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. For the TCG names, see the "Cards used" at the end of the story. And don't forget to e-mail me your thoughts (vm_postitnotes@yahoo.com). Thank you very much for reading.
Special thanks to Nightmare Dreams for inspiring the character of Mark Walker.
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YU-GI-OH! -0
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Turn Seven: "I'm From Hollywood! The Aloof American Duelist"
"Excuse me?!" Tenjouin exclaimed indignantly, slapping her hands on the desk.
"I said, a student from Duel University America wants an exhibition match against Toragami Hinata," one of her assistants said.
The head teachers were gathered in the faculty building to discuss the newest development in Duel Academia this year - an American duelist travelling to the island in hopes of finding a challenge.
"No, no, no!" Tenjouin exclaimed. "Does he have any idea how disruptive that is? Who does he think he is?"
"He is currently the top of his class," Matsutani said. "According to my reports, he's come here in hopes of improving the name of American duelists."
"That's exactly why they have such a bad name in the first place," the lead Ra teacher, Toshiro Abe, grumbled. "Americans seem to have the idea that they can walk right in and everyone will accept them just because they're American."
"That's not all," Tenjouin's assistant said. "He wants to register as a transfer student to Duel Academia."
"Now that is just ridiculous," Tenjouin replied. "If he wanted to come to this school, he could have taken the exam like e..."
A beep resounded in the room. "Tenjouin-san, we're being contacted by the Chancellor."
Tenjouin sighed. 'The timing couldn't be worse,' she thought to herself. "Put it on audio."
The voice of Kiyotaki came over the intercom. "I've heard about the American boy wanting to challenge the Blitzkrieg Queen."
"Yes, we were just discussing it now," Tenjouin said.
"I'd hate to send the boy home empty-handed," the Chancellor replied.
"You cannot actually be considering acce..."
And for the second time this meeting, Tenjouin was interrupted, this time by the doors to the room being thrown open. Naomi Aino and Shiho Katsuki, Toragami's closest friends, barged into the room.
Tenjouin got up out of her chair, her tolerance reaching her limit. "Excuse me! This is a closed faculty meeting!" she shouted.
"Well, this is an emergency!" Katsuki shouted. "We heard about the American boy, and wanted to make sure you didn't make a mistake!"
Abe blinked and pushed his glasses up. "How did you even know about this meeting, anyway?"
"Being friends of Toragami-sama has its privileges," Aino said.
"I don't take kindly to the cheek of a foreigner thinking he can set the terms of his presence," Katsuki went on. "Tenjouin-sensei... let me duel him. I'll put him in his place in front of the entire school."
"Katsuki-chan!" Aino shouted. "You never told me about this."
"Because you would try to stop me," Katsuki replied.
"Hmmm..." the Chancellor, having heard the discussion, was deep in thought. "It's interesting. It should raise some publicity to have an exhibition duel between an American and one of our students."
Tenjouin's eyes widened. 'I had a feeling something like this would happen,' she thought to herself. 'Kiyotaki-kouchou, what could possibly be on your mind?'
"I'll have one of my assistants talk to the American and set the time," he went on. "In the meantime, let's try to keep this from the student body. It would cause too much of a disruption. I'll adjourn this meeting for now."
--
Shougo and Chiba were walking around campus and noticed there was a lot of commotion. Students were talking to each other about some duelist that had appeared on the island.
"Did you hear? A duelist from America..."
"...I hear Americans all play with banned cards..."
"...a Duel University in America? Meaningless!"
Shougo nudged his friend. "Are you hearing what they're saying?"
"Yes, Shougo-kun," Chiba said. "Maybe I should fill you in."
"Fill me in?"
Chiba paused and put his belongings on the ground, then adjusted his glasses and raised his finger in the air, as if giving a lecture.
"Japan isn't the only place where Duel Monsters is popular," he said. "It's played in many other countries, including the United States. But American duelists have been decidely defeated every time they come to Japan. Many say it's because of their gameplay styles - they have very uniform strategies."
"Uniform strategies?" Shougo was somewhat confused.
"In other words, they all play the same. Americans tend to focus on the Emperor cards."
Shougo felt more and more out of the loop. He tended to focus on his own deck, and never worried too much about any other cards unless he was dueling against them.
"Thunder Emperor Zaborg, Ice Emperor Mobius, Fire Emperor Thestalos, Earth Emperor Granmarg, Wind Emperor Riser and Wicked Emperor Gaius," Chiba said. "These monsters all have the power to remove cards when they are summoned with a sacrifice. As such, American duelists have focused on getting these cards out quickly."
"They seem powerful, then," Shougo said.
