Pro League Circuit!
Chapter 8: The Trouble with the Past (2)
Soutou could barely hear the TV as he ate his cereal. The crunching of his food drowned out whatever the newswoman was saying. He wasn't really watching TV though. He was more focused on finishing his breakfast so he could start the day.
"Victory Dragon." He heard over the crunching, and his eyes lit up. Soutou put his bowl down and grabbed the remote, hitting the volume button for a few seconds before releasing it.
"Today were here with the young man who just pulled the elusive Victory Dragon in a pack! Industrial Illusions announced the random release of this card over 8 months ago. Now that it has finally been pulled, this young boy has become the first, and the last, person to posses this rare card." The newswoman said as she paced in front of a small house.
The camera turned and focused on a family of three standing on the front porch. There was a father, a mother, and a young boy around the age of 8. He had a huge grin going from ear to ear, and Soutou could see a card in his hand.
"We were very excited when our son told us what happened." The father said happily. "Although we don't have a lot of money, we could never ask him to trade or sell something this valuable. We can only be thankful that his birthday present this year turned out to be really special, unforgettable really."
"We've always wanted to get him something he could really enjoy. It seems like we got really lucky this year and were able to give him that." The mother said, her voice shaking as though she were on the verge of tears. The newswoman kneeled down and held her microphone to the boy.
"And what's your name, lucky man?" She said in a very baby-ish voice. "Shinsei Konjou! I'm going to be the next king of duelists!" He said as he threw a fist into the air. Everyone laughed as he did.
"And what do you plan on doing with your new card Shinsei?" The newswoman asked as she put the microphone in front of his face once more. "From now on, Victory Dragon is going to be my #1 ace partner! With him, I can one day enter the Pro Leagues and become the best duelist ever!"
"Well, there you have it everyone. Best of luck to Shinsei and the rest of the Konjou family, now back to you Matsumoto."
Soutou turned the TV off. Heh, what a nice kid. He thought to himself as he put his jacket on. Reminds me a little of myself. Its good to see that Victory Dragon went to a deserving person.
"Now, if we refer to the police report filed on July 17th this year, you'll see that the police recorded that the duelist utilized a Frembell deck." Soutou explained to the courtroom. "The man behind this attack was unknown, but he did leave behind quite a number of clues."
"Objection!" The defense attorney shouted as he stood up from his seat. "Your honor, this police report is irrelevant to the case!" The judge tapped his gavel. "Over ruled, I'll allow the prosecution to continue." Soutou nodded to the judge.
"Now, as you can see from these pictures, marks were left on his unfortunate opponent from the electric duel sensors used by this man." He said as he held up an enlarged picture of the injuries. "Now, forensics then discovered the shape and design of the inside ring of said sensors…." Soutou trailed off and walked back to his table, where he picked up another picture.
"As you can see from these pictures, the duel sensors found in Mr. Kusemono's house have a design that is an exact match to the marks left on the victim!" Soutou yelled. "Objection! Your honor, my opponent is using facts and evidence that were illegally obtained from my client, and cannot be used as evidence in this courtroom!"
"Accepted. Mr. Kougi, drop this matter at once. And let the record show that this information is irrelevant to the case." Soutou slammed a hand on the desk. "Irrelevant! The deck that was also confiscated proved to be Frembell deck of the same build described by eyewitnesses! Its entirely relevant!"
"Objection! Your honor this man is using objects that he has stolen from Mr. Kusemono as evidence!" The defense attorney screamed. "Stole! They were laying in plain sight when the defendant allowed me to enter his household!" Soutou retorted. "And when you took them from his household without a warrant or his consent, you stole from him, meaning-!"
"ENOUGH!" The judge yelled as he cracked his gravel. "Mr. Kougi it was agreed well before this trial that those objects were not to be used as evidence in this courtroom, and the only reason I allowed you to continue with your prosecution up until this point is because I thought that you might not direct your case in a direction that was clearly off limits! And you still continued even after I advised you against it! Now the jury has been spoiled because of you, which means that the decision now rests with me."
Soutou glared at the Judge with a hatred in his eyes. "So now you'll let this criminal walk, just like that?" He spat. The judge shook his head and rubbed his forehead. "Mr. Kougi, I applaud your sense of justice. I really do. But the fact of the matter is that you have nothing to convict this man on. Under these circumstances, I have no choice but to rule in favor of the defendant." The judge gave his gavel one last smack. "Court adjourned."
A red haired woman who had been sitting next to Soutou burst into tears. She lifted her hands to cover her face and attempted to stifle her weeping. Soutou looked over at the table next to him. A bald man in an orange prison jumpsuit was smiling at him. He had black flames tattooed around the sides of his head. "Looks like I get out scoff-free. Later, Soutou." He said as two guards led him out of the courtroom.
