Chapter 7: A Meeting with the Big Cheese of this Dimension
Where We Left Off: After running into Kurosaki Shun, Joseph engaged the Xyz Summoner in a duel, but that duel was interrupted by Akaba Reiji, who has invited the reincarnator as well as Kurosaki Shun and Kurosaki Ruri to a meeting at the LEO Tower.
To say that the car ride over was awkward was the understatement of the century. Two Dimensional refugees, the CEO son of the man that caused them to seek said refuge, and me, all in one relatively small space to go to the CEO's tower. None of us seemed willing to speak, so Shun was more glaring at me and Reiji, Reiji had a look of indifference, and Ruri was looking rather concerned, and whist I was trying to also keep a look of indifference, I'm sure my nerves were showing. It wasn't everyday you got to meet Akaba Reiji of all people.
The journey was surprisingly short, I suppose I hadn't realised how close we were to LEO Tower, and we were led to the penthouse office, where Reiji took his place behind the stately mahogany desk, pushing his glasses up as he spoke the first words to us since we entered the car. "Please, take a seat," he cordially invited us, "I would prefer to finish this discussion sooner rather than later after all. I do hope you understand." Heading over to one of the seats, I sat down and noticed that the Kurosakis delayed sitting until I had. Seems like we'd played a game of 'Who will first?' without my knowledge. After we had all sat down, I opened discussions.
"So, what is it you want?" I asked the CEO,
"It involves the circumstances of your two associates. Can I ask if you are aware of them?"
"I know enough."
"Good," Reiji turned to the Kurosaki siblings, "Please do stop me if this talk veers a bit too harsh; I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"Just get it over with, Akaba. I'm of half a mind to get rid of you right now." Shun growled,
I'd like to see you try! I thought as Reiji responded, "As you wish. I only request that you hear me out."
"And that we can do. Right, Brother?" Ruri asked Shun, even though her tone suggested she was more demanding of him,
"Right."
"In any case, let's establish some facts. About three months ago, the Xyz Dimension was suddenly invaded by the forces of the Fusion Dimension, led by one Akaba Leo. My father. The resulting invasion destroyed most of the Xyz Dimension, and now the Fusion forces have set up an occupation zone to fight against the Xyzians not captured or defeated in the initial invasion. Have I got this all correct?" Reiji asked the refugees,
"Yes." Shun curtly confirmed,
"Good. From now on, I will be speculating a little, but I presume that following the invasion, a few small squads of Xyz survivors left their dimension to hunt down my father, and to potentially gather allies against Fusion."
"You're wrong there. Ruri and I are the only ones who have willingly left." Shun corrected,
"At least as far as we're aware, that is." Ruri added.
"My mistake then. Can I ask why you've been targeting my students, staff and other civilians, then. It's reported that at each and every scene a card bearing that person's image has been found, with that person being otherwise absent?"
"What, so you can report to your father about how we got the technology to fight against his obvious reserve forces?" Shun countered,
"You've corrected one of my mistakes, allow me to correct one of yours," Reiji replied, "I am in no way affiliated with Akaba Leo beyond my family name. Any Fusion summoners in this Dimension, at least, as far as I am aware, are also uninvolved in Akaba Leo's plans."
"Wait, Brother, you haven't been carding every Fusion summoner you run across, have you?" Ruri asked, a bit of realisation creeping onto her face,
"Why wouldn't I? And you seriously trust his word?! Besides, I'd already told you! If you want to talk about it, we can do so later." Shun almost exploded,
"And how many have you, then?" I interjected, "I remember that the news was saying that about two-hundred were missing. And I know you already told Ruri and I, but for Mr. Akaba's sake?"
"I've only encountered a dozen or so." Shun confirmed, rage burning in his yellow eyes,
"Hmm. That is concerning," Reiji mused out loud, "Do you perhaps think that Fusion is planning an invasion of Standard?"
"If I can be frank, they are. And they're already here in some way, shape or form, based on the statistics." I said, "I can't exactly tell you how I know, but something I feel should be brought up is that due to a set of circumstances, I have a rough idea how the near future will go, as well as part of the past."
