Chapter 6: Discussions and an Impromptu Falconry Lesson Apparently!
A/N: If you're reading this when it's published, make sure to go back and reread the end of the previous chapter. I have changed it for reasons that will be explained after this chapter.
The Current Objective: After having lunch with Yuya and Yuzu interrupted by some happenstance events, Joseph and Ruri return home. However, recent news events are weighing on Joseph's mind and he wishes to bring them up.
"Well, that was unfortunate," I lamented to Ruri as we walked down the street after paying, "So got any ideas about what we should do regarding a search for opponents?"
"Well, I have noticed that duelists tend to gather close to the city centre. Perhaps we could go over there and look for some?" Ruri mused, gaining a thoughtful look,
"Sounds good to me. So, you think you're going to run that deck often in the Championship?"
"Maybe as a secondary. Lyrilusc is just too important to me to not," A small smile graced Ruri's lips as she spoke about her signature deck, "It's done so much and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for my connection to it."
"Ah yeah, I know what you mean," I replied, "There are some cards that I wouldn't have gotten far without." A thought ran through my head and I snapped my fingers, "Ah yeah, just thinking, I know we've gone over our decks so many times now, but I had some ideas on how to improve both your decks. We could discuss them at home?"
"And what, delay our qualification another day? We've been on the search for almost half a week and we've both only got one win each out of six. Plus add the fact that we need to win twice as a duo and with both our decks twice at least as well…"
"Fair enough. How about we try to find a duel each before the end of the day? That way we can be a bit more secure in our attempt to qualify." I suggested as we turned into an alley; a shortcut we'd discovered on the way to the café, which saved a few minutes of walking.
"Yeah, that'd put us both up to two wins each, plus that would finish my qualification with this deck, which would-" Ruri was cut off by a beep from her duel disk, and she investigated, her eyes going wide as she read the notification,
"What is it?" I asked,
"A proximity sensor; it shouldn't trigger, unless…" Ruri informed me, her eyes suddenly shooting to the nearby rooftops, and I followed her gaze, and both our eyes landed on a dark humanoid figure. A shock of dread shot through my spine. Is that person from Fusion? It is logical that a proximity sensor would react to a Fusion duel disk… My thoughts were interrupted by the figure jumping down, and I saw flashes of purple and red, and as they looked up, yellow eyes glared at us.
"B-Brother!" Ruri cried out, "What are you doing here?!"
"Ruri!" The person I now knew to be Kurosaki Shun exclaimed, "Get away from her now!" He shouted at me, and I shot him a look of 'Really?'.
"Brother, this is Joseph and he's safe. He found me and has allowed me to live with him for the meanwhile!" Ruri tried to explain to Shun, but he seemed to only get angrier as she informed him,
"You! You better not have done anything to her." Shun growled, and I took a step back, and raised my hands in a motion of surrender,
"Trust me, I haven't. Never my intention, and never will be." I kept my voice level as Shun continued to glare at me.
"He's telling the truth, Brother," I could hear a bit of tiredness in Ruri's tone, "What have you even been doing?"
"Does he know?" Shun asked, not moving a muscle but it was exceedingly clear that he was referring to me, and I knew exactly what he was referring to.
"Uhm, no, he does no-"
"Sorry for interrupting," I cut Ruri off, "But I have been hiding something from you; I am aware of that invasion. I can explain later, but can you trust me that I only haven't told you out of wanting you to feel safe."
"W-What!?" Ruri exclaimed, and I saw her slightly jump towards Shun in shock,
"Are you from Fusion?" Shun growled, the malice clear in his voice,
"No, I am not from Fusion. I am from Standard, but a set of coincidences has granted me the knowledge I have now."
"You will explain later, Joseph." Ruri stated, and I nodded.
"Well, now that that's all sorted, shall we continue?" I asked,
"That name again… I presume it's yours then. And Joseph? That doesn't sound like it's a name from around here."
