Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bakugan, or any such properties. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 3: Buyer Beware
With Rally clutching his arm, Haruka was pulled down into the darkness of the subway stairwell. Under the soles of his shoes, he could feel the chunks of missing cement and cracks in the broken pavement. Despite the state of these stairs, Rally ran down without even the slightest hesitation, so Haruka had to scramble to keep up.
They came down onto a wide station platform, stretching from the base of the stairs to a far wall opposite them. A ramp on the platform led down onto a set of train tracks, with tube-shaped tunnels at either end that led off into who knows where.
"Guys, I'm back!" Rally called out the second his feet hit the platform.
At the end of the platform, Haruka saw two men emerge from a shack and start walking toward them. One was shorter and heavyset with spiky brown hair, while the other was on the taller end like Blitz, but skinny and had long purple dreadlocks.
The shorter man gave Rally a broad smile as they approached, though when he saw Haruka his expression became more cautious. "Hey, Rally... who's this guy?"
"This is Haruka!" Rally introduced, standing on his tiptoes to pat the aforementioned man on the back.
"Uh... hi," Haruka said, blushing with embarrassment.
"Haruka, this guy here is Tank," Rally gestured to the shorter man, "and this is Nervin!" He indicated the skinny guy. "They're two more of my friends."
"Did Blitz let him in?" Tank asked hesitantly.
"Of course he did!" Rally insisted. "Haruka is a really good duelist. Even if I hadn't showed up when I did, he'd just beaten Blitz!"
Tank and Nervin's eyes both went wide in surprise.
"You don't say…" Nervin said, adjusting the small, round glasses that pinched his nose.
"Whoa… how about a duel, then?!" Tank said, shock fading and making way for a grin.
Nervin turned his head and shot tank a look. "Hey! I was just about to challenge him!" he complained. "…Fine, then, I'm after Tank."
Haruka seemed to have missed the part where he had agreed to duel in the first place—though he knew that, even if he had a choice, he would have said yes. There wasn't a lot about him that he could say for certain, but he didn't think he was the sort to turn down a challenge.
Haruka smiled slightly. "Alright boys, one at a time."
"Since that's settled, I'll go ahead and watch. Good luck, you guys!" Rally said, moving off to one side of the platform.
Tank took a couple steps forward and planted himself in front of Haruka, brandishing his Duel Disk.
"DUEL!"
One by one, Tank and Nervin both faced the fire, and one by one, Haruka defeated them almost effortlessly. Unlike Blitz and Rally's more aggressive decks, the two men played defensively which allowed Haruka's Pyrus monsters to overwhelm them through attack power and effect damage. In the end, Haruka only needed to Synchro Summon once, bringing out Dragonoid to deal with a particularly annoying 3000 DEF monster belonging to Nervin, with some help from an ATK boosting spell.
"Over already?" Rally asked, running in between the victorious duelist and the two defeated ones. "Haruka, you really are awesome! Those two didn't stand a chance!"
"Hey!" Tank said, sounding hurt for just a second, but then he grinned. "Yeah, he was pretty good, wasn't he?"
Haruka had the decency to blush. "I just got lucky, that's all."
"Nonsense! That's not luck," Nervin shook his head. "I wonder how you would fare against Yusei, though."
"Yusei?" Haruka repeated, looking at Rally.
"Hey!" Rally didn't seem to be paying much attention. He grabbed onto Haruka's arm again and started pulling him further down the platform. "There's this shack up ahead, come check it out!"
As usual, Rally didn't wait for an answer. Haruka gave the other two duelists a small, awkward wave as he fell into step behind the much shorter boy.
"There's some really cool stuff in here," Rally said, indicating the tent and tarp construct that Nervin and Tank had come from. "But be careful with what you mess with, okay? Some of the stuff is pretty important."
The orange-haired boy was talking a mile a minute, it was hard for Haruka to keep up. They crossed the platform quickly, Rally clearly excited, and pulled aside a flap for them to enter.
