Chapter 21: The Etoile Tournament
The day that the three duel academies of Astraea Island had been anticipating for the whole year had finally arrived, the first day of the Etoile Tournament. Just about every student and teacher on the island had crowded into the large Spica duel stadium that had been prepared for the event. Jaden was sitting in the special skybox with Pegasus and the head mistress. He didn’t think it was the best place to view the action of the tournament, but he thought that it would’ve been rude to decline the invitation from both Pegasus and the head mistress. At the very least, Jaden was able to bring Chikaru and her little gang along, and they seemed to be having a blast. After all, how many students got to see a tournament in the head mistress’ private skybox? Down on the tournament floor, Shion was preparing to start the tournament, which was her duty since Spica was hosting the event.
“Students, teacher, and honored guests of Atraea Island, welcome to the tournament that will decide the next Etoile!” Shion greeted through the microphone she was holding. The audience cheered loudly. “Now to explain the rules of this tournament! First, as all of you already know, this is a tag duel tournament, so each duel will be played with teams of two players. Each team will share an amount of 4000 life points, so a direct attack on one partner of a team is a direct attack on both. However, if one partner of a team has a monster on the field, the other team can’t attack directly unless they destroy the monster first.
“Now to explain the how the tournament itself works! There are eight teams competing in this tournament. In the first round, all eight teams will duel simultaneously until there are only four teams left. After that comes the second round where the remaining four teams will face off one at a time. The two remaining teams will face off in the final round tomorrow, and the winning teams will become the next Etoile. Now let’s meet our eight teams!”
The crowed cheered as the eight teams who were competing entered the stadium floor. All of them were dressed up; many of the duelist wearing elegant ball gowns, and a few were wearing tuxedos. Of the eight teams competing, Jaden only recognized three. The first team that he recognized was the team of Nagisa and Tamao. Nagisa was wearing a sleeveless red dress with a long flowing skirt. Her hair was tied up by a single red ribbon. Tamao was wearing a matching blue dress, and her hair was tied back by a blue ribbon instead of her usual white bow.
The second team that Jaden recognized was of course the team of Hikari and Amane. Amane was wearing a white tuxedo with a blue tie and cummerbund, while Hikari was wearing a beautiful white dress. The two made an elegant looking pair. Remon had commented that the two looked like the little plastic bride and groom that one would find on the top of a wedding cake. Jaden had to agree with that comparison.
The third team that Jaden recognized was the team of Kaname and Momomi, and he was quite surprised to see them in the tournament. Kaname was wearing a regular black tuxedo, while Momomi was wearing a matching black dress. Jaden did not expect the two to be in the tournament since Amane was competing. After all, they had gone to such great lengths to keep Amane from entering the tournament, Jaden was sure that they would be too cowardly to enter and take the chance of facing the Spica prince. So far, Kaname and Momomi competing was the biggest surprise of the tournament to Jaden so far.
“Now it is time to determine who faces who in the first round!” Shion announced into the microphone. “Everyone, please turn your attention to the monitor above!”
The large monitor mounted to the stadium ceiling showed a small picture of all eight teams. The pictures blinked around the screen for a moment until they were all placed into two separate brackets. The team of Nagisa and Tamao were placed in bracket A, while the teams of Hikari and Amane and Kaname and Momomi were both placed in bracket B, though they would not be facing each other in the first round.
“Now that the order has been decided, let the dueling begin!” Shion declared, getting another cheer from the audience.
As soon as Shion left the stage, the floor of the stadium became a war zone. Many monsters were summoned and destroyed, and Spells and Traps were played like lightening. By the time that the dust finally settled, only four teams were left standing. Among the teams from bracket A who one the first round were the Team of Nagisa and Tamao and an unknown team from Miator, made up of a girl with long brown hair and a girl with long purple hair. Both girls were wearing matching pink dresses. The two teams left standing in bracket B were none other than the teams of Hikari and Amane, and Kaname and Momomi. With the four winners decided, Shion began the second round of the tournament.
