Hello, everyone. ThunderReborn from 2025. This chapter has originally been edited by TM11 when this chapter was originally released. On April 1st, 2020, this chapter was edited again by Darklord331. Finally, in April 2025, this chapter was edited again by my current beta reader, Waroyer123. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story.
The following is a fan-based parody.
Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, TV Tokyo, Viz Media, Studio Pierrot... and other people.
Yugioh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, Konami… 4Kids?... and other people.
All other references of characters or abilities are not mine.
Please support the official release.
"Hello." -Normal talking
"Hello." –Ichigo's thoughts.
"Hello." – Zanpakutō speaking
"Hello." – Zanpakutō thoughts.
Kon'nichiwa [Translation of Hello]
Chapter 15:
Ichigo woke up the next day with someone lying on his chest. He looked down to see two golden-colored ears. Ichigo cracked a small smile.
"Good morning, Ichigo," Yasaka said.
"Good morning, Yasaka," Ichigo replied. "So, when did I return here?" Ichigo asked.
"A few hours ago," Yasaka answered.
"I see. What time is it?" Ichigo asked.
"It is 7 in the morning," Yasaka replied.
"I see… Thank you," Ichigo said. He leaned over, gave Yasaka a quick kiss, and got out of bed. He then began his workout and continued to practice his elemental manipulation. With Shirayuki's help, Ichigo learned how to turn the surrounding water vapor into water, turn the water into ice, and back. During another attempt at manipulating lava, Ichigo discovered that he could also manipulate metal. Seeing this, Ichigo spent the rest of his workout time practicing this metal bending. After a quick shower, Ichigo joined Yasaka and Kunou for breakfast.
"Papa!" Kunou screamed in joy when she saw her papa at the dinner table. Kunou chose to sit on Ichigo's lap for the entire breakfast, and Ichigo was forced to feed her. During breakfast, Yasaka asked Ichigo about what was going on in Domino City. Ichigo summarized what had happened since he stayed in Domino City while he fed Kunou.
"Ichigo, how come you didn't take the Millennium Puzzle yet?" Yasaka asked.
"I didn't because of the memories I got from Shadi and Ishizu," Ichigo said.
"Please explain," Yasaka said.
"According to Shadi and Ishizu, Yugi and Yami are linked by fate or destiny and both are needed to defeat this Egyptian-related danger," Ichigo explained.
"Papa, are you in the Battle City Tournament?" Kunou asked.
"I am," Ichigo said.
"Is Yugi cheating?" Kunou asked.
"Cheating?" Ichigo asked.
"Since Yugi and Yami are working together all the time, wouldn't that mean they are cheating since the game is supposed to be one vs. one unless otherwise?" Kunou asked.
"Well… I wouldn't consider Yugi to be cheating," Ichigo said.
"Why?" Kunou asked.
"From what I can see, Yugi allows Yami free reign of the body during duels and locks himself in his mind until the duel is over, while Yami allows Yugi free reign of the body until a duel starts," Ichigo explained.
"Okay, Papa," Kunou said and drank her milk. Once breakfast was over, Ichigo had to leave. Kunou tried to stop him from leaving, but Yasaka grabbed her and held her back. Ichigo opened a Garganta and jumped in.
Scene Change: Seto's Mansion
Ichigo was teleported back to his room in Seto's mansion. He walked downstairs to see everyone eating breakfast.
"Hello," Ichigo said.
"Hi, Ichi-nii!" the girls said. Yhwach, who was still possessing Ichigo's body, gave control back to Ichigo and returned to Ichigo's mindscape.
"What duels was I involved in?" Ichigo asked. Seto played a recording of the three duels that Yhwach had participated in. All the duels appeared to be against random duelists with nothing particularly special about them. After that, Ichigo left the mansion to find the last locator card he needed.
Scene Change: Domino City
Ichigo was running around Domino City, trying to find a duelist still in the tournament who didn't have all six locator cards. He found a cluster of duelists.
"Hey, are any of you still in the tournament?" Ichigo asked.
"Sorry, man. We all lost to Franceska," a nameless duelist said.
"Who?" Ichigo asked.
"A beautiful foreign duelist," another nameless duelist said.
"Can any of you point me to where she is?" Ichigo asked. The cluster of duelists pointed toward another part of the park.
"Thanks," Ichigo said and ran off. He followed the path to find a clearing. There, he saw someone he assumed was Franceska. She had dark skin, green eyes, and long, thick, wavy brown hair. She wore a white long-sleeved, low-cut shirt with a black leather jacket zipped halfway. The jacket emphasized her large breasts. She also wore form-fitting trousers and dark knee-length boots.
"Anyone else who dares to challenge me!" the girl yelled out.
"I do," Ichigo said as he walked up.
"Ooo. You seem fun," Franceska said.
{Franceska 4000 / Ichigo 4000}
"Ladies first," Ichigo said.
"Oh, another gentleman. Let's see how this one goes," Franceska said. "I activate my Amazoness Fighting Spirit," Franceska said. "I then activate my field spell, Amazoness Village," she continued. "All Amazoness monsters gain 200 attack points, and when one of my Amazoness monsters is destroyed, I can special summon one Amazoness from my deck with the same level or lower," Franceska explained. "I set one monster and two face-down cards. I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate my Melody of Awakening Dragons," Ichigo said. "By discarding one card, I can add two Dragon monsters with 3000 or more attack points and 2500 or fewer defense points from my deck to my hand," Ichigo said as he discarded his Beacon of White to add Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon to his hand. "By revealing one Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand, I can special summon one Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon," Ichigo said. "Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon, attack Franceska's facedown monster!" Ichigo ordered. The dragon fired a blast of white energy at Franceska's facedown card, revealing Warrior Lady of the Wasteland.
"When my Warrior Lady of the Wasteland is destroyed, I can special summon one Earth Warrior monster with 1500 attack points or less in attack mode," Franceska explained. "Come, Amazoness Swords Woman!" Franceska said as a new monster took the stage.
"I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I activate my Equip Spell, Amazoness Heirloom, and equip it to my Amazoness Swords Woman," Franceska said. "Once per turn, the equipped monster cannot be destroyed by battle. Also, when the equipped monster attacks, after battle calculations, destroy the attacking monster," Franceska explained. "I then summon out my Amazoness Paladin," Franceska said. "She gains 100 attack points for each Amazoness I control," Franceska continued. "Amazoness Swords Woman, attack that boy's pet dragon!" Franceska ordered. The Amazoness Swords Woman slashed at Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon. Instead of Franceska taking damage, Ichigo took damage, and his Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon glowed green before exploding.
{Franceska 4000 / Ichigo 3700}
"What happened?" Ichigo asked.
"Let me explain," Franceska said. "My Amazoness Swords Woman has an effect where any battle damage I would have taken involving my Amazoness Swords Woman is instead taken from my opponent," Franceska explained.
"Damn," Ichigo said.
"Now then, Amazoness Paladin, attack directly!" Franceska ordered. Amazoness Paladin charged at Ichigo and swung her sword at him. Ichigo blocked the attack with his duel disk.
{Franceska 4000 / Ichigo 1700}
"Draw," Ichigo said. "I activate my Return of the Dragon Lords. This card allows me to Special Summon one level seven or eight Dragon monster from the graveyard. Come back, Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon!" Ichigo said. "I now use its effect; it can destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field," Ichigo explained. "I choose your Amazoness Swords Woman!" Ichigo ordered. Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon swiped its claws at Amazoness Swords Woman and destroyed her.
"When my Amazoness Swords Woman is destroyed, it triggers my Amazoness Village and allows me to special summon another Amazoness Swords Woman!" Franceska said.
"Well, I activate my Polymerization. Go, my Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon, fuse with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to bring out Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!" Ichigo said. "My Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon can make two attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase," Ichigo said. "Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, attack Franceska's Amazoness Paladin!" Ichigo ordered. The first head of Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon fired a beam of white light at Amazoness Paladin and destroyed her.
{Franceska 3000 / Ichigo 1700}
"Now then, Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, attack Franceska's Amazoness Swords Woman!" Ichigo said. The second head of Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon fired a beam of white light at Amazoness Swords Woman, destroying her, and Ichigo took the damage.
{Franceska 3000 / Ichigo 400}
"I set one monster and end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon!" Ichigo said. "I destroy your field spell!" Ichigo ordered. A large typhoon blew over and destroyed Franceska's Amazoness Village. "I then activate my Return of the Dragon Lords!" Ichigo said.
"NO!" Franceska screamed.
"Yes! Come back, Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon!" Ichigo said. As Ichigo's Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon appeared on the field, he ordered, "Blue-Eyes Alternative Dragon, attack Franceska's facedown monster!" The dragon fired a blast of white energy at Franceska's facedown card, revealing Amazoness Trainee. "Now then, my Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon, attack Franceska's life points directly with TWIN EVOLUTION BURST!" Ichigo yelled. Both heads of Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon fired beams of white light toward Franceska. The two beams merged into a single, larger beam and hit Franceska directly, taking all of her remaining life points.
{Franceska 0 / Ichigo 400}
"Man that was tough," Ichigo said. Franceska let out a good laugh.
"That was a great duel!" Franceska yelled out.
"Thank you," Ichigo said as Franceska handed him the locator card.
"Ichigo, pick your prize from any of these cards," Franceska said as she handed him a deck box. Ichigo opened it to find over 10 rare cards.
