Arata: Boo. I was supposed to duel Enzeru in the last one. You suck.
Enzeru: The new way made more sense...
Arata: I better duel in this one, dammit. How are people going to be attached to me if I don't duel once in the first three chapters?
Yu-gi-oh! - Unlimited Boundary Redeux!
Chapter Two - Enzeru and The King of SDA pt 1 of 2
Theme Song : Morning Musume - Kanashimi Twilight
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=1P73OQd2wsU
Arata: God Dammit!
Arata and I stayed up the entire night. We talked the whole time. She told me that she was a well known duelist, and that she was surprised I didn't recognize her right away. She showed me a few of her first place awards, game mats and cards she's won as prizes, and a picture of her D-Wheel back at her home. One card in particular she showed me, Archlord Kristya, she said was almost one of a kind. It was a prize for topping in Worlds, and only three were ever printed. It was one of the most powerful monsters I've ever seen.
She was proud of her accomplishments, but she said, "They're not what define me. I'm kinda glad you didn't know who I was," she laughed.
"It wouldn't matter if I did. It wouldn't have changed anything."
"And I believe that," Arata smiled. "You're a genuinely good person, Enzeru. I feel like I've known you my whole life."
"I feel like that too," I smiled back, finding myself oddly comfortable. "I don't normally talk this much... I haven't been annoying have I?"
"Oh no!" She looked at me with a twisted gaze. "Are you kidding? You've barely talked at all."
"Sorry..." I looked at the floor.
"No, stop that!" She grabbed my face and made me look up. "Relax. We're friends now, you don't have to be nervous or afraid to talk or anything like that. Not while I'm around."
"Alright..." I nervously looked away to avoid her eyes.
"Alright. Promise?"
"Promise.
"Good. Now, you told me earlier that the deck you used today wasn't your main deck. What do you normally use?" Arata asked.
"Well my main deck is really similar, it's just still a work in progress. So I used some cards from it and some older cards to make a workable deck until I could get it finished."
"Reasonable. Would you mind if I looked at them? I could probably help you out."
I was surprised by her offer. But I graciously accepted. "I would be honored, Arata."
So she threw me my bag at me and I tossed her my deck box. She took out the two mixed stacks of cards and laid them out in front of her, with her own deck completed and tucked away. We discussed techs, reasons for some cards over others; overall she said she was very impressed. When she saw the card that brought the whole deck together, I could see her face brighten up. As time went on she threw out some card names and dug for treasure in my random box of cards. Within a couple of hours, between the two of us, we made my deck at least twice as good. "So, let's test it," Arata handed me the new creation and smiled as she unrolled two mats and threw them on the bed.
I had to wave my hands at her to get her to slow down. "Oh no, I doubt I'd be anything close to competitive against you. It'd be no fun for you."
"Nonsense," She assured me, flashing the bottom card of her deck at me once she got settled on the other end of the bed. "It's a fun deck, anyway. Good for play tests."
One game turned into five, turned into ten, and I stopped counting after that. It didn't matter the record, nor the life point difference, nor the experience level. The two of us simply enjoyed each others company, what more could we ask for? We laughed, she yelled in faux fury whenever I made a big play, and I smiled until my face began to hurt. We talked so loud that the people in the room beside us began to beat on the wall. We started exchanged yawns around 6 A.M, and I offered Arata her bed back but she refused.
"I never sleep on these trips back to SDA. I've got a lot of things on my mind." Arata said.
"Things like what?" I asked.
"Nothing you want to hear. Boring shit."
"Doesn't matter if it's boring," I curiously watched her suddenly serious face. "It's bothering you, so I want to hear."
"You're sweet, but really, I'm fine. You should go on to bed."
"Come on~. You can talk to me."
She laughed a little. "Well. At the beginning of every year, the Chancellor hosts a big game against the best players of the previous years to welcome the new people. It gives them a chance to see what they could become if they stick with the school. I'm always one of the people they choose to represent them, same goes for this year. My opponent though, I've known him all of my life. He's a real dick but he's really good. Our records are almost identical, I've barely got the lead on him. I've got a few more awards than him, but every year he gets better. It's like his mission in life to be better than me."
"That sounds so exciting," I could see why she was stressed, but it sounded more fun than anything. "You have a rival, but you're better than him, right?"
