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CARD GAMES

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When Achan excused himself, Tacey had half a mind to stop him cold and scold him with a reminder of what happened the last time someone broke ranks with the group, but with Haruko's impudent remark fresh in mind, she found herself holding her tongue. The sweater-clad girl seemed amused, though whether it was at this or Judai's words, she couldn't tell.

"What's so funny?" the millionaire heiress asked tartly, "If you know which world it is so we can get that idiot back then hurry up and tell us!"

"None of them." Haruko chirped in response, shaking her head with a bemused smile on her face, "Make-Make-kun is in noplace right now."

"Excuse me?" Tacey's temper flared once more at the obvious entertainment the obnoxious little girl was deriving from the situation, "No place? What kind of nonsense are you spouting now? You just said there was a way to bring him back, how can you then say that he's nowhere-"

"Not 'nowhere', Neko-Neko-chan." the sweater-clad girl corrected in the patient tone of a teacher trying to explain something to a very dense child, shaking her head, "I said he is in noplace, the place between places."

"That makes no sense!" Tacey persisted.

"Easy, easy, Neko-Neko-chan." the other replied, chuckling and holding her hands up in mock-defense, "Haruharu will explain it all for you, see?" she picked up a stick from the ground, drawing out a rough circle on the ground and sketching in a collection of stick figures inside it, "This is Neko-Neko-chan's, and Kumo-Kumo-chan's, and Dai-Dai-kun's, and Bibi-chan's and everyone's world, see? And this-" she drew out a second circle a short distance away from the first, "Is another world. There are lots and lots of them." she demonstratively drew out multiple other circles in the ground, "Now, people like Dai-Dai-kun and spirits can open paths from one place to the other, like this." she drew a line from one of the circles to the other, "They make it with two ends, so when you go in through one end you come out through the other." she drew an arrow from one of the stick figures and extended it to the nearest circle, drawing out the same stick figure striking a triumphant pose, "But, Shadow Duelists are silly and don't know how to make one properly. All they can do is open one end, so when someone like Make-Make-kun is sent through..."

She performed a quick slashing motion with the stick, crossing out the mid-section of the line connecting the two circles, "He gets stuck in the middle, see?" at this point, a decidedly sour-looking stick figure was drawn, hand reached to rub its head, as if it had collided with the previous drawn line, "And then, because they're meanies, the shadow duelists shut their portal." she drew another line on the other side of the stick figure, "So now, Make-Make-kun can't get through and can't go back, see? He's not in this place," she poked the first circle demonstratively before turning the stick to the other circles in turn, "Or this one, or this one, or this one or any one of them, therefore..." she smiled triumphantly, lowering her stick, "He is in noplace, see?"

"Okay, okay." Tacey shut her eyes for a moment, rubbing her temples, this conversation was heading into precisely the kind of metaphysical debate she had already had too much of for one lifetime, "So Arma is in noplace. Why can't Judai just use his...haou thing to bring him back?"

"Because it's noplace, silly Neko-Neko-chan." Haruko replied, once again sounding like she thought this self-evident, "Portal ends have to be placed someplace. The only way to get to noplace is a faulty portal."

"So you're saying..." Tacey began slowly, struggling to control her temper, "...the only way to get to Arma is for one of us to get stuck there."

"Of course not, silly Neko-Neko-chan." Haruko replied, "Haruharu said she had a way to bring Make-Make-kun back, didn't she? Look, look. What Haruharu is suggesting is this," she raised the stick again, drawing out a new line next to the first and halting it in the middle once again, placing the cut-off spot at the same place as the first time, "We make a portal right next to where Make-Make-kun's was, then we just stop it at the middle, and then-" she drew out a second stick-figure reaching out towards the first, ",someone goes in and catches Make-Make-kun and because we keep the portal open, they can both come back that way. See?" she drew out the stick figures once more in the first circle, now gathered and happy-looking, "Then, we just close the portal and everything is okay again." she beamed at them like the sun itself, "Isn't Haruharu clever?"

"So let's just do that, then." Tacey replied, her impatience now quite clearly showing, "Judai, I demand that you do whatever hocus pocus it is that will make that happen and-"

"Heyhey, eeeasy Neko-Neko-chan!" Haruko interrupted, shaking her head, "Dai-Dai-kun can't do that."

"But he said-"

"Dai-Dai-kun can only make normal portals." the sweater-clad girl replied, "He's not a shadow duelist, silly Neko-Neko-chan."

"Then you-"

"How many times must little Haruharu say this?" the younger girl shook her head, "Little Haruharu is not a shadow duelist. She can see the worlds behind worlds, but not go there."

"So what do we do then?" Tacey demanded.

"We play!" Haruko chirped merrily , earning a nasty look from the older girl to which she responded with a sly smile, "Think about it, Neko-Neko-chan. Shadow duelists are after both you and Kumo-Kumo-chan, aren't they? All you've got to do is wait until we find a nice one, ne? Besides, all work and no play make Neko-Neko-chan a dull Neko-Neko-chan. Now, enough talk!" she clapped her hands in decisive end to the discussion, "Haruharu will answer no more questions until she sees a card game!"
 
Despite her presence being unwelcome at best, Kuso was still amused that the new girl had come up with the same observation regarding Tacey & Achan that he had. Considering how the couple reacted, he was probably lucky that whatever chuckle managed to slip out wasn't caught by the others before the girl decided to go after him, too.

"B--Bibi-Bibi-chan?!??" He almost choked as he spat out the new nickname he had just been given, not even remotely similar to his real name. This girl apparently took great delight in coming up with the strangest names for everybody she runs into, whether they want the name or not. "You've got to be kidding..." It wasn't like this was the first time somebody had messed up his name, being as unusual as it was, but she was actually smiling at the name she had come up with.

At least her explanation as to Michel's whereabouts made sense with what Kuso already knew about, and Judai's further explanation only helped matters, although the Haou part was completely new. It was surprising that Judai was so important yet Kuso had known little about him before that day, but on the other hand, most of the research Kuso had done had focused on Yugi. Still, being able to travel to other worlds populated by Duel Spirits was an interesting idea, especially having been partnered up with one for so long. "...Hey, Cyber, did he ever visit your world?"

"NO, I WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT HIM FROM THE BEGINNING IF HE HAD DONE SO. MY WORLD MUST BE ONE OF THE WORLDS HE HAS YET TO VISIT. FOR THAT SAME REASON, I DOUBT THAT MY WORLD IS THE ONE THAT..."

The discussion trailed off as the new girl decided to share that Michel was actually stuck between worlds, not on one of them, and followed up with one of the most ridiculous ideas that Kuso had heard to date. If Michel was really just lost in this darkness, and this insane little girl could see exactly where he was, then they should have been able to just form a portal around him leading to whatever world was across that part of the void and pick him up along the way. But, no, she wanted to propose a solution that involved being forced to actually track down a Shadow Duelist and trust that they wouldn't all just be left stuck with Michel. Of course, the tracking down part Kuso had no real complaints about, but actually putting their fate in a Shadow Duelist's hands willingly? It was either a trap or this girl was as air-headed as she was hyper, and judging by how she was able to come up with a plan like that, air was definitely not the only thing inside that skull of hers.

"Are you serious? You suggest that we have to go ask one of the people hunting us down for help, and expect us to actually do so!? That's about as likely to happen as...as..." Thankfully, Kuso was saved from having to think of something fittingly improbable by his PDA signaling the arrival of a new message, Kuso pulling it out and checking the e-mail by reflex. "Great, maybe I've finally gotten my hi-er...what?"

A single spirit,
Left in the forest,
Betrayed by your surroundings.

That's who you are!


When you think you have figured out your character, send the words in e-mail to this address. If you are correct, we will send you another clue telling you the number of the next team you'll be facing as well as a hint at which member carries the character from your story.

Best Regards,

The Tournament Staff

Kuso stared at the clue on his PDA screen, repeatedly looking over it in the hopes that he had missed something the first time. "That...that's it?" Satisfied after reading the words twenty times over that he hadn't skipped over anything after all, he slipped the PDA back into his pocket in disappointment. "That didn't help at all. How am I supposed to tell which character I am from a hint like that?"
 
Achan nodded as Aku finished explaining the method required to bring back Michel... and then shook his head. "No... still don't get it. So, what, why can't Judai-sensei just learn to make a portal that goes halfway on his own? I mean, what the hell is that whole Haou thing good for if he can't do a thing with it?"

Hey, I don't get it all the way either. I was stuck in a giant piece of rock for about five thousand years, give or take, and the rest of the time I've been with either you or Kaito. And Kaito didn't exactly tell me what his plans were. I mean, I was only with him for a little while before we.... er... split ways, Aku replied. By the way, Achan... I've been meaning to ask you something. Why do you keep calling that guy "sensei"? You aren't Japanese, and...

Achan smiled, remembering something. "I call Judai 'sensei' because it's one of the only words in Japanese I know. Heaven knows why, but the only language I speak is English. I'm not sure who I learned it from or how, but either way I don't know anything else. But Judai taught me a few honorifics, and I use them on occasion. Anyway, the real reason I call Judai that is because he taught me how to play duel monsters. Everything I know about how the game works, I learned from him."

Aku whistled. So, seeing as Judai is basically the Supreme King of the game... that should mean he taught you some pretty nice moves, right?

Achan rolled his eyes, remembering. "Well, actually...."

"Judai."

The brown-haired duelist turned to stare at Achan. "Oh, Achan-kun. What's up?"

"Er... Judai.... can you teach me to play duel monsters?"

Judai thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure, I can do it. But you'll have to call me 'sensei', okay?"

Achan nodded. "Er... sure, Judai- I mean, Judai-sensei."

"Right, well then..."

----------------------------​

"Remember, Achan-kun, duel monsters isn't just about powerful monsters or effects! It's about trusting in your deck, and your friends and-"

"Judai-sensei?" Achan interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could actually teach me how to summon?"

"The whole thing was like that," Achan explained.

Aku winced. Ouch. Painful. he conceded.

"Well, when Judai actually got around to teaching me how to summon it was nice, but-"

"Excuse me, sir?"

Achan jumped back in alarm as someone's hand tapped his shoulder. "Wha- WHAT?"

"Sir," the girl continued, "I think it's probably a good time to explain that you've been talking to yourself for a good fifteen minutes."

