Quick author's note: This took a little longer than I thought it would, but here it is. Beforehand, though, I'd like to thank everyone who followed, subscribed, reviewed, and above all else, just plain read this story. It really helps me to know what I'm doing well, and I really do appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. And hang in there, because these things are about to get wild after this chapter. All right, all that aside, let's get rolling, shall we?

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Chapter 2: The Chance of a Lifetime

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At 3:00 p.m. on the dot, Yuya and Yuzu walked down the hallways of Maiami Second Middle School, like any other day. Yuya stretched and placed his hands behind his head, staring up at the never-ending expanse of blue sky in the balmy springtime that met them outside the building; Yuzu, to his left, kept pace with him, her pink hair bouncing with each step as she thought of something.

"Say, Yuya." Her fingers clutched her gray satchel tighter.

"Eh?" Yuya felt the temptation to take his eyes away from the sky, but couldn't bring himself to do it. "Something on your mind, Yuzu?"

"You know we're getting that new student today, right?" Yuzu looked at Yuya, trying to follow his gaze, to no avail. "That Tatsuya Yamashiro."

"Ah, yeah, that's right," Yuya said, as though he had forgotten the past twenty-four hours of his life. "It's been a while since we've had a new student, right?"

Yuzu nodded, though Yuya, still staring into the endless blue, didn't catch the motion. "The last one was Ayu."

"Ah, that's right, isn't it?"

Yuzu nodded again. "That's right."

"Well, I guess now she won't be the new–"

Yuya's sentence was broken as he fell backwards, on his behind. He rubbed his backside, groaning "ow, ow, ow," and looked at the person he had just bumped into, who gave him a sharp scowl back.

"Oi, watch where you're going next time, bastard!" came a fiery response from the boy, dressed in the same school uniform as Yuya, his nostrils flaring with each word. He had neatly-kempt brown hair, dyed a golden-blond in the front. The boy stood up, brushing his jacket off, careful to wipe off every fleck of dust.

"S-Sorry," Yuya stammered. Yuzu placed her satchel at her side, helping Yuya get to his feet. "I wasn't watching where I was going and…"

"Save it," the boy said curtly, "and make sure he doesn't happen again." He turned his back on the two.

"Hey!" Yuzu huffed. "He said he was sorry. What more do you want?"

"I said save it, didn't I?" the boy said over his shoulder. "He's lucky I didn't press charges. My father is a very important and influential man in this town, you know, and I could easily have him…"

The brown-haired boy looked over his shoulder to see Yuya and Yuzu walking the other way, continuing their own conversation as if the altercation had never happened.

"O-oi!" shouted the brown-haired boy. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

But Yuya and Yuzu were already out of earshot, so the boy grimaced at the ground, turned the other way, and began to walk home.

"You really should watch where you're going, you know," chided Yuzu as they continued on their way to You Show.

"Yeah, my bad." Yuya chuckled, almost nervously, and rubbed the nape of his neck. "I was just so excited about the idea of another person being enrolled in You Show."

Yuzu, understanding what Yuya really meant, smiled. "You mean because of your father, right? Because he was the one who created the school?"

Yuya nodded with a smile, unconsciously clutching the pendant around his neck. "If he were here right now, I'm sure he'd be just as excited as I am. Maybe even more so. That school was his legacy, after all."

It was at times like these that Yuzu wondered, though she would never say it aloud, if Yuya was curious about the whereabouts of his father, Yusho, after the past three years. She wondered, sometimes, what it felt like not to have a father around at all. Even as overbearing and embarrassing as hers could be, she was still grateful for his presence.

"Then we'd better hurry," Yuzu smirked. "If we make it there ahead of time, maybe you can duel Tatsuya before my dad starts the lecture."

Yuya smiled at the thought. "I'll race you there."

"You're on," Yuzu said, giving him a smile of her own.

"On three," Yuya said. "One…two…"

But Yuzu had already taken off before Yuya had gotten to two, giggling as she raced down the sidewalks. Determination etched itself on her face like paint on a canvas.

"N-no fair, Yuzu!" Yuya shouted as he ran ahead, trying desperately to keep in line with Yuzu's strides.

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"I win," Yuzu grinned, leaning against the front entrance of the You Show school. "Better luck next time, though."

"You wouldn't have gotten that far ahead if you waited until three," Yuya panted, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Yuzu shrugged. "Guess we won't know for sure." She turned and held the front door open for Yuya. "Shall we?"

Yuya grumbled something under his breath as the two of them marched into the school. The silence was instantly jarring; Yuya was taken aback by the sound of his footsteps echoing against the linoleum foyer floor.

"Weird," he muttered. "It's usually not this quiet around here."

"Ayu?" Yuzu called out. "Futoshi? Dad?"

No response was issued. Only their footsteps responded to their voices.

"Maybe they're all on the third floor," Yuya said. "Your dad might have started class early."

"That's not likely," Yuzu said, knowing her father's promptness more often than not left something to be desired. "Though since they're not here, we probably should check up there."

"Right." Yuya said, clicking the elevator's up button, and the two piled into the elevator as the doors opened.

Yuya instantly felt a wave of heat come across his cheeks as he realized, for the first time, just how small the school's elevator was. He briefly remembered his conversation with Yuzu about LDS the day before, and he wondered if their elevators were that enclosed.

The elevator dinged, announcing their passing of the second floor.

"Say, Yuya."

Yuya, for what seemed like the first time that afternoon, looked at Yuzu.

"You remember yesterday when we were talking about LDS?" Yuzu broke her eye contact for a moment.

Yuya nodded. "I remember."

She opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to decide against it. She shook her head, giving a small but defeated smile. "No, it's nothing."

"Yuzu, if…" Again, Yuya found one of his sentences broken, this time by the ding of the elevator as the doors opened, revealing the third floor.

"My, my," said a distant, familiar voice. A figure rose from the couch facing the elevator doors. "There's the man of the hour now. Sakaki Yuya!"

