Author's Note:
And here is Chapter 7 of "The Kingdom [be]Comes"!
We previously left off Yusei and Aki on a slight cliffhanger so now we find out what happens to them! There is some plot exposition, some twists, some violence and some swearing.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!
Thank you for reading,
NineInchNailed.
"Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory."
~George S. Patton
Aki unconsciously moved closer to Yusei, perhaps out of intuitive desire for security, but the boy named Takashi apparently disliked that.
"Hey, you, move away from him! I don't want you seeing his cards and helping him out! This is just between Yusei and I!" he yelled and Aki hastily stepped away. While ordinarily she'd have protested, the best thing to do right now was to oblige. They needed to do everything possible to speed up the duel and to save this boy. Aki was able to defeat her possessed opponent in four turns and still she wasn't able to save him. She hoped that Yusei could do it in three turns or less.
"Now, I'll take the first turn again! Watashi no turn!" Takashi exclaimed and drew a card.
[Takashi]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field, 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Takashi looked at the card he drew, then at the cards in his hand and laughed like a lunatic. Yusei frowned but did not feel threatened.
"You're so screwed, Yusei! I summon Unshaven Angler in Attack mode!" Takashi said and a slimy, snake-like, blue creature with enormous fangs appeared on the field. Its Attack was 1500 and Defense was 1600 points.
Yusei wondered why the boy summoned a reasonably powerful monster in attack mode considering he couldn't attack on the first turn. Unless...he had other plans.
"And now, you will see what it's like to be humiliated the way you've humiliated me, Yusei! I'm tributing my Unshaven Angler to Tribute Summon another monster! You see, when I use Unshaven Angler as a Tribute, this monster counts as two Tribute monsters for the Tribute Summon! So...the monster I will Tribute Summon is La Magra!" Takashi yelled, slamming the black coloured monster card onto the duel disk. Instantly, the ground began shaking beneath them while loud hissing ensued, signifying the monster's appearance.
"No!" Aki gasped. He was summoning this beast on his first turn?
Yusei looked apprehensive now. He remembered what Aki had told him at the hospital. These weren't good news. "Wait," he interrupted. "Your Tribute monster can be treated as two only if you Tribute Summon a Water attribute monster. That's the limitation of this card. La Magra is Divine. What's going on?"
"Wow, I overestimated you, Yusei! I didn't know you were actually this dumb: one of La Magra's special effects is that it possesses all of the Monster attributes – it is thus Dark, Earth, Water, Fire, Light, Wind and Divine, all in one. Behold the power of the dark servant in Defense mode!" Takashi laughed and a colossal fluid form seeped out from the cracked ground. In a moment the monster took the form of a pitch black fog and then, again, it reverted to a blood red waterfall. The menacing sighing or hissing exhumed from the monster. Its attack and defense were both at 3000 points.
Yusei and Aki were both staring at the dark monster with strange captivation. Aki felt almost entranced by its constantly fluctuating shape as she remembered being engulfed in it. Yusei, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what Takashi meant by "dark servant." A servant? Just whom did this monster serve?
"You're lucky that I cannot attack on first turn! So I'm just going to place two cards face down and end my turn!" Takashi said and hidden cards appeared on the field.
[Takashi]
[End of Turn One: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Defence Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Yusei remembered Aki telling him about the strategy that the deceased man used – he purposefully allowed her to drain his Life Points in order to apply a lethal Equipment Magic card onto La Magra. But Takashi was doing something completely different – he was going all out on his first turn, trying to prove his worth after he lost the duel last night. It was like he was trying to teach Yusei his own lesson.
"Be careful, Yusei," Aki murmured to him, from the unfortunate distance she was forced to be. "That monster somehow materializes through this seal. It is as real as you and I now."
Yusei nodded to her words. She could never know just how much he appreciated her concern.
"My turn," he declared and drew a card.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field, 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Yusei looked at Takashi, standing tiny and frail beyond the shadow of La Magra, and saw that he was almost deathly pale at this point. Whether or not he was realizing it, Yusei could tell that the boy's body was going into shock. Time was running out quicker than he could have imagined.
But Yusei's cards were responsive, as always. He would be able to win this duel, as fast as he needed.
"First, I summon a level 4 Heal Wever in Attack mode," Yusei said and a machine-like mirror appeared on his side of the field with Attack of 800 and Defense of 1600 points, "And then I will play my Magic card, Double Summon – this card allows me to Normal Summon one additional time this turn, from my deck. So I'm summoning my level 4 Debris Dragon in Attack mode!"
When Debris Dragon, a small silver monster, appeared next to Heal Wever, Takashi just laughed, "You're putting up these two puny monsters in attack mode against La Magra? Is this a joke?"