"How did you get all of these?" Ichigo asked.
"After I got my six, I wanted to duel more people. Many duelists came and challenged me. Over time, I built a small collection," Franceska admitted.
"I see," Ichigo said.
"Ichigo, how many more locator cards do you need?" Franceska asked.
"This is the last one. Why?" Ichigo said.
"Because that was the most fun I've had against any other duelist since a few tournaments ago," Franceska said. Franceska mumbled something about orange meaning fun and fairies. Ichigo decided to walk away when suddenly he heard:
"K-Kurosaki-kun?" someone said behind Ichigo.
"No. Only one person I know says my name like that," Ichigo thought as he turned around to see Orihime Inoue standing there. Most importantly, she had a Kaiba Corp Duel Disk on her arm.
"Orihime. How are you here?" Ichigo asked.
"I'm a duelist, can't you see?" Orihime replied, then noticed the duel disk on Ichigo's arm. "Kurosaki-kun, you are also a duelist?" she asked.
"I just started, honestly," Ichigo said.
"Really?" Franceska asked, amazed at Ichigo's skill. Orihime turned to see Franceska. Orihime immediately glared at Franceska. "Amazon," Orihime said.
"Fairy Queen," Franceska glared back. Ichigo took a few steps backward. Sparks seemed to fly between these two. Ichigo turned and was about to run when someone grabbed his collar. Ichigo turned his head to see it was Orihime who had grabbed his collar.
"I just found you, Ichigo, and I am not letting you out of my sight!" Orihime said.
"Shit!" Ichigo thought.
"Now then… how many locator cards do you have?" Orihime asked.
"I just managed to get my sixth one," Ichigo said.
"Really?" Orihime said.
"I did," Ichigo replied.
"Cool, me too," Orihime said as she showed Ichigo her six locator cards. "Hey, Kurosaki-kun, let's duel," she said.
"Why? We both have the needed six locator cards," Ichigo said.
"Because if you don't duel me, I will tell everyone you're here," Orihime threatened.
"What!" Ichigo yelled.
"Yes. If you win, I won't tell anyone. However, if I win, after this tournament, you come back with me to Karakura Town," Orihime said.
"Shit. What should I do? Duel her or run for it?" Ichigo asked.
"The best option would be to duel her. At least you have a chance to keep your current location from being leaked," Kyōka said.
"Okay," Ichigo said.
"Fine. I'll duel you," Ichigo said, inserting his Red-Eyes deck. Franceska decided to step to the sidelines and watch the duel between her rival and Ichigo.
"Duel!" the two said.
{Orihime 4000 / Ichigo 4000}
"I'll start. Draw," Orihime said. "I set one monster face down, set three cards, and end my turn," Orihime said.
"My turn, draw. I activate my Red-Eyes Insight. I send my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck to the graveyard to add my Red-Eyes Fusion to my hand," Ichigo said. "Then I activate my Red-Eyes Fusion. I send my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon and my Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact from the deck to the graveyard to Fusion Summon my Meteor Black Comet Dragon!" Ichigo said. "I then use its effect to send my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to the graveyard and inflict 1400 damage to your life points," Ichigo said.
{Orihime 2600 / Ichigo 4000}
"Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack Orihime's face-down card," Ichigo said.
"I activate my trap, Draining Shield. This card allows me to negate your attack and gain life points equal to the monster's attack points," Orihime explained.
{Orihime 6100 / Ichigo 4000}
"Damn. I guess I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I set one more monster face down and set another monster. I end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. I summon my Black Stone of Legend and use its effect to Special Summon one Red-Eyes monster from the deck to the field. Come forth, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Ichigo said. "I then use my Spell card, Allure of Darkness. This card allows me to draw two cards, but I need to remove one dark monster," Ichigo explained. "I remove my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon," Ichigo said. "Now I activate another Red-Eyes Insight and send a different Red-Eyes Retro Dragon to add Red-Eyes Spirit to my hand. Now, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Orihime's second face-down card," Ichigo ordered. Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired a black fireball at Orihime's second face-down card, revealing it to be Nova Summoner.
"I activate my Summoner's effect. This card allows me to Special Summon one LIGHT Fairy-Type monster with 1500 ATK from my deck. The Fairy I'm calling out is Shun Shun Rikka Shun'ō! (2)" Orihime said as the new fairy appeared.
"Wait. You've built a deck based on your powers," Ichigo said in shock.
"Yep. I won a tournament two years ago. The prize was a custom deck made by Pegasus," Orihime explained.
"Which is also why I call her Fairy Queen," Franceska added.
"Anyway, I also get to add a Shun Shun Rikka Ayame (3) to my hand."
"I see… Anyway, Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack Shun Shun Rikka Shun'ō!" Ichigo declared.
"Once again, you fell into my trap—another Draining Shield!" Orihime said.
{Orihime 9600 / Ichigo 4000}
"Wow… I set one card down and end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I discard Zeradias, Herald of Heaven to add a Sanctuary in the Sky to my hand. I now activate my field spell. This field spell negates all damage I receive in a battle involving a Fairy-Type monster," Orihime explained. "I flip my face-down monster. Show yourself, Shun Shun Rikka Ayame!" Orihime said as another fairy appeared. "By sending you two to the graveyard, I can Special Summon my Sōten Kisshun! (4)" Orihime explained. "Sōten Kisshun, attack Ichigo's Red-Eyes Black Dragon," Orihime declared.
{Orihime 9600 / Ichigo 3900}
"At my End Phase, I activate Sōten Kisshun's effect. By removing my two Draining Shields, my Nova Summoner, and my Zeradias, I gain 1200 life points," Orihime said.
{Orihime 10800 / Ichigo 3900}
"That is a lot of life points," Ichigo said as he drew his next card. "I activate my Trap Card, Red-Eyes Spirit. This card allows me to Special Summon one Red-Eyes monster from my graveyard," Ichigo explained. "Come back, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Ichigo said. "Now then, I use my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect. This card allows me to Special Summon one Dragon-type monster from my graveyard. Come forth, Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon!" Ichigo said as another dragon appeared. "I now Normal Summon you again. This allows my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to gain its effect. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Orihime's Sōten Kisshun," Ichigo ordered as his dragon destroyed her fairy fusion.
"Thanks to my field spell, I don't take any damage," Orihime said.
"But you still take damage from this!" Ichigo yelled. "Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon and Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack Orihime's life points directly!" Ichigo said.
{Orihime 4900 / Ichigo 3900}
"In my Main Phase 2, my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon's effect activates," Ichigo said. "When my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon inflicts damage to my opponent, that opponent also takes an additional 2400 points of damage!" Ichigo yelled as his Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon shot a fireball at Orihime.
{Orihime 2500 / Ichigo 3900}
"I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I set one card and end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. I use my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to bring forth another Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon and Normal Summon him again," Ichigo said. "Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Orihime's face-down card."
"The monster your dragon attacked was my Marshmallon!" Orihime said. "You take 1000 points of damage, and this card can't be destroyed by battle," Orihime said.
{Orihime 2500 / Ichigo 2900}
"I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw and end," Orihime said.
"Draw. I activate my Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your field spell," Ichigo said as a gust of wind destroyed Orihime's Sanctuary in the Sky. "I then use my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to bring forth Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact. I now summon him again, and he gains his special effect, which prevents other Red-Eyes monsters from being destroyed by battle or card effects. With that, I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw," Orihime said. "I end my turn," Orihime sighed.
"Draw. I also end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I set a monster face-down and end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, attack her set," Ichigo said. The set card revealed another Nova Summoner.
"Thank you, Ichigo. With Nova Summoner destroyed, I can Special Summon a Shun Shun Rikka Hinagiku (5) in defense mode. When Shun Shun Rikka Hinagiku is Special Summoned, I can add a Shun Shun Rikka Lily to my hand," Orihime said.
"That doesn't help you that much. Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, destroy her Shun Shun Hinagiku," Ichigo ordered. "I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I sacrifice my Marshmallon to summon my Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki! (6)" Orihime said. "Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, attack Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact," Orihime ordered. "I end my turn."
"Draw. I use my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon's effect to bring forth Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact again. Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, attack Tsubaki!" Ichigo ordered.
"During damage calculation, I use Tsubaki's effect. I return to my deck as many cards I have removed. Tsubaki gains 500 for each card returned. I choose four cards, meaning Tsubaki gains 2000 ATK points. Tsubaki's ATK points rise to 4000, blocking the attack and hitting back."
{Orihime 2500 / Ichigo 1600}
"Good thing I brought Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact back since his effect prevents my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon from being destroyed. With that, I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I activate Magical Mallet. I return cards from my hand to the deck, shuffle, and draw that same amount to my hand," Orihime explained as she sent one card back to the deck, shuffled, and drew a card. "I summon my Shun Shun Rikka Lily (7), which allows me to add my Shun Shun Rikka Baigon (8) to my hand. I send my Shun Shun Rikka Baigon, Shun Shun Rikka Lily, and Shun Shun Rikka Hinagiku to the graveyard to Fusion Summon Santen Kesshun (9) in defense mode!" Orihime said. The three fairies flew and formed their signature orange triangle. "I use one of Santen Kesshun's effects. I can pay 1000 life points to Special Summon one FAIRY-Type Fusion monster from the graveyard."
