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Yu-Gi-Oh! The Four Virtues
Episode 11: “Scourge of the Street”
Toshiro paced the corridor outside of Kaiba Corp’s medical center. Jaya’s younger sister Clara had lost her first duel of the Neo Domino Street Tournament, and she fell into a coma soon after. She still hadn’t awoken.
“Toshiro, calm down.” Jaya demanded. Her face was pale, but she still had that piercing glare. “I’m as worried as you are, but you sure as hell don’t see me wearing a whole in the floor.”
Toshiro turned sharply to her and after a moment sighed. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”
Jaya managed a smirk. “You were never one for waiting.”
Toshiro grinned for a half a second and then sat down in the chair next to Jaya. “Who was she?”
Jaya didn’t turn to face him. “I don’t give a crap about her right now. Eventually, her path will cross with ours, and we’ll extract our payment.”
Toshiro exhaled sharply. “Why are you always so damn focused on the future?!” he demanded angrily. “We should be out there looking for her now!”
Jaya turned slowly to him. “Don’t…talk…to me…in that tone.” Her voice was as cold as an ice shard, and twice as sharp.
Toshiro glared at her. “Why don’t you ever approve of my approach to life?” he demanded, his tone unchanging.
“You know full well why!” Jaya exclaimed, her voice raising.
“Oh God, not this again!” Toshiro groaned, standing again. “I’ve told you over and over again that I had no choice!”
“Yes you did have a choice!” Jaya cried, leaping to her feet as well. “We all do! What you did was morally, ethically, and wholly wrong! He never did anything to you! He was just in your way!” Jaya paused, panting, her gaze not wavering from his. “I thought your time in a juvenile detention facility would drive that home, but I guess I was wrong.”
Toshiro took a step back as if slapped, his bangs obscuring his eyes. The light shone directly on his yellow and red criminal marker.
“So…” he said softly. “We’re back to this.”
Jaya glared at him. “You had a choice.” She repeated. “You just refused to acknowledge that fact.”
Toshiro spun around and stormed away just as Tokyro and Mara ran up behind Jaya.
“We just heard.” Mara panted. “Is she okay?”
Tokyro stared at his friend’s retreating back. “What’s up with Toshiro?”
Jaya spun away from the retreating figure and entered the medical center. Tokyro thought he heard a sob before the door slammed shut.
* * *
Toshiro relished the sound of his boots pounding on the hard floor as he marched through the entrance hall. They sounded to the tune of his pulse, through which flowed his anger.
Control, Toshiro thought as he exited Kaiba Corp and submerged himself into the Neo Domino City darkness once more. I need to keep control. I can’t get so angry all the time.
Still, he thought as he passed shops just turning on their nighttime lights. Jaya had no right to question my past decisions like that. What is done is done; I can’t do a damn thing to change it. I have my way of doing things, and she has hers.
Suddenly, Toshiro heard a whining noise like an approaching D-Wheel. Simultaneously, he realized he was alone on the street.
Oh crap.
The wining grew louder. Toshiro did a full 180 to face the noise. A speeding object was heading his way.
Toshiro narrowed his eyes, activated his duel disk, and slipped a deck into the slot.
The object suddenly skidded to a halt, just a few yards away from Toshiro. The D-Wheel’s rider stepped off his machine and took off his helmet. He was deathly pale, a complexion that stood out remarkably in the night. His hair was jet black, matching his trench coat and his undergarments. On his left arm was a white duel disk, similar to the one Toshiro’s mom used.
Toshiro kept his eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
The man’s onyx eyes twinkled. “Just a man defending his territory.”
Toshiro scoffed. “Your territory?”
“That’s right, mine.” The man replied. “And I don’t appreciate dumb*** punks like you tracking dirt all over it.”
Toshiro took a few paces back to put space between the two of them. “Well, we have a slight problem now. You’ve insulted me, and I want an apology you won’t give. So how about a duel to settle this?”
The man snorted and activated his duel disk, which already had a deck inserted. “Fine. Then I’ll teach you not to go onto my property. You’ll pay for defying me, Scourge!”
