Chapter Text
Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V: Rift
Turn 1-Pilot
World 1
He felt like he was slowly falling through a void. Only for short moments, he thought could see his own face in front of him, although it was never completely right. Every instance of himself he saw, something was off. Six different images of not his face cycled through his vision, six times each. Finally, another image came before him, even though it didn't look much different from the rest, something about it was absolutely horrifying. He tried to close his eyes, but the face could still be seen, somehow through his squeezed shut eyelids, even though he was holding them as tightly closed as he could and his teeth were clenched so hard that his jaw almost hurt. He finally re-opened his eyes, and when he did, the vision shifted. He saw six worlds in the sky, oscillating in different directions, but at a singular point, coming together to form just one. He saw six worlds in the sky. What a strange sight.
The boy woke up with one word buzzing in his head. Multiverse. It was an idea more suited for a madman rambling in the streets outside, but it still remained attached to his brain as if pinned onto it by a thumbtack. Rays of sunlight poured through his blinds. Would they do the same in another world? The boy sluggishly grabbed his phone from the nightstand. One notification.
Akari:“I think you should get over your issues with Kaji”
He let his hand fall back down to his nightstand, phone still clutched within it. He groaned, though it fell on deaf ears. He couldn’t even count how many times Akari had been his anchor in life, but she certainly wasn’t filling that role right now. He couldn't say he ever got along with Kaji Yoshinaga well. Hell, they had never even had a friendly duel, or dueled at all, despite Kaji’s infectious popularity among Den City High. For some reason, he just didn't like the guy, as much as the other boy tried to make conversation with him. It had all just seemed fake, maybe even insidious, to a degree. Something was just up with him. Not like he could be sure of it. He himself was known by many others as a standoffish person, so maybe it was just that he was the problem. But, most of all, whenever Kaji would try to get close to Akari with that insidious, phony grin, his blood would boil. The average disingenuous idiot either made him paranoid, angry, confused, or a mix of any of those three. Kaji made him feel all three. He was so obviously putting on an act, but nobody else seemed to notice or care, so he sometimes thought himself to be the weird one, but, bottom line...
Yura: No.
He finished typing his response and got up from his bed. Looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, it read 7:00 AM. Perfect. He had time. (as long as he made it to the subway station by 8:00). He walked into his bathroom, stepping into a lukewarm shower. A shiver traveled down his spine, but his body relaxed soon after. Too cold was obviously uncomfortable, and while hot water felt nice, he felt that it might damage his skin too much, or something like that. As he finished his simple shower routine, he thought about what he had seen. It had slightly shaken him up, scary. The best way he could describe how he felt was weary. The dream was akin to walking through the desert for countless hours, alone, with only one bottle of water until you reached your destination, sand blowing into your face. He stepped out of the shower and wiped off the fogged up bathroom mirror with his handl so he could see himself. The boy in the reflection stood at 5'10”. Gold eyes looked back at him in the mirror as he ran his hand through his mostly white hair, contrasted only a thin strip of hair on either side of his head, sharing the same color as his eyes. After drying, he slipped on a solid gray t-shirt. Along with that, he put on a lightweight white jacket and loose fitting navy blue nylon sweatpants. He thanked his lucky stars every night for the unenforced uniform dress code at Den City High School. As he downed some eggs and oatmeal, he headed out the door, slinging his school bag over one shoulder. It was now 7:40, and the Subway was a fifteen minute walk, so he had time. He absently looked at his phone, not worried about bumping into anyone. His street and its sidewalks were always empty that time of day, not until morning rush hour would cars and people fill the road and its sidewalks, which was about a half hour away still. He scrolled past all of the random charisma duelists he didn't care about until he found the one he was looking for. It was a video from yesterday. Framer, an avatar of a cute girl his age of about average height riding a duel board, finishing off a speed duel against another charisma duelist with her main ace, Decode Talker. He smiled, the dueling world knew her as her Link Vrains avatar, Framer, but he instead, je saw Akari Fujiki, his closest friend. She was not only his best friend, even through his failures to think about other people, and even taught him how to duel, to boot. Needless to say, even on her worst days, her streams had at least one viewer.
The Subway station was starting to fill up with commuters. Luckily for him, he was able to step right onto a train and still have room to sit. He put on his headphones and leaned his head back, distorted electric guitar and blasting drum beats filling his ears as the transport began to slowly accelerate. Den city had the fastest subways in the world, but they purposely moved slowly in the beginning as a warning to either sit down or hold on. Maybe it’d be more exciting if they shot off right away. The train rushed forward, and at about 8:10, he finally reached his stop. Stepping out of the station, he looked to his left to look at Den City High School, which he swiftly turned towards. Just inside the main gate of campus, an unpleasantly familiar figure was waiting there.
