Surprise! Hey everyone, welcome to the next chapter! It's about time right? :D
Ch. 38: First Match of the Friendship Cup
"Now, the opening match duelists will make their entrance!" Melissa Claire exclaimed out over the sounds of fireworks constantly going off. Despite the fact that it was the middle of the day and everyone was more focused on the duels no one really seemed to care as the crowd cheered excitedly. "Let's cheer for Crow Hogan and Gongenzaka Noboru!"
"Whoo yeah! Let's go Gongenzaka you've got this!" Yuya cheered from his place in the contestant's duel tower. Whooping, hollering, and throwing his hands in the air cheering for his best friend with as much gusto as the tomato haired teen could give.
"We believe in you Gongenzaka." Yuzu, while not as loud or showy as Yuya, was also showing her support as much as possible while still having a polite manner for those around her.
The group of Lancers left within the building had decided that instead of returning to their rooms like how the Executive High Council expected they'd stay in the main living area and watch the duels together. While Yuzu and Yuya were happy to say that it'd be like a bonding experience for the team there were two other reasons why the group decided to do this altogether. One was simply the fact that no one wanted to really be alone in this huge lavishly decorated yet empty tower. While the second was the constant feeling of being watched in their rooms. At least in the main living area the Lancers could suffer the feeling of being observed together and feel more safe with their teammates around.
Though, the bonding was somewhat spoiled by Sylvio's sulking. "I can't believe they didn't choose me first as the opening act." The Lancer threw his hands down onto the couch cushion underneath him with a loud muffled slap. "I mean, that Melissa Claire has to be absolutely mad not to put me, the great Sylvio Sawatari, in the opening match for this tournament!"
"Maybe she did it because she knows you're just full of hot air." Yugo said cheekily. Leaning into Sylvio's personal space and onto the teen's shoulder. "I mean, I haven't really seen a lot of action from you, but you seem like a type of guy who's always full of-"
"Ahhh! Shut up shut up shut up!" Sylvio lightly shoved Yugo back, who obliged with a big cheeky grin. Brown hair flew wildly as Sylvio quickly shook his head. "I don't know what rubbish you're spewing! I'm Sylvio Sawatari, and I'm the greatest duelist on the Lancers. You're the one that's talking with hot air!" Sylvio sneered suddenly, getting right into Yugo's face which had stopped smiling at Sylvio's sudden change in demeanor. "At least I'm not the one that got their name confused with fusion, so who's the fool now?"
"Hey!" Yugo objected hotly. That being a somewhat sensitive subject for the banana banged duelist. "It's not my fault that the Japanese saying for fusion resembles my own name so closely!" That somewhat slow conversation was a tough one the rest of the Lancers had to give to Yugo slowly.
No, no one meant to incorrectly call him fusion, but since most everyone here used English and Japanese interchangeably sometimes it was all just a mix up. Yugo was one of the people who spoke both English and Japanese very fluently. So, he thought that everyone was just poking fun at his name when really they were referring to Academia and those that conspired with them.
"Okay guys, why don't we just calm down before any fists start flying. Okay? He he he." Dennis chuckled lightly under his breath as he got between the two rather hot headed individuals. Though the bright, curly orange haired teen knew neither side would risk a fight lest they both get disqualified or lose their privileges to staying outside of their rooms.
Neither boy wanted to risk Zero's true ire if the masked man learned that they had completely unraveled all that he had worked so hard to get.
"Yeah, pipe down will ya?" Shinji injected swiftly. Leaning forward in his chair and closer towards the TV as Crow and Gongenzaka rushed out into the stadium on their respective D-Wheels. While Gongenzaka was certainly rather shaky on his own D-Wheel, Crow thankfully got to keep and use his own which had a sigh of relief rushing out of Shinji's frame. With that info he'd probably get to use his own D-Wheel when he battled in the tournament as well. "They just entered the stadium, and I want to watch Crow win."
At that declaration Yuya laughed lightly. "Ha! Yeah right, I'm sure Gongenzaka has this in the bag!"
"I don't know about that, Yuya." Tokumatsu hummed as he watched the two duelists get prepared for the start of their battle. "You may be underestimating Crow and his ability to Synchro Summon."
"Oh, are you sure about that? Because our buddy Gong can just so happen to Synchro Summon as well!" Sylvio suddenly turned away from his bickering with Yugo to push that statement in.
As most of the group once more decided to start picking sides and placing bets Shun sat against the back of the long couch. Arms crossed tightly across his blue trench coat and yellow eyes narrowed towards the big double doors of the contestant's tower. As if he glared at it hard enough the door will melt off of its locked hinges.
"Are you worried about them?" Yellow eyes snapped from the door towards Serena who was walking to stand beside Shun. Her own arms crossed and forest green eyes showing silent worry herself. Despite not being in the upcoming Friendship Cup battle her duel disk was strapped onto her arm just waiting to be activated.
That was alright, Shun's own duel disk was strapped onto his own arm and hidden beneath his crossed arms as well. He could certainly respect Serena's preparations should something possibly go wrong, which was rather likely if you threw a certain masked man into the equation.
"Zero attracts trouble like a damn magnet. It's not a matter of if, but more of a matter of when trouble starts up again." Shun grumbled lowly. Not so low as to where Serena couldn't hear him, but low enough that the others wouldn't catch on and start to worry themselves.
"From what I've seen so far from this journey I'm not surprised." Serena deadpanned. Both occupants looking at the door now rather than the TV unlike the rest of the Lancers. "I kind of expected it honestly."
Shun said nothing to her comment. Instead he idly tapped his finger against his forearm as he waited for his sister, best friend, and leader to return from outside the contestant tower. The Raidraptor duelist wasn't mad at Zero for not choosing him to come along and play bodyguard. Besides, Shun probably couldn't have helped himself to start up a certain conversation that needed to stay very private after an hour or so, and that probably wouldn't have been a good thing to talk about in front of Jack Atlas of all people.
Not to mention they were basically being stalked by the High Executive Council and Jean-Michel Roger. Very bad time to start a conversation.
No, it wasn't the fact that Yuto and Ruri were out there either. Not the fact that he couldn't protect them from the rapidly increasing threats of not only Academia but the people within the Synchro Dimension itself.
It was the fact that he was stuck in here, waiting. That Shun couldn't do a damn thing but stare at a TV screen, rest, or eat food. If there was one thing Shun could confidently say he despised it was a hundred percent waiting. Waiting meant something big, something horrible was going to happen.
Shun didn't like it. He didn't like this waiting, this sitting and doing nothing while his fellow Xyz fighters were out, and he most certainly didn't like nor trust this entire damn tournament.
"Friendship Cup." Shun scoffed mockingly under his breath so softly that even Serena could barely catch it. Molten yellow eyes narrowed into an even darker glare than before. "Tck, yeah right."
. . .
"Enter right this way sir. We've arrived at the throne room." One of the four Executive Security guards mumbled softly under his breath as he lightly speed walked over to the huge crystal double doors in the hallway. Whether that tone of voice was from respect or fear of Zero no one was really sure, but Zero himself sure as hell didn't really care. He just wanted this all to be over already.
He didn't feel like lounging around in a chair stuck in awkward silence for hours on end. That, and he had a very important conversation with Shun that needed to be had.
However, there was no other way around it, and so Zero found himself with no choice other than to just suck it up and accept it.
As the crystal blue doors leading into the throne room opened with a loud creak Zero, Yuto, and Ruri all stepped into the room in near unison. The High Executive Security guards decided it would be best to stand guard outside the room and by the door rather than be inside personally. There was a reason the masked revolutionary brought two of his Lancers along, and it wasn't to just lounge around lazily.
There just a couple feet down a very expensive red persian rug were two big, tall blue crystalline chairs that couldn't be seen as anything other than thrones. Intricate patterns weaved of gold spun around the chairs' arms and back rest while a rather lashive, near exaggerated fluffed purple pillow sat on the seat. A soft sheet of lighter purple fabric trailing down from the top of the chair and onto the floor. Overall the thing seemed rather over the top for just a chair, and it probably cost more than what Zero ever made when he gambled back at home.
