Chapter 3: …Am I Weak?

Yuchi: 1700 LP, Tenshi: 2100 LP

The two D-Wheelers raced along the track, their ace monsters following closely behind them. It was a splendid sight. The bright shine emitted from Yuchi's monster, Supernova Angel Knight, contradicted well with the dark, nightmarish aura surrounding Tenshi's monster, Berserk Dragon, signifying the fiery rivalry between the two duelists.

Kaworu held his breath as he watched his friend fighting against an old enemy from where he was. It kept reminding him of the duel three years ago, in which he was also a spectator.

Drizzles started to fall from the gloomy sky above. Despite this, the excitement of the audience was not damped. They continued cheering for their favorite duelists. Apparently so many students were absent for class after lunchtime that the Chancellor decided to call it a day off after a meeting with all the Professors.

It was still Yuchi's turn. He had just summoned his beloved monster and was getting more and more confident.

'Magical Fairy Apprentice's effect! Since it has been used for the Synchro Summon of Supernova Angel Knight, I can choose and add one Equip Spell Card from my deck to my hand!' Yuchi proceeded to pick out a card from his deck.

The smile retained on Tenshi's face. He looked just as arrogant as he was.

'I equip Supernova Angel Knight with Axe of Despair! With this, Supernova Angel Knight gains 1000 Attack Points!' The warrior's sword glowed brighter as its Attack rose to 3500, 500 points higher than the Attack of his opponent.

'Spell Card activate!' Yuchi continued his assault. 'Mystical Space Typhoon! I can destroy one Spell or Trap Card you control!'

He observed closely Tenshi's facedown cards. There were two cards, one of which was set at Tenshi's very first turn, and his opponent admitted that it was a 'generic trap'. The other was set at the last turn. Which one should he choose to destroy?

'Yuchi,' Tenshi said. 'Looks like you are confused about which card to destroy. Think about what I've just said.'

'A real duelist does not think about what his next opponent would do and how to counter it. A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well in order to face his next opponent,' the words emerged in Yuchi's mind. He knew what they meant, but should he believe in Tenshi's words?

If what Tenshi said was true, then the 'generic trap' he was talking about would benefit him rather than putting Yuchi in danger. But how would it really benefit him?

'It's your last turn now, Yuchi!' were the words he said after he set his other card. Would the card really cause him to lose?

'Yuchi… Believe in yourself,' Kaworu prayed for his best friend.

'I destroy… the card you set at the last turn!' Yuchi pointed to the facedown card on the right. A cyclone appeared and demolished the card into smithereens. The card was Magic Cylinder, a Trap Card that would have caused Yuchi to lose Life Points equal to Supernova Angel Knight's Attack Points if he declared an attack with it, hence resulting in Yuchi's loss.

'Impressive,' Tenshi applauded. 'I never thought that you would have understood thoroughly what I've just said…'

'Supernova Angel Knight, attack Berserk Dragon!' Yuchi cried.

'…But would I really let you off?' Tenshi continued off from where he just stopped. Yuchi widened his eyes.

'Continuous Trap Card activate! Xyz Boost!' Tenshi declared, revealing his last facedown card. 'With this, one of my Xyz Monsters gain 100 Attack Points for every Rank it has!' Berserk Dragon let out a threatening roar as its Attack Points rose to the same value as Supernova Angel Knight's Attack Points.

A clash between the two monsters ensued. Yuchi grasped on to his D-Wheel tightly as the two monsters engaged in a fierce fight. Supernova Angel Knight tried to pierce through Berserk Dragon's flesh with his sword but the black dragon was swift in escaping attacks. It shot out two fireballs from its gun, however they extinguished before they could reach the white warrior.

Eventually, a bolt of white light emerged between the two monsters, engulfing them and causing them both to disappear. Both Yuchi and Tenshi let out a sigh of relief.

Yuchi looked at his hand once more. The rest of the cards in his hand could not be played.

'I end my turn!' He declared. 'Supernova Angel Knight's effect activates! By removing from play one Fairy-Type monster in the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Supernova Angel Knight from the Graveyard!' Yuchi picked out a card from his graveyard slot and placed it into his remove-from-play slot.

