Well, sorry about the long wait but I've kinda been working on editing this story and working on my other ARC-V story, that hasn't been posted yet but may or may not be posted soon, and working on my original novel and, well, just working period.
Anyway, thank you to Guest, Queen of Peaceful Nights, and MagicalPrincess07 for reviewing the last chapter. You three are awesome.
And, as usual, thank you to Misha for being an awesome beta-reader.
Now it's time for Misha's second "baby" to shine! I hope you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
Turn 4
Flames & Doubt
Kenshin was really having bad luck today. Yuto would claim that it wasn't anything new since Kenshin always seemed to invite trouble, even when he didn't mean to. While, at least, today he wasn't getting into trouble with the authorities—he still firmly believed that what happened when he first got to that dimension was not his fault—but that didn't mean that he wasn't in trouble.
"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his cheeks red with embarrassment and he flinched at the glare that he was receiving from the old man who was scowling in front of him. Around him lay broken pieces of pottery and vases that had fallen to the ground when Kenshin accidentally ran into the old man's booth.
"Sorry doesn't cut it, kid," the old man said firmly. "You should have watched where you were going!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry," Kenshin said again and knelt down, adding, "Here, I'll help you clean it up."
"Don't pick it up with your hands, stupid. You'll cut yourself," the old man said in irritation and, reaching behind the booth, pulled out a dustpan and a broom and handed them to Kenshin. "You're going to have to pay for those, you know."
Kenshin paled and groaned. He didn't have any money at all on him. It wasn't as if he needed any money while he was in Heartland during the invasion. While he had noticed that the currency in the Standard Dimension was the same as the currency in Heartland—and he knew that, despite Yuto joking about not having bail money, he had brought some money with him just in case—Kenshin was not about to call him. The last thing he wanted was to get another lecture about laying low, not drawing attention to himself, and staying out of trouble.
"Erm, I kinda...don't have any money on me," Kenshin admitted, ducking his head in embarrassment again as he began sweeping up the broken pieces of glass and ceramic.
The old man let loose a breath. "You seem like a good kid and I suppose this was just an accident," he said as Kenshin finished sweeping up the pieces and he took the broom and dustpan back and dumped the contents of the dustpan into the trashcan next to his booth. "I'll let you pay me back for all of this by running an errand for me. How does that sound?"
Kenshin tensed, even though the offer was kind enough and he pushed aside his feelings of distrust. He wasn't in Heartland; he didn't have to be jumpy and paranoid of every little thing, even if he had been caught unaware because of such innocent offers in the early days of the invasion.
That one duelist came to his mind who'd offered to help him find survivors only for her to turn around, reveal herself to be an Academia duelist, admit that she'd only used him to find the Resistance's current hideout, and nearly card him without even giving him a chance to defend himself. If Michael hadn't arrived when he had and defeated that duelist in a one-turn-kill before helping Kenshin get out of there, and warn the Resistance so that they could move before the Academia duelist regained consciousness, then Kenshin, and the Resistance itself, might have ended up just like his family and many of his comrades.
Naturally, he'd come to distrust such innocent offers after that.
But he wasn't in Heartland anymore. He was in the Standard Dimension, in Maiami City, in a place untouched by Academia from what he has managed to discover so far.
Forcing himself to relax, Kenshin nodded slowly. "What's this errand?"
"I have a few packages that I need to deliver to my main store. I was going to go, but I didn't want to close up shop here too soon," the old man said, walking behind the booth and pulling out two packages and held them out to Kenshin. "I have a coworker keeping an eye on my store so just give it to him and he can put it away."
"All right. Where's the store?" Kenshin said, taking the boxes in his hands.
The old man gave him directions, detailed ones when Kenshin admitted that he didn't know Maiami City well enough to be able to find a place based only on street names, and he nodded. "Okay," he said. "Thanks, by the way. I really am sorry."
"Just watch where you're going next time, kid," the old man said and waved him away.
"Right." Kenshin inclined his head before darting off, making his way down the street and toward the store that the old man had mentioned.
It took him about twenty minutes to near the street on which the store was located and, as he stepped into the alley that would take him to the street he was heading toward, he was surprised when he ran into a familiar face.
Tall and clad in a dark-blue trench coat, Shun came to a stop in time to avoid running into Kenshin and frowned at him. "What are you doing?" he said.
"Hey, Shun. It's been a while. Have you got in touch with Yuto? He's been trying to contact you," Kenshin said.
"I've been busy. What are you doing?" Shun repeated, raising an eyebrow at the boxes that Kenshin was carrying in his hands.
"Well, I kind of ran into a booth at that marketplace down the road and broke a few of the old man's items, so he asked me to run an errand for him as payment," Kenshin said.
Shun frowned at him. "I thought I told Yuto to keep you out of trouble."
"It was an accident," Kenshin said defensively.
"It usually is. Have you found out anything?"
"No," Kenshin admitted. "Yuto and I are still looking. We did question a kid from LDS, but he doesn't know anything about Academia and has said that everyone has the same pin as the one we found."
"Just because he doesn't know anything doesn't mean the others don't. And how do you know he's not lying?"
"He certainly didn't look like he was lying," Kenshin said, remembering how shaky and puzzled Sawatari looked when Yuto had questioned him.
"Tch. Don't be blinded. Academia has deceived us before. You should know that better than anyone."
Kenshin winced, knowing that Shun was referring to her. He really had thought she was a comrade who just wanted to help, but she'd been deceiving him from the very beginning. He'd very nearly caused the destruction of the Resistance that day because he naively believed that duelist.
That incident was one reason why Kenshin had come to not trust anyone he wasn't well acquainted with.
"I know," he murmured, shifting his grip on the boxes. "Believe me, I know."
Shun folded his arms across his chest, but he did relax. "Just remember that, Kenshin," he said finally and turned to the street that Kenshin was heading toward. "That place you're heading, it's in that direction?"
"Yeah."
"Good. I've overheard a few students talking about two teachers from LDS being in this area. They're teachers from LDS's Fusion Course," Shun said, his lips twisting at the name. "I want you to duel one while I duel the other. One of them should have, at least, some information that could be useful."
"Maybe." Kenshin had told Yuto that he wanted to challenge the LDS teachers for information and this was a good chance to start that. "All right. Let me just drop these off."
Shun just turned and started walking back the way he'd come and Kenshin darted after him. He and Shun walked onto the street and headed down the sidewalk toward where the old man's shop was. Shadows drenched the quiet street and Kenshin was glad for the lack of people on the streets; even if no one really paid attention to him in the middle of a large crowd, Kenshin was still very self-conscious about being around other people he didn't know.
"By the way, other than this, have you found out anything?" Kenshin asked as they neared the shop. It was closed but, as the old man had said, the door was open so Kenshin shouldered it open, joined the coworker, who had gotten a call from the shop owner, who took the boxes and quietly thanked him.
"No," Shun said when Kenshin rejoined him. "This is the only lead that I have found right now. Let's go before they leave this area."
"All right, I'm coming," Kenshin said, closing the door to the shop behind him and joining Shun on the street. The two of them began walking down the street with Shun scanning the street for any signs of the two people they were trying to find.
