Shay Obsidian

Shay, known as Shun Kurosaki or Syun Kurosaki  (  Kurosaki Shun) in the Japanese version and the English manga, is one of the characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is an Xyz user who is a comrade of Yuto's, and was also after the Leo Institute of Dueling. Upon having similar goals to Declan and learning of his true target, the two agreed to cooperate. He is one of the Lancers.

Appearance
Shay is a tall young man with straight blueish-black hair that falls to his chin, and light green bangs in the shape of a wing partially tucked under some strands on the left. He has yellow-green eyes, and similar to Yuto, used to keep his face concealed behind dark glasses and a red scarf. He wears a blue trenchcoat that is tattered at the ends; the coat is belted shut, and is adorned with belted cuffs. He also sports grey pants and brown shoes.

Shay wears a Turbo Dueling suit in the Underground Dueling Arena and during the Friendship Cup. It is dark blue and green colour scheme and a red scarf/ascot.

Personality
Though he implies that he may have Dueled for fun before, in the present, Shay is a battle-hardened Duelist who shows nothing but fierce determination and serious perseverance in his Duels. In a similar manner to Seto Kaiba, Reginald Kastle, Kite Tenjo, and Declan Akaba, he also carries an affection for his younger sister Ruri whom he vows to rescue, and also highly regards his comrades. Unlike Yuto, Shay acts out more recklessly and impatient and is willing to crush anyone who he deems as his enemies, even warning Yuto not to stand in his way when focused on his goal. He demonstrates a powerful hatred of Fusion Summoning, and previously of LID, as Fusion Summoning has been used by his enemies and he believed LID to be associated with them. Despite his callous disposition, he can be pragmatic, agreeing to cooperate with Declan in furthering his machinations in exchange for information.

Shay tends to converse about his experiences when the comments of other people allude to them (whether such allusions are intentional or not). While Dueling, he demonstrates a more violent side when he uses "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". Aside from these moments, he says little when he doesn't have to talk, not even bothering to learn the names of many of his opponents; he simply challenges them to a Duel. However, he often employs the word "revolution" and similar terms, reinforcing his strong belief of Dueling solely to defeat his enemies and protect his comrades. Despite his determination to protect his comrades, he prefers acting alone and dislikes when others try to protect him by risking themselves. However, the memories of the attack on his homeland have clearly scarred him, and when he was in the "Future Metropolis Heartland" Action Field for a second time, he was initially unwilling to discuss the events, but on later prompting by Selena, he admitted that the faces and laughter of the Academy students that had attacked Heartland would always remain in his mind.

Shay has a habit of saying "field" in kanji (「」, Ba) instead of in katakana (「フィールド」, Fīrudo).

Abilities
Like Yuto, Shay's Duel Disk possesses the ability to materialize the effects of Duel Monsters cards. The Disk also has the power to seal a person inside a card, though unlike previous uses of this power in the franchise, the entire person, and not just their soul. His Duel Disk is later upgraded with the function to produce an Action Field, and also appears to have dimensional travel technology incorporated into it. Shay is highly acrobatic, as seen when he jumped off of the sides of several buildings and rolled along the ground to break his fall during his first Duel with Sora Perse. He is also a highly skilled fighter, strong enough to defeat several guards each with a single blow while escaping from the Facility in the Synchro Dimension.

Etymology
His English name "Shay" is Gaelic for "hawk". His name could also refer to Shays' Rebellion, a famous historical uprising, given the fact that rebellion is a key aspect of his character. His Japanese name, Shun「」, means "falcon", alluding to his Xyz Monsters, while his last name can translate to "black blossom".

History
Shay's homeland, Heartland City in the Xyz Dimension, was once a place where Duelists were loved and everyone enjoyed Dueling. They were attacked without warning one day by Duel Academy from the Fusion Dimension, and without an organized defense, lost comrade after comrade to their foes until they learned to fight back. On one occasion, Shay fled from several materialized "Ancient Gear Chaos Giants" during the early days of the attacks on Heartland. Shay and four other Duelists arrived to witness Yuto Dueling Yugo. Upon arriving, Yugo fled on his Duel Runner and Shay asked Yuto where Ruri was. Yuto shook his head in response, prompting him to curse. He and Yuto later traveled to the Standard Dimension to oppose the Fusion Dimension.