Yusei realized then that while Takashi's morality and common sense have been altered that his dueling style had not actually changed. It was as if somebody had just given him the La Magra card and told him that with this single card he'd be able to win any duel he wishes. He only needed to complete a blood sacrifice to this Sutekh Sacrificō fiasco. But clearly the boy's original strategy hadn't changed much.
Yusei didn't know that, at that same time, Aki was reaching that same conclusion. Great minds, thinking alike.
"I now tune my level four Debris Dragon to my level four Heal Weaver to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon in Attack mode!" Yusei said but right before he placed the silver Synchro card onto his duel disk, Takashi screamed "Not so fast!" and flipped up the hidden Trap card on his field.
To Yusei's sudden distress he realized that Takashi's trap card was Discord, the same card that Aki told him was used to prevent Synchro Summoning for three turns. This was like the Ylliaster and Accel-Synchro business all over again!
"I activate Discord! Now you can't Synchro Summon your stupid overpowered dragon, Yusei!" Takashi laughed.
Frowning, Yusei placed two cards face down and declared the end of his turn. He was quite concerned at this point because he was blocked from using his ultimate and strongest monster (including its ultimate Saviour Dragon form). His only salvation was a Magic or Trap card which would disable the effect of Takashi's.
[Yusei Fudo]
[End of Turn One: Heal Wever (Lvl.4) ATK800/DEF1600 in Attack Mode; Debris Dragon (Lvl.4) ATK1000/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards on Field, 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"Yusei..." Aki whispered, studying. No matter the dire and nerve-wrecking situation they were in, she could never help watching him, fascinated. Watching Yusei duel was like watching a master sculptor at work: he was skillful, strategic, strong… Truly talented. And Aki hated herself but, even during the worst of times, she still thought he was so sexy.
"This is so great, isn't it? A complete role reversal from yesterday, Yusei! Now you will be finished in one turn!" Takashi exclaimed and drew a card from his deck.
[Takashi]
[Beginning of Turn Two: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Defence Mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]
Takashi stared at the card he just drew and uncaringly placed it into his hand.
"Okay, let's get this over with – La Magra, attack his stupid-weak Heal Wever!" the boy yelled and the constantly morphing dark figure of liquid, solid and gas sighed and dissolved into the ground. It reappeared instantly on Yusei's side of the field. "Get ready for 2200 points of damage!"
La Magra completely swallowed up the mechanical mirror into its form, leaving not a shard behind, and then reappeared on Takashi's side. Takashi began laughing but his laugh instantly subdued when he saw that Yusei had activated a Trap card!
"Defense Draw decreases the battle damage I'd receive down to a zero. It also enables me to draw two cards," Yusei said and drew the cards. He needed something like Release Restraint Wave which, by destroying one of his own Equip Magic cards, would allow him to destroy all of his opponent's set Magic and Trap cards. But to Yusei's growing dismay he realized that he drew a Level 3 monster and an ineffective, in this situation, Magic card.
"Ugh!" Takashi groaned in irritation and stomped his feet like a little kid denied a piece of candy. "Okay, fine! But you cannot stop the inevitable, Yusei! I end my turn," he concluded and crossed his arms. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the pain and to his own condition.
[Takashi]
[End of Turn Two: La Magra (Lvl.9) ATK3000/DEF3000 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"My turn," Yusei declared, closing his eyes. I need a Magic card or a Trap card. Come on, Release Restraint Wave, he thought as he slowly drew a card.
Yusei rarely looked worried during a duel but Aki had learned to recognize the inconspicuous signs of his apprehension. Whenever he'd place his hand on the deck, almost meditatively, Aki knew that it signified his increased reliance on his cards. And today it wasn't because he was nervous about losing, no, no: it was because his time was running out.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn Two: Debris Dragon (Lvl.4) ATK1000/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 1 Face down Card; 5 Cards in hand; LP4000]
When Yusei glanced at the card he drew he felt an icy shiver down his spine. He didn't draw Release Restraint Wave. He drew Sky Dragon of Osiris*, the Level 10 card, the snarling Divine beast which he received from a mysterious "Y.M.," the card which, inexplicably, marked him… And the card he'd forgotten he placed into his deck for safekeeping.
What does this mean? Yusei questioned while staring at the red card in his hand. Why did I draw this card above all others? Why not the means of releasing my Stardust Dragon? Why not the means of using the power of the Crimson Dragon?
Yusei wondered if he sometimes thought too deeply into things. Maybe not all things had meaning. Maybe not all things happened for a reason.
Regardless, he had to act quick and he knew that no matter the strangeness and no matter what might've happened when he first laid eyes upon it, thiswas a card capable ending this duel quickly.
"I summon Bolt Hedgehog in Defense mode," Yusei said and a small hamster-like monster appeared on the field, its Attack and Defense both at 800 points, "And when I successfully Normal Summon I can Special Summon Oneshot Booster. Oneshot Booster, appear on the field!"
