Foreword: So I was able to take some time to write this new chapter... Hope you guys enjoy it!

Suggestions and Reviews always welcome, as always!

Touhou Duel Masters Café

Chapter 29 – Resounding Echo of Hope

Hata no Kokoro scanned the Misty Lake with her usual poker face, her long lavender hair swaying in the small breeze that blew around the lake. Brushing the dust off her pumpkin-shaped skirt littered with smile-and-frowns shaped cuts, the menreiki – a type of tsukumogami whose numbers rival that of the stars in the sky – trudged through the lakeside, looking for a new opponent to duel.

Her last few duels haven't been much of a challenge, and she overpowered them fairly quick with little effort, resulting in more stars for her advance to the next stage.

Kokoro's eyes, which match the color of her hair, caught the sight of a blonde girl dressed in black, with an ofuda tied to her hair as a ribbon, floating in the sky in a relaxed pace.

So that's the "Rumia" I heard of…

"Hey! How about a duel?" Kokoro called out to the flying girl, catching her attention.

Rumia returned the call with a smile and descended to the ground. "Just in time. I was getting bored. Time to add 1 more star to my collection!"

"Sorry, that won't do, since this will be my victory!" Kokoro responded without expression due to her face unable to do so, but the mask covering part of her head changed to that of a fox, one of the 66 masks in her collection, a symbol of determination.

Both duelists' duel orbs glowed, expanding their duel pads and setting the crystalline shields around them, signaling the start of the duel.

"Duema, start!"

BGM: Faith is My Pillar (Etrian Odyssey 4 ~ Super Arrange)

"My turn! I charge Wilhelm and turn end." Kokoro put the King Command Dragon in her mana tapped.

"My turn. I charge Dismantling Jenny and turn end."

"My turn. I charge Intense Vacuuming Twist and cast Faerie Life." Kokoro cast the basic green spell, boosting Onishura into her mana. "Turn End."

…Onishura…? Rumia pondered. A rare choice nowadays. "My turn. I charge Hellvorof and summon Bloodrayne." The humanoid Outrage styled after an old western outlaw with a boar's head for his right arm materialized on Rumia's battle zone. "Now the first black creature I summon each turn costs 1 less. Turn End."

"My turn. Fuhahaha, a good card." Kokoro's expressionless face proved to be a real mismatch with her emotions once again, though her mask changed to that of a young woman, signifying joy. "I charge Saint Rose into my mana and cast Faerie Miracle, and boost 2 since I have all civilizations in my mana zone." Tapping 3 cards in her mana, Kokoro cast the boosting spell and dropped Destinia and Spellcyclica into her mana from her deck top, resulting in 6 mana for the menreiki. "Turn End."

"That's some boost you got there. Let's see what we can do about that." Rumia started her turn. "I summon Time Tripper. Now you have to put cards in your mana zone tapped." The fat Ghost appeared on the battle zone, formed out of gas.

"Uh…" Kokoro probably would've frowned if her face would permit. "My turn. I charge Mozart and turn end."

"My turn. Fufu. I evolve Bloodrayne into Black Psycho with 4 mana!" The youkai of darkness declared, and Bloodrayne was surrounded by a pillar of shadow, transforming him into the Demon Command wielding a club-sword and shield, clad in an armor of chaos. "With his effect, I discard two cards at random from your hand…but you only have 2 anyway."

With a swipe of his weapon, Black Psycho forced Kokoro's last 2 cards out of her hand, revealed to be Eternal Trap and VAN Beethoven.

VAN Beethoven…that's one threat taken care of. "Turn End."

"My turn. Draw. …! I cast Hogan Blaster!" Kokoro revealed her newly drawn card. "I shuffle my deck, and if it's a creature I put it into the battle zone, and if it's a spell I cast it for no cost! My deck is my hope!" Her deck shuffled itself, stopping after a moment, and the girl flipped open the card. "My deck top is…5000GT!"

This time, it was Kokoro's turn to summon an Outrage, one that is dragonoid with a saw for his left arm, the same kind of card used by Marisa.

"5000GT…!"

"5000GTs effect! I destroy all 5000 or less creatures and psychics, and no one will be able to summon them! Begone! Time Tripper!" Smashing his chainsaw arm on the ground, a fissure erupted, swallowing Time Tripper in flames and sending him to Rumia's graveyard.

"Turn End."

