Call of the Haunted
He didn't know how long he'd stood staring at the lake that morning really. After waking up, the sun was only just peeking out from the horizon, and after the night before he'd decided to let the others sleep, wandering off to think. The lake was as smooth as glass at the moment... Calm, peaceful... You wouldn't expect a creepy guy with a gold eye that stole souls to own it would you? The blond sighed, leaning back on the grass and staring at the sky for a little longer. As morning had come, he hadn't heard anything or anyone- not even a rustling bush really. It was a little unnerving at first but all the same, it was calming to.
There was a reason he was there though, he told himself as he got up and stretched. Mind as well wake up the others he decided, walking back through the brush and cracking a few kinks out of his neck. Breaking through the foliage separating the last clearing from their own, he shook a few leaves from his hair before turning to his still snoring friends. "Oi!" Cupping his hands, Katsuya shook a few more leaves off of him and shouted from across the clearing. A few people stirred, and he continued as he came close. "It's morning! Wake up guys!" Muttered grumbling filled the air, and the blond grinned. "Last day of th' tournament, come on! Let's go win duels and get starchips!"
From the side, Honda yawned, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Hnnn... Sleepy..." Yea, and yet he was the one snoring louder than the helicopter the night before...
Katsuya's grin merely widened as the others sat up, and he laughed. "Come on, come on! Up we get, we gotta get t' Pegasus' castle!"
Beside him, Yugi laughed quietly, rubbing his head as he packed his things up. "Wow... Somebody's excited," he muttered, gaining a look from Katsuya in response. Course he was it was the last day... "Not that that's a bad thing!"
Before Katsuya could say anything on the matter, Bakura drew their attention to him with a slight cough. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the ended up following his gaze to the castle in the far distance. "I wonder if Kaiba made it to the castle last night," he muttered, a light frown on his face. From behind the teen, Katsuya fell a little silent at that. Had she made it..? It had probably been a few hours since she got there...
As he thought about this, Anzu walked over from the side with a large bag. "Ah," she smiled, adjusting the large sack as the others turned toward her. "You're awake!" They stood, Yugi moving over to greet the woman with a grin.
"Oh, hey Anzu!" While the two entered into a fairly lengthy conversation on something or other (he couldn't hear them), Katsuya found himself approached by Honda.
"Nyh..?" He blinked, idly noting that the 'ni' in 'nihon' on his headband was faded out. So now they had half of 'Japan' on a good luck headband, that was always great... "Honda, what-"
The teen held up a hand, shaking his head. He had a frown on his face, his mouth half open before he shook his head again. "Hang on," he muttered, scratching his head under the headband. "There was something I wanted to say... Gotta remember what it was." Ahahaha... Yea. Katsuya looked around, as Honda muttered to himself, before frowning.
Mai wasn't there... Weird, she'd left a giant bag of stuff... "Oi... Where did 'shiranui-san' vanish to this time..?" At the confused frown Honda gave him, he smirked. "You know... Kujaku! The one y' keep staring at!"
"Ah-" Honda blinked, a thick blush coming over his face before he frowned. "Good question," he said, coughing as he looked over the clearing. "I guess she just left before us... She did say 'until morning' really." The teen shrugged, going back to his head-scratching with a frown. "Man, there was something I was gonna say, what was it..."
From behind, Anzu tapped Katsuya's shoulder, the blond turning. Honda was still trying to figure out what he was going to ask... It'd probably take a while really. "Eh?"
The woman had a light frown in place, and had slung the bag over her shoulder. "I was going to ask you last night, but in the end getting sleep seemed more important..." Her eyes narrowed, expression of a frown becoming more of an unimpressed stare than a glare. "But what was it that possessed you to throw that box at Kaiba?" The tone she held seemed more incredulous than angered thankfully... Though all the same, it had Katsuya laughing nervously in response.
Apparently, this was just what Honda needed to remember what he was talking about as well. "Right! Wanted to ask you about that..." The blond turned back to him, blinking as what looked almost like an expression semi-awe came to replace his light scowl. "Wasn't what I was going to say of course," he said with a cough. "But still... You," the teen continued, "Have balls doing that- did he even remember that comment from Death-T," Honda added with a raised eyebrow, frowning again. "The estrogen one, with the PMS..?"
"Er... Not sure but..." Katsuya coughed, attempting to find a safe way off the topic. "...Thanks..."
Anzu rolled her eyes, lightly smacking Honda over the head with a growl. "This isn't exactly something to continue doing! You were probably only saved by the fact that Kaiba has 'better things to do' than toss you in a lake... As it is," she added with a slightly more worried stare, Honda in the meantime gaining a slightly more embarrassed frown at the reminder of last night. "You do work for the guy..."
Yes... Yes he did. Katsuya scratched his head, laughing nervously. "Eh... I'll handle it when I have too..." He coughed, turning as Bakura came up to them.
"Are you guys all packed," he asked with a small smile, his own bag loosely slung across his shoulder. He seemed a little more nervous than usual... Probably a combined result of both last night's duel and the ring thing. Hihhh...
There was a nod from most of the others in the group, Katsuya included; not like he'd brought much outside of his own jacket really... "Yea," he said with a nod, grinning. "Lets go!"
As to where they were going... They looked around, eventually starting off on a mindless walk through the woods. "I wonder how many duelists are left on the island," Bakura was absently asking. "There were twelve in the boat we saw yesterday..."
Honda nodded, frowning. "Yea... And there's probably loads more that were picked off by the Player Killers last night..." The teen went slightly green in the face with those words, having remembered Yugi's comments on the one that he'd encountered the previous night. Dead or alive... They were gone, but if the words from the 'Player Killer of Darkness' were any sign... "There's probably only a handful left," he continued, before looking at Jonouchi and Yugi both. "In any case, we still have a whole day left... The important thing is to be careful who you face off for your remaining chips- it's not that hard to go backwards really.."
Sheesh, he thought he didn't know that? Either way, it was a good point. It only took one duel to go from the 'starting amount' to four really, so if he lost one... From beside him, Yugi was nodding in agreement, having almost lost all of his own against the player killer the night before. "That's right... But at the same time," he added, expression of slight worry still in place, "We can't take too long- it's all over when enough duelists collect ten starchips before we do, and I heard only four people can reach the castle..."
Only four? Hnn... The teen scratched his head, frowning. "And th' remaining duelists are all people who made it through th' first day and th' player killers both..." Well shit, only four..?
Yugi nodded yet again, turning to face the path ahead. "Yea... They have to be even stronger than yesterday!"
Urgghh... "Y-Yea..." For some reason, his dream was coming back to him with that comment... Pegasus' words... 'Did you check your deck? Or are you too scared?' What the hell was so scary about his deck though... Maybe it was something else? God...
Honda chuckled from the side, apparently spotting the less than cheery mood his friend was in. "Oii, Yugi! Better stop talking, looks like this guy's turning into a chicken here!"
A chicken! What! "Tch! Who're you callin' a chicken you moron! I ain't th' one running away from vines!" He reeled on the teen, the two quickly entering a fairly awkward fist fight that had one hand pulling Honda's lips back and said teen's foot against Katsuya's chest.
"G-Gh! Yu urr shoo shkered!"
"What was that," Katsuya said with a grin, ignoring the slight bit of slobber that was covering his fingers. "Couldn't hear yah through all that 'hand'!"
Anzu rolled her eyes, before walking over to smack them both on the back of the heads. With a loud 'OW!', the woman pulled them apart, shaking her head with a sigh. "Really guys, this isn't the time for fighting... Can't you two just calm down for two seconds, I feel like I'm babysitting..."
He snorted, giving a shrug and turning to the others. "Hn! Whatever..." The blond coughed, and though he was still a little pale from the reminder of his dream, he forced a grin on his face. "Like I said, I ain't scared- no matter who stands in my way, I'll take 'em all down, got it?"
The others nodded, Yugi in particular grinning in response. "That's the spirit," he shouted, continuing forward. "Don't worry about a think Jonouchi!"
"I-I wasn't worrying!"
"You tell 'em Jonouchi..." As Honda ducked a swipe from the blond, he laughed. "Man... I can't wait till someone with a zombie deck challenges you! That'll make my entire day!"
At he mention of zombies, Katsuya quickly froze, giving an involuntary shudder. "Hihhh... Zombies..." Don't even joke about that...
Yugi laughed beside him, shaking his head. "I... I doubt you'll run into someone with only zombies... They wouldn't get a field bonus I don't think, so it's more likely that we'll encounter decks with field advantages..." He better...
