Yu-Gi-Oh GX: The American Duelists

Chapter 2 - Rivalry

The morning sun rises over Duel Academia, bringing with it the promise of endless possibilities for its inhabitants. On the far end of the island, an exuberant young Osiris Red student starts the day with a proclamation of, "Oh yeah! Today's going to be awesome! I'm going to duel so much!" He is joined by his two temporary bunk mates, the American Duelists, Michael and Ramirez, who sit across the table from him in the Red Dorm's cozy dining hall. Both lack his pep and optimism for the day's events to come. If anything, the only thing either looks ready for is more bedtime.

Judai leaves and returns shortly after carrying a tray with 3 plates and 3 bowls on it. He hands them a bowl and plate each. "Dig in!" He encourages, and he begins shoveling rice into his mouth.

Michael puzzles over the contents of the plate. He eyes the 3 small charred fish in front of him, as well as the mysterious thing beside it. He isn't certain if it was once an animal or vegetable, but he wants to believe it is pasta or water logged cabbage. He notices Ramirez poking and prodding at it, before raising the plate to his mouth and pushing it in with one chopstick. He chews it without any facial change, and he swallows it down without much savoring. After swallowing, Michael asks how it tastes. To which, Ramirez replies, "I really wouldn't know. I haven't tasted anything in over a decade."

"Oh?" Michael responds with some surprise. Uncertain of what to say to that, he quickly apologizes, in case he may have offended. "I'm sorry."

Ramirez shrugs unconcernedly. "It's no big deal."

With the awkward moment past, Michael returns to the mystery mound at hand. He forgoes discovering the answer for himself in favor of sticking to the things he knows. He begins stirring his rice around its bowl with his chopsticks. He hasn't the slightest clue how to eat with them, but considering he'll be stuck using them for a few months, its worth an attempt at least, he figures.

As Judai gulps down his last fish, Sho and Kenzan's heads peak around the doorway. Both are astonished to find Judai awake under his own power this early in the morning. They look at each other and bounce conspiracy theories off of one another. Agreeing to disagree, they let themselves in.

Each of them takes a seat beside Judai. After a long intense stare down, Kenzan starts in on his big brother, who pats his stomach but doesn't look satisfied. "Alright, what's the deal?"

"Huh?" Judai grunts accompanied by a baffled expression. Sho leans on the table to meet his big brother face to face. His eyes narrow as he examines Judai. Judai leans back uncomfortably. "Uh, Sho?"

"Big brother can never get up so early on his own?" Sho starts up in a suggestive tone. He leers even more intently. "Who are you?"

Judai chuckles uncomfortably. "Ah, come on guys. It's me." He laughs.

Kenzan pushes Sho's head out of sight with his own. "If your big brother Judai, then tell us how you got up without someone waking you up." Sho slams his head against the side of Kenzan's head, pushing it out of the way so he can interrogate Judai. Kenzan pushes back, and they begin a pushing match with their heads. Their attention shifts from Judai to each other, and they growl and snarl as they push with all their might.

Ramirez watches with mild amusement as one of his little charred black fish disappears into his mouth. He chews it up and swallows. Then, he points his chopsticks at Sho, then Kenzan, and then back to Sho. "Depsite being a little guy..." He remarks in his dry rasp of a voice. "That Sho has some fight in him." Michael supposes so.

Judai scratches his head embarassedly before trying to break the two up. "Now, now, guys..." They both freeze. Their eyes dart straight to Judai. He jerks back as they both bare down on him, each demanding answers. With his head nearly touching the floor, Judai explains that with the American Duelists here, he was too excited to sleep. He was up must of the night, and got up at first light to start getting ready, hoping he could duel one of the Americans before classes start.

Kenzan and Sho sit upright, with their backs to Judai, and they deliberate seriously. They both face the table once more and slam their hands down with the conclusion, "Its just like big brother."

"That'd never hold up, in court." Ramirez jokes dryly, before placing his final fish in his mouth and chewing.

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After each getting a bowl and a plate, Kenzan and Sho return to the table and sit on either side of Judai once more. The group chatters as they eat. Kenzan poors rice down his throat at an alarming rate. While Michael struggles to mimick his use of a pair of chopsticks as a shovel. The group's chatter turns back to the night before. Judai talks animately about how awesome it was, as he relives the duel in dynamic pantomine. Both Kenzan and Sho relive their worry for the few moments near the end, to which Judai laughs it off like he wasn't worried for a second, but honestly had no clue what he would have done next if he hadn't gotten the draws he did.

