A/N: The following comments were included with the original release:
[Finally, I get to show my stuff! Nagisa and Kazuya are much better Duellists than Daigo and Masaru (doy), much more confident and less frustrating to watch than Nagi, and not deliberately playing bad moves to test their opponents like the proctor. Theirs, therefore, is the first real Duel. I played the end for comedy, though. I figure rigidity is a weakness of Kazuya's. Don't worry – when he plays with his own deck, it'll be far more climactic, though he'll probably curb-stomp a few opponents first just to make up for this lulzy ending.
I'm not at all sure about having Toriyama call the school down to watch the inaugural Duel, but it seems like a good way to introduce the whimsy of the staff (I'm a little too Touhou-inspired, perhaps; all my authority figures are super quirky now), and I have to develop all these characters somehow.
Beware the nice ones... ]
Also, FF . net has some kind of vendetta against separator lines. And URLs.
Game III: Of Roommates and Rivals
"Hello, everyone!"
The auditorium was a spectacular place. It had clear walls and a glass ceiling, so the sun could shine through and bathe the students in light. Perhaps more amazingly, grass grew on the floor – it was more like an enclosed courtyard than an auditorium. Even Daigo found himself breathing easy in the natural atmosphere, though the walls around him served to guide the headmaster's voice to his ears.
"I hope you find King's Island a suitable place for your education," said King's Duel Academia Headmaster Yuusaku Maruyama, Ph.D. His voice was strong and kind, that of a great protector. Even in this place of nature, he was immaculately dressed in a black suit and black pants.
"I am, as you can see, King's Duel Academia Headmaster Yuusaku Maryuama, Ph.D. If ever you have any concerns that you feel may suit the ears of the highest authority, such as a problem with our staff – though I foresee very few of those," he added with a warm glance at the long table of teachers behind him. "Well, feel free to see me.
"Your schedules will be posted tomorrow by noon in this room, as well as on your own personal account on the school website. Therefore, entry to this room shall be prohibited until noon on that day. You have noticed, of course, that we've included two laptops in each of your dormitories. These computers are for your personal use. Please take care of them. They include a number of useful programs and should be of great use to you this year."
Nagi, who had spent the last night trying and failing to sleep with a stranger in the room, had noticed nothing of the kind. Sachiko, the admittedly well-meaning stranger in question, hadn't either, judging by her incredulous expression.
"On the note of dormitories," the headmaster continued, "we have, of course, assigned your roommates for the rest of the year. We'd like to ask that you try and get along. However, if it's absolutely necessary for you to demand a change of roommate, feel free to ask your dormitory administrator and we'll be happy to hear you out.
"And now, I'd like to introduce our dormitory administrators! For our friends in Osiris Red, Toru Okamoto will be your overseer this year!"
Daigo applauded along with the rest of the Reds as Toru Okamoto stepped forward. He was a tall, thin, handsome young man with a slight beard and a playful smile. For the occasion, he was dressed in a dark red tuxedo and matching pants.
"Glad to be working with you," Toru said, raising a hand in greeting.
"Okamoto-san, if you'd like to say a few words…" The headmaster stepped back.
"Thank you." Okamoto-sensei stepped forward.
"Yo," he began. "You're probably pretty bummed about winding up in the lowest dorm. It's not that bad, though. I was in Osiris Red way back when, and look at me now." He grinned roguishly.
"'Course, back when I was in school, the Reds didn't have electricity or running water, and they had this little shed out on a cliff for a dorm. Nowadays, you guys get the same dorms as everyone else. And – correct me if I'm wrong – they're awesome."
There was more applause from the red section. This time, though, they were joined by some yellows and a few blues.
"And that whole trend is pretty much the same throughout the school," said a smiling Okamoto. "Of course, that's partly because they sued the old Duel Academy for the crappy dorms, but also because we're overall better about that kind of thing. We sort people a lot more based on regular academics than Duelling potential here, so your whole experience is probably gonna be a lot better. Your diploma's still gonna look great even if you were in Osiris, so don't worry about that. Plus, you actually stand a pretty good chance in the inter-Dorm Duels."
The Reds went ballistic at that last one. Nagi plugged her ears to block out their screams. Okamoto laughed encouragingly as he waited for the noise to die down.
"All right, all right," he chuckled. "That's enough. So anyway, I think we're gonna have a pretty good year together. Whaddaya say?"
Nagi managed to plug her ears before the Reds exploded this time.
"All right, that's all for me," said Okamoto. "If you need anything, just ask, and I'll be there. For everyone else, see you in English." He winked out at the yellow and blue sections before gallantly stepping back and handing the microphone to the headmaster.
"Thank you," said Maruyama. "Now, then, the administrator for Ra Yellow… Satsuki Aoki!"
Nagi politely applauded from within the sea of excited Yellow students at first, but eventually, the noise got to her and she had to plug her ears to prevent a severe headache.
"Hi, all!" A surprisingly young blonde with a radiant smile waved to her charges. She wore a professional, dark
"Aoki-san?"
"Thank you, Maruyama-sama." She scanned the crowd of students before her.
"See, now that he's gone," said Aoki, "you guys will want an awesome speech, and really, I'm just not as good at talking as that guy! 'Course, that isn't saying too much, but…"
Okamoto shrugged from his seat at the staff table.
"Anyway…" Aoki kept scanning the crowd and
Nagi felt the shock of the teacher's piercing blue eyes leaping straight into hers.
