(A/N: Ladies and gentlemen we are live with another chapter of DTF. I'm trying my hardest to get as many of these out before Pokemon Legends Arceus arrives to tide my bored mind over and get through this arc before I have to cancel the intended next one just to move the plot forward).
With the formalities out of the way, and the first turn decided, Mai's gaze narrowed at Yukizome. "All right, let's go!" Mai's hand graciously dove for her deck. "I draw!" Mai pulled the top card between her delicate fingers to her hand and looked at her hand of six. She smirked. Heh, this duel's over before it's really begun.
"I summon Cyber Harpie to the field, in attack mode!" Mai declared. Harpie Lady emerged from Mai's hand with a cry and boasted a tremendously impressive 1,800 attack points. "And then I'm activating Rose Whip to boost her already impressive attack power even further!" A brown whip covered in thorns from a rose appeared in Cyber Harpie's hand. She lashed the whip at the ground as her attack power raised itself to 2,100 points.
"And next, I'll set two cards face-down," Mai declared. She now had only 2 cards remaining in hand. "I end my turn."
"An impressive first turn," Yukizome said. "But now it's my turn to turn the tables." She reached for the top of her deck. "I draw!" Yukizome grabbed the top card and graciously placed it in her hand. She then looked at the cards in her hand. None of the monsters in her hand could immediately deal with a 2,100 attack point menace. Not good, Yukizome thought, wincing.
"What's the matter? Is the duel over before its barely begun?" Mai asked.
Yukizome gazed up from her hand to Mai and gave her a stern look. "You wish. I don't give up that easily." Yukizome declared. "I'll start by setting a monster," Yukizome said. The hologram appeared sideways on the battlefield. "Then I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn." Practically copying Mai, two more holograms appeared in the back row of Yukizome's field.
"Ha," Mai scoffed. "How sad. As I thought. This duel is already over. I draw!" Mai pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. "And I'll start by activating this magic card: Harpie's Feather Duster!"
Yukizome balled her fists and jolted backwards from the waist up, sweat forming on her temples.
"Sorry, hon, but whatever protection spells you laid before me just became useless. Go! Cyber Harpie!"
With the extra wings temporarily attached to Mai's monster, her Harpie monster made short work of the back of Yukizome's field with a powerful beat of its wings. Both cards exploded and were sent directly to Yukizome's graveyard.
"Amateur mistake, dear," Mai said. "This is one of those times where I will use my age to hang experience over my opponent, no matter how skilled. Now! Cyber Harpie! Destroy her only monster!"
Cyber Harpie's whip lashed at Mai's monster, revealing Shining Angel and destroying it.
Yukizome smirked. "Since Shining Angel was destroyed I can now summon any monster from my deck directly to the field, as long as it's a light monster with 1,500 attack points or less."
Suddenly, a white flash coated Yukizome's field as an elf emerged wearing all white with white, feathery wings.
"Behold! Maiden of Moonlight!" Yukizome shouted. Her monster had 1,500 attack points and 1,300 defense points.
"Not a bad play, but it won't help you. My monster still has 600 more attack points," Mai said, waving her hand in front of her face dismissively.
"That might be true," Yukizome said with a strong gaze, and a wizened smirk. "But who said I was attacking with this monster?"
Mai's irises shrunk in. "What?"
"It's my turn now," Yukizome said. "I draw!" she pulled the top card from her deck to her hand. "And now, I sacrifice Maiden of Moonlight to play a new monster, one that has more than enough attack points to deal with your Cyber Harpie." Maiden of Moonlight disappeared from the battlefield. "Say hello to Divine Light Ishzark!" A tall, white-clad warrior with a giant Zweihander and a ceremonial helmet appeared on the battlefield. He placed his mighty sword to his right, tip down, boasting his tremendous 2,300 attack points and 1,800 defense points.
Yukizome pointed a definitive finger at Mai's monster so forcefully her ponytail swayed. "Ishzark! Destroy Cyber Harpie!"
Ishzark picked up his two-handed blade and rampaged towards Mai's monster.
Mai, however, wasn't worried at all. As Ishzark raised his sword above his head, the sunlight gleaming off the blade, she smirked while her arms were folded.
"Sorry, hon, but you just activated my trap card! GO! Mirror Wall!"
A prismatic wall erected itself right in front of Cyber Harpie, blocking Ishzark's attack as the blade collided against Ishzark's reflection reflected in the wall. Prismatic cracks went all over the monster's body.
"Since your monster attacked a reflection of itself, your monster's attack points get cut in half!" Mai shouted.
Yukizome watched with anxiety and sweat pooling along her cheeks as her monster's attack points dropped from 2300 to 1150.
"I…I'm setting a card face-down!" Yukizome exclaimed. She now only had 2 cards remaining in her hand.
"Of course you do," Mai said, shaking her head, shrugging, palms tilted upward. She cocked her right knuckles against her hip. "There's only one duelist that's ever won a duel against the power of my Mirror Wall while its active and he's sitting right there in that chair," Mai said, gesturing her head at Yugi.
"Well, lightning can always strike twice," Yukizome said, brandishing her duel disk under her arm. "I'm not giving up hope yet." She gave Mai a stern look. "I might have nothing at stake in this tournament, but I'm not the type that refuses to finish what they start. If you want to win this duel Mai, you're not going to get that victory until you've emptied my deck or finished off the last of my life points."
