Bad Day 14: Final Offer
- Location
- Australia, mostly
[X][Spy] "I dunno, it sounds kind of risky… I can keep my eyes open, and if I get the opportunity I'll see what I can do, but no promises."
[X][Feel] kinda hot ngl, you like the idea of a rebellious girl doing a big corporation dirty and getting paid for it too
You spend a moment processing Risa's surprising request. It's a lot to absorb all at once, and there's a lot to consider too. There's legality, morality, ethical capitalism, capitalist ethics, and more to consider. KaibaCorp consolidating these powerful hologram machines really could lead to a period of monopolistic domination of the entertainment market. A lot of companies could go bankrupt, and people could lose jobs.
But maybe, if a company can't stay afloat against its competitors, it doesn't deserve to survive anyway?
Argh, that's way too complex to think about, you don't understand business politics whatsoever.
The reward money is pretty tempting, though. Ten thousand US dollars! Even if you somehow fail to get past the elimination finals of this tournament, money like that could really help your mum out a lot!
All of a sudden, you have an image floating through your head, of Kaiba discovering his holotech has leaked to the open market. Things being thrown across the office. Yelling, lots of yelling. Heads rolling as soon as the investigation starts.
And you, your hands in iron manacles and your body clad in a silly old-timey black and white striped jumpsuit, as you're lead away to be held behind bars, your mum sobbing sadly in the background.
No way, there's so much at stake, you can't go actively looking to break the law on this private island owned and operated by people who are rich beyond your imagination.
Still though, those damn puppy-dog eyes staring at you right now.
You feel a blush creep across your cheeks, and an uncomfortable heat creeps into your core.
C-cute…
You'd be letting Risa down if you said no, and if you're being honest, the notion of sticking it to Kaiba and those other rich guys ruling the roost on this little island definitely has its own appeal.
You suddenly have new images flicker through your head, images of you covertly tossing a rope over a castle wall, and catching Risa as she clambers over it and drops down, secure in her knowledge that you'll save her from hitting the ground.
Images of Risa in a black espionage bodysuit, slinking past some laser grids to plant a cartoonish bundle of dynamite and a remote detonator on some huge, clunky 1960s retro-futuristic supercomputer, all clacking tape wheels, blinking vacuum tubes and screeching fax noises.
Images of Pegasus slumping down as he dejectedly signs new business contracts in a swanky high-rise office, pushing them across the desk to a huge chair facing away from him, looking out across the city insteads, and the chair slowly swiveling to reveal you, a cigar smouldering between your lips and a fancy monocle screwed to your eye as you laugh loudly.
Images of Seto Kaiba crying as you roll around on a huge pile of his money, passionately kissing Risa-
You're jerked out of your reverie by the sudden, acute awareness that you find the idea of Risa screwing the wealthy over kinda… goddamn hot, and the horrifyingly awkward realisation that your body has reacted appropriately to that feeling.
"Eep!" you squeak, turning crimson as you spin to face away from Risa and focus your gaze fixedly on the castle in the distance. Yep, just… just looking at a castle. Nothing to see here. Don't question it.
"Ryuzaki, you okay?"
Her voice is curious, lightly teasing, and doesn't that just not help at all, but underneath that, you hear something else. A tiny hint of concern, of fear.
She's worried you're going to say no and she'll fail in her goals here.
She's scared you're going to turn her in.
She's just outright unsure of how to react if a cute guy like you turns around and bluntly rejects her.
Well, shit.
"Uh, yeah, yeah… just kinda getting my bearings Risa. Lot to consider, you know?" you bluster, refusing to turn and look at her until you've managed to resolve the question of what you're going to do with her offer. And until you've resolved the other issue too, but, uh…
"I think it's really great that you're willing to stand up to big corporations like this Risa, it's super cool actually. But… I dunno, it sounds kinda risky…"
You feel, more than see, Risa pull back a little beside you, her sharp breath of disappointment clear even as you continue, and you can't help it. You can't just dash all her hopes like this.
You're a sucker, you just don't want to see a pretty girl cry, damn it.
"Tell you what, Risa. I can keep my eyes open, and if I get the opportunity I'll see what I can do, but no promises."
You risk a glance over at the girl beside you, and she nods, her eyes slightly wet but resolute nonetheless.
"Yeah, I understand. I was asking a lot of you, Ryuzaki, that's fine."
Clapping her hands to her cheeks to shake her disappointment off, Risa pulls a notepad from her pocket, and scrawls something on a page, before ripping it out.
"This is my number at home. After all this is done, if you manage to get any photos or any good information, make sure you give me a call about it, okay?"
Risa hesitates for a moment, and then grins as she slips the phone number into your hand, leaving her own hand sitting loosely in yours as she presses the note to your palm. You notice that she doesn't pull her hand away after the pass-off.
"And if you don't find anything, or decide not to go looking, call me anyway, we can meet up over the school break, I'm gonna need that camera back!"
She giggles as you blush once more and turn your attention away from her towards the castle again, willing your temporary issue to be as temporary as it possibly can, so you can walk back inside to watch the rest of Koyo's duel without obviously embarrassing yourself in such a mortifying way that you might never recover from it.
You blink a couple of times, then raise your hand (the other hand, you idly notice, is still sitting cupped in Risa's own) and rub your eyes, to make sure you're not hallucinating.
"Hey Risa, is that… do you see a white dragon up on top of that castle wall over there?"
[X][Party] You've gone through a lot together already, you and Koyo are gonna qualify together or not at all!
[X][Duel] Head straight to the castle staircase, you're sure to find someone else who's close to qualifying there.
"Hey, lovebirds, we're done dueling, you can quit it with the making out now!"
Koyo grins at you cheekily as he waves his hand in your face, showing off the extra chip now sitting in his gauntlet. So it looks like he won, and Tilla won't be going on to the finals. Well, not just yet anyway.
But you only think this in an idle, offhand sort of way, as you turn your attention back towards the castle in the distance. You're standing a distance away from the derelict shrine, Risa at your side, and Koyo almost immediately notices your attention is not on him, but on the castle.
"Oh, you're thinking about what's next huh? Well, both of us can get in with just one more duel each as long as we win, so let's do this, partner!"
You shake your head and glance at Risa to confirm what you thought you saw.
"Nah, Koyo, it's not that. There was… I swear there was a dragon over there! Risa and I came to the lookout to try to get a better view of it, and there was this huge flash of light, and then nothing, all gone!"
Risa backs you up with her own claims, and Koyo looks at you both with a perplexed look on his face.
"You guys know that dragons aren't real, right? I mean, maybe I could believe seeing a bright flash of light, the castle must have some strong spotlights, but real, actual life-size dragons? C'mon buddy, I think you just have terrible lizards on the brain, you dino-dweeb!" he laughs as he slaps you on the shoulder.
"Yeah, maybe…" you trail off as you throw another look at the castle before heading into the shrine once more.
You know the tournament preliminaries run until 5:00pm this afternoon, but you can't shake the feeling that if you don't all make a serious move very soon, it's going to be too little too late.
"Well, what now then, guys?" you ask the three of them, Tilla just now strolling down to meet the rest of you. She glances quizzically at you, but says nothing, her face betraying nothing about what she thought of your question.
Sheesh, so moody and mysterious. Some duelists take their duel personas way too seriously, you think to yourself.
"I mean, I still need five more star chips, so I'm heading back down to find some other duelists, it's late morning now so I reckon there can't be too many of them still floating around. Gotta get to searching!"
Koyo declares his plan confidently, and you have to admit, he has a point.
"Are you going to challenge Tilla for a couple of Star Chips, or do you want to join me in my hunt?"
Tilla's ears perk up at the mention of her name, and she shuffles a little closer to the rest of you. When you look over at her again, she actually smiles a little at you, an uncertain look crossing her face.
She doesn't seem certain about her prospects against you, but you could probably goad her by betting two star chips so that one of you will definitely qualify.
On the other hand, you think Koyo's right. There can't be many star chips floating around, and Tilla would be a good source of them, but in a way it feels a little unsporting to challenge someone you know Koyo just took down. If Koyo can do it, then you shouldn't have too much of a problem with her at all, since everything you've seen so far leads you to believe Koyo is perhaps only a step lower in skill and deck power than you.
"I think I'll pass on that, sorry Tilla," you add, and she quirks her head a little. You have a mental image of a puppy cocking its head as it listens to a command, but you shake it off and continue.
"Koyo, buddy, you and me have been through some crap already on this island. We're gonna qualify together, or not at all! That's a promise!"
He chuckles at that, and pulls his cap off his head to run his hand through his hair as he thinks.
"Then it's settled, bros for life I guess. I think we should just make a beeline for the castle. We want to be able to walk through those gates as soon as we have 10 star chips each, and I bet whoever else is still on this island will be looking to do the same. We're more likely to bump into someone looking for their last duel the closer we are to the castle, and if they only need one more duel to qualify it's not gonna be hard to convince them to duel us," he concludes.
Yeah, okay, it's clear that between the two of you, Koyo is the thinker. You were just planning on wandering aimlessly until you found somebody.
"How about you Risa, you want to join us?" you ask, way too casually. She snorts at your lame attempt to play it cool, and shakes her head.
"Nope! Now that I'm out of Star Chips, any official that spots me will be looking to kick me off the island, and you know I have things I still need to do here. It's time for me to go super-triple-awesome-spooky ghost mode again and vanish, I think."
She strides over to Tilla and grabs her by the arm, starting to drag her back towards the dilapidated shrine.
"We gotta go and grab our makeup and stuff, have a little bit of girl talk before I go. Seeya later Koyo, nice to meet you!" Risa cries as she waves to the both of you. She stops to blow a kiss your way, and winks theatrically at you.
"Call me, Ryuzaki!"
And with that the two of them are gone, Tilla being dragged by the energetic Risa. The poor girl looks around in confusion, and waves awkwardly to the both of you, and then that's it.
"Tilla didn't even say goodbye. Rude," you mumble as you and Koyo turn to pick your way down the hill of rocky cairns. Koyo shoots you a look as you mutter to yourself.
"Still haven't realised, huh? Don't change, Ryuzaki!"
[X][Wager] As long as you win the next duel you'll qualify, just duel the next person who'll accept a duel. Accept any reasonable star chip wager.
"I guess I don't really have a choice, you're the first duelists I've seen since I took that other guy's last Star Chip first thing this morning."
Cedar speaks plainly and honestly to Koyo, but you think he's actually okay with this turn of events. He probably has a bit of an idea about what sort of deck Koyo plays from his research, and you're… not actually sure how much of Cedar's deck Koyo even ended up seeing during his duel against you last night, given that he appeared to have fallen asleep halfway through it.