The seat to the right was empty, but the left one was clearly taken by none other than the City's duel king himself Jack Atlas. The blonde showed he had no problems or discomforts with the expensive luxuries around him as he stared outside the thick, light blue tinted windows. Unlike the awed looks from Yuto and Ruri as they spun around to gaze about the entire room Jack looked extremely bored actually. As Zero slowly walked up to sit down within his obviously designated chair, masked dichromatic eyes looked up into neutral, bored violet.
Between the two duelists was a small intricate glass table built of sterling silver with slightly fogged up crystal carefully chiseled as its glass. On top of that table were two things. One was a bowl studded in various colorful and priceless gems filled with freshly picked fruits for snacks. The second was a wooden carved chess set made of smooth, flawless white birch for the white side and mahogany for the black side with ivory highlighting the details.
Clearly, the Executive Council figured out that Zero liked to play chess. Though, it wasn't as if he was trying to hide that fact. It was kind of obvious really.
The black king was backed into a corner, surrounded on all sides by white pieces.
There Jack sat in his chair, finger tapping idly against his throne's armchair. One leg crossed over at the knee and a bored expression on the king's face as he laid his head on the other hand's knuckles. Zero, deciding to act as his usual brazen self against most higher authority that didn't deserve power, decided to do something different. The rebellious revolutionary sat in his seat sideways so that his legs went over one end of the throne's armchair while his elbows helped keep the masked man somewhat upright. Eventually, after gawking at all the rich things around them Yuto and Ruri noticed there weren't any seats meant for them. The two looked at each other in silent communication before turning to Zero. Only for both to give him an 'are you serious right now?' look at the sight of how Zero was sitting.
.
.
.
Time flew by at a near torturous, agonizingly slow pace. It felt like it was physically killing everybody in the room, yet at the same time nobody dared to utter a single word.
That bored expression on Atlas' face was turning into one that was more put off as minutes went by in pure silence.
Finally, someone couldn't take the silence any longer and spoke. "Are there any chairs for us to sit in while we watch the matches?" It was Yuto.
Being his chivalrous self the Xyz user had taken off his cape and folded it so that Ruri could use it as a cushion as they both sat on the floor. Both clearly knew there wasn't a threat around and that the place was safe, so their bodyguarding was pointless. Though, it would be nice to have chairs to sit in and be freaking level to the other two occupants in the room. Ruri didn't really mind, and showed her appreciation to Yuto's silent show of affection by laying her head on his shoulder. A nice hum of content slowly rising up from her frame that got a dust of pink blushing from Yuto's normally somewhat pale cheeks.
"The answer to that seems rather obvious." Zero stated bluntly, but seconds after gave a light hum and rubbed the bottom of his masked chin. The act lasted for a few measly seconds before the masked revolutionary threw a careless hand out to the side. "I'm sure the guards outside of the door would be more than willing to get you and Ruri some chairs if you just went and asked. Of course with the added benefit of my word as well."
Seeing their leader acting more haughty and aloof than usual Yuto and Ruri both exchanged silent glances. With that silent communication both teens wordlessly rolled their eyes and Yuto quietly got up to his feet and walked back towards the door. "Yeah, it's not like they're terrified of you or anything after what happened during the exhibition match." He said sarcastically.
The rest of the Xyz user's words were lowered as he made it to the door and spoke to the guards outside. Not that anyone was really interested in hearing what Yuto was saying to the guards.
"Guards." Instantly, whatever conversation Yuto was having with the Executive Security guards was carelessly disregarded to the side as the two men dressed in stiff, stark white rushed into the room and bowed at the waist towards Jack Atlas. The blonde king of the City merely flicked his purple eyes towards their way for a split second before looking back out the window. "Go bring me some tea. Freshly brewed and with a single spoonful of honey, now."
"Right away your majesty!" With their orders given, the two guards were rushing out of the room and barrelling right past an incredulous Yuto.
"Wha- hey! Don't forget to bring us some chairs!" Yuto hollered out as they were closing the doors.
"Go get them yourself, filthy Common suck up!" One of the guards snapped back irritably before they shut the doors to the throne room and angered silence reigned supreme.
"Excuse you?" Ruri growled in a surprising show of anger. Nobody insulted Yuto like that in front of her and got away with it so easily.
"Why you! Get back here." Yuto nearly snarled angrily and stalked to throw both of the doors open again. Yet, when the doors were opened the two guards were already gone. Off to get their king the tea he asked for most likely. "Grrr. Those stuck up, stiff collared-"
Yuto cut himself off with a deep breath through his nose and exhaled loudly out of his mouth. Visibly calming himself down from the sudden spike of anger he felt at the jabbing insult from some stranger he didn't even know or care to know.
Ruri, in the few seconds of tense silence Yuto was calming himself down, walked over to his side and gave a silent, comforting hand on his shoulder. Though, her expression could be taken as nothing other than restrained agitation. Pink eyes snapping over towards Atlas' silent form as she spoke with tense politeness. "Well, those are some guards you have there."
Zero turned his head towards Jack as well and spoke darkly. "Have they ever acted that way towards you before?"
At the masked man's question, Atlas' purple eyes skimmed from the window towards the so-called second king of the City. One blonde eyebrow neatly raised in interest. "It's happened once before I'll admit, at the very beginning of my reign as king." A smirk twitched at the edge of Jack's lips. "I showed the buffon what for and kicked him out of my City before it was even time for lunch. Needless to say, the rest of the pathetic rabble fell in line from then on afterwards."
Zero huffed a light breath that could have been mistaken as a laugh before responding. "Figures. Even with your reputation here, it doesn't change the fact that you were born as a Common. I wouldn't be surprised if they still talked about such things behind your back even now after all these years of being king." The masked revolutionary finally chose that moment to straighten out in his seat and look back towards Yuto and Ruri. "Seeing as you two aren't so welcome here, why don't you take a stroll around the area and do some investigating. Make the time you two have out of the tower useful and have a nice fun date together."
"A d-date?" Yuto blinked rapidly a few times before that rare dust of pink blush reappeared on his face at the thought. Gray eyes blinked towards Ruri who also looked surprised, yet a somewhat pleased and excited expression overtook her features a second after.
"That does sound nice. How about it, Yuto?" Ruri looked up to the Xyz male counterpart questioningly.
Spending time with Ruri, the girl he likes- no, loves with all his being, just the two of them, on a date? With that questioning, hopeful expression on Ruri's face, how the hell could he say no?
"Of course, it sounds like a great time." Yuto smiled lightly, but that smile turned into a soft scowl as he muttered darkly. "Though, if I run into those two guards again I just might go kick their teeth in and show them not to mess with us."
"That'll be quite a scene I'm sure." Atlas muttered under his breath, but no one tried to counter his statement.
As Zero waved goodbye towards Ruri and Yuto to show they could now leave, the revolutionary added. "Oh, and make sure to bring some chairs back for yourselves like you said. Wouldn't want a repeat of whatever this just was."
"Why did you even decide to bring us here to play 'bodyguard' if you don't even need us?" Yuto deadpanned as he and Ruri went towards the exit. Away from the awkwardness that was Zero and Jack Atlas being in the same room together. "Why drag us along if you didn't even want us to stay in the first place?"
Zero tipped his head to the side to side eye the duo just a tad. Even with his mask on, everyone in the room could just feel the smug smirk on the man's face. "Isn't it obvious? I just wanted to piss the Executive High Council off. Why else?"
The statement admittedly got a snort of contemptuous amusement out of Atlas, but Jack would later go on to firmly deny all of it.
A few seconds of silence as Ruri and Yuto digested the man's words. Yuto finally stated. "...God, you would do that."
Though Yuto had a feeling there was more to it than that, the Xyz user decided to keep that bit to himself.
. . .
From his cold, mechanical palace of the Security Bureau, Jean-Michel Roger watched as the first round of the Friendship Cup proceeded as planned without fuss. Dull green eyes not leaving the screen as Crow and Gongenzaka began to set up for their duel. The background a rallying group of clashing voices and charged tension that even the City's number one MC couldn't rein in.
Within his main office overlooking the rest of his minions, only the steady tap, tap, tapping sound of a chess piece lightly hitting its board echoed out in the room. The white knight being held lightly between two pale knuckles.
