Sun, Shine, and The Fortune Cup. After waiting outside for almost 2 hours with my friends, we finally make it up to the gates of the stadium. It's warm enough outside today that I decided to wear some high waist shorts with a large t-shirt tucked into them. I have my sunglasses on and a small hand bag strapped across my body. My friends were also dressed in suitable clothes for today's weather, considering we would be sitting outside under the sun almost all day. All the gates around the stadium read sold out. Which isn't a surprise considering Duel Tournaments are the biggest events to happen in the City. Who even attends regular sports games anymore? After showing our tickets to the attendant at the main gate, we enter into the stadium. Before heading up to our seats, we decide to get some popcorn and drinks.
"Hey, did you ever figure anything out about that Signer stuff I asked you about last night?" I whisper to Dmitri as we were walking over to the snack counter.
"I mean I already knew some about it, but I looked into it more. It's like one of those ancient myth kinda things. Supposedly five thousand years ago, the People of the Stars called upon their so called god called Dragon Star to help protect their land from the Earthbound Immortals that wanted to take over civilization. So, their god came in the form known as the Crimson Dragon. The Crimson Dragon had five servants with Signer marks and they helped to seal the Earthbound Immortals away in what are now known as the Nazca Lines. It's all just a big fairy tale that they used to tell kids to explain why some natural events happened." Dmitri says and shrugs it off like it's no big deal before ordering from the snack counter. His story makes me wonder if it really is a myth or is it actually our history? If the Signers are back, does that mean the Earthbound Immortals plan to come back as well? Is Yusei meant to protect all of civilization? He always seemed like the main character of his own story, but this all sounded like too much for him. But if he is a signer, then he's only one of five. Who else was a signer? Was the witch one? How were they chosen?
"Miss." The attendant snaps at me, trying to get my attention. I spin around and look at him, confused, snapping out all my questions. "Would you like to buy anything?"
"I'll take a small popcorn and large diet soda." The attendant groaned, going to get my stuff before taking my money. My friends and I finish ordering then head up to our seats in the stadium. Our seats are in the upper section right in front of the railing. We had a perfect view of the stadium. I have no idea how my friends managed to get these tickets, but I wasn't going to ask. I already having trouble keeping my mouth shut because I was in awe of the stadium. I have always dreamed of being here and watching a professional riding duel, and here I am with the next best thing to front row seats.
"Awe. Look at little Kyoko, she's so happy." Dmitri points me out to all our our friends before winking at me. I feel my face heat up from embarrassment.
"What, is Mister Upper Class not excited to be here?" I spout out the first come back I can think of. All our friends snicker as Kamila throws her arm over my shoulder.
"I think it's cute that Kyoko is so excited. She even has a cute little spark in her eyes. Plus we are all super excited as well, this only our second year to go after all." Kamila gives me a playful kiss on the cheek before grabbing Lorenzo's hand and taking her seat. I sit beside her with Dmitri on my left and Kai beside him. Of course I'm stuck in the middle, I can't even get out without everyone else being suspicious. I sink further into my seat and try to distract myself by chatting with my friends until the opening ceremony starts.
"Everybody listen!" The master of ceremonies says in the middle of stadium as Rex Godwin takes his seat behind his podium. "Duel of Fortune Cup is finally starting!"
Me and my friends stand up and scream as the rest of the stadium goes crazy, this is all so exciting. The cheerleaders on the ground begin cheering as well, until a gust of winds blows across the stadium as Red Daemon's Dragon appears from a small tornado in the middle of the stadium.
"Red Daemon's Dragon has appeared! And the sound of this D-Wheel must mean…" The MC announces as a white D-wheel with one large wheel shoots out from one of the pits below the stadium. It races around the stadium before using the glass to flip over and jump onto on of the stages in the middle of the field. Red Daemon's Dragon settles down behind the man. He removes his helmet looking up to the crowd. He's here.
"Master Atlas!" The crowd roars with cheers for Jack and so do my friends. Instead, my knees give out and I fall back down in my seat. Seeing his face in person again makes my soul feel like its leaving my body. My friends ask me if I'm okay, but I tell them that I am fine and just need a minute.
"There's only one King, and it's me!" Jack yells, pointing to the sky. He's so much older now. His riding suit fits him so well. But this doesn't remind me of the Jack I used to know. How much did he change after I left? Does he ever remember me any more? It's obvious he lost contact with Yusei. I look around at all the people cheering for Jack. None of them know the truth about him, the fact he's from the Satellite. That would make their cheers stop. Jack wouldn't be a king, he would look like the fool. "Who's going to duel me?" Jack says, looking around the stadium, challenging anyone not to cross him in a riding duel.
