The days following the students' arrival at Duel Academia had gone rather smoothly, aside from the usual elitist Obelisk Blue students harassing the Osiris Red students, and a few Ra Yellows here and there. Today however, was a special day. A small naval force and several helicopters were en route to Duel Academia.
Why, you ask? Because they were on a very important mission. It was an escort mission, but it wasn't whom they were escorting, it was what they were escorting.
["Aerial Escort 2260 Eagle, here,"] said one man in one of the helicopters over the radio. ["We'll be converging with them in approximately three minutes."]
["Roger, Eagle,"] another man responded over the same channel. ["The main ship has acquired the target in visual range. 8030, preparing to land."]
"All ships re-enter alert status! We must protect this…" Another man announced over the radio from aboard a submarine, holding in his hand a briefcase with the Duel Academia insignia on it that was also handcuffed to his wrist. "…no matter what! Prepare for landing!"
Today was a rather slow day for the Kamen Rider duelist as Kuromu yawned with a somewhat tired look on his face while walking on his way to school. He stayed up a little longer than usual because today was their promotion exams. Students of the same dorm will Duel each other, with the winner possibly being allowed to advance to the next dorm up. However, the written test had to come first before the practical exam. For Kuromu, he didn't really care about being promoted. Sure, it would be a nice bonus, but right now all he cared about were his grades. Before coming to Duel Academia, he was pretty decent with his tests and quizzes. His rank of being #24 in his entrance exams is proof enough.
And another thing about today was that they were going to get a new batch of Duel Monsters cards for the Academy's card shop. Sure, he could get a few booster packs, but his Deck was with specific effects with an express theme and purpose. It wouldn't exactly help his chances of success by adding in any of the new cards, so he didn't exactly plan on going to check the shop today.
"You alright there?" A familiar voice asked. Kuromu turned to see Misawa who had walked next to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kuromu yawned again. "I pulled a bit of an all-nighter for the promotion exams…"
"Ah, that explains it." Misawa nodded. "Well I can understand why. Hoping to get promoted early on?"
"Honestly, no." Kuromu sighed, surprising Misawa. "It's just semantics and formalities, so I could care less about a promotion. It's my grades that I actually care about."
"I see. Well then, here's to hoping you do well." he nodded.
"Same to you."
"Oh I don't need luck. If anything, I look forward to the challenge. Especially if it means challenging the best in both a Duel and on the test."
"Really? I thought you were already the best."
"In my grade perhaps, but I am competitive. I would like to challenge my intellect even against the second and third years."
"Well that sounds kinda groovy." Koji's voice called out as he approached them from behind.
"Hey Koji." Kuromu greeted him.
"Yo," Koji waved back, before turning to Misawa. "As to what you were saying, that's why we're all here. To show our dance moves on the stage that is Duel Academia. Besides, you'll have plenty of competition to go around. And given how well you did at the entrance exams, it'll be a piece of cake. Unlike this guy." He smirked at his best friend.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean? I'm getting the hang of using my Kamen Riders!" Kuromu pouted, as if Koji was mocking him.
"Dude, you have a win-loss ratio of 24-100. That included the Tag Duel the other day."
"Come again?" Misawa raised an eyebrow with perplexion.
"Hey, that's only when dueling you!" A blush painted across his face, Kuromu hissed at his best friend, who only galloped along laughing at the Ra Yellow's torment. "Oh sure, laugh it up now, but if I ever face you again, I'll be a quarter away from catching up to you when I win!"
"Sure~, whatever you say." Koji teased.
"Why you-"
"Hey, you!" A new voice shouted.
Kuromu turned around and groaned, seeing the Obelisk student that punched him the other day. And he brought his two friends with him. "You again?" He sighed.
"You know him?" Misawa asked.
"It's the Obelisk guy that punched me on the first day." Kuromu said.
"You and I have a score to settle!" the leading Obelisk said, pointing right at Kuromu. "You're gonna wish you never ran your mouth to me, because now you've gotta deal with all of us!"
"Yeah, after what you spouted, you think we're gonna let you off free?" The second one asked.
"Look, I don't have time for this." Kuromu sighed irritably.
"Oh we have time!" The third Obelisk said, "All the time in the world, in fact."
"The only reason I mouthed was because what I said was true." Kuromu argued. "And obviously, it's a truth that you and other Obelisks like yourselves can't handle, and you resort to physical means of getting your superiority across."
"…Oh now you're asking for it, punk." the Obelisk threatened as he and his friends inched closer and tried cornering the Ras.
"Gh…!" Kuromu gritted.
"This is not good." Misawa frowned.
"Whoa, hold it, chill." Koji raised his hands. "Let's not start a dance-off like this."
"What are you gonna do punk?" the lead Obelisk asked Kuromu.
"Easy. I'm not fighting you."
"My, you are sensible," Misawa looked wide-eyed at his friend.
"I'd rather turn the other cheek."
This fumed the Obelisks even more. He was being self-righteous! Who does he think he is?
"Hey boys, if you're gonna pick on someone, how about picking on someone who isn't smaller than you!" The boys turned to see Rika standing there and she didn't look happy at all.
"Yo, soul sistah, great timing!" Koji called out.
"Get lost, skank!" One of the Obelisks immediately snapped.
"Come AGAIN?!"
"You heard him! This is a fight between actual Duelists! Any girl should keep out of it! You only got in because the Obelisk Blue Dorm is the only dorm that can handle having girls in it!"
"So buzz off you wannabe Plain Jane and just watch from the sidelines!"
There was a palpable tension in the air as the Obelisk students were ready to throwdown.
"That's enough out of you lot!" Before Misawa could say anything more, his shoulder was grabbed by Kuromu.
Misawa was ready to speak his mind to the boy. If he knew the girl he should be defending her! A Duelist shouldn't be judged by their gender! His heartfelt belief was that the caliber of a Duelist exceeded any sort of biological category. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to say anything to the boy. The look in Kuromu's eyes perked up his interest. The boy wasn't discouraged, displeased, nor seething. In fact, he seemed to have a completely unreadable expression.
"…Kuro…" Koji finally spoke up.
"Yeah…" the young man nodded in understanding.
At that moment, Koji and Kuromu turned around. Both boys looked over at Misawa, encouraging him to do the same. Perplexed, he did just that. And then, he watched the two boys place their hands over their ears. He followed suit.
"Hey, what the-"
He couldn't see what happened, but Misawa couldn't help but widen his eyes at what he heard. Something slammed HARD against something, and the voice of the Obelisk Blue student was gone. At that moment, he could hear the other two boys whimpering. And then, he heard it. And he couldn't help but count, out of curiosity. He could hear that same ding sound again and again, hitting against SOMETHING as the Obelisk boys cried out.
