from Tenjoin Fubuki. He wants you to call him after your duel…I'm assuming we don't need to state the purpose…" Saiou noted, glancing at the girl standing next to Judai. She, in turn, stuck her tongue out at him.

"And here he is, Duel Academia's own Elemental Hero user, Yuki Judai!" the announcer shouted into the microphone.

"Well, looks like I'm up," Judai stated. "See ya in a bit!" the boy ran up to the platform.

Sennyuu watched the boy after he left. 'Gitenmaru-san…please win…please save Judai from suffering anymore…he doesn't deserve it…"

Edo kept his gaze fixed on her from the corner of his vision, wondering why she looked so nervous.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"But, why are you helping this Kouyou-san, Donna?" she asked. "Why try to interfere with this kind of thing? Don't you realize that he plans on testing to make sure that Judai-kun is this person he's been searching!?

"You just follow orders," Hiro growled. "Don't ask such stupid questions!"

"But Kouyou-san just wants to cause that poor boy more pain and suffering! All Kouyou wants to do is re-open old wounds just because he thinks that revenge will help his sister! What happened to my Donna? The one who had a kind-hearted soul that resc---AHHHH!!!" The girl fell to her backside, a red mark burning off her cheek. She glared at the man, tears in her eyes.

"We are being paid by Kouyou-san to battle against Yuki Judai," Hiro firmly said. "Must I remind you of why you belong to me, forever to follow my orders!?"

She gasped, lowering her head, tears flowing from her face. "No…"

"Then go out and perform your directed task!" he demanded. Sennyuu sorrowfully left.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sennyuu!? Are you alright!?" Gitenmaru questioned. He instantly noticed the mark on her cheek and knew that she had once again tried to stand up to Hiro.

"Gitenmaru!" Sennyuu grabbed the man by his shirt. "You must defeat Judai!"

"I know, for our leader, right?" Gitenmaru rolled his eyes.

"No! For Judai's sake!" Sennyuu fearfully told him.

"What…?" he inquired.

"I don't know if they're watching, but you need to know, Kouyou-san plans to hurt Judai emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually if he finds out that Judai-kun truly is this 'Richter Davis'!" she hastily explained. "Please, he doesn't deserve this! If you can defeat him, maybe Kouyou-san will think he isn't the one!"

Gitenmaru stared at her silently. After a long few moments, he quietly asked, "Are you absolutely certain of this?" She nodded. He placed his hands on her and muttered. "I'll do what I can. Count on it!"

"Gitenmaru..." Sennyuu whispered. "Thank you...you're always quiet, yet are like a big brother to me..."

"Heh...I do what I can..." Gitenmaru clumsily muttered.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Judai ran to the steps next to the arena and skipped up them, waving to the crowd as he did so. There were many cheers, but there were also some loud boos, a lot more noticeable than before. Judai turned to see a blue-eyed, short spiky black-haired duelist standing in the center. He wore black pants and a green sleeveless t-shirt.

"Gitenmaru, I presume?" Judai asked.

The twenty-five-or-so-year-old nodded. He gazed back and forth among the crowd. Judai followed his eyes questioningly. "A little more difficult to think when not everyone's cheering for you, isn't it?" he asked.

Judai cracked a smile. "Good thing I react more than I think, isn't it?" he replied coolly.

Gitenmaru laughed. "I can see why Shannaro had trouble with you," Gitenmaru muttered. "That old fool never knows when to take someone seriously."

Judai blinked inquisitively. "D'you know that Captain guy?" he wondered aloud.

"No…it's nothing," Gitenmaru simply responded.

"Duelists! Hand each other your decks and shuffle," the referee ordered. The two duelists did so, before handing them back to each other. "Have a great, clean duel!"

Judai and Gitenmaru walked back to either side of the duel field. The referee raised his hand. "Are you two ready?" He hollered over the din. They both nodded, sliding their duel disks on and activating them. "Let's go!"

The two men slid their decks into their disks and drew five cards to start. The Life Point counters rose to 4000.

"DUEL!" they both shouted.

"I'll start, draw!" Judai shouted, drawing a card. "I'll summon Burstinatrix in defense mode!" He declared, placing the card on his disk. The female flew up into the air and bent down on one knee in front of her controller. She crossed her arms, kneeling atop her card. "That's all for my first turn.

"My turn, Draw!" Gitenmaru called. He glanced at his hand. 'Nice opening…' he murmured to himself.

"I'll start by activating the Field Magic Card, Ancient Tomes of the God!" The ground began shaking as Judai stared at the ground.

