Author's Note: So, yeah.. it's been a while, huh?
I've actually received some questions about topics which were unclear in the last chapter. So I'll just go ahead and answer them all.
Q1. What about the time for which Yusaku was gone? How did Ai come back?
This has been decided, and I intentionally didn't mention anything. Don't worry everything will be explained later on. I won't spoil it right now.
Q2. Takeru's deck?
Takeru's real life deck was voted by you, the people. And you all chose his old Fire Warriors deck which he used once in the anime. So I'll have to think of new cards for that and make it viable to play. I'll try and see if Salamangreats get some time in my story if they duel inside VRAINS.
Q3. Yusaku's real life deck?
Yusaku's is going to be a mix of cards with one rare ace monster. Sort of like Yugi's original. Don't worry the ace monster isn't Dark Magician(XD), it'll be a Link Monster and one that's already in the game.
Q4. How did Yusaku use Trickstars?
Trickstars are a deck used by Blue Angel in the anime. She isn't shown to be extremely special due to owning a unique deck. In the world of Yugioh, everyone has a different deck(barring a few cases: Joey, Atticus and Yugi, Arkana), and this has never really been explained properly. So I'll be making some decks which are common and available to a lot of people. I chose Trickstars because I needed a deck which could OTK and be easily explainable for a child to have. So I chose Trickstars since I felt a lot of children would mirror their decks to be similar to celebrities. The other choice was Goukis, but I found a Trickstar OTK combo first so I went with Trickstars. Hope that's cleared up, don't worry Yusaku will have a proper new real life deck which will be unique to him(probably).
Thanks to all the amazing people who favorited and/or followed me or/and my story.
In celebration of Yugioh SEVENS, here's one of my longer chapters. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
The Legend
"I know you are Playmaker."
Yusaku's blood ran cold. "How the heck do you know?!" Ai's outspoken voice sounded out of his duel disk, the confusion and panic in his voice was obvious to anyone who heard it. Yuna meanwhile smiled so deviously that it would be better fitting on the face of a master criminal rather than a little girl.
"I didn't," Yuna replied while grinning from ear to ear, "I saw your deck while you gave it to my friend, and a duelist like you keeping a bad deck like that could have only one reason: You want to hide your strength from everyone else. And I also saw you talking to your duel disk, so I thought to risk it and ask you."
Yusaku shook his head, "That still isn't absolute proof of what you claim." He denied her statements coldly.
"Yes, but he is." She pointed a finger at the Dark Ignis, "I just took a risk to see whether I was right or not, and he gave me all the proof I need. You're the Ignis for which everyone went after Playmaker, right?"
"Eh?! You're this smart?! Are you sure you're a middle schooler? And yes, I am the great Ai-sama." Ai asked in shock, his yellow glowing eyes were widened in shock, ignoring Yusaku's glare which was redirected at him now.
Yuna giggled at his questions, "Yep! I'm just a smart middle schooler who watches too many streams of LINK VRAINS." She turned her head to look at Yusaku, whose expression was still a nervous one of uncertainty, "Oh! Don't worry I won't tell a single soul about who you are. I promise."
Yusaku's expression lightened as he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding, "Thank you, I would prefer it if my identity stayed close to me."
"Sure, but first I have a request. Duel me." She said with a straight face, any hints of her previous childlike expression gone like the wind. Yusaku's eyes widened with astonishment.
"Huh? But you just said that you won't tell anyone of our identity." Ai's confused voice came out of the disk. "If we duel you here then there's a chance someone could see our monsters and recognize the Cyberses."
Yuna tilted her head to the side in confusion, "So, if we could have a duel that nobody else could see then it would be fine, right?" She asked.
"What will you do if we refuse?" Yusaku replied, his expressionless face not giving any hint of any emotion he might be feeling inside.
Yuna thought about it for a moment and then spoke, "Well nothing, but I really want to duel someone like you. The kids my age all lose too easily, and anyone older than me sees me as a joke and doesn't duel me. I want to know how I stand as a duelist."
Yusaku could see the conviction in her eyes as she spoke, and for a moment he saw past her age and could feel the duelist's soul that rested in her, yearning for a challenge. He smirked, "Fine, one duel. That's all I'll give you. Think of it as payment for you not telling my identity to anyone."
She jumped in joy, clapped her hands then grabbed his hand and started dragging him out of the park. Yusaku stumbled to keep up for a moment, but then accelerated his pace and allowed her to drag him outside the playground.
"Hm? Isn't this in the same direction as the card shop we were going to earlier?" Ai asked as he was maintaining their location on his map.
Before Yusaku could reply, Yuna started speaking, "EHH! You were going to that card shop? Why?" She excitedly asked, her eyes gleaming with childlike joy.
