Author's Note: Now for the conclusion of the battle of siblings, Kirani versus Tokuha!
Chapter Twenty-Four: Burdens of the Family
Tokuha looked at three of his cards, and then slid them into his duel disk. "I set those three. Then I play Temporal Distortion, which forfeits my battle phase to destroy all magic and traps in play. Each of us draw one card for every lost card."
All of their sets shattered, and Kirani drew twice for her two lost cards. Because he had lost three, Tokuha drew three cards. "I lost all three Repayment of Losses, so I draw three cards extra. Then since you drew out of your draw phase Appropriate lets me draw two again."
Her older brother reached for another of his fourteen cards to play, but suddenly his Duel Vest beeped, indicating the end of his turn. For the first time he expressed genuine surprise. "What…why did my turn end?"
Kirani smirked and slipped a card out of her cemetery. "Because you did just like I thought you would, and destroyed my Lightning Rod. When destroyed by an effect I can discard a card from my hand to end your turn immediately. You're powerful, but predictable."
Tokuha laughed out right, honestly impressed by his sister's play. "Very well done, you managed to stop me from doing anything further, sticking me with fourteen cards at the end of my turn and no cards in play. So, I'll discard these eight cards to reduce my hand size to allowed size."
She drew, and then threw the card onto her duel disk. "Berserker Gilford(3000/0) in attack mode! Now, double direct attack!" Tokuha was once again sent flying, this time by two mighty attacks, one from each monster. (TLP: 7500)
Next she held up one of her other cards, and Berserker Gilford faded away. "Lightning Energy Reserve lets me tribute a Gilford to gain half its attack points as life points." (KLP: 2300)
Finally she slid one of the three remaining cards she was holding into her duel disk. "That card face down. Your turn Tokuha, and I'm ready. Even if you're a stronger duelist than me, even if you're my older brother…I don't intend to stop fighting, even if victory were impossible I wouldn't stop!"
Her brother paused in the process of drawing, and gave her a smile. "I see…it's the influence of that boyfriend of yours. I can understand your passion, but I won't let it get in the way of our family's duty."
He drew, and then slid three cards out of the grave. "I remove my three A Second Chance cards to draw six cards in total." Just like that he was back up to thirteen cards, without any effort at all.
"Now, it's time to unleash the second stage of power! I remove a Dark Essence and a Light Essence from the cemetery to special summon Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning(3000/2500)!" The black and gold armored soldier now stood resolutely on his field, staring across at Kirani dispassionately.
"Double Chaos Edge!" Black Luster Soldier flew across the field at great speed, slashing casually through Gilford of Thunder and then into Kirani. She slid across the carpet, a barrier barely formed to keep her from being hurt.
"I…I won't fall Tokuha! Not to your messengers, never to your messengers! And especially not to you! Thunder Reflective Surface divides the damage as life increase to the two of us!" (KLP: 4400, TLP: 9600)
Tokuha let out a loud laugh, looking quite proud of his sister. "You keep fighting, and I'm impressed by that. But defeat is inevitable when you face me. Three cards face down, and then Eternal Renewal reshuffles all cards in our cemeteries and out of play piles back into our decks."
Both of them shuffled their decks back up, and he was left with eight cards in his hand. "I discard two cards from my hand to return my hand size to six. Now, let your turn begin."
Letting out a deep breath she gripped the top card of her deck, and then closed her eyes. "Tokuha…let me show you what I've learned. Even if nobody else has…let me be the first to defeat you and your messengers. Let me show you…that I've chosen my path correctly!"
Kirani drew fiercely and then all of a sudden a wave of dizziness hit her. She planted her feet as forcefully against the ground as she could and made herself remain standing. 'Damn damn damn…not now…not here. Wait till after the duel is done!'
The dizziness faded, and she finally got a chance to look at her drawn card. "Tokuha, I'll bring down Black Luster Soldier-Envoy of the Beginning in this turn, just watch me! Pot of Greed activates!"
