Duelist Rising - A Duel Academy Story

[Kent Spealing]

My name is Hiroki Koheitsu Imaro and I am a duelist. I have constructed a deck of duel monsters cards and have used them to fend against other opponents and skilled players. Occassionally I score victory, others time I don't. Allow me to explain and set you in the right course of thought. Six years ago, I participated in a tournament known as Battle City along with my best friend. Together we sought to gather three special cards known as the Safeguard Cards and found ourselves in a twist of evil, dark magic, and life and death struggles where the loser spent eternity in the shadow realm. It was through teamwork and the assistance of an ancient Yami resting inside of his pendant that we were able to succeed. After which my friend departed on a trip in order to help his Yami discover his true powers. That is his story. This is mine. I have enrolled into the Duel Academy, achieving a high entrance score on the written exam and a dueling performance that has awarded me entrance into the Ra Yellow dormatory. My name is Hiroki Koheitsu Imaro and I am a duelist.​

Duelist Rising
A Duel Academy story​

Knock Knock! "Hiroki, hello?" The petite voice of a girl said outside of his door. The room was dark since the curtains had been drawn together. Hiroki was sleep at his desk, his laptop still on. The rap on the door was enough to stir him and have him wake up. Hiroki rubbed his eyes a bit trying to get fully awake. He then turned to the curtains and drew one back with his hand. It was barely daybreak. Asleep at the desk again. Crud! He got up sluggishly and would walk over to the door, opening the locks on it and opening it. Standing there impossibly wide awake at such an hour and dressed was Amber Costello and Bastian Misawa.​

"Uh? Amber...Bastian! What are you doing? It's barely six am." He spoke. "Hey, there cutie." She answered. "Good morning, chap. We weren't interrupting anything were we?" He asked, an obvious sarcastic smirk upon his face. Hiroki would rub his eyes again and blink twice, a yawn being let out. "Yeah, you were. My beauty rest." Hiroki answered. Amber giggled. "You're silly." Amber said. "Come on. Get dressed." Bastian said. Hiroki just gave him a confused expression. "For what, Bastian? It's almost six and I just got to bed like 2 hours ago." Hiroki was not exaggerating. He'd been up all night working on a bio-chemistry paper and no sooner had he drifted to sleep was he being coaxed out by Bastian and Amber. That's when Bastian decided to drop a bomb on him or so it could be described as such. "We have the big dueling exam in Dueling Strategies remember?" Bastian said.​

Hiroki gasped. He'd clearly forgotten the exam. But Bastian wasn't the type who forgot things like this and since Hiroki's grades came dangerously close to rivaling his own, he wasn't about to let him forget either. "I see someone has forgotten. Luckily you have me to pick up your slack. Now get up and get dressed." Bastian spoke. Hiroki closed the door of his room. It would be just ten minutes before the door opened up and Hiroki would be dressed in his Ra Yellow vest, dark blue jeans and white sneakers. "Ok I'm ready." Hiroki said, still a bit groggy. Bastian merely raised a brow while Amber let out a giggle. Hiroki would look at them, an expression of confusion on his face. It was then that Bastian would point at the top his head and hold a hand mirror up so he could see. He had the worst case of bed hair going. His eyes grew wide and he would blush, his face getting brightly red as Amber giggled a bit more. Oh brother! The things I put up with. Bastian thought as he put a palm on his face.​

After getting his hair straight, Hiroki was lead out to the courtyard by Bastian. Amber followed next to Hiroki the entire time. Outside waiting for them were Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, and Chumley Huffington. Hiroki had managed to make quite the impression on Jaden who instantly walked up to him. "I see he got you up to, eh?" Jaden said. "Yeah, he did. What are we doing?" Hiroki asked. "Alright! Everybody listen up. Today we have the big dueling exam in the Dueling Strategies class. You are up now so you may prepare as best as you can. Dr. Satyr had given you all on pieces of paper, the duelists you were going to be facing is that correct?" Bastian said. He would look over to see all but Amber fast asleep. His face would grow dark red. "WAKE UP YOU SLACKERS!" He yelled. As he yelled, all of them would jump up and wave their arms and legs as would be done in the classic style of japanese anime. "This is so not lishus! Can't we do this at a better time, like after breakfast?" Chumley asked. Again Bastian grew angry. "THERE WILL BE NO BREAKFAST UNTIL WE ARE FINISHED!" Bastian yelled.​

"Now you are all here because we are going to do some intensive studying. First we'll go through the phases of the turn. Let's begin. First comes the draw phase. During this phase..." This can't be happening. I just got to sleep! I'm exhausted! Hiroki thought. Two hours later, the still sleepy crew was attempting to eat breakfast. But out of all of them, Hiroki was the most exhausted. "Man, you look like a wreck, Hiroki. What's up?" Jaden asked. "Eh, I did an near-allnighter on a paper biochemistry last night and didn't get to sleep till four AM." Hiroki said. "Whoa, hardcore dude!" Jaden said. "Yeah, and my Calculus class begins in an hour." Hiroki spoke sluggishly. "Maybe you should try to get some sleep before the class." Syrus said. "That won't work. I might oversleep and miss the class." Hiroki got up and trudged out of the cafeteria. Jaden watched him walk away. "Poor guy! He works pretty hard." Chumley said.​

Hiroki was heading toward the dormatory to get his books for class. Students all over the campus were walking around heading toward the various buildings around him for their classes. He was just near the dorm when out steps Bastian again. "Hello, young chap." Hiroki would just groan. "You're not planning to review trap cards with me again are you?" He asked. "Of course not! But we do have a bit of studying left to do my friend." Bastian said. Hiroki's eyes got beady and a sweat drop came upon his forehead. Why couldn't someone else be his rival? Then he'd leave me alone. Hiroki thought. "You and I are going to duel. The final review for our exam. Let's see just how well you use those cards." Bastian said. Hiroki looked agitated. "Bastian..." Hiroki said. "Yes, Hiroki?" Hiroki's head grew extremely large as his face became red. "GO AWAY!" He yelled, a tiger roar present in his voice. This left Bastian a bit surprised. "I was just getting to sleep two hours prior to your showing up at my dorm for our little review in the yard. I am tired and I have a class in less than an hour. The exam isn't till tomorrow. I checked my PDA! We'll duel later!" He said. He then walked away. "See you in class then." Bastian said. Hiroki groaned some more.​

As Dr. Simon lectured on about exponents in Calculus, Hiroki struggled to stay awake. Amber, who sat next to him leaned over. "Hiroki, you look horrible. What's up?" She asked. Hiroki groaned. "You were there. You know why I'm exhausted. Bastian and his early morning study sessions." Hiroki said. "Mr. Imaro and Ms. Costello! Do you have something to share with the class?" Dr. Simon asked. Hiroki's chin dropped to the desk and Amber sat upright in her seat. "No, Dr. Simon!" They said. "Then pay attention! Or you fail!" He said sternly. "Yes, Dr. Simon." Hiroki groaned as he heard the laughter of his fellow students around him. Then Bastian who sat on the seat in front and to the left turned around to him. "You really need to pay attention, old boy. This stuff is important." He said before turning back to pay attention to the lecture. Hiroki just put a palm on his face and growled.​

 

[Anachronism]

This may be a bit strayed from the topic at hand. But I never knew Syrus's last name was Truesdale. XD

Anyway, I really liked this fan fiction piece. The dialogue was great especially.

 

[Kent Spealing]

Yeah, I kinda looked it up somewhere. Thanks for the feedback

 

[Kent Spealing]

Later at lunch Hiroki was attempting to eat and just zone out for a while. Jaden and Syrus were sitting at his table. Bastian was at the other table. Hiroki glanced over only to see Bastian wave at him. He then pulled out one of his deck holders, obviously trying to signal he still wanted to duel him. Hiroki put his head on the desk and groaned. "Bastian sure is being pretty friendly to Hiroki, Sye." Jaden said. "Yeah..." Hiroki just shook his head. "He's been following me around all day! I'm soooo tired and he's annoying the crap out of me." Hiroki said. "Then just duel him. He'll leave you alone." Jaden would suggest. "As tired as I am, Jaden, I'm not dueling anyone." Hiroki would reply as he then got up. It didn't take Bastian long to follow. Jaden and Syrus watched them leave. "Something tells me this is going to be a long day for them." Syrus said.​

Hiroki was crossing the courtyard again when Bastian confronted him. "Hey there. I hear the card shop has a new shipment of booster packs. We should go and check it out." Bastian said. Hiroki gave him an annoyed expression. "Later!" Hiroki would respond, walking past him. In Bio-Chemistry class, Bastion would turn around to him, a note held up. "Want to duel after class?" Hiroki gave an angry face as he held up a mutual note. "NO!" Later at the water fountain, Bastian approached him yet again. Hiroki pressed his finger against part of the hole from the fountain, spraying the water in his face before walking away again. At the library, Hiroki was trying to read, just a bit more awake than usual. He would lower the book down to see Bastian at the table across waving his dueling deck at him. Hiroki just lifted the book up to his face so he wouldn't see Bastian. When Bastian walked up toward him, Hiroki fixed it so that he would stub his toe on the leg of a chair causing him to yell out in pain. As soon as he yelled out, he found himself staring face to face with an angry librarian. Meanwhile, Hiroki snuck out of the library. Hiroki was in the lab trying to do a science experiment for his Bio-Chem class when Bastian showed up and tried to help. Taking one of the test tubes with chemicals in it he poured a drop in Hiroki's beaker. The solution exploded in Hiroki's face. Bastian had a nervous expression while Hiroki's was extremely cross. Hiroki ended up chasing him with a textbook in his hand.​

Later still, Hiroki finally made it back to his dorm with no signs of Bastian around. He gave a sigh of relief and then proceeded to lay down in bed. He'd completely dozed off when Bastian entered the room. His Barrel Dragon card was played on his duel disk and projected into the room. "Ok, Barrel Dragon! Fire!" From each of its three cannons would be shot a powerful blast which made noises so loud Hiroki jumped to the ceiling. He then looked down and dropped to the floor, only to stare up at Bastian. "You can't sleep yet. We haven't had our duel." Bastian said. Hiroki's face was boiling red as he gritted his teeth and finally steam would shoot from his nose and ears. He then let out the loudest scream that got the attention of those inside the dorm and outside of it. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!" Students walking to their dorm rooms in the hallway stopped short when Bastian came flying out of the room. Then Hiroki's angered form poked its head and right arm and fist from the room, his fist shaking angrily. "STOP BOTHERING ME! IM TIRED! IF YOU WANT TO DUEL ME SO BADLY THEN LET ME SLEEP FIRST!" He then shut the door hard and locked it. The students in the hallway were freaked at first, then looked to Bastian who sat there on the floor embarrassed. "Um, I think he wants to be left alone, Bastian." Amber said as she walked up to him.​

