Achilles's Heel
At eight o'clock in Domino Plaza, those heading to their businesses found themselves fairly confused to say the least of things. Walking around the large street 'donut', a majority of these people wound up being somewhat bounced around by early risers from across the country, each of those people wearing blade-like and shield-like devices on their arms. These people merely gave their own responses to what happened when someone bumped into them, and then offered a warning...
Get out of the playing field. Ten minutes after this fact, and the plaza was devoid almost completely of 'normals', with approximately twenty or so 'duelists' wandering the square as nearby cafes and businesses took advantage of the 'foreign' crowd. Ten more minutes, with the 'twenty' increased to about 'fifty', and those waiting for competing friends found themselves sitting on benches with worried expressions in place, exchanging just barely visible glances with a muttered 'he's late...'... Whoever 'he' was.
Because the fact was, none of this was really of his concern for the moment, and as for now he was busy following a crude map his classmate had drawn him from memory a number of months ago. A map that, while accurate, had suffered a few pop stains on the train ride there, and was proving quite difficult to read while he was attempting to ignore another 'friend's ramblings. "I'm just saying," the somewhat nasally voice repeated once again, sounding oddly like begging the more he heard it. "As the champion of Japan," he said smugly, "It would only make sense for me to visit his 'runner up' opponent..."
Keiichi 'Dinosaur' Ryuzaki rolled his eyes as he walked down the street toward the plaza, looking back at the boy behind him with a frown. 'Insector' Haga as the boy was known had somehow known exactly when his train would arrive the day before, what hotel he was staying at, and using this knowledge had been following him since he left the room. To say he was 'annoyed'... Would likely put it lightly. "Haga, you placed dead last in the Duelist Kingdom," he said plainly, watching as the spectacled boy seethed at the comment. Hey, facts were facts... "'Champion' is the last thing I'm going to use to describe you," the teen muttered, adjusting his 'map'. Now was that a stain or a kanji character...
"Ghn... Well then," the boy spat, flushing as he followed behind his self-proclaimed friend, "If you're so much better, then just what place did you come in," he asked, evidently confident in the thought that he had done no better.
Which was not a good thing to think really, not at all. The teen smirked, adjusting his hat as the plaza came into view at the end of the street. "Heh! If it hadn't been for timing," he bragged, "I would have made the finals!" Beat that, 'bug boy'. He looked back at his 'friend', Haga in question visibly seething with the knowledge. Hehehehehe... "As it was," he continued with a shrug, looking back toward the plaza, "I ended up 'fifth'..." And barely catching the last boat off the island, he mentally added.
Not that Haga needed to know that. Besides, getting ten star chips to be booted off the island wasn't nearly as bad as this guy... The insect lover appeared to pout somewhat from behind him, grumbling something under his breath as Keiichi smirked. "Ghngggg... If it hadn't been for that one duel..."
The teen merely grinned, shaking his head. "Don't care~"
"ANG!" Yeaaaa, if he could make Haga squirm then he could live with the stalking...
Though speaking of that... Keiichi sighed, turning to the boy as they entered the plaza. "Alright Haga," he said with a frown, crossing his arms as the boy in question raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you just tell me what you hope to achieve in stalking me and leave me alone, alright," he asked, the frown deepening.
Haga blinked a few times, before a fairly smug (if not painfully aggravating) smirk came over his face. "...Hnn... I don't think I will," he decided, Keiichi's frown growing flat in response.
What. "...You won't tell me why you're stalking me," he 'repeated', Haga's smirk growing.
"No."
"You... Admit that you're stalking me," he asked incredulously, watching as the boy smirked in response.
"Well," he drawled, 'friend' resisting the urge to stab him with the duel disk, "Being a duelist of my level, I wouldn't say-"
"Damn it Haga, what do you want," he shouted, a few others in the crowd turning momentarily as his voice echoed around the plaza.
The boy tensed, blinking a few times with a shocked expression before turning away with a fairly 'snooty' look in place. Great... This look.
The one where he wouldn't admit dick-all, Keiichi thought with a mental grown, closing his eyes as he clenched his jaw. "Well... If you must know," he muttered, the look fading to Keiichi's dull surprise, "I... Well..." Well..? He sighed, turning back to his 'friend' rather pathetically despite the clear look of distaste he had. "Tch... I need a place to stay," he spat, refusing to look at his 'friend' as he said this. "There. Now you know."
He... Needed a place to... "...What." But Haga lived in Tokyo... "Why the hell would you..."
Haga flushed, gritting his teeth in apparent anger as he continued on and turned back. "My sisters said they would kick me out once I started high-school," he growled, fists clenched tightly as he spoke. "I need to find somewhere to stay!"
Wh...What..? He shook his head, blinking a few times as he ran the words through his head. Oh this was just... Unbelievable. Completely unbelievable. "Your... Your sisters," he repeated, blinking a few times. Alright, to the most important point of this topic... "...You have sisters?"
"Three of them," Haga explained offhandedly, apparently not caring too much about the relatives in question. "All of them unable to realize what a mistake they're making..." God damn it, stop talking about how great he was... "...And all paying the bills for our apartment," he added dryly, the smug tone dropping quicker than a stone.
Well, given the attitude... He could see why they would do that. But even so... "Wait," he muttered, shaking his head. "School isn't out for another term..." Which meant that this wasn't going to happen for... Months.
This was the wrong thing to say, he realized rather quickly, as Haga was smirking again. Ahhhhh... Someone get him earplugs... "Yes, well... I passed a few 'extra' tests," he said with a grin, managing to look smug despite the fact that his glasses were starting to fall off his face. The boy pushed them back into place, sunlight glaring off the glass oddly as he continued on. "Starting in September, I'm officially a high-school student..." He... He skipped a grade. Half way through the year, what the hell were the chances of that? "Of course," he added bitterly, rolling his eyes, "'Ane' doesn't seem to realize that some schools offer 'scholarships'..."
Yea, a few but... Keiichi bit his lip, rubbing his head as he took a long and shaky breath. Alright... Alright calm down, as annoying and bratty as Haga was, he could... Handle this and... Fuck it, no he couldn't. The teen snapped, turning back on his 'friend' again with grit teeth. "Why the HELL are you coming to ME!"
Again Haga froze up, momentarily loosing his proud expression to stare for a moment. "...Well..." He coughed, hurriedly regaining his smug expression much to Keiichi's distaste, "I figured that as the person who lost to me in the championships, you would-"
"WHY, HAGA."
There was a short span of silence, the boy gritting his teeth as he again went red in the face. "Fine," he growled, Keiichi holding an unimpressed frown at the 'excuse'. "I'll say it; because you're the first person that came to mind, HAPPY NOW?" Ahhh... No. No he wasn't. Though it made him feel slightly better... "And you're the only one," Haga added with another bitter snarl, crossing his arms and turning away. "So you can go right ahead and rub that in now." Yea, well...
Wait... The only person that came to mind? Keiichi blinked, staring at the boy as he attempted to gauge the honesty in the words. Was... Was he serious? He couldn't seriously mean... ... "Hahhhh..." He rubbed his head, closing his eyes briefly as he sighed. Alright... Alright, just this once... "Fine," he said plainly, looking at the boy. He was going to regret this horribly but... Alright. "At the end of tomorrow," he decided, "You can come back with me to Osaka to stay at my house until you find someone else to live with. ...Like actual relatives," Keiichi stated dryly, the words likely missing their target as Haga grinned.
"I knew you wouldn't say no," he said cheerfully, the grin coming out more manic and haughty than 'honest' Keiichi noted. "After all, I-"
"Say it," he warned dryly, "And I'm taking back what I said."