"I'd like to think so, but our games are always so close. Makes for a great show, but we've both got our reputations on the line whenever we play a serious match. His reputation is all he seems to care about. They call us the King and Queen of SDA. And I never know what to expect from him, his deck is something else."
"Does he intimidate you?"
"I'd never tell it to his face, but maybe a little. He sparks this competitive spirit in me that no one else can get out of me. My games with him are the only games I have to go all out with."
"He sounds amazing," I teased her. "How's he look?"
Arata laughed, a sudden crackle of her nerves peeked through her voice. "Nothing amazing."
"I want to be in games like that. Me and my opponent throwing everything in our decks at each other, relying on top-decks and sudden strategies to beat the other. Serious, heated games. It just sounds so fun looking from the outside," I helplessly admired her, trying not to weird her out.
"Well I've seen you play, and I don't tell a lot of people this, but our games are really fun. Like something out of nationals. Stick around me and I think I'll be feeling the same way about you as I do him. You're going to go far."
I wasn't sure what to say to her. "I'm glad you have such a high opinion of me... But where's it coming from? You've only known me such a short time, but you say such nice things..."
"Like I said before, I feel like I've known you all of my life. You never learn more about someone than when you fight with them. Just by playing the hundred or so games with you, staying up all night, laughing, you feel like a long-lost sister," She offered me her hand. "So, let's keep it that way. Alright?"
I kind of wanted to cry when she said that. I wasn't used to people being nice to me... I wasn't even used to standard kindness, having a door held open for you, a passing "good morning" from a stranger, I didn't know how to react to it. I just took her hand and used all of my strength to hold back tears.
The boat docked that morning, and a chime from the intercom alerted everyone to the deck. I threw on my white tanktop with blue floral designs and a pair of form-fitting, black jeans, then brushed my hair enough to make it look straight. My clothes were still a little damp, which gave me the chills, but they were wearable. Once I had my nightgown put away, my disk back on my wrist, my new deck ready for use in the slot, and the remainder of my belongings slung over my shoulder, Arata and I left the little cabin. She shared my love of black jeans, hers a little more loose than mine, and her choice in a matching black tee more fit her style. We stepped out onto the deck together, and followed the line of people leading off onto the island.
It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It looked like it's own little city! There was the central dome in the middle of everything, surrounded by four huge towers, and several buildings between each. I started asking Arata stupid questions to make me laugh, like "How's the economy?" or "Who's overcompensating with those towers?"
It took about an hour, but by the time Arata and I actually touched ground, the CIA rejects were there to meet with us. He gave us both a card and a suitcase and told us to move along, but Arata refused.
"So um... I see that my card is right, but hers is all wrong."
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
She showed me a stamp in the corner of my card, a U in red ink.
"That is your rank based on your test. Uria means that you barely passed."
"According to her file, that's true," one of the men said.
Arata looked at me, and I shrugged my shoulders.
"I didn't think I did too bad. I beat the proctor."
"Well, it's not up to us, if you have a problem, take it up with the Chancellor."
The guard gave me a red jacket, and with that, we were brushed off and told to keep moving in the direction of the crowd.
"I'll raise hell about it, don't worry Enzeru," Arata smiled.
"It's okay," I assured her as I examined my new, red blazer and threw it over my shoulders. "I like it, I think it fits me."
"Too much red on you, girlie. Red hair, red gazer, now a red jacket."
I did a little twirl as we walked. "I think it's stylish. How come you didn't get a jacket?"
"I have mine already," She flashed me her card, showing me the A in black. "Black rank gives you the ability to wear whatever you want, so I've got a customized Raviel jacket."
"Arata!" Someone called from behind us.
"Oh, hey!" She responded with a wave.
A pair of girls, one dressed in yellow, the other in blue, ran up to Arata and surrounded her, pushing me off to the side.
"Are you excited for today?"
"We heard Alek got here earlier than everyone else."
"Yeah, I'm ready," She smiled. "I've got something planned."
"Looking forward to it," The blue girl clapped. "So... Why are you hanging out with an Uria?"
I couldn't believe that she said that right in front of me. People get bolder every day.
"She's not an Uria. Her name is Enzeru."
"She looks like an Uria to me."
"Even if she was, so what?" Arata was getting noticeably angry.