And just as sudden as they started, the sound stopped. Misawa was the first to remove his hand, and began turning around.
"Ah, wait man, you don't wanna-"
Koji warned him, but Misawa still cringed. Who wouldn't, upon seeing the beaten, battered and bruised bodies of three Obelisk Blue students, with the single Obelisk Blue girl holding a frying pan over her shoulder.
"Really now, who lets losers like these guys in? They couldn't even put their money where their mouth was!" Rika huffed.
"Oh man, they were flat out murdered…" Koji picked up a stick, poking at one of the boys. Seeing as he didn't get a reaction, he sighed. "Can't say they didn't have it comin'."
"No kidding. I mean, I knew this was going to end up dirty, but this feels justified. Maybe we should make some graves for them." Kuromu suggested.
"Have you both lost your mind?!" Misawa's screams were met with questioning glances at him. "As much as they deserved it, did you have to go this far?"
"Huh? You know what he is talking about Kuro?" Rika asked.
"Nope. Nada." Kuromu shook his head.
Several groans began to signal the boys that they had to stand up, walking away from the rising bodies of the Obelisk Blue students. It was clear from their moans that pain was an unwelcoming mistress. Each of them struggled to stand. Clearly the lumps the girl's frying pan gave them were enough to be close to a concussion. The ringleader of their band glared lightly at Kuromu, Koji and Misawa.
"Freaking… Ra Yellows… you really…"
"Really what?" The boys turned around, and there stood Rika, lightly slamming her mini frying pan into her palm. The more she made that sound, the more the Obelisk Blues' faces went pale. "Round two?"
"NO WAY!" Without hesitation the three boys ran towards the school.
"DON'T EVER COME NEAR ME OR MY FRIENDS AGAIN, YOU LOSERS!" Waving her frying pan around, she cried out, fully believing her threat was effective. Rika harshly breathed out her nose.
"Nice one, soul sistah!" Koji raised his hand to high five her, which she took. "Or I'm assuming it was you."
"Yep! Since we had our eyes and ears closed we couldn't tell who fought them off!" Kuromu responded with a smile.
'Ah, so that was it,' Misawa thought. Now their actions were making sense to him. Seeing the shameless smiles on the trio's faces caused his own lips to curl into one.
"Well now, I think proper introductions are necessary." Misawa's words were heeded by Rika, who nodded.
"I already know who you are, the ace of our year and Ra Yellow student, Misawa Daichi!"
"I'm honored. Though I wouldn't call myself the ace just yet. I seem to have competition."
"Not through Kuro at least!"
"OI!" Kuromu snapped at Rika's dig, causing her to giggle shamelessly. Kuromu could swear if she was a kitsune she would be wagging her tail.
"Well, anyways this is a nice chat and all, but shouldn't we be getting to class or something ourselves?" Rika piped up.
"You're probably right," Misawa nodded. "In that case, let's get going. We wouldn't want to be late for the exams, after all."
It was now time for the exams to begin. The proctor for the promotion exam, Professor Daitokuji, was overseeing it.
A little over thirty minutes of the allotted hour had passed since the start of the exam, and Kuromu was just now finishing himself, at least a little confident in his results. However, he already knew that the real obstacle was this afternoon's practical exams. With that in mind, he decided to spend the last few minutes to himself while he waited for the period to end. He glanced down towards the front of the class and noticed Sho sleeping soundly at his seat, mumbling something to himself in his sleep. From what Kuromu could tell, the Osiris boy hadn't even gotten halfway through his exam.
'Man, poor Sho. he must have been studying all night like I was.' the Kamen Rider duelist thought to himself.
"Big Bro… I'm sorry, Big Bro…" Sho mumbled in his sleep.
"Never! I'll never forgive you!" a voice suddenly spoke up, causing Sho to snap awake and Kuromu to blink as he noticed Judai and Rex standing right by his Osiris friend. "Come on, don't waste all that time studying by sleeping through the whole test."
"Big Bro…" Sho muttered sleepily.
"Hey, Osiris Red, keep it quiet! If you aren't taking the test, get out!" Manjoume spoke up from a few rows back.
"How about you shut your trap and leave Sho alone, lightning rod!" Rex snapped.
"What did you call me, you mutt?!" Manjoume roared.
"You heard me…" Rex snarled before the two glared viciously at each other.
"Give me a break…" Judai sighed. "I came all the way here, so I'm not going home now."
"Judai-kun…" Daitokuji spoke up, earning the Osiris's attention. "Come get your question sheet; there's hardly any time-nya."
"Okay!" Judai replied as he headed down to the front.
"And Manjoume-kun, Rex-kun, please don't disturb the others-nya." Daitokuji said, making them grunt in frustration before sitting back down.
"Sorry about that, sensei." Rex apologized.
'Geez, just how the heck is Judai all optimistic? He'll be lucky to even finish.' Kuromu wondered. And so the test went on as Judai took his seat next to Sho and started on his sheet.
However…
Not even fifteen minutes later, Sho and Judai were sleeping soundly while everyone else continued their exams, their backs propped up against each other as they snoozed away.
"Oh geez…" Kuromu facepalmed.
Rex, not wanting them to sleep through the exam, tried his best to wake them without disturbing the students. However, as the clock winded down, the young man's attempts to wake either Judai or Sho all ended in vain.
"Ugh. This is hopeless…" Rex sighed, before an idea came to his mind.
After checking the teacher to see if he was distracted, the young Duelist pulled out a balloon from his pocket. Once he blew into it, he held the end tight and aimed it right in front of Judai's ear.
'Sorry about this bud, but you brought this on yourself…' he mentally apologized before he let it rip.
*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!*
At that moment, Judai jolted up "Huh?! What now!" he yelped, waking up Sho in the process as he looked around in a confused manner.
"Okay everyone, the test is now over. The practical exams will begin at 2 PM-nya." Daitokuji announced once the clock had struck 1 PM. Almost immediately, it was a wild frenzy of people rushing down to hand their tests in, then practically trampling over their classmates in an attempt to get out of the room as soon as possible.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kuromu yelled comically as he was the unfortunate victim of being the only one to get knocked to the ground and stepped all over, leaving many shoe print marks on his face and clothes.
After all the students had run out, the only ones still in the classroom were Rex, Judai and Sho, who were now awake, Misawa, Koji, Rika, and Asuka. Manjoume walked out of the classroom like normal people should. Kuromu however was barely alive as his fingers and legs twitched every few seconds.
"Come on Kuro, up you go!" Sighing heavily, Rika bent down and helped the boy to his feet. The young man swayed left and right, groaning out a small thanks.
