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Chapter 6: Seeds of Doubt
The celebration of Kotori's first major victory in a duel, against a Number no less, sadly didn't last very long, as it was back to business as usual. The four duelists, now five thanks to accepting Cathy into their ranks, still needed to attend school instead of devoting all their energy to looking for more Numbers. Unfortunately for Yuma, Astral did not seem to understand that. Ever since he saw the memory stored inside Number 29, the dimensional spirit was more restless than ever. On the one hand, Yuma couldn't blame him. After all, Astral just found out his home world was in serious trouble, and more than likely the key to saving his home world was having all the Numbers, but on the other hand…
That didn't mean Astral had the right to harass him on a consistent daily basis.
Yuma hadn't slept a full eight hours the night prior due to Astral waking him up and suggesting they look for Numbers in the middle of the night, and now the spirit didn't seem to take Yuma's word that he would suffer serious consequences if he decided to skip school to go Number hunting.
While Yuma wasn't exactly the most diligent of students, preferring to focus more on dueling instead of his school work, he still wanted to make sure he passed all his classes, and his current class at the moment was his hardest. Yuma was terrible at math, and his difficulty at paying attention in class made it worse. While Professor Ukyo was a patient and understanding teacher, he did not believe in raising Yuma's grade average out of sympathy. It was either put in the effort to study, or fail the impending exam tomorrow, which Yuma dreaded.
He was just starting to relish in the fact that for once, he understood what Professor Ukyo was talking about, growing confident in receiving a semi-decent grade tomorrow, when a familiar voice appeared behind him to ruin his day.
"Yuma….."
"Astra-a-ahem…" Yuma immediately stopped himself from yelling and changed his voice to a low, hissing whisper. "Astral, I thought I told you not to bother me when I have class."
"You did tell me that, but I am afraid this is an emergency," insisted the spirit.
"Yes, I know. Your home's in danger, and I'm sorry about that, but it's not like we can physically go there and help them out," Yuma replied, but Astral just shook his head.
"No, it is not that. I was content to let you finish your education, but this cannot wait. There is a Number somewhere in your school. I sensed it nearby just now."
"Wait, really?" Yuma suddenly grew nervous, now fully understanding Astral was right to alert him. His eyes darted around the room, first at Professor Ukyo, praying to the Egyptian Gods he wasn't possessed a second time, then he checked every other student, looking for the telltale glowing mark somewhere on their bodies.
"It is not here in this classroom," confirmed Astral. "But that is why we must hurry before we lose track of it. If the Number holder leaves the school before we can catch them and defeat them in a duel, then who knows what sort of devastation they will unleash? Need I remind you what almost happened with Shuta and the airship?"
"I can't just get up and leave!" Yuma hissed. "Just wait thirty more minutes. Then class will be over and we can tell Rio about the Number. Or we'll just let her handle it, problem solved."
"I must disagree with that plan," Astral argued stoically. "If we tell Rio about the Number, then there is a chance she will find it first. We must be the ones to duel and acquire that Number."
"Not this again…" Yuma groaned quietly. "Astral, this thing you have against Rio needs to stop. She's not competing against us for the Numbers, and she's not going to hog them for herself. She's helping us collect the Numbers faster, like we agreed? Hello? You agreed to work with her."
"It seems we have another thing in common then. We are both capable of making decisions that we later regret," Astral answered before looking away, uninterested in hearing Yuma's attempts to change his mind about the Ice Queen.
Before Yuma could fire back, a pen tapped him on the shoulder. "Yuma, what are you doing?" Tetsuo whispered from behind him, sitting at his own desk with a concerned look on his face. "Stop talking or Professor Ukyo will hear you, and you'll get in trouble!"
"Then tell Astral to stop bothering me," Yuma grunted under his breath. "He says he thinks there's a Number in the school."
Tetsuo was immediately on edge after hearing that. "Oh, okay, no wonder he's trying to get your attention. Don't worry. Tell him we'll look for the Number first thing after class."
"I'm trying!" Yuma hissed, his frustration starting to boil over.
"Could you at least ask your teacher to be excused?" asked Astral, continuing to push the subject, ignoring Yuma's growing stress.
"No! I can't!" Yuma snapped, his voice elevating ever so slightly, earning a desperate shush from Tetsuo. "If I leave now, I'll miss most of the lesson, and if I miss the lesson and don't have my notes, I won't be prepared for tomorrow's test! I can't fail this time!"
"Why? What makes this test of yours more important than looking for the Numbers? Do these tests contain pieces of your memories as the Numbers contain mine? Is that why you forget the basics of dueling?"
"NO!" Yuma's voice immediately switched from a frustrated whisper to a ballistic shout, the final ounce of control over his temper completely gone. "It's because if I come home with another bad grade, Akari is going to kill me, and then Grandma is going to activate Monster Reborn to resurrect me just so she can kill me again?! Now do you get it?!"
"Yuma, are you crazy?!" Tetsuo hissed under his breath, hearing and seeing Professor Ukyo pause in his lecture, turning around to face them, while Astral remained oblivious.
"Observation Number Twelve," muttered Astral. "School is very stressful for humans, to the point where it can drive a human's family members to homicide if one does not perform very well. Humans are very disturbing creatures indeed."
"YUMA TSUKUMO!"
And just like that, Yuma's fear came true. The loud scolding voice of Professor Ukyo created a pin drop silence throughout the classroom, and Yuma turned around to see the judgmental eyes of every other student watching him like vultures circling a carcass.
"Uh…. sorry sir!" Yuma apologized as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.
"While I am sympathetic towards any student who is struggling with the subject material and getting stressed over impending exams, that does not give any of my students the right to scream at the top of their lungs and disrupt my class. Is that clear?" scolded the teacher, and Yuma slowly nodded.
"Especially when it seems you were discussing something with Mister Takeda that doesn't involve mathematics," he continued, his glare intensifying by the second.
Yuma, realizing his friend had been dragged into this, immediately panicked again.
"Wait a minute, sir! I wasn't talking to Tetsuo!"
"Then who were you talking to?"
"No, sir! You're right!" Tetsuo spoke up, while giving Yuma a look that told him to play along. Yuma immediately understood. It wasn't like they could tell the whole class and their teacher that there was an invisible interdimensional spirit with them without making themselves look like lunatics.
"Uh… we had plans after school today, and Yuma was just telling me how he needed to cancel them so he could study for tomorrow's test. It, uh….. Kinda got out of hand," he explained, hoping Professor Ukyo would buy it.
"I see…" their teacher replied. "Well, Yuma, I appreciate your apparent willingness to be a diligent student, and I understand the stress of the exam is getting to you, so why don't you and Tetsuo stay an hour after school today for an extra lesson."
"What?!" Yuma exclaimed on instinct. Now they would certainly be delayed in looking for the latest Number holder, which meant a bigger headache down the road since Yuma knew Astral would complain about it.
"But… Sir…" stuttered Tetsuo.
"Is that a problem for the two of you?" Professor Ukyo asked, his left eyebrow raised in suspicion. "I thought you said you canceled whatever plans you had after school, which should mean the two of you are free this afternoon. You wouldn't happen to be lying to your teacher, would you?"
"N-N-No! No Sir!" The two boys stuttered together.
"Well that's a relief!" Ukyo's face immediately relaxed.
"And since I'm in a good mood, I'll give the two of you a choice. You can either spend one hour after school with me for the purpose of extra help with studying, or two hours after school in detention, since I don't tolerate when my class is disrupted like this. I have no further plans either, so I can be here all afternoon if necessary. What is it going to be?"
"Uh…. no! No! This is fantastic!" Yuma replied hastily. "One hour is great, and we'll both ace tomorrow's test because of it! We promise!"
Tetsuo nodded his head rapidly in agreement and the teacher's stern glare immediately vanished.
"Perfect! I always appreciate it when my students go the extra mile to learn. Now back to the subject at hand, if you can turn to page 275…."
Ukyo turned away from the students, and the other students turned their heads back to pay attention, while Yuma and Tetsuo were left to bask in the frustration of their impending after school activity.
"Thanks alot, Yuma," muttered Tetsuo.
"Thanks alot, Astral," muttered Yuma.
"I do not comprehend the reason for your gratitude," said Astral, oblivious to the aura of dread over the two boys, "but I am pleased to see that your mood has improved. Does this mean we are going to seek out the Number now?"
Rio waited patiently outside the school grounds for her friends to arrive.
