Hyper Runners: Duel Legacy
All Character © Respective creators
Chapter Three: Lady Luck
The scene returns to the streets of New Domino City only a few short hours after Rev's outstanding duel. Marcus wanted to forget about the match, but it was really difficult with Ruki and Namura doing play-by-play commentary. But when he thought about it, they had a right to be excited. Looking over the match in his memory, Marcus tried to find some weakness in Rev's defenses, but failed every time – he created the ultimate defense.
"It's like nothing could touch him." Marcus thought difficultly. "I guess that's the reason they call him the Untouchable God."
"Aw, I'm sure you would have thought of something." Sonic said encouragingly. "After all, Yusei chose you over him."
"He had the whole duel planned out." Amy said pointedly. "His monsters were mapped perfectly, their effects were chosen at the right moments, and he didn't even summon his best card."
"Who needs friends when I have guys like you?" Marcus thought sarcastically.
"Marcus....Marcus...." Namura called.
"Wake up, bonehead!" Ruki screamed.
The redhead troublemaker snapped out of his thought just moment before smacking into a lamppost. As he fell backward to the ground, holding his face, he could hear a group of giggle girls pass by – he never felt so embarrassed. He saw a hand being held out between his fingers and accepted it while still hiding his face. Imagine his surprise when he learned it wasn't from Namura or Ruki. It was from young woman roughly close to his age with silky, shoulder-length brunette hair. She wore a midnight-blue shirt with a white vest over it, light-blue jeans, and a dark-blue belt with black deck holders. If it wasn't for the fact he was so embarrassed from his fall, he might have found her to be.....stunning.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"I'm fine." Marcus murmured.
"That's good." The girl nodded. "You should really watch where you're going."
Not a moment later, she turned and hit the same lamppost. Marcus resisted all temptation to laugh as she slid downwards on the metal pole. The unknown girl groaned, rubbing her forehead, which was now beet-red.
"You ok?" Ruki sniggered behind her hand.
"Yeah, this isn't the first time something like this happened." She laughed lightly. As her searched over the group, her eyes stopped on Marcus. "Hey, I know you – you're Marcus Kiva. You were in the satellites for a few years until you got caught stealing a Runner from Sector Security. You were locked up in the Facility for two years before Yusei convinced them to drop all charges. I think he became your master and legal guardian shortly after."
"Uh...yeah." Marcus said amazingly. "How'd you know all that?"
"My dad is chief of Sector Security." The girl smiled. "He has all the records of local residents." She suddenly bonked herself on the head. "Oh, how rude of me? I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hikari Reitai."
"Well, you already know who I am." Marcus said, waving a hand to his friends. "These two are..."
"Namura Jones." Hikari interrupted. "A resident of the Tops. Your parents make money by performing advertisement for top-ranking duelists. Reports also say you have an IQ of 246 and have a problem with shyness."
"I...I don't know why you mean." Namura said meekly.
"You just proved her point." Ruki informed.
"And you're Ruki Tetsaya." Hikari continued. "You're the president of the Yusei fan club and his biggest fan. Purchase records show that you paid four hundred dollar for a fork that Yusei used."
"I was wonder what happened to our silverware." Marcus laughed.
"Hey, that was private information, Ms. Know-It-All!" Ruki screamed furiously.
"Sorry." Hikari apologized. "But I just find it funny for an over obsessed fan to pay so much for an eating utensil."
"You know, I had just about enough of you!" Ruki snarled; Marcus and Namura slid out of sight. "I challenge you to a duel! And if I win, you get out of my sight forever!"
"All right." Hikari nodded. "But If I win, I get to be a part of your little group."
"Say what?" Marcus questioned.
"You're on." Ruki accepted.
Then out of nowhere, the girl collected two Duel Disks from behind their backs. Amy tried to explain something called "Hammerspace" that girls used, but Marcus tuned her out after the first few words. Ruki's Duel Disk resembled the ones used during Duel Academy, but with a light-blue trim. Hikari's Duel Disk was entirely yellow, but with a white trim.
"This is going to turn out so good." Namura mumbled.
"Duel!" The females cried.
Ruki (4000) – Hikari (4000)
"Youth before beauty." Hikari offered.
"You're going to regret that." Ruki assured, drawing a card. "Cause I summon Experiment 323 in defense mode."
A purple hummingbird appeared on the field, raising its wings protectively. (600/500)
"Then I throw down a face down and end my turn." Ruki finished as the card appeared.
"My draw." Hikari stated, picking a card. "And I summon Goddess of Whim."
A humanoid character with leafy green hair and pea-colored dress appeared on the field. (950/700)
"And due to her special ability, I flip a coin." Hikari explained. "And I call right; its attack points are doubled. But if I call wrong; the points are then halved. So I choose heads."
The Goddess of Whim summoned a large silver coin in its hands and tossed it in the air. Marcus had to admit that it was a risky gamble since Goddess of Whim was already weak enough. But fortune seemed to smile upon Ruki as the coin landed on tails.
Goddess of Whim – (475/700)
"Too bad." Hikari shook. "I place two face downs and call it a turn."
