Author's Notes: Next on the list is Takuya Shinomori, AKA Kensai.
Chapter Thirty-Five: The Burden of Guilt
In Madison Square Gardens, on top of the scoreboard, a body was moving. "I've got a huge headache. Transference is a real pain in the ass, but I suppose I should consider myself lucky to have had a body so close at hand."
The body of Kai Kaethen let out a groan and raised its arms of its head, stretching and cracking its back. "After all that time stuck without a body, to actually have realm form again is magnificent. Especially considering the old form I was able to take. This is quite an improvement."
He smirked in a very uncharacteristic manner for Kai. However, this wasn't Kai at all. At the same time, beside the body, another one was moving. "You've got to be joking? I wouldn't have thought she would know this technique."
The body of Autumn Kurai sat up and shook her head to clear it of cobwebs. "Why wouldn't I brother? Stuck together for millennia and you think I wouldn't know every trick that you do? I feel bad using Autumn's body without her permission though."
Her companion snorted and stood up, looking around the arena. The woman did the same. "AB, you're really stupid you know that? Always taking things so cautiously. You have to take a risk occasionally to get things done. Like this for instance!"
With that he hurled himself off the scoreboard, doing flips in the air as he hurtled towards the ground. At the last second he turned over and landed feet first, shaking and cracking the floor beneath him. "A perfect ten landing if I do say so myself."
Seconds later the body of Autumn landed gracefully beside him, making little impact. "You're always very crude and reckless Misuno, you never take things seriously. That's why we never really got along."
"Whatever. Now that I've got a body again I think I'll go find the nearest whore house and get this body laid. It needs it, and so do I." He smirked, cracking his neck and stretching his shoulders to get the kinks out. After all, the body he was using had been dead for about six hours now.
AB scowled and punched her brother on the arm. "Don't be so callous. Eikyuu still needs to be dealt with, so don't do anything stupid until we've figured out how to take care of him."
"Nobody is taking care of Great Lord Eikyuu, especially not a couple of resurrected second rate spirits such as yourselves!" The two siblings turned, and found themselves facing off against two figures in scarlet body suits with black stripes on the shoulders. One was a woman with strawberry blonde hair, and the other was a man whose only distinctive feature was the crazed look in his eyes and a red round nose that looked fake.
Misuno snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "And who are you two, some of Eikyuu's pathetic little lapdogs?"
The woman smirked and raised her right arm, and a black duel disk activated on it. The man did the same, flipping out his own black duel disk. "We are two of Eikyuu's top soldiers! I am Rani and this is Ken, and we'll take your souls for Eikyuu!" (RLP: 4000, KLP: 4000)
The two siblings glanced at each other, and then placed their hands above their decks. Waves of energy flowed into the decks, and then they too activated their duel disks and stepped out in front of the two other duelists. "We'll crush you like you were nothing, and do it using decks forged from our souls." (ALP: 4000, MLP: 4000)
Rani drew six cards, and immediately began She took one card from her hand and activated it. "My magic card Quick-Attack Knights gives me three Quick-Attack Knight Tokens(1000/1000) each of whom may attack on the first turn! So they attack the arrogant man first!"
Three lightly armored knights appeared and immediately rushed forward to slash Misuno across the chest with their blades. Then they retreated back to her side of the field. "You certainly are an irritating duelist, dealing damage like that on the first turn. But tokens won't avail you against me." (MLP: 1000)
She smirked and slid one card on her disk, allowing Misuno to start his own turn. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and two cards face down. Basic move right? So that's all." He smirked in a cocky fashion at seeing his cards appear in front of him.
Ken drew, and began to cackle. "I'll start this duel off by summoning Saggi the Dark Clown(600/1500) in attack mode. Next I activate Clown Trick! I can copy the effect of one creature on the field and give it to a clown, so I allow Saggi to attack on this turn! Attack the girl's life points!"
Misuno frowned and snapped his fingers. Instantly one of his face down cards flipped up. "I'm not overly fond of my sister, but nobody gets to hurt her other than me. So I'll use my trap card Mirror Force and destroy each of your pathetic monsters."
