Misfortune in the Fortune Cup

"W-what the- !?" Kai gaped before shaking his head "Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" In response the monster seemed to roar in despair, causing the pigtailed duelist to blink before narrowing his eyes, turning to Aki with a lined frown. His hands twitched and he spoke "Heh, somehow I sense deja'vu...."

He sighed and then bluntly uttered a single word

"Fuck."

Yet, his mouth was twitching, as if stopping himself from grinning.

"I hope you're right, Zeiya," Shuho said, now crossing his arms as he duel seemed like it was coming close to the climax.

"I activate the other face down card, Burial from the Different Dimension. This returns three Removed from Play monsters to my graveyard." Her two Plants and her Black Rose Dragon went to the graveyard and Akii raised her hand high. "Now, by the ability of Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Black Rose Dragon can be revived!" In a blaze of light, the rose dragon appeared onto the field once again. (LV7 Atk:2400) "Once again, I remove a Plant-type monser from the game to change Red Eyes Black Dragon to attack mode and reduce its attack to 0. Rose Restriction!" Like the deja'vu Kai had feared, Red Eyes Black Dragon was quickly insnared in the vines and its attack power was again 0. "Black Rose Drgon, destroy his dragon with Black Rose Flare!"

"Bollocks to that! I activate Scapegoat!" In a flash four tokens phased alive on the field, yet Kai still watched on as his dragon was hit by the attack, causing him to grit his teeth and shake his head, his voice echoing "Heh, that almost stung." His life points let out a glow before ticking down to eight-hundred in a blink of an eye.

"Either way, its all down to this. Still annoyed, Aki-chaaan?" grinned Kai as his pigtailed whipped behind him, his eyes gazing at the Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, his own monster turn rouge. He could only wait with his arms crossed, his face relaxing as he turned to the girl his was fighting.

"Life can be a real bitch. Lucky for me, I'm not a wimp like you."

Aki was unbending. She took the final card in her hand and played it. "I activate the Equip Magic Card, Thorn of Hatred!" Her Black Rose Dragon's throns grew as it let out a loud roar and its attack power became 3000. "Thorn of Hatred raises Black Rose Dragon's attack by 600. It loses the ability to destroy monsters in batttle, but it gains the power to inflict penitration damage! Next turn, when Black Rose Dragon attacks you, the duel will end. For now, my turn is over..."

"Oh ho," the MC announced. "Aki Izayoi's life points have dropped to 1200 while Kai Blackdragoon's life points are a mere 800. This is definately the last turn!" THe crowd watched intently, silent as they watched the duel. They wanted to see Aki fall, but it seemed further away from possible as things were now. Even as Kai regained his dragon, it was still weaker than Back Rose Dragon.

"Hmm..now how shall I get outta this..?"

Kai tapped his chin as he glanced at him hand, almost mockingly as he gazed at Aki "Oh! I know! I'll simply make my monster stronger! I activate United We Stand and apply it to Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon! You know what that means?!" Suddenly the dragon on his field went, quite literally, nuts. It roared and it began to grow in size, its power shooting up on the scale. In a blink of an eye, it was stronger than Black Rose Dragon.

"Six-thousand...eight-hundred.." toned Kai as he flipped his pigtail, crossing his arms. On the large screen of the arena, a statement phased into view as it zoomed in on the ever growing dragon without a word. Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon - 6800/6400. A laugh echoed in the silent battle grounds, the pigtailed duelist shaking his head

"Well, whaddya' know?"

Slowly he brought up his hand and pointed it at her

"Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, end this already."

The dragon, in response, went berserk as it launched at Aki and her dragon without a hint of mercy, thoughts on what they did before sending it into a cosmic beast of destruction. A massive ball of energy formed before flowing into a large wave of energy that overtook the field, blinding onlookers in its array of strength.

Aki's eyes widened as her monster was destroyed. The power of the blast was so great, it caused her white mask to crack and then shatter. Aki looked to Kai, tears in her eyes and a woeful look. Her lips muttered only two words... "Help me..." As she slowly fell back, a man in a brown trenchcoat grabbed her, catching her. He looked down at the girl and said, "Aki, you did well. You can rest now." He then looked up at the Black Dragon Duelist and said, "I'll take things from here." He held Aki up in his arms as he slowly walked away.

The area was speechless for a moment. The silence was broken as the MC yelled out, "Winner, Kai Blackdragoon!" The crowd actually cheered out loud, respecting Kai's dueling skills but more relieved that the Black Rose Witch had been defeated. The areana was shattered and broken from the battle, but it seemed they were already preparing for the next battle. Kariya vs. Yukina.

Kai could only gaze at where Aki once stood and bow his head in shame, his hair soaking his eyes in shadow. That duel was no victory. No, that girl still suffered, and he couldn't do anything to help. Silently the pig-tailed teen turned and sighed, walking down the arena and into the backing of the building once again. He was still strangely silent.

He thought he would feel glee for defeating her, glee for attacking with all his might with his most loved monster. Yet, no, all he felt was guilt, like he had condemned a person. His shadowed form walked through the halls before sitting down on a bench, just looking at the floor as he sighed. His only thoughts rang through his mind

'...I guess having fun dueling just doesn't cut it any more...'

He frowned and cursed in his head.

'Damn it, Aki. Why..?'

"...Kai?" Zeiya said as sh walked up to him. Kneeling down a bit, she tried to look at his face. "You ok? That was a really intense duel, ya know..."

"Finally my turn." Yuki muttered, scratching the back of her head as she walked out to the dueling field, putting on her duel disk.

Yusei walked up to them, placing his hand on Kai's shoulder. "You opened her heart," Yusei said, looking at him with a reassuring face. "I could tell you wanted to help her, and I think you did. From here, it's Aki Izayoi's decision whether or not to accept her true self..."