Soutou dropped into his seat and let out a huge sigh. He put a hand on the woman next to him's shoulder. "I'm sorry ma'am, I-" She grabbed his hand. "No, please don't. You did a wonderful job. Everyone told me that I wasn't going to win. That they didn't have enough on him…. You're the only person who went above and beyond to find evidence, to make some attempt at catching him. Maybe at least now people will see what an evil person he is… I know that Anfea would be very thankful if she were with us right now…"
Unable to contain herself, the woman broke out into tears again. Soutou gripped her hand even harder as the courtroom began to empty. That damn guy…. I'm going to catch him no matter what it takes…. Soutou slammed a fist into the table. No matter what the cost…
"So the judge let him walk, just like that, huh?"
Soutou nodded and took a sip of his coffee. "Well, I tell ya, its getting harder and harder to put guys away nowadays. You've gotta have proof of what they did to a "T" or they'll slip away." The man sitting behind a newspaper across from him said.
"That's because everyone's too afraid to just say "There's overwhelming proof that it was you, have a nice day in jail. If they would just skip all of this impeding evidence bull-"
"Hey hey, don't go all radical on me Soutou." The main behind the paper interrupted. "After all, I should be more angry about all this then you. I'm the one who has to bust my ass catching those guys." The man lowered the newspaper and grinned. "Though I admit, that part of it is pretty fun."
He was the exact opposite of Soutou in almost every way. Instead of brown eyes he had eyes that were very dark blue, and wore no glasses, or even contacts. His hair was combed over to the right and light blonde, unlike Soutou's long black hair. And although Soutou had nice teeth, the man's teeth sparkled like porcelain when he smiled.
Soutou shook his head. "Yeah, well, I'm the one who gets blamed when they walk. And I can tell you right now my job is a hell of a lot harder then yours is Koto." Koto chuckled. "Yeah right! You wouldn't last a day hunting down criminals, getting shot at, getting blown up."
"Thank you." He said to the waitress as she refilled his cup of coffee. He blew on it a little to cool it down and took a sip. "Ahh, black. Just the way I like it." He mumbled as he took another sip. He then set the coffee off to the side and folded his hands. "But lets be serious for a minute here Soutou."
Soutou looked up from his own cup of coffee and met Koto's eyes. He could tell that he really did want to be serious and set his cup to the side as well. "Alright, lets." He responded.
"Look, Soutou, you and I have a really good relationship. Were partners, damn good ones at that. I know we don't work together, but I always give you the cases of the guys I lock up so that you can put 'em away for good." There was a long pause. Soutou nodded for Koto to continue.
"Ugh, your not getting what I'm saying, so I'm just going to say it. You haven't been doing your job lately. I mean, I-" Koto was cut off by a groan from Soutou as he rolled his eyes.
"You know, you-" Soutou began, only to be cut off by Koto.
"No no! Listen, hear me out alright? I mean, it's my job to do the fieldwork and let you do the lawyer-ish stuff. Now, the whole thing falls apart when you go stomping over to the witnesses house, bust in, and-"
"I didn't bust in, I was invited in." Soutou interrupted.
This time Koto groaned. "You were impersonating a health inspector! If it weren't for me, and your court record you'd be doing time for that right now! If you had come to me, I could have gotten a warrant, and officially taken the stuff into custody so that you could use it in your court case. It doesn't work when you get the stuff yourself and then bring it to me. You've been taking the law into your own hands lately, and its starting to scare me. I need you to settle down, and relax, even if you don't trust the system as much as you used to. I need you to trust me, and trust that everything will work out, ok?"
Soutou opened his mouth to protest, then closed it. "It's just like you to cut me off and only think of your side, bro. It's not really fair for me to just go with whatever you say without offering any form of a rebuttal."
"I know, I know. But I'm not arguing with you here, I'm asking you to do me a favor. I do you a lot of favors, so its only fair that you do this one for me, right?"
Soutou took a deep breath and let it out. "Alright fine. From now on, I'll go to you on anything involving fieldwork." Koto smiled and gave Soutou a hug from across the table.
"Now your starting to sound a little more like the little brother I know." Koto said happily. Soutou grinned slightly and hugged Koto back. Even though he felt a little better, he couldn't grin as much as Koto was now. His thoughts had only been slightly deterred from his rage. It was still inside him, gathering, and waiting for an outlet.
Soutou slumped back in his chair and let out a sigh. He lifted a hand and rubbed his forehead and eyes in an attempt to alleviate his headache.