This shut Haga up quite quickly, the boy looking at him in silence for a few moments before turning his attention to his deck. "Well... I suppose that's fair," he muttered, fingering his cards. Dear god, please shut up... "Should I call your house," he asked 'innocently', "Tell your parents to set up a bed for me?" Agggggh... Imposing little bra-
Wait. He turned, frowning. Alright, his hotel room was one thing but... "Since when in the hell did you have my number?"
"Since I looked it up," the boy said plainly, pulling out a worn phone that was overloaded with insect charms. He flipped it open, pushing a few buttons as he continued. "I also have your cell phone number, house address, school address... Hnnn, perhaps I could enroll there," he added, frowning slightly as his 'friend' steadily grew angrier.
"Aaaaaaaaaagghhh..." Dear god SOMEONE STRIKE HIM DOWN! "Damn it," he growled, "If you know all of that you can get there yourself!" The teen crumpled his map, stowing it in his pocket and shaking his head as he stormed off. Honestly, it would probably be best to just ignore him now... Just... Ignore him and move on...
"So," Haga asked, keeping up with the teen fairly easily, "When the tournament starts, would you like the honor of facing me first," he asked with a grin, only to freeze and swallow as he was met with a dark look from Keiichi.
"Second warning," he muttered with a scowl. "Number three happens, and you won't be getting on that train, least not the one heading south..."
"Ehehehehehe... I'll shut up," Haga muttered with a swallow, his friend rolling his eyes. Yeaaaa... When the ice age happened again...
He was already regretting this damn it... "Right..." The teen shook his head, before blinking as he heard a familiar voice from the side. Well, anything for a distraction, but hang on now...
"He should be here any minute now," someone muttered, Keiichi moving toward the voice as Haga followed behind. "He tends to be late during the summer I've noticed," the voice continued, "Thanks to his job..." Eh..? Who was? And wait, that voice seemed oddly familiar...
"Really," another voice asked, Keiichi blinking as he spotted the source. Wait... That was...
Oh hell... "Gh- It's Yugi," Haga hissed, reaching for his duel disk with narrowed eyes.
Keiichi shook his head, frowning. "Haga, the tournament hasn't even started yet..."
Annnd he wasn't listening... "I'm going to make him pay for last time..." Agggggh...
"Damn it Haga!" He shook his head, before looking back as Mai and Yugi both turned their attention to them. Eh, what the hell, they'd spotted him now so... "HEY," he called, giving a slight wave as the two stared. "Long time no see Yugi! ...Mai!" Alright... Yugi he had no problems with really but...
Mai on the other hand... The woman blinked, staring at the two as they approached. He hated that bitch. He really did. "Dinosaur Ryuzaki," she said with slight surprise, before looking at the boy behind him with even more confusion. "And... Insector Haga?" Yeaaaaa don't ask. At all.
Keiichi merely nodded, sending a somewhat tense glare toward the woman as he did so. Heh! "Listen up," he said plainly, jumping right to the 'point' of the 'subject'. "This isn't going to be anything like it was on the island! We fight in this tournament and you're going down, got it," he said with a nod, arms crossed. After souping up his deck with a few new cards... Heh! Mai wouldn't stand a chance..!
"That's right," Haga said with a smirk, Keiichi momentarily looking back in confusion. He was agreeing..? "If you think it'll be as easy as before," he continued with a drawl, "You are sorely mistaken... My new insect deck is many times more powerful," he shouted with a grin, "And far superior to your own! HnhnhahahahaHA!" ...No. No he wasn't agreeing damn it, he was being Haga.
"AAAAH HAHAHAHA!" The boys turned, blinking as a notably tanned duelist walked over with a wide grin in place. "Insects," he laughed, looking at Haga as he wiped a tear from his eyes. "Wait until you see my deck," he continued with a grin, shaking his head. "My Fortress Whale will swallow your bugs whole!" Fortress-
Oooooh, this was the champion from Okinawa... Ryota Kajiki? Keiichi smirked, turning his attention to the teen as he snorted. "Hah! If it's size you're arguing about," he said with a laugh, "Then my dinosaurs would top you any day!"
Kajiki raised his eyebrows, the positive expression nonetheless staying firmly in place. "You think so," he asked with a smirk.
Heh... "I know so!"
"My bugs are still better," Haga shouted from between the two, refusing to be out done.
"You wish!"
"RGGGGG!"
All in all, it wasn't really surprising that Mai and Yugi were gone by the time they bothered to pay attention to anything else afterward, and it was probably sheer luck that he managed to ditch Haga at any time after that.
Domino Plaza was fairly close to Yugi's house in all honesty, being only ten or so blocks away. From the alley that Katsuya had collapsed in, it was even closer, likely about half the distance. But the bruises that developed as a result of Exodia's punch were soft and painful, gaining a fairly sick looking colour at that... And the shock of the events were just barely enough to keep him from running at full speed without acknowledging this pain. It was long past eight thirty he told himself as he ran. He knew that by the people running past him, by the clocks he saw on his run, and more importantly he just knew. But no one was challenging him just yet, he thought with narrowed eyes as he stumbled past another corner... Not just...
Yet...
A flash passed through his vision, the blond running through it nonetheless. As he ran however, he found himself slowing, eyes staring not at what was there but more at something else. The ghoul... From the night before, sitting at a laptop, with his hood down... But in the street..?
Katsuya froze, coming to a stop in the middle of the street as he realized what he was seeing. Even as he stopped moving, staring at the ground, he could see it... Clearly, every detail, the location, the actions...
The face of the one he was looking for. The blond grit his teeth, eyes narrowing with rage as he charged into the plaza with renewed speed. Him. He knew his face... He knew what he looked like, what he sounded like. And in front of the cafe, the exact same one he'd seen moments before... "YOU," he shouted, storming over to the table where the ghoul sat, face red in contrast to whatever shade the bruises under his shirt were. Pale face, pale hair, bloodshot eyes... The man had likely not seen the sun for a while, to say the least. "Found you y' rat... You c'n disappear int' a crowd," he spat angrily, "But y' can't hide eyes like that..." Not by a long shot...
The ghoul appeared to ignore him for the moment, tapping a few keys on his keyboard before calmly sipping from his coffee. Answer him damn it... Answer him! "Hnhnhnhnhn..." Katsuya growled under his breath as the ghoul chuckled, looking over his mug. "Sore about the card you lost," he asked, raising his eyebrows. "A rare card like that, I'm willing to bet it was your ticket into this tournament..."
Not the only ticket no... But that wasn't the point in any way. God damned bastard..! "Ch... Th' only reason why you have it is b'cause you stole it, y' SNAKE!" And if it wasn't for the fact that he'd likely be the one in pain if he attacked in front of a crowd he'd have taken him out right now damn it!
"Jonouchi," a voice from the side called out, Katsuya turning as the 'other' Yugi came over from the side. He stared for a moment, frown fading only slightly at the sight of his friend. Just him..? He'd have thought the 'normal' one would at least be following around like a ghost for this... "What's going on here," the teen pressed, frowning somewhat as his friend stared. What was going on?
Hell. That's what was going on. "Yugi..." ...Back on subject now! He steeled himself, turning back to the 'Ghoul' with narrowed eyes as a growl again developed under his breath. "Be on yer guard Yugi," he muttered, fists clenched tightly as he stared at his opponent from the night prior. "Th' Ghouls 'r in this tournament..!"
"G-Ghouls..!" Yep. The blond's friend stared, both boys watching as the ghoul gave a smirk and downed the last of his coffee. "Then..." He frowned, turning back to the blond with raised eyebrows. "Don't tell me they took one of your cards..!" Katsuya grit his teeth, nodding.
