"Hey Shuri, how are you today?"
Shokatsuryo looked up from her book and saw Anthony smiling over her, a smile on his face. The two of them were in a room that was designed for planning, with a large round table, and shelves filled with various maps of China. Shokatsuryo had made this place her third most frequent hideout, after her room and the library, of course. She placed her book down, and a small smile appeared on her face as Anthony took a seat across from her.
"I'm doing fine, thank you. Um, how are things with Ensho?"
"Well, Reiha broke a vase yesterday while cleaning it, which makes the third thing she's broken since she got here. But recently, she's really improved her work ethic, and is doing much better! I'm actually kind of proud of her."
Anthony then remembered something, as he reached into his satchel and pulled out the blue box, which contained his extra cards, and pulled out Tyrant Dragon. "Oh yeah, I won this bad boy in my duel with her! You can have it, since it's way better with your cards than mine."
Shokatsuryo couldn't believe her eyes. "Hawawa! First Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon, and now this!?"
"Well, if you don't want it, that's okay-"
"I didn't say that!" said Shokatsuryo, taking the card from her lord. "It's just, you've been giving me a lot of cards lately."
"Well, that one I can't really use, and the other one I couldn't use either, plus you were depressed. And I don't think that two cards qualifies as 'a lot.'"
"Well, have you given anyone else cards?"
"No," was the reply that she got.
"Not even Aisha?"
Anthony shook his head. "No, I haven't."
Shokatsuryo's eyes shot open. "What!? You've been dating her for this long, and you haven't even given her a gift yet!?"
"It hasn't been that long," said Anthony, but Shokatsuryo was having none of it.
"But you've been giving all of these gifts to me! What if she gets jealous?"
Anthony nervously scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I guess I never thought about that."
Shokatsuryo face palmed, and Anthony put his hand to his chin in thought. "You know, I don't really know what to get her for a gift. Should I ask her?"
"NO! You can't ask her, it needs to be a surprise!"
"Says who?"
Shokatsuryo pointed to herself. "Says the expert on romance!"
"Wouldn't that be Shion? I mean, she was married."
"THAT ISN'T THE POINT!" shouted Shokatsuryo, who had reached over the table and began to shake Anthony by his collar, before she let go.
"Okay, okay!" Anthony then had an epiphany. "What if I asked Rinrin? She and Aisha grew up together, so if anybody knows what to get her as a gift, it's her!"
Shokatsuryo smiled, seemingly satisfied with the answer that was provided. "That's perfect! She should be in her room right now, and Aisha's probably busy. The only hard part is keeping it a secret."
"I'm sure that Rinrin can keep this a secret. Well, I'm off," said Anthony, as he left the room in a hurry, and Shokatsuryo returned to her book.
~KD~
Chohi was simply looking through her cards, sitting on her bed while humming to herself, when she heard a knock on the door and gasped excitedly. She then ran over and opened it to reveal Anthony.
"Big bro! What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to ask you about something," said Anthony, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.
"Okay! Rinrin has time!" She then sat on her bed, as Anthony sat beside her.
"You see, I want to get a gift for Aisha, but the problem is, I don't know what to get her. And I can't just ask her myself, since it needs to be a surprise. Do you have any ideas?"
"Um…a card?"
"A Duel Monsters card? Are you sure?"
"Rinrin's super sure! I got big sis her big lightning knight for her birthday, and she was super happy! I'm sure that if you get her a really cool card, she'll be so happy with you, promise!"
Anthony smiled. "Okay then, I'll go into town and buy her a good one. Oh, and one more thing. Can you keep this a secret? I don't want Aisha to know about this."
"Rinrin promises!" She then held out her pinky finger, and Anthony locked his own with hers. And in the mind of Chohi, to break a pinky promise is an unspeakable act, so Anthony was positive that she would keep her word. He then left her room and made his way into town.
~KD~
'Okay, this is much harder than I initially thought.'
So far, Anthony had been wandering around the town for roughly ten minutes, and nobody he had seen so far sold cards. He would certainly have no trouble paying for an ultra rare card, as he still had a sizable portion of prize money left over, but the problem was actually finding a vendor.
"What does it take to find someone that's selling Duel Monsters cards in this place?"
"Ah, looking for cards, I see?"
Anthony turned to see a male vendor wearing a simple outfit that was pink in color, the same color as the Go insignia. He was roughly five-foot-nine, with short brown hair and a black bandana wrapped around his forehead. He had a wide smile, as he waved his hand over a display of cards.
"Fresh from Go, these are some of the best cards on the market! Come, take a good look!"