Rani scowled at Ken as their four monsters were blown away. She was particularly annoyed because her Quick-Attack Knights had another special ability that worked when destroyed in battle, but now their effect was worthless. "Nice going clown boy!"
"Well excuse me. I set one card face down, and end my turn." He blew her a raspberry, which Rani promptly ignored. At the same time AB was drawing her own card, and deciding on what move to make.
"I summon Saturn Knight(1600/1400) in attack mode. Once per turn I can forego its attack to deal half its attack power in damage to the opponent. But by equipping it with Saturn Blade I can allow it to do that twice and increase its attack by four hundred. Each of you takes one thousand damage." A knight in shining white armor and the symbol for Saturn on its chest plate appeared, and slammed its blade onto each other duelist. (RLP: 3000, KLP: 3000)
She set two cards face down, and then finished her turn.
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The gang now stood in front of a curtain and Takuya had just stepped up to it. Somehow he knew deep in his heart that this was his Trial. This was what he would have to face. "It's time for me to face the music."
He stepped through, and the curtain vanished behind him. He looked around, and discovered that he was standing on the far edge of a mat with a white circle drawn inside of it. This was a competition mat used for martial arts competitions. "Interesting."
"Of course it's interesting. After all, how often do you get a chance to face off with your choices in the ring." Takuya's eyes snapped up to the other end of the ring, and found someone walking in. Wearing a jet black gi with a silver belt looped around it was none other than himself.
"You're telling me that my Trial is to face another version of myself? So what? Do we beat each other up, or do we duel?" He slid into a fighting stance, fists up and at the ready. His other self smirked confidently and raised his left arm which had a regular duel disk on it.
"We duel. In this battle you'll see what you might have been had you made choices. You'll have to see if you can beat the alternative. And don't even bother asking if I'm really you or not, because that's something you won't be finding out anytime soon." His duel disk clicked into position and he held up a hand of six cards.
Takuya grimaced and pressed a button on his Duel Pod. The pod section slid out, and then extended. The rest of the disk portion slid into place and his Duel Pod was complete. "Fine. I'll face you, and I have no intention of losing. I'm guessing you'll be going by Kensai, right?" (TLP: 4000)
"That's right. Kensai is who I am, and I'll be happy to prove your weakness. A Poker Deck? They may be warriors, but they aren't true warriors, and neither are you. I'm the warrior of the two of us, and that's why I'll win!" (KLP: 4000)
He looked over his hand, and then decided on a play to make. "Here we go. I set a monster in defense mode. That's all." A single horizontal card was his defense, but Takuya knew that this was either a bluff or his other self had something planned.
"You may be going defensive, but I think I'll go on the attack right off the bat! Seven(1650/1450) in attack mode! I grab a 7 from my deck and then I attack your face down monster!" The court knight unsheathed his blade and then threw it straight at Kensai's monster. It appeared, revealing a dark robed figure with blue fiery arms and a jagged sword in one hand.
"You flipped Night Assailant(200/500) whose effect lets me destroy Seven! Night Assailant, Deathstroke Blade!" The robed creature darted across the ring and slammed its blade into Seven's chest. The handsome knight gurgled as blood trickled out of his mouth and from the wound. Slowly he collapsed...but he didn't disappear. Night Assailant on the other hand faded away.
"Our monsters are pretty real in this duel, so the corpse will remain. My monster was more of a phantom anyways, so it faded away. You done?" Takuya scowled and slid a card onto his duel disk. A 7 appeared above him, and then he sat back to await the next move.
Kensai smirked and threw a new card on his duel disk. "You're confident, but stupid! Either that or you just don't have any magic or trap cards to stop me. So, D.D. Warrior Lady(1500/1600) in attack mode! Attack him directly!"
