Narrator's Note: Enter the first duel of the story. Real talk, lets you and me gather around the campfire and talk about the horror stories of writing duels. I'll start. Ooooh, this duel underwent ten revisions in the way it played out, either due to misreading the cards, miscounting the number of cards, or other small changes such as changing a card out for symbolism/foreshadowing's sake, then realizing the monster had way too many attack points and dropping any symbolism altogether. Or realizing that all seems perfect until you've given Chono the means to summon her powerful monsters too early and has no reason not to win the fame in three turns. They say, on nights like tonight, if you listen carefully you can still hear the writer crying, finding new inconsitancys in the duel. Oooooh spoopy. Your turn.
[[UPDATE: On 5/28/18, The Time Thief left a stellar review of this chapter pointing out some things for the duel. ( •̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥ ) So I have to back to do some adjustments. I can't subtract apparently. Smarter Than A Fifth Grader I am not. And it was also pointed out that I had a Ritual monster summoned from the deck. I don't know why, but my head was thinking they could be summoned from the hand or deck. Also, there may or may not be a problem with Armored Lizard not being summoned for direct attack, because I didn't even think for a second that there were different rules PRE Duelist Kingdom. So if you're reading this before I edit those problems I'm SO SORRY. (ﾉಥmಥ）
I'm in hell.
Send help.]]
[FOUR] ["THE DUEL REVISION"]
Chono took one look at herself in the mirror and smiled. She could feel the marble counter digging into her thighs as she leaned over. The closer she got to the mirror, the more prominent her red lips became. So, Chono puckered them and tossed a loose red strand of hair behind her ear.
He wouldn't notice one strand out of place. Hell no. Someone more modest might, but this boisterous suitor's gaze hadn't left the rims of Chono's eyes and lips since she arrived on the estate. And if they had strained away, it was on to Chono's… better bits. She lifted her hands under her breasts and pushed them up. The kimono was supposed to be doing the job for her, but of course, all the [4filter] did was let them hang. It needed an emergency rethreading around the chest.
Not that it would get one. She'd toss it out in the next week or so. After two, three dates tops, her new suitor would be more than happy to buy her something fresher. Then she'd dump him. With a face like a cat, Ms. Chono existed the bathroom and returned to her place at the dining table. Not before pouring one more serving of Sake into Mr. Sato's hand. "Let me take care of that." Chono's loose breasts hung as she leaned over the table. Maybe she'd keep the kimono after all.
If she hid in the bathroom a while longer, she probably wouldn't have been subjected to the unending blather that followed. But karma's a [4filter]. Sato, throughout the rest of dinner, continued to talk and talk about himself and his uninspired electronics store. Which, unfortunately, it seemed like no amount of breast hanging could put an end to. A superstore he called it, filled head to toe with electronics. The way of the future. Yeah, well, apparently it wasn't the was of the now, because he couldn't afford a table that fit actual human beings. She practically had to hold arms up to her collarbone to cut the cheap [4filter] steak. Who the [4filter] feeds steak to a woman on their first date? What a [4filter] meathead.
Good god, this night couldn't end soon enough.
Well, no. That wasn't entirely true. It's not that she wanted the night to end - per say - she just couldn't wait to skip all this padding and get to the fun.
Chono soon noticed his eyes were stagnant on her, accompanied by a glorious silence. Oh god, she wouldn't trade that silence for all the fine sake cups and silky kimonos in the world. Still. The red-headed woman puckered her lips. Without any context to his actual rambling, she blurted out "How interesting,"
God forbid she actually had to listen to his drivel. Nod the head. Say something generic. It also did hurt to shoot him a smile.
Mr. Sato's gaze shifted with his body as he got up. "I'm glad you think so," he loosened his collar slightly, "oh where's that blasted maid? It a wonder why I pay the help. Excuse me."
"Take your time." Chono smoothed out her clothes as he walked out of the room, without even flinching at the closing door. All the while seriously doubting whether or not he had a real maid.
Childhood may have been a hellscape, but good things had come out of it. If there's one lesson Ms. Chono's mother had been strict with it was displaying politeness. Femininity. Calm. Definite. Years of being reminded to smile, bow, cup your hands gently together in the front of your person, stand straight with your head up, sweeten your tone. This was how a proper wife lived, but the redhead and her wild hips didn't take long to realize she wasn't the wife type.
Although, the lessons hadn't been for not. It wasn't about how she felt. It was about how those around and above her felt. Or - at least - how she could make them feel - whether it be superior, smitten, enlightened, inferior, disgusting, or pathetic. And with her smooth charm, she could never be faulted for it.
It was the reason she remained a teacher. There would always be someone above her to swoon. Every day was presented with a new opportunity to taste the effects of her porcelain face and seductive coo.
The door behind her opened again but didn't follow with big hefty footsteps. She took another sip from her cup.
There were at least four different ways Ms. Chono would redecorate this manly room. Starting with this table. She could replace it with something round. That would bring out the oval lanterns hanging above the ceiling. Just how much of this room could she get him to replace before dumping him? This matted floor was so old school, it was due to be replaced with something more modern. Hardwood maybe? Something Sato would be stuck with the rest of his life. She'd keep the China cabinet though, it was a nice touch to the otherwise macho room, but I would have to get moved closer to the door.
