Surprise, new chapter! Don't get used to it.
Note to self, do not post chapters immediately having completing it. That's how you avoid spelling mistakes.
That being said, I'm on a roll today!
Just a bit of a warning, I'll be using literal translations of the OCG cards just for a couple of chapters so you might not recognize some of these old school cards. I'm also incorporating all anime only cards into decks of every single viable character. Furthermore, I'll be making some of my own to give some characters support cards but we'll see how that goes. I'm not an expert game designer after all so I barely have an idea on how to balance mechanics. I'm more of a story writing enthusiast.
I'll start using the TCG names of the cards after Julian gets some privacy to himself so he could mentally sort over what has happened to him in the last 24 hours.
There's a reason why I'm doing it like that. Not gonna lie, it might not be satisfying when I reveal it. Hell, I'm pretty sure some of you would be annoyed I even did it in the first place but I got really peeved at myself when I didn't write it.
After giving it some thought I've decided that most of this story will be from Julian's perspective. That means he'll be commentating a lot in the beginning so fair warning if you get annoyed by that. In addition, if he wasn't there to witness a duel (canon or otherwise) it will be cut out from the story. Mostly to save time and to avoid changing the POV so many times. Support cast's POVs will be in Interludes either as full chapters or as short segments in the "credits" section of the chapter so to speak. That's where you can read how other characters perceive Julian.
As always,
This story is a non-profit work by me. All characters that appear in the Yugioh franchise here belong rightfully to Konami and the creators of this wonderful show.
Spoilers for the shows will pop out randomly so you have been warned in advanced.
Please support the official releases.
Please excuse any grammar/spelling mistakes as those will be corrected when spotted.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe ou-
Nope. Still freaking out. Which is quite excusable when one realizes they aren't dreaming and could see a bona-fide dragon with their very eyes. It took several people to keep me restrained to my seat until we landed, which was extremely embarrassing on my part.
As soon as I finished dry heaving in the closest toilet I found after disembarking the plane, I searched for a place to sit down. Of course, not before apologizing to the pilots and the few flight attendants who waited outside for me. Considering my reaction, they were obviously worried for me. One of the young ladies went out of her way to purchase a bottle of water which was a touching gesture on itself. That was nice of her. Wouldn't even accept the 300 Yen I wanted to compensate her for.
After sitting down and swiping back my hai- oh that's right! I wasn't bald anymore! Haven't had a full set of hair which looked that thick after I hit my late 30's. It was skin from age 40 and upwards. That was the silver lining to my situation. However that was immediately offset by the simple fact when I looked into the mirror, my hair wasn't the golden locks I remember having but brown as the soil that grew healthy plants. My hair was long enough I could make a manbun but not enough for a pony tail. It was split down the middle where my bangs parted to the side. After swiping though, it resembled that one character from Nick's favourite hack and slash game: Devil May Cry. Who was it again? Vante? Dergil? Bah, it's the one who used the katana.
Oh and last but certainly not least, in fact it was the more important thing I noted. The person staring back wasn't an overweight man with stress lines that showed my age but my youthful face around my early teenage years.
...
I confirmed that I wasn't dreaming in the only way I knew how. Whacking my face at full force. That got a reaction from the startled people who just wanted to go to the toilet in peace. The stinging sensation was still there as I sat down with the disturbing realization that this was all too real for it to be a dream. That's why I shut down the idea of offing myself to see if I would wake up with extreme prejudice. I would sometimes gain self awareness and realize I was in a dream and fuck around for a bit but I genuinely feel awake at the moment...
Breathe in.
Breathe o-out.
B-Breathe... i-in.
B-Breathe out.
...
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
After some time spent calming myself down, which barely worked by the way, I opened the backpack I happened to be carrying to see if I could get a hint on how I ended up here.
Several boxes that contained Yugioh cards, weird. 1 flip phone from a brand I never even heard of, talk about an outdated model. Never seen a flip phone in my life. Also, KC? Pamphlet to an academy, okay? Stationary case, haven't held one in years. My wallet, a cursory glance showed, was exactly the same wallet I had before sleeping. Thank you, Lord. A passport with my plane ticket and student visa for Japan, seriously, what's with all the school stuff. Finally, couple of snacks that I proceeded to eat while I took out the phone, passport and wallet and inspected them.
The wallet had around 300,000 Yen, the exact amount I withdrew the previous day so I could go on a shopping spree with Takeo's kids on Boxing day. My driver's license with a few significant changes such as the expiry date and my birthday. First off, I am absolutely positive that the year I was born was 2004 and not 1989. Birthday is still the same, October 6. The expiration day of my license was dated to 2011 and, unless I somehow jumped into the Tardis, was 40 plus 7 years ago. Credit and Debit card was still there with the same expiry date but did I even have access to my accounts? Probably should check as soon as I can.
While my wallet provided me options, my passport on the other hand gave me problems. Birthday followed the cards and it was the same expiration date as well, 2011. How am I gonna get out of here? As a matter of fact, how did I got on a plane with this passport? I should been denied entry before even reaching the security checks. However, seeing how I miraculously have been de-aged maybe that wasn't as big of an issue as I assumed. I'll cross that bridge if it turns out to be false. I'll claim to be an uninformed kid and pray they'll go easy on me.
My phone on the other hand had text messages indicating that I was in contact with one Shizuka who said that they'll be waiting for me at the arrival hall. Hopefully, I can get some answers from her. After reading through bits and pieces of texts, I've gathered that I'm close enough with this person to ask if I can live at their place till I find a place of my own. Examining the device, I marvel at its appearance since I had never seen one before in real life. Nicholas complained about how lucky I was that my first phone was an iPhone. For something made during my big brother's era this was phone was really nice. Despite his stories, it didn't feel so brittle that it could snap if I squeezed it. There even was some apps on it. Music, internet you name it. Not a single game though. Honestly can't see why he complained about this. It even had a touch screen.
