The Perfect Duelist
"I summon Elemental HERO Flame Wingman! That's game!" said the sixteen-year-old Ryan Takashi as he beat his opponent in a duel at lunch.
That wasn't really his name. His last name was really Robinson, but the boy was so much of a wannabe edge lord like his beloved anime heroes that he came up with a generic Japanese last name for himself at school to sound cool. He spiked his hair up with gel (Not getting the best results) and wore leather vests with high collars and ripped jeans and cheesy-looking sneakers. He even sported random goggles around his neck just for the hell of it and put them over his forehead when he played Yu-Gi-Oh at school.
He thought it would make him appear suave like the protagonists from his favorite animes, but it just alienated the other kids away from him. They thought he was a total dork. Ryan looked up from the table and saw his rival, a kind young man named Jake.
Unlike Ryan, he was well received by the other kids. He came to school in nice clothes, kept his golden blonde hair neatly combed, was one of the stars in the school's math team, and studied very hard to keep his grades up at a 3.5 average. Was he perfect? By all means, no. He was just a normal kid trying to get through school. But he was a better alternative to hang out with than the annoying, loud, and smelly Ryan Takashi.
Even though Jake prioritized his studies above all things, that didn't mean he didn't have some skill at the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG. Because of how well-loved he was by the other kids and his skills with his Blue-Eyes Deck, Ryan saw jake as his rival. The Kaiba to his Yugi Muto. Jake didn't want to be in any rivalry, but Ryan didn't give him much of a choice. He was always jealous of Jake. He wanted to be better than him. His obsession with beating him got even worse when the girl's most popular girl, Crystal McKnight started hanging out with him. She was a lovely young lady. Long, silky, blonde hair, green and blue eyes, skin as soft as rose petals, a heart-shaped face, and lips constantly shining with gloss. She wore a shiny diamond necklace and had a ring in the shape of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon's head that fit the length of her finger. She was the kind of girl young nerds dreamed about and varsity athletes took out to dinner every weekend. She was a girl who was way out of Ryan Takashi's league.
One afternoon, Crystal asked Jake if he wanted to take her to the Halloween Dance this Friday and he happily accepted. Ryan felt like Yami Bakura had just ripped his soul from his body. The days had gone darker since he saw them together.
At night, he jumped around his room with his toy Duel Disk and fantasized about beating Jake in an anime duel. A big battle with holograms and a state-of-the-art dueling arena was blue RBG lighting in front of a roaring crowd of thousands. He used his Elemental HERO Flame Wingman to destroy Jake's Blue-Eyes White Dragon in a crushing explosion. The crowd chanted Ryan's name while Jake was on the ground wailing in defeat.
As intense as his power fantasies were, he had to face reality. Jake was just better than him. No matter what card he got from the packs, it was just never good enough to beat him. Ryan would even steal hundreds of dollars using his mother's credit cards to buy expensive cards from a website called TCGPLAYER. And he bought cards from rich kids with binders using the lunch money his mother gave him. Ryan didn't come from a wealthy family, and his mother had to work two jobs just to give the boy something to eat. She would sacrifice getting herself a decent pair of shoes or even a ride on the bus just so her boy wouldn't spend all day at school hungry. She walked to work in the cold during winter, in the middle of rainstorms in the spring, and the blazing hot sun in the summer. But it was worth it to her if Jake could have a decent lunch while at school.
Ryan didn't care for that. He just had to beat Jake NOW! By any means necessary. His obsession with beating Jake and being the perfect duelist at school drove him to commit terrible things, such as stealing card packs from the store or swiping cards that were left unattended in the lunchroom. He added the best cards he could nab into his deck and challenged Jake at lunch.
"Not now, Ryan," Jake said calmly. "I've got a math test in ten minutes and I really need to study. Go away. I'm getting really tired of this. You're taking all the fun out of the game."
"You want me gone, Telson?" he said, always calling Jake by his last name. "Fine. But only if you defeat me in this duel. You win, I'll never bother you again. If I win, Crystal's mine."
Jake looked up from his textbook and shot Ryan a horrified look. "What?"
"You heard me. If I win, Crystal's my girlfriend. And I take her to the Halloween Dance."
"Ryan, you're out of control. You can't just put her on the line like this. She's a person, not a prize! You've really lost it this time. Get lost. I don't want to play against you."
"Cuz you're scared, aren't you?"