A lumpy yellow couch sat at one end of the tent with a similar chair near it, and a tall shelf full of containers of mechanical parts held up the roof of the tent. Near them was a scuffed up desk that held a computer and was covered in papers.
"You know how I said some of the stuff is important? I mean the computer. Don't touch it!" Rally said, giving Haruka a look that he assumed was supposed to be a warning. A moment later, though, Rally turned around and started digging through the containers.
Despite Rally's words, Haruka couldn't help but feel drawn to the computer. He walked over and took a look at it. Something told him it was very old.
Haruka reached out and placed his hand on the cracked mouse and gave it a quick jerk, causing the computer to wake up to a blue screen which prompted him to enter a password. There was a slight twinge in the back of his mind, telling him to try and figure out the password...
"Hey! Didn't I just tell you not to touch that?!" Rally's voice whined.
Haruka recoiled. "Sorry..." he said.
Rally hurried over and noticed the password screen, and sighed. "Well, no harm done. But seriously, there's some important stuff on here that can't be replaced."
The taller boy was about to respond, when they heard the high-pitched sound of an engine coming closer. Rally visibly lit up with a bright smile.
"Yusei's back!" he said, dashing out of the tent without waiting for Haruka, who followed out of sheer habit at this point.
There was that name again, Yusei. Nervin had mentioned him earlier. Apparently he was a duelist, and judging from the others' attitudes, probably a good one.
When he stepped out of the tent, everyone was gathered by the ramp down to the tracks, excitement charging the air. Haruka went over to join them.
They all looked down the tunnel expectantly as the engine noises came closer. Eventually a light appeared, illuminating the round tunnel, and finally the vehicle burst out into the station.
It was a red motorcycle, with a white curve pattern near the front wheel. In the back, the body curved upward like a red crescent moon, probably serving as the seat for the vehicle.
A man was sitting on the motorcycle, leaning forward with a red helmet covering his face as he braked to a stop. The vehicle stopped with surprising ease, and the man removed his helmet to reveal a head of spiky black hair with gold highlights, with an upper layer that jutted upward and a lower layer that pointed down. The man wore a blue long-sleeved jacket with amber gems dotting it, black jeans, and brown calf-high boots.
"Yusei!" Rally greeted excitedly, rushing over to him.
"Hey Rally," Yusei answered, patting Rally on the head. "Hey guys."
Nervin, Blitz and Tank all went up to greet Yusei. Someone asked a question and Yusei opened his mouth to answer, but then his deep blue eyes settled on Haruka.
"Who's this?" Yusei asked. It was hard for Haruka to tell if he was curious, or cautious.
"Oh, this is Haruka!" Rally explained. "I met him a little while ago, it seems like he's got amnesia. He's a really good duelist, though!"
Yusei didn't say anything for a moment, studying Haruka, who barely resisted the urge to squirm, and managed to stare right back.
"I'm going for another ride," Yusei said, putting his helmet back on and revving the engine on his motorcycle. "See you guys later."
As Yusei drove off, Haruka found himself whistling softly. "He's... a little intense, isn't he?"
"He's got to be," Rally explained softly, staring after Yusei as he disappeared into the tunnel at the opposite end. "You see, a friend of ours stole something really important from him... Haruka?"
A sudden pain throbbed in the back of Haruka's head, even more intense than when he had remembered his name. All the sound around him seemed to disappear, replaced by an odd sort of white noise.
An image filled Haruka's head. A white room, pristinely clean, with several bookshelves, a desk, and a white motorcycle similar to the one Yusei had just ridden off on, with wires coming out of it and hooked into machines around the room.
"Turbo Duel... on!" a voice in the back of his mind said.
Then another, one that sounded like his own, said, "I activate the Speed Spell - Speed Storm!"
The white noise disappeared. Haruka's eyes came back into focus and he saw Rally leaning over him, concerned for just a moment before realization dawned.
"Haruka, did you just remember something?!"