Mai smiled a little. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Resolve flashed in her eyes. "Yugi and Joey taught me what it means to have faith in myself as a true duelist. I stand on this stage with my head held high and no tricks up my sleeve other than the cards I play face-down. I'll tear down every opponent in my way and earn my rematch with my friend!"
"Good on you, Mai," Yugi said in his astral form. Yami only smiled.
"Well then, I believe it's your move," Yukizome said. "Go ahead, give me your best shot."
"I intend to, just don't regret those words!" Mai shouted. "I draw!" She looked at the monster she'd just drawn. "I summon to the field Harpie Lady Aero!"
A purple clad, fair skinned, red haired Harpie Lady appeared on Mai's side of the field with the standard fare of attack and defense for Harpie Lady: 1,300 attack and 1,400 defense.
"Aero increases the attack power of all wind monsters by 300 points!"
Both of Mai's monsters gained attack points. Cyber Harpie now had 2,400 and Aero had 1,600.
"Prepare yourself for a beating!" Mai shouted. "Go! Cyber Harpie! Attack her weakened divine knight!"
Cyber Harpie's Rose Whip slapped Ishzark down and caused it to crash on the ground, jaw opening in pain as it reached for the sky before shattering. The damage and difference in attack points caused Yukizome's life points to descend from 4,000 down to 2,750.
"And now! Harpie Lady Aero attacks directly!" Mai shouted. "Scratch Slash!"
Mai's Harpie flew in and slashed Yukizome down the front of her apron, the impact knocking her to the ground as her shoulders hit the ground first.
Yami stood up, concerned Yukizome may have hurt herself. "Miss Yukizome, are you all right?"
Yukizome grunted as she sat up. "I'm fine, thanks." Her life points said otherwise, falling to only 1,150. One attack from even Aero and she would lose the duel. She grunted more, getting up and dusting off her suit dress and the knees of her stockings. "Is that all?" She asked Mai.
"That's all for now," Mai told her.
Yukizome nodded. "Well then, I draw!" Yukizome pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. With only three cards, her options were drastically limited. Thankfully, she seemed to have a way out of this mess. "I summon to the field Freed, the Brave Wanderer!" A warrior in a fabulous gold cape with billowing golden locks emerged on Yukizome's side of the field. It had 1,700 attack points and 1,200 defense points.
"Interesting monster," Mai said, looking smug. "Shame it's a waste of a summon to play it in attack mode."
"I sincerely doubt that," Yukizome replied with a sharp glare. She ejected Shining Angel and Ishzark from her graveyard. "Especially when I'm activating its special ability."
"Special ability?" Mai asked, wide-eyed.
"Clueless?" Yukizome asked. "Then let me take you back to school! Freed the Brave Wanderer lets me remove two light attribute monsters from my graveyard to instantly destroy any monster on the field with greater attack power!" Yukizome pocketed the two cards in her apron.
"No! You can't!" Mai gasped.
"Too bad, I'm about to! Go, Freed! Fist of Radiant Judgment! Remove Cyber Harpie from the field!"
A golden glow alighted across Freed's entire body as he concentrated golden energy into his fist. Then he tore across the field in a swift dash, his ability bypassing the trigger effect of Mirror Wall and punched Cyber Harpie hard in the stomach.
The female winged beast let out a shriek of pain, spit flying from its jaw as it was hurled at the wall between the audience and the break room and shattered into fragments on impact.
"I don't duel often, Mai," Yukizome said. "But when I do, I go all out!"
Freed marched back to Yukizome's side of the field and then turned to face Harpie Lady Aero.
"It's your move. Because of Mirror Wall, I can't attack, but at the same time, you can't attack me. I'd call that a stalemate if I ever saw one," Yukizome said.
"Hmph, not a bad strategy," Mai said and plucked the top card from her deck. "But beating you wouldn't be any fun if it was easy." She smiled out of a sense of ease. "But I'm afraid your strategy has a critical flaw in it. The idea that I can't get my monster's attack points higher than yours! And I'll end the idea of that strategy with this field spell: Rising Air Current!" Mai carefully, but stylishly, slid the card into the hidden field spell portion of the duel disk.
A visible breeze began to blow around the battlefield. "All wind monsters on the field receive an additional 500 attack point boost at the expense of 400 of their defense points!"
Aero leaned back and opened her claws as she soaked in the change in temperature and air quality. Her attack points ascended from 1,600 to 2,100.
Yukizome recoiled again. This did not look good.
"Harpie Lady Aero! Attack Freed the Brave Wanderer now!"
Aero darted forward in a zig zag pattern and then brought her talon up to claw Freed in the face, raking the sharp dagger-like nails upward and knocking the man to the ground.
Yukizome's life points dropped yet again as she bit her nail. She only had 750 life points left.
Mai looked at the three cards in her hand. I still have another Harpie's Feather Duster, she thought, thumbing the cards apart, revealing Amazoness Queen and Polymerization. But I'll save that for when she puts me in a bind. No sense in blowing it now on only one face-down card.
"I end my turn," Mai stated.
"Very well, it's my turn now!" Yukizome declared and pulled the top card of her deck straight to her hand. Perfect, she thought and looked at two of the cards in her hand. She glanced at the card she had face down. Time to start fighting back. "I summon to the field Maha Vailo!"
The blue clad sorceress rose from a flash of white light and stood gracefully upon the battlefield with its 1,550 attack points and 1,400 defense points.
"And now for the fun part, I equip Maha Vailo with the magic of Black Pendant!"