He hadn't left his house in the three days since the day of the court trial. All he did was read book, after book, after book, looking for some sort of loophole or catch in the system he could use to get a conviction out of the judge. And every time he came to the end of the book without a solution he got even angrier.
As he sat there rubbing his head all he could think of was the injustice of the situation. A helpless girl gets shocked, beaten, and ***** to death, and the criminal is so lucky that not a trace of DNA is found on the scene. He goes to his apartment and gets the evidence needed to convict him, and everyone turns a blind eye to it.
"What's left?" He asked himself aloud. "All that's left if a grieving mother, and a murderer tossed back on the streets. Unfair…." Soutou felt the rage building inside of him. "It's UNFAIR!" He yelled. He felt a cool sensation rush over him as he inhaled. He held it in for a few minutes and then breathed out.
I've got to calm down…. Koto was right, getting angry like this is pointless. I just have to relax, and focus on my job…. As Soutou reminded himself of his job, his thoughts drifted back to the courtroom. He felt his rage welling up inside of him again. This time, he was unable to control it. Soutou picked up his book and chucked it at his TV. It hit the power button and the TV sparked to life.
"-With unfortunate news." The newswoman said as she walked quickly towards a burning house. "Firefighters say that the mother and child were pulled from the flames, but the father has yet to be found."
Soutou sat up and watched intently as a woman and a child were rushed to an ambulance. "That's…!" "The police are reporting that the fire was caused by a masked burglar who broke into the house. The father, Mr. Konjou attempted to stop him and was shot twice in the chest…. The burglar continued into the house and beat the mother and child…. Until unconscious. The police are also reporting that although no money or jewelry was taken, he did get away with the one of a kind "Victory Dragon" duel monster card, with an estimated value of 7.5 million yen."
Soutou's eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold. "Wait, I've just been told that the father has been located! Its undetermined if his gunshot wounds are fatal, but he is breathing! He-" The newswoman screamed as one end of the small house exploded, sending large chunks of wood and other debris into the air. She shrieked once more as someone pointed out the body of a firefighter flying through the air.
The newswoman had tears in her eyes as she turned back to the camera. "This is Channel 7 ne-"
Soutou turned the TV off. He stared blankly, wide eyed at the screen as though the TV were still on. He ran his hands through his hair and took in a deep breath. Just as he was about to breathe out he rose his hands high into the air and brought them crashing down on the wooden table in front of it, smashing it in half.
"Enough." He said quietly to himself. "ENOUGH!" Soutou stood up and kicked the now broken table. I'm sick of this! Sick of all of it! I wont stand by anymore while people idly let crime do as it pleases! I'm taking this matter into my own hands!
A week after the incident Soutou called Koto and asked him to locate the family that he had seen on TV. Koto was suspicious of what Soutou was doing at first, but after a long argument Soutou was eventually able to convince him to give out the hospital's address.
In the 30 minutes it took to reach the hospital, and while he was driving Soutou formulated a rough plan on how he was going to approach the two. It wasn't very crafty, or well thought out. But it would get him close enough to make contact with the two.
He took a deep breath as he pulled into the parking lot. He was lucky enough to get a spot near the front of the hospital. He messed his hair up abit and loosened his tie before stepping out of the car and quickly walking into the hospital.
As he half-walked half sprinted up to the front counter, head's turned to see the flustered Soutou. The nurse at the front desk smiled at him as he stopped at the counter. "Can I help you?" She asked with a huge grin on her face.
Soutou nodded and started breathing heavily. "Yes, yes I'm here to see my sister. Last name Konjou. Can you please tell me what room she's in?" The woman's smile disappeared. "Oh…. Oh dear…. I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you see her right now. She's in very bad condition right now… but if your brother I'm sure I can take you to her for a short visit. Can I see your ID?"
Soutou began patting his pockets, reaching into them and turning them inside out looking for something. "I-I know I have it somewhere. I just had it, where is it!" He said angrily. The nurse made a ticking noise with her tongue. "Oh dear. You look like a mess. You must be pretty worried about her, huh?" The nurse asked sadly. Soutou nodded his head. "I got on a plane from England as soon as I heard the news. I must have left my wallet in my hotel room…." The nurse got up from behind the desk and grabbed Soutou's arm. "Don't worry dear, you look like you've been doing enough of that lately. Let's go, I'll take you to see her." Soutou nodded and allowed the nurse to lead him through the hospital.
As the nurse began to lead Soutou to the urgent care rooms, he started to sweat. Damnit, this isn't good. If her or her husband arent even conscious I wont be able to talk to them. Without an ID next time I wont be able to get in again. The nurse finally stopped in front of one of the rooms and opened the door.
