The wind blew across the school rooftop where both parties stood ready for the engagement. Haruko and Van on one side, with Tetsuo, Yamada and his gang on the other.
Duel Start
Turn 1
Van 4000 LP - Tetsuo 4000 LP
"Alright then, I will get this duel started. Draw!" Tetsuo called, with a confident grin on his face.
"I set a card face down, and then I'll summon my 'Assault Dog' in attack position!" While inserting one card in the Trap/Spell slot and then placing his monster card in his duel disk's virtual board.
Before him, a blue light would start shining and adopt the form of a large, face down card. Then, a large version of his monster card was generated on the field. And right from within it, a dog would leap out.
It seemed to be one of those military dogs, similar to a Doberman; however, its eyes glowed red, and donned a what appeared to be some sort of custom, canine, power armor. With a large magazine storage carried on its back, and two machine guns attached at the sides of this power armor.
Assault Dog ATK 1200/800 DEF
"And that would be it for my first turn. Now show me what you've got, 'Van'." Tetsuo then folded his arms and looked at Van with a confident smirk.
Van would then nod and reach to the top of his deck. "Alright, Dra-"
"Hey!" Haruko called, interrupting his move for a moment.
The boy looked over his shoulder and lifted an eyebrow, switching his cold and collected demeanor that he shows during his duels, back to his more laid-back one while she addressed her.
The boy slightly pulled his glasses down and shrugged, asking, "What…?"
She looked at him, she seemed both annoyed and nervous. The girl kept her lips pressed before exclaiming, "Don't lose!"
Van then looked at her and, with a small grin on his face, nodded at her and pushed his blue sunglasses back again over the bridge of his nose.
The boy focused his attention once again on his opponent, the boy then reached to the top of his deck and made his first draw.
"Draw!" Van observed his hand for a moment. His eyes closed and took a deep breath, cooling down again since Haruko got him off his 'zone' for a brief moment. He down took two cards from his hand and placed them in Spell/Traps slots. "I'll set two face down cards, and then I'll summon Warrior Dai Grepher in attack position!"
The field on his side would generate the solid vision projection of both his face down cards in front of him. Then, when Van slammed his monster card on his disk's board, it would show up just like it did for with the figure of his warrior donned in black, leather armor, armed with a broadsword appeared on the field.
Warrior Dai Grepher ATK 1700/1600 DEF
"Now, attack his assault dog!" Immediately thereafter, Dai Grepher rushed towards the assault dog and sliced it in a half with its sword. The Assault Dog, upon being cut in two, would explode due to its power armor malfunctioning to the damage.
Damage Calculation
Tetsuo 4000 LP - 3500 LP
Tetsuo, didn't seem fazed by this, though. In fact, he maintained his confident smile. On his side of the field, there would be the remains of the assault dog's destroyed power armor. The light in the armor would start beeping with a red color before the letters 'Emergency Protocol' could be read from a tiny screen.
"Alright, that will trigger the effect of my Assault Dog. Which allows me to special summon any other copies I've got of Assault Dog in my deck. So, I'll special summon two more of them!"
Just like before, two more monster cards would appear on his field, allowing the entrance of two more Assault Dogs.
Van just hummed and closed his eyes before stating, "Fair enough, I end my turn."
TURN 1
END
Yamada and the rest of the second-years watched the duel take place. He would start chuckling, seeing about the duel, "Ahh… you are already set to pick up the phase of things here, ey?" Crossed his mind, especially after seeing how Tetsuo's field looked.
On the other hand, Haruko observed the duel, still rather nervous because she didn't have any other choice than placing the fate of her 'Dark Magician Girl' gifted by her father to her, on his classmate's hands. She would have much preferred to take on this duel herself. "He did get the initial damage yes, but Tetsuo is still calm… genuinely calm, not like Yamada."
TURN 2
Van 4000 LP – Tetsuo 3500 LP
START
"Draw!" Tetsuo looked at his hand and was soon to speak, "Excellent, now I'll tribute both my dogs and bring to the field one of the stars of my deck. Come forth, my great beast, 'Ancient Crimson Ape'!"