A large green pot appeared on the field, a big grinning face at the front. As she moved to draw her cards, one of Tokuha's three face down cards flipped up as well. "In response to you drawing outside of your draw phase I activate Appropriate. Seeing as I used it on your before, you know its effect."
"That's right, I do. Now, continuous magic card activate! Lightning Edge! As long as this card is in play all Gilfords gain three hundred attack and defense points and when one of them destroys a monster I draw a card!" Tokuha nodded, and then pointed to one of his two remaining set cards, the one that set directly to Appropriate's right.
"Continuous trap card activates. Appropriation Reversal. This card can only be activated when I have Appropriate in play. For as long as this card is active each of us draws one card when a card is activated, regardless of our wishes. So therefore you draw one card and I draw three." The two siblings drew the necessary cards.
'Okay, time to think this through. He's got his three thousand point monster in play, and his two face-up continuous traps. If I play anything at all he'll draw three more cards, but in exchange I draw a new card as well. I've got a few options here considering that combo and that it has reduced his number of set cards to one. But what to choose?' The options were big, so she had to think it through. Haphazard attacks would be worthless.
On the one hand she could attempt to risk the set card and defeat Black Luster Soldier in battle. On another she could attempt to use his Appropriation Reversal to draw until she had a way of eliminating Black Luster Soldier, despite the risk of giving her brother a large number of cards to work with. Her last option was to attempt to use the combo to deck her brother out, but that didn't seem to likely to happen.
'In this case, conservation is key! The fewer cards in his hand the better, so the fewer cards I use this turn the better. I'll just have to crush Black Luster Soldier with a minimalist approach.' She breathed out, focusing herself to think her move through.
Kirani looked at the four cards she was holding. She knew each of their effects by heart, knew the combos that her deck could form. However, there was no way she could know what that final set card was. 'No, no holding back. I can think while I fight, it's the way I duel and it's the way Drake duels. I'm not like Dalin or Tokuha, if I try to think out my opponent's moves ahead of time I'll most likely fail. So it's best just to grasp the flow of the duel and go from there.'
"Magical Well activates! I now add one magic card from my deck to my hand which cannot be activated or set during this turn!" She flipped through her deck until she found the card, then reshuffled and returned her deck to position. Immediately afterwards she drew one card and Tokuha drew three.
"Now I activate Magic Purge, removing all floating effects from the field! That means I can activate my chosen card!" There was a flash of light across their field, then it returned to normal. Tokuha's two trap cards glowed, and they drew new cards again. Kirani now had five cards in hand while Tokuha had fifteen.
"Activate magic card, Enter the Storm! I pay my one thousand life points to special summon out Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) as if three monsters were tributed for him. So, Raigeki Blade activates!" Her key monster descended as a bolt of lightning, and a secondary bolt shot from the darkness above and blew away Black Luster Soldier. (KLP: 3400)
She drew again, keeping herself at five cards in hand, and Tokuha also drew. She kept her focus, even though she knew that at this pace he'd start his turn with over twenty cards in his hand. That didn't matter though. "Eye of the Storm! Since Gilford is in play I'll blow up your magic and trap cards!"
Another bolt of lightning shot from the dark sky above their heads, this one blasting apart the two face-up traps and the single set card. Yet because those cards resolved first, they drew new cards, putting Tokuha over twenty just like she had expected. 'Alright, I've got a clear field for attack now.'
"Gilford of Thunder(1800/400) in attack mode!" She slapped the monster down and grabbed her two new cards as quickly as she could. There was no slowing down, not yet. Not until she had dragged his life points down a notch.
"Lightning Summon activates! It lets me normal summon once again this turn, so I summon Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior(1900/1600)!" Her newest monster was similar to Gilford the Lightning, only a little shorter. The right half of his face appeared to be metal, with a glowing red eye in place. His right leg also appeared to be mechanical, as was his left arm.
"Now, Lightning Edge powers up each of my Gilfords by three hundred attack and defense points!" Electricity crackled over the three warriors' muscles, granting them newer and greater powers. Gilford the Lightning rose to thirty-one hundred, Gilford of Thunder to twenty-one hundred, and Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior to twenty-two hundred.