"Mrs. Konjou? Your brother is here to see you." The nurse said happily as she stepped into the room with Soutou at her side. Mrs. Konjou put the book down she was reading and looked up with a puzzled expression. "What?" She said confusedly as Soutou entered the room. "Wait, no! I don't have a brother. Who is this man?" She exclaimed as she began pushing herself back against the wall behind her bed.
The nurse looked at Soutou with an expression of shock. Soutou broke out of her grip on his arm and walked over to Mrs. Konjou. "Get back!" She yelled as she continued to back against the wall. "Mrs. Konjou, please calm down! My name is Soutou Kougi, I'm a lawyer! I want to help you." Mrs. Konjou calmed down once Soutou said he was a lawyer.
"I'm still calling security!" The nurse said as she stormed out of the room. "No, stop!" Mrs. Konjou called to the nurse. "It's fine, let him stay." The nurse stopped and walked back in. "Mrs. Konjou, I really don-" "I don't care, let him stay." She said sternly. The nurse sighed. "Fine. He can stay until I get your doctor's opinion about this." Without another word she left.
Soutou pulled a business card out of his pocket and gave it to Mrs. Konjou. She eyed it over and handed it back to him. "What are you looking for, Mr. Kougi?" She asked coldly. "It must have been important if you had to force your way in here like this."
"I'm sorry for having to do that." Soutou said sincerely. "But I want to help you. I want to help you catch the man responsible for this." Mrs. Konjou shook her head. "The police are already doing everything they can to catch the man." Soutou looked over at the door to make sure it was closed.
"I know that the police say they're doing everything they can, but I can do more for you. I can send this man to prison for a very long time. I can bring him to justice." Mrs. Konjou eyed him over suspiciously. "We don't have any money. We can't afford to pay you." Soutou nodded. "I understand that. I just need you to tell me everything that happened that night."
Mrs. Konjou bit her lower lip as her lower lip curled. Tears began forming in her eyes as she tried to speak without crying. "I-it was a Saturday night…." she said, taking a deep breath before continuing more steadily. "We don't have a lot of money, but we try to spend Saturdays together doing family activities. This weekend we were going to camp out in the back yard."
She wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye. "Me and Shinsei were out back setting everything up and waiting for his father to come home. I had just gotten a fire going when he showed up….." Mrs. Konjou sobbed, unable to go on. She started taking deep breaths in order to calm herself down. Soutou put a hand on her back and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. "The man that stole Victory Dragon?" He asked. She nodded.
"I knew it would happen." She sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "Our neighborhood has a lot of crime, most of it is theft. Every night I prayed that we would be safe. That someone wouldn't come along and steal my sons dreams away… it was so awful, what he did…" She handed the handkerchief back to Soutou. "What did he do, Mrs. Konjou?" He asked quietly.
"He came out of nowhere…. He knocked me to the ground, and then went after Shinsei. He pinned him down and attached these metal things to his body. He told him to duel him, and that if he won he would leave. I tried to talk him out of it. I offered the man money, possessions, anything if he would leave us alone. He refused, and he hit me over the head with something hard, it might have been his fist. I was dead set against the entire thing, but my son…."
"I wont let you do this to my family!" Shinsei declared as he raised his duel disk. "As a fellow duelist, I accept your challenge!"
A massive muscular man stood across from Shinsei. He wore a black tank top and green camouflage pants. His eyes were an odd shining yellow, filled with rage, greed, and destruction. His hair too was a dirty blonde, spiked up all over.
"Hehehe, you've got some guts kid. But you have to recognize that now that you've accepted this duel, I aint goin easy on ya. Get ready to feel pain like you've never felt before!" The man had similar metal bands attached to his body as well.
"I don't care! I wont let you do as you please! Its my turn, draw!" Shinsei enthusiastically pulled a card off of the top of his deck. "I activate my spell card, Frontline Base! With this card, I can summon a union monster once per turn! I'll then summon my Dark Blade in attack position! Then, with Frontline Base's effect, I can special summon Pitch-Dark Dragon in attack position!"
The man laughed. "Hah! Is this all that trash like you can afford? I bet to you it seems like you've got some strong monsters there!" He grinned. "But they're just a bunch of weak pieces of trash." Shinsei growled. "Don't look down on my monsters! Alone they might be weak, but when they join together…. Dark Blade and Pitch-Dark Dragon, union formation!"
The black knight jumped into the air, and the small black dragon flew after it. It hovered underneath the knight as it began to fall. The night landed on the dragons back and the dragon let out a roar.
"When Pitch-Dark Dragon is equipped to Dark Blade, his attack is increased by 400! (Attack: 2200) Also, Dark Blade will do piercing damage! I place two cards facedown, turn end!"