"Again, long story. Reminds me that you haven't introduced yourself."
"You first. I may know your name, but I'd prefer you to properly introduce yourself."
"Ok, then. Name's Joseph, that's it. No family name or whatever. Ties into my complicated circumstances." I introduced myself,
"Kurosaki Shun. Ruri's older brother."
"Well, Kurosaki, I think your sister asked you a question?"
"Shut up," Shun snarked, "I've been hunting filthy Fusion summoners." He informed Ruri,
"They're here!?" Ruri exclaimed, "How deep is their infiltration?"
"As you know, it seems The Professor's son has established a stronghold here. But the Fusion summoning here seems rather primitive. Nowhere near as strong as Obelisk Force."
"Yeah, that might be because there's no relation?" I interrupted, "Did you not notice that every summoning method is offered as a course at LEO?"
"An obvious diversion. They've even co-opted Xyz for themselves."
"Shun, how many have you hunted?" Ruri asked him,
"Only a dozen and a half. Unfortunately, I have only encountered one Fusion summoner worth anything."
"Did he by chance go by Marco? And it would seem you're not the only one hunting people. I saw a news report this morning saying two-hundred have disappeared."
"To the first, he did." Shun confirmed, "And that second thing confirms that Fusion is here."
Damn, I thought as Shun informed us of Marco's carding. That was something I was hoping to prevent, but it seems as though I was just too late. "You think they're here tracking you, or are they about to invade here?"
"As sad as it sounds, I'd prefer the former, but the latter seems more likely." Shun grimaced,
"We have to prevent another invasion!" Ruri declared,
"I think Akaba Reiji would be appreciative of the warning." I tested,
"The Invader's son?! Are you crazy?" Shun exploded,
"Do you have confirmation he's working with his father? I don't know him personally, but from what little I do know him about him, I am doubtful of him working for someone to subjugate a dimension. Especially since he would have already, I'd think." I countered,
"Hmm. You do have a point. But I don't trust that. You may have Ruri's trust, but mine is harder to earn."
"Well, what if we dueled about it? Winner takes all; that is if I win, we go to Akaba Reiji, if you win, we don't and I swear not to bring it up as an option again." I offered, and I saw Shun's face twist in consideration,
"Deal, but only if Ruri comes with me and you leave us both alone, at the very least until its necessary." Shun's shoulder was suddenly slugged by Ruri and he let out a slight cry of pain,
"As much as I love you, Brother, that is not something you can demand. I'm the only one who can make that decision." She scolded him, and a tiny smirk was on my face,
"Rgh, fine. I agree to your terms, Joseph." Shun relented and took some paces so that he was a respectable distance away, and the bright blue of his duel disk blade snapped into existence,
"Well then…" I began, igniting my own lime green blade,
"LET'S DUEL!" We both finished, drawing our opening hands and a ping notified me of my objectives for this duel.
Objective Acquired: Duel Kurosaki Shun and not lose! On Success: +100 XP, +1000 Duel Credits, Unlock [Platonic] relationship with [Kurosaki Shun] and upgrade relationship status to [Respected]. On Failure: ? -1000 Duel Credits.
Bonus Objective(s): Win the duel, Summon two or more monsters in one effect activation, Don't take any damage. Rewards on success: +50 XP and +500 Duel Credits per.
Kurosaki Shun: 4000 LP
VS
Joseph: 4000 LP
Huh, winning is a bonus objective? I thought to myself as Shun opened his mouth to begin his turn,
Turn 1: Kurosaki Shun (5 in hand)
"I'll go first! Welcome the beginning of the flock with Raidraptor – Vanishing Lanius (Level 4, 1300 ATK), and since Vanishing Lanius was summoned this turn, I can Special Summon a second 'Raidraptor' to join me! Flock, a second Vanishing Lanius." Shun began the duel, and I thought about what I knew of the Raidraptor deck. It had recently got some support in the OCG when I'd died, which had surprised me, especially considering how versatile it was for the deck, including the first non-ZEXAL Rank 13, but I'd doubt Shun had them, beyond perhaps one of the Main Deck monsters. Given that he was going first as well, he was likely just looking to sit on a Force Strix or something.
