Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies [IC/R-16]

[Alaina]

 

As Melissa made her way back, Jun was busy watching Yusuji devour her food with incredibly zeal and ferocity, not sure if to be partially disgusted or amazed at the action. Probably both. Though, as she and Melissa started talking, Jun merely gave a small hand wave with a smile on her face saying, "oh 'Suji, I'm always being Jun. That's why I'm Jun, after all." It wasn't long after that that Kyouko had made her way back, giving an ever warm introduction to the person she had just met.

 

When she was finished, the girl gave another laugh as she went to give Kyouko what might've been a hearty, friendly pat on the back, though her hand moved at a much slower speed and with much softer force than one might have expected, before saying, "aww, Koko, that's sweet of you." She looked back to Melissa and said, "but don't worry about her, she's a real bundle of sunshine once you get to know her. And wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it threw the first punch or called her something rude or," Jun seemed to trail off before shaking her head, "point is, Koko here isn't as scary as she looks. Oh, and also don't worry. If you ever want to pick a fight with me, I'll take you on myself. See, I'm great at fighting." A smile on her face, Jun put up her hands in a mock guard before going for a few playful punches at the air.

 

Going back to eating her food, Jun then looked back to Melissa as she said, face partially stuffed, "oh yeah, 'Lissa, you want to come with us to watch the duel between Rose and Souji?"

[radio414]

---

“It’s nice to meet you,” Melissa said as she reciprocated the handshake. “Either Melissa or ‘Lissa works.” Or Mel, or Meg, or Missy, or any name she’d been called over the course of her life. But this girl seemed dead set on the either/or, so Melissa obliged her.

 

Her first assumption, no matter how much she had hated making it, had proven to be correct; this was the eccentric sort of artist. Melissa could understand how Jun and this girl -- It occurred to Melissa that she’d never gotten the girl’s name -- were friends. They had the same sort of everything’s-on-the-up-and-up attitude that Melissa was never able to manage. Before she could even think about quashing her slowly-building jealousy, though, the other, impossibly tall girl spoke up.

 

“I’m Kyouko. As long as you don’t go looking for trouble, that should be all you need to know.”

 

The way she said it made Melissa happy she wasn’t the type to ask questions. But that didn’t keep her from maybe staring a bit too much as Kyouko inhaled two burgers and a handful of fries.

 

It was then that she remembered her own burger, still where she left it when she’d rushed off to help Akari. She sat back down and was about to take another bite when Kyouko spoke again.

 

"I guess since we're meeting for the first time, I should give you life advice or something. Jun here is a kind and sweet person. I'm not. Don't pick fights with me, and especially don't pick fights with her. Not that I think you will. Just something to keep in mind."

 

Was distributing life advice some first-impression custom she had forgotten? It certainly wouldn’t have surprised Melissa if it was, but there was that same hint of malice from Kyouko’s introduction that gave her second thoughts. She chewed on both her burger and the meaning behind Kyouko’s advice. Sure, Kyouko had said that she didn’t think Melissa was going to start any fights, but the fact that she had said it at all meant she thought there might.

 

Melissa didn’t think she was particularly fight-worthy, especially against someone she’d just met who seemed nice enough, and especially not against an upperclassman a good head and shoulders taller than her. She did have life advice though:

“Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.”

-Proverbs 29:11 (NIV)

Jun didn’t give Kyouko a chance to respond. “That’s so sweet of you,” she said, before going off about sunshine and flies or some such analogy. Melissa used that time to take another bite of her burger. She flinched when Jun’s fists started flying around, but she kept her focus on her burger, which seemed to help, though she had to catch herself from missing Jun’s question when she spoke again. “‘Lissa, you want to come with us to watch the duel between Rose and Souji?”

 

If she were being honest with herself, there were a large number of things she wanted to do instead. Her stomachache hadn’t really subsided, only held at bay by water and more than a little willpower. But again, she remembered her new school-year’s resolution. “It’s just one duel,” she thought. “After that, the crowds will subside and I can go hide in my room. Jun can text me if she wants to see me again, not that she’d want to.”

 

She set down her almost-finished burger and took another sip of water. “I’m not great in crowds but, um, sure,” she said.

 

“It’s just one duel,” she thought again.

---

[BANZAI!!!!]

To: Ash

From: Liz

 

Yeah, yeah, maybe Brett from Physics will come and sweep both of us off our feet to a land of paradise and sweaty romance. Until that happens though, I just ran into a bit of a crowd down near the fountain. Some kind of duel, looks like it's getting pretty heated over here. Wanna come watch with me? If not I'll meet you when I'm done. Kind of want to see this one through for some reason.

 

Now there was a thought. Brett of all people. Ashley's first instinct was to fire back something equally preposterous, but she thought better of it and instead wrote something else back.

 

 

To: Liz

From: Ash

 

Sure! There's a little time left before the exhibition game, and lucky for you I already pawned off my duties as emcee. Besides, might make for a good scoop. Who's playing?

 

Anyway I'll be there in ten. Save me a seat! or... spot I guess?

 

 

Ashley closed her phone. Even if it was a passing interest, Beth wanting to actually do something was a welcome change, both because Ashley was worried about her friend's mental health and, slightly more selfishly, she missed hanging out and enjoying herself with her best friend. She started speed walking through the crowds in an effort to get there before she missed anything particularly important.

 

Seriously though? Brett?

 

 

 

 

 

"When this guy's Normal Summoned, I can send 1 light 'Crucible' monster from my Deck to my grave to inflict 800 damage to you, so I will be sending Kuanos, Guard of the Crucible." Bright, yellow particles began to swim around Kabeiriko's body before piercing through its skin. The demon took in a deep breath, before releasing a beam of yellow light from its maw directly on Yushiro, subtracting 800 points from his life. It burned, like Yushiro's body was suddenly afflicted with a bad sunburn.

 

LP: 8000>7200

 

Mercifully, the pain was brief and the attack left no lasting damage. Still, Hiraku had made it hurt. Was he trying to intimidate him? Yushiro grimaced as Hiraku continued his turn, comboing a few more cards out of his deck and into his hand or banished where they were more immediately useful. It was a good opening play.

 

"But I'll put the onslaught on hold for now. I set two cards and end my turn."

 

Backrow too. Wonderful. At least it was his turn now.

 

"You feel great, you can win! You! Can! Do! This!" 

 

It was a little embarrassing sure, but Yushiro was glad Akira was cheering him on. At least there was one person there who wasn't snickering at him. Now it was time to put his game face on.

 

"Draw!"

 

He looked over his hand. It wasn't half bad; there were a few plays Yushiro could make, but the card he'd drawn had to go out first. "First, I play cup of ace! This spell lets me draw two cards... but only if this coin flip lands on heads." He fished his go-to out of his pocket: a 100 yen coin dating all the way back from before the great destruction. "Whaddya think? Will I get it?" With a flick of his thumb, Yushiro launched the coin into the air, while between both players, a golden goblet appeared, floating in the air underneath the coin's trajectory. The coin landed squarely in the cup, and could be heard spinning around inside it for a few moments. After it stopped, the goblet floated toward Yushiro, who grabbed it with his outstretched hand

 

"Heads."

 

As he said the word, the cup exploded into a brilliant shower of golden flakes, depositing the coin back into Yushiro's hand. He put it in his pocket before drawing two cards from his deck. Now he had a hand. "Now lets set a card of my own, and then I'll special summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!" A snakelike chain of bladed tops appeared circling around Yushiro's feet, which then leapt forward in an almost predatory lunge to take its place on the field. "When Terrortop is summoned, I get to add a Speedroid from my deck to my hand, in this case, its Speedroid Ohajikid. Next up is a normal summon: Speedroid Tri-eyed dice!" Yushiro continued as the four sided die appeared next to Terrortop. "Its a tuner, which means now I can Synchro summon using both monsters on my field. Tune! Level 6!"

 

Tri-Eyed Dice faded away, becoming three synchro rings that encircled terrortop, which became an orange wireframe inside them. Then came a blinding flash of light, and out of the beam came a spinning blue-silver blur which impacted the sidewalk, tearing into the concrete and kicking up gravel and dust.  "Meet my synchro monster: Hi-speedroid Kendama!" With the introduction, Kendama stopped spinning, and aimed its spiked, lance-like protrusion in Hiraku's direction.

 

"Ready for some action, Hiraku? Kendama, attack Kabeiriko! Lets knock him down a peg!" Kendama charged at incredible speed, ready to spear through the demon before it. If Hiraku wanted to counter it, he'd have very little time before the attack connected, which was something Yushiro was banking on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hakima]

Hitomu’s phone vibrated from his shirt pocket while Alison called her club. He snatched it out to check the message, expecting to see a reply one of his friends he had texted earlier but was surprised to see a text from Miss Class President herself. It was a stretch to say they had ever been friends, and since Todd died, it was hard to even call them acquaintances. He had almost forgotten she had his number.

 

He couldn’t stop himself from frowning as he read the text message. Ashley was what his father would call a ‘company man’. She wasn’t a bad person, but she would always put the interests of the school before her friends and this time was no exception. He quickly mashed out a reply and sent it.