The man laughed. "So that's it, huh? My turn, draw! I activate my spell card, Broken Earth! The face up monster on your side of the field with the lowest attack will be destroyed!"
"Pitch-Dark Dragon's effect will activate! When the monster equipped with him would be destroyed, Pitch-Dark Dragon is destroyed instead!" The ground began cracking and shaking as Dark Blade dismounted the black dragon. It shrieked before dropping out of the sky into the chasm that had formed. The chasm closed, destroying Shinsei's monster.
"Hahahahah! You probably can't afford cards like these, can you? How can someone like you, who can't afford anything but trash cards, possess Victory Dragon!" The man laughed. "Shut up!" Shinsei yelled. "Victory Dragon and I are partners! No matter what you say, I'll definitely beat you with him!"
"Let's see then. I summon Sapphire Dragon in attack position! Sapphire Dragon, attack his Dark Blade! Sapphire Blaze!" The man's shining blue dragon let out a jet of blue flame that washed over Shinsei's black knight and destroyed it.
Shinsei's Life points: 3900
?'s Life points: 4000
Shinsei yelled as electricity began coursing through his entire body. Sparks flew out of the metal bands on his arms, legs, and neck. He dropped to the ground and screamed as his entire body shook. The man began laughing. "Oh, did I forget to mention it to you? These bands are the same ones used in underground dueling. If your life points are modified, they'll shock you equal to how great the change is! Even if you try to gain a large amount of life points, you'll still be filled with unbelievable pain!"
"Shinsei!" Mrs. Konjou yelled frantically as her son writhed in pain. "Please, stop this! Do you want the card? We'll give you the card, just leave us alone!" She pleaded. "Shut it, *****! This is a duel for gods sake! There aint no negotiating in a duel! Just keep your mouth closed and watch as I destroy your son!" Mrs. Konjou grabbed her hair as she sobbed. "Shinsei…."
Shinsei continued to cry even after the electricity had subsided. "This is the real world, kid! In underground duels there is no stalling, no saving yourself with cheap tricks! There is only fighting and pain! A piece of trash like you should remember this well! With that ****ty deck of yours, the pro league is surely off limits! The only place for you to go from here is hell!"
Shinsei sniffed and slowly climbed to his feet. "I-I won't listen to you! Your just a bully! Your cards don't have any heart or life to them! I'll show you what it means to trust in your deck! As long as I believe in the heart of the cards, I can win!"
"Try it then! Lets see how far trusting your cards goes! I place one card facedown! Turn end!" Shinsei snapped a card off of his deck. "Its my turn, draw!" Shinsei looked over his hand before inserting one card into his duel disk. "I play my spell card, Foolish Burial! This card will send Kiryu from my deck to the graveyard!"
"Seems like you've got a gem or two in that deck." The man said as Shinsei flipped through his deck. "Then I activate my facedown card, Birthright! This will special summon 1 normal monster in my graveyard! I summon my Dark Blade to the field!"
"What do you plan on doing with that weak guy, huh?" The man asked. Shinsei wagged a finger at him. "He isn't weak! I'll show you how strong my monsters are! I activate my facedown card, Roll Out! This card will equip the Kiryu in my graveyard to my Dark Blade!"
Dark Blade jumped into the air once again as a giant red dragon flew out of Shinsei's graveyard and hovered beneath him. Dark Blade landed on its back and began spinning his swords as the dragon screeched.
"When Kiryu is equipped to Dark Blade, he gains 900 attack points!" (Attack: 2700) The man gave Shinsei a cocky smile. "Now that's better. Your not half bad for a weak little kid. Now, why don't you try and hit me? C'mon, do a little damage! It's the least you can do to repay me, right?"
Shinsei started to sweat as he debated whether or not to attack. "I-I…that facedown card….I end my turn!" The man burst out laughing as Shinsei declared the end of his turn. "Not as good as I thought I guess! I can't believe you fell for such an obvious bluff! Now, for my turn! Draw!"
"Now, I'll show you my strongest monster! I activate my spell card, Adamantine Sword Revival! By tributing 1 Dragon type monster on my side of the field, I can summon 1 "Diamond Head Dragon" from my deck in attack position!"
"I tribute Sapphire Dragon! C'mon, Diamond Head Dragon!" Shinsei began to shake with fear as the man's dragon vanished in a beam of white light. The beam began to expand until a giant green dragon with large sparking diamond spikes going from its head to its tail appeared. (Attack: 2900)
Diamond Head Dragon's attack will be equal to the attack of the tributed monster +1000. That's more then enough to destroy your Dark Blade. "Go, Diamond Head Dragon! Attack his Dark Blade! Diamond Crusher!" The massive dragon roared and lifted its diamond-spike studded tail high into the air. It swung down at Dark Blade with incredible force. Dark Blade quickly dismounted Kiryu and jumped onto Shinsei's field. The dragon shrieked as Diamond Head Dragon's tail massacred it.