She had a lot on her mind, and she needed at least one duel to relieve the stress. Her brother still hadn't woken up, and each week that passed where he didn't only hurt her even more. Her investigation to prove IV was guilty wasn't going anywhere either, but at least she managed to talk to Shuta and convinced him to help her. After hearing Rio's story, the young journalist couldn't resist. The thought of a story as big as the National Champion resorting to attempted murder was almost as big as whatever dirt he and Akari were trying to uncover on the mayor, Mr. Heartland.
Unfortunately for Rio, it seemed Shuta was late, which only made her even more desperate for her friends to arrive. Her stress levels were building up and she needed to calm them down fast.
She finally spotted Kotori and waved to signal her, but to her surprise, Kotori was alone. Nevertheless, she made it a point to be happy for her recent victory.
"Hey! There's my protege! Come over here, champion!"
"Oh, stop it! Rio!" Kotori blushed. "It was just one duel."
"It was a duel against a Number, and you won without a Number of your own," insisted Rio, beaming with pride over her student's victory. "Can Yuma make that claim? He hasn't defeated a Number holder without summoning one of his own."
Kotori's blush deepened, but she smiled, appreciating the praise. Meanwhile, Rio looked past her friend to see if she could spot the others. While she didn't see Yuma or Tetsuo, she spotted a familiar face hiding behind one of the columns.
"Cathy, come on!" Rio called to her. "You don't need to hide anymore! You're one of us!"
The cat duelist slowly peaked her head out from behind the column and timidly approached the two girls.
"Sorry," she said quietly. "I guess I'm just not used to people wanting to spend time with me."
"Well, you're going to need to get used to it! You have friends now!" Kotori laughed, hoping to ease the tension with the shy girl, but Cathy looked away.
"How do you do that?" she asked.
"Do what?"
"That! You're just so…. So….."
"Extroverted?" Rio finished for her.
"No, that's not it," Cathy corrected her. "I mean, you just seem to give off this aura of pleasantness. You make people want to be around you without even trying."
"Well, I wouldn't say that…." replied Kotori, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I'm just nice to people. I don't know what it's like to have social anxiety, so I guess being social just comes naturally to me."
"Could you….. help me with that, maybe?" Cathy asked.
"Sure I can help you! We're friends now, aren't we?" Kotori reassured her new friend, and the cat girl blushed.
"Careful, Kotori," Rio teased with a sly grin. "If you give her too much good advice, she might steal Yuma from you."
"RIO!" The two girls screamed, both their faces beet red from embarrassment, while Rio just laughed. She then took a look past the girls, hoping to spot the boy in question, but he still wasn't there.
"Hey, where is Yuma, by the way?"
"He and Tetsuo got in trouble with Professor Ukyo. Apparently, Astral started talking to Yuma in the middle of class," Kotori explained, before her face instantly shifted into a look of worry. "He said he thinks there's a Number somewhere in the school."
"A Number? You mean there are more cards like the one I had?!" Cathy gasped in shock, but then the thought of Numbers, and more importantly what they told her she did while under its influence, made her wilt again. "Sorry about that…."
"Hey, Cathy. Come on," Kotori soothed. "You don't need to keep apologizing. You couldn't help it, but yeah, there's a total of a hundred Numbers out there, and if there really is one in the school, we're in big trouble. There's hundreds of students here. The school is a perfect place to blend in, so it could take days before we figure out which student has the Number.
"I don't think so," countered Rio, shaking her head. "Knowing our luck, the Number holder will come to us. It seems none of the people possessed by Numbers can resist the urge to collect the rest of them, so chances are this new Number Holder will know that Yuma and I have a lot of them."
"Pardon me!" a voice interrupted.
"As if on cue…." Cathy muttered quietly to herself.
The three girls turned around to see three other female students staring blankly at them. Instead of the Heartland Academy female school uniform, the three newcomers were dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos with plain, faded colors. Their hairstyles were tied back in traditional oriental buns, and they stood blankly at the trio like statues, waiting for an answer.
"Uh, can I help you, Sumika?" Kotori asked, addressing the middle girl who spoke to them first.
"I apologize for interrupting your conversation, Rio Kamishiro," The girl named Sumika droned with an almost disturbing level of monotonous politeness. "We represent the Heartland Academy Flower Arrangement Club, and our president would like to speak with you. You may bring your friends if you wish. Our beloved president is always looking for new members to help with their blossoming."
"Your club president? You mean Aika Hanazoe?" Rio asked suspiciously. "I have nothing to say to her."
"Our president informed us the two of you had a disagreement a few months ago," Sumika continued, her voice empty of emotion.
"A disagreement?" Kotori inquired.
"More like a falling out," Rio huffed. "Aika didn't take it too kindly when I started spreading the word that her precious little crush, Thomas Arclight, was guilty of attempted murder."
"Wait, doesn't she send him a bouquet of flowers once a month?" Cathy remembered.
"It was all a simple misunderstanding," replied Sumika. "She wishes to apologize and clear the air with an old friend. I promise you will be more than willing to listen to her once you join us at our next club meeting. Perhaps the three of you will want to join us after you are done talking with your beloved president."
"Beloved president?" Rio couldn't believe her ears. "Sumika, I'm surprised you, Ayaka, and Hanabi are even still members. Didn't the three of you leave the club after Aika became president? I thought you had a problem with how strict she was with the rules she chose to enforce. You didn't even want to wear the kimonos."
"Nonsense," the three girls spoke at the same time, their voices sharing the same impassiveness and their faces as blank as a trio of porcelain dolls. "Aika Hanazoe knows what is best for us. She will help us blossom. Please come to our club. She can help you blossom as well."
"Okay, I'm officially freaking out now," admitted Kotori, taking a step backwards.
Cathy merely glared at the three kimono girls and readied her duel disk. "We're not interested in joining your little club. Take that message back to your president, or get scratched!"
"Wait, Cathy!" Rio put an arm on Cathy's shoulder, urging her to put her duel disk down before locking eyes with the three empty-headed students. "Actually, I would love to talk to Aika."
The faces of the three girls did not change. Instead, they merely bowed in that ever-so politely disturbing way. "Follow us," Sumika instructed, and the three girls turned around to guide them to the classroom where the flower arrangement meetings were held.
"Rio, what are you doing?" Kotori hissed under her breath. "These three have completely lost their minds!"
"Exactly!" Rio replied. "They're not themselves at all. Why do you think that is? I was right. The Number Holder was going to come to us eventually."
"But I thought you said there would be only one Number holder," Cathy inquired, her own voice at a quiet pitch. "Numbers aren't capable of possessing multiple people at once, are they?"
"If they are, then we're in big trouble," said Kotori nervously. "Rio, this is a trap! I know it."
"No, if they had the Number with them, they would have challenged me to a duel already," Rio replied "But I think by now, it's pretty obvious who does have it. If we can just defeat Aika in a duel, then Sumika and the others will return to normal."
So that was that.
The trio of kimono-clad girls led them back into the school, and after a short journey down the hallways, they came to a room with a large sliding door. They pulled it to the side and entered a massive room with plenty of space. Instead of classroom desks, long tables with pristine white cloths rested near the walls with dozens of beautiful flowers and plants of different species resting neatly on them in single file rows. Pressed flower designs decorated the walls, and in the center of the room, kneeling on a traditional floor pillow, trimming away at a flowering plant with a pair of scissors, was Aika Hanazoe herself.
While her followers wore plain, dull looking kimonos, hers was immaculately beautiful, a bold shade of red with a floral pattern. A transparent veil rested on the back of her shiny black hair, which draped all the way down to her waist. She looked up from her trimming, her eyes locked onto Rio, and she gave the Ice Queen a polite, but haughty smile, like a spoiled princess welcoming a peasant into her castle, an image certainly strengthened by her dark-crimson lipstick.
Three more floor pillows lay in the center of the room. Rio, Kotori, and Cathy each knelt down, facing Aika, while the three Kimono girls joined nine others in two single file lines of six on either side of Aika, as if they were her bodyguards instead of simple club members.
As Rio sat down, she suddenly began to feel dizzy. The room was far too quiet, the only sound being the snipping rhythm of Aika's scissors as she continued to trim and prune the plant in front of her. Each snip was like the ticking of a metronome, a perfectly synchronized sound that seemed to echo and vibrate in Rio's ears.
"Be on your guard, partner," the voice of Rio's Favorite Number suddenly whispered in her ears. "Something is wrong. This Number is different from the others."