The eye contact only lasted for an instant, but it was definitely there. Nagi felt herself growing cold in spite of herself. Then Aoki-sensei's eyes moved on.
"So Ra Yellow is the normal dorm," said Aoki. "It's usually the biggest – lots of people in it – "
Nagi could have sworn Aoki looked at her again, but she was now keeping her eyes fixed on a spot just to the left of the dorm advisor's head, so it was hard to say.
" – and, y'know, the normal workloads and stuff… It's very normal. It's even the colour of Normal Monsters, see?"
And suddenly she was holding a Dark Magician in her free hand.
The Ra group burst into riotous applause before Nagi could shield her ears. She plugged them yet again and set to thinking – how did she do that? Was she hiding it in her sleeve, or…? No, that requires a flick of the wrist, and it's far too obvious besides…
But maybe she had kept it beneath her golden cuffs – ninety percent of magic was misdirection, after all.
Aoki seemed a bit overwhelmed by the response her trick had generated. "Uh, thanks?" That got a bit of laughter, but she mostly quieted the group.
"Now, we're a lot more useful than Normal Monsters, mind…" she continued. The card seemed to vanish into thin air, generating yet more applause. Nagi half wanted to keep her ears shut, but she wanted to hear this suspicious teacher speak.
"And remember, what Okamoto said before goes for us, too. You're sorted based on all your classes, not just Duel Monsters like most academies. I'm sure there are some brutal Duellists out there…"
Now Nagi was sure the teacher's eyes were cast in her direction, or at least in Sachiko's or Satoko's. Her roommate's considerably more reserved brunette sister had been sitting near Nagi during this whole presentation, having been dragged over by the forceful Sachiko.
The black-haired girl had to squirm a bit. She wasn't much good at the game known as Duel Monsters at all. Well, all right, she was good enough to win a local scholarship tournament, but that had been pretty much life-or-death for her, and more to the point, whoever took "lolocals" seriously?
In any case, she didn't actually like playing Duel Monsters, so whether she was good or not, she wouldn't be participating in the inter-dormitory tournaments. Nagi silently prayed that Aoki had been looking at Satoko.
She only realized that she'd been tuning out the teacher's speech when the applause started up again.
"And for everyone in Osiris and Obelisk," said Aoki as the applause died down. "The O dorms…"
Nagi wondered vaguely if the teacher was giving anyone else any nasty surprises with those piercing eyes of hers.
"I'll be seeing you once you reach Trigonometry," said the Ra advisor.
Sachiko gaped. There was no way a teacher like that could teach such a nightmarish course, was there?
"Have a good year, all!" Aoki finished before turning the microphone back to the headmaster with a sugary "Thank you!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, Satsuki Aoki," said the headmaster. "And now, for the Obelisk Blue dormitory leader… Saika Toriyama!"
[*******]
Saika Toriyama looked much older and more professional than either Aoki or Okamoto. She had dark red hair that stood out against her muted blue shirt, and she surveyed her new charges with dark, hooded eyes.
Amane Hirokawa was very, very nervous as Toriyama-sensei seemed to look in her direction. This wasn't entirely due to the contrast between Toriyama and the other two administrators – her roommate, Rei Yumura, was sitting next to her.
Her first impressions of Rei had been mostly accurate. The indigo-haired girl didn't speak unless spoken to under almost all circumstances, and not speaking even when spoken to was a depressingly common occurrence. To be fair, Amane had been surprised by Rei's amicability last night, but she still couldn't shake the thought that a cold heart or an eerie soul lurked beneath her roommate's deathly pale skin.
Yes, it was stereotyping a bit, and Amane was already telling herself to get over it. But she'd still had trouble sleeping last night
Thankfully, whatever fears Amane might have had about Toriyama-sensei evaporated when the teacher spoke – it seemed that all the dorm administrators were fantastic orators. "What, where's all the applause?" she said drily.
A tension seemed to break over the whole blue dorm as laughter coursed down the ranks of azure-clad students.
"I'm really not that scary," Toriyama insisted. Then she cleared her throat and spoke. "So, welcome to Obelisk Blue. If you're here, it means that you care about getting a quality education. You actually want to learn while you're here – it's the only way you could have gotten in."
Amane quietly thanked the good heavens that she fit Toriyama's blanket statement. Then again, the fact that she did was probably the point.
"Well… this school shall provide," the blue dorm leader assured her charges. "I've worked here pretty much since it turned up, and I can assure you, our staff are all incredible. Those two are actually the newest recruits." She looked back at Okamoto and Aoki, who waved.
"They signed on two years ago, and they're very, very good at their jobs.
"And besides the phenomenal learning experience, I can also promise a fun year. We have plenty of events, most of our courses will give you plenty of free time with our college-based atmosphere, and, of course, there are the Duelling tournaments. Intra- and inter-dorm.
"Now, I know they said their classes had a chance," the teacher joked, "but of course, we're going to win, right?"
Amane cheered as loudly as anyone. She fully intended to take the Duelling scene by storm! …eventually.
"So it's on," said Toriyama. "But it'll be a fight, I warn you. I teach a lot of the Duelling classes here, as well as judging the Obelisk and inter-dorm tournaments, and I don't actually care too much who wins, so everyone's getting the same quality education. If you want victory, you'll have to earn it.
"But that's what you're here for, right?"
"Yeah!" Amane screeched as the blues burst into applause.
"Well, then, see you." Toriyama raised a hand in greeting and returned the microphone to the headmaster.