"Yea..." Yea they did... Even so. "But don' fight him," he continued, turning to Yugi seriously. As much as he hated to say it... "This guy has-"
Yugi ignored the blond, instead placing his hand on his duel disk and moving closer to the Ghoul's table with a red face. A-Ah- Wait! "Hn! Someone who steals the cards and property of my friends doesn't deserve an excuse," he muttered, Katsuya merely blinking at the words. "Anyone who even thinks of it will answer to me!" That was great but...
"Y-Yugi..!" But he was trying to tell him something important!
The Ghoul's smirk grew, laptop closing over as the man stepped away from his table and grabbed his disk from the side. "Hehehehehe... You want to duel me then," he asked, receiving a cold nod in response as the two boys looked back at him.
Hey hey hey... "Yugi, wait," he protested, turning back to his friend with a worried frown. "I need t'-"
"Stay out of the way," his friend stated calmly, moving to an empty spot in the plaza as he stared at his opponent coldly. Stay out of the- Damn it! "I'll get your card back... Garbage like this is a disgrace to the city," he growled, voice picking up in volume as he set his disk into place, Katsuya mentally smacking his head. "I'll clear you out right now!" Okay, what.
"Hehehehehe..." Katsuya turned back as the Ghoul began chuckling once more, eyes narrowing once more. "Challenging me to a duel like this..." The ghoul shook his head, smirking as the two boys glared. "Very brave... I accept then," he decided, locking his deck into place. Err... That was great but... Damn it Yugi, listen..!
"So... A 'Rare Hunter'," Yugi said with clear distaste, eyes narrowed as his friend groaned quietly from the side. "Counterfeiters and thieves... The 'Ghouls' of the gaming world..." Yes... So what did he think would be in this guy's deck then? 'Normal' cards? "Just what brings a gang from the Middle East to Egypt," he asked, eyes narrowing even further as he continued to look across the field. Ah...
That was a damn good question now wasn't it. The ghoul merely chuckled, smirk still in place as he glanced up at the clock above them. "You need to ask..? All of Japan's best duelists have been gathered here," he explained with a grin, eyes narrowing in mirth. "A concentration of champions in one sweet spot... We 'Rare Hunters', the 'combat division' of ghouls decided to send a bit of a message," he continued, shrugging as the two before him tensed further. "Remind the world that the shadows are not the only place we hide... We're taking this tournament," he stated with a laugh, disk clicking into place on his arm, "And all the rare cards that come with it..!" Gh...
"Tch... Bastards..." No kidding... "Then I'll have to destroy every last one of you," Yugi roared, Katsuya looking from his friend to the ghoul. That... That was really great but...
"Listen, Yugi," he muttered, expression serious as he again tried to pass on his warning. "I-"
"Quiet Jonouchi," his friend muttered, the blond tensing somewhat in response. "I'll get your Red-Eyes back, you don't need to worry..." That wasn't what he was worried abou- "We're entering this tournament together," he continued with a nod, the blond beside him freezing for a moment before frowning.
Yea well... Not insulting his ability or anything, but this guy kinda had a deck full of bootleg Exodias here. And he'd be damned if he was going to watch him get punched back by that thing! "Agggggh... Just lemme warn yah," he protested, frowning as he was seemingly ignored by the boy. "His deck 's got-"
"Don't finish that sentence Jonouchi!" What! The blond blinked as a hand was held to his face, his friend still staring across the field with a scowl in place. "No matter what kinds of tricks this hunter has hidden in his sleeve," he muttered under his breath, "I have no right to know the enemy's strategy before a game," he said plainly, Katsuya staring in silence. "I don't need an unfair advantage to beat this piece of scum..." He... "So," Yugi 'asked' loudly, looking across the field as he changed the subject before Katsuya could protest again. "Do you have a name? No," he decided with a smirk, "I suppose you don't..." But what did that mean..? The blond beside him frowned, watching as his friend's smirk vanished to be replaced with a cold glare. "Come at me with all you have..."
"H-Heh..!" What, even the ghoul was confused, what the hell..!
Even so Yugi's glare continued to intensify, the ticking of the clock seemingly raising in volume from behind them. "I'll crush you..."
Yugi... Voices from around them were muttering to themselves as the blond stared, frowning. Two minutes to nine... 'Hey,' one person was muttering, 'A duel's starting by the clock tower..!' 'That guy 'Yugi' is in it too,' another was saying, clearly excited, 'Lets watch!'
One minute left... "Hehehehehe... I have to admire your fighting spirit," the Ghoul muttered, smirking darkly as time slowly ticked away. "But I'm going to teach you that it takes far more than that to win..." In response, Yugi merely narrowed his eyes still further, fingers reaching for his deck.
And without looking at the clock...
Nine. "I'm first," Yugi stated clearly, Katsuya standing at the side with a clenched jaw as his friend drew a fresh hand of cards. Looking over them only briefly he began to make his move, Katsuya biting his lip as he watched. The strategy... The ghoul's plan... Would Yugi be able to figure it out quickly enough, he wondered, swallowing. "I'll set this card face down," Yugi announced loudly, an enormous and blank tablet appearing at his side the instant the card was set. "And in attack mode," he continued, a second tablet appearing with a carving in place, "Gazelle, King of the Mythical Beasts!" Steady and thickly carved lines appeared on the stone, smoke wrapping through the outlines as its monster was summoned into existence. "End turn," Yugi called out as the lion-like beast broke free of its tablet, the monster snarling and howling as the man across him drew his card.
"Hn! Then it's my turn," the Ghoul stated calmly, an eerie smirk coming over his face as he drew his card. Shit... That look... "I play the spell Graceful Charity," he announced, tablet appearing at his side and slowly revealing the angelic carving. Seconds later the tablet ground itself to dust as the familiar angel arose behind him to shine its summoner in a pale and heavenly light.
"Draw three cards," it 'commanded', eyes shut in apparent serenity, "Discard two..." That voice was kinda creepy when he thought about it, the blond noted with a swallow... Nonetheless both he and Yugi narrowed their eyes as the angel vanished from sight, both boys watching as the Ghoul exchanged his hand. The cards he had... Both legs, the blond thought as he grit his teeth, not bothering to wonder how he knew. And the right arm... First 'draw' and he already had three out of five...
Damn it... Before he summoned Exodia, Yugi had to beat him! He had to hurry! "I'll also set the Stone Statue of the Aztecs in defense mode," Yugi's opponent shouted, the tablet appearing at his side as the boys attentions were pulled to the field. The thick carved outline of a stone beast appeared clearly on its form as it arose from the ground, Katsuya looking back at his friend and swallowing. "End turn..."
Tch... And there was the defensive strategy... Damn it Yugi..! "Hn! My turn," Yugi stated after a few moments and narrowed stares, drawing his next card and setting it on the field. "I play Baphomet the demon," he announced, the great winged demon's outline slowly appearing on the tablet on the field's place. Black smoke rose up through the outlines, a blood-curdling cry entering the air as the monster pulled itself from the tablet behind it. "Next," Yugi continued, the image of a spiral appearing on his blank tablet's cover, "I activate the spell Polymerization!" The spirals began to emanate from the tablet's form, Yugi continuing as its magic filled the field. "I fuse my two monsters to summon this," he stated clearly, the intense vortex of the spell tablet pulling both of the monsters on the field into the stone. "Chimera, the Mythical Beast!" The two tablets from the beasts sacrificed crumbled into dust with those words, the resulting smoke forming a carved image on that of the again blank 'spell' tablet. In an instant two roars pierced through the air, the image on the tablet becoming clear as smoke wrapped through the outlines. "GROOOOOO!" Great horned heads charged forward as the tablet glowed, eagles wings pulling free of the stone with another roar. "GRAOOOOO!" Haaaaah... Three heads... Lion, demon-thing, sna-
Wait, where the hell did the third one come from... Katsuya shook the question off, instead watching as his friend ended his turn. Fusion monsters couldn't attack on the turn they were summoned... A fact that made his opponent more than pleased. "Heh... In that case I draw," the Ghoul said with a grin, glancing at the card he'd grabbed only for a moment. "Once more," he shouted clearly, "I play the spell Graceful Charity!" Katsuya swallowed, narrowing his eyes as another tablet bearing the image of an angel appeared before them. Discard two cards, he thought, narrowing his eyes as the tablet and angel both disappeared. Draw three... Another right arm...