"What's up, man?” Kaji said in his annoyingly fake, upbeat voice.
Great.
He breathed in slowly and exhaled.
“Listen, I-”
“I don't actually need you to answer that. Let's cut the shit today, shall we? I'm getting just as tired as you are. Let's just duel.”
Kaji grinned. He groaned.
“Why would I duel you right now?”
Kaji smiled that smile again.
“I'm not asking.” Yura clenched his fists at Kaji’s smug tone.
“I'll cut you a deal. You duel me, and nobody else gets hurt."
Kaji threw a fist into his palm like a baseball into a glove.
“What exactly will happen if I decline?” Yura’s brow furrowed.
The white haired boy spoke calmly, but a slightly noticeable hint of a growl was present as he glared. He felt his duel disk in his pocket.
"Oh, I don't know.” Kaji subtly flashed what looked to be a switchblade in his waistband.
"Oh, and don't think you can go and get someone to help you. We're dueling here and now, Yura."
He threw on his duel disk without another word.
Duel!
Yura Hoshikaze: 4000 LP
Kaji Yoshinaga: 4000 LP
First Turn Assignment: Kaji Yoshinaga
Turn 1: Kaji (5)
“I activate graceful charity!” Kaji exclaimed, drawing 3 cards and discarding 2.
“I'll then summon Red-Eyes Black Chick!” An egg appeared, an infant Dragon sticking its head out of the top.
Red-Eyes B. Chick [*1/DARK/Dragon/Effect/Atk 800/Def 500]
"And then Chick can be tributed to special summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon from hand!”
A skeletal dark dragon with long claws, horns, and vibrant crimson eyes appeared, aggressively roared as it appeared.
Red-Eyes Black Dragon
[*7/DARK/Dragon/Normal/Atk 2400/Def 2000]
“Then, activating Ancient Rules allows me to summon a second Red-Eyes,” Kaji smirked arrogantly. A copy of the Dragon appeared beside it.
“Open the circuit of Inferno! The conditions are 2 Dragon, Warrior, and/or Fiend monsters. Link summon. Red-Eyes Piercing Dragon!” A Red-Eyes Black Dragon with silver tinted scales and spears coming out of places on its face and body took the place of the 2 dragons.
Red-Eyes Piercing Dragon [L2/DARK/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 2400/←↓]
“Once per turn, if he's summoned, I can special summon a normal monster from my hand or Grave to it points to, then inflict 600 damage to you! Revive, Red-Eyes Black Dragon,” the cornerstone monster of Kaji's strategy reappeared in Attack Position.
Red-Eyes Piercing Dragon shot a blade from somewhere out of its mouth, grazing Yura's arm and drawing some blood, to his shock. “What the hell!?” He yelled in anger and fear. The crowd watching the duel all reacted in various ways. Some immediately ran away, not wanting any part in whatever was going on there. Duels weren't supposed to do that. Others watched with shocked curiosity. Some started to record the duel, planning to post the spectacle online.
Yura Hoshikaze: 3400 LP
Yura slowly regained his footing.
"If your goal is to just physically hurt me, why bother dueling me?
“Your turn.” Kaji ignored him, smiled maliciously
Turn End
Turn 2: Yura(6)
“I draw!”
Yura's eyes switched from widened to focused, despite the pain in his arm. He considered abandoning the duel. But, if Kaji could hurt him like this, considering his earlier threats, Yura couldn't just surrender and preserve his own safety. More than his pride was on the line. He had to beat Kaji so that he wouldn't have the confidence to try this on anyone else.
“I'll start with Upstart Goblin, you gain 1000 life points, and I get to draw 1 card,” Yura swiped a card from his deck.
Kaji Yoshinaga: 5000 LP
Yura took another deep breath.
“I play Foolish Burial, and I will send Tri-Brigade Kitt from my deck to my Graveyard, which allows me to activate its effect to allow me to send another Tri-Brigade monster from my deck to the Graveyard, except Kitt. I'll choose Tri-Brigade Nervall to be sent to the Grave, and then with its Graveyard effect, add another Kitt from my deck to my hand. Now, Tri-Brigade Fraktall's effect, sending Itself from my hand and a Kerass copy from my deck to the Grave simultaneously.”