Kariya was alright standing in wait, his arms crossed as he awaited his opponent. When she arrived, he turned to her and said, "Now I finally can begin. I won't lose this battle..." With that, he activated his Duel Disk. It seemed they were ready to begin.

"Yeah, suppose you're right. Heh, thanks guys..." Kai smiled as he brushed his hand through his hair, standing up and turning away as he continued "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm gonna go see where I can take a nap. Let me tell you, I feel bloody sore and tired after that match..." He trailed off as he scratched his cheek and began to walk down the hall.

&&&&

OOC: Yeah, me too. -goes to sleep-

Zeiya cupped her hands around her mouth. "You better be awake to see me and Yusei duel, or you'll be sorry, Kai!" she shouted before letitng out a sigh. Turning to Yusei, she smiled. "So, should we watch the next duel, then?"

"Well, I can't let you win this, Kariya." Yuki said, putting her duel disk on and drawing her five cards. "So then...let's go!"

"This battle determines who faces one of us in the next duel," Yusei said as he turned, walking towards the screen. "But I need to check my Duel Runner before the match. If you weren't aware, our battle will be a Turbo Duel."

Kariya drew his five cards, not witing for the MC to say anything. "This has gone by rank all this time, meaning I would be the one to start now," Kariya said as he drew his card. "I begin with Card Destruction! We each now discard our hand and draw five new cards." His hand went to the graveyard, followed by a draw of five cards.

Yuki put her hand into her grave and drew 5 new cards. "You activated my Oblivious Maiden's special ability. If she is sent to the graveyard other than battle, I can special summon a Blacken Soul Token in defense mode." A small black ball of fire appeared on the field. (DEF 500)

Zeiya sticked her tongue out as she put her hands behind her head. "Yeah, i know...I should check mine, too." She said. "I did a rush job back at Satellite...Might as well make use of this time and start fixing it up."

"Actually that was what I wanted you to do," Kariya saw as he took a card from his hand. "I actiivate Soul Exchange! With this, I'm allowed to tribute your token and summon my Dragunity - Angus in attack mode!" As Yuki's monster disappeared, a man with blue wings and a bow appeared on the field. (LV5 Atk:2100) "I'll set one card face down and end my turn..."

Shuho looked back at Zeiya and thought about his own Duel Runner for a moment. Even if it needed fixing, it wasn't like he could do it himself. That's when something hit him. "If they... then that means... I duel Kai next round?!"

"When Blacken Soul Token is used as a tribute, the one who tributed recieves 400 damage and allows me to special summon a monster from my graveyard with a level lower than your monster." Yuki said as her token surrounded Kariya, draining his life points.

"Now I special summon my level four Dragon Glider in defense mode." A Dragon with its hands as wings appeared on the field (DEF 1700) "Now I begin my turn, Draw!" She took a card from her hand and placed it on her duel disk. "I summon a monster in defense mode and end with two facedowns."

Kariya drew his card and said, "I summon Dragunity - Dux in attack mode!" A man with white clothing and wings appeared onto the field. "When summoned, I can take a Dragon Dragunity monster in my graveyard and equip it to this card. I choose my Dragunity - Brandistock! Dragunity - Dux gains 200 attack for every Dragunity card on the field." (LV4 Atk:1500+600=2100) "Battle! Dragunity - Dux, attack Dragon Glider!"

The attack connected and her glider was destroyed. "I activate my monster's ability from my graveyard, Dragonian Knight! If a dragon type monster is destroyed in battle while this monster's in the graveyard, I can remove that monster from play to special summon him." A Knight with armored dragon scales apepared on the field with a pole arm at hand. (ATK 2400). "However, I have to remove that dragon from play and my knight will be removed from play when it is destroyed."

"Very well..." Kariya said, unflinching. "I use the ability of Dragunity - Brandistock! When equipped to a Dragunity monster, that monster is allowed to attack twice in a Battle Phase. Now, attack her face down defense!"

The card flipped over and a rather large bug latched onto his Dragunity. "You flipped my Man eater Bug." Yuki said. "Now that monster is destroyed due to its effect."

Kariya glared as his monster was destroyed. "I still havae one left... Dragunity - Angus, attack her Dragonian Knight!" As the blue winged man prepared to fire his arrow, Kariya flipped his face down card. "At this moment, I activate the effect of Blast with Chain! This card equips to a monster I control and raises its power by 500 points." (Atk:2600)

"TRap card activate, Guardian's Spirit" Yuki said as a aura surrounded the Knight. "This negates the attack as long as I remove from play a dragon type monster from my hand. Also, it destroys your monster and deals 100 points of damage times its level."

"Don't think I'd fall for that twice!" Kariya said as he went into his hand and played a card. "I use My Body As A Shield!" The aura aimed at Kariya's monster redirected and hit Kariya directly in the chest. He took a small step back as he lost 1500 life points. "By paying... 1500 life points... I negate a card that would destroy a monster..."

"You're not very smart, are you?" Yuki said, crossing her arms. "You took more damange than needed to save your monster...Means I'll just have to keep an eye on you."

"The bond with my monsters, is more than a duelist like you would understand..." Kariya said. "I end my turn... with one card face down..."

"My turn, draw!" Yuki said as she drew. "By sending Luminous Musician to the graveyard, I can special summon a wind attribute monster from my deck. I summon Jupiter Goddess - Atlanta!" A young green haired woman wearing greek like clothes appeared on the field, levitating. (ATK 2300) "I activate her ability! By removing a spell or trap from my graveyard out of play, I can destroy one facedown spell or trap." A bow made of light appeared in her hand as an arrow appeared. She pulled it back on the invisible string and shot at the facedown Kariya just put down.