Misha: sorry for taking so long!
We both are.
Bakura: tch, whatever
Oh go do something useful and thank the reviewers
Bakura: no. Host, you do it (strides off)
Ryou: (sighs) Blaze and Misha would like to thank Guest, JxA fan 2000, decode9, THunderfang447, crazywriter9, Fantasymaker76, JD98, KiritoKirigaya-SAO, Drahjan, MasterDangel, Kamen Rider Necrom, Sinking into Ruined Shadows and ShadowSpirt020 for reviewing the last chapter.
Yeah and we hope that you enjoy this chapter, including the duel with my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! character and a lot more on Celina's past. Next chapter is practically done so I will try to get it up within the week but I make no promises.
Misha and I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
23
R&R
Celina kissed the last of her breakfast goodbye as she heaved over the side of the tugboat's starboard for a third time.
The whitenette wasn't normally one to get seasick, but her growing nervousness about finally meeting her birth mother, coupled with the fact that the little boat she and her friends were traveling in on their way to Domino City was experiencing particularly choppy waters as it followed behind the much bigger cruse ship the Society of Light members were aboard, was really doing a number on her stomach.
From the corner of her eye, Celina noticed that Bastion was currently dealing with a similar case of seasickness. At least I'm not the only one was the thought that crossed her mind, but she still wanted off the boat as soon as possible.
"Ugh... Are we there yet?" she groaned as she weakly leaned against the deck's railing.
"Almost," Kyle assured his girlfriend, rubbing her back gently in an attempt to make her feel better. "The city's just up ahead. See?"
Celina looked to where Kyle was pointing and soon spotted the Domino City's skyline in the distance.
She let out a sigh of relief. "Finally..."
. . .
After the boat made port and Celina had a chance to clean herself up, she couldn't disembark fast enough. Once she did, she soon spotted a familiar figure waiting down by the docks, and ran straight for him, weaving her way around the crowd of white-clad Society of Light members that were exiting their own vessel.
"Bakura! Hi!" she greeted as she came up to her mentor.
"Hello, Celina," Bakura replied with a gentle smile.
"Man, you sure can run fast for someone who looked like she could barely stand ten minutes ago!" Kyle panted as he finally caught up.
"Heh, sorry," she apologized with a sheepish smile.
"Were you not feeling well?" Bakura inferred from Kyle's previous statement, looking concerned.
"I just got a little seasick on the way over, but I'm feeling better now," the younger whitenette assured before inquiring in a somewhat shaky voice, "So…um…where are we meeting my mother?"
"She suggested the Sakura Café. It's just a few blocks from here," Bakura said. "Are you ready to go?"
Celina took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah—ready as I'll ever be. Also…thank you, Bakura, for setting this up for me."
"No problem," Bakura said and the three headed away from the docks.
Kyle had decided to come along with Celina to offer up some additional emotional support, which the white-haired girl was grateful for as she held his hand. The simple physical contact was enough to keep her nerves at bay as they walked further into the city and towards their destination, where Celina's mother would be waiting.
. . .
"We're here! Domino City!" Jaden exclaimed as he practically jumped off the boat. "Y'know, I didn't have time to get in some sightseeing during the entrance exams."
"So, we're finally here?" a rather queasy-looking Bastion asked in relief while Syrus and Hassleberry supported him on each arm as they helped him off the boat. Raiden, Arina, Kira, and Hikari were right behind them.
"Hey, where'd Celina and Kyle go?" Jaden wondered.
"Celina told me she was supposed to be meeting with someone, and that Kyle was tagging along," Arina relayed. "She said they'd catch up with us later."
"Is that so? That's cool, then."
The students who weren't part of the Society of Light were all gathered together, talking with each other. Nathan had wandered over to join them, his gaze fixed on his sister.
The large group of Society of Light members were gathered nearby and Jaden suddenly felt a pang of sadness and anger mingling within him when he saw his beloved girlfriend and the shroud of the dreaded Light that enveloped her. He cast a glance at Nathan, noting the frown on his face and couldn't help but sympathize with the Obelisk, as he had to go through losing his sister to the Light as well.
"So what do you plan on doing while we're here, Judai?" Raiden asked, glancing at his brother.
Jaden snapped out of his troubling thoughts, deciding to just focus on trying to enjoy himself today. "Too much, and I don't know if I'll have enough time to get to everything," he admitted.
Bonaparte called for everyone's attention at that moment. "Well, we will now review our plans for today, everyone," he said into the megaphone in his hand.
"My apologies, Vice Chancellor. I have important matters that I must attend to," Sartorius said, walking over to join them. "We will be acting on our own accord."
Bonaparte glanced at him. "I...Is that really so?" he asked.
"On that note, we will take our leave," the Society of Light leader concluded and led the way away with Alexis, Chazz, and Kasumi, and the rest of the Society, walking after him.
Bonaparte and Crowler looked at each other and then at Jaden and his group. "There is no sense in looking after just them, then, is there?" Crowler asked.
"Yes, that is true," Bonaparte said.
"You may use this day today to do as you see fit," Crowler said to Jaden and his friends before walking away.
"Then, with such being the case…" Bonaparte walked after Crowler.
Bastion, looking much better now that he was off the boat, folded his arms across his chest. "Seriously, what's going on with that Society of Light?" he wondered.
"Well, this stuff's been going on for a while," Hassleberry reminded.
"Yeah, he's right," Syrus agreed.
"Yeah. Well, anyway, I've got a heck of a lot of places I wanna visit," Jaden said with a smile.
"I'll give you the tour," Syrus said, excitedly holding up a guide book.
"Nah, I'll be the guide!" Hassleberry countered immediately, turning to Jaden as he pulled out a copy of the same book.
Raiden sweatdropped and turned to the girls. "What are you girls planning on doing?" he asked.
"Going on a tour around the city sounds like a lot of fun, actually!" Arina exclaimed with a bright smile.
Even if she was still upset by what was happening with Chazz, Raiden was grateful that she could still smile and be cheerful.
"I'm thinking of getting something to eat," Kira said.
"Mind if I join you? I'm hungry, too," Hikari said.