Shinsei's Life Points: 3700
?'s Life Points: 4000
Shinsei began shrieking as his body once again began coursing with electricity. The man cackled at the sight of his writhing body. "I place one card facedown. Then my turn ends."
Shinsei remained motionless as his mother rushed over to him. "Shinsei, Shinsei! Are you ok honey? Its alright, it's going to be alright!" She said to him as he slowly regained consciousness. "Heh. Good, good. I was hoping that little bit of damage wouldn't kill you. Now we can keep having fun, right?" The man laughed
"Shinsei, its ok! You don't have to do this anymore! I'm proud of you for trying, but you can't get hurt like this! We have to go, I'm sorry!" The man frowned. "Hold on there. Once a duel has started you can't just get up and leave." He held up a small remote to the two and grinned. "In this case, its not a matter of honor. If I press this button, both of our duel shock systems will go off at high power. Do you think your son will be able to withstand it after being hurt this much by its lowest settings?
Mrs. Konjou's face went pale as she heard this. "N…..no…." Shinsei grabbed his mother's hand. "Mommy, its ok." He said. She looked down at him, and he was smiling up at her. "I know that your afraid, but its ok. I know that I'm only 10 years old…. I'm not the best duelist, and I have a lot to learn." He let go of her hand and took a few steps forward. "But if there's one thing that I know, its that a true duelist can do anything if he believes in his cards. A true duelist doesn't do things like that man does. A true duelist doesn't walk away from a challenge."
Shinsei drew a card off of his deck. "A true duelist doesn't treat other people like this! A true duelist doesn't look down on any cards! A true duelist… defeats bad guys like this one!" He yelled. The man's cocky attitude died down. "What's this garbage that your spewing, little kid? Don't act like you know a damn thing about dueling!"
"I play my spell card, Union of Souls! This card removes all of my union monsters in my graveyard from the game! Then I can draw cards equal to the number I remove! I remove Pitch-Dark Dragon and Kiryu to draw two cards!"
"I activate my spell card, Flying Dragon Whirl! By sending 4 Dragon type monsters from my deck to the graveyard, Dark Blade will gain 1200 attack points this turn!" (Attack: 3000)
Dark Blade crossed his dual swords and began pulsing with energy as his attack points rose. The man took a step backwards. "Impressive. But do you think that's enough to stop me? After all, I do have 2 cards facedown. One of them could be a trap to destroy your monster." Shinsei hesitated for a moment before pointing a finger at Diamond Head Dragon. "Dark Blade! Attack Diamond Head Dragon! Flying Dragon Whirl!"
Dark Blade rushed forward and jumped into the air. As he jumped, he began stabbing forward with his swords. He began spinning as a shadowy image of a dragon appeared around him. Suddenly he rocketed forward at Diamond Head Dragon, the image of the dragon now surrounding him lashing out at the beast angrily.
"I activate my trap card!" Shinsei's eyes widened. "No!" He yelled as the man's facedown card revealed itself. "Dragon's Descent! This card will special summon 1 level 4 or lower Dragon type monster from my hand! I'll summon Ruby Dragon from my hand in attack position!"
Shinsei let out a sigh of relief. "But Dark Blade's attack will continue!" He declared. The man grinned. "Now, my other facedown trap! Dragon's Cry! This card will stop you from battling when I have a level 4 or lower Dragon type monster on my field! Your attack is useless!"
Dark Blade stopped spinning, and the dragon image surrounding him vanished. "Hahahaha! Your attack was useless! Now on my next turn I'll just summon another monster and finish you!" Shinsei growled as Dark Blade returned to his field. "I activate the effect of Relief Dragon in my graveyard! By tributing 1 monster on my field, I can special summon him from my graveyard!"
A fat-looking dragon with small wings climbed out of Shinsei's graveyard and appeared on his field. It bowed to Dark Blade before Dark Blade vanished in a bright light. (Defense: 1600)
"I place two cards facedown! Turn end!" The man was grinning like crazy as he drew a card. "So much for your big talk earlier, huh? In the end you couldn't do anything. Now all I have to do is summon a monster and defeat you. Even if I don't draw one, you probably won't be able to handle any more then 500 damage."
"Your wrong! My belief in my deck will save me! Just wait and see, I'll defiantly beat you!" The man furrowed his brow. "Enough with this bullcrap! Money, power, force! These are the things it takes to win a duel! These are the qualities of a duelist! If you waste time with stupid things like hope, you won't accomplish anything! I play my spell card, Pot of Greed! This card allows me to draw two cards from my deck!"