 

To: Miss Class President

From: Hitomu

 

Work is fine.

 

This shouldn’t have been a big deal. She’s trying to move on. I duel a thousand times a year, you could have hyped up any of them but you chose this one.

 

If this duel doesn’t go well now the entire school’s gonna see it. Hope you knew what you were doing.

 

Hitomu had just stashed his phone when Alison finished up her call and asked him a question. “Not big into superstition and most people don’t carry around that kinda deck. Speaking of, you play?” he was once again all smiles. Customer service was basically instinctive after three years of working there.

---

[The Warden]

“Not big into superstition and most people don’t carry around that kinda deck. Speaking of, you play?”

 

"Oh, I do, from time to time" Alison smiled perhaps a little forcibly, or maybe that was just the mild tremors in her arms. "But with all the club stuff I didn't even think to bring my dueling deck today, so the only deck I have on hand is my tarot deck, which can be pretty handy if you'd care to play some Old Maid."

 

The girl laughed at her own joke, her hands clenched tightly. "I do enjoy my duels, of course, though I do tend to duel on days when my spiritual power is highest, just to be certain I'd win" she explained with a bright smile at Hitomu's own perplexed one. "That was a joke, if it helps. I just tend to get pretty lucky and win my duels. I just don't get talked about much due to my reputation as "The Creepy Girl From the Occult Club"; that and I don't duel often, but I don't mind. To be honest I don't really want the attention that comes from being a dueling star at Blue Yonder, though I imagine that isn't an issue for you?"

[King K. Azo]

 

Sai muttered to himself as he sat in the seats closest to the duel area, dressed in his full magician outfit, wearing his white cloak and white wig, trying to look as mystical and as mysterious as possible. Sadly though, his duel disk's phone function began ringing, causing him to sigh and look at his phone. Seeing the name made him groan even more as he picked up. He was not ready for this right now. 

"Hey sis," He spoke as he picked up. He paused as he listened to her talk, nodding a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I'm all moved in. Souji helped me out... yes, yes, I'll tell him hello for you. Now, did you move into your school?" He paused to stand up and walk a bit. He really didn't like talking to his siblings, but he had to be polite and all, lest they get their parents on his case. "Good good. Oh, got a new Trickstar card...? That's... good...," He shook his head, inwardly sighing. He hated that deck and everything it stood for. "What's that? Limerick's got a duel on Friday?" He paused, listening to her. "Yeah, yeah, I'll watch it. I'll be ready for your quiz to," He teased. He paused, listening, "Yeah, yeah. Listen, Souji's got a duel soon, so I'm gonna get ready to be his moral support," He paused, groaning as he heard his sister's reply. "Yeah, I know, I know, he doesn't need it, but let me feel like I'm doing something, okay?" He paused, nodding to himself. "Yeah, love you to. Bye," 

With a click, he turned off his duel disk, sitting down and sighing to himself. He knew he wasn't doing so good. His magician persona, while he loved it, wasn't special. He needed a sort of gimmick, something to make himself stand out. He didn't know exactly what to do. He opened his notes section on his duel disk, typing down ideas and brainstorming. He needed to figure out something.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

"Ah, made it in time!" Hoshiko said as she walked up towards the back stage. There was still a bit of time before the show actually started, which gave her time to look over some of her notes again. She was excited and a bit nervous about the upcoming duel; sometimes for Entertainment Duels they would script the whole battle to make things more dramatic. This was not one of those cases, and she didn't have much information on her opponent outside of the fact that they played with a HERO deck. She wasn't familiar with the deck, as it wasn't very popular among idols. The only other thing on her notes was 'Start without him', which Hoshiko wasn't entirely sure what they meant by that. It didn't matter at this point, though - the show was about to start soon. She took one last look at her script before moving out. It was show time.

 

 

Rose walked out from behind the curtains, greeted by the applause of the audience. As she made her way towards the microphone, she flourished a twirl; her dress rising and her duel disk shimmering as she spun. She stopped right in front of the mic, picking it up with one fluid motion. "Blue Yonder make some noise!" She shouted, which was followed by the roaring of the crowd. In response, Rose flashed a peace sign over her eye. As she winked at the crowd, they only seemed to become louder, which made Rose giggle. "Today, many of us move in for the new school years - including myself!" Some of the members in the crowd seemed surprise, while others already knew. "And to celebrate such an occasion, Blue Yonder has given me and The Kamen Rider the privilege of putting on an Entertainment Duel for you!" Hoshiko looked around, trying to see if he could find her partner anywhere. "Speaking of the Rider, I wonder where he could be..." She was slightly concerned by the absence of the Rider, although she was sure that he'd show up soon.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"Then you better get ready."

 

Souji only nodded, taking a few moments after Sai left the room just to move over and grab a backpack from his own bed and sling it over his shoulder. "Just need to grab the bike..." he smirked, locking the door behind him as he made his way out of the dorms and towards the garage.

 

It was about time for the show to start.

 

 

A little while later, Souji stood in front of a full length mirror inside the locker room, looking over himself in his costume to make sure everything was good. The front, good. The left side, good. Right side, good. The back, good. With an exhale, he turned back towards the bench where the last piece of his costume resided: the helmet.

 

"Alright..." he muttered, grabbing the helmet and putting it on. Looking at himself in the mirror once more, he struck a few poses to make sure everything was in proper order. "We're 100% good now. Alright, Kazuraba...time to give them one hell of a show." Souji smirked, turning quickly as his red scarf turned and floated in quite the dramatic fashion as he left the locker room.

 

 

 

 

"Blue Yonder make some noise! Today, many of us move in for the new school years - including myself! And to celebrate such an occasion, Blue Yonder has given me and The Kamen Rider the privilege of putting on an Entertainment Duel for you! Speaking of the Rider, I wonder where he could be..."

 

Among the audience of students cheering for Rose's little show starter, the lights went out for a moment and all the spotlights that were on the idol had began to split. While some remained on the idol, some began to move towards the opposite entrance of the arena. When it happened, the sounds of an engine revving up was heard.

 

-BGM-

 

The sounds of tires screeching were heard as finally from the entrance into the Duel Field, there emerged an individual clad in a green costume with a red scarf riding a green and black dirtbike and zoomed in at a fast pace. But this was only the tip of the iceberg. At a snap of his fingers, a portion of the field's small dirt roadways started rising.

 

With a push on the throttle, the rider ran up the now inclined roadway and flew off into a small back-flip on the dirtbike, which made the audience cheer greatly. And the landing was stuck as he immediately made his way towards the area Rose was. Another snap of his fingers and the path rose once more. Another push on the throttle and once again, he was airborne. This time doing a few more tricks in the air, before sticking the landing right near where Rose was.

 

Upon the landing, the rider began to skid to a halt and once he was fully stopped, there was a sudden burst of fire near him due to some well placed pyrotechnics. The crowds were even more entranced by this, even after he dismounted his bike.

 

"Worry not...the Kamen Rider has arrived!" he shouted, pointing his left index finger into the air. "Miss Rose, I take it? Seems it's time for the show to start. Are you ready for the Act to begin?"

 

Rose simply giggled. "Whenever you are, Mr. Rider"

 

"Very well, shall I let you go first?" he asked, quickly activating his Duel Disk, it emerging as a blade of cobalt blue. "I am, if nothing, a gentlemen when it comes to things such as Dueling ladies."

 

"Oh, a gentleman!" she clasped her hands together. "You've been here longer, though. It's only fair that you go first."

 

"Very well, miss." he said, snapping his fingers. "Duel Space...ACTIVATE!!"

 

Suddenly the area around the Duel Field started to be dyed in the magenta color that signified the use of Duel Space. Both Duelists looked at each other, before shouting in unison.

 

"DUEL!!!"

"DUEL!!!"

 

The Kamen Rider took the first turn, just like the idol asked. He took his first card, immediately setting a card in Defense Position. “To start, I’ll set a monster in Defense Mode and then, place one card face down.”

 

Soon on field, there was a face-down monster and a face-down Spell or Trap on the Kamen Rider’s side. It seemed like a pretty lackluster turn, but it was what was done, nonetheless.

 

“Thought I start off slow for the first turn.” he said, pointing at Rose. “Now, that’s the end of my turn. Let’s see if you’re as good as I’ve been hearing.”

 

.:Turn 1:.

.:The Kamen Rider:.

LP: 8000

Hand: 3

Monster Zone: 1 Face-Down Defense
S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: None

Banish: None

 

Rose's POV

“Let’s hope I can live up to those expectations!” Rose said, drawing a card from her deck as her turn started. Taking a look at the card she drew, she let out a short giggle. “You know, it’s usually me who’s placing cards face down like that.” She responded, before placing the card that she drew on her duel disk.