"Welcome, Rio Kamishiro," Aika finally spoke, her polite voice carrying the same soothing echo as her scissors. "And you brought your friends with you. How wonderful. First of all, allow me to apologize for the last time we spoke to each other. I understand you were upset regarding the fate of your brother and you were looking for somebody to blame."
"You're apologizing, but still saying I'm wrong about IV. That's a pretty backhanded way to apologize, Aika," snapped Rio, but the flower girl was unfazed and continued snipping away at the plant.
"Haven't you trimmed that flower enough?" Kotori spoke up, growing disturbed by how barren and mutilated the plant looked thanks to Aika's handiwork.
"Nonsense," Aika replied. "As president of the flower arrangement club, I know exactly what to remove and how far to take my flora so each bud may blossom in the best way possible. Isn't that right, ladies?"
"Of course, Madame President," spoke all twelve of the brainwashed students at the same time in the same monotonous tone of voice. "You always know what's best."
"You…. always… know…. What's…. Best?" Kotori repeated, dizzy and confused, having barely enough focus to question why she just said that.
"You…. always… know… what's…. Best…." Cathy repeated, falling into the same trance.
"You…. always… know….. Wait?" Rio was able to stop herself, causing Aika's flawless face to twitch ever so slightly. "What's going on? What…. Are you doing?"
"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that," Aika soothed, as if she viewed Rio as an infant.
"I'm just hoping you will see the error of your ways. A gentleman like Thomas Arclight would never do something so barbaric, but if you agree to join my little club, then I promise, together we will find out who is truly responsible. The perfect place to let your roots settle and trim away the wood rot inside your mind is at my side. You know this to be true. Madame President knows what's best."
"Madame President knows what's best," Kotori and Cathy repeated in the same monotone as the brainwashed kimono girls, their heads slumping over as they fell into the trance completely.
"Madame…President…" Rio found herself forced to say the words and panicked. "No… stop…!"
"Shhhhh, it's alright," Aika soothed. "Just listen to the sound of my voice, and all your problems will go away."
Rio's resolve finally began to slip away, her mind now at risk of being ensnared by Aika's voice, but another voice suddenly snapped her back to reality.
"Get out….."
The voice was threatening and dripping with cold fury. Aika heard the voice too and dropped her scissors in shock.
"Leave…. My…. partner….. Alone….. GET OUT!"
An explosive shockwave suddenly shook the whole room, destroying the potted plants and knocking the flower pressings off the walls. When Rio came to, the floor surrounding her and her friends was completely coated in ice.
"WOW, THAT'S COLD!" Kotori yelped as she and Cathy snapped out of their respective trances.
"What just happened? I think I was taking a cat nap, and then…" Cathy tried to recall what happened when they walked in the class, but then she looked at the floor.
"Nyah! How did that happen? Rio, did you do that?"
As Rio snapped out of the trance as well, she stared at the floor in shock. "I… no! I didn't do anything. I think it was….. Justice, was that you?"
"You're welcome," replied Justice. "I will not tolerate anyone attempting to ensnare my partner's mind, especially another Number."
"So that's it!" Now it all made sense to Rio. "That's the power of your Number, isn't it? It's giving you the ability to hypnotize other people."
It took several seconds for Aika to overcome the shock of somebody actually resisting her power, and when she did, her condescendingly beautiful face twisted into an angry snarl, while a red 87 appeared on her neck, pulsing with the same level of darkness and fury.
"So, it seems my powers don't work on people who possess Numbers. No matter. That can easily be fixed once I take it from you."
"You can try, Aika!" retorted Rio, as she readied her duel disk.
"What do you have to gain by hypnotizing people anyway?" Kotori asked. "Is this all because of what Rio said about IV?"
"I am not so petty as to desire revenge simply because you are too much of an uncultured savage to recognize a proper gentleman!" snapped Aika. "It's more than that. It's not just you, it's the whole school, the whole city. Nobody listens to me. Even after I became president of this club, my authority was constantly undermined!"
At this, the kimono-clad club president rose to her feet, her calm and polite facade vanishing completely.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to go through your entire life feeling like your opinions and feelings don't matter to anyone? No, you don't! That's why I need to teach everyone a lesson in respect. Once I allow my powers to grow from acquiring more Numbers, then my opinion will be the only one that matters. This city will be my garden, a garden that can thrive even in the harshest winter freeze. Now, prepare yourself to duel, Ice Queen. It is time for winter to end, for the blossoms of spring to flourish."
"Hmph, she's not a proper queen, just a drama queen," Cathy muttered darkly, causing Kotori to laugh.
"I thought she'd never shut up."
"I heard that!" growled Aika. "I will not tolerate such disrespect any longer. When I'm done with Rio, I'll make her watch as I turn your minds into jelly and your bodies into mulch for my plants. Nobody defies my voice. My word is law!"
"Your Number's word is law, Aika!" Rio corrected her. "And you're just as much of a brainwashed puppet as the people you hypnotized, and I'm going to snap you out of it."
"If you insist," Aika sneered, her haughty manner returning to mask her rage. "Ladies, would you be so kind as to escort us?"
"Yes, Madame President," droned the brainwashed ikebana members as they rose up.
The journey back to the courtyard on the school grounds was mercifully brief, as none of the three girls enjoyed being surrounded by what was essentially a cult. As soon as they were outside, Kotori and Cathy quickly broke away to one side with Rio, while Aika and her followers took to the other.
Rio and Aika held up their Duel Disks, and quickly set them on their arms, drawing their opening hands.
"Ready to lose, Ice Queen?" Aika asked, causing Rio to roll her eyes. "You still have one more chance to hand over your Numbers. Can't you see how happy my club members are? You could be just like them."
"I think I'd rather sleep on a bed of poison ivy." Rio muttered disdainfully. "I've had enough of you and your flower cult, Aika. I'm getting that Number out of you and shutting your little dictatorship down!"
"LET'S DUEL!"
Duel Gazer Set
Augmented Reality Vision Online!
Rio Kamishiro: 4000 LP
Aika Hanazoe: 4000 LP
DUEL!
"Proper ladies go first," Aika purred. "I draw, and for my first move, I shall transform this drab courtyard into something far more aesthetically pleasing. I will activate the field spell, Zen Garden."
Aika's spell card soon transformed the entire field. Within seconds, the two duelists and the spectators were transported from a simple concrete park to an outdoor garden with a square stone tile floor and large rocks and bonsai trees arranged neatly in an organized pattern. Four large sakura trees marked the corners of the garden and a stream of water marked the garden's rectangular outline.
"As long as my beautiful garden is on the field, water monsters are not allowed to attack!"
"Wait, you mean not at all?!" Kotori exclaimed. "But Rio's deck contains nothing but water monsters!"
"Exactly! I'm willing to bet it's the reason why she has that card in her deck in the first place," hissed Cathy, disgusted at the underhanded play. "It looks like Aika was planning in advance to battle Rio."
"Next, I will summon my Fire Lily to the field, and the presence of this beautiful blossom triggers the effect of my Zen Garden! So long as I have exactly only my perfectly poised plant monsters growing on the field, I can Special Summon another Level 4 or lower plant monster right from my hand, so I will also summon my Shadow Violet!"
Two strange looking flowers appeared on Aika's field, one with a red honeycomb shaped blossom and the other with a dark purple spiral blossom. Rather than looking like natural grown flowers however, the stems of the plants appeared mechanical in nature, and instead of sprouting out of the ground, they floated in the air like spacecrafts from a science fiction film.
Fire Lily: Level 3/FIRE/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
Shadow Violet: Level 3/DARK/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
"The effect of my Shadow Violet now activates. Since it was summoned to the field while I control another level three plant-type monster, I can special summon a level three plant monster from my deck, as long as it has a different attribute than the monsters I already have on the field, so I choose to special summon Thunder Rose!"
A third mechanical flower appeared in between the lily and the violet, this one possessing a yellow blossom with electricity crackling around the stem.
Thunder Rose: Level 3/LIGHT/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
"She's going for an Xyz Summon on the first turn!" gasped Kotori, shocked at the speed of Aika's deck.
"I overlay Fire Lily, Thunder Rose, and Shadow Violet! With these 3 Level 3 Monsters, I build the overlay network!"
"XYZ SUMMON! BLOSSOM IN MY BEAUTIFUL GARDEN, BATTLECRUISER DIANTHUS!"