"If you can back that up? Tell me something you shouldn't know." Reiji inquired,
"Here. Let me write it down; this is probably something you don't want said aloud just now." I took the paper and pen that Reiji gave to me, and I wrote down 'You have an adopted sibling named Reira. They use the 'C/C' deck which uses the opponent's monsters as Extra Deck material' and slid it back to Reiji. "And I have never hacked into anything, especially even somewhat related to LEO. I will allow you to search my apartment and I can surrender my duel disk if necessary."
"Hmm," Reiji read my proclamation, his eyebrows slightly knitting, "This is indeed something that no one should know. And I thank you for your offer, but I don't think it will be necessary. I have observed you ever since the You Show incident, and I doubt you'd lie based on what I've seen."
"I thank you for your trust, but my offer will stand."
"Understood," Reiji smiled, "Now, when does this knowledge say that Fusion will attack?"
"During the Round of 16 at the Maiami Championship, Youth Division Singles," I informed the CEO, "Of course, this is only the most likely outcome. They may attack sooner or later than I've predicted."
"To say that would be unexpected wouldn't be correct. I was wondering if the contestants would be thrown in the fire or not."
"Wait, what's this about the Round of 16?" Ruri interjected,
"Well, Miss Kurosaki, I do suppose it would be prudent to inform you of this, but the Maiami Championship this year serves a slightly different purpose than it normally does. In addition to a few pre-selected candidates, the top eight will be inducted into a force I called The Lancers. The purpose of this group is to fight against the Fusion Dimension and take down my father. As a result of a normal elimination bracket being ineffective in selecting the most suitable candidates, a twelve-hour Battle Royale will supplant that slot."
"Huh?" The Kurosakis both exclaimed, "So, you're saying that you're going to bring the fight to Fusion?!" Shun asked, incredulously,
"Indeed. And I can assure you that I have no intention of backstabbing anyone." Reiji confirmed, "And as a first step, I would like to invite you all to join. I have observed multiple of all your duels and have determined that you all would be suitable candidates to join The Lancers." He then turned to Shun, "And of course, LEO will not pursue you legally for what you have done, so long as you also agree to help us return those you've 'carded' to their original states."
"Huh?" It was my turn to be confused. I knew I was going to eventually join The Lancers, but not this soon!
"I understand that you and Ruri are currently going through the process to join the Championship, but I'm inviting you all to skip the queue, so to speak. I will sponsor your entry to the competition, and my only condition is that you make it to the Top 16 of the Singles tournament. And I have no doubt you will be able to fulfil this condition."
"That's rather generous." Shun stated,
"And it's an offer I wouldn't make if I didn't believe you could meet my demands. I would also request access to either of the Kurosaki's duel disk, so I can confirm that our Dimensional Transportation Systems are working as they should for cross-Dimensional travel." I could see the unease on both Ruri and Shun's faces as Reiji made this request, and while I knew he entirely meant it for altruistic purposes, I could understand their hesitation.
"It's alright, he can be trusted," I reassured the Kurosaki siblings, "If he really wanted to harm us, I highly doubt he wouldn't have tried already." I noticed that Reiji took note of my specific language and had raised a silver eyebrow,
"Sorry," Ruri apologized, "It's just a bit hard to trust people easily, you know? After the Invasion we found out that several of our own were actually Fusion agents who okayed the Invasion."
"Hey, you trust me right?" I asked, getting a little closer to Ruri and I noticed Shun's glare turn to me, "And I trust Akaba Reiji to do the right thing. I can also assure you that if he does betray us, I will fight tooth and nail to make sure you, your brother, and anyone else we can call allies are safe."
"I suppose you're right. And I highly doubt anyone could hold a candle to your skills in a duel!" Ruri and I both laughed before a pair of cleared throats reminded us where we were and what was happening, "Ah, sorry!" We both apologized,
"It's fine. I understand that it may be tough to trust me, given who my father is, as we've already established. What if I could offer some information that I believe you would like to hear? Entirely for free, and it's your choice whether you believe me or not."
"Go ahead, Akaba." Shun's glare was back on Reiji, who cleared his throat slightly,
"I understand from some fragmented conversations overheard via surveillance cameras that you two are, in addition to seeking allies, are hunting for information regarding a certain missing person. Miss Kurosaki, I assume you have met a Sakaki Yuya?" Reiji asked, and I drew a sharp breath realising what he was about to reveal,
"Yes, why?" Ruri responded,
"Have you perhaps noticed anything about her? Anything familiar?"