"Do you even know what they look like?" Kenshin asked finally.
"No, but they are likely the only LDS teachers in this area," Shun said and stopped and slipped into the shadows of an alley and Kenshin joined him. Shun pointed across the street at the corner where two men clad in an LDS uniform that was different from the students, but still had the pin resting on their collars.
"There," he murmured, his hand clenching, but he relaxed and said, "I will take on the taller one. You take on the other."
"Right." Kenshin watched as the two teachers made their way down the side street they'd been standing beside and followed Shun as he led the way across the street into a side street. They darted down the street and rounded the corner before stepping onto the street that the two LDS teachers were in.
The two teachers stepped back.
"Who are you?" the tall one said.
"I will ask the questions here," Shun said coolly, activating his duel disk and facing the taller teacher down. "What is your name? And are you one of the teachers of the Fusion Course at LDS?"
The taller teacher narrowed his eyes. "I'm Professor Marco, and I'm the head of that course," he said.
"Then I will be your opponent. Duel me," Shun said firmly.
Kenshin glanced at Marco's companion and moved forward as well, leaving Shun to deal with Professor Marco while he confronted the other teacher. "Am I right in that you're also a teacher of Fusion at LDS?"
"I am. I'm Professor Tanaka, the Assistant Head of the Fusion Course," the teacher said. "Why do you want to know?"
Kenshin didn't answer. He just activated his duel disk, revealing a red-edged blade. "I challenge you to a duel," he said. "And I won't take no for an answer."
"Fine then. I don't back down from a challenge," Tanaka said and activated his own duel disk.
Kenshin moved away so that he wasn't in Shun's way and Tanaka followed as the duel between Shun and Marco began.
"Duel," Kenshin and Tanaka declared, starting their own duel, as they drew their opening hands.
Kenshin: 4000 | Tanaka: 4000
"I will start off," Tanaka said and removed a card from his hand and placed it on his duel disk. "I Normal Summon Masked HERO Dusk Crow."
In a burst of shadows, a slim ninja-like warrior with a black cape around its shoulders appeared on the field (4/1200/1000).
"And next I activate Mask Change! With this, I can send Dusk Crow to the Graveyard to Transformation Summon a Masked HERO from my Extra Deck."
"Transformation Summon, eh? A different kind of Fusion Summon?" Kenshin narrowed his eyes as a vortex of darkness enveloped the masked hero.
"Hero of the dusk. Become one with the mask of shadows and reveal to us your new form! Transformation Summon! Appear, Level 6! Masked HERO Dark Law!" Tanaka chanted as, in a burst of shadows, a dark-armored warrior with a mask covering its eyes and blade-like wings on its back stepped onto the field (6/2400/1800).
"Due to Dark Law's effect, any card sent to your Cemetery is banished instead. I also equip Dark Law with Fusion Weapon, increasing his Attack and Defense by 1500," Tanaka added as a red weapon materialized around Dark Law's arm with light energy crackling between its two prongs (2400-3900/1800-3300).
"I place this facedown and end my turn," Tanaka added, inserting a card into his duel disk. "I'll make this quick."
"You're pretty confident. As expected of an LDS teacher, I suppose," Kenshin said as he drew a card. "Since I control no cards, I can Special Summon Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel in Attack Mode."
In a burst of white fire, a tall, slim man clad in purplish-gray robes with a halo above his head stepped onto the field, angel-like wings made of white flames jutted out of his back and his bright garnet red eyes glowed (5/2000/1000).
"Since I control an Empyrean monster, I can Special Summon Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah from my hand in Attack Mode," Kenshin added and, in another burst of white fire, a woman clad in a long purplish-gray dress and wielding a rod engulfed in white flames appeared with angel-like white-fire wings jutting out of her back (5/1900/900).
"Two Level 5 monsters? Are you…?" Tanaka began.
"I overlay my two Level 5 Empyrean monsters!" Kenshin declared and Dumah and Cassiel turned into red swirls that swirled into the spinning galaxy of purple and black that appeared on the field before a burst of blue lightning erupted from the portal.
"Healing star of the fiery Heavens. Cleanse the impurity within the enemy's soul! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 5! Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean!" Kenshin chanted as, out of the flash of blue lightning, a tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped onto the field. He was clad in purplish-gray robes that fell to his feet with a snow-white sash wrapped around his chest. White-fire angel wings jutted out of his back and a bright halo hovered over his head as his garnet red eyes gleamed. Twin orbs of red light rotated around him (R 5/2700/1700/2 OU).
Tanaka narrowed his eyes.
"I activate Raphael's effect. By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can halve Dark Law's current Attack until the End Phase and I gain Life Points equal to the same amount of Attack lost," Kenshin added and one of the red orbs sank into Raphael and he glowed, raising a hand, as Dark Law glowed as he weakened (3900-1950) while a white light engulfed Kenshin, increasing his Life Points.
Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 4000
"Now, Raphael, attack Professor Tanaka! Cleansing Star Fire!" Kenshin ordered and Raphael raised his hand and conjured up white fire around his hand and threw it at Dark Law.
"I activate Battle Fusion!" Tanaka said, revealing his face-down. "This increases the Attack of Dark Law by the Attack of Raphael until the end of the Damage Step!" Dark Law was surrounded by a bright light as his power increased (1950-4650).
Kenshin hummed, narrowing his eyes. "That's not gonna work. I activate the effect of Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah! By banishing this card from my hand, I can target Raphael. Now he can't be destroyed by battle or by card effects once during this turn."
Raphael was surrounded by a white fire figure who wrapped angel wings around him as the white fire he threw at Dark Law closed in on his target.
"And due to Raphael's effect, you take any battle damage that I would have taken from battles involving a face-up Empyrean monster," Kenshin said with a grin as the white fire crashed into Dark Law. Dark Law cut through it with his hand but the white flames shot around him and crashed into Tanaka, sending him skidding backwards.
Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 2050
"Those flames...why did I actually feel that heat?" Tanaka said in puzzlement, staring in shock at Kenshin who held up a card.
"It's still my Battle Phase and I activate this card! The Instant Magic Rank-Down-Magic Fallen Force!" he declared. "With this, I can Rank-Down an Empyrean Xyz Monster I control and Xyz Summon another Empyrean Xyz Monster with a lower Rank!"
"An Xyz Summon during the Battle Phase?" Tanaka gasped.
"I use Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean as Overlay material!" Kenshin declared as Raphael turned into a red swirl and swirled into the spiraling galaxy that had appeared on the field before blue lighting erupted from the heart of the portal.
"Fallen star of the fiery Heavens, bathe the land in the light of your eternal glow! Rank Down Xyz Change! Descend! Rank 4! Lucifer, Fallen Dragon of Empyrean!" Kenshin chanted and, out of the flash of blue lightning, flew a large purplish-gray dragon with giant angel-like wings made of white fire spreading to illuminate the shadowed street, conjuring up a strong, warm wind that whipped at Tanaka and Kenshin. White fire ran along the spine of the dragon and two spikes of white fire jutted out of the end of the dragon's tail while its eyes were the color of garnets (R 4/2500/1500/2 OU).