"So if you need anything," he said, "talk to them. Have a good year, students. Dismissed!"
[*******]
Daigo walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.
He had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. That was certainly looking like an attractive option to him, the boy who'd managed to turn his roommate into a mortal enemy before the start of term. The thought of sleeping in the same room as Masaru every night was already making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
But on the other hand, Daigo thought, if he didn't dorm with Masaru, someone would have to. He recalled the change in atmosphere once his roommate's name was announced. No doubt, a boy of lesser will was quaking in his boots at the thought of rooming with the roguish boy. What to do, what to do…?
"Harukawa-kun?"
"Bwah!" Daigo practically jumped out of his skin. "Okamoto-sensei, where did…"
Toru Okamoto smiled warmly. His hands were in his pockets, Daigo noticed. "When we get back, can I have a little chat with you? You're not in trouble, I promise."
"Oh, uh… sure." Well, that was odd. Is it about Masaru? he wondered.
"Thanks. See you then."
And Okamoto slipped away into the crowd, raising his hand in a gallant farewell.
[*******]
Sachiko walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.
She had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. Nagi was a cold and unsociable girl; the polar opposite of someone like Sachiko. Already, it seemed, Nagi was holding her at arm's length at most. Besides, Nagi had an unsettling quality about her – something about the way she carried herself set Sachiko on edge.
And yet a voice nagged at the back of her head that she shouldn't try for it. Maybe Nagi is just shy, it said. You never know. You tend to be pretty forceful. Maybe she just doesn't like anyone touching her – or maybe she's one of those types that spent all her time alone in a room. You never know.
She turned the possible consequences over. Nagi would probably be happier with another roommate, she knew, and she might be, too. But at the same time, it felt like cheating – and an insult to Nagi – to try and apply for a change of roommate already. What to do, what to do…?
Sachiko returned to reality; the deep thought was giving her a headache. As she looked around at the crowd of students, mostly clad in spiffy yellow uniforms in all sorts of styles, she noticed a flash of darkness and –
Was that Nagi there? How coincidental!
She walked quickly, but Sachiko took sharper notice of her new roommate now that she'd been pondering possible personalities. Nagi was taller than she'd given her credit for; at least a hundred seventy centimetres. She had very pale skin and thick, wavy black hair that stretched about to the small of her back. Her clothing honestly wasn't very nice; she wouldn't associate it with someone who could afford a private school. Say, hadn't she been wearing those same pants yesterday…?
And the pallor of Nagi's skin made the bags beneath her dark, analytical eyes all the more noticeable. She obviously hadn't slept much, if at all, the night before.
Sachiko wasn't sure whether to feel sorry for her or hate her, which pretty much set her back to square one.
Nagi was walking very quickly and purposefully. She manoeuvred through the crowd with ease; she was out of Sachiko's sight in moments. But Sachiko slowed and stopped, renewing her concentrated thought in spite of her headache.
[*******]
"Excuse me. Aoki-sensei?"
"You're Nagi Yuryuin, right?"
"Yes… I wanted to talk to you about my roommate."
[*******]
Amane walked back to the dorm slowly and quietly, pensive eyes cast to the sky.
She had the option to apply for a change of roommate, it would seem. It was tempting – Rei was scary, and having to attend class with all that sleep lost would be a daunting task – but Amane doubted if she should go through with it. Rei wasn't overtly malicious at all; she just didn't talk and looked like a ghost. Besides, wasn't it cheating to try and get a different roommate? It was probably fate that she wound up with the eerie girl!
She'd just managed to decide that when she bumped into someone from behind.
"Eek!"
The boy she'd hit whirled around and leered at her with dark, beady eyes. He was short and stocky, with spiky blue hair and a rugged cobalt jacket of a uniform. She couldn't catch the name; he turned too quickly.
"Why, you – ooh…" His fury quickly dissipated once he saw who he'd hit. "Oh. Uh, you okay?"
"Y-yeah…" He was
"Heheh, that's good." That laugh just sounded stupid, though. "Wouldn't want a cutie like you gettin' hurt… So how 'bout…"
"Oh, for… You're embarrassing yourself, Sakaguchi."
Here to save Amane from being hit on by a random senpai was a much taller, leaner boy with a long, aquiline nose, spiky white-blond hair, and narrow, cunning, storm-blue eyes.
"Kazuya-kun," Sakaguchi whined, "ya just had to ruin it, didn't you?"
"You did that just fine by yourself, thank you very much," replied Kazuya Kashiwaya (or so his blue-and-gold nameplate said). "I'm here as damage control. Just be glad Akihara didn't interrupt you instead of me. Hitting on a girl that just bumped into you, honestly…"
The way Kashiwaya-senpai said the name "Akihara" was a bit scary. He was on such bad terms with Akihara, it seemed, that he had to practically spit the name out of his mouth. Even so, his voice was less condescending than it had been when he was addressing Sakaguchi-senpai… A rival, perhaps?
"Uh, who's Akihara?" Amane asked, the epitome of tact.
"Another of your senpai," Kashiwaya sighed. "Not a pleasant person, especially not to an oaf like Sakaguchi. She'd be on your side in a case like this, though." He frowned. "Honestly, she's a bit of a mystery."
So she was a girl? Oh, how interesting! Was she an ex, or…?
"Aw, I have my plus sides," Sakaguchi protested.
"I'm sure you do, but let's not try and make sense of Akihara's mind. That's a task better left to Fuyumi."