"Get to the point!" Shun interrupted,
"Very well," Reiji pressed some buttons and a small screen appeared facing us, showing eight young faces split into two groups of four, "This is a file retrieved from my father's server by one of my intelligence agents before we lost contact with them."
"Wait, is that… me?" Ruri was dumbfounded by the appearance of her own picture, "And… Yuto!" Her gaze was now on a picture of a girl with black and violet hair, her bangs in a somewhat eggplant-ish shape, much like the Yuto of canon,
"What is going on?" Shun growled, "And why does everyone look similar to the others!"
"As I was saying," Reiji continued, "This file belonged to a project called the 'ARC-Area Project. This is the only bit of information we have, and based on some of my own experiences, plus additional evidence gathered through careful observation, we have determined that for some reason my father, Akaba Leo, is interested in gathering two groups of four suspiciously similar looking girls, including you, Sakaki Yuya, Hiiragi Yuzu and your friend Yuto. I am also aware of one of the other's identity, but the remaining three are unknowns to me."
It was at this moment that I really did realise that the girls were all very similar looking to their counterparts. I'd somewhat seen it with Yuzu and Ruri, but of course, I'd been able to differentiate as I knew what I was looking for, but I could really understand why they were so often confused for each other in the original material looking at this page of information.
"I may be able to help there," I interjected, "Assuming my knowledge is accurate, the purple-haired girls should be Yuri and Serena from Fusion, Yuri being the one who's picture is grouped with Yuya and Yuto's, the one with green hair should be Rin from Synchro and the somewhat banana-shaped bangs belong to Yugo, also from Synchro." I knew Reiji already knew Serena, but I thought it prudent to inform the Xyzians in the room,
"Wait, one of the girls from Synchro is named 'Fusion'?" Shun asked, a sceptical eyebrow raised,
"No, 'Yugo'," I corrected, "Similar but different. Just don't exactly make that mistake to her face."
"Am I correct in assuming that there's something that my father is planning involving these people?" Reiji asked,
"Again, assuming my knowledge is correct, yes. Although I cannot say if what he may be planning is indeed what I know; I may need more evidence as while what I have experienced and know about is similar enough, there are currently a number of major differences." Noticing Reiji's pensive look, I added on, "If you wish to talk about that, could we arrange to meet another time, alone?"
"I'll be in contact then," The CEO nodded, "Are there any more questions about what I have asked of you?"
"Uhm, about the qualifications, what if we wanted to also participate in tournaments beyond the Singles?" Ruri inquired,
"You and your dueling partner will still need the two wins to confirm, but otherwise you will be able to participate without the other requirements. Furthermore, as part of this deal, you will be competing under the LEO Duel School's banner, not as independents or as part of another school." We all nodded,
"I still don't trust you, Akaba," Shun spoke, "But I will work alongside you for now. Be warned that if you do turn out to be aligned with your father, know that I will not hesitate. I'll supply my own duel disk for your analysis, but my only condition is that I am present in the room whenever work is being done on it."
"Understood. In that case," He turned to Ruri and I, "I wish you two luck in qualifying for the Doubles tournament, and remember the terms of our deal. And also remember that nothing discussed today should leave this room." Reiji's voice was laden with grave seriousness, and we all nodded. Respectfully bowing, we were led to the reception area and I started another conversation with the Xyz duo,
"So, how about that?"
"He was… Interesting." Ruri noted,
"Yes, he was." Shun quickly affirmed,
"Brother," Ruri turned to Shun, "Do you have a place to stay?"
"Akaba sent a message to say that, given what I am supplying to his researchers, he's providing a room in the dorms." Shun said, although it was clear on his face how annoyed he was by this arrangement,
"In that case, we'll be off then. And remember to keep in contact!" Ruri admonished her elder brother,
"Yes, yes." Shun grumbled, "In that case, I'll see you two later. And remember, Joseph," he growled at me, "If you try anything with her…"
"'You'll make sure that I regret it', right? Don't you worry about that." I replied, "See you later then." Ruri quickly embraced her brother in a goodbye hug, which caught Shun off guard, and I let out a small chuckle which was stifled after Shun glared at me again. Giving one last 'Bye', Ruri and I stepped out of the building and headed home. As we crossed the threshold, time crawled to a halt as the conveniently quiet System game me a notification.