Pre-Maiami Championship
Having found out that Leo Institute of Dueling was run by Declan Akaba, and knowing that Duel Academy was run by Leo Akaba, Shay determined them to be allied with one another. He conspired to draw out Declan in order to defeat and capture him, hoping to use him in a prisoner exchange with Leo to get Ruri back.

To this end, he assaulted Professor Marco, the teacher of LID's Fusion Summon course. He defeated Marco in a Duel and sealed him in a card. Sometime later, he surveyed LID from a nearby rooftop. His face concealed, he seemed to be analyzing or searching for something in LID with his Duel Disk's radar.

He later Dueled Tio, another LID employee, and was witnessed by Yuto after the latter was warped there by Zuzu Boyle's bracelet. Shay defeated Tio with his ace monster and sealed him inside a card as he had with Marco and sent both cards to LID. He later unwittingly saved Yuya Sakaki from three LID elites and Mr. Sawatari, who were pursuing Yuya under the latter's orders. Shay Xyz Summoned again and defeated the three elites with his ace monster, sealing them in cards and damaging the nearby overpass. Yuya was knocked out in the process, while Mr. Sawatari was scared off.

When Julia Krystal confronted Zuzu and Sora Perse and mentioned she was from LID, Shay appeared before her and knocked Zuzu aside, insisting that he would be Julia's opponent. Yuto arrived and attempted to hold Shay back, only for Shay to protest. When Shay noticed Zuzu, he mistook her for Ruri and asked if she had managed to escape with her own strength. Yuto knocked Shay unconscious with a punch to the gut, insisting that she wasn't Ruri, then carried him bodily over the shoulder. Yuya was en route at the time and as he approached, Zuzu's bracelet teleported Yuto and Shay away. Yuto later reiterated to Shay that Zuzu was not Ruri, as he'd seen her learning Fusion Summoning with a smile on her face, something that Ruri would never have done.

Shay moved to ambush Julia later, coming across her in an abandoned street and asking if she was alone and inquiring about Sora and Zuzu's whereabouts. Julia replied that she didn't know and planned to avenge Professor Marco. Shay insulted Marco for his lack of strength and determination. He admitted to her that he had indeed been the attacker of all the LID students, and urged her to sate her rage by defeating him in a Duel. Noting that she'd called in her friends, he claimed that she was underestimating him if she thought that two more would be sufficient to defeat him. Julia revealed that she'd been using herself as bait, sure that Shay would come after her. Her friends, Dipper O'rion and Kit Blade arrived, while LID monitored the proceedings. Claiming it made no difference, Shay challenged all three of them to a Battle Royal.

Julia took the first turn, and Shay took the second, emptying his hand to call out his three "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius", Setting two cards before ending his turn. Dipper and Kit made use of their powerful "Constellar" Xyz and "X-Saber" Synchro monsters respectively to destroy Shay's Set cards, return all of his monsters to his hand, and then discarding them. When Julia brought out Fusion Monsters, Shay looked angry at seeing the monsters of his enemy. Julia then inflicted effect damage twice, but before the second instance could defeat Shay, he used his "Raidraptor - Readiness" Trap from his Graveyard to reduce his Life Points to 10 and survive the turn. He expressed that he couldn't feel a steeled strength or an iron determination from their Dueling, while saying that in fighting his enemies, he learned to stand up from defeat to strike back at them until the day they're finally eradicated. He drew "Dimension Xyz" and used it to overlay the monsters in his Graveyard to call out "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". Using its effect, it gained ATK equal to the ATK of all Special Summoned monsters his opponents controlled, raising its ATK to 16400 and allowing it to attack all their monsters, defeating all three of them. Before he could seal them in cards, more LID staff arrived, including Claude. Shay mocked them, having expected them to show up, and asked them to send out their boss. Their boss in question, Declan, revealed himself instantly, walking towards Shay grimly, commenting that if he wanted him, he had him.

