Thirty minutes after the duel between Rikuson and Bunshu, it was time for the penultimate duel of the first round, as Ryofu and Ganryo were patiently waiting for their names to be called.
"This is gonna be tough for Ren," said Anthony. "Ganryo was better than Bunshu when we saw her duel Shuran, and if Bunshu has become so much better over the past few months, then Ganryo is sure to have improved as well."
"I'm sure that Ren can handle it," said Totaku.
"Yeah, nothing in Ganryo's deck that we've seen was strong enough to beat her Manticore of Darkness," added Bacho.
"Hm? Manticore of Darkness? When did she get that card?" asked Kaku.
"The boss of the guy who took Yue gave everyone rare cards," said Anthony. "Manticore of Darkness was hers, and from what I've heard, Shia got Gaia the Fierce Knight." But he was soon cut off by Chinrin's announcements.
"First up, she's the second of Lord Reiha's advisers, as well as the smartest mind in the kingdom! But don't let that fool you: she can still crush you to bits with her rock-hard monsters! Please welcome Ganryo to the field!"
Ganryo then stepped forward, smiling as she held out her Duel Disk.
"And her opponent, a wild girl who used to serve the wicked dictator who used to live here, until she was defeated by Kan'u Uncho and joined the court of Kikai. She's a total softie when it comes to animals, but on the battlefield, she becomes a wild beast! It's General Ryofu Hosen!"
Ryofu walked over to Ganryo, and held out her fist for a match of rock-paper-scissors. Ganryo's rock managed to beat Ryofu's scissors, and Ganryo made the decision to go first, and like that, the duel was underway.
(Ganryo: 4000 LP)(Ryofu: 4000 LP)
"I draw! And I set one monster face-down and end my turn!"
As Ganryo ended her turn in a flash, Ryofu drew and slowly looked over her options. She then plucked a card from her hand and placed it on her Monster Zone.
"Summon…Enraged Battle Ox…"
Her new monster looked a lot like the original Battle Ox, only a lot angrier, as it let out an aggressive bellow (LV 4: ATK 1700).
"Alright!" said Anthony. "Unless I'm mistaken, that card makes it so that all of Ren's Beast-type, Beast-Warrior-type, and Winged Beast-type monsters are able to inflict piercing damage!"
Ryofu then pointed to the face-down on Ganryo's side of the field. "Attack with Axe Charge Attack."
Her monster then let out a bellow as it sprinted towards the opposing monster, swinging its weapon back in preparation for a powerful chop, and the monster was shown to be a small pink monster made of pink stone, with a magnet around its neck, wings with "N" and "S" on them, and a large blue "S" on its chest (LV 4: DEF 1800).
"Nice try, Ryofu, but the defense points of Gamma the Magnet Warrior are too high!"
Ryofu didn't reply, instead playing her Rush Recklessly from her hand, as her monster increased its speed and its power (ATK 1700-2400), and cut through the Rock-type (Ganryo: 4000-3400).
"Ooh, it looks like Ryofu's monster has the power to deal piercing damage, folks! Not even monsters in defense mode can protect her opponent's precious life points now!" said Chinrin, as Ryofu ended her turn, and Ganryo began hers.
'Okay, I've seen what she can do. Now to get serious.' "I set one monster, and then I set two more cards! And that's all for me!"
Ryofu drew, and summoned another monster to her field to join her Enraged Battle Ox.
"...summon Eagle Eye…"
The new monster looked like an eagle with black feathers, excluding its daffodil tail feathers and its blue head feathers, while it had a blue beak, red eyes, and a golden helmet. It bore its talons and its eyes briefly flashed.
"Ooh, it looks like Eagle Eye just played its effect! Now her opponent can't play cards that activate upon its Normal Summoning, like Trap Hole!"
Ryofu then played her Shield Crush, which destroyed the monster that Ganryo had. The En adviser pouted as she sent her Beta the Magnet Warrior to the Graveyard, but she knew it wasn't over yet.