"The duelist who received the lucky tickets for a chance at a dream match again the King are here!" The MC announces. My question is how do I get one of these tickets, not that I need to challenge Jack, but I want to participate in professional riding duels. I've been able to duel Jack more times than I wanted when I was younger. I roll my eyes as two podiums raise up from the ground as the MC is announcing. To think seeing Jack again was enough for me. From the ground rises Yusei Fudo. To think I wouldn't have to see him again. He's standing beside a small kid that looks similar to the boy from yesterday. Was this the sister he left at home? There are 6 other contestants besides Yusei and the young girl or boy, it's hard to tell. The crowd go from cheering to sitting down in complete silence. That's when the gossip about Yusei being marked started. I sink lower in my seat and hugged my hair closer to my neck. This is what everyone would also think of me if I was in Yusei's place. A large dark skinned man stepped forward grabbing the mic from the MC before starting to speak into it.
"Everyone! My name is Bommer." Well that cleared up the question of who he was. "As one of the duelists standing here, I want to ask what you're seeing. This man is a duelist chosen in the same manner as the rest of us!" He announces, pointing at Yusei. "Whether you have a marker or not, as long as you have cards, we're all the same." I stand up again quickly, letting out a loud yell in the silence of the crowd. Everyone stares at me, but I don't care, what this man was saying in the truth and I'm happy someone finally has the guts to say it. I quickly sit down as he continues to talk. "As long as you're standing here, there's nothing to be ashamed of. If you're going to stare at him through stupid rose-coloured glasses, then your words do nothing but incite violence!" He finishes speaking and returns the mic to the MC. Everyone in the crowd is speechless, that is until Rex Godwin begins to clap for Bommer. The MC followed by the rest of the crowd begins to clap as well, but it is hard to tell if anyone actually cares.
"Thank you for your heartfelt words, Bommer." Rex says, standing up from his chair. "What I have prepared here in this arena is exactly what you said. I am Rex Godwin, the person in charge of Neo Domino City's Public Maintenance Department. To thank everyone for their public maintenance, I organized this great duel festival. Differences in status nor wealth do not matter for duelists. This is true equality." I roll my eyes at what he says, I might believe Bommer but I don't believe a word out of Rex Godwin's mouth. He's just saying all this to cover up the fact Yusei is here. Why did he invite Yusei anyway? Is it because of Jack?
"Here are the matchups for the first Round!" The MC announces, pointing towards one of the monitors. The first match is between Bommer and the young girl named Ruka. She looks excited to be in the first duel, but sadly this won't be a riding duel. I just want to get onto the riding duels. The contestants make their way down stairs below to pit to prepare for the first round. Rex and Jack head to their tower to watch the match from above. My friends and I chat until the first match is officially announced.
"Allow me to introduce the duelists in the first matchup. I'll bet kids around the world are jealous of her." The MC is announcing the first match. He's right about kids being jealous, but that's not all, plenty of adults are going to be jealous of this girl also. "This girl is the youngest competitor in the tournament." And probably the most underqualified. "The dueling angel who has come down from the heavens, Miss Ruka!" The girl arises from a platform in the duel zone and waves her hands in excitement. "And facing her is the man who gave the moving speech, Bommer the Black Storm!" Black Storm, more like Mister Macho Man. "They will battle in a standing duel. First, shake hands!" The handshakes seems to last awkwardly long. "It's time for the duel!" Finally. "Both players, activate your Duel Disks!"
"Duel" Bommer and Ruka shout in unison.
"My turn. I draw!" Bommer says, drawing a card and taking the first turn. "From my hand, I activate Star Blast!" He plays a spell card.
"That's fine. Keep activating things!" This kid is taunting Mister Macho Man.
"With this card, by paying 500 life points, I can lower the Level of a chosen monster by one." Bommer's life points decrease to 3500. "I lower the Level of my Level 5 monster Summon Reactor-SK in my hand by one. Then, I summon it in attack position (ATK:2000)!" The kid definitely seems scared of her opponent which is reasonable for a kid that looks like twelve. "Due to the effect of Star Black, Summon Reactor's Level is Lowered to four, so I can Normal Summon it. I set one card and end my turn!"
"My turn! I draw" Ruka says, drawing a card from her duel disk. "I already got it! I summon Morphtronic Celfon in attack position (ATK:100)!" I really hope this kid has something else up her sleeve, because her strategy right now doesn't seem like it's going to work out. "Mister, I'll show you how great my Morphtronic Deck is!"
"Before that, I'm going to activate Summon Reactor's monster effect. Summon Reactor responds when the opponent summons a monster. You take 800 points of damage." Ruka's life points drop to 3200.
