Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies [IC]

[a coffee]

(and Pat)

 

Tan, laminated hardwood floor met with the Blue Yonder logo in the center was the spot. A bunch of thr guys got together for a game of pick-up on the court, and things had just started to get intense. Next point would win, and the boys were hooting and hollering, trying to get the perfect play to end the game. Elizabeth quietly walked into the gymnasium, looking for Pat's unmistakeable tattoos and imposing figure, only it wasn't her that would find him...

 

"YO! Elizabeth! What's good, girl?!" Pat waved to Elizabeth, "Actually, hold that thought!" Pat smacked the basketball out of the hand of the person in front of him and got free on the fast break to the net, he jumped in the air and did a 180 degree spin, slam dunking the ball into the basket, all while winking to the small crowd of girls who had spectated the game. He landed on the court floor, muscles rippling and glistening with sweat as the girls fawned and the boys hollered with awe for the incredible basketball play they had just witnessed.

 

"I'll be right wit chall gang, my girl Liz just stopped by!" he jogged over to Liz, who had a small grin and a quirked eyebrow.

 

"Good God Almighty Pat, do you get any less ridiculous?" they both chuckled a bit.

 

"Gotta save the highlights for the babes! You see some of those chicks over there?" he whistled in awe, "Make a man happy kind of girls Liz. Anyway, what brings you to the gym, not trying to get in on pick-up are you?"

 

Liz waved her hands in front of her body in denial, "Not today Pat. I wouldn't want to embarass you with my three point shot." she winked, "What I actually came for was to talk to you about this..." she groaned, "about this boy thing."

 

Pat whistled loudly, "Lizzy got a man again? Damn girl, good to have you back! What's the issue? You used to be the man killer back in the day!"

 

Elizabeth blushed, Pat always knew how to blow things way out of proportion, especially since Pat was one of the men she's "killed" in the past.

 

"Well you know... Sort of a long time since I've dated. Was hoping you could help me get my confidence back. I hardly know the kid, should I really be going after him? I'd probably just be sort of annoying, no?" Elizabeth shrugged, pulling her bangs back into a ponytail.

 

Pat laughed, "Hey, listen girl. There's nothing I gotta do for you, you still got that body and them jokes? Man you could have him begging by lunchtime!" he put his large hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and playfully shook her, "I tell you what. Why don't you bring him to the party? I got the whole crew showing up so it'll get lit with the quickness! Even if he's lame I got the turn up on lock. Pop's bringing the cases, we gonna party like we do on the island,  Lizzy!

 

...I mean, if you show up this year, anyway. That was cold, Lizzy. I forgive you though, no doubt."

 

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'll have be there. I owe you for all your help, big guy. You sure about Yushiro though? You dont have to go to the trouble, if it's gonna be a drag.."

 

Pat nearly jumped out of his basketball shoes when he heard Yushiro's name, "You going after the homie that was on TV? We really do have the killer back!" he laughed again, "No worries, Lizzy, let's invite some of his friends too, take some of the pressure off. Let him spend a few minutes with big Patolomaio, he'll be a homie for life, Lizzy!" Pat looked behind him, his posse was calling his name, asking for the game's hero to return, "Hey Lizzy, looks like everybody wants me today. You wanna join us? I'll keep my mouth shut about your little homie." he smiled, brilliant white teeth shining from his chiseled face.

 

Elizabeth pondered for a moment, "Yeah, actually, it sounds like a lot of fun. I haven't been out in a while. When I see Yushiro for our next tutoring session I'll let him knows he's invited." they started walking over towards the group when Liz stopped, "Oh and Pat," he stopped and turned around, met immediately with a hug from Elizabeth, "thanks big guy, I owe you a bunch." he chuckled and reciprocated the gesture, patting her on the back.

 

"Word, Lizzy. You know I'm in your corner!" They began walking over to the group, "But uh... Please don't puke this year, Lizzy." Elizabeth groaned. So much for the warm and fuzzies of a good moment with a friend. What a stupid jock.

[King K. Azo]

"Now I'm wide open for your counter attack, whatever will I do?" Hikaru asked. Akira didn't answer, instead reaching for his deck.

"My turn, draw!" Akira stated as he reached into his deck, drawing his card. He looked at his hand before beginning his play. "When I have no spells or traps in my graveyard, I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter from my hand! When I do this, however, I can only Special Summon Superheavy Samurais for the rest of my turn!" A small red robot carrying a large horn and wearing a sedge hat appeared on the field, standing by Blue Brawler. "And now, I tune my level two Trumpeter and level four Blue Brawler and Synchro Summon!"

The small red robot leapt into the sky, turning into two green rings as the blue robot followed, turning into four balls of light then flew through the rings. "Raise your voice, godly demon! Rise to the battlefield where I fight to defend my friends! Synchro Summon! Level Six, Superheavy Samurai Shutendoji Ogre!" Emerging from the rings was a large red robot wielding a large club, and exhaust pipes that loomed over its shoulders before wrapping around its waist. The robot monster then sat down, obviously in defense position. (DEF:2500) "His effect activates! When he is synchro summoned, he destroys all your spells and trap cards!" Ogre roared, the exhaust pipes firing off small balls of energy, destroying the set card. "And now, Battle Phase! Ogre...," Akira stopped as he stared at Defense Protocol. It had 2300 ATK when he last checked, but now it had 2800! "Why has your monster gotten stronger?!"
 
"I'm surprised you noticed. Defense Protocol boosts the attack of any OS monster I control by 500 during your turn," Hikaru explained, folding his arms. Akira clicked his tongue. That was bothersome. 

"Alright, Ogre attack Megakernel!" Akira commanded.

"Right... too bad that's not how the game works," Hikaru stated. "Monsters attack in the attack position," his voice was condescending, making it obvious to the bystanders he was just playing dumb. 

"Ah, but Superheavy Samurais are different! Ogre can attack from Defense Position, and the Defense is applied instead of Attack!" Akira grinned widely, oblivious to Hikaru's subtle mocking. The large robot took its club, swinging it in order to throw it, the weapon spinning through the air. It smashed into the smaller robot and spun around, coming back to the robot's hand. 

Hikaru: 7600
 
"And with that, I set a monster facedown and end my turn," Akira stated, a wide grin on his face. First blood was his!
 
Hiraku: 7600 - 1 monster. 4 cards in hand.
Akira: 8000 - 2 monsters. 3 cards in hand.

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

"I set a monster face-down and end my turn!"

 

Typical Akira, taking the first turn of the game and doing seemingly nothing with it. Usually a move like this lulled opponents into a false sense of security. After all, everyone knew that setting monsters face-down was a move only made by the desperate (who had no better play) or the stupid (who were setting an obvious trap with a flip monster). Tsukino didn't seem to be falling for it though.

 

"Fine then, my turn. I draw. I start by summoning the Tuner Monster OS-C Nanokernel," A tuner. So he played Synchros too... not what Yushiro was expecting. Then again, this guy wouldn't be the first egotistical Synchro player Yushiro had ran afoul of in the past week.

 

"I then activate Nanokernel's effect: By destroying another 'OS-C' monster in my hand, I can Special Summon an 'OS-A' Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck whose level is equal the combined total of Nanokernel and the destroyed monster! This summon is treated as a Synchro Summon, in case you were wondering. For this effect, I will be destroying the level 3 OS-C Megakernel in my hand. Synchro Summon! Level 5, OS-A Defense Protocol!"

 

"He can Synchro from his hand? That's so... cheap." Yushiro looked on as a large automaton emerged from the Synchro rings, hovering just slightly above the ground.

 

"Now, two effects will be activating here now. First on the chain is Defense Protocol's effect: when he's Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon one 'OS-C' monster from my Graveyard. I'll target the Megakernel I destroyed early! But, next on the chain is Megakernel's effect. See, when he's destroyed by the effect of an OS-C card, I can add one 'OS-C' monster from my Deck to my hand.""I'll be adding another Nanokernel to my hand. Now Megakernel is Special Summoned to the field."

 

"Now, for the Battle Phase. Defense Protocol attacks your set monster!"

 

"I bet you expected destroying this monster would be easy, but the monster Blue Brawler is a real man, unable to be destroyed by battle!" That line put a smile back on Yushiro's face. Akira's deck was predictable, but his enthusiasm and bravado were contagious.

 

"Hm, pity. I set one card face-down and end my turn. Now I'm wide open for your counter attack, whatever will I do?" Even Tsukino's duel banter was condescending.

 

"My turn, draw!" Now it was Akira's turn. The sparks were gonna start to fly.

 

"You can do it Akira!" Yushiro cheered. "Show this kid what you got!"

 

"When I have no spells or traps in my graveyard, I can Special Summon the Tuner Monster Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter from my hand! When I do this, however, I can only Special Summon Superheavy Samurais for the rest of my turn!" There he went. Yushiro knew what was coming next.

