Chapter 14: On the Wrong Track
"Revenge?" Yuma said, trying to swallow the fear in his throat. "For what?"
"For what you did," said the person, who was obviously female given their voice. "All those long hours of waiting…"
The mystery girl took another step and it was in this lightning that it was clear who she was. Her red and orange hair stuck out on both side ends like a sword blade and her expression was undeniably angry.
"Wait a minute," Kotori paused, squinting her eyes to see better. "Anna?"
Anna's eyes opened a bit more as she looked at Kotori.
"Anna?" Yuma asked, raising his eyebrows. "Who's that?"
Anna growled furiously and grabbed her cannon. She positioned it at Yuma and said, "What do you mean Anna who?"
Yuma had to be quick on his feet, a skill that he clearly had never fully honed. "D-did I say Anna who? I meant, Anna!"
Anna lowered his weapon, but didn't remove it from her grasp. "Since you remember me, you must remember what you did, don't you?"
The fear in Yuma's throat blocked his speech and prevented words from exiting his mouth.
Anna cracked the knuckles of her right hand and began to speak. "Do you know the how long I waited for you each day? Do you know how much time I spent lingering around the school in hopes that you would notice me?"
Kotori put a hand up to her mouth, somehow understanding what Anna was saying.
"To think that I glued your seat before you sat down, replaced your boy swimming trunks with girl ones, and took your lunch just so you could notice me. But that didn't happen. I guess my actions went unheard or unseen by you."
Suddenly, Anna's right hand extended and collided with a nearby garbage can. The force of the impact was so great that it left a dent in the metal.
Yuma gulped audibly as Anna took another step closer. "W-wait!" he began. "Hold on!"
Kotori stepped in. "Why is it that you want your revenge?"
Anna stopped moving and looked away from Yuma to the garbage can that she had just assaulted. "W-well, the thing is that I…"
Kotori took note of Anna's peculiar behavior in response to the question as well as the way that Anna had told her story. She had a pretty good inkling of why this girl was after Yuma.
"You're gonna have to speak up!" Yuma shouted from afar. "I didn't hear the reason."
"I said," Anna yelled raising her voice before going back to the same whispering noise, "I l-like you…"
Anna…Kotori thought to herself.
"What?" Yuma asked again.
"When I moved out of town a couple years ago," she continued with her story, "I will never forget that day. The day before I moved, I waited patiently for you to come after school. The wind blew in my hair and moved the tears in my eyes.
"But you didn't care. You didn't even show up!"
This time it was Anna's left hand that impaled the helpless trash can. The weapon, which she hadn't put down once, was again brought to Yuma's face.
"H-hold on! There are other ways to settle your problems!" he pleaded.
"I'm listening," Anna said while gazing through the scope of her firearm.
"H-how about a duel?" Yuma wagered.
"A duel, huh?" Anna smirked. At last, she placed the weapon on the ground and then entered a numerical sequence into it. The cannon abruptly began to transform into a beautiful, magenta D-Pad with spikes covering it. "After watching you duel, I decided to learn how to play myself. So that I could finally show you how I feel about you."
Anna placed the magenta device on her wrist and clicked a trigger, causing the D-Pad to start.
"If I should win, Yuma Tsukumo, you will be mine!"
"H-hold on!" Kotori stated.
Yuma was in the process of putting his D-Pad on his wrist when he looked over to Kotori. "Is something wrong?"
"I think that if anyone should duel against Anna, it should be me," she publicized.
"You?" Anna snarled. "My revenge has nothing to do with you."
But then again, Anna thought, I do remember her always being close to him in class. Maybe if I can win against her, Yuma will be mine and she'll back off.
"Very well," Anna smiled, "I will accept your challenge! It's Kotori, right?"
The green-haired girl nodded.
"Well, you know the stakes," Anna continued. "Should you lose, Yuma is my property!"
Kotori furrowed her brows in upset. "Don't worry. I don't plan on you winning this!"
"Such a fiery spirit for a girl," Anna chuckled. "Well, we'll just see if we can't dampen that."
Kotori placed her frilly, pink D-Pad on her arm and took her deck out of its box. She looked at her cards and held them to her chest.
Please allow me to save Yuma she thought to herself.
When she placed the cards inside the D-Pad and the disk auto-shuffled the deck for her she looked at Anna, who looked back.
"Duel!"
Kotori Mizuki – 8000 LP
Anna Kozuki – 8000 LP
"I get the first move!" Anna asserted. "Draw!"
She picked up a card and looked at her hand of six. When she had come up with a game plan, she decided to enact it.
"I set this monster and end my turn."
A facedown card appeared in front of Anna facing sideways horizontally.
"Then it looks like I'm up," Kotori said, drawing a card of her own. "And I'm going to start with Flower Girl – Aster!"
A portal formed in front of Kotori with a half moon symbol on the left side of it. On the unlit right side came the young teenager in the magenta ensemble with the scintillating celestial star designs. Her flowers of the same shape were hung limply in a straw picnic basket. (1600 ATK)
"And before I attack you, I should warn you that Flower Girl – Aster has a piercing effect! Show her Aster with Celestial Collection Cluster!"
