Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: Pendulum of Connections

by Imagine97

(Remake of the Arc-V series starting from the beginning.) What would happen if Yuya was more confident and skilled as a duelist? What if he had an older brother? What if Yuya had slightly different beliefs in dueling but the same intentions? Conflict never ends. Everyone is tied by bonds they don't know that exists which lead to two choices: Peace or Destruction.

13. A Samurai's Spirit

Thank you to everyone who sent messages, read and/or reviewed the last chapter.

Although, there were clearly a lot of guest reviews than last time. Not that I mind, but I can't respond to guest reviews very much if they have the same name. Also, please do me a favor, if you're going to do a guest review, at least use a name for it instead of leaving it at the default (For example, there's Knightdragon and Drago). I feel like someone is just spamming these reviews since they looked like they were written by one person (Seriously, I think one person did ten guest reviews so I had to delete them). Just so you know, I can't stand spam messages or reviews. If the same person keeps spamming messages/reviews in the future, I might be forced to delete them as I had to before. Just keep your comments in one or two reviews (at least for guest reviews).

Anyway, here's some responses:

Kingjeremy134 - No, Chihaya will not be Mikleo's love interest. Also, you don't need to repeat the same review. I response to these comments when I post a new chapter. Otherwise, thanks for the question.

Above the Winter Moonlight - Thanks for the comment. :)

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Chapter 13 - A Samurai's Spirit

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MAIAMI CITY - HIRAGI RESIDENCE

It was a bright, early morning as Yuzu exited the bathroom, feeling refreshed with a white towel over her shoulders as she just finished bathing. Instead of her school uniform, she was now wearing a casual pink dress and white shorts for today. She took a deep breath as the morning sun from the window shined on her. She put the towel into the laundry basket and went into the living room. She then saw Ruri and Rin doing morning exercises but, instead of their usual attire, today Ruri was wearing just a purple shirt and gray yoga pants while Rin was wearing a yellow shirt and gray shorts. The television in the room was turned on which showed an exercising show that told Ruri and Rin what to do.

Ruri was stretching her legs before noticing Yuzu and she smiled, "Oh, good morning Yuzu." She figured that Yuzu must have gotten out of the shower due to her hair being wet. Rin was lying her back, doing leg circles, when she saw Yuzu as well, "Good morning."

Yuzu smiled back at her, "Good morning, Ruri. Rin. You're doing morning exercises?" She didn't thing Ruri did exercising but it was good for her to do them.

Ruri then got on her back to do hip lifts as she spoke, "Yeah, it's always good to be in shape." There were two reasons she did this: It was cause she actually enjoys exercising and it keeps her figure balanced; it was also because it might help her to be in shape against future battles against Fusion. She doesn't like using that second reason but it is the truth.

Rin then got on her back as well to do hip lifts, "Ruri has been helping me working out a lot during the mornings." She guessed that Yuzu must have slept through some of their routines but lately Ruri has been doing exercising during the mornings and, during one morning she saw Ruri, Rin wanted to do it as well so it has been going on for a while.

Yuzu smiled at the two of them, "Mind if I join you?" She wanted to exercise as well since she had nothing to do right now during the mornings. Plus, it will give some girl time with Ruri and Rin.

Both Ruri and Rin were both lifting their hips while speaking, "Sure!" Yuzu nodded in response before soon after she joined Ruri and Rin in exercising as well. Soon after, Yuzu was lying on her back with Ruri and Rin while lifting her hips back and forth. The three girls also did other exercises such as leg circles and crunches.

After a few minutes, Shuzo walked into the kitchen and soon saw the three girls exercising on the living room floor. He was smiling at the fact that all three girls were getting along so well ever since he "adopted" Ruri and Rin into the family. Technically, he just allowed to Ruri and Rin to stay with them for the time being cause they didn't have a home right now. Nowadays, they almost feel like part of the family and it was good to see Yuzu hanging out with female friends for a change. WIth the way they get along, a thought crossed his mind that it was almost like they were treating each other like sisters but that's just his opinion.

Shuzo called out to them, "Good morning, girls!" The girls couldn't turn their heads but happily replied at the same time, "Good morning!" Shuzo then proceeded to make some coffee while being a little cheerful, "You three seem to enjoying yourselves so I'm going to make breakfast for you all!" The girls replied back, "Okay!" Shuzo then got some eggs and bacon from the fridge and proceeded to cook them.

Meanwhile, the girls were trying to stay still as their hips were still lifted into the air. Rin turned her head towards Yuzu in curiosity, "So Yuzu, you're going to meet Mikleo to learn Ritual Summoning today?"

Yuzu grunted a little before smiling, "Yeah, I'm supposed to meet him during the afternoon."

Rin slowly nodded her head, "I see."

Ruri could hear the curiosity in Rin's voice and tilted her head a little towards them, "Rin, are you maybe interested in what Ritual Summoning is?" She saw the hesitation and curiosity from Rin yesterday and wondered if that was the reason then.

Rin just smiled back, "Well...actually, yes. Although, I guess I'm also interested about the other methods such as Fusion and Xyz." She had to admit, she was curious about the new summoning methods she recently learned about. She doesn't know if she wants to learn about them but she is, at the very least, interested in them.

Ruri couldn't help but frown when she heard Rin mention the word Fusion as it still brought back painful memories of her home's destruction. She quickly masked the frown with a fake smile, "...I see. Good for you, Rin."

Yuzu and Rin heard the slight hesitation in her voice and Rin, although she couldn't turn her head all of the way, saw at the corner of her eyes Ruri frowning a little for a second which confused her. Was it something she said? Yuzu, however, narrowed her eyes and gave off a sad frown, "Ruri…" She was still concerned about Ruri and what she could be hiding although, with what she's about to share next, Yuzu doesn't know if Ruri would be too happy about it or not.

Yuzu just decided to go for it as she bluntly said, "...I'm also learning Fusion Summoning." She basically decided to just get it out of the way since she probably needed to tell Ruri about this eventually.

Ruri processed what Yuzu just said for a second before looking shocked, "...Wait, what?!" She was so taken aback by what Yuzu said that she lost her balance and her back tilted towards Yuzu and Rin, making her crash to the floor while taking the other two with her. All three girls yelped in surprise as they landed back on the floor fully with a thud. The three of them were groaning in a pain a little from not landing properly back on the floor.

Shuzo, who was scrambling eggs, heard the thud and looked over in concern, "Everything okay in there, girls?"

The three girls were still groaning a little before Yuzu raised her head back up, "We're fine, dad!" Shuzo blinked in confusion before turning to his attention to making breakfast again.

Ruri recovered as well as she looked at Yuzu in confusion, "...Did I hear you right? You're learning Fusion?" She wanted to make sure she heard that right.

Yuzu looked a little reluctant, "...Yeah. I am. I asked Sora to start teaching me yesterday." She wondered if Ruri would be okay with this especially considering Ruri isn't exactly happy whenever she sees Fusion Summoning.

Rin soon recovered and look at Yuzu with a smile, "Really? That's great, Yuzu!" She said that with both excitement and joy for Yuzu before noticing Yuzu's troubled face. She then turned her head and saw that Ruri was looking more troubled than ever before, leaving Rin really confused.

Ruri looked down at the ground as she doesn't know how to feel about this. Why would Yuzu want to learn Fusion? Ruri narrowed her eyes as she raised her head to look at Yuzu, "...Why...would you want to learn Fusion?" She tried to be as calm as possible without spilling out her deepest emotions as Fusion itself brought out the worst in her whether she wants to or not.

Yuzu frowned a little from seeing Ruri looking troubled but then looked determined, "...It's for myself." Now, Ruri was more confused, "What?" Yuzu steeled her resolve, "Look Ruri, I know you don't like Fusion but it's not a bad thing to me anyway. I want to learn it not just to become stronger as a duelist but also to protect You Show."

Ruri was a little taken aback, "Using Fusion to protect others?" The thought of using Fusion to protect others didn't cross her mind before. She might have seen subtle hints from Yuya and so on but she didn't think about it that much. From everything she talked about everything regarding Fusion to Yuya and Yuzu, this makes her more confused but she was also reminded of what Fusion has done to her home as well which made her frown a little.

Rin was a little surprised by what Yuzu just said and look to Ruri in confusion, "Ruri hates Fusion Summoning?" This was the first she has heard of this and wondered what happened.

Yuzu looked at Ruri, who was not saying anything and just staring at the floor, in concern, "Ruri…" She is trying to reach out to Ruri and show her that she can trust her with everything she holding up inside. Maybe she's hiding to protect them from whatever but she isn't afraid if its for her friend. Though she accepted to learn Fusion Summoning mainly to become stronger, she thought maybe could try to show Ruri that Fusion Summoning isn't as bad as she might think it is though it doesn't look like she's convinced yet.

Ruri was thinking for a minute, not knowing what exactly to think or do. She wants to spill out why she doesn't like Fusion Summoning for real but she's trying to keep her mouth shut which frustrates her. With that in mind, she decided to stand up, to the other girls' confusion. She turned around with her back facing Yuzu and Rin, "I'm going to out for a bit…" She said that with reluctance in her voice. She then started walking away.

Rin was a little surprised as she stood up, "W-Wait, Ruri!" She didn't what was going on but she wanted to stop her to try and talk to her but she didn't stop. Yuzu frowned a little in sadness as she felt bad for making Ruri confused.

Ruri walked into the kitchen where Shuzo was finished making scrambled eggs. Shuzo turned to Ruri with a smile on his face, "Ah, Ruri! I have breakfast ready for you girls!" However, he then noticed Ruri was staring at the floor with a frown on her face, confusing him and wondering what was wrong.

Ruri raised her head to look at Shuzo with a sad smile, "Thank you, Shuzo. But I'm not hungry right now." Shuzo's eyes blinked in confusion as Ruri continued walking as she left the house.

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MAIAMI CITY - YOU SHOW DUEL SCHOOL

After around a couple hours, Yuzu and the others were at You Show. When they arrived they saw Yuya sitting on the couch, looking over his deck for a minute.