"Sure. Guess we'll meet up later, you guys." The two friends then walked away and Raiden glanced back at Hassleberry and Syrus, who were still arguing over who would be Jaden's guide.
Aster walked over to join them at that moment and Bastion glanced toward him. "Aster," he said and the Pro stopped, glancing at him curiously.
"Wouldn't you know what Sartorius has been planning?" Bastion asked. "He is your manager, isn't he?"
"He isn't now," Aster murmured, his thoughts drifting to his last conversation with his old friend who had changed so radically recently. He just didn't know what was going on with him, but resolved to keep his eyes on him; it was only because Sartorius was there that Aster had even bothered attending Duel Academy, after all. "And even if I did know something, I'm sure a duelist of your caliber wouldn't understand."
"Mycaliber?" Bastion questioned, clearly offended. "I may look like this now, but I've always had the skills to get into Obelisk—"
"Then why is it that you haven't been targeted by the Society of Light?" Aster countered tauntingly, not even letting the Ra finish his thought. "Sartorius said that he would get every valuable duelist into the Society of Light, one by one. It looks like your time has yet to come."
Bastion was dumbfounded. "Hey, guys, back me up here," he implored, turning around to look for some emotional support against the Pro's accusations, only to find that Jaden and the others were no where to be found. "Huh?!"
To make matters worse, when he whipped back around to face Aster, he discovered that he had ditched him as well!
"Why does everyone keep leaving me?!"
. . .
"Well, here we are," Bakura announced, pointing to a restaurant with a sign that read Sakura Café hanging above the door and large windows.
Already?Celina thought, feeling her stomach do flips. She was fine on the way over, but now that she was only a few minutes away from actually meeting her mother, her nerves were coming back tenfold. In a force of habit, she tugged and twisted at a lock of her hair in an attempt to calm herself.
"You'll be fine, Celina," Bakura reassured her softly, obviously able to pick up on the girl's uneasiness. "But if you want, I can stay while you meet with her."
Celina shook her head. "You really don't need to do that," she insisted, forcing herself to get a grip right there and then. "Besides, didn't you say over the phone the other day that you were supposed to meet up with a friend in another part of the city today? Like you said, I'll be fine. I still have Kyle with me, after all."
"Well, if you're sure, I guess I'll be on my way, then. Just call me if anything happens, okay?"
"Don't worry, I will," Celina promised, waving to her mentor as he went on his way.
"So, you ready to go in?" Kyle asked.
Celina answered with a nod, and with one final deep breath to calm herself, she and Kyle finally walked inside.
Almost immediately, Celina's eyes began scanning the room, trying to locate the woman that was supposed to be her mother.
None of the female patrons looked like they fit the bill, until her gaze finally landed upon a woman sitting alone towards the back of the café. She was dressed in a simple black skirt dress, which contrasted nicely with her fair skin and long snow-white hair. Her emerald green eyes held a gleam of what looked like nervousness as she fidgeted with her bangs and side locks every so often.
Despite the differences in eye color, Celina had to admit that she and her did look remarkably similar, to the point where they could have easily pass for twins if they had been the same age.
Kyle, having noticed the woman Celina was focusing on as well, asked, "Do you think that's her?"
As if sensing that she was being watched, the woman looked over in Celina and Kyle's direction. When her gaze met Celina's, she smiled and shyly lifted up a hand in greeting.
"Guess that answers my question..." the Fire duelist muttered and then looked back at Celina. "Since I'm pretty sure the two of you are going to want some privacy, I'll sit someplace else, but I'll be right here, if you need me."
"Right. Thanks," Celina said, giving her boyfriend a light kiss of the cheek before he went to take a seat at an unoccupied table on the other side of the room.
Celina then made her way over to where the other whitenette was waiting, stopping when she finally reached the table.
Blue met green as the two stared at one another for what felt like eons, neither of them seeming to be able to utter a sound as they took in the other's presence.
After a few seconds, Celina found the courage to speak. "Are you Ren Kuroda?" she asked, even though she was certain she already knew the answer.
"I... I am," the woman confessed in a soft voice, a faint smile on her lips. "And I know exactly who you are—you're Celina. Please have a seat, won't you?"
Celina obliged, sitting down in the chair directly across from her mother. Still feeling a bit nervous and uncomfortable, she silently stared down at her lap for the time being.
"Would you like something to drink? Or eat? I could buy you something," Ren offered.
"I'm fine, thanks..."
"Oh... A-all right. Still, I should be the one thanking you...for agreeing to come here today, that is. I can't tell you how great it is to finally get to meet you after so long. You've grown so much since then..."
"Yeah, well, something like that was bound to happen after sixteenyears," Celina couldn't help but retort, unable to hide the bitterness in her voice.
Ren visibly flinched at that reminder. "Of...of course. I'm sorry," she apologized, her green eyes filled with regret and a hint of wistfulness. "Even so, I still just can't believe how much you ended up taking after me... Except for your eyes... You got those from Eric."
"Eric? Who's that? My father?" Celina pressed, able to put two and two together rather quickly. "Do you know where he is now? Did he not want me, either? Is that why I was abandoned? Is—"
"Celina, please calm down!" Ren pleaded, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder in an attempt to stop her from going completely hysterical and making a scene. "It isn't like that at all. I'm sure...I'm sure that your father would have loved you more than anything, if he had ever gotten the chance to meet you..."
After taking notice of the pained look on her mother's face and in the tone of her voice, Celina felt her anger slowly die down, and, in a much softer voice, asked, "...What happened to him? Why did you abandon me? Please tell me. I want to know—I want to know everything."
"Even now, it's still painful thinking about what happened sixteen years ago, but you deserve to know the truth..." Ren bit her bottom lip and paused for a moment before finally finding the words to recount her story.
She told Celina of how she had first came to America as a college student studying abroad, and it was at the university she was attending where she met Celina's father, Eric White.
"I thought he was pretty weird at first, what with his obsession with card games and old si-fi movies and books, but he was actually a great guy once you got to know him...Funny, too..." Ren remembered fondly, her emerald eyes shining.
She then pulled out a picture from inside of her purse and showed it to Celina. In it was a younger version of Ren smiling joyfully with a handsome raven-haired man with blue eyes that greatly resembled that of Celina's.