{Orihime 1500 / Ichigo 1600}
"Come back, Sōten Kisshun!" Orihime yelled as Sōten Kisshun appeared on the field again. "Tsubaki, attack Ichigo's Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact!" Orihime ordered. "At my End Phase, I remove one of my Shun Shun Rikka Ayame, Nova Summoner, Marshmallon, Magical Mallet, and my Sanctuary in the Sky to gain 1500 life points, and I ended my turn," Orihime said.
{Orihime 3000 / Ichigo 1600}
"Draw. Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack Tsubaki!" Ichigo declared.
"Did you forget Tsubaki's effect?" Orihime questioned. "I use Tsubaki's effect and return 5 cards to the deck for him to gain 2500 ATK points," Orihime said as Tsubaki's ATK points rose to 4500.
"I didn't forget. Rather, I wanted it to happen. I activate my Quick Spell, Battle Fusion!" Ichigo said. "When an attack is going on involving my Fusion Monster and my opponent's monster, my Fusion Monster gains the ATK of my opponent's monster," Ichigo explained.
"What!" Orihime said as Meteor Black Comet Dragon's attack rose to 8000 ATK.
"I'm not done yet. I activate the effect of Vengeance! (10)" Ichigo said as he revealed a black angel-like monster card from his hand. "During either player's Damage Step, when a DARK monster I control battles, I can send this card from my hand to the Graveyard; that monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the opponent's monster it is battling, until the end of this turn," Ichigo said.
"What!" Orihime gasped as Meteor Black Comet Dragon's ATK rose further to 12500.
"Meteor Black Comet Dragon, finish this game with BLACK VENGEFUL METEOR IMPACT!" Ichigo yelled as Meteor Black Comet Dragon jumped and slammed into Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, wiping out the last of her life points.
{Orihime 0000 / Ichigo 1600}
"Good game, Orihime. Remember your promise of not telling anyone I'm here," Ichigo said and quickly ran away far enough so Orihime couldn't see him. Ichigo then received a phone call from Seto.
"Hello?" Ichigo asked.
"Congratulations on winning against both Orihime and Franceska, the second and third strongest female duelists," Seto said.
"Thanks," Ichigo said. "Now what do you want?"
"I need you to meet me at the incomplete stadium in Domino City," Seto said.
"Okay," Ichigo replied and hung up. Ichigo then started running toward the incomplete stadium.
Scene Change: Incomplete Stadium
Eventually, they all arrived at the incomplete stadium. "Welcome to the semi-final portion of Battle City!" Seto yelled from the stage. "All 16 of you will be randomized and will duel one opponent. This is still single elimination, and the Anti-Rule is no longer active." Seto clarified. "Now then, let the duels begin!" Seto shouted as he stepped down from the stage. One of Seto's employees walked up on stage. Ichigo recognized this person; he was Roland, Seto's right-hand man and business advisor.
"Hello. My name is Roland. For the remainder of the Battle City Tournament, I will be the referee. The semi-final is single elimination matches that will be arranged by this machine," Roland said. Another one of Seto's employees, whom Ichigo guessed was named Fuguta, pushed what appeared to be an oversized bingo cage. "Everyone here has an assigned number," Roland continued, as a screen above him displayed the numbers.
{1. Marik 2. Yugi 3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 5. Eucliwood 6. Namu 7. Joey 8. Karin 9. Mai 10. Franceska 11. Seto 12. Rafael 13. Yuzu 14. Orihime 15. Bakura 16. Ishizu}
"Now then, we will begin the drawing for the first duel," Roland said. The machine began to spin the balls inside. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 2 and number 15," Roland announced. "Yugi Moto and Bakura Ryou, come to the stage area," Roland instructed. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Yugi Moto and Bakura Ryou shall begin!" Roland declared.
{LIKE CANON} The duel was intense. Bakura, who possessed the Millennium Ring, seemed to have a spirit inhabiting the ring. Yugi was forced to summon Osiris the Heavenly Dragon to defeat Bakura. At the end of the duel, Bakura fell unconscious, and the Millennium Ring disappeared. Seto called for an ambulance for him.
"Now then, we will begin the drawing for the second duel," Roland said as a screen above him displayed the numbers again.
{1. Marik 3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 5. Eucliwood 6. Namu 7. Joey 8. Karin 9. Mai 10. Franceska 11. Seto 12. Rafael 13. Yuzu 14. Orihime 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls again. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 8 and number 12," Roland said. "Kurosaki Karin and Rafael Custode (11), come to the stage area," Roland instructed. Karin was wearing a red shirt, black jacket, and black jeans. Rafael Custode had blonde hair styled to point upwards behind his head and two locks in front of his ears, turned ninety degrees and pointing forward. He wore a large, open full-body coat with padded shoulders, belted sleeves, and fingerless gloves with studded knuckles. "The duel between Karin Kurosaki and Rafael Custode shall begin!" Roland announced.
{Karin 4000 / Rafael 4000}
"I'll go first. I activate Gladiator Proving Ground. This allows me to add one Gladiator Beast from my deck to my hand," Karin explained. "I'll add Gladiator Beast Laquari to my hand. I then activate another Gladiator Proving Ground and add another Gladiator Beast Laquari to my hand. I summon one of my Gladiator Beast Laquari and set one card face down. I end my turn," Karin said.
"Draw. I activate Graceful Charity. This card allows me to draw three cards and discard two of them," Rafael said. He drew three cards and discarded 'The Warrior Returning Alive' and 'Field-Commander Rahz'. "I then activate my spell card, Reinforcement of the Army. This card is similar to your Gladiator Proving Ground, allowing me to add a Warrior-Type monster to my hand. I choose Gearfried the Iron Knight," Rafael said as he searched his deck. "I then summon my knight and activate my spell card Release Restraint. By sacrificing Gearfried the Iron Knight, I can special summon one Gearfried the Swordmaster from my hand or deck," Rafael said as Gearfried's black armor began to crack and then explode to reveal a human warrior. "I then activate the equip spell, Fusion Sword Murasame Blade. This gives my warrior an additional 800 ATK and prevents him from being destroyed by card effects. Also, Gearfried's effect activates. When an Equip Card is equipped to this card, I can destroy one monster on your side of the field," Rafael said as Gearfried swung his sword and sent an airwave at Gladiator Beast Laquari, destroying him. "Now Gearfried, attack her life points directly!" Rafael ordered.
"Not so fast!" Karin yelled. "I activate Waboku, which prevents me from losing any life points for the rest of this turn," Karin said. Three mages appeared on Karin's side of the field and began to chant. A magenta barrier appeared and stopped Gearfried's attack.
"I end my turn," Rafael said. The three mages disappeared from Karin's side of the field.
"Draw. I summon my other Gladiator Beast Laquari to the field and set one card down. Your move," Karin said.
"Draw. I summon my Armed Samurai Ben Kei in attack mode, then equip him with Axe of Despair," Rafael said as a warrior covered in weapons appeared. In his hands, he held an axe made of a combination of wood and flesh. "Then I equip my Gearfried with Big Bang Shot, giving Gearfried another 400 ATK points and allowing him to use his effect again!" Rafael said. Just like the last turn, Gearfried swung his sword and sent an airwave at Gladiator Beast Laquari, destroying him. "Gearfried and Ben Kei, attack her directly!" Rafael ordered.
"Not so fast. I activate my trap card, Storming Mirror Force. This card returns all attack position monsters to their hand," Karin said. A green barrier appeared around Karin. The two warriors' attacks hit the barrier, and the recoil forced them back into Rafael's hand.
"I end my turn," Rafael grumbled.
"Draw. I summon Gladiator Beast Equeste and attack you directly," Karin said as her centaur attacked Rafael.
{Karin 4000 / Rafael 2400}
"During my Main Phase 2, Gladiator Beast Equeste goes back to the deck, and I special summon an old friend, another Gladiator Beast Laquari!" Karin said as Gladiator Beast Laquari appeared on the field for the third time. "Since he was special summoned by a Gladiator Beast's effect, his original attack is now 2100. With that, I end my turn," Karin said.
"Draw… I set one monster down and end my turn," Rafael said.
"Draw. Gladiator Beast Laquari, attack 'Rafael's facedown card." Gladiator Beast Laquari charged forth and destroyed 'Rafael's set card, which was Ben Kei from the last turn. "I end my turn," Karin said.
"Draw," 'Rafael' said. The card he drew wasn't a monster. "I end my turn," he repeated.
"Draw. Gladiator Beast Laquari attacks you directly."
{Karin 4000 / 'Rafael' 0300}
"Draw," 'Rafael' said. Once again, the card he drew wasn't a monster. "I end my turn," he said, sighing as he accepted his loss.
"Draw. Gladiator Beast Laquari, finish this duel!" Karin declared.
{Karin 4000 / 'Rafael' 0000}
"With that, this concludes the second duel. Now comes the third duel," Roland announced as a screen above him displayed the numbers again.
{1. 'Marik' 3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 5. Eucliwood 6. 'Namu' 7. Joey 9. Mai 10. Franceska 11. Seto 13. Yuzu 14. Orihime 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls inside once more. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 7 and number 1," Roland said. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Wheeler Joseph and Ishtar 'Marik' shall begin!" Roland announced.
