Takeda woke up on the park bench at precisely 6:47 AM, not because he had set an alarm or because his body had developed any kind of healthy sleep schedule, but because a pigeon had decided that his forehead was an excellent place to land and conduct what appeared to be a very important pigeon meeting.
"Kuri!" the Kuriboh said indignantly, shooing the pigeon away with its tiny appendages.
"Thanks," Takeda groaned, sitting up and immediately regretting every decision that had led to him sleeping on a wooden bench. His spine made a sound like a zipper being violently opened. His neck had apparently decided that the correct angle for a human head was "forty-five degrees to the left and slightly downward." His everything hurt.
Good morning, the voices of his deck chirped, sounding far too cheerful for this ungodly hour. Did you sleep well?
"I slept on a bench. In a park. With pigeons. How do you think I slept?"
We don't sleep, so we have no frame of reference. But you're alive and conscious, which we consider a victory given your recent life choices.
Takeda couldn't really argue with that logic.
He stood up—slowly, carefully, like a rusted robot trying to remember what joints were for—and stretched. The park was mostly empty at this hour, except for a few early-morning joggers with physics-defying hair and what appeared to be a person doing tai chi in the corner while their Blue-Eyes White Dragon hologram mimicked the movements behind them.
This world was so weird.
"Okay," Takeda said, more to himself than to anyone else. "Okay. New day. New opportunities. What's the priority list?"
Food, shelter, hygiene, dignity?
"I gave up on dignity when I started talking to my cards in public. Let's revise that list: Food, money, and a duel disk that doesn't look like it was assembled by someone who had never seen a duel disk before and was working from a description given by a drunk person over a bad phone connection."
That's... very specific.
"Have you SEEN my duel disk? It's held together by electrical tape and optimism. Half the card zones don't work properly. The screen flickers every time I activate a spell card. Mirror Force literally failed to activate during my first duel because the device just gave up. I need a new one."
New duel disks cost money. Decent ones cost significant money. Professional-grade ones cost more money than you're likely to see in the next several months.
"I know that. But I also have something that professional duelists don't have."
A terrible deck?
"Luck."
You have luck?
"I must have luck. How else do you explain the fact that I summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragon through an impossible fusion? Or that I found exactly the cards I needed in dumpsters? Or that I created Mokey Mokey King of Rage from pure spite? I'm either extremely lucky or the universe is setting me up for an even bigger disaster later, and I'm choosing to believe it's the former."
That's... actually a reasonable assessment. You DO seem to have unusual fortune. We've noticed it too. Things work out for you in ways they statistically shouldn't.
"See? Luck. Which means if I decide that today is the day I'm going to get money for a new duel disk, the universe will probably provide. Somehow."
That's not how luck works.
"It's not how luck works in a NORMAL world. But this is anime world. This is a world where card games determine the fate of nations and teenagers save the world with the power of friendship and believing in your deck. Normal rules don't apply. I'm going to believe very hard that I'll get money today, and then we'll see what happens."
This is either going to work spectacularly or fail catastrophically, and we're morbidly curious to see which.
"That's the spirit!"
Takeda gathered his few belongings—his deck, his duel disk, the photograph of the original Takeda that he still carried for reasons he couldn't articulate—and started walking.
The Kuriboh settled on his shoulder, apparently content to go along with whatever insane plan Takeda was developing.
As he walked, Takeda pulled out his deck and started going through it, considering the new additions from yesterday's dumpster expedition.
"Okay," he muttered, spreading the cards out slightly so he could see them all. "I need to figure out how these VRAINS cards integrate with everything else. Linkslayer, Cyberse Gadget, Backup Secretary, Balancer Lord, Flame Bufferlo... they're all Cyberse-type. They have synergy with each other. But they don't really have synergy with Mokey Mokey or Skull Servant or any of my other garbage."
They're a separate engine. A sub-strategy within your larger deck. You could use them to build field presence and generate advantage, then use that advantage to facilitate your other plays.
"My other plays being 'summon weak monsters and hope I draw into something useful'?"
We prefer to call it 'adaptive resource management,' but yes.
Takeda looked at Mokey Mokey King of Rage in his Extra Deck.
"Can I use the Cyberse monsters to summon this? The card says 'Mokey Mokey plus one or more monsters with different names.' It doesn't say they have to be specific types. So theoretically, I could fuse Mokey Mokey with Linkslayer?"