As Cedar and Koyo shake hands and draw their starting hands, you settle in for a decent match. Koyo is good, no questions about that, and Cedar's powerful monsters pushed you to your limits last night, so you're not entirely sure how it'll go. You're hoping that Koyo's knowledge about Cedar's deck will give him the edge needed to lock down a win though, you've had a lot of fun hanging with him. Still, you did have a lot of fun chatting with Cedar about Magic & Wizards after you beat him last night, and you think maybe he's a friendly rival now, so…
If Koyo loses and you end up accompanying Cedar to the castle instead, you just hope Koyo won't be too mad?
Koyo goes first, and you see him studying his hand closely, his eyebrows furrowed beneath that silly red cap he's so fond of. You can practically hear the gears whirring away in his head as he thinks about how to handle Cedar's puppet monsters, before his eyes light up eagerly.
"This should be a good match Cedar, you should see this hand of mine, buddy!" Koyo teases lightly as he sets two cards down on the table, and then places a monster down, causing a small number of floating eyeballs to float in the air, clustering together in a protective formation.
"Let's start off simple, hey? Monster Eye in Defense Position and two cards face-down!"
Monster Eye (350 DEF)
The older of the two teens looks over the collection of hovering eyes, nodding to himself as he comes to a conclusion. He seems nonchalant, easygoing in a way that contrasts Koyo's own good-natured puppydog-esque enthusiasm for the game. You're suddenly a bit worried that he must have something decent in his hand, to be so relaxed.
Or maybe he's just a different guy after a good night's sleep, compared to bumping into him in the middle of a shadowy forest road at the end of a long, tiring day of duelling?
"Hmm, a Fusion deck? You must have lucked out for the tournament then, with these battle boxes performing those automated wildcard fusions," he muses, half to Koyo and half to himself.
He hesitates a little before speaking again, more slowly and thoughtfully, as if he's having to reach for some of the words manually, pulling them off shelves and dusting them off like books he hasn't needed to look at in quite some time.
"Since you couldn't have known about the computer-assisted holograms, I'm guessing you printed off a couple of… what do they call them… template sheets? For particular combinations you usually stick to? Or did you bring along the… the…" he shakes his head and switches back to English for the last part of his question.
"The Monster Merger Manual supplementary books?" he chuckles, and you blink at the English book titles.
You recognise them, since you've read enough about the supplementary game releases during their times on American shores before making their way over to Japan. Still, you don't think you know anyone who seriously bought the one translated volume that had made it over to Japan by now, it was an expensive book. You instantly picture Koyo running around with one of those big hardcover gamemaster resource guides clutched in his crossed arms.
"Nah, nothing like that, too clunky," Koyo admitted to Cedar, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I just memorised the merger manual instead," he added with a shrug.
"Wait, you memorised… the whole manual?" Cedar asked incredulously, his eyes bugging out in shock. "Which volume?"
Koyo just shrugged again, a small grin flitting across his face.
"All of them, obviously."
What. The. Hell?
No way, not a chance, there are thousands of monsters, untold possible combinations for fusions! There were currently seven volumes of the infamous Monster Merger Manual, each numbering over a hundred pages of complex cross-reference tables and statistic calculation formulae. Nobody uses the manuals to determine fusion monsters on the fly anymore, every duelist you know of instead having printouts of specific favoured combinations they'd sourced from Industrial Illusions' own premium pay-per-lookup online fusion index. Before experiencing Kaibacorp's hologrammatic battle boxes at the national championships, you'd just kept a tattered printout of the two main combos you used in your deck, Pragtical and Bracchioradius, stuffed into your deckbox instead of bothering with the multiple reference tables.
Fusion had never really been a popular game mechanic with anyone except the most hardcore of duelists, being derided by many since it essentially required buying at least one supplemental reference book or looking it up online in advance, like all the pros did. The full Extended ruleset that had introduced the Fusion mechanic to the game essentially required a third party with a number of proprietary rulebooks and battle maps acting as an impartial arbiter, and had never taken off in Japan like the burgeoning Basic ruleset had.
All of a sudden, you feel a sense of clarity, a sense of awe for both Koyo and for Kaiba's hologram tech. You'd never even considered until now how the battle boxes essentially acted as the duelmaster and allowed Pegasus' full vision of a game that married card game play with more interactive roleplaying opportunities.
No wonder those competitor companies are worried enough to hire Risa for some corporate espionage, the battle box holograms must have ridiculous computing power to be able to handle all the tasks, even if only projecting small, mostly static, images.
While you were recovering from your shock, it appears that Cedar has composed himself a little faster, and he's got a confident smile plastered across his face once more.
"Well, consider me impressed, Koyo. If you have in fact memorised a lot of the fusion manuals then you're king of the nerds, and trust me on that, I'm pretty damn nerdy myself, given that I decided to learn Japanese specifically because Pegasus mentioned in an interview that he was fluent in the language and believed he'd need to break into the Asian market with major tournaments if he ever wanted Magic and Wizards to be successful outside of America."
Is… is Cedar flexing his nerd rep? Is that a thing?
"But your knowledge of Fusion combinations doesn't mean jack if you can't establish enough board presence to use as fusion materials, and you'll find that pretty tough to do when facing off against my Magical Marionette!"
As Cedar announces this, he slaps down a card and a masked figure appears, hooded in a billowing red coat and with strings dangling from seemingly-segmented arms. Hanging from those strings, difficult for you to see from a couple of metres away given that even the master controlling it is less than a foot tall, is a tiny wooden puppet wielding a pair of very sharp blades, each one as long as the puppet itself.
Magical Marionette (2000 ATK)
A quick declaration of intent later, and Cedar's agile little puppet has suddenly finished spearing the dozen or more drifting eyeballs on its wicked knives like grill skewers. The mental image of barbecue skewers makes your stomach rumble, even if the actual image in front of you is decidedly more disturbing.
Damn, it must nearly be lunchtime. You need to get into that castle as soon as possible, if only so you don't starve to death!
Koyo doesn't even twitch towards his set cards during or after the attack, drawing a card calmly and sticking it in the far end of his hand as he picks out another card from his hand instead. He's had his game plan lined up from the start, huh?
"Okay! I'm ready to come at you, Cedar! This card is all I need, but first let's activate my set card, Trap Stun. Now you can't activate any traps to interfere with my summons or attack during this turn," he announces as gouts of fiery orange lightning shoot through all of the facedown cards on the field, crackling away with energy. Once the energy settles, he sets down the card he pulled from his hand, shooting Cedar a grin as he does so.
"Here comes Fusion Deployment, allowing me to summon a Fusion Material for a specific monster from my deck to the field," Koyo calls out as he starts looking through his deck for the monster he wants. Placing the card into play, you blink as you see a skull wreathed in a crackling orange sphere of energy pop up on the field. You've seen Koyo use Maryokutai, so you're pretty sure you know what monster he's about to Normal Summon.
However, before anything else happens, a glowing orb merges into the marionette master, causing the being to pulse with energy.
"Heh, every time a Spell card resolves, I can put a Spell counter on my Magical Marionette, which powers it up by 200 ATK!" Cedar exclaims.
Magical Marionette (2000 ATK > 2200 ATK)
"Next, I summon The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion in attack position," Koyo announces, as a spiky misshapen ball of rock and plant matter appears next to the psychic skull. Okay, so it's not Zombyra, but you weren't totally wrong. You know this play, you know what comes next. And judging by the grimace on Cedar's face, he also has some idea that what's coming next can't be great, even if he doesn't know the exact monster Koyo is about to fuse.
"Now, I sacrifice my Hex-Sealed Fusion and Maryokutai to merge them into the guy who's definitely going to finish you off, Cedar! I special summon The Last Warrior from Another Planet!"
On the table in front of you, the small rocky orb wraps around the glowing skull, reshaping rapidly into a hulking sickly yellow-green humanoid shape, heavily muscled and equipped on both arms, back and head with extensive cybernetic enhancements, including a very nasty energy cannon of some sort. The little warrior yelled aggressively, shaking his fists towards Cedar in a clear challenge towards his puppeteer.
The Last Warrior from Another Planet (2350 ATK)
"Going to destroy my Marionette and lock down my ability to summon anything else in response, are you?" Cedar grunted, nodding his assent towards the strategy. Last Warrior Lockdown isn't the sort of deck you'd expect to face off against very often, given how the Zombyra card and the Last Warrior fusion formula were both released as limited run promotional prizes in a comic book collection, but the resulting possible lockdown was powerful enough that most tournament-level duelists were at least aware of the deck's concept, even if they had no way to fight it when it did appear.
At this, Koyo's eyes light up as he dips his head towards Cedar in an abbreviated nod of command, and the Last Warrior hoists up the arm with an energy cannon on it, beginning to build up a charge as it takes aim at the marionette in front of it.
"Nah, I thought I'd just finish you here. Activate set spell card, Battle Fusion! Absorb that puppet's power, Last Warrior!"
Your eyes widen as Koyo flips his remaining set card in triumph, and chirruping counter noises fill the air as the attack of the Last Warrior shoots upwards by the exact same amount of attack points as the monster it was staring down. Another glowing orb flies into the Magical Marionette afterwards, but you suspect it's too little, too late.
The Last Warrior from Another Planet (2350 ATK > 4550 ATK)
Magical Marionette (2200 ATK > 2400 ATK)
"No! That's way too deadly!" Cedar exclaims in horror.
"Your puppets aren't the only monsters that can get super strong really quickly! Now, destroy that marionette, Last Warrior! Eraser Laser Ultima!"
The brawny alien warrior braces his other arm against his extended cannon, and a pulse of purple light rips out from it, completely enveloping both the wooden marionette and the cloaked figure hovering behind it. As the flash fades away, there's nothing left behind to suggest they were even there, a scorched line of earth threading through the cluster of trees the marionette had attacked from.
Cedar: 2000 LP > -150 LP
Winner: Koyo Hibiki
Koyo holds his gauntleted arm up in front of his face, admiring the glints of light reflecting off the star chips nestled into the glove. All ten of the slots gleam a dull bronze, and you scoff a little at his pleased face.
"Yeah yeah, we get it, you have ten star chips now, you're qualified for the finals, quit showing off!"
You can't help but grouse at Koyo a little, but it's definitely good-natured. He earned them fair and square, and you only need one more yourself, so you'll catch up soon enough.
You're striding along an open dirt path in the direction of the castle, making good time. It's not even noon yet, and the two of you are a shoe-in for the finals. Cedar had taken his loss pretty well, all things considered. He'd even laughed it off as fortune just balancing out the explosively good opening hand he'd drawn against you last night with an equally good one for Koyo. Turns out, a properly-built Fusion deck focused around the Wildcard fusion mechanic? Pretty damn solid all things considered.
You stop suddenly as a realisation hits you, and it takes a moment for Koyo to notice and turn towards you, lowering his arm to his side with a look of mild curiosity on his face.
"Hmm, why'd we stop, Ryuzaki? Everything okay?"