Yusaku looked around uncomfortably for a moment, he wasn't used to talking to new people so openly, and said, "We wanted to improve my current deck since I'm taking part in the Inter High Dueling Championship." Silence descended over them for a few moments, after which Yuna once again broke the silence.
"Then why are you walking so slowly, come on quickly, we have to get to the shop!" She energetically declared, while increasing her pace and dragging Yusaku ahead with even more vigour than before.
'This day just keeps getting worse..'
Even after all of Yusaku's efforts to keep up with the young girl, the CLOSED sign stood unmoving on the door as if taunting their efforts. "Oh well, looks like we'll have to come back tomorrow. Let's go-" That was all Ai said before Yuna just straight up marched through the doors as if she owned the place.
"Well? Are you going to come in or not?" She turned around and asked when Yusaku hadn't moved from his spot. After a moment, Yusaku moved his legs and entered the shop. The darkness inside prevented him from seeing anything, but that changed as soon as the lights were switched on. The room was filled with nothing but Duel Monsters cards, disks, mats and guides. Wooden shelves and glass panels housed hundreds of cards inside them. There were so many cards here that Yusaku found himself entranced in the entire shop.
"Come on! You can admire the shop later, first we have to duel!" Yuna broke his focus, and he turned back to see her pouting while holding her duel disk.
"But won't the owner get mad if we're trespassing on his shop?" Ai asked, while trying to understand the situation.
"Nah, my grandfather owns the place, he won't be angry at me. Besides he's probably upstarts making some coffee or something." Yuna replied with a dismissive wave of the hand. "Now come on, there's a room to duel in the back." She continued as Yusaku followed her towards the back of the shop, and indeed there was. They emerged into a spacious empty room which, even though was a bit dusty, would suffice for their private duel. "Ready?" She asked and drew his focus back on the situation at hand.
Yusaku reached into his school jacket's inside and opened up the hidden compartment where he kept his true deck, his Cyberse. He shuffled up the deck and set it into the disk. "Ready." He stated.
"Duel!"
Yusaku Fujiki Vs Yuna
Yusaku: 4000
Yuna: 4000
"I'll take the first turn. I'll start by activating my Spell Card Terraforming, I can now add one Field Spell card to my hand. I'll be adding Aroma Garden to my hand. Then I'll activate my Continuous Spell Card Aroma Gardening, and summon Aromage Jasmine. With Aroma Gardening's effect I gain 1000 LP every time I summon an Aroma monster. Now I'll activate Jasmine's effect, since I gained LP I get to draw 1 card." Declared Yuna, as the room was covered with grass and flowers of many different colors started spouting out of the ground.
Aromage Jasmine LVL 2 Plant/Effect ATK/DEF 100/1900 LIGHT
Yuna:4000+1000➡5000
"Aromage Jasmine's effect allows me normal summon another plant monster while my LP are higher than yours. I'll summon Aromage Rosemary." Yuna continued her turn by summoning another monster.
Aromage Rosemary LVL 4 Plant/Effect ATK/DEF 1800/700 WATER
"Also, while my LP are higher than yours, I can Special Summon Aromage Laurel from my hand." Now there were three monsters in her field which made Yusaku slightly more alert as to what she was planning.
Aromage Laurel LVL 1 Plant/Effect ATK/DEF 800/0 WIND
"Then I'll activate Laurel's effect, since my LP are higher than yours, I can treat one Plant type monster as a Tuner this turn. So, I'll treat Aromage Rosemary as a Tuner this turn." This statement shocked Ai.
"Ehh?! Tuner! That means-"
Yuna smirked a bit and shouted, "That's right! But first, appear, my circuit full of life!" She said as the Link Portal appeared above them. "The summoning conditions are 2 Plant monsters. I set Jasmine and Laurel in the Link Markers. Link Summon! Link 2 Aromaseraphy Lavender!"
Aromaseraphy Lavender LINK-2 Plant/Link/Effect ATK 1600 LIGHT LINK MARKERS:⬇⬆
"And now, my monster's effect activates! Since it was summoned, once per turn, I can bring back one Plant type monster from my graveyard. I choose Aromage Laurel to be revived! Now, my field is set!" She shouted suddenly, shocking the Ignis bearing duelist. "Level 4 Aromage Rosemary tunes Level 1 Aromage Laurel. Destroy the sadness in this world and fill it with life and beauty using your power, Synchro Summon! Level 5 Aromaseraphy Rosemary!" Her new Synchro monster emerged in a flash of light as the wind blew around it.
