From the very start, Yusei attacked relentlessly. It begins slowly, but each attack allows Aki to place an Ivy Token on his field.
"She's trying to fill up his field. With all four of those tokens taking up space, he's not going to have any room left soon," I say. Even Aki is dueling passionately, knowing that Yusei is not an easy target.
She activates a spell card from her hand, giving her the ability to special summon Dark Verger.
"Then I release Dark Verger! That lets me advance summon Rose Tentacles!" The blossoming monster presents itself on her field, spinning and letting its arms dance around the main body. "Rose Tentacles attacks Turret Warrior! Thorn Whip!"
With 2200 attack points, the plant-type monster has just enough to beat out Yusei's monster. All around the arena, a ferocious wind whips at my face, but it's clear the blue-eyed duelist received the worst of it.
"Yusei only took 100 points of damage to his life points. Therefore, he didn't feel much pain!" The announcer has no idea that Aki has more tricks up her sleeve, but I could've guessed it. She's a skilled duelist. Regardless of how much her powers pressure her opponent, she'd be a hard foe to beat even without them.
"I'm not done. When the battle phase begins, Rose Tentacles can attack for every plant-type monster on your field!" Determined, Aki sweeps her hand up dramatically. "And when it destroys a plant-type monster in battle, you take 300 points of damage."
"Woah! There are four plant-type Ivy Tokens on Yusei's field! That means Aki Izayoi can attack four more times! Then due to Rose Tentacle's monster effect, Yusei will take 300 points of damage! And when Ivy Token is destroyed, he'll take 300 points of damage! That means for every attack, he will take 600 points of damage!"
"Yusei!"
Looking over to my littlest companions, I chuckle at Rua counting on his fingers, trying to figure out the damage based on what the announcer had said. He's cute, but a little slow. I mean, he's only 11 years old. What do you expect?
"That's 2400 points. Four times six is twenty-four, just add two zeroes." Smiling at the young twin does nothing to ease his fear. He can tell it's forced.
"No way..." Yanagi is melancholy. "Four times."
"It's coming!" reminds Himuro, ducking his head. The rest of us follow his example.
"Rose tentacles attacks Ivy Token! Thorn Whip One!" The teen girl has sent her monster forth to attack, but its vine rips straight through the token and grasps onto Yusei's arm. The wind stirred by her attack forces up through the stands, some taking shelter behind the seats ahead. "Thorn Whip Two!"
Another vine wraps itself around the blue-eyed duelist's thigh, the subsequent gale blowing into the high bleachers. "Shit!" I stretch one arm over the three children on my left, attempting to keep them in their seats by force.
Most of the audience has cleared out by now, preferring to stay unharmed and watch from afar. The two boys return to their upright position, but the young girl hasn't risen yet.
She's praying.
"Thorn Whip Three!" This tentacle winds the circumference of his other leg. Thorns cover the length of it, definitely leaving a mark. "This is the final attack. Last Thorn Whip!" The last tentacle binds his arm and torso, lifting him high above the field.
"Yusei!" I have to scream, seeing the vulnerable position he's in. She can't take him away! She can't take him or... or I'd be lost. The heat of panic and wrath fills my throat, rising in pulses of anxiety. I'm in a state, screaming his name as an appeal for his safety, when he crashes into the field, struck down by Aki's Rose Tentacles. I can't find him in the dust cloud. "No, no, no, no!"
I forget to think about the gale it causes, help against the back of my seat by its intense strength. I can feel the tears being whipped back to my temples by the wind's bite.
The commentator continues his narration of the event.
"Woah! Due to the explosions from Aki Izayoi's attacks, the stadium is in a huge panic! Like we thought, Aki Izayoi is... "
What's left of the viewers starts to shout.
"Witch!"
"She really is a witch!"
My eyes don't turn away or even close during the cyclone, pinpoint focus on the veil of dirt still lingering on the stage. It starts to dissipate moments later. "Yusei!"
He's standing, drawing his next card. "My... turn. I summon... Shield Warrior in... defense position." His words are halting, interspersed with heavy breathing. "I set... two cards and end... my turn."
I've never seen him like this. How close is he to keeling over? Had I really been so wrong about the intent of the duelist he's facing?
"I finally know," he says, looking at the girl's manic smile. She's panting heavily as well. "I know your one other emotion that lies beyond rejection and anger. Aki Izayoi, you enjoy the power of destruction. You feel joy from that power."