"Say whatever you want. I'm not putting my friend on the line like some cheap trinket. You'll never be good at this game because you don't practice or come up with strategies for your deck. You just stuff your deck with every powerhouse you can find or some beast Yugi or Jaden used in the anime. And if you treat girls like they're prizes to be one, you'll never be good as a person. You'll always be a lonely, thoughtless, jerk."
"What's happening?" Crystal asked, coming towards their table with her tray. "Ew, it's that Takashi jerk."
"Jerk?" said Ryan. Her words smacked him hard on the solar plexus like a jab from a boxer. "Far from it. I'm going to show you that I'm a better man for you. I'm the one you should be taking to the Halloween Dance, not him."
"Say what?"
"He wants me to duel him with you on the line. If he wins, you have to go with him to the dance on Friday."
"No. I don't think so," Crystal said sitting down. "Jake's great duelist and you're not. He's a good student. But you. You can't ever get any higher than a D."
"I'll show you! Watch. Duel me, Jake."
Jake shut his book and took out his cards from his backpack. He shuffled them quickly. "Remember the terms of your deal. I win, you leave me alone. I don't want to be your rival. I'm getting so sick of this, Ryan."
"Then you'll have to beat me. And I assure you, that won't happen. It's Time to Duel!"
So they played. Ryan summoned his Elemental HERO Flame Wingman but already found himself at a huge disadvantage. With just a few cards, Jake was able to synchro summon his Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, a Blue-Eyes Abyss Dragon, and his ghost rare Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Ryan helplessly played in defense mode. Jake capitalized on that and summoned Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. The entire card shimmered in gold since it came from the gold movie pack. And with that, Jake beat Ryan.
"No..." Ryan gasped. "But I got the best cards! I spent so much money on these."
"Ryan. Stuffing your deck with strong monsters isn't the way to play," Jake said, shuffling his deck. "Until you understand that, you'll never be a good..."
Before Jake could finish his speech, Ryan swiped Crystal's knife and stabbed him in the stomach with it. Crystal jumped back in horror, screaming loudly. Ryan swiped Jake's cards and stormed out of the school. Security guards who saw his actions ran after him. For a skinny kid, Ryan was fast. In these dark moments, he realized what he did was wrong. Extreme. He just stabbed a fellow student because of a card game. How could he let his pride take him over like this?
There was no turning back now. Every security guard in school was being called to the cafeteria, some rushed to help stop the bleeding in Jake's stomach. Ryan jumped downstairs, sprinted down the halls, and burst out the doors towards his bike. He undid the chain and pulled it out. BAM! The doors opened. The principal and three officers were shouting at him to stop.
Ryan didn't listen. He wasn't going to jail. He'd rather die. He got on his bike and pedaled as fast as he could toward the street. So great was his rush that he failed to see the truck coming towards him.
The principal and the officers shouted at him to look out. But it was too late. Jake's troubles were over in less than five seconds flat.
A pair of feet in nice silver shoes got closer and closer to Ryan, lying flat on his back on the sidewalk. "Ryan? Ryan?" said the voice. "Come on, it's time to go."
Ryan stirred. His head throbbed awfully and his body ached. He managed to open his eyes and saw the most peculiar thing looking down at him. An anime character. A boy with long silver hair and eyes like aquamarine. He was wearing a nice silver suit and tie with a blue orb on the center. Having watched Yu-Gi-Oh GX many times in his life, he recognized the boy at once.
Aster Phoenix.
"No...no," Ryan said. "I must have gotten hit really hard in the head."
"Yeah, that you did," said Aster. "They're trying to peel it off the grill of the truck as we speak."
"Truck?"
"Yeah. You're dead, Ryan. Come on, follow me. We have a lot to discuss."
Aster held out his hand. Ryan grabbed it. He couldn't believe what his senses were telling him. This was all real. He could feel Aster's smooth and cool hand, his firm grip, the silver watch sliding down his wrist. He could smell the expensive cologne coming off his suit.
"Come on." Aster motioned his head to the left.
Ryan began to notice the world around him was beginning to fade. The blue sky, the trees, the truck, the ambulance, the green grass. It all started fading white. The next thing he knew, Aster opened a door with gold rococo designs on it. Aster opened the door and let Ryan pass first. Ryan hesitantly stepped inside and noticed that he was in a luxurious penthouse suite. The walls were decorated with leafy gold ornamentation, portraits of gorgeous Yu-Gi-Oh girls drawn by the legendary Sakimi Chan.
