Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Over the Nexus
Fan Fiction by: Spirit Reader
Yu-Gi-Oh! (Including GX, 5D's, and Zexal) original creator: Kazuki Takahashi
Chapter 49: New Girl – Misaki Himura
It's been a few days since the Exhibition Match took place and, for the most part, things seemed to have cooled off to an extent. While everyone was still worried about what would happen when they face Alistair, they decided to put that problem to the side for now. They realized that they needed to focus their time on their training so that, if they won the Tournament, they'll at least have the strength needed to go head-to-head with the Duel King.
Lilly spent most of her time continuing working on her Duel Runner. Despite being the most experienced Turbo Duelist out of her group of friends, the young woman knew that her Duel Runner wasn't in the state needed to win the Fortune Cup. She would spend hours on in installing new modifications to the Runner so that it would function at its absolute best. Lilly would even skip on hanging out with her friends just so that she could focus solely on the task at hand. The others were worried about the workaholic attitude she had of late, but Lilly informed them that it was nothing and that she just wanted focus on the task at hand and that she would hang out with them later. The problem with that is...later hasn't come yet.
Crow, to some extent, focused on the same approach as Lilly and focus much on his time on his Duel Runner. However, instead on working on the Runner itself, the Blackwing Duelist would instead work on his overall riding skills. Miri Miyagi, Crow's new friend, would also help with his training by making sure that the engine she installed was still working to full capacity. She would also give some advice on to best handle his Duel Runner. Through her, Crow was learning to use the track to his advantage and how to get a sudden boost of speed by revving his Runner a certain way. Crow was very grateful for Miri's teachings and promise to make it to her by winning the Fortune Cup and giving her a portion of the million dollar prize money.
As for Takashi and Toru, the two of them decided that they would continue their usual routine of evaluating each other's styles. However, progress has been slow as of late since Takashi was still working on his new deck. Even though he slightly scared by the way Alistair Dueled, Takashi made sure to pay close attention on how the Duel King played. It was during his observation that Takashi finally obtained the missing piece in his deck that he was looking for and quickly began making the necessary changes to it. Through those changes, the young Duelist saw that all the pieces were falling into place and he knew that it wouldn't be too much longer until his brand new deck was completed. When that happens, Takashi would focus more on his training with Toru and be fully prepared when the Fortune Cup arrives.
Akiza's training session was slightly different from the rest of her friends as she decided to focus more on the learning aspect of Dueling. The young Psychic wanted to work on setting up her strategies better, making sure that she was always several steps ahead than her opponents. Even though Akiza was already considered to an extremely talented Duelist, most of the students at Duel Academy considered her to be best in her class, she still felt that there were still areas that she needed to improve on. To help with that, Akiza decided that she would attend the special Tournament classes that the Academy provided so that she can fully understand the things she would need to learn if she truly wanted to win the Fortune Cup.
One morning while preparing for the first class since the beginning on Spring Break, Akiza was busy packing her backpack with all her textbooks. Once she finished doing that, the young woman walked over to her dresser and began checking herself in the mirror. Even though she wasn't really into fashion or how she looked, Akiza wanted to make sure she was presentable to other people.
As she continued to look at herself, she noticed the necklace that Takashi gave to her at the beginning of her Spring Break and gently held the item in the palm of her hand. As she saw her reflection in the emerald in the middle of the necklace, a small blush appeared on Akiza's face and she began to recall the second reason on why she wanted to participate in the Fortune Cup.
Even though she saw the aspect of becoming the Duel Queen of all of Japan very promising, the real reason why she wanted to enter the Fortune Cup was because of Takashi. Throughout the past 6 months since she's known him, Akiza's feelings for Takashi has drastically changed from hatred into love. She would attempt to confess her feelings for him whenever she got the chance to do so, but she would either be too afraid to do it or someone would interrupt her at the last minute. These incidents began to have an effect on her confidence and Akiza began to have her doubts on whether or not she would ever be able to tell Takashi that she loved him. So, when the announcement for the Fortune Cup was made, Akiza found the perfect opportunity. If she managed to get through all the other competitors then she knew her confidence would grow as a result. This is even more so if she managed to win the entire tournament. So, after thinking long and hard about this, Akiza decided that she would win the Fortune Cup. Once she did that she would then confess her truest feelings towards Takashi, as she felt it was the most appropriate way for her to do so.
Once she finished looking at her necklace, and proceeded to place it around her neck, Akiza grabbed her things and made her way downstairs. As she did, she noticed several boxes all around the house and carefully maneuvered her way around him. Once she made it into the kitchen, she quickly prepared herself a bowl of cereal and began eating at the table. As she ate, she saw Takashi sitting across from her, putting the finishing touches on his deck.
"How's it going?" She asked him.
"Better than I hoped," Takashi responded as he lifted his head and faced her. "I'm about 80% done. I hope to have it finished later on today, tomorrow at the very latest."
"That's good to know," Akiza was happy that Takashi was making progress with his new deck as it meant that he would soon get back to doing the thing he loved; Dueling. "How'd you make so much progress?"
"Well, to be honest, I have kind of have to think Alistair for that," Takashi answered as he gently scratched the back on his head. "During his Duel, I saw him use a unique brand of Tuner Monsters called Resonators. When I looked them up, I saw that they're a group of Fiend-Type monsters whose abilities focus on Synchro Summoning and stalling. Realizing that, I decided to focus on a group of Tuners that have similar effects to the Resonators, but on a different scale."