Theoretically, yes. Mokey Mokey King of Rage was created through impossible fusion logic, which means it probably follows its own rules. If you have Mokey Mokey and any other monster, you should be able to fuse them using Polymerization or another fusion spell.
"What about Cynet Fusion? That spell is specifically for Cyberse Fusion Monsters. But Mokey Mokey King of Rage isn't a Cyberse type. It's a Fairy type."
But what if it could be both?
Takeda stopped walking.
"What do you mean, 'both'?"
Mokey Mokey King of Rage was created from spite and desperation. It doesn't follow normal rules. What if, when summoned using Cyberse monsters as materials, it temporarily gains the Cyberse type? What if it adapts to its components?
"That's insane."
You created a fusion monster by combining Baby Dragon and Ojama Yellow into Blue-Eyes White Dragon. You're well past 'insane.' We're operating in 'completely divorced from conventional reality' territory now.
Takeda considered this.
"So if I used Cynet Fusion to fuse Mokey Mokey with, say, Linkslayer and Backup Secretary... I might get a Cyberse-type version of Mokey Mokey King of Rage?"
You might get something. We don't know what. It could be stronger, weaker, or just different. The only way to find out is to try it during an actual duel and see what manifests.
"That's a terrible experimental method."
You're a duelist whose entire deck is an experiment. Embrace the chaos.
Takeda looked at the Kuriboh.
The Kuriboh looked back at him.
"Kuri," it said, in a tone that clearly meant "embrace the chaos."
"Fine. FINE. I'll try it if the opportunity comes up. But first, I need money. And to get money, I need to... do something that generates money."
You could get a job.
"With what resume? 'Hi, I'm Takeda, I have no work history that I can remember, no skills except talking to cards, and I'm homeless. Please hire me.'"
Fair point.
"I need to win money. Through dueling. That's how this world works, right? People duel for stakes. Money, cards, pride, occasionally their souls. If I can find someone willing to duel for stakes, and if I can actually WIN for once, I can get money."
You've lost every duel you've fought so far except the one against Yusei where you got eliminated from the tournament.
"I know. Which means I'm due for a win. Statistically speaking, I can't lose forever."
That's not how statistics work.
"It's how statistics work in my heart. Now let's find someone to duel."
Finding someone to duel turned out to be easier than expected, because apparently the city had a robust underground dueling scene for people who couldn't afford tournament entry fees or who just enjoyed the thrill of dueling without official oversight.
Takeda found a cluster of duelists gathered in an alley behind a game shop, their duel disks active, betting small amounts of money on matches. The atmosphere was casual—friends dueling for fun, experienced players helping beginners, the occasional hustler looking for easy marks.
Takeda walked into the alley, his terrible duel disk strapped to his arm, his confidence approximately 30% genuine belief and 70% desperate bluffing.
A few people glanced at him. Most dismissed him immediately—his clothes, his duel disk, and his general aura of "homeless person who wandered in by accident" marked him as someone not worth paying attention to.
But one person didn't dismiss him.
A girl, maybe sixteen or seventeen, with bright green hair styled into two ponytails that defied gravity in different directions. She was sitting on a crate, shuffling her deck, looking bored.
When Takeda entered the alley, her eyes locked onto him immediately.
More specifically, they locked onto the Kuriboh on his shoulder.
"Oh my god," she said, her voice carrying across the alley. "Oh my GOD. Is that a real Kuriboh?"
Takeda looked at his Kuriboh. "Uh. Yes?"
"A REAL real Kuriboh? Like, an actual duel spirit manifestation, not a hologram or a pet or a plushie?"
"I... think so? It showed up a few days ago and hasn't left."
The girl launched herself off the crate and crossed the alley in three rapid steps, her ponytails bouncing with each movement.
"That's SO COOL! I've been dueling for six years and I've never seen a duel spirit outside of tournament footage! Can I touch it?"
"Uh—"
"Kuri!" the Kuriboh said, floating down to the girl's eye level and allowing itself to be petted.
The girl made a noise that was somewhere between a squeal and a gasp of pure joy.
"It's so FLUFFY! And warm! This is the best day ever!"
She seems nice, the voices observed.
Overly enthusiastic, but nice, Takeda thought back.
Wait, he could think at his deck now? When did that become a thing?
It's always been a thing. You've just been saying everything out loud because you have no filter.
The girl finally stopped petting the Kuriboh and looked at Takeda properly.
"I'm Hana," she said. "Hana Kimura. I run a Plant deck with a focus on burn damage and field control. What's your name? What deck do you run? Can we duel? Please say we can duel. I've been here for an hour waiting for someone interesting and everyone else is either too good or too boring."