Okay then, let's summarize. I'm probably a student considering I check pretty much everything to be one, 12 to 15 years old, pamphlet to an academy, the student visa. Shizuka seems to be some sort of handler for me as I study here in Japan. Despite my earlier worries, I had a 70% chance of exiting immigration no problem and even if I couldn't I just need to act like an ignorant child. I had just enough money to start investing in some shares which will be some way I can make money since I can't get a job. That covered everything important I could think of at this moment. In hindsight, I should have checked the pamphlet since that would have solved all my current problems but hey, I was panicking.
With a vague idea of what to do next, I head towards the immigration counter to see if I could get out of here. Hands were sweaty but I can wear a damn good poker face when I needed to. I could hear my own heart beating as the blood reached to my ears, emanating a pulsating sound only I could hear. To my delight, I was let out with the person at the counter wishing me luck in my entry exam for school. Seems I was correct about being an overseas student who was looking to further his education in Japan. I had questions but it's probably best to keep them to myself for now.
Heading to the baggage claim area I didn't have to wait for long till my suitcase arrived or rather it was waiting for me in the luggage claim section. Turns out I spent an unordinary amount of time in the toilet trying to puke my guts out and being unnerved by my whole ordeal that they had to take my suitcase off the conveyor belt so the next group of disembarks could retrieve theirs. Double checking if it was mine (Baggage tag with my name and serial number), thanking the staff member for retrieving my case, I headed out to the arrival hall to try and spot this Shizuka person who said would be waiting for me. It didn't even take a full minute.
"Ainsley-kun! Over here, over here!"
Turning my head to the voice that called out my last name I spotted a Japanese lady, who had ginger hair, waving at me with a large card with my name written out in English. When our eyes met, the person who I think is Shizuka started to wave harder. Seeing how I was the only person in the area, I safely assume it was me she was waiting for and made my way towards her. She hugged me.
"I was wondering what took you so long. Did you come across some trouble?" Shizuka spoke in Japanese so I assumed that she knew I spoke her language.
"Um, yes. I-I mean no. Kinda? I freaked out when I saw a... dragon in the landing bay." returning her hug I patted her back awkwardly. She giggled which sounded melodious to my old/young(?) ears.
"First time in seeing a hologram of a Duel Monster? I can't say I had the same reaction when I got my vision back." Wait, hologram? Getting her vision back? Did she used to be blind?
"Why yes, thanks to my brother I was able to get the surgery for my eyes to be healed." Oh, I said that out loud? Seeing Shizuka nod her head while giggling again, I registered that I voiced out my thoughts again and cringed. "Still, I'm surprised with how good your Japanese has gotten. Usually I need my brother to translate for me. Here I thought I was going to spend some time teaching you Japanese."
Crap. This time I made an effort to not voice out my thoughts and actively kept them to myself. My assumption of her knowledge in me knowing Japanese was incorrect. Well you know the saying about assuming things. Thankfully I could think on my feet and blurt out a credible excuse with the facts I knew. "Well, I want go to school in Japan so I brushed up in the language. I didn't want to take too much of your time." that was good... I think.
"That's very productive of you! Not a lot of kids your age are so forward thinking and plan that far ahead. Oh! Have you decided whether you'll be staying with us or did you find a place of your own?"
First off, kid? I'm probably twice your age young lady but stopped my indignation seeing how I've been de-aged to my teenage years. Also, us? Like what, with her boyfriend? Normally I'd say no but beggars can't be choosers. "I spent a lot of time thinking about it and if you guys don't mind I would prefer to stay with you and your boyfriend until I can afford to find my own apartment, Miss Shizuka-san."
I seemed to have amused her or maybe giggling was her default response. "That's sweet of you to think so but it's just my older brother and I and you're welcome to stay with us for your entire stay here! It seems you still need to brush up on your Japanese. In this case you should have just said Kawai-san or Shizuka-chan but please, just call me Shizuka. Maybe Shizuka-sensei will be better. We'll be living together from now on and it seems I'll be teaching you after all." She folded her arms and nodded her head when she told me to call her sensei. She looked adorable when, in a certain stance, exuded the image of what she thought was a wise mentor.
I don't need to brush up my Japanese, thank you very much. I lived in Japan for nearly 30 years and if I wasn't fluent by then I would have kicked my own ass. Of all my faults, procrastination is something I do not dtolerate and I do not care for it. I made that slip intentionally to fish out her name. So, First name Shizuka last name Kawai thus being Shizuka Kawai or Kawai Shizuka here in Japan. Thanks for that info, Miss.
After asking if I was hungry, which I said no, she offered to carry my suitcase but I politely refused stating she was doing much for me and the least I could do was carry my own things. She made a pouting face that made me think of Takeo's puppy, saying how despite her size she was strong while curling her nonexistent biceps. Again I politely declined and stopped myself from saying that she couldn't. Since my luggage was unusually heavy. Just what was packed in there? Bricks?
We made our way to the carpark where Miss Kawai said her brother was waiting for us. On the way Shizuka explained about... well things I should have been listening to. I nodded at certain intervals to pretend like I was listening, no offence Miss Kawai but I had other things to think about. Like the fact I completely forgot about seeing a fucking dragon of all things. It's not like I see a mythical creature everyday, Julian!
First off, while she said it in a casual manner like it was a world known fact, I was still stumped about how she stated that the dragon I spotted earlier was in fact a hologram. That looked way too real to be a hologram. It was too high tech, even when compared to the ones back in my time. Also, duel monsters? That was a term I remember hearing from somewhere but just couldn't place where. Speaking of duels, the flight attendant, the one who gifted me with water, explained how there were people dueling below and that word caught my attention mid freak out. Dueling. A word used, by Yu-Gi-Oh players of the hardcore variety, instead of saying playing like a normal person. For a brief second I entertained the idea that I was somehow in the Yu-Gi-Oh world but dismissed it. That would have been too ridiculous of a notion to entertain in my circumstance.