"It's just not good for your image to be hanging out with people who are that much lower than you are, that's all," The blue one tried to justify.
I'm not here, that's okay.
"Do I look like Alek? I don't give a shit about my image. And who are you guys, my managers?"
"You should care about your image! Your image represents the schools image!"
"The school's image can eat me..."
The two girls seemed to fade into the crowd after that. Arata's blood pressure skyrocketed after that. "I'm sorry, Enzeru."
"It's nothing, nothing I'm not used to anyway. Why do people care so much about my jacket?"
"It's discrimination by color, pretty much. Uria is lowest but it's a really broad spectrum. Yellow is average, Blue is upper skill level, and Black is professional level. But everyone is here for the same reason, they're just trying to get better. Only me and Alek are Blacks, it's not really a rank you can become through school work."
"Well they don't even know me. If they would've played a game with me, I'm sure we would've had fun. But that's not what it's about for them, I guess," I shook my head.
As we walked along a straight path leading into the central dome, watching trees pass us by the dozen on either end and following the oddly single-file line of people, Arata seemed kinda suspicious. She asked, "Enzeru, if you had the chance to prove to everyone here that you're something special, would you do it? Doesn't matter what it is."
"Probably... I don't really have anything to prove, no one to prove it to."
"But you're great, Enzeru. I want people to see that, don't you? A great impression on your first day I think would do amazing things for you."
"Well, I trust you Arata. If you think something is best, then I believe it."
"Great," She took my hand and smiled. "I'll meet you inside then. You won't regret it."
So she ran ahead once the dome was in sight. I watched her run into the building with her cell phone out, and I could hear the echo of loud voices inside.
When I had arrived inside, I was amazed by its size. Several floors of bleachers, a big screen on both sides of the room, and a large arena across the tiled floor. A man stood on the other end, his arms crossed over his chest, patiently waiting for who I assumed was Arata. He must've been Alek. His brown hair laid straight across his shoulders and barely touched his waist. His green, stone gaze refused to move from watching the door. I watched him all of the way into the stands, until I ran into Arata, who once more took me by the hand.
"Wha.. Why aren't you down there?" I asked her.
"Because, he's not facing me today. He's playing you."
"What? No! Why?"
"Because, people who act the way those girls did need a wake-up call. I don't have to prove that I'm good, but you do. What better way to show everyone who you are than to beat a Black rank publicly?"
"But... I'm not good enough for this! Why would he even agree? He's expecting you!"
"Who cares what he wants? Go, get down there?"
I couldn't think straight, the sudden shock left me confused. I walked out of the stands, as were my orders, and gently laid my case down as if to not bring attention to myself. As if standing in front of hundreds of people didn't bring attention to myself. Alek looked just as confused as I did. An overhead voice from the speakers above began to talk.
"I've just been alerted that Arata is backing down from the game! In her place, she is requesting an Uria to play."
"What?" Alek yelled, scanning the arena for Arata. "Bullshit!"
I could hear Arata laughing.
Opening my case and kneeling down to rummage through it, I found a more advanced duel disk, a new d-gazer, amongst other things that didn't seem near as important. I detached my older disk and put it in the case in place of the newer one. I kept looking back at Arata; I was too nervous, I didn't think that I could concentrate enough. This was so sudden, so out of my element.
"Arata has assured me that this would be a game worth watching, and if Arata says so, I believe our new girl deserves a chance!" The overhead voice tried to inspire the crowd, which began to get restless. "Everybody welcome Enzeru Adokenai onto the battlefield!"
I didn't get much applause, mostly from other Urias who were proud to have one of their own on the field. I could hear Arata though, clapping louder than anyone else.
"Don't be intimidated, Enzeru! Alek's a pushover!"
"Fuck you!" Alek yelled back at her. "What's your problem? Backing out of our game like that!"
"I figured it would be boring if everybody watched you get your ass beat by me; it's only the expected result! At least this way, the outcome is up in the air!"
"You must really hate this girl if you would doom her to this embarrassment."
"On the contrary, I'm confident enough in her to stake my all important 'image' on it. Beating her would be like beating me; impossible, but nice to think about."
