Pookles: I'm back with Chapter 2!
Luna: This is also the final chapter of this two-shot.
Pookles: That it is.
Luna: Pookles doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's
The Final Countdown
Akiza
I woke up around six in the morning and saw that no one else was awake. I grabbed my uniform and went into the bathroom to change. Once I was dressed in my uniform and my hair was done, I emerged from the bathroom to see Yusei in the kitchen cooking breakfast.
"Good morning," he greeted.
"Good morning," I replied.
"Are we allowed to come watch your dueling finals?" he asked as I stole a piece of bacon.
"Sure, all written exams take place during the first hour," I explained. "So show up around nine or so and you'll be directed to the correct room of the battle dome."
"Are you guys ready?" Yusei asked.
"I know I am," I replied.
"The twins seemed pretty ready last night," Yusei replied.
"So you were really asking if I was ready?" I inquired.
Yusei smiled, "yep. Your turbo duels were fabulous by the way."
"But I still can't beat you," I replied.
"Oh please, you'll be able to beat whoever your opponent is with ease," Yusei replied.
I smiled, "thanks."
"No problem," he replied.
"I'm gonna go wake the twins," I replied.
I jumped down from the balcony and roused the twins, telling them that if they got up quickly that there would be some food left for them. They immediately sprang up and Luna beat Leo to the bathroom. I walked back to the kitchen and Yusei handed me a plate of bacon and eggs before we sat down at the table together to eat. The twins grabbed their food off the counter and joined us at the table to eat.
"Are you guys ready for today?" Yusei asked the twins.
"You bet," they chorused.
"I can't wait to watch you duel Akiza," Leo commented.
"Thanks," I replied. "The Vice Chancellor wants to make a show out of the event."
"It's more like a festival right?" Luna asked.
"A festival that can risk your entire semester grade," I replied. "Hurry up you two, we need to leave within the next few minutes."
The twins were quickly finished with their food and Leo got on his Duel Board while Luna hopped on the back of my Duel Runner with me. We waved goodbye to Yusei and took off toward the academy.
"Very good students, enjoy your duels today and your grades will be posted at the end of the day," the exam teacher concluded before dismissing us.
I looked over my schedule for the day and went to my locker. My duel against Andersen was around eleven, with my duel with the Vice Chancellor immediately after, and my Turbo Duel after that. I put my school bag in my locker, still unsure as to why I brought it to school in the first place. I grabbed my duel disk, deck, and phone before heading out to the Battle Dome.
Once I reached the Battle Dome, I saw parents and students alike sitting in each of the bleachers. I found the room where Luna and Leo's class would be battling and I walked inside to see Yusei, Jack, Crow, and Bruno sitting in the front row next to the casting stand. I walked into the casting booth where Andersen was, as he was supposed to cast the battles in this room.
"How was your subject exam?" he asked, looking up from his notes.
"Easy, but extremely long," I replied. "The situations were absurd and it gave you additional conditions."
"I'm pretty sure that I missed a lot on it," he went on. "If I pass, it'll be just barely."
"I hear ya'," I agreed. "That took way too much out of me for a written exam."
"I don't know if I have any strategy left in me for our duel," he added.
"Me either," I answered. "Or for my duel with Heitmann. Or for my Turbo Duel."
"Oh? Who're you Turbo Dueling?" he asked.
"No idea," I replied. "Though Heitmann was laughing hysterically when I asked him this morning."
"Do you want to cast the next few duels with me?" he inquired. "We have to duel during lunch, so we don't really have much else to do until then."
"Woah we do?" I asked.
"As entertainment during lunch," he replied.
"You've got to be kidding me," I responded, exasperated.
"You have more duels than anyone else today," he went on again.
"I'm gonna be sick of it by the end of the day," I answered, then stood. "Can you handle the casting? I want to go relax with my friends."
"Sure," he replied. "You can count on me Izinski."
"Thanks," I responded and walked out of the booth and down to my friends.
"Hey Akiza," Crow greeted as he patted the seat between him and Yusei.
I sat and began massaging my eyes.
"Are you alright? You look exhausted," Jack asked.
"My written exam was absurdly long and awful," I replied.
"How so?" Crow asked.
"The entire thing was endgames with you in awful circumstances and a shitty deck. I don't know how I managed to get through them all. I don't want to duel today and I haven't even drawn a card," I explained.
"Why don't you try and nap through these first few duels?" Yusei suggested. "Luna and Leo are the third and fourth duels."
"I can try," I answered.
"Here," Yusei said, putting an arm around me and pulling me to lean on his shoulder.
"Wake me when Luna and Leo duel," I reminded him with a yawn.
"Sure thing," Crow replied.
I closed my eyes and relaxed, and my brain soon shut down as sleep took over.
"Hey, it's Leo's turn," I heard faintly.