"Oi, Shizuka-chan! Over here! Man, what took you two so long?" Thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone with a voice that reminded me of the various students I came across teaching, possessing similar naturally cocky sounding voices. Looking up I saw the person who called out Shizuka's name. I thought it was weird for a Japanese girl to have auburn colored hair, it was more weird staring at the young man with multi-layered blonde hair stylized in a sporadic manner that looked like it needed an entire tub of hair wax and half a can of hairspray to make it look that way.
It seems my staring amused him somehow. "Hey there punk, I know it's your first time seeing a World Pro but don't just stand there. Help me load up your case into the trunk" I nearly rebuked him for calling me a punk but seeing how I'll be staying at his residence I bit my tongue. Though it seemed Shizuka picked up on how uncomfortable I was feeling.
"Moh Onii-Chan. Don't be rude to Ainsley-kun. He'll be staying with us for the foreseeable future so be nice." With how opposite their personality was, one could wonder how they could be related. Also, a World Pro? of what exactly?
"Ah come off it Shizuka-chan, this is just how men talk to each othe-" There was a sudden shift in emotion within Shizuka's brother as he suddenly became more menacing. "Wha'cha ya mean he's staying with us? Does da little punk think he has a chance with my precious lil' sister?!" Talk about a trigger point because holy fuck was that unexpected!
"I find it rude to be referred to as a punk when I have a name so use it, you imbecile!" It seems with the stress resulting from my current predicament and being faced against an extremely hostile person, I couldn't hold back my temper.
"Hoho, wise guy huh? My beautiful little sister is miles out of ya league! So don't think of any funny ide-" Smack. At the sudden interruption we both turned to the attacker, Shizuka.
"Onii-Chan! How many times did I say you're being too much! Just the other day you went off at another person on the street for simply looking at me!" Seems like I'm dealing with a siscon.
"B-But Shizuka-chan!"
"No buts mister! Apologize to Ainsley-kun and you!" Turning to face me she pointed "I know it's been a long flight but that doesn't mean you can shout at my brother with a dirty mouth. Now make up with each other." Wow. That's some grade A mothering I've seen that I almost said "yes mom" in response, she had a point though. I usually have a better handle on my emotions.
"I... I apologize for my behavior. It has been a long flight and I've been stressing out about my future but that's no excuse since I will be in your care. Though I must state while Miss Shizuka is an attractive woman she is not my type. No offense Shizuka-san" Not too mention too young but that would have been weird without context.
Blushing at my compliment Shizuka looked aside and muttered an "Ara ara" while fluttering her eyes. My apology mollified the both of them, at least it did for her. By contrast, Shizuka's brother emotionally reversed 180 degrees and went from satisfied back to angry.
"Ha?! Ya think you're too good for my sister do ya?! I'll have you know my sister is perfect for any guy! They'd be lucky to have her as a girlfriend!" Damned if I did, damned if I don't. Seriously young man, pick a stance and keep it! Shizuka probably had the same thought as she facepalmed.
"That's it we're having a duel!" Big Whut?
Before I could reply he went back to his car and pulled something out from the back seat and attached it to his... arm... is that a fucking duel disk? and a battle city version at that too!
"Let's settle like this men! You win, I'll let ya stay no problem. Lose and you find your own place to crash!" Was this cheeky little shit seriously settling this with a card game in the carpark? People are starting to look at us and it's embarrassing!
I turned to Shizuka to get her support but she just shook her head. "Once he's in that mood he won't stop. Just duel him and let him have his fun. Don't worry about losing though. He might be a World Pro but just give him a fun challenge and he'll let you stay, he's a big softie like that" Incredulous was the emotion I was currently experiencing.
Trying to back out of this situation I stated that I didn't own a duel disk and asked if we could settle this like adults but I was shot down. By Shizuka's brother no less.
"Oh why didn't you say so. I keep a spare with me. Never know when these things glitch. I swear that pompous rich boy purposely gives me faulty Disks" Turning back to his car he took out a second Duel Disk and tossed it to me. "Here, now we can Duel. Like adults as you said, hehe." I was about say my retort but when I caught the Duel Disk, the unexpected weight of it nearly made my ass kiss the ground. As Shizuka's older brother started to shuffle his deck I stared at the heavy device that was thrown at me.
Heavy? Yes, it was definitely heavier, gratefully not as much, than the prop I had back home. What the hell was this thing made of?! It obviously can't be made of plastic because of the weight. Light metals? But that's ridiculous! Who'd go out of their way to make Duel Disks out of metal?! Seeing how there was no way for me to back out, sighing, I swept my hair back as it had fallen down, when I raised my voice earlier, resulting in my new bangs partially obstructing my view. I pulled out one of my decks from its box in my bag and inserted it in the deck slot of the disk. I secured the device on my arm through the metal arm band which automatically shut itself tightly on my left arm. How did it do that, heat sensors? Jeez, this is way too high tech than necessary.
The moment the arm band secured itself on my arm did the separated "wings" of the Disk suddenly jut out. The 2 split parts connected with each other, slide across to the side then stabilized. Lights flickering to life, the iconic sound effect of the Duel Disk from the anime echoed in the carpark, signaling it was active. My "opponent" raised the arm that held his Disk when suddenly two parts blasted off from the device and landed some distance away from his person. I copied the same gesture and the same happened to me. My eyes went wide when I saw the Life Point display float between the 2 of us.
{Julian} [LP:4000] vs [LP:4000] {Jounochi}
Excuse my language, non-existent audience in my mind, I apologize about all the internal swearing but, WHAT THE FUCK?!
"Daddy! Daddy! Look! There's a duel going on and one of the duelist is Jounochi the World Pro!"
"Oh wow you're right! Honey get the camera! It's Jounochi the Lucky!"
Something in my head clicked when I heard that I was facing this Jounochi who was my opponent. I swear the name was familiar to me but I couldn't place my finger on it.