And the head too, the blond thought tensely, grinding his teeth in aggitation. Who knew how the hell he knew this, but damn it Yugi, the guy already had four cards! Come on... Come on, realize what was going on...
"Now, before I end my turn," he heard, grating voice pulling him back to the duel, "I'll set another monster in defense mode..." The Ghoul's tone took a dark turn with those words, his smirk widening as the tablet appeared before him. "Here! Gear Golem, the Moving Fortress," he announced, an almost bulldozer-like image appearing to etch itself on the stone. "End turn!" Awww hell, the blond grumbled mentally, another shield? Katsuya scowled, glancing back at his friend with a swallow. Come on come on come on...
Come on..! Figure it out..! And suddenly, Yugi gained a smirk, nodding to himself as if to say he'd done just that. "Hehehehehe... I know what you're planning," he said calmly, drawing his next card as both his opponent and his friend both blinked in response. He... He did..?
"W-What..." The teen's opponent tensed, paling somewhat as he held a less than confident smirk. "Impossible..! You're bluffing," he muttered with a snort, shaking his head. "You couldn't possibly have guessed my strategy within so little time-"
"I won't let you summon Exodia," Yugi stated bluntly, his smirk growing with the words. Exo... Hah... H-Hah... YES! Katsuya grinned, eyes widening as he watched the Ghoul's expression fall. YES!
"G-Gn... You..." Found it out? Damn straight. Yet even so the man smirked, dark grin returning with a nervous laugh. "Heh... True, you know my plan," he admitted, visibly swallowing back his nervousness. "But... Just what can you possibly do in one turn!"
One turn..? Katsuya smirked, his friend doing the same as he held his card. That was all he'd need... "One turn," Yugi repeated, eyebrows raised. "Hn! Watch... I'll crush Exodia with this card," he shouted, opponent paling even further. Hahaha... Three turns...
He caught it in three turns, and- ...And he didn't need a warning, did he, Katsuya realized with a jolt, staring at the field with a swallow. The blond's eyes drifted over the field with those thoughts, a frown appearing on his face momentarily. The Chimera was simply sitting for the moment, lion's head cleaning out its fur from the dust of its tablet. The defense mode monsters were, as expected, merely trapped in stone, outlines staring forward. Heh... A small smirk came into place for a moment, Katsuya mentally shaking his head. Learned something again, he told himself, the smirk fading somewhat. Yugi 'taught' him something again. Hell, his own monster told him first... 'Figure it out,' he'd said... But more than that...
The blond swallowed, staring at the field with narrowed eyes. Time to watch his friend crush this jackass... "Here I go... First," Yugi announced clearly, "I set a card face down on the field." With his words a blank tablet appeared at his side, the Chimera beside it rising to its feet with a low growl. "Next, for my battle phase... Chimera," he ordered, the monster growling louder at the command. "Attack the Stone Statue... IMPACT DASH!" With an almost musical howl the monster charged forward, horns lowered toward the first of the two tablets. Twin points of impact appeared as the 'demon's head struck first, cracks spidering through the stone before a rumbling sound came through the air. Stone clattered to the ground as Yugi smirked, his opponent not even phased by the move. "So much for your statue..." ...Or tablet Katsuya corrected mentally, watching as the ground seemingly absorbed whatever chunks of rock remained. "Before I end my turn," Yugi continued calmly, "I'll set one more card... There! END TURN!" No..
The Ghoul across from them instantly grinned, hands moving for his deck with those words. There was something else... "Hehahahahahha! And now it's my turn," he said with a laugh, hand reaching for his deck. In just seconds, something else... "Prepare to lose... I draw-"
Now. "I activate my spell," Yugi shouted clearly, a blade appearing on the front of the first blank tablet. The stone crumbled in on itself, leaving nothing but the sword as it shot forth in a ray of light. "Lightforce Sword! Taking one of the cards in your hand and forcing it to the field," the boy cried, blade appearing to spin in a drill like fashion as it took aim above his opponent's hand. "And I pick the second from the left!"
Oooh, good choice, Katsuya thought with a grin, watching as the blade tore towards the Ghoul's hand. ...He wasn't even going to ask how he knew that though... Even so he watched, staring as the blade drove through the card and into the ground, an enormous block of stone forming beneath it. The stone cracked into pieces, an outline never even appearing as a writhing and kicking leg appeared pinned in the blade's grip. "Hahahahah! 'Xodia's left leg! Good goin," Katsuya shouted, his friend merely smirking as he watched the heel-pinned 'monster' flail.
"Hn! That's not all," he said with a smirk, the second tablet at his side slowly gaining a chain-like image on its form. "With the Right arm's summoning," Yugi said seriously, "You've activated my trap! Die," he shouted, a chain and spear launching from the stone to skewer the left leg before worming its way into the Ghoul's deck. "Chain Destruction! Destroying not only a monster on the field," he said with a grin, Katsuya watching as links of chain tore viciously through the mummified hand's form, "But any duplicates in your deck... Hehehehehehehe... Exodia will never awaken," Yugi shouted, both he and Katsuya watching as the boy's opponent grew steadily pale. Which meant he'd lost... But wait... A sudden chill filled the air despite these words, all sound becoming muted.
...What the hell was going on... Katsuya froze, Yugi's next words becoming almost soundless as the man before them shook with intense fear. 'Your deck is DEAD,' Yugi was saying, the words only dimly registering as Katsuya stared. The chill increased... But more than that... Fire. He swore he saw fire catch onto the Ghoul's robes, he swore...
"I lost," the man was muttering, eyes staring forward as his voice seemed to echo against nothingness. "I lost... I... I can't have..." And again he saw fire, this time not at all just a 'flash' Katsuya realized with a jolt, blood raining from his face. Flames were appearing... "It's not possible," the man muttered, flames slowly wrapping around his neck as they climbed the sides of his clothes, "Not possible... No... No..!" Panic. And suddenly the entire man was set ablaze, the veins on his forehead bulging forward in a twisted, 'eye' shaped formation before breaking completely, blood streaming across his head as he cried in fear and misery. "No... NO... NO! He's coming," the Ghoul wailed, Katsuya staring in horrified silence as the man's head bled. "Help... Help me please," he screeched, hands gripping the sides of his head as he stumbled in place. "Help! AAAAHHH... AAAAH... He's coming," the Ghoul screamed, tears streaming down his face as the blond across from him held back the last evening's supper. "He's coming, he's COMING!" Teeth were digging their way out of the man's head Katsuya realized coldly, mouth hanging open in horror. Rows of sharp, dagger-like teeth, tearing a hole in the skull, digging forward like some gaping alligator's mouth...
"Yugi," Katsuya muttered, his friend merely staring forward with somewhat wide eyes as the blond swallowed. "Please tell me that's you..."
The boy merely continued to stare, arms held limp at his side in shock. "It's not..."
Not good... "Oh God," the man was crying, holding his head tightly as an eye rolled about in the center of his face. A golden iris, rolling from the bottom up as it attempted to focus, teeth growing long and needle like as they grew to take up the whole of the man's forehead. "He's here... He's here..! Malik-" And abruptly the eye turned forward, the man falling limp as he cut off.