Aromaseraphy Rosemary LVL 5 Plant/Synchro/Effect ATK/DEF 2000/900 LIGHT
"So that's your ace? A Synchro monster?" Questioned Yusaku, while eyeing his own hand of cards.
"Maybe? Do you like it?" She gave a cheerful grin and then said, "When Aromaseraphy Rosemary is on the field while my LP are more than yours, every Plant Type monster on my field gains 500 attack and defence. I'll also activate Aroma Garden's effect to gain another 500 LP since an 'Aroma' monster is on the field. This is because Lavender is always treated as an 'Aroma' card, and it also increases my monster's attack and defence by 500."
Yuna:5000+500➡5500
Aromaseraphy Rosemary 2000➡3000 / 900➡1900
Aromaseraphy Lavender 1600➡2600
"3000 attack on the first turn! That's bad right Playmaker?" Ai questioned, panic seeping into his digital voice. Yusaku didn't deign to reply and carefully watched the field as Yuna set one final card face down and ended the turn.
"It's my turn. I draw!" Yusaku placed the card into his left hand and quickly decided his turn. "When there are no monsters on my field I can Special Summon Linkslayer. Now, appear, the circuit that leads to the future!" He declared as the portal appeared in the air, " The summoning conditions are 2 Cyberse Monsters."
Linkslayer LVL 5 Cyberse/Effect ATK/DEF 2000/600 EARTH
Yuna's eyes widened a little, "But you don't have 2 monsters on your field!" And it was true, there was only Linkslayer standing on his field, which could only lead to a Link 1 Monster.
"Micro Coder's effect allows it to be used a Link Material from my hand instead of the field. I'll set Micro Coder and Linkslayer in the Link Markers. Link Summon! Appear, Link-2 Code Talker Inverted!"
Code Talker Inverted LINK-2 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 1300 LIGHT
"As expected of Playmaker, you can use Link Summoning to its full potential." Yuna said in awe, and shook her head as if reassuring herself of something.
Yusaku held up his hand, "Micro Coder's Effect activates, since it was used as Link Material for a Code Talker monster from my hand, I can add one Cynet Spell or Trap to my hand. Moreover, Code Talker Inverted's effect Special Summons a Cyberse Monster from my hand. I'll Special Summon Dual Assembwurm. Then I'll activate Dual Assembwurm's effect, I can banish one card from my hand to banish one Monster on your field with lower attack than Dual Assembwurm. I'll banish Dotscaper to Special Summon it, and also banish your Aromaseraphy Lavender."
Yuna looked on in shock as one of her monsters was thrown into a hole from which she didn't come out of.
Dual Assembwurm LVL 8 Cyberse/Effect ATK/DEF 2800/1000 DARK
Dotscaper LVL 1 Cyberse/Effect ATK/DEF 0/2100 LIGHT
"Appear! The circuit that leads to the future! The summoning conditions are 2 Cyberse Monsters. I set Code Talker Inverted and Dual Assembwurm in the Link Markers. Link Summon! Appear! Link 2 Cyberse Wikkid!' Then I'll activate Cynet Mining to discard Sea Archiver and add Cyberse Converter to my hand. Appear again! The circuit that leads to the future! The summoning conditions are 1 Level 1 monster. I set Dotscaper in the Link Marker. Link Summon! Link 1 Linkuriboh!"
Cyberse Wicckid LINK-2 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 800 DARK Link Markers:⬇↘
Linkuriboh LINK-1 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 300 DARK Link Markers:⬇
"Aww! That's such a cute monster.. but you won't beat Rosemary with those attack points." Yuna said with confidence.
Yusaku held up a hand again as he started to summon another monster, "I'm not done! Since a monster was Special Summoned to a zone that Cyberse Wicckid points to, I can banish Dual Assembwurm and add Cyberse Synchron to my hand. Now I'll Normal Summon Cyberse Synchron and Special Summon Cyberse Converter."
Yuna's shock showed on her face, "A tuner! Are you-"
Yusaku cut her off, "I am! I tune Level 2 Cyberse Coverter with my Level 1 Cyberse Synchron. Synchro Summon! Level 3! Cyberse Integrator!"
Cyberse Integrator LVL 3 Cyberse/Synchro/Effect ATK/DEF 1000/1000 DARK
"Level 3? You won't beat me with a monster like that." Yuna commented back, arrogance seeping slightly into her voice.
"I'll show you the power of the Cyberse! Cyberse Integrator's effect activates! Since it was Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon Cyberse Synchron from my graveyard." The tuner monster returned back to the field as the four monsters gazed at Aromaseraphy Rosemary.
"But what will you do with that? Unless.." Yuna's thoughts were cut as Yusaku spoke up again.