Takeda blinked, trying to process the rapid-fire information dump.
"I'm Takeda. I run a... uh... mixed strategy deck? With cards from multiple eras and archetypes that don't really work together but somehow do anyway through spite and luck?"
Hana stared at him.
"That's the coolest deck description I've ever heard."
"It's also the most accurate."
"Let's duel! Stakes? I usually play for small amounts. Like, 500 yen per match. Is that okay?"
Five hundred yen. That was... that was actually a decent amount for someone with exactly zero yen. If he won, he'd have money. If he lost, he'd have... well, he'd have nothing, which was what he currently had, so really he had nothing to lose.
"Sure," Takeda said. "500 yen. Let's do this."
Hana's grin was absolutely feral.
"Excellent! I haven't lost a match all week, so this should be fun!"
She hasn't lost all week, the voices noted. And you've never won. The odds are not in your favor.
Shut up. I have luck. And spite. And a Kuriboh.
Excellent strategic planning.
They took positions on opposite sides of the makeshift dueling area—a space between crates that had been marked out with chalk and hope. Other duelists stopped what they were doing to watch, apparently intrigued by the matchup between the confident green-haired girl and the homeless guy with the terrible duel disk and the real Kuriboh.
"DUEL!" they shouted in unison.
HANA LP: 8000
TAKEDA LP: 8000
Turn 1 - Hana
"I'll go first!" Hana drew her sixth card with a flourish. "And I'll start by activating the field spell Aroma Garden!"
The alley transformed—or rather, the holographic projectors created the illusion of transformation—into a lush garden filled with flowers and plants and the overwhelming scent of greenery that Takeda could somehow smell despite it being a hologram.
"Aroma Garden increases the ATK and DEF of all Plant-type monsters by 500! And once per turn, if I gain LP, I can increase the ATK and DEF of all face-up Plant monsters I control by an additional 500 until the end of the turn!"
"That's... a lot of stat boosting," Takeda said weakly.
"It gets better! I summon Aromage Jasmine in defense mode!"
A plant-like creature with flowing green hair—not unlike Hana's own ponytails—appeared on the field, kneeling defensively.
Aromage Jasmine - Level 2, Fire, Plant. 100 ATK / 1900 DEF
With Aroma Garden: 600 ATK / 2400 DEF
"Aromage Jasmine's effect! While I have more LP than you, I can draw a card during each of my Main Phases if I control her! And since we're at the same LP right now, I'll activate my trap card from my hand—Draining Shield!"
Wait, she could activate trap cards from her hand?
"Oh wait, that doesn't work on my turn. Ignore that. I'll set it face-down instead!"
A face-down card appeared in her spell/trap zone.
"I'll also set one more card and end my turn!"
Turn 2 - Takeda
Takeda drew.
His hand was: Cyberse Gadget, Mokey Mokey, Linkslayer, Polymerization, Flame Bufferlo, and the card he just drew—Sangan.
Not terrible. He had options.
"I summon Flame Bufferlo in attack mode!"
The buffalo-like Cyberse monster appeared, flames flickering around its body.
Flame Bufferlo - Level 3, Fire, Cyberse. 1400 ATK / 200 DEF
"Flame Bufferlo's effect! When it's Normal Summoned, I can discard one Cyberse monster to draw two cards!"
He discarded Linkslayer—which hurt, but he needed card advantage more than he needed a single monster right now.
He drew two cards: Petit Dragon and Backup Secretary.
"Flame Bufferlo, attack Aromage Jasmine!"
The buffalo charged forward, flames trailing behind it—
"I activate Draining Shield!" Hana announced, flipping her trap. "Your attack is negated, and I gain LP equal to the attacking monster's ATK!"
Hana LP: 8000 → 9400
"And now that I've gained LP, Aroma Garden's effect activates! All face-up Plant monsters I control gain 500 ATK and DEF until the end of the turn!"
Aromage Jasmine: 600 ATK / 2400 DEF → 1100 ATK / 2900 DEF
Takeda grimaced. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."
He set Polymerization, keeping it ready for when he needed it.
Turn 3 - Hana
"My turn! And since I have more LP than you now, Aromage Jasmine's effect activates! I draw a card!"
She drew, looked at the card, and grinned.
"Perfect! I summon Aromage Rosemary in attack mode!"
Another plant creature appeared, this one with red and pink coloring.