Or at least, for a moment... Before, with the crack of his neck, the man 'stood' with blank soulless eyes to chuckle. "Hehehehehehehehehe..." Oh hell... Oh HELL... The teeth on the man's head were surrounded by flames, single eye staring out at both of the boys across from it. But in the back of his mind, he could only think of one thing. One warning...
'Beware,' he heard the Tauk mutter in his mind, mouth moving as he finished the memory's sentence. "Th' eyes tha' d'vour flames..." Oh god...
Yugi blinked, turning with a frown. "...Jonouchi..?"
"Hnhnhnhn..." The boy looked back, attention switching back to the 'Ghoul' before them with a swallow. "So you're Yuugi Mutou," an accented voice stated, only barely recognizable as a different being through the tone of the Ghoul. Oh hell... Not... Not good... "I've heard of you 'Yugi'," the voice continued, eye staring out from the center of the ghoul's head as the teeth moved with the words before settling into a lip-less grin. "I should tell you something... This man you see here... This is my weakest 'soldier'," it stated calmly, voice almost charismatically smooth in comparison to the 'original'. "The first of the pawns to be sacrificed in a battle... The real strength of my Rare Hunters is far stronger than that, far far stronger... But I see that you are surprised," it stated calmly, the body it held not moving while it spoke to the boy. "I didn't mean to shock you... But the fact is," the voice 'lamented', a shrug almost visible to Katsuya as it continued on, "I'm no where near this plaza here, and using this shell to speak is the only way I can contact you... A little like a 'phone' really," the voice added with a 'grin', teeth vibrating somewhat as it chuckled. This was nooooot good, not good... And why did he have a nasty feeling that what he saw and Yugi saw were two completely different things right now... "You see," the voice stated, "I've placed a little bit of myself in this man... Same with all those working in my control... Whatever I desire, he'll do it... With a single thought." Like... Remote control souls..? What...
The boys continued to tense, those around them merely passing by as though nothing was wrong. Something 'strange' nothing more... Gh... "You..." They swallowed, eyes narrowing as they stared forward. "Who are you," Yugi shouted, the eye briefly 'blinking before the teeth 'narrowed' in a grin.
"Me?" More chuckling rang through the air, Katsuya continuing to force back a wave of bile at the sound. "Like you," the voice stated smoothly, "I am one chosen by the Millennium Items... But this is just an introduction," it continued, the grin darkening as the eye 'bowed'. "Nice to meet you Yugi... Hnhnhnhnhn... My name is 'Malik'... Be sure to remember that..." Flames began to roll off the body... The eye began to turn upward, teeth closing over...
"Wait!" The two turned, blinking as Katsuya stepped forward and swallowed. What was he doing, what was he doing... Ah hell, he'd said something hadn't he? The blond again swallowed, "You... What are you," he muttered, staring directly into the eye on the ghoul's brow. The tauk he understood. Weird, but understandable, even if the tauk itself said no one else had seen it's 'true form'... And the Millennium Eye, he understood that too. Nothing but darkness and an eye, because really, what else was it?
But this... "...You weren't listening," 'Malik' questioned under his breath, Katsuya merely narrowing his eyes as he continued to stare at the 'eye'. Not him, the thought mentally, cracking his knuckles as he held his gaze. The other one... The eye... If the other two had a voice...
The eye 'blinked', before its teeth widened into an expansive grin. "Well now ain't this interesting," a voice muttered, single iris staring forward at the blond as Katsuya nodded just slightly. "You can see me, can't yah 'blondie'..." The teen grit his teeth at the 'nickname', nonetheless nodding once more despite the more than evident confusion from his friend. "Hehehehehe... So you want to know who I am," it asked darkly, voice completely different than that of the 'Ghoul' its owner was speaking through. "How my 'buddy' here is talking through someone else..?" Katsuya merely nodded a third time, both Yugi and the 'shell' of a Ghoul staring confusedly at the unheard conversation. Again the eye blinked, grinning as it 'chuckled'. "Hehehehehe... What can I say, that's the magic of mind control kid... Care for a taste," it asked, voice taking a mutant and monsterous tone that had the blond's eyes widen just briefly before he regained his composure. Gh...
Hell no... "Tch... Takin' over people's minds," Katsuya muttered, gritting his teeth as he attempted to steel himself further. "Yer a creepy bastard, tha's f'r sure..."
The 'shell' merely stood there, teeth of the eye grinning and chuckling as Malik again spoke. "A 'bastard'..?" There was a short span of silence, before Malik continued. "How 'eloquent'... So you realize the extent of my power then," 'it' continued, the body abruptly straightening out before bowing forward with his own 'smirk'. "Do you like it" he asked, "This ability of mine... I could make him dance, make him do anything I want... Fitting for a loser like him," he spat, both Yugi and Katsuya's expressions darkening as the 'shell' again fell 'limp'. "For all those under my 'reign' I can step in at any time I like," Malik explained somewhat loudly, "Taking their actions and making them my own. But those ghouls are elite duelists," he continued smugly, "Hired specifically to match and exceed the levels of this tournament... So I doubt I'll have to," Malik decided, the body continuing to remain motionless with the words.
Gh... Bastard... Bastard..! "Malik," Yugi growled, watching as the body swayed slightly before them in a sudden 'wind'. "Why are you... Why are your 'Ghouls' in this tournament," he shouted, eyes narrowed. "Why are you here?"
"Hnhnhnhnhnhnhn... Isn't it obvious," Malik asked, a smirk likely on the 'real one's face to match with that of the 'teeth' on the eye. "To gather the God Cards... The three great and ancient souls that have been resurrected to the modern world..." God cards... Katsuya frowned, staring forward Wait...
He'd seen that somewhere before, back on the plaque... '...carved in a never-before seen representation of Egypt's three most iconic deities,' the label for the tablet had said. So then... The museum carving..?
"Saint Dragon of the Skies, Osiris," 'Malik' said calmly, the names appearing in Katsuya's mind before the words met the air. "Stone God Soldier of the Obelisk... And atop them both, Ra, the Sun Dragon... To he who gathers these three cards and takes the title King, let it be granted to him the powers of Darkness..." Wait... What..? What was that, a prophecy..? The two boys both stared, eyes wide as 'Malik' continued to laugh before them. "Hnhnhnhnhn... We have two of these cards in our grasp already," the voice stated calmly, another 'invisible' shrug coming to mind. "But there's just one that's eluded our hands, held in the grip of someone in this city..." Someone... In this city...
"So tha's why they're here," Katsuya muttered, Yugi grinding his teeth beside him.
The boy nodded, eyes narrowed with rage. "To get that card..." And who... Who had it...
Briefly the blond's eyes widened with realization, more snippets of past conversations coming to mind. 'People are going to DIE in this tournament...' ...Seto knew this would happen, didn't she... Whether she liked it or not.
Katsuya continued to pale as the 'Ghoul' walked forward, the eye on his forehead grinning menacingly. The teeth and eyeball almost appeared to grow even larger the closer 'they' came... Slowly increasing in size, single eye staring forward. "Hnhnhnhnhn... You've met with the weakest of the Ghouls, but there are more to come... You were lucky not to meet them first," Malik said with a laugh, "And if you're even luckier you'll continue to evade their sights... But so long as this shell has lost," it continued, reaching into the body's pockets and handing a card and a plastic 'sheet' toward Yugi, "I mind as well abide by these rules..." ...What... "I'll return this card he took from your friend, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon... In addition," Malik stated, Yugi taking the 'cards' with narrowed and confused eyes, "This puzzle card... A 'head start' to your 'six'," the voice added with a chuckle Six..? Katsuya blinked, narrowing his eyes somewhat at that. He needed six..? Six puzzle cards, he'd need to duel five times then... "The game has just begun Yugi," Malik shouted with a laugh, the body still slumping forward even as the teeth across the 'shell's brow widened into a grin. "You've been warned... A rare hunter with the power of God is already watching you from in this city," it stated coldly, flames continuing to whip across the air. "If you meet him, your fate will be death... I guarantee it..."