I opened my eyes to see Jack and Crow staring at me. I sat up and Yusei moved his arm away.
"Do you feel any better?" Yusei asked.
I nodded, "I feel somewhat refreshed."
"Great," Crow commented.
"Now let's see if my training has turned Leo into a champion!" Jack commented.
"It's time for the third duel!" Andersen announced from the box. "Next we have Leo versus Bob!"
"This should be fun to watch," Crow commented.
"Let's see if my special training paid off!" Leo shouted.
"Duel!"
Bob: 4000 LP
Leo: 4000 LP
"I'll go first!" Leo called. "I summon Morphtronic Celphon in attack mode!"
Morphtronic Celphon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 100
LV: 1
"Now once per turn, Celphon can dial and the number he gets is the same number of cards I can flip over from my deck and summon one Morphtronic if one is there!" he went on. "So out comes Morphtronic Magnen!"
Morphtronic Magnen (DEF Mode)
ATK: 800
DEF: 800
LV: 3
"I'll throw two face downs and end my turn," he finished.
"My move then!" Bob began. "And I summon Flamvell Guard in defense mode!"
Flamvell Guard (DEF Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 2000
LV: 1
"I activate my trap: Field Upgrade," Leo countered. "This allows me to add a field spell from my deck to my hand when you summon a non-machine-type monster."
"I place a face down and end my turn," Bob finished.
"I draw, and I summon Bionic Knight!" Leo began.
Bionic Knight (Defense Mode)
ATK: 300
DEF: 600
LV: 2
"Next I activate the field spell: Tech Factory!" Leo went on. "And thanks to its effect, your Flamvell Guard's DEF is cut in half," Leo went on.
"He's gotten good," Crow commented.
"Of course he has!" Jack responded. "I trained him!"
"Now by using Tech Factory's other effect, I can increase the level of Bionic Knight by 2!" Leo went on.
Bionic Knight
LV: 4
"Now I can tune my Bionic Knight with my Magnen to Synchro Summon Power Tool Dragon!"
Power Tool Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2300
DEF: 2500
LV: 7
"And thanks to his ability, I can add a random equip spell to my hand, and I'll equip Double Tool C & D to my Dragon!" Leo went on.
Power Tool Dragon
ATK: 3300
"Whenever you use an equip spell, Equip Penalty activates and you take 800 points of damage," Bob countered.
Leo: 3200 LP
"You just activated my trap: Rise of the Machines!" Leo came back. "Whenever I take 800 points of damage or more, I can add the amount of damage I took to the ATK of a machine-type monster on my field, then I can attack you directly!"
Power Tool Dragon
ATK: 4100
Bob: 0 LP Winner: Leo
"The winner is Leo!" came Andersen's voice from the booth.
"That was incredible," Crow commented.
"Of course! He was trained by the best," Jack said pridefully.
Soon after receiving his grade of an A-, Leo ran up into the stands to sit with us.
"Did you guys see me? I kicked butt!" he exclaimed.
"You've learned well Leo," Jack commented.
"We're all proud of you!" Crow added.
Leo looked unbelievably happy then turned to me. "I can't wait to watch you duel Akiza!"
"My first duel is during lunch," I replied. "So be ready."
Leo looked surprised for a moment, "then you won't be able to eat lunch Akiza! I can go get some for you if you want."
"Uh yeah, thanks Leo," I replied. "But hurry back before your sister's match starts."
"Do you want your usual?" he asked.
"Yes please," I answered. "Thanks Leo!"
"No problem!" he called as he ran out of the room.
"Being the best has its perks," Crow commented.
"It's almost an expectation for underclassmen to help upperclassmen during the day," I replied. "Just out of respect I guess."
Leo returned moments later with a small wrapped bowl of fruit with a fork inside.
"Thanks Leo," I greeted.
"Mrs. Graicen already had it prepared for you by the time I got there," he explained.
"I wonder who did that," I commented sarcastically.
Leo and I laughed as we both knew that it was Andersen that had put in the order for me.
"Our fourth duel of the day is Luna versus Patty!" Andersen announced.
I removed the plastic from the top of the bowl and began eating my fruit salad.
"Yeah! Let's go Luna!" Leo began cheering.
Luna visibly sighed and Leo sat between Jack and Crow.
"Duel!"
Luna: 4000 LP
Patty: 4000 LP
"My move!" Patty began. "And I summon Hanewata in defense mode!"
Hanewata (DEF Mode)
ATK: 200
DEF: 300
LV: 1
"This'll be interesting," I commented. "Both of them have a defensive style, but rely on effect damage."
"Akiza's back boys!" Crow declared as I smiled and bit into a strawberry.
"I place one face down and end my turn," Patty finished.
"My draw then," Luna began calmly, and with a confident smile that I hadn't seen from her before.