Declan introduced himself as Leo Corporation's current President. Shay immediately challenged him to a Duel, but Declan wanted to know why Shay had been attacking LID students. Shay refused to tell him, but Declan deduced that Shay was fighting to rescue his comrades, and thus attacked LID members in order to draw Declan out, hoping to use him as a hostage against Declan's father, Leo Akaba. Shay confirmed that, but was surprised when Declan claimed that he didn't mean that much to his father. Declan agreed to Duel Shay as long as Shay met his conditions — entering the Junior Youth Championship. He informed Shay of a powerful Fusion user and a Duelist who used a Summoning method unknown to Shay, explaining that he wanted Shay to aid him in his fight against Leo.

Maiami Championship
Shay kept to his end of the bargain, entering the Junior Youth Championship under the banner of LID, alongside the students he had not long ago defeated. They had been mind-wiped into believing that he had always been a part of LID. He kept to himself, standing apart from the group, and soon found he was scheduled to Duel the Fusion user that Declan had spoken of, Sora Perse. He happened to cross paths with Sora later that day, sparing him a glance. Later, he watched the Duel between Julia and Zuzu and reacted significantly to the latter's Fusion Summon, but left before the Duel ended. He also calmly observed the new Summoning method that Declan had informed him about, the Pendulum Summon when it was used by Yuya Sakaki and Silvio Sawatari. Before his match with Sora, Claude tried to give Shay a Pendulum Card that had been made for him, but Shay refused it and walked away.

Shay and Sora Dueled in the third match of the second day. Shay was shocked when the Action Field that was chosen for him to Duel on was "Future Metropolis Heartland" and he didn't participate in the traditional Action Duel opening, simply talking about the attack on his homeland, Heartland City. Vowing to show no mercy to the Fusion user, he traded blows evenly with Sora using two "Vanishing Lanius", even countering the powerful effect of Sora's Fusion Monster "Frightfur Bear". After being accused of only defending, Shay remarked on how they'd had no organized defense in his homeland, and that eventually, they had to learn to win to succeed. He brought out "Rise Falcon" and used it to destroy "Frightfur Bear", once again creating a real shockwave. This prompted Sora to start getting serious. To this end, Sora Summoned "Frightfur Leo", but Shay evaded its effect with Action Cards and his own Traps. Shay then played "Rank-Up-Magic Raptor's Force", Ranking-Up his "Rise Falcon" into "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon", and prompted much surprise on the part of many watching the Duel, including Sora. Sora survived the attack of "Blaze Falcon" and proceeded to Summon it to his field via the effect of "Frightfur Chimera". He taunted Shay, asking how it felt to be facing defeat at the hands of his own ace monster. Shay responded by explaining that in the Resistance they'd learned to prepare for the worst, playing "Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force", taking back "Blaze Falcon" and defeating Sora with "Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon". After Sora's defeat, he approached him, but Declan warned him not to call any more attention to himself in the eyes of the public. Shay turned and left, ignoring the injured Sora's pleas to Duel him again.

Shay was in LID's monitoring room when Sora escaped from the hospital, and identified Yuto when Sora encountered him, explaining to Declan who he was. He demanded to be allowed to go and help Yuto several times, but Declan refused to let him. When the images of the area were lost due to Yugo's arrival, followed by the detection of a Synchro Summon, Shay realized that Yuto was Dueling the so-called Pawn of Fusion. Two days after Claude retrieved Yuto's Duel Disk, Shay wanted to talk to Declan, saying that he hadn't been able to contact Yuto since his disappearance, but Claude refused to let him disturb Declan, and kept Shay in the dark about Yuto's Duel Disk. Later, while watching Yuya's Duel with Isao Kachidoki, Shay expressed shock when the former Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", questioning why Yuto's card was in Yuya's possession. Convinced that Yuya knew what happened to Yuto, Shay decided to confront Yuya directly, but Declan stopped him by reminding him of their plan to use the tournament as a way to reach Leo. Shay sighed and left, with Claude promising to Declan that he would keep Shay under surveillance.