 

"And now, I tune my level two Trumpeter and level four Blue Brawler and Synchro Summon! Raise your voice, godly demon! Rise to the battlefield where I fight to defend my friends! Synchro Summon! Level Six, Superheavy Samurai Shutendoji Ogre!" A familiar sight appeared on Akira's side of the field. Ogre was a sight to behold. Massive, armored, and angry. Every bit an equal in strength to Yushiro's stardust dragon.

 

"His effect activates! When he is synchro summoned, he destroys all your spells and trap cards! And now, Battle Phase! Ogre... Why has your monster gotten stronger?!"

 

"Ohhh...." Yushiro groaned. Akira hadn't read his opponent's cards.

 

"I'm surprised you noticed. Defense Protocol boosts the attack of any OS monster I control by 500 during your turn,"

 

"Alright, Ogre attack Megakernel!" At least he didn't skip a beat.

 

"Right... too bad that's not how the game works. Monsters attack in the attack position,"

 

"Not these monsters..."

 

"Ah, but Superheavy Samurais are different! Ogre can attack from Defense Position, and the Defense is applied instead of Attack!"

 

With the command given, Ogre threw its club, the impact landing with shattering force before the weapon swung around and the robot caught it again. But the usual explosion never came... that was odd. Yushiro expected Tsukino to say something, but he too stood silent for what seemed like an eternity, before finally megakernel simply fell apart.

 

"That was... different."

 

"And with that, I set a monster facedown and end my turn,"

 

Things hadn't quite heated up yet, but at the very least Akira seemed to, for the moment, have the upper hand. Tsukino didn't look worried, though, and the look on his face gave Yushiro a bad feeling. What was he planning...

 

 

 

[VCR_CAT]

Hiraku

 

"And with that, I set a monster facedown and end my turn," Akira announced. Hiraku just smiled.

 

"That was it? Okay, I draw."

 

Hiraku paused to look at his hand for a moment. At the moment, the game was still fairly even, but Hiraku had the advantage in the coming turns, and it was time to cement that lead.

 

"From my hand I normal summon OS-C Microkernel," Hiraku place the card in attack position, a brown, humanoid robot with a white mask and chestpiece materializing the field, carrying a squared off sword. "And while I control a face-up 'OS-C' monster, I can Special Summon OS-C Kilokernel from my hand." Beside the brown robot, an orange one rose from the field holding a thinner sword with a buckler. "I now tune the level 3 Kilokernel with the level 2 Microkernel." The orange robot turned into 3 green rings while the brown one turned into two stars; a bright pillar of light bursting through the rings. "Synchro Summon! Level 6, OS-A Offense Protocol!"

 

A large, horned, blue robot slammed into the ground, carrying with it a large halberd. "As well, when Kilokernel is sent to the Graveyard for the Synchro Summon of an 'OS-A' Synchro Monster, I can draw 1 card." Hiraku did just that. "Now Offense Protocol differs from his brother; he believes that the best defense is a good offense! When Offense Protocol is Synchro Summoned, I can target 1 card you control and destroy it! I think we've seen enough of that set monster, wouldn't you agree?"

 

Offense Protocol lifted its halberd over its head and brought the blade onto the ground, a bright, white spark of energy lancing out from where the blade met the ground and straight for the set monster.

The monster was revealed to be a blue crossbow, which exploded from the force of the energy. 

 

"You just destroyed Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer! When it's destroyed, it will pierce my deck and allow me to add a Superheavy Samurai from my deck to hand!" Akira pulled out his deck, looking through it before grabbing a card. "I'm adding another Trumpeter to my hand!"

 

"Of course it was, but I'm not done. During my turn, Offense Protocol boosts the attack of all 'OS-' monsters I control by 500, so don't think your ogre is safe just yet!" Both Offense and Defense Protocols' stats boosted from 2300 to 2800 each, jets of steam bursting from the seems in their armor.

 

"Your deck... It supports itself almost as well as my Superheavy Samurais! I've gotta say, you're much better than everyone else I've dueled so far!" Akira laughed. "Even Ogre will be overwhelmed by this,"

 

Hiraku simply smirked. He was only getting started. "Speaking of that ogre, I think it's about time we removed that eyesore! Defense Protocol, see what you can do," Hiraku pointed at the squatting demon robot, Defense Protocol once again bursting forward with its fist extended backwards. The flying machine's fist slammed into Ogre's body, the metal buckling and tearing as metal met metal, and Defense Protocol's fist burst into the other robot's chest before it exploded into light. "Now, Offense Protocol, perhaps it's time that we returned Akira the favor from last turn." Offense Protocol gripped its halberd, and ran forward, winding the large lance back and bringing forward for a big, wide slash at Akira.

 

Akira grunted as the lance slashed across his body, pushing him back. However, he dug his heels into the ground, which allowed him to remain standing despite the attack.

 

"When I, the man Akira is hit by a direct attack, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai Prepped Defense from my hand!" A small green robot appeared on the field, holding its lance-like weapon in a defensive way, a blue barrier appearing around it. "And when he is summoned this way, he can not be destroyed by effects or battle for the rest of the turn!"

 

"Annoying, but my Battle Phase is done regardless. I end my turn." Hiraku stood there, a proud smirk on his face. He was holding the advantage with only Offense and Defense Protocols; he hadn't even needed to summon anything bigger yet. "Oh, and don't forget; during your turn, Defense Protocol boosts the attack of my 'OS-' monsters by 500 as well."

 

Hiraku: 7600 - 2 monsters, 4 cards in hand

Akira: 5200 - 1 monster, 3 cards in hand

 

[spoiler=Customs]

[Alaina]

 

As the Shiranui playing girl had agreed to her proposal, Meiko let out a, "whoopie!" The day was now a mixed bag to Meiko. She had a fun time before hand, she got to duel Kimiko, but she also lost in a completely miserable fashion. But now her party size had increased from two to four. Which meant twice the fun. And that meant that it had definitely been a net positive day. So, with no point in just standing around any longer, Meiko pivoted 180 degrees to be facing the same way as Kimiko, slinging her arm across her shoulder and pointing forward with her other hand as she said, "then let us move onward team! To more cotton candy and games and other merriment that probably exists here!" Bringing her arm away she then started to walk forward before off handedly saying, "by the way have you seen 'Love Sensation Haunting with a Vengeance: Out with a Bang not a Chuckle?' It was really weird and kind all over the place but pretty great. Give it ten years and I think it'll be a cultural phenomenon." With that, the blue scarfed girl walked forward towards other Blue Yonder Festival festivities to occupy her day with. 

[Yui]

---

As Leona was handed the two cotton candies as requested, she handed over some money to the person behind the stall before extending her left hand out toward Sai. "This one's yours," she nodded. The duel that was happening was picking up. There were more monsters on the field, things were happening, it really wasn't a show to be missed. As such, Leona wasted no time getting to the scene of the happenings, gathering as part of the group of spectators. When, out the corner of her eye, she spotted someone. Someone familiar, as it so happened. Mr. Underdog himself.

 

Mmmm...I've already got the other boy though. Underdog can wait, right? Besides, he's having fun watching the duel, and so should I.

---

[King K. Azo]

"Annoying, but my Battle Phase is done regardless. I end my turn." Hiraku stood there, a proud smirk on his face. He was holding the advantage with only Offense and Defense Protocols; he hadn't even needed to summon anything bigger yet. "Oh, and don't forget; during your turn, Defense Protocol boosts the attack of my 'OS-' monsters by 500 as well."

 

"Don't worry. I, the man Akira, won't forget!" He stated as he reached into his deck. "My turn, draw!" He looked at his hand and smiled, reaching for the red headband tied around his upper arm. With a quick swipe of his hand, he untied the strip of cloth and wrapped it around his head. "Let's go!"

 

Serious Mode Engaged!

 

"When I have no spells or traps in my graveyard, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai Trumpeter from my hand!" The small dark red robot appeared to the sound of a hollow instrument being blown into before twirling it. "Now I Synchro Summon!" Akira's Trumpeter became a pair of green rings, which Prepped Defense passed into, becoming a triplet of stars in the process. "Steadfast Warrior, raise from your slumber! Fill the field with sounds of clashing blades! Synchro Summon! Level 5, Superheavy Samurai Swordmaster Musashi!" A red robot holding swords appeared on the field, spinning them in his hands before taking a defensive position. "Musashi allows me to grab a monster from the graveyard and add it to my hand! I add back Trumpeter!" He smirked as his monster raised a sword into the air, and card appeared in Akira's hand.

 

"Well, now  that's annoying," Hikaru stated as he folded his arms. Akira wagged a finger at Hikaru. 