BGM: Youma Yakou~ Apparitions Stalk the Night (Embodiment of Scarlet Devil ~ Phoenix Project Remix)

"Not so fast. I activate ZERO!" Rumia declared, brandishing a card from her hand. "Since you put a creature into the battle zone for no cost, I put Blackout into the battle zone for no cost too!"

The Invader ZERO/Sonic Command painted jet black, the Redzone freed from Dokindam's control and invasion virus crashed down onto the battle zone.

"ZERO!" Kokoro sounded surprised as her mask changed to that of Thunder and Lightning, signifying astonishment.

"My turn. I charge Bloodrayne and summon School Man for 2 mana." The Hedrian with 8000 modeled after a school building rose from the ground. "His forced effect. I destroy both School Man and Black Psycho, and you must destroy on of your creatures. Let's get rid of that eyesore of an Outrage."

"Uh…I choose 5000GT." The 3 creatures were engulfed in explosions, and they bounced to their respective owners' graveyard.

"Turn end."

"My turn, draw… I cast Faerie Miracle and boost 2." Kokoro declared as her mask changed to an old woman, signifying sadness. "Turn End."

So she's got 9 mana now… Rumia furrowed her brows. "My turn. I summon Vader. Then end phase. I mill my deck top, and if it's a creature, I draw a card. My deck top is…Ninjariban. I draw 1 and turn end."

"My turn! I summon Wilhelm!" Kokoro tapped all of her mana and summoned the King Command Dragon/Unknown.

"…What good luck you have." Her opponent clicked her tongue.

"My deck is my hope. It'll answer to me as long as I believe in it!" Kokoro answered. "I destroy Vader and burn Haridelberg from your mana zone! I boost 2 with Wilhelm's effect and turn end."

"My turn! I charge mana and cast Death Gate to destroy Wilhelm and I revive a cost 8 or less creature. Come back, Vader!"

The Gate of Hell opened it's maw, pulling Wilhelm into it, and subsequently the Dark Knightmare leapt out of the doors, once again appearing on the battle zone. "End phase. I mill my deck top… Deadzone. I draw a card and turn end."

"Kuh…Deadzone… My turn. I summon Destinia! Mana Arms 4! Since I have 4 multi-colored cards in my mana. I shuffle my hand into my deck and draw 4 cards!" The Crystal Command Dragon/Demon Command Dragon hybrid materialized on the battle zone, colored blue and black with a serpentine body, and granted Kokoro 4 cards as her new hand. "Then you choose a card from my hand randomly, and if it's a creature I can put it into the battle zone! Saa! Choose!" Her mask now changed to that of a Hyottoko, meaning joy.

"Destinia… That super rare from the new set, like Blackout huh. Functions almost like The Door of Miracle and Mystery huh… Except that it even serves as a draw source even if it misses…" Rumia explained to no one in particular. "I choose that card on your left!"

"Guhehe, seems my hope is responding to me! I put Number Nine into the battle zone!" The second King Command Dragon, this one belonging to the civilization of Light with the ability to completely lock down the opponent's spells, appeared on Kokoro's field, clad in white and golden armor, and wielding a sword of light. "Now you can't cast spells! Turn End."

"Mendou na…Draw. …I expand this D2 field! Haridelberg!" Rumia exclaimed as she set the D2 field on the battle zone, changing the nearby landscape into a field of needles.

"Guh…A second copy…and Blackout's effect…!"

"Exactly! Battle phase! Blackout attacks your shield! Then S Rank Invasion! Deadzone!" The Sonic Command jumped into the air, and after being incased in an orb of evolution, crashed down as the evolution Sonic Command revived by the S-Rank virus. "Blackout's pending effect! I destroy your creature with the largest power, that being Number Nine!"

"Uwa!" Kokoro took a startled step back as her creature exploded, but her face did not twitch the slightest bit as usual.

"Then Deadzone's effect! I give -9000 power to Destinia and destroy him too!"

Deadzone rushed towards Destinia, giving him a full force punch to the face and sending him to Kokoro's graveyard too.

"Triple Break!" The S-Rank Invader proceeded to smash through 3 of Kokoro's shields and she cowered from the impact.

"First shield…nothing." Kokoro checked her broken shields as they reformed as cards in her hand. "Second Shield…nothing. Third…it's a Faerie Life."

"Boosting now?" Rumia raised her eyebrows.

