Samurai

"Mateo? Where are you?" Shiho is walking around the square just outside Yusei's house, looking for Mateo. Yusei, Jack, and the others had gone off to other areas of the city to look, but Shiho decided to stay behind if he came back. It had been days since he had vanished. Shiho sat down, leaning against the building. "What the hell? Where'd he go?"

Shiho watched the entrance of the square, as a man with a black cloak pulled up over his head entered the square. Shiho looked at him suspiciously, and stood up. He walked over to the man, who was walking over slowly, but as soon as he was close to push him away, a gust of wind blasted by and blew the cloak open, revealing the outfit of a Servant of Darkness, causing Shiho to take a step back.

"You're a Servant of Darkness, aren't you?"

"You stand in my way." The man replied in broken English, and Shiho realized that he was the missing Japanese ambassador.

"Wait, aren't you Ambassador Nakahara?"

"You stand in my way." The man replied, and went to push past him, but Shiho blocked him.

"You think I'm gonna stand aside while you attack my friend?" Shiho raised his duel disk. "Sorry. You're gonna have to go through me."

"The master has plans for you already." Ambassador Nakahara replied. "Although… I suppose it would not hurt to test you."

"Alright, well, it's a little hard to understand what you just said, but I'll take that as a yes!" Shiho replied as he took a position to duel.

"Would you prefer I talk like this?" Nakahara asked, before he started speaking Japanese. "Are you prepared to duel?"

"What? No, no, no, you can't speak Japanese! That's gotta be against the rules or something!"

"I do not believe there is a rule against language. Shall we do this?" The ambassador raised his Duel Disk as the Dark Seal flowed like putrid black water off of it, forming a dark wave, familiar to Shiho from Mateo's duel with Anya's puppet. As soon as the Seal was completed, Shiho's Mark of the Dragon started to glow and hurt a little. "Let's duel!"

"Let's duel!"

Shiho: 4000 LP
Ambassador Nakahara: 4000 LP

"I'll make the first move! I summon Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki! With his special ability, I can special summon Legendary Six Samurai – Enishi from my hand!" The Ambassador exclaimed as his monsters appeared to the field. "Since I control another Six Samurai monster, Kageki gains fifteen hundred attack points! Next, I activate a field spell card, Shien's Castle of Mist!"

A large cloud appeared within the Seal, and took the form of a misty throne room, of which the duelists stood within. Shiho looked confused as he watched the monsters and castle appear. "I have no idea what you just said. This isn't fair!"

"No one said this game would be fair." Nakahara replied. "In fact, the loser of this duel will forfeit their minds to the Darkness! So if you thought you couldn't understand me now, wait until I win and you'll be lucky to comprehend anything!"

"Enough! Well, I may not be able to understand Japanese, but I understand dueling well enough!" Shiho looked down at his hand. "I summon Azurian Prosecutor! And with his might, I use him to attack Legendary Six Samurai – Kageki!"

Shiho's monster flew forward to attack, but a misty cloud formed from the walls and surrounded Kageki. As the Azurian Prosecutor entered the cloud, it looked around, confused as to where the samurai disappeared to, when it was slashed and obliterated by an invisible sword.

Shiho: 4000 LP-3700 LP

"What? How can that be? My monster has more attack than yours!"

"Foolish boy. So long as my Castle of Mist is on the field, when you attack a Six Samurai monster, your attacking monster loses 500 attack!" Nakahara replied, as if it was common knowledge. "And you call yourself a duelist."

"Well, I've got more up my sleeve than that! I set two cards facedown!" Shiho placed the cards onto the field. Let's just hope that he doesn't have any other tricks up his sleeve.

"My turn! I draw!" Nakahara looked at his cards and grinned. I tribute my two monsters to summon Dark Tuner – Darkness Shogun! "Next, I activate my Double Summon spell card! This will allow me to summon another monster during this turn! And the monster I'm choosing to summon is Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!"

What's he planning? That bigger monster he summoned… I don't like the feeling I get from looking at it. Shiho thought to himself. His Mark of the Dragon started to glow even brighter and dig into his skin. "Agh!"

"Can't take the pain, Shiho Bengo? You will soon experience true pain! I Dark Tune my level negative nine Dark Tuner – Darkness Shogun to my level two Kagemusha of the Six Samurai!" Nakahara raised his hands up, outstretched, as the nine black level stars of his dark tuner flew out and pushed their way into Kagemusha, causing it pain as two of the black stars cancelled out the two white level stars. The remaining seven black stars flew out in a circle, all connected at the center by black electricity. They flew up as a dark wave descended to the ground. As Nakahara recited his chant, it opened like a curtain, revealing something blacker, so black it seemed to steal the saturation of everything in the plaza. Shiho's Mark burned hotter. "As the shadows are devoured by even darker shadows, the curtain pulls back to reveal a world without light! Dark Synchro! The Feared Poison Emperor!"

"What the hell is that?" Shiho looked up at the samurai-looking monster as it emerged from the darkness. The portal behind it closed, allowing Shiho to get a good look at the monster. It bore deep purple armor with green liquid flowing down its swords, leaking through the sheathes. It had purple skin and orange, rotting teeth as it smiled evilly at Shiho. "Well, it's ugly, I can tell you that."