The three flowers vanished as the overlay network manifested a much larger plant. Like its smaller predecessors, the flower appeared mechanical in nature and its resemblance to a spacecraft was far more obvious. The stem of the flower resembled the barrel of a cannon, while the leaves erecting out of its center resembled the thrusters of a rocket. Five pink metal petals sprouted from its front, resembling a crude, alien star, while five circles connected the petals to the barrel, appearing to serve as the creature's eyes.
Battlecruiser Dianthus: Rank 3/EARTH/Plant/Xyz/2100 ATK/1800 DEF
"Eh?" puzzled Cathy, her cat-eye hairs twitching in confusion. "Why didn't she summon her Number Monster?"
"Because she always starts with Battlecruiser Dianthus," Rio said, clearly annoyed by the mere sight of a monster she had seen several times in the past. "If you want me to convince me you've grown strong enough to beat me, Aika, you'll have to use something stronger than your giant space flower. I beat that thing easily the last time we dueled each other."
"Patience, Rio," purred Aika, unfazed by Rio's insult. "Flowers take time to blossom, just like any strategy, and appearances can be deceiving. The most beautiful flowers hide deadly poisons, and what seems like an obvious strategy at first can have hidden surprises. For example, now I control an Xyz Monster, I can reveal the third effect of my Zen Garden. All Xyz Monsters on the field gain ATK equal to their ranks multiplied by a hundred, meaning my Battlecruiser gains three hundred attack points."
Battlecruiser Dianthus: 2100 + 300 = 2400 ATK
"Next, the effect of my Fire Lily activates! When I Xyz Summon a Plant Xyz Monster using Fire Lily as an overlay unit, you automatically get hit with eight hundred points of damage."
Without warning, the transparent shape of Fire Lily appeared in front of Rio and blasted her with a torrent of flames from its petals. Rio shielded her body from the heat with her arms as her life points dropped.
Rio: 4000 - 800 = 3200
"And now, as you claim to have seen so many times, the effect of my Battlecruiser Dianthus activates!" declared Aika. "By detaching one overlay unit, I can inflict three hundred points of damage to you for every card in your hand. Since it's the first turn of the duel and you have the standard starting hand of five cards, you take fifteen hundred points of damage!"
On command, the giant flower hummed with power, its petals beginning to spin like helicopter blades as five of its barrel-like eyes began to glow, before bombarding Rio with green energy, blasting her off her feet and onto the sandy ground.
Rio: 3200 - 1500 = 1700
"RIO!" Kotori and Cathy cried in shared alarm and horror.
"Guard Penguin! Come out!" Rio commanded, and the instant she did, one of her ice birds appeared on her side of the field, a blue penguin with a golden collar around its neck. A vest of mirror-like ribbons draped down from the collar and covered the penguin's chest like a suit of chainmail, before bright blue-and-gold frost snowed from the collar onto Rio, healing her LP as she got back up to her feet.
Rio: 1700 + 1500 = 3200
Guard Penguin: Level 4/WATER/Winged-Beast/0 ATK/1200 DEF
"Your life points went back up?" Aika reacted in surprise. "How?"
"Your attempt to burn me triggered the effect of my Guard Penguin," Rio explained. "Since it was in my hand when I took damage, I can special summon it, and when I do, I get all the lifepoints I lost back. I could have used it when you burned me the first time with Fire Lily, but I knew to save it for something nastier, like your Battlecruiser."
Guard Penguin seemed to salute at this explanation, giving the robotic flower gunship a determined stare despite the difference in their strength.
"Surviving one blast is a meaningless accomplishment," Aika sniffed dismissively. "Especially since I have many more in store for you in the future. I set one card face-down and end my turn."
"My turn! Draw!" declared Rio. "I summon Blizzard Raven to the field. When this card is normal summoned, I can add another of my ice birds from my deck to my hand! I chose my Guard Pelican!"
A gale of icy wind whipped around the field, heralding the arrival of Rio's monster, a large corvid bird with black feathers and blue frozen armor encasing its head and wings.
Blizzard Raven: Level 4/WATER/Winged-Beast/1300 ATK/1300 DEF
"Next, my raven's effect activates. Twice per turn, my Blizzard Raven can increase the level of any water monster on the field by one. I'll use its effect twice to change Guard Penguin and itself into Level Five Monsters, and that means I can overlay Guard Penguin and Blizzard Raven. With these 2 Level 5 Monsters, I build the overlay network!"
Aika gave a haughty laugh. "Please! Ice Princess Zereort, even with her ATK-reduction ability, is useless as long as my Zen Garden is on the field!"
"Sorry Aika, but I'm not as predictable as you are! I have something different planned for you!" countered Rio.
"XYZ SUMMON! APPEAR, NUMBER FOURTEEN, GREEDY SARAMEYA!"
The overlay network appeared and devoured the two birds before conjuring the Number's sealed form, a torch made of three glowing wolf heads. The heads separated, and in a flash of blue flame, they attached themselves to a body, taking the form of a sapphire colored cerberus with orange flames dancing on its back and a green 14 on its back left leg. The three heads howled at the sky simultaneously before staring down the Battlecruiser, marking it as their prey.
Number 14 - Greedy Sarameya: Rank 5/DARK/Beast/2500 ATK/1500 DEF
Kotori was surprised to see the Cerberus. "She didn't summon Justice?"
"Justice?" Cathy didn't recognize the name.
"That's Rio's first Number monster, and her strongest one, Frozen Lady Justice," Kotori quickly explained. "But she wouldn't choose to have Justice sit this one out in favor of a different Number monster, unless she had a plan."
"My monster now benefits from your Zen Garden, Aika." Rio continued. "Since it's a Rank Five Xyz Monster, it gains five hundred attack points. Furthermore, Greedy Sarameya is not a water monster, so it can attack your Battlecruiser and turn that plant into mulch!"
Greedy Sarameya: 2500 + 500 = 3000 ATK
"Then I suppose I will have to change that, won't I?" sniffed Aika in disdain. "I shall activate my trap card, Elemental Garden! Once per turn, this trap card allows me to change the attribute of one monster on the field, so I think I'll change your dark Greedy Sarameya into a water monster."
"OH NO!" cried Kotori. "Now she can't attack again!"
"Now I activate the second effect of my Elemental Garden!" Aika declared. "Once per turn, I am allowed to special summon a level three or lower plant type monster from my deck with a different attribute than the monsters I currently control. My Dianthus is an earth attribute monster, so I will special summon the water monster, Ice Orchid in defense mode."
Another mechanical flower floated out of the ground, positioning itself next to Dianthus, its petals resembling the blue ice crystals of a snowflake.
Ice Orchid: Level 3/WATER/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
Rio grimaced at the sight of her chance to turn the duel around going up in smoke. The only other monster in her Extra Deck that was not a water monster was the earth attribute Diamond Crab King, but there was no point in trying to summon it since Aika could just change it into a water monster with Elemental Garden. It almost seemed like Aika was toying with her, considering she had yet to summon her Number monster, but Rio knew how Aika dueled. Despite her personality, Aika took each of her opponents seriously, and Rio was no exception. Once the flower girl realized her opponent was trying to break through her defenses, she would step up her game and play more aggressively.
"I set a card face-down and end my turn," said Rio at last.
"I'll have to rely on the element of surprise from now on," the Ice Queen thought as she looked down at the card she set. "Greedy Sarameya will force Aika to summon her Number Monster, since Dianthus can't destroy it. And once Aika attacks with her Number Monster, she'll be walking right into my Dimensional Prison Trap Card."
"Then it's my turn again!" Aika announced. "I draw! First, I activate the effect of Dianthus once again. I detach one overlay unit to hit you with three hundred points of damage for every card in your hand. You have four cards in your hand, so you take twelve hundred points of damage."
Dianthus prepared to fire another barrage of bombs from its cannon, when Greedy Sarameya suddenly stepped forward, its six eyes glowing green and its three heads letting out a chorus of synchronized howling. Dianthus seemed to shudder and short circuit as it listened to the howling, electricity crackling around the cannon barrel.
Aika recoiled in shock. "Wait, what's happening to my Dianthus? What did you do?"
"There's another reason I chose to summon Greedy Sarameya!" Rio explained. "Trying to burn me again triggered its effect. Any damage I would take from a card effect is redirected back at my opponent, so that twelve hundred damage is coming for you instead!"
"WHAT?!"
Without warning, Dianthus turned around and pointed its cannon at Aika instead, blasting the flower girl point blank and knocking her back.
