Disclaimer: I don't own YGO...unfortunately (I'd make a lot of money!)

I'm back from sabbatical! And this week is spring break, meaning that I have a bit of time to write!

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Dragon Arc

Chapter 5: Hanyou

Adriel awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and the ocean waves beating against the side of the cliff. The scent of the sea air was strong and he could even feel the breeze from inside his room. "Ah..." he muttered. "I wish I could stay like this forever." Adriel quickly retracted his demonic features before hopping out of bed. The clock read 6:49.

"So I've got about 10 hours to get acclimated to this place." he said to himself as he walked into the bathroom. "Wonder if I know anybody else here?"


Adriel stepped back into the room. Chase was standing outside the bathroom door and Eric was lying in bed, though he was clearly awake.

"Morning." said Chase in a hoarse tone as he pushed past Adriel.

"Good morning." Adriel replied. Eric looked up.

"Oh, hey Adriel. What're you going to do today?" he asked.

"I'm just going to walk around a bit. Meet people and whatnot." Adriel replied.

"Cool. Mind if I join you?" Eric asked.

"Not at all."


By 8:30, all three boys were in the dining hall. "Breakfast is...strange..." said Chase under his voice as he stuck his hand in a large bin filled with different kinds of bread. "Egg..." Chase said as he unwrapped his meal.

"I got egg, too." Eric replied as Chase sat down.

"Mine is pizza." Adriel commented as he took a bite out of his bread.

"Ha, I knew it!" said a familiar feminine voice.

"Good job, Eri!" cheered another, higher voice.

"Yeah, there's no way you'd be wrong!" added a second high-pitched girl.

"Well you know, it's all skill." Eri replied as she took a bite.

"What? What's so special about bread?" asked Adriel.

Eri snorted in a derogatory way. "If you knew anything, you'd know that I just drew the golden egg. There's only one in this entire heap of bread, and I got it." she said cockily.

"That sounds more like luck than skill..." Adriel muttered quietly.

Eri's ears twitched and her hand was instantly around Adriel's neck. "Are you challenging my skill?" she demanded in a threatening tone.
A split second later, Eri was in an equally compromising position. "I'm not saying anything." Adriel replied.

Eri sniffed the air softly. Her eyes widened slightly before setting themselves in a merciless glare. "I knew there was something about you. You'd better watch yourself, or you'll find your useless ass in a darkness game, hanyou." Eri said all this in a near-silent tone that only Adriel could hear. She released her grip and Adriel did the same. Eri quickly twisted on her heel and walked away, followed by the two girls who were cheering for her earlier.

"...what was that?" asked Chase.

"Don't know...I guess she doesn't like me." Adriel replied, a bit bothered by what Eri had said. "How did she know? There wasn't anything demonic about me! I hid my blood, just like dad told me to, and my fangs weren't showing...at least, I don't think they were...oh hell..."

"Adriel...wake up..." said a voice. Eric was waving his hand in front of Adriel's face.

"Huh? Oh...sorry." Adriel replied.

"We're going on a walk, right?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Chase, you wanna join us?" Adriel asked.

"Sure, why not?" the boy replied.


An hour or so later, the group had passed by the Ra Yellow dorms, the educational facilities, and several recreational areas. Lots of people were dueling in each of those locations. "Man, I'm bored...I want to duel someone!" Adriel whined.

"Well go ahead. There are lots of people willing to duel around here." Chase pointed out.

"But they all look so boring!" Adriel replied. Most of the duelists were using cookie cutter decks.

Eric sighed. "Well, I guess I could duel you..." he muttered.

"No, that's alright." Adriel replied pretty quickly.

"Huh? What's up?" Eric asked.

"Um...nothing, really, I'm just a bit shy around lots of people I don't know." Adriel explained.

"But you were okay with us," Chase said.

"Well, I met each of you one on one." Adriel replied.

"You seemed fine with that Eri girl." Chase added.

"Well she was kind of trying to injure me both times. I couldn't just sit there." Adriel defended.

"Fine, whatever. Honestly, I don't see what's up with you two." Eric sighed. "Adriel, you're shy or something, and Chase, you don't really talk in complete sentences outside of duels. Is civil conversation really that difficult?"

Eric received glares from both his roommates, and he decided to stop talking.

The group continued walking and passed a group of six duelists dueling at once. "That's...complicated." Chase said quietly as one of the players attacked with a Vorse Raider, only to be blocked by a Hallowed Life Barrier from the attacked player and a Ring of Destruction from one of the other two. The third defender chained Barrel Behind the Door to his friend's Ring.

"But interesting." Adriel replied.

The group walked on a bit longer and finally reached the Obelisk Blue dorms. "So this is where all the elites stay. Pretty spiffy." Eric said.

"And some day, I'm going to get there. Even if it takes a hundred years, I'll get there." Adriel whispered.