"So you taught her how to hold a poker face?" I asked Crow after swallowing.
"Yep," he replied.
"I summon Kuribon in attack mode!" Luna continued.
Kuribon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 300
DEF: 200
LV: 1
"Next I activate the field spell Ancient Forest, then place three cards face down and end my turn," she finished.
"My turn!" Patty began again. "Draw! And I summon Mystical Frog!"
Mystical Frog (DEF Mode)
ATK: 800
DEF: 1100
LV: 4
"Now I tune my Hanewata with m Mystical Frog to Synchro Summon Mystical Frog King!"
Mystical Frog King (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1900
DEF: 2200
LV: 5
"Now attack Kuribon!" she declared.
"When Kuribon is the target of an attack, any battle damage to me is negated and you gain life points equal to your monster's ATK," Luna stated.
Patty: 5900 LP
"Next I activate Oberon's Prank!" Luna continued. "When one of us gains life points due to a card effect, we both take double the damage you would've been healed."
Patty: 2100 LP
Luna: 200 LP
"Now I activate Ancient Protector! When I lose 3000 life points, I choose the ATK of a light-attribute Synchro Monster and heal myself by that amount, then inflict that number to you as damage," Luna continued.
Patty: 200 LP
Luna: 2100 LP
"Also due to Ancient Forest's effect, any monster that attacks is destroyed," Luna finished.
"Turn end," Patty finished.
"Draw!" Luna began. "I summon Regulus in attack mode! However I'm going to tribute him to advance summon Fairy King Truesdale!"
Fairy King Truesdale (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2200
DEF: 1500
LV: 6
"Next I activate the spell Ancient Revival!" Luna continued. "If I have the appropriate means, I can tribute them to summon a fitting Synchro monster. I choose Ancient Fairy Dragon!"
Ancient Fairy Dragon (DEF Mode)
ATK: 2100
DEF: 3000
LV: 7
"I activate my trap, Synchro Leveling!" Patty countered. "When you synchro summon a monster, I can revive one of my own from my graveyard! Come back Mystical Frog King!"
Mystical Frog King (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1900
DEF: 2200
LV: 5
"It doesn't matter," Luna replied. "The difference between our monsters is 200 points. Ancient Fairy Dragon attack! Dazzling Sunshine!"
Patty: 0 LP Winner: Luna
"Yeah Luna!" Leo cheered.
"I was worried for a second, but damn that combo was good," Crow commented as Luna ran over to join us.
Luna received an A for a grade, and Crow declared himself the better teacher. I chuckled to myself at the ensuing argument as I led everyone to the dining hall.
"Feel free to enjoy yourselves," I said as I deposited my lunch container in a nearby trashcan. "Molly! Sakura! Mei!"
"Akiza!" they greeted, all dressed in the maid uniforms to serve the guests. "I heard you're dueling Andersen during lunch."
"Yeah," I replied. "Can you guys play host to my friends for a bit? I've gotta run."
"No problem," they replied.
Yusei
Akiza's friends showed us to a huge corner table that had its own television that we could watch the duels from.
"Why are you dressed in maid outfits?" Jack asked.
"We're running the dining hall as a Maid Cafe and Restaurant today," Molly explained and handed each of us a menu. "Order whatever you want, everything is free."
"And if you guys need anything, press this buzzer and one of us will be right over," Sakura finished.
"Awesome!" Crow cheered.
We ordered drinks and they left us to look at the menu.
"This is awesome," Leo commented. "Good food, cute girls, and we get to watch Akiza kick butt."
"I didn't know you were interested in girls Leo," Luna inquired. "And you said I would be the pervert."
"Well I have to agree with you Leo; it's a pleasant sight," Jack commented.
"Oh please," Luna went on while still looking at her menu. "Would you all have the same reaction if Akiza was dressed like that?"
I couldn't help but smile at the thought of Akiza prancing around dressed in a maid costume, and I noticed that the other guys were blushing too.
"For christ's sake," Luna commented.
Molly came back and we ordered our food as Akiza's match was a bout to start.
"I'm so telling Akiza later, and she's going to throttle you all," Luna teased.
"You wouldn't," Leo challenged as Sakura handed him his nachos.
"Try me," Luna replied as her salad was set in front of her.
Leo was about to protest when Crow stopped him, "I don't want to die twice. Dying once is more than enough."
"How can you die twice?" Leo asked.
"Simple," Crow began matter-of-factly. "Akiza will murder us with her crazy powers, then Luna will use her duel spirits to murder us again in the afterlife."
"C-Can you really do that L-Luna?" Leo asked in fear as Crow's burger, Jack's ramen, and my club sandwich were set on the table.
Akiza's friends blinked in confusion at our conversation then chorused, "enjoy!"
The tv screen blinked on and Akiza and the other kid's duel began.
"Duel!"