"Different scale…?" Akiza questioned, confused by the meaning behind Takashi's words. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well…that's kind of hard to explain," Takashi said. "But, to put it simply, I intend for them to focus less on stalling and more on swarming. I want the monsters to be on the field as quickly as possible. That way I Synchro Summon faster and breakthrough my opponent's strategies before they have a chance to form."
Understanding the meaning behind his explanation, Akiza nodded her head in approval. As a Duelist who also focuses on rapid Synchro Summoning, the young Psychic Duelist knew very well on the type of strategy that Takashi was attempting to build for himself. She hoped to learn more about his new deck, hoping to help him out in anyway. However when Takashi decided to reveal that information on another day, Akiza accepted that response and began waiting patiently until the day came that he would reveal it.
After about a half an hour of eating and talking to the man she loved, Akiza finished up her breakfast and got ready to head to Duel Academy. As she prepared to leave Poppo Time, Takashi remembered something important and proceeded to walk over towards Akiza just before left out the door.
"Akiza," He called. "Before I forget, Zora told us earlier last week that her granddaughter is moving in with us. We promised that we would help her move her stuff in so we need to you come back from school as soon as you can."
"No problem," Akiza replied as she smiled and nodded her head. "I'll head back here as soon as the final bell sounds."
With that said, the young woman proceeded to leave Poppo Time and quickly made her way over towards Duel Academy. As she walked, Akiza began to wonder what type of person Zora's granddaughter was like. Even though she was relatively good terms with her landlord, Akiza never really asked her anything that happened to involve her personal life. So, when she learned that her granddaughter was coming to stay with them, she didn't really know on how to truly feel about it. All Akiza hoped for is that her newest roommate happened to be a person that she could get along with.
As she continued on her way to school, a young woman with short black hair and brown eyes saw Akiza making her way towards the Academy. Like her, she was wearing the standard burgundy uniform that all female students were required to wear and she was also carrying a brown bag that was holding various textbooks. Upon seeing Akiza, a small smiled appeared on the girl's face and she proceeded to make her way towards her.
"Hey Akiza," The girl called. "Wait up.'
Akiza turned around and saw the girl walking towards her. When she saw her, a small smiled appeared on her face as she proceeded to wave her hand towards the girl.
"Good morning Mei," She said.
Mei Kamiya is one of the few individuals, outside Akiza's usual circle, that the young Psychic Duelist could actually call her friend. She was a kind and attractive 17-year-old girl who's very popular amongst all the students within the Academy. However, despite her popularity, Mei would usually spend most of her time hanging out with Akiza. The two girls have a lot of common interest and have the same level of passion when it comes to Dueling. Because of that they were able to become good friends very quickly and they're usually seen hanging out with each other whenever they spare time or the same class.
Akiza is particularly grateful towards Mei as she proved Takashi's theory that not all people were bad as she initially perceived them to be. It's also because of her that she's been able to be more open with other people around the school and to her usual group of friends. In other words, it's through Mei that Akiza was able to open her heart more to the people that were around her.
"So how was young Spring Break?" Mei asked as she finally reached her friend. "Did anything exciting happen?"
During her Spring Break Mei's father, Kenji Kamiya, took her out of the country so that she could tour Paris. Since he works for New Domino's Public Security Maintenance Bureau, Kenji usually doesn't spend as much time with her daughter as he would like. To make up for that, he decided to set up some father-daughter quality time during her time off from school. Because of that, Mei didn't know about the announcements that involved the Fortune Cup and Akiza was forced to tell her in order for her to get the heads up.
"That's amazing," She said as she absorbed all the knowledge that was given to her. "And you say that you're trying to enter this Fortune Cup tournament too?"
"Yes," Akiza answered as she nodded her head slightly. "However, I've yet to receive the letter of recognition which would allow me to participate. I'm hoping that if I continue doing well this year, then they might notice me and allow me to compete."
"They have to notice you Akiza," Mei pointed it out as she gently wrapped her around Akiza's neck. "You're obviously the best Freshman that Duel Academy has. As a matter of fact, I've been hearing rumors that you may be the best student in the entire school and that it's a sure thing that you'll make the Dean's List."
"Maybe…"
As Mei continued to reassure Akiza, the young woman noticed the necklace that she had around her neck and began to examine it very closely. After seeing how beautiful it was, a small smile appeared on Mei's face as she looked towards her friend.
"So who gave this to you?" She asked in a sly tone of voice. "Was it your boyfriend?"
A large blush appeared on Akiza's face as she was embarrassed by Mei's words. She attempted to come up with the right words in order to prove her wrong, but her frantic expressions had already confirmed Mei's suspicions.
"You don't have to be embarrassed by it Akiza," She said. "Man, I don't get why you always become so sensitive whenever I mention that guy you like. I mean, is this Takashi really as nice a person as you say he is?"
"He's more than that," Akiza placed her hand upon her necklace and gently held it around her heart. "Takashi is kind, funny, brave, and a person who you can always count on when things get rough. It's thanks to him that I've become the person that I am now. I owe him a lot…so you can see why I have these feelings for him."
Mei understood Akiza's feelings very well. Even though she never met Takashi in person she could tell that everything that her friend said about him was true. Also, the fact that he was the one who turned Akiza from anti-social girl to a girl who is more outgoing is proof by itself. So, with a smile on her face, Mei gently patted her friend's back.
"Well, if that's the case, then you better get a move on." She said.