Ramirez coldly asks what Michael thought of the duel, "as the loser". Michael stops pushing rice into his mouth and swallows what he managed to get into his mouth. He wipes his face and agrees it was a good duel, with no further comments or criticisms. Ramirez sighs in a dry wheeze. "How very humble, you are."

Michael isn't certain it is meant to be antagonism, sarcasm, or sincerity, but he really doesn't want to say anything more about the duel. Or, to be more accurate, he doesn't know what more there is to say about it.

"You know..." Ramirez starts, while waving his chopsticks at Michael. "You keep that strong silent guy routine up, you'll have these Japanese girls eating out of the palm of your hand." Ramirez cranes his head at an unnatural angle, giving a very creepy appearance reminiscent of something out of a horror movie. His neck crunches loudly. He raises his head and tilts it over to the other side; his ear nearly touching his shoulder.

Ramirez turns to face the others with his tilted head and scarred face. Sho and Kenzan nearly fall out of their seats as they flinch and retreat from his expression. Ramirez's face is blank for a moment, before his grin widens. With him grinning, his scar controrts like a second smiling face over the other. Both Sho and Kenzan retreat further.

Ramirez chuckles, and he brings his head upright once more. "Yeah, they seem submissive and reserved..." He continues as he looks back to Michael. "But deep down, they're all wild. Depraved and repressed in their traditional gender roles as, good, respectable ladies, for far too long. Right?" He asks the two disturbed Ra Yellow boys as they just start to recover. Ramirez chuckles a low harsh chuckle, like far off thunder and a nearby hissing radiator all at once. The Osiris Red boys scattered across the dining room all tremble uncomfortably, except for Judai, who stealthily helps himself to Sho and Kenzan's fish and mystery side, oblivious to the topics of conversation around him.

Ramirez presses his point. "If you keep putting up impressive shows, like that last one, with that cute deck of yours, the girls hear will adore you... Whether you win a single game, or not." He grins to the others, and asks bluntly, "Who wants to go out cruising for chicks? We've got Michael here, as our meal ticket." He chuckles a bit more. Michael tries not to pay him any attention. He doesn't know how to respond to anything that Ramirez says.

Ramirez muses over the effect he has on Michael. He finally admits that he's only messing around. "You've got to lighten up a bit." Ramirez draws a long uneven breath, as if his throat was being constricted by a noose. He exhales just as slow and dramatically. Michael watches as both Kenzan and Sho shiver at the long wheezing rasp.

After his melodramatic breath, his demeanor reverts to his usual more business-like manner. The playfulness from a moment before fades away in the true grimness of his features, speech, and mannerisms. When he was still half asleep, both of his eyes nearly matched, and it was obvious how handsome he once was before whatever accident left him so disfigured. But having woken up, his eyes revert to their asymetrical line up. His small good eye narrows while his large eye jitters in a futile attempt to retain focus. Ramirez trains his sight on the two yellow boys. Kenzan slides back once more, and Sho falls to the floor entirely. He quickly scurries behind Judai, who happily devours and savors Sho's last unguarded fish.

Ramirez doesn't comment or joke about Sho. Rather, in a very serious manner, he asks Kenzan about the girls here at Duel Academia. "I'm curious of the crop you have here..." He blinks, gatheirng his words selecitvely. When he has decided, he grins slightly once more. "I admit, my vision isn't exactly 20/20 these days, and because of it, I wasn't really able to take in the sights, last night, at the introduction ceremony."

Kenzan's face reddens, as he gets over Ramirez's appearance and realizes what he's being asked. He bashfully admits that he really doesn't know anything about the girls here.

"Now, how could that be?" Ramirez asks in a very deep, strict, and fatherly tone that sends a chill straight up Michael's spine, starting at his tail bone and ending at his skull. He cracks his neck side to side to mask the sharp jerk of his neck as the chill reaches his head.

"Surely, you must interact with the female body, s, here, and quite regularly. I couldn't imagine, the number of attendants being all that large, considering the isolation, extravagence, or size of this location." Ramirez draws a heavy breath after finishing. "Not to mention, female duelists have always been the minority in this game."

Kenzan embarrassedly admits, "The female class is small in comparison to the boys' class, but there are still quite a lot of them, and..." Kenzan swallows and flushes redder. "I spend all my time here, so I don't really interact with them much."

"And what about you?" Ramirez asks Sho without facing him. Sho chokes on his rice. "Do you spend all of your time here..." He draws another deep labored breath. "As well?"