Behind them, Bakura nodded as well. "That's right... But all the same, if someone does have a deck like that..." He paused, Katsuya only serving to become more nervous at the next few words. "Well, they would have been strong enough to fight through a disadvantage so far wouldn't they?"
"Engggh..." As Katsuya continued to rub his head, he attempted to shake it off. Please let Bakura be wrong, please please please... He sighed, before continuing on with the others on their walk. "Right... Anyways..." The blond looked around, frowning. "Wonder where the other duelists are..."
As he continued to frown, Yugi also mimicked the expression. "Hnn... That's a good question. It's already 10 but we haven't seen anyone..." And he hadn't seen anyone in the morning before they woke up... He'd have thought that at least one person would have passed them really.
Weird... Katsuya narrowed his eyes, slowing down just slightly as an eerie feeling passed over him. No one had passed them but... He felt almost like someone was following him. Watching them from the sides, like a stake out or something. He shook it off, turning to the others. "Ah... Hang on a sec guys, I gotta take a leak..." Maybe he'd figure out what was going on while he did that, who knew... Either way though, he should probably calm down.
Walking off into the trees as a small chorus of 'alright's and 'ok's faded behind him, he held back a frown. Nothing was wrong, he told himself as he found a secluded tree. Nothing was wrong. It was just him and the forest here, and even if there was someone else no one would be an asshole enough to take him out while he was answering nature's call. There was complete silence as he stood there, and even as he was zipping the fly back up he was still going over that silent mantra. "Hah..." Maybe it was nothing... Felt somewhat relaxing now that that was over with at least... "That's much be- MNBP!"
A hand was clamped across his mouth, his words cut short as one of his arms was restrained by the same hand that covered his face. The teen quickly slammed his free elbow back against the gut of his captor, one of his feet slamming down on the other's toes at the same moment. A muffled 'GNH!' was released as a result, the arm loosening its grip to allow Katsuya to turn around on his would be captor with a scowl. "Tch... Sneakin' up on a guy while he's taking a piss!" A left punch was delivered to the man's jaw, the attacker caught slightly off guard by the move and pain both as he held up a weak block. "Try fightin' fair y' asshole!" He froze as rustling came from behind, and just as quick as he turned he found himself stuck on the side of the neck. "GACK!.. Woooaaaah fuck..." The teen stumbled slightly, vision blotted out for a few seconds and leaving him light headed against the rush of pain. Ahhhh shit. Shit! He felt someone grab him in the same position from behind as before, a second arm grabbing his free one this time. The blond blinked rapidly, recovering from his slight blackout only to find that while his original attacker had his mouth and arms, two others had his legs. "MNNGG!" He attempted to struggle against the hold, only to find that the combined efforts of the three were just a little too well balanced for him to take on. "GNNN!"
"Alright," the red-head was shouting with a grin. Katsuya's neck throbbed painfully as he looked at his captors with a glare, trying as best he could to kick the bespectacled teen in the face. Sadly with one leg at one end and one at the other, his currently pinned arms and legs did him little good. "It actually worked! Just like the movies!"
Just like th- Oh right, the knife-hand strike they'd gotten him with... God damned rats, taking him from behind with something like that... "We got him," the shorter one was saying, pale skeletal appearance briefly giving Katsuya an unwanted chill. "We got him!"
The blond continued to attempt at an escape, little more than muffled shouts escaping his mouth. "MMNG!" He snarled, glaring at the captors with wide eyes. Let him go let him go let him the fuck out now! "MNNGGMP!" Trees passed by, and for a split second he thought he saw a skull on the ground. Katsuya went limp briefly, a shudder passing through him. Oh god... Was that a-
"We're almost there," the tallest of the group was saying, Katsuya's eyes moving back upward with a growl. The shorter of the three had taken advantage of his limpness, letting the blond's leg drag across the ground as he ran forward. "KEITH," he shouted, the red head from before moving to drop his other leg and grab his arm. They'd entered a cave of sorts... A dark winding series of tunnels with skeletons lining the walls themselves... The light in there was dim, he could barely see a thing...
As they moved deeper in the cave, a voice came from the side. "Good," a rough and almost slurred voice shouted. It sounded broken almost, as though the one speaking had lost all focus... Or maybe he was just recovering from a hangover. "Throw him in the duel box," the man commanded, and as he was roughly shoved in the chair Katsuya continued to struggle. Damn it... These guys had a pretty solid grip on him!
Across from him, the shortest of the group took a seat, grinning maliciously. "Hnhnhnhnhn... We've been saving a seat for you..." Yea he bet!
"Gnnnh... Who the fuck are you guys!" He wrenched his arms back, grabbing the side of the chair only to freeze. He'd planned on beating the crap out of these guys and running but... "H-Huh..." He stared through the glass of the duel box, the sight of an endless pile of skulls and bones greeting him. The only light in the cavern was melted candles on the skulls, the walls themselves made of stone and bones and coffins with the occasional rat scurrying through while from the ceiling dripped a black watery substance which pooled around the pile in a mock up of blood and... and... "A...AAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!"
He could hear voices... Katsuya's vision had gone completely black, his senses dulled. Where was he... There was something wet on his face and hands, and the air reeked of... Something. Something stale and cold... Something that made him feel nauseous... 'Hey you,' he heard in the distance, before a stinging pain across his face brought him back to reality. "DON'T WASTE OUR TIME!"
"G-! OW, WHAT THE-!" Katsuya cursed, shaking his head as he looked up. What the... He narrowed his eyes, frowning as he turned on the one who slapped him. Great... He'd woken up to an attack! Where was this... Who was this? He snarled, grabbing the man who slapped him rather roughly by the shirt and slamming him against the glass wall. "Hey! What the hell was that about?" This wasn't the field or the forest... Hell this wasn't anywhere he recognized, but as he curled his free hand into a fist and pulled it back he didn't care. At least until he spotted what was behind his target. This... This was.. He halted his plan to punch through the man's face and froze, looking down at the rows and rows of skulls below and behind the glass. This was sure as hell not somewhere he wanted to be right now. "G-Ghk... W-Where... Where is this," he managed to force out with a slight whimper, eyes growing wide as he released his grip on the man before him. He stumbled back, shaking his head as the blood drained from his face. "H-Hhh..."
From the other side of the table, dark chuckling echoed around the room. Katsuya scarcely realized that all three of the people who had taken him now stood at that side of the table, and the only thing that told him why he was there was the next few words from the kid across from him. "You're in the crypt," he said chillingly, his own pale visage making him look almost identical to the skeletons in the background. "A hidden duel monster's arena! Hehehehehe..."
A... A crypt! He swallowed nervously, and the boy across from him continued to explain. "This cave is haunted by the spirits of soldiers killed in the pacific war... Ghosts are all around you... You can't hide from them!" A chilling feeling came over him, and Katsuya took a shuddering breath. "Now," the boy shouted, "Let's start the game! DRAW YOUR CARDS!"
Oh god... Oh god... Damn it Honda, why did that moron have to be right... Scared... He numbly pulled out his deck of cards, placing them on the table with a swallow. He was so royally screwed right now... Slowly, he grabbed the chair to pull it back from the table and take a seat, refusing to look at even the board. With only a glimpse he'd seen holographic graves and coffins, and a few of the 'gravesites' didn't even have anything more than a hole! G-Gh... "Hnhnhnhnhn..." The boy across from him continued to chuckle, pulling out a handful of starchips from his glove and placing them on the table. "We'll both bet all our starchips," he stated, Katsuya wondering for a brief moment how he knew he had the same number as he did, "Put all four on the board!"
He could hear his heart beat... Ba-Thump... B-Thump... B-Thump... A dull clink as he pulled the start chips out with shaking fingers, placing them on the board. The two who had aided in his capture stood outside the box, but directly behind his opponent was a tall and presumably American man who was at the moment leering down at him with an eerie chuckle. A chuckle that seemed eerily familiar to tell the truth... 'Where is he I wonder,' came Pegasus' voice again, pounding through his ears alongside his heartbeat and the dull clinks of starchips as they hit the table. 'Perhaps your deck? Or are you too scared?' God damn it... This was going to kill him! ...Hhihhhh don't think about that! 'You're too weak to stand on your own two legs,' came Seto's voice, Katsuya gritting his teeth in response. And now she was yelling at him in his head too? What was this, some kind of medical condition he randomly acquired for being a jerk in early life? '...But even then, I expect you to keep your promise...'