Fuyumi – as in Fuyumi Nagisa, the girl who'd managed the entrance exams? Amane wasn't quite so tactless as to ask that, though.
"Sorry about that," said Kashiwaya. "Let's head back to the dorm. I need to apply for a change of roommate."
"Hey!" Sakaguchi complained. "You're kidding, right?"
Amane giggled inwardly. They got along well.
[*******]
Amane was careful to watch Sakaguchi-senpai (first name Tadashi) and Kashiwaya-senpai as they ate, just to make sure they really were as friendly as she'd assumed. It seemed they were; in spite of Kashiwaya's mild arrogance and condescension towards his wider, cruder friend, the boys sat together, and when it came down to it, Kashiwaya didn't change his roommate after all. He was, however, called away by Toriyama-sensei to discuss something else.
Amane couldn't help but think the gender concentration in these tables was a little odd. The tables in the dining room were arranged in a horseshoe shape around a massive, incredibly varied buffet table that Amane had done a significant part to help empty. She sat near the top of the horseshoe, near the place where a couple sat next to each other, so as to giggle at Sakaguchi's and Kashiwaya's antics. A mass of girls was off to her right and the boys were mostly off to her left; Sakaguchi and Kashiwaya were in the middle of that clump.
But Fuyumi Nagisa and a few academy newcomers sat beyond the boys, along with a long-coat-wearing girl with long, black hair and a bored expression.
The outcasts? Fuyumi Nagisa was an outcast?
Mind, everyone looked perfectly happy over at that end of the horseshoe. But still, it was so odd to think that someone like Fuyumi-senpai would be sitting apart from the rest of the group. She wondered why –
CRASH
Amane shrieked and flinched instinctively. When she found herself still alive and well after a second or so, she looked around the circumference of the tables. It seemed that a newcomer boy had knocked over Sakaguchi's tray.
"HEY!"
Sakaguchi managed to make himself seem bigger and scarier than Amane would have thought possible.
"WHAT THE HELL D'YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he bellowed.
"And so it begins," a chilling voice sighed.
Amane started. Fuyumi-senpai and her black-haired friend, an imposing girl of roughly Fuyumi's height, had risen.
"We haven't even started school yet and you're already losing your temper, Sakaguchi," dark-hair sighed.
"I must admit, I'm disappointed," Fuyumi added with mock sorrow.
"It - what - this kid - !"
"I won't ask," said Fuyumi. But really, Sakaguchi, I'm sure this boy is sorry. Aren't you?"
The boy nodded emphatically. "I really am, I promise… I'm always really clumsy. I can get you some new ones and wash your uniform if you'd like!"
Amane gaped at the boy's high voice and servile response, a large drop of sweat materializing near her forehead. Who was he?
"Oh, for… It's too late now, ain't it?" Sakaguchi snarled.
"That's enough, Sakaguchi," said dark-hair. "If you want to vent your anger issues, do it on the Duelling fields."
"Yanno what? I think I will!"
[*******]
"You idiot, Sakaguchi!"
Kashiwaya was livid as he stormed into the Duelling fields after Sakaguchi-senpai. Amane had quietly followed along after him.
"I leave for all of five minutes and you lose control!" he bellowed, seizing his shorter friend by the collar. "You just flip out on some newbie and bam, you're here doing what? Duelling Fuyumi-san with an ante! And Toriyama dragging along the rest of the school to watch over dinner – you've been set up for public humiliation!"
"If we have someone who improves in Kashiwaya's presence, we know we have an accomplishment," said Akihara drily.
"Now, now," said Fuyumi.
"You know what – give me that!" Kazuya snatched the Deck out of his friend's hand. "I'll Duel in your stead. Now you at least have some hope, although your chances are still slim since you built this Deck!" Oddly, he started rifling through his friend's cards.
Amane was suddenly struck with the feeling she was being watched. She turned around, and –
"Eeeek!"
The rest of the Obelisk dorm was filing into the bleachers surrounding the arena.
"Toriyama-sensei?" Amane squeaked.
"Oh, hello, Hirokawa-san." The red-haired teacher waved from the bleachers. "Come join us."
Amane didn't hesitate to comply, of course. "Wh-what are you doing here?" she asked as she squeezed into a seat next to the teacher.
"We may as well start the year off with a Duel over dinner," Toriyama shrugged. "I invited Aoki-san and Okamoto-san to come down as well. Ah, over here, Yumura-san."
Amane paled, approaching the nigh-albinism of her terrifying roommate. The apparently mute girl seemed to glide up the stairs, which didn't help at all in convincing Amane she wouldn't have a ghost in her room every night for the next year.
"You don't mind having Yumura-san as your roommate, do you?" Toriyama asked.
"N-no," Amane decided, if only because Yumura was right next to her.
"That's good. I know she can be a bit off-putting, but she really is a nice girl.
"She's here to do some special services for the school," the teacher explained after receiving Amane's curious glance. "I'm not saying what they are, though hopefully, she won't have any work to do at all and she'll just be able to learn. That would be ideal, no?" She looked at Yumura.
The ghoulish girl actually nodded, her relatively short, hime-cut black hair falling over her shoulders.
Kazuya, back on the ground, thrust a card into Sakaguchi's hand. "Here," he said brusquely, before pulling a card out of his Deck box without even looking and thrusting it into the Deck.
Eh? What was that?