Aromage Rosemary - Level 3, Fire, Plant. 1800 ATK / 700 DEF
With Aroma Garden: 2300 ATK / 1200 DEF
"Aromage Rosemary's effect! While I have more LP than you, if I gain LP, I can change one monster you control to face-down defense position! And I'm about to gain LP, because I'm activating Aroma Gardening!"
She played a spell card showing a peaceful garden scene.
"Aroma Gardening lets me gain 500 LP if I control a Plant monster!"
Hana LP: 9400 → 9900
"Aroma Garden's effect! My Plants gain another 500 ATK and DEF!"
Aromage Jasmine: 600 → 1100 ATK / 2400 → 2900 DEF
Aromage Rosemary: 2300 → 2800 ATK / 1200 → 1700 DEF
"And Aromage Rosemary's effect! I flip your Flame Bufferlo face-down!"
Flame Bufferlo vanished, replaced by a face-down card.
"Now, Aromage Rosemary, direct attack!"
The plant creature launched forward, vines whipping toward Takeda—
Takeda LP: 8000 → 5200
"I'll set one more card and end my turn! The stat boosts from Aroma Garden wear off now!"
Aromage Jasmine: 1100 → 600 ATK / 2900 → 2400 DEF
Aromage Rosemary: 2800 → 2300 ATK / 1700 → 1200 DEF
Turn 4 - Takeda
Takeda drew.
Mask of Darkness.
He looked at his field. One face-down Flame Bufferlo. One face-down Polymerization.
He looked at his hand. Cyberse Gadget, Mokey Mokey, Sangan, Petit Dragon, Backup Secretary, Mask of Darkness.
He looked at Hana's field. Aromage Jasmine (600 ATK / 2400 DEF), Aromage Rosemary (2300 ATK / 1200 DEF), Aroma Garden field spell, two face-down cards.
He was losing. Badly.
Time for spite, the voices suggested.
"I flip summon Flame Bufferlo!"
The buffalo reappeared in attack position.
"When Flame Bufferlo is destroyed, I can add one Level 3 or lower Cyberse monster from my deck to my hand. But that only works if it's destroyed. So instead, I'll summon Cyberse Gadget!"
Cyberse Gadget - Level 4, Light, Cyberse. 1400 ATK / 300 DEF
"Cyberse Gadget's effect! I can target one Level 2 or lower monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it in defense position! I revive... wait, I don't have anything in my graveyard except Linkslayer, and that's Level 5."
You discarded Linkslayer. That doesn't put it in the graveyard—it puts it in the Discard Pile, which becomes the graveyard in the game.
"Right! I revive Linkslayer in defense position, but its effects are negated!"
Linkslayer - Level 5, Earth, Cyberse. 2000 ATK / 600 DEF (Defense Position, effects negated)
"Now I have three monsters! Flame Bufferlo, Cyberse Gadget, and Linkslayer!"
What are you planning?
Spite fusion. Watch this.
"I activate my face-down card—Polymerization!"
Hana's eyes widened. "You're going for a fusion? But what are you fusing?"
"I'm fusing Flame Bufferlo and Cyberse Gadget from my field with Mokey Mokey from my hand!"
"That's three materials! What fusion takes three materials?"
"THIS ONE!"
Takeda slapped Mokey Mokey King of Rage onto his duel disk.
The three monsters began to glow—Flame Bufferlo with its flames, Cyberse Gadget with its technological light, Mokey Mokey with its apathetic indifference—and they spiraled together in a vortex of energy that had absolutely no right to exist.
This is insane, the voices said. You're trying to fuse two Cyberse monsters with a Fairy monster using a fusion that requires Mokey Mokey. This shouldn't work.
It worked with Yusei. It'll work now. BELIEVE.
And because Takeda's luck was apparently ridiculous, because the universe owed him for the celery incident, because his deck was alive and rooting for him—
It worked.
From the fusion emerged Mokey Mokey King of Rage.
But different.
The rectangular body was there, but it had technological circuit patterns running across its surface. The wings of crystallized light had digital edges, like a glitched video game texture. The burning eyes contained both organic fury and digital precision.
Mokey Mokey King of Rage (Cyberse-Mode) - Level 10, Light, Fairy/Cyberse/Fusion. ? ATK / ? DEF
"What the hell is that?" Hana asked, staring at the impossible monster.
"I have no idea, but let's find out! Mokey Mokey King of Rage's ATK and DEF are equal to the total original ATK and DEF of all monsters in both graveyards times 100!"
Takeda's graveyard: Flame Bufferlo (1400 ATK, 200 DEF), Cyberse Gadget (1400 ATK, 300 DEF).