"Come this way, I've prepared dinner for you," Aster said. He led Ryan to the dining room. On a long table decored with a white and gold runner was a nice steak dinner with potatoes, salad, and a liter of coke just for him.
"Eat, eat," Aster insisted.
Ryan sat down as he was told. He started to cut into the steak. When he put it in his mouth, he smiled. It was the best steak he had ever tasted. He continued to look around at the dining room. A roaring fire sparked in the west wing, which offered panoramic views of an all too familiar city. Ryan gasped when he saw the Kaiba Corp Tower in the distance. "This...this can't be?" he said. "I've died and gone to the Yu-Gi-Oh world?"
"That you have," said Aster. He went to the bar nearby and poured himself a lime soda. Then he poured one for Ryan, handing it to him. "Your whole life was dedicated to the show Yu-Gi-Oh and the show where I'm from, Yu-Gi-Oh GX. So we've decided to bring you here. Do you like the place?"
"This your pad?" Ryan asked.
"No," Aster said, handing Ryan the soda. "It's yours."
"Mine?"
"Yup. And it's my job to see that you get anything you desire. This is a new beginning for you."
"A new beginning?" Ryan said. A beautiful warm feeling rushed through him. "Oh my God! I get it! I get! The food! The pad! The Yu-Gi-Oh world! I...I'm in heaven! Right? Right? I'm in heaven! And you're my guardian angel, right Aster?"
"Uh...something like that."
"And you're going to get me anything I want huh?" Ryan said, jumping out of the table.
"Anything you want," Aster said happily. "Where would you like to start your new life? Duel Monster? GX? Zexal?"
"Aww, yeah! Now you're talking, Aster! Of course, I wanna start my life in GX. I want to go to Duel Academy and meet Jaden and the gang! Maybe even go out with Alexis Rhodes? Jasmine or Mindy or Missy? Maybe even all of them!"
"If that's what you want, I'll give it to you," said Aster.
"Really? HA HA HA! That's the spirit, Aster!" He smacked Aster happily on the shoulder. He wriggled his fingers as he paced back and forth. "Now for my deck! I want the most powerful deck in school. I want to be the best duelist there is! I want to be so great that not even you, or Chazz, or even Zane can beat me!"
Aster took out a notepad from his jacket. "All right, then," he said. He then took a pen from his breast pocket, clicked it, and starting jotting down Ryan's wishes. "All right, then. A new life in GX. An all-star freshman. Unbeatable. A harem of beautiful girls. What would you like for a deck?"
"Oh-ho! Give me the good stuff, Twigs! I want dragons! Dragons! Lots of dragons! Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! Red Dragon Archfiend! Oh! And Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, too!"
"Hmm, a bit out of series but your wish is my command," Aster said. He wrote down what he wanted. "Anything else?"
"Yeah! Black Luster Soldier, too! Let's have a deck that can run those dragons and him! And God Cards! I must have the God Cards for my deck!"
"God Cards?" Aster said in shock. "Well, who am I to argue? It's your world. Your rules. I'll let you build it how you want."
"Yeah! This is so great. Oh, and can I have my own custom duel disk? I don't want to use those tacky Duel Academy ones. I'd like the sword one you used in ARC-V."
"You got it. Anything else? Not that it matters because I'll still be around to guide you and grant you what you wish?"
"I'm excited, Aster! Let's get this show on the road!"
"All right, then," Aster said. He started waving his hands around. "Just relax, Ryan. It's the day of your exam duel. You're running late. You're running late..."
"All right!" Ryan Takashi said, dashing down the streets of Domino City. "I got my deck! I got my gear and I got about two minutes to get to the academy entrance exams before they start!"
It was just as he imagined it to be. The world around him. The bright colors. He even bumped into Yugi along the way just as Jaden did in the show. However, instead of a Winged Kuriboh, he got a Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End. It was just too perfect. He thanked Yugi and ran to the Duel Dome where the exams were held. Once he got in there, he saw familiar faces all around him. Chazz Princeton was sitting with his gang on the upper levels. Above them, Alexis Rhodes and Zane were watching the duels going on in the fields below, which were separated by chainlink fences. He saw Syrus sitting alone on the stands. Since he wasn't a fan of his, he steered clear from him. And there was Bastion dueling the proctor and beating him with Ring of Destruction.
BOOM!
Ryan covered his ears. The explosions were louder than he thought. He sat down on one of the stands and awaited being called down to exam field 4. He looked around and spotted Dr. Vellion Crowler leaving to get his own gear for the duel against him.