Followed by the projection of the monster card, two large red hands would emerge from the card, with the figure of the card waving as if it were liquid. Both hands of the monster would slam on the ground and allow a massive ape to push himself out, into the field. It's almost as big as one of Koji's golems, its fur was crimson red just like his name suggested except around its head, the ape's head showed a long, golden mane and a matching long beard.
The ape wore what it appeared to be a primitive, dark brown armor wooden armor, a tower shield made of the same material on one arm, and a large, primitive, hunting spear on the other. The ape would roar and slam its chest multiple times, furiously looking at Van.
Ancient Crimson Ape ATK 2600/1800 DEF
"What, 2600! A tribute summon that strong already!?" Thought Haruko, as she observed the duel, with a small sweat drop building on the side of her forehead. Her eyes would then look over to Van, who didn't seem to be bothered by the presence of that monster, "Please, please Van… don't gamble yours and mine on this duel… You have no idea how much it's at stake for me."
Tetsuo lifted his fist, "Alright my ape, crush that warrior!" Then, the massive ape appeared to go crazy, started leaping on its place, doing flips and all before finally leaping high up in the air. Disappearing from the field for a moment.
"Uh… where it go?" One of the goons asked.
"Oh, just you wait" Yamada stated, looking almost as confident as Tetsuo does.
Haruko would look up at the sky before seeing something descend at a very fast speed, "Watch out, Van!
Moments later, and ended up dropping right on top of Dai Grapher, crushing the warrior both under his spear and its massive body.
Upon impact, Van held his arms in front of his face, eyes narrowed at the gust of air and dust that came his way while his lifepoints descended.
Damage Calculation
Van 4000 LP - 3100 LP
The ape didn't seem to be done with its shenanigans, as it leaned towards Van once again, tauntingly, roaring directly on his face before sticking its tongue out making a mocking face at the first-year. The Ape would then leap backwards, performing multiple backflips in midair, before finally landing on Tetsuo's side of the field once more. The monster would then begin spinning its spear for a bit before taking his original fighting pose again.
"Sorry, he really enjoys crushing his enemies." Tetsuo noted before calling, "Now I'll set a card face down, and I'll end my turn."
"Hmph…" Van just re-adjusted his sunglasses and chose not to comment. "Draw!" "Hm, this will do…" Crossed his mind before declaring, "I'll set a monster in defense position and that will be my turn."
TURN 2
END
TURN 3
Van 3100 LP – Tetsuo 3500 LP
START
Tetsuo calmly drew a card and waved his hand, "Alright, my Ape, continue with your mayhem!" After commanding that to his ape, the monster proceeded to hold its spear in its mouth, grab both its legs and roll over to Van's side of the field. When he was close enough to the set card. The monkey leaped and launched itself with its shield over the monster in defense position.
"Excellent" Van called, causing Tetsuo's confident smirk to change for a moment. Van then showed the card that just got destroyed, "Congratulations, you got my 'Immortal Bushi'. But that means you triggered my trap card, 'Trumpet to March!".
One of the face down cards as revealed, and it displayed the image of a soldier sounding a trumped while other soldiers charged to the front of battle in the background. Van then proceeded to explain. "Trumpet to march can be activated when a Warrior monster is destroyed. It allows me to special summon another warrior from my hand, now come forth Buster Blader!"
Van's card would once again materialize, soon opening the path for Buster Blader to appear in the field. The warrior quickly stood up and confidently held its massive, dragon-slaying sword, over his shoulder.
Buster Blader ATK 2600/2300 DEF
"Good, he managed to bring his ace!" Haruko thought, while pressing her hands together in front of her chin. With a smirk on her face, as it appeared that she was starting to calm down and grow more confident in the skills of Van. At least in this duel, it seemed that her friend was planning his moves a bit more, rather than just 'winging' them as he insinuated to her.
"That warrior looks dumb as heck!" one of the goons from Yamada's gang screamed.
"Yeah, what kind of armor is that, and look at his helmet?" another one added. Prompting the rest of the group to laugh at Van's ace monster.
While Van paid no mind to them, Haruko's voice could be heard from his side of the rooftop yelling, "Hey, shut up already. We will see if you keep laughing after Van beast, your friend!"
"Oooohohoh we angered the girlfriend!" one called in response to her.
"shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!" Haruko yelled back.
