Eyes That See The Future
Domino was known for relatively few things among the Tokyo area in comparison to the rest of its special wards. Unlike other well known 'districts' of the 'city' such as Shibuya, or Shinjuku, it was hardly a tourist hot spot, and possibly the least populated ward of all of them. There was just a small pier on the shore, a single train station, and the 'highlight' of the area, 'Kaiba-Land'. Besides this, there were only two things that Domino was quickly gaining a name for. One was its museums, which had a habit of focusing on the Egyptian and Grecian side of Archaeology, its exhibits gaining a relatively small number of visitors per day. The other however, was its gaming industry, particularly encouraged by 'Kaiba Corporation'...
An encouragement that had quite literally 'taken over' the city at the moment, earning the event taking place at the moment a rather appropriate name of 'Battle City'... Much to the distaste of any vehicle owner attempting to enter the district. As for its competitors...
He was dueling one right now, for what would be his first match of the day. "Alrigh' y' ESP freak," he said with a grin, duel disk at the ready as he stared down his current opponent. "Lets go!"
"First," Roba said plainly, "Lets confirm each other's ante! Mine is Psycho Shocker," he stated, holding the card out. "Along with, of course, a puzzle card..."
The blond nodded, digging through his deck to find his own ante. He had to say, he was a little surprised about Roba's appearance... He'd heard of this guy, but he'd never seen him. All in all...
He looked almost foreign. Though thinking about it, he probably shouldn't be thinking that given that he was blond... Katsuya shook it off, continuing to flip through the cards before holding out his own ante. "Mine's th' Time Wizard," he called out with a nod, before replacing it in his deck. "An' I'll offer my Puzzle Card jus' like you are," he added, opponent nodding in response.
"Very well! Lets start the duel then, shall we," he said with a smirk, replacing the card in his deck before moving his puzzle card to a pocket.
Yea... Katsuya nodded, watching his deck shuffle itself before looking forward. All or noth- "Hey hey hey... Jonouchi," Ryuzaki called from the side, a slight frown on his face. He turned, blinking as the teen continued to scowl. "If you're using your Time Wizard, then what the hell did you do with my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Errrr...
"Oh... Ah... My dragon!" He laughed somewhat, before shaking his head. "Ahhh..." Yea... The blond coughed, shrugging it off with a slight sigh as he turned back to his opponent. "I screwed up, Red-Eyes ended up stolen..." Oh, maybe he shouldn't have said that... Ryuzaki was red in the face now...
"WHAT-"
"I got 'm back," he added quickly, shaking his head and ignoring the continued growl from the side. "But someone's holdin' on t' 'm for me... My rival," he clarified, turning back to face his opponent. "Yugi..."
"Your... Your rival," Ryuzaki repeated, looking somewhat dumbfounded in response. "...Yugi," he added, still staring with wide eyes. Katsuya merely nodded, still not looking back. Yep! And that was a promise he was keeping... And- "Agggghhh..." The teen behind him continued to groan, shaking his head as Katsuya glanced back. "Forget it... Better this than watching you lose Red-Eyes to a trade house," he moaned, the blond rolling his eyes in response.
Yea yea yea... Way to cheer him on right? "Hn!" Katsuya drew his hand, watching as the life point meter bounced up to 4000 for the duel start. Pay that no mind... He sure as hell didn't feel like he would lose! "Alrigh'... I'm first," he shouted, the teen across from him drawing his own hand. "Duel!" Now...
What did he have in his hand... The blond blinked, eyebrows raising as he looked the cards over. This... He smirked, the expression quickly hidden as he continued to look at the cards. This was a good hand! Well, alright then he decided, reaching for one of his cards. Seeing how he'd been able to summon Red-Eyes with no trouble the night before, standard rulings would let him play a high level right off the bat, so he'd mind as well do that and... And...
...What the hell was that sound. "Hnnnnn~" Katsuya frowned, looking across the field. ...What. The sound increased, the blond narrowing his eyes. "HNNNNNN~" ... WHAT. "I feel the energy of the cosmos," Roba muttered 'mysteriously', arms held to the skies as his opponent stared in disbelief. "Passing through my body," he whispered, "Becoming one with me..."
"O-Oi oi... What..." He blinked a few times, slowly looking back at Roba's last opponent for an answer.
"Yea," Ryuzaki muttered, shaking his head with a sigh. "Don't ask."
Gee that was helpful. Katsuya frowned, before pulling his attention back to his opponent. "At this time, at this place," Roba was continuing on, bringing his hands to his head in a fairly 'tv-psychic'-like fashion, "I will win this duel..! It is destiny... It is the law of the Cosmos!"
"L-Law of th' Cosmos," he repeated incredulously, again blinking off his shock. Destiny..? What? What the hell was wrong with this guy? The blond shook himself yet again, grabbing the card and setting it on the disk. Screw this! "Enough 'f that! Here's my card," he shouted, dust rising from the ground before him as Roba merely continued to hum. "Giltia, th' Dark Knight!"
"Hmph!" The teen before him threw his hand forward, Katsuya not paying attention as he stared at where his monster should have been. First off, Roba's hand was... Off but... Well the tablet had started to appear...
"H-HEH!" The blond coughed, paling as he was left with a swirling cloud of dust. "What th' hell was that," he shouted loudly, choking on his words. The tablet crumbled.. To DUST. At the exact moment Roba had... "What kind 'f ESP is-"
Roba shrugged, eyes closed as he cut the blond off. "It was simply the law of the cosmos..."
What the- Was he high! What was this! "EH!"
"Pff..." A snort came from the side, Katsuya turning as his shocked expression remained unchanged. "You MORON," Ryuzaki shouted, looking as though he was decidedly torn between laughing and glaring at the blond. He shook his head, jaw clenched. "These are advanced rulings! Don't you know anything?"
Ghnnng... The blond scowled, clenching his fists as he turned on the teen. "Gh- Yer one t' talk, didn' you jus' say y' lost without makin' a scratch," he shouted, face growing red. "My sister could duel better than yeh!"
Ryuzaki rolled his eyes, snorting. "Hah, yea that's a really strong insult there Jonouchi!" A smirk came on his face, the Osakan crossing his arms. "Real powerful from a guy I don't know!"
Why that-! "Gnnnnggggh.."
"...We are dueling right," Roba asked somewhat dryly, crossing his arms as Katsuya looked back. Eh? Right...
"Tch... Shut up," he muttered, gritting his teeth as he looked back at his duel disk. Man... Leave it to Kaiba to find a way to switch between rule systems at the drop of a hat... If he'd known this before...
Roba merely snorted, shaking his head as he drew his next card. "Well... You certainly wasted your turn with that..." Yea, no shit he thought with narrowed eyes, gritting his teeth. But how about I give you some advice," he continued, closing his eyes as he raised his hands to his head yet again. Advice..? Seriously? "That card on the very left of your hand... The Swordsman of Landstar," he continued, Katsuya growing pale as he looked at the card in question. "Why don't you play it on your next turn?" W... What... The blond continued to pale, looking up from the card with wide eyes.
He guessed... Right on the dot... "How th' hell..."
"The answer is obvious isn't it," Roba said with a chuckle, the blond across from him continuing to pale. "It's telepathy... The skills of one whose mind is synonymous with the cosmos..." S-Skills? And 'cosmos' again..? What was this guy..! "I have achieved a state of absolute enlightenment," the teen continued, eyes closed in false serenity as the crowd stared. "My awareness transcends time and space both!" H-Hihhhh... "We're both human, Jonouchi," Roba continued, Katsuya's fear quickly replaced with confusion. "We're made of the same cells... By my power I AM you," he said dangerously, "And I AM your cards!" He... 'Was' his cards? But they were all...
He blinked, tilting his head somewhat. That made no sense what so ever... And given that Ryuzaki was shrugging as well, he was just as clueless... So... What?
