Foreword: Er...I guess it's only a few chapters before the start of the next arc?
Anyways, please give suggestion or comments if you can, as always!
Touhou Duel Masters Café
Chapter 16 – Another beginning
Michael and Jonathan knelt on the floor, bruised and battered, and looking pretty depressed as the Paradise's Shrine Maiden and Ordinary Magician stood over them, arms folded and still looking very unsatisfied even after literally pummeling the two into the ground and having them eat a barrage of yin-yang orbs and a Master Spark.
"Now, let's hear a little explanation from you, shall we?" Reimu pointed her gohei at the kneeling boys.
"Gr…this is all that evil hermit's fault…" Jonathan muttered under his breath.
"Eh…can we rest for a bit before we do that?" Michael suggested meekly, but Reimu's cold glare made him swallow his next sentence.
"…Fine, you can come in the shrine, and we can talk." Marisa pulled Jonathan up on his feet by his collar and stared straight into his eyes.
"Please…" As Jonathan feared another beating, Marisa pulled him into a tight hug, crushing the air out of his lungs. "Urk…can't breathe…"
"…I missed you." She said, as Jonathan fell quiet and patted the girl's head.
"I'm sorry… And you did well. I'm proud of you." The white haired boy smiled as Marisa simply nodded as she continued to hang onto Jonathan.
On the other hand, Reimu latched herself onto Michael's back, nearly crushing him under his weight.
"Heavy…"
"Shut up!"
"…"
"…You're paying back all those time we've waited for you. With the rest of your life." Reimu told the black haired boy.
"…Eh…"
"Refusals unaccepted."
"…Fufu. I understand." Michael laughed a little as Reimu's arms clung even tighter.
Tucking his arms under Reimu's legs to hoist her up higher, he began the short walk back to the shrine as Marisa finally let go and dragged Jonathan along with her.
"…Come to think of it, you haven't grown that much there huh?"
"…"
Keine was waving the children good-bye, as she faintly heard an agonized scream that apparently came from the direction of the Hakurei Shrine.
Cocking her head, she wondered if that sounded like an old friend of hers.
…No, that's not possible. She resumed her farewell and she smiled.
"…" Michael silently sipped his tea and avoided Reimu's fiery gaze after the previous ordeal.
"…" Jonathan didn't say anything, learning from his friend's mistake that resulted in another beating, as he poured himself another cup of tea.
"…Well, shall we start the story now?" Marisa, who was sitting beside Jonathan, raised her eyebrows.
"…I suppose…"
"Well… We've told you about our previous world…" Jonathan started. "10 years ago… Shangri-La came to this world."
"…The day you disappeared?"
Nodding, Jonathan continued. "We sealed him…with our own souls… A ritual that almost ensures it wouldn't be broken." He unconsciously curled his left hand into a fist.
"Until some time ago…when Reimu broke it when she wasn't exactly sober." Michael stared at the shrine maiden. "A week or two ago, during the last festival, when she knocked over that small box." He pointed to a small wooden box, decorated with the symbols of every Civilization in Duel Masters.
"Our souls and Shangri-La were sealed inside, but due to Reimu's abnormally strong spiritual powers…she broke it after knocking it down." Jonathan explained.
"…" Reimu's cheeks were tainted with a light hint of red and she looked away as Marisa threw her gaze towards her. "It…There was no helping it, after all!"
"After our souls were freed from the seal… " Jonathan went on. "Our bodies were in the same shape as they were when we were sealed along with Shangri-La…so we had to get Eirin-sensei to help out a little."
Michael continued on for him. "After we had ourselves patched up…we paid a visit to Keine-sensei to ask her for some help… and to help us establish the café as a base and source of income for the time being. Of course…Yukari helped us out in this. We can't give enough thanks to her."
"That old hag?" Reimu arched her eyebrows.
"I'm only 17~" Yukari's voice resonated inside the shrine.