"You hurt his feelings, Shiho Bengo." Nakahara commented. "The Poison Emperor's attack is equal to the difference between our life points, but when it deals damage to a player directly, that player takes twice the damage. Now go, Poison Emperor! Attack with Arsenic Sword Slash!"

Shiho looked up at the monster as it drew one of its poison coated swords and brought it down on Shiho. "Aaaagh!"

Shiho: 3700 LP-3100 LP

"What? How could I have taken an additional three hundred damage?" Shiho looked at the Poison Emperor as its attack increased to nine hundred. "There must be something about this that I'm missing. This duel is so handicapped in his favor, I don't understand what he's saying… Wait. Poison. His monster has poison-coated weapons. That's it! Your monster inflicts double damage on a direct attack! But joke's on you, because that monster, whatever it is, isn't a Six Samurai monster! If I'm right, that means that your Castle of Mist won't be there to help it! Iiit's my turn!"

"You are a quick learner, Shiho Bengo. But do you have what it takes to beat me when you don't know what all my cards do?" Nakahara laughed.

"Laugh it up, chuckles. I summon Azurian Clerk! This guy, like all other Azurian monsters, has a special ability based on what battle position it is in." Shiho stated. "When Azurian Clerk is in attack mode, I can add an Azurian monster from my deck to my hand, and I'm choosing the level one Azurian Aide! Next, I activate the spell card Right to an Attorney! By switching the battle position of an Azurian monster I control, I can special summon a level four or lower Azurian monster from my hand or graveyard, and I'm choosing Azurian Prosecutor, in defense mode! And finally, when my Prosecutor is in Defense mode, I can special summon a level three or lower Azurian monster from my hand, and I'm choosing the Azurian Aide!"

"Looking to stem the tide by flooding your field with monsters, are you?" The ambassador asked. "Sorry to say, it will not save you."

"When Azurian Aide is in attack mode, I can add a trap card to my hand from my deck, and I'm choosing the trap card Unlawful Detainment!" Shiho called as his Duel Disk pushed the card out to him from the center of his deck. He raised his hand into the air. "I tune my level two Clerk to my level four Prosecutor and level one Aide! A pound of the gavel, and all must stand in honor of this, the mightiest of judges. So all rise, for court is in session!"

The two level stars encircled the other two monsters, creating two glowing green Synchro rings. The five level stars of the two monsters within glowed through their bodies as they faded away, and aligned themselves in a straight line as a green light pierced through them, expanding to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings. Shiho raised his gavel and pounded it on the place on his duel disks where his monster would be summoned. "Synchro summon! The one who presides over all, Azurian Grand Prosecutor!"

"That monster will not be enough to help you, however you are welcome to try!"

"Azurian Grand Prosecutor has a special ability that allows me to destroy a spell or trap card on the field so long as it is in attack mode." Shiho explained. "Now, my Grand Prosecutor, destroy Shien's Castle of Mist!"

The Grand Prosecutor raised a gavel-shaped maul and smashed it against the ground. Cracks formed throughout the structure despite the mist, and it collapsed. "Now that your castle is out of the way, Grand Prosecutor! Attack Ambassador Nakahara's monster with Smashing Justice attack!"

The Grand Prosecutor raised its maul again and smashed it down on top of the Poison Emperor, causing it to explode in a splatter of green liquid, the Poison Emperor's evil laugh still surrounding the two duelists. It seemed to get more intense, but Shiho realized that it was from the Ambassador himself. "What are you laughing about?"

"You've triggered the special ability of Poison Emperor!" The Ambassador pointed to the Grand Prosecutor and Shiho realized that it was covered in a sheen of acid-like poison that had weakened it. "Not only do I not take battle damage, but your monster loses half of its attack. Oh, and the best part? If your monster is still on the field during my Standby Phase, the Poison Emperor will reform, adding to its attack the attack lost by your monster until the end phase of that turn!"

"How come your life points didn't decrease?! It must have something to do with my monster's attack being cut in half." Shiho looked pleased, however. "But no matter. That monster is gone, and that means that I've got the upper hand! I end my turn with a facedown card!"

"My turn. And after I draw, it becomes my Standby Phase, and from the poison, my Emperor will arise!" Nakahara pointed at the poison splatter on the ground and on the Grand Prosecutor, and, to Shiho's horror, the Poison Emperor started to reform, even absorbing red energy from the Grand Prosecutor. "You will never be able to beat me, because every time you lose life points, the Poison Emperor will grow stronger. And every time you summon something to destroy it in battle, I will simply weaken it when it tries to destroy me."

"Would you please stop speaking Japanese and start speaking English?" Shiho looked back at the Poison Emperor in horror. "This isn't gonna end well…"

"There's nothing you can do to stop me! Ha ha ha ha!" He pointed at Shiho's monster. "Poison Emperor! Use Arsenic Sword Slash on Azurian Grand Prosecutor!"

The Poison Emperor drew one of its poison coated swords and launched at the Grand Prosecutor, slicing it in half, causing it to explode into shards of holographic pieces and shooting a force of energy towards Shiho. "Aaaaaaugh!"

Shiho: 3100 LP-2200 LP