"Well now," Roba called out, pulling Katsuya's attention forward again as he set a card on the field. "It's my turn..." A tablet appeared slightly to the side and front of him, an almost rose coloured mist seeping through the outline on its form. "I summon Cyber Raider," the teen cried, a spandex clad warrior literally flipping out from the tablet before cracking his neck. "And seeing how you have no monsters," he continued, a dark smirk on his face as his monster took a stance. Oh fuck. "ATTACK DIRECTLY," Roba commanded, the Raider clenching his fists with a nod. "CYBER KNUCKLE!"
Oh fuck. "No hard feelings kid," the raider muttered, audible cracks sounding through the air as he adjusted his helm. FUCK. The warrior charged with a low shout, a single solid punch knocking him in the gut as the monster grabbed him roughly by the back of his jacket.
"G-GOH... Ugh..." He bowed his head, slumping as the jacket was released. G-Ghnn... Ow ow ow ow ow... "N... Not so hard," he hissed under his breath, watching as the monster shrugged and began walking back.
"Hey, standard proceedure," he muttered, shaking his head. "Not my fault if you're more 'sensitive'." Gh-! More sensitive he growled mentally, pulling himself up with a growl. That... Bastaaaard...
"Turn over," Roba stated calmly, a smirk on his face as his opponent groaned.
Ung... Note to self... Whenever possible, put up a defense... Ghk... "My turn then," he hissed, rubbing the still tender bruise before drawing his card. "Draw..." Okay... Okay... He blinked, eyes trailing over his 'Graceful Dice' before slipping it into his hand with a nod. Just one monster in his hand then... Alright... He didn't have any monsters strong enough for a defense at the moment then... He'd have to gamble on this card.
"Hnnnnn~" Oh for fuck's sake... Katsuya grit his teeth, watching as his opponent again held his hands to his head. "Hnnnnnnnnn~..." Gh... Fucking nutjob... Cut the crap already! "Channelling complete," Roba stated calmly, the blond rolling his eyes as he clenched his teeth. "Your draw... A second Graceful Dice, wasn't it," he 'asked', a smirk on his face. "At least... That's what I've been told."
Second- Katsuya's eyes widened, nonetheless holding his tongue as his opponent continued. "Does it shock you," the teen asked, a smirk on his face as his opponent's cold expression went unnoticed. "This telepathy... This gift from the cosmos!" Gift? Pfh! Gift his ass, this was no- "As we speak," Roba stated in a near whisper, "Communicating with me is the spirit of Pegasus J. Crawford, creator of Duel Monsters... He who was tragically murdered a few months ago..." Tragically-
"Wh..." The blond dropped his thoughts, instantly going cold at the mention. "Pegasus is... Dead..?" The crowd around them fell silent with that question, Katsuya slowly turning back to look at Ryuzaki in response. Alright, he might not pay attention to the news but... "...Is he serious?"
There was nothing funny about that one. The crowd continued their silence, nervous glances exchanged as questioning stares looked back. "...Are YOU," Ryuzaki finally asked, eyes wide with disbelief. "That made the news in January... They couldn't even find his body," he added, Katsuya swallowing in response.
J... January..? "I'm still waiting," Roba muttered, eyes narrowed as both teens looked back. The so-called psychic crossed his arms, a smirk appearing on his face. "Whether you are aware or not," he drawled, "This doesn't change the source of my 'power'... I know every card in your hand Jonouchi..." Every card eh..? "You mind as well make your move!" Tch...
Was he for real? The blond grit his teeth, before a wicked smirk came into place and he shook his head. Hehehehe... 'ESP'... Katsuya hid his expression, keeping his gaze lowered as a short plan came to mind. This guy could tell what cards he had, but not by some 'cosmic power'! "I'll make my move alrigh'," he growled, grabbing his first card and setting it on the disk. "First," he shouted loudly, tablet appearing at his side in a rise of dust, "I'm playin th' Swordsman 'f Landstar!" More dust flowed through the tablet as its outline appeared,a small alien-esque warrior leaping out with a shout. Heh... "An' then," he continued, grabbing his next two cards and slipping them into the spell slots, "Two face down cards..." The two blank tablets appeared at either side behind him, Katsuya looking at them from the corner of his eye for a brief moment. Heh... No problems there... "An' I end my turn!"
A 'flash' of sorts appeared in Roba's eyes, a grin appearing on the teen's face. Yea yea... Get excited why didn't he... Personally, if there was anything happening in the future it was 'ocean' related... He kept smelling salt water and seaweed damn it. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Well... Trying to oppose my ESP with 'luck'..." Katsuya again snapped himself out of his 'flash', staring across the field. "I'll accept your challenge," Roba announced, drawing his next card with a smirk. Challenge? Feh! Katsuya snorted, shaking his head as the teen continued. "I sacrifice Cyber Raider to summon a new monster," he was shouting, expression serious as both the monster and tablet ground to dust on the field. Smoke rose from the air, slowly taking form. Initially it resembled an odd shaped cloud... But within seconds, standing a few feet taller than than its summoner it appeared, armor shining to an almost blinding extent in the sunlight. "Arise! The Fiend, Megacyber!" Gh... 2200 Attack... Well, a monster had been summoned in any case...
Which mean that it was now or never. "Activate magic card," Katsuya shouted, gesturing to the left-most blank tablet at his side. The carved outline of a white winged 'imp' appeared at his command, die in hand as it floated from the crumbling stone. The more the stone crumbled, the clearer it appeared... Until finally it rose high into the air and prepared to drop the die. "Here goes," he muttered, watching as it was released from the imp's hand. "Graceful Dice!" Katsuya stared as the die clattered on the ground, the imp who had held it vanishing into a cloud of dust. Come on... Come on... He needed a five or a six, a five or a six... The die continued to roll across the ground, rolling, rolling... Was that a six?
...No. No... It was a three. Damn. "Ahahaha! Too bad," Roba shouted with a grin, the Swordsman across from him merely pulling a face at the teen as his attack power rose. "Even with 1500 attack points" he shouted, Katsuya merely staring across in silence, "Your monster is no match for mine!" Oh really? The blond merely narrowed his eyes, watching as the metal giant before them raised a clawed hand and took aim. "Fiend Megacyber," Roba ordered, an outline appearing on Katsuya's second tablet with the words. "ATTACK!"
"Heheheheheh..." Those around blinked, frowning as Katsuya abruptly smirked. "Activate trap card," he shouted, the more demonic of imps appearing as its tablet broke itself into nothingness. The black-capped imp rose above the ground, die spinning in hand with a mad cackle as his opponent tensed. "SKULL DICE!"
"A.. A trap!"
"Wait," Ryuzaki muttered with a frown, the die dropping to the ground to clatter about the field in the meantime. "He said your 'second' Graceful dice before..."
The smirk grew, Katsuya watching as the die landed on a five. Hehehehe... Math wasn't his strong point, but with a roll like that... "Tha's right," the blond muttered, nodding in response. "But would y' look at that," he said with a grin, the die and imp both vanishing into a cloud of dust that enveloped the opposing monster. "Now it's yer monster whose attack is lower!" Right down to 440, he added mentally, watching as the dust gummed up the monster's joints and eroded its metal. Nothing but a walking scrap heap now, with its arm slowly and painfully falling forward with a screech. Hehehehe... "An' since yer still attacking..."
The swordsman gave a curt nod at that, leaping forward to ram his blade as far into the gap in the armor as possible. Though no blood appeared, it evidently did the trick... Slowed movements halted completely and the beast gave a howling moan, clattering backward before scattering into pieces until nothing but piles of metal remained. And even then, it was only for an instant. "Ah..." Roba stared, eyes wide with horror at the intense loss. "AHHHHHH..." Heh... Not a bad hit...
"Hn!" Katsuya snorted as his opponent paled, crossing his arms. "Th' reason you thought I had two 'f th' same card in my hand... I'm bettin' it's be'case they were on top 'f each other," he decided with narrowed eyes, "So you only saw th' word 'Dice'! You don' have telepathy," he growled, looking up at the buildings behind him with narrowed eyes. In an instant, despite the distance being too much and the sun being in his eyes... He still knew they were there, whoever 'they' were. Tch... "Someone here is PEEKIN' AT MY CARDS!"