{LIKE CANON} This duel was weird. 'Marik' attempted to summon Ra the Winged Sun Dragon. Instead of appearing, lightning struck both Joey and 'Marik'. Both fell unconscious. Somehow, Joey regained consciousness and managed to win the duel due to a technicality. 'Namu,' their new friend Yugi found, began to scream in pain. It was revealed that 'Namu' was the real Marik and 'Marik' was his servant, Odion. Once again, Seto had to call another ambulance for the unconscious duelist.
"God… Do I need to have a doctor standing by in the blimp?" Seto thought. He decided to arrange for one, considering two people were already unconscious.
"With that, this concludes the third duel. Now comes the next duel," Roland said as a screen above him displayed the numbers again.
{3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 5. Eucliwood 6. 'Namu'/Marik 9. Mai 10. Franceska 11. Seto 13. Yuzu 14. Orihime 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls inside once more. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 6 and number 9," Roland said. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Mai Valentine and Marik shall begin!" Roland announced.
{LIKE CANON} In this duel, the real Marik summoned the Shadow Magic that the Millennium Item allows to be harnessed and sent Mai and himself to duel in the Shadow Realm. Ichigo used various Kido to see into the Shadow Realm. In the end, Mai lost and fell unconscious. Ichigo saw that Marik had trapped Mai in her mind. Marik flooded Mai's mind with so much Shadow Magic that even Ichigo doubted he could do anything about it. Seto sighed as the ambulance picked her up and sent her to the hospital.
"With that, this concludes the fourth duel. We will now take a minute break," Roland announced. Some employees came and offered small snacks to the other duelists. Joey noticed 'Rafael' walking away from the group. Joey decided to ask 'Rafael' about where he got those Gearfried cards. He followed 'Rafael'. While Joey was following him, 'Rafael' was on the phone.
"Your Majesty, Royd reporting in," 'Rafael' said. "I managed to locate former Special War Powers Kurosaki," he reported. "I was not able to determine if he still has his powers," he added. "As you wish, Your Majesty," 'Rafael' said. He then began to glow. Joey covered his eyes and saw a tall, slender individual whose head was completely bald and featured a third eye seemingly tattooed at the center of his forehead. Each of his ears was encased by a circular, headphone-like covering, further surrounded by a dark-colored trim. 'Rafael' threw the deck in the nearest trash can and turned the corner. Joey ran to see that no one was there. He quickly went to the trash can, retrieved the deck, and began to integrate it with his old deck.
"All duelists and guests, please return to the staging area," Roland said over the intercom. Joey quickly returned to the duel stage.
"Where were you, Joey?" Yugi asked.
"Had to use the restroom," Joey lied.
"Okay," Yugi accepted.
"Now comes the next duel," Roland announced as a screen above him displayed the numbers again.
{3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 5. Eucliwood 10. Franceska 11. Seto 13. Yuzu 14. Orihime 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls inside once more. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 5 and number 14," Roland said. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Hellscythe Eucliwood and Orihime Inoue shall begin!" Roland announced.
{Eucliwood 4000 / Orihime 4000}
"I'll start by activating One Day of Peace," Orihime said. "This card allows both players to draw one card; however, no damage can be inflicted until my turn again," she explained. "I then use Upstart Goblin. You gain 1000 life points and, in exchange, I get to draw an additional card." Orihime said.
{Eucliwood 5000 / Orihime 4000}
"Then I activate Cup of Ace," Orihime continued. A coin appeared on the field. The coin flipped and landed on Heads. "I get to draw two more cards," Orihime said as she drew two more cards. "I then use another Upstart Goblin to draw another card," Orihime added.
{Eucliwood 6000 / Orihime 4000}
"I then activate Magical Mallet, which allows me to shuffle any cards in my hand back into the deck and draw the same number," Orihime said as she sent two cards back to the deck and drew two more. "I activate another Cup of Ace," Orihime said as the coin appeared again on the field. The coin flipped and landed on Heads. "I get to draw two more cards," Orihime said as she drew two more cards. "I activate my last Cup of Ace," Orihime said as the coin appeared again on the field. The coin flipped and landed on Heads. "I get to draw two more cards," Orihime said as she drew two more cards. "I send my Shun Rikka Hinagiku, Shun Shun Shun Rikka Baigon, and Shun Shun Rikka Lily to the graveyard to special summon Santen Kesshun!" Orihime said as three fairy monsters flew around and then formed a giant orange triangular shield. "Next, I send my Shun Shun Rikka Ayame and Shun Shun Shun Rikka Shun'ō to the graveyard to special summon Sōten Kisshun!" Orihime said. Two more fairies flew around and then formed an oval-shaped shield over Orihime. "Now I activate my field spell, Sanctuary in the Sky," Orihime said. The entire field changed to a Greek temple. "Sanctuary in the Sky prevents all damage you deal to my Fairy-Type monsters," Orihime explained. "Lastly, by paying one thousand of my life points, if Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki is the only card in my hand, I can special summon him," Orihime said.
{Eu 6000 / Orihime 3000}
The last fairy appeared, decked out in his ninja costume. "In my End Phase, I activate my Sōten Kisshun's effect. By removing my 3 'Cup of Ace,' 2 'Upstart Goblin,' my 'One Day of Peace,' and my 'Magical Mallet,' I gain 300 life points for each one," Orihime said with a small smirk.
{Eu 6000 / Orihime 5100}
"Draw," Eu said. "I activate my Spell Card, Dark Hole," Eu continued. "It destroys all monsters on both sides of the field," Eu said.
"I activate my Santen Kesshun's effect. By sending three cards from the top of my deck to the Graveyard, I can negate the destruction of each of my cards," Orihime said as she sent the top three cards to the Graveyard. Santen Kesshun grew and covered Orihime's two monsters with the orange barrier, successfully blocking the force of Eu's Dark Hole.
"I activate Foolish Burial. This card allows me to send one card from my deck to the Graveyard," Eu explained. "The card I'm sending is my Shaddoll Falco. This activates Shaddoll Falco's effect, allowing it to be Special Summoned from the Graveyard in face-down defense position," Eu said as her Shaddoll Falco was summoned face-down. "Then I summon another Shaddoll Falco in attack mode," Eu added. "Now I equip my face-up Shaddoll Falco with Nephe Shaddoll Fusion. This card lets me select the attribute of my equipped Shaddoll monster," Eu explained. "I choose LIGHT," Eu said. "Now I use the other effect of Nephe Shaddoll Fusion, which allows me to Fusion Summon!" Eu declared. "I fuse my face-down Shaddoll Falco with my LIGHT attribute Shaddoll Falco to Fusion Summon El Shaddoll Construct!" Eu said as her El Shaddoll Construct appeared on the field. "El Shaddoll Construct, attack Orihime's Sōten Kisshun!" Eu ordered.
"Not so fast. I use Santen Kesshun's effect to negate Sōten Kisshun's destruction. I also use Sanctuary in the Sky to prevent any damage I would have normally taken," Orihime countered.
"I end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw," Orihime said. "I activate another Upstart Goblin," Orihime said.
{Eu 7000 / Orihime 5100}
"Now then… I use my Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki to attack your El Shaddoll Construct," Orihime declared as her ninja charged for an attack. "I then use Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki's effect. I can return any number of cards that are removed back to the deck, and Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki gains 500 for each card that was returned to the deck this way," Orihime explained. "The cards I returned are Cup of Ace, 2 Upstart Goblins, my One Day of Peace, and my Magical Mallet, which means Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki's attack is now 6000," Orihime said.
"You triggered my El Shaddoll Construct's effect. Whenever it battles a monster that was Special Summoned, it is automatically destroyed," Eu said as El Shaddoll Construct shot strings at Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki.
"I interrupt your effect by using Santen Kesshun's effect," Orihime countered. The shield flew in front of Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki and blocked the effect. "During my End Phase, Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki returns to his original ATK points. I also use Sōten Kisshun's effect and remove my Nova Summoner, which I just discarded, to gain 300 more life points," Orihime said.
{Eu 7000 / Orihime 5400}
"Draw. Set one monster face-down and end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw. Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, attack her set monster," Orihime ordered as Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki flew and pierced Eu's facedown card, revealing Mathematician.
"By destroying Mathematician, I can draw one card from my deck," Eu said.
"I end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. I set two cards face-down and end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw," Orihime said. "I activate One Day of Peace," Orihime said as both players drew a card. "I activate another One Day of Peace," Orihime said as both players drew another card. "I activate another One Day of Peace," Orihime said as both players drew another card. "I set one card face-down, and during the End Phase, I use Sōten Kisshun's effect and remove my three copies of 'One Day of Peace' to gain 900 more life points," Orihime said.
{Eu 7000 / Orihime 6300}
"Draw. Set one monster face-down and end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw. Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, attack her set monster," Orihime ordered as Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki flew and pierced Eu's facedown card, revealing another Mathematician.
"By destroying Mathematician, I can draw one card from my deck," Eu said.
"I end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. Set one monster face-down and end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw. Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, attack her set monster," Orihime ordered as Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki flew and pierced Eu's facedown card, revealing Shaddoll Hedgehog.
"By destroying my Shaddoll Hedgehog, I can add one Shaddoll Spell or Trap to my hand," Eu said as she added Shaddoll Fusion to her hand.
"I end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw," Eu said with a small smile. "I activate Shaddoll Fusion. I send Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, and Shaddoll Beast to the Graveyard to Fusion Summon another El Shaddoll Construct," Eu said as another El Shaddoll Construct appeared on Eu's field. "I then use El Shaddoll Construct's effect and send my Shaddoll Dragon to the Graveyard. When Shaddoll Dragon is in the Graveyard, it allows me to return one card to your hand!" Eu explained.