Tokuha stood still, a smile on his face as if awaiting the attack. "I'll wipe that smug look off your face! Gilford of Thunder and Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior each attack you directly!"
Gilford of Thunder slashes his sword across Tokuha's chest, but the duelist barely even budged. Then Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior's left hand transformed into a shimmering sword of energy, which he promptly also attacked with. "What do you make of that big brother?" (TLP: 5300)
"It was an impressive play; surely you're stronger than Satsuki and Miyuki by an obvious margin. Sadly I received training from the greatest duelist to walk the earth, and there is no person alive today that can match me, not since his death. You cannot defeat me little sister." The calm look on his face was absolutely infuriating to Kirani.
"We'll see about that you arrogant ass. I place two cards face down to defend my monsters and end my turn!" She took a moment to catch her breath, and then awaited her brother's draw and his move. She was extremely wary, because when he drew he'd have twenty-two cards in his hand, which was normally roughly half a person's deck.
Tokuha's duel vest delivered him his next card, and he added it to his hand. Surprisingly he didn't look the least bit uncomfortable holding so many cards in one hand. He was obviously practiced at holding that great a number of cards. "Perhaps I should simply end the duel this turn. I could use Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End on you again I suppose, but you've defeated it before."
He scanned his hand, and then seemed to make up his mind. "Let's begin. Lion's Share is a magic card that takes our life points, adds them together, and then gives me three quarters of that total and you one quarter." (TLP: 6525, KLP: 2175)
"I set three cards face down and activate Emergency Provisions on them. They were of course my three A Second Chance magic cards." He seemed amused that instead of looking worried, Kirani seemed completely confident. He would have to strip his sister of that confidence. (TLP: 9525)
Tokuha selected three more of his cards and placed them onto his duel disk. Then he held up another card from his hand. "I activate Emergency Sustenance, which can only be activated if Emergency Provisions is in the grave. I may sacrifice magic and traps on my field to gain fifteen hundred life points per card. I sacrifice all three." (TLP: 14025)
He picked up the three tributed cards and flashed them to Kirani, not that she hadn't known what they were before. "Of course, you sacrificed your three Repayment of Losses cards to Emergency Sustenance in order to draw cards to replace them as you gained life points. Effective, but predictable."
She tapped a finger against her temple, looking just as confident as ever. "Not only that, but I'd bet my life on the fact that you'll remove you're a Second Chance cards next, and then find a way to reuse one set or the other once again."
"That's an impressive prediction, and quite accurate as well. I remove all three of my A Second Chance magic cards from the grave in order to draw two cards for each one removed. That's six total of course." He drew the six cards in one sweep, jumping his hand back up to twenty-two cards.
"Now I activate Burial from a Different Dimension which allows me to place removed from play cards back into my cemetery. I move those three magic cards into my graveyard, and then I remove them from play again to draw six more cards." Again he drew a clump of cards, amazingly managing to hold all twenty-seven easily.
Tokuha selected three cards from his hand, keeping two of them concealed while showing the third remaining card. "I activate Magic Shard Excavation, discarding Light Essence and Dark Essence from my hand to let me pick up a magic card from my grave." (TLP: 15025)
"And then you choose to pick up your Burial from a Different Dimension magic card, is that right?" Tokuha nodded and took the named card out of his graveyard. Then he activated it and slid his three removed from play magic cards back into his cemetery.
"Yet again I'll remove my three A Second Chance magic cards to draw six cards. At this point you should understand that I have all the cards necessary to defeat you. Or has that not fully occurred to you yet?" Kirani shrugged, grinning like crazy regardless of the fact that her brother was holding over thirty cards in his hand.
"I'm willing to accept that I suppose. Of course big brother, what I have noticed about your deck is pretty simple. It's a massive draw engine deck that allows you to swiftly get the cards you need into the grave and into your hand to summon your messengers. Yet at the same time being such a huge draw engine means that it's lighter in the area of some other cards. But even if you had those cards, I still wouldn't be worried. There's just no point in it. I'm exceptional as a duelist, and so are you. I admit that, but I won't back down no matter what!" Tokuha sighed and folded his hand up, looking slightly annoyed.
