Rereading the prior chapter, I figured out over the course of that that messed up the life points at the end of it. Actual values were at 3500 for Akiza and Orion and 2550 for Naomi and Mina.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Draw! I start my turn by activating Solar Exchange!" Naomi declared. "By sending Jain, Lightsworn Paladin to the graveyard, I can draw two cards then send the top two cards of my deck to the grave." After sending the card to the grave and looking upon the two cards she just drew, the duelist gained a grin, that initially turned to a grimace and then returned to a grin as she saw the first and second cards that went to the grave. "Torrential Tribute and Wulf, Lightsworn Beast are the two sent to the grave," she declared. "Wulf, Lightsworn Beast's effect activates! When sent to the graveyard by card effect, I can special summon him to the field."

The anthropomorphic wolf displayed upon the card, garbed in similar armor to the earlier summoned Garoth, Lightsworn Warrior, though wielding a long handled double-headed axe in one hand, and a trio of claws coming off of the other. Yet, it did not remain long as Naomi then announced, "I then release Wulf in order to advance summon Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon and I equip them with the Lightsworn Sabre." A large white dragon with a mane of golden hair running down the entirety of its back and with wings of feathers manifested upon the field, the blue horn upon its head reshaping itself to be reminiscent of the blade equip the dragon had been given. (Level 6/Light/Dragon/2000 - 3900/1600 - 2800)

'3900 attack...four Lightsworn in the grave' Akiza thought, a hint of dread growing from the glee on Naomi's face. 'And if I'm right...'

"And now...the time of your judgement is at had," Naomi continued.

'I knew it...' Izinski thought, the building dread tempered by confusion as she took note of Orion's monsters seeming to become a bit worried as well. 'What...'

"Spirit of law, the heretics stand upon this field," Naomi began to chant, notably a slightly different one than usual. "Come forth and render their sentence! Special summon, Judgement Dragon!" A large dragon with a head similar to that of those of Chinese myth and a body similar to those of European myth and feathers coating its form including wings descended to Naomi's field, its red avian talons that formed its feet seeming to scratch the ground, but that was merely a holographic effect that dispersed after a second. (Level 8/Light/Dragon/3000/2600)

"First! Judgement Dragon, attack and destroy Chaos-End Warrior! Judgement Storm!" Naomi declared as a storm began to manifest above the arena, channeled by the named dragon. A series of lightning strikes rained down upon the named warrior, a cry of pain being let out by it before it disintegrated in a thousand shard.

"What do you mean?" Akiza asked, dread redoubling as her and Orion's life points dropped down to 1500.

"Don't you remember? Gragonith deals piercing damage, and your Phoenix Cluster has 0 defense..." Naomi responded with a grin. "Now...let's get you away from him. Gargonith, attack Phoenix Cluster Amarylis!" Unlike the other dragon, this one possessed a more conventional attack, a breath attack charging up.

"N-no..." Akiza whispered as the full weight of what was occurring came down upon her, a hint of fear crossing her face that could not be seen from the opposing side. '...I...I made a horrible mistake. Orion...he's the only one I've seen who isn't afraid of my powers. And I...gambled that all away. I can't back out of that promise... My powers may scare most, but honor as a duelist allows at least some to challenge me... If I break that promise, no one else would...anywhere.' Looking over at her partner and seeing a slight smile on his face, she felt her heart ache a bit. '...Does...does he not want...'

"Activate quick effect! Wall of Chaos!" Orion declared, interrupting her thoughts with sheer shock as the beam of energy from Gargonith launched forth. Multiple black pillars with lines of light tracing over them quickly manifested in front of their monsters, before a barrier of dancing black and white appeared between them, intercepting the attack. Most of it fragmented on the barrier, but a bit of power flew back, detonating upon Naomi and Mina's side of the field.

There was a moment of confusion on his face as he looked over to Akiza, before his eyes flashed in realization, seemingly only just recalling the promise that had been made over the outcome of the duel. He gave a slightly bashful smirk in response, almost seeming to apologize for not telling her they weren't going to lose to the attack. She tried to work up a look of annoyance for the scare, but Akiza could easily feel that it was a more than overshadowed by a small smile.

"What happened?" two voices, one confused and the other enraged, echoed from the other side of the field, causing Akiza's face to return to neutral as the two turned their attention back to their opponents, the holographic dust just then beginning to settle.

Still in a good mood, Orion replied, "Wall of Chaos's effect. When a monster is attacking, I can special summon it from my hand in defense position and it becomes the new target."

"But why did we take one thousand points of damage?" Mina asked, as Naomi glared at Orion.

"If that effect is activated, it gains defense equal to your monster's attack," Orion replied, his smile growing broader. It did falter a bit as he reluctantly said, "Until end of turn."

"That won't help you after this turn ends, then," Naomi said. "I'll enter the End Phase of my turn and activate both Gargonith and Judgement Dragon's effects to send a total of the top seven cards of my deck to the grave!" Taking the top seven cards, she continued as she revealed the cards. "They are Charge of the Light Brigade, Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, Shiny Black "C", Lightsworn Barrier, Celestia, Lightsworn Angel, Necro Gardna, and Plaguespreader Zombie! Due to the addition of two more Lightsworn monsters to the grave, Gargonith's attack and defense rise by 600 points each! End turn!"

'4500 attack...' Akiza nervously thought. 'We need to get rid of that this turn...and then there's Judgement Dragon's ability and whatever Mina will do...' "Draw!" Akiza said, gazing upon Fragrance Storm. 'Perfect!'

