Chapter 6: Mika the Ruthless
The fourth day of the tournament had come. The number of competitors had already shrunk a good deal. The weak duelists had already been eliminated. The duelists that were left were the ones who actually stood a fighting chance at reaching the finals. The real battle had finally begun. That day, Jaden was continuing his search for another opponent. Unfortunately, he was having no better luck at finding an opponent than the day before. There were still quite a few competitors who were afraid to face him, even among the pro duelists.
There was one person whom Jaden did want to duel before the finals, Dirk Peters. Normally Jaden didn’t duel for revenge, but he couldn’t let the stuff that Dirk had said about the girls of Astraea Island stand. Jaden wanted to put the arrogant duelist in his place, and he decided that today was the day to do it. Unfortunately Jaden was having a difficult time finding Dirk. He had searched a good chunk of the island and found no trace. Jaden did end up finding someone else though.
“Hey Striker!” Jaden called, getting the spiky haired duelist’s attention.
“Oh, hi Jaden.” Striker greeted back. “What brings you to my territory?”
“I’ve actually been looking for that guy Dirk Peters.” Jaden answered. “No one else seems to want to duel me, and I think it’s time someone taught that guy a lesson.”
“I’ve been looking for Peters too.” Striker replied. “Unfortunately I haven’t been having much luck either. In fact I’ve asked around and nobody’s seen him all day.”
“If you’re both looking for Dirk Peters, you won’t find him out here.” A voice suddenly interrupted. “Mr. Peters is in Miator’s infirmary right now.”
Jaden and Striker turned to find that the one speaking to them was Amane. The blue haired tomboy was wearing her horse-riding outfit, indicating that she was out for a ride. Naturally Hikari was with her.
“What happened to Peters?” Striker asked sounding surprised by the news that Amane had told them.
“The groundskeeper found him out cold near the dorms.” Amane answered. “The doctors say he’s in a coma, though they don’t know what’s caused it.”
“That’s too bad. I really wanted to teach that guy a lesson.” Striker replied.
Jaden didn’t really hear Striker’s comment. He found the news of Dirk being in a coma to be very suspicious. Between the odd dream he had his first night on the island, the disturbing changes at Miator, the strange vibe he was getting from Tamao, and this new news about Dirk, Jaden became even more convinced that something very bad was happening on the island.
“It’s probably just as well.” Amane added. “There’ve been complaints about Peters from some of the students, stuff about him making a few unwanted advances. The teachers were talking about throwing him off the island.”
“Woah, Peters sounds like an even bigger piece of slime than I thought!” Striker exclaimed. “Well, at least he’s no longer a problem, right Jaden?”
Jaden was just about to answer, when Winged Kuriboh appeared in front of him making a fuss.
“Winged Kuriboh? What’s wrong buddy?” Jaden asked, giving the Duel Monster his full attention.
“Jaden, who’re you talking to?” Striker asked with a raised eyebrow. He was after all, unable to see Winged Kuriboh. Jaden didn’t respond to Striker though. Winged Kuriboh suddenly took off, and Jaden began running after him. “Hey, wait up!”
As Jaden and Striker ran off after the Duel Monster spirit, Hikari and Amane looked at each other for a moment, and after exchanging a nod decided to follow the two duelists. Along the way, Jaden and the others ran into Jessie, who was following Ruby Carbuncle. Apparently both Duel Monsters were sensing the same thing. The two spirits stopped at the top of the hill overlooking a small clearing. Jaden and the others got to the top just in time to see a large explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Jaden could see a raven-haired Spica student slumped on the ground in defeat. They recognized the girl as Yaya Nanto, Hikari’s friend and former roommate. Standing behind Yaya on the sidelines was Tsubomi, who also happened to be Yaya’s girlfriend. On the other side of the battlefield stood a tall Miator student with short purple hair. The girl had a tomboyish look about her. She did not look as masculine as Amane, especially with the long skirt that Miator uniforms were known to have, but she did seem capable of passing for a boy, albeit a rather feminine looking one.
“Four days into the tournament and you only won ten points. And here I thought that all the weaklings were knocked out by now.” The purple haired girl said with an arrogant sneer.
It took a few moments for Jaden to remember who the purple haired girl was. He finally recalled that she was Mika Yamato, a member of Tamao’s student council, the group that was known around the island as the Four Witches. Mika glanced to her right and noticed that Jaden and the others were watching her.
“Well, well, it looks like we have an audience.” Mika said to the small group on the hill. “You just missed seeing me wipe the floor with another Spica weakling.”
At that moment, Tsubomi ran over to Yaya to comfort her.
“Well that doesn’t surprise me. I thought pinky there was your girlfriend. She’s probably the reason why you lost, just another distraction.” Mika said as she glanced back at Yaya. Mika then turned back to look at the group on the hill and noticed who one of the members of the group was. “But than look who I’m talking to, the once great Amane Ohtori. You’re even more pathetic than that girl I just beat.”