"Exceptional you say? Let me explain the nature of my abilities by explaining the nature of duelists in levels. Just as there are tiers of divine monsters, there are tiers for duelists. The first level of a real duelist would simply be called Duelist Class. This is the average type that you and I would consider an amateur, but still someone who knows how to play the game." He held up one finger, counting it off as he spoke. He sounded oddly like a teacher.
"A step above that is the Middle Duelist Class. Obviously these are those duelists transitioning from being amateurs to being professionals. The third group is the High Duelist Class, the actual professional duelists, those people who are usually able to get to later rounds of national and international tournaments." He ticked off two fingers, and closed his eyes, looking for all the world like he was lecturing a class.
"Standing above the High Duelist Class is the True Duelist Class, those who are able to use their own willpower to influence their draws, these are people who are truly powerful opponents. Most of your friends fall into this category. Yet they are not the epitome of dueling. One step over them is the Genius Duelist Class, those who are able to influence their draws consistently and have some brilliant talent that places them above others. A duelist such as yourself and your lover Daisuke Ihachi fall into this category, as would someone such as Yugi Motou." To her surprise he lowered his hands and opened his eyes, looking even more serious than he had previously.
"Even though to even the True Duelist Class the Genius Class would appear to be the best, it is not. There are two distinct classes above them. Standing above the Genius Class is the Perfect Duelist Class. These are people with similar abilities to the Genius Duelist Class but are able to accurately predict their opponent's moves as well as their own ahead of time and can formulate counter strategies. These are duelists who never bluff and stand so far above other duelists that they are seemingly invincible. I know of only one current example of this class of duelist, and that is Dalin Imaki Sumatin." Kirani felt her heart pounding in her chest as he approached the final class. If Dalin wasn't the highest class of duelist, what could possibly be greater?
"The final and supreme class of duelists, the one that vastly surpasses the others, is that of the God Duelist Class. Any duelist who rises to this level has abilities beyond even a Perfect Duelist, and a duelist in this group stands above the Perfect Duelist in the same way that the Perfect Duelist stands above others. As a duelist who is invincible to all other classes, impossible to defeat. The conditions for becoming such a duelist are impossible to tell. The last God Duelist was my teacher, and therefore I am the one and only current God Class Duelist, capable of defeating any opponent. I cannot lose to anyone below my level, and no single person is in my level. Now do you understand what you are up against?"
Kirani closed her eyes, imagining Tokuha saying those words to Drake, or to Dalin. She held her head up high and opened her eyes, looking straight into her brother's eyes. "So you're saying that defeating you is impossible, is that it?"
"That's correct. Only another God Class Duelist can defeat me, and there aren't any others. You should be proud that you have reached the achievement of becoming a Genius Class Duelist, so far above almost all other duelists. But against me, even a Perfect Class Duelist such as Dalin Imaki Sumatin would be unable to win." He met her gaze with his own steady one, expecting some sort of response from her except for what he actually got.
Kirani laughed. "Well then, that's good to know. Here I was thinking you would be a powerful opponent, but now I know the truth. Impossible you say? Any person who says 'It is impossible' is a person who doesn't understand anything about other human beings! There's nothing impossible, not for me, and not for anyone else! So if you're so absolutely convinced you can't lose, then prove it already and stop talking about it!"
Tokuha narrowed his eyes, his mouth also tightening. He took a deep breath, calming himself steadily. "It has been years since last I saw you, so I had forgotten how infuriatingly naïve and idealistic you could be. I've been intending to show you what it means to carry the burden of being a Kajika, and I shall do so by defeating you!"
He unfolded his thirty-one card hand, his resolve to defeat his sister once again at its fullest. Yet at the same time he was facing his sister who also had full resolve to defeat him. He started to reach for one card, and then paused. 'My resolve to defeat her is strong; her resolve to defeat me is stronger. Yet even though she cannot win, even though she perhaps knows that, she is willing to fight. And with what I know, I cannot use this method to defeat her.'