At this the two boys swallowed, narrowing their eyes. Guaranteed..? "...Hn!" Why was it so easy for this guy to shrug that off god damn it... "We'll see about that," Yugi said with a smirk, pulling his cards from the disk and replacing them in his deck with a nod. "I'll be putting an end to your plan... Trust me on that... Even with your God Cards," he snarled, voice raising in volume as he stared at the 'Ghoul', "With all your power, I will not lose..! I'll defeat you, Malik!"
For a brief moment they were answered with silence, the Ghoul standing only a foot away before the eye grinned once more. "...Hn... I look forward to our match then... Yugi."
"Hehehehehe... As do I," the 'eye' stated coldly, chuckling as Katsuya swallowed. "See you later Blondie," the 'Eye' shouted with a grin, flames traveling back up the eye as the teeth closed over with a laugh. "Maybe if we're lucky," it howled manically, "We'll meet again! Kehehehehe!" With a sudden 'flare' the flames extinguished, eye vanishing from sight completely... Leaving nothing but a smooth and blood-less forehead in its place as the body of Yugi's last opponent fell forward.
Gh..! Katsuya hurried to the man's side, swallowing as he stooped down and slowly tapped the man's forehead. No blood, none at all..! ...Nothing, he realized with a swallow. Nothing... It was gone... The blond's fingers moved toward his neck, the teen standing back up with a frown. Alive, not that he deserved it. But... Not waking up, he knew that much given what tended to happen with these things. "Out cold," he muttered, narrowing his eyes as Yugi came back from behind. That 'eye'... "Th' power t' control minds..." And more importantly, that second voice... The voices of those things tended to sound like their 'owners', but with the warped version that shouted out at one point. And even more importantly than that...
Where could this guy possibly be hiding..? "Jonouchi." Katsuya turned, blinking as Yugi handed a card forward and jarred his friend from his thoughts. "This is yours," he stated calmly, the blond looking over the card and his friend in silence. Red-Eyes...
"Rnnnnn..." Briefly his eyes widened, honing in on a small, miniature version of the dragon itself. It... Red-Eyes..! The monster yawned, curling up on Yugi's shoulder as it stared toward the blond somewhat sleepily. It was... His monster... ...
Ah... He smirked, bowing his head as he turned away. Of course... "Sorry Yugi," he said, looking back at his friend with somewhat sad eyes. "I can't take this... 'F I take tha' card," he continued, frowning somewhat as both his friend and the dragon listened closely, "I feel like it'll jus' take me farther from bein' th' kind 'f guy I'm tryin' t' be... A 'true duelist', y' know..?" His friend continued to stare, expression shifting as the blond swallowed and sighed. Red-Eyes... Heh. He looked pretty comfy on his best friend's arm, hahaha... "...Tha' Red-Eyes Black Dragon," he muttered, a small 'rn?' barely meeting his ears. "Tha' Red-Eyes means more t' me than any monster in th' world," the blond admitted, smirking somewhat as the dragon looked at him and tilted its head. "Been my partner f'r a while now, haha..." That wasn't funny damn it... Whatever. "But y' know, it's like y' said," he decided, watching the dragon listen in with his friend as he swallowed. "Way back b'fore R'becca showed up... Monsters... They need a break 'vry once in a while," he said calmly, looking at his deck briefly before turning back. "An y' know, I've been usin' him alo' lately, like a crutch... I take 'm back," he continued, looking at his friend seriously, "An' I'm not gonna grow as a fighter I don' think... Th' way I am righ' now," he continued, swallowing back another sigh, "Red-Eyes wouldn' let me fight w' 'm. Not at all..." And as the dragon nodded, he had a feeling he was being told 'damn straight' to say the least... Hahaha... "So I'm gonna leave 'm with you," Katsuya decided, nodding his head as the dragon gave a happy croon in response. Heh... So this was the right answer then... "I'll be fine w' this deck after all," Katsuya continued, nodding again. "An' f'r my ante, I've still got th' Time Wizard..." He hadn't used that guy for a while actually, haha... "I'm gonna be a 'true duelist', y' hear," he said with a grin, before the expression died down to a serious one yet again.
"...Jonouchi," Yugi asked as silence settled between them, the dragon as well giving a questioning rumble.
One last thing... "...Listen... Yugi," he asked, eyes drifting to the dragon on his friend's shoulders yet again as he spoke. "Can y' promise me somethin," he asked, the boy before him remaining silent as he listened. "...If... If I do alrigh' in th' tournament," he continued, "An th' time comes where I c'n call myself 'ready' f'r Red-Eyes again... Will you fight me," he asked, looking into his friend's eyes as the boy stared. "Can y' look after Red-Eyes 'till then... And at tha' time, fight me..?"
The answer... Was instantaneous. And thankfully, unforeseen... He was kinda sick of constantly getting heads up to things he didn't want to know before hand "Of course," his friend said with a nod, smirking. "Let's do it, Jonocuhi!"
Katsuya nodded, sighing in relief. Hah... Thanks... "Thank you, Yugi..." Thanks... Now then... "...Alrigh'," he shouted, turning away and looking at the crowd. "Tournament's jus' gettin' started! WHO WANT'S A PIECE 'F ME," he called out, grinning. "LET'S GO!" When the time came...
Wait for him, Yugi, Red-Eyes. When the time came, he'd be ready.
It was half an hour since the tournament start he realized fairly quickly. After all that happened earlier he'd decided he was tired of running, and looking at the clock as he walked... '9:30'. Well... Yugi hadn't started his duel officially until nine... There had to be a reason for that he decided, hands stowed in his pockets for the moment. Even so; he only had so many shots at this before he was out again. He couldn't let that happen... So... First off... "Hah... Where t' go," he muttered, looking around with a frown.
"Rnnnnaaaaaaaa..?" Heh..? Katsuya blinked frowning as a small 'growl' came from the side. That noise... Another monster?
Hell, if Red-Eyes was 'real' and snuggling up for a well needed vacation... (What was he, a cat?) The blond turned around the corner, frowning for a moment. No monsters here but... He shook it off for a moment, a grin coming on his face as he looked down the next street. "A-Ah! A duel!" Would you look at that... But then where the hell was the monster...
Something brushed against his side, the blond looking down and blinking. "Rnnnnnn..." Raptor... It was... Just a brown, striped raptor, nothing to see... What the hell...
Wait.
"O-Oi," he muttered under his breath, watching the dinosaur tilt its head to the side. "You're th' one from-"
"Aha! Just as I predicted," a voice called out, the blond's attention moving toward the two duelists further down the road. Eh..? Standing tall behind a momentarily unknown duelist a monster cloaked in a seemingly metal-lined, skin-tight cloak glared forward, mouth replaced with a breathing mask and goggle-like eyes staring sightlessly toward the large serpent-like monster across from it. A dragon, he wondered briefly, looking at the enormous, 'mouthless' beast.
But the one fighting with it was... "Ah... Ryuzaki..?" Against 'Esper Roba', he realized, watching as the teen gleefully unveiled a trap from the blank tablet on his side. The psychic from Ishikawa he realized, watching a simple carving appear on the stone before hacking itself free. ...But why was Ryuzaki using a dragon again?
Roba smirked, a pendulum lulling his opponent's dragon to sleep before the monster behind him destroyed it in a single glance. A laser shot from the being's two fingers... Shot directly between the dragon's eyes, with a strong and almost explosive burst of electricity...