Sho shortly admits he does. Ramirez stretches his neck with some slow neck exercises, as he processes the information. Michael has the distinct impression that he is preparing a way to imply that they are both homosexuals, but rather, he stills his neck and asks, "Then, what about that girl? The one who was with you guys yesterday? Asuka?" He turns to Sho. "What can you tell me, about her?"

Sho fidgets. He isn't sure what to say about her. Ramirez's good eye drifts back to Kenzan, who quickly admits he doesn't know all that much about her either. They both agree they don't talk much with her.

Ramirez doesn't say anything for awhile. Then, he poses the question once more, but to Judai. Judai reclines contently and lets his belt out an extra notch after eating both of his friends' fish. It's obvious from where Michael's sitting, that Judai hasn't the slightest clue what they've been talking about. Ramirez remarks aloud, "Perhaps, you're a bit young, for this conversation."

"Asuka Tenjoin. The elite duel queen of Oblisk Blue and Duel Academia. The beautiful and compassionate goddess of this campus, unrivaled by any other. Her loyalty to her friends and her respectable dueling ethics are unwavering. Strong willed, independent, and intelligent, all matched only by her charm and grace under pressure, matched only by her lovely perfect features..." The group follows the voice to Manjyome, who sits alone at a table across from them, reclining in his chair with his arms folded over his chest. He doesn't face the group, and one of his eyes is closed. The other is wide open and focused on Ramirez. His face is slightly red.

Ramirez gazes back at him blankly, not uttering a word. After a moment, Ramirez hums lightly; his own subtle way of declaring "Eureka!" With a slight grin, Ramirez remarks unabashedly, "She sounds like my type of girl."

Manjyome scoffs at the idea. "She's out of your league." Ramirez's smile widens a hint more at Manjyome's reaction.

"Now now. Let's not condemn the show, before the first curtain rises." He grins as he eyes Manjyome. "I was admittantly, only curious, before. But now, you've genuinely piqued my interest." Manjyome is visibly irked by his comment, but before he can declare it, Ramirez takes control of the conversation. "So, Manjyome Jun... Jun-kun?" He asks playfully.

"Manjyome-sanda!" Manjyome replies in a firm irritated tone.

"Manjyome-sanda..." Ramirez acknowledges with the slightest of nods. "It's time for a..." Ramirez waves his chopsticks around in his fingers, and finally brings them to a stop pointing directly at Manjyome. "Moment, of truth." His grin fades. "Asuka Tenjoin. You speak of her as if you were an obsessed fanboy; having all manners of trivial tidbits and biased facts, and yet, you don't seem to have even 1 true incite into her personality or true character. So to not have any... Misunderstandings... I must pose the question: What is Asuka Tenjoin to you? Is she your girl, as you so thoroughly try to make others believe?" Ramirez tips the chopsticks up slowly, with the slightest movement of his finger tips, until they are raised in a manner resembling a smoking gun. "Or, is she nothing more than an object of your unrecipricated affections: Your fanciful dream girl who only touches you and spares you a moment of her time in your fantasies?"

Manjyome is completely speachless. From Michael's impression, Manjyome seems the type who would like to retaliate for the insult of being called a fanboy, and if he truly was into Asuka, more so against the comment that he knows nothing relevant of the girl he is interested in, than that. Yet, he does not argue against those comments. Rather, he seems to falter between his insulted pride and self realizations he has not yet come to grips with.

"It shouldn't be a hard question to answer." Michael thinks to himself. But, if an openly proud person like Manjyome truly is a fanboy, as he was labeled, then admitting to himself that he is just another face in the crowd of admirers, to the girl he obviously likes, would be a difficult feet.

Ramirez takes Manjyome's inability to answer as his answer. "As I thought. She's not with you, thus, you have no right to get pissy and indignant, when another man expresses his interest in her. You've either already been turned down, or you are too dickless to even make a move. Either way, you have no stakes on her, and she is, fair game."

Manjyome's face pulses beat red, like a beating heart. His entire body trembles, and beeds of sweat dripping down his face give all the evidence of his shattered composure. Whether fury or shame, Manjyome cannot manage to say anything in his defense. The look in Manjyome's eyes is that of a hurt animal who would love nothing more than to grab Ramirez by the throat and choke the life out of him right here and now. Ramirez reads his expression flawlessly. "As much as I'd love to take out the trash, I have, more important things to do with my time." With that, Ramirez claps his hands together with a slight bow. The entire time, his good eye never leaves Manjyome. He excuses himself from the meal, and walks out of the dining hall unchallenged by the trembling red-faced Manjyome. Manjyome remains volatile and silent at his table, like a bomb ready to go off at the slightest movement.