"Well, Japanese duelists used them for awhile, then ceased to. They saw them as too easy to use. Besides, even without using Emperors, Japanese duelists still have decisively beat Americans in every international tournament."
Shougo put his hand to his chin, thinking. "Are Emperors really banned?"
"Not banned, but duelists tend to shun you if you use them. So they're often referred to as 'banned' even though they're not actually restricted. Very few cards have actually been deemed too powerful to use in tournaments."
"Hmm... I wonder who this American person is."
"I wonder too!"
A voice speaking in somewhat halting Japanese broke Chiba's and Shougo's conversation. He was tall, wearing sunglasses and his skin was light and he wasn't wearing a Duel Academia uniform. 'Could this be him?' Shougo thought.
Chiba just stood there a moment looking him over.
"Konnichi wa," the stranger said. "Ore no namae wa Mark Walker. Eigo ga hanashimasu ka?"
"Hello, Mr. Walker," Chiba said, speaking in decent English. "I speak a little English. Not well, though."
Shougo looked down - he didn't understand English at all.
"My name is Katsurou Chiba, and this is Shougo Aoyama. I don't think he speaks English."
"Oh, gomen," Mark said, reverting to his stilted Japanese. "Excuse my rudeness. I don't want to leave you out, Shougo-san. My Japanese is not very good."
"It's okay," Shougo said. Definite American accent, but it wasn't horrible.
"Let's go somewhere less obvious," Mark said. "Lead the way."
Chiba nodded. "Come on, Shougo-kun," he said.
--
The "less obvious" place? Outside the Osiris Red lavatories.
"Are you sure this is a good place?" Mark said uneasily.
"Trust me, nobody comes here unless they absolutely have to," Chiba said.
Mark rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "The thing is, I'm here from the American Duel University. They sent me as a representative, and hopefully as a transfer student. But they screwed up with the timing... I ended up here just after registration."
"Oh, I see," Shougo said.
"That's not all, though. I also hope to duel that famous person... the one they say is unbeatable?"
Shougo got nervous.
"You mean Toragami Hinata," Chiba said.
"Yes, that's her."
"You should be very careful," Chiba replied. "It goes without saying, but she's a formidable opponent. I've seen her duel."
"I don't really care about reputations," Mark said and winked. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm the best duelist on this island!"
Chiba and Shougo looked at each other.
"You talk like you've never lost before," Shougo said.
"I've lost my fair share. But that doesn't matter. As long as I pick myself up and try again, that's all that matters."
A female voice chimed up from behind them. "That is fine talk coming from an American loser like you!"
Katsuki and Aino had appeared there as well.
"We were looking for you," Aino said.
"Who are these chicks?" Mark asked Chiba in English.
Chiba frowned a bit. "Friends of Toragami-san," he replied in Japanese. "Shiho Katsuki and Naomi Aino."
Mark nodded and turned towards them. "I heard the Japanese were very respectful," he said. "But like all the rumors about Americans, those seem to not be true either."
"You're not going to win many friends with that attitude," Aino said.
"I don't need to win friends. I just need to win duels."
Chiba and Shougo were shocked at Mark's attitude.
Katsuki scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I don't know how they do things in Hollywood, gaijin-san," she said, "but you have to back up your words here. In case you haven't heard, I'm going to be your opponent tonight."
"You?! I'm sorry, but I want to fight Toragami." Mark said dismissively.
"You're a thousand years too early to even set foot in the same country as Toragami-sama," she said. "This is the deal the teachers are offering you. If you can defeat me, you can enroll in this school. But if you lose, you have to leave and never show your face here again."
"Fair deal... you're on." Mark said in English. "Oh, and... I'm not from Hollywood. I'm from Omaha."
"Whatever," Katsuki said. "Come on, Naomi-chan, let's go."
"One minute. I have a few things I want to tell this boy. You go and get ready."
Katsuki just nodded and left.
Aino glared at Mark and they had an exchange in English which neither Shougo nor Chiba could understand. Mark nodded a few times and then sighed deeply.
He turned to the Osiris students. "You two have been friendly with me and I appreciate it," he said in Japanese. "Aino-san, also, has been forgiving. But if I have to fight this Katsuki person to get to my goal, then I'm going to just have to do my best."
"It's okay, Walker-san," Chiba said. "I actually hope to see a good duel. I've never seen an American duel before."
"Yeah, me too," Shougo stammered, and hurriedly added. "And I hope you win."
Aino, contrary to the two Osiris' students expectations, smiled. "Toragami-sama is away from the island handling zaibatsu issues," she said. "Please come to the convention hall and watch Katsuki-chan?"
Chiba looked at Shougo, who just nodded. He gave a certain amount of trust to Aino for being at least somewhat kind.