Though Yuya hadn't before met the man, who was now energetically shaking his hand so hard he thought it might fall off, he certainly knew who he was.

"Y-you're…Nico Smiley," Yuya gasped. "The manager of…"

"Strong Ishijima," Nico finished, bowing to Yuya. "Or should I say, the manager-slash-promoter? At your service."

From the chair behind Nico, Shuzo waved at Yuya and Yuzu. Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya were standing beside him.

"Yuzu, Yuya," he said.

"Strong Ishijima, the current duel champion?" Yuzu said hesitantly, looking from her father to Nico Smiley to Yuya and back to her father. "Dad, what's going on here?"

"Well," Shuzo began, pausing to take a second to consider his words, "well, the thing is…"

Nico Smiley put a hand up. "Allow me," he said, turning to Yuya. He cleared his throat and began to speak, as though he had memorized the words like a mantra:

"Yuya, how would you like a chance to duel Strong Ishijima in your father's stead?"

Yuya's eyes widened instantaneously. "Eh?" He pointed to himself in disbelief. "Me?"

"That's right," Nico said. "After all, it was your wish those three years ago, wasn't it?"

"My wish…" Yuya put a considerable amount of space in between the words, then closed his eyes, replaying the past in his mind's eye.

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"Dad's definitely going to defeat Strong Ishijima and keep his title, won't he?" An eleven year old Yuya asked his mother over the cheers of the crowd. The sky was dark and the brightness of the spotlights on the dueling field gave it a heavenly appearance. Not waiting for his mother's response, he said, "There's no way that he's ever gonna lose his title!" He paused and, with a chuckle, added, "At least until I duel him for it!"

"Yes," said Yuya's mother, Yoko. She looked absently at the stadium arena. "He'll definitely come out and win."

Minutes passed, and after what seemed like hours of standing there, Strong Ishijima waited in his corner of the arena. He grabbed the microphone attached to his headset and shouted, "Show yourself, Sakaki Yusho! Just because you're the current champion doesn't mean you can keep me waiting!"

But no reply was issued. The crowd became restless. Voices drifted on the air, filling Yuya's head with acrimonious words – "coward, cheat, weakling, quitter." They were words he had only heard in television shows, never those to describe another person, let alone his father.

The duel's announcer resounded over the loud speakers. "Here we are at the Action Duel Championship Finals, but where is our current champion? Where is Yusho Sakaki?"

And above it all came Strong Ishijima's voice:

"What, got cold feet, Yusho? Are you going to run away from me in front of everyone?"

Yuya couldn't contain his feelings any longer. He raced past his mother, running to the edge of the inner stadium. He pounded his fists against the metal railings, tears streaking his face as he did so, raised his voice as high as it could go, and shouted for Strong Ishijima, for the audience, for his father, for anyone and everyone to hear, that he would duel against Strong Ishijima in his father's place until he returned.

Spectators turned to Yuya. Yoko ran toward her son, trying to pull him away from the railing. Before she succeeded, Yuya yelled, "I'll never run away from you!"

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He still remembered his words perfectly – it was rare that a week went by without him thinking of that day, of that promise: "I'll never run away from you."

Yuya shook his head violently, bringing himself back into reality. He clutched his father's pendant so hard he thought the blue crystal might break under the weight of his hand.

"Wait," Yuzu interrupted with a hand to her chest, prompting all eyes to focus on her. She stared at Shuzo. "Dad, how can you be okay with this?"

"Well…the thing is," Shuzo stuttered. Truthfully, he was having regrets, too. He understood how Yuya must have felt on that day. He hadn't formally accepted Nico Smiley's offer, and he didn't necessarily want to, but it seemed too good to pass up.

"Of course," Nico added quickly, "this won't be a simple publicity stunt for Strong Ishijima; I made sure of that myself. No, as the school that is sponsoring Yuya, we are more than eager to donate a brand new, state-of-the-art Real-Solid Vision System to You Show, free of charge!"

Yuzu watched her father blanch a little at this information. In that moment she wondered if he had been thinking the same thing as her, worrying about the enrollment competition at LDS. Worrying if You Show could compete against them. She wouldn't condone her father's methods, but she could understand them.

Nico Smiley pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, staring intently at Yuya. "At the thought of Yusho Sakaki's fans seeing his son duel, I couldn't contain my excitement," he said, reaching for the coffee table behind him and grabbing a magazine. He opened it to a dog-eared page and pointed at a picture of Yuya. "That's why I took the liberty of already preparing this duel in advance. It will be tomorrow at noon."

"Why go so far?" Yuzu said under her breath, afraid of saying the words any louder.

"Of course," Nico said in a higher pitch, as though he had heard Yuzu's complaint, "we don't wish to force you into anything you're not willing to do, Yuya. You're free to cancel the duel against Strong Ishijima – that is if you really want to."

He pushed his glasses up further, and for the first time his eyes adopted a look of solemnity.

"Of course, I wouldn't recommend doing such a thing. An experience like this doesn't just happen every day. It's the chance of a lifetime."

"A duel against Strong Ishijima," Ayu said, more to herself than her friends.

"I definitely wouldn't turn it down," Futoshi nodded. "Something like that could never happen twice."

Tatsuya, as he had been doing for the entirety of the conversation, looked from Ayu and Futoshi to Shuzo to Yuzu and finally to Nico Smiley and Yuya. He wondered if this type of thing was par for the course when it came to You Show.

"What's important right now how Yuya feels about this."

The three children turned to see Gongenzaka leaning against the doorframe. How long he had been there listening to the conversation was anyone's guess.

"It's his decision to make," Gongenzaka added.

Yuya felt a strange pressure inside him as he looked at his feet. He didn't need to look up to know that everyone was watching him, watching his every move and scrutinizing him like the audience had scrutinized his father three years ago. He felt some feeling welling up inside him, but he couldn't assign a name to the emotion.

Wordlessly, his fingers fiddled with the goggles atop his head, and he pulled them over his eyes. "I have to go," he said, quickly enough to where it all came out as one word. He bolted for the door and didn't stop running, not even when he heard what must have been everyone in the room shouting his name.