"…Anyways…" Michael massaged his temples. "Now that you've guys have taken care of the Zenith…even if he was largely weakened… Thank you. Reimu, Marisa." The boys smiled with gratitude at the girls, and they returned them with huge smiles too.
"Haha…yareyare daze…"
"Never changed, haha."
Sanae landed softly in front of the Hakurei Shrine, along with Alice whom she bumped into along the way. The breeze that surrounded her dispersed as she closed off her manipulation of the wind.
Alice, carrying her grimoire as always, with both Shanghai and Hourai on her shoulders, heard some faint laughter and chatter coming from inside the shrine. Two voices belonging to Reimu and Marisa…one having a vague image in her memories, and one other she could not recognize. Looking towards Sanae, she had this puzzled expression on her face too.
Since when did the Hakurei Shrine get any visitors, much less those she has not seen before?
Walking quietly to the shrine, Alice and Sanae pulled open the door…to find Reimu and Marisa playfully hugging two males, who only responded by laughing heartily.
"Ha..Hawawawa…" Sanae was taken completely by surprise, "Reimu-san and Marisa-san…being so close to males?"
"I'm more surprised that this shrine actually has visitors we haven't seen before…" Alice brushed through her blonde hair.
"Hey! What did that mean!?" Reimu glared at Alice, though still attaced to Michael's back.
"Oh, Alice and Sanae? What'd you come here for ze?" Letting go of Jonathan, Marisa greeted the two visitors.
"Ah…oh!" Sanae recovered from her initial shock and answered. "Ah…Since I didn't have much to do today…I thought I might try to spend some time here before the banquet tonight…" She scratched her cheek, slightly embarrassed at her schedule.
"I'm just here to kill time too." Alice answered coolly.
"You guys sure are free huh…" Reimu commented.
"I suppose you're the same, Reimu." Alice shrugged, and the red-white snorted.
The puppeteer shifted her attention to the two boys. "My name is Alice Margatroid. You are?"
Michael peeled off Reimu's arms and stood up to formally greet Alice with a smile. "I suppose you remember me from yesterday, Alice-san?"
"…!" Alice now realized why she thought she had heard his voice before. "You're that person from yesterday…"
"Well… As a formal introduction…" He extended his hand to Alice. "My name is Michael. Nice to meet you, Alice-san."
"…Fufu." Smiling in return, the magician shook the boy's hand.
On the other hand, Saane introduced herself to Jonathan. "Etto, my name is…"
"Kochiya Sanae, right?" Jonathan finished Sanae's sentence for her. "I've heard a lot about you from your gods last night."
"Eh, ehhh…."
"My name's Jonathan. Pleased to be your acquaintance, Kochiya-san."
"Just, just Sanae would be fine…"
"All right. Sanae-san it is." Jonathan smiled, while the green haired shrine maiden flustered.
The short introduction ended with both Michael and Jonathan clutching their sides in pain where Reimu and Marisa pinched them hard.
As the two boys cooked lunch for the small gathering, Reimu and Marisa explained their situation to the new situations, Sanae nodding and asking some questions in between while Alice remained relatively quiet.
"Ah…lunch is ready." Jonathan interrupted, setting down plates with hot rice and curry on the table.
"Wa! Food!" Reimu immediately dug in into her food, and Marisa did the same.
"…" Alice shot a disapproving look at the two hungry wolves, and started to eat her curry after saying thanks.
"Itadakimasu." Clasping her hands together, Sanae swallowed her food too.
The whole pot of curry was cleared in 10 minutes.
Michael played with Shanghai and Hourai, the two dolls circling around him and landing on his palm, while Alice simply smiled and moved her fingers to control her favorite dolls. Jonathan and Sanae took an instant liking to each other, now doing Jojo poses and shouting various anime and manga lines at each other.
"Sunlight Yellow Overdrive!"
"Jojo! Kisamaaaa!"
Reimu and Marisa did not look pleased with this, and sulked while sipping the freshly boiled tea.
"…Ha…so bored…"
"I know…"
"Fufu. Michael-san, you really like my dolls, don't you?"
