Chapter 17: Shisei vs. Mai
Shisei looked at his opponent with great determination in his eyes. He was going to face Kou in the finals, he had to. That was, after all, the entire reason they had come to the tournament. 'Okay, don't let me down deck!"' he thought, looking at the bottom card in his deck.
'I still can't believe I've been reduced to dueling in little get together tournaments like these."' Mai Valentine thought, thinking wistfully about her days at duelist kingdom and Battle City. 'But then again, it wasn't all fun and games…"' she remembered her duel against Malik, and shivered. "Okay, let's get this show on the road." Mai repeated.
"Agreed." Shisei nodded his head and drew five cards. "Ladies first." he told Mai.
"Thank-you!" she exclaimed, drawing her five cards, then her sixth. 'This kid has almost all magic and trap cards in his deck, he needs a lot of luck to pull strategies that can defend his LP."' Mai thought, contemplating her move. "Okay, magic boy, I'll summon my Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) in attack mode, and set four cards behind her." Mai's monster appeared, with four cards facedown behind it. "End turn." she moved a strand of her own beautiful blond hair out of her face.
Shisei drew, and his eyes went wide. 'Dark Magician, on the first turn."' he couldn't remember ever having such a good omen. "Alright, I'll activate Graceful Charity!" he slid a magic card with a pictured angel catching cards, into his duel disk. "Now I'll draw three cards, and discard these two!" he did as he told her and discarded Dark Magician and Chain energy.
"Drawing more cards won't help you in a real duel hon." Mai was now twirling her hair with her index finger, which held a beautiful diamond ring. "You better have something better to offer." she dictated.
Shisei only smirked. "Mai, Mai, Mai, this isn't close to my strategy!" he exclaimed, sliding another card into the disk. "Now I'll activate, Monster Reborn, to Revive the Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" he smirked, now with five cards in his hand. "Now I have one of my favirote monsters on the field, your going to lose!" he told her with absolute certainty.
"That magic reject won't touch my Harpie (1800/1300)." Mai informed her younger combatant. "Hell, he wouldn't even be on the field if not for you Special Summoning him." Mai continued, now quite angry that she had to deal with another Magician lover.
"Your right, my creature won't dare to touch a hair on your monster's pretty little head." Shisei stated. Mai looked at him in shock.
"You don't honestly mean your not going to attack!" she asked, shocked by such odd behavior.
"Now I never said I wasn't going to attack." Shisei slid another card into his disk. "Its just your Harpie will be gone long before my creature launches its assault!" his magic card flipped. "Now behold, I'll activate, Dark Magic Attack!" the Dark Magician suddenly looked so full of energy it was near exploding. "This lets me destroy all magic and traps on your field!" his mighty Magician launched a magical spell at Mai's field. Her Harpied flew up, screeching in rage as she realized she wasn't the target of the assault. Mai mimicked her monster with a scream as her secondary defensed were blown away.
"You… HOW!" she questioned, not able to believe anyone but Joey got so lucky. Especially in drawing first turn combos.
"A good Magician, never reveals his secrets. Sorry Mai!" Shisei smirked at the outraged Harpie duelist. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll activate my Thousand Knives, which lets my Magician destroy your Cyber Harpie (1800/1300)." the mage almost lazily slid knives from under his sleves, and tossed them at a shrieking Harpie Lady. "Now I'll directly attack you, Mai!" with a last Dark Magic attack, Mai's LP dropped by the Dark Magician (2500) attack points.
Mai-5500
Shisei-8000
"End turn." Shisei finished, making Mai angry in how nonchalant he said it.
"Okay, now I'll draw." Mai was now desperate, she needed more cards to form a proper strategy. But when she drew, she was immediately satisfied. "Now I'll summon, Amazoness Swords Woman (1500/1600) in attack mode, and I'll also activate Amazoness Spellcaster!" she laughed as Shisei looked bewildered. "My card switches the attack of one of my face up monsters, with the attack of one of yours!" true to her word, the attack values for both monsters on the field were switched. So now the monsters were at: Amazoness (2500) Dark Magician (1500).
Sei's eyes widened in disbelief. "No, my Dark Magician!" he exclaimed, just as Mai's monster slashed straight through his once mighty magical creature. "You'll pay for that!" he growled at her.
Mai only tossed back her head and laughed, stopping to say her turn was over.
Mai-5500
Shisei-7000
"I draw!" Shisei did as he stated, determined to show her the power of the Dark Magician.