Hidden Objective Complete! Become acquainted with Akaba Reiji before the Maiami Championship. Reward: 650 XP, 10000 Duel Credits, [Prospective Lancer] title unlocked.
Relationships Unlocked: Akaba Reiji [Platonic] and Kurosaki Shun [Platonic]: Status set to [Acquainted].
You have Levelled Up! Your level is now 2. Please select one new perk!
Looking over the now updated list, I selected a perk called [Eased Restrictions] which seemed to make it so that the different tiers of the Shop unlocked sooner, as did the individual card's restrictions. It also seemed as though the second Tier of cards was immediately unlocked, which I decided to check out later.
You have unlocked a title. Would you like to equip it?
"Well first, let's see what this does." I mused out loud,
[Prospective Lancer]: You have been selected as a candidate for the Lancer project. Few know about this organization as of now, but your role as a potential member will be invaluable for the future. Gain +10% XP and Duel Credits while this title is equipped. WARNING: Will be invalidated once the Lancers have properly formed.
"Let's equip it then!" With a 'ding', I was quickly notified that I was now known as [Prospective Lancer] Joseph, although I knew that that was only for things involving the System. Time resumed, and Ruri and I walked back to our apartment.
As Ruri took a shower, I was sitting on the couch, glancing at the Tier 2 cards, noticing that the progression seemed to be fairly similar to what I expected, but I did notice that there were a few exceptions, such as some Tenyi cards, but I did note how they'd be closer to useless without their Link Monsters, which I'd confirmed that there was no way to get. I did note Fists of the Unrivalled Tenyi as a potentially good pick up, but unfortunately I didn't have any good targets at this point. Might be an idea to give a copy to Shun though. Especially if he already has Ultimate Falcon, as that would prove really useful to him, as it would get out a Towers, which is always nice.
As I sat, musing a bit more about how the day had gone down, two rapid pings had come through on my duel disk, and I flicked over to the messaging app.
Messaging with Akaba Reiji
Akaba Reiji: Good evening, Joseph. I hope you are well after today.
Joseph: I'm doing fine, Mr. Akaba, thank you for asking. I presume this is about the information I have?
Akaba Reiji: Indeed it is. Remember that this line is not secure, so an exchange in information should not occur unless in person. Furthermore, please feel free to call me 'Reiji'. Given what you know, I feel it would be impolite to not grant you that courtesy.
Joseph: Very well then, Reiji. When should we meet?
Akaba Reiji: Whenever you are available. Of course, I'd prefer if it were sooner rather than later.
Joseph: That's fine. I think Ruri and I are going to get a duel done tomorrow, but I should be able to come by in the evening if that works? Around 5 PM?
Akaba Reiji: I'll be waiting, then.
As I closed my chat window with Reiji, adding the meeting to my calendar so I wouldn't forget, I saw that the second ping had come from Yuya.
Messaging with Sakaki Yuya
Sakaki Yuya: Hey Joseph! Just wanted to apologize again for the other day. Turns out I'd forgotten about some chores my Mum asked me to do, so yeah.
Joseph: That's fine. Happens all the time. I do hope she wasn't too mad.
Sakaki Yuya: More like disappointed. I was meaning to ask when we were at that café, but do you think we could duel soon? I've wanted to try my luck against those cards that you used against Todo Yaiba.
Joseph: Aren't you trying to qualify for the Championship?
Sakaki Yuya: Don't worry about that. Even if I lose, there's still enough time for me to qualify.
Joseph: Well, I'm fairly busy tomorrow, so how about the day after?
Sakaki Yuya: That works! Talk about a time tomorrow?
Joseph: Sure. Talk then.
Sakaki Yuya: Yeah, talk then.
As Yuya's status flicked to offline, I leaned back, and let out a small sigh. Things were really picking up, and if I was being honest, I didn't know if I was prepared for everything. Soon would be the Championship, which would almost immediately be followed by Synchro, which would probably last a few months, then Xyz for a month or two and then Fusion and Z-ARC, assuming I couldn't prevent Z-ARC's return in the first place. Hopefully I'd be able to use my knowledge of the canon to guide the Dimensions to peace, but that was already in question because of how changed the world was.