"I blew it, all that studying for nothing… I'm done for!" Sho cried comically.
'And I spent half of that test time trying to wake you up too…' Rex thought to himself.
At that moment, Judai raised his head with a large grin on his face. "Don't sweat it. The real test is the practical in the afternoon." Placing his head down, Sho was ready to fire back at the boy's callous nature, until he saw the empty classroom. "Wait, where'd everyone go?" Judai couldn't help himself and raised his head to investigate. As he stood up he asked, "Is it lunch time already?"
"No you doofuses! They went to the school store!" Rika groaned as he set Kuromu down, who was still out of it from being trampled over.
"We're supposed to be getting a shipment of new cards, most of them rare." Misawa explained, causing Sho to go into shock. Within that same second, he felt a burst of adrenaline.
"A big shipment of new rare cards?! Then we have to go now!"
"Good luck…" Kuromu groaned as he waved his hand to signal them goodbye.
"Wait, aren't you guys coming?"
"I have faith in my current Deck. I don't need any new cards."
"Same here, my Deck's ready for the dance floor anytime." Koji declared as he took his Deck out and raised it up for them to see.
"Ditto." Ws all Rika said, as Kuromu raised his head.
"Maybe my Deck could use a few new cards…"
"Then get up and let's go!" Judai's sudden excitement caused the group to be taken aback by his words. Seeing the confused stares Judai couldn't help but release a large smile. "I'm super curious about what they brought! I've just gotta see what kinds of cards they have! So let's get going guys!"
"Ah, crap! Not again!" Rex panicked.
Dragging Kuromu off of his seat, Judai pulled the young man, alongside a hapless Sho and Rex, with him. Kuromu couldn't help but yell for him to let go to no avail as he was dragged out of the classroom by Judai, leaving Misawa, Rika and Koji alone.
"You think he will be alright?" Rika looked up at her childhood friend.
"Kuro's been giving it his all since he got here. I know why he's really here, but I think being here is helping him regain his passion for dueling." Koji smiled.
"I always wondered why it seemed Kuromu was out of it at times." Misawa's voice caused Rika and Koji to flinch. "Whether in class, at the cafeteria, even during a Duel. A part of him seemed to be focused on something else."
"Yeah…" Rika grimaced.
"I don't suppose I could be privy to that?" Misawa asked, looking over at the two friends. Alas, neither of them said a world. That was, until Koji spoke up.
"Sorry Misawa. It's not something we should be telling you. Kuromu is the only person who has that right." Koji's face lowered, sad that this was the answer that he had to give to the Ra Yellow.
"There's no need to apologize. I understand if Kuromu doesn't trust me yet. However, if you wouldn't mind, tell him I will be of assistance should he need it."
"I know that would make him happy, thanks friend." Koji nodded.
"Well then, I suggest we get going to the gym. By now they would have announced the duel pairings."
"Eep! That's right! If we miss this, forget promotion, it's DEMOTION!"
"Eh I think you're safe, soul sistah…" The three began to walk out of the classroom.
Horns bellowed as the ships began to dock at the beach as the helicopters did a flyby over the island. One by one, the ships halted right before touching the shoreline, the submarine rising out of the water. Slowly it drifted towards and the top hatch was unsealed. The first to come out was a naval officer, and then another, following ten more, until finally, the commander of the submarine himself left the vehicle. His eyes focused straight ahead, at the academy that the helicopters have begun to fly towards.
"We finally arrived." Looking down at the case handcuffed to his wrist, all he could feel was the journey nearing its end. The weight he was carrying was more than any normal person could bear to walk with. But he was more than proud to be doing so. And so, he began the long walk towards the school, with his fellow men by his side.
All except for one. A young man wearing a white uniform headed off the road, traveling into the nearby forest. Despite seemingly being a man of the sea, he was able to traverse through the forest with ease. It helped that the forest probably wasn't as dense as when the school was being built, but he had to wonder whose idea it was to have school on an island.
"An island school based around a card game of all things, what is this world heading towards?" He bemoaned with a heavy sigh before taking out a magenta Blackbird Fly 35mm TLR Camera and snapping a photo. "I can at least survey the island before I do what I need to do." He said, then looked over himself. "And I need to change my clothes."
Later on that day…
"Oh man… this sucks…" Kuromu grunted as he kept limping after the Elemental HERO Duelist finally let go. "First those Obelisks try to gang up on me, then I rely on Rika to save my butt, then I get trampled over by students who want rare cards, then Judai drags me to the card shop only to find out that all said rare cards are taken by someone…"
"Sorry Manjoume, someone took all the rare cards."
"Huh?" Kuromu got out as he noticed two of Manjoume's friends talking to said person from the upper stairwell and decided to hide behind a pillar, so as not to be seen.
"What are we gonna do for the practical exam?"
"Just stay calm. You don't need to stock up on any new cards for that dumb monthly test." Manjoume said. "There's nobody in Obelisk Blue who can beat me anyways."
"Unless it's Yuki Judai." A new voice called out as the three Obelisks turned to see a cloaked figure.
"What?" Manjoume wondered, turning in the direction of the voice.
'What?' Kuromu repeated in his thoughts. 'Judai beat Manjoume?'
"Can you beat Judai with your current Deck?" the figure asked.
"Hey, that's the guy that bought all the rare cards!"
"And those rare cards are all…" The figure chuckled, opening his cloak to reveal the inside being literally lined with rare cards. "…right here!"
"What the-" Kuromu got out.
"Who are you?!"
"Why did you take all the rare cards?!"
The figure chuckled again. "You still don't know my true identity? Signor Manjoume?"And then with a flourish, the cloaked man threw off his cloak to reveal himself as…
"No way…" Kuromu gasped wide-eyed.
"You're Instructor Chronos, the one who lost to Yuki Judai!"
Chronos almost fell down anime style, but straightened himself up. "A drop-out boy like him must be crushed, posthaste, by an elite like yourself." Chronos continued. "That's why I've come to ask you to fight Judai."
"But the practical tests are conducted between students of the same dorm," Manjoume pointed out.
"You just leave that to me." Chronos smirked. "And this way Yuki Judai will see how rare elites like ourselves really are."
"Instructor Chronos is giving all those rare cards to Manjoume to beat Judai?" Kuromu gasped. "That guy is no good. I gotta tell the Principal." He then tried to sneak out of there as slowly as possible.
*THUD!*
Without him meaning to, Kuromu fell face flat to the floor. "Ite!"
"Who's there?!" Chronos asked, having heard a voice coming from somewhere else and darting his eyes around to find the source.
"Shimatta!" Kuromu gritted before coming out of hiding and making a run for it, or at least attempted to make a run for it. He was still hurt from being trampled over.