 

“I summon Mathematician in Attack Position!” She declared, as the goofy looking old man took the stage, sitting down on the ground. “By Normal Summoning Mathematician, I can send a Level 4 or lower monster from my deck to the graveyard!” While declaring this effect, she looked through her deck. Once she had found what she wanted to send, she smiled, revealing it to everyone. “I send Shaddoll Hedgehog to the graveyard, activating its effect!” She turned to look at the crowd, her deck still in her hand. “When Shaddoll Hedgehog is sent to the Graveyard, I get to add a Shaddoll monster to my hand from my Deck, and I choose...” She took a second to find what she was looking for, before revealing it to everyone. “...Shaddoll Falco!”

 

She turned back to Souji. “And now, Mr. Kamen Rider, I will attack your face down monster with my Mathematician!” She pointed onward, the old man getting up to lunge at the face-down monster.

 

The Kamen Rider didn’t seem to be phased by this declaration of an attack and surprisingly let the attack go through. Once the Mathematician struck at the face down, it was revealed to be a skeleton looking creature that wore a crimson red cloak, wielding a scepter.

 

“You’ve attacked my Phantom Magician.” he said, smirking. “Thanks to that, I activate my Magician’s effect. Now I special summon one HERO monster from the deck in face-up Defense mode... ” He held his hand at his deck and out shot a card. “Time to shine...I summon Elemental HERO Shadowmist!”

 

After placing the card onto the disk, an ebony woman appeared from the Kamen Rider’s shadow and then knelt down in the Defense position.

 

“And now, Shadowmist’s skill...” he said, holding his hand by his deck again once more. “When she’s special summoned...I can add one “Change” Quick-Play to my hand...I chose Mask Change.” Another card shot to his hand, as he revealed it to Rose and the audience. “Now...with that out of the way, I believe your turn was still going.”

 

Rose nodded. “Not bad! Well...” She took another look at her hand. “I’ll set a card face-down and end my turn.”

 

.:Turn 2:.

.:Rose:.

LP: 8000

Hand: 4

Monster Zone: 1 “Mathematician” [ATK]

S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: Shaddoll Hedgehog

Banish: None

[Hakima]

---

Hitomu shrugged, leaning against the counter and propping his chin up in the palm of his hand. “It has the same ups and downs that anything else does. When you’re at the top, all anybody wants to do is climb the mountain and shove you off to take your spot.” He smirked. “You just have to learn not to let it get to you. Keep your real friends close so you always have someone to pop your ego for you, and try to set the best example you can for the next class of kids.”

 

That was how he had tried to approach the near idol-status he possessed among some of the younger students at the school. It was his role as an upperclassman to set the best example he could for the duelists-to-come, so that when it was time for them to step into his shoes, they could pass on what they knew to the kids who looked up to them. 

 

The television suddenly caught his attention and Hitomu turned it up a few ticks. “Duel’s starting. Some guy called the Kamen Rider versus the new idol girl that transferred here. Who’s your money on?”

[Alaina]

 

"Woo hoo!" Jun's voice was muffled by her food as she seemed happy at Melissa's agreement. Well, she didn't actually hear Melissa well enough to know what she said, but, she was pretty sure the girl had no reason to refuse. After finishing her food she said, the girl pulled out her phone and said, "oh, looks like it's almost time to start. Let's get a move- wait." Jun got out of her chair and walked away from the table. It took a few minutes before she came back, a cup of freshly ordered fries in her hand as she said, "let's get a move on crew!" With that, the girl led the way to the arena to watch the show match. 

 

---

 

Sitting amongst the others in the crowd, as Rose entered the stage and made her introduction, the girl nudged her painter friend to look in the idol's direction, as if she wasn't already. Jun wasn't nearly as big a fan of Rose as Yusuji was, only really watching her because of her friend, but cheered and clapped as the rest of the audience did. As she made note of a Souji running late, Jun sighed having a pretty good idea of what was coming next. "Let's see how he does it this time," the girl said to herself. 

 

As Souji drove in on his motorcycle, the girl seemed to have a more amused reaction, as opposed to the general cheers and awe-striking it might have on the rest of the audience. She was always curious why the masked man always decided to make such a grandiose entrance, though she also didn't really get the mask thing in general. Yet, all the same she was entertained by it, and  gave a small clap along with the rest of the audience. 

 

As the duel began, it seemed that there was a limit even to how flashy Souji could be as his turn went by without much incident. As Rose went up next, the sat back, eating her fries as the turn took place. Jun enjoyed watching how Rose's turn played out, though was a bit disappointed it too wasn't particularly flashy. However, as Souji's monster was destroyed as Shadow Mist took the field, Jun had a bit of an annoyed smile on her face, having a good idea as to what Souji was doing next. Nudging over to Yusuji. "Rose is probably going to need to think fast to beat what's coming next, so make sure to cheer suuuper loud for her, 'Suji." 

[BANZAI!!!!]

 

 

 

Kendama’s attack exploded against Kabeiriko, and Hiraku’s lifepoints dropped down from 8000 to 7400 as he felt the wave of pressure wash over him. The dust cleared and revealed one of his trap cards face-up.

“Where are my manners, this card is called Reformation of the Crucible. When you destroy one of my fiend monsters, I get to Special Summon a different one from my grave or that I have banished. So I think it’s about time I brought Kuanos back onto the field.” A portal opened on the ground, and the smaller fiend with the glowing blade fused to its arm rose from the portal in defense position. “Oh, I also get to draw a card, but no big, right? Now, are you done?”

“Tch.” Yushiro grimaced. Sure, his attack had gone through, but he’d only ended up giving Hiraku more card advantage. Not a great way to start. Kendama must have sensed his uneasiness too, since after it returned to Yushiro’s side of the field it spun around for a moment to look at him. “I’ll set a second card in my main phase 2 and end my turn. You’re up.” He braced himself.

 

BGM

 

“Now, my turn,” Hiraku drew a card and looked at his hand briefly. “First, I think it’s pretty insulting that you think you can take me down just that easily. I summon another Kabeiriko to the field.” Once more, the same feral demon rose from the field. “Do I need to say what he does at this point? I send a second Kuanos from my Deck to the grave for his effect.” Once more, light collected around Kabeiriko before it belched out another beam of yellow light, knocking Yushiro’s lifepoints down another 800 points.

(Yushiro: 7200 -> 6400)

“Now, I think I’ve tenderized the meat enough. It’s time to put it in the oven! I banish the Kabeiriko in my Graveyard to summon Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible from my hand.” Just like his previous duel, the armored knight appeared onto the field. “Next, I banish the Kuanos I sent to summon Talos, Giant of the Crucible.” Creating a flank of larger monsters, Kuanos rose on the other side of Kabeiriko and Kuanos. “Of course, when Kuanos is banished I get to add a DARK Crucible monster to my hand, and I add Khalko, Beast of the Crucible. Now that the cast is all here, I think it’s time I took care of that ugly toy of your’s. I activate Talos’s effect and target your Kendama.”

Talos’s spear began to glow a deep, umbral colour. “His effect is that I return a banished DARK monster and destroy his target. So I think it’s about time we said goodbye to Kendama.” Hiraku moved Kabeiriko to the grave and Talos rushed forward, driving its lance directly through Kendama in one swift motion. Hiraku smiled as he looked over his cards, ready to activate the effect of Kourai until he did the math, and his smile grew a little wider. “Next, I activate my field spell’s effect and banish the Kabeiriko I returned once more to add Keledones, Siren of the Crucible to my hand. Finally, I switch my Kuanos to attack position. And just to make sure you’re up to speed, we can’t forget the little bonus my field spell gives my monsters, and since I have two monsters banished…”

 

(Kuanos: 1500 > 1700)

(Kabeiriko: 1500 > 1700)

(Kourai: 2300 > 2500)

(Talos: 1900 > 2100)

“Now then, if you’ve been doing the math, then you’ll know this just might be the end for you,” Hiraku said with a chuckle. “I’ll enter the battle phase, and let Kuanos take the first shot at your defeat.”

“Don’t get cocky! Activate trap: Blind Obliteration!” As Kuanos prepared its attack, one of Yushiro’s set card holograms flipped face-up. In the sky, a ship resembling a UFO appeared, and a pair of solid vision dice materialized in Yushiro’s hand. “Here’s how it works: I roll a pair of D6’s, and all monsters on the field with a level or rank less than the result get destroyed. Since none of your monsters have a level higher than five, I’d say the odds are pretty good that none of them make it out of this. Let's see.” He tossed the dice in the air, and as he did so the UFO opened fire with a withering barrage of lasers, blasting the field and the surrounding area with high energy, though Yushiro focused himself and made sure none of the blasts actually inflicted any harm to people they happened to strike.

When the dust cleared, the field was empty; all that remained were the dice, reading 2 and 5 respectively. “Gotcha.”

[a coffee]

Elizabeth looked at her phone quickly between turns; she wanted to avoid missing any of the action between the two. To her, one of the best aspects of a duel was watching the body language between the two duelists as the turns went by. It always seemed to tell her a lot when she was dueling. Her dad always made comments about it at the poker table when his friends were over. Somewhere between chewing a cigar and bluffing a terrible hand he would talk about how the best players have a better poker face than anything else. Of course, this always made her wonder whether or not he realized that he was giving away that his hand was terrible. No matter.