I'd managed to put together that, in addition to Yuto being taken from Xyz as opposed to Ruri, the people I knew as the Yu-Boys were now more the Yu-Girls, plus some other characters who were supposed to be here were not. Like for example, Shiunin Sora, who I had not heard a lick of since arriving here. I did suspect that the Fluffal duelist may be connected to the disappearance cases, but it could quite easily be a Serena who arrived early or a Yuri who was stationed here. And speaking of the Fusion Dragon's Mistress, I was not looking forward to an encounter with her. The odds that I'd find Yuri during the Battle Royal would be high, especially if I hung around Ruri or Yuzu as I doubted she wouldn't be here for a similar purpose to canon.
And despite the power of my decks, I knew that Predaplant had the opportunity to be a very dangerous thing against my decks, outright shutting down my Ritual strategy, and while Purrely would not be affected by the level modulation, the Super Polymerisation in her deck and the other effects that are similar to Super Poly I was scared about. That had the potential to completely dismantle my decks, assuming I didn't have a five material Noir out if I was playing Purrely. Plus, add on the fact that I knew that decks may be changed now, I really didn't want to consider what would happen if a fully modern Predaplant deck was being used by a person who could probably cheat in a supernatural way, like Yuya. Granted, Yuri hadn't shown those abilities in canon beyond Banksiogre and probably Ultra Polymerization after absorbing Yugo, but one time, even if implied, means it can, and knowing my luck, will, happen again.
Sighing again, I stood up and headed over to the kitchen to get some dinner prepared. I had a few very long days ahead of me, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to them.
Hey all! Thanks so much for reading this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed. I know I'm super late with this one, but Uni just started so that's been something that I've had to adapt to. Anyways, next one should be on better time.
Now, I know this would probably be a fairly frequently asked question if I didn't answer it here, but as to why Joseph is telling Reiji so much, it's because Joseph knows he can trust Reiji (or at least the version from the show and Joseph is really just praying that Reiji's personality and morals, etc. isn't too different from canon). He is fairly sure that Reiji would only use this information for the best purposes, and as a result is more willing to share, compared to someone like Roget whom Joseph wouldn't willingly share information with. Hell, Yuya and co. likely won't know until much later in the story; Shun, Ruri and Reiji are just exceptions, and the first two were only really down to necessity. Now, Joseph won't be telling Reiji everything, as that would be a really dumb idea, but Reiji will be learning enough to be able to make more informed decisions.
Now, as to why I had Reiji offer the trio places in the Maiami Championship, and subsequently, the Lancers, now is partially due to me not wanting to pad too much time with filler duels, as I would like to get the main plot moving just a bit faster, and as it stood, there was at least six duels for Joseph and Ruri to do in total before they'd qualify, which is a lot of dueling. It also is a similar rationale to Shun in canon. We see that he competes under LDS's banner and I assumed it was because of a deal that Shun and Reiji had struck. Also, sorry for the massive amount of basically lore dumping that occurred at the meeting, but with this it allows me to more easily set up the character relationships moving forward.
Speaking of moving forward, next chapter is going to be our first proper Tag Duel, as Joseph and Ruri still need two to get into the doubles tournament, as well as Joseph's meeting with Reiji and his duel against Yuya. The meeting will be fairly quick though, as I know that if you're reading this you most likely won't need to hear what Joseph has to tell Reiji. I will also give an advance notice that from this point on, there will likely be a duel or two in every chapter, but I won't be skimping on the more Slice of Life elements of this story. I will also be finalising the Maiami Championship outline soon, so those chapters may very well be longer than the average I try to write to. We are heading into more plot heavy territory, so yeah, just giving a little heads up. Also, just as a note, if this chapter didn't make it clear with the 'Yugo = Fusion' joke, the characters are canonically speaking Japanese, but its rendered in English for the sake of the story.
