#absolutely drains my lifepoints to zero

[jvlianbashir]

my mom watched house hunters pretty much religiously while i was growing up and as a kid i could never understand why one of the couple would make a big deal over a longer commute if the house was nice

[cantripcattrip]

The Step for Beginning -Time Traveling Duelist

If someone were to tell Yuma a few months ago he would wake up and suddenly find himself in the past, Yuma would have laughed at them before go check with Astral to make sure that never happen. Unfortunately no one told Yuma about this whole time jumping thing, so Yuma never got the chance to ask Astral to use Numeron Code to stop him from time jumping. And here Yuma was, stuck in the early 2000 and had absolutely no idea how to get back to his time.

Now, in the spirit of not screwing with the time line, Yuma had been trying his best to stay out of any events that would be well documented. Which was to say, he'd been avoiding duel tournament like the plague. He still loved dueling, he even got a new deck that would fit with the current rules, but if some one from the future were to connect Yuma Miyoshi and Yuma Tsukumo.... well, Yuma doubted anything good would happen.

However, there were times when Yuma odd jobs weren't enough to cover his living bills and Yuma had to resorted to dueling to earn money. Not underground dueling, Yuma heard enough about how brutal those where from Shark, just smaller local tournament that won't draw the attentions from the press.

Yuma relished those time. Even if he couldn't use his Xyz deck, his new friends work just as well. The Face Knights weren't his first choice of architypes, but the Onomatopoeia  and Mom's Synchro weren't a thing yet so Yuma had to looked for some inspiration from Master Rokujuro.

" [Arcana Knight Joker] direct attack, Carreau Slash!" Yuma commanded and enjoy the nostalgic feeling of seeing lifepoints drop to zero from the fusion monster's attack, except for this time he wasn't on the receiving end. It was a shame that Yuma could duel for a bit longer, that had got to be one of the most intense match Yuma had recently.

"You were great, that was one of the best duel I've had in a while. " He told his opponent as he help the other boy up.

"Yeah, that was fun." The boy replied. "We're definitely having rematch and next time I won't lose."

" You're on!"

Yuma might have forgotten to asked for the boy's name and phone number among the excitement. By the time he got out of the stadium the boy was no where to be found.

" At least my wallet is full." Yuma muttered in disappointment, sure the new booster box that came as a prize was cool but he had really wanted that rematch.

" You duelled well." Someone suddenly said causing Yuma to jump. " Ready for another one?"

A quick turn around didn't reveal much to him, the person who spoke had their hood up that covered most of his face in the shadow. They did have a very new and expensive duel disk ready to go. Laughing nervously, Yuma slowly inched away. "No thanks. It's getting late and I should get home."

"What a shame," The stranger said as Yuma walked away. "I was hoping to see an Xyz monster with my own eyes, especially such a unique monster like Utopic Future."

That stopped Yuma dead in his track. "How did you know that?"

"Win and I'll tell you."

" And if I lose?" Yuma asked  hesitantly.

" You'll do me a favour, one small favour."

Fair enough, Yuma wasn't one to back down from a challenge and the guy might know something about him being here. He followed the stranger to a desolated alley, switching out  his duel disk for his D-pad as they walk and loaded in his original deck. He got a feeling he'll need to bring his A - game for this duel.

" Since you challenged me, I get the first turn." Yuma declared.

The stranger only smile. "Fine by me, I hope you're ready."

" I'm always ready, Kattobingu!" Yuma draw, signalling the beginning of his duel. "And I'll start with [Utopic Onomatopoeia] and with its effect [Gogogo Golem] gets to enter the field. Next, I overlay the level 4 [Utopic Onomatopoeia] with the level 4 [Gogogo Golem]  to form the overlay network. Round'em up [Gagaga Cowboy]"

The gun wielding warrior  materialized on his field kneeling, there were two ball of lights orbiting around him. Since he couldn't attack on the first turn Yuma put [Gagaga Cowboy] in defense, but that doesn't mean he couldn't do any damage. " I detach an overlay units from [Gagaga Cowboy] to inflict 800 damage to your lifepoints."

[Gagaga Cowboy] shot at his opponent, who winced but didn't stumbled.

"[Gagaga Cowboy]," The stranger mused. " The last time I saw an Xyz monster it was in much more dire circumstances. I'm glad that I was able to see them again in my lifetime."

Yuma's eyes widen at that statement. "Are you...?"

" A time traveler? Well, you have to win to find that out." The stranger teased.

" Oh, I will." Yuma declared.

He didn't.

It was a very long back and forth with Yuma barely survived through a few turns with the use of his Monsters's effect alongside with getting his devastating  attacks negated by the stranger's spells and traps.  Shadows rises and Chaos roared in answered. The stranger teared down Yuma forces as hard as he struck down theirs. He managed shift the favour to his side when he summoned [Number F0: Utopic Future] which was basically indestructible since his opponent didn't have a Number card. Yuma was so close to victory when the stranger, through the combination of [Solemn Wishes] and [Skill Drain], used his [ Silent Magician] to destroyed [Number F0: Utopic Future] and wiped out the rest of Yuma's life points.

Laying onto the payment ground, Yuma can't help but laugh. Despite all of that Yuma had enjoyed the duel, it was fun.

"So what's the favour you want me to do?" Yuma asked as he slowly sat up.

"Join Duel Academy." The stranger said, pulling down his hood.

"Wait, you're...."

"Here, this will help you on your adventure," Yugi Mutou gave him a card before walking away. " Good luck."

"Wait!"

But he was gone before Yuma could move.