The duel between the team of Nagisa and Tamao and the unknown team of Miator came first. Jaden didn’t know how to feel about that duel. He wanted to root for Nagisa and Tamao, but he knew that them winning would probably destroy Shizuma and Nagisa’s relationship. Kizuna and Remon were of course rooting for Nagisa and Tamao, as was Chikaru, but they didn’t know the whole situation. In the end, Nagisa and Tamao won and advanced to the finals.
* * *
As the tournament was proceeding, there was one person who wasn’t watching. Out by the lake, Shizuma was deep in thought. She knew that helping Miyuki train Nagisa and Tamao for the tournament was the best thing for Miator, but she couldn’t get what Jaden had said to her a few days ago out of her mind. Nor could Shizuma get Nagisa herself out of her mind. After Kaori had died, Shizuma did see other girls from time to time. They weren’t anything special though, they were all just pretty girls that Shizuma would get close to for a little while and then dump a week later. Each one was used to try and fill the void left by Kaori.
At first, that was how Nagisa seemed like all those other girls to Shizuma. As time went on however, Shizuma had found that Nagisa was different somehow. Shizuma felt like she could be her true self around Nagisa. At first, Shizuma thought that she had found the perfect replacement for Kaori, but she had learned that such a thing was an impossible task. She realized that after the incident with Nagisa at her villa on the island. Since that incident however, Shizuma had finally let go of Kaori, yet she still felt something for Nagisa. Shizuma couldn’t quite tell if those feelings were love though. For a time she thought that they weren’t, but that was when she was still comparing Nagisa to Kaori. Now that Shizuma was no longer doing that, she wasn’t quite sure what she was feeling for Nagisa.
Shizuma was sure of two things however. The first thing that she was sure of was that Jaden was right; she couldn’t deny what she was feeling. It was also foolish to put Miator pride and honor before her feelings. The second thing that Shizuma was sure of was that she didn’t want Nagisa in the tournament with Tamao. She couldn’t bear to watch such a thing, which was why she was out by the lake instead of at the stadium. Shizuma soon came to a decision, if Nagisa and Tamao made it to the finals the next day, than she would march into the stadium and put an end to the whole thing. Shizuma didn’t quite understand why she had come to that decision, but she would figure it out soon.
* * *
Back at the stadium, the second duel of the semi-final round was about to begin.
“Alright, here’s the duel that everyone’s been waiting for!” Shion announced. “Please give a round of applause for our first team, Spica’s own Prince Amane Ohtori, and her partner Hikari Konohana!”
The crowed cheered and clapped loudly as Hikari and Amane stepped onto the main stage. Hikari looked nervous, but calmed a little when Amane gave her a reassuring smile.
“Now please welcome our second team, Kaname Kenjo and Momomi Kiyashiki of Spica!” Shion announced.
The crowed cheered and clapped as Kaname and Momomi walked onto the main stage, though not as loudly as when they welcomed Hikari and Amane. This seemed to irritate Momomi a bit.
“By the decision of the coin toss, the Kenjo/Kiyashiki team shall go first, with Ms. Kiyashiki having the first turn.” Shion announced. “Let the duel begin!”
Once the life points of both teams were set to 4000, Momomi drew her first card.
“I set one monster on the field and end my turn!” Momomi announced. Hikari drew her first card of the duel.
“First I play The Sanctuary in the Sky!” Hikari announced. The battlefield transformed into an ancient Roman style temple in the clouds. “Next I play the Spell card, Field Barrier! Now my Field Spell can’t be destroyed, and nobody can play a new one! Next I summon Shining Angel in Defense Mode!”
A tan skinned man with blond hair, gold wings, and wearing a white toga appeared kneeling on Hikari’s part of the field.
“Finally, I set one card and end my turn!” Hikari announced. Kaname drew her first card.
“I summon Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World in Defense Mode!” Kaname announced. A grey demon with a huge torso and large orange-palmed hands appeared on Kaname’s part of the field. “Next I set one card and end my turn!”
“First I summon Blade Knight in Attack Mode!” Amane announced.
A knight in magnificent silver armor appeared on Amane’s part of the field. Up in the skybox there was much discussion about the current duel.
“Which monster do you think Amane is going to attack?” Kizuna asked.
