The non-original characters in this fanfiction are copyrighted to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallup and Toei where applicable. All other characters are considered public domain by the author and may be used freely, but he does request that you ask permission as a courtesy.
The card names used are translations of the Official Card Game (OCG) names. Don't forget to e-mail me your thoughts (vm_postitnotes@yahoo.com). Thank you very much for reading.
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YU-GI-OH! -0
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Turn Two: "The Warrior Deck of the Friendly Roomate, Chiba"
It was now time for all the newly-accepted freshmen to arrive on the Duel Academia Island. Most of the students were talking amongst themselves, excited about their future lives as students of the most prestigious Duel Monsters school in the world.
Shougo just looked out the window at the sea for the entirety of the trip.
He heard people talking about him, but pretended not to notice.
"Hey, is that the kid who almost beat the Obelisk Blue teacher?"
"Yeah, I hear he's not too bad, but he almost didn't get in at all because he was late."
"*I* hear he only won because he has some rare cards."
"Yeah, you're probably right. How could an Osiris freshman come close to beating the Obelisk professor like that..."
'I'll prove them all wrong,' Shougo thought as he continued to focus on the sea. 'They'll have to respect me...'
--
Shougo sat and listened to the orientation speeches of the faculty without really paying attention. He wanted to get into his dorm room and sleep. It had been a long day of accomplishing little, and Shougo wanted to get it over with.
All the students were given their equipment and duel disks and sent to their appropriate dorms. Many talked to each other, some because they'd known each other before, and others in hopes of trading cards. Shougo didn't even unpack his card deck. He just went straight to his room.
There was another boy there who greeted him as he came in. "Hello there!" he called out.
"Hi," Shougo said, putting his luggage down.
"I heard about you," the teenager replied, adjusting his glasses. "Aoyama Shougo, right? You came very close to beating Tenjouin-sensei."
"It could have gone either way, I guess," Shougo mumbled.
"I'm Chiba Katsurou, I've been here a year already and I'm still in Osiris. I guess that tells a lot about my skill, huh?"
"Not really." Shougo turned away and started unpacking his things.
Chiba sighed and sat down on his bed.
"We're going to be rooming together," Chiba explained. "We might as well be friends."
"I'd really prefer we not," Shougo replied, continuing to unpack. "It'd be better if we just stayed to ourselves."
"What's the ma... oh, I'm prying. I'm sorry."
Then he got an idea.
"Hey, I know! Why don't we duel?"
"That's really the worst thing to do if you want to be friends with me," Shougo said, not looking at his roommate. "Nobody who duels me stays friendly with me for long."
"Well, maybe that's true, but you've got to take the chance, don't you?" Chiba hopped down from his bed. "After all, why would you come here, if you didn't love to duel?"
Shougo unpacked his deck and looked it over. He felt a voice in his head again calling him to battle. This guy seemed nice enough, but how long would that last?
"I don't know," Shougo said, mostly to himself.
"I insist," Chiba pressed. "We can duel right outside. There's a great view of the sea. What better place could we ask for? I'd like to get right down to business."
Finally, Shougo gave in and picked up his deck and duel disk. "Okay, if you insist, then I guess I have no choice."
--
The two duelists stood facing each other outside the Osiris Red dorms. A few students stood outside and watched. For them it was the first duel they'd see since after their entrance exams.
"Let's have a fun game," Chiba said.
"Whatever," Shougo sighed, and put his hand on his deck.
"Duel!" they both shouted.
"I'll go first, if that's alright with you."
Shougo shrugged and sighed. "It's fine with me either way," he said.
"Draw," Chiba went on. "I summon Command Knight in defense mode!"
A red-armored female knight shimmered onto the field and knelt, holding her shield up.
"I set one card face down, and end my turn."
Shougo sighed and narrowed his eyes. Once he was fully into a duel, it was rare that he would come out of it making a friend. But this guy insisted, and there was nothing else to do.
"My turn... draw!"
He tried not to wince. 'This hand isn't the greatest, but it'll do for now.' "I'll set one defense position monster and one card facedown. That's it."
"You're not holding back on me, are you, Shougo-kun?" Chiba said. "Don't be afraid to give me your all. I won't hate you for it, I promise!"
"We'll see," Shougo said. "Just remember you asked for it."