'Reverberate! Supernova Angel Knight!' shouted Yuchi as the white warrior emerged out of a cluster of stars. His Attack returned to 2500 as Axe of Despair was destroyed along with himself just now.

'Final turn! Draw!' announced Tenshi, who still retained that arrogant smile on his face.

'Yuchi,' Tenshi said. 'Do you seriously think I would use Magic Cylinder just now even if you did not destroy it? Like I said, I won't counter your attack.'

Yuchi frowned. Didn't he just activate Xyz Boost to raise his monster's Attack so that Supernova Angel Knight would be destroyed?

'You think I haven't forgotten your ace monster's effect?' Tenshi smiled.

'Spell Card activate! Monster Reborn!' Tenshi played his card. 'I revive Berserk Dragon from my Graveyard!' Lightning flashed and the black dragon emerged out of it.

'I activate the second effect of Xyz Boost in my Graveyard!' announced Tenshi, to the surprise of Yuchi and the audience.

'I remove this card in my Graveyard from play and in return, one Xyz Monster on my Field gains 1000 Attack Points!' Yuchi could not hide his fear. The confidence in his heart just now disappeared to nowhere.

'So that's why he activated Xyz Boost in the first place!' Kaworu realized Tenshi's strategy at last. 'It's not to destroy Supernova Angel Knight, but for this!'

'That's what I meant when I said that I activate my cards to "utilize my strategy well",' Tenshi quoted his own words.

'Yuchi,' Tenshi commented. 'You played well in this duel. Good enough to save this world and its people,' Yuchi's eyes widened at Tenshi's words. What did he mean by this?

'I summon my final monster! Petite Machine!' A small robotic monster appeared on Tenshi's field. It had merely 300 Attack Points, but was enough to end Yuchi's Life Points.

Berserk Dragon's Attack Points had already risen to 4000. With a call by Tenshi, flames shot out of its gun, enclosing Supernova Angel Knight in an inferno, burning it to nothing.

But Yuchi could not see, nor could he hear anything. The world was silent for him at that moment. His fate was already sealed. He would taste defeat for the first time in his life.

With another call by Tenshi, the Petite Machine assaulted Yuchi directly and reduced his Life Points to 0.

'Defeated by my rival. With such a big gap in Life Points.' Yuchi could not help but wonder if he was weak. 'Would I be able to fulfill his dreams to save the world with such underling skills? Would I be disgraced for my weak abilities in the future? Would I…?' were the questions overwhelming his mind. He could not think of anything else.

Both D-Wheels abruptly stopped with the conclusion of the duel. Yuchi fell out of his bike and lied motionless on the floor.

'I was a genius. But not now. Not after I had lost, with such a big gap in Life Points,' Yuchi's eyes were still wide open, but he could see nothing. His soul had already traveled to another dimension. A dimension of losses. A dimension of delusions.

Kaworu sighed. He knew somehow that this duel would not be easy for his friend. In fact, he already knew that Tenshi was a better duelist than Yuchi. Even though Yuchi was the one to summon his Supernova Angel Knight first in the duel three years ago, Tenshi managed to destroy it without Berserk Dragon and even pushed his Life Points down to 1000 when his own Life Points were still full.

It was a fault with the D-Wheels provided by the tournament sponsors that caused the final duel to be canceled, and hence delayed Yuchi's first major loss till today.

Kaworu escaped from the spectators who were still dumbfounded, not knowing what to do after they had seen the genius of their school being thrashed by an outsider in a game of cards. Kaworu rushed to Yuchi's side and tried to wake him up from his delusions.

'Hey, wake up, Yuchi, Hey!' he shook Yuchi's body vigorously.

'Yuchi's friend,' Tenshi called Kaworu, who replied with a bitter face. 'Please give this to him.'

Kaworu received a Duel Monsters card from Tenshi. It had no words or pictures on it. Just a plain, empty card.

He stared at Yuchi's rival silently as he walked away from the stadium.

The drizzles became heavy rain and drenched everyone in the stadium.

'…'

'…'

'Good afternoon. This is the Sweet and Fruity Smell Shop,' greeted a woman's voice.

Tenshi pressed '0', followed by '1', '8' and another '8' on his cell-phone.

