【23 - Information Search in the Shady Duel Masters Underground Circuit!】


Simon had a crumpled note in his jacket pocket, he went to a vendor and came back with bread buns full of cooked onion and barbeque sauce. Strange street-side food but Heidi gratefully bit half off in one go. Timothy chewed slower while regarding their new guide, Simon had hands in his pockets while he watched them eat.

"Where do you get money from? Selling spark rocks?" Timothy scathed.

"Here that's a verifiable business. But no," he looked around before putting a hand to their backs and guiding them along. He continued in a whisper "I have connections with the Sword gang. I used to do things for them."

"So you're a mobster? Great." Timothy was sarcastic. Heidi still had too much food in her mouth to comment.

"It's not like that. I was never an official member. I used to do things like find out information for them."

"An information broker?" Timothy questioned.

"There's a few of those around here… I mean, I don't have the resources or workers to call myself an information broker… I work alone. There's not really a name for what I am. Freelance spy and informant of sorts…"

"I get it: you simply know people."

"Don't sell my talents short. When the chosen darkness duellist disappeared I was the only person in the world who could find her. I reckon I know her movements pretty well by now, too."

"Amira Hashiru…" Timothy murmured. Heidi gulped down her mouthful and whacked her chest a few times so she could talk.

"You know her name?" She asked her boyfriend.

"I met her once, briefly. She was quiet and sorta timid. I thought the darkness duellist would be scary but she seemed more scared than anything." He looked at Heidi's gaze "Narciel tracked them all down before you, remember?"

"Right."

"So..." Simon stopped at the corner. They were undercover, white chipped plaster and hanging cords. The abandoned store beside them may have been an old DVD shop. Now it was just empty shelves, broken windows and dusty carpet. They stopped after Simon and waited for him to speak. He itched his ear "If Amira got taken by Lieutenant Magris Slade then I'm sad to say there's nothing we can do for her. She's probably dead."

"Urobach doesn't want to kill us yet." Heidi told him.

"Magris would do it anyway." He assured her. "But luckily for us I'm pretty sure the guy who took Amira wasn't working for Magris, he didn't look like your typical Axe gang member. I think he was hired help, but if someone else took Amira they're probably connected to a different lieutenant."

"So where do we look?"

"My bet is the underground Duel Masters circuit." Simon answered her.

"An underground circuit?" Heidi's eyes widened. "Wow, that sounds pretty-"

"Dangerous. Folks gamble, have Kaijudo duels, losers get todomeda-ed and wind up in the hospital or dead."

"And you think the lieutenants would involve themselves in it?" Timothy asked him "to recruit duellists?"

"I know for a fact that one regular there is the right-hand man of someone who swept in and took a leading position in the Knife gang. In all likelihood that person's another lieutenant."

Heidi went to take another bite of her bun but stopped, she held her chin. Timothy took a bite and a string of onion hung out his mouth as he chewed.

"I don't get it…" Heidi murmured "A month ago we got information from a lieutenant captured by the DMA. She made it sound like all the lieutenants were tracking chosens. Why would they be here of all places? And why are they infiltrating the gangs?"

Timothy swallowed and turned to Simon "Who's this guy working closely with a lieutenant?"

"His name's Destirio. I think he used to be a cage-fighter, the guy's huge and got a weird accent. It's just a hunch but I think it's likely his boss is one of these lieutenants."

"So we're going to this underground circuit?" Timothy asked.

Simon nodded "tonight. I know who's in charge of security. We're bound to find out something useful."

They had a few more hours until nightfall. The three walked around the city while Simon looked for and spoke to random people. He'd ask Heidi and Timothy to stay back and they'd watch at a distance while he spoke with dealers or other shady characters. He wrapped his sore wrist in a bandage of questionable cleanliness and when Timothy saw he only looked a little guilty. Some of the information Simon asked about concerned lieutenants, he also asked about recent gang activity. There was an apartment complex on the other side of the city, it'd been abandoned by its tenants and taken over as a hide-out by the Axe gang. A series of vans had pulled up days ago, and mobsters with crossed-knife tattoos scaled the building and gunned down everyone inside. They'd sustained losses but retreated before reinforcements could arrive. The place had been looked over by police from the next city, ticked off as another gang-related massacre. Bodies were unceremoniously gathered and disposed of.