The little girl reached in her holder and took the resplendent plants out before tossing them in the air. In mid flight, the flowers transformed into an array of falling stars that plummeted onto the facedown monster unwaveringly. The whistle of a steam engine filled the air as the facedown monster was revealed to be a lavender locomotive with red eyes and white fangs. Steam covered the engine-like monster as it emitted the mist again. When the thick vapor let up though, the monster was gone from sight. (1000 DEF)
"Due to Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive's effect," Anna divulged, "I'm able to draw one card once it's flipped up."
She made one draw as one of Flower Girl – Aster's shooting stars hit the ground around her, causing smoke and debris to temporarily blind her vision. When the dust settled, Anna's stern faced glared at Kotori.
"Wow," Yuma whispered to Astral. "She must be steamed."
"I don't get it," Astral responded back.
"Forget it!" Yuma cried, opting to watch the rest of the duel instead of wasting away his time trying to teach an invisible duel spirit about puns.
Kotori – 8000 LP
Anna – 7400 LP
"It's my move! Draw!"
Anna placed a new card in her hand and smiled wickedly.
"I set five cards facedown and end my turn!"
A whopping five reversed cards cluttered Anna's back row, preventing her from setting any other Spells or Traps, even if she wanted to.
Kotori analyzed Anna's expressions, watched her movements, trying to gauge what the livid tomboy was planning.
"It's your turn!" Anna reminded her with a harsh raise of her voice.
Then the pink-haired girl looked in Yuma's direction and gave a coy smile, her cheeks filling with light pink color.
Kotori's analytical facial expression turned into one of upset and she brought her head back in the game.
"Draw!" she announced.
After she made a draw, her Field Spell slot opened.
"I activate the Field Spell card, Sacred Ceremony!"
Church bells rang in the atmosphere as the alleyway pavement turned into an aisleway. The buildings to the left and right of the duelists transformed into pews, all of which were being occupied by various duel monsters. An altar sat in the middle of the dueling field, covered in a white, satin veil.
"And not only does this hallowed ground represent something old and something new…"
She pointed to her Flower Girl – Aster and the recent change in scenery around them respectively.
"It also lets Aster, as well as my other Flower Girl monsters, borrow 500 more ATK!"
Flower Girl – Aster reached into her basket and grabbed a handful of makeup. She smeared her lips with claret lipstick, primped her eyelashes with a special brush, and applied a light amount of blush to her cheeks. (1600 – 2100 ATK)
"Well, I hate to make you blue," Anna smirked, "but I'm activating Twister Spell Card!"
Blustering squalls of wind stirred up, blowing the satin sheet off of the altar.
"At the price of a measly 500 life points, I'm able to select and destroy one face-up Spell or Trap card on the field! And I choose your Sacred Ceremony!"
From the face-up Twister card, spiraling whirlwinds of gust spun around. The violent storms were potent enough to uproot the pews, remove the altar from the ground, and take down the marriage bells that hung from the top of the chapel.
Flower Girl – Aster's excessive amount of cosmetics vanished from her face and her naturally youthful, 14-year old appearance was restored. (2100 – 1600 ATK)
At least I can block off some of her other tactics if I use this, Kotori thought as she lifted a card in her hand.
"I summon Flower Girl – Lilac!"
A small squall whirled around the field bringing with it purple petals. In the midst of the storm, a young girl appeared, carrying with her one sole, thorny purple flower. She put the petals up to her nose and inhaled a big whiff of the sweet scent. (1600 ATK)
"And the sweet thing about Lilac is that when she inflicts Battle Damage, by sending a Flower Girl from my hand to the Graveyard, I can prevent you from setting a monster next turn! Show her, Lilac! Lovely Lilac Lashing!"
The youngster gave a tight tug at the neck and the base of the flower. Instantly the vine grew fivefold and it became a minacious, violet knout. With a crack of its new whip, Flower Girl – Lilac threw its arm in Anna's direction, aiming to strike the tomboy.
"Sorry to stop your flower power," Anna intercepted, "but I'm going to activate the effect of my Snow Plow Engine Hustle Russel now!"
With a Yuma-style backflip, Anna turned the second to last card in her hand around and showed it to Kotori before throwing it onto her D-Pad. An avalanche of snow dropped down from the otherwise clear sky in front of Anna. Following it was the vociferous sound of a siren followed by the honking of a horn. When Kotori looked on past the snow, she found a pink plow truck with flashing golden lights. It scooped up the lump of snow and raised its bronze snow plow shovel, directing the snow in Kotori's direction. (2500 ATK)
"Of course," Anna confessed, "I can only use this if I get rid of the rest of my facedowns."
All four of Anna's remaining cards in her back row lifted revealing Blind Spot Strike, Attack Regulation, and two copies of Dark Coffin. Both of the Spells were destroyed, but Anna pointed to the duplicate Traps that were still floating face-up.
"Since I just destroyed Dark Coffin when it was a facedown card, you're now faced with a fork in the road. You can either destroy one of your monsters or discard one card from your hand…" She paused for a minute before proceeding with a large grin. "Of course, since there are two Dark Coffin cards, you'll have to make that same choice twice!"
Kotori grunted and looked at the four cards in her hand. Then she looked at her field and sighed.
"I'll discard two cards," she said, slipping two cards into her discard slot.