Now that got a reaction. The crowd went red, most either gasping in shock or muttering amongst themselves as the accused in question chocked. "Cheating..!"
Ryuzaki growled, eyes growing wide as he stood at the sidelines. Briefly he'd followed Katsuya's gaze, looking back at Roba and gritting his teeth. It only took a second for him to begin shaking in his own anger however. "Gh... You're telling me he's BUGGED," he snarled, turning back on the blond's opponent with wide and incensed eyes. "You fucking-"
"G-Gh... Now now..." Now now? Hahaha, like that would hold the crowd back. "D-Don't make baseless claims," Roba said with a slight laugh, shaking his head as the crowd continued to sour. "There's... There's no reason..."
"'Baseless' my ass," Ryuzaki roared, cutting the teen off. "He caught you red-handed!"
Roba continued to tense, swallowing as mutterings at the side began to pick up. "Gh..."
"Oiii, Ryuzaki," Katsuya growled, turning on the teen with narrowed eyes. The teen in question blinked, eyebrows raised as the blond scowled. "Stay outta this, thi' 's my duel!"
"Wh-Wh-" The Osakan tensed, before scowling as well. "What the hell man, I'm helping you!"
Well don't! "I don' care!"
"Oh please..." The two turned, blinking as Roba managed to regain his composure. Huh... That was quick... Ish. "Spies... 'Cheats'... Don't make me laugh," he continued, shaking his head with a sigh. "If that's so then just how would I be getting information? And from where," the teen pressed, Katsuya flushing. Yea... He couldn't really say 'I just do' or 'Because I saw it in my head' with these things... "You've only won one turn Jonouchi," Roba growled, eyes narrowing dangerously as the blond snorted in response. "So you mind as well accept your fate!" His fate? Seriously? "After all... A guess with no basis is just 'speculation'," Roba muttered, again shaking his head. "And as for my predictions... Well, all of them come true, 100% of the time... As I said before," he continued with a grin, Katsuya merely staring in unimpressed silence. "I will win, you will LOSE. I've never lost a duel, not even once," he muttered, eyes narrowed. "The only reason why I couldn't make it to the championships was because of family matters after all... I can guarantee that if I continued to participate, I would have won!" Reaaaally... "There's only one thing certain in this world Jonouchi," Roba stated, grin shrinking to a darkened smirk as he held out a hand. "Fate... Destiny... The 'Future'..." Those huh?
Was that so? Katsuya as well smirked, shaking his head. Heh... Lucky for him then... According to the resident creepy-ass eye things from thousands of years in the sand, he didn't have one. "Y' think so," he said calmly, raising his eyebrows as Roba frowned. "I c'n tell y' this," he continued with a slight frown, "Knowin' what happens in th' future... That's gotta be a pain." Take it from him, he added mentally, eyes growing somewhat dim. "But th' fact is," Katsuya muttered, the frown still in place, "I don' know what's gonna happen. I turn down th' street, I ain't gonna know what's around that corner." Not most of the time at least. "Maybe some lady's shoppin'," he said with a shrug, "Or maybe it's ev'n someone I know... But if there's one thing I do know," he continued, narrowing his eyes, "It's tha' somewhere in this city, there's someone waitin' t' fight me, waitin' for th' finals. An' somewhere, sometime, tha's jus' what I'll do! An' I know it! An' I'll fight righ' now b'cause I believe in that," he growled, clenching his fists. "So you c'n take yer 'ESP' and shove it, y' phony psychic!" Tch... Damn bastard..! And-
...Why could he see the ocean..? Momentarily his senses dulled, nothing but a warm evening breeze blowing over his arms. He was wearing a jacket though, so why... ...And that smell...
The blond shook his head, clearing his vision as more laughter filled the air. Tch... There he went again... "Is that what you think," Roba was muttering, a dangerous grin in place. Well, obviously someone was ticked. "Fine! Continue the duel," he snarled, pointing to his opponent accusingly. "I don't need powers to beat a duelist of your level!"
In all honesty, he had no clue what the 'future' speech was all about. Hell, it was one of those things that kind of had him rolling his eyes. It had that whole 'it could have been in a shonen manga about friendship' air about it really... The kind of thing that just didn't work out in real life. But if there was one thing that was ticking him off much more than that, it was this.
Briefly, when Jonouchi looked back with the assumption he was being spied on... His eyes met directly with the top of a nearby building. Nearby being the 'loose' description of course... It was at the other end of the street. Nonetheless for the second time he narrowed his eyes and looked back at said building, paying little attention to the duel beside him at the moment. It wasn't as though much was happening. One face down card from Roba, holographic card hovering with its back to the sky... Alligator Sword summoned from Jonouchi, the monster's hovering momentarily before both of them moved for attack. But back on that building... His eyes narrowed further, the teen pulling a face in his distaste. Well hell, even the cheapest of binoculars would match that distance if you needed to look over at someone's cards. And when he thought about it, Roba brought his hands to his head before every prediction... With most small radios...
There was a loud shout, Keiichi looking back on the field with wide eyes for a brief moment before narrowing his gaze again. Roba was 1500 points down now... But before Landstar could make his move, the so-called 'Psychic of Ishikawa' had another thing in mind. "Activate trap card," Roba shouted, holographic card swinging upward to reveal itself. The image of a soldier strung on marionette strings met the field, similar strings pulling the swordsman forward in a daze. "Mind Control! Hahahahaha!" God that laugh was getting on his nerves... "Now your warrior is my slave for two turns," Roba said with a grin, The 'Swordsman of Landstar' switching to his side. "Hehehehehe..."
"Gh..." Jonouchi swallowed, shaking himself in response. "What..."
Keiichi as well frowned, looking from Jonouchi to Roba with narrowed eyes. He'd waited for the second monster... "If I'd used mind control on your first monster it would have been a draw," the teen was explaining, a wicked smirk on his face. "I wouldn't have taken damage, and you'd be down two monsters," he continued, smirk widening. "But you know, that's not what I want... After all Jonouchi," Roba muttered, eyes narrowing with apparent mirth, "I need your monster alive..." Alive..!
The teen turned as Jonouchi drew his card, watching as the blond moved it into place on his hand. Nothing but confusion on his face... ...God damn it..! "Gh... Jonouchi," he shouted, eyes narrowed. Had he seriously missed that? And he was the one comparing him to some younger sibling? Sheesh, he knew plenty of people who- The teen shook it off, continuing as the blond turned. "Are you dense," he shouted, Jonouchi frowning in response. "He's using your monster as a sacrifice!"
That got a response... (Thankfully...) "What-!"
"Gh... Ryuzaki," Roba muttered, eyes narrowed as both he and Jonouchi looked back. "Shouldn't you be taking a train back to Osaka now that you've lost..?" A train? Whaaaat, feeling a little ticked?
He smirked, crossing his arms as Jonouchi set a trap on the field beside him. Eh, he had time... "Naw, I think I'll stay here," he decided, a wicked grin in place. "Now that I'm 'disqualified'," Keiichi continued with a laugh, "I'm not technically cheating... And neither is he, at least not according to the rules," the teen added, grin widening. Just in case he decided to try something... "Besides," he added darkly, grin taking a similar turn with his tone. "I really want to see you lose..."
Roba grit his teeth, nonetheless looking back to the field and drawing a card. "Tch... Then prepare to have your hopes shattered again," he said with a grin, Keiichi scowling in response. Yea yea, rub it in asshole... "It's my turn," the teen shouted, "And I play this... Brain Control!" The card appeared instantly on the field, holographic image of two hag's hands around a human brain revealing itself to the crowd. In an instant the Alligator Sword was under its spell, Jonouchi's second monster moving over to Roba's side. Two monsters...
"Gh- Shit, not again," Jonouchi growled, Keiichi merely narrowing his eyes. Two sacrifices meant level 7 and up... Which meant...