At first, dating and dumping was a way to blow off steam. Sure her fellow staff made excellent players in her game, but the students were a different story. Especially in her first few years teaching. Those were dark days. At first, Chono charmed her students like she did her suitors, and it worked rather well. Both the boys and girls fell into her web. Girls admired their sweet, beautiful, teacher, and boys… well, they also admired their teacher. Wink wink. Nudge nudge.
Although it didn't take long became clear that playing with the students was a fruitless effort. She'd never reap the same rewards. The most someone would do for their affections was tattle on another student. By year three, Chono realized that putting up with a hundred rebellious, snooty, [4filter] teenagers every twenty-four hours was hell. Children, that by definition of her role she should control, somehow managed to occasionally struggle out of her grasp.
So she had to find another outlet to relieve herself. This would have proved difficult if not for her genuine beauty, which caused men to flock to her and her marriage interviews. It was so very thrilling to build them up. Then at the last possible second, break it off and watch her handiwork.
It was no longer a way to vent. [4filter] no. By now it was a hobby. A game.
Ms. Chono felt a tug on the side of her kimono. It was a gentle tug, too gentle to be Sato. Sure enough, a small voice accompanied it. "U-um… excuse me."
[4filter]. A disgusting little girl stood awkwardly by the side of the table, hunched over, tapping her feet together. Little black strands of hair glided back and forth as her little hips wiggled nervously. What did she have to do, pee or something? "Hello… ma'am."
Ugh. She must be one of Sato's nieces. Chono vaguely remembered something about renting rooms to family somewhere in his rambles. "I… um saw you come in with Uncle Sato…" she continued now rubbing her fists together and turning bright shades of pink.
"And." Chono finally croaked.
[4filter] children. If they weren't out of con-[4filter]-trol they were meekly puttering around. Gods she hated those kinds of kids the most. They did nothing proactive, then go around touching things they didn't belong touching, then think "sorry" can make up for it. It was the embodiment of ignorant disrespect. And right now that "thing" was her costly clothes.
The little girl seemed shaken, but with much effort muttered out, "I like your pretty dress."
Chono pulled back the little bit of fabric clutched between the girl's fingers, causing her to take a few steps back. "You're supposed to like it, that's the whole point. I wouldn't be wearing it if it didn't look good. God. Isn't that obvious? Making it pretty cost a lot of money. And your dirty little hands are wrinkling it. You know, adults get very angry when children touch things that don't belong to them."
The little girl couldn't speak, her mouth dried and breathless. In its place, however, a trickle of tears and snot wetted her face. In the woman's disgust, she put more distance between them. An unnecessary precaution, seeing as the girl covered her face and made a run for the kitchen door, where Mr. Sato stood. He made no effort to contain the look of shock as his niece's shot smeared across his pant leg.
Ms. Chono looked up to her suitor with a luscious, full colored, smile, "It really is a problem when children are not brought up well, don't you think," as the memory faded back into reality and her lips transformed into a gruesome scowl.
Right. A memory. A horrible, disgusting memory. One that she would never relive in the entirety of her life if she were given a choice. But the mirror didn't give her a choice. Chono had only come into the washroom to put on her face before the big event, but one glance at her reflection and she was right back at Mr. Sato's. Reliving the nightmare.
Her mind morphed the school porcelain to that marble countertop. However, she was no longer laced in a curvy pink kimono, but in her green blazer. Her lipstick was no longer even and smooth. Instead it was dotted with puffy teeth marks. And her hand no longer brushed back the stray hair. Rather, it balled up into a white fist and slammed itself into her reflection.
"How dare he!" Chono's inner banshee took full form as she wailed and swung at the glass. Shards of the shattered mirror dropped into the sink. "How [4filter] dare he. No one - no. one. - rejects me. That [4filter] acts like it's my fault his niece has the manners of a cow.
I should have expected as much! Like niece like [4filter] uncle. If he had just taken me out on a normal date at a normal restaurant like every god forsaken man in this town, he'd be calling me right now instead of blocking my number." It would have been so easy to punch the mirror again, but not at all satisfying. "[4filter]! Who gave him the right!"
Hell, ripping down the old porcelain sink from where it stood wouldn't have been enough to quell her. Which wasn't outside of the realm of possibility. Between the hot blood and flexing muscles, if Ms. Chono wanted to tear the already loose sink from its plumbing, she very well might.
And almost did, if the half of her reflection still intact hadn't caught her eye. The pinching and stressing of her skin caused a line of stress to form right under her eye. Chono traced it with her finger. "Oh, no, no, no. That's no good." A stale stench of bathroom cleaner overcame her nostrils as Ms. Chono shifted to the unbroken half of the mirror. "Makeup… where's my makeup… I can't go out looking like this." What would the student's say if they saw her like this? Or the Vice Principal? They would get it in their heads that it would be possible to break her - as if.
A single glass fragment that had been hanging loosely fell into the sink with the others as she touched up her face. Some pieces, aligned against the sink's interior walls, reflected Ms. Chono's profile puckering up the fresh coat of lipstick. "That's right, Chono, you may have been bested once, but you're still in control." A small cloud puffed off her skin as she reapplied her cover-up, "You've got a whole student rebellion to take down after all. You are the teacher. You are the boss. The students can't change that, no matter how hard they try. Here, you're in charge."
Taking a deep breath of the strong chemical odor, Ms. Chono's chest dropped at the exhale. She closed her eyes for the next few breaths before confirming her resiliency with a nod.
Students usually got out of the way when Chono walked down the hallway. Some because they liked to watch her elegant and powerful step, and others because that step filled them with fear. With all eyes on her, this was the time day she used to regurgitate advice.