"Attack."
Both Enraged Battle Ox and Eagle Eye sped towards the purple-haired duelist, before slashing at her with their axe and talons respectively (Ganryo: 3400-400 LP).
"Oh my, it seems like Ganryo is almost out of life points, while Ryofu hasn't taken a single point of damage!"
"Let's change that!" shouted Ganryo. "I activate my Trap Card, Rock Bombardment, which lets me send a Rock-type monster from my deck to the Graveyard in order to deal five hundred points of damage!"
Her card flipped up to show a castle getting assaulted by boulders, as Ganryo took out her deck, and flipped through it before finding Alpha the Magnet Warrior, and taking it out of her deck. She then shuffled and put away her deck, before slipping the card she took out into her Graveyard. Alpha the Magnet Warrior then appeared directly above Ryofu, before it crumbled into large chunks of rock and fell on top of the redhead, who covered her head with her arms, even though the chunks, being nothing but light, simply passed through her (Ryofu: 4000-3500 LP). Ryofu then ended her turn, with Ganryo drawing.
"Okay, I play my Magical Mallet, letting me return any amount of cards from my deck to my hand and draw new cards!"
As the Normal Spell appeared on the field, she slipped two of the three cards in her hand into her deck, then shuffled it well and drew two new cards, smiling at what she had picked up.
"Now I play my Fissure, which destroys the monster that you control with the least attack points!"
A fissure soon appeared under Eagle Eye, who fell in and was lost to the ground.
"Now I set one monster and end my turn!"
Ryofu drew her next card, then took her Enraged Battle Ox off of her Duel Disk, replacing it with something much stronger.
"Tribute Summon...my Manticore of Darkness!"
Her minotaur was soon replaced by the much larger manticore, which let out a roar as it took the stage (LV 6: ATK 2300).
"Oh my, that's the monster she got?" asked a startled Totaku.
"Yep! Pretty cool, huh?" said Chohi.
"You...could say that…"
Ryofu then pointed to the face-down monster. "Furious Frenzy."
Her monster then bore its teeth, claws, and stinger, before it took into the air, closing in on the monster, Stone Statue of the Aztecs (LV 4: DEF 2000).
"Not so fast! I play another Trap Card known as Castle Walls!"
The second Normal Trap flipped up, showing a large stone castle, as the defensive power of the statue increased (DEF 2000-2500). Manticore of Darkness's claws, teeth, and stinger simply bounced off of the monster, and the eyes of the Rock-type began to glow, indicating that the damage was doubled (Ryofu: 3500-3100 LP).
"I...end my turn…" (DEF 2500-2000)
As Ryofu wrapped up her turn, Ganryo drew, and smiled as she saw what she got.
"I play the Spell Card Silent Doom, in order to bring back a Normal Monster in defense mode! And I pick my Beta the Magnet Warrior!"
Her monster, a small yellow creature with magnets on its head and hands, soon appeared on the field, arms crossed in front of it (LV 4: DEF 1600).
"And now, I tribute both of my monsters to set one monster on the field, and end my turn!"
As a face-down card replaced Stone Statue of the Aztecs and Beta the Magnet Warrior, Kan'u looked wary as Ryofu drew.
"The last time somebody tributed two monsters to set one, it had over three thousand defense points," she said, memory of her duel with Yokai still fresh in her mind. Ryofu, however, simply summoned her Kurama to the field (LV 3: ATK 800), then pointed at the newly set monster.
"Attack, Manticore."
Her monster once again began its assault, but to her avail, Ryofu's monster failed to put a dent in the new card. The new monster was a large serpentine dragon made mostly out of brown rock, except for its yellow underbelly. It had two front limbs that were shovellike with long claws, like a mole, that had red orbs on the back of them. It also had small spiky wings made from rock, as well as two more limbs on the back of it, near the tip of its tail. Along the back of it, it was lined with small stone plates, and it had a jaw that didn't have teeth, but rather sharp points of rock along it. It had pure yellow eyes, and a horn on its nose (LV 7: DEF 2300).
