2025-09-23: It's Time to Duel
- Log: It's Time to Duel
- Cast: Myunghon Yeo, Eikichi Mishina
- Where: Cardboard Dragon, Hirasaka Ward
- OOC Date: September 23, 2025
- IC Date: July 15, 2012
- Summary: The Death Boss comes to visit to the Cardboard Dragon.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
The Cardboard Dragon is, supposedly, a book and card game store that's... actually pretty damn close to Kasugayama High -- some two blocks south of it. Finding it is a bit of an adventure onto itself, though -- the address puts Eikichi at a three-story building with a nice looking family diner and cafe, but he has to go down a kinda sus-looking alley where yakuza might fight and go up a flight of fire escape stairs before going into the door at the back to actually access the store.
Inside is... well, it's an old building that's definitely seen better days -- but it's clean enough. There's bookshelves with all kinds of difficult looking old books, a little section with tables and seating for the card game players, and the actual storefront, which is currently advertising a new SOURDOUGH PRINCESS set for the latest, hottest new collectible card game.
Then there's a small couch and coffee table setup, the closest to a living room not unlike a detective's office, where the strange proprietor of the Cardboard Dragon is currently working.
Myunghon Yeo is a very lanky person with white hair, currently dressed in a cheap but fastidiously clean white dress shirt, black tie, and black dress pants with a draping black coat around their shoulders. They have... bandages all around them -- their hands just short of their fingers and up their arms, their neck, and also half their face, including over their right eye.
They notice the door opening, then rises to greet: "Oh, good afternoon. Welcome to the Cardboard Dragon." They have a sling over their right arm, though it doesn't seem to be stopping them from operating their laptop with their left hand alone.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi forgets what led him in the direction of the Cardboard Dragon. Just that the Death Boss needed to see this place with his own eyes. However, Eikichi knows better than to just roll up to someone's turf without protection. Which is why when the blue haired punk comes into the Cardboard Dragon, Eikichi is pretty elaborately dressed in a Black ruffled shirt, large chain jewelry, and a bedazzled deck box with his childhood game of choice ready to go.
This was how gamers dressed, right?
This was how gamers dressed in manga and Eikichi only had that to go off of to "fit in".
Eikichi turns and looks at Myunghon, comparing the person's look to his own. The blue haired punk is thrilled to see that this is how gamers do dress and he is going to be one of the "in-crowd" easily.
"Hey...there...So I'm here to game." Eikichi flashes the white haired individual a confident smile and thumbs up.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Who enters but... Eikichi Mishina! The very Death Boss of Kasugayama High himself, in stunning ruffles and bedazzling chains and even a deck, ready to d-d-d-d-d-d-DUEL!
Myunghon looks mildly stunned at this, placing a hand to their neckline for a moment, but the sweet smile comes back on afterwards as they say, "Oh, you are... the Death Boss, if I am not mistaken, from Kasugayama High, correct? I remember the show you hosted at the former prison not far from here. Everyone was very into it."
They don't note that they're also clued into that Eikichi was part of the attack on Kasu High a while back, since that might be a sore spot to bring up, but they're definitely thinking about it.
"Ah, to game...?" Myunghon gently looks around and sees no one else free who might serve as an opponent. "Well, I do have several decks for some of the more popular card games present. You might have to excuse my slowness, though--"
They gesture to the right arm in the sling.
"Shuffling a deck is a little difficult for me at present. My name is Myunghon Yeo, by the way. It's nice to meet you."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
The Death Boss blinks when he is known right away. For a delinquent that meant either the shopkeeper was about to be really cool or really uncool. The blue haired punk stiffens for a moment before his show was mentioned. He grins widely, pointing at himself as he poses in his stance. "Glad to meet a fan of mine!"
He does looks down at the sling and cross his arms over his chest as he considers. "Hmmm I suppose I could shuffle if you are alright with that! Might not be fair though."
"Eikichi Mishina...Nice to meet cha. Your store was recommended to me and wanted to be sure to fit in." The delinquent flashes a confident grin as he looks around. "I didn't expect some of the older stuff though. Usually these kinds of places have cool robots, badass knights or embarrassing anime women on posters and stuff. Pretty cool. Pretty cool."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon has a happy little clap -- though it's somewhat muted because of that immobilised arm -- as Eikichi strikes a pose. "It was quite the talk here in Hirasaka for a bit after, I can assure you. The students who came here after were talking pretty big about Gas Chamber's concert."
They do nod as they walk towards the counter and pulls out one of the decks underneath, then gestures towards the playing tables and sits down. "Oh, I am fine with that. I am not so competitive a player that I suspect cheating at every nook and corner," they chuckle politely.