His promise... Damn it! He steeled himself, forcing himself to draw his hand and look across the table. He had to ignore the bones... Ignore the zombies... Fuck all that! He had to fight... If he ran now, then how the hell was he supposed to continue through this tournament? How the hell would he keep that promise he'd made before? If he let this get to him... How would he be able to look Yugi, or Seto, or Mokuba in the eye? "Let's go," he managed to grit out, attempting to clear his head. The kid across from him, he'd seen him before but where... "DUEL!" Zombies... The kid probably had zombies, so where had he seen him...
From outside the box, the group was shouting their encouragement for his opponent, Katsuya catching the name 'Kotsuzuka' amid the shouts. Ko...Kotsuzuka? As in... Grave! He swallowed, gritting his teeth. Shit... He knew this guy! He'd seen him on the semi-finals of the National Tournament... 'Ghost Kotsuzuka' of Tokushima! Shit... He was against a semi-finalist with zombies of all things... He had to ignore them... Just play his cards and trust in the deck... "Alright... Here's my first card," he shouted, picking a monster from his hand. It wasn't too bad a draw... Not too many strong monsters, but most of them were pretty good. "Take this! Axe Raider!" The card was slammed on the table, the dark skinned warrior slowly fading into existence. The raider hefted his weapon upon one shoulder, leering at his opponent from across the field before falling into a more prepared attack stance.
Kotsuzuka's response was to merely smirk at the monster from behind his cards. "Axe raider huh," the boy muttered as he looked over at the monster. "Looks just like a plain old common warrior card..." Katsuya growled in response to the comment, and his opponent merely laughed. "Nothing for me to worry about... Alright! I play this," he shouted, grabbing at one of his cards. "Prepare for... Medusa's G-"
The man from behind Kotsuzuka interrupted the move, shaking his head. "Hold on a sec kid..." Katsuya frowned, as did Kotsuzuka, turning in response to the sound as the man continued. "Don't play that card... Play the one on the very left!" Tch... Backseat driving? What the hell! The blond grit his teeth as his opponent looked over the card, growling. Cheating little twitch... What was it that a semi-finalist of all people had to cheat for though? "Hehehe," the man was chuckling, and as their voices lowered to a whisper Katsuya continued to scowl.
"Hey, you," he shouted, eyes narrowed. Either way... If 'Ghost', who was 'fourth' in all of Japan was taking his advice, it couldn't be good for him! "Fight me by yourself y' coward! Stop asking yer pals from the sidelines to make your move!"
Kotsuzuka grit his teeth, turning back to the field with an oddly suspicious expression. Huh... So even he was doubting his 'friend's advice then? "I play Zanki," he shouted, the blond across from him frowning. Zanki... He recognized that card, that was... "Attack Mode!" A samurai-esque warrior appeared, slightly smaller in size compared to his own axe raider. 'Zanki' drew his katana and held it forward, silently taking a fighting stance with a scowl. That was just a normal warrior card, that wasn't a zombie...
Alright... Kotsuzuka had just set a monster weaker than his own on purpose. And.. It... Wasn't a zombie. Whatever. It was his turn again, and Katsuya frowned slightly as he drew his card. Shake it off, he told himself, forcing his frown to lighten up. Just shake it off; whatever the the point was, this monster was weaker than his own by 200 points! "My turn," he said with a nod. "BATTLE! Axe raider strikes," he shouted, the raider doing just that as he charged forward. There was a thunk as Zanki's head toppled to the ground, Katsuya's frown still in place. "SHIPPUGIRI! He kills the samurai!"
Across from him, Kotsuzuka was wincing as the body of his monster collapsed with a twitch before sinking into the ground and out of sight. "Gh..." Even with that though, the guy behind him had a smirk in place. What was he up to... One move in and he already had a feeling that he was essentially facing the American rather than the kid... But why didn't he just challenge him himself then? Damn it... There was something up here, but he'd have to ignore it and hope it wasn't anything too serious. Besides, he thought as a grin came into place. He was already in the lead wasn't he? Two hundred points! "Haha! Yes!" So long as he held that position, he'd be out of here as quick as possible, and he wouldn't have to worry about any more of this creepy undead crap. "Pick a grave, any grave," he shouted, leaning on one of his arms. "I win!" Across from him, Kotsuzuka was growling, a scowl set deep on his face. Well, at least there wasn't any immediate danger in killing the monsters... Definitely nothing that was coming to his opponent's mind with that scowl. "Hehehe... What's the matter, 'Kowaii-jii'?" The grin widened as his opponent's scowl deepened still more. "Your side's empty- play your next card!"
The boy nodded stiffly, still gritting his teeth as he drew from the deck. As he placed the card in his hand and moved to make a play however, he was again interrupted by the American behind him. "No," the man hissed, eerie smirk still in place. Damn it not again... "The second card from the left..." Mutterings died out in sound once more, and regardless of Kotsuzuka's visible confusion, the boy was nodding.
"Got it," he muttered as he grabbed the card as instructed. "I play the crawling dragon in defense mode..." Defense mode... Well, that made sense he supposed.
He drew a card for his turn, before sending his monster forward. Another 'normal' monster... A dragon, also an oddity for the 'Ghost's deck. "Alright then... Axe Raider," Katsuya shouted, the monster coming to attention with those words. "Chop it up!" The warrior rushed forward, taking a leap in the air before slamming the axe down across the dragon's skull. Though far larger than his opponent, the dragon let out a mourning roar before hissing out of existence. At Kotsuzuka's fallen expression he had to grin, regardless of the fact that there was no change in lifepoints. "Ahaha... Yea! I'm good!"
Across from him Kotsuzuka was growling, the man behind him whispering something in his ear yet again. The boy drew from his deck once more, shaking as he slammed a card on the table. "Gh... My next card is this! Crass Clown!" Wait... Another one? The clown appeared atop a spinning ball, swinging his scythe dangerously.
Katsuya snorted at the monster, drawing a card again and grinning. "Hah," he shouted, looking at the very much 'living' monster as the grin widened. "Then I play the Flame Swordsman!" The red-robed warrior appeared to the field in a flurry of flames, and again, the blond led an attack. "Go back to the circus carny; it's on!" As his opponent winced, Flame Swordsman held his sword forward, the blade glowing brightly as it charged an attack. "TOKI ENZAN KEN!" A whirl of flames escaped the swordsman's blade, and as the warrior struck the clown's chest there was an ear-splitting wail. Fire erupted on the spot, and within seconds the clown was merely ashes with a blackened scythe... Kotsuzuka's life points in the meantime, had dropped by a full 450 points. "And the clown is gone!"
Alright... He watched as Kotsuzuka continued to growl, the boy's eyes beginning to fill with fear in the same instant. Alright! He could do this... He could win! He had almost double Kotsuzuka's lifepoints... He could do this! Katsuya steadied his breathing as he caught sight of the skulls around them again, suppressing a shudder. Before this fight, he'd been relying on Yugi to some extent... Even against Ryuzaki he'd only won with the encouragement of Yugi and the others... But this time...
He swallowed, gritting his teeth. He'd trust in his own instincts, and win on his own... and in the process, he'd get over this weakness of the undead he had! ...Somewhat. He probably would never be able to actually look at these things without getting a creepy feeling really. "Oii, you three," he called, the two outside the box blinking as he looked their way. Whether or not they could hear him he didn't know... Not like he'd been awake enough to see speakers. "How about after I beat your friend you all fight as well?" He paused, before adding with a somewhat weaker tone, "...In a different arena." Different location was definitely a must, definitely. While those outside merely frowned, proving his theory on being unheard, the American merely grinned.
Kotsuzuka had drawn his next card... Suddenly, Katsuya's blood ran cold, as the man was looking at it with a loud laugh. "Yea," he said, his grin growing even wider. "Why don't we," he 'asked', the grin widening to a frightening 'slasher smile'. "Heheheheheh..."
Abruptly, the boy in front of him gasped, his sour expression instantly replaced with a grin. Shit... Not a good expression for his opponent! "Ahhh! Now I get it," he shouted, the blond frowning in response. Get what... What the hell happened? "Keith was waiting for me to draw this card!" Keith? So that was the man's name? Definitely American... And... What card?
'Keith' merely continued to laugh, grinning. "That's right," he said as he leaned back, Katsuya swallowing nervously in response. Suddenly he wasn't feeling so sure of himself... Hell, suddenly, every bone in his body was saying to brave the skeletons and just bolt. "Now, play your trump card!" Ok, now he really wasn't feeling sure of himself! Trump card? That was never a good sign!
