Yumi takes on an unexpected opponent and gets a taste of what Duel Monsters was like back in the day.
Yumi sighed, laying prone on her stomach in the middle of the living room. Her first free weekend in over a month was off to a great start.
"What's the matter with you today?" her grandmother asked, watching the baseball game on TV. "You get up late, you barely touch breakfast. Now you're taking a nap on the ground. You'll catch a cold doing that."
"I'm not sleeping," she said, sighing again. "I'm just bored." Rolling onto her back, she folded her hands under her head and explained, "Everyone's doing something today except for me, so I don't know what to do by myself."
"You could go outside and till the patch," her grandmother suggested.
"I'm bored, but that doesn't mean I want to do chores," Yumi groaned. "And we won't be planting anything until a couple weeks anyway."
"Never too early to prepare," she teased.
With a grunt, Yumi turned back over, watching the ballgame from the corner of her eye. "I could be dueling for fun right now," she muttered, catching the modifier she'd stuck to the end of that sentence. Though she'd been aware of it for some time, it was still strange to realize that she was now forced to segregate playing Duel Monsters for fun and playing it as a job. It didn't mean that training and competing in tournaments wasn't fun in its own way, it just meant…
What did it mean, actually? Well, whatever. All of her worries and introspection as of late were really hurting her head, and she had a strong feeling that pursuing this train of thought would just make her very upset again. She'd tackle it eventually, but not now. Tomorrow's problems for tomorrow's Yumi.
"You know," her grandmother said, "you could always play with me if no one else is available."
It took a few seconds for that statement to register, Yumi jumping to her feet the instant it did. "You can play Duel Monsters?" she shouted, practically jumping to the arm of the couch. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"You don't remember?" she asked. "We played a lot when you were little."
"Seriously? How did I forget that?" Yumi knocked herself on the sides of the head, hoping to physically dislodge some kind of memory to no avail.
"Well, you were only about two or three," her grandmother said, holding one of her granddaughter's wrists to stop her from hitting herself. "You were playing with cards before you could even walk."
"But why haven't we been dueling since then?" she asked.
Her grandmother shrugged in response. "Well, you just got to be too good for me. Your parents took over teaching you, then you started playing with people your own age up to now. I didn't think you would want to play anymore after all of that."
"Of course I would!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot and crossing her arms. "We're making up for lost time right now!"
In a flash, Yumi rushed to her room to grab everything she needed, tearing through like a hurricane as she went from her dresser to her closet and back out the door. She ended up following her grandmother into her bedroom, duel disk already attached to her arm with her old model clutched in her hands.
"Okay," her grandmother said, kneeling down and lifting up one of the mats that composed the floor. "It should be...here!" Inside an open space in the ground was a small wooden box sat atop a much larger white one. She retrieved the smaller of the two, blowing off a layer of dust from the top before opening, a deck of cards secured inside.
As much as this excited her, Yumi's attention drifted back to the larger box down below. She already had an idea as to what was in there, her suspicions confirmed a moment later. "They left them for you, you know," her grandmother said. "You've always been welcome to use them."
There were a few more boxes like this under the floor, all of them filled to the brim with Duel Monsters cards belonging to her parents. They weren't any kind of secret; as she'd just said, they'd been left to Yumi when her parents went away, so they were both aware that they had been down there for the last several years. Out of a sense of duty to her kids and simple pride, the older woman had refused to sell any of them for money despite how that would have helped their financial situation. She didn't have the heart to just get rid of them like that.
"Nah, I don't think so," Yumi said with a shake of her head. "I've always thought about it, but it didn't seem right to just take them. And I trust my cards, so I'll just keep using them." In the end, her pride also seemed to be a factor here, too.
"Suit yourself," she replied, replacing the mat over the hole. "Mine should be just the same as when you were a baby, so I guess I shouldn't complain." Standing back up, she eyed the device in her granddaughter's arms. "Should I use that?"
"Yeah!" Yumi said, raising up on the tips of her toes. "Have you ever used a duel disk before?"
"I played with your father's a little when he got his first one, but not really."
Running off again, Yumi shouted over her shoulder, "There's more room outside, so let's go there!" Shortly after, both were standing outside the house, the elder Takano managing to get the duel disk attached to her arm. "Yeah, like that," Yumi coached. "Now just put your cards in and press this button."