"Yeah. They're very well done, I have to admit again." Michael praised as Shanghai played with his fingers.
"Super-!" Jonathan yelled.
"Inazumaaaa-!" Sanae followed.
"Kiiiiiickk!" The both of them shouted in unison.
"…" Reimu and Marisa grumbled. The Reimu perked up as she thought of something to do.
"Hey, Michael. Let's duel."
He stopped playing with the dolls and turned to her. "Huh, why?"
"No why! I've lost so many times against you and I'm getting my revenge this time!" Reimu complained.
"Eh…It's fine by me, but…"
"I'll like to have a duel too!" Sanae's eyes sparkled, evidently having fully recovered from her defeat last night. "Please, duel me, Jonathan-san!"
"Eh, ah…I'm fine with that…"
"Meh, I finally got my revenge last time, so I'll just watch from here." Marisa lazily waved her hand at them.
"…I'm sorry, Reimu, could you put your duel off for a second?" Alice suddenly interrupted.
"Huh? Why?"
Alice took out her deck in response. "I'd like to see the strength of the duelist who mentored the Hakurei Shrine Maiden…personally. With my own eyes."
"Mu…" Reimu pouted. "Fine. I'll leave my duel until later. Michael, show her what you've got!"
"Hai hai…" Returning the dolls to Alice, Michael got up and followed the magician outside.
"I suppose we'll have our duel after them then?" Jonathan suggested, and Sanae nodded in response.
"Well then… Yoroshiku, Alice-san." Michael nodded at her.
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Michael-san." She replied with a smile.
"Chi…getting so familiar with each other all of a sudden…" Reimu grumbled.
"Duema, Start!"
BGM: AR Duel! (YGO ZeXal Sound Duel 1)
"I cast Faerie Miracle!" Michael revealed the spell in his hand, dropping the top 2 cards of his deck into his mana zone. "Turn End."
"My turn. I evolve Graffiti Doll Troll into Magic King, Endless Puppet!" The small Death Puppet modeled after a chubby demon in armor was enveloped in the aura of evolution, and evolved into a giant clown with multiple arms controlling countless puppets.
"Fufu. I haven't finished yet. Gravity Zero! Since I have a Death Puppet in the battle zone, I cast Puppet Trick, Pet Puppet for no cost and discard one card from your hand." Alice explained as she chose one card from Michael's hand. "That one."
"…" Kiriko Moon dropped from his hand and into his graveyard.
"Whenever you discard cards from your hand, I can draw the same number of cards with Endless Puppet's ability." Alice drew a card. "Battle. Endless Puppet, break that shield." Controlling the army of soldier puppets, the evolution Death Puppet broke the first shield.
"Shield Trigger, Counterattacking Silent Spark." The shattered shield reformed in Michael's hands as he immediately put it to use. "I draw two cards with its effect."
"Turn End." Alice declared.
"You seem like a worthy opponent." Michael smiled. "I summon Dragon Wizard Romanesk!" The Armored Dragon/Apollonia Dragon/Earth Dragon Hybrid that once ruled over the metagame materialized. "With his effect. I put the top 4 cards of my deck into my mana zone. Then I cast Seventh Tower! With its Metamorph effect, I put the top 3 cards of my deck into my mana zone. During the End Phase, Romanesk destroys one of my mana. I choose Faerie Miracle. Turn End."
"That's quite some impressive boost." Alice complimented. "But I wonder if you can do much without any hands? My turn. I cast Primal Scream, and put the top 4 cards of my deck into my graveyard, and salvage Dismantling Puppet Jenny. Then I cast one more Pet Puppet!"
"Urk…" Showing his only hand, Michael discarded Gachiko Roulette, and Alice drew a card.
"Turn End."
"My turn. …I evolve Romanesk into Uberdragon Valkyrias!" From the cocoon that enveloped the Dragon Wizard, the evolution Armored Dragon broke out and roared, his loud bellow piercing the heavens. "With his ability, I can put a Dragon from my mana zone into my battle zone! I choose Codeking Wilhelm!"