"Oh, and one more thing," Anna remembered. "You take damage equal to the number of facedown cards I just destroyed multiplied by 200!"
The big snowball that the truck still harbored was flung at Kotori, chilling her to the bone.
"Aren't you glad I didn't take that scarf now?" Yuma asked happily.
Kotori shot him a dirty glance and he instantly stopped talking.
"Almost done?" Anna questioned, tapping her foot on the concrete.
Kotori looked at the final two cards she was holding and shook her head. "I'm done."
Kotori – 7200 LP
Anna – 6900 LP
"You got that right," Anna declared. She made a draw and motioned to her monster. "Snow Plow is going to attack your Flower Girl – Lilac! Flurry Frenzy!"
A snowstorm materialized around the oversized truck, creating a ring of snowflakes piled high. The vehicle drove around in a circle, collecting as much of the pallid pieces of snow it could get, and stopped in front of Flower Girl – Lilac. Before the little girl could react, she was covered past her head in the freezing snow. Lilac was gone when the snow evaporated. Kotori covered her face as more cold air hit her body.
"That's all for me."
"But not for me," Kotori added. "Due to Flower Girl – Lilac's effect, I can add one Flower Girl monster from my deck to my hand that has less than 1600 ATK!"
A copy of a Flower Girl slipped out from the middle of Kotori's deck and she positioned it near her other two cards.
Kotori – 6300 LP
Anna – 6900 LP
"Looks like I'm up!" Kotori said. "Draw!"
After making a draw, she looked at her hand and then at the card she had added to it the previous turn via Lilac's effect.
This just might work.
"I summon Flower Girl – Geranium!"
The magenta beauty with the crimson red geraniums in her multicolored basket skipped gaily onto the field. (1500 ATK)
"And since both of my Flower Girl monsters are Level 4, I'm going to construct the overlay network to Xyz Summon my Rose Bride!"
Two swirling vortexes appeared underneath both of the human monsters, dragging them into their immense gravitational pull. When both had vanished, Kotori's ace Xyz monster emerged, flipping her red, highlighted hair back. She fixed the bottom of her pink garb attached to her bodacious body, and then tilted her head to the blaring bane on Anna's field. (2500 ATK)
"Hmm?" Anna wondered, comparing the stats of both monsters. "They're equal in power level."
"That's true," Kotori nodded. "But I have more cards in my hand than you do, so the odds of you drawing something useful are significantly decreased! Go Rose Bride! Attack with Hymeneal Hysteria!"
Rose Bride scanned around the arena looking for her Groom. However, after several minutes of patiently waiting, she threw a hissy fit when she realized that he wasn't coming to her rescue. She grabbed the cerise-pink ring that her fiancée had given to her and threw it violently at Snow Plow Engine Hustle Russel. The force at which the metal ring was thrown caused the plow to explode upon impact with the wedding symbol, but not before the rest of its deposit of snow enveloped Rose Bride.
"And I'll end with this," Kotori said, slipping a card into her D-Pad.
A facedown card appeared in her Spell/Trap zone.
"My turn!" Anna announced. "I draw!"
She picked up the top card of her deck and turned her head at an angle to examine it.
"Perfect!" she giggled, a trait that shocked both Kotori and Yuma. She blushed after the sound escaped her mouth, embarrassed by the girly squeal. "Anyway…because I control no cards, I'm going to Special Summon Roaring Express Train Rocket Arrow!
The screeching of brakes echoed in the arena as a speedy blue train came to a halt in front of Kotori. Atop the expeditious locomotive sat a sleek, silver jet with long, extending wings. The nose of the aircraft radiated a cherry red hue as did the missiles jutting out on both sides. The low purr of the rocket's fuel engines died down as the steam engine came to a stop. (5000 ATK)
Kotori unconsciously gulped and her knees began to wobble.
"Relax, scaredy cat," Anna chuckled. "My Rocket Arrow isn't allowed to attack you during the turn in which it's first summoned."
Kotori's breath, which she had been holding since the new monster appeared, was released, and the water vapor in the nippy air made another visible cloud of white in front of her face.
"Oh no," Anna said, her head swaying back and forth rapidly. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that you're safe just because of that drawback; especially since I'm activating Monster Reborn!"
The glistening ankh emerged in front of Anna. When she had grabbed the card she desired from her discard slot, the ankh disappeared and the blinking light of the snow plow flashed off and on periodically once again. (2500 ATK)
Kotori's D-Gazer beamed a message to her, which caused her to shake even more when she read the worse "Two Level 10 monsters detected."
"Heh," Anna chuckled. "I suppose that device tipped you off about my plan. But it can't stop it!" She raised her hand further into the air, seemingly attempting to reach the heavens above. "Level 10 Rocket Arrow, Hustle Russel, I overlay you! With these monsters, I construct the overlay network! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Super Dreadnought Cannon Express…" Anna took a moment to regain her breath before finishing exhaustedly with "Gustaph Max!"