"I-is that him?" Celina asked, her eyes still fixated on the photo.
Ren nodded before continuing her explanation. According to her, it wasn't long after she and Eric had met that the two fell in love and started going out. They had even planned on getting married after they both finished their studies...however, that dream sadly never got to become a reality...
"What happened?"
Her daughter's question had managed to bring Ren out of the dark void of sorrow she had unintentionally fallen back into, and, in a quiet voice, answered, "During our third year of college, Eric...he...he was involved in car accident...His doctors did what they could, but his injuries were too extensive, and he...died..."
Celina felt her heart sink at that revelation. She had already begun to suspect as much, given by the way Ren had been referring to him, but it still hurt to know that she would never get to meet the man who fathered her.
"I was an absolute wreck after Eric passed away," Ren continued on, her tone still somber. "And then, not long after his funeral, I found out I was pregnant with you..." She looked back at Celina with a sad smile. "At first, I was absolutely terrified and so unsure about what to do. After all, I was still pretty young back then, and all alone in a foreign country. Both my parents had passed away before I finished high school, and the only family Eric had was a father who wanted nothing to do with me, so I didn't have any real support, either. Because of that, I knew I was in no position to raise a child, but, at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to just...destroythe last piece of Eric I had left..."
"So, in the end, you decided to carry me to term, but then just abandoned me at the hospital only a few hours after I was born..." Celina bluntly stated, remembering what her foster mother had been able to tell her regarding her past.
Ren winced at that reminder, but didn't try to deny it. "I was never proud of leaving you like that, but I did it because... because I was afraid. Being asked to hold and name you had been hard enough, and I was scared that if I was around you for much longer—that if I even so much as looked at those big blue eyes of yours for too long—I wouldn't have had the nerve to do what needed to be done. That's why I ran away in the end. After you were born, I threw myself into my studies in an effort to forget about everything that had happened. When I finally graduated, I moved back to Japan and tried my best to just get on with my life."
"Then why, after sixteen years, did you finally want to meet me?" Celina wondered.
"Because I regret giving you up," Ren admitted softly. "I really do. There wasn't a day that went by where I didn't think about you in some way. I always wished I could meet you at least once, so that's why when I saw you competing in that Duel Monsters tournament this past summer and heard you were coming here, I decided to take my chances and ask you to meet with me. And now here we are."
"Yeah, but now what?"
After having heard her mother out, Celina's resentment towards her had diminished somewhat, but she knew that it would still take her some time before she would be able to forgive her completely.
"Well, you don't have to agree to anything right now, but I was hoping that maybe you wouldn't mind if we talked again sometime," Ren said softly. "I'd...like to get the chance to know you, and I want you to know more about me. And when the time's right, I'd even like you to meet Hideki."
"Who's Hideki?"
"Hideki is...Well, here, why don't I just show you?
Ren that pulled out her phone and showed Celina the image she had saved as her screensaver. It was a picture of a little boy, who couldn't be more than five years old, with snow-white hair and big green eyes, just like Ren.
Celina's eyes went wide. "Is he..." she trailed off, not able to bring herself to finish her thought.
"This is my son and your half-brother," Ren revealed.
My...brother? Celina thought in disbelief, still currently in shock. I have a brother...
"I know that it must be a lot to take in, but I think you deserve to learn more about your family. I would understand if you can't forgive me for what I did and the pain I've caused you, but I just want you to know how sorry I am and that I will do all that I can to make it up to you."
"I..." Celina swallowed and tried again. "I think I need some time to process all of this. It's...just a lot to take in, you know? I don't know if I can forgive you, but...maybe we can try talking again after I've had some time to process everything. Can we do that?"
"Of course. Take all the time you need," Ren insisted and handed Celina a card with a phone number written on it. "Here. Feel free to call me whenever you're ready."
"Thank you..." the white-haired girl managed to reply, pocketing the card before standing up. "I'm sorry, but I...I think I need to go now."
Ren seemed sad to hear that, but nodded in understanding.
The two of them then said their goodbyes before Celina headed for the door.
Seeing her from across the room, Kyle got up from where he was sitting and followed after her.
"Is everything okay?" he asked once the two of them were outside, noticing that Celina looked like she was kind of out of it. "Did things not go well with your mother?"
"Everything's fine. And it's not like that," she insisted. "It's just that my mother said a lot of pretty heavy things, and it's going to take a while for me to process everything. I don't think I'll be able to face her again until I do..."
"I see..." Kyle mused. He couldn't begin to imagine what Celina and her mother must have talked about, but since it seemed like Celina didn't want to say anything else on the matter for the time being, he thought it was best not to pry, so instead he said, "Hey, why don't we go for a walk around the city? That way, you can clear your head a little and we can check out some of the Battle City sites and look for our friends."
Celina smiled at that, liking the idea, and nodded. "Sounds good."
. . .
After Ryou had parted ways with Celina at the café where she was to meet with her mother, he headed towards the park, prepared to have a rendezvous of his own.
Ryou had been surprised when he had gotten a call from his good friend and old Pro League rival Gareth Conway requesting that they meet up, but he still agreed all the same, since he figured it would be nice to catch up, and because it seemed like Gareth had something important to discuss with him.
When he finally arrived at his destination, he found that Gareth was already there, waiting for him, a backpack over his shoulders.
"Bakura, you're looking well," the older man greeted.
"As are you," Ryou said, holding out a hand, which Gareth took before shaking it. "So, how are things?"
Gareth sighed sadly. "Not good, I'm afraid..." he finally said. "It's my wife, you see. Unfortunately, it seems that she's not getting better and has less time than the doctor had initially predicted."
"Oh, Gareth, I'm so sorry," Ryou said quietly. He had always known Gareth's wife to be rather sickly, but he had no idea that her affliction was so severe.
"Thank you. Rachel's already made peace with whatever's to come, and I'd like to be by her side during the time she has left. But this means that I have to leave work far earlier than I had originally planned to help get everything in order, though I don't feel right leaving Duel Academy in the middle of the school year, especially in light of everything that's been happening..."
Ryou blinked in confusion. "What's been happening?"
