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.
-------------
YU-GI-OH! -0
-------------
Turn Three: "The Challenge from the Blitzkrieg Queen"
It had been about a week since Shougo Aoyama first entered Duel Academia.
As a student, he was strictly average and some of the teachers tended to focus on him during in-class questions because of rumors that he had done well against Asuka Tenjouin. Students mainly picked on him because he was an Osiris. He avoided confrontation and never got in trouble.
Asuka Tenjouin herself remained curious about the duelist, whom she saw as an enigma.
Monday, she was teaching a class about Basic Dueling.
"Today, I'll be teaching about Sacrifice. When you summon monsters that are level 4 or below, normally sacrifice is not required. But higher level monsters do require sacrifice. This balances the power out and assures that players cannot win by simply holding and drawing powerful cards first, as was often the case in the early days of Duel Monsters."
She then showed a card. "This is the Dark Magician of Chaos. Can anyone tell me how many monsters you need to sacrifice to summon it?"
Several hands rose into the air. "Perhaps an Osiris Red student?" Tenjouin asked, and some hands went down. "Aoyama Shougo-kun?"
Shougo stood up and grumbled. He knew the answer, but didn't want to stand out. "Umm... uhh..." He sighed. "Two?"
"That is the correct answer," Tenjouin said. "Good job."
Shougo sat down and heard people around him whisper about the "lucky duelist" and the "luck-sacking duelist".
"Now there are some exceptions to this rule," Tenjouin went on. "Some high-level monsters can be summoned without requiring sacrifice. Can anyone give me an example of this?"
A solitary hand went up.
"Toragami Hinata-san?"
"The Cyber Dragon can be special summoned without sacrifice if the opponent controls one or more monsters and you control none," she said. "And then you can sacrifice that for a level 5 or 6 monster."
Hinata Toragami was a rather plain-looking girl in an Obelisk Blue blazer. Her hair was black and short and her eyes were grey and narrow.
"Good job, Toragami-san. I'm going to have my assistant pass out the results for the tests you turned in yesterday. You've all done well in this class."
Tenjouin's assistant gave out papers to the whole class. Shougo received his test, which was a 75% - perfectly average. But there was also a note on it: 'Please see me after class'.
Shougo gulped.
After class ended, Shougo lingered behind, trying to hide the fact that he had been summoned to see the teacher after class. Some students noticed, though, and he sighed to himself, knowing he'd hear about it later.
When all the students had left, Tenjouin beckoned her student.
"Tenjouin-sensei?" Shougo asked timidly.
"It's nothing about your work, Aoyama-kun, although I do wish you'd try to improve..." she replied.
"If it's about my behavior during the entrance exam, I'm really sorry," Shougo stammered. "I don't know what comes over me sometimes, but when I play, I..."
Tenjouin stopped him. "Don't worry about that. It's all over and done with, and you're my student now. Actually, I heard a lot of students have been giving you a hard time over that exam."
"Well... not really. I... keep to myself, mostly."
"You should take a chance and reach out more," Tenjouin replied. "You might be surprised. You know, I have made a lot of friends because I dueled them. It's not necessarily true that your opponent has to be your enemy."
"Yes, sensei," Shougo said, looking down.
"You're just trying to get out of this situation as quickly as possible." The teacher chuckled. "It's alright. I understand. It must be hard being in unfamiliar surroundings, right?"
"Unfamiliar... surroundings?" Shougo looked dazed suddenly, as if he were trying to understand his teacher's words and not succeeding.
"Yes, you're far from home. You're from Domino, right?"
"Yeah... Domino-cho." Shougo's expression became a relieved one, something which made Tenjouin all the more curious.
"Take it easy. It will take some time to adjust. Maybe write your parents a letter?"
Shougo went blank again. "I... I don't have parents," he said.
Tenjouin held back a wince. 'Damn. I should have remembered that from the file.'
"I'm sorry, Aoyama-kun. Go ahead and go back to your dorm now."
Shougo nodded and started to leave; but when he reached the doorway, he paused and turned around.
"Tenjouin-sensei?"
"Yes, Aoyama-kun?" Tenjouin asked.
"One thing that I wanted to know. During our duel... that last card... what was it?"
"Oh." Tenjouin smiled and opened her deck. She pulled out the card and showed it to Shougo - "The Warrior Returning Alive".
Shougo's face fell. He recalled that during their duel, Tenjouin had played "Fusion Recovery" so she had a Polymerization. She would have gotten Cyber Blader back, and since Shougo had 2 monsters, she would have won.
"Don't feel bad," Tenjouin attempted to encourage her student. "Even if I'd won, you still impressed everyone with your duel. Keep doing your best!"
Shougo nodded, not really believing her. "Thanks, sensei. I'll go now."