Tanaka frowned. "Why would you summon a weaker monster, though?"
"He's not weak," Kenshin said. "And since Lucifer was Xyz Summoned, I can add one of my banished Empyrean cards to my hand. I chose Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah." He retrieved the card and added, "And it's still my Battle Phase and this is the end! Battle! Lucifer, attack Dark Law! Fallen Star Fire!"
Lucifer's jaw glowed a bright white as it prepared to unleash a devastating attack.
"The end? You must be joking," Tanaka said with a snort. "Even if Dark Law's weaker, I will still only lose 550 Life Points.
"Due to Fallen Force's other effect, Dark Law's effects are negated until after the Battle Phase. I don't know what effects your monster has, but I'm not chancing it," Kenshin added.
"I'll still survive," Tanaka said as he gritted his teeth and shielded himself from the flames that crashed into Dark Law, obliterated him, and sent Tanaka skidding backwards. "I...Why did I feel that attack even though we're not in an Action Field?"
Kenshin: 5950 | Tanaka: 1500
He shook his head to clear it while Kenshin ignored the question and picked a card in his hand. Tanaka gazed at him. "But still, I'll just come back and beat you on my next turn," he said smugly.
"There won't be a next turn," Kenshin said and snorted a bit when he realized he'd said the exact same thing that Yuto said during his duel against Sawatari. "I activate Empyrean Strike! By discarding one card, I can have Lucifer make a second attack during this Battle Phase since it was able to destroy one of your monsters just now."
"W...What?" Tanaka gasped. "W...Wait..."
"Battle! Lucifer, attack him directly! Fallen Star Fire!" Kenshin ordered and Lucifer's jaw glowed a bright white before he unleashed another powerful blast of white flames that scorched the ground and crashed into Tanaka and threw him off his feet while knocking out the last of his Life Points.
Kenshin: 5950 W | Tanaka: 0
Kenshin grimaced when he saw that Tanaka, while still conscious, seemed rather dazed from his collision with the floor, and he turned to see how Shun was faring.
"Raid Raptors – Rise Falcon! Destroy the enemy! Brave Claw Revolution!" Shun shouted and, with a screech, the deadly falcon monster shot downward and obliterated Marco's monsters, and threw Marco to the ground, taking out the rest of his Life Points.
"Looks like you didn't need any help," Kenshin commented.
Shun gave him a sharp look, but approached the teacher instead and raised his duel disk.
"W...What are you doing?" Marco gasped.
"Shun!" Kenshin, realizing what Shun was about to do, protested, but it was too late and he shivered as the dreaded purple light that still filled his nightmares erupted out of Shun's duel disk and engulfed the terrified Marco. Marco vanished and Shun reached into his Duel Disk, pulling out a card and tucking the card away.
"Why have you not done the same to this one?" Shun said as he walked to Kenshin's side and peered coolly down at Tanaka, who was staring in horror at where Marco had been moments before. "You have the capability."
"I just want information," Kenshin said. "I'm with Yuto. This isn't our battlefield, and I certainly don't want to hurt someone who isn't an enemy."
"He is the enemy. He uses Fusion, and a specialized form of Fusion, at that. I saw your duel, Kenshin, and I saw that different kind of Fusion this teacher used," Shun said with a scowl. "Fusion is our enemy, or have you forgotten that? Have you forgotten what Fusion has done to our homeland?"
"Of course I haven't!" Kenshin snapped. "But the duelists of Standard are not our enemy!"
"That we know of," Shun said darkly and aimed the duel disk at Tanaka.
"Wait! We can still get information out of him," Kenshin insisted.
Shun scoffed but lowered his duel disk. "Fine. Get the information out of him and then I'll deal with him."
"Shun..." Kenshin trailed off when he saw the fury in Shun's icy yellow-green eyes and bit his lip, knowing he wouldn't be able to talk Shun out of this. He turned and knelt down in front of the terrified Tanaka and said, "What do you know of Academia?"
"A...Academia? What are you talking about?" Tanaka said with puzzlement in his voice and, when Kenshin frowned at him, he added quickly, "I swear I don't know anything. Please, have mercy."
Kenshin let loose a breath when he saw that Tanaka was too terrified to lie to him just like Sawatari had been, except Tanaka's terror was stronger because he'd just witnessed his fellow teacher vanish before his very eyes and was in front of the very person who'd done that.
"He's either telling the truth, or he's lying and won't talk," Shun said and stepped forward, raising his duel disk. "You're not going to get anything out of him."
"Shun, you don't need to do this," Kenshin pleaded.
"I will do anything to get Ruri back and put an end to Academia for what they did to our Homeland."
"He's not the enemy!"
"You don't know that!"
"Shun!" Kenshin stretched out a hand to stop Shun, but he swatted his hand away.
"Don't interfere, Kenshin. You and Yuto may believe that this is not our battlefield, but I refuse to believe that and I refuse to let an enemy get away," Shun snapped and pressed the key on his duel disk before Kenshin could stop him. He could only watch as the purple light engulfed the terrified Tanaka and then he was gone.
Shun turned to glare at Kenshin. "It's about time you opened your eyes, Kenshin. The last time you closed your eyes to what was right in front of you, you nearly caused the destruction of the entire Resistance," he snapped and Kenshin flinched at the reminder. "You may be my comrade, but you have to realize that there is a chance that everyone you encounter could be your enemy."
"I don't want to believe that," Kenshin said quietly.
"Whether you want to believe that or not doesn't matter," Shun said and turned his head away. "Tell Yuto that I'm fine and I will try to contact him again soon. And you should get out of here before someone comes by and starts investigating." He strode off and disappeared into the shadows before Kenshin could reply.
Kenshin let loose a breath. "Shun… I don't really like the path that you're walking," he said but turned around and darted down the street, knowing Shun was right and he needed to get out of there before someone came by to check on the commotion.
. . .
Yuzu watched the duel between Akaba Reiji and Yuya, chewing on her lower lip in worry. Even with Reiji Fusion Summoning D/D/D Flame King Temujin on his first turn, the duel seemed to be in Yuya's favor, with the four Contract cards that Reiji had played during his first turn, and Yuya's first turn, threatening to finish the duel right away.
He even mentioned that Yuya was a kind boy who could have won by ending his turn after Contract with the Valkyrie was activated, but Yuya had hesitated. Even so, whether Yuya hesitated or not didn't change the fact that Reiji had set things up to ensure that he didn't get dealt damage from his Contract cards. He nullified them with the effect of his Trap Card Contract Laundering.
Yuya didn't seem to mind as he closed his eyes and smiled a little bit. "I knew it was too good to be true, but I wouldn't have been happy if I'd won that way," he said and opened his eyes, that smile still on his lips as he added, "That meant I wouldn't be able to show off the Entertainment Dueling that everyone is looking forward to."
He grinned and added, "Yeah, it may seem like a naive way to think like that, but I want to win with the Entertainment Dueling that was passed down from my father."
"With Sakaki Yushou's dueling?" Reiji said.
Yuya's eyes widened. "You know my dad?"
"Of course he does. Everyone does," Yaiba scoffed. "He's famous after all."
"He's the former champion who ran away," Hokuto added.