"Alright punk! You came here to study yeah?! Now let Jounochi-sama coach you how a real duel is done. A student like you should be thankful I'm spending my time doing this with you!" The arrogant blonde bastard actually chuckled. Also referring to yourself as sama? Oh am I gonna enjoy wiping the floor with your face. Annoyingly in my haste, I didn't see what deck I decided to use but I had a high chance that it'll be something I can OTK with. Let me show you how someone like me who spent thousands of dollars on getting meta decks plays this game!
"Duel!" "Duel!" we both screamed out.
"Since I'm a Pro who has some manners I'll take a handicap and let you go first!" Oh my, how generous of you. Lets see you eat those words when I set up an unbreakable board, you blonde haired prick!
Drawing my hand I froze when I saw the cards.
What the? These cards... this was the deck Nicholas gave me! Oh come one! This guy is gonna end me on his turn.
"I'll start by activating this Spell car-" I was interrupted by someone in the audience that we somehow managed to gather. I could feel my right eye twitch since I had a big pet peeve about being interrupted.
"Oi An-Chan! you're supposed to draw first!"
"Yeah dude! What, you're that nervous in dueling against a Pro?"
To my embarrassment that earned some laughter from the spectators but Jounochi surprisingly came to my defense. "Hey back off! The kid just came out of a long flight from the states so he's not feeling it."
That was... kind of him. Not what I expected from someone like him.
"Alright punk, here's an introductory class on Duel Disks. You see that panel next to your Life Points? That's a sensor. It not only scans your deck in order to search out cards but also tells the Disk to lock up so you don't accidentally get more cards than you need." Was that why characters in the show always said "Draw!"? Learn something new everyday and judging by that foreboding feeling I'm sensing I guess I'm about to learn a lot more.
"In order to Draw you have to state it loud enough so the speakers can pick it up. The sensor will lock and unlock accordingly since these babies here can be activated or triggered by voice commands. That goes for Summoning Monsters, Setting/Activating Magic or Traps and using card effects. That's how it automates the holograms with the in-built Solid Vision. Don't worry I'll be coaching ya through the hoops so by the time I'm done with you, you'll be an expert. I know it's your first time using these devices so take your time."
"Wow as expected of a pro!"
"Kyaa, Jounochi-sama is so nice!"
"Tch, teach him a lesson kiddo! he's hogging all the attention from the ladies" Sure enough he was and was flaunting his presence. Shizuka was shaking her head in amusement.
I'm astonished that Jounochi was being so patient with me. Never judge a book by its cover. Alright then young man, you earned some points in my book. Nevertheless... despite seeing a glimpse of the "big softie" as explained by Shizuka, I just couldn't help myself and let my inner Kaiba come out and mercilessly banter back at him. Felt appropriate considering I'm playing Yu-Gi-Oh. How ironic considering when I discover who I facing against.
"Thanks pops, for teaching etiquette to a youngster like me." I quipped. Nice.
"Heh no problemo kidd- wait. Pops?! I'm only 26 ya brat! Still in my prime!" He was 26?! He looked older than I thought. Doesn't even look over 21. Our conversation gained some laughter but someone in the crowd told me to get a move on.
Okay. Take 2. "In that case, I'm Drawing." Taking a card and upping my hand count to 6 I looked over to see what I could do. I had a Pot of Greed which was weird since that was banned. I wasn't going use that in case Jounochi accused me of cheating so I only had 5 useful cards in my hand and 1 dead card. I looked over the other cards. D.D. Warrior, D.D. Warrior Lady, Compulsory Evacuation Device, D.D. Scout Plane and Dimensional Fissure. The last card was no Macro Cosmos but it'll have to do. Time to set my board up and stall. "I'll first Summon a Monster facedown then activate the Spell card Dimensional Fissure. Now with this out, any Monster sent to graveyard is Banished instead. Setting 1 card face down in the back row I end my turn."
By Setting D.D. Scout Plane down in the middle of the Monster zone did the large hologram image of the back side of my card materialize in front of me. Setting Dimensional Fissure face up to the left of my Monster in the Spell/Trap zone with Compulsory Evacuation to its right, I made my cards form a reversed v shape because I liked having my board aesthetically pleasing to my eyes. A void ripped through space time to my left where I placed the card in the Duel Disk. The emptiness of space formed and sucked in the air around it. My hidden Trap card on the other hand materialized normally and was quite anticlimactic to watch compared to what I just witnessed previously. I was staring at the special visual effects of my Continuous Spell card when Jounochi's voice brought my attention to reality.
"Hehe, it's a sight seeing these cards come to life for the first time through Solid Vision, huh? Not sure if that Set card is an Instant Magic card or a Trap but when you want to use it, press the button that should be lit up." I'm assuming by buttons he means the 5 black rectangular ones behind the duel disk. Mostly because the 4th button to the right, where my Trap was similarly Set in the Spell/Trap Zone, was lighting up in a warm yellow glow. This Duel Disk is every Yu-Gi-Oh LARPer's wet dream come true. This is a lot more realistic than in the anime. I wonder if the characters also had to act the same but wasn't shown because of saving the limited time on air. The implication of the Disk didn't hit me until well after this Duel but that's a story for later.
"I get that you're dazzled by the Disk but we got an audience to entertain. My turn then! Draw! Though Spell card? Not sure if its lingo from the states but here we refer them as Magic cards! Let me show how Dueling is done in Japan!"
From his hand he showed me the same Spell card, or rather a Magic card, that I had in my hand. The Pot of Greed! Isn't it banned though? Judging by Jounochi's and the crowds face, it was a no. That was curious.
"From my hand I activate the Magic card Pot of Greed allowing me to Draw 2 additional cards to my hand!" The hologram of said card appeared and it looked gross to look at. It grinned at me then the image of the backside of 2 cards shot out from it's hole. There's an innuendo somewhere but I was too busy being disturbed by the imagery in front of me to make a joke.
