His Knight: The Falsified King
Chapter Two: Welcome to Duel Academia…and a flash forward
A breeze, not too strong nor weak in any way, blew past a youth's form. His chocolatey hair danced along the wind as was his ash grey blazer. Waves clashed against the port in mild strokes. He stood still, unwavering, looking at an already far off vehicle from where he stood by the harbour.
"What's wrong Hane Kuriboh?"
From his side appeared a spirit of one of his cards. Said creature flew beside his master, alarming him of some unusually high duel energy coming off of someone or a group -he couldn't really tell- aboard the chopper.
He contemplated on a thought that came to his mind.
"On your right, you will see your new home far away from home!" a person explained via the intercom, probably one of the flight attendants or the professors -not that the excited students really cared.
Most, if not all, aspiring duelists on the plane moved towards the windows on the side directed to them. What came to view is the aerial perspective of a small island. It had a dormant volcano and is widely forested. On the centre of the solitary land amongst the southern waters stood a huge building. It had a big dome-shaped roofing with a bunch of pyrimidal-ended columns, smaller domes in red, yellow and blue appear to function as overhangs but they can't really depict more details on the structure as they are still very much above ground level.
A few awes could be heard from the passengers. Each had their own way of expressing their anticipation. Some were rather vocal about it while others had themselves behaved as a way to show a decent amount of maturity. Since there were faculty on board, the least they could do was to give their soon-to-be lecturers a good first impression.
A few moments later they finally descended upon one of the helipads just above what seemed to be a storage room for the boats. A few meters below, is a harbour much like the one they had assembled at earlier that day for their ride to Duel Academia Island. This is usually where various consumable and non-consumable supplies are delivered from the mainland, Domino City.
One by one, they filed out of the helicopter, either wearing red or yellow long sleeved blazers issued by the school. They were later instructed to gather in front of a bald guy, most likely in his late 50s, with a comforting smile. He had a short grey beard and is wearing what looked to be an adult's version of the student's uniform, though his had coattails that could reach until below his knees in maroon colour.
Beside him stood the already introduced blue-clad she-male in all of his leftover glory, visibly still pissed off on a certain teal haired teen whom defeated him not too long ago. He'd been glaring at whoever tried to approach him since then. Such bitterness.
"Good day freshmen! I am Samejima-kocho…" the shaven head started. He was explaining a few of the school rules and regulations, dorm assignments, as well as how these dorms function and other concerns that his newest batch of pupils may need to last their next three years of campus life. But then again, nobody really bothers with the small details like that save for the more dedicated ones.
As soon as Samejima noticed he no longer holds his students' interest, he decided to put an abrupt stop to his admittedly lengthy speech, and with the same kind smile still lingering on his face he told them all "Welcome to Duel Academia".
And like flies whom ones concentrated on a single spot only to disperse after a swat, the rookies went their separate ways. Many moved to explore the rest of the island before having to go to their respective dorms. Some tried to reacquaint with people they have met prior to arriving at their alma matter; amongst those was a certain Norwegian Champion whom caused quite an uproar upon his arrival.
"Ah. I'm in Osiris Red"
"Me too"
After a brief pause from looking at their own PDAs, Johan and Sho beamed at each other having realised they'd be staying in the same dorm. At least they already know someone and they could avoid awkward introductions as much as possible.
Both of them had the issued red jacket uniform on but is worn differently. The taller of the two had a his casually unzipped, matched with a plain black v-neck undershirt. He had dark faded jeans and his signature boots for the lower half of his attire. While Sho wears his like any other male DA student.
A few moments later, the duo spotted Misawa and called him over. They exchanged not too many a words, just a couple of teases and banters but the latecomer couldn't help but voice his wonder as to why Johan was placed with the Reds.
The Osiris pair did not understand, at the time, what it means to be ranked in the dorms so they just shrugged it off and zoom they went for an exploration after saying their goodbyes with the Ra student. The Gem Beast duelist screamed something about 'smelling' a duel and he wants to check it out. Bizzare? I know.
Through this little incident they met with Manjoume Jun, current Obelisk Blue freshman top dog whom had an obnoxiously huge ego and two lackeys to boot. The Blues were mocking Johan and Sho until they recognised the former from yesterday's entrance exams, they became a little guarded except for their apparent leader.
Because Manjoume-sanda is a Manjoume, he looks down on insignificant beings and eats more than he can chew. He claims that the duel between Johan and Chronos had been won by the Osiris drop-out out of sheer luck. We probably all know how this is gonna end, no?
