Skraku: That boot may yet appear, my friend. And your hands are in another region of the country, so I'm not particularly worried. *grins*
Wolf: You want to see evil, you might want to stop looking at Monica and start looking at the horizon. *smirks* And no, I've not yet scratched the surface, begun to fight, rubbed noses, clinked glasses, sung "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", raised the Rubicon, tested the waters, kicked off, or teed off.
(Ankhutenshi: *glances at the phrase he just used* See what you made me do, remembering that show? It'll be playing on my stereo repeatedly until the next chapter now...)
Lumen: You're doing admirably, my friend, but it's not yet been confirmed one way or the other, so just stick with the story and see what happens. And "conversion", as such, isn't a requisite for enjoying the story – at least, last I knew it wasn't – just as long as you're enjoying it.
Wolfwings: No worries! All will be revealed in due time. But I'm a suspense writer, that's what I do, is leave people hanging. I'll never get a girl that way, but I've resigned myself to that.
Penny: I'm keeping that simile. Kudos!
-------
Kyle pulled into Chubs' driveway and honked his horn once, a short burst. He knew that honking one's horn was actually an illegal practice, but on the other hand, it was a common enough practice that he was pretty sure no one was going to call the police on him for it.
Chubs came out the front door and bounded over to Kyle's car. As he jumped in and buckled his seat belt, Kyle chuckled. "The tournament doesn't start for a good half hour, yet."
...tournament... competition...
"Yeah, but I'm eager. You in a tournament. No way I'm going to miss that. And I want to scout out the opposition, too. See what you're up against."
Kyle shrugged. "If you say so." With that, he drove them to the card shop.
Zack hadn't yet set up the bracket, since there were some duelists who'd signed up that hadn't arrived. Kyle sat down at one table and shuffled his deck idly while Chubs paced back and forth. Kyle grinned up at his stout companion. "Man, you worry too much."
"I've got good reason to be worried, I think. You haven't yet dueled my tourney deck and you seem to think you can make it through in a place like this."
"Three weeks ago you were one of the toughest players here, and you're not doing it this time around. So stop worrying."
...worried... worry...
Chubs sighed and sat down on a bench next to the front window; not knowing what else he could do, he looked up at Zack and said, "Hey, have you got some cards I could take a look at?"
"What rarity?" Zack asked.
"Um. Normal and super rare?"
"Think I've got something to suit your fancy." Zack fished around behind the counter for a moment and pulled out a pair of binders. He handed them to Chubs as the shorter teen approached the counter. "Price guides in the front."
"Thanks." Chubs took them back to his seat and began looking through them.
Zack walked over to Kyle and grinned. "Excited?"
"You bet. Might actually find I'm good at something, for once."
"Always fun."
Kyle looked at Zack in curiosity. "What level duelist are you?"
"Level Two. Just got promoted last week. Did a tourney in here."
"You played in the same tournament you were administrating?"
Zack chuckled. "Believe me, Kyle, it didn't take all that long to finish my duels."
"Hm." Kyle leaned back in his chair. "Is there a prize beyond going up one level?"
"There is, today. A particularly rare effect monster card that was produced a while back; hard to come across these days. Not as hard as a Blue-Eyes, obviously, but still tough. And in perfect condition, too, so whoever gets it better not ruin it, otherwise they'll answer to the guy who's providing it."
"It's coming from your site?"
"Well, hey, I've gotta advertise somehow." Zack winked. "People are gonna ask where I got that, and I'll tell them where." He sighed. "I swear, though, Kyle, I've seen some kids come in here with their cards all ripped and torn and faded, some even crumpled up. They've got more wrinkles in them than my grandfather's face. And they ask if they can 'trade them in' for rare cards. I'm obligated to tell them no, because no one's got any use for a crumpled card."
...faded... fading...
"Makes sense," Kyle said, pointedly ignoring the voice echoing in his mind. "So if nothing else, I should beat the ones who don't take care of their cards?"
"You've got it. Wrinkled cards aren't tournament legal, anyway. Then someone'd be able to know what the next card off their deck was. That's not fair play. So let me know if you see any."
"Will do."
Zack went back to his position behind the counter and checked his watch. "Five before the hour. Time to start the bracket."
--
Within ten minutes, Kyle found himself facing off against a girl from the junior high school, by the name of Jamie. She didn't look the slightest bit nervous; in fact, she looked a bit smug. Kyle wondered just how long that look would remain on her face.
Until a duelist of higher caliber wipes it off, he guessed. "Who'll go first?"
"You can go," she said.
"Hm. Okay." He drew his first five cards and then a sixth one for his first move. He considered the cards in his hand, then said, "I play People Running About (600/600) in defense mode."
Jamie almost laughed out loud. "I can't believe you'd keep such a weak monster in your deck! But fine, if that's the way you want it... I play Disk Magician (1350/1000) in attack mode, and have Magician attack your People."
...magician...