He then noticed Yuzu and Rin as he raised his head and looked at them with a smile, "Hey girls. What's up?" Yuzu and Rin both gave off a sad smile and waved back slowly as they walked towards him.

Yuya, confused by the girls' behavior, noticed that Ruri isn't with them and looked more confused, "Where's Ruri?"

Yuzu and Rin looked at each other in reluctance before Yuzu spoke, "She's...not with us right now."

Yuya raised an eyebrow in confused, "...Why? What happened?"

Yuzu and Rin both told Yuya what had happened earlier this morning when Yuzu shared that she was learning Fusion Summoning as well which didn't sit well with Ruri. Immediately after hearing that, Yuya made a sound of understanding as he knew what it meant now, "Ohh...Now, I see why."

Rin apparently wasn't told of Ruri's dislike for Fusion so Yuzu told her about what she knows a little after Ruri left. After that, Rin felt sad for Ruri and wondered if there was something she could do to help later on.

Yuzu sighed in disappointment, "I was hoping maybe I could help try to open up more by showing her that Fusion Summoning might not be a bad thing though it didn't go so well." Although she can't really call any of it progress since all she said was that she's learning about Fusion Summoning and why she wants to. She didn't really ask from Ruri's perspective to which she's being stubborn in not saying anything.

Yuya hummed in thought, "Hmm…" He wondered what to do for a minute before getting up from his chair. Yuya looked at Yuzu and Rin with a small smile, "Tell you what, I'll go look for Ruri and see if I can try and cheer her up like last time." He then began walking away from the room toward the outside.

Rin looked at Yuya in both curiosity and confusion, "But...aren't you still waiting for Nico to come back?" She wondered if Yuya was okay with this since he's technically waiting for Nico reply back with some news on potential opponents.

Yuya stopped and turned to them with a smile, "It's fine. Besides, Yuzu has training with both my brother and Sora, and you have to teach the kids some lessons on Synchro Summoning with the Principal." Yuya waved goodbye, "Good luck you two."

Yuzu and Rin looked to each other in confusion for a minute, wondering if Yuya would be okay with helping Ruri. Then again, they probably have nothing to worry about. They heard the door shut as Yuya left.

"Well, that was interesting." Both of them heard a voice and turned to see Mikleo leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Yuzu looked at Mikleo, "Mikleo…" He then opened his eyes to look at the two girls, "Well, I'm sure my brother can help comfort Ruri." He then stood up fully from the wall, "In the meantime, are you ready to get started Yuzu?"

Yuzu nodded with resolve, "Yeah."

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MAIAMI CITY - LDS

Yaiba and Hokuto stood in front of the LDS building as they watched many LDS members that wearing uniforms exiting the building. Hokuto watched them with amazement, "It's amazing how many members the top team has." He turned to Yaiba with a curious expression, "Yaiba, where is Masumi?"

Yaiba sighed a little as he waved his kendo up and down, "That girl went off to find anything about our attackers again." Honestly, he would have tried to stop her, but she wouldn't have listened anyway.

Hokuto was a little surprised, "Again? What is with that girl…?" He gets confused sometimes by what Masumi is thinking since he first met her. He held a hand on his forehead, "I mean, I get that members of our school got attacked but she's taking this more seriously than I would have thought. What's up with that?"

Yaiba shrugged his shoulders, "Who knows? Honestly, I don't know what goes through that girl's head." It wasn't like they were friends with Masumi. After all, they simply got acquainted with each other because the chairwoman requested them for dueling against You Show. After that, he and Hokuto actually got along pretty well but Masumi, while she hasn't shown hate or dislike towards them, she hasn't exactly been friendly with them either so they aren't really that close with her to understand. She mostly just treats them like acquaintances and nothing else.

Hokuto then had a idea pop in his head as he had a small teasing smile on his face, "Maybe Masumi has a crush on Professor Marco and that's why she's desperate to find him?"

Yaiba, however, just tapped his kendo on his shoulders, "...Nah, I don't think that's it." While it is a possibility, he can't help but think that there's more to this than they know and it involves Masumi's behavior.

Hokuto turned to look at Yaiba with a curious smile, "Oh yeah? Well, what do you…!" He stopped and had a shocked look on his face as he noticed as someone walking up to them. Yaiba, noticing Hokuto being silent, turned and saw, to his shock, Gongenzaka walking up to them.

Hokuto took a step back while Yaiba stood still in surprise as Gongenzaka stopped in front of him. Yaiba could feel Gongenzaka's fighting spirit as he looked down on him with a determined expression on his face.

Yaiba pulled down his kendo sword that he had had on his shoulder and got into a fighting position, "W-what do you want? You wanna go? You wanna face me again, right here and now?"

However, Gongenzaka fell down on his knees the next moment and placed his hands on the ground as he bowed to Yaiba, "I, the man Gongenzaka, have a request for a fellow man." Yaiba got a shocked on his face as he stared at Gongenzaka who was lying on the ground. Hokuto then looked shocked as well, wondering what was happening.

Yaiba, while still confused, turned to Hokuto, "...Hokuto, you go back. I think I need to handle this alone."

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MAIAMI CITY - YOU SHOW DUEL SCHOOL

Mikleo and Yuzu were standing inside the arena, facing each other. Rin was in another room where she was teaching the kids some things about Synchro Monsters and Shuzo was once again in the control room checking on the equipment.

Mikleo crossed his arms in front of himself, "Alright, Yuzu do you remember how Ritual Summoning works?"

Yuzu looked at her Saffira card, "If I remember...you activate a Magic Card that allows you to tribute monsters to summon the Ritual Monster. Kinda like Fusion Summon."

Mikleo nodded, "Right, except there are some key differences there." He placed his index finger on her card, "Ritual Monsters don't belong in the Extra Deck. They go into the main deck which could lead into some more advantages depending on how your deck is built." Mikleo raised his head to look at Yuzu, "Although, keep in mind, there are a lot of Ritual Magic Cards that require a Ritual Monster to be in your hand as well in order to summon it. In most cases, you gotta have both the Ritual Monster and Ritual Magic Card in order to Ritual Summon while also tributing monsters with enough levels required."

Yuzu looked at her card curiously before pulling out another card which was Saffira's Ritual Magic, "So, you're saying that, in Saffira's case, I have to have both Saffira and her Ritual Magic in order to summon her?" It might be a little difficult but she doesn't think its a problem since it is basic enough.

Mikleo nodded again, "Exactly. It's unfortunate but that's what has to be done for Saffira. There are some Ritual Magics that allow you Ritual Summon from your Deck or Graveyard as well like my brother's Mystic Glow for example."

Yuzu nodded in understanding, "Yeah. Also like how Reiji Akaba's Magic worked for Ritual Summoning." She was reminded how both him and Yuya performed Ritual Summoning which she guessed that Yuya summoned his from his hand while Reiji summoned it from his deck.

Mikleo looked at the ceiling when he heard Reiji's name, "Yeah…" His mind then brought up when Yuya had his duel with Reiji and he revealed that Reiji was the one who ordered Sawatari to take his brother's Pendulum Cards. While he still doesn't know, he is more curious as to what made Reiji leave especially since their duel ended in a draw. He was now curious as he narrowed his eyes, "Hmm...Maybe I should look into this."

But before that, he lowered his head to look at Yuzu, "Well, before you start trying that out in a actual duel, I suggest we practice a little with how this works. So, you ready?"

Yuzu looked at Mikleo with a small smile before nodding, "Yeah."

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MAIAMI CITY - CENTRAL PARK

Gongenzaka and Yaiba were staring at each other down from a few feet away while there was no one else in the park except for a couple people by the benches and the fountain.

Yaiba narrowed his eyes in confusion, "So, what's this all about?" He was confused as to what he could want with him. He heard him asking a favor so now he's curious.

Gongenzaka stared down at Yaiba for around half a minute with Yaiba standing his ground. Then, to Yaiba's surprise, Gongenzaka once again bowed on his knees in front of Yaiba, "I need to ask a favor. I need you to teach me Synchro Summoning!"

Yaiba's eyes blinked in confusion before processing what Gongenzaka just said as he narrowed his eyes, "Huh?" Did he hear that right? Teach him Synchro Summoning? To a man that's not even a part of LDS? He placed his kendo on his shoulder as he looked more confused.

Gongenzaka stood back up as he gave a look of resolve to Yaiba, "I want your help. I need you to teach me Synchro Summoning." He needed to be clear as Yaiba still seemed confused.

Yaiba narrowed his eyes as he wasn't put off by the fact that someone, that's not an LDS member, is asking for his guidance but rather that this seem to come out of nowhere. To his curiosity, Yaiba tapped his kendo on his shoulder as he looked at Gongenzaka, "Where is this coming from? Why are you asking for my help? We're not even in the same school. We're enemies." He said that bluntly as he was mostly curious about what Gongenzaka's response would be.

Gongenzaka closed his eyes, "...My best friend has gotten stronger while I was left in the dust defending You Show. As recall our duel, I wasn't strong enough." He then held a fist in front of him, "I must become stronger as the successor of the Gongenzaka Dojo! For both me and Yuya!"

Yaiba looked at him in curiosity for a few seconds before a small smile grew on his face and he started chuckling a little, "Haha! Interesting. Very interesting." He then closed his eyes to think for a minute while Gongenzaka just watched.

Then, Yaiba opened his eyes and gave Gongenzaka an intrigued smile, "...I'll agree to do it under one condition."

Gongenzaka narrowed his eyes, "What do you want?"

Yaiba's smile grew into a smirk as he tapped his kendo up and down his shoulder, "See, you remember our last duel? That ended in a draw and I'm not exactly satisfied with that." He then pointed his kendo at Gongenzaka, "So, here's the deal. I want a rematch with you and if you beat me, I'll teach you how to Synchro Summon. Deal?" Ever since he drew with Gongenzaka, Yaiba hasn't exactly been relaxed since this guy actually managed to make it into a tie. He wasn't going to be satisfied unless there was a decisive victory. So, he figured why not add that condition in exchange for teaching Synchro Summoning to someone not from LDS.