 

To: Liz

From: Ash

 

Sure! There's a little time left before the exhibition game, and lucky for you I already pawned off my duties as emcee. Besides, might make for a good scoop. Who's playing?

 

Anyway I'll be there in ten. Save me a seat! or... spot I guess?

 

Beth smiled a bit; Ash was so strange sometimes. Was she mad at Ashley for going out of her way to get a huge crowd like that for a random exhibition duel? Of course, but there was something not many people saw when it came to the “Yes Woman” for Blue Yonder. Liz may have been one of the only people that ever seemed to see it, but Ashley would probably take a bullet for Elizabeth if it meant it could make her day better. It wouldn’t even have to be life-threatening, but that was just the type of person she was. Hell, she knew for a fact that Ash was not her favorite nickname, but would she ever say a word about it? Not a chance.

 

It was when Todd passed that she started to notice. Ashley never showed a moment of weakness around her. Never. It was like she knew that she had to be the relentless positive force around her 24/7. It was something she would never trade for the world. Even if it meant sometimes Liz got dragged out to the cafe in her pajamas because Ashley “was really gonna die without a banana nut muffin at 2:41 AM.”

 

Give and take, I guess. Cranberry is still a better muffin though. Elizabeth thought to herself.

 

Speak of the devil, not a moment later there was Ashley, a muffin pilfered from the culinary club stand in each hand, squeezing her way through the crowd. She nudged one particularly large and tall boy out of the way and shuffled over to Elizabeth.

 

“Sorry I took so long! I needed a pick-me up and since today’s your cheat day I grabbed you one too. It's easy to sweet talk Khai into giving me free food.” She winked. Ashley wasn’t above referencing some of her own more embarrassing escapades, at least when Liz was the only one around who would get it. “So what’d I miss? Anything cool?” She asked while she haphazardly shoved the cranberry muffin in her hand in Elizabeth’s direction.

 

Elizabeth squinted at Ashley as she pounded her way through the crowd with… were those seriously muffins?

 

“Ash, you’re gonna kill me, I already had a latte with cream from CoffeeCards.” she looked at the muffin… damn those cranberries looked fresh too. She grabbed the muffin from Ashley’s hand, trying to feign reluctance.

 

“Hope Brett likes fat chicks, because I’m on the express tram to obesity today.” Elizabeth broke a piece off and popped it in her mouth. Complete ecstasy. She looked back at the duel where Yushiro had just played Cup of Ace, and Elizabeth immediately groaned,

 

“Cup of Ace? Really? Well I was about to say no, but if this kid flunks this coin flip the duel might be over in two turns. Just don’t see the point in risking hand advantage so early.” the coin flip, would end up heads, to which Elizabeth would simply suck her teeth, “He’s lucky, that’s for sure.”

 

“Oh please Beth your curves are fantastic.” Ashley took a large bite of her muffin and continued speaking through a mouthful. “He’s more ballsy than lucky, I’d say. Let’s see if he does anything with it.” A few moments of silence passed as the blonde haired boy progressed through his turn. “A Synchro monster huh? Not a very good one either. Its less gross than those demons at least.”

 

Elizabeth nodded, “Yeah, the Crucibles are without a doubt better. But who knows at this school. Hitomu plays Toons for ADMIN’s sake. For all we know both of them could be a hotter commodity than sliced bread.” She examined them both closely; an incredible confidence radiated from both of them, “Sort of strange though… I don’t think I’ve seen either of them around much though. Any idea who they are?” Elizabeth whispered to Ashley; some people in the crowd were beginning to glare at them for talking so negatively so loudly. Guess the kid has his fans, or maybe the other one wasn’t too popular himself.

 

Ashley looked over both players for a moment. “They must be underclassmen…. Can’t say I know either one of them off of the top of my head.” Ashley paused a moment as she watched Kendama destroy one of the amassed demons. Hiraku looked unfazed by the loss of his monster, instead triggering a trap card and re-assembling his field as if nothing had happened. “The short kid’s really cocky. Sorta reminds me of Hit back during freshman year, dontcha think?”

 

Beth only hemmed and hawed at Ashley, watching the action fly by. Yushiro had appeared to be up against it; perhaps he was in over his head. She pondered the play for a moment and responded, “Hitomu? That one? Nah.” she chuckled slightly, “Reminds me more of Todd honestly. Todd was always running his mouth.” Elizabeth broke off another piece of muffin, “I think he wins here, though. Giving over that much of the field at one time isn’t a great outcome.”

 

“I wouldn’t write blondie off juuuuust yet. He still has two cards set.” As if on cue,  Yushiro flipped his own trap card, though it certainly wasn't one that Ashley expected. “Another chance card? Is he serious?” Before Ashley could keep speaking though, the field (and the crowd) were saturated with laser blasts. They didn’t hurt, but a well placed shot spiked Ashley’s muffin down onto the ground. She scowled cartoonishly as the dust cleared. “He has got to be the luckiest little HELL YEAH to ever play this game… and for his sake I hope he is. He owes me a muffin.”

 

Elizabeth could only raise her eyebrows at the suddenness of lasers flying by… and tagging her friend’s snack. She’d offer some of her cranberry muffin but she already knew that it would just mean two muffins got thrown to the ground. Better keep this one safe.

 

“Well, I’ll give you that. He certainly has some sort of luck. Fair play with the board wipe as well. Practically a new game.” She examined the blonde that had more or less just salvaged his chances with the dice roll, “He’s an interesting one, at least. Can’t say you would find me playing too many chance cards like that.”

 

Elizabeth looked around, the crowd had been somewhat decent for just a random duel. Whatever was going on in the underclassman dueling scene, it must have been pretty good. She couldn’t help but to think about her own duel coming up soon, and the crowd she hoped it wouldn’t draw.

 

“By the way Ash, you know I partially want to strangle you for that post right? Lovingly, as it were.” she broke off another piece of muffin in a matter of fact way.

 

The scowl melted off of Ashley’s face, replaced almost immediately by the closest thing to a look of remorse that could possibly appear there. “I know… but hey, now everyone gets to see my best friend take back her number 1 spot. I couldn’t resist.” It was a bunch of bull, but Ashley wasn’t exactly in a position to vocalize “I thought the crowd would pressure you to do your best so that maybe you finally get yourself out of this awful funk you’re in.” The sugar coating made it sound a little better, at least.

 

To say that Elizabeth was upset by that statement would be, well, an understatement at best. Her somewhat playful phrasing and body language was gone, but she knew better than to cause a scene in the middle of a crowd, “I suppose my opinion wasn’t required on that one?” she rolled her eyes and brought her attention back to the duel in front of her, “Just leave it be, Ash. I’m not gonna back out now anyway. Let’s just get back to watching the duel. I think the blonde one might have something here after all. I’m intrigued by his dueling style. The other one is much more consistent, it would appear.” Elizabeth, now more than ever, was craving a cigarette; it was her most available coping tool, especially when it came to squabbling with Ashley. Part of her was always afraid to lash out at her blonde bombshell of a best friend. Made it pretty easy to imagine her just walking away.

 

Ashley sighed. “No, it should have been, Beth. Sorry.” An apology. Now that was a rarity. And a rapid shift in the topic of discussion seemed to indicate that it was sincere, too.  “Intrigued? Since when is a lucksacking underclassman enough to draw the attention of the great Elizabeth Jane Hall?” She moved a little closer to Elizabeth and playfully elbowed her rib, the near-confrontation a moment ago having been almost completely forgotten. “Though I guess he is kinda cute.”

 

God, she was so annoying sometimes. Elizabeth angrily blushed, “Why is that even a big deal? We’re here to watch a duel aren’t we? Besides I don’t even know the kid. Why are you trying to get me hooked up so badly? Just because I look cute in this dress doesn’t mean I’m going out to impress people. That’d be ridiculous. It’s just hot outside.” This was, assuredly, looking far worse than the last time Ashley found herself kissing Khai at the formal. So much for keeping it cool.

 

Ashley knew better, but she couldn’t resist the opportunity to lay it on thick now that Liz had dug herself into a hole. Besides, this was a (relatively) harmless way of getting back at her for being such a wet blanket lately. “Tsk tsk. So defensive…. I never said anything about getting you hooked up. I guess you were just thinking it yourself. You know we could always go say hi after he’s done winning.” Ashley winked, satisfied that she’d rubbed enough salt on the wound for the moment.

 

“Why would I be thinking about that? Aren’t we both a little busy to be thinking about dating right now? After all, I’ve got a duel of my own soon and you’re supposed to be running this whole thing. Actually, speaking of this whole thing, wasn’t there some big idol duel the school was supposed to be running? Isn’t that a little more important than what’s going on here?” Elizabeth had cooled down, hoping that she provided enough of a detour to get herself out of this bind.

 

Ashley shrugged. “It might be, but I already did the legwork and got my VP to handle the ceremonies. Besides, I’d honestly rather just hang out with you today… or is my company bothering you, Miss Hall?”