"Now, watch as the resonant cries of my birds call out an even bigger avian threat. Using both Level Four Vanishing Lanius, I build the Overlay Network! It may not be the wisest of the flock, but sometimes the best wisdom is a bit of force, wouldn't you say? I Xyz Summon! Rank Four, Raidraptor – Force Strix!" (Rank 4, 2000 DEF, 2 ORU) Letting out a screech, the owl-like Xyz monster hovered in the air as its two material floated around it.
It seems as though I was correct in what Shun would bring out. It would be easy to dismantle so far, but I was curious to see what else he'd bring out. "And now, I'll activate Force Strix's effect. This allows me to use an Overlay Unit to add any DARK Winged-Beast from my Deck to my hand." The bird let out a different screech as one of the orbs disappeared,
"In response, I activate the effect of Infinite Impermanence. This Trap can be played from my hand if I control no cards, and allows me to negate the effects of Force Strix until the end of this turn." I played the card featuring Cyber Dragon Infinity, and sparks shot out from Force Strix, its engines sputtering slightly as it lost a tiny bit of altitude.
"Well played, but not good enough," Shun congratulated me, "For since I control a 'Raidraptor', Raidraptor – Fuzzy Lanius can join me on my field! (Level 4, 1500 DEF) and then I activate the Continuous Spell, Raidpator – Nest, and I'll use its effect immediately. Since I control at least two 'Raidraptor' monsters, I can add another to my hand, being Napalm Dragonius. And with that, I end my turn. And since it is no longer my turn, your Trap wears off, and Force Strix is allowed to apply its effects again, including that it gains 500 Attack and Defence for every Winged-Beast I control excepting itself." (Raidraptor – Force Strix: 2000 DEF + 500 = 2500 DEF) Shun concluded his turn and Force Strix screeched yet again as it strengthened.
Turn 2: Joseph (5 in hand)
"Okay then! Let's get this party moving!" I playfully taunted, "Draw for turn, move through Standby to first Main, and I activate the effect Pot of Extravagance, banishing these six random cards from my Extra Deck, face-down to draw two. Next, I use the effect of Nekroz of Clausolas. This card allows me to discard it, and in return, add any 'Nekroz' Spell from my Deck to my hand, being Nekroz Kaleidoscope! Now, I use Preparation of Rites to add any Level Seven or lower Ritual Monster from my Deck to my hand, so I'll add a second Clausolas."
"You're using that deck?" Ruri asked, noticing what I was playing,
"Yeah, why not?"
"Ritual. That's unusual." Shun noted,
"I'm anything but 'usual', Kurosaki. But just keep watch as I activate the Ritual Spell, Nekroz Kaleidoscope. This one is a bit unusual, allowing me to send a monster from my Extra Deck to the grave to fuel this Ritual. I sacrifice the Level 12 Five-Headed Dragon!" Shun noticed the purplish border of the card I sent to the Graveyard, and his eyes narrowed, "Only here as sacrificial fodder, Kurosaki. I have no way to Summon a Fusion Monster." At least in this deck, I added in my head, thinking of how I already planned to steamroll Yuri when the time came.
"Anyways, the conditions of this Ritual force me to use every single Level the sacrifice had, but fortunately, this Ritual, as befitting its name, can fracture in several ways, meaning that I can Ritual Summon as many Ritual Monsters as I wish. First, I sacrifice three Levels to Ritual Summon Nekroz of Clausolas (Level 3, 2300 DEF) and I sacrifice the remaining nine Levels to call out the general wearing the armour of a most terrifying dragon, Nekroz of Trishula!" (Level 9, 2700 ATK) The arctic blue of Trishula's scales reflected the sunlight, causing Shun to block his eyes for a second.