"This is a joke!" He yelled again into the air, as if it would make it easier for the announcer to hear him. "Fine. Whatever, Arata! I'll embarrass you another time!" Alek cried out into the stands, casting his arm aside as he then focused on me, striking me down with his angry glare. I could tell that he was prepared for Arata today; in his gaze I could see days of preparation and nights without sleep in the shadows under his eyes. "You picked a horrible day to stand in my way, scrub. You better be worth it."
"I doubt it..." I whispered.
"She is, you cocky dick!" Arata yelled.
"Are the two of you ready to start?" The overhead voice asked us. I stood back up to my feet and closed the case. My new disk was secure, my new gazer fit perfectly, and as nervous as I was, I was yelling at myself to go through with it. It's what Arata wanted...
"Yes," I managed to cough out. Alek just nodded his head. Arata saw something in me, I just hope I can find it too.
A single card slot then protruded from my disk with a push of the start button, allowing for four more to unfold out space evenly. I knelt into a stance, waited for the auto card shuffler to finish, and awaited the chime to behind.
Duel Disks Set
D-Gazers Set
Alek let out a bored sigh.
Duel!
Enzeru - 4000
Alek - 4000
There was a little rock, paper, scissors display that flashed on the screen of the disk. It asked me for my choice, and I poked the paper button. It told me that I had one, and childishly I smiled at it, trying my best to hide it from Alek. I don't know why I cared what he thought about me... It didn't bother me that anyone else didn't like me. Wasn't exactly the warmest welcome into SDA. I drew my five cards, took a deep breath, and let the real me's confidence come through.
The Agent of Mystery - Earth, Mirror Force, The Agent of Creation - Venus, Zeradias Herald of Heaven, Herald of Green Light.
And then once for my turn...
Archlord Kristya.
What..? I instantly looked back to Arata, who just sat there smiling as if she had planned the whole thing, and she already knew the result. She must've put it in my deck when I wasn't watching it. I couldn't even believe I was holding such a sought-after card. I couldn't thank her right now, but it was suddenly all I could think about. Kristya's effect, when I have exactly four fairies in my graveyard, I can special summon her. As long as she is on the field, neither me nor Alek can special summon monsters. It was mesmerizing to stare at, its image reflecting an almost blinding shine. I would've spent longer dwelling on it if I didn't hear Alek.
"Come on, take your turn."
"Right... Um... I summon my Agent of Mystery - Earth (1000/800, Light/Fairy, Level 2) in attack position, and one card (Mirror Force) face-down!"
One card at a time entered the field, the first being my cute fairy dressed in green and blue, with white strips of cloth flowing from her arms. Her white hair flowed in the same manor as her green and blue wings, and after a quick flight around me, she stood at my side, armed with a small staff in her hands.
"When I summon my Agent, her effect allows me to add another Agent monster from my deck to my hand. With this, I add The Agent of Miracles - Jupiter to my hand."
My turn ended, and I expected a comment about how fast it took, but he didn't seem to care. "My turn, and I draw!"
He waited a moment to watch me. Was I nervous, were my legs shaking, was I pressured? If he had asked, I would've told him yeah, a lot. The best I could do was laugh, trying to keep my cool. He didn't really seem happy with that.
"While you control a monster and I don't, I can special summon my Vice Dragon (2000/2400, Dark/Dragon/Effect, Level 5) from my hand. When I summon him in this manor, his attack and defensive stats are halved."
I'm sure that wasn't important.
"But it doesn't really matter. When you conduct a special summon, you retain your ability to normal summon once per turn. So then I normal summon my Influence Dragon! (300/900, Wind/Dragon/Tuner/Effect, Level 3)"
I didn't look forward to whatever spawn these two monsters were going to create. Vice Dragon was a huge monster, bulging muscles and saliva dripping from its massive jaw. Influence Dragon was much smaller, but its claws and armor made up for its lack of intimidating features. He only stayed on the field for a moment, until his physical form seemed to vanish. In its place, three small orbs of light danced in circles, flying above Vice Dragon's head. The two took to the air, and Alek began to speak once more.
"With these two monsters, I can conduct a synchro summon of a level eight monster! Come forth, the darkness of my heart! Arise from his darkness and Reign Hell, Dark End Dragon!(2600/2100, Dark/Dragon/Synchro/Effect, Level 8)"
The stars turned Vice Dragon into the same body of light, several rings surrounding him until his body escaped sight. A tower of light hit the ground with a powerful gust of wind, throwing me to the ground and tossing Alek's hair around violently. From this light, a pair of menacing talons tore through. Ear-piercing roars, shredded wings, a spiked tail, and a pair of faces that glared at my poor angel. The face on its torso flashed its demonic fangs, and the face on its head continued to roar.
