Milchamah
Listen close dear children to this story I am about to share.
The creatures of Darkness' design were powerful, but they followed rather roughly a hierarchy of sorts. A chain of command, if you will. The Behemoth would have to strike last, for as powerful as he was, he was vengeance and rage. He was an emotion that could not exist until harm had already been done. The Leviathan however was second for he was despair and grief, the precursor to the war that would follow, and the descendant of whatever misfortune would send all events into motion. But before anything could happen children, there would have to be a trigger. Something that could spawn those emotions regardless of the Light within the world...
Enter the being of FEAR. The shadowed beast created by darkness last and intended to strike first. ZIZ- He who takes a thousand faces, each with the purpose of instilling terror!
The power Ziz held was rooted in the fear of the people of light. In the beginning you see, Ziz was not at all powerful. Even the tiniest of animals could have destroyed him. But that animal would only lash out in fear, with no more thought than to be rid of the source...
So by the time it worked up enough energy to strike, Ziz would be as powerful as a man. And it would swallow the first animal that met it whole, absorbing its image for use in another time, taking its power as his own. For Ziz had no face to call his own, young children. He was trapped, encased in shadows until he resembled nothing more than a sphere. And within that sphere...
Deep inside its folds, Ziz reeked of death. The creature Ziz once was had been after all, in his base form, near death when Darkness overtook him. And by the time Ziz could amount power by simply standing in the shadows, that creature had rotted within its own darkness to nothing more than an accursed skeleton... A creature with blanched and brittle bone and not even a name. Not that any could see.
For indeed, anything that Ziz felt confident enough to encounter while in this weakened form would never see anything else again.
As a being of Fear, Ziz was an odd creature. While the Behemoth reveled in destruction, and the Leviathan in conflict between despaired pawns, Ziz' presence alone was enough to attain power. He did not need to fight... Nor even speak. He merely copied the forms of those he met, and when the time was right...
Allowed their fear to destroy themselves.
With one small monster, one demon of fragmented power, the entirety of the ancient world from which I come from was sent to ruin. Children were left huddling in their homes as fathers and mothers both went to war. Animals snarled at every turn and corner, the skies darkened to a pitch black... And in the end, all that the people succeeded in was killing each other.
What was once paradise created with Light in mind was now a hell on earth, slowly becoming a realm meant for Darkness. At this time, not a single warrior could stand before Ziz. Nor the most powerful of beasts, of mages, of even dragons...
Light herself was forced to combat Ziz directly, drawing the demon into combat herself- and from the lands below her people watched, their fear unknowingly aiding the demon in overpowering their creator.
Light took the form of a creature of the seas, hoping to drown the demon in her waters, coiling around her target and gripping the monster with iron claws- Ziz mirrored her form, movements perfectly balanced with her own and tangling around her own form instead.
So she took the form of a mighty and armored warrior, pounding the earth in her rarely experienced rage and blasting the demon with fires. But with the image of her own power and the power of fear on his side Ziz's identical shape tore right through it. Fearing for the safety of her lands and people, Light finally fled upward into the sky, in the shape of a magnificent winged God...
Only for Ziz to follow her in every way, the shadowed replication sending still more fear into the hearts of those beneath them. It was clear to Light now... For her to defeat this being she would have to become something that even fear was incapable of mimicking completely, something that no demon could hope to survive-
So she split herself into three...
The room he sat in was dark, and almost completely so. The only light there was came from the dull screens before him, illuminating his face in almost harsh contrast to the perpetual shadow around him. There was a single card on the desk beside him- 'Avatar'. A card with a single inky black sphere, the faint outline of a skeleton visible inside if one looked close enough. Try as he might, he found himself unable to simply place it in his pocket, or in a drawer for the moment now. It was as though the card was... Compelling him. Reminding him that the final phase had yet to finish, that he must protect the card until then or else-! Yakou stared dully at the screens before him, his mind seemingly elsewhere as he watched over the video feed with these chaotic thoughts on his mind. He didn't hear anything else, moving for nothing...
It was this that seemed to give the shadow behind him the confidence to move forward, unseen by the figure before him. A tall shadow- taller than Yakou at least- wearing a vest and sunglasses despite the darkness. In the silence, the shadow's hand reached forward... Slowly illuminated by the light of the screens, revealed as it extended toward the card-
"Don't touch that," Yakou hissed, voice low as the man was pulled from his daze. Though he didn't move the hand froze, pulling back from whence it came.
"What... Think I'm going to do something 'funny'," the shadow response, chuckling darkly as the two continued speaking to each other in English as opposed to Japanese. "Come on... What's the worst I could do?"
Yakou snorted- those words alone would drive suspicion into anyone's heart, particularly from this person. "Hn! I know your thoughts," he warned, turning to face the shadow that was behind him. "And I know you're quick to take what's in front of you- if I don't stop you quick enough you'll have my cards and a plane ticket before I can blink."
The shadow laughed, a harsh barking howl that seemed more of a coughing sound than anything else. "Hahaha! Know me that well do you," he cackled. "Then again... You brought me back to life, didn't you... It's only natural you know me that well," he continued. "Mister 'Ja-Shin'... That reminds me," he drawled, cracking his neck and grinning. "It looks to me as though you're fighting a losing battle... One, two... Eight duelists, not counting your 'dear brother'... Hnhnhnhnhn... There's only five left... I'm almost sorry for you!"
"Don't lie," Yakou responded coldly. "You could care less what happens here so long as you get your pathetic idea of revenge over with."
"Aw... I wouldn't call it 'pathetic'," the man sneered in response. "Not compared to you... With your crumbling tower..."
"Hardly," Tenma whispered, picking 'Avatar' up from the table as he turned. "I know exactly what I'm doing... And Mutou Yugi and his friends are only walking deeper into my trap..."
The one before him chuckled and Yakou made to walk past, paying him no mind. "Whatever you say," the shadow laughed, fingering the shades beneath his flag-patterned bandanna. "Whatever you say..."
Footsteps clacked along a polished floor as they walked, pausing only to quickly connect Mokuba's slate to whatever door was in their way and move on. So far, there had been no resistance to their efforts other than this. If anything, resistance would have left her in a better mood. At least then there would be more of a target for her (put bluntly and crudely)... 'Rage'.
But with nothing but empty halls, she had nothing to think about but how absolutely enfuriated Tenma's behavior made her. "What the heck is this," Mokuba growled as they walked, disconnecting the slate from the next door while it opened. "Aside from that duelist there's no one here..! I know the building was apparently cleared," he went on, "But there's no sign of him..!"
Him being 'Tenma' obviously... But before Seto could even respond, chuckling came over the air, the familiar sound crackling as a hologram appeared from above. "Hnhnhnhn..." Well well- Speak of the devil. "I thought you'd be here," Tenma sneered, eyes narrowing from where his hologram sat in midair. "'Kaiba Seto'..."
"You..."
"Coward," Mokuba shouted, foot slamming his foot on the ground. "Appearing as a hologram again..!" Her words exactly, but to the point now...
"I've returned to this building," Seto hissed with a stiff tone. "And we can 'talk' about how I'm dealing with your actions later... But I'm ORDERING you to leave this building Tenma... And NOW!"
Tenma merely smirked, shaking his head. "I refuse," he said almost cheekily. "You and I both know it's an inexcusable act... But I'm still not leaving," he chuckled, somehow taking the words that even a stubborn child would use and giving it the severe tone of a businessman without losing face. "Besides," he went on, body almost shaking despite the hologram's apparent sturdiness. "The final phase of my R.A. Project is already underway," he sighed, "So why would I stop NOW?"
R.A...? What the hell... "What are you planning Tenma," she barked, fists clenched and at her sides. "What is this so-called project you've stolen MY computer for?"
"Hnhnhn..." And for the love of everything, stop laughing now. "Partially personal," he said calmly, before his expression twisted into a mad and wide-eyed grin. "But also to give Mutou Yugi the most humiliating... Crushing... And despairing defeat in the existence of this world..." Yugi..! That-
He'd never even met Tenma, so how-! "What the hell does Yugi have to do with YOU!"
"The same thing he does to you of course," he stated, expression dying to a narrowed glare. "To you and me Mutou Yugi is, and always will be a bitter. Enemy." …
What.
"You know 'Seto'," What- Did he just use her first name..! WHAT- "I admire you." Se-Seriously what. What the hell was he talking about! "You and I... We both grew up in similar situations." She doubted this. "When I was young, my brother and I lost our parents as well... We were left alone, with nothing to our name. But you overcame that, didn't you," he continued on, voice again sinking into a crazed tone. "You fought... And with time gained riches and honor from nothing..." That...
...She would hardly call the process taken to get here 'honorable'...
But self-deprecating thoughts would have to wait- Tenma wasn't done. "There is only one blemish on your seemingly perfect existence now," Tenma announced seriously, looking down with what could even be called dead eyes. "Mutou Yugi... Someone who did the same to me." But how, he'd have never met- "As a person of similar circumstance to mine," Tenma drawled, leaning back on his 'invisible' seat, "I was hoping we could even work together on this-" Bullshit bullshit bullshit!
"What the hell do you think you're even saying..! YOU'RE ALREADY OCCUPYING THIS BUILDING!"
"Well then don't interrupt and we'll all be 'square' won't we," he laughed, eyes again gleaming with madness.
She found herself falling silent with those words, something that likely even shocked her brother. Possibly. Maybe. Who knew- she didn't even know herself. But what she did know... "...Are you really him," she asked clearly, expression cold. "'Yakou Tenma'?" Tenma's expression seemed to waver, even growing soft and she continued. "During those meetings and discussions here concerning the Duel-Disk system, I remember you being suspiciously curious about those workings... But even this," she continued, "Is unlike the one I saw then. Quiet... Observant... As I recall," she said somewhat louder, "You have a twin brother, Gekkou. Even quieter than you, I almost missed him completely last time we met! I wonder," she hissed, narrowing her eyes, "Just why that was..."
The hologram above her snapped, a choked and strangled cry escaping him. His hands flew toward his head, holding it as his entire body stiffened. "Gekkou's circumstances," he forced out with a loud snarl, "Are of no concern to you..!" No concern... And why was that? "Noisy thoughts," he whispered to himself, cradling his head. "So noisy... So..." . . .