“Well, Kaname’s monster has 2100 DEF, which is way stronger than the ATK of Blade Knight,” Remon answered, “so I guess Amane’s only choice is to attack Momomi’s monster.”
“Blade Knight, attack Momomi’s monster!” Amane commanded. “Knight’s Saber!”
The shining silver knight charged and slashed Momomi’s monster, which was revealed to be large brown insect like creature with two arms and legs. Momomi chuckled at the destruction of her monster.
“By flipping up my Man-Eater Bug, you’ve activated its effect, allowing me to destroy one monster on the field.” Momomi explained. “I choose to destroy Blade Knight!”
In an instant, Blade Knight shattered into triangles of gold light.
“I set two cards on the field and end my turn!” Amane announced. Once again it was Momomi’s turn.
“First I summon Pinch Hopper in Attack Mode!” Momomi announced. A green grasshopper the size of a large dog appeared on Momomi’s part of the field. “Next I activate the Spell, Eradicating Aerosol! This card let’s me destroy Pinch Hopper!”
A giant can of bug spray appeared in the air over the Pinch Hopper. One spray from the giant can and the bug was dead, its body dissolved into nothingness.
“When Pinch Hopper is destroyed, I can Special Summon an Insect-type monster from my hand!” Momomi announced. “So from my hand I summon Dreadscythe Harvester!”
Appearing on Momomi’s part of the field was a large green creature that could only be described as a cross between a centaur and an insect. The lower half of the creature’s body had three insect legs, while the top half was roughly human shaped. Though its face was very insect-like. In its hands it carried a large scythe.
“Whoa, Momomi just summoned a monster with 2300 ATK in one turn!” Kizuna exclaimed from the skybox.
“Dreadsythe, attack Shining Angel!” Momomi commanded. “Reaping Slash!”
The insect monster skittered towards Shining Angel with its scythe raised.
“I activate my Trap, Draining Shield!” Hikari announced. “Now the attack of your monster is negated and Amane and I gain life points equal to attacking monster’s ATK!”
“Not so fast little Hikari, I activate my own Trap, Trap Jammer!” Kaname announced. “This card negates the activation of your Draining Shield!”
“I won’t allow that! I activate a Trap of my own, Counter Counter!” Amane announced. “This card negates and destroys one of my opponent’s Counter Trap cards!”
In an instant, a blue beam of light shot from Amane’s Trap card and destroyed Kaname’s. At the exact same time, a silver shield appeared on the Shining Angel’s arm. The angel raised the shield to block the scythe of his attacker. Hikari and Amane’s life points rose from 4000 to 6300.
“I won’t let either of you get in Hikari’s way!” Amane declared. Amane’s declaration caused the crowed to go wild.
“I set one card and end my turn!” Momomi announced.
Kaname was very impressed by Amane’s move to stop her Trap, though she expected nothing less. After all, this wasn’t the first time that she had dueled Amane. They had dueled a few times before when they had both started to attend Spica. Every time that they dueled, Kaname always lost. Amane was just simply better than she was. It wasn’t just at dueling though. It seemed that Amane was able to out do Kaname at everything. Kaname started to feel as if Amane was superior to her in every way.
Kaname didn’t like that Amane seemed to be better than her, so early on she decided that she would try to take everything that Amane wanted. Later on though, she realized that trying to steal all that Amane desired and trying to keep Amane from entering the tournament were the acts of a coward. Jaden Yuki was right, the only true and honorable way for Kaname to prove that she could out do Amane was to face her in a duel. Momomi protested this action at first, but in the end she agreed to enter the tournament with Kaname.
Kaname turned her attention back to the duel. Hikari had just drawn her next card.
“I play the Spell card, Soul Absorption and end my turn!” Hikari announced.
Kaname drew her next card. Now that she was able to attack, it was time to play go on the offensive.
“I activate Card Destruction!” Kaname announced. “Now we all have to discard our hands and draw the same number of cards that we all discarded! And because they were discarded to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World, Sillva, Warlord of Dark World, and Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World!”
In an instant, Kaname’s three powerful demons appeared on the field.
“Beiige, attack Shinning Angel!” Kaname commanded. “Dark World Spear!”