A small smiled reappeared upon Akiza's face as she agreed with Mei's response. The two friends then proceeded to continue on their way towards Duel Academy.
As the two of them walked, both Akiza and Mei noticed a very peculiar scene. A group of thugs were busy surrounding a young girl who was wearing the same Academy uniform as them. She had cerulean blue hair with black bangs and dark pink eyes. The girl also had a somewhat slender build to her and had a pair of above average breasts.
Akiza was slightly concerned about the situation and wanted to do something about it before something serious happened. As she was making her way towards them, the young Psychic Duelist noticed that the conflict between the two sides had already gone underway. However, as she continued to watch the scene, Akiza saw something that she really didn't expect.
The girl was not holding her own against all the thugs, but they were actually dominating most of them. She was utilizing several methods of Martial Arts, using each of them to predict the movements of her attackers and counterattack accordingly. Both Akiza and Mei were shocked at this display as neither of them expected to see something like this.
"…Jesus," The girl said as she closed her eyes and let a out a small sigh. "…I've never thought the thugs in New Domino City were this weak."
As she began shaking her head in disappointment, the girl didn't realize that some of the thugs she defeated were getting back to their feet. All of them had fierce some expressions on their faces, wanting the girl to pay for making them look like fools. They were about to attack her with a couple of lead pipes, but they were stopped by Akiza.
"That's enough," The young woman said as she gripped the hand of one of thugs. "You've already lost this fight. Take your friends and leave this place before things get worse for you."
To prove her point, Akiza continued squeezing the thug's hand until she broke it. As he screamed in agony, the thug noticed the menacing glare that Akiza was giving and felt a large amount of killing intent coming from her. Realizing that she meant business, the thug got off from the ground and proceeded to leave the area with the rest of his friends. Once she was gone, Akiza walked over to the girl.
"Well that was pretty interesting," She said with a small smile. "Are you okay?"
"…I'm fine," The girl replied.
She proceeded to grab her blue backpack from off the ground and began making her way towards the Academy. However, before she could get far, Mei confronted her.
"Hey…!" She called out. "Aren't you going to thank her for helping you? If Akiza wasn't there to stop those guys then who knows what could've happened."
"…I didn't ask for her help," The girl replied. "…I already knew that those guys were coming for me and I already had an effective means to counter them."
With that said, the girl quickly went on her way towards Duel Academy. Mei was irritated by her lack of respect, but Akiza calmed her down before things got too heated. For some reason, she felt that this girl was very similar to her former self. Because that she came to conclusion that she was just shy and she didn't want to interact with other people unless she really had to.
"That girl," She thought to herself. "I wonder who she is…"
Later on that day, during her Strategic Dueling class, Akiza was busy writing in her notebook while her teacher was talking. As she was taking down some notes, Akiza's mind was focusing on the incident that took place earlier today. She very interested in that girl as she saw a lot of herself in her. Also, the way how she took down all those thugs was also very impressive. Having been learning Martial Arts from Takashi and Lilly, Akiza recognize some of the moves that the girl employed and was amazed on how well she executed them. She'd hoped that she would get the chance to see her again before the day ended.
As she was thinking about this, Akiza's teacher got a notice from the office and exited the classroom as a result. After about a few minutes, the teacher came back inside the classroom along with another person. When Akiza saw who the person was her eyes widen from shock. It was the girl who she saw earlier this morning.
"Attention everyone," The teacher said, gathering the attention of all of the students. "I would like to introduce to you a new student to our class. Her name is Misaki Himura a transfer student from North Academy. Please treat her kindly as she gets acquainted to life here at Duel Academy."
As the student greeted her, Misaki kept to herself and didn't really pay much attention to them. She began scanning the entire room, hoping to find a place to sit. As she did that, the young woman happened to notice Akiza and kept her eyes upon her for a few moments before turning away.
"So Misaki," The teacher said. "As the newest student to our class, I would like everyone to see just how strong a Duelist you are. So I would like for you to choose any student here and the two of you will have a friendly Duel."
"…Very well," Misaki said in a somewhat low tone of voice. "…If you don't mind, I would like to face to strongest Duelist in this class."
Misaki's proposal shocked a lot of the students in the class as they never expected for the new girl to go right out and challenge the top student. Usually they would pick somebody who seemed easy to beat, just to prove how strong they were. However, since she wanted to challenge the strongest Duelist, that caused everyone to question whether or not she was a really strong Duelist herself or just plain arrogant.
In order to determine which of the two was true, most of the students decided to give Misaki what she wanted. They proceeded to raise their fingers into the air and began pointing towards the strongest Duelist in the class; Akiza Izinski.
"It seems your opponent has already been chosen for you," The teacher commented. "Well, it is true that Akiza is the top Freshman student at the Academy. I'm sure she'll be a strong opponent for you."
"…We'll see," Misaki silently replied.
As everyone got ready for the Duel, Akiza was trying to figure what the hell was going on. In a matter of only 5 minutes she not only encountered the girl she met this morning, but now is about to Duel her right in front of her entire class. Truth be told, the Psychic Duelist was becoming very confused. Still, despite her confusion, a small part of her was slightly excited about the Duel she was about to partake in.
"This is going to be interesting," She thought to herself as she picked up her Duel Disk and placed it around her left arm. "Even though I'm surprised about what just happened, I'm somewhat glad that this happening. I can tell right away that she's a good Duelist and now I get to see that strength in person. Hmm…it's funny. I guess this is the sensation that Takashi feels whenever he faces a powerful opponent."