"What the h... What's going on," Mokuba whispered uneasily, Seto herself too shocked to speak. "What's happening..!"
Tenma's hologram was beginning to fade... erratically, with no discernible pattern as he fell backward. "Gekkou... Lost to Yugi," he cried to himself, not longer appearing to address those below. "It still worked though, it still... It's no use," he assured himself, "It's all fine..!" 'All fine', what on earth was he talking about..! "And of course," Of course..? "That man will be punished by him," he whispered, "By... By..." As Tenma continued to fade, his own smoking form wrapping around his head his eyes widened, sweat covered face looking down in fear. "But I'm the owner," he whispered, almost to himself. "The Ja-shin are mine... I'M the owner, I'll punish him... I'll..." Wait...
Wait- "Get back here," Mokuba shouted, the final shreds of the hologram fading. "HEY! YOU!"
What was going on here... What...
"Nee-sama," her brother called, Seto already turning toward the only room capable of displaying the hologram before them. "Nee-sama, what's going on here..? What are the 'evil gods'..?" As if she knew..!
"We need to find out for ourselves," she forced out, storming forward with still clenched fists. "Before it's too late..!" As to what 'too late' even was, she didn't know...
But something told her that Willa's earlier statements on Yakou's 'sanity' were more accurate than even he had thought.
"Yakou and I were orphaned at age eight, taken in by Pegasus-sama approximately two years later," Gekkou was explaining, Yugi and Anzu both walking (for the most part) behind him as he led them toward the next card professor's stop. "It seemed to be a habit of his, looking out for kids like that. He'd visit or gather orphaned children and fund whatever dreams in the Duelist world they had, be it in design, in business... Many of them," he went on, walking up one of the many staircases the building had, "Went on as the top of their classes. And a few, such as myself and my brother, were fortunate enough to become his proteges, his 'sons' if you will. However, while I plan on continuing where my 'father' left off," Gekkou continued, "Yakou's idea is far from that. He would have at one time though," he said softly. "Before Pegasus-sama died he was kind, placid... Some even called him weak. But... When he found Pegasus-sama's body he secluded himself in his room for a number of weeks, conducting research."
"...Research," Yugi questioned, large eyes showing curiosity despite the situation they were in. As it had turned out, no one had been able to move until Yugi took his other half's place- the 'Other Yugi' had been completely immobilized by his shock, and still was. "What kind of research..?"
Gekkou frowned, eyes dimming more than they already had. "At one point, I assumed it was 'Fringe' science. Things that seem impossible but, when it comes to the end, are in fact scientifically probable at their very base. But what Yakou is doing would not even be classified as that. You mind as well call it 'Mystic Science'," he snorted. "A modern day study on magic... It almost makes me wish I'd paid more attention to it before in fact..." The man sighed, before going on. "At least maybe then I'd have a bigger idea of what was going on... Yakou, from what I can tell, was trying to explain the energies behind the Millennium Items, starting with and focusing on the Millennium Eye," he explained somewhat loudly as he ran up the stairs. "During research he found three 'beta' cards that Pegasus had started but failed to finish having deemed them 'unsafe' despite apparently being nothing but paper..."
The other two traded looks a moment, running or floating behind as Gekkou continued to talk. "Once my brother found those cards he immediately set to work on creating final versions of them. From what I know of them they bear tremendous power, more so than even the Egyptian Gods that Pegasus-sama created and locked away. But as a result they bear with them a curse... A dark curse, that is for sure. The final thing that our teacher warned us about when he locked them away was that they were to never be named. They would, at the most, be 'evil gods'- nothing more nothing less, they were to remain nameless and thereby powerless. But the cards have changed Yakou," he lamented. "His desires were twisted by those cards and in the end he fueled its power, giving them names... He's become completely devoted to 'their' project, to the revival of-"
"Gekkou-san," Yugi said hesitantly, swallowing back fear. "These 'nameless evil gods'... You speak about them as though they have power without even being summoned, from within the cards... But..." But that couldn't be... It was easy to accept they existed, but even the Gods themselves could do no more than slowly announce their presence from the hand..! "Your brother said they were using Anzu's body to bring back Pegasus," he went on, "But what does that have to do with this, and why would they use her body..!"
Gekkou blinked, turning to the two to pause again. For a moment, he seemed unable to even speak- however, he quickly snapped himself from his daze. "...If it is her life you're worried about there is still time. If we hurry, and we shut down the system, then the project fails- she'll be returned to her body. There's still hope. But..." He looked over Anzu, shaking his head. "While I was under Yakou's control, I might have heard the reasons. 'Three requirements', he said... One, the body must me mentally and physically sound," he began, Anzu muttering something under her breath while the man continued. "Two... They can't be a duelist. Not one with a physical deck anyway- Duelists of this generation have an instinct of sorts... Their souls are stronger, more prepared for attack. The hard-core duelists, those with disks and decks in particular, are the strongest, they're prepared for a challenge from anywhere really... At least," he muttered, "That's what I gathered the reasoning for it to be. But there was one final, one very personal reason," Gekkou warned, "And that was the fact that it needed to be someone close to Yugi. Someone close enough that their disappearance alone would shatter his very soul. And so, Mazaki Anzu, you were elected for the task..." That...
That was the reason..? Silence came over the empty stairwell, and while Yugi seemed to fall into a state almost similar to the other half that was sitting within the back of his mind, Anzu was even more visibly affected. "Why... Why does it have to be someone close to YUGI," she shouted, shaking her head. "All of these reasons... My mind... Is not stable," she cried, Yugi biting his lip. "I speak in separate languages that I shouldn't even know, without even meaning it! If I had... Anyone 'diagnose' me..." The woman shook her head, moving on. "And 'not a duelist'... That shouldn't even make a difference! More than anything I know the kinds of things that can happen to a soul, AND the mind, and I will fight until my last BREATH to keep that from happening... ...But this..?" Gekkou continued to stare, and the holographic ghost shook her head, expression caught between incredulity and rage both. "This person has nothing. To do. With Yugi," she snarled, voice almost seeming to rumble through the hologram much to the unease of the others. "Absolutely nothing... So why..."
"That's impossible." Yugi and Anzu froze even further, shaking in their places with Gekkou's response. "I don't believe all of it myself... But Yakou... Yakou was told specifically by an eyewitness inside the castle that Mutou Yugi stole Pegasus-sama's Millennium Eye... And in addition," he said gravely, Yugi already growing pale. "MURDERED-"
"No..." She shook her head, Yugi's eyes filling with nothing but complete and utter shock. "That's impossible, no... Who would even SAY that," she protested. "Who... How could anyone..."
"The eyewitness' name was Keith Howard," Gekkou told them, walking up the stairs of the open room. "You would know him as 'Bandit Keith', former champion of-"
"-The U-S-A!" A loud shout came from the other end of the staircase, high on the balcony-like floor that oversaw their steps. As the others turned, silent, the man standing there continued to cackle at this fact, before going on. "But don't think I won't be reclaiming that title soon enough... Of course," he went on, taking his shades off with a grin. "It sure as fucking hell took you long enough to get here... And you! Gekkou!" The man tensed, and Keith continued to laugh. "Hehehehehe... Sly way to get ahead there... Got you all the way to me!"
"Th... That..."
"Bandit..."
Though the shirt he wore had longer sleeves than last they'd seen him it was most definitely him... A little gaunter than before but undoubtedly Keith. His messy hair hung over his eyes from where it wasn't covered by his bandana, and with a low chuckle he stared across to the three heading toward him. "It's been a damn long time, hasn't it 'Yugi'... Course, I can sympathize with you... With an appearance like that, I'd be hiding my woman too, HAHAHAHAAA!"
"Why you filthy, SON OF A-"
"KEITH," Gekkou snarled, cutting Anzu's almost uncharacteristic shouts short. "Why did you lie to Yakou about Pegasus-sama? Why did you tell him that Yugi killed him?"
"What, that?" The blond snorted. "Pah! Didn't say any shit like that, that's different... I wonder, that 'Joey' start those rumors up?" WH- That lying- "Well... What can I say," he laughed, shrugging. "I saw the body, figured out who was in the tournament... And a few hours later I called 'Yakou-chan' before telling him everything was ready!"
"WHAT-"
"Now isn't the time," Yugi managed to shout, running toward the other side of the railing. "Remember? And you," he continued, "Bandit Keith! Are you the Card Professor for this block?"
Before Gekkou could do more than shake his head Keigh again laughed, going so far as to spit at the ground beside him. "Pheh! You're jumping way to fast there shorty..." SHORTY! "The one you're looking for is this guy! The one who is... Possibly... Almost equal to me," he decided, the others only now spotting the second man in the room.
"...Keith," the man growled, face forced into an exasperated 'smile'. "Your lies are complete shit..." He stood, before continuing. "Name's Ted Banias," he growled, voice heavily accented. "The guy with the key for this block. And you," he continued, tone obviously linking his words to the one behind him. "If you're going to stand there, do something useful."
"Well come on, I paid my debt unlike someone here," Keith chuckled. "All I have to do is stand guard, I'm free until all of you brats are knocked out! Hehehehehe..."
"Hn. Expected from someone who does nothing but trick people into doing what he wants..."
"OI, what was that..!"
Yugi clenched his fists as he dully watched the scene before him, eyes flicking toward the door on the opposite end of the room. His other-self was still in shock over what had happened to Anzu before- that much was clear. He was silent as the grave his grandfather likely found the puzzle in, and when the boy reached for his presence he was met with cold shivers and grief.
He was tired as well- exhausted he would imagine, going through duel after duel in such a short span on top of everything. On top of Anzu, on top of the news of what was happening to Jonouchi and even the effects of the 'Ja-shin' in general...
The other him wasn't in any condition to fight he decided, clicking the duel-disk into place and reaching into the pocket where his own deck sat. So this one was his! "Alright then," he called out, "I'll-"
A hand snapped in front of him, Gekkou looking down with broken eyes. "...Yugi-san," he asked, bowing his head. "Leave this one to me please... And if I may ask just one thing, allow me to help you to stop my brother's foolish plan."
"W... G-Gekkou-kun... You..."
"You'll do that for..."