A gold necklace with an onyx pendant adorned to it draped itself around the monster's neck, raising its attack power up to 2050.
"And that's not all, Maha Vailo gains 500 attack points for each equip spell attached to it."
Maha Vailo's attack points increased to 2,550.
"So what now, Mai?" Yukizome taunted. "My monster is even stronger than the last one and I think you might be fresh out of ways to take it down. But go ahead, I'm ready for your assault!" With only one card in hand, Yukizome had to bank everything on what was currently on the field. She clenched her fist at her side around the remaining card in her hand.
"So you think," Mai said, still assured of her victory. "But I'm afraid this duel's all wrapped up. Sorry hon, better luck next time." Mai said and drew the top card of her deck to her hand. "And I'll start with this, a personal favorite of mine, Harpie's Feather Duster!"
The golden wings adorned themselves to Aero, emblazoning her with the power to destroy magic and trap cards.
"Sorry, but not this time," Yukizome said. Now it was her turn to look self-assuredly smug.
"What?" Mai asked, off guard.
"Sorry, Mai. You finally activated my trap card: Gryphon Wing!"
Now it was Mai's turn to recoil and, with it, her blood ran cold.
"Judging by your expression, I assume you know what this trap card does. But for those watching at home, I'll explain." Yukizome fanned out her arm towards Mai, fingers spread. "Gryphon Wing reflects Harpie's Feather Duster's effect right back at the user!"
"All right, Miss Yukizome!" Ibuki exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air. "You show her!"
"You got this, big sis! No mercy!" Hiyoko cheered.
"So farewell to your Mirror Wall and whatever other card you had lying in wait to use it," Yukizome told Mai.
"Oh no, Mai!" Téa called out in alarm.
Harpie Lady Aero flew towards Yukizome's side of the field only for a magical Gryphon to fly out of the card artwork of Yukizome's trap. With a gust of its wings, it blew powerful winds back into Aero's face, sending her colliding backwards as her wings shattered and destroyed Mai's Mirror Wall and her face-down trap as well. It also had the added benefit of destroying Mai's Rising Air Current, reducing Harpie Lady Aero's attack power down to 1,600.
"Not good," Mai said. She closed her right eye and shielded her left eye from the shattered hard light particles flying towards and around her face with her left arm.
"So, what now?" Yukizome asked. "You clearly can't attack at this point."
Mai clenched her teeth. She'd been played a fool. She looked at her hand. She had no remaining moves to make at the moment.
"I'll switch Harpie Lady Aero to defense mode and end my turn," Mai stated.
"Understandable," Yukizome said. "And now, it's my turn. I draw!" Yukizome's eyes shrunk in when she saw the spell card she'd drawn. She flashed a gaze full of resolve at Mai. "Time to turn this duel around," Yukizome said and slapped another spell into the reader. "Activating Fairy Meteor Crush!"
"Man, things just keep getting worse for Mai," Tristan said, almost sighing. "That card crushed Joey when he dueled Duke Devlin."
Solomon made a stern grunt and folded his arms, looking at the battlefield. "Chisa Yukizome, that's her name?"
Téa, Tristan, Miho, Serenity and Bakura looked at him. "What's up, Mr. Muto?" Téa asked him.
"It just occurred to me how much heart that young woman has," Solomon pointed out.
"Well yeah, she practically saved our hides during all that Orichalcos business," Tristan said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Do you think Mai can win?" Téa asked the elderly duelist, interested in the important questions here.
"It'll be tough," Solomon replied. "Mai is only budding as someone who trusts in the heart of her deck, while young Chisa seems like a woman that's had that heart all her life." He smiled and chuckled as he stroked his beard. "A heart as big as Yugi's I'd say. Hohoho."
"Miss Yukizome really is such a wonderful person," Serenity said. "I want to grow up to be just like her and Mai someday. They're both amazing women, and duelists."
Téa pat her shoulder. "I'm sure Joey would be proud even if you were half as good as those two."
Serenity nodded and made a happy noise of acknowledgment to Téa's comment.
Back up on the arena, with Fairy Meteor Crush equipped to Maha Vailo, the monster now boasted a fearsome 3050 attack points.
"In case you're unfamiliar with Fairy Meteor Crush, its effects let me inflict piercing battle damage to a monster in defense mode. To put it simply, piercing damage means that even if your monster is in defense mode, I can still inflict battle damage between my monster's attack points and your monster's defense points. So brace yourself, because this housekeeper is scrubbing your field clean! Go! Maha Vailo!"
Channeling fearsome magical energy, Maha Vailo brought down a holographic meteor from the sky via Kaiba Corp satellite and used it to obliterate Mai's monster with a shattering, loud impact. For the first time since the duel started, Mai was blown off her feet and fell directly onto her backside.
"Ouch," she said, wincing. Her life points fell from their untouched 4,000 all the way to 2,350.
"I think that'll do for now," Yukizome said. "Although at this point," she pointed a deductive index finger at Mai, "You're on a timer. You can't use defense position monsters to defend yourself for very long. Two or three more attacks like that and it's game over. So, go ahead," Yukizome's index finger moved from being outstretched to pointing at the ground. "let's see if you can still bring me down!" Yukizome shouted.
"Miss Yukizome's really getting fired up in this duel," Mahiru said, quite perplexed. "I've never seen her like this." She photographed her teacher's cool pose nonetheless.
"She's just going with the energy," Kazuichi stated, scratching his cheek. "You know how she is."