Akiza: 4000 LP
Mark: 4000 LP
"Ladies first," his name was listed as Mark, insisted.
"You're too kind," she replied with a tone that reminded me of her tone from the Fortune Cup. "Draw. I summon Evil Thorn in attack mode."
Evil Thorn (ATK Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 300
LV: 1
"And you should already know its effect," she continued.
Mark: 3700 LP
"300 points of damage and you get two more thorns," he echoed the effect.
"Next I activate Closed Plant Gate. By discarding one plant monster from my hand to the graveyard I can skip your battle phase. I'll throw two face downs and call it a day," she finished.
"Why's she so angry?" I asked.
"If she loses she has to go on a date with Mark," Molly explained.
"And she doesn't want to," Sakura finished.
"Understandable," Jack began. "Izinski has good taste in men."
"What does that mean Jack?" I asked.
He smirked, "wouldn't you like to know?"
"My draw!" Mark declared. "And I summon White Knight!"
White Knight (ATK Mode)
*Tuner Monster
ATK: 1000
DEF: 300
LV: 3
"And when White Horse is in my hand, my knight's ability lets me summon him directly to the field," he went on.
White Horse (ATK Mode)
ATK: 300
DEF: 800
LV: 3
"Now I tune my knight with my horse in order to Synchro Summon Majestic Riding Knight!" Mark continued.
Majestic Riding Knight (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2500
DEF: 1900
LV: 6
"I activate my knight's ability!" He went on. "I get to flip over the top three cards of my deck, and if any of them are monsters, I can use their levels to force you to Synchro Summon. But I choose the monster, and I choose Black Rose Dragon."
Black Rose Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2400
DEF: 1900
LV: 7
"I activate my trap: Preservation!" God this guy just didn't stop talking. "This trap negates your dragon's ability to destroy cards on the field. Now I'll attack your dragon!"
"I activate my trap: Context Clues, which allows me to take a card from my deck and put it into play," Akiza countered. "I choose Thorn of Malice."
Black Rose Dragon: 3000 ATK
"I cancel my attack," Mark began.
"Sorry but my trap prevents the further activation of any spells, traps, and prevents you from stopping any attacks," she countered again.
Mark: 3200 LP
"I place one card face down and end my turn," he finished, looking angry that she'd destroyed his monster.
"Draw. Black Rose Dragon attacks you directly," she declared.
"I activate Mirror Force," Mark countered. "Now you-"
"I activate Nature's Reflection," she cut him off.
Mark: 200 LP
"I activate Doom Petal Countdown," Akiza finished. "By removing Evil Thorn from my graveyard from play, I can hit you with 300 points of direct damage."
Mark: 0 LP Winner: Akiza
"Izinski is our winner!" an unseen MC announced. "Stay tuned for Izinski's next duel with Vice Chancellor Heitmann!"
Molly came back over to the table, "how is everything?"
"Awesome," Crow replied.
"Can we get some Calamari?" Leo asked.
"Of course," she replied. "Feel free to stay through the next duel. We can show you over to the track later."
"That'd be great," I told her as some other duel came on the screen.
"Is there anything else I can get for you guys?" she asked.
"Just another order of Calamari," Luna replied.
"Sure thing," Molly replied then returned to the kitchen.
"How long do they give you guys for lunch?" Jack asked.
"Two hours," Luna replied. "And each class takes turns running the dining hall."
"Of course today is the day Akiza's class has to work and she can't because she's dueling," Leo added bitterly.
Luna kicked him under the table, "stop being a pervert."
"Especially when you're talking about my girlfriend," a voice from in front of the table said.
I looked away to see the kid that Akiza had just beaten, smiling smugly at us. He had burgundy-colored hair, but more orange, and eyes that were a deep emerald color. He also wore a confident smile that strangely reminded me of Sayer.
"Andersen," Akiza's voice sounded from nearby. "Shouldn't you be in uniform and serving guests?"
"Yes ma'am but-"
"But nothing," she snapped. "There is nothing between us. So don't go around telling people that there is."
"I-I'm sorry Izinski..." he stammered. "I just...don't know how to deal with my feelings for you..."
Akiza's expression softened and she smiled at him, "I know that you have a thing for me Mark. But going around and telling lies like that isn't the proper way to share those feelings. If you wanted me to know about those feelings, then you should've come to me and talked to me about it. I know it's scary to share something personal with someone else, but you have to face that fear."
I smiled at Akiza's response and couldn't help but feel proud of her transformation from her days of being the Black Rose Witch. She came over to us after talking to him, then turned back in his direction for a moment.
"Text me if you want to hang out sometime!" she called to him.
The boy sheepishly nodded, then proceeded to be called over by his friends.
"Great duel Akiza," Luna commented. "You might want to check your phone."