"No Elemental HEROES for you, big boy!" said Ryan. "I've got all sorts of surprises in store for you!"
Their Duel began and just like in the show, Crowler summoned his Ancient Gear Golem. Ryan got to work, wondering which dragon he was going to punish Crowler with. Since his deck worked like the show, he could draw whatever he needed to call out the monster he desired. Plot armor. He knew this. And it was going to help him woo the crowd here today. He summoned a bunch of monsters, eventually tuning them to become Red-Dragon Archfiend.
"No way!" Alexis said from above. "I've never seen that card before!"
"Who is this kid?" said Zane.
"Ryan Takashi," grumbled Chazz. "He doesn't look so tough."
Ryan's luck of the draw was spot on. He then pulled off a quick combo that allowed him to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.
"Where did he get a card that powerful!" Alexis continued to wonder.
Crowler wasn't just defeated. He was destroyed.
"And I'm in the academy!" Ryan boasted. "Ha! Who didn't see that coming right?"
So Ryan was whisked away to Duel Academy the next morning and his life there turned into what he always dreamed it would be. In just a week, he became the most sought-after duelist on the island, and the most desired. Just as Aster promised, Alexis, Mindy, Jasmine, Missy, even the Dark Magician Girl started to swoon over him. In just a month, they followed him around as his harem. Everywhere he walked, the girls were by his side, clinging to his arms, and feeling his toned body. Before every duel, he'd have them blow on his deck for good luck. And every night, he took them to his luxury suite in the Obelisk Blue Dorm to be intimate.
On the first night of the second month, Ryan saw Aster standing by the door to his quarters. Aster nodded at him and Ryan nodded back. He walked to the door of his bedroom and opened it slightly. Aster could hear a chorus of infernal giggling coming from within the room. "Come on, girls, what did I say? No foreplay unless I'm involved. Jasmine, Mindy, stop kissing. You'll have no energy left for me. I'll be right there, girls, I just need to have a talk with Twigs over here."
"Hurry up, baby!" Alexis called from the room.
Ryan chuckled and closed the door. "Aster isn't it great!? I've defeated everyone here! Zane, Chazz, Bastion, I'm the rank one player in the whole school."
"Congratulations," said Aster. "I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Forgive me for intruding on your... after-hour activities, but there's something we need to discuss. If you'll follow me to the academy."
"Huh? But it's closed down for the night."
"That should be no problem for your guardian angel. Come on." He walked out the door and Ryan followed.
"I can't believe Heaven is so great! I thought it was a place for priests and teachers."
"Oh, trust me, we have a few priests and teachers down here," said Aster.
They trekked through the dark jungle into the main building of the academy. Except for a few lights illuminating the halls, it was almost dark in there. Aster led Ryan to the office where rows of file cabinets were lined up in neat rows that seemed to go on for eternity.
"What's all this?"
"Hang on, hang on," Aster said. He found the cabinet he was looking for. He took out a key from his pocket and unlocked it. He opened up the cabinet and took out a folder with a big stack of papers inside. "Here."
Ryan took the folder from him. "Ryan Alowishes Robinson III," he read. "Hey, that's me. But I'm Ryan Takashi now."
"You can change your name, Ryan," Aster said with a smile. "But you can't change your past."
"What is this?" Ryan opened the folder and started reading the papers. "Age 10, locked a fellow student in his locker, trapping him for two days. Age 8, killed a dog with his dad's shotgun. Age 14, pulled girl's pants down at school. Age 11 stole cards from the shop. Age 12 beat up a little boy for his structure deck. Age 13 stole a bike from his neighbor's son." He looked up at Aster. "I don't get it, Twigs. What is this?"
"It's your record," said Aster.
"Not a real clean one," Ryan said. "Is there some kind of mistake?"
Aster's smile grew even wider and colder. "We don't make mistakes down here," he said.
"Ha! Then what have I got to worry about? If the Big Guy doesn't have a problem with it, what's the big deal?"
The months went by. There was no end to the winning. There was no end to the girls. He didn't find anyone to be a challenge anymore. Not even Zane Truesdale could put up a fight during his graduation duel. The routine was starting to become the same. Class. Duel. Lunch. Make love to his harem. Sleep. Wake up. Class. Duel. Lunch. Harem. Sleep. Wake up. He soon told his girls to leave him alone. He soon told all his challengers to go away and leave him alone. He was starting to get bored. All he did was win and get what he wanted. It wasn't even a thrill to open packs anymore, he still got what he wanted. he had three tin cases full of God Cards, Emperor Dragons, and Ghost Rares. They soon lost value to him.