"It wouldn't be a Duel without the priceless, very rare, one-of-a-kind, pink porcelain Imperial Dragon," Akihara deadpanned.
Imperial Dragon? Hirokawa had never even heard of a card called Imperial Dragon. Then again, it was priceless, very rare, and one-of-a-kind. It might even be pink and/or porcelain, though Amane doubted that.
"I'm playing, aren't I?" said Kashiwaya.
Toriyama-sensei stood suddenly, revealing her surprising height, and waved out to the arena. "Akihara-san! Sakaguchi-san!" she called. "Come here!"
"Good luck," said Akihara to Fuyumi-senpai. She got a nod and a radiant smile before turning and joining the rest of the Blues in the bleachers. Sakaguchi said much the same thing to his representative, though he said it in a much more masculine dialect.
Amane looked around at the audience and started. The Yellows and Reds were starting to file in, albeit from different entrances.
"Hey, Toriyama-san!"
The yellow-clad Aoki-senpai was worming through the blue crowd with surprising agility.
"So what gave you this idea?"
"I'm trying to lighten up," said Toriyama.
"I like the idea, though. Ooh, and it's Fuyumi versus Kashiwaya?"
"So it seems. It's an even better turn out than I'd hoped. No promises about Kashiwaya's deck, though. He's borrowing an unrefined Sakaguchi creation."
"Well, even so… C'mon, let's go to the judges' stand."
"You two will be alright here?" The redheaded teacher turned her attention to Amane and Rei. The former said a surprised "Oh, yeah," while the latter nodded soundlessly.
"Hey."
The final advisor spoke – the debonair Okamoto, towering over the seated students. He was accompanied by, of all people, the headmaster, his face a warm, white shock against the complete black of his hair and dress.
"Let's hit the box," said Okamoto.
"Yes, let's go," Toriyama agreed. The four teachers walked up the bleachers, a multicoloured array of multifaceted whimsy.
[*******]
/Duel Start/
Kazuya Kashiwaya VS Nagisa Fuyumi
[4000||4000]
"Let's make this quick," Kazuya muttered. "Who'll go first?"
"How about you?" Nagisa suggested.
Honestly, Kazuya had been very surprised to see his old rival again in the second year. Had she gotten prettier over the break, or were his hormones just belatedly responding to her? It didn't matter, though. He wasn't about to go head-over-heels for Nagisa Fuyumi.
Neither had he expected to have the whole school looking in on a Duel between him and his nemesis. That was… rather embarrassing. Oh, well. He'd be able to prove his competence once he was actually Duelling; reputations were often terribly deceiving.
He had no objections to going first; he had a good base of cards – two copies of Lady Assailant of Flames, Dimensional Fissure, Dark Bribe, and Cyber Dragon. Sakaguchi had elected to run his old removal Deck, though he seemed to have made the profound decision to include Lady Assailant of Flames, a Flip monster that could inflict eight hundred damage to the opponent if the top three cards of the controller's Deck were removed from play.
The tactics of Lady Assailant of Flames conflicted somewhat with his overall beat-down strategy – Sakaguchi had failed to exploit the regenerative gaps that set removal Decks above the rest – and Kazuya still doubted if it would be able to accomplish the goals of a removal Deck, but that was no matter. She would make an excellent first-turn gambit.
He drew his sixth card with a bit of a flourish. It was another useful monster to Set, Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive. The Assailant, one of the stronger Flip monsters Kazuya knew of, was actually stronger, and using Dekoichi's draw power so early in the Duel would be a tad redundant.
But first things first. "First, I'll activate Dimensional Fissure."
The arena flickered to life. The hologram projectors in the floor radiated a beautiful prismatic glow and began to hum with energy. Was everything prettier to him now?
He glanced at Akihara out in the stands and met the usual unbreakable glare. Nope, just Fuyumi and the field. Dammit.
Two scarlet ribbons arced out of thin air and tied themselves into bows, and then – the most terrible darkness technology could create expanded between them, simulating a tear in the fabric of reality. In the stands, Nagi Yuryuin suddenly started giggling – she'd seen that particular gap effect before. KaibaCorp had paid the doujin's sole creator a sizable sum for use of the effect some time ago, she recalled – but she'd never seen a gap in such lifelike detail before.
"Any monsters sent to the Graveyard will be removed from play instead," he said by force of habit, though he knew his opponent knew the card's effect well.
"Next, I'll Set a monster" – a Lady Assailant of Flames, he decided; burning his opponent early in the Duel could be good for him – "and a Spell or Trap Card" – Dark Bribe; Nagisa was probably using her signature Counter Fairies, and keeping a counter-counter on hand could be very useful – "and end my turn."
Nagisa drew her sixth card and appraised her hand only briefly before playing. "I'll activate Trade-In," she decided. A mahogany holographic table hovered in the air before her.
"Splendid Venus is removed from play, and I get to draw two cards," she said. She slotted the card into the remove-from-play slot just below the Graveyard, which was a disturbingly recent addition to the Duel Disk. Then the hologram projectors got to work.
First, in a shimmering display of light, a golden figurine burst onto the table. The statue was in the likeness of an imposing armoured angel with four huge, feathery wings, and it was quite impressive even as it came to an anticlimactic rest on the surface of the table.
Then a simulated "wind" began to blow across the arena. Fans whirred to life on Nagisa's side of the arena, blowing her golden ponytail towards the gaping rift on Kazuya's side of the field. The figurine skittered forward for a few seconds, teetering on the edge of the table, and then flew through the air into the rift.