"I won't forget," Chiba replied. "My turn. Draw! And I'll summon Little Red Riding Hood in defense mode!"
A monster obviously modelled after the old fairy tale appeared. Shougo was taken aback, and chuckled. "What is she going to do?"
"Don't underestimate my deck," Chiba warned his opponent. "They'll knock you for a loop if you do! Command Knight, switch to attack mode and battle his facedown monster!"
The knight quickly leapt to her feet and jumped towards the hidden card.
"Command Knight's special effect makes her and other warriors gain 400 points," Chiba explained as an aura of power appeared around his monster. "Unfortunately, Riding Hood is a fairy, so she won't get the bonus."
The knight's sword struck and broke the card in half. An image of a strange, wrangly zombie-type monster appeared, roared and shattered.
"Oh, man," Chiba muttered. "Newdoria."
"I'll active Newdoria's special effect now," Shougo said. "When it's destroyed in battle and sent to the graveyard, it can destroy one monster on the field. I choose Little Red Riding Hood!"
Steel, spiked rings shot out from where the card was destroyed, and made a beesline for Chiba's monster, who shouted in fear.
But Chiba smiled. "Isn't it funny how there are so many monsters in the game who have great effects if they're destroyed in battle? That's why I have this card... Reverse card open! The counter trap, Battle Zone!"
Shougo blinked. "Battle Zone?"
"For the remainder of this turn," Chiba explained, "All monsters that are destroyed will act as though they were destroyed in battle. So even though Riding Hood died because of Newdoria's effect, I still get to use hers."
"Which is?"
Chiba fanned out his deck. "I can summon one Warrior-type monster from my deck. And I choose... Command Knight!"
Another knight appeared on the field in attack position and took her place just as the other Command Knight returned from her battle.
"Now both Command Knights have 2000 attack points. Not bad, eh?"
Shougo grunted. As much as he hated being underestimated, it annoyed him even more when he realized he was doing it himself.
"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn, Shougo-kun," Chiba finally said.
"Before you do, I'd like to activate something I have. Reverse card open... Blazes of Demise! I can summon two Demise Tokens in defense position. I can't use them for Tributes, except for a dark-attribute monster."
Two humanoid one-eyed flame figures shimmered in.
'I think I know what's coming,' Chiba thought to himself. 'Good thing I'm ready...'
"My turn," Shougo shouted. "Draw! Chiba-san, if you want my all, then I'll give it to you. I tribute my Demise Tokens to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"
The flame shapes evaporated and formed the shape of the deadly, dark dragon. It spread its wings and roared, ready to attack.
"2000 attack points is strong," Shougo said, thrusting his fist out. "But it's still no match for the Red-Eyes! Attack Command Knight... Dark Mega Flare!"
But Chiba just scratched his forehead, unconcerned. The Red-Eyes shot out its firey attack, but the other Command Knight just deflected the attack with her sword.
"Shougo-kun," Chiba wondered aloud, perplexed. "You know about Command Knight's effect, don't you? She can't be targeted for an attack as long as there's another monster on the field."
"But... both monsters are Command Knights!"
"Exactly. This is my Command Knight lock! Or should I say, *the* Command Knight lock. It's a really old move, but nobody really uses it anymore, so I guess I can say it's mine." He then rubbed the back of his head and laughed.
But Shougo just grunted in frustration, not responding to Chiba's cheerful mood. "I set two cards facedown," he said. "Turn end."
"Shougo-kun, is everything alright?"
"Just make your move."
"You shouldn't be so frustrated," Chiba said as he drew his card. "I hear how people talk about you, but I'm on your side. They say the same things about me, that I only win because I use tactics that are so old people have forgotten about them. But it's fine, because I play what I like! I'm sure you feel the same way."
Shougo thought back to the day he found the Dark Armed Dragon, before it became such a sought-after card. He genuinely enjoyed the card overall, but when he played with it, people accused him of lording his ability to get rare cards over everyone else. Dueling quickly became less about fun and more about proving a point after that.
This duel was no different. This guy... he wasn't going to turn out to be any different.
Chiba chuckled as he looked at his hand. "I think you might dislike me even more when I play this," he said. "But I promised you my best! I play the monster card Rogue Mercenaries!"
A group of menacing-looking haggard soldiers appeared next to the Command Knights.
