Chapter 3: Family Matters
Now it was time for Tatsumaki and Noroi's duel. They engaged their Hologram Systems and began, drawing their opening hands.
Tatsumaki's opener was Thunder Dragon, Magical Merchant, Lightning Vortex, Heavy Storm, and Dimension Fusion.
"I'll take the first move," he said, drawing for turn and getting Royal Decree. "I'll discard my Thunder Dragon and grab 2 more copies of it from my deck, then Set a monster and a backrow and pass the turn." Magical Merchant and Royal Decree wasn't quite the most aggressive start, but it would do for now.
"My turn! Draw!" declared Noroi. His opener contained Don Zaloog, Trap Dustshoot, Pot of Greed, Skilled Dark Magician, and Solemn Judgment, drawing Dust Tornado for turn.
"I activate Pot of Greed to draw 2 new cards!" The new cards were Book of Moon and Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke.
"I Normal Summon Skilled Dark Magician and move to my Battle Phase! Skilled Dark will attack your monster!"
"Fine by me," replied Tatsumaki. "My Magical Merchant's Flip Effect is triggered. I reveal cards from the top of my deck until I hit a Spell or Trap and add it to my hand, and everything else revealed goes into the Graveyard." He began flipping cards over, revealing Sinister Serpent, Dark Magician of Chaos, and Magician of Faith before hitting his own Pot of Greed.
"In my second Main Phase I'll set four backrow cards and finish my turn."
"Four, eh? During your End Phase, I'll flip open my Trap! Royal Decree!"
Noroi's face instantly fell. Out of his four Set cards, only Book of Moon could be activated now.
"My turn!" shouted Tatsumaki, drawing into a second copy of Magician of Faith for his turn. "First, during my Standby Phase, the Sinister Serpent in my Graveyard comes to my hand. Next, I activate my own Pot of Greed, drawing 2 cards!" He drew Gravekeeper's Spy and a second Royal Decree. Even though his first Decree was keeping the backrow mostly locked up, an untimely MST could ruin that, and then he'd suddenly have to worry about all those traps. Best to go ahead and just get rid of them, especially since he found a backup Decree.
"I activate Heavy Storm to destroy all Spells and Traps on the field! Next, I'll Set a monster and a backrow again and pass my turn over."
"Draw!" Noroi found Delinquent Duo as his draw for turn, which was less than ideal. His opponent had six cards in hand, three of which were specifically very good against Duo. Still, there was no guarantee that Tatsumaki would end up getting rid of those cards on his own, so he had to go for it and hope he got lucky.
"I activate Delinquent Duo! By paying 1000 Life Points, I get to discard a random card out of your hand!"
Tatsumaki gave his hand a quick shuffle, then fanned out the cards. Noroi picked the one on the far right, and Tatsumaki revealed it to be a Thunder Dragon. Luck wasn't quite with him in that moment, it seemed. The second part of Duo's effect kicked in, forcing Tatsumaki to discard a card of his choosing. Naturally, he picked Sinister Serpent. Noroi continued his turn.
"I Normal Summon Don Zaloog! Now, Skilled Dark will attack your monster!"
"Unfortunately, you've attacked my Gravekeeper's Spy, and its Flip Effect allows me to Special Summon another copy of him from my deck, on top of the damage you take from attacking into his high Defense stat."
Noroi was frustrated. He had Sasuke in his hand which could easily deal with face-up Defense Position monsters, but he'd chosen to go for Don Zaloog in an attempt to follow up the Duo with another attack on his opponent's hand.
"That's it for my turn. Go ahead."
Tatsumaki: 8000 Life Points.
Noroi: 6900 Life Points.
"Alright, then. Draw!" Tatsumaki drew Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer. During the Standby Phase, Sinister Serpent returned to his hand. "Guess this is as good a time as any to use this. I activate Lightning Vortex! By discarding my Serpent, I destroy all your face-up monsters! Next, I'll switch one of my Spies to Attack Position and hit you directly for 1200 damage! In Main Phase 2 I'll Set another monster and pass the turn!"