"Well, earlier in the year, there was a lot of talk about getting rid of the Slifer Red dorm to make Duel Academy a school purely for the elite," Gareth explained.
"That's not right..." Ryou frowned. He knew all about Duel Academy because he'd been present at the ceremony when Kaiba had officially opened the school about ten years earlier and had, out of curiosity, got information about it. He knew that Slifers were considered the lowest and the worst duelists when, in reality, they were just duelist who did poorly on the written portion of the entrance exam but still harbored some skill, which was what allowed them to pass the dueling portion of the entrance exam. These were also duelists who simply sought to get better, and Ryou was surprised there were those at the school willing to take away the chance those kids were given.
"It really isn't," Gareth agreed. "Thankfully, because the Slifer dorm has a headmaster, they can't get rid of it, though that hasn't stopped the Vice Chancellor from trying... I'm just worried if I leave the dorm without a headmaster, he'll try to pull something again."
"I see how that could be a problem..." Ryou mused. "Have you found anyone to replace you yet?"
"I know exactly who I'd like to step in for me, but it all depends on your answer," the older man said with a faint smile.
"But why would it matter what I—" Ryou started to ask but stopped short when he finally put two and two together and realized what his friend was getting at. "Wait. You mean you want me to replace you? As both a teacher at Duel Academy and headmaster of the Slifer Red Dorm?"
"That's right," Gareth said with a nod. "I figured that you'd be perfect for the job, given your experience, and I've even put in a good word for you already. The position's yours, if you want it."
Ryou thought about it for a moment. He had majored in education while in college and even now had a teaching degree that he had been wanting to put to good use for some time. Mentoring Celina over the summer had been a gratifying experience, and Ryou admitted that he would like the opportunity to teach even more young duelists. And although he was still competing in the Pro Leagues, he figured he could take a bit of a break, seeing how he hadn't qualified for any of the major tournaments that were coming up, anyway.
"All right, I'll do it," he finally decided.
Gareth smiled. "Thank you. I'll let the Chancellor know of your decision, and then we'll take things from there."
Ryou nodded. "Sounds good."
"But first..." Gareth pulled the backpack he had off his shoulder and, unzipping it, reached into it and pulled out a duel disk. "Here, catch."
Ryou's hand shot out reflexively to catch the duel disk that Gareth tossed at him, blinking at the older man in confusion as Gareth pulled out a duel disk of his own and pulled it over his right forearm.
"You want to duel?" Ryou wondered.
Gareth gave a firm nod. "It's been a while since we last crossed decks, after all. I'm curious to see how strong you've become and just how you'll fit in with the other teachers at Duel Academy."
"Well, if that's the case, then I'll be sure to pull out all the stops," Ryou grinned as he pulled out one of the two decks attached to his belt and placed it into the duel disk's deck slot before strapping the device onto his left arm, clearly taking Conway up on his challenge.
The older man smirked back. "Then shall we begin?"
Ryou nodded.
"Duel!"
Gareth: 8000
Ryou: 8000
. . .
Meanwhile, in a nearby restaurant, Kira and Hikari were sitting down at a table, waiting for the food they had previously ordered to arrive.
"Domino City's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be," Kira noted. "It seems like a pretty cool place, don't you think?"
"Yeah, sure..." Hikari muttered, not seeming all that interested as she absentmindedly kept turning the silver bracelet on her arm around. She had told Kira about what that bracelet was supposed to do and, while Kira had been surprised by the powers that her friend had, she had accepted it. She also felt very sympathetic towards Hikari since she knew that she had been forced to live on the streets before she was picked up by a nice person who was willing to give her a roof over her head and food to eat. However, she also knew that Hikari had recently had a falling out with her twin Kasumi, before the latter had joined the Society and her personality had done a complete 180, but Kira hadn't pressured her friend into talking about it. Hikari had told her about what happened but refused to discuss it anymore after she did, so Kira let her be.
Their food arrived and Kira began eating, thinking about her time at Duel Academy, as well as the Society of Light. When she had started at Duel Academy, she had thought that she would just get the chance to learn how to become a better duelist, but she never expected a cult of sorts to be created on the island and people to start spouting all that Light nonsense.
"So what do you want to do next?" Hikari asked.
Kira shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Maybe we can try to find the others? Or check out some of the sites?"
"That's as good an idea as any," Hikari admitted, swallowing a bite of rice and gazing down at her lap, her brow furrowed. "Kira?"
"Hmm?" Kira glanced at her friend.
Hikari bit her lip and then glanced towards her. "Do you think I made the right choice in telling Kasumi the truth?" she asked. "About my powers, I mean?"
"I think you did," Kira said, putting down her chopsticks and taking a drink of water. "I mean, she deserved to know the reason why you ran away."
"But she blames me for what happened to our parents," Hikari said softly, playing with her food for a moment. She bit her lip again, but said nothing more.
"I think she just needs some time to come to terms with what happened," Kira suggested. "But I think you might wanna try and talk with her about the matter—well, after we get her away from the Society, that is. She'll probably be even less likely to speak to you now."
"Yeah, you're probably right about that," Hikari agreed, gazing out through the window at a park on the other side of the street. Suddenly spotting something familiar, she pointed and said, "Hey, isn't that Professor Conway over there?"
Kira followed her friend's gaze, and soon found that it was indeed the Slifer headmaster over in the park. "Yeah, it is, but who's that with him?"
Hikari squinted to get a better look at the white-haired man their teacher was speaking with, thinking that he seemed kind of familiar. "It kinda looks like Ryou Bakura..."
"You mean the Pro Duelist?" Kira gasped in delight. She let out an even louder gasp when she saw Conway suddenly pull out a pair of duel disks from a bag. "Are they about to duel?"
"Looks like it..."
"C'mon, then! Let's go check it out!" Kira explained. She hastily paid for their lunch before dashing out of the restaurant with Hikari in tow.
. . .
As Gareth was about to make the first move, he noticed two of his students, Kira Ryuki and Hikari Suzuki, approaching.
"Hello, Miss Ryuki, Miss Suzuki. Is something the matter?"
"No," Hikari answered, shaking her head. "We just noticed that you looked like you were about to duel..."
"And we were wondering if we could watch," Kira finished.