"Rogue Mercenaries' special effect, activate! They can destroy one monster on the field, as long as I sacrifice them afterwards. I'll send them after your Red-Eyes! Go, Ambush Strike!"
The soldiers leapt from their position and surrounded the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
Shougo's eyes narrowed into a frown as his prize card was threatened. "I won't let you!" he shouted. "Reverse card open... Phantom of Darkness! When a dark-attribute type monster is targeted by a card effect, I can negate and destroy that card! So my Red-Eyes will be staying right here!"
A shadowy, black flame emanated from the Red-Eyes' body, blasting the mercenaries' bodies this way and that.
"Good move, Shougo-kun!" Chiba laughed. "Most people are annoyed by that card. I happen to like it, though."
"Maybe," Shougo said. "But now that it's gone, how are you going to beat my ace card when it shows up?"
'I have a plan for that, too,' Chiba thought. 'But I'm sorry, Shougo-kun... I can't tell you about that now.'
"Equip magic activate... Archdemon Axe," Chiba announced. "By equipping it to a monster on my field, I can raise her attack points by 1000 points. Command Knight... get your weapons ready! get equipped with Archdemon Axe!"
A giant axe that looked like it was partly made of flesh materialized on the field, and the Command Knight grabbed it. Her attack points went up to 3000.
"Now, attack the Red-Eyes!" he ordered.
'Damn it,' Shougo thought. 'I don't have any cards to save it now!'
The knight leapt up and cut the dragon through the middle, causing it to explode and Shougo to lose 600 Life Points.
"I'm not done yet!" Chiba shouted, his face starting to look serious now. "My other Command Knight will launch a direct attack now!"
The other warrior slashed Shougo across the chest. The heightened Solid Vision technology caused Shougo to almost feel the attack as his LP went down to 1400.
"My turn's ended," Chiba said. "Whew! I got pretty serious there. I hope you won't have any hard feelings."
Shougo rubbed his nose and glared at his opponent. He was starting to get pretty frustrated with his cheerful, nonchalant attitude. 'Can't you take anything seriously?' he thought. "Draw! I play the magic card Foolish Burial! I can take one monster card from my deck and place it in the Cemetery. I choose to bury a Newdoria from my deck!"
'This is it,' Chiba said. 'He's finished the summoning requirements. Two Newdorias and a Red-Eyes in the grave...'
"Now I special summon my trump card, the Dark Armed Dragon!" Shougo slapped the card onto his duel disk, and the sky seemed to darken as the monstrous dragon appeared. Some Osiris Red students had been watching their duel, but the appearance of this rare card drew virtually all of them outside to watch.
But Chiba wasn't afraid. "Reverse card open... Pit to Hades! When a monster with 1500 attack points or more is summoned, this card will remove it from play."
Shougo's eyes widened with panic. "What?"
"But, you may still use its effect once before it goes," Chiba volunteered. "I can't stop you from doing that. So, what will you destroy."
'Damn you, Chiba-san! You were waiting for me to summon Dark Armed Dragon before you flipped that! I'll make you regret this!'
"I remove my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from play to destroy the Command Knight equipped with Archdemon Axe. Dark Genocide!"
A dark pit opened beneath the Dark Armed Dragon, but before he sank into it, he threw two bolts of dark energy at the knight holding the axe. She screamed and disappeared, and the axe fell to the floor.
"I'll activate Archdemon Axe's effect now," Chiba said. "When it would be sent to the cemetery, I can sacrifice a monster on my field to put it on top of my deck instead. My other Command Knight! Find your resting place now."
The other warrior vanished, and Chiba's cemetery slot glowed as the Archdemon Axe card came out of it. Chiba placed the card on top of his deck.
Shougo frowned deeply. "Do you think you're safe now? Because you're not! Reverse card open... Dark Dimension's Release! I can summon a monster that was removed from play to the field."
Chiba nodded. "I see... that's why you chose your Red-Eyes to remove from play."
"You better believe it," Shougo stated darkly. "Revive, my Red-Eyes, and attack Chiba-san directly with Dark Mega Flare!"
The Red-Eyes Black Dragon, whose summoning was met with gasps of shock from the duelists' captive audience, blasted a molten fireball at Chiba. The fireball exploded into a pillar, and Chiba could swear he felt himself burning up. He shouted and grasped his chest as his life points fell to 1600.
"There," Shougo spat. "You still think we can be friends now? I just hurt you with my monster."