"That's right," Roba said with a laugh, grabbing his next card from his hand. "Now your monster is mine! And you know what that means..." The others grit their teeth, faces growing red as Roba laughed. So damn annoying..! "I'm sacrificing them both," he shouted, swirls of light enveloping the two controlled monsters. The card was placed on the field, flipping upwards as the swirls fused for a third monster. Oh shit... No... "Calling forth the mighty cyborg..." Green and black 'robes' with metal... Oh hell no... "PSYCHO SHOCKER!"
The monster stood tall with a loud 'grunt', gloved hands curled into fists as it crossed its arms. Though where Jonouchi was looking was beyond him, given how high up his eyes were turned. "Psy-Psycho shocker," the blond was repeating, Keiichi nodding with narrowed eyes.
He clenched his fists, growling under his breath as he looked back at the cyborg. "Yea... The same monster that did me in," he muttered, gritting his teeth. More importantly...
"Hnhnhnhnhn..." Stop LAUGHING! "And Psycho Shocker possesses a special ability," Roba said smugly, crossing his arms as the monster stood tall before him. "He can detect... And destroy," he added as a 'seeming' after thought, "Any and all trap cards!" With those very words a laser shot from the cyborg's eyes, blasting through the face down card on Jonouchi's field. The blond held an arm up to his face, gritting his teeth in the light. But wait...
Why was he looking to the side..? "Tch... Gone," the blond muttered, Keiichi's eyes narrowing further as he looked at the jacket sleeve. What the hell...
Had something cut it? "Hehehehehe..." More of Roba's aggravating chuckling pulled his attention away, the Osakan looking back to his previous opponent. "So long as Psycho Shocker is on the field," the teen was saying with a grin, "Your trap cards are useless... And now that I've eliminated your trap," he added with a shrug, "I have no reason not to kill you now! Go, Psycho Shocker," he ordered, Jonouchi paling to a near ghost white shade from where he stood. Oh shit, this wouldn't be good.. "ATTACK DIRECTLY, with CYBER ENERGY SHOCK!"
"Tzzt! Gh-!" From his own view, it appeared to be a standard direct attack really. Psycho Shocker developed a blast of sparking energy between his hands, an enormous sphere gathering in its palms before it shot it forward at Jonouchi. With the holograms, there was even a warning in the box that getting thrown back as a result of 'solid vision' was likely. That the company wasn't responsible for the little bit of road rash, or any 'stumbles'. But as Jonouchi skidded across the ground... He noticed something that was just as weird as the 'scuff marks from nowhere'. First off he noted, the blond went almost limp, stiffening in a literally shocked pose, the posture one would get if they stuck a fork in an outlet, or if they were struck by lightning. Second however...
After flying back by at least five feet more than the warning covered...
"...Sparks..." He saw... Keiichi stared with wide eyes as the blond pulled himself up, twitching. It was impossible but...
There were sparks jumping from him. Moreover...
He sniffed, swallowing back his unease as an acrid scent met his nostrils. "And smoke..."
There was definitely a small bit of smoke on the air he realized quickly, and yet as Roba laughed wickedly, taunting Jonouchi and telling him to give in, the blond didn't even shout. 'Give up,' Roba was calling out. 'You don't have a chance!' Hell, even he had to admit that but...
...If their last duel was any sign, he told himself, eyes growing somewhat dim, Jonouchi was good at comebacks. "Give up," he 'asked', standing up and staggering to his feet. "Heh.. You WISH," the blond snarled, slowly moving back to his former position on the field. "If I do that... My future ain't worth shit!"
But even with those words, he mentally grumbled, wincing as he bit his lip. Even with that... "Hah... Gh... Ghah... Hah..." That hurt..! That fucking hurt! "Ghng..." Damn it... What was it about voltage and amperage and pain? Something important..?
...Yea. Well... It hurt. But even so... The blond shook himself, blinking it off as his vision cleared up. His turn... It was his turn now. And whether it happened or not, he was doing his best to get to those finals damn it... To that place where Yugi would be waiting... He grit his teeth, looking forward as he steadied himself from another wave of fatique. Man... That 'Psycho Shocker', he noted, swallowing as he looked across the field. He was a quiet guy... Not a single sound came from him, not a grunt or a whisper... But even so. Despite having lenses for eyes... There was something there. "...I have to get there," he stated calmly, taking a shaking breath as he addressed both his opponent and the teen's monster. "Because I made a promise," he growled, closing his eyes for a moment. "And that means I can't lose... Plain an' simple."
"Plain and... Hahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!" Tch... Katsuya grit his teeth, watching as the teen continued to laugh. "Dream all you like," Roba shouted with a grin, eyes filled with an almost desperate rage. "It'll never happen! Your only future is defeat, can't you accept it," he roared, the blond merely narrowing his eyes in silence. "Think about it... 200 lifepoints left, not a single monster on the field... Whereas I have Psycho Shocker, one of the strongest in the game!" Oh stop bragging already damn it..! This was worse than watching Yugi fight Seto... "If there's a way for you to win," Roba said with a laugh, "I'd like to see you even try!" Try..? Hn! He'd do more than that. Nonetheless he held his tongue, merely watching as the teen gestured for him to continue. "Now... Hurry up! It's your turn... 'Mutt!'"
. . .
He just...
. . .
...Mutt? A broken smile came on Katsuya's face, the blond swallowing as the insult rang through his head. No... There was no way another person had... "You... You just called me..." He drew his card, clenching his jaw as his eyes grew wide with rage. Mutt, Mutt, Mutt... God damn it, he wasn't a fucking DOG! Why the hell did everyone link him to those things! He had nothing to do with them! Errrraaaaagghhh! He looked at his card, eyebrow twitching somewhat. Alright, his draw... The twitch continued, a somewhat high-pitched growl meeting his ears as he looked it over.
"Rnnnnnnn..?"
Baby Dragon. The only monster card he had in his hand. ...But at least it was telling him he wasn't giving in. He swallowed, taking in a deep breath as he put the card in his hand. Well... Dragon or no, he had no choice at this point... He grabbed a different card from his hand, swallowing as he looked it over before sighing. All or nothing... He wasn't losing here! "I play th' spell card Scape Goat," he announced, setting the card on the disk and watching as the tablet appeared from the ground. Four carved goats slowly appeared on its cover, the first of the carvings filling with smoke as a dozing orange 'kid' rolled out from the stone. In it's place, three other carvings remained, the single goat giving a quiet yawn as it slumbered on the ground.
"Nnnnnnmmmm..." ...Heh. It was kinda cute actua- ...What the hell was he, a girl!
He shook himself off, looking at the tablet for a moment before looking back to Roba. Hn... "End turn," he called out, blowing a bit of hair from his face only for it to stick back on his skin. Awww shit... Thanks to that last attack from Psycho Shocker his hair was sticking to his face... Damn it...
Stupid static... "Hn... Get ready then," Roba shouted, drawing his next card and glancing at it for a moment. "...Heheheheheh... First, the spell 'Brain Amplifier," he shouted, the tablet behind Psycho Shocker suddenly shifting in form. Across the monster's head was carved a helm of sorts, circuitry and wires slowly carving into place... And with the last line a wash of smoke came over it, a similar wave appearing on the real monster to create a real-life counterpart for his head. "Equipped to Psycho Shocker!" A helmet..? Wait... Katsuya swallowed as the Psycho Shocker began clenching his fists, power surging from the helm on his brain. Sparks of electricity flew, short grunts entering the air as the blond paled. Oh fuck. "His attack raises by 500 points," Roba explained, a fact that Katsuya found himself already knowing. "But that's not all... From this turn on," he added darkly, the blond's blood continuing to drain from his face, "His attack power raises by a further 300 points for every turn afterward! AhahahahaHAH!" M-More..? It was going to increase more..!