Evening was grey and brought with it a feeling of being unsafe. Most of the streetlights switched on and bonfires lit up. Simon was talking with a couple of especially dirt-smeared fellows. Heidi kicked at a weed, huddling into her jumper against the growing cold. She didn't notice the sleek black car until it stopped and the tinted window buzzed down.

"Hey, kid." A man in a white suit with greasy hair called to Timothy.

"Me?" He looked afraid, Heidi did too.

"You look in good health. Know your way around a gun?"

"I- uh…" He didn't know what to say and stood rooted to the spot.

"The Axe is looking to recruit. You been branded yet?" There was a scar between the man's empty eyes.

"There you are! Don't wander off like that!" Simon limped over to Timothy and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, he looked at the mobster "I'm sorry, Sir, my cousin's mentally handicapped. He didn't call out at you did he?" Simon's look of fear was very believable.

The man looked at Timothy, then he looked at Simon's leg and how he was supporting his weight by holding onto the other boy. He didn't even glance at Heidi.

"Never mind then." He leaned back and told the driver to go, the window went up and the car left. Simon watched it go and didn't stand properly until it vanished around the bend.

"Recruiters. Man you guys would be dead without me. If he'd thought you were with a different gang he would've shot you right then and there…"

Heidi let out a breath of relief before addressing the blonde "Is it time for us to go yet?"

"Yeah, I know where the entry is. Follow me."

The three stuck to the broken footpath, passing slumped figures. One old man was muttering to himself in a low voice. They walked a few blocks before Simon headed down a dark alley, at the end were guards in leather jackets. Heidi could see firearms strapped to their belts under the light of a burning cigarette. Simon smiled and acted charming. They knew him, after Heidi and Timothy flashed their decks the three were allowed down stone steps and through a metal door. They walked down an angular staircase of concrete steps in almost-darkness.

Simon stopped and faced back "Before we go through, just know this place is actually lawless. Don't do anything stupid."

Heidi gulped and then they followed him into a wide room. The Duel Masters underground circuit was high-ceilinged, concrete and lit by fluorescent tubes and halogen lighting. There was a decent crowd here full of varying types of people, all shady-looking. The whole place was sectioned off by chain-link fencing. They had to turn their bodies as they walked to not bump shoulders, a few stares were shot their way. An old woman sucking on an ornate smoker, peacock feathers on her dark dress as she eyed them. A stout man in a pin-striped suit with a handlebar moustache gave a suspicious up-down look on his way by. There were dirty street-walkers in tattered coats mixed with exotic characters. Heidi was astounded to see one man in black Zentai carrying a tray of drinks like a waiter. No part of his body was visible through the skin-tight full-body suit. He lowered his head in a servile manner whenever someone approached to take a glass.

"There she is!" Simon started. "Our very own Lady Darkess."

The crowd had parted somewhat and they saw a slender Asian woman in her forties. She was all in black, sucking a cigarette. In her hand was a leash and crouching at her side like a dog was another fellow in black Zentai. A second one handed her a tumbler, she sipped the alcohol then ashed her smoke in a tray he offered her. Without speaking the gimp lowered his head humbly, she looked away and he departed with a slight bow.

"Guys," Simon looked back at the other two who'd stopped in their tracks "I want you to meet someone. This is Lady Darkess, in charge of catering and security here."

The woman regarded them as they approached. Blowing smoke out her mouth and narrowing dark eyes. Heidi stared at the costumed man on all fours as he remained perfectly still.

"Uh, hi I'm Timothy." He shook the woman's hand which was gloved up to her elbow.

"Heidi." She introduced herself and shook hands as well.

"A pleasure." Lady Darkess replied.

"We came here because we're looking for some information." Simon told her.

"I'm sure I wouldn't know anything your favourite information broker Ms Snaketail doesn't know already." She sipped her bourbon.

"Actually I haven't been to see her in a few weeks. I came to you first."

"My, my. I'm flattered." At her exposed shoulder was a tattoo of two crossed swords in a circle.

"You're a gang-member?" Heidi blurted.

"No, just affiliated. You can't reach any level of power or importance in this city without one of the triads coming to claim your services for themselves. I dare say half the people in this city are branded." Lady Darkess explained.