Gongenzaka then flared up as his spirit was burning with his duel disk brought out, "I accept the challenge!" He had to take this chance in order to prove his resolve.

Yaiba looked satisfied as he brought out his duel disk, "That's more like it!" After a few seconds, both duelists put their disks on their arms and activated them, ready to begin the duel.

[DUEL!]

GONGENZAKA LP: 4000
YAIBA LP: 4000

Yaiba raised his duel disk, "Since you went first last time, I'll go this time!" He drew his card, "Draw!" He grabbed another card in his hand, "I summon XX-Saber Boggarknight (ATK: 1900, DEF: 1000, LV: 4)!" Boggarknight was brought onto Yaiba's field.

Yaiba smirked at Gongenzaka, "You remember last time? When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or below "X-Saber" monster from my hand." He revealed a card, "I Special Summon, the Tuner monster, X-Saber Palomio (ATK: 200, DEF: 300, LV: 1)!" Yaiba brought a green reptilian that wore silver armor on its legs and arms; it was also carrying a small rapier that had a yellow stone in the middle of it.

Gongenzaka narrowed his eyes, "A Tuner…" He knew what was coming next.

Yaiba smirked even more as he held out his hand, "I tune my Level 1 Palomio with my Level 4 Boggarknight (1 + 4 = 5)!" Palomio turned into a single green energy ring that surrounded Boggarknight.

"Hunter that's faced hardships! Embrace your destiny to overcome death! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 5! X-Saber Wayne (ATK: 2100, DEF: 400, LV: 5)!" Yaiba summoned a warrior monster that resembled a cowboy wearing a blue garb with black clothing underneath while having white tape on his arms. There was a yellow metal shoulder guard on his right shoulder in which he was also carrying a bayonet with his right hand.

Gongenzaka didn't say anything and just narrowed his eyes, already expecting this to happen.

Yaiba just kept his smirk on his face, "When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or below Warrior monster from my hand! I Special Summon, the Tuner monster, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight (ATK: 1300, DEF: 1000, LV: 3)!" Wayne shot a bullet into the air in which Fulhelmknight was brought out as well.

Yaiba placed a card in his duel disk, "I set a card and end my turn."

Gongenzaka drew his card, "My turn, draw!" From both the force of his draw and resolve, it created a small shockwave like last time.

Gongenzaka looked at his hand before showing one of them, "When there are no Magic or Trap cards in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai Big Wara-G (ATK: 800, DEF: 1800, LV: 5) from my hand!"

Gongenzaka pointed at his monster, "Big Wara-G counts as 2 monsters when using it to Tribute Summon a "Superheavy Samurai" monster! I tribute Big Wara-G in order to Tribute Summon Superheavy Samurai Pendulum Ben-K (ATK: 1000, DEF: 3500, LV: 8, PS: 4)!" Wara-G was released as soon it as it got onto the field and, in a beam of light, Gongenzaka's ace monster appeared in which is one of Gongenzaka's new Pendulum Monsters as well.

Yaiba scoffed a little, "I knew you'd bring out your ace monster." He then narrowed his eyes as he noticed something, "But wait...did he say Pendulum Ben-K?" As he recalled, it was Big Ben-K the last time he faced it so what's with the name change? Hearing the word "Pendulum" makes him wonder…

Unfortunately, he didn't have time to think as Gongenzaka wasn't done since he held a card in his hand, "I equip Pendulum Ben-K with Superheavy Samurai Soul Double Horn (ATK: 0, DEF: 300, LV: 1)!" A machine that resembled a samurai armor with tan colored padding and golden metallic lines around it appeared on the field; it also had two blue horns with one on each side of it. The machine then equipped onto Ben-K's back which made Yaiba clicked his tongue, making him wonder what it does.

Gongenzaka pointed at Yaiba, "Battle! Pendulum Ben-K attacks X-Saber Wayne!" Ben-K lunged forward with its staff toward Wayne.

Yaiba just smirked at this, "Fulhelmknight's monster effect! Once per turn, I can negate an attack from my opponent's monster!" After he said that, Ben-K missed his lunge as the staff hit the floor beside Wayne.

Yaiba shrugged his shoulders with a smile, "Too bad for you but you won't be able to deal damage this turn."

However, Gongenzaka retorted, "No! When Ben-K is equipped with Soul Double Horn, it can attack twice each Battle Phase!" Hearing that made Yaiba looked shocked for a moment.

"Pendulum Ben-K attacks Wayne once again!" This time Ben-K used its fist to punch the ground which caused a fissure that destroyed Wayne. Yaiba held one arm in front of him while grunting a little from the damage.

YAIBA LP: 4000→2600

Yaiba narrowed his eyes a little, "When my "X-Saber" monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can pay 500 LP bring back X-Saber Palomio (DEF: 300)!" Palomio was brought back in Wayne's place.

YAIBA LP: 2600→2100

Gongenzaka looked at Yaiba neutrally, "I end my turn with that."

Yaiba scoffed a little, "Persistent like before." He then drew his card, "But not bad." He looked at his current hand before looking at Gongenzaka's monster, "I'm curious about the "Pendulum" in its name but he didn't have any Pendulums from our last fight. As far as I know, only Yuya Sakaki and Reiji Akaba have Pendulums." He then smiled, "No matter. Whatever the name change is about won't matter in the slightest." Regardless of what he suspects it might be, he's not going to back down from this duel.

Yaiba revealed a card in his hand which was Faultroll, "You remember this guy right?"

Gongenzaka nodded while narrowing his eyes a little, "XX-Saber Faultroll. You can Special Summon that card when you have two or more "X-Saber" monsters on your field."

Yaiba smirked at Gongenzaka's answer, "That's right! And that's exactly what I'm going to do. I Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll (ATK: 2400, DEF: 1800, LV: 6)!" Faultroll was summoned to Yaiba's field.

Yaiba showed another card in his hand, "I activate the Magic Card: Sabers' Gathering which allows me to draw 2 cards." Yaiba was able to draw 2 cards because he had 3 or more "X-Saber" monsters on his field.

"I summon XX-Saber Darksoul (ATK: 100, DEF: 100, LV: 3)!" Yaiba summoned a warrior that resembled a reaper that had a red garb around his neck, was wearing dark clothing underneath and carrying a scythe.

Yaiba pointed at his monsters, "I now tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 3 Darksoul!" Fulhelmknight turned into three green energy rings that surrounded Darksoul, "Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 6! XX-Saber Hyunlei (ATK: 2300, DEF: 1300, LV: 6)!" Yaiba summoned a female warrior that had a visor over her eyes and she was carrying a silver sword while wearing golden armor and a red tunic.

"When XX-Saber Hyunlei is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy up to 3 Magic or Trap Cards on the field!" Hyunlei sent a shockwave from her sword that destroyed Double Horn.

"And just like before, Faultroll's effect allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or below "X-Saber" from my Graveyard! I bring back Fulhelmknight (ATK: 1300)!" Fulhelmknight was brought back when Faultroll stabbed the ground when his sword.

Yaiba smirked a little as he held out his hand, "I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 6 Hyunlei (3 + 6 = 9)!" Fulhelmknight turned into three green energy rings that surrounded Hyunlei, "Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms (ATK: 3100, DEF: 2600, LV: 9)!" Gottoms appeared on Yaiba's field.

Yaiba then looked at Gongenzaka with a confident smile, "Now, you're probably thinking that Gottoms isn't strong enough yet. Well, I have a solution for that!" Gongenzaka didn't say anything and just narrowed his eyes.

Yaiba pressed a button which made an extra zone appear from the side of his duel disk. He took out a card in his hand, "I activate the Field Magic: Saber Vault!" He placed the card in his duel disk in which a bank vault with various technology appeared behind Yaiba. One of the vaults had a sword piercing in the middle of it.

Yaiba smirked, "With Saber Vault, all my "X-Saber" monsters gain 100 ATK for every Level they have but they also lose 100 DEF as well." He then pointed at Gottoms, "But that's not an issue to me!" Electricity was running through the vaults and soon an aura surrounded Yaiba's monsters.

XX-Saber Gottoms (ATK: 3100→4000, DEF: 2600→1700)
XX-Saber Faultroll (ATK: 2400→3000, DEF: 1800→1200)
X-Saber Palomio (ATK: 200→300, DEF: 300→200)

Yaiba pointed at his monsters, "Battle! I attack Pendulum Ben-K with XX-Saber Gottoms!" Gottoms swung his sword which sent a blast that destroyed Ben-K, making Gongenzaka gritting his teeth from the explosion.

Yaiba then held out his hand, "I'm not done! I attack you directly with XX-Saber Faultroll!" Faultroll launched forward and slashed Gongenzaka directly. He grunted a little as he held his arms in front of himself to protect himself while being pushed back a little.

GONGENZAKA LP: 4000→1000

He then smirked at Gongenzaka, "Last time, you had defense for your ace monster. But it looks like it's not working out for you. Do you understand the power of my "X-Sabers" now?"

Gongenzaka stood back up and stood there with a look of resolve, "Though your "X-Sabers" are impressive, a man never backs down from a challenge." He closed his eyes, "To stand still and face challenges head on…" He opened his eyes while looking unnerved, "That is the way of Steadfast Dueling!"

Yaiba narrowed his eyes for a few seconds before scoffing, "Whatever." Yaiba then pointed at Gottoms, "Well, let's see how you handle this again! Because of Gottoms' effect, I tribute Palomio in order to send a random card in your hand to the Graveyard!" Palomio was released and then Gongenzaka was forced to send one of his monsters to the Graveyard.

Yaiba smiled confidently, "I end my turn." Yaiba looked at his deck, "Darksoul's effect activates. Since he was sent to the Graveyard, I can add another "X-Saber" monster from my Deck to my hand. I add XX-Saber Faultroll." Though he remembers that Gongenzaka has monsters that can activate their effects in the Graveyard, he figured it might be easier to just send them to the Graveyard in order to give Gongenzaka less chances of a comeback.