“What’re you talking about?” Hikari asked angrily. “Amane is one of the strongest duelists there is!”
“She was until she teamed up with a weakling like you.” Mika replied with an arrogant smile. “Ohtori was on the path to the pros, but then she met you and went soft.”
“T-that’s not true!” Hikari shouted, starting to tear up a little.
“Listen up blondie! A truly strong duelist doesn’t allow any distractions!” Mika responded. “Family, relationships, all they do is distract duelists and make them weak! Only by blocking out such distractions and standing alone can a duelist become strong!”
“You’re wrong! Hikari has made me far stronger than I once was!” Amane angrily replied.
“Well then why don’t you prove it by dueling me right now?” Mika offered. “Oh that’s right, you aren’t allowed to play in this tournament because of your position as Etoile. Rather convenient excuse, really.”
Having enough of hearing his friends be insulted, Jaden began to step down the hill towards Mika.
“If you want to duel someone, duel me!” Jaden said with a calm but angry expression.
“You’re that Jaden Yuki guy, right?” Mika asked. “They say you’re pretty strong, but I saw your duel at the opening banquet and I wasn’t impressed. Still, you’ve got me intrigued. How many points do you have?”
“Twenty.” Jaden replied, narrowing his eyes at Mika.
“Only twenty?” Mika asked with an amused expression.
“What can I say? A lot of people seem afraid to face me.” Jaden answered.
“I guess I can understand that. A lot of the duelists here seem afraid of me too.” Mika chuckled. “It just goes to show you that there are a lot of weaklings still in this tournament. Anyway, I have twenty-five points now after beating that Spica wimp, and after I beat you it’ll be thirty.”
“Jaden wait! You don’t know what you’re up against!” Yaya interrupted. “Mika’s cards are…”
“Shut up wimp!” Mika yelled, cutting Yaya off. “This is between me and your friend. So what do you say Yuki? Still want to take me on?”
“Game on!” Jaden replied.
A few moments later, the rest of the group had gathered near Yaya and Tsubomi on the sidelines while Jaden and Mika prepared to face each other on the battlefield.
“Jaden shouldn’t have challenged Mika.” Yaya said quietly.
“Why, what kind of deck does Mika use?” Striker asked.
“Whatever deck she uses, Jaden will beat her!” Jessie declared, interrupting Yaya.
With the life points of the duelists set to 4000, the duel began.
“Ladies first!” Mika said as she drew her first card. “First I summon Blast Magician in Attack Mode!”
Appearing on the field was a young grey-haired wizard in black carrying two staffs. One staff was adorned with a large red orb, while the other had a similar green orb on the end.
“I set one card on the field and end my turn!” Mika announced. Jaden drew his first card.
“It looks like Mika uses an ordinary Spellcaster deck to me.” Striker said with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t get what’s so terrible about it.”
“Don’t be fooled!” Tsubomi told Striker. “Her deck may seem innocent, but it has some powerful cards!”
“Her cards… are evil!” Yaya added shaking a little as she remembered the card that Mika used to defeat her.
At that point, Jessie saw Ruby Carbuncle reappear in front of him. The small spirit was growling at something in Mika’s hand. Jessie began to suspect that Mika did indeed have some terrible cards in her possession. Meanwhile, Jaden was beginning his turn.
“First I activate E-Emergency Call to add Elemental Hero Burstinatrix to my hand!” Jaden announced. “Next I activate Polymerization and fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!”
In an instant, the grey skinned lady warrior of fire and the green suited winged warrior briefly appeared on the field before merging into Jaden’s dragonhead armed hero.
“Flame Wingman, attack Blast Magician!” Jaden commanded. “Flame Shoot!”
“I activate my Trap, Negate Attack!” Mika announced.
The fireball that Flame Wingman shot from his dragonhead arm was sucked into a vortex that appeared in front of Mika’s magician.
“I end my turn!” Jaden announced, seeing that there was nothing more he could do. As Mika drew her next card, Jaden noticed a rather sinister smile on her face.
“You’re about to witness the arrival of my strongest monster!” Mika declared. “First I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Mode!”
Appearing on the field was a blue skinned wizard clad in red armor. It was a monster that Jaden was quite familiar with.
“THAT”S your ultimate monster?” Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Breaker is just reinforcements.” Mika replied. “My strongest monster won’t show up until I play one more card. So now I activate Orichalcos Ritual!”
Appearing on the ground around Flame Wingman and Blast Magician was a large green mystical circle. Its design was similar in a way to The Seal of Orichalcos, but also quite different. It was a ring connected together at four points by smaller circles, which were positioned like the points of a compass. From the four circles at these points of the ring ran four lines that formed a diamond, and from the four points of the diamond went four lines that lead to a slightly larger circle that contained a unicursal hexagram. Right away, Jaden sensed something evil about the card that Mika had just played.