"No. It goes to the grave!" Kokoro answered, tossing to card to her graveyard. "Super Strike Back! The=DeadBracchio!"

"…!"

"When I have 5 or more cards in my mana and they contain all civilizations, I can discard a shield added to my hand to summon him for no cost!" The green Jurassic Command Dragon with 5 heads, each representing a civilization, rose from a crack on the ground. "When he is put into the battle zone, I choose 1 of your creatures and send it to your mana. I choose Vader!" Vines ensnared Vader, transforming him into energy and sending him to Rumia's mana zone.

"Kuh… Turn End."

"My turn! No charge! I summon Spellcyclica! I cast Hogan Blaster from my grave! Answer to my hope! My deck top is…Onishura!" Kokoro flipped open her deck top. "Yes! The Bonds of Hope! Cut through the darkness and shine through the future! Golden Twins, Onishura!"

The Golden Twins of the Alien royal family, riding on a blade-like saucer, materialized on the field. "Gachinko Judge! If I win, I can search a cost 10 or more, or a Victory rare creature from my deck, or cost trample a creature with the same conditions from my hand!"

"…." Rumia grit her teeth. "Gachinko Judge!"

Kokoro revealed Faerie Miracle, while Rumia revealed Dismantling Jenny, resulting in a loss for the former.

"Chi… But it hasn't ended yet! Attack Phase! I attack Deadzone with DeadBracchio…and Rev Change! I change a cost 5 or more green dragon, Bracchio into Puchohenza!" The Team Damama leader, replaced Deadbracchio, wielding his bow and riding on his lion-like stead. "Final Rev! I send all creatures with 12000 or less power to their respective owners' mana zone!"

Spellcyclica, Onishura, and Deadzone were all sent to the mana zone as the Revolutionary crashed down on the battle zone.

"Onishura, lend me your strength once more! Their effect activates even when they leave the battle zone! Gachinko Judge!" Kokoro continued as she flipped her deck top. "Wald Bracchio! Cost 11!"

"Can't top that…" Rumia sighed, revealing Bloodrayne, meaning that she lost the judge.

BGM: The Lost Emotion ~Another Hope (Hopeless Masquerade ~ Arrange)

"I'll let you see my true ace!" Kokoro tossed a card into a battle zone. "The dragon of hope and victory, clad in ancient armor! Your bellow of hope will echo to the future!"

"Bolmeteus! Sappphire! Dragon!"

The legendary Armored Dragon, released from the imprisonment of the Hall of Fame, appeared in the sky, crashing down in a pillar of fire, clad in his crimson armor and electromagnetic cannons by his side, letting out a great roar that shook the nearby area.

"Sapphire…Dragon!" Rumia took a step back, unable to hide her surprise on her face.

"Sapphire Dragon is a Speed Attacker! Go! Sapphire Dragon! Triple Break!" Kokoro ordered, and the dragon fired his cannons at Rumia, shattering 3 of them and sending them to her graveyard with his trademark shield burn effect. "Fuhahaha! Turn End!"

"Don't get too cocky! Your end phase! Invasion ZERO!" Rumia flashed a card from her hand. "Blackout!"

"A second copy!? Puchohenza makes your creatures that cost less than the cards in my mana come out tapped…But he comes out on your turn…meaning Puchohenza's tap-in won't work on him!"

"Exactly as you said it! My turn! I summon Hellvorof and mill 2 cards from my deck." The Funky Knightmare/Demon Command Dragon and Draguner modeled after a wolf plushie pounced out into the battle zone, and dropped Rumia's top 2 cards of her deck into her graveyard, being Black Psycho and another copy of Ninjariban. "With Hellvorof's effect…I equip him with Go to Hell! Come! The Scythe of Hell and Punishment!"

Reaching into a gap that connected to the hyperdimension, Hellvorof pulled out a black scythe shackled with chains of shadows.

"He's put into the battle zone tapped…but that doesn't matter anyway! Go to Hell's effect! When it is put into the battle zone, I revive a cost 5 or less Funky knighmare from my grave. Come on! Ninjariban!"

Hellvorof slit a gap in the ground, and from it, the Ninja-like Funky Knightmare crawled out.

"Ue… This is bad…" Kokoro commented, her mask now that of a monkey.

"Ninjariban is tapped too, but that doesn't matter!" Rumia continued on. "With his effect, I bring out Minagorosseo!" This time, Ninjariban opened another gap to the hyperdimension, calling forth the Demon Wolf Fortress. "Now all my black creatures get slayer."