 

"That's not the end. Now, I Special Summon Trumpeter again and synch for seven!"  As fast as the wind! As quiet as the forest! Silent ninja, hit the finishing blow! Synchro Summon! Come! Level 7! Superheavy Ninja Shinobiashi!" (DEF:2800) A robot that was slimmer than the ones before it dropped to the ground, spinning a staff. "Now I activate its effect! I can half the defense to have it attack you directly!" (DEF:1400)

 

"Oh no, you're poking me for damage, what will I do?" Hiraku stated mockingly. Akira narrowed his eyes and continued. 

 

"Now I equip Superheavy Samurai Soulbang Cannon!" A small chest piece-like machine attached to Shinobiashi, powering up the robot. "This increases its DEF by 1000! So now, it attacks you for 2400 directly!" The ninja vanished out of sight, reappearing behind Hikaru's machines and swinging its staff, causeing Hikaru to hold up his arm to lessen the blow. 

 

Hikaru: 5200

 

"Of course you would." Hikaru muttered, sounded a bit annoyed. 

 

"Main Phase 2! I set a monster facedown! And with that, I end my turn! And Shinobiashi's DEF goes back up to 3800," Akira stated with a grin as he waited. "Your move,"

 

Hiraku: 5200 - 3 monsters, 4 cards in hand

Akira: 5200 - 2 monsters, 3 cards in hand

[VCR_CAT]

Hiraku

 

Hiraku took a moment to read Soulbang Cannon, as he was sure there was more to it than what it seemed. Of course, he was right; it let Akira nuke the field if he activated a monster's effect in the battle phase. That could be trouble later on, but looking at the field, it could also be the best way to simplify the gamestate early. Hiraku looked over his hand one more time and smiled.

 

"It's my turn," Hiraku drew his card. "I'm going to start by removing that pesky Soulbang Cannon by activating Mystical Space Typhoon." A large tornado appeared above Hiraku's monsters, lightning sparking from its clouds. "A classic card, but just so you know, it lets me target and destroy 1 spell or trap card you control, so say goodbye to that handy little stat boost!" Akira said nothing as lightning struck Soulbang, causing it to crack and explode, which in turn lowered his ninja's defense.

 

"Next, I'll activate the field spell OS-C System Tower." A large monolith structure rose from the ground behind Hiraku, covered in various lights and indicators. "Once per turn, this card lets me destroy 1 'OS-C' monster from my hand and increase the Attack and Defense of all 'OS-' monsters I control by 500! So I destroy the Nanokernel in my hand to give my monsters the boost they need to get over your ninja." The small robot of Nano Kernel appeared above the large structure and was torn into several pieces; each being fed into the tower. The windows and lights on the tower began to glow a bright orange as several wires spread out and connected to Offense and Defense Protocol; boosting their stats from 2800 to 3300.

 

Akira shook his head. "These combos you have are incredible. You are a cut above the others I have dueled," He looked up. "However, do not think such a combo will be enough to defeat me!"

 

"We'll see about that! Now, time to take care of this pesky field. Defense Protocol attacks your ninja!" Defense Protocol flew up in the air and sped down towards Akira's Super Heavy synchro, slamming its fist through the robot's staff and through its torso; exploding in a fireworks show of smoke and fire.

 

"But I'm not done here! Now Offense Protocol activates his effect. When an OS-A monster I control destroys one of your monsters by battle, it can attack again at the cost of 500 attack points. Don't think you can just wall up this time!" Defense Protocol flew up in the air again, ready to make another pass, and Hiraku stared into Akira's eyes expectantly. He had to take this bait; otherwise he was risking 3300 damage to the face.

 

"Not so fast! When you activate an effect during the battle phase, I can activate Soulbang in the graveyard! By banishing it, I can negate your effect, and then destroy every monster on the field, burning both of us for 1000 damage!" Akira folded his arms and smirked as Soulbang rose from the grave, crackling with energy as it powered up, and then exploded, engulfing the field and players in a bright light.

 

Hiraku didn't react at all to the explosion and held a steely stare, he then looked at his hand once more. He would need to pass this turn, but he wasn't defenseless. "Well looks like I'm wide open. I set one card and end my turn. By the way, at the end of a turn that an OS- monster I control is destroyed, System Tower lets me draw 1 card." Hiraku drew one more card, and smiled as he ended his turn. Things were picking up; now he just needed to take control.

 

Hiraku: 4200 - 0 monsters, 1 set card, 1 field spell, 2 cards in hand

Akira: 4200 - 0 monsters, 3 cards in hand

 

[spoiler=Customs]

 

 

[BANZAI!!!!]

-Hiraku--Akira-

 

“It is I, the man Akira’s turn! DRAW!”
 

Once again, Akira made a big show of beginning his turn, taking a card from his deck with a powerful flourish. He looked over his hand a moment. “I set one monster face-down, and end my turn! It is your move, small one!” He made a big show of starring the shorter boy down. Clearly he was quite confident in his defenses.

“That’s it? Then it’s my move,” Hiraku replied with a bored tone, drawing his card with as little flourish or pomp as one can humanly accomplish.

“What’s the matter? You, the man Tsukino, does not seem to be enjoying himself.”

Hiraku smiled, but returned to his play. “While I control no monsters, I can Special Summon OS-C Gigakernel from my hand.” Hiraku placed the card on his disk, and a bright silver robot appeared in front of him, brandishing a large spear and a shield. “Sadly he won’t be around for long, because I reveal OS-C Terakernel from my hand and target Gigakernel. Terakernel’s effect allows it to destroy an OS-C monster I control to Special Summon itself from my hand.” Gigakernel exploded into a shower of silver pieces, and in its place a bright red robot stood with a similar spear in its hand. “And when Gigakernel is destroyed by an OS- card’s effect, it can Special Summon a different OS-C monster from my Graveyard, so I’ll be bringing back Megakernel.” A dark portal opened beside Terakernel, with the familiar, green form of the club-wielding robot rising from it. “And now, I activate Terakernel’s effect, allowing it to target an OS-C monster in my Graveyard and copy its level, and I do believe there’s a Kilokernel in my graveyard with its name on it!”

“And now I think you know what’s coming. I tune my level 3 Terakernel with my level 3 Megakernel. Level 6! Come on out, OS-A Support Protocol!” The familiar bright green beam shot through the three stars from Megakernel, and now standing in the field was a bulky white-and-red robot brandishing a large sword, a large 2400 taking place for its attack stat. “Finally, to put the cherry on top of this field, I activate my set card: Magnet Reverse! This card lets me target a Machine-Type monster in my Graveyard that cannot be Normal Summoned or Set and Special Summon it. I think it’s about time we gave Offense Protocol an encore.” Finally, the angular plates and large halberd of Offense Protocol stood next to Support Protocol, boosting their stats to 2900 and 2800 respectively.

“And now for the battle phase. Offense Protocol attacks your set monster.” Offense Protocol sprung into action, winding its halberd back and ready to bring its large blade down on Akira’s set monster. The set card revealed itself to be Superheavy Samurai Swordsman, the blade pulverizing the smaller robot.

“Bad move.” Yushiro crossed his arms and looked on. “Attacking Akira’s sets head-on is usually a bad idea.”  Sure enough, though it was damaged, Swordsman stood firm, staring down its enemy in much the same way its owner stared down his own opponent.

 

“It won’t be that easy for you!” Akira stomped his foot, widening his stance as Swordsman used its hand to grab Offense Protocol’s glaive. “You see, the monster you’ve attacked is Superheavy Samurai Swordsman: the most Steadfast of soldiers! When a Superheavy Samurai monster battles, Swordsman can change the opposing monster’s ATK and DEF...” As he spoke Swordsman ripped the glaive from Offense Protocol, taking the larger robot’s arm off with it. “To ZERO!” That was its cue, and, in a very theatrical display, Swordsman used Offense Protocol’s own weapon against it, heaving the polearm through the larger robot’s head like a javelin.

Hiraku didn’t look surprised, or really had any reaction at all. Offense Protocol stood crippled with a large polearm sticking out of its upper torso, but Akira was left wide open. Yet, Hiraku remembered the Giga Gloves sent to Akira’s grave earlier, and used his disk to read the card. “Well that’s a nasty trick, I guess I end my turn here.”

 

 

Akira: 4200 - 0 monsters, 3 cards in hand

Hiraku: 4200 - 2 monsters, 1 card in hand

 

[VCR_CAT]

Hiraku  Akira

 

“You, the man Tsukino, seem to have underestimated my defenses!” Akira boasted.

 

“You just keep telling yourself that,” Hiraku said, wearing a familiar, sheet-eating grin on his face.

 

“Well, until you prove otherwise…” Akira drew his next card with his typical enthusiasm. “I WILL!” Even Yushiro couldn’t help but laugh a bit. No one but Akira could have an insult fly completely over his head, and yet still rebuff it with such overwhelming confidence.