"It's heavier than I remembered," her grandmother replied, doing as instructed and watching the device spring to life with a bit of a start. With a smile, she took a second to admire it in its active state. "So this is what you've felt like."
"It's really cool, right?" Yumi scurried off several feet away, activating her own duel disk. "Okay, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, eyes moving back and forth between her granddaughter and the duel disk. She just couldn't get enough of it up close like this.
"Okay, then let's duel!" Both drew hands of five cards at the signal, Yumi calling out, "You can go first, but don't draw a card. I think they used to draw on the first turn a long time ago, but they don't anymore."
"I know that much," she laughed, looking over her cards for the first time in years. As nostalgia began to hit her, muscle memory took over as she picked a monster to lay on the field. "I think I'll start with this card, Sealing Chain." Materializing in front of her was a dark, shadowy beast, golden chains shooting out of the ground to bind it in place.
"This card might not be too strong to you, but it really did a number on people in the past." With a nod, she ended her turn with just that. "Let's see what you can do now," she said, knowing full well she could be bulldozed like nothing the moment Yumi started her turn.
"Draw!" Yumi declared, putting some extra flourish into it before commencing with her next move. Despite her grandmother's fears, she wasn't planning to go all out right from the start. Unless there was some major surprise lurking in that deck, it didn't seem fair to blast out a bunch of strong Extra Deck monsters on her first turn in a fun, casual duel like this.
"I think I'll start with a Magic Card, Unexpected Guy!" As the card's image appeared, Yumi explained its effect. "Since I don't have any monsters, I can bring out a Normal Monster from my deck. So let's go, Rusty Swordsman!" Out of the card hopped the disheveled knight, raising a sword into the sky with a small yell.
"Ooh, that's a strong one," her grandmother said. "That's a pretty clever card you've got there. I think you've been using it for a while now."
Yumi nodded, adding, "Yeah, and I've got some more in my room. I bet you could use it if you wanted to."
"That's not such a bad idea," she agreed. "But I think we have to play this duel first before anything else."
"Oh, good point." Looking over the rest of her cards, Yumi played another two in quick succession. "I Normal Summon Scaredy Lion, then equip him with Expert Heart!" As soon as her cowardly card appeared, a golden medal pinned itself to its chest. The lion straightened up, hands on hips as it gave a much more confident bellow towards the enemy.
"Now I'm attacking!" Yumi pointed forward, stating, "Scaredy Lion, get rid of Sealing Chain!" It only took a single slash from its claws to cut both the chains and the creature they held, sending 300 damage to its owner. "Rusty Swordsman, direct attack!"
As the holographic sword passed over her and 1500 more Life Points were lost, the older woman let out a poorly-acted wail. "Ah, the pain!" she shouted, gripping at her neck.
"You don't have to be that dramatic," Yumi laughed.
"I'm just getting into the spirit of it," she told her. "It's strange, too. It doesn't hurt, but it does feel like...something. How do they do that if it's just a hologram?"
Yumi shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really think too hard about it." She set another card, saying, "And now I end my turn. I want to see more of what your deck can do."
"Then I hope I won't disappoint you with my next...draw!" She tried copying Yumi's earlier flair, twirling around on the toe of her slipper and getting another laugh out of her granddaughter. "Oh, this is a good one," she said after looking at the card she'd gotten. "Come out, Devil Dragon!"
An angular, purple dragon appeared in a ball of fire, its 1500 ATK matching Rusty Swordsman. "Wow, that must have been pretty rare," Yumi commented, working off the idea that its (for the time) high ATK and low Level would have made it valuable.
"It sure was," her grandmother confirmed. "I've got a few things in here that are a little valuable. But before I get to showing them off, I need to take care of something." Selecting another card, she activated a Magic Card. "Take this, Magic Removal! Scaredy Lion's going to have to get rid of that Equip Magic you gave him."
The medal on the monster's chest snapped in half, the lion immediately falling to its knees and panicking as it tried to stick the pieces back together to no avail. "No way!" Yumi exclaimed, a bit miffed that her card had been destroyed so suddenly. That was a pretty slick move, though.
"And I'll follow that up with an attack," the woman said. "Fire Ball Attack!" Her dragon did as ordered, an orange blast of flame striking a terrified Scaredy Lion and burning it to pieces. Uninspired name aside, the attack was effective enough to shave off 200 Life Points.