Shay defeated his next Championship opponent, Charles from Knight of Duels, in a one-sided match. Shay was later present in Declan's office, instead of in the stadium with the other Junior Youth competitors, when Declan rounded up the Top 8 Duelists from the Maiami Youth Championship. After Declan briefed them about the upcoming Battle Royal, he turned to Shay and reminded him that his duty was to observe the Junior Youth Duelists and find the ones with enough potential to join the Lancers. Shay complained that that would mean he couldn't Duel in the next round, stating that he would have no choice but to participate if the Youth Duelists lost, prompting a spiteful response from Yuu Sakuragi. In response, he contemptuously told the Youth Duelists to do their best to stay alive and then left for the stadium, which he entered just as the Battle Royal was about to begin.

Although he was not seen in the opening ceremony, Shay participated in the Battle Royal to determinate potential Lancers candidates. His first encounter was on the Ruins Area of "Wonder Quartet", where he encountered Ashley, Bram and Carl, students of Knights of Duels who want to avenge their companion Charles. He accepted their challenge and Dueled the three at the same time, easily defeating them with "Rise Falcon" in a single attack. Shay walked away, thinking they were unfit for the Lancers. He waited in the Ruins Area, where he encountered Yuya. They exchanged questions about each other, but Shay was angry that Yuya had Yuto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", and accused him of harming Yuto. Yuya denied this claiming that he did not know what happened, but Yuto entrusted the card to him to make people smile with his Duels.

Before the two could continue their conversation, the previously defeated Knights of Duels students performed a Battle Royal between themselves with Yuya and Shay at the center launching attacks with their three "Assault Knight Slash" in order to physically harm the duo while keeping themselves alive through its effect. They further provoked them that they were "Dueling" and if they are displeased, they could join their Duel and pay the 2000 LP penalty for intrusion. The attack blew away both Shay and Yuya from each other. They caught a glimpse of Sora and members of the Obelisk Force. Sora declared his intentions of getting revenge on Shay and challenged him to a Duel. Ignoring Yuya's pleas, Sora instructed the Obelisk Force to deal with any interference, as the two left to have their Duel. Shay started strongly, bringing out three "Raidraptor - Force Strix" on his first turn and maximizing their ATK, before launching his attack. When questioned if he wasn't fighting seriously by Sora, Shay replied that he was always serious when he Dueled, even if he was facing a worthless opponent.

After a protracted Duel, Sora eventually Fusion Summoned "Frightfur Tiger" and used it to destroy all of Shay's monsters, defeating him and knocking him out of the temple door, past Selena, and down the steps. Badly injured, Shay was rescued by Selena, and further saved when Sora caught up to them by Hikage, who stayed behind to Duel Sora, and Tsukikage, who accompanied Selena and Shay. Three Obelisk Force members approached Selena, requesting that she come with them, but Selena refused, and Shay stepped protectively in front of her. They began a Duel, and Shay tried to take the first turn, but Tsukikage initiated instead and protected them with his "Ninjitsu Art" cards, reassuring Shay when he asked that this was nothing compared to Shay's injuries. Shay tried to take his turn again after the Obelisk Force had all done so, but was this time upstaged by Selena, who he was shocked to see Fusion Summon. Shay witnessed Michio Mokota and Teppei Tairyobata's entrance into the Duel and their subsequent defeat and sealing, as well as the arrival of Silvio Sawatari, who saved Tsukikage from the same fate.

However, even with Silvio's help, the Obelisk Force still got the upper hand by Summoning "Ancient Gear Ultimate Hound Dog". Shay told Silvio and the others to back down, but before he could start, Gong Strong interfered and gave Shay two of Silvio's Pendulum Monsters, "Abyss Actor - Devil Heel" and "Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian" by using the effects of "Superheavy Samurai Courier" and two copies "Superheavy Samurai Thief". Shay asked why he gave him Pendulum cards, which Gong answered that the rest was up to him to decide. Shay thought about the people who had helped him and were sealed into cards and finally decided to Pendulum Summon. He Pendulum Summoned three copies of "Raidraptor - Wild Vulture" and then used them to Xyz Summon "Revolution Falcon". Shay attacked all three of the Obelisk Force's monsters with it, winning the Duel for him and his allies. Afterwards, Shay went to go and watch the Duel between Sora and Yuya which ended without a result since the Battle Royal timer had ran out. Sora escaped back to the Fusion Dimension, but Declan arrived and with Silvio, explained that they had passed the test to become Lancers.