Today was no different. Or so it seemed on the surface. "Remember your homework," she was the center of attention. "Go straight home," the whole school knew what was to come. "Be on time tomorrow," onlookers were glued to Chono's steps.
Opening the door to 2-B presented a nearly empty room. Although littered with desks, both crooked at straight, almost all were empty. Open windows let in the fresh late afternoon air, accompanied by a gentle breeze. Not enough to curl the edge of papers lying around, but enough to make the previously stuffy room crisp.
The one student still sitting at her desk had her cheek resting on her palm. No pink blazer, just a dress shirt tucked into her skirt. If one looked closely, they could see shirt was one button off. She leaned over slightly, looking at the day passed by out the window. A stack of cards sat by her elbow.
"Well Ms. Merced, I'm surprised you showed up. How admirable! Unfortunately…" Closing the door crossed Chono's mind, but she eventually stepped aside from the gap. If for nothing else than to make sure Ms. Merced saw how barren the hall was. "Your silly Revision ends here. Not only were you the cause an incident that nearly lead to violence yesterday, but you failed to get the support to back up any of your claims."
Silence fell, Amy's chin digging further into her palm, and causing the desk to creak. "Where's the Three Stooges?"
"It appears to me that the other students had the good sense not to succumb to your childish behavior." A look of 'surprise' crossed Chono's face as she glanced around the room one more time, "Why, not even Mr. Wheeler and the rest of your friends decided to come."
With the push of Amy's foot, the sound metal friction edged its way into the room. The chair resting opposite her popped out, beckoning Chono's advance. "I don't need an audience to finish this. Let's just get this duel over."
"Certainly, providing you can show me enough signatures permitting the game, of course."
Amy grew silent, unspoken words humming over the creases of her lips but never daring to go any farther. She couldn't even bring herself to shoot that classic hard look in Chono's direction. Instead, Amy glued her vision to her deck.
Ms. Chono flipped back the hair resting on her shoulder, "I thought as much. If you don't mind, I think a long overdue meeting with the Vice Principal should be arranged. If you'd join me, Ms. Merced." She turned on her heels and admired the solo sound of her them clicking on the halls.
"Trust me, if I could just bail out of this mess I'd be so happy I'd have kittens - but the fact is if we walk away from this we'll regret it. Or - well - you'll regret it."
The ring of Amy's voice made the woman come to a sharp halt. Her face twitched, tempting a scowl, but her 'teaching face' held strong. Especially when her neck creaked backward, almost mechanically, "Excuse me?"
"When everyone hears that your Anti-Revision Boys never showed, that they went crying to a teacher instead, no one's going to take you seriously anymore. Sure they'll be afraid for a little while, but that won't last forever. Everyone knows that the rules can't stand up for themselves. It's only a matter of time before someone else takes the revision back up. Someone else will take advantage of the fact that you can break."
Chono's powered face went stone. "That sounds like a problem for tomorrow, don't you think? I wouldn't waste energy on tomorrow when you'll have so much to worry about today."
"Tomorrow it might not be your problem. It seems pretty lame that after all this work you put in, some other teacher will have the next student rebellion and will get all the credit for putting it down. I'd hate to have the glory of something I worked so hard for snatched out from under me. But I'm just a dumb kid, what do I know."
The teacher sat down, immediately feeling the chair push up against the exposed skin of her thighs. "You know you're too confident for your own good. That could get you into trouble someday."
Amy started shuffling her cards, wondering if Chono would follow. To her surprise, the redhead reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a stack of Duel Monsters cards. Although that shock wasn't from the fact that Chono possessed a deck. Instead, that she pulled it out of her pocket instead of her bra. Amy was sure it was going to be the bra. Chono seemed like the extra pocket kind of woman. "It's not a confidence thing, trust me. I just don't lie."
Decks back on the table, they both drew their first hand, and the duel had begun.
AMY: [2000]
CHONO: [2000]
Amy looked at her hand, trying to ignore the raging thumps in her chest.
'Droll Bird' (600/500), 'Doma The Angel of Silence' (1600/1400), 'Breath of Light,' 'Xing Zhen Hu,' 'Respect Play'
She picked her sixth card, 'Gigobyte' (350/300) and placed it snugly in the middle, before singling 'Droll Bird' out. "By placing this card face up, vertically, it means I've put it in Attack Mode." Amy dropped the monster face up onto the field. "That means-"
Droll Bird? Ha. More like Dull Bird! Below the monster's picture was a description that read 'This monster stuns its enemies with a massive beak and ear-piercing wails,' which besides being such a particularly enticing set of skills is as creatively interesting as 'Dull Bird's long wiggly tongue and fur. Not features. Fur. Thumbs the [4filter] up character designers.
"Don't insult me, Ms. Merced, I know how to play the game." Chono drew her first card. An ugly reptile soon took its place in an otherwise barren Monster Zone. "It means that when I attack you, we account for the attack points. Of which my 'Drooling Lizard' has 300 more of. Which you lose in life points."
AMY: [1700]
CHONO: [2000]
'Well excuse [4filter] me.' Amy thought, letting out a scowl to match up with Chono's smirk. She placed 'Dull Bird' in her Graveyard while the teacher sat back in her chair. "I'm surprised to hear you know anything about Duel Monsters. I would never have pegged you as a… hobbyist."