A blonde girl in black leather armor with an energy sword appeared and then darted straight for Takuya. The dark haired duelist dodged the slash partially, but it cut across the edge of his ribs, burning a line across him. "It's more real than I thought." (TLP: 2500)
"Are you saying that you left your field open so that I'd attack you just so you could learn how real the monsters are? Cocky of you, and it'll cost you. I set one card face down and end my turn!" The dimensional warrior woman jumped into the air and landed in front of Kensai. Then she flashed Takuya a wink.
"Just watch, I know exactly what I'm doing. For instance...I play Monster Reborn on Seven, instantly bringing a 7 into my hand! I activate that 7!" A second burning 7 appeared next to the first, each one above the Seven that was on Takuya's field.
"Now I activate Monster Relief! This returns one monster on my field to my hand, and then I shuffle my deck and draw a new hand of the same size. So, I return Seven to my hand and draw six new cards." He placed the six cards of his hand into his Duel Pod, which automatically shuffled them up. Then he drew the cards to replace them.
"Just like I thought, I've been rewarded! For my normal summon this turn I bring out Seven(1650/1450) and add the final 7 to my hand! Next I activate it, and destroy all three to gain twenty-one hundred life points and draw three cards!" The glowing 7s vanished and coins rained down on Takuya. He grabbed three new cards, bringing his hand size up to eight. (TLP: 4600)
"Now I activate Poker! This field magic card prevents my poker monsters from dying in battle and lets me forfeit my battle phase to add a game card to my hand. So get ready, Seven attacks D.D. Warrior Lady!" The handsome knight charged the lady and slashed his sword across her ribs. Blood poured out, and she collapsed on the ground. (KLP: 3850)
"I choose not to activate her effect. You done yet?" Takuya nodded and slid two cards from his hand onto his Duel Pod. The two cards materialized and he was all set for anything his other self could throw at him.
"Good for you, not that it matters. Go set card, Giant Trunade!" A swirling blast of wind lifted up both of Takuya's set cards and his field card and blew them back to his hand. That left just the handsome poker monster to defend Takuya's life points.
"And that's the game. I remove D.D. Warrior Lady and Night Assailant in the cemetery from the grave to summon Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning(3000/2500) in attack mode!" Kensai smirked as his ultimate warrior descended from above, holding its sword at its side and staring sternly at its master's alternate self.
"I attack Seven!" The soldier swept his blade horizontally, and a wave of shimmering energy rocketed across the mat. The energy wave collided with the warrior who screamed as his flesh was burned away. Soon a skinless corpse fell to the ground. (TLP: 3250)
"Black Luster Soldier...attack him directly!" Takuya braced himself as the energy swept towards him. Soon it overwhelmed him, flowing over his body, scorching his flesh. When the attack ended, he collapsed face first against the ground. (TLP: 250)
"I think that's the game."
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Rani drew and pointed to her face down card. "Go, Gale of Hatred! This fills my field up with Hateful Gale Warrior Tokens(500/500) in defense mode!" Five knights with armor that seemed to flow like the wind stood in front of her with shields raised to defend themselves.
"I set one card face down, and then I activate the continuous magic card Line of Battle. Whenever a warrior token is destroyed in battle I can create a clone token of the monster that destroyed it. Until then...end turn." She smirked and folded her arms, confident in her strategy.
Misuno frowned, not quite happy at how confident she seemed. Her tokens probably had a dangerous effect. "I'll sacrifice my face down Sangan(1000/600) to summon a monster face down!" A three-eyed furball briefly appeared before it was replaced by a dark shadow on the ground.
"Next I get to search my deck for a monster with fifteen hundred or less attack points. Now, I attack a Hateful Gale Warrior with my face down monster!" The shadow on his field spread, and tentacles of shadow reached up from underneath one of the warriors and dragged it under.
"Impossible! You set your monster in face down defense mode, so it couldn't have attacked!" Misuno smirked and shook his finger back and forth as if he were taunting a little child.
"My creature is a 'shadow' sub-type monster. All creatures of this sub-type can be played in face-up defense mode. I don't even have to reveal my creature's name or ability to you, just know that it negates any effects involved when it destroys a monster. So even your Line of Battle's effect is useless." Rani grimaced and realized that her strategy was pointless with that monster's ability in play.