"Sorry, Ryofu, but it seems like my Stone Dragon has just enough defense points to stick around for another turn."
Ryofu ended her turn, and Chinrin decided to pipe up. "It looks like the momentum has moved from Ryofu to Ganryo! Will this be the comeback of the tournament?"
'Hopefully.' "I switch my Stone Dragon into attack mode!"
Her dragon soon rose up, looking down on the other monsters (ATK 2000).
"Now attack her Kurama with Stone Shard Spray!"
Stone Dragon then opened its maw and fired a blast of sharp pieces of gravel, which ripped through the Winged Beast-type (Ryofu: 3100-1900 LP).
"And now I set one card to end my turn!"
Ryofu drew, then summoned out her Wolf, which let out a loud howl as it entered the battle (LV 3: ATK 1200). She then played her Beast Fangs, which made her monster even stronger (ATK 1200-1500).
"Attack!"
As her monsters began to charge her opponent's Stone Dragon, Ganryo simply played her face-down.
"I activate my Mirror Force, destroying all of your monsters in attack mode!"
A transparent force field appeared, and a barrage of multicolored lasers made short work of Ryofu's monsters. Ryofu simply ended her turn, and doing so, she slipped her Larvas into her Graveyard, and in doing so, the Manticore of Darkness came back (LV 6: ATK 2300).
"Well, what do you know! By discarding or tributing a Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-type monster, Ryofu is able to bring back her monster during the End Phase of the turn it went to the Graveyard!"
"What a card!" said Kaku, amazed that Ryofu was able to get her hands on it, regardless of who she got it from.
"Not a problem! I draw, then I activate my Smashing Ground, which destroys your monster with the highest defense!"
The Beast-Warrior was then forced onto the ground, which cracked under the force and the weight, before the monster of myth shattered into pixels, leaving Ryofu wide open for a direct attack.
"Now, my Stone Dragon can attack directly and finish this duel! Stone Shard Spray!"
The barrage of stone brought the life points of Ryofu to zero, as she fell onto her knees, disappointed by her early elimination (Ryofu: 1900-0 LP)(Winner: Ganryo).
"What a match, folks! But now, only one more match remains, and then tomorrow, it's on to the quarterfinals!"
"Hawawa...now I'm up…"
"Don't worry, Shuri," said Anthony. "You're one of the best duelists in Kikai! I'm sure that you can win against Kochu."
Shokatsuryo smiled. "Thank you."
~KD~
After a half hour, Shokatsuryo and Kochu were waiting for their names to be called, while in the stands, Totaku was doing her best to comfort Ryofu, who after her loss was even more quiet than usual. Anthony was worried about his general, and decided that he would give her a pep talk later that night.
"Alright, it's time for the last match of the first round! First off, she's spent six years training under the great Shibaki Tokuso, before becoming the lone strategist under the rule of Lord Anthony of Kikai, her Dragons are much more than myth, it's Shokatsuryo Komei!"
Shokatsuryo nervously stepped forward, intimidated by the hundreds of spectators cheering for her. "Hawawa…"
"And as for her opponent, she's a woman who's Fairy-type monsters will surely bring down their divine wrath on all who dare stand against her! Please welcome, General Kochu Kansho of En!"
As soon as Chinrin finished her announcement, and Kochu walked onto the field with her usual smile, the entire Kikai Kingdom, or at least those who were present, collectively had the same response (excluding the silent Ryofu, and Choun, who didn't know her).
"WHAT!?"
"Kochu is…" began Anthony.
"...an En general!?" finished Kan'u.
"Do you know her?" asked Sonken.
"I seem to remember Lord Anthony talking with her once we finished our block in the qualifier," said Kannei.