Gongenzaka placed his fingers on his duel disk, "My turn, draw!"

He looked at his current hand while also looking at his Extra Deck, "Ben-K is now in my Extra Deck since he's a Pendulum Monster. In order to further evolve my Steadfast Dueling, I need to adapt to using Pendulum Monsters now." He then closed his eyes, "I'll need to strengthen my defense in order to win this duel." He opened his eyes while feeling fired up, "I am ready!"

Gongenzaka showed a card in his hand, "When I have no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (ATK: 800, DEF: 1500, LV: 6) from my hand!" Gongenzaka brought a samurai that had golden armor with blue plates on his shoulders and knees. He had white gloves and was carrying a yellow axe that was in the shape of a cross.

Yaiba then looked satisfied, "Heh. Without your ace monster, you're just going for defense." He then pressed a button on his duel disk, "Too bad for you! I activate the Counter Trap: Saber Hole! Since I control an "X-Saber" monster, your summon is negated and that monster is destroyed!" Electricity run through Taka-2M's card before a giant black hole appeared before the monster and destroyed it.

However, Gongenzaka didn't seem fazed as held out another card, "When my opponent has two or more monsters on the field, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai TenB-N (ATK: 800, DEF: 1800, LV: 4) from my hand!" TenB-N was brought onto the field.

Gongenzaka then had a smile on his face, "And when this monster is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one "Superheavy Samurai" monster from my Graveyard!" He pointed at TenB-N, "Be reborn! Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 1500)!" TenB-N spun his scale around before holding out one of the bowls and Taka-2M appeared from it.

Yaiba narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Why didn't he bring Ben-K back?" He could have summoned any "Superheavy Samurai" and, for some reason, he chose that one.

Gongenzaka pointed at Taka-2M, "Taka-2M gains 300 DEF for every monster my opponent controls!" There were two monsters on Yaiba's field so Taka-2M gained 600 DEF.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 1500→2100)

Yaiba now looked even more confused, "What is he up to?" He wondered if he was trying something like with what happened before during the end of their last duel.

Gongenzaka then looked at the last card in his hand which is revealed to be Glo-V. He closed his eyes, "This is all I can do for now." He then looked at Yaiba with determination in his eyes, "I end my turn with that!"

Yaiba narrowed his eyes before drawing, "My turn, draw!" He looked at his hand before curiously smirking at Gongenzaka, "With all of this nonsense talk about "Steadfast Dueling" and "being a man", let's see where that gets you." Gongenzaka didn't say anything in response although he narrowed his eyes a little.

Yaiba held out his hand, "I use Faultroll's effect to bring back Fulhelmknight (ATK: 1300→1600) from the Graveyard!" Faultroll swung his sword into the ground and Fulhelmknight came back as a result. Since there was another monster on Yaiba's field, Taka-2M gained more defense.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 2100→2400)

"I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight with my Level 6 Faultroll (3 + 6 = 9)!" Fulhelmknight turned into three green energy rings that surrounded Faultroll, "Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms (ATK: 3100→4000, DEF: 2600→1700, LV: 9)!" Another Gottoms appeared on Yaiba's field besides the first one.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 2400→2100)

Yaiba kept his smirk as he showed the other Faultroll in his hand, "And just like before, I Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll (ATK: 2400→3000)!" Another Faultroll appeared on the field to take the first one's place.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 2100→2400)

Yaiba held out his hand, "Once again, I use Faultroll's effect to bring back Boggarknight (ATK: 1900→2300) from the Graveyard!" Faultroll swung his sword into the ground and Boggarknight came back as a result.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 2400→2700)

Yaiba revealed another card in his hand, "Next, I summon X-Saber Uruz (ATK: 1600→2000, DEF: 1300, LV: 4)!" The last monster Yaiba brought out was a warrior that resembled a bear that wore a red samurai mask on its face, was carrying twin blades and was wearing red metal gauntlets and leg guards.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 2700→3000)

Yaiba narrowed his eyes a little before smirking, "Even if he has Break Armor or Big Bang in the Graveyard, I'll still survive." He was thinking about those two monsters Gongenzaka used during their first duel as well as their effects. According to their effects, even if uses Break Armor's effect, he would still have LP remaining after the effect and, as long as he doesn't use Saber Reflect, he can't counter with Big Bang again.

Yaiba then looked at his Gottoms, "Just in case." He looked at Gongenzaka, "I use Gottoms' effect once more and tribute Boggarknight in order to send the last card in your hand to the Graveyard!" Boggarknight was released and Gongenzaka, who gritted his teeth a little, was forced to send the last monster in his hand to the Graveyard.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 3000→2700)

Gongenzaka looked at Yaiba, "Superheavy Samurai Glo-V's monster effect! When this card is sent to the Graveyard and there are no Magic or Traps in my Graveyard, I can look at the top 5 cards in my Deck and then place them back in any order!" The monster Gongenzaka sent was Glo-V so now he grabbed 5 cards from the top of his deck to look at them. Gongenzaka's eyes widened in surprise when he saw that some of them were Pendulum Monsters. From seeing them, he knew what to do as he put the cards back into his deck.

Yaiba nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, "Whatever." He then held out another card, "I equip one of my Gottoms with the Equip Magic: Sword of Sparkles!" The first Gottoms had his sword disappear in exchange for a silver sword that was sparkling all over.

"Battle! The first of my XX-Saber Gottoms attacks Taka-2M!" Gottoms sent out a blast from his sparkling sword that destroyed Taka-2M.

Yaiba smirked at Gongenzaka, "Sword of Sparkles' effect! When the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, I can destroy a card on your field! And I choose your last defense, TenB-N!" As a result, Gottoms swung his sword, creating a vacuum wave that connected and destroyed TenB-N, making Gongenzaka place his arms in front of himself during the blast.

Yaiba held out his hand, "This is the end! I attack you directly with my second Gottoms!" Gottoms charged forward, ready to strike Gongenzaka.

However, Gongenzaka still looked determined, "Superheavy Samurai Glo-V's effect!" The monster card was taken out of the Graveyard as Gongenzaka grabbed it.

Yaiba looked a little surprised before having a look of irritation on his face, "Another card effect from the Graveyard?"

Gongenzaka showed the card in his hand, "That's right! When I'm attacked directly, I can banish this card from my Graveyard to activate its second effect!" He put the card in his pocket before placing his fingers on his deck, "With this effect, I draw a card and if its a "Superheavy Samurai", then your attacking monster's ATK become 0!" Yaiba clenched his teeth a little, knowing full well what Gongenzaka is going to draw.

Gongenzaka took a step forward and drew with determination, "Draw!" He then flipped the card he drew to look at it before showing it to Yaiba, "The card I drew is Superheavy Samurai General San-5! This card is a "Superheavy Samurai" so your Gottoms loses all of its strength!" Gottoms' sword broke which made him stop his attack midway.

XX-Saber Gottoms (#2) (ATK: 4000→0)

Yaiba looked irritated before having a smirk on his face, "So what? That doesn't change a thing especially…" He held out his hand to his other monsters, "...since I still have Faultroll and Uruz!"

Yaiba pointed at Gongenzaka, "I attack you directly with Faultroll!"

However, before Faultroll could charge forward, Gongenzaka narrowed his eyes as he shouted, "I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Otasu-K from my Graveyard!" As he took the card from his Graveyard, Yaiba now looked even more irritated, "You have another one?! How many of these things do you have?"

Gongenzaka showed Otasu-K to Yaiba, "When I'm attacked directly, I can banish this card from my Graveyard." He put the card in his pocket before smiling a little, "And then, I Special Summon a "Superheavy Samurai" from my Graveyard! Be reborn, Superheavy Samurai TenB-N (DEF: 1800)!" TenB-N was brought back to Gongenzaka's field.

"And when TenB-N is Special Summoned, I can bring back Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M (DEF: 1500→2700)!" Thanks to Otasu-K's effect, Gongenzaka was able to bring back his two monsters in Defense Position, giving more protection to his life.

Yaiba saw what Gongenzaka as he clenched a fist in irritation, "...Persistent bastard!" He then scoffed a little, "Fine! Then I'll have Faultroll attack your Taka-2M!" Faultroll jumped forward and slashed Taka-2M, destroying it.

"And finally I attack your TenB-N with my Uruz!" Uruz charged forward and cross-slashed right through TenB-N, destroying Gongenzaka's last defense.

Yaiba then smiled a little, "Just in case, I activate Uruz's monster effect! By tributing this card, your TenB-N is now returned to the top of your Deck!" Uruz was released and then Gongenzaka was forced to place TenB-N to the top of his deck instead of the Graveyard.

Yaiba then pointed at his first Gottoms, "Finally, I use Gottoms' effect to tribute my other Gottoms in order to send the card you just added to your Graveyard!" The second Gottoms that had its strength weakened was released and, as a result, Gongenzaka sent his San-5 to the Graveyard.

Yaiba placed a card in his duel disk, "I set a card and end my turn." Yaiba looked a frown while he looked at Gongenzaka, being mildly impressed, "Once again, you held on with cards in your Graveyard. I said this before but you're one lucky bastard." Although he is irritated that he couldn't get the job done, he has to give Gongenzaka credit for surviving this long even if it is by the skin of his teeth.

Gongenzaka closed his eyes after he heard what Yaiba said, "You're wrong. As I said before, my will made it possible for me to come through." He then opened his eyes with determination, "And that Steadfast resolve is what will help me win! Right here and now!"

Gongenzaka placed his fingers on his deck, "My turn, draw!" He looked at the card he drew which was TenB-N, "The pieces are in place. It is time to evolve my Steadfast Dueling into something greater."

Gongenzaka held his card, "Since you have 2 or more monsters, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai TenB-N (DEF: 1800) from my hand again!" TenB-N was brought back onto the field.