"Not so lucky, are ya?" Ruki boasted, drawing her next card. "And now I sacrifice 323 to summon Experiment 470."
The purple hummingbird shattered and reformed into an orange octopus with sharp hooks at the end of its tentacles. (1900/1700)
"And now I attack your Goddess with Experiment 470!" Ruki declared. "Go, depth dragger!"
The orange experiment snapped its tentacle hooks and covered the leafy goddess on all sides. But before they could finish the strike, a square box with holes covered the monster, confusing Ruki and her monster.
"You just activated my trap card: Fairy Box!" Hikari explained. "And once again, I flip a coin. And If I guess right, all battle damage is reduced to 0. And the side I choose is heads."
Experiment 470 stabbed its hook through one of the holes. But when it pulled back its tentacle, the octopus monster learned that it had missed its intended target.
"That's all right, because I activate my face down: Double Attack." Ruki stated, flipping up the card. "By sending one monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can have one monster with a lower level attack again. So I choose my level six Experiment 291..." She discarded the experiment. "And allow my level five Experiment 470 to attack again!"
"And I call heads again!" Hikari shouted quickly.
The octopus monster slashed its hook through another hole and pulled back. Much to Ruki's disappointment, it held nothing.
"That is just luck." Ruki mumbled. "I play down a face down and end my turn."
"Then it's my move." Hikari stated, drawing card. "And I sacrifice 500 life points to keep Fairy Box on the field."
Ruki (4000) – Hikari (3500)
"And now I sacrifice Goddess of Whim to summon Arcana Force XIV – Temperance." Hikari declared.
A beam of light exploded from on of the Fairy Box holes and took form over the field. A feminine creature wearing a black/gold robe with grey arms and hair appeared, reflecting the sun from its jade eyes. (2400/2400)
"She has an Arcana creature." Namura said in awe. "All Arcana monsters have a special effect depending a coin flip."
"That's right." Hikari confirmed. "And this one is for battle damage. If it's heads, all damage done to me is halved. But if it lands on tails, all damage done to you is halved. Now let's see what luck has in store for us."
Temperance forged a coin between its claws and tossed it into the air. All four duelists watched eagerly as the silver coin dropped and clattered on the street. The coin landed on heads.
"Now I attack with Temperance." Hikari declared.
Temperance formed a sphere of light between its claws and tossed it towards the experiment, which exploded on contact.
Ruki (3500) – Hikari (3500)
"And with that, I end my turn." Hikari finished.
"My move." Ruki stated, drawing a card. "And I activate my face down: Pod Capture." Card pulls up to reveal a magic card with three colorful spheres on the cover. "With this card, you choose one card from my hand. And if it has the word Experiment in the name, I can summon it to the field."
"And you have two cards left." Hikari noted. "That leaves a 50-50 chance."
"Sounds like your kind of odds, huh?" Ruki smiled.
"You're right." Hikari nodded. "So I choose the left one."
"Too bad." Ruki chuckled. "Cause now I summon 625 in attack mode!"
A fat, golden koala appeared on the field. (100/2900)
"And now I activate Reverse Role!" Ruki declared. She reveals a card with two experiments switching places. "With this card, I can exchange one monster on your side of the field for one of mine. And I choose to exchange 625 for Arcana Force XIV!"
Temperance glides over to Ruki's side of the field as 625 stumbled over to Hikari.
"And because of Temperance's special ability, we do another coin flip." Ruki proclaimed.
Temperance summoned another coin and tossed it into the air – it landed on heads.
"And now I attack with Arcana Force XIV!" Ruki declared.
"And I choose Tails for Fairy Box!" Hikari exclaimed.
Experiment 623 waddled into the Fairy Box and got stuck for a moment before diving in. Temperance summoned another sphere of light between its claws tossed it into one of the holes. There was a sudden explosion, followed by a rain of golden shards – 625 was destroyed.
Ruki (3500) – Hikari (700)
"And with that, I end my turn." Ruki finished.
"That was a sweet move." Hikari complimented. "You're one of the best duelist's I've fasted so far."
"I have to admit, you're putting up a good fight yourself." Ruki smiled. "I haven't had this much fun since I saw Yusei in the park and found his jacket."
"You ripped it off his back!" Marcus exclaimed.
"Details." Ruki chuckled. "Anyway, it's your move, Hikari."
"And I plan to make the best of it." Hikari said, drawing another card. "This is perfect. All I need to do is survive one more round and this duel is over." "I sacrifice 500 life points to keep Fairy Box on the field."
Ruki (3500) – Hikari (200)
"Next I play Ace of Sword!" Hikari declared. "Now I flip a coin and if I call correct, you take damage equal to one monster on your field. But if I guess wrong, I take damage to a monster on my field."
"But you don't have any monsters." Ruki gasped.
"I can lose." Hikari smiled. "I choose heads."
A silver coin forged in midair and snapped into the sky. The duelists waited patiently until the coin landed on the ground with a loud clatter. Much to Hikari's relief, it landed on heads. And since there was only one monster on Ruki's field, it became obvious what the choice would be. A silver sword shot from the magic card and speared through temperance and stabbed at Ruki's Duel Disk.