 

“But since you’re growing bored with my set monsters, why don’t I special summon for you?! Come forth! Superheavy Samurai Scales!” Another droid, similar in design to swordsman but colored in a less aggressive turquoise, appeared on Akira’s field. True to its name, it carried a primitive set of bartering scales on a staff. “Since I control no monsters, Scales allows me to special summon it from my hand, and that’s not all!” A set of four orbs, all resembling a monster’s level stars, appeared on one of the scales, weighing it down. “When Scales is summoned, I can target a Superheavy Samurai in my graveyard and special summon it as well, so long as its level is 4 or below, and I choose Superheavy Samurai Gigagloves!” Gigagloves appeared on the opposite scale, bringing the two sides back almost to an even level, but not quite. Scales itself looked from one side to the other, then shrugged, as if to say “eh, good enough”. Gigagloves hopped off its scale, landing with a thud and shaking the ground with its weight. “More to your liking?”

 

Hiraku yawned comically, which produced a look of annoyance from Akira.

 

“A real man has respect for his adversary! And I think it’s time I taught you, the man Tsukino, some respect! Next, I normal summon Superheavy Samurai Drum, a Tuner monster!” Though its name was Drum, the monster that appeared more closely resembled a gatling gun than any sort of percussion instrument. Yushiro smiled. He knew what monster was coming next.

 

“Three plus four plus one is eight, which means I can tune my Drum with my other two Samurai to Synchro Summon a Level 8 monster!” Gigagloves and Scales disappeared in two pillars of green light as Drum faded away; replaced by a single white star which drew the two beams across the ground toward itself. “Shinkuro Shokan! The Ever-Faithful Shinobi! Superheavy Samurai Ninja Sarutobi!”

 

From out of the merging lights rolled a squat, rather unimposing blue robot… on rollerskates. A large 2800 appeared beside it, indicating its DEF value. “Impressive, don’t you think? But just you wait, Sarutobi is more than he appears to be! Once per turn, since I have no Spells or Traps in my graveyard, Sarutobi can destroy one Spell or Trap card on the field, and guess which one I choose!”

 

Sarutobi’s arms began to extend, stretching across the field and into the vicinity of Hiraku’s field spell. Then, rather abruptly, a barrage of cannon rounds erupted from its fingertips, obliterating the target. “But that’s not all! If I destroy a card with this effect, I get to deal 500 damage to you as well, so get ready to feel our righteous fury, Tsukino!” Sarutobi flicked its right wrist in Hiraku’s direction next, and launched one more salvo before retracting its limbs and letting out a tea kettle-like puff of steam from the vents atop its head. “Ready for more?! Now I enter my Battle Phase, and Sarutobi-”

 

“I activate Support Protocol’s effect,” Hiraku interrupted. “Once per turn, during either player’s Main Phase, I can target 1 OS-A monster I control and swap it with a different one in my graveyard. So Offense Protocol will be gone, and Defense Protocol comes back.”

 

The mangled figure of Offense Protocol sunk into a dark portal below it, and from the same portal Defense Protocol rose from, pristine and shining. Both monsters received the same 500 ATK boost.

 

“What, did you think I just walked into that trap without a back-up? Support Protocol isn’t just an attack stat, you know.” Hiraku informed Akira, the reasoning behind his confidence a lot more apparent now.

 

“Hmph. Seems you’ve avoided Sarutobi’s wrath for the moment. Well played, small one! I, the man Akira, end my turn!”

 

“For now? My turn,” Hiraku drew another card. “I activate Support Protocol’s effect again, replacing Defense Protocol with Offense Protocol.” The monsters swapped once more, the stat boost remaining and keeping Support Protocol stronger than Sarutobi. “And now, the Battle Phase. Support Protocol attacks your Sarutobi.”

 

Support Protocol hefted its sword, and ran forward, bringing it around for a big, horizontal slice on Sarutobi.

 

“Sarutobi seems to have met his match, but you have yet to break through to the man himself, small one!”

 

“Maybe not this turn. Offense Protocol attacks you directly.”

 

“Ha! I, the man Akira, also never proceed without backup! You forget that Gigagloves is in my graveyard!”

 

“I didn’t forget. If my monster attacks you directly, you can banish him from your Graveyard, draw a card, and if it’s a Superheavy monster, reduce my monster’s attack to zero, correct?”

 

“That is correct!” Akira revealed the top card of his deck: another copy of scales. “Thankfully, when I sent Gigagloves to my graveyard last turn, his other effect allowed me to stack the top five cards of my deck! Now I can add Scales to my hand, and since I’ve done that...” Scales briefly reappeared on the field, its massive hands clapping on the sides of Offense Protocol’s head like a pair of cymbals. “Your monster’s ATK becomes zero!” Nice try!”

 

“I know, didn’t you pay attention to last turn? I can just swap Offense Protocol out again, it makes no difference.” Hiraku replied with an almost annoyed tone. “Is that all you got so far? Because this duel has been very predictable and linear so far.”

 

“From where I’m standing, it looks like the score is still even, and you can’t seem to push for the game despite that field of yours, kid.” Yushiro chimed in.

 

“The man, Yushiro, is correct! If you cannot hurt me, how can you defeat me?”

 

“All you’ve been able to do is stall so far. You have no Gloves in grave, and no monsters on the field. You might think the score is even, but I’ve been leading this duel the entire time. If you think you can break this field and take the lead, try it. Otherwise, you lose next turn.” Hiraku’s tone was more straight and serious than it had been before. When he said that Akira would lose next turn, he was confident it would happen. “Now please, entertain me.”

 

Akira: 4200 - 0 monsters, 3 cards

Hiraku: 3700 - 2 monsters, 2 cards in hand

 

[spoiler=Customs]

 

 

[BANZAI!!!!]

Hiraku//Akira

 

“With gusto! Draw!”

Akira looked over his hand. With the addition of Scales, he saw a way to turn the duel in his favor. If Tsukino wanted entertainment, he’d get it. That was for sure.

“Well, I think it’s about time I, the man Akira, showed you what I was made of! Let’s start off with a special summon: another Superheavy Samurai Scales!” On cue, Scales returned to the field, the four orbs weighing down its left scale. “As i’m sure you’re aware, when Scales is summoned-”

“-it allows you to summon a Level 4 ‘Superheavy Samura’ from your grave, yes I was paying attention,” Hiraku interrupted, rolling his eyes.

“Then you should know who’s coming next: Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler!” Like Gigagloves before it, Blue brawler appeared on the scale, though this time both were evened out. Scales gave the monster a confirmatory nod before it hopped off its platform, landing with even greater force than Gigagloves had. “When Blue Brawler enters the field, I can change its battle position, and so you know, it can’t be destroyed by battle, either.” Akira crossed his arms with a confident grin. “As I said before, you cannot defeat me if you cannot hurt me!”

“If hiding behind a wall is all you’re going to do you might as well surrender. My challenge still stands: If this is all you can do, you will lose on my next turn.” Hiraku replied defiantly, not at all impressed by the field.

“Who said I was finished, little man?” Akira pulled another card from his hand, placing the monster on the field. “This here is Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji: a monster I can special summon if I have no spell or trap cards in my graveyard. Not only that, but Big Waraji counts as two tributes if I tribute him for a machine-type monster, and that’s exactly what I, the man Akira, plan to do, sooo!” Akira stomped his foot, assuming  a stance not unlike that of a sumo wrestler. He held another card in the air as he did so. “YOOOOOOOO! Jishin,-kō no taishōgun! Tribute Summon! Superheavy Samurai! Big! BEN-”

Hiraku made a “Hmph” noise. “At this moment, I activate Support Protocol’s effect, and swap my poor, crippled Offense Protocol for a refurbished Defense Protocol.” Offense Protocol was once again pulled into a portal in the ground and was replaced by the hovering figure of Defense Protocol. “Now, show me what you are going to do.”

“Man, you’re ruining his grand entrance!” Akira complained, looking somewhat deflated. Still, Big Waraji disappeared in a vortex of wind and debris, and in its place appeared a massive, hulking automaton, armed with a polearm. “This is Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei! And you’ll pay for making a mockery of him! Enter Battle Phase!”

Akira’s monsters, who were all summoned in defense mode, nonetheless took on an offensive posture, ready to strike. “Thanks to Benkei’s leadership, my monsters can attack while in defense position, Tsukino!”

“You only control one monster that can attack over either of my Synchros. Choose wisely,” Hiraku said with a grin.

“What difference will one turn make? I can withstand anything you throw at me! Big Benkei, crush Defense Protocol. Show him what we’re made of!” Apparently, Benkei took the command literally, leaping into the air in a blast of steam and landing atop Defense Protocol and violently shaking the earth with the impact. When the dust cleared, Benkei’s polearm was speared through the Defense protocol’s chest, its body smushed almost flat under Benkei’s sheer weight.