"Come out this second!"
"Like they're going to listen. You guys go bring whomever is out there." Manjoume ordered.
The moment he heard Manjoume say that, Kuromu managed to find the strength to run. He rounded the corner and ran down the hallway, but he could hear the echoing of footsteps behind them. No doubt they were being chased.
'If Chronos found out I overheard him, he could expel me! I can't let that happen!'
Kuromu continued to run before someone suddenly grabbed him and pulled him to the side.
"MMMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! MMMMMMM!" Kuromu felt someone's hand covering his mouth, as he vehemently struggled to free himself from whoever grabbed him.
"Shhh! You want to get caught?" A mysterious voice hissed, prompting Kuromu to shut up.
"Damn where did he go?"
"Are you sure he went this way?"
"I think so. Come on!"
Kuromu remained silent as he and the mysterious person listened in on the footsteps, eventually those footsteps grew fainter and weaker until they vanished completely. That was the signal for the unknown figure to let go and allow Kuromu to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Haaaaa… that was too close…" he sighed before turning around, "Okay, who the heck are you?"
When he got a chance to look at the person who grabbed him, he saw that it was a young man looking to be in his early to mid-30's with medium-length brunette hair where one large section was to his left and had brown eyes. And strangely enough he was wearing a proctor uniform.
"You're… a proctor?" Kuromu asked, surprised.
"Pretty much." He noted, "I was looking over some results when I overheard what the professor was talking about."
"T-Then we have to tell the Principal!" Kuromu said, "There's no way Chronos can get away with this!"
"As much as I agree with you, we can't."
"What?! Why not?!"
"Is the Principal really going to listen to your claims on sheer hearsay? Especially when he could chalk it up to hearsay?" The proctor asked, stunning Kuromu.
"T-That's…"
Kuromu didn't think that far ahead, he had to admit.
"While it's unfortunate and unfair, Instructor Chronos had the means to legally purchase those cards. And if you try to make those claims now, it's not going to look good for you at all."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
The proctor smirked, "Simple, outplay him like every other Duelist."
"Huh?"
"I did say I was looking at some results, and given this Judai kid's Dueling record thus far, I have a feeling that whatever Instructor Chronos had planned for him, it's going to blow up in his face." He said as they soon had the same grin.
"Well… when you put it like that… I'm gonna want a camera shot of that." Kuromu chuckled.
"Later. Right now, you have a Duel Exam coming up. So you better get going."
"Ah! Yabai! I'm gonna be late!" Kuromu realized as he turned the other way and went to get his Duel Disk from the dorm, but not before stopping and asking, "I never got your name!"
The proctor merely shrugged, "I'm just a friend." He said before leaving, to Kuromu's confusion.
The gym was packed with students, several on the dueling fields as an array of colors filled the bleachers. For Kuromu, he had managed to arrive at his assigned field and lo behold, his opponent for his practical exam was none other than
"Misawa?" Kuromu said surprised.
"Well, well, looks like we're having that rematch sooner than expected." Misawa smirked.
"Yeah, I guess so." The Rider Duelist said while they shuffled their decks.
"Hm? Is something wrong, Kuromu?" Misawa asked, snapping the Kamen Rider duelist out of it.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Spaced out for a bit." Kuromu apologized before he prepared for the Duel. In the stands, Koji, Rika, Asuka, as well as the Osiris trio, were waiting for the duel to begin.
"Sweet. We made it in time." Judai grinned.
"How was your Promotion Duel, Judai?" Koji asked.
Rex merely waved some photos to the group and, once they saw it, they couldn't stop laughing.
"Trust me, it was hard to get the photos myself because I felt like I was busting a gut." The young man chuckled, "I didn't think the Professor's face could contort like that."
"Yeah, who would've thought that Instructor Chronos was capable of making that kind of face." Sho laughed.
"Yeah, no kidding bro. This is comedy gold!" Koji agreed, "So I assume that means you won?"
Judai nodded proudly before hugging Sho and Rex, his arms around their shoulders, "Yeah, but I ain't going to Ra Yellow, not while my friends need me."
"Hey, I'm all for it." Koji grinned. "Though that entire crib needs a serious makeover that's for sure…"
"Well at least the kitchen's functional." Rex said with a shrug before noticing Rika's glare, "Oh… this is about me trying to cook last week, isn't it?"
"You know exactly what you did…" Rika fumed.
"Look, I was hungry and I forgot where the food was." Rex said with his hands raised.
"You tried to microwave cereal! How the heck did you think that's even sensible?" She questioned him, jabbing a finger into him.
"It was at the ass crack of dawn, okay? I thought it was ramen!" The young Duelist said in his defense.
"Guys, stop. It's about to start." Asuka said.
Rika then sat down but gave an "I'm watching you" motion. Rex looked away and grumbled to himself.
"So which Deck are you using?" Kuromu asked Misawa. "I know I already saw your WIND-Attribute Deck,"
"I'll be trying out my FIRE-Attribute Deck actually. It's only fitting against someone like you." Misawa answered as he pulled out the Deck. "Our last encounter sparked something in me. So I decided to build this Deck as sort of a test."
"I see. Well then, here's to another good Duel." Kuromu said, before inserting his Deck into his Duel Disk, going from standby to active.
"Same to you as well. And no holding back either." Misawa smirked, before doing the same. The pair stared each other down, before drawing their starting Hands.
"DUEL!"
Misawa: 4000
Kuromu: 4000
"I took the first turn last time, so it's only fair that you take this one." Kuromu said.
"Very well! Draw!" Misawa declared, drawing his sixth card before examining his Hand, "Hmm, perhaps this could be interesting as a first gambit." he mused to himself, "I will set one Monster face-down and place a face-down in my Spell/Trap zone. Ta-n endo."
Kuromu was surprised, but also wary of what those facedown cards are.
"He's planning something already and it's only the first move." Rex frowned in thought, "Kuromu's gotta keep on his feet."
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his sixth card and looking at his Hand. He then eyed on the face-downs he could have. The only clue he had was the fact that this Deck Misawa was using was a FIRE-Attribute Deck. And given the skill he had seen first hand, it's going to be tough.
'Alright, let's see if we can do this?' he thought before he started his turn. "I summon Kamen Rider Gaim in ATK mode!" He declared, slapping the card on the tray.
ORANGE!
A zipper-like portal opened up and a large metallic orange slowly descended from above.
"An orange?" Misawa blinked.
LOCK ON!
A war horn noise that sounded, the kind Japanese warlords would've sounded in battle during the Sengoku Era, with the mix of techno.
"What's with the dance club music?" Rex asked, looking around for the source of the music.