"I dueled her on the day that we arrived, before any of you guys came here," answered Anthony. "But she never said anything about being a member of Ensho's peerage!"
The two duelists came up to one another, and a quick round of rock-paper-scissors left Shokatsuryo as the deciding vote, her scissors beating the older woman's paper.
"If it's okay with you, I wanna go second," said Shokatsuryo.
"Very well," said Kochu. "I wish you the best of luck."
Shokatsuryo then took her position opposite of Kochu, and like that, the duel began.
(Kochu: 4000 LP)(Shokatsuryo: 4000 LP)
"Let's see what we can do here," mused Kochu, as she drew her six cards and began to look through her hand. "I think that I'll set one monster, and then set two cards, and that will be all for now."
As the three cards appeared on the field, Shokatsuryo drew, then summoned her newly drawn monster to the field.
"I summon my Masked Dragon!"
Her monster roared as it entered the battle (LV 3: ATK 1400).
"And now I'll attack your monster!"
The dragon then spat out a fireball, and the card flipped up to reveal a rather cute monster. It was a little pink blob, with a happy smile and rosy cheeks that, for some reason, were upside down (LV 3: DEF 500). The audience began to coo at the Fairy-type, as did the announcer.
"Aw, what an adorable monster! Not all cards need to be big and scary, it seems!"
"Thank you. By attacking my Marshmallon while it was face-down, you now take a thousand points of damage, and my Marshmallon is unable to be destroyed by battle."
Shokatsuryo frowned as she took damage, and the blast did absolutely nothing to hurt the little monster that Kochu controlled (Shokatsuryo: 4000-3000 LP). "I set one card and end my turn."
Kochu then drew, before smiling. "I summon my Keldo to the field!"
Her new monster was a rather unusual card, to say the least. It was mostly tan, with a green top and hat, with red orbs all over it. Its hands were nothing but red orbs with blades that trailed behind them, and it had no legs, hovering midair with a silver skirtlike base below its waist (LV 4: ATK 1200).
"And now I equip my monster with my Silver Bow and Arrow!"
Her monster was soon equipped with the bow, although without fingers, it simply stuck to its hand, as the monster became more powerful than before (ATK 1200-1500).
"Now my Keldo will attack your Masked Dragon!"
The monster drew back its bow, and fired the arrow which pierced the chest of Masked Dragon, shattering the Dragon-type (Shokatsuryo: 3000-2900 LP). However, this wasn't entirely a bad thing for the young Kikai strategist.
"By destroying my Masked Dragon in battle, you've let me Special Summon a Dragon-type monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck! And I pick my Different Dimension Dragon!"
A portal soon opened up where Masked Dragon once stood, and the dragon from another plane soon flew out (LV 5: ATK 1200).
"Very well. I end my turn."
Shokatsuryo drew her next card, and smiled, before she slipped it into her Spell and Trap Zone.
"I activate my Dragon's Gunfire, which lets me destroy your Marshmallon!"
Different Dimension Dragon then spat out a fireball, which torched the Fairy-type, and Shokatsuryo then summoned another monster to her field.
"Now I summon my Mirage Dragon!"
The long dragon appeared on the field with a roar (LV 4: ATK 1600). However, it seemed that Kochu was ready for this, as she played one of her Trap Cards.
"You've activated my Trap Hole, which lets me destroy your monster!"
However, Shokatsuryo played her own card in response, with her face-down flipping up to show Tyrant Dragon, with a green bead in its forehead.
"I play The Dragon's Bead, letting me discard one card to negate and destroy your Trap Card!"
She then sent her Curse of Dragon to the Graveyard, as Trap Hole was destroyed.
"Now, it's time to attack! Mirage Dragon, destroy her Keldo with Spectrum Blast!"
As the monster began its attack, a magenta fog covered the face-down card, preventing Kochu from activating it. Her Dragon-type then fired a multicolored beam of energy at the Fairy-type, which blasted the monster to bits (Kochu: 4000-3900 LP). As soon as Keldo left the field, two red orbs appeared over Shokatsuryo's Duel Disk, and Kochu smiled.