 

Beth rolled her eyes again, “Don’t be f----- ridiculous. I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to.” she checked her phone again; it was getting later on in the day, even though she had only really been on campus for 10 minutes or so since her coffee break, she was eager to get to work, and watching this duel was burning valuable time, especially if she was to get to the gym before dinner;

 

“I tell you what though, if this duel doesn’t end quickly I might have to leave early. I really want to get a chance to look over my deck before the night ends. If you want you can stop by the apartment later, I’ll probably just have the TV on though.” she looked behind her to the path, which was rapidly filling up with people on their way to watch the big entertainment duel, and then back to the duel in front of her. Maybe a few more turns wouldn’t hurt.

 

“Up to you. I don’t mind leaving if you need to work on your deck, but, if only so my poor muffin can rest in peace, I’d like to see how this ends. Maybe blondie can pull off a comeback.”

[The Warden]

 

---

Hitomu shrugged, leaning against the counter and propping his chin up in the palm of his hand. “It has the same ups and downs that anything else does. When you’re at the top, all anybody wants to do is climb the mountain and shove you off to take your spot.” He smirked. “You just have to learn not to let it get to you. Keep your real friends close so you always have someone to pop your ego for you, and try to set the best example you can for the next class of kids.”

 

That was how he had tried to approach the near idol-status he possessed among some of the younger students at the school. It was his role as an upperclassman to set the best example he could for the duelists-to-come, so that when it was time for them to step into his shoes, they could pass on what they knew to the kids who looked up to them.

 

The television suddenly caught his attention and Hitomu turned it up a few ticks. “Duel’s starting. Some guy called the Kamen Rider versus the new idol girl that transferred here. Who’s your money on?”

---

 

Alison nodded along quietly to the rather modest views of Hitomu, but that last question of his she could only laugh at. "Ha ha, I wouldn't say I have money on anyone as that would be cheating. But, I can most assure you that the winner is going to be the Kamen Rider" she answered as the front door jingled, and two rather sweaty looking upperclassman appeared. "Ah Tobi and Marcus, I see the tent didn't take long."

 

Tobi, the taller albeit a bit chubbier of the two with dirty blonde hair sighed. "Yeah, but it was still pretty hot work anyways" he complained.

 

"But at least we got it done" Marcus, the shorter one with pure white hair conceded.

 

"And you two should be rewarded for your efforts" Alison stated as she slipped from her chair and presented the two with water bottles. They were taken without a word and drained hastily. "Oh by the way you two, have you met the employee here Hitomu?"

 

Tobi and Marcus stared at Hitomu with fixed, glassy stares. "We've met" they said together.

 

"I see. Oh yes, as I was saying Hitomu," Alison spoke up as the boys took a seat with her while trying not to make eye contact with Hitomu, "I have a firm belief the Kamen Rider will win the duel. It's written quite obviously too, if you know where to look."

[Yui]

---

"Aww, Koko, that's sweet of you." That nickname still irritated her. And was it really a sweet thing of her to do? Maybe it was just her perspective, but it seemed more like a warning on her part than anything. "But don't worry about her, she's a real bundle of sunshine once you get to know her. And wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it threw the first punch or called her something rude or... point is, Koko here isn't as scary as she looks. Oh, and also don't worry. If you ever want to pick a fight with me, I'll take you on myself. See, I'm great at fighting."

 

"That's not what I meant," Kyouko wolfed down whatever burgers remained on her plate, as Jun asked Melissa about going with them to see the entertainment duel between Rose and Souji. Which, as it turned out, she was down for. As the group started for their destination, Kyouko took to her fries. She still wasn't done eating yet, but she wasn't about to hold everyone up on her account.

By the time they'd gotten there, Kyouko's fries were no longer to be found anywhere except in her stomach. She'd appropriately thrown out the paper plate, and watched the duel with her head kept low. The person behind her probably would have had some trouble seeing the duel otherwise, so she didn't mind. Entertainment duels were never her thing anyway. She never understood the point of making such a big deal out of the duel and turning it into a show, when it would go exactly the same way if you just played normally. It simply wasn't something she could get herself behind.

 

Even so, she had to admit. Souji knew how to make an entrance.

 

"Rose is probably going to need to think fast to beat what's coming next, so make sure to cheer suuuper loud for her, 'Suji."

 

"Rose's deck has tricks up its sleeve, right? She'll probably take some damage here..." Kyouko stopped for a moment, seeming to think about something. It didn't seem all that complex, whatever it was, judging by the look on her face. "Actually, without those face-down cards, this would probably be a death sentence depending on who she'd be dueling at the time. But if it's Souji, she should be fine., especially since those face-down cards are there."

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Kamen Rider POV

 

Shaddolls, huh? Well...this might actually prove to be more fun for me than I originally thought. The Kamen Rider thought, smirking as he drew for his turn.

“Now...I summon from my hand, Elemental HERO Solidman!”

Beside Shadowmist, from the ground emerged a warrior clad in metal plated armor and stood beside her. But this was far from the half of it.

“Soldiman’s skill...” he said, holding another card. “I can now special summon another HERO from my hand to the field, provided it is a Level 4 or lower...now come forth, Blazeman!!”

On the other side of Shadowmist, came a burning fire as from it emerged a warrior clad in red armor and fiery hair.

“And with Blazeman, I can add one Polymerization to my hand from the deck.” Placing his hand near his deck again, another card shot out, as he revealed it to be Polymerization to everyone. Once he added it to his hand, he smirked a bit. “Now...let’s shake things up. I activate Polymerization and fuse together Solidman and Blazeman...”

Both Solidman and Blazeman looked at each other, nodding before leaping into the air above the two Duelists, entering into some sort of swirling vortex as a bright light shone from it.

“One with a heart of fire, becoming a burning beacon for the next generation to follow!! FUSION SUMMON!! Liberate the oppressed with your righteous flames, Elemental HERO Nova Master!!”

From the vortex, another burning fire descended onto the battlefield as a warrior clad in fiery colored armor appeared, doing a quick pose in front of the Mathematician, the idol, and the audience.

“Time for battle! Nova Master, attack her Mathematician!” the Kamen Rider declared, pointing at the opposing monster. “Go!! Righteous Fiery Fist!!!”

Nova Master nodded, it’s fists burning brightly with a strong fire as it dashed towards the Mathematician, preparing to assault it with it’s fiery fists.

The idol grit her teeth as she watched her Mathematician try its hardest to fight back, but to no avail. The fiery fist demolished the poor old man in a matter of seconds, sending a shockwave of flame and smoke.

Rose LP: 8000 -> -1100 -> 6900

 

She took a deep breath. “When Mathematician is destroyed by battle, I get to draw 1 card!” She declared, drawing a card from her deck.

“Fine with me...because when Nova Master destroys a monster by battle...I draw one card as well.” he said, drawing the card from his deck. “With that, I’ll end my turn.”

.:Turn 3:.
.:The Kamen Rider:.
LP: 8000
Hand: 4
Monster Zone: E-HERO Shadowmist [DEF], E-HERO Nova Master [ATK]
S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: Phantom Magician, Polymerization, E-HERO Solidman, E-HERO Blazeman
Banish: None

Rose nodded, smiling at the boy. “Not bad! But you’re not the only one here that can Fusion Summon!” She said, drawing a card from the top of her deck. “I activate… Shaddoll Fusion!” She revealed the card to the The Kamen Rider, before showing it to the crowd. “Since our masked friend has a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use monster from my Deck to Fusion Summon an El Shaddoll monster!” The girl searched her deck for the specific material and, with a satisfied smile, she held up the two cards up into the air. “I fuse Jigabyte with Shaddoll Dragon!”

Showing the two cards to everyone, she placed them into the Graveyard. “May the frost you leave in your wake shine beautifully! SHADDOLL FUSION! El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis, come forth!” As she said this, a whirlpool of shadow appeared onto battlefield, the almost goo-like shadows swirling in it slowly becomes more water like. From within the whirlpool a feminine figure emerged, the mermaid-like doll parading its majestic fins as it rises. “Now, before I do anything else, I activate Shadoll Dragon’s effect!” She declared, pointing a finger at The Kamen Rider. “Since I sent it to the Graveyard....” Her finger moved down from the boy to the card he had set face-down. “...I get to destroy a Spell or Trap Card on the field!”

“Destroy a Spell or Trap, huh?” the Kamen Rider asked, before sighing. “Well that’s a little disappointing then.” he said, removing his face-down from the field, revealing it to be Storming Mirror Force.

Rose grinned as she saw the card destroyed. “Now, Anoyatyllis, freeze over Nova Master!” She declared, the doll sending a blizzard towards the fiery hero with the flick of its porcelain wrist.

Seeing the blizzard heading his direction, the Rider began to grit his teeth. He started to run out of the general direction of it, as he watched Nova Master rush towards it, trying to fight it head on. But alas, it succumbed to the hail of Anoyatyllis. “Well...I take some damage from that, but it isn’t anything a true hero can’t handle.”

The Kamen Rider LP: 8000 -> -100 -> 7900

 

“Wouldn’t expect anything less from The Kamen Rider!” She said, smiling. “And with that, I end my turn!”