Eventually, everyone left the class and quickly made their way towards the Dueling Arena. Once they were there, all the other students sat down in stands and prepared themselves for the action while Akiza and Misaki made their way towards the middle of the arena. The two girls began shuffling the other's deck, which is customary for Academy students to do before a Duel, and proceeded to give them back to each other once they were done. They then separated from one another before placing their decks into their Duel Disks and activating them.
"Alright…," The teacher said as prepared to prepare to announce the start of the Duel. "I want you two to give it you all and make sure to have fun."
Akiza and Misaki nodded their heads at the same time as they quickly drew five cards from their decks. Once they did that they looked intently at one another has their Duel began.
"DUEL!"
Akiza: 4000 LP
Misaki: 4000 LP
"…I'll make the first move," Misaki declared as she drew a card from her deck and placed it into her hand. After that, she immediately took another card and placed it horizontally onto her Monster Card Zone. "I Summon: Morphtronic Celfon, in Defense Mode."
Morphtronic Celfon: ATK 100 DEF 100 LVL 1
A bright flash of light shined on Misaki's side of the field as a small and yellow cell phone appeared in front of her. Akiza, along with the rest of her classmates, was surprised by the appearance of this monster as they never heard of Morphtronic monsters before.
"I activate Celfon's Special Ability," Misaki continued. "Once per turn, while it's in Defense Mode, I can roll a six-sided die and I can look at the top cards of my deck equal to the number rolled."
A large six-sided die appeared in the middle of the air, right in between both Duelists. When it landed on the ground, it started rolling for a few moments before finally stopping. When that happened, the number that was face-up was 5.
"It's five. So now I can look at the top 5 cards of my deck."
Misaki swiftly picked up the top 5 cards of her deck with one draw and proceeded to look at each of them for a moment. After that she placed all the cards back on her deck in the order in which she saw them. She then took a card from her hand and inserted it into her Spell/Trap Zone. The card materialized face-down on the field, right behind Morphtronic Celfon.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Akiza declared as she drew her first card of the Duel. As she took a look at the card, the young woman began wonder what other abilities that Morphtronic Celfon had. Eventually, she decided that she'll find out the old fashion way and proceeded to place a card onto her Monster Card Zone. "I Summon: Lord Poison!"
Lord Poison: ATK 1500 DEF 1000 LVL 4
In a bright flash of light, Lord Poison appeared and prepared itself for battle. However, before conducting her Battle Phase, Akiza took another card from hand and inserted it into her Spell/Trap Zone.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card: Foolish Burial. With this card, I can take one card from my deck and place it into my Graveyard."
As Akiza took out her deck and began searching for the card that she wanted to discard, Misaki closed her eyes for a moment and began picturing all the moves that her opponent could possibly make by using Foolish Burial. After a while, the young woman had a pretty good theory on what Akiza's move might be and proceeded to open her eyes as a result. It was at that moment that Akiza found the card that she was looking for and quickly placed it into her Graveyard. Once that happened she put her deck back into her Duel Disk, watch it shuffle automatically, and continued on with her turn.
"With that, Lord Poison now attacks Morphtronic Celfon!" She ordered.
Poison complied with its mistress' orders and quickly made its way over to Celfon. However, before one claw could even touch her monster, Misaki activated her face-down card.
"I activate the Trap Card: Morphtransition." She stated. "When a Morphtronic monster I control is targeted for an attack, this card negates it and switches the position of the selected Morphtronic monster."
Yellow electrical sparks began firing out of Morphtronic Celfon's body as Lord Poison continued to make its way over to it. When some of the sparks hit Poison, the Plant-Type monster was electrocuted and sent back to Akiza's side of the field. Then, Celfon began to change shape and began transforming itself into a small yellow robot.
Akiza kept her cool at the recent events, as she didn't want Misaki to her flustered. Still, she would lying to herself if she wasn't slightly concerned by her opponent's move. To prepare herself for what might happen, the young woman took a card from her hand and inserted it into her Spell/Trap Zone. The card appeared face-down on her side of the field, right behind Lord Poison.
"I end my turn by setting one card face-down."
"It's my turn," Misaki said as she drew another card from her deck. Since she already knew what it was, the young woman immediately placed the card onto her Monster Card Zone. "I Summon: Morphtronic Magnen."
Morphtronic Magnen: ATK 800 DEF 800 LVL 3
Another bright flash of light shined on Misaki's side of the field as a new Morphtronic monster appeared. This one had the appearance of a blue and red robot with a magnet shaped head.
"Next, I activate the second ability of my Morphtronic Celfon. Once per turn, while in Attack Mode, Celfon allows me to roll a six-sided die. Depending on the number rolled, I can reveal the top cards from my deck and then Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Morphtronic monster from among them, ignoring the Summoning conditions. I then shuffle the remaining cards back into my deck."
As the six-sided die reappeared onto the field, Akiza finally figured out Misaki's strategy. She purposely placed Celfon in Defense Mode so that she can confirm which cards she was about to draw. Then played her Morphtransition Trap Card to not only protect her monster, but also set things up to activate its second ability. The thought of all this caused a small smile to appear on the Psychic's face as she watched the die roll across the ground.
"As I thought," She thought. "She is good."
Once the die stopped rolling, it revealed a 4. This allowed Misaki to pull the top 4 cards from her deck. Since she already seen them, Misaki knew which card she wanted to summon and immediately placed it onto her Monster Card Zone.