"By destroying my monster, I can now select two cards in your Graveyard, and return them to your deck. Let's return your Masked Dragon, and the monster that you discarded to use your Trap Card!"
Shokatsuryo then sent her two monsters back to her deck, then shuffled her deck.
"Different Dimension Dragon, attack directly with your Rainbow Burst!"
Her other dragon fired its own rainbow blast, which Kochu blocked with her cape (Kochu: 3900-2700 LP).
"And now I end my turn!"
Kochu drew her next card, and she smiled as she played it.
"I activate my Swords of Revealing Light, which will keep you from attacking for three of your turns! And now, my turn is over."
As the swords appeared, Chinrin decided to talk. "And for the third time, we've seen this card be played! This might help her pull off a comeback!"
Shokatsuryo drew her next card, and played it. "I activate A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, in order to return my Different Dimension Dragon to my hand, and destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the field!"
The new card showed Tyrant Dragon flapping its wings and destroying the landscape, as Different Dimension Dragon flapped its four wings, which sent out a massive gust of wind that destroyed The Dragon's Bead, Swords of Revealing Light, and Kochu's face-down card, Horn of Heaven.
"Now I summon my Troop Dragon!"
Her green dragon soldier soon joined Mirage Dragon on the field, and pointed its sword at Kochu, who prepared for a series of direct attacks (LV 2: ATK 700).
"Mirage Dragon, Troop Dragon, attack directly!"
Her monsters began their assault, with Mirage Dragon blasting its Spectrum Blast at the buxom Fairy user, who once more shielded herself with her cape (Kochu: 2700-1100 LP). Troop Dragon followed, swinging its sword as Kochu blocked the attack with her armored hand, although the action was pointless, as the blade simply passed through her (Kochu: 1100-400 LP). Shokatsuryo ended her turn, as her lord was becoming excited.
"Man, Shuri is destroying her out there!" he said, a wide smile on his face.
"Don't forget that Ryofu was doing the same, until Ganryo bounced back," said Sonshoko, which made Ryofu put her head down, and made Kaku glare at the youngest Son sister, who shrunk back.
"Well, Shuri also beat Bunshu without losing even half of her life points," pointed out Kan'u. The members of Kikai and Go soon turned their attention back to the duel as Kochu drew her next card.
"I set one monster and end my turn."
Shokatsuryo then drew her next card, and her eyes went wide as she saw it, and decided that it was time to bring out something big.
"I tribute both of my monsters in order to summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
The two dragons were then replaced by the much larger Red-Eyes (LV 7: ATK 2400), which let out a massive roar as the audience began to cheer.
"Whoa, that's her best monster!?" asked an excited Rikuson.
"Well, not necessarily, but it is her signature monster," said Anthony. "Pretty sweet, huh?"
"I'm inclined to agree," said a breathless Choun, as Kannei could only stare at the massive beast.
"Wow, what a monster! Red-Eyes Black Dragon is a rather rare card, so to see it in action is a treat to be sure!"
"Hawawa…I'm not used to this sort of praise…"
"Don't worry, dear, they all appreciate you! You should be taking it in stride!"
"Um, thank you? Anyway, I'll have my Red-Eyes Black Dragon attack your monster with Inferno Fire Blast!"
The black dragon shot its blast of flame at the defending monster, which was revealed to be a red orb with a golden eye that looked like the Millennium Symbol, with metal pincers like a crab, and tiny golden wings (LV 4: DEF 1300). As it was destroyed, the Millennium Symbol appeared, surrounded by six red orbs numbered one through six.
"Thank you very much, Shokatsuryo. Now by destroying my Agido in battle, you've let me roll a die, and Special Summon a Fairy-type monster with a level equal to the result from my Graveyard."
