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Yu-Gi-Oh! The Four Virtues
Episode 17: “Thanks to the Memories”
Fate sat Toshiro down on a nearby chair, and then kneeled in front of him so she could look into his eyes. Her hand remained on his arm. “What happened?”
Toshiro avoided her gaze…and the memories returned.
Two children—one boy, one girl—were standing inside a card shop. A kindly old man was beaming at the little girl, who was staring at some cards laid out in front of her as if choosing one would tear her in two.
“Toshiro, which one should I get?” she asked her friend.
Toshiro grinned. “Jaya, just choose the one that speaks to you!”
Jaya nodded and looked back at the cards, which were all Elemental Heroes. After a moment, she chose the card depicting a silver armored humanoid. “Shining Flare Wingman…the only Fusion I don’t have.”
The man nodded and accepted the cash Jaya offered him. As she happily skipped out the door, Toshiro turned and whispered, “Do you have it?”
The man nodded knowingly and pulled out a card from inside his pocket. “Just came in.”
“When we were little, Jaya and I were inseparable” Toshiro began. “We did everything together, from dueling to school. For her seventh birthday, we went to a card shop and she bought a Shining Flare Wingman. Later, we dueled as to test out her new card.”
“Yes!” Jaya cried happily as her Shining Flare Wingman (4000 ATK) came to a rest in front of her. “I’m one turn away from beating you, Toshiro!”
Toshiro grinned weakly. “So you think, Jaya. But the 100 Life Points I have left will be enough to beat you!”
“Draw your next card then, and we’ll see!” Jaya exclaimed.
Toshiro slowly drew his next card…and smiled. “Game over!”
Jaya, instead of looking upset or worried, looked happy and excited. “It’s coming, isn’t it?”
“I activate Dragon’s Mirror!” Toshiro exclaimed. “By removing Blue Eyes White Dragon, Elemental Hero Tempest, and St. Joan from the game, I can summon my Gold Eyes Storm Dragon!”
The clouds above them parted, and a shining dragon descended. It had a diamond horn on its head. When it reached the ground, it spread its wings and roared to the sky. (4500 ATK)
Jaya looked at the magnificent site with shining eyes. “Amazing…”
“Gold Eyes Storm Dragon, attack Shining Flare Wingman!” Toshiro cried. “Reverberating Divine Storm Stream!!”
“That duel…” Toshiro smiled. “That duel was one of the best I’ve ever had. Jaya fought with everything she had…and she almost beat me with her Shining Flare Wingman. If it wasn’t for my Invulnerability Trap Card, I would’ve lost due to her monster's ability. Afterwards…I gave her my present.”
“Jaya…you are a truly remarkable duelist” Toshiro commented. The two were leaning against an oak tree in the park. The setting sun’s rays drifted through the rustling leaves.
Jaya blushed slightly. “Thanks, Toshiro. But I’m not as good as you.”
Toshiro smiled. “Jaya, I just trust my cards. If you trust yours, then you’ll do fine.”
Jaya grinned. “I will…I promise!”
Toshiro closed his eyes briefly, then widened them in surprise. “Oh, I almost forgot!” he reached into his pocket and took out the card he had purchased earlier. “Here, this is for you.”
Jaya took the offered card. Upon looking at it, her eyes widened. “Toshiro…this card…”
He grinned. “It just came out. I had it preordered months ago.”
Jaya’s eyes began water. She flung her arms around her friend and held him tight. “Toshiro, thank you so much!” she sobbed into his chest. “If you need anything, if you are ever in trouble, I’ll be there.”
Toshiro, at first shocked, smiled and returned the embrace.
A tear ran down Toshiro’s check. “She promised…and then…one day…”
A 16 year old Jaya opened the door and revealed the storm outside. She stared at the visitor who had just knocked: Toshiro, soaked to the bone with rain…and blood.
“Toshiro?!” She half-screeched. “What happened?!”
Toshiro was panting heavily as if he had ran a mile. “Jaya…I need your help.”
Jaya hesitated for a minute, then nodded and stepped away from the door so he could enter.
Toshiro followed Jaya to the living room. The walls were light blue, and a single red couch flanked by matching love seats sat in front of the hearth. Pictures of Jaden, Alexis, and Jaya lined the walls.
Jaya turned and faced him, her eyes betraying her inner shock. “What happened?”
Toshiro lowered himself onto the couch. “They…they hurt Jenna…”
Jaya gasped and covered her mouth with her right hand. “Is…is she okay?”
Toshiro shook his head. “She…she…lost…she lost…”
Jaya’s widened. “What did you do?” she whispered fearfully.
Toshiro looked at his shaking hands. “I…I…I killed him.”
Jaya stared. “You…killed him?”