Gareth smiled. "Of course."
"Sweet!"
"It looks like we have an audience, then," Ryou noted with mirth. "Do be sure to put on a good show for them, Gareth."
"You don't have to tell me twice," the current Slifer headmaster replied as he drew his sixth card. "I'll start by summoning Gishki Chain in Attack Mode."
In a burst of watery blue light, a green-skinned sea serpent swam onto the field, thick gold bracelets and anklets around his wrists and ankles. In one hand, he held a silver chain on the other end of which was a spear with a blue diamond resting on the back of it (4/1800/1000).
"And when Gishki Chain is Normal Summoned, its effect activates," Gareth declared before going on to explain how said ability allowed him to look at the top three cards of his deck, reveal one Ritual Spell or Monster among then, add that card to his hand, and return the remaining cards to the top of his deck in any order.
He took a look at his top three cards and soon showed one off to Ryou. It was a Ritual Monster known as Evigishki Mind Augus. He added the card to his hand and then returned the other two cards to the top of his deck in the order he desired.
"And I will end my turn with one facedown. Your move."
Ryou mutely drew his sixth card and glanced at it before glancing at his hand. "I activate the Field Spell Mystic Plasma Zone," he said and inserted the card into the Field Spell compartment of his duel disk. Purple clouds crackling with blue lightning swirled into existence around them, strikes of lightning hitting the ground in various places all around.
"Eek!" Kira gasped, one of the lightning bolts coming too close for comfort for her.
"Relax. It's not real, you know," Hikari reminded.
That was something that Ryou had to keep reminding himself about often as well. Although it had been over ten years since he'd last witnessed or been a part of a Shadow Game, the scars caused by his time possessed by the spirit of the Millennium Ring would always remain. It had been difficult at first for him to get back into Duel Monsters because of that, but he had the support of Yugi, Marik, and his other friends to thank for helping him recover from the hell that the spirit of the Ring had put him through.
"Bakura? Are you okay?" Gareth called, breaking Ryou out of his thoughts.
"Oh. I'm sorry," he said with an apologetic smile. Even if he didn't have to worry about the spirit anymore, he still had a tendency of spacing out whenever he started thinking about his past. "I was reminiscing for a moment there."
Gareth still looked concerned but he said nothing.
"I'll continue my turn by summoning Archfiend Soldier in Attack Mode," Ryou said, placing the card on the duel disk.
The purple shadows swirled around, and a monster appeared. It was a demon with gray horns, purple skin and a dark brown cloak that swirled around its form. It had spiked armor on its knees and arms and sharps claws jutting out of its hands (4/1900-2400/1500-1100).
Even now, Ryou did still have a love for fiends and the Occult. That hadn't changed, and the two decks that he used reflected that, even if they were polar opposites in terms of the types of cards that were used.
"Archfiend Soldier, attack Gishki Chain," Ryou ordered.
The Archfiend Soldier leaped forward and slashed its claws through Gishki Chain, causing the sea serpent to yowl as it exploded into golden pixels.
Gareth: 7400
Ryou: 8000
"I set two cards and end my turn," Ryou concluded, two vertical facedowns appearing on the field in front of him.
"Looks like Bakura took first blood," Kira commented while Hikari nodded in agreement.
Gareth began his next turn, glancing at the card that he had just drawn before playing it. "I activate Trade-In and discard the Level eight Evigishki Soul Ogre in my hand to draw two cards," he said and did that before adding, "And next I activate the effect of Gishki Shadow. By discarding it, I'm able to add a 'Gishki' Ritual Spell to my hand, namely my Gishki Aquamirror."
He discarded the card and searched his deck until he found the aforementioned Ritual Spell. He then pressed a button on his duel disk and a Trap Card flipped up.
"I now activate Aquamirror Meditation and reveal the Gishki Aquamirror now in my hand to add two 'Gishki' monsters from my Graveyard to my hand. I'll go with Gishki Shadow and Evigishki Soul Ogre from my Graveyard to my hand," he said and held out the Ritual Spell to be seen before retrieving the cards he had mentioned from his Graveyard.
"I now activate the Ritual Spell Gishki Aquamirror and tribute Gishki Shadow to Ritual Summon Evigishki Soul Ogre in Attack Mode!"
A golden mirror surrounded by round orbs with a peaked top and bottom appeared on the field and a dark-blue sea serpent wielding a staff appeared momentarily before it was sucked into the swirling vortex within the golden looking glass. In a flash of bright blue light, a new creature stepped out of the mirror.
Evigishki Soul Ogre was a large bipedal sea dragon with red tipped fins lining its back, sharp claws , gold-and-white armor, and a long dark blue serpentine reptilian tail. It roared as it stomped onto the field (8/2800/2800).
"Hang on... How'd he summon a Level eight Ritual Monster with monster that was only Level four?" Kira wondered. Hikari also looked confused.
"It was all thanks to Gishki Shadow," Gareth explained to the girls. "Due to its other effect, when I Ritual Summon a Water monster, I'm able to use Shadow as the entire tribute."
"Ohhh..." both Slifers uttered in understanding.
"Next, I activate Soul Ogre's effect," Gareth went on. "By discarding one 'Gishki' monster from my hand, I can target one face-up card my opponent controls and shuffle it back into the deck."
After slipping the Gishki Abyss he was holding into his Graveyard slot, Soul Ogre lashed out, forcibly grabbing Archfiend Soldier and throwing him off the field. Ryou retrieved the card and, after placing it on his deck, shuffled it.
"I now activate my Salvage Spell Card to add two Water monsters from my Graveyard to my hand, so long as their attack is 1500 or below," the Gishki duelist declared before retrieving the only two monsters in his Graveyard that fit the bill: Gishki Shadow and Gishki Abyss. "And now that it's back, I'll activate Gishki Shadow's effect once more to discard it and add another Gishki Aquamirror to my hand."
"He's going to Ritual Summon again?" Kira gasped.
Gareth nodded. "But first, I summon Gishki Beast in Attack Mode."
Out of the explosion of water, a green skinned beast with glowing yellow eyes and long dark hair and a necklace that resembled Gishki Aquamirror dangling around its neck appeared on the field (4/1500/1300).
