Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Duelist Academy Arc

Chapter 21: Cyber Shadow vs. Soul Shadow

"Pilkington," Hitokage took a step forward, while Ichigo froze up.

"Who are you talking to?" The half-demon felt like running now…

"Don't insult my intelligence. You hang out with these two, and from the way you got so angry when I called you a girl…I put two and two together," the upperclassman crossed his arms and smirked slightly. "You've caught my true interest. Meet me at the front of the Obelisk Blue dorm tommorow during lunch. I wish to see just how powerful you really are."

As bad as things seemed for her, Ichigo could always count on one thing to cheer herself up with. And that was the prospect of a good duel. "Alright…you've got yourself a deal. I'll see you then?"

"Agreed. And please come as a male, if that is alright with you?" Hitokage smiled slightly, and walked past the three Osiris Red students. "I'd feel bad for beating up on a girl, and no, Eri doesn't count." With that said, he walked away without looking back.

"Are you going to accept?" Krieger asked.

Ichigo was already going over her new deck strategy the very second Hitokage had made the challenge. "Trust me…as Griff once said, 'I'm going to mark another Obelisk Blue on my belt'."

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"Sir, are you sure that you want me to drop you off on the island unannounced? From what I've heard Kaiba Corporation has given this place top notch security. If you get caught trespassing without a reason for being on the campus…"

"I'll pass thank you…" Rikuo glanced back at the fisherman. "I promised my wife I'd go check on my little girl, and that's exactly what I am going to do."

The grizzled old man scratched at his beard in confusion. "If she's a student here…then why are you sneaking in?"

Rikuo's answer left little room for argument. "Because I'm bored."

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"Ichigo…you might want to get up. Class is in…oh…ten minutes." Griff glanced at his watch and then shouldered his backpack. "Come on Krieger, he'll get up when he gets up, I guess. I suppose he forgot all about his duel too…such a shame."

The half-demon was up in an instant. "OH CRAP!" For a few seconds he was a blur in the room, and then the bathroom door slammed shut.

Krieger stifled his laughter. "Shouldn't you have told him that he actually has an hour?"

"Naw…I like watching when he's hurried." Griff smirked and fell back into his swivel chair. "Now listen closely."

A few seconds later there was a loud crash from inside the bathroom. "Stupid soap!!!"

Now both boys were having trouble controlling their laughter.

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Hitokage Seijitsu took a deep breath and felt the air around him pulse with life. ("A good morning…and an ever better one for a battle.") His thoughts ran back on last evening, and his interesting time meeting the person he had decided would be best called 'Ichi-chan'. ("I must admit…those three are definitely strange. Pilkington definitely takes the cake though…")

Ichigo was smiling from ear to ear. "This is the true pinnacle of my deck, the power of the ultimate Cyber Shadow agent! Special Operative-Snake!" (2000/1800) The espionage monster opened it eyes and looked back at Ichigo, who nodded to it. "Snake, attack Enraged Muka Muka now!" Bending at the knees, Snake charged across the field towards the crab monster fearlessly.

Midas threw back his head, roaring laughter echoing across the arena. "So you're sending your favorite creature to an early demise!? That's fine with me! Enraged Muka Muka, counter-attack!" The crab monster lifted its pincers to chop through the charging Special Operative….

A huge explosion rang out from the side of the ring, causing everyone to spin their eyes to the corner of the arena where the explosion had gone off. All that was there was a cloud of smoke…

"Hey, Professor Midas!" yelled Ichigo.

The golden-clothed professor spun back to his field and gaped at the sight in front of him. His Enraged Muka Muka was looking at the spot where the explosion had gone off, and that meant its attention was completely taken away from the monster that was charging towards it. "Turn around, you stupid creature!"

"It's too late, because the special ability of my Special Operative-Snake has just been activated." Taking a card from his hand, Ichigo slid it into his graveyard slot. "By discarding one card from my hand and sacrificing my battle phase, I may use Snake's Sneak Attack effect. This will allow him to destroy one monster on the field with an original attack lower than his, and deal damage to its owner equal to that original attack total."

A silence hung over the arena as the black-suited mercenary slid to a stop right underneath the huge body of the Enraged Muka Muka and threw something onto its underbelly. Spinning around, the monster returned to Ichigo's field.

Everyone in the stands stared down at the field, and at the Enraged Muka Muka, which continued to stare at the cloud of smoke in the corner of the field.

Midas paled considerably as he realized what this meant. "This is impossible…you're…."