But it was already at 2900..! The blond swallowed, his 'scapegoat' stirring somewhat as it was joined by a second from the smoking tablet behind it. The blue goat shook itself off somewhat, turning forward as its owner looked to them in confusion. Two..? But why-
"And in addition to that..." Shit. He had a feeling he knew now. "I summon the Reflect Bounder!" Shiiit... Katsuya swallowed as another tablet appeared from the ground, the carved image of a legless robot of sorts appearing on its cover. "A monster capable of reflecting any attacks back to his opponents! In other words Jonouchi," he shouted, blond staring as the second carved tablet gave way to the mirror-armored robot, "Even if you summon a new monster, you attack me and you die! So you mind as well give up while you can," he shouted with a grin, the blond continuing to stare with wide eyes in silence, "Because there will be no miracle for you..." Gh... Shit... A mirroring monster... Awwww... "I've said it once, twice... Three times before," Roba muttered darkly, Katsuya narrowing his eyes as well. "You will not win... Now... Psycho Shocker, Reflect Bounder," Roba called, pointing the monsters forward, "ATTACK! CYBER ENERGY SHOCK... and MIRROR BEAM!" Gh-! Shit, if those hit-
"Mnnnaaaaaa!" Katsuya watched as the two goats jumped into the line of fire, the final goats hopping out of their tablet as the stone itself crumbled away. The stricken kids bleated in pain as the harsh light eradicated their wool, setting the two ablaze as their owner winced. Gh... Worse than watching his last two monsters get 'eaten' by Psycho Shocker's tablet to summon it...
And now... "Two goats down," he muttered with a wince, mad laughter meeting his ears.
"And two left," Roba finished, grinning menacingly as his opponent looked up with narrowed eyes. "Hahahahhaha! And if I summon one more monster and attack with all three," he continued with a laugh, "I win... In fact, you mind as well say I HAVE won," the teen stated, expression falling. "So why don't you surrender? Before you embarrass yourself," he added, narrowing his eyes. Why not? Really...
The way he was going on, it was like he was begging him... Now that was just plain weird. Heh... "...It's my turn," he said darkly, the teen across from him growing red.
"You... You..." Hn..? "WHY WON'T YOU GIVE UP," he roared, eyes wide as his opponent merely stood calmly in place. "WHY!"
"Why?" The blond snorted, drawing his card and setting it on the disk without looking at it. Tch... Wasn't it obvious? "Because I'm a duelist." And now...
A large round tablet arose from the center of the field, a grin appearing on Katsuya's face. Hehehehehe... He'd show this asshole to call him a 'mutt'... "I play this," he shouted, waving his hand as the large 'roulette' wheel revealed the outline of an almost toon-like arachnid on its form. "Roulette Spider!" Smoke and dust filled the air with his words, evaporating from the carved lines of the stone disk. Launching forward from the tablet without warning came the red and black spider wrapped itself around Psycho Shocker's face to pull him into the center.
"GNN!" Hn? He say something?
The blond pushed it from mind, instead listening and staring as his opponent began to panic. "W-What... A roulette table..! What!" Was that what he saw? Looked more like that weird-ass stone wheel he'd seen at the museum really... It was some kind of board game? Eh.
Katsuya merely grinned darkly, watching as the monsters on the field organized themselves in an almost circular formation about the stone disk. "Hehehehehe... Th's card's a real big gamble," he said with a smirk, narrowing his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Playin' this costs half my life points... Course w' only 200 left," he added with a grin, '"Half' isn't much a deal is it?"
"But what..." Roba swallowed, eyes wide as he continued to stare as the wheel. "What do you even expect to do with this," he shouted, "What-"
Psh! It was right there wasn't it? "Take a look," he shouted, pointing at the spider in the field as it continued to cling to the Psycho Shocker's face. "Th' Roulette spider blinds th' strongest monster on th' field, an' spins round an round at my word... An' when it's done spinnin'," he continued, "Tha' monster attacks! You said it yerself," Katsuya said with a smirk, watching as Psycho Shocker continued clawing at the spider on his face. "Psycho Shocker's th' strongest one here... What's more," he added with a grin, "Th' possible targets 'r all monsters on th' field, plus us... If it stops on one 'f us, we're dead," he said plainly, watching as Roba grew even paler. "So when y' think yer' safe, go ahead an' shout stop," he added with a laugh, pointing forward as the spider gave a cackle. "After all... If y' really have ESP," the blond muttered darkly, "Then this'll be easy righ'..?" Nothing but silence filled the air with that, Roba's face falling further and further. After all... One of them was going to 'die' now...
But it wouldn't be him. "Roulette Spider," he shouted, the spider giving a small chuckle in response. "SPIN!"
"Hihihihihi~" With a crank the spider took off, using seemingly nothing as a kick-off force. The colours of its body blurred against the air, Psycho Shocker as well spinning rapidly as it gripped its own shoulders tightly. Spinning, spinning, spinning... Roba's expression continued to fall, the teen growing paler by the second as it continued.
"Hh... Ghhh..." Hey now... It wasn't going to stop on its own...
"GRHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! STOOOOOOOPP!" Katsuya jumped somewhat, eyes widening briefly as he looked into the center.W-Woah... ...Looked like Psycho Shocker... Could... Speak. Um...
That was weird. "H...Gh... STOP," Roba cried, the spider chuckling in response as its owner as well looked back to the field. "Gh... Hnnn..." The spider's movements slowed, clicking sounds continuing as it came to a stop. Slower... Slower... Three... Two...
Reflect Bounder gave an audible gulp as the arrow pointed toward him, Psycho Shocker as well giving a pained sound. "It..." Roba paled, eyes wide as the two monsters 'stared' each other down. "It's pointing at..." Yep.
A grin came over Katsuya's face, the blond merely watching the field as the spell's effect ended. "T... Target... Located..."Psycho Shocker held his hands up as the spider moved from his vision, lenses giving away no emotions whatsoever as he took aim. Here it went... "...FIRE."
The Reflect Bounder immediately began to panic, shaking its head with a shout. "OI OI OI-" In a vivid explosion the monsters eliminated themselves, the resulting fire reflected off the Bounder's corpse becoming plenty enough to be rid of the Psycho Shocker. Sparks flew from the ruined metal, leaving nothing but smoking corpses and circuits behind before the two disappeared into dust. The numbers were a 'draw' in Psycho Shocker's case of course... So there was no damage there. But against the Reflect Bounder?
"Ahhh... Aaaah... My monsters," Roba said with wide eyes, Katsuya merely watching as the roulette wheel and spider both vanished into mist. There was nothing but his two scapegoats on the field now really... And besides that... Roba continued to stare in disbelief, eyes wide. "They're all gone..." Along with all but two hundred and forty of his lifepoints...
Katsuya merely snorted, grabbing his next card and setting it on the disk. "Hey hey... You fergetin' somethin," he shouted, tablet appearing before him and slowly going up in smoke as a thickly carved outline appeared across it. "It's still my turn," the blond continued, "An' I've got one monster I haven't used yet!" A loud yet infantile roar came over the air, orange scales breaking free of the tablet as the blond's opponent continued to pale. He might not have been he most powerful but... Hehehe... "Let's go! Baby Dragon!"
"G-Ghhh..." Silence and disbelief filled the air in response to the summon, Roba remaining silent as his opponent seethed.
"Tch! Callin' me a Mutt," Katsuya growled, the infantile dragon shaking itself as it stretched out on the field. "I'll show you! Attack," he shouted, the monster taking in a deep breath of air. "DRAGON BREATH!"
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With a wide grin the dragon took aim, blasting a strong jet of flames toward the blond's opponent. The fires wrapped around Roba completely as his lifepoints ticked down, the Baby Dragon continuing to grin at his win. It was a little weird though, watching someone catch fire only for nothing to happen... Watching someone wince and duck when in reality, they were literally in flames right there... But as the remaining tablets and monsters cleared the field, and Roba stumbled back under that unseen pressure, he had to shake himself. It wasn't 'real'.