"Please, my hobbies are much more engaging than a children's card game. I like to stay in the loop, as you might say. Not long ago I caught wind of an impressive and extremely important student joining the class who was interested in this sort of thing."
Amy drew her next card. "I don't assume I should be humbled."
To which, Chono flicked her red locks from the edges of her face, "Hardly. You've heard of Seto Kaiba, haven't you? The young CEO of Kaiba Corporation - developer of gaming technology? The child genius? I'd hope so, seeing as he sits in front of you."
Try not to get too much slobber on the desk, Teach.
If this had been anyone else, Amy would have started her comment with 'Don't insult me' in half a heartbeat. Instead, she mumbled through her bitten tongue. "The angry dude that rarely shows up for class and leaves whenever he fancies. Oh, good. Here I thought I was imagining him."
"Apparently he has an affinity for this game, although I'm not sure why."
Amy pulled 'Doma the Angel of Silence' (1600/1400) from her hand and laid it in attack mode. The painting of the fairy monster stared back at her. Not with its eyes, which were covered in a menacing pupilless glow, but with its armor. Purple metal appeared to hug over the fairy's waist and arms, save for one spot. Its shoulder had no protection because 'Doma' didn't possess a standard shoulder. A single large bloodshot eyeball watched from the limb like an unflinching muscle. "You may know how to play Duel Monsters, but that doesn't make you good at it. You fell for the most basic trap in the book Ms. Chono. 'Doma,' attack 'Drooling Lizard'."
AMY: [1600]
CHONO: [1300]
A bitter sneer crossed Chono's face, one that only got deeper when Amy followed with. "I'll play two card face down and end my turn." She didn't uncross her legs, but the chair creaked slightly under her shift.
"And I'm not done yet." Amy started, hovering over the facedowns.
"How so? You can't play anything on your opponent's turn!"
"You can if it's a trap. Go, 'Respect Play.'" flipping over one of the facedowns revealed a purple card with the title in gold letters, "Activating this forces us both to reveal our hands to each other."
The once grim frown melted away. In its place, a chuckle escaped. Soon the chuckled evolved into a full cackle. "Do want to see my cards that badly? You want to see the face under the makeup. Please Ms. Mercade - laughing too much will stretch my lipstick-"
Concerned, the other stood up and leaned over the desk, "Like you've got anything to laugh about. Any inkling of your strategies will put you at a huge disadvantage. So what the [4filter] is so [4filter] funny?"
"Why don't you look for yourself." One by one, Chono turned the cards over. 'Exiled Force' (1000/1000), 'Elf's Light,' 'Blackland Fire Dragon' (1500/800), 'Soul Resurrection,' 'Claw Reacher' (1000/800) with each one Amy's jaw dropped a little more. Soon she was covering her mouth to keep the surprise in.
Lowering back down into the chair, the sound of her eardrums overtook Amy's senses. Her voice felt dry. "Those are my cards." Only silence followed this realizing gasp.
The first student to walk by the duel was a 2-B student named Miho. She was the librarian assistant and spent most of her free time working around the school - from opening until closing. Because of that, she often had little time to stylize her hair in the morning, forcing her to reach deep into her creativity and find a solution. That of which was a ribbon, sometimes yellow, green, and occasionally purple, all of which even she thought she looked [4filter] cute it.
To her acquaintances and classmates, it earned her the name 'Ribbon,' the shy, sweet, mousy girl. But to her friends, she was 'Miho,' the excitable airhead. What to her and her friends knew was daydreaming in class appeared to acquaintances as deep thought. In fact, behind closed doors, Miho was the definition of blissfully ignorant - anything she wanted she went for, no matter the consequences. While it was great for her public image to come off as hardworking and dedicated, this simple thought process had been known to lead her down the rabbit hole before.
That day, Miho wanted to look at pictures of last years fashion trends, so she had been going from classroom to classroom searching for the library's unreturned magazines. Since she couldn't afford to go shopping for this season's line, which was ashamed because purple was the new 'in' color and would have matched lovely with her ribbon, Miho took a deep breath and ventured to mull her craving in less satisfying ways. Which is how she ended up down the second year hallway stumbling around like a drunk on Christmas. Ten magazines were a bit difficult to hold, and by the time she finished scavenging the third floor had about twenty. They slid up and down from each other, refusing to form a stable stack. Still, she persisted, legs wobbly on the stairs.
It was Amy's gasp from the classroom that caught Miho's attention. Well, no. Not her attention exactly. It's more like she was caught off guard, jumping at the unexpected voice. Concentration broken, Ribbon fumbled with the stack of copies, veering this and that way in the halls. They leaned to the left; she veered to the left. They to the right, she to the right. All the while trying to use her chest as a table.
Down the hall stood another student, Mayu, was currently looking aimlessly out to the courtyard. She had been thinking about her latest boy crush when little Ribbon nearly ran her over. They were the first two to watch Chono and Amy's duel. Even if it was not out of interest, but instead sheer curiosity.
Ms. Chono continued, "I bet you know every card by heart. I bet you have every strategy memorized." 'Exiled Force' made its way onto the tabletop, and using her ring finger Chono slid it onto her field. "Some would say that gives you an edge, but you know what I say? I say it makes things all the worse. Anyone else would look at this hand and say, 'Oh no, Ms. Chono, you don't have anything powerful enough to beat Doma', but you know better. Don't you?"
