Demon Duelist Legacy Shadow Tournament Arc Chapter 15: When the past catches up with you, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, just the original characters in this fiction and any original cards they use.

Chapter 15: When the past catches up to you

Ryu shook his head sadly, "It's pitiful to watch you bluff Rikuo. Now prepare to say good bye to your physical avatar! Grand Dragon General crush his Wolf Demon Lord with Spear of Dragon Mastery!" The golden statue arched back its arm and hurled its spear at Rikuo and his monster.

The spear arched across the field, leaving behind a golden trail in its wake. Right before it hit the Wolf Demon Lord though the golden weapon struck an invisible barrier and flew back to its owner.

Rikuo held up his other face-down card. "There you go. I told you that my other face-down card was a trap. Foolishly though you charged right into it. Well Negate Attack more than easily deflected your Grand Dragon General's spear, leaving me unharmed. Plus this trap ends your battle phase, so unless you want to trigger one of your face-down cards then let me take my turn."

Ryu's upper lip curved to reveal his fangs. "You can't run forever...eventually you will have to face me in battle."

Rikuo drew his card and nodded. "Oh do not worry Ryu. We will meet in combat in but a moment. I set one card face-down and attack your Hyozanryu with the Wolf Demon Lord. Howling Sword!" The Wolf Demon Lord howled and his sword unleashed a wave of white-blue flame that instantly destroyed Ryu's dragon.

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 6700

Rikuo closed his eyes and smiled. "I'd stop summoning back random dragons with your monster's effect if I were you. All you are doing is giving me targets to attack. End turn."

Ryu's clenched his fists and drew. "Still you mock my strategy! I've had enough of you and your mockery dog!" He looked at his card and frowned angrily. "Grand Dragon General will now summon a random dragon from my graveyard! Go special summon!" A bolt of lightning struck the ground and Ryu's Troop dragon monster reappeared on the field in defense mode. "Now Grand Dragon General crush his Lord!" The General threw its spear once more.

Rikuo snickered, "I'd think so much time you would develop a better strategy than blindly attacking someone. I reveal my face-down trap card Attack Redirection Armor. This will let me change the attack target of one of your monsters to a new creature. I choose for you attack to go after your own Troop Dragon." A suit of grey demonic armor appeared on the field and few over to hover in front of the Troop Dragon. The General's spear turned in mid-flight and slammed right into the three little dragons, blowing them instantly to pieces.

Ryu's hair was being moved by unseen winds, his silver eyes burning with rage. "Again you do nothing but dodge me! Fight damn you!"

Rikuo drew his card, glanced at it, and then slid it into his duel disk. "A good general knows when to fight and when to run. I play Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards off the top of my dueling deck." He slid his two cards off of his deck and slid them both into his disk. "I'll set both of them face-down and end my turn." The Wolf Demon Lord growled impatiently and Rikuo added, "Don't worry. We'll be on the offense very soon." The monster settled down.

Ryu drew and trembled in rage. "Once again my deck gives me nothing to get rid of your annoying demon. This time I'll attack before I special summon a monster. Grand Dragon General attack!" The Dragon howled and threw his spear. As it approached his field Rikuo pressed a button on his disk.

"You're too predictable Ryu. I reveal my face-down trap card Magic Cylinder, which re-directs your monster's attack right back at you!" A pair of cups appeared on the field. One in front of the attack and the other in front of Ryu. The spear flew into one cup and came out of the other, slamming into Ryu's chest."

Rikuo- 7000

Ryu- 3700

The earth around Ryu began to tremble and crack, and a glowing golden aura built up around him. His hair stood perfectly end on end. "ENOUGH GAMES! FIGHT!!!" The voice of his roar nearly sent Rikuo flying. As quickly as the outburst came though it passed, and Ryu looked normal again, his scowl deeper then ever.

Rikuo snorted and drew. "Pitiful. You were my opponent in the war of the plains?" He looked at the card and grinned. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your face-down card on the left, instantly destroying it and leaving you with only one trap to defend yourself with. A rough wind blew across the face-down card and it instantly shattered.

Teeth bared, Ryu drew his card. Almost instantly his scowl disappeared. He threw his head back and laughed.

Rikuo raised an eyebrow to this. ("I never knew that Grand general Jourgen was so very moody.")

Ryu's laughter was cut off as he brought his head back up and sneered. "Prepare to face defeat and my vengeance dog. I play the magic card Card Destruction. We would both discard our hands and draw new ones, but you don't have a hand, so I'll discard the two cards I am holding and draw twice." He slid his current hand into the graveyard and drew two new cards. "Excellent timing. I activate the magic card Monster Reborn, which will revive one monster from any graveyard." The ground next to his Grand Dragon General shuddered and then his Troop Dragon reappeared on the field in defense mode.

Rikuo tilted his head to the side slightly. "What was the point of bringing them back? You remember that my Wolf Demon Lord can instantly destroy them correct?"