Toshiro looked at her helplessly. “I…I couldn’t control myself…”
“Yes, you could have,” a new voice said, “but you didn’t want to.”
Toshiro leapt to his feet as four men entered the room. They were clad in black and wore badges on their shirts. Handcuffs and handguns hung from their belts.
Toshiro’s mouth was hanging open. “Police?! But…but…”
The man who had spoken, Commander Thorn, grinned. “Toshiro Henry, you are under arrest.”
Toshiro whirled to face Jaya, who had tears running down her cheeks. “You…you helped them?! But…I thought…?”
Jaya looked away. “I’m sorry, Toshiro. I’m so, so sorry…”
Two officers grabbed his shoulders and began dragging him to the door. “Jaya!” He cried frantically, fighting against the cops who were dragging him away. “YOU PROMISED!!”
“She promised…and then she turned me in.” Toshiro muttered. “She swore to stand by me…”
Fate was looking at him with tears in her eyes. “I’m…I’m sorry…” she whispered shakily. “I shouldn’t have asked…”
Toshiro shook his head. “No, it’s okay. You had a right to know.”
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until Fate broke the ice by asking “Well, what now?”
Toshiro looked at her blankly. “What do you mean?”
Fate rolled her eyes. “Toshiro, you obviously miss her. Go find her and apologize!”
Toshiro shook his head weakly. “What’s the point? She already said she hates me. She won’t listen.”
Fate hesitantly cupped his face, feeling the moistness there. “Please? Just try.”
Toshiro looked at her for a moment, thinking of Jaya and all the memories they shared. At times, those memories were the reason why he continued putting one foot in front of the other. Did Jaya feel the same way? Those feelings still had to be there, deep down…
Toshiro abruptly stood up, making Fate recoil in shock. “I need to go.”
Fate smiled as she watched him run from the room. “Good luck…Toshiro…” she whispered, surprised to feel tears touch her cheeks.
* * *
Jaya rode through the streets of Domino City on her D-Wheel. Her thoughts, rather than on the road, were on Toshiro. Ever since her proclamation of hate, she couldn’t seem to be able to rid him from her thoughts. She kept remembering their childhood…and her betrayal.
I did the right thing, didn’t I? She asked herself. I mean, what he did was wrong. Immoral. Unjust. Then…why do I feel…sad?
Suddenly, through her haze, Jaya say a prone figure sitting on a D-Wheel blocking her path.
She threw her bike into a skid, and came to a stop just short of the motorcycle. “Who the hell do you think you are?!” she demanded, yanking her helmet off her head.
The figure—he wore a black trench coat with red stripes over a black shirt and red cargo pants—grunted. “Jaya Yuki?”
Jaya was taken aback. “Yes…but you haven’t answered my question!”
“Forgive me” the man replied, taking off his helmet to reveal black skin and black eyes. “My name is Tony Douglass. I am the fifth and final member of the Kaiser Assassins.”
Jaya raised a skeptic eyebrow. “Kaiser Assassins?”
“We are a group of duelists who are under the command of the all-powerful Electra.”
Jaya snorted. “‘All-powerful Electra’? Please, she almost lost to a friend of mine.”
Tony nodded sagely. “Ah yes…Tokyro Malia. Yes, she was on the ropes, but she prevailed. She always does.”
“You’re out of your mind!” Jaya cried. “Electra is going to fall! To me!”
Tony chuckled. “We’ll see…if you can beat me, then maybe you’ll have a shot.”
Jaya smirked. “Well then…” She put her bike into reverse and maneuvered so she was alongside Tony and facing an alleyway. “Let’s ride!”
The two duelists activated Duel Mode, and shot down the alley.
Jaya – 4000 Tony – 4000
The two duelists drew their opening hands. Tony had Nightmare Wheel, Backfire, Dark Room of Nightmare, Non-Fusion Area, and Negate Attack. Jaya had Avian, Burstinatrix, Polymerization, Invulnerability, and Hero Barrier.
“My move!” Tony declared while drawing his sixth card. (Spellbinding Circle) “I’ll just set four cards facedown (Nightmare Wheel, Backfire, Dark Room of Nightmare, and Non-Fusion Area) and end my turn.”
“Four facedowns?!” Jaya exclaimed as she began her turn (Clayman). “Either you suck, or you’re incredible. I’ll go with the former and play Polymerization to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix together to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! (2100 ATK)” A portal opened alongside Jaya, and a humanoid with a red, black, and green body appeared. He had a dragon head at the end of his right arm, and only one white-feathered wing was strapped to his back.
“I activate my Trap Card!” Tony announced. “My Nightmare Wheel will capture monster and make it unable to attack or change battle positions!”
Jaya groaned as she watched her monster be strapped to a large wheel with numerous spikes sticking out everywhere. “I’ll set a card facedown (Hero Barrier) and end my turn.”