"The long awaited battle phase!" The Youkai of darkness pointed at Bolmeteus Sapphire. "I attack Bolmeteus Sapphire with Blackout, and with Blackout's effect, I destroy Puchohenza! Then Blackout loses the battle with Sapphire…but takes him down with the Slayer granted to him by Demon Wolf!"

"Uwah!" Kokoro shielded herself from the explosions that once again rid her of her creatures.

"End phase… Go to Hell's effect! I Ryuukai it into Deathshiraz, and destroy 4 of my creatures!" Hellvorof threw the scythe into the air, and it transformed into the Demon Command Dragon, causing a large explosion that engulfed all 3 of Rumia's creatures and destroying them.

"Mada! I'm not finished yet! D Switch On!" Rumia flipped the card upside down with a large grin on her face. "I can flip this D2 field upside down at the end of my turn and revive all my creatures that have been destroyed this turn!"

"Yabai…!"

"I revive Blackout! Hellvorof! Ninjariban!" The 3 creatures once again materialized on the field.

"Hellvorof's effect! I bring out…Supreme Devil King Palace! Welcome Hell!" The plushie once again opened a portal to the hyperdimension, summoning the ultimate palace of hell, crime and punishment. "Welcome Hell's effect! I revive a cost 5 or less black creature from my grave. I evolve Ninjariban into Black Psycho! Black Psycho discards 2 cards from your hand!"

"Gu…" Hogan Blaster and Deadbraccio dropped from Kokoro's hand.

"Ninja's effect! I equip Ninja, now Psycho, with Migawari!" Black Psycho caught a large shuriken that dropped from the sky, granting him a one-time resistance to destruction.

"Turn End."

"Mazui…My turn!" Kokoro started her turn. "Draw! I summon Babelginus and exchange him with Bolmeteus Sapphire in my grave! Soul Exchange!" The Dragon Zombie/Grand Devil immediately exploded, and revived the Armored Dragon once again. "My hope will never fade! Battle! Bolmeteus Sapphire! Triple Break!"

Bolmeteus let out a powerful stream of energy form his mouth, splintering Rumia's last shields and sent them to her grave, revealing them as the shield trigger Demon Wolf Castle and Time Tripper. "Turn…End."

"Heh…My turn! Start Phase! Demon Wolf Ryuukais into Minagorosseo! I summon Ryusei in the Dark!" The Black Command Dragon bearing the name of Ryusei was summoned, appearing on the battle zone. "Now all creatures that aren't black are put into battle zone tapped. All my creatures get slayer too…but that doesn't matter since Minagorosseo is here."

"Battle! I attack Sapphire with Black Psycho! Black Psycho is not destroyed thanks to Migawari, and it flips into Karakurigaeshi instead!" The shuriken was thrown into the air, and transformed into the mansion of tricks. "Black Psycho's slayer destroys Sapphire!"

"Sapphire…!"

"Next! Hellvorof attacks, and Welcome Hell's effect! I revive Ninjariban to being out Reddull and grant him Speed Attacker!" Rumia increased her field. "Double Break!"

"Kuh… Shield check… 1st shield…nothing… Second shield…! Shield Trigger! Blue Dragon Earth!"

"…!"

BGM: Emperor of Hope Once Again (YGO ZeXal Sound Duel 2)

"I bring out a creature that costs less than the cards in my mana from my mana zone…and if it's a red or green creature, I can battle it with one of your creatures!" Kokoro exclaimed. "I bring out…Onishura! Lend my your hope, once more time! Since they're a red card…I battle him with Ryusei in the Dark!"

"Kuh… They're both 8000 power, so they're both destroyed!"

"Gachinko Judge twice!" Kokoro flipped her deck top. "Codeking Mozart! Cost 11!"

"…" Rumia flipped her deck top, revealing Hellvorof, a cost 7 card.

"I add Codeking Mozart to my hand! Then second time!" This time Kokoro revealed VAN Beethoven, cost 11, compared to Rumia's Demon Wolf, cost 5.

"Impossible…This is your hope!?" Rumia grit her teeth.

"My hope will never fade, as long as I'm here and believe in my deck!" Kokoro's mask changed to the Mask of Hope, one specifically crafted by Toyosatomimi no Miko. "I trample Codeking Mozart from my hand!"

