Izuku Midoriya V.S Shadow Duelist Harrok

To say Izuku was excited was an understatement. It was only two more weeks til the day of the UA Entrance Exams and the few months that followed it was nothing more then bliss to Izuku.

After being released from the hospital, he found himself nearly always with Itsuka. They studied together, trained together, and all around grew closer as the days passed. When they trained, he let her fight against his monsters for a more challenging spar. She mentioned to Izuke that for most of her life she only trained with her father in their dojo, never fighting anyone that actually posed a threat since she was a prodigy in the ranks of her dojo. So when he offered the chance to fight him with his quirk she happily accepted it.

At first he let her fight against Celtic Guardian, since he was the monster he was the most familiar with and had the best friendship with. He proved a good combatant against Itsuka, making her learn how to get past the defense of a large, weapon wielding opponent, and he knew from the smirks Celtic would get on his face he enjoyed someone new to fight with.

After a week of fighting against the elf, Izuku switched to letting her fight Flame Swordsman, and again Itsuka learned new methods to adopt into her style. She was quick to realize that close combat without a plan against an opponent with not only a weapon but one with fire and incredible speed was not a good plan at all. While that week was constantly associated with burn gel and beratings from both their parents it was a good week nonetheless.

When it came to training with Dark Magician Girl, it was a whole new game. Through all her training in her life, she never had the chance to fight someone with ranged capabilities like the female spellcaster. So when Itsuka discovered her weakness against a distance fighter, she worked hard to overcome that shortcoming. What she realized needed and was working on still was a way to close the gap fast enough before the opponent could react to her charge. However, the Dark Magician Girl didn't make it easy for her.

Finally, and what Izuku was more excited for, was sparring and training with him using his new Elemental Heroes against Itsuka. The first one he brought out was Elemental Hero Clayman. When Izuku talked to Jaden about him, he told Izuku was the best defensive hero he had in his deck besides fusion monsters. Which was something he still needed to talk to Jaden about. So for Itsuka the large hero made of clay was a perfect combatant to sharpen herself again since it could take out so much more damage then the others and still be able to fight back. When he summoned Elemental Hero Sparkman, it was a challenge for her. Though he was a more straightforward monster, he was insanely quick and was able to enhance his strikes and speed with his lightning ability. Because of that Itsuka rarely was able to properly protect herself against him. But instead of thinking of a way to counter the hero with her quirk and martial arts she opted to see if she could find a way for her hero costume to be modified with thicker material to take on heavier blows and perhaps some material to nullify electrical attacks.

Lastly was Elemental Hero Bubbleman, which was more or less a push over compared to the other monsters. He looked cool enough, and his theme was pretty neat, but outside of his aesthetics he was basically useless outside of needing someone to put out a raging fire. So training against him was pointless to the two teens.

The training the two had would go on for the months leading up to the current day. And in that time the two got closer to one another then they realized. Izuku found himself staring at his phone a lot more than usual, waiting for texts from Itsuka while Itsuka did the same when she waited for Izuku. Izuku always had a smile on his face now when he saw her texts, the two on the phone for hours some days when they couldn't meet up to train. They shared study notes, were constantly at each other's houses when possible, and all around were becoming inseparable. To Inko Midoriya and Yuna Kendo, this was adorable and when the two families were together without their kids they always teased the annoyed Hoshi Kendo about how their children would be practically married by the end of the year. Despite his joy for his daughter, Hoshi was still a father and didn't want his oldest daughter doing something stupid and ending up being a teenage mother like his mother.

All in all, life was just good for Izuku. So when the universe decided to give him a reality check it was poorly received by the young man.

On his way to meet up with Itsuka and her folks for a lunch date they planned a few days prior, Izuku was distracted by what seemed to be like a Villain attack. The villain in question was wearing a thick, dark purple robe that covered the black long sleeve shirt, jeans, and boots underneath. The only really eye-catching feature Izuku saw on him was the golden mask on his face. The mask itself was not all that impressive, it was just a smooth mask with no defining facial features except the eye slits. But what was interesting, and to the Duelists in Izuku's mind, terrifying was the Eye of Ra engraved on the forehead.

The heroes, the Gunner Hero Magnum and the Silver Hero Mercury, were panting heavily as the man stood there, his hands exposed as he raised them to face the tired heroes. "Is this all the world has to offer for heroes? Pathetic."

A sick chuckle was heard from the man as shadowy mists started to wrap around his palms. At the sight all four Duelists within Izuku called out. "Izuku, you need to step in! That's shadow magic!"