And the monster collapsed, dead, Katsuya watching as Ryuzaki grit his teeth in response. "Heh!" Roba grinned, crossing his arms as the monster behind him 'shrugged' out of existence. "I win..!"
"Aggggggh..." Katsuya blinked, the small dinosaur he'd spotted earlier walking over and looking up at Ryuzaki with worried eyes as the field 'cleared'. Eh..? It was his then? "I couldn't even touch his life points," he groaned, looking at the card he'd played as he grit his teeth. "That was awful!" Not even a scratch..? Against Ryuzaki..?
'You see that,' the crowd was muttering, eyes wide with disbelief. 'Ryuzaki couldn't do a thing... Esper Roba's won two matches already..!' R-Really! Two!
"Now then Ryuzaki," Roba drawled, standing over the teen as both he and the raptor beside him turned to face the match winner. What now..? "Your rarest card... And puzzle card as well," he continued, holding his hand out. "If you please..."
"Shit..." Ryuzaki looked back at his card, pulling the locator card from his disk with a swallow. "Damned baka..." Nice insult there..? ...Wait, Osaka... Right... The teen continued growl under his breath, nonetheless nodding as he handed over the two cards. Briefly, he could see the same snake-like dragon looking back at its former owner with worry... But only briefly.
"Hmp! This is your best card," Roba asked with raised eyebrows, smirking as he pocketed it. The dragon it represented gave a small shudder, narrowing its eyes in response. "I can't use this in my psychic deck... But it'll prove a good trade..." Not that the dragon was too pleased about that... Though now, the dragon was also fading from existence. "NOW," he shouted, looking out at the crowd as Katsuya moved over to stand behind Ryuzaki. "Who will be next to fight me!"
'I'll pass,' duelists in the crowd were muttering, shaking their heads in response. 'I don't know if he really has ESP, but I don't have a chance if he can see my cards!' 'Yea.. No thanks,' another muttered, Katsuya merely raising his eyebrows at the 'ESP'. 'I'll play someone else...'
ESP... Heh! Now that he thought about it the blond noted, that was pretty close to his weird ass dreams huh... No way a fight against Roba would be that bad... He cracked his knuckles, nodding to himself at the thought. Yea... "Don't even think about it Jonouchi..."
"E-Eh..?" The blond turned, blinking as Ryuzaki gave him a frown and adjusted his hat. What? "Ryuzaki..." That raptor was still there... Shouldn't it have gone back into its card or something? He shook himself, frowning somewhat. "Whatdya mean, 'don't think about it'," he said with a scowl, looking back at Roba briefly. "He can't be that bad!"
The teen shook his head, looking back at Roba with a nervous expression. "Well guess what, he is! I don't know how," he continued with a swallow, "But he can tell what cards are in your hand right off the bat... He predicts your strategy and works around it! If he beat me, then there's no way you even stand a chance... And you and I both know that it was luck that won our last match," he continued, gritting his teeth as he looked back at the blond. Alright, ignoring that... ...
...Yeaaaaa, Ryuzaki had a point given how he won that match... Still. He was a lot better now! "You're completely serious about this," he asked, looking back as Roba continued to question the crowd. "You really think I can't beat him?"
Ryuzaki nodded, sweating visibly under the hat on his head. "Yea," he said seriously, the unseen raptor at his side also staring at Roba with narrowed eyes. "There's not a chance in hell! I might be an ass," he said dryly, rolling his eyes at the blond, "But I'm still honest." Yea yea yea... Way to admit your faults. Speaking of hell, wouldn't he bet that the place was cold as ice compared to Ryuzaki's temperature in that hat and jacket..?
Well... Regardless of that. "Heh... In that case, I'll beat him," he decided, smirking as he again cracked his knuckles and stepped forward.
"Wh..." Ryuzaki blinked, shaking himself. "Say again..."
Katsuya grinned, looking back at Ryuzaki. "'F course! Step one t' becomin' a true duelist," he said clearly, clicking his disk into place as Roba looked over. "Don't pass up an opponent, no matter what... An' step two," he added somewhat louder, watching as Roba took his own fighting stance, "Fight opponents that seem stronger than y, whenever y' can!"
"Ah... W-What..." Still the teen behind him continued to stare, confusion more than evident. "What the hell." Eh, he didn't expect Ryuzaki to get it really...
"Let's do this, y' ESP freak," Katsuya shouted, Roba raising his eyebrows in slight humor. "I don' care how 'psychic' y' are... Duel!"
With that, Roba smirked, nodding. "Well then," he decided, re-loading his deck. "How can I refuse..?"
"Aagghhh..." Ryuzaki groaned, hand finding a near permanent home on his forehead. "I don't know if you're a baka or just... Nevermind..." Heh... Maybe he didn't know 'now', but by the end of this...
'ESP'... Hah! He'd show this guy what 'precognition' really was! ...Provided he got a flash during the duel.
Couldn't really predict that.
AN: Ohhh yea... Roba VS Jonouchi! In other words, our first look at a real Duel Monster's match from Jonouchi's eyes...
And in addition to that, a small look at the consequences visible to the audience, hehehehe. Lots of fun with the first part of this chapter, I have to say... Mostly, Haga getting the boot was to set a path for Doma believe it or not; I need Haga and Ryuzaki to actually be somewhat acquainted after all, given the fact that they were travelling around in that arc... And besides, someone needs to keep that idiot out of trouble, and Ryuzaki just drew the short straw in my head. (And as a side effect Shizuka I guess...)
Also, I'm hoping to, while keeping Haga in character, make him a bit less... Hated. After all, there's gotta be some reason why everyone in Japan loves the guy... (I'm serious. We North Americans are the ones spewing the hate, not Japan.)
Now then, in other news! Poll Results are still Unchanged. So you'll have to look back at chapter 62 to see the results, but trust me when I say, we're still moving forward with the dreams.
And now for business.
Anonymous Review Responses
Oh, someone new! Hi there randomprojects! Another troper huh? That's always cool. TvTropes might ruin lives, but it's fun to do~
That was actually the basis for starting this fanfic really; the challenge of making a GB fanfic that didn't have the exaggerated girlies or plotless occurrences. In all honesty, it's more fun to toss in so much BST and Will They Or Won't They antics, it really is. As to whether they caught it…
Someone will bring it up, but it won't be those two. (Not that they weren't thinking it.)
And hahaha, that's fine; another of my readers admitted to not even watching the series, and really, if it makes the suspense better than that's just fine. And yes… Saving the world WITH CARRRRRRRDS! On a side note, I'll say it again and again; I'm glad that my notes at the bottom help out! (In all honesty, they help me out too… Mostly by forcing me to do research about the things I'm unsure about… Or just curious about, or even just wanting to share.)
As for the reveal of the dreams… Well, we'll get through that, and your questions will be answered! In all honesty, they aren't annoying at all; I quite enjoy answering questions. (Though these ones are really spoilery, so I can't answer them…) In any case, I can answer the last one… While the identity of the boy is remaining secret for now, Jonouchi's 'fate-less-ness' is very much tied to his past life… And his current one to say the least. I hope you enjoy the answers when they come!
And hey, nothing wrong with the abridged series Iona~ Though in this case, it's more of a 'I hope Red-Eyes will want Jonouchi later'. Hehehehe.
Panther Warrior would have given him a break if it hadn't taken a number of hours for his summoner to wake up. He'll cool down after his cat nap though.
On the next point… Who says she didn't? (When no one was looking.) Then again, it is Kaiba… So she probably did hold back a blush but… Oh well.
Enjoy the chapter!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that sees fit to warn you that if the next chapter moves properly, no one will duel in the one after that. A card-game fanfic without cards? INCREDIBLE.
Today's chapter title is probably, obvious, but as a side note, guess which leg Achilles' weak heel was on. Yep. I am that shameless.