None of the guys say anything until after Ramirez is gone and out of sight. Judai is uncertain of what has just happened, but even he can feel the tension. He tries to ask Manjyome if he is okay, but at the sound of his name, Manjyome rises to his feet and marches out of the room without a word.

"He must really be upset." Sho states cautiously.

"Yeah." Kenzan agrees. "He didn't even correct big brother."

The three boys stare at the empty doorway. Unable to do anything, both boys turn back to their plates, only to discover their fish have up and vanished. "Whaaat!?" They cry in unison.

Judai continues to watch the empty doorway, oblivious to the fact that his crime has been discovered. "Manjyome..." He utters.

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The group attends classes throughout the day. Ramirez laughs at the idea of a school teaching dueling, but it is no joke when he sits down to Chronos's class on advanced dueling tactics and combos. He uses a simple 5 card problem that grows steadily more complicated with each draw for 5 turns. Each turn they are told to handle a new challenge with the remaining cards, and they must repeat this scenario with each of the five cards being the next card drawn, which grows steadily more complicated to keep track of as different cards are used in each scenario. At the end of the lesson, they go over the tactics for using the cards best, and Chronos shows the best solution to use the simple cards, showing that conservation and intelligent planning leads to victory, but also, being too conservative and focusing solely on hand advantage can yield the same result as foolishly squandering one's hand in a single turn. Ramirez is stunned by these complex problems. Judai jokes he doesn't get it either. He reveals he always runs out of cards during the first few turns. Ramirez says he gets it, but its not exactly what he expected. To elaborate, he admits it's not a joke as he previously thought.

Misawa states this is a school where many who attend intend to go pro. Ramirez is startled by his sudden commentary. "Where the hell did you come from?" He snaps at Misawa.

Misawa's jaw hangs open in disbelief. The others have a laugh at Misawa's expense. Ramirez admits, "The guy is so damn quiet, and he just shows up out of nowhere. At least Michael stands out." Michael feels uncomfortable being so large and dark. He can feel eyes from all around the room focusing on him throughout the class.

After classes, the group shows Ramirez and Michael around the campus and island. Ramirez asks if they haven't met the American girls yet, who are staying in the Ra Yellow dorms. Kenzan and Sho both agree that they haven't. Ramirez says they may be able to catch up with them leaving classes if they hurry. "I can introduce you to them."

"Really!" Judai bursts out excitedly. He trembles with anticipation.

Both Sho and Kenzan have a small laugh, admitting he is more excited about their decks than them being girls. To which, Ramirez replies, "And which are you more interested in?"

The two clam up, and they turn away from each other and the group as they turn red. Ramirez enjoys a small laugh this time. After recovering from their little embarassing situation, Kenzan asks what the others are like.

"They're nice enough, I suppose." Ramirez replies. "Just watch yourself around tit monster. She's bad news."

The group is shocked by the way he talks about Hannah, but even more so by his seriosuness and unapologetic attitude on the subject. Kenzan and Sho both want to know what's wrong with her, but are too embarassed to say anything. "So what's wrong with her?" Judai blurts out unabashedly.

Ramirez looks seriously to Judai. "She's nasty trouble." He answers in a low hostile rasp. "Enjoy her as eye candy, if she's your type, but let that be the end of it, or you'll regret it. Freakishly large breasts are a turn off for me, so the less I have to see of her, the better."

None of the DA boys can imagine anyone being so bad, and even Michael wonders if Ramirez is just biased towards her. He didn't talk to anyone on the plane, so he doesn't know what kinds of people they are, or if she and Ramirez got into a fight. Everyone seemed to get along well enough on the plane, from where he was sitting.

"Actually..." Ramirez starts and pauses to draw a long labored breath. "From what I've seen today, these Duel Academia girls are all kind of, extraordinary." He gestures with one open hand, mocking that he can't close it. "Tit monster almost looks like she belongs here."

Kenzan sheepishly asks, as if worried someone other than Ramirez might hear him, "Then, you like - flatter girls?"

"If you mean washboard chests, then no." Ramirez answers to Kenzan's relief. Ramirez picks up on his relief. He starts slowly in a low corse voice, "The other three American girls are all rather small."

"Oh?" Kenzan grunts but hides his interest.

"I prefer larger, but I'm not really into the extremes. That girl Asuka is closest to my liking, and even she's a bit top heavy for my tastes." Ramirez runs his thumb over the scar across the bridge of his nose. "Her dimensions are actually quite unreal, for such a thin petite Asian girl. It's even rarer for a girl who isn't chunky." Ramirez muses over her proportions for a moment, and he genuinely smiles a slight smile. "She really is a rare piece of work."

