Hey, guys! Thanks for waiting! The votes are in, and I'm glad that other people have agreed to skip the Yuya and Yuzu duels so we can always watch them later and are part of the plot, anyways!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
"Sawatari-san! I came to visit!" called out Mitsumi, entering Shingo's hospital room while holding a basket meant for Shingo.
She had heard about Shingo resting in the hospital after his friends confronted her about it after pulling her aside during lunch break. Well, it was more like they begged her to come and visit Shingo after school since he requested to see her. As annoying as their pleas were, Mitsumi had to agree to keep up the kindhearted and shy façade that everyone was already familiar of. That, and she was rather curious herself as to how Shingo ended up in the hospital. Last night was a rather big incident, but it couldn't have been that bad, could it?
Apparently, it could. Shingo's head was wrapped up in bandages, he had a sling around his arm, and his leg was held up high by another sling to recover. Mitsumi didn't think that he was injured this badly, but then again, one can't just fake injuries in an official hospital.
"Um...are you alright, Sawatari-san?" Mitsumi asked, taking up a chair and sitting near his bed. "I bought you your favorite, sweet milk appleberry pie with honey! I'm sorry, I didn't have time to bake anything, but-"
"Ooh! My favorite!" said Shingo, snatching the basket away from her and uncovering his favorite dessert inside. "Mmm! Well, I guess I can forgive you if you feed me this lovely dessert you bought me!"
'Spoon feeding him? Okay, I'm just about ready to strangle this motherfuck-' thought Mitsumi, forcing herself to smile. 'No, stay calm, Mitsumi! Just do what he says for now!'
"Alright, then! Now, let me see...Oh! There's a fork right there!" Mitsumi grabbed a fork from the table filled with gifts and sweets meant for Shingo and proceeded to spoon feed him the pie. "Um...Sawatari-san? May I ask how exactly you got injured?"
"You were there!" reminded Shingo, chewing on his food. "Last night! When that damned Yuya attacked me after I lo-After our duel! Damnit!"
"Wait, what? Your injuries came from that duel last night?" wondered Mitsumi. "Okay, first off, that last move during that duel barely made a scratch on you. Secondly, that guy from last night was NOT Yuya. He didn't even look like Yuya!"
"He did! He attacked me, and don't deny it! You and Hiiragi-kun were there!"
"Well, yes, but like I said, that duelist looked absolutely nothing like Yuya," protested Mitsumi, continuing to feed Shingo. "He had black and purple hair, and Yuya's hair is red and green! How can that-"
"Then he was in disguise! To hide his identity!" said Shingo. "No matter what you say, I'm convinced that Yuya Sakaki was the one who put me in this hospital!"
'Better change the question, then. It hasn't even been five minutes and he's already annoying me,' thought Mitsumi. "Alright, please calm down, Sawatari-san. It's no good to get all hot-tempered while you're still recovering. You still need your rest."
Shingo smirked. "Ah, you're just as kind as ever, Mitsumi-chan! As an reward for your kindness and care towards me, I shall grant you a kiss!~" With that said, he moved closer to Mitsumi, closing his eyes and preparing for a kiss...
Only to have his mouth filled with pie. Or rather, a spoonful of pie shoved into his mouth and the remains smeared all over his lips.
'Back off, asshole,' Mitsumi wanted to say. Instead, she said, "Oops! I'm sorry, Sawatari-san! I thought you wanted more pie! I...I'm afraid I can't really give you a kiss. You're still recovering!"
'Playing hard to get, huh? No matter! I shall one day be given a kiss by cute and shy little Mitsumi-chan!~' thought Shingo confidently, chewing and then swallowing the pie he was eating before licking his lips clean. "That's alright! I'm just glad you came to visit!"
"Okay! But...If you don't mind me asking, how is it you got really, badly injured? I-I mean I'm sorry if it's such a rude question, Sawatari-san, but I just want to know how. I-I don't think that duelist from last night injured you that badly..."
"Mitsumi-chan, you can ask me all the questions you want and I won't hesitate to answer!" replied Shingo. "And, to answer your question, that duelist did injure me! After I left the warehouse, I got ambushed by him and then beaten up real badly! I bet he thought I didn't have enough from our duel, so he proceeded to beat me up! Luckily, I am a black belt at karate-"
'Total liar,' Mitsumi thought, annoyed.
"-So, I fought off the best I could, performing my best karate moves, but unfortunately he managed to get away, but not without suffering injuries! And that's how I ended up in his hospital; a hero!"
'Wow, what an egotistical liar,' thought Mitsumi. 'Anyone can totally see that he's lying, but I may want to ask his friends what really happened later. For now, I'm just about ready to happily leave.'
Glancing at her watch, Mitsumi looked surprised. "Oh! Sawatari-san, I'm sorry, but I'll have to cut our talk short. I have classes in You Show Duel School in about half an hour, so I have to go. I'm sorry, but I hope that you'll recover soon!"
"Wait!" said Shingo, grabbing her wrist with his free, "uninjured" arm. "Could I get a good luck kiss from you?"
'I am so gonna kill this guy!' Mitsumi thought before faking a smile. "I-I don't know...It might not be appropri-"
"Just one little peck on the lips, please?" Not wanting to take no for an answer, Shingo squeezed his eyes shut yet again and puckered up, leaning towards her.
'...I'm gonna smash his forehead.'
Instead of giving in and kissing him, Mitsumi did what she thought to be one of the most satisfying decisions of her life; slamming her forehead against Shingo's after pretending she was going to kiss him. Granted, the recoil from such a big blow did cause pain and a slight headache to Mitsumi, but she felt it was definitely worth it.
"GAAAH! MY FOREHEAD! OWWWW! HEY, MITSUMI-CHAN!" cried out Shingo, rubbing the sore spot on his bandaged forehead.
Winching in pain after slightly touching her forehead, Mitsumi apologized, "I-I'm sorry, Sawatari-san! I-I didn't meant to mess up and...and...I'll leave you alone! See you!" She scrambled to get out of the room, leaving with a huge, successful grin on her face.
Shingo hissed in pain as he was left alone in his room. "Ow...! That hurt! But...Oh, well. I was so close to kissing her! I guess next time's the charm?"
Outside of his hospital room door, Mitsumi sighed and leaned her back against it. 'Thank god that's over with! But I swear, if he tries to kiss me and actually, somehow succeed, I'm gonna fuckin' punch him in the face. And I don't care who'll see. Well, I guess I should be glad he didn't. Anyways, I should get back.'
Later, at You Show Duel School...
"Today, we will be studying on the many different methods to summon!" announced Shuzo, using one of his teaching methods on a full-screen presentation in the darkened classroom to show his students. The presentation displayed a cartoonish image of Duel Monster cards along with a weak-looking Monster right next to a stronger-looking Monster.
Mitsumi, having been trained in Pro Dueling ever since she was just a little girl, was already fully aware of the different types of summoning. Normal Summoning, Set Summoning, and Tribute Summoning were part of the basics, and she understood them immediately. It wasn't like she was bragging, but she was aware because of her training and dueling experience. Still, this sort of education may be helpful for the more younger students, such as Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi.
"First up is Normal Summoning," continued Shuzo. "This is the most common method where you summon them face-up in Attack Position, or also called Attack Mode, from your hand. Back in the past, you could also Normal Summon Monsters in face-up Defense Mode, but that has changed, and you're only allowed to summon them in face-up Attack Mode."
Ayu raised her hand. "Why wasn't that allowed anymore?"
"Well, I heard it was to make dueling more fair and a lot more interesting," Shuzo said, scratching his head. "I'm not sure about the official details, so this is just from my opinion. Next up is Advance Summoning, also known as Tribute Summoning! Tatsuya, can you explain it to us?"
"Yes!" said Tatsuya, standing up. "Tribute Summoning is another summoning method where you summon from your hand, but when summoning a Level 5 or 6 Monster, you can't do without sacrificing, or also known as Tributing, another Monster that's currently on your field. Furthermore, Level 7 or higher Monsters require two sacrifices."
Shuzo nodded proudly. "That's correct! Well done! You've been studying well-Huh?"
Ayu and Futoshi weren't even the slightest interested in the lesson, looking seemingly bored. "How boring..." groaned Futoshi.
"We already know all of this," said Ayu.
Seeing Shuzo depressed, Mitsumi decided to try and help cheer him up. "Now, now, you two!" Mitsumi scolded, turning to the two kids. "It's not bad to re-learn things. It's a good reminder and this sort of information may help you in a duel."
Shuzo glanced up, happy that Mitsumi was supporting him. "Mitsumi...!"
"Besides, you're being disrespectful towards your teacher. He put together this lesson to teach you things, and you not paying attention and even commenting how boring the lesson is isn't just out of line, but also improper. Such an attitude are for bad kids!"
