Disclaimer: I didn't own Yugioh Gx before, and that still hasn't changed.
The Samurai Kid
By: Patattack
A Test of Samurai
A few days ago
Hidden deep in the mountains, somewhere in Japan, there was a small village. The thing about this particular village, was its lack of most modern conveniences. The buildings, the people and their clothes, among other things, reflected the era of the mighty samurai. In a temple, located at the heart of this little village, an elderly man was kneeling down in prayer, when a younger man in simple clothes walked in. ''Elder Nishimura,'' he called out, bowing deeply as he did so. ''Your grandson is here, as you requested.
''Thank you, Ushiro,'' the elder replied, grabbing his cane and standing up to thank the man, who bowed again and backed away.
Another young man then walked in, this one tall and proud, with black hair in a top knot, dressed in dark blue and wearing crimson red samurai armor, albeit without a helmet or mask. ''You wished to see me, grandfather?'' he asked, bowing respectfully.
''Yes, Isamu. You see, there is a six samurai duelist out there who has come to my attention."
''And may I ask what makes this one so special?''
''This young man appears to be quite talented, and has a close bond with his monsters. As such, I'd like for you to seek him out and test him, to see if he's worthy of wielding the power of the Great Dragon.''
''Yes, grandfather. As you wish.'' The elderly man then grabbed an ornate wooden and metal box from a nearby pedestal and made his way over to his grandson, giving it to him, along a key hanging around his neck.
''Thank you, Isamu. Ushiro will take you to Duel Academy, where you will find the duelist in question.''
Isamu bowed again to his grandfather as he accepted the box, placing the key around his own neck. ''It is my pleasure, grandfather. But I must ask, how will I be able to recognize this duelist I'm meant to test?''
''His name… is Jeremy Wheeler.''
Present day
Unknown to those previous happenings, Syrus Truesdale was just waking up in the morning at the Slifer Red dormitory. ''Come on Chumley, time to get up,'' he called out groggily as he climbed out of bed.
''Five more minutes…'' the koala duelist muttered, rolling over.
''Jeremy, you too,'' Syrus said, reaching for his glasses. Receiving only silence in response, Syrus turned towards the blond boy's bed, only to find it empty. ''Whaaa? Chumley, Jeremy's not here.''
''Wadda you mean he's not here? Where'd he go?''
''I dunno, that's what I'm trying to… wait a minute, there's a note on the door.'' Walking over to the door, Syrus grabbed the piece of paper that had been taped there with a note scribbled onto it:
Hey guys, gone outside, don't worry about me, I'll meet you in class.
Jeremy.
''Huh, it's not usually like him to get up this early,'' Syrus thought out loud. ''Wonder what he's doing?''
At the moment, Jeremy was back in that same clearing where he occasionally went to practice martial arts, and where he'd met Jason for the first time several days ago. As for what he was doing, he and Jason were facing each other in a friendly spar. ''Hey, Jeremy?'' Jason spoke up at the same time as he blocked a punch. ''You ever gone up against another Six Samurai duelist?''
''Can't say that I have,'' Jeremy replied, jumping over a sweeping kick. ''Why the question?''
''Idle curiosity, I suppose,'' Jason said non-committedly, batting aside a strike aimed at his mid-section. ''It just seems like it'd be cool.''
Jeremy nodded at this, throwing a few light punches before backing off, the two of them standing still for a moment. ''It would be an interesting thought, to go up against another Six Samurai duelist," he admitted. "Problem is, I've never actually met anyone else that uses Six Samurai monsters, and trying to duel against myself could be a little difficult."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Jason agreed, leaping back into action.
The two boys remained quiet for a while as they continued, taking things slowly as they each tried to figure a way to out-maneuver the other. "You know… you really should be grateful that I actually came out here, because I'm missing out on valuable time I could've spent sleeping instead," Jeremy spoke up in a joking tone.
"Hey, if you were that tired, you probably wouldn't have come out here, would you now?"
"Well… I guess you're right about- ooof!" Jeremy let out a breath as Jason managed to take him down.
"Point for me," the Obelisk Boy stated, smiling in satisfaction. "I believe that we're tied now."
"How about another round?" Jeremy asked, flipping to his feet.