Drawing 2 cards, Jounochi immediately went onto the offensive. "I then activate the Magic card Gather! Landstar Force!. This allows me to Special Summon as many Level 3 or lower Landstar's from my hand to the field in ATK Mode. Come on out Comrade Swordsman of Landstar! Along with Knight and Rifleman of Landstar!" What came out onto Jounochi's side of the field were 3 goofy looking humanoids in what looked to be Dungeons and Dragon outfits. That of a typical starting adventurer's outfit, a knight's and a magical marksman's respectively.
Comrade Swordsman of Landstar
[ATK:500/DEF:1200 - LEVEL 3 EFFECT - EARTH WARRIOR]
Knight of Landstar
[ATK:1000/DEF:1200 - LEVEL 3 NORMAL - EARTH WARRIOR]
Rifleman of Landstar
[ATK:900/DEF:1200 - LEVEL 3 NORMAL - EARTH WARRIOR]
3 Special Summons?! I would have been impressed if their stats were high but the strongest ATK was 1000 and that belonged to the knight. My mind went into overdrive as I thought of the possible outcomes. They all had the same Level, which was 3, and if he chose to XYZ Summon I would be in a tough spot. What Rank 3 could he bring out? Shark Kaiser? If he detached a Material it would buff up his Monster from 1800 ATK to 2000 ATK but I have a Trap card to counter it. Perhaps a Link Monster? I barely know any from that format so I would be blind against them. What should I do? What should I do!?
"Since I have yet to Normal Summon... I Sacrifice 3 of my Landstars to Tribute Summon Gilford The Lightning!"
Tribute what?
A flash of lightning blinded my vision and from the shining white light I could see the dark silhouette of a really ripped dude in plate armor wielding a vicious looking longsword. He swiped his sword across the air and like the badass that this Monster looked like, it dispersed the blinding light into particles from my sight and there on the field was a Monster of...
GILFORD THE LIGHTNING
[ATK:2800/DEF:1400 - LEVEL 8 EFFECT - LIGHT WARRIOR]
"Don't get comfortable, punk. Since I was able to successfully Tribute Summon Gilford I get to use his special ability. To destroy all Monster onto the field! Lightning Crash!"
...Did he really just shout out the name of an special move like an anime character?
The bladesman in front of me plunged his sword into the ground beneath him. Its sword channeled thunder like a lightning rod and a bolt of white electricity came crashing down hitting the sword. Webs of lightning crackled across the floor and one of them hit my face down Monster which then shattered like glass.
On my arm blade of the Duel Disk, the panel that held D.D. Scout Plane turned red which I took it to mean that it was destroyed. Picking it up I place the card in my pocket since, with Dimensional Fissure in play, all Monster cards are Banished instead of going to the Graveyard. It went in my pocket because I could not spot if there was a Banish Zone on the disk. Jounochi even nodded when I gave him an uncertain look. Still, 2800 ATK. I still have a turn even if he were to hit me directly.
"Then I activate the Equipment magic card D.D Revival! I discard 1 card and since it ain't a Monster it goes to the Graveyard." He slid his chosen discard into the Graveyard slot of the Disk which consumed the card. "What did you call it again? Banish? I like that term so I'll borrow it off of ya! Now, I get to retrieve one of my Monsters that was Banished and Special Summon it in ATK Mode. I chose Comrade Swordsman of Landstar! Come back to the field!"
1 of the cards he Released to Advance Summon Gilford came back to the field. The way it returned was kind of awesome to see. There was a slash creating an expanding torn distortion in Space-Time, which slowly opened and once there was enough space, the goofy looking creature in simple Adventurer's clothing jumped out onto the field. Calculating the total damage I was about to receive I let out a sigh of relief when it only came to 3300. Not too bad I suppose. Next turn if I draw a dead card I can still survive if I use my trap card, unless he summoned another Monster.
"I honestly wasn't expecting this kind of level of dueling from you, kid. Didn't even last more than a single turn, I was expecting more." Wait what? I know I'm a bit slow in Maths but I'm pretty sure I calculated his cards correctly. "Comrade's special ability allows all Warrior Class Monsters I control to gain 500 ATK. Totaling up the damage you're about to receive to 4200." My eyes widen when I saw both of Jounochi's Monsters gain an additional 500 ATK each.
Comrade Swordsman of Landstar
[ATK:1000(500 PLUS 500 via Comrade's Effect)/DEF:1200 ]
GILFORD THE LIGHTNING
[ATK:3200(2800 PLUS 500 via Comrade's Effect)/DEF:1400]
Looks like I gonna have to activate my Trap card except before I could even reached for the button Jounochi surprised me. "That Reverse card you Set is probably something that will stop me attacking you or you negating any Battle Damage received so, sorry about this. I activate the Instant Magic card Cyclone."
Jounochi activated a card that looked like...Mystical Space Typhoon... Why'd he call it Cyclone? Wait. Shit! That means! Like I'll let you! I will not accept an outcome where I get OTK'd involving that goofy looking fuck! I slammed the glowing button to activate my Set card.
"In response I activate my Trap card Compulsory Evacuation Device, targeting your Gilford so that it Bounces back to your hand!" The ginormous device from the artwork of my card springs out into existence and swallowed Gilford while only to immediately shoot him out skywards.
"Ha! Not bad, kid. Looks like you'll survive after all. You'll still be taking some damage though! Go, Comrade Swordsman!" Said goofy looking fuck which nearly got involved in defeating yours truly, lunged at me and slashed. I was man enough to admit I got scared at the sight of a horrifyingly convincing sword coming at me and let out a yelp in fear. Realizing that I did not feel any pain I could feel my cheeks go hot from embarrassing myself.
{Julian} [LP:3000 (DC:4000 - 1000)] vs [LP:4000] {Jounochi}
Jounochi sensed how I felt and once again defended my actions. "Hey kid, don't worry about your reaction. These holograms look so real sometimes we forget that they can't actually hurt us. Trust me, even Pros like me can forget that. Hell, a Duelist like my buddy Yugi would also flinch at times."
...