Blitz, Nervin and Tank all crowded around him, curious as Haruka explained the memory that just came back to him. He looked down at the Duel Disk on his arm and noticed an extra compartment that he had apparently missed. After pressing a button, a few cards popped out.
"Hey, those are Speed Spells!" Nervin exclaimed as Haruka held them up for the others to look at. "Haruka, could you be... a Turbo Duelist?"
"Turbo Duelist?" Haruka repeated. The memory had mentioned something about Turbo Duels, but he still wasn't sure what those were.
"Someone who duels on a Duel Runner, like Yusei," Rally explained. "But there aren't many Turbo Duelists around here, aside from Sector Security..."
"Maybe he's from the City?" Blitz offered. Everyone turned to look at him, and he shrugged. "You said it yourself, Rally. There aren't any Turbo Duelists around, except for Yusei and Security. Where else would he get Speed Spell cards?"
"That's true..." Rally agreed, pursing his lips. "Speed Spells are pretty rare, especially around here."
"And judging from that memory, it seems likely that he has... or, had, I suppose, a Duel Runner," Nervin pointed out.
Rally seemed to perk up. "That too! Haruka, do you have any idea where it could be?"
Haruka shook his head. "No... I didn't get anything besides that room. It could be anywhere for all I know."
"Amnesia really is a downer, huh?" Tank interjected.
"If he really is from the City, though... maybe getting back there will help his memories come back?" Nervin suggested. "Though, that in itself will require a Duel Runner."
Quiet settled among the gathered for a moment.
"I'm guessing that's not exactly an easy task around here," Haruka said finally.
"That's an understatement," Blitz agreed.
"Well... we'll just all have to chip in, right?" Rally said. "We can't just leave Haruka without his memories. If we all work together, we can figure something out."
Haruka felt the smile coming to his face. "You'd really do that for someone you just met?"
Rather than giving the usual broad grin, Rally looked him straight in the eyes and nodded firmly. "Of course. My dad always said it's our job to help those in need, and if I can help you get your memory back, I'll do whatever I can."
A few days of searching passed by surprisingly quickly. During the day, while Blitz, Nervin and Tank all worked at the recycling facility looking for scrap parts that might show up in the garbage, Rally and Haruka hunted the streets for anything that resembled a Duel Runner part.
He wasn't exactly sure what constituted a Duel Runner part, but he figured that Rally would tell him if he found something, though they didn't have much luck on the search, so it didn't really come up.
That afternoon, after another fruitless search, Haruka decided to go outside to take a walk. His legs were stiff from crouching and crawling, so he figured they needed a good stretch.
As he exited the subway, he heard an excited voice shouting his name. Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw a purple bundle of dreadlocks bouncing up and down as Nervin ran toward him.
"Haruka, I think we finally have our breakthrough!" he said brightly, grinning at Haruka from behind those tiny glasses of his. "I've found someone selling a Duel Runner, and it seems like he might be willing to part with it pretty cheap, too!"
Haruka's heart leapt into his throat. "Seriously?!" he said.
Nervin nodded excitedly. "Come on, it's this way! He said that there's other potential buyers, so we'd better get there fast!"
Nervin took off running, and Haruka followed quickly after, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. That had to be some insane luck. After all the searching, and failing to find even a single scrap part, someone turned out to be selling a whole Duel Runner just like that.
The purple-haired man was out of breath when they got there, but Haruka was barely winded.
They arrived in another dingy plaza, similar to the one that Rally had found Haruka in. Ruined buildings and mounds of garbage rose up around them, broken boxes and windows everywhere. There was another person in the area, a tall, thin man with tan skin and a tall green mohawk, wearing a ripped green shirt and a leather vest over it.
"This the guy you were talking about?" the man asked Nervin.
"Yeah, this is him. The one who wanted the Duel Runner," Nervin clarified.
The man turned to face Haruka and gave him a wide, somewhat unsettling smile. "You've come to the right place then! It's not free, of course, but I could part with it for... let's say, 1000 DP?"