Before Jason could answer, a beeping sound suddenly came from his pocket, prompting him to pull out his watch and look at the time. "Sorry mate, looks like it'll have to wait a while, because it's time to get ready for class."
"Yeah, best to leave enough time to take a shower," Jeremy said in agreement. "After all, it probably wouldn't be a great idea to go to class smelling of sweat like this."
"You said it."
Later in the day, a longboat could be seen approaching Academy Island. On the boat itself, the young samurai Isamu was standing tall, his gaze fixed on the island they were getting close to. Accompanying him was Ushiro, the villager his grandfather has assigned to travel with him, who was rowing in silence at a steady pace. "Ushiro," Isamu spoke up at one point, still looking straight at their destination. "Tell me, what do you think about all this?"
"If I may ask, sir, are you having doubts about your grandfather's decision?"
Isamu shook his head in response. "No, I intend to fulfill my grandfather's request, of that, I have no doubt. However, I can't help but wonder if an outsider could truly be worthy of the power of the great dragon, as opposed to someone from our own village."
Ushiro remained quiet for a few seconds as he pondered over this before giving him his answer. "I will admit that I find myself somewhat confused by Elder Nishimura's decision, but I believe that there is a reason for it. And if this outsider really is the one who will wield the power of the great dragon, then he will surely prove his worthiness when you face him in a duel."
"Thank you, Ushiro," Isamu said, turning his head and nodding at him. "Now let us continue onward, so I might see if this Jeremy Wheeler is indeed worthy of not."
"That sure made up for having to get up early this morning," Jeremy said with a yawn, stretching out his arms as he, Syrus and Chumley walked out of their last class of the day.
"Don't you think you should try a little harder to stay awake in class?" Syrus asked.
"Hey, I try to stay awake. It just… doesn't always work out that way."
"Falling asleep in class, are you now?" The three boys turned around to see Jason approaching them.
"It happens sometimes," Jeremy replied with a sheepish grin. "So, what's up?"
"Well, I was going to spend some time with Adrianna, but she's off somewhere with Christine and Alexis, I think. So I was basically looking for someone to hang out with."
"The more the merrier, as they say."
"Umm, Jeremy, who is this?" Chumley inquired.
"Oh, right. Guys, this is Jason Anderson, from Obelisk," the blond boy answered. "Christine and his girlfriend know each other, plus he and I like to spar sometimes. Jason, these are my friends, Chumley Huffington, and Syrus Truesdale."
"Hey."
"Hi there."
"Nice meeting you both," Jason said. "So… we cool to hang out? I wouldn't want to intrude on you guys or anything."
"Well, Jeremy seems to think you're alright," Chumley pointed out.
"I guess there's no harm in it," Syrus said with only a small amount of hesitation.
"Great," Jeremy exclaimed. "We were just about to head over to the card shop, if you wanna tag along."
"Works for me." The four of them then made their way down the halls, making light conversation, until they arrived at the card shop a few moments later, at which point they took into account the fact that it was egg-wich day. "Ooo, goodie, sandwich day. Any of you guys going to try for the egg-wich?"
"Not me," Chumley said.
"Ditto," Syrus agreed.
"Not a chance," Jeremy added. "Sides, I just came here to get a few packs cuz I'm looking for some new cards."
"Come on, take chances, live a little," Jason insisted.
"Dude, every single time I've tried to get the egg-wich, I always end up with something nasty. And trust me, I have tried more than once."
"Didn't you throw up one time?" Syrus piped up.
"Yeah, that too."
"Aww, don't be such a wuss."
One could almost imagine the creaking sound as Jeremy slowly turned his head to look at Jason, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I'm sorry, what did you just call me?"
"A wuss. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Unless you're saying that you're not man enough."
"Oh, you're on, tough guy, and you're gonna eat those words," Jeremy said, before turning towards Chumley and Syrus. "Come on, guys."
"That's not fair, why do we have to be a part of this?" Chumley complained.
"Hey, if I have to suffer through this, you're all gonna suffer with me."
"That's the spirit," Jason declared as the other two whined at the situation, but nonetheless also ended up with a sandwich in their hands a few moments later. Just as they unwrapped the mystery sandwiches and prepared to sink their teeth into them, albeit with reluctance from Chumley and Syrus, Jason couldn't help but say: "May the odds be ever in your favor," prompting the three Slifers to look at him with confusion. "What? Haven't any of you ever read 'The Hunger Games'?"