"What's going on…!?" the Osiris duelist hollered. Suddenly, several pillars sprouted from behind the duelist opposite Judai. "Wha…What is that!?"

"This card allows me to sacrifice Normal monsters on my field in order to Special Summon Ritual Monsters without their Ritual Spells, but the sacrifices have to have a number of stars equal to or greater than the summoned Ritual Monster," Gitenmaru mysteriously stated.

"Now, I'll activate the Spell, Advanced Ritual Art! By sending Normal monsters from my deck to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Ritual monster from my hand with a level equal to the total stars of the sacrificed monsters! So I'll send Gene-Warped Werewolf and Gemini Elf to my deck!" As he slid the two monsters into his Graveyard, two lines of ancient text appeared on one of the pillars behind Gitenmaru.

"What…?" Judai's eyes widened.

"When Normal monsters are sent to the graveyard, this Field Spell gains a 'God Counter'," Gitenmaru explained.

"God Counters…?" Judai cocked his eyebrow. "What do those do?"

"Nothing that should concern you, right now," Gitenmaru flatly noted. "For now, you should concern yourself with this! I Special Summon Crab Turtle, in attack mode!" The giant one-eyed crab towered over the field.

"Attack his Burstinatrix!" Gitenmaru ordered. The Crab lifted its massive claw and slammed down upon the hero, obliterating her. Another line of text began to glow on the stones.

Judai braced himself with his hands from the shock of the slam. "Sorry 'bout that, Burstinatrix…" he muttered apologetically.

"Next, I'll set two facedowns," he said, "and end my turn." A card appeared on Gitenmaru's field, the back facing everyone.

"My turn, Draw!" Judai peered at his card. "I'll activate Polymerization! I'll fuse Sparkman and Bladedge to form Elemental Hero Plasma Viceman!" The golden-armored hero stepped out from the vortex that consumed the two previous heroes, combining them into one more powerful one. Another line of text began to glimmer on the pillars.

"I'll activate Plasma Viceman's effect! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one face-up attack position monster on your field!" He slid Neos Force into his Graveyard.

The hero sped forward at the enemy. "Plasma Bolt!" Judai commanded. The Hero reared its fist back, charging it with electricity.

"Trap Open!" Gitenmaru shouted. "Divine Wrath! By discarding a card from my hand, I can negate the effect of a monster and destroy it." He slid Hunter Dragon into his Graveyard, causing a fifth line of text to appear.

"Ill activate from my hand, De-Fusion!" Judai stated, revealing his spell before sliding it into place. "I'll De-Fuse Plasma Viceman into Bladedge and Sparkman! And I can still attack with Bladedge! Attack Crab Turtle!" The minotaur-like hero released its blades from its forearms and sped forward.

"I'll activate my facedown Spell, Dissolving Tome!" Gitenmaru stated, pressing a button on his duel disk, revealing the Spell. "I can send one Ritual Monster to my Graveyard and Special Summon any monsters used to summon it!" Crab Turtle melted away into sparkles, which split apart into Gene-Warped Werewolf and Gemini Elf in attack mode. "Afterwards, I am allowed to draw cards equal to the number of monsters I Special Summoned with this effect." He drew two cards.

"Fine, but no more stalling!" Judai shouted. "Bladedge, attack Gemini Elf!" He commanded. The hero divided the twin monsters in two, eliminating it and taking 700 of Gitenmaru's Life Points with him. Another line of text appeared on the giant pillars behind Gitenmaru.

Judai's eyes narrowed at the now six glowing lines of the text. 'What the hell does it do!? I'm getting a bad vibe from it…' At that moment, Winged Kuriboh appeared next to Judai, chirping at him. "You getting that too, Aibou?"

Gitenmaru glared at the boy across the field. 'Judai, I know you'd like to win this and advance to duel your former friend, Hell Kaiser, but I must finish you here.' His memories went back to a few days earlier when Sennyuu begged for him to defeat Judai. 'I can't lose, Judai! For Sennyuu's sake, as well as yours!'

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AJ: Meh, too tired to talk to you Bil, take it away fellas!

Bil: Wait, what? What fell---AAAHSS!?!?

Sho: Aniki! Watch out! He's a dangerous foe!

Judai: Gitenmaru, your conviction is stronger than anyone's I've faced! What possesses you!?

Sho: Be careful, Aniki, he's bringing out his ultimate monster!

Next time! Ch. 15: Overwhelmed! The Almighty Lord of the Skies - Zeus

Judai: Come on, Gitenmaru! I will not give up!