Finally, a little video conference call popped up on the lower left corner of the screen. Roger only gave the sight of one of his semi-faithful female secretaries a fleeting glance before bringing his full attention back onto the incoming duel.
"... Has my gift been sent?" Roger asked simply within the somewhat eerie quiet.
"Yes sir." The female gave one firm nod before her eyes turned to something else that had popped up on her own screen. The secretary multitasked as she spoke with her superior. "The letter has been sent as you have requested and has made its way to its intended target."
"Hm, good." Roger hummed a bit before continuing to speak. The hand that wasn't holding onto the white knight chess piece idly rubbed at thin air. As if trying to feel for a card that was no longer in between his two fingers. "And 227's answer?"
"He has no qualms with what you suggest." Something flickered in the woman's gaze as she read a file off to the side of her own screen, but Roger disregarded it without a care. He had full control here. "227 asked me to express his greatest gratitude to you for this second chance, sir."
"As he should." Roger muttered so lowly that even the secretary couldn't hear what he was saying correctly through her computer's audio. "I have no use for failures, usually."
"If I may also add sir." The woman spoke up one more time. This unexpected break in the duo's usual routine caused Roger to raise a light eyebrow and look directly into the woman's eyes. "Four of the Security officers you disguised as tournament officials have just sent me a rather… intriguing report. Sending it to you now."
Seconds after her words, a streaming video file of the entrance of the Friendship Cup's stadium appeared playing back footage. Minimized and placed to the side were three certificates of identification showing three individual Common children. As the feed continued to play, it showed a rather pathetic and clumsy display of those three scrappy kids trying to enter to see the tournament without paying.
In the end, their disguise was easily seen through and the three children somehow managed to rush past the four Security guards hanging out in the ticket booth lounge. Dark green, maroon, and light cyan hair flashing across the camera's lens before the children were out of the picture with Security hot on their heels.
Yet, what had Roger's attention the most was who these three pathetic street rats were affiliated with.
Frank, Amanda, and Tanner. No last names, but all of them were children officially adopted by the one and only Crow Hogan.
The sight had a very small, light smile gracing Roger's face, albeit even that expression managed to ooze evil, uncomfortably eerie intent.
. . .
"Ah, it's finally begun! The City's largest dueling event, the Friendship Cup!" Melissa Claire declared with a hurrah. "Now, who will be the first winner, Crow or Gongenzaka?! Let's see if this group of Lancers can keep pace with us citizens from the City!"
Yet, everyone within the audience was too busy fighting over if Jack was still a hero to the Commons or a sellout to the Tops. Through the cacophony of noise and arguments no one bothered to pay any heed towards the incoming duel or Melissa.
"What is going on with this tournament?" Gongenzka asked mainly to himself in shock at the crowd's outrage. Even Crow had to agree with the sturdy teen with a light tick of his tongue and an uneasy expression as their eyes looked on towards the audience.
"Geez!" Melissa yelled out over the crowd's anger. "I'm just going to start this off whether you all are ready or not!" With that, the woman wearing her cowgirl theme clothing held one hand up high in the air and snapped her fingers. "Action Field, on! Field Spell, Crossover Accel!"
As the action cards were distributed across the racing track with a loud pop, both Gongenzaka and Crow's D-Wheels spoke robotically. "Duel mode, on. Auto-pilot, standby."
As a holographic countdown appeared in front of both duelists going from three to zero, Crow chanced a glance back up at the audience. A flash of dark green, cyan, and dark red hair flashed just by the corner of Crow's eye. It was shortly followed by a flash of four men dressed in stark green stadium patrol uniforms. With uniform caps the Common teen couldn't ever misplace. Crow's gray eyes widened in dawning realization and shocked horror at what he just barely managed to see right before his duel with Gongenzaka started.
Frank, Amanda, and Tanner running away as fast as they could through the thick crowd from four Security guards dressed as tournament officials.
What the- Frank, Amanda, Tanner?! Those kids… How the hell did they even manage to sneak their way into this stadium! Crow thought frantically. So worried for the children's safety the Synchro citizen got a delayed start. Ahh, they must have come to cheer me on! Those reckless kids!
"Riding duel, acceleration!" Melissa yelled out as the air horn sounded for the duel to start. Both Crow and Gongenzaka's D-Wheels revving out with sparks flying and rubber screeching across the cement beneath them. Gongenzaka's shaky hold on his D-Wheel and somewhat panicked cries speeding a good couple of feet away from Crow's own calm, experienced riding.
CROW LP- 4000
GONGENZAKA LP- 4000
"DUEL!"
"Will Gognezaka take the first corner?" Claire asked rhetorically in the mic. While some of the people in the crowd were still fighting over which side Jack Atlas was on some were starting to get back into the duel that was starting and cheered.
Crow's gray eyes narrowed on to Gongenzaka's frame. The sturdy teen unsteady on his bike and heading towards the curving wall in front of them. Yet, all Crow saw was Tanner, Frank, and Amanda being chased and in danger of getting detained by Security. All to come watch him and cheer for him in a duel for a tournament he didn't even want to participate in. "In that case, let's finish this fast." The Synchro user grit his teeth in determination.
Just as it looked like Gongenzaka was about to crash into the curving wall, Crow pulled the throttle on his D-Wheel and sped forward. Following the curving wall and cutting Gongenzaka off from colliding with it and speeding past the Lancer.
. . .
"Taking the first corner and the first move is none other than Crow Hogan! Coming in front with a nice comeback." Melissa declared as she commentated on the duel happening before her. Meanwhile, Yuto and Ruri were walking around inside the stadium, hand in hand as they investigated the multiple vendors and stalls set up to celebrate the Friendship Cup. Comments on the duel happening on the track outside echoing out from the speakers installed on the inside, so they could keep track of how the duel was going whilst they had some fun.
Though, that wasn't the only reason they were out. As the two were looking around, genuinely enjoying themselves, Yuto and Ruri also took note of the stadium's structure and pathways. Getting a feel of the building they would be fighting in for some time.
The Friendship Cup tournament would only last for a few days, but anything and everything could possibly happen during that time. From the High Executive Council and Security, or even Academia invading. The two teens never truly let their guard down, not even when they were having fun.
"Oh Yuto, don't these things here just smell delicious!" Ruri chirped happily as she pointed to the delectable deserted treats currently being sprinkled in a heaping handful of powdered sugar. "I don't think I've ever seen these things back home, what are they?"
The man running the vendor, a man getting on in his age and his hair just starting to gray with the beginning signs of balding, grinned proudly at Ruri's words. The apron the man wore was covered in speckles of powdered sugar and streaks of red from cherry syrup even if it was frayed along the edges. "They're called funnel cakes, little miss." The man answered Ruri's question eagerly as he continued powdering the funnel cakes that just came fresh out of the fryer. "Sounds like you've never had one before, that sure is a shame."
As the man spoke to Ruri, Yuto leaned in to get a whiff of the funnel cakes himself. It was an admittedly good smell, and it had his mouth watering lightly. It's been so long since we've had anything dessert related. I wonder… "Wow, those do smell great."
If anything, the man behind the stall puffed up even more in pride. "Thank you sir. I may be a Commoner, but I can certainly make a good mean funnel cake when the Friendship Cup comes around every year."
Ah, that explained why the man hadn't taken a jab at Yuto or Ruri about their haggard looks and clear show of status. It was rather sad the two could identify who was who just by people's reactions to their appearance and how they acted towards others. Though there was that good person from both sides that would show through occasionally, both sides had a good amount of bad too.
From the Top's disgust and the Common's vulgarity. In some ways both sides unknowingly mirrored the other, though both sides would be absolutely mortified and would never admit it.
Just as Ruri finished her conversation with the Common and turned her head to go look at another wonderful smelling delectable, Yuto put his plan into action. Stormy gray eyes looked up into the vendor's as he spoke just loud enough to be heard over the rest of the crowd's noise. "Can I get two of those? With everything you've got please." The man's eyes brightened.
It was a good thing Zero split the cash and credit he had obtained when they first reunited in the Synchro Dimension. Otherwise, the Xyz user might have been in some trouble.