"No," they all answered.
"You should, it's a great series. Anyway, let's just eat. On three, two, one…" the four boys their bit into their respective sandwich and chewed. "I've got turkey," Jason declared after his first mouthful.
"I've got ham," Syrus piped up.
"I've got cheese," Chumley said. "Shame it's not grilled cheese though."
The three of them then looked at Jeremy, whose face suggested that his selection was not a pleasant one. "I've gotta puke." He then promptly ran to the nearest garbage can, where he proceeded to throw up.
"Wow, you sure weren't kidding when you said you were gonna suffer," Jason commented.
"I hate you so much right now," Jeremy shot back.
Smiling as he walked over to the unfortunate Slifer, Jason clapped him on the shoulder in a friendly manner. "Aww, don't worry, I'll make it up to you by buying you those packs that you wanted."
A little while later, Jeremy, Chumley, Syrus and Jason were sitting down on the stairs somewhere in the main building, going through the booster packs they'd just gotten from the card shop, when Jason happened to speak up. "So, I heard from Adriana, who heard from one of her friends, who heard from Jasmine, who heard from-"
"Just get on with it," Jeremy said.
"Right, anyway… so, basically, I heard that someone's found Jaden and that he's supposed to be coming back."
Jeremy then launched into an explanation of the previous day's events, mentioning Bastion and Brian's efforts, Christine and Julianne's involvement, Mokuba's decision to help them, and the success that had resulted from it. "So, all in all, we should be seeing him again soon enough."
"It's pretty cool that you got help from Mokuba Kaiba himself," Jason commented.
"That's not the only reason he came here, was it now?" Syrus piped up, his tone of voice and the look he gave Jeremy both indicating that he was teasing him.
"I see… the overprotective family member thing," Jason realized. "So, how bad was it?"
"I'd rather not talk about it," Jeremy said curtly.
"That bad, eh? Ouch. I actually had it pretty easy when I met Adrianna's folks. I mean, they all pretty much loved me right off the bat."
Jeremy spared a second to stick his tongue out at the Obelisk boy, before turning back to his cards, opening up the lack booster pack. "Got it, don't need it, can't use it, no idea what this is, no, nuh-uh… YES MAN!" he suddenly cried out, causing his fellow Slifers to jump in surprise.
"You must have gotten something pretty lishus to shout it out like that," Chumley remarked.
"You bet, Chum. Makes throwing up that nasty… whatever it was… totally worth it."
"Well, I'm certainly glad to hear that," Jason said in relief. "So, you maybe wanna give those cards you got a test run?"
"Of course I wo-"
"Attention! Jeremy Wheeler, please report to the Chancellor Sheppard's office. Jeremy Wheeler, to the Chancellor's office, please."
"Guess we'll have to put that on hold for now, Jason."
In Chancellor Sheppard's office, Sheppard was sitting at his desk, while Isamu stood nearby, clad in his red armor, with Ushiro patiently standing beside him. "You do understand that whether or not Jeremy chooses to duel is entirely up to him, yes?" Sheppard addressed the young samurai.
"Of course," Isamu replied, giving him a respectful nod. "I would not presume to force anything upon one of your students."
The doors then opened up to admit Jeremy and the three others into the office. "You wanted to see me, Chancellor?"
"Jeremy, this is Isamu Nishimura, and his friend, Ushiro Yamada," Sheppard spoke up, drawing their attention towards the two in question. "They come from a small village in the mountains where the people still follow the ways of the samurai, even to this day."
"Cool!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"Is it just me, or does that samurai dude look kind of scary?" Syrus whispered to Chumley.
"No, it's not just you," he replied.
Isamu then cleared his throat lightly, before he began to address Jeremy. "I've come on behalf of my grandfather, who has heard that you wield the Six Samurai with great skill and have a close bond with them. He wishes for me to duel you, to see if you are worthy of the sacred treasure that my village has guarded for so long."
"Really? That's awesome! I'm totally down for this."
"Very well then, let us proceed."
Leaving the Chancellor's office behind, Chumley, Syrus and Jason were now seated in the school's main arena, along with Sheppard himself, while Jeremy and Isamu were walking onto the stage below. "What's going here?" Chazz asked, walking up to the others as Ushiro gave Isamu a custom duel disk that looked like a samurai sword.