Without a second of hesitation Izuku pulled his hood over his face and charged into the battle. Before the man could send out the spell Izuku was between him and the two pros. Izuku looked at the masked man, his own hands out and ready to counter attack the man if needed. The man tilted his head to the side, his hands still swirling with the magic before he lowered them. "What is this? Your…hmm…"

The man started to walk forward, his head still tilted to the side as he looked at Izuku. "Oh, I see now. You're another duelist, are you not?"

"Izuku, this isn't your typical villain. This aura the man is giving off, the power in his palms…he has to belong to the group of duelists that we fought in our worlds. He is a Shadow Duelist." The Pharaoh all but shouted inside Izuku's mind, making him wince a bit.

"Is it not proper in this world to answer someone's question?" The man asked, now standing about a yard away from Izuku as he tilted his head to the other side.

"I…I am a duelist, what are you?"

"What am I?" The man's head now stood tall, his red eyes glaring from under the mask. "I am one of the men sent here to take your world into ours. I am Harrok, Soldier of the Shadow Duelists." He gestured to the two heroes behind Izuku. "And you are currently in my way from adding two new souls into our realm. Please step aside."

Izuku looked at the cloaked man, eyes twitching softly as even though he never met the guy before, he felt a deep hatred within him. "No, I won't let you hurt them."

Harrok chuckled, moving his arms out wide and leaning his head back as he laughed. "I see, so that is how it is. I have been interested to see how dueling works in this world. And it would be fitting that it would be against someone so inexperienced as yourself." He let out a deep breath before looking back at Izuku. "You want to save their meaningless lives? Fine then, accept my challenge to a Shadow Game. If you win, the heroes will be spared."

"And if I lose?"

"Then your soul is forfeit to the Shadow Realms."

Izuku figured that would be his answer. He remembered talking to the four in his mind about what exactly was the Shadow Realm and the things they called Shadow Games. Even though they came from different worlds, the census was the same. The Shadow Realm was a place worse than death, a world where torment and agony was commonplace for the souls sundered to it. And Shadow Games were a way for duelists to fight, having the loser be cast into the World of Darkness without a second thought. He was warned about this, and despite the four of them yelling in his mind not to fall for the trap, he did.

"I accept."

Harrok snickered under his gold mask, and around them the world seemed to darken. The street lamps sink into the ground, the ground becomes a mixture of black and purple and the building follows suit. Around them the world changed as Izuku quickly realized what was happening. He was being dragged into what was possibly the Shadow Realm. Behind him the two heroes were ensnared into the fire and were quickly caged by the mire taking form. And lastly, above them, the sky turned black. No light, no color, except an eerie light that seemed to illuminate the area itself.

"The roles are simply, my dear boy," Harrok joked as he prepared himself. "In the Shadow Realm, the loser is determined when the opponent runs out of stamina and is unable to continue fighting. No more than five monsters can be summoned, spells can be used no more than three times. In this world, those rules are absolute. Trying to cheat will automatically make you loose. And with the explanation out of the way. Come forth, Red Eyes Black Dragon! Bring this peasant to his knees!"

Behind Harrok a creature was summoned, the light bringing the monster into the world was a mix of black and red. As the monster now stood behind Harrok, Izuku realized that this was going to be the true test of his abilities. The dragon roared, its body solid black with scales that resembled metal armor. The only color on the beast was its red, beady eyes. "Come now my boy! Surely you have something for me!"

Izuku smiled, trying to stand brave though inside fear was wrapping around his heart. This was it. Time to show the world what he was capable of. "Alright! Come forth, Elemental Hero Clayman, Elemental Hero Sparkman!" And as the words left his mouth the light that summoned the creatures into the world shined their brilliant blue and white. The two monsters stood at the ready, and soon they acted. "Sparkman, charge at the Red Eyes! Clayman, back him up!"

The two creatures charged forth, and the dragon roared as he flew to fight. Sparkman was quick with his strikes, landing blow after blow against the dragon while Clayman swapped out with his partner when the dragon moved to attack with its claws or its maw. The three monsters kept fighting, the two balancing out the power of the dragon while Izuke and Harrok were firing spells back and forth. The two seemed equally adept in the spell category, since neither were casting hard hitting spells and were easily dodged by one another. However, Izuku was growing weaker after each spell. Joey warned him that he was burning through his LP, and in the Shadow Realms it did not replenish. As it stood, Izuku's 8000 LP was now down to about 4000 after only four minutes of the duel. He needed to be more aware of this total, summoning out his Legendary Sword and charging at Harrok. The Shadow Duelist chuckled as he raised his hand at Izuku. "Come forth, Red Eyes Wyvern!"