Anthony did so, looking at the selection carefully, but to his disappointment, none of the cards were ones that would fit Kan'u's deck. Dark Eradicator Warlock, Vampire Genesis, Infernal Flame Emperor: none of these were what he was looking for.
"You got anything better in the back?"
The vendor took offense to this. "Are you saying that these cards aren't quality?"
"No, they are, it's just, I'm looking for something really special, for my girl."
"Ah, I see. Well, I do have some very special cards in the back, but I don't show these to just everyone."
"Trust me, I can pay for it."
"That isn't what I meant," said the salesman, reaching below the counter and pulling out a Duel Disk. "If you want to look at my highest quality cards, you need to earn it by beating me!"
Anthony smirked as he pulled out his own Duel Disk and activated it. "No problem! Bring it on!" And with that, both duelists drew their first five cards.
(Anthony: 4000 LP)(Vendor: 4000 LP)
"Is it okay if I go first?" asked Anthony, as the other shoppers either stopped to watch, or steered clear of the two.
"It's not a problem at all," said the vendor, as Anthony drew his sixth card.
"Alright, I draw! And I summon Mechanicalchaser!"
His six-armed robot entered the field, looking as fierce as ever (LV 4: ATK 1850).
"And now, I'll set two cards and end my turn!"
The vendor drew, and smiled. "I activate my Dicephoon!"
A card appeared, displaying a picture of a die being struck by lightning in the center of a vortex. A die then appeared, and was struck by a bolt of lightning before it began to roll in midair.
"Now if I roll a two, a three, or a four, I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card on the field, and if I roll a five, then I can destroy two!"
"And if you roll a one or a six?"
"Then I take a thousand points of damage, but I'm feeling lucky! Let's see just what I get!"
The die rolled at a high speed, before it finally came to a stop on a three, and a windstorm kicked up around it.
"Okay, I'll destroy your left card!"
The whirlwind lifted the card, Metalmorph, into the air before it shattered into pieces.
"And now, I activate my Dangerous Machine Type-6!"
A massive dark blue slot machine with an appearance similar to that of an eyeball appeared, with six slots in a circle and a golden nameplate with "Type-6" engraved on it at the bottom. "During each of my Standby Phases, I can roll these slots and activate an effect depending on the result! Maybe I'll draw a card, or maybe you'll discard one, or maybe it'll just blow up! Who knows? And now, I summon my Snipe Hunter!"
The new monster was a purple imp wearing a black skintight outfit complete with fingerless gloves and a mask, with crazed orange and green eyes, tiny wings, and a long tongue. In its left hand was a small laser gun, with a roulette wheel where the hammer usually went (LV 4: ATK 1500).
"And now, I discard my Blind Destruction to activate its effect! Now my monster will spin that wheel, and as long as the result isn't a one or a six, I can destroy one card that you control! So if I'm lucky, I can trash your Mechanicalchaser!"
His monster then spun the colorful wheel, and it spun round and round before it settled on the section that read, "5." The Fiend-type then pointed the gun at Mechanicalchaser, and squeezed the trigger, shooting a green and orange "5" at the Machine-type, blasting it to pieces.
"Alright, now we're talking! Snipe Hunter, attack directly!"
His monster fired a green laser at Anthony, which dealt quite a bit of damage (Anthony: 4000-2500 LP). Anthony remained calm and activated his remaining face-down card.
"I activate my Damage Condenser! With this card, I can discard one card, then Special Summon a monster from my deck with attack points less than or equal to the battle damage that I took!"
He then discarded his Weapon Change, and searched his deck, before he pulled out a card and placed it on the field, which turned out to be his Megasonic Eye (LV 5: ATK 1500).
"Interesting! I'll end my turn by setting a card."
As the face-down appeared, Anthony drew, then smiled.
"Perfect! I tribute my Megasonic Eye in order to summon my Blowback Dragon!"
His one-eyed robot soon faded out of existence, making room for the gun-headed robot (LV 6: ATK 2300).
"So, you like taking chances? Well so do I! Once per turn, I can select one card that you control and have my Blowback Dragon take aim, and if it's charged enough, it will destroy it! So let's see if your Snipe Hunter will last another turn!"
His Machine-type took aim, and slowly, one of the three bars filled up, which meant that the Proton Spark failed.
"Damn! Well, even if that was a bust, my monster can still attack!"
His monster got ready to shoot a proton blast at Snipe Hunter, but the vendor activated his face-down, and a red and blue checkered web appeared on the field, with six numbers around it, and a cartoony spider with a black and yellow checkered abdomen and a red arrow sticking out behind it landed on Blowback Dragon, delaying the attack for the moment.