"Pffft-haHAHAHA!" They looked back to the front, eyes narrowing darkly as the American before them grinned. "Oii oii.. Gekkou," Keith laughed, the red-head beside him rubbing his head in annoyance. "You're doing this for your rival? Come on man, turning against your brother? And YUGI," he howled. "For all you know this guy's about to screw you over, he's your target's big brother!"
"...Yea," Yugi said quietly, looking up at the fairly tall man beside him. "He is... ...But that just makes me believe in him more," he continued with a shout and a nod. "Gekkou-kun..!"
"Thank you," he said quickly, stepping forward. "I won't fail you, believe me..."
"Jesus, You beat the fucker and then hand him the next duel on a silver platter..."
Ted was probably very much used to ignoring the man behind him- he stood up and walked forward, his own duel disk already primed for battle as he took position across from his opponent. "Let's get going then," he called out, Yugi finally identifying the accent he was hearing as an almost stereotypical southern drawl.
"LET'S DUEL!"
"I'll go first," Ted announced, the cards almost floating into his hand with the speed he drew them with. "I'll set one card face down," he began, setting the card before mimicking the motion on top of the hologram itself, "And summon the Spike Rhinoceros! Turn end," he finished, the thorned armor of the anthro-beast shimmering before them.
Gekkou merely nodded, drawing his next card... And in an instant his quiet demeanor became replaced with something far more severe. "My turn," he announced, voice pealing through the room. "First... Graceful Charity," he began, the card's image glistening on the field. Discard two cards, draw two, Yugi mentally muttered, the spell card's image quickly fading as the effects took hold. It was a fairly basic card... But why use it so soon into the match? Another card appeared before him following the spell's activation, instantly crouched down with a book in her arms. The summoned elf stared forward with glassy eyes, hair trailing down her back as goggles hung over her brow. "Following that," Gekkou had shouted, "I summon the Learning Elf in defense mode! In addition I set two cards face down," he added, the holograms appearing before him with a flash. "That ends my turn!"
"Ffft.. THAT'S your monster," Ted snorted, shaking his head. "An elf like that? GhahahaAA! Oi, Keith," he called out, the blond giving a snort of recognition from the side. "This really the guy that Pegasus favored over Yakou? Really?"
The American nodded. "Heh! Can't say I didn't expect it," he chuckled. "But would you believe what the others were saying? That Pegasus called this guy 'Perfect', what a joke!"
"Perfect? Ghahaha!" Stop laughing already... "That's great! Well... Seeing how you're an obvious amateur, I'll take my turn," Ted decided with a grin. "I'll set another card first... And then summon the Speed Jaguar," he shouted, the curvy leopard warrior appearing with a blade almost similar to the Panther Warrior's own. Idly, Yugi couldn't help but notice the Jaguar's description; double the damage of an attack when damage is inflicted... With an attack power of 1000, direct attack could be devastating...
But the traps Gekkou had set would obviously prevent that much. ...Right?
From across the one who was currently defending their cause Ted was grinning with enough malice to put even Keith to shame. "Lets see what kind of strategy the 'perfect duelist' has forged," he laughed, cackling as he tapped the buttons on his disk. "I enter the battle phase and attack!"
"G- Trap activate," Gekkou countered. "Mirror Barrier- encasing the Learning Elf for three turns and-"
"Not so fast," Ted laughed. "I'm chaining your trap to this! Hand-to-Hand combat! Canceling all traps and spells activated in this phase!" Oh no..! "So! Spike Rhinoceros," he ordered, "Attack the Learning Elf.. .SHOULDER PIERCE!" The horns gouged the elf easily, and as the rhino retreated the hologram shattered to pieces. Right behind it however, the Jaguar was launching her own attack. "Next up," Ted shouted, "Speed Jaguar... Direct attack! DOUBLE SABRE SLASH..!"
"NGGGH-"
As Gekkou stumbled under the force of the blow his opponent continued to laugh, shaking the hair from his face while his monsters returned to his side of the field. "HahaHAAA!" Wisps of smoke still hovered over where Gekkou was struck, and Ted continued to howl with laughter. "What's the matter huh? Feeling sore?"
The man said nothing, merely drawing a card. "Learning Elf gives me one card when she's defeated," he said plainly, Ted snorting from across him.
"Pf! That card'll be your defense monster for next time... Count on that!" Still Gekkou ignored his words, merely staring blankly. "I end my turn for now," Ted continued. "Good luck getting out of this..."
"My turn," Gekkou responded quietly, drawing his next card to carefully replace it with another in his hand. "And once again, the spell Graceful Charity."
Wh... What..! Even Keith looked up at that one, sunglasses half falling from his stupefied face while Ted balked. Again..? Gekkou silently did as the card ordered and the others stared, swallowing. "Hey hey hey," Ted muttered, shaking his head with an almost nervous laugh. "What's in your deck there pal, throw-away cards? What's your deal..!" This...
Was he really having so much trouble with his hand that he had to do this? Really..? "Hnhnhn... Man... Yugi," Keith laughed from the side. "This is the guy you're placing your faith in? You don't think it's obvious what he's doing?" Gekkou remained silent, back turned to Yugi and Anzu both as Keith went on. "Such a crappy hand... It's obviously fake! He's losing on purpose," he sneered, shaking his head. "So that his little twin brother's plan will make it through no problem... With nothing for you to say about it..."
Still, Gekkou was silent, seemingly frozen a moment before finally taking a few cards from his hand to speak. "...I set another pair of cards face down," he stated flatly, eyes shadowed by his hair. "Next... I summon the Thorough-bred elf in attack mode," he cried, regaining his confident tone. The muscled elf hovered in place, and as another card flipped upward a sword appeared in his hands. "And before I attack, I equip him with my first face down card... The Spirit Slayer! Raising his power to 23-hundred..."
"Oh..." Ted stared a moment, smirk unchanging. "Finally summoned a monster did you..."
His opponent refused to acknowledge the words. "GO," he ordered. "Thorough-bred Elf... Attack the Speed Jaguar!"
"Hehehe... GOTCHA," the red-head laughed. "Activate trap... Curse of Darkness!" As the Elf raised its blade chains shot from invisible points in the sky, wrapping completely around the blade and body. Try as the elf might it could not move, and the hologram for the Jaguar remained untouched. The attack was canceled, something that Ted himself announced just now...
And Keith continued to laugh. "Still sure you want to do this," he sneered, Yugi doing his best to drown the blond's words out. "It's getting more and more suspicious... You still want to believe in this guy..?"
"Stop trying to convince me otherwise," he said curtly, not even looking toward the American. "It's useless- I decided long ago whose words I would believe."
"Ph..." The man paused, only to break his silence with an even louder laugh. "GHAHAHAHAH! You stubborn little bastard..! Gekkou could win or lose, but you won't accept that he's already picked to go down like a little shit! HAHAHAHA!"
"My turn," Ted howled, joining Keith in laughter despite earlier bickering. "And it all ends now! I offer the Jaguar and Rhinoceros as sacrifices," he shouted, setting card after card on the field as an enormous and mutated beast crackled behind him. "Yaku Gui! Giving half the attack and defense of a sacrifice as bonus to my summoned monster, while giving him a bonus effect... And the monster I summon," he roared, the gorilla-like lion snatching both sacrificed monsters from the ground, "IS THE ASSAULT LION!" A snarling and synthesized roar tore through the air, freezing the others in place. "Now... Eat the Speed Jaguar," he ordered, the rhino's hologram snapping out of sight as the other was tossed into the Lion's mouth. "Gaining 500 attack points on top of the effect that'll kill YOU! You're about to take sixty-two hundred points in one shot," he laughed, the hologram of his monster standing obediently behind him. "So have fun dodging this!" No... "The finishing blow..." No..! "ASSAULT LION," Ted roared. "ATTACK THE THOROUGH-BRED ELF!" NO!
"Trap activate," Gekkou swiftly announced, card flying upward as the Lion's fist collided with the hologram. "Amulet of Kindness- I take no battle damage this turn!" He said that, but as the monster was divided into shattered light with all but the sole card on his field... "N... Nghh..."
"Ffft... Damn," his opponent chuckled, shaking his head. "You got out of that by the skin of your teeth didn't you..." And thank god for that, Yugi thought to himself with a swallow. He could use the next turn to turn this all around now. But...
With a monster this strong... "My turn," Gekkou said quietly, looking over his hand shortly after Ted's announcement to end his own. And for a number of moments as they looked over the field, he was silent. He stood, looking over his field and at the cards in his hands in silence...
"What's wrong," Ted taunted, smirk twisting into a cheshire worthy grin. "Not summoning a monster..?" Ooogh... And what he wouldn't bet Ted had a stop defense or... Or...
Gekkou was still silent Yugi realized, and with a swallow he found himself pale faced and shuddering with the worst thoughts on his mind. "G... Gekkou-kun," he asked hesitantly, Anzu as well holding her 'breath' if it could be called that. "Gekkou-kun, are you going to..."
"Are you going to summon..."
More silence. The time was ticking down for his turn and finally Gekkou spoke. "Right now in my hand," he said clearly, "There are no monsters." No... No mons...
Again silence prevailed, gobsmacked expressions coming over the crowd before their opponents grinned. "Hahah... HAHAHAHAHAA! Now THAT," Ted howled, Keith doubled over with laughter, "Is some SERIOUS hand trouble..! HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"
"That... That..." No monsters in his hand..? Nothing! How was he supposed to... How were they going to... "G-Gekkou-kun..!"
How... "Hnhnhnhn... Exchanging your hand so quick, and you still don't have a monster," Ted chuckled. "Didn't you think to balance out your deck before?"
"Hehehe... Even I didn't think it'd go this far," Keith laughed from the side, holding his head. "But hey... With this, we mind as well have defeated Yugi right," he continued viciously. "Once Gekkou's gone, everyone with him is expelled from the building... HuhuhaHA! And you really think he's gunning for your side, shorty?" Again with 'short'..!
Yugi found himself looking at the ground despite his faith however, before Anzu's presence pulled his attention aside. "Yugi... This duel..." She bit her lip, hesitating. "I- Are you sure-"
"He's like me I think," he whispered, looking back up to stare at Gekkou. Anzu blinked almost confusedly at that, and he continued. "His relationship with Yakou... It's like me and the 'other me', in the Puzzle. Gekkou-kun," he continued, shaking his head. "I don't know how I do, but I know that he's fighting to free his brother from those Ja-shin. Even if he wasn't fighting for me," he continued louder, "Gekkou-kun won't lose..!"