Understanding Mitsumi's logic, both Ayu and Futoshi glanced at each other before turning to Shuzo apologetically. "We're sorry, sensei! It won't happen again!"
Shuzo grinned, placing his hands on his hips. "Awww! It's alright! So long as you understand, all is forgiven!"
"I perform a Fusion Summon with vanilla ice cream and custard pudding!" whispered Sora to himself, scooping up a bit of both of the desserts that he was intentionally hiding behind a textbook. "Devour it all! Sweets Ruler Vanilla Prince!"
"Hey, that's no good!" Yuya whispered to Sora, who was happily eating his two desserts.
"No, it tastes great! You want some, Yuya?"
"That's not what I meant! If you get caught eating that in class, who knows when Yuzu's paper fan...will...?" When Yuya turned to see what Yuzu was doing, he was surprised to see she was looking forward, as though paying attention to the lesson. But, being childhood friends with Yuzu, he knew that expression was that of a clear distraction instead of focusing on the lesson.
Yuzu must still be thinking of the events that occurred last night. Because Yuzu was unable to, Mitsumi had explained everything to Yuya as to what happened between Shingo and the mysterious masked duelist. Even Mitsumi didn't know why Yuzu was still out of it, though she did share her own opinions that Yuzu must still be in shock from what happened and that it was probably best to give her some time to pull through before talking to her further about it.
In the end, Yuya had to agree with Mitsumi's suggestion and left Yuzu alone during school. Still, he couldn't help but worry about his pink-haired friend, and seeing Mitsumi somewhat glance at Yuzu just now with a worrying look, he could guess that Mitsumi was just as concerned as he was. Perhaps after lessons were over, both of them could confront and talk to Yuzu?"
"Next up is Fusion Summoning," said Shuzo. "How about we have Sora explain this one?"
"I activate donut's effect!~" cheered Sora, now holding two donuts in his hand dramatically. "Vanilla Prince is powered up even more! Shing!~"
"What are you doing eating in class, Sora?!" Shuzo shouted in exasperation as Sora devoured his donuts happily.
"Dad!" shouted Yuzu, standing up from her seat. "Can you tell us anything about XYZ Summoning?"
The room grew silent and devoid of anymore excitement from Yuzu's request. Everyone had calmed down from the slight excited moment between Shuzo and Sora and Shuzo had a moment to composure himself before turning to his daughter in confusion.
"XYZ Summoning? No, I don't know, why?"
"We don't teach XYZ Summoning at our school, do we?" asked Yuzu.
"N-No, we don't. I can't teach what I haven't done," said Shuzo. "It's just recently that they started teaching it at LDS, isn't it? Why'd you bring up XYZ, anyways?"
"...Nothing. I was just...wondering."
"Ooh! Yuzu-neechan! If you want to know about XYZ Summoning, Mitsumi-neechan can tell you all about it!" replied Tatsuya. "She's the one who explained it to me before, after all!"
Everyone looked at from Tatsuya to Mitsumi, then back to Tatsuya. "...What do you mean by that?" asked Yuya.
'Ah, goddamnit,' thought Mitsumi, burying her face on her desk. She wanted to hide her true skills from everyone as possible because she didn't want to revert back to who she was in the past, and that included her huge knowledge and experience in Pro Dueling.
"When I was having trouble choosing my deck, Mitsumi-neechan helped me and answered a lot of questions I had about dueling!" explained Tatsuya. "She got me interested in XYZ Summoning! She might be able to answer your question about XYZ Summoning for you!"
Now everyone turned back to Mitsumi, as though awaiting for her answer. "Mitsumi-chan, do you...do you actually know what XYZ Summoning is?" asked Yuzu.
"Well...I...Tatsuya-kun! Maybe you can explain it to them?" Mitsumi suggested, trying to avert attention away from her.
"Hmm? But, I think you should! Your explanation's way easier than the commentaries I've heard from LDS! They make things so hard and complicated!"
Mitsumi mentally sighed, resigning herself to give a simple explanation instead of making her situation more troublesome than it already is. "Alright, alright. XYZ Summoning is basically overlaying at least two Monsters with the same Level from the Extra Deck."
Ayu raised her hand. "What do you mean, 'overlaying?'"
"Basically stacking two face-up Monsters on top of each other, which is overlaying, before putting the XYZ Monster on top. It's like making a miniature deck, but only with the XYZ Monster and the XYZ Material Monsters, which are the non-Extra Deck Monsters underneath the XYZ Monster."
"Are the two Monsters with the same Levels called XYZ Material Monsters?" asked Futoshi.
Mitsumi nodded. "Yes. And depending on the conditions, it can be more than two Monsters that can be used as XYZ Material, but the minimal requirement is two Monsters."
"What are the XYZ Material Monsters for?" Sora asked curiously with a sly look. "Are they just there for summoning an XYZ Monster?"
Shaking her head, Mitsumi said, "No, it's much more than just them acting as a summoning condition. You know how many Duel Monsters has special abilities, or effects, right? Well, for XYZ Monsters, sometimes, their effects require for them to 'detach' XYZ Material Monsters in order for the effects to be activated. Also, the XYZ Material Monsters are called Overlay Units, so they're extremely important for XYZ Monsters."
"You said you can only XYZ Summon an XYZ Monster with Monsters with the same Level?" asked Ayu.
"Yes, Ayu-chan."
"Then, what happens if you try to XYZ Summon Monsters that don't have a Level? If that's possible?"
Mitsumi shook her head. "That's impossible. An absolute requirement to XYZ Summoning is using Monsters with the same Level."
"The more complicated something is, the more interesting it must be!" exclaimed Sora. "I can't wait to XYZ Summon a high-leveled Monster someday!"
"Actually, you can't," informed Mitsumi. "XYZ Monsters don't have Levels. Yuya, what's the Level of your ace dragon?"
"Hmm? Odd-Eyes? Well, he's a Level 7 Monster. Why?"
"If you were to use another, different Level 7 Monster, you'd be able to XYZ Summon a Rank 7 Monster."
"Rank 7?" wondered Futoshi. "Not Level?"
"No, because instead of Levels, XYZ Monsters have Ranks. That's one of the many things that makes them different from Fusion or Synchro Monsters."
"...I think I have a general understanding of XYZ Summoning now," admitted Yuzu. "I'm still a little confused, but your explanation made it easier, Mitsumi-chan. Thank you."
"Yeah!"
"I-It really wasn't much," assured Mitsumi, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
"..." Sora couldn't help but glare at Mitsumi suspiciously. If she had knowledge for XYZ Summoning, why didn't she play any during any of her duels ever since he became a student here? And why did she seem so hesitant as to share this sort of information until now? It was clear that she was hiding something, but what and why?
Mitsumi honestly wanted to avoid sharing any knowledge of her knowing all about this because she didn't want anyone to catch on how strong she truly was. She truly wanted to forget her painful past and just move on the future without any of her friends learning that she used to be a sort of a junior-level Pro Duelist. No way was she going back to that painful life again.
"You say he ambushed him?!" exclaimed an awfully loud, familiar voice that appeared as though it came from outside. "Yuya would never do something that cowardly!"
"Wait..." started Mitsumi. "That voice...is that-"
"Gongenzaka?!" finished Yuya, standing up in surprise.
It was unanimously decided that classes would be cancelled for the time being in order to check out what was going on outside. After exiting the You Show Duel School, Yuya and the others found Gongenzaka arguing with Shingo's three friends, Kakimoto, Ootomo, and Yamabe.
"What's all the fuss about?" asked Shuzo.
"Oh, Principal!" said Gongenzaka, relieved that someone had come to his aid. " "I, the man Gongenzaka, was in the midst run for my leg training, when I noticed three suspicious male figures peeking into this Duel School! When I questioned them, they said that Yuya had ambushed them last night! Truly unforgivable!"
"Wait, what?! Me?! But I didn't do anything!" cried out Yuya.
"That's what a liar would say, and we won't let you forget!" shouted Kakimoto.
"We were there and we saw you with our very own eyes!" replied Yamabe.
"There were five, no, six witnesses present!" said Ootomo. "Sawatari-san, us three...and those two girls over there! Hiiragi and Nazuno-chan!"
Both Yuzu and Mitsumi looked a bit startled as the attention turned to them, although while Yuzu remained startled, Mitsumi quickly grew annoyed. Her annoyance vanished in an instant as she held up a nervous-looking expression.
"W-Well, it is true we were there, but..."
"T-then did you really see who ambushed them?" questioned Gongenzaka.
"Saw what? Yuzu, why didn't you tell me something important had happened last night?" asked Shuzo, concerned for his daughter.