"...if you're here for a hundred years then...never mind." Chase replied.

The group turned around to leave, but a too-familiar voice stopped them in their tracks. "Hey! You three losers!" shouted Eri. Adriel could hear her rapid footsteps approaching. "Turn around when I'm talking to you!" she demanded.

Adriel, Chase, and Eric turned around. "That's better!" Eri said. She skidded to a halt in front of them, and her two friends came panting behind her. "I challenge you three to a duel!" Eri declared.

"Fine with us," Eric said as he turned his DuelDisk on.

"Eri, that's not fair! We'll duel, too." one of Eri's roommates said.

"Yeah, it'll be a three on three!" her other roommate added.

Adriel winced. "Uh, how about I just duel you, Eri?" he suggested.

Eri paused. "Hmm...a one on one with a hanyou? Not even a challenge." she said proudly.

"Hanyou? What's a hanyou?" asked Eric.

"Adriel's going to tell us later, isn't he?" replied Chase, narrowing his eyes at Adriel, who grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, sure...anyway, let's duel!" he shouted.

Eri activated her duel disk. "I won't even need to use strategy to beat you." As she drew her five-card hand, shadows erupted out of her and dispersed themselves in the area until Adriel could only see himself and Eri.

"A...darkness game..." he gasped. His father had only told him of these sorts of duels.

"That's right. And when you lose, I'll finally be able to teach you some respect." She drew one more card. "Ah, perfect. I summon Twisted Fiend to the field!" (1900/700) An undead black lizard appeared in front of its mistress and bared its fangs. It twisted its supple body around and bit Eri in the neck before twirling in midair and launching itself at Adriel. He, too, was bitten in the neck. "Twisted Fiend drains both of us 300 life points when it appears on the field." (E LP: 3700 A LP: 3700) "Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." Two cards appeared lengthwise in front of Eri.

Adriel drew. "Why do you hate me?" he asked as he rearranged his hand.

"Because you disrespected me. And I won't have anyone at this school disrespect me." she replied. Adriel noticed that her uniform was yellow, signifying she was one rank up from him.

When did I disrespect her? Adriel asked himself as he pulled a card from his hand. "I start by summoning a monster in defense mode and setting one card as well." Two cards appeared in front of Adriel.

Eri yawned. "How boring. You didn't even try to attack me. Oh well. I summon another powerful monster to punish you! Death Calibre Knight!" (1900/1800) A monster on a demonic horse appeared next to the black lizard. "Attack his face down monster now!"

Eri's monster charged at Adriel's side of the field and slashed at the lone monster. It flipped up, however, and knocked Eri's monster away.
"I thought you'd try to attack with a powerful monster, so I set The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in defense mode. Its 2000 defense points are more than enough to fend off your creature." (E LP: 3600)

"Fine." Eri said flatly. "End turn."

"My move." Adriel said. He looked at his card and smiled. "I sacrifice my dragon for one of a different sort. Come out Cyber Dragon!" (2100/1600) The form of Adriel's mechanical dragon appeared on the field. "Now that I have a strong monster on the field, I'll attack your Death Calibre Knight!"

As a burst of orange energy flew at the demonic rider, Eri flashed a grin. "Just what I wanted you to do. Activate set card Blackest Soul!" Eri's knight and Adriel's dragon both glowed black. A small blob of energy flew from the Cyber Dragon to the Death Calibre Knight.

"What does that do?" Adriel asked worriedly.

"Blackest Soul switches the attack points of the attacker and the target. Meaning you're about to take 200 points of damage." she explained.
Adriel grimaced as his monster's attack was struck by the knight's sword and reflected. (A LP: 3500) His monster blew into pieces.

"Activate other set card, Chain of the Underworld!" Eri shouted. A rusted chain with a spiked tip shot into the space where Adriel's dragon once stood. The monster was pulled out of the ground, but looked much more beat up because of it. (1400/1600)

"This card revives your monster in attack mode with 700 less points than it had originally. And next turn, I'm going to destroy it and deal you even more damage!" Eri cackled. Adriel began to sweat.

"Your move." he said softly as his dragon tried to move.

"My move indeed." She drew, and her grin became even more malevolent. "Perfect!" She slapped two cards onto her DuelDisk. "I play Dark Soul Infusion and Black Soul Sword!" The field became shrouded in darkness. Adriel's already worn out monster writhed in pain as its metal blackened and twisted before losing almost all of its strength and collapsing to the ground. (900/1600)

"My monster!" Adriel shouted.

"Dark Soul Infusion makes all monsters fiends and removes 500 attack points from all your cards. Black Soul Sword," she explained as a sinister-looking sword appeared in the hand of her knight, "Raises its owner's attack points by 1000 for every fiend on the field. And thanks to my last card, that count is now three. So my monster's attack points are now 4900, in case you actually are as stupid as you look."