"An impressive monster!" Shun congratulated, "But I've got a few tricks myself."
"Let's see how they hold up! Trishula's effect activates! I can banish three total cards that you have, one each from your hand, grave and field. Granted though, the one from the hand is random." Raising the icicle blade in its hand, Trishula slashed across the field, and the two cards in Shun's hand appeared on my screen, face-down. Selecting the one on the left, I also called out Trishula's other targets. "Since it's the only card in your Graveyard, a Vanishing Lanius is banished, as is Fuzzy Lanius." Based on Shun's reaction, he expected me to select Force Strix, which was understandable, but if left unchecked, I didn't like what that Fuzzy would enable. Looking at the banished cards, I noticed I had also got the Napalm Dragonius. (Raidraptor – Force Strix: 2500 DEF – 500 = 2000 DEF)
"Next, another Ritual! The Spell, Nekroz Mirror. This allows me to tribute monsters in my hand or field, or banish cards from my Graveyard, so long as their total Levels exactly equal the monster I intend to summon. However, by sacrificing Shuirt, Strategist of the Nekroz, I can treat it as all ten Levels I need. I Ritual Summon! Level 10, Nekroz of Areadbhair!" (Level 10, 3300 ATK) The dragon-armoured, spear wielding monster emerged, flashing a grin at Trishula and Clausolas, the former looking somewhat exasperated for some reason.
"Another high Level Ritual Monster? Don't tell me it has another effect on Summon." Shun groaned,
"Not Areadbhair, but Shurit! Since it was tributed by a card effect, I can add a second copy to my hand. Now, let's battle! Trishula attacks Force Strix." As the icy sword hit the bird, it screamed once before disappearing, "And Areadbhair attacks directly!" Shun braced for the impact, and the spear hit him cleanly, leaving no visible marks. (Kurosaki Shun: 4000 LP – 3300 = 700 LP)
"I end my turn. Good luck, Kurosaki." I finished, my monsters coming to rest by my side. Yes, I could have won if Clausolas was in Attack Position, but I felt as though Shun deserved more than one turn. I could tell he hadn't taken the first turn seriously, so I wanted him to give it a serious shot. Could this turn out badly for me? Of course! But where was the fun in a no risk strategy?
Turn 3: Kurosaki Shun (2 in hand)
"I draw!" Shun yelled, smirking as he saw his card, "I play the Spell Card, Rank-Up-Magic Soul Shave Force! I pay half my Life Points, and in return, I can Summon a 'Raidraptor' Xyz from my Graveyard and use it to Xyz Summon a 'Raidraptor' Xyz Monster two Ranks higher than itself. Rebellious falcon, be born in the flames of war that tempers your steel feathers to fight against the oppressors! Go, Rank-Up Xyz Evolution! I Xyz Summon, Rank 6, Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon!" One of Shun's aces emerged from the portal, and to say I was slightly concerned was true. This bird could cause some serious damage. Luckily though, I had answers for its effects. (Kurosaki Shun: 700 LP – 350 = 350 LP)
Meanwhile; LEO Surveillance Room
In a relatively dark room, lit only by the neon glow of several large screens, Akaba Reiji had been called by his subordinates as they'd apparently found something he'd be interested in. "What have you called me here for?" He asked as he swept into the room, his signature red scarf billowing with his movement,
"Sir, there's just been an explosion of Summoning Energy." One of the Surveillance Officers informed the CEO,
"Similar to the targets I've informed you all about?"
"Yes. Although the energy type doesn't match. Bursts of highly intense Xyz and Ritual energy were detected."
"Ritual?"
"Yes, Sir. It's confused us as well. No one should be able to Ritual Summon on the frequency the summoner used either. The frequency was that of Xyz Energy."
"And the Xyz energy?"