'Exiled Force', while seeming like a weak monster, was as smug as the several clad armored men painted onto its surface. Which Amy knew all too well. And apparently, so did Chono. Amy sucked in a stale breath. "Say it already."
"'Exiled Force's effect allows me to tribute it, and one monster of my choosing follows it to the grave." The girl clicked her tongue but discarded 'Doma' without an objection or word. Nor did she say anything when Chono ended her turn with a snide sneer, placing 'Soul Resurrection' on the field. "And I'll put this little number face down, to use in a turn or two, and then end your suffering for now. I'm sure you have a lot to think about Ms. Merced."
Oh boy, did she ever. All the girl had left in her hand was 'Breath of Light', 'Gigobyte' - whose cheery disposition and weak attack power was just swell under normal circumstances but trapped in a corner like this was twice as swell - and 'Soitsu' with his big bubble butt that promised to be oh so helpful.
What she needed was to flush this hand and get a new one. Amy flipped her cards over for Chono to see, drawing a new card with her other hand. You didn't need to look at the redheaded teacher to see her lipstick beaming from cheek to cheek.
"I activate the card I just drew, 'Dark World Dealings.' This spell allows us both to draw one card and in exchange discard one." It wasn't exactly the saving throw she needed, but it was better than nothing.
"I can see you'd need it. Don't let any of the other teachers say you don't put in a good effort even when there's no hope of success." one of her red eyebrows rose slightly, "I'll have to take that into consideration when we're talking to the Vice Principal." she tossed a card to the side before even picking up a new one.
Amy held her breath. As she reached for the draw pile, she could see her hands shaking.
Despite the fact that you'd often see her on the track, Mayu wasn't the kind of girl who was into competitive sports. There was no team that she was a part of, but was somehow often found warming the bench alone. If she wasn't hiding by the field, sometimes you could find her sitting in the back of the Literature Club, waiting for the thirty minutes the school allowed the club to meet to come to an end. In fact, Mayu frequented many of the school clubs, despite being a member of none of them.
Instead, Mayu belonged to a club of her own. It wasn't officially sanctioned by the school, and very few people knew about it. Being a member of this club meant secrecy and danger. It meant always having to sneak around the staff to partake in its activities and duck out when they got too close. The stress kept her awake at night, staring at the ceiling and wondering if it was all worth the chance of suspension - or worse. These thoughts would turn into nightmares, surrounded by glaring gleaming teachers and her disappointed parents. Upon waking up, Mayu would be thrown out of bed, feeling ill and worried about the next day, vowing to leave the club.
She could never go through with it. There was nothing she was quite as passionate about as the Boy Hunting Club. Or, as she liked to say it, Mayu was passionate about passion. Everything about it was thrilling. Once her heart was set on a target, she learned everything she could about them. Which of course lead to a gift, which leads to a love note, which leads to the unmatched thrill of the confession. Will he accept her? Will he reject her? Once or twice she had even gone after other girls just to add spice. Nothing else gave Mayu's body the same quaking fear and exhilarating shakes. Soccer, Baseball, Track, Art, Duel Monsters, none of those activities came close.
Which is why she was surprised to find how exciting it was to watch this duel from beyond the classroom door. As Amy reached for her draw, Mayu couldn't help how she bounced. No amount of Miho's grave shhing could keep it down. Almost tripping over the abandoned stack of magazines, Mayu scurried down the hall back to the window. The courtyard was no longer empty. True to her calculations the third year track team was heading to practice, and Mayu thrust her torso out the window waving her hands rapidly.
The team captain waved back and continued his run, standard to any day he caught Mayu watching him from the window. That was until her urgent gesturing had the team jogging back inside.
The card on the other end was green. It was green and shiny and made Amy's positively light up. Before she could mutter no [4filter] way the card was already laying on the desk. "I wouldn't count me out just yet, Teach. I hope you weren't attached to that hand because I need a new one. Go 'Card Destruction.'"
Chono's chair slid out from the desk, "You must be joking! You only have two cards, what good could a two-card hand be, new or otherwise."
"You'll have to see."
This time the redhead wasn't so careless in the way she flicked her cards to the graveyard. In fact, it was the opposite. Slow. Ridged.
'I can't allow her to play 'Soul Resurrection.' That'll let her bring back a normal monster from her discard pile, and I just filled her grave up with them.' Amy thought.
Before her opponent could swoop her dainty hand back to the field, Amy revealed her second trap. "I wouldn't be too eager to get to that face down if I were you. Not with my 'Xing Zhen Hu' activating. While it's on the field, you won't be able to flip your trap."
The classroom clock ticked. With each tick, the sun set lower and lower into the horizon.
"Will you draw already so we can be done with it?" the words trickled from under Chono's breath. Amy placed her brand new EARTH monster on the field. It was a soldier, veteran of a 100 gruesome battles. Otherwise known as 'Masaki the Legendary Swordsman' (1100/1100).
Soon, the Track Team wasn't the only group of people to join Mayu and Miho outside the classroom. They reached out to their friends on the Baseball Team, who grabbed the Literature Club on the way. Even the 'Go Home Club' did a complete 360 head spin right back through the gate.
Ms. Chono drew and flipped her hand around for all to see. 'Blackland Fire Dragon' and 'Claw Reacher' had sorely been replaced by 'Ancient Brain' (1000/700) and 'Fairywitch' (800/1000). Neither of which were compatible with 'Driving Snow' nor 'Order to Smash.' While a minor setback, the redhead didn't seem too distraught.