The grey and tan demon charged at Shining Angel and thrust his spear into his chest.
“When Shining Angel is destroyed, I can Special Summon a Light Attribute monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck in Attack Mode!” Hikari announced. “So from my deck I summon Nova Summoner!”
A winged wreath of orange crystal appeared on the field in Shinning Angel’s place.
“Sillva, attack Nova Summoner!” Kaname commanded. “Dark World Slash!”
With a swipe of the blades on his wrist, Sillva shattered Nova Summoner to pieces.
“When Nova Summoner is destroyed in battle while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can Special Summon Airknight Parshath from my deck!” Hikari announced.
A cross between a centaur and an angel in blue and gold appeared on Hikari’s part of the field. Kaname was becoming a little irritated that her attacks were all being blocked.
“Goldd, attack Parshath!” Kaname commanded. “Axe of Dark World!”
“I activate my Trap, Dimensional Prison!” Amane announced. “Now the attacking monster is removed from play!”
As the large axe-wielding demon charged forward, it stumbled and tripped into a hole in space that quickly vanished.
“When a card is removed from play, Soul Absorption gives Amane and I 500 more life points!” Hikari announced as her and Amane’s life points climbed to 6800.
“I set one card and end my turn!” Kaname announced.
Kaname was a bit irritated that none of her attack had gotten through. It was like when she dueled Amane solo. Amane was almost untouchable. Kaname was confident that she could turn it all around though, for she had become familiar with Hikari and Amane’s strategy. Their strategy was to increase their life points to a high enough amount so that Hikari could use cards like The Agent of Judgment-Saturn, to win the duel. Kaname had set on the field just the card to counter that strategy, Bad Reaction to Simochi. It was a Trap card that would change an effect that increased life points to an effect that decreases life points instead. As for Momomi’s set card, Kaname was confident that it was Sakuretsu Armor, so they were covered if Amane summoned a powerful monster. Amane drew her next card.
“First I activate Heavy Storm!” Amane announced. “Now all Spell and Trap cards on the field are destroyed!”
A huge gust of wind blew away Kaname and Momomi’s two Trap cards. It also blew away Hikari’s Soul Absorption and Field Barrier cards, though The Sanctuary in the Sky remained on the field.
“Why wasn’t Hikari’s Field Spell destroyed?” Kizuna asked from the skybox.
“Because it was being protected by Field Barrier at the time.” Chikaru explained.
“Next I summon Warrior of Zera in Attack Mode!” Amane announced. The green helmeted warrior appeared on the field. “Now, because The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, I can evolve Warrior of Zera into Archlord Zerato!”
Zera raised his sword into the air, and several small lights that came from the ground suddenly bombarded him. In a flash, Zera had completely transformed. His tan skin turned lavender, and his blue pants turned into a cloth that hung around down his waist. The red scarf that Zera wore around his neck extended into a long sash and hung down like a cape and also covered his face. His green helmet turned white and the red horns on it extended and curved back. A pair of massive white wings sprung from Zera’s back and also connected on the front of his chest. Zera’s original sword was replaced by a long saber.
The crowed went wild when Archlord Zerato appeared. Jaden remembered what Amane had told him about the reason why Warrior of Zera was her favorite monster. She mentioned that it was because Warrior of Zera was like her in a way, fighting alone and looking for something better. Amane had felt as if something was missing in her life. To Jaden it seemed that Archlord Zerato represented Amane finally finding what was missing in her life, for Warrior of Zera can only become Archlord Zerato when The Sanctuary in the Sky is on the field, and Hikari is the one with that Field Spell. With Hikari fighting by her side, Amane had become stronger than ever.
“Now I activate Archlord Zerato’s effect!” Amane announced. “By discarding a Light Attribute monster from my hand while The Sanctuary in the Sky is on my side of the field, I destroy all monsters on my opponent’s side of the field!”
Zerato raised his sword high into the air and a beam of white light shot down from the sky and vaporized all of Kaname and Momomi’s monsters.
“Zerato, attack Kaname and Momomi directly!” Amane commanded. “Holy Surge!”
With a slash of his sword, Zerato sent a wave of white light that hit Kaname and Momomi, dropping their life points from 4000 to 1200. The crowed went absolutely wild.
