Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh. Nope, not even just a little bit of it.
Have fun reading the new chapter!
Chapter 4: Classroom Dueling
Josiah woke up, light streaming into his room; the blinds were opened, letting both the warmth of the sun and the sound of the ocean inward. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, then tossed his blankets aside and stepped out of his bed. A deep breath inward heralded a sweet smell, which Josiah guessed was cinnamon, and made him turn towards the kitchen area of the room. There was Yen, sitting at the table, enjoying a muffin. Josiah also noticed an entire plate of them on the table, so he made his way over and took a seat, Yen giving him a smile in greeting.
"Good morning, Josiah. Did you sleep well?" queried Yen, finishing off his muffin in a couple of bites as Josiah nodded and yawned widely. "More or less. I think that stew upset my stomach… but I'm okay. Can I have one of these muffins?" Yen nodded and stood up, brushing off the front of his uniform and looking over his duel disk. "Sure. Cinnamon crumb, I enjoy them very much. Anyways, class starts today, and I happen to have the earliest class in the Academy, or Advanced Dueling Strategies, so I've got to get going. Your first class should be starting in forty-five minutes or so, so you've got time… anyways, see you later."
Josiah grabbed a muffin and nodded, giving Yen a little wave as he moved out of view. "I'll see you later, I guess." Josiah bit into his muffin and held it there, then grabbed his duel blazer, slipping into it and buttoning it up. He then bit off what bit of the muffin was in his mouth and placed it back onto the table, retrieving his duel disk from under his head and his deck from his pocket. He slid his deck into his duel disk and grabbed his muffin, then headed out of the door. The boy made his way downstairs, catching a glimpse of a few students reading in the main area, then headed out of the door.
Overall, it took about ten minutes to reach the Academy, making Josiah wonder why they had placed the dorms so far away from there. He quickly forgot about it, however, as he passed a room with walls covered with glass cases of cards and a large glass counter also filled with cards. He stopped and headed inward, just as someone emerged from the back room. It was a robed figure, hood down so low it was amazing it even knew where it was going. It took a seat in the red, comfy armchair behind the counter, and spoke in a light voice, totally incomparable to its mysterious look: "Can I help you, Josiah?"
Josiah was stunned, mainly because he was pretty sure he hadn't met this person before and there's no way it could have known his name. "So.. Have we met before, Mr.Strange Robed Figure? And what's this room for?" The robed figure seemed to laugh for a second, then reclined in the chair with a shudder. "No, we haven't. But I do know every single student in this school. As for me, my name is Emit, and I am the Academy's Card Dealer. I give students cards provided they've earned them, and even the occasional "freebie"." Josiah blinked, then looked over the cards in the display: Imperial Order, Power Bond, Metal End Dragon, Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv8... There were so many rares, Josiah couldn't get his head around how the dealer had gotten so many.
"Do you like them? It took a long time to collect them all, and even longer to decide I should give them to skilled duelists at Duel Academy. The Professors and the Chancellor welcomed me happily, and I've been here ever since, helping out young duelists such as you. In fact, whenever a new duelist comes to visit, he gets one random rare card… and I believe yours will be… Gem of Water - Blue, from the Legendary Heroes and Evils set." Said Emit, sliding a card across the counter. Josiah took it and looked it over, smiling widely.
"Are you sure, Mr.Emit? This is a pretty rare card." asked Josiah, about to slide it into his deck. "Yes, yes, I'm sure. I only want one thing from you in return, Josiah… I want to duel you. Not now, but when I show up, you must accept." That requirement seemed a little odd to Josiah, but he nodded. "Sure, I'll duel you… but I've spent too much time wandering around the Academy, and it's almost time for class to start. I'll see you later, Emit." said Josiah as he turned around and gave a short wave before dashing off. Emit chuckled again and nodded. "I'm sure you will."
--
Josiah bolted around the corner, turning here, turning there, trying to get to his class in time. His speed ended up merely making him turn a corner and collide with another student, who was wearing a bright red blazer. Both he and the student fell to the ground, and cards flew everywhere. Josiah looked at his deck to make sure none of his had fallen out, and then looked up at the person in front of him. It was a girl with brown hair that shone with golden highlights, and a pair of brown golden-flecked eyes that stared at him from behind slightly squared glasses.