"Hmph, not bad… really not bad." Tetsuo complimented the first-year, nodding a couple of times. "I'll end my turn here." "He brought a monster just as strong as mine in a blink of an eye, this kid is not your run-of-the-mill duelist. He doesn't back down even from heavy pressure early on… Most punks I've faced struggled from the get go against my beasts."
"Draw!" Van called, "Time to get rid of that annoying Ape. I'll activate 'Monk Halberd'! This card will boost the attack of buster blader by 500 points until the end phase!"
"Nice!" Haruko cheered as the card was activated.
Buster Blader would then sheath his sword on his back as a Halberd materialized in his hands. The warrior would then start spinning the weapon around, similarly the Ancient Crimson Ape did before, but with the proficiency of a true warrior.
Buster Blader ATK 2600 → ATK 3100
"Now, destroy his Ancient Ape!" Van ordered as he pointed at his target. The ape would react, worried, looking over to Tetsuo for a moment, seeing if he was going to do something to prevent that from happening. But before it could realize it, Buster Blader had already dashed towards that side of the field, and with a great swing from the Halberd, caused the monkey to be destroyed in countless, glass looking, shards.
Damage Calculation
Tetsuo 3500 LP → 3000 LP
"Perfect!" Tetsuo exclaimed. Prompting Van to lift an eyebrow.
Then the second-year continued explaining, "Since you've just destroyed one of my beasts, you just triggered two effects from two monsters in my hand!" He would first reach to his graveyard "First, I will banish two of my assault dogs, and now I will special summon Yellow Baboon Archer of the Forest!"
The monster card would form after he placed it on his disk's board, and from it a baboon, almost as big as the Ancient Crimson Ape, appeared. This one seemed to have a more moderated behavior, standing ready for battle with a massive bow and arrow ready. The beast had yellow fur, a black mane around its face, and wore what appeared to be dark green leather armor over its body.
Yellow Baboon Archer of the Forest ATK 2600/1800 DEF
"And I am not done — yet. Because of the same reason, the effect of my next monster is also triggered!" Tetsuo declared before explaining, "I will pay 1000 lifepoints and special summon 'Green Baboon Defender of the Forest!'"
This time, from the new projection of the card. Another large baboon would come out. However, this one would do it calmly, slower. Its fur was green, with a black mane and beard on his head. This one was armed with a giant, crude, wooden club. He also wore leather armor, this time around dark-colored.
Green Baboon Defender of the Forest ATK 2600/1800 DEF
Haruko was taken aback by this. Tetsuo was in a different league in comparison to Yamada. She pressed her lips, contemplating how things would have been if she was the one dueling instead of Van.
Van just narrowed his eyes, seeing the moves Tetsuo played through the duel, "He is the complete opposite to Koji. He doesn't build up to his plays, he goes to the offense from the very start and seeks to never give you a breather…" Van then gave one last glance to the cards in his hand, "… when you think you have managed to push him back, he pushes you back again. And he manages to do so by having worked on the flaw of a beat down deck. A reliable set of monsters with quick access to them, those are not easy to come by…" His eyes then looked up at him again. "… there is still one thing I can do, I gotta stop his momentum… but not yet." Van finally closed his eyes and declares, "That's all for my turn."
TURN 3
END
TURN 4
Van 3100 LP – Tetsuo 2000 LP
"Now, check this out. Draw!" Tetsuo exclaimed as he drew his card and began his new turn. "I play a beloved classic of this game, 'Monster Reborn' and with it, I'll bring back my Ancient Crimson Ape!"
His ape would then reappear in the field by the effect of the spell card. The ape would soon join both Baboons, sitting in the middle of the three, laughing and pointing at Van as he did so.
"I knew it…" Van thought, letting some air go from his nose, annoyed, yet concentrated.
"He doesn't stop…" Haruko muttered to herself. Then pressed her lips again, "He just doesn't stop bringing strong monsters to the field. Could I… beat someone like him on my own?" Crossed the girl's mind, then she looked over at Van, "What are you going to do now…?"
"Hahah, there it is, his monkey trio. Now is when things get a bit more fun, boys!" Yamada commented, clapping his hands and fondling them together. "You two little turds better get ready to hand over your rarest cards."The second-year grinned, "Yeah… big, strong monsters. That's him. Brings the heavy blows from early and doesn't stop until the game is over…"
Tetsuo then exclaimed, "Alright then, time to take the offense again, and I'll do so with this!" He then activated a spell card, "The Big March of Animals. With this spell, all of my beasts on my field get a boost of 200 attack points for each beast on my side of the field!"