'Thank you for visiting,' said the woman's monotonous voice from the other side of the phone. 'I'll now transfer your call to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters.'

'…'

'…'

'Technical Sergeant Tenshi?' greeted an old man's voice.

'Sir, I've defeated Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai as you have predicted,' reported Tenshi respectfully.

'Well done, Technical Sergeant Tenshi. How was the duel?' the old man proceeded with a question that struck Tenshi as unexpected.

'It was…' Tenshi could not find any words to describe his feelings.

'Never mind, Technical Sergeant Tenshi. Report back to the Headquarters after this. Master Sergeant Wiles Euclid will take care of Yuchi Kendai.'

'Yes, sir,' Tenshi shut down his phone.

'…'

'…'

'Master Sergeant First Class Wiles Euclid,' called out the old man from the other side.

'Yes, sir!' reported a young man in a white doctor's robe and black long pants. He looked the same age as Tenshi, but was clearly shorter and wore a pair of half-moon glasses.

'Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai is facing some difficulties after the duel. Help him and bring him back to the Headquarters.'

'Yes, sir!' replied the young man. He swiftly walked away from the old man.

The old man took a seat in his air-conditioned office. On the long white table were two files. One was labeled as 'Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai', centralized and bolded on the cover. The other was a lot thicker and had a big red cross on the cover. The title read: 'IMPORTANT: PROJECT CLEAR'.

Yuchi hid under the dirty, tattered blanket in his bedroom, settled down in a fetal position. He did not wish to see anyone, nor did he want to hear any voice.

This major loss dealt a big blow to him. Not only did it disgrace him in front of the whole school, but it also crushed his hopes to help other people.

'…Am I weak?'

He asked himself the same question again and again.

'…'

But nobody answered him.

'…Can I help anyone?'

'…'

'Yuchi? Yuchi?' Kaworu, his best friend was banging the door of his house. He tried desperately to meet Yuchi so that he could console him, but failed.

'Yuchi, it's me, Kaworu!' he begged for Yuchi to at least gave him a reply. But it seemed that his best friend could not hear him.

Just an hour ago, he was helping Yuchi home. But as he laid him down on the bed, the feeble teenager uttered in a soft voice: 'go away, Kaworu'.

Kaworu did not want to make his friend angry anymore when he had taken such a emotional impact, so he heeded his words and left him alone. However, just as he stepped out of Yuchi's apartment, he realized that he shouldn't be so irresponsible, and hence returned to the doorstep of his friend's home.

'…I'm no longer a Duel Monsters genius…'

'…I'm no longer useful…'

'…My friends would leave me one day…'

As Kaworu banged the metal door harder and harder, memories of Yuchi started emerging in his mind. 'No way…' Drops of tears dripped off from the bishounen's eyes. 'YUCHI! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR, PLEASE!'

To Kaworu, Yuchi should not be such a timid person. To him, Yuchi was somebody who had more than one hundred percent confidence in everything he did. 'Maybe the confidence was just a deception,' he deduced. 'Maybe it was to cover his fear of losing.'

He recalled Yuchi's victories in the past. His victories against the Vice-Chancellor since first year of middle school for seventeen times. His victories in the Junior Riding Cup, leading to his position as a finalist. His victories against himself. 'How could you… Yuchi? How could you…?' Kaworu started to cry louder and louder.

'Sorry, Yuchi…' After an hour of futile attempt, Kaworu decided to give up and return to his home. His was already drenched from head to toe from the rain that went into the apartment from the dented roof. All his belongings, his Duel Academy uniform, and his beautiful, white hair.

Yuchi kept on lamenting over his loss under his blanket. It didn't matter anymore to him whether someone would give him a big hug, or whether he could have a tatami to relax on. Duel Monsters was all of his life, and losing it meant he had nothing left.

Suddenly, a noise came from out of his room. The sound of the metal door creaking, proceeded with the sound of an adult's footsteps. 'Was it a thief?' he thought. No way could anyone open the door to his house other than someone with the right tools.