Ryu ignored him and pointed at his Grand Dragon General. "Now summon forth a sacrifice for me, my mighty avatar!" The Grand Dragon General slammed the butt of its spear into the ground and the curved head of Ryu's Serpent Night Dragon broke the surface of the earth next to him. "Now I shall sacrifice my Troop Dragon and my Serpent Night Dragon to summon the ultimate Dragon! Come forth......"

Rikuo's head was suddenly stinging. Memories were flooding in and he couldn't stop....

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Rikuo could barely contain his rage. "Milord I had made a deal with Jourgen! We would spare his wife and children if he offered us his unconditional surrender. Yet I come back to find that you have had them executed!!" He moved forward, violence evident in his eyes.

Glancing at his guards to make sure he was protected, King Sestros turned to look upon the growling visage of his general of war. "I had to make an example of them. If any members of the dragon royal family were to live, they may come back one day with an army of their own looking for revenge. I could not take that chance. Not that I expect a feral beast like yourself to understand that Rikuo."

Rikuo started to advance towards to the king, the sword at his side glowing in response to its master's rage. "My heritage has nothing to do with this situation!" He drew his blade and immediately the king was surrounded by his guards. Rikuo wasn't worried though. He could take the whole guard force if he was required too. "You have destroyed my honor with you actions Sestros! For that I will kill you!" He charged, blade howling with him as he cut through the first guard...

"...Tyrant Dragon!" (2900/2400) A huge brown scaled dragon rose up out of the ground and roared, the force whipping Rikuo's hair in a dry wind.

Rikuo didn't notice though. His eyes were wide in shock. ("It...is...my...fault....") His hands fell to his sides limply. He looked at the growling Ryu across the field from him, and his hard eyes softened. ("I have dishonored him. Because of my actions his family was killed. I should have made sure that they were safe before I left the dragon capital. It's all my fault.") He fell to his knees, his head held low to the ground. From within the back of his mind Daniel screamed, ("Now you get emotional!?!?!?")

Ryu pointed at the Wolf Demon Lord, his eyes wild with rage. "Tyrant Dragon destroy!" The dragon roared once again and released a spray of fire that arched across the field towards Rikuo's monster. "Prepare to lose honorless dog!!"

From within the back of Rikuo's mind Daniel screamed, ("Trigger your trap now!") When his darker self didn't move, he yelled, ("Rikuo do something!")

Rikuo stared at the ground. He had lost his honor. Ryu's family was dead because he had not been able to uphold his part of the deal. ("I deserve to lose...") He felt himself slowly withdraw back into the darkness in Daniel's mind. ("It was my fault.") He didn't even flinch when the explosion burst of flame struck his field.

Ryu watched the smoke that had come from his dragon's attack. "Now your stupid avatar leaves and that means my dragon can attack again. Tyrant Dragon attack!" The creature arched back its head and built up another spray of fire. "Burn you cur!"

As the smoke cleared Daniel stood up slowly from the crouching position Ryu had been in. Surrounding his field and his Wolf Demon Lord was a blue field of light. "Not so fast Ryu! Rikuo may not be able to fight now but I certainly can. And when you attacked last time I triggered our face-down trap card Mirror Force! It will reflect your attack back at you and wipe out both of your monsters!" The glowing blue field shimmered and released a spray of energy that peppered Ryu's field, instantly killing both of his monsters.

Ryu stared in confusion at Daniel. "Rikuo dared to run from me!?"

Daniel growled and drew his card. "You are a fool! Rikuo remembered that it was his fault your family had been killed. He was willing to lose to you." Daniel looked at his card and his resolve hardened. "I on the other hand have no intention of losing to you. I will end this duel right now! I use my Monster Reborn to resurrect one monster from either of our graveyards! I choose to return my Jinzo!" The armored form of Jinzo rose up from the earth next to the Demon Lord and chuckled in its cold voice. "Now I'll attack your life points with Jinzo! Cyber Shock!" Jinzo built up a ball of dark energy and unleashed it at Ryu.

Ryu scowled. "Not so fast human! I activate the magic card Dark Wall of Air, which instantly negates all direct damage done to me this turn!" A swirling sphere of air built up around him and Jinzo's attack bounced off of it. "Since you can't hurt me with the Wolf Demon Lord either I suggest you end your turn."

Daniel frowned but nodded. "I've got two 2400 attack monsters on my field. Do you actually expect to draw a card that can stop them both?"

Ryu drew his card and slid it into his duel disk. "Perfect. I trigger the magic card Dragon Revival. This magic allows me to resurrect one dragon sub-type monster from my graveyard. I choose to bring back the Grand Dragon General." The ground around him shuddered and the golden form of Ryu's physical avatar appeared on the field. It slammed the butt of its spear into the ground and from next to it the Tyrant Dragon re-appeared. Ryu broke down into helpless laughter. "Looks like luck have favored me child. Though you are lucky, because Dragon Revival says that the monster it brings back cannot attack this turn. And my Grand Dragon General's special ability says similar. So take your last turn and prepare to fail!"

Daniel drew. ("It's the card I got from the Supreme Duelist Series Pack!") He slid it into his disk. "I trigger the magic card Replay! At the cost of half of my life points I may use one magic card in my graveyard! So I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" He drew and stared at them. ("Limiter Removal and Polymerization.")