"I have chosen this route to defeating you, I shall defeat you with the power of heaven itself. That is the message I will bring it you. I activate Cheerful Coffin, and discard Light Essence, Chaos Sorcerer(2300/2000) and Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End(3000/2500)!" He shoved the named cards into his graveyard, and was enveloped in light from the effect of his essence monster. (TLP: 15525)
"You…discarded Chaos Emperor Dragon-Envoy of the End? But…why?" Tokuha reached for one of his other cards, and met his sister's eyes as he did so.
"Because I know what you know, and I will not harm the future. I play Cyclone, targeting your left face down card." Kirani stood strong as her Storm Barrier was blown away. She still had her remaining face down card, and she knew something he didn't.
"You are assuming that I don't know what your face down card is. Yes, I am aware that your remaining face down card is also Lightning Rod, which you intended to use to end my turn just as you did previously. That is why I didn't choose it with Cyclone." Kirani's eyes widened, not quite sure she believed what he had just said. Yet the proof was there, and her face down card was Lightning Rod.
"I already told you little sister, I am a God Class Duelist, and I cannot be defeated. Activate magic card, Spell Reproduction. I discard two magic cards from my hand to pick up a magic card from my grave." He slid three cards into the grave, and then accepted another that was returned to him.
"Now I activate my returned card, Cyclone! I will use it to destroy Lightning Edge this time, which might have restricted my assault." Her continuous magic card was shattered, and her three Gilfords lost some of their attack points.
He gripped one of his twenty-three remaining cards, and slapped it down onto his duel vest. As he did so two cards slid out of his graveyard and into his hand. "I remove Light Essence and Dark Essence in order to bring you a message straight from the heavens that the Kajika Family has long served! The lesson of the burden that we bear as those who protect the eternal balance of the universe!"
Bright light engulfed his field, and both siblings felt a great warmth fill their veins as the new monster touched down on the field. The source of the glow became apparent. It was a brilliant angelic figure, a woman in glowing armor. "Meet the third of the messengers, third of the Chaos Gods! Chaos Seraphim-Envoy of Heaven(2500/3000)!"
The angel's eyes touched Kirani, and she felt a surprising burst of warmth from it. She didn't understand it, but she felt stronger just from its presence. But she had never heard of anything like this before. "Envoy of…Heaven?"
"That is correct, the third of the Chaos Gods, and one of a different type. Black Luster Soldier is the beginning, and perhaps the weakest of the Chaos Gods. Chaos Emperor Dragon has perhaps the most devastating ability, but without that ability it is nothing. It is a force of destruction and nothing more. Chaos Seraphim on the other hand…" He paused, looking up at his mighty monster.
"Chaos Seraphim is a beacon of light, a messenger of hope. She brings with her the light of heaven to cleanse the darkness. In this case, she comes to grant you the light of truth, to reveal to you the truth of what it means to be a member of this family. She will do so by activating her first effect, which fills my field with tokens." Each of the four remaining spaces on Tokuha's field started glowing, and massive shapes formed.
Kirani braced herself at the sight of them, especially when she saw their stats. This wouldn't be easy. "Chaos Seraphim fills my field with Heaven Avenger tokens(3000/0). When one is destroyed in battle I gain one thousand life points."
The four monsters were tall golden armored male angels, each of whom held a large ornate sword in one hand. They all gathered in front of Chaos Seraphim, looking at Kirani with their stern forbidding faces. "Four tokens with three thousand attack points…that's impressive."
"Yes, it is. Heaven Avenger number one, attack Gilford the Lightning!" Kirani thrust out her hand, triggering her set Lightning Rod trap card just as the holy angel shattered Gilford's sword in one blow and slew her key monster. (KLP: 2175)
Her life points were protected, but not forever. "Heaven Avenger number two, attack Gilford of Thunder!" It crossed the field and cut Gilford of Thunder in half before the monster even had a chance to try and raise its sword to defend itself. (KLP: 2175)
"Heaven Avenger number three, destroys Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior!" In half an instant the third of the avengers had its sword stabbed deep into the half machine's chest. But to the avenger's surprise the mechanical warrior gripped the blade and pulled it farther into its body.