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It was sunset. Yuya stood on his porch, taking a deep breath. He opened the front door of his house, and despite how quietly he tried to close it, he still heard his mother's voice rise from the other room: "Yuya, is that you?"

Yuya tried to smile as wide as he could, tried to make his voice energetic and light, like normal. He looked at himself in the vanity mirror on the wall, at the goggles that still covered his eyes and the broken half-smile painted on his face. He pondered whether his mother had replaced it with a funhouse mirror in his absence or not. "Yeah, Mom. I'll be in my room. I've got a lot of homework to do tonight."

Before Yuya could take two steps, his mother appeared from the kitchen, a dirtied apron hanging over her teal blouse and dropping down to the middle of her blue jeans. She wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt, getting pinches of flour on her forehead and in her golden hair. Yuya watched her hoop earrings swing back and forth as she walked closer to him. The motion reminded him of a pendulum.

"You, doing homework on Friday?" she looked him up and down, then touched his forehead with the back of her hand. When she pulled it away, a flour tattoo appeared in between his eyes. "You're not sick, are you?"

Yuya looked to the side. "No. I'm just…" He thought of Nico Smiley's proposition, deciding something.

"Eh?" Yoko stared at her son, watching as the sunset turned his hair an auburn hue. "What's wrong, Yuya?"

Yuya looked at his mother through his goggles. "I was asked to participate in a duel against Strong Ishijima tomorrow, in Dad's place. The man, this Nico Smiley – Strong Ishijima's manager – he reminded me that it was my wish from three years ago."

Yoko's countenance darkened in the setting sun.

"Is that so?" she said.

"It's true," he continued. "It's true that three years ago, I…I promised Ishijima that I would duel for him until Dad came back. But, now…"

Yuya looked at the ground, watching his mother's shadow expand and contract in the orange light. He balled his fingers into fists and through clenched teeth said, "What should I do? I just don't know what to do."

Yoko took another step forward, crouched down, and removed Yuya's goggles and placing them on top of his messy hair. His gaze instantly shifted to his mother's compassionate face, her understanding eyes. He rubbed his eyes.

"I can't tell you what to do," Yoko said.

"But…"

"I can only tell you that you should follow your heart, wherever it leads you. You can't do anything if you're frozen in fear."

Yuya's mouth propped open as he remembered his father saying those exact same words.

"Take a step forward and have courage," Yoko said, donning her best impression of her husband. She smiled. It wasn't much, but for Yuya it was something. "Isn't that what your father would tell you?"

"Mom…"

"It's your decision, Yuya. Don't let anyone else make it for you. Just remember that you have the power to make your own future based on what you do in the present."

And with that, Yoko stood up, brushed her apron off, and walked back.

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes," she said, stepping into the kitchen and disappearing behind the wall.

Yuya looked out the window, watching the cars zoom by, watching the seagulls flying over the river, watching the sun set in the distance.

From the kitchen, he heard the phone ring. He heard his mother groan and wipe her hands together. "Hello?" she said. "Yes, this is his mother." Yoko's voice became softer, more indistinguishable.

Dad...Yuya thought. He thought of his father's words. Take a step forward and have courage. He watched a seagull fly in and out of view, gliding against the glinting water of the harbor outside the window.

"The power to make my own future," he repeated. He removed his pendant and clutched it in his hands. He swung it back and forth, watching it move from side to side like a pendulum.

Swing, pendulum, he thought as the movement of the pendant begin to slow. More, and even more. He stood this way for a while, watching the outside world like a stranger and thinking about the past, thinking about his promise that day, thinking about his future until, ten minutes later, his mother called him for dinner.

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The following day, at 10 o'clock in the morning, the stadium was alive with electric energy. Blimps and jets flew over, spelling cloudy words in the sky. Rows of photogenic cheerleaders waving around golden pompoms danced on the ground. There wasn't an empty seat anywhere in the stadium. It seemed as though the entirety of Maiami City had come from far and wide just for this event. Parents and their children, men in business attire, women wearing outfits more fitting for an opera than sitting on the bleachers and watching a duel.

It was around this time that Yuzu and her father, Gongenzaka, and Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya walked through the entryway. The scorching sun made them shield their eyes as they looked frantically from side to side.

"Do you see him yet?" Yuzu asked. She had called Yuya twice the night before, and once that morning, but he hadn't replied. She briefly thought of him, how he had ran out of the room when Nico Smiley requested an answer to his proposition, and she wondered if Yuya would be there at all.

"No." Gongenzaka shook his head. He looked at the unrecognizable faces in the bleachers, then at the dueling field, which was empty save for one man wearing a tacky pinstripe suit. "All I see is…"

A microphone-enhanced voice drowned out the remainder of Gongenzaka's observation. The members of You Show recognized the owner of the voice as Nico Smiley.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it's time for the main event of the day! I hope you're as excited as I am!"

The crowd cheered, stamped their feet, threw their hands up, and shouted until their voices became raspy.

"I'm glad to hear it, because facing our current Duel Champion, Strong Ishijima, is none other than the son of Yusho Sakaki, the pioneer of Action Duels and preceding Duel Champion. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Yuya Sakaki!"

"So he decided to come after all…" Yuzu held her hand over her chest.

"Big brother Yuya," Futoshi and Ayu said together.

"Is he really thinking of challenging the current Duel Champion?" Gongenzaka sputtered.

"I wonder if that Nico Smiley was serious about that brand new Real Solid Vision machine," Shuzo muttered under his breath, tapping his chin with a finger. His comment elicited a swift, hard smack across the back of his head, administered by Yuzu's paper fan.

'Pursuant to the regulations of Action Dueling, it's time that we set the frontier, isn't it?" But first, we need a field!" Nico Smiley grinned. He took a couple steps forward, and the You Show students saw him standing in the middle of the field. He held his hand out, and an Action Card fell from the sky.

"Oh, it's a good one today!" he said. "Field Magic, Frontier Fang Castle, activate!"