"And due to TenB-N's effect, I can bring back a "Superheavy Samurai" from my Graveyard! I revive Superheavy Samurai General San-5 (ATK: 300, DEF: 500, LV: 1, PS: 8)!" TenB-N summoned a monster that was wearing a coral red samurai general outfit while wearing bronze, black, and white underneath; it was also carrying a black and blue axe that had gold on each end of it.

Yaiba narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Although I'm wondering why you haven't brought back Ben-K with this effect, this doesn't change a thing!"

Gongenzaka, however, smiled with confidence, "As I've said before, truly strong men don't make wasted moves!"

He then held out his hand, "I activate Superheavy Samurai General San-5's monster effect! When there are no Magic or Traps in my Graveyard, I can tribute up to 2 "Superheavy Samurai" monsters and then draw that many cards! I tribute TenB-N and San-5 itself!" TenB-N and San-5 were released from the field, leaving Gongenzaka's field empty.

He drew two cards from his deck before holding out his hand again, "I now activate the effect of Taka-2M from my Graveyard! When there are no Magic or Traps in my Graveyard and I control no cards, I can banish this card in order to draw 2 more cards!" Taka-2M was banished and, as a result, Gongenzaka drew two more cards.

Gongenzaka then looked at his hand and smiled, "It's here. The cards that will help me further evolve Steadfast Dueling. I'm ready!"

Yaiba narrowed his eyes in irritation before smirking a little, "While I'm surprised you manage to add more monsters to your hand, you can't do much without your ace."

Gongenzaka closed his eyes, "As my best friend has further evolved as a duelist, I will show you the new strength of steadfastness!"

Gongenzaka then opened his eyes with resolve as he held two cards in his hand, "I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 3 Superheavy Samurai Sasu-K and Scale 9 Superheavy Samurai General Gamo-O!" Gongenzaka placed both cards into the Pendulum Zones.

Sasu-K was a blue samurai that was wearing a black cuirass around the chest area, red gauntlets and vambraces, black cuisses and boots, a black faceplate, and he was carrying a silver sword on his back.

Gamo-O was a black samurai that was wearing a purple guruwa around his neck, a grey manju no wa that covered his upper body, a purple samurai general helm with horns and was carrying a brown axe with gold on each end of it.

Yaiba was shocked, "What?! So you did have Pendulum Monsters…!" He didn't think his assumption was right and was shocked that Gongenzaka actually has them.

Gongenzaka looked at his monsters, "With this, I can summon monsters with Levels 4 and 8 at the same time!"

"Immovable as the mountains, swinging very still beyond focus! Awaken to a new Steadfastness as still warriors with resolve! Pendulum Summon!"

Gongenzaka held up one card in his hand, "Appear, my monster!" One monster came out of the portal, "From the Extra Deck, Superheavy Samurai Pendulum Ben-K (DEF: 3500)!" Ben-K appeared back on the field as he spun his staff back and forth.

Yaiba was taken back and then, after processing this for a few seconds, smirked almost in satisfaction, "Heh. Well, what do you know? Who knew you were hiding something like this?" He then pointed at his two monsters, "But Ben-K does not have enough DEF to take out both my Gottoms and my LP!" Ben-K has 3500 DEF while Gottoms has 4000 ATK. Even if he attacks Faultroll, that's only 500 damage compared to his 2100 LP.

Gongenzaka still looked determined as he held out his hand, "Superheavy Samurai General Gamo-O's Pendulum Effect! All "Superheavy Samurai" monsters I control gain 500 DEF!"

Superheavy Samurai Pendulum Ben-K (DEF: 3500→4000)

"And then I activate Sasu-K's Pendulum Effect! One monster on my opponent's field loses 1000 ATK and DEF! I choose your Gottoms!" Gongenzaka pointed at Gottoms after he said that.

Yaiba was shocked, "What?" He then turned to look at Gottoms, who was looking a little weaker as he kneeled down.

XX-Saber Gottoms (ATK: 4000→3000, DEF: 1700→700)

Gongenzaka closed his eyes, "I believe that it is appropriate that our ace monsters clash for one last time." He then opened his eyes with resolve in his voice, "Battle! Pendulum Ben-K attacks XX-Saber Gottoms!" Ben-K spun his staff before charging straight forwards toward Gottoms.

Yaiba scoffed a little with smirking, "Hah! Even though you may have weaken my Gottoms, it's still not enough to wipe out the rest of my life!" By his calculation, this would only deal him 1000 damage which means he's safe.

However, Gongenzaka smiled a little as he showed the last card in his hand, "I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Soulbuster Gauntlet! When my Defense Position "Superheavy Samurai" is battling an opponent's monster and there are no Magic or Traps in my Graveyard, I can send this card to the Graveyard!" He sent Soulbuster Gauntlet to the Graveyard before holding up a fist, "And then my Ben-K's DEF become double its original DEF until the end of this turn!" A silhouette of a purple mechanical gauntlet with a black metal glove on the end of it appeared on the field momentarily before it became a ball of light that transferred its power over to Ben-K as it was charging forward. Since Ben-K's original DEF was 3500, it is now 7000.

Superheavy Samurai Pendulum Ben-K (DEF: 4000→7000)

Yaiba was shocked as he took a step back, "7000 DEF?!" He has never seen a monster with that much DEF and felt like he was in trouble.

Gongenzaka punched the air with his fist, "This is the end! Ben-K finish off XX-Saber Gottoms!" Ben-K stopped a few feet in front of Gottoms before lunging forward with his staff. Gottoms tried to fight back but was too slow and then Ben-K stabbed him in the chest, destroying him. That created an explosion that made Yaiba cross his arms in front of himself before he was pushed back by the force of the blast. He was sent flying and then landed on his back as he took the damage.

YAIBA LP: 2100→0

GONGENZAKA: WIN
YAIBA: LOSE

Gongenzaka walked forward as Yaiba was getting up off the ground while grunting a little. As soon as he stood up, he had his back facing Gongenzaka as he stopped.

Yaiba sighed a little, "Geez. To think I'd actually lose." He then turned to face Gongenzaka with a smirk on his face, "But strangely it doesn't bother me that much." Although he was frustrated that he lost, for some reason he didn't seem to mind as much as he thought he would have. Maybe it was because it was a decisive winner this time around.

Gongenzaka stared at Yaiba with curiosity, "It was a good duel. It also helped me become more stronger than before." He never fully tested his Pendulum Cards until now and he knew he was ready to evolve further than before.

Yaiba smiled a little, "Heh. Yeah, it was a good duel." He then gave Gongenzaka a serious look, "Well, you won. And as we agreed, I'm a man of my word so I'll teach you how to Synchro Summon."

Gongenzaka then smiled a little in gratitude, "Thank you."

Yaiba pointed his kendo at Gongenzaka, "But if I'm going to be your teacher, you'll have to follow my lead on how to Synchro Summon. If I'm going to teach someone, then I would want him to be one of the best Synchro Summoners such as myself."

Gongenzaka didn't seem fazed by that request, "Right!"

Yaiba then gave off a satisfied smirk, "That's more like it." He then turned around, "But today is not a good time. We'll start training tomorrow. Until then, see ya." He held out hand in goodbye as he walked away. Gongenzaka didn't say anything but silently agreed as he walked away in the other direction.

Yaiba smirked as he walked, "This is going to be interesting."

---

MAIAMI CITY - YOU SHOW DUEL SCHOOL

"So, do you think you've gotten the hang of Ritual Summoning?" Mikleo looked at Yuzu curiously while he had his arms crossed.

Yuzu looked at her Ritual Monster with a small smile, "I think so. It's a little complicated to use but I think I'll manage."

Mikleo nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, then I guess we're done for right now." He was satisfied that he was at least able to help Yuzu understand Ritual Summoning more.

"Hey everyone!" Yuzu and Mikleo turned to see Sora waving around excitedly. Yuzu smiled sweetly as she walked forward, "Hey Sora."

Sora smiled sweetly as well, "Oh, Yuzu! You ready to start our training now?"

Yuzu nodded, "Yeah. I just finished with Mikleo."

Sora nodded and then he looked around the room, noticing that they're the only ones here right now. Sora looked at Yuzu in curiosity, "Where are the others?"

Mikleo nonchalantly replied, "My brother is out looking for Ruri and I think Rin is teaching the kids some things of how Synchro Summoning works."

Sora looked a little disappointed, "Oh, Ruri isn't here." On the inside, he was a little more frustrated, "How convenient." Mikleo raised an eyebrow from Sora mentioning Ruri for some reason.

However, Yuzu didn't notice as she walked towards the exit, "Anyway, let's go to the warehouse and practice a bit." Sora followed behind, "...S-Sure."

As Mikleo watched them leave, he had a hand on his chin as he was thinking about something, "Hmm...I still wonder why exactly Reiji wanted Yuya's Pendulum Cards from the beginning. And what happened that made Reiji leave in the first place?" He was honestly too curious about this but was also suspicious as there are a lot of facts that don't add up. With everything that has been happening with Ruri and Rin appearing, Reiji acting suspicious, and the recent dreams he has been having, something strange is going on here and he feels that they're all somehow connected.

Within a lot of thinking, he made his decision as he walked out of the room. He then exited the building and headed in the direction of LDS.

---

MAIAMI CITY - DOWNTOWN

Nearby a tea shop, Ruri was sitting in a table outside. She had a frown on her face as she was twirling the spoon in her tea to pass the time. She was feeling conflicted over learning that Yuzu was willing to learn Fusion Summoning. She wanted to speak more of her true feelings over the subject but, once again, she's trying to keep a low profile from her friends.

Ruri gave off a depressed sigh, "I don't know what to do." She remembers what Yuya and Yuzu said about Fusion Summoning not being a bad thing but it is just not that easy for her to get over.

"There you are, Ruri." Ruri was surprised by the voice and then raised her head to see who it is. It was Yuya who was looking at her with a small smile, "I finally found you."