Achan turned to look at her. The girl was about his own age, maybe a bit younger, but certainly no older than him. Her bright red hair was bobbed up in a ponytail, and her face practically screamed "utter confusion". It was understandable- after all, she had just seen him talking to thin air for fifteen minutes and spilling his life's story. Achan gulped. He hadn't realized anyone was listening in. "How.... how much did you hear?" he asked sheepishly.

"Er... only a little. But people have been staring at you for a while now," the girl admitted. "Perhaps now would be a good time to go?"

Achan frowned a moment, then nodded. "Right. Just let me finish checking out..."

------------------------------------​

Achan stepped out of the clothes store, nodding. "Right. Well, this'll do me for now." Kaito's old clothes had been discarded. In their place, Achan now wore a pair of denim blue jeans, the availability of which he thanked Americanization for. His upper body was now adorned with a choice of clothing that seemed... well, a tad impractical in the middle of summer. The red hoodie was indeed flashy, as were the flame-like markings on the sleeves, but it really didn't seem at all a smart choice.

Aku floated down from the sky to voice as much. Hey, Achan, yo. What's with the shirt?"

Achan grinned as he whipped out his PDA, posting a single message ahead. "Well, I thought it was appropriate considering that since this round I'm taking the part of..."

Red Riding Hood

It didn't take long for the PDA to beep. Achan opened the new message.

To: Achan Smith
From: Tournament Staff
Subject: Congratulations!

That's right! You are Red Riding Hood. The information on your fellow characters is as follows...

Achan didn't bother to look at the new information, instead opting to grin and place the PDA in the large pouch of his hoodie. "Heh, got it in one. If the other clues are this easy, all that's really left is to test out my new..." he reached for his deck box and popped it open.... and froze. "Oh, SCHEISS!"

------------------​

"GUYS! GUYS!"

Achan ran up to his group, panting heavily. His face was red, probably a side effect from running the entire way in a red hoodie. He breathed heavily as he gasped out "Somebody stole my new deck!"

------------------------------​

Meanwhile, a certain red-haired girl smiled as she closed her cell phone. Her mission had gone exactly as planned- it hadn't been too hard for her to grab that idiot's cards. She smiled as she ruffled through the deck, searching for the one card she was after...

And gritted her teeth, disgusted. The idiot hadn't added his duel spirit to his deck! Or perhaps... had he been suspicious from the beginning?

It was no matter. One way or the other, she would find him.

Amelia Rouge, nicknamed "The Deadliest Thorn", set off. Her goal?

The capture of the legendary spirit, currently known as Akuma Kuriboh.
 
When Achan made his flustered re-entry, Tacey spent the first few moments simply staring in shock, a single message written all across her face in big, bold, capital letters:

"Just what..." the rich girl began, index finger pointed in incomprehension at the latest fashion atrocity the redhead had seen fit to wrap himself in, her mouth struggling to find the words that would fully express her indignation, "...what on Earth were you thinking?!"

She made a threatening advance towards her teammate, hand still raised, but seemed to manage - through considerable personal effort - to bite down her anger enough not to physically abuse the boy this time, angrily snatching his wrist instead, "I really can't let you out of my sight for a second, can I? Well, don't just stand there," she snapped at both her victim and the rest of the group, "We're going right back to whatever two-bit discount shop you bought that from and tracking whoever did this down! And then, the moment we find that deck again, you're getting a refund. Now come on!"

Not accepting any argument on her judgment, the rich girl then proceeded to yank her captive escort down the same path she had seen him coming from, her manner making it quite clear that objections would not be tolerated in this instance.

Haruko, meanwhile, burst into a fresh gigglefit at the sight, "Kawaii!" she squealed, her pronounciation discordant enough to make any self-respecting student of Japanese weep, "Ne, ne, don't just stand there, Bibi-Bibi-chan!" she chided, snatching Kuso's wrist in astoundingly accurate mimicry of the rich girl's manner and yanking it before setting off after the duo with equal enthusiasm, "We're going too-o-o!"
 
"Ho?" having just memorised the names of Team Seven's collective, a second signal alerted the revived girl's scattered attention, "So now it's Haruko?"

The new member alert then led to her next train of thought, something that was bound to come up considering her circumstances; the matter of who she replaced. There was no other information on her inclusion from Pegasus' note or on her newly acquired PDA, so all she could rely on was meeting up with her new teammates and asking them exactly who that was. So as it stood, the team count included Judai, Kuso, Achan, Tacey and now Haruko, her own name cutting the bottom of the screened list.

"Well, I better start searching then." she decided, looking around to see if she could spot her fellow card players, having just memorised their names and faces, "Heh. I guess this Achan guy would be the easiest to look for. I mean, red starfish hair shouldn't be too hard to find, right?"

Asking no one in particular, she set off without an answer but not before almost immediately bumping into a wandering passerby, to which she soon learned to be another duellist and one itching to pick a fight. Staggering back into her one man accompaniment, who paused in step to witness his teammate's abrupt confrontation, the girl regained her composure, flicking away a stray hair from her face and stared back through narrowed eyes, "Watch where you're walking, pipsqueak!"

Staggering back, the new recruit apologised with a swift bow and a flushed expression. "E-excuse me!"

"Watch out next time." the stranger scoffed, her lone teammate giving Chelsea a rather friendly farewell, more so than his apparent leader cared for.

"Later girlie."

Unsure why such a person could become so suddenly irritated by another, the braided brunette simply waved goodbye before consulting her PDA once again, having just been alerted by another incoming notice.

'Welcome to the tale of Sleeping Beauty. Your clue entails...

Twelfth magic tasked;
Thorn encompassed path of timeless enchantment;
Dispel.

...as is your role this round. Once you discover your folk identity, relay your answer to the provided address. If your answer proves true, your next clue will identify the closest team to your current location at the time, including a duellist of corresponding folk lore origin.

Regards, Tournament Staff.'

"Hey Lucy, check it out..." chirped the flirtatious male from over Chelsea's shoulder, bearing an endearing smile and very much to her own surprise, "The chicha's a duellist."

A squeak of curiosity pursed through the strange girl's lips as she glanced back, eyeing the truth of her comrade's words, "What? Really?"

"Uh, uh..." Chelsea stammered in bewilderment, glancing between the boy inappropriately hunched over her shoulder and his partner, "I...think so?"

Clapping her hands, the second female beamed as she removed her collared leather cape, revealing a duel disk of her own, not to mention a rather fanciful and scantily clad cowgirl attire; leather boots, tassel jacket and chequered top included, "How perfect. This little mouse is more interesting than I thought."

"Seems so." her partner added, sliding off the brunette's shoulder before rejoining his teammate's side, "I so wish you'd let me have this one though. She looks...tasty."

Tipping her white-laced and pink cowboy hat, the girl simply cast her excess clothes and accessories aside into her inappropriately themed partner's hands, "You know how I feel about you going after other girls. Let's see how you like her after I'm done."

"Oho." placing a delicate finger onto his rounded shades to adjust them into the groove of his nose, the male stranger took a relaxed seat on the grassy embankment, his previous smile softening into a rather serious series of 'O's and 'A's, "Don't be jealous. Just be careful. You heard the stories; there are some real weirdos out there, roughing up duellists. You never know...she might be one of them."

"As if." the cowgirl scoffed, readying her deck, "You just better be sure that her role's in Sleeping Beauty."

Cupping his hands together to rest his head as he laid further back, the boy's casual smile returned, "I'm sure."

"Alright then! Let's round up this vermin."

Quite overwhelmed by how fast everything had just transpired, the braided brunette could only watch on in quiet bewilderment. It appeared she was about to duel for the very first time since...well, for as long as she could remember, and it didn't seem she had much choice in the matter either. She just hoped that the outcome of the duel didn't inconvenience her teammates in any way, and the fact that she had no idea what she was about to get into.
 
All in all, Achan decided, Tacey's reaction could have been worse. To be honest, in retrospect, all he'd really been thinking was "God, I really wish I didn't have to wear Kaito's clothes everywhere I go." For once, he really couldn't find anything to fault the heiress with in her reaction, and on a subliminal level he agreed that buying the sweatshirt was probably a stupid move. However, rather than saying all of this and wasting valuable time and energy Achan chose to simply lay back and allow Tacey to drag him along for the ride, as it were.

Meanwhile, however, a certain redhead kept her eyes on Achan from a distance. She had meant to corner the red-hooded duelist alone and "return" his deck before snatching the card spirit and leaving him behind, but that Edgeworth girl would make things difficult. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, her long, painted nails on the point of drawing blood. Why did everything have to be so difficult for her? She had accepted this job because she figured it would be easy- just charm the guy, grab the card, report back. If all had gone as planned, she wouldn't even have to duel him. Amelia didn't like dueling if she didn't have to. The game wasn't so much a game for her as it was a job. You did it for money, you took the cash, you went home and spent it. When the cash ran out, you dueled again. True, the game might have been fun for her for a while, but since she had met with her latest sponsor and he had provided her with her current cards she hadn't found anyone capable of giving her an actual match. Since then, Amelia had avoided dueling to accomplish little odd jobs like this if she could help it. Besides, duels with something this valuable on the line usually had some sort of icky consequences involved. Amelia didn't particularly care about what happened to her opponents, but the idea of putting her life on the line wasn't a particularly welcoming one.

Now. He was coming closer. She had to separate him from the Edgeworth girl for a moment- just a moment would be sufficient. Then she could sucker him into showing her the card and steal it right out from under his nose. Without a moment's hesitation, she threw her plan into action.

As Achan and Tacey moved forward, a strange girl whose most distinctive attribute besides her dress- lime-green, sleeveless, and hardly proper attire for tramping about the countryside in- bumped straight into the duo. This caused two things to happen. First, Achan fell to the ground, bumping his head painfully. Second, he accidentally let go of Tacey's hand. To make matters worse, Achan painfully concluded as he fell that he had acquired the curse that seemed to plague the heroes of so many anime- namely, that if a girl was falling in their general vicinity there was only one place for her to fall, i.e. right on top of him. Achan was less concerned with the awkwardness of the situation- for once, it wasn't his fault- than he was with the fact that the girl was definitely heavier than she looked. "Ow..." he moaned.