"Silence!" Reiji shouted, causing everyone to freeze and look at him in shock.
"Idiots," Masumi said with a shake of her head.
Reiji kept his gaze fixed on Yuya as he adjusted his glasses. "Pardon my outburst but, yes, I am aware of Sakaki Yusho who pioneered our current Action Dueling. I respect him from the bottom of my heart. And I will have you show it to me today, the Entertainment Dueling you inherited from your father! In exchange, I will reveal to you my full power."
"Wait, does that mean… has he been holding back?" Kazuki gasped.
As it turned out, Reiji was holding back as, during his next turn, Reiji did what no one was expecting.
He Synchro Summoned D/D/D Gust King Alexander.
And he Xyz Summoned D/D/D Wave King Caesar.
"H...He can use all three Summoning Methods," Kazuki said in shock.
"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered, also completely shocked by the sudden appearance of three powerful monsters Special Summoned by the effect of three different Summoning Methods. She didn't know much about the President of Leo Corporation, but she certainly wasn't expecting him to be as strong as he was. To be able to use all three Summoning Methods was something that Yuzu had never seen happen before and she found herself feeling worried for Yuya.
"He's certainly a strong opponent," Sora commented.
"Battle!" Reiji said as he adjusted his glasses. "D/D/D/ Flame King Temujin, attack Entermate Whip Viper."
Temujin's sword glowed with fire, causing Whip Viper, who was wrapped around Yuya's arm, to tremble, but Yuya pressed a button on his duel disk, activating Hippo Carnival to bring out three Hippo Tokens, which were the only monsters that Reiji could attack due to the Magic Card's effect. Three Hippo's dressed in skirts and bikini-like tops with different colored feathers on their backs appeared on the field; one was orange, another was blue, and the third was yellow with green, yellow, and pink feathers respectively.
Yuzu let loose the breath she'd been holding. With those tokens on the field being the only monsters that Reiji could attack, and with them being in Defense Position, Yuya was safe for the time being. She could only hope that he would find a way to counter Reiji's three powerful monsters during his next turn.
"At least he's safe for now," Kazuki murmured, watching as Temujin bisected one of the Tokens and Alexander destroyed the second token.
Kazuki's relief was short-lived as Reiji activated Alexander's effect, allowing him to destroy the third token with a single slash. Caesar attacked next, destroying Whip Viper and causing Yuya's Life Points to fall to 3300.
"Dang it! He's managed to destroy all of Big Bro Yuya's monsters," Futoshi gasped.
"He really is a strong opponent," Kazuki said. "And yet...he's a pretty amazing duelist. I wonder how I would fare against him." He looked thoughtful but shook his head and added, "But Yuya's not out of this match yet. He still has his own power."
Yuzu nodded in agreement.
"Your true strength is really amazing," Yuya admitted with a grin. "I was shocked that you can use all three summoning methods. My draw!" He drew a card and grinned, adding, "I may not be able to use Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz, but I do have my own unique power. The fun has only just begun!"
"There is it! Keep it up, Yuya! Hot-blooded!" Shuzo shouted from the booth.
"It's coming," Tatsuya exclaimed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Yuya declared. "So sorry to keep you waiting, but now it is time for what you have all been waiting for!" He held two cards up and added, "With the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale! Now I can Special Summon multiple monsters from Levels 2 to 7. Sway, pendulum of the soul. Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!"
Two blasts of light emerged onto the field revealing Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon who roared as its dichromatic eyes shone and Entermate Fire Mufflio, a white lion in a blue suit with a mane made of flames and a hat resting on its head. It had 800 Attack and 800 Defense.
"There it is!" Tatsuya cheered.
"Shivers!" Futoshi said.
"Big Bro Yuya brought out a new monster too," Ayu said with a grin.
"It's time for a counterattack, Yuya!" Yuzu shouted.
"Let's go, Yuya! Win this," Kazuki cheered.
"Do it, Yuya," Gongenzaka encouraged.
"We're all counting on you," Shuzo called.
Spotlights shone down on Yuya as he gestured to the monsters on the field. "It's time for some fire acrobatics with everyone's favorite superstar Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," he said and, donning his goggles, dove off the platform he'd been standing on, landing lightly on Odd-Eyes' back. "Let's go, Odd-Eyes! Attack Flame King Temujin! With those dual-colored eyes of yours, lay waste to all that lies before you. Spiral Strike Burst!"
A powerful burst of crimson fire shot toward Temujin, who immediately lifted his sword to catch it.
"And when Odd-Eyes battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the battle damage is doubled!" Yuya declared. "Reaction Force!"
A reddish-black flame enveloped the crimson fire as the fire crashed into Temujin and obliterated it, dropping Reiji down to 3000 Life Points.
"Yuya's turning the tides," Ayu cheered.
"And he's not done yet. Mufflio's effect will help him turn the tides even more," Kazuki said as Yuya activated Mufflio's effect, allowing a Pendulum Monster that just destroyed a monster by battle to battle again with 200 more Attack. Mufflio roared and let loose an aura of flames that morphed into a ring of fire and Odd-Eyes jumped through the ring as its attack jumped up to 2700.
Yuzu smiled, looking impressed. "So you used such a move to power up Odd-Eyes? Nice one, Yuya," she said.
"He truly is a wild animal, no dragon tamer," Gongenzaka commented.
"It's real entertainment, burning and hot-blooded!" Shuzo exclaimed.
Yuya had Odd-Eyes attack Alexander and, with Odd-Eyes' effect, Alexander was destroyed and Reiji's Life Points fell to 2600.
Yuya kept the momentum going by snatching an Action Card and, after exclaiming that he was on a roll, used the Action Card Wonder Chance to allow Odd-Eyes to attack again, and sent Odd-Eyes after Caesar and destroyed it, dropping Reiji's Life Points to 2300 and causing the children to cheer.
"Even if Akaba Reiji controls all three summoning methods, so long as Yuya has Pendulum Summoning, You Show will be safe," Yuzu said firmly.
"Definitely," Kazuki said, a soft half-smile on his lips and Yuzu smiled at that. It was rare to see Kazuki smile, and it seemed that it was only ever when Yuya was dueling that Kazuki was able to smile.
Yuya dismounted from Odd-Eyes and informed everyone that Mufflio couldn't attack the turn he used his effect so he ended his turn and bowed deeply.
The smoke on Reiji's side of the field cleared up and Yuya gasped, as did Kazuki, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Shuzo, and the kids.
All three of Reiji's monsters were still on his field.
"Why?" Yuya said in confusion.
"He just destroyed them," Tatsuya protested.
"I used Caesar's effect. By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon all monsters that were destroyed during this Battle Phase at the end of it. Of course, there is a risk. During my next turn, I will take 1000 points of damage for each one," Reiji said, adjusting his glasses.
"But that means he'll lose," Futoshi said.
"Doubt it. He likely has something to prevent that from happening like what he used earlier," Kazuki said, gritting his teeth, his lips curved into a frown.
"Yeah. He's too good to allow himself to lose like that," Sora said, removing a chocolate bar from his pocket and biting into it.