 

[Kent Spealing]

Hiroki awoke a few hours later to a knock on his door. Sure it was Bastian he immediately awoke and would stomp to his door swinging it up after undoing the locks. "I TOLD YOU I WOULD DUEL YOU LATER, BASTIAN!" There was a crash as the person standing there flew into wall from the loud yell. "That's great....except I'm not Bastian." Said the voice weakly. Hiroki opened his eyes to see Jaden pinned against the wall, stuck in an imprint of his body. "Ah! Jaden?!" Hiroki said with an expression of worry on his face. Jaden's body came off the wall and he fell. Hiroki helped him up. "I'm so sorry, Jaden." Hiroki said. Jaden just gave that big smile of his and put up the peace sign. "Ahh no big deal. I guess Bastian was a bit annoying eh? He's only like that when he's eager for a challenge. You really should duel him." Jaden said. Hiroki just sighed. "Yeah, maybe I should. Anyway what are you doing here?" Hiroki spoke. "Sye, Chumley and I were going to head out to the dueling arena for some practice duels. A lot of the kids who have their exams in Dueling Strategies are doing it. I thought maybe you'd like to come along. You could use the practice." Jaden said.​

Hiroki gave a bit of a yawn before looking at Jaden. "Sure, why not. I'm in a lot better shape than I was earlier. Actually managed to get enough sleep once I got Bastian to leave me alone." Hiroki said. "Sweet! Who knows. Maybe you and I will get our game on." Jaden said. Hiroki nodded and gave a grin. "Sounds good. I'll get my deck and duel disk and we can head down there." Hiroki said. "Sweet!" Hiroki would shut his door for a moment, getting dressed into his usual attire. He would then come out with his duel disk and deck handy. "Alright, let's get going." Jaden said. The two then walked out of the dormatory. At the dueling arena dome, they would arrive to find quite a few people in there dueling. This is what Hiroki came to Duel Academy for. He'd grown a lot in five years time. He'd look over to see Amber in the middle of a duel with Dirk Kayer.​

"Ok, Amber I'm going to send you running with your skirt up." Dirk said. Amber gave him a look of disgust. "Perv, just make your move!" She said. "I use Monster Reborn so I can bring back a monster from my graveyard. I'll use it to bring back Horus the Black Flame Dragon Lv 6 to the field in attack mode!" Dirk responded. Upon placing the card face up on his duel disk monster space, the dragon appeared in a show of flames. Hiroki was watching from his distance. This was the first time he'd seen Amber dueling anyone. "Ok Horus Lv 6, attack her life points directly!" Dirk said. His dragon was attempting to attack by spewing flames from its mouth. "And here's where I catch you! Your Horus isn't effected by Spell cards but Traps are different story." She said as her only card on the field flipped up. "I reveal Magic Cylinder. With this it negates the attack you made on me then you take damage equal to the attack of your own monster. So that's 2300 points on you and since you only have 1600...you know what happens." Dirk watched in surprise as his dragon's attack would fly into one Cylinder and then come right back at him from the one next to it. Dirk was struck and sent backwards, his life points dropping to 0.​

"With zero life points, you lose." Amber said. Hiroki gave an expression of approval. "Amber, nice move!" Hiroki said as he walked over to her. Amber turned to Hiroki and gave that cute smile and giggle of hers as she ran up to him. "Hiroki, cutie! Did you see it? I beat Dirk." Amber said. "I saw it, alright. Not bad!" Amber then turned to Dirk as he trudged up toward them, obviously distraught by the loss. Amber winked at him. "That makes three times you lost by my Magic Cylinder." Hiroki's eyes were wide open, a sweat drop over his forehead. "She beat you three times in the same way?" He asked. Jaden looked at Amber. "Way to get your game on!" He said. "Thank you, Jaden." "I thought I had her this time." Dirk said. "You thought wrong." She said. She then turned to Hiroki. "So what brings you here. You come to impress me with your dueling again?" She said as she took his arm. Hiroki blushed but tried to hide it. "Uh..." He struggled to try and find something to say. Jaden and Dirk had beady-eyed expressions and smirks on their faces. "Maybe we'll leave you two alone." Dirk teased. Hiroki gave an angry expression as steam rose off his head.​

"Don't listen to him, Hiroki. He's just jealous that he doesn't have a girlfriend." Amber said. Hiroki's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. Dirk's head grew large as he got angry. "JEALOUS!? YOU WISH!" He then folded his arms as steam rose from his head. Jaden just laughed. "Jaden! Hey Jaden!" He heard someone said. They would all turn to see Syrus and Chumley. "Sye, Chumley! What's up?" Jaden would ask. "Not much, Jaden." Chumley answered. "Looks like a lot of people turned out for the Dueling Stratgies practice session." Syrus said. Jaden would get that excited expression on his face as he looked around. "Yeah, why don't we hop on the bandwagon and find us some duels?" Jaden said. "Sounds good to me." Syrus said. "We'll catch up with you later Hiroki." Jaden said as he walked off with his friends. It was after waving them off, Hiroki would turn to see his least favorite person at the moment. "Hiroki, my friend. I see you're finally up and about." He said. Hiroki just gave an annoyed expression and growled. "Bastian..." He said. "I see you showed up for the practice session. What's say we get started by dueling amongst ourselves?" Bastian asked.​

Hiroki just sighed. He may as well. Bastian did go through a lot of trouble and anguish against himself by Hiroki for just this one intention. Why not duel him then? "Fine, I'll duel you." Hiroki said. That answer made Bastian give his usual grin. "Splendid, we'll have a good duel. I've been looking forward to this for a little while now." Bastian said. "Ok...let's get this over with." Hiroki said. It wouldn't be long before the two of them were standing on a duel platform with Dirk and Amber as spectators. "Ok Hiroki, let's see if I've formulated the perfect equations to solve the problem of how to defeat you." Bastian said. "I'd love to see you try! Let's duel!" Hiroki said.​

 

[Kent Spealing]

"So Hiroki, are you ready to see the formula that creates the defeat of your dueling deck?" Bastian would ask, a smug grin on his face. Hiroki kept his reserved expression. "What I'm ready to see is our life points and a duel in progress."​

Hiroki: 4000
Bastian: 4000

Bastian wasted no time getting straight into it. After both drew their starting hands of five cards, he went ahead and drew his sixth, the start of his first turn. "First I'll go ahead and summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior, in defense mode." He said as he placed a card from his hand to the top of his duel disk field space. Gamma appeared on the field in a crouching stance, arms crossed in front of each other (1500atk/1800def). "That is all for now."​

Hiroki merely raised a brow. "Ok, then! I'll start my turn." Hiroki spoke lowly. He drew his next card. Word has it that this guy likes to study the decks that belong to his opponents. Since I'm considered a rival by him, I'm sure he's studied mine. But he'll see that the power of my warriors cannot be logically defined. "Ok Bastian! Now it's time I set things forth in my favor. First I'll start things off with Marauding Captain, in attack position!" Hiroki's pride a true Marauding Captain appeared on the field in a striking pose (1200/800). "Ah, the Marauding Captain! A card I studied well. When he's played he allows you to special summon a monster from your hand that is level four or less." Bastian said. Hiroki grinned. "Someone has been doing their homework. Ok Bastian, then maybe you know what I plan to summon out here to the field. I'm special summoning my Grand Master Sasuke in attack mode!"​

"Hiroki's going all out so far!" Dirk said. Amber had that usual happy grin on his face. "Yeah, he's got two monsters out to Bastian's one! Take him down, Hiroki." Amber said. Hiroki blushed a bit when he heard her but quickly snapped out of it. "My monster's attack point's are 1800 which is exactly what your monster's defense is. In a normal scenario attacking would do nothing. But my Grand Master has a special ability. When it attacks a monster that is face up in defense mode, the defense monster is destroyed instantly. Now Grand Master Sasuke, attack Gamma with your special ability, defense breaker!" Hiroki said. His Grand Master Sasuke took a lunge for the defense position Gamma. By taking his dagger and impaling Gamma with it, Gamma was destroyed from the field. "Now you'll love what happens next! Marauding Captain, attack directly!" Hiroki said. Marauding Captain, swords tightly gripped in his hand would charge forward. Bastian had an expression of worry upon his face. Bastian was struck hard with the sword swipes. "Grrr..." He growled as he got hit. Maruading Captain went back to his place on the field. "My warriors are fighting the valiant battle, Bastian. So be prepared for more. I'll play a face down card and end my turn." Hiroki's face down card would appear on the field.​

Hiroki: 4000
Bastian: 2800

"I assure you I am prepared. It's my turn!" Bastian drew his next card. Let's see! Hiroki's deck strategy is simply a full frontal assualt with Warriors monsters. That is such a simple strategy and I just drew the card that will put him at a standstill. "I summon Vorse Raider, in attack mode!" Bastian said. His Beast-warrior type monster appeared wielding a large and thick bladed sword. (1900/1200). "I'll attack your Grand Master Sasuke with Vorse Raider. Go, Vorse Raider! Claim another victim with your sword of demise!" Vorse Raider lunged for Hiroki's Sasuke. It went for the strike when a clang of metal was heard. Bastian had a look of surprise on his face when he looked closer. Hiroki had a grin on his. Marauding Captain was standing in the way of Vorse Raider, swords crossed and brought up for a strong defense. He then pushed Vorse Raider back. "What just happened?" Bastian asked. "My Marauding Captain is impressive isn't he? Not only does he lead warriors into battle, he protects them as well. You knew the first effect of my Captain but neglected the second. As long as he's face up on the field, your monsters cannot target any other warriors on the field or else they answer to my Captain. Nice work, Captain. You'll be earning another badge soon." Hiroki said. Marauding Captain gave a respectful nod to Hiroki.​