Aika: 4000 - 1200 = 2800
"So the Ice Queen likes to fight dirty," Aika growled.
"And there's more where that came from if you try that again!" Rio affirmed. "Unless you get rid of Greedy Sarameya, you're done! Just about every card effect in your deck inflicts some kind of burn damage, and all of them will backfire as long as my monster stays on the field!"
The red number marking on Aika's neck began to glow and pulse, as if commanding its host to summon it. Aika, in response, lovingly stroked the mark before adjusting her kimono and her hair, seemingly more concerned with her looks than the duel.
She stared at the Cerberus, pondering what to do about it, and then her haughty smirk returned to her face.
"No matter. I'll just have to put that three headed dog to sleep. First I will sacrifice Battlecruiser Dianthus and Ice Orchid in order to tribute summon this monster, Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!"
The two plants shattered, releasing spores into the ground which caused an enormous red flower to erupt from the ground, breaking the stone tiles of the zen garden in the process. The flower bloomed, its petals opening to reveal a female figure inside. Her body was firmly attached to the plant, fused to the flower from the waist down, but her womanly resemblance was apparent, possessing pale white skin with green leaves covering her chest to serve as clothing and a smaller red flower on top of her head to serve as her crown.
Tytannial, Princess of Camellias: Level 8/WIND/Plant/2800 ATK/2600 DEF
"Twenty-Eight Hundred attack points?" noted Cathy. "Aika's stepping up her game."
"But she can't regain the upper hand with that monster alone," Kotori pondered Aika's unusual play.
"Then why did she get rid of her Xyz Monster to summon it?" Cathy asked.
Kotori had no answer, but she had a feeling Aika was about to show everyone exactly why.
"Next, I activate the effect of my Elemental Garden to special summon a level three plant-type monster with a different attribute than Tytannial! She is a wind attribute monster, so I will special summon the fire attribute Lonefire Blossom!"
Another plant sprouted out of the ground, its golden stem twisting around itself until finally sprouting a bulbous white bud resembling a bomb.
Lonefire Blossom: Level 3/FIRE/Plant/500 ATK/1400 DEF
"I will now use the effect of my Zen Garden to special summon a second Lonefire Blossom to the field from my hand, and with two Blossoms, I can now activate their effects. I send both of them to the Graveyard to special summon two more Flower Princesses from my deck!"
A second blossom sprouted next to the first, and the buds on the two flowers began swelling larger and larger before exploding, sending thousands of yellow spores into two separate areas of the field.
"Appear, Cherubim, Princess of Autumn Leaves and Marina, Princess of Sunflowers!"
Two more gigantic flowers sprouted from the ground. To the left of Tytannial emerged a giant sunflower which revealed a second plant woman upon blossoming. She possessed much darker skin than Tytannial, long blonde hair, three smaller sunflowers attached to her forehead, and a dark burgundy dress. The third blossomed into a neatly arranged pile of red and orange leaves, revealing a third woman with pink skin, an emerald green dress, and an elaborate headdress on her head resembling a collection of orange maple leaves.
Cherubim, Princess of Autumn Leaves: Level 8/EARTH/Plant/1800 ATK/2800 DEF
Marina, Princess of Sunflowers: Level 8/FIRE/Plant/2800 ATK/1600 DEF
Rio took a step back as she marveled at Aika's handiwork. "Three level eight monsters just like that? If that's what she needs to summon her Number…"
"Then it must be one of the most powerful monsters you've ever faced!" Aika finished the Ice Queen's sentence for her. "I overlay Cherubim, Marina, and Tytannial! With these 3 Level 8 Monsters, I build the overlay network!"
XYZ SUMMON! BLOSSOM IN MY GARDEN AND SHOW THE WORLD YOUR BEAUTY, NUMBER EIGHTY-SEVEN, QUEEN OF THE NIGHT!"
As the three plant princesses changed color and transformed into balls of green, red, and orange lights. The sky above the zen garden turned from day to night, and as the overlay network emerged from the ground, a full moon rose into the sky. The Number's sealed form rose from the portal, a giant pink flower that had yet to blossom. The flower opened, releasing a torrent of snowflakes into the sky, and as the petals of the flower continued to expand, the true form of the monster revealed itself. It shared the same common theme of the other plant princesses, showcasing a beautiful pale skinned woman merged with the flower itself from the waist down. Black metallic armor covered her arms and her breasts, while a wing shaped decoration made of the same metal rested on top of her head of long pink hair like a crown. A red 87 appeared on the woman''s midriff, and as the snowflakes released from the flower descended on the field, the Number Monster locked eyes with Rio, sporting a smirk on her face as haughty and condescending as the duelist she had control over.
Number 87, Queen of the Night: Rank 8/WATER/Plant/Xyz/3200 ATK/2800 DEF
"She's finally brought her Number out, and she was right. Holy Cow, that thing is strong!" Kotori exclaimed. Cathy simply nodded her head, choosing to stare and gawk at the Number. Neither had ever seen an Xyz Monster with such high attack points before.
"And she's only going to grow stronger!" Aika laughed. "Remember my Zen Garden? Since she is a Rank Eight Xyz Monster, she gains eight hundred attack points."
Queen of the Night: 3200 + 800 = 4000 ATK
"Four thousand?!" Rio exclaimed, taking another step back.
"But wait! Queen of the Night is a water monster!" Cathy pointed out. "And Zen Garden prevents all water monsters from attacking, including monsters on Aika's field, meaning the Queen of the Night can't attack."
Aika's haughty smirk transformed into a deranged grin devoid of its original poise and grace.
"Thank you for reminding me. It's such a good thing I have my Elemental Garden on the field, so now my Queen of the Night can be any attribute I choose. I think I'll change Queen of the Night from a water monster to a fire monster!"
The snowflakes surrounding the Number Monster suddenly caught fire and transformed into tiny balls of flame, while her skin developed a tan and the petals on her flower darkened into a fiery orange.
"Next, I activate the effect of Ice Orchid in my Graveyard!" declared Aika. "By banishing it, I can negate the effects of your Greedy Sarameya, and after that happens, you take damage equal to its rank multiplied by one hundred! Since your monster's effects are negated, you can't redirect the five hundred points of damage you're about to receive! Take this!"
A spectral image of the orchid appeared in front of Rio and fired a barrage of ice spikes in her direction. Rio staggered briefly, grimacing from the irony of being attacked by her own preferred element, but stood tall, bracing for the next stage of Aika's assault.
Rio: 3200 - 500 = 2700
"I could attack now, but there is just one little problem," Aika said, her voice far too calm for Rio's liking. "Your face-down card. I'm ninety nine percent sure it's a deadly trap, so I will have my queen neutralize it. By detaching one overlay unit, my queen can imprison your face-down card. As long as she is on the field, you can never activate that card!"
Queen of the Night caught one of the overlay units orbiting her in the palm of her hand and crushed it. She then pointed towards Rio's face-down card and conjured dozens of thorny vines out of the ground, which wrapped around the card, squeezing it tight.
"NO! My Trap Card!" cried Rio.
"BATTLE! Queen of the Night, ready your bow and prepare to attack, and since I declared an attack with a plant xyz monster, I can do this! I banish Fire Lily from my Graveyard to inflict eight hundred more points of damage on top of what you're about to take from this attack!"
The fireballs dancing around the queen coalesced together to form an arrow of pure flame which the Queen caught in her hand and loaded into her bow. As she did so, the ghostly image of Fire Lily appeared in front of Rio and fired several pellets of flame towards her.
Rio: 2700 - 800 = 1900
"Queen of the Night, destroy Greedy Sarameya now! Ready your Blossoming Arrow, and FIRE!"
The Queen launched the arrow, which soared through the air like a meteor and struck the cerberus in the back of its neck. The cerberus yelped from the fatal blow before shattering,, and the resulting explosion knocked Rio to the ground.
Rio: 1900 - 1000 = 900
"Good Girl," Aika taunted. "Now stay down like the peasant dog you are and bow to the Queen of the Night!"
"Not… a chance…" Rio grunted as she recovered from the blow and stood back up. "My turn! I draw!"
Her eyes lit up with excitement as she identified the card she drew.
"Ice Dragon's Prison? Perfect! With Ice Dragon's Prison, I can steal a plant type monster from Aika's Graveyard, and then since Queen of the Night is also a plant, I can banish both of them. I'll just have to use it the moment Aika starts her turn so she doesn't get the chance to use her Number's effect to lock it down."