"That was impressive," Nagisa said pleasantly. She then set to evaluating her two new cards.
"Well, I'll Set a monster and a non-monster," she decided, "and play the Field Spell Card, The Sanctuary in the Sky!"
The Duellists seemed to be soaring into a blue sky as the hologram projectors kicked into overdrive. Eventually, they passed a dark shape and slowed down. Soon, they were speeding towards the shape – which was revealed to be a marble palace in a Greek style. The Sanctuary in the Sky - in a battle involving her Fairy-Type monsters, Nagisa could take no damage.
"Now I end my turn," said Nagisa, smiling.
Turn II
[4000||4000]
Kazuya whipped a card off the top of his Deck – Macro Cosmos. The Trap Card had more removal power than Dimensional Fissure, but that, he decided, was irrelevant – there was no point in having two removal cards up at the same time, no matter the situation. It was time to act.
"I Flip Summon the Lady Assailant of Flames," he declared. From the inverted image of a face-down Duel Monsters card sprang a burst of fire, and in its wake, a fiery-haired girl clad in a shinobi's attire glared at Nagisa's field.
/Lady Assailant of Flames\
[****]
|1500/ATK|
|DEF/1000|
"And because I Flip Summoned her," said Kazuya, "I can remove from play the top three cards of my Deck to inflict eight hundred damage to your Life Points."
As Kazuya slipped cards from the top of his Deck into his removed-from-play slot, embers began hovering around the ninja. Once all three cards were set, the assailant aimed her knife at Nagisa. The embers, obeying her command, went flying in the blonde's direction, searing away eight hundred Life Points.
[4000||3200]
"But she won't be staying for long," continued Kazuya. "Because I'm going to Tribute her and Summon Cyber Dragon!"
The ninja knelt, bowing her head. She slowly began glowing, brighter and brighter, until light eclipsed her features. Then the light began to change shape – it grew longer, thicker, spiralling through the air. At last, the light dissipated, revealing a huge, metallic serpent that had replaced the comparatively weak assassin.
/Cyber Dragon\
[*****]
|2100/ATK|
|DEF/1600|
"Now, Cyber Dragon," Kazuya commanded, "attack Fuyumi's face-down!"
The serpent moved at an incredible speed, twisting through the air like a roller coaster and speeding through the projected face-down card like a bullet train. Aura the Priestess managed to express her surprise for a moment before she exploded into polygons.
"I end my turn," the boy finished as his dragon settled back onto his side of the field. He waited.
Nothing happened.
"Grr... What now?" Kazuya muttered.
"Did you remove D.D. Scout Plane from play?" Nagisa guessed.
"D.D. ..." Kazuya rifled through his removed-from-play zone. "Huh. So I guess it comes back to the field in Attack Position."
A round, satellite-like probe came floating out of the void of the Dimensional Fissure.
/D.D. Scout Plane\
[***]
|0800/ATK|
|DEF/1200|
Nagisa drew a card nonchalantly, as if Kazuya hadn't just gained a formidable advantage over the field. Then she played, and Kazuya saw why: he hadn't just gained a formidable advantage over the field. At least, not compared to what Nagisa was about to do next.
"I place a face-down, and then, I activate Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!"
Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen – the true cornerstone of modern Fairy Decks. Since Nagisa's field was clear of monsters, she could Special Summon any Fairy-Type monster she'd like. If she had an Athena or another Splendid Venus in her hand, Kazuya would be fighting an uphill battle.
Thank goodness he'd laid down some preparation. "I activate Dark Bribe!" he exclaimed.
From a spiral of energy, Valhalla's battlefield was starting to take form even on the floor of the Sanctuary in the Sky – but the helix suddenly stopped as Kazuya's Trap opened.
Then Nagisa said something that made his heart plummet: "So do I!"
FFFFFFFFFF
If she had Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord in her hand, he was done for!
"Draw a card," said Nagisa as Valhalla finished assembling itself. Kazuya did so only bitterly – Nagisa was almost guaranteed a turnaround now.
He was right. "Now, then, I think I'll Special Summon Splendid Venus!"
It was the same armoured angel as before – but now, her shimmering armour could glitter in its full splendour. Four dazzling wings spread from her back, and a scarlet orb lay in the tip of her staff, but besides that, she only wore gold – a sort of armoured dress in glimmering aural colours.
/Splendid Venus\
[********]
|2800/ATK|
|DEF/2400|
"As you know," said Fuyumi, "the non-Fairy-Type monsters on the field lose five hundred ATK and DEF while Splendid Venus is up. So the once-mighty Cyber Dragon now has sixteen hundred ATK, and your Scout Plane is reduced to a paltry three hundred!"
On cue, Splendid Venus began radiating an intense aura of light. Kazuya's monsters recoiled, blinded by the light.
"Attack D.D. Scout Plane, Splendid Venus!" Nagisa sang.
The angelic knight raised her staff, the scarlet orb at the end beginning to glow with a radiant white light. An orb of light crackled into being in a flash of light that made Kazuya blink. Then the orb rocketed forward and hit the Scout Plane. Just to make the point of the complete devastation Kazuya faced, the bullet kept moving and went straight through him, too.
[1500||3200]
"I shall now end my turn," said Nagisa in a faux-prim-and-proper voice. "Oh, and look – you get your Scout Plane back."
"Right," Kazuya grumbled, having forgotten his card's effect again.
