Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Legends of the Demon Duelist-Tournament of Tears Arc

Chapter 1: Cyber Shadow-Kuriboh returns

The Mediator smiled slightly. "And here are the rules. Each player has 4000 life points, and basic card rules apply. No God Cards may be played, however. Also, cheating will result in instant disqualification. Now, begin!"

Ichigo- 4000

Ahran- 4000

Ichigo drew. "Let's do it! Duel!"

And all the while the Mediator smiled slightly and rested his back against the statue. ("It will all come to pass…the ultimate power will be mine.")

Ichigo looked at the drawn card and then placed it onto his disk. "I summon Shining Force-Gale Spirit Ryu (1200/800) in defense mode." An ethereal dragon appeared on the field, its body curled around itself. "End turn."

"So that is all that you have drawn, my friend?" Ahran drew. "I apologize, but I cannot hold back! Come out now Crystal Paladin!" (1900/1200) A crystal-colored suit of armor appeared on his field and drew a sword from its sheath. "Attack now!" It leapt across the field and slashed the dragon apart. "Also, when this monster destroys a monster as a result of battle I may discard one light monster from my hand to sacrifice it and special summon a Crystal Dragon from my hand to the field! I offer Kaiser Seahorse as a sacrifice…" The suit of armor shattered. "Emerge now! Crystal Dragon!" (2750/2750) A ruby-colored crystalline dragon appeared on the field. "Also, attack his life points directly!" Opening its jaws, the dragon released a blast of ruby energy that washed over Ichigo. "Finally I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Ichigo- 1250

Ahran- 4000

("That only leaves him with one card in his hand. He must be mad to expend all of his resources so quickly…") Ichigo drew and glanced at the card. "Alright…here we go Ahran! I play Monster Reincarnation!"

"What can you accomplish by discarding one card to get back your spirit dragon?" Ahran frowned slightly. Something about this seemed strange. "You don't want Spirit Ryu back…you want something in the graveyard?"

"Right. I discard Dark Reaper and add Spirit Ryu to my hand." As he switched the cards out, he grinned. "And now the stage is set! Magic card Field of Introduction!" A curtain fell over the field. "Both players special summon one level four monster from their decks! I summon Jungle Fighter!" (1500/1200) A wild man holding a stone spear appeared on the field.

"And I summon Sapphire Dragon." (1900/1600) A sapphire-covered dragon appeared on Ahran's field. "What are you trying to accomplish by summoning weaker monsters and giving me the chance to increase my forces?"

"It's all part of the plan. Or do you not know what the effect of Dark Reaper is?" Ichigo snapped up a card from his hand. "By removing it from the graveyard I can lower the level of one Shining Force in my hand by two for the turn!" The eight star card he was showing shimmered and now had six stars. "I offer Jungle Fighter to summon Shining Force-Flux Beetle!" (2800/1500) A giant beetle covered by a glowing vortex appeared on the field.

"I have two set cards…can you risk attacking?" Ahran was confident in the power of his set cards. He would win this duel.

"I'm not risking anything. Flux Beetle's special ability prevents you from activating magic or trap cards when it attacks! Go Flux Shockwave!" A blast of purple energy shot from the beetle's jaws and blew the Crystal Dragon apart.

Ichigo- 1250

Ahran- 3950

Ichigo smiled calmly. He had the advantage now. "Also, I set one card face-down. End turn."

Ahran drew. "You believe that I am in danger now? First I play Monster Reborn to revive Crystal Dragon." The ruby-colored dragon appeared on the field and roared at the giant beetle. "Also, I play the equipment magic card Crystal Horn!" A giant spear-like horn exploded out of the dragon's head. "The attack of one Crystal Dragon is increased by 1000! Also, it can now deal damage through defenses! Crystal Burst!" (3750/2750) The dragon released a blast of energy that hurtled towards the Flux Beetle.

Ichigo smirked and the Flux Beetle released a vortex that tore through the blast and destroyed the Crystal Dragon. "When Flux Beetle battles, it reduces the attack of the monster battling it to the original total on the card. Therefore you attacked with 2750 attack points."

Ichigo- 1250

Ahran- 3900

Up in the stands, Rikuo sighed and shook his head. ("Ahran…pay attention to the effects of monsters, you fool.")

Ahran pointed at his set card. "I activate Call of the Haunted! Revive Crystal Dragon!" The ruby dragon reappeared in play. "End turn."

Ichigo drew. ("Why do it in that order?") "Flux Beetle, attack now! Flux Shockwave!" The giant insect released a blast of energy that blew the crystalline dragon apart.

Ichigo- 1250

Ahran- 3850

Ahran pointed at his face-down card. "Reveal Pitfall of Slashing Life! This trap activates when a monster on my field is destroyed in battle. I draw until I am holding five cards in my hand. Also, the attacking monster is destroyed." Flux Beetle screeched in pain as a guillotine fell out of nowhere and cut it in half.