She stops smiling, taken aback by his observation. "I enjoy destruction?"
But she returns to neutrality, drawing a card for her turn. "I activate the continuous spell Ivy Shackles. During my turn, I can turn all monsters on your field into plant-type monsters. I change your Shield Warrior from warrior-type to plant-type. Next is Rose Tentacles's monster effect. When the battle phase begins, for every plant-type monster on your field, it increases the number of times it can attack. Therefore, Rose Tentacles can attack twice. Rose Tentacles attacks Shield Warrior! Thorn Whip!"
The gust it creates by disintegrating his monster flows into the stands.
"Shield warrior is currently plant-type," she continues. "When Rose Tentacles destroys a plant-type monster, you take 300 points of damage." The vine rises anew, striking his back as a horse's crop. Yusei now stands with only 1200 life points left.
"So it's true that you enjoy destruction," he grits out upon seeing her grim smirk. It causes her to start, almost looking offended at the statement.
"Rose Tentacles attacks for a second time! It attacks you directly!" Rose Tentacles boasts an attack of 2200 points, spelling ruin for the blue-eyed duelist lest he has something up his sleeve.
"I flip over my trap card Card Defense! By discarding a card from my hand, I can negate the direct attack from one of your monsters." The trap crafts a shield around him, deflecting his opponent's attack. "Afterwards, I get to draw one card."
"I end my turn."
"Izayoi, you enjoy dealing out pain."
"Enough. What are you talking about?"
"My turn. From my hand, I summon Junk Synchron. Due to Junk Synchron's monster effect, I can special summon a level two or below monster from my graveyard in defense position." Speed Warrior returns, resurrecting next to Yusei's tuner monster. "Level three Junk Synchron tunes level two Speed Warrior! Synchro summon! Come forth, Junk Warrior! Then from my hand, I activate the equip spell Junk Attack! I equip it onto Junk Warrior. Junk Warrior attacks Rose Tentacles! Scrap Fist!"
It's the first time since the duel began that he's dealt any damage to Aki, but it's only 100 points.
"Next is Junk Attack's effect. When the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, you take damage equal to half that monster's attack points." Half of Rose Tentacles's attack is dealt as damage, the result bringing Aki down to 2800 life points. The duel had started on the wrong foot, but Yusei's quick thinking may win it for him. "I end my turn."
I dearly hope he doesn't get too injured while dueling, as that's the only way he'd take this lying down.
I know better than to respond, even in my mind, knowing I wouldn't like the truth.
"Izayoi took a lot of damage! That's why this is the finals! No one knows what's going to happen!" The emcee's excited tenor brings the crowd and their jeers back to life.
Rua is back to his enthusiastic self, though, seeing Yusei's counterattack. "Wow! He took away 1000 life points in an instant!"
"So cool!" Tenpei gushes.
Yanagi issues his own commentary, smiling broadly. "This is getting interesting."
"Yusei won't allow himself to keep getting beaten up." Himuro raises a hand, clenching it succinctly.
I round on the man. "He better not! I don't care how much is riding on this duel, it doesn't make it any easier to watch him get thrown around."
"It doesn't look that easy for him, either."
"I know. That's what worries me." He wouldn't stop dueling just because of the pain, not with our friends in captivity. My life is on the line as much as theirs and Yusei's, if Yeager is to be believed.
Aki's turn has come around again. She uses her continuous spell to change Junk Warrior into a plant-type monster and summons Copy Plant to her side of the field. "Once a turn, Copy Plant selects one plant-type monster on the field and becomes the same level. Copy Junk Warrior's level!"
"What's she planning to do if she's only going to copy its level?" As always, Yanagi has the learning curve of a shovel when it comes to cards.
"Don't you know?" the two young boys say at once, speaking over each other. I turn to the old man, taking pity on him.
"It's for a synchro summon. She has a level five tuner on her field. Her ace monster is a level seven synchro monster, so all she needs now is a level two monster to summon it."
We aren't waiting long.
"I activate the monster effect of Dark Verger in my graveyard. When a plant-type tuner monster is summoned, I can special summon it from the graveyard."
"The total level is seven. That means that dragon is coming!" Himuro trains his eyes on the female duelist.
"Fuck."