"First, I'll activate Ivy Shackles to bind your dragons and have them treated as plant monsters!" Akiza announced. "Then, I'll use Fragrance Storm to destroy Gargonith!"

"No!" Naomi declared as her monster was destroyed by a sudden burst of the shackles around it, before facing Akiza with a look of pain on her face.

Ignoring it, Akiza continued, "Thanks to Fragrance Storm's effect, I can then draw a card." Drawing Dark Verger, she then revealed it and continued, "And if it is a plant monster, I can reveal it to draw an additional card."
Said card proved to be Vengeful Servant, a slight grimace forming on her face.

'If I had the Mark of the Rose card, we could win on their standby with this...as it stands, all I can do is increase our defense...' Akiza thought, before noticing that Orion was looking over at her with a questioning gaze. After a moment's hesitation, she thought, 'he is my partner in this...perhaps he'll see something I don't.' With that thought in mind, she slightly turned her hand so it was visible by Orion but not their opponents. After a moment's gaze, a smile grew on her partner's face, before he pointed to the card that had just saved them. Arching her eyebrow, Akiza mentally questioned, 'Is there something special about that card that can help us beyond what it has...?'

Orion barely mouthed a word in response, preventing Mina or Naomi to see what he said, though it did leave Akiza questioning what he did say. 'Was that "tuner"?' she mentally questioned, as the hand that was pointing to the card outstretched all five fingers '...and something about it having five...Wait, is he saying Wall of Chaos is a level 5 tuner!?' Her realization must have been betrayed upon her face, as Orion's smile became a smirk and a nod.

"Miss Inzinski...?" the voice of Mina echoed across the field, returning both their attentions to the duel. "Is your turn finished...?"

"No," Akiza replied. "In fact, this duel will be ending this turn."

"Are you surrendering?" Naomi asked, a bit of hope in her voice that caused something to begin to stir in Akiza.

"No. I'll start the end of this duel by summoning Dark Verger," Akiza declared, the feeling from before building into anger. "Then, I will make use of my partner's Wall of Chaos by tuning it to Dark Verger!" Naomi looked a bit hurt at the emphasis Akiza had put upon the ownership of the tuner monster, and the psychic felt her anger continue to rise as she began her summon chant. "The cold flame envelops the entire world. Black flower, bloom! Synchro Summon! Black Rose Dragon!" Pedals tore through the area as the dragon was summoned, the volatility of the summon mirroring the volatility of her emotions. While nowhere near the full quantity that could be achieved if she was truly livid, the pedals did slightly tear at the clothing of the various duelists in the area.

Mina seemed to be the most nervous of anyone, something that could be heard in her tone as she said, "At least Judgement Dragon is stronger..."

"Now, Black Rose Dragon, activate Black Binding Bloom! Reduce Judgement Dragon's attack to zero!" Akiza interrupted, surprising Mina and shocking Naomi as vines bound the Judgement Dragon.

"W-wait, Akiza," the latter said in a panic. "You're making a mistake..."

'You thought I was going to be your partner despite never asking me...did you think no one would ask me or that I would ask no one!? And when I actually show up with someone who accepts and has the same powers as me, you tell me to stay away from them!' Akiza thought, her rage continuing its build. 'And you had asked someone already! What did you think I would be a spare!?'

"No, I am not," Akiza bluntly replied, to Naomi's horror. "Black Rose Dragon! Finish them off! Black Rose Flare!"

"W-wait!" her foe tries to plead, but is drowned out as the dark purple breath attack of the Black Rose Dragon tears through the Judgement Dragon, the attack manifested by Akiza's psychic powers having a great deal of a strength boost from her anger. The positioning of the Judgement Dragon meant that while both her opponents would be hit by the blast, it would be indirect damage. This still meant both Naomi and Mina were sent flying back as they cried out in pain and their life points dropped from 1550 to 0.

"Why doe it...hurt...this bad...ugh...!" Mina groaned when the blast was no longer throwing her body.

"C-call...an...nur...se..." Naomi whimpered, slightly curled up where she had ended up.

"Someone would have already contacted one," Akiza bluntly replied, her anger still roaring, though taking note of the quantity of people around the duel arena.

"M...i...ss..." Naomi tried to speak again.

"I have nothing else to say to you," Akiza interrupted before deactivating her duel disk and turning to her partner. "Let's go, Orion." Her partner turned from his neutral gaze at the Naomi and Mina to give a nod, before the two left the arena for the stands. In both areas, the other students gave them a wide berth.

'What I just did...it's going to make him an outcast as well...' Akiza thought guiltily as she noted that not every expression was directed to just her. "I...I'm sorry. You should leave..." she said in a quiet voice, to which Orion cocked his head in what seemed to be confusion. "If you do, they won't..."

The Chaos-End duelist put a hand up which instantly silenced her. "I've heard the rumors," he said, causing her to wince. "I directly felt the damage of your ace monster's attack." Akiza winced again at that. "I knew what the consequences might be if I became your partner for this."

'But...why...?' Akiza wanted to ask, though couldn't work up the courage to do so. The two sat in silence as they waited for their next duel.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Anime's version of Black Rose Dragon made use of the reduce to 0 in any position.

Wall of Chaos
(Level 5/Dark/Rock/Tuner/0/1000)
When an opponent's monster is attacking (quick effect): Before the damage step, special summon this card from your hand in defense position, this card becomes the new target of the attack. If this effect is activated, this monster's defense increases by the attacking monster's attack until end of turn.