Tatsumaki: 8000 Life Points.
Noroi: 5700 Life Points.
Noroi drew Reinforcement of the Army for his turn, immediately activating it to find Mystic Swordsman Lvl 2 from his deck and immediately Normal Summoning it.
"Now, Battle Phase! Mystic Swordsman attacks your Set monster and activates its effect! Whenever it attacks a Set monster, that monster is automatically destroyed without being flipped up!"
Oh well. So much for Faith recycling Pot of Greed. That was okay, though. Tatsumaki was already ahead both in Life Points and card advantage. Losing that play line probably wasn't a big deal.
"My turn's over. Go." Noroi was becoming increasingly frustrated. That early Heavy Storm had been a severe blow to his ability to apply offensive pressure.
"My turn, and my draw for turn sure is a nice one! First, Sinister Serpent comes back to my hand! Next, I Normal Summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, triggering his effect to gain a Spell Counter, and 300 extra Attack Points. Now, Spy will run over your Mystic Swordsman and then Breaker will attack directly! And that's my turn!"
Tatsumaki: 8000 Life Points.
Noroi: 3400 Life Points.
"My turn! Draw!" Finally, a stroke of luck. "I Normal Summon Tribe-Infecting Virus and activate its effect! I discard one card and declare Spellcaster! Now every monster of that type is destroyed! Now my Virus can attack you directly! Since I have no other cards, I have to end my turn."
Tatsumaki: 6400 Life Points.
Noroi: 3400 Life Points.
"Draw!" Sangan. Not immediately good, but it had potential for later. "I Normal Summon my Kycoo and attack your Virus! And since Kycoo did damage to you, I can remove two cards in your Graveyard from play!" Tatsumaki then remembered the Dimension Fusion in his hand, and decided to abstain in case he needed to use it later. "But I think I'll leave it alone for now. My turn's up!"
Tatsumaki: 6400 Life Points.
Noroi: 3200 Life Points.
"My turn! Draw! Now it's time for my Blade Knight! Normally he's 200 points shy of taking on something like Kycoo, but since I have no cards in my hand, he gets a boost up to 2000 Attack in order to run over your monster! I end my turn."
Tatsumaki: 6200 Life Points.
Noroi: 3200 Life Points.
Tatsumaki drew his card for turn, finding Premature Burial. The target was obvious.
"I activate Premature Burial, paying 800 Life Points to revive one of the monsters in my Graveyard. Time for you to meet the Dark Magician of Chaos! DMOC for short."
"Shit!" exclaimed Noroi. "How does a punkass like you have a card that rare?!"
"Oh, you've heard of it?" asked Tatsumaki. "Then I guess that means you know its effect. Now that he's been Summoned, I can return any Spell Card from my Grave back to my hand, and I think I'll go with Pot of Greed, which I'll activate to draw 2 more cards. Now for my Battle Phase! DMOC attacks Blade Knight, and any monster he destroys in battle is removed from play! During my Main Phase 2, I'll Set another monster and another backrow and then end my turn. You know, I gotta be honest, I'm not surprised you're doing this poorly. After all, he with the strongest bark often has the weakest bite."
Tatsumaki: 5400 Life Points.
Noroi: 2400 life Points.
"Shut your fucking mouth, you insufferable shithead!" screamed Noroi. "I'll show you just how strong my bite is! I use the card I just drew for turn, Snatch Steal! I equip it to your DMOC, giving me control over it! Now I'll attack your monster!"
"You just hit my second Magical Merchant. Now I get to dig for another Spell or Trap." Tatsumaki flipped over Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Delinquent Duo, which wasn't a good hit at this point since Noroi had no cards in hand for it to discard.
"I have no more cards to play for now. Your turn," said Ari.
"Well, after my Draw Phase, your Snatch Steal gives me 1000 Life Points in exchange for my monster. I'll Set a monster and pass my turn." He drew a second Kycoo and Set it. DMOC's ability to remove from play monsters it killed in battle made Setting Sangan very unappealing.