"I Special Summon the Tuner Monster: Morphtronic Scopen."
Morphtronic Scopen: ATK 800 DEF 1400 LVL 3
As Misaki took her remaining cards and shuffled them into her deck, another Morphtronic arrived onto her field. This one had the appearance of a black and white scientific telescope. With 3 monsters on the field, Akiza already knew what was about to happen.
"I Tune my Level 1 Morphtronic Celfon and Level 3 Morphtronic Magnen with my Level 3 Morphtronic Scopen!" Misaki declared.
The three Morphtronic monsters jumped into the air and proceeded to begin the Synchro Summoning ritual. As that was happening, Misaki pulled a card from her Extra Deck and placed it onto her Monster Card Zone.
"Synchro Summon! Appear now, Ancient Sacred Wyvern!"
Ancient Sacred Wyvern: ATK 2100 DEF 2000 LVL 7
Once the ritual was finished, a beautiful white dragon with red eyebrows and blonde hair appeared onto the field and began staring down at Akiza. The beast then started roaring at the Psychic Duelist, which didn't really have much effect.
"Ancient Sacred Wyvern, attack Lord Poison…Sacred Light!"
Wyvern complied with Misaki's order and proceeded to fire a blast of light energy towards Lord Poison. When it connected, the blast consumed the Plant-Type monster and dealt Akiza 600 points of damage.
Akiza: 3400 LP
Once the attack ended, Akiza noticed that the fragments of light energy that the blast gave off were transferring over to Ancient Sacred Wyvern. Once it finished, Wyvern grew about one foot taller.
"What's going on?" She questioned.
"…It's Wyvern's Special Ability." Misaki responded. "When my Life Points are greater than yours then Ancient Sacred Wyvern gains Attack Points equal to the difference."
Ancient Sacred Wyvern: ATK 2700
As Wyvern starting to roar again, due to its power boost, Akiza was amazed that Misaki was able to take advantage of the difference between their Life Points. Still, despite how amaze she was, the young wanted to win this Duel and was prepared just in case something like that happened.
"I activate Lord Poison's Special Ability!" She declared. "When it's destroyed through battle, I can Special Summon one Plant-Type monster from my Graveyard."
From her Duel Disk, the card that Akiza discarded via the effect of Foolish Burial popped out of her Graveyard. Upon seeing it, she quickly picked up the card and placed it onto her Monster Card Zone.
"I Special Summon: Gigaplant!"
Gigaplant: ATK 2400 DEF 1200 LVL 6
As soon as Akiza placed the card onto her Duel Disk, a giant plant monster appeared on her side of the field. The beast had the mutated appearance of a Venus flytrap that was combined with several bugs. While the other students were surprised by the sudden appearance of the beast, Misaki managed to maintain her cold and calculated look.
"Gigaplant huh…," She thought to herself. "So she decided to summon a Gemini Monster."
A Gemini Monster is a unique Effect Monster that initially doesn't carry its effects when it's first summoned onto the field. When it's first summoned, a Gemini Monster is treated like regular Normal Monster. In order to activate its effect, a Duelist must conduct a Gemini Summoning which is just like Normal Summoning the monster again. However, just like with a Normal Summoning, a Duelist cannot Normal Summon again once they Gemini Summon a monster.
"Now I get it." Misaki thought. "Akiza wanted discarded placed Gigaplant in the Graveyard so that she could Special Summon it later. By doing that she wouldn't have to wait an extra turn to Gemini Summon Gigaplant and activate its abilities."
Fully realizing that Akiza wasn't some Duelist that she could push over, Misaki decided that she needed to take the Duel more seriously. She didn't want to take any chances so the young woman took two cards from her hand and inserted them into her Spell/Trap Zone. The cards materialized face-down on her side of the field, right behind her Ancient Sacred Wyvern.
"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn again," Akiza declared as she drew a card, signifying the beginning of her turn. "To start things off, I Gemini Summon: Gigaplant!"
Akiza grabbed Gigaplant's card and took it off her Duel Disk. She then firmly placed it back on the device and watched a Gigaplant roared at the top of its lungs.
"Next, I activate Gigaplant's Special Ability! Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Insect-Type or Plant-Type monster from either my hand or Graveyard. I choose to Special Summon the Tuner Monster: Nettles!"
Nettles: ATK 1200 DEF 400 LVL 2
A bright flash of light shined on Akiza's field as the young woman placed a card from her hand onto her Monster Card Zone. When that happened, Nettles appeared onto the field and started standing next to Gigaplant. Once that happened, Akiza then activated the face-down card she set last turn.
"I now activate the Trap Card: Call of the Haunted! With it, I can revive the Lord Poison that's currently resting in my Graveyard!"
Poison's card popped out of Akiza's Graveyard, allowing the young woman to pick it up and place it back onto her Monster Card Zone. When that happened, Lord Poison reappeared onto the field and stood next to both Gigaplant and Nettles.
"I Tune my Level 4 Lord Poison with my Level 2 Nettles!"
The selected monsters jumped into the air and prepared themselves for the Synchro Summoning ritual. As everybody in the arena looked on, Akiza grabbed a card from her Extra Deck and placed it onto her Monster Card Zone. She then started chanting to herself.
"Splendid hunter and dweller of the sacred forest, with your whip of punishment in hand, come forth now! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Splendid Rose!"