The monster was quick to come into the battle, the creature similar to the dragon his own monsters were fighting but much smaller and without front legs. Izuku backed off, keeping his smile on his face as he started to dance with the new monster. This combat was not something he ever trained for, since he hasn't unlocked a Dragon monster from the duelists yet. Because of that Izuku was curing Seto in his mind, and Seto heard it.

Thankfully he was able to keep parrying, his sword strong enough to keep the wyvern at bay as he thought of a way to deal with this duel as quick as possible. After throwing off another strike against the wyvern, Izuku opened a palm towards Harrok fired a Hinotama directly at him. This attack hit the Shadow Duelsit directly, sending him back and stumbling to the ground where Izuku prepared to aim another but stopped. That was his third use, he couldn't use it again or else forfeit the duel. He cursed under his breath, but before he could think of another solution the Wyvern swiped at him with its large wings, sending him back enough for Harrok to stand back up, panting heavily as he looked at Izuku.

"Tell me, duelist, how is it that you have so much stamina to be able to endure the monster's attack?"

"I have 8000 Life Points, if that's what you mean. I was given that total off the bat."

This made Harrok confused as he himself only started in this world with 4000. It's why he hoped summoning Red Eyes would be enough to wear out his foe, but when he summoned two monsters and was firing spells at the same time he grew suspicious.

"Are you sure you did not battle before, boy? Me and my colleagues only entered this world with 4000 each. How is it double compared to ours?"

"Like I said, I don't know." Izuku grunted as he warded off the wyvern again, his sword still in his hand and held tightly as he pointed it to Harrok. "Maybe I'm just better than you." And there was the cocky attitude Seto was waiting to come out with. It was something the duelist looked forward to instead of the timid boy he was around.

Harrok scoffed, raising his hand as he was prepared to fire another spell at the boy, but like Izuku, stopped. He was at his limit too. Not to mention his LP was low. "Fine boy, so be it. Red Eyes, use your ultimate attack. Inferno Fire Blast!"

The dragon roared as it pushed away the Elemental Heroes Clayman and Sparkman, the two looking up at Red Eyes as a large fireball was growing in its jaws before being unleashed onto the two foes. Clayman moved to protect Sparkman, trying to follow its orders to protect Sparkman. However the blaze was too powerful for the bulky monster, being obliterated against the strike along with the comrade he was trying to protect behind him. The blast was so intense it sent Izuku flying back, losing control of his spell and letting Legendary Sword fall to the ground before returning to dust. Izuku looked up, slowly getting up as he was in panic mode now. Two of his strongest monsters were now destroyed and his LP was barely above 2000 now. Summoning Dark Magician Girl would instantly KO him, and Celtic Guardian would be useless against two opponents. He was unsure what to do, his foe stronger than him by a large margin as he stood up. He looked at Harrok, a smile still on his face. As he took a deep breath. "Is that all you got? If you're only 4000 LP, that means you're at your limit too. One more spell or summon and you're done. Which means all I have to do is land a single hit on you to end this."

Harrok chuckled, nodding his head. "In theory, yes, but if you had a spell left to do so you would have done so by now. And the fact you're not summoning another monster to fight for you tells me you're at your limit as well. But here I am with two dragons ready to defeat you on my command, and you with nothing."

"Maybe, but I do have one way to win this." Izuku snickered as he raised his hand. "Celtic Guardian, come forth!" This was the gamble now, if this failed then he would lose. He snickered as his faithful guardian came to him, sword in hand and eyes filled with determination as he kept his hand out. "Equip Spell: Legendary Sword." The spell acted, now summoning the blade but this time not to him. The sword was given to Celtic Guardian, and as soon as it was gripped in his hand he felt the power surge through his monster. "Celtic Guardian, protect me!"

Izuke went to one knee, his hands on his shoulders as he spoke. "Soul of the Pure." The spell acted quickly, the magic restoring his LP while Celtic Guardian held off the two dragons on its own. This was bold, and Izuku knew it, but this was the only thing he could think of. If Celtic Guardian bought him enough time, just five minutes, to where he could heal himself again and get back to 2200 LP, then he could summon Flame Swordsman and even the odds.

Harrok noticed what he was doing, but only laughed as he watched the dragons fight against the elf. "You think biding your time for some self healing would win you this fight? Come now boy, you're outmatched and out gunned. Submit, and maybe we can use that soul of yours in our plans."

"And what would those plans be?" Izuku said, staying put and waiting for another chance to heal himself. He needed to buy time.

"Ah, you see I am not that foolish to spill my secrets like that my boy. The Master warned us never to indulge in monologues."