"Pfft... Say what you want," their opponent retorted, "That doesn't change the facts! No shields, no monsters... The only thing you can do is surrender! And are you going to do that," Ted snarled. "Are you going to end this now..?"
"Yes..." What? The others tensed, eyes widening.
"What..?"
"This turn is over," Gekkou continued, taking one small step forward as he took a card from his hand. "Because this turn, I DEFEAT YOU." It was the card he'd drawn from the Learning Elf Yugi realized. One he'd had almost from the beginning. The card that had been there for almost the entire time... "I activate a spell from my hand," the duelist announced, the hologram shimmering into existence for all to see and read with shock. "ARM'S REINCARNATION!" A...
Arms... The card that brought back Equip spells as monsters, that... "You fucking idiot," Keith roared from the side, "HE'S GOT AT LEAST THREE IN THERE-"
The field was instantly swarmed with ghostly apparitions, each one with the effects of their cards and a base stat set of 500 over 500. The Spirit Slayer with 1000 attack due to its boost... The Mirror Barrier, who would be immune to attack for three turns regardless... Amulet of Kindness, which wouldn't be damaged regardless, and even two others which had been discarded...
Discarded... "You've been milling equip spells this entire time... Just for this combo," Ted muttered incredulously, Keith as well glowering from the side. "All this time... Gh... Well that's just great," he laughed, before shaking himself. "You have a field full of small fry.. But I'll teach you! You think you have a wall of shields," he snarled, "Well try again! This trap here, on my field now... I'll tell you what it is just to see the look on your face," the man laughed, "...It's stop defense! So it doesn't matter if you have a monster now," Ted cackled nervously. "The Assault Lion will slaughter you anyway... HAHAHAHAHAAAA! HAHAHAAAAA!"
Gekkou remained almost coldly silent, merely tapping the button on his disk. "You won't have until next turn," he said plainly. "Because I told you- it ends now. Let me show you my trap," he continued, those across from him growing white. "The set spell 'Power Connection'- for each monster on my field, other monsters gain a 500 point boost in attack... So from this card alone," he continued sternly, voice steadily growing louder despite the calm tone, "Each of my monsters gain 2000 attack points!"
"W-What..! But that's..." He shook his head, tiny holographic tags briefly appearing on the field to visualize the change in attack power. "That's..." It was incredible, Yugi thought to himself with wide eyes. Now within one move, he would be able to destroy him completely, he would...
"GO," Gekkou roared. "I enter the battle phase! And first to attack is the Spirit Slayer," he announced, the blade wielding specter launching forward. "Whose effect brings your Lion's attack down by five hundred!" As its opponent's power fell just barely beneath his own the sword cut cleanly into the hologram, the monster scattering into pieces. And with the shield down, it only took three other monsters to destroy Ted's points completely... Leaving him to do nothing but fall to his knees in shock.
"These..." He swallowed, the weapon-wielding mists fading from sight as Gekkou stared across the field coldly. "These tactics..."
"You've lost now Banias," Gekkou said coldly, turning to speak with his own allies. "Next time, don't be so quick to judge..." H-Hahh...
They could all do to learn that lesson after this..! "Gekkou-kun," Yugi breathed, shaking his head. "Gekkou-kun, you did it..!"
"If only because your persistence allowed me to fight," he told him. "...Yugi-san... If you hadn't voiced your beliefs so loudly I probably would have given in." Wh...
That... "...I see," he found himself saying, a smile coming over his face. If Gekkou were to fight with no support... He wouldn't have had the confidence to make those plays. But with the added hope... "Let's battle together from now on, alright," Yugi told him.
"Alright. Now-"
"You fucking SCREW UP!"
"GGFFFMGH-" -KIIISH!-
The others jumped and turned to the side as the sound of shattering glass met the air along with a shout. Ted's body crumbled beyond the glass wall that had separated the room from the hallway, and though there were weakened movements that told them he was alive it was obvious that Keith's kick alone had caused intensive damage. "Tch... Fucker can't even do one simple task," the blond snarled, spitting toward where Ted now lay. He stormed forward, pulling the man up by his shirt and continuing. "You... You lost at the KEY FUCKING MOMENT! How the HELL ARE YOU GONNA PAY FOR THIS HUH?" He gave another shake, Ted's head slumped against his chest. "You call yourself a 'Card Professor? Your debt just doubled IDIOT! Thanks for fucking NOTHING!"
There was no response from the man and, seemingly in disgust, Keith tossed him back on the ground. Only a groan told them that he was alive... And as Keith turned to them Yugi found himself barely able to focus on moving ahead rather than making sure the man was 'alright'. They had to move on. ...Even if it meant leaving their opponent's behind in despairing condition. "Give us the key," he demanded, hand held outward as the blond turned to them and sneered. "Or do you plan to fight as well?"
"Hn!" Keith snorted, hands stowed in his pockets. "I don't have any damned keys," he spat, the others briefly paling before he continued. "But you can rest your pathetic heads about it," he laughed, "'Cause I know a 'short cut'... Don't worry about a damn thing," he added, gesturing for them to follow with a dark grin. "I'll lead you straight to Yakou's place..." With little else to do, the three looked to each other...
And followed after the one who had just beaten his so-called ally into a 'sleep'.
It was a little difficult to tell how long they'd been walking really. They'd passed hallway after hallway looking for the next opponent following Mendo, walking up and through stairwell after stairwell...
In fact, they were in a stairwell right now, one locked in completely by walls with a railing down the center. "Man," Katsuya muttered, shaking his head. They'd been quiet for a while- likely because shortly after Seto's jet vanished Mendo had noticed the severed strands of hair stuck to Katsuya's head and started questioning them on it- and had otherwise focused on putting as much distance between them and the last room as possible. "T' think Seto-chan came all th' way here..."
"It is her company," Honda said with a shrug. "Makes sense she'd come back with all this."
That was a good point but... "Yea... Well. Still weird," he responded, "Seein' her arrive like tha'."
"This because of the dragon," he asked 'hopefully'.
He turned immediately with a scowl. "Wh- NO!"
"Of course not," Honda muttered sarcastically, "Because seeing a giant holographic dragon blocking your girlfriend's entrance is completely normal." Girl- (He didn't have an answer and he probably wouldn't get one damn it..!)
"Damn it Honda, will you lay off!"
-tlk- -clunk-
The pair froze, looking upwards as a few clicking and thunking noises came through the air. "Hey," Katsuya whispered, slowly continuing his way upstairs. "You don' think..."
"Next card professor," Honda offered, following beside his friend and silencing his footsteps as best he could. "Only one way to find out..."
"Ri- Ah-!" As Katsuya turned the corner he blinked, actually pausing in what was supposed to be a 'duelist assault'- around the middle of the hall, pulling a can from a vending machine and staring at them with wide eyes was a young woman likely around their age. She reminded him of Shizuka in fact, at least during her quiet moments; brown hair, small glasses perched on her nose (though he could hardly say Shizuka had glasses any more), and what looked to be a school uniform even. There was also, however, a duel disk on her arm...
Which was part of the reason why he instantly found himself pointing toward her as his own disk clicked into place, 'assault' continuing. "Aha!" he shouted, Honda running up behind him as the blond grinned. "Found yah! You're this block's Card Professor then?"
She seemed to freeze. "N-Nn..." The girl simply stared, Honda raising an eyebrow.
"...Well... She seems... Nice... ...Quiet..." While the teen continued to look at the girl oddly Katsuya shook his head, smirking.
Who cared if she was quiet, she had their next key. "C'mon," Katsuya laughed, already turning on the deck's shuffle option. "Let's du-"
The moment she moved her foot back, he knew what was going to happen. Annnnd still, he was surprised, if only because of how damn weird it was. "Nh..."
"SHIT!"
"Nh-aah!" The woman bolted, Katsuya instantly taking off as Honda choked.
"Wh- She's running," he asked incredulously, frozen in place.
"C'mon Honda, we gotta catch her!"
"W- Right! HEY, WAIT," he cried, the two both picking up speed as they chased after the girl. "Come on, we just need to duel you..!"
If anything, she'd picked up speed for that, disappearing around the corner. "Nhh..." Hall, hall, hall... By the time they got to the girl they could see her frantically clicking the up button on the elevator in the middle of it, fearfully looking over her shoulder at the two. "Aaaahh..!"
Honda and Katsuya both stopped, somewhat slouched over as they caught their breath. The girl obviously running any further now so... "Hah... H- Damn," Katsuya wheezed, "What th' hell w's that about..?"
"Why did you run away," Honda asked. "I mean... What..."
"I... I'm sorry," the girl hurriedly replied, taking another step back as she bowed. "It... I shouldn't have done that..." Um. Kay, but why- "I'm just... I'm a little afraid of duelists, to tell the truth.."
The two blinked, staring for a moment. "...Afraid." Honda repeated, Katsuya tilting his head.
"Ah... Yea, hate t' tell y'," he coughed, "But... Y're kinda a duelist yourself. Unless yer holdin' that dueldisk f'r someone and decided t' try it on," Katsuya went on, laughing weakly at his own joke. He was pretty sure that wasn't the case though...
And as the girl shook her head, that made itself obvious. "No... No you're right," she said shakily, "I am... For the time being, I'm actually the duelist in charge of this block," she continued, swallowing. "I... I told them it was impossible," the girl went on, completely flushed in the face, "But they insisted... They said 'it's only as a last resort Reiko, it'll be complete... Completely fine'... I..." Again the girl swallowed, both of those before her blinking owlishly in her direction. Was she having a panic attack or... 'Reiko' abruptly gave a small 'pumped' fist, nodding determinedly. "But... But I'll do my best," she continued loudly, forcing a smile over her face. "Believe me, I'll do the best I can!" That was great but...
This girl wasn't giving off a single competitive vibe damn it... "Listen," Honda sighed, stepping forward. "If you don't want to duel we understand- And believe me," he 'laughed', sending a look to the blond behind him. "We really understand." (Hey what was with that expression..! "But if you aren't dueling, how about you hand us the key to the next block then," he went on, looking back to Reiko. "We're in a hurry- you'd be doing us all a favor if you just let us past."