Reiji proved both Sora and Kazuki correct by activating D/D/D Human Resources and returning all three of his monsters to his deck and allowing him to add two D/D monsters from his deck to his hand.
Kazuki's frown deepened.
"Keep it up, Yuya," Yuzu cheered. "Make it through this with a smile on you face and with your Entertainment Dueling."
"I end my turn with a card facedown. You know you really are amazing. Everything you've done has definitely surpassed what I was expecting. I'm looking forward to what surprises you have in store for me next." He chuckled and added, "Just kidding."
"Likewise. You have done well, Sakaki Yuya. You have allowed me to see the nature of Pendulum Summoning with my own eyes. It's your turn. It's time for you to confirm with your own eyes if Pendulum Summoning really is unique or not," Reiji said as he drew a card and then revealed the two cards he'd added to his hand during the previous turn.
"I don't like the sound of that," Kazuki murmured. "I'm having a bad feeling about that."
"Yuya..." Yuzu's worry came back. Whatever Reiji was about to do, it wasn't going to bode well for Yuya. She was sure about that.
"With the Scale 1 D/D Savant Galilei and the Scale 10 D/D Savant Kelper, I set the Pendulum Scale," Reiji declared and set the cards on his duel disk while Yuzu, Kazuki, and the kids all gasped in shock. Two pillars of light appeared on either side of Reiji as Savant Galilei and Savant Kelper appeared within each with a 1 and a 10 hovering beneath them respectively.
"Now I am able to simultaneously Special Summon multiple monsters from Levels 2 to 9," Reiji added.
"Those are Pendulum Monsters!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.
"This can't be," Yuzu gasped.
Sora nearly dropped his chocolate in surprise.
"How? How does he know how to Pendulum Summon?" Kazuki murmured.
"Grand power which shakes my very soul! Arise within me and give birth to a new light that rends the darkness! Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monsters!" As Reiji chanted, a giant mass of purple light shot out of the sky between the two pillars. "The three transcendent deities who rules over all kings! D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon!"
Three crystalline monsters appeared one after another, each of them having 3000 Attack.
Yuya looked on shock. "H...How can you Pendulum Summon?" he stammered out.
"Battle!" Reiji declared. "Armageddon, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The first crystalline monster charged up a blast at its core and Yuzu leaned forward, slamming her fists on the glass when she noticed that Yuya was in shock and wasn't making any moves to defend himself.
"Snap out of it, Yuya!" she shouted.
Yuya blinked and, realizing the danger, darted away and dove toward an Action Card laying on the ground. "Action Magic Miracle! My monster's destruction is negated and the battle damage is halved," he shouted as he activated the card and winced at eight strand of purple and black lightning crashed into and through Odd-Eyes and crashed into him, sending him skidding backwards as his Life Points fell to 3050.
"Miracles only happen once," Reiji said and ordered his second D/D/D Death Great King Hell Armageddon to attack and it succeeded in destroying Odd-Eyes, reducing Yuya to 2550 Life Points, before the third crystalline monster successfully destroyed Mufflio, reducing Yuya's Life Points to 350.
Yuya, knocked down by that last attack, pushed himself to his knees and gazed at Reiji. "Who are you? How can you use Pendulum Summoning?" he asked.
"I set this facedown and end my turn," Reiji said.
"Yuya..." Yuzu whispered, clenching her hands into fists. For Yuya to witness someone successfully using their own Pendulum cards must have been shocking. While Sawatari had been successful in Pendulum Summoning, he hadn't been using his own cards like Reiji was. She had thought that Pendulum Summoning was Yuya's alone as well, but she found herself wondering the same thing Yuya and Kazuki were wondering.
She glanced at Kazuki who had a contemplative look in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she said.
"I'm just...I know I told Yuya that I had wondered what it would be like if Pendulum became mainstream like Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz, but I wasn't exactly expecting that to happen this soon," Kazuki admitted.
"Now that Reiji-san has mastered Pendulum Summoning to this extent, we won't need You Show anymore," Chairwoman Akaba commented and smirked at the You Show students, and Gongenzaka, as she added, "Now we can just crush you."
"Yuya's not out of this yet," Kazuki snapped back.
"He is no match for Reiji-san now," Akaba said dismissively.
"Yuya! The match is still going on! Keep burning and be hot-blooded," Shuzo shouted from the control booth and Yuzu turned to find Yuya shaking his head as if to clear it.
"My move," he said and drew a card. He nodded to himself and raised a hand. "With the set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon! Come back to the stage, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Entermate Fire Mufflio as well as, from my hand, Entermate Partnaga!" he declared, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Entermate Fire Mufflio, and Entermate Partnaga, a yellow striped snake wearing a top hat with a hand on the end of its tail, appeared on the field.
Yuya activated the effect of Partnaga, increasing Odd-Eyes' Attack by 300 times the number of Entermate monsters he controls, increasing Odd-Eyes' power to 3100. Yuya smiled in determination and Yuzu smiled as well as she realized that Yuya likely had a plan.
Go for it, Yuya, she thought as Yuya had Odd-Eyes attack the first Armageddon, successfully destroying it and reducing Reiji's Life Points to 2100.
He might have won that turn had Reiji not revealed Armageddon's effect. "When one of my monsters is destroyed, the remaining Armageddon's on my field gain the Attack of the destroyed monster," Reiji revealed as a dark energy surrounded the two monsters and Yuzu gasped as both monsters' Attack doubled.
"6000!" Tatsuya gasped.
"How can anyone beat that monster?" Futoshi exclaimed.
"This is going to be rough," Sora commented and, when Yuzu glanced at him, she saw excitement in his green eyes. She bit her lip and returned her gaze back to the duel because, no matter how exciting the duel was turning out to be, she couldn't help but feel worried. She didn't know how Yuya was going to get out of this situation.
Yuya ended his turn and Reiji drew a card.
But then his Pendulum Monsters started to shake as lightning surged around them, causing Galilei's Scale to double to 2 and Kepler to halve to five. Strikes of lighting shot onto the field and destroyed the two Armageddons on the field.
"Hm, the destruction of those monsters must have had to do with the change in those Pendulum scales," Sora commented.
"This is your chance, Yuya," Gongenzaka shouted.
"He can only Pendulum Summon Level 3 and Level 4 monsters now," Yuzu added.
"You can win this now," Kazuki called.
Reiji hummed as he studied the two Pendulum Monsters in the columns of blue light. He then began to laugh, covering his face with one of his hands, while Yuzu's brow furrowed in confusion.
Why is he laughing?she thought.
"I get it...why didn't I see it before? Pendulum Summoning is not complete yet," Reiji said finally, removing his hand from his face and smiling.
"What?" Yuya gasped in shock.
"I've seen the possibility for an evolution in Pendulum Summoning," Reiji said.
Yuzu missed whatever Reiji was about to say when the door opened and a man with black hair in a suit made his way swiftly into the viewing area. He walked straight to Chairwoman Akaba and leaned close to him, whispering something that Yuzu couldn't hear.
"What did you say?" Chairwoman Akaba gasped.
Masumi gasped, obviously having overheard what the newcomer had said. "Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka were..." she began, but cut off.
"What?" Yaiba exclaimed.
"What about 'em?" Hokuto said in surprise.