Ruki (1100) – Hikari (200)
"And next I call out Arcana Force VI – The Emperor!" Hikari continued.
A mechanical warlord with metallic wings, several red opals, and detectable claws appeared on the field. (1400/1400)
"And with its special ability, I flip again." Hikari explained. "If it lands on head, all Arcana monsters gain an extra 500 attack points. But if it's tail, the same rule applies to Arcana monsters on your side."
The Emperor summoned a coin and tossed it in the air. And when it landed, the coin was found to be heads.
Arcana Force IV – The Emperor – (1900/1400)
"And I throw down two face downs and end my turn." Hikari finished as the two cards appeared.
"My turn!" Ruki said, drawing a card. "And I attack with Temperance!"
"You activated my trap card: Skull Dice!" Hikari proclaimed, revealing the card. "I roll a die and whatever it lands on is subtracted from your monster by 100 attack points."
A tiny creature in a devil costume soar out of the card and tossed a red die. The die clattered across the pavement until it stopped on 5.
Arcana Force XIV – Temperance – (1900/2400)
"Then our monsters will destroy each other." Ruki stated.
"Not if I guess right on Fairy Box." Hikari stated. "And I choose Tails."
The Emperor disintegrated into light particles and dived into one of the holes. Temperance summoned forth another sphere of light between its claws and tossed it into one of the other holes, exploding once inside. However, there was no shower of particles escaping from the box – Temperance had missed.
"I throw down one face down and end my turn." Ruki finished.
"Man, this is getting intense." Marcus commented.
"I have a bad feeling for whoever wins." Namura said softy.
"You always have a bad feeling." Marcus rolled his eyes.
"My draw and I get rid of Fairy Box." Hikari proclaimed, watching as the box evaporated to reveal her Emperor. "And next I activate Graceful Dice. It has the same ability as my Skull Dice, but it increases my Emperor's attack points."
A small creature dressed as an angel flew from the card and tossed a blue die on the ground. The die rolled across the pavement for a few tense moments before stopping on 6.
Arcana Force IV – The Emperor – (2500/1400)
"Now end Temperance, my Emperor!" Hikari commanded. "Magnetic Conquest!"
The Emperor raised its claws like serpents and jabbed them forward for an assault.
"Not so fast!" Ruki interjected. "I activate my trap: Suicide Bomb!" Reveal a trap card with a blue koala experiment holding a detonating bomb. "This card destroys both our monsters and we lose life points equal to half their attack points."
Hikari was caught completely off guard. Both Arcana monsters exploded in a blast of green energy, taking out their master's in the process. Because of Hikari's own recklessness, it was she who had suffered the agony of defeat.
Duel Victor: Ruki
"Well, looks like you beat me." Hikari smiled proudly. "But I didn't give up without a fight and had the greatest time of my life."
"I feel the same way." Ruki nodded. "You know, maybe I was being a little harsh. After all, you really didn't do anything terrible. Maybe we could reconsider our deal."
"Like what?" Hikari asked.
"You can hang with us," Ruki offered. "But only if you stay out of people's personal lives."
"Sounds fair." Hikari accepted.
Ruki held out a hand and pulled her newest friend off the ground – both girls giggled at Marcus' stupefied expression.
"What just happened?" Marcus asked aloud.
"Duel have a way of changing people." Sonic stated, appearing at Marcus' side. "Enemies can become friends in the middle of battle, slowly understanding one another. That is the reason Duel Monsters exists: to create bonds.
"Bonds, huh?" Marcus said interestingly. "If that's the case, maybe one day people of the world will understand one another."
"It's possible." Sonic nodded.
The spiky, redhead looked back at the female rivals and partially understood what Sonic meant. You could tell a lot about a person by the way they dueled. And maybe, he could understand more about Akira Seta.
The scene alternates towards midnight in the Tops. Akira "Rev" Seta was sitting in his room – the light dead and his coat discarded on the nearest seat. Even as he sat on his bed, facing the open window to the active city, his focus was intent on the single card in his hand. The card remained unknown as the face was covered in shadows. Rev's hand twitched to his necklace – the 'Earth' Symbol glowed lightly before returning to normal.
"He's growing restless." Rev looked over his shoulder and spotted the Deva Path standing on the other end of his bed. "He is growing more hungry with each passing duel. His patience will not last forever."
When the time comes, he will be called." Rev answered.
"But what about Jack's advice." Deva questioned. "If what he says is true..."
"He doesn't know anything." Rev interjected sharply. "He could never understand."
"You act as if you are alone in this world." Deva Path said coolly. "But if you continue like this, then you soon will be."
"What I want your advice, I'll ask for it." Rev said coldly.
Deva said nothing as he faded back into the shadows. Rev resumed his stare down with the unknown card.
Bond are formed from the most unexpected places. How will the new team perform in the upcoming challenges? Will Hikari prove to be a valuable asset? And what concerns Rev about the card? Find out on the next Hyper Runners!
Please, read and review.
Duel Report:
Name: Experiment 470
Level: 5
Attribute: Water
Type: Fish
ATK/DEF: 1900/1700
Description: A genetic creature created to drag down unsuspecting victims to a watery grave.