"I'm almost thankful to have been eliminated from the tournament just to bare witness to our fine teacher dueling her heart out," Sonia said, clapping her hands together.
"I believe there's slightly more to it than that," Peko said. "Just as Miss Yukizome taught us to draw out our latent strength, I believe her positive attitude and challenge seeking approach to the duel is intended to pull the best out of Mai as well."
"Huh, you think maybe that's what makes her such a good duelist?" Kazuichi wondered aloud.
"I'd say that's plausible," Nekomaru said, nodding. "I do the same thing with athletes and it helps us both improve."
"Not to mention the game is super fun," Ibuki said. "I mean, you'd have to have a heart as black as oil to hate duel monsters." Ibuki then looked annoyed, a rare expression for her. "Unlike a certain former corporate executive that Ibuki will not mention by name."
Mahiru laughed. "That really got to you, huh?"
With the banter riding high and a lot of spectators watching with pounding hearts and clenched buttocks, Mai Valentine knew that she was in a tight spot. Yukizome wasn't wrong when she said that Mai couldn't defend for very long. She looked at the cards in her hand again: Amazoness Queen and Polymerization. Without another Amazoness Monster, I can't make a proper move, but even if I did…what good would it do? Maha Vailo has too many attack points. Mai stared at her deck, raising her duel disk. Even if the top card of my deck is Harpie's Feather Duster, what good would it do? If Chisa summons a monster on her turn, or, worse, gives Maha Vailo another equip spell, I'm done for. So…what now? Mai stared at her duel disk with sweat pouring down her face and her heart heavy with doubt and, by the judgment of certain other blondes, probably despair as well.
Suddenly, however, a buzz went through Mai's mind and a moment from earlier that day played out in her head.
"You gotta just charge forward. If you constantly keep your guard up and doubting yourself, life will catch up to you. That's why I take everything headlong, it's up to the people that care about me to keep me from running off a cliff. As long as I go at everything I want to do with the best of intentions and give at least one hundred and ten percent, I can never see anything going wrong! So quit looking so dramatic and just sink," Kotomi said, flipping her thumbs down to a thumbs up, "Or swim! Come on! One card decides the fate of this duel? Doesn't it get your blood pumping, doesn't it fill you with excitement? Who will win? Who will lose? Come on!" Kotomi said, striking Son Goku's famously odd martial arts pose, "Let's Dance!"
"She's right, you know," Yami said.
Mai looked at him like he had two heads.
"It's like I always say. Don't doubt yourself or your deck. Just believe in the heart of the cards."
"Heart of the cards, huh?" Kotomi asked. She folded her arms and nodded several times, mulling over the statement in her head. "Yeah. Yeah." She smiled exuberantly and raised her index finger in the air. "I like it!" She pointed at Mai. "You heard the ref, Mai! If you want to have any hope of beating me, then you just gotta dig deep and believe in the Heart of the Cards! And if you flub it, eh," Kotomi said and put her hands behind her back, "So you lose. Big deal. Life ain't perfect, but you just gotta keep on living it," Kotomi said casually, rocking back and forth on her heels. "So come on," she said, resuming the martial arts stance from before, "Take your best shot!"
Mai drew herself out of her thoughts and gathered herself. My…back's to the wall again, isn't it? Yugi…Joey… Mai said and clenched her fist. She gripped it tightly and gave Yukizome a tough look. Téa…everyone… witness it now…this is…MY HEART! Mai's hand dove for the top card of her deck with burning passion like she'd never felt before. "CHISA! I'm not giving up! Push me into all the corners you'd like because I'm not going down until you make me!"
Yukizome smiled gently. There we go.
Mai practically slammed the card she drew into the reader. She hadn't had to look at it for more than half a second to have seen what it was. "I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw 2 cards!" Mai was unsurprised by the cards she now held in her hand. She smiled. I finally get it now. THIS is what you were always trying to teach me.
"Did Mai just…?" Yugi asked, trailing off.
Yami nodded. "She did," he said aloud.
"I activate Polymerization! This allows me to mix together Amazoness Queen with Amazoness Paladin in order to summon Amazoness Empress!" An Amazon monster with silver hair in a cloth red cape emerged onto the field from the fusion of Mai's two monsters. The cloth battle skirt and jade breastplate completed the warrioress' look, along with the nasty looking purple sword she carried in her left hand. The monster stood upon the battlefield with a disturbingly high 2,800 attack points and 2,400 defense points.
"I'm assuming you have some way of evening the score?" Yukizome asked, referring to the fact that Mai's monster had fewer attack points than hers.
"I absolutely do," Mai said. "With this! The equip spell card Malevolent Nuzzler!" Mai showed off the spell card depicting a green skinned woman with dark hair. "This will increase Amazoness Empress' attack points by 700!"
Amazoness Empress' power increased by 700 as dark energy seeped through her, raising her already impressive attack power to 3,500.
"And now, Amazoness Empress! Attack! Empress Sword slash!"
Amazoness Empress charged forward and carved through Yukizome's Maha Vailo like a knife through butter, destroying it in its entirety.
The monster's destruction reduced Yukizome's life points from 750 to an even more uncomfortable 300.
Yukizome looked gravely concerned with the situation. "S-since Black Pendant was destroyed as a result of my monster being destroyed, you lose 500 life points."