Tenjouin watched Shougo depart, his eyes cast to the ground, and sighed. 'That child has it hard. I can't believe I didn't remember that his parents had...'
She then did a double take. 'Come to think of it... I don't think his file mentioned anything about his parents.' She touched a finger to her chin. 'This boy makes me wonder...'
--
Shougo was stopped from leaving the school grounds by two girls; one with somewhat long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, the other with a short cut brown do. They were both Obelisks.
"Hold it, Shougo," the brown-haired one said.
"Uh..." Shougo looked up at the students. "Who are you?"
"I'm Naomi Aino," the ponytailed girl said. "And this is Shiho Katsuki."
Shougo tried to meet their gaze. "Do you need something?"
"This note is for you," Aino said simply, thrusting a piece of paper towards Shougo.
"What?" Shougo was utterly confused, disliking social situations.
"Just read it," Katsuki said, her short temper obvious.
Shougo opened the note and read it as asked. It read 'Toragami Hinata hereby challenges Aoyama Shougo to a duel by the lighthouse at midnight. If you are a duelist, you will show up.'
"What?!" Shougo did a double take.
"Don't worry, this time the whole school won't be watching you get humiliated," Katsuki grinned. "Just us!"
The two girls then walked off, laughing to themselves.
'Toragami Hinata... that girl from class today,' Shougo thought to himself. 'Maybe Chiba-kun knows something about her...'
--
Back at the dorm rooms, Chiba was in total shock when Shougo presented him with the note. "Toragami Hinata? You don't know who she is?!"
"No..."
"You... you..." He paused. The words 'Have you been living under a rock?' weren't appropriate with Shougo, he thought. So he collected himself and verified it. "You really don't know abot the Toragami Zaibatsu?"
"No."
Chiba adjusted his glasses. "The Toragami family has been around for quite awhile, but only recently started showing an interest in Duel Monsters. Like the Manjoume Group before them, they want to dominate the world of Duel Monsters. To that end, they've produced a duelist like none other..."
Shougo looked somewhat nervous now. "Toragami... Hinata? A girl?"
"Some people call her the Blitzkrieg Queen, although I think that's somewhat of a misnomer," Chiba said. "Blitzes are fast and don't let up, and from what I hear, Toragami-san plays slow at first, but then comes out in the end to destroy her opponents. It might be just a clever name, but... I'm told she has never been defeated."
"*Never* been defeated?" Shougo's eyes widened and he glanced at his deck.
"Well, since she's started playing Duel Monsters competitively, she hasn't entered a tournament. Only exhibition matches, and those are only seen by a select few. But yes... she's never lost. I mean... to get a challenge from her... you must have made an impression."
Shougo sat down on his bed and pondered the issue. "Maybe... maybe you're right, Chiba-kun. Maybe I shouldn't go..."
"Now hold on a second there, Shougo-kun!" Chiba corrected him. "When did I ever say you shouldn't go? Quite the opposite! This is an opportunity you shouldn't turn down!"
Shougo's eyes widened as he turned to his roommate. "Chiba-kun..."
"You've got a chance to play one of the greatest up-and-comers! I'd never forgive you if you turned it down! I wish *I* had an invite from the Blitzkrieg Queen herself. She's practically a legend!"
Shougo put his hands into his pockets and sighed. "Looks like you're not leaving me a choice again."
--
Asuka Tenjouin stared at the ceiling as she lay in bed.
"Aoyama Shougo... who are you?"
After class, out of curiosity she had checked his file, and indeed no information on his life before coming to Duel Academia was offered. She checked the school information system online and found nothing more.
'It's one thing if his parents died. That would be in the file. But nothing whatsoever? This is very strange. Perhaps the Chancellor knonws something.'
Tenjouin bit her lip and thought back to her time as a student in Duel Academia. It was a time full of dangerous, unknown situations and some amount of intrigue. She feared that sort of thing happening again, and to her students, even.
"It's my job to protect these children," she said quietly aloud. "I have to do what I can."
'But you have other classes to teach,' she reminded herself. 'This has to wait until the morning.'
Tenjouin sighed. She was a responsible adult now - she couldn't go running off at the slighest implication. She grabbed her lesson plan and looked over it.
'This is certainly going to stick in my mind until I take care of it, though...'
--
As night started to fall, Shougo laid awake in bed, staring up at the roof. He had taken the top bunk; Chiba offered it to him, of course.
Chiba was using his handheld computer, and then he paused and turned towards Shougo.
"Don't worry too much, Shougo-kun," he said. "No matter what happens, it will be a good game."
"I wasn't really thinking about that," Shougo sighed. "But... thanks for the concern."
"Oh... maybe you're feeling homesick?"
Shougo furrowed his brow.
"Come to think of it," Chiba said. "I don't know much about where you came from... I mean, we just met and all so you don't know much about me either. Now's as good a time as any."