"There ya go, Hiroki! You're doing it!" Amber said. She was cheering so loudly she caught the attention of other students who were just hanging around. Two of them were Obelisk Blue's own Alexis Rhodes and Zane Truesdale. "Look, it's that Hiroki kid. Is that Bastian he's dueling?" Alexis asked. "Yes, it looks like it." Zane answered. Bastian went to continue his turn. "I'll set a card face down, and that's all for this turn." He said as his face down card appeared. "For a genius, that was one heck of a mistake to make." Hiroki said. "Slight setback, Hiroki. I assure you that when the equation is done it will equal your defeat." Bastian said. "This is a game, Bastian. Not Calculus homework. My turn!" Hiroki drew his next card. "Time for me to bring out an old friend. Marauding Captain, thank you for leading off. I can take it from here. I offer up Marauding Captain and Grand Master Sasuke. This let's me summon to the field my Buster Blader!" Hiroki said. After placing his two existing cards in the graveyard, he placed a new one down on the field. Buster Blader appeared in his glory, holding his trusted long edge sword (2600/2200). "Bastian, you're looking at a veteran here! He was given to me by my best friend several years ago and has served valiantly in my army ever since. OK Buster Blader show Vorse Raider what a real sword can do! Attack!"​

"I don't think so, Hiroki! I set a trap for you! Go earthshaker! With this I name a type of a monster and that monster is destroyed. I choose warrior. So by my calculations, all warrior monsters will be destroyed now. That means your Buster Blader." Bastian said. "Bastian, again you miscalculate. Go counter trap! Trap Jammer!" Hiroki said as he flipped up This card can be activated when you activate a trap card during the battle phase. It negates and destroys the trap card. So say good-bye to your trap and hello to my Blader's sword." Bastian watched in surprise as his trap card shatterd from the field. "NO!" He yelled. He then watched Buster Blader strike down his Vorse Raider. "Grrr!" "My Buster Blader didn't make his grand re-entrance to be struck down so quick. My turn ends on this note!"​

Hiroki: 4000
Bastian:2100

"Wow, Bastian is getting creamed out there." Alexis said. "This Hiroki fellow is definitely no average Ra Yellow duelist. He should be in Obelisk Blue." Zane said. "I have to say Bastian, for someone whose grades are higher than mine, I'm not impressed with the way you duel. I'm hoping you can change that before this is over." Hiroki said. His expression showed disappointment as he spoke. "This duel isn't over!" Bastian drew from his deck. "Now then, allow me to activate Pot of Greed! This will give me two extra cards." Bastian said. He then pulled two cards from his deck. "Now then! I'll set two cards face down and then summon Sangan in defense mode!" Bastian's field became filled with two cards facing down and Sangan, the three eyed fiend monster appeared in a crouching stance. "Your move, Hiroki." I don't get it! Bastian's doing even worst than Crowler did against me. Maybe all that intelligents of his only does show itself in the classroom.​

Hiroki drew his next card. "I'll summon Mystic Swordsman Lv 2 in attack mode!" A small figure dressed in a pink samurai wardrobe and holding a lightsaber appeared (900/0). Sangan is just weak enough in defense mode for Swordsman to take it out. When he destroys Sangan, Bastian will get to bring a monster to his hand from the deck with 1500 attack points or less. But I'll get to special summon my Mystic Swordsman Lv 4 during the end phase. "Ok Mystic Swordsman, attack that Sangan now with Lightsaber Swipe!" Hiroki ordered. His Mystic Swordsman went in for the strike. "Let's see you counter this trap card, Hiroki! I activate The Regulation of the Tribe." Bastian said as one of his face down cards appeared. Hiroki was surprised by this. "With this trap card I name a type of monster and the specified type cannot attack while this card lays face up upon the field. I name Warrior." Hiroki watched as chains came out from nowhere, binding his Mystic Swordsman and his Buster Blader back to their side of the field. "My warriors!! They're trapped!" Hiroki said. "Afraid so, Hiroki and they will remain trapped as long as I keep this trap card active." Bastian said. "It looks like Bastian may have a few tricks of his own." Zane said. "I told you Hiroki, I have formulated the perfect strategy to bring down your warriors and this is just the beginning. So I hope you enjoyed your preemptive strike, because it ends here." Hiroki looked on with an expression of surprise and worry upon his face.​

 

[Kent Spealing]

"You've​

lost that reserve of yours, Hiroki. I guess you finally realize I had the perfect formula to lock down your warrior monsters." Bastian said. Hiroki gave a scowl as he looked at his chained-down monsters. "You're still treating this like a math problem. I guess I have no choice but to cancel it out. But for now I end my turn." Hiroki said. "A wise choice, Hiroki." Bastian drew his next card. Amber watched on edge. "Oh no! Hiroki's monsters are trapped." Amber said. "Yeah and the worst part is, Bastian's trap is continuous. So it's going to stay that way till Hiroki can get rid of it." Dirk said. "Well my friend, in order to keep my trap card's effect alive and well, I must offer a monster on my side of the field as tribute. So I'll sacrifice my Sangan to further prolong the constriction of your monsters." Bastian said. His Sangan was lifted from the field and sent to the graveyard. "But here's the best part. Since Sangan went from the field to the graveyard I search my deck for a monster with 1500 attack points or less and bring it to my hand." Bastian said. Hiroki tried to hide the fact he was a bit upset by his position while Bastian searched his deck.

Bastian​

found the card he was looking for and brought it out. He then shuffled his deck and placed it back in the holder. He would afterwards show Hiroki the card he pulled out. "Alpha the Magnet Warrior!" He said as he placed it into his hand. "I think I'll summon it to the field in attack mode." He placed the card in attack position on his duel disk. It then appeared on the field in striking position (1400/1700). "My Gamma was struck down, but Alpha will get even. Alpha, attack Mystic Swordsman Level 2 with Alpha form sword thrust." Bastian said. Hiroki watched as Alpha rushed in quickly, sending its sword into the heart of Mystic Swordsman Lv 2. It let out a yell of pain before shattering apart. Alpha then returned to his side of the field. "Now then before ending my turn I'll play a spell card!" Hiroki raised a brow as Bastian pulled a card out of his hand and showed it to him. "Scapegoat!" Hiroki's eyes widened in surprise. "This let's me have four sheep tokens on the field." Bastian said. Alexis, Zane, Dirk and Amber expressed surprise upon their faces. "What!?" Dirk said. "Oh man!" Hiroki followed. "That means..." Alexis started. "...that Bastian can just sacrifice the tokens instead of his monsters to keep his trap card in play." Zane finished. "Hiroki...!" Amber cried.

Hiroki: 3500
Bastian:2100

"Not​

so unimpressive now am I? I'll end my turn on that note." Hiroki gave a serious expression. I have to admit it, Bastian has me cornered. But like my warriors I won't give up until the last life point is gone. Hiroki thought. Hiroki drew his next card and looked at it. Buster Blader, I'm sorry! I still can't get you out of those chains. "I'll throw down a face down card!" Hiroki said. His face down card appeared behind Buster Blader. "That's all I can do for now, Bastian." Hiroki said. Bastian chuckled. "Now that your warriors are chained down, you have nothing to say. Typical! To keep them that way I will sacrifice a scapegoat. Now I will flip up my face down card, Monster Reincarnation! This lets me bring one monster from my graveyard to my hand as long as I'm willing to relinquish one card from my hand. I'm perfectly willing to pay the cost to bring back my Gamma the Magnet Warrior." Bastian discarded a card from his hand. He then brought Gamma the Magnet Warrior from his graveyard to his hand. "Now then! I have the factors to create the monster that will destroy your Buster Blader!" Hiroki just raised a brow. "Alpha, Gamma, Beta...these three are merely pieces of the formula for the final product..the monster that will destroy your monsters and your life points." Bastian said

Hiroki​

gave a nervous expression. "Now watch as I combine the three monsters together." Bastian said. "No way! Fusion!?" Hiroki said. "Alpha, Gamma, and Beta! Fuse together now to create your ultimate form." Bastian said. Hiroki watched as the three monsters shifted shape and form so they could combine. Oh no! He thought. The created a monster much taller than Buster Blader, armed with Beta's sword, Alpha's shield and had Gamma's wings. "Hiroki, it pleases me to present you the final ingredient to your defeat. I give you the powerful Valkyrion the Magna Warrior." Hiroki's eyes went wide in surprise as did everybody else watching. Syrus turned around just in time to see Bastian create his new monster. "Jaden look!" He said as he pointed. Jaden turned around and his eyes went wide in surprise. "Whoa! That's a sweet monster!" Jaden said. "And look, Hiroki is backed into a corner." Syrus said. Now a lot of eyes were on Hiroki. "It...has...3500 attack points!?" Hiroki said. "Yes and all aimed directly for your Blader! Valkyrion, attack his Buster Blader now with Omega form slash!" Bastian said. Valkyrion took to the air then came in fast on Hiroki's Buster Blader. Hiroki watched as Valkyrion took it down. "Buster Blader..." He said to himself. He watched as his deck spirit proceeded to fade away. Jaden was able to see Hiroki's deck spirit as well. "Wow, that Buster Blader was not only one of his strongest cards, it was his deck spirit too." Jaden said.

Hiroki: 2700
Bastian: 2100

Hiroki​

closed his eyes and tightened his fist. Buster Blader thank you for holding the front. Now it's going to take everything I've got to beat that Valkyrion and even more to defeat Bastian. He then looked at his deck. "What's wrong Hiroki? Feeling like you want to cry now? That's no way for a rival of mine to act." Hiroki chuckled just then which caused Bastian to become curious. Hiroki then looked up at Bastian with a grin. "On the contrary, Bastian. Everything is just fine! You've managed to change my opinion about you! So far you're doing better than I hoped. The duel's getting better by the turn. Now that I'm playing on edge, it's time I got my head in the game! My turn!" Hiroki drew his next card. "I play my Pot of Greed! So I can get two cards!" Hiroki drew two cards just then. "Next I'll go ahead and place a card face down, and then summon my Amazoness Fighter in attack mode!" Hiroki said. Hiroki made another face down card appear next to the other. Then in attack position was a bulky amazoness monster which took ready striking position. It was then that chains rose out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her arms legs and shoulders. She was brought down to a kneeling position. "My trap card binds your monster from attacking!" Bastian said. "That's no problem! I end my turn!"