Not to them. "...Roba," he said clearly, walking over to the teen as the remaining dust and stone vanished from the ground. "That future you saw... You should know that for me, it's never set in stone." Not if certain spacey 'ghosts' had anything to say. 'You have no fate.' ...Heh. "'Cause I..." He swallowed, shaking his head. "I'm th' only one who can see mine... An' even then," he continued with a grin, laughing somewhat, "Tha's somethin that anythin' can change, at any momen' in time! Hahaha!" The grin fell, and he held out a hand as the teen before him continued slumping to the ground. "Now... I won fair an' square Roba; you owe me a puzzle card an' an ante!" So don't hold out, because Mokuba would probably ream him out for not contacting him about the cheater.
"Gh..." The blond blinked, odd chocked sounds coming over the air. Oi oi, come on... He didn't have all- ...Wait, was he... Crying? Katsuya frowned, watching as Ryuzaki came over with a similar expression. "You..." More sounds... Shit! He was crying..! A guy that was probably about to graduate high-school, maybe already had, and he was... "All of you... DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME," he cried with a shout, eyes red and teary despite his apparent anger. Roba looked up that the small crowd around him with rage, gritting his teeth. "You think it's fun," he asked darkly, "You think it's a joke... Looking down on the guy who lost?" Katsuya blinked, looking over at Ryuzaki as the teen raised his eyebrows. Uh... Fact was... Most of the crowd had moved on by this point... And he knew he wasn't looking down. "Makes you feel better, thinking 'at least I'm not a loser like him'...? Huh? WELL GUESS WHAT," he continued, growling at the blond as Katsuya in question jumped back. "I'm not just some 'person'... I'm a chosen one, with special powers! You got that?" He... He was still going on about that!
"And you're saying that's why you hear voices," Ryuzaki asked dryly, Katsuya shaking his head. Not helping...
"Hah... Look... Roba," he muttered, ignoring the fact that Ryuzaki was looking at him rather than the one on the ground at the moment. (Why was he staring at his jacket..?) "I ain't lookin' down on yah," he said clearly, eyes narrowed. "Hell, I don' think anyone is, I jus' had better luck! Outta anyone here," the blond continued, "I gotta be th' first t' realize that!" Hell, if he didn't, his cards would probably remind him themselves damn it... "...No one here thinks yer a loser," Katsuya told the teen, shaking his head. "If anythin'... If there's anyone lookin' down on yah... Isn' that person you..?"
"SHUT UP," Roba snarled, head bowed in defeat as the two before him jumped back. Eck! Okay, that wasn't the best point to push..! "Shut up, shut up SHUT UP!"
"S-Sheesh," Ryuzaki muttered incredulously, "Cool down..."
Y-Yea, what he said..! "I'm jus' sayin' Roba, y' shouldn' hate yerself so much..." Or yell, or cheat, but hey, it was a work in progress...
"I said shut up!" The two continued to frown, blinking as Roba shook on the ground. What the... "I can't lose," he hissed, head still bowed to the ground as tears ran down his face. "I can't... It doesn't matter how," he added with a shake, "Just as long as I win! As long as people look at me, because then, while they do that," the teen continued, "Then my brothers..."
Wait... "Brothers..?"
Roba continued to shake, teeth grinding as his voice lowered. "No one will ever tease them again, not a single person..." T- He had brothers! "This is the only way," he growled, fingers scraping against the ground as he continued to bow his head. "The only way! People always chase after the 'strange ones' first, the ones with weird eyes, wavy hair... I have to be strong," he shouted, curling in further as he cried. "For them!"
The others stared, falling silent in response. Now that he thought about it... Though it was straight near the bottom, Roba's hair was curled, wasn't it? He'd thought it looked wavy from the other end. And his eyes... Definitely not asian. But even so... Katsuya frowned, holding his tongue a little longer before shaking his head.
He wasn't the only one he bet. "C'mon man..." The blond sighed, again shaking his head as he came closer. "Stop yer whinin'... Th's 's jus' Battle City," he continued, holding out a hand for the teen . "So y' lost this time... Jus' get up, fight again some other day. "Get up... C'mon..."
Roba looked up briefly, before smacking his hand back with a snarl. What the- "Tch! Get lost," he growled, the blond pulling back with a jump before shaking his hand. "I don't need your pity!" Ow, fuck that stung!
"Sheesh, someone's ungrateful... You know that anyone else would have kicked your ass right," Ryuzaki asked, looking at Roba with distaste.
"Tch.. Whatever," Katsuya muttered, moving to put his cards away. "Do what you want..."
'Stand up, nii-san.' He blinked as a voice came from behind, looking out of the corner of his eye. Did he just hear a group of kids..? The blond frowned, narrowing his eyes before looking back. Nothing... Just the crowd from before but...
'Don't give up nii-san, come o-' "Stand up, Nii-san!" Eh! He was hearing the real one this quickly? Over top of each other? "Don't give up-" "Stand up, Nii-san!" A-Again!
"Aaaaagghhh... Voices..!" Double, triple... Was that seriously normal! The blong grabbed his head, biting his lip. "Gh..!"
"You..." Katsuya blinked, both he and Ryuzaki turning as a trio of young, wavy-haired boys with a single set of binoculars stood there.
"Nii-san," the oldest two muttered, a fourth boy poking his head over one of their shoulders. AGGH, why was it doubling!
Roba blinked, eyes wide as he reached out. "G-Guys... I..." Crackling came from his wrist, the teen looking down with a wry expression as he stood. His wris-
"Stand up," the 'middle' kid said with a frown, hands gripping a head set he was wearing. "We don't wanna use the radio any more." H-Head set..?
"W-Wait... These are your psychic powers," Ryuzaki asked incredulously, Katsuya staring as the three young boys charged past and tackled their older brother to the ground.
"Gh!" The teen steadied himself, looking at his siblings with wide eyes. "Oh... You three..." Roba rubbed his eyes as the boys wrapped their arms around him, tears still running down his face as he looked at his siblings. "I... I guess I had it coming, making you do all that for me..!" Awww, how could he hate these guys..? There were four of them for god's sake... The teen looked up, moving past the boys and looking at both Katsuya and Ryuzaki both. Eh..? "Well... I lose," he muttered, looking down as he pulled a few things from his pocket. "I mind as well get this over with..." ...Eh? He tossed a card to the shorter of his former opponents, Ryuzaki blinking as he caught and looked it over.
The Osakan balked, blinking a number of times before looking back. "H-Heh! This is the card I bet on our-" He stared, holding it tightly as he frowned. "You..."
The teen shrugged, shaking his head as he continued to pull a few things from his pocket. "I cheated during our last match... I don't deserve to keep it," he said plainly, Katsuya blinking as a small serpent-dragon wrapped itself around Ryuzaki's arm. Ah, that dragon again... (And that raptor was still there too, that was weird... "As for you Jonouchi..."
He blinked as Psycho Shocker was handed over, three puzzle cards along with it. H-Hold on... "O-O-Oi... Three..!" The blond looked at Ryuzaki, frowning as he gestured to the teen. "How come y' didn' give him his puzzle card back," he asked, eyes wide. "I mean... I get tha' y' need t' show yer brothers how t' play fair but... Shouldn' y' start w' fair trades too..?" Just maybe?
Oddly enough, it was Ryuzaki who answered, the teen shaking his head. "Roba's giving you all three because I'm still disqualified," he growled dryly, scratching his ear with the words. "Once you're out, you're out, no matter what the circumstances of your defeat were..." ...Oooooh... Whoops. "There were tournament instructions in the disk packaging," the Osakan muttered, eyebrows raised. "Didn't you read them?"
...Well... He kinda forgot... "Errr..." He coughed, attempting to find a good way to answer that before the topic was cut short.
"Keep the cards," Roba stated, Katsuya blinking in response. The teen shook his head, looking back at his duel disk. "I cheated for my entire time here... If anyone duels me, I'll be surprised." ...Oooh... Yea that tended to deter the competition. "And besides," he added with a shrug, smirking. "My entire deck relies on Psycho Shocker... If I kept those puzzle cards, they'd be useless." W-What?