"Level five Copy Plant tunes level two Dark Verger! The cold flame envelops the entire world. Black flower, bloom! Synchro summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!" Her hand rises, summoning the flowering dragon which bursts out, stirring up a gale of wind and dust. "Black Rose Dragon's monster effect. By removing one plant-type monster in my graveyard from play, one of your monster's attack points becomes zero during this turn. I remove Ivy Wall from play. Rose Restriction!"
Yusei set two cards earlier, and one still remains face-down on his field. He's got to have a plan of some sort.
"I activate Shield Warrior's monster effect from my graveyard! By removing this card in my graveyard from play, it negates the destruction of my monster due to battle!"
"However, you still take battle damage."
"I activate my trap card! Spirit Force! For one time only, the damage I take becomes zero!" The shining dome he conjured protects him from the ominous aura of Aki's dragon, but the reflection heads toward the stands. First, it makes a hairline crack in the outer limits of the track, but soon it demolishes the crowd's only protection, flowing forth into the arena's seating. Several viewers flee their seats, seeking a safe harbor from the witch's attacks. "Due to Spirit Force's effect, one monster in my graveyard with 1500 or fewer attack points is added to my hand." He holds up Junk Synchron, presumably the card he'd chosen to return to his hand.
"I set two cards and end my turn."
"You witch! Go home and disappear! Return to your witch's nest!" clamors an audience member, fist held high.
"Defeat the witch! Hang the witch!"
"What are you doing, you witch!"
"Witch, vanish!"
At last, the young female duelist responds to her hecklers. "That's right. You're exactly right. I'm a witch. I'm a scary girl who enjoys dealing out suffering." I know then that my initial thoughts about her were right. She's a lonely girl. If someone had reached out to her and offered her a friendly smile, would she be committing these heinous acts now? "I enjoy it. I really enjoy using my power to deal pain to everyone who pushed me into isolation!"
"My turn!" Yusei doesn't let her continue her declaration, though it's unclear if she had more to say. "I summon Junk Synchron from my hand! Due to Junk Synchron's effect, I summon Speed Warrior!"
"He did it!" Rua exclaims, hand in the air. "Speed Warrior's attack points are added to Junk Warrior's, so it has 3200 attack points!"
"That's Power of Fellows for you!" concurs his brunette friend.
"Level three Junk Synchron tunes level five Junk Warrior! The wishes come together to form a new shining star! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro summon! Soar, Stardust Dragon!" It's surprising for him to summon it. He'd said he would save Stardust for his duel with Jack. The announcer is shaken for an entirely different reason.
"This is the first time I've seen this dragon! What an incredible sight!"
"That's An-chan's signer dragon?"
"Why did he do that? Junk Warrior had more attack points!"
"Rua, attack points aren't the only thing that's important in battle," I remind the boy gently. "Besides, I told you. Yusei is a sentimental duelist. That's why his cards answer him when he seeks it."
"Yusei is trying to do something in this duel!" Ruka seems to realize what I'm trying to say, but her brother is a lost cause.
"That's right. He's using his cards to reach out to her, to reach her heart. It's not something that can be done with words."
The two starkly contrasting dragons face each other in midair, each of them sworn to fight for their masters. They squawk at each other, dueling screeches attacking the eardrums of the spectators. Aki appears staggered by Stardust's entrance on the field.
"This is a detestable mark," she says, grasping her forearm as she had in the hall. "I despise this mark. If I didn't have this power, I..."
"You wouldn't have felt joy from power," Yusei finishes for her. "You would not have gained pleasure from people's pain."
"That's right. This mark is a detestable symbol carved into me by a monster that surpasses humanity. That's why I hate myself. I can't hold back my feelings of destruction. I felt that I shouldn't be allowed to live. However, the stronger those feelings became, the more it transformed into impulses for destruction. So I stopped being me." She lifts a mask to her face, the one we had seen on the black rose witch in the Daimon Area duel field. It's the same face that had knocked me out and threatened the children I care for so much. I was too afraid to entertain the thought of her innocence, but the lines between black and white blur more with each word she utters.
"I created another version of myself. My masked version wasn't me. I didn't care if I enjoyed destruction and laughed at their pain. That's when Divine taught me that I didn't need a mask and I should just be me. Those words saved me. I'm fine as long as I remain alive. I won't think of anything anymore. I'll only feel."