"Yuya." She was a little surprised that Yuya managed to find her but she probably didn't make it difficult.

Yuya sat down in a chair next to Ruri. He looked at her with a worried expression, "Are you alright? Yuzu told me what happened."

Ruri moved her head down a little, "...I don't know." She really doesn't how she should feel about this.

For a moment, Yuya decided to not say anything and just let Ruri try to calm down a little before speaking. The last thing he wanted was to add more stress to her while trying to communicate with her at the same time.

After a couple minutes of thinking, Ruri raised her head to look at Yuya. She had a frown on her face while being a little curious, "Yuya, what exactly did Yuzu tell you?"

Yuya nodded as he then told Ruri what Yuzu told him, about how she reacted when she learned that Yuzu was learning Fusion Summoning.

Ruri lowered her head a little, "I see."

Yuya looked at her in curiosity as a thought came to him, "Ruri, has Yuzu mentioned anything about what happened yesterday?" He wondered if Ruri knows about Yuzu seeing Yuto again or not.

Ruri then looked confused before shaking her head, "I only know that Yuzu wanted to learn Ritual Summoning from Mikleo. I don't know what she was doing after."

Yuya nodded his head before looking down at the table, wondering if he should say something or not. After a few seconds, he decided to just go with it, "Ruri, I think...Yuzu might have seen Yuto again."

Ruri raised her head in shock, "What?"

Yuya scratched the back of his head in confusion, "I don't know the full details but I think Yuzu might have encountered Yuto again while she was with Sora." From hearing Yuzu mentioning her bracelet, it made him wonder if maybe she saw Yuto again and then disappeared again like she, Ruri, and Rin before about how their bracelets teleport people or something.

Yuya looked at Ruri in curiosity, "I guess...maybe she didn't get the chance to tell you about it?"

Ruri looked a little sad as she stared at the table, "...Maybe I did kind of ran off without giving her the chance to explain more." She will admit that she did kind of "overreact" a bit when she heard Yuzu mentioning her Fusion Summoning but she couldn't really help herself. It did make her regret how she acted a little in front of her and wondered if she was mad at her or not. However, a thought came to her mind as she fully processed what Yuya said and then narrowed her eyes in suspicions, "Wait a minute. If Sora was with Yuzu and they saw Yuto, did that mean…?" She was wondering if Yuzu mentioned her name or not to Yuto in front of Sora. On one hand, this means maybe Yuto knows she's here. But on the other hand, this also means that Sora might now be suspicious of her and that cannot be good for the long one. She have to talk to Yuzu later to confirm this or not.

"Ruri." She raised to head to look back at Yuya, who was worried for her. Yuya narrowed his eyes a little, "You remember what I said about Fusion Summoning being not a bad thing?"

She gave a small smile, "...Yes, I remember." She remembers what he said about his opinion on Fusion Summoning a few days ago and she knows that Yuya is right about it. However, again she is haunted by her sadness of the destruction of her home, residents, and friends thanks to both Academia and Fusion Summoning. She frowned a little in sadness while feeling frustrated at herself for feeling like this.

Yuya spoke again which interrupted her thoughts, "I know I said that I wasn't going to pressure you or anything but...I can't help but think that this is bothering you too much. I want to be able to help you. And I can tell Yuzu wants too as well."

Ruri stared at Yuya for a few seconds, pondering what he said, before down at the table again. She knows that she can't keep this up forever. Eventually, one of them is going to find out about her secret and she wouldn't know what to do when that happens.

Ruri was hesitate but spoke, "Yuya...I know I heard you answer before but…" Yuya stared back in confusion, "Hm?" Ruri raised her head to look at Yuya with a sincere, curious expression on her face, "...What is dueling to you? I need to hear it again."

Yuya was taken aback a little from the question before having a small smile on his face, "...To me, dueling should be fun to every duelist who play Duel Monsters." He then brought his deck to look at it, "It can be competitive, it can be fun clashing with other duelists. All in all, while I want to be one of the best, I also always want to have fun while dueling." Yuya's smile grew larger as he raised his head towards Ruri, "At least, that's how I feel anyway."

Ruri listened careful to what Yuya was saying before having a sad smile on her face, "I see…" And while she was hesitate, she looked at the table while she continued to speak, "And...what would you say or do to people who used dueling to hurt others...?"

Yuya's eyes widened in surprise as he didn't expect this, "Hurt others…?" He didn't expect that and wondered where that came from before his eyes then looked down at the table in deep thought. He hadn't really thought about something like that before. What would he do?

Suddenly, his thoughts turned to that one dream he had before: where he saw that bright city being turned into a war zone and those duelists that are wearing uniforms turned people into actual cards. He clenched his fists a little from being reminded of the anger and sadness he felt in that dream. Ruri could see that something was bothering Yuya but decided not to pry, only to look on in concern.

After thinking for a minute, Yuya raised his head, "I...would try to tell them that is not what dueling should be about. I would do whatever I can to try and convince them that there are better ways to have fun with dueling."

Ruri lowered her head to ponder what he said before a small smile crept her face, "I see…" Her smile then turned sad as she raised her head back to look at Yuya, "Listen, Yuya, I know what you and Yuzu are trying to do and I appreciate it so much."

Her face was then full of regret and sadness, "But I...I just can't tell you yet...I'm sorry." Soon after, tears started to form into her eyes as she feels a lot of regret and sadness for still not being able to tell Yuya and the others about her pain. She believes that it is for the best but it still hurts.

As Ruri struggled not to cry, Yuya saw Ruri's face and immediately had a look of regret on his face, "Maybe...I shouldn't have pried too hard." As Yuya looked at Ruri in concern, he wondered what to do before deciding to stand up from his chair.

Ruri was looking at the table, not noticing what Yuya was doing, "I knew it was going to be hard but it still hurts to hide it." She wondered how she can keep this up especially since Sora, theoretically, found out about her.

However, to her surprise, Yuya came up to her and gave her a hug while she still sitting in her chair. Ruri had a look of shock on her face as she didn't expect this. Yuya spoke while he still hugging her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so depressed." He loosened his grip as he was still talking, "I might not know what you've been through but I'll support you through and through until you're ready." He released his hold on her as he stepped back a little to face her with a smile, "After all, that's what friends do for each other."

Ruri didn't know what to say exactly, "Yuya…" She then started to smile a little as she feeling a little better from Yuya's comforting. She raised her head and gave Yuya a sweet smile, "...Thank you. You're a really good friend. And we've only been friends for a while now."

Yuya then had a cheeky smile on his face as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Hey, you comforted me when I had my moment of realization. So I should do the same for you." He reminded her of the time she joined in comforting him when he was feeling regret about his past actions as a friend after his duel with Mikleo.

Ruri nodded her head agreement before getting lost in thought with her left hand to her heart, "Back then, I was trying to stay strong for myself. Now, I need to stay strong for Yuya and the others as well. Especially...Shun and Yuto."

Ruri stood up from her chair to look at Yuya, "Thank you for your help, Yuya. You've helped me...more than you can imagine."

Yuya smiled back, "You're welcome."

Ruri nodded before having a look of resolve on her face, "Now, if you please excuse me, I have to go back to Yuzu's and apologize to her." She then turned and walked away from Yuya, heading in the direction back to Yuzu's house. She needed to ask Yuzu something and hear her side of the story as well.

However, she then remembered something stopped to turn back to Yuya, "Oh! Yuya, can I ask you for a favor?"

Yuya raised an eyebrow in curiosity and confusion before walking a little closer to her, "What is it?"

She looked a little hesitate before speaking, "Would you...please tell the others that they don't have to look for Yuto anymore?"

Yuya was taken aback by this question before being confused, "Huh? Why?" Why would Ruri want them to stop helping her look for Yuto?

Ruri now looked more hesitate to speak, "Because...I don't want to trouble you with finding him while you all are focused on the Maiami Championship." Frankly, she just now came up with that excuse but she wasn't exactly lying either; she didn't want them to be troubled by her own problems as well.

Yuya had a look of reluctance on his face, "Well...it's true that we're all focused on the Maiami Championship right now but that doesn't mean…"

However, he was interrupted as Ruri gave Yuya a pleading look, "Please, Yuya. It's not a problem to me that you all have other things to worry about. I'll keep searching for Yuto myself while you all handle your qualifications. Please Yuya, do this for me." She really needed help convincing the others to stop searching for Yuto and Yuya was the best one she could trust to convince the others. She doesn't need to cause problems for them if one of them finds Yuto first.

Yuya looked a little hesitate and was about to argue, "Well, I…" However, he stopped as he saw Ruri's face: a look of desperation, guilt, and pleading. She's really asking him to do this for her and it didn't help that she's making that face. He found it hard to argue against it.

Reluctantly, after a minute, Yuya sighed as he scratched the back of his neck, "...Alright. I'll see what I can do." Yuya's eyes looked to the side for a few seconds, "I can't say no to her. I'm too nice."

Ruri was relieved and gave Yuya a smile of gratitude, "Thank you so much, Yuya." She then waved goodbye as she turned around and ran off in the direction of Yuzu's house.

Yuya narrowed his eyes a little as he watched Ruri leaving, "Even though she couldn't tell me, it looks like she's feeling a little better." He then looked at the sky in curiosity, "Well, whatever she has trouble saying, at least she's not in any danger. Right?" He was asking himself that question to which he didn't know the answer. Regardless, he hoped Ruri will be alright as time goes on.

---

MAIAMI CITY - LDS

Mikleo arrived at the LDS building that had a lot of security guards around the entrance with some people allowed entry. He narrowed his eyes a little as he saw the unusual tight security around this place.

He was deep in thought, "A little unusual with this much security. Now, my curiosity has increased." He had more suspicions as to what LDS could be hiding but first he had to get in the building first.

However, Mikleo's deck was glowing for a bit before a ball of light appeared from it. The ball of light floated towards Mikleo's left shoulder and then Helios appeared in a transparent miniature form on his shoulder.