“Quite the combo there.” Kaji remarked, still standing in a completely loose stance.
“I'll Normal summon another copy of Kitt,”
Tri-Brigade Kitt [*2/FIRE/Beast/Effect/Atk 700/Def 1000]
"And, use its effect. I can banish Beast, Winged-Beast, and Beast-Warriors in my graveyard equal to a link monster in my extra deck’s Link Rating, then summon that monster. I’ll summon Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen by banishing all 4 monsters in my Graveyard.”
Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen [L4/DARK/Winged-Beast/Link/Effect/Atk 3000/←↙↘→]
“I'll then activate his effect upon summoning. I'll banish Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the field,” Yura stared down Kaji.
“Battle phase. Attack and destroy Piercing Dragon with Shuraig. and then attack directly with Kitt.”
Kaji noticeably winced at the attack, raising his arms to protect himself from the hit of the small monster, dust flying into his face from the impact with his own onster, but had no response.
Kaji Yoshinaga: 3700 LP
"And the turn will end with me setting one card.”
Yura clutched his arm, putting some pressure on the wound.
Turn End
Turn 3: Kaji (3)
“Don't think this means you've taken away all my options!” Kaji proclaimed.
“I draw!”
He grinned again at the sight of his draw.
“Activating Pot of Greed! I'll draw 2 cards!” He swiped the 2 cards from his deck.
"Well, this sucks, I guess I'll have to use it,” Kaji's evil smile was wider than ever.
“Use what?” Yura raised an eyebrow.
“Ahaha. You'll see.” Kaji clearly had something unexpected up his sleeve. “I guess I have no need to hide it anymore, but I still want it to be a surprise! I summon The Black Stone of Legend!”
The Black Stone of Legend [*1/DARK/Dragon/Effect/Atk 0/Def0]
“Then, I can immediately tribute it and summon my 3rd Red-Eyes from my deck.” That large black dragon appeared once more.
"Open, the circuit of Inferno! The conditions are 1 Dragon monster!”
A small, black, serpentine Dragon appeared in front of Kaji.
Blazing Eyes Serpent [L1/Dark/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 1000/↙]
“Then I can immediately use its effect, and special summon a normal monster from my graveyard to a zone it points to, that being Red-Eyes, of course. Then, I can add one “Polymerization” from my deck to my hand!”
Polymerization? What was that? It wasn't part of Kaji's archetype, so what was so important about this card that he had a specific searcher for it?
A crowd was starting to form around their duel, including a girl with dark blue hair, watching apprehensively, seeing the small but noticeable wound on Yura's left arm.
“I'll activate the spell card Polymerization! I'll use monsters from my hand and field to Fusion summon! I'll fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and Blazing Eyes Serpent!” Kaji laughed maniacally.
“Oh powerful, burning dragon, incinerate all the sinners in your path, and cleanse the ground that they tread on with your flames! Fusion Summon! Red-Eyes Cataclysm Dragon!”
Fusion summon? Yura was not alone in his confusion, as the rest of the duel's observers had the same thoughts.
Red-Eyes Cataclysm Dragon [*10/DARK/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/Atk 3200/Def 2000]
A Dragon resembling Red-Eyes Black dragon appeared, though much larger and more muscular, with cracks along its body with molten metal dripping out, burning the grass beneath it somehow, even though it was supposed the be mere solid vision and not the real thing, especially not in a duel outside of Link Vrains.
“Red-Eyes Cataclysm Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can destroy cards on the field equal to the amount of normal monsters in my Graveyard! There are 2, so I think I'll destroy your Link monster and your facedown!”
Kaji laughed again, knowing he had a way to win this turn if only Kitt was on Yura's field.
“Then I'll chain the Trap Card, Threatening Roar! My monster will still be destroyed, but you can't declare an attack this turn!” Yura spat out, the loudest he had been that whole duel.
At the end of the chain, the now face-up Threatening Roar and Shuraig were both destroyed.
“Oh, did I mention you take 500 damage for each card destroyed?” Kaji added, though still not happy that he couldn't end the duel right then and there because Threatening Roar had been activated.
Cataclysm Dragon's effect went though, and it shot a fireball right in front of where Yura stood, flinging him backwards and onto the ground. Yura grimaced as he got up, his whole body hurt from that, and he had felt real heat from the blast too.
“Yura!” He heard Akari's voice.
Yura Hoshikaze: 2400 LP
“Don't worry about it!” He yelled back, cursing that Akari was watching.