"Cyberse Synchron's effect activates! Once per turn, I can double the level of one level 4 or lower monster I control. I raise Cyberse Integrator's level to level 6. I tune Level 6 Cyberse Integrator with Level 1 Cyberse Synchron. Flash of lightning! The unknown power transforms into a soaring dragon! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7 Cyberse Quantum Dragon!" Yusaku shouted as lightning erupted from the sky and struck the ground, and the shining white Cyberse monster emerged as it roared at Rosemary. "Moreover, since Cyberse Integrator was sent to the graveyard, I get to draw a card." He said while drawing another card.
Cyberse Quantum Dragon LVL 7 Cyberse/Synchro/Effect ATK/DEF 2500/2000 DARK
"Amazing! You performed a double Synchro Summons in a single turn. But.. that monster still only has 2500 attack. You still can't beat my Rosemary." Yuna spoke in part awe and part relief.
Yusaku's gaze hardened as he shouted, "Battle! Cyberse Quantum Dragon attacks Aromaseraphy Rosemary!"
Shock showed in her eyes as she incredulously asked, "You're attacking a monster with higher attack?!"
"Is that so?" Questioned Yusaku, "Cyberse Quantum Dragon's effect activates! Your battling monster returns to your hand! Driveback Shot!"
"What?!' Yuna exclaimed in shock as her powerful monster returned back to the Extra Deck.
"And when Driveback Shot succeeds, Quantum Dragon can attack again. Go! Quantum Encryption!" He shouted as Cyberse Wicckid, Linkuriboh and Cyberse Quantum Dragon attacked her directly.
"I activate my trap! Draining Shield! This will negate your monster's attack and I will then gain LP equal to its attack points!" She triumphantly shouted as a mystical shield surrounded Yuna, protecting her from any damage.
Yuna:5500+2500-1100➡6900
The little girl was pushed backwards as her body glowed a bit, symbolising that she had taken damage. She got back on her feet and said, "You are a skilled Duelist no doubt. But that trap was an extremely simple tactic, don't tell me this is all you have." She grinned, feeling the intensity of the duel.
Yusaku saw the rise in life points unflinchingly, and set one final card to end his turn.
Yuna, finally ready to maker her move, grinned, "My turn! I draw! I'll activate my spell Golden Winds, which allows me to Special Summon a Plant type Link Monster, with its effects negated from my graveyard or banished zone and then draw cards equal to its Link Rating. I'll revive Aromaseraphy Lavender, and then draw 2 cards." Yuna replenished her hand by drawing 2 more cards from her deck. "Then I'll Normal Summon Aromage Marigold, and due to its effect I can Special Summon a Plant type monster from my graveyard. Revive, Aromaseraphy Rosemary!"
Aromage Marigold LVL 3 Plant/Effect ATK/DEF 1200➡1700/600 EARTH
"Due to Aroma Gardening's effect my life points increase by 1000 points. And now, I'll activate Aroma Garden's effect to gain 500 life points, and now, due to Rosemary's effect I can negate one monster's effects, I'll negate your Cyberse Quantum Dragon's effect." Yuna declared happily as if enjoying the duel, as Rosemary released a fog cloud, which dazed Quantum Dragon.
Yuna:6900+1500➡8400
Aromaseraphy Rosemary 2500➡3000
Aromaseraphy Lavender 1500➡2500
Aromage Marigold 1700➡2200
"You got back all your monsters?! And those many attack points, on top of that Quantum Dragon's effect is negated. This is seriously bad Playmaker, she can do us a lot of damage with those monsters." Ai shouted in a panicky voice, though Yusaku didn't acknowledge his words, instead choosing to stare at the field in intense concentration.
"Lets battle! Rosemary attacks your Quantum Dragon! Natural Power!" Aromaseraphy Rosemary jumped up and pointed her staff at Quantum Dragom, who was dazed from her previous effect. Just as she was about to fire off, Yusaku interrupted it.
"I activate Linkuriboh's effect! By tributing it, your attacking monster's attack becomes 0." Yuna watched in shock as Linkuriboh dissipated into data as Rosemary landed back before firing her attack.
She gritted her teeth, and said, "But I still have monsters to attack with, Marigold attacks Cyberse Wicckid!" Marigold fired a burst of energy from her staff, but it was stopped as Cyberse Wicckid put up a barrier surrounding itself."
"When Cyberse Wicckid is Link Summoned, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects." Countered Yusaku, matching her attack move for move.
Yuna triumphantly shouted, "But you still take damage!" And true to her move, Yusaku's body glowed blue which was symbolic with damage being received.
Yuna looked at the field carefully and made her next choice, "Aromaseraphy Lavender also attacks Cyberse Wicckid!" She declared as it resulted in the same manner as her previous attack.