Both monsters were absorbed into one collective scarlet portal and a force field of celestial stars bounced back. After the stellar light show desisted, three separate railroad tracks formed, each bringing the nasty sound of rusty wheels coming to a screeching stop. Bright ginger sparks flew erratically as the culprit of the flickers came into view. At first it looked like nothing more than an ordinary train, but clearly a second glance proved that wrong. A large, cubic-type shape weighed down the locomotive. It greatly resembled a puke green Rubix cube, especially when it twisted into place and aimed the frightening, inbuilt cannon at Kotori's face. (3000 ATK)
"3-3000 ATK!" Yuma gasped from the background.
Anna smiled and looked at Yuma. "Impressed?" she asked. "Then you're going to love its special ability."
She turned to Kotori with a grimace on her face as she removed one of the cards lying under the Xyz monster.
"Because by offering this card, I can automatically deal you not one, but two-thousand points of damage!"
Kotori shrieked loudly and braced herself as one of the amber overlay units flew into the cannon's firing zone. After a couple seconds of what sounded like clockwork inside the machine turning and gears shifting, a light could be seen at the back of the cannon. Dim at first, but then it started to burn brighter and brighter until it was at the brim of the cannon. Within seconds, the blast was released, completely enveloping Kotori in its iridescent barrage.
"Kotori!" Yuma screamed over the sound of the firearm.
To his elation, Kotori remained, for the most part, unscathed and still standing. Yuma let his breath go and released a bit of the tension he was withholding.
"Now what am I forgetting?" Anna said, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Oh yeah! That I can still attack you directly!"
Her eyes turned to Kotori's facedown. She placed the last card in her hand into the D-Pad.
"But first, I'm going to activate the Xyz Burst Spell!"
"That's a new one on me," Kotori admitted. "What does it do?"
"Simple," Anna said, feigning a yawn. "Since I have a monster that's at least Rank 6, I'm able to destroy all your facedown cards!"
Thunderbolts and lightning strikes came out of the card and struck Kotori's facedown. It disintegrated without flipping up.
"Perfect!" Anna cheered.
"Yeah," Kotori said. She lifted her head, revealing a huge grin. "For me!"
Anna laughed heartily. "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but you're the one staring down the barrel of a 3000 ATK point monster."
Kotori reached into her Graveyard and pulled out the card that Xyz Burst had previously destroyed. "And forgive me if I'm wrong, but you just destroyed Renewing the Vows. In fact…it's a lot like your Dark Coffin Trap."
"How so?" Anna inquired.
"Because I can only use it once it's destroyed on the field! And when that happens, I get to bring back another Flower Girl from my Graveyard to dance the dance again!"
Rose petals blew onto Kotori's field at the same time that Flower Girl – Lilac squatted down. (600 DEF)
"Whatever," Anna shrugged. "She won't stop me from attacking you! Cannon Crusher!"
The dormant cannon reloaded another shell of ammunition and charged up. When it let loose, the pure force of the blast caused the frail child to perish upon impact.
Anna raised her empty hands. "That's it for me."
Another Flower Girl slipped out of Kotori's deck, via the effect of Lilac, and she looked at Anna. "Then it's my turn!"
Kotori – 4300 LP
Anna – 6900 LP
"Draw!"
With a quick flick of the wrist, Kotori added another card to her hand. Then she grabbed the card she'd gained in the turn prior and set it neatly on her D-Pad in Attack Position.
"I summon Flower Girl – Orchid!"
A new monster appeared in a flash of light. No more than the age of 10, she was dressed in a pretty purple dress, topped off with an adorable white bonnet. She greatly resembled a doll that a person might purchase for their baby daughter. (1500 ATK)
"What do you plan to do with that?" Anna smirked. "Throw a tea party?"
"Nope. I plan to attack you!"
"Are you insane?" Anna retorted. "My monster has double the power of your Barbie!"
"That's the great thing about Orchid here," Kotori said with pride. "Whenever I attack with her, I can remove a Trap Card in my Graveyard…"
Renewing the Vows reappeared momentarily before Kotori stuffed it in her pocket.
"And have the attack become a direct one! Go, Orchid!"
The small margin of space between the bottom of the train and the actual pavement was just enough for the small girl to crawl through. Once she was with Anna on the other side, she took a handful of flower petals and shoved them in the tomboy's mouth. Anna was coughing and hacking, trying to get the taste of soil and grass out of her mouth when Orchid returned to Kotori.
"And additionally," Kotori chimed in, "I can remove one Spell Card from my Graveyard to switch Orchid to Defense Position after she attacked!"
Kotori pocketed Sacred Ceremony as the child put her basket in front of her to offer herself a feeble defense. (500 DEF)
With a hasty glance to the three cards in her hand, Kotori set one of them and ended her turn. A facedown appeared before a sound buzzed, signaling the turn of a new duelist.
Kotori – 4300 LP
Anna – 5400 LP
"Here goes!" Anna said.
She picked up a card, but it wasn't of much use to her. Regardless, she set it facedown behind her Xyz monster. Then she cracked her knuckles and pointed to the Flower Girl, saying only "You know what to do."
Immediately the little girl was eviscerated much like her fellow flowery friends. The heat from the blast caused Kotori's sweat glands to begin pumping.
She placed her hand on her deck, about to search for another Flower Girl monster when Anna stopped her.
"I hope you didn't forget this giant cannon staring you down," she said with a tsk. "I'm detaching the second overlay unit to deal you 2000 more points of damage!"