"Sorry!" spat both teens at the same time, before beginning to gather all of the girl's cards. Josiah picked up one and gave it a squint, then smiled. "Hey, this is Elemental Hero - Bubblegirl! If she's summoned to the field when Elemental Hero - Bubbleman is out, you can return two cards from your graveyard to your hand!" The girl paused for a moment, then plucked the card out of Josiah's hand. "Yeah.. I like her. She's a good card." Josiah helped the girl gather up the rest of her cards, then rose up and brushed himself off.
"I'm Josiah. Josiah Agan. And you must be a good duelist if you're playing with Elemental Heroes." said Josiah softly, extending a hand in greeting. The girl looked off to the side, then managed a half-hearted smile and met his gaze with hers. "I'm Miriku Hernandez, but I'm not too good at dueling. I mean, I'm not too bad, but I'm not the greatest." Josiah scratched at his chin, then inquired, "So, what class do you have? If it's Tournament-Level Dueling Class, we can go together." The girl looked around a bit, then nodded. "Alright, let's go. We're running late."
Both students turned about and started to run, soon coming to an open door and shifting inside just as the Professor began to talk: "Welcome to class, students. I am Executive Chairmen of Techniques, the Head of Ra Yellow, and the teacher of this class, Professor Argan Densk. This class is about dueling first and foremost. Little will be done studying outside of class, so you can save it for Advanced Dueling Techniques. Before we head to the main stadium, we're going to have a pre-duel, and you're going to all analyze the dueling strategies of the duelists I've chosen: Maris Angrevo and Victor Kyosay. Some of you might be wondering why I'm asking you to analyze these two's dueling strategies, and it's quite simple.. They're two of the best, and part of the final is dueling them."
Josiah looked over at Miriku, then gestured for her to follow him as he moved down the steps into the third row, taking a seat; Miriku took the one next to him. "We're going to have to duel one of those two awesome duelists? How is that a fair final?" whispered Josiah, and Miriku responded in a whisper as well: "Oh great… that's not good at all. I can't beat someone in Ra Yellow, especially if a Professor is backing them up…" Josiah grinned, and reclined in his chair. "Don't worry about it, Miriku. I'm sure you'll do fine when the time comes."
Maris hopped up from her chair and moved to the front of the room, her duel disk clicking into place as she turned around. Following her was a boy just a little taller than Josiah, clad in a bright Yellow Blazer just like Maris. His hair was short and brown, and he had a rather pensive look on his face, which also turned Josiah's attention to the scar over his left eye. He walked to the right of Maris a bit, then turned to face her as his duel disk sprung to life.
"Duel!"
Maris: 4000
Victor: 4000
Maris drew a card into her hand, then set one onto her duel disk. "I'll play Odoro the Scribe in attack mode!" An oriental man appeared on Maris' side of the field, clad in nice red robes with silver lining. His head was devoid of hair, and he had a very ornate pair of glasses on his nose. In his hands was a large paintbrush, and at his feet laid a large inkpot. (900/800) "I'll then set a card face-down and end my turn." Victor nodded and drew his card, then set a card of his own down. "I summon Chaos Archer in attack mode." A man appeared in a swirl of black wind, wearing dark gray light armor and a pair of spiked boots. Black hair dangled in front of his red eyes as he cocked an arrow in his large bow, dropping to one knee and drawing a bead on Maris' monster. (1500/400)
"Now, Chaos Archer! Attack with Arrow of Chaos!"
The arrow cocked in the Chaos Archer's bow suddenly burst into purple flame just before it was released, the arrow streaming across the field and piercing straight through Maris' monster. "And when Chaos Archer destroys a monster in attack mode, it's attack points are increased by five hundred points during the damage step, which means you'll actually take seven hundred life points worth of damage!" Maris smiled and drew a card into her hand with a smile. "When Odoro is destroyed in face-up attack mode, I get to draw two cards, so thanks." And as Maris finished her sentence, a purple fire blazed up around her, draining her life points, but she didn't even flinch. "I too, will set a card face-down. My turn is over."