"That's fine," Mai said, radiating confidence. Her life points became 1,850, putting her at 1,500 point lead. "It's not like the rest are going anywhere any time soon. Amazoness Empress has the same ability as Fairy Meteor Crush so any monster you place in defense position will automatically cost you the duel. I'll admit, you gave me a good run, Chisa Yukizome. But I'm pretty sure the duel is over now."
Despite having her back to the wall, Yukizome put on a brave face. "Sorry, Mai. But even though it looks that way, you haven't beaten me yet. 300 life points isn't zero and I'll keep drawing cards until I've lost them all!" She stood tall before Mai and her monster. "You're not the only one that can draw what they need most when the situation's dire!" Yukizome turned her body in a such a way that she was positioned like a samurai about to draw their sword from their sheathe. However, the sheathe was her duel disk and her sword was her deck. "It's do or die! I draw!" Yukizome looked at the card she'd drawn from her deck. It was the spell card Swords of Revealing Light.
"I activate Swords of Revealing Light!" Yukizome shouted. "Now you can't attack me for three turns!" Yukizome looked at the final card in her hand, a 6-star effect monster with 1,800 attack points and 2,000 defense points. If this doesn't work…this card is my last hope.
"Sorry, hon, but spell cards are a waste when I'm at my best!" Mai shouted. "This duel's over! I DRAW!" Mai knew exactly what she drew before she saw it. Her last Harpie's Feather Duster. "I activate Harpie's Feather Duster to blow your Swords of Revealing Light away from the battlefield, allowing me to attack this turn!"
"AAAAAAAH! MISS YUKIZOME, NO!" Ibuki cried out in terror.
"BIG SIS!" Hiyoko cried out in alarm.
"You got this, Mai! Finish her off!" Tristan shouted.
"Let her have it, Mai!" Téa added.
"Amazoness Empress! Attack Chisa Yukizome directly with Empress Sword Slash!"
However, as Amazoness Empress charged forward but as her sword came down it was repelled by the sudden flash of a green light and a magnificent golden staff.
Wa-Tiiiiiiiing!
The clash of metal hitting metal resounded through the arena.
"What's going on?" Mai asked as her monster seemed to start to get consumed by a powerful green light.
"Sorry, Mai, but I still had one card left to play and it's one of my favorites: Goddess of Sweet Revenge!"
"Goddess of Sweet Revenge?" Mai's face was full of shock and terror. She didn't like where this was going.
"Unfamiliar with the card? Then I guess it's time for another lesson!" Yukizome exclaimed. "When I control no other cards and Goddess of Sweet Revenge is the only card in my hand, I can discard it to destroy your entire field!"
Mai looked horrified. Her face said it all. This couldn't end well.
"No! Amazoness Empress!"
Goddess of Sweet Revenge's hologram emerged from the graveyard and embraced Amazoness Empress. A spiral of green light shone across the battlefield and then shattered. And then, both were gone.
Mai snarled. "D-don't think you've won!" She exclaimed. "When Amazoness Empress is destroyed, I can summon Amazoness Queen directly from my graveyard back to the battlefield!"
Amazoness Queen emerged on Mai's side of the field. She only had 2,400 attack points, but that was still plenty when Yukizome had nothing. "In addition, since Malevolent Nuzzler was sent to the graveyard, I can pay 500 life points," Mai said as her points trickled down to 1,350, "And place it directly to the top of my deck. But that hardly matters. I have a monster and you're still wide open. This duel is still over!"
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Yukizome asked, with a confident smirk that had something sinister behind it.
"What do you mean?" Mai did not like the sound of that.
"After Goddess of Sweet Revenge destroys your entire field, I can select any monster from my deck and summon it directly to the field. Now, witness one of the most powerful monsters in my entire deck!" Chisa declared. "Let's go! DOGORAAAAAN!"
Yukizome clenched her fists and lowered them towards her waist as a volcano of holographic flame erupted behind her. Dogoran, the Mad Flame Kaiju emerged from the flames, towering over the entire arena and gently beat its wings, the hologram clipping in and out of the edge of the pulled in rain dome.
"Well that just plain sucks!" Tristan shouted.
"Keeheeheeheeeee! Miss Yukizome's still got it!" Ibuki exclaimed.
"Yay! You can do it, big sis!" Hiyoko cheered.
Mai gulped. Oh. This boded poorly.
"I'll assume your turn is over judging by the vacant expression on my face and take my turn, thank you," Yukizome said. She drew the top card of her deck. "Dogoran! Wipe her out! Mad Flame Breath!"
Dogoran inhaled an abhorrent amount of holographic oxygen and then exhaled it all over Amazoness Queen. The queen dropped to her knees and Mai was thrown off her feet, causing her to fall on her back. Her life points fell to 750, closing the gap between her and Yukizome.
Yukizome folded her arms. "There. That should…" She then saw Amazoness Queen getting to her feet. "Wait, what?"
Mai threw out her hair. "Sorry, hon, but Amazoness Queen can't be destroyed by battle. Looks like I only lose life points this turn."
"No…" Yukizome said, halfway covering her mouth with her right hand. She gazed down at the card she drew this turn. It was useless. Dogoran had too many attack points.
"You put up a good fight, hon, but I'm a professional," Mai said. "No hard feelings, really. This has been a lot of fun."
"Well, whatever happens, happens," Yukizome said. "But, as a teacher, I have to point out one critical detail."
"What's that?" Mai asked.
"You can't win on your turn," Yukizome said.
"Hmm?"