"Get ready," Kotsuzuka shouted with a haunting cackle, "It's all over with this card!" The card was tossed on the table, an eerie violet mist seeping out from it. The fog swirled out from the card, and Katsuya paled, as it filled Kotsuzuka's side of the table. "The rare magic card, Call of the Haunted!" Call of the... There was a loud crunching noise, and Katsuya's eyes widened as the dirt across the field began to shift, the fog seeping into the soil on the table.
Call of the Haunted... Wasn't that a zombie movie? One that involved... Dead... Things..? He drew back as another crunching, squelching noise came through the air, accompanied by a moan. The fog began to clear as the sounds continued, and Katsuya's breath was caught in his throat before he could scream. Oh god... Oh god! A clawed foreleg came tearing through the earth, and to the side a rusted scythe. Ragged flesh covered with moth-eaten clothing followed as wings that were no more than a few strands of muscles on bone followed suit. At the far left a helmet was tossed through a hole, before a broken and rotted armored corpse following. With nothing but a cracked spine between its armor, the warrior knelt to pick up his fallen head and replace it atop the creaking bone.
Across from him, Kotsuzuka merely chuckled at his opponent's frozen horror, those behind him joining in. "Hehehehe... Call of the Haunted brings all my monsters back as un-killable zombies," he shouted with a laugh, grinning. Un... Un-killable..?"And now that they're zombie cards, they gain the field power bonus from the graveyard!" Bonus! He balked, recalling how close in power most of the monsters were to his own as it was. That put...
That put all of the monsters save the god-damned clown higher in attack power! God damn it, he mentally whined as Kotsuzuka send his dragon zombie forward with a cackle. Why the hell did it have to be zombies! Of all the times!
His Axe Raider of course put up a fight against the dragon. How could he not, it was a god-damned zombie! But as the axe slammed into it's face, the wound healed up right before its eyes... That... That wasn't supposed to happen, it was a rotting corpse it... It... Corpses didn't heal! "Hahahahahha! You can't hurt the undead," Kotsuzuka was shouting with a grin, the blond across from him swallowing in fear. "No matter what you do, they'll come back!" The zombie dragon gave a low growl, appearing to grin at the topic of its new found immortality as it raised its head. "Prepare to die! DEADLY ZOMBIE BREATH!" Katsuya tensed as a noxious gas escaped the dragon's maw, surrounding the Axe Raider completely. For a moment, there was no result, the Axe Raider simply slashing at the dragon in an attempt to force it back to his side of the field. Abruptly however, the monster chocked, gripping its throat as it collapsed to the ground with a dying gasp. The gas peeled his skin of his body, his flesh rotting from its bones as the gas erroded him to nothingness. Gh... N...Not good... "The axe raider is reduced to emulsified flesh in seconds," Kotsuzuka was shouting with a cackle, only serving to make his opponent grow even paler. The body was absorbed into the ground as the stench of rotted flesh hung in the air, and 'Ghost' continued to laugh manically. "Lets see what you do against my army of darkness!"
Not good! Not... Good! Katsuya shuddered, teeth grinding as he stared at the rotting monsters before him. How the hell did he kill what was already dead! These things were already creepy enough as it was... And with the graveyard was powering them all up...
"Come on, come on," Kotsuzuka was shouting from across the table. "It's your turn! Unless," he said with a laugh, grinning. "You're scared again?"
He growled, eyes narrowing. No way... He wouldn't let this stop him! "What? Scared?" The blond swallowed, forcing back the truth in the statement and steeling himself for the duel. "I'm a duelist," he stated with uneasy breath, shaking slightly as he gripped his few cards. "And a real duelist doesn't run from something like zombies!" Regardless of how fucking creepy they were.
Rotting corpses and ghosts and... And... Hihhh! Kotsuzuka merely laughed louder, as did those outside the glass duel box. "Hahahahha! Whatever you say... Just don't start foaming at the mouth again!"
F-Foaming? He didn't foam at the mouth! ...Then again there was something wet on his face earlier... Katsuya scowled, drawing his card. "Tch... I'll make you guys foam at the mouth you..." He looked the card over, still growling. Nothing much, but since the clown was still relatively weak... "Here! Take this y' un-dead bastards... My card!" He placed it on the field, before pointing the monster forward as it appeared in a flash. Armored scales shimmered into existence, and a green, draconic man took his stance on the field with a growl. "Rotten creeps... Take this! Garoozis," he shouted, the monster nodding. "Get the clown!" As Kotsuzuka chuckled across from him, the lizard man nodded to the command, charging the decaying clown with his axe. A brief sparking pentacle could be seen in the slashes, and ignoring the chuckling from the other side he watched as fragments of bone and fabric toppled to the ground. "Instant kill! Five Point Slash!" The monster fell to bits, Katsuya sighing in relief. Alright... Even if it was only fifty lifepoints down it was still something... Not to mention one less mons-
"Hehehehhehe... HAHAHAH!" The blond mentally groaned as chuckling filled the air, and he swallowed as it quickly turned into a full blown cackle. "Didn't I tell you," Kotsuzuka was saying. "This card is active as long as it's on the board..." But... But it was only supposed to bring back the first three wasn't it? It couldn't- "Rise from your grave, Zombie Clown!" It could. At those words, the pieces on the ground gave a jerking twitch. Within seconds they shot in the air, binding together with sick squelching noises as flesh mended and bones re-attached. Fabric hung loosely by a few threads and the staff for the clowns scythe mended itself immediately. Katsuya's mouth hung open with horror as the monster appeared, and across from him the laughter continued. "And the best part is, every time they're resurrected, it's attack power goes up by 10%..."
What..! But that meant... He attempted to count the numbers in his head, only for the lifepoint counter on the side to give him his answer. The clown was sent forward to attack Garoozis in return for its premature death, and while it wasn't much... There was a slash, a 'line' of light as the lizard-man was cut cleanly in two. Garoozis collapsed to the ground in two pieces, each half being pulled into the ground below...
He swallowed, staring at the field with wide eyes. Even if he beat these things they just came back stronger... The bonus would add on to the attack they had when they died, giving more points each time... And more and more... How the hell... How the hell was he supposed to do this..! "Now do you see," Kotsuzuka was muttering from across the table, his target staring at the starchips on the counter with wide eyes. "You can't possibly win... Hehehehehhe!"
Shit... Shit... If he lost this duel, he lost his starchips... And if he lost these starchips, it was game over for him! And if he lost, then that meant... 'Katsuya-nii...' He grit his teeth, eyes narrowed as the dream came to mind yet again. He'd lose everything... And even if Mokuba was sprung out by Kaiba, he was willing to bet that Pegasus had a trump card up his sleeve... 'Katsuya-nii... It hurts...'
He couldn't give up. Katsuya shook, eyes squeezed shut as he forced the dream out of his mind. He couldn't lose! And he wouldn't! The blond mentally nodded to himself as he opened his eyes, drawing his next card. He'd stake his life on it... He'd stake everything on it! If he used the right card... The blond's eyes widened, and he grinned. Time Wizard! The grin widened as he looked forward, mentally reassuring himself yet again. He couldn't fight the zombies with Flame Swordsman... But he might be able to do something with the Time Wizard's magic! It got rid of the Harpies and Ryuzaki's dinosaurs after all... So who knew what would happen now! "Here I go," he shouted, playing the card on the field. A small ray of light escaped it, and the round, wide-eyed clock appeared. "Time Wizard!"
While Kotsuzuka stared at the card with a raised eyebrow (if he had eyebrows at least), Keith seemed to freeze completely. Good... At least someone knew what this card could do! "Time Roulette," Katsuya shouted, and the wizard thrusted his wand in the air to start the spinner. The table grew tense, Kotsuzuka realizing from the growl behind him that Time Wizard meant danger... And a lot of it. The arrow on the wheel spun furiously, almost invisible thanks to the speed. Even so, it wasn't long before it began to slow... Slower... Slower... The tick-tock sounds of a clock passed by as it spun, and as the wheel stopped Katsuya had to pale. That wasn't the crown... "THE SKULL!" Shit... Shit! He didn't know what that meant but... "Shit... Did I just..." It couldn't be good!
Across from the table, Keith was howling with laughter, apparently knowing exactly what the result of this play would be. While his 'partner' seemed a little more confused, Katsuya found himself watching in horror as a vortex of sorts appeared above the field. "Hahahah! Had me worried for a moment there," Keith began, 'slasher smile' still in place. "But your 'time magic failed', it self-destructs!" The blond turned to Keith, eyes wide as they shifted back to the 'portal'. "Your field is being cleared by your own monster's effect!"