It had finally sunk it for him. Kaji's monsters could do real damage. But, the fact that Kaji could hurt him like this meant he could also potentially hurt Akari. He felt the need to show Kaji that nobody was invincible.
“How am I not gonna worry, Idiot, get out of there!” Akari stepped back. The monsters were visibly doing real damage to him. Regardless, if he was going to keep fighting, she knew better than anyone that it was pointless to talk to him until after the duel was over, so the most she could do was root for him, though she still prayed that the duel would stop right there. Did he not see his safety as more important than winning?
“Shuraig and Kitt's effects. When Shuraig goes to the Graveyard, I can add a Winged-Beast, Beast, or Beast-Warrior to my hand. I pick Tri-Brigade Kerass. Then with Kitt's effect I'll send Tri-Brigade Nervall to my Graveyard, which then lets me add a Tri-Brigade monster to my hand from my deck, except himself of course. I choose Tri-Brigade Fraktall.” Yura wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve.
“Well then, I'll set a card, and that's all I got,” Kaji tensed up, having been unable to finish Yura off.
Turn End
Turn 4: Yura (4)
“Draw for turn.” Yura said, calming down now. He thought he knew a way to win now.
“Fraktall's effect allows me, from my hand, to send itself and Kerass to the Graveyard. Then, I'll use Kitt's effect once more to banish them both from my graveyard to Link Summon Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Baron Blossom.”
A pink haired girl with black boots, pink lensed goggles, and a long pink tail appeared. She wore a rather revealing outfit, but her most noticeable quality was her large sniper rifle she carried.
Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Baron Blossom [L2/EARTH/Beast/Effect/Atk 1600/←↙]
“Open now, the circuit that leads beyond the horizon! The conditions are at least 2 monsters! I set Tri-Brigade Kitt and Tri-Brigade Ferrijit the Baron Blossom in the Link Markers!” Yura was summoning that monster now. The one he had had even before building his Tri-Brigade deck.
“Wise dragon, strong dragon. With your power to join worlds together and split them apart, end this battle! Link summon! Burning Rift Link Dragon!”
A tall, thin dragon with white and gold scales appeared. A blue crystal sat in its chest and its joints were surrounded by rings of gold metal, along with where its wings met its body. It had six wings, each of which seemed to bend space around them, impossible for the human mind to really describe. Blue light shone out from its wings and chest as it let out a triumphant roar as it stood up on 2 feet, reaching the same height as Kaji's dragon.
Burning Rift Link Dragon [L3/LIGHT/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 2800/ ⬉⬇⬈]
“Trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole!” Kaji laughed. “I will destroy your monster, then banish it!”
“Burning Rift Link Dragon’s effect allows me, once per turn, to change one of your activated effects to this effect,” Yura replied to Kaji's counter play matter-of-factly. “Once per turn, if your opponent—myself—controls a Link monster, they can banish one card on the field that their Link monster points to.”
“What the-!?” Kaji reeled.
"My dragon is in the extra monster zone to my left, and Cataclysm Dragon is in the farthest main monster zone to your right. That means Burning Rift points to it, since it points to the upper left. I banish Cataclysm dragon.” Only one monster remained on the field now.
Kaji grimaced, but refused to admit he was now at a disadvantage. “So what!? Your Dragon doesn't have enough attack points to take all my Life Points anyway!”
“You're right. Burning Rift doesn't have enough attack points to defeat you."
Yura paused.
“Battle phase."
Kaji tensed up, did this guy know something he didn't?
“Burning Rift Link Dragon attacks you directly, and when it declares an attack, you also take 150 damage for each banished card I have. I have six, so you take 900 damage. Now you can do the math, but I'll do it for you. 900 plus 2800 is 3700. That's about how many life points you have, Yoshinaga.”
“Agh, fuck!"
Kaji yelled in surprised anger and pain as he was thrown into the wall behind him by a blue beam of energy, shot from the mouth of Burning Rift. His arms raised to protect himself as the blast singed his arms, but they were protected by his leather jacket, but slamming into the wall still hurt as he fell onto one knee.
Kaji Yoshinaga: 0 LP
Yura Hoshikaze: Win!
Kaji fumbled around on his duel disk, looking for something.
“What is a Fusion Summon, and who the hell are you?”
Kaji gave no response, he just pressed a button on it, and the device gave a blinding flash of light. When it dissipated and people could see the place where Kaji was standing again, the boy was gone. Yura stared in shock. What the hell? How had he done that? First he uses a nonexistent summoning method, and then he disappears into thin air? This just wasn't right. The crowd was in shock, some ran to tell others about the incident. A student really had just disappeared from thin air, after using a new summoning method and inflicting real damage with his monsters no less. At that moment, Akari ran up to him, concerned about things other than the strange phenomenon.