"What a despicable topic of conversation!" The group turns back to find Manjyome trailing them. The disdainful look on his face says he doesn't approve of them talking about Asuka in the context of the topic, more so than the topic. Or perhaps, Michael thinks, Manjyome just doesn't approve of Ramirez talking about Asuka at all. "Tenjoin-kun would be utterly disgusted with all of you!"

Ramirez's first sincere smile since arriving at DA vanishes. It is consumed and replaced by a harsh grimmace. His eyes narrow as he and Manjyome glare at each other with contemptuous scowls.

Ramirez retorts in a voice like a growl, in a confrontational tone deeper than his usual raspiness. "Must you stalk around like a scheming rodent? You're worse than that other guy." Manjyome dismisses his comments with a dismissive hiss. "And what's with the that outfit, castaway? Too good to wear a uniform like everyone else, or are you just too ashamed of being an Obelisk flunky?"

Manjyome doesn't stand idly by after that comment. "At least I was on top! I didn't have to rely on a lucky jackpot to escape from obcurity!" He fires back hotly.

Ramirez dismisses his comment. "Yeah, I bet you didn't have to. Knowing all the right people is enough, to reach the same end, huh, Manjyome-kun?" Ramirez snaps, without letting up. "It just goes to show, it's not what you know, but who you know." He glares sharply to Manjyome, and Manjyome reflects the gaze. "I wouldn't have gotten the free ride into Obelisk Blue. Unlike some, my family lineage isn't all that spectacular." His gaze turns into an icy cold glower so intense that the sun seems to hide beneath the clouds to escape it. Ramirez's good eye is like that of a feral beast just waiting for the slightest provocation to strike. "But, I guess who you know and what you own isn't enough to carry you through your entire life. Is it now, Jun-kun?"

Manjyome slams his foot down in the dirt trail, sending a cloud of dirt and debris swirling into the slight breeze. "Bastard! I don't rely on anyone or anything in life except my own strength!" Manjyome throws out his arm aggresively, and brings it back pointing to himself with a raised thumb, which he pulls across his throat. "And I'll prove it anytime, anywhere!"

"You're not even worth my time." Ramirez retorts harshly.

Sho, Kenzan, and Judai object. Judai insists that those things Ramirez said are totally unfair. "Manjyome is no pushover." Judai declares.

"Yeah, Manjyome-kun is an incredible duelist, who always gives his all to the duel." Sho adds.

Manjyome holds out his hand, demanding silence from the peanut gallery. Ramirez unslings his backpack from his shoulder, and Manjyome does the same. Manjyome slides his duel disk on in dynamic fashion, while Ramirez does so cold and mechanicaly.

"I'll play your little game Manjyome Jun, if only to show you what real strength is all about." Ramirez states and activates his black duel disk as Manjyome activates his white duel disk. The two lit orbs cycle alternatively, suddenly stopping on Ramirez's disk. He draws out his opening hand with one extra card. Before making a play, Ramirez slides his thumb across the scar on his nose. "You know Manjyome, I know all about you and Duel Academia." Ramirez declares corsely. "I've wanted to attend a dueling school for years, but I was never so fortunate to have the chance until now." He cycles the cards in his hand without taking his eyes off of Manjyome. "Little Manjyome Jun - tragic runt of the litter. A shameful little stain in an otherwise impressive pedigree." He scoffs antagonistically, before sneering at Manjyome. "Your type is a dime a dozen. It doesn't matter where you go in the world: You'll never be anything more than insignificant vermin; a fly on a horse's ass."

Ramirez trembles, and his breathing becomes short and erratic. "I won't forgive someone like you, for belittling this opportunity I've been granted." Without warning, Ramirez sets a monster and 2 set s/t cards to the field. He stares down Manjyome for a moment more, before coldly declaring the end of his turn. Ramirez's life points appear at his back at 4000.

Manjyome glares furiously at him with his bared teeth grind together. As he draws, he brings the card across his gaze. He throws his hand up and declares absolutely, "This will be the end of you!" Manjyome sets 2 s/t cards. He immediately follows it up with Giant Trunade. A huge gust of wind kicks up, bouncing his 2 set cards to his hand. Ramirez holds his hand out over one of his cards, activating it in a chain. His set Threatening Roar flips over. His card roars fiercely, sending a shockwave that pushes Manjyome back a step, before going to the Graveyard. Ramirez's other s/t card blows away, and lands amidst his hand cards. Manjyome sneers at Threatening Roar, visually annoyed that he can't finish the duel this turn. Nonetheless, he reveals the 2 cards he had set, both Map of Hidden Treasure. He sends them to the Graveyard to draw 4 new cards.