Turn III
[1500||3200]
Kazuya grimaced as he drew his card. He'd gotten Allure of Darkness last turn, but now, all he had was a Hidden Armoury. Well, if ever there was a time for draw power, it was now.
"I activate Hidden Armoury," he began. It was best to thin out his Deck a bit before drawing. "I'll grab a copy of D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation from my Deck."
A small holographic display flashed to life above his Duel Disk, asking him to choose a card to add to his hand. He scrolled down a bit and selected D.D.R. Though he had no use for it now, it could help him considerably later – and, more to the point, there was less chance of his drawing it when he used his next card.
He waited for a moment as his Duel Disk shuffled his Deck for him. Then he activated his first true draw-power card. "Next, I'll activate Allure of Darkness!"
A little dark vortex spiralled into existence before Kazuya. He whipped two cards off the top of his Deck and examined them: D.D. Survivor and Mystical Space Typhoon. The former was of little use while Splendid Venus was still on the field, and though he wouldn't get it back, he fed D.D. Survivor to the vortex. Dekoichi was too valuable a resource.
He decided to set up that resource, Setting Dekoichi. Then…
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon! Your face-down is gone," he said. One thunderbolt later, Solemn Judgment was in the Graveyard.
"Then I'll end my turn," Kazuya shrugged. Three monsters – a good defence.
Nagisa drew, her paradoxical poker-face still firmly attached. Her move was anticlimactic: "I lay a face-down, destroy Cyber Dragon with Splendid Venus, and end my turn."
Turn IV
[1500||3200]
Kazuya drew – and beheld his hope for salvation.
It was the perfect card. Three thousand attack power was just the beginning – it had the ability to stop Splendid Venus and give him back control of the Duel, and no matter how many times Nagisa replaced her great fairy, he'd be able to knock it right back down.
It was priceless. It was very rare. It was pretty close to one-of-a-kind. It wasn't pink or porcelain, but it was the Imperial Dragon.
Imperial Dragon was a level eight monster with three thousand ATK, two thousand DEF, and an effect that could easily win Kazuya the Duel. He could select any one monster on the field besides the Imperial Dragon when he Summoned the card. Besides Imperial Dragon and the selected monster, every monster on the field would lose its effect.
The card was not without weaknesses. If it was alone on the field, it would be removed from play, and if the opponent managed to wrest control of it away from Kazuya, they would be able to choose their own target. But in a Deck focused around removing cards from play, Kazuya knew that he could easily win.
And he could do it, too.
"I activate D.D.R. – Different Dimension Reincarnation!" he began. "By discarding Macro Cosmos from my hand to the Graveyard" – it was a worthy sacrifice – "I can bring back the Cyber Dragon that was just removed from play!"
The silver serpent hurtled out of the void, a draconic bullet train.
/Cyber Dragon\
[*****]
|1600/ATK|
|DEF/1100|
"I'm putting it in Defence Position," he said blandly. "Not that it will matter much. Next I'll Flip Summon Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive!"
Now a demonic steam train joined the draconic bullet train.
/Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive\
[****]
|0900/ATK|
|DEF/0500|
"That means I can draw a card." No point wasting a perfectly good card. He drew, and found…
…yes! Escape from the Dark Dimension! Now even Solemn Judgment couldn't stop him!
"Then I'll lay down a face-down." He did so with a vile smile.
"Of course, next, I'll Tribute Dekoichi and D.D. Scout Plane… to Tribute Summon the Imperial Dragon!"
Dark clouds gathered around the Sanctuary in the Sky, and out of these clouds came flying a titanic black dragon. Its huge, leathery wings continued to block out the "sun" even when its attendant clouds dissipated, and its tail stretched all the way to the next card zone, touching the Cyber Dragon. It glared down at the battlefield with stormy eyes not unlike Kazuya's own for a short while before flaring out the fins on the sides of its head and unleashing a deafening roar.
The Imperial Dragon had arrived.
[*******]
Nagi gulped. This was not looking good.
She rather liked Nagisa, who had been perfectly nice to them at the entrance exams and had proven to be a brutal Duellist during this short confrontation. Kashiwaya also seemed to be in the wrong here, representing a bully who picked on a clumsy fellow first-year. Going in, she was rooting for the girl whose name comprised her own.
That seemed to be the majority opinion. Some of the Obelisk Blue students to her left were also looking nervous.
Seeing the monstrous Imperial Dragon take the field, therefore, was a mortifying sight. Even as it suffered from the light of Splendid Venus, it still threatened to be a powerful foe – and, whether through the darkness of the clouds around it or the mortifying effect of Imperial Dragon, it promised to blot out that light very soon. While Imperial Dragon was face-up, only one other monster's effect could be used. If he targeted Cyber Dragon…
/Imperial Dragon\
[********]
|2500/ATK|
|DEF/1500|
But Nagi had to wonder… Was the face-down card Dark Bribe? Otherwise, why hadn't Nagisa simply negated the Summon? And wasn't Kashiwaya prepared to face that eventuality? That D.D. Scout Plane would return to the field in Attack Position… Nagi herself wouldn't feel comfortable with such a gamble, or so she thought. Perhaps worse, what if the face-down was Mirror Force? Though Nagi didn't own a copy of that card, a glance through some of her classmates' Decks had proven that she seemed to be the only one who fulfilled that criterion in the school.
"Of course, its effect activates," Kashiwaya said confidently. But his confidence, to Nagi's delight, was turned upside-down when Nagisa smiled.