“Orichalcos Ritual is no ordinary Ritual Spell.” Mika said with a fiendish smile. “It lets me use monsters on both sides of the field a sacrifices for the Ritual monster I wish to summon!”
“Wait, a Ritual Spell that lets you sacrifice your opponent’s monsters?” Striker exclaimed from the sidelines.
“I told you her cards were evil.” Yaya responded.
“Don’t look so shocked Yuki.” Mika said to Jaden back in the duel. “After all, you have a card that lets you use your opponent’s monsters for Fusions. This card is no different. I now offer up my Blast Magician and your Flame Wingman as sacrifices for the Ritual!”
From the lines that formed the circle shot bolts of lightning that began disintegrating both monsters bit by bit. The two monsters screamed in pain as they were slowly being disintegrated. It was truly horrible sight to behold. At last there was nothing left of the two monsters, and Mika was able to summon her strongest monster.
“Come forth, Dark Orc of the West!” Mika commanded as she placed the card in her duel disk.
In place of the circle that consumed the two sacrifices, a pillar of black fire shot into the sky. The pillar quickly vanished and in its place stood a large ogre-like creature with dark-grey skin, large yellow fangs, and glowing red eyes. The orc was covered in dark armor, and in his right claw he carried a large spiked club. With the appearance of Mika’s dark orc, Breaker suddenly transformed. The wizard’s skin turned from blue to dark-grey. He swelled up and became more muscular, and yellow fangs protruded from his mouth. Breaker’s eyes were also glowing bright red.
“What happened to Breaker?” Jaden asked with a startled expression.
“Oh yeah, when my Dark Orc is on the field, all my monsters become Fiends.” Mika replied. “Meaning that Breaker is now an orc too.”
Jaden quickly noticed that Mika’s eyes were glowing red. It was clear that the cards that Mika had played weren’t normal, and that Jaden was no longer playing a simple duel.
“I also can’t conduct my Battle Phase on the turn I play Orichalcos Ritual.” Mika continued. “So for now you’re safe. I end my turn!”
“First I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!” Jaden announced after he drew another card. “Next I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in Defense Mode!”
Jaden’s stone armored hero appeared on the field in a crouched position.
“Next I’ll lay down three facedowns and end my turn!” Jaden announced.
“Trying to hide behind a barrier monster and some Traps I see!” Mika said with fiendish glee as she drew her card. “Well it won’t work! I activate Breaker’s effect and destroy the middle facedown card!”
With a slash of his sword, the orc wizard sent a blade of blue energy that destroyed one of Jaden’s Traps. The card that Breaker had destroyed was Hero Signal, meaning Jaden could no longer summon a new Hero to protect himself from a direct attack.
“For my next move I summon Dark Elf in Attack Mode!” Mika announced.
Appearing on the field was a green robed female elf with dark skin and long dark-purple hair. Very quickly though the elf transformed and became more muscular, her skin turned dark-grey and her hair turned white. She grew yellow fangs and her eyes turned bright red.
“Now I activate my Dark Orc’s effect!” Mika announced. “Right now he only has 2400 ATK, but by sacrificing another orc, namely my Dark Elf, I can increase his ATK by that ATK of the orc I sacrificed until the end of the turn!”
The Dark Orc suddenly grabbed the female orc by the neck and began draining purple energy from her. Very quickly, the female orc became a withered husk and tuned to dust.
“Now I equip Dark Orc with Fairy Meteor Cruch!” Mika announced. “Now he can inflict damage even if he destroys a Defense Position monster! And before you think about trying to activate a Trap to block Dark Orc’s attack, I should tell you that you can’t activate Traps when Dark Orc attack’s until after the Damage Step!”
“That means that Jaden can’t activate Traps until that orc destroys his monster!” Striker exclaimed from the sidelines. “That thing is like one of the legendary God cards!”
“Dark Orc, smash that pathetic Clayman!” Mika commanded. “Soul Breaker Club!”
The Dark Orc raised his massive club in the air and brought it down on Clayman, shattering the hero to bits. The attack knocked Jaden to the ground and also reduced his life points to 1600. Jaden was not at all surprised to find that the damage from the attack was real.
“Hey Yaya, the damage from Mika’s Dark Orc is somehow real, isn’t it?” Jessie asked.
“Yeah, I’m surprised I can still walk actually.” Yaya replied.
“Real damage? What are you guts talking about?” Striker asked.
“Let’s just say we’ve seen this kind of thing before.” Jessie replied.
“You too?” Amane asked.
“Trust me, this kind of stuff happens sometimes when you hang out with me and J.” Jessie replied.
“You’re wide open now.” Mika said with a sinister grin. “Plus you’ve only got 1600 life points left, the exact amount of ATK points that Breaker has. Meaning that once I attack, it’s all over!”