The second floating orb was pulled into barrel. With a cacophonous blast of the weapon, Kotori was on the ground, lying face down on the cold stone.
"Now you're free to go," Anna huffed.
Kotori's wobbly hands slowly freed another Flower Girl monster from her deck along with her regular draw as she attempted to stand up.
Kotori – 2300 LP
Anna – 5400 LP
"I actually admire that," Anna said, watching Kotori's struggle. "You're still fighting to defeat me, even though the odds are against you. But face it…Yuma's going to end up with me and that's that."
Yuma shuddered at the prospect of what Anna was uttering. "K-Kotori! You've got to get up and keep fighting! Remember…Kattobingu!"
Kotori, who was half standing, half kneeling on her knee, looked back at Yuma. She remembered who she was fighting for. It wasn't just herself, but it was Yuma too, and she would do anything to protect him.
"You're right," she said, giving a small thumbs-up to Yuma. "I'm not quitting here, and I'm not backing down!"
Kotori looked at the card she drew along with the Flower Girl she added to her hand.
He's right, she thought with a smile. This duel is far from over!
"First off, I'm going to summon Flower Girl – Daisy!"
Kotori's little diva in the glimmering golden shoes toted daisies in her basket, although she was throwing them around in a very carefree manner. (1200 ATK)
"And next I'm activating Bridal Bouquet in order to Special Summon another Flower Girl of the same Level from my hand. Dance, Flower Girl – Rhododendron!"
Cheerful laughter filled the alley as the dainty feet of a youngster dashed around energetically. Hiding shyly behind Flower Girl – Daisy was a girl, probably no older than six years old, in a dazzling magenta dress. Instead of a basket lining her arm, she held one small container in her two hands that held four pretty flowers. (1100 ATK)
"So you have two Level three monsters," Anna noted. "What's the best thing that you could possibly summon with those?"
"You might regret asking that question," Kotori grinned. "I overlay both my Rhododendron and my Daisy to construct the overlay network!"
Both females jumped into one big hole before the standard, red Xyz appeared in front of Kotori. However, what came out of the portal was anything other than ordinary in a deck like Kotori's. Instead of another female monster, this time the person stepping out was a rugged, debonair man. He straightened the bright red corsage attached to his purple tuxedo and flashed a brilliantly white smile. He touched one of the spikes on his ebony hair with one hand and checked the time on his affluent Rolex. (2100 ATK)
"Meet Violet Groom!" Kotori announced passionately.
"He's cute, I'll give him that," Anna muttered under her breath. "But he doesn't have nearly enough ATK to stand up to my Gustaph Max!"
"I was just getting to that part," Kotori grinned. "You see, even though Rhododendron is one of the weakest Flower Girl monsters, she packs one of the biggest punches!"
The magnificent, magenta girl's spiritual form perched herself on Violet Groom's shoulders, as if she was receiving a piggyback ride.
"And what I mean by big punches is that if she's ever overlain with another Flower Girl monster, I can reduce the ATK of one monster on your side of the field by 500 ATK!"
Some of the pieces of the upper cube began to erode as the cannon gained a modicum of rust. (3000 – 2500 ATK)
"But on top of that," Kotori finished, "if that monster that she's overlain with is a Flower Girl and it's used in the summoning of a Bride or Groom monster, your monster loses an additional 500 ATK!"
Anna's jaw dropped as she watched her monster's begin to crumble into pieces. (2500 – 2000 ATK)
"And now I think I've answered your previous question about the best thing that two Level 3 Flower Girls can do," Kotori grinned. "But if you still don't believe me, Violet Groom will show you! Viola Vortex!"
The attractive man took the corsage off of his tuxedo and threw it into the air. Instantly the trinket exploded, creating a violent torrent of lavender vegetation. Thorns and petals, among other things, rained down on the weakened machine. Once again, the sounds of clockwork and gears filled the air, although this time it wasn't as fluid and smooth as before. When the bombardment ended, Anna's Xyz monster was last seen flying into the vortex in the sky that was created by the assault.
Kotori grabbed Flower Girls Daisy and Rhododendron from underneath Violet Groom not a moment after, and deposited it in her Graveyard.
"Not to add insult to injury…kind of, but if Violet Groom destroys a monster you control by battle, I can detach both of its overlay units to inflict damage to you equal to your monster's original ATK!"
Anna's eyes widened as she was now on the receiving end of a large amount of damage. She covered her face as the sky vortex reopened. Although she had braced herself, she was still hurt by the discarded auto parts.
"I'll end my turn now," Kotori said, breathing faster than before.
Kotori – 2300 LP
Anna – 2300 LP
"You think that you've won Yuma because you made a counterattack?" Anna hissed. "Well, you haven't and I'm going to prove it!"
With lightning quick speed, she snatched a card off the top of her deck before pointing to her facedown Trap.
"I activate my Xyz Reborn Trap!"
Somewhat of an ankh appeared, although this one had pink wings and melted gold covering it.
"And just in case you're in need of an explanation, this Trap allows me to not only revive an Xyz monster from my Graveyard, but I can also attach this card to it!"
Even though Kotori's breathing was already rapid, somehow it increased in speed. She pitifully looked on as Super Dreadnought Cannon Express Gustaph Max reemerged with a single pink orb orbiting around it. (3000 ATK)
"And I'm going to reuse its effect by detaching Xyz Reborn from it!"