Splendid Rose: ATK 2200 DEF 2000 LVL 6
Once the ritual was completed, Splendid Rose appeared onto the field and began staring down both Misaki and her Ancient Sacred Wyvern. The sight of the Plant-Type Synchro Monster didn't really impress Misaki, but she knew that Akiza wouldn't have summoned it if it didn't have a powerful ability.
"I activate Splendid Rose's Special Ability!" Akiza stated. "By removing a Plant-Type monster from my Graveyard from play, Splendid Rose can cut the Attack Points of one monster on your side of the field!"
As the Plant-Type Duelist pulled out Lord Poison's card from her Graveyard, Splendid Rose used the thorn whips that were on its arms and proceeded to wrap them around Ancient Sacred Wyvern. As those thorns penetrated its body, Wyvern roared in agony as its strength by to decrease.
Ancient Sacred Wyvern: ATK 1350
"Now, since your monster is now weaker, I'll have my Gigaplant destroy your Wyvern!"
Gigaplant made its way over to Wyvern as Splendid Rose continued to hold the monster down. Once it got close enough, Gigaplant began to devour Misaki's monster right in front of her eyes. However, unlike her classmates, the young woman didn't look away from the scene and just looked on with an emotionless expression on her face.
Misaki: 2950 LP
With Ancient Sacred Wyvern now gone from the Duel, Misaki was now left with no monsters to protect her Life Points from a Direct Attack. However, even with this disastrous situation, Misaki still remained calm as if nothing was going on.
"What's with her?" One of the students commented.
"Yeah," Another followed. "Once Akiza attack her Life Points directly with Splendid Rose, she'll have only 750 Life Points left."
Akiza's was also wondering about Misaki's lack of expression, but now for the same reason as her fellow classmates. She knew she still had two face-down cards, which was the most likely reason why she was so calm, but it was more than that. It was like Misaki was still ahead of her, even though her Life Points were lower. This caused Akiza to believe that destroying Wyvern was part of Misaki's overall plan.
"This isn't good," She thought. "I've probably been walking in the palm of her hand since the very beginning. I need to end this now before she can execute her truest strategy."
With that in mind, Akiza pointed towards Misaki and prepared herself to launch attack on her Life Points.
"Splendid Rose, attack her Life Points directly!"
Rose nodded his head and quickly made his way over to Misaki. However, before anything could happen, the young woman activated one of her face-down cards.
"I activate the Trap: Offensive Guard!" She declared. "When I'm the target of a Direct Attack, this card cuts your monster's Attack Points in half and allows me to draw a card from my deck."
Splendid Rose: ATK 1100
As Misaki drew a card from her deck, Splendid Rose came over to her and slashed her with her thorn whip. Despite flinching from the attack, the young woman was satisfied that the damaged she took wasn't as bad as it could've been.
Misaki: 1850 LP
With her Splendid Rose only having 1100 Attack Points, Akiza wondered whether or not to activate its second Special Ability. Even though it would allow her attack with him again, its Attack Points would be cut in half even further. Also, Misaki still had another face-down out on her field, which could destroy Splendid Rose all together. Eventually, Akiza decided to do the wisest move available to her.
"I end my turn."
Splendid Rose: ATK 2200
"…Then it's my turn again," Misaki stated as she drew another card from her deck. Once the card was in her hand, Misaki then activated her second face-down card. "To begin this turn, I activate the Trap: Synchro Spirits! By removing Ancient Sacred Wyvern from play, this Trap allows me to Special Summon the monsters I used to Synchro Summon it."
All of the students looked on as they watched a bright flash of light cover Misaki's side of the field. From that light, Morphtronic Celfon, Magnen, and Scopen returned to the field and stood by their master.
"Next, I Tune my Level 1 Morphtronic Celfon and Level 3 Morphtronic Magnen with my Level 3 Morphtronic Scopen!"
Once again, the three monsters jumped into the air and quickly performed the Synchro Summoning ritual. And, like before, Misaki quickly grabbed a card from her Extra Deck and placed it upon her Duel Disk.
"Docking strength with courage to protect the world's peace! Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon!"
Power Tool Dragon: ATK 2300 DEF 2500 LVL 7
Once all three of Misaki's monsters finished the ritual, Akiza looked on in shocked as watched a mechanical dragon arrive on her opponent's field. It had a yellow and grey body and had several construction tools attached to its limps. Having never seen a dragon like that before, the Psychic Duelist was at a loss for words as she didn't really know what to make of it.
"Next, I activate Power Tool Dragon's Special Ability," Misaki continued. "Once per turn, I can add one random Equip Spell from my deck to my hand."
Misaki's deck started to shuffle for a few moments before finally stopping. When that happened, she drew the top card from her deck and looked at it. Misaki then inserted the card into her Spell/Trap Zone.
"I now equip Power Tool Dragon with the Spell Card: Axe of Despair. With it, my dragon gains 1000 Attack Points!"
Power Tool Dragon: ATK 3300
Power Tool Dragon raised it shovel-shaped right arm and watched as it transformed into a menacing axe. Once that happened, it turned its attention towards Akiza's monsters.
"Power Tool Dragon, attack her Gigaplant!"
Power Tool complied and gave out an electronic roar. It then flew over towards Gigaplant and swiftly chopped the monster in two with its power axe.
Akiza: 2500 LP
"With that, I end my turn." Misaki said.
As she prepared to begin her next turn, Akiza attempted to find a way to destroy Misaki's Power Tool Dragon. She simply considered using Splendid Rose's Special Ability again, but wasn't sure whether or not it had another ability that could protect itself. In the end, she had to do something now otherwise things would only get worse for her.