"I set one monster face-down to protect my life points!" Rio announced, and a sideways card appeared on her field. "Next, I will set this card face-down and–"
"And I will lock it down with the Queen of the Night!" Aika interrupted her. "I detach one overlay unit from her to render you unable to activate the card you just set."
"WHAT?! You can use that effect during my turn?!"
"Of course I can!" Aika gloated. "You really think a paragon of power and beauty like my Number would allow such pedestrian tricks to stop her?"
"No, I just thought somebody with a giant ego like yours would get cocky enough to fall for a trap like that!" Rio rebuffed, visibly irritating Aika. "I end my turn."
"Impudent little witch. Who do you think you're talking to?" she hissed. "By the end of my next turn, you'll be on your knees, your Numbers will be mine, and you'll be nothing more than another servant for me to play with. It's my turn again! I draw!"
Aika looked at what she drew and smirked. "It seems I have acquired the means to back up my threat. I activate the spell card, Wonder Clover! By discarding the Lord Poison monster from my hand, my Queen of the Night can attack twice this turn, and for my first attack, I will rid the field of that mystery monster of yours. Queen of the Night, ready your Blossoming Arrow, and FIRE!"
The plant woman loaded another flaming arrow into her black metal bow, pointing it at Rio's face-down monster before firing. The arrow pierced the card, revealing the transparent image of Rio's Aurora Wing. The Blue Phoenix shattered, only to reappear on the field as soon as it vanished.
Aurora Wing: Level 4/WATER/Winged-Beast/1200 ATK/1600 DEF
"Aurora Wing's effect activates!" Rio announced. "When she is destroyed, she comes back to the field."
"I had a feeling your defending monster was Aurora Wing!" Aika gloated. "How unfortunate for you that Aurora Wing revives itself in attack position when it activates its effect, making it a sitting duck for my Queen of the Night's second attack."
"OH NO, RIO!" Kotori screamed.
"Queen of the Night, attack Aurora Wing again. Ready your Blossoming Arrow, and FIRE!"
The queen knocked another arrow and sent it spiraling towards the ice bird, only for another ice bird to materialize in front of the queen's intended target. A large blue pelican with golden metal wings shielded its fellow ice bird and its mistress from the queen's wrath.
"Guard Pelican, protect me!"
Aika could only watch in shock as the pelican caught the arrow in its mouth and swallowed it as if the deadly attack was a delicious fish.
Rio managed a grin. "Since you declared an attack, I can special summon Guard Pelican from my hand to take the hit instead!"
Guard Pelican: Level 6/WATER/Winged-Beast/0 ATK/2100 DEF
"Fine!" an increasingly frustrated Aika snapped. "Get rid of that Pelican! Knock it out of the sky!"
The queen fired another arrow, only for the exact same thing to occur. The Pelican caught the arrow and swallowed it, completely unharmed by the attack. Aika's left eye visibly twitched as her frustration boiled over.
"What… what is going on? What is that stupid bird doing?"
Rio smirked at the sight of the flower duelist losing her composure.
"I thought you would have caught on by now! This monster cannot be destroyed by battle!"
"How annoying," Aika grumbled, taking a few seconds to preen herself and calm down from her lapse of self control. "I'll simply have to destroy you during my next turn."
"You're not getting another turn, Aika! My draw, and I will activate the spell card, Swallow's Nest! By tributing a winged beast monster, I can special summon another one with the same level, so I'll get rid of Aurora Wing to introduce you to my Blizzard Falcon!"
Aurora Wing screeched and sank back into the ground. A blue flash of light heralded the arrival of its replacement, and Rio's falcon soared through the sky, whipping up a chilling snowstorm with its snowflake shaped wings as it perched on top of one of the Sakura trees in the Zen garden.
Blizzard Falcon: Level 4/WATER/Winged-Beast/1500 ATK/1500 DEF
"Next, I activate Guard Pelican's other effect. Once per turn, if I control Guard Pelican, I can increase the level of one of my ice birds by two and its ATK by five hundred!"
Blizzard Falcon: Level 6/WATER/Winged-Beast/2000 ATK/1500 DEF
"Oh no! Not that! Her falcon's attack points went up!" Aika cried.
Rio grinned. "I take it you know what that means. Since my falcon's attack points went up, your life points are about to go down by fifteen hundred!"
The falcon took to the air again and beat its wings one more time, sending a violent gale in Aika's direction.
Aika: 2800 - 1500 = 1300
"Not bad, Rio, but did you really think you could damage me without paying any consequences? Since I took damage, I banish Thunder Rose from my Graveyard to hit you with eight hundred points of damage in response!"
No sooner had the gale subsided, that a crackle of electricity scattered across the ground towards Rio. A silhouette of the yellow flower appeared in front of the ice queen and struck her with a blast of lightning.
Rio LP: 900 - 800 = 100
"She's down to only a hundred! If she takes any kind of damage again, it's over!" cried Kotori.
"And with how Aika's deck works…" Cathy's voice trailed off, knowing how that kind of hit could come at any time and end the duel.
"She won't get the chance!" Rio called back to her friends. "I promise you're not getting another turn, Aika, and this monster is about to make sure I keep my promise. Now I'll overlay Blizzard Falcon and Guard Pelican! With these 2 Level 6 Monsters, I build the overlay network!"
"XYZ SUMMON! RISE UP, NUMBER TWENTY-ONE, FROZEN LADY JUSTICE!"
The overlay network appeared for one final time, absorbing the two birds and conjuring the sealed scales of Justice. The scales broke apart and transformed into the frozen female warrior, who unsheathed her sword and pointed it at the queen, challenging the Number's power with her own.
Number 21 - Frozen Lady Justice: Rank 6/WATER/Aqua/Xyz/500 ATK/500 DEF
Frozen Lady Justice: 500 + (1000 x 2) = 2500 ATK
Aika marveled at the Number's arrival, recognition glimmering in her eyes. "I see. That is the Number I sensed, the one who shielded you from my queen's power. I'll admit, she looks formidable, but I'm afraid if you want to challenge my Number with her, you are just fifteen hundred attack points shy."
"If only Rio had a way to switch Queen of the Night into defense mode, she could destroy that monster easily," Kotori growled, shaking her head in frustration. Having noticed Cathy's confusion, she quickly explained what Justice was capable of. "Justice has the ability to destroy every monster on the opponent's field, but she can only destroy monsters if they are in defense mode."
"Wow! That is powerful!" beamed Cathy.
"Even if she could do that, it wouldn't make a difference." Aika sneered. "Frozen Lady Justice is a water monster. With my Zen Garden on the field, she still can't attack."
"I'm not done!" Rio interjected. "I activate the spell card, Overlay Vortex! This card lets me target two spell or trap cards on the field and they become attached to Justice as overlay units! However, I'm not allowed to activate Justice's effects this turn."
"Ohoho! Rio, do you honestly think that you can win without an effect at this point?" laughed Aika.
Rio smirked. "Let me finish explaining what my card does and I promise you won't be laughing after this. Losing her effect doesn't matter since Justice gains one thousand attack points for each overlay unit she has! And without your barriers in her way, I don't think I'll need to worry about her needing her effect! Say goodbye to your Elemental Garden and Zen Garden!"
"What?!" The thought of losing her garden lock combo immediately sent Aika into a panicked frenzy. "No! Not my garden! You can't!"
But Aika was powerless to stop the effect. Like a sudden onset of a bitter winter, the flowers and trees of the beautiful garden began to wilt and freeze as the entire battlefield was completely encased in snow and ice. With Justice gaining two new overlay units in the process, she flexed her arms and bellowed triumphantly as she felt her power grow.
Frozen Lady Justice: 500 + (1000 x 4) = 4500 ATK
Queen of the Night: 4000 - 800 = 3200 ATK
"Now that your Zen Garden is out of the way, I am finally allowed to attack with my water monsters, and now your Queen of the Night's attack points return to normal, making her weak enough for me to win this duel when I attack her!"
But before Rio could declare her attack, the sound of panting and gasping caught her attention. Yuma and Tetsuo finally arrived, having burst out of the school doors and raced onto the courtyard.
"Finally! We…. phew…. Made it!" Tetsuo gasped with deep, exhausted breaths. "We had to run all the way from Ukyo's class to get here!"
"Don't…. Start…. The duel…. Without me…" groaned an exhausted Yuma.
"Oh boy, I need to work out more."