Time Wizard waved frantically as the vortex intensified, the small clock pulled up into the air with a childish scream. The winds picked up without the wizard to control them, and seconds later Flame Swordsman followed him into the hole. "Ack... No," he shouted, growing pale. "Don't... Auuuugh..." Don't go! Come back damn it! Without them... He turned to the lifepoint counter on the side, wincing. Not only was his field cleared but... Shit... Half of their attack was taken from his points too, leaving him with only 630!
On the other side of the table, Keith's laughter was chorused by both those outside and by Kotsuzuka. "AHAHAHHA! HAHAHAHHA!" The cackling blended into one voice almost, Katsuya gripping his head with a groan. "He killed himself," Kotsuzuka was shouting with a grin. Yea no shit... Damn it... "And all my zombies are unharmed! Hahahha!" The boy shook it off, sighing with the grin still in place. "Ahhh... Alright," he shouted, grin twisting into a sneer. "Time for you to play another monster as sacrifice to my zombies!"
Gh... He looked over his hand, scowling. Great... So much for keeping the lead... Now the tables had turned completely and his trump card was gone! Red-Eyes could probably stand against the monsters a few more times but... Damn it... "I play Demon Hunter Kojikocy in defense mode," he stated with grit teeth, placing the card on the field. His frown deepened as the bearded man appeared and crouched down, his sword slammed into the ground for a makeshift shield. "End turn..."
There was a nod across from him, Kotsuzuka picking up his next card before pointing forward. "Alright," he shouted with a grin, the monsters all eagerly awaiting their master's command. "Kill him, Dragon zom-"
"Wait," Keith shouted, interrupting the boy. Again..? Katsuya narrowed his eyes as they both quieted down into another bout of hushed conversation, free hand clenching tightly in response. Fucking rats... Dirty, rotten, cheating rats...
He growled, finally snapping. This duel was heading south and it wasn't even being played fairly! "Hey you, KIBITZER," he shouted, Keith turning to him with a smirk. God this guy was grating his nerves... Talk about wearing a flag on your head, this guy's bandanna was more obvious than the damn skulls around them! ...Don't think about those. "'Mister I know everything about Duel Monsters'... Who the hell are you anyways?"
The man continued smirking, arms crossed. "Who me," he asked dismissively, giving a mock shrug. "Name's 'Keith'... Bandit Keith!" Wait Bandit- "I don't expect some small time Japanese punk to know about me, but in the US, I'm a top ranked prize hunter," he continued with a laugh.
Bandit Keith... Contrary to the American's thoughts, he did indeed know that name. And it made him realize just why his opponent was bothering to cheat and take tips from the guy. Katsuya swallowed, eyes widening completely as he remembered the words from Seto the night before. The one who issued a challenge to Pegasus... The one who... "You... You're the 'Card Professor' that fought Pegasus," he muttered, shaking his head slightly. Shit... "Seto-ch... Kaiba told me about you!" The number one player in the USA... SHIT!
The one who only Pegasus had been able to beat! If he was facing off against this guy... He never had a shot at winning from the start! Keith laughed at the fallen expression on Katsuya's face, grinning. "Just give up man," he said with a smirk, his target's face falling even more. "It's all tough luck you had to play against us really... I'm teaching these guys the perfect strategies for their duels... You don't even have a prayer!" Would anyone even listen if he was a praying kind of guy..?
"Yea," came Kotsuzuka's shout, the boy grinning madly. "That's right... After you lose, you can go tell Yugi that the four of us are going to Pegasus' castle while you take a row-boat back to Japan! AHAHAHHA!" Ghn... These rats...
He held his jaw tightly shut as Keith leered at him, a frightening glint coming from behind the shades he wore. "Lemme tell you something," he stated, leaning against the glass wall of the duel box and adjusting his sunglasses. "After I beat someone, they never play duel monsters... Or any card game again! You want to know why," he asked with a dark grin, the expression alone putting enough fear in the air to completely take back the knowledge of dueling in a crypt. "Because I beat them so bad," he began with a low voice, "That the mere sight of a card brings back enough memories to cripple their entire body! Hehehehhehe..."
Below the man, Kotsuzuka was nodding, his own grin matching Keith's in eeriness. "And the same goes for me," he said, laughing as he took the card he'd drawn. Shit... Shit... "You can say 'farewell' to cards for the rest of your life!"
"Now," Keith shouted, as his 'partner' nodded. "Play the Ghost King!"
"I'm on it!"
The card was slammed on the table, and in a burst of dark fog an enormous eye appeared from nowhere. Instantly the dream before came to mind and Katsuya tensed, heart racing even as the rest of the body became clear. Vines whipped at the ground as a grinning orange pumpkin came into view, the beast beginning to glow an ethereal and nauseating green. What in the world was this thing... He said a zombie but how the hell did this thing even qualify!
Looking at the expression on his face, Kotsuzuka's laughter increased. "Take a look! This is Pumpking, the King of Ghosts! Lord of the Undead, his body is nothing but a giant sack of ectoplasm, the very fuel for the spirits of evil!" The cackling increased, joined in by the monsters on the board as the enormous cyclopsian pumpkin rumbled with a wide grin. "Every turn," Kotsuzuka added, the pumpkin's eye rolling backwards in some sort of mock glee, "He feeds them this energy, raising their attack points by another ten percent!"
Another bonus? But they already overpowered most of his monsters..! The blond broke into a cold sweat, the sounds of the room seeming to ampliphy in his fear. His hair stuck to the sides of his face, and he swallowed for what felt like the hundredth time in that hour alone. Every turn they'd be getting an even bigger bonus...
"Now Pumpking," the boy across from him cried, grinning madly. The pumpkin's eye shot back into focus, the ghost appearing to 'nod'. "Give them your power!" The vines cracked, jamming into the backs of all three of the zombies on the field. Each one pulsed, a large 'lump' appearing from the top of each vine and pumping its way down through to the monsters. The zombies moaned, a foreign and sickening liquid dripping from their bodies as they grew in size. Katsuya absently wished he'd paid attention in math as they leered across the field, the blond shaking yet again. 10 percent bonus... So what did that put these guys at again? "Attack, Dragon Zombie," Kotsuzuka cried, the largest of the three lumbering forward with a cheery moan. "DEADLY ZOMBIE BREATH!" The noxious gas filled the air, surrounding the sole 'living' monster on the field and reducing it to a pile of unidentifyable mush. Mush that was, yet again, absorbed into the ground by some unseen force.
Katsuya gulped, shaking his head. "N... No way!" He drew a card, frowning before he placed it on the field. Shit... Shit... He had nothing... Nothing in his hand that would get him out of this! "I play another card in defense mode," he shouted, turn ending with laughter from across him.
His opponent stared at the 'Pumpking' with glee, drawing his card but paying no real attention to the draw for the moment. "Hehehehhee... It's my turn again," he shouted, grin widening beyond what Katsuya had thought were human limits. "And that means that the zombie's attack power goes up even more!" The beasts in front of him appeared to dissolve slightly with those words, increasing in size yet again. More fluid was pumping into them from the pumpkin behind them, and what fell on the ground created a hissing crater. By this point the three corpses filled just about the entire half of the table, side to side... The stench of death filled the air, and Katsuya wondered just why Kaiba had bothered inventing anything that replicated scent just as well as it did sight. With another stream of poisoned air from the dragon, another shout from 'Ghost', the armored lizard Katsuya had played vanished into a pile of scales... There hadn't even been a scream, and its fallen form was pulled down beneath the ground.
"Gn..." He wrinkled his nose as the scent met his nostrils, coughing to the side and holding back his supper from the night before as words of praise for Keith filled the room on the other side. Damn it... He needed something, anything... He drew a card, putting it in his hand and taking one of his monsters. Anything! "I play glassman in defense mode," he shouted, wincing as he caught the tail end of Keith and Kotsuzuka's conversation.
'It's not perfect yet,' the American had said with a low chuckle. 'The combo won't be complete until you draw stop defense... Then it'll all be over!' A wave of nausea hit him again, Kotsuzuka's shout drawing his attention back to the table as he swallowed it down. This smell... He looked down, biting his lip. "Glassman dies," the boy was shouting with a mad cackle, and Katsuya found himself covering his nose from the scent and chocking on his own breath. Hopeless... As soon as they got that card it was hopeless! 'Glassman's melted corpse was being dragged beneath the earth again, and in the back of his mind he heard nothing but the whispers of his dream the night before. No... 'It hurts...' Mokuba... Shit... He winced, closing his eyes as the cold sweat he had continued to drench his face, a shiver wracking his body. There was no way out of this... None at all... Damn it...