Hana's graveyard: Nothing yet.
Total: 1400 + 1400 = 2800 ATK. 200 + 300 = 500 DEF.
Times 100: 280,000 ATK? 50,000 DEF?
"That can't be right," Takeda muttered. "The math doesn't work."
You're still calculating wrong, the voices said. We believe it's 100 points base, modified by the number and stats of graveyard monsters. With two monsters totaling 2800 ATK, the base might be... 2800 ATK?
The holographic display flickered and settled on a number.
Mokey Mokey King of Rage (Cyberse-Mode): 2800 ATK / 500 DEF
"Plus 500 for each card in your graveyard!" Takeda remembered. "You don't have any cards in your graveyard, so no bonus. Plus 1000 for each Synchro, XYZ, Link, or Fusion Monster you control! You don't have any of those either!"
Final Stats: 2800 ATK / 500 DEF
Still higher than Aromage Rosemary's 2300 ATK.
"Mokey Mokey King of Rage, attack Aromage Rosemary! INDIFFERENT CYBERNETIC FURY!"
The fusion monster opened its rectangular mouth and unleashed a beam of digital rage that struck the plant monster dead-on.
Hana LP: 9900 → 9400
"And when Aromage Rosemary is destroyed, her effect—wait, she doesn't have a destruction effect. Never mind!"
Aromage Rosemary shattered.
"I'll set one card and end my turn!" Takeda said, placing Mask of Darkness face-down.
Turn 5 - Hana
Hana drew, her previous confidence slightly shaken.
"Okay, that was impressive. I've never seen a fusion like that. But you've also given me a graveyard monster now, which means your fusion is about to get stronger."
"...I didn't think about that."
"Most people don't! That's why graveyard-based effects are tricky! I summon Aromage Cananga in attack mode!"
Another plant creature appeared, this one with purple flowers.
Aromage Cananga - Level 3, Earth, Plant. 1400 ATK / 1000 DEF
With Aroma Garden: 1900 ATK / 1500 DEF
"Aromage Cananga's effect! While I have more LP than you, if I gain LP, I can destroy one spell or trap you control! And I'm activating Blessed Winds!"
She played another spell card.
"Blessed Winds lets me gain 500 LP if I control a Plant monster, and then I can target one Plant monster in my graveyard and Special Summon it!"
Hana LP: 9400 → 9900
"I revive Aromage Rosemary!"
Aromage Rosemary - Level 3, Fire, Plant. 1800 ATK / 700 DEF
With Aroma Garden: 2300 ATK / 1200 DEF
"Aroma Garden's effect! My Plants gain 500 ATK and DEF!"
Aromage Cananga: 1900 → 2400 ATK / 1500 → 2000 DEF
Aromage Rosemary: 2300 → 2800 ATK / 1200 → 1700 DEF
"And Aromage Cananga's effect! I destroy your face-down card!"
Mask of Darkness was destroyed before Takeda could flip it.
"Aromage Rosemary's effect! I flip your Linkslayer face-down!"
Linkslayer vanished, becoming a face-down card again.
"Now, Aromage Rosemary, attack Mokey Mokey King of Rage!"
Wait, Rosemary had 2800 ATK right now with the Aroma Garden boost. Mokey Mokey King of Rage had 2800 ATK base, plus 500 for each card in Hana's graveyard—
Takeda mentally counted. Aromage Rosemary had been in the graveyard before being revived. That was one card. Wait, was it still in the graveyard? No, it had been Special Summoned, so it left the graveyard.
So Mokey Mokey King of Rage was just 2800 ATK.
They would both be destroyed.
But wait—when Mokey Mokey King of Rage was destroyed, it destroyed all monsters on the field!
"If Mokey Mokey King of Rage is destroyed, it destroys ALL monsters on the field!" Takeda announced.
Hana's eyes widened. "What? That's—that's a built-in board wipe?"
"Yes!"
"That's so unfair! I'm not attacking! I end my battle phase! The stat boosts wear off!"
Aromage Cananga: 2400 → 1900 ATK / 2000 → 1500 DEF
Aromage Rosemary: 2800 → 2300 ATK / 1700 → 1200 DEF
"I end my turn!"
Turn 6 - Takeda
Takeda drew.
Dark Hole.
He stared at the card.
Dark Hole would destroy all monsters on the field. Including Mokey Mokey King of Rage. Which would trigger its effect to destroy all monsters on the field. Which... would be redundant because Dark Hole already did that.