Maris: 2800
Victor: 4000
Maris drew a card, then gestured to the field. "I activate the trap card Ancient Ghost of the Library! If I have a monster in my graveyard with "Scribe" in its name, I'm allowed to remove it from the game and draw two cards, then discard one." A ghostly version of Odoro the Scribe flew out of Maris' discard slot and raised its hands, two cards sliding off the top of her deck into her hand, after which the ghost disappeared. Maris deposited one card into her discard slot, then set one onto her disk. "I'll summon Shinichi the Scribe in attack mode!"
A monster very similar to Odoro appeared, only he had a monocle instead of glasses, and he also had long black hair that reached the floor. The color of his robes was also different, a bright shining purple with black lining, and random characters were sewn onto it. He too, was also holding a large paintbrush and had a large inkpot at his feet. (1600/1000) "I'll also activate the equip magic card Legendary Inkbrush, which allows me to draw a card whenever I summon a monster with "Scribe" in it's name, and also returns to my hand immediately upon being sent to the graveyard. I'll set a card face-down, then order Shinichi to attack with Symbol of the Peacock!"
Maris' monster tossed its inkbrush aside just as a shining, golden inkbrush appeared above him, glittering with gemstones. The scribe grabbed it and spun it around, dipping the brush end into the inkpot at his feet, then swinging it back and forth through the air, drawing a symbol on an invisible canvas. Once the symbol was complete, it began to glow blue, and a giant, ghostly peacock erupted from it, releasing several bolts of lightning from it's tail feathers, which rushed across the field and obliterated Victor's monster. However, a few streams of electricity arced through his monster and pierced his duel disk, lowering his life points.
"You walked right into my trap, which was quite a mistake on your part, little girl. I activate the trap card Chaotic Vitality! Whenever a monster with "Chaos" in its name is sent to the graveyard, I can activate this card and deal you five hundred life points of damage while gaining that much life!" shouted Victor, a purple glow suffusing around him and Maris. Maris grinned and pressed a button on her duel disk, the card on her side of the field flipping up, revealing a pair of golden scales drawn in a book. "And I'll activate The Scales of Virtue! If either of us deals damage via a card effect, we skip our next draw phase. However, if we restore life points to each other via a card effect, we draw one additional card on our next draw phase. This really works against your Chaos deck, considering a lot of your damage tends to be effect damage."
Maris: 2200
Victor: 4400
"I'll set another card face-down, and end my turn." said Maris with a smug look on her face. Victor looked at his hand, then scowled at Maris, slapping a card on his disk. "I summon Chaos Knight in attack mode!" Another swirl of black wind and another creature appeared, this one clad in giant suit of ebony black armor decorated with red symbols. In his hands he wielded a large axe, just about as big as him. (2500/1300) "You do know his ability forces you to sacrifice him at the end of your turn?" asked Maris, perking an eyebrow. "Don't you dare start trying to tell me about my own cards! Chaos Knight, attack with Chaos Cleave!" yelled Victor to his monster, which complied, bracing itself and lifting it's axe up into the air and taking a few steps towards Maris' monster.
"Fine, fine, I'll activate the trap card Unfaltering Curiosity. This allows me to prevent the destruction of one monster with "Scribe" in it's name, provided I discard a card from my hand, which I gladly will." muttered Maris with a tiny grin, sliding a card into the discard slot just as the Chaos Knight swung down, her Scribe holding up it's inkbrush and blocking the blow. However, a ghostly image of the axe cleaved through and went straight through Maris' disk.
Maris: 1300
Victor: 4400
"Now, at the end of your turn, Chaos Knight will disappear, and you'll be left wide open. Are you sure you're really one of the best?" joked Maris, waving her card hand around mockingly. "I don't need to reassure myself about how good I am, so shut up! I place a card face-down and end my turn!" retorted Victor, getting thoroughly annoyed. Maris drew her card and watched as Victor's Chaos Knight exploded into purple flame, then slid a card into her duel disk. "I activate the ritual spell card The Trial of Spirit! I'll discard a level eight monster from my hand to summon Ginjen Gaigen in attack mode!"