Yusaku: 4000-1700-1400➡900
"I set one final card and end my turn." Yuna declared as one face down card materialized on her field, making Yusaku cautious.
Ai sighed in relief, "We survived that one Playmaker, but if we don't turn this around, it'll be over in one or two turns."
"I know, so pray that we can turn this around." Was all that Yusaku said, as he put his hand on top of his deck. "I draw!" Sparks flashed around his deck as he performed his aforementioned action. 'This card will do'
"Appear the circuit that leads to the future, the summoning conditions are 2+ Effect Monsters, I set Cyberse Wicckid and Cyberse Quantum Dragon in the Link Markers. Link Summon! LINK-3 Transcode Talker! And now, I activate my trap, Cynet Cascade! This will Special Summon back one of the link materials used to Link Summon." Yusaku started off his combo with his Earth attribute Code Talker monster and also brought back Quatum Dragon while he was at it.
Transcode Talker LINK-3 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 2300 EARTH
"You got back that powerful monster's effect back again! Even though I thought I had dealt with it.." Yuna murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
"I'm not done! Transcode Talker's effect activates! I can Special Summon back one Code Talker monster from my graveyard to a zone this card points to. Revive, Code Talker Inverted! Now, I'll Normal Summon Clock Wyvern and activate its effect to half its attack points and Special Summon a Clock Token."
Clock Wyvern LVL 4 Cyberse/Effect ATK/DEF 1800➡900/1000 WIND
Clock Token LVL 1 Cyberse ATK/DEF 0/0 WIND
Yuna got a bit apprehensive, seeing so many monsters together on the field provided many options for a Link Summon, which she knew was Playmaker's specialty. Again, Yusaku raised his hand, "Appear again, the circuit that leads to the future! The summoning conditions are 2 Cyberse Monsters. I set a Clock Token and Quantum Dragon in the Link Markers! Link Summon! LINK-2 Clock Spartoi! When this card is Link Summoned, I get to add Cynet Fusion to my hand." He raised the appropriate card and showed it to Yuna, who felt a chill run down her spine for some unknown reason.
Clock Spartoi LINK-2 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 800 DARK
"You used your Synchro Monster as a link material again!?" Asked Yuna, perplexed at his actions.
"I'll show you why. I activate my Spell card Cynet Fusion, which allows me to Fusion Summon one monster from my extra deck using monsters in my hand or field as material. I'll fuse Clock Wyvern and Clock Spartoi. Fusion Summon! Come, Diplexer Chimera!"
Diplexer Chimera LVL 5 Cyberse/Fusion/Effect ATK/DEF 2000/800 LIGHT
"Another weak monster? Are you planning the same tactic as you did with your Synchro Summons?" Yuna questioned his actions.
Yusaku smirked, "You'll see. I activate Diplexer Chimera to Tribute it, and now you cannot activate Spell or Trap cards during the Battle Phase of this turn, moreover when Diplexer Chimera is sent to the graveyard, I get to add Cynet Fusion and one Cyberse Monster back to my hand. I'll add Clock Wyvern. And then activate Cynet Fusion for the second time this turn. I'll fuse Clock Wyvern and Code Talker Inverted. The strong ones gather before its grand wings! Become a new legend! Fusion Summon! Appear, Cyberse Clock Dragon!"
Cyberse Clock Dragon LVL 7 Cyberse/Fusion/Effect ATK/DEF 2500/2000 DARK
"So that's your ace? But even that will take out only a minor amount of life points from mine, no matter how strong it is." Yuna shrugged confidently, dismissing his actions easily, even though Diplexer Chimera's effect had rendered her Negate Attack useless.
"I'm afraid I'm still not done. Appear! The circuit that leads to the future! The summoning conditions are 2 Cyberse Monsters. I set Cyberse Clock Dragon and Transcode Talker in the Link Markers! Link Summon! LINK-2 Clock Lizard.
Clock Spartoi LINK-2 Cyberse/Link/Effect ATK 1200 DARK
Yuna had been surprised by his actions for the entirety of the duel, but this was the final straw. "Ok. What is up with you? You use stronger monsters and instead Link Summon them away to form weaker monsters. Isn't it usually the opposite which should be done?" She asked, unable to keep her curiosity inside herself.
"Did I say I'm finished?" Countered Yusaku.
"Uhmm.. not really.. but you only have one monster on your field, and nothing in your hand and no Spells or Traps to activate. How could you possibly do anything?" She questioned, with a confused look.