SOIYA! ORANGE ARMS! HANAMICHI ON STAGE!
The metal orange dropped and landed midair. The air rippled with energy until a dark blue bodysuit which had quilted leather appeared. On the arms and legs were golden bracers and leg coverings. There was also a black sword with a gold line and a trigger under the guard that doubled as a gun. The orange then sparked and disassembled and folded so that it looked like samurai armor. Appearing in his hand was a short scimitar, styled after an orange slice. The helmet was blue with a silver mouth guard, and sword-like decoration on the forehead. There was also an extra decoration made of the studded orange steel and the visor was orange, looking like an orange slice. (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1500)
"An orange samurai?" Asuka pondered.
"He sure looks like a fighter." Rex observed.
"Battle! Kamen Rider Gaim attacks your face-down! Burai Kick!" Kuromu commanded.
The orange samurai brought his hand to his belt buckle which had an opened fruit lock pad and a small blade attached to the side of the buckle. He then pressed the blade down, 'slicing' the fruit.
SOIYA! ORANGE SQUASH!
Gaim then jumped up and dived down for the kick, orange slices of energy projecting in front as he did. The monster that was Set then revealed itself to be a wooden creature with a sideways mouth and a large scythe.
"Ah crap, that's not good." Koji said, recognizing the card.
"Crap!" Kuromu panicked, but it was too late as the kick connected, destroying the creature in an explosion, leading to Gaim feeling his power weaken as he landed back to Kuromu's side of the Field and stumbling after (ATK: 1700-1200/DEF: 1500-1000).
"Rigorous Reaper, Misawa knew that Kuromu would bite and set a trap for him using that Monster's Flip and destruction effect to make him discard a card and weaken his monster." Koji observed.
"Which begs the question of what his other face-down is." Rex added as he shared in the young man's realization.
"I would've thought that you'd learn your lesson the first time around." Misawa commented.
"I had to bite at some point." Kuromu pointed out. "I'll set one card face-down. Ta-n endo."
"Charmed. O-re no ta-n. Draw!" Misawa declared before smiling, "I summon forth Little Chimera in ATK Position!"
After placing down a card, a small white cat-like creature with purple bat wings popped up before it began to exert a small flaming aura, (2/ATK: 600 - 1100/DEF: 550)
"And thanks to its ability, all FIRE-Attribute Monsters will gain 500 ATK. Next, I activate my face-down card, Level Limit - Area B!"
"No!" Kuromu gasped in horror.
"He's gonna have a hard time." Rex grimaced.
"Why's that?" Sho asked.
"Level Limit - Area B prevents Level 4 or higher Monsters from attacking and forces them to go into DEF mode as long as the card is on the Field."
"But practically all of Kuromu's Monsters are Level 4!" Asuka gasped in realization.
"And that means he can't do anything until that card is gone." Rex observed.
"I apologize, but Kamen Rider Gaim will have to take a knee." Misawa said, as electricity crackled under the floor. The orange samurai armor was forced to go down on one knee. Not only that, Gaim was vulnerable to attack.
"Is he going to…" Sho trailed.
"Battle Phase! Little Chimera attacks Kamen Rider Gaim!" Misawa declared. The small feline-like creature flies towards Gaim with flames erupting from its mouth before it bites the Rider's collarbone. Gaim yelled in pain before being destroyed into pixels.
"Gh…" Kuromu gritted his teeth.
"Aw man, Gaim didn't stand a chance." Judai winced.
"That will suffice for now. Ta-n endo." Misawa concluded.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared drawing his next card. "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two extra cards!" He said, before drawing them. His eyes widened at what he drew. "Yosh! Just what I needed! First, I play the Spell Card, Poltergeist! This sends a Spell/Trap back to your Hand and you can't negate it! In this case, it's Level Limit - Area B!"
"So he just bounced his card back to the guy's hand. That doesn't mean that it's gone for good, since Misawa's next turn will just have the card back on the field." Rex observed.
"And to make sure you don't play that card again, I activate Hand Destruction, the other card I drew with Pot of Greed! We discard our entire Hand to the Graveyard and draw the same number of cards!"
"Well dang, this just got interesting." Koji chuckled, as both Players discard their Hand, Kuromu and Misawa having four cards in hand, before the card's activation, and drew the same amount.
"I summon Kamen Rider Drive in ATK mode!" Kuromu declared, slapping the card on the tray.
A holographic cylinder appeared, with steam coming out; various parts of body armor attaching themselves onto a body. When the hologram and steam disappeared, a figure stood in his place. He was clad in red armor that greatly resembled a car with a black bodysuit, while wearing red boots, silver knee pads, red gauntlets, and silver wrist bands. The shoulders were protected by pointed pads and wore red chest armor that had a black line across it. A tire came flying in and attached to his chest, giving him more of a racer feature and his helmet greatly resembled that of a car, the eyes being that of a car's headlights, and had a silver "R" on the forehead. On the top of his head was a rear spoiler, and finally had a silver mouthpiece.
DRIVE! TYPE: SPEED!
An upbeat jazz tune played as the 'camera' showed every angle of this new armored warrior. (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1100)
"Heh, groovy." Koji chuckled.
"Battle! Kamen Rider Drive attacks Little Chimera! Speedrop!"
Drive turned the key on his belt buckle which looked like a high-tech speedometer of a car dash. He then pressed a button on a brace-like item which had a toy red car on it, the bottom half turned outwards to make it look like a shift lever.
HISSA~TSU!
Four rather large black tires suddenly appeared and surrounded Little Chimera while Drive turned his back on his enemy, getting into his position.
That's when a high-speeding race car suddenly drove in out of nowhere onto the Field, then started spinning around Drive, continuously in a large circle around him, before the Rider shifted the lever.
FULL~ THROTTLE! SPEED!
In seconds Little Chimera was tossed in the center of the spinning car thanks to black wheels. Kamen Rider Drive jumped in as he pinballed off of the monster, kicking it and bouncing off the rims of the car as it gave more and more damage while the speed increased and the white cat was kept in the middle. The attack soon ended after Drive landed a flying side kick to defeat the monster, the resulting explosion hurting Misawa.
Misawa: 3400
Kuromu: 4000
"Ta-n endo." Kuromu finished before breathing a sigh of relief, 'Okay, just have to keep this momentum up.' he thought to himself.
"Impressive. You were able to stop my initial assault." Misawa observed. "But I wouldn't relax just yet. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He drew his next card to increase his Hand from four to five. "I Set one card and summon the Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid in ATK Position!"
Coming onto the Field was a young boy, wearing a red baseball uniform with a red baseball helmet, red shoes, and a yellow scarf, while carrying a silver baseball bat with spikes. The fire in his eyes was an indication of determination. (3/ATK: 500/DEF: 1000)
"Why would you…" Kuromu trailed off.