"Not bad, Mister. But my Morphtronic Deck also won't lose." For someone who's going to lose, this kid sure is determined.
"Then like you said, why don't you introduce me to the power of your Morphtronics?" Ah everyone's favourite past time while dueling, taunting.
"I would have done that even if you didn't ask! Celfon's monster effect. Dial on!" The kid says, swinging her arm around in a circle. "When Celfon is in attack position, I flip over the same number of cards in my deck as the number that appears on the dial. If the final card is a Level 4-or-below Morphtronic monster, I can Special Summon it!" The energy around the kid tensed as she waited for the dial on the monster's chest to stop. "All right, it's two!" She draws two cards from her deck, "The second card is… I got it! I Special Summon Morphtronic Boomboxen is defense position (DEF: 400)! I set one card and end my turn!"
"My turn! I draw!" Bommer yells, drawing a card from his deck. "From my hand, I summon Trap Reactor-Y FI in attack position (ATK: 800)! Here I go. Battle! Trap Reactor attacks Celfon!"
"I was waiting for that! I flip over my trap card Morphtransition! Ta-daa! Due to its effect, Celfon switches to defence position, and your monster's attack is negated."
"It looks like you have some skill. However, I use Trap Reactor's monster effect. Trap Reactor responds to your trap and you take 800 points of damage. Go!" Bommer says as Ruka's life points drop to 2400.
"You haven't beaten me yet!"
"I'm not done yet. Let's battle again!"
"Bring it!" Ruka yells at Bommer.
"Summon Reactor attacks Boomboxen! Summon React!"
"The attack on Boomboxen wasn't successful! Summon Reactor's attack was negated!" The MC announces and I yawn in my seat. Hopefully the next duel will be more interesting. I ask my friends if I can get up and go to the restroom. Kamila says that she will go with me so we squeeze past Lorenzo and head up the steps into the ring of the stadium to go look for the bathroom.
"So… Are you enjoying yourself?" Kamila ask as we walk.
"Yeah, I guess, I was just expecting to see more riding duels. I was also hoping these duels would be done from people that are at least old enough to order off the adult menu at the restaurant." I say and Kamila chuckles at my joke. Even though it has been awhile since the incident at the club, I still can't stop thinking about how pretty she is when she smiles and laughs. Also, how much I would love to kiss her soft lips again.
"I'm sure we will get some interesting duels, especially from the guy named Yusei. He seems like an interesting character."
"Yeah, no telling." I don't want my friend to know that I used to know Yusei, but above all else I can't let them know that I also knew the Great Duel King Jack Atlas. "I'm sure Yusei's duel will be interesting, but I can't wait to see Jack's final duel."
"Are you a fan of the duel king?"
"You could say that." I laugh of the fact of me being a fan of Jack's. I'm pretty sure his ego was big enough when we were in the satellite. No telling how he is now. After finishing up in the restroom, we return to our seats. The duel is still going on. Bommer is at 2100 life points and Ruka has 800. This duel is going the way everyone thought it was going to go and Bommer is currently activating a trap card.
"The trap card Delta Reactor. Delta Reactor activates by sending Summon Reactor, Trap Reactor, and Spell Reactor to the graveyard. I Special Summon Flying Fortress SKY FIRE (ATK: 3000)!" A bright light shines behind Bommer as his monster settles, it's obvious that Ruka is filled with fear. This is the end for her.
"The trap card of destiny activated! An incredible monster has appeared! Ruka will definitely be defeated!" The MC announces.
"Flying Fortress SKY FIRE's monster effect activates! By sending one card in my hand to my graveyard, one card on your field is destroyed! Death Drop! Attack him directly. Death Air Raid!" With this final blow, Ruka's life points drop from 800 to 0 in an instant and she falls to her knees in defeat.
"There's a winner! Bommer is going to the second round!" The crowd goes wild and the contestants clear the field so that the next round can begin. The guys decide to get up and go to the restroom during the intermission, they also bring back way too much popcorn for everyone. The next round is between a guy named Jill deLauncebeaux and a girl named Aki Izayoi.
As the girl enters the field, I feel myself gaze at her for longer than I should, beside how pretty she is something seems familiar. I look over to Dmitri who faces seems to be filled with confusion.
"Hey, are you okay?" I ask him.
"Oh, um, I'm fine. I'm just wondering why the would let a Psychic into this tournament." I gasp and can clearly tell that he is looking at the girl named Aki. That must be why she seems familiar, it has something to do with me feeling a small connection to any Psychic since I became one as well.
"You have got to be joking." I slump back in my seat and roll my eyes. "I have such a bad feeling about this."