Amelia's eyes glimmered. Phase one of her brilliant plan was already complete. All she had to do now was act shy and vulnerable. "I'm so sorry! Excuse me," she practically cooed as she pulled herself to her feet while doing her level best to appear genuinely embarassed. She was actually a fairly good actor- her cheeks actually did have a slight flush to them. She took the oppurtunity to take a good look at Achan, and pretended to have a revelation. "Oh! You're that boy from the clothes store! Well, fancy meeting you here!"

Achan groaned. "Clothes... store?" He re-focused his eyes on her. "Oh, yeah. I remember you." His eyes narrowed. "Hey, while I was there I think someone made off with my deck. Did you happen to-"

"Here it is!" Amelia answered a little too quickly, practically shoving the cards into Achan's hands. Then, realizing her mistake, she coughed and added "I, um, found it laying on the ground."

Achan blinked. "Um... seriously? How did it fall out of the deck box?" He glanced meaningfully at the duel spirit now hovering over his shoulder.

Beats me, Aku answered. I wasn't paying attention either.

"Er... well.... either way, sorry for bumping into you like that," Amelia replied, apparently ignoring Achan's question. "To make it up to you, why don't we all have lunch- my treat?"

Achan glanced at her sideways. "You really don't have to do that," he replied.

Amelia's eyes narrowed. Was he suspicious? "No, really, it's no trouble!" she laughed. "After all, I was the one who-"

"Maybe I should have said it differently: You aren't going to do that," Achan replied, pulling himself to his feet as he shuffled his deck and inserted it into his duel disk. "As a matter of fact, you're going to duel me right now."

"Eh?" Amelia's face drained of color. "Did you say... duel? What are you talking about?"

Achan smirked. "Don't play innocent with me. You took my deck earlier, didn't you? And not only that, you approached us with the intention of taking my most valuable card." He laughed at the look of shock on Amelia's face. "Surprised? Yeah, maybe I might have fallen for your 'I'm so cute and innocent act'... if I hadn't glanced at the e-mail on my PDA while we were moving. Check this clue for the duelist playing the part of the 'wolf'." Achan held up the screen to display the lines of text.

Fangs of terror hide within innocence,
The most beautiful flowers have the sharpest thorns
This is one gift horse you should probably look in the mouth.

The red-headed professional cursed. "So, you found out then," she replied. Then a small smile. "Or maybe you only know part of it..." She snapped her fingers. A sudden ring of purple flames shot up from the ground, encircling the members of team seven along with herself. She snapped again, and the barrier rose to the height of a small building. "So, did you expect this?" she taunted.

Achan gritted his teeth. "A shadow duelist? And here I just thought you were a tournament compeititor trying to scope out the strategy of one of your opponents," He mused. "I guess nothing in this tournament is allowed to be that simple, huh?"

"So you know about us? That makes things easier." Purple flames encircled the girl's arm, transforming into a jet-black duel disk of the latest variety. "My name is Amelia Rouge, holder of the coveted title 'Deadliest Thorn'. I don't particularly enjoy dueling usually, but since you decided to upset my plans I'll enjoy crushing you slowly. And yourself?"

Achan tapped a button on his own duel disk, which whirred to life with a sudden snapping of mechanical parts. "Artificial humanoid Mark VI, codenamed Achan Smith." With that, he slipped a hand into the pouch of his sweatshirt and removed a single card before inserting it into his deck. "To be honest, I think you'll enjoy crushing me less than you think when all's said and done."

Both duelists held up their discs, and then the challenge rang out: "DUEL!"

"Ladies first," Amelia announced as she drew. "I summon Lonefire Blossom in attack position."

Achan stared at the strange, twisted flaming plant that appeared on his opponent's side of the field. "Eight hundred attack points. There's got to be a catch."

Amelia nodded slowly. "Of course there is. Lonefire Blossom's effect- by tributing it, I special summon a plant-type monster from my deck. So I'll special summon Tytannial, Princess of Camellias!"

Achan instinctively raised an arm to his face as the Lonfire Blossom erupted into flames which soared to the top of the dueling arena. As the flames died down, Achan saw that the Lonefire Blossom had been replaced with a substantially larger monster- a strange, fairy-life woman clothed in leaves and large, red flowers. "Twenty-eight hundred attack points?" He read incredulously as the holographic display appeared in mid-air. "That's one heck of an opening move."

"I'm afraid that as far as you're concerned, things only get worse," Amelis replied in a bored tone. "I set one card and activate the field magic Black Garden. Turn End."

Even as his opponent spoke, Achan felt a jolt of energy surround him as large, tangled masses of briars erupted from the ground and formed a lattice cage around the duelists. "This does not bode well," he muttered.

Duelist: Amelia Rouge (LP 8000)
Hand: Three cards
Field: Tytaniall, Princess of Camellias (2800/2600), Black Garden, one S/T
Graveyard: Lonefire Blossom

Achan shook off his feelings of suspicion long enough to announce his turn and draw. He glanced over his hand, considering his options. Let's see... Nope, nope... yes! This is it! "Set one monster, and one card. Turn end." he announced as the giant card backs appeared in front of him.

Achan (LP 8000)
Hand: Four Cards
Field: Set Monster, One S/T
Graveyard: None

"Aw, I was hoping you'd just go charging in," Amelia complained. "My turn, draw!" She selected a card from her hand, and placed it on the duel disk. "I summon Botanical Lion, in attack position!"

Achan stared at the latest acquistion of his opponent- a large, wooden lion with a red flower in place of its mane. However, before he could comment on the monster's appearance a set of thick vines launched out from the corners of the lattice of thorns and wrapped themselves around the lion, which roared in pain. Suddenly, a large, red flower bloomed on Achan's side of the field. "Wha- what the heck?"

"The effect of Black Garden halves the attack points of any monster either of us normal or special summon. Then it special summons a Rose Token with eight hundred attack points to the opponent's side of the field," Amelia explained. "Normally, that would be a problem for both of us- however, monsters that are summoned before Black Garden's activation are immune to this effect."

Achan gasped. "Then that means-"

"Tytannial is at full strength. And now, a demonstration of her power- Tytannial, attack his Rose Token! Petal Storm!" Amelia ordered. The monster obeyed, sending a whirlwind of rose petals cutting across the arena. Achan fell backward as his Rose Token was obliterated, along with a good quarter of his life points. Amelia smirked. "Next, Botanical Lion attacks- and since it gains three hundred attack points for every plant on the field, including itself, it has 1400 total attack points at the moment." The Lion snarled, charging Achan's set monster which flipped up in response, revealing an armored wolf with snow-white fur.

Achan grinned pointing to his monster. "Lightsworn Hunter Ryko's effect! I can destroy a card on the field when it gets flipped, and I'll choose Black-"

"I chain the effect of Tytannial, Princess of Camellias" Amelia replied in a bored tone. "By tributing a plant-type monster, I can negate any effect that targets. I tribute Botanical Lion to negate the effect of Ryko." Tytannial raised one delicate hand and touched it to the head of the wooden lion, which withered to dust. Raising her hands above her head, the fairy queen released a flash of green light that reduced Ryko to dust. Amelia smirked. "This is my 'Midsummer Night' lock. Nobody has ever escaped it."

Achan stared at the field in awe. "No... no way..."

OOC: To be continued? XD
 
To say that Tacey was annoyed by the new interruption would have been an understatement of epic proportions, which was already an oxymoron in its own right. Charging on them like that and forcing her to veer to maintain her balance - which she did, of course, for she was in no mood to make a closer acquaintance of the filthy forest floor today - was bad enough, but what she was really up to was what had the millionaire heiress leering at them from behind their backs, with the threatening snarl of a cat who had just been torn away from her favorite scratching post struggling to escape her throat. A crash into hello! That sultry little lowlife tramp had actually resorted to a crash into hello! One of the most underhanded seduction tactics in the book! Not that the rich girl had studied such things to any great detail, of course - no girl with any degree of self-esteem would - but given the competition for her celebrity niche, she had gotten to witness all kinds of things. This particular tactic included.

The oh-so-cute little blush, the coy mannerisms, her sheer impudence had Tacey briefly incapable of shooing the pest away, tangled in the complicated mess that was her strong revulsion for this girl, her own uncertainty about why she felt such particular revulsion, and her vehement refusal to accept the most obvious explanation. By the time the word 'dinner' popped up, however, she had heard quite enough, "Look." the rich girl began angrily, preparing to prevent any possible acceptance on Achan's part through simple bodily means, "We really have no interest in-"

"You really don't have to do that."

Tacey blinked, uncharacteristically refraining from continuing her rant and instead letting the redhead say his piece...and effectively unravel Amelia's little scheme right in front of her eyes. Tacey couldn't help a satisfied little smirk at the sight.

"Well, Smith, you're not quite as clueless as I thought." she congratulated, only to be cut short as the all too familiar ring of flame flared up around them and the duel commenced, her expression immediately souring, "I take that back." she said flatly, noting Achan's all too awed expression at what was, at its heart, still a fairly basic strategy, shaking her head in distaste, "You really are clueless. There is a glaring weakness in that 'unbreakable' lock of hers, but you are apparently too busy playing fanboy for that overgrown kitchen garden to notice it." she gave him a light slap across the face, looking the boy straight in the eye as she folded her arms over her chest, "Shape up, Smith. One damsel in distress is enough for this team."

Tacey was still miffed, enough so to not notice that their team headcount was two heads short.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

"Kocchi, kocchi, Bibi-Bibi-chan!"

Haruko giggled, hand still clamped tightly around Kuso's wrist as she dragged him through the tangle of branches and undergrowth with strength far beyond what such a frail little girl's body should have been able to muster. Separating from the group had been easy with Neko-Neko-chan and Kumo-Kumo-chan and the third wheel girl making a scene; and there was no question in her mind that they needed to separate the moment she had caught wind of the other signature. As much fun as it would have been to keep watching the drama, her senses all concured that another game brewing nearby was looking far more promising.

Besides, she gave another giggle at the thought, those two lovebirds needed to spend some quality time together.

"Sheee-ee-eez!" she moaned, yanking her captive escort along, "You're so slooow, Bibi-Bibi-chan! At this rate we're going to be la-" she came to an abrupt halt, releasing Kuso's wrist from its captivity without the slightest warning and clapping her hands together mirthfully at the scene in the clearing ahead, where a rather confused-looking brunette seemed to be in the process of taking on a duo of other competitors, "We made it!" she trilled, lowering her voice to a conspiratory whisper as she leant in closer to Kuso, "Watch really, really carefully, Bibi-Bibi-chan." she intoned solemnly, "You won't want to miss this."