"It​

looks like Hiroki is getting serious now." Dirk said. Amber just watched every hopeful. "This is getting good." Alexis spoke. "I'm interested in seeing how Hiroki gets himself out of this." Zane said. Bastian drew a card. "First I'll offer up a sheep token to keep my trap card in play! Next I'll summon the Mathematician in attack mode." Bastian said. He summoned forth an old wizard with an extremely long white beard and holding a staff with numbers around the top of it (1500/300). "Now Valkyrion, attack his Fighter!" Bastian said. Valkyrion took off again and flew toward Amazoness Fighter. Hiroki's monster was struck and blown apart. But there was no damage taken. "Huh? No life point damage! What gives!?" Bastian said. "My monster's special ability is what gives Bastian. All battle damage involving Amazoness Fighter becomes 0. So you wasted a good attack." Bastian said. "Maybe so but you're wide open! Mathematician, attack him directly with Number Cruncher!" Hiroki watched as the monster unleased a stream of energy and numbers. They collided into him with good force. "AAAAHHHH!!!!!" Hiroki yelled as he fell back. "HIROKI!" Amber yelled out. Hiroki got back up on his feet almost instantaneously. "It won't be long now! My monsters are going to pick you apart." Bastian said. "We'll see about that! But in the mean time I'll activate my Jar of Greed trap card! This lets me draw a card from my deck!" Hiroki said as his face down card went up. Hiroki drew his next card. "Very well then! I end my turn!"

Hiroki: 1200
Bastian: 2100

Hiroki​

drew his next card. "Here you go! I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode!" Hiroki said. Hiroki summoned a monster wearing bright red armor, armed with a shield and an enchanted blade. "Ah, another monster! Regulation of Tribe, bind it down!" Bastian said. Chains rose out of the ground for Breaker, but Breaker merely dodged them, remaining free. Bastian was left surprised. "What happened!? My trap card should have binded it down!" Bastian said. "Well that would be the case yes if it were not for one thing." Hiroki said with a grin. "What's that?" "Breaker doesn't meet the requirement to be brought down by your trap! You see...Breaker...is a spellcaster! And since you had your trap card prevent Warriors from attacking, Breaker is unaffected!" Hiroki said. Amber cheered! "Yes! There ya go, Hiroki! YAY!" She cheered. Dirk gave a beady eyed expression as a sweat drop appeared on his forehead. What a pom pom girl! He thought. "Nice, seems Hiroki was smart enough not to make every monster card in his deck of the same type." Zane said. "Yeah, his Breaker can attack but that's not all it can do." Alexis said. "And speaking of your trap card, I'm putting an end to it!" Hiroki said. "Huh? What do you mean by that." Bastian said.

"My​

Breaker has a special ability. You see, when I summoned it, I had to put a spell counter on it. That spell counter gave it 300 extra attack points making it 1900. But if I should remove that counter, I'll bring it back down to 1600. But that's a small price to pay because in exchange, I can destroy one trap or spell card on the field, face up or face down!" Hiroki said. Bastian was surprised. "WHAT!?" "Oh yeah! And in case you haven't figured it out, Breaker is going to take out that regulation of tribe! Do it Breaker! Activate special ability now!" Hiroki said. Hiroki's monster went down to 1600 attack points but a blast from its enchanted sword destroyed Regulation of Tribe. "With your trap card gone, there's nothing left to keep my warriors from attacking." Hiroki said with a grin. "That may be so! But I still have my Valkyrion, which is stronger than any monster you have summoned so far." Bastian said. "That may be so for now. But I took out your trap card! Better believe I'll take down your monster next!" Hiroki said. He then pointed. "I'm taking you down, Bastian. Get ready, because my head's in the game!"

 

[Munashii]

Pardon me, I didn't really read the entire thing, but I did check up on the grammer and all. You have excellent spelling, but I recommend that you use commas more. And to lower the confusion, I also recommend that whenever a different person talks, you use a new paragraph. As for the words, you may try to use a thesaurus to try to find more colorful ways of saying things so you can identify the characters' moods. Example: 'said' can be replaced by 'exclaim', 'converse', or 'replied' to define what kind of conversation your characters are havnig. Nice story anyways.

 

[Kent Spealing]

thanks! most appreciated ^_^...i am a bit short on words sometimes.

 

[Kent Spealing]

"You may have succeeded in getting rid of my trap card but when this turn is over, Valkyrion will get rid of your Breaker." Bastian spoke.


Hiroki stared right at Bastian, his resolve clearly returned to him, a grin upon his face. "Yep, maybe so! But in the mean time..." He started.


He then pointed at the Mathematician. "Breaker, attack Mathematician now!" He ordered. Hiroki's Breaker rushed in for the attack, slicing through Mathematician with one swipe of the sword and shattering it.


"Nice work Hiroki, but because of that, I get Mathematician's special ability. I get to draw one card from the top of my deck." Bastian explained.


Bastian drew the top card of his deck. "Now then, I shall proceed to end this duel." Bastian said as he drew a card from the top of his deck. Hiroki raised a brow in curiosity.


"It starts with this trap card. I reveal, Ring of Destruction! With this card, I select one monster upon the field. That monster is destroyed and we both take life point damage equal to the attack of the monster. I'll use it to destroy your Breaker. Then we'll proceed to take 1600 points of damage. But since that is more than you have I will win the duel."


Breaker was give a large ring with explosives attached to it that went around its neck. Hiroki's eyes went wide for a second as the last card in his hand went to the graveyard. The monster was blown up just then. Bastian then chuckled as the smoke covered Hiroki's side of the field, his life points dropping


"Oh no, Hiroki! He's going to lose!" Amber cried. "The equation is finished and like I said Hiroki, it equals your defeat." Bastian said with a grin.


The smoke began to clear and as it slowly dissipated, Bastian would be surprised to see Hiroki still on his feet. There was a grin on his face. Of course Bastian was completely unraveled.


"What happened!? By my calculations, my trap card should have gotten rid of all you life points!" He exclaimed in confusion. Hiroki was chuckling.


"Heheh! You really need to pay more attention Bastian! Otherwise you would have seen me activate my trap card." Hiroki said.

Zane, Alexis, Jaden, Amber and Dirk were just as surprised as Bastian. "He laid a trap?" Alexis asked. "Yes and activated it just in time to save himself." Zane replied.


Hiroki: 1200
Bastian: 500


Hiroki pointed at his trap card which was now flipped face up on the field. "Hallowed Life Barrier! By discarding one card from my hand, it allowed me to reduce all damage I would have taken to 0 for the duration of the turn." Hiroki explained. "So if you pardon the expression, you fail, Bastian!"


Bastian was completely unhappy by this! "I had you! That trap was perfectly planned!" He complained. Hiroki just waved a finger.


"Not really! See the bad thing is since you waited till your turn to activate that trap, your monster's attack is now going to do zero damage to me. Had you activated it last turn, you'd be the winner right now. But your mistake has allowed me one last chance to take this duel. Your turn is over!" Hiroki declared.


This is it! My last chance! If my deck fails me here and now, Bastian wins. Hiroki drew his next card and looked at it. His eyes went wide. Then he held the card up. "Card of Sanctity! With this card we draw until our hands hold six cards! That's a new hand for me and four cards for you."


Hiroki drew six cards from his deck at once and then he felt something and a brief image came to his mind. It almost looked like someone he knew but the image came so quick he couldn't make it out. But if he didn't know better he'd say it was Joey Wheeler. Hiroki then looked at his new hand and saw two cards he was sure he was just seeing in his mind. No way! I thought...well there's no point in trying to figure it out. He thought in surprise. He looked over to Bastian who had drawn his cards.


"Ready Bastian? It's time to end this! First, I'll summon Gearfried the Iron Knight, in attack mode!" He called out. Gearfried the Iron Knight appeared on the field in attack form (1800/1600).


"You call forth that creature in attack position? Your best bet was defense! Now If I attack it you lose!" Bastian said in confusion.


"Bastian, pay attention!" Hiroki spoke. "My Gearfried needs his true power to take on Valkyrion! So I'll release his power with the spell known as Release Restraint!" Hiroki said. He held up the spell card for all to see.


Bastian was surprised. "What!?" He exclaimed. "Release Restraint can only be activated on a Gearfried the Iron Knight! This let's me transform him into his true form. Ready to come out of your shell, Gearfied?" Hiroki spoke.


"GO RELEASE RESTRAINT!" Hiroki yelled out. Gearfried's armor began to break. In moments it shattered apart and what was now in front of him was a largely muscular figure in a tarp with long dark blonde hair. He took strike form (2600/2200).


"Bastian, I'm more than happy to introduce you to a long time old friend, Gearfried the Swordmaster." Hiroki stated. Hiroki then looked at his Swordmaster who then looked back at him. "Gearfried, this is awesome! Glad to have ya back!" He spoke in happiness.


Gearfried gave him a nod and a grin. "You ready to take down that Magna Warrior?" When Gearfried nodded again Hiroki took duel stance and pulled a card from his hand. "He talks to his duel monsters." Zane spoke giving the impression he was weirded out.

"Ok, let's get you equipped with the right gear to do it. Bastian, I equip my monster with Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Tryce!" Hiroki said.


Bastian was unsure of what to say. "At a loss? I'll explain! See Twin Swords of Flashing Light Tryce, requires me to discard a card from my hand to activate. Once I do that I can equip it to a monster. This will weaken it by 500 points." Hiroki explained.


"You made your monster weaker on purpose? You don't have a chance of winning now!" Bastian stated afterwards. Hiroki had a grin on his face.


"I already won! Swordmaster has a special ability! When he is equipped with an equipment spell or trap card, I get to select one monster on the field and destroy it automatically! So say good-bye to Valkyrion!" Hiroki said.


Bastian was shocked. "NO!" He yelled. His Valkyrion then shattered to pieces. "I'm afraid so Bastian! You lost your only monster! But I'm not done yet. Twin Swords allows my equipped monster to attack an additional time this turn. But I only need one attack to end this!" Hiroki said.


"Wow, I don't believe it! He managed to pull it off." Dirk spoke in surprise. "See! I told you my Hiroki is amazing! Finish it Hiroki!" Amber yelled.