Daniel- 3500

Ryu- 3700

He looked at his field and knew that Limiter Removal would only power up Jinzo for a turn, and then he would die. It wouldn't be enough attack power to finish off Ryu. As for his Polymerization card... ("Rikuo. Is there a fusion of Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord?")

A tired voice laced with sorrow came to him, ("Leave me alone.")

Daniel growled in frustration. ("Stop it! What happened to the hunter? What happened to the wolf?")

("The wolf died with his honor torn and shredded...")

Daniel knew he wasn't going to get any help unless he did something rather...drastic. ("So that's it huh? The mighty demon general Rikuo runs away with his tail between his legs? You sicken me.")

("Get away from me.") This time the voice was laced with anger.

("Or you'll what? You are useless. You're not even a wolf I bet. Just a common dog off the street.") He smiled grimly when a growl radiated in his mind.

("I'll kill you!") Rikuo did the mental equivalent of charging. Daniel smiled and got ready. He knew this was going to hurt a lot.

Ryu stared in confusion as Daniel doubled over in pain for a few second and then his hair lengthened to his back once more. ("So the cur has returned.")

Deep within the recesses of his mind, Daniel kept a steady stream of insults headed toward his darker half's mind. ("I need to keep him angry!")

Rikuo snarled at the only target near him...Ryu. "I'll destroy you!" He quite literally slammed a card into his duel disk. "I activate Polymerization to fuse Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord together!" The two monsters slid into one another and a glowing portal appeared on the field. As the glow subsided a new creature stood forward. It had the face and body of the Wolf Demon Lord, but its armor had been replaced by the green armor of Jinzo. It lifted its new green greatsword and howled, the sound creating shockwaves across the island.

Ryu stumbled back in surprise at the new monster. He looked over at Rikuo and was about to ask what it did, but he saw that he was looking at Daniel once more.

Daniel felt his knees try to give out on him, but he wouldn't let them. ("I'm sorry about doing that Rikuo. I needed to be sure that you could fuse those two into something.") A low growl told him that Rikuo was not happy at the moment.

Ryu snarled and pointed at the new monster. "What is that monstrosity!?"

Daniel smiled and crossed his arms across his chest, the monster mirroring the movement. "Say hello to the ultimate fusion...Steel Wolf General (3400/2000) in attack mode!" The creature howled once more and swung its sword back. "It possesses the powers of both Jinzo and Wolf Demon Lord. And since it is a machine it gets this little bonus!" Daniel slid the last card he had into his duel disk. "I activate Limiter Removal, doubling the attack power of my monster!" (6800/2000)

Ryu's eyes went wide...he had failed...

Daniel pointed right at the Grand Dragon General. "Your creature may be strong, but it's no match for our new monster!" The Steel Wolf General howled once more and flew across the field. In one slash Ryu's monster was gone, and so were the rest of his life points.

Daniel/Rikuo- 3600

Ryu- 0

Ryu stood there for a moment, and with his head held low he turned and trudged off without saying a word.

Daniel sighed and collapsed. ("Today has been a long day indeed.") He looked up at the full moon above him and chuckled. ("I should head back to the others, but the ground feels so nice on my back...") He closed his eyes and within seconds he was snoring.

Rikuo knew he was dying...

He looked at the sword that was sticking out of his chest...

It had pierced his heart...

And yet Sestros lived...

He had failed...

He looked up at the man who had destroyed his honor with spite in his eyes...

Sestros chuckled coldly and leaned in near to the dying face of his ex-general. "Such a savage beast you are Rikuo. You weren't ever worthy of anything more than death. I'm just surprised it took so long for you to snap."

Rikuo glared back. His heart was starting stop and he knew that in just a few short seconds he would be dead. He didn't have the strength to move his limbs...

Sestros leaned in even closer and sneered. "You will die with no honor left. You will regret ever crossing me." He had expected more rage from the dying wolf, but Rikuo suddenly went deathly calm.

"If there is one...thing you should...remember Sestros..." He murmured the last part.

Sestros blinked in confusion and leaned in even closer so he could hear what Rikuo had said. That was his last mistake as Rikuo's claw shot up and drove straight into his chest, ripping his heart out. He stared dumbly, eyes wide at the impossible act.

Rikuo's eyes started to glaze over as he finished his sentence. "...is that...I am strong...and...you...ar..e...w..ea..k..." Rikuo slumped to the ground, followed seconds later by Sestros.

Rikuo's last thought was that he had reclaimed his honor......and that he could die in peace...

To be continued...

Next Chapter: The Magic Show

Author's notes: And there you go! A bit of background on Rikuo and why he is such an...interesting kinda guy. Well I'm going to get to work on the next chapter now, so please post up reviews of this chapter and let me know if I failed to describe anything important. I'll answer your questions if I can.

P.S. Still need characters for the other dueling teams. I can come up with all of the emissaries, but I was rather hoping that I could get some descriptions of some other duelists for the other teams.