But it would clear the board.
And with Hana's field empty, he could attack directly next turn.
"I activate Dark Hole!"
The spell card created a massive vortex that consumed every monster on the field—Aromage Jasmine, Aromage Cananga, Aromage Rosemary, Mokey Mokey King of Rage, and the face-down Linkslayer.
"And when Mokey Mokey King of Rage is destroyed, it destroys all monsters on the field! Which is redundant but still technically happens!"
"I get it, your fusion monster is really annoying!" Hana said, but she was grinning. "This is the most fun I've had all week!"
"I flip summon... wait, Linkslayer was already destroyed by Dark Hole. Never mind. I summon Sangan in attack mode!"
Sangan - Level 3, Dark, Fiend. 1000 ATK / 600 DEF
"Sangan, direct attack!"
The little fiend creature scuttled across the field and struck Hana directly.
Hana LP: 9900 → 8900
"I end my turn!"
Turn 7 - Hana
"Draw!" Hana looked at her card and grinned. "Perfect! I activate the spell card Pot of Avarice! I shuffle five monsters from my graveyard back into my deck and draw two cards!"
She shuffled back her Aromage monsters and drew.
"I summon Aromage Bergamot in attack mode!"
A massive plant warrior appeared, larger and more intimidating than any of her previous monsters.
Aromage Bergamot - Level 5, Fire, Plant. 2400 ATK / 1800 DEF
With Aroma Garden: 2900 ATK / 2300 DEF
"Aromage Bergamot's effect! While I have more LP than you, this card can attack all monsters you control once each! But you only control one monster, so that doesn't matter! Bergamot, attack Sangan!"
The massive plant warrior charged forward and obliterated Sangan.
Takeda LP: 5200 → 3300
"Sangan's effect! When it's sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add one monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck to my hand! I add... Mokey Mokey!"
He searched through his deck, found Mokey Mokey, and added it to his hand.
"I end my turn!"
Turn 8 - Takeda
Takeda drew.
Scapegoat.
His hand was: Mokey Mokey, Petit Dragon, Backup Secretary, Scapegoat.
His field was empty.
Hana had a 2900 ATK monster (2400 base) that could attack all his monsters once each if he controlled multiple monsters.
He had 3300 LP.
If he did nothing, he'd lose next turn.
Time to get creative, the voices suggested.
"I activate Scapegoat!"
Four sheep tokens appeared on his field.
Sheep Token x4 - Level 1, Earth, Beast. 0 ATK / 0 DEF
"I can't summon any other monsters this turn, but I also don't need to! I end my turn!"
Turn 9 - Hana
"Draw!" Hana looked at her hand. "Okay, those sheep tokens can't stop me. Aromage Bergamot attacks all of them!"
The plant warrior swept across the field, destroying all four tokens in rapid succession.
Takeda LP: 3300
No damage because the tokens had 0 ATK and were in defense position? No wait, they were summoned in defense position, and Bergamot had that effect that—
Actually, Takeda wasn't sure how the damage calculation worked here.
Sheep Tokens in defense position with 0 DEF take no damage from attacks, the voices clarified. You're still at 3300 LP.
"Your tokens are gone! I end my turn!"
Turn 10 - Takeda
Takeda drew.
Polymerization.
He looked at his hand. Mokey Mokey, Petit Dragon, Backup Secretary, Scapegoat, Polymerization.
He looked at his graveyard. Sangan, Linkslayer, Flame Bufferlo, Cyberse Gadget, Mokey Mokey King of Rage (maybe?), Mask of Darkness.
He looked at Hana's graveyard, which now had her five Aromage monsters in it after the Pot of Avarice shuffle.
Wait, no. She'd shuffled them back into the deck. Her graveyard was empty except for the spell cards she'd used.
An idea formed.
A terrible, wonderful, absolutely stupid idea.
"I summon Backup Secretary in attack mode!"
Backup Secretary - Level 3, Light, Cyberse. 1200 ATK / 800 DEF
"Backup Secretary's effect! If I control a Cyberse monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand! But I already Normal Summoned it, so that doesn't work. Never mind!"
You're panicking again.
I'm THINKING. Give me a second.
"I activate Polymerization! I fuse Backup Secretary on my field with Mokey Mokey and Petit Dragon in my hand!"
"Three materials again?" Hana asked. "What are you summoning this time?"
"MOKEY MOKEY KING OF RAGE!"