With a rather good tip left behind that had the vendor giving a small bow in thanks. Yuto left and headed towards Ruri's direction with two funnel cakes in hand. Topped with a lot of powdered sugar, cherry flavored syrup, and whipped cream. Yuto couldn't help but stop and stare as he got closer to Ruri however, watching as she delicately held up a beautiful sterling silver bracelet that had champagne colored gemstones carved to look like birds up to the sky.
Then she looked over to Yuto, her pink eyes shining brightly, and smiled.
She was stunning, absolutely beautiful, perfect in Yuto's eyes.
In that moment, Yuto knew for certain that he truly loved her. With all that remained in his once cold heart.
. . .
"I attack with Raikiri the Rain Shower!" Crow yelled quickly as he sped his D-Wheel up, making sure to keep ahead of Gongenzaka. The orange haired duelist's words had bits of wind flicking around the edges from the speeds the two duelists were riding. It didn't hide the toughened steel cold tone in his voice however.
"Is it just me or is Crow acting more harsh in this duel? Does he always fight like this?" Dennis looked to the person closest to Crow, which happened to be Shinji, for answers. "Is he always this… frantic when he's dueling?" Though frantic was a bit of a weird word to describe the way Crow was dueling, it was the only word that seemed to pop up on Dennis' tongue.
Shinji's mouth thinned into a straight line as he looked towards the screen portraying the current duel. "No. He can be serious in a duel, but he's not usually like this. It's probably because of the stress from everything happening recently up until the Friendship Cup." The Synchro user reasoned, but for some reason it felt off.
Crow was probably worrying over how the kids were doing back at home, but he didn't want anyone else to know about that. Secretly, Shinji was worrying about how the three of them were doing too. At the very least they were still at Crow's house, and they would be safe there so long as they stayed.
"It is the first round." Tokumatsu reasoned as well as he rubbed the scruff on his chin. "He's probably feeling the pressure of being one of the first contestants to duel in a tournament as widely popular as the Friendship Cup."
"I still think I should have been the one to duel first." Sylvio grumbled and crossed his arms, almost as if he was pouting like an angry child.
"Raikiri the Shower has 2600 Attack points. If this attack hits, Gongenzaka's Life Points will drop down to 800 in one go!" Yuzu's nails bit into the fabric of the couch as she watched the current scene with wide periwinkle eyes. The duel had barely started and it already seemed like it was close to ending.
"Oh? What's this! It's an Action Card!" Melissa cried out suddenly, and the camera zoomed in on the Action Card just up ahead. "Can Gongenzaka use it to avoid taking any damage?!"
However, the question was answered in the most shocking, unexpected way possible. Just as Gongenzaka was upon the Action Card, the sturdy built teen merely drove past it and ignored it. As if the card wasn't even there to begin with.
This clearly had Melissa thrown for a loop as well as her sputtering could be heard through her mic. "W-What's this! Gongenzaka has missed his chance at obtaining an Action Card! But why!?"
"He ignored it? Why!" Yugo yelled out at the screen and threw his arms up in the air with his frustrations. This caused some complaints to rise up since Yugo was once more sitting on the carpeted floor, and thus his raised arms blocked almost everyone else's view of the TV.
"Move your arms out of the way Yugo! I can't see!" Yuya complained as he tried maneuvering his view around his counterpart's arms. "Gongenzaka!"
The tomato haired teen knew why Gongenzaka didn't go for the Action Card, because it was a spell card and using one would completely ruin his best friend's deck and strategy. That didn't stop the worry from pouring out of the Pendulum user in waves as Raikiri the Rain Showers' attacks struck dead on.
GONGENZAKA LP- 4000 - 3700
GONGENZAKA LP- 3700 - 3400
GONGENZAKA LP- 3400 - 800
"Sorry Yuya." Yugo apologized and quickly lowered his arms and crossed them under his armpits, as if that would keep them there for the remainder of the duel. Aquamarine eyes remained on the screen as he repeated again in confusion. "But why did Gongenzaka ignore the Action Card? I mean it was practically right in his face!"
"Because Gongenzaka doesn't use or have any Spell or Trap cards in his deck. Using one would ruin his combos and how his deck functions." Yuya explained quickly, as if it should've been obvious to everyone else here already.
However, no one from the Synchro Dimension quite knew that tidbit of info until just now.
"Ehh!?" All of the Synchro citizens snapped their gaze towards Yuya and yelled out in unison.
Yugo even went so far as to lunge across the carpet, grab both of Yuya's shoulders, and quickly shake him like it would spill the truth out. "What do you mean Gonenzaka doesn't use any Spell or Trap cards in his deck! Is he nuts!?"
As the group of Lancers struggled to get a grip on that bomb dropped, and the chaos it resulted in, the duel continued on uninteruppted.
. . .
"My turn!" Gongenzaka bellowed as he drew a card. Then, the Lancer showed two of the cards that were in his hand towards Crow and the crowd. "With Scale 1 Superheavy Great General Hisu-E and Scale 8 Superheavy General San-5 I set the Pendulum Scale!"
With that declaration, two great big mechanical warriors rose up in their separate pillars of ethereal blue light. Their scale numbers lighting up underneath them like an astral light.
SCALE 1 SUPERHEAVY GREAT GENERAL HISU-E
SCALE 8 SUPERHEAVY GENERAL SAN-5
"With this, I can summon monsters from Levels two through seven all at the same time!" Gongenzaka continued to speak as a portal appeared from between the two pillars of light. Though the Lancer was too afraid to take both of his hands off of the steering handles of his D-Wheel for long periods of time in fear of crashing, and didn't do anything flashy. "I Pendulum Summon, appear! Tuner monster Superheavy Samurai Horagai-E, and Superheavy Samurai Kagebou-C!" Two robotic monsters, one small, squat, and painted mainly orange and the other tall, lean, and was mainly painted purple and gold.
"He Pendulum Summoned two monsters at once!" Melissa exclaimed. Though Pendulum Summon has been seen time and time again, it didn't seem to be getting old anytime soon for the Synchro Dimension.
"He uses Pendulum Summoning too?!" Someone from the crowd yelled out in surprise as the rest began to cheer wildly.
"Next, I tune Level 3 Superheacy Samurai Kokorogama-A and Superheavy Samurai Kagebou-C with the Level 3 Superheavy Samurai Horagai-E!" Gongenzaka sped forward, pulling the throttle as far back as it could go to rocket by Crow and take the lead. The sturdy teen could certainly use some more experience from the way his D-Wheel wobbled unsteadily however. "Unyielding as the mountain ranges. The soul that resides in the great rock! Now, become the towering fortress! I Synchro Summon. Come forth, Level 9, Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B!"
A giant, enormous four legged robotic monster leaped out of the Synchro Summoning light and cantered beside Gongenzaka onto the dueling field. Jets of pure orange flames erupting behind it acting as a tail with two pillars of flames acting as horns upon the monster's head. The robot's look was mainly sturdy and painted white with gold accents. The monster held a great big lance in its right arm as it sped along.
SUPERHEAVY DEMON BEAST KYUU-B LV.9 ATK:1900 DEF:2500
. . .
"A Synchro Summon from a Pendulum Summon! Good going Gongenzaka!" Yuya cheered as the dizziness from Yugo's shaking finally subsided. Yuzu quietly chuckling and cheering at the same time from Yuya and Yugo's earlier display.
It didn't make the huge goose bump on Yugo's head any less obvious, and it was clear what had happened because of the banana banged duelist's rash actions. The poor owner of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon was lightly rubbing his sore head from the dreaded fan belonging to none other than Yuzu Hiragi.
"That bastard!" Sylvio practically screeched as he did a frantic clawing motion towards the TV screen like an angered cat. "He evolved that much in dueling without my knowledge!? He should have told me!" Sylvio bemoaned. "And the crowd is getting so pumped! Damnit!"
"Great going Gongenzaka!" A Common family from the crowd cheered.
"He's pretty good, isn't he?" A Tops mistress commented snidely from her lavish seat whilst taking a cup of wine from a server.
. . .
"Let's go Gongenzaka!" Yuto cheered suddenly, which had some people turning his direction and giving him weird looks before moving on with their daily lives. The news of the Pendulum Synchro Summon being announced and displayed on a spectator screen outside of the stadium itself.