Shortly before the Battle City tournament officially starts, we get to see a businessman wandering around all confused as craploads of duelists mess around with their disks. It's hard not to laugh at his confusion really…
Oh hey, Ryuzaki's point of view! And those who didn't know I gave him a first name are probably rolling around in shock now. Mehehehe.
In any case, this scene between him and Haga is mostly for IMPORTANT THINGS pertaining to plot (mostly Doma, for reasons you can probably guess)… And it's also the unfortunate side effect of me typing this chapter while watching Big Bang Theory.
Because despite them being completely different in every way, I could not help but compare Haga to a certain overly smug nerd. (But Haga has nothing to make up for his overly smug attitude. LAAAA.)
Also yes, I gave him three sisters. Believe it or not, they are bigger dicks than he is. For the most part. We won't really see them though, so I'll be getting a picture ready...
Hey! Time for a bit of character notes on Haga. We don't know much about him really... All we can see is that he's manipulative, cunning prick, but obviously very very quick to cheat to solidify a win, even when it's never certain that he would need to. What does that tell us? Well, he might be good at 'acting', but he's obviously extremely insecure if he's taking as many underhanded methods as possible to win... It's one thing to be proud.
It's another thing to constantly go the extra mile to cheat. In any case, as smug as he is, I am trying to be objective with every character I type out so... Oddly enough, I don't hate him as much any more, despite his 'reason' for being an ass being completely pointless and unforgivable even when made up on the spot. In any case, enjoy the insufferable genius you see above... His home life sucks, at least in my head.
Why didn't Ryuzaki realize it was Yugi right off? Mostly because he's never actually spoken to the 'other' Yugi. Maybe seen him... But never spoken. It's the same as early on, where Anzu technically met 'Yami', but never actually saw him; because of the difference in the ways that Yugi and his other carry their voices, (One with confidence, one... Not so much.) she didn't realize it was Yugi.
Same here; it took Ryuzaki a bit to realize it was Yugi.
And as a side note to the whole 'where does everyone live' issue... We know that Mai is considered 'Number 1' in Kyoto by fanfic location, with Ryuzaki taking the position in Osaka, both of which are in the Kansai region. In fact, they're actually directly north/south of each other.
Even Kotsuzuka AKA 'Zombie Boy' got a 'home town'; Tokushima, one of the districts on the smallest of Japan's main islands... Namely Shikoku. This of course, has me giving his two friends, Takaido and Satake, a similar 'home area'... In this case Kochi and Kagawa. Keep in mind that these are all regions and prefectures; not cities. While Mai, Haga (Tokyo) and Ryuzaki all happen to be from the 'capital' of their region, the city that matches it in name, that's not necessarily true for everyone else. It's just an 'identifier'... Though some 'prefectures' are cities in their own right, oddly enough.
However, I never listed one for Kajiki, our favourite 'crazy harpoon guy'; I opted to go with Okinawa, or the Ryukyu Island string, as it's not only a spot where you would likely get the chance to do some spear fishing (Which is quite obviously how Kajiki does it; he uses a spear, not a harpoon.), but also because of his absolutely insane tan. Okinawa is an extremely tropical area in contrast to the rest of Japan you see, so anywhere else is fairly pale in comparison. As to why an entire string of islands is its own 'prefecture', well… (And yes, this is a LONG one.)
The entire string only has a population of 1.4 million really. Even with that though, there's still a density of 606 people per kilometre square, so the fact is, it's a small set of islands. A similar point can be used for Hokkaido, which is bigger than the entire Kanto area (which houses 7 prefectures including Tokyo)... But only has a population of about plus 5 million people, most of which live in its capital of Sapporo.
Originally in the manga, Kaiba states that there are 48 participants. This makes sense, given that 48 divided into 6 (locator cards) is 8. (Derp) I upped the number for two reasons though; one is to make up for the fact that there are 47 prefectures in Japan, and as indifferent as Kaiba is, ticking off any one prefecture because there 'weren't enough duel disks' is probably not a good idea, nor would it be good for the sales in that particular area.
Because hey, Kaiba knows how to multitask; and if one person from each area of Japan heads off with that duel disk… (Of course in the end, the ghouls beat them out anyways...)
Another point is that this means in addition to those '47' we still get Kaiba, Yugi, and Jou. …Among others. (Remember children, the Duelist Database was meant to lock people out, and only contained logs of Japan initially. For Ishizu to get in anyways…)
Some of you might wonder if, given the blistering summer season, this means people like Ryuuzaki are still wearing things like toques despite all common logic. This will be addressed later on, but believe me when I say that the answer is yes… But he won't complain. Jonouchi is confused as hell, but Ryuzaki will not complain.
In the anime, there was a really important scene here that was cut from the dub… But as it didn't happen in the manga, I skipped it. That's not the only reason though, and if it was, I would have typed it.
See, the main reason that scene happens is because someone brings it to Yugi's attention that Jonouchi is missing… Namely his mother, who is calling on behalf of Shizuka, who is still in the hospital at this point.
You can probably guess really really quickly why I can't put that scene here with just that information though. In the end, you could argue that the Panther Warrior took Honda's place with the 'PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER' bit and re-created the scene back in the alley way, but with less crying and 'I'm not worth SHIT!'… Mostly because getting punched by Exodia invokes pain… Not shame. (Also anger, but lets not go there..)
It's for the best in the end; that scene led to Jonouchi meeting up with his sister and reassuring her that he'd give her a reason to take the bandages off… But there's a non-canon point that I've been building on that kinda relies on Jonouchi being oblivious to the bandages still being there, hehehe. In fact, you'll see it within two chapters.
Jonouchi didn't hear anything that Kaiba said about the tournament, poor guy; that's why he didn't know about the locator cards, the tournament rules… The fact is, Kaiba's 'announcement' ended at 8:35, and Jou got there at five to nine; in other words, right before the tournament start!
Hahaha… No matter what Jonouchi says, Yugi just keeps telling him 'AHP. Gonna duel, shush' in a sense. It's rather amusing really, as in the end it seems sort of like a 'you know, this would have gone a lot faster if…'
Of course this being Yugi, he proves him wrong anyways...
Yugi's lines of COOOOOOORN! 'Garbage like you is a disgrace to the city! I'll clean you up!' Bawwww… Slightly altered, but not so much that the ham and corn isn't there.
Originally (I'm assuming at least) Yugi is the one who asks 'what' Malik is. I had Jonouchi do it instead though since while Yugi and everyone else are only seeing bulging veins that 'happen' to shape into an eye… His view is a little more frightening. Just a tad.
Before we go further, a note on Locator Cards. Jonouchi only duels (As himself mind) three times… This makes him two cards short. Needless to say, there's the assumption that he received any locator cards his opponents had rather than just 'one', since there is no way he would take any cards from Yugi after the hell of Malik's mind control… Which means he got three from Roba, rather than one, as someone in the crowd mentioned that Roba won twice.
Hey, it's Roba! His name by the way, means 'silk gauze' ('Ro') and 'place' ('ba')… You can probably guess what 'Esper' refers to though.
As for the 'city' I decided he's from, Ishikawa, (From the Chubu region... Smack dab between Kanto and Kansai.) it's in reference to his name… Ishikawa is the location where 'kaga silk', an incredibly complex form of silk print originates from. It's not gauze obviously, but...
Hahaha.. And thus we see the 'Baka-Ahou' switch for Tokyo and Kansai dialects. To Ryuzaki, that insult is about as bad as asshole and then some. To everyone else… 'Why did he call him an idiot?' Poor Ryuzaki, knocked out right off the bat because his opponent was cheating...
Well, that's all for this chapter... Hope you enjoy the next one, and I'll see you then!