"It's my turn!" She declared as she drew a card from her deck. Once she placed the card from her hand, Akiza proceeded to pull out a card from her Graveyard. "I activate Splendid Rose's Ability! Now you Power Tool Dragon loses half of its Attack Points until the End Phase!"
Splendid Rose launched his thorn whips over to Power Tool Dragon, causing Misaki's mechanical beast to lose half of its power.
Power Tool Dragon: ATK 1650
"Now Splendid Rose, destroy her Power Tool Dragon!"
Splendid Rose nodded his head and quickly made its way over to the weaken Power Tool Dragon. As it proceeded to attack the monster, Misaki took the Axe of Despair from her Spell/Trap Zone and inserted it into her Graveyard.
"I activate Power Tool Dragon's Special Ability!" She declared. "When it about to be destroyed while equipped with an Equip Spell, I can instead send that card to the Graveyard in order to save my Dragon."
As both monsters continued to battle one another, Power Tool's Axe of Despair snapped in two. The bladed half of the axe struck Splendid Rose, causing it back off before it finish Power Tool Dragon off.
Misaki: 1300 LP
"I thought something like that might happen," Akiza said. "Fortunately I can use that ability to my advantage."
"…Oh really," Misaki replied. "…Don't you think you being a little bit too confident?"
"You may be right about that," Akiza took two cards from her hand and inserted them into her Spell/Trap Zone. The cards materialized face-down on the field, right behind her Splendid Rose. "So let's find out. I set two cards face-down and end my turn."
Power Tool Dragon: ATK 2300
Misaki looked at her opponent and saw that there wasn't any fear in Akiza's eyes. She then looked at her two face-down cards and believed that she was placing all of her hopes on them. Realizing that, Misaki knew that she needed to get rid of at least one of them before it was too late.
"It's my turn!" She said as she drew a card from her deck. "First off, I'm activating Power Tool Dragon's Special Ability!"
Like with before, Misaki's deck started shuffling as her Duel Disk randomly selected an Equip Spell from her deck. Once it finished, the young woman drew the card and looked at it before inserting it into her Spell/Trap Zone.
"I equip Power Tool Dragon with the Equip Spell: Power Blaster! With this, whenever Power Tool Dragon destroys a monster through battle then you take damage equal to its Attack Points!"
Power Tool lifted its left arm and watched as a giant laser cannon was attached to it. Once that happened, Misaki then a card from her hand and inserted it into her Spell/Trap Zone.
"Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Mystical Space Typhoon, which will destroy one of your face-down cards!"
From the Spell, a giant typhoon appeared onto the field and began to consume Akiza's side of the field. The wind coming from typhoon caused one of her face-down cards to destroy itself, resulting in only leaving Akiza with one.
"Now Power Tool Dragon," Misaki said, wanting her monster to get ready. "Take aim and destroy Splendid Rose!"
Power Tool Dragon complied with Misaki's demand and fired its newly acquired laser cannon at Splendid Rose. When the blast struck the monster, Splendid Rose screamed in agony as it was obliterated until nothing was left.
Akiza: 2400 LP
Once her monster was gone, Akiza looked on as Power Tool Dragon soon turned its sights over to her. Due to the effect of the Power Blast Equip Spell, the Psychic Duelist knew that she was about to dealt damaged equal to Splendid Rose's Attack Points. So she prepared herself and watched as Power Tool Dragon launched another attack from its laser cannon, resulting in her losing 2200 Life Points.
Akiza: 200 LP
As her Life Points dropped, all of Akiza's classmates were shocked at what they were seeing. None of them never expected Misaki to be doing this well and thought that Akiza would defeat her easily. However, it was the exact opposite. Misaki was the one dominating the Duel while Akiza was trying to her best just to hold on. If something didn't happen soon, then all of the students knew that they were about to witness the upset of the year.
"With that," Misaki said. "I end my turn."
Akiza nodded her head and looked towards her hand. Even though things looked bad for her, she still had a plan for victory. However, she needed one more card in order implement her strategy. Realizing that this was probably her last turn, Akiza closed her eyes and placed everything on this one last draw.
"It's my turn," She said. "Draw!"
As she slowly drew the card from her deck, Akiza opened her eyes and took a glance at the card that held her fate. Upon looking at it, a small smile appeared on her face as she inserted to the card into her Spell/Trap Zone.
"I activate the Spell Card: Monster Reborn! With this, I can revive one monster from either of our Graveyards. The monster I choose is your Morphtronic Scopen!"
A bright flash of light appeared on Akiza's side of the field as Misaki's Morphtronic Scopen reappeared on her side the field. Once it was there, she then took a card from her hand and placed it onto her Monster Card Zone.
"Next I Summon: Bird of Roses!"
Bird of Roses: ATK 1800 DEF 1500 LVL 4
Another bright flash of light appeared on Akiza's field as her Bird of Roses arrived. Now, with two monsters out on her field, everyone knew that Akiza was about to Synchro Summon another monster. The question is…which one?
"I Tune my Level 4 Bird of Roses with my Level 3 Morphtronic Scopen!"
The two monsters jumped into the air and prepared to begin to Synchro Summoning ritual. As that was happening, Akiza's claw mark gave off a faint glow that no one seemed to notice as she pulled a card from her Extra Deck.