"1000 DP?! That's outrageous!" Nervin fumed. "I thought you said you were selling it cheap!"
"That is cheap, valued customers!" the man insisted. "Do you have any idea how much these machines sell for in the City? You might as well be stealing it for this price!"
Nervin grumbled quietly to himself for a moment, but then nodded. "Fine. Haruka, pay the man." Silence. "Haruka?"
"I have no idea what DP are."
Nervin fell forward onto his face. "I should probably have realized that," he said sheepishly. "Well... I don't have near that much, and I doubt anyone else back home does... let's go, Haruka. Sorry."
Haruka reached out to pat Nervin on the back, when the man spoke up.
"Well, now, let's not be hasty!" he said. "You seem like nice enough boys, so I'll cut ya a deal. If you can beat me in a duel, I'll give you the Duel Runner." He was smiling that disturbing smile again.
"I'm guessing you're not doing this out of charity, though," Haruka surmised. "After all, you just said you weren't just giving it away."
That smile widened. "Smart, too. Well, I have to stand to gain something if I'm putting up with that much risk. So let's say... if I win, I get your deck!"
Nervin gasped. "That's not a fair trade! A duelist's deck is priceless to them!"
"I accept your terms," Haruka said. Nervin turned his head in shock, mouth agape, but Haruka just nodded.
If this guy is willing to bet the Duel Runner like that, then that could mean a couple things. He's confident in his skills, and could actually be a threat. He's confident in his skills, but hasn't actually faced anyone tough. Or, he's bluffing, and will back down at this sort of response.
It was not the latter.
The man somehow managed to smile even wider, showing off his Duel Disk. "Never leave a customer unsatisfied, that's my motto."
Haruka powered on his Duel Disk. "I'm not sure if I have a motto, but if I did, it would probably have something to do with fire."
"DUEL!"
Haruka: 4000 LP / Salesman: 4000 LP
"I'm going first!" the salesman declared. "Draw! I summon Dark Elf in attack mode!" A woman in light blue robes with purple hair and a golden crown appeared (4) (2000 ATK/800 DEF). "Next, I set two cards face-down and end my turn! You're up, valued customer."
"My move!" Haruka said. "I activate the Field Spell, Pyrus Reactor!" The ground around them became a shifting red and orange circle of flames. "Now I summon Pyrus Ravenoid in attack position!" A red humanoid bird, similar to Falconeer but more muscular and with a broader wingspan, swooped onto the field (4) (1600 ATK/1400 DEF).
"And thanks to my Field Spell, when Ravenoid is summoned, it gains 500 ATK, and you take 200 damage!"
Ravenoid: (2100 ATK/1400 DEF)
A small fireball burst upward from the fiery circle, lightly singing the salesman.
Haruka: 4000 LP / Salesman: 3800 LP
"Now I activate Ravenoid's effect. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy one of your set cards," Haruka said. He indicated one, and Ravenoid beat its wings and summoned a vortex that swirled around the card and destroyed it. "Ravenoid, attack Dark Elf!"
The bird creature flew at the elf, moving fast across the field as lava bubbled beneath it. As it came close, it pulled its fist back and punched, the hand becoming covered in flames as it struck.
"Hold your horses!" the salesman interrupted. "At the last second, I'll be activating Magic Cylinder! Your attack is negated, and you take damage equal to your monster's ATK!"
Two ornate cylinders appeared in front of Dark Elf. Ravenoid flew directly into one, and appeared suddenly out of the other, flying directly at Haruka. Haruka took a step back as the bird's fist impacted.
"Oof," Haruka grunted.
Haruka: 1900 LP / Salesman: 3800 LP
"Haruka!" Nervin shouted worriedly.
Haruka shook his head lightly, as if trying to shake something off. "I'll be alright, this is nothing," he said. "I'll also set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Draw!" the salesman said. "I tribute Dark Elf to summon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode! Just take a look at this beauty!"