"Next, I activate my Field Spell! Burning Blood!" Misawa declared before suddenly a large volcano appeared on the field, "With this card, all FIRE-Attribute Monsters gain an ATK boost of 500 while their DEF is lowered by 400."
Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid (ATK: 500-1000/DEF: 1000-600)
"It's still not enough to beat Kamen Rider Drive!" Kuromu pointed out.
"You'll see. Ta-n endo."
"That's it?" Rika said, confused.
But Koji could tell that Rex was thinking otherwise, as his gaze was on Misawa's facedown cards.
"I don't know what you're planning, but whatever it is, it's not going to work! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared his next card, increasing his Hand to five. "Here goes, I activate the Equip Spell, Kamen Rider Machine - Tridoron!"
All of a sudden, the race car returned and this time it was slow enough that the audience could see that it was a heavily modified red Honda NSX with two stripes and two large bends on the front, a black roof, and a spoiler that had two wheels on it in the back.
*BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEEEEEP!*
"Whoa, sweet ride!" Judai commented.
"Yeah, that thing looks sick!" Koji agreed.
"I'm not done yet!" Kuromu stated before placing another card down, "Next, I summon Kamen Rider Ghost in ATK mode!"
EY~E!
A ghost-like entity with a black hoodie jacket with orange highlights and orange ghostly eyes came out flying around.
BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA! BACCHIRI MINA!
"What?! What the fu-" Rex didn't get to finish that sentence before Koji slapped his palm to his mouth.
"Yo, watch your language!" He snarled.
"Whoops. Sorry." The mutt apologized.
KAIGAN: O-RE!
Orange motes of light gathered on the Monster Zone while lines formed before forming the armor. The Parka Ghost then hunched over the armored person letting the latter wear the hoodie before the orange mask flipped upwards.
LET'S GO! KAKUGO! G-G-G-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!
His helmet was black with an orange mask that had a jagged curved horn on his forehead and black large black holes that were his "eyes". For his attire, he wore a black hooded jacket that was unzipped with orange highlights, and underneath was a black armor with clear plastic to protect it further and there was a symbol of an eye on there as well. The rest of his body from the waist down consist of black pants and shoes. The belt they wore was gray and oval, having an eye, and one can barely see the eerie smile plastered on the belt. Next to it was a handle the figure can push and pull. (4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1400)
"Now here's where Tridoron comes into effect! Once per turn, during my Main Phase, if Kamen Rider Drive has Tridoron equipped, I can Normal Summon one more time!"
"Okay, how many types of Rider are in this Deck? Who's next? A video game guy?" Rex said… only to notice Kuromu's confused look.
"…how the heck did you call that?" he asked.
"Wait, what?!"
Kuromu shook his head, "Never mind. I summon Kamen Rider Ex-Aid in ATK mode!" He said, slapping the next card on the tray.
MIGHTY ACTION X!
A title card of a video game appeared as the entire area digitized momentarily before becoming normal again.
GASHATTO!
Holographic pictures of game-like avatars appeared, circling around before it momentarily stopped, the avatar picture in front then twirled as the word 'SELECT' appeared.
LET'S GAME! MECCHA GAME! MUCCHA GAME! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
A Fuchsia ring formed as pixelated data digitized before it died down.
I'M A KAMEN RIDER!
What stood there was a very short armored person. With white and black armor, along with a unique chest piece, showing a gamepad to the left and a life bar and weapon's slot to the rider. The helmet was short as well, showing two orange eyes and goggles in front, finishing off up top with a fuchsia spiky hair. His belt was a large neon green and fuschia block, with a fuschia handle, cover, and felt like it was a new version of a console and inserted inside was looked to be a game cartridge. It had a fuschia color to it, with an odd mascot on it, the mascot being a sort of a fusion between Kirby and Sonic. It was also fuschia with 'eye' themed goggles and spiky hair.
…
"Pffft…"
Sho looked to Rex with shock, as he noticed the mutt was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Uhh, Rex-san?" Sho asked.
"Wait for it…" Kuromu said as Ex-Aid grabbed the lever then folded it to the side, revealing a screen and a figure on the inside.
GACCHAN! LEVEL UP!
A fuchsia holographic screen, shot out of the belt in front of him, as it moved back and into him. Ex-Aid then jumped up as a new tune played.
MIGHTY JUMP! MIGHTY KICK! MIGHTY, MIGHTY, ACTION X!
His white armor dispersed to reveal himself being slimmer. Upon finishing, Ex-Aid now was taller than before. Gaining a fuchsia and green suit, with some arm and leg armor pads, even the large faceplate, was now there as a backpack. His chest was smaller but still carried that game controller motif as it had a D-Pad on his right side and colored buttons on his left side and in the middle was his HP bar. (4/ATK: 0/DEF: 1200)
At this, Rex breathed a sigh of relief… until he recognized what the device Ex-Aid used said.
"Hold on… It said Mighty Action X…"
Just like that, the mutt's eyes lit up, "Is this card some kind of collab between Duel Monsters and the Mighty series?!" He gasped with the energy of a shocked fanboy, "Like dude, we just got Mighty Action IX! How the heck is Mighty Action X even a thing yet!"
"Who cares?! We got a video game themed Rider!" Judai said excitedly.
"Of course, you'd be excited about that one…" Rika said dryly.
"A Mighty themed Rider, ain't no way I'm letting my fave platformer get disrespected." Rex corrected him.
"Dude, you play Gemn Corp games?" Koji asked the mutt.
"Anyway!" Kuromu said before he continued his turn. "Ex-Aid's activates! He gains 400 ATK for every Level upon summoning."
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (ATK: 0-1600)
"Battle! Kamen Rider Drive attacks Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid! Speedrop again!"
"Not so fast, I activate my Trap! Half Unbreak!" Misawa declared before one of the facedown cards revealed itself, "I can target one monster and not only can it not be destroyed by battle, but any damage I take from it is halved."
"Great…" Kuromu grunted. "But that doesn't mean I can't whittle away your Life Points! Drive, continue your attack!"
Once more, Drive repeated the same attack he did to Little Chimera, the only difference was Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid wasn't destroyed.
Misawa: 3050
Kuromu: 4000
"Next is Kamen Rider Ghost! Omega Drive!"
The ghost-themed Rider pulled the lever to make the 'eye' close before pushing it to open it back up, the 'iris' of the eye showing a kicking foot.
DAI KAIGAN! O-RE: OMEGA DRIVE!
Ghost made a hand gesture almost akin to that of a ninja handsign and an orange eye glyph appeared behind him. All of its energy then gathered to his kicking foot as he jumped up and dived him for the kick, knocking Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid to the ground, before jumping back to his side.