"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"
Black Rose Dragon: ATK 2400 DEF 1800 LVL 7
When the Synchro ritual ended, a bright purple flash of light completely covered Akiza's side of the field. As all the classmates looked on in awe, Misaki slowly loss her emotionless expression and became shocked at what she was witnessing. She eventually started to feel fear as Black Rose Dragon appeared and faced off against her Power Tool Dragon.
"Black Rose Dragon, attack Power Tool Dragon…Black Rose Flare!"
Black Rose Dragon roared as it began gathering energy from within its body. Soon it fired a blast of purple flames that made contact with Power Tool Dragon. During this collision, Akiza started feeling a stinging sensation coming from her right arm.
Misaki: 1200 LP
"That's not going to work!" Misaki yelled as she started to become flustered. "Don't forget that Power Tool Dragon can be spared from destruction while equipped with an Equip Spell!"
The young Duelist removed her Power Blaster Equip Spell from her Duel Disk, resulting in Power Tool Dragon losing its laser cannon. Once Misaki placed the card into her Graveyard, she watched as her monster escape Black Rose Dragon's attack with its life. However, her quick form of relief was shattered upon noticing that Akiza's second face-down card was now flipped face-up.
"I activate the Trap: Synchro Ring!" She declared. "When a Synchro Monster I control attacks, but fails to destroy a monster through battle, this card doubles its Attack Points and gives it the right to attack again!"
Black Rose Dragon: ATK 4800
Black Rose Dragon roared at the top of its lungs as the power of Akiza's Synchro Ring Trap flowed into its body. As a result, the powerful Dragon-Type Synchro Monster grew about to about double its normal height and was prepared to battle Power Tool Dragon.
Misaki was at a loss for words as she couldn't believe how quickly Akiza turned the Duel around just after she took control of it. She could finally see why her opponent was deemed the strongest in her class, as she carefully analyzed her moves and moved according to them. With no cards on her field, Misaki realized that the Duel was over. So she quickly calmed herself down, closed her eyes, and prepared for what was to come.
"Black Rose Dragon," Akiza said. "Attack Power Tool Dragon again…Black Rose Flare!"
The dragon once again complied with Akiza's orders and proceeded to fire another blast of flames at Power Tool Dragon. When the flames connected with its target, the young Psychic once again felt pain coming from her right arm. When she looked down at it she saw her mark was glowing, she began to question what was causing it. She soon came to a realization and looked at Power Tool Dragon before it turned to ashes.
"Maybe…"
Misaki: 0 LP
As all the holograms faded away, Akiza's teacher promptly announced her the winner of the Duel which caused the other students to cheer in unison. However, instead of basking in victory, Akiza simply deactivated her Duel Disk and made her way to Misaki, who was doing the same thing.
"That was a nice Duel," She said with a smile on her face. "I had a lot of fun."
Akiza extended her hand out to Misaki, waiting for a response from her. Misaki simply looked on for a few moments before finally accepting her handshake.
"…Yeah…I had fun too."
As the girls shook each other's hands, Akiza looked on at Misaki's right arm and saw that wasn't any Dragon Mark on it. She then looked on at her own mark and noticed that the glow it was emitting was gone. This caused her to wonder whether or not the feeling she felt during the Duel was just a figment of her imagination.
Later on the day, with classes now over, Akiza returned to Poppo Time and proceeded to help her friends move the boxes that were around the apartment. As both she and Takashi moved some into Wendy's old room, the young woman started to wonder about the sensation she felt again.
"Hey Takashi," She said.
"What is it Akiza?" Takashi replied as he turned his attention towards her. "Is something wrong?"
"Well…I'm not really sure," Akiza explained the events of today and what happened during her Duel with Misaki. "When Black Rose Dragon attacked Power Tool Dragon I felt, for a moment, my arm burning. I looked down to see what was wrong and saw that my mark was glowing slightly."
"I see," Takashi nodded his head as he listened to her explanation. He then looked down at his Dragon Head Mark for moment before turning back to her. "But you said Power Tool Dragon is a Machine-Type monster. Our marks only give out that pain when we either face a dangerous situation or when our dragons due battle."
"I know…that's what bothering me."
Akiza moved her gloves a little and took a look at her Dragon Claw Mark and wondered what caused it to burn. As she looked at it, both she and Takashi started to hear a revving noise coming from the garage.
"Hey guys!" Toru yelled, calling out to his two friends. "Zora wants us downstairs. Her granddaughter is finally here."
Takashi and Akiza looked at one another for a moment and silently decided to talk later. They then made their way down into the garage and met up with Toru, Crow, Lilly, and Zora. The two of them saw another individual in the garage as well. It was girl who was riding a pink and white Duel Runner. She was wearing a white jacket over a light purple shirt, black stockings and white shoes. She was also wearing a pink a white helmet, which covered most of her face.
"Everyone," Zora said with a smile on her face. "I would like to introduce to you my adorable little granddaughter."
The girl nodded her head as the others smiled and waved at her. As she looked at all of them, she notice of Akiza and looked at her for a few moments.
"…This is interesting" She said as she placed her hands on her helmet. "…I didn't think to see you here."
Akiza was confused by the girl's words, but that confusion quickly turned to shock upon seeing her face. It was a person she knew all too well.
"Misaki…Himura?"
Next Chapter Preview
Takashi as finally constructed his new Deck and is ready to test it out for the first time. While he and his friends go to the practice the field, they happen to come across a few familiar faces and a couple of new ones. All the while, a mysterious individual sets his sights on our young hero.
Next Time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Over the Nexus. Chapter 50: New Strength – Part 1