Their almost duel was interrupted by Obelisk's beauty, Tenjoin Asuka, reminding them that they need to go back to their own dorms for some sort of welcoming party. Johan and Sho gets introduced to their very discouraging repeater koala-much dorm mate, Maeda Hayato; later duelling Manjoume anyway using ante-rule which was also put to a halt by incoming guards.
And before anyone could realise it, it's already been a month. Chronos had predictably been attempting various futile methods to kick the Norwegian champion out of campus. One such incident was when he sent a fake love letter to Johan, supposedly from Asuka, but the letter ended up with the first year Marufuji; Asuka, in turn, used this to her advantage to finally be able to test out Johan's strength as a duellist. The rest of these feeble attempts so far ended with Johan winning against whoever Chronos sent his way, much to the latter's chagrin.
There was also this one time when Johan came running late for the monthly promotion exams…déjà vu...
"Why'd you not wake me up, guys? I'm gonna be late for the exams!" protested the 'Slifer Slacker' dashing with extra effort towards his class.
Amethyst Cat shook her head in disbelief, "No Johan, we're not doing this again". Ruby aggressively fired her mewls of "Rubi-s" in agreement with the other Gem Beast from her perch atop her duellist's head. The teenager could only groan as a retort. He couldn't really argue with them can he? It was his fault either way, so he focused all his energy in trying to make it on time.
Alas, as he was halfway there he spotted an old lady trying to push a truck on a hill slope. After debating over his head whether to help the elder or not, giving his assistance eventually won out. Hoping to whoever God that could see his good deed right now helps him pass the written test he's now sure to miss the half of.
Now 'Drop-out boy' right here is not really a drop-out per say. While it is true that he have been put to Osiris Red due to his low entrance exam score despite his exceptional hands on ability on duelling, it is but falsehood to say he's dumb. Johan is actually smart; if he put his heart into it, he'd probably be on Obelisk Blue in record time —except Chronos is doing everything in his power to prevent this from happening. He's main problem is his lack of drive to do so.
It had been in a silent agreement amongst the freshmen that Johan is the strongest duellist of their batch. What with his title as an overseas champion backing his skills —Sho had been awfully proud of his 'aniki' and blabber-mouthed this not-really-secret status every chance he got so the whole DA student body is aware of it. There isn't really much of a point of climbing the social tree if your already considered number one, is there?
By the time he arrived for the written part, he'd been right to assume he'd be missing the first half. Taking a questionnaire and an answer sheet from the proctor, he quickly seated himself at the empty slot beside Sho and struggled to answer whatever he could within the remaining period. Hey, he should at least get a passing mark so the rumour about him being an actual idiot would stop you know?
Sho was worried, but that's not really anything new.
"Being thirty minutes late means he has no consideration for the written test…" Asuka felt mocked.
Misawa looked over Johan from his place in the Yellows, his thoughts were "How can you be so negligent and yet have such considerable skills, Johan Anderson?"
Other students share the same sentiments as them having all the bitterness in the world, "How did a guy like him beat Professor Chronos?"
"Say aniki, aren't you interested in going to the card shop? I'm thinking about beefing up my deck a bit before the test duel" Sho had his entire deck laid out on his desk, ever so anxious on how his duel would happen.
"Hm? Wouldn't that be counterproductive tho?"
"Counter-what? Aniki stop using words you don't know, it won't make you look smart!"
"Hey! I have feelings too!" Johan huffed…that 'idiot' rumour about him really needs to stop. "How about you Misawa?"
The aforementioned smugly replied, "My deck is well balanced with the most effective formula I've completed as of late, any unaccounted variables might break its equilibrium"
Johan looked at him incredulously "Not exactly how I would put it…but close enough"
"It might not be a problem for you guys, but my deck would't mind the extra help!" Sho exclaimed dejectedly, "Especially you aniki, since students from the same dorm are matched against each other for promotion exams you won't even be challenged with us in the Reds…"
"I never said that and you shouldn't feel so down before even duelling! You won't know the outcome of a duel until the last card is played!" Johan's duel spirits were comically nodding in the background.
They later went to the card shop anyway, Johan really wanted Sho to cheer up so he accompanied him, only to find out it's been wiped clean. No, not mugged. All except one booster pack were sold within minutes, as told by the young shop keeper, Seiko.
"No more rare cards? Just this one left?" the shorter teal-head despaired at the situation. Seiko looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, but there was this one shady guy that bought all of the rare cards the moment we opened the store, other students settled for the normal packs and this is the last one"
"C'mon Sho, cheer up! Look into the bright side, there's one left for you!" Johan patted the other on the back.