“You should have stopped the duel as soon as real damage started being done!"
“It's fine, Akari, I won.”
“It's not fine!”
The students around were too caught up in the insanity of the situation that they practically didn't hear the girl's reprimands.
“I'm- sorry. Please don't be mad."
“Yura, it's not about me being upset, it's that he really wanted to hurt you! What if you lost and got hit with more of those attacks!? You could have been hospitalized, or worse!”
Her fists clenched up.
"What if he was going to hurt you if I didn't?” Yura pushed back.
"Don't you think I can handle myself?"
The onlookers fled the area to do whatever they were going to do with the knowledge of what they saw, or to go to class if they were un-bothered enough.
Yura just stood there, silently. In the end, Akari just turned and walked away. He just stumbled off to class, listlessly.
As he was about to enter the classroom, Yura realized his teacher would notice his injury. He ran over to his locker, not too far from the room, and promptly punched in the unlock code. Out of his barely used locker, he grabbed a gray jacket otherwise identical to his white one and threw his old one into it. He'd deal with the damaged clothing later. Checking his arm to make sure it had coagulated and dried so that it wouldn't bleed through, which it had, he threw on the new jacket. His injury was hidden now. He'd treat it himself later. Bringing attention to the whole incident was surely going to give him a headache. It was already going to be so much trouble, people would probably storm him with questions about the mysterious real monsters, and the boy who disappeared into thin air. The whole situation on its own was already stressing Yura out enough.
“You're late, Hoshikaze.”
Yura's teacher stared as he walked through the door of his first class.
“Sorry, ma'am."
“Please tell me what has you so late, then take a seat.”
“Unexpected duel popped up.”
Yura looked up at the ceiling, hiding his face.
“This is your first offense, so I will not write you up, but do not duel someone when you are supposed to be in class, understood?”
“Yes ma'am."
Yura sat down.
He didn't see Akari for the rest of the school day. Not like they shared any classes that day anyway, so he couldn't question it too much, but it worried him. It was especially unnerving after their last interaction. Was she okay? Did she still not trust his abilities even though he had pretty much caught up to her in skill level? He couldn't say, but he wanted to be able to console her and convince her not to worry despite the insane situation but how could he do that?
At Lunch, Akari had apparently gone to the other cafeteria, because she wasn't there. Yura finished eating quickly and laid his head down.
“You alright?”
A slightly familiar voice asked. Yura looked up to see a boy with orange and brown hair, with a single streak of white on his fringe.
“Kogami. Hey.” Yura responded to his acquaintance softly.
“I see something is wrong. You want to talk about it?” Hiraku tilted his head.
“How can you even tell?”
“Because you're acting depressed.”
The boy sat down across from him.
“Depressed? That isn't-” Hiraku raised his hand, causing Yura to stop.
“You don't need to convince me of anything. I saw what happened. You shouldn't worry. She's just upset because she was scared for you. After all, those were real monsters. I'm still processing that myself, it's horrifying, really. In what world do monsters actually hurt people? The point is, though, you'll be fine.”
“I can't find her anywhere.”
“She'll turn up. For sure."
“When?” Yura looked back up.
“Couldn't tell you.”
Hiraku smiled.
“You just gotta trust me. I've known a lot of people. You know?”
Yura considered this, but the weight bearing down on him kept him from getting too hopeful.
“Thanks.”
A flash of light. A boy dropped to one knee. The man directed his gaze at the battered young man expectantly.
“I was unable to defeat the extermination target, but I learned about his strategy, and I still know the behaviors and location of the girl."
Kaji bowed his head before the tall, bald man as he spoke to the imposing figure.
“You were reckless to so readily reveal yourself.” He sighed. “...Fine. You fulfilled your purpose. I will send Phoenix to capture her. You will get another chance to eliminate the boy. Speak to Dr. Marifuji tomorrow, he has some cards for you, some improvements to make you a more effective soldier."
“Thank you, sir.”