Akiza blinked and tapped the screen of her phone a few times then looked up and glared at us.
"I'm gonna go head to my next duel," she declared. "Not that you guys care."
She walked out of the dining hall and out of sight as Luna smiled triumphantly. She took her order of Calamari and followed Akiza.
"What the hell guys?!" Leo shouted. "Now both Luna and Akiza are mad at us!"
"WHAT?!" Jack shouted. "You're the one that started this Leo! Men are supposed to keep thoughts like that to themselves!"
"Guys calm down," Crow began.
"It's all our faults," I explained. "We'll apologize to her before her turbo duel."
The guys nodded and we dug into the rest of the food as Akiza's next duel flickered onto the screen.
"Duel!"
Akiza: 4000 LP
Heitmann: 4000 LP
"Draw! I summon Ancient Gear Statue from my hand and activate the Endless Machines spell card!"
Ancient Gear Statue (ATK Mode)
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
LV: 1
"This lets me summon the two Ancient Gear Statues I have in my hand! Next, I'll tribute my statues to summon my Ancient Gear Golems!"
Ancient Gear Golem (ATK Mode) x3
ATK: 3000
DEF: 2000
LV: 8
"I place a card face down and end my turn," Heitmann finished.
"Draw. I summon Copy Plant in defense mode," Akiza began. "And its special ability copies the level of a monster on the field."
Copy Plant (DEF Mode)
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
LV: 8
"Next I activate the Level Cost spell card to reduce Copy Plant's level by 3," she continued. "With Copy Plant on my field, I can summon Dark Verger from my hand to keep him company, however they won't be around for long."
Dark Verdure (ATK Mode)
ATK: 0
DEF: 1000
LV: 2
"You have it already?!" Heitmann shouted.
"Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!" she called as her dragon hovered just behind her.
Black Rose Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2400
DEF: 1900
LV: 7
"I activate my trap Synchro Strait!" Heitmann countered. "This destroys your Dragon and sends it back to your deck."
"But I can still activate my dragon's special ability before you send her away," Akiza interrupted.
"What?!" Heitmann shouted.
"Next, because your trap destroyed my Synchro Monster, it allows me to summon a weaker one to replace it. I summon Rose Fairy in defense mode, and place two face downs to end my turn," Akiza finished.
Rose Fairy (DEF Mode)
ATK: 600
DEF: 1200
LV: 3
"Draw! I summon Red Gadget in ATK Mode!" Heitmann began.
Red Gadget (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1300
DEF: 1500
LV: 4
"I place two face downs and end my turn," he finished.
"Draw. I summon Twilight Rose Knight," Akiza began.
Twilight Rose Knight (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1000
LV: 3
"So I'll Synchro Summon once again," she continued.
"Your dragon can't save you," Heitmann countered. "Synchro Stairs only allows you to summon the same Synchro Monster once."
"That's why I'm not calling on my dragon," she replied. "Synchro Summon. Appear, Queen of Thorns!"
Queen of Thorns (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2200
DEF: 1800
LV: 6
"Since when did she have that card?" Crow asked.
"She got a bunch of new cards recently," Leo explained. "She was saying that she didn't want to just have Black Rose Dragon and Splendid Rose to rely on anymore."
"Attack Red Gadget! Go Thorn-Clad Thrashing!" she declared.
Heitmann: 3100 LP
"You fool! When Red Gadget is destroyed, I can summon it back along with Yellow Gadget and Green Gadget due to my Gadget Army trap!" Heitmann countered.
Red Gadget (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1300
DEF: 1500
LV: 4
Green Gadget (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1400
DEF: 600
LV: 4
Yellow Gadget (ATK Mode)
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1200
LV: 4
"I activate the trap: Forced Activation!" Akiza began. "Now I get to activate a trap card of my choice and use its effect. I choose Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"
Stronghold the Moving Fortress (ATK Mode)
ATK: 3000
DEF: 2000
LV: 4
"Why would you ever do that?" he asked. "Now I can just attack you and obliterate your monster!"
"I activate my Queen's ability! By skipping my next draw phase, she can hit you with 1000 points of damage for every non-plant-type monster on the field!" She countered.
"You can't be serious!" Heitmann shouted.
Heitmann: 0 LP Winner: Akiza
"Akiza is the winner!" the MC declared.
"That was terrifying," Crow commented as he ate the last piece of Calamari.
"You can say that again," Jack added.
"You guys ready to go?" Molly asked as Sakura and Mei ran up to the table.
"Sure," I replied.
We got up from the table and followed Akiza's friends to the track. Heitmann joined us along the way and led me into the pit where my runner was and waited there until I was done changing into my WRGP riding uniform.
"Good luck," Heitmann began.
"Thanks," I replied. "I have a feeling I'll need it."
"She wasn't trying in that last match," Heitmann went on. "I need to assess her true ability, and I can't do that if she's not trying."