The blond slumped in his seat, biting his lip until he felt something wet run down the side of his mouth. 'Yugi...' He rubbed his head, tensing slightly at the coldness of his own skin and the small bit of blood on his chin. S-Sheesh... At this rate he'd be dead, like everything else in here! ...Don't think of that. Katsuya shook his head, gritting his teeth as he thought back to his other duels. Asking for help all the time... He oughta be ashamed really but all the same... If anyone was listening somehow, no matter how impossible... Even just a 'you can do it'... Even just that! 'Sorry Yug'... I can't...'
'Don't give up, Jonouchi!' Katsuya's eyes shot open, the blond jumping. That voice... No way... There was no way he'd actually heard him, hell... They didn't know what the Puzzle did but how the hell... 'There's always a way to win,' came the sound of the 'Other Yugi', the blond practically able to see his friend's face at his side right then. The same stern expression, accompanied by an encouraging smile... Somehow, he seemed different than he had when they first 'met', back at Death-T... 'No matter how bad it looks!'
The blond stared at the table with wide blank eyes with those mental words. That... That was different from when he'd thought he'd heard Seto-chan... Really different... It wasn't as though he was 'talking' to a ghost, or as though his own weird conscience was trying to snap him into focus. That was... Real. Drawing a card, he frowned. Still nothing... But he had to keep going, somehow... "Another defense card," he stated, the teen attempting to steel himself. First thing first... He had to get rid of that pumpkin the first chance he got! "Tiger Axe..."
"Hehehhehehe..." Kotsuzuka chuckled, grinning eerily in the light of the duel box. Sheesh... As if he didn't already match the decor... This kid needed to eat more often... And get some sun... He looked like a skull! ...Don't think of that. "Looks bad for you doesn't it? Every turn you defend, my zombies gain more and more attack points... And the longer you go on," the boy continued, his opponent glaring in response, "The sooner you'll run out of cards! Face it... You lose!"
Tch! He narrowed his eyes, staring across the field with a scowl. He was right... At this rate he was going to deck out- he didn't remember all the cards in his deck, but he knew for a fact that the ones in his hand would do nothing right now! The monsters kept getting stronger and stronger... He had no choice but to defend! He could practically see his opponent thinking the same thing...
Across from him, Kotsuzuka drew his card, grinning. "My turn," he shouted, looking over his draw before cackling madly. Oh shit... "GEHEHEHE! FINALLY!" Finally? Katsuya tensed, his opponent continuing to grin wickedly. Oh SHIT... "I drew stop defense!" He placed the card on the board, face down before turning to face his opponent. "Heheheh... Now that this is here, when you call 'Defense'," 'Ghost' stated with a cackle, "I can flip it face up and activate it..!" The boy's grin grew in response to Katsuya's increasing horror, and he pointed his monsters forward. "Starting next turn, your monsters won't be able to hide with their defenses anymore! And now for my attack!" The monsters below roared in pleasure, increasing in size once more as the acid green fluids seeped into the ground below with a hiss. "First, Pumpking gives the zombies more ectoplasm, making my army even stronger... And now," he continued with a laugh, his zombies resembling little more than clothed or even bare skeletons by this point, "GO! Dragon Zombie! There's nothing that can stop you now..! Do what zombies do best," he continued, the blond across from him clenching his jaw. "And break through their pathetic defenses! DEADLY ZOMBIE BREATH!"
Oh god... He grunted, pulling his jacket closed around his face as the gas seeped over the field. Oh god it reeked... The Tiger Axe growled in pain as the acid breath burned at its skin, holding the axe up as a feeble shield. The gas corroded even the metal of its armor, eating through the tiger's flesh before melting it into nothing but armor and bones. "Hahaha!" Keith's grating laugh came from the other end of the room, and as Katsuya wiped another bead of sweat from his face the American's grin widened. Tiger Axe was joining its comrades in the graveyard, under the ground... "It's over 'Jonouchi', or however you pronounce it," Keith was saying, the blond across from him swallowing under his gaze. "This trap card is just waiting for you to say 'defense', and once that happens it's alllll over..."
Tch... How did he know that... "What he said," Kotsuzuka was shouting, the blond merely scowling as he tried to figure out how Keith knew his name. How the hell... "Now hurry up and draw... It'll end your suffering!" Shit... Not good...
What could he do... What could he do..? Katsuya closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he attempted to calm himself. Think.. Think... He had to clear his head, figure out someway out of this..! 'Don't give up Jonouchi,' Yugi's voice reminded him. Damn it, was this his conscience or for real? Either one was beyond belief! The blond blinked, eyes opening as he stared at the table. Don't give up... Don't- 'If you rid yourself of doubt, a light will shine into the cave of your heart!'
He blinked again, coughing with a frown. ...W-Wait... What? What was that..? He frowned, shaking his head. Alright... That one couldn't have been him... Definitely just his conscience or some other part of his brain. (A damn weird one...) 'Remember the promise we made,' Yugi was continuing, Katsuya blinking as he took in those words. The promise... That's right, on the roof of the school, when he'd asked Yugi for help... 'We'll save them both!' Both Yugi's grandpa... And Mokuba!
Right... That was right! He had to focus on this duel... There had to be something in this deck, something that would turn this around... "Tch..." All the dreams and voices he'd heard... They all meant something in the end, didn't they? Some kind of message... "I won't give up," he finally stated with narrowed eyes, ignoring whatever reaction he received from those words. "Not as long as I can draw these cards... Because I have something important to protect," the blond continued, determined scowl in place as he spoke. "And a promise to keep... And I'll do just that!" On his own this time!
The card in his hands seemed to almost shine in response to that. "Alright," he shouted, placing it on the field. With this he could fight! Maybe the three zombies were stronger... But he had to at least do this! "I draw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" As his opponent... Opponent's really, tensed up completely, he held his steady glare. Either they were wondering where he got the card, or they knew what he was targeting... Red-Eyes appeared on the board in a flash of black and red, roaring loudly as it flexed its wings. And while he wasn't stronger than the three monsters dominating Kotsuzuka's field... "Hn! Now that I've come this far," Katsuya muttered with narrowed eyes, "I can't just run away.. If I can't use my cards to defend," the teen continued, "Then I mind as well die fighting, instead of surrendering like a coward! Here I go," he shouted, pointing the dragon between Kotsuzuka's monsters. "Red-Eyes! Attack the Pumpking!"
With a feral roar the dragon swooped in, the Pumpking's eye widening with fear to mimic it's controller. It had more attack power after all... And with this, those attack bonuses would be gone! "BLACK FIRE BULLET!" With an head-splitting screech the blast of flames struck, the pumpkin bursting into a shower of red and gold. Vines flapped feebly in the air as they fell, and as ashes entered the ground there was soon nothing more than a spinning eyeball. And that too sank into the ground within a few moments... No more attack bonuses after this though... And since it wasn't brought to the playing field with Call of the Haunted, it wouldn't be coming back... "Hahahaaa! Yes," he shouted with a grin. One down, everything else to go! "Now your zombies can't get any tougher... The power trip stops now!"
"Feh..." Kotsuzuka growled, before replacing the expression with a grin. Yep... He'd seen through the glaring flaw in his plan hadn't he. Ahhh well... "You idiot... They're already more than strong enough to kill you! My turn," he shouted, Katsuya glaring in response. Cheh! It figured... "Dragon Zombie! Counter attack!" As the next wave of acid hit, Katsuya covered his nose and mouth, turning away with his eyes shut. Regardless of them not being real, each time this attack happened it felt all too painful to watch... Red-Eyes roared in pain as the acid burned through its scales, screeches piercing the air as it hissed and spat pointlessly at his attacker. Finally, the cries ended, and Katsuya turned back to watch Red-Eyes' burning corpse sink into the ground. "Die Black Dragon," Kotsuzuka shouted with a cackle, his own monster rumbling with cheer. "Fall to pieces and rot away!"
Shit... There went his best card and four hundred of his remaining life points from what the point counter said. From behind Kotsuzuka, Keith was laughing as well, and he found himself looking toward him with narrowed eyes. "It's over, 'Joey'," he shouted with a grin. Damn it... Too much of an asshole to even bother with his name too now? He'd had it perfectly fine before!
What did he do... The teen swallowed, staring at his cards. He had three cards in his hand right now. Salamandara would have been great if Flame Swordsman was still here, giving a bonus of 800 points to fire monsters, but it wasn't thanks to his screw up with Time Wizard... Kunai with a Chain would lower the attack power of a monster by 500 points, but the only monster he had in his hand was Ultimator... And his attack power was only 700.