Soon the other students took notice of this too. None of them were showing up to Ryan's duels anymore. What's the point of watching? He was just going to win anyway. Alexis and the girls even started getting bored of him. He wasn't the star anymore. Once again he was just Ryan Robinson, the annoying, cocky, kid, who always won. Nobody wanted to have anything to do with him anymore.
Aster took notice of this and paid him a visit.
"What's wrong?" Aster asked. "Don't you like it here?"
"Twigs, don't get me wrong. It's swell!" he threw a glass of soda at the mirror nearby.
Aster flinched, feeling the drink miss his head by a few inches. "Woah. It doesn't look that way to me."
"No shit!" Ryan yelled. "Will you stop being so obvious!?"
"Anything you say, Ryan," Aster said, rooted to the spot he was standing in.
Ryan turned to look at him, wide-eyed with madness. "Anything I say? Anything I say? Will you stop that! Just stop it, will you! I can't take it anymore! If I win one more duel, I'm going to throw my deck into the ocean!"
"But I don't understand."
Ryan got close to Aster until he was face-to-face with him. "All right, Twigs, you want it in laymen's terms? I'm bored, you hear me, bored!"
Aster stuttered as he spoke. He sounded heartbroken that Ryan wasn't enjoying himself anymore. "But, but, but, what about the dragons? The dueling? I thought you liked all that."
"I do! But when you win every time? Aster that isn't dueling? That's not skill."
"I could arrange for you to lose if you'd like. Would that help?"
"It might," Ryan said. He stomped his foot on the ground and slid his hand down his hair. "No, no, NO! It's not the same! I would know, Aster! There's no fun in that."
"How about a villain who will come to destroy the world?" Aster suggested. "He could be like the Thanos of GX, know what I mean?"
"Now you're talking, Aster!" Ryan then grabbed Aster by the arm. "Is there a chance that I could lose against this big bad, Aster?"
"Of course, if that's what you'd like me to do," Aster took out his notebook and pen again, not noticing that Ryan was moaning in despair. "I'll just jot it down right here."
"No, no, no! Listen, Twigs, listen. I don't know how I can explain this to you. What's the point of fighting a big bad evil if everyone knows I'm just going to beat him anyway? And the girls!? I've got Alexis Rhodes under my thumb. I'm sleeping with her and her friends every night. Most guys would kill just to touch her hand. But I'm bored of them! I never thought I'd get bored of beautiful anime waifus!"
Ryan shifted towards Aster. "Look, Twigs, look. Everything here is great. It's just as I imagined it to be. But...but...but...I'm too perfect! I'm too perfect! I can't lose! I can't do no wrong. I don't expect an angel to understand but...I'm sorry Twigs, Heaven is just not for me. I don't belong here! I don't fit in!"
"Oh nonsense, of course, you do!" Aster protested.
"No! No! I don't! Someone screwed up! I can't take Heaven anymore! If I have to stay in this place any longer I'm going to go crazy! I'm going to go nuts! Take me to the other place. Yeah, maybe I'll find some action down there."
Ryan rushed to the door.
"Heaven?" Aster said. His calm voice turned dark and cold. The calm smile he usually wore was gone and replaced with a serious expression. "I don't know what gave you the idea that you're in heaven, Mr. Robinson. You ARE in the other place!"
Ryan slowly began to understand what was happening. The case file with all his past sins. After all, he did just stab a boy in the stomach because of a game of cards. The boredom. The endless boredom. It's only been a few months and it was too much for him to bear. But now that he realized where he was, he knew there was no escaping it. Ryan's lips trembled, sweat dripped from every pore on his body as a rumble of thunder clapped outside.
Aster's frown turned into a sinister smile. The smile...then grew into a hideous laugh as Aster's eyes started turning red.
"No! Nooo!" Ryan yelled. He tried to open the door out of his suite, but he couldn't. The door was locked. As he tried to get it open, Aster's laughter grew louder and louder and louder, manically high-pitched, and sinister, filling Ryan with fear. "HELP ME!" Ryan cried as Aster laughed. "HELP ME!"
Poor Ryan. The angry, bitter, little duelist who wanted everything. Who wanted to be the perfect duelist. Well...he got his wish. And now he was going to have to live with it. For all eternity...
In the Shadow Realm.
Just a fun Yu-Gi-Oh-themed spoof of A Nice Place to Visit from the Twilight Zone.