The flamingo pink ball flew into the nozzle of the gigantic machine while it tilted its cannon down to Kotori's body. Yuma desperately saw Kotori's body fly backwards as another blast walloped her.
Kotori – 300 LP
Anna – 2300 LP
"Kotori!" Yuma shouted.
Anna's eyebrows moved down as her delighted smile turned to a scowl. She looked at Yuma and began shouting, "What is it with you? You're supposed to be worrying about me, not her!"
Yuma looked equally as furious, and his voice made his anger evident. "How can you say that when I don't even know who you are? Kotori has always been there for me and you expect me to abandon her?"
"Yuma…" Anna began.
"It doesn't matter who wins this duel," Yuma stated, "because you can't change how I really feel about Kotori!"
Anna grimaced. "Then I'll defeat her with brute strength!" She pointed to Kotori's fallen body and commanded her monster. "Attack her now!"
"Kotori!" Yuma urged. "Do something!"
Kotori's voice was so soft and faint that neither Yuma nor Anna almost heard her say that she was activating her facedown card.
"I use Bachelor Party," Kotori sputtered out. "Due to this, one Groom monster that I control is banished until the end of the turn. Furthermore, once Violet Groom is resummoned onto the field, I get to draw another card."
Gustaph Max's cannon blast was loaded and ready for firing, but Violet Groom was no longer in sight.
"Once it's resummoned onto the field?" Anna scoffed. "Well since the battle conditions changed, I'm able to call a replay and attack you directly instead, so that's not going to happen! Go Gustaph Max!"
Yuma's heart nearly pounded out of his chest. What was she thinking by doing that?
The explosion inside the cannon was discharged and fired at Kotori's helpless frame. The impact from the blast caused the pavement to crack and smoke to arise from the charred ashes.
"That takes care of that," Anna hmphed. "Well Yuma, it looks like…"
"It looks like I'm still in the game," Kotori spoke, motioning to her active D-Pad that still read 300 LP.
"That's not possible!" Anna declared. "You let me attack you directly when you used Bachelor Party!"
"That's right," Kotori laughed weakly. "I did let you attack me directly, just so I could remove these from play."
She reached into her Graveyard and showed Anna two copies of the same monster.
Flower Girl – Daffodil.
"By banishing both of these monsters, I made that direct attack null and void!"
"But…you never placed those in your Graveyard! And you haven't played Card Destruction or even Foolish Burial! How could you have sent those to your Graveyard?"
"I didn't use a card to do it…you did!"
"When did I…" Anna started, before it hit her like a ton of bricks.
Dark Coffin. Two of them.
"I set this facedown and end my turn," Anna said grimly as the anger flushed over her. Her head was bowed to mask her expression as another card formed behind her Xyz monster.
Violet Groom reappeared on Kotori's field, as good as new, while Kotori picked up another card. (2100 ATK)
The green-haired girl looked over her shoulder one last time and saw Yuma's encouraging face staring back at her. Her mouth formed a smile as she was reminded of her inspiration, of her crush, of her love.
"I'm going to win this here and now," Kotori resolutely proclaimed. "Kattobingu!"
Kotori closed her eyes and took a small breath as she added another card to her hand. When she was ready to accept the outcome of the duel, win or lose, she looked to see what card she had picked up.
She looked up at Anna while simultaneously playing a card in her D-Pad.
"Look familiar?" she asked as the familiar Monster Reborn ankh materialized on her side of the field.
Anna didn't respond verbally, although she clenched her fists a couple times and gritted her teeth.
A gentle zephyr whirled by as Rose Bride reemerged. (2500 ATK) The Bride shared an ardent kiss with the Groom before they both turned back to the problem at hand, also known as Super Dreadnought Cannon Express Gustaph Max.
"Next, I activate the Spell, Wedded Bliss!"
Bells rang in the background as the Bride and Groom were showered with grains of rice. They locked hands with each other as their strength, and love, increased. (2900 and 2500 respectively)
"As you can see," Kotori pointed out, "due to Wedded Bliss, my Bride and Groom monsters gain 400 more ATK."
"Big deal," Anna said. "Neither of them has enough strength to defeat my monster, nor do either have overlay units to use against me."
"Yes," Kotori said, "they don't have overlay units or the power to defeat you alone…but together, they can do anything!"
"What are you…?" Anna began, but then she saw the last card in Kotori's hand being activated.
"I play my Gift of the Martyr Spell! And thanks to this card, I can tribute my Violet Groom with 2500 ATK to give all his power to his beloved Bride!"
With a quick kiss, Violet Groom disappeared, leaving with him only the corsage that he had lost earlier. Rose Bride bent down and picked up the bauble, fixing it onto her gown. As she attached it, she felt the strength of her fiancé's love burning bright. (2900 – 5400 ATK)
"N-no way…" Anna said, backing up. A-am I actually…scared?
"I guess death will never do them part," Kotori smiled. "But it will turn your cannon into parts and pieces before it meets its death! Let's go Rose Bride! Attack with Lover's Lashing!"