"Ah- Very sorry," Reiko responded, shaking her head. "But while I can't speak for your situation I have to refuse. I promised everyone not to let them pass without a fight... So..." So she said she wouldn't duel, but she turned down the option... ...Honorable, he'd give her that, he decided, finding a nervous and confused blush on his face as the girl gave a 'reassuring' smile.
"H-Hahh..." Though at least he wasn't a cherry like someone beside him... 'Oh look Honda, another shot at a date...' Katsuya was quickly elbowed by his beet-red friend when he caught the frown from the blond, Honda coughing as he jerked his head toward the 'opponent'. "J-Jonouchi..! Come on!"
"Righ'!" Better to just leave it be, throw him a line this time... "Okay then," he shouted, stepping to the side to give plenty of space for the duel. "Let's get th's movin' then! Name's Jonouchi Katsuya," he continued, gesturing to himself with his thumb. "Nice meetin' yah!"
"Ah- Oh! Pleasure to meet you," the girl responded, giving a fairly steep bow much to the others' discomfort. "Kitamori Reiko." This...
This polite attitude was reminding him waaaay too much of Bakura damn it... And she was American? He coughed, nodding as Reiko prepared her own disk. "Okay," he called out. "In tha' case... GO! LET'S DUEL!"
"R-Right!" The cards were drawn immediately, and as he looked over the field he found himself frowning. "Erm... Lets see," Reiko was muttering, looking over each card as she drew it. "This one is... ...Ah, and this one can be used to.. ...Oh, I see..." All that muttering...
"...Is she actually reading the text over to herself," Honda asked, blinking in slight surprise. "I- I've never seen any of you guys do that to start, is she... Has she even seen her cards before?"
"Fr'm what I can tell," he muttered, a slight feeling on the answer coming to mind, "No... ...Ah... Oi, 'Reiko-chan'," he called out, the girl snapping up from her cards. "Hey... ...About when did you start playin' Duel Monster's..?"
The girl blinked, and for some reason Katsuya could swear he heard the monsters in his hand take in a sudden and tense breath. "Oh... Erm... I think... Oh, about one month I'm pretty sure," she said calmly, a small smile on her face. Oh, alright then, that was-
"Wai- ONE MONTH," he repeated, choking on his own words.
Reiko immediately jumped, pulling back with a shout. "H-Huaah! I'm sorry!" Sorry! She didn't even do anything, she-
"N-No, it... It's fine," he said with a swallow. "Jus'... How th' hell did you become a Card Professor in one month..."
The girl blinked. "Erm... How... I... I suppose it was an accident really," she admitted. "My grandmother, she had a few people test me after I beat her... Erm..." Y-Yikes...
If she was seriously that good in one month...
"Ah... If I could," Reiko asked, Katsuya snapping himself from somewhat fearfilled thoughts. "I'd like a few more moments to read my cards... Please, you take the first move." S-sure lady...
But what the hell? "Alrigh'," he decided, pulling a card from his hand. "I'll go then! First, one card face down," the blond announced, blank stone tablet rising up to his side as usual. "An' after tha'... Th' Alligator Sword!" As it always had, the tablet rose, thick lines carving their way over the stone surface. And as it always had smoke filled the cracks, making way for the monster depicted to step forward. And, as always...
"hey th... tsuya-jun..." Katsuya froze for a moment, staring at the monster before him. That... Was not a 'typical' entry. It was like a whisper... He'd only heard parts of the alligator's words but-
"Gator..?"
As Reiko continued to look over her cards, having missed Katsuya's words, the Alligator frowned. "I said 'hey there, Katsuya-jun! 'S do this!' ...You distracted man?"
With the words as clear as they possibly could be once again he hurriedly shook his head. "No... No I'm fine I-" He chocked somewhat, turning back to the field. "End turn," the blond shouted, trying to put the event out of mind. "Go for it, Reiko-chan!"
"Ah- My turn," she repeated, before nodding. "R-Right then... Draw," she first called out, taking the card and carefully looking it over before she placed it in her hand. "I summon this monster," she announced, a short, almost stocky tablet coming up at her side. "The Puppet Pawn in defense mode!" The creature that carved itself into the stone was fairly simple in appearance; nothing but a round shield, a stubby sword, and rounded, simplistic limbs. Nothing the Alligator couldn't easily handle though he decided as the numbers came to mind. "Erm..." ...Probably... "And... Set two face down cards," Reiko decided, the blank stone coming up to her side. "T-That will be all, if you please!"
S-Stop being so polite... "N... My turn," he decided, eyeing the blank tablets a moment as he drew his card. Pay it no mind for now he decided. There was a reason Reiko was on the defensive and it probably wasn't to lure him into a trap. "First, I'll summon this one," he announced, a tablet rising with his words as the card was set on the field. "Little Winguard..!"
"Hah!" The small cape-covered monster charged forth from the stone, turning to tip her hat to her summoner. "Glad to see you're... righ... ...suya!" S-Say what? Did the Winguard's voice just... Vanish..!
Again Katsuya found himself shaking it off, doing his best to ignore the fact that the voices of his monsters were fading. It was disconcerting, true... But for now, there was a fight to be had. Whatever this was would have to stop right..? As it was he could only hope... "We'll enter th' battle phase right off th' bat," the blond decided, pointing the monsters forward and nodding. "Let's go..! ATTACK!"
"E- Ahh... Trap activate," Reiko countered in panic. "Friendly Fire!" Crap.
Saw that one coming...
The stone instantly carved and crumbled into dust, flying into the monster's eyes before the image could even be seen. Briefly they both stumbled, blindly wiping the dust from their eyes and attempting to find their target again. Soon enough however their blades were turned on the other, and they charged. "HHHAAAAAHHH!" Aaaaack...
"GHHHAAAAHH..!" Damn it!
Figured he'd have to use this..! "Counter," Katsuya announced, throwing a hand forward as his own tablet began to glow. "Dr'matic Rescue!" Ropes tore forth from the stone, and just as the Alligator Sword's blade lowered toward the Winguard's the smaller was pulled right back into his hand, the monster itself surrounded by coils and pulled into the rock. "Th' battle phase ends, an' Winguard is sent back t' my hand... And, one more time," he continued, the card remaining where it was as Winguard pulled herself confusedly from her own stone, "Summon th' little Winguard!" Phew! Barely avoided getting them both killed on that one... "Man..." He laughed, shaking his head. "Not bad, 'Reiko-chan'..! It's hard t' believe you started jus' a month ago..!"
"Yea," Alligator muttered with a swallow, "But her monsters aren't too pleased..." What was that..? Wait what?
Why would they...
Reiko giggled somewhat, blushing from behind her hand. "Th-thanks," she managed to 'laugh', looking away. "I... ...Oh!" The girl jumped, hurriedly clicking one of the buttons on her disk. "I almost forgot... I activate my other trap card," she announced, her opponent blinking confusedly. "Battlefield Tradgedy!" W-WHAT- "Erm... It says, 'When a player battles in their turn, they must send five cards from their deck to their graveyard.'" He knew that! Ah- But since it was this turn...
"S-Shiiiit," he muttered, doing as the now active stone 'ordered' with a wince. "Five cards righ' off th' bat..." There it went then... "Tha's harsh... Well." Katsuya sighed, looking forward again. "Turn end- your move, Reiko-chan."
"R-Right then," the girl responded. "My turn- draw!" She paused a moment as she put the card in her hand, blinking. "Oh... This is... N-hn!" She coughed, before placing the cards on her field. "I'll start with two cards face down on the field," Reiko decided, the tablets coming up to join with her already active trap. "Next, from my hand," the girl went on, "I activate the spell 'Promotion'... And using its effect," she continued, the tablet that appeared instantly coating the defensive pawn's with a 'cleansing dust', "The Puppet Pawn becomes the Puppet Queen!" Queen? Ummmm...
That was the most powerful piece in Chess wasn't it? So... If these were all chess monsters...
Blood drained from his face as numbers came to mind, the image on the defensive tablet instantly gaining a regal staff and sturdy shield as it doubled in height. Nothing he couldn't handle in the end he'd hope but... Well... That would easily cream one of his monsters right now..! And-
"Ummm... I'll end my turn now," Reiko decided, Katsuya sputtering in response.
Wait what? "W- What th' hell, y' aren't attackin'..!"
"Weird," Alligator muttered, "We're wide open.."
"She could get us easily," the Winguard added with a swallow, "So why..."
Reiko blinked, sputtering her own response as well. "Erm... Well... I... Couldn't?" she managed almost questioningly. She shook, biting her lip. "I couldn't go, I..." She'd have to discard five cards if she attacked...
But that couldn't be it right..? Still. "Shiiiiiit," he muttered, taking his turn and drawing his card. "Th's thing's got more d'fense than pretty much anythin' I got..." And in his hand, 'anything he had' was pretty much covering it. Then again...
So long as he didn't attack, and she didn't attack, he could probably stall until the point he got rid of that trap. "Let's do this Katsuya-jun," Alligator said with a nod. "W... ...nish... one t..." Um... Finish in one turn..? Maybe?
What? A flash of fear and confusion both came over him once again, Psycho Shocker's words coming to mind. 'You're lucky you can still hear me,' he'd said. 'Or are you?' Or was he? Hahaha...
Not funny damn it! "I summon Gearfried," Katsuya forced out, tablet carving the armored warrior onto its face as it rose upward. The image carved into existence, smoke coating its form... "Attack mode..." Everything was fine, he told himself. Everything was fine..! "I'll end my turn after tha'," he continued with a wince, the monsters seeming to look to him sympathetically while Gearfried stepped out of the stone.
"Erm- You said 'turn end'?" Reiko asked, her opponent blinking. Um... Yes..? "Well... You activated this trap then," she told him, tapping the disk as the other blank tablets began to carve. No... "Rear-Guard Action," Reiko explained, the Little Winguard suddenly finding herself coated in an odd smoke emitted from the stone. "With this card," she went on, "Little Winguard attacks the puppet Queen..!" Wh-
SHIT- "N-No... AH-" The monster was drawing her blade already..! "Winguard," he cried, reaching out as the monster charged forward. "Winguard, don-"
"HHHHHAAAAAH-" Attack. Damnit. "GGHH!" Though the Winguard's blade clattered against stone it did nothing to phase the monster within. And in retaliation for his seemingly moronic move a wave of dust blasted back at him, the blond forced to duck behind his arm as the Winguard herself was tossed back to her end of the field. "NGH-!"