Falling to the ground, Yumi writhed and rolled around in the dirt. "Ah, the burning! It won't stop!"
"Now who's being dramatic?" her grandmother said with a chuckle. "I end my turn, so get up. You've got to fight back now."
Yumi jumped to her feet with a grin, dusting herself off before drawing a card. "You asked for it," she said, mischief in her eyes. Her Life Points fell by 800 as she played her next card. "I activate the Equip Magic, Premature Burial!" Since the only target was Scaredy Lion, it was obvious that that was the card she brought back. "And let's let Butter Fly get in on the action, too!" Fluttering up next to her other monsters, the living stick of butter kept itself airborne as it prepared to somehow attack.
Yumi raised a hand, shouting, "Battle! Rusty Slice!" Her knight leaped into the air, Devil Dragon firing another ball of fire to counterattack. In the end, both were caught in the blast and destroyed.
"That was a clever move," her grandmother praised. "When monsters have the same ATK, they just destroy each other. Looks like I'm wide open."
"You sure are," Yumi said. "Scaredy Lion, Butter Fly, go! Attack Grandma together!" The lion gave another slash, its companion ramming its square head into the opponent's body. Weak as they might seem, these attacks had now taken all but 100 Life Points away from their enemy.
That was where the turn would have to end, leaving the door open for a reversal. "You're good at these combo attacks," her grandmother said. "But it looks like you did just what I needed you to do."
That sure sounded ominous. Was there a strategy going on here? Did decks this old even have those? Actually, that was a bit mean. No need for that kind of negativity.
Drawing a card, her grandmother began the turn by activating it. "I'll use Pot of Greed. This should give me two more cards to use now." Nodding at her hand, she chose to play one of these cards now. "I'm activating Dian Keto the Cure God, restoring my Life Points by 1000."
A shower of golden light raised her up to 1100. With a contented expression, she took her two monsters out of her Graveyard. "I remove Sealing Chain and Devil Dragon from play. That meets the requirements to play this new monster."
Wispy versions of both monsters appeared behind her, flying upwards and swirling into a purple and gold spiral. "One LIGHT and one DARK monster. That brings out my strongest card, the Chaos Emperor Dragon!"
Yumi gawked as the dragon descended. The monster shrieked while it landed against the ground, spreading its bone-covered wings and beating its tail into the dirt. It was like seeing a legend come to life; in fact, that's basically what it was. This card had a reputation since the earliest days of the game for completely wrecking the competition, and now here it was right outside her house.
"How do you have that?" Yumi shouted, hopping excitedly as it dawned on her that she was getting the chance to fight against something so legendarily powerful.
"Luck, I guess," she answered. "Your father came home with some booster packs one day...oh, maybe 30 years ago? He let me open one and there it was." She sighed, remembering how extraordinary mad he'd gotten at missing out on that pull. "Let me tell you, he sure didn't like it when I'd use it to beat him."
"It's amazing!" Yumi said, admiring the creature as it awaited an order. "It even looks strong!"
"Would you like to see it attack?" she asked, Yumi nodding an excessive amount in response. "Then I won't keep you waiting. Chaos Emperor Dragon will attack your Butter Fly!" With a roar, the monster channeled a torrent of purple flames inside its mouth, unleashing the attack that threatened to melt Yumi's monster into a puddle on the ground.
As the damage struck her, Yumi's set card flipped up. "Trap activate, Majesty Guard! This halves the damage I take this turn and stops destruction!" Though it lessened the blow, 1050 damage was still a pretty hefty strike.
"Looks like you avoided that," she observed. "But what happens when I do this?" The moment she said that, the dragon began to glow, subsequently exploding and engulfing the entire field in crackling energy. Her Life Points fell back to 100, but this resulted in eliminating the entire field as well as each player's hand.
"Chaos Emperor Dragon can destroy everything for just 1000 Life Points," she explained. Given that it was an effect, it even managed to overcome the protection of Majesty Guard. "But that isn't the end. Every card we lost will hit you for 300 damage. I hope you're ready for that, Yumi."
Guarding herself, a second explosion went off in front of her. Between the both of them, they'd lost eight cards total. This would have completely eliminated the rest of her Life Points if not for the glowing barrier around her, Majesty Guard halving the damage and leaving her with just 750 to spare.
"That card is so powerful," Yumi said, the tense situation only making her more excited. "I can't believe you had that for so long and never showed me."