"You told me yesterday, when we were chatting about our decks, that Pegasus told you about the Wildcard Fusion mechanic…"
Koyo blinks, confused.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Well if you already knew there'd be computers handling the fusion mechanics instead of judges needing to reference the Monster Merger Manual sourcebooks, why the hell did you bother to memorise them anyway, you freak of nature?"
You can't help it, that little jab just slipped in, it's an impressive feat but he really must have a mentality beyond anyone else if he bothered to memorise those books despite knowing it'd all be automated anyway.
Koyo smiles, letting out a chuckle as he rests his hand on your shoulder and leans in to whisper to you conspiratorially.
"I thought it'd be funny to lie about being a genius," he shares with you, then straightens up and starts walking again, whistling far too innocently.
"Oh, you cheeky bastard!"
[Koyo Hibiki: 10/10 Star Chips]
The sun is high in the sky as the two blonde women stare each other down, doing their best to size each other up as they shuffle their decks and set them down in front of them on the table. Inside the glass battle box, the temperature has been steadily rising, and Mai can feel the slight prickling of perspiration just starting to break out on her neck.
The battle box, even shaded a little bit by the trees in the glade around them, is still annoyingly warm to her, and she's fortunate enough to be wearing a short skirt and a sleeveless top.
How the other woman is able to stand duelling in these battle boxes whilst all dressed up in her heavy black velvet dress, Mai has no clue. Still, she has to commend the other woman for her choices. Fashion and suffering go hand in hand, as any woman well knows.
"Now, let's be clear here," she speaks slowly as she enunciates every word crisply and clearly for her opponent, who even a moron could see has only the barest grasp of the Japanese language. When Mai ran into her she was basically silent and unresponsive before Mai had been able to figure out that she was just shy and embarrassed at her lack of skill with Japanese.
She holds up seven chips so the girl in front of her can see them, and spreads them out on the table with the practised ease of a casino dealer.
"Seven chips wagered against seven chips. The English phrase is "All in", I believe?"
The phrase is right, if not entirely true. It's definitely true that Mai only had seven Star Chips displayed in her duelling glove when she bumped into the foreign Gothic woman, and had held a stilted conversation consisting mainly of her pit-dealer English and the other woman's own broken Japanese.
The four chips that are currently sitting in the pocket of her jacket, slung over the chair she's sitting on? Well, nobody really needs to know about those ones.
"All in?" the blonde girl in front of Mai echoes questioningly, before understanding becomes apparent in her eyes. She physically removes her duelling gauntlet, all seven of her chips still snapped into the slots.
"All in!" Tilla repeats confidently, drawing her first cards with a flourish.
Oh.
Oh no.
You're approaching the castle now, within fifty metres of it really, and you've spotted some duelists milling around near the base of the steps.
You know that hair, you recognise those clothes.
Why did it have to be these jerks?
One of them looks over at you and points, and immediately the skinny blonde kid in the green jacket springs up, shouting something at you as he motions wildly.
Damn it. Katsuya Jonouchi has spotted you. No turning back now.
You groan awkwardly, and Koyo, trailing just behind you, looks surprised as Jonouchi and his friend scamper over towards you.
"These guys seem eager," he observes, and you roll your eyes.
"You don't know the half of it."
"Hey! Hey, it is you! Look guys, it's Rex Raptor!" Jonouchi shouts as he pulls up just in front of you, waving to the others to come on over.
"What'd I say about my stage name, Jonouchi?" you growl half-heartedly. "It's Ryuzaki, just stick with that!"
"Heh, sure, whatever Ryuzaki. My bad," he apologises, as he scratches his head, clearly sizing up both yourself and Koyo. You momentarily feel a flash of concern that he's judging how easy you'd be to beat up, him and the guy in the brown jacket both look like they're at least a little bit rough around the edges, but you stifle that thought.
Can't let residual fear of Keith Howard get under your skin here.
"Wow, Ryuzaki, I'm surprised to see you here, I was sure you'd have been eliminated by now," Jou says, and you take a deep breath.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
"You know, given how you got yer ass kicked by a total rookie!" he bursts out, a stupid cheesy grin on his face.
God-fucking-damn it.
"Oh, you've duelled this guy before, Kenji?" Koyo pipes up, stepping around you to scope up Jou and his companion. After a moment, he sticks his hand out in an offering of peace.
"Koyo Hibiki, Okinawa regional champion. You already know Ryuzaki, obviously, and you guys are….?"
Jonouchi seizes Koyo's hand and shakes it vigorously, all smiles and energy.
"Oh wow, a regional champ huh? I guess Ryuzaki found someone else on my level to challenge me for my ultra rare card, huh? Nice to meet you, the name's Katsuya Jonouchi, and this here is Hiroto Honda," he adds, jerking a thumb at the brown-haired boy beside him.
Honda raises a hand in greeting, a casual "Hey!" thrown in with the gesture.
"So what's the deal Ryuzaki, you here to challenge me for my Red-Eyes Black Dragon or something? Because I don't bother with rematches against chumps I already wiped the floor with," Jonouchi teases as he releases Koyo's hand. You growl and bluster a little, but you feel the heat rising in your cheeks anyway.
God, how embarrassing. Maybe it was a good thing that Risa didn't tag along with you, and followed Tilla instead.
"Hmph, no way Jonouchi! Koyo and I are regional champs, we're total pros. He's got his ten chips for entry, and I only need one more so I came to the castle to make sure I get a spot when I squash some loser for the last one!"
At this comment, Jou seems to loom up over you, a smug grin gradually stretching over his face as he grabs your wrist to look at your duelling glove.
"Wow, yeah, you're right, there sure are a whole lot of star chips here, you've been doing really well Ryuzaki! Right, Honda?" he asks casually as he studies your wrist. Honda, for his part, just rolls his eyes.
"C'mon Jou, drop it," Honda mutters.
"What? I'm just counting all the shiny stars! Look…. There's one, two, three… oh, six, seven… yeah, wow. Nine chips! Nine whoooooole star chips!" Jou drawls as he holds your wrist up to your face, shoving your duelling glove into your face, with his own gloved hand.
Oh.
His own completely-full gloved hand.
God damn it, why. Why him?
The moment he sees the understanding on your face, Jou laughs uproariously.
"Nyahahaha! Yep! Count' em baby, ten little stars, all in a row-"
"Jou, cut it out, now isn't the time!" Honda snaps, cutting of the blonde's teasing in an instant.
"Ryuzaki still needs to have one more duel to qualify, which means he can still win and lose star chips. Win and lose them," Honda repeats through gritted teeth.
Immediately Jonouchi's face takes on a more sober look, and he glances back over his shoulder at his other friends a little further away. He slings his arm around your shoulder in an overly-familiar way, as if you were good friends, and starts to talk as he forcibly steers you towards the rest of his crew. Koyo trots along beside you, silent but listening closely.
"Oh yeah. Look, sorry Ryuzaki, I was only teasing, but I think you and us, we can do each other a real solid here…"
"What, seriously?! Yugi hasn't qualified for the finals yet? How?!"
You're aghast. Gobsmacked. Speechless.
How is it that this guy, the current unofficial champion of the game, who trounced both Seto Kaiba and "Insector" Haga, has only 5 star chips to his name?
In front of you, sitting in a despondent slump on the first stone step of the wide stairway up to the castle gates, is the small, frail figure of Yugi Muto. He doesn't respond to your shocked statement, but Jonouchi is quick to respond indignantly.
"Hey, shut up, Rex! Yugi did qualify, he had ten chips and everything! But Kaiba showed up, and Pegasus made Yugi bet chips against Seto to get into the castle, even though that snobby rich boy ain't even part of this tournament!" Jou exclaimed, clearly riled up about the whole situation.
There was a championship title rematch between the two titans of the game? Right here, only an hour or two before, and you'd somehow missed out on the opportunity to watch it?
Man, life is unfair sometimes!
Still… yeah, okay, if what Jou told you was true, then life is apparently doling out the unfairness in a nice even spread, at the very least.
"Damn, okay, that sucks. I feel bad for you Yugi, I really do," you offer, and the boy looks up at you properly for the first time, offering a weak, watery smile. Poor kid looks like he's been run through the wringer, losing the title and the star chips to Kaiba must have crushed him.
"But I only need one chip to win. You're asking me to put five on the line against your one. I'm already probably cutting it fine trying to find someone willing to fight for just one, but if I go against the champion and lose, I don't think I stand a chance of finding someone who'll bet six whole star chips against my four," you say, somewhat lamely, as you try to defend your decision to not duel this sad kid in front of you.
You're not scared of him and his reputation as a duelling genius.
Nope, no way.
Not a chance.
Yugi smiles again, that frail but friendly grin packed with vulnerability that makes you somehow sad just looking at it.
"It's okay Ryuzaki, I get it. I wanna do whatever it takes to win this tournament and save my grandpa, but I'm not going to force your hand or anything. You have to do what's right for you…" he trails off, seemingly doubting himself for saying as much to you.
Save his grandpa? Does he need the money to get his pa some surgery? Get the old guy out of the squalid poverty of the streets and into a comfortable home? Pay off some people smugglers to get the geezer out of Korea and across the sea to the safety of Japan?
You squirm a bit uncomfortably as Jou lets go of your shoulder and kneels down in front of Yugi. You were an idiot to think there were others who don't want or need the prize money just as badly as you want it to lift your own family out of poverty.
"Yugi, c'mon! This is your grandpa we're talking about, you gotta fight for him!" Jou exclaims heatedly, and Yugi chokes back a sob as he shoots a plaintive look at Jou.
You are not equipped to deal with this drama, and you shoot a helpless glance at Koyo, who looks back at you with an equally uncertain look on his face.
As one of your teachers would say to you, what's your moral duty here?
"I know I have to fight for my grandfather Jou, I know! And I will, but there's got to be a better way than trying to bully someone into a duel that's way too unrewarding for them! I won't do it, not after all this, not after Kaiba…." Yugi trails off, and Jonouchi grunts, pulling himself up and brushing off his jeans as he does so.
"Yeah, you're right Yugi. Ryuzaki here has a lot more to lose if he accepts the offer than you do, so I get it. Fair's fair."
Jonouchi takes a deep breath, seeming deep in thought, and then he grunts again, a noise of resignation. With a flick, he extends his hand out towards you, a card held between two fingers.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
"What?!"
"No way! You can't!"
"Jou, that's worth thousands of dollars!"
"You won it fair and square!"
The reaction is immediate and violent. Honda, the brown-haired girl, the white-haired boy and even Yugi all shoot straight up, pleading with Jonouchi to rethink what he's offering.
"COOL IT GUYS!" Jou yells over the top of them, and immediately his friends all fall silent. As for you, you've been silent this whole time, too stunned to react.
Jonouchi has a serious look on his face, and he holds the card out to you once more.