"Funny thing, but this samurai guy came to Duel Academy to challenge Jeremy to see if he's worthy of this treasure from his village," Syrus explained.
Chazz blinked a few times as he stood still, obviously not having seen this coming. "Okay, that's new."
"Truly, there's never a dull moment here at Duel Academy," Sheppard said, smiling to himself.
"Might as well stick around and watch," Chazz muttered to himself. "Not like I've got anything better to do anyway."
"Are you ready, boy?" Isamu asked Jeremy, inserting his deck into his duel disk.
"You'd better believe it," Jeremy replied, inserting his deck into his own disk.
"Then let the duel begin."
Jeremy: 4000
Isamu: 4000
"I'll start things off…" Jeremy declared. "By playing Shien's Footsoldier in defense mode." Jeremy's faithful duel spirit appeared on the field, saluting his master before taking a defensive stance. (2/700/300) "Then I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Prepare yourself. First, I play Six Samurai United. Then I activate the spell Call of the Six Samurai," Isamu announced, revealing a card that showed a samurai's helmet, with a katana on one side and an armored gauntlet on the other. "This allows me to summon as many Six Samurai monsters as possible from my hand. And unfortunately for you, I have four. Come forth Zanji, Irou, Kamon, Nisashi." The four samurais rose in front of Isamu, standing tall with their weapons at the ready. (4/1800/1300) (4/1700/1200) (3/1500/1000) (4/1400/700)
"Four monsters in one move!?" Syrus squeaked.
"It's just like Ride of the Valkyries, except for samurai," Jason pointed out.
"Aww man, this duel's only just started, and it already doesn't look good for Jeremy," Chumley moaned.
"That's putting it midly," Chazz pitched in.
"Now, because Call of the Six Samurai brings out my monsters one after another instead of all at once, Six Samurai United gains four bushido counters, meaning I can send it to the grave to draw that many cards. Then I summon Spirit of the Six Samurai." The blue ghostly spirit drifting in its armor appeared among the samurai gathered on the field. (3/500/500) "And I shall choose to equip him to Nisashi." The spirit floated over to the green samurai transferring its armor onto him. (4/1400-1900/700-1200) "Finally, Nisashi will attack your Shien's Footsoldier."
"Not so fast," Jeremy interrupting, activating his face-down. "I play Book of Moon to put Nisashi face-down. Which, incidentally, destroys Spirit of the Six Samurai in the process." Nisashi suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the image of a face-down card.
"In that case, Kamon will destroy him instead." The samurai in question lit up a few sticks of dynamite, hurling them at Jeremy's monster, effectively destroying him.
"As you may well know, Shien's Footsoldier doesn't leave without saying goodbye, because now I can summon a level three or lower Six Samurai monster from my deck. Such as, Chamberlain on the Six Samurai, in defense mode." The scared man with prosthetic limb sat down with legs crossed in front of Jeremy. (3/200/2000)
"A wise move, boy. However, as you yourself may be aware of, even if he has fewer points, as long as I control another Six Samurai with a different name, Zanji can destroy any monster he attacks. Now take down his Chamberlain with Piercing Strike." Zanji then dashed forward, impaling Chamberlain with his glaive.
Isamu: 4000-3800
"And since you have no monsters to defend yourself, Irou will attack your life-points directly." Irou vanished in a blur, slashing Jeremy with his sword, taking away almost half his life-points in the process.
Jeremy: 4000-2300
"My, my, that was certainly a close one," Sheppard commented. "But at least Jeremy's still in the duel."
"Plus, a card as powerful as Call of the Six Samurai must have some kind of drawback to it," Jason reasoned.
"Now, under normal circumstances, any monster summoned by Call of the Six Samurai would be shuffled into my deck," Isamu explained. "However, I have another card that allows me to ignore that: Six Samurai Battlefield. With this spell, all Six Samurai monsters summoned by an effect that would require them leave to the field in any way at the end of the turn stays instead. And as I have nothing else to play at the moment, it is now your turn."