Instead, her eyes looked over the deck. There was still at least one powerful monster in there, stronger than anything she let loose so far. Likely far stronger than anything Amy had left in her deck. And if her facedown could be set free, there would be more in store. All Chono needed was time. Time that placing 'Ancient Brain' in defense mode would buy her.
"Don't get too cocky Ms. Merced. I promise this tantrum of yours will be coming to a close very soon. And you won't be starting another one, not at this school."
Still, the teacher couldn't help but bite her bottom lip, beginning to chew it mercilessly. Even as she set 'Order to Smash' on the field. Both contestants were becoming gradually aware of the heat in the room, though remained focused on each other and not on the dozens of head whispering nearby.
One blonde head bobbed his way through the growing crowd, who weren't content with just living in the hallway. The new overflow of students began to leak into the room, blocking the door and getting cozy in the immediate desks. And like a bright beacon, the blond head had to push his way through it. "Nhey! Make waaaay, make waaaaay. Duelist coming through." Eventually, Joey Wheeler popped out of the crowd as if he was made of springs. No one 'made way,' but through sheer persistence, he squeezed through enough bodies to be thrown out front.
When he finally regained his composer, Joey straightened with a spirited thumbs up. "Sorry I'm late Amy, we got caught in traffic. But now you can have no fear, Joey Wheeler is here to help!"
Picking up 'Backup Soldier' from the pile, Amy's eyes gleamed. "God, you're such an awful liar." Joey started to argue that remark before realizing it wasn't directed at him. All Amy could see was Chono's jaw shifting from side to side, "Why don't you just admit it, you live for the thrill of the game."
"This game is juvenile and grotesque."
"It is, but I'm not talking about Duel Monsters. You live for the game of life. You begin things just to end them because playing with people in the middle is where you get your jiggles from. The elegant lady, the proper professional, those are just the lipstick and eyeliner."
Following Joey's lead, the other students started to enter the heart of the classroom, not just the corners. When all the chairs were filled up, students began sitting on the desks. Mayu and the president of the track team even dared to sit on each other.
Lipstick and eyeliner flaring, Chono glowered back, "You can call it whatever you like, but what you don't seem to grasp is that you're in the thick of it, Merced. The black, inky thick of it." Hair that kept creeping onto her shoulder was again flicked backward with a wild, red flash. When her hand returned the desk, it was coated with a thin layer of coverup. "But you are correct in saying that I will put an end to this problem. Once we finish this duel, I'm putting in a motion to reverse your enrollment at Domino High School. It'll be my victory, just as I imagined it."
Amy set 'Backup Soldier' and placed 'Giant Germ' in face-down defense mode.
Joey cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Don't let em scare ya`, Umbrella Girl. You got it!"
She attacked with 'Masaki,' and Chono discarded her monster without so much of a blink. "Since the moment we met you've just been rearing to make an example out of me, and I've wholeheartedly been waiting to ignore you. Something's going to come out of this duel, Teach, but not the way anyone expected."
Because her monster was destroyed in defense mode, Chono's life points remained untouched. Her patience, however, did not, "What did I tell you about that confidence?" As her turn began, Chono picked up her next card. Although at first disgusted, the teacher's expression hardened. This was done with neither an excited glow nor disappointed furry, despite the way her eyebrows rose. "The petition, this duel rally, no matter what plans you made, I was there to tear them down. This duel's no different. Let me show you why."
It was the strongest monster in the deck. Amy knew as soon as she saw it's dark brown background flash. Her small frame was overwhelmed by the blinding excitement of her schoolmates as they soon too realized what Chono placed on the table. Even Joey closed the zipper on his lip-per. The monster's bulky image emerged. It's tight blue skin raised in muscles and claws, covered only by a red armor coming down its broad curved wings and onto its torso. Teeth bared, clawed fingers curved as he kneeled, the Fiend showed no remorse for what he was about to do, or what he had already done.
"The 'Archfiend of Gilfer' (2200/2500)." Amy breathed. It was better than blurting the first word that came to mind, which of course, was '[4filter]'.
Joey's face twisted from where he stood, "What is that ugly thing?"
If 'Archfiend' were alive, it would have glared it's bloodthirsty eyes in Joey's directed, and he would have taken four steps backward. Since it was only a card, Amy glared in its place. The result was the same. "That thing is the strongest monster in my whole dam-
"...In Chono's whole damn deck." she corrected somberly.
"Look at Amy's monster," Miho pointed in sudden realization, and everyone's eyes shot straight to 'Misaki,' "It only has 1100 attack points."
The only thing Amy's vision could see was Chono's plump, glowing lips. How her fingers linked together and the bottom of her delicate shape chin rested on them like a bridge. Pulse beating loud and heavy in her ear, Amy couldn't hear the words that followed, but she could see them as they were created.
"Now 'Archfiend,' attack 'Misaki.'"
Amy's life points began depleting rapidly. From 1600 to 1500, 12, 10, 8, only when they reached 500 did her life points finally break from their despair.
After wiping her palms on her dress shirt, Amy picked up her next card. It took Chono mere seconds to go, "Ah-ah-ah, 'Respect Play.'" Anyone else would have been greeted with a snort, but Amy bit her tongue. Again. Instead, she turned 'Bound Wand' over for everyone to see.
Apparently, enough students knew the spell well enough to create a collective groan. Mayu started chewing fingernails off of the hand that wasn't reserved for her lap buddy's squeezing. Ribbon's ribbon lost a little of its plucky luster. Chono was the only voice in the room, "Oh dear, that's no good - is it? It's my turn, I presume?"