"Look, I know I won this off you fair and square, and trust me, I treasure this card as a sign of my growth as a duelist at this tournament. If I give it up, I'm probably losing any chance I had of winning the prize money for my sister's operation…"
Again with needing money to save someone? Seriously?
Suddenly, Jonouchi's eyes are alight with a blazing fire, and he appears to you the very model of a man who has never been more sure of anything in his life.
"But Yugi's right, the offer has to be fair. And I think maybe this card means as much to you as it does to me."
His voice cracks for a moment as he glances down at the card.
"Well, almost as much. But yeah, I'm sure. Ryuzaki, my friend is in a bind, and he did a lot to get me to where I am now, qualified to participate in the finals of this total sham of a tournament so maybe I can help my little sister out!"
Now he's speaking more quietly, and everyone, yourself included, is watching Jou's determined face with awe.
"If giving you this treasure back begins to repay Yugi, even a fraction of a percent of what I owe him for all the great things he's brought into my life, then I wouldn't hesitate to crawl through the mud to get it back to you."
His eyes narrow as he scans your face for any reaction. You know what's written across it right now. You're unsure, conflicted about what to do.
"I'm serious, take it. I won't even wager it on you winning. Put your five star chips up against Yugi here, and I guarantee, win or lose, you're walking away from this duel with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon back in your deck."
Oh man, he's totally serious, isn't he?
Looking around at Jonouchi's friends, all clustered around Yugi and ready to back Jou up at a moment's notice, you can't help but be impressed.
He's offering it to you as compensation for an uneven wager, so it's fair to accept it right? He won it off you, fair and square, and is offering it back now with no strings attached, a kindness from one owner of this precious treasure card to another.
It's okay, right?
[ ] Tell Jonouchi to keep the card, you don't need his pity, and you don't need to be bribed with valuable cards. You're not going to risk your shot at this tournament by duelling Yugi for so many star chips. [Trait Activated! The Value of Silence]
[ ] Accept Jonouchi's charitable offer. It's clear that he feels deeply indebted to Yugi, and would do anything to help his friend, there's a good chance he'll be insulted if you don't accept his manly blessing for your courage in betting it all. Five chips against one, with Red-Eyes as a gift, let's do this!
[ ] You can't just take Red-Eyes back, as much as you desperately want to. Jonouchi won it fair and square, and it's a super valuable card. Fair is fair. Five chips wagered against one chip, and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon goes to you if you can overcome the odds and beat Yugi.
[ ] Argh, goddamn it! Saving grandpas and sisters, offering treasured cards back to you just for the chance of a duel, these people are just too goddamn goodhearted! There's no way you morally accept what Jou is offering. And let's be honest, you're not going to find anybody else out here to duel for even one chip at this time of day. Fine, five chips against his one, no strings attached.
[ ] You're just so moved! This transcends a card game, this is true Duelist Spirit! Change the wager, you'll go five against one chip, on one condition. Next time you and Jou cross paths again, you'll duel him again for the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and you'll see who's progressed further as a skilled player and a real, honourable duelist!
Yugi wins the game of rock paper scissors, and elects to go first. As you draw your starting five cards, you don't bother to look at them just yet, instead focusing intently on Yugi's face. You've heard the rumours, and you know Haga paid the price for underestimating how skilled the kid in front of you is, but still… is he really as good as the image you had in your head just minutes ago, before you heard of his loss here?
Something seems off, and you're not sure what it is. Yugi's eyes flicker back and forth across the cards in his hand, and he studies the field in front of you closely. Located right near the main steps of the castle, the field seems to be slightly angled, giving you several squares of elevated castle architecture to summon on, with a smaller number off to the side being simple plains. Yugi's side appears to be more of a mix of forest and the plains that open up around the castle, while right at the far end are some marsh-like tiles. There must be a creek winding its way past the castle nearby, you're guessing.
"Okay, let's have a good game, Ryuzaki. I know I'm playing for more chips than you need to get in, but I gotta get in there so I'm going to do my best!" he declares confidently. You know the sound of false confidence when you hear it, you've used it in your Rex voice plenty of times. He's trying to convince somebody that you're the one in trouble here, and you have a sneaking suspicion it's not you he's trying to convince.
"First off, I'll summon my Dragon Knight of Darkness in Attack Position!" he exclaims, as a slim knight clad in dangerous-looking black armour appears in miniature on the table in front of you.
Dragon Knight of Darkness (1600 ATK)
"Next I'll place two cards face down, and I'll end my turn," he concludes, looking somewhat muted as he does so. It's almost as if he's distracted by something else, or… daydreaming maybe? He has a slightly faraway look in his eyes that tells you he's not totally focused on what's right in front of him.
You gaze across the table, ignoring the small black knight in front of you in favour of studying the boy commanding it. You're sure of it now, he's not exuding the same aura he was when you first saw him silently supporting Jonouchi against you yesterday. He barely spoke back then and you weren't really listening because you were so busy being too full of yourself, but despite that you can still pick out the differences. Hardly surprising, you have to figure that he's still pretty shook up about his loss against Kaiba earlier. None of the truly competitive duelists you've played against before ever took their losses well, it's just the nature of the game in high-level play.
Still, you're a little surprised even then by how meek his opening move was. It was a perfectly fine setup, technically, but in a game where everyone has some stage presence, some bluff and bravado, the supposed secret champion across the table from you seemed almost the opposite, and not in a good way.
Is he that badly cut up about losing his not-even-really-officially-a-title to the guy who was neck and neck with him, skillwise?
Well, whatever, if his mental gamestate is that bad, then it's only beneficial for you. And boy, what a great starting hand, even before you draw for the turn!
You're inclined to just drop your Emperor of the Land and Sea on the board and wipe out Yugi's Dragon Knight straight up, no mess, no fuss. Yesterday, you absolutely would have. Rex Raptor goes big, Rex Raptor goes bold, that's just how it is in the world of primal titans.
But that was yesterday. Yesterday, Rex Raptor was basically just Kenji Ryuzaki, cranked up to 11. Now, you think maybe Rex and Ryuzaki aren't even playing the same instruments. Same concert stage, sure, but there's a gulf between them now, you think. You have to admit, you've seen a few things since you arrived on this island, and you have to admire the skill level of everyone you've duelled against so far. Okay, maybe not Keith's two goons who actually tag-teamed you, but Keith himself had skills you could respect. It wouldn't be unfair to say that any of the people who you've encountered so far would wipe the board with the Ryuzaki who participated in the Japanese National Championships so very recently. Not unfair at all, considering a rank amateur somehow managed to eke out a win against your brash playstyle.
[Trait Evolution! Battle Brawler has transformed into Battle Braver!]
Now, you're just as ready to bust heads and overpower anything thrown in your path, but you're gonna do it a smarter way.
Logically, attacking the Dragon Knight is still a viable option. You have no idea what kind of deck Yugi plays, but with an opening play like Dragon Knight you think you can expect another dragon or two somewhere along the line. And if he summons one next turn then his Dragon Knight will be at 2000 attack, enough to take out your Emperor if you hold on to it for later. So maybe eliminating it now is the right move?
But then, you also have Black Stego in your hand. It has enough defense to survive an attack from the dragon knight even if Yugi does put a companion dragon into play next turn.
Or there's Gale Lizard, which can bounce back the monster attacking it. It's an option, especially if the Dragon Knight somehow gets powered up by those set cards behind it.
Or, now that you're taking the time to think about it, there's an even more tempting option.
Somehow, you've already drawn both of the components needed to summon your Three Spheres Imperial Lord. You could start laying out the groundwork for it now, you even have a couple of trap cards you can use to protect the fusion materials. All you need is Polymerization, and when the flow of fortune is strong enough to give you an opening chance like this, you suspect that card isn't far away. Honestly, you've been feeling super in-tune with your deck over the past few duels, you wouldn't be surprised to find it showing up right away if you decided you wanted that Imperial Lord badly enough.
It's time to get that last Star Chip and enter the castle.
Let's do this.
Accumulated 75 DP to spend on Destiny Draw.
If Destiny Draw is not used, this turn's draw will be Tail Swipe.
Your field is currently empty.
Your hand consists of Black Stego, Emperor of the Land and Sea, Gale Lizard, Adhesion Trap Hole and Threatening Roar.
Yugi's field consists of Dragon Knight of Darkness (1600 ATK/1100 DEF) in Attack Position, and two set S/T cards.
Yugi's hand consists of 2 cards.
Ryuzaki LP: 2000
Yugi LP: 2000
What will you do for your turn?
[ ] Go on the offensive. Summon Emperor of the Land and Sea and wipe out that Dragon Knight, and then set your Trap cards as backup, to use if needed next turn.
[ ] Play it safe for now. Black Stego in Defense Position and your traps facedown, and if need be, Adhesion Trap Hole should be enough to ensure no monster he summons next turn is able to get past its 2000 DEF.
[ ] Go with the flow of fortune, and prepare for Three Spheres Imperial Lord. Set Gale Lizard and both traps. That way you can use your Threatening Roar to prevent Yugi from attacking your lizard next turn, then you can bring out your Emperor next turn, and if you really need to you can flip your Gale Lizard to bounce a troublesome monster back to Yugi's hand.
[ ] Fortune flows, but it can falter as well, seize the chance now! Destiny Draw Polymerization (50 DP), set Gale Lizard alongside Poly and Threatening Roar, protect the lizard on Yugi's turn, and then next turn summon Emperor of the Land and Sea, flip Gale Lizard to bounce a monster and fuse into Three Spheres Imperial Lord straight up.
-[ ] Use Imperial Lord's OPT to bounce one of the set S/T cards before declaring an attack with it.
-[ ] Only use Imperial Lord's OPT bounce after you've attacked, so you can see how Yugi reacts with his Set cards and adjust your play accordingly.
[ ] Write-in.
The usual one hour moratorium on submitting votes applies.
(Quick reminder, the Kingdom Rules being followed here are very different from the TCG, even in a basic form. Just remember: Only 1 Spell can be can be activated from the hand per turn, only 1 S/T card can be set from your hand per turn (or 2 if you opted not to activate a Spell from the hand), only one monster can attack per turn except in certain circumstances, and monsters can't attack directly unless the opponent has not had a monster on the field at any point during your turn. All the details are in the first post of the quest.)
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.
Welcome back everyone. Was really hoping you guys would pick the option leading to the Yugi duel, just so I could write the Jonouchi offer scene. I love the guy, I really do. The three choices will dictate how exactly Jonouchi thinks of you from now on. All positive, but quite different ways.
After a much needed personal break of far, far too long, I'm back. As a little Christmas gift, Ryuzaki is receiving a bonus 211 DP into his stock, one DP for every day between my last update and Christmas Day. Also, here's a little gift basket Ryuzaki will be able to access after this current duel, make sure to put that star up on top of the Christmas tree for everyone to marvel at!
[Current DP: 698 > 909]
[Christmas Gift Basket received! Card Binder updated!]