With one last touch of the ruby rose that her fiancé left her, Rose Bride picked it up and threw it at the humungous engine. In midflight, Kotori and Anna saw the illusory form of Violet Groom flying toward the cannon in order to protect his bride. He extended a fist out to the Xyz monster and surprisingly broke through the front of it. Within a couple seconds, the back of it also had a gaping hole in it as Violet Groom escaped through. With a snap and a crack, the cubic bricks on the machine started to cascade down, falling like raindrops on a cold autumn day. They broke instantly as they hit the ground, and soon enough the rest of the cannon followed suit. It gave way and collapsed, broken and unable to be reused. The cannon's nozzle landed atop Anna's facedown and revealed it to Kotori. Her mouth widened as she realized that she narrowly escaped a loss because she saw Anna's facedown was another Xyz Reborn. When the Xyz monster had broken down completely, a buzzer noise resonated through the air, notifying the winner to be Kotori.
Kotori – 300 LP
Anna – 0 LP
Yuma rushed over to Kotori's side and buried her face into his shoulders as his arms wrapped around her. "You won!"
Kotori's face was burning hotter than Hades as she returned Yuma's affectionate grasp. "Well, you were there to inspire me."
The saccharine moment was torn asunder prematurely as the sound of Anna's rocket launcher clicked back into place. Yuma once again stepped in front of Kotori, unwilling to let anything else happen to her.
"Relax, Yuma," Anna demanded. She pointed to her rocket launcher, while was now in its harmless hovercraft mode.
"So that's it?" Yuma asked. "You're just going to leave?"
Anna shrugged. "Why not? I lost and she won. There's nothing more here for me anyway."
Yuma and Kotori were wordless as Anna boarded her aircraft.
"But hey," she said as she reached into her pocket and fished out a piece of paper, "take this."
With a lithe toss of the parchment, she clicked a button on her board and it started to lift. By the time the paper was in Yuma's hand, Anna was nearly out of the alleyway. Yuma unfolded the tiny thing and read the nine numbers that were neatly written on it.
"What is it?" he asked.
Anna smiled before she left. "My phone number. I'll see you around, Yuma Tsukumo."
And just like that, the bright-haired girl was off on her merry way once more, aside from when she hit the brick walls surrounding them twice by her bad steering. Kotori frowned at Yuma who kept looking from Anna to the paper.
"You're not trying to memorize that number, are you?" she accused.
"What!" he asked. "I can't even pass one of Professor Ukyo's tests! How am I going to remember a nine digit number?"
"You remember your own phone number," she stated accurately. She walked off half upset, but she knew that Yuma would still follow her. It was part of her game that she knew how to play called "How to get Yuma's attention." And she was an expert at the game.
"Come on, Kotori! Don't be like that!" Yuma whined, running after her.
Astral watched Kotori and Yuma noiselessly, only observing things inside his mind. Observation: It would appear that love may be too complicated for Yuma. Or perhaps, he is just naturally inadequate at it.
With that, the entity floated, following his companion out of the dark alley and into the light of the city streets.
Not long after the three had left the alley, Astral floated closer to Yuma. "What do you think?"
"About what?" asked the human.
"The Litterbot earlier," Astral clarified. "Do you think that she was programmed for certain purposes?"
"What are you going on about?" Yuma shrugged nonchalantly. "All of those machines can duel. They probably collect enough cards from people to where they even have their own decks."
Astral's face still had a concerned look however. "Are you positive, though? I think that it tried to take the Numbers on purpose…"
"Look," Yuma sighed, "if you're that concerned about it, we can go back there and ask it."
Astral nodded. "That would be nice."
Yuma sighed again and looked at Kotori. "We might need to take a little shortcut."
"B-but it was just there!" Yuma gasped. "Your duel didn't last that long! How could the robot be gone?"
"I don't know," Kotori responded back. "But let's just think rationally here. It was tipped over and turned off. Maybe a maintenance person came to take it in for fixing. Or even simpler than that, someone could have just turned it back up and put it upright again."
"I guess that could have happen," Yuma agreed, giving into the rationality and practicality of those scenarios. "See, Astral? It was just taken in for repairs. No big deal here."
The entity didn't say a word to argue with Yuma, although he didn't believe that explanation. There was something bigger than that going on and he was going to find out what.
He had to.
A silver wrench struggled to twist another bolt. The blonde boy wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave another tug on the wrench. A light appeared on the Obomi's face.
"Next time, I'm just going to implement the same technology that you have in your circuitry, Orbital 7," Kaito huffed. "I don't understand why they needed this robot to try and recover the Numbers when I could have done a much better job."
"Playing back the scene," Orbital 7 said. He clicked a few buttons on his mechanical arm and a large video projection appeared in front of the two.
Mr. Heartland was standing in front of Kaito, presenting him with Obomi. "This specialized robot," he said, "was the best thing that our state of the art money could buy. It's programmed to win no matter what. Only the most skilled duelists can defeat it."
"Are you sure?" Kaito asked, glaring at the automaton. "It doesn't look like it could hold its own as an ATM machine, let alone a duelist."
"Make as many jokes as you'd like, Kaito," Mr. Heartland scolded, "but this machine can do it all."
With a flip of a switch, Mr. Heartland activated Obomi and Orbital 7's clip ended there.