.:Turn 4:.
.:Rose:.
LP: 6900
Hand: 5
Monster Zone: 1 “El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis” [ATK]
S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: Shaddoll Hedgehog, Mathematician, Jigabyte, Shaddoll Dragon, Shaddoll Fusion
Banish: None

[Hakima]

---

“Tobi, Marcus,” Hitomu dipped his head in acknowledgment, pretending not to notice the dead stares he had been fixed with. “You two planning to take another swing at the Kickoff Cup this year?” he wondered.

 

Neither of them seemed very interested in making small talk with him. Alison heroically swooped in for the save, changing the subject back to the exhibition duel. "I have a firm belief the Kamen Rider will win the duel. It's written quite obviously too, if you know where to look." Hitomu wasn’t sure what to think of her confident declaration. Did she know something he didn’t? If this was supposed to be another act for her whole fortune teller persona, she had a fifty-fifty chance of being able to claim psychic powers.

 

He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, chewing on the inside of his cheek and watching their duel with newfound interest. “Kamen Rider has control of the board right now but not enough to shut Rose out of the duel, plus -- “

 

“May the frost you leave in your wake shine beautifully! SHADDOLL FUSION! El Shaddoll Anoyatyllis, come forth!

 

“ -- yeah, that. He’s up in Life Points but he just lost the board and after this draw hand advantage is even. I don’t know either of them very well, so unless you know something about the players that I don’t, I think it’s too soon be so confident about who’s gonna win.”

---

[The Warden]

“ -- yeah, that. He’s up in Life Points but he just lost the board and after this draw hand advantage is even. I don’t know either of them very well, so unless you know something about the players that I don’t, I think it’s too soon be so confident about who’s gonna win.”

 

"Do you think so?" Alison mused with a knowing smile.

 

"I know that tone. See Hitomu, you might be good at dueling, but how well do you get the duelist?" Toni queried.

 

"Probably not too well it would seem?" Marcus chuckled.

 

"Alright, you have my attention. What am I missing here?" Hitomu inquired, allowing that not-so-subtle jab to slide while he was on the clock.

 

"While our little butterfly of darkness, or rather Inverse Judgment appears to be in control with such a frightfully powerful monster, she lacks something her opponent has" Alison began.

 

"See, the Kamen Rider has a mask, and that's pretty important when it comes to trying to understand someone."

 

"A mask covers the face, but it also covers other stuff too. Most importantly, the eyes" Marcus explained.

 

"His eyes?" Hitomu questioned, now genuinely a little interested.

 

​"Indeed. The eyes are the window of the human soul, and they are something we humans can never truly change about ourselves. No matter how hard we try, we cannot change our eyes, which is why the Kamen Rider has the advantage here" Alison explained. "His opponent cannot see his eyes, and thus cannot know the extent of his integrity; his soul. But he can see her's clear as day, which is why she won't win. He sees her soul, but she cannot see his. She cannot see into his depths to understand his character, but he can do so to her. It's an unfair advantage, and one I believe will allow him to achieve victory; I believe this doubly so as he is an Inverse Moon."

[Hakima]

Hitomu wasn’t really bothered by the jabs from Tobi and Marcus. He was more focused on Alison and her prediction. “You think so? Because I’m still not convinced.” He looked up toward the television, where the camera was panning between the two duelists. “Don’t get me wrong, the Kamen Rider has a good chance of taking this, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her not being able to see his eyes.”

 

He pushed himself off the wall and tapped his heart with his pointer finger. “A duel’s decided by this,” then he tapped the deck box clipped to his belt, “and this. Any great duelist will tell you that the most important thing to winning a duel is trusting your deck to deliver, even when things are looking rough. Doesn’t matter what’s going on with your opponent if you believe in yourself and trust your cards to pull through.”

 

Hitomu smiled softly, fingering the Toon Red-Eyes Black Dragon hanging from the chain around his neck. It had originally been his Mom’s ace card, before it was his, and she had taught him a lot of lessons about not just dueling but life in general with it. “That’s what my Mom taught me, at least, and she was one of the best duelists I’ve ever met.”

[The Warden]

“That’s what my Mom taught me, at least, and she was one of the best duelists I’ve ever met.”

 

"That is some of the dumbes-" Marcus began, but Alison silenced him with a gesture.

 

"A grand statement. Yes, you are right, really. You can predict all you like and use your best guesses based on evidence, but as much the same, it truly is down to chance sometimes; the "Heart of the Cards". Destiny isn't real, just a little fiction we make to explain why things are the way they are. We decide our fates, or we at least try too, but... I will present once again an important factor: You can trust the girl because you can see her face more than the masked man. That trust is important, you see. The girl is the airy fairy sort, the sort who believes in true love, from what I've seen of her around the school since yesterday. A girl like that would seem like The Lovers, but really the girl is lapsing in judgement, an Inverted Judgment. That's not good when dealing with the Inverted Moon. The Kamen Rider, I've heard things about him, as you do when looking into information around occultic happenings at the school. You hear things. But the Kamen Rider's got quite a history behind him, and not all of it was good. A man who hides his face and is known to take advantage of others. It's a conundrum when you're dealing with someone who follows their fallible heart dueling someone who could take advantage of such weakness" Alison, at quite a bit of length, explained. "If you cannot look your opponent dead in the eye, you cannot trust them, especially when you are too trusting to begin with, is what I'm saying."

 

"Jesus," Tobi scoffed, "you always do a good job reminding me why I shouldn't get on your bad side."

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

“My turn...draw.” the Rider said, drawing for turn. “Seems we’ve gauged each other’s strengths long enough, miss Rose. I believe it’s finally time to bring more action to this Duel. And I intend to do it with this turn!”

 

-BGM-

 

“I switch Shadowmist to Attack Mode.” he said, watching Shadowmist slowly begin to stand from her kneeling state. “Now...I activate from my hand, Mask Change! And I choose Shadowmist to be selected by it’s effect!”

 

Shadowmist stood strong, as she started to raise up into the air slightly. As this occurred, something began to descend above her...and it looked like a mask or a helmet.

 

“Allow me to explain to you...” he said, pointing at the item above Shadowmist. “With Mask Change, I’m allowed to choose a HERO monster and use it to special summon a Fusion Monster from the Extra Deck. And this...well, you’ll just have to watch.”

 

“With this mask, you control the darkness as it’s protector! Those who use the darkness for evil fear you! TRANSFORMATION SUMMON!! HENSHIN!!! Strike fear into their hearts, Masked HERO Anki!!”

 

The helmet/mask slammed down onto Shadowmist and enveloped her in a bright light, before a dark figure superhero landed right in front of the Kamen Rider, slowly standing up as it was adorned in quite the ebony armor as well as spikes.

 

“Miss Rose...allow me to introduce you to Masked HERO Anki.” he said, pointing at Rose and then at Anoyatyllis. “And with 2800 attack...you’re Shaddoll is gone. Time for battle. Anki! Attack the idol’s Anoyatyllis with Dark Rider Kick!!”

 

Anki only nodded once, before rushing towards Rose and Anoyatyllis, leaping into the air as it prepared to kick the monster in quite the flashy fashion.

 

The doll tried to stop the attack, starting another blizzard, but the hero was too quick, breaking the doll with just a single kick.

 

Rose LP: 6900 -> -100 -> 6800  LP

 

“You did well, Anoyatyllis.” She said, before turning to the masked boy. “Since she was sent to the Graveyard, I get to add a Shaddoll Spell or Trap from my Graveyard to my hand. Return to me, Shaddoll Fusion!” She said, retrieving the spell card from her grave.

 

“Impressive...but my turn and Battle Phase is far from over.” the Rider smirked, pointing to the sky. “Anki’s effect activates! Since it destroyed your monster and sent to the graveyard, I can add a “Change” Quick-Play to my hand from the deck. And I’m choosing...” he paused, placing his hand near his deck, letting another card shoot out from it. “Form Change! And I will use said card right now!”

 

At this moment, Anki began to ascend into the sky just like Shadowmist did prior, as another mask/helmet began to descend.

 

“As long as it’s the same level as Anki, I can special summon another Masked HERO in its stead, provided I return it to the Extra Deck.” he explained. “And another Level 8 shall rise now!”

 

“With this mask, the very winds are at your command! Let the howling gales echo your name! TRANSFORMATION SUMMON!! HENSHIN!!! Be the swift typhoon you were meant to be, Masked HERO Divine Wind!!”

 

In Anki’s place now stood a new figure, this one adorned in green armor and wearing a white cape as it slowly descended onto the battlefield.

 

“Battle! Divine Wind, attack Rose directly with Typhoon Rush!!” the Kamen Rider shouted, pointing directly at Rose, as Divine Wind began to move at a blinding speed, being covered in quite the torrent of winds as it headed directly at Rose.

 

Rose barely had enough time to bring up her arms as the masked hero rushed her down, the wind causing her hair and the ribbons on it to flow wildly as she took on the direct hit, gritting her teeth. Still, she smiled. “Wow, that was so cool!” She said, excitedly, despite having just taken a rather hefty blow to her life points.