As the bellow of Valkyrias faded away, another roar took its place as the King Command Dragon descended upon the battlefield, instantly destroying Endless Puppet in the battle zone and Mikey's Pliers in Alice's mana zone. The top 3 cards of Michael's deck went into his mana zone with Wilhelm's ability.
"Valkyrias! Triple Break!" He commanded, and Valkyrias blasted away 3 shields with his chest cannon.
"Fufu…That's some luck you've got there, Michael-san." Alice revealed one of her broken shields. "Shield Trigger, Death Gate!"
"I destroy Wilhelm, and put Undead Bandit, Sixth Sense into my battle zone from my graveyard since he costs less than Wilhelm." The Outrage MAX with a tiger head for his chest broke out from the Gate of Hell.
"Sixth Sense's ability. When he is put into the battle zone from the graveyard, I can revive a cost 6 or less non-evolution Death Puppet or Outrage from my graveyard. Come, Torikabuto!"
The worm-like Death Puppet appeared from a puff of smoke as Alice explained his ability. "When he is put into the battle zone, I can destroy one of my creatures, and you have to destroy one of yours too."
Torikabuto and Valkyrias disappeared in two explosions, dropping into their owner's graveyards.
"Heheh, not bad at all. Turn End."
"Draw. I summon Mikey's Pliers." The Xenoparts appeared beside Sixth Sense. "Turn End."
"Draw." Michael started his turn. "I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist and look at the top 5 cards of my deck, and I add Outlaw Caliber Katsuking MAX to my hand and bounce Sixth Sense back to your hand since Katsuking is a Fire card. Then I summon Katsuking MAX and destroy Mikey's Pliers with Katsuking's ability!"
Mikey's Pliers was instantly sliced apart by Katsuking's sword and vanished into light.
"Turn End."
"Fufu…To turn the situation around every turn…. I've definitely taken an interest in you, Michael-san." Alice chuckled.
Reimu muttered something inaudible.
"My turn. Gravity Zero. I summon Moors for no cost and salvage Torikabuto, and summon Torikabuto."
"Ge…" Once again, Michael's field was wiped clean as Torikabuto self-destructed, taking Katsuking MAX along with it.
It'll be bad if I don't do something fast… "Draw. …Mana Charge. Turn End."
"Ara, it seems your luck is running out." Alice noted as she started her turn. "I evolve Moors into Maple Syrup." The evolution Death Puppet that looked like a grown-up version of Jenny swung her staff as Alice declared battle. "Maple Syrup, Double Break."
Michael's 2nd and 3rd shields splintered as Maple Syrup's staff came into contact with them.
"No triggers."
"Maple Syrup's Graveyard Kourin. When this creature is tapped during my End Phase, I can revive a cost 5 or less Death Puppet from my graveyard. I revive Troll. Turn End." The revived Troll now stood beside the larger Maple Syrup as Alice's turn ended.
BGM: Rua's Awakening (YGO 5Ds Sound Duel 3)
"Phew…I'll have thank you for breaking those shields, Alice." Michael smiled as he drew his card. "I summon Cyber N World!"
The blue Cyber Command materialized as both players shuffled their hand and graveyard into their decks while drawing 5 new cards.
"Then I summon Bolbalzark Ex!" The Hunter Dragon crashed down from the sky.
"Uwah…" Marisa sipped her tea.
"I untap all cards in my mana zone! Then I evolve Cyber N World into Grateful Life!" The insect-like Gaia Command burst out of the evolution cocoon and slashed the air with his blades.
"Grateful Life's effect! I put Temporal Immortal Galaxy into my battle zone. Then I summon Prometheus! I put the top 2 cards of my deck into mana zone tapped, and salvage 1 card from my mana!" As the ox Outrage appeared, Kiriko Moon and Mother's Sanctuary dropped into Michael's mana zone, and he took Mother's Sanctuary back into his hands.
