Chapter 5 – Hiroki's Truth
A few days later, Junto enters the arena and looks at the leaderboard at the highest ranked player. He is still rank 89.
“I’m coming for you.”
Before Junto could focus on them, he notices a rookie hunter coercing a new player. Junto looks to his left to see the player who was assigned to watch the door.
“Hey! Why aren’t you watching the door!”
The Killjoy player points at the rookie hunters who surround somebody.
“Because of him. Rank 28. Ritsuo the head rookie hunter. Every few hours when we swap guards, he beats them, straight away. He’s beaten all of us so far. None of us stand a chance against him. It’s all over.”
Junto’s expression turns sour as he begins to walk over. Ritsuo and the rookie hunters notice this. Ritsuo smiles condescendingly as Junto approaches.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
Junto clenches his fist as he and Ritsuo lock eye contact.
“I want you to stop using rookies for easy points. That isn’t how Killjoy was meant to be played.”
A shrouded figure nearby hears Junto and smiles before whispering to himself.
“Soon, I’ll reveal my true identity to you, Junto. You really are the missing piece that my master needs. Just don’t mess everything up, yet.”
The shrouded figure leaves as Junto and Ritsuo continue to make eye contact.
“Why would we ever stop doing that? You can try and make us stop but it won’t go well for you.”
Junto smiles as the tension begins to draw other players attention.
“Let’s settle it with a Killjoy match. I win and your crew can never harass rookies again. If you win, my crew will leave you alone permanently.”
Ritsuo smiles back at Junto.
“I get a real kick out of destroying lower levels. I’ve heard all about you. You’ve been playing for only a month and you’re already rank 19. That really pisses me off. I think a Killjoy match would suit us just fine.”
They both head over to the reception desk and explain the terms to the receptionist who ensures that the deal will be upheld by both parties. Those who fail to abide by it will be banned from Killjoy. The receptionist hands them a contract.
Meanwhile, Genki has just entered the arena and wonders what’s going on. The door guard who was defeated by Ritsuo explains the situation to Genki.
“What?!”
Genki runs over. Just before Junto could sign the paper and agree to the match, Genki arrives and slaps the pen out of Junto’s hand.
“What the hell are you thinking, Junto?”
Ritsuo looks over.
“This isn’t your business, boy wonder.”
Genki looks at Ritsuo.
“Actually, Junto’s my friend so this is my business.”
Ritsuo looks at the receptionist.
“Will the battle still go ahead?”
The receptionist looks at Junto. Junto is desperate to answer yes but takes a quick look at Genki. Genki intervenes.
“He can’t fight right now.”
Genki looks at Junto.
“Trust me.”
Junto nods his head. Ritsuo begins to get annoyed.
“We already agreed to the fight. Are you saying to cancel it?”
Genki shakes his head.
“No. That wouldn’t be right. I’m saying to give him a week to prepare.”
Ritsuo continues to look annoyed.
“A whole week? What if we disagree to the terms.”
Genki is quick to respond.
“Then do you think you can beat a rank 41? I’ve been training a lot too. You’re to me what the rookies are to you.”
Ritsuo grits his teeth before reluctantly responding.
“Alright. One week. But we’ll keep targeting new players until then. There’s nothing you can do about that.”
Genki nods and Junto agrees.
“Schedule a match between us for this time next week.”
The receptionist agrees as Junto signs the contract. Ritsuo has some parting words before leaving.
“You’ve just signed your own death warrant.”
Junto wears an expression of determination.
“I need to train. I’ll sign up for a game, right now.”
Genki grabs Junto’s shoulder.
“No, if you play in the arena, Ritsuo will know what cards you’re using. Every day, I want you to meet me in the Killjoy den where we first met. Until your match with Ritsuo has concluded, I don’t want you to play a single game in the arena.”
The very next day, Genki meets Junto in the small Killjoy den.
“Now, we play Killjoy.”
Everyone in the den watches as Junto and Genki prepare to battle. Genki has some important information for Junto.
“You’re not ready to go up against Ritsuo. Being rank 19, it’s possible that you’ve seen some ‘level 2’ cards. However, Ritsuo’s deck is almost entirely comprised of them. I don’t know what cards he uses, but I have no doubt he will be playing cards that you’re not too familiar with. Because you’re not at rank 25, you don’t have access to any of these cards yet. The odds are heavily in Ritsuo’s favour. In order to train you, I’m going to use a variety of level 2 cards. Well, lets see what you can do, Junto.”
Junto starts the game by playing the card that reads ‘Your opponent suffers joint pains for the rest of the game’
Genki looks completely unphased by the effect and plays his own card. He plays a card that reads ‘For the rest of the game, your opponent feels bursts of cutting on their skin’.
Junto begins to feel a knife stye cut across his skin that comes and goes.
“What the hell kind of card is that?”
Genki responds coldly.
“A step up from the card’s you’ve been using.”
Junto plays a card that reads ‘For the rest of the game, your opponent can’t feel their legs’.
Genki does not react to this and plays another card.
“Welcome to tier 2.”
Genki plays a card that reads ‘Your opponent begins to see his flesh rotting from his skin’.
Junto looks in horror as his arm begins to look as if it is rotting away. Whenever the bursts of cutting affect his skin, the affected areas fall off. Junto begins to panic.
‘This is just a game. It’s not real. It’s not real.’
Junto proceeds to play a card that reads ‘Your opponent sees spiders crawling on them for the rest of the game’.
Genki is completely unphased and plays his next card. It reads ‘For the next three turns, your opponent has double the heart rate’.