The man swiped two more cards off of his deck. "Your pretty lucky that I didn't draw any monsters. In that case, I'll just shock you to death! Diamond Head Dragon, attack his Relief Dragon! Diamond Crusher!"
Shinsei ran backwards to avoid the impact as his monster was crushed beneath the massive dragon's tail. "When Relief Dragon is destroyed, I can summon 1 Dragon type monster with 500 attack or less from my deck in defense position! I summon my Hope Dragon in defense!" (Def: 1000)
"It's useless! No matter how much trash you summon, the result will always be the same! Ruby Dragon, attack his Hope Dragon! Ruby Flame Stream!" The shining red dragon shot a jet of ruby red flames at the glowing yellow dragon, destroying it with little effort.
"When Hope Dragon is destroyed, 1 "Last-Hope Dragon Token" is summoned to my field! Also, I'll use my facedown card, Dragon's Bond! This will special summon a Dragon from my deck when one on my field is destroyed! I summon Wish Dragon to the field in defense position!"
A small blueish dragon appeared next to Shinsei's shining dragon egg. "Three cards facedown, turn end. Take your final turn, boy! The duel will be over after your next draw!"
Please, deck. Please help me. I'm scared right now…. I'm so scared. I feel like I'm not doing something right… like I've messed up. I don't want to lose! I want to show this bad guy what it means to be a duelist!
"It's my turn!" Shinsei called as he drew his card. The man began laughing. "And now it's the end! I activate my trap card, Battle Mania! During this turn, you are forced to perform your battle phase and attack with all of your weak monsters!"
Shinsei smiled. "I'll gladly attack you! I activate Wish Dragon's effect! I tribute him to summon 2 Dragon Egg tokens in defense!" "Three monsters huh? I know what that means." The man said happily.
"That's right!' Shinsei declared. "I believed in the heart of the cards, and now they've responded back to me! I tribute all 3 of my tokens to summon my strongest monster, Victory Dragon!"
All three tokens began glowing yellow. The yellow light radiated off of them until the whole field was enveloped in light. When the light died down, a giant shining gold dragon was hovering above Shinsei. It was absolutely enormous, even bigger then Diamond Head Dragon, or even the house.
"Then I'll play my spell card, Shadow's Light! Victory Dragon is a dark monster, so now I can summon a Light monster from my deck with the same level! Come on out, Phantom Dragon!"
Even Shinsei's new cloudy dragon paled in comparison to the size of Victory Dragon. "Normally Shadow's Light would stop me from attacking this turn, but your Battle Mania forces me to battle!"
"But Ruby Dragon has the effect to switch itself to defense position when attacked." The man lied. "And Victory Dragon cannot match Diamond Head Dragon in attack points. You summoned your monsters in vain."
Shinsei smiled. "I don't think so! I activate the effect of my Raging Dragon that I sent to the graveyard with Flying Dragon Whirl! By removing him in the graveyard from the game, all of your monsters will lose 1000 defense points!"
A huge ghostly image of a red dragon shot out of Shinsei's graveyard and began recklessly charging towards both of the man's dragons. As it plowed through them, their defense points dropped. (Ruby Dragon's Defense: 900) (Sapphire Dragon's Defense: 1600)
"Its too bad he didn't reduce their attack. This duel is still mine." The man said, still upholding his cocky attitude. "That's what you think! Now my combo is complete! I activate my trap, Burst Breath! By tributing my Phantom Dragon, all of your monsters with under 2300 defense will be destroyed! That's all of them!"
Phantom Dragon slowly faded away. Victory Dragon then opened its mouth and began streaming fire down at the man's field. "I activate my trap, Altar for Tribute!" A blood-spattered table appeared underneath Diamond Dragon. A black blade appeared above it and sliced it in half. As its blood trickled over to the man, his life point's increased.
Shinsei's Life Points: 3700
?'s Life Points: 6900
"This will give me life points equal to Diamond Dragon's attack!" Shinsei gasped. "But, you said-" The man smiled as his entire body exploded with electricity. His body sparked and glowed as huge amounts of electricity coursed through his body. "That's right." He said with a smile on his face. "I'll take huge amounts of electricity through my body because of this. Although, your Victory Dragon's effect will reduce my life points to 0 when it does battle damage."
Shinsei nodded, still in shock. "Then why-" The man interrupted him with a laugh. "This is to show you how much stronger then you I am! This is to show you that someone as weak as you doesn't deserve such a monster like Victory Dragon! You cant even handle 100 points of electricity! But I can handle 29 times that amount! You are weak! You should just give up that card to me now and walk away with your life!"