"Oh, I showed you plenty of times," her grandmother laughed. "You used to hate it back in the day."
"Old me sucked," Yumi stated plainly. "She didn't know how cool this would be with Solid Vision. And now we're both out of cards. Either one of us could win or lose next turn. It all comes down to a single draw. It's so cool!"
This duel lit a fire inside Yumi she hadn't felt in quite some time. Whatever complaints she'd had about the endless training duels were gone now. This was pure and untainted fun, just like before. This was why she loved Duel Monsters to begin with – this amazing, pulse-pounding feeling of a back-and-forth struggle against an opponent, each person showing off their strongest cards and best strategies. It was finally back.
"Test your luck," her grandmother said. "I end my turn, so let's see if you can win here. I've only got 100 Life Points left. Just about anything would do the job."
Holding her breath, Yumi drew a card. Her hopes were riding on a monster, and what she got was...not that. "Come on!" she said, pouting and stomping her foot. "I guess I end my turn."
"Guess your luck's not as good as usual," her grandmother said, beginning her turn with a draw. "Mine seems to be picking up, though. I'll play Blocker from my hand." The wooden doll creature appeared in its fully constructed form, brandishing a blade attached to one arm. "And then I'll attack to end the duel."
Blocker fell to pieces, its various limbs and segmented parts flying forward to strike Yumi from all sides. They didn't manage to make it that far, however, as a golden barrier encircled her. "By banishing Majesty Guard, I can halve one instance of damage this turn," Yumi explained, her Life still falling to 325.
"That's a tricky card," she said. "In that case, I'll have to end my turn. Let's see if you can get a better draw this time."
"Draw!" Yumi said again. This was quite the frustrating pull. While she did get a monster, it was far from the ideal pick. "I'll summon Wallrus," she declared, the blocky creature lumbering out onto the field. "Equip Magic, Broken Wand. Wallrus powers up!"
Curling a brick flipper around the sparking instrument, Wallrus' ATK grew to 900. "Attack!" she ordered, a bolt of energy blasting Blocker to bits. This time was permanent, its owner's Life Points falling down to 50. "Turn end."
"That was almost enough to do me in," she said as she drew a card. "But it looks like I've still got a little more gas left in my tank." To prove her point, she played another monster. "Come out, Man-Eating Treasure Chest!" Another old monster with decent ATK. For now, it just appeared as a fairly standard treasure chest hanging out on the field.
"Attack!" Now, that changed. The monster's lid opened up, revealing an array of precious metals and gleaming gems surrounded by dagger-sharp teeth. Lunging forward, the creature made a guttural growl as it aimed to swallow up Wallrus in a single bite.
"I won't let it go through!" Yumi declared. "Wallrus can return to my hand with Broken Wand's effect, ending the Battle Phase!" That bought her at least one more turn.
"Let's hope you can make that save count," her grandmother said. "I end my turn." Her monster resumed its idle state on her field, though its threat more than lingered. As far as monsters she could play immediately, it actually managed to outclass everything in Yumi's deck.
If she wanted to win, her next draw had to count. Taking a card from the top of her deck, Yumi quickly revealed it. "Now I can turn things around! I activate Angel's Charity!" It was the perfect card for this tight situation. "I draw three new cards, then discard two of them."
What she'd gotten was definitely useful. After a few moments of consideration, she revealed her choices. "I'm discarding Wallrus and Flame Viper."
"Looks like you got something good," her grandmother observed. "How do you plan to summon it, though?"
Yumi beamed, activating another card in response. "With this! Resurrection of the Dead, bring back Flame Viper!" The miniature reptile revived, spewing a tiny plume of fire out of its mouth. Predictably, it wasn't going to be there for long, glowing as it returned to the afterlife yet again. "Now, I release Flame Viper to Advance Summon!"
Sliding the card into place, Yumi raised a hand into the air. "Take the stage, my favorite card! Majesty Magician!" Materializing onto the field, a rainbow of fireworks shot into the sky behind the sorcerer as it took a bow.
"This takes me back," her grandmother sighed. "I can't believe you still use that after all these years."
"Of course I do," Yumi said. "Majesty Magician is still one of my strongest cards." She smiled. "And right now, it's more than strong enough to take you down!" Pointing forward, she gave the order. "Attack! Majesty Strike!"