The underside of one of the blimps overhead retracted, and a Real Solid Vision machine descended from inside it. Some of the smaller children in the stands pointed in awe as the circles surrounding the machine started to brighten. Cones of light fell on the ground, on the bleachers, on the clouds in the sky, and then everything all at once changed.

Motes of light sprinkled on the stadium field. The highest ones fell down, creating a majestic castle made of goldenrod bricks. The top of the castle stood seventy-five feet above the ground. The entire thing was perched on a mountainous fragmentation of rocks, while smaller towers encircled the large one. A moat of shrubberies and trees – oaks, pines, maples, and cedars – sealed the castle in isolation.

Still, a figure, small in the distance from where the You Show crew stood, moved atop the castle. His face appeared in the monitors that surrounded the stadium, muscular and serious. His hair was purple and arranged in neatly symmetrical spikes, which ended in a longer ponytail. Red face paint edged around his eyes. The man's garb, studded and plated, resembled something militaristic as opposed to that of a duelist.

"What's this?" Nico Smiley shouted in the microphone, grinning from ear to atop. "On top of the castle there!" He pointed to the man. "Could it be? It is! It's Strong Ishijima, the reigning champion of Action Duels for the past three years!"

Ishijima beat the air upward with his fists, then put them in front of his face. His aggressive stance remained unbreakable.

"And our challenger of the day, who has come to duel him in his father's place, Yu…"

"Ladies and gentlemen!"

The voice, overpowering even Nico Smiley's, also came from the castle. Strong Ishijima quickly turned around to see Yuya standing behind him. How he had gotten up there without the Strong Ishijima knowing was uncertain, even to Nico Smiley, who had specifically told Yuya to stay in the waiting room until his name was called.

"Today we have a very special duel for you," Yuya laughed, saying this. "Don't look away, not even for one second, or you might just miss it!"

"So you're Yusho's son," Strong Ishijima said. "Well, then, after I beat you, maybe your father stop running and come to face me like he should have three years ago. Only then will my Champion title be fulfilled."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Yuya, still smiling. "After all, you'll have to beat me first, won't you?"

"That shouldn't take long."

"We'll just see about that," Yuya replied. "Now, then, allow me the honor of dueling with you, Champion." He stretched every syllable in the word.

"It's beginning!" Nico Smiley announced. "The fated duel between Strong Ishijima and Yusho Sakaki's predecessor, Yuya Sakaki!"

Yuya threw his arm over his head, and his Duel Disk, now reading "Duel Mode: Standby," unfolded its black tray. Strong Ishijima did the same with his black Duel Disk.

"Let's see how good you are, Champion." Again, Yuya tinged Strong Ishijima's title with a hint of sarcasm.

"How good I am," Ishijima repeated, clearly losing his patience with Yuya. "I'm going to enjoy giving you a much-needed lesson in discipline. Consider it a parting gift; it was meant for your father."

Yuya felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face at Ishijima's threat, but he couldn't but smile. He became acutely aware of his heartbeat, pounding against the chest. He became aware of the sounds of the crowd, the shouts and hollers.

So this is a true Entertainment Duel, he thought to himself. He was ready to prove himself.

"It looks like our players are ready," Nico Smiley shouted. He turned his back to the castle and made his way to the commentator's booth. "Now if both players will draw their cards…"

Yuya and Strong Ishijima made five draws.

Nico Smiley cleared his throat. "Join me if you know this one…Duelists locked in battle!"

The audience joined in. "Kicking against the earth and dancing alongside their monsters! They storm through this field!"

And even Ayu and Futoshi caught themselves saying the rest, "Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action…"

"Duel!" the duelists shouted.

And with a snap of Nico Smiley's fingers, a flurry of Action Cards fell on the field.

(Yuya Sakaki: 4000 LP/Strong Ishijima: 4000 LP)

"Let's make a fun duel," Yuya said, flashing his opponent a smile.

"Fun?" Strong Ishijima repeated the word as though it was on fire.

"I'll take the first move," declared the crimson-eyed boy, looking at the five cards in his hand. Then he looked up, out at the audience. His smile widened as he imagined how his father must have felt in situations like these. Dad, please watch me. I'll bring my best Entertainment Duel in your stead.

"Hey, are you going to take your turn?" Ishijima asked.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to keep the audience waiting." Yuya cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Ladies and gentlemen! Watch closely as we bring you the strongest Action Duel!"

He grabbed a card.

"For my first act, I summon Entermate Skullcrobat Joker!"

A light, bubbly laugh filled the arena as a monster formed. Unlike many of its allies, this one was a human male with blond hair. He wore black and purple parachute pants, pointed shoes, a black mask over his eyes, and a blue bowtie. The coattails of his shirt moved in the zephyr. He tipped his patchy purple top hat and bowed. (1800 ATK)

Gripping the castle bricks, he climbed to the very top, perching himself on the edge of the turret. Skullcrobat Joker followed, standing a few feet in front of him. From here, Yuya could see everyone in the crowd.

"Get down from there, brat!" Ishijima shouted. "Face me like a true duelist. Or are you going to follow in your father's lead?"

The comments didn't faze Yuya. Instead, he retreated behind his monster and held up three fingers. "One, two, three!"

With a click of his fingers, Skullcrobat Joker tipped its hat, spilling a distracting stream of confetti and fireworks. When the pyrotechnics stopped, Ishijima and the crowd looked at the empty ether where the boy had been.

"Where'd he go?" A couple voices from the crowd wondered. A few snickers preceded one man's comment, which came loud enough for the You Show spectators to hear: "Maybe he ran away like his father. Cowardice must run in his family."

Yuzu's anger bubbled under her skin. She started to approach her when Gongenzaka put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't waste your time with them," he said. "Yuya will pull through in the end."

Frowning, Yuzu nodded in understanding.

"Look!" Tatsuya shouted, pointing to one of the trees, spotting a hint of movement. The others turned their heads to one of the oak trees in the Action Field. Standing on one of the leafy branches was Yuya, taking a bow with Skullcrobat Joker.