Hiraku took the 700 points of damage as Support Protocol stood on the field alone. “Is that it?” he asked.

 

“Hmph. For now, I end my turn. Now please, if you, the man Tsukino would, entertain me.”

[VCR_CAT]

Hiraku/ /Akira/ /Yushiro/ /Katsu

 

“Well I guess if you want me to stop taking it easy on you, then I will.” Hiraku drew his card. “Now pay attention, because I’m not going to explain this play twice. I activate Iron Call to revive Kilo Kernel from my Graveyard.” A small, orange robot returned to the field, but the lights on its body went dead as its limbs hung limp. “Because of Iron Call, its effects are negated. Now, because I revived a monster from my Graveyard, I summon Doppelwarrior from my hand.” A masked soldier wearing a black suit with a small machine gun appeared next to Kilokernel. “Next I will Tune my level 3 Kilokernel with my level 2 Doppelwarrior, summoning Armades, Keeper of Boundaries.” Three green rings pass over Doppelwarrior and a beam of light shot through them; a robed demon appeared, an orb of ice magic and one of fire magic in either hand. “Now I will Normal Summon Microkernel, but it won’t stay around long as I destroy it to summon another Terakernel from my hand.” A small brown robot appeared on the field, but disappeared in a bright explosion immediately as it was replaced by the large, red body of Terakernel. “Because Microkernel was destroyed by an OS- card effect, I can Special Summon Megakernel from my hand.”

 

“Can you uhh... run through it one more time?”

 

Hiraku looked over to Akira, annoyed. “I apologize I did not play as slow as you can process. Now I tune my level 5 Terakernel with my level 3 Megakernel to Synchro Summon…” Hiraku looked through his Extra Deck and paused for a moment. Then, Hiraku burst into uproarious laughter.

 

“What’s so funny?” Yushiro called over, sounding slightly annoyed.

 

OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1myOnrW2mQ

“Oh I’m not about to spoil it, but you’ll find out,” Hiraku replied, wiping a tear from his eye. “I tune my level 5 Terakernel with my level 3 Megakernel to Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend.” Five rings surrounded Megakernel and once more a beam of light shot through, appearing in its place that black and red body of a horned, hellish dragon that roared in Akira’s face.
 

“Red-”

 

“-Dragon Archfiend?” Both Akira and Yushiro, as well as a large portion of the spectating crowd, looked on in awe. Like Yushiro’s Stardust, seeing a Red Dragon Archfiend was a rare spectacle.

 

“What’s funny is how your friend is about to lose to such an old, garbage monster! I’m almost glad I forgot to take this thing out of my deck! Now it’s time to enter the Battle Phase! First, Red Dragon is going to attack your Blue Brawler.” Red Dragon Archfiend opened its mouth and took a deep breath before unleashing a torrent of black and red fire in Blue Brawler’s direction.

 

“Bad move! You see, despite your dragon’s power, Blue Brawler can’t be destroyed by battle! You’ve wasted your attack!”

 

“You’ve lost this duel, Akira. Red Dragon Archfiend’s effect activates; when it attacks a defense position monster, at the end of damage calculation, he gets to destroy all defense position monsters you control.” Red Dragon Archfiend’s turned its head, spreading the hellfire throughout Akira’s field.

 

“All my defense monsters?!” Akira looked on stunned as each and every one of his monsters glowed red hot in the flames, then exploded, leaving him defenseless.

 

“If you still had your Soulbang in Grave, or maybe your Gigagloves, you might have saved yourself a turn. Too bad you squandered your defenses over every little bait I presented you. You’re wide open. Armades will attack you directly, but his effect prevents you from activating cards or effects until the end of the damage step!”

 

Armades brought both the fire and ice orbs together, firing out a beam of spiraling energy that hit Akira head on.

 

“Now it’s about time I put an end to this. Support Protocol attacks you directly!” Support Protocol hefted its large sword, bringing it down on Akira as his lifepoint counter reached zero.

 

“I told you I was going to win this turn,” Hiraku stated smugly as the holograms disappeared. He held his Red Dragon Archfiend in his hand and laughed, tossing it on the ground in front of Akira. “Here, you can keep it, I don’t need it anymore. Maybe this garbage card can improve your garbage deck!”

 

“Garbage?! A man should show more respect for the creature that wins him the game!”

 

Hiraku laughed again. “Oh come on, they’re just cards! I didn’t even need that specific card to win the game, but it’s not like I needed to actually summon any of my better monsters. Talk to me when you learn how to do more than just summon and attack.” Hiraku turned to Yushiro next. “And maybe you’ll prove more of a challenge than this when we duel next. I look forward to it.”

 

Yushiro stepped forward, picking Red Dragon Archfiend up off the ground and offering it back to Hiraku. “Take your card and go. Enjoy the win while it lasts.”

 

“Oh I wasn’t kidding when I said you can keep it, I have better cards now. Maybe you can trade it off for better ones yourself, who knows.” Hiraku laughed once more. “But whatever, maybe you can actually entertain me next time. I’ll see you then.”

 

As Hiraku walked away, Katsu jogged over to Akira, noticing the amount of people walking away from his dojo’s booth and leaving the scene. “C’mon, the bet’s off. I think you’ve had today,” She said, scowling in Hiraku’s direction as he left. “That kid’s gonna get what’s coming to him…”

 

Akira put his hand on Katsu’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. “Fear not! I, the man Akira, feel no shame in losing, even if the victor is such an insufferable little man!” He turned to his friend next. “Yushiro, I think you should keep that poor dragon. Defeat him with it, and let it prove its worth!”

 

“Heh, thanks, Akira. I’ll… do my best.”

 

“So if you feel no shame in losing, does that mean the bet’s still on?” Katsu said to Akira with a mischievous grin. “Because I have a few ideas of what I’d like you to do~”

 

Akira looked down at Katsu, worried. “I-I-I, the man, Akira, never agreed to such terms! The wager was off once I accepted the small one’s challenge! My duty to the man, Yushiro, comes before matters of personal pride!”

 

Yushiro and Katsu laughed while Akira, for his part couldn’t for the life of him understand what was so funny.

[The Warden]

She Who Resides

 

With her sourpuss art teacher having left on some urgent "errand", Chancellor Pauline was once again alone as she strolled through the festival, until.... “Here, you can keep it, I don’t need it anymore. Maybe this garbage card can improve your garbage deck!”

 

Ah yes, that student. Pauline frowned as she caught the familiar boasting of vunderkind Hiraku in a very unsportsmanlike manner. Is this the stance of her students nowadays? "Hmmm" the Chancellor purred as she drifted away in thought.

 

It might help to give this new generation a lesson in duel ethics, maybe with someone who had some idea of how to act properly in a duel, like... ah, what a charming coincidence.

 

---

 

Celebrity Duelist

 

That duel with that Shiranui girl was tired and predictable really, and that Raidraptor girl clearly wasn't using her deck to its full potential either. Raidraptors were far more explosive than that, and able to chain combos better even without doing that lame Last Strix strategy. "Excuse me~?"

 

Pausing, Syndri immediately recognized that voice. Pivoting on his heel, the ex-pro came face-to-face with the Chancellor of Blue Yonder. "Hello Syndri dear, it's been a very long time, hasn't it?" Pauline smiled fondly.

 

Silent for a moment, Syndri had to chuckle as he removed his Dreadscythe headdress, his hair still somehow immaculate as he revealed his true identity to everyone present. "How did you know it was me Chancellor?" he smiled.

 

"I'm very good at recognizing my students Syndri dear, and, let's to be honest, you took cosplay very seriously even when you were a student here, albeit with a smaller budget than what you have now. A very realistic Guardian Dreadscythe costume I must say" the women complimented.

 

"Well, what can I say Chancellor? Old habits die hard" Syndri chuckled as he rested his scythe on his shoulder. "But..., I assume you have reason to speak to me other than saying hello to one of your former students" he noted observantly.

 

"Am I that transparent Syndri dear? Well, yes, it is true actually. I was wondering if, being an ex-pro now, if you would be able to spare the time to perhaps be a guest lecturer for a class on duel ethics, and perhaps to give our students an idea of what being a professional duelist entails" Pauline requested.

 

"I don't know what to say Chancellor. An interesting offer but...."

 

"But it would be a good way to sniff out any Sigils that got out early among the students."

 

"But, it is one I gladly. I watched a duel earlier and I can say it wasn't up to what I expect from Blue Yonder duelists. So I'll gladly take the opportunity to spread my wisdom with the students" Syndri agreed.

 

"Marvelous. So, if you could come tomorrow midday, that would be very much appreciated Syndri dear."

 

"I wouldn't miss it for the world dear Chancellor."