"I'd like to tell you, Chiba-kun, but the truth is... I don't remember much."
"Oh."
"My parents died when I was young, and I had to fend for myself."
"Oh, really? You didn't go to an orphanage?"
"I... don't remember. I just know I loved Duel Monsters. Except I never had any confidence. Until the day I got that card."
Chiba clicked his handheld computer off. "You mean the Dark Armed Dragon?"
"No... the Red-Eyes. My favorite card. But I still had no confidence. Then... I met him. Mutou Yugi."
Chiba gasped in utter surprise. "No way! You met the Duel King?"
"He tried to teach me something, but I don't think I've learned it yet. I'm still scared. I've forced myself to fight, but it hasn't worked out well for me. But I'm still gonna try until I learn that lesson."
"Forcing yourself isn't good, Shougo-kun," Chiba replied. "You'll just be more frightened when the time comes where you *have* to do it."
"I know!" Shougo cried and clenched his fists. "But it's better than just not doing anything at all."
Chiba smiled. "That could be right, too," he said. "Just try to keep your thoughts still until you duel Toragami."
Shougo nodded and went back to looking at the ceiling. 'Is she really that tough? If so, I *have* to win... I can't lose.'
--
The lighthouse shone sporadically on the two duelists and their friends as they approached the meeting place.
"Good job for showing up, dropout boy," Katsuki sneered. "I thought that as soon as you heard who Toragami-sama was, you'd stay hiding at home."
"You owe me lunch tomorrow," Aino reminded her friend.
Toragami said nothing; instead, she took out her deck and walked towards Shougo.
"Well, I came," Shougo said, walking as well to meet his opponent halfway. "I'm not a coward like you think, and I'm not just lucky like everyone says I am."
They met and shuffled each other's decks. Toragami's eyes never left Shougo's; he looked down to Toragami's deck as he shuffled them, then gave them back to her. When their gazes finally met, Shougo felt a twinge of nervousness at her resolve.
Toragami then finally spoke. "Tell me something, Shougo. When your fight against Tenjouin-sensei was stopped... do you believe you would have won if the duel continued?"
"Wha...?" Shougo frowned. "What does it matter?"
"It was just a question," Toragami said, and then they exchanged decks again.
She then walked away, and held out her arm. Katsuki ran over to where she was and placed the Duel Disk on her arm.
"Katsuki, Aino," Toragami ordered the two. "Stand with the other Osiris Red boy that came."
"Yes, Toragami-sama," Katsuki said, as she and Aino did as told, standing next to Chiba. They didn't bother to greet him.
Chiba did. "I'm Chiba Katsurou," he said and mustered a smile.
"Nice to meet you," Aino said politely.
"Likewise," Katsuki added. Her voice was much colder and laced with contempt.
Shougo and Toragami both turned on their duel disks and faced each other.
Shougo narrowed his eyes. 'I can tell this girl, whoever she is... is looking down on me. I'll defeat her and make her acknowledge me as a duelist!'
"Duel!" they both shouted.
"My turn," Toragami said flatly. "Draw. I summon Lightlord Paladin Jean in attack mode."
A shining white-haired female warrior clad in white metallic armor rose onto the field.
Toragami drew two cards from the top of her deck and placed them in the cemetery slot. "Turn end."
"W...what is she doing?" Chiba asked.
"I wouldn't expect an Osiris Red to underst..." Katsuki started, but Aino stopped her.
"Lightlord Paladin Jean's effect forces Toragami-sama to discard two cards on each of her end phases," Aino explained.
"That seems like a heavy price to pay," Chiba mused. "She's not even that strong for a level 4."
Katsuki clicked her tongue. "It's a pity. I thought we were going to see her 'Dark Destruction Deck', but I guess Toragami-sama's decided this boy isn't worth it."
"'Dark Destruction Deck'...?" Chiba asked, but then decided not to press further.
Shougo put his hand on his deck and drew. "It seems like I might be able to finish this now," he said.
Katsuki and Aino gasped while Toragami just watched silently.
--
A receptionist in the Chancellor's office was filing her nails when Tenjouin came in. She quickly put away the file and tried to appear as though she was working.
"Hello, Tenjouin-sama," she said. "How may I help you?" She then noticed Tenjouin's face betrayed a lack of sleep, and she became concerned. "Are you alright? Perhaps you should visit the nurse's office."
"I'm alright, thank you," Tenjouin replied and smiled. "I'd like to see the Chancellor, please."
"Chancellor Kiyotaki is in a meeting, but I'll tell him you wanted to see him."
Tenjouin sighed. "Alright," she said. "Just tell him it concerns one of my students and I'd like to hear from him as soon as possible."
"Would that student happen to be Aoyama Shougo?" a male voice called from behind the receptionist.