"Tada!" he said, grinning wildly at his own antics.

"So that's what he was planning," Yuzu said.

"Just like his father."

Yuzu, Shuzo, Gongenzaka, and the three children of You Show turned to see Yoko standing behind them, arms crossed over her chest.

"Yoko," Shuzo said, surprised to see her. She hadn't been to a live duel in three years, as he well knew.

Yoko took a step closer, adding, "Seeing him there now reminds me of him." A smile crossed her lips.

"I activate Entermate Skullcrobat Joker's effect," Yuya said, returning to his normal posture. "When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can add one Entermate, Magician, or Odd-Eyes monster to my hand from my deck. With this effect…"

He grabbed his deck, smiling as he plucked a card from the middle.

"I add Odd-Eyes Dragon to my hand!"

"Big bro Yuya's ace!" Ayu cheered.

"I'm getting shivers already!" Futoshi added, shaking like gelatin.

"I set one card facedown," Yuya called, placing the card behind Skullcrobat Joker. It appeared momentarily, only to be swallowed by the foliage. "You're up now, Champion." He made sure to emphasize the last word.

"Hmph…I'll teach you your place, brat," Ishijima said. "Draw!"

He drew, turning the card around for Yuya and the audience to see.

"I summon Battleguard #3!"

A muscular blue ogre appeared before Ishijima. It had downward-pointing horns, a purple mullet and tuft of hair on its chest, and bearskin cuffs on its wrists and ankles. Its loincloth flapped in the breeze of its heavy spiked club. (1000 ATK)

"Battleguard #3's effect activates," said Ishijima. "When this monster is summoned, I can Special Summon, from my hand, Battleguard #4."

A portly brown ogre digitalized next to its comrade. It was garbed in nothing but a purple toga and similar bearskin cuffs. Its horns were intermingled in its wavy blue hair, which reached halfway down its back. It, too, carried a spiked club. (1200 ATK)

"What? Two monsters in one go?" Yuya looked up at the tower, shifting his gaze from the Battleguards to Ishijima.

"That's not all," Ishijima continued, taking another card. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Precious Cards from Beyond!"

The card materialized before Ishijima's feet.

"This card works as follows," he said. "Each time that I Advance Summon a monster using two or more Tributes, I can draw two cards."

Yuya pointed to the first Battleguard monster. "But you already Normal Summoned."

"Naïve." Ishijima turned behind him. With his advanced knowledge of the Action Field, he knew just where an Action Card would be. He walked into the castle, taking his time, and grabbed a card, smiling when he saw what it was.

"Action Magic, activate! Summon Chain!"

Yuya gritted his teeth, knowing what was going to happen. From behind him he heard a few cheers from the audience.

"Summon Chain, when activated, allows me to perform an additional Normal Summon during my turn," Ishijima said, "but only for that of an Advance Summon. Luckily…"

He turned another card in his hand around.

"I release the Battleguard #3 and Battleguard #4 on my field! Advance Summon!"

The Battleguards roared one final time before jumping off the tower. They turned into particles of light before a monster three times their size took form. It was crimson and muscular with spiked gray armor that resembled claws. Uneven horns were attached to its helmet, the left one pierced with a brass earring. Studded gauntlets wrapped around its wrists, and it carried a club in one hand that was almost as big as it was. It held its club in the air, eclipsing the blistering sun. (3000 ATK)

"Come forth from the depths of the hidden wood, crushing the giant trees in your way. King of savages, ruler of the wild. Battleguard King!"

Yuya grunted. "3000 ATK…"

"It's too early to get comfortable," Ishijima said. "I activate the effect of Precious Cards from Beyond to draw two more cards."

He did so, then played one of the two.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card, Feast of the Wild LV5. With it, I can Special Summon, with their effects negated and unable to attack, two Level 5 Warrior monsters from my hand or Graveyard. Come, Lava Battleguard, Swamp Battleguard!"

Two monsters, similar in appearance, materialized on either side of Battleguard King. The first, red with upward horns, carried a club with metal spikes. The second, brown with downward horns, had a club with wooden spikes. Both had mullets and tufts of chest hair, and wore loincloths around their thighs. (1550 and 1800 ATK, respectively)

"No way," Ayu gasped. "He summoned three monsters at once."

"Even so," added Tatsuya, "those two can't attack. They're only for show."

"Now," Strong Ishijima shouted, as though answering Tatsuya's statement, "Battleguard King's effect activates! By releasing any number of Warrior-Type monsters on my field, Battleguard King gains an additional attack during the Battle Phase equal to that amount! With this effect, I release Lava and Swamp Battleguard!"

"What's this?" Nico Smiley shouted from the stands. "Strong Ishijima, Tributing both of his monsters, can now launch three attacks with his ace monster, Battleguard King! How will challenger Sakaki reply?"

"Tch…" Yuya looked around him for Action Cards. From his vantage point near the tops of the trees, he noticed one on the ground. Quickly he jumped down, moving from branch to branch, Skullcrobat Joker trailing behind.

Strong Ishijima's eyes followed. "I won't let you escape like your father did." He thrust a hand out. "Battle Phase! I attack Skullcrobat Joker with Battleguard King!"

Battleguard King stalked forward, overshadowing the parade of trees. Yuya, on the second to last branch, saw the monster bring its massive club down. Without thinking, he dove to the ground, curling his body into a ball. He didn't think to even look at the Action Card when his fingers swiped it. He rolled forward, somersaulting a couple times, and jammed the card in his disk.

"Action Magic! Avoid!"

Skullcrobat Joker vanished, and Barbarian King's club struck the space where it had been.

"This card negates your attack," Yuya said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"So you're able to use Action Cards, are you?" Ishijima scoffed. "However, the second attack is coming. Do it, Battleguard King!"

Strong Ishijima's monster, not yet exhausted, lifted its club in the air again. Yuya wasn't quick enough to spot any Action Cards this time, however, and the monster's massive swing of its weapon sent Skullcrobat Joker flying off in the distant sky like a shooting star. Yuya's body was flung fifteen feet back from the residual impact.