Helios looked at Mikleo with a smirk on his face, "Want me to care of them? I've been itching to fight since you brought me back." Ever since Mikleo brought him out during his duel with Yuya, Helios has been getting hyped up to battle once again since he has the passion and thrill for battles especially since it was the first time his partner dueled in over a year. Helios then turned toward the guards, "They don't look like much. I could squash them with one finger."

Mikleo couldn't help but smirk at Helios' statement as he continued looking at the building, "Keep your cool, Helios. We don't need to get carried away." He then looked at his monster with a straight face, "We especially don't need any recklessness right now. Right?"

Helios just chuckled a little, "Heh. I understand. Fingers crossed."

Mikleo then turned his attention as an idea came to mind, "Appreciate the offer but I think I'll do this the fashioned way." While he doesn't mind Helios' passion, sometimes it can get a little out of hand. Besides, it seems like it wouldn't be worth the trouble of sneaking with so much security in a place like LDS.

Helios couldn't help scoff a little, "That's a little boring." He then toward around, "Wake me up when something interesting happens." Helios turned back into a ball of light and went back into Mikleo's deck.

After that, Mikleo walked up to the guard nearest to him. The guard held out his hand, "Identification please."

Mikleo said nothing as he reached into his pocket and pulled an ID card that showed his picture along with him being an employee at LDS. The guard took the ID card and scanned it before a green light was shown. The guard nodded as he held out his hand toward the entrance, "All clear. Go on in."

Mikleo nodded before taking his ID and walking inside the building. Mikleo smiled a little, "Fake ID. Works every time." He made it right before he came here just in case plus it was easy given the technology he had to make it.

He walked up to the lady at the counter who greeted him with a smile, "Welcome. How may I help you?"

Mikleo kept a straight face as he spoke, "I would like to know where the classrooms are." That was mainly just a ploy so she wouldn't be suspicious of him.

However, a woman with red hair walked right behind him which made Mikleo notice her. He turned his head slightly to see this woman's blue eyes. The woman noticed him as well as she turned her narrowed eyes to look at him for a second but deciding not to pay him any mind and continued walking. Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little, wondering who that was.

The lady didn't notice as she nodded, "Of course." She then held out her hand towards the right of the hallway, "If you go down there, pass the hallway there are two classrooms about Ritual Summoning and Fusion Summoning. The other classrooms are in respective floors above such as Synchro is on the second floor and Xyz is on the third floor. There are other classrooms about the basics of dueling and they are also on the first floor to the right."

Mikleo nodded in response, "Thank you." With that out of the way, he then began to walk in the direction of the classrooms, hoping to find a spot where he can hack in the network to find any information.

However, a few minutes have passed and Mikleo stopped in the middle of the hallway he was in. Mikleo sighed a little, "This isn't gonna work. There are too many people that can notice me." He wanted to get into a room where he can't be seen acting suspicious if he's hacking using his duel disk. Sure, he could use a program to auto hack some files but that would require him to stay in a specific spot. He wondered what to do.

Just then, two students, which was a boy and a girl, of LDS ran by him. The boy shouted, "Come on! They're just about to test the new transfer!" The other girl shouted back, "I'm coming! Just hang on!" Soon after, they were out of sight as they headed into the direction of the center court.

Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little, "Transfer student?" Guess LDS is having some foreign duelist come to this school in Maiami.

However, he realized something as he remembered Yuya's duel with Sawatari, "Wait a minute...the center court. I doubt many people would pay attention to me if they're watching that duel." From his idea coming to play, he began walking toward the center court.

After a minute or two, Mikleo finally arrived at the center court from a hallway that lead to the seats. There was around maybe 20 to 40 people in the area. He guessed not many people cared much about transfer students cause there definitely would have been more people filling these seats.

Mikleo looked around the area and saw two people dressed in uniforms that were in the middle of the arena. One had orange hair a bang covering the right side of his face along with brown eyes. The other had black hair with a crew cut hairstyle along with green eyes. They looked like they were discussing something back and forth as they were waiting impatiently for someone. Mikleo narrowed his eyes at them, "Guess they're instructors of LDS."

He heard some of the students talking to his right, "So, have you guys heard where this transfer student is from?" "I have heard that he might a transfer from the Berlin division." "Really, is the transfer a boy? I haven't heard that."

Mikleo listened to them with a neutral look on his face, "As much I'm curious as to who the transfer is…" He decided to not pay attention as he leaned on the wall right behind the chairs with only a few people in front of him sitting. He brought out his duel disk as he began typing something, hacking into the databanks of LDS which proved difficult as there are more firewalls than before. Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little in suspicion, "Reiji might have upped the security since last time."

He didn't seemed fazed as he scrolling through some coding and typed some buttons. Soon after, a loading screen appeared as it had a power meter that slowly increasing from 0% to 100%. He looked at his duel disk, "This might take a while for the program to break through these firewalls." He put the disk away but kept it turned on in order to have program continue loading. He crossed his arms as he leaned on the wall, "I guess in the meantime I could watch whatever test this transfer is having."

The instructor with orange hair, whose name is Renji, looked a little frustrated, "She's late. You'd think a transfer student would try to look good on her first day…"

The instructor with black hair, whose name is Takuto, narrowed his eyes a little, "Calm down. Besides, she still hasn't passed the orientation yet."

However, everyone stopped talking as they heard footsteps approaching from the court entrance. Soon after, from the shadows, a woman walked into the arena and stopped in front of the instructors.

The students looked both surprised and curious from the sudden arrival, "Is that the new transfer student?" "Wow, she looks pretty!" "I don't know. She looks kinda fierce."

Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little, "Isn't that the woman I just saw from the entrance?" He decided to look closer to get a better description.

The woman that stepped in had cherry red hair that was tied up in a ponytail with a purple ribbon and blue eyes. She looked to be just about Mikleo's age and around his height as well. Her hair had one bang that was hanging from each side of her face along with some tips hanging above her forehead. She was wearing a periwinkle colored cardigan and a magenta pink vest on top with a black tanktop underneath them. She was also wearing dark blue pants with a brown belt and brown boots.

Renji looked at the woman impatiently, "Well, you've finally arrived. You are about half an hour late for this." He was not happy that someone was willing to be late for a test.

The woman looked at the two instructors, "My apologies for keeping you waiting. I was merely exploring the area and I lost track of time."

Tesuto didn't seem fazed as he was scrolling through a touchpad with a smile on his face, "In any case, we're glad you are here."

However, the woman turned her head to look at the students watching in their seats and then suddenly she noticed a guy with black and red hair leaning on the wall. They stared at each other for a few seconds with narrowed eyes before the woman turned her back to the instructors, "So, can you tell me how this process works?"

Tesuto raised his head, "Yes. In order for you to be successfully transferred here, you need to pass a dueling test with Renji." He pointed towards Renji before pointing at himself, "And then, you will begin another test with myself in order to determine what class and league you should belong in."

She looked back and forth between the two instructors, "So I have to face the both of you eventually?"

Renji then had a confident smile on his face, "Well now, don't think it will be that easy. After all, there is a reason why I…"

However, he was interrupted as the woman didn't seem to care as she spoke while having her eyes closed, "Fine, then I'll take on both of you at once."

As soon as she said that, the students sitting in the sidelines were surprised by this statement. Was she serious on taking them both on? In their minds, they are instructors of LDS which means dueling them and defeating wouldn't be easy one-on-one but she wants to take on both of them? They were quite baffled by this woman's audacity. Mikleo couldn't help but smile a little in amusement from hearing her, "Well, this is getting interesting."

Renji and Tesuto were taken aback as they didn't expect this. Renji narrowed his eyes a little as he felt he was being underestimated by this woman.

The woman, seeing their confusion, calmed looked at the both of them, "I would rather face you both then having two duels at once. That's easier to me. Sound fair?" She honestly wanted to get this over with as soon as possible plus it might be more interesting if she's facing both of them at the same time.

Tesuto felt like he should say something, "Wait a second. Now, I understand…"

"Hold on, Tesuto." Tesuto turned in confusion towards Renji before seeing a look of irritation on his face, "If she wants to face the both of us, what's the harm in it? This will make it easier." He honestly wanted to make it easier to defeat her especially since she basically insulted him whether it was intentional or not.

Tesuto was taken aback a little from Renji's anger before reluctantly speaking, "V-Very well. Then, let's begin the test." He then turned towards the woman, "What is your name?"

She closed her eyes for a few seconds before responding, "...It's Kyo."

Tesuto nodded he held a hand to his chest, "Fair enough. I am Tesuto…" He then held it towards Renji, "...and this is Renji."

Kyo had a unreadable expression on her face as she looked at her opponents. She closed her eyes, "...Nice to meet you." She then reached into her pocket and took out her duel disk. The other two did the same as all three of them placed their duel disks on their arms.

The students were baffled by the instructors actually agreeing but were not interested to see how this will play out.

Mikleo looked at his duel disk and saw that it had 30% completion from breaking all of the firewalls. He put it away as he looked at the field, "Still gonna take some time. No harm in watching this I guess."

All three of them were ready to begin the duel as Renji and Tesuto were next to each other while Kyo was on the opposite side.

[DUEL!]

KYO LP: 4000
RENJI LP: 4000
TESUTO LP: 4000

Renji placed his fingers on his deck, "I'll go first. Draw!" He looked at his hand before taking out a card, "I activate the Ritual Magic: Contract with Hell! I tribute Mist Daemon and Death Rook Daemon in my hand!" Both monsters were released as ancient alter appeared along with a dark portal. "I Ritual Summon! Daemon's Advent (ATK: 2500, DEF: 1200, LV: 6)!" A demonic skull monster with wings appeared on the field that was also producing blue electricity around its body.

Renji looked at Kyo, "I set a card and end my turn with that."

Tesuto started his turn, "My turn, draw!" He took a card in his hand, "I activate the Magic Card: Polymerization. I fuse Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon in my hand. Fusion Summon! Appear, Gatling Dragon (ATK: 2600, DEF: 1200, LV: 8)!"