"I have to go and get ready," Mark said. "It's good that I at least met a few nice people on the island."
"I need to go too," Aino added. "Mr. Walker, be careful. Katsuki-chan's deck is deceptive. If you're not careful, you may lose."
"I've come across a lot of surprises before. Don't worry about me."
The two of them went their separate ways.
"Aino Naomi... she's a strange person, I think," Chiba thought aloud.
Shougo rubbed the back of his head. He thought she was nice...
--
The conference room was gathered with a collection of students for the evening's event. Shougo and Chiba entered, and spotted Aino sitting in an area off on her own, waving them towards her.
"I'm glad you came, Chiba-san, Aoyama-san," Aino said.
"I was wondering why you want us with you," Chiba said, taking a seat. "You know we can't cheer for your friend, don't you?"
"I'm here to support Katsuki-chan, of course. But I'm concerned. She suggested this duel without talking to me about it first. And Katsuki-chan tends to get a bit... cocky."
"Well, everyone here seems to be excited," Shougo said, observing the crowd.
"People aren't actually expecting much out of this duel," Aino said. "You must have heard of the reputation that American duelists have."
"That's... that's kind of why I want Walker-san to win," Shougo said. "They say the same things about me."
Aino sighed and crossed her arms, looking out at the duel arena. "Aoyama-kun," she said. "It's true that I'm Toragami-sama's friend, but you should know that I don't approve of the way she treated you when you met."
Shougo looked down at his hands.
"If that's true, why didn't you stop her?" Chiba asked. "You could see she was being cruel."
Aino sighed and wrung her hands together. "Let's just say my family owes hers a debt and leave it at that," she said.
One of Asuka Tenjouin's assistants was standing in the middle of the duel arena serving as introduction. He had a loud and carrying voice. "Let us begin the first exhibition duel of the year," he said. "We have American duelist Mark Walker battling against our own Obelisk Blue student, Shiho Katsuki. He's dueling for his right to enter our school.
"Entering now is the challenger, Mark Walker!"
Cheers mixed with boos filled the room when Mark Walker ran in, waving to everyone. He seemed to relish his apparent controversy.
"And his opponent," the assistant said. "Shiho Katsuki!"
Katsuki stood on the arena, appearing very calm and composed as she brushed her hair back and loaded her duel disk.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Mark said as he strolled on the arena, raising and activating his duel disk.
"Whatever you want, 'makku-inu'," Katsuki snickered, raising her own.
"Duel!" they shouted in unison.
"I know you'd say 'ladies first'," Katsuki said, saying 'ladies first' in English. "But as your host, I insist you take the first move."
"I wasn't planning on giving it to you anyway," Mark said. "My turn. I draw! And now I'll summon Mother Grizzly in defense mode."
A blue-grey bear appeared on the field and covered its body with its paws as it curled up.
"Next, I activate from my hand... Foolish Burial!" he said, stumbling a bit on the phrasing. "I'll take a monster from my deck and put it in the cemetery."
He fanned his deck out and showed Katsuki the card he chose - the "Hades Frog".
"I'll send Treeborn Frog to the graveyard, and that's all!"
Katsuki swung her hair back and grinned evilly. "Play is play, but now I'll show you what a real duelist can do, loser. I summon to the field... Allure Queen, Level 3, in attack mode."
A young woman in Victorian dress with flames shooting out of her black-gloved fingertips appeared on the field. Her hair was brown and short cut, and she held a golden staff with a ruby on its tip.
"Allure Queen?" Mark couldn't help but scoff. "Those cards are terrible! You can't even level her up without attaching one of my monsters to yours, and what's more - you can't absorb a monster below level 4, so my Grizzly is safe."
Katsuki chuckled exaggeratedly. "I wonder about that..."
"What?"
"I play the field spell card... 'Court of the Allure Queen'!"
The duel arena shot off an image of a royal courtroom, complete with attendants, who surrounded the Allure Queen.
Aino observed this and clicked her tongue. "Who would have guessed that Katsuki-chan would get that card so early?"
"'Court of the Allure Queen'..." Chiba said.
"I've never heard of that card," Shougo added.
"It was a card that Katsuki's family had specially made for her," Aino explained. "It's a one-of-a-kind card with a few abilities, the most important of which we'll see right now."
"Let's get ready for the royal ceremony," Katsuki said. "I activate Court of the Allure Queen's effect. By removing from play one 'Allure Queen' card on my field, I can activate her effect to summon one of a higher level. Go... Allure Queen Level 5!"
The attendants surrounded the young queen, with much bustle and tussle. When they backed away, the Allure Queen had grown quite a bit, appearing taller, with a smaller red hat and a ribbon swirling behind her back.