Their store was recommended? "Ara, I'm very happy to hear I'm being recommended. May I ask who was so kind?" They look around to where Eikichi has his sightline to and admits: "I did originally want this to be a bookstore, but I was advised by friends to have something that could appeal to younger folk too, hence the cards. My tastes in books are... ... old." And if the rumours are to be believed... Rumours and Skill Cards, if Eikichi's heard.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi's eye widen and his smile fills with delight upon hearing how his show went over. "That...is so damn cool. I'll have to let the fellas know too. They got a little of the stage fright so we've been practicing to make the next one even better!" He nods along with the words, continuing to let his eyes drift.
"Fair enough. I also know not to mess with someone's specialty." Eikichi follows to the table and sits down, still taking in everything. Maybe there was something to the rumors he's heard about this place.
"Old books? What kind of stuff? Games I'm guessing." Eikichi looks around. "So what are we playing? I only have my childhood deck from this Duel Monsters game. Kinda had monsters from one of those Phoenix Featherman shows. I'm sure there's something new also that you might know better."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Mmm, mmm. I'm sure it'll be a confidence booster!" Myunghon does understand a little that there's a bit of a struggle between the other members and what level of skill they might be at, but it's nice to be able to encourage youths that might be feeling a bit unconfident in themselves. They let that be for now, though. As they walk from the counter, Eikichi feels a twig of something from one of the card binders on the desk -- there's a positive charge of Cognitive energy from them.
"Oh, I understand the rules to Duel Monsters," Myunghon muses. "Phoenix Featherman... my, that takes me back. Was there not a new sequel lately?" They're searching for another deck that fits what Eikichi has. "Here we go. The Forbidden Deck! It is said that if one plays all five body parts of this mystery sealed creature, the world will end!"
This is how the world ended on the Other Side: not because of the Grand Cross, but because Myunghon actually managed to assemble He Who Shall Not Be Named together.... or, perhaps, that's just a rumour. But not a Rumour?
But Eikichi also asks what kinds of books they have. "Oh, not games, though I have been asked about tabletop books before... my interest is in older authors from around the turn of the 20th century. Rather boring for most people, I'm afraid."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"That's just what they need." Eikichi nods, noticing the weird feeling binder of cards. He stares at them for a moment before just openly taking the cards with them to the table. He figures it is interesting because it was more Duel Monster cards or something. He sets down at the table, flipping through the card binder. "Huh..Is this what people use these days?"
"Forbidden Deck? That sounds forboding. Kick ass." He grins wondering why that plot sounded intriguing to him. Like an itch that hadn't been touched in a long time. The Death Boss still just kinda stares at the cards in the binder. "Hmmm"
"20th Century authors? Like the one about the evil ring or the wizard kid?" Eikichi finally gets out his cards. While they looked very very beat up, there were some rare monsters mixed into the deck. "A new Phoenix Featherman? Man that stuff might be too kid for me."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Eikichi takes the binder of cards and looks through them and... what's inside aren't cards from a card game -- these are Skill Cards, some of which he might've seen before. Zio, Agi, Hama... they're the real deal, oozing with some measure of power. Myunghon looks on evenly as Eikichi browses through, clearly curious at his reaction. "Oh? That is from an older game, Digital Devil Story, or... do you see something in them, Mishina-kun?"
It's a bit of a leading question, but as he browses, they prepare The Forbidden Deck. "The evil ring...? Oh! Yes, I know the one you mean -- no, I am afraid my tastes lean more towards authors like Dostoevsky... though I do enjoy many Japanese authors as well, such as Akutagawa or Tanigawa." They kind of expect many of these names to fly over, since they're the kind of books most kids these days only interact from forced reading in literature class.
Eikichi expresses Featherman as too kid for him now. "Ah, it would be aimed for younger audiences, would it not? But I think there is a nice nostalgia in these cards too..."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi continues to browse them, stopping on the one for Aqua. "Digital Devil Story? Huh so thats where they are originally from." He finally shuts the binder and looks at the shopkeeper's question. "Something in them? I mean aren't these the ones you can access special powers from or something? Errr---Rumor has it anyway." For all of his experience, Eikichi still doesn't know how to bring a lot of this stuff up in the real world.
"Dos-toe-vkee? Never heard of him. Seems a little too...scholarly?" The Death Boss scratches the back of his head as he watches the set up for the Forbidden Deck. He hears the Japanese authors and blinks as they equally perplex him. "Think I'm more into music and uh...other things."
"Nice Nostalgia? Yeah I guess I can get behind something like that." Eikichi shuffled his deck, waiting for the cue to shuffle for Myunghon as well. He isn't doing anything fancy to shuffle, still too focused on taking in whats around him.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon pauses, then chuckles and admits: "I'm sorry, Mishina-kun, I was testing to see if you could see these for the power they have. But it seems that you can see them as Skill Cards..." they glance around again just to make doubly sure there isn't anyone spying in. "... and thus, you have a Persona. Yes, in truth, this place is one where you can obtain these, to give yourself more ways to protect yourself in a fight."