Kou looked at the televised duel in interest. He was still in the hospital room, and after quizzing Chiro on Osmos, Thalius, and the Soul Eater, felt more bored than anything. 'Man, I really wish I had my sword!" he thought to himself, not expecting a response from Chiro.
'Why, you couldn't practice with it."' Chiro questioned.
'Ah, Chiro, old buddy, old pal… Who is Thalius?"' he inquired, trying to keep his counterpart in his mind's eye. But Chiro was already receding into his soul room. 'Come on, just give me a hint at who he is!"' Kou demanded.
'Okay, here's a hint, Jackass!"' Chiro exclaimed, though the progress to his soul room had stopped. 'Now stop asking me. I still don't know anything about this Osmos character, and he's in the now."' Chiro stated. Kou had to admit he had a point. But it was odd that Chiro was so shifty about such a thing. 'So why don't you come to your soul room and we'll discuss this like perfectly normal… what the hell are you anyway?"' Chiro questioned suspiciously.
'I'm a demon!"' Kou exclaimed sarcastically. 'You idiot, I'm as human as you are!"' Kou rolled his eyes. 'Sometimes I swear your more of an idiot than I am. And that's saying something."' he finished, with a little laugh to himself.
'Oh, well in that case, let's skip the conversation."' Chiro stated. Then his presence disappeared completely from Kou's mind.
Kou blinked in confusion. 'Okay, Mr. Sensitive, one little insult and your mad!"' he thought, hoping for a response. When none came, he sighed and continued to watch Sei's duel.
It was easy to identify the look on Shisei's face as pure anger. His favorite monster was not usually destroyed in the first turn after it was summoned. So he glared at Mai as he drew. The valiance of a trully skillful duelist on his face. "I'll now start my turn." Shisei informed his female opponent.
"Wow, real hard to figure out, just go!" Mai exclaimed. She was now convinced her opponent was stalling in some insane strategy to delay her. 'He has little chance of drawing a monster, so then he needs something to protect his LP, something he probably doesn't have in his hand."' Mai contemplated her opponent's abilities and luck.
'Come on, these cards are useless without my Magician, I need something good."' Shisei looked at the card he drew and sighed. "I'll set two cards facedown, end turn." he motioned for Mai to make her move.
Mai drew, taking a glance at the card, she played and drew twice more. "Pot of Greed let's me draw two cards." Shisei bit his lower lip in nervousness as Mai looked at her new hand. "Okay kid, I'm going to wipe you out!" she slid her second Harpie card of the duel down. "I'll summon, Harpie Lady 1(1300/1400) in attack mode!" the beautiful half bird appeared. "And she increases the attack of all wind attributes by 300 points!" her Harpie (1600) grew much stronger. "Now that I have one Harpie, I think I'll get another, activate, Elegant Egotist!" she laughed, taking a Harpie Lady Sisters (1950/2100) from her deck and putting it on the field.
Shisei's eyes went wide, looking at her assemble of monsters. "Come on, then attack, if your so tough!" Shisei taunted. "Or are your birdy women not up to the challenge?" he continued. Knowing much more than the basics of duel monsters, Shisei knew that he had to completely and fully trust his own skill. But playing a few head games never hurt anyone. Except maybe your opponent.
Mai wouldn't let herself be tricked, she was ready for him. 'If he activates a trap, I'm screwed, but he sighed last turn, he got a bad draw."' Mai thought confidently, her Harpie Lady Sisters (2250/2100) getting an attack bonus. "Now kid, say goodbye to a lot of LP, I'll now attack you directly with all of my monsters!" her "birdy women", as Shisei had deemed them, launched the attack along with the Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600).
Mai-5500
Shisei-1650
Shisei bit his lower lip as Mai ended her turn. "Draw!" he yelled, though this time a bit half heatedly. Then he saw the card he drew and his eyes widened. "Okay, Mai, time to turn this duel around, I'll set one more card and end my turn!" he told her.
Mai drew and instantly saw her win. "Sorry, Shisei, but you just lost, I'll activate, Harpie's Feather Duster, wiping out all of your facedown cards!" she informed a shocked Shisei.
'No, this can't be… Wait!"' he looked at his last hope, the single card in his hand. Mai called her Amazoness to attack first. "HOLD ON!" Shisei yelled. Mai looked at him, an eyebrow raised, but then her skeptical look turned into a look of horror.
"No, my Harpie Lady Sister's (2250/2100) are on your side of the field!" Mai stated in disbelieving shock. 'He foiled my attempt again!"' she growled as her Swordswoman charged into a suicide. Then she realized she had still won. "Hahahaha!" she laughed happily.