Oh man... Adriel thought to himself, panicked.

"Death Calibre Knight, attack his pathetic monster and end this duel!" Eri's monster rushed Adriel's dragon and Adriel closed his eyes.

If her card's effect only depends on what was on the field at the time of activation, I'm through. But I have one last chance to pull this off. He opened his eyes. "Activate DNA Injection!"

A hypodermic needle stabbed itself into Adriel's dragon and rapidly emptied its contents into the creature. Cyber Dragon's metal became polished steel again and it looked up weakly at the oncoming attack.

"No!" Eri shouted as Adriel's monster was eliminated. His life points, however, remained at a miniscule 500. "Good play..." she said, seething, "But not good enough! Twisted Fiend, finish-" she started.

"Hold on!" Adriel shouted. "The second effect of my trap activates! When the monster it changed is destroyed, I summon a monster from my deck with the sub-type I changed the original monster into. I summon a second Cyber Dragon!" (2100/1600) A snakelike, metal dragon appeared in front of Adriel, much stronger-looking than its fallen brother.

"Fine, but that won't save you for long. End turn." Eri said.

"You know," Adriel started, drawing his card. "DNA Injection reminded me of something. Right now, no one can see us, or did my father tell me wrong about darkness games?"

Eri nodded ever so slightly. In reply, Adriel let out a sigh of relief and began to transform. The wolf demoness only took one step back before regaining her composure. "So you really are a hanyou, aren't you?" she spat.

"Yes, I am. My father is Ryu Zaytel, formerly known as-" Adriel started, but Eri cut him off.

"I know all about your father. My father told me all about him. The ex-general, right? Big deal. Now shut up and duel."

Adriel growled and his eyes flashed steel blue. "Fine, I will." he said. "I activate Monster Reborn to revive my Cyber Dragon." The form of Adriel's first dragon, fully restored, appeared next to its brother. "Now I activate Power Bond to fuse them together along with the dragon in my hand to form Cyber End Dragon!" (4000/3500)

Eri smirked. "Don't forget the other effect of Power Bond."

Adriel nodded knowingly. "I know. During my end phase, I lose the original attack points of my monster. But until then, its attack points are doubled!" (8000/3500) "And no matter which of your monsters I attack, you lose!" he shouted. His cry echoed through the darkness.

"Then go ahead. Finish me off." Eri challenged.

"Fine, I will. Cyber End Dragon, Eternal Evolution Burst!" Each of Adriel's monster's three heads fired a steady stream of orange energy, which converged on her knight.

Eri smirked as the orange light enveloped her. "Stupid hanyou..." she said as she put a card in her graveyard.

Adriel's monster gradually stopped its attack. The half-demon watched to see what had happened. He was surprised and scared to see both of Eri's monsters still standing. A large shield made of bone was sitting in front of her Death Calibre Knight.

"Wha...what?" he asked in terror.

"You stupid, stupid hanyou boy!" Eri shouted in a mix of rage, annoyance, and glee. "I activated Bone Shield. By discarding one card from my hand, my shield can be activated no matter where it is, including my hand. Your attack was negated. And you know what that means, right?" she said in sadistic pleasure.

"My...monster..." Adriel said, not able to string together a coherent sentence. Every seam of his machine began to glow with white light as its overpowered body began to decompose. It exploded in a stunningly bright fire, burning Adriel's last life points away. (E LP: 3600 A LP: 0)

Eri's field faded away and the DuelDisks deactivated.

"Now then, the punishment..." Eri said as she walked over to Adriel, who dared not move.

"Uhh...punishment?" Adriel asked, pretending not to know about the consequences of a darkness game.

"Yes, a punishment. In your case, I think...you have to go around as a dragon demon for an entire week. No going back into human mode." she declared.

"WHAT!" Adriel shouted.

"Don't worry, they'll all forget after the week is over. I wouldn't want anyone putting you on my level just because you have some demon blood. I just want to see how you feel once everyone knows you're a freak." she said bitterly.

"It seems that no one cares about you being a demon," Adriel observed. Eri backhanded him so hard that he flew to the ground and skidded three times before coming to a halt.

"That's because I am strong. You, on the other hand, are pathetically weak. They'll all know that you can't handle being half demon. And then they'll all point and laugh. And I know you won't be able to deal with it." she explained.

"That sounds like a firsthand experience." Adriel said. Eri rushed to kill him, but the darkness began to clear and she restrained herself.

"What the...hell...?" came the shocked mutterings of the crowd that had gathered around the darkness sphere. Adriel looked around. Eric and Chase were backing away slowly, and everyone else was too paralyzed to move. Everyone else, that is, except Eri and her roommates, who were walking swiftly back towards the Ra Yellow dormitories.

"Dude..." muttered Chase.

Adriel, horrified that Eri might have been right, took flight instantly and headed for his room.