"OH NO!" Orihime screamed when she realized what was about to happen.
"OH YES," Eu said. "I target your Santen Kesshun," Eu said as a ghostly purple dragon appeared and roared at Santen Kesshun, causing it to disappear from the field. "Now then, my two El Shaddoll Constructs attack Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki and Sōten Kisshun. With that, I end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw. From my Graveyard, I activate my Shun Shun Rikka Shun'ō's other effect. If this card and Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, Shun Shun Rikka Ayame, Shun Shun Rikka Baigon, Shun Shun Rikka Hinagiku, and Shun Shun Rikka Lily are in the Graveyard and there are no other monsters on my side of the field, I can remove all six cards from play and Special Summon one Fairy Queen of the Six Flowers from my hand, deck, or Graveyard," Orihime explained. "My six fairies…" Six glowing lights appeared. "You have served me well…" The six lights began to blink rhythmically like a heartbeat. "You have fallen…" The six blinking lights began to spin. "But not forgotten…" The six blinking lights began to blink faster. "From your ashes…" At the center of the circle, an energy ball began to form. "A queen shall rise! I summon Fairy Empress of Six Flowers! (12)" Orihime yelled. The energy ball exploded, blinking everyone with white light. A tall figure floated in the space where the light originated. She had brown eyes and long, waist-length, burnt orange hair. Her most noticeable physical trait was her slender yet curvaceous figure. She wore pale orange armor covering most of her body and wielded a large spear. At the top of the spear, below the tip, was a six-petal flower. On her back, she had six pairs of angel wings. (13)
"Did Orihime turn herself into a Duel Monster card?" Ichigo mentally commented.
"Looks like it," Karin said.
"She does look more confident in the card than here," Yuzu added.
"Shit… How am I going to beat this thing?" Eu said.
"By paying 1000 of my life points, I can use one of my Fairy Empress's effects. REJECTION WAVE!" Orihime yelled. The Fairy Empress's six-petal flower spear glowed as she swung the energy wave toward Eu's side of the field, hitting both of her El-Shaddoll Constructs. A black six-petal flower appeared on their chests.
{Eu 7000/ Orihime 5300}
"As long as a monster has a rejection counter, the black six-petal flower, it cannot activate its effects," Orihime explained. "Now, Fairy Empress, attack with REJECTION STRIKE!" Orihime yelled. The Fairy Empress charged toward one of the El-Shaddoll Constructs, the tip glowing orange, and pierced the El-Shaddoll Construct, destroying it.
{Eu 4800/ Orihime 5300}
"With that… I end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw… I remove from play my Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, and Shaddoll Beast to Special Summon my Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning. I use his effect to remove your Fairy Empress of Six Flowers!" Eu said. Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning raised his sword. A wave of energy began to form before he slashed down, opening a portal that attempted to absorb the Fairy Empress of Six Flowers. Suddenly, six lights appeared and struck the portal, forcing it to close.
"What happened?" Eu asked, surprised that her effect didn't work.
"It is because of Fairy Empress of Six Flowers's final ability. As long as Shun Shun Rikka Shun'ō, Shun Shun Rikka Tsubaki, Shun Shun Rikka Ayame, Shun Shun Rikka Baigon, Shun Shun Rikka Hinagiku, and Shun Shun Rikka Lily are removed from play, this card cannot leave the field," Orihime explained.
"Shit… I switch my El-Shaddoll Construct to defense mode and end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw. My Fairy Empress of Six Flowers attacks Eu's Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!" Orihime ordered.
{Eu 2800/ Orihime 6300}
"Draw… I activate my Spell Card, Book of Moon. This card allows me to flip one card face-down in defense position. I choose your Fairy Empress of Six Flowers," Eu declared. The Fairy Empress of Six Flowers flipped face-down. "I then use Raigeki!" Eu yelled. From the sky, a large lightning bolt crashed down and struck Orihime's face-down monster. Everyone watched to see if the card survived or was sent to the graveyard. When the lightning cleared, Orihime's field was wide open.
"How?" Orihime questioned.
"Raigeki destroys all monsters. It doesn't allow Fairy Empress of Six Flowers to be flipped face-up," Eu explained.
"Dammit," Orihime yelled.
"I then use Monster Reborn!" Eu said. "The card I'll bring back is my other El-Shaddoll Construct. My first El-Shaddoll Construct attacks Orihime directly!" Eu declared.
"Not so fast. I activate my Trap Card, 'Draining Shield!'" Orihime yelled. "This card allows me to negate your attack and gain life points equal to the monster's attack points," Orihime explained.
{Eu 2800/ Orihime 9100}
"Still, my second El-Shaddoll Construct attacks Orihime directly!" Eu declared.
{Eu 2800/ Orihime 6300}
"Your turn," Eu said.
"Draw… Set one card down and end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. First El-Shaddoll Construct attacks Orihime's set," Eu ordered. It shot purple strings at the card, revealing a Nova Summoner.
"I use my Nova Summoner to get Marshmallon in defense mode," Orihime said.
"Orihime, you forgot something. El-Shaddoll Construct's effect!" Eu said.
"NO!" Orihime said.
"Yes. My other El-Shaddoll Construct destroys Marshmallon by using its effect," Eu said. El-Shaddoll Construct fired darker purple strings and destroyed Marshmallon. "I end my turn," Eu said.
"Draw… I end my turn," Orihime sighed.
"Draw. My two El-Shaddoll Constructs attack Orihime directly!" Eu ordered.
{Eu 2800/ Orihime 0700}
"Draw. I set one card and end my turn," Orihime said.
"Draw. First El-Shaddoll Construct attacks Orihime's facedown card," Eu ordered. El-Shaddoll Construct shot purple strings at the facedown card, revealing Honest. "Now then, my other El-Shaddoll Construct finishes this!" Eu declared. The other El-Shaddoll Construct shot purple strings and struck Orihime directly.
{Eu 2800/ Orihime 0000}
"With that, this concludes the fifth duel. Now comes the next duel," Roland said as a screen above him displayed the numbers again.
{3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 10. Franceska 11. Seto 13. Yuzu 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls inside once more. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 10 and number 13," Roland said. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Kurosaki Yuzu and Rose Franceska will now begin!" Roland announced.
{Franceska 4000/ Yuzu 4000}
"I'll go first," Franceska said. "I set one monster and one card face-down. I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate my Spell Card Terraforming. This allows me to search for one field spell and add it to my hand," Yuzu said. "I now activate my field spell, Ritual Sanctuary," Yuzu said. The field transformed into a wedding ceremony. "Now, by discarding one spell card, I can add a ritual monster or ritual spell to my hand," Yuzu continued. "I add my Herald of Perfection," Yuzu said. "I then summon my Manju of Ten Thousand Hands," Yuzu said. "When he is Normal Summoned, I can add a ritual monster or ritual spell to my hand," Yuzu explained. "I'll add my Hymn of Light," Yuzu said. "I now activate Dawn of Herald," Yuzu said as she discarded her Saffira, Queen of Dragons. "Come forth, my Herald of Perfection!" Yuzu said as a strange-looking monster appeared on the field in face-up defense mode. "By removing my Dawn of Herald, I can add one of the cards that were used for the ritual summon," Yuzu said as she added her Saffira, Queen of Dragons back to her hand. "Now, I activate Hymn of Light and discard my Cyber Angel Vrash to Ritual Summon Saffira, Queen of Dragons!" Yuzu said. A blush dragon appeared on the field in face-up attack mode. "Saffira, attack Franceska's face-down card," Yuzu ordered. Saffira fired a blast of light at Franceska's face-down monster, revealing Amazoness Chain Master. "Now then, Manju, attack Franceska's life points!" Yuzu said.
"I activate my Trap Card, Amazoness Willpower!" Franceska said. "I can Special Summon one Amazoness monster from my Graveyard in face-up Attack Position. However, it cannot change its Battle Position and must attack when able to," Franceska explained. "Return Chain Master!" Franceska ordered.
"During my End Phase, I use Saffira's effect to draw two cards and discard one," Yuzu said as she discarded another copy of Saffira.
"Draw. I sacrifice my Chain Master to bring out my Amazoness Queen!" Franceska said. "As long as Amazoness Queen is on the field, Amazoness monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle," Franceska explained. "I equip my Amazoness Queen with Fusion Sword Murasame Blade," Franceska said. "This cursed sword can only be equipped to a Warrior monster. It gains 800 Attack Points, and this Spell Card cannot be destroyed by card effects," Franceska explained. "My Queen, attack Yuzu's Herald of Perfection!" Franceska ordered.
"By removing my Hymn of Light, it negates all destruction of Ritual monsters," Yuzu said.
"I end my turn with a face-down card," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate Pre-Preparation of Rites. This card allows me to add a Ritual Spell Card from my Deck to my hand and add the corresponding Ritual Monster for the Ritual Spell Card from my Deck or Graveyard," Yuzu explained. "I choose the Spell Card Hymn of Light and Saffira, Queen of Dragons," Yuzu said as she added the two cards to her hand. "Now I activate Hymn of Light and discard my Cyber Angel Dakini to Ritual Summon Saffira, Queen of Dragons in face-up Defense Position," Yuzu said. "I switch all of my monsters to Defense Position and, during my End Phase, I use Saffira's effect to discard a random card from my opponent's hand," Yuzu said. Franceska discarded her Amazoness Heirloom.