Simon turned to them "If you two don't mind I'd like to have a private chat with her. Why don't you wander round for a bit? Just try not to get lost."

Timothy nodded and took Heidi by the arm, they passed through the crowd and away. He let go and wasn't looking at her, instead scanning the faces of everyone they passed. To Heidi he still seemed moody. Understandable, since she felt the same way. The shock at being marooned in the slums and having all their money stolen had still not fully set in. They had aches and bruises, had been man-handled and held at knife-point. Spent a full day now in a filthy and smelly city, had stiff limbs from sleeping against each other outside by the street. The stress and constant sense of danger was keeping them both on edge. All they had was Simon and Heidi still wasn't sure they could trust him.

Ahead the chain-link fencing went round in a circle and inside was a dirt pit, either for wrestling or Kaijudo duelling. Timothy was heading off when Heidi spotted a bathroom sign. To wash up in a sink and use a proper toilet was overwhelmingly tempting. She didn't try to stop her boyfriend, she left him and made a beeline for the doors.

The women's toilet had three cubicles. Heidi went into one, the paint was mostly peeled off and the door jammed. The lock was broken. It was grimy and the toilet itself was cracked with no lid, but there was toilet-paper and a pull-chain that worked. After flushing she came out to see a woman in a black sequin dress. She was sniffling and had blue powder around her nose, stared at Heidi with unfocused eyes. Spark rocks. Heidi went to the sink and splashed water on her hands then her face and quickly left. As expected Timothy and Simon were nowhere in sight.

She wandered around by herself for a while, gazing at all the peculiar characters. Deep guffaws pulled her eyes to a corner and she saw a big and heavy-set man. He was a brute in shape, barrel-bodied instead of barrel-chested. He looked like a solid wall of muscle, his bald head gleamed under the lighting. Heidi made her way over to them and when she caught snippets of conversation she heard an accent she couldn't place.

"Destirio?" At her voice a feathered couple turned and parted. The big man tilted his head at her, a short teenaged girl. The oddly-dressed pair glided away so they could talk in relative solitude.

"What can I do for you?" He asked in a deep voice. Under a leather strap by his shoulder Heidi could see a knife tattoo peeking out from under his vest.

"Knife gang? And Lady Darkess let you in here?"

"This is the underground circuit, and I'm a champion contender. Also she's not an actual gang member, unlike me. What did you say your name was?"

"Kettou da!" Heidi challenged and he blinked in surprise.

"You must be new. Challenges don't start until midnight."

"My name's Heidi. You have information I need, concerning lieutenants and the chosen darkness duellist."

Again he was surprised, he scanned the surrounding crowd before telling her "The rings won't be open but we can head to the rooftop. You are a Kaijudo duellist, right?" He watched as Heidi merely raised her hand, it flared up with red light and extinguished when she closed her fist. He smiled "Wonderful. Follow me."

As he trudged off she turned and once again scanned the crowd for either Timothy or Simon. After being unable to sight them she followed after the man. He shifted somewhat but it was mainly other patrons who caught sight of his hulking figure, parting as if they were herbivores in the wild making room for a bigger animal. At his approach faces turned to him. Heidi on the other hand had to side-step and squeeze through until they found a stairwell door. Once out of that big room the chatter and clinking glasses died, only the echoing thuds of their footsteps were heard as they made their way up. There were several deadlocked doors as they ascended in square spirals. Heidi's knees were aching when they finally reached the top and stepped onto the roof.

Stars were peeking out from under the clouds. While grey and smog-looking, they weren't rain-clouds. Just ugly clouds. As the big guy walked off to give them space she remembered the last Kaijudo duel she'd had atop a building, it was against a lieutenant. Things had been so different back then. Heidi went to take her mark. Kaijudo flames erupted in the dim, no surprise a big guy like him used nature.

"The boss you're so loyal to in the Knife gang, it's a lieutenant isn't it?" Heidi demanded as their tables faded into view.

"I don't know how you know about the lieutenants, but if you beat me I'll answer all your questions."

"Deal!"

They raised their shields, Destirio added a rainbow card as mana before passing the turn back to her.

"I summon Brawler Zyler!" her mana tapped and she slapped down her humanoid. In a flash of scarlet the bandaged zombie swung itself up with a roar.