Different Dimensions
Shay learned that Selena had switched clothes with Zuzu Boyle to come and ask him about what had happened in the Xyz Dimension. When Yuya challenged Declan to a Duel, Declan used "Future Metropolis Heartland" again for the Action Field, much to Shay's fury. He refused to talk about his traumatic past to the new Lancers, so Declan explained the basics of what had happened. Selena revealed to Shay that she had originally come to Standard to fight him. When he questioned Selena about what Zuzu had asked her, Shay confirmed what Zuzu had said; that Duel Academy students had hunted innocent people as if it were a game and that their faces and laughter would be forever in his memory. He then asked Selena why she resembled Ruri. He was surprised when he realized that Yuya's Pendulum-Xyz Summoning had likely been born out of Yuya's promise to Yuto and shocked to see the Summoning of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon".

The following day, Declan gathered the Lancers, including his little brother Reira. Shay was dismissive of the boy, believing that he wouldn't last against Duel Academy, but Declan revealed that they were instead going to the Synchro Dimension to recruit allies in their fight against Duel Academy. Shay was angry that they weren't taking the fight directly to Duel Academy and wanted to go there by himself, but Selena claimed that it would be suicidal for him to do so, and reassured Shay that Ruri would be as well-treated there as Selena herself had been. Shay was still angry at Yuya for taking Yuto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card, but Yuto communicated to Shay from within Yuya. He told him that Yuya was an ally that they could depend on and trust. When Shay snapped back to reality, Yuya asked him what was wrong and the former replied it was nothing. Declan explained to the group that he'd upgraded their Duel Disks to travel across dimensions and produce an Action Field, and they departed for the Synchro Dimension.

Shay arrived alone in the Synchro Dimension, assuming that everyone else had been trapped between dimensions. He heard rumors of an Underground Dueling Arena where Duelists Dueled with their all and managed to gain access to it with the intention to recruit more allies. Finding the Duelists to be below his expectations, Shay quickly became a crowd favorite, defeating nine Duelists in a row, including Hunter Pace in Turbo Duels. Dennis Macfield and Gong arrived, having been picked up by the arena's owner Gallager, and Shay explained his intention to win his way into the Friendship Cup and Duel the Duel King, Jack Atlas.

Gallager ended up pitting Shay against Dennis in a Turbo Duel after the two directed mild barbs at one another. Since it was his tenth game in his winning streak, Shay was handicapped with a 1000 LP start, but he swiftly inflicted damage to Dennis. Dennis was able to prevent game ending damage and Shay did the same, using "Rank-Up-Magic Raid Force" to call out "Blaze Falcon" and nearly defeat Dennis. He was surprised at the intensity of Dennis's Dueling, given that Dennis was an LID student and grew suspicious. Dennis responded that he was indeed from LID and performed a Pendulum Summon on his next turn. Dennis performed a Pendulum-Xyz Summon to bring out "Performage Shadow Maker" and destroy "Blaze Falcon", but Shay avoided damage and brought out "Revolution Falcon" using "Revolution Force". Despite this, Dennis was able to Summon another "Shadow Maker" using the effect of the first one. Before the Duel could end, however, their Duel Runners were deactivated and they were sent tumbling, and were then arrested by Security.

Upon arriving at the Facility, Shay got into a fight with ten other prisoners and was sent to solitary confinement as a result. He heard the cheering during Yuya's Duel with the prisoner "boss", Chojiro Tokumatsu. Later, Shay resolved to break out of the Facility by himself. He climbed to the ceiling of the cell to trick the guards into coming in to look for him. As soon as they did, Shay broke out into the hallways and knocked the guards out with ease. He ran into Gong, who was part of a larger-scale breakout and had come to break Shay out himself. Shay claimed that he didn't need Gong, but he led him to a storage room to reclaim theirs and Dennis' Duel Disks, refusing to leave while unarmed. He intervened when Gong failed to save Yuya, Silvio, and Chojiro from the Arrest Corps. He took advantage of the lack of Level of "Rise Falcon" to bypass the effect of the Corps' "Goyo King" and defeat them. They regrouped with the rest of the escaped Lancers in addition to fellow escapees Crow Hogan, Shinji Weber, and Damon Lopez, but when they attempted to swim from the Facility, they were arrested personally by Security Director Jean-Michel Roger. Envoys of the Executive Council intervened on their behalf, and the Lancers were inducted into the Friendship Cup, with Shay set up to Duel against Dennis on the second day of the tournament in the first round.