"I guess you're right…"
The old lady Johan helped earlier suddenly showed up and gave him a little something.
It was later revealed that Chronos had been the one to buy all of the new rare cards shipped from Domino City and that he gave them to Manjoume to 'make the drop-out boy remember that we elites are the rare ones around here'. This elitist needs a hug, with a rope, around the neck.
Needless to say, Chronos schemed his way in putting Manjoume against Johan during practicals.
"Eh? Why am I duelling against Manjoume?" not that Johan is protesting, this foreigner is just surprised to not find a fellow Osiris student on the other side of the playing field. Those were the rules after all.
"-Sanda!" Jun had a feeling he'd be doing this for a quite some time.
"Since you scored so well in the entry exam -desu no ne, you wouldn't match up evenly against any Osiris Red students. Which is why we have judged that Signore Manjoume is a more suitable opponent for you na no ne~" was the Doctor's explanation, much to his dorm mates' relief. If they ever dream of getting promoted to either Ra or Obelisk, they certainly don't wanna be matched-up against Johan during this monthlies.
"Of course, if you win, you'd be promoted to Ra Yellow. So would you accept this offer, Johan Anderson-kun?"
Johan wouldn't say no to a promisingly fun duel, and so without further ado, the customary chorus of "Duel!" between contenders queued the start of it.
They activated their duel disks and drew their first five cards.
Johan: 4000 LP
Manjoume: 4000 LP
"I start first, draw! I summon Gem Beast - Emerald Turtle in defence mode and end my turn"
Gem Beast - Emerald Turtle: ATK 600 / DEF 2000
Nobody's as surprised as when they first saw one of the Gem Beasts in actionbefore, but that is not to say that the appreciation for their beauty diminished by a fraction. The solid-visiuals recreated the ever precious form of the old blue turtle tucked inside his emerald embellished giant shell, drawing quiet hums and awes.
Meanwhile, Sho and Misawa are with the rest of the student body up at the spectators' stand. Each keeping their own notions with regards to the current duel.
'Aniki really is amazing…getting assigned to duel an Obelisk despite being in Osiris'
'If Johan wins, he'll move up to Ra Yellow…the school year's barely started and yet he's already…'
"Your Gem Beast deck is full of small fries, I'll show you just how fragile you are!" taunted Manjoume. "My turn, draw! I activate the spell card Magical Mallet! By shuffling this card along with any cards I don't want in my hand back into my deck, I could draw as many as I've returned"
"Furthermore, if I draw Magical Mallet again; I get to do this until I get the cards I want! Now I summon, V-Tiger Jet in attack mode"
V-Tiger Jet: ATK 1600 / DEF 1800
In came a zooming tiger-themed robot in Manjoume's monster zone. "Next I'll activate the permanent magic, Frontline Base. Once each turn, I can special summon a level-4 or below monster from my hand. Come forth, W-Wing Catapult!"
W-Wing Catapult: ATK 1300 / DEF 1500
"And then I fuse it with V-Tiger Jet…VW-Tiger Catapult! "
VW-Tiger Catapult: ATK 2000 / DEF 2100
"How could he fusion summon without any form of Polymerization?" Sho asked no one in particular, feeling overwhelmed with how Manjoume just keeps on calling forth strong monsters after the other.
Misawa obliged himself to answer, "W-Wing Catapult is a type of union monster that fuses with its host, he doesn't need any other fusion material besides that card and V-Tiger Jet for this one Sho…still the way Manjoume is maximising his cards' usage is superb"
"Shocked aren't you, Johan? However, my turn has yet to end!" with oh so heavy theatrics he finally commenced the start of his battle phase "I activate the special effect of my VW-Tiger Catapult, by discarding a card from my hand, I could switch your Emerald Turtle into attack mode! Now fire some damage, eradicate that so-called beast!"
Johan: 2600 LP
Manjoume: 4000 LP
"You know the drill, when one of my Gem Beasts gets destroyed in battle they stay on my field as a continuous spell!" the teal-head reminded right after flinching from the beating just took; in which Manjoume just snarly replied "Whatever! I set 1 card face down and end my turn."
The hologram depicted Emerald Turtle getting shattered like glass only to reform as an expensive looking big jewel, which of course never ceased to be a breathtaking display. Manjoume's fusion monster returned to his position in the monster zone and a larger-than-actual set down card could be seen floating beside the already flipped open Frontline Base.
"Bravo! Signore Manjoume has certainly mastered the tactics he's added in to their fullest!" the Doctor commented on the quickly becoming one-sided game —in his opinion that is.