"Xyz native. Rank-Up as well."
"Hmm," A look of consternation overtook Reiji's face, "It appears as though Joseph is a bit of an enigma. Accompanied by an Xyz native and dueling another?" He mused to himself, "Nakajima, clear my schedule for the next… let's say three hours. And prepare my car."
"Yes, Sir." The man to Reiji's left bowed and left the room.
"And about the student I've asked to be monitored and tested?" Reiji asked the analysts,
"Fusion native, Sir. His Fusion Energy output matched the Xyz of a native or Sakaki's Pendulum. Your orders on how to proceed?"
"Lock his ID from communicating, but not visibly through messages, only excluding numbers I specifically say. If we make him any more suspicious that we're on his trail, it may turn out poorly for us all. Furthermore, approve him for the Lancers Project, but blacklist him from Project Pendulum. If he is a spy sent by my father, I will need him in sight, but my father cannot be allowed to get his hands on Pendulum."
"Sir, yes Sir!" The analysts replied, and Reiji exited the room, proceeding to the entrance of the LEO Tower, fifty-six floors below. His car was waiting for him, and he got in.
"I trust you already have the coordinates?" He asked the driver, who nodded in confirmation as he drove off.
Back at the Duel
Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon stared me and my monsters down as Shun extended an arm. "Revolution Falcon, attack Nekroz of Areadbhair!"
"What?!" I exclaimed. I obviously knew Revolution Falcon's Attack modulation effect, but I hadn't expected Shun to proceed straight to battle! Revolution Falcon was amazingly strong by anime standards, but its other effect made more sense to use first, to allow it to attack all my monsters.
"It seems foolish, yes, but even the mightiest tyrants are overthrown by revolution, are they not? And the Falcon of Revolution is certainly not different. When it battles a Special Summoned monster, I can reduce your monster's Attack Points to zero! Revolutionary Air Raid!" Shun shouted, Revolution Falcon readying a barrage of bombs,
"Not on my watch! On a new chain, Clausolas' effect activates, allowing me to reduce the Attack Points of a Special Summoned monster you control to zero as well! And as a bonus, Revolution Falcon's effect is negated until the end of the turn. This revolution concludes!" Both our monsters readied for battle, and charged, the barrage of bombs being swiftly torn out of the air by Areadbhair's spear, but none of its strikes landed either, both monsters settling after a moment. (Nekroz of Areadbhair: 3300 ATK – 3300 = 0 ATK, 3200 DEF – 3200 = 0 DEF. Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon: 2000 ATK – 2000 = 0 ATK)
"Impressive. Fortunately for me, Revolution Falcon's effect is permanent and applies even if you attack me." Shun smirked,
"Well, let's see if I can get around it?" I countered,
"Very well. I end my turn with a face-down!" (Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon: 0 ATK + 2000 = 2000 ATK)
Turn 4: Joseph (2 in hand)
"I draw! Unfortunately I cannot do much with my current hand. But that's what this monster is for! I Normal Summon the Manju of Ten Thousand Hands! And when it's Normal Summoned, Manju allows me to add Nekroz of Decisive Armor to my hand. Trishula! Attack Revolution Falcon!"
"Revolution Falcon's effect activates! Trishula's Attack is reduced to zero!"
"Not with Clausolas! Revolution Falcon looks more like a Rebel Chook now. And I also add Nekroz of Decisive Armor. I can discard it to give Trishula an additional one thousand attack points which wi-" I was suddenly cut off as an electronic voice rang out.
"Duel terminated. No result." A ping also alerted me to the System updating my statistics after the duel, but the notification was silent.
"What?!" Shun and I were both rather confused as our cards started to disappear, and our Duel Disk blades deactivated. A black sedan then pulled up, and a well-dressed man stepped out and opened the back door that was facing us. My face blanched as I realised what was going on. It seemed as though Ruri and Shun had realised it as well, as they'd taken slightly defensive stances.