Reviews:
Utopy – Thanks for the review. I'm not sure what you mean by using the Rainbow Dragon's power (never really watched GX), but I don't get what you mean by Reiji being no better than his outright genocidal and negligent father? Regarding Snake-Eye and Flame Swordsman, Flame Swordsman might appear as some random duelist's deck, but Snake-Eye won't be appearing in this story. This is because while I'm setting the hard limit for when cards can come from as up to Phantom Nightmare, Snake-Eye is just too powerful to appear as anyone but Joseph's deck and Joseph's decks for the rest of the story I have already decided upon.
A 'Reincarnated' Writer – Thanks for the review. Regarding the support question, as I mentioned in my response to Utopy's review, any card up to the English release of Phantom Nightmare (ie. Available right now) that doesn't mention Link Monsters or such can appear, with a few exceptions. Some cards, like Rising Rebellion Falcon, may not appear, but some of the main deck cards for Raidraptor for example I am already considering. As for the conclusion to the duel, who said that a rematch wasn't on the table? I can confirm that a Shun vs Joseph rematch is in my current plans, but for the when, that is still up in the air. I do also plan for the Odd-Eyes Extra Deck cards to appear, as personally, not exactly a fan of the whole absorption thing, plus the Absolute, Meteorburst and Vortex Dragons are just cool. As for Branded, yeah, I have looked into deck lists recently (been looking to play it in MD, but damn if it isn't expensive UR dust wise) and did notice that Starving Venom has been absent for a while.
PascuRodri88 – Thanks for the review! And yeah, since I last updated, Mizar/Mizael has released, and I can't wait for Yuri as Starving Venom is the only Dimensional Dragon I don't have in Duel Links. As for Spectre, VRAINS characters are always nice, as they do have one of the smaller casts available to pull from and as for Vector, I'm happy for his fans that he is coming soon, but I've always found him pretty meh as a character.
Valtryek-sama: Thanks for the review! I felt as though a No Result was the best way to resolve it, as it does allow a tiny bit more character drama if Shun is more motivated with the duel as with a No Result, it didn't technically prove if he or Joseph were the better duelist. And yeah, he probably is going to be pissed at finding out that Nekroz isn't Joseph's main deck. Regarding Duel Spirits, as of now, that's undecided. It will be by next chapter, but as of now, Joseph has been dodging mentioning where he got this knowledge from for good reason.
Hnh058513 – Thanks for reviewing! Reading back over the segment you mention, I don't see any thing that mentions the contrary to what you say? If you're saying this about him asking the analyst, it's just him confirming suspicions and data that he may not know for certain.
BradyDuelistX3 – Thank you for taking the time to ask a question, but I do ask that discussion be kept on topic to Yu-Gi-Oh!, even if what you mention was rather well known and discussed on the internet at the time of reviewing.
UnevenerGgc2 – Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, with Nekroz, when I was reading the cards to properly build Joseph's deck, I was of the mind, 'This looks really fun'. Would I run it in any serious scenario? Not really, but it could make for a fun casual deck. I actually also hadn't considered that symbolism of the Extra Deck and Nekroz being one of the few Ritual archetypes to use it as part of their playstyle beyond extending plays with generic stuff like Baronne or Apollousa. I will also say that Joseph will, at the very least in reference to Reiji, play an almost advisory role. Not exactly providing all the information, but more guiding like 'Ah yeah, that might work better considering that…' and so on. I'm also glad that you enjoyed the chapter!
Gadget776: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Guest: Thanks for the review, and thank you for your suggestions about the Z-ARC battle. Granted, Z-ARC is a long, long way off at the moment, but any suggestions about it I do greatly appreciate! I do agree with you that it is a bit strange we didn't get Protag vs BBEG in ARC-V, even if it would have been a 'battle in the centre of the mind' type deal, but I do understand why there wasn't, given that Yuya became Z-ARC. I do feel though that Yuya vs Reiji at the end of the series was a great duel, especially symbolically when you consider their first duel in the series, but regarding God-Eyes/All-Eyes, while it is a cool card and all, it most certainly won't be appearing at this point, mostly due to the fact that the Genesis Omega Dragon is not part of my current plans for this story, and it doesn't exactly make sense for God/All-Eyes to appear.
AdrianEzequielGarrido – Thank you so much for reviewing, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!
Anyways, that's all from me for this chapter. Again, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all in 2 weeks! - NightWingBOI