“I end my turn!” Amane announced. Momomi drew her next card.
“I set one monster on the field and end my turn!” Momomi announced.
Momomi was a little confident that she and Kaname could still turn the duel around, for she had just set another Man-Eater Bug on the field. Still, it all depended on what card Hikari drew next, and she was about to find out.
“I tribute Parshath to summon The Agent of Judgment-Saturn!” Hikari announced. Parshath shattered and in his place appeared Hikari’s purple angel of judgment. Kaname and Momomi both knew that it was all over. “Now I tribute Saturn and inflict damage equal to the difference in our life points!”
Saturn exploded into a white light that washed out the whole stadium for a moment. When the light cleared, the battlefield was empty and Kaname and Momomi’s life points were at zero. The crowed cheered loudly. Kaname and Momomi gracefully walked off the stage, though Momomi walked away a little less gracefully than Kaname. Hikari and Aamane both smiled at each other. Suddenly, Amane picked up Hikari and held her bridal style. Hikari’s face went completely red. The crowed became almost hysterical at that point. Even in the skybox Jaden and the others were giving the two a standing ovation.
“Wow, what an incredible pair of duelists!” Pegasus exclaimed. “And they make a very beautiful couple too!”
“I couldn’t agree with you more.” Jaden responded.
It took a little over five minutes for the crowed to calm down. Shion finally walked back on stage.
“Wow, okay! It looks like we have our second team of finalists!” Shion announced. “So tomorrow at noon, the teams of Nagisa Aoi and Tamao Suzumi will face off against the team of Amane Ohtori and Hikari Konohana in the final round! So we’ll see you all tomorrow!”
At that point, everyone began to leave the stadium. Down on the stadium floor, Kaname and Momomi were talking about their defeat.
“I can’t believe we came so close!” a frustrated Momomi exclained. “I knew that we couldn’t beat Amane!”
“At least we actually tried.” Kaname replied. “In the end, she was still better than I was. Maybe she always will be.”
“…You shouldn’t keep comparing yourself to Amane.” Momomi said after a short pause. “I think you’re better than she is.”
Kaname responded by suddenly pulling Momomi into an embrace.
“And that is why you are so special to me” Kaname said just before giving Momomi a passionate kiss.
* * *
Later that evening, Nagisa was alone out by the lake. She and Tamao had somehow made it into the finals, though she wasn’t at all happy about it. It was all a lie, she and Tamao weren’t an actual couple, and Nagisa hated how people were starting to think that. Nagisa had always thought of Tamao as a good friend, nothing more. Try as she might, Nagisa couldn’t bring herself to think of Tamao in that way. Tamao had insisted that the Etoile Tournament would bring them closer, but it wasn’t, it was only creating a lie.
It was getting late, and Nagisa needed to turn in early for the finals. She began to head back to the Strawberry Dorms. As she walked, she suddenly tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. As Nagisa got up, she noticed that she was in front of the tree where she first met Shizuma. The reminder of Shizuma was starting to bring tears to Nagisa’s eyes. As she got up, Nagisa noticed something sticking out of the ground. There was still enough light to see that it was the corner of something buried under the tree.
Nagisa used her hands to uncover whatever was buried, since she had nothing else to use. She was fortunate that the item wasn’t buried vary deep. The item in question was a small box of some sort, decorated in the school colors of Miator. Nagisa touched the latch and was startled when it turned to dust. Nagisa opened the box, and inside found a card. It was a monster card that Nagisa had never even heard of before. Nagisa read the name of the card, “The Wicked Avatar.”
Nagisa took the card out of the box, and in an instant she was overcome by an excruciating headache. She felt as if her head was going to explode. Suddenly, it was as if all of Nagisa’s anger was brought to the surface. All Nagisa could think about was how angry she was at Miyuki for entering her and Tamao in the Etoile Tournament, and how angry she was at Tamao for trying to take Shizuma’s place. Most of all, Nagisa was angry at Shizuma for rejecting her and trying to use her as a replacement for her dead girlfriend. Nagisa was full of rage, and she swore that she would make all of them pay.