Tatsumaki: 6400 Life Points.
Noroi: 2400 Life Points.
"I Draw!" declared Noroi, regaining some confidence. "I remove from play Don Zaloog and Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke from my Graveyard to Special Summon the almighty Chaos Sorcerer!"
"What?! No way?!" exclaimed Enzo. "Chaos Sorcerer is such a rare card! I can't believe this teenager has one!"
"Yeah, it's a pretty special card, alright," said Emi. "Took him forever to track down a copy for his deck, but ever since he got it, I haven't seen him lose. The ability to just remove any monster of your choosing from play is a pretty big deal."
"Unfortunately, Chaos Sorcerer can only target face-up monsters with its effect," said Ari. "So I'll move to my Battle Phase! DMOC will attack your monster, removing it from play! Then, Chaos Sorcerer will attack you directly! That's my turn. Your move, you pampered little shitheel."
Tatsumaki: 4100 Life Points.
Noroi: 2400 Life Points.
Tatsumaki drew for turn. Jinzo. Not a great hit right now. "I gain 1000 Life Points during my Standby Phase due to your Snatch Steal. I'll Set a monster and end my turn. But before we continue, I gotta ask. Why do you have such a problem with me? We just met back at the diner and I haven't done a damn thing to you, so what the hell is your problem?"
"The same problem I have with all of your kind!" shouted Noroi. "You stupid, pampered rich kids who've never known hunger a day in your life! I was born with nothing, and had to claw and scrape my way to where I am today, and it still doesn't measure up to the kind of luxury you were simply born into! My clothes are worn out and falling apart, and the same goes for Emi! Yet you've never known what it's like to struggle in poverty, never known what it's like to not know whether or not you'd be able to eat dinner at night, never known what it's like to have to wear the same shirt day in and day out until it disintegrates off your back! You've never had to lie, cheat, steal, or duel for food or clothes or shelter, yet you choose to lower yourself to our level for your own selfish reasons! At the diner, you talked about not wanting your mother's legacy to give you unfair advantages on your way to the Pro Dueling Circuit, but the truth is that your mother's legacy is what gave you everything you have now, from your deck to your Duel Disk to your stupid fucking designer clothes! You want me to believe you don't want to rely on your mom's legacy? Then don't go around wearing thousands of dollars in jewelry on your neck and fingers, don't wear that silk shirt, and don't walk around places like this flaunting how much better off you are by buying your way into a gang like the Breakers! I cannot accept a world where a rich, spoiled little punk like you who duels just because he thinks it's fun is somehow a superior duelist to someone who's had to rely on dueling and crime just to survive! My past and my hardships have made me far stronger than you will ever be, and I'm going to prove it right here and now! Then you can run home and cry to your stupid mommy about how you lost to some poor kid in tattered clothes and she'll give you some money for ice cream to make you feel all better!"
"Did you even catch what my last name was?" asked Tatsumaki angrily. "I don't think you did. If I remember right, it was never said out loud after you guys entered the diner. My mom made a ton of money as a famous Pro Duelist, it's true. But I won't be crying home to her if you beat me. For one, a single duel isn't something to get that upset over, and for two, my mother was Rin Yaku, and she was shot to death by a deranged fan of hers four years ago! And if you talk about her like that ever again, I won't just beat you in a duel, I'll come right over there and cut out your fucking tongue and feed it to you!"
"What?! He's the son of Rin Yaku?!" exclaimed Emi. "I was such a huge fan of hers when I was a kid!"
"No, that can't be…" muttered Noroi. "You can't be her son, that's impossible! You're lying to me! Your last name can't be Yaku, you liar!"
"It's the truth," said Tatsumaki, barely containing his rage. "Now, before you start spouting your stupid bullshit again, I'm gonna continue this duel. I Set a monster and end my turn."
Tatsumaki: 5100 Life Points.
Noroi: 2400 Life Points.