"Yoshya! I cast Mother's Sanctuary and send Galaxy to my mana zone, but he awakens into King Of Galaxy and stays in the battle zone instead!" Michael cast the spell he just put into his hand as the Angel Command Awakened into it's stronger form.
"I evolve Grateful Life into Trueshinra Kiriko Moon!" He announced and chanted. "The Diva of destruction and rebirth, descend upon the battlefield and vanquish your enemies with your song!"
The Cyber Lord/Lunatic Emperor, a reincarnation of Emperor Kiriko, evolved from Grateful Life, showered the shrine with her blue aura.
"Hm…Master, it's some time that I've come out, no?" She questioned.
"At least it's better than Lionel, right?"
"Groan…" Lionel's tiny voice came out from Michael's pocket.
"Anyways, Kiriko Moon's ability! I return all of my other creatures to the bottom of my deck and cost trample the same number of creatures from my deck top!" He announced as all other creatures vanished into light. "I returned 3 creatures, so I cost trample 3 creatures in return!"
"Number Nine! Eternal Ryuusei Kaiser! Wilhelm!" He counted as his deck top cards revealed themselves. "Come out! My dragons!"
The 3 dragons let out ear-splitting roars completely dominating the battle zone with their presence.
"I destroy Maple Syrup, and send Bruce in your mana zone to your grave with Wilhelm's ability!" Michael declared. "Then Eternal Ryuusei Kaiser gives all my creatures Speed Attacker while Number Nine locks all your spells! Let's go, Alice-san! This'll be the last! Battle! Number Nine, Double Break!"
"Guh…!" Alice cowered as the Light King Command Dragon slashed away her last shields with his sword. "…No triggers…" She stared at Death Gate in her hand.
"Kiriko Moon, todomeda!"
"…You truly are strong, Michael-san." Alice complimented the boy as he helped her up.
"Haha, I was just lucky with my hands." Michael laughed in response. "That discard control and graving… I would have been in deep trouble if I didn't get my aces in time."
"Fufu…" They returned to the shrine, where Reimu was waiting with a clearly unhappy face, and instantly sat on Michael's legs as soon as he sat down on the edge of the shrine.
Alice just smiled at this while Michael sighed and patted her head.
"Yareyare…"
"Well, so it's our turn, eh?" Jonathan stood up as Sanae nodded.
"Let's go, Jonathan-san!" She looked quite eager for the duel, and followed Jonathan outside.
As Michael tried pour himself and Alice some tea from his position, the Leo duelist and the living god took out their decks.
"Ready, Sanae-san?"
"Anytime!"
"Duema, Start!"
BGM: The Last Location of Mankind (7th Dragon 2020 OST)
"I summon Franz the 1st. Turn End." The Cyber Lord Knight materialized on Sanae's field.
"Chi… Milzam Emeralda… This is gonna be tricky…" Jonathan drew a card. "I cast Faerie Miracle and boost 2 since I have all civilizations… Turn End."
"I draw 1 card with Submarine Fortress Lair." Sanae announced as Jonathan did the same. "I summon Terse Ruth. Turn End."
"Geh…" Jonathan looked at Reap and Sow in his hand. "My turn. I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist and add Bolshack Ulpheus to my hand, and then I return Terse Ruth to your hand."
"My turn." Sanae drew 2 cards while Jonathan drew 1. "I cast Memories of the Planetary Dragon. All my shields gain Shield Trigger until the end of my next turn." Sanae cast the Light spell and put it into her graveyard.
"So fast!?" Jonathan clicked his tongue as he started his turn. "Yoshi! I cast Lost Soul!"
A large scythe swung out of thin air, and Sanae dropped her entire hand into her graveyard.
"Mu…" Sanae drew 2 cards again. "I summon Emeralda! Then I take back one of my shields… Yes! Shield Trigger! Lord of Spirits, Alphadios!"
"Ha!?"