"Reiji-san!" Chairwoman Akaba shouted and the man in the suit quietly explained whatever was happening to Reiji. Yuzu still couldn't hear what they were saying, since they were speaking too quietly, and had to wonder who Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka were. She only heard those names because Masumi's exclamation hadn't been quiet.
Reiji jumped off the platform and, using the floating balls in the arena, made his way to the ground and headed for the exit.
"Where are you going?" Yuya protested, moving forward. "Wait!"
"I'll give you this win," Reiji said as he kept on walking.
"What's your name?" Yuya said.
Reiji stopped. "Reiji," he said finally. "Akaba Reiji." He left the arena and joined his mother and the three LDS students. "Let's go."
The chairwoman nodded in agreement and she, Reiji, and the three LDS students quickly left the school, leaving behind a puzzled group of You Show students, and Gongenzaka, who were left to watch them leave with no clue of what was happening.
. . .
Yuto made his way into the building that he and Kenshin were using as their hideout. He'd gotten back a few hours earlier than their suggested meet-up time so he wasn't expecting Kenshin to be back yet.
So he was a bit surprised when he stepped into the room to find Kenshin seated on his cot with a pensive expression on his face and his brow furrowed. "You're back early, Kenshin," Yuto said as he walked over to join his friend.
"So are you," Kenshin said absently.
"What's wrong?" Yuto asked as he sat down beside Kenshin. "Something seems to be bothering you."
Kenshin sighed and glanced at his duel disk. "Was it really a good idea to add that mechanism to our duel disks?" he said.
"What mechanism?"
"The same one that Academia was using on us."
Yuto grimaced as he realized what Kenshin was referring to. "We only did it as an absolute last resort," he said quietly. "I don't like that function anymore than you do and I don't plan on ever using it myself."
"Me neither," Kenshin said. "It brings back...way too many bad memories. My family, my comrades..." He trailed off and clenched his hand into a fist as he whispered, "I just wish Shun would see the problem with using that function. He seems to think it's all right, but...I don't understand why he doesn't see how wrong it is."
"Shun? Kenshin, what happened?" Yuto asked, sitting down beside his friend.
"I ran into Shun today," Kenshin said. "He asked me to help him out, saying he overheard two LDS students talking about two of the LDS Fusion course teachers being in the area and asked me to help him interrogate them." He went on to explain about his duel against Professor Tanaka and Shun's duel against Professor Marco as well as what Shun did afterwards.
Yuto's grim expression darkened. "I see… He really has completely ignored my warning," he said quietly and shook his head as he glanced at Kenshin. "I think he's not seeing how what he's doing is wrong because he's too blinded by his rage. He believes that the enemy deserves the same fate that they gave to our comrades, no matter how wrong that is."
"Yeah, I guess. They didn't even know anything," Kenshin said. "Well, Shun didn't even question Professor Marco and Professor Tanaka didn't have any information. I'm starting to worry that there isn't any information to be found in this dimension."
Yuto placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't think like that, Kenshin," he said. "Don't lose hope. We will find out where Ruri is and we will find a way to defeat Academia and avenge the comrades that we have lost. It'll just take time."
Kenshin sighed and smiled a little. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound so pessimistic or whatever," he said and glanced at Yuto. "What should we do next?"
"For now, I believe we should lay low. I have no doubt that what Shun did to those two professors is going to have the city on high alert," Yuto said.
"Probably. Hopefully, Shun realizes that and lays low himself," Kenshin commented.
"While I hope he does, I have this odd feeling he won't. At least, not entirely."
"Probably not." Kenshin's stomach growled and he flushed while Yuto chuckled.
"Someone's hungry," he said and stood up. "Come on. I ran into that lady from earlier and she told me that if we were hungry then we can stop by her restaurant and she would give us some food."
"Really? She really is nice," Kenshin said. "Won't it hurt her business if we don't pay for it?"
"She said that we could wash the dishes afterwards as payment. Try not to break them."
"Why must you always say something like that?" Kenshin whined.
Yuto just gave him a deadpan look.
"Break some of Mom's plates one time and you just can't let it go."
"Need I remind you of just how many 'some' actually was?"
Kenshin flushed again. "Anyway," he said quickly, waving a hand as if attempting to wave away the subject, "Why don't we go and get something to eat?"
Yuto nodded and led the way out of the building. He scanned the darkening street as he made his way down it with Kenshin at his side. Maiami City was what Heartland used to be like, even when there weren't as many duels going on throughout the city. It was still filled with people smiling, laughing, and having good time.
Yuto didn't know how many times he'd come across a family enjoying a day in the park or a nice dinner at a nice restaurant. It reminded him of the time he spent with Kenshin and the Kurosaki siblings. Since he didn't have a family of his own, he didn't know what happened to his parents and no one else seemed to know themselves, they had become like a family to him.
It made him feel homesick.
His home was in ruins because of Academia.
Academia…
Yuto pushed the rage he felt away and focused on making it to the restaurant. He pushed open the door and the lady behind the serving counter smiled in greeting. "Hello," she said. "This must be your companion. Welcome. Go ahead and take a seat anywhere."
"Thank you, madam," Yuto said and led the way to one of the tables at the far corner of the restaurant. The restaurant was moderately sized but wasn't too busy at that time of day. There were only a few groups there; a small family of three already eating their dinners, a couple of teenagers looking over the menu, and a small group of officers sipping at drinks.
"This is a nice place. Reminds me of Mom's restaurant," Kenshin said quietly as he sat down at the table and Yuto sat down next to him.
"I remember. Your mother used to always give me, Shun, and Ruri a free dessert just because," Yuto commented.
"Yeah." Kenshin's eyes glittered with sadness and Yuto gazed at him sympathetically. He didn't know what it felt like to actually have parents, to actually have a family, since the closest thing he had to family where the friends he'd made while at the Spade Branch. But, just because he didn't know what it was like to have a family, he did feel for Kenshin; for him to lose his family in front of his eyes was likely terrible.
Changing the subject, he said, "I wonder if there are a lot of duel schools in this city. All everyone has talked about is LDS and yet one of the people I spoke with said that he attended a cooking school that taught dueling as well."
"A cooking school that teaches dueling?" Kenshin said in surprise and chuckled as the sadness faded from his eyes. "Now that's something I never thought would exist. If that's the case, I really am curious about what other schools exist in this city."
The lady came over and Yuto was finally able to get a glimpse of her name tag: Nicole. "Thank you, Madam Nicole," he said politely as he took the menu.
"You're welcome. Order what you like and, after closing today, you can pay me back by doing the dishes like you said," Nicole said.
"Of course," Yuto assured her and began scanning the menu while Kenshin was doing the same.
"Would you like something to drink?" Nicole said and, once she'd taken Yuto and Kenshin's drink orders, she walked away to place the order while Yuto and Kenshin scanned the menus in their hands.
. . .
Kazuki watched Yuya's duel against Shuzo, one hand resting idly on the pendant around his neck. He toyed with it almost self-consciously, his thoughts once again drifting as they have been doing off and on all day today. The fact that Reiji revealed himself capable of Pendulum Summoning, as well as having Pendulum cards of his own, was still a bit of a surprise, but it also brought to mind what Kazuki had told Yuya after his duel against Strong Ishijima.