Added Linkerbell - Fusion Recipe unlocked!
Added Gift Card
Added Gift Exchange
Added Present Card
Added Oh Tokenbaum!
[X][Feel] kinda hot ngl, you like the idea of a rebellious girl doing a big corporation dirty and getting paid for it too
You spend a moment processing Risa's surprising request. It's a lot to absorb all at once, and there's a lot to consider too. There's legality, morality, ethical capitalism, capitalist ethics, and more to consider. KaibaCorp consolidating these powerful hologram machines really could lead to a period of monopolistic domination of the entertainment market. A lot of companies could go bankrupt, and people could lose jobs.
But maybe, if a company can't stay afloat against its competitors, it doesn't deserve to survive anyway?
Argh, that's way too complex to think about, you don't understand business politics whatsoever.
The reward money is pretty tempting, though. Ten thousand US dollars! Even if you somehow fail to get past the elimination finals of this tournament, money like that could really help your mum out a lot!
All of a sudden, you have an image floating through your head, of Kaiba discovering his holotech has leaked to the open market. Things being thrown across the office. Yelling, lots of yelling. Heads rolling as soon as the investigation starts.
And you, your hands in iron manacles and your body clad in a silly old-timey black and white striped jumpsuit, as you're lead away to be held behind bars, your mum sobbing sadly in the background.
No way, there's so much at stake, you can't go actively looking to break the law on this private island owned and operated by people who are rich beyond your imagination.
Still though, those damn puppy-dog eyes staring at you right now.
You feel a blush creep across your cheeks, and an uncomfortable heat creeps into your core.
C-cute…
You'd be letting Risa down if you said no, and if you're being honest, the notion of sticking it to Kaiba and those other rich guys ruling the roost on this little island definitely has its own appeal.
You suddenly have new images flicker through your head, images of you covertly tossing a rope over a castle wall, and catching Risa as she clambers over it and drops down, secure in her knowledge that you'll save her from hitting the ground.
Images of Risa in a black espionage bodysuit, slinking past some laser grids to plant a cartoonish bundle of dynamite and a remote detonator on some huge, clunky 1960s retro-futuristic supercomputer, all clacking tape wheels, blinking vacuum tubes and screeching fax noises.
Images of Pegasus slumping down as he dejectedly signs new business contracts in a swanky high-rise office, pushing them across the desk to a huge chair facing away from him, looking out across the city insteads, and the chair slowly swiveling to reveal you, a cigar smouldering between your lips and a fancy monocle screwed to your eye as you laugh loudly.
Images of Seto Kaiba crying as you roll around on a huge pile of his money, passionately kissing Risa-
You're jerked out of your reverie by the sudden, acute awareness that you find the idea of Risa screwing the wealthy over kinda… goddamn hot, and the horrifyingly awkward realisation that your body has reacted appropriately to that feeling.
"Eep!" you squeak, turning crimson as you spin to face away from Risa and focus your gaze fixedly on the castle in the distance. Yep, just… just looking at a castle. Nothing to see here. Don't question it.
"Ryuzaki, you okay?"
Her voice is curious, lightly teasing, and doesn't that just not help at all, but underneath that, you hear something else. A tiny hint of concern, of fear.
She's worried you're going to say no and she'll fail in her goals here.
She's scared you're going to turn her in.
She's just outright unsure of how to react if a cute guy like you turns around and bluntly rejects her.
Well, shit.
"Uh, yeah, yeah… just kinda getting my bearings Risa. Lot to consider, you know?" you bluster, refusing to turn and look at her until you've managed to resolve the question of what you're going to do with her offer. And until you've resolved the other issue too, but, uh…
"I think it's really great that you're willing to stand up to big corporations like this Risa, it's super cool actually. But… I dunno, it sounds kinda risky…"
You feel, more than see, Risa pull back a little beside you, her sharp breath of disappointment clear even as you continue, and you can't help it. You can't just dash all her hopes like this.
You're a sucker, you just don't want to see a pretty girl cry, damn it.
"Tell you what, Risa. I can keep my eyes open, and if I get the opportunity I'll see what I can do, but no promises."
You risk a glance over at the girl beside you, and she nods, her eyes slightly wet but resolute nonetheless.
"Yeah, I understand. I was asking a lot of you, Ryuzaki, that's fine."
Clapping her hands to her cheeks to shake her disappointment off, Risa pulls a notepad from her pocket, and scrawls something on a page, before ripping it out.
"This is my number at home. After all this is done, if you manage to get any photos or any good information, make sure you give me a call about it, okay?"
Risa hesitates for a moment, and then grins as she slips the phone number into your hand, leaving her own hand sitting loosely in yours as she presses the note to your palm. You notice that she doesn't pull her hand away after the pass-off.
"And if you don't find anything, or decide not to go looking, call me anyway, we can meet up over the school break, I'm gonna need that camera back!"
She giggles as you blush once more and turn your attention away from her towards the castle again, willing your temporary issue to be as temporary as it possibly can, so you can walk back inside to watch the rest of Koyo's duel without obviously embarrassing yourself in such a mortifying way that you might never recover from it.
You blink a couple of times, then raise your hand (the other hand, you idly notice, is still sitting cupped in Risa's own) and rub your eyes, to make sure you're not hallucinating.
"Hey Risa, is that… do you see a white dragon up on top of that castle wall over there?"
[X][Party] You've gone through a lot together already, you and Koyo are gonna qualify together or not at all!
[X][Duel] Head straight to the castle staircase, you're sure to find someone else who's close to qualifying there.
"Hey, lovebirds, we're done dueling, you can quit it with the making out now!"
Koyo grins at you cheekily as he waves his hand in your face, showing off the extra chip now sitting in his gauntlet. So it looks like he won, and Tilla won't be going on to the finals. Well, not just yet anyway.
But you only think this in an idle, offhand sort of way, as you turn your attention back towards the castle in the distance. You're standing a distance away from the derelict shrine, Risa at your side, and Koyo almost immediately notices your attention is not on him, but on the castle.
"Oh, you're thinking about what's next huh? Well, both of us can get in with just one more duel each as long as we win, so let's do this, partner!"
You shake your head and glance at Risa to confirm what you thought you saw.
"Nah, Koyo, it's not that. There was… I swear there was a dragon over there! Risa and I came to the lookout to try to get a better view of it, and there was this huge flash of light, and then nothing, all gone!"
Risa backs you up with her own claims, and Koyo looks at you both with a perplexed look on his face.
"You guys know that dragons aren't real, right? I mean, maybe I could believe seeing a bright flash of light, the castle must have some strong spotlights, but real, actual life-size dragons? C'mon buddy, I think you just have terrible lizards on the brain, you dino-dweeb!" he laughs as he slaps you on the shoulder.
"Yeah, maybe…" you trail off as you throw another look at the castle before heading into the shrine once more.
You know the tournament preliminaries run until 5:00pm this afternoon, but you can't shake the feeling that if you don't all make a serious move very soon, it's going to be too little too late.
"Well, what now then, guys?" you ask the three of them, Tilla just now strolling down to meet the rest of you. She glances quizzically at you, but says nothing, her face betraying nothing about what she thought of your question.
Sheesh, so moody and mysterious. Some duelists take their duel personas way too seriously, you think to yourself.
"I mean, I still need five more star chips, so I'm heading back down to find some other duelists, it's late morning now so I reckon there can't be too many of them still floating around. Gotta get to searching!"
Koyo declares his plan confidently, and you have to admit, he has a point.
"Are you going to challenge Tilla for a couple of Star Chips, or do you want to join me in my hunt?"
Tilla's ears perk up at the mention of her name, and she shuffles a little closer to the rest of you. When you look over at her again, she actually smiles a little at you, an uncertain look crossing her face.
She doesn't seem certain about her prospects against you, but you could probably goad her by betting two star chips so that one of you will definitely qualify.
On the other hand, you think Koyo's right. There can't be many star chips floating around, and Tilla would be a good source of them, but in a way it feels a little unsporting to challenge someone you know Koyo just took down. If Koyo can do it, then you shouldn't have too much of a problem with her at all, since everything you've seen so far leads you to believe Koyo is perhaps only a step lower in skill and deck power than you.
"I think I'll pass on that, sorry Tilla," you add, and she quirks her head a little. You have a mental image of a puppy cocking its head as it listens to a command, but you shake it off and continue.
"Koyo, buddy, you and me have been through some crap already on this island. We're gonna qualify together, or not at all! That's a promise!"
He chuckles at that, and pulls his cap off his head to run his hand through his hair as he thinks.
"Then it's settled, bros for life I guess. I think we should just make a beeline for the castle. We want to be able to walk through those gates as soon as we have 10 star chips each, and I bet whoever else is still on this island will be looking to do the same. We're more likely to bump into someone looking for their last duel the closer we are to the castle, and if they only need one more duel to qualify it's not gonna be hard to convince them to duel us," he concludes.
Yeah, okay, it's clear that between the two of you, Koyo is the thinker. You were just planning on wandering aimlessly until you found somebody.
"How about you Risa, you want to join us?" you ask, way too casually. She snorts at your lame attempt to play it cool, and shakes her head.
"Nope! Now that I'm out of Star Chips, any official that spots me will be looking to kick me off the island, and you know I have things I still need to do here. It's time for me to go super-triple-awesome-spooky ghost mode again and vanish, I think."
She strides over to Tilla and grabs her by the arm, starting to drag her back towards the dilapidated shrine.
"We gotta go and grab our makeup and stuff, have a little bit of girl talk before I go. Seeya later Koyo, nice to meet you!" Risa cries as she waves to the both of you. She stops to blow a kiss your way, and winks theatrically at you.
"Call me, Ryuzaki!"
And with that the two of them are gone, Tilla being dragged by the energetic Risa. The poor girl looks around in confusion, and waves awkwardly to the both of you, and then that's it.
"Tilla didn't even say goodbye. Rude," you mumble as you and Koyo turn to pick your way down the hill of rocky cairns. Koyo shoots you a look as you mutter to yourself.
"Still haven't realised, huh? Don't change, Ryuzaki!"
[X][Wager] As long as you win the next duel you'll qualify, just duel the next person who'll accept a duel. Accept any reasonable star chip wager.
"I guess I don't really have a choice, you're the first duelists I've seen since I took that other guy's last Star Chip first thing this morning."
Cedar speaks plainly and honestly to Koyo, but you think he's actually okay with this turn of events. He probably has a bit of an idea about what sort of deck Koyo plays from his research, and you're… not actually sure how much of Cedar's deck Koyo even ended up seeing during his duel against you last night, given that he appeared to have fallen asleep halfway through it.