"Master? And here I thought you were the lead. Shouldn't be surprised though, after all what mastermind would be wearing such a ugly mask and be so weak."

"You insolent brat! This mask was a gift from Master Yultix himself! To insult such a gift only ensures you a darker pit in the Shadow Realm!"

"Huh, so his name is Yultix. Thanks" Izuku snickered as he only had a minute left. He returned his gaze to Celtic Guardian, to how surprise was holding the battle well as every attack from either Red Eyes was blocked by the Legendary Sword. He returned his eyes to Harrok, his eyes trying to intimidate the enemy. But before that could take effect, Harrok eyed him back with those red eyes of his own. Yet that's all Izuku needed. The five minutes were up. "Soul of the Pure!"

The spell ran through him again, revitalizing him ever so slightly before he raised his hand once again. "Come forth, Flame Swordsman!"

The monster erupted from the light, chagrin straight into the fray alongside Celtic Guardian. The two warriors fought hard, and this shot fear into Harrok. "Another monster! Impossible!" The two swordsmen fought and pushed the dragons back, and with a heavy slash to Red Eyes Black Dragon the elf creature was able to finally slay the beast. Flame Swordsman, not wanting to be outdone, drove his blade into the belly of Red Eyes Black Wyvern, dispelling the creature back into Harrok's deck before both monsters charged at the Shadow Duelist, and together, brought their swords down into a cross attack. Harrok only looked at the monsters, both creatures' eyes peering into the red eyes of their foe before jumping back to Izuku's side.

Harrok fell to his knees, looking down to his hands as they started to fade away. "No…no, no! This wasn't what was supposed to happen! Master Yultix! There are those worthy to fight in this world! Your plan was wrong! There are…" His body started to crumble into nothingness, his red eyes looking to the black sky above. "There are…" His eyes, along with his robes now, finally faded til nothing was left but his golden mask laying on the ground.

The world around Izuku slowly started to turn back to normal, the building and street lamps returning to the city as the black and purple ground shifted and returned to the cement he was used to. Once the world returned to normal, Izuku fell to his feet as the exhaustion of the duel hit him harder than Itsuka's fist. He was panting heavily, his eyes heavy as he felt the embrace of exhaustion taking over him before he slipped into unconsciousness. This was the result of a victory in a Shadow Game? Izuku was not looking forward to more of these.

The purple robbed figure raised his hooded head as he felt the defeat of one of his soldiers. "That's impossible…" He whispered to himself, though it was heard by the company he had around him. "What was that?"

He turned his head to see the man sitting across from him. At first he was going to insult the guy for even asking him a question without permission, but then he remembered that this was a different world and he needed to play it if he wanted to make his goals a reality here. "Oh, sorry about that. It was just a weird feeling. Still not used to this environment is all Shigaraki."

Shigaraki nodded, not believing the man his master brought to him one bit but knew when to back off. His master told him this man could be a vital piece on his gameboard if he played his cards right. "Anyways, you said you could help us without goals? Is that true, or are you just some random NPC I need to off?"

"Ah yes, we were discussing your plan. Tell me Mr. Shigaraki, do you even have the numbers to do something so bold?"

"What we have is none of your concern. Master told me that you and the people that follow you are powerful, and you need -our- help to make your plan happen. So are you going to tell me what is up or not?"

"I suppose that is fair. Yes, we can assist you in your endeavors. However it is important we do our work outside your League's view. That being said, I am more than willing to give you one of my trusted Lieutenants to assist you on your plan coming soon."

"Hmph, why don't you come with us yourself?"

"That's simple to answer, I don't want to be in the limelight. This is your plan, Shigaraki, and as such we must act as, how did you put it, support characters."

Shigaraki nodded, still not trusting of the man but if he was as powerful as Master said he was, then he couldn't deny the help from him. "Very well. I will accept this Lieutenant of yours. Though I do have one more thing to ask before you leave."

"And what would that be, Mr. Shigaraki?"

"What is your name?"

"My name? The name I go by is Yultix."

Author's Note

(Bam! Another chapter was added, and this time Izuku's first Shadow Game! Tell me what you think about the method I used for it. Based on the source material, the Shadow Games were more or less based around one's own stamina (LP in this case) to determine the winner or loser. Same with the five monsters rule, while I added the usage of a single spell three times to reflect the rule in the actual card game of having only multiples of three cards max in a deck. I hope this worked out as well as I hoped for you guys!)

(Also, what do you guys think about Shigaraki working with the Shadow Duelists? Let me know! Anyways, take care everyone!)

-Vermillion Clover