Tokyo Tournament
Chapter Seven- Battle Against Nature
Also Entitled- Weed Cutter
Bursts of flame surrounded the duelist. He cowered behind his arms as his Life Points ticked to 0. He looked up as the holograms faded and his opponent stepped forward, arm outstretched. Wordlessly, the duelist handed over a microchip and a card. His opponent pocketed the card and put the chip in his KS, then walked away. The duelist, still staring at his back in amazement after their Duel, could barely remember the events that had taken place. It had ended so quickly that the details simply disappeared from his memory. But at that moment, he was certain that the one who had just defeated him would enter the tournament finals.
"So you've got two chips, so does Yugi, and Joey, and Term. I need to duel someone!" cried Lin as he spoke to Yamato.
"Well then, you'll have to challenge someone, won't you?" responded Yamato coolly.
"Yes, you're right! I'll challenge the first duelist I see!"
And so, just less than a minute later . . .
"I can't believe I'm dueling a tree-hugger . . ." muttered Lin to himself.
Just across from him was a girl with brown hair. She wore a t-shirt that said about the same thing five hundred times in different phrases-save the earth. Her name was Natra. Just twenty seconds ago, right after introducing herself, Natra had made a brief speech about how she intended to donate the prize money from the tournament to different fund-raisers t protect the environment. She was just now going on about how nature was being abused and all that other stuff that activists do. ". . . Do you realize just how many trees are cut down and how many innocent creatures lose their lives just so you can have simple conveniences like a bottle of soda? (Nope, don't think they're related at all, but this is how absurd I think these arguments can be. Well, they're not this absurd, really. I apologize to all members of the audience who are activists.) Do you know just how many acres of forests are cleared just so you can have your roads when you drive to work? Do you-"
"NO, I DON'T! OKAY?" Lin bellowed, "NOW CAN WE PLEASE JUST DUEL?"
"Fine then," answered Natra, "I have one chip, which I'll wager on this duel."
"Fine," responded Lin as they both drew five cards, "I'll also wager a chip, then."
Natra: 4000 Lin: 4000
Natra drew a sixth card and said, "I'll start by playing Man Eater (800/600) in attack mode." A large plant appeared in front of her. It had an actual face with large eyes and a beak-like mouth filled with jagged teeth. Its head was covered in pink petals. "And now I'll end my turn."
Lin tried to hide his confusion. He knew that Man Eater had no effect, and with no Magic or Trap Cards on the field, Natra had virtually left herself open for attack. He acted quickly to take advantage of this. He drew a card and examined it for a moment before announcing, "I play the Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in attack mode!" A tall, humanoid bird appeared on the field. It was armored in silver and gold, and a green cape was draped over its shoulders. In its right upper talon it held a long-bladed rapier. "Now, I'll attack and destroy your Man Eater!" The Hayabusa Knight leapt forth and cut straight through the monstrous plant, with immediately shattered.
Natra: 3800 Lin: 4000
"Now, Hayabusa Knight, attack again!" The tall bird once again swung its sword, this time cutting straight through Natra and taking a chunk out of her Life Points.
Natra: 2800 Lin: 4000
"How did you attack twice with the same monster?" Natra demanded.
"It's really very simple," Lin explained, "that is simply the Hayabusa Knight's effect, which can be very useful in the right situation."
Natra frowned as she drew her card, but grinned when she announced, "I play Darkworld Thorns (1200/900) in attack mode, and destroy your Hayabusa Knight!" Another large plant emerged before her. Its vines were covered in thorns and shaded a dark blue. Somewhere amidst them a head emerged, orange petals ringed about it and sharp teeth poking through its lips. As soon as it had fully emerged, it reached with one long vine and grabbed the Knight before crushing it to death.
Natra: 2800 Lin: 3800
"My turn then," Lin said as he drew a card without the slightest bit if disappointment. "So I'll play the Swordsman of Landstar (500/1000) in Attack mode," the tiny, seemingly wooden swordsman appeared, butter-knife sword in hand, "and then I'll play the Magic Card Shield and Sword." Natra gasped as she watched her Darkworld Thorns' power change to 900/1200 and the Swordsman's to 1000/500. "And now, I'll destroy the Darkworld Thorns." With one swift swing, the Swordsman decapitated the large plant.
Natra: 2700 Lin: 3800
Natra growled in frustration before swiping a card off the top of her deck. Recognizing it, she then smiled and said, "Now you'll pay for destroying my wonderful plants. I play the Woodland Sprite (900/400) in Attack Mode!" A three-foot-tall humanoid made seemingly of logs with a leaf for a head appeared before her. "And then I'll equip him with Vile Germs, which will raise his Attack to 1200!" The Woodland Sprite, its once brown bark now a dark purple, raised one fist and dealt the Swordsman of Landstar (which was now back to 500/1000) a right hook which sent it flying. "And before I end my turn I'll use Woodland Sprite's effect to send Vile Germs to the Graveyard and deal 500 points of damage directly to your Life Points!" The Woodland Sprite regained its original color, but Lin noticed that his Life Points had lowered as Natra said.