As Tony drew his next card (UFO Turtle), Nightmare Wheel began to turn, making Flame Wingman cry out.
“What’s happening?!” Jaya asked, feeling a searing pain in her chest, like her insides were on fire.
“Oh, that’s just the effect of Nightmare Wheel.” Tony replied casually. “You take 500 damage during each of my Standby Phases.”
Jaya – 3500 Tony – 4000
“Now to give you something else to think about, I’ll activate my Non-Fusion Area!” Tony continued. “Now nobody can Fusion Summon a monster!”
Jaya gasped. What?! Fusions are my entire strategy! If I can’t Fusion Summon…
“Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Card called Dark Room of Nightmare!” Tony announced as the card flipped up.
“What does it do?” Jaya asked as they turned into another alleyway littered with garbage and debris.
Tony shrugged. “Oh, nothing yet. Now I’ll summon UFO Turtle in DEF mode and my turn. (1200 DEF)” In a flash, the red turtle with a metal shell appeared.
Jaya drew her next card. (Wildheart) “I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in ATK mode! (1500 ATK)” The Tarzan-like warrior leapt onto the field on Jaya’s other, its enormous broadsword in his hands. “Now, carve up that UFO Turtle!”
As the sword sliced the turtle in half, Tony shouted “Activate, Backfire!”
Jaya cursed as a portal opened ahead of her and a blast of fire hit her head-on.
Jaya – 3000 Tony – 4000
“Whenever you destroy a Fire monster, Backfire deals 500 damage to you!” Tony exclaimed. “Now the effect of Dark Room of Nightmare kicks in, dealing an extra 300 damage!”
Jaya cried out as she felt her insides flare up again. As she took a hand off a handle to clench her stomach, she fell further behind Tony.
Jaya – 2700 Tony – 4000
“Also, my UFO Turtle can summon a copy of itself when it’s destroyed in battle.” Tony added as another armored turtle appeared next to him. (1400 ATK)
Jaya coughed up blood, and shakily announced “I…I set a card facedown (Invulnerability) and end my turn.”
Tony drew his next card (Strip Mind) and Jaya cried out again as Nightmare Wheel began to spin once more.
Jaya – 1900 Tony – 4000
Jaya barely had the strength to lift her head off her chest. “You…you b******…” she hissed.
Tony shrugged. “When you play with fire, you get burned. Now, I attack you with my UFO Turtle!”
The monster leapt at Wildheart, who sneered contemptuously and sliced it in half.
Jaya – 1900 Tony – 3900
“I may have taken damage, but now you take another 800 because of Backfire and Dark Room of Nightmare!” Tony cackled.
Jaya screamed as she was engulfed in flames. She felt her skin start to burn. The pain…
Jaya – 1100 Tony – 3900
“Now I can summon my third since you destroyed it!” Tony continued as his minion appeared. “Now, attack Wildheart!”
Jaya stared blankly as her Wildheart evaded the attack from the turtle and decapitated it, and then screamed as the pain began again.
Jaya – 300 Tony – 3800
Jaya shuddered uncontrollably, barely comprehending that Tony had summoned a monster called Magma Runner (1500 ATK). It looked humanoid, but any distinguishing features were hidden by flames.
Jaya’s bike skidded to a halt, and she slid off and fell to the ground, her mind broken. I…I…can’t…I can’t…
She heard footsteps approach her. “As I thought,” she heard Tony sneer, “weak.”
Jaya closed her eyes. Make it stop…
The sound of a D-Wheel roared in her ears. More footsteps approached, but these were louder and quicker, like the person was running. “JAYA!”
Toshiro…
* * *
Toshiro flung himself next to his (former) friend. She looked terrible: her skin was charred in several places. her left cheek was cut and bleeding freely. Her right cheek was pressed against the ground, hiding God knows what. Smoke curled off her body like she was being cooked alive.
“Jaya!” Toshiro cried, gently lifting her into his arms. “What were you thinking?!”
“She challenged me” Tony interjected. “And she’s suffering the consequences.”
Toshiro glared at him. “Shut up, you b******! If it were up to me, you’d be dead!”
Jaya coughed weakly, distracting him. Taking a deep breath, he continued, “But I’ve realized something: that is not who I am. This anger…this continuous thirst for revenge…it has cost me my most precious and treasured possession…” Toshiro looked back at the suffering girl in his arms. “Jaya…I know that you said that you hate me, but I ask you to give me another chance. Your friendship means everything to me, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing harms you!”
Tony chuckled. “A touching display of affecting, Toshiro Henry. However, it does little good now: she has 300 LP left, and no card can save her.”