Shay Dueled Dennis again in the final Duel of the second day of the Friendship Cup. Suspecting that Dennis was an agent of Duel Academy, he vowed to prove it during their Duel. Shay started off much the same as their previous Duel, using "Raidraptor Devil Eagle" to inflict early damage to Dennis. Dennis called out four Xyz Monsters, but Shay defended with "Revolution Falcon" and used "Raidraptor - Target Flag" in an attempt to force Dennis to reveal his hand upon the destruction of "Performage Trapeze Magician". He was able to break through Dennis's defense, accusing him of using tactics that weren't taught at LID, and he destroyed "Trapeze Magician". Dennis grimly revealed the card in his hand - "Polymerization", revealing that he was indeed from Duel Academy when he performed a Fusion Summon, bringing out "Ancient Gear Chaos Giant". Remembering the monster from the attack on Heartland, Shay faced the now darkly talking Dennis, refusing to allow the monster to rampage again.

Ruri
Shay shows a fierce determination to rescue his younger sister and tends to overreact when someone mentions her, to the point of threatening his own best friend, Yuto, for stopping him from reaching a potential lead. When he mistook Zuzu for her, he was shocked and wondered how she "escaped" and called her Ruri again before fainting when Yuto punched him.

Yuto
Yuto and Shay are comrades, and Yuto refers to Shay as his best friend. Shay showed no concern when Yuto Dueled Sora Perse as he was confident in Yuto's skill. However, they seem to have contradicting views regarding their methodology as they seem to work separately while in pursuit of the same goal, but seem to remain in contact with each other on occasions. Shay displayed concern when Yuto disappeared after his Duel with Yugo, and later demanded Yuya to explain what happened to Yuto and why he has the "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card.

Declan Akaba
As Declan is the son of his claimed enemy Leo Akaba, Shay originally saw him as a target and his attacks on LID were aimed entirely at luring out Declan and capturing him to use as leverage against Leo. After realizing that they both see Leo as an enemy, Shay agreed to work with him on his plans. Shay is shown to not fully trust Declan and is frequently annoyed when his demands to take action are refused, forcing him to stay back and watch. Declan often has to request his subordinates keep Shay under vigilance to ensure he doesn't do anything reckless that can affect his plans to recruit Lancers. In spite of his annoyance, Shay usually relents and follows Declan's instructions.

Deck
Shay runs a "Raidraptor" Deck, focusing on Xyz Summoning using monsters with the same name. Like Yuto, his Deck also features cards that can activate in the Graveyard. He has a considerable edge against multiple opponents due to the powerful effects of his ace monster, which takes advantage of his opponent's Special Summoned monsters, reflecting his hatred against Fusion Summoning.

His Deck also features "Rank-Up-Magic" cards, allowing him to perform Rank-Ups to Summon enhanced versions of his Xyz Monsters that are geared to destroy and/or deal damage to the opponent through their effects. However since "Rise Falcon" and its upgraded forms suffer from very low original ATK, Shay supports them with many Spell and Trap Cards (including Action Cards) to prolong their longevity as well as prevent his opponents from protecting themselves when Shay's monsters go on the offensive. His skill with these cards is said to be honed through real combat experience. Following the Resistance's belief that the enemy will likely capture their allies, he includes some cards that allow him to recover control of monsters the opponent steals, such as "Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force" and "Rescue Xyz".

Shay's Deck also features a loop, focusing on Xyz Summoning multiple copies of "Raidraptor - Force Strix", using its searching abilities alongside his "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius" and "Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius" to quickly overpower his opponent with multiple monsters while maintaining hand advantage.