"Draw," Franceska said. "My Amazoness Queen, attack Yuzu's Herald of Perfection!" Franceska ordered.
"By removing my Hymn of Light, it negates all destruction of Ritual monsters," Yuzu said.
"I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I end my turn," Yuzu said.
"Draw. I activate my Amazoness Fighting Spirit!" Franceska said. "When an Amazoness battles a monster with higher Attack Points than it, my Amazoness monster gains an additional 1000 Attack Points," Franceska explained. "My Amazoness Queen, attack Yuzu's Herald of Perfection!" Franceska ordered. Amazoness Queen charged forward and swung Murasame at Yuzu's Herald of Perfection, cutting it in half. "Now then, when my Amazoness destroys a monster, I can activate Queen's Pawn!" Franceska said. "When my Amazoness monster destroys an opponent's monster, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Amazoness monster from my Deck," Franceska explained. "Come on out, Amazoness Sage!" Franceska said. "Amazoness Sage, attack Yuzu's Manju!" Franceska ordered. Amazoness Sage approached and struck Manju with her staff. "When Amazoness Sage attacks another monster and is still on the field, she can destroy a Spell or Trap Card on my opponent's side of the field," Franceska explained. "I choose your Ritual Sanctuary!" Franceska said. Amazoness Sage glowed red and slammed her staff down on the field, destroying Ritual Sanctuary. "With that, I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate Pre-Preparation of Rites," Yuzu said. "This time, I add my Dawn of Herald and my Herald of Perfection," Yuzu said. "I activate my Dawn of Herald," Yuzu said as she discarded Saffira, Queen of Dragons. "Come forth, Herald of Perfection!" Yuzu said as Herald of Perfection appeared in face-up Defense Position. "By removing my Dawn of Herald, I can add one of the cards that were used for the Ritual Summon," Yuzu said as she added Saffira, Queen of Dragons back to her hand. "I end my turn," Yuzu said.
"Draw. I reveal my Trap Card, Amazoness Willpower!" Franceska said. "Return Chain Master!" Franceska ordered. "Amazoness Queen, attack Yuzu's Herald of Perfection!" Franceska said. It was a repeat of the last turn. Amazoness Queen charged forward and swung Murasame at Yuzu's Herald of Perfection, cutting it in half. "Now then, Amazoness Chain Master, attack Saffira!" Franceska said. Amazoness Chain Master glowed with a fiery yellow aura and flung her chain at Saffira, destroying her. "Amazoness Sage, attack Yuzu directly!" Franceska ordered.
{Franceska 4000 / Yuzu 2600}
"I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw," Yuzu said. "I summon my Manju of Ten Thousand Hands," Yuzu said. "This time, I add my Cyber Angel Dakini," Yuzu said. "I activate my Machine Angel Ritual," Yuzu said. "I tribute my Manju and the Saffira in my hand to bring out Cyber Angel Dakini!" Yuzu said. "When Dakini is Ritual Summoned, my opponent must send one monster from their field to the Graveyard," Yuzu said. Franceska sent her Amazoness Sage to the Graveyard. "Dakini, attack Chain Master!" Yuzu said.
{Franceska 2800 / Yuzu 2600}
"Due to Amazoness Queen on the field, my Amazoness Chain Master is not destroyed by battle," Franceska explained.
"During the End Phase, Dakini's other effect activates. It allows me to add Cyber Angel Vrash to my hand," Yuzu said.
"Draw," Franceska said. "I summon my Amazoness Swords Woman," Franceska said. "My Queen, attack Dakini!" Franceska ordered.
"Not so fast. By removing my Machine Angel Ritual, it negates all destruction of Ritual monsters," Yuzu said.
"Another one!" Franceska yelled.
{Franceska 2800 / Yuzu 2100}
"Amazoness Swords Woman, attack Dakini!" Franceska said. The Swords Woman glowed with a fiery yellow aura and slashed at Cyber Angel Dakini. Instead of Franceska taking damage, Yuzu took damage.
{Franceska 2800 / Yuzu 1900}
"What happened?" Yuzu asked.
"Let me explain this to you," Franceska said. "My Amazoness Swords Woman has an effect where any battle damage I would have taken involving my Amazoness Swords Woman is instead taken by my opponent," Franceska explained.
"Wow," Yuzu said.
"Now then, Amazoness Chain Master, attack!" Franceska said. Chain Master glowed with a feisty yellow aura and flung her chain at Dakini. However, Dakini blocked the chains and countered with a spear strike.
{Franceska 2600 / Yuzu 1900}
"Why did you attack with Chain Master?" Yuzu asked.
"It is the side effect of Amazoness Willpower," Franceska said. "The monster brought back by Amazoness Willpower must battle each turn if able to," Franceska explained.
"I see," Yuzu said.
"I end my turn," Franceska said.
"Draw. I activate my Spell Card Terraforming to add another copy of my Ritual Sanctuary to my hand," Yuzu said. "I now activate my Field Spell, Ritual Sanctuary," Yuzu said. The field changed back into a wedding ceremony. "Now then, by returning six Spell Cards to the Deck, I can Special Summon one monster from my Graveyard whose level is the same as the number of Spell Cards I just sent," Yuzu explained. "Return once more Herald of Perfection!" Yuzu said. "Dakini, attack Chain Master!" Yuzu said.
{Franceska 1400 / Yuzu 1900}
"During the End Phase, Dakini's other effect activates. It allows me to add Cyber Angel Dakini to my hand," Yuzu said.
"Draw," Franceska said. "I summon another Amazoness Swords Woman," Franceska said. "My Queen, attack Yuzu's Herald of Perfection for the final time!" Franceska said. It was a repeat of the last turn. Amazoness Queen charged forward and swung Murasame at Yuzu's Herald of Perfection, cutting it in half. "I can activate Queen's Pawn!" Franceska said. "Come on out, Amazoness Paladin!" Franceska said. The Sword Woman glowed with a feisty yellow aura and slashed at Cyber Angel Dakini. Instead of Franceska taking damage, Yuzu took damage.
{Franceska 1400 / Yuzu 1700}
"Due to Amazoness Queen on the field, my Amazoness Chain Master is not destroyed by battle," Franceska reminded. "My other Amazoness Swords Woman, attack Dakini!" Franceska said. The Sword Woman glowed with a feisty yellow aura and slashed at Cyber Angel Dakini. Instead of Franceska taking damage, Yuzu took damage.
{Franceska 1400 / Yuzu 1500}
"My Amazoness Paladin, attack Dakini!" Franceska said. The Amazon Paladin glowed with a feisty yellow aura and slashed at Cyber Angel Dakini, finally overpowering and destroying her.
{Franceska 1400 / Yuzu 1000}
"Now then, my Amazoness Chain Master, direct attack!" Franceska ordered. Amazoness Chain Master threw her chains and hit Yuzu directly.
{Franceska 1400 / Yuzu 0000}
"Good job, Yuzu," Franceska said.
"Thank you as well," Yuzu said.
"With that, this concludes the sixth duel. Now comes the next duel," Roland said as a screen above him showed the numbers again.
{3. Samuel 4. Ichigo 11. Seto 16. Ishizu}
The machine began to spin the balls inside once more. Soon, two number balls rolled out. "Number 11 and number 16," Roland said. The two duelists walked up. "The duel between Kaiba Seto and Ishtar Ishizu will now begin!" Roland announced.
{LIKE CANON} That duel was very strange. Ishizu did very odd things during the duel, such as not looking at the cards she drew or held in her hand. As a result, those cards managed to back Seto into a corner. Anyone familiar with the Millennium Items knew about the Millennium Necklace's ability to see into the future. Ishizu gloated that she already knew the outcome. What made it worse was that Ichigo and the others witnessed Marik's Millennium Eyes glowing and sending something to Seto, which forced him to sacrifice his Obelisk the Tormentor for his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Ichigo theorized that Seto, or a past incarnation of Seto, used the Millennium Rod and had a connection to the item, which influenced Seto's decision.
"This concludes the seventh duel. The final duel of this round, Number 3 and Number 4!" Roland announced. The two duelists walked up. "The final duel of this round between Kurosaki Ichigo and Greene Samuel will now begin!" Roland said.
{Samuel 4000 / Ichigo 4000}
"I go first. I activate my Ancient Gear Fortress," Samuel said. "During the turn that my Ancient Gear monsters are Normal or Special Summoned, they cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. You also cannot activate any cards in response to the summoning of any of my Ancient Gear monsters. If this card is destroyed while it is in the Spell & Trap Zone, I can Special Summon 1 'Ancient Gear' monster from my hand or Graveyard, but I cannot Special Summon monsters for the rest of this turn, except 'Ancient Gear' monsters," Samuel explained. "I then activate my Field Spell, Geartown," Samuel said. The surroundings slowly turned into a city built entirely of gears. "As long as this card is on the field, it requires one less Tribute to Tribute Summon Ancient Gear monsters. When this card is destroyed, I can Special Summon one Ancient Gear from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard," Samuel explained. "I then activate Fusion Conscription," Samuel said. "By revealing 1 Fusion Monster in my Extra Deck, I can add one Fusion Material whose name is specifically stated on the card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. However, I cannot Normal Summon or Special Summon monsters with that name or activate cards that use that card's name until the end of this turn," Samuel explained. "The card I reveal is Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, and the card I add is Ancient Gear Golem," Samuel said. "I then Normal Summon my Gold Gadget and end my turn," Samuel said.