There's a wider smile as they say, "To commemorate this, why don't you take one that appeals to you, Mishina-kun? I don't mind. Consider it a gift to commemorate our meeting."
Dostoevsky is... scholarly. Well, that's definitely a bit more polite than some of the other ways he's been described by the younger generation. "Ahaha... true, he does have something of a reputation like that. I suppose what takes me in is how the sadness he describes a hundred years ago still feels very relevant to us nowadays."
But music! "What kind of musicians are you into, Mishina-kun? I have a close friend who is into... 'metal', I think was the word -- and I have been trying to study more about it to share the interest... but I cannot say I am very well versed myself."
The decks are prepared and shuffled, thanks to Eikichi, and the match begins! It turns out it's still a little hard to play card games one-handed, like having to put their hand down to draw, but Myunghon manages.
"Very well. I shall start with... my Celtic Guardian, in attack mode!"
Myunghon places the creature card down. Nothing happens, of course, but they're totally imagining a hologram of the knightly creature appearing and the display updating to display their attack and defence points. You have to have amazing theatre of the mind skills when playing this.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
The Death Boss is at first confused by the discussion until Personas are mentioned. The teen grins and nods, understanding everything a little better. "Oh. Cool. Yeah thats me."
"Oh...Ok." Eikichi opens the binder once again, turning the page with a little more purpose. He finally stops on a page, removing a Zio card and grinning at its symbol. "Between this and another one I found, I got the start of a collection now." He shows Myunghon the card he chose.
"Oh. I like a lot of rock. Stuff that gets you fired up, you know?" Eikichi is a little more comfortable in this realm. "Metal, eh, That can be a lot of things depending on your friend. All different vibes between death and power metal." He looks over his cards as the game begins.
"Gonna put out my Dark Magician Girl to start...in attack mode" Eikichi quickly plays his opening hand, seemingly carefree for someone who was taking this seriously. He looks over his opponent for any tells.
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Myunghon seems pleased at Eikichi's decisiveness to pick a card! "I hope it serves you well," they chuckle, setting the binder aside to give them a bit more space to play their actual card game. "If I might ask, Mishina-kun, how did you awaken to your Persona? If that is a sensitive question, then feel free to wave me away, however."
"Ah, yes, rock..." Myunghon sounds incredibly old for a moment. "That was the other genre she mentioned liking. We have rock and metal, but not fire, water or wood..." Well, it gives some people wood, probably. "Death...? Power? Goodness, it's like we're talking about Personae again. What is the difference, exactly?"
The knight and the cute Dark Magician Girl clash! Myunghon seems rather aggravated at this, because their monster is on the back foot and is defeated! "Ah, well played, Eikichi. But now I'll play Catapult Turtle in defense mode, and also play one card face-down!"
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Hmm? Oh, heh." Eikichi considers for a moment, slouching in his place at the table. "A lot of people have really vivid stories about wakening their Persona. So I hear...For me, it happened at Kasugayama. In the bunker under the school. It was a pretty heavy fight but for the life of me, I don't remember who it was with...Still, I remember every hit and blow from that fight. Then all of a sudden, I'm not fighting alone. Pretty strange, eh?"
Eikichi keeps his eyes on the battle field. He smirks when his Dark Magician girl is victorious in the battle withing the minds eye/when he rechecks the damage numbers. He licks his lips as he considers the question about the difference between death and power metal.
"Hmm Power is more about fast paced vibes and death is more ambient dark vibes...subject matter is pretty obvious. You don't strike me as a metal guy in any of the varieties though. Much too bold from what I've seen of ya, Yeo-sensei" Eikichi eyes his cards, finally pulling another cute looking monster and adding it to the field. "I play Delightful Demon Pony in defense and reset Dark Magician Girl. Should also place this face down."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Yeo-sensei? Hmm, they don't particularly hate being referred to in that way... it's something to note down for themself, on terms you've been referred to and how you feel about them in their internal notebook.
"The Air Raid Shelter? Yes, I've heard many tales about it... how it's infested with Demons and such," Myunghon expresses. Eikichi was in a very heavy fight, but.. doesn't remember who it was with? And he wasn't fighting alone. "I see... this was not-- the attack by the Joker Killer a few weeks back, is it? The one the media is covering up as 'gang warfare'."
They still look rather annoyed that they weren't present on that day. And how much people seemed to just accept the story, despite the fact that apparently some guy in red got exploded by a landmine out on the streets. Oh well, that guy in red probably isn't important... probably.
"Ah, I suppose not... when I tried listening to it, it was definitely much too intense. I was trying to see if I could go to a metal concert with my friend before--" they gesture to the sling, "--a lot of things happened, and I was advised to bring earplugs. Earplugs! I didn't quite understand, but... it is remarkable that you need earplugs to not be deafened by the music."