"Now, I suppose I'll play Surprise Attack From the Darkness. Now my face down monster will attack another one of your pathetic tokens!" Shadow tentacles once again pulled a token into the darkness, leaving nothing for anyone to see.
Ken glanced at his newest card, then added it to his hand. He took another card and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "Let's give a warm welcome for the mighty Peten the Dark Clown(500/1200) in attack mode! Then I play Pie In The Face! This lets me clown attack an opposing player directly, and then if successful that player must discard their hand!"
A dark clad clown appeared and immediately held up a pie. It threw the pie straight at Misuno, who got creamed by it. He snarled and wiped the cream out his eyes, glaring angrily at the clown and its user as he shoved his hand into his graveyard. "You'll pay for that clown boy!" (MLP: 500)
"Most certainly I will, but for now I activate my face down card! Deck Destruction Virus of Death! By sacrificing my Peten I'll destroy every monster in your deck with fifteen hundred or more attack points. Your stupid face down monster is safe though, since only face ups would be affected." Misuno scowled and shoved a large number of cards into his graveyard.
"Now I remove Peten from the grave to special summon another Peten in defense mode! Finally I set one card face down and end my turn." He snickered at seeing the look on Misuno's face, who appeared furious that all of his strong monsters had been defeated and he was left with just five hundred more life points.
AB drew, but immediately motioned to her Saturn Knight. "I'll activate my monster's effect and forfeit its battle phase to deal one thousand damage to each of you." Saturn Knight raised its blade and began to gather energy into it. It slashed and sent two beams at her opponent's.
Rani smirked and depressed a button on her disk, causing her set card to flip up. "Go, Divine Wrath! This counter trap lets me negate the activation of an effect and destroy the monster at a cost of one card from my hand!" She slid a card into her grave, laughing as energy shot down from the sky and blew away Saturn Knight.
"I'm okay with that. I summon Spark Fighter(1300/700). According to its effect I can forfeit its attack for the turn to deal its defense in damage to the opposing player. So I'll just give up its attack and deal Rani seven hundred damage." Her monster looked like a regular street fighter, only its boxing gloves were sparking with electricity. It punched once, and a jolt of energy slammed into Rani. (RLP: 2300)
"End Turn."
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Kensai's eyes narrowed as his opponent placed his arms under his body and began to push. Slowly his body began to rise off the ground, looking far more than half dead. 'He's getting back up...'
Takuya staggered to his feet, and then clenched his fists together. The area around him seemed to darken and his skin began to stitch itself back up. In a minute's time he looked exactly as he had just minutes earlier, perfectly healthy. "I don't that's game at all."
'He surpassed the pain and unleashed the power granted to him as Knight of Darkness! Meaning he has fully accepted his own actions...could it be that he's succeeded already?' Kensai took a slight step backwards as Takuya recovered his cards and shot a cold glare his way.
"You have passed the Trial. Which means I'm done." He reached for his duel disk, but was stopped when a hand grabbed his wrist. He blinked and looked up, finding Takuya standing in front of him, hand on his wrist.
"I don't care if you say I've passed this Trial or not. I succeed only when I've won. So this duel isn't over until it's over." Kensai blinked...and then slowly nodded. Takuya released his hand and walked back to the other side of the ring, and then turned back around. Kensai smiled slightly and placed one card into his duel disk, ending his turn.
"Now, I'll activate Poker once more! Then I summon Knight on Six(400/100) in attack mode!" A warrior in light chain mail appeared, holding a dagger in one hand. A shield and a short sword were strapped over his back.
"That small fry monster can't hurt my mighty Envoy. It can't even touch it." Takuya countered Kensai's smirk with one of his own, and then pointed at Kensai.
"He can't hurt Black Luster Soldier, but he can hurt you. Knight on Six, use your special ability and attack him directly!" Kensai grunted in pain as before he even knew what was happening the knight had closed the gap and planted its fist in his stomach. He sucked it up, and returned to his full upright position. (KLP: 3450)
"Now, as I said last turn, I set two cards face down on the field. End Turn!" His opponent frowned, not sure exactly what he was up to. It seemed like the classic move of throwing out a weak monster in attack mode to fake a bluff or to force an attack, and it was hard to know which it might be.