"Come on Crow! You're both doing great!" Ruri yelled happily right alongside Yuto. The teen had her arm wrapped around the crook of Yuto's elbow as the couple strolled around the outside of the stadium like a lady with her knight. The silver of her new bracelet gleaming right alongside her old one.
"Now! Will Gongenzaka finally begin his counterattack!?" Melissa questioned dramatically, yet the answer to that question seemed obvious.
"Thank you for this time out Yuto. I'm really enjoying it." The Lyrical Luscinia user quickly leaned onto her toes and gave Yuto a light kiss on the cheek before returning her head to leaning against Yuto's shoulder with a happy, satisfied hum. When she looked back up to Yuto once he tensed up however, Ruri couldn't help but burst out laughing at his expression.
His face was as red as a watermelon's insides, and he had the most dopiest, happy expression on his face.
"Y-yeah." Yuto looked like he was gulping a walnut down his throat when it was really his stuttering from Ruri's sudden kiss. "I've been having a great time with you too, Ruri."
"Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B's Defense increases by 900 for every special summoned monster on my opponent's field!" Gongenzaka spoke over the speakers as his Synchro monster attacked. "There's three monsters, so its Attack goes up by 2700!"
SUPERHEAVY DEMON BEAST KYUU-B DEF:2500 = 5200
"5200 Defense?!" Crow yelped in surprise. That wasn't good.
"Next, while this card is face up and in Defense Mode it can attack using the value of its Defense!" Gongenzaka yelled in addition. It had most of the people watching the duel from outside the stadium screaming in excited surprise. The crowd was clearly pleased.
"What! It can attack in Defense Mode?!" Crow said in disbelief. His face the definition of shock as he watched the huge Synchro monster suddenly heading his way.
"At this point, it can only attack the monster on the opponent's field with the highest Attack!" Gongenzaka suddenly threw one of his hands out towards Crow's monster. "Attack Raikiri the Rain Shower!"
The Synchro monster barreled right through Raikiri, leaving only a showering of yellow sparks in its wake and damage dealt to Crow. The orange haired duelist's D-Wheel wobbled precariously as the massive amount of damage was dealt.
CROW LP- 4000 - 1400
SUPERHEAVY DEMON BEAST KYUU-B DEF:5200 = 4300
"Crow Hogan takes 2600 points of damage in an instant!" Melissa screamed into her mic frantically as the crowd went wild from the attack.
"We should probably be heading back to Zero though. It's not a smart idea to leave him alone for so long." Yuto shook his blush off, and with another hum of agreement from Ruri the two set off back towards the stadium.
As the two reentered the stadium together, Ruri put a finger to her chin as she said aloud. "You think we could try some of those… um, hmm… What were they called again?"
"I believe it was Dippin Dots?" Yuto said, phrasing his answer as a question since he too wasn't sure if that was right or not.
Ruri snapped her fingers loudly and exclaimed. "Yes! That's what it's called. Let's try some of those Dippin Dots! The cotton candy flavor looked super good."
Yuto's lips curled at that. "Ehh I don't know. I'd rather prefer the brownie batter flavor, but sure, let's go try some of that before we head back."
"Don't forget the chairs too." Ruri piped up again as they changed directions towards the Dippin Dots stand that was currently stationed inside the stadium. The stand had moved recently to view the current duel on the empty strip on concrete used to help people find their seats once climbing up the stairs into the middle of the stadium itself.
"Oh yeah, chairs too. If we can find where the heck they even are first." Yuto grumbled that last bit under his breath. His mind going back to those guards and their terrible behavior towards him.
Just as the duo made it to the stand with a cheery young woman as the owner Yuto and Ruri were suddenly knocked off of their feet and collapsed onto the floor with an exclamation of surprise. It felt like a freight train had smacked into their legs and flipped them over, landing on top of the poor unfortunate souls that clearly weren't watching where they were going.
"Ow!" A little boy yelled in light pain.
"What the heck?!" A second, older boy exclaimed suddenly.
"Hey, let us go! Frank! Tanner!" The only girl of the group cried out in worry.
"Ugh, what the heck was that for?" Yuto questioned roughly as he rubbed his left hand that had gotten scraped against the floor from the sudden collision. "Are you okay Ruri- What the?" Gray eyes widened in stupefied surprise as his gaze went down to the three children he and Ruri had accidently fallen on top of when the kids ran into their legs.
"Oh my gosh. We're so sorry, are you three alright!?" Ruri cried out as she and Yuto quickly got off of the children and turned to check if any of them were hurt.
"Hold it right there you street rats!"
Suddenly, the group was surrounded by four adults belonging to stadium Security. Their solid green stadium uniforms couldn't hide the Security badges proudly pinned on their left breast pocket. The stairs, the pathway, even the vendor's stand was all blocked off by the four adult men blocking their way.
Seeing the corrupt signs of authority, Yuto's eyes narrowed and turned into a dark stormy gray. His classic scowl solidified on his face as he stood up to his full height and threw a single arm out to the side, blocking the person in front of him from reaching Ruri or the children. "Hey! What's this all about?"
"P-please don't turn us in." The girl stared up at Ruri, terrified. Clutching Ruri's skirt like a lifeline while the smallest child with a tattered yellow rain cap hung onto the girl. Ruri narrowed her eyes, and looked up to the Security officer guarding the stairs, before standing and blocking his way towards the children with her own body.
"We-we just wanted to watch Crow and cheer him on in person. We don't mean to cause any trouble! We just wanted to watch!" The oldest boy with dark green hair yelled up to the adults with frustrated tears in his eyes. Though he was certainly brave to stand up to Security.
"These children tried sneaking in without paying for admission." One of the Security policemen stated firmly, a dark frown on his face as he glared down at the three children. "They're under arrest for sneaking onto the property without payment and resisting arrest."
"Those pests had us running circles! So hand 'em over!" A second Security officer yelled angrily. He sounded so angry, like the officer wanted to physically lash out at the children for embarrassing him. For managing to evade law enforcement for so long and making a fool out of the Security officers.
After taking one look at the three children suddenly huddling between him and Ruri, Yuto looked back at the officer with zero change in his expression. "Um, yeah. I don't think so."
"So you resist following the orders of Security?" The officer stated warningly. Pulling out the standard Security duel disk and slowly activating it and putting his deck in. As if giving Yuto one last chance to back out.
Yeah, no way in hell was that happening.
"I've fought and rebelled against a lot of worse, more powerful opponents than you." Yuto stated darkly as he held out his own duel disk and activated it threateningly. "You're nothing to me." Stormy gray eyes narrowed darkly. "You're pathetic compared to Academia."
The Security officer reeled back as if he was struck, before clenching his teeth and growling angrily. "Grrr, why you!"
"Hey! You're Yuto Raiden!" The tension was suddenly broken by a group of young, delinquent looking Common teens looking towards Yuto in unabashed awe. They were probably around Yuto's age, albeit a bit older.
"Wait a second… that really is Raiden!" A second boy in the group's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're a competitor in the Friendship Cup!"
"Then that makes you Ruri!" A third boy looked towards Ruri with an obvious blush on his face. It had Yuto bristling and getting in between the boy's view of Ruri with his own body whilst also keeping an eye on the Security guard.
Suddenly, with all eyes on them the Security guards began to sweat madly. The attention was very, very bad, even the big screen TV switched from the duel that had paused below towards the rising situation.
"Y-you're Friendship Cup competitors?" The officer questioned suspiciously with a grim scowl on his face. "What are you two doing out here? You're supposed to remain inside the contestant's tower!"
"Now what's this? What's going on over here? It looks like contestants Yuto and Ruri are about to get into a fight with Security! But what for?!" Melissa commented on the possible battle brewing in the stadium's stands.
"That's none of your concern." Ruri snapped as she looked at all of the Security officials. "Now leave us and these kids alone!"
"We have orders to arrest them." The fourth Security officer objected stiffly. "You can't stop us from taking them into custody."
"Oh, can't I?" Yuto snapped back, before begrudgingly deactivating his duel disk. Seconds later the Xyz user pulled out a random number of bills that most certainly exceeded the amount needed to enter the stadium before carelessly throwing it towards the first Security officer. The wads of cash idly floated down to land at the officer's feet as Yuto nearly snarled. "There. You say they're in trouble because they couldn't pay to get in the stadium. Well, that should be plenty to cover their share. Now buzz off!"