"Okay, you've got some good moves, but so do I," Jeremy declared as he drew his next card. "So check this out. I activate my own Six Samurai United. Then I normal summon Zanji." A mirror image of the samurai in orange armor appeared on the opposite side of the field, ready for battle. (4/1800/1300) "And since he's out n' about, I can special summon Grandmaster of the Six Samurai." Jeremy's samurai was joined by the wizened, one-eyed warrior. (5/2100/800) "Now, Zanji, attack Kamon." Jeremy's monster dashed forward, quickly cutting down the opposing samurai.
Isamu: 3800-3500
"Grandmaster, attack Irou." The old warrior ran towards his target with speed that belied his age, taking him out with a single strike of his weapon.
Isamu: 3500-3100
"With that out of the way, I'll throw these two cards face-down and call it a turn."
"And I shall begin mine by returning Nisashi to attack mode." Isamu's face-down card flipped up, revealing the green samurai once more. (4/1400/700) "Now he'll be joined by the Six Samurai Yaichi." The yellow armored samurai kneeled down next to his ally, holding his bow in one hand. (3/1300/800) "And with his effect, one of your face-down cards will be destroyed. In this case, the one on your left."
"Then I guess I'll just have to activate it first, my Swiftstrike Armor." Jeremy's card flipped up just as Yaichi released his arrow, causing it to miss.
"Very well then," Isamu said with a nod, inserting another card into his disk. "I activate the magic of Allied Forces, increasing my monsters' attack points by a total of six hundred." (3/1300-1700/800) (4/1400-2000/700) (4/1800-2400/1300) "That, of course, is enough power for Zanji to overcome your Grandmaster in battle."
"I may not be able to save him," Jeremy spoke up. "But at least I can protect my life-points. And it's all thanks to Spirit Barrier, so I don't take any battle damage so long as I have at least one monster on the field." His grandmaster was then destroyed as Isamu's Zanji stabbed him with his weapon.
"Whew, looks like he dodged a bullet there," Syrus noted.
"Not entirely, I'm afraid," Sheppard spoke up.
"Wadda you mean by that?" Chumley asked in confusion.
"As long as there's another Six Samurai on the same side of the field, Nisashi can attack twice per turn," Jason reminded him. "And right now, Jeremy only has one monster."
"Meaning, this is gonna hurt," Chazz pitched in.
At Isamu's command, Nisashi dashed forward, cutting down the opposing Samurai with one sword, then striking Jeremy with the other.
Jeremy: 2300-300
"That is all."
"Man, you are something else," Jeremy admitted with admiration. "We both play the same monsters, and yet you've been in the lead right from the start. You are good, no doubt about that. Still, doesn't mean I'm about to give up anytime soon, so here I go. Now, since I just drew The Six Samurai Kamon, I get to summon him thanks to Swiftstrike Armor." Jeremy's own explosively inclined warrior appeared on the field as he set the card on his disk. (3/1500/1000) "Next, I'll send Six Samurai United to the graveyard to draw four cards. Then I'll play Graceful Charity, drawing three more cards, and sending two of em to the grave. But I'm not done yet, because I'm summoning Nisashi in attack mode." Jeremy's lone samurai was then joined by his green armored ally. (4/1400/700) "And while I'm at it, I'll use Kamon's effect to destroy your Allied Forces." Kamon then hurled two sticks of dynamite, destroying Isamu's spell and weakening his monsters. (3/1700-1300/800) (4/2000-1400/700) (4/2400-1800/1300)
"Not a bad play, yet you lack the power to destroy any of my monsters other than Yaichi," Isamu pointed out.
"That's why I'll use Junk Dealer to bring back Hand and Spirit that I just discarded, even though their attack points are cut in half." The female warrior appeared next to her companions, followed by the possessed armor. (3/500-250/500) (3/1600-800/1000) "Unfortunately, Hand's not gonna stick around for long, because I'm sacrificing her to destroy Yaichi." The sole feminine monster suddenly disappeared, after which Yaichi exploded in a shower of pixels. "For the last preparation, I union equip Spirit onto Nisashi." The blue spirit floated over to the green samurai, placing its armor onto him. (4/1400-1900/700-1200) "Now I can finally attack, and I think I'll start with your own Nisashi." The two warriors charged towards each other, with Jeremy's monster emerging victorious due to his power boost.
Isamu: 3100-2600
"Now, since Nisashi destroyed one of your monsters while equipped with Spirit, I get to draw a card. And I think you can figure out what's gonna happen next." The empowered Nisashi then set his sights on Zanji, cutting through the shaft of his glaive and piercing his armor.