Dark Elf disappeared, and in her place a new magician appeared. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes, and wore a blue outfit that exposed a small amount of cleavage. She carried a short staff with a yellow spiral on the end. (6) (2000 ATK/1700 DEF)
"But she has the same ATK as Dark Elf!" Nervin pointed out.
"She does, until I activate this! The Equip Spell, Magic Formula!" the salesman said as a book appeared in Dark Magician Girl's hand. "With this, she gains 700 ATK!"
Dark Magician Girl: (2700 ATK/1700 DEF)
"You destroyed my Magician's Circle last turn, so unfortunately she'll be alone for now, but she's more than enough to destroy your bird. Go, Dark Magician Girl!"
"Trap, open! Wall of Fire!"
Flames leapt up from the ground, forming a wall between the attacking Dark Magician Girl and Ravenoid. The spellcaster's spell bounced off the fire harmlessly.
"Your attack is negated and the Battle Phase is ended-and, all FIRE monsters I control gain 300 ATK until the end of my next turn!"
Pyrus Ravenoid: (2400 ATK/1400 DEF)
"You've saved yourself for one turn," the salesman waved it off. "I end my turn!"
"I draw! Summon, Tuner monster, Pyrus Monarus!" The humanoid butterfly appeared, fluttering down onto the field beside Ravenoid. "And with her effect, I discard a card in my hand to Special Summon Pyrus Juggernoid from my graveyard!" Next to Monarus, the giant red tortoise appeared. "And of course, Pyrus Reactor triggers..."
Pyrus Monarus: (3) (1600 ATK/1100 DEF)
Pyrus Juggernoid: (2) (1000 ATK/1400 DEF)
Haruka: 1900 LP / Salesman: 3400 LP
"Now, I tune Monarus and Juggernoid together!" Monarus became the typical three green rings, while Juggernoid once more transformed into two stars.
"Faces of rage, grief, joy, and enlightenment, awaken for battle! Let your emotions feed the fire within! Lend a hand, Pyrus Fourtress!"
That familiar burning orange light roared through the rings, leaving in its place a tall, muscular humanoid with four arms and four swords strapped to its back. It was covered in gold bands and rings, and it wore a red chestplate and gold pants. It had four faces too, shifting between them until settling on an angry, almost human face with glowing yellow eyes and a wide mouth full of fangs. (5) (2300 ATK/1000 DEF)
"Pyrus Reactor's effect buffs him up a bit, too!"
Pyrus Fourtress: (2800 ATK/1000 DEF)
Haruka: 1900 LP / Salesman: 3200 LP
"100 more ATK? That's no big deal! Next turn, I'll take it down no problem," the salesman taunted. Haruka was beginning to guess which type of confidence this man had.
"Think so?" Haruka asked. "Let's find out, then. Fourtress, attack! Thunder Sky - Thousand Swords Rain!"
With its four arms, Fourtress pulled out each of its four weapons. A red aura washed over it, and it hurled the swords into the air, the blades also turning red.
"Let it pour down, Fourtress!"
The red swords began to rain down from the sky, stabbing the ground around Dark Magician Girl, before she was suddenly zapped with a red light.
Dark Magician Girl: (2000 ATK/1700 DEF)
"What?! She went back to her regular ATK?!"
"Did I forget to mention Fourtress's effect? When he battles your monster, your monster's ATK becomes its original ATK," Haruka said nonchalantly.
"This is gonna hurt...!" the salesman said as more swords struck, this time stabbing directly into Dark Magician Girl.
Haruka: 1900 LP / Salesman: 2400 LP
"Wait... that means my Life Points are..."
"Just the right amount for Ravenoid to take out! Go, Ravenoid! Hot Wind!"
By beating its wings, Ravenoid summoned another cyclone which swirled across the field, striking the salesman. Flames appeared occasionally in the spinning winds, resulting in an explosion when it hit.