Gearfried now held two swords in his hands. Bastian was completely taken by this turn of events. "You may have studied my deck, Bastian but you didn't study the user. Now your mistake is costing you this duel. Gearfried, attack Bastian directly with twin sword swipe!" Hiroki ordered.


Gearfried went into a full lunge toward Bastian swiping both swords across him. "AAAAAGGGHHH!!" Bastian didn't fall but he did stagger back. Gearfried landed on the ground by Hiroki. "The duel's over Bastian, and I win." Hiroki said.


"Way to go, Roki!" Dirk said as he came over to him. Amber rushed up and gave Hiroki a big hug. "Nice going Hiroki! I knew you could do it."


Jaden and Syrus joined as well. "Nice goin, Hiroki!" Syrus complimented. "Sweet duel! That's how you get your game on!" Jaden commented.


Hiroki looked over to Bastian who sat fumbling through his deck. He was obviously trying to figure out where he went wrong. Zane, seeing the duel was over started to walk away, but he gave an intrigued expression at Hiroki.


Jaden saw that he'd been watching. "You even got Zane's attention with your duel." He mentioned. Hiroki turned around just in time to catch Zane still glancing over. Somehow he got the impression he and Zane would probably duel sometime in the near future.


"I can't believe it! I was sure I had it all figured out! There was something I didn't consider, some miscalculation somewhere." Bastian scrambled to himself.


Hiroki had walked up to him by then. "Bastian..." He said. Bastian looked up to see Hiroki's concerned expression. "You did a pretty good job. But listen, logic, equations and such, that stuff is meant for academics. You can't logically define everything in duel monsters. It doesn't work like that. Focus on your own strategy instead of countering those that belong to others."


Bastian just looked at him and finally stood up. "Hiroki...I was sure I had beaten your deck. I calculated everything." He said.


"And what did I just tell you. Your counter strategy merely slowed me down. It didn't stop me. As for calculations. The only miscalculation you made that cost you the duel was the timing of your trap card activation. Sure I would have stopped it with Life Barrier but your Valkyrion could have hit me on your turn for the win. Anyway nice duel." Hiroki said holding out his hand.


Bastian shook his hand after that. "Hiroki, I apologize for the events earlier today. Was just eager to duel my academic rival." Bastian explained.


"It's cool, you're forgiven!" Hiroki said as he smiled. He then gave a grumpy expression and spoke in a lower voice. "But if you shoot your Barrel Dragon off in my room while I'm asleep again and I'll throw you out the window next time, got it?"


Bastian gave a smile of nervousness before regaining his composure. "Anyway I'm heading back to the room. This was good practice. See you guys tomorrow. Hiroki said." He then turned around and walked off.


The others watched him go. "That is one heck of duelist." Dirk said. "You think he has a shot at being King of Games?" Syrus asked.


"Who knows! But if he comes close he'll have to get through me first." Jaden said.


Hiroki walked across the courtyard, his Gearfried the Swordmaster card in his hand. I gave this to Joey Wheeler six years ago at Battle City when I lost my duel to him. I don't know how I got you back, but I'm glad to have you back Gearfried. Who knows...maybe it was just destiny for me to have this card. Somehow I get the idea you're going to help me do well in the exam tomorrow. Hiroki looked up at the fading skylight and saw the image of what appeared to be his idol, Joey Wheeler with a thumbs up and a wink looking down on him as he would have been six years ago.

 

[Munashii]

Oh yeah. I checked out the new entry. You've been improving, but I also recommend that at the end of a sentence that a speake makes, they use a comma unless they say something right after that which has nothing to do with it.
A little example:
Good:
"This isn't bad at all," he said. "In fact, it's pretty darn good!"
Bad:
"This isn't bad at all." He said. "In fact, it's pretty darn good!"
But when a person says something like "Ooh, what a pretty trinket. I like it so much," and right after that, the same person says something like, "I think that Edward looks cute," that is when you need to edit the first thing the speaker said and end it with a period.
Sorry for sounding like a grammer teacher.

 

[~Zero~]

I must say i was most intrugied by this. keep it up.

 

[Kent Spealing]

A beautiful sun rise shined it's light brilliantly upon the coast of the island. The waves were splashing magnificently against the rocks, there was a gentle breeze and a beautiful sighting of early birds flying across the air to catch their worms, and oddly enough the figure of a boy was standing out there watching nature start the day. He wore a white headband around his forehead, a white vest with no shirt underneath and matching white pants. He wore nothing upon his feet and his hair was a bit spiky. His eyes gazed focusingly out to the horizon. "A new day..." He started to speak softly. He proceeded to then look down at a duel monster's card in his hand. "...and with it, means a new challenge."

Battle of the Bladers​

Hiroki jumped out of bed, having gotten as much sleep as he intended for last night. Pulling back the curtain covering his window, he observed the amazing sunrise. It was 7:30 am.


"Ah, this is looking to be a pretty good day." He said to himself as he then walked over to his desk. There, he found his PDA which had his daily schedule for today set upon the charger. His desk had been neatly rearranged. Hiroki was pretty meticulous with his belongings. This meant that this sort of thing wasn't unusual for him.


Gazing upon his schedule he found it to be as follows;

8am: Breakfast in the cafe

9am: Calculus; Worksheet and pages 123-124 problems 1-40 (even problems only due today)

10am: History; two page report on the French-Indian War due today

11am: Break for brunch and meet with Amber for midday Calculus tutoring.

12:15pm: Dueling Strategies pre-exam practice with Jaden, Syrus and Amber

1pm: Dueling Strategies; Dueling Exam (subject focus; Spell Cards)

2pm: Late lunch; review English notes for class

2:45pm: English class; Pop Quiz expected

3:30pm: Bio-Chemistry class; three page paper on chemical fusion due today

4:20pm: PE Class


Hiroki gave a sigh as he looked at this, then turning to his folder which had all his homework inside of it. He could relax today seeing as how all his work had been done. One thing that did worry him though was the Dueling Strategies exam. Dr. Satyr the duel disks they were using had special chips in them that would record the number of spell cards used in the duel. The more spells used the more points they recieved. A passing grade had to be obtained by using at least 7 spell cards. Well, suppose his duel was over before that? Would he fail? Dr. Satyr was strange to Hiroki. Hiroki really didn't understand his teaching methods but since he was the head of the Ra Yellow dorm, best not to question him. Hiroki was interrupted by a knock on his door. That was probably Bastian, Dirk, and Amber.



Hiroki proceeded to head to the door, undo the chains, and open the door. Sure enough, he was right. Amber, Bastian, and Dirk were standing there.

"Good morning, Hiroki." Bastian spoke with his usual grin.

"Hi, Hiroki! Did you sleep well?" Amber asked.

"Yes, I feel great today!" Hiroki responded. He then pulled his folder out. "All my homework is done too." He then said.

"Good show, Hiroki!" Bastian said.

"We'd better get moving to the cafe, guys. I have a class at 8:30." Dirk said.

"Yes, Dirk musn't be late for his reading comprehension class." Bastian teased.

Hiroki and Amber busted up laughing while Dirk gave Bastian an angry glare an X appearing on his forehead.

"How about you comprehend reading my fist!?" Dirk threatened.

"Oh please, Dirk! Save the violence for the dueling field." Amber said as they proceeded to walk down the hallway. Dirk was growling at Bastian.

I guess Bastian has chosen to piss Dirk off today. Hiroki thought to himself with a grin.


Later at the cafeteria, the crew sat down to eat. It could have been assumed that Dirk was the most hungry of them all. His tray dropped down on the table with a thud. Bastian, Hiroki, and Amber stared at Dirk's tray with widened eyes. There were pancakes stacked to just up to his chin, waffles on the plate next to it stacked almost as high, a bowl of cereal, a glass of milk, a glass of orange juice, and four pieces of toast.

"CHEW ATTACK!" He yelled as he proceeded to gobble the food with the most atrocious table manners ever.

The three watched as he demolished the food as if he were breathing air. Hiroki at the moment was a chibi version of himself with pupiless eyes and several sweat drops over his forehead as was Bastian. Amber's jaw was completely dropped to the table eyes wide open. Dirk seemed to let out animal noises as he ate. The three covered their eyes and ducked as pieces of food were flying at them as Dirk devoured his food. They got up again to see Dirk finishing the last of the meal, inhaling his bowl of cereal and the beverages in one gulp. After wiping his mouth off with the side of his arm, he turned to Hiroki and Bastian letting out a belch followed by a strong wind which knocked them off of their seat. Amber's face was totally green, her mouth covered with both hands.

Oh my god! Very...no...extremely gross! She thought.

Hiroki and Bastian were on the floor, swirls for eyes with the nearby tables looking over at them wondering what had just happened. They then stood up staggering dizzily. Their eyes still little swirls.

"Now that my appetite is gone, what's up?" Hiroki spoke in a daze.

"Table manners anyone?" Bastian asked.

Dirk sat there embarrassed as Amber and Hiroki now stared at him with an angry glare.

"I think I'm going to get moving to class!" Bastian decided. He then walked off now, his appetite completely ruined. Hiroki and Amber did the same.

"Hey, guys wait up!" Dirk yelled as he went to catch up with them. He was met with a punch from Hiroki and a slap from Amber. Now Dirk was the one on the ground with swirls for eyes in a daze, students now looking at them in surprise.

"GEEZ! WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR EATING HABITS FROM?! LIVESTOCK?" Hiroki yelled.

"GET SOME TABLE MANNERS, DIRK! YOU'RE GROSS!" Amber followed.

They then walked off leaving him there.

Hiroki was still trying to regain his senses. "How sick is he?" He asked.

"That was so disgusting!" Amber spoke in disapproval.

They neared the building where their class would be taking place. That's when Amber turned to Hiroki again as if to pose a question.

"Hiroki, were you able to get question 24 done on the calculus homework? I couldn't figure it out for the life of me." Amber asked. Hiroki then sat her down on the bench and pulled out his folder of homework. He had plenty of time seeing as how they were right in front of the building and thirty minutes still remained before class started. Later that day, Hiroki was on his way to the cafe to meet with Amber. They were going to have brunch and he was going to help her study Calculus a bit. On his way there, he was approached by Alexis.

"You're Hiroki aren't you?" She asked.

Hiroki stopped and looked at her with a mediocre expression on his face. "Yes, I am. You are...?" He replied.

Alexis looked a bit surprised that Hiroki didn't know who she was. "I'm Alexis." She introduced herself.