"Yeah, those two girls definitely saw the culprit's face!" said Yamabe. "The son of the soon-to-be Mayor, Sawatari-san's assaulter, Yuya Sakaki!"
Yuya was still confused by the shocking truth being shoved into his face. "Huh?!"
"Stop lying!" yelled Futoshi.
"Yuya-niichan would never do something like that!" defended Tatsuya.
"The one who attacked first was that meanie Sawatari!" said Ayu. "So, in order to stop him, both Yuzu-neechan and Mitsumi-neechan went to go duel him!"
"Technically, I just came along to stop Yuzu from doing anything reckless, but yeah...I was still there," admitted Mitsumi.
"W-Wait, then the one who dueled him wasn't Yuya, but Yuzu?" wondered Shuzo.
"She didn't even get a chance to duel Sawatari-san before some mysterious duelist came up and took her place," Mitsumi corrected. "That duelist ambushed Sawatari-san, not Yuzu. And it definitely wasn't Yuya, either!"
"What are you talking about? It was definitely Yuya Sakaki!" argued Kakimoto. "We were all there, including you!"
"Yeah! He took off his mask and revealed his true identity! Yuya Sakaki!" said Yamabe.
'My god, how stupid are these idiots?' thought Mitsumi, resisting the urge to throttle them. 'They saw from the fire's light that it definitely wasn't Yuya! Yuya doesn't have purple and black hair! In fact, that duelist doesn't even resemble Yuya in the slightest! What is wrong with their eyesight?!'
"I feel so sorry for Sawatari-san," sighed Ootomo. "He was injured so severely, he was hospitalized!"
"Hospitalized?! Seriously?!" gasped Yuya.
"His life could even be at risk!"
'Bullshit! I was there! He could easily recover in a few days time!' Mitsumi wanted to say. Instead, her eye twitched with annoyance as she remained calm and maintained her nervous façade. "Um..."
"If something happens to Sawatari-san, how are you going to take responsibility?!" accused Kakimoto to Yuya, who was still stunned that he was being accused of things he had never done.
"Take responsibility?! B-But I...I..."
"Can I say something?" asked Mitsumi, raising her hand and having quite enough with all this nonsense. "As one of the witnesses, I pretty much have the right to say something about all of this."
The three boys glanced at each other and nodded in agreement. "Fine, what is it you wanted to say?" asked Yamabe.
"I have a few things to say about all of this. First off, how do you even know it's Yuya? Like you said, you three, Sawatari-san, Yuzu, and me were all the six witnesses. But, look here." She walked up to Yuya and lightly tugged on his hair. "Yuya has GREEN and RED hair. That duelist from last night had PURPLE and BLACK hair. Or are you instigating that somehow, Yuya dyed his hair in a short amount of time?"
"H-He could have dyed his hair before coming to the rescue!" accused Kakimoto. "And then re-dyed it after to keep suspicion off of him!"
"No, it'd be more like he had a disguise or something!" said Yamabe. "Yeah! That has to be it!"
"...I admit, the disguise is a possibility," said Mitsumi.
"Mitsumi!" cried out Gongenzaka. "What gives?!"
"Hey, I don't want to think Yuya's the culprit, either," Mitsumi said. "And I'm not even done talking, so please...no outbursts, Gongenzaka."
"...I, the man Gongenzaka, apologize for my earlier outburst and for interrupting."
Mitsumi nodded and continued. "I have further proof that it's possible that the duelist last night wasn't Yuya. He was using an XYZ deck, one consisting of some archetype called Phantom Knights. I've known Yuya for basically all my life, and not once, have I seen him use that sort of deck, much less XYZ Summon."
"He could have been hiding his abilities all this time!" said Ootomo.
"I did not! I don't even know how to XYZ Summon! Well, until Mitsumi explained it to me a bit earlier today!" defended Yuya.
"Eh...Let's get to that part later," said Mitsumi. "You're right. I don't have proof that he has a second, hidden deck consisting of XYZ Summoning."
"See?"
"Mitsumi!"
"BUT-! You guys don't have proof that he does have a second deck," said Mitsumi, crossing her arms. "Actually, you guys don't have proof that he was the mysterious duelist last night. We don't have proof that he wasn't the one who attacked you guys, but at the same time, you don't have a slick of proof that he actually was the attacker!"
Shingo's three friends knew that Mitsumi was right. That meant that both sides were at a stalemate and they couldn't decide what to do.
"Um..." said Ayu, raising her hand. "I don't think Yuya-niichan is the culprit, but...I did tell him that you and Yuzu-neechan were in trouble, so he ran off first to help you two."
"Ha!" shouted Yamabe, pointing at Ayu. "The little girl testifies! If Yuya Sakaki knew, he would have more reason to help you and Hiiragi-chan!"
'Damn! Kinda forgot about that!' Mitsumi thought. "Just because Yuya was informed, doesn't mean that he's the culprit!"
"Pfft! You're only saying that because he's your best friend!" said Kakimoto. "Of course you would defend your best friend!"
"I could say the same with you three," Mitsumi countered. "You're only going along with these baseless accusations simply because Sawatari-san told you that it was Yuya who attacked you guys, correct?"
"W-Well...Yeah...But that's not all! We were there last night, too!" reminded Ootomo.
"And so was I!" said Mitsumi. "And don't even say that last night's attacker was Yuya, because there was no way he looked ANYTHING like him!"
"He could have a disguise!"
"That's not enough to pin down Yuya as the culprit. Maybe the attacker did have a disguise, or maybe, in just pure coincidence, he did look like Yuya, but it might have been an entirely different culprit altogether."
"..." The three boys didn't know what to say, as they were only following Shingo's words and were growing more confused with the situation.
"...Just admit it," said Mitsumi, showing an expression of disgust and annoyance towards them. "You're just accusing Yuya because Sawatari holds a grudge against him for winning a duel between them. And it just SO HAPPENS that the attacker from last night just happens to resemble Yuya. I still don't see the resemblance, yet somehow, everyone else thinks the two look alike. I wonder how much money Sawatari pays you to be his lackeys and do everything he tells you to do every single day!"
"Mitsumi!" cried out Yuya, horrified. "That...That sounds...that sounds a bit dark, even for you!"
Mitsumi looked around, and saw everyone with surprised and shocked expressions at her latest set of words. She glanced back at Shingo's three friends and saw they were just as shocked as everyone else at her cold, dark words.
'Shit! For a moment, I kinda let out my true self there. Okay, just stay calm, Mitsumi, and regain that annoyingly cute, adorable persona that everyone knows and loves!' Mitsumi thought, regaining back her fake, peaceful smile. "I-I'm sorry, everyone. I'm especially sorry towards yo, Kakimoto-san, Ootomo-san, and Yamabe-san. I didn't mean to utter those horrible words. Please, forgive me." She bowed her head towards the three respectfully, though she didn't want to.
"I-It's alright!"
"Y-Yeah! We were just surprised! We know you didn't mean it!"
"Apology accepted! We forgive you, so don't worry about it so much!"
While everyone else was relieved and quickly forgot about what had happened, Sora frowned and continued eating his donut. He knew that just now, THAT was Mitsumi's true face. It was only for an instance, but he saw it, and he was slightly impressed that Mitsumi could quickly convert from a coldhearted person to that sickly, fake sweetheart that everyone recognized as their own Mitsumi. Just how long had she been doing this? She was just as interesting as Pendulum Summoning!
"Still...that doesn't change the fact that Yuya Sakaki may or may not be the culprit!" reminded Yamabe. "I vote that he is!"
Mitsumi resisted the urge to facepalm and simply sighed to get any stress out. "You can't just vote on whether or not someone's the culprit. You need sufficient evidence, and right now, we're both lacking evidence."
"F-Fine! Then, what about Hiiragi-chan? She hasn't said a word this whole time! Let's ask her what she thinks about all this!"
"Oh, right!" Yuya turned to Yuzu. "Hey, say something, Yuzu!"
"...I did see it, but..."
"Don't tell me that you doubt me too, Yuzu!"
Yuzu only looked away, unable to face him. "If something happened to Sawatari-san, of course you'd get caught!" said Kakimoto. "By the cops, I mean!"
"B-By the cops?!" cried out Shuzo. "Yuya! Yuzu! Mitsumi! Explain what exactly happened from the start properly!"
'Damnit, Yuzu! If you hadn't stupidly gone after Sawatari, this wouldn't have happened!' thought Mitsumi. "O-Okay, then! What happened was-"
"Let me explain it for you," spoke a businesswoman, stepping out from a white limo, accompanied by a tall man in sunglasses.
"You! Are you from LDS?!" gasped Shuzo.
"Yes, I am the current Chairwoman, Himika Akaba. Would you mind if we discussed this more inside?"