He got off from his bed and took a peek outside his bedroom's door. Indeed, it was a thief, masked and black-suited, with a stout build and scars on his forehead, suggesting that he might have broken into the houses of many people before. The thief looked around the house, probably finding things to steal. He sneaked into the kitchen and ran into a few water buckets on the slippery floor, causing a 'knock, knock' sound. Finding nothing, he returned to the main room.

Yuchi was in a dilemma. He did not have any weapons, so the best way to fight against him was with cards, noticing the evil-looking black Duel Disk on his left arm. 'But should I really duel?' he questioned his abilities. 'I've lost once, and my confidence was already gone. I wouldn't win in a situation like this.' He could not just leave the thief to ransack his home either.

He observed the thief's movements. Suddenly the thief froze. A man in white robes pushed the metal door open and marched into the room. Pointing a revolver at the thief, the man commanded in a harsh voice: 'Stop what you are doing.'

The thief could not do anything. Yuchi held his breath as he observed the hero. He had straight, shoulder-length black hair and a handsome look on his face. Inside his long white robe he wore a black shirt with a silver cross pendant and a pair of black long pants. Yuchi guessed that the young man might be a doctor or professor working for an organization of some sort, judging from his clothing and the half-moon glasses he was wearing.

'Konnichiwa,' the man suddenly turned to Yuchi, who had been watching him from a small slit since he entered the house, and greeted him with a smile. Yuchi was taken aback with surprise. The man had actually noticed his presence in the house.

'Now,' continued the man, whose was now smiling at the terrified thief. He showed his identification to the thief. 'I'm a Sector Security officer, but I do not wish to arrest you just yet.'

'I give you two words. Choose one to heed to.' He prepared his revolver for a shot. Retaining the smile on his face, he said to the thief: 'Duel, or die?'

'Ha!' laughed the thief. 'Do you think I would be afraid by your words, Security brat? What do I get if I win?'

The man took out a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his pocket and scattered it on the floor. Both Yuchi and the thief took a look. All of them were highly rare cards, Synchro Monsters such as Trishula, Brionac, and even some Xyz Monsters.

The thief laughed. 'You have a deal, sir.' He set up his Duel Disk.

'Thank you,' the man also set up his Duel Disk.

Out of the blue, he glanced at Yuchi and threw a Duel Monsters card he took out from his robe at him. Yuchi was surprised by the man's move, but he still looked at the card. It was a white card, without any words or illustrations on it.

'Candidate Code No. 0005 Yuchi Kendai,' said the man. 'You forgot this.'

'Hey, you brat. Can we start the duel now?' the thief was annoyed by the man's delay.

'Fine to me,' his opponent said.

'DUEL!' shouted both duelists, as their Disks lit up.

Preview of Next Chapter

Next chapter… It all begins to unfold!

The man's identity, the truth of U.N.D.E.A.D., the robots… Everything!

Don't miss it… Chapter 4: Dilemma!

Duel… Standby!

Card of the Chapter

Supernova Angel Knight

LIGHT/Level 8/Fairy-Type/Synchro

1 Tuner Monster + 1 or more non-Tuner Monsters

Effect: During the End Phase of the turn this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can remove from play one other Fairy-Type Monster in your Graveyard to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. It cannot change its Battle Position and is returned to the Extra Deck when it is removed from the Field.

ATK 2500/DEF 2000

...

A Note from the Author

It only took me one day to complete this chapter.

That's because I'll be on holiday next week.

And that means there will be a one-week break after Chapter 4 or 5 (depending on how fast I write for the next few days).

So I need to speed up.

Anyway, today I'm going to reveal the kanji for the Japanese names in this fanfiction!

Yuchi Kendai is 遊馳 謙代 (The 'chi' means 'Riding at full speed', symbolizing Yuchi's passion and talent for Riding Duels, 'Kendai' means 'humble generation')

Tenshi Ryuma is 天子 龍馬 ('Tenshi' is an ancient Chinese term for 'Emperor', 'Ryuma' means 'dragon-horse', both of which are powerful creatures)

And the new character is named Wiles Euclid! Who's a Canadian!

Named after Wiles who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, and Euclid, a famous Mathematician in history!

You can deduce that Wiles is actually a very clever person.

That's all for today, remember to review! Arigatou!

- Project M.G.