It seems that Pendulum Summoning is on its way to becoming mainstream if LDS is already producing prototype Pendulum cards, Kazuki thought. He knew that was why Shuzo was dueling Yuya; the principal was hoping to get through to Yuya that it wasn't the end of the world just because Pendulum summoning was no longer Yuya's alone. Yuya was still the one who created it and that was something that no one could take away from him.
When Shuzo activated the Action Card Illusion Dance that forced all monsters on the field into Defense Position, and caused all monsters to start dancing, he began to dance himself while inviting Yuya to join him, insisting that was the way of making the audience smile, the Yushou-style Action Duel. Kazuki had to chuckle a little bit because, while it wasn't quite like his dad's style of dueling, it did remind him a bit of his dad's dueling style.
Yuzu scowled as her paper fan appeared in her hand. "Why is Dad so full of himself?" she demanded.
"Shuzo is always like that," a soft voice said and Kazuki turned to find his mom stepping into the viewing area. He blinked and then briefly remembered that Yuzu had called someone right before Yuya's duel against the principal began.
She must have called Mom, probably to help snap Yuya out of this funk he's in, he thought.
"Shuzo wants to get his message across more stylishly," Yoko explained.
"What message?" Yuzu wondered.
"I think I know what he's trying to tell Yuya," Kazuki said, turning his gaze back to the duel just as Shuzo used the Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to Pendulum Summon while still talking with Yuya. "He wants Yuya to understand that, because he created Pendulum Summoning, he should be the one to set an example for everyone else to follow, just like Dad did, right?"
"Pretty much, yes," Yoko said, a small smile on her lips, as Shuzo explained to Yuya that Yushou had been overjoyed when others started Action Dueling and that, as a result, he set out to polish his skills.
"Everyone around him started to follow his example and made Action Dueling the way it is today through diligent training." Shuzo smiled and added, "Only the best know what it's like being the best and you should try your hardest to reach that goal. As the one who pioneered Pendulum Summoning, you have to set an example for those who want to follow and hone your skills so that, the next time you face Akaba Reiji, you will be able to defeat him. And with this, I end my turn."
"Wait, what?" Ayu said.
"After going through all that trouble of Pendulum Summoning, he ends his turn?" Futoshi said, surprised.
"He is still rather tactless," Yoko commented.
"I see. He didn't have to go through all the trouble of Pendulum Summoning," Tatsuya said.
"There are more important things than winning. If Shuzo didn't have that mindset, he wouldn't be as good a duelist as he is," Yoko said and turned around, heading toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Kazuki said in surprise.
"Home. It's not my time to chime in yet," his mother said and left.
Yuya's duel against Shuzo ended with Yuya's victory and a rather melodramatic moment when Shuzo faked falling unconscious to which Yuzu, who had walked into the arena after the Action Field dissipated, responded by whacking him in the face with her paper fan.
"Don't die like that," she exclaimed.
"Ow!" Shuzo whined, clutching at his face.
Kazuki winced.
Yuya smiled a little. "Thanks, Principal," he said, "and I promise that I will train harder than anyone else to set an example for everyone to follow and so that I can also make the audience smile like Dad someday."
"Yuya..." Yuzu murmured and then a look of determination crossed her face.
Kazuki also nodded, feeling determination to become stronger and train harder. He may not have taken part in the four duels to defend You Show, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't train himself. He would get stronger and he would try his hardest to make his dad proud of him.
. . .
A few days passed by since the duels to defend You Show and it found Kazuki, Yuya, and Yuzu seated outside in the courtyard of Maiami Second. Yuya was happily digging into his lunch while Yuzu was wrinkling her nose in disgust at how quickly Yuya was eating, and the fact that he was talking about his goal with his mouth full. Kazuki, eating at a more sedated pace, sweatdropped and shook his head.
"I thought Mom taught you better manners than that," he said dryly.
"It's times like these that I wonder how you two are twins," Yuzu said finally.
"Me too."
A handkerchief suddenly appeared in Yuzu and Kazuki's field of vision and they turned to find the one person Yuzu definitely was not in the mood to interact with.
Sawatari Shingo stood in front of them, holding the handkerchief and smiling. "Hello, Hiiragi Yuzu," he greeted her.
Yuzu turned her head away with a disgusted look in her eyes.
"You..." Kazuki scowled.
"You are rather uncouth in front of a lady, not just in your eating habits, but also in your dueling," Sawatari said, turning his gaze to Yuya.
Yuya swallowed a bit of food and frowned at Sawatari. "I know I'm not the cleanest eater," he said. "But my dueling is not the same way."
"Doubtful. I hear you attacked someone else," Sawatari said.
"No he didn't," Yuzu snapped. Who else was attacked?she thought.
"Who else was attacked?" Kazuki asked, as if echoing her thought.
"Two LDS Fusion Summon teachers," Sawatari explained, leaning back and tucking his hands, and the handkerchief, into the pockets of his pants. "And you know I was just kidding about you being the attacker. I mean the victims were LDS teachers. You couldn't beat one teacher with your cowardly Pendulum Summons, let alone two."
"Cowardly?" Yuya said offended. "Why do you say that?"
Sawatari leaned closer to Yuya. "It's unfair that only you have it," he said. "But I heard a rumor that Leo Corporation is independently producing Pendulum Cards. I plan on getting my hands on some of them and I will defeat you with them." He turned around and strode off, adding over his shoulder, "I'll see you three at the Maiami Championship."
As he walked way, Yuya frowned. "Maiami Championship? Wait...that's coming up?" he gasped.
"Yeah, in a few weeks," Kazuki said. "You've still got time to get the remaining duels that you need. What was it? Four?"
"Yeah. I need four more duels to get to the fifty duels, but I've only had twenty six wins of the forty six duels I've been in," Yuya said.
"You need to win your next four duels in order to get the sixty percent win rate," Kazuki said.
Yuya nodded. "Well, the day's not over yet. I'll just ask around the school. There's bound to be four more duelists who will agree to duel me," he said as he finished eating his lunch and threw it away in the trashcan next to the bench they were seated on.
"What about you, Kazuki?" Yuzu asked. "If I remember right, you already have the sixty percent win rate needed."
Kazuki nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to be spending the next few weeks refining my Fusion Summoning skills. I want to learn all that I can about Fusion Summoning so I don't make any mistakes during the Maiami Championship," he said.
"I see." Yuzu's eyes set in determination before she turned to Yuya and added, "C'mon, while it's still lunch, let's go try to find you four more duelists."
"Right," Yuya said, jumping to his feet and Kazuki got to his feet as well and the three of them darted off to try to find four duelists for Yuya to duel.
They made their way into the school building and began asking around for anyone who would be willing to duel Yuya to help him qualify for the Maiami Championship Tournament. Kazuki asked some, Yuzu asked others, and Yuya asked others.
The results were the same.
"They won't want to duel me because I beat Strong Ishijima," Yuya groaned.
"And some say that you should get a free pass to the tournament," Kazuki added.