"A-Alright, then. Let's go inside, then."
"Everything they said is the truth," replied Himika once they all settled inside and she explained everything. "The fact that one of our own LDS students, Shingo Sawatari, was attacked, as well as his statement that the culprit is Yuya Sakaki who is currently enrolled as a student at this Duel School..."
Understanding the situation a lot better, Shuzo turned to Yuya. "Is this true, Yuya? Did you really-?"
"I didn't! I would never do something like that!"
"I, the man Gongenzaka, believes in his friend, Yuya!" agreed Gongenzaka. "It's the same for all of you, isn't it?"
"Of course!" shouted Futoshi, Ayu, and Tatsuya.
"Yuya's a funny and kind individual! He'd never hurt a fly!" protested Mitsumi.
As for Yuzu, she had no idea who was right and who was wrong, so instead, she turned to Yuya desperately. "Yuya-! That really wasn't you, was it? You didn't hurt anyone, right?"
Both Yuzu and Yuya stared at each other, searching for any hints of lies, but there found to be none but genuine honesty and hope between them.
Turning to Yuzu, Yuya solemnly told her, "I'm not know what you saw, Yuzu, but I promise you this; I did not attack Sawatari!"
Seeing Yuya's serious expression and trustworthy eyes, Yuzu could tell that he was definitely telling the truth. "I got it. Then, I'll believe in you too, Yuya!"
"Oh my, what strong bonds you all have," praised Himika. "It seems it would be impossible for me to ask you to hand Yuya over. But, we cannot back down at this point now. If rumor spreads that a student from LDS, the World's Number One Duel School, lost in a duel, it would bring forth immense damage to our reputation!"
Shuzo began to protest. "But Yuya didn't-!"
"That is no longer relevant!" shouted Himika with a stern expression as she stood up, enraged. "The problem here is that the symbol of LDS has been dragged through the mud! The only way to clear this disgrace is a duel between Duel Schools!"
Slightly shaking from the Chairwoman's frightening, burning demeanor, Shuzo felt a newfound fear and respect for her. "A-A duel?!"
'Terrific! This is just great! I blame both that stupid Sawatari and Yuzu for this! But mostly Sawatari!' thought Mitsumi. 'Ugh, this is so stupid, but might as well play along.'
Calming herself, Himika sat back down. "If your party wins, then we will ignore the case concerning Sawatari. But if we win, we will have you make this Duel School a part of LDS!"
Everyone was shocked by the other winning condition Himika had proposed. "What did you say?!"
"No way!"
Even Gongenzaka was enraged. "Not only do you want to clear your name, but you also want to take over You Show Duel School!"
Instead of normally freaking out like everyone else, Shuzo kept his cool and proceeded to continue the talks. "Chairwoman Akaba, I've heard you've acquired nany other Duel Schools across the world. Am I right in saying that You Show Duel School has become your next target?"
"Yes, that's precisely it."
"Wait, don't tell me-! You set up the entire attack on Sawatari just for this-?!"
"No, that's not the case! Even LDS wouldn't resort to dirty attacks like this! But it is true that I took a hold of the chance give to me. The chance to have LDS have Fusion, Synchro, XYZ, and Pendulum Summoning as the four pillars to support our school. Don't you think that up until now you've been blessed with such an amazing gift, Principal Hiiragi?"
Shuzo looked down, as though contemplating on their current situation. Yes, You Show Duel School wasn't really popular and funds were really difficult to hold for the school, up until recently ever since Yuya had come up with a new summoning method called Pendulum Summoning. If You Show Duel School joined up with LDS, it would be a tremendous comeback for the school.
"Using the skills and abilities of our Leo Corporation to add Pendulum Summoning to our LDS Curriculum would make dueling much more stronger," Himika continued explaining. "There are many duelists who aspire to use Pendulum Summoning just as Yuya has. The same is for your students, yes?"
Tatsuya spoke up. "B-But if you don't have Yuya-niichan's Pendulum cards to Pendulum Summon-"
"That can also be resolved by the power of our Leo Corporation. That's why it's necessary for us to unite."
"Dueling...is not a tool meant for fighting!" said Yuya, gripping onto his pendulum necklace tightly. "But I don't want You Show Duel School or Pendulum Summoning taken away by someone else! You Show Duel School is a Duel School my father created to teach Entertainment Duels! A Duel School that teaches that duels should be something to be enjoyed and viewed by others! I don't want to give it over to someone like you who thinks they can control anyone with their own money and power!"
"Well said, Yuya!" praised Gongenzaka, clasping a hand on Yuya's shoulder. "I, the man Gongenzaka, agree wholeheartedly! In order to defend You Show Duel School, I'll fight alongside you!"
"But you're an outsider, aren't you?" reminded Sora.
"GAH! Well...I..."
"If that's the case, then your presence isn't necessary here any longer," replied Himika coldly to Gongenzaka. "This is going to be a duel between LDS and You Show Duel students only. If you're not a student here, then you aren't allowed to participate in this duel!"
"But...I..."
Yuya placed a hand on his friend's arm. "Gongenzaka, it's alright. I appreciate you coming to support us, but we've got this!"
"Yeah!" said Sora. "If it comes down to it, then it'll probably just be me, Yuzu, and Yuya, right? I also want to duel against an LDS duelist as well!"
"This...This is so unfair!" complained Gongenzaka with a red face of frustration.
"It seems that your students' feelings are in line with each others," commented Himika.
"Mine are as well," said Shuzo, determination spoke in his words. "We won't hand over You Show Duel School!"
"Well then, shall we begin?"
Later...
It didn't take long for Himika to gather up the three duelists she needed for the Duel School battle between LDS and You Show Duel School. The three duelists seemed like average, young teenagers, but considering they were from LDS, they must be extremely strong for Himika to choose them.
"Three against three," the Chairwoman announced. "The first who gets two wins is the victor. Is that good with you?"
"Yeah, that's alright," agreed Shuzo.
"So then, who will go first?"
The first ones to go were Yuya and an XYZ user named Hokuto Shijima, with the result being that Yuya won, which led to You Show Duel School having 1 win while LDS' team had no wins. However, their team won the next round when it was Yuzu versus a Fusion user named Masumi Kotsu, and in Mitsumi's opinion, if Yuzu had stayed focused and wasn't constantly daydreaming about something, there was a slight chance she could have won.
And now, both sides had 1 win and 1 loss, meaning that the third and final duel would determine the fate of You Show Duel School. The third opponent was a Synchro user named Yaiba Todo, who was currently being talked to by his fellow classmates and Chairwoman, whereas Mitsumi and the others were on the whole other side of the room in private conversation themselves.
"Yuya-niichan won, and Yuzu-neechan lost," said Ayu. "What do we do?"
"The score is 1-1," reminded Tatsuya. "If we lose in the next duel, it'll be pretty bad!"
Gongenzaka was feeling frustrated himself. "I, the man Gongenzaka, would avenge Yuzu if I could, but compared to a duel with You Show Duel School on the line and with me being the successor to the Gongenzaka Dojo, I'm an outsider! Plus, I'm not even allowed to participate!" He turned to Sora, who was sitting down with a bored expression on his face as he was licking a lollipop. "Listen up, Sora! This is the moment of truth! You have to win!"
"Hmm...You know, I'm not really a fan of such stifling things," said Sora. "I dunno why, but I'm getting the feeling I'm not a good matchup with that guy."
"Wha-?! But you have to participate! You're a student of You Show Duel School! It's your honorary duty to do so!"
"Mmm...Why not have Mitsumi-chan do it, then? She's been a student here way longer than I have."
"What?!" exclaimed Mitsumi, pointing to herself. "How?!"
"Do I really have to spell it out?" sighed Sora. "Go. Duel. That. LDS guy. Simple."
"And what makes you think I actually have a chance against him?"
"Because you're the only other available candidate to duel that guy. Seriously, I don't think Ayu, Tatsuya, and Futoshi are qualified for this. Plus, you have your cute charms! You can easily seduce that guy with your cuteness and win the duel! Just say that you'll go out with him on a date if he lets you win or something."
"Sora! It is dishonorable to use bribery to win a duel!" cried out Gongenzaka.
"Yeah, and besides, I don't think that'll work," said Yuya.
"But guys...You know how anxious I get under pressure!" said Mitsumi.
"Mitsumi, you're literally the only other candidate for this! You'll do fine! I'm sure you'll win!"
"Guys, I really don't think that's possible-!"
"You'll be fine!" assured Yuya.
"But...but why don't you go yourself, Yuya? You already won against one of them, I'm sure you can-"
"No, that wouldn't work," said Gongenzaka. "The enemy has already seen Yuya's tricks, so the chances of him winning the next duel are very slim."