A large book appeared on Maris' side of the field and opened, revealing nothing but black pages. Suddenly, writing began to fill the pages, which also began flipping forward very quickly. Once the book had reached the end, it snapped just and erupted into golden light, leaving behind a woman clad in a bright brown kimono with white lining and floral designs all over it. There was a white kitsune mask on her face, painted with purple stripes on its cheeks. Her hair was brown like her kimono, and only reached the small of her back, unlike Shinichi. In her hands she wielded two inkbrushes, which looked as though they were made of solid diamond. (2500/2000)
"I'll refresh your mind on her effect: it allows me to discard a card once during either of our turns, and if I do that, you must also discard a card. Also, she is treated as though she has "Scribe" in her monster title, so I get to draw a card thanks to Legendary Inkbrush's ability." said Maris, drawing a card into her hand. "I'll then activate the field magic card Library of Knowledge. This allows the drawing of one additional card at the end phase of any turn we've discarded a card. I know, it seems redundant, as it'll grant you the ability to get cards to make up for the one I've made you discard, but hold on…" Maris paused as she stretched out a bit, the classroom turning into the center of a gigantic library, books filling the floor.
"I order Ginjen Gaigen and Shinichi to attack your life points directly."
Both of Maris' monsters went close to each other and began drawing together on the invisible canvas, this time creating a lavish seal with a symbol in the middle, which produced a large, ghostly dragon. It was bright yellow in color and very oriental in appearance, and roared very loudly before releasing a stream of fire that swept over Victor, sending his life points into the red. "And that'll end my turn." said Maris, giving Victor a mocking bow.
Maris: 1300
Victor: 300
Victor scowled again and drew a card into his hand, then slid one into his duel disk. "I'll activate the trap card Chaotic Reinforcement! I'll pay half my life points to summon one monster from the graveyard with "Chaos" in its name, and I choose Chaos Knight!" A pair of black flags sprouted up from the ground, and between them came that familiar black wind, which heralded the return of Victor's Chaos Knight. The towering knight readied its axe in preparation to attack, giving a grunt of dislike. "I'll then activate the magic card Chaos Drain! This allows me to absorb all the life points that you lose this turn, so I'll order my Chaos Knight to attack your Shinichi with Chaos Cleave!"
Victor's monster took a few steps forward, dragging its axe along, then hefted the mighty weapon high up into the air and swung it down, easily splitting Maris' monster into two. The ghostly afterimage of the axe cleaved through the air and sliced right through Maris' disk right after, but the girl merely added a card from the field to her hand. "Well, Legendary Inkbrush returns to my hand immediately. Is that all?" Victor shook his head and grinned maliciously, then slid another card into his duel disk. "I activate Title of Chaos! When Chaos Knight has destroyed a monster in battle, I'm allowed to sacrifice him to summon Chaos Champion from my hand!" The Chaos Knight disappeared soon after Victor finished, being replaced with a much taller knight with a long crimson cape and spikes protruding from his armor. The large axe had also disappeared, replaced by a pair of spiked longswords. (2800/2000)
Maris: 400
Victor: 1050
"And unlike my Knight, he doesn't need to be sacrificed at the end of my turn! So take your last turn before you're destroyed." said Victor, crossing his arms smugly. Maris drew one card and smiled softly. "Sorry to say, but neither of us will be winning this duel today. I first equip Legendary Inkbrush to Ginjen Gaigen!" Victor frowned as Maris' monster dropped both of its diamond brushes to pluck the ornamental one out of the air. "I then activate the spell card Illegal Knowledge! This allows me to remove any number of face-up spell or trap cards on my side of the field from the game to draw that many cards, and I remove Legendary Inkbrush, Library of Knowledge, and Scales of Virtue!"
The library in the classroom disappeared, the ornate brush in Ginjen Gaigen's hand along with it, and the scales exploding into digital pieces. Maris drew two cards into her hand, then slid another into her duel disk. "I'll then activate the continuous spell card Research Illness! The effect of this card deals either of us five hundred life points of damage whenever we draw a card outside of our draw phase." Maris paused for a moment, then slid one of her last two cards into her duel disk. "I activate the magic card Card of Sanctity! This forces us to draw to six cards, which deals us both three thousand life points of damage! This duel is over."
Maris: 0
Victor: 0
The holograms faded from the field, Maris looking rather pleased with the duel while Victor crossed his arms and gave her a rather vile stare, but said nothing. Densk walked between them and looked up to the class, gesturing to both Maris and Victor. "As you probably noticed, Maris was very flexible with her cards. She can draw a lot of cards and prevent you from doing it, and in the event of her falling behind, she'll happily try to get a draw, which counts as a fail during the final. Victor can deal plenty of damage and restore his own life easily, but his card drawing ability is subpar. Remember them. Watch them. But don't try too hard, especially if I suddenly feel like changing the final duelists."