Those words are true for Aki, but they don't ring fair at all. No person should be chained up and made to follow one path. Human beings are complex creatures with feelings and ideas. They should be free do live as they like and do as they feel is right. Yusei agrees, I know it by his next statement.
"You have to think for yourself!"
"I don't care. Divine will think for me."
"Don't run from your problems, Izayoi!"
"It can't be helped. There's nothing I can do."
"Yes there is! There's a version of you that doesn't approve of your joy! As long as those feelings exist, you can start over! You can save yourself!"
"Be quiet."
"Stardust Dragon attacks Black Rose Dragon!"
On my left, Ruka's face scrunched in pain as she grips her arm tightly.
"Ruka. You all right over there?" Instinctively, my palm goes to rub her back, hoping to bring her even a bit of relief. If not, at least she knows I'm here for her.
"Ruka? Your arm is..." Yanagi trails off, worry flitting over his features.
"Roar! Shooting Sonic!" With only a 100-point difference in attack, Black Rose Dragon is destroyed, a small chunk of damage coming out of Aki's life points.
"I'll just only feel. I'll feel pain and strife from you." She affixes the white mask to her face now, fully assuming the persona of the black rose witch. "My turn. I draw. I activate Magic Planter. By sending a continuous spell on the field to my graveyard, I can draw two cards from my deck. The continuous trap Wicked Reborn. By paying 800 life points, I can special summon a synchro monster from my graveyard. I resurrect Black Rose Dragon."
The monster appears once more in a flurry of vines and petals, a violet beam shooting up from where she stands. Aki almost seems like a different person. It's just as she said, the masked version of her isn't her.
"Wicked Reborn is equipped onto Black Rose Dragon. The equipped monster cannot attack this turn. And when the equip card is no longer on the field, that monster is destroyed. Furthermore, if the equipped monster is destroyed due to something other than this card's effect, then it is special summoned at the end phase. Black Rose Dragon's monster effect. When it is successfully special summoned, all cards on the field are destroyed. Black Rose Gale!"
"It's coming!" warns Himuro, one eye closed against the breeze.
"Huddle up!" My advice is heeded, the three youngest of us grabbing onto my outstretched arms. The four of us are held as well by our adult companions, effectively linking arms to stay in place.
"I activate Stardust Dragon's monster effect! By releasing Stardust Dragon, an effect that destroys cards is negated and destroyed! Victim Sanctuary!" The move is a blunder, it must be. What does that do for him?
Wait... Of course! He's trying to keep the people in the arena from getting hurt.
Both dragons disintegrate, disappearing from the duel field.
"The two dragons are gone!" Himuro remarks, Yanagi not far behind.
"He sacrificed Stardust Dragon!"
"It will be summoned again during Aki's next end phase," I tell him. Yusei is always putting others first and this duel is no different. "He did it to protect the people in this stadium."
"Really?"
"Really. He's just that kind of guy. Just like when we were in the facility. Don't you remember?"
"An-chan..."
"I'm not done." Aki never is, it seems. "I summon Phoenixian Seed. Due to Phoenixian Seed's monster effect, I can release this card to special summon Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis. Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attacks Speed Warrior. Flame Petal!"
Cloaked in a fiery aura, the monster clutches Speed Warrior and squeezes, destroying it. The masked duelist keeps going.
"After Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attacks, it self-destructs. Scatter Flame! And it deals 800 points of damage. I set one card." The bottom half of her face covering has cracked and fallen away from the effect of Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis, revealing the quirk in her lips.
"When Stardust Dragon activates its monster effect, it returns during this turn's end phase!" Yusei announces, calling his dragon back to its place on his field.
"Due to the effect of Wicked Reborn, I special summon Black Rose Dragon during the end phase! Then I activate the continuous trap Overdead Line. The monster that I special summoned from my graveyard gains 1000 attack points." Black Rose Dragon now stands above Stardust, it's 3400 attack is nothing to scoff at. Stardust only has 2500 right now. "Then due to Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis's monster effect, it resurrects in defense position. I end my turn."
"My turn." Drawing his card, he closes his eyes. It's that little cue that tells me he's already won this duel. "I switch Stardust Dragon to defense position! From my hand, I activate the equip spell Prevent Star. I can equip it when a monster switches to defense position. Once a turn, I can select one of your monsters. That monster cannot attack nor change battle position. I select Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"
Himuro grins. "Well done! If Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis attacked him on the next turn, Yusei would have lost due to effect damage."