"I was waiting for that," she said. "I'll chain Divine Wrath to that."
"Divine – "
No, it seemed Kashiwaya had been too shortsighted, in his rush to Summon the Imperial Dragon, to consider the array of negative cards Nagisa could have put out. Come to think of it, it was a bit like the proctor from Nagi's own entrance Duel and his Stone Giant Grakal – a person was convinced that their victory rode on a single combo and thus pursued it to the end, failing to realize that the risk they were taking was simply too great and losing as a result.
Was this more common than Nagi realized? Kashiwaya seemed to be considered a potent Duellist. If that trick could even fool the greats, Nagi thought, perhaps she – or at least her style – was better at this game than she realized.
Of course, the whole game was simply too stressful and too luck-based for Nagi's tastes – she'd avoid it if possible. Still, it was comforting to know she wouldn't flounder like a fish in her Duel-based classes.
"I'll discard my third and final Splendid Venus," Nagisa said dismissively. The image of the angelic knight soared over the battlefield briefly, glowing white. Eventually, the white glow altogether absorbed it. Once there was nothing left but a glowing white orb, the orb hurtled down towards the Imperial Dragon and blasted it into triangles. The entire mass was promptly sucked into the void.
"That was an uncharacteristically bad move on Kashiwaya's part," remarked one Satoko Natsuki from two seats above Nagi. The girl should look familiar - red hair and a round face, just like her younger sister Sachiko. "Something's distracting him."
"Maybe it's just his being hungry and stressed," her sister suggested. "He didn't get to eat before he came down here."
"I bet that's it," the elder Natsuki agreed.
Talking of stress, Sachiko thought, her roommate didn't look so good, either. Now that she got a good look at Nagi Yuryuin, she looked horribly tired, with heavy bags over her bleary eyes. How on earth did that happen?
Kashiwaya was oddly calm as his dragon was blasted to bits, though. It was as if he didn't realize he'd lost.
"I'll place a face-down," he said smoothly, "and end my turn."
Two words ran through Nagi's mind: Mirror Force?
There was a long pause. Kashiwaya was putting off resurrecting his monster. Finally, Nagisa spoke:
"You have to bring back your D.D. Scout Plane," she sang. "In Attack Position."
Kashiwaya's reaction cemented quite clearly that he hadn't Set a Mirror Force – he'd simply forgotten his card's effect again. He scowled as his Scout Plane lazily drifted out of the gap.
Nagi briefly pictured Yakumo-sama herself smiling her demonic smile as she pushed the probe out of Mayohiga and found herself giggling again. She stopped, however, in time to hear a cold voice beside her say:
"That was intelligent."
Nagi turned to see who'd spoken. It was an Obelisk girl in a long coat of the same style Nagi herself had chosen. She had silky black hair that reached nearly to her waist, a figure to rival Nagisa's, and a clear face morphed by a coldly satisfied smirk.
She'd probably never see the girl again, seeing as she wouldn't be competing in the inter-Dorm tournaments and inhabited the Ra dorm. That was probably good for her – she did not want to be on the receiving end of those dark, frighteningly intelligent eyes. This person ruined her self-esteem.
As Nagi turned back to the Duelling field and watched the end-of-game cermonies – with Nagisa being incredibly cheerful and friendly while Kashiwaya scowled and stomped about, snapping at his client and his rival in turn – she failed to notice Shizuka Akihara appraising her in turn.
[*******]
"Aoki-sensei?"
"Natsumi-san? What's up?"
"Um... It's about my roommate."
"Oh. Yeah, I was afraid of that." Aoki frowned. "Have a seat."
Sachiko pulled up her chair and sat down. It was one of those plush chairs that spun around, and she'd ordinarily be practically squeeing with delight, but at the moment she was in far too serious a mood to do that. Thank goodness the office's muted blue walls were so welcoming. (It was a bit odd to see blue in a building that seemed to be all yellow, but the change of pace was nice.)
"Yuryuin is your roommate, right?"
"Yes."
"She actually already came down to see me. She didn't try and talk to you?"
"Huh?" Oh, dear. So Yuryuin did hate her. What did she do, anyway? They'd barely met!
"She said she was going to try and talk to you. Have you seen her since the Duel?"
"N-no..."
"Oh. Well, that would be it." Aoki folded her hands and looked Sachiko in the eye. "She actually told me not to switch your room just yet."
"Wh-what?"
"She said she wanted to talk to you herself," said Aoki, "but I guess that might not happen for a while. So if you don't mind, can I give you some advice for dealing with her?"
"S-sure... But why...?"
"She said that she probably seems cold," Aoki explained. "But she's not, not really. She's basically terminally shy. Being around so many unfamiliar people scares the crap out of her."
Oh. That explained a lot. Nagi had been tired, hadn't she? With bags around her eyes and slow speech. Apparently, she'd just been scared to be in the same room as a stranger. It made sense on a certain level, albeit not much.
"I... I see."
"So you sort of have to handle with care," the advisor said. "Be nice, and don't come on too strong. She's not great with emotions, either."
"Got it."
"Thanks. Well, good luck. Was there anything else you wanted?"
"No, I'm all right, thank you."
As Sachiko walked out of the advisor's office and towards her dorm, she heard an all-too-familiar voice.
"Natsuki-san?"
"Yuryuin-san?" she said, turning to meet her roommate's eyes.
"Right... can we talk?"
"Certainly."
And they walked off into their home away from home.