"You sent Malevolent Nuzzler to the top of your deck, didn't you?" Yukizome asked. "So you'll draw it, attach it to your monster and attack. Dogoran will be destroyed, but I'll still have 200 life points left."
"And no monsters."
"I'll worry about that when it's my turn," Yukizome said. "So, let's go. I told you before, I'm not surrendering. If you want to win, you'll have to earn it the old fashioned way."
"Do it, Mai!" Téa cheered from the audience.
Mai lowered her head and closed her eyes. "Heh. If it's not Joey, it's you, huh Téa? All right then, let's get this over with. I draw!" Mai pulled Malevolent Nuzzler back to her hand. "I attach Malevolent Nuzzler to Amazoness Queen!"
A malevolent, violet aura emitted from Amazoness Queen, raising her attack points to 3,100.
"Amazoness Queen! Destroy Dogoran!"
Amazoness Queen leapt powerfully from the ground all the way up to Dogoran's chest. With a contralto pitched voice she swung blades of air pressure from her sword and sliced into the massive monster. And like that, Dogoran was destroyed with an agonized cry emitting from its jaws. As the pieces of the hologram shattered, Yukizome's life points fell to 200 and Mai's monster dropped down to ground level no worse for wear. She then swung her sword out at her side.
"Well, hon, it's your move," Mai said. "I really hope it's not over." She smiled. "This is the best duel I've had in quite a long time, possibly my entire career."
"It makes me happy to hear you say that, Mai," Yukizome said. She looked at the card in her hand. It should be okay now, Mai's monster is the only one on the field. She placed her hand on top of her deck and took a deep breath. Heart of the cards, right? Well, I sure hope my heart is big enough to pull this off. Any summonable monster will do. I just have to draw one. With a strong tug, Yukizome pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. She was elated when she saw that she had succeeded. "Mai, thank you for a wonderful duel."
"Oh, is it over? That's disappointing. You had such a fire in your belly, I thought we still had a match going here."
"Oh we do. But this duel is over this turn, Mai."
"What?" Mai asked, flatly. "But how?"
"Let me show you," Yukizome said. "First, a bit of spot removal. I activate Hammer Shot! For those tough to scrub out stains that normal cleaning products just don't work on."
"Oh no! Mai!" Téa called out in alarm.
A big ass hammer came down and smashed down onto Amazoness Queen. It crushed her flat like a minted license plate.
"Don't even bother with Malevolent Nuzzler's ability, though I'm pretty sure you want to let it stay in the graveyard anyway. Let's go! Milla! The Temporal Magician!"
A temperamental spellcaster with white hair, holding a long, yellow staff appeared on Yukizome's side of the field. She had 1,800 attack points and 1,000 defense points. She scratched at the top right side of her head with her same side index finger.
"No! Mai's wide open!" Téa exclaimed.
"Relax, Téa. It's fine," Mai said, folding her arms. "I gave it my all. I have…no regrets."
"Mai…"
"Finish her off, big sis!" Hiyoko exclaimed. "Yuki!"
"Zome!" Her class cheered.
"Yuki!"
"Zome!"
"Yuki!"
"Zome!"
Yukizome bristled and exhaled. Having her class cheer her on for the final blow after a hard-fought duel felt surreal, but also made her feel warm and fuzzy at the same time. "All right, Milla. Let's do this. Attack Mai directly! End this duel! Temporal Starlight!"
Milla's staff began to pulse with light as she raised it above her head, holding it aloft with both hands. She then focused the pulses into a beam and aimed at Mai's wrists. Mai braced for impact and took the blow before getting knocked over, her life points falling from 750 to 0.
"And that's why," Yukizome said with a sweet smile, "I never give up."
The chibi version of her on the screen had a big WINNER over it.
Yukizome went over to Mai, hand stretched out to shake her hand. "Thanks for the duel. Really. Haven't had one that crazy in a while. Well, not when I haven't had a gun to my head anyway." She gave Mai a dorky smile.
Mai smirked. "You are something else, Chisa. We should go out for coffee sometime, my treat."
"You know, I think I'd like that. I don't have very many friends around my age. You've got yourself a deal."
Mai and Chisa shook on it.
Mai finally let out an exasperated whine as she turned towards Yugi's friends. "And I really wanted to face Yugi in the finals. At the very least rematch Joey."
Yukizome winked. "Don't worry, I'll send him to sit with you soon enough."
At this, Mai threw her head back and laughed. "Oh, Chisa, I barely lost to you and Joey is even better at this game than I am. You really think you can beat him?"
"Like I told you all duel, I don't give up until I've actually lost. The fact that you've told me how good he is, just makes me want to face him more. He's gotta get past Gundham though."
"Joey will beat Gundham and you!" Téa said, rising from her seat.
"Uh…" Tristan suddenly wanted to get as far away from the brunette as possible. She was launching daggers at Yukizome.
"Joey will beat all of you guys from Hope's Peak Academy!" Téa sounded really riled up.
Mai was concerned Téa had killed the atmosphere, but Yukizome didn't seem hurt or upset. She actually looked at Téa with grave concern. "I don't think Ultimates are better people just because of our social status."
Téa looked at Yukizome like she'd just kicked her puppy.
"I think both Ultimates and normal people are both wonderful at different things. We're all people. We all bleed the same red blood. And besides, isn't Yugi and Ultimate now? Aren't you two still friends despite that?"
"I…that's…"
Open mouth. Insert foot. That was basically what had happened.
"I need to use the ladies room," Téa pushed her way through the crowd.