A mechanical yellow monster in a shape of two cannons appeared, its Attack and Defense both at zero. One of his friend Rally's monsters, given to him what felt like an eternity ago.
Takashi burst out laughing, "Are you serious? You can't Synchro Summon! Do you want to lose that much quicker?"
"Yusei..." Aki mumbled. What are you doing? Was he attempting a new strategy she'd never witnessed before?
"Trust me, Aki," he suddenly responded, as if reading her mind, and for a moment their eyes met. For an impossible second it seemed to Aki that he was looking at her almost longingly but she quickly attributed that perception to her own desire.
"This is not a Synchro Summon, Takashi-kun. I Tribute my three monsters, Debris Dragon, Bolt Hedgehog and Oneshot Booster to summon a God," Yusei said and revealed the red card from his hand. A strange burning sensation appeared in his left bicep but he ignored it.
"What?" Aki stared, confused. A God? What God? A Sky Dragon of Osiris? Where did this come from?
"Now take flight, Sky Dragon of Osiris!" Yusei exclaimed as he slammed the red card onto the duel disk.
Takashi was looking just as confused as Aki, not uttering a single word.
The sky had instantaneously darkened with storm clouds, while rapid successive strokes of lightning broke out, striking various places within the Sutekh Sacrificō seal they were trapped in.
"Yusei, what's going on? What did you do?" Aki asked worriedly. Forgetting Takashi's warning, she stepped-in closer to him but when she looked at him she saw that something was wrong.
Yusei was gripping his left arm and his eyes were squeezed shut. He was almost bending over in half. He felt like his arm was set on fire, pulsating in severe pain, the same pain as when his arm was marked by the Sky Dragon.
"Yusei...?" Aki cried out with worry and grabbed his shoulder. "Yusei, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
The massive muscular red tail emerged from the clouds, revealing numerous ivory spikes running down the whole length of the tail as well as reaching up to its materializing spine.
Yusei couldn't feel Aki's hand, he was completely oblivious to everything but his own sudden agony. Clutching to his burning arm he collapsed to his knees. He saw nothing but darkness. Blood was trickling from his arm, concealed by the jacket, down his hand.
Then the whole colossal shape of the Divine monster had finally appeared, blocking out the whole darkened sky, and its ear-splitting growl drowned Yusei's own cry of pain.
And then everything went completely silent in lead Signer's darkness.
It felt like a celestial, almost cosmic, power was passing through him, pumping through his veins. It was horrible and yet pleasant. It was dark and yet it was light. And while foreign and unfamiliar, this inexplicable power was awakening in him the sensation of recognition, familiarity, and something similar to that of...almost like...coming home. The power over destiny and the ability to change anything that needed to be.
Yusei drew in a deep breath and came to. He saw gorgeous amber eyes; long-lashed and almost feline-like. They were staring at him with outmost concern. He stared back in a dreamy daze then blinked slowly and looked down at her red lips, seeing that she was mouthing something unintelligible to him. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was whispering...no, calling his name.
All of a sudden the world broke into sound, almost as if somebody had released the "Mute" button. All the sensation had returned to his body, except for pain. Yusei realized that he was kneeling down on the ground and still clutching at his left arm, which had soaked through with blood at this point, and that Aki was kneeling next to him. She was holding him, Yusei realized, because he felt her arms wrapped around his shoulders.
"Yusei! Yusei!" he finally heard her voice. He quickly nodded, signifying his comprehension, and, blinking rapidly, got up to his feet.
"Aki...what did you just see happen?" he asked, smoothing his jacket, and with astonishment noticing the blood stain on his hand.
"You summoned that monster, Sky Dragon of Osiris," Aki whispered in response, pointing towards the gigantic red dragon currently hanging in the sky "...and the next thing you were down on your knees, bleeding…and then you screamed...it looked like you blacked out for a few seconds..." she said, her face pale. "Yusei...what did you just do?" She'd never felt so worried or so confused in her whole entire life.
Yusei looked up at Sky Dragon of Osiris, heard it let out another ear-splitting roar, and felt strangely composed and calm. He knew that everything was under control now. He did not feel afraid.
"Aki," he whispered, turned to look at her. "It's going to be fine now. Don't worry."
Aki nodded as if entranced.
"Takashi-kun!" Yusei called, summoning the boy's attention.
Takashi was standing there, looking as lost and as puzzled as ever. The boy's skin was gray at this point and his whole body was shaking from shock although he still seemed completely unaware of this phenomenon.
"...What the fuck is that? Did you just buy a new card overnight?" Takashi asked while studying, anxiously now, the huge red dragon twisting in the air.
"Listen to me carefully now, Takashi-kun. This duel is over but you are going to be just alright. Everything is going to be fine. I promise you," Yusei said.
"Shut up!" was his brash opponent's response.