"My buddy Yugi." Echoed in my head. I then looked at Jounochi and I mean really looked at him.
Yugi AKA the name of the Original Main Character from the 1st Yu-Gi-Oh anime.
"I can't believe I didn't see it before..." My voice was so soft and quiet I bet you'd had to stand right next to me to hear what I said.
I don't remember much of the story as I used to but I still knew that Yugi had a clique of friends that would hang with him. One who, quite suddenly, I could easily seeing his guy being.
Staring at Jounochi, I took in the way he looked. The way his bangs are slightly hanged out in front of him.
"...He too was over protective of his sister who once was blind..."
How I could see a sudden split at the highest arc of his hair. That his clothes were near similar to what he wore in the Duelist Kingdom season, green denim jacket white shirt and jeans.
Chuckling mirthlessly "..In all fairness... I never did watch it subbed..."
The fact that he used Gilford of the fucking Lightning which was one of his ace cards.
"...Of all the things that could screw me over... not remembering the original show wasn't even in the top 10." Seriously, just what the hell is going on right now.
"Come on, punk. It's your turn."
"To think... I'd meet Joey Wheeler right here and now ... and nearly get OTK'd by him."
Normally, I'd probably be flabbergasted and would actually be fascinated in meeting a character I've only seen on the laptop. But I digress 'cause you see I wAS ALMOST BEATEN BY JOEY FUCKING WHEELER'S SWORDSMAN OF THE FUCKING LANDSTAR!
"MY TURN YOU PRICK! DRAW!" If I was paying attention I would have realized that I had switched to English instead of Japanese, which I had been speaking with till now. Also that he understood what I said and replied with "What did he just call me?".
If I was paying attention I would have seen the reaction of the crowd who got surprised by how quickly I became angry over something that flew over their heads. I would have also spotted that Shizuka, or how I knew her as Serenity, blink rapidly before raising an eyebrow. But, again I reiterate, I was too angry to pay attention. This, my non existent audience, is because I used a very angry kid when I was a teenager. Oh am I going to enjoy going through puberty again. I can already feel the part of my brain that uses sarcasm celebrate in being used after so many years of disuse.
"During your End Phase I activate D.D. Scout Plane's effect! Since it got Banished from my side of the field I can Special Summon it back." I slammed D.D. Scout Plane in ATK position where it used to be. This time I didn't bother in marveling at the materialization. "Then I play Pot of Greed! You know what it does so I Draw 2!" In hindsight, I didn't need to aggressively Draw the cards but, I can't stress this enough, I was angry.
I glanced at my drawn cards. ROTA and Zaborg. Good.
"Then I play Reinforcement from the Army from my hand which allows me to search 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior class Monster and add it directly to my hand. I choose D.D. Survivor!" Sliding ROTA into a Spell/Trap slot, the hologram image of the D.D. Survivor card jumped out of the 2nd materialized Spell and flew into my hand. Whoever designed these holograms must be rich as hell cause they were really creative and fun to watch. From the deck slot a single card was ejected out, it didn't sent it out into the air thankfully but stook out halfway lodged in my deck, allowing me to easily pick out my selected card. Pulling out D.D. Survivor and placing it in my hand I was about to ask how do I let it shuffle my deck when the words "SHUFFLE!" appeared on my Life Point panel. I felt a short vibration and saw that my deck slightly came loose. Assuming I can now take out my deck, a quick tug pulled it out, I shuffled my deck before re-slotting my deck which got tightly locked in place. "SCANNING!" - "Set" - [3000 LP]
"Then I release D.D. Scout Plane to Advance Summon Zaborg The Thunder Monarch!" I removed Scout Plane from the field and replaced it with Zaborg by slamming it down in ATK position. I find it extremely amusing how I summoned my own lightning themed Monster after I punted Joey's off the board. It even had a similar effect.
The Emperor of Thunder appeared on my field akin to Gilford. In a flash of lightning, there my Monster stood in all its glory. Right arm reaching for the sky, a bolt of electricity was grasped in his hand, Zaborg slammed his hands together, folding them and with great effort he slowly drew his arms away from one another and in between them an arc of lightning crackled.
ZABORG THE THUNDER MONARCH
[ATK:2400/DEF:1000 - LEVEL 6 EFFECT - LIGHT WARRIOR]
"If the Advance Summoning was a success I get to activate it's Monster effect. I target Comrade Swordsman to destroy it!"
"Thunder Crush"
What the.
I stopped as I looked around to see who said that. The people spectating my turn were confused when I start frantically looking around me.
Weird.
I swore I heard someone say...
Is... Is Zaborg looking at me? Why yes he was. I somehow could feel his annoyance at my behavior from the look of his posture. Did... Was he the one that spoke to me? He nods...
... Okay that was really fucking creepy.
"...Thunder Crush?"
As soon as I utter those words, Zaborg charged up the lightning arc between his hands turning it purple and shot it straight at Joey's Monster. I could literally hear the voice of Papa Palpatine screaming "UNLIMTED! POOWAAAAAAH!"
Comrade Swordsman's hologram shatters like glass from the result of getting shocked in the literal sense. The dust that remained got swept up into the dimensional tear of my spell card. Did that always happen?
"Woah! Damn, kid! That's a pretty sweet move!"
Without even realizing, I already spat back. "Sweet this! Zaborg! Direct Attack!
"Rolling Thunder"
Would you stop that!
"Rolling Thunder!"
Clad in an electrical aura, Zaborg charged at Joey and slammed him in the gut. Everyone, including me, winced at how vicious the attack looked. Just like Joey said earlier, despite actually receiving no pain, he flinched.
"I end my turn. At my end phase, I activate Scout Plane's Effect. Since it was Banished I can Special Summon it back. In ATK Position unfortunately." Placing back my Release Fodder once again in my Monster zone, I passed the turn to Joey. If I could keep this up I should be able to beat him next turn.
"Gah! Talk about a lightning fast counter, that was a quick turn around rookie! Heh, let's see how I react. Draw."