The money remained on the ground untouched, yet no one in the crowd dared to surge forward and swipe it in fear of turning Security's ire onto them and getting arrested. The tension was so thick it was like a standoff.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Yuto barked, causing the Security officers to flinch harshly. "Get!"
A second later all of the officers put a hand to one of their ears, most likely listening to an order for higher up in the chain of command through a device. After, the Security officers slowly backed up, before one spit at the ground and they all walked away.
"Stupid, bloody Common scum." One of them muttered darkly with shaking clenched fists.
The cash was left ignored on the ground as they left.
. . .
"This match is over." Gongenzaka stated with total confidence. "With Superheavy Great General San-5's Pendulum Effect, when a Superheavy monster destroys a monster in battle it destroys itself to let Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B attack again."
"Again?!" Crow's eyes widened and in his frustration he slammed a single fist down onto his D-Wheel though thankfully it wasn't damaged. "Agh damn! If my monster had been in Defense Mode…" Crow trailed off, his eyes stuck on Gongenzaka's Synchro monster.
"Kyuu-B's Defense is now at 4300." Gongenzaka said plainly. "If it attacks Kunisada the Fogbow, you take 3300 points of damage and this duel will be over."
"...Heh, we'll see about that." Crow closed his eyes and took a calming breath before reopening them and his neutral look returned. "We won't know the outcome of this match until the end!"
"No, I know." Gongenzkaa rebukes. A displeased, disappointed look appeared on the sturdy, buff teen's features. "A duel is as much of a battle with your opponent as it is a battle with yourself. I will not fall to one whose heart is in turmoil!"
A rush of breath left Crow's lungs and went out into the wind. The Synchro user was surprised Gongenzaka had caught on to his struggles so easily throughout their duel. Risking another quick glance away from the duel and his D-Wheel towards Amanda, Frank, and Tanner. Finally finding them crashing into an idle couple on accident only to be surrounded by Security mere seconds later.
"NO!" Crow yelled. His voice rising in pitch as he watched the three kids he adopted about to fall into the clutches of Security. The panic was clear on his face as his whole frame shook in fear for the three children. Gongenzaka, watching as Crow freaked out for seemingly no reason, looked over to what his opponent was seeing and finally spotted Frank, Amanda, and Tanner, to which his own eyes widened in shock. "Run! Run away you three!" Crow hollered as loudly as he could, but it didn't seem like the children managed to hear him over the roaring audience and wind.
"That's the reason for your turmoil?" Gongenzaka questioned, and from the fact that he currently wasn't throwing the finishing blow at Crow meant that the duel has been put on a temporary pause. Crow grits his teeth and remains silent. It was an admission in and of itself. Eyes focused on the kids hiding between the couple more than the duel. "They must be the children you've mentioned briefly before…" Gongenzaka tore his eyes away from the children huddling between the couple before looking towards Crow. "What are those children to you?
"... If I didn't have them, I don't know what would have become of me." Crow admits softly. Eyes squeezed shut and hands causing the pedals of his D-Wheel to creak lightly. It was an admission only Gongenzaka could hear on the wind. "That's why I want to set an example for them, and why I agreed to join this tournament." Crow gripped the throttle harder. "I want to win, and show them that even we can do something!"
In the background, Melissa commented on the rising situation in the stands and the audience grew quiet as they watched the brewing fight.
"To set an example…" Gongenzaka's expression softened into something akin to sympathy. "Then, if I keep this up and end up winning…"
"Do your best, Crow!"
"Go Crow!"
"We believe in you, Crow!"
"Huh?!" Crow's eyes snapped open suddenly, and he snapped his gaze back up to where he last saw his three kids being surrounded by Security.
The Security guards were gone, nowhere to be seen, and his children were still there. Leaning up against the railing and waving like mad with huge grins on their faces. All three of them had a huge cup full of ice cream in one of their hands as they screamed and cheered for Crow.
Behind them, the couple looked down towards the duel and therefore Crow and Gongenzaka. Said couple turned out to be Yuto and Ruri this entire time, but his focus was zeroed in on the three kids so much Crow didn't realize it was the two Lancers until just now. The two Xyz rebels were also holding onto a Dippin Dots cup each with their respective flavor.
Yuto gave a silent nod towards Crow in confirmation that the kids were safe and would remain safe whilst he was there. Ruri waved with both hands before giving a thumbs up whilst shouting. "We'll watch their backs for you Crow, so no worries!"
"We're okay! So do your best too, Crow!" Frank screamed as loudly as he could so he could be heard over the cheering from the crowd.
"Aww, well isn't this just sweet!" Melissa cheered as well as she commented. "Looks like Yuto makes another appearance on the City's radar by helping some children watch the Friendship Cup. Now that's what this tournament really means folks!"
"Crow Hogan! You want to set an example for those children?" Gongenzaka yelled, regaining the orange haired duelist's attention. "Then stake everything you have on this duel and come at me! Now is the time to show those children your true dueling, isn't it!" Gongenzaka challenged with a bellow. Reigniting the duel from its temporary pause and jumping right back into the action. "Come on, Crow! I won't go easy on you! I destroy Superheavy Great General San-5 so that Kyuu-B can attack twice! Go! Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B! Attack Kunisada the Fogbow!" The Lancer ordered without hesitation.
"Is it over?" Melissa cried out in alarm. A hand rushing up to her mouth in a mock gasp. "Is this it for Crow Hogan?!"
With the knowledge that his reason for fighting was safe, Crow stopped holding back, and retaliated.
Putting his D-Wheel into overdrive, making it go as fast as it could, the Common pulled off an amazing feat. Pulling the throttle as far as it can go, speeding up, and curving up against the arching walls of the stadium to flip himself upside down. Just at the right level of an Action Card.
Crow stretched his arm out, and grabbed a tight hold of it with one hand. He managed to spin his D-Wheel hard and fast enough to right himself and land back onto the ground with only a light stray spin from his back wheel before righting himself again.
The action admittedly had Gongenzaka's jaw dropping a bit in amazed shock. There was no way he himself could have done such a maneuver with how bad he was at riding a D-Wheel.
The crowd itself went nuts.
Deep within the throne room were Zero and Jack Atlas watched silently, behind his mask, Zero gave a light smirk.
"I activate the Action Card, Avoid!" Crow quickly placed the Action Card down onto his duel disk. "I negate your monster's attack!" Together, Crow and his monsters scattered. The group just barely managed to dodge past the sheer flames barrelling past from Gongenzaka's attack.
"Crow Hogan made it through that pinch with an Action Card!" Melissa screamed into her mic to be heard over the crowd's cheering. "What a marvelous riding technique!"
"However, both monsters on your field have 1000 Attack." Gongenzaka interjected calmly, still in control of the duel. "They can't defeat Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B. I'll end my turn here. During the end phase, if Superheavy Great General Hisu-E is the only card in the Pendulum Zone, it is destroyed." With that, the last monster in Gongenzaka's Pendulum zone was destroyed in a shower of yellow sparks.
"My turn then. I draw!" Crow looked down to his deck with a bleak look on his face, and drew his final card. This was the last turn.
Once he took a look at the card, his face turned into a confident grin. The duel was ending this turn. If he won or Gongenzaka would, it all depended on this move.
"I activate the spell card, Against the Wind!" Crow threw down the card he just drew. "I add Blizzard the North Pole from the Graveyard to my hand and take damage equal to its Attack!" As the bird flew out from a portal signifying the Graveyard, a great burst of icy wind blew by Crow and took his Life Points. Leaving behind a chill that went down not only Crow's spine, but the crowds as well.
CROW LP- 1400 - 100
He risked taking huge damage. Something big must be coming up. The thought had Gongenzaka give a big grin in anticipation. "That's the spirit! Now come on, Crow! Let's see what you've really got!"
"You've got it!" Crow rebuked and continued his turn. "I summon Blizzard the North Pole!" The bird spread its wings out and gave a loud caw.
BLIZZARD THE NORTH POLE LV.2 ATK:1300 DEF:0
"Now, I activate Blizzard the North Pole's monster effect!" Crow looked over to his newly summoned monster. "Appear, Jet the Blue Sky!"
