Because this story takes place at the setting for Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, I included tributes to some of the best characters from that series in the form of decks that resemble theirs. This chapter features the tribute to Chazz Princeton/Jun Manjoume who became known for using the Ojama series. Later we will get tributes to Sho Marufuji/Syrus Truesdale, and, of course, the GX main protagonist Jaden/Judai Yuki.
Chapter ThreeThe First Days
After orientation, Karen and I moved ourselves into our rooms in opposite wings in the blue High Dorm. Then, over the course of the next few days, while we were waiting for classes to begin, Karen and I got to know our classmates, including the gray-eyed kid, Jack. He was incredibly arrogant and overall too caught up in himself to succeed. Karen and I each defeated him once, and he left us alone after that.
I fought a few people from each dorm. There was some potential in High Dorm and Low Dorm, but the biggest challenges came from Mid Dorm, just as I’d assumed. My favorite duel with a Mid Dorm student came from a girl named Lisa. She was younger than most, only twelve years old. Her deck was one that used monsters that Duel Academy would see again many years later.
“I’ll start this off,” I said, looking over my hand. The majority of Yellow Dorm students used quick but stable decks like Beast Beat or Warrior Combo, so I expected to have a turn or two to set up a good defense. “I begin with ‘Soul Absorption’,” I began, “so that whenever a card is removed from the game, I gain five hundred Life Points. I’ll also set two cards and summon ‘Twin-Sword Marauder’.”
A warrior in a blue vest and blue pants, wearing a faceplate and helm and large shoulder armor, with a three-pointed sword strapped over each hand appeared at my side (ATK: 1600).
“If the best you can do is that monster,” said Lisa, pushing her curly blond bangs out of her gray-blue eyes, “then you’ve already lost. I play my key card, ‘Ojama Country’!” A grassy field replaced the walkway beneath our feet. A grassy hill appeared behind Lisa, blocking the nearby Mid Dorm from view. Small straw huts popped up all around us. Other students were beginning to take notice of the duel, saying things like “Look, Lisa’s about to rack up another win!” I realized then that I might be in trouble.
“I continue,” Lisa said, “with the Spell card ‘Graceful Charity’. I draw three cards, and then I send ‘Ojamuscle’ and ‘Ojama Blue’ to the Graveyard, and thanks to ‘Ojama country’, reviving my discarded monster is as simple as discarding ‘Ojamagic’.”
A small creature with a large head, blue in color, wearing Speedo briefs appeared (ATK: 0).
“Additionally,” Lisa continued, “because ‘Ojamagic’ was discarded, I get to search my deck for three more ‘Ojama’ monsters.”
Lisa searched, adding three cards to her hand.
“Finally,” said Lisa, “I summon ‘Ojama Red’.” A second creature, red in color, with bloodshot eyes and a pointed head appeared (ATK: 0). “When ‘Ojama Red’ is summoned, I can summon ‘Ojama Yellow’, ‘Ojama Green’ and ‘Ojama Black from my hand as well.”
Three more figures appeared. One was green with one large yellow-orange eye, the second was black with a huge nose and mouth, and the third was yellow with full red lips and stalk eyes (ATK: 0 (each)).
“Because I control at least one ‘Ojama’ monster,” Lisa continued, “the second effect of my ‘Ojama Country’ Field card activates and the Attack and Defense scores of every monster on the field are switched (ATK of the ‘Ojamas’: 1000 (each)/ATK of ‘Marauder’: 1000).
“I attack,” Lisa commanded, “with my ‘Ojama Blue’, destroying both your monster and mine.”
I understood my opponent’s plan. We were playing standard Japanese expert rules, which meant that we each had only four thousand Life Points. After destroying my ‘Marauder’, my opponent would have a clear path to my Life Points with her remaining four monsters. And I didn’t have any Traps that could stop her attacks.
I did, however, have another plan.
“I activate ‘Interdimensional Matter Transporter’ to remove my monster from play until the End Phase,” I declared, “avoiding your attack.”
A strange device made up of a lens surrounded by angular metallic fins appeared. A beam from the lens swept over my monster and he disappeared.
“My Life Points increase via ‘Soul Absorption’,” I explained (4000+500=4500).
“Still,” said Lisa, “all the better. Now I can attack directly with my monster’s instead.”
‘Ojama Blue’ lunged right at me, ready to strike.
“Reveal,” I countered, “the Trap card ‘Escape from the Dark Dimension’, summoning my monster back to the field.”
‘Marauder’ returned, blocking ‘Ojama Blue’’s attack. Both monsters were destroyed.
“When ‘Ojama Blue’ is destroyed,” Lisa said, “I search my deck for one ‘Ojama’ card. Now my remaining monsters attack.”
The red, yellow, black and green creature’s struck one after another (4500-(1000x4)=500). I'd barely survived, and if I was right about which card my opponent had searched for, I wouldn't survive another of her turns.
I was astounded. “You’re good,” I said. I smiled, “But I’m sorry to say, I’m still gonna win.
“I play ‘Heavy Storm’,” I declared, and a massive vortex of wind kicked up, ripping the huts out of the ground. The hologram of the Field card was ripped apart as well, and all holograms associated with it faded away. The Attack of the ‘Ojamas’ returned to their normal zero.