{Julian} [LP:3000] vs [LP:1600 (DC:4000-2400)] {Jounochi}
"Nice! I immediately play Treasure from the Heavens. We get to Draw cards until both of us have 6 cards in hand."
...
That can't be a legal card. No wait, screw that. What were the chances he drew the exact card he needed to regain the advantage? A max potential plus 6 with no downside cost to activate it? How is that legal!? Can't really complain since it allows me to bulk up my hand resources. I drew 3 more while Joey drew 5. I shudder when I think of how many doors just opened up for him.
"Sweet! I summon Iron Knight, Gearfried in ATK Mode. He ain't staying for long, since next I play the Magic card Restraint Release! By Sacrificing Gearfried via this card I can Special Summon Sword Saint, Naked Gearfried!"
Things happened simultaneously my brain rebooted itself when I heard the word "Naked". 1) The creature that earned the epithet of the Iron Knight appeared but was kneeling.
2) When Joey's spell activated, the Iron Knight's armor started to glow. 3) When the card of... *shudder* Naked Gearfried revealed itself on the field, a few small pieces of the Iron Knight's armor fell off before the rest blasted off him and where the Knight in Iron once kneeled, stood a beefcake of a warrior. Despite being called Naked Gearfried, I was relieved to see that this creature wore a loincloth. Now that I wasn't about to be flashed upon I observed the creature Joey summoned.
Sword Saint, Naked Gearfried
[ATK: 2600/DEF: 2200 - LEVEL 7 EFFECT - LIGHT WARRIOR
200 points higher than my Zaborg which was bad. For me.
"Then I play the Equipment Magic card Legendary Sword and have Gearfried wield it which will boost his ATK and DEF up by 300." Gearfried's stat counter raised up to 2900 ATK and 2500 DEF respectively as he unsheathed a blade.
Crap.
"Now that I Equipped him with an item I can Activate his effect! When Equipped with a magic card, he gets to target 1 of your Monsters and destroy it!"
Double Crap.
"I choose your Zaborg! Revenge for Gilford!" Next thing I knew, Gearfried was already standing next to my Monster who stumbled back as if it got hit. Zaborg slowly got separated into pieces like he'd been carved up. Before the Monarch's remains hit the ground, it got sucked into the vortex of my spell card.
"Gearfried! Attack Scout Plane from a Different Dimension! Legendary Slash!" In a single swift move, the Conan look-a-like sliced through the machine's body and the metal machine got sucked into the void as well.
D.D. Scout Plane (Lose) ATK:800 vs (Win) ATK:2900 Sword Saint Gearfried
{Julian} [LP:900 (3000-2100)] vs [LP:1600] {Jounochi}
Grimacing, I noted how the tables were turned against me as the cheers of the crowd reached a crescendo. Joey ended his turn without setting a face down. I did the same dance of re-summoning Scout Plane in ATK Position.
"Draw." With my temper cooling off, I had noticed that my bangs had fallen down again to which I swept them back up. Taking a deep breath to focus my mind, I reviewed my hand. I now had 7 cards, thanks to Joey's card which I still think is bullshit, which consisted of Warrior, Warrior Lady, Survivor and Crow of D.D., Raigeki Break and Sakuretsu Armor. I was able to draw Golden Homunculus just now but I would need to start Banishing Monsters and make them stay there. 1 of my Traps would help with that nicely.
"I summon a Monster in DEF Position face down as well as Shift Scout Plane into DEF Position. I'll Set 2 cards then end my turn. Your move." 2 Monsters to block against a Direct Attack and 2 Trap cards as backup in case Joey can wipe my board again.
"... I see you're finally taking this seriously. Well then, I'll oblige. Draw."
I was not expecting that... Should I start a counter to see just how many times I've been thinking that this past hour?
"You're using [Different Dimension] cards which focuses on Removing enemy cards from play. Knowing that, those are Trap cards probably to protect you if I destroy your Monsters."
"Heh, who says the cards I've set are Traps. Maybe they aren't and I'm just bluffing." Please buy that excuse.
"Nah. Seeing how you Duel, bluffing doesn't seem to be your style." I mean, he's right but how the hell did he figure that out in such a short time span? We barely spent that long Dueling. Oh great, you got me saying "Dueling" instead of "Playing". How Wonderful. "I'm going to use Giant Trunade which will send all of your backrow back to your hand." Aw Hell No.
"Reverse card, open! I respond with Raigeki Break! By discarding a card from my hand I then get to destroy 1 of your Monsters. I choose Gearfried and since it gets destroyed before Trunade sends Fissure back to my hand, both our cards gets Banished instead!" As long as Gearfried isn't in play I'm okay with Fissure coming off the field.
"True but can you deal with Gilford coming back?"
Huh? Oh. Oooooooooooh... Aaaaaah Hell to the capital N O. Was original Yu-Gi-Oh game format this fast?
"I play Graceful Charity, I get to draw 3 more cards into my hand then discard 2." Sending 2 cards to the Graveyard, another monster first with Gilford following it after, Joey then proceeded to bring back his Gilford as promised. I couldn't see what he sent first and I didn't get the chance to internally theorize. "Now, I use Resurrection of the Dead and from the grave. Rise, Gilford!" The dreaded swordsman literally rose from the ground like a zombie. His eyes came to life when lightning flashed within them. "I summon Swift Strike Samurai in ATK Mode." A creature that resembled Bomberman in samurai armor manifested next to Gilford.
Swift Strike Samurai
[AT:500/DEF:800 - LEVEL 2 EFFECT - WIND WARRIOR]
That wasn't enough to even run over Scout Plane but seeing how it's an Effect Monster...
"Battle! First, Gilford will attack your Scout Plane with Swift Strike Samurai attacking your face down Monster!" My facedown is D.D. Warrior who has 1000 DEF and will Banish any Monster that battled against it. What I found weird was why was he attacking with such a low ATK Monster. Like it's name, I received a swift answer as to why.