"Of course!" Chiba said as he regained his composure. "That's what dueling is all about! You have to give it your all in the fight, even if you're good friends."
Shougo just closed his eyes and gave a rather sarcastic smile. "You're hopeless."
"You're probably right!"
"Turn end."
"Well, let's see what I can do now," Chiba replied, and pulled the Archdemon Axe card from his deck. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, and draw two cards. Next I'll activate the magic card Crazy Summon Gear!"
Shougo blinked. "Crazy Summon Gear?"
"First I'll target a monster on your side of the field, and you can summon as many copies of it as you have in your deck. Of course, you only have one, and a card as rare as the Red-Eyes..."
Chiba's speech was cut short when two other Red-Eyes Black Dragons appeared.
"Ohh, boy!" Chiba once again gave his nervous laugh. "I should have known better than that! Of course someone as known for finding rare cards as you has three Red-Eyes."
"Well, thank you for the gift. But what do you get in return?"
"It won't help me as much as I hoped, but I can still do something with it. I pick one monster in my Graveyard with less than 1500 attack points, and summon as many copies of it as I can from my grave, hand or deck. The monster I pick, of course..."
Three red-armored female warriors appeared on the field.
"...Command Knights, revive!"
Shougo gasped. With the Knights' effects, their attack points would rise to 2400, enough to challenge the Red-Eyes. Not to mention... Chiba had the Archdemon Axe in his hand. 'I'm in trouble...'
"Now... for my normal summon this turn, I'll summon the Different Dimension Warrior Lady in attack mode."
A leather-clad soldier holding a glowing sword in her bandaged arm appeared on the field.
"Because of the three Command Knights on the field, Warrior Lady's attack power goes up to 2700! Now, my Command Knight... take hold of the Archdemon Axe!" Chiba ordered.
One of the red-garbed knights picked up the axe, and her aura emanated power again.
"Attack Shougo-kun's Red-Eyes!" he went on.
The knight once again destroyed Shougo's favorite card with a flourish, causing Shougo to get even angrier. His eyes narrowed as his life points hit 400. 'He's humiliating me in front of everyone!' he seethed.
"Warrior Lady! Attack the second Red-Eyes... Ijigen Slasher!"
The soldier woman slashed the other dragon across the waist, splitting it in half. It also exploded, and Shougo's life dropped to 200.
"Command Knight #2!" Chiba said. "I'm sorry for sending you to your demise, but this will help me win. Attack Shougo's final Red-Eyes!"
"Counterattack, Red-Eyes!" Shougo said, getting in an attack stance. "Dark Mega Flare!"
Command Knight rushed into the blast and struck it with her sword. The resulting explosion shattered both monsters.
"Because I lost one of my Command Knights, my other warriors power down by 400 points," Chiba explained. "But you have to admit, I'm doing very well, right? But I only have one card left in my hand, and it's no good to me now. Oh well. Turn end!"
"Hm, I suppose so," Shougo said. "I'll admit that we're similar in some ways. But now that everyone's watching, I can't allow myself to lose. My turn... draw!"
Chiba looked around and was genuinely surprised. Ra and Obelisk students had come to watch their duel as well. Some of them were cheering, too, although Chiba couldn't hear who they were rooting for. But did it matter at this point?
"You're right... everyone's watching now," he replied. "Let's not hold back and show them our best!"
"I play the magic card Allure of Darkness," Shougo proclaimed. "I'll draw two cards, and then remove the card 'Dark Dragon Hatchling' in my hand from play." He then drew two cards.
"Next, I play Pot of Greed, so I get two more cards!"
Chiba was amazed. 'Wow! Five new cards in one turn. Awesome, Shougo-kun!'
Shougo looked at his hand. "Sorry, Chiba-san, but it looks like I've won."
"Oh?"
"I summon Super Hot Blooded Baseball Kid in attack mode!"
A super-deformed figurine of a baseball player appeared on the field, and his body started to catch ablaze as he swung his bat several times.
"Baseball Kid's ability activates now," Shougo went on. "For every fire-attribute monster on the field, he gains 1000 attack points. You have two fire monsters, so that's 2500 attack points for him."
"That's very nice, Shougo-kun... taking advantage of my field like that. But you can't attack any of my Command Knights, and my Warrior Lady will barely take any damage. Plus, because of her effect, you'll lose your monster too."