[a coffee]

Ah. Mondays. Whether you are 8 or 80, something about having to say "so long" to the fun and carefree attitude of the weekend and embrace the weekly grind puts a sour face on everyone. Yet, at Blue Yonder, things seemed relatively upbeat. Cliques had begun to form in classes, the curriculums now beginning to heat up, and a school year now officially born. The routines had been set in place, and those who had been here for a while now already knew the routine. Yet, a fair amount of buzz had been drum up over the surprise visit from Syndri Noir, to give a master class on what it's like to be a professional duelist. It shouldn't surprise many that this sort of lecture piqued the interest of a large amount of the student body, and even those who hadn't done spectacularly well in classes at least thought it would be wise to pop in. Nothing motivates a student quite like seeing their dream stand in front of them. But before any of that could be done, the student body would have to get through classes! What a bummer, on an otherwise beautiful day. It was warm during the afternoon and gave the students their last few tastes of summer before the brutal winds and winter conditions would settle in. What would today's action packed evening have in store for our young duelists??

 

Episode 4: Get Schooled! A Professional Duelist Come To Blue Yonder!!

 

 

Elizabeth ate quietly at her lunch table; she was at a community table in the lunch room, but she hardly knew those sitting next to her. It was unlike Elizabeth to eat during the early lunch, but she had to tutor Yushiro later and her flexible study hall period meant that she could switch up her schedule if she had to. Sure, a peanut butter and banana sandwich was far from glamorous when it came to top tier lunches, but her lovely assortment of fruits and other nutritious food choices sure fell in line with the classic Elizabeth diet. Especially since she had just been out for a rather long night with Pat the night prior, it was nice to get hydrated and filled with things that weren't medically considered poison.Elizabeth's hair was in her classic ponytail, matching the summery look she had gone for today given the nice weather; a tank top from a local music group, skinny jeans, and a pair of skate shoes honestly had her looking more like her late brother than the attire she was normally noticed for, but the outfit spoke to her this morning.

 

Elizabeth looked around; sure was quiet in the lunchroom today. Guess everyone's studying hard for the master class today. I suppose I should set an alarm to remind myself to go to that later... couldn't hurt, anyway. Maybe he'll say something exciting enough to get me wanting to duel again. Elizabeth chuckled to herself; there was literally no way that was going to happen, but at the very least maybe Emma, Pat, or Yushiro would be there. She could at least see her friends. After fiddling with her phone for a bit, Elizabeth went back to eating her lunch, waiting for something more exciting to happen or time to pass so she could get to things she was actually looking forward to. Something about today's tutoring session had her feeling pumped up.

[VCR_CAT]

Hiraku

 

Hiraku's morning period that day was one he often didn't enjoy: Mr. Yoshi's history class. Mr. Yoshi was a good teacher, that's for sure, but Hiraku was often the target of his jokes and would find himself frequently made light of in class. Hiraku knew this was because of his more competitive leanings as a student, but it was also due to the one time he challenged Mr. Yoshi to a duel and lost in a big way; something that this eccentric teacher wouldn't let the more competitive student live down, and something Hiraku went to decent lengths to keep quiet. That said, he was glad to the class was over and that it was time for lunch.

 

Hiraku often brought his own lunch instead of ordering from the cafeteria, but this was one of those days where it was just easier on the schedule. Holding his tray, he observed the lunch room and spotted Elizabeth Hall sitting at one of the community tables beside others yet keeping to herself. Neither of them had really formally met, but Hiraku had known her from several duels that had happened at the school in the past. Ritual-based decks weren't the most orthodox of styles, yet she played her deck very well and managed to garner a lot of success in the school. As far as students go, there weren't many that Hiraku respected to such a degree. However, she was fairly recluse, and someone that Hiraku rarely had the opportunity to meet with or talk to, let alone duel. All three of which he had an interest in, and now found his chance.

 

Hiraku moved towards the table and placed his tray down, taking the seat directly across Elizabeth.

 

"Hey, you're Elizabeth, right? Mind if I sit here?" He said, taking the seat as she nodded. "I've never gotten a chance to introduce myself before, my name's Hiraku Tsukino."

 

 

Mr. Yoshi / / Katsu

 

With his class concluded, Mr. Yoshi sat at a faculty table in the cafeteria, having the duty of supervising the area for that day. His large sunglasses glared in a ray of sunshine, reflecting into the eyes of an annoyed student across the room as he ate his lunch with a couple other teachers. Mid-chew he spotted Katsu Tanaka, a student in his next history period and one whom he knew had a bit of struggle in the class. Which also reminded him.

 

Mr. Yoshi got up from his chair and approached Katsu. "Ah, Ms. Tanaka! I was wondering if you had a moment!" He proclaimed in a jovial tone as the glare from his glasses flashed in the eyes of several other students.

 

Katsu turned to face Mr. Yoshi with her lunch in hands already. "Oh, Mr. Yoshi, sorry I was just on my way to have lunch with some friends," she stated apologetically, her shifting glance betraying how quickly she wanted to get away from the crazy teacher.

 

"Oh, it's no problem! I was wondering if we could meet after school today, I've been meaning to talk to you about your tutoring sessions." Mr. Yoshi asked, almost blocking her path.

 

"I'm sorry, I won't be able to make it today, I uhhh have something important to attend to," Katsu replied sheepishly. Mr. Yoshi scratched his head.

 

"This 'something important' wouldn't happen to be another duel against a bully, now would it?"

 

Katsu almost jumped literally. "N-no, nothing like that sir! I just... need to help a friend out with something, is all."

 

"If you say so, but make sure you find the time to meet with me sometime soon; your success in class is still important too!"

 

"Yes sir, I will."

 

"Good, I'll see you soon."

 

Mr. Yoshi returned to his table and Katsu breathed a sigh of relief. The thought of her duel with Blythe had been on her mind all day; wondering what she would be up against and how she could overcome it, to the point that she had difficulty concentrating in classes that day. Walking in the lunch room she was looking for Yushiro and Akira, but in reality her mind was entirely elsewhere...

[a coffee]

& -Hiraku

 

Elizabeth looked up from her lunch; there was suddenly a person sitting across from her, and they knew who she was and everything. It came as a bit of a surprise in all honesty; she had come to assume that everyone who knew of her at some point either forgot about her ability or just assumed it was never coming back. Being approached like this was a rarity.

 

“Yeah, that’s me.” Elizabeth entertained Hiraku with a lip-smile; she was worried there may be something in her teeth, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Care for some fruit? I’ve got plenty.” she gestured at the meal in front of her, and nodded in approval of her own statement, “I don’t suppose you came over just for small talk, did you?”

 

“Oh, I’m fine thanks, I have quite a bit of lunch as it is,” Hiraku replied. “And I didn’t come over looking for a favor or a challenge, if that’s what you’re wondering. I’ve seen a few of your duels now and then at school and was very impressed, but I’ve never gotten the chance to really meet you until now.”

 

Elizabeth almost blushed a tad, as was strangely common these days; a duelist? Impressed by her skills? Elizabeth was bewildered, but sounded as sincere as possible in her reply, “Oh.. well thank you! I’m extremely flattered.” Elizabeth paused, taking a drink of water before continuing, “I’ll be honest, I don’t hear that much these days. Do you also run a Ritual deck?”

 

“Me? Oh no, I run a Synchro deck, actually. But I don’t see too many Ritual decks around very often, so it’s always interesting to see someone not only tackle such a deck but do well with it,” Hiraku said with a smile. “Did you just build that deck over time or did you know what you wanted to make and worked towards getting the cards to make it?”

 

“Well, with Xyz cards running around left and right, pure Synchro can be a bit hard to find as well, I feel. The Cyber Angel deck was just sort of an idea I had when the cards started coming out. I thought maybe you would be able to dedicate less resources to the extra deck and still get the same amount of output in terms of field control… It has its ups and downs, but I find I am able to keep tempo with a fair share of decks.” Elizabeth returned a smile; her teeth were evidently well taken care of. For Elizabeth, it was always the little things. They might not have been noticeable to everyone, but it always felt good to her when someone did notice. “So how long have you been going to Blue Yonder? I don’t suppose you’re a Senior, or I would probably know you at least as well as you know me.” she giggled slightly. It was sort of strange being introduced to someone who already seemed to have a firm grasp on who you are.

 

“Ah, well I’m not a senior, that’s for sure. Actually I’m a sophomore here, and I’ve been playing Synchro pretty much since I started playing. They were more or less the only cards I had when I was a kid and I wasn’t often allowed to get many new ones, so I just played a lot of Synchro Monsters and eventually got good at it.” Hiraku paused to take a bite of his food and chew it. “I’m actually one of the top students in my year, though, so it all payed off in the end. My class schedule gets pretty busy, though, so I don’t often have time for many tournaments or anything, and I dunno, between you and me,” Hiraku glanced around a little and leaned in to whisper. “Nobody from my grade really offers any kind of challenge.”