"Poisonous Mushroom." The lumpy balloon mushroom hovered and he added extra mana from his hand.

Heidi charged then played her trusty spell "Relentless Blitz! Now humanoids can attack untapped creatures, Brawler Zyler ike!" The zombie raised its gun-arm, leaping with a ripple of energy and firing holes into the opposing fungus.

"You play mono fire? Curious." The big man drew. Heidi was mildly surprised that he'd not shown any condescension toward a younger and shorter rival, but she knew not to let her guard down. He added darkness mana amongst his nature and fire. Three civilizations. He summoned "Gray Balloon, Shadow of Greed." The ghostly 3000 blocker hazed into view with a howl.

Heidi's mana untapped "I play Smashblow Dragoon!" She gave a wide grin at her new Tyranno Drake as well as seeing yet another look of surprise from the man. Her creature was a flaming animal-hybrid with long ears and a tail, on 2000. "Brawler Zyler break a shield, ike!"

To her surprise Destirio let his shield get destroyed, the cyan panels crashed into a heap before vanishing.

"…Not many people have access to future cards." He commented.

"So you do know about future cards!" Heidi pointed.

"Yes, I'll admit it. I do work closely with a lieutenant."

"Who?!"

"You'll have to beat me first." He gave a wry smirk "I cast Ultimate Force and add two cards to my mana zone." A huge tree burst forth and enveloped him in twittering leaves. As he ended his turn it receded again.

"Won't take long for me to beat you with the way you're playing. I thought you were a champion contender?" she drew and he merely smiled at her. "I summon Express Dragoon!" This Tyranno Drake was purple with spiked fists. It had 3000 power. "Smashblow Dragoon ike!"

"Gray Balloon block!" The ghost howled as it intercepted the attack, getting shredded and set alight. The bald man narrowed his eyes at Heidi's unaffected creature.

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention Smashblow has 6000 power whenever fighting a blocker." She noticed he wasn't smiling anymore. "Brawler Zyler break a shield!" Another round of bullets flew and this time scratches appeared on the big man's arms. He was much too big a target to dodge all that flying glass but he seemed to not even notice the cuts.

"I cast Dimension Gate." He showed her the green-glowing spell. "I add Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny to my hand."

This time it was Heidi's turn to stare wide-eyed. She thought she must have misheard him.

"Did you say… Bombazar?"

"That's correct." He started fishing through his deck.

"But Bombazar has been on the tournament banned list basically ever since it was released!?"

"Yes. It's banned in the underground circuit as well, but we're not playing an official circuit duel are we?" He smirked at her shock. "Come now, Heidi was it? If you can play a duel with future cards surely I can use ones on the banned list. The magic of Kaijudo duels doesn't discriminate based on our man-made game regulations."

"I suppose not." She conceded.

Bombazar is a speed-attacker on 6000 among other abilities, Heidi remembered her Grandpa showing her when she was little. She remembered seeing a foil copy of the card locked in a glass case of their card shop. After playing Bombazar he will get an extra turn and if he hasn't beaten me in those two he'll automatically lose the duel. It's the ultimate game-stopper.

"The fire civilization doesn't have blockers," she mumbled to herself "I can't let him summon that card or it's over for me…"

"I summon Acid Reflux, the Fleshboiler." Destirio continued, bringing out a slayer-blocker on 3000. A trio of giant skulls emerged with flailing hands "Turn end."

Heidi drew and let out an enormous sigh "I cast Cyclone Panic! We have to shuffle the cards we're holding into our deck and draw a new hand."

"Nice save, however I have four copies of Bombazar and this whole deck is centred around strategies to bring him out."

An orange vortex of steam spun forth on the field and both players exchanged cards with their decks after shuffling. This would save Heidi from imminent danger and also give her the chance to draw her trump card. She couldn't risk losing her evolution baits until then "Turn end."

"I cast Slash Charger." Destirio revealed the purple glow of a darkness spell. "I can discard a card from any player's deck. I choose one of my Destiny dragons." As white twisted faces stretched around his table and squealed he flicked through his cards, dropped one into his graveyard and shuffled his deck.

"He only needs another darkness spell like Dark Reversal and then he can add it back to his hand…" Heidi anxiously murmured.