Regardless of his skills in math, he knew damn well that Ultimator wouldn't beat any of the monsters even with the chain on his side. Katsuya's head continued to bow forward, the teen narrowing his eyes in thought. And he couldn't play him in defense mode... "C'mon," Keith shouted, the blond attempting to ignore him for the moment. "Like they say in the wild west, 'DRAW!'" What the fuck was... Oh right. American movies... The cowboy ones... Man this was a pain... "Play a card and draw you mangy mutt!"
Katsuya's head snapped up instantly as he tensed, growling. Now hang on here... Did he just call him... A MUTT? "Gnnn..." Alright... That was fucking it. He got it from Seto-chan, that was expected. Hell, he even got the dog comments from Honda whenever he smelled something, and from god-damned Pegasus, who would be paying for it anyways.
But he. Was. Not. A. MUTT. And there was only one person he was going to even stand having around to call him that! He drew a card from his deck, expression of unbridled rage now set on his face. Ohhhh he'd be punching this asshole's god-damned head off his shoulders that was for sure! He'd be joining the skulls at the- ...Don't think about that. He looked at what he'd pulled from the deck, frowning. Now... What card... He looked over the description, blinking as he logged the information in his head. Shield and Sword.. One of his few spell cards... 'Switch the original ATK and DEF of all face-up monsters on the field until the end of this turn...' He looked across the board, frowning. Now hang on... All the monsters that he was facing had high attack points that was true... But when they'd first been summoned, they didn't have any defense points... The field bonus only applied to attack last he checked so maybe... Just maybe...
He nodded, smirking. He had a plan... And there was no way it would fail! Alright! This was his last chance... He'd have to give this a shot, and hope for the best! "Here I go," he shouted, his opponent staring with a slight look of surprise in response to the sudden zeal. If this didn't work, he'd at least go out with a bang! "First, I play this card in attack mode," he shouted, 'Kung-Fu Fighter Ultimator' appearing on the field with a nervous nod. The colourfully armed warrior steadied its stance however, seeming to feed of its master's current confidence. "And now for the big finale... The spell card 'Shield and Sword'! By playing it," he continued, eyes narrowing further, "I switch the attack and defense of all monsters on the field!"
The reaction was instantaneous. The crowd at the other side of the table balked, and if he didn't think it was possible for Kotsuzuka to become paler than he was before, he was proven wrong. All of the monsters slumped, bodies falling to pieces before the crowd's eyes as the card's magic seeped over the field. Yes... Yes... He was right..! Zombies didn't have any brains right? So why would they bother defending? They didn't have any defense... So now that they switched...
"It's not just your monsters," Katsuya said with a neutral frown, focusing on the match itself. "The card affects all the monsters on the field! Which means that instead of 700, Ultimator now has 1000 attack points!" Kotsuzuka's expression fell, and the blond nodded down at his monster. "Now... Go back to th' movies you zombie freak! ULTIMATE SCREW KNUCKLE!" At those words the small ninja shot forward, slaming a fist through the nearest monster's skull with a sickening crack. "The dragon zombie goes down," he shouted, the rest of the dragon's skeleton crumbling to bits on the table with an eerie moan. "And so do your life points!"
Shouts filled the room, and most of them were from Keith. "Kotsuzuka you fucking moron," the American shouted in English, before grabbing the boy and the cards roughly. The starchips remained where they sat, untouched as he continued shouting. "YOU LOST!" Katsuya slumped in his seat, watching as the man sent him a scowl. "And you... Heh," he smirked, pushing Kotsuzuka out of the duel box before moving to follow after. "Don't think you're any closer to the goal..." What the hell did that even mean..? God he was exhausted...
Katsuya frowned weakly as the people left, his cards falling from his hands as he gave out a loud sigh of relief. He... He just won right? The teen looked dimly across the table, attempting to steady his rapid breathing. He'd really gone all out... So... Since he won... Four star chips was the number right? So that meant he... He had eight now... "Hah... Hahahhaha..." He rubbed his head, shaking it as he continued to laugh. He won... He won! "AHAHAHHA! YEA! Ahhhh..." Slumping further back across the chair, he stared at the top of the box with a sigh. He managed to win on his own for once... No tips, to tricks... His conscience had a bad habit of speaking in the voices of his friends but either way...
He continued to breath deeply, eventually slowing the pace down to a quiet and slow pattern of ins and outs. He did it... He... Eyes closing over, he had to smile. Only two more and he'd be there... For Mokuba, for Yugi's grandpa... For everyone...
Wait for him, he thought as he gave one more sigh. He just needed... A rest...
So wait...
AN: Wowwwww I love how this chapter came out... I don't even have any words...
Save for this! Expect fanart next chapter! And here are the results of the poll so far; as a note to those without accounts here, you need to send a review with your vote if you want to participate in the vote!
So far, it's still zero for Canon, Male Set, but we've gotten two more votes! Now we have 4 for the crossdressing Priest(ess), and 2 for the Priestess as a whole!
And now...
Anonymous Review Responses
Hello Angel A! ...Your name seems familiar, are you on YGO Abridged forums by any chance..? In any case, glad you like the fanfic so far, and I hope to keep the reputation up for you and anyone else enjoying it thus far! Also, your vote has been tallied.
And Iona! Noooo not even in sleep... Though Jonouchi's dream was really just that. A weird creepy dream. Still. You're never really safe from the EYE... Hhihhhhhh... It's a very good thing that Pegasus didn't keep that power; you're right in that Kaiba essentially got lucky in not being found out. Her shock from the duel was enough to save her the first time around, and she managed to barely save her skin during future meetings by constantly thinking nothing more than 'I want to get away from you, you creeper.'. Or anything along those lines. And as Pegasus only gets the outer thoughts when he goes at them in passing... It worked!
And... Phew! It's good to know that Jonouchi is still in character... Maybe I'm a little over the top about it, but I can't help but be continually paranoid about that.
Expect fanart soon~
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that braved the undead for you. Be happy!
As usual, the title is a nod to the related duel. Rather than being from a chapter title however, it's the name of the creepy over powered card utilized by Ghost Kotsuzuka. 'Call of the Haunted'... Hihh!
From the moment they get off the ship and to the evening before the final matches, Honda wears a headband for good luck. I can't figure out what the last kanji means, but the first half translates to 'of Japan', or 'Japan's', as 'no' is a possessive particle... And the headband says 'Nihon no _'.
It's unknown just what Jonouchi's referring to when he calls Mai 'Shiranui-san', mostly because the Yugioh manga is already notorious for making references to established manga's, video games, and other things. Heck, within the first few pages when Yugi mentions getting a wish if he puts the puzzle together, he says 'Like Dragonball!'.
Most likely however, it isn't a reference to a pre-existing character in a certain fighting game, as Shiranui is the Japanese term for an optical illusion similar to the Will-o'-the-wisp. To be specific, a Will-O'-The-Wisp is a ghostly, lamp like light that appears in the dark and vanishes when approached. As Mai has a habit of appearing and then 'disappearing' when it looks like they're getting to know her during Duelist Kingdom, it's not much of a jump.
Interesting note; maybe it's just faulty translating in the manga that said 'Shiranui', but it looks more like Yugi is speaking rather than Jonouchi... Hmm.
What was Honda going to ask? I don't know myself! Originally, I was going to have him say something, but around the time I started typing I completely forgot! Ahhh...
Another note on Honda; if you look in the manga, he accepts that Kaiba's a jerk, but he doesn't hate him. Mostly. If anything, he's pretty much got the same thoughts that fanfic Jonouchi does on the matter, and even mentions to a still enraged Jonouchi in the manga that 'he should know what it's like', as it's 'no different from Shizuka'. (The saving a sibling thing). In fact, he mentions his nephew in the comparison as well.
I checked and double checked though; the entire cast apparently suffered from delayed thought, as it wasn't until after Kaiba lost his soul to Pegasus that all this came into mind. Whooooops.
Dialogue extensions! Why? Because it's always fun to set Jonouchi up for passing out in a few more paragraphs. As a note on Ghost Kotsuzuka, when he shows Keith his deck, the man puts in some more cards and replaces others. After he does this, you see Ghost flipping through the cards, going on about how he had 'this one' and 'this one'... But later on in the duel, he seems genuninly surprised to see the clown, dragon, and warrior that was in the deck.
But if he was looking through the cards earlier, how did he not realize they were there..?