Kaji got up and left the room, breathing out as he did. It had been a cumbersome few weeks trying to fit in at that high school he had been sent to. Such a drag. As he walked through the halls, he made eye contact with a single other person who was walking past him, Dennis Macfield. Kaji had worked with him before, having been partners with him for several small missions. He didn't think they got along too well, their personalities and styles clashed too much. He looked like someone who wouldn't fight back if you pushed them down. Maybe so much that he could be a spy, cause he’d fit right in with those old maggots hiding out across the channel. Well anyway, what kind of power up would he get tomorrow? His mind’s eye shifted to the white haired boy. It was nothing personal before, but now Kaji’s blood boiled at the thought of him. How embarrassing, losing to him. Never before had such a glum loser come to challenge him. He’d definitely crush him. After he made his way to the infirmary, of course.
Rift Turn 1.5: Antics
“Yuta, you irresponsible idiot!”
The white and blue haired girl yelled at a boy with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes, who was sitting in the grass on a hill, wind rolling through the blades. Meanwhile, he had his arms raised to shield himself from the rolled newspaper she was beating him with. She seemed to always pull those out of nowhere.
“Jeez, Hatsuko! Chill!”
“Hmph. It's what you get for embarrassing me again.”
The girl, Hatsuko, put her hands on her hips, the newspaper still in her right hand.
“Name one thing I said about Mr. Tanaka that was wrong."
He replied with a somehow simultaneously serious and goofy face, before another hit landed right on his cheek.
“It doesn't matter if it was true, you got suspended again! And since I'm the one who is always hanging out with you, I get pinned as a delinquent too!”
“Me, a delinquent? N-”
Yuta was met with another flurry of headlines and captions.
"Isn’t this a little cliché, Hatsuko!?" Was Yuta's only defense.
After a while, Hatsuko's movements slowed, and she slumped down on the hill next to the boy. The clouds moved moved languidly, and the grass swayed under them gently. Yuts began to let out a hearty laugh, causing Hatsuko to sit up and look at him as if he had six heads.
“What’s so funny?”
“Yo Hatsuko, let's duel.” Yuta shot to his feet.
“You're going to lose.”
“Meh, who cares? As long as it's with you.”
“Fine." Hatsuko looked away, cheeks warming up.
“Nice.” Yuta grinned.
Duel!
Hatsuko Kita: 4000 LP
Yuta Inoue: 4000 LP
First Turn Assignment: Yuta Inoue
Turn 1: Yuta(5)
“May the best duelist win.” Yuta winked, Hatsuko just sighed.
“Anyway…” Yuta observed his hand.
“I'll immediately activate the Ritual Spell, Ravenous Vendread, and set Scar of the Vendread from my deck to my field. Then, immediately I can ritual summon, including using my set monster. I'll ritual summon, using my set monster, which just so happens to be exactly level 6! Badass undead hero, cleave through those who stand between you and justice! Show us what you got! Ritual summon! Revendread Slayer!"
Revendread Slayer [*6/DARK/Zombie/Ritual/Effect/Atk 2400/Def 0]
One of Yuta's most used monsters appeared, a zombified warrior dressed in superhero attire. Bony appendages and blades protruded from his back and arms.
"I used Scar of the Vendread as ritual material, of course, and when it's sent to the Graveyard, I can add a Vendread spell or Trap from my deck to my hand! I pick… the Trap Card, Vendread Reorgin! I'll set 3 cards and end my turn."
Turn End
Turn 2: Hatsuko(6)
“Draw." Hatsuko nodded.
“First, I'll activate Heavy Storm and destroy all spell and trap cards on the field."
“Then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy it!”
“Okay. Go for it. Destroying it doesn't negate the effect,” Hatsuko supressed a laugh. Yuta's idiocy never failed to amaze her.
“Damn it!!” Yuta facepalmed hard. “I forgot…”
"I'll Normal Summon Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko.”
Hu-Li the Jewel Mikanko [*3/WIND/Fairy/Effect/Atk 0/Def 0]
“...And then equip her with Mikanko Dance - Mayowashidori, making her immune to destruction by card effect. She also can no longer be destroyed by battle, and you take any damage I would take in battles with it."
Yuta, despite how many times he had dueled Hatsuko, stood with his mouth agape.
“When Hu-Li is equipped with an equip spell, I can add a Mikanko trap to my hand. From my deck, of course. I pick Mikanko Spiritwalk."
“I'll then set a card and enter the battle phase. I choose to attack Revendread Slayer."
The attack hit, but Hatsuko was not the one to take damage despite having the lower attack value monster.
Yuta Inoue: 1600 LP
“And with my equip spell, I will send your monster back to the hand.”
Hatsuko watched Yuta as he dramatically fell face first into the ground. Always making a spectacle, he was.
“I end my turn."
Turn End
Turn 3: Yuta(3)
“I draw! I use Pot of Greed, drawing 2 more cards!”
