I take my seat beside Shinji. He's so engrossed in his conversation with Reika, that he doesn't notice me. A small part of me wonders how much they would be better off if I wasn't always the third wheel. They seem so happy when they're not dragging me around like a stray puppy, or reaching out when I get struck in a downward spiral of self-loathing. Reika's eyes always light up when she talks to Shinji about her job, then she moves a strand of hair out of her eyes. Oh shit, Reika's eyes caught my own.
"Oh Yuuka! You're back!" She offers me a smile.
"Well you're looking a bit better." Shinji tries to lighten up my mood.
"I did run into Kenta in the lobby."
"Oh! Kenta's the one from-"
"Our hero makes his entrance!" The MC's voice interrupts our conversation, "The blood and iron knight of justice! The veteran hero! What kind of duel will he show us today? Jill deLauncebeaux!" At this, the duelist rises up into the arena. Clad almost completely in gold armour, he looks like someone who takes the whole roleplaying thing a bit too seriously. Or maybe he's just old-fashioned, following the trends of the world before Riding Duels.
Jill raises his sword to the heavens and proclaims, "I swear on this sword! As the descendant of the ancient knights, I will conquer this duel!" Never mind, he's just crazy. However, the crowd cheers. I don't, he's far too pretentious for my liking.
"His opponent in this duel makes her entrance! Along with battle experience and skill, the beautiful woman also brings many mysteries! Will we witness the birth of a new prodigy today? Aki Izayoi!" There she is. Her steely gaze is a far cry from the young girl in Duel Academy, alone and afraid of herself. In fact, she barely resembles her former self, though I suppose two years is an awful lot of time. Though something tells me that it is just a facade.
"Even if you're a girl, I will show you no mercy! Show me the duel of a knight! Duel!" Nice to know that Jill isn't as sexist as he first appears. "My turn! I draw! I summon Masked Knight LV3 (ATK:1500)!" A small silver and gold knight appears on the field. Of course he has a Knight-themed deck, why did I expect anything less from a guy who goes around dressed in armour? "Its monster effect activates! Persona Blast! You take 400 points of damage!" Izayoi's life points drop to 3600 immediately and she doesn't flinch in the slightest. "Then I activate a spell card! Level Up! I send Masked Knight LV3 to the graveyard to Special Summon Masked Knight LV5!" Another silver and gold knight appears on the field, what a surprise. "Masked Knight LV5's monster effect! Persona Twin Blast! You take 1000 points of damage! I set one card and end my turn." I keep staring at Izayoi, even as her life points drop to 2600, she hasn't moved or said a word. I know she's got this whole stoic thing going on, but a facial expression or two would be nice.
"Due to an overwhelming attack, Izayoi has taken 1400 points of damage before her turn has even started!" The MC's voice pounds out over the speakers, mimicking the audience's reaction. Then, I realise that Izayoi must have drawn a good hand for her to remain this calm.
"I bet the evolving Knight strikes fear to your very bones!" Jill declares, making a jab at Izayoi. However, she remains as stone-faced as normal. "You have nothing to say? You're a spooky girl." You don't know the half of it. When Izayoi reaches the height of her powers, she's spooky alright.
"I draw." Izayoi's first words of the match, how original. "I summon Wall of Ivy in defence position (DEF:1200). 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 defence 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." A level 7 Synchro Monster. This is only going to end badly for Jill. Though I'm surprised she's calling out her ace this quickly.
"A Synchro Summon!" Jill shouts, surprised. I'm about to feel sorry for what's about to happen to him, but then I don't.
"Level 5 Copy Plant Tunes Level 2 Wall of Ivy." Okay now, I'm slightly terrified of what the crowd's reaction will be. I have a small feeling that they won't take Izayoi's true identity well. "Chilling flames engulfs the entire world. Pitch dark flower set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon (ATK:2400)!" The summoning of the dragon whips up fierce winds in the stadium, dark petals fly out all over. I automatically shield my face in fear. All around me I can hear murmurs, my eyes are squeezed shut tightly and my hands subconsciously move over my ears. However, my eyes open as I hear Black Rose Dragon's roar pierce the air in the stadium.
"Witch, you already revealed your true identity?" Jill howls at Izayoi. At this, the crowd's murmurs heighten. All I can hear is the word 'witch' over and over. In that moment, the image of my brother kneeling on the ground, cradling his arm appears in my mind. His face, terrified, strikes a chord deep inside me. I've shrivelled up into my chair again, my hands are pressed hard against my ear. Everything sounds so far away. Suddenly, I feel a hand on top of my head. A part of me expects to turn around and see Kaoru. Instead, Shinji sends me a look of pity. That soft look in his eyes calms me down a bit. I bit my lip and nod at him.