"That's what you think. I play Raise Dead."
The ankh-themed card rose on the field. Shougo described the card's effect. "I can revive one card, whether it be a friend or an enemy. I'll revive your Command Knight, Chiba-san, and bring her to my side of the field!"
Chiba gasped in surprise as his duel disk's cemetery slot glowed. Light shot out of it into Shougo's side of the field, and the Command Knight materialized there.
"So you got another fire monster. But still, the attack bonus you get won't be enough to finish the game. Anything can happen in the next turn... you shouldn't announce your victory so early."
Shougo just smiled slightly. "You're forgetting something, Chiba-san. Baseball Kid is a warrior type monster also!"
Chiba blinked. Then he put two and two together. "That means..."
"That means that Super Hot Blooded Baseball Kid gets 400 more points in addition to the 1000 points he gets from Command Knight. That brings his attack power up to..."
"3900!" Chiba stepped back, amazed.
A twinkle appeared in Shougo's eye. "GO! Baseball Kid... attack his Warrior Lady and finish the duel! Ultimate IPPATSU!"
The monster threw a flaming baseball in the air and with mighty force, struck it with his bat towards the Warrior Lady. She shouted and exploded as Chiba's life points dropped to zero.
'Just barely... if I had survived, I could have used her effect to get rid of that Baseball Kid. Then...'
Chiba laughed. 'Oh well, what can you do?'
Shougo lowered his Duel Disk and walked to his opponent, offering him a hand. Chiba took the hand gratefully and got on to his feet.
"That was great, Shougo!" Chiba said, reaching out to shake his roommate's hand. "And you won without Dark Armed Dragon, too. Nobody can say you only win because of rare cards now."
"That's what you think," Shougo said, looking dourly at the offered hand. "I've already heard what they're saying. I got a lucky hand, that's all they think. I'll never get their respect."
"Is that what you hear? Well, forget them," Chiba replied. "They'll come around, in time. You just worry about the people in front of you, and don't worry so much about the people behind you. Okay?"
Shougo glanced at his roommate, and then at the hand. He briefly thought that maybe, just maybe, he shouldn't worry so much about what people think of him. That maybe that was a key to getting respect that he'd overlooked for a long time.
He grasped the offered hand and shook it firmly.
"Alright then, Chiba-kun," he said.
Chiba then high fived his newfound friend.
"Awesome, Shougo-kun!!"
--
Three female Obelisk Blue students were walking away from the Osiris dorms; one walked ahead of the others. The ones behind her looked somewhat similar to each other, although one had a ponytail.
"That was a waste of time," one of them muttered. "Just two commoners having a duel."
"Yes, Toragami-sama, why did you make us go out there?" the ponytailed one asked.
"That was Aoyama Shougo," Toragami, the young woman ahead of them, replied. "He was the last duelist in the Academia entrance exams this year."
"The one who put up a fight against Tenjouin-sensei?" asked the girl with the ponytail.
"Yes, Katsuki, him."
"Well, you could see for yourself, couldn't you?" the other girl said. "That boy just got lucky. He could barely manage a win against a second-year Osiris, so what's your interest in him?"
"It wasn't luck, Aino."
Aino and Katsuki paused and looked at each other.
"The power of the cards he uses are the powers of darkness," Toragami said. "The powers of the past. Couldn't you feel the desperate aura emanating from his monsters?"
Toragami's companions sighed, appearing to expect this kind of behavior from their companion, although not understanding it.
"Weak people who fear the light run to the darkness and find their strength there," Toragami went on. "But that is not real power. True warriors do not fear the light, they embrace it! This behavior from a duelist who dared to appear to put up a challenge against one of my idols... unforgivable! He must understand his place."
Katsuki sighed. "She's going on about the light again."
"Let her," Aino replied. "Champions have the right to be a little eccentric."
'Just you wait, Aoyama,' Toragami thought to herself. 'I'm going to force you to see your strength for what it really is... nothingness!'
--
TODAY'S FEATURED CARD: The Effect Monster, "Super Hot-Blooded Baseball Kid"
This card's ATK power goes up by 1000 points for every Fire-attribute Monster on the field. You can send a Fire-attribute monster you control other than this card to the Cemetery in order to inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent.
NEXT TIME: "The Challenge from the Blitzkrieg Queen"