Ichigo nodded to Snake. The mercenary pulled a black device out from a pouch at its waist and held it out for everyone to see. It was a detonator, and his thumb was on the little red button that would trigger the explosive he had attached to the underbelly of the Enraged Muka Muka. "Sorry, but you just lost!" Snake pressed the detonator button. In one screeching flash of light and smoke, Midas' monster was gone along with the rest of his life points.

Ichigo- 3200

Midas- 0

("He defeated one of the instructors…and…") Hitokage had seen many things that could be considered strange, but for someone like Ichigo to just come along and blow away Professor King. ("Highly unlikely. The fact that he defeated Adriel was interesting too. Now though, he's going to have to face me.") And unlike previous challenges, this time Ichigo Pilkington wasn't going to find a way to Topdeck himself into victory.

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Rikuo tugged on his leather jacket, smirking at the fact that he looked like a biker punk. ("Eh…probably because I am.") Nodding back to the fisherman, his ears already picked up the noise of approaching guards. ("They want me…they're going to have to catch me!") Grinning at the fun of a good chase, Rikuo was towards the inner section of the island long before the guards reached where he had arrived from.

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It was lunchtime and despite some warnings about an intruder somewhere on the island, everyone was too excited to have that bad of a day. After all, it wasn't every day that for entertainment you'd get to watch one of the top five duelists in the school go against the already infamous 'Obelisk Blue'.

And considering the size of the crowd, Ichigo was more than a little nervous. "Jeez…it looks like the whole school is here."

All around them were people setting up their picnic blankets and getting ready to watch the 'show'.

"Actually, I think the whole school really is here." Griff whistled and patted Ichigo on the shoulder. "If your life points go to zero this time…" He shrugged, letting Ichigo know that he was on his own if that happened.

"Horus and I believe you can do it," Krieger smiled confidently. "After all, you're the best, right?"

Ichigo blinked at the 'Horus and I' part of his roommate's sentence, but he did nod. "Yeah…I am, aren't I?" Grinning, the half demon stepped past them and into the front yard of the Obelisk Blue dorm. "Glad to see you didn't chicken out, Hitokage."

"That's Master Seijitsu to you, cur!" yelled one of Hitokage's two attendants, who were standing next to their boss just to show that they supported him.

"Roy…shut up and move," The blond-haired Japanese duelist stepped past his lackey and turned on his duel disk. "Let's get this game started, shall we Ichi-chan?"

("Again with the Ichi-chan!") Growling, the half demon turned his duel disk on. "Watch it, jerk!"

Hitokage coldly turned on his duel disk. "I'm going to unveil the truth behind that magic card of yours right now."

Ichigo turned pure white. "Wha…?"

"You heard me. I have a feeling that card isn't what you say it is." Hitokage drew his five cards. "Now then…you may go first, if you wish."

Ichigo- 4000

Hitokage- 4000

"I think I just might!" Ichigo drew. "Here we go! First I play Tiny Pound Hammer! This magic card lets me shuffle any number of cards in my hand and itself into my deck, and then draw an equal number of replacements!" Snatching two extra cards from his hand, the half demon shuffled them into his deck and then drew three cards.

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"Alright, that might just give him the advantage he needs to get a lead in this battle!" Griff grinned at the thought of Ichigo defeating one of the top five duelists in this school. ("He'll go from infamous to legendary!") "Go Ichigo!"

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Throwing a thumbs-up to his friend, the half demon slid another card into his duel disk. "Then I play Graceful Charity, letting me draw three cards and then I must discard two!" Another three cards was slid off of his deck and then he discarded two cards. "I set one monster and end my turn!"

"All that drawing and you don't even set a magic or trap card? Very well…I'll make you regret that in just a moment. Draw!" Hitokage snapped a card off of his deck and added it to his hand. One look over his hand and he frowned. ("Horrible…but not without possibilities.") "I set three cards face-down and end my turn."

Ichigo snickered, "You're a hypocrite. At least I played a monster on my turn. Draw!" He slid a card off of his deck, glanced at it, and smirked. ("Good…things are already going my way.") "Now it's time to bring out my anti-defender! When I'm done you won't be able to hide anything from me!"

Hitokage narrowed his eyes at this declaration. ("What does he have planned?")

Ichigo discarded two cards into his graveyard and then flipped over one of the cards in his hand. "I play Polymerization to fuse Cyber Shadow-Sentinel (1500/1300) and Cyber Shadow-Trainer (300/1200) together to create Cyber Shadow-Scanner (1850/1500) in attack mode!" There was a bright flash of light and a strange bipedal robot with a satellite dish on its head appeared on the field. "When he hits the field, all of your face-down cards are revealed. All effect monsters and traps revealed through this effect are destroyed!"