"You've just activated my Roulette Spider! Now I'm gonna spin your monster around, and depending where it's facing, a different effect will be applied!"
The monster began to spin around like a top, which was beginning to make Anthony dizzy. Eventually, it came to a stop facing the "2," which also meant it was directly facing the vendor.
"Now your attack becomes a direct attack, so I may lose more life points, but my Snipe Hunter will be sticking around!" said the vendor, as he took the attack from Blowback Dragon directly (Vendor: 4000-1700 LP).
"I end my turn."
"Then I draw! And during my Standby Phase, Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates! What's it gonna be?"
Slowly, the six slots began to spin, before they finally came to rest at "4."
"Consider yourself lucky! Now, you get to draw a card!"
"Uh, thanks?" said Anthony, drawing a new card.
"And for my next move, I tribute my Snipe Hunter to summon my Maximum Six!"
His monster was an armless muscular humanoid with purple skin and a long blonde ponytail (LV 6: ATK 1900).
"And when this monster is Tribute Summoned, I can roll a die, and it gains two hundred attack points times the result!" A die then appeared next to the Warrior-type and began to roll, before it came to a stop, six pips on display. Maximum Six then let out a roar as six muscular arms burst from the sides of its torso (ATK 1900-3100).
"Perfect! Attack with Lightning Fist Attack, my monster!"
The six-armed warrior had its fists coated in lightning, as it ran up to Blowback Dragon and let loose a spate of punches which totaled the Machine-type (Anthony: 2500-1700 LP).
"And that will end my turn!"
Anthony drew, then smiled as he saw the cards that he had accumulated. "First off, I'll play my Enemy Controller, which will let me change the battle position of your Maximum Six!"
The monster then kneeled down, crossing all six arms over its chest (DEF 1600).
"And now, I summon my Pursuit Chaser to the field!"
His new monster looked like a white patrol motorcycle, with red sirens flashing in place of handlebars. However, for some reason, it didn't have wheels, and was floating in the air. In place of the frame were two mechanical arms with spotlights in the center of them, and three mechanical fingers per hand (LV 3: ATK 1400).
"But I'm not done yet! Now I equip my monster with the Equip Spell 7 Completed, in order to increase its attack points by seven hundred!"
The Machine-type had its sirens blare even louder as its headlight flashed (ATK 1400-2100).
"Now attack with Searchlight Flash!"
His monster fired a bright yellow beam of energy at the defending monster and blew it apart.
"And whenever a monster in defense mode is destroyed by battle, Pursuit Chaser deals five hundred points of damage!"
As he said this, the monster in question fired another blast of energy, which hit the vendor head-on (Vendor: 1700-1200 LP).
"And now, I end my turn!"
The vendor drew his next card, and he smiled. "First off, I activate my Dangerous Machine!"
The slots rolled once more, then stopped on "3," as the vendor smiled.
"Splendid, now I get to draw a card! Hmm, I'll set one monster. And then, I play my Summon Dice!"
The card had an image of a die bursting through the ground, as a die appeared on the field (Vendor: 1200-200 LP).
"By paying a thousand life points, I can roll one die, with the effect depending on the roll."
The die began to roll, before it came to a stop on a six, and the vendor began to jump for joy.
"Yes! By rolling a five or a six, I can Special Summon a level five or higher monster from my hand! And I pick my most powerful monster, Orgoth the Relentless!"
The die then vanished, and out came a powerful monster. It was a knight wearing purple and gold armor, with its upper arms, stomach, and thighs exposed, revealing that it had blue skin. A horned helmet hid its face, with only a bright pair of yellow eyes being visible. And in its left hand, it held a gleaming double-edged sword (LV 7: ATK 2500).
"And once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can roll three dice, and my monster gains attack points equal to the results times one hundred, until the end of your next turn!"
A trio of dice appeared on the field, and began to roll wildly. After a while, the results were one, five, and six, as his monster became much more powerful (ATK 2500-3700).
"Now attack! Diamond Blade Strike!"
His monster burst towards Pursuit Chaser with incredible speed and cleaved it in two. The monster was destroyed almost instantly, and Anthony's life points fell dangerously low (Anthony: 1700-100 LP).
"And now, I end my turn!"
Anthony slowly drew, then he smiled. He still had a chance after all!
"I summon my Giga-Tech Wolf!"
The monster leapt onto the field, then let out a vicious howl (LV 4: ATK 1200).
"Now I activate my Monster Gate, in order to tribute my monster and excavate cards until I find one that can be Normal Summoned, then Special Summon it to the field!"