Akaba Reiji's immaculately clothed leg exited the car, followed by the rest of him, and he pushed up his glasses before looking up at the three of us. "Kurosaki Shun, Kurosaki Ruri and Joseph," He started, "I am Akaba Reiji, although I doubt you didn't already know that. I apologise for interrupting your duel, but I wish to invite all of you to join me in the LEO Tower to discuss a matter of utmost importance."
Hey all, thank you all so much for reading! It's been a while though. I said last time that we'd be back mid-to-late November, but here we are two months after that. I'm sorry for the delay, but the holiday season was surprisingly busy. Speaking of, I hope everyone's holiday season was great and that you all are having a great 2024 so far.
To elaborate on my beginning A/N, I have changed the end of Chapter 5 because I do not think I would have been able to fulfill that plotline to my standards. It also probably doesn't help that when I wrote that I had a vague idea of how it would develop, but could never fully think of how it would go down exactly. Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it.
We also saw a lot this chapter, with Joseph finally meeting Kurosaki Shun, and the reveal of what Joseph's second deck is, which is Nekroz! To anyone who does play it and has any tips about writing it, I'd really be appreciative, as I'm only really going off some intuition and I'd love to know more about the deck. Also, writing Raidraptor without Wise Strix (for reference, it's the Link) is surprisingly difficult, lol.
In other news, a lot has happened since I last published. Funnily enough, part of it was mentioned in this Chapter, as the new Raidraptor support was revealed two months ago and revealed perhaps the funniest bit of support in the form of Raidraptor – Rising Rebellion Falcon. Who would have expected that Kurosaki Shun would get the third ever Rank 13, the second ever printed IRL and the first to not originate from ZEXAL/an anime. But apart from it, we've gotten some Yubel support as well, which is really cool. Personally never got up to the point of GX where Yubel was relevant, but it's really nice to see. Melodious also got some support which I'm ecstatic about. Did any of you realise that Yuzu, despite being the girl from Yuya's dimension only just got Pendulums? Plus she now has some archetypal spells which is fantastic, although I would like spells like Fortissimo and Ostinato and 1st Movement Solo to be errataed to have "(This card is always treated as a 'Melodious' card)" on them, as some are genuinely great for the deck but are unfortunately unsearchable.
Anyways, tangent aside, onwards to reviews!
Yann0406: Thank you for giving my fic a shot! I hope you enjoy!
Bionic608: Thank you for your review! And yeah, it may seem like Joseph and Ruri may have become friends a bit quickly, but it is kinda down to a combination of 'the plot needs to move forward' and Gamer BS as you put it. Although, I do like to think that Ruri is relatively quick to trust people who prove themselves, which Joseph did by saving her from Sawatari's lackeys.
Remzal Von Enili: Thanks for you well wishes regarding my exams. Fortunately I have passed them all and did rather well on them imo.
Valtryek-sama: Thanks for the review! I can't speak for every writer in the fandom, but I do find that as the story goes on, it tends to get harder and harder to avoid a duel or two each chapter, especially when you consider that ARC-V alone has two tournament arcs and basically a boss rush towards the end. But luckily I'm not at that point yet (although the Championship is creeping up slowly, as is the real start of the main plot.)
Guest: Thanks for the suggestions about who I should add as legacy characters! Those are some interesting choices and I'll be sure to consider them for the future!
Ichiya89: Thanks for the review. Fortunately Yoko now is fine, albeit due to a retcon, but yeah she is fine now.
Hansi89: Thanks for the review and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!
As I said earlier, thank you so much for reading and being patient with me, I know really has been a long time considering that I'm normally on a biweekly schedule. Unfortunately, I cannot say if we will be returning to that schedule yet, but I'll do my best to get the next chapter out in a reasonable amount of time.
Again, I hope you've all had a wonderful end of year and New Years, and I'll see you all in the next one! - NightWingBOI