Shinsei shook his head. "I wont listen to you anymore!" He yelled. "Me and Victory Dragon will show you our inseparable bonds! Victory Dragon, attack him directly! Victory Flame!"
Victory Dragon began charging a giant gold fireball. The man continued to smile even as the electricity subsided. "I activate my set card, Dark Wall of Air! All damage from direct attacks is reduced to zero!" The dragon unleashed its flames just as a dark mist surrounded the man, causing the fireball to glance off into the sky.
"But you only have one facedown card left! Unless you draw a monster, I'll just attack again next turn and win!" The man's other facedown card revealed itself. "Trap card open, Cross Heart. After a monster of yours attacks me directly, control of it will switch to me!"
Shinsei dropped to his knees. "I-impossible…." he said as his card shot over to the man's duel disk. He laughed as Victory Dragon appeared on his side of the field. "Now this is how it should be! With no cards left, I guess your turns over!"
He drew a card, but he didn't even look at it. "What was that about bonds? About the heart of the cards? About me being a terrible duelist? Where are your bonds now! Your monster easily betrayed you in your time of need. And now he'll end you! Victory Dragon, attack directly! Victory Flame!"
Shinsei screamed as the giant fireball blasted him backwards onto the ground. He didn't move, even as electricity coursed through his body. "Finish him with your effect, Victory Dragon! Blazing Victory!" The dragon opened its mouth once more and let out a stream f fire on Shinsei, causing even more electricity to course through his body. The man laughed as he pulled Victory Dragon off his duel disk and put it in his pocket.
"Shinsei!" His mother screamed as she knelt down next to him. She felt for a pulse and found one, but it was slow and irregular. "Shinsei….. Shinsei….." She cried.
"After that my husband showed up. He's strong but, this man was huge…. He didn't stand a chance… he beat my husband and threw him in the house. Then he took the fire pit and threw it inside as well. There was nothing I could do….."
Soutou's knuckles were white from clenching his hands. "Thank you." He said as calmly as he could. "I swear to you Mrs. Konjou, this won't end until I've taken care of this man. I will bring him to justice."
"Thank you." She said quietly. Soutou hesitated before asking his next question. "Can I see Shinsei?" Mrs. Konjou gave him a stern look. "He's very upset. I don't want you questioning him about this." Soutou shook his head. "I had no intentions of doing that. I only wanted to talk to him, duelist to duelist." Mrs. Konjou's expression softened. "I think he could use that right now. Thank you." Soutou nodded to her. "No, thank you. This is something I feel I have to do.
Notes:
- I know, I know. Union monsters are only supposed to protect from destruction through battle. Some protect from effects as well though, and I liked that better then just working on battle destruction.
- Ruby Dragon can't switch to defense. The man was lying just so he could trick Shinsei
- Victory Dragon's effect has been edited for the purpose of this fic. I feel that its new effect makes it one hell of a lot more powerful, making it worthy of its name. Plus theres only 1 duel matches, not 3
-I'm pretty sure that the Wikia has the wrong effects for Dark Wall of Air and Cross Heart. A very reliable game when it comes to card translations has the effects as I described them in this chapter. And since said effects make the duel work just the way I wanted it to, I think I'll leave them as is.
- Submitting this kinda late at night. I wanted to add a little more, but I feel that the chunk will work just as well next chapter (this ones about as long as most chapters, and to finish the entire back story it would double or triple in size). So I'm going to cut it here and get right to work on next chapter ASAP
-School has started up again, hence the large gap in submission time. I'm pumped for next chapter though, so I'll get to it as fast as possible.
This chapter's custom cards
Union of Souls
[Normal Spell]
Remove all "union" monsters in your graveyard from the game. Draw cards form your deck equal to the number removed
Relief Dragon
Light/Dragon/Level 4/Attack: 500/Defense: 1600
By sending 1 face up level 4 or lower monster on your side of the field to the graveyard, special summon this monster from your graveyard. When this monster is destroyed as a result of battle, special summon 1 Dragon type monster from your deck with 500 attack or less
Hope Dragon
Light/Dragon/Level 2/Attack: 300/Defense: 1000
When this monster is destroyed as a result of battle, special summon 1 "Last-Hope Dragon Token(Light/Dragon/Level 1/Attack: 0 Defense: 0)" To your side of the field in defense position. This monster cannot be destroyed in battle with monsters with over 2000 attack. All piercing damage done to your life points from this monster battling is reduced to 0.
Raging Dragon
Fire/Dragon/Level 7/Attack: 2700/Defense: 200
This monster cannot be special summoned. This monster inflicts piercing damage. This monster must attack during each of your turns if able to. By removing this monster in your graveyard from the game, decrease the defense of all monsters on your opponents side of the field by 1000 points.