Manjyome continues undeterred by Ramirez's Threatening Roar. He sets 2 more s/t cards before activating Card Destruction, discarding 4 cards and drawing 4 new ones. Ramirez discards 4 cards and draws 4 new ones. Manjyome activates his set Premature Burial, reviving X - Head Cannon. He flips over one of his set cards, the continuous spell Front Line Base. He uses its effect to Special Summon Y - Dragon Head. Finally, he normal summons Z - Metal Tank. He removes all 3 of them from play to summon XYZ - Dragon Cannon. The 3 machines break apart and fuse together in spectacular fashion to create the impressive machine. Manjyome discards a card from his hand to destroy Ramirez's set monster. XYZ - Dragon Cannon fires on the monster. Nimble Momonga is revealed. The tiny squirrely marmot squeaks fearfully as it is destroyed by XYZ's cannon fire. Manjyome sets a single s/t card and ends his turn.

Asuka comes jogging over the ridge from the campus. Having seen the huge Dragon Cannon from over the hill top, she rushes over to join the group. She quickly asks the group what is going on. "Why are they dueling?" She asks in an accusing tone. None of them answer, which deepens her suspicion that Manjyome picked another fight with Ramirez.

"That was pointless." Ramirez states dryly. "A lot of useless effort, and all for nothing. It's the type of flashy play style I would have expected from a second rate amateur, rather than a self proclaimed elite." Ramirez activates Premature Burial from his hand to revive his Nimble Momonga. His life points decrease to 3200. The little flying squirrel-like rodent digs itself out of the ground. Once free of the dirt, it shakes itself off and begins grooming, until it spots XYZ looming over it. Its hair stands on end and the Momonga hisses and jitters nervously at the massive machine. Ramirez points at XYZ - Dragon Cannon. "Nimble Momonga, attack XYZ - Dragon Cannon!" The spastic squirrel runs around in circles wildly before charging head first for the behemoth machine.

Manjyome scoffs. "XYZ destroy it!" Dragon Cannon targets the squirrel with its cannons, and it fires on the Momonga who leaps into its main barrel, instantly destroying it without leaving so much as an a stray hair. Ramirez loses 1800 life points, but a sharp piercing cry from beyond the grave causes his life points to increase by 1000 points. Two more Nimble Momongas leap from Ramirez's deck and glide to his side of the field. Once they have landed in the menacing shadow of the huge machine, they grab their cards and flip over to hide in face-down defense position. They peek out to hiss once in awhile. Ramirez sets 2 s/t cards, and he ends his turn. His life points stand at 2400.

Manjyome draws. He discards his newly drawn card to destroy a Nimble Momonga. Dragon Catapult fires decimating the mini-beast.

"Trap card, open." Ramirez activates another Threatening Roar. Manjyome sniffs irritably, and he ends his turn. Ramirez draws with a smile. "It's over, Manjyome Jun." He points to his last Nimble Momonga. "Sacrifice Nimble Momonga." The monster vanishes and erupts in flames as Ramirez replaces its card on his duel disk with a new one. "To summon Twinheaded Beast." The 2 headed centaur rises from the flames. It's lion-heads roar fiercely as it rears up on its hind legs. Ramirez activates Wild Nature's Release bringing the monster to 3600. The fierce beast grabs its heads, and bursts into flames. It throws out its arms and creates a fireball in each hand.

Ramirez glares through the beast at Manjyome. "Twinheaded Beast, attack XYZ - Dragon Cannon." The beast hurls one of its fireballs at the Cannon. Before XYZ can adjust its cannons, it is hit by the fireball and explodes. Manjyome braces himself as he is hit by the remaining embers. His life points decrease by 800 points to 2400. Manjyome activates his set Trap, Call of the Haunted. He resurrects W-Wing Catapult from the Graveyard "Attack, W - Wing Catapult!" Ramirez shouts out. Twinheaded Beast hurls its other fireball, destroying the machine platform, and Manjyome takes 2300 points of damage as the flames roll over him. His life points drop to 100.

Ramirez smiles sinisterly. The scar over his nose contorts in the orange glow of his beast's fiery orange mane, making his face garish in the dim light. "Did you like that, Jun?" He asks. Manjyome clenches his teeth silently. "Trap card, open!"