Astral floated behind them, and the three surveyed what was going on. The sudden realization that Rio was just about to finish the Number Holder off produced a triumphant "Yes!" from Yuma and Tetsuo, but a frustrated "No!" from Astral.
"We're too late!" the floating duelist lamented.
"Oh, lighten up, Astral!" Yuma chastised his partner, trying not to let Astral ruin his excitement of watching Rio win a duel against a Number user. "Sure, we missed most of the show, but now we can just sit back and watch the grand finale."
"BATTLE! Frozen Lady Justice, attack her Queen of the Night! POLAR NIGHT SLASH!"
Justice charged forward and sliced her blade across the Queen's waist, severing the dryad from its flower. The plant woman shrieked in terror as she and her flower shattered into dust, and the overwhelming force of the attack threw Aika backwards where she hit the wall behind her and slumped to the ground in a defeated heap. Then, one by one, the other members of the flower arrangement club began to collapse as well, free from the influence of Number 87.
Aika: 1300 - 1300 = 0 (LOSE)
WINNER: RIO!
Astral couldn't help but be impressed at Rio's skill in defeating such a powerful Number, but the gnawing feeling inside of him regarding the Numbers in Rio's possession returned in full force. He had so many questions regarding the previous memory he saw. All it told him was his home was in danger, not what was threatening it, or how badly damaged it was, or how much time he had left. He needed to know, and there was always a chance this Number could hold just the right memory he needed to answer those questions.
He remembered how he was able to take Mannequin Cat from Cathy, even though Yuma wasn't the one to defeat her. Perhaps…..
Astral saw Rio extend her hand to take the Number. Fearful of losing an important memory, he decided to act, extending his own hand to force the Number to come to him. The floating Number rising out of Aika's body began to travel towards Astral, but suddenly stopped in mid air.
"What…. Are…. you….. Doing?" Rio strained her voice as she maintained her grip on the Number. Astral floated closer to try and gain a stronger hold over the Number, but before he could move another inch, the two opposing forces playing tug of war with the Number reacting to each other's presence.
"Let go…. Astral…. Let….. GO!" Rio's eyes suddenly flashed red and the tendril of energy coming out of Rio's hand suddenly unleashed a violent crackle of electricity. Like a power surge in an electric grid, a stream of red lightning traveled out of the tendril, past the Number, and into Astral's body. Astral screamed as the strange energy electrocuted him and forced him to let go of the Number.
Kotori, Tetsuo and Cathy had no idea what was going on. They could only stare at the crimson storm, unable to help Rio without getting electrocuted themselves, but as the storm subsided, Kotori briefly noticed the cluster of lightning on Yuma's side of the room surrounding what could only be described as an invisible humanoid shape.
"No way…." Kotori whispered in amazement. "He is real!"
Astral floated back to Yuma's side, shuddering and groaning, clenching his empty hand, while the Number floated into Rio's triumphant palm.
"Rio, what happened? Are you okay?" Tetsuo immediately raced to Rio's aid, while Yuma looked over the shivering Astral.
"Astral! Are you hurt?! What just happened?" Yuma's panicked eyes drifted to Rio as the red glow in her eyes faded away, bringing her back to reality. "Rio, what did you do?"
"I…. I don't know…." a dizzy Rio moaned, clutching her head. Kotori and Cathy moved to catch the stumbling Ice Queen, while Yuma could only watch Astral with concern.
As Astral regained his senses, his horrified eyes remained fixated on his hand, where he came into contact with the red energy emanating from Rio's body. That awful sensation he had felt when he touched it was too frightening to comprehend, too wrong. Astral had faced the risk of harm to himself before, having experienced the risk of fading away when Yuma's Numbers were at risk of being taken, but this was different. This pain, this chaos, it was like his body rejected everything about it, everything about her.
"You…. damaged me…." he whispered as he lowered his hand and locked eyes with the Ice Queen, giving her a repulsed glare.
"Astral, she didn't mean it!" Yuma pleaded, before frantically checking with Rio.
"Please tell me you didn't mean it!"
Rio stared back at the spirit with an equally hateful glare. "Of course not. I don't even know how I did that, but it wouldn't have happened if Astral had just kept his hands to himself!"
"You are the aggressor in this situation, as I am the rightful owner of the Numbers," Astral argued back, his voice remaining stoic, but definitely having an edge to it now. "You have no right to take them for yourself in the first place, and after this, I am afraid I can no longer tolerate the truce Yuma proposed between us. You must hand them over to me at once."
"Astral, No!" Yuma pleaded. "Come on! We talked about this a million times already. Rio and I are friends. She's on our side!"
Astral glanced at his hand once again and then shook his head. "Recent evidence strongly indicates the opposite. I am sorry, Yuma. I know you care about her just as you care for the other humans in your group, but I can no longer risk her growing stronger with multiple Numbers in her possession. The more Numbers she acquires, the more difficult she will be to defeat should she force my hand and we resort to settling our differences in a duel. However, if she were to simply hand over the ones she has stolen, then the issues I have with her will be resolved."
"Stolen?!" an incredulous Rio exclaimed. "I won these Numbers fair and square, just like Yuma won his! If anything, you're the one who doesn't have the right to take any of the Numbers because you didn't earn any of them yourself! You didn't even earn Yuma's Numbers because you made him duel for you! How do we even know these are your Numbers in the first place? Maybe you're the one who stole them to begin with! Maybe the reason you came to Earth was so you could run away from whoever you stole them from!"
"RIO!" Yuma chastised. "Don't say that! You're making it worse!"
"How can you be so sure this guy is trustworthy, Yuma?" Rio questioned, giving Yuma a look of accusatory suspicion. "We know nothing about him!"
Astral was visibly shaken by Rio's words. Despite his certainty that he was in the right, he knew deep down that he couldn't rule out any possibilities regarding his past, even the darker ones.
"Stolen…. But, I….. no! They are a part of me. They contain my memories. I can feel it…. I…."
Rio narrowed her eyes even further. "You really don't know, do you? So you weren't lying when you told me you lost your memory…"
"My memory is incomplete. I explained this to you before," Astral said, growing more desperate by the second. "That is why I need the Numbers. My home is in danger. The memory showed this to me and I have to know more. You must give them to me at once!"
"Rio…. well…." Yuma paused. He knew he needed to choose his words carefully, otherwise the conflict would only grow ten times worse. It was an awful feeling, caught in the middle of a fight between one of his closest friends, and his new…. well….
Was Astral his friend?
Yuma wasn't sure if he could answer that question sincerely just yet, given Astral's tendencies to laser-focus on the Numbers and his immediate paranoia about Rio, but at the same time, after everything Astral had done for him these past few weeks, how could Yuma not deem Astral trustworthy or at least give him the benefit of the doubt? Astral saved him from his own bad decisions during multiple duels, one of which could have cost him his sister's life.
"Maybe…. I don't know…" he fumbled with his words. "Rio, you're the best duelist I know. Your deck is incredibly powerful even without Justice. When the time comes to battle IV, you won't need her or any Numbers to win, so maybe…."
"You're taking his side?!" Rio interrupted. "You're going to side with somebody you only met a few weeks ago over somebody who's had your back for years?"
"A wise decision, Yuma," Astral remarked, with a nod.
"NO!" screamed Yuma. "I don't want to pick a side. I want this fighting to stop. Okay, if you want to keep your Numbers, fine, but what if you just let Astral look at the memories, and after that, he gives them back to you."
"Even if I were to allow her to keep them," Astral explained as he shot down Yuma's attempt at a compromise. "I am afraid I cannot look at the memories of the Numbers without absorbing them completely. What you suggest is not physically possible."
"And I'm not agreeing to that, either!" Rio snapped. "So long as you're going to keep threatening me, I'm not giving them away. None of us know anything about you. Even you don't seem to know who you are. Maybe keeping these things away from you is better for everyone!"
Rio suddenly forced her way past Yuma and made her way out of the school grounds.
"Wait, Rio! Where are you going?" asked Yuma.
"I'm out of here! I've had enough! I don't want to talk to you, or anybody else right now."
Kotori, having only heard one side of the conversation, had no idea what exactly Astral had said to Rio, but knew that this was serious. This conflict over the Numbers was driving a wedge between her two closest friends, and she couldn't stand it.
"Rio, wait!" she cried. "Come back! Whatever is going on, we can work this out! We're all friends here!"