 

Elizabeth nodded along with Hiraku’s comments, he was most certainly confident in his ability, and if what he says is true, he would certainly have every right; it’s hard to get to the top and stay there. If anyone knew that, it would be Elizabeth.

 

“Well, I always found there are a couple of late bloomers that come up and really start kicking ass. But if you really are that good, I look forward to seeing you do your work. I tutor a lot of younger students, so there’s a good chance I’ll get to see you in action at least once.” Elizabeth threw a wink in Hiraku’s direction, “Maybe if you’re good enough you’ll get to challenge up against some upperclassmen. I’d be honored to see what you’ve learned.”

 

Hiraku couldn’t help but feel his cheeks burn slightly, yet he managed to maintain his composure. “Well, hopefully they take those lessons to heart, I’d like to see what my deck can do when it’s pushed to its limits,” Hiraku returned with confidence. “And hopefully the opportunity comes up; I would also like to see what the older students have up their sleeves over us younger ones!”

 

Elizabeth looked at her bare arms, “Well, at the moment I haven’t even got sleeves, so I’d venture to guess you’d get the upper hand pretty quick.” she chuckled at her own terrible joke, “Going to the master class later? Seems like a pretty big deal. Everyone’s been buzzing about it.”

 

Hiraku laughed at Elizabeth’s joke. “Absolutely I’m going to be at the Master Class later. I had to pull a few strings to be able to make it, but I’ve been looking forward to it all day. I can’t expect to a be pro if I don’t learn from a pro, right?” Hiraku overhead Mr. Yoshi’s voice as he said that and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Just… so long as it’s a current pro and not a retired one…”

 

Elizabeth was just finishing up her lunch, and one quick look at the clock on her phone told her that she had to get to class quickly, or else she would be late, “Goodness, would you look at the time! I’m gonna be late to class!” Elizabeth rushed to quickly gather her things into her backpack. “Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, hopefully I get to see you at the master class! Thanks for having lunch with me. Until our duel, right?” she winked at him again, and would make her way out after Hiraku’s reply.

 

“Absolutely, I’ll see you then,” Hiraku replied with a smile, his own lunch not done quite yet as he still had some time until his next period.

 

 

Elizabeth ran quickly to class, having been deeply distracted by her conversation with Hiraku. It was only a few days into the school year and she had already been out partying once and was going to be late to class! Only now had it seemed kind of strange to her that her grades were actually significantly better when her life was like this all the time. Still, she enjoyed that conversation with Hiraku; maybe everyone in the underclassman grades was super approachable and nice. Out of Yushiro and Hiraku, at least, they were a great bunch!

 

Elizabeth barged into the studio, barely able to catch her breath, trying to force out an apology for her tardiness before even really taking in any air, resulting in some completely incomprehensible speech. She calmed herself down, now able to actually articulate what it was she was trying to say.

 

"Sorry for being late, Professor Yonehara. I completely lost track of time in the dining hall. Did I miss anything important?" Elizabeth slowly made her way to her seat, trying to disrupt the class as little as possible from there on, hoping to sink back into the obscurity she was used to. Seemed like she was in the center of a ton of drama lately, and Professor Yonehara was known to be a bit... stiff with disruptions.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Crystal Apprentice-

 

For Roy, today was just one thing after the other... There was a Ethics of Duel Monster's test he had today and then later he had a master class that he had to attend today. Sure it wasn't a class that he specifically had to go to, at least to his knowledge. But he wanted to anyway, if only because of the sheer fact that a Pro Duelist was teaching. It was a rare opportunity to have someone of such a high position in the Dueling world come to teach a class.

 

However, right now he had the time to relax and gather his thoughts. Roy had been a bit wired since since this morning with the extra studying for the test...and he was admittedly tired.

 

Hmm...maybe I could get some assistance from Syndri on my deck. he thought, sipping on a drink he purchased from a vending machine. Of course, he thought the way his deck was right now was alright, but advice and tips from a pro would be the greatest, in his opinion.

 

Roy took another gulp out of his drink, just thinking about the master class. He was really hoping that Balthy was going to be in the class. The guy was a pretty interesting one...and his friend who used Raidraptors. He sighed heavily, as he stared his drink bottle. He really needed to make new friends...and right now they seemed like the best ones he could talk to. Then again, he thought he better keep possibilities open...after all...he didn't want to keep talking and bugging Kimiko the whole school year.

 

 

-The Action HERO Duelist-

 

"And now...with your field empty...I'll have Contrast HERO Chaos attack you directly!" Souji said with no shred of compassion in his voice. He pointed at the young man across from him, as his dual colored hero struck at him. "That's the Duel..."

 

He deactivated his Duel Disk and put his deck away. He strolled over towards the young man who was plopped on the ground, before snatching something up from him. Under his fedora, Souji glared down at the young man as he held up a few cards. "Next time you just bully someone and use the ante rule and blatantly steal their cards...you'll be answering to me!!"

 

"Y-Yes sir...i-i-it won't happen again!"

 

Souji turned on his heel and handed the cards over towards another young man who took them happily. "Next time, don't get suckered into stuff like that. Can only save you sooooooo many times." he said, waving a hand as he walked past.

 

Slowly putting his hands into his pockets, Souji sighed. That was something he really didn't feel like having to deal with, but he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. Still, it was throwing his whole schedule out of whack. He missed most of his classes, which wasn't a big deal to him right now...but...he needed to attend one certain class: the master class...taught by the Pro Duelist himself...Syndri Noir.

 

Dirk-sensei's brother...and current Pro Duelist...its a no brainer that I have to see him face to face. Souji smirked. After all...I need to see if the rumors are true about him having the appearance of a strong and powerful Duelist in person.

[Yui]

---

This is bad.

 

Today, simply put, was not Kimiko's day. Usually one to make her own lunches the day before, Kimiko had forgotten to make a lunch yesterday. As such, she didn't have time to make one today instead. While she was taking a shower this morning, her hand reached for the wrong knob for the water, and she'd been startled awake by jets of ice-cold water when she was expecting hot water instead. One of her shoes got untied on her way to class earlier that morning, and she tripped in the hallway where people saw her blunder. While explaining the answer to a problem in math, Kimiko had bitten her tongue on accident. The whole day had been one small blunder after another, and it was doing an excellent job of wearing down her patience. And that brought her to the next problem.

 

Kimiko looked at the blank sheet of paper in her left hand. This was supposed to be art homework where she sketched a person. Anyone was fair game. More importantly, it was due today, and as Kimiko switched her attention between the paper in one hand and the fork in the other, stabbing into a lunch of chicken nuggets (she'd told the cafeteria staff to just "Give me whatever"), she knew she'd have to figure something out, fast. She had no buffer zone between lunch and art where she'd have to turn in this blank page, and Kimiko Hatakeyama was not going to let bad luck play her for a fool. The master of her own destiny, Kimiko vowed that she would have this turned in proper and finished. She'd just find the nearest random stranger and draw them before lunch was over, she decided. Eager to get her work done, Kimiko wolfed down what was left of her lunch - nearly choking on the last nugget - before getting up, cleaning up her spot, and hurriedly moving on her way. She had to find someone to draw.

 

As she stepped out into the hallway, she found the perfect person. They were rather plain-looking, but somehow even smaller than Kimiko was. Long hair, glasses, she'd work. "Hey you," Kimiko called out to the small(er) person. "Come with me up to the roof; I need a quick favor."

---

[Alaina]

 

Meiko had been having a rather pleasant morning thus far. Having been worn out from yesterday's festivities she had gone to bed earlier than usual and thus had managed to not oversleep like she had done every now and then. As such, she had been rather early to class and felt far more attentive in there than normal. As such, the girl had felt pretty on top of her game going through the morning and being able to get through her early classes, the girl was now presented with the most glorious period of the day. Wait no that was P.E.. The second most glorious period of the day! The lunch one. As such, carrying the lunch she had prepared herself for the day the girl merely looked around for where to sit. Being no fun to just eat alone, the girl tried to survey the area, scouting out potential lunch companions. 
 
After not too much searching and meandering about, the girl noticed one of her friends, Katsu. While the girl seemed to be looking for something herself, she figured that it would only be better if there were two people looking instead of one. Granted, she tended to only hang out with her when she was around Akira and Yushiro so it might've been a bit odd to just hang out with her. But not paying much mind to that, the girl simply walked over to her, waving at her with a smile on her face saying, "Ka-chan!" Getting closer to her she said, "hey there Ka-chan, how has your day been? Were you looking for something?"  

 

 

Sitting back, sketch book in hand, the classroom had been quite empty for the period. As was per the norm, Nijiro had simply let the students leave early when they felt there was nothing more to get from the period, and thus he was left in a comforting silence. Left in his thoughts, the man had been trying to figure out how he wanted to approach what his next creation, continually jotting some notes alongside some basic concepts of differing monsters. His attention was drawn away from this, however, as the periods had begun to transition and students began to start funneling in. As the time came to start was upon him, the man simply closed his book and looked towards the rest of the class. Pulling out a different book to take attendance in, the looked back to the class and then said, "alright since it's that time of the day, let's get started."