"Witch! No matter what ace you pull out of your sleeve, my steel heart will not skip a beat! What's with that look in your eyes?" Honestly, now I'm sick of Sir Jill. We're not witches, this isn't the 17th Century.
"Black Rose Dragon's monster effect activates. When Black Rose Dragon is Special Summoned, all cards on the field are destroyed." At this moment in time, I honestly admire Izayoi. I don't know she's able to stay so steadfast in the face of such hatred and disgust. I now realise that's probably Izayoi started the match so stoically.
"What?" Jill cries out.
"Black Rose Gale!" Izayoi calls out. As she does this, a fierce wind is whipped up once again, creating a tornado around Black Rose Dragon, scattering dark-coloured petals everywhere. Frightened gasps come from the crowd. At this moment in time, I glance over at my brother. He remains stone-faced, I'm shocked and the slightest bit relieved. At this, the wind settles.
"So, this is the power of the witch..." Jill glares at Izayoi. His eyes are so cold and filled with hatred.
"I set one card. Then... The Field Spell Black Garden." Vines shoot up from behind Izayoi, they spread out across the entire field, creating a dome.
"This is? A garden where evil creatures hide?" Jill questions. Okay, that's it. I've had enough of the pompous asshole knight. I hope Izayoi duels him into the ground.
"I end my turn." Izayoi declares. She seems oblivious to the crowd's fear of her, as more frightened gasps fill the stadium.
"Thank you for your support! But there's no need to worry!" I swear if Izayoi doesn't beat this guy soon, I'm going to beat him myself. "My turn! I draw! From my hand, I activate the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive. Due to this, I can add on Warrior-type monster in my graveyard to my hand! Masked Knight LV3 (ATK:1500), return to me! Warriors that have pride are immortal!" As Masked Knight reappears, vines come up from the ground and constrict the monster. "Masked Knight!" he cries.
"As long as Black Garden is face up, a monster's attack points are halved, and a Rose Token (ATK:800) is automatically summoned to the opponent's field in Attack Position. You're inside the Black Garden. The hellish garden feeds on monsters' lives to make the flowers bloom." I must admit, Izayoi has a clever strategy. Getting rid of Black Rose Dragon meant no penalty on her from Black Garden's effects. Then, the Rose Token lessen the damage in Black Rose Dragon's absence. Izayoi is very good duelist, she'll easily win this duel.
"Persona Blast!" Jill calls out as he activates his monster's effect. Izayoi's life points drop from 2600 to 2200. "How's that!" He roars at Izayoi. Jill thinks he's close to winning, smug from the satisfaction of having all of his life points.
"I activate the trap card Doppelganger. When I take damage from a monster effect, you take the same amount of damage." Izayoi calls out. Never mind, Jill's life points are now 3600.
"Whoa! Though he was unharmed until now, Jill's life points have finally decreased!" Finally, for once I agree with the MC. Jill has taken noticeable damage from the effect. The crowd begins to heckle Izayoi. She remains fully poised, like nothing is effecting her.
"So the witch uses her powers to hurt her opponent for real." Jill points directly at Izayoi, "Who are you?"
"I'm different than all of you." Amazing comeback, ten of ten. I wish I was that smooth. Though, all is a very broad term. Myself and Izayoi have more in common than she knows.
"Witch, what are you scheming to do?" The real answer Jill, she's going to kick your ass and look flawless while doing it. "I set two cards and end my turn!"
"I draw! I activate the Equip Spell Mark of the Rose. With this, I take control of one of your monsters. Masked Knight LV3 comes to me." Masked Knight goes to Izayoi's side of the field, kneels in front of her and kisses her hand. See what I mean? She's too smooth. Apparently, the crowd had a different reaction. They all murmur, clearly in shock. Honestly, the crowd's reaction to Izayoi no longer affects me. I'm just enjoying Izayoi in all her splendour. "Feel the pain of the sword of betrayal. Masked Knight LV3 attacks you directly!"
Jill manages to block with attack with his duel disk as his life points drop to 2850. "You switched a monster's allegiance. You really are a witch. You fight in an evil way." Nah, this type of card is pretty standard if you ask me, I have no idea what he's talking about.
"I equip the Equip Spell Vengeful Servant on Masked Knight LV3. With this card, when control of the equipped monster changes, that player takes damage equal to the monster's original attack points." Wow, that is such a good combo! Jill will be getting close to losing soon.
"What?" Jill cries out.
"It's the end phase. Control of Masked Knight reverts back to you. Taste the attack of the betrayer!" Jill's life points drop to 1350.
"Izayoi is terrifying!" No shit Sherlock, this MC I swear. "Due to the Mark of the Rose and Vengeful Servant combo, the knight took a lot of damage!"
"My fight is only beginning." No, it's ending. "I activate the trap card Level Change! This card activates during the opponent's turn's End Phase. I send a LV monster on my field to the graveyard. This allows me to Special Summon a monster from my graveyard without having to fulfil its summoning requirements! Resurrect, Masked Knight LV5 (ATK:2300)!"