The three monsters began to merge—Backup Secretary's technological precision, Mokey Mokey's apathetic fury, Petit Dragon's... dragon-ness.
The fusion manifested.
It was Mokey Mokey King of Rage again, but different from both previous versions. This one had dragon scales mixed with its rectangular body, circuit patterns glowing beneath organic armor, wings that were part crystal, part data, part dragon membrane.
Mokey Mokey King of Rage (Dragon-Cyberse Mode) - Level 10, Light, Fairy/Dragon/Cyberse/Fusion. ? ATK / ? DEF
The holographic display calculated its stats.
Graveyard count:
Takeda's: Sangan (1000 ATK, 600 DEF), Linkslayer (2000 ATK, 600 DEF), Flame Bufferlo (1400 ATK, 200 DEF), Cyberse Gadget (1400 ATK, 300 DEF), Mask of Darkness (900 ATK, 400 DEF), Backup Secretary (1200 ATK, 800 DEF), Mokey Mokey (300 ATK, 100 DEF), Petit Dragon (600 ATK, 700 DEF).
Wait, the previous Mokey Mokey King of Rage was also in the graveyard? Could it count itself?
The display flickered, apparently confused by the recursive loop.
Then it settled on a number.
Total ATK in graveyards: 1000 + 2000 + 1400 + 1400 + 900 + 1200 + 300 + 600 = 8800 ATK
Plus Hana's graveyard spells? No, the effect said monsters only.
Base ATK from graveyards: 8800
Plus 500 for each card in opponent's graveyard: Hana had... Takeda squinted at the holographic display... 4 spell cards.
4 × 500 = 2000
Plus 1000 for each Extra Deck monster opponent controls: 0
Total: 8800 + 2000 = 10,800 ATK
The display showed:
Mokey Mokey King of Rage (Dragon-Cyberse Mode): 10,800 ATK / 5900 DEF
The crowd of duelists watching the match gasped.
"TEN THOUSAND ATTACK POINTS?" Hana shrieked.
"I'M AS SURPRISED AS YOU ARE!" Takeda shrieked back.
"HOW IS THAT LEGAL?"
"I DON'T KNOW! MY DECK JUST DOES THINGS SOMETIMES!"
"Kuri!" the Kuriboh cheered from the sidelines.
"Mokey Mokey King of Rage, attack Aromage Bergamot! DRAGON-ENHANCED CYBERNETIC INDIFFERENT FURY!"
The fusion monster unleashed a beam that was part fire, part data, part pure rectangular rage, and it completely obliterated the plant warrior.
Hana LP: 8900 → 1000
"I end my turn!"
Turn 11 - Hana
Hana drew, her hands shaking slightly from excitement rather than fear.
"This is AMAZING! I've never seen anyone play like this! Your deck is CHAOS and I LOVE IT!"
"Thanks! I think!"
"But I'm not done yet! I activate Humid Winds!"
Spell Card
"If I control an Aroma monster, I gain 500 LP and add one Aroma monster from my deck to my hand! But I don't control any Aroma monsters, so—wait, this doesn't work. I'm an idiot. I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn!"
Turn 12 - Takeda
"Draw!"
He drew: Castle of Dark Illusions.
He didn't need it.
"Mokey Mokey King of Rage, attack her face-down monster!"
The fusion monster unleashed its beam.
The face-down card revealed itself as Aromage Marjoram (100 ATK, 1900 DEF), but Mokey Mokey King of Rage had 10,800 ATK.
Hana LP: 1000 → 0
TAKEDA WINS
The alley erupted in cheers.
Takeda stared at the holographic display showing his victory.
He'd won.
He'd actually won.
His first victory.
Ever.
In this world.
"KURI!" the Kuriboh celebrated, doing loop-de-loops in the air.
WE WON! the voices of his deck shouted in unison. WE ACTUALLY WON!
Hana was grinning from ear to ear as she walked over.
"That was the best duel I've had in MONTHS! Your deck is absolutely insane and I love everything about it! Here's your winnings!"
She handed him 500 yen.
Takeda stared at the money.
It was real.
He had money.
Through dueling.
Through winning.
"Thank you," he said, his voice slightly dazed. "That was... that was really fun, actually."
"We should duel again sometime! Do you have contact information? A phone? An address?"
"I... no. I'm sort of... between residences right now."
Hana's expression softened. "Oh. Oh! You're like, actually homeless? Not just 'staying with friends while figuring things out' homeless but actual homeless?"
"Actual homeless, yes."