 

Rose LP: 6800 -> -2700 -> 4100 LP

 

“Heh...you seem to be enjoying this Duel a lot more than I am!” the Rider chuckled, watching Divine Wind return to his side of the field. “I end my turn. Now please...show me what you can do, miss Rose.”

 

.:Turn 5:.

.:The Kamen Rider:.

LP: 7900

Hand: 4

Monster Zone: M-HERO Divine Wind [ATK]
S/T Zone: None
Graveyard: Phantom Magician, Polymerization, E-HERO Solidman, E-HERO Blazeman, Storming Mirror Force, E-HERO Nova Master, Mask Change, E-HERO Shadowmist, Form Change

Banish: None

 

Rose's POV

 

She smiled softly, although her eyes were clearly passionate. “What can I say, I love dueling almost as much as I love idoling!” She drew a card, glancing at it with a smile. “Now it’s my turn!” She placed the card she had just drawn on her duel disk. “I activate the Field Spell Card Curse of the Shadow Prison!” As she activate the card, shadowy material seemed to creep from the ground, forming vaguely human forms that seemed satisfied with just observing the battle from the edges of the arena. “Looks like we’ve got some more audience members!” She shouted excitedly, before turning to The Kamen Rider.

 

“I’ll say...quite the eerie little place...” he muttered, taking in the new scenery.

 

Rose giggled a bit. “Don’t be silly, it’s just our audience after-all!” She waved at the new figures, who did not budge. “Anyways, I activate the card I got last turn - Shaddoll Fusion! Since you still have a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use monsters in my Deck again!” She explained, searching her deck once again. Once satisfied, she once again revealed the monsters to everyone.

 

“I will be fusing Shaddoll Hound and Inari Fire together!” As she said this, she placed the two monsters into her Graveyard, causing another shadowy portal to appear. This time, it was more akin to an inferno, sending ash and smoke everywhere around it. “May the fire that is your soul burn with everlasting passion! SHADDOLL FUSION! El Shaddoll Grysta!” Out of the portal emerged another doll, this one almost flying in with its fiery wings. The doll stood in front of the portal, striking a post of its own. Those who were paying attention would notice the figures in the background growing ever so slightly.

“Now, to activate Shaddoll Hound’s effect, letting me change the battle position of a monster!” As she said this, dark strings emerged from the ground, striking the masked hero. His struggles were in vein as the strings slammed the hero onto the ground.

“Now that your monster is in Defense Position, Grysta has enough power to attack over it!” As Rose said this, the monster started gliding its way towards the grounded hero. “Go, Burning Passion Slash!”

 

The forced Defense Position Divine Wind kept struggling to break free from it’s constraints, but to no avail. However, once Grysta struck at the hero...it would most likely be dumbfounded...as Divine Wind was still kneeling there.

 

Rose was impressed, but also confused. “What happened?”

 

“It was a noble attempt, but heroes have more than one way to gain the upper hand on an opponent.” the Kamen Rider smiled. “This is Divine Wind’s ability. He cannot be destroyed by battle. Also, you are only allowed to attack with one monster a turn.” he said, holding up one finger to signify this.

 

“Oh.” Rose said, kicking herself mentally for overlooking this. “Well, this is still fine… During my Main Phase 2, I’ll set a monster and another card and end my turn.”

 

.:Turn 6:.

.:Rose:.

LP: 4100

Hand: 2

Monster Zone: 1 “El Shaddoll Grysta” [ATK], 1 Face-Down Monster
S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: Shaddoll Hedgehog, Mathematician, Jigabyte, Shaddoll Anoyatylls, Shaddoll Dragon, Shaddoll Fusion, Shaddoll Hound, Inari Fire

Banish: None

Field Spell Card: Curse of Shadow Prison (1 Spellstone Counter)

[radio414]

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.”
-Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

When Connor, all the way back when, had said, “Just gotta go past the- Ah, yeah, I guess I see the problem now,” this is what he had meant. This crowd was the mother of all crowds, a giant amorphous blob all to itself, ever-expanding and ever-enveloping. People on the outskirts of the arena were practically sucked in and digested into the crowd, incorporated into the hive-mind-like living system of spectators all for, of course, the two duelists in the center.

There was just so much to take in. All the jostling and the mindless chatter, the constant clapping and the “woos” -- and somewhere out there someone was throwing a beach ball? -- overwhelmed her so much that she missed Rose’s entrance and only barely caught The Kamen Rider’s. But the crowd was contagious, and every ripple of enthusiasm affected Melissa as much as anyone else in the stadium, even if it wasn't in the way she would have preferred.

Her heart was pounding, and she hoped it was because of the adrenaline of the duel and not the anxiety of her surroundings. But with the pain in her stomach, Melissa was very worried it was the latter. It had to be the latter. It had to be the latter. And that meant that she needed to get moving quick.

She didn’t care that people were going to stare at her. Well, she did -- of course she did -- but at that moment it didn’t matter. She had “Excuse mes” and “Sorrys” and “I have to get to the bathrooms” to mumble as she edged past what felt like countless arena seats before racing down the stairs and following the signage to the nearest restroom.

No matter how long Melissa stared at the toilet bowl, her stomach refused to empty itself. If she were in a saner disposition she might have pondered whether that was an act of mercy or malice, but when stuck gasping for air and bracing against a wall to keep her legs from collapsing under her, all she could think about was the next lurch. In the brief instances when she did have a chance to think, she tried to remember what she was told to do in these situations:

 

Breathing exercises, right. Careful to keep her left hand braced against the wall, Melissa placed her right hand on her stomach and began to count. In, two, three, four, five. Hold, two. Out, two, three, four, five. Repeat.

Good. Now she still wanted to feel like throwing up every other breath and her heart was still going a mile a minute, but at least she had something to focus on. She removed her left hand from the wall and carefully knelt down, still making sure to keep over the porcelain in case something did decide it didn’t agree with her. Everything was going to be okay, she just had to focus on breathing.

And then it all came spilling out. The entire day’s events. All the things she should have said, all the things she should have done, even all the times she shouldn’t have done anything flooded her mind like a river finally breaking through a dam.

She should have seen this coming!
No! She couldn’t think like that.
That didn’t keep her from staring maybe a bit too much…
“Just grow up, why don’t you?”

And so on, and so on. With one final retch, her lunch came spilling out as well. She immediately flushed the toilet. If she was going to be alone and miserable, she’d definitely rather be without the smell of half-digested burger. She closed the lid, too, so she didn’t have to watch it all be funneled away.

For what was either only a moment or countless hours (whichever it was, it certainly felt like the latter), Melissa sat on the toilet, slowly rocking back and forth, still focused on her breathing, trying to slow her heartbeat to a reasonable pace. Even when it did, she still stayed there for a couple more breaths to ensure that the panic didn’t come back, and even after that, she spent time at the sink just staring at herself in the mirror.

“You’re fine,” Melissa said to her reflection. “You’re okay.”

The walk back was much less painful than the rush down. People didn’t notice the girl with her hand on the wall, slowly retracing her steps back through the concourse to her section, then up the stairs to her seat. “I’m fine,” she said as soon as she got back, more out of instinct than anything else. “What did I miss?”

[King K. Azo]

 

Akira watched proudly as the man Yushiro duel in his semi-manly way. Sure, the only way he could duel any more manly-like would be to actually play Superheavy Samurais, but that was besides the point. Still, with his quick planning and gambling addiction, the man Yushiro managed to stand against the not-man Hiraku's attacks. He stood proud behind his friend, staring down Hikaru as well. It was almost like Akira was Yushiro's Stand, ready to rush across the field and punch down Hiraku.

 

---

 

 

Sai didn't have long to ponder how to fix his dueling style for too long as the duel finally started. Souji came in at his motorcycle to face off with an idol, which caused Sai to shake his head. He supposed that it was for the entertainment, but Souji's style was way too flashy for him. Perhaps that was his issue though, that he wasn't flashy enough. He felt like there wasn't enough substance in the way Souji dueled, not for him. 

 

The duel itself wasn't too special to Sai. He had dueled Souji more times he could count, and he was falling into his usual patterns. Get Divine Wind out, and sit on him until he could counterattack. He should have been cheering his friend on, but he was sure the guy had more than enough support. His eyes wandered until he noticed something. Someone wasn't enjoying the duel. Sure, not every type of person enjoyed a certain style of dueling, but that didn't seem to be her problem. She seemed... choked... He stood up, hands in his hood's pockets as he walked towards the direction of the girl.

By the time he came close to where she was sitting, he could hear her say things like “I’m fine,” and “What did I miss?”. Sai sadly knew a little too well how that felt. He quietly sat in an empty seat behind her and possibly her friends, thankful he was not dressed as Sai the Duelist, but as Master Miracle, the Entertainment Duelist.

"Nothing much," He commented. "Just Kamen Rider falling into old habits,"

[Dova]

---

“Let's get a move on crew!"

 

“Of course!” Yusuji nodded rapidly, already jumping up from the remains of her food. True, Jo’s cooking had been as good as ever, but there were more important things to attend to!