JET THE BLUE SKY LV.1 ATK:100 DEF:800
"Next, I tune the Level 1 Jet the Blue Sky with the Level 2 Blizzard the North Pole." The two birds flew up into the air and turned into a bunch of rings and bright stars. A bright light shined out as the Synchro Summon took place. "Jet-black sword, echo in tandem with your wings! Synchro Summon! Appear! Assault Black Feather - Kunifusa the Fogbow!" Crow yelled as a Synchro monster similar to the other two on Crow's field appeared.
ASSAULT BLACK FEATHER - KUNIFUSA THE FOGBOW LV.3 ATK:1000 DEF:1000
"Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B's Defense increases due to the additional Synchro monster." Gongenzaka said over the crowd and wind, as his own Synchro monster grew even stronger because of Crow's actions.
SUPERHEAVY DEMON BEAST KYUU-B DEF:4300 = 5200
The grin on Crow's face grew even more. He wasn't done just yet. "When a Black Feather is used as material to Synchro Summon Assault Black Feather - Kunifusa the Fogbow, it can be treated as a tuner monster!" The orange haired teen revealed dramatically.
"What?! As a tuner!" Gongenzaka said in disbelief, jerking back in his seat at the sudden realization of Crow's plan.
"I tune Level three Kuniyoshi and Kunisada the Fogbow with the Level three Kunifusa!" Crow threw one hand up in the air, and his three Synchro monsters flew into action. "Spread your jet-black wings amidst gathering clouds and become the sword that divides the heavens! I Synchro Summon! Descend! Assault Black Feather Kusanagi the Gathering Clouds!" With a crack of thunder and flash of bright lightning, Crow's new Level 9 Synchro monster descended onto the field. The sword in its hand crackled with bright electricity that had everyone in the entire stadium's hair fizzing out.
ASSAULT BLACK FEATHER KUSANAGI THE GATHERING CLOUDS LV.9 ATK:3000 DEF:2500
"A Synchro Summon with three Synchro monsters." Gongenzaka breathed, gazing up at the new monster in awe.
SUPERHEAVY DEMON BEAST KYUU-B DEF:4300 = 3400
"Crow Hogan has dealt out a huge Synchro Summon!" Melissa commented on the battle as the crowd cheered. "Not only that, but the number of Synchro monsters on his field has decreased, so Kyuu-B's Defense goes down as well!"
"Let's go Gongenzaka! This is the power of my dueling at full throttle!" Crow yelled out, and took the lead on both the battle and his D-Wheel. "Until the end phase of the turn Kusanagi the Gathering Clouds is Synchro Summoned it gains Attack equal to the Attack of all Black Feather Synchro monsters used as its material!"
ASSAULT BLACK FEATHER KUSANAGI THE GATHERING CLOUDS ATK:3000 = 6000
"6000 attack!" Gongenzaka screamed out in surprise. His hands tightening onto the handles of his D-Wheel in preparation for the incoming attack.
"Nice job, Crow!" Frank yelled.
"Go for it!" Amanda cheered with her arms high up in the air. Her ice cream having been finished a while ago.
"Great job you guys!" Ruri encouraged as well with a clap of her hands.
"Battle!" Crow turned his D-Wheel to the side and threw an arm out towards Gongenzaka and his Synchro monster. "I attack Superheavy Demon Beast Kyuu-B with Kusanagi the Gathering Clouds!"
"However, since Kyuu-B is in Defense Mode I won't take any damage." Gongenzaka stated confidently.
"Not quite." Crow smirked widely. "When Kusanagi the Gathering Clouds attacks a monster in Defense Mode, it inflicts piercing damage!"
"What did you say?!" Gongenzaka hollered as Kusanagi bore down onto Gongenzaka and his monster. Its sword was blindly bright with lightning as it unleashed a bolt out towards the two. The attack swallowed up Kyuu-B immediately, and soon after Gongenzaka was taken down in the attack as well. Though the attack was coming down on Gongenzaka's head, the teen did nothing but merely relax his shoulders and smirk up towards the attack he would take without a single flinch.
Lightning strikes the monster's sword, and Kusanagi swings down with his sword of burning plasma and steel to utterly obliterate Gongenzaka's monster alongside the rest of his Life Points. Thus promptly ending the duel with a rather big, bright bang.
Within the contestant's tower, Yuzu, Yuya, and Dennis would be yelling out in concern for their friend and bemoan the fact that he had lost. Meanwhile, Shinji, Damon, Yugo, and Tokumatsu would be cheering at Crow's victory or the bet they had just won.
"Aggh!" Gongeznaka cries out as he bears through the pain. The brakes built within his D-Wheel activate at the Lancer's loss, and the teen comes to a smoky, screeching halt along the track as Crow continues driving forwards into victory and therefore the next round.
GONGENZAKA LP- 800 - 0 LOSER
CROW LP - 1400 WINNER
"It's settled!" Melissa hollers over the cheering noise in the stadium. "Decorating the opening match with a dramatic victory, we have Crow Hogan!"
"Awesome!" Amanda jumped up and down before going over to hug Frank and Tanner.
"Crow won!" Tanner cheered as he peaked over towards Crow through the railing.
"Nice job on the duel you two. It was a good one." Yuto smiled lightly as his hand went towards Ruri's. That smile soon vanished however as he looked towards the kids. "Now then. Let's get you three out of here and somewhere safe before more trouble shows up."
"Okay, just give us one second Mr. Raiden." Frank said hurriedly before leaning over the railing and taking a deep breath into his lungs. Yuto's brain having stalled at being called 'Mr'. Something he has never been called before, and it had him blinking, stumped, while Ruri laughed.
Crow comes to a slow, steady halt alongside the D-Wheel parking garage and takes off his helmet. The Synchro citizen breathed a huge sigh of relief at his hard earned victory that he nearly lost over his own worrying. "Attacking while in Defense Mode… Ha!" Crow laughed lightly as a small disbelieving smile twitched on his lips. "That was one surprisingly tricky monster."
"Crow!" The Synchro user's head snaps up to see Frank dangerously leaning over the railing and screaming as loudly as he could towards Crow. Waving wildly with one hand alongside Amanda and Tanner. "Crow, keep doing your best. We'll cheer you on again!"
"Yeah!" Amanda agreed just as loudly.
"We love you Crow!" Tanner screamed as loud as his small lungs would allow.
At the declaration, Crow's silvery gray eyes watered just a tad as he looked up towards his kids in untold amounts of relief, joy, and love. Agh, those kids. Crow thought to himself, discreetly wiping the water from his eyes. He really missed them a whole bunch.
But he was still totally going to kick their butts once he reunites with them because of this whole ordeal.
"Congratulations." Crow jumped a little in his skin at the sudden declaration, and looked to the side to see Gongenzaka standing right beside him. The bulkier teen having gotten off of his D-Wheel the instant it stopped.
Seeing how terrified Gongenzaka was whilst riding the thing, Crow wasn't very surprised.
"I bore witness to your all out dueling, and I must say I am impressed. Today was a great duel, and I thank you for that." With those words, the Lancer offered his hand out towards Crow silently.
Crow looked down towards Gongenzaka's offered hand for a handshake before looking back up towards the teen's eyes. "Gongenzaka…" After a silent moment Crow smirked and took Gongenzaka's offered hand to give a firm, solid handshake. Much to the entire crowd's roaring applause. It seems with the end of the duel the entire stadium was finally able to put their anger aside and cheer as one for the Friendship Cup.
Just as it was supposed to be.
. . .
"So? What did you think of that display?" Zero asked idly as the two kings of the City fought against each other in a game of chess. Once Yuto and Ruri had left, it was admittedly silently awkward in the enormous chamber meant for only two people. Neither side spoke a peep, that is until Jack idly asked about the presence of the chess set. Zero in turn explained he was rather a fan of chess, and that it was king's game, to which Jack grew interested in and asked to play.
One game turned into another, and soon after multiple rounds of the game had passed between the two. The two grew so focused on the games they were playing that they had completely ignored the outside world up until the climatic moment in Crow and Gongenzaka's duel.
Judging from the fancy bowl being thrown off of the table and the fruit missing, Jack was losing constantly, and it was ticking him off. Though it was his first time playing and he was still learning, the king of the City was adapting very fast.