The Demon Pony is out!! How menacing!
"Ah, but you've-- activated my trap card!" Myunghon dramatically declares. "The Swords of Revealing Light shall prevent your fell pony from attacking for a turn! And to capitalise on the advantage, I'll play my Beaver Knight, which gains Flying because it's launched off the Catapult Turtle!"
This card game's rules are whack, yo.
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
Eikichi blinks and shakes his head. "That one with...Nah. Everyone wants to know about that fight though." The blue haired punk looks over his cards at Myunghon, noting his frustration over something. "No this was about a year ago...Thought it was my secret power but everyone has one it seems." Eikichi is glued to the game board, falling back into his childhood affinity for these things.
"Trap card huh..." He looks through his hand and draws another monster. "I play this one face down and summon this kick ass dragon into attack position."
This game only got more complicated in future installments. Especially when motorcycles were attacked to play.
Eikichi leans back in his chair, keeping his eyes on his cards. "So I take it, you also have a Persona, Yeo-sensei?"
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
"Well... it isn't *not* your secret power," Myunghon chuckles gently. "And it's my responsibility to help you develop it, that you might keep others safe. Hirasaka's had a long streak of pretty dangerous incidents, and I'd like the students and other people here to be able to feel safe."
Oh no! Eikichi's dragon has surfaced onto the battlefield, scorching all of Myunghon's monsters with its mighty breath attack. Myunghon's LP is at a critical juncture!!
"Goodness me, I'm at one hundred life points remaining. If I don't pull just the right card on this next draw, I'm defeated," Myunghon muses, but before they do, Eikichi asks them if they have a Persona as well.
"I do. This shop is... special, actually -- we're actually sitting on supernatural ground at the moment. I sometimes teach new Persona-Users how to use Skill Cards at night, during the Dark Hour. You truly have to trust in the heart of the cards in order to make good use of them. Speaking of which--"
They take the top card and turn it over. "Aha! I've now assembled all five pieces of the Forbidden One!" They turn the rest of their hand over. "The Forbidden One clashes titanically with your Dragon and no one is spared. Bad end."
... is that how the card rules really read?
Myunghon chuckles faintly and says, "My, this does take me back a ways. Thank you for the game, Mishina-kun."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Heh. I mean mine is pretty special too." The Death Boss puffs out his chest before he listens Myunghon's deal. Develop his power? Keep others safe. That was what he needed. No wonder he was recommended to come here.
Eikichi was damn good at stumbling in the right direction.
He is immersed in the game as well. "Supernatural ground, eh? Huh. Never heard that term but that's a pretty good way to put the whole...weirdness zone." Eikichi watches Myunghon as they suddenly just wipe the floor with Eikichi. The blue haired punk's mouth just falls open. "Woah. That's some deck! I wish I had some of those cards in battle. Geez."
Eikichi takes a moment to clean up his very scuffed up cards, thinking for a moment. "It's no problem, heh. You really are a master of games though."
<Pose Tracker> Myunghon Yeo has posed.
Still, Myunghon is left wondering just why Eikichi can't seem to remember who he fought, even if he could remember all the hits and blows. Was he engaged with someone with Anti-Navigator powers, that could obscure their identity? "Mishina-kun... at this fight where you say you awakened, you mentioned you were not fighting alone. Did you remember who you were fighting with, or were their identities a blur too, like the person you fight?"
A master of games? "Oh, I really did get just lucky. If I had not drawn the right card right there, you had me dead to rights. Thank you for shuffling for me as well. I do hope this my shoulder heals quicker than later." Though with how much they aggravate it, they're not doing themself any favours.
"I myself have had my Persona for about two years... it was a life-or-death situation for me, as well." Myunghon has a tender chuckle as they say, gently, "I'm still wearing the scars even now. But, here--"
They hold their phone out and places it on the table with their number.
"We should exchange numbers. I'll keep you abreast of any rumours or incidents -- I more or less lead a group of Persona-Users who try to keep our community here in Hirasaka safe, and I imagine you feel much the same way, Mishina-kun."
<Pose Tracker> Eikichi Mishina has posed.
"Hrm? Not sure" Eikichi looks off into space as he tries to recall but comes back with nothing. "I mean I do know I meant that I was fighting beside my Persona, if that makes sense. Probably not as profound as you're thinking." He grins as he starts to get up.
"Sure thing, Sensei. You probably were using one of those card counting strats you see in the movies. You can't fool me." The Death Boss pats them on their good shoulder as he fishes out his phone. "So you're at two years huh. I guess I'll come to you if i need some guidance."
On hearing of a group keeping the area safe, Eikichi clenches his fist and points as his chest. "I'm in! Lets link up and keep this area shinning brightly!" He isn't so much asking to come along as just stating that he is coming along.