"Well she's already angry at me, so she'll try to crush me for sure," I replied.
"You imagined her dressed like a maid like the other girls right?" he guessed.
"H-How did you-"
"A teacher knows many things," he replied and walked out of the pit.
I quickly shook it off as the introductions began.
"First we have Miss Akiza Izinski!" the same MC began. "She's won her first two duels today, much like the record she had six months ago at the Fortune Cup. And since we've all learned that history is bound to repeat itself, her opponent in the third and final match is once again, Yusei Fudo!"
The look of shock on her face was priceless as I rode up next to her on the track.
"Yo," I greeted. "Sorry about earlier."
Akiza just glared at me. "Of course they picked you. The one duelist I'd have the toughest time with."
"Hey, I said an exam was supposed to be challenging right?" I replied.
She just scowled and turned away from me.
"And I said that this was the one final I'd fail," she snapped. "Looks like I was right."
'Maybe she'll forgive me if I let her win this match,' I thought wistfully. I didn't like it when Akiza was mad at me, which wasn't all that often as of recently.
Akiza
"Let the Final Exam begin!" the announcer called and we took off.
"Duel!"
Akiza: 4000 LP
Yusei: 4000 LP
I took the first corner and drew first.
"I summon Phoenixian Seed in attack mode!" I began.
Phoenixian Seed (ATK Mode)
ATK: 800
DEF: 0
LV: 2
"But I'll sow my seed to reap Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis!"
Phoenixian Cluster Amaryllis (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2200
DEF: 0
LV: 8
"I place four cards face down and end my turn," I finished.
"Going with your same burn strategy Akiza?" he asked me. "Well then this shouldn't be too difficult! My draw!"
Akiza: 1 SPC
Yusei: 1 SPC
"Well that was out of character..." I thought as he made his move.
"First I'll activate the Speed Spell-Angel Baton!" he began. "This lets me draw two cards from my hand, but I have to sacrifice one of them. Next I summon Junk Synchron!"
Junk Synchron (DEF Mode)
ATK: 1300
DEF: 500
LV: 3
"And when there's a tuner monster on my field, I can summon Quillbolt Hedgehog from my graveyard!"
Quillbolt Hedgehog (DEF Mode)
ATK: 800
DEF: 800
LV: 2
"Now I'll tune Junk Synchron with my Quillbolt Hedgehog to summon a monster that will mow over your weeds! Synchro Summon! Come on out! Junk Warrior!"
Junk Warrior (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2300
DEF: 1300
LV: 5
"Now go weed her field! Scrap Fist!"
"I activate the continuous trap- Rise of the Plants!" I countered. "Now every plant monster on my field gains 1000 attack points."
"Then I'll cancel my attack," he began.
"Rise of the Plants prevents you from cancelling an attack," I interrupted.
"What?" he shouted.
Yusei: 3100 LP
"Amaryllis is now destroyed and you take 800 points of damage!"
Yusei: 2300 LP
"I place one card face down and end my turn," he finished. "But don't get cocky. I'll uproot your Amaryllis eventually, and then your life points after that."
I turned and looked at him. "Why was he being so antagonistic?" I thought. His words were starting to hurt and I was starting to hate this duel.
"Draw!" I began. "Why are you being so mean Yusei? This isn't like you."
Akiza: 2 SPC
Yusei: 2 SPC
"Just trying to make the duel interesting," he replied with an uncharacteristic smile. "Now summon your dragon already."
I growled, feeling my anger pooling in my stomach, "fine then! If you're going to piss me off then you're going to pay the price crab-head!"
Yusei
"Maybe I overdid it a little on the trashtalking..." I thought.
As I drove by the stands again, I saw the twins looking extremely worried and Jack and Crow had face-palmed. I turned back to the seething bundle of anger that was Akiza to see that she had played the Cost Down spell.
"I hope you've realized your mistake Yusei," she snapped. "But in case you haven't, I'll summon Glow-Up Bulb from my hand!"
Glow-Up Bulb (ATK Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 100
LV: 1
"Well this won't be good," I thought as she called our her dragon's chant.
"Chilling dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear, Black Rose Dragon!"
Black Rose Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2400
DEF: 1800
LV: 7
"Go on and use your dragon's special ability," I coaxed her.
"Sorry, but when Glow-Up Bulb is used as Synchro material, the Synchro it creates cannot destroy any cards on the turn its summoned," she replied. "Now I'll remove my Phoenixian seed from play to reduce your warrior's attack points to zero! Now go! Thrash his warrior!"
"I activate the trap card Damage Conversion! Now all the battle damage I would've taken heals my life points!" I countered.
Yusei: 4700 LP
She growled, "I end my turn."
"Draw!" I began.