OOC: Thought I'd help Phani bring his character into the fold. Hope you don't mind, Icha. ;D
 
Achan rubbed his cheek in response to Tacey's slap, hoping that the slight reddening from it would help to hide the blush slowly creeping its way up his cheeks. He sighed, shaking his head. "Thing is, I know the 'glaring weakness' of this lock already," he commented. Actually, there are technically two weaknesses, but at the moment I'm not able to exploit either one, Achan thought to himself as he examined the briar cage he was caught in. The first, and most obvious one, is that Black Garden doesn't generate a Rose Token or halve your monster's attack points if you set it- Ryko didn't cause the field spell to activate, after all. The second weakness in her lock is Tytannial's own ability. As long as the effect doesn't target, it skips right past her, but... Achan glanced at his opponent's set card. That card is most likely Solemn Judgment- or at least, that's what she wants me to think. That means even if I draw one of the two mass-wiping cards in my deck, she'll just flip Solemn and negate it. And if I try to turtle up with defensive cards until I draw into Ryko, she just summons a monster and pounds my Rose Token instead. It's actually one hell of a lock for a deck like mine to be stuck trying to break. Unless... Achan grabbed the top card of his deck. "Alright, then. Let's see if this time around, Riding Hood eats the wolf. Draw!"

Achan glanced at the new card, then looked up towards the sky. "Thank you," he mouthed.

Amelia glanced at him shiftily. "Are you going to move?"

Achan ignored her and busied himself with his cards for a moment before nodding. "Right. At the start of my turn, I play Heavy Storm to wipe out all spells and traps on the field."

Immediately, a purple-backed card on Amelia's field flipped up. "Solemn Judgment. I pay half my life points and negate your card's effect. Sorry, but my Black Garden will be sticking around a bit longer than that."

Achan smiled to himself- a secret smile. "I figured as much," he replied. "But all I really wanted to do was get you to trigger that Solemn, just in case you decided to disrupt my plays with it later. And now, I summon Harvest Angel of Wisdom to the field in attack position!" A beam of light split through the tangled vines of the Black Garden, and a green-skinned, golden-armored creature descended from a gap within the vines, only to be suddenly entangled by creepers as its energy was drained to feed a large rose on Amelia's side of the playing field. "Of course, you'll get a Rose Token to compensate but that's kind of irrelevant- even with his attack points lowered, Harvest Angel can slice his way through a monster like that in a heartbeat. But first- spell card, Love Letter!"

Amelia glanced at the image of the normal magic card, depicting a blushing boy passing a heart-sealed note to a hovering cherubim to deliver to a girl a few feet away. "I don't believe I've heard of this card," she commented.

"I kind of grabbed a few packs that looked like they might not be strictly available for public use yet," Achan admitted. "Anyway, this card allows me to select a monster on my side of the field and then search for any monster in my deck with an equal or lower level that shares its type and attribute- provided of course that the monster I've selected doesn't share its name with the monster I search." Suddenly, Harvest Angel began to pulse with golden light and a glowing white envelope appeared in Achan's hand. A winged cherub, similar to the one depicted on the card, appeared over his shoulder. Achan brought the letter to his lips momentarily, before passing it to the cupid who promptly dived into his deck and spat out the card he was looking for. "Yep, this one'll do. Bountiful Artemis." He selected one card from his hand and set it. "I set one card and send Harvest Angel of Wisdom to attack your Rose Token. That's all for the remainder of my turn." The golden armored angel used the wings on its armored legs to slash the creepers holding it captive, then diced the oversized rose on Amelia's field.

Achan (LP 6000)
Field: Harvest Angel of Wisdom (Atk 900/ Def 1000), Two S/T
Hand: Three Cards
Graveyard: Love Letter, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter

Amelia smiled cruelly as she drew from her deck. "So, a counter fairy deck, hm? Pity that my lock is already in place... and your Harvest Angel is quite defenseless, isn't it? Either way, it ends here for you. I summon a second copy of Lonefire Blossom, which I'll tribute to special summon-"

"Not happening," Achan interrupted. "Solemn Judgment negates your summon at the cost of half my life points."

Amelia nearly giggled as bolts of lightning struck Lonefire Blossom, obliterating it from existence before it could be tributed. "Are you sure that was wise- using up so many life points simply to negate my summon?" She pointed at Harvest Angel of Wisdom. "So be it- I'll be happy to watch you bring about your own ruin. Tytannial, attack! Petal Storm!" The burst of wind whipped its merry way down the field toward Achan's monster, on the verge of obliterating it when-

"Monster effect, activate! I discard Honest from my hand!" Suddenly, an angel clad in a blue tunic burst into view, its light cutting through the darkness of the bramble forest. It laid its hands on Achan's harvest angel, as if it was conferring some sort of blessing, then dissolved into golden light that wrapped itself around the monster like a cloak. "When a light-attribute monster I control battles, by discarding Honest I add the attack of the opposing monster to the attack points of the monster I control!"

Amelia's face drained of color. "But that means that-"

"Harvest Angel! Counterattack, with blazing chariot kick!" Achan ordered. The angel nodded as bursts of light fired from behind the wings on its leg armor, allowing it to cut through the center of Tytannial's storm of petals and deliver a bone-shattering kick to the forest queen. With a scream, the spirit exploded as Harvest Angel glided back to its proper place on Achan's field. He chuckled. "The phrase that comes to mind is 'now we're even.'"

Amelia grit her teeth. "Damn you... that was my favorite monster." She waved her hand as a giant holographic card back appeared in her back row. "Set one card and end."

Amelia (LP 3000)
Field: One S/T, Black Garden
Hand: Two Cards
Graveyard: Tytannial, Princess of Camellias, Solemn Judgment, Botanical Lion

Achan tried to suppress a chuckle and failed. "So, after all that about unbreakable locks and whatnot... all you can do is hide behind your face-down and hope for the best? Heh." He drew for his turn, scanning his list of available choices, and decided to go with the obvious. "Bountiful Artemis, in attack position!" The strange white being descended through the grap in Black Garden torn by Honest's arrival in a glowing sphere, only to be accosted once again by the local vegetation as Black Garden drained its attack points and caused a Rose Token to spawn. "And I'll follow that up by setting one more card and attacking past your Rose Token wth Harvest Angel, while Bountiful Artemis goes in for the direct attack!" Achan paused to watch his monsters carry out their actions, and then with a smile still playing on his lips said "Turn end."

Achan (LP 3000)
Field: Harvest Angel of Wisdom (900/1000), Bountiful Artemis (800/1700), Two S/T
Hand: Two Cards
Graveyard: Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Solemn Judgment, Honest, Love Letter

Amelia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She couldn't be losing already! In a matter of a few turns, this boy had broken the lock that had allowed her to rise to the top of the inner ring of shadow duelists, then placed himself in a position that wasn't just advantageous- if he could keep her field free of monsters for two turns, the game was his. And that meant-

No, she couldn't let it happen. She wouldn't. A sudden windstorm picked up. "You.... you swine!" she hissed. "You've got zero chance of victory! I can't lose here... after all," she laughed mirthlessly. "After all, your little girlfriend isn't the only duelist with Miracle Draw at her disposal!" She gripped the top card of her deck. Suddenly, a flash of green energy pulsed from her cards, wrapping around her arm as she drew.

Achan, far from being concerned, simply rolled his eyes. "You, Haruko, and I'll bet any amount of money that Kuso thinks it too... honestly, do Tacey and I really look that much like a couple?" he asked, apparently too tired to protest.

Engaged in her draw as she was, Amelia couldn't help but glance at Achan incredulously. "You're not at all concerned about my game-winning comeback?"

"Well, not really." Achan smirked. "Actually, I'm rather glad. See, this deck was originally built to counter the power of Miracle Draw... and you've just provided me with a test subject. But anyway, get on with your draw."

Amelia complied. Compared to Tacey's miniature gusts, Amelia's miracle draw was a bit on the flashy side, complete with full windstorm as well as a blinding green aura. She panted heavily as she said "And now I activate Miracle Fertilizer, bringing back Tytannial."

Actually, she meant to say that. She got as far as "and now" before Achan interrupted her. "Trap card activate- Drastic drop-off."

"What- no!" Amelia fairly screeched. "No, no, no! NO!"

"I'm afraid the answer is yes, yes, yes, and yes," Achan replied. "Drastic Drop-Off requires you to discard the card you just drew. Furthermore, the effect of Bountiful Artemis lets me draw a card from my deck each time that I activate a counter trap. In other words, not only is your Miracle Draw negated... it's actually generated advantage for me."

Amelia's face paled, but only for a moment. "I summon a copy of Giant Cephalphotous to the field, in-" she began.

"Forced Back," Achan replied in a bored tone as a veritable maelstrom sent something that resembled a demon watermellon soaring back into Amelia's hand. "Incidentally, that was also a counter trap, so I can draw another card."

Amelia seemed nearly on the verge of dissolving into hysteria. "I... I end my turn."

Amelia (LP 2100)
Field: One S/T, Black Garden
Hand: Two Cards
Graveyard: Botanical Lion, Tytaniall, Princess of Camellias, Solemn Judgment, Miracle Fertilizer

Achan was practically gleaming with joy. "Well then, I suppose it's my turn." With that, he drew his card, and almost capered for joy as he realized what it was. "Well, well, well. Looks like it's finally time to solve my annoying weed problem. I summon Snipe Hunter." Suddenly, a tiny demon with a strange-looking gun poofed into existence on Achan's side of the field, tearing at the creepers entangling it as it cried out loudly in indignation while the Rose Token spawned at the opposite end of the field. "Snipe Hunter activates its effect- I'll toss two cards from my hand. The first one will target your field spell, and if successful the second will target your Rose Token. Now, roll on!" The spinner on Snipe Hunter's gun spun twice before landing on a two, then a four. Two bursts of light obliterated the field spell and the giant flower. Amelia was wide open, and Achan had enough attack points for a final push.