Kirani grinned, shaking off the despair that had been creeping up on her. "When Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior is destroyed I can choose an effect based on what type of card destroyed him. Since he was destroyed in battle I now get to destroy one monster in play, and if my guess is right this will work. So I destroy Chaos Seraphim!"
Gilford the Cybernetic Warrior detonated and the wave of flame swept over all four Heaven Avengers as well as Chaos Seraphim. The fire vanished, leaving Tokuha's field clear. "Yeah, it was like I guessed. When Chaos Seraphim falls, so do the avengers."
"Very well thought out. Though I can't finish you this turn, mark my words I will defeat you. I activate Infinite Cards which removes the limit to our hand size. Then I set the card faces face down." The four cards appeared on his field in front of him.
"Lastly I activate Chaos Rebirth. This magic card allows me to special summon a dark or light type monster from my graveyard regardless of its normal summoning requirements. Chaos Seraphim-Envoy of Heaven returns, as do her Heaven Avengers!" Kirani frowned as the female angel and her four soldiers formed on the field, looking eager to attack her.
With a little nod of the head to her, Tokuha's turn was done. That meant Kirani was going to have to play tough if she was going to survive and defeat him. "Watch and learn big brother. Draw!"
She picked up the card, and then immediately fitted it into her duel disk. "Cyclone! I'll use it to target the card you have face down on the far right!"
A small tornado swirled out of her card and collided with the face down, which shook under the pressure. Finally it buckled and was forced up, briefly revealing a Mirror Force before it shattered. Tokuha smiled. "Excellent guess. But I still have two remaining face down cards."
"Let's see how long that lasts. Monster Reborn, call back Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) to the field!" A spot on her field started glowing, and when the glow vanished the muscular form of Gilford the Lightning was once again standing there. He hefted his sword and pointed it at Chaos Seraphim.
"Looks like he wants a bit of vengeance, and he'll get it soon enough. To start off with I'll activate Treasure of Slashing Life to draw until I'm holding five cards. In five turns I have to discard my hand though." Since that was the last card in her hand she drew the full five.
Tokuha still kept smiling. "That card's drawback will never activate, as this duel won't last five more turns. But please, continue."
"Oh I will! I play Lightning Bolt, which lets me destroy one card on the opponent's field! I choose to destroy Chaos Seraphim in order to take out all of your monsters!" A bolt of lightning shrieked down from the sky, aiming at the female angel.
Right before it hit a wall of purple smoke formed over Chaos Seraphim's head. The lightning fizzled out against that wall of smoke, and it failed. "My face down counter trap Magic Jammer is a well known card that for a cost of one card from my hand can negate any magic card."
"I thought you might have something like that, so I saved this for after it! The magic card Roar of Thunder, which requires I sacrifice a Gilford the Lightning!" A column of pure energy engulfed Gilford the Lighting, filling the field with its glow. Even Tokuha and his five angels seemed impressed by the power being displayed.
"By sacrificing Gilford the Lightning I am allowed to speed up time, evolving him to his highest form! Behold the might of Gilford the Lightning at his truest mastery of the storm. Gilford, Deity of Thunder and Lightning(3600/2400)!" The energy column exploded outwards to unveil the newly summoned monster.
Where Gilford the Lightning had stood over seven feet in height, the new monster stood over twelve feet in height. Where Gilford's armor had been a bluish-silver, this monster's was a brilliant gold. And where Gilford had shown no outward signs over his mastery of lightning, this monster was simply crackling with electricity, the entire body infused with it. "When summoned my deity can choose to destroy magic and trap cards, or monsters. So I choose to destroy all magic and trap cards on your field and in your hand!"