As Cedar and Koyo shake hands and draw their starting hands, you settle in for a decent match. Koyo is good, no questions about that, and Cedar's powerful monsters pushed you to your limits last night, so you're not entirely sure how it'll go. You're hoping that Koyo's knowledge about Cedar's deck will give him the edge needed to lock down a win though, you've had a lot of fun hanging with him. Still, you did have a lot of fun chatting with Cedar about Magic & Wizards after you beat him last night, and you think maybe he's a friendly rival now, so…
If Koyo loses and you end up accompanying Cedar to the castle instead, you just hope Koyo won't be too mad?
Koyo goes first, and you see him studying his hand closely, his eyebrows furrowed beneath that silly red cap he's so fond of. You can practically hear the gears whirring away in his head as he thinks about how to handle Cedar's puppet monsters, before his eyes light up eagerly.
"This should be a good match Cedar, you should see this hand of mine, buddy!" Koyo teases lightly as he sets two cards down on the table, and then places a monster down, causing a small number of floating eyeballs to float in the air, clustering together in a protective formation.
"Let's start off simple, hey? Monster Eye in Defense Position and two cards face-down!"
Monster Eye (350 DEF)
The older of the two teens looks over the collection of hovering eyes, nodding to himself as he comes to a conclusion. He seems nonchalant, easygoing in a way that contrasts Koyo's own good-natured puppydog-esque enthusiasm for the game. You're suddenly a bit worried that he must have something decent in his hand, to be so relaxed.
Or maybe he's just a different guy after a good night's sleep, compared to bumping into him in the middle of a shadowy forest road at the end of a long, tiring day of duelling?
"Hmm, a Fusion deck? You must have lucked out for the tournament then, with these battle boxes performing those automated wildcard fusions," he muses, half to Koyo and half to himself.
He hesitates a little before speaking again, more slowly and thoughtfully, as if he's having to reach for some of the words manually, pulling them off shelves and dusting them off like books he hasn't needed to look at in quite some time.
"Since you couldn't have known about the computer-assisted holograms, I'm guessing you printed off a couple of… what do they call them… template sheets? For particular combinations you usually stick to? Or did you bring along the… the…" he shakes his head and switches back to English for the last part of his question.
"The Monster Merger Manual supplementary books?" he chuckles, and you blink at the English book titles.
You recognise them, since you've read enough about the supplementary game releases during their times on American shores before making their way over to Japan. Still, you don't think you know anyone who seriously bought the one translated volume that had made it over to Japan by now, it was an expensive book. You instantly picture Koyo running around with one of those big hardcover gamemaster resource guides clutched in his crossed arms.
"Nah, nothing like that, too clunky," Koyo admitted to Cedar, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I just memorised the merger manual instead," he added with a shrug.
"Wait, you memorised… the whole manual?" Cedar asked incredulously, his eyes bugging out in shock. "Which volume?"
Koyo just shrugged again, a small grin flitting across his face.
"All of them, obviously."
What. The. Hell?
No way, not a chance, there are thousands of monsters, untold possible combinations for fusions! There were currently seven volumes of the infamous Monster Merger Manual, each numbering over a hundred pages of complex cross-reference tables and statistic calculation formulae. Nobody uses the manuals to determine fusion monsters on the fly anymore, every duelist you know of instead having printouts of specific favoured combinations they'd sourced from Industrial Illusions' own premium pay-per-lookup online fusion index. Before experiencing Kaibacorp's hologrammatic battle boxes at the national championships, you'd just kept a tattered printout of the two main combos you used in your deck, Pragtical and Bracchioradius, stuffed into your deckbox instead of bothering with the multiple reference tables.
Fusion had never really been a popular game mechanic with anyone except the most hardcore of duelists, being derided by many since it essentially required buying at least one supplemental reference book or looking it up online in advance, like all the pros did. The full Extended ruleset that had introduced the Fusion mechanic to the game essentially required a third party with a number of proprietary rulebooks and battle maps acting as an impartial arbiter, and had never taken off in Japan like the burgeoning Basic ruleset had.
All of a sudden, you feel a sense of clarity, a sense of awe for both Koyo and for Kaiba's hologram tech. You'd never even considered until now how the battle boxes essentially acted as the duelmaster and allowed Pegasus' full vision of a game that married card game play with more interactive roleplaying opportunities.
No wonder those competitor companies are worried enough to hire Risa for some corporate espionage, the battle box holograms must have ridiculous computing power to be able to handle all the tasks, even if only projecting small, mostly static, images.
While you were recovering from your shock, it appears that Cedar has composed himself a little faster, and he's got a confident smile plastered across his face once more.
"Well, consider me impressed, Koyo. If you have in fact memorised a lot of the fusion manuals then you're king of the nerds, and trust me on that, I'm pretty damn nerdy myself, given that I decided to learn Japanese specifically because Pegasus mentioned in an interview that he was fluent in the language and believed he'd need to break into the Asian market with major tournaments if he ever wanted Magic and Wizards to be successful outside of America."
Is… is Cedar flexing his nerd rep? Is that a thing?
"But your knowledge of Fusion combinations doesn't mean jack if you can't establish enough board presence to use as fusion materials, and you'll find that pretty tough to do when facing off against my Magical Marionette!"
As Cedar announces this, he slaps down a card and a masked figure appears, hooded in a billowing red coat and with strings dangling from seemingly-segmented arms. Hanging from those strings, difficult for you to see from a couple of metres away given that even the master controlling it is less than a foot tall, is a tiny wooden puppet wielding a pair of very sharp blades, each one as long as the puppet itself.
Magical Marionette (2000 ATK)
A quick declaration of intent later, and Cedar's agile little puppet has suddenly finished spearing the dozen or more drifting eyeballs on its wicked knives like grill skewers. The mental image of barbecue skewers makes your stomach rumble, even if the actual image in front of you is decidedly more disturbing.
Damn, it must nearly be lunchtime. You need to get into that castle as soon as possible, if only so you don't starve to death!
Koyo doesn't even twitch towards his set cards during or after the attack, drawing a card calmly and sticking it in the far end of his hand as he picks out another card from his hand instead. He's had his game plan lined up from the start, huh?
"Okay! I'm ready to come at you, Cedar! This card is all I need, but first let's activate my set card, Trap Stun. Now you can't activate any traps to interfere with my summons or attack during this turn," he announces as gouts of fiery orange lightning shoot through all of the facedown cards on the field, crackling away with energy. Once the energy settles, he sets down the card he pulled from his hand, shooting Cedar a grin as he does so.
"Here comes Fusion Deployment, allowing me to summon a Fusion Material for a specific monster from my deck to the field," Koyo calls out as he starts looking through his deck for the monster he wants. Placing the card into play, you blink as you see a skull wreathed in a crackling orange sphere of energy pop up on the field. You've seen Koyo use Maryokutai, so you're pretty sure you know what monster he's about to Normal Summon.
However, before anything else happens, a glowing orb merges into the marionette master, causing the being to pulse with energy.
"Heh, every time a Spell card resolves, I can put a Spell counter on my Magical Marionette, which powers it up by 200 ATK!" Cedar exclaims.
Magical Marionette (2000 ATK > 2200 ATK)
"Next, I summon The Earth - Hex-Sealed Fusion in attack position," Koyo announces, as a spiky misshapen ball of rock and plant matter appears next to the psychic skull. Okay, so it's not Zombyra, but you weren't totally wrong. You know this play, you know what comes next. And judging by the grimace on Cedar's face, he also has some idea that what's coming next can't be great, even if he doesn't know the exact monster Koyo is about to fuse.
"Now, I sacrifice my Hex-Sealed Fusion and Maryokutai to merge them into the guy who's definitely going to finish you off, Cedar! I special summon The Last Warrior from Another Planet!"
On the table in front of you, the small rocky orb wraps around the glowing skull, reshaping rapidly into a hulking sickly yellow-green humanoid shape, heavily muscled and equipped on both arms, back and head with extensive cybernetic enhancements, including a very nasty energy cannon of some sort. The little warrior yelled aggressively, shaking his fists towards Cedar in a clear challenge towards his puppeteer.
The Last Warrior from Another Planet (2350 ATK)
"Going to destroy my Marionette and lock down my ability to summon anything else in response, are you?" Cedar grunted, nodding his assent towards the strategy. Last Warrior Lockdown isn't the sort of deck you'd expect to face off against very often, given how the Zombyra card and the Last Warrior fusion formula were both released as limited run promotional prizes in a comic book collection, but the resulting possible lockdown was powerful enough that most tournament-level duelists were at least aware of the deck's concept, even if they had no way to fight it when it did appear.
At this, Koyo's eyes light up as he dips his head towards Cedar in an abbreviated nod of command, and the Last Warrior hoists up the arm with an energy cannon on it, beginning to build up a charge as it takes aim at the marionette in front of it.
"Nah, I thought I'd just finish you here. Activate set spell card, Battle Fusion! Absorb that puppet's power, Last Warrior!"
Your eyes widen as Koyo flips his remaining set card in triumph, and chirruping counter noises fill the air as the attack of the Last Warrior shoots upwards by the exact same amount of attack points as the monster it was staring down. Another glowing orb flies into the Magical Marionette afterwards, but you suspect it's too little, too late.
The Last Warrior from Another Planet (2350 ATK > 4550 ATK)
Magical Marionette (2200 ATK > 2400 ATK)
"No! That's way too deadly!" Cedar exclaims in horror.
"Your puppets aren't the only monsters that can get super strong really quickly! Now, destroy that marionette, Last Warrior! Eraser Laser Ultima!"
The brawny alien warrior braces his other arm against his extended cannon, and a pulse of purple light rips out from it, completely enveloping both the wooden marionette and the cloaked figure hovering behind it. As the flash fades away, there's nothing left behind to suggest they were even there, a scorched line of earth threading through the cluster of trees the marionette had attacked from.
Cedar: 2000 LP > -150 LP
Winner: Koyo Hibiki
Koyo holds his gauntleted arm up in front of his face, admiring the glints of light reflecting off the star chips nestled into the glove. All ten of the slots gleam a dull bronze, and you scoff a little at his pleased face.
"Yeah yeah, we get it, you have ten star chips now, you're qualified for the finals, quit showing off!"
You can't help but grouse at Koyo a little, but it's definitely good-natured. He earned them fair and square, and you only need one more yourself, so you'll catch up soon enough.
You're striding along an open dirt path in the direction of the castle, making good time. It's not even noon yet, and the two of you are a shoe-in for the finals. Cedar had taken his loss pretty well, all things considered. He'd even laughed it off as fortune just balancing out the explosively good opening hand he'd drawn against you last night with an equally good one for Koyo. Turns out, a properly-built Fusion deck focused around the Wildcard fusion mechanic? Pretty damn solid all things considered.
You stop suddenly as a realisation hits you, and it takes a moment for Koyo to notice and turn towards you, lowering his arm to his side with a look of mild curiosity on his face.
"Hmm, why'd we stop, Ryuzaki? Everything okay?"