(Yuya: 2800 LP/Strong Ishijima: 4000 LP)

Yuya placed the card in his Graveyard slot, then looked around him for another Action Card. The desolate trees and bushes stared back.

"This will finish you off, brat," Ishijima shouted. He grabbed the steel handle on the rope pulley that connected the tower to the ground and slid downward. When he reached the bottom, he lunged forward, throwing himself onto the ground and landing feet-first. He walked over to Yuya's fallen body until he was twenty feet away. "Consider your wish granted."

Yuya thought back to his wish those three years ago. When he was younger, he wished, sometimes, that he had never made it. He wouldn't take it back now.

"This duel is over. Battleguard King, attack him directly!"

Battleguard King roared, swinging its weapon around like a madman. Saliva dripped from its pointy teeth. And with a decisive thrust, it brought the weapon down on the boy.

"Yuya!" Yuzu cried, running to the edge of the spectator ring. In front of her was a metallic bar, and she gripped it as hard as she could until her knuckles turn a pallid white.

Everyone was surprised to see something, however. Battleguard King's attack had hit, but instead of Yuya, it was caught on a rainbow-hued barrier.

"The Trap Card, Entermate Call, activates," Yuya huffed, pointing to his facedown card, which was now face-up. "This card negates a direct attack. Moreover, I can also add two Entermate monsters from my Deck to my hand whose combined DEF is equivalent to the ATK of the attacking monster! Battleguard King's ATK is 3000, therefore…"

Two cards popped out of Yuya's Duel Disk, and he revealed them both.

"I add Entermate Whip Viper with a DEF of 900, and Entermate Partnaga, with a DEF of 2100, to my hand!"

He placed the cards with his others, adding, "However, during my next turn, I cannot summon monsters from my Extra Deck."

"Eh?" Tatsuya looked confused. "Won't that stop him from being able to destroy that Battleguard King?"

Ayu shook her head. "Nuh-uh."

"Big bro Yuya doesn't have an Extra Deck cards," Futoshi said.

Tatsuya bewilderment increased.

Strong Ishijima cursed under his breath. "So it seems you've bought yourself one more turn." He took the last card in his hand. "I'll set one card facedown. Now, make it count."

A facedown card appeared behind Battleguard King.

Yuya brushed himself off and stood up. His back cracked when he arched it. He smiled at Strong Ishijima.

"I believe it's my turn," he chuckled, placing a hand on his deck. His expression became more serious. "Here we go…Draw!"

He drew a Trap Card, then looked at the six other cards in his hand. Magician of Astromancy, Entermate Whip Viper, Entermate Partnaga, Magician of Chronomancy, Entermate Discover Hippo, and Odd-Eyes Dragon, he thought, scanning from left to right. All monsters. However…

Yuya took the second-leftmost card and threw it on his disk, shouting, "I summon Entermate Whip Viper!"

A fierce hissing filled the stadium as a new monster spawned. Appearing before Yuya was a three foot long violet snake sporting a black top hat, polka dot bowtie, and an orange star tattoo on its face. The underbelly of the animal was a lighter mauve coloring, leading to a tail that ended in a whip with a pink heart at the finish. The snake opened its mouth to reveal its four sharp fangs and its twisty tongue. (1700 ATK)

"Whip Viper's effect," he continued. "It can, once per turn, switch the ATK and DEF of one monster on the field. Naturally, with this effect, I target Battleguard King!"

Whip Viper's tail swung back and forth, like a hypnotizing pendulum, and its eyes widened. Suddenly, Battleguard King was covered in a visible purple aura.

"Battleguard King's ATK might be 3000," smirked Yuya, "but it's DEF is only 1100. Like this, I can overcome it!"

Strong Ishijima looked unfazed. "Is that what you think?"

"What?"

Ishijima tapped a button on his Duel Disk. "Trap, activate!" he declared. "Battleguard Howling!"

His facedown card rose, revealing a picture of a Battleguard monster roaring and sending noticeable shockwaves through the air.

"This Trap Card," explained Ishijima, "activates whenever a Warrior-Type monster under my control is targeted by an attack or an effect of an opposing monster. Since the conditions are met, you're not only dealt damage equal to that monster's ATK, but it's also returned to your hand!"

Yuya's eyes widened like Whip Viper's had. A flurry of fiery blasts shot from Ishijima's Trap Card, sending Yuya's body back ten feet. He landed flat on his back, his clothes singed from the fires. He grabbed Whip Viper's card from his Duel Disk, and it disappeared from the field.

(Yuya: 1100 LP/Strong Ishijima: 4000 LP)

"A marvelous counterattack by Champion Strong Ishijima!" Nico boomed through the microphone. "He's opened his opponent's field to set up for endgame!"

"Not yet…" Yuya coughed into the dirt. He picked himself up again, shakily this time, and grabbed the non-Monster Card in his hand. "I set one card facedown. Turn end."

Ishijima didn't miss a beat. "Draw." He didn't bother to look at his card, either. He simply pointed to Yuya. "Finish it, Battleguard King."

Battleguard King once again brought its weapon down on Yuya. And once again…

"I activate my Continuous Trap Card! Entermate Pinch Helper!"

Battleguard King's weapon dropped faster and faster, and Yuya spoke as quickly as he could.

"This card, once per turn, when I'm attack directly, can negate that attack. Then, I can Special Summon an Entermate monster from my Deck, with its effect negated. Come to me, Entermate Sword Fish!"

The pompadour-sporting, sunglasses-wearing sword fish appeared, absorbing the attack effortlessly. (600 DEF)

Ishijima frowned, clearly growing impatient with Yuya's antics. He looked at his card, then set it facedown. It appeared behind Battleguard King. He looked to his left and right – looking for Action Cards, Yuya thought – but simply ended his turn.

Yuya drew his card, equally as silent, then smiled. He cleared his throat and began:

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's that time of the show. That's right, we've reached the climax already. But don't worry – we have a special guest to bring out for the big finale."