"Come to think of it," said Sora. "Why are you trying so hard to avoid dueling, Mitsumi-chan? This is your dueling school on the line, after all. Shouldn't you feel motivated to win? Or...are you...perhaps hiding something?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," spoke Mitsumi quickly. "Look, I just...I don't think I'm the most qualified person for this. Sora, you've won against me so many times! Clearly, that means you're stronger than-"
"Mitsumi-chan, can I ask for your ear for a sec?" Sora signaled her forward with his finger.
"Hmm? S-Sure..." Mitsumi knelt down close to Sora, brushing aside some hair away from her ear as she leaned close to hear what Sora had to say.
And she was not expecting this.
"I dunno why you're hiding your true potential, but if you don't want your friends to resent you, I suggest you actually try and win."
"W-What?" For a brief moment, fear struck Mitsumi, but it wasn't just Sora's words, but his unnatural character. He was supposedly the cheerful, candy-loving boy they all knew, but right now, he was acting completely different.
"Ah, ah, ah! No talking; just listening. All this time, I've been patient with you, and while you may be able to fool the others, it'll take more than that ditzy act of yours to fool someone as sharp as me. This whole duel is now going to fall down to your hands, because even if you somehow convince me to duel, I'll just easily throw the match, and I wouldn't even care what happens to this school."
"Y-you wouldn't-"
"Ah, I said no talking. Besides, you can be certain that I'll lose on purpose if you force me to duel. You and I both know the three other kids aren't strong enough, and Gong-chan isn't allowed to duel, so this just leaves you, and you only. Don't worry, I'll still be rooting you on. But, if you lose on purpose, then that just means your whole school will be a part of LDS, and if that happens, your friends will resent you, and I can tell that you're the type who doesn't want that to happen."
"..."
"It's simple. Just try and win, alright? I'm sure right now, you have a ton of questions for me, but we can get to that later. What do you say? Let me duel and lose the school, or duel yourself and have a chance of winning back your school?"
"...Ok."
"That's the spirit! Now, let's pretend everything's back to normal in three...two...one..."
Mitsumi stood back up straight, clenching her fists and silently gritting her teeth. 'Who the hell does this kid think he is, threatening me?! No, I...I can't! I can't lose my cool now! I have to stay focus!' she thought, relaxing her muscles.
"Mitsumi? Are you okay?" asked Yuya.
"...I'll do it."
"Huh?"
"Sora's not going to duel. I'll duel in his place. He gave me some...encouragement, so I..." Mitsumi turned around and smiled. "I'll do my best!"
Yuya nodded and smiled. "We're counting on you, Mitsumi! I know you don't have the best win record, but I'm sure this time, you'll do great!"
"Y-Yeah!" Mitsumi bypassed Yuya and approached her opponent, Yaiba Todo; slightly waving at him. "H-Hello!"
Unamused, Yaiba impatiently asked, "Hey, how long were you going to make me wait? Or were you thinking of forfeiting after getting all frightened up?"
Mitsumi shook her head. "N-No! Nothing like that! I'm sorry, I just needed a bit of motivation, that's all! Todo-san, my name is Mitsumi Nazuno! I'm going to be your opponent, so, it's nice to meet you! I hope we have a good duel!"
"Feh!" Tapping his wooden katana on his shoulder, Yaiba told her, "Don't think that just because you're a girl, I'll go easy on you! If you think I'm the same as those goody-two shoes your friends fought, then you're going to find yourself in a world of hurt! Because, unlike those guys, I'm actually really strong!"
"Goody two-shoes...? Do you mean Shijima-san and Kotsu-san?"
"Yeah, definitely them!"
Having heard his classmate, Hokuto quickly grew irritated. "Yaiba, that guy-! He's talking about us as if we're weak!"
Masumi smugly glanced at Hokuto, crossing her arms. "Sure it's annoying, but since you lost, you can't blame him, can you?"
Freezing up and turning white, Hokuto had no rebuttal to Masumi's cruel, but truthful words as he retreated to the corner of the room in shame.
Once both Yaiba and Mitsumi entered into the dueling courtyard, Shuzo activated one of the optional Action Fields that would be seemingly appropriate for the third and final duel; Sword's Cemetery. It was an entire wasteland filled with dark, clouded skies, swords buried deep in the ground, and no signs of life elsewhere.
"Mitsumi!" called out Shuzo from the operating booth. "Use this sword graveyard to bury your opponent's blade!"
"I feel like this is a complete disadvantage for me!" called back Mitsumi.
"What are you talking about?"
'That idiot probably chose this because he saw that Todo-san had a wooden sword! This is probably Todo's home field advantage just like it was with Shijima with his starry sky Action Field,' thought Mitsumi. "Never mind!"
"Hiiragi-san, if we win this match, Yuya Sakaki will become part of LDS. Do you agree with those conditions?" questioned Himika.
"But, if we win, you aren't allowed to meddle with Yuya again!" reminded Shuzo.
As everyone began chanting the usual incantation to begin the Action Duel, Mitsumi instead focused on her opponent and the deck that she carried with her. She hadn't planned on using the full strength of her Ritual deck, but it seemed that she'll have to if she wants to win. Sora was right; she had to win because she didn't want to let down her friends. They're all counting on her, and besides, if they mention any changes in her deck, she could always lie and say that she's recently changed tactics or something.
Glancing back at the confident-looking Yaiba, Mitsumi could tell this wasn't going to be an easy duel. It's been a while since she had to go all-out, but she still kept her body in good physical shape and her sharpened mind throughout these years ever since quitting in Pro Duelist Leagues. One similarity between her and Yaiba was that their decks relied on Levels, since his was clearly a Synchro deck, and hers was a Ritual deck. She didn't know what sort of Synchro deck he uses, but she'll find out in the duel.
"Action...!" everyone else in the background shouted; the end of the incantation drawing near.
"DUEL!" both Mitsumi and Yaiba finished, beginning the duel.
- DUEL -
Mitsumi - 4000 LP
VS
Yaiba - 4000 LP
"I'll go first!" said Mitsumi. "I set a Monster and set a card facedown before ending my turn!"
"That's all? I would have expected a lot more!" called out Yaiba.
'That's just a tacky move just to get me agitated and lower my guard. That won't work on me,' Mitsumi thought.
"My turn, draw! From my hand, I summon XX-Saber Boggart Knight!"
XX-Saber Boggart Knight - (EARTH/Beast-Warrior) - LV4 - (1900/1000)
"I now activate his effect! When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower X-Saber Monster from my hand! I Special Summon the Tuner Monster, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!"
XX-Saber Fulhelmknight - (EARTH/Warrior/Tuner) - LV3 - (1300/1000)
'A Level 4 and Level 3 Monster...He's definitely going to Synchro Summon a Level 7 Monster!' Mitsumi thought.
"I bet you're thinking, 'He's going to Synchro Summon now, right?'" taunted Yaiba. "Well, you're half-right. I am going to Synchro Summon, but just not right now! First, I activate the effect of XX-Saber Faultroll! He can only be Special Summoned from my hand if there are two or more XX-Saber Monsters on my field!"
XX-Saber Faultroll - (EARTH/Warrior) - LV6 - (2400/1000)
"No way! He's got three Monsters on his field now!" cried out Tatsuya.
"And Mitsumi-neechan's only got one!" said Ayu.
"If you're surprised now, wait until you get a hold of this!" Yaiba continued. "I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 4 Boggart Knight! Wielder of crossed blsades of light! Trample over this mountain of corpses! Synchro Summon! Come forth, X-Saber Souza!"
X-Saber Souza - (EARTH/Warrior/Synchro) - LV7 - (2500/1600)
"I'm not done yet! Now, I activate X-Saber Faultroll's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower X-Saber Monster from my Graveyard! And I choose XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!"
XX-Saber Fulhelmknight - (EARTH/Warrior/Tuner) - LV3 - (1300/1000)
'Another Synchro Monster? Guess he must have waited this long to pull another one out,' thought Mitsumi.
"Now, I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 6 Faultroll! Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth, XX-Saber Gottoms!"
XX-Saber Gottoms - (EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Synchro) - LV9 - (3100/2600)
"No way! Two?!" exclaimed Yuya. "Mitsumi only has one defense! She can't avoid a direct attack once her set Monster's destroyed!"
"Yuya!" scolded Gongenzaka. "Have some more faith in Mitsumi! I can tell from the look in her eyes that something's up, and quite differently this time!"
"So? Scared speechless? Can't think up of some rebuttal?" questioned Yaiba, smirking.
"..." Mitsumi didn't answer, instead only focusing.
"Tch! Staying quiet, huh? Whatever!" scoffed Yaiba. "Battle! I attack your facedown Monster with Souza!"