"You told me yesterday, when we were chatting about our decks, that Pegasus told you about the Wildcard Fusion mechanic…"
Koyo blinks, confused.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Well if you already knew there'd be computers handling the fusion mechanics instead of judges needing to reference the Monster Merger Manual sourcebooks, why the hell did you bother to memorise them anyway, you freak of nature?"
You can't help it, that little jab just slipped in, it's an impressive feat but he really must have a mentality beyond anyone else if he bothered to memorise those books despite knowing it'd all be automated anyway.
Koyo smiles, letting out a chuckle as he rests his hand on your shoulder and leans in to whisper to you conspiratorially.
"I thought it'd be funny to lie about being a genius," he shares with you, then straightens up and starts walking again, whistling far too innocently.
"Oh, you cheeky bastard!"
[Koyo Hibiki: 10/10 Star Chips]
The sun is high in the sky as the two blonde women stare each other down, doing their best to size each other up as they shuffle their decks and set them down in front of them on the table. Inside the glass battle box, the temperature has been steadily rising, and Mai can feel the slight prickling of perspiration just starting to break out on her neck.
The battle box, even shaded a little bit by the trees in the glade around them, is still annoyingly warm to her, and she's fortunate enough to be wearing a short skirt and a sleeveless top.
How the other woman is able to stand duelling in these battle boxes whilst all dressed up in her heavy black velvet dress, Mai has no clue. Still, she has to commend the other woman for her choices. Fashion and suffering go hand in hand, as any woman well knows.
"Now, let's be clear here," she speaks slowly as she enunciates every word crisply and clearly for her opponent, who even a moron could see has only the barest grasp of the Japanese language. When Mai ran into her she was basically silent and unresponsive before Mai had been able to figure out that she was just shy and embarrassed at her lack of skill with Japanese.
She holds up seven chips so the girl in front of her can see them, and spreads them out on the table with the practised ease of a casino dealer.
"Seven chips wagered against seven chips. The English phrase is "All in", I believe?"
The phrase is right, if not entirely true. It's definitely true that Mai only had seven Star Chips displayed in her duelling glove when she bumped into the foreign Gothic woman, and had held a stilted conversation consisting mainly of her pit-dealer English and the other woman's own broken Japanese.
The four chips that are currently sitting in the pocket of her jacket, slung over the chair she's sitting on? Well, nobody really needs to know about those ones.
"All in?" the blonde girl in front of Mai echoes questioningly, before understanding becomes apparent in her eyes. She physically removes her duelling gauntlet, all seven of her chips still snapped into the slots.
"All in!" Tilla repeats confidently, drawing her first cards with a flourish.
Oh.
Oh no.
You're approaching the castle now, within fifty metres of it really, and you've spotted some duelists milling around near the base of the steps.
You know that hair, you recognise those clothes.
Why did it have to be these jerks?
One of them looks over at you and points, and immediately the skinny blonde kid in the green jacket springs up, shouting something at you as he motions wildly.
Damn it. Katsuya Jonouchi has spotted you. No turning back now.
You groan awkwardly, and Koyo, trailing just behind you, looks surprised as Jonouchi and his friend scamper over towards you.
"These guys seem eager," he observes, and you roll your eyes.
"You don't know the half of it."
"Hey! Hey, it is you! Look guys, it's Rex Raptor!" Jonouchi shouts as he pulls up just in front of you, waving to the others to come on over.
"What'd I say about my stage name, Jonouchi?" you growl half-heartedly. "It's Ryuzaki, just stick with that!"
"Heh, sure, whatever Ryuzaki. My bad," he apologises, as he scratches his head, clearly sizing up both yourself and Koyo. You momentarily feel a flash of concern that he's judging how easy you'd be to beat up, him and the guy in the brown jacket both look like they're at least a little bit rough around the edges, but you stifle that thought.
Can't let residual fear of Keith Howard get under your skin here.
"Wow, Ryuzaki, I'm surprised to see you here, I was sure you'd have been eliminated by now," Jou says, and you take a deep breath.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
Don't say it.
"You know, given how you got yer ass kicked by a total rookie!" he bursts out, a stupid cheesy grin on his face.
God-fucking-damn it.
"Oh, you've duelled this guy before, Kenji?" Koyo pipes up, stepping around you to scope up Jou and his companion. After a moment, he sticks his hand out in an offering of peace.
"Koyo Hibiki, Okinawa regional champion. You already know Ryuzaki, obviously, and you guys are….?"
Jonouchi seizes Koyo's hand and shakes it vigorously, all smiles and energy.
"Oh wow, a regional champ huh? I guess Ryuzaki found someone else on my level to challenge me for my ultra rare card, huh? Nice to meet you, the name's Katsuya Jonouchi, and this here is Hiroto Honda," he adds, jerking a thumb at the brown-haired boy beside him.
Honda raises a hand in greeting, a casual "Hey!" thrown in with the gesture.
"So what's the deal Ryuzaki, you here to challenge me for my Red-Eyes Black Dragon or something? Because I don't bother with rematches against chumps I already wiped the floor with," Jonouchi teases as he releases Koyo's hand. You growl and bluster a little, but you feel the heat rising in your cheeks anyway.
God, how embarrassing. Maybe it was a good thing that Risa didn't tag along with you, and followed Tilla instead.
"Hmph, no way Jonouchi! Koyo and I are regional champs, we're total pros. He's got his ten chips for entry, and I only need one more so I came to the castle to make sure I get a spot when I squash some loser for the last one!"
At this comment, Jou seems to loom up over you, a smug grin gradually stretching over his face as he grabs your wrist to look at your duelling glove.
"Wow, yeah, you're right, there sure are a whole lot of star chips here, you've been doing really well Ryuzaki! Right, Honda?" he asks casually as he studies your wrist. Honda, for his part, just rolls his eyes.
"C'mon Jou, drop it," Honda mutters.
"What? I'm just counting all the shiny stars! Look…. There's one, two, three… oh, six, seven… yeah, wow. Nine chips! Nine whoooooole star chips!" Jou drawls as he holds your wrist up to your face, shoving your duelling glove into your face, with his own gloved hand.
Oh.
His own completely-full gloved hand.
God damn it, why. Why him?
The moment he sees the understanding on your face, Jou laughs uproariously.
"Nyahahaha! Yep! Count' em baby, ten little stars, all in a row-"
"Jou, cut it out, now isn't the time!" Honda snaps, cutting of the blonde's teasing in an instant.
"Ryuzaki still needs to have one more duel to qualify, which means he can still win and lose star chips. Win and lose them," Honda repeats through gritted teeth.
Immediately Jonouchi's face takes on a more sober look, and he glances back over his shoulder at his other friends a little further away. He slings his arm around your shoulder in an overly-familiar way, as if you were good friends, and starts to talk as he forcibly steers you towards the rest of his crew. Koyo trots along beside you, silent but listening closely.
"Oh yeah. Look, sorry Ryuzaki, I was only teasing, but I think you and us, we can do each other a real solid here…"
"What, seriously?! Yugi hasn't qualified for the finals yet? How?!"
You're aghast. Gobsmacked. Speechless.
How is it that this guy, the current unofficial champion of the game, who trounced both Seto Kaiba and "Insector" Haga, has only 5 star chips to his name?
In front of you, sitting in a despondent slump on the first stone step of the wide stairway up to the castle gates, is the small, frail figure of Yugi Muto. He doesn't respond to your shocked statement, but Jonouchi is quick to respond indignantly.
"Hey, shut up, Rex! Yugi did qualify, he had ten chips and everything! But Kaiba showed up, and Pegasus made Yugi bet chips against Seto to get into the castle, even though that snobby rich boy ain't even part of this tournament!" Jou exclaimed, clearly riled up about the whole situation.
There was a championship title rematch between the two titans of the game? Right here, only an hour or two before, and you'd somehow missed out on the opportunity to watch it?
Man, life is unfair sometimes!
Still… yeah, okay, if what Jou told you was true, then life is apparently doling out the unfairness in a nice even spread, at the very least.
"Damn, okay, that sucks. I feel bad for you Yugi, I really do," you offer, and the boy looks up at you properly for the first time, offering a weak, watery smile. Poor kid looks like he's been run through the wringer, losing the title and the star chips to Kaiba must have crushed him.
"But I only need one chip to win. You're asking me to put five on the line against your one. I'm already probably cutting it fine trying to find someone willing to fight for just one, but if I go against the champion and lose, I don't think I stand a chance of finding someone who'll bet six whole star chips against my four," you say, somewhat lamely, as you try to defend your decision to not duel this sad kid in front of you.
You're not scared of him and his reputation as a duelling genius.
Nope, no way.
Not a chance.
Yugi smiles again, that frail but friendly grin packed with vulnerability that makes you somehow sad just looking at it.
"It's okay Ryuzaki, I get it. I wanna do whatever it takes to win this tournament and save my grandpa, but I'm not going to force your hand or anything. You have to do what's right for you…" he trails off, seemingly doubting himself for saying as much to you.
Save his grandpa? Does he need the money to get his pa some surgery? Get the old guy out of the squalid poverty of the streets and into a comfortable home? Pay off some people smugglers to get the geezer out of Korea and across the sea to the safety of Japan?
You squirm a bit uncomfortably as Jou lets go of your shoulder and kneels down in front of Yugi. You were an idiot to think there were others who don't want or need the prize money just as badly as you want it to lift your own family out of poverty.
"Yugi, c'mon! This is your grandpa we're talking about, you gotta fight for him!" Jou exclaims heatedly, and Yugi chokes back a sob as he shoots a plaintive look at Jou.
You are not equipped to deal with this drama, and you shoot a helpless glance at Koyo, who looks back at you with an equally uncertain look on his face.
As one of your teachers would say to you, what's your moral duty here?
"I know I have to fight for my grandfather Jou, I know! And I will, but there's got to be a better way than trying to bully someone into a duel that's way too unrewarding for them! I won't do it, not after all this, not after Kaiba…." Yugi trails off, and Jonouchi grunts, pulling himself up and brushing off his jeans as he does so.
"Yeah, you're right Yugi. Ryuzaki here has a lot more to lose if he accepts the offer than you do, so I get it. Fair's fair."
Jonouchi takes a deep breath, seeming deep in thought, and then he grunts again, a noise of resignation. With a flick, he extends his hand out towards you, a card held between two fingers.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
"What?!"
"No way! You can't!"
"Jou, that's worth thousands of dollars!"
"You won it fair and square!"
The reaction is immediate and violent. Honda, the brown-haired girl, the white-haired boy and even Yugi all shoot straight up, pleading with Jonouchi to rethink what he's offering.
"COOL IT GUYS!" Jou yells over the top of them, and immediately his friends all fall silent. As for you, you've been silent this whole time, too stunned to react.
Jonouchi has a serious look on his face, and he holds the card out to you once more.