"Destroyed, then." Kyle sent his People Running About to the graveyard.
Jamie smirked. "End turn. You're not doing so well. First time?"
"To a tournament, yes. Dueling, no. Just drawing you out." Kyle drew his next card. "I play Kabazauls (1700/1500) in attack mode. Kabazauls attacks Disk Magician."
At this, Jamie narrowed her eyes at her opponent and sent her Magician to the graveyard, also making sure to subtract 350 Life Points from her original 2000 on her duelist calculator.
Kyle grinned. "And that'll end my turn."
"Hmph." Jamie drew. "I play Prevent Rat (500/2000) in defense mode and end my turn. Try destroying that, Mr. Amateur."
Kyle drew his next card. "I don't think I'll be able to manage that this turn, but I will play Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode. I'll also place one magic/trap card face-down, and end my turn there."
Jamie drew. "Hm. Okay. I play Inpachi (1600/1900) in defense mode, and end my turn." She smirked at him. "Come on, you keep this up and you'll never touch my Life Points."
"We'll see." Kyle drew. "I play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode, and attack your Inpachi."
"Destroyed."
"End turn."
"Fine." She drew her next card, and then giggled. "Okay. I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two more cards."
...greed...
"I'm well-aware of its effect, thank you."
"Good. Therefore you should know that it does wonders, like bring me this card." She plucked a card from her hand and placed it daintily on the field. "I play Zoa (2600/1900) in attack mode. Zoa attacks your Kabazauls."
Kyle frowned and sent Kabazauls to the graveyard, then took his Life Points down to 1100.
"That ends my turn."
"Hm." Kyle drew his next card, and smiled. "All right, then. I flip my face-down card up, to reveal Dark Hole, thus destroying every monster on the field."
Jamie growled, but sent her Prevent Rat and Zoa to the graveyard. Kyle likewise removed his Curse of Dragon and Neo the Magic Swordsman from the field. She grunted. "At least your monsters are off the field, too."
"True enough, but yours won't be. Not permanently, anyway. I play the magic card Monster Reborn, and I'll use it to revive your Zoa, which will then attack your Life Points directly."
...attack...
She groaned. "That ends the game."
"Yes, indeed. Better luck next time, hm?" Kyle smiled and shuffled his cards back into his deck.
She huffed. "You don't need to rub it in, y'know." And with that, she walked out of the shop.
Kyle shrugged. Her loss, not mine. He went over to Zack, who was still comfortably positioned behind the counter – upon closer inspection, he saw that Zack was actually mounted on a stool – and said, "I won the first round."
"Good to hear," said Zack. "That didn't take long. Don't expect all of it to be so easy."
"I don't."
--
Kyle's next challenge was a short, dark-haired boy of about sixteen years, named Brian. The boy exuded confidence, but unlike his predecessor, he didn't act smug. Instead, he simply stared at Kyle as they shuffled their decks. "I'll go first, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Kyle responded, drawing his first five cards.
"Okay." Brian drew his sixth card, and made his move. "I play Rude Kaiser (1800/1600) in attack mode, and place one magic/trap card face-down. Your turn."
Kyle narrowed his eyes at Brian's field. The face-down is probably a trap of some sort. I guess that means I'll have to set my own if I want to keep up. He drew his next card, and then announced, "I'll also place one magic/trap card face-down, and play Curse of Dragon (2000/1500) in attack mode."
"Activate Trap Hole," Brian answered. "And I do believe Curse of Dragon has an attack power above a thousand, so... bye-bye to him."
Hm. I was right. Now let's see if he falls for mine. Kyle sent his Curse of Dragon to the graveyard. "I guess it's your turn, then."
"That it is." Brian drew his next card and chuckled. "All right, then. I play Uraby (1500/800) in attack mode, and Rude Kaiser attacks your Life Points."
...trap...
"No, he doesn't." Kyle flipped over his face-down card. "Activate Negate Attack, which nulls your attacking for this turn."
"Indeed. Your turn, then."
Kyle drew his next card and rolled his eyes. "Not the best card in my deck, but this'll do. I play Robotic Knight (1600/1800) in defense mode, and end my turn there."
"Not doing well? Shame. I'm on a roll," Brian remarked as he drew his next card. "I play King of Yamimakai (2000/1530) in attack mode. King attacks your Knight."
"Destroyed." Kyle sighed as he removed his Robotic Knight from the field.
"Your turn."
Kyle's next draw yielded him yet another weaker monster card. But I place a little more value in this one. "I place Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200) in defense mode and end my turn."
Brian raised an eyebrow. "An effect monster that only does you some good in the graveyard. What, you're just waiting for me to destroy it, aren't you?"
"That's the general idea, yes."
Kyle's opponent drew his next card. "Well, it's not going to work exactly like you want it to. I equip the magic card Fairy Meteor Crush to King of Yamimakai. This little number forces you to take Life Point damage even if your monsters are in defense mode." Brian allowed a small smile. "Making your Life Points easy prey when your monster has a defense power that low. King attacks Marie."