"This! I tribute Clock Lizard by its own effect!" Making Yuna's eyes widen in surprise as her opponent had emptied his field of all cards. "This allows me to return a Fusion Monster in my graveyard to my Extra Deck. Then I can Fusion Summon it again by banishing monsters from my graveyard. I banish Clock Wyvern, Cyberse Wicckid, Linkuriboh, Code Talker Inverted, Transcode Talker, Clock Spartoi and Clock Lizard to Fusion Summon! Appear again! Cyberse Clock Dragon!"
Yuna stood there unimpressed, "So what? You already brought it out once, what will summoning it again accomplish? There's no way for you to win now." She questioned and stated overconfidently.
"Are you sure about that?" Yusaku questioned back, making Yuna stop. "First, Clock Lizard's effect will activate, since it was banished, all Special Summoned monsters to your field lose 400 attack for each Cyberse Monster in my graveyard. There are 5, so your monsters will lose 2000 attack. Then I'll activate Cyberse Clock Dragon's effect! When it's summoned, I can send cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard, equal to the total Link Rating of all the Link Monsters used to Fusion Summon it. The total Link Rating of all the monsters used for its summon is 12. Therefore, I send 12 cards to the graveyard. And for every card sent to the graveyard this way, Cyberse Clock Dragon gains 1000 attack points! Cyberse Clock Up!"
Aromaseraphy Rosemary 3000➡1000
Aromaseraphy Lavender 2500➡500
Cyberse Clock Dragon 2500➡14500
Yuna's eyes seemed to nearly pop out of their sockets, "14500 attack points!? I've ne..never seen attack points go that high before.." She spoke with a tinge of fear.
"Battle! Cyberse Clock Dragon Attacks Aromaseraphy Rosemary! Pulse Pressure!" Shouted the pink haired duelist as bundles of energy coalesced in front of the Dragon's mouth and fired off in Yuna's direction. It hit her monster directly and as a result threw her backwards. She went sprawling onto the floor, and shakily got up.
Yuna: 8400-13500➡0
Winner: Yusaku
"I..I lost.." She said as if in disbelief, "So this is a true duelist's strength.. thank you, Playmaker for showing me my weakness."
"You are a spectacular duelist for your age. In a few years, you'll be ready to take on any duelist who challenges you." Yusaku explained in a soft tone.
Ai decided to say his own part as well, "Yeah, Yuna-chan, this guy doesn't know how to take it easy, so don't count it as loss. Yusaku's got years on you, so he outranks you in experience as well."
"Yeah... But I really wanted to win against a person I admire so much." She spoke in a dejected tone and hung her head low.
"What happened here? Yuna! Are you ok?" An aged voice was heard from behind them that made Yusaku freeze. "You! Young ruffian! Just what have you been doing here after hours? Leave or I'll call the cops right now."
Yusaku tried to explain his presence, but Yuna jumped ahead of him and held out both hands as if guarding him from an unknown danger. "Grandpa! I brought him here for a duel! He was the one who saved us from some bullies at the park!
Seeing her vehemently opposing the decision of the man who was her grandfather made the elder man calm down. He turned towards the teenager and bowed, "In that case, I would like to thank you. For protecting my granddaughter, you have my gratitude." His tone had immediately changed from an angered one to that of politeness.
Yusaku, uncomfortable as always in any social interaction, darted his eyes around in confusion. A gentle tug was felt at his right hand. He looked down to see Yuna standing there, holding two of his fingers and looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I should have asked Grandpa for permission before bringing you here."
Seeing a person look so sad and depressed reminded him of himself. That look he always had on his face which made people stop and ask him if something was wrong earlier, and now only served to discourage people from getting closer to him. He forced himself to say something, "It's ok.. no harm was done. You only wanted a duel, nothing else."
He seemed to have said the right thing as she cheered up and gave an earsplitting grin. "Really? Then let's go get you the cards you need!" And the excitement was back..
"What's this about getting cards?" Yuna's still unnamed grandfather said.
Yuna perked up, "Oh yeah! He said he wanted to buy cards to upgrade his real- I mean deck. Can you help him out, grandpa?"
He stroked his grey beard thoughtfully, as if lost in thought and then said, "Well.. the shop is closed-" Yusaku was about to ask him to reconsider his choice, since he really wanted to get this done with as soon as possible. But the old man didn't stop speaking, "-but since you helped out my dear Yuna, I'll make an exception just this once."
Sighing in relief, Yusaku bowed to express his gratitude, "Thank You."
The elderly man chuckled and turned back and started walking back towards the main area of the shop, where the cards were kept as he said, "Thank me after you get the cards you want- what's your name?"
"Fujiki, Fujiki Yusaku. Call me whatever you want." He said simply and started following him, disentangling his hand from Yuna's, who pouted and ran to keep up with the two people.