"I agree with you, Kyoko, but it's not like we can do anything to stop it." Dmitri says, slumping back in his chair along with me, clearly not excited to see what might happen during this match. How this match could make the reputation of Psychics a lot worse than it already is.
"What's wrong with you two?" Lorenzo asks as he stretches in front of Kamila to look at us.
"What's wrong with us? A Psychic. That's what's wrong with us." I say to him, clearly not happy.
"What are you talking about? You guys are Psychics, how could Psychics make you upset?"
"Because, a Psychic is out there." I say. gesturing with my hand to field.
"Ohh… Well. look on the bright side. If they let a Psychic into this competition and a marked citizen then that must mean the diversity standards are rising. Right?"
That's when Dmitri, Kamila, Kai, and I all look at Lorenzo and begin laughing so hard I feel like i'm going to start crying.
"Diversity? Are you kidding me! That's never going to happen in this City! Everyone hates marked people, people from the Satellite, and especially Psychics. They always will." I say to Lorenzo after I am able to catch my breath from laughing.
"Don't leave out the fact that some of us are Psychic women" Kamila adds, calling out sexist people.
"Then the fact all of us are queer." Kai adds, calling out people like homophobes.
"Some of us are even foreigners." Kamila adds at the end for all the racists out there.
"In this City, you can never really win. One way or another we are hated for being different and that's never going to change in this city." Dmitri says, closing off the conversation before a full out debate breaks out between all of us. "Besides the duel is starting now."
"Duel!" Jill and Aki yell in unison.
"My turn! I draw!" Jill is taking the first turn. "I summon Masked Knight LV3 (ATK:1500)! Its monster effect activates! Persona Blast! You take 400 points of damage!" Aki's life points drop to 3600. "Then I activate a spell card! Level Up! I send Masked Knight LV3 to the graveyard to Special Summon Masked Knight LV5 (ATK:2300)! Masked Knight LV5's monster effect! Persona Twin Blast! You take 1000 points of damage!" Aki's life points are now down to 2600 already. "I set one card and end my turn."
"Due to an overwhelming attack, Izayoi has taken 1400 points of damage before her turn has even started!" The MC announces and he is right. Aki is already starting to take a brutal beating, but that's nothing compared to what to happen to Jill if she can't control her Psychic powers.
"I draw. I summon Wall of Ivy in defence position (DEF:1200)." Aki's turn has officially started, what kind of things is she going to do to Jill. "Then from my hand, I activate the spell card Seed of Deception. It lets me summon a Level 2-or-below Plant-Type monster. I Special Summon the Level 1 Tuner Monster Copy Plant in defense position (DEF:0). Copy Plant's monster effect. COpy Plant becomes the same Level as a monster on your field. It copied the Level of Masked Knight LV5." She's planning to Synchro. "Level 5 Copy Plant tunes Level 2 Wall of Ivy. The cold flame envelops the entire world. Black flower, bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon (ATK:2400)!" The crowd around us screamed in surprised as they could actually feel the burst of air coming from the dragon and I audibly gasp in shock. There is no mistaking it now.
Aki is the Black Rose Witch. She's the one I've been looking for this whole time. Most of the crowd don't even know what is going on, unaware of the danger of the situation. I grab my phone to snap a picture of the girl and the dragon.
"What are you doing Kyoko?" Kai asked looking over at me.
"That girl, she is the Black Rose Witch. She's a well known Psychic and not for the right reasons." I tell the group.
"You can't be serious, they wouldn't let a girl like that compete. Right?" Lorenzo asked.
"Only if they didn't know it is her, or maybe it was even a plan to expose her. No telling what's going on. If we already thought this was bad enough for Psychics, this is one of the worse things that could have happened."
"Witch, you already revealed your true identity?" Jill shouts at Aki across the field. The crowd is looking around, trying to figure out what is going on. You hear people shouting terms like masked witch, Black Rose Witch, and Psychic around in venomous ways. That dragon is only know for destruction and so is the Witch, and everyone knows about her now. They know exactly who she is. I know exactly who she is and I need to find her. Now. Jill is still talking up Aki, probably trying to make her seen as violent and terrible as she really is, which is why I must find her.
"Sorry." I say, standing up quickly from my seat. All my friends look at me confused. "Uh, I have to use the bathroom really bad." I say stepping over Kamila and Lorenzo.
"Would you like me to go with you?" Kamila says as I step over her.
"NO!" I scream and then laugh nervously to try and cover my mistake up. "It's fine, I'll be back quickly. Text me if you guys need anything." And with that I'm over my friends and running up the stairs that led back up into the stadium. I know they have a room in here for the contestants. I need to find it before she finishes her duel. I need to end this as quickly as possible. I need to kill her.