"Nothing's decided yet, my turn. Draw!" his eyes widened, 'This is the card from the pack Tome-san gave me'
"I summon Sapphire Pegasus in defence position!"
"Hahaha! All the talk about you being our batch's best are just that, talk!" other Obelisk Blue elitists shared his triumph. Finally someone shuts the Red's big shot up!
Gem Beast - Sapphire Pegasus: ATK 1800 / DEF 1200
Johan's once intimidating beast seemed to cower against Manjoume's stronger, much larger, machine-type monster. It's elegant untainted wings is shielding it's body, as if to say he's not deserving of the crowds gaze. He's head is cast southwards, shy in opposition to mid-flight VW-Tiger Catapult.
"With Pegasus being successfully summoned on the field I get to add another Gem Beast from my deck, hand or grave to my Spell/Trap card zone…it's your big debut Amethyst Cat!"
'Sorry for bringing you guys out like this' was on the foreigner's mind as a purple shine blinded the audience for a second only to form into yet another pretty crystal. Unbeknownst to most, his duel spirits gave him a nod of understanding. 'We're with you in everything, Johan'
"But Sapphire Pegasus is aniki's trump card, he'd always put him in attack before"
"It might be because he's out of options…" Misawa was being pessimistic but he's frustratingly realistic "This is not all you've got right, Johan?"
"I don't know about you guys, but I feel that Johan's deck is lacking something" Asuka steps in the boys' conversation, voicing her own opinion to the matter at hand "His Gem Beasts' swarm effect is great, I even got myself defeated by him, but I think he lacks a definitive finisher"
Sho and Misawa were left pondering on this statement.
As much as Johan hates to admit it, this is really all he could do for now…he hesitated a bit then declared "I set a card face down and end my turn!"
Manjoume did a double take…did he just hear that Cat talk? He's blaming the Norwegian champion for this, dragging him to his insanity. He concluded with himself that he better finish this soon.
"My turn, draw!" yes, this will be finished soon "I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode and with Frontline Base still in play, I special summon Z-Metal Caterpillar!"
X-Head Cannon: ATK 1800 / DEF 1500
Z-Metal Caterpillar: ATK 1500 / DEF 1300
"X and Z…that means" Johan was getting depressed about this. His opponent thinks it's because he'd defeat the Gem wielder soon.
"Reverse card open! Call of the Haunted" he smirked "This lets me revive the card I discarded earlier, Y-Dragon Head!"
Y-Dragon Head: ATK 1500 / DEF 1600
"I knew you'd do that. Hate to break it to you Manjoume, but I can't allow anymore of this…I don't really like doing this tho..." truthfully, the trap Johan set face down is something he was against of using…he set this card in case of emergency alone and as much as possible, he'd try his hardest not to resort to using anything akin to it.
Foe or not, he did not like destroying cards.
"I activate the trap card Torrential Tribute!"
It might have been a spur of the moment when he decided to place such a card in his deck. The recently played trap was a gift from the old lady he helped, Tome —the Duel Academy card shop owner. It was amongst the cards in the rare pack she managed to sneak out before they were sold out.
"When a monster is summoned, it destroys all monsters on the field"
He'd been grateful for them at the time because rare cards are still rare cards regardless of whether he'd actually use them or not. Seeing as Sho was trying to salvage his own deck by mixing some of his new cards; he nonchalantly slipped one of them into his deck and shuffled it thinking doing so won't hurt.
It hurt him. Emotionally.
But for now, he had to press forward.
Both players shielded themselves as a surge of insane torrents blew their way. Their respective monsters tried to do the same but to no avail. One by one, they were pushed of their balance only to get lost in the illusionary flooding; sending them to the cemetery. Sapphire Pegasus, himself, was not an exception to the sudden catastrophe that befell the stage. Although he did manage to preserve himself in the form of a very precious stone in probably the truest shade of blue. A sliver of hope telling all is not lost in the face of disaster.
It did not make Johan feel any less guilty.
Manjoume, meanwhile, grumbly ended his turn. He's out of cards and his opponent managed to swipe his field clean of anything that could have defended him against the other's impending battle phase, only in just a single turn. Blindly hoping the other won't get a card that could make the situation shift into a big come from behind home run, he really loathed Johan so much more than usual right now.
"I draw and summon in attack mode, Amber Mammoth!" to which the raven head sighed to himself in relief, it seemed to him he's gonna have another chance to redeem himself.