A massive wave of lightning shot across the field, blowing apart the single remaining set card, Infinite Cards, and all but six cards in her brother's hand. "Gilford, Deity of Thunder and Lightning, attack Chaos Seraphim!"
Her deity didn't even move, instead one of those streams of lightning that crackled about his body jumped off of him and towards the Seraphim. At the last second however one of the Heaven Avengers jumped in the way and was blown apart. "If a Heaven Avenger token is in play and the opponent attacks my Chaos Seraphim the attack is automatically redirected to the Heaven Avenger." (TLP: 15925)
"Fine by me. I set one card face down and end my turn!" She slid the card into her duel disk and smirked, feeling ready to take on the world. Her brother claimed to be a God Class Duelist, but the advantage was now hers.
Tokuha's duel vest beeped and slid a card out for him to take, which he did. "Allow me to inform you that although you have destroyed most of my hand, the only reason I was able to gain such a large hand is because of the difference in our caliber. A duelist of a higher class would have a will strong enough to slow me down. The only reason you survived my first assault was because of your strong will as a Genius Class Duelist."
"Blabber is all I here, and I'm going to undo you now! Reverse card open, Raigeki Break! By discarding this Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) from my hand I can destroy one card on the field. I'm choosing my Lightning Rod!" Tokuha's eyes widened as the trap card exploded into thousands of tiny pieces.
"Since Lightning Rod was just destroyed by something other than its own effect I'll discard the last card in my hand in order to end your turn immediately!" Tokuha's duel vest beeped again, indicating to him that his turn was done and his hand size was too high. He frowned and discarded one card into the grave.
"Very impressive. Yet even though you try your hardest, it won't be enough to let you win this duel. It's a pity, but it is the truth. Come out me with all the power you like, it won't make any difference in the end." Kirani rolled her eyes and drew.
"Big brother, I don't care if you are some God Class Duelist or even if there is such a thing. No matter how invincible you say you are I'm still going to win this duel, so just watch me. Payment of Debt, and I remove Gilford of Thunder from the grave to draw three cards!" She drew three more times, giving her a hand half her brother's size.
"Graceful Charity! I'm sure you know its effect." An angel appeared over her head and light rained down on her duel disk. She drew three cards according to the effect, and then held out two cards for the angel to take. The angel accepted them and flew into the graveyard.
"I'll bring you down right now brother; bring you to your knees! I activate the rare and powerful magic card Raigeki! This will destroy every monster on your field!" A massive bolt of lightning struck Chaos Seraphim and the Heaven Avengers, vaporizing them almost instantly and leaving Tokuha's field completely empty.
To her surprise he still seemed completely calm. But she wasn't going to let him remain so calm, no chance. "If you think I'm done, think again. Renewal of Triplets allows me to summon monster from my grave who have the same name if there are three total, which means I special summon all three Gilford the Lightnings(2800/1400 X3) back to the field!"
Kirani now had four mighty warriors facing Tokuha down, and yet still he didn't look bothered. She had twelve thousand attack points worth of power ready to attack his entirely empty field, yet there was no reaction. "Ultimate Lightning Assault!"
The four warriors touched their swords together and a stream of lightning exploded from the tip. It was several feet wide and so bright that looking directly at it was impossible. Kirani let out a deep breath as the wave of lightning crashed into her brother. "For a second there I was worried he had a trap in the grave or something."
"Not precisely, instead I used an old fashioned method. I discard the three Kuribohs that I was holding to negate three of those instances of damage." She gasped as Tokuha's body was revealed, unharmed, and he was holding up three Kuribohs cards. Together they had reduced the damage she inflicted to almost nothing. (TLP: 13125)
She took a second to gather her wits, and then placed the last card in her hand onto the field. "Alright Tokuha, next turn I'll finish you off."
His lips quirked up in an odd looking smile. Perhaps it was just odd because he didn't normally smile. "I discard a monster last turn, I might add. So now I have two monsters in my hand and two magic cards. They will be your end."