Codeking Mozart, the 3rd King Command Dragon in Kokoro's deck, descended from the sky and obliterated every non-dragon on the field, those being Black Psycho, Ninjariban and Blackout. "Your dragons won't be able to attack either!"

"Kuh…since 3 of my creatures were destroyed, Mozart gets -12000 power with Haridelberg!" Rumia said. "Also since one of my creatures were destroyed, Karakurigaeshi ryuukais into Utsusemihenge! I can't attack…turn end."

"My deck…this is my last turn! Respond to my hope! Draw!" Kokoro's hand shone with a fiery light as she drew her top deck. "Not yet…Not yet! I cast Intense Vacuuming Twist! I look at the top 5 cards of my deck and add one to my hand…I add Inferno Sign!"

"Chi…!"

"I cast Inferno Sign! Revive! Babelginus!" Rumia called on the black dragon, to connect to her final card to win this duel. "Soul Exchange! Descend once again! My emblem of Hope!"

"Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon!" For the third time, Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon whipped up a tornado of flame and bellowed at Kokoro's opponent.

"Kuh…This is the end huh…" Rumia shook her head.

"…Battle! Codeking Mozart, direct attack!" Kokoro ordered.

"Ninja Strike 4! Hayabusamaru! I turn him into a blocker and block Mozart's attack!" Rumia countered, throwing out the hall-of-fame Ninja to stop the attack. "Hayabusa gets Slayer too from Minagorosseo!"

"Thank you, Mozart…" Kokoro whispered as Mozart was destroyed along with the Guardian. "This is the last! Bolmeteus Sapphire Dragon! Direct attack! Bolmeteus Sapphire Storm!"

"….It's my loss…" Rumia acknowledged as the large beam of energy enveloped her, ending the duel.

"Ha…Ha…" Kokoro sat on the ground, as her duel orb shone and signaled the number of her stars has increased by one.

"It was a good duel, thank you." Rumia approached the menreiki, and offered her a hand.

"…Thank you." Kokoro took it, and her mask changed to a one that signaled joy.

"Well, good luck." Rumia told her as she helped her up. "Hopefully I'll see you in the finals."

"Heh… Same to you too!" Kokoro responded, and soon the two girls departed on their ways.

Kijin Seija sat on the streets in the human village, unnoticed by the by passers as she watched them come and go. It has been some time since she lost to the Hakurei Miko and was stripped of the items she stole to make a revolution, and now she's been treated as if she doesn't exist after being given a good beating and a fair warning. She just sat there doing nothing, and before she noticed, a young man with white hair and glasses, dressed in what appeared to be "outside world" garments. She knew, since she had seen similar clothing on half eaten corpses on the poor outsiders who happened to be unfortunate enough to stumble inside Gensokyo and encounter some Youkai, who preferred to have a snack at that moment.

"…What's you business?" The amanojaku asked without turning.

"I just wanted to have a talk, that's all." The young man responded. "That power of yours, it's quite interesting. The power to invert all, and the power of your rebellion."

"If you're here to rub salt into the wound, just forget it." Seija spat.

"No, no, I didn't mean that." The young man shook his head. "I just wanted to know a little more about you. Your ability is quite powerful in reality, despite what you think."

And to keep an eye on you too, as per orders…he added silently in his heart.

"Hmph. I just still a low-class youkai. That's what I am." Seija's mouth curved into an upside down V.

"We could do something about that. Maybe this time, you could actually help Gensokyo instead of breaking the balance." The young man said.

"Keh. That's what I do. I invert stuff. It's my personality, my ability. I'm helping Gensokyo by bringing down the people on top." The black haired girl responded.

"Ha, as expected of an amanojaku." The young man stood up. "I could help you get more power…as long as you promise not to break the peace of Gensokyo. There's a Duel Masters Café in the village. You're welcome anytime. I'll leave you this, my treat."

The next moment, he was gone, swallowed up by the by passers, leaving a cup of hot coffee in his stead.

"…" Seija turned to observe it, and looked at the white steam rising from the surface of the liquid. She took it to her lips and gave a small sip, and her eyes widened as she found it tasted better than she expected. No one had ever really gave her a treat.

She quickly shook her head. She's an amanojaku, after all.

"Tastes bad."

She did finish the cup of coffee later on, however.

Decks:

Kokoro: 5C Cube Blaster Style （5cキューブブラスター）

Rumia: Mono Black Hellvorof （黒単ドラグナー）