Akiza: 3 SPC
Yusei: 3 SPC
"I activate the trap Graceful Revival! This lets me summon a level four or below monster from my graveyard. So say hello again to Junk Synchron!"
Junk Synchron (DEF Mode)
ATK: 1300
DEF: 500
LV: 3
"Now I'll tune Junk Synchron with Junk Warrior to summon Stardust Dragon!"
Stardust Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 2500
DEF: 2000
LV: 8
"Next I'll summon Turbo Synchron and thanks to my second Graceful Revival, I can bring back Turbo Booster!"
Turbo Synchron (DEF Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 500
LV: 1
Turbo Booster (ATK Mode)
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
LV: 1
"So I'll Synchro Summon again to bring out Formula Synchron!"
Formula Synchron (ATK Mode)
ATK: 200
DEF: 1500
LV: 2
"I'm glad that you're taking me seriously Yusei," she began. "I was beginning to think that you'd pissed me off for no reason. I've constantly been underestimated by you for too long. I'll be glad to show you what I'm truly capable of."
Akiza
We drove up a ramp and into a duel lane and Yusei sped past me.
"If you're going to show me your full power, then I'll show you mine as well," he said with a smile before disappearing with his monsters, then reappearing with Shooting Star Dragon.
Shooting Star Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 3300
DEF: 2500
LV: 10
"I'll end my turn there," he said and turned to face me. "Now show me what you've got Akiza. I can't wait to see what you've learned."
I smiled. "So he was trash-talking to get me fired up."
"With pleasure! Draw!"
Akiza: 4 SPC
Yusei: 4 SPC
"I activate the spell- Offering to the Earth! This lets me summon two Terra Tokens and add a card from my deck to my hand!" I began.
Terra Token (DEF Mode) 2x
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
LV: 6
"You're scaring me Akiza," he commented.
"Please don't be afraid," I replied with a sad look in my eyes. "It's not what you think."
Yusei nodded, "I trust you Akiza."
"I sacrifice my Terra Tokens in order to summon Purified Immortal Ccgojuru!" I called.
Purified Immortal Ccgojuru (ATK Mode)
ATK: 3300
DEF: 1000
LV: 10
"Purified?" Yusei asked. "What does Ccgojuru mean?"
"Ccgojuru is the tree," I responded as it appeared in the water between the sections of our duel course.
Instead of the immortal being black with pink markings, it was white since I had purified the immortal, and sealed away its darkness.
"What is that Akiza? Why is it white and not black?" he asked.
"Ccgojuru was the ruler of the earth, the god that watched over this planet and shaped it in its early life. And when humanity began gaining intelligence and destroying her perfect world to make way for themselves, she turned to darkness in order to make them pay," I explained. "But I showed her that this world still had beauty in it, and there were those who continue to enjoy and honor the beauty of the world she'd created. She no longer sees humanity as an enemy, and has vowed to stand with me against any opponent."
"Then show me what this new ally of yours can do!" Yusei exclaimed, turning to face me.
He was excited.
I had only seen that face when he was dueling one of the guys or the time he dueled Sherry. He was excited to duel me for once, and that knowledge in turn made me even more excited.
"All right then!" I continued. "I summon the Terra Doll tuner monster from my hand."
Terra Doll (ATK Mode)
ATK: 100
DEF: 400
LV: 2
"So what's your muse Akiza?" Yusei asked with a knowing smile.
I felt my eyes glow pink as petals began to fly past me.
"My True Sight will allow me to see through any ruse before me," I explained. "I activate my Terra Doll's special ability! This changes the level of a monster on my field to 1! In exchange, the monster that was Synchro Summoned gains 700 attack points!"
Purified Immortal Ccgojuru
LV: 1
"Now I tune my level two Terra Doll with my level one Purified Immortal Ccgojuru and my level seven Black Rose Dragon!"
"Show me your strength," I heard him say softly.
"Behold as Mother Nature graces us with all her strength and beauty!" I called as my mark began glowing. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Terra Garden Dragon!"
Terra Garden Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 4000(3300+700 from Terra Doll)
DEF: 2500
LV: 10
"You weren't kidding about her beauty," Yusei commented as I pulled up next to him.
"I'm not kidding about her power either," I replied as I pulled ahead of him and continued my combo.
"When Terra Garden Dragon is successfully summoned, I have to remove every level six or above monster in my possession from play," I began. "Now in the battle phase of me or my opponent's turn, my dragon gains the attack points of every plant-type monster I've removed from play!"
Terra Garden Dragon (ATK Mode)
ATK: 28000
"Twenty-eight thousand attack points?!" Yusei shouted.
"Yep," I replied. "Now I activate Trap Stun! Now your Mirror Force and Cosmic Blast trap cards are all frozen up. Which means it's safe for my dragon to attack!"
Yusei smiled as I turned to declare my attack, "well played Akiza."