Murmurs filled the audience. "What is he talking about?"

"Who does he think he is?"

"Does he still think he can beat the Champion? Give up already, kid!"

Yuzu, annoyed with the jeers, cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted, "You can do it, Yuya! Show them the Entertainment Duel your father taught you!"

"Go, Yuya!" Gongenzaka shouted, following Yuya's lead.

Yuya nodded, as though he had heard his friend's encouragement from five feet away. His arms wide and embracing, he shouted over the spectators, "But first, we have to introduce another performer. Put your hands together for Entermate Discover Hippo!"

The magenta hippo leapt out of its card, smiling with its four square teeth. It struck a silly pose, tipping its hat like a concert pianist basking in applause. (800 ATK)

"Now, on the turn that Discover Hippo is summoned, I'm able to Tribute Summon a high-Level monster from my hand. As such, I release Discover Hippo and Sword Fish to bring out my biggest star! Advance Summon!"

The two Entermates became granules of light that coalesced into the massive form of Odd-Eyes. Red scales appeared every which way in jagged shards, nearly impaling the trees in the near vicinity. The dragon spun around, the two bodily spheres in the middle of its chest shining in the sunlight. Yuya jumped on Odd-Eyes' back, running up its scales until he reached its head, where he took it by the horns like a tamer. Its heterochromatic eyes flashed when he did this. (2500 ATK)

"Appear, rare dragon with two differently colored eyes! Odd-Eyes Dragon!"

Yuya looked up to the azure heavens. He could almost feel his father watching him now. He smiled and the words came out of his mouth:

"The fun has just begun!"

This caught Strong Ishijima's attention. "That's…"

"Yusho Sakaki's catchphrase!" Nico Smiley shouted through the microphone. "My, my! Are we in for a reversal here?"

"Don't count on it," Strong Ishijima barked. "Your Odd-Eyes Dragon only has 2500 ATK. It still falls short of my Battleguard King's 3000."

Something caught Yuya's eye in the tree to his right. An Action Card sat on the edge of the lowest branch. He steered Odd-Eyes in that direction, jumping up and grabbing the card when he was within reach. Again, Strong Ishijima looked unfazed.

"All right!" Yuya grinned, looking at the card. He turned it around. "Action Magic, Nanana, activate! This gives Odd-Eyes 700 more ATK until the End Phase!"

Odd-Eyes roared as a yellow energy coated its body. (2500 – 3200 ATK)

"Battle! I attack Battleguard King with Odd-Eyes Dragon! Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes built a pit of crackling fire in its jaws, one so hot that Yuya had to wipe the excess sweat from his face. Immediately the dragon belched the fire at Strong Ishijima's monster, releasing enough flames to cover the barbaric monster from head to foot.

Ishijima, for the first time since the duel began, smiled. "Trap, activate! Battleguard Rage!"

A ring of blue flames digitalized in front of Odd-Eyes' attack, absorbing its red flames. Then the ring fell down, circling around Battleguard King's feet.

"What?" Yuya gasped.

"Battleguard Rage, when activated, equips to a Warrior-Type monster I control. That monster then gains 1000 ATK!"

The blue flames leapt up, becoming infused with the barbarian's spiked club. Blue-red embers fell to the ground, burning some of the virtualized bushes. (3000 – 4000 ATK)

"Strike back, Battleguard King!"

Sure enough, the monster deflected Odd-Eyes' attack. Then it aimed its weapon at the dragon, and a torrent of blue flame shot forth. It incinerated Odd-Eyes almost instantly, causing Yuya to fall from twelve feet up. Luckily, he landed in a shrubbery.

(Yuya: 300 LP/Strong Ishijima: 4000 LP)

"Odd-Eyes…" he cried, reaching for his now-nonexistent monster. He felt compelled to pull his goggles down as he went to add Odd-Eyes to his Graveyard.

"Any monster destroyed in a battle with the monster affected by Battleguard Rage is returned to the hand instead," Strong Ishijima announced.

Yuya instead placed Odd-Eyes with his other cards, all monsters. He had summoned already. He could do no more.

"I…I end my turn."

"So this is as far as Yusho Sakaki's dueling goes," Ishijima spat. "I'm not surprised."

The You Show kids looked sullenly downward at this development. Yoko watched her son quietly, Shuzo at her side. Neither took their eyes off Yuya.

Yuya crawled out of the shrubs, laying on his hands and knees. "Dad…"

"Giving up already?" Ishijima sneered. "Then allow me to put you out of your misery."

He drew his card, his smirk widening. His eyes fell on Yuya's Trap Card.

"Starting with this." He turned a card over, showing Yuya a Spell Card. "I activate the Quick-Play Magic, Mystical Space Typhoon!"

An arid gust whipped around the field, sucking up the dirt and fallen leaves. It whipped around Yuya's hair, and even sent some of the breeze to the spectators.

"This card," Ishijima elucidated over the suction sounds, "destroys one Spell or Trap on the field. Be gone, Entermate Pinch Helper!"

Yuya's Trap Card shattered into tens of fragmented white shards.

"Each turn," said Ishijima, "Pinch Helper can negate a direct attack and give you another monster. But with this, you're truly defenseless."

Yuya looked up, moving to his knees. He stared at Ishijima for a while, watching the man's lips moving but hearing nothing. He saw Ishijima throw his head back and laughing. The motion looked cynical and distorted in his blurring vision. He could feel tears on the horizon of his eyes. But they didn't fall. Instead, Yuya had another vision of the past.

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He sat on the bridge railing, dangling his feet above the harbor. His goggles covered his puffy, red eyes.

"When you feel like crying, laugh," said a voice from behind him.

Suddenly, Yuya's goggles were repositioned on his head. He looked to his left, staring into his father's eyes.

"Let out the biggest laugh you can muster," Yusho had said.

He removed Yuya's blue pendant and swung it around.