Ramirez reveals the set card as Beast Soul Swap. He returns Twinheaded Beast to his hand and summons it once more. Manjyome is shocked.

Ramirez grins smugly as he orders its attack. The beast creates two more fire balls. The lion-headed centaur charges and hurls a fireball. Manjyome is hit by the fireball. It explodes against his braced arms, forcing him to his knees. The seering embers wash over him taking his last 100 life points.

Ramirez grins, content with the outcome, as Manjyome's life points drop to 0. Everyone is shocked. Manjyome remains there silently, his eyes hidden by his arms. "As expected." Ramirez proclaims.

From beneath Manjyome's arms, he suddenly grins widely. "Is that the best your country has to throw at me?"

Ramirez gazes furiously at him. "Shut your mouth! Beaten dogs have no right to talk trash."

Manjyome throws his hand into the air. He shouts, "1, 10, 100, 1000, Manjyome Thunder." He points to Ramirez with fiercely determined eyes. Suddenly, his life points increase to 3200. Everyone is shocked. Manjyome laughs and reveals a trap that appears from his graveyard called Adrenaline Rush. He can only activate it from his graveyard.

Ramirez scowls. "Card Destruction and Dragon Catapult were used for more than dumping the union pieces?" He exclaims in annoyance.

Manjyome becomes serious once more stating, "When my life points are reduced to 0, I can activate this card by removing it from play." He pockets the card from his graveyard. "And my life points will increase by the total amount of damage I took during this turn before reaching 0, and the remainder of the damage is calculated afterwards." He loses 1600 life points, bringing him to 1600 life points.

Ramirez scoffs, "It was all for nothing!" He shouts out as he points to Manjyome. "Attack! Twinheaded Beast, one turn kill!" The two headed centaur charges again hitting Manjyome with a burst of flames and a fist. Manjyome is thrown to the ground. He throws his hand out, activating another trap from his graveyard. His life points increase once more, this time rising to 6400. Manjyome laughs at Ramirez's annoyance, as they drop to 6300. Manjyome stands while pocketing a second copy of Adrenaline Rush. Ramirez ends his turn. His life points show at 2400 against Manjyome's 6300.

Manjyome draws, playing his newly drawn Pot of Greed to draw 2 cards. He follows with Graceful Charity, drawing 3 cards and discarding 2. He reveals 1 discarded card as Ojamagic and adds all 3 Ojamas from his deck to his hand. He fuses them from his hand and summons Ojama King in defense position. He finishes by setting 1 s/t card. His life points appear behind him and Ojama King, at 6300.

Ramirez says he is through with Manjyome's stupid little games. He normal summons his newly drawn Exarion Universe, and then he activates a second Wild Nature's Release from his hand making Twinheaded Beast 3600 once more. He attacks Ojama King, but Manjyome defuses the monster into the 3 Ojamas.

"Stop toying with me, and take this seriously!" Ramirez shouts furiously. He kills 2 Ojamas with Twinheaded Beast and he pierces through the final one for 400 damage. Manjyome is stabbed in the chest by the spear, but it only pushes him back a step. Manjyome's life points decrease to 5900. Ramirez ends his turn. Twinheaded Beast goes insane before bursting into flames and exploding.

Manjyome looks at his newly drawn card. He sets it with a sneer and ends his turn.

Ramirez draws. He attacks with Exarion Universe. Manjyome's life points drop to 4100. Ramirez looks crossly at him as he sets a s/t card.

Manjyome draws. He activates Ojamandala from his hand, by paying 1000 life points to revive his 3 Ojamas. His life points decrease to 3100, and the 3 Ojamas reappear once more. They celebrate in comical fashion. Then, he ends his turn. His life points stand at 3100.

Ramirez draws. He summons another Twinheaded Beast by offering Exarion Universe. He destroys 2 of the Ojamas with his Twinheaded Beast, and he ends his turn.

With Manjyome's next draw, he looks pleased by the result. He plays a spell that allows him to remove from play VW - Tiger Catapult, XYZ - Dragon Cannon, or VWXYZ - Dragon Catapult in his Graveyard to summon all components of that monster that have been removed from the game, regardless of summoning conditions, at the cost of 500 life points per monster. He pays 1500 life points, leaving him with 1600 life points left. He summons X, Y, and Z back to his field. Ramirez activates his set Threatening Roar, but Manjyome chains with his set 7 Tools of the Bandit by paying 1000 life points, leaving him with 600 life points.