"GH-! Shit..!" Lifepoints ticked down by over 1000 points, and as he looked back over his arm he grimaced. "Eh... I don' s'ppose tha' counts as my battle phase," he asked somewhat lamely, the girl across from him nodding.
"Y-Yes, that's right!" Welllll crap. "Sorry about this." Just... Crap.
"Shiiiit... Five more cards..." He sighed, taking them in his hand and sending them into the graveyard. "In tha' case-"
"Um... No. I'm very sorry about this," Reiko admitted, "But that isn't the case- I activate another trap you see," she continued, an image identical to her first one's now carving on the lone blank stone. "A second Battlefield Tragedy."
"S-S- SECOND!"
"Wh- With that kind of mill..!"
"W-Wuaaah..! I'm sorry Katsuya," Winguard cried, "I didn't mean..."
"...It was a spell, not you," Gearfried muttered.
"Sorry, sorry..!"
The monsters continued 'bickering', Alligator rubbing his head. "Hahhhh..."
"Aaaaugh... Ten cards," Katsuya said with a swallow, taking another five and sending them off. "Tha' means..." He balked, almost jumping back as his eyes landed back on the half-discarded deck he had. "Gh- There's only twen'y cards left in there..!"
"Twenty- OII, Jonouchi," Honda shouted from the back, "What the hell are you doing? Did you ease up because she's a girl or something!" What?
NO. "GH- Shut up," he retorted. "You wish I'd do somethin' like tha'..!" Shiiiit...
He turned back to the field, biting his lip. Damn... This girl didn't even want to be here and she was creaming him... And all she was doing was sit-
"Ah..." He blinked, eyes falling on the girl's defensive monster a moment before he swallowed. "...Your turn Reiko-chan," he called out. "Go for it." 'But her monsters aren't too pleased'...
He had a feeling he knew why that was now... "Erm... Summon the Puppet Rook in defense mode," Reiko announced with a stutter, a tablet only slightly smaller than the Queen's own appearing before him. Similar to the queen, the carved image was blocky, checkered... It was topped however, by a castle 'wall', and held no weapons of its own. "And I'll finish my turn there... If you could please make your move, Jonouchi-san." Hn.
Knew it. Defense and deck destruction was definitely this girl's thing. But while that was all good, most people would have been going on and on about how superior their technique was by this point- hell, the guy outside had done as much. What was his name, Lew? Law? Regardless... His wasn't even that great, this one was putting Ishizu to shame! This one though... "No wonder the monsters don't like her," Alligator was muttering, rubbing his head with a sigh. "I mean, it's a shame, kid seems nice," he went on to himself, "But just look man... Those things were made for attack, not defense..! Well... 'Cept maybe the rook," he coughed, "But even then man...!"
"Explains what the ruckus in the other realm was about," Gearfried muttered. Ruckuvs? As Katsuya turned the monster continued. "There's an entire board of chess pieces in there kid- and they're itching for a fight." Well that figured...
But all the same. That kind of expectation was bound to be setting someone off..! "...Hey... Reiko-chan," he called out, frowning somewhat. The girl blinked, looking up with an almost hesitant nod. "...Dueling... It's fun, right," he asked, his opponent staring before bowing her head almost in flushed shame. "F'r me... Man it's great! Drawin' th' next card get's me all fired up f'r th' next move, an when th' monsters an' I fight... My heart jus' pounds man! It's great, ev'n when there's things at stake!" Like his life. But shhhh, enough about that... He quieted for a moment, Honda as well listening as the blond eventually continued. "...You... Yer nervous abou' these duels, aren't yah," he asked, Reiko still bowing her head. "Ev'n though y' got th's theme goin on w' yer deck, you wound up using th' only thing tha' w's risk free, d'fense righ'? I ain' sayin' yer cowardly," he quickly added, "Nah... You don' strike me as a coward. But a duel's called a duel for a reason," Katsuya announced. "And a duel without a fight... Ain' a duel at all!"
As Reiko's eyes widened in silent shock the blond continued, drawing his next card and making his move while it still sat in his hand. A monster, his mind had told him. This card was a monster, so... "My turn," Katsuya called out. "An' I offer th' Little Winguard as sacrifice..!" The Winguard nodded as her tablet exploded into dust, the winds of the field blowing it around her in a tall vortex that disintegrated her completely. "An' I do that," he continued as a new figure took form within it, "T' summon this... Giltia, th' Dark Knight!" Robes and jeweled armor came into being, and the warrior readied his spear-like staff with a nod. "Reiko-chan," Katsuya called out, Giltia looking on in silence. "'F you only d'fend an' win without attackin'... Then you've never 'crossed souls'- you've never actually fought these duels, only watched from the sidelines..! An' that... That's why yer afraid," he continued, pointing Giltia forward despite the traps in play. "NOW! Dark Knight Giltia's attack... Destroy the Puppet Rook," he shouted, the monster pointing his spear forward as a concentrated blast of flames shot from the tip.
"SOUL SPEAR!"
Annnnnd... "E-Erm..." Reiko coughed from across him, apparently snapping herself free from her stupor. "By the effect of Battlefield Tragedy," she said almost quietly, "Please remove another ten cards from your deck..." Urk..!
And there was always that..! "J-Jonouchi..!" Yea yea yea, shut up..!
The cards were drawn, discarded... "Glh... There's only ten left," he found himself muttering to himself, the 'deck' resembling little more than a 'full hand' now. Shit... He'd known that would happen but...
Shit. "Um... Once you have no cards left, you won't have lost," Reiko told him suddenly, bowing her head again. Katsuya looked up, blinking as the unspoken yet obvious question was asked. He wouldn't? Weird but- "It isn't until you can no longer draw a card in your draw phase that you lose." A-
AHHHHHHH shit! He was still in the same position! "Ngh... Set two cards face down," he hurriedly called out, the tablets shuddering in the ground before they rose up behind him. "End turn..!"
"...My... My turn," his opponent stuttered in response, swallowing as she drew her card. This time however, she did not look at the card. In fact, to Katsuya's surprise, she didn't even glance at it as she set it on the field. "One card face down," she said quietly, the blond before her blinking as he realized that the girl had never said 'draw'. "I... …I didn't even think of attacking until now," she said with a whisper, looking over the tablet. "I... ...Go," she called out, flipping her card into attack mode. "Battle Phase!" Oh-!
He honestly hadn't expected that..! "Haha... Brace yerself," he warned the other monsters, Alligator in particular taking a defensive stance. "C'mon, Reiko-chan..!"
"Right," she shouted, pointing her monster forward as it stepped, blank faced, out from the stone. With black and white checkered armor the Queen raised her staff, nodding. "Puppet Queen attacks the Alligator Sword... "CHECKMATE FLUSH!"
". . .!"
Evidently Katsuya thought, wincing as he ducked under the semi-contained explosion that had quite literally disintegrated his monster on the spot, the Queen couldn't speak. Though I didn't have a face so...
Despite this, it seemed quite pleased as she blasted her opponent's monster to oblivion- in fact, it had just bowed her head toward Reiko, the girl even jumping in response. Ah-
Now hold on, did that mean... Katsuya winced as the slight burn from the explosion singed what bare skin it touched, points dropping somewhat before he looked forward. "Hn..." Reiko was now looking over the field hesitantly, as though waiting for the reaction of the others. As he brought his arm down even the monsters were turned, the silent message of 'WELL?' quite obviously there. Finally, he smiled. An expression that soon became a grin, the blond laughing loudly as Reiko stared. "Hnhn... HaHAHAHA! Alrigh'," he laughed, nodding as his opponent broke out into a relieved smile. "Strong! Fr'm now on, it's a serious duel," he continued, the monsters and Honda both looking at him incredulously.
"Jonouchi," Honda began, Gearfried nodding in unison as his words were effectively taken out of his mouth. "You've been serious the whole time haven't you..."
"Ahe..." Yes, but shut up damn it.
"Um... Lets see," his opponent muttered, pulling cards from her deck as the Queen stood proudly at her summoner's side. "I send the top ten cards to the graveyard now..."
Honda shook his head from behind the battle, swallowing. "Y' know Jonouchi," he whispered, "This is great for your 'Spirit of the Duelist' thing- it really is. I'm... Really not surprised you live by it so much," he added, still speaking as sarcastically as he tended to be when it came to the whole 'ability' deal. "But could that spirit maybe help you win now..?"
Yea yea... "Honda," he said calmly. "I know how bad th's looks... Believe me. But don' you think I've givin' up when we're fighting to save Anzu. The will t' fight," he continued, looking back. "'S long as Reiko-chan doesn' have it, she won' understand. Unless you've got somethin' t' fight for," he continued louder, steadying his stance as Reiko stared, "You can't call yerself a duelist!"
"Well that's great," Honda countered, "But you've got a bigger problem right now! You even try attacking you'll lose all your cards and end up knocked out!"
GH- He knew that he was right but he was kind of trying to ignore that..! "Jus'... Jus' shut it Honda, I need t' think!"
"Then why don't you shut up and strategize!" Hahahaha...
He knew damn it, he knew! Just stuff it! "Erm... Okay then," Reiko coughed from across the two, Katsuya looking back. "It... It's your move..."
"Yea!" Draw..! Right now in his hand there was nothing to gum up the Battlefield Tragedy- it was like Honda said. If he attacked, he was screwed. There was really nothing much he could do with that in mind so... "I'll set a card face down," he called out, still another blank tablet coming behind him. "End turn!"
Time to rely on his opponent's moves! "My turn," Reiko began, drawing her next card and again moving before she looked it over. "I'll sacrifice the Puppet Queen..!" Th- The Queen? The monster before him surrounded itself in tablet dust, a new image carving clearly across the face of the stone. As the smoke cleared to reveal a caped and almost regal looking figure of black and white however, Katsuya found himself grinning almost darkly.