“Normal summoning Samurai Skull!”
A floating skull sticking out its long tongue wearing an orange samurai helmet floated beside Yuta.
Samurai Skull [*4/DARK/Zombie/Effect/Atk 1700/Def 0]
“That lets me send a zombie monster from my deck to the Graveyard, that being another Scar of the Vendread, letting me add another Vendread spell or Trap to my hand, just like my last turn!”
Yuta picked a card from the middle of his deck.
“Revendread Origin. A Ritual Spell.”
Yuta's tone spontaneously became more serious. He was trying to make Hatsuko think he had a real plan. He kind of did, but not really.
"I'll activate it, and banish a Scar from my graveyard to Ritual summon Slayer again. Come on back out…in Defense Position!”
That… actually wasn't that dumb? His monster had 0 defense points, which was perfect for the current situation. But, Yuta being Yuta, he was just stalling for time. Besides, he clearly forgot about his other monster having the same vulnerability.
“I set my last 2 cards. Turn…over,” Yuta said sheepishly.
Turn End
Turn 4: Hatsuko (5)
“Draw…” She looked at the cards in her hand, obviously more thorough in her planning.
“Foolish Burial Goods sends a Spell or Trap to my Graveyard. I'll send Mikanko Kagura to my Graveyard. I'll follow that up with the spell card, Preparation of Rights. I'll add the level 6 Ohime the Manifested Mikanko to my hand, along with Mikanko Kagura from my graveyard."
She paused.
“I activate the Ritual Spell Mikanko Kagura. I'll tribute Hu-Li from my field and Ni-Ni the Mirror Mikanko from my hand to Ritual summon!”
Her monster and its equip spell vanished.
“Graceful dancer, descend from the Heavens and captivate the Earth with your elegance and strength. Ritual summon. Ohime the Manifested Mikanko,”
A beautiful woman in flowing gold robes appeared, holding a colorful sword and shield.
Ohime the Manifested Mikanko [*6/LIGHT/Fairy/Ritual/Effect/Atk 0/Def 0]
"I will then target Mayowashidori in my graveyard and equip it to her. Now, battle. Ohime attacks your Samurai Skull!”
“Nuh uh! Trap card, Breakthrough Skill!” Your Ohime can be destroyed by battle, and you take damage like normal!” Hatsuko's eyes widened with this play, almost proud of Yuta for his only competent play.
Hatsuko Kita: 2300 LP
“Main phase 2. I'll summon Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko,”
A red-haired girl with a black dagger and fiery eyes prepared for battle.
Ha-Re the Sword Mikanko [*3/FIRE/Fairy/Effect/Atk 0/Def 0]
I'll equip Mikanko Water Arabesque to her. Then, I'll finish off by setting a card,” Yuta sighed in relief. He had survived. For now. Yuta smiled.
Turn End
Turn 5: Yuta(1)
“Draw!” Yuta grinned at his card.
"Graceful charity! I'll draw 3 cards and discard 2!”
“Pre-Preparation of Rites!” I'll add Grave Dragon's Burial and □□□□□□□□□ □□□□□ □□□□□□ □□□□□□ to my hand!”
“Trap Card, Dimensional Barrier! You can't Ritual summon this turn!” Hatsuko reacted.
“What? That card with all the card types that don't exist on it!? That shouldn't be legal!” Yuta panicked.
“Yuta, you run both Pot of Greed and Graceful Charity. I don't want to hear you talk about what should be legal when you have some of the best cards in the game.”
Hatsuko crossed her arms.
“That's true… I can't do anything else. I change Samurai Skull to defense position and end my turn.” Yuta pouted.
Turn End
Turn 6: Hatsuko (1)
"Pot of Greed, I'll draw 2 cards,” Hatsuko looked at the 2 cards, exactly what she needed to win this turn.
“You reprimanded me for using that card just now! What gives!?” Yuta pointed in an accusatory manner.
Hatsuko blinked.
“No, It's fine for you to run those cards. I was reprimanding you for being a hypocrite and telling me my card shouldn't be legal when you use more broken ones than it,”
Yuta groaned. Not like he could expect anything different or be mad. Hatsuko just always out-logic'd him.
“I could have used this earlier. Just to be safe, i'll use the Trap card, Mikanko Spiritwalk, I'll take control of your Revendread Slayer and change him to attack position. Then I'll activate the spell card Enemy Controller, and change your Samurai Skull back to attack position. Finally, the Field Spell Heavenly Gate of the Mikanko! You can't activate effects during the battle phase!”