Hiroki gave a small grin and held out his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet, Alexis." He then said. She shook his hand and gave a small smile. Hiroki then noticed her jacket.

"You're an Obelisk Blue?" He asked.

Alexis nodded. "Zane and I were watching your duel with Bastian Misawa. That was pretty impressive dueling." Alexis commented.

"Well thanks!" Hiroki said.

"Do you know Zane?" She asked. Hiroki gave an uncertain expression.

"If you mean that guy with the blue hair, no I don't." He answered. Alexis was surprised again. Everybody else in the school knew Zane. How was it possible he didn't?

"Well I have to get moving. I'm heading to the cafeteria to help my friend with her calculus and get some food. Perhaps we'll talk again." Hiroki said. He then proceeded to walk on. Alexis watched him leave and as she was doing so, Zane walked up from behind.

"He's pretty reserve. It's obvious he's a good duelist." Zane said.

Hiroki reached the cafeteria building only to find Amber waiting outside for him. Immediately after spotting him would she wave him over.

"Hiroki, over here!" She yelled as she waved for him. Hiroki gave a small grin as he walked over to her. Upon his reaching her, she would take him by the arm. Hiroki as usually got that tingling feeling and blushed.

"Hey, how's your day so far?" She asked. Hiroki regained his composure and then the two started walking.

"Not too bad. History was a bore as usual. So, are you ready to get some food and hit the books?" Hiroki answered.

Amber gave a smile and released Hiroki so she could get her books out. "Sure, as long as Dirk isn't eating with us." Hiroki gave a small laugh and then shook his head.

"I think he has a class so, it's just going to be us two. Let's go, I'm hungry." Hiroki said. Amber laughed in excitment and the two walked into the cafeteria. But as they did the figure from the cliffside showed up and watched them. "Hmm..."

Hiroki and Amber sat down with their trays of food at an empty table. After looking around they found that none of their crew was present within the cafeteria as of the moment. Alexis and Zane did come into the cafeteria but they sat at a table where they could keep an eye on Hiroki but not be noticed. Hiroki and Amber opened their text books and began to get down to the tutoring. At ths moment, the figure had entered the cafeteria. As he made his way through, the students looked at him, wondering who he was and why he was dressed the way he was. The figure would come to a stop when he saw Hiroki and Amber studying at a table right ahead. Upon making his way to approach, Zane and Alexis noticed him.

"That's strange! That guy is going over to Hiroki." Alexis said.

"Perhaps he knows Hiroki." Zane replied.

Amber noticed him first and tapped Hiroki's shoulder. "Hiroki, look!" She said. Hiroki looked at her and noticed her pointing. Turning he would see the figure now standing at their table. "Something I can help you with?" Hiroki asked with a brow raised.

He looks so familiar... The figure thought. "You, what is your name?" He spoke finally.

Hiroki just looked at him funny. "Hiroki Imaro, and you?" Hiroki replied.

The figure shirked in surprise. It was one of those "Now I'm sure I know him," kind of expressions. That name...I know it! But from where? "My name is Kento Kumari." He said.

This time Hiroki was the one to shirk in surprise. Why does it feel like I know that name? Hiroki thought. He stared at Kento and, for that moment, everything else disappeared as if they were completely alone. Their auras flared brightly off of their bodies. Hiroki's aura was blue, while Kento's was white. Hiroki stood up out of his seat and faced Kento eye to eye. Amber showed concern at that moment. "Hiroki, what's wrong?" She would ask.

"Hiroki, I challenge you to a duel right here and now. Do you accept?" Kento asked.

Hiroki stared into Kento's eyes. He'd seen this coming the moment the names had been introduced. Somehow, they knew each other and this duel would help clarify for them just how that was possible.

"Yes, I accept the duel challenge." Hiroki said.

Kento's duel disk unfolded and he loaded his deck into the holder. Some of the students noticed what appeared to be the start of a duel about to be in progress and turned to watch. Alexis and Zane stood up and watched with their backs against the wall. Hiroki loaded his deck into the holder. He then let his duel disk unfold.

"Ok Kento, get your head in the game and let's duel." Hiroki said.

 

[Kent Spealing]

Kento and Hiroki stood ready with five cards in both of their hands. Kento elected to initiate the duel and drew his sixth card. He looked at his hand and then to Hiroki.

"Let's see if this duel enlightens us both! First I shall start with the Marauding Captain, in attack mode." Kento said. Hiroki's eyes quirked in surprise. A warrior deck!?

Marauding Captain appeared on the field in striking position. This was probably the first time Hiroki was facing against a monster that existed in his own deck. But he wasn't shaken yet. He'd just fight back.

"Now his special ability lets me bring out another level four or lower monster to the field. I choose the Skilled White Magician!" Kento spoke again.

Skilled White Magician appeared on the field with a jump into the air from the the projected card. His staff twirling above his head as he came down. Upon landing on the field he pointed the staff straight at Hiroki (1700/1900).

"Now then I'll activate The A Forces!" Kento's continuous spell card appeared face up. "Now then! As long as this card remains in play, my warriors will get 200 extra attack points for every Spellcaster and Warrior I have out. Since I have a Warrior and a Spellcaster out, Marauding Captain's attack goes up by 400 to 1600."

Hiroki watched as Marauding Captain got stronger. He then noticed a small floating coin like object now floating around Skilled White Magician.

"What is that?" Hiroki asked as he pointed at Skilled White Magician. Kento gave a grin and looked at his monster.

"Oh that? That's just my monster's special ability at work. You see, whenever spells are played by either you or I, he gets a spell counter. That is what you see floating around him. When he gets three, I can sacrifice my Skilled White Magician in order to special summon from my hand, deck, or graveyard...Buster Blader." Kento explained.

Hiroki's eyes shifted in fear. "You have a Buster Blader!?" He replied almost frantic.

"Yes, and I intend to summon him to the field to take you down, Hiroki." Kento said as he pointed.

He has a Buster Blader somewhere in his deck. And already has a plan to summon it to the field without sacrificing two monsters. But that's ok! Cause I have a plan too.

"I play one card face down and I'll end my turn." Kento said.

Hiroki drew his next card. "Come on, Hiroki! You can do it!" Amber cheered. Hiroki's eyes shifted to her and a grin would appear for a second before he stared at his opponent again.

"Reinforcements of the Army! With it A warrior monster with four stars or less is able to come to my hand straight from the deck of my choosing! I've already made up my mind! I summon my Marauding Captain to the field after bringing it to my hand from the deck. But mine is going in defense mode!"

Hiroki's Marauding Captain appeared in a crouching defense stance. Hiroki then pulled another card from his hand and held it face up.

"With the special ability I summon Exiled Force to the field!" Hiroki stated. Behind the Marauding Captain appeared a group of warriors in armor holding assorted swords and blades.

"These guys are a good group! Their special ability activates when I offer them a sa tribute! One monster on the field of my choosing goes to the graveyard instantly. I choose Skilled White Magician. Say bye!" Hiroki said.

Hiroki's force disappeared from the field. Just moments after that, Kento watched his monster smash apart from the field. His expression didn't change at all.

"No more Skilled White, means no Buster Blader!" Hiroki said.

"I'm afraid you're wrong!" Kento answered. Hiroki's eyes quirked a bit. "Go trap card! Call of the Haunted! With this, the soul of one monster in my graveyard returns to the field. I choose my Skilled White Magician. Return to the field!"

In a show of energy, Skilled White Magician appeared again ready to attack. Hiroki was nervous but continued his turn. "I place a card face down, and end my turn on that note." Hiroki said.

Kento: 4000
Hiroki: 4000

Kento drew his next card. "Ah! First I'll activate Pot of Greed! This let's me access the top two cards from my deck and also puts a spell counter on my Skilled White Magician."

Hiroki watched as a spell counter appeared floating around Skilled White Magician. "Next I'll play another A Forces! This will fix it so my warriors get 400 for every Spellcaster and Warrior upon the field and gives my Skilled White Magician another spell counter."

"Oh man! This looks bad! If Skilled White Magician gets another spell counter on it, Kento will be able to summon Buster Blader to the field no matter where he is!" Hiroki said.

"One counter, two counters and here comes the third! I play mystical space typhoon! This lets me destroy one spell or trap on the field! I choose your face down card!" Hiroki watched in horror as Kento's card went to activate.

The strong cyclone wind destroyed the face down card. "Now I have three spell counters on my White Magician! You know what that means. My formidable Buster Blader is allowed to emerge to the field. Are you ready Hiroki? I sacrifice my White Magician now!" Kento yelled.

Hiroki stared in horror as White Magician disappeared and slowly emerging to the field was a monster he recognized. "Hiroki, this is the test of your skills as a duelist. Watch as my monster emerges. Come on out, mighty Buster Blader!"

Hiroki's eyes were widened as from the card in formidable stance emerged none other than Buster Blader, which perhaps was the worst monster he could have possibly faced. For not only was the card sacred to him, it was also his own deck spirit. Hiroki looked on in fear because in just a few moments, he was going to be doing battle with his own deck spirit.

"Hiroki, now is the time! This monster seems to frighten you! This is the test of your skills as a duelist and maybe even a test of your own character. Now you face off against none other than the Buster Blader."

What am I gonna do? Not only did he manage to summon Buster Blader, he managed to make it stronger than any monster in my deck. All in all, my own deck spirit has turned against me. Hiroki thought in fear.

 

[Kent Spealing]

"Now Hiroki, time for you to face the wrath of my monsters. Marauding Captain, attack his Marauding Captain." Kento ordered.

As soon as he ordered, Marauding Captain lunged for Hiroki's defensive Captain. With one swipe of his sword, Marauding Captain took out Hiroki's Marauding Captain. Hiroki looked completely frightened. His field was wide open now.

"Looks like you're wide open! Buster Blader...!" Kento called out. Hiroki stepped back. "...ATTACK!" Kento yelled.


Buster Blader moved in swiftly. Hiroki braced himself. Thanks to the setup Kento had out, Buster Blader had 3400 attack points. Buster Blader's sword swipe was enough to take Hiroki off of his feet. He'd been knocked sideways. His back hit the table before he bounced off, hit the wall stomach first and then fell on face. Amber shrieked.