Ramirez is helpless. He has no more cards except Twinheaded Beast. Manjyome orders X - Head Cannon to destroy it. The centaur explodes, and Ramirez's life points decrease from 2400 to 2300. Manjyome follows with the direct attack from both Y and Z. Ramirez is knocked to his knees by Y- Dragon Head's attack, and Z - Metal Caterpillar's charging attack pushes him back. It vanishes along with the other monsters on the field.

Ramirez's face is vacant and unreadable. After a moment, Ramirez lets out a small joyless chuckle. "Only someone like you, could have won with a bastardized mess like that!" Ramirez utters in barely a whisper. He turns his back on Manjyome and the group, before calling back to Manjyome. "You can have your lucksack victory today, Manjyome, but next time will be different." Ramirez marches down the path to the red hostel.

Manjyome looks content to have won, but he does not smile. The others go to congratulate him, but he turns his back on them and walks away. He is cut off by Asuka who asks what happened in a very accusing voice. Manjyome is surprised by her appearance. "Tenjoin-kun?" His voice is strangely distant. He looks away and admits, "It was nothing. Excuse me." He walks past her unexpectedly without making eye contact. The others join by Asuka's side.

Judai shouts for him to come back. Sho asks Kenzan what is wrong with him. Misawa appears from behind them to comment, "Something Ramirez said?"

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That night, Judai and Michael find Ramirez sitting on the floor surrounded by piles of cards scattered layers deep across the room. He has half built decks everywhere. Judai asks what's going on.

"I'm preparing, for my redemption." Ramirez replies in a scratchy deep breath. "That clown made a fool of me, and I'm going to repay the favor 10 fold." He stands and puts a deck in his deck box on his belt. "I'm going out for awhile. I'll pick up this mess later. You can walk over the cards, until then." Ramirez grabs his backpack as he steps out.

Judai and Michael aren't sure what to think. They look over the piles of cards. Judai can't believe he has so many, but they are all in such poor condition. Many are ripped and taped or bent badly. He points out writing on many of them and scribbles and pictures marked out. Some cards are so badly marked by pen, it is hard to tell what they once were. Some say things like trash, garbage, or explitives far worse than those. Michael sifts through them, and he points out that these cards aren't very good at all. Michael begins cleaning up for Ramirez.

"Won't he get mad if we touch his cards?" Judai asks.

"I doubt it." Michael replies. "Its not like we have to clean it up, but..." Michael pushes several cards into a neat pile and sets the aside. "It will make it easier to move around. Besides, I hate sleeping in a mess."

Judai kneels down and begins helping Michael clean up. "It'll be easier if we do it together. We are roommates, after all." Michael eyes Judai's smiling face uncertainly. After a moment, he nods and returns to cleaning up the mess of cards.

Michael glances at Judai as he helps him clean up. He reminds himself of what Judai said, and agrees once more to himself. "That's right. We're not enemies or rivals. We're roommates."

Chapter 2 - End

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Chapter 2 Author Notes

For Map of Hidden Treasure, I used the anime effect, which is the only way the card would be good and work in the situation I wanted it for.

Map of Hidden Treasure

Trap

Effect: If this set card on the field is returned to your hand by a card effect, send this card to the Graveyard to draw 2 cards from your Deck.

Ojamandala

Spell

Effect: This card can only be activated while you have an "Ojama Yellow", "Ojama Green", and "Ojama Black" in your Graveyard. Pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon an "Ojama Yellow", "Ojama Green", and "Ojama Black" from your Graveyard to your side of the field.

It was a nightmare trying to manage cards, hand sizes, Life Points, monster stats, rulings, etc, so I hope everything is flawless. If not, do me a solid and overlook small overlookable issues. Even multi-million dollar magazines make mistakes, and they have payed editors. All I have is my brian, a piece of paper, and MS Word's Spell Checker, lol.

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Chapter 2 Author Cards

This section is for all cards I created for this fanfic. Hopefully, I don't miss any.

Adrenaline Rush

Trap

Effect: This card can only be activated from your Graveyard when your Life Points decrease to 0. Remove this card from play, and increase your Life Points by the same amount as damage you've taken during this turn. Afterwards, decrease your Life Points by the remainder of damage you would have taken when your Life Points decreased to 0. Only 1 "Adrenaline Rush" can be activated per chain.

Emergency! V-2-Z Union Fusion Cancel

Spell

Effect: Select 1 "VW - Tiger Catapult", "XYZ - Dragon Cannon", or "VWXYZ - Dragon Catapult" in your Graveyard, and remove it from play. By paying 500 Life Points per monster, Special Summon any Fusion Material Monster(s) listed by name on the removed Monster Card that are removed from play, ignoring the Summoning conditions.