Isamu: 2600-2500
Smiling in satisfaction at his performance, Jeremy drew another card with Spirit's effect, then set a spell/trap face-down, announcing that his turn was over.
"Well, despite the difference in life-points, it looks like Jeremy's still hanging in there," Jason observed.
"Yes, this is certainly proving to be quite the duel," Sheppard added.
"I must confess that you are doing better than I had expected," Isamu admitted, giving a short nod in respect. "However, you should keep in mind that I shall grant you no reprieve until this duel is over."
"Then bring it on."
"As you wish. First, I summon Specter of the Six Samurai." A white mist materialized on the field, taking shape until it vaguely resembled a featureless samurai. (3/1200/400). "As for his effect, I currently have half a dozen Six Samurai monsters in my graveyard, allowing me to draw an equal number of cards. Next, I play Double Summon, granting me the right to normal summon an additional monster this turn: The Six Samurai Yariza." The samurai in blue armor took its place on Isamu's field, next to the ghostly figure. (3/1000/500)
"Not saying that's a bad move or anything," Jeremy began. "But even though Yariza can attack me directly, Spirit Barrier still prevents me from taking any damage since I've got monsters on my field."
"But I have Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your Spirit Barrier." A blue whirl of wind and water erupted from Isamu's card, blowing Jeremy's trap away.
"Oh, I guess that explains it," Jeremy muttered.
"Whatever he's got face-down had better be worth it, or else he's toast," Chazz pointed out.
"Yariza, attack his life-points directly with Blazing Spear." The spear wielding samurai leapt high into the air, grabbed his weapon and threw it hard at Jeremy, just as he triggered his face-down. "It would seem you were not worthy, boy.''
"Hey, the duel's not over yet, tough guy," Jeremy spoke up, drawing attention to himself.
Jeremy: 800
"What? But that should have…" Isamu interrupted himself as he looked more closely at his opponent's field, noticing Kamon's absence, and the card that had been activated. "I see… you used Mystic Wok to tribute Kamon, granting you enough life-points to withstand Yariza's attack. Clever."
"Lishus, that means he's still in this!" Chumley exclaimed.
"You go Jeremy!" Syrus cheered for his friend, who smiled and gave them all a thumbs up.
"As there is nothing else I can do at the moment, I must end my turn, meaning that Specter removes 100 of my life-points for each card I drew with his effect."
Isamu: 2500-2000
"My turn. And I start by drawing two cards thanks to Pot of Greed. Then I'll summon Marauding Captain in defense mode." The sandy haired, gruff looking man in armor appeared on the field, arms crossed and on one knee. (3/1200/400) "Then, with his effect, I'll bring out Yaichi." Jeremy's yellow armored samurai materialized in between its allies, standing tall. (3/1300/800) "Incidentally, I now have enough fire-power to take out both your monsters and the rest of your life-points as well. So go get em, Nisashi."
"My monsters may be destroyed, but my life-points will remain untouched," Isamu declared. "You see, I have Shadow of the Six Samurai, and by sending him from my hand to the graveyard…"
"You don't take any damage at all this turn," Jeremy finished for him, watching as Nisashi took out the two opposing warriors, only for the shadowy form of Isamu's other monster to protect him from harm. "Well, on the bright side, I still get to draw two cards because of Spirit's effect. And… that's all for now."
Isamu drew his next card, smiling a little at what he now held. ''I don't like the look on his face…'' Syrus moaned in worry.
''Now then, I activate the spell Shien's Blessing, to summon Kamon and Yaichi in defense mode.'' The two monsters appeared on Isamu's field, both of them down on one knee. (3/1500/1000) (3/1300/800) ''And I shall use Kamon's effect to destroy Swiftstrike Armor.'' Kamon lit up a string of explosives, consuming Jeremy's trap card in an impressive blast. ''Then I shall summon my own Hand of the Six Samurai.'' Another copy of the female warrior appeared on the field, a stony look on her face. (3/1600/1000) "And with her ability, I sacrifice Kamon to destroy Nisashi, or rather, because Spirit protects him, his armor." The feminine monster placed a hand in front of her pursed lips then made as if she was blowing a kiss, safe that she blew a stream of flame that destroyed Nisashi's extra armor. (4/1900-1400/1200-700) ''Finally, with two or more Six Samurai on my field, I summon Great Shogun Shien.''