"Next I play Bombat, General of Speed." The dragonoid speed-attacker readied its huge jetpack while its long tongue lolled out. He twisted the card with a plate-sized hand "Ike!" There was a flash of blue and if Heidi had blinked she would've missed the blur his creature became. A panel shattered and she couldn't help crying out, not even having the time to shield her face. When a card popped off the table and she caught it Heidi was awarded with a pleasant surprise.

"Alright this game is over!" Five mana cards turned by themselves. "I evolve Brawler Zyler, Smashblow Dragoon and Express Dragoon into Supernova Mars Disaster!" Scarlet light flashed and only intensified. Destirio squinted then had to shield his eyes. Light and heat continued to grow until flames started, winding up in a spiral that condensed before exploding. Above the building a huge fire phoenix flung wide its red-orange wings with a songbird call. Heidi itched her nose through the rippling air "Heh."

"I thought so…" The big man was startled but regained his composure, an impressive feat in itself "You're the chosen fire duellist."

"And you're going to tell me everything I want to know about your lieutenant boss if you don't want to be burnt to cinders! Ike, triple-break his last shields and meteorburn!" The phoenix lurched, creating a heatwave with its wing-beat. Bombat and Acid Reflux were simultaneously melted and charred. Bright flames emerged from its beak and lit up the surrounding city. The shields disintegrated one after the other. When the fire cleared Destirio was facing away while the edges of his table were burnt black and smoking.

As he turned to face her again he reached out and took hold of a green-glowing shield trigger "Soulswap. I send Supernova Mars Disaster to your mana zone and then exchange it for a mana creature, so I pick Brawler Zyler."

Heidi stiffened. A magic blue circle appeared beneath her phoenix, all the fire and heat started to get suctioned inside. With a final bird-shriek and flurry of embers her ultimate creature was gone. Her bandaged humanoid was all that remained.

"…dammit."

"My turn." Destirio drew and then "I summon Mezger, Commando Leader." Another speed-attacker, this one wielding a giant mallet and having 2000 power. "Next I play a Marrow Ooze the Twister and finally…" his smile made her heart flutter with anxiety. The living dead blocker twisted up with a snarl. Destirio showed her a familiar nature spell "Another Soulswap on my own Marrow Ooze."

"Wait…"

"Do you remember the rainbow card I added as mana on my first turn?"

"No!"

"I summon Bombazar, Dragon of Destiny!" That blue magic encircled his weak darkness creature and sucked it in, then it expanded and with a surge of light emerged a giant dragon of gleaming colours. Its roar was more earthy than Heidi's dragons – it was a fire-nature creature with curved horns, lime-green wings and red armour. "Bombazar is a 6000 double-breaker, and since I have Mezger you're going to lose even with four shields."

Heidi clenched her jaw and her fists "but… what if I don't lose?"

"Bombazar will detonate after my extra turn ends and most likely kill me."

"But I still need you to tell me what you know about Amira!" Heidi pressed but he wasn't listening to her.

"Bombazar double-break her shields!" The weapons on the dragon's arms glowed red-hot, the towering beast flung itself forward and cleared two panels, tiny pieces flecked into Heidi's hair. She grimaced and plucked out one of her new shield trigger spells "I cast Cannonball Sling! With its metamorph ability I can destroy a creature on 6000 because I have over seven cards in my mana zone!" A crane whipped into view, swinging a huge metal ball covered in spikes and with an evil grinning face.

Both players stared in surprise as Bombazar was hit, crying out before dying in a flash of light.

Heidi blinked "I… I killed it. You don't get to have your extra turn."

"I do." Destirio told her as his dragon landed in his graveyard "It's called a 'come into play effect', not even being destroyed can stop it. So…" his determination returned. "Mezger break a shield, ike!" His humanoid jumped with a war cry, swinging its hummer and crunching blue glass. "Turn end."

Heidi had one shield left. Instead of her mana untapping, her opponent's table-top cards all flicked straight. He drew and began his second turn.

"It's over, Heidi. I summon another Bombat, General of Speed!" The lizard lapped its tongue, thumb on its jetpack trigger as it waited for the attack order beside his other fire creature. "Ike!" A burst of blue fire like a gunshot, Heidi turned this time and her short hair flew. Air and glass buffeted by. "Now, Mezger-"

"Tornado Flame!" Heidi revealed her second trigger, she threw the card and fire swirled, growing into a tempest as it swallowed and burned his untapped creature. "With no more creatures to attack me with your battle phase ends, and so does your extra turn!"