Toshiro – 4000 Scourge – 4000
The two duelists drew five cards. Toshiro looked at his hand: Sparkman, Dragon’s Mirror, The Light-Hex Sealed Fusion, Avian, and Negate Attack.
“I’ll start things off.” Toshio announced while drawing a card. (DNA Swap) “I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in DEF mode! (1400 DEF)” In a flash, the yellow and blue hero appeared, arms crossed in front of his body. “Next, I set two cards facedown (Negate Attack and DNA Swap) and end my turn.”
Scourge drew his sixth card and looked at his hand: Shining Angel, Mystical Tomato, Sky Scourge Enrise, Graceful Charity, Share the Pain, and Lightning Vortex. “I’ll first play my Lightning Vortex and discard a card (Mystic Tomato) to destroy your monster!”
Sparkman looked up and watched as a lightning bolt from the heavens obliterated him.
“Next, I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards (Shining Angel, Shining Angel, and Half Life) and discard two (both Shining Angels). Next, I summon Shining Angel in ATK mode! (1400 ATK)” In a flash, the winged man in the white toga appeared.
“Next, I activate the Spell Card Half Life! With this card, I can revive a monster in your graveyard, so your Sparkman is returned to you at half strength.” In a flash, the hero returned, but he seemed to sag slightly. (800 ATK)
“Now, I activate Share the Pain!” Scourge announced. “We each sacrifice one monster!”
Toshiro watched and smirked as both monsters faded from the field. “You’ve just wasted a Normal Summon, you know that?”
Scourge smirked. “Now, all the requirements are set!”
Toshiro gaped. “What the—?”
“I remove from play the four monsters in my graveyard to summon Sky Scourge Enrise! (2400 ATK)” Scourge shouted excitedly.
The black sky above the duelists appeared to open as the new monster descended onto the playing field. The angelic being had black armored legs, a white body with red markings on the shoulders, and a head containing one eye and white hair. White wings sprouted from its back.
“Enrise, direct attack!” Scourge ordered. “Shining Sky Flare!”
Enrise gathered small orbs of white energy in her two hands and flung them both at Toshiro.
“Trap Card, go!” Toshiro shouted. “My Negate Attack will stop your attack and end the Battle Phase!”
The two balls of light were absorbed by a purple shield that had erupted in front of its caster.
Scourge nodded. “I end my turn”
Toshiro drew his next card. (Graceful Charity) “I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards (Blue Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician, and Double Attack) and discard two (Blue Eyes and Dark Magician). Next, I activate Dragon’s Mirror!”
As a large mirror emerged behind Toshiro, Scourge laughed. “You have no Dragon Fusion you can summon! What purpose does that card serve?!”
Toshiro smirked. “No Dragon monster, you say…?”
Scourge paled as he looked at Toshiro’s last facedown. “No…”
“Trap Card open!” Toshiro commanded. “Activate, DNA Swap! With this card, I can pay 1000 LP…”
Toshiro – 3000 Scourge – 4000
“And select two monsters, one in my Graveyard and another from either deck. Then those two monsters switch monster types until the end of turn!”
Scourge took a step back. “Impossible…”
“I remove Blue Eyes White Dragon (now a Spellcaster type due to DNA Swap) and Dark Magician from the game to summon my new monster!” Toshiro cried as the purple-robed Spellcaster and the white dragon disappeared into the mirror. Suddenly, the glass began to pulse and crackle with white lightning.
“Light and dark shall unite, forming the embodiment of power!”
Suddenly, the mirror shone brightly, completely lightning up the surrounding area.
“Cast out the dark, White Dragon Magician!” Toshiro cried.
When the light disappeared, a new monster stood in front of Toshiro. It was the Dark Magician, except instead of purple robes he had white armor with spikes protruding from its shoulders. His eyes were blue, and his hair white. A white dragon helmet—in the likeness of Blue Eyes—with a light blue transparent visor was on his head. In his right hand he held his old staff, except it was whitish-blue instead of green and the orb at the top was blue. (3500 ATK)
“Now my monster’s ability activates!” Toshiro announced. “For every Spell Card in both our graveyards, he gains 500 ATK!
The magician seemed to smirk as a white aura enveloped him. (3500 à 6500 ATK)
Scourge gaped. “No…please….!”