"You've got that right. How much you want to bet he's got another spell or trap for her other monster?" I joke, smiling back at the former pro.
"I'm not taking that bet."
"The trap card Synchro Back," Aki begins. Her smirk has become a grimace. Yusei is pressuring her. "I return one synchro monster on my field to the extra deck. I select Black Rose Dragon."
"Why?" Yanagi wonders aloud, giving me and Himuro each a look of curiosity.
"Don't look at me," I say, hands up in forfeit. "I don't know this one. I'm the kind of Satellite everyone thinks of. I haven't a single synchro monster to my name." Thankfully, Himuro has the answer he seeks.
"The synchro monster returned due to this effect can be special summoned during the standby phase of her next turn."
"I get it!" exclaims Tenpei, looking over at the rest of us. "She's planning to destroy Stardust Dragon using Black Rose Dragon's monster effect that activates when it's special summoned!"
"I set one card and end my turn," The blue-eyed duelist says. He's the calmest presence in the building.
"Right on the money, kiddo." I reach over to ruffle his hair, stretching over the twins with effort. "I'll bet that set card is just the perfect thing for it though. A word to the wise, don't underestimate Yusei. In fact, don't make any estimations because he'll just blow them out of the water." We share a smile. The boy is smart, picking up on the duelist's technique with little effort.
"My turn. I draw. Due to Synchro Back's effect, I resurrect Black Rose Dragon!" His dueling had made Aki uneasy, forcing her to change her strategy. She'd clearly intended to make us of her dragon's 3400 attack before, but now it reappears with its original attack of 2400. She fastens a hand around her forearm anew.
"I know you're not enjoying this," Yusei tries again, eyeing the conflicted girl he faces.
"Shut up!"
"You're in pain, aren't you? The time has come for you to change. The joy of destruction has been tormenting you. And that pain..." He shifts his stance, widening his feet. "That pain is changing to something we both share because we have the same mark. The mark has guided us. This pain is trying to tell us something. In order to know the answer, you have to make your own decisions. This mark holds the answer! Don't let others think for you. You have to think for yourself!"
"What will a witch like me think about? As long as Divine guides and loves me, that's enough!"
"You're wrong! You have to love yourself!"
"If I could do that... If I could... I'm in pain because I can't!" The metal bar she always wears in her fringe darts away, falling from the duel field. "Black Rose Dragon's monster effect activates! Black Rose Gale! All cards on the field are destroyed!"
The intense turbulence resurfaces, this time taking out the rest of the guard rail. Glass shatters, the fractures from before making it unsteady. It's hard to watch, if only from the impetus of the gust. Not one of us could see the stage.
"I'll keep taking it! Send out all your sadness! Victim Sanctuary!" The black reptilian doesn't go willingly, whipping Stardust across its back with its vines. But Stardust won't release it, using its effect to destroy them both. It's the end phase now, meaning Prevent Star will disappear.
"The pain is fading... Now Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis is free of Prevent Star's curse! Your field is wide open. If I successfully attack you directly, I win! Everything must vanish. Don't make me think. You're a detestable foe!"
"Then why are you crying?" A beat passes before Yusei makes his move, stunning the girl. "The trap card Cosmic Blast! When a dragon-type synchro monster leaves my field, it deals damage equal to that monster's attack points."
Stardust returns to the field for a split second, dealing Aki 2500 points of damage. The relief that floods my chest wars against the door that consumes my mind. Aki was clearly dealing with some issues, breaking into tears on the stage.
"Serves you right, witch!"
"Go home to your witch's nest!"
The cruelty of mankind never changes, it seems.
"Get out of here, scum!"
"You're garbage and you'll always be garbage."
"You're just scrap iron and we are steel. You're trash!"
"Aki! You did amazing!" I know I won't change their minds, but one cheer in a million shouts has to be worth something. No one had even given her a chance. "You're a great duelist! But you'll never beat Yusei!" I suppose she doesn't hear me, only following along as the tall man from the hall covers her in his coat and leads her away.
"There's a winner! Yusei Fudo!"
A/N: I never want to type "Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis" again. Also with how many times I had to type "a witch" I would like to take this moment to shout out one of my fave Japanese rappers, Awich. She's great she's a rapper from Okinawa and y'all should definitely listen to some of her songs! My fave bangers have got to be Shook Shook, WHORU, and Brainwashing. Give her some love!