"Hehe... Alrigh' then Reiko," he called out, the girl across him swallowing at his expression. "Tha's my cue..! By summonin' Puppet King," the blond explained, "You give me a shot at activatin' a card... An I'm usin' this," he continued, his two monsters nodding as they braced themselves for what was next. "POLYMERIZATION! Fuse t'gether t'summon th' thing that'll end it all," he went on, pillars of smoke and dust merging their tablets into one. "GilTI-GEARFRIED!"
It was as though Giltia's armor was accented completely with Gearfried's, the body doing nothing but seemingly growing with the change of power. Though the face, while now 'goggled' was still the same however the spear that he had held had changed completely. An enormous blade resembling Gearfried's former arms rested on the pole, joined to the monster's real one by a shield-like gauntlet. "Th's is th' strongest monster I have," Katsuya shouted with a nod, watching his opponent's eyes fly over the field. "So bring it on!" She wouldn't dare attack..!
Would she, he thought for a moment. There was a spark in her eyes now, something that again reminded him of his sister... But not when she was calm.
Oh far from that... This spark... This was the look of a duelist. This was the look of someone who was willing to put up a fight. "Puppet King," Reiko ordered, her opponent's eyes widening. "Attack! With MAJESTIC CHECK!" Gh-
Shit, she really did attack! "Act'vate Extra Boost," he hurriedly called, the tablet behind Gilt-Gearfried instantly crumbling and coating the monster's blade just as the attack connected. Smoke filled the air, obscuring the monsters from sight, the flames and sparks from the King's staff coating everything... But even so Katsuya could see Reiko's wide eyed smile, an expression that quickly began to fade with the smoke as Honda looked on.
"E-Erm... W-what," she asked with a whisper.
"Extra Boost," Katsuya explained, crossing his arms with a grin. "Gilt-Gearfried gains half 'is defense points f'r this turn... Which means Gilt-Gearfried counters," he announced, the silent monster charging with his blade as the marble giant before it tensed. "ATTACK!
SPEAR SLASHER!"
". . . ..!" It was a little awkward, hearing but 'not hearing' the King... But as the marble stone clattered to the ground in halves it was more awkward to realize that the pieces had yet to fade. So while Reiko stiffened, ducking under the attack before looking back...
It took a moment to pull himself back into the duel. Reiko's expression told him 'counter'... And that meant- "Activate trap," the girl cried, stone slowly carving as she swallowed. "Rope of Life... Reviving the Puppet King," she continued, the pieces snapping back together in an instant before the monster returned to Reiko's side. Hn! Well...
And to think, he'd gotten a heads up on that just before he attacked... No way for him to cheat, but he still knew... "Tha' w's a good move," he complimented, giving his opponent a steady nod. The girl seemed to frown somewhat, and his Knight narrowed his eyes at the sight. "But ev'n so... My skills," he announced, "Still trump yours! Watch," Katsuya shouted, his final tablet crumpling to the ground. "My final trap- Rengeki! I have 'till th' end 'f this turn b'fore Gilt-Gearfried has t' go t' the grave thanks t' Extra Boost... An' that's just enough time f'r th's card's effect..!" When a monster deals damage...
Attack again directly..! "A-Ahh...!"
"Let's do th's," he shouted, pointing his monster forward. "Second attack..!"
"Hnnnnnn- HAHHHHH!" Though the blade never came in contact with Reiko, the wind it caused did. Who knew if she was sensitive enough to feel the attack- there was no way of knowing without it being too late. But even the motions of an attack could do this, and with the monster's impressive power Reiko's lifepoints were gone in one go. The field dissolved around them... And as it happened he could see Reiko's eyes fluttering around to look where each tablet was standing almost curiously, as though she'd seen it herself.
"Heh... We did it," Katsuya cheered, pumping a fist as his monster smirked and faded. "We won..!"
"Hahahaha..." The blond turned, looking to where Reiko was sighing almost in relief and exhaustion. "Well... I guess you beat me," the girl laughed, bowing her head. "That... That was a very exciting duel," she went on honestly, "Really..!" Heh...
"Yea! It was- An' it looks like y' got over yer fear too," he continued, the girl again nodding politely.
"I, I suppose..."
"Yeaaaaa... About that," Honda muttered from behind. "You know... If she just defended, you'd have lost. You kinda forced her to attack, don't you think that's a little..." O-Oi oi, that wasn't-
"W-What'd you jus' say..!" That wasn't what he was doing at all damn it!
"Got a point man..." G-Gator?
"Hn! The Chess Pieces might appreciate it, but it was still cheap." F-Flame swordsman too..! A chorus of grumbles followed with, and the blond found himself sorely outnumbered in opinions. S-Seriously..?
All of them? "Well, either way, you won," Honda admitted with a sigh. "So... How about that key then," he asked, holding a hand out to Reiko.
There was a short silence, and Katsuya instantly paled. Reiko's earlier words of 'last resort' were coming to mind... Along with a pair of lines, paths... "...W-Well," she stuttered, "Actually..."
"You don' have th' key, do yah," Katsuya muttered, the grl nodding in response. "Well then... What abou' th' other duelists," he tried, swallowing. "Th' other exits, there's gotta be another professor around here..!"
"A-Ah!" Reiko cringed, pulling back. "I'm sorry," she admitted, "But I was told to keep you here in this room... There aren't any more professors here," she said with a swallow. "And all other exits are sealed off, I..."
"So there's no other way out," Honda shouted, Katsuya shaking from beside him.
"I'm sorry," the girl repeated, now trembling before them in fear. "I really am... But I was just following orders, I truly have almost no idea what's going on here... I- AH!"
"DAMN IT!" A thundering 'clang' came over the air, the others both jumping as a small 'dent' appeared on the elevator door beneath Katsuya's fist. "How... How'm I supposed t' help Yugi," he cried, fist slowly dropping as his head fell on the door in its place with a dull thud. "How'm I supposed t' help save Anzu..? Damn it..." He slowly stood from the door, face red and body tense as he snarled. "HHHHAAAAAAH! Stop playing games with me TENMA! Ngh-!"
Just as another punch was thrown the doors opened, a familiar black haired boy instantly pulling back while the others froze. "Ah-"
"K-Katsuya-nii... Honda," Mokuba muttered in surprise, taking the headset he was wearing down from his head. "You..."
"M-Mokuba," Katsuya murmured, before suddenly wincing and gripping his leg as the boy kicked it. "OW, FU- What th' hell!"
Evidently someone hadn't appreciated almost breaking his nose..! (Ow!) "What were you doing punching nee-sama's elevators," he snarled, Reiko still standing at the side and out of sight with wide eyes. "You almost beaned me in the head too, what's wrong with you!"
"I was pissed..!"
"That doesn't mean you start punching the elevators, idiot! That-" The boy blinked, frowning. "Wait," he muttered, "Why are you two here..!"
Honda immediately began explaining in the place of a still cursing Katsuya. "We're chasing after a guy named Tenma," he began, Katsuya nodding as he continued.
"The guy kidnapped Anzu..! Me an' Honda are tryin' t' catch up with Yugi so we c'n all find im'! ...Well... We were at least," he added, coughing as Reiko shrunk back guiltily. "We-"
"S-Slow down a minute, you're after Tenma?"
The pair nodded. "Tha's what we said..." He was surprised?
"Reiko here says it's a dead end here though," Honda continued, grimacing. "We've been going through the Card Professors to gather keys for a bit now but-"
"But enough talkin'," Katsuya finished. "We need t' find Tenma!" They both turned expectantly to the boy, who shrugged.
"Great idea," he offered, "But I'm not going after Tenma." Ahhh... What?
"Er..."
"Y' aren't?"
The boy shook his head. "Nii-sama's doing that," he told them, having stepped out from the elevator to spot a shrinking Reiko on the side. "I'm just trying to regain control of the building."
"...You c'n do tha'," Katsuya asked lamely, finding himself met with a dry look from his friend.
Mokuba was honestly used to it by now... "Of course! The problem is that I can't access anything major from here," he told them, fiddling with his slate as he started off down one of the halls. "The outside exits are thankfully unlocked now," the boy muttered as he walked, Reiko silently debating following from behind. "But thanks to Tenma, I have to create new security codes for each door as I go- Not to mention," he growled, sounding eerily like his sister, "He completely trashed any direct access port outside the one by the system itself..! There's no way to access this part of the system wirelessly," he rambled, the others trading looks. "I need to go straight to the source, the main computer. If he's using the system, he'll need at least one access point. We can follow... This path," he continued, gesturing to his slate, "And get there but-" Mokuba blinked, looking back to the others with a frown. "Do you guys even know what I'm talking about..?"
"...It means we c'n stop Tenma righ'," Katsuya answered. "So tha's all that matters! Oi, Reiko," he shouted back, the girl jumping.
"A-Ahh... Y-yes?"
"Good game..! Now, let's go," he continued, jogging after a now running Mokuba while the girl behind them blinked confusedly. "I'm comin' along with you!"
"And me too," Honda added. "Gotta ask though, where's your sister..?"
"Nee-sama," Mokuba repeated, looking to the others. He quickly turned back to face the hall, answering them. "...Nee-sama's already figured out where Tenma himself is," he explained.
'She's going to deal with him in person.'
As those last words were said, Katsuya had a brief and minute flash of the woman stalking toward a set of doors with clenched fists...
And then, as the vision faded... Nothing but darkness and dull shouts could come to his attention.
AN: Whoooo! Again, this one's a little late, but there's actually a good reason this time- I started a difference scene before the Reiko duel and decided to move it... That scene was moved to the next chapter, this one was originally quite a bit longer! Regardless LOTS going on in life... It's a beautiful summer for one, so I am hitting the beach!
I mean, it's literally a fifteen minute walk, why the hell did I ever leave BC before...
I should probably stop promising art. It's silly to do that and not deliver... However, there IS a link below, as one Leona-Writer has been drawing quite a bit for the story! (And I love me some fanart, I really do...)
OTHER NEWS! The results are in!
IMADORK: 3
JADEJ.J 2
It was a close call, but WE HAVE A WINNER! Imadork, please let me know what you want drawn for your prize- that picture will be my top priority until it's done, so don't worry, I WILL finish it! If you look now, your summary is also the new summary for the fanfic.
Congratulations Imadork- and thank-you to everyone who participated!
Now then, with that out of the way...