Natra: 2700 Lin: 2600
Lin smiled a bit. For the first time, Natra had showed that she actually knew a bit about dueling and taken the lead. But it was too little, too late. Lin calmly drew a card and said, "Time to end this Duel. I play Monster Reborn to revive my lost Hayabusa Knight in Attack Mode." Once again, the bird warrior appeared in front of Lin, rapier at the ready. "Next, I'll equip him with the Legendary Sword, raising his Attack and Defense by 300." A large, broad dagger appeared in the Knight's talon, replacing the rapier, and its power increased to 1300/1000. "Then I'll play the Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in Attack Mode." An elven warrior in brown, green, and silver armor appeared next to the Hayabusa Knight, a broad sword held at the ready. "Finally, my Celtic Guardian will destroy your Sprite, leaving your Life Points open to two direct assaults from my Hayabusa Knight." As he finished speaking, both warriors rushed forth, blades raised as they charged into battle. The Woodland Sprite was cleaved in two with a swift stroke of the Celtic Guardian's blade, and Natra's Life Points diminished to nothing as the Hayabusa Knight delivered her two quick strikes.
Natra: 0000 Lin: 2600
As the holograms faded, Natra's eyes began to tear up, but she reached into her KS and offered Lin her one chip, along with the Woodland Sprite. Lin took the chip from her hand, but refused to take her card. "Please, keep it," he said, "I understand how hard it is for you to lose this Duel, I won't make it worse by taking your favorite card."
"Really?" Natra asked hopefully, eyes gleaming through her tears.
"Yes," Lin reassured with a nod. He then reacted quickly to keep her from choking him to death in a hug by placing his hand on her face as she leapt forward. "Please," he said, teeth grinding and cheeks burning, "none of that."
Later (or sooner, I suppose)...
"Something doesn't seem right..." Yugi murmured to Giyan as they walked through the hotel in search of more opponents.
"What do you mean?" Giyan inquired.
"Well, it just seems to me that the three cards Yamato used at the end, Monster Reborn, Legendary Sword, and Celtic Guardian..."
"Yes?"
"Wouldn't two of them have been in his hand before that turn? Why didn't he use them before?"
Giyan smiled in reflection as he explained, "Lin was trying to be polite. He knew from the first turn that Natra was not very experienced. Had he used those cards earlier than he did, she would have been dejected and thought that she had no chance at dueling. By prolonging the Duel a bit, Lin gave her a bit of confidence, at least enough to come back again some other time."
"That was pretty nice of him," Yugi concluded.
"Well, he's also a sucker for chicks," Giyan said, his mystifying tone suddenly dropping. Yugi face-faulted.
Chapter Seven- Battle Against Nature
Also Entitled- Weed Cutter
Bursts of flame surrounded the duelist. He cowered behind his arms as his Life Points ticked to 0. He looked up as the holograms faded and his opponent stepped forward, arm outstretched. Wordlessly, the duelist handed over a microchip and a card. His opponent pocketed the card and put the chip in his KS, then walked away. The duelist, still staring at his back in amazement after their Duel, could barely remember the events that had taken place. It had ended so quickly that the details simply disappeared from his memory. But at that moment, he was certain that the one who had just defeated him would enter the tournament finals.
"So you've got two chips, so does Yugi, and Joey, and Term. I need to duel someone!" cried Lin as he spoke to Yamato.
"Well then, you'll have to challenge someone, won't you?" responded Yamato coolly.
"Yes, you're right! I'll challenge the first duelist I see!"
And so, just less than a minute later . . .
"I can't believe I'm dueling a tree-hugger . . ." muttered Lin to himself.
Just across from him was a girl with brown hair. She wore a t-shirt that said about the same thing five hundred times in different phrases-save the earth. Her name was Natra. Just twenty seconds ago, right after introducing herself, Natra had made a brief speech about how she intended to donate the prize money from the tournament to different fund-raisers t protect the environment. She was just now going on about how nature was being abused and all that other stuff that activists do. ". . . Do you realize just how many trees are cut down and how many innocent creatures lose their lives just so you can have simple conveniences like a bottle of soda? (Nope, don't think they're related at all, but this is how absurd I think these arguments can be. Well, they're not this absurd, really. I apologize to all members of the audience who are activists.) Do you know just how many acres of forests are cleared just so you can have your roads when you drive to work? Do you-"
"NO, I DON'T! OKAY?" Lin bellowed, "NOW CAN WE PLEASE JUST DUEL?"
"Fine then," answered Natra, "I have one chip, which I'll wager on this duel."
"Fine," responded Lin as they both drew five cards, "I'll also wager a chip, then."
Natra: 4000 Lin: 4000
Natra drew a sixth card and said, "I'll start by playing Man Eater (800/600) in attack mode." A large plant appeared in front of her. It had an actual face with large eyes and a beak-like mouth filled with jagged teeth. Its head was covered in pink petals. "And now I'll end my turn."