"But..." He blinked again, frowning. If he took more than the prize, would he have Seto and Mokuba breathing down his neck..? "Y' didn' offer them to begin wi-"
"Jonouchi, take the damn cards," Ryuzaki growled, rubbing his head as the blond took the cards in hand.
"Tch- I don' need you t' tell me that," he snarled in response, the Osakan rolling his eyes.
"Well it sure feels like it!"
"Y' still don' have to!"
"You two are funny~" The boys turned, blinking at the youngest of Roba's brothers as the 'baby' gave a somewhat toothless grin. "Heheee~"
"A-Ah... He spoke," Ryuzaki muttered, Katsuya merely staring as Honda's nephew immediately came to mind.
"Heh, I've met guys who can top tha', trust me..." Speaking entire innuendo dosed sentences by age of two...
"Hn... Jonouchi," Roba stated, smirking. The blond pulled himself from his thoughts, blinking as the teen continued. "Next time we duel, don't expect it to be this easy alright?"
"That's right," one of the apparently identical 'older' siblings said, the second 'twin' piping in from the side to create a 'doubled voice'. "Next time he'll beat you fair and square! Got it?"
"Heh!" Alright then! "Lookin' forward to it," he said with a smirk, nodding. Now... "...Roba..." The teen blinked, listening in silence as his smile remained in place. "I got friends here... But you've got yer brothers," he said with a nod, smirking. "So long as you've got them," Katsuya continued, "Yer always strong... R'member that, alrigh'?"
The brothers stared, silent a few moments before nodding in response. "Hn... Of course! I hope we meet again soon," Roba added, before turning to his brothers. "Come on... Let's get something to eat before we go home alright?" Aww... They were all so brotherly...
...Now, before he forgot...
"An' you," The blond said, turning to the Osakan beside him. Ryuzaki blinked, looking from where he was putting his rare card in his pocket with raised eyebrows as the Roba brothers moved to head down the street. "Ryuzaki."
The teen continued to blink, frowning. "Eh?"
Katsuya smirked, stowing his cards away before glancing at the ever present raptor at Ryuzaki's side. And it was still there, even when that dragon was gone... Well hell! Anyone with a 'mini-monster' following this close was cool right? "Heheheh.. Yeh really saved my ass back there," he said with a grin, laughing at the Osakan's confusion. "Y' snapped me out 'f things!" He continued to laugh, hands moving into his pockets as he grinned. "We outta keep in touch nyh?"
Again Ryuzaki blinked, staring for a few moments in silence before shaking himself. "...What." The teen's confusion was interrupted by a low growl, both boys looking down at their stomachs in question as a nearby clock struck eleven. Wow... Eleven huh... Dueling took time, maybe getting three cards was for the best... "Aw hell," Ryuzaki muttered under his breath, "I had breakfast at seven..."
Well, he didn't have anything that morning so... Seeing how they were both hungry... "Y' know what," he decided, smirking as he looked down the street. "I'm feelin' nice t'day Ryuzaki... So I'm gonna pr'tend y' didn' call me an' idiot an make y' an offer! What d'ya say we grab lunch nh? My treat," he added, still smirking as the osakan blinked. "...Well?"
"Wait... You're serious," he asked, blinking. Um. Yes..? "You'd treat me to lunch," he added, eyes wide as he stared. "On the day most places are probably jacking their prices?" Well, there was still one place that wouldn't he figured... (But he supposed the guy had a point...)
"Naw, you c'n pay f'r yerself, 'ahou'."
"GH-" The Osakan tensed, growling. "BAKAAAAAA-"
"Yer worse," Katsuya said with a grin, shaking somewhat as they 'argued'.
"BASTAAAAARD- Wait..." Ryuzaki frowned, glaring at the blond as he attempted to hold back a laugh. "Are you laughing?"
"Gh- What," he said with a grin, "Y' thought I was serious?" There was a fairly plain questioning look in response, Katsuya shaking his head and holding out a hand. "Heh... I'm not that kinda guy! We're friends now, got it?" Honestly!
"H-Heh..?" Well, seeing how his hand wasn't being taken... The teen stumbled somewhat as an arm was looped around his neck, Katsuya dragging him off with a widening grin.
"Hehehehehe... I know this great ramen stand," he rambled on, the 'raptor' misting from view before reappearing to charge up ahead. "C'mon!"
"Eh..!"
Given that Ryuzaki didn't run off in the end, he'd say that the guy was perfectly fine with that.
AN: Whoo! More divergence from Canon! We'll see Kaiba next chapter but like the manga... There won't be 'any' dueling since anything Kaiba does until the tag-team match with Yugi is effectively a curb stomp. So hooray for that, despite it being shorter than the norm. Dialogue guys... Dialogue.
Also, before anyone says 'FFFFF WHY IS RYUZAKI SO SMART' (Even though it's likely that none of you think that), remember what Shizuka said way back when? About how 'Keichi-kun never studies'... But still gets top marks? Smarter than he looks guys... Smarter than he looks. Hell, Haga just last chapter casually mentioned skipping a grade mid-year; and you can bet that his 'book-smarts' are one of the few things he doesn't exaggerate.
By the way, this is probably going to be the first of many things that kicks Jonouchi in the ass for not saying anything about his ability.
In any case, I got a lot of reviews going on about how they couldn't wait for this one, so now I feel kinda bad; if anything, I had to downplay a lot of the excitement we'd get from Jonouchi, as while most 'supernatural' things scare the shit out of him, his own 'ability' keeps him from taking Roba seriously at all. Oh well~
As for the Poll Results, which decide whether I will record the 'Past' events in dreams or a separate fanfic, are unchanged.
For those who forgot, it's 2 – 0 for Dreams.
And now...
Music Notes! It's been a while since I did this, but that's mostly because I don't want to bug you too much. In any case, these songs have been on the MP3 shuffle list for a while, but I only recently looked them up with english subtitles... (Since I largely listen to 'Nico Nico Chorus' covers of vocaloid songs as opposed to the vocaloid version themselves, I have to look up the subbed version separately.)
In any case, a few songs stood out... (Namely two)
Scrap & Build for one, which you specifically need to search as 'Hatsune Miku scrap&build English/Romanji' if you want the subtitles, gave me a Noa vibe again... At least until lyrics mentioned wanting a kiss, hahaha. This tends to happen when I listen to the songs that go with the robot-computer vibe.
Melancholic – Maybe it's because I'm reading the subtitles wrong, but I can't actually say for certain whose perspective this would be from at the start. By the end of it, I'm figuring Seto but... It's a little confusing, because the one singing appears to be calling their crush the melancholic one before accepting that its them. WHOOPS. Nonetheless, at one minute thirty seconds, you get a very VERY Seto-ish vibe. ('I don't care about you, not at all!')
In any case, despite confusion, it's a little like 'No Logic' was; very much suited to any scene containing both Jonouchi and Kaiba.
And with that out of the way...
Anonymous Review Responses
It's always fun to watching things like that~ In any case, hey there Iona!
Ryuzaki is both going to regret this and not regret this actually; you'll see why in the next chapter, but lets just say that the conversation takes a very dark turn. Haga and Kajiki were actually present in the manga in that scene; it's most of the reason why the latter appeared, as he otherwise has nothing to do with those two, hahahaha… (But hey, given that I made him live in Okinawa, that isn't surprising.)
Haga's backstory will be very interesting… As to whether or not I reveal it through the story rather than fanart, I've yet to decide. On the one hand, fan-art reveals can seem a little 'here's your information, now you know'-ish. On the other, putting too much backstory on a 'side character' in a fanfic that has little to do with them seems a little out of place.
Hnnnn… It really does tie in though, and before you ask about Ryuzaki, I'll tell you this concerning the Doma issue; Ryuzaki's 'emotional weakness' hasn't happened yet.