Tenjouin blinked and turned, setting eyes on the Chancellor for the first time. A man who appeared to be just hitting 40, a full head of slightly graying hair, but otherwise looked relatively youthful. His name was Naoyuki Kiyotaki, but most people at Duel Academia simply called him "Chancellor".
He was rarely seen by anyone on campus.
"Chancellor Kiyotaki?" Tenjouin said with some surprise. "Aren't you in a meeting?"
"I tell my receptionist to tell people that. But I should have told her to expect your coming... I thought you might have some questions."
Tenjouin just nodded.
"I'd be pleased to answer your questions. But first I must insist that you head back to your room and get some sleep. Come see me in the morning and perhaps I'll answer your questions."
Tenjouin raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps?"
Instead of responsing to the question, Kiyotaki turned back towards his office. 'I suppose he is right,' she thought. 'I've had a long day, it's probably better I rest.' She started to head back as well.
"One more thing," Kiyotaki added.
"Hm?"
"Bring your deck."
Tenjouin's eyes widened. "Why, Chancellor?"
But he was already gone, and with nothing else to do, Tenjouin went back to her room.
--
"I summon Killer Tomato in attack mode!" Shougo announced. "Killer Tomato! Attack Toragami-san's Paladin!"
A giant vegetable with an evil face appeared on the field and rushed towards Toragami's Paladin. With a quick slash of her sword, it was destroyed.
"Killer Tomato's special effect activates," Shougo said. "I can summon a Dark-attribute monster with 1500 attack points or below from my deck in attack mode. The one I'll choose is of course, another Killer Tomato. Attack again!"
"This boy is dumber than I thought!" Katsuki shouted. "Sending in small fries to destroy Toragami's monsters!"
"He's got a plan," Chiba said, not explaining any further. He'd already figured out Shougo's intent when the Tomato hit the field in attack mode; but did his opponent know?
The second tomato was destroyed and replaced with another one, which also attacked and was promptly obliterated. "Special summon Giant Virus," Shougo said. "And that's it for my Battle Phase. Now, since I have three Dark monsters in the cemetery, I can bring Dark Armed Dragon to the field!"
Chiba nodded. 'It's a good plan, but I don't think you've realized who your opponent is,' he said. 'You've lost 1200 life points to bring out your trump card this early.'
"I remove one of my Killer Tomatoes from the cemetery," Shougo said, retrieving the card and placing it in his pocket. "Dark Armed Dragon! Use Dark Genocide to destroy her Paladin!"
The dragon roared and threw two bolts of dark energy at the light warrior, who tried to shield herself but was destroyed.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn," Shougo said. "You can't look down on me because I'm an Osiris. I'm going to defeat you!"
Toragami's face was fixed in a slight frown, and she didn't respond. Instead, she reached for her deck.
"Don't let her shake you up, Shougo-kun," Chiba shouted. "You can do it!"
"Honestly, you're such a cheerleader," Katsuki chuckled. "You should be captain of my squad!"
Chiba groaned.
"My turn," Toragami said simply. "Draw."
She then displayed a card from her hand. "I activate 'Solar Exchange', and discard a Lightlord Paladin Jean from my hand to draw two cards." She drew two, placed them in her hand, and then drew two more.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Shougo demanded.
Toragami placed the other two cards into her cemetery. "After I activate 'Solar Exchange' I must discard the top two cards in my deck. Now I play 'Lightning Vortex' and discard a 'Holy Barrier - Mirror Force' from my hand."
"Lightning Vortex?!" Chiba shouted in disbelief. "That super rare card?"
"Are you really that surprised?" Katsuki said. "For someone from a wealthy zaibatsu like Toragami-sama, having a card like that is to be expected."
Chiba grumbled. "It's really unfair that you can have that kind of advantage simply by having money."
"Like your friend is any better!" Aino shot back. "He didn't even have to pay any extra money for that damn dragon of his! Many families have to pay millions for that one card!"
Several bolts of lightning struck Shougo's side of the field. His Virus and his prize card, the Dark Armed Dragon, were struck full on and shattered.
"No!" Shougo shouted as he drew his arm back.
'His field is empty and he's wide open,' Chiba thought to himself. 'And worse yet, Toragami-san hasn't summoned a monster. With his life points already lowered from what he did to summon Dark Armed Dragon... he's in real trouble now.'
Shougo just stared hard at Toragami, whose face conveyed no emotion as she prepared to make her move.
--
TODAY'S FEATURED CARD: The Effect Monster Card, "Killer Tomato"
When this card is destroyed and sent to the cemetery as a result of battle, you can bring out from your deck a Dark-attribute monster of 1500 attack points or less in attack position. You can get out the monster you want with this card!
NEXT TIME: "The Blinding Light of Judgment Dragoon"