 

Putting the book down he began saying, "now as the first real week of classes is upon us, we're going to dive straight into your first project. Scenery." Getting out of his chair, he stood up to explain to the class what it was he was looking for. "Now, while putting your all into the main focus of a piece is all well and good, but much like in cooking it's what's around it that really defines it. Giving something context-" as he was in the middle of explaining a student had come in late. While the girl had apologized for her tardiness, Nijiro had simply sighed saying, "be sure not to make it a habit. And all questions are to be held until the end of the explanation." With that, the man had continued talking. 

 

"As I was saying, giving something context so that both you and the viewer know how it fits into the world around it is important. For now, we'll just focus on the setting itself though. So, for you first project I want you to find a place that's important you and draw it. Sketch it in as much detail as is within your physical capabilities and then fill in this sketch with only 4 different colors. These colors should help express the overall feelings you associate with it. And remember, just because a somewhere might be important to you for one reason does not mean each piece of the setting contains the same feelings." Gesturing his hands as if urging the students to mingle, he said, "now then, talk amongst yourselves, brainstorm ideas and try to figure out in words what you want to convey. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so you should be able to come up with at least a few for them." Despite his small joke, the man's voice had retained the same level of volume and tone, simply finishing with him saying, "any questions?"

[Draconus297]

Emma Pathos

 

The little redhead gave Kimiko an odd look. "You are the Hatakeyama girl, correct? What precisely is it you need of me?" She was trying to focus on her method to get close enough to the Noir boy to examine him, and wasn't quite in the mood for interruptions . . . but she supposed that someone else's use for her might end with better results than her own personal pursuit of knowledge.

 

Emma typically spent her lunch hour either speaking with Elizabeth or chasing after her most recent project for study, but it did the mind good to go for a walk through Blue Yonder's halls every so often.

 

Noting the rather pensive look on Kimiko's face, Emma arched her eyebrow behind her glasses- she needed something somewhat urgently, but was slso quote annoyed at something. "After all, I can do nothing to help if I know not what you need."

 

-------

 

Dee Skize

 

Her costume was incomplete, and that bothered her.

 

Yushiro was well-known for being near Akira at all times . . . so Dee needed either a duplicate Akira, or to surreptitiously sneak in to swap.

 

"How's it going, Akira-man," Dee rehearsed her imitation of the blonde boy's voice. It was, evidently, already pitch-perfect, but to be capable of fooling his best friend . . . she couldn't be too careful.

 

Dee watched from a distance, looking for the ideal moment . . .

[VCR_CAT]

Katsu Tanaka

 

"Ka-chan!" Katsu was pulled out of her near-stupor and glanced around, looking for who it was that called her name, although there was only one person in the school that really gave her that nickname. Katsu turned and saw Meiko approach her and breathed a small sigh of relief. "Hey there Ka-chan, how has your day been? Were you looking for something?"  

 

"Oh, hey Meiko, no I was just thinking of something else," Katsu replied, now walking with the smaller bubble of positivism. "My day's been okay, just had to turn down a meeting with Mr. Yoshi and I'll prolly be paying for that with more than just my time." Contrary to how Katsu normally was, her tone and demeanor was a lot more low-key than it usually was. When it came to teaching bullies a lesson, she was usually successful in intimidating them and was confident in her ability to shut them down in a duel. However, Blythe was neither intimidated nor did she seem worried over losing in some way. Katsu worked at assuring herself that she would do fine regardless, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Blythe was more than just talk...

[~Faytl~]

"Hey, Roy-san!"

 

Balthy catapulted onto the bench beside Roy, the beanpole of a boy nearly bowling off the edge of it before he regained his balance, grinning ear to ear. "The name was Roy, right? Balthy, remember?" he asked, flashing a thumbs-up. "I guess Hatekayama isn't with you today?" he asked, voice suddenly much quieter as he poked his head up, looking round the two.

 

After seeing Kimiko was indeed nowhere in sight, he resumed his normal volume. "You hear about the class taught by that pro Duelist, yeah?" he asked, pulling a small metal object from his pocket and fiddling with it as he talked. "It'll be interesting to be taught by a pro duelist... But it's by that guy who lopped my costume to pieces!" He set the device on the table, a small clockwork fourlegged thing that vaguely resembled a triceratops, which made a tight circle before coming to a stop. "I made this for him; You think he might like it better?"

 

- - - - - - -

 

Dee felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder as Blythe pushed her head into her view, sizing her up frigidly.

 

"I trust I'll see you at the duel with Tanaka, Midori?" she asked, but her eyes narrowed as she realized who it really was. "Oh my God, you again?" she groaned irritably, whipping around the girl to loom over her from the front, trapping her against the wall. "Just why do you dress like Midori, you gangly freak show? He's not worth admiring." 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

-The Crystal Apprentice-

 

"Hey, Roy-san!"

 

Roy looked up, hearing the voice and feeling of an individual catapulting onto the bench beside him before recognizing the person as Balthy. Talk about good timing... Roy gave an inviting smile, nodding at Balthy's question.

 

"Yeah you got the name right, Balthy." he said with a nod, giving a thumbs up in return. "Good to see you."

 

"I guess Hatekayama isn't with you today?"

 

"Nope. And to be honest, kinda needs to be that way for a while." Roy chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I need to separate myself from her for a bit...if I don't how the hell am I gonna make some friends. Especially if she keeps trying to intimidate them."

 

"You hear about the class taught by that Pro Duelist, yeah? It'll be interesting to be taught by a pro duelist... But it's by that guy who lopped my costume to pieces! I made this for him; You think he might like it better?"

 

This caused Roy to look at Balthy for a moment. It was the Dreadscythe cosplayer? THAT was the Pro Duelist? So not only is he a genius at Duel Monsters...but he has a natural knack for cosplaying... he thought, before nodding. "Yeah, really excited about the Pro Duelist teaching a class. Really hoping I could get some expert opinion on my Crystal Beast deck..." he said, before looking at the little clockwork triceratops-esque contraption that Balthy pulled out from his pocket. Needless to say, Roy was impressed with the craftsmanship that went into this.

 

"You made this, Balthy? Wow..." he said in awe. "Man, you got a talent right here man. Pretty sure that he'd like it...hell, I think anyone would like this."

[Yui]

---

"You are the Hatakeyama girl, correct? What precisely is it you need of me? After all, I can do nothing to help if I know not what you need."

 

"This," Kimiko started, pointing at the blank sheet of paper in her hand and showing both sides to confirm that it was indeed blank. "I need to sketch a person before lunch is out for some art homework and I don't have time to go find somebody I actually know. I decided the first person I found after eating - that's you - will have to cut it, and in exchange you'll get a well-done drawing of yourself to hang up on your wall or whatever if I can get a copy of this when it's done. Not a bad deal for a couple minutes of your time, right? So let's go."

 

As she said this, Kimiko looked over the girl more closely, taking in details and already playing out in her head how she'd sketch the girl standing before her. This assignment had to get done fast, and Kimiko didn't want to waste a single second with the deadline so close.

---

[Draconus297]

Dee Skize

 

"As a cosplay challenge, of course," Dee whispered at Blythe, trying to avoid attracting attention. "I accepted a challenge from a fan to always be in cosplay of the best Duelist in Blue Yonder. And, from what I was told, that Hatakeyama girl was an overwhelming opponent, so naturally the one who beat her has to be the school's best."

 

The cosplay diva made sure to keep her voice low, and glared up at Blythe through colored contacts as she adjusted the Taketomborg plushie on her shoulder. "And, honestly, it's hard to continue doing convincing cosplay when you keep making me drop my props. Now, I have an impression to resume. No one else is to know I'm not the real Yushiro Midori, you understand?"

 

"Now, please . . . I have to get something to eat," Dee grinned, resuming her uncanny likeness of Yushiro's voice.

 

---------

 

Emma Pathos

 

The redhead kept pace with Kimiko, nodding. "I see. I have nothing better to do, it should be fine to pose for a sketch during lunch." As she ran, the hem of her brown skirt fluttered behind her, even though she technically wasn't going particularly quickly. "I am not sure that I would make the most interesting subject for a sketch, however."

 

As she spoke, she took stock of the muted colors she dressed in, and the simplicity of her outfit- plain brown dress with a gray v-necked sweater, simple gray boots, and her intrinsically simple gunmetal glasses. Even the deep azure of her eyes and her waist-length flaming red hair didn't particularly make her look particularly interesting, and unless Kimiko used colors in a sketch that wasn't likely to show, anyway.

 

"Where shall we go?"