''Oh boy,'' Jeremy muttered under his breath as the lord of the Six Samurai appeared against him. (7/2500/2400)
''Now Hand of the Six Samurai will destroy your Marauding Captain.'' The female warrior suddenly faded away, re-appearing behind Jeremy's monster and stabbing him with her dagger. ''Shogun, crush his Nisashi and his life-points.''
"If this hits, it's over for him,'' Jason pointed out.
''Sorry pal, but you're not the only one with a trick up his sleeve,'' Jeremy spoke up as Great Shogun Shien charged in. ''because I've got my own Shadow of the Six Samurai.'' The shadowy samurai warrior materialized in front of Jeremy just as Nisashi was destroyed, protecting his master from any damage.
''Very well then. I shall now tribute Hand of the Six Samurai to destroy your Yaichi.'' Isamu's feminine monster faded away, causing Jeremy's last monster to explode. "I end my turn by placing one card face-down."
"Whew, he's still in there," Syrus said in relief.
"Right… the way the duel's been going, I doubt he'll last much longer," Chazz added.
"This is a difficult situation indeed," Sheppard admitted. "… especially since Great Shogun Shien limits the number of spells and traps Jeremy can play. But, he may yet find a way out of this."
'Okay, I control no monsters, no spells, no traps, there's no way of summoning multiple samurais and nothing I have can take on Shien.' Jeremy looked down at his deck with a hopeful look as he considered his options, or lack of. 'Whether I win or lose, it all depends on my next card. Now let's do this.' Holding his breath, Jeremy then drew his card, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw what it was. "I play… Polymerization!"
"What!?" Chazz exclaimed.
"Since when does Jeremy play fusions?" Syrus asked, incredulous.
"Since when are there even Six Samurai fusion monsters?" Chumley wondered.
"He must have pulled em out of those packs he opened up right before the duel," Jason realized.
"Tell me, Isamu," Jeremy addressed his opponent. "You must have heard the story about the great samurai warrior Bushido, who defeated the evil giant, who died and had his soul split into six pieces, which created Zanji, Nisashi and the other Six Samurai, right?"
"Yes, I have heard it," Isamu replied.
"But did you know that long before that, Bushido chose six young men and women he felt were the most worthy, and made them his apprentices? So, in a sense, they were really the original Six Samurai."
"I have heard those stories since I was very young. I am quite familiar with all of them."
"Well guess what? I think it's time a couple of those stories made a comeback. First off, I need a dark attribute monster and a Six Samurai monster, such as Irou and Yariza. And I'll fuse them together to create… Bushido's Apprentice - Shadowblade." A short woman wearing black robes, dark purple armor and a visor emerged from the fusion vortex, holding a black shadowy blade in each hand. (5/2000/2000) "Now, before anyone says anything about her having less attack points, she has a special ability that allows me to change a monster to face-up attack or face-down defense mode. So Shien's gonna have to lay low." Jeremy's newest monster raised one of her swords, at which a shadowy aura surrounded the samurai warlord, forcing him to drop on one knee, before being replaced by a face-down card.
"Alright, now he can play as many spell and trap cards as he wants," Syrus pointed out.
"For my next move, I play Fusion Recovery, so Yariza and Polymerization jump straight into my hand. But they won't be staying there for long, because I'm playing Polymerization again, with Shadowblade as a Six Samurai monster, and Yariza as an earth attribute monster. Now let's give a warm welcome to… Bushido's Apprentice – Tremor." This time, the monster that stepped out of the fusion vortex was a huge, hulking man decked out in earthen brown armor, wearing a helmet with horns and wielding a massive war hammer. (6/2100/1200) "Incidentally, Bushido's Apprentices are treated as Six Samurai monsters, so I'll equip him with Sacred Cleansing Blade…" The sleek, silver sword appeared at the giant man's waist. "… and use it to target your face-down spell or trap, so you can't activate it until the end phase." Holding his hammer in one hand, Tremor placed his other hand on the sword's hilt, causing silver chains to appear around Isamu's card.
"To go through this much trouble for him, I can only assume he possesses a special ability I do not know of," Isamu remarked with caution.