Junto is surprised as he has never seen such cards before. Junto’s heart rate skyrockets as he begins to panic.
‘What the fuck.’
Junto quickly plays his next card without thinking and notices that it is a number 1 card.
Genki plays his next card with a stoic expression not leaving his face. The card he plays reads ‘Your opponent feels a gripping sensation on their chest’.
Junto begins to grab his chest in pain as he sweats, unable to focus on anything but his heart rate.
“Is this really it? Am I actually having a heart attack? This can’t just be Killjoy.”
Junto reluctantly presses the Killjoy button and suddenly all of the sensations that he was feeling disappear. Junto continues to breathe heavily while sweating profusely. Genki gets up.
“When you’re ready to try again, let me know.”
Junto begins to think to himself.
‘Those are the types of cards that Ritsuo is going to use? I don’t stand a chance. But… I can’t give up. I have to survive this.’
Junto and Genki battle at every chance they get over the next few days but Junto is defeated every time without fail. Junto begins to lose hope.
With three days left until the battle, Junto Is training extra hard with Genki. Junto gets home from training and rests on his sofa.
‘Can I really beat Ritsuo? He might have cards that Genki hasn’t played against me yet. I’ll be caught completely off-guard.’
Suddenly, the sound of the letterbox opening alerts Junto. Junto walks over to see a letter that has been written in hand address to him.
“What’s this?”
Junto opens the letter. Junto begins to read the letter in his mind.
‘If you want to beat Ritsuo, come to the Killjoy den at the enclosed location. This den is usually quite quiet. I’ll ensure it’s empty when you arrive. If you think I can’t be trusted then know that I was watching when Kimiko tried to swipe your deck. I was there when you challenged Ritsuo.’
Junto is surprised by the letter and begins to be haunted by an ominous feeling.
‘Someone has been watching me?’
Junto opens the front door and heads outside but can’t see anybody around. Junto puts his shoes on and prepares to head to the enclosed location. Upon arriving, Junto notices that the door to the Killjoy den is slightly open. Junto slowly pushes the door open and notices a mysterious figure sitting at the Killjoy table and hiding his face. Other than the mysterious figure, nobody is present.
“Take a seat and let’s begin.”
Junto cautiously heads inside and shuts the door behind himself. Junto sits at the Killjoy table as they both take their decks out and begin to shuffle their cards. The mysterious figure speaks.
“I know that the challenged party has the right to the first move but can I go first?”
Junto looks at the mysterious figure confusedly.
“Why would I let you go first?”
The mysterious figure stops attempting to cover his face and removes all accessories which hide himself. Junto is shocked to see that the mysterious man is none other than his high school friend Hiroki.
“Because I’m a good friend.”
Junto is in shock.
“What? What are you doing here?”
Hiroki decides not to answer the question.
“Five turns. If you can survive five turns against me, then you can beat Ritsuo.”
Junto does not fully understand what is happening but decides to agree anyway. Hiroki plays his first card. It reads ‘A deceased loved one sits beside the opponent for the rest of the game’.
Junto is confused but looks to his left to suddenly see his dead grandma sitting next to him.
“Grandma?”
Hiroki looks emotionless.
“Survive four more turns.”
Junto plays a card but it has zero effect on Hiroki.
Hiroki then plays his next card. The card reads ‘Your opponent begins to see his flesh rotting from his skin’.
Junto instantly reacts but braves through it.
‘This is one of the cards that Genki has been using against me. I can deal with this, it’s not as scary as the first time.’
Junto turns his attention to Hiroki.
“So, are you going to explain how you know about Killjoy and how you’re a higher rank than me?”
Junto plays another card but it again has no effect on Hiroki. Hiroki prepares his next card.
“All of your talking is bothering me.”
Hiroki plays his next card. It reads ‘The opponent is now muted’.
Junto suddenly finds himself unable to speak.
“Two turns to go.”
Junto again plays another effect card, sure that Hiroki would have some reaction but he does not.
Hiroki plays his next card. It reads ‘Your opponent can no longer hear for the rest of the game’.
Hiroki holds up one finger and points at it. Junto understands and nods his head.
Junto plays another card that has no effect on Hiroki. Junto is surprised by Hiroki’s resilience. Hiroki prepares his last card.
Hiroki pulls a card from his hand and shows Junto. The card reads ‘Your opponent feels a gripping sensation on their chest.’
Junto begins to try to withstand all of the effects. However, he begins to think about possibly dying.
‘It’s just Killjoy. All of this is just Killjoy. My dead relative, the chest pains, the deafness. None of it’s real.’
Junto plays his next card but suddenly the chest pain begins to grip tighter and suddenly a vision occurs to Junto of himself dying and being picked up by his dead grandma. Junto panics and hits the Killjoy button. After pressing the button, Junto falls to the floor and begins gasping for air as he suffers from a panic attack. Hiroki approaches him whilst he is on the ground.
“I’m impressed. You survived all five turns. The reason I stopped Kimiko from taking your cards was because I thought that you might have a chance to serve as a stepping stone for me and my master on our journey to be the first people to rank 100. Junto, I want you to succeed. Reach rank 80 and challenge us. I know that you can get there, I believe in you.”
Hiroki gets eye level with Junto.
“Let this loss be a final lesson to you, Junto. If you want to beat Ritsuo, you need to look death in the eyes and laugh.”
Hiroki gets up off of the ground and begins to leave but he has some parting words for Junto.
“Death Simulacrum is Ritsuo’s favourite card. Ask Genki about it. If you can resist it, then maybe you stand a chance.”