Shisei raised an eyebrow at her now. "What's so funny!" he asked.
Mai looked up at him. "My Swordswoman (1500/1600) gives you all the battle damage, sorry hon!" she told him.
Mai-5500
Shisei-200
Mai looked at the LP score, satisfied she had one, and then screamed out in shock. "Sorry Mai, but the increase in attack only effects the monsters as long as their yours!" Shisei stated simply. "I had paid 1000 LP for the effect of Enemy Controller, bringing me down to 650," Shisei began to explain. "and if your Harpie Sisters (1950/2100) still carried the attack bonus from your Harpie Lady 1(1600/1400) then I would have lost 650 LP, making me lose, but now that your creature is mine, I lost only 450!" he finished in his tone of triumph.
Mai glowered at him and ended her turn, knowing she couldn't make it past her own monster. "Go, you brat!" she glared.
"Okay, okay." Shisei drew, enjoying the fact that he had gotten under his opponent's skin. "Now say goodbye, I'll activate Card of Demise!" he drew five times. "Now I'll play Change of Heart, to bring your monster to me once more!" he slid a card into his duel disk, which bore the symbol of a half angel half demon child, holding a heart. "Now I'll tribute your Harpie Lady Sisters (1950/2100) to summon my Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) in attack mode!" Shisei had only just finished when he slid another card into his disk. "Now for me to set one card face down, and attack your Harpie Lady 1 (1600/1400)!" his female mage sent a blast at Mai's Harpie, which exploded immediately. "End turn." Shisei finished.
Mai-4800
Shisei-200
Mai glared in disbelief at the young blond that had somehow stopped her assaults and drawn his favorite monsters in quick succession. " Alright kid, I'm going to tear your hide up now!" she drew and set the monster. "End turn!" she stated this proudly, although she was on the defensive.
"Okay, I draw!" he drew, and looking at the card, he slid it into the disk. "Sorry Mai, but you lose!" he informed a shocked Mai.
"How do you figure that?" Mai asked the young duelist.
"I'll show you!" he slid two cards into his disk and his LP dropped. "Now I'll use Replay, and play Monster Reborn!" the magic card was reused, and Dark Magician (2500/2100) revived in attack mode. Mai realized his plan, but also saw it wouldn't work as of yet. "I know what your thinking, and I plan to show you with my next card, activate, Knight's Title, this allows my Dark Magician (2500/2100) to become, the Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100)!" his mage did indeed transform, it now wore the symbol of a knight and new warrior robes.
Mai raised an eyebrow at the change in appearance, but no change in attack. "What, is the new look supposed to scare me?" she asked with amusement. Amusement until her facedown monster was stabbed and blown apart. "Hey, you could have waited to attack!" she told him.
"I didn't attack, when my monster is successfully Special Summoned, I get to destroy one monster on your side of the field, and your set card would have done just fine." he smirked. Mai looked shocked, but determined. "Now, its over, my mighty mage's direct attack! Double Dark Magic!" he roared, his monster's obliged and ended the duel.
Mai-0
Shisei-100
Mai was drawing, when the holograms disappeared and Shisei was declared the winner. She looked up in bewilderment. "But your monsters didn't have enough attack power, his Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) was at 2000 because he revived Dark Magician!" she told the referee.
"Yes, but then the kid had to tribute his Dark Magician to bring forth the Dark Magician Knight." the referee informed her. Mai dropped her Card of Sanctity card, and fell to her knees.
"I lost… AGAIN!" she told herself. But then a hand was on her shoulder.
"Come on, don't be so hard on yourself, you're a really good duelist Mai." Shisei, the hand on her shoulder, smiled politely at the female duelist. Mai looked up and smiled. Then she stood up straight.
"Your right, you just got lucky kid." and with that, she left a shocked Shisei in the ring.
"WELL!" once more, the announcer's voice was heard roaring over the crowd. "Looks like we have our final round combatants!" he smirked, as the final match of the tournament was posted.
Shisei vs. Kouichi
Next time: The finals. Such Magical times are sure to be followed by Magical monsters! And that they are, as Shisei and Kou's match begins. The leading duelist isn't clear. Getting cheered from the audience, both Kou and Shisei give it their all. Next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!
A/N: That was a really hard duel for me, considering I didn't really want Mai to lose. I like Mai, but then again, what boy doesn't! Well, review, and be nice.
To Rex the Emerald Dragon: Yeah, my second puzzle was actually from a puzzle book.