Toshio glared. “White Dragon Magician, attack Enrise!”
The magician raised its staff and aimed it at Enrise’s torso.
“WHITE MAGIC ATTACK!”
With a flourish, White Dragon Magician unleashed a blast of white energy infused with white lightning, blowing a fist-size hole in Enrise and blasting Scourge five feet from his present position.
Toshiro – 3000 Scourge – 0
Scourge shakily rose to his feet and was about to flee when Toshiro grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him off his feet.
“Who are you?” he snarled, shaking him.
Scourge stammered incoherently.
Toshiro felt his anger burn, and suddenly his fist came up and smacked Scourge across the jaw. “Who are you?!”
Scourge spat out blood. “A…minion…”
Toshiro punched him again. He felt a bone break in the man’s cheek. “Kaiser Assassin?”
Scourge spat out more blood. “Yes…”
Toshiro hit him again. Scourge’s nose broke and blood poured out. It felt so good to relieve some of this anger… “Who do you work for?”
Scourge was halfway to unconsciousness. He had lost a lot of blood. “Master…I’m…sorry…”
Toshiro’s next blow was the hardest of them all. “WHO DO YOU WORK FOR!?!”
It was no use: Scourge was out cold.
Toshiro flung the body to the ground and listened to the crack of skull against tarmac. Then, covered in blood, he raised his head to the black sky and screamed.
* * *
Fate Takuma opened her eyes.
There’s a disturbance here, she thought. Someone’s in pain.
“What is it, young one?” asked an ultra-deep male voice from behind her.
“Nothing, Master” Fate responded in a monotonous tone.
“You must continue meditating.” Master said. “Your match is next, but against who is uncertain. We must delve further into the future to figure our who is your next opponent.”
Fate rose and left the dojo. “No need, Master. I know who I have to face next.”
As she made her way to her quarters, Fate shed a tear.
Toshiro…
* * *
Jaya looked out the window in the main lobby at the black night. She didn’t turn when Tokyro and Mara walked up next to her.
“Did you hear that?” Tokyro asked.
Jaya nodded, not saying anything.
“It sounded horrible” Mara shivered. “Like someone being murdered.”
Jaya turned to leave. “Someone was probably murdered.”
Tokyro and Mara watched her retreating back in astonishment. “What do you mean?” demanded Tokyro.
“We should go and find Toshiro, see if he’s okay.” Mara insisted.
Jaya exited the building and climbed onto her D-Wheel. After slipping on her helmet, she gunned the motor and sped down the road.
Toshiro…
* * *
Toshiro was sitting on the sidewalk, staring at his blood-stained hands. They were shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps in front of him. “Where’s the body?” asked a female voice. Toshiro realized it was Jaya’s.
Toshiro looked up. He felt a raindrop hit his head. “In an alley.”
Jaya continued to stare down at him in anger, revulsion…and a little bit of fear. “What happened?”
Toshiro looked back at his hands. The raindrop had turned into a full-blown shower. “I…I didn’t mean to…I just…lost control…”
Jaya grabbed his collar, yanked him up, and slapped him…hard. “You son of a b****” she whispered. “You probably killed a man, and all you can say is that you lost control?!”
Toshiro hung his head. “I’m…I’m sorry…”
Jaya slapped him again. “I thought you changed, Toshiro!” she cried. She was soaked to the skin. “I thought you had put all that behind you!”
Toshiro looked up, a haunted look in his eyes. “I did! I’m not that person anymore!”
Jaya laughed mirthlessly. “Really? Really, Toshiro?! Think about that person in the alley, and then answer me!”
Toshiro gaped. “I…I did it to protect you…”
Jaya didn’t slap him this time. She punched his in the midsection. Toshiro fell back onto the wet sidewalk. “I don’t need protection, Toshiro! Least of all from you!”
Toshiro lifted his head and watched as Jaya climbed back onto her D-Wheel. “Jaya—”
“Don’t talk to me” she half-screeched. “I hate you!”
Toshiro felt those three words like he would a punch in the gut. He didn’t say anything as Jaya sped off. He just lay back down and felt the tears come down his cheeks, mingling with the blood and rain.
End of Episode