Anthony then began to excavate his deck. He ended up sending his Night Beam, Time Machine, and Compulsory Evacuation Device to the Graveyard, before he finally found exactly what he was looking for.
"I summon my Barrel Dragon!"
The gun-toting robot soon entered the battle, letting out a loud shriek as it locked eyes with Orgoth (LV 7: ATK 2600). Anthony smiled as he put his sunglasses over his eyes.
"Now I activate its special ability, and if at least two of its barrels are fully charged, I can blast Orgoth into pieces! Fingers crossed, here we go!"
His monster suddenly began to spin all three of its proton cannons, and all three of them became fully charged.
"Perfect! It's time to face the future! Go, Proton Blast!"
His monster fired three beams of energy at the knight, blowing it to kingdom come.
"And now, I'll attack your monster! Take it down, Barrel Dragon!"
His monster took aim and fired, revealing the opposing monster to be a red and yellow hat with a pink face inside (LV 3: DEF 300). It then spat out two dice with the Millennium Symbol in place of the one, which began to roll on the ground.
"Ha ha! Now that you've flipped my good buddy Dice Jar, it activates its effect! Now we both roll one die, and whoever rolls the lowest takes damage equal to the result of the opposite roll times five hundred, unless the winner rolls a six, in which case the loser takes six thousand points of damage!"
"WHAT!? Are you fucking kidding me right now!? That's absolutely insane!"
"Well, maybe you'll get lucky!"
The two dice then came to a stop. The vendor had rolled a five, and as for Anthony…
"No way…no fucking way this can be right…I rolled a six!?"
It was true. Anthony had managed to roll a six, as Dice Jar then turned over to its master, who was stunned into silence, as it blasted him with a bright light (Vendor: 200-0 LP)(Winner: Anthony).
"Sweet! It looks like I won!" said Anthony, as the crowd began to cheer for the victor. As they dispersed, Anthony walked over to the vendor, still in shock over what just transpired.
"I lost…at chance…that's never happened to me before…"
"Hey, what about our deal?"
"Oh yes! Hold on a second!"
The man then ran into his tent, and pulled out a small wooden box before he opened it, revealing more cards, even rarer than the ones already on display.
"These cards are the best that I have in stock. I'm sure you'll find something in here that will impress your lady friend."
Anthony then scanned the cards, still not seeing anything that Kan'u would use. That is, until one card caught his attention. This one card was absolutely perfect for her. He picked it up and showed it to the man.
"How much for this one?"
"After you managed to beat me at my own game? It's on the house."
"What? I can't do that! Look, I could easily pay you for it, no problem!"
"I insist. Take it."
Anthony looked at the card, then smiled. "Thank you, sir. This is gonna make Aisha so happy!" He then slipped the card into his banished card pocket and took off, the vendor waving him goodbye.
~KD~
"Where is he?"
Kan'u had finished all of her work, and was looking for Anthony, but nobody knew where he was. She was beginning to worry that he was relinquishing his duties, but she then felt a tap on her left shoulder. Puzzled, she turned to her left, only to see nobody there. But when she turned to the right, there stood Anthony, a smile plastered across his face.
"Hey, Aisha. How are you?"
Kan'u smiled, a light pink tint coating her face. "Fine, thank you. But where have you been? I've been trying to find you for a good hour now."
Anthony simply smiled and pulled out the card he got, handing it to her face-down. "Just getting you something. I hope you like it."
"A card?" Kan'u was confused, but when she took the card from her boyfriend and flipped it over, she was dumbstruck. It looked like Black Luster Soldier, only it was an Effect Monster, unlike the Ritual Monster that she had.
"What…is it?"
"Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. An incredibly rare and powerful card. I thought that you might like it-oof!"
Anthony was then cut off by a bone-crushing hug and a passionate kiss from Kan'u. When their lips parted, he saw her smiling face. "It's perfect."
Yay, new chapter! So the vendor's design is partially based on Shin Koihime Musou's design for the Go footsoldier, and his deck is filled with cards that use dice because I figured it would make for a fun and interesting challenge. Also, I have some news. Due to school, I may not be able to write as much as I used to. However, don't get me wrong. I will try to write as much as I can. I'm still ahead, wrapping up chapter forty at the time of this chapter's upload, but compared to the past, that's much less production, especially considering the fact that I make it a goal of mine to write at least two thousand words a day. Still, don't expect month-long hiatuses, as I'm not going to do that to you guys, considering how much I enjoy doing this. Just try to be patient, as this story will most likely not be updated every day now. Starpion out!
Edit 8/1/2019: removed Damage Polarizer.