"Very well then, Fujiki-kun, I'm Suzuki Himura." Himura replied, and while reaching the counter continued, "So, what sort of deck are you looking for? Fusion? Synchro? Or something else?"
Yusaku looked around, looking uncertain, "What sort of choices do you have?"
Himura have a light hearted laugh as he moved behind the counter and brought up many sorts of boxes. Structure decks, packs and separate cards, there were even some deck cases there. Yusaku's hand lingered over his choices, he already had a structure deck since his days as Unknown, but should he buy support for that basic Structure Deck which he somehow made do with, before acquiring his Cyberses.
It was as if the old man had read his mind, as he asked, "By the way, you beat Yuna-chan earlier, right?" After an affirmative nod, he continued, "Then you must have a good deck already. So are you looking to upgrade it with new cards?"
There wasn't any hesitation as Yusaku gave a firm 'No' in reply. "I want either a new deck which will work better than this, or if there isn't one available, I'll make one myself." He said while putting his old deck which had helped start off his fight against the Hanoi. It had worked well when the opponent was an untrained grunt, but it gave him chills at the thought of going against Revolver, or even Spectre, using this deck.
Himura lifted the deck and shifted the cards as he inspected it. "This is a structure deck, isn't it? This one went out of sale a long time ago since most people couldn't figure out how to attain proper synergy between the cards." Seeing one nod, he said, "Well, we should have some other decks available which will work better than these. Look at these." He took out a few boxes which were labelled as structure decks, and layed them down on the table for Yusaku to see.
Yusaku's fingers danced across the different boxes available, as he pondered over the choices. Of course some of them were decks he was familiar with. Each one had a different strategy to win, and none of them suited his style. Effect damage, deck destruction, lockdown, one turn kills, hand traps, recycling. He didn't prefer any one strategy, Firewall Dragon of course helped out in many different cases, swarming, field removal and one turn kills, which made it extremely viable. This made it something that Yusaku used in extremely rare cases so that people couldn't work up counters to it. Though it was probably useless now since Revolver had probably thought of at least five strategies to counter it after being beaten by it once.
"Can I look around to check all the individual cards first? I don't think these cards suit my playing style.." His voice trailed out at the end as his meaning was clear.
Himura shook his head once and grinned, "Tough customer, eh? Been a while since I've had someone like you. Feel free to look around. Yuna can show you around. Can't you?" He looked over Yusaku's shoulder behind him, where Yuna stood.
She jumped up and saluted, "Yep! Leave it to me! I'll show you the best cards in the whole shop!" Without any explanation, she turned backwards and walked off. Yusaku followed, seeing as he had no other choice, her to a sort of cupboard with a glass pane, revealing hundreds of cards behind it. She slid open the pane and stepped to the side, "Check it out. Grandpa doesn't get a lot of rare cards nowadays since this is a small shop, but he's been hoarding cards of value which are considered nearly impossible to find now."
Yusaku peered into the casing and saw many different cards inside. His eyes widened at the cards inside. Negate Attack. Mirror Force. Enemy Controller. Pot of Greed. "These cards are for sale?" He asked enquistorially.
Yuna shook her head side to side, "Well not really, he gives them to people he likes. Though there haven't been many duelists that can impress him lately. You should be fine though."
"This guy? Why do you have so much confidence in him. I wouldn't trust him to impress his classmates, forget about strangers." Ai questioned.
Yuna giggled at Ai's statement, while Yusaku bristled at the comment. "He'll be fine. He beat me without much trouble, he's saved VRAINS multiple times over and he is a good person." She listed off facts as she counted off her fingers.
"I'm not good. I only fought Hanoi for my own reasons, and the other Ignis because they were connected in the destruction of the Cyberse World." Yusaku refuted the fact, unwilling to accept praise.
Yuna shook her head in the negative as she closed the case back, "Nope. I refuse to believe that you're a bad person after you stopped to help me, a total stranger. Now, come on. Let's show you some cards can actually get." She turned around and walked into a different aisle. This one had hooks containing different packs, along with cards of multiple copies stacked inside cupboards upon cupboards.
Yusaku checked the price tag of a few tags while mentally running calculations on what he could buy, and should buy with his extremely limited expense budget. He glossed over the cards, not seeing any of his interest, when suddenly he felt a spark, a pull, towards his left. He turned to see a card displayed in a frame in a desolate corner. A single card. A Link Monster. Instinct drew him closer to the case, and as he got closer, he could finally see the name of the card.
Black Luster Soldier-Soldier of Chaos LINK-3 Warrior/Effect/LINK ATK 3000 EARTH
"Oh! That card! It's amazing isn't it? That's the one card Grandpa never sells. That card actually got recalled back by the company who made it, they got all of them back but this one copy. Grandpa never told anyone he had it, so those big shot companies never came down here. He started putting it in display in this area, 'cause not many people look in this area. You're basically the first person to find it." Yuna chattered on, gushing over the card.