"When Gishki Beast is Normal Summoned, I can use it's effect to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Gishki' monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. I'll go with Gishki Shadow."
The mirror pendent around Gishki Beast's neck glowed, prompting a blue portal to open up, out of which Gishki Shadow soon emerged (4/1200/1000).
"I then activate Gishki Aquamirror again and use Gishki Shadow's effect to tribute it and Ritual Summon Evigishki Mind Augus in Attack Mode," Gareth added.
The mirror appeared again and Gishki Shadow was enveloped in a vortex and dragged into the mirror once more. A burst of light enveloped the area and Evigishki Mind Augus, a blue-haired woman fused to the back of a giant piranha with multicolored fins and six spider-like legs, crawled onto the field, long sharp teeth bared in a snarl (6/2500/2000).
"When Mind Augus is Ritual Summoned, its effect actives, allowing me to return up to five cards from either player's Graveyard back to deck," Gareth explained before choosing to return Gishki Shadow, Gishki Chain, Aquamirror Meditation, Salvage, and Gishki Aquamirror from own Graveyard and shuffled them back into his deck.
"And next I equip Ritual Weapon onto Mind Augus."
A large golden gauntlet appeared around Mind Augus's arm and a short glowing white dagger jutted out of it (6/2500-4000/2000-3500).
"Whoa! Now Professor Conway has enough attack power to end this duel already!" Kira exclaimed in awe.
"Do you really think it'll be that easy? I mean, Bakura is a Pro, after all," Hikari pointed out. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that quite a few passersby had stopped to get a look at the duel.
Gareth entered his Battle Phase. "Battle! Gishki Beast, direct attack," he ordered.
The green aqua beast lunged forward, swiping straight across Ryou's chest.
Gareth: 7400
Ryou: 6500
"You're up next, Soul Ogre."
The giant sea serpent charged forward and swiped at Ryou with its webbed claws, causing the Occult duelist to skid back from the sheer force of the blow.
Gareth: 7400
Ryou: 3700
"Last but not least, let him have it, Mind Augus," Gareth commanded.
As Mind Augus was about to lung in for the kill, Ryou sprung into action by activating one of his face-downs. "I activate my Trap, Dark Spirit of the Silent!" he declared. "This card negates your Mind Augus's attack and lets me choose another monster you control to attack instead. I'll go with Gishki Beast."
A ghostly skeletal figure shot out of the card and circled around Mind Augus, forcing it to stop its attack.
The spirit then moved to Gishki Beast and infused itself with it. The beast growled, its eyes glowing red, and it crouched before launching itself at Ryou again.
Gareth: 7400
Ryou: 2200
"Nice save!" Kira cheered.
"Which side were you cheering for again?" Hikari couldn't help but wonder.
"Hmmm... What's wrong with rooting for both of them?"
The blonde girl shrugged. "Nothing, I guess."
Gareth snapped his fingers "Darn. I should have known you wouldn't let it be that easy for me."
Ryou chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't have been very fun if I went down too quickly like that."
"Good point. Anyway, it's your move now."
"Right," the white-haired man nodded as he drew his next card. He instantly played it when he saw what it was. "I active the Spell Allure of Darkness, allowing me to draw two cards so long as I banish a Dark Attribute monster from my hand afterwards."
He drew two new cards from the top of his deck before pocketing the Belial – Marquis of Darkness in his hand as the cost for his Spell's effect.
"And I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Ritual Weapon," Ryou added and a mini-cyclone spun across the field and enveloped the gauntlet around Mind Augus's forearm, whisking it off of her and into the air, where it shattered, weakening the Evigishki as a result (6/4000-2500/3500-2000).
"Next I activate Pre-Preparation of Rites to add a Ritual Spell Card and the Ritual Monster it's used to summon from my deck to my hand."
Ryou wasted no time fanning out his deck to search for the two desired cards, in the end going with Ritual of Destruction and its companion Ritual Monster Garlandolf, King of Destruction. He showed both off to his opponent before joining them with the lone card in his hand.
"Cool. I didn't know Bakura used Ritual Monsters, too," Kira grinned. "I hope we get to see that thing in action soon."
"I'm sure we will," her fellow Slifer guessed.
"I then Normal Summon Armageddon Knight in Attack Mode," Ryou continued, placing the card on his duel disk.
In a burst of shadows, a black-haired warrior dressed in rusty, ruined medieval armor with a red scarf wrapped around his mouth stepped onto the field, a sword clenched in one hand (4/1400-1900/1200-800).
"When Armageddon Knight is summoned, I can send one Dark Attribute monster from my deck to the Graveyard, and I know just the one..."
Ryou pulled out the monster Djinn Releaser of Rituals from his deck before instantly placing it in his Graveyard.
He then plucked out one of the last two cards from his hand. "I now activate Ritual of Destruction. By tributing Armageddon Knight and Djinn Releaser of Rituals—whose effect lets me banish it from my Graveyard to use as one of the monsters required for a Ritual Summon—I can Ritual Summon Garlandolf, King of Destruction in Attack Mode."
Armageddon Knight was soon joined by a fat, purple-skinned djinn before iron chains erupted from the ground and tightly wrapped around the two monsters. Both then ignited in bright blue flames until they were nothing but ashes, which then created a cloud of pure blackness that enveloped the area. Out of the shadows emerged a fearsome demon.
It had dark blue skin, spiky black hair and a white horned mask covering its face that revealed only bright red eyes. Chains encircled its chest, coiling around the circular gold pendant on its chest. Its spiked hands raised as if in greeting, revealing sharp red claws, and it gave a fiendish grin to its opponent (7/2500-3000/1400-1000).
"That thing is nightmare fuel," Hikari shuddered while Kira nodded in agreement.
"Garlandolf's effect activates upon being Ritual Summoned, destroying all face-up monsters on the field with a Defense less than its Attack. It also gains 100 Attack for each monster destroyed by this effect," Ryou added and Garlandolf swiped its hand downward, creating a wave of dark energy that surged forward and enveloped Gishki Beast, Evigishki Soul Ogre, and Evigishki Mind Augus, and they all shattered in an explosion of darkness, empowering the demon (7/3000-3300/1000).