"Very well, I activate my magic card Foolish Burial! I'll send Strike Ninja(1700/1200) to the cemetery using its effect." A card popped out of his duel disk, and he caught it. Then in one swift motion he slid it into the graveyard.
"Black Luster Soldier, attack his monster with Chaos Blade!" The mighty envoy raised his weapon and then stabbed it into the earth. Energy erupted and shot across the ring, ripping up the mat as it went. The minimally armored knight stood his ground, unafraid of impending doom.
"Go, Jack of all Trades! I'll sacrifice Knight on Six to summon Jack's Knight(1900/1000) into play. Thanks to that effect I get to prevent you from having battle phases as long as these two are in play together." The little knight shattered, and was replaced by a tall blonde knight with partially blue armor. The energy that had been rushing in that direction vanished.
"I see, so I can't have a battle phase while they're in play together. Then since I wasn't really able to make an attack, I'll just finish off your puny defense here and now. Black Luster Soldier, remove Jack's Knight from the game!" The armored soldier raised his left hand and snapped his gauntleted fingers. The other knight blinked out of existence.
"That's fine, but since you already used up your attack I'm still safe for this turn. That's all that I needed." He reached down to his Duel Pod and picked up the Jack's Knight card. He slid it into a small pocket of his outfit and then folded his arms to await the end of his opposing self's turn.
"I have no magic or trap cards to set this turn, so I guess I'll just end there." Takuya nodded, and then picked up the top card of his deck and placed it in his hand. He now had five cards as opposed to his other self's three.
"I summon Queen's Knight(1500/1600) in defense mode. That's all." The female knight in red now appeared, making it his only defense aside from a single card that was face down. Kensai smirked and snatched a card off his own deck to continue the duel.
"Well now, this is just perfect. I see no reason to summon, so first I'll summon Marauding Captain(1200/400) to the field!" A blonde warrior with twin blades jumped out of his card, sliding to a stop next to his far more powerful warrior.
"As you know his effect lets me special summon another level four monster from my hand. So I summon Command Knight(1200/1900) in attack mode!" A female knight with a winged helmet stepped up next to Marauding Captain. She frowned at the uncouth warrior and raised her sword at the ready.
"Although it wasn't necessary to summon them this way, I felt no need not to. Now I activate Polymerization and fuse them together. Together the marauder and the commander create Marauding Commander(2400/2300) whose effect raises the attack power of all warriors in play by six hundred!" The warrior was Marauding Captain, only wearing similar armor to the Command Knight.
"Just like Marauding Captain this creature must be attacked first if there are other warriors in play. Since your Poker field card makes your poker monsters immune to battle my Black Luster Soldier will give up its attack for the turn to remove Queen's Knight from the game." Once again the soldier snapped his fingers, and this time it was Queen's Knight who disappeared.
"Marauding Commander(3000/2300), attack Takuya directly!" Takuya remained focused as the opposing monster raised its two weapons and charged directly at him. But at the last moment a large monster in seamless white armor appeared and blocked the first strike with its forearm.
"My trap card Ace of Spades allowed me to summon Ace's Knight(2400/1500) when you attacked. Next it allows me to destroy all magic and trap cards on your field!" Kensai grimaced as his single set card was blown into tiny little particles.
"That's all well and good, but your monster's defense is half mine's attack. So Marauding Commander will finish the job he started and cut your creature in half!" Marauding Commander raised the second blade and slashed it across Ace's Knight's ribs. The knight fell to his knees, and then collapsed on the ring along with the other corpses on the field.
Takuya drew, and then immediately threw his new card onto the field. A monster in simple armor decked out with gold braids and symbols of each suit of cards now stood in front of him. He held a large hammer in both hands and had a bishop's hat on his head. "This is Nine Card Don(1300/0). Attacking with him would be fruitless, so I activate his effect. By sacrificing him and remove him from the game I deal his attack to you in damage!"