“Now,” I said, “because you control two more monsters than me, I can special summon my favorite card, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’.” My warrior appeared, wearing his layered yellow armor panels, his fists readied, charged with yellow and black static (ATK: 2200).
“I equip my monster with the Spell card ‘Assault Armor’,” a white aura appeared around my monster, “and I release the armor to allow my monster to attack twice this turn.”
The white aura flared. “Attack,” I commanded, and my monster shot forward, punching ‘Ojama Yellow’ and ‘Ojama Black’. Both monsters were destroyed and my opponent’s Life Points fell (4000-(2200x2)=0).
The remaining ‘Ojamas’ disappeared along with my monster. “Good duel,” I said, shaking my opponent’s hand.
“Yeah,” Lisa replied, “you’re strong. Hopefully we’ll get to duel again sometime.”
Finally it was time for us to start taking classes. Karen put on her complete uniform, but I chose my black over shirt instead of my uniform jacket. I didn’t expect for anyone to care, at least not for the first day or so. Karen and I each received one of the new, sleeker Duel Disks like the one that Shepherd had used against Jack. I didn’t like the solid gray color of mine, so I used a bit of shadows to taint it black and darker gray, like my dark disk. If anyone saw it, they would just think that I’d painted it.
Karen and I made our way from High Dorm to the main building. I looked around. There were so many people gathered on this island. So many Duelists, and they were all strong in one way or another. Plus, I thought, if all of the professors are as strong as Shepherd, even I might be able to learn something here.
As we walked to the school, Karen and I compared schedules. Since she was taking card design and I was taking dueling, we would have very few classes together. The classes here were different than what I was used to. Duel Academy was, first and foremost, a Japanese school. At Duel Academy, in most cases at least, the teachers would travel from room to room, not the students. Karen and I would start out together in Duel Monsters 101, and then, afterwards, she and the other card design students would split off and join the appropriate groups elsewhere. We wouldn’t see each other again until lunch, and then not again until classes let out for the day.
It’ll be weird, I thought. Karen and I have barely spent any of our free time apart in three months, and now we’ll only be together a few hours a day.
We arrived in the classroom, ready for Duel Monsters 101. I didn’t know whether or not to laugh at that. After all, what was there about Duel Monsters that I didn’t already know? I was one of the strongest Duelists alive! It was embarrassing that I was being forced to participate in something so ridiculous, but I had no choice. This school was my ticket to a career as a tournament Duelist. I’d have to suck it up.
The first class ended. I’d dozed off for a while about two thirds of the way through, only waking up again toward the end, when Karen realized that I was sleeping and elbowed me in the ribs. The teacher, an elderly woman whose name I don’t remember, was giving her lecture in a droning monotone when the bell interrupted her. She was a boring woman, suited to teaching the schools most boring subject. Despite the subject matter, I noticed that Karen had managed to keep detailed notes. I was impressed.
The teacher packed up her things and headed to her next classroom. Karen gathered her things as well. On her way out the door, the teacher announced that all design students were to move on to their next classes.
“That’s me,” said Karen, standing up and swinging her bag over her shoulder. She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, “I’ll see you at lunch.” She was gone before I could respond.
Huh, I thought. I wonder if she could be any more enthusiastic.
Several students went to buy drinks and use the bathroom before the next class started. I leaned back, trying to recapture sweet unconsciousness, but before I could, I heard someone call, “Hey!”
I was startled fully awake. I looked around and found myself face to face with the smiling face of the sandy-haired, green-eyed boy from the entry duels. Like me, he had opted to wear a portion of his own wardrobe, his yellow flame-decal shirt, under his red and white jacket. He was leaning over the seats directly behind me.
“Hey,” I said, “I saw you at the entry duels. You’re good.”
“And I saw you on TV at the Grand Championship. Your name’s John. You’re good too.” He jumped the seats and landed in a sitting position in the seat right next to me. “My name’s Thomas,” he announced. Then he looked right at me and asked, “So, have you heard of the Card Takers?”
“Who?” I asked, worried that this kid was going to try to recruit me into some club.
“The Card Takers,” he said. “You know the bridge over the river? The one by Low Dorm, where I'm staying?”
“Yeah.”
“Well,” Thomas said, “I heard from some of the guys in my dorm that a pair of Duelists who call themselves the Card Takers wait at the bridge every night. They’re supposed to be the strongest Duelists on the island! Anyone can duel them, but there’s a catch.”
The next teacher, a young man in glasses, had already arrived and begun speaking, but I was much more interested in what Thomas had to say, “And that would be?”
“In order to duel a Card Taker,” Thomas explained, “you have to be willing to risk what makes you a duelist. You have to ante your favorite card against theirs. I’m gonna go see if this thing’s for real tonight. Wanna come?” His face was alight, primed for the coming excitement.
"You bet I wanna come," I told him. I tried to sound cheery so that I didn't put this Thomas guy off, and to an extent I was because I love a challenge, but hearing what Thomas had said I wanted to find these guys for another reason. If these guys really are taking the favorite card from the Duelists that they defeat, I thought, then I have to beat them and get them to stop. That kind of thing shouldn't be allowed.
Card of the Day:
Ojama Country
Played by: Lisa
Because really this card makes "Ojamas" good. Or at least usable. In casual duels.
Next Chapter >>
No comments:
Post a Comment