Mai turned around and pat Yukizome on the shoulder. "You let me worry about Téa. Go back to the break room. They've already cut to commercial."
Yukizome nodded.
"Do you think we should talk with her later?" Yugi asked.
"I think you should at the very least," Yami said.
"What? Hey! I'm just as bad at being social as you are!" Yugi exclaimed, fists clenched.
"Then why don't we leave it to Mai for now. If Téa still seems upset we can talk to her after the tournament," Yami suggested.
"Yeah, I guess that's the best thing to do," Yugi stated.
Inside the break room, Joey Wheeler was leaned against the nearest wall competitors were allowed in order to welcome Mai back. He was utterly flabbergasted when he saw Yukizome walk past Kaiba's security detail. "Huh? Miss Yukizome, what are you doing here? Where's Mai?"
Yukizome tilted her head, put a finger to her temple and crossed her other arm over her body. "Uh, probably finding a seat in the audience by now I guess."
"What? Wh-what do you mean? I thought we weren't allowed in the audience," Joey said.
"Um, Joey, I won the duel," Yukizome said with a stern expression, choosing not to mince words.
"But…Mai promised that we would…"
The feelings welling in Joey's heart were not lost on Junko who immediately took serious interest in the situation. Joey Wheeler feeling despair. Not an everyday occurrence to say the least.
"Sometimes it just happens like that. Look, I'm sorry, but you'll have to forget about Mai right now and focus on your duel. You're trying to get to the finals with Yugi, right? If you're upset I won, channel that energy to make it to me and defeat me."
Yukizome and Joey exchanged competitive gazes. Joey balled a fist. Not with the intention of decking Yukizome, but because her words stung with truth. And he was filled with determination from them. "Yeah. You got it. See you in the Quarter Finals."
As Yukizome moved deeper into the room, Celeste and Gundham both took note of this.
And like that, this tournament just got a whole lot more interesting, Celeste thought.
The time for my emergence from the shadows is upon this mortal plane, Gundham said, standing upright from the wall he was leaning against. Should I be being called by the reaper, I will not go quietly across the River Styx.
Mai entered the spectator's women's bathroom, hearing small sobs coming from one of the stalls. "Téa? You all right, honey?"
She heard sniffing. "M-Mai?"
Mai stood in front of the stall and put a hand on the door. "Do you want to come out and talk to me?"
Téa stayed in her stall, but still spoke. She was curled up on the seat with her knees pressed into her chest, staring at the floor tiles in cold, despondent despair. "It…it's just starting to feel as if only an Ultimate can defeat another Ultimate."
"Well that's definitely not true," Mai said. "That Miaka girl lost to Rebecca, didn't she?"
"W-well…" Téa stuttered.
"It's funny, usually a loss like this would gravely upset me, but I actually had quite a lot of fun in that duel. Besides, Joey's coming up next and you know that idiot is going to need support from both of us if he wants to make it through this tournament."
Téa could've help but smirk at that. "Yeah, I suppose that's true."
"I suppose, if I look at it in the best way possible, losing means I can just focus on giving Joey all of my support. You should too."
Téa's smile faded. So many doubts and worries clouded her head.
"Worried what will happen if Joey loses?" Mai asked.
Téa's head sprang up. "What? How did you-?"
"Hon, I don't need X-ray vision to see the look on your face. You should come have coffee with Chisa and me. Trust me, it'll be fun."
"Well, I suppose there's no denying that Miss Yukizome's a fun person to be around," Téa said.
"See? There you go. Now come on out of the stall there and let's go take our seats. If Joey comes out and he sees empty seats next to Tristan he'll screw up royally out of worry."
Téa sucked in a deep breath and any depressed thoughts that were pouring through. This isn't the time to be thinking about my issues. I'm…I'm here…to support MY friends. Téa unlocked the stall and gave Mai an exhausted hug.
Mai pat the side of her head with a smile. "There. There. Everything's all right. No need to get so bent out of shape and upset. Nobody's going anywhere. No souls to be taken and no whack jobs with dark powers to banish back to Ancient Egypt. It's just a friendly tournament. Enjoy the mood, live a little."
Téa hugged Mai tighter. "Thank you, Mai." There was a long pause before she added. "Do you think we could get something to eat before we sit back down."
"Sure," Mai said. "My treat."
Junko continued to watch Joey with interest. He'd been standing there in the same spot long since Yukizome passed him by. She was waiting to see how he'd react to his sudden experience with despair. Unfortunately, her despair boner got cockblocked by an unlikely individual: Byakuya Togami.
Byakuya approached Joey, giving his peer a contemptuous look. "If you're going to let something as dumb as a broken promise shatter your resolve, I'm going to regret giving you that tournament ID card."
Joey glared at Byakuya. "Shut it, rich boy!"
"No. Because you may not be aware of it yourself, but your repulsive mug is even more repulsive than normal. You look like a simpering dog that's lost its master."
"Excuse ME?!" Joey shouted, grabbing Byakuya by the lapels of his suit.
"What are you going to do? Throw a punch? Go ahead and be disqualified. It'll just prove you're unfit for the big leagues."
"Tch," Joey sneered and set Byakuya down.
"You're wound up and at this rate you won't even make it to face Yukizome, you'll lose to Gundham. I am not having that, do you hear me?"
"Oh sure, make my problems about you! That's what I need! You're a real pal, Togami!" Joey shouted sarcastically.