"HIROKI!" She yelled as she got up and went over to where he landed. The crowd had gasped. That couldn't have felt nice at all. Kento just folded his arms and waited for Hiroki to stand up again. Hiroki was groaning on the ground when Amber came up to him.

"Hiroki, are you ok?" She asked.

Alexis and Zane were a bit surprised. "I will say this, that kid takes a lot of beating around." Zane commented.

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Alexis responded.

Hiroki struggled to get up. Amber was helping him. "Come on Hiroki, you have to get back in there." She said.

"Against Buster Blader? I can't do that! I can't fight my own monster." Hiroki responded. Amber was surprised and upset.

"What are you saying?" She asked.

"Buster Blader is my deck spirit. I share a close connection to the card. I can't see me fighting against him." Hiroki said.

"What's wrong with you? So he has a Buster Blader too. Big deal! You're not the only one with your cards! Probably not even the only one with your kind of deck! Yugi Motou is said to be the only one with a Dark Magician Girl. But I have one too."

Hiroki looked at her. There was some spark about her that reminded him of an old friend. He was a bit surprised.

"Look, he may have a Buster Blader, but it's not YOUR Buster Blader. Anyone can have the same cards as someone else, but only you can use them in the way that you do. So why not show him how you use your Buster Blader?" Amber speeched.

Hiroki smiled at her and stood completely upright. "Ok, I'll try!" He responded. "Don't try! Just do it!" She said.

Hiroki looked at her a bit surprised but then went off to take his place back on the dueling field. Kento smiled. "Nice to see you're not down and out yet." He stated.

"Not till my life points are zero!" Hiroki responded.

"I assure you they will be zero! Your turn!"

Hiroki: 600
Kento: 4000

Hiroki drew his next card. If I'm to win, I need to summon my Buster Blader somehow. But it isn't even in my hand right now. But I think this will help.

"I activate the spell card known as Painful Choice!" Hiroki said as he played the card. Kento was surprised.

"With this, I select five cards in my deck and reveal them to you! Out of the five you choose which one goes to my hand! The others go to my graveyard." Hiroki proceeded to pull cards from his deck.

"That's a heck of a risk!" Alexis said.

"Yeah, if Kento chooses the wrong card, Hiroki's plan might be ruined and he'll be left open for that Blader again." Zane responded.

Hiroki then revealed his five choice cards; Amazoness Swords Woman, Elite Goblin Attack Force, Black Luster Soldier, Black Luster Ritual and Buster Blader.

Hmm! He's trying to get his Buster Blader out! No doubt he has a plan to special summon it from his hand somehow. Kento thought.

"So what's it gonna be?" Hiroki asked.

If his Black Luster Soldier goes to the graveyard he won't be able to summon it. Then that Black Luster Ritual will be a dead card in his hand.

"I'll choose your Black Luster Ritual!" Kento responded. Hiroki put Black Luster Ritual to his hand. The rest of his cards went to the graveyard. Now it was Hiroki's turn to smile.

"I bet you think that because you sent those monsters to the graveyard they're useless to me now right? Now, I'll play the spell known as Pot of Avarice!"

Hiroki played the spell and a warped looking jar appeared on the field. Kento was surprised. "Allow me to explain how it works! See I needed five monsters in my graveyard to activate this! Painful Choice helped me big time! Say hello to Marauding Captain, Exiled Force, Black Luster Soldier, Amazoness Swords Woman and Elite Goblin Attack Force! Wanna know why?" He said.


Hiroki then gave a devious grin. "Because, they're getting shuffled right back into my deck!" Hiroki explained. Kento was surprised. He shared that reaction with Zane and Alexis. Amber was overjoyed.

"There ya go, Hiroki! Now that's how ya duel!" She cheered. Hiroki shuffled the monsters back into his deck. After this, he'd place the deck back into his holder.

"Now that I did that, Pot of Avarice let's me draw two more cards. So I'll be doing that right now." Hiroki said. Hiroki then drew two cards. He then gave a wicked grin to Kento.

"Now then, let's get one of my heavy hitters out! I activate one more spell! Monster Reborn! With this card, I'm allowed to ressurrect any monster in the graveyard! I'M CHOOSING MY BUSTER BLADER!" Hiroki explained.

Kento watched as a show of lights appeared on the field. The light would then take form and eventually reveal Buster Blader in striking form on Hiroki's side of the field (2600/2200).

"Ahh! So now we both have Buster Bladers out! But you fail to recognize one thing! My Buster Blader is stronger than yours." Kento stated.

"Well I can't attack your Blader this turn even if mine was stronger. You have a Marauding Captain I have to contend with. And that's my Blader's target! Buster Blader, attack his Marauding Captain."

Buster Blader swiftly lunged toward Marauding Captain. That large sword of his was used to slash across Marauding Captain. Instantly he was destroyed before Blader returned to Hiroki's side of the field.

"With your Captain gone, thats one less warrior out on your side of the field. So your Blader loses 400 attack points." Hiroki said.

"That's true but he's still strong enough to take out your Buster Blader." Kento said.

I have no intentions of losing my Buster Blader. Hiroki thought. "I'll set two cards face down! That will end my turn!"

Hiroki: 600
Kento: 3400

Kento drew his next card. "I'll set a card face down on the field! Now it's tiime to take out your Buster Blader. My Buster Blader, attack his Buster Blader!" Kento's Buster Blader went for the attack, sword raised high.

Anyone can have the same cards as someone else, but only you can use them in the way that you do,came Amber's words through his head clearly. "Reveal face down!" Hiroki said.

Hiroki's left face down card flipped upward. "Stand Off!" Hiroki said. Immediately Buster Blader stopped moving. "I can only activate this if we both only control one monster on our sides of the field and only if my monster is a warrior. Buster Blader qualifies as such! This ends your battle phase immediately." Hiroki explained

Hiroki's Buster Blader turned his head to him. I'm sure you're the key to this duel, Buster Blader. And I promise I'll protect you till this duel is over.

He's fighting better than I expected! Life points nearly gone and he's fighting the better fight. Perhaps he is who I think he is. Kento thought.

This duel has a long way to go. With my life points as low as they are, I'm playing for survival. Hiroki thought as he narrowed his eyes.

 

[Kent Spealing]

"This is getting interesting! It's Buster Blader vs Buster Blader." Zane spoke.

"Yeah, let's just hope Hiroki's Buster Blader is better than this Kento's Buster Blader." Alexis responded.

Hiroki: 600
Kento: 3400

"With your turn over, mine begins!" Hiroki drew his next card. Hiroki looked at the card with an expression of surprise. He then placed it face down in the spell and trap zone.

"I place this card face down and switch my Blader to defense mode." Hiroki said. Buster Blader turned his sword down and got into a crouch.

Sorry my friend! Hiroki thought. "I end my turn!" Hiroki then stated.

Kento then drew his next card. Hiroki then flipped up his face down card. "With your draw phase, my trap activates. Reveal Drop Off! With this, you have to discard the card you just drew."

Kento's eyes shifted in surprise. Clearly he had drawn a good card but now it was going to the graveyard. Kento discarded the card. "Well, if I must lose my newest card, you're losing your Buster Blader. Buster Blader, attack his Buster Blader now!" Kento exclaimed.

Kento's Buster Blader went in for an attack against Hiroki's Buster Blader. Hiroki watched with narrow eyes as Buster Blader went to strike. As soon as he did, a strange looking armor appeared on Hiroki's Buster Blader. Kento's Buster Blader struck the armor with its sword and was instantly destroyed.

"WHAT THE...!? WHAT HAPPENED?" Kento yelled. He was clearly displeased. Hiroki had a grin on his face as he watched Kento throw a fit.

"Ah you like the way I played that out? You thought you had me. Let me show you why my Blader is sporting his spiffy new duds!" Hiroki pointed to a flipped up trap card.

"What is that?" Kento asked.

"It's my Sakuretsu Armor! See this armor is so resilient that a monster would destroy itself trying to break it. That's what happened to your Buster Blader. When he went to attack I flipped this up. It destroys the attacking monster on the spot." Hiroki explained.

"I can't believe it!" Kento said.

"Oh can't you?" Hiroki drew his next card. "Buster Blader, let's make him a believer, with a direct attack on his life points."

Buster Blader came out of its defense stance. He then moved in quickly. "See what goes around comes around! I didn't like it when your Blader hit me direct! I'm sure you won't enjoy this hit at all!" Hiroki said.

At that moment, Kento took a good slash across the chest from Blader's sword. "AAGH!" Kento's body slid back across the floor, stopping about two feet from where he stood. Buster Blader in the meantime returned to his place on the field.

Alright! I might just win this! Hiroki thought. "I'll place this card face down on the field to end my turn." Hiroki said.

Those A Forces of his might make his monsters stronger than my own, but my traps make my monsters more resilient. Hiroki thought.

"Wow, he's doing it!" Amber said to herself. "Let's go Hiroki! You can do this!" She then cheered.

Kento drew his next card. "Your friend seems to have a lot of faith in you. Let's see if it's well placed. First I'll summon the Silent Swordsman Lv 3 in attack mode!"

A small figure in armor appeared with a sword about as large as his figure (1000/1000). "He may be weak now! But watch this! I play Level Up! With this I can evolve my monster into his level 5 form"

Hiroki watched as energy surrounded the small Silent Swordsman Lv 3. In mere moments the figure, now much larger with a more powerful sword lunged out from the light and took stance.

"Meet Silent Swordsman Lv 5!" Kento said. Hiroki looked at this new form of Silent Swordsman (2300/1700).

"With my two A Forces out, Silent Swordsman Lv 5 recieves 400 attack points! He's stronger than your Buster Blader now! Silent Swordsman lv 5, attack his Buster Blader now."

"Flip face down card! Book of Moon! This spell card will flip your monster face down!" Hiroki said as he revealed the card.

"Hah! I don't think so! Silent Swordsman's special ability makes him immune to your spell cards." Kento replied.

Hiroki watched in surprise as his monster was struck down by Silent Swordsman. "Your Blader has fallen!" Kento stated as he pointed at Hiroki.

Hiroki: 500
Kento: 800

The students hung on edge. The duel was running close. With both of their Buster Bladers in the graveyard this was going to be an all out battle of warrior monsters now.

"My Blader may be gone, but he's not the only warrior that defends me. My turn begins now!" Hiroki drew his next card.