Lin tried to hide his confusion. He knew that Man Eater had no effect, and with no Magic or Trap Cards on the field, Natra had virtually left herself open for attack. He acted quickly to take advantage of this. He drew a card and examined it for a moment before announcing, "I play the Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in attack mode!" A tall, humanoid bird appeared on the field. It was armored in silver and gold, and a green cape was draped over its shoulders. In its right upper talon it held a long-bladed rapier. "Now, I'll attack and destroy your Man Eater!" The Hayabusa Knight leapt forth and cut straight through the monstrous plant, with immediately shattered.
Natra: 3800 Lin: 4000
"Now, Hayabusa Knight, attack again!" The tall bird once again swung its sword, this time cutting straight through Natra and taking a chunk out of her Life Points.
Natra: 2800 Lin: 4000
"How did you attack twice with the same monster?" Natra demanded.
"It's really very simple," Lin explained, "that is simply the Hayabusa Knight's effect, which can be very useful in the right situation."
Natra frowned as she drew her card, but grinned when she announced, "I play Darkworld Thorns (1200/900) in attack mode, and destroy your Hayabusa Knight!" Another large plant emerged before her. Its vines were covered in thorns and shaded a dark blue. Somewhere amidst them a head emerged, orange petals ringed about it and sharp teeth poking through its lips. As soon as it had fully emerged, it reached with one long vine and grabbed the Knight before crushing it to death.
Natra: 2800 Lin: 3800
"My turn then," Lin said as he drew a card without the slightest bit if disappointment. "So I'll play the Swordsman of Landstar (500/1000) in Attack mode," the tiny, seemingly wooden swordsman appeared, butter-knife sword in hand, "and then I'll play the Magic Card Shield and Sword." Natra gasped as she watched her Darkworld Thorns' power change to 900/1200 and the Swordsman's to 1000/500. "And now, I'll destroy the Darkworld Thorns." With one swift swing, the Swordsman decapitated the large plant.
Natra: 2700 Lin: 3800
Natra growled in frustration before swiping a card off the top of her deck. Recognizing it, she then smiled and said, "Now you'll pay for destroying my wonderful plants. I play the Woodland Sprite (900/400) in Attack Mode!" A three-foot-tall humanoid made seemingly of logs with a leaf for a head appeared before her. "And then I'll equip him with Vile Germs, which will raise his Attack to 1200!" The Woodland Sprite, its once brown bark now a dark purple, raised one fist and dealt the Swordsman of Landstar (which was now back to 500/1000) a right hook which sent it flying. "And before I end my turn I'll use Woodland Sprite's effect to send Vile Germs to the Graveyard and deal 500 points of damage directly to your Life Points!" The Woodland Sprite regained its original color, but Lin noticed that his Life Points had lowered as Natra said.
Natra: 2700 Lin: 2600
Lin smiled a bit. For the first time, Natra had showed that she actually knew a bit about dueling and taken the lead. But it was too little, too late. Lin calmly drew a card and said, "Time to end this Duel. I play Monster Reborn to revive my lost Hayabusa Knight in Attack Mode." Once again, the bird warrior appeared in front of Lin, rapier at the ready. "Next, I'll equip him with the Legendary Sword, raising his Attack and Defense by 300." A large, broad dagger appeared in the Knight's talon, replacing the rapier, and its power increased to 1300/1000. "Then I'll play the Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in Attack Mode." An elven warrior in brown, green, and silver armor appeared next to the Hayabusa Knight, a broad sword held at the ready. "Finally, my Celtic Guardian will destroy your Sprite, leaving your Life Points open to two direct assaults from my Hayabusa Knight." As he finished speaking, both warriors rushed forth, blades raised as they charged into battle. The Woodland Sprite was cleaved in two with a swift stroke of the Celtic Guardian's blade, and Natra's Life Points diminished to nothing as the Hayabusa Knight delivered her two quick strikes.
Natra: 0000 Lin: 2600
As the holograms faded, Natra's eyes began to tear up, but she reached into her KS and offered Lin her one chip, along with the Woodland Sprite. Lin took the chip from her hand, but refused to take her card. "Please, keep it," he said, "I understand how hard it is for you to lose this Duel, I won't make it worse by taking your favorite card."
"Really?" Natra asked hopefully, eyes gleaming through her tears.
"Yes," Lin reassured with a nod. He then reacted quickly to keep her from choking him to death in a hug by placing his hand on her face as she leapt forward. "Please," he said, teeth grinding and cheeks burning, "none of that."
Later (or sooner, I suppose)...
"Something doesn't seem right..." Yugi murmured to Giyan as they walked through the hotel in search of more opponents.
"What do you mean?" Giyan inquired.
"Well, it just seems to me that the three cards Yamato used at the end, Monster Reborn, Legendary Sword, and Celtic Guardian..."
"Yes?"
"Wouldn't two of them have been in his hand before that turn? Why didn't he use them before?"
Giyan smiled in reflection as he explained, "Lin was trying to be polite. He knew from the first turn that Natra was not very experienced. Had he used those cards earlier than he did, she would have been dejected and thought that she had no chance at dueling. By prolonging the Duel a bit, Lin gave her a bit of confidence, at least enough to come back again some other time."
"That was pretty nice of him," Yugi concluded.
"Well, he's also a sucker for chicks," Giyan said, his mystifying tone suddenly dropping. Yugi face-faulted.