Misawa: 2750
Kuromu: 4000
"And finally it's Ex-Aid's turn! Mighty Critical Strike!"
Ex-Aid looked to his buckle and took out what appeared to be a strange shaped game cartridge.
GASHOON…
Ex-Aid then 'blew' on the cartridge before inserting it into a side slot that was on the left side of the video game Rider's belt.
GASHATTO! KIMEWAZA!
After taking a stance and preparing to attack with the technicolor electricity coursing through his leg…
MIGHTY CRITICAL~ STRIKE!
"Does… did anyone see the giant ass text pop up there?" Rex asked the others. Everyone looked at him as if he grew a second head.
Meanwhile, Ex-Aid jumped up as he extended his leg, forming his first Rider Kick as he struck the baseball kid, but he wasn't done.
[HIT!] [HIT!] [HIT!] [HIT!] [GREAT!]
He began to rapidly kick him, spinning around and adding more damage to it.
[HIT!] [HIT!]
Then he did one last kick.
[PERFECT!]
Misawa: 2450
Kuromu: 4000
"Ta-n endo." Kuromu finished.
"I must say, you are truly giving me a run for my money." Misawa said, "But I guess that means I must get serious then. Draw!" He increased his Hand from two to three. The moment he did, his smirk became wide. "My friend, you are about to be burned."
"Uh-oh, I don't like the sound of that." Koji said. "This dance off is far from over."
At this, Kuromu was left conflicted as Misawa began his next play.
"I Tribute Super-Hot-Blooded Ball Kid to Advance Summon Thestalos, the Flame Monarch!" He declared as the kid jumped up and was soon encased in a large fireball before it exploded to reveal a new Monster, a tall man with a set of pearl pink armor, a large helmet that only showed his mouth, and a large blue cape and matching mantle around his waist. (6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000)
"Not good…" Kuromu frowned.
"It doesn't get better for you here." Misawa said, "Because now, his effect activates. Since Thestalos, the Flame Monarch was Tribute Summoned, I can discard a card from your hand. If it's a Monster card, then I can inflict damage onto you equal to its original level times 100."
"And it looks like things aren't gonna be better for him." Koji said, "Unless he gets a Destiny Draw, Kuro's goose was cooked long before the Duel began."
Thesalos fired a small fireball at one of the cards and Kuromu frowned, seeing that it hit Kamen Rider W's card. He revealed the card to Misawa, meaning Kuromu took 400 points of Damage.
Misawa: 2450
Kuromu: 3600
"Don't forget Burning Blood's effect as well. Thestalos gains 500 ATK and lowers his DEF by 400. And to up the ante, I'll activate the Equip Spell, Salamandra, giving him an extra 700 ATK!"
Thestalos, the Flame Monarch (ATK: 2400-2900-3600/DEF: 1000-600)
"Uh-oh…" Kuromu feared as he tried to come up with a plan.
"Battle! Thestalos, the Flame Monarch attacks Kamen Rider Ghost! Firestorm Impact!"
Soon, the monarch lifted his hands into the air and created a large fireball that he chucked at the ghost Rider, destroying him while Kuromu felt the heat.
"Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Misawa: 2450
Kuromu: 1600
"Gh… I activate… the trap I laid down on my first turn, Damage Condenser!" Kuromu said, revealing the face-down. "When I take Battle Damage, I can discard one card to Special Summon a Monster from my Deck with ATK equal to or less than the Damage I took!" He said, before discarding Kamen Rider W, and taking out his Deck to choose a card. "I Special Summon… Kamen Rider Build!"
From out of nowhere, complicated mathematical equations appeared in thin air.
"Oho! These equations!" Misawa's eyes widened as the formulas began rotating in a circle. "That one stands for the calculation of emotions! Oh! There is also one in regards to the length of a… Rider Kick?" Misawa tilted his head, crossing his arms in thought.
RABBIT! TANK!
BEST MATCH!
"Best Match?" Misawa raised an eyebrow.
A holographic R & T lit up before it disappeared momentarily. Then within seconds, several sets of tubes appeared. Red and blue liquid flowed through them as an assembly line was formed. The liquid then parted ways into the front and back as they solidified into two sets of armor pieces.
ARE YOU READY?!
The two pieces quickly combined onto his body, forming one suit of armor and steam came out before the assembly line disappeared.
HAGANE NO MOONSAULT! RABBITTANK! YAA~Y!
The belt declared at the rider held out his fingers in the style of Fleming's right-hand rule. His helmet was composed of a red rabbit ear shape sticking out of the visor, while the other side was in the style of a tank's main gun. While the main body itself was black, the red and blue parts overlaid it in a side stroke formation, an odd sprint like design on the right leg as the left leg had parts of a tank track on the blue boot. It was such an unorthodox design that some would say that it was a little strange. Yet for a man of math such as Misawa, he couldn't help but marvel at the design of the armor. (4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1000)
"Huh, another half-and-half Rider." Rex pointed out.
"So? What are you gonna do now?" Kuromu asked.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Misawa finished, placing the last card down.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Kuromu declared, drawing his next card. "I activate Life-Shaving Treasure Cards! This lets me draw until I have five cards, but I don't use them in five turns, I lose them in five turns." He then did as the card instructed. Looking at his new Hand, he smiled, "Alright, I can make this work! First I activate the Spell Card, Twin Twister! By discarding one card from my Hand, I can destroy two of your Spell/Trap cards! So say goodbye to Salamandra and Burning Blood!"
The two cards shattered and Thestalos's stats returned to normal.
Thestalos, the Flame Monarch (ATK: 3600-2400/DEF: 600-1000)
"Since I activated a Spell/Trap card, Ex-Aid's Level goes up by 1, meaning his ATK increases as well!" Kuromu said.
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (4-5/ATK: 1600-2000)
"But now comes Ex-Aid's other effect! By removing four Levels from him, he gets to destroy one card on the Field, but if there's another Kamen Rider on the Field, it's bounced back to your Hand instead, so now I'll send Thestalos back!"
Kamen Rider Ex-Aid (5-1/ATK: 1600-400)
"Doh, that idiot, he's getting lost in the moment and ahead of himself!" Rika facepalmed as Misawa took the card off his tray.
"How badly is he gonna die?" Rex asked cautiously.
"Just watch…"
"And now… I summon Kamen Rider Zi-O in ATK mode!"
ZI-O!
There was a mechanical-like sound before a low humming note played out alongside a ticking sound, before a chime sounded out after a resounding boom of a clock.
RIDER TIME!