When Jonouchi leaves to take a leak in the manga, we see him from behind, with a speech balloon above him reading 'peeeee'. Yes, because we needed a sound effect for that... Either way. Taking a man down while he pees! For shame!
Somehow, the guy who bragged about taking down three people at once was taken out by two- Ghost didn't do anything in terms of fighting. In the end, I cheated... Fun fact for you guys! The knife-hand strike to the neck, which obviously can't render you unconscious let alone kill you, will do this: by striking the mastoid muscles (Side of neck), you not only cause immense pain (There's a cluster of nerves there), but there's a good chance that for a few seconds you'll black out. By black out, I mean dizzy spell, no vision black out... Similar to standing up from a couch after sitting down all day.
Also, some names for you. In addition to Kotsuzuka, we have Takaido, or 'Sid' (Redhead), and Satake, or 'Zygor'. Where the hell did they get these names...
As a side note, when we switch back to Yugi in the others, we see Yugi asking what's taking so long. Honda gains this 'wise' expression, crossed arms and everything, and says 'Probably number two.' To which Anzu of course says 'EW DON'T BE GROSS', and things progress as... Planned.
Back to the scene with Jonouchi, it really is as he decribes. Skeletons EVERYWHERE. Makes you wonder where they came from... (According to Ghost, they're from the Pacific War. YIKES.)
'Kotsuzuka' comes from the two words 'Kotsu' and 'tsuka'. (The pronunciation is altered from 'Tsuka' to 'zuka'.) Kotsu means 'bone', or 'skeleton', while 'tsuka' means 'mound', or 'grave'. Effectively, Kotsuzuka means 'bone mound', or 'bone grave', etc... Basically 'graveyard'. Hihhh.
I came up with Kotsuzuka's 'hometown' on the fly; what with each competitor supposedly coming from a specific district and all... Anyways. Tokushima is home to the second largest cultural dance festival in the world, called 'Awa Odori' (Awa is Tokushima's ancient name; basically, this all means 'Awa Dance'.) It's part of the Obon festival, which is a Japanese celebration of the dead. Hehehe...
Back to what Yugi and co. were doing while he was gone, during their mutterings (Bakura mentions that he's been gone 'at least twenty minutes' before they finally start searching), Anzu asks if he maybe got lost. Honda, in response, says 'NAH! That can't be, he's the kind of guy who can tell which street he's on with his nose...' Anzu's response is 'Are you saying he's a dog..?', which makes for an interesting 'inside joke' when you realize that for the first while, it wasn't Kaiba who coined the dog-comments towards Jonouchi.
It was HONDA. LE-GASP!
The move for Axe Raider, 'Shippugiri' means 'Gale Cut'. Shi-pu or Shippu comes from the combination of the kanji for wind (Kaze) and illness (Shitsu). Basically 'Shi-' comes from Illness (Ordinarily Shitsu) and 'pu' comes from Wind. Normally, the 'compounded' form of Wind is pronounced 'Fuu' though... Anyways. 'Giri' of course is from the verb 'kiru', or 'to cut'. For an example, look at the ever famous Japanese blade 'Kusanagi'. Kusa is grass, 'na' is a particle... And 'gi' is cut.
As for 'kowaii-jii', it's taken from what Jonouchi calls Kotsuzuka around this point. Specifically, he calls him 'uncle creepy'... Which probably means he called him 'kowaii-jii', using the word for scary (kowaii) and the word 'jii' from Uncle. (No 'O' at the beginning however, as 'O' is a sort of honorific meant to give respect. And Jonouchi has none for Kotsuzuka.) I typed it out in Japanese (If you notice, save for attacks and honorifics, I don't often do that) mostly to keep the insult intact... As 'Uncle Creepy' doesn't really have the same effect in English. The power of language!
Interesting note; after his clown is killed off, Kotsuzuka's lifepoints are identical to the attack power of the clown... Namely 1350. This is of course because Kotsuzuka's lifepoints were identical to the attack power of Flame Swordsman (1800) before that point... However, it's an interesting thing to spot.
In the actual card game, Call of the Haunted isn't nearly as cheap; rather than being a spell card that brings back all monsters as zombies, repeatedly bringing them back after death, it revives one monster and remains on the field. When the monster dies, the card is destroyed, and when the card is destroyed, the monster dies. It's also a trap card instead of a spell...
Oddly enough, Mokuba's line from both Katsuya's memories and his dream from last chapter mimic that of Kaiba's own line in the anime. When Yugi finds the three 'pillars' (Crosses in the original. Yikes.) with the cards/souls of Mokuba, Kaiba, and his grandfather smack dab in the middle of them, you hear them speaking... Kaiba in particular says only one thing, namely 'It hurts...'. Coming from Kaiba, that's pretty dang creepy, as when something hurts Kaiba... Well, Kaiba keeps his mouth clamped tightly shut, particularly around someone he doesn't really like at the time.
Kibitzer is the term for a person who, during a card game, looks at the cards over a player's shoulders and gives advice from behind. It's alternately a person who simply gives unwanted advice, or makes jokes when everyone else is trying to be serious... But anyways. It's from the Yiddish language, which is pretty awesome in my opinion. Heeheee.
When a monster gains attack power... The numbers don't show up for the players. It's implied that you just know what the number becomes really. Or that someone has a calculator. I would imagine this is the source of endless grief for the duels where neither person can figure out percentages or has a calculator on hand. Pity~
Apparently Yugi and Jonouchi have some kind of mental bond going on, because by focusing into the puzzle, the 'Other Yugi' managed to briefly see exactly where Jonouchi was... And even speak to him! Weird... But also really cool.
Interesting fact; Takahashi himself states that at the very beginning of the manga, 'Yami Yugi' was evil. As in... No better than any other antagonist in the series. (Possibly worse actually. Unless you count 'Yami Marik', who is effectively pure hate.) Most likely a side effect of being sealed in a golden artifact of shadowy darkness for a number of millennia... Hanging around Yugi and his friends made him 'get better'. And then Doma happened to the Anime... And we got a glimpse of Yami's 'former self'. Hihhhh!
Another interesting thing; in the final chapter of this duel, one page showed up with Katsuya's current hand (Four cards), giving the challenge of guessing which card he'd used to win the duel. Red Eyes, Kung Fu Fighter Ultimator, Shield and Sword, and finally Kunai with Chain.
In the end, all but one of them... So the question seemed pointless...
Actual line from Yugi; 'If you rid yourself of doubt, a light will shine into the cave of your heart!' It's so corny yet so amazing all the same... So much that against what was probably my better judgement I left it. Though I have to say, how is Jonouchi's heart a cave? Is it because he keeps falling into his fear? That can't be it... Maybe it's because of his self-doubt? I don't know anymore! Ahhhhh...
Fun fact - Keith actually calls Jonouchi 'Joey' in the manga. This is likely because he's a jerk who can't be bothered to pronounce his name properly. Even though he can pronounce it perfectly well. Even though he bothered learning an entire language to get back at Pegasus... Even... Though... Pegasus is American... So I guess that wasn't it either.
Hmm... So why did Keith bother learning Japanese again?
Keith technically calls Jonouchi a 'loser'; however, he says it using the same terms that Kaiba did earlier. ('make-inu'!) I replaced this with 'Mutt' in the end, as personally, I can't tell if Keith is a Japanese master or a failed Japanese student... Because on the one hand he speaks the language perfectly, but on the other... Well, case in point, his issues with Jonouchi's name. Needless to say, typing out loser would have little effect compared to 'Mutt'.
Jonouchi appears to have a 'Hancock' response to being called a Mutt here. In fact, I was picturing this line in my head as I typed...
'Call me a Mutt... One more time...'
Those who saw the movie Hancock will know what the result of that was. In my mind at least.
Kotsuzuka and his two friends kind of get what's coming. Kind of. One can say they got on the very wrong end of retribution really, because while they weren't the greatest people, they still didn't deserve their fate. 4Kids says Bakura sent them to the shadow realm... But you see, both the proper Anime and Manga both say different.
Those three were pulled into HELL. Yikes...
Anyways, that ends the chapter for now! I'll see you next time, hopefully with some coloured artwork! (Given my typing speed with this, that's unlikely though... As so far I've gotten one out every 2-3 days. Granted I figured that would be my timing but still.)
Oddly enough, had I not been badgered off to bed last night ('It's 11:30 Usagi!' 'I'm just typing the Manga notes!' 'GO TO SLEEP USAGI.'), this would have been up yesterday. Darn.
See you next time!