Amelia began to shrink back as she stared at the smirk on her opponent's face, reverting to her "innocent" mask. "H-hey," she began, "Don't you get what's going on here? Th-this is a shadow duel... if you attack, I'll really get-"

"Hurt?" Achan's smirk vanished, replaced by a cold, serious expression. "Damn right, you'll get hurt. See, I never realized how Judai and Manjoume could be so callous about you guys losing your souls or whatever... and the thing is, they're absolutely right. You all are killers." He remembered the expression on Michel's face as he lost his own shadow game. "You may not physically kill the person, sure, but you don't mind locking them in another dimension for, oh, let's say forever. With no hope of escape. And you don't mind tormenting little innocent duel spirits to pull off whatever 'save the world' plan you seem to have going here. As far as I'm concerned... you all can go and rot." He pointed at Amelia. "Snipe Hunter, direct attack."

The shadow duelist continued pleading as the first attack hit. "Please, I'm begging you... I'll do whatever you want... I don't want to die..."

"Oh hush up, you don't actually die after losing these things," Achan replied. "And I'm not sure I particularly want you to do anything for me anyway. Bountiful Artemis, direct attack."

Amelia had only one word left at this point. "Please...."

Achan looked at her for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. Now that I think about it, there is something I want you to-"

"My turn! Draw!" Amelia was back on her feet, laughing wickedly. "Idiot!" She taunted. "As if I'd do anything for you!" She slammed a card into her duel disk, laughing wildly. "I activate Miracle Fertilizer, special summoning my Tytannial from the grave!" She laughed wildly as the sylvan princess burst from the ground, her glory intact. "It's all over for you now! Tytannial, attack his Snipe Hunter!" The storm of petals blew away the imp, causing Achan's life points to plummet.

Achan stared back emotionlessly. "Is that all?"

Amelia grinned wickedly. "For now."

Achan sighed. "During your end phase, I activate the effect of Akuma Kuriboh in my graveyard. By removing it from play, I deal the same amount of damage to my opponent's life points that I received this turn."

Amelia's jaw dropped as a dark aura gathered around the graveyard slot of Achan's duel disk, releasing a very angry devil-winged and horned Kuriboh holding a sign reading "Do unto others..." "But how?" she asked incredulously. "When did-"

"It was the first card I discarded for Snipe Hunter's effect," Achan replied. "I'm sorry about this, but you didn't really leave me a choice. I tried to let you forfeit, I really did." He pointed at the opponent. "Akuma Kuriboh, end this duel! Judgment wave!" A dark red aura surrounded the harmless-looking Kuriboh, which began to swell in size. his wings suddenly burst out, nearly doubling their total wingspan, while his horns grew from miniature points to long, curved goat's horns. Angrily, Aku rushed Amelia and slammed into her, washing away the last of her life points.

The duel was over.

Or not quite.

"No-NO!" Amelia managed to choke out as the circle of flame closed in on her. Her penalty was quick- unlike Michel, who had lingered, Amelia vanished almost immmediately, leaving nothing but a deck of cards scattered on the ground.

Achan walked over to the cards almost instinctively, scooping them up. "Shoot.... I was hoping I could scare her into helping us get Michel back," he moaned, half to himself and half to the group. "So much for that plan." He slipped the newly abandoned plant deck into his deck box, allowing his new deck to remain in the duel disk. After all, she wouldn't be needing it for a while, and you could never have too many children's trading cards. With a sigh, he turned to Tacey and found himself lost for words for a long minute. Finally, he broke the silence. "Well?" he asked, as if expecting to be graded on his performance.
 
"H-hey! Let go!"

The group had run itself into trouble yet again and Kuso was wasting time being dragged around as if he was a rag doll. And by the new, Shadow-esque duelist girl, no less. He tried to pull his rapidly-bruising arm free, but he unfortunately would have had better luck if he had been tied to a runaway bulldozer, as the vice around his wrist possessed strength betraying the girl's relatively small stature. Kuso decided to try digging his heels into the ground below, using the dirt and plants as a speed breaker as well as extra leverage, but his attempts to take advantage of this only led her to complain about his slow speed, as if she was completely oblivious of his failing escape.

"Are you even listening to me?! I do NOT want to follow you anywhere, much less be dragged against my will. So, for the last time, LET...GO...OF...MMPH!!"

Kuso was cut short by a very abrupt halt and release on the girl's part. While it was exactly what he had wanted to happen, the timing could have used some work, as his body had still been tilted into an odd angle from his escape attempt and the quick motion of his feet had formed a sizable pile of debris in front of his legs. Between this obstacle and the inertia created from the running and sudden stop, Kuso was forced forward and crashed into the dirt, face-first.

It took him a moment to regain his senses after seeing the illusion of the planet itself coming up to smack him in the face, but once he realized what had happened, Kuso firmly decided that he would be the one to take this girl out if she turned out to be a spy, no matter how much Tacey or Achan would object. Even if she was as trustworthy as she claimed to be, as he pulled himself out of the earth, he still held enough disdain for her to want to fight back. "Agh...ppff...you, girl, reeeally need to learn to calm down, do you know that? What was so important that you..." He only needed to look over to where she was staring to see that there was something going on here. There were three duelists in the clearing ahead, and a duel was apparently about to start between two of them. Judging by their clothing, it looked as though the third person was with one of the dueling players, and the two of them were actually ganging up on the stunned opponent. "...Two against one? Wait a minute!" Kuso prepared his Duel Disk for helping out the lone girl, but something stopped him from intervening. It was too difficult to figure out what it was, exactly, but something inside him told him that the brunette could handle it by herself. Still, if that was not true, he was ready to face the other duelist himself if need be.
 
So far as not knowing what she was doing, her body seemed to have had a mind of its own when accepting the other girl's challenge. It was as if she had an instinctive will to duel, something she couldn't really explain, but if there was something she did know, it was that she seemed more than familiar with the rules, the game's conduct and even the extended use of the cards in her hand, more so than she could have ever expected. And as such, the brunette soon found herself standing before a quite berated and flabbergasted cowgirl.

"Impossible..." his shades hanging from the tip of his nose, the defeated girl's partner rose to his feet, an expression of almost identical surprise gracing his features, "You beat Lucy."

"Huh?" Chelsea chirped back, looking between the two-man team rather nervously, "Yeah, I guess I did."

"You..." slamming her gloved fists into the ground, her eyes halved under her furrowed brow as she stared daggers into her victorious opponent, the cowgirl spat through gritted teeth, "There's no way you could have beaten me, you...you pest!"

Chelsea frowned, unsure why exactly she was being accused and abused, even though she had just unconsciously thwarted the kneeling girl at her own game. Regardless, the brunette sheathed her deck into her disk's holster before deciding it was best to move on, not wanting to cause any more trouble for the couple or her team. But before she could even shuffle away somewhat traumatised by the events that had just taken place, she felt someone firmly clasped her arm and pull her back in place.

"I don't know what you're playing at..." the previously flirtatious but now dangerously serious street urchin of a partner started, having just appeared beside her and speaking almost directly into her ear, "But if you pull something like that again, I'll make sure you regret it."

Continuing past, the boy strode over to aid his fallen teammate, leaving her aside feeling quite confused and somewhat guilty, although not at all aware of the reasoning behind such emotions. Though taking the hint, she proceeded to leave, even though she found it odd that the two would first confront her and then tell her off for beating them at their own game. But without another word, the brunette finally departed, still due in finding her own teammates and more importantly, some answers to everything that had and was currently happening involving the tournament.
 
"Well?"

Tacey took a moment to word up her response, still slightly shaken by the aftermath of the duel, even though it was starting to become a common sight and she now knew that they technically didn't die, "Passable." she said neutrally, "It seems like you've at least had the sense to pick up a trick or two from watching a pro at work, but if you really think that a cheap knock-off of my first leg deck and a one-shot trap are all it takes to beat me at my own game then you're in for a rude awakening in the finals." she shook her head, "You're still too reckless, Smith, and I think you just got a prime example of what recklessness gets you in a control game." she couldn't help a small shudder as her glance traveled to the spot where Amelia had been a while ago before she focused back on Achan, her expression dead serious, "No more foolhardy stunts on your part, thank you very much. Persuading shadow duelists to cooperate is a wild goose chase and you know it, so don't-don't take stupid risks like that that could get you in the same fix as Arma. I don't want to lose-" she hesitated for a moment, but quickly caught herself, "...any more teammates to this whole, stupid...thing!"

That was a very lame way to end the statement, but the rich girl was not about let anyone call her out on that, quickly pressing on with a hasty shake of her head, as if to dislodge the thought, "Anyway, we should get going before someone on this team gets lured away by a shadow duelist or some-"

She paused, finally noticing the absence of not one but two people...and the continuous presence of a Judai who was not doing anything about it.

"I have no idea what you are being paid for." she said flatly, glaring the red-blazered duelist square in the eye, "Please tell me that you at least saw where those two went off to. If you didn't, I may just have to hurt you."

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Haruko offered her captive partner a knowing smile as the brunette effortlessly pounded her opponent without even seeming fully focused on - or aware of - what she was doing, "Toooold you, Bibi-Bibi-chan." she whispered, "Now Bibi-Bibi-chan wait here, little Haruharu has something important to do. Don't get lost now, 'kay?" she gave the boy a little pat on the head and vanished into the undergrowth, weaving her way towards the same general direction that the duo was headed in.

"Oh, Ushi-ushi-chan? Nume-Nume-kun?" she chirped innocently, treating the boyfriend-girlfriend duo to the trademark stare of her vividly bright yellow eye as she stepped into view from the shade of canopy, "I wouldn't pick on Ata-Ata-chan if I were you. She's crazy scary if you get her mad, you know, and little Haruharu wouldn't want either of you to get hurt." despite her sunny, innocent demeanor and tone, there was an unmistakable threat buried somewhere between the words, but she was quick to cover it up with another radiant smile and a small wave, "Keep that in mind, 'kay? Bye-bye now!"

Without offering any further explanation, or even room for interjection, the little girl then scuttled off in pursuit of Chelsea in turn, "Ata-Ata-chaaaan! Wait for meee!"
 
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Whatever it was that had held Kuso back had apparently noticed something that he had not, as sure enough, the sole girl had somehow managed to pull off a win against a very surprised opponent. By the confused look on the victor's face, she was hardly even paying any attention while doing so. Even her movements during the duel had looked more mechanical than natural to Kuso. That she had been able to defeat such an opponent in that fashion was an impressive feat, indeed.