Toshiro disregarded these statements. Instead, he leaned closer and whispered, “Jaya…there is one card. That card. Trust your deck! You can still do this!”
* * *
Jaya’s eyes were half closed, and her mind was slipping towards the abyss, but she heard Toshiro’s words, she felt his strong arms around her.
At first, she felt shocked and angry. What the hell was he doing?! How dare presume…! But then, a feeling of elation swept through her system. He actually cares.
That elation gave her the strength to stand on her own and detach her duel disk from her D-Wheel. “We’ll…finish this…on foot!” she declared weakly, nearly falling over again. Thankfully, Toshiro was there to catch her.
Tony snorted and took his duel disk and strapped it to his arm. “Well then, let’s continue! Magma Runner, attack Wildheart!”
The flaming humanoid dashed forward, arm poised to strike…
“Trap…” Jaya coughed, “Trap Card…” She sagged in Toshiro’s arms. “Toshiro…I can’t…”
Toshiro quickly took the duel disk and strapped it to his arm, making sure to keep one arm around Jaya. “Then I’ll be your arms.”
Wildheart tensed, his swords raised and poised to cut off some limbs…
“Go Trap Card!” Toshiro shouted. “Hero Barrier negates your attack!”
The two monsters were seconds away from clashing, but a purple shield erupted between the two of them, forcing them back.
Tony shrugged. “I’ll just activate the ability of my Magma Runner: I halve its ATK (1500 à 750 ATK) so it can attack you again!”
The monster leapt forwards and launched a flying kick at Wildheart’s head. The hero Matrixed out of the way and brought his sword around, slicing his opponent in half at the waist.
Jaya/Toshiro – 300 Tony – 3050
Tony shrugged off the debris then shouted, “Now you lose thanks to Backfire!” A portal opened and a gigantic fireball flew towards the couple…
“Again, I activate a Trap Card!” Toshiro cried. “Invulnerability prevents all effect damage I’d take this turn!”
A red dome enveloped the two duelists, and they watched as the fire was dispelled.
Tony scowled. “I’ll set my draw card facedown and end my turn.”
Toshiro drew his next card slowly…
“I activate my Trap!” Tony shouted maliciously. “My Strip Mind card will discard every card in your hand!”
Toshiro grunted and slipped his two-card hand into the graveyard.
Tony cackled. “How did it feel to watch your last chance slip away?!”
Toshiro grinned. “Actually, it felt pretty good.”
Tony stared incredulously.
“Your Trap Card activated my Last Chance Spell Card!” Toshiro announced. “When it’s discarded, I can draw two new cards!” He picked up the two cards, and then gasped. “Jaya!”
She stirred slightly. “They…came?”
Toshiro nodded. “Yeah, and now it’s finished!”
Tony took a step back. No…if he drew…
“HEAVY STORM!” Toshiro hollered, slamming the card into the duel disk with unnecessary force. A gale ripped across the field, making Tony cover his face as sand and debris began flying.
“Thanks to Heavy Storm, all your Spells and Traps are destroyed!”
Tony stared as his last lines of defense shattered into pixels. Flame Wingman shrugged off the chains that had bound him to Nightmare Wheel, and leapt back to rejoin his master.
Toshiro made to slip the last card in his hand into the duel disk as well, but Jaya grabbed his hand. “Together” she breathed into his ear.
Together… “POLYMERIZATION!” the duo shouted, their cry opening a vortex behind them. Flame Wingman and Wildheart were drawn in, vanishing as their essences began swirling together.
“Memories and emotions shall swirl in the tempest, until they become an unstoppable force!”
The vortex grew brighter than seven suns, and a black figure was dimly visible.
“Empower the memories, Elemental Hero…GAIA FORCE!!”
The new hero—the card that had been given to Jaya all those years ago, the card that symbolized all that Toshiro and Jaya’s friendship stood for—was in the form of a centaur. Gold armor protected his horse half, and green armor protected his human half. His head was protected by a green and gold helmet, and he wielded two green laser swords.
“His ATK is equal to the combined ATK of the fused monsters!” Toshiro announced. (3600 ATK)
Tony stepped back. “Electra…I’m sorry…!”
Jaya stood straighter, her hair falling across her face. “DIRECT ATTACK!”
The centaur leapt forward and brought both swords across, slashing Tony across the chest. The force of the attack blew him back farther down the alley.
Jaya/Toshiro – 300 Tony – 0
Jaya collapsed, but Toshiro’s arms were there again to catch her. “Thanks....” she breathed.
Toshiro lifted her up and embraced her. “Jaya…no matter where you are…no matter how far you fall…I’ll always be there to catch you.”
Jaya’s eyes filled with tears, and she wrapped her arms around his waist, bringing him closer, just happy to be reunited with her dearest companion.
End of Episode