The don slammed his hammer into the ring, and the resulting shockwaves blew Kensai off his feet. Then the don vanished, leaving Takuya's field empty. "I set one card face down, and end my turn." (KLP: 2150)
Kensai smirked and just like Takuya before him threw his new card into play. "Freed the Brave Wanderer(2300/1200) in attack mode with the boost from Marauding Commander! Now, Freed attacks directly!"
"I activate Weakening of Attack, which negates the attack and ends the battle phase." A ripple of energy blocked the strike, and Freed returned to Kensai's field. The duelist nodded, passing the turn on to Takuya.
"Here's a draw for you. Go, Brain Control! I'll seize control of Marauding Commander since it must be targeted first. Next I summon Deuce's Knight(1200/1200) who gains the six hundred point boost in place of your monsters!" The marauder moved over to Takuya's field, and then was joined by a feminine knight in green armor.
"Deuce's Knight, attack and destroy Freed!" The female knight plucked the rose out from behind her ear and hurled it straight at Freed. The rose stuck into the other warrior's eye, and he fell like a rock. (KLP: 2050)
"Marauding Commander, attack Black Luster Soldier! Suicide yourself into him!" The two monsters rushed in to meet their fates, and like a scene out of a Kurosawa film they blurred past each other and landed on one knee. Then they both collapsed and remained that way.
"End Turn."
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Rani smirked and slammed her newest card down onto her duel disk. "I sacrifice a Hateful Gale Warrior to summon General of the Blue Legion(2200/1800)!" A towering warrior in blue armor with a sash along his chest appeared, holding a long spear in his right hand.
"Each turn my General produces a Blue Legion token(500/500) and while he's in play each Blue Legion token gains seven hundred attack points!" A regular sized soldier in solid blue armor appeared, and then his stats raised as the General patted him on the shoulder.
"Next I play The Allied Forces, which raises each of my warriors on the field by two hundred points for each other warrior or spellcaster on my field. Since I have five warriors, that means each of my monsters gain one thousand attack points!" Her permanent card appeared, and then the stats of her monsters started to rise.
General(3200/1800), Blue Legion(2200/500), Hateful Gale Warriors(1500/500)
"I attack Spark Soldier with a Hateful Gale Warrior! Destroy her pathetic monster!" The wind armored creature slashed his sword and a fierce blast of wind rushed across the field. Suddenly AB's set card flipped up and the blast was reflected and light struck each of her monster's.
"My trap card Radiant Burst not only negates your attack but it ends the battle phase and drains one hundred attack points from each of your monsters. That attack total is then deducted from your life points!" Rani scowled as each of her monster's weakened slightly, and a single beam of light struck her in the chest, reducing her life points. (RLP: 1800)
Misuno smirked when he saw that her turn was over, and immediately drew. His smirk broadened at whatever he saw, and he quickly placed it face down. "That monster in defense mode. Next I attack one of your pathetic tokens with my face down monster!"
The shadows leapt up from beneath a Hateful Gale Warrior, and dragged it down and out of sight. As soon as it was gone each of the other warrior's lost two hundred attack points, further weakening them. "I suppose now you get to see the strength of my creature don't you?" (RLP: 900)
Something about the way he said it made Rani frown, but she had no idea why. For now she simply knew whatever his shadow creature was it had twenty-three hundred attack points. "Now, I suppose I end my turn."
Ken was up next, and he happily played his own new card. "I sacrifice my Peten the Dark Clown for Batchi the Slightly Bruised Clown(2500/100)! Now I remove Peten from the grave to summon the final Peten in defense mode!" Now the clown duelist had a Peten crouched in defense, along with a clown whose make-up was half white and half purple.
"Batchi the Slightly Bruised Clown with severely bruise whatever monster you have hidden there! Kill!" The clown cackled and jumped onto the living shadow that resided on Misuno's side of the field. It grabbed the flower on its lapel and squirted what appeared to be acid out of it. However its cackling faded as tendrils of shadow wrapped along its legs and dragged it under. Soon the shadow was also gone.