Yuta fell over again, backwards this time. His set card couldn't save him now.
"Ha-Re attacks!”
Yuta Inoue: 0 LP
Hatsuko Kita: Win!
The field cleared, and Hatsuko helped Yuta up, who despite his loss, smiled at her.
“Don't worry, I don't mind losing as long as I get to do it with you.”
Yuta was swiftly hit again.
“Don't say it like that!”
Poor Yuta was back where he started. His uncontrollable laugh from before returned, but now pleading with her.
“Chill! I'll get us Ice-Cream! Or something! Totally on me, since I lost! Ack!”
Hatsuko reluctantly stopped assaulting Yuta.
"There should be laws against stuff like beating childhood friends into submission."
At least his wounds were light enough that he could eat his ice cream rather than use it as an ice pack.
It was late at night now. That was fine. It was a Friday. Yura sat atop the roof of an old, mostly unused mall. He stared up at the night sky as his mind wandered. It made him think of his dream, of the six iterations of Earth that he saw. What would he do if there were other worlds? Probably nothing.
“Hey. Yura,
Yura whipped his head up to see Akari.
"Akari…”
He got up from where he was sitting.
“I'm sorry for running away from you. I wasn't mad, I just needed to think about what to say to you.”
Akari had a small frown as she spoke. She stepped towards him.
“I'm sorry too, Akari, I didn't take the time to care about the consequences of my actions, and I know that worried you.”
He looked back up at the sky as a way to hide his face. Akari suddenly pulled Yura into a hug, her head resting under his chin as he looked back down. He slowly lifted his arms to return the hug, but tears also slowly fell from his eyes.
“Things are so confusing right now,” Yura cried, “I'm afraid something bad will happen soon. With all this. Something was seriously wrong in that duel against Kaji. I was scared too, y'know. There's still no way to explain how he did what he did."
“It's okay, Yura. We can worry about that later. We've both had a long day, and by the way, I should also be sorry that I ignored your initial concerns about that guy."
“Thank you."
"Did you take care of your cuts? Are you bruised?"
Akari looked up at him.
"Yeah, I handled it."
Yura slid off his jacket to show that his arm was bandaged, and he assured her that he didn't have a concussion either. As the two childhood friends spoke, a drone silently hovered over them, zooming in on the boy. Neither of the teenagers noticed.
Turn 1: End
Customs:
Burning Rift Link Dragon
[L3/LIGHT/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 2800/ ⬉⬇⬈]
2+ monsters
If your LP are less than or equal to your opponent's, this card can be Link Summoned by banishing monsters from your Graveyard as material. Once per turn, when a card or effect is activated (Quick Effect): You can activate this effect; the activated effect becomes "Once per turn, if your opponent controls a Link monster(s): they can banish one card on the field that their Link monster points to", then, destroy that card. When this card declares an attack: inflict 150 damage to your opponent for every currently banished card.
Red-Eyes Cataclysm Dragon
[*10/DARK/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/Atk 3200/Def 2000]
1 "Red Eyes" Monsters + 1 FIRE Monster
Cannot be destroyed by battle with monsters with a level lower than this card’s original level. Once per turn: You can destroy cards on the field equal to the number of normal monsters in your Graveyard; inflict 500 damage to your opponent for each card destroyed.
Red-Eyes Piercing Dragon
[L2/DARK/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 2400/←↓]
2 Dragon, Warrior, and/or Fiend monsters
If a Normal monster is summoned to a zone this card points to, inflict 600 damage to your opponent. When this card is summoned, or if a monster's Atk changes: You can special summon one "Red-Eyes" monster from your hand or Graveyard to a zone this card points to. You can only use each effect of "Red-Eyes Piercing Dragon" once per turn.
Blazing Eyes Serpent
[L1/Dark/Dragon/Link/Effect/Atk 1000/↙]
1 Dragon monster
Cannot be used as Link material. If you control other monsters: Your opponent cannot target this card with attacks. This card can be used as material for the Fusion summon of any one DARK Dragon Fusion monster, in place of any one of its required materials, as long as the other materials are correct. You can special summon one Normal Monster from your Graveyard to a zone this card points to, and if you do; You can add 1 "Polymerization" from your Deck to your Hand. You can only activate this effect of "Blazing Eyes Serpent" once per turn.
Other:
-Dimensional barrier has Link Monsters instead of Pendulum monsters listed on it.
-Most cards will probably have their tcg effects. That includes the Dragons.