The three beasts would then start roaring and grow enraged as their attack points are boosted.
Ancient Crimson Ape/Yellow Baboon Archer of the Forest/Green Baboon Defender of the Forest ATK 2600 - 3200
"Before I begin my attack, let's add some more muscle to the mauling that's coming your way. I activated my face down card, 'Howl of the Wild'!" He grinned as the projection of his face down card was revealed on his side of the field. "With this card, whenever I destroy one of your monsters regardless of its position, you will take damage for each beast monster on my side of the field!"
"Wait, now he can't defend either!?" Haruko thought as she looked in shock at Tetsuo's field.
"This is Game over! Crimson Ape, destroy his buster blader!" Tetsuo called. And this time around, the Ape didn't bother to do many theatrics. It just leaped forth, like a savage beast, and viciously swung its massive spear against the warrior. However, much to Tetsuo's surprise, buster blader managed to stop the attack.
"What!?" Tetsuo questioned.
Damage Calculation
Van 3100 LP → 2500 LP
Van looked at Tetsuo. "Forgot I never took the Monk Halberd off from Buster Blader? The attack boost, it's not its only effect. Take a look!"
Then, Buster Blader took the halberd and threw it towards Tetsuo. The weapon would turn into a beam of light which would impact against him.
"Argh, Damn it!"
Damage Calculation
Tetsuo 2000 LP → 1500 LP
"When a monster with the halberd will be destroyed. I can send the spell card to the graveyard instead. And if that happens, I get to deal 500 damage points to you!" Van finished explaining what just occurred.
Tetsuo simply grinned at the boy, confidently "Pestering little bastard, he keeps swinging even when he is clearly on the back foot. He even managed to avoid the first burst of damage from my trap by doing that." Tetsuo clinched his fist, "good, good, wasn't here to face a wimp who would give up after all." crossed his mind with excitement, as his respect for the first-year grew with each passing turn and play of this duel. "Nice play, but my attack is not over, pal. Yellow Baboon, take aim and destroy buster blader!"
The baboon would then set his eyes on Van's arrow and take aim with its massive bow and arrow. Finally, would release its projectile, and at a jet fast speed, would impact against Van's monster. The impact would create another great dust cloud being blown towards Van and Haruko's direction in a strong gust of wind.
Van moved his face to a side, closed his eyes and lifted one arm to cover from the dust cloud being pushed towards him by the gust. "Tsk!" he clicked his tongue while it occurred.
Haruko, behind him, would cover with her arms as well; her blonde, long hair flapping and waving frantically by the wind blowing in her direction.
When the air calmed and Van thought it was over, Tetsuo's trap card triggered, and a loud pulsating roar echoed towards him. Making the boy's ears ring and further lowering his lifepoints.
Damage Calculation
Van 2500 LP 1100 LP
"Now, Blue Baboon, finish this duel. Attack his lifepoints directly!" The second-year commanded, pointing at his opponent.
The blue baboon would then begin to charge at Van. The young duelist was quick to react, however.
"I activate my trap card 'Back to the Front'! and I'll just bring back my Immortal Bushi in defense position!" The boy declared as the first monster he had summoned to the duel emerged from the ground, in a flashing of light, causing the baboon to stop in its tracks for a moment.
"It doesn't matter, continue the attack, Baboon, destroy his monster!" Tetsuo ordered.
The blue baboon would then lift its massive, wooden club. The beast would swing it down over Van's warrior, crushing it and shattering into countless tiny shards. Right after the baboon destroyed his monster, the trap card would trigger once again, and a second roar would reach Van.
The boy quickly covered his ears and pressed his teeth, "Argh, damn it!"
Damage Calculation
Van 1100 LP 100 LP
"Alright, this duel is ours, guys!" Yamada called while the rest of the gang was already cheering and celebrating.
"That's the boss for ya!"
"Another win for Tetsuo!"
Meanwhile, Haruko dropped on her knees and planted her palms on the ground. She looked at the field, the lifepoints, the 3 apes on the field to her eyes appeared to grow to a giant size "Van, h-he… he is trapped! He can't defend, his ace is gone. T-they will take my father's…!" She was starting to panic at the thought that her father's memento would be taken away from her hands.