"Fool! Allow me to explain my monster to you! Gorgotha(1900/1900) is a level six monster who as you know negates any effect involved with a monster that it destroys. Also, when it destroys a monster it gains two hundred points. So while it had twenty-three hundred during its last attack, it had twenty-five hundred during this one! You wasted your monster!" Misuno threw back his head and began to laugh.
Ken pouted and motioned to his face down card. "I'm the clown, so I'm supposed to do the laughing. Go, Deck Destruction Virus! This continuous trap activates whenever you destroy a dark type monster in battle! You have to lose the top ten cards of your deck!" Misuno nodded and ditched his top ten cards, not fazed at facing such an extremely rare card.
Now AB drew and slowly placed the new card onto her duel disk. "I set a monster in defense mode. Now I forfeit my battle phase to have Spark Fighter deal you its defense in damage!" Rani grimaced as the electric punch struck her jaw, knocking her back several steps and dropping her within an inch of defeat. (RLP: 200)
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Kensai smirked and snapped a card off his deck and then dropped it into his disk. "Go, Burn-Up Knight(1400/1200)! This monster is perfect for the situation, and he'll trash Deuce's Knight!"
A soldier armored in red raised his fists and they were suddenly engulfed in flame. He charged forwards and socked Deuce's Knight in the jaw, knocking her backwards several steps. Takuya grimaced as his life points fell, but remained calm. "Remember, as long as Poker is in play my poker monsters can't be destroyed in battle." (TLP: 50)
"I really don't care about that. When Burn-Up Knight deals battle damage I get to draw one card from my deck and add a monster from my deck to my hand. That monster cannot be summoned during this turn." He smirked and folded his arms, indicating that he was done for the time being.
'I know exactly which card he's taken, so I know exactly how to counter.' He kept his face neutral, and grabbed one of the three cards in his hand and slapped it down.
"I sacrifice Deuce's Knight for Jack's Knight(1900/1000). Now, Jack's Knight will finish off Burn-Up Knight!" His level five monster took one slice at Burn-Up Knight and decapitated the weaker monster. It fell to the floor of the ring, lifeless and headless. (KLP: 1550)
"When Burn-Up Knight is destroyed I get to draw one more card from my deck. So thanks to you I now have four cards." He snapped another one off his deck and stood, waiting for whatever remaining move that Takuya had to make.
"I'll set one card face down. Let's see what you've got!" The card appeared face down, and then in response to its appearance Kensai drew, giving him five cards. But it was just one card in his hand that mattered.
"I activate Magical Well. This lets me place one magic card from my deck to my hand, but that card can't be activated this turn." He slid his other magic card into the graveyard, and then searched through his deck to find the one card he wanted. He held it up, and then added it to his hand. Finally he reached for the monster that he had gotten using Burn-Up Knight.
"I remove Freed the Brave Wanderer and Strike Ninja from the grave to summon Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End(3000/2500)!" An enormous dragon formed, one at least as big as the ring. It stood behind Kensai and roared ferociously, shaking its mane of fiery hair. Its very foot steps shook the room they were in.
"Now you know what comes next. I give up one thousand life points in order to activate its effect. Apocalyptic Eruption!" The dragon roared, and energy began seeping out of its body. Finally the energy became to much to hold in, and it burst free. The energy swept over the entire field, covering it in chaotic energies that burned away everything in its path. (KLP: 550)
The field cleared, and both duelists were standing. They appeared a little worse for wear, but otherwise they were fine. Kensai had known better than to allow his own dragon to burn them both to death. "The card I chose with Magical Well was Repayment of Losses. Which means I now get to draw one new card. Not that it matters since you're finished."
Takuya shook his head, and popped a card out of his cemetery. "During my last turn I was certain you had chosen the Chaos Emperor Dragon so I used Poker's effect and instead of drawing I placed a card pertaining to a card game into my hand. I chose Cheating Uno, which I discarded to save myself from the damage of your dragon. This duel is still on."