"So much for his genius theory," Kaito grumbled. He twisted another loose lug nut on the Litterbot and clapped his hands together. "I'm starting to wonder why it is that I need them anyway."
"Kaito-sama!" Orbital 7 gasped. "You need them for Haruto! They're helping him recover from his ailment."
Kaito lowered his head and closed his eyes. Images of Haruto formed in his mind. They were old images of how things used to be; happiness, joy, life, hope.
Things that were now taken away in exchange for his occupation as a Numbers Hunter.
Kaito's blood began to boil as he remembered that elusive thing called joy, that foreign thing called happiness. He no longer felt those emotions. It was only anguish and despair.
Through his rage, he grabbed his deck and placed it in his pocket before standing up.
"Kaito-sama, shouldn't we stay here and finish on the repairs for this robot?" Orbital 7 inquired.
Kaito bent down and opened a compartment and yanked the battery out of Obomi's back. "Consider that robot obsolete. Now let's go Orbital 7. We're going to pay someone a visit."
"Right behind you!" Orbital 7 saluted. With another punch of a button, Orbital 7's frame turned into the same pair of wings that it had on the first day Kaito had met Yuma. Kaito snuggly positioned Orbital 7's new form onto his back and pressed a button on the wall. Instantly, the part of the floor that he was standing on elevated, lifting him all the way onto the roof of the building.
We'll just see if that robot can do a better job than me, Kaito thought to himself before he jumped off the highest building in the fairgrounds.
New/Anime Cards Shown In This Chapter –
Snow Plow Engine Hustle Russel (Monster)
Machine/Level 10/Effect/EARTH
2500 ATK/3000 DEF
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can destroy all cards in your Spell & Trap Zone; Special Summon this card from your hand, then inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed.
Roaring Express Train Rocket Arrow (Monster)
Machine/Level 10/Effect/EARTH
5000 ATK/0 DEF
Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by controlling no cards. This card cannot declare an attack the turn it is Special Summoned. While this card is face-up on the field, you cannot Set cards. During each of your Standby Phases, send 5 cards from your hand to the Graveyard or destroy this card.
Note: These above two cards were first used by Anna Kozuki in Episode 29 of "Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal". Creative credit goes to the writer's of that episode.
Super Dreadnought Cannon Express Gustaph Max (Xyz Monster)
Machine/Xyz/Rank 10/Effect/EARTH
3000 ATK/3000 DEF
Effect: 2 Level 10 monsters
Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; inflict 2000 damage to your opponent.
Note: This card can be found in the V-Jump Edition 6 pack. It is exclusively available in Japan.
Xyz Burst (Spell)
Normal Spell
Image: Thunder End Dragon roaring as lightning flies in the red sky above it.
Effect: If you control a Rank 6 or higher Xyz monster: Destroy all Set cards your opponent controls.
Xyz Reborn (Trap)
Normal Trap
Image: A winged ankh covered in elegant gold and being orbited by a blue overlay unit.
Effect: Target 1 Xyz Monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon it, and attach this card to that target as its Xyz Material.
Note: The preceding two cards can be found in the Order of Chaos booster pack. It is currently available in Japan and slated for release in the United States in February 2012.
Flower Girl – Orchid (Monster)
Plant/Level 4/Effect/EARTH
1500 ATK/500 DEF
Effect: During your Main Phase, you can banish one Trap from your Graveyard. If you do, this card can attack directly this turn. If you activate this effect, after this card attacks directly, you can banish one Spell from your Graveyard to switch it to Defense Position. During the End Phase in which this card was destroyed (either by battle or a card effect), you can add 1 "Flower Girl" monster from your deck to your hand with less ATK than this card.
Flower Girl – Rhododendron (Monster)
Plant/Level 3/Effect/EARTH
1100 ATK/100 DEF
Effect: If you Xyz Summon an Xyz Monster using only this card and "Flower Girl" monsters, target 1 monster you opponent controls and reduce its ATK by 500. If the summoned Xyz Monster was a "Bride" or "Groom" monster, that target loses 1000 ATK instead. During the End Phase in which this card was destroyed (either by battle or by a card effect), you can add 1 "Flower Girl" monster from your deck to your hand with less ATK than this card.
Violet Groom (Xyz Monster)
Plant/Xyz/Rank 3/Effect/EARTH
2100 ATK/1100 DEF
Effect: 2 Level 3 monsters
If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can detach 2 Xyz Materials from this card to inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK.
Wedded Bliss (Spell)
Normal Spell
Image: Violet Groom and Rose Bride holding hands during a wedding reception.
Effect: All "Flower Girl," "Bride," and "Groom" monsters you control gain 400 ATK.
Bachelor Party (Trap)
Normal Trap
Image: Elemental Heroes Sparkman, Bubbleman, and Avian throwing a party and leaving Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in a corner.
Effect: Select and banish 1 "Groom" monster you control until the End Phase. When that monster is returned to the field, draw one card.
Note: The preceding five cards are of my creation. Please feel free to use them in a story, fanfic, whatever (with consent/credit please!)
Author's Note: As a bit of a breakaway from Yuma, the next chapter will also contain a duel that doesn't involve him because I want to showcase the strengths and skills of other people. I hope you all don't mind this, but I think you'll enjoy what I have in show next. Until then, take care!