Without waiting for a response, Chono carelessly flashed new her 'Armored Lizard' (1500/1200). Not that anyone looked at it, the teacher included. 'Archfiend of Gilfer' still held all the spotlight. With a wave of her finger, the redhead beckoned its attack. "Let's get rid of that monster you have face down, what was it? Large germ?"
"Giant germ," she corrected, "and by destroying it, you lose 500 life points."
"Of little consequence." Chono cooed.
AMY: [500]
CHONO: [800]
She still had the upper hand both on the field and in life points. Ms. Chono seemed to be on the cusp of victory. "Time to draw again. You'd need a strong monster to get out of this one." Amy flinched, causing Chono's face to light up realization. "Don't tell me, Ms. Merced, that 'Doma' was the strongest monster you were able to pull for this ragtag deck of yours?"
"It was."
Clear as day, the floor creaked underneath the classroom's weight. A handful of shoulders dropped. Some replied with, "No way," others "Come on!" and there was definitely a "[4filter]" or two dropped. Joey glanced around at the crowd, to each weary commenter, only to catch a glimpse of a few packing up their belongings. He waved his arms, "Hold up! You guys can't give up," Amy's jaw clenched, "so what if things look bumpy!"
A hum moved through the crowd. Mayu slid off of her butt buddy, and let out a sigh, "You heard her, it's over Joey." Her hand unlocked from the track captain, who got up with a grumble.
"In Duel Monsters, there's always a way. That's what's great about it." he protested, before turning to Amy, "Don't you dare think about giving up Aim, not when you've come this far! We can-"
"Will you shut up, Airhead." the sound of a chair pulling out made the students pause, darting their eyes back to the duel. Even Joey lost all words, stunned by her outburst. Before he could even think to prepare to re-rally the troops, she took the stage "You know; you talk way too much. Open up your ears a little. I never said it was over." Ignoring Chono's dissatisfied scowl, Amy honed in on her deck. Her hand reached for it, hesitating for a moment, before placing it on the deck. She started to slide the next card off.
Eyes closed, she stood in the darkness. Amy was the center of the world. Just her and her cards. And a voice, leaning over her shoulder telling her gently, you've got this.
Body weight thrust forward, the entire foundation of the desk rattled beneath Amy's hand. She slammed the card down, still covering its picture. Only green could be seen. "Joey may talk way too much, but he's right about something. The turn structure and variety of cards and effects mean that more often than not, there's always a way to keep fighting. As long as you don't give up." She slid her hand away and revealed the 'Black Magic Ritual.'
Several of the students thrust their arms in high fives. Miho put her knees together and lept. In the explosion of the moment, she even wrapped Joey's head in excitable hug. Still hopping up and down of course. Mayu, on the other hand, all but tackled her bunkmate. "What's all the fuss about?" His eyes crossed.
"It's a Ritual Card!" Mayu bubbled, "It summons an extremely powerful monster."
"Absolutely not." Chono also shifted from her position, the beauty mark above her lip scrunching with her scowl. "That Ritual requires eight stars worth of sacrifices. You have no monsters!"
"Thanks to you, I do." Amy flipped 'Backup Soldier,' "Remember me setting this little number? If I have at least five monsters in my Graveyard, I can bring three normal monsters back to my hand." 'Masaki the Legendary Swordsman,' 'Gigobyte,' and 'Soitsu' now refilled her hand, if for no other reason than to display their Star Count. Soon, they would return to the grave in tribute to something much grander.
He arose from the deck. A spellcaster in pitch black, with a fearless scowl on his face. Eyes surrounded by waves of black hair and blue skin overshadowed only by the gleam in his chest plate and the summoning circle behind him. With 2800 attack and 2600 defense, the 'Magician of Black Chaos' took his place on the field.
Chono's eye flickered as red as her wavy locks. "You said 'Doma' was the strongest monster you had you, little liar." Nails digging into the desk, hair flopped over her shoulder, Chono's lean body covered the extent of the surface as she stood.
"I said it was the strongest monster I pulled. This was traded to me by… from a supporter of the Rule Revision." In the doorway, Yugi stood, in his arms a stack of pages. Not far behind him were Téa and Tristan with the same pens and clipboards. Amy didn't turn around to greet the group. In fact, she only barely twisted, just enough to get a glance from her peripherals. Still, she raise her hand in the air, signaling a simple thumbs up. As baffled as the other two seemed, trying to catch up with the commotion, Yugi only beamed. The light shining in his eyes was bright.
'Magician of Black Chaos' attacked 'Archfiend of Gilfer,' reducing it, and the Cho-Nators, vicious grin to dust.
AMY: [500]
CHONO: [200]
With only a handful of Life Points left, Chono picked up her last draw. "'Archfiend of Gilfer' may be defeated, but he's far from gone. It's special effect -"
"Reduces my 'Magician's attack points by 500. When it goes to the graveyard, 'Archfiend' becomes an Equip Card, a card that changes a monsters point value. Only instead of increasing it like normal Equip Spells, it decreases points. Don't insult me, Ms. Chono, it is my card after all."
Joey, finally free from Miho's grasp, snatched Tristan's clipboard "What took so long?" and held it high in the air. "This duel is awesome, am I right guys?! You guys know that we can only have duels like this if the rules are loosened, right?! Who wants to make that happen?!"