"That's... okay, that's sad, but also your duel spirit Kuriboh is adorable and your deck is incredible, so clearly you're doing something right. Tell you what—there's a card shop three blocks from here that sometimes hires duelists to test new products and teach beginners. The pay isn't great, but it's something. Want me to introduce you?"
Takeda's brain short-circuited.
"You... you'd do that? For someone you just met?"
"You have a REAL KURIBOH. That makes you automatically cool. Plus, anyone who can create a 10,000 ATK fusion monster out of Mokey Mokey deserves success. Come on!"
The card shop was called "Second Chance Games," and it was exactly the kind of place Takeda would have loved in his previous life—cramped, cluttered, filled with cards and duel disks and memorabilia from every era of Duel Monsters.
The owner was a middle-aged man with completely normal brown hair (a rarity in this world) and reading glasses perched on his nose.
"Hana," he greeted. "Back again? You bought three booster packs yesterday."
"I'm not here to buy today! I'm here to recommend someone! This is Takeda! He has a real Kuriboh duel spirit and he just beat me in a duel with a 10,000 ATK fusion monster made from Mokey Mokey!"
The owner looked at Takeda.
Looked at the Kuriboh.
Looked at Takeda's terrible duel disk.
"You beat Hana?"
"I... yes?"
"Hana's one of my best customers and one of the strongest duelists in the neighborhood. If you beat her, you're not terrible." He considered for a moment. "I need someone to test out new budget decks against beginners. Most of my regular testers are too good—they intimidate the kids. You look... approachable. And homeless. Are you homeless?"
"Currently, yes."
"Perfect. Homeless people are hungry. Hungry people work hard. I'll pay you 1000 yen per day to test decks and teach basics to beginners. Food included—I order too much lunch and it goes to waste anyway. Interested?"
Takeda's brain was still trying to process the fact that things were going well.
"Yes," he said. "Absolutely yes."
"Great. Start tomorrow, 10 AM. Don't be late. And get a better duel disk—that thing looks like it's going to explode."
"I'm working on it."
"Work faster."
Takeda left the shop with 500 yen in his pocket (from beating Hana), a job that would give him 1000 yen per day plus food, and the promise of more duels to come.
The Kuriboh was purring contentedly on his shoulder.
The voices of his deck were celebrating.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, Takeda felt like maybe—just maybe—things were going to be okay.
"Okay," he said, walking down the street as the sun began to set. "First priority: food. Real food. Not expired food or dumpster food. I have money. I can buy actual food."
He found a convenience store and bought two rice balls, a bottle of tea, and a small bag of chips.
Total cost: 480 yen.
Remaining funds: 20 yen.
He sat on a bench in a park—different from the one he'd slept in the night before—and ate slowly, savoring every bite.
The Kuriboh shared the chips.
Today was a good day, the voices observed.
"Today was an EXCELLENT day," Takeda agreed. "I won a duel. I got a job. I got food. I created TWO new versions of Mokey Mokey King of Rage and discovered that it gets stronger the more monsters are in graveyards. I met a nice person who didn't immediately judge me for being homeless. Things are looking up."
Don't get complacent. You still need a better duel disk. You still need actual shelter. You still need to improve your deck and your strategies.
"I know. But for tonight, I'm going to enjoy the fact that I won something. That I'm not completely useless at this."
You were never completely useless. Just... learning.
"Thanks. I think."
The sun set.
The city lights came on.
Somewhere in the distance, duelists were fighting their own battles, pursuing their own dreams, living their own stories.
And Takeda—homeless, confused, accidentally lucky, spite-fueled duelist with a deck of living cards and a Kuriboh companion—was one of them now.
Not a protagonist.
Not a legendary duelist.
But a duelist nonetheless.
And that was enough.
For now.
Tomorrow, the voices said, we continue improving. We build on this victory. We become stronger.
"Tomorrow," Takeda agreed. "But tonight, we celebrate. With rice balls and chips and the satisfaction of knowing that we're not completely terrible."
"Kuri!" the Kuriboh agreed emphatically.
Takeda smiled.
Finished his food.
And prepared to find another bench to sleep on, because he wasn't going to waste his precious 20 yen on anything less than absolutely necessary.
But he was smiling.
And his deck was warm against his chest.
And the Kuriboh was purring.
And for the first time since dying to celery and waking up in an anime world, Takeda felt something that might have been happiness.
Or at least contentment.
Or at least the absence of despair.
Which, all things considered, was pretty damn good.
The universe had killed him with celery.
But today, he'd won.
Take that, universe.
Take that.