And yet, it did not look like the defeated duelists were going to take this kindly, as the male wasted no time in sneaking up on and attacking the stunned girl. Without a second thought, Kuso's protective instincts kicked in, instantly moving in to intervene and separate the two from each other. "Back off," he ordered as his glance met the losers', "She won, you lost. Now move away or else you'll have to deal with me, as well." His eyes remained focused on the pair of duelists as they walked away, his attention span leaving no room for his previous captor's actions. It was not until he turned around to discuss the now-completed match that he noticed the the other girl's departure, as well.

"Well, I guess you would want to keep moving, but still..." Kuso mused to himself as he looked around for any sign of the girl. Once he spotted her walking away near the other side of the clearing, he immediately headed over to where she was. "Hey, wait just a second!" Kuso had to almost flag the girl down in order to catch up with her. When he finally did, he glanced at the grabbed arm before speaking to her. "Are you alright? You're not injured, are you?" Satisfied that she was fine, he finally managed to relax and realize that he still had no idea what this girl's name was. "Oh, right...I forgot to introduce myself. Hello, my name is Kuso. What's yours?" Kuso reached for a handshake, but realizing that the girl's matching arm was the one that the other boy had grabbed, he quickly switched hands. "I was actually impressed with the way you handled that duel. How long have you been playing?"
 
The commotion that stirred behind her was not easily missed, seeing as how her triumph over the two strangers seemed to have scared them beyond intention, not to mention the sudden appearance of a third duellist who quickly made it apparent that he was all but supportive of her actions. It wasn't long until she felt a second hand grasp her arm and she wasn't all too surprised to see the recently arrived stranger on the other end. More so surprising was the fact that the newcomer looked startling familiar, and it was then that she realised...

"Oh! You're..." she chirped, patting her hands against the boy's cheeks as to remind herself of his facial expression, before then racking her brain to remember his name as to not seem so embarrassingly oblivious.

"Kuso Sarasi." the boy interjected, a switch clicking in the back of her mind supporting the claim to be true.

Having memorised her new teammates' profiles and names paid off, especially considering she could hardly remember anything of her own life up to present, so she decided she might as well learn theirs. It was then that her new teammate continued his barrage of concerns, to which she replied to her best ability and order. It was all a little overwhelming.

"I-I don't really know how long I've been playing..." she started awkwardly, scratching her head in somewhat deep thought, then clapping her hands as reality quickly struck, "That was my first ever duel, I think. But I'm actually looking for a...Team Seven? I think you're a member, along with a Judai, Haruko, Tacey and uh...a Smith, I think."

Quite content with her renewed ability to remember, the twin-circlet-braided brunette beamed her usual smile, "And I'm Chelsea. Nice to meet you."
 
Achan did his best not to get angry when Tacey called his deck a "knock-off" of hers. Okay, so she had inadvertently given him the idea of how to block Miracle Draw during her duel with Manjoume, but he had made several innovations to the deck that she had not. Of course, he reflected, there was no reason he had to face Tacey down with this deck. After all, once he caught up to Kaito he could snatch back his Wandering monsters and face her the way he had originally intended. Or perhaps he could build another new strategy with his recent windfall- these plant-type monsters looked like they had definite potential. But then, Tacey's deck was probably pretty well insulated from its tricks if what Aku had told him about the results of her duel was true. But he could handle it- it was all a trick of finding the right deck.

Finding the right deck.

It hadn't occured to Achan that he wasn't actually limited to a single deck. Theoretically, he could use as many as he wanted if he had the cards. And he was being targeted by shadow duelists- duelists who dropped their cards and had no use for them when they lost. Achan felt elated. This was... perfect. He didn't have Miracle Draw anyway, so bonding with his cards wasn't an issue. If the other people on his team were "strong", he could be "versatile", adapting his deck to each new situation. It was a strategy that was so simple, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.

Meanwhile, Tacey's attempts to rouse Judai seemed to be bearing no fruit, as the Supreme King stared off into the streets ahead of him vacantly. A little too vacantly. In fact... Achan moved in front of 'Judai' and punched him violently in the face. He wasn't all that surprised when his fist passed through. "Damn it," he muttered as the image of Judai broke down into pricks of scattered light and dissapeared, "I didn't know he could do that." He sighed. Judai was probably miles away by now, doing something he couldn't trust the rest of the group to help with right now. He shook his head at Tacey, shrugging as he did so. "He probably ditched us a few minutes back, when everybody was split up. Judai may be a nice guy most of the time, but when it comes to saving the world he's used to doing things solo. He's probably out trying to find the next shadow duelist in the line by now." Achan shook his head one last time, the picture of resignation. "So, who first? Do we go after Haruko and Kuso, or do we see what the hell Judai's up to? I can send Aku off to find whoever we don't go looking for personally, so either way we'll be tracking them down."

-----------------------​

Judai nodded his thanks to a blue-skinned humanoid dolphin spirit. "Thanks for your assistance, Aqua Dolphin."

You're welcome, The Neo-Spacian replied as it crouched together with its companions, a caped panther and a glowing humanoid creature that looked something like it had grown out of some form of mold. Between Panther's transformation abilities, my ability to distort, and Glow Moss's transmission of light, I think we did a pretty good job convincing them that you were really there.

"Long enough to get our meeting done, anyway," the duelist replied as he turned to the person behind him. "So, you'll really follow through on your end of the bargain?"

"Provided, of course, that you fulfill my terms. You do remember what they were?"

"Of course," Judai replied as his spirits faded from existence and he himself began to move out from the enclosed space he and the one he'd been bargaining with for the past few minutes were hidden. "But I'm not sure I like them."

"You don't have to like them. Just accomplish them."

"Alright," Judai replied as he rolled his eyes. "I'll do as you say then. After all, in the long run, the two of us want to achieve the same ends."

"Indeed," Kuroda Kaito replied as he snapped his fingers and created a portal of darkness before stepping through and disappearing.
 
As Chelsea and Kuso started out a conversation, effectively treating her like she wasn't there at all, Haruko's sunny smile gave way to a pout, followed by a trembling lip, and - when both these obvious signs of 'pay attention to me now' went ignored - finally exploded.

"BWAAAAAAH!"

Haruko's regular presence may have been like an exclamation all to itself, but her mournful wail was like something not of this world, a fierce gale - perhaps coincidental, though exceptionally well timed - rattling the canopy around the little purple-haired girl, every last, unsuspecting bird that had been perching in the area setting off in fright.

"Ata-Ata-chaaaan! Bibi-Bibi-chaaaan! You're both so meeeeean!" she bawled in her most heart- and eardrumbreaking voice, looking up at them through her single, visible, tear-blurred eye, "Little Haruharu came all this way," she sniffed audibly, "All this way, to help Bibi-Bibi-chan find his missing teammate, and-and to say hello to Ata-Ata-chan who will also be little Haruharu's teammate, and-and" she snivelled piteously, "ALL YOU DO IS BE MEAN AND IGNORE MEEEEE! LITTLE HARUHARU IS HERE TOO, YOU KNOW!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
​

Tacey flinched visibly as the sound of Haruko's voice carried across the forest and to them, any doubts on her mind immediately dispelled, "We track down Judai." she declared briskly, "Quite frankly, I don't trust either of them, but that obnoxious little girl sounds quite occupied already. Come on." and with that, she promptly snatched Achan's wrist and began dragging him off in the direction directly opposite to the ear-rending wail. Kuso was by far the one in greater need of protection, but Haruko was insufferable enough when she was cheerufl and the rich girl had no interest interest in dragging her out of whatever temper tantrum she was kicking up if she could conceivably help it.
 
By the way she had dueled, he would have expected the girl to say that she had been dueling for at least a year. So, it would be understandable that Kuso found her actual answer to be quite the surprise. "That was your first duel?" Of course he was impressed that she could do so well at her first time with the children's card game, yet... "She got this far in the tournament without dueling even once...?" He had already been required to duel in the tournament several times, so the thought that another duelist had made it through without doing so at all seemed almost impossible to him. Although, if she really had been looking for Team Seven, then that would be changing soon, and not for the better.

"I really don't think you want to come with us. Two of our team members have already needed to be swapped out for new players, and--oh, no..." It was only at this point that he realized that Haruko was still there as well, but he was still too late to stop the coming explosion.

"BWAAAAAAH!"

Kuso winced from the sudden shriek as his hands instantly moved in a futile effort to salvage some part of his eardrums. "Ow..." As the shrill noise died down and the ringing in his ears began to subside, Kuso's attention briefly turned to the human siren. "Help? Help?! You literally dragged me here!!" Kuso shouted back as he pointed towards the still-fresh skid marks and matching pile of dirt nearby. "If anything, you should be apologizing right now! .....Anyway," he continued as he turned his attention back to Chelsea, "that's Haruko. ...It would be best for your sanity if you just avoided her." He added with a small, dismissive wave of his hand. "As I was saying...some of our teammates have already..." Kuso paused as he searched for the right terminology, as coming right out and saying 'lost their souls in a Shadow Duel' would have made him appear insane, "...had to drop out of the tournament due to injury, so you might want to find another group to join if--"

"Kuso."

"What, Cyber?"

"We have a visitor."
 
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As Kuso proceeded to explain the complications of joining Team Seven, she couldn't help eye the stirring little girl beside him and wonder what relationship she had with the boy, because she was just plain adorable. A sister maybe, or a vertically challenged girlfriend? Either way, she was just like an oversized plush toy that she wanted to squeeze. So, it was somewhat of a surprise when her new teammate then turned on the girl when her hunger for attention finally erupted.

Sensing an opportunity, she crouched down and wrapped her arms around the crying babe in an attempt to console the girl. It was then that Kuso revealed her identity to be another one of her other teammates and maintained his strong disposition of ignoring her. But, she couldn't do that, not after seeing how cute everyone was. He then continued to explain why she had been appointed to Team Seven and that it would be best if she didn't join them.

"People have been getting hurt? That doesn't sound too good..." she piped, halting her rubbing cheeks with the infuriatingly cute Haruko before returning to full height to carry on their conversation, "Still, for some reason, I really had fun duelling and I think I'm suppose to help you guys, so..." giving off an aura of genuine concern, Chelsea simply smiled, "Please let me join!"
 