"I was trying to cheer you up, but clearly you just want to have a private pity party. Whatever, enjoy watching the rest of the tournament from the spectator seats after your next duel."
Byakuya then walked away. Celeste, having witnessed the whole thing, felt it best not to get involved.
Stewing with a multitude of negative emotions, Joey hadn't moved from the spot he'd been standing in since Yukizome showed up when he heard "Joey Wheeler and Gundham Tanaka, please report to the arena now."
Gundham strode up to Joey. "Kehehehe, fate is a fickle thing, don't you agree, Fledgling of Fortune's True Moon?"
Joey looked at Gundham oddly, pointing his index finger at himself. "Uhhhh, you talkin to me?"
Gundham raised an eyebrow in irritation. "Do you bear witness to other interlopers within the sphere of influence of my astral barrier?"
"Astral what now?" Joey asked flatly.
"Cur! Recognize your own skills or you will drown in the chaos of our grand battle!"
Now that Joey understood. "Ey! I ain't gonna stand here and take that! You're going down you wannabe freak of nature!"
"KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! Most excellent! Light a fire in your soul! Let our souls dance upon the flames of hell until only one of us remains!"
Joey looked at Gundham with a skeeved out expression. "You are a whack job. You do know that, right?"
"That is for fate alone to decide. Come, Tamer of the Black Dragon! We have a glorious battle to commence!"
"Now that I agree with!" Joey exclaimed. He let Gundham take the lead, his personal enthusiasm killed by the prospect of not facing Mai in the next round.
However, as his gaze fell upon the audience, he saw Mai sitting with his friends. When he saw the calm smile on her face, and her arm raised in a still wave, suddenly, things didn't seem so bad.
Mai's not even upset that she lost. She's already moved on. Joey thought, hanging his head briefly. Then I'm gonna make it up to her. I'm gonna win this thing for her and all my friends! Joey's gaze lasered in on Gundham.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! That's the gaze of a predator, Joseph Wheeler! That is the stern steeled gaze of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon primed and ready to DEVOUR it's next meal!"
"Yug, no pep talks," Joey said, giving Gundham a really tough look. "I wanna win this duel on my own. I know even if ya don't say a word that you're thinkin of me and so's everyone else! If I'm gonna beat Miss Yukizome, after I take care of this whacko, that means I gotta sink or swim on my own. I'm not gonna give up. Losing's not an option anymore! For you, for Mai, for Serenity, for everyone that supports me, I'm gonna give this and EVERY duel in this tournament my all!"
Yami smiled. He'd never seen Joey so invigorated and serious without overdoing it. "All right, Joey. I'll be watching."
"Kehehe, a grand showdown with the Bearer of the Black Dragon of Hell's Flame. A mountain I've always wanted to attempt to ascend." Gundham began practically yelling. "Fight me with all of your power as I will do so now regardless of the calamity that may ensue! For countless stretches of time, this power of mine has yearned to face a worthy challenger since my defeat at the hands of the Fell Dragon! SHOW ME YOUR TRUE POWER!"
"You got it, Gundham! Let's go! All or nothing!"
"All or nothing? Heh, that's a good line," Gundham mused to himself aloud. "Yes, I shall one hundred percent match your passion. All or nothing indeed! Falter not, Fledging of Fortune! For I will not accept victory until it has been pried for your cold, lifeless corpse!"
"Well bring it on you demented freakshow! Cause I ain't gonna lose!"
With that, silence fell upon two of the mouthiest duelists in the tournament, giving opportunity for their respective cheering sections to shout words of encouragement.
"Kick his ass, Joey!" Téa shouted, refusing to mince words.
"You heard the lady, no mercy buddy!" Tristan added.
"You can do it, big brother!" Serenity cheered.
"Give him hell, Joey!" Mai declared.
"You can do it, Gundham! We all believe in you!" Sonia shouted.
"P-Please do your best!" Mikan exclaimed.
"You've got this, Joey! Take 'em down!" Ibuki hollered.
The other students looked at Ibuki disapprovingly.
"What?" She asked calmly, only to get no response. "WHAT?!" She asked again, louder, having no idea why she was silently being branded a traitor.
As Joey and Gundham stared each other down, the screen flipped back and forth and it was determined that Joey would have the first move of the tournament.
"All right! First move is mine!" Joey declared, yanking his fist inward.
"Ah, but what is the first move without first blood?" Gundham asked. "I prefer to counterattack my prey. It makes their squeals for mercy all the sweeter!"
"Dream on, Tanaka! I ain't ever begged for mercy and I'm not startin' now!"
Joey and Gundham fired the hologram projectors from their duel disks. Their life points ascended to 4,000. Both then drew a hand of five cards.
The fourth match of the second round of the Kaiba Corp Grand Prix was about to begin.
(A/N: Oh yeah, we kind of have an ongoing narrative and a plot in this tournament, don't we? I know members of my discord server more or less called the winner on this one, but I don't know how many of you non-discorders called this match. Do leave your thoughts in your reviews. This is one of my favorite duels I've written. I had an idea from about turn 2 to have Yukizome counter Mai's Feather Duster with Gryphon Wing. I'm so glad I made it work the way I did.
But from there we now move onto a matchup that I'm very excited for: Gundham Vs Joey. Man, I deliberately set this match up because it's probably one of the only chances I'm gonna get to make it happen. And I hope to really showcase why the effort was worth it…if the banter hasn't already tipped you off as to why I love it XD.
That's all from me for now. Until next time, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)