"Destroyed... and I lose eight hundred Life Points in the process," Kyle mumbled, programming the appropriate result into his calculator. Only good thing about that play was that Marie's ability kicks in. Maybe my luck will turn around with this next card.
"That ends my turn."
Kyle drew, and almost audibly groaned. This would do me less good in defense mode than in attack mode! But I don't have many alternatives at the moment, so... "First, Marie the Fallen One's ability activates, to give me an extra two hundred Life Points, and then I play Kabazauls (1700/1500) in attack mode, and end my turn there."
Brian snorted as he drew his next card. "Nice. But okay. King attacks Kabazauls."
"Destroyed... I lose another three hundred." Kyle chewed his cheek as he watched his Life Points ascend and descend, as with the average roller coaster. Down to 1100. Come on, deck, give me something I can use...
His next draw gave him a sense of satisfaction. All right, then. "I get another two hundred point boost from Marie, and then I play Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) in attack mode, and place two magic/trap cards face-down. Back to you."
"This is getting too easy," Brian commented, drawing as he spoke. "Makes me wonder what you've got face-down. But for the moment, King attacks Neo."
"Well, now you get to see what's face-down. Activate Reinforcements, to increase Neo's attack power to 2200 for the duration of this turn. I think that's enough to take your King out."
Brian harrumphed as he sent his King and Fairy Meteor Crush cards to the graveyard and subtracted 200 LP. "Fine. That ends my turn."
"Hm." Kyle drew his next card. "Marie's effect activates yet again; I gain another two hundred LP. And now I play Launcher Spider (2200/2500) in attack mode, and use it to attack your Rude Kaiser."
Brian grumbled. "Destroyed, I lose four hundred LP."
"That'll do nicely. End turn."
"Hmph." Brian drew his next card, and a glint appeared in his eye. "First, I switch Uraby to defense mode. Then I play Judge Man (2200/1500) in attack mode, and equip him with the Axe of Despair magic card, which increases his attack power by one thousand."
"Oh, goody," Kyle muttered. "What next?"
"I'll tell you what's next. Judge Man will attack Neo. With your LP at 1300 and the attack's total damage of 1500, this duel's clinched for me."
"Close, but no cigar, my friend. Say hello to my other face-down card." Kyle flipped the mentioned card face-up. "Activate Reverse Trap, thus reversing the effects of your Axe. Now Judge Man has 1200 attack points instead of 3200... making him an easy target for Neo's counter-attack."
Brian virtually growled – he was losing his composure rapidly. "Destroyed, I lose another five hundred LP. Hope you're happy."
"I'm getting there."
"Blah. Your turn."
"Good." Kyle drew his next card. "And I think I'll put it to good use. First, I gain yet another 200 LP because of Marie's effect. Then I play Mad Sword Beast (1400/1200) in attack mode." He grinned. "It doesn't even need a Fairy Meteor Crush; that's already built in as its special effect. But what it does need is a power boost, and so I play the magic card Rush Recklessly to increase its attack power to 2100. Finally, Mad Sword Beast attacks Uraby."
Brian's shoulders slumped. "That does me in."
...destroyed...
"Indeed, it does," Kyle agreed. "But it was a good game."
"True." Brian reshuffled his deck. "And there's always next week."
The two duelists rose from the table and patiently waited for the others to finish up their games. Kyle sauntered back to Zack's counter. "Won another one."
"How was it?"
"Tougher. But I'm still in the competition, so that's got to count for something."
"Yep. On up to the semi-finals, for you. That's pretty good for a beginner."
"I'm not as much of a beginner as everyone wants to make me out to be, you know. I've heard of people who've blown games because they didn't know the effects of their own cards."
Zack snorted. "Now, those people are beginners. Who told you about them? Chubs?"
"Yeah."
"He's played against a couple of people like that in here. I've seen it happen. That's how he got the stories to tell in the first place."
"Hnh. I'd expect no less." Kyle idly scraped at the floor with his shoe. "So when's the challenge coming?"
Zack chuckled. "Don't get too cocky, Kyle. There are duelists out there who can and will beat you. Chubs and Monica are prime examples, but there are plenty others. So play your best, stay confident in yourself, but also be a little humble, too. Not so much that you get all bogged down and unable to do anything... then you'll be sent to a psych ward for being a manic-depressive."
"I'm sure," Kyle snorted.
Minutes passed before the other semi-finalists were ready to begin. But the time came, nonetheless, and when it did, Kyle's pulse roared with anticipation.
And in its own way, so did the other voice in his mind.
...danger...
-------
Might you be so kind as to review? I'd really appreciate it. I like to know how I'm doing. Next up, the second half of Kyle's tournament... and the voice in his head gets to be quite the irritant. Stay tuned! You don't wanna miss it!