A transparent clock revealed purple katakana lettering. Metal bands begin to shroud the Monster; purple light enveloping it. When the bands burst along with the light, It showed a bodysuit with black armor and a silver metal girding that resembles a wristwatch, running from the center of the chest armor and down to the belt. Hugging his forearms were gauntlets that held one other device similar to the one used on his belt while the other three spots were left empty. The knee pads and elbows were shaped as the knobs of a watch while purple lining was seen on the upper edge of the lower leg armor. Cuffed around the shin were gray bands and a pair of armored shoes with the front ends being a steel gray color. The katakana lettering then burst before solidifying towards the helmet. The helmet itself has the arms of a clock that is nearly shaped like a V. Once the purple visor assembled itself onto his armor, it completed the transformation. (4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000)
KAMEN RIDER~ ZI-O!
As the Rider was summoned, Rex noticed something odd. Zi-O… was staring at him. He wondered if he was seeing things, but sure enough he wasn't the only one who noticed this. His fellow Osiris Red students saw that the silver clock Rider was staring at him specifically.
"Uhh, is this normal?" Judai asked.
"I don't know…" Rex admitted, "But I feel something familiar from him. And no, it ain't like with Ex-Aid. Like, I legit feel like I know this Rider from somewhere. I just don't know where…"
Kuromu didn't notice this as he started his assault, "Battle! Kamen Rider Build attacks you directly! Vortex Break!"
This got Rex to stop staring at Zi-O before the mutt's attention was turned to the scientist Rider turning the crank on his belt.
He then jumps up with the power of the Rabbit Fullbottle then smashes the ground, creating a hole, and diving underground. Then a white energy chart of a slope appeared and flew up to the surface with the dotted line securing Misawa around the waist before leaping back up after cranking the lever.
READY!? GO!
He then dived down for the Rider Kick while riding the chart's line as the tank treads on his blue foot started spinning.
VORTEC FINISH! YAAAY!
"Egads, he's using that chart to calculate the angle and slope of his attack in order to apply the most kinetic energy where I'm most vulnerable! Incredible!" Misawa said, despite struggling against being held down by a chart.
"I did not understand a word he just said." Judai and Rex admitted, before Misawa got kicked in the face, feeling the treads.
Misawa: 550
Kuromu: 1600
"And now to finish it off! Kamen Rider Zi-O attacks you directly for the win! Time Break!" He said… before even he noticed the silver clock Rider was staring towards the bleachers. "Oi! Zi-O!"
"Oh, sorry about that!" Zi-O apologized before turning attention back to the fight, pressing the button on what appeared to be a stopwatch with his face on it and slanting his driver.
FINISH TIME!
A series of magenta-colored "Kick" (キック) characters appear and circle Misawa before Zi-O jumps high as the "Kick" characters merge into one and imprint on Zi-O's right foot while performing a flying side kick, spinning it before hearing a chime sound.
TIME BREAK!
At that time however, the silver clock Rider shook his head as if staving off a headache.
"Too late." Misawa said as he raised his hand… and revealed… Holy Barrier - Mirror Force as his facedown card.
"Oh shit!" Both Rex and Zi-O gasped in shock.
"Ugh… like I said, he got too cocky…" Rika groaned in frustration as the silver clock Rider was bounced back by the barrier and sent flying, crashing into Drive, Ex-Aid, and Build, destroying them in the process. The Rider Duelist had little time to react before he was sent flying as well.
"Kuromu!" The others gasped.
"Ite~" Kuromu groaned, as he got up from his ground.
"This is what I like to call Final Turn." Misawa said while he drew what he believed to be the last card he needed to win the Duel. "It was a good Duel, my passionate friend, but unfortunately for you, I will win this. I summon Burning Soldier in ATK mode."
Suddenly, a man with long hair and leather armor stepped out from a pillar of flames, brandishing his sword towards a heavily winded Kuromu. (4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1150)
"Burning Soldier attacks you directly! Burning Slash!"
The Burning Soldier complied as he ran straight for Kuromu and leaped into the air, knocking him off the platform with a downwards slash attack.
"Gahhhhhhhhhh!"
Misawa: 550
Kuromu: 0
The Solid Vision disappeared as The Rider Duelist tumbled to the floor, clutching his chest as Misawa's confidence was replaced with worry.
"Kuromu, are you okay?" He asked, heading towards the Rider Duelist.
"Ugh… that hurt…" Kuromu winced as he sat up and soon realized, "I lost… again." He groaned before slamming his fist on the ground, "I was so close! Kuso!"
"Come now. You did well. A bit overzealous in the end, but you did well nonetheless. The way you dueled is bound to give you high marks," Misawa gestured over to two examiners, who seemed to be writing down stuff on clipboards. The smiles on their faces reassured Kuromu a bit, yet he couldn't help but frown and felt frustrated.
"No, it's not enough…" He grunted bitterly, while standing up, "I blew it…" With this, he left without another word.
As he left, he saw Koji, Rika, Asuka, Sho, and Rex approaching him. They wanted to say something, but the frustrated and angry look on Kuromu's face told them otherwise. He should be left alone for a while until he calmed down.
Judai especially looked worried for him. Sure, in Duels you win some, you lose some. But Kuromu never took his loss that hard before.
"Kuri! Kuri!"
"Huh? Did you say something?" Judai said as he turned towards… the little furry creature with wings?"
"Kuri! Kuri!" The Winged Kuriboh said.
"Yeah, I guess Kuromu looked real out of it." He agreed, "Still, I hope that we can help the guy."
At the same time, Rex was writing something down when he heard four thuds behind him. Rex sighed.
"Guys, I can assume that you guys checked in on Kuromu and the others?" The mutt asked as he put his pen down and turned towards… four anthropomorphic animals bowing before him.
"Master Kururugi seemed very troubled, general." The middlemost creature, a large purple Cape Buffalo wearing experimental Roman-like armor spoke.
"Yeah, and from the looks of it, his friends were also troubled." The second figure, a tiger wearing red gladiator armor and had a ring of flames around himself, added as the other three checked on Koji, Rika, and Asuka.
"Figured as much. Please tell me Bestrouli didn't try to peep on the girls and actually stuck to the mission, Murmillo." Rex asked the carp-like merfolk creature with blue armor, as the last of the quartet, a large green birdman with a red feathered crest and green armor, looked shocked.
"Huh?! You know I'd nev-" The bird, Bestrouli, was interrupted by the carp, Murmillo.
"He tried to. I kept him from doing so." The carp reported, speaking frankly.
"General, what must we do now?" Dicaerii asked Rex before the mutt sighed.
"Right now? Just be there for Kuromu. Something tells me that he's gonna need it." he answered as he, as well as Judai, began to wonder what they could do…