Yes, yes they do. And for a good reason that will come up eventually/soon/whenever I feel the reveal is suited to the situation. (After all, simply coming out with it would seem like the above issue; out of place, or 'all at once'.) And hahaha… More questions are cropping up I suppose… Whoops! Though this makes me a little nervous now; while I can't deny I did my best to put fun into the Roba-Jou duel, the topic of ESP was largely skirted by Jonouchi…
As he doesn't really like talking about those things, you know? Ahhhh…
And oh GOD yes Randomprojects. Very, very creepy…
And it can only get worse…
As for duelling, hahaha! Glad to hear that! I hope that it met your expectations, and possibly surpassed it then; myself, I tend to try and shorten the duels… Or at least make it so that each one fits within a chapter (This gets harder with people like Noa, or during tag-team duels…)… But it's good to hear that the duels aren't making people beg for me to stop.
Jou? Tell someone? We wish. Though if its any consolation, Ryuzaki's already on to something, and he'll be getting even closer in the next chapter… Pity that he won't have time to question him on it. But yea; it's very stressful for him, as you can see up there… And you've got another point, these things are important! Scary as hell but…
If he puts one and two together with the Kul Elna deal… (Though that won't happen for quite some time sadly.)
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll get to work on the next one!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that encourages you to play Children's Card Games. It's serious business guys!
Today's chapter brings us back to the tradition of ripping manga titles off. Yay~ It's from a much later chapter though, oddly enough; specifically, the one where Jonouchi starts his duel against Haga.
You'd think it'd have been against Roba...
In the manga, Ryuzaki does a lot more exposition here. Mostly, it's to explain the rules at the expense of Jonouchi's failure… As these are things we would otherwise not know, and Ryuzaki isn't the type to explain this 'kindly', so he's rather blunt about it. More over, he's laughing a lot harder in the manga for those same reasons, but the fact is, Ryuzaki would probably be secretly praying for the blond to kick Roba's ass… It would make him feel a lot better, that's for sure. (Especially after finding out the guy was cheating. ESPECIALLY.)
In any case...
Ryuzaki was obviously not so helpful in the original, but the fact is, not only do I need them to get along, I don't really see why the guy wouldn't look forward to Roba's fall… Besides looking terrible thanks to his own loss.
It does help to get rid of needless exposition though; do we really need Roba to say, so many times, that he's sacrificing Jonouchi's monsters for a summon? NOOOOOOO. Do we need Ryuzaki to say, in perfect detail, how to tribute summon? NOOOOOOOO. And so the problem is 'solved'.
In the original duel, Jonouchi took a few moments to realize Roba had said 'second'. Fanfic Jou is quite a bit more perceptive though, due to constant nights of security detail and heightened paranoia. Whoo!
Yes guys, Roba actually says 'Pegasus' spirit' in the manga. Jonouchi is apparently not surprised by this either, despite the fact that this topic didn't come up at all until that point... Which is... Weird.
Jinzo isn't 'Jinzo' in the Japanese; he's called 'Jinzoningen - Psycho Shocker'. See, 'Ningen' means 'Human'. 'Jinzo' on the other hand, means 'Man-made', or 'Artificial'. 'Jin' and 'Nin' are both readings of the same kanji, the one for 'person' you see... So 'Jinzoningen' effectively means 'Android'... In other words, his name is 'Psycho Shocker', and saying 'Jinzoningen' all the time is actually very redundant.
Originally, Roba calls Jonouchi a 'super loser'. Now besides the fact that this makes very little sense in terms of insults, if I were to go with Japanese, this could technically double out with 'make-inu'… Jonouchi's beserk button. But 'Mutt' tends to be fanfic Jou's berserk button anyways, and typing out Japanese insults all the time is a little… 'Weeaboo-ish'. Fangirlish. I dunno. In any case, seeing how 'make-inu' can be snagged as 'mutt' in common language flipping...
Yea, seriously… Roba flipped out completely with the point of Jonouchi's constant refusal to back down. It's like he knew that he was going to lose in the end. (Hehehe.)
Hey, guess what! Psycho Shocker actually had a line in the manga; he really did say 'MUST… KILL…' Haaaaah. Of course, given that I'm sticking with the holograms only giving off grunting noises in the real world for the sake of further 'de-humanization' between 'reality' and 'the other realms', only Jonouchi got to hear this. Not that he really cared...
Lots of lines changed here, mostly because they're really, really awkward when Jonouchi legitimately has some form of clairvoyance himself in this fanfic. Originally at the end, he said 'It was me who saw the future!'…
But… Given that he actually does get flashes of the future, meaning that he legitimately can see his own future sometimes… Yeeeeeaaaaaaaa...
By the way, all of Roba's dialogue, save the occasional rearrangement or 'extension' of words, are all identical to the manga. Unfortunately, I would imagine that the prospect of 'looking different' and getting teased for it isn't the best argument for Jonouchi… As he looked after himself by beating the shit out of anyone who tried picking on him for it I would imagine. So it's like Jonouchi said, Roba's quite wrong; he's not being pitied with. He's being empathized with.
Heck, in the fanfic's case, Ryuzaki might empathize himself, given his two toned hair but… Well, with people like Yugi, it's hard to tell who's supposed to be foreign and who's supposed to be 'different', so I would doubt it. It's just so hard to tell when everyone has anime hair...
In other news, being from Ishikawa, Roba speaks with a Hokuriku dialect… Specifically 'Kanazawa-ben'. There's not much of a change, but a noted one is using 'masshi' instead of 'nasai' as a suffix… For example, 'Gomen-nasai', or 'I'm very sorry' would be 'Gomen-masshi' instead. Similarily, 'Oyasumi-nasai', or 'Good night' would be 'Oyasumi-masshi'.
So it's a little weird to say the least.. Heck, it made me glad I didn't pick Tohoku… That one is so diverse, that even in Japan they'll use subtitles. For their own language.
Needless to say though, this dialect isn't really translated to text or english too well... But I do like giving needless tidbits of information, so I figured 'why not?'
And here's a note on Roba. First off, I said his hair was 'wavy' because given that anime makes him look like a muffin, (Top and all!) and hair cuts are fairly optional, that's quite likely the case; it wouldn't make sense for them to not get haircuts if the style was a point of bullying. Eyes on the other hand are more an assumption; mostly because there are a lot of schools that will actually ask you to make your hair look more like everyone else's, but the eyes are generally a more obviously foreign point. Derp.
As for his siblings, two of them look nigh identical in height; hence the assumption they were twins. They also (Being the oldest of the four brothers) only come up to Roba's torso. Seeing how Roba is 17 (and according to his info, 5'6'') I'd say it's safe to guess that those two are like… 12. I'm going to assume from there that the next one is around eight and the last one is between 1 and 2. And we will never see these guys again... I think. Who knows, maybe they'll cameo later on...
Now, in the manga, it does say how many puzzle cards Jonouchi has at the end (two), but… Yea. Kinda touched on this last chapter, given that if we stuck with this, he'd be a number of locator cards short, and what with Kaiba actively looking for any excuse not to let Jonouchi into the finals... He'll need all six. Besides, after so many people saw the guy get caught red-handed, him even saying he'll continue fighting would be a big fat NO; it brings new meaning to having your cake and eating it too.
And in other news, look! Ryuzaki got his card back! As to why there's no mention of 'honour' and what, it's because it's tainted by dirty cheating. The card in question is from the anime; it's Serpent Night Dragon, and it'll actually give us a small plot point in the next chapter...
FanArt and My Art Section
There's no art today actually, I'm just making a note. What with my career goal being 3D Animation/Game Design and all, I've decided to put the constant doodling on hold for the most part (Key point being 'most'; I'm still liable to spam you with costumes.) in order to work on my portfolio.
So what does that mean? It means that iconic characters like Yugi, Kaiba and Jonouchi (Well... The last two not so much, they're pretty normal looking), and especially the monsters will be taking a back seat...
As I model a few other ones. So look forward to that!
In any case, enjoy the chapter! I'll see you next time!