 

 

 

Less than half an hour later, Yusuji had squealed and applauded on Rose’s magnificent (as always) entrance, continued to applaud her past the silencing of the crowd up until they picked up again following Souji’s entrance. She’d always liked the flashy duelist’s costume designs, even if it was a bit edgy at times. Now, however, she oohed and aahed with the rest of them even as

Her clapping continued. It was all very showy, and just SO exciting! The colours, the perfect landing...but whatever he put on, Yusuji would never abandon her TRUE favorite duelist. After all, she was Rose’s number one fan!

 

A rather boring first turn from Mr. Kamen Rider (naturally, who could possibly compare to Rose?), and Jun’s comment following it further galvanized Yusuji’s cheering as Rose began her turn.

 

“Yes, setting up the Fusion plays!” Yusuji squealed again, jumping up and down in her seat as the tension mounted. Slow plays to be sure, but Rose was just so cool anyway. Not to mention Rose’s actual ace move…

 

“Shaddoll Fusion!” Yusuji yelled almost exactly in time with her idol, recognizing the Spell as soon as she revealed it. Indeed, the paintress had seen Anoyatyllis summoned enough times from her regular viewing of Rose’s duels to chant perfectly in sync with Rose as the beautiful mermaid spiralled into existence.

 

Yusuji slumped back, her cheering silent for once as she took in the monster’s extravagant appearance. It was so elegant, shining with pristine beauty in the light of Duel Space, each one of the strings holding it in place moving smoothly through the air as if with divine purpose. She nudged Jun, absently picking out a fry from her friends’ selection as she did so.

 

“You know, someday,” she murmured in awe as the mermaid attached Souji’s monster, “I wish I could do that. Make that sort of stuff…design the monsters and all.” She thought for a bit, chewing on her stolen chip. “Maybe some new cards for you, or something.”

 

It was only when Anki destroyed Rose’s Fusion that Yusuji was snapped back to the reality of the duel. As Souji continued his comeback, she swayed to and fro with the crowd, cheering and chanting when Rose bought out Grysta, and gasping when Divine Wind survived the flaming warrior’s assault.

 

“Did you know it did that?” Yusuji asked Jun, “I mean, you probably actually do, considering it’s written on the card, but I don’t watch much Souji and am not really sure why I’m asking but…” she trailed off, trying to realign that derailed train of thought, but was distracted again by Melissa’s return. She murmured something that Yusuji didn’t quite catch, so she leaned in to make out Melissa’s soft voice in the surrounding din.

 

“What did I miss?”

 

Yusuji was about to answer when a new, louder voice got in first.

 

"Nothing much,” said the newcomer, who Yusuji recognized about as much as every other random student one passes in the school. But, with shining white hair and a bright smile, she liked him almost immediately. "Just Kamen Rider falling into old habits."

 

“Oh, and Rose!” Yusuji added quickly, still to Melissa, “You should’ve seen her magnificent Fusion Summons, cool Spell plays, and that oh so beautiful Anoyatyliss! Grysta’s cool too, but I’m more of a water person myself, you know? More whoosh and less WHOOSH!” She gestured wildly, trying to convey the exact amount of whooshness she preferred. “Anyway, it’s gone now, but she can still bring it back! Fingers crossed.” Accurate summary completed, she turned her radiant smile onto the newcomer. “Hi! I’m Yusuji by the way, and this is my friend Melissa! Well, Jun’s friend I think, or was it Kyouko? Also my friends, sitting here and here!" She paused briefly, then remembered there was a duel going on. “Oh, do you think this Kamen guy has any chance?”

 

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

“It’s my turn. Draw.” the Rider said, drawing for turn. “I switch my Divine Wind back into Attack Position.”

Hearing this, Divine Wind once again began to struggle against the Shaddoll strings, before finally standing up and breaking free with a breezy gale bursting forth from it.

“Now, I’ll summon Elemental HERO Ocean!” he said, as a small puddle of water formed onto the ground, before a warrior adorned in blue armor and holding a rod appeared beside Divine Wind. “Battle! Divine Wind will attack your Grysta with Typhoon Rush!!”

Rose held her arms up, as did Grysta, as the green hero rushed the doll down before it could even muster up a counterstrike. However, some would note that the shadows added by Curse of the Shadow Prison lept from the background and grabbed onto the hero, almost as if trying to weigh him down. Despite their best effort, however, the hero still managed to destroy the fiery doll, causing Rose to bring her arms up as she lost life points. “I use Grysta’s effect to add Shaddoll Fusion back to my hand.”

 

Rose LP: 4100 -> -150 -> 3950 LP

 

Odd...what were those shadows trying to accomplish? the Rider thought, watching Divine Wind return to his side. “I’m not finished yet. Now Elemental HERO Ocean will attack the face-down monster.”

Ocean nodded and summoned forth a torrent of water, riding on top of it, readying it’s staff for an attack.

“Attack the idol’s monster Ocean! Torrent Barrage!!”

As the oceanic fighter rushed to attack, the face-down card flipped over, revealing the Shaddoll Dragon that was face-down. “I activate my Shaddoll Dragon’s effect!” Rose spoke as the dragon let out a roar. “When my dragon is flipped face up, I can return a monster on the field back to its owner’s hand! And I choose your Divine Wind!” Suddenly, a silhouette of the dragon seemed to creep out from the dragon's mouth, crashing itself into the green hero and covering him with black goo.

 

The Kamen Rider watched in surprise as Divine Wind collided with the dragon silhouette, before starting to become monochrome and soon just fade away from the field. “So I see you’ve gotten past Divine Wind.” he said, removing Divine Wind from his Duel Disk and returning him to the Extra Deck. “Impressive.”

 

"Thank you." She giggled, although celebration would have to be cut short as Ocean's attack proceeded to obliterate the puppet dragon. 

 

“You cheat a direct attack this turn, miss idol.” Kamen Rider said, watching Ocean return to his side. “Continue to show me what your Duel style can do. I end my turn.”

.:Turn 7:.
.:The Kamen Rider:.
LP: 7900
Hand: 4
Monster Zone: E-HERO Ocean [ATK]
S/T Zone: None
Graveyard: Phantom Magician, Polymerization, E-HERO Solidman, E-HERO Blazeman, Storming Mirror Force, E-HERO Nova Master, Mask Change, E-HERO Shadowmist, Form Change
Banish: None

“With pleasure!” She said, giggling as she drew her card. She smiled as she saw the card. “I activate the spell card Foolish Burial! With this I can send a card from my Deck to the Graveyard!” She said, placing the card into the duel disk before searching her deck. “I send Shaddoll Beast to the Graveyard, activating the effect of both itself and my little field spell!” The shadows seemed to cheer at this, more of them seemingly join the crowd. Rose, seemingly please, points her finger at the Rider. “Shaddoll Beast let’s me draw 1 card!" She said, drawing the card from her deck. “Unfortunately, the my turn wasn't that impressive. I’ll set another card face-down and end my turn.”

.:Turn 8:.
.:Rose:.
LP: 3950
Hand: 2
Monster Zone: 1 Face-Down Monster
S/T Zone: 1 Face-Down
Graveyard: Shaddoll Hedgehog, Mathematician, Jigabyte, Shaddoll Anoyatylls, Shaddoll Dragon, Shaddoll Hound, Inari Fire, El Shaddoll Grysta, Shaddoll Beast, Foolish Burial, Shaddoll Dragon
Banish: None
Field Spell Card: Curse of Shadow Prison (2 Spellstone Counter)

[Alaina]

 

Jun continued to watch the duel in amusement as Yusuji had taken her words to heart, getting incredibly riled up in looking at Rose's next turn. As Jun continued to pay more attention to the duel that was going on, she eventually heard Yusuji talk to her again, about making a card for her before saying, "well, then I'll look forward to a card you make for me one day, 'Suji." She patted her friend on the back heartily as her friend was then surprised by Divine Wind's effect. Of course, Jun knew that the card did and wasn't quite as surprised as her friend was. 

 

It was then that their attention was drawn back to someone on the side. Jun hadn't actually realized that Melissa had even left, and to her side was a boy in a costume, (that provoked a brief chortle from the girl.) As the boy merely stated what was going on, Jun gave a nod before Yusuji started to greet the both of them. Raising her hand up she said, "hey there, I'm Jun. And 'Lissa here is all of our friends right?" She gave a small, playful punch to the girl's shoulder, before turning to Yusuji. Between the two duelists it was a bit difficult to tell who was actually ahead at the moment, but the girl knew that Souji was still far from over and still had a fairly good shot at winning. "Nah, Rose has definitely got this in the bag, 'Suji." 

 

As the next turn played out, it seemed that Rose was not only managing to keep herself defended from Souji's attack, but also managed to clear away one of his masked hero monsters. Of course, she knew Souji was far from done, especially with Ocean on the field, but it had also seemed that Rose was plotting something of her own. As Jun was becoming more attentitve to the duel before them, she nudged her friend saying, "see 'Suji, what'd I say, she's doing great against him."