Souza leapt up into the air and swung his swords, creating an X-shaped blast of light that penetrated through Mitsumi's defenses and destroyed her only defensive Monster, revealed to be Gishki Ariel.
Gishki Ariel - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1000/1800)
"Gishki Ariel's Flip effect activates!" shouted Mitsumi. "I get to add a Gishki Monster from my deck to my hand!"
"Doesn't matter now! Now, I use Gottoms to attack you directly!" ordered Yaiba.
Gottoms aimed his blade at Mitsumi and fired a laser from the tip of it. Just before the laser blast could reach her, a barrier of bubbles appeared and blocked off the laser blast, protecting Mitsumi.
"What?!"
"...I activated my Continuous Trap, Bubble Bringer," explained Mitsumi. "Because of this Trap, Level 4 or higher Monsters can't attack directly, so I'm safe."
"Tch! So you took advantage of my Synchro Monsters' high levels for your Trap! Not bad!" praised Yaiba. "Still, defense alone isn't going to help you win this duel! I end my turn after I set one card facedown!"
"Whew! Mitsumi's safe! That's a big relief!" sighed Yuzu.
"She's still not safe, though," reminded Gongenzaka. "That Trap of hers has saved her some time, but it won't be long until her opponent tears down that card of hers."
"Why? If she doesn't summon any Monsters, doesn't that mean she's safe?" wondered Tatsuya.
"No, eventually, Yaiba's going to destroy that Trap of hers somehow," said Yuya. "I hope she summons a Monster strong enough to defeat those two big-boss Monsters!"
"My turn, draw!" said Mitsumi. "I activate the Continuous Spell, Water Hazard! Now, once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WATER Monster from my hand, but only if I don't have any Monsters on my field! I Special Summon Gishki Avance from my hand!"
Gishki Avance - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1500/800)
"I activate his effect. Once per turn, I can choose a Gishki Monster from my deck and place it on top of my deck! And now, I Normal Summon Gishki Chain from my hand!"
Gishki Chain - (WATER/Sea Serpent) - LV4 - (1800/1000)
"When Gishki Chain is Normal Summoned, I get to look at the top 3 cards of my deck, and if one of them is a Ritual Monster or Ritual Spell, I can reveal one of them and add it to my hand, and then I return the others back in the order of my choice!" After Mitsumi drew her three cards and glanced at them, she revealed Gishki Aquamirror, a Ritual Spell, from her hand, before returning the other two cards back into her deck.
"Heh, so you're a Ritual user, huh? Then this'll be both boring and easier than I imagined!" said Yaiba confidently.
"Hmm?" Mitsumi tilted her head in confusion, wondering what he was talking about.
"It seems you're confused, so I'll explain! Ritual Summoning...is nothing but a joke! The conditions are weak and very difficult, and they take up lots of space in the Main Deck, so nobody bothers with Ritual Summoning anymore!"
"Hey! Don't insult Mitsumi-neechan!" called out Futoshi.
"Yeah! Insulting her dueling is like insulting her!" agreed Ayu.
"But you have to admit, he is right," said Sora. "Ritual Summoning has so many weaknesses. In fact, other than Mitsumi, I haven't seen anyone else Ritual Summon."
"But LDS specializes in all sorts of Summoning, so that must include Ritual Summoning, right?" wondered Yuzu.
"It is true that we do have a Ritual Summoning class," admitted Himika.
"Wait, seriously?" wondered Hokuto. "LDS has a class for that weak-ass summoning?"
"LDS has all sorts of summoning classes," Himika explained. "Tribute Summoning class, Set Summoning, and even Ritual Summoning. However, these basic classes are only sub-classes and are not required. You don't need to worry so much about Ritual Summoning."
"Damn, you really picked the short straw here!" said Yaiba to Mitsumi. "You're obviously the weakest of your friends if you chose Ritual Summoning as part of your deck! The weakest of your group vs the strongest of my group; me! This'll be so easy, I can do this duel in my sleep! And-"
"Hey, moron," called out Masumi. "While you were talking, you haven't noticed anything?"
"Huh?"
"You were so busy monologuing, you failed to noticed your opponent walking around and looking for an Action Card!"
"What?!" Yaiba turned back to Mitsumi, who was indeed walking around before she stopped and picked up what appears to be an Action Card. "Oh, come on!"
"...Oh. Are you finished?" Mitsumi asked.
"Were you ignoring me this whole time?!"
Mitsumi shook her head. "Oh, no. I was listening the whole time, and I decided to use this time to try and find an Action Card. Did you finished talking now?"
"...Just...Just finish your turn!"
"Okay. I activate the Ritual Spell, Gishki Aquamirror. I sacrifice Gishki Chain, Gishki Avance, and the Gishki Reliever from my hand in order to Ritual Summon Gishki Zielgigas!"
Gishiki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (3200/0)
"Crap! That guy's way stronger than my Gottoms!" cried out Yaiba before making a run for it. "Gotta find an Action Ca-"
Right before he could track one down, he was stopped in his tracks by Gishki Zielgigas, who was staring down at him menacingly.
"Gishki Zielgigas, take down his XX-Saber Gottoms," ordered Mitsumi.
Wasting no time, Gishki Zielgigas shot four blasts of water from his four palms and took down XX-Saber Gottoms in mere seconds. Once he finished his task, he leapt up and landed near his owner, having done his duty.
Mitsumi - 4000 LP
Yaiba - 3900 LP
'As much as I want to use Zielgigas' ability, I already checked the top two cards on my deck. They were definitely not Gishki Monsters, so it'd be a huge waste of time and my Life Points to activate his effect,' thought Mitsumi. "I end my turn after throwing down a facedown."
"Heh, not bad! Guess I underestimated you!" said Yaiba. "That won't happen a second time, though! My draw! I activate my Trap, At One With the Sword! This can only be activated if the only Monster I have left on the field is one X-Saber Monster! Now, I get to equip this card to that Monster and he gains 800 Attack Points! I equip this card to my X-Saber Souza!"
X-Saber Souza - (EARTH/Warrior/Synchro) - LV7 - (3300/1600)
"No! Now he's the one with the stronger Monster!" cried out Yuzu.
'Hmm...I'm a bit weary of that facedown card of hers. Right now, I don't have the necessary requirements to Synchro Summon Hyunlei, so I'll have to go with this!' thought Yaiba. "I summon from my hand, the Tuner Monster, X-Saber Palomuro!"
X-Saber Palomuro - (EARTH/Reptile/Tuner) - LV1 - (200/300)
"Is he going to Synchro Summon again?" wondered Gongenzaka.
"No, in fact, like I said earlier, I won't underestimate her tricks!" said Yaiba. "I now activate Souza's effect! By Tributing one of my other X-Saber Monsters, I can choose one of the two effects Souza has until the end of this turn! I sacrifice Palomuro in order for Souza to gain this effect! Now he can't be destroyed by Trap effects!"
'He must have been worried about my facedown. Well, it is a trap, just not for him, though,' thought Mitsumi.
"Now, I attack! Souza, destroy her Monster!"
Souza charged forward and slashed Zielgigas in half, causing a huge gust of wind to burst towards Mitsumi's direction as her Life Points were deducted.
Mitsumi - 3900 LP
Yaiba - 3900 LP
"The effect of At One With the Sword now activates! Because the Monster equipped with this Trap destroyed your Monster, I can draw one card!"
"Then, I activate my Trap card," said Mitsumi. "Torrential Reborn! When a face-up WATER Monster is destroyed in battle and/or card effect and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon the Monsters destroyed at that time! Come back, Gishki Zielgigas!"
Gishiki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (3200/0)
"How troublesome-! Just when I got rid of it!" grumbled Yaiba. "Well, it won't matter because my Monster's still-"
"And, for each Monster that was Special Summoned, you receive 500 Points of Damage."
Mitsumi - 3900 LP
Yaiba - 3400 LP
"Mitsumi's playing style has completely changed!" said Yuya. "Alright!"
"I guess all of that practice over the years has helped improved her this much," said Yuzu. "I feel kinda bad for always criticizing and yelling at her for losing all those times."
"Don't. Failures can help someone seek their losses and improve," replied Gongenzaka proudly.
'Or, she's been hiding her strength this entire time and chose now of all times to get serious,' thought Sora. 'Still, she's getting a bit more interesting, so might as well watch some more.'
"I set a card and end my turn!" finished Yaiba.
"I draw!" said Mitsumi. 'The Action Card I have doesn't increase my Monster's strength, so I can't use it. Zielgigas is a good card in terms of offense, but right now, I can't use him to attack. I'll have to play on defense for now.' "I activate the Spell, Big Wave Small Wave! All face-up WATER Monsters I control are destroyed, and then I get to Special Summon WATER Monsters from my hand up to the number of Monsters destroyed by this effect! So, Zielgigas is destroyed, but in his place, I Special Summon Gishki Vanity!"