"And there it is, the asshole's asshole!" Arata yelled at Alek.
Alek just seemed to ignore her. He didn't even look in her direction. His expression didn't even change when he spoke about his monster. I began to pick myself up off of the ground, and his turn continued.
"Next, I remove my Dark End Dragon from play!"
"After all that?" I asked.
"In order to summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon (2800/2400, Dark/Dragon/Effect, Level 10) from my hand!"
Alek slammed the card on his disk, and another tower engulfed his Dark End Dragon. From this tower erupted the shining armor of his newest dragon; this one was taller, its wingspan much wider, but it was the splitting image of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, with metal plates over each segment of its armored body.
I expected Arata to say something else; I found her comments calming, but when I looked to her, she seemed very concerned. Which then struck me with concern. I need that confidence back...
"Next, I activate the spell card, D.D.R - Different Dimension Reincarnation! By discarding Bottomless Trap Hole from my hand, I can special summon one removed from play monster."
Fucking. "I um... I activate the effect of Herald of Green Light from my hand! By discarding him and one other fairy-type from my hand (The Agent of Miracles - Jupiter), I can negate the activation of a spell card.
"God dammit. Fine. Delay your ruin by one turn, it won't make a difference. In that case, I activate my Darkness Metal Dragon's effect, special summoning one dragon from my deck or my hand. With this, my Vice Dragon (2000/2400, Dark/Dragon/Effect, Level 5) returns at full strength! And then, I activate Monster Reborn from my hand, special summoning my Influence Dragon (300/900, Wind/Dragon/Tuner/Effect, Level 3) back to the field!"
So getting rid of his Dark End didn't matter... since-
"Now, I can just replace my Dark End Dragon! Synchro summon!"
The two monsters faded, the tower of light returned, and once more, his Dark End Dragon (2600/2100, Dark/Dragon/Synchro/Effect, Level 8) screamed as it stomped onto the field.
"Are you scared yet? Do you regret getting in the way?"
I was, and I did. But as long as I had Mirror Force, I was confident that I was alright.
"I activate my Dark End Dragon's ability, by reducing its attack points by 500 points, I can destroy one card on the field. So fuck your face-down card!"
It was like a message from god that my Mirror Force was destroyed. Maybe I just didn't belong here.
"This is Hopeless Dragon. This is the deck that will one day defeat Arata; defeat everyone that gets in the way of my title. It's a shame that a scrub like you was forced to be the first victim, and I'm almost sorry that your end came so quickly."
There were some slight murmurs in the crowd, and I could hear the whole "she never had a chance, poor girl" deal.
"Let's get this over with. Darkness Metal Dragon! Attack her Agent of Mystery!"
The armored dragon prepared fire in its maw, and Dark End Dragon did the same right next to it. Metal Dragon's crimson fire erupted from its jaw and completely engulfed my angel, forcing her to scream until she shattered into light. Watching her go down like that, I knew that I was next.
Alek - 4000
Enzeru - 2200
"Dark End Dragon! Attack her directly!"
The black fireball came next, striking me hard and throwing me onto the floor, my clothes smoking as if they had been on fire. It may have only been virtual fire, but the force of the impact was real, and it hurt a lot.
Alek - 4000
Enzeru - 100
I just laid there on the cold tile, absorbing everyones doubts and laughter from the crowd. It hurt way more than any fireball could. Watching my life point counter on the big screen across the room go down to 100, my heart sank with it. My duel disk chimed, and I looked to the screen to see: Surrender? with yes or no below it. I struggled into a sitting position, and just read the word "surrender" over and over. The screen across the room reflected the same as my disk, so everyone knew that Alek gave me the option to back out.
I looked back to Arata as I forced myself back on my feet. She shook her head and I just smiled. I threw my arm out in front of me, and looked back to Alek. The screen reflected the "no" I answered with. "You done yet?"
Enzeru: Ever notice how much better the chapter looks before we get uploaded?
Arata: Stupid FFNet format. Times New Roman too complicated for you?