The girl's eyes were getting watery, she felt like she was going to cry, but she didn't want to. She couldn't allow herself to do that… and then she saw him. Van was looking at her over his shoulder, she looked at his eyes and what she could see in them, behind the cold and collected expression that his face showed, was anger. For a brief moment, she felt a chill run down her spine…
Van's eyes stared directly at Tetsuo from behind the lenses of his blue sunglasses, "Are you done?" He asked brief and bluntly.
"Huh?" Tetsuo blinked and narrowed his eyes, surprised. He felt relaxed for a moment because he saw the duel in his hands. Even if Van places a monster in defense position, he can drop his life points to zero due to Howl of the Wild. "So, he is not giving up yet… means he likely has a plan…" Tetsuo thought before nodding at Van, "Alright, I'm curious about what are you planning to do. I end my turn"
Van drew his next card and responded, "Simple. I will stop your momentum and win the duel."
"What did that guy just say!?" One of the goons from the gang asked, as the rest began discussing with each other how he was bluffing, then laughed while mocking him. The exception was Yamada, who did catch onto the fact that Van didn't seem intimidated in the slightest, and that Tetsuo still didn't seem to have relaxed or lowered his guard. He literally was 100 life points away from victory, but the air around felt like that of the start of the duel…
"Win… he still plans to win?" Haruko thought before getting on her feet once more, "…he is right. He still has 100 lifepoints, he still has cards in his hand and his deck. After all…"
Van looked at the cards in his hand now, then looked back at Tetsuo, his eyes as intense as ever. "You miscalculated…" thought the boy, as he picked one of the cards from his hand. "Should've made sure that my lifepoints dropped to zero. You may be used to taking on people who can't handle the pressure, I can, anyone who stepped in tournaments have." The German-born then placed the card in one of the spell/trap slots of his duel disk. "Even in a low-level scene such as that from my homeland, pro's will keep going, no matter how you push them because we all know that…"
A spell card would be formed in front of the first-year. One that had a picture of a lightning bolt hitting the ground.
"… In a duel, the only life point that matters, is the last one." coincidently was the thought that went through both Haruko and Van's minds.
The girl stood up and rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, looking at Van confidently. Trusting that he still had the duel under control.
"I activate Raigeki!" Van declared, then pointed at the monsters of Tetsuo's field, "All your monsters will now be destroyed!"
"Wait, damn it!" Tetsuo exclaimed as he watched how the area of the duel around then darkened for a moment, and then a massive lightning bolt fell on his three monsters, obliterating them in a blink of an eye.
Yamada and his goons were also shocked, they didn't see that play coming from their boss' opponent. "Damn it, what the heck are you doing, Tetsuo!?" Yamada thought while pressing his teeth and clenching his fists. He couldn't believe that, once again, his plans of getting his hands on that very rare and valuable card were being set back, and by the same person no less.
"I'm just getting started!" Van then reached to his graveyard and pulled out his Immortal Bushi "I'll use the special ability of my monster, which allows me to special summon it back into the field when all my monsters in my grave are warriors, and I have no monsters on my field!"
The Immortal Bushi would rise once again, with its usual proud and disciplined stance.
"He will work perfectly for my next summon, as I will tribute him to bring Freed the Matchless General in attack position!"
With the card being generated on the field by the solid vision system, Freed, had his gateway to pass and step into the scene. The long haired, blonde and aged knight stood proudly in all of its splendor. With his pristine armor shining and his green cape flapping on his back. He would simply unleash his sword and stand ready for combat.
Freed The Matchless General ATK 2300/1700 DEF
Van then pointed at Tetsuo. "Now Freed, attack Tetsuo's lifepoints directly and end this duel!"
"Yes, go get him Van!" Haruko cheered on, seeing victory right there.
The general would then start charging at the second-year, sword in hard, ready to deliver the final blow that would deliver his lifepoints down to zero. The victory which would then assure that both him and Haruko would be left alone by those goons, hopefully for good this time around.
Tetsuo, however, had other plans. "Not so fast!"
His call caught Haruko and even almost Van, by surprise with them having the same thought "What!?"