"Amateur move…and for that you must pay!" One of Hitokage's face-down cards flipped up. "I activate Hexblaster, which allows me to discard one card from my hand to negate any effect and destroy the card trying to use it!" The Obelisk Blue duelist discarded a card and a black swirl of smoke flew out of his trap, blowing Ichigo's monster apart.

("Alright then…that was a waste.") Wiping a drop of sweat off his cheek, Ichigo slid a card into his disk. "Then I'm just going to set one card face-down. End turn!"

"Draw." Hitokage slid a card off of his disk and snapped it up to his eyes. After a quick glance, he added it to his hand and slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and end my turn!"

"My turn…draw!" Ichigo drew, his ears listening to the murmurs around them. Apparently they weren't giving that impressive of a performance. ("I'll show them impressive.") "I summon Cyber Shadow-Psychic (1500/1200) in attack mode!" A woman in a black body-suit appeared on his field. "Attack his life points directly!"

Hitokage frowned disgustedly. "How did you beat Eri anyway? Reverse card open! I activate the trap card A Villain Emerges!"

"A Villain Emerges!?" Ichigo knew what A Hero Emerges did, but he never knew that one of his trap cards had a counter-part.

"Select one card in my hand and it will be summoned to the field. So…take your pick." Fanning out his cards, the Obelisk Blue duelist was emotionless now.

"I choose….the left one!" Ichigo wiped another drop of sweat from his cheek. ("He's so focused…so I'll just have to prove that I'm better than he is.")

There was an explosion of black smoke and a crimson-cloaked undead wizard appeared on Hitokage's field. "And so you summon Soul Master in defense mode!" (2600/2900)

A frustrated groan escaped Ichigo's lips. ("Damn that thing is huge!") "End turn then."

"Very well Pilkington…but at the moment I don't see how you got as far as you did. I drew a horrible hand and still you can't even touch me." Drawing, Hitokage narrowed his jade eyes just a little more. "Well now I'm ready to fight for real. Activate continuous magic card, Soul Reaver!"

Ichigo gasped as his Psychic exploded into digital dust. "What the…"

"Allow me to explain! By discarding one card from my hand, Soul Reaver will destroy one monster on your field. That isn't all though, because then I will gain life points equal to that destroyed monster's attack points each of my stand-by phases." Hitokage's expression was icy cold. "But then again…that won't matter. Soul Master, activate your special ability now!"

The Soul Reaver card exploded and was replaced by a floating glob of white Ectoplasm. "Once per turn, I may sacrifice one Soul Reaver on the field to my Soul Master. When I do, I double the number of life points that I would gain each turn and deal you that many life points of damage." The blob launched across the field and slammed into Ichigo so hard it nearly threw the half demon into the crowd. "End turn, Ichi-chan."

Ichigo- 1000

Hitokage- 4000

When Ichigo came to his feet, his hair was already starting to lighten. Also, his hazel eyes were turning a strange warped version of deep blue. "I'm nowhere near done! Draw!"

"I'd hope not…since that was only one move." Hitokage didn't sound smug…just focused.

Ichigo knew that he didn't have much time. If another of those Soul Reavers hit the field, he'd be finished. "I play Tiny Pound Hammer again, shuffling my hand into my deck and drawing three cards!" Seconds later he had a new three cards…and one of them was glowing. ("Crap!")

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"Hey Griff…is Ichigo getting shorter, or are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Krieger looked completely confused, because to his eyes he could have sworn that Ichigo was a couple of inches shorter.

"Nope…I see it to. He must have drawn Blessings of Luna. If this keeps up, no one will believe that hologram excuse. Even holograms don't slowly warp people like that. Ichigo….hurry up and get rid of that thing." The Egyptian boy could already hear the confused murmurs from the rest of the crowd.

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("Argh…") "I set one card face-down and end my turn!" A small zap of electricity hit his hand. "OW! What the heck!?" Glancing at Blessings of Luna, he saw why. ("I can't set this thing!? It's just gonna sit in my hand and slowly turn me into a girl in front of the whole campus? Damn…") "End turn then…since I can't set this."

"Hmm….what's the matter Ichi-chan? You seem like you want to get rid of that card you're holding fairly badly." Hitokage drew. "Such a shame you can't do anything about it. Oh well…I guess we're going to see the truth very soon, eh Ichi-chan? End turn."

Ichigo knew that he spoke the truth. ("I'm screwed if I don't get this thing on the field or toss it out. Either way…I need it gone now!") "End turn."