"I know that's a D.D. Monster but Samurai gets to destroy any face down card he faces before it even Flips or enters the Damage Calculation. Say farewell to your D.D. Monster." Crouching in an Iai-jutsu stance, Samurai drew its blade out so fast its movement moved like a whip. Sheathing its blade until the tsuba clinked with the scabbard, did my face down D.D. Warrior get shredded into pieces. "With that I set 1 Reversed card and end my turn."
"Draw." Yes! I can already see the tombstone etching, "Here lies Gilford, death by irony!". "I activate Lightning Vortex! I discard a card which then allows me to activate its effect. Along with your Swift Strike Samurai, return to the grave Gilford!" Dark clouds formed rapidly above Joey's Monsters. The clouds turning pitch black, a massive lightning bolt thundered down and struck both Gilford and Samurai, destroying all Monsters on Joey's side of the field.
"Haha! Now this is what I was expecting! Shizuka-chan was right. You really are a duelist who likes to shock and awe your opponents!"
An authentic smile formed on my lips I said "Oh yeah? Did she also mention that I'm about to kick your ass to kingdom come, "old man"?"
"Bring it on, brat! You're about a hundred years too early to defeat me! Give me your best shot!"
Fired up, I continued on by prepping up my board to Summon Golden Homunculus before Joey... No. Jounochi got to summon his Signature Ace Monster... Would it sound weird when I say I wanted to see Jounochi's big black dragon?
HA!
Phrasing.
Turn 1 - Was I just Transmigration Summoned? - End.
Hello~ A few things I wanted to let you guys know. Don't worry, end notes won't be as long as this one.
I have a hard describing appearances so if you had a hard time picturing what Julian's hair looked like, I took inspiration from Vergil from DMC5 (Both hair up and down). His look came recommended by a friend and I fell in love with him that I even took his mannerism of swiping his hair back when he got motivated (badumtss) and gave it to Julian.
Speaking of descriptions...
Did you guys notice how at the beginning of the duel it was clunky and over descriptive? That was by design. I wanted to show just how out of place Julian was at that moment by having the narrative be over dramatic but as the duel went on and he got more focused, the writing started to streamline.
I even made sure that while Julian called cards in their TCG name, Jounochi/Joey called his out in OCG. You know since Julian is from America and "Joey" is from Japan? I'll be calling people by their Japanese names in this story, even if typing them out will be a hassle for me, mostly because of something that will be revealed later. I promise it's something mundane and I wanted to keep things realistic.
("But if the Duel Disk is voice activated, how can it know what card to create holograms for if the name's different?" you ask? Part of the mundane reason so wait for the next chapter.)
I thought that was a pretty smart idea but I am worried if people got annoyed by that writing mechanic. Let me know what you thought because I still want to do some things like descriptive summonings. Don't worry about every duel being that descriptive, I'll save that for when I get to bust out big/ace Monsters.
Also you notice how Julian took some time to realize that he was meeting Serenity and Joey Wheeler? This was written that way because Julian is more familiar of the game than the show. Also from his point of view they look like real people so there's that.
With that being said, since Julian isn't an aficionado of the show he won't have every single piece of in-universe knowledge of GX. Spoilers - (99999heonlyknowsthemainplotpointsofthetimeline99999) - End of Spoilers. It would have been different if he landed in 5D's however. Certain things are going to change drastically and somethings remaining the same despite his unknowing efforts.
Let me know your thoughts because I could always do with some proper criticism. Again, some comments maybe ignored because I don't want to spoil certain things I'm planning or if the comment is just a flame.
Here are some examples of types that will be ignored:
"Wow another SI stories. How original, you hack."
Reasons: Not a criticism but a complaint. If you don't like what I'm writing maybe wait for some more chapters to be release and read it again since everything I write down has a purpose. If you still don't like it you can just drop it so I get less views (High view counts are something that keep me happy).
Also things that I already stated in previous story chapters or in author's notes will contain information I want you to know going forward so please read those. For example, I said before that Julian and I have barely anything in common. The only thing we have is having out first name start with J. I will ignore any comments about Julian being an alter-ego of me since he's definitely not. He ain't even the opposite. If there's a demand for it I'll reveal how I designed him.
To those who skip author's notes: I will be occasionally explaining things A-la Word of God trope. Don't worry I will mark it, "Spoilers - (99999_99999) - End of Spoilers" like above so you can skip it and have a chance in guessing it for yourself or if you want it to be revealed to you naturally and not by some chick who can't keep her mouth shut.
Examples of types that will be considered:
"I don't really like stories involving SI characters as authors tend to make them OP as they can get character blind with their protagonists. Even an OC like yours is susceptible to becoming OP out of nowhere just so that you do not want them to suffer. It's because you connected with them by, having them be a Self-Insert or slowly self-inserting your traits in them (or whatever else type of self inserting) that you can miss some chances in making good story telling or let their character grow. No one likes a Mary Sue unless they want to read a power fantasy fic."
Reasons:
Something coherent as this will get my attention and make me see if you have a point. I am trying to improve my writing. Even if it's written in a more harsher tone or not as long as that, I will try to see it from your perspective and not outright dismiss it cause the way you communicated your point irritated me. 50/50 chance of dismissal if your comment bares a hostile tone. Don't need that crap.
Now to Reviewer Comments.
I shall only respond to comments that I want to reply to. If it gets to the point of having too many people saying "Great stuff!" or "Waiting for next chapter!" or something similiar (I wish it could get to that point) I will throw a blanket "Thank You" to those people.
Zet4:
Happy to hear that you are as well. The deck situation will be handled in the next chapter (Turn 3) so you won't have to wait for (too) long.
Zero Slash One:
I was not aware of that, I'll try to be more self-conscious about it next chapter, thank you for letting me know.
Review Corner: Over
See you next time~
Edit note - JAN 24th 2021: Monster stats and LP Counter format change and fixing continuity errors.