The Millennium Symbol then looked up at the orb labeled "1," and began to spin its pupil around and around.
"What's it gonna land on," said Chohi with bated breath. Anthony and Kan'u were unable to answer, until the eye finally came to rest, looking at the orb labeled "3," and Kochu grinned.
"Perfect! I revive my level three Marshmallon!"
The tiny fairy appeared on the field, a smile on its upside down face (LV 3: DEF 500).
"Hawawa…I end my turn."
"It seems like Kochu is still in this, folks! What will she do now that she's been blessed with another turn?" asked Chinrin, as Kochu drew her next card.
"This. I play my Monster Reborn, reviving my Keldo from my Graveyard!"
Her monster reappeared, and crossed its arms in front of it, the orbs and blades making an imitation of a pair of eyes (LV 4: DEF 1600).
"And now, I can bring out my favorite monster! I tribute my Marshmallon and my Keldo in order to summon my Majestic Mech - Goryu!"
The two fairies disappeared, and a heavenly roar came from above, as a massive monster flew down from the sky into the arena. The monster appeared to be a trail of golden light that had the rest of its body formed from white metal. It had four small legs, two by the much wider torso, and two trailing a little further down the long serpentine body, which went on much further, ending in a branching tail. It had two angelic wings, and a head that looked like that of a dragon (LV 8: ATK 2900).
"Incredible! Kochu has just summoned an amazing monster, one that seems like it just descended from the heavens!"
"And it's more powerful than Red-Eyes," said Kan'u.
"Goryu, attack with your Aether Stream!"
The monster soon fired its attack, a dazzling golden beam of light that struck Red-Eyes, destroying the monster (Shokatsuryo: 2900-2400 LP).
"And that shall conclude my turn."
Shokatsuryo began to shake as she drew her next card.
"Hawawa…I set one monster and end my turn."
Kochu smiled as she drew.
"A decent attempt, but a futile one, as my Goryu deals piercing damage! And now, I summon my Majestic Mech - Senku!"
Her metallic angel then appeared on the field, ready for battle (LV 4: ATK 1000).
"Now, for my Battle Phase! Aether Stream, then Heaven Blow!"
Her massive gold and white monster fired its celestial blast, which destroyed Shokatsuryo's Spirit Ryu (LV 4: DEF 1000)(Shokatsuryo: 2400-500 LP). Senku then flew towards her, and dealt a punch that she managed to block, but the hit still knocked her back, as her life points hit zero (Shokatsuryo: 500-0 LP)(Winner: Kochu).
"And that's it! The winner of this duel is Kochu Kansho! And with that, the first round has ended!"
Shokatsuryo slowly stood up, and accepted the handshake offered by Kochu, albeit weakly.
"That was a great duel."
"Th…thanks."
'Apparently, it isn't just Ren who needs cheering up,' thought Anthony, as Chinrin began to announce the next four matches.
"And now, for the quarterfinal matches! Tomorrow, the duels shall be as followed! Kan'u Uncho versus Kochu Kansho! Sonken Chubo versus Anthony Calem! Ganryo versus Butterfly Mask! And Bacho Moki versus Bunshu! Good night, everyone, and I hope to see you all tomorrow as the En Tournament continues!"
~KD~
Shokatsuryo was bummed. No, more than that, she was crushed. This was her chance to show everybody just how good she was, how much her master had taught her, and yet, despite making it into the tournament, had lost in the first round against Kochu. And she wasn't the only one. While Ryofu was normally quiet, her roommate had still been silent after her loss to Ganryo. Nobody else had taken their losses as harshly as these two, mostly because they felt that they let down somebody. Shokatsuryo, her teacher. Ryofu, her former lord. And the both of them, the one who was knocking on the door right now. Ryofu slowly got up and walked to the door, opening it to reveal Anthony.
"Mind if I come in?"
Ryofu simply moved out of the way, letting him through. He then sat on a chair in the corner, and looked at the depressed general and strategist, who were on their beds.