"But he's not the only one you'll have to worry about, because next I activate my face-down, Escape from the Dark Dimension and use it to Special Summon the monster I banished with Allure of Darkness: Belial – Marquis of Darkness."
A gateway opened up in the purple lightning-filled sky above and a white-haired fallen angel dressed in a dark blue toga with a white cloak around his shoulders descended to the ground, dark purple feathered wings outstretched behind him (8/2800-3300/2400-2000).
"Amazing... First he wiped out all of the his opponent's monsters in one blow, and now he has two of his own with over 3000 Attack Points," Kira gasped in awe."
"Looks like the professor's in trouble..." Hikari noted.
"Garlandolf, attack Gareth directly," Ryou ordered.
Garlandolf growled and, lunging forward, assaulted Gareth with a spiked fist, causing him to stumble backwards.
Gareth: 4100
Ryou: 2200
"Belial, attack Gareth as well!"
Belial spread his his wings and took to the air, flying towards Gareth and struck him with his claymore.
Gareth: 800
Ryou: 2200
"With that, I end my turn," Ryou finished. "Oh, and if you're thinking of Ritual Summoning again, you're going to have a pretty hard time, because since Djinn Releaser of Rituals was used in Garlandolf's Ritual Summon, its effect prevents you from Special Summoning while my King of Destruction is on the field."
"That was some comeback," Kira admitted. "He not only got Professor Conway's Life below 1000, but also shut down his ability to Ritual Summon."
"I wonder how he'll respond to that..." Hikari mused as their teacher drew his next card.
Gareth glanced at the card that he had just picked up before selecting another from his hand and placing it on his duel disk. "I summon Gishki Abyss in Defense Mode."
In a burst of water, a monster with a shark's head and a fiendish grin filled with long sharp teeth appeared on the field, its orange eyes fixed on Ryou (2/800/500).
"And when Abyss is summoned, I can add one 'Gishki' monster with 1000 or less Defense Points from my deck to my hand. I'll choose Gishki Shadow," Gareth added and retrieved the card from his deck. "But it won't stay there for long, because I activate Gishki Shadow's effect and discard it to add Gishki Aquamirror from my deck to my hand."
After retrieving said card, he inserted the other card in his hand into his duel disk. "Lastly, I place this facedown and end my turn."
"That has to be a Trap of some kind, right?" Kira conjectured.
Hikari shrugged. "Unless Conway's just trying to bluff Bakura into not attacking... Though Bakura really doesn't seem like the type that would let something like that slow him down."
"You're probably right about that," the other Slifer admitted before the two of them focused back on the duel as Ryou began his next turn.
The Occult duelist stared down at the lone card now in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed. I don't have anything to take care of whatever that face-down is, he thought, but if I can force him to use it, and then use this card, I'll be able to last another turn... Probably.
He then pointed at Gareth's sea monster. "Garlandolf, attack Gishki Abyss!"
Garlandolf growled and launched himself at Gareth's monster.
The elder gentleman pressed a button on his duel disk. "I activate my face-down, Mirror Force!"
"Figures..." Ryou murmured, watching as a shield of light arched in a sphere over Abyss. Garlandolf's fist crashed into it, but the shield threw him backwards, sending him flying into Belial and the two shattered into golden pixels.
"So it was a Trap after all—Called it!" Kira exclaimed.
"It's not like anyone was doubting you..." Hikari sweatdropped at how worked up her friend was getting. It was a pretty entertaining duel, though, she had to admit. The assortment of bystanders that had gathered seemed to think so too, she noticed.
"I place this facedown and end my turn," Ryou said, inserting the only card in his hand into his duel disk, not able to do much else.
"My draw," Gareth said and he drew a card. "At this moment, I activate the effect of Gishki Aquamirror in my Graveyard. By shuffling it back into my deck, I can target one 'Gishki' Ritual Monster in my Graveyard and add it to my hand."
Gareth shuffled the aforementioned Spell back into his deck before deciding to retrieve Evigishki Mind Augus from his Graveyard.
"Next, I activate the Gishki Aquamirror in my hand and tribute Abyss on my field and Gishki Ariel in my hand to Ritual Summon Evigishki Mind Augus once more."
The golden mirror materialized on the field and Abyss along with a blue-haired girl wielding a staff topped with an elaborate silver mirror and dressed in black-and-beige robes were absorbed into the mirror. There was an explosion of bright blue light and Mind Augus crawled back onto the field, the piranha's long sharp teeth bared in a snarl (6/2500/2000).
"I activate Mind Augus's effect to shuffle your Garlandolf and Belial back into your deck and shuffle my Gishki Shadow, Gishki Beast, and Gishki Ariel back into my deck," Gareth added and retrieved the three cards while Ryou retrieved the two cards the Gishki duelist had mentioned and shuffled them back into his deck.
"Now, Mind Augus, attack Bakura directly!"
Mind Augus darted forward at its master's behest, aiming to take a bite out by of Ryou and the rest of his Life Points, but the white-haired man wouldn't be letting that happen any time soon.
"I activate my Trap: Defense Draw," he said, revealing his lone face-down. "This card reduces battle damage from an attack to zero and allows me to draw one card!"
At that moment, a white force field appeared in front of Ryou, taking the full impact of Mind Augus's attack instead as the Occult duelist drew a card.
Seeming disappointed that it wasn't able to do any damage again, the giant sea serpent retreated back to its side of the field while its human half sulked.
"That was another close call," Hikari muttered.
"Yeah, but that's what makes things more interesting!" Kira laughed.
Ryou stared down at the Ritual Monster he had just drawn, believing that he had a pretty good chance of winning if he got the chance to summon it out.
"Get anything good?" Gareth inquired with a good-natured smirk.
"You'll find out once you end your turn," Ryou shot back, grinning.
"Is that so? Fine, then. Show me what you got, Bakura."
"I will. I draw!" Ryou declared as he did just that. He glanced at his new card and smiled. Perfect. "I activate Advanced Ritual Art and send two copies of Archfiend Soldier from my Deck to the Graveyard to perform a Ritual Summon."
He retrieved the cards from his deck and placed them in his Graveyard before holding up the lone card in his hand. "I Ritual Summon Dark Master – Zorc!"