"That thing is not my friend!" Rio shouted back as she grabbed her schoolbag and stormed out of the courtyard. "Leave me alone, all of you. I need some space to chill out before I explode."
"But…. Rio! Don't leave! Rio!" Tetsuo made one final feeble attempt to call Rio back, but she was already out of sight. Cathy placed a comforting hand on her new friend's shoulder, while Yuma stared off into space with tears in his eyes.
"I understand this has been very distressing for you, Yuma," Astral continued. "So I shall allow you the time you need to calm down and prepare yourself for when we duel her tomorrow."
"Astral!" Yuma snapped at the spirit's emotionless disregard for everything they were going through, but his tone was quiet, sounding more defeated than upset.
"Stop….. Just….. Stop….."
Astral had never heard Yuma speak like that before, and he didn't understand why that concerned him so much. He was in the right in this argument after all.
Wasn't he?
The spirit now realized he had a lot to think about, and Yuma was not in any state to cooperate with him anyway. Astral decided to grant Yuma's wish and say no more. With one final sigh, he vanished, retreating back inside the Emperor's Key, leaving Yuma and his friends alone to help Aika and the other ikebana girls as they slowly came to their senses.
Rio left the school grounds and relocated to a quiet spot in one of the city's many parks, trying her best to calm down on a bench near the park's fountain.
In truth, she hoped she was wrong about Astral. She had enough problems right now without having to worry about what Astral's true intentions were, but the feeling in her gut wouldn't go away, and she always trusted her instincts. Her instincts told her she couldn't let her guard down around Astral, and until there was solid evidence to the contrary, she wouldn't be giving up her Numbers any time soon.
In the meantime, she needed to focus on a more immediate problem, discerning the truth of what happened to her brother. If only her contact would show up on time.
"Where is he? I told Shuta to meet me right here?" she asked herself, tapping her foot in impatience, but luckily she didn't have to wait any longer. The beret wearing boy flagged her down with a wave and approached her.
"Are you alright, Rio?" asked the concerned photographer. "You look upset."
The Ice Queen rubbed her temples to fight off the massive stress-related headache she had before replying. "I'm fine, Shuta. I just… well… it's been a rough day. I'd rather not talk about it. What I do want to talk about are those pictures you said you have. You said it's something big."
"Oh, it is!" Shuta confirmed, his tone deathly serious. "Well, I don't know if it's the big scoop we need to prove who actually hurt your brother, but it's definitely trouble for you and your friends."
"Get to the point, Shuta," Rio insisted.
"Well…" Shuta paused, seeming hesitant, but pressed on regardless. "Have you considered that maybe that street gang, the Pack, might have something to do with what happened to your brother?" he asked, which caused Rio to perk up immediately. "You know, especially given your history with…."
"I don't want to talk about my history with them!" Rio immediately cut him off. "I'm done with the Pack, and I'm done with the Fuma Brothers. Getting involved with them was the stupidest decision I ever made!"
She felt her anger building up again and her headache returning. She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples again. Regaining her calmness, she continued. "Yes, the Pack is a dangerous gang, but the two people in charge of it have at least some standards in regards to the people who follow them, even if they choose to leave. They wanted my brother and I to join back up with them. Yes, they hated that we left them, but they always clung to the idea that we would one day change our minds."
"Then you might want to look at this," Shuta took his first picture out of the envelope and showed it to Rio.
"Recognize that place? That's the same warehouse your brother went to for that private duel with IV which caught fire. I went there to look for evidence and found them hanging around there. Thank God they didn't see me when I took their picture."
Shuta's new detail came as a shock to Rio, and the picture Shuta showed them only made it worse. There they were in the photograph, the Fuma Brothers Rikuo and Kaio, better known to Rio by the nicknames they called themselves, Scorch and Chills, skulking about the warehouse like they owned the place.
"They must have been waiting for me," she concluded. "They must have thought I would come there by myself so they could ambush me and coerce me into joining them again."
"Well, I think you might have to deal with them at some point whether you like it or not. They might even come to you if you don't," warned Shuta.
"Why?"
Shuta pulled out a second photograph. "Take a look at this."
Rio grabbed the photo, and her eyes doubled in size. The close-up shots of the brothers revealed two distinctive marks on their hands, a yellow 61 and a green 19.
"Should I warn Yuma?" Shuta asked. "There's two of them, and there's a good chance you'll have the rest of the pack to deal with if you antagonize them. Maybe you two can take them on together in a tag duel, and then…."
"NO!" Rio snapped, cutting Shuta off. "Don't say a word of this to Yuma. I don't want him or any of my friends getting involved with them. He may have gotten better as a duelist, but he's not nearly experienced enough to take on the pack, and he doesn't know what they're capable of."
She immediately picked up the remaining photographs and turned away to leave.
"But I do…" She finished ominously. "I'll deal with the Pack myself."
It seemed Rio wasn't done dealing with old wounds just yet.
Author Made Cards:
Blizzard Raven: Level 4/WATER/Winged-Beast/1300 ATK/1300 DEF
Effect: If this card is Normal Summoned, you can add 1 Level 6 or lower WATER Winged-Beast Monster from your deck to your hand. During your Main Phase, you can target 1 WATER Winged-Beast Monster you control; increase or decrease that monster's level by 1. You can only use each effect of "Blizzard Raven" once per turn.
Guard Pelican: Level 6/WATER/Winged-Beast/0 ATK/2100 DEF
Effect: Cannot be destroyed by battle. If an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, this card becomes the new target of the attack. Once per turn, you can target 1 Level 4 WATER Monster you control; that monster gains 500 ATK and its Level increases by 2.
Ice Orchid: Level 3/WATER/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
Effect: If this card is used as Xyz Material to Xyz Summon a Plant Xyz Monster, you can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; negate its effects, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its Level/Rank x 100. If you control a Plant Xyz Monster (Quick Effect) you can banish this card from your field or GY, then target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; negate its effects, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its Level/Rank x 100. You can only use each effect of "Ice Orchid" once per turn.
Thunder Rose: Level 3/LIGHT/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can add 1 Level 3 Plant Monster from your Deck to your Hand. If you take battle damage or effect damage from an opponent's card, (Quick Effect) you can banish this card from your field or GY; inflict 800 damage to the opponent. You can only use each effect of "Thunder Rose" once per turn.
Shadow Violet: Level 3/DARK/Plant/800 ATK/800 DEF
Effect: If this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you control a Level 3 Plant Monster, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Plant Monster from your Deck with a different attribute among the monsters you currently control. If a Plant Xyz Monster is destroyed by an opponent's card while this card is in your GY, you can banish this card from your GY; inflict 800 damage to your opponent. You can only use each effect of "Shadow Violet" once per turn.
Overlay Vortex: Quick-Play Spell
Effect: Target 1 Xyz Monster you control and up to 2 Spell/Trap cards on the field; attach those cards to your Xyz Monster as Xyz Materials. You cannot activate the effects of Xyz Monsters during the turn you activate this effect. Monsters you control cannot declare attacks during the turn you activate this card's effect, except Xyz Monsters.
Elemental Garden: Continuous Trap
Effect: If you control a Plant Monster, during your opponent's turn, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower Plant Monster from your Deck with a different attribute among the monsters you currently control. During the Main Phase (Quick Effect) you can target 1 face-up monster on the field; declare 1 attribute, and if you do, the targeted monster becomes that attribute. You can only use each effect of "Elemental Garden" once per turn.
AAAAAAAAAAAAND, DONE! Another Chapter Complete!
While Aika (Lotus in the English Dub) herself is mostly a filler character. Unlike Shuta, we won't be seeing her again any time soon as a recurring character, but she was Rio's very first opponent in the canon anime, so I felt I should make room for her somewhere in this story. Hopefully you enjoyed the change I made where instead of being a drone of Barian World, she's possessed by a Number.
First of all, a well-deserved shout out to EpsilonTarantula for being the best grammar checker I could ask for! If you like Code Lyoko or Yu-Gi-Oh ARC V, then check out his work!
Lastly, I want to give yet another shout out to my good friend and fellow writer, Donjusticia! What is this, the fifteenth or twentieth time I've given you a shoutout? Well, he deserves it! He helped me write the dialogue for the juicy drama of the chapter, that being Rio's argument with Astral. If you haven't checked out his work, I highly recommend it. He's a very talented writer!
So what did you think of the chapter? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Whatever your opinion may be, feel free to leave a review and let me know.
Until Next Time! This is NOX, SIGNING OUT!