"I activate my quick play spell 'Scapegoat'!" called as solid vision projection of the card showed up, for little sheep with different colors would come out from it. "Now, my sheep tokens will be able to protect me from a direct attack!"
Sheep Token ATK 0/0 DEF
In turn, Freed would manage to slice and destroy one of the sheep tokens, but… this meant that the duel was just not over yet…
"Tsk… how annoying…" Van clicked his tongue before declaring, "Fine, I end my turn."
Turn 4 end
"Alright, Now I will-!" Tetsuo called before suddenly…
A loud ringing bell could be heard by all of them.
"Oh, lunch break's over!" One of the second-years commented
"Uh, are we leaving then?" Another one asked.
"Like heck we are!" Yamada screamed before looking at the duo of first-years, "You are not getting out of here until this duel is over!" which did worry both of them because in addition to the situation, now there was the potential of getting into trouble with the teachers for being late to class.
However, much to everyone's surprise. Tetsuo would turn off his duel disk, "Damn… oh well, I guess times up then!"
Haruko and Van looked at him in disbelief, even Van's sunglasses slipping down his nose a bit when his expression simply switched to absolute confusion, and Haruko being able to only show a dumbfounded smile.
Yamada just looked at him, with a blank expression and not saying a word for a while. If someone paid attention, one could hear something cracking inside his mind. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Yamada screamed from the top of his lungs, his face turning red, quickly rushing to his classmate's spot. "WHY ARE YOU STOPPING THE DUEL, YOU IDIOT!?"
Tetsuo then looked over his shoulder at Yamada, "We ran out of time…" He then gave him a look that no one would like to face. That look of 'do I make myself clear, or do I have to give you a different explanation?' Easily, making Yamada think twice before trying to face off with his classmate and back off. Then he looked over at the rest of the gang, giving them the same look, raising his voice and asking, "We ran out of time, right?"
All of them, would get the same message. Nothing more was to be said about the matter.
"Y-yes, we gotta go!" One commented intimidated
"A sh-shame, you had him!" another nervously praised Tetsuo.
"I actually gotta hand in a project…" the last one muttered.
Tetsuo then walked up to Van and stood holding both his fists over his waist. "Well, goes without saying I demand we conclude this duel at another time, right?" He was again showing his confident grin as he offered him a handshake. "You really know how to put up a good fight, and not only I like that, but I respect that."
Van was confused at first, but then slowly began to understand… Tetsuo may be friends or acquaintance with Yamada and his goons… but he is certainly a different type of guy, not a bully at least. The first-year nodded and shook his hand with a smug, "Sure, but we know I was gonna win."
Tetsuo hung his head back and started laughing out loud, tapping Van's shoulder, "That's it, that's it right there!" Then looked over at Haruko, "And If what Yamada told me about you, it's true…" He would then show her his thumbs up, "You can be certain you've got all my respect as well!"
Haruko was taken aback by this. She had his respect… okay? She wasn't sure what it really meant, and how she should react. So, after simply showing a silly, nervous smile, she gave him a nod and replied, "Eh… thanks!"
"Alright now, you two, go. I will take a couple of minutes to discuss a few things with my good friend Yamada and his pals right here…" said while looking over at them. He walked towards the group, he was looking more and more shaken with every step he took. Midway, he spoke again, "Oh, and could you please be so kind to close the door when you leave? Thanks…"
"Wait, is it really going to be, okay?" Haruko asked, still a bit confused
However, Van did catch Tetsuo's drift, and reached to grab Haruko by her wrist and began walking towards the door. "Yep, yep, we are leaving, come on!" The boy said in a hurried tone, almost dragging Haruko along
"H-hey!" She just managed to exclaim before both of them crossed the rooftop's entrance and closed the door behind them.
As both first-year students began walking down the stairs, the voices from the second-year students that were still on the rooftop could be heard, a bit muffled, however.
"Wait, what are we doing now?"
"Boss… what's wrong?"
"… Boss?"
DUEL UNFINISHED
Van 100 LP – Tetsuo 1500 LP
Author's Note: NEW CHAPTER'S HERE AND SORRY FOR THE DELAY!
I may have... gotten caught up watching streams and making homemade Gnocci...
Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll see you all next week, have a wonderful weekend and happy easters!