Spinning its cane above its head, the magician dashed forward and slashed through the treasure chest with minimal effort. The incognito creature gave a yelp as it split in half, its parts exploding into a black and a white cloud and eliminating its owner's last 50 Life Points.
"Ah, you got me!" she laughed, nearly toppling over as Yumi ran up and hugged her before the Life counter even finished ticking down.
"That was so fun!" Yumi said, squeezing her grandmother even tighter. "Can we go again? Your deck is so much fun to play against."
"Of course we can," she replied, ruffling Yumi's hair. "You haven't even seen what else I have to surprise you."
"You have more cards like that?" she asked, feeling the urge to hop again at just the suggestion.
She smiled. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Before she even finished speaking, Yumi had unlatched herself and retreated to her side of the field to start another game.
The two spent the rest of the day dueling for the first time in years. Suffice it to say, boredom would not be an issue for the foreseeable future.
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Sealing Chain (Binding Chain)
LIGHT
Level 3
Fairy/Normal
1000 ATK/1100 DEF
Unexpected Guy (Unexpected Dai)
Normal Spell Card
If you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Normal Monster from the Deck.
Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior/Normal
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Scaredy Lion
EARTH
Level 4
Beast/Normal
1300 ATK/1000 DEF
Expert Heart
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: Cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. When you take damage from an attack involving this card: This card gains ATK and DEF equal to the damage you took.
Devil Dragon (Koumori Dragon)
DARK
Level 4
Dragon/Normal
1500 ATK/1200 DEF
Magic Removal (De-Spell)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 face-up Spell, or 1 Set Spell/Trap, on the field; destroy that target if it is a Spell. (If the target is Set, reveal it.)
Premature Burial
Equip Spell Card
Activate this card by paying 800 LP, then target 1 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target in Attack Position and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster.
Butter Fly
WIND
Level 3
Insect/Normal
900 ATK/700 DEF
Pot of Greed
Normal Spell Card
Draw 2 cards.
Dian Keto the Cure God (Dian Keto the Cure Master)
Normal Spell Card
Increase your Life Points by 1000 points.
Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End
DARK
Level 8
Dragon/Effect
3000 ATK/2500 DEF
This card can only be Special Summoned by removing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster in your Graveyard from play. Pay 1000 of your Life Points to send all cards in both players' hands and on the field to the Graveyard. Inflict 300 points of damage to your opponent's Life Points for each card that is sent to the Graveyard by this effect.
Majesty Guard
Normal Trap Card
Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, also halve all damage you take this turn. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; halve the battle damage you take from one opponent's monster this turn.
Blocker
DARK
Level 4
Machine/Normal
850 ATK/1800 DEF
Wallrus
WATER
Level 2
Beast/Normal
400 ATK/800 DEF
Broken Wand
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases by 500. When this card attacks or is attacked by a monster with higher ATK: You can return this card to your hand and end the Battle Phase.
Man-Eating Treasure Chest
DARK
Level 4
Fiend/Normal
1600 ATK/1000 DEF
Angel's Charity (Graceful Charity)
Normal Spell Card
Draw 3 cards, then discard 2.
Flame Viper
EARTH
Level 2
Pyro/Normal
400 ATK/450 DEF
Resurrection of the Dead (Monster Reborn)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.
Majesty Magician
DARK
Level 8
Spellcaster/Effect
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 monster that was originally a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. This card is treated as an appropriate target for a card that specifically designates a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard (its Level and ATK/DEF do not change).
Looks like we finally finished another one. Was hoping to get one out by the end of last month, but there's a lot of things going on and I haven't been feeling too well. Had some weird block up until a few days ago that kept me from making much progress. Hope this means I can blast through the next few a lot quicker since I'm pretty excited about where we've finally gotten.
As for this, it was fun to write. Got a real back-to-basics feel to it with all these Normal Monsters. To clarify, CED is using pre-errata text. Think of it like Yumi's old duel disk not being internet connected and needing manual updates for this stuff, and it never got one for this card and that took precedent or something. Mostly just wanted it like that to add to the classic feel and to get the LP count lower.
I always like when I get a chance to talk about the past and stuff in a chapter. I don't know if I'll ever find an excuse to just fully infodump about it all, but I've got a whole ass timeline written for this universe. For example, Duel Monsters turned 65 in this world in 2017.
That's about all I've got for now. Next chapter is going to be a big one. Lots of questions getting answered.
Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember to update your electronics.