The Angel Command Dragon was bathed in bright light, and evolved into the six-armed Lord of Spirits, who shone his blinding glory onto the shrine ground.
"Alphadios…!"
"Heheh! That's the power of miracles!" Sanae proudly puffed out her chest, which made Reimu and Marisa cringe as they looked at their bodies. "Alphadios! Triple Break!"
"Kuh!" Jonathan shielded himself as 3 of his shields were shattered by a swing of Alphadios' blades of light. "…No trigger…"
"Heheh! Turn End!"
"Damn…that was totally unexpected…" Jonathan complained. "I summon Romanesk! Turn End, and I send Faerie Life from my mana zone to my graveyard."
"My turn! Mana Charge, and I summon Tignus. Battle! Alphadios, Triple Break!"
"..." Jonathan's last shields broke, and were added to his hand.
"Turn End! Heheh, I'll be sure to win next turn!" Sanae declared with a large smile on her face.
"Sanae is getting full of herself again…" Marisa commented.
BGM: Battlefield -Rival Arrival (7th Dragon 2020 OST)
"Heh…I won't be letting this duel end so easily!" Jonathan drew a card. "Evolution! I evolve Romaneask into Bolshack Ulpheus! The dragon of holy flames, lead me to victory!"
The Hunter/Armored Dragon/Angel Command swung his blade, incinerating the air in front of him. "Heh! Jonathan! Let's show her our power!"
"Yeah!" He nodded in response. "Bolshack Ulpheus's effect! I cast Last Violence from my hand for no cost!"
"Eh!?" Sanae was taken by surprise.
"Yareyare…she's too confident in the power of Alphadios…" Michael shook his head.
Though it would have been a lot worse of Death Marriage came out…
"Last Violence's effect! I add the top card of my deck into my shields face down. Then I destroy Alphadios!" A large cannon fired a beam at the Lord of Spirits, destroying him.
"Alphadios!"
"Then you must choose 2 non-multicolored cards in your grave and put them into your graveyard."
"U…" Choosing Franz and Tignus, Sanae sent the two cards into her graveyard.
"Then I add a multicolored creature from my deck to my hand. I add Katsuking MAX to my hand. Turn End."
"Kuh…" Sanae drew 2 cards once more. "Mana Charge…. Turn End."
"Heh… I summon Number Nine!" Jonathan tapped 9 cards in his mana zone, summoning the King Command Dragon that Michael used before. "Battle! Bolshack Ulpheus! Double Break!"
"Uwah!" Sanae cowered as the Hunter Dragon slashed through two of her shields, one of them being the shield fortified with Submarine Fortress Lair. "…No triggers…"
"Turn End."
"My turn…draw. …I summon Emeralda and add a shield from my hand… Turn End." Sanae looked like a deflated air balloon now.
"This'll be the last, Sanae-san!" Jonathan drew a card. "I summon Bolbalzark Ex! Then I summon Katsuking MAX and destroy Emeralda!"
"Haaaa!" The Outrage MAX let out a large cry before slicing the Angel Command Dragon in half.
"Number Nine, Bolbalzark Ex! Break all of Sanae-san's shields!"
Sanae sighed as she recovered her shields. Memories of Planetary Dragon, and Heavens's Gate…
"Bolshack Ulpheus! Todomeda!"
"Uwahhh…" Sanae lay in the shrine, still feeling a little down from her defeat earlier.
"Haha, that was a good duel, Sanae-san." Jonathan comforted her. "If I hadn't been using that deck, I would've lost definitely."
"Uu…"
"Haha…" It was not late afternoon, and the sun was still high up in the sky.
"Oh, it's this time already." Michael clapped his hands. "Now then, shall we prepare for tonight's banquet?"
"Ou!"
Decks:
Michael: 5C Big Mana (Kiriko Moon)
Jonathan: 5C Big Mana (Last Violence)
Alice: Darigaaz Death Puppet
Sanae: Bouhatsu Milzam
I suppose I'll have to give Sanae a little more screen time later?