Gishki Vanity - (WATER/Aqua) - LV2 - (1000/800)
"You traded...your most strongest Monster for that?" questioned Yaiba.
"What an amateur move!" commented Hokuto. "I could have done way better than that!"
"What's she thinking?" wondered Yuzu.
"I now Normal Summon Gishki Reliever from my hand!" said Mitsumi.
Gishki Reliever - (WATER/Aqua) - LV2 - (500/800)
"Alright, the summoning requirements are met. I Overlay my two Level 2 Monsters and build the Overlay Network!"
"What?!" everyone cried out as the dark and light spiral colors merged together into one portal and Mitsumi's Reliever and Vanity disappeared into the portal.
"XYZ Summon!" Mitsumi shouted. "Appear, in Defense Mode! Rank 2! Cat Shark!"
Cat Shark - (WATER/Beast/XYZ) - Rank 2 - (500/500)
"Wow, what a weakling! Sacrificing her big triumph card for that weak Ranked Monster!" commented Hokuto.
"Huh, I have to admit, I would have never imagined you having an XYZ Monster in your Ritual Summoning deck. You seem to surprise me every time," admitted Yaiba. "But if you think that little cat monster of yours can defeat my Synchro Monsters, you've got another thing coming!"
"I end my turn," said Mitsumi.
"My turn, draw!" said Yaiba. "I activate my Trap, Gottoms' Emergency Call! If a face-up X-Saber Monster is on the field, I can target 2 X-Saber Monsters from my Graveyard and then Special Summon them onto the field! I Special Summon XX-Saber Gottoms and XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!"
XX-Saber Gottoms - (EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Synchro) - LV9 - (3100/2600)
XX-Saber Fulhelmknight - (EARTH/Warrior/Tuner) - LV3 - (1300/1000)
"Now, from my hand, I summon XX-Saber Emmersblade!"
XX-Saber Emmersblade - (EARTH/Insect) - LV3 - (1300/800)
"He's got four Monsters on his field now!" cried out Tatsuya.
"Not another Synchro Monster!" gasped Ayu.
"Now, I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 3 Emmersblade! Clothed in your red mantle, take down your foes with your dancing blade! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 6! XX-Saber Hyunlei!"
XX-Saber Hyunlei - (EARTH/Warrior/Synchro) - LV6 - (2300/1300)
"Hyunlei's effect now activates! When she's Synchro Summoned, I can select and destroy up to three Spells/Traps on your field!"
After Yaiba declared the effect, Hyunlei threw two daggers at Mitsumi's only two spells/Traps, Bubble Bringer and Water Hazard, leaving only Cat Shark as her only remaining defense left on her field.
"Oh, no! Without Bubble Bringer's effect, if her Monster gets destroyed, Mitsumi won't have anything to defend herself against a direct attack!" shouted Yuya.
"That can't be-!" gasped Yuzu.
"Ha! With that annoying Bubble Bringer out of the way, once I take care of your Cat Shark, it's game, set, and match for me!" said Yaiba cockily. "Battle! Hyunlei, destroy her Cat Shark!"
Hyunlei took out another dagger from her arsenal and threw it at Cat Shark, only for a water barrier to deflect the dagger and land deeply into the ground, joining with the rest of the swords in the graveyard-like Action Field.
"What?!"
"Do you know why I went through all of the trouble of summoning Cat Shark?" spoke Mitsumi, walking up behind Cat Shark and ruffling his fur gently. "It's because of his special ability. When he has an XYZ Material that was originally WATER, he can't be destroyed by battle."
"So you knew-! You knew that one of my Monsters could have taken out your Ritual Monster in the next turn, and that following up afterwards, I could have destroyed you with direct attacks and end this duel! Isn't that right?"
"..."
"To think you predicted that far ahead-! I can't do anything else right now, so I guess I'll end my turn!"
"My turn, draw!" Mitsumi said. "I activate the Spell, Salvage! Now, I target 2 WATER Monsters from my Graveyard and add them to my hand! But they have to have 1500 or less Attack Points as well! ...I set a Monster facedown and end my turn!"
"My turn!" said Yaiba. 'Shit! What do I do? I can't attack her Cat Shark, since there's no point if it's indestructible, and I have no idea what her mystery Monster is! Might as well strengthen my forces for the time being, then!'
"I summon the Tuner Monster, X-Saber Airbellum!"
X-Saber Airbellum - (EARTH/Beast/Tuner) - LV3 - (1600/200)
"I tune Level 3 Airbellum with my Level 6 Hyunlei! Synchro Summon! Come forth, XX-Saber Gottoms!"
XX-Saber Gottoms - (EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Synchro) - LV9 - (3100/2600) X2
"Another Gottoms showed up!" said Yuya. "He's got three Monsters with very high Attack Points!"
"Calm down, Yuya," assured Gongenzaka. "Mitsumi is still safe so long as she has Cat Shark on her field. Remember, as long as Cat Shark has that Overlay effect, Yaiba Todo can't touch her."
"Maybe so, but I can still attack her other Monster!" declared Yaiba. "X-Saber Souza! Destroy her set Monster!"
X-Saber Souza lifted up his sword and brought it down, unleashing a laser slash that destroyed Mitsumi's set Monster, which revealed to be Gishki Ariel.
Gishki Ariel - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1000/1800)
"Ariel's Flip effect now activates!" said Mitsumi. "I'm allowed to add a Gishki Monster from my deck to my hand!"
"Because of the Equip Trap that's equipped onto Souza, whenever he destroyed a Monster, I get to draw a card!" reminded Yaiba. "Now I end my turn!"
"Then, it's my turn again. I draw!"
"This duel could go either way," commented Gongenzaka, crossing his arms.
"What do you mean?" Futoshi asked, who was just as curious as Ayu and Tatsuya.
"It's clear that Yaiba has very powerful Monsters on his field, but right now, he currently cannot bypass Mitsumi's defenses. On the other hand, Mitsumi doesn't have any strong Monsters and is currently building up her strength. Either Yaiba finds a way to destroy Mitsumi's defenses again like he did earlier, or Mitsumi starts summoning more stronger Monster to counter Yaiba's."
"Hmm...Well, whatever the case is, I'm still rooting for Mitsumi!" replied Yuya. "I know she can do this!"
"Yeah!" agreed Yuzu.
Mitsumi examined the cards in her hand before making her move. "Alright, I discard Gishki Shadow from my hand in order to add a Gishki Ritual Spell card from my deck to my hand."
"Ritual Summoning again?" asked Yaiba. "No matter how much you Ritual Summon, it won't stand up-"
"And then, I activate the effect of Gishki Aquamirror from my Graveyard. I shuffle that card from my Graveyard to my deck to target a Gishki Ritual Monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I choose Gishki Zielgigas!"
Yaiba placed his hands on his hips. "Hey! Don't interrupt me!"
Mitsumi tilted her head. "Oh, I'm sorry. But technically, you interrupted me during my turn, as I haven't finished it. So, please let me finish and don't say any unnecessary or useless words of advice."
"Unnecessary...?! Useless?!" exclaimed Yaiba, baring his sharp teeth in anger.
"That...seemed a little uncalled for," admitted Gongenzaka, surprised. "And quite unlike Mitsumi to say that."
"The heat of the duel must be getting to her," replied Sora nonchalantly. "People say things they don't really mean. Mitsumi-chan must be doing the same."
"Y-Yes, you're probably right..."
"Then, I use Gishki Vision's effect from my hand and use his effect as the full requirement to Ritual Summon 1 Ritual WATER Attribute Monster. I now activate Gishki Aquamirror and use Gishki Vision as the full sacrifice in order to Ritual Summon Gishki Zielgigas!"
Gishiki Zielgigas - (WATER/Aqua/Ritual) - LV10 - (3200/0)
"That was a skillful move!" admitted Yuzu. "Taking advantage of her already used up Ritual Spell!"
"I know, right?" agreed Yuya.
"Not to worry!" said Yaiba confidently. "As long as I still have Souza as the biggest, strongest Mons-"
"I Normal Summon Gishki Beast from my hand," said Mitsumi.
Gishki Beast - (WATER/Beast) - LV4 - (1500/1300)
"And when he's Normal Summoned-"
"Jeez! Stop interrupting me!" complained Yaiba.
"Technically, you're the one who interrupted her this time," spoke out Masumi from the sidelines.
Mitsumi cleared her throat. "As I was saying, when Gishki Beast is Normal Summoned, I can target a Level 4 or lower Gishki Monster in my Graveyard and then Special Summon that Monster in face-up Defense Mode. I Special Summon Gishki Avance from the Graveyard."