"Sky Dragon of Osiris' Attack and Defense points are equal to the number of cards I hold in my hand. I have three. Thus Osiris' power is at 3000," Yusei continued and flipped up the only trap card on his side of the field, "And now, I activate my trap card, Miracle Lotus – you get to draw one card from your deck while Sky Dragon gains additional 1000 points to its attack and can attack twice this turn."
"...W-what?" Takashi stuttered as he obediently drew a card and observed Sky Dragon of Osiris' Attack rise to 4000.
Dumbfounded and astonished, Aki was staring up at the magnificent red beast in the sky. The power the likes of us have never seen before, she thought.
"Sky Dragon, burn La Magra to the ground!" Yusei commanded and the Divine dragon let out a shattering roar. Revealing its cavernous mouth it unleashed an overwhelming electrical charge, striking the La Magra with all its power. The dark shape-shifting monster let out a hissing sigh and dissolved into the blood red ground of Sutekh Sacrificō.
Takashi shielded himself from the staggering attack by Osiris, barely keeping himself on his feet, while his Life Points went down to 3000.
"And now, Sky Dragon of Osiris, attack for the second and last time!" Yusei ordered, commanding the final attack without allowing the boy to recuperate.
The red dragon emitted yet another powerful electrical attack, this time attacking defenseless Takashi directly. The boy screamed as his Life Points were being drained out and, upon their complete depletion at zero, he collapsed on the ground. The seal of Sutekh Sacrificō dissolved, as if it had never been there.
[Winner: Yusei Fudo]
Everything was a blur from then on. Sitting on the ER couch with her head leaned against Yusei's shoulder, Aki could barely recall how fast she and Yusei picked up unconscious Takashi and raced to the hospital at almost thirty kilometres over the speed limit. And she could barely recall how Takashi was put on the stretcher and pushed into emergency surgery and how the attending doctor spoke to them, asking if it was yet another suicide attempt during a Duel Monsters' game because the hospital has had four more cases like this since this morning. She was just staring emptily into space, her lips slightly parted.
Yusei was sitting, slouched, and inattentively shuffling his deck of cards, just as absent-minded as Aki. He wasn't even hypersexually aware that Aki was leaning against him because, if anything, this felt so normal and so right that sexuality wasn't really playing into this. They were just two human beings innately seeking comfort in one another.
"Guys!" shouted a loud baritone and Yusei and Aki looked up at Crow running up to them, followed by the whole gang: Jack, Carly, Rua and Ruka, as well as Ushio and Mikage.
"My god, what happened to the two of you? ...Oh no, blood! ...What's going on...? ...Is that blood! ...Are you bleeding, Yusei? ...Aki...neechan, are you hurt? ...BLOOD!...How is the kid, will he survive...?" they were bombarded with concerned and anxious questions from their friends. There was too much to tell, too many people to respond to, and just way too many things going on at the same time.
"Aki-san!" sounded a voice, unfamiliar from their friends', and all of them stared in the direction where it came from. They all saw a tallish man, dressed in a casual suit, his hands tucked into pockets. His short ponytail was just as messy as when Aki first saw him.
"Mokuba-san!" Aki exclaimed, quickly getting up from the couch to greet him. Yusei followed her, standing up as well. "I thought you were leaving Japan?"
"...Who is this man?" Rua mumbled to no one in particular. All of the friends were completely baffled.
"I was leaving Japan, Aki-san. But some important occurrences took place that demand my attention and my staying here for now," Mokuba answered.
"...Okay, seriously, who the fuck is this? What the fuck is going on!" Crow snapped, unable to deal with all this mystery and confusion.
"Why don't you start by telling us the truth, Mokuba-san? Especially why you are here now," Yusei requested quietly, commanding attention as always.
A momentary silence fell, an unusual circumstance both for the company and for the busy downtown hospital.
Mokuba smiled.
"For if it wasn't Cicero who said, "By doubting we all come at truth..." So be it: my name is Kaiba Mokuba, the adopted son of late Kaiba Gozaburo, the younger brother of Kaiba Seto, the only heir to the Kaiba Corporation... and I will now tell you everything I know."
*Note: Just a reminder that Sky Dragon of Osiris is the Japanese version of Slifer the Sky Dragon. In the anime it went by "Oshirisu no Tenkūryū".
After-Chapter Rant: Ugh, I can't believe Mokuba is back! He was such an annoying and useless character in the original Yu-Gi-Oh and now he's this big part of the plot in this fanfiction! Ew... Also, is he really trying to steal Aki from Yusei? Because Aki belongs only with Yusei! He better go away soon...but not before he reveals some secrets!
...Or maybe he's still around because HE is the main villain! Dun-dun-dun!
...or maybe not.
I guess you're just going to have to keep reading to find out!
Also, I hope Yusei and Aki make out soon. I mean seriously, how can they stand all this angst, drama and sexual tension!
Stay tuned!