"This is bad," Mark said. "Real bad."
"Yes, it is, loser," Katsuki laughed. "My field spell lets me use my Allure Queen's leveling up effects without having to have a monster equipped first. But now that level five is out, we don't have to worry about that, will we? Allure Queen! Bring that bear to our side of the court."
The Allure Queen blew a breath of magical fire towards Mark's Grizzly Mother. The fire didn't burn, but caused the bear to seem to fall asleep. Its hologram shimmered and faded, and then appeared on Katsuki's side of the field, standing behind the Allure Queen.
"It seems the Queen has a new pet," Katsuki said. "And it will remain hers... another nice effect of Court of the Allure Queen. You see, your Mother Grizzly belongs to me now... for the remainder of the Duel!"
Mark grit his teeth. "I never would have imagined that the Japanese used such low down and dirty tricks. A card no one's seen before? How is that fair?"
"It keeps the game interesting, loser," Katsuki retorted. "A lot better than Emperor after Emperor like in the United States."
"I just don't understand why you reject viable strategies just because they're used often," Mark mused. "Doesn't that mean they're good?"
"Don't preach to me, loser dog," Katsuki shouted. "You should be barking at my heel! And now I'll force you to do so. Grizzly Mother, lend Allure Queen your power!"
The Queen raised her hands in the air and flames shot from Mark's monster card into her arms, powering her attack level up to 2400.
"Allure Queen! Direct attack!"
Next, Katsuki's monster shot the flames in her hands into Mark's body. He shouted as the realistic hologram's effect overwhelmed his senses, and his life points dropped to 1600.
"I'll set one card face down," Katsuki went on. "Turn end. You know, it would be easier to just surrender now and save face."
"This is not good," Chiba said. "That field spell card makes Allure Queen a powerhouse, and even if Walker-san gets out a strong monster, it will just be absorbed!"
Aino nodded. "One thing's for sure. Katsuki-chan is in control of the duel right now."
Shougo just whimpered and watched. 'Go, Walker-san... you can do it!'
--
TODAY'S FEATURED CARD: The Field Magic Card, "Court of the Allure Queen"
When this card is active and you have an "Allure Queen" card, you can level her up simply by removing the card from play. Also, "Allure Queen" will gain the power of the cards she equips, and those cards are considered to belong to you! Your opponent won't be able to activate any other field magic cards, either.
NEXT CHAPTER: "Awaken! The Ocean Dragon Lord, Neo-Daedalus"
==
SUPPLEMENTAL SECTION
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CARDS USED BY MARK WALKER:
* GRIZZLY MOTHER (Mother Grizzly)
Effect Monster (L4 Water Beast, 1400/1000)
When this card is destroyed and sent to the cemetery as a result of battle, you may Special Summon 1 Water-attribute monster with 1500 ATK or less from your Deck in Attack Position.
* FOOLISH BURIAL
Normal Magic
Select 1 Monster card from your deck and send it to your cemetery.
* HADES FROG (Treeborn Frog)
Effect Monster (L1 Water Aqua, 100/100)
If this card is in your cemetery during your Standby Phase and your Magic/Trap Card Zone is clear, you may Special Summon it. This effect is negated if you control a "Hades Frog".
--
CARDS USED BY SHIHO KATSUKI:
* ALLURE QUEEN LV3
Effect Monster (L3 Dark Spellcaster, 500/500)
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you may select 1 Level 3 or lower monster on your opponent's side of the field and equip it to this card. (Only 1 card at a time may be equipped usin this effect.) If this card would be destroyed by battle, destroy the equipped monster instead. During your Standby Phase, if this card is equipped by its effect, send it to the cemetery to Special Summon 1 "Allure Queen LV5" from your hand or Deck.
* COURT OF THE ALLURE QUEEN
Field Magic
Monster Cards equipped to "Allure Queen" cards are considered owned by the "Allure Queen"'s owner for the remainder of the Duel. When you control a face-up "Allure Queen", you gain the following effects:
* You may remove from play an "Allure Queen" Monster you control to activate its effect to Special Summon a card written on its text.
* "Allure Queen" Monsters gain ATK equal to the original ATK of any Monster Card equipped to it.
* No other Field Magic cards may be activated.
* ALLURE QUEEN LV5
Effect Monster (L5 Dark Spellcaster, 1000/1000)
Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Allure Queen LV3", you may select 1 Level 5 or lower monster on your opponent's side of the field and equip it to this card. (Only 1 card at a time may be equipped usin this effect.) If this card would be destroyed by battle, destroy the equipped monster instead. During your Standby Phase, if this card is equipped by its effect, send it to the cemetery to Special Summon 1 "Allure Queen LV7" from your hand or Deck.