Haruka: 1900 LP / Salesman: 0 LP
"Goooo Haruka!" Nervin chanted as the holograms began to disappear. He then ran over to the crouching salesman. "Haruka won, so you'd better keep up your part of the deal! That Duel Runner is ours!"
The man looked up at Nervin, and instead of glaring like Haruka expected, he was still giving off that slimy smile. "Of course. I'm a man of my word, after all. You won the Duel Runner fair and square," he said. "Say, you guys are held up in that subway just east of here, right? Tell you what, for such an enjoyable duel, I'll even deliver it for you. How does that sound?"
"That sounds more than fair!" Nervin agreed, giving Haruka a thumbs-up. "We'll be waiting for it! Come on, Haruka, let's head home."
"Come again, valued customer," the man said as they walked away, and Haruka thought he detected the faintest hint of sarcasm.
Some time later, Haruka and the gang were sitting in the shack, talking about the duel and the surprisingly good deal they got from the salesman. Rally was excited of course, but something didn't sit right with Haruka after it all. Of course it was possible that the man really was that honest, but...
"Hey, what's that sound?" Blitz asked suddenly.
"I didn't hear anything," Rally said.
"No, I heard it too," Haruka said, standing up. "I'm gonna go have a look."
He stepped out of the tent and the others followed after, walking toward the stairs.
"Hey, the Duel Runner's here!" Rally said, running over to it without a second thought.
It didn't look much like Yusei's, but it was definitely the same sort of vehicle. The motorcycle was a deep red with yellow highlights here and there, with a sleek body that was surprisingly clean. Did the salesman wash it before delivery, too?
Everyone swarmed around it, inspecting the new object. There was the buzz of excitement around it, but still, Haruka couldn't help but feel like something was off with it.
"It's an Alpha model," Nervin noted. "Nothing special, but then again, the going price was 1000 DP..."
"Still, Haruka should be able to get at least a bit of use out of this," Rally pointed out. "As long as it goes fast!"
Haruka's stomach sank as he examined some of the inner components. "I don't think that's going to be an issue," he said. "I'm pretty sure I know why he was willing to give it up after losing like that."
"What do you mean?" Tank asked, looking over Haruka's shoulder. "Hey! There's... there's no CPU!"
"No engine either," Haruka agreed. "We got scammed."
Author's note: And that's where we'll be ending it today! Sorry for no chapter last week, I hope I didn't disappoint anyone. In any case, Happy New Year! Please accept this chapter as a present to make up for it. I was kind of iffy on how I wanted to handle this one, mainly with the whole DP issue since I'm not sure if it's an actual currency or what. So instead, Haruka dueled the guy and kicked his butt. And as usual when buying a used vehicle, Haruka got screwed. (Seriously, be careful when you buy used vehicles. Learned that the hard way when I bought my first car.) Also, I hope the duel at the end was satisfying enough to take care of the cop-out from him dueling Tank and Nervin. In the next chapter we'll be having at least 2 duels, if you remember where we are in the Stardust Accelerator storyline you'll know what I mean.
Anyway, I'm hoping we'll be getting back onto a weekly schedule for updates, although classes are starting back up in a couple weeks for me so I might be taking another week off just to get used to the workload. Keyword might, so maybe I won't be. Who knows. I certainly don't know. But, here's hoping.
For those of you who celebrate around this time of year, I hope your holidays were enjoyable. I worked a ton, but holiday hours are nice, so it evened out. Also, those of you who celebrated the New Year, didja do anything fun, like watch Star Wars and wait for the Death Star to blow up at midnight? Personally, I watched the first episode of Futurama, and rang in 2023 with the sound of Philip J. Fry sarcastically blowing a noisemaker at midnight. If any you made New Year resolutions, good luck following through with it! For anyone interested, my resolutions are to work out more, and to not fall behind in updates to this story, and any others I might attempt. Again, here's hoping. See ya!
(P.S., speaking of other possible stories. Who here likes Pokemon?)