The moment Chelsea betrayed the first hint of interest in the 'cuddle the poor, crying child' concept, Haruko immediately seized on the opportunity, continuing her bawling into the older girl's shoulder for a while yet and completely blocking out Kuso's response. The moment the boy began warning their newest addition about joining the team, however - cutting Haruko's hard-earned cuddling moment short while he was at it - the purple-haired girl spoke up again, however, quelling the beginnings of a growl at the back of her throat.

"Ata-Ata-chan stays." she said matter-of-factly, still holding onto the older girl, "She is prettier, nicer, and stronger than Bibi-Bibi-chan. Besides, Kumo-Kumo-chan, Neko-Neko-chan, Dai-Dai-kun and even little Haruharu will all look after her." she poked her tongue out at the boy, "That's no risk. Isn't that right...sutookaa-san?"

The last part of Haruko's speech seemed directed at a spot in the canopy behind Kuso, the girl reluctantly releasing Chelsea from her grasp and taking a step towards the canopy.

"You can come out now, sutookaa-san; little Haruharu saw you already."
 
Achan ran with Tacey through the streets, anxiously searching for any sign of Judai. "Aku, have you seen him yet?" he called out anxiously to the duel spirit.

Negative on that, The spirit buzzed in response as he swooped over Achan's head. Normally that guy gives off a signature similar to another spirit's, and he's surrounded by about six or seven smaller spirits too, but for some reason I can't sense him at all right now. It's like he's dropped right off the map.

Achan groaned, then realized something. "Wait, you can sense other duel spirits?"

Yeah, but only in the general area. Why?

"Er... How far in any given direction can you sense a spirit, just for future reference?"

Aku sighed. How the hell should I know that? My spirit was sealed into a stone tablet shortly after its creation, and after that I was removed and fused with a guy out to capture the items I was sealed away to protect in the first place and used as a lap dog. You expect me to know everything in human measurements?

"You know how to speak a human language," Achan pointed out.

And trust me, learning it wasn't easy. Let me put it this way, if you really want to know: my range for sensing spirits, when I really put effort into looking, extends anywhere within walking distance. Trust me, either your friend is long gone or he's trying really freakin' hard not to be found.

Achan sighed. "Great. Just brilliant." He turned to Tacey. "Er... According to Aku, Judai's way out of range at this point. By now he might be out of the village, in fact. So... I know you've got a few duel spirits, right? So can any of them search for people in a wide range? Because if they can't, we'd better regroup with the others."

"Perhaps I can help you."

Achan turned. A tall, fair-haired man in a tattered and faded patchwork coat was standing behind him, smiling. "And who might you be?" Achan asked suspiciously.

"Someone who looks for lost things. I overheard you searching for someone, and I thought I might, perhaps, offer my assistance," The man replied, before reaching into a pocket of his patched jacket and removing a small business card. "For instance, would you enjoy getting your fortune read?"

Achan glanced at the card for a moment.

The Raveller
Fortunes Read, The Invisible Seen, Patterns Explained
Location: In the Area of the Black Forest, Germany
Business Hours: All time is the same to one who knows its dance.​

Achan stared at the man, as a chill ran down his spine. This man was definitely not normal. Based on the card alone, he was either insane, eccentric or somehow supernatural. Based on the events of the past few days alone, Achan concluded that all three were equal possibilities and tried to step back, but the grip on his shoulder held firm. "Er... if it's okay with you, we'll pass on the fortune telling, and the help. We really need to get back with the rest of our group. Right, Tacey?"

The man began to stare into Achan's eyes, and for the first time Achan noticed that his eyes were grey. "I asked whether or not you would enjoy having your fortune told, not whether you would allow me to do it. While regrettable, I'm afraid that your preferences are really irrelevant at this point. You will listen to what I am about to tell you."

Achan pulled to get free, but was unsuccessful. "Listen, I don't care if you're with Kaito or the Shadow Duelists or you're just frickin' insane and decided to pick on us for absolutely no reason beyond personal gratification, but you may as well cut to the chase. Just pull out your damn duel disk already and take us on, because it's obvious that's what you're really after, isn't it? You want me for Aku, or Tacey because..." Achan paused, wondering whether it was really safe to mention the fact that Tacey was carrying around a duel spirit with ridiculous amounts of power at its disposal before deciding it wasn't, "For... You know. So just hurry up and do what you came here to do already. There's no need to sit here trying to psyche me out. It won't work."

The main raised an eyebrow. "But Achan, isn't it obvious what I want? I've already told you that my only desire is to read your fortune and help you find what you're searching for."

Achan glared at the man. "Yeah, sure, whatever, like I'll believe-" he stopped. "Wait- how the hell did you know that I was Achan? The only ones who should know that are my team members, that weird duelist who I fought in Japan, and-" He immediately brought up his duel disk. "You're working for Kaito, aren't you? Right? Tell that S.O.B to give my body back!"


"No, and no," the Raveller replied. "However, if you're so determined to force things... I'm afraid I have no choice." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. "By the power the gods have invested in me as sacred caretaker of the key, I hereby demand my blood right! Now, time, freeze your dance for me!"

"What are you..."

Achan's protest died before it was finished. Everything around him had stopped. Everything. The people who had been walking were frozen mid-step. Birds in the sky above had paused in flight. The only things that were still mobile were him, Tacey, and the strange man. "Did you just stop time?"

"Only temporarily. Don't worry, the few minutes this is deducting from your overall lifespan can be refunded," the Raveller replied. "And I didn't stop time on my own. I had help from a friend."

Achan!

Achan turned. Apparently Aku had escaped the time freeze's area effect as well. "What is it?"

This man... he's a spirit!

"What?"

"Your winged friend is truly intelligent," the Raveller replied as he grinned. "I am, indeed, a spirit. I have been granted a degree of autonomy, you see, not usually afforded to spirits in this world. I have been allowed to possess a human body and travel the world in order to find and direct the patterns that will lead to the best possible outcomes for myself and other spirits. And now I must tell you something extremely important in order to achieve this outcome. Listen closely."

A small table appeared in front of the Raveller as he realeased his grip on Achan's arm and stepped backward. Three chairs appeared, two in front of the table and one behind it. "Sit," the Raveller ordered.

Achan looked at the table with a degree of mistrust before finally sitting. "Fine. Say what you want to say."

"I say what I have to say. There's often a difference," The Raveller replied. "For instance, I'd like to tell you that you two should really stop getting so annoyed whenever someone refers to you as a couple. Your overreactions will only convince them that there really is something between you. But that is not what we're here to discuss, now is it? What we're here to discuss..." The Raveller clapped his hands and bowed before continuing, "Is the patterns of fate itself."

Suddenly a deck of duel monsters cards appeared on the table and began to shuffle themselves before spreading out in piles that appeared randomly arranged- some in piles of two, some in groups of three, four, or five, and some simply standing alone. "These cards represent-" The Raveller began before Achan interrupted him. "What?"

"Don't you use Tarot cards to read the future? Why are you using duel monsters cards?"

The Raveller grinned sheepishly. "Er... I seem to have lost my Major Arcana a few days back, so I'm making do with these Arcana Force monsters for now. It doesn't really matter, I don't read the future with these cards anyway, they're only for illustrative purposes. Now watch." He flipped two cards up. "Ah yes... It seems that the Moon has allied itself with the Emperor. And here..." he flipped another card, "The Fool and the Empress, both upside down." He looked at the two in front of him. "This represents a grave betrayal, for both of you."

Achan looked at the cards. "Is there any particular reason that I'm the Fool?"

"I really couldn't find anything better to represent you," The Raveller replied, before quickly flipping up the next card before Achan could say anything. "The Chariot and the Heaven's Road... you must ride through the heavens to accomplish your journey. And..." he flipped another card close beside the Chariot, "You must do it soon. For the Fiend is closing in." He snapped his fingers. Both the cards and the table vanished. "Any questions?"

Achan stood up as his chair faded from existence. "Couldn't you just tell us what we need to know without the duel monsters cards?"

The Raveller coughed and shifted for a moment, and looked genuinely uncomfortable. Achan slowly began to feel a slight amount of empathy for him. Then the strange man grinned and stood up. "Yes, I probably could have. But this way is much more fun, and it gave me an oppurtunity to try my hand at reading fortunes. I've always wanted to do that."

Achan stared. "Wait- you've never done this before?"

"Nope." The Raveller shook his head. "I can't see the future. Seeing the present, however, from all angles, and predicting the future based on patterns is another thing entirely. But my services are rarely needed. After all, the world hasn't had this many disasters for five thousand years or so. And one does get bored waiting, so... hobbies, you see." He bowed respectfully to Achan, before turning to Tacey. "And, Empress, a word to the wise... those who are determined to get power usually find it. But power for its own sake is absolutely meaningless in the end. Remember that." He bowed once more. "Oh, and Fool? Check your deck box. I've left you a present."

"Wait, what do you-" Achan called just as time suddenly snapped back into motion. Hesitantly, he reached for his deck box and opened it, removing the contents.

To his surprise, the deck he had taken from Amelia was no longer there. It had been replaced by an entirely different set of cards, and he glared at the one on top before replacing the cards and turning to Tacey. "He gave me three copies of Arcana Force 0- The Fool," he said. "And if we find that guy again, I'm seriously going to rip his lungs out for wasting our time. Come on, we'd better get back to the others before somebody comes out of the woodwork and attacks them."

----------------------------​

Meanwhile, concealed by the shade of the Black Forest's trees, Judai sat in front of three strange men. "So, let me get this straight," the first one began. He was fairly young, maybe in his twenties, and was dressed like a cross between a biker and a business executive between the leather jacket and the white blazer and black tie. "You want us to track down the members of this team and do... what, exactly?"

Judai sighed. "Capture them. Incapacitate them. Trap them. Do whatever it takes to keep them from leaving Germany before the end of the round. And make sure to relieve the two I told you get the sealing spirit from the one I told you about- we need to have a look at it."

"Oi, oi, leader," the second strange man spoke up as he tugged at a spike of his blue hair. "You sure you wanna take this job? We barely know this guy, and uh..." he stared at the card in front of him, "Sorry, pal, but even with a card this rare, a job like this we usually get paid up front with cash."