Tokuha flipped around one of the two cards, and the very familiar grinning Pot of Greed was revealed. "I draw two cards. Now I activate Research on the Pot of Greed to draw an additional two cards. Then I activate Ancient Greed, which activates if I have a Pot of Greed in the cemetery and allows me to draw three cards."
Just like that he was up to eight cards, just like he always did as if it were the easiest thing in the world. "I activate Monster Reincarnation, discarding Watapon(300/200) in order to move a monster from my cemetery to my hand."
He held up Chaos Seraphim, and then moved on to a different card. "I activate Double Spell, discarding Card Destruction in order to activate a magic card from your grave. I choose to activate Cyclone and destroy your face down card."
Her face down card was blown away, leaving her with just her four monsters. Luckily for her they were powerful monsters. "I remove Watapon and Kuriboh from the grave to special summon Chaos Seraphim-Envoy of Heaven(2500/3000) back to the field."
The glowing female angel formed, and then the four zones around her were filled with the masculine angelic forms of the Heaven Avenger tokens(3000/0). "Although that would seem to not be enough, it will defeat you. I activate Muka Muka Energy, a continuous magic card that grants all of my monsters two hundred additional attack points for every card in my hand."
He held up three cards, and each of his monsters shot up by six hundred points. "Heaven Avenger(3600/0) number one, attack Deity of Thunder and Lightning!" The two monsters clashed, their swords cutting into each other's bodies, and both were destroyed. (TLP: 14125)
"Heaven Avenger number two, number three, and number four will dispatch your Gilford the Lightnings!" Kirani felt her world falling out from under her, all her words becoming useless at the sight of the four holy avengers slashing through her Gilfords like they weren't even there. (KLP: 0)
Kirani fell to her knees, breathing heavily, dizziness catching up to her now that the duel was over. Several feet away her brother was finishing shuffling up his deck and replacing his folded up duel vest into a bag. "That was an excellent duel little sister. But now your sisters and I must leave. You should know by now that the end is coming whether you like it or not, and it is our duty to use the Pillars of Creation, whether they like it or not, to determine the fate of the universe and preserve its balance."
He walked past her, and then stopped a few feet away. Sighing he reached into his pocket, plucked something out of it, and then tossed it at Kirani. She caught it without thinking, and looked down to see a small gray box. "When we searched the house for signs of where you had gone I found that hidden in his desk drawer."
She flipped it open and gasped at what she saw. She hadn't know…she couldn't have known. Now that she did know, she felt even worse than she had before. Tokuha didn't look at her as he spoke. "Perhaps when you see him next, you should give him an answer. Perhaps then you can tell him the two reasons you left him. Us…and the reason you're sick."
Kirani felt tears welling up in her eyes just looking at the small silver ring with a little diamond set in it. She knew what it was, the only thing it could possibly be. "He was going to ask me…and then I did this. I'm sorry Drake…I'm so sorry."
Tokuha walked to the door, and then stopped and looked back again. "Take care of your child, she is the future of the Kajika family. That is why we, the Kajika Family, have this duty. To preserve the balance, to protect the universe, so that people can get married, have children, and grow old. That's why we have the duty Kirani, which is the burden of the Kajika Family. To make sure that there is a future for such things to occur in. Maybe now that you know that, you can understand me a little better, and understand the rest of us."
Kirani lifted her head and felt herself burning with determination again. "Tokuha! Wait…I'm…I'm coming with you. I'll accept my position in the Kajika Family. I just want to make this world safe for those things to happen, even if it means my own sacrifice. And if nothing else, I want to be at his side…if the world ends."
Tokuha gave her one of his rare true smiles, and extended his hand. "Then I welcome you back into the Kajika Family."
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Author's Notes: I'd say that I was an impressive display from Kirani and from Tokuha. Anybody else notice that the person with the most big duels next to Dark Drake was Kirani? That's a change of pace.
Next Time: All the pieces are moving closer together as the timer begins to tick. Yet not every piece has reached its initial conclusion. Together Ryu and Pegasus must finish their battle with Zane and discover the true secret of Blood. Or die trying.
See it all in, Blood for Blood!