Yusaku's expression remained neutral as he examined the card. He could have sworn that he felt a connection with this card, almost as if it was calling out to him.
"Ah! I see you have found the joker in the deck of cards, so as to say. You noticed that card's specialty?" Himura had appeared behind them with stealth that wouldn't be possible in a man of his age.
Yusaku shook his head in the affirmative, "It called out to me. I felt something." Was all he said. No other explanation was needed. Duelists everywhere had told stories about being connected to cards, one or many depended upon the individual. Once a person found his true deck, they rarely ever changed it.
Himura looked thoughtful for a second, and then grinned a genuine, warm smile which would be expected of a grandparent. He reached out and pulled the card out of the case taking it back with him to the counter. Yusaku and Yuna watched all this with confused eyes.
"Grandpa?" Yuna asked, as she chased after him. "What're you doing?" Himura had already reached the counter and there was this glow to him that wouldn't be seen in an old man. He was shuffling around with cards, taking them out flipping them, and rearranging them with speed that not many professional duelists could manage.
Yusaku waited for him to finish, and when he did, all that remained in his hand was a deck, all the cards were face up, with Black Luster Soldier-Soldier of Chaos sitting on top. Yusaku's eyes widened in surprise. Was he-?
"Fujiki-kun, when I got this card I thought it was an accident. This was a small shop which didn't attract too many customers. But now I know, it wasn't an accident. It was destiny. I was given this card to hand it to the right person. I believe you are that person. People have come to this shop and went away without giving that card a sliver of attention. But you were called out by it, chosen by the card. I have made this deck in the hopes that someone will finally be chosen by it. Please, take it." He finished his speech by bowing a bit, and handing out the deck.
Yusaku couldn't remember many moments when he was speechless, but he was right now. What should he do right now? Did he take the deck for free, when Himura was offering it to him? He knew he didn't have enough funds to pay for whatever good cards he might have put in with the already supposed ultra rare, one of a kind card. But could he reject it? What sort of compromise could he come up with..?
"I'll take it." The old man's smile widened, but Yusaku spoke up, "But, don't be mistaken to think that I'll take it for free. I have every intention of paying you back, yen for yen for every card in this deck."
Himura didn't seem to shaken by it, he just nodded in an agreeing manner, and said, "Won't you test it out? I want to see what a you can do with that monster."
Yuna grabbed his hand from the side, "Yeah! Duel me! Me! I'll beat you this time!" She shouted while dragging him along.
'This day feels longer than usual..' Sighed Yusaku.
Author's Note: So, it's been a while. I know. A lot has been happening in the world since the last chapter, hope everyone stays safe at home.
Here are things I should go ahead and explain:
1)Black Luster Soldier-Soldier of Chaos: Yugi used Kuriboh, Jaden used Winged Kuriboh and so on.. till Yusaku used Linkuriboh. Yugi had Gaia the Fierce Knight, while Yusaku used a Link Variant, Gaia Saber, The Lightning Shadow. I think it sort of shows how the torch keeps passing on to different protagonists. So, for his real life I needed a Link Variant of an original card. So, Black Luster Soldier-Soldier of Chaos. I hope you all like my pick.
2)Yuna: She will be using Aroma monsters for the time being, I don't have any plans for her switching up her deck into another one. She will obviously grow in strength, by challenging new opponents and Yusaku himself again and again. Don't worry, she won't suddenly become stronger than say, Revolver or Soulburner, because I hate it when OCs start coming along and suddenly beat up protagonist and his/her gang.
3)The Duel: I am a Cyberse(Not Salamangreat, just all the monsters that Playmaker used) user in real life and am therefore much more knowledgeable about playing it rather than Aroma's which is probably visible in the duel. Cyberse Clock Dragon had to come out and end it because her Yuna's life points were growing out of control, and its an OTK strategy I've used a few times myself. I don't have any Dueling Simulator like YGOPRO or the like where I can make my own cards to test them, so I had to remember each and every detail about the duel in my head. So if there were any mistakes in the duel please forgive me.
4)Next Chapter: Don't know. I'm preparing for college entrance exams, so probably a month or more until the next chapter. If I publish it early, you will get the notification.
I was about to make the chapter longer, but I decided that it should be fine if I left it here, so yeah.
Remember to tell me your views, PM me, Review, Favorite and Follow.
Regards.
OmegaLordTheFirst.
Edit: Just a few spelling mistakes, and bolding of Ai's sentences that I found