I smiled, "Go Terra Garden Dragon! Attack Shooting Star Dragon with Terra Petal Dance!"
Yusei: 0 LP Winner: Akiza
Silence followed us as we rode back into the stadium and stopped back where we'd started. We both dismounted our runners and removed our helmets. I began laughing at Yusei's shocked expression and I held out my hand for him to shake, which after a moment of stunned silence, he shook his head and took my hand as the audience cheered.
"That was an amazing duel Akiza," he commented then pulled me into a hug. "I'm incredibly proud of you."
I was shocked at the sudden contact, but blushed and put my arms around him as well.
"Thanks Yusei, it means a lot," I told him.
We both pulled back slightly, but still resting comfortably in each other's arms as Heitmann approached us, clapping along with the audience.
"That was incredible Miss Izinski," he commented. "I honestly thought going into this that you would lose to Mister Fudo and that would be the assessment of your skill. However, since you've beaten Mister Fudo, that assessment has become much easier. Mister Exam Proctor, would you like to inform our top student of her final grade?"
"If I could give you an A+ times infinity I could," Yusei began. "But you'll just have to settle for an A+."
I smiled as the audience cheered and Luna and Leo ran over to me to give me a hug, followed by all their friends.
"You were awesome!" Leo shouted. "I can't believe you beat Yusei!"
"That was such a great combo!" Luna commented. "That many attack points should be illegal."
"I just kept drawing cards to make the best combo possible," I replied.
"Great job Akiza," Jack commented.
"Must be devastating for Yusei," Crow began. "Dethroned by a girl."
"Oh please, Yusei's never taken that title seriously," Jack replied.
"Well Miss Izinski and Mister Fudo," Heitmann interrupted. "You've both greatly aided our school in becoming a better institution. And for that, Duel Academy thanks you."
The audience began cheering again as Heitmann moved to make another announcement.
"Students, great job this week. Class Dismissed!"
Akiza
We had gone back to my house to find that my parents had already set up the house for a party. After a few hours of partying, Yusei and I found ourselves on the balcony overlooking the busy patio.
"You should be down there celebrating," he commented, turning to lean his back against the wrought-iron railing.
"So should you," I replied then poked his cheek. "No one likes a party pooper."
He chuckled and swatted my hand away, "that was an incredible duel. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks," I replied. "You were great as well."
He smiled at me, then turned again to look at the sunset. "Thanks. But I'm sorry for not realizing that you wanted me to stop going easy on you."
"It's okay," I replied, moving closer to him. "I should've talked to you about it. I'm the one with the crazy mind-reading powers Yusei, not you."
He laughed this time, and I couldn't help but laugh along with him; that's how contagious his laughter was.
"You're beautiful when you smile Akiza," he commented.
I couldn't help but blush, but then I smirked, "and you're extremely attractive when you laugh. You should do so more often."
A blush appeared on Yusei's face, but his smile didn't fade as he pulled me into his arms and gently swung me around to the beat of the song that was playing. I couldn't help but giggle as we put our forehead together and I put my arms around his neck. It was sort of like dancing as we lazily moved to the music. We couldn't help but laugh at how childish we were being, then silently agreed that we deserved it.
"Do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?" he asked suddenly.
I smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, "of course."
He pressed his lips to mine again and my hands became entangled in hair, and his in mine.
A cat-call caused us to immediately pull apart and snap our heads to look down at everyone who was looking up at us.
"Well lookie there," Crow began, clearly the culprit of the whistle. "No wonder why we couldn't find them."
Jack looked like he wanted to throw up, Luna looked excited, Leo...jealous? My parents were nodding approvingly as my mom began speaking with Martha in hushed voices.
"When's the wedding?" Crow asked, clearly enjoying our embarrassment.
"Oh! I can make a two-seated Duel Runner for the wedding!" Bruno shouted.
Yusei looked like he was going to vomit and we pulled apart. Everyone began laughing and Yusei pulled my chin up to look at him. I assumed that my face was just as red, if not redder, than his and I just barely registered what he was saying.
"I've walked through hell for you before," he began then kissed my forehead, "and I'll gladly do it again."
Pookles: IT'S FUCKING DONE AND REVISED
Luna: About time!
Jack: Impressive this time Pookles.
Pookles: Thanks Jack.
Leo: So what's your next story?
Pookles: It's about Leo taking a health class for the first time!
Leo: Oh god.
Crow: WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?
Akiza: Crow why are you mortified?
Crow: BECAUSE I'M GONNA HAVE TO BE THE ONE TO EXPLAIN IT TO HIM!
Yusei: Give Pookles reviews and favorites! She loves those.
Pookles: Sleepy time! *passes out at desk* If you want to know where Ccgojuru and Terra Garden Dragon came from check out Raphtil on DeviantArt if you want to see the pictures!