Gishki Avance - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (1500/800)
"I then activate Gishki Avance's effect. Once per turn, I can choose a Gishki Monster from my deck and add it to the top. And now, once more, I build the Overlay Network!"
"Another XYZ Summon?!" shouted Yaiba as he watched a new entity emerge from the swirling colors of darkness and light.
"XYZ Summon! Come out, Evigishki Merrowgeist!"
Evigishki Merrowgeist - (WATER/Aqua/XYZ) - Rank 4 - (2100/1600)
"Heh, not really that tough!" spoke Yaiba confidently. "Compared to my other Monster, she-And you're just going to ignore me, huh?"
Mitsumi nodded. "I activate the effect of Gishki Zielgigas on the field! Once per turn, I pay 1000 Life Points in order to draw 1 card and reveal it! If the drawn card is a Gishki Monster, then I get to shuffle 1 card from the field into the deck!"
"Oh! So that's part of why she summoned Gishki Avance!" said Yuzu. "She took advantage of that card before using him as an XYZ Summon!"
"What do you mean, Yuzu-neechan?" wondered Ayu.
"Okay, so Gishki Avance's ability was to choose a single Gishki Monster and add it to the top of her deck, right? Well, it didn't really matter what sort of Monster she chose so long as it was a Gishki Monster! And now that she activated Zielgigas' effect, it's absolutely guaranteed that the card she's drawn will be the Gishki Monster she chose earlier!"
"So, what does that mean?" asked Futoshi.
Yuya answered his question. "That means Mitsumi will be able to shuffle a card from the field into the deck, and she'll be able to take away one of Yaiba's Monsters in the process, meaning one less threat on the field!"
Mitsumi - 2900 LP
Yaiba - 3400 LP
Mitsumi drew her card as predicted and revealed it to be Gishki Emilia, a Gishki Monster card. Adding Gishki Emilia to her hand, Mitsumi continued, "And now, I shuffle X-Saber Souza from the field back into your deck, or rather, your Extra Deck."
"Damnit!" cursed Yaiba as his most strongest Monster on the field vanished.
"I now activate the effect of Cat Shark. Once per turn, during either of our turns, by detaching 1 Overlay Unit, I can target 1 Rank 4 or lower XYZ Monster I control and double their original Attack and Defense Points until the end of this turn. I target Evigishki Merrowgeist!"
Evigishki Merrowgeist - (WATER/Aqua/XYZ) - Rank 4 - (4200/3200)
"What?!" shouted Yaiba.
"Awesome! Mitsumi can win this!" cheered Yuya.
Yaiba started running around the Action Field the moment that he realized that Mitsumi was all set to begin her counterattack. Mitsumi realized Yaiba's intent on grabbing an Action Card to save himself and quickly reverted to the Battle Phase.
"Battle! Gishki Zielgigas! Destroy the first XX-Saber Gottoms!"
Yaiba spotted an Action Card laying against the hilt of one of the many buried swords in the Action Field, grabbed it, took a glance at it, and activated it. "I activate the Action Card, Extreme Sword! I target the XX-Saber Gottoms that you're targeting and now he'll gain 1000 Attack Points for the remainder of the Battle Phase!"
It was now time for Mitsumi's countermeasure against the Action Card with her own Action Card she picked up earlier. "Action Card, Break Sword! I target 1 Monster, and this card negates any Attack Point boost towards that Monster!"
"Ah, come o-AAAAAH!" screamed Yaiba, being blown back by the explosion coming from the destruction of his former Saber Gottoms.
Mitsumi - 2900 LP
Yaiba - 3300 LP
"Evigishki Merrowgeist! Destroy his other Gottoms!" ordered Mitsumi.
Evigishki Merrowgeist raised her staff-like weapon and sent a torrent of water crashing towards XX-Saber Gottoms, destroying it.
Mitsumi - 2900 LP
Yaiba - 2200 LP
"Two of Yaiba's Monsters were wiped out instantly, and his strongest ones to boot!" cried out Hokuto. "Damnit, Yaiba! What are you doing?! Fight back!"
Mitsumi let out a sigh of breath. "I end my turn. At this moment, Evigishki Merrowgeist's Attack and Defense Points return to normal."
Evigishki Merrowgeist - (WATER/Aqua/XYZ) - Rank 4 - (2100/1600)
"My turn, draw!" shouted Yaiba. 'I'm running out of options here! I'm trying to think of summoning more, new Synchro Monsters, but even if that's the case, I can't add boost-ups to their Attack Points! The only Synchro Monster I have left is Hyunlei, but she's not strong enough to take on any of her Monsters! It's pointless to take out Cat Shark so long as it still has an Overlay Unit, and going after Merrowgeist is suicide if she activates that Cat Shark's effect again! I...I guess I have no choice! I hate this sort of strategy, but if I'm going down, I'm taking her down with me!'
"I set a card and end my turn!"
'I'm guessing his set card is dangerous,' thought Mitsumi. 'I have to find a way to get rid of it fast!' "My turn! I draw-!"
"And now I activate my facedown card!" declared Yaiba. "Ring of Destruction!"
"What?! Shit!" Mitsumi cursed, rushing forward the moment the Trap card was revealed.
"I target your Zielgigas to destroy him! Then, the both of us takes damage!"
"Yaiba! What the hell are you thinking?!" called out Masumi.
"Hey, I ran out of options! Besides, if I'm going down, then I want to try and take her do-"
"Get down!" yelled Mitsumi, tackling Yaiba to the ground just as the Ring of Destruction trap affected her Ritual Monster and destroyed him, rigging a large explosion that affected the entire Action Field.
Mitsumi - 0 LP
Yaiba - 0 LP
Winner: DRAW
The entire Action Field vanished the moment the results deemed the entire duel as a draw. Draws happened rarely and only in certain situations, such as if both players agreed to surrender, or, in this case, both players lost their Life Points at the same time.
Because of the explosion triggered by Ring of Destruction, Yaiba and Mitsumi were flung aside. Yaiba had regained consciousness and felt something heavy on top of him. Grunting, he sat up and felt the heavy weight pulling away from him before looking down.
Laying facedown, unconscious, and badly wounded was his opponent, Mitsumi. She was still alive of course, as she was breathing heavily in and out, but her injuries were not taken lightly due to her shielding Yaiba with her body from the explosion he had triggered.
Yaiba himself was very lightly injured, but not as much as Mitsumi. "Did she...did she throw herself towards me to save me from the explosion?"
"Mitsumi!" cried out Yuya, rushing to his friend's aid. "Are you okay?! Hold on!"
Mitsumi slowly started to wake up, and found herself in Yuya's arms as she was being shaken awake. "Yuya...? Ah...I'm sorry...I lost, didn't I...? Once again, I-"
Yuya shook his head. "No, in fact, you managed to get us a draw! It was thanks to your hard efforts and training that allowed us to make it this far! You did a fantastic job!"
"...Then...you won't throw me away...? You won't stop...being my friend?"
"What? What are you saying, Mitsumi? You'll always be my best friend! Just because you didn't get a win doesn't mean I won't stop being your friend!" assured Yuya. "I think the explosion must have messed with your head or something. Come on, I'll help you up."
Yaiba grunted as he stood up before helping Yuya lift up Mitsumi; the two boys now carrying Mitsumi by wrapping her arms around their shoulders. "Here, let me help. It's...kinda my fault she ended up this way, anyways. This is the least I can do."
Mitsumi used a bit of her remaining strength to look up at Yaiba. "Hey...you okay...? Sorry for startling you with my tackl-"
"Nah, it's cool. I didn't expect you to try and shield me, so thanks. I mean it."
Watching the three of them walk away from the Action Field, Shuzo spoke in the intercom. "The results of the Best of Three is one win, one loss, and one draw. Chairwoman Akaba, you said you would take this Duel School if you won at least 2 out of three duels. But instead, the result was a draw. I kindly ask you to leave."
"...What do you think you're saying?" questioned Himika. "This was a duel to settle everything! That can be no draws!"
"Yes, well...the duel did end in a draw, though!"
"A tie-breaker, then! We will duel with our two duelists that have one victory! That's fine with you, isn't it?"
"Y-You can't just-!"
"Wait. I'll finish this."
Stepping out from the shadows, a young man with red glasses and silver hair removed his hoodie and faced Yuya, who had helped placed Mitsumi down against the wall to rest before putting on his googles and facing the man fated to be his rival.
Whew! I did the best I could with this! Hope it was good enough! I'm actually not sure whether or not I should do the Reiji duel or even the Shuzo duel, so I'll let you guys decide! Read and review!