The Silent Swordsman lvs...I remember them just faintly. Silent lv 3 can't be targetted specifically by spells. Silent Swordsman Lv 5 is completely immune to my spell cards as I just discovered the hard way. There is a level 7 as well but I can't recall what he does.

"I summon Amazoness Fighter in attack mode!" Hiroki said. Amazoness Fighter appeared just then from the projected card in striking position (1300/1300).

"I leave it at that!" Hiroki said.

Hmm... Kento drew his next card. "It's time for my Silent Swordsman to evolve again! Go Level Up! You remember this card don't you? This time my Silent Swordsman Lv 5 is going up to Level 7." Kento explained.

Hiroki watched as more energy, this time stronger and denser covered level 5. "Looks like I'm about to see Silent Swordsman Lv 7 in action."

"Let's see...Silent Lv 3 cant be specifically targetted by spells." Alexis said.

"Level 5 is immune to opponent's spells." Zane said.

Amber looked, also trying to figure out the Silent Swordsman set. She then opened her eyes in fear. "Then level 7 must....oh no! HIROKI! You're in trouble!" Amber yelled.

Hiroki turned to her just now before a burst of energy caused him to stumble and return his attention to the field. Kento's hair was blowing in an upward backwards way and he had a big ecstatic grin on his face.

"Hiroki, ready to meet my newest Silent Swordsman? Come on out, LEVEL 7!" Kento called out.

From the light lunged a new form of Silent Swordsman, his sword twice as large as the one Level 5 weilded and his form was surrounded by denser and more powerful sparkling energy. Taking stance he faced against Hiroki and his Amazoness Fighter (2800/1000).

"So, that's level 7! He has impressive stats." Hiroki commented.

"Oh, you're impressed by his strength? You'll love his powers then." Kento replied.

He then gave an almost evil grin. "You see Hiroki, while he remains in play, all spell cards are negated." Kento explained.

Hiroki gasped. "WAIT! I CAN'T USE SPELL CARDS NOW!?" He yelled.

"I'm afraid so! All spell cards are negated while he's in play and judging by the way you just reacted to that, I'd say you rely heavily on your spell cards. I however, will remain unaffected." Kento responded.

He turned to Amber. "Was this what you were trying to tell me?" He asked her.

"Yeah, Silent Swordsman Lv 7 negates all spell cards." Amber replied.

Oh great! Now what do I do? All the cards that I have in my hand right now are spell cards. He thought.

"If you're finished freaking out, my Silent Swordsman will attack your Amazoness now! Attack her with Blade of Silence!"

Hiroki watched as his monster was struck down by Silent Swordsman. "My Silent Swordsman kills your ability to use spells. But now it doesn't matter because that attack just ended the game." Kento said.

Hiroki's eyes narrowed and pointed at the life point count. "Think again!" He said.

Kento looked surprised when he noticed the life points hadn't changed. "What happened? Why didn't he do damage?" Kento asked.

"My Amazoness's special ability! It brings all battle damage to 0 when she's brought down in battle." Hiroki said.

"Ah I see! So you have more than one way to preserve yourself in duels." Kento said.

"That's right!" Hiroki replied. He then drew his next card. If I can't use spells, I'll just use my monsters and traps to fight him.

"I set one card face down on the field! That ends my turn." Hiroki explained. His face down card appeared on the field.

"Look at this! I have you down. Your Buster Blader is no longer able to protect you and now you have no monsters. Silent Swordsman Lv 7! Attack his life points directly and end the game!"

Silent Swordman took to the air this time and came flying down toward Hiroki with his sword. "Didn't you learn from the first time? Go, Hallowed Life Barrier!"

Hiroki flipped his face down card up and Silent Swordsman's blade met with a force field of energy that stopped his attack cold.

"You said my spells are useless! Looks like my traps are still going strong! By discarding a card from my hand, any damage I take this turn becomes 0 instantly!" Hiroki said.

"Your stall tactics are good! But they will end soon. As soon as they do, my Silent Swordsman will strike you down right where you stand." Kento threatened.

Hiroki was now sweating. "This is one interesting duel. Hiroki seems to have a knack for fighting well in a corner." Zane said.

"Yeah but with no spell cards, Hiroki's support is greatly halved." Alexis said.

Hiroki looked at his hand. That Silent Swordsman is killing me! I need something from my deck that can really turn the tables. Hiroki drew from his deck just then.

Hiroki looked at his card. "I set this monster face down on the field and end my turn!" Hiroki said.

"Finally your stalling will end! I draw!" Kento said. He drew his next card. "Silent Swordsman, attack his face down monster now!"

Silent Swordsman went for the attack. Hiroki's expression appeared to be edgy. Silent Swordsman struck the monster and destroyed it.

"Your defense is gone!" Kento stated.

Hiroki had a wicked grin upon his face. "And with it, so is your offense!" Hiroki said. Kento lost his reserve and now was surprised.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I'll clarify by showing you what you just destroyed." Hiroki said.

Hiroki held up a monster card. "D.D. Warrior Lady!" He named.

Most of the crowd had surprised reactions. "What!?" Kento exclaimed.

"D.D. Warrior Lady's special ability requires it to be destroyed in battle. Once that's accomplished, if I so chose, I can remove here from the game instead of sending her to the graveyard. When I do that, the monster that destroyed her...goes with her!" He explained.

"AWESOME!" Amber yelled. "NO!" Kento exclaimed in fear. "Silent Swordsman is done! D.D Warrior Lady, bring him down!" Hiroki ordered.

D.D Warrior Lady latched on to Silent Swordsman and then proceeeded to become pure energy. "What's she doing?" Kento asked.

"She's using her ability! Silent Swordsman Lv 7 is going to a different dimension." Hiroki replied. Hiroki and Kento watched as D. D. Warrior Lady and Silent Swordsman disappeared from the field.

"My Silent Swordsman...!" Kento yelled.

"Gone! And now that he is, I can use spell cards again! So get ready!" Hiroki drew his next card.

"I'll start the spells with this; The Warrior Returning Alive! One Warrior in my graveyard is allowed to return to my hand. I chose my Buster Blader!" returned Buster Blader to his hand.

"Next comes Pot of Greed! I draw two cards!" Hiroki spoke. He drew two extra cards.

"Now let me give you a huge reminder! Remember that Black Luster Ritual you allowed me to keep? It's about to bite you in the butt big time! I use Black Luster Ritual." Hiroki said.

Kento was now frozen in surprise. "I don't believe it!" He exclaimed.

"Believe it! Now I need monsters whose level of stars equal 8 or more. Thats why Buster Blader returned to my hand! I vowed that his efforts would finish the duel for me, and they will! I offer his energy with my Amazoness Swords Woman's energy for the ritual."

Hiroki produced a ritual altar with two pots on each side of the altar, a statue with two swords crossed over each other and a pedistal. Amazoness Swords Woman and Buster Blader appeared on the field. Then they proceeded to become soul energy which was then sucked into the two pots. After this there was a burst of energy from each pot that then proceeded to intertwine and become one. All eyes looked on in awe as the energy proceeded to form a monster.

"It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you, my Black Luster Soldier!" Hiroki exclaimed. Black Luster Soldier took the field and aimed its blade for Kento (3000/2500).

"AAAAHH!" Kento screamed.

"With no cards whatsoever to protect you, Black Luster Soldier has the run of the field. You were a great opponent, Kento!" Hiroki stated.

He then pointed toward Kento and looked to his Black Luster Soldier. "Black Luster Soldier, attack Kento directly!" He ordered.

Black Luster Soldier went for the strike, his sword drawn. Kento was staring in surprise. "I lost! I can't believe it!" He said to himself. Seconds later he was struck by Black Luster's blade.

"AGH!!" He yelled as he was sent flying to the ground. Hiroki took an angling stance and pointed at Kento.

"No more life points...no more duel! I win Kento." He then dropped his hand and fell to his hands and knees, panting.

The room was silent for just a few moments. After that, the whole cafeteria went into an uproar of cheering.

"Sweet duel!"

"I was on edge the entire time!"

"I'm gettin me a Black Luster Soldier!"

"Well, he did it again." Zane said.

"Yeah, I thought he was going to lose for sure this time." Alexis said.

"He will...when I duel him." Zane responded. Alexis turned to Zane.

"What do you mean?" She asked him. Zane just started moving toward Hiroki.

Hiroki was panting on the ground. I did it! I beat him. I stood up against my own duel spirit, defeated my deck's biggest weakness and most of all, think I may have earned a new rival. Hiroki thought. He then looked up to see Kento standing before him. He offered his hand out to Hiroki.

"Congratulations, Hiroki on a duel well fought." He said. Hiroki stared for a few moments and then took Kento's hand. Kento helped him to his feet. Amber, who had restrained herself till now ran up and gave Hiroki a tight hug.

"Hiroki! You did it! Way to go!" She cheered. Hiroki's face turned blue. "...aaaair..." he gasped.

She let go and Hiroki fell over again. Kento helped him to his feet again and this time Zane and Alexis were standing there when he got up.

"It's you guys again." Hiroki spoke in surprise.

"Hiroki, way to go! Congratulations on your latest win." Alexis complimented.

"Yes, I have to say the way you've dueled this game was impressive. You're a really good duelist." Zane added.

"Thank you! I appreciate it." Hiroki responded.

"But now, you meet the end of your winning streak." Zane said just then.

Hiroki looked in curiosity. "Let's see how you fair against me." Zane continued.

Hiroki was surprised. And he should be. Zane was the number one duelist in the academy and he just challenged Hiroki. "I've heard your idol is Joey Wheeler. Let's see if you can live up to your role model's standards and beat me in a duel." Zane said.

"I..." Hiroki started. Zane pointed at him.

"Meet me by the cliffs at 9 o'clock tonight. We'll duel then. I'll be waiting for you." Zane said. He then walked away with Alexis following, leaving a stunned Hiroki.

"I...I...uh...what just happened?" Hiroki stammered.

"You were just challenged by Zane. Now you'll find out just how good you really are." Kento replied.

"Yeah, Zane is the top duelist in the academy. Nobody has beaten him yet." Amber said.

Hiroki stared out at the exit of the cafeteria. He'd done some pretty decent things thus far and now was recognized as being a good duelist. But despite how good he's been in battle thus far, can he win a duel against the number one contender Zane Truesdale?