In a burst of toxic green smoke that filled the field, a muscular fiend stepped into the open. It had spiky green hair and a spiky purple mask covering its entire face with two claws jutting out of its shoulders and a red cloak wrapped around its form (8/2700-3200/1500-1100).
"I activate Zorc's effect. Once per turn, I can roll a six-sided die to determine one of three outcomes," Ryou explained as six black orbs suddenly swirled into existence and floated next to him in a ring, each one numbers from 1-6. "If it lands on a one or two, all your monsters are destroyed. A three, four, or five means that only one of your monsters bites the dust. And should it land on a six, then all of my monsters are destroyed instead."
"So, basically, if Bakura gets anything but a six, he'll win," Kira realized.
"The odds are in his favor, but there's still always a chance for failure..." Hikari mused. "He could just as easily destroyed the professor's monster if he attacked it."
"That may be true, but..." Gareth started.
"Where's the fun in life if you don't take a few risks every now than then?" Ryou finished with a smirk as he removed a six-sided die from his pocket and tossed it up and down in his hand a few times. "Now, let's spin the wheel of fate and see what happens, shall we?"
At that, he flicked the die into the air, casting it for real this time, as a burst of green fire surrounded the first orb and started quickly making its way around the other balls.
After a few seconds of bounding and spinning, both the die and the fireball came to a stop, simultaneously landing on the number two.
"Two. That means that all monsters you control are destroyed," Ryou proclaimed as Zorc used his powers to create a green miasma that surged across the field and enveloped Mind Augus, causing it to roar in pain as it was completely engulfed by the smoke and dragged downward into the Graveyard.
"Now go, Zorc! Attack Gareth directly," Ryou ordered. "Dark Catastrophe!"
The Dark Master let loose blast of dark energy that soon slammed into Gareth, taking out the last of his Life Points.
Gareth: 0
Ryou: 2200 WINNER
Gareth shut down his duel disk and inclined his head to Ryou. "Good duel, Bakura, and it seems everyone else enjoyed it as well," he said, gesturing to the audience that had gathered around the two of them and Kira and Hikari.
"Getting to see a pro duelist and a former pro duelist duel? I definitely am glad I decided to go out today," one audience member said.
"Uh huh," another said.
"That was awesome," Kira said with a grin as she and Hikari walked over to join Gareth and Ryou while the audience, still chatting about the duel with each other, moved away. Ryou was thankful for that; one of the things he didn't really like about being a pro were the fans but, thankfully, they didn't crowd him.
"It was a good duel," Hikari said.
"Miss Ryuki and Miss Suzuki, I would like you two to meet my friend Ryou Bakura," Gareth said, turning to the white-haired young man as he shut off his duel disk and unstrapped it. "He is going to be the new Slifer Red Headmaster and a new teacher at Duel Academy soon."
"What?" Kira exclaimed in shock.
Hikari blinked, also surprised by the revelation that an actual pro duelist was going to be teaching at Duel Academy.
"It is very nice to meet you two," Ryou greeted them with a polite incline of his head before he held out the duel disk to Gareth. "I believe this is yours."
Gareth took it and stuffed both it and his back into his backpack.
"It's nice to meet you, too. Can I have your autograph?" Kira asked hopefully and then frowned. "Um, does anyone have anything to write on, or with, for that matter?"
Gareth chuckled but reached into his backpack and pulled out a notebook and a pen. He handed them to Ryou who took them, opened up to a clean sheet and signed it before tearing it out and giving it to Kira.
Kira beamed happily. "Thanks. So why are you going to be our new headmaster, Mr. Bakura?"
"I'm curious about that myself," Hikari admitted.
"Unfortunately, I have to leave before the school year ends to take care of a family emergency," Gareth explained, "so I asked Bakura if he would be willing to take my place and he agreed."
"But don't you have the Pro Leagues to worry about?"
Ryou smiled faintly. "I decided to take a break from it. I haven't qualified for any major tournaments anyway so I can afford to take a little break and, besides, I have always wanted to teach."
"This is gonna be so cool, though," Kira said with an excited grin. "Getting taught by an actual pro? That is awesome!"
Hikari rolled her eyes at her friend's over-enthusiasm, though couldn't help but agree.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: and that was chapter 24! Yay!
Bakura: took you long enough
Blaze: shut up, Bakura. Misha and I already apologized at the beginning of the chapter
Bakura: tch
Blaze: you sound like Kanda when you do that
Bakura: who's this Kanda?
Kanda and Allen: (walk into computer room)
Lelouch: (walks into computer room smirking)
Suzaku: (walks into computer room eyeing Lelouch warily)
Bakura: who's the chick? And why's Lelouch smirking?
Kanda: (eye twitches and hand goes to Mugen) what did you just call me?
Suzaku: Lelouch found Blaze's stash of poisoned razor arrows and used them all already
Blaze: oh damn it! I was hoping I'd hidden those in a good place. And Kanda, no, you cannot kill Bakura, or chop off all his hair
Allen: (shrugs) black hair gets a better price anyway
Kanda: (scowls and glares at Allen who glares back at him)
Suzaku: will you two please calm…?
Kanda and Allen: (turn and glare at Suzaku as one) Stay. Out. Of. This!
Suzaku: (swallows in fear) those two are as scary as Lelouch when he gets into demon mode, or someone threatens Nunnally
Blaze: at least Black Allen hasn't come into the picture yet
Lelouch: by the way, Allen, someone called Cross came up to me and told me to give you these (hands Allen a large stack of papers)
Allen: (stares at papers) debts… (a black cloud materializes over him as devil horns appear on his head and an evil little smile appears on his face) more debts…
Kanda: well, nice going. Now you get to deal with Black Allen (sheaths Mugen and strides off)
Lelouch: I am not dealing with Black Allen (picks up bazooka) let's go, Suzaku. We have an Emperor to hunt down
Suzaku: (pulls out his own bazooka) I call dibs on V.V. (He and Lelouch stride out of computer room)
Blaze: well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated (also quickly leaves the computer room not wanting to deal with Black Allen either)
Bakura: you suck, all of you! (Is ignored by everyone)