"Look, I know I won this off you fair and square, and trust me, I treasure this card as a sign of my growth as a duelist at this tournament. If I give it up, I'm probably losing any chance I had of winning the prize money for my sister's operation…"
Again with needing money to save someone? Seriously?
Suddenly, Jonouchi's eyes are alight with a blazing fire, and he appears to you the very model of a man who has never been more sure of anything in his life.
"But Yugi's right, the offer has to be fair. And I think maybe this card means as much to you as it does to me."
His voice cracks for a moment as he glances down at the card.
"Well, almost as much. But yeah, I'm sure. Ryuzaki, my friend is in a bind, and he did a lot to get me to where I am now, qualified to participate in the finals of this total sham of a tournament so maybe I can help my little sister out!"
Now he's speaking more quietly, and everyone, yourself included, is watching Jou's determined face with awe.
"If giving you this treasure back begins to repay Yugi, even a fraction of a percent of what I owe him for all the great things he's brought into my life, then I wouldn't hesitate to crawl through the mud to get it back to you."
His eyes narrow as he scans your face for any reaction. You know what's written across it right now. You're unsure, conflicted about what to do.
"I'm serious, take it. I won't even wager it on you winning. Put your five star chips up against Yugi here, and I guarantee, win or lose, you're walking away from this duel with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon back in your deck."
Oh man, he's totally serious, isn't he?
Looking around at Jonouchi's friends, all clustered around Yugi and ready to back Jou up at a moment's notice, you can't help but be impressed.
He's offering it to you as compensation for an uneven wager, so it's fair to accept it right? He won it off you, fair and square, and is offering it back now with no strings attached, a kindness from one owner of this precious treasure card to another.
It's okay, right?
[ ] Accept Jonouchi's charitable offer. It's clear that he feels deeply indebted to Yugi, and would do anything to help his friend, there's a good chance he'll be insulted if you don't accept his manly blessing for your courage in betting it all. Five chips against one, with Red-Eyes as a gift, let's do this!
[ ] You can't just take Red-Eyes back, as much as you desperately want to. Jonouchi won it fair and square, and it's a super valuable card. Fair is fair. Five chips wagered against one chip, and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon goes to you if you can overcome the odds and beat Yugi.
[ ] Argh, goddamn it! Saving grandpas and sisters, offering treasured cards back to you just for the chance of a duel, these people are just too goddamn goodhearted! There's no way you morally accept what Jou is offering. And let's be honest, you're not going to find anybody else out here to duel for even one chip at this time of day. Fine, five chips against his one, no strings attached.
[ ] You're just so moved! This transcends a card game, this is true Duelist Spirit! Change the wager, you'll go five against one chip, on one condition. Next time you and Jou cross paths again, you'll duel him again for the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and you'll see who's progressed further as a skilled player and a real, honourable duelist!
Yugi wins the game of rock paper scissors, and elects to go first. As you draw your starting five cards, you don't bother to look at them just yet, instead focusing intently on Yugi's face. You've heard the rumours, and you know Haga paid the price for underestimating how skilled the kid in front of you is, but still… is he really as good as the image you had in your head just minutes ago, before you heard of his loss here?
Something seems off, and you're not sure what it is. Yugi's eyes flicker back and forth across the cards in his hand, and he studies the field in front of you closely. Located right near the main steps of the castle, the field seems to be slightly angled, giving you several squares of elevated castle architecture to summon on, with a smaller number off to the side being simple plains. Yugi's side appears to be more of a mix of forest and the plains that open up around the castle, while right at the far end are some marsh-like tiles. There must be a creek winding its way past the castle nearby, you're guessing.
"Okay, let's have a good game, Ryuzaki. I know I'm playing for more chips than you need to get in, but I gotta get in there so I'm going to do my best!" he declares confidently. You know the sound of false confidence when you hear it, you've used it in your Rex voice plenty of times. He's trying to convince somebody that you're the one in trouble here, and you have a sneaking suspicion it's not you he's trying to convince.
"First off, I'll summon my Dragon Knight of Darkness in Attack Position!" he exclaims, as a slim knight clad in dangerous-looking black armour appears in miniature on the table in front of you.
Dragon Knight of Darkness (1600 ATK)
"Next I'll place two cards face down, and I'll end my turn," he concludes, looking somewhat muted as he does so. It's almost as if he's distracted by something else, or… daydreaming maybe? He has a slightly faraway look in his eyes that tells you he's not totally focused on what's right in front of him.
You gaze across the table, ignoring the small black knight in front of you in favour of studying the boy commanding it. You're sure of it now, he's not exuding the same aura he was when you first saw him silently supporting Jonouchi against you yesterday. He barely spoke back then and you weren't really listening because you were so busy being too full of yourself, but despite that you can still pick out the differences. Hardly surprising, you have to figure that he's still pretty shook up about his loss against Kaiba earlier. None of the truly competitive duelists you've played against before ever took their losses well, it's just the nature of the game in high-level play.
Still, you're a little surprised even then by how meek his opening move was. It was a perfectly fine setup, technically, but in a game where everyone has some stage presence, some bluff and bravado, the supposed secret champion across the table from you seemed almost the opposite, and not in a good way.
Is he that badly cut up about losing his not-even-really-officially-a-title to the guy who was neck and neck with him, skillwise?
Well, whatever, if his mental gamestate is that bad, then it's only beneficial for you. And boy, what a great starting hand, even before you draw for the turn!
You're inclined to just drop your Emperor of the Land and Sea on the board and wipe out Yugi's Dragon Knight straight up, no mess, no fuss. Yesterday, you absolutely would have. Rex Raptor goes big, Rex Raptor goes bold, that's just how it is in the world of primal titans.
But that was yesterday. Yesterday, Rex Raptor was basically just Kenji Ryuzaki, cranked up to 11. Now, you think maybe Rex and Ryuzaki aren't even playing the same instruments. Same concert stage, sure, but there's a gulf between them now, you think. You have to admit, you've seen a few things since you arrived on this island, and you have to admire the skill level of everyone you've duelled against so far. Okay, maybe not Keith's two goons who actually tag-teamed you, but Keith himself had skills you could respect. It wouldn't be unfair to say that any of the people who you've encountered so far would wipe the board with the Ryuzaki who participated in the Japanese National Championships so very recently. Not unfair at all, considering a rank amateur somehow managed to eke out a win against your brash playstyle.
[Trait Evolution! Battle Brawler has transformed into Battle Braver!]
Now, you're just as ready to bust heads and overpower anything thrown in your path, but you're gonna do it a smarter way.
Logically, attacking the Dragon Knight is still a viable option. You have no idea what kind of deck Yugi plays, but with an opening play like Dragon Knight you think you can expect another dragon or two somewhere along the line. And if he summons one next turn then his Dragon Knight will be at 2000 attack, enough to take out your Emperor if you hold on to it for later. So maybe eliminating it now is the right move?
But then, you also have Black Stego in your hand. It has enough defense to survive an attack from the dragon knight even if Yugi does put a companion dragon into play next turn.
Or there's Gale Lizard, which can bounce back the monster attacking it. It's an option, especially if the Dragon Knight somehow gets powered up by those set cards behind it.
Or, now that you're taking the time to think about it, there's an even more tempting option.
Somehow, you've already drawn both of the components needed to summon your Three Spheres Imperial Lord. You could start laying out the groundwork for it now, you even have a couple of trap cards you can use to protect the fusion materials. All you need is Polymerization, and when the flow of fortune is strong enough to give you an opening chance like this, you suspect that card isn't far away. Honestly, you've been feeling super in-tune with your deck over the past few duels, you wouldn't be surprised to find it showing up right away if you decided you wanted that Imperial Lord badly enough.
It's time to get that last Star Chip and enter the castle.
Let's do this.
Accumulated 75 DP to spend on Destiny Draw.
If Destiny Draw is not used, this turn's draw will be Tail Swipe.
Your field is currently empty.
Your hand consists of Black Stego, Emperor of the Land and Sea, Gale Lizard, Adhesion Trap Hole and Threatening Roar.
Yugi's field consists of Dragon Knight of Darkness (1600 ATK/1100 DEF) in Attack Position, and two set S/T cards.
Yugi's hand consists of 2 cards.
Ryuzaki LP: 2000
Yugi LP: 2000
What will you do for your turn?
[ ] Go on the offensive. Summon Emperor of the Land and Sea and wipe out that Dragon Knight, and then set your Trap cards as backup, to use if needed next turn.
[ ] Play it safe for now. Black Stego in Defense Position and your traps facedown, and if need be, Adhesion Trap Hole should be enough to ensure no monster he summons next turn is able to get past its 2000 DEF.
[ ] Go with the flow of fortune, and prepare for Three Spheres Imperial Lord. Set Gale Lizard and both traps. That way you can use your Threatening Roar to prevent Yugi from attacking your lizard next turn, then you can bring out your Emperor next turn, and if you really need to you can flip your Gale Lizard to bounce a troublesome monster back to Yugi's hand.
[ ] Fortune flows, but it can falter as well, seize the chance now! Destiny Draw Polymerization (50 DP), set Gale Lizard alongside Poly and Threatening Roar, protect the lizard on Yugi's turn, and then next turn summon Emperor of the Land and Sea, flip Gale Lizard to bounce a monster and fuse into Three Spheres Imperial Lord straight up.
-[ ] Use Imperial Lord's OPT to bounce one of the set S/T cards before declaring an attack with it.
-[ ] Only use Imperial Lord's OPT bounce after you've attacked, so you can see how Yugi reacts with his Set cards and adjust your play accordingly.
[ ] Write-in.
The usual one hour moratorium on submitting votes applies.
(Quick reminder, the Kingdom Rules being followed here are very different from the TCG, even in a basic form. Just remember: Only 1 Spell can be can be activated from the hand per turn, only 1 S/T card can be set from your hand per turn (or 2 if you opted not to activate a Spell from the hand), only one monster can attack per turn except in certain circumstances, and monsters can't attack directly unless the opponent has not had a monster on the field at any point during your turn. All the details are in the first post of the quest.)
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.
Welcome back everyone. Was really hoping you guys would pick the option leading to the Yugi duel, just so I could write the Jonouchi offer scene. I love the guy, I really do. The three choices will dictate how exactly Jonouchi thinks of you from now on. All positive, but quite different ways.
After a much needed personal break of far, far too long, I'm back. As a little Christmas gift, Ryuzaki is receiving a bonus 211 DP into his stock, one DP for every day between my last update and Christmas Day. Also, here's a little gift basket Ryuzaki will be able to access after this current duel, make sure to put that star up on top of the Christmas tree for everyone to marvel at!
[Current DP: 698 > 909]
[Christmas Gift Basket received! Card Binder updated!]
Added Linkerbell - Fusion Recipe unlocked!
Added Gift Card
Added Gift Exchange
Added Present Card
Added Oh Tokenbaum!
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