"Impressive field," Ichigo said. "But can it handle this? Draw!" Ichigo declared. "I activate my Cards of the Red Stone," he continued. "By sending 1 Level 7 'Red-Eyes' monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I draw 2 cards. Then, I can send 1 Level 7 'Red-Eyes' monster from my Deck to the Graveyard," Ichigo explained. "I discard my Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon," Ichigo said as he drew 2 more cards. "I also send another Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon due to Cards of the Red Stone's other effect," Ichigo added. "I then activate the Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Ancient Gear Fortress," Ichigo said. A typhoon suddenly appeared and blew towards Samuel's side of the field, destroying his Ancient Gear Fortress. "Next, I summon Black Stone of Legend," Ichigo said as a black and red egg appeared on the field. "By tributing my egg, I can Special Summon one Level 7 or lower Red-Eyes monster," Ichigo explained. "Come forth, Red-Eyes Retro Dragon!" Ichigo said as the Black Egg broke open, and another black dragon emerged. "Unfortunately, he won't stay that long," Ichigo said. "By removing my Red-Eyes Retro Dragon from play, I can Special Summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Ichigo announced. "My Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon can be Special Summoned from my hand by removing one Dragon monster on my field," Ichigo explained. "Then I use his effect!" Ichigo continued. "I can Special Summon one Dragon monster from my hand or Graveyard," he said. "Come on out, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Ichigo called. "Now then, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Samuel's Gold Gadget!" Ichigo ordered.
{Samuel 3300 / Ichigo 4000}
"When my Gold Gadget is destroyed, I can Special Summon another Level 4 or lower Gadget monster except himself," Samuel said. "Go, Silver Gadget!" Samuel commanded as a silver robot appeared in face-up Defense Position.
"Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, attack Silver Gadget!" Ichigo ordered.
"When Silver Gadget is destroyed, I can Special Summon another Level 4 or lower Gadget monster except himself," Samuel said. "Go, Ancient Gear Gadget!" Samuel called as a rusted robot appeared in face-up Defense Position.
"I end my turn," Ichigo said.
"Draw. I activate my Ancient Gear Fortress," Samuel said.
"In response, I activate Jar of Avarice!" Ichigo said. "This card allows me to return five cards from my Graveyard to the Deck and draw one card," Ichigo explained as he returned Mystical Space Typhoon, Cards of the Red Stone, Black Stone of Legend, and his two Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragons to the Deck, shuffled, and drew one card.
"I use Geartown's effect to allow me to tribute my Ancient Gear Gadget to summon Ancient Gear Golem!" Samuel said. "Ancient Gear Golem, attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Samuel commanded. Ancient Gear Golem walked forward and punched Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, destroying it.
{Samuel 3300 / Ichigo 3800}
"I end my turn after that," Samuel said.
"Draw. I activate Red-Eyes Insight. This card allows me to send one Red-Eyes monster from my hand or Deck and add one Red-Eyes Spell or Trap to my hand," Ichigo said as he sent a copy of Red-Eyes Retro Dragon to the Graveyard. "The Spell Card I choose is Red-Eyes Fusion, and I activate it," Ichigo continued. "This time, I send Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my other copy of Meteor Dragon Red-Eyes Impact to the Graveyard and Special Summon Meteor Black Comet Dragon!" Ichigo declared. "Now his effect activates," Ichigo said. "This monster allows me to send one Red-Eyes monster from my hand or Deck, and my opponent takes half that Red-Eyes monster's attack as damage," Ichigo explained. "The card I choose is Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon, which has 2400 attack points," Ichigo said as Samuel took 1200 points of damage.
{Samuel 2100 / Ichigo 3800}
"Now then, Meteor Black Comet Dragon, attack Samuel's Ancient Gear Golem!" Ichigo ordered. Meteor Black Comet Dragon fired a black fireball at Ancient Gear Golem. The fireball hit right in the center of Ancient Gear Golem, quickly burning through and destroying it.
{Samuel 1600 / Ichigo 3800}
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon, attack Samuel directly and win me this game!" Ichigo commanded. Red-Eyes Black Dragon fired a red fireball at Samuel. It was a direct hit, and Samuel lost the duel.
{Samuel 0000 / Ichigo 3800}
"This concludes the final elimination portion of the Battle City Tournament. Now then, the finalists are: 1. Kaiba Seto 2. Kurosaki Ichigo 3. Kurosaki Karin 4. Eu 5. Rose Franceska 6. Moto Yugi 7. Wheeler Joey 8. Ishtar Marik. The next portion of the tournament will not be here," Roland announced.
"What!" Joey yelled.
"Wheeler, did you honestly expect my Battle City tournament to finish in an incomplete stadium?" Seto asked, glaring at Joey.
"Um…" Joey mumbled.
"Soon, the actual final stage will appear in front of us," Fugata said.
"What did you say?" Joey asked.
"Real final stage?" Yugi asked. Suddenly, all the lights in the stadium turned upward toward the sky. Everyone looked up to see KaibaCorp's blimp above them.
"It seems to be coming down," Fugata said. KaibaCorp's landing system opened up and began to descend.
"This is the real final stage," Roland said.
"That's right. The finals will be held 1000 meters (3280.84 feet or 0.621 miles) in the air," Mokuba said. Just as Mokuba finished speaking, the KaibaCorp blimp landed.
"Now then, the finalists and their guests board the ship," Roland instructed. Immediately, Marik walked up first, followed by Franceska, Yugi, and Joey. When Tristan, Téa, Serenity, and Duke tried to walk up, they were stopped by Roland and Fugata.
"Halt! People who are not duelists can't get on the ship!" Roland said.
"You sure?" Tristan asked.
"You've got to be kidding me," Téa said.
"How can it be like that?" Serenity said. "I thought I would be able to see my older brother duel on the ship."
"It's not a big deal!" Duke said.
"Please!" Tristan pleaded.
"Let us get on the ship," Duke requested.
"I beg you to reconsider," Téa implored.
"Please!" Serenity asked.
"It's impossible. I can't help you," Fugata said.
"Hey, I'm not a duelist either. Let them get on board," Mokuba interjected.
"But Mr. Mokuba…" Fugata began.
"You agree, right, brother?" Mokuba asked.
"Do as you like," Seto replied. Honestly, Seto wouldn't have let them board, but knowing Ichigo, he knew Ichigo would get Yuzu on board even though she wasn't a finalist.
"Well… we will obey you!" Tristan said as the four ran up the stairs.
"Hey!" Fugata yelled.
"Fugata, calm down," Ichigo shouted.
"Pretend we didn't see it," Seto said.
"Yes, sir," Fugata agreed. With that, Seto boarded the ship. Ichigo was about to board when he noticed Ishizu still there. Ichigo decided to approach her.
"Hello, رسول أوزوريس ل," Ishizu said.
"Hello, Ishizu. You're probably wondering if you can sneak on board, aren't you?" Ichigo asked.
"I… was thinking about it," Ishizu admitted.
"I am not going to let you board," Ichigo said.
"I know, but…" Ishizu began.
"But?" Ichigo asked.
"Can you help save my brother for me?" Ishizu asked.
"Sure," Ichigo replied.
"Really?" Ishizu asked.
"Yes," Ichigo confirmed.
"Take this," Ishizu said as she removed her Millennium Necklace.
"Why?" Ichigo inquired.
"You are going to need this to help save my brother and assist the Pharaoh," Ishizu explained. "Goodbye, رسول أوزوريس ل," Ishizu said and left. Ichigo sighed and began to enter the blimp. Yuzu, Karin, and Eu followed closely behind. Once all the finalists boarded, Fugata and Roland followed and began to close the gate. Due to the advanced design of the ship, Fugata and Roland didn't need to be at the gate while it closed. If they had stayed back, they would have noticed a girl with orange hair sneaking on board the blimp.
"Don't worry, my Ichigo. I'll get rid of those unworthy of you. Then you'll see the truth and finally admit that we are destined to be together," Orihime thought as she tried to find Ichigo's room.
Scene Change
Once everyone was onboard, an unnamed worker in a suit guided them to an open hall.
"Now then, in the morning, we will start the next set of eliminations," Roland announced.
"There is a small kitchen available if you want a nighttime snack. At 07:30, we will have breakfast and start the first duel," Fugata said. "Also, your rooms for this trip are based on the numbers we announced before the blimp landed. If you do not remember your number, please look at the screen." Fugata said as the screen behind him turned on and displayed the numbers again.
[1. Kaiba Seto 2. Kurosaki Ichigo 3. Kurosaki Karin 4. Hellscythe Eucliwood 5. Rose Franceska 6. Moto Yugi 7. Wheeler Joey 8. Ishtar Marik.]
With that, everyone went to their rooms. Yuzu, Karin, and Eu had already told Ichigo that they were planning to share their room. As they walked down the hall, they heard a commotion coming from Joey's room. Ichigo saw that the four non-duelists were pestering Joey about a room. Ichigo decided to knock on the door to get their attention.
"Oh, Ichigo," Joey said.
"Hello, Joey, Téa, and Tristan… who are these two?" Ichigo asked, pointing at Serenity and Duke.