Kensai scowled and picked up the top card of his deck. He glanced at it once and then slid it onto his duel disk. "That's just fine with me. End turn!"
The poker using duelist glanced briefly at his new card and frowned. Finally he placed it face down, and watched as the holographic version appeared in front of him. "It's going to come down to speed I think. The faster of us the better, so I end my turn."
His opponent nodded and drew, then he motioned to his face down card. "Go, Reckless Greed! I'll use it's effect to draw two new cards at the cost of my next two draw phases!" He pulled two new cards off his deck, giving him three cards total.
"It won't help. I told you, it comes down to speed. Quite literally in fact, as my face down card is a trap known as Speed! Each of us now draws the top card of our decks and discards it. The first player to complete this task gains one thousand life points, while the losing player takes one thousand damage. In other words, the fastest player does win." Kensai nodded and lowered his hand to his deck, placing two fingers on the top card. Takuya followed suit.
"DRAW!" Each of them snapped the cards up in essentially the same instant, and moved them towards their graves. "DISCARD!" The cards slid into their graveyards at also what seemed to be precisely the same second. Now all they could do was wait.
Their duel disks whirred, and a jet of red flame exploded out of Takuya's deck and straight at Kensai. At the same time a jet of blue flame shot from Kensai's graveyard and aimed at Takuya. The flames hit at the same moment, and each player staggered backwards. "Blue is...which then?"
Takuya closed his eyes, and a smile slowly crossed his features. Kensai frowned and lowered his head. "I understand. Excellent duel, and I'm glad to see you've come so far since you were me. Relying just on powerful cards to win your duels...that's no way to become a true winner. Congratulations." (TLP: 1050, KLP: 0)
The sound of a curtain parting brought Takuya's attention behind him, where he saw the curtain that he had walked through now back again. He looked over his shoulder, and discovered his other self was gone. He smiled and walked towards the curtain. "I bet the others will never believe that I faced an alternate version of myself. How often does that happen after all?"
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Author's Notes: As of the end of this chapter I have fully broken the length of my previous story. What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be was 498.5 pages long. At current length Shadowed Light of My Heart is 502 pages long. And it's still not done yet.
Review Response
G.O.T. Nick: Possibly, but I'm working on storyline here so certain things have to happen.
The White Mage: Nope, that's not what the sacrifices are for. Good guess though.
WolfGeneral: Now it leaves the mighty Dalin. Takuya only faced Azure to allow them to take the Trials.
VoidTemplar: Oh no, the dark spirit is just as cruel as usual. And you'll see who Dalin's opponent is next chapter.
Time Mage: 1. You try getting a duelist who always has 7 cards in hand, it's a pain in the ass. 2. Hikari's deck spawns from a conversation with Nick actually. 3. Dark Spirit's Return. 4. That's exactly what the Dark Spirit said, he does it too. And it's all the heroes who do it, not just Kirani and Drake. 5. When Drake released Eikyuu the Heart of Balance went to Eikyuu. When Kai died the Heart of Soul was up for grabs so Eikyuu snatched it, essentially how he got all the others. Light and Dark remained with Drake. 6. Soul, Balance, Present, Past, Future, Suffering, Hatred, Power, Courage, and Friendship. Count em again, that's ten. 7. Can't tell you what the ritual is quite yet.
Original Cards(If I put a TM next to a card, that means it was created by Time Mage who created Kai, if it has WG next to it, it was created by WolfGeneral)
Rani: Quick Attack Knights, Gale of Hatred, Line of Battle, General of the Blue Legion
Ken: Clown Trick, Pie in the Face, Batchi the Slightly Bruised Clown
Misuno: Gorgotha
AB: Saturn Knight, Saturn Blade, Spark Fighter, Radiant Burst
Takuya: Seven, Poker, Knight on Six, Jack of all Trades, Ace of Spades, Ace's Knight, Nine Card Don, Weakening of Attack, Deuce's Knight, Cheating Uno, Speed
Kensai: Marauding Commander, Burn-Up Knight, Magical Well, Repayment of Losses