Anonymous Review Responses
WHOO! Congratulations Imadork! Now, back to review... The plot thickens indeed, but it'll thicken a little more! Next chapter's just more of the story, but believe me... Once Dragon's story is done, things get real. (I should not be allowed to say that.)
Poor Honda... He really can't do much about this really, so acceptance is effectively the only thing he can do. As for Seto, I actually had a hard time getting that part! I've said it before and I'll say it again, she's one of the hardest characters to write...
And look out, because Willa's going to get back at her for that in a non-canonical manner... (Unintentionally to boot!)
I figure that when it comes to who goes first, it's a matter of who says it first- or even (possibly) who gets a full hand first. In real life, there's rock paper scissors you see. Or a tossed coin. EHHHHH.
There's a tactical advantage to either; if you go first, you can set your traps first, and possibly lock in your control. However, that also means that your opponent can look over your field and get a basic idea of what to watch for, and defend or counter accordingly. It really depends... Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Now..!
Hehehe, awkwardness is amusing isn't it Iona? And don't worry, she's not going to be a coward about things anymore... Least not by the time the arc is over.
I'm glad you like the points of friendship so much..! While the 'power of friendship' is something I like to lampshade, the fact is, the entire point of that manga was... Well, friendship. It'd be completely hypocritical to forget that, and the fact is, friends aren't something to be ignored, they really do move this story onward.
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter..!
Hahaha, alright then Sugarfang Phantom, I've got your vote in above, and might I add that it was in fact the tie breaker. Happy to hear you're enjoying the visions too- I've been getting lots of positive reaction on that, maybe I should continue using these a little more often.
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that wonders if Jou's speech to Reiko will have a negative effect...
This chapter is named 'Milchamah' (Mil-khaw-maw), means battle, or war, as well as 'warriors', 'soldiers'... It's a feminine noun, which is partially why I picked it out from the others. In this case though, the word was specifically picked because hey silly, why the heck would there be a direct translation for 'duelist' in that language?
WOAH-
WOAH! Keith! KEITH! But he died Usagi!
Well evidently someone brought him back! Which proves that something wicked is definitely afoot here, hmmm...
At the moment of Seto's constant flat-what silences, she's sort of... In a weird place in her mind, where her rage is slowly building, but at the same time, the sheer audacity that Tenma's shown and is still showing is... REALLY so shocking that she can't speak. At all. She's left standing there, slowly adding more heat before she explodes...
It's funny what I can twist out from what's probably just a translation error. 'And of course, the one punishing him will be the owner of the ja-shin... That is, me...'
To which I said 'Why did you have to phrase it like that..? =-='' '
And as Ted's southern drawl comes into play, I will remind you all that the only reason why I ever bring a point to those things is when it's either relevant, or specifically appearance based, or something I absolutely can't not imagine in my head.
You know what I love about Gekkou? He kicks complete ass. Seriously, he's... Probably one of the few people who can make equip spell decks look AMAZING.
Confused? So am I. How is summoning a defense monster and setting two cards an amateur move? I've killed people in one shot by starting with that!
...Actually, I felt kinda bad for my opponents in those fights...
Regardless, it's likely that they considered it 'amateur' because of such an early use of Graceful Charity. Which is still rather silly, because we had a similar opponent waaaaaaaay back in Battle City, and Yugi was completely on edge as opposed to trashing the move. Granted, this was the Other Yugi, who knew that the guy had defeated Jonouchi already...
Though you don't see it in this chapter, I've randomly decided that Speed Jaguar and the Panther Warrior know each other somehow. Maybe they have a thing, maybe they're siblings! (Like Shizuka's Lady Panther..!) Who knows... But it gave me enough reason to draw the lady-cat, even if I haven't posted that image in this chapter. (Ahehehe...)
VERY cool story behind 'Yaku Gui', or 'Medicine Eater'. It represents the winter-time practice of kusuri kui- the eating of things such as boar or deer, in order to ward off colds. Obviously in this case it's 'gaining strength'.
Fun fact! The term 'by the skin of my teeth' comes from a literal translation of a line in the original Hebrew of the book of Job, book 19 verse 20, which appeared in the Geneva Bible (1560) as 'I haue escaped with the skinne of my tethe'. (Skin of my teeth in other words.)
It most likely refers to the tooth's surface. Like... The plaque, as a tiny tiny measure.
Gekkou by the way, is the master of the Poker face. Unlike just about every other duelist we've met... Though Jou is pretty good himself.
Seriously though, Kaiba and Yugi, while they have their moments, tend to freak out and ham up their duels juuuuust as much as Jou. In frighteningly stark contrast, Gekkou does a DAMN good job of being straight faced about everything. It's actually scary... Because for a moment, it really looks like he's lost, and Yugi is really and truly broken. Like... BROKEN broken. Like... Tiny iris-huge eyes broken.
While Keith could have been a lot more foul mouthed than he is, you'll notice he stuck with 'shorty' for Yugi. That's because I think Keith tends to just work with whatever ticks people off the most.
I really owe a lot to Janime for this chapter; since I'm still waiting on the library for the actual copies of the manga, I rely on the scans of the manga for reference here. But some of the scans aren't complete; this duel in particular had a few missing pages, and even one RAW page- however, Janime does text summaries, similar to what I relied on for the Noa's Arc. So... It's a REALLY invaluable resource!
Funny thing, Reiko is eerily similar to Shizuka's canon self. Maybe a liiiiittle more confident in herself as time moves on, but initially? They're like identical strangers!
Reiko IS more polite though. And I mean super polite, it actually puts Jou off edge...
I really feel for Reiko though, I really do- while I do go for the ATTACKATTACKSPELL strategy rather than her intense and positively game breaking lock-down, I'm really one of those people who looks a the cards, reads over the cards...
But I guess for a really seasoned duelist, you just 'know' what each card does after a certain point. And Reiko did make her uneasy nature fairly obvious (Likely because of the discomfort in the face of what a duelist would tend to do anyway, which includes a slight poker face at minimum.)
WHAT- Usagi, why's Jou using 'chan'? WHY? Because he's not the type of person to use 'san' without feeling intensely awkward (Hence why only Tanaka, from waaaay back, and Yugi's dad got it- both were super awkward situations for Jou), and at the same time, Reiko isn't like Anzu. To Jou, Anzu is 'one of the guys', albeit with... Um, breasts. She's a tomboy, and while she might say a lot about 'AH! Men,' and etc., when push comes to shove, you put her beside most girls and they will be... VERY girly compared to her.
Especially now that her mind has pretty much been merged with a guy's... She wasn't lying about the mentality, control doesn't necessarily mean total stability! ...Whether or not this makes Malik's situation somewhat amusing given the fandom-image of the guy is up to you really...
In any case, Reiko is reminding Jou of his sister, is dressed in an immaculately kept uniform, and speaking in an extremely polite manner. So Jou isn't comfortable enough to simply drop all honorifics to start. So while with Seto it's a matter of familiarity and habit from what was originally an insult, in this case it's... Actually Jou's way of being polite himself.
Because it is honestly weird as hell for him to address her as anything else.
By the way, while Jou was preaching all of this, Honda was staring at him from behind with a FACE. Actually, in the manga, Honda essentially thinks to himself about how he's 'preaching shit'. OOOOOOO boy. (This is different in the official manga, which I only took out while I was editing ironically enough; instead, Honda merely mutters mentally about the fact that Jou's preaching to a duelist period.)
The fact is though, Jonouchi wasn't trying to be cheap with his speech- he was being honest, hiding behind a shield in a duel is... A little disheartening in a duel. Even Deschutes 'attacked' in his own twisted way. And while the Chess monsters do have more defense than power, it's still really even- they're more 'balance' monsters than anything, and given what game those monsters are based on I wouldn't be surprised if they really did want to just fight.
Say what you will on 'Battle Therapy', but Reiko truly did seem to enjoy the duel far more after she took the offensive... Even when she lost!
More on ff-Reiko though, you'll notice I gave her a dueling sense similar to Jou's... Though hers is more 'the holograms are alive' than 'there are tablets everywhere', and obviously doesn't include any visions. (Though she does have a semi-automatic idea of what's in her hand due to the connection overall.) The cards are still mirroring Jou's vision though- so she would never have seen the smoke or monsters due to a constant defense, and her vision being linked to her own deck in regard to voices and mannerisms.
Of course, that means she only now knows that the Queen's got a mind of her own, and given that none of the Chess monsters have mouths...
Another point to bring up, but Jou could have won regardless of whether Reiko had attacked, so long as he was given opportunity to make that last move. After all- he wouldn't lose until his draw phase, when he had no cards, and his monster was more than powerful enough that all he'd have had to do was this; on his turn following Reiko hypothetically doing nothing (After 'Gilti-Gearfried is summoned mind you), summon another monster. Use Gilti-Gearfried to get rid of the big monster with Extra Boost, get the second attack in with that oh-so handy spell, and attack directly with whatever's left. Since Jou wouldn't lose by 'deck out' until his draw phase, he'd win!
...Yea this doesn't buy him many points with Honda regardless. (We'll be seeing how he does on relationships eventually... For now, consider him hopeless and for the heck of it, tell me who you'd want paired up with him in the end if you wanted. Who knows! I did spawn Secretshipping you know...)
You probably guessed that 'Banias' is another Intel Codename, but what of Kitamori? Well, it's Japanese for 'Northwood'; Kitamori isn't a code, but Northwood certainly is.
Now this is rather silly- when Mokuba appears Honda and Jou ask why he's there- they say 'you were in the US, with Seto!'
Even though they saw Seto's jet fly back. Even though they know that Seto would die before leaving Mokuba alone. WHOOOOOOPS!
Hey look, Jou dropped the 'chan'... It's because Reiko's less awkwardly polite. He feels a little more comfortable.
Weirdest thing, once Mokuba appears, Reiko just vanishes. It's like she ran as soon as Jou started screaming...
FanArt and My Art Section
Nothing from me, but go look up 'leonawriter. deviantart. com'. She's drawn quite a bit for this story, and I have to say, I like her dragon...
Musical Notes
Again, nothing but Okami soundtracks! -because I have a horrible attention span-
In particular, 'Yami', 'The Sun Rises', 'Demon Lord Ninetails', and 'Shiranui'! All pretty good pieces... -now I should probably stop playing...-
That's all for now though! Until next time, I'll see you later..! Enjoy the chapter!