"...Tck. It was nothing special." Jack sneered as he finally took out Zero's queen with great pleasure and a single bark of laughter. "HA! Now I've finally got you on the ropes! I'm winning this one Zero." Atlas' purple eyes went from the chess board, towards Zero himself, then out to the City's stadium and track. "Otherwise, that round was nothing more than a bore. I would've beaten the both of them in half the time they took fighting each other." This time Jack's sneer was directed towards the stadium. "Honestly, this tournament is nothing more than a farce most of the time."
"How dull and dreary." Zero drawled slowly. One hand idly floating above the chess pieces as he thought. The other hand under his masked chin as he gazed down at the board. "It must be torturously painful to see your people act so fake all the time. Whether they be Tops or Commons. They unfortunately have that in common." Zero's hand reeled back for a second, before easily plucking up one of his pawns and moving it forward towards the end of the board. "I'll be sacrificing this pawn to bring back my queen." Discarding the pawn to bring back his noble queen onto the board, it so happened to be in the path of Jack's king. "Aaand that's checkmate."
The shit eating, cheesy smirk behind Zero's mask was so painfully obvious that Jack almost threw himself over the table and his throne to throttle him.
Almost.
Such savage violence was beneath a king like himself after all. There was such a thing called manners.
In exchange, Jack merely took a deep breath that resembled a bull in a china shop about to charge, and flexed his hands into fists in order to calm himself down.
"I swear to God." Atlas glared fiery fury down onto the masked rebel as he hunched over his throne to take a closer look at the board and just how he had lost. The game was indeed over, Jack not having realized that Zero had set up a trap for him seven moves prior. One of Jack's eyes twitched irritably.
How embarrassing. Losing so much to Zero even in a game as harmless and trivial as chess.
"What's wrong? You look rather upset about something?" Zero steepled his hands together and placed his chin on top of them. The sly, cheeky, absolutely bloody annoying sarcasm grating on Jack's last nerves like a cheese grater. "Would you like to play again?" Zero asked innocently, but it could hardly be called innocent with that damn sarcasm.
Such a sharp tongue, like a viper or cold serrated steel blade.
"I hate you." Atlas deadpanned.
The comment only seemed to make Zero more pleased however, and that just made Jack feel even more sour.
Then the doors opened, and both sides looked back to see Yuto and Ruri finally making their return. Two chairs being dragged with them and being placed beside Zero's own spot.
"Ah, look who finally makes their return." Zero idly waved towards Yuto and Ruri as they resettled themselves, before turning his attention towards resetting the chess board, again. "You two enjoy showing up Security and saving those kids?"
"Did you know that was going to happen?" Yuto demanded suddenly. The chairs the two had taken were merely foldable ones, and therefore they didn't have arm rests. At least it was an upgrade from the floor though. "Is that really why you sent us out?"
Zero huffed a laugh. "Hah, no way." That blank mask turned to stare Yuto down, and the Xyz user admittedly couldn't fight against the light shiver he felt slip down his spine at the sight. The sheer stillness in Zero's sudden motions as he turned to look at Yuto being the main reason for the sudden chill. "But I did know that Security would be up to no good. It's obvious isn't it? That Roger is going to manipulate the tournament."
That comment only made the shiver Yuto felt worse.
"But how did you know?" Ruri repeated. Bending forward to look past Yuto and at Zero with an uneasy look on her face.
"Simple." Zero turned back towards the chess set, picked it up, and very carefully held it out to the two Xyz rebels as he explained. "The High Executive Council didn't provide this chess set, Roger did. When we first came in here the black king was surrounded by the white side's forces. He was sending a message, a threat to me." Idly plucking the black king off of the board, Zero twirled it skillfully around in his fingers. "Roger likes chess. He thinks this is all just one big game, and he's in control of all the pieces." He stopped spinning the black king suddenly as Zero's voice darkened with malicious glee. "I'm going to show him that when playing chess, there are two people playing the board. That there is always someone on the other side of the playing field."
"But this isn't chess, and we aren't pawns." Yuto stated coolly, as if reminding Zero that they were in fact people.
"Oh I know that, but apparently Roger doesn't." Zero placed the black king back onto the board. "It'll be a beautiful sight to see him finally realize that, like a long awaited smack across the face really." After a moment's pause, Zero idly held the board out to Yuto and Ruri. "... Care for a game of chess while we wait for the day to finish? I know your two hours are almost over and that you'll have to switch out soon. Why not spend it doing something fun?"
"Pass." Instantly, both Yuto and Ruri gave a firm rejection to Zero's suggestion. They didn't feel like getting plowed over in an embarrassing display in chess.
Zero's shoulders slouched just an inch, but they sprang back up immediately after as the masked man turned back towards Jack and placed the chess set back onto the table. "Care for a rematch then Atlas? I know you're just itching to beat me, and you probably will in this next game. It was a rather close match." The subtle manipulation was obvious to all parties, including Jack himself.
A few minutes later, Zero was tumbling out of his chair in his frantic attempts at getting away from Jack Atlas, who had lost again and finally threw manners off to the side.
. . .
Fifteen minutes after that, both Zero and Atlas were back in their chairs playing another round of chess in intense silence. Completely ignoring when Yuto and Ruri left to switch with two other people, and completely missing the next duel in general.
. . .
"Those damn Xyz rebel rats!" Roger seethed and hissed between his teeth as he slammed his fist down onto the arm of his chair in anger. The chess board to his right rattled at the sudden action before settling once more. Dull green eyes sharpened with hatred as the camera zoomed in on the group of four residing in the throne room as the next match was finally announced. "Always getting in the way. He's always getting in my way even when he's not the one there! Manipulative son of a- Grrr."
Zero somehow always managed to grind Roger's gears in the perfectly wrong way. He hated it. Hated him so much. Despised him as much as he did Jack Atlas, maybe even more so.
Shinji Weber vs Riley Akaba. The younger adoptive sibling to Reiji Akaba according to the notes he still had from back when he was with Academia. It was certain to be interesting and very enlightening on the Akaba family's duel style.
However, it was all soured from the failure that came from those Security officers at the hands of Yuto and Ruri. If it wasn't for those brats and Zero's pestering those children would've been in Roger's clutches, and therefore Crow Hogan would've been in his back pocket and a way into the Lancers and their ranks.
Now that option was no longer available, because those brats had gotten away!
"Elise." Masking his anger behind that familiar dull, monotonous calm, Roger video called one of his many female secretaries. Said secretary instantly saluted to attention which Roger waved off before merely ordering. "Tell Security to find those three children that interrupted the tournament and bring them here under custody."
"Right away Roger sir." Seconds later and the video call was over, and Roger was alone once more.
While he had failed nabbing the children when they had first appeared, there were always many other chances. Roger controlled the City, he owned Security, meanwhile Zero and the Lancers couldn't be everywhere at once. He practically could be. If anything, Security can always nab the kids once they returned back to Hogan's home, and that avenue of planning would be reopened for further consideration. There were other options to act on in the meantime.
At the moment, Roger watched through his many, many security cameras as Zero struggled to get away from Atlas' wrath after he once again lost another chess match.
Roger could wait, chess was always a game that took time and patience after all.
He would win. No matter what or who got in his way.
Not even Zero would stop him.
Jean-Michel Roger was going to win. He was certain of that. He always won.
Always.
Hurray for Yuto and Ruri for saving the day! Things seem to be going (somewhat) well with the start of the Friendship Cup, but I doubt that's going to last for long. Otherwise, in my opinion the groups can speak both English and Japanese interchangeably sometimes, but mainly use English since, well, that's my main language. Shout out to Dippin Dots too, because I loved Dippin Dots as a kid and I still do love em.
Ahh, Jack and Zero are such great gaming buddies aren't they? I absolutely love that dynamic. I can just imagine Lelouch just barely staying out of Jack's reach by running around the table and chairs. Trying to keep them in between him and Jack after he finally boiled all of Jack's restraint away. XD
If you have enjoyed the story so far leave a REVIEW, Follow, and Favorite the story so you can keep track of when chapters pop up. Because FYI, I don't have a posting schedule and I just post whenever I feel like it.
Until the next chapter everyone! -MoonlightWright