"You bet he does. For starters, when he attacks a monster with less defense points than his attack points, the difference comes out of your life-points. Now go, attack Yaichi with Seismic Hammer." The behemoth warrior charged forward with a ferocious battle cry, bringing his hammer down on Yaichi with a resounding impact.
Isamu: 2000-700
"As for part two, whenever he destroys one of your monsters in battle, he deals damage equal to half that destroyed monster's attack and defense points."
"Yaichi had 1300 attack points, and 800 defense points," Chumley thought out loud. "So half of that means…"
"It means 1050 points of damage," Chazz pointed out. "And since Isamu only had 700 points left…"
"Jeremy wins the duel," Jason finished for him.
"Now let em have it," Jeremy called out to his monster, who raised one foot and stomped down hard enough to cause a miniature quake, taking out the rest of Isamu's life-points in the process.
Isamu: 700-0
"And there you have it."
"I did not expect an outcome such as this," Isamu admitted as the holograms faded away. "I see now that my grandfather was right to send me here. You are a truly a warrior at heart."
"So… does that mean I passed the test?"
"Yes, you have proven to be worthy of our village's sacred treasure. Ushiro." The man in question walked up to Isamu, taking his duel disk and holding out the ornate box for him. Isamu then fished the key from around his neck, sliding it into the lock and turning smoothly, the box giving a small click as it popped open, revealing a single card which he gave to Jeremy. "It it yours, for you have earned it."
"Wow…" the blond Slifer uttered as he looked over the card, holding it gingerly. "Kind of a shame I don't have all the pieces I need for this."
"Do not be troubled, for I believe than when the time comes, you will use it wisely. Farewell, Jeremy Wheeler," Isamu said, placing a hand to his chest and giving him a respectful bow, which was returned, before turning around to leave with Ushiro.
"Way to play," Syrus cheered once they were gone.
"Lishus duel," Chumley added.
"Whatever, not bad," Chazz muttered.
"Nice moves, man," Jason pitched in.
"That was quite the performance," Sheppard congratulated. "Congratulations, Jeremy."
"Thanks, guys." As they were all leaving the arena, Jeremy looked at the card he'd received, transfixed by the image of the majestic dragon. 'When the time comes… Don't worry Isamu, whatever happens, I promise to use it well.'
So, there you have it, please review, and the next chapter will be up probably sometime next month.
Made up cards:
Bushido's Apprentice – Shadowblade
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Dark
Lv: 5
Atk: 2000
Def: 2000
Fusion/Effect: 1 'Six Samurai' monster + 1 dark attribute monster
This card is treated as a 'Six Samurai' monster. Once per turn, you can target one monster your opponent controls and change it to face-up attack or face-down defense mode. When this card attacks an opponent's monster, you can change its battle mode. When this card is destroyed by an opponent's card (battle or effect), you can summon one of its material monsters from your graveyard in face-up defense mode.
Image: A short woman wearing black robes, dark purple armor and a visor, and is holding a black shadowy blade in each hand.
Bushido's Apprentice – Tremor
Type: Warrior
Attribute: Earth
Lv: 6
Atk: 2100
Def: 1200
Fusion/Effect: 1 'Six Samurai' monster + 1 earth attribute monster
This card is treated as a 'Six Samurai' monster. When this card attacks a monster with less defense points than its attack points, inflict the difference as battle damage to your opponent's life-points. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to half the destroyed monster's attack and defense-points.
Image: A huge, hulking man, decked out in earthen brown armor, a helmet with horns, and holding a massive war hammer.
Call of the Six Samurai
Type: Normal Spell
Effect: Special summon, one at a time, as many 'Six Samurai' monsters from your hand as possible. All monsters summoned by this card's effect are returned to the owner's deck during the end phase.
Image: A samurai's helmet, with a katana on one side and an armored gauntlet on the other.
Six Samurai Battlefield
Type: Normal Spell
Effect: Any 'Six Samurai' monsters summoned by an effect that would remove them from the field in any way, may remain instead.
Image: The Six Samurai Zanji, Irou and Nisashi standing amidst a bunch of fallen warrior monsters.
*Note: I've changed the name of one of the cards I'd invented before from ''Shien's Advisor'' to ''Shien's Tactician'', because it conflicted with the one Konami made.*
Next chapter: Friends and family come to visit Duel Academy.