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"Wow…he's screwed," said someone from right behind Griff. Looking back, the Egyptian boy rubbed his eyes a couple of times. "Professor Pilkington?"

Rikuo blinked a couple of times. "Pilkington? What about him?" The wolf demon had taken a crouching position behind the two boys, watching the duel and apparently hiding from the guards at the same time.

"You mean…you're not him?" Krieger found that very hard to believe. This guy looked exactly like Daniel, except a couple of inches and a whole lot scarier. "Then who are you?"

"I'm Rikuo Amero. And who are you, kitty?" Rikuo snickered slightly.

Krieger frowned and his ears flicked a couple of times in irritation. Why did everyone have to make fun of the whole cat demon thing? "You're awfully mature, insulting kids younger than you are."

"Hey…toughen up and maybe I'll treat you like an adult," Rikuo looked over at Ichigo. "Now who is that…and why do they smell like the most feminine male wolf demon ever?" Tilting his head back, Rikuo took another whiff of the air and his ears perked up. "Interesting…smells like Daniel too…" Though the ex-general wasn't the smartest demon in the world, he wasn't stupid either. "So that's Ichigo when he's all grown up? Weird…I wouldn't expect him to turn into such a pretty boy."

Griff and Krieger both just stared at Rikuo. ("What's with this guy?")

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"You're wasting my precious time, Pilkington. Draw!" Hitokage snapped the top card off of his deck and slid it into his disk. "I set one card face-down. End turn."

("He's still getting bad draws…so maybe I have a chance.") "Draw!" Ichigo drew, trying to ignore the fact that either everyone was getting taller or he was getting shorter. ("Why are you doing this to me!?") "End…turn."

"Once again…you're a waste of time." Hitokage drew. "I set one card face-down and end my turn." The jade-eyes duelist seemed unaffected by the fact he had yet to draw a monster. ("I trust my deck and my cards…unlike you apparently do. Why else would you fear that magic card?")

"Draw!" Ichigo glanced at the card and smiled slightly. ("Finally…") "I play Warrior Returning Alive, which allows me to pick up Cyber Shadow-Trainer and place it into my hand. End turn."

("So he believes he will fuse a new monster?") "Draw." Hitokage drew and slid a card into his disk. "Once more, I set a card face-down. Then I set one monster. End turn."

Ichigo drew, shivering from a sudden twinge in his spine. ("Damn it…this thing isn't even waiting for my life points.") At this point, the half-demon was about 5'2", with a mop of gold hair on top of his head and a pair of deep blue eyes. More or less, he looked like the male version of his female self. ("Argh…damn you Luna!") Glancing at his seven card hand, Ichigo couldn't think of any combo worth playing. ("He's just going to counter it. And if I summon…wait!") "I set one card face-down, end turn."

"And so our boring little duel comes back to me. Draw!" Hitokage looked at the card and snapped it around so that the crowd could see it. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards!" One look at the two cards and he knew exactly what to do. "You're about to meet my rarest monster…be grateful I let you live long enough to see its power. I sacrifice my face-down Sangan (1000/600) and Soul Master to summon Soul Reaver Dragon!" (3500/0) The two monsters disappeared and were replaced by a phantasmal dragon that towered over even the Obelisk Blue dorm itself.

"This is the ultimate monster! For with its special abilities, I will crush you. First though, Sangan's special ability let me search my deck for one monster with 1500 or less attack and put it into my hand." A few seconds passed while he searched for the card he wanted, and then he re-inserted his deck into his disk. "Now you will be destroyed! Soul Reaver Dragon may once per turn remove one monster on the field from play! Secondly, he cannot attack no matter what the situation! And thirdly…he removes a monster from my graveyard per turn and deals you life point damage equal to its attack!"

"What!?" Ichigo knew he was screwed…. ("But still…I've gotta give it my all!")

"Here we go Pilkington…prepare for the end! Soul Reaver Dragon…Hellfire Burst!" Snarling, the dragon sprayed out crystalline flame that completely removed Ichigo's monster. "Then I remove Soul Master from the graveyard to deal you 1450 life points of damage. It's been fun, but now this ends!"

Glancing down at the Blessings of Luna, Ichigo smiled slightly. "We'll see about that." His words weren't heard over the sudden wave of crystalline flame that consumed him.

Ichigo- 0

Hitokage- 4000

Hitokage ignored the cheers from the audience. ("Now let round two begin.")

As the angel wings of Blessings of Luna exploded into existence, Ichigo couldn't have agreed more. ("Let round two begin.")

Ichigo- 700

Hitokage- 4000

To be continued…

Author's notes: No response for now, because I'm cookin with gasoline.