"I lost…" The big man realised. A card in his discard pile started to glow white-hot. Before either of them could do anything there was an explosion of smoke.

Heidi lowered her arms "Destirio!" she cried out.

As the cloud cleared he was lying flat on the concrete. Heidi quickly gathered her cards as the tables started to vanish. She ran over with a horrible feeling she was going to find a charred corpse. However the man seemed fine, even conscious in fact. He winced and his left arm looked badly burned. Otherwise he seemed fine. Heidi couldn't see too well in the weak starlight but the man sat forward, turning over his injured arm.

"You're alive!" Heidi stated.

"Yes… destroying Bombazar like you did must have saved my life…"

Heidi sighed in relief. Despite the two other lives she'd claimed through Kaijudo duelling she didn't want to be a killer. Even if Destirio was a bad guy she was glad he was mostly unharmed.

"Okay, I beat you." The girl's voice turned harsh "Now you have to tell me about the lieutenant you work for!"

"Her name is Kurushi Glimmer." He began, the surprise at still being alive lingered in his voice "She just walked into this city and got herself a high-ranking position in the Knife gang, just like that. Equal in status to Pello Junior, the guy who's now calling the shots since Pello Senior is on his deathbed. She freed me from prison two weeks ago so that I'd help her, I was only a few months into my sentence but jumped at the chance for freedom."

Heidi was having difficulty absorbing all this information at once. She shook her head "Do you know where the chosen darkness duellist is?"

"Yes. Help me up." He struggled to stand. Heidi pulled on his arm but suspected she was doing nothing, he basically climbed up all on his own. He held his injured arm aloft "We have her."

"Kurushi has Amira?" Heidi stepped back once he was standing. "What do you want with her?"

"A trade." Destirio's face was impossible to make out in the gloom. "It's just business with the Axe gang. They kidnapped someone important to the Pellos. Another lieutenant called Magris Slade works with the Axe gang and he wants Amira badly. We were going to organize a trade. Our hostage for theirs."

"Then Amira's going to be killed." Heidi realised. "We have to rescue her!"

"Afraid not." Then Destirio punched her.

Immediately Heidi went whoozy, all pain was taken by her dazedness. Even so she seemed to lose all co-ordination. She hit the ground, got back up only to fall over again.

"With this injury I won't be able to compete in the circuit tonight." Destirio was saying, his accented voice seemed far away. "But I need to take you back with me to Kurushi anyway - can't have you messing with this trade deal."

He picked her off the ground with one arm, by the scruff of her collar. Heidi flailed, then she reached out and pinched the burn on his arm. Destirio howled and stumbled back, she clung to his clothes then swung up, wrapping her legs around his neck. She worked to constrict his windpipe, but her vision was still bleary and Heidi knew she might not have the strength to keep up the pressure. He staggered back a few steps and Heidi strained with every bit of her strength to bring him to unconsciousness. Even in the dim lighting she could see his bald head going purple. Just a few seconds more… He tried to grab for her but missed. Then he stopped and intentionally slammed his back into the ground.

Heidi's strength left her. She released her hold and lay limp. Destirio was crouched over and massaging his neck while choking. Now was the time for her to escape but Heidi couldn't so much as lift her head let alone run.

"You're some kid…" he admitted once his breathing returned to normal. "To think I used to be a professional cage-fighter and you almost took me down. I'm twice the size of you! If I hadn't hit you first you probably would've beaten me…" He got up and Heidi remained a helpless starfish below him. "Alright, time for us to go."


AN: Oh yes Acuma, we are officially in the civilization arc of doom and despair. The real question we must ask ourselves... but IS there hope at the end of this dark tunnel? Answer = nope! Mwahahaha. You make a good point about the chess comparisons Azure, however I wonder if we can catch up to the speed you want in this arc with just castles and God links. I will try to make the duels I haven't planned yet faster, I guess they could break lots of shields at once more often? Anyway I know this is Amira's arc and she has been so far scarce but that changes next chapter! Minasan, arigatou ~