Gem Beast - Amber Mammoth: ATK 1700 / DEF 1600
"Next I'll activate the spell card Crystal Beacon, this lets me special summon another Gem Beast from my in the condition that I have at least 2 of them in my spell and trap card zone" Asuka from the stands, did not miss the slight change in Johan's demeanour. He's voice has gone a pitch lower, he's antics of talking to he's cards gone and he seemed a bit distant, darker —a bit sinister.
The Norwegian champ chose Ruby Carbuncle, also in attack mode. Girls, and a few guys, from the audience couldn't help but find the newly appeared monster cute. Ruby did a quick midair-suspended summersault before resuming her offensive stance, emphasising the gracefulness of her crystal ended tail.
Gem Beast - Ruby Carbuncle: ATK 300 / DEF 300
She wasn't adorable to Manjoume at the moment tho. Johan choosing her at this stage doesn't spell good for him.
"When Ruby is special summoned, I can bring back as many Gem Beasts from my spell and trap card zone
as I can"
Really, the next person he hears compliment little Ruby would get a beating from his royal self, Manjoume-sanda.
Gem Beast - Sapphire Pegasus: ATK 1800 / DEF 1200
Gem Beast - Emerald Turtle: ATK 600 / DEF 2000
Gem Beast - Amethyst Cat: ATK 1200 / DEF 400
Surely, the ending is clear, yes?
Johan: 2600 LP
Manjoume: 0 LP
Sho celebrated over the fact that his aniki managed to win against one of the elites. Beside him Misawa was downright amazed, an Osiris defeating an Obelisk was next to impossible in the history of Duel Academy. Furthermore, gaining promotion right after merely a month of their first semester, is an achievement of it's own caliber. Asuka remained skeptic on Johan's sudden —not very obvious— change. Chronos couldn't be anymore livid and Samejima-kocho was ecstatic.
Despite winning, Johan was not pleased. The solid visuals were turned off, making his materialised monster vanish to the naked eye of people unlike himself. His Gem Beasts fussed over him in worry. He didn't like this.
"Sorry about that Manjoume" was his whisper to the wind, barely audible to his intended receiver. The others vision went blank —deeply enraged— apologising for winning a duel is completely unheard of! He's usual set of lackeys rushed to Manjoume's side to stop him from backlashing at the teal-head.
Johan, eyes shaded by thick locks of hair, repeated his apology.
"YOU SHITTY BASTARD-!"
To be continued…
A/N's:
*There are different kinds of union monsters, like the above mentioned, some could be fused with fellow union monsters to special summon their fusion counterparts while others could be equipped/unequipped once per turn; effect depends on card descriptions. Older versions of union monsters could only be destroyed if the monsters they are equipped to are destroyed by means of battle, later versions are destroyed with their host regardless of means.
*Trap cards can only be activated if they had been set first, you do not necessarily need to wait for your next turn to do so like in the above mention of Call of the Haunted. Manjoume could have used it during Johan's main phase if he so wanted.
*Apparently, solid-visuals were designed to hurt a bit so they're not necessarily over reacting in the show
*So sorry for the very late update, I don't really have any excuses other than the following: busy with school, when I found time I got lazy, and when I finally wanted to continue I don't remember how the original series went anymore…so there you have it! (I had the first half of this chapter type written months back, the other half I rushed the other day so I could finally post it —no edits or double checks...sorry for the inconsistency)
*Also, I had a hard time finding the right card to get that turn around Judai accomplished with the use of Transcendent Wings…I tried finding a similar card I could use for Ruby —I miserably failed— and since I am not very knowledgeable with the Gem Beast deck, I chose what I think is needed to actually make Johan's deck stronger Torrential Tribute (I had another card in my mind but I scrapped that idea so I could use it later)
*While I know Johan's original deck does not contain a card that destroys his opponent's at all, I find myself thinking that it is canon Johan's main weakness and that it's the reason why I think his deck is pretty weak compared to Judai's Elemental Heroes. Allow me to make changes for that —he needs some background story anyway :)))
*Notice what I did on how the conversation went? I didn't wanna make Johan as much of an idiot as Judai had been in the first season since he's originally from Obelisk Blue. (...tho that would be adorable)
**Yes, I skipped a lot…I'm not doing 1 chapter = 1 episode anyway…that's too much of a hassle and obviously I'm not the hardworking type…I'll try to focus on at least one duel per chapter like what I did here and previously then skip whatever I could…
**Rating changed to T...because I couldn't stop Manjoume from cursing
**If my initial plan pushes through, Judai's coming soon so yay~ :DDD
Reviews, comments and suggestions are always welcome~ that's all bye-bye, see you next chapter!~