"I draw my card for turn," said Noroi shakily. If he drew any monster that could attack that Set monster, he had exactly enough damage on the field to finish the duel. He checked his drawn card hesitantly. No good. A Trap Card.
"I move to my Battle Phase, and Chaos Sorcerer will attack your Set monster."
"When Sangan is sent from the field to the grave, I can add a monster with 1500 or less Attack from my deck to my hand." Tatsumaki looked through his deck, and realized how bad the current situation was. The only legal target left in his deck was Cyber Jar, and if he were forced to Set it, there were only three monsters left in his deck that its effect could Summon. He had to figure something else out, fast.
"Next, DMOC will attack you directly! Now, I'll Set a backrow and end the turn."
Tatsumaki: 2300 Life Points.
Noroi: 2400 Life Points.
"My turn! Draw!" Well, that was about as good of a draw as he could ask for here. "First, Snatch Steal gives me 1000 Life Points. Now, I activate Graceful Charity to draw 3 cards, then discard 2. I'll toss Sinister Serpent and Jinzo." One of his draws in particular was going to end the game.
"Next, I remove from play the Jinzo and Zaborg from my grave, to bring out my own copy of Chaos Sorcerer!"
"Tatsumaki has a Chaos Sorcerer, too?!" exclaimed Enzo and Emi simultaneously.
"That's right, I do! It's a rare card, sure, but rare doesn't mean unique. I activate the effect of my Chaos Sorcerer, targeting my DMOC that you stole from me and removing it from play!"
"Big deal! Now my Chaos Sorcerer can just do the same thing to yours next turn!" spat Noroi.
"Bold of you to assume there will be a next turn! I activate my Trap Card, Royal Decree! I can't have any unexpected Traps of yours interfering with this play. Next, I activate Dimension Fusion! I pay 2000 Life Points in order for both of us to Special Summon all of our removed from play monsters!"
On Noroi's side of the field, he now had an Attack Position Chaos Sorcerer, and a Defense Position Don Zaloog, Sasuke, and Blade Knight. On Tatsumaki's side he had Chaos Sorcerer, DMOC, Jinzo, Zaborg, and Kycoo, all in Attack Position.
"Chaos Sorcerer can't attack the turn he uses his effect," Noroi pointed out. "So you only have four attackers to my four monsters. You still can't win this turn."
"You're forgetting about my DMOC's effect. Now that he's back on my field, his Summon effect activates, giving me a Spell back from my grave, and I think I'm going with Lightning Vortex!"
"Wait, shit, no!" cried Noroi.
"Yes!" declared Tatsumaki. "I activate Lightning Vortex, discarding the Thunder Dragon in my hand to destroy all your face-up monsters! With your field clear and your Trap Card unusable, Dark Magician of Chaos attacks you directly to finish this duel!"
Tatsumaki: 1300 Life Points.
Noroi: 0 Life Points.
"I admit, you did better than I expected someone with your kind of attitude could," said Tatsumaki. "Even so, I hope you learned better than to judge a duelist by their background rather than their ability. If you can manage that, I think I'd be willing to cast my vote to let you join."
"Dammit, why?!"cried Noroi, punching the ground. "Why did you have to be her son?! I can't fucking believe my luck! Goddammit!"
"What the hell?! Why are you suddenly so obsessed with the fact that I'm Rin Yaku's son?"
"You said that your mom was gunned down by a deranged fan. Do you remember what his name was?"
"Yeah, Norio Watsuki. They caught the guy and sentenced him to life in prison. What about it?" asked Tatsumaki cautiously.
"As much as I hate to admit it, I owe you an apology for what I said earlier, and for your situation in general," replied Noroi.
"I mean, apology tentatively accepted," said Tatsumaki, "but how does my situation have anything to do with you?"
"Noroi, you don't have to say anything," said Emi. "It's okay; you couldn't have known."
"It's fine, Emi. He deserves to know. My name is Noroi Watsuki. The man who killed your mom was my father."