"That was amazing how Maris forced a draw! She can draw a whole lot of cards with her Oriental Scribes!" said Josiah, teetering on the edge of his seat. Miriku nodded and smiled brightly, amazed at the duel. "Yeah! I wish I could play as good as that! I'd be in Ra Yellow in no time!" Josiah sat back down and perked an eyebrow at Miriku, then grinned again. "Hey, don't worry! I'll help you out. When we get to the main stadium, you can duel against me!" Miriku blinked a few times, then gave a shrug with a little smile. "I guess, but I wouldn't be surprised if you creamed me."
"Now, everyone, let's head towards the main stadium. Once you're there, pick a partner and duel them. Once you're done, talk about it. Then duel again. After that one, try dueling with each other's decks. The more flexible you can be with cards, the better you'll end up." said Densk, causing everyone to get up and heads towards the stadium.
The stadium was huge, capable of holding many more people than there were students in the school. The main platform had been lowered to make room for all the students, who spread out evenly in the wide area. Miriku and Josiah took their own places near the stadium door, their duel disks clicking into place. "Now, Miriku, show me what you're made of!" said Josiah, drawing five cards. Miriku drew her own five cards and nodded. "I'll try my hardest!"
Josiah: 4000
Miriku: 4000
Miriku drew her card first, then slapped a card onto the field. "I play Elemental Hero - Rosette in attack mode!" A large, red flower bulb appeared on the field in front of Miriku, soon after opening up and revealing a woman in a skintight green body suit with a mask on, red hair dancing about her shoulders. She reached down and pulled a thorny whip off her belt and cracked it menacingly. (1400/1200) "I'll set two cards face-down, and then I'll end my turn.
"Good move. Rosette's ability lowers the attack power of all non-Elemental Hero monsters by three hundred points. I'll have to summon Legendary Hero - Dmitri in attack mode!" said Josiah, setting a card on his duel disk. A shining pentagram appeared on his side of the field, from which a black-cloaked magician rose. He produced a large staff from underneath his cloak, which upon opening revealed a suit of shining armor covered in gems. (1500/1900) "He would have eighteen hundred attack power, but Rosette's keeping him in the low. Attack, Dmitri!"
Josiah's monster raised it's staff upwards, then swung it through the air, releasing a wave of magical energy towards Miriku's monster. "I activate the trap card Hero Barrier! This allows me to negate one attack on any monster with "Elemental Hero" in its name!" shouted the girl, a shining, blue electrical barrier springing up and absorbing the magical wave with ease. "Hmm. Not bad at all. I'll set a card face-down, then I'll let you go."
Miriku drew her card and smiled brightly. "I activate the magic card Polymerization! I'll fuse my Elemental Heroes Rosette and Bubblegirl together to form…" Miriku paused as another girl appeared next to Elemental Hero - Rosette, only she had long blonde hair and was wearing armor very similar to Bubbleman's, sans cape, but still with a mask over her eyes. There was a bright light as both monsters fused together, leaving behind a blue-caped heroine, clad in Rosette's bright green bodysuit but wearing Bubblegirl's armor pieces and Bubblegun. Her hair had turned a strange mixture of red and blonde, and her free hand held a familiar thorned whip. (2100/ 1800) "Elemental Hero - Rainflower!"
"Her ability lowers the attack power of all non-Elemental Hero monsters by six hundred points, and grants an additional three hundred to all Elemental Heroes. Very nice card, Miriku." said Josiah, flashing her a little grin. "Yeah, that makes her attack power twenty-four hundred, and your Legendary Hero's attack power drops to nine hundred! Now attack, Rainflower, with Mist Cannon!" Miriku shouted to her monster, which happily obliged, releasing a blast of iridescent mist that covered Josiah's monster, effectively eliminating it.
Josiah: 2500
Miriku: 4000
"Heh, that was pretty good. But don't expect her to last you forever… because with what I've got planned, your Elemental Heroes won't stand a chance!"
Yes, I know, I shouldn't have ended their duel so early, so sue me.
Thanks for your reviews and time, people.