"Just like a pendulum," he had said. "The more you push, the more it'll come back. When you ever feel like crying, just laugh, and happiness and joy will return to you."

Yusho sat next to his son, still watching the pendant swing from side to side as the sun receded into the distance.

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"And now," Strong Ishijima said, "it's time that I…"

Each word he said became quieter and quieter, replaced by a different sound altogether.

"Yuya," Gongenzaka said from the stands. "He's…"

"He's laughing," Yuzu finished.

Sure enough, Yuya gave the loudest laugh he could possibly muster. He removed the goggles from his face and looked up at Strong Ishijima. In between gasps of laughter, he said, "This is the most fun duel I've ever had."

"Fun?" Strong Ishijima repeated. Once more he said the word with an unusual amount of rancor.

Slowly, Yuya pushed his hands against the earth and brought himself back to his feet. He stretched, huffing as he did so from exhaustion.

"To think that I would get the chance to clear my father's name, after all this time," Yuya said. "To think that I could get people to realize he wasn't a chicken or a coward, that he didn't run away."

His eyebrows drew together and his laughter stopped. He raised his voice. "I'm going to put an end to it all in this duel!"

"Big talk coming from someone in your situation," said Ishijima. "The fact of the matter, however, is that you can't back that up without any cards on your field."

He pointed to his monster.

"Go, Battleguard King! Attack that brat directly!"

Yuya looked at the six monster cards in his hand, all unusable. He knew he only had one chance. He had seen another Action Card when he'd been jumping through the trees, laying in the clearing twenty feet behind him. With as much energy as he could muster, Yuya turned away from Battleguard King and raced onward.

"You won't get away this time," Ishijima shouted over the sound of his monster, who took giant footsteps over to Yuya. The Action Card was within his reach.

Giving a deafening roar, Battleguard King brought its club down on Yuya's back, smashing the boy into the ground. A plume of dust wafted into the air, marking the area where Yuya had been hit.

"That settles that," Ishijima said. "In the end, Yusho Sakaki's son was…"

"Nothing's settled yet."

"What?" Ishijima looked around. "That voice." His jaw became slack as he saw Yuya leaning against a tree trunk, almost invisible in the shade of the oak. The boy's white jacket had removed.

"Action Magic, Avoid." Yuya turned the card over for the audience to see. Sure enough, when the spectators looked at the crater that Battleguard King's attack had just made, they only the boy's dust-covered Maiami Second Middle School jacket.

"Tch…" Ishijima mumbled something to himself. "However, the fact of the matter is that you still don't have any other means of protecting yourself. You're out of cards, and without only one summon per turn, there's nothing you can do to overcome my Battleguard King. Turn end."

Yuya looked at his deck, considering Ishijima's words. He wondered if his deck contained any one card to get him out of his predicament.

"Now, go on," prodded Ishijima. "Take your turn. Unless you want to turn the other way and surrender, just like your father?"

"I'll never run away from…" The words slipped out of Yuya's mouth by way of instinct. He looked at his hand, noting the six monsters in it – three of which weren't even playable without Tribute Summoning. He shook his head, unable to think of a card that would save him.

The You Show spectators were shocked to see Yuya beginning to place his hand over his deck: the telltale sign of surrender.

"Big bro Yuya!" the kids shouted.

"Yuya!" Gongenzaka and Shuzo cried.

Yuzu turned away. Only Yoko watched Yuya, watched his every move. She already knew the decision her son would come to.

"I…I…" Yuya was halfway through his sentence when he remembered his father's words.

Take a step forward and have courage. You can't do anything…

"If you're frozen in fear," Yuya said under his breath. He clutched his pendant. "The more you push, the more it'll come back. Like a pendulum…"

He let the pendant go and watched it swing. A weird feeling overcame him. He felt a sudden burst of energy and determination at once.

"Swing, pendulum!" he shouted at the top of his voice, gripping his deck. His pendant whipped around violently, shining in the sunlight like the Real Solid Vision machine had done earlier. "More, and even more!"

He lifted his Duel Disk over his head and drew his card. And suddenly the world around him went black.

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OCG/Anime/Custom Cards Shown In This Chapter –

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Entermate Skullcrobat Joker (Pendulum Monster)

Spellcaster/Level 4/Scale 8-8/Effect/DARK

1800 ATK/100 DEF

Pendulum Effect: You cannot Pendulum Summon monsters, except "Entermate" monsters, "Magician" Pendulum Monsters, and "Odd-Eyes" monsters. This effect cannot be negated.

Monster Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Entermate" monster, 1 "Magician" Pendulum monster, or 1 "Odd-Eyes" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Entermate Skullcrobat Joker."

Note: This card can be found in Structure Deck: Master of Pendulum. It is currently slated for release in Japan in June, 2015.

Note 2: For this chapter, this monster is only an Effect Monster, and thus only has its second effect.

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Battleguard #3 (Monster)

Warrior/Level 3/Effect/EARTH

1000 ATK/1000 DEF

Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Battleguard #4" from your hand.

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Battleguard #4 (Monster)

Warrior/Level 4/Effect/EARTH

1200 ATK/1200 DEF

Effect: Once per Battle Phase, when a "Battleguard" monster you control is targeted for an attack: You can negate the attack.

Note: The above two cards were first used by Gen Ankokuji in Episode 30 of "Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V." Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.

Note 2: The Types and DEF scores of these two monsters were never shown, and thus these are only speculative.

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Summon Chain (Spell)

Normal Spell/Action Card

Image: Two black silhouettes carrying a steel link chain while a bigger shadow looms in the background.

Effect: You Tribute Summon 1 Level 5 or higher monster in face-up Attack Position during your Main Phase this turn, in addition to your Normal Summon/Set.

Note: This card first appeared in this chapter.

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Author's Note: In the middle of his duel against Strong Ishijima, Yuya gains a mysterious new power, but with it comes a parade of new mysteries and questions. When this power registers on the radars of LDS, Reiji Akaba decides to take matters into his own hands. Moreover, Yuya's newfound power seems to have an adverse side-effect. What is it? Find out next time!