"My name is Devlin Duke," Duke said, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Kurosaki Ichigo," Ichigo said, shaking Duke's hand.
"Um…" Serenity mumbled, nervous about the attractive guy in front of her. "Like the strawberry?" Serenity asked quietly. Téa, Tristan, Joey, and Duke laughed at Serenity's comment. Ichigo sighed; he was used to the nickname by now.
"Yes, just like a strawberry," Ichigo replied.
"Serenity," Serenity said.
"Nice to meet you," Ichigo said. Serenity's face lit up.
"What are you doing here?" Joey asked.
"Well… I was curious about the commotion from this room," Ichigo said.
"Oh, these guys just barged into my room and said they were going to stay here for the night since they didn't want to disturb Yugi," Joey complained.
"You know that you're doing the same thing to Joey that you didn't want done to Yugi, right?" Ichigo pointed out.
"Um…" The four mumbled. Ichigo cracked a small smile.
"Luckily for you four, Eu and Karin are not going to use their rooms," Ichigo said.
"Why?" Téa asked.
"Yuzu, Karin, and Eu want to stay in my room," Ichigo explained.
"Really?" the four asked.
"Yes," Ichigo confirmed as he handed Duke and Téa the key cards for rooms 3 and 4.
"THANK YOU!" all five of them said. Ichigo smiled and walked off, not noticing someone watching him.
"Those bitches! How dare they think they deserve to sleep with my Ichigo!" Orihime thought as she followed Ichigo to room 2. Ichigo opened the door using his key cards, walked in, and sealed it. Orihime decided to wait a few hours to ensure everyone was asleep. She found a small janitor's closet, entered it, and hid for a few hours.
"Hinagiku," Orihime ordered. Hinagiku appeared. Unlike his card counterpart, Hinagiku was wearing a black suit and his face was emotionless.
"Yes, mistress?" Hinagiku asked, bowing to Orihime.
"Guard this area. In two hours, wake me up," Orihime commanded.
"As you wish, mistress," Hinagiku said. Two hours later, Hinagiku lightly shook Orihime. "Mistress, you requested to be woken up in two hours," Hinagiku said. Orihime woke up and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes.
"Dismissed," Orihime commanded. Hinagiku gave her a bow and disappeared. Orihime made herself look presentable and left the closet. She went to room two. "Koten Zanshun," Orihime said. Tsubaki flew and silently cut open a hole large enough for Orihime to enter. "Sōten Kisshun," Orihime said as she rejected the damage from the door. The room wasn't very dark. It looked more like a hotel room. She quietly walked around the room and noticed two doors. One was open while the other was closed. She walked to the open door and saw that it was a bedroom. "This is it," Orihime thought. She slowly opened the door, tiptoed inside, and closed it behind her. She looked at the bed, which had the outlines of multiple people in it. "Those fucking bitches!" Orihime thought. She slowly walked towards the bed. Just as she was about to grab the sheets, something slammed into her, forcing her away from the bed. Something else pinned her down to the ground. "Koten—" Orihime tried to say before her mouth was covered. Suddenly, the lights turned on. Orihime looked and saw one girl with pale skin, white waist-length hair, and bright blue eyes covering her mouth, arms, and upper body, while another girl with pale skin, black waist-length hair, and bright red eyes pinned her legs and lower body down. Orihime tried to shake the two girls off.
"There is no point, Orihime," Ichigo said as he got out of bed. Orihime looked to see Yuzu, Karin, and Eu standing up and rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. "Bakudō #9: Geki," Ichigo said. Suddenly, Orihime glowed red and couldn't move. "Kisara and Valiona, get off of her and bring her to that chair," Ichigo said, pointing at a chair. Kisara and Valiona easily lifted Orihime off the ground and brought her to the chair Ichigo pointed at.
"What are you going to do?" Karin asked.
"I need to figure out what caused Orihime to act like this," Ichigo said.
"How?" Yuzu asked.
"By using this," Ichigo said as he summoned the Millennium Key.
"What's that?" Karin asked.
"This is the Millennium Key. It will allow me to enter someone's mind forcibly," Ichigo said as he brought the key toward Orihime. He brought the key to Orihime's face, pressed it, and turned it counterclockwise. A colorless wave of reiatsu resonated from the Millennium Key. Ichigo stood there, frozen.
Scene Change: Orihime's Mind
Ichigo appeared in what looked like a barren desert with a thick haze formed from embers and wisps of black smog rising from the ground. In the distance, there was a kingdom of rubble with one tower standing. Ichigo decided to go to this lone tower. Using Shunpo, he quickly reached the tower. It had one large door. Ichigo pushed open the door and entered.
"Welcome, Kurosaki-sama!" someone said. Ichigo looked closer to see a figure virtually identical to Orihime, except inverted in color. She was of average height, with white skin and hair. Her waist-length hair framed her face and hung over her ears. Her eyes had black pupils, white irises, and black sclera. She had black nails.
"A hollow?" Ichigo said, shocked to see an inverted Orihime in her mindscape.
"Correct and not correct," Dark Orihime said.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.
"Let's sit down; it'll be a long discussion," Dark Orihime said as a table with two chairs appeared in front of them. They both sat down. "I am the embodiment of Orihime's dark thoughts," Dark Orihime explained. "I am the collection of her anger, sadness, desires, and all other negative thoughts."
"How did you get this form?" Ichigo asked.
"Well… that's where the hollow part comes in," Dark Orihime said.
"What?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"Before, our mindscape wasn't like this," Dark Orihime said. "The mindscape was a large castle, full of life. Trees and other animals walked around. The sky was bright and not a single cloud was in sight. In the center of the castle stood one tower." Dark Orihime continued, "Then we were trapped in Hueco Mundo. Normally, the Hollow reiatsu wouldn't have done much, but we had to endure much torment while we were there." Suddenly, a screen appeared behind Dark Orihime. "Physical abuse, mental abuse, and psychological abuse," Dark Orihime said. From the screen, Ichigo saw Orihime being beaten by two Arrancars. "Slowly, all the abuse we faced took its toll on us. For Orihime to cope, she buried it inside, locked away with the hope of you rescuing her," Dark Orihime explained. "The mindscape changed dramatically. The sky slowly darkened, the wildlife began to die, and the castle slowly eroded but remained standing." Dark Orihime said as the screen turned blank again. "But then… you died," Dark Orihime said. The screen now showed the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra. It displayed Ulquiorra firing a cero right through Ichigo's chest. "Right when that happened, everything broke. The entire castle blew up, destroying everything. She couldn't handle all the pain and suffering. All that collected negative emotion slowly formed into me," Dark Orihime said. "Orihime was only able to function due to the need for survival and revenge against Aizen for what he had done to her," Dark Orihime added.
"I see…" Ichigo said.
"Once the war was over, Orihime had her revenge and didn't need to survive anymore. Everything crashed down on her," Dark Orihime said. "She had no more hopes or dreams or anything. She was, for all purposes… lifeless." Dark Orihime explained. Ichigo remembered that a few days after they returned from Soul Society, Orihime hadn't shown up to school for an entire week. She suddenly appeared at school as if nothing had happened, acting as if she hadn't been absent for an entire week. "What happened was that she felt lifeless. She contemplated suicide and other extreme measures. During that time, I tried to help rebuild her, but it never worked. I looked deep inside myself and found the emotions of shock, disbelief, guilt, anger, fear, and regret revolving around you, Ichigo," Dark Orihime said.
"How?" Ichigo asked.
"Right when you died, she was shocked. She had seen many times before where you fought and managed to win in the end. She refused to believe that you had died at that moment. She felt guilty because, due to her willingness to go with Aizen, you turned into a monster. She was also angry with you for your constant desire to protect her instead of yourself. She was scared of the monster you became. Lastly, she regretted being scared of you," Dark Orihime said. Ichigo was amazed at all the feelings Orihime associated with him. "In the depths of all that negativity, I found a strong emotion buried deep within: her love for you," Dark Orihime said. "In the end, I had to force Orihime to focus on her love for you," Dark Orihime continued. "By focusing on that love, we managed to rebuild this lone tower. This tower represents her only love," Dark Orihime explained. "I had to slowly influence her by telling her what Ichigo would or wouldn't want. By doing this, she slowly regained a will to live," Dark Orihime said.
"But…" Ichigo said, expecting something bad to happen.
"But this caused her crush and love for you to evolve into something horrifying," Dark Orihime said.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked. Dark Orihime stood up.
"If you truly want to see what I mean, then come with me," Dark Orihime said. Ichigo decided to follow Dark Orihime down a corridor. They arrived at a barricaded door. Ichigo could see metal jail bars, chains, and other obstacles added to prevent the door from opening. "This is your last chance. Once you see what is locked in here, you will never be able to unsee it," Dark Orihime warned.
"I must," Ichigo answered.
"As you wish," Dark Orihime said. She lifted her hand, and suddenly six beams of light appeared. The light faded away to reveal the six fairies.
"Hello, Dark Mistress," the fairies said.
"Unseal the door," Dark Orihime ordered. The six fairies approached and began to unlock the door. Slowly, the chains and metal bars retracted themselves. Soon, only a lock remained. Dark Orihime approached the door, pulled out a key, inserted it, and twisted it counterclockwise. The door opened. Ichigo took a deep breath and entered.