"So, I could tell that you're upset about losing so soon, so I came to cheer you up."
The two of them looked at each other, then turned back to him.
"You know, losing is nothing to be ashamed of. I mean, I've lost before, and I just got right back onto the proverbial horse. And I've seen both of you lose before, and you were fine with it. So what's the matter now?"
"We let you down."
Anthony turned to Ryofu, who had finally broken the silence, staring at her feet. "We wanted to make everyone proud…"
"And we failed," cut in the young strategist.
"You know," said Anthony, "Yue and Ei didn't even make it into the tournament, and although they were sad at first, they both got over it."
"Yeah…" said Ryofu, although she sounded unconvinced.
"And Rinrin lost too! But she wasn't upset in the slightest!"
"But that's different," said Shokatsuryo. "She's…"
"'Just a kid?' Last time I checked, you were the same age, miss hypocrisy."
"No, it's just, she doesn't take loss that hard, and she lost to a friend. We lost to the peerage of Ensho."
"So? You guys will just have to try harder next time! Don't let one loss get you down, it just means that you have to give it 110 percent next time!"
"But you can't have 110 percent," said Shokatsuryo, with Ryofu nodding.
"Not with that attitude! And I've actually got something to help you with that. Shuri, do you have a card called Metalmorph?"
Shokatsuryo raised an eyebrow, before she began to flip through her cards, and eventually, she found the card that he asked for and showed him to it. Anthony smiled, then reached into his satchel and looked through his extra cards, before pulling out a card and handing it to her.
"Here you go, a little present."
Shokatsuryo was in shock. "Hawawa! I can't take your cards!"
"You aren't taking it, I'm giving it to you. Besides, you have the cards to make it work."
With some hesitation, she took the card, and her expression went from upset to in disbelief as she saw what she had been given.
'HAWAWA! This is stronger than anything that I have in my deck!'
Anthony then removed her hat and began to pat her head, which made her squirm in embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it, Shuri."
He then turned to Ryofu. "And that goes for you too, Ren. Sorry, I don't have a card for you."
Ryofu simply shrugged her shoulders, then spoke up.
"Pat…my head?"
Anthony tilted his head in confusion. "What? You want me to pat your head?"
She nodded, and Anthony shrugged in response, before he patted her head, which made her blush and smile.
"Thank you."
"Anytime, I guess. Goodnight, girls, and don't forget what I told you." He then left, and as he did, he came face to face with Choun.
"Sei? What are you doing out here?"
"I'm going on patrol. Somebody has to make sure the streets are safe at night."
Anthony cocked an eyebrow, and went into his room to build his deck for his duel with Sonken the next day, while Choun went off to do her own thing.
~KD~
In her Butterfly Mask disguise, Choun leapt from rooftop to rooftop, the crisp air of the night lightly stinging her cheeks as she ran across the town at top speed. She then came to rest on the ledge of a shop, looking for anything suspicious.
"Why Riri…"
She then looked down, seeing Kochu walking through the streets. But rather than her usual friendly smile, Kochu was frantically wiping away tears, as she was softly sobbing.
"I'm the one that they wanted. They could have just captured me. Why did they have to take Riri?"
She then looked at her cards. "And even more than these cards, she's the most important thing in my life."
Chou had heard enough. 'This woman needs our help.' She then removed her mask, in order to talk to this woman directly, and leapt from the rooftop onto the street, landing gracefully before Kochu. The older woman was startled by the sudden appearance, as she held out her Duel Disk before Choun stood up.
"Who is Riri?"
This was apparently enough to cause Kochu to burst into full-on bawling, as she fell to her knees and buried her face in her palms. Choun then kneeled down to her, and removed the hands of the older woman, whose face was all red from crying.
"Please, let us help you. Come with me, and I'll take you to Lord Anthony."
Kochu stopped crying, and nodded. She decided to tell them everything once she got there.