"I think we should be allowed to have part-time jobs," Téa eloquently shoved him out of the spotlight, "we should be able to make money to support ourselves. So I'm signing the Rule Revision. If you guys agree, you can sign too." She applied her own John Hancock before offering it the crowd.
Nearly instantly, Miho, with a spring her step, came up to the clipboard. Her face was rosy with bliss. "Miho would like to get a part-time job. Having money would mean so many nice things." Of course, in her mind, 'nice things' translated to 'clothes, jewelry, new ribbons, magazine, and other fashionable commodities,' but thankfully all her spectators and fans heard was 'food, happiness, and gifts to giving.' Including, but not limited to, Tristan of course, who 'aww'ed with the rest of them.
Mayu grabbed her lap-lad and hauled him to the door, completely oblivious to his nervous grin and stiff legs. "I think it's important for us to be able to experiment with love at this young, impressionable age. If we aren't allowed to date now, how will we know how to handle romance in the future? I'd sign for that. Do you know how difficult it is to leave someone a love note without a teacher finding out?" Amy tried not to let her face twitch too much. It wasn't exactly the central concern to the Rule Revision Campaign but to each his own. To each his or her, lip gloss covered, too much information, own.
"Being able to unwind with games like this would be awesome."
"I'd like to make more fun clubs. Like a drama club."
"Could our teams actually enter competitions if we signed?"
"It would be nice if I could stop at the grocery store without having to go home and change first."
One after another, students reached for the clipboards. Amy wagged her finger in the air, "Do you hear that Ms. Chono, the bell is starting to toll on you, me, and this game."
"Not yet it hasn't. You still haven't seen my ace."
"Your… ace?"
Ms. Chono placed the card she drew right onto the field. A small, one-star monster called 'Dancing Elf.' While the elf appeared very pretty indeed, long blond hair and blue silk flowing off of her shoulders and hips, it also only had a mere 300 attack points. Even with 'Magician's points down to 2300 points, it still was a spec in comparison. Something smelled rotten, and Amy had a hunch she was about to find out what.
That was when the image hit her. Playing the duel back through her mind, the haunting vision of various cards flashed before her. One was more evident than the rest. 'Order to Smash,' a trap card which had been sitting forgotten on the edge of Ms. Chono's field, began shouting.
Figuratively, of course. It's a trading card. Amy's worst suspicions were realized. By tributing a one or two-star monster, 'Order to Smash' activates and destroys up to two spell cards on the field.
"You're not going to…"
"Of course I am, Ms. Merced."
What was once dread was now excitement. No longer did the outcome of the game matter to the students watching, no one froze or ran. Rather than the clicks of pens stopping, they wrote harder. With more glee and furry. Those who were already standing couldn't bring themselves to sit back down. Cheers ranged from "Nice move!", to "You can still counter!", regardless of who was the player and who was the piece. For the few who didn't understand, Yugi humbly explained, "Ms. Chono can use 'Order to Smash' to destroy Amy's 'Xing Zhen Hu,' unlocking whatever facedowns it sealed away" while his face glowed red from the attention.
Only Amy and Chono knew what that facedown was - even if Miho had seen it, she could hardly be expected to remember what it was. Mayu only wished she had paid more careful attention. The classroom held its collective breath in anticipation. Amy's eyes went instantly to Chono's face down as it became face up. 'Soul Resurrection.' "Do you really think I would use someone else's deck and not add any tricks of my own. It's about time you met the strongest monster I own. One that you sent to the grave."
Amy's eyes rapidly moved throughout the field. Every card she had seen from 'Respect Play' was one of her own. And she had seen every card, hadn't she? Every card?
All save for one.
One drawn by 'Dark World Dealing' and immediately discarded with 'Card Destruction.'
One queen. 'Cosmo Queen,' as Chono revealed, pulling from her graveyard and dropping it into play. Queen of the galaxy and mistress to the stars. All wrapped up in a package of 2900 attack and 2450 defense. "Unfortunately, 'Soul Resurrection's effect only allows her to be summoned in defense mode, but thanks to 'Gilfer,' your 'Magician' still doesn't have the points to take her out."
"Hmp." Amy bit her bottom lip and shook her head, all in attempts to repress the ridiculous, yet soft smile. In the end, she couldn't help it. No matter how much her little black heart wanted to be annoyed by the sentiment, the grinning faces throughout the room overtook it. "You've gotten so engaged in our game that you really can't see it, can you? You can't even feel it happening within yourself. Duel Monsters has you so invested right now that you haven't stopped to take a look around." she opened up her hand and let 'Bound Wand' fall onto the field. "No matter the outcome of this duel, our fight is already resolved."
The crisp noise of a page being flipped took center stage among the classroom's gleeful chatter. Which was soon joined by the sound of clipboards accidentally being hit together as they were passed and melted together with a choir of pen strokes. It circled Ms. Chono as she became aware of just how far she was leaning over, just how much of her feet were falling out of her shoes as she stood on her toes. Aware of the passing of pens from one student to another. Of how stale the scent of her perfume was being guided out the open window, and the fingerprint of her concealer pressed across 'Cosmo Queen's face.
'Bound Wand' simply sat. Untouched from the crooked way it had fallen. It's green, strong green Spell Card background should have absorbed the room's greys and browns, and beamed back like a light. Instead, it sat quietly amongst the chaos, starring lonely, but content, at the empty ceiling.