"Trust me, this card is unique. There are only a select few copies of it in the world," Judai replied. "It's perhaps as valuable as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. With this, the three of you would be able to retire in style."

"In style, eh?" The third man laughed, straightening up as he walked away from the tree he had been leaning on and smiling. "I like that. But then, that beggars the question..." He lifted a finger. "Why don't we just take the card and take you out, huh? Easier than what you want us to do, and a lot faster."

"Because," Judai began, "I have the ability to manifest duel spirits to protect myself in the physical world." He shook his head. "This team... can't."

The leader of the group, the one in the jacket, nodded. "'Kay then. We'll accept this mission. But, uh..." He stared at Judai. "If we can't stop them without hurtin' 'em a little... can we?"

Judai sighed. "Yes... but only if there's no choice. And nothing permanent."

The leader grinned. "Ehrez... Klaus.... let's roll. We've got a mission to perform."

OOC: I SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE PLEASE
 
(OOC: No.)

As Cyber indicated where the stranger was, Kuso turned to face the newcomer. "The girl is right: you can come on out already."

"Ohohohohohohohoh...so yew maniged to zee me, eh?"

With the way that this person had tried to sneak up on them, Kuso had been expecting a Shadow Duelist to show up, or at least some friend of the duo from earlier. However, when the figure actually stepped away from his hiding spot, it was quickly made apparent that this was far from the truth. Compared to the cowboy costumes from before, this individual was no less focused into his own persona, being that of a chef. The white suit and gloves were matched well with the chef's hat placed crookedly on top of his orange hair. His body fit the definition of "stumpy" perfectly; he was almost as wide as he was tall, which would have meant that he was either such a good chef that he prepared meals for several customers and was given any extra as his payment, or was so poor a chef that he had to eat his dishes all by himself. A Duel Disk adorned his left arm, but instead of the generic Duel Disks that most players in the tournament had been using, this one had been modified to resemble a pork chop. There was a clear accent in his voice, but it was such a strong accent that Kuso could hardly understand him.

"Ve haz bin lozt in zis forezt for zome time. Ve vere luking for fuud vhen ve hurd all ze cammoshun."

"Uhh......" Unfortunately, accents were not a strong suit of Kuso's, so he had to turn to his partner for help...even though it appeared to be just as confused as he was. "...Cyber, can you translate?"

"...Apparently not. He is speaking English...just with a very heavy accent."

Kuso sighed in disbelief. If this was English, then this person had managed to create an entire new form of it all by himself. Still, he eventually caught on to what the chef was talking about, as the chef continued with his unique language. "Vhen two chefz meet, it iz cuztomery to share dishez." He raised his Pork Disk and pointed it towards the group. "I challenge yew to a dule."

Kuso might not have understood a word this chef was saying, but he at least understood his actions. With Chelsea falling for Haruko's "cuddly bear" routine, there was nothing else that he could do at the moment to convince her to leave. "Alright, I accept your challenge. ...Um...What's your name, anyway?"

"Vhat."

"I said, what's your name?"

"Vhat! Vhat!"

"What?"

"Not Vhut, VHAT!! MAI NAME IZ VHAT!!!"

"...Wow. I feel sorry for you if your parents thought it was a good idea to name you What."

Vhat began stomping the ground out of rage. "VAI YEW!! Yew vill pai for zat! I vill zhow yew to a feazt of defeet!"

Duelist: Kuso
Hand: 5 cards
LP: 8000

Duelist: Vhat
Hand: 5 cards
LP: 8000

"That should be my line. After all, you were the one with the nerve to try and sneak up on us," Kuso remarked with a smirk. "Still, if you're so certain of yourself, then why not go first?"

Vhat growled as he drew his card. "Vine! I vill zet one card facedown, and one monzter az vell. Yore turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Hand: Shadow Striker, Dark Armed Dragon, Striker's Reunion, Return from the Different Dimension, Heavy Storm, Striker Force (draw)
LP: 8000

Duelist: Vhat
Field: 1 face-down S/T, 1 face-down monster
Hand: 4 cards
LP: 8000

As Kuso looked over the cards in his hand, he was less than impressed with what he saw. There was not too much that he could do with the cards that he was holding, but at least he was not completely helpless.

"Due to its effect, I can special summon Shadow Striker from my hand, in Attack position." As Kuso played the card, the monster instantly appeared on the field in holographic form, pointing its sword at one of Vhat's cards. "Because it was summoned by its own effect, I can send one card on your side of the field back to your hand, and I think I'll choose the face-down Spell or Trap card." At his command, his monster launched a line of dark energy at the target card, forcing it back into Vhat's hand.

"Next I summon Striker Force to the field." The trio of monsters appeared next to the first, staring at Vhat in glee. "First, my Shadow Striker will attack your face-down monster." The monster moved its sword down upon the card back, slicing through what appeared to be a hairy sphere.

"Ah, zat haz activated ze affect of zis monzter. Firzt, yew muzt take 500 pointz of damahge." Vhat cheered as the monster reformed itself and stretched out an arm-like extension, using it to attack Kuso before once again dissipating. "Next, my monztrus Germ reproductez itzelf, zummoning two more to the field!" The particles from the original monster reformed into two identical creatures on Vhat's field.

"...Fine...but your copies were summoned out in Attack mode, meaning that an attack will still hurt your life points. I attack with Striker Force." The trio of monsters leaped forward onto one of Vhat's bacteria, their combined weight bringing it crashing into the ground and disintegrating, only returning briefly to attack Kuso as the first had done before. "I may take another 500 points of damage, but you also take almost as much. That ends my turn."

With his turn over, Kuso raised an eyebrow at the only remaining monster on Vhat's field. "...So tell me, why is a chef playing around with germs?"

Vhat simply smiled at his question. "Ah, but ze bacteria iz necezary for ze making of cheeze. Allow me to zhow yew."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: Shadow Striker (1900 ATK/1200 DEF), Striker Force (ATK:1400/DEF:800)
Hand: Striker's Reunion, Return from the Different Dimension, Dark Armed Dragon, Heavy Storm
LP: 7000

Duelist: Vhat
Field: Giant Germ (1000 ATK/100 DEF)
Hand: 5 cards
Graveyard: Giant Germ, Giant Germ
LP: 7600

Vhat momentarily glanced at his drawn card before activating it, creating a large vortex in the middle of Vhat's field. "I activate Contaract wif ze Abyzz. By zending mai Germ and Tomado to ze Graveyard, I can zummon mai Hongrie Bargar to ze field." The sole creature on his field was joined by a tomato-esque creature from Vhat's hand shortly before both monsters were absorbed into the vortex. Moments later, the vortex faded away, giving way to an even stranger monster. At first it had the appearance of a fast-food hamburger, but it revealed its true form as it opened its bun and showed its row of sharp, spike-like teeth. "Behold mai greatezt recipe! I zet two cardz face-down, and attack your Striker Forzz." The giant sandwich closed itself and used its aroma to attract the monster trio closer and closer, until it suddenly opened wide and engulfed them in a single crunch.

A small ball of energy pulled out from within the sandwich and struck Kuso's deck, a single card jutting out as a result. "Whenever my Striker Force is destroyed, it allows me to add one Striker card to my hand, and I select Striker's Miscount." Kuso drew the selected card and placed it into his hand.

"Very vell. I end mai turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: Shadow Striker (1900 ATK/1200 DEF)
Hand: Striker's Reunion, Return from the Different Dimension, Dark Armed Dragon, Heavy Storm, Striker's Miscount
Graveyard: Striker Force
LP: 6400

Duelist: Vhat
Field: 2 face-down S/T, Hungry Burger (2000 ATK/1850 DEF)
Hand: 1 card
Graveyard: Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Mystic Tomato, Contract with the Abyss
LP: 7600

As embarrassing as it was to admit, there was nothing in Kuso's hand at the moment that could immediately deal with that monster. The only remaining monster in his hand involved specific summoning conditions that had yet to be met, and the rest of his hand was relatively useless. He would just have to draw something that could help the situation.

"I draw."

Kuso looked at his drawn card with an expression of surprise. "Well, it's been a while since I drew this card. Still, if you're ready to go..."

"I am."

"Vho are yew talking to?"

"...Alright, here we go. I activate my spell card: Heavy Storm." The wind nearby immediately picked up as a hurricane formed around the two players. "Say goodbye to your two face-down cards."

Vhat stared at the surrounding storm before turning back to Kuso. "Ah, but ze feazt is not yet finizhed, nor vill it be ztopped by a zingle guzt. In rezponze, I activate my Juzt Dezertz. Then, I activate Emergency Provizionz." Both of the face-down cards on Vhat's field revealed themselves in turn, reducing Kuso's Life Points and then shattering to increase Vhat's. "It iz alwayz guud to plan for a storm."

Kuso groaned as he watched his storm destroy two used cards. "Great... I set one card face-down, one monster face-down, and end my turn by switching Shadow Striker into Defense position."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 1 face-down S/T, 1 face-down monster, Shadow Striker (1900 ATK/1200 DEF)
Hand: Striker's Reunion, Return from the Different Dimension, Dark Armed Dragon
Graveyard: Striker Force, Heavy Storm
LP: 5900

Duelist: Vhat
Field: Hungry Burger (2000 ATK/1850 DEF)
Hand: 1 card
Graveyard: Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Mystic Tomato, Contract with the Abyss, Just Desserts, Emergency Provisions
LP: 8600

"Ahh, yew are afraid of mai Bargar, I zee," Vhat gloated as he began his turn. "Perhapz now yew vill remember mai name. I zet one card, and my Bargar will attack your Striker." Instead of using its aroma once again, Vhat's Burger instead leaped towards Kuso's monster with its bun open, chomping down with incredible force.

"I end mai turn."

Duelist: Kuso
Field: 1 face-down S/T, 1 face-down monster
Hand: Striker's Reunion, Return from the Different Dimension, Dark Armed Dragon
Graveyard: Striker Force, Heavy Storm, Shadow Striker
LP: 5900

Duelist: Vhat
Field: 1 face-down S/T, Hungry Burger (2000 ATK/1850 DEF)
Hand: 1 card
Graveyard: Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Giant Germ, Mystic Tomato, Contract with the Abyss, Just Desserts, Emergency Provisions
LP: 8600
 
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