Ichigo looked at his hand and threw a card down. "I summon Gale Spirit Ryu in defense mode. End turn." The dragon reappeared on his field.

Ahran drew. ("I have six cards in my hand…this is my chance.") "First I play the magic card Dragon's Crystal Mirror! By discarding one light monster from my hand I can return a crystal named monster to play!" The ruby dragon appeared on the field and roared. "Also, I play Polymerization! Fuse together the three Crystal Dragons I hold to bring out Ultimate Diamond Dragon!" (3500/3000) The giant diamond-covered dragon appeared on the field and roared at Ichigo, sending shockwaves across the arena. "It's over…you know that."

Ichigo chuckled. "Then end it…"

"I will! Cyclone!" A blast of wind shattered Ichigo's face-down Mirror Force. "As you know, Ultimate Diamond Dragon can deal damage through defense. In other words…"

Ichigo turned a pure shade of white. ("Oh man…")

"I surrender." Ahran put his hand over his deck, and the entire room went silent.

"W…w…what?" Rikuo nearly leapt over the railing. "What are you talking about? You've won!"

"Ichigo, show him what you have in your hand." Ahran turned to look at the boy who he had been part of for so long.

Ichigo held up a card. "Shining Force-Golden Kuriboh (300/200) can be discarded to negate all of the damage he would deal. Also, it would then be special summoned to the field at the end of the turn. And the other card in my hand was…" Flipping the card over, he looked down at the ground sheepishly. "Golden Force is a magic card that increases Golden Kuriboh's attack power by 10000 at the cost of one card from my hand and all but one of my life points. But Ahran had no traps in his hand, right?"

Ahran nodded. ("We still have our mental link, so dueling was pointless. We should have just looked at our opening hands and determined the truth…it's a shame you drew the necessary cards to win so quickly.")

Ichigo blushed furiously. ("Well…it doesn't mean anything though. You're still better than I am…")

("That's not why I am here. I'm here to make sure that you don't lose to Midnight. And there is only one way to do that. You must awaken the final power of your Soul Force Deck.") Ahran turned and walked towards the exit. "If you'd come with me Ichigo. My apologies for the anti-climactic ending Mediator, but I thought it would save you some time."

The Mediator tilted his head to the side. "I suppose so…alright then, you're dismissed. You'll get the call when the next round comes up, Ichigo. Until then how about you go have a drink at the bar or something."

Ichigo stared at the man for a few moments. "I'm fifteen…I'm not allowed to drink."

"Is that so?" The Mediator shrugged. "Fine, go eat a hot dog or something."

"…." Ichigo turned and walked off, trying to ignore the fact that the Mediator was apparently insane. Ahran followed him as they walked down the exit hallway.

"So…" Ichigo glanced over at the emerald-eyed warrior. "Why didn't you beat me with the card you were holding?"

Ahran smiled. "Because honestly I don't like to duel that much…so I thought it best if you were the one to battle. Besides, the Crystal Vector Dragon wouldn't have made a good showing, since it would have outclassed anything else anyone in this tournament would have played."

"Interesting reasoning…" Ichigo rubbed his chin. "But what were you saying about the true power of my Soul Force Deck?"

"It's simple, you remember the Steel Titans right?"

"Of…" Ichigo blinked in surprise. "That means that maybe Snake…maybe Lord of Knives…"

"Of course they are alive. They are in your soul. You simply have to find the combination to summon them. For now, worry about releasing the seals on the Titans. You'll need them to beat Midnight." Ahran frowned at something he had seen earlier. "He has the final Dark Demon God Card."

"Huh? But the Mediator banned the use…"

"It isn't what anyone thought it was…and it was the only way to convince Midnight to participate in this tournament willingly. But the thing about this god…is that it has four level stars." Ahran let these words sink in. "I don't know its powers, but I saw its level stars…and a four star God Card means that he can summon it when drawn."

"A four star God Card?" Ichigo felt the words send chills up his spine. "That's…"

"Yes…and it is just like the other Yami Makai Kami no Kados…it is immune to all opponent magic, trap, and monster effects. Therefore, it must be terrifyingly powerful…" Ahran rubbed his hands nervously. "The sooner we unlock the Titans, the better."

"What makes you think that I'll be the one facing Midnight?" Ichigo already knew the answer to that though. Either him or Rikuo was going to take on Midnight…they were the only two here with the power to match… ("Actually, you can do it too Halo…Halo?")

"Is something the matter?" Ahran noticed the distressed look that crossed Ichigo's face.

"Halo's gone? Alahandra too? Where could they…"

"Next round: Alahandra vs. Ryu Zaytel"

Ichigo face-fell. "Excuse me? They…they're participating separately in this tournament?"

Ahran sighed. "Just more trouble…come on; let's go somewhere private to unlock the Titans. Hopefully we can do it before your next duel comes up."

To be continued…