"I don't want a free pass. I want to earn my way into the tournament. Besides, my duel against Strong Ishijima was only an exhibition match and doesn't count," Yuya said, a cloud of glum hovering over his head as the three of them headed toward the gates of Maiami Second. School was over for the day and the three of them were planning on heading over to You Show.
They met up with Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi who, immediately noticing Yuya's glum state, asked what was wrong. When Yuya explained the situation, he finished with, "They seem to think that I should get a free pass, but they have the wrong idea. I just need to duel four more people, but I don't know who..."
He sighed and then cast a glance at his friends and grinned.
Yuzu had an idea of what he was thinking.
"Why don't I just duel you guys?" he said eagerly.
"Um, we're still in the Junior class, so it won't really count," Ayu pointed out.
"I've already qualified and have dueled against you way too many times that it would be pointless," Yuzu said.
"Same here. We know each other too well for the duel to be worthwhile," Kazuki said.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" Yuya exclaimed.
"Calm down, for one. Getting all worked up isn't going to help matters," Kazuki said, placing a hand on Yuya's shoulder and Yuya took a deep breath to calm himself down.
Yuzu thought about it until an idea came into her mind. "Why not duel Gongenzaka?" she suggested. "I mean you got most of your wins from his dojo."
Yuya was shaking his head even before Yuzu finished. "I'm grateful to Gongenzaka for helping me whenever I need it, but I don't want to really on him anymore. I want to become someone he can rely on with my own strength."
"With my own strength, huh?" Kazuki's lips pressed together and he patted Yuya's shoulder. "Hey, Yuya, will you let Principal Hiiragi know that I'm not going to be in class today?"
"Why?" Yuya said but Kazuki darted off without replying.
Yuzu, deep in thought, watched Kazuki run off as Yuya's words echoed in her head and she nodded to herself as determination set in. She knew what she had to do. "You're right, Yuya," she said and darted off as well.
"Wait, what? Where are you going?" Yuya protested.
"Don't worry about it. I want to get strong too."
"But we need to get to You Show," Tatsuya protested.
"Just tell Dad that I won't be coming today," Yuzu shouted as she ran out of earshot.
She caught up quickly with Kazuki, one of the people that she wanted to talk to. "Kazuki!" She called and Kazuki skidded to a halt and turned to her as she came up to him breathless.
"What is it, Yuzu?" he asked.
"Teach me!" Yuzu pleaded.
"What?"
"Teach me how to Fusion Summon!" Yuzu insisted. "Please. You've taught yourself how to Fusion Summon in order to get stronger, so please, will you help me get stronger and teach me?"
Kazuki studied her and let loose a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm still not used to Fusion Summoning myself," he admitted. "That was actually why I was tracking down Sora. I mean, I've got down the basics, but...I just want to learn more than what I've learned so far. Books and manuals can only take me so far, after all." A thoughtful expression crossed his eyes and Yuzu wondered what else he was thinking about but he said nothing more so she brushed it off as nothing.
"You did a good job teaching yourself with just books and manuals," she said. She would admit that it was pretty neat of Kazuki to learn a summoning method through reading books and manuals on that method. However, as she listened to Kazuki's words, she realized that what they both needed was an actual teacher, someone who knew the method very well. "But maybe what we both need is an actual teacher. Let's go find Sora."
"I think he mentioned something about being around LDS Tower today," Kazuki said.
"Right," Yuzu said and she darted off in the direction of LDS Tower with Kazuki running behind her. She knew that she couldn't stay the way that she was now; Yuya was trying to change, Kazuki was already changing, and she had to change as well. She had to get stronger so that she could protect You Show and everyone she cared about.
. . .
Next Time: The Road to the Junior Youth Championship
. . .
Featured cards
Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah
Level 3
FIRE
Fairy/Effect
ATK 1200/DEF 200
During either player's turn (Quick Effect): You can banish this card from your hand or Graveyard, then target 1 face-up "Empyrean" monster you control; once during this turn, it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You can only use the effect of "Empyrean Angel of Virtuosity – Pahaliah" once per turn.
Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah
Level 5
FIRE
Fairy/Effect
ATK 1900/DEF 900
If you control a face-up "Empyrean" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "Empyrean Angel of Silence – Dumah" once per turn this way. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 Set card your opponent controls; destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Empyrean Angel of Silence - Dumah" once per turn.
Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel
Level 5
FIRE
Fairy/Effect
ATK 2000/DEF 1000
If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "Empyrean Angel of Solitude – Cassiel"
once per turn this way. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; add 1 "Empyrean" monster from your Deck to your hand, except "Empyrean Angel of Solitude - Cassiel". You can only use this effect of "Empyrean Angel of Solitude - Cassiel" once per turn.
Lucifer, Fallen Dragon of Empyrean
Rank 4
FIRE
Dragon/Xyz/Effect
ATK 2500/DEF 1500
2 Level 4 "Empyrean" monsters
If this card is Xyz Summoned: You can target 1 of your banished "Empyrean" cards; add it to your hand. At the start of the Damage Step, if this card battles a face-up Special Summoned monster: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; banish that monster, and if you do, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.
Raphael, Healer Archangel of Empyrean
Rank 5
FIRE
Fairy/Xyz/Effect
ATK 2700/DEF 1700
2 Level 5 "Empyrean" monsters
Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls; its ATK becomes half its current ATK, and if it does, gain LP equal to the same amount of ATK lost. Your opponent takes any battle damage you would have taken from battles involving a face-up "Empyrean" monster you control.
Empyrean Strike
Quick-Play Spell
Discard 1 card, then target 1 "Empyrean" monster you control that destroyed an opponent's monster by battle this turn; that target can make a second attack this Battle Phase. During your Main Phase, if this card is in your Graveyard, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can discard 1 "Empyrean" card; Set this card in your Spell & Trap Zone. You can only activate 1 "Empyrean Strike" per turn.
Rank-Down-Magic Fallen Force
Quick-Play Spell
Target 1 Xyz Monster you control; Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Empyrean" monster with a lower Rank than that monster you control, by using it as the Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon. Xyz Materials attached to it also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.) The monster Xyz Summoned by this effect gains this effect.
• If this card attacks, or is attacked by, an opponent's monster, the opponent's monster's effects are negated during the Battle Phase only.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: and that was chapter 4! I hope you enjoyed it
Yuri: it was an intriguing win. I wonder just how well that kid would do against me? (Smirks that predatory smirk of his)
Yuya: Yuri...you're being creepy again
Yugo: when isn't the grinning bastard being creepy?
Yuto: when Bakura isn't stealing, which is to say...never
Yugo: Blaze, why do you even like that grinning bastard?
Blaze: what can I say? I like the batshit crazy characters. I like Vector after all.
Yuri: who is this Vector?
Blaze: (thinks about what would happen if Yuri and Vector met and pales) no one! No one at all!
Yuri: no one, eh? I believe I am going to find this "no one". I suspect we will get along well (walks off to track down Vector)
Blaze: so this can go two different ways. Either they try to kill each other or, well...(gulps)
Yuto: why do I have this odd feeling the second option involves the destruction of the multiverse?
Blaze: Erm, your feeling is probably right. Please review, as they are much appreciated, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.