"Well done! The Special Summon broke her continuous combo!" Okay, that was admittedly, a good move on his part.
"Black Garden activates." Izayoi calls out as Masked Knight LV5's attack points drop to 1150. "Next, Rose Token is special summoned, I end my turn."
"Witch! Even if you hide in your sinister garden, it's no use! The sword of justice will pursue you no matter where you are!" I don't think I can stand much more of this. "I draw! At this moment, Masked Knight LV5 evolves to LV7!"
"That's right! Due to its monster effect, Masked Knight LV5 levels up to LV7 during the standby phase!" The MC's obnoxious voice booms out of the sound system once more.
"Come, Masked Knight LV7 (ATK: 2900)!" Great, another Knight-themed monster, hooray. The crowd is cheering, not sure why to be honest. Oh right, this city is full of bigots.
"Black Garden activates" Izayoi calls out as Masked Knight LV7's attack points drop to 1450. "Another Rose Token is special summoned."
"Those eyes. I know what you're thinking. When this monster's effect activates, you intend to counterattack with Doppelganger. However, I have a plan!" Of course you do. "I equip the Equip Spell Glory Shield on Masked Knight LV7! Battle! Masked Knight LV7 attacks Rose Token! Persona Big Slash!" Izayoi's life points drop to 1550.
"He did it! Masked Knight's attack finally struck Izayoi! Rose Token cannot be destroyed in battle, but she still takes damage!" As the MC announces this, the crowd is cheering.
"Due to the effect of Glory Shield, destroy Doppelganger! Now there's nothing you can do. Take this! Persona Big Blast!" Izayoi takes another attack, lowering her life points to 50.
"She has 50 life points remaining! Izayoi survived by the skin of her teeth! But since she only has three remaining rose tokens on her field, she can't do anything to oppose him!" The crowd is still cheering. I wouldn't put Izayoi in a corner just yet.
"You're enjoying this a lot more than I thought you would." Shinji chuckles. Then, I realise that I have a small grin on my face.
"What can I say? She hasn't lost yet, and she's not going to."
"Oh you really think so? She seems pretty cornered to me."
"Just watch, she has something up her sleeve. I can feel it."
"Witch, this is your last turn! You have nowhere to escape!" Jill declares.
"Yes. It will be over this turn." I was right, Izayoi is cleverer than people give her credit for.
"What?" Jill cries out in surprise.
"I draw. The Field Spell Black Garden's effect." The vines surrounding the field begin to rot and turn brown, they begin to fall. "I destroy this card and all Plant-type monsters on the field. I can Special Summon a monster from the graveyard that has the same number of attack points as the total number of attack points of the destroyed monsters."
"What?" Jill has finally caught onto her plan.
"If she destroys the three Rose Tokens that have 800 attack points each, the total is 2400! That means the monster she's summoning will definitely be..." Here we go again. Purple flames fan out in a tornado shape. The crowd screams in fear of what will happen.
"I summon Black Rose Dragon!"
"There it is! Black Rose Dragon! But she paid a big price for it! Since Black Garden's curse is gone, Masked Knight LV7's attack points return to 2900!"
"Why did you get rid of Black Garden? You willingly gave up victory! Witch, have you lost your mind due to the pressure?" Jill honestly thinks that Izayoi has no plan, poor guy.
"Black Rose Dragon's monster effect. By removing a Plant-type monster in my graveyard, your monster's ATK points become 0. Rose Restriction." With that, Masked Knight's ATK points become 0.
At this, Jill begins to panic, knowing he is going to lose. "0 ATK points? even if I activate Martyr Flag and double its ATK points, it'll still be 0!" The crowd has become silent; the end is near.
"Battle. To the knight who falsely claims justice, you will take my flame of cold sorrow." Oh man, I'm hyped.
"Don't do it!" Jill pleads for mercy, but when you call a psychic 'witch' one too many times, you probably deserve it.
"Black Rose Flare!" At Aki's call, purple flames rush towards Jill.
"This is the same as a direct attack!" The crowd is horrified, screaming as Jill takes the attack. He falls on his back as his life points hit 0. The crowd is completely still before they break out into a frenzy. They call Aki a 'witch'. "Capture the witch!" they cry, "Leave the city!" This is the true power of a psychic. Striking fear into the heart of people. Will we ever be anything more?
A/N: Finished the first duel of the series! The Fortune Cup is going to be pretty much duel after duel from here on out, I'll try keep things interesting. But after that, the duels are going to be more spread out, with a lot more story and relationship development. This chapter was actually very awkward to write because my name is really close to Jill's. In this chapter, we get a hint of what happened between Yuuka and her brother. We'll find out about that soon. Hope you enjoyed it! I'll see you next time!