Tesuto placed a card in his duel disk, "I set a card and end my turn."

Renji looked at Kyo with a small smile, "Now then, let's see what you got." He was a little curious about this woman's strength.

Kyo just stared at the two monsters summoned for a few seconds before placing her fingers on her deck, "Draw." She added the card to her hand before looking at the rest of her cards for half a minute.

Kyo took out a card, "I Special Summon Cyber Dragon (ATK: 2100, DEF: 1600, LV: 5)." Kyo brought out a mechanical snake-like dragon that had no arms or legs but had yellow eyes and sharp fangs.

Kyo looked at her two opponents, "When my opponents are the only ones that have monsters out, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."

Kyo held out two more cards, "Next, when the only monsters on my field are Machines, I can Special Summon Cypher Dragon (ATK: 2100, DEF: 1600, LV: 5)!" Two copies of the same monster appeared on the field. They were similar in shape to Cyber Dragon except their bodies are only partially made out of metal and was worn like armor while the rest looked like their bodies are made out of blue streams of coding and material. They also had red eyes compared to Cyber Dragon's yellow eyes.

Mikleo raised an curious eyebrow, "Hm, impressive." While he doesn't know much about this "Cyber" or "Cypher" archetype, what he's seeing right now is impressive. He did a quick check and saw that his program was 70% completed before looking back at the duel.

Kyo had a calm expression on her face as she held out her hand, "Cypher Dragon's monster effect. A monster on my opponent's field loses 700 ATK." Both of her Cypher Dragons unleashed red blasts of energy that drained her opponents' monsters of their power.

Daemon's Advent (ATK: 2500→1800)
Gatling Dragon (ATK: 2600→1900)

Kyo looked at both Renji and Tesuto, "I would have thought you two would have put up more of a fight. But now I see that this is more of a waste of time."

Renji narrowed his eyes, "What?" Now, he felt even more insulted from this woman.

Kyo looked down at her hand to see a certain card in her hand: Polymerization. She stared at it for a few seconds before moving her eyes toward her monsters.

Kyo held out one more card in her hand, "When I have a "Cypher" monster on my field, I can Special Summon Cypher Dragon Remplacer (ATK: 1900, DEF: 2400, LV: 5)!" Kyo summoned a monster that looked similar to Cypher Dragon except that it wearing metal ring around the neck area of its head as well as a satellite dish for its tail.

Kyo held out her hand towards her monsters, "I overlay my Level 5 Cyber Dragon and Cypher Dragon!" Both of Kyo's monster turned into dark energy that went into a portal.

"In order to subdue those who oppose your power, arise from your slumber and reclaim your throne from the cybernetics of nova! Xyz Summon! Arise, Rank 5! Cyber Dragon Nova (ATK: 2100, DEF: 1600, RNK: 5, OVU: 2)!" Kyo summoned a monster that looked similar to Cyber Dragon except it was wearing red and black armor over its head and "chest" area; it also had wings on its back with red streams of energy flowing through them.

The students were surprised by her Xyz Summoning with one of them commenting, "Cool! She's an Xyz user!"

"I overlay my other Level 5 Cypher Dragon and Cypher Dragon Remplacer!" Just like before, both monsters turned into dark energy that went into a dark portal.

"From the cybernetics of coding, arise from the evolution of machinery! Become the might of a cybernetic ruler! Xyz Summon! Arise, Rank 5! Decypher Dragon (ATK: 2400, DEF: 1800, RNK: 5, OVU: 2)!" Kyo summoned another monster that looked similar to Cypher Dragon except its body was red and purple instead of purely blue; it had a yellow horn on its head and wings that had purple energy flowing through them.

Both Renji and Tesuto were taken aback a little as she just Xyz Summoned twice in one turn but were intrigued at the same time.

Mikleo looked at both Kyo and her monsters more curiously as he noticed something was off about the way she dueled. Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little in suspicion, "She's...holding back isn't she." For some reason, he's getting the feeling that she's not taking them seriously. Before he think further, he heard his duel disk vibrate before pulling it out and seeing that it was done cracking through the firewalls. Mikleo smiled a little in satisfaction before looking around back and forth to see if anyone was watching or not and there wasn't. He checked the files and, to his surprise, there are only a few files available to download. He would think there were be more in the database. He narrowed his eyes a little, "The rest of it is probably in safer security up top." That would mean he only has access to these files unless he can somehow get to a computer like Reiji's and download the files manually which isn't possible at the moment.

Mikleo sighed a little in irritation, "Whatever. These will just have to do." He'll take what he can get right now. With that said, he pressed a button and then this duel disk proceeded to download the files available as he put it away in order to watch the rest of the duel.

Kyo looked calmly at her opponents, "When Decypher Dragon is successfully Xyz Summoned, I can add a Machine monster from my Deck to my hand." Kyo added a monster to her hand as she continued, "Furthermore, Decypher Dragon's ATK increase by 200 for every Machine monster I control."

Decypher Dragon (ATK: 2400→2800)

Kyo pointed at her first monster, "I activate Cyber Dragon Nova's monster effect. I use an Overlay Unit…" One of Nova's Overlay Units vanished, "Then, I Special Summon Cyber Dragon (ATK: 2100) back from the Graveyard." The original Cyber Dragon was brought back alongside Nova.

Decypher Dragon (ATK: 2800→3000)

Kyo then held out her hand towards Renji and Tesuto, "Battle! Decypher Dragon attacks Daemon's Advent!" Decypher Dragon launched a red, electrical blast towards Advent.

However, Renji raised a fist, "Not so fast! I activate the Counter Trap: Attack Nullification! Your attack is negated and this ends the Battle Phase!"

Kyo didn't seem fazed by the trap as she pointed at Decypher, "I activate Decypher Dragon's monster effect. When my opponent activates a card or effect, I can use an Overlay Unit to negate the activation and destroy that card." One of Decypher's Overlay Units vanished before Renji's Trap was negated and destroyed, to his shock.

"And then I can Special Summon a Level 5 or below Machine monster from my Graveyard. I bring back Cypher Dragon (ATK: 2100)!" Cypher Dragon was brought back next to Cyber Dragon. Since another Machine was brought out, Decypher's ATK increase.

Decypher Dragon (ATK: 3000→3200)

Renji, while still surprised, then smiled a little, "Even if you negated my trap, your monsters won't be enough to take out my LP."

Kyo, however, just narrowed her eyes a little before pulling out a card, "I activate the Quick-Play Magic: Limiter Removal! With this, all Machine monsters on my field have their ATK doubled!"

Renji and Tesuto were shocked when they heard the card's effect as they both shouted out, "What?"

The effect of Kyo's Magic made all of her monsters stronger including Decypher whose attack was growing larger and more powerful towards Advent.

Decypher Dragon (ATK: 3200→6400)
Cyber Dragon Nova (ATK: 2100→4200)
Cyber Dragon (ATK: 2100→4200)
Cypher Dragon (ATK: 2100→4200)

The students that were watching were shocked by how strong she made her monsters in one turn. While watching this, Mikleo couldn't help smile a little, "Impressive." Despite her holding back, she's actually pretty good and wondered what other surprises were in store. He then checked his duel disk and saw that it was done. He then put it away to watch the rest of Kyo's turn.

Finally, the attack connected onto Advent who was blocking the attack with its arms but the damage still went through as it forced Renji to lean on one knee. His monster disappeared afterwards.

RENJI LP: 4000→0

While she didn't show it, Kyo was satisfied that was done before turning towards Tesuto who still looked surprised at her. Kyo narrowed her eyes before pointing at Gatling Dragon, "I attack Gatling Dragon with Cyber Dragon! Evolution Burst!" Cyber Dragon unleashed a light green blast of electricity towards Gatling Dragon. The attack connected and destroyed Gatling Dragon. The explosion made Tesuto placed an arm in front of himself to protect himself from the blast.

TESUTO LP: 4000→1700

"I attack you directly with Cypher Dragon! Devolution Burst!" This time, Cypher Dragon unleashed a red and blue blast of electricity towards Tesuto. Tesuto was hit by the attack and forced to stand on one knee.

TESUTO LP: 1700→0

KYO: WIN
RENJI & TESUTO: LOSE

With the duel done, Kyo put away her duel disk and proceeded to walk past Renji and Tesuto, not even bothering to hear them out. The students were surprised by what just happened and some of them looked at her, amazed her shear amount of skill she produced.

And then, Kyo happened to walk by Mikleo, making them looked at each other for a couple seconds before she turned her head and walked past him, not paying him any mind right now.

Mikleo narrowed his eyes a little as he watched her walk by, "Well, at least I wasn't bored." He looked at his duel disk, "Still, I got what I came for. Time to leave." Slowly but surely, he proceeded to walk out the court and, soon after, out of the building without any suspicion.

---

MAIAMI CITY - HIRAGI RESIDENCE (NIGHTTIME)

Yuzu was in her room looking at the Polymerization card she got from Sora, "...I really hope Ruri is okay after what happened. Hopefully, Yuya was able to talk to her." While she didn't the chance to explain, she felt bad for Ruri mainly because of her personal problems with Fusion Summoning, whether she knows what they are or not.

However, she heard a knock on her door and turned towards it, "Come in!" The door opened and revealed Ruri who looked at her with a small smile. Yuzu was surprised to see her, "Ruri…" Ruri walked in the room and then Rin came out of the door following behind her.

Yuzu looked to Rin in curiosity and Rin, knowing what Yuzu was wondering, looked at her with a smile, "Ruri came in a few minutes ago and I wanted to come with her." Yuzu nodded in response.

The three girls soon sat down in order to talk. Ruri looked at Rin in curiosity, wondering if she knows about her "condition". Rin, having a feeling, looked back at Ruri, "Yuzu told me earlier today about what happened before with you...freaking out about Fusion Summoning." Basically, she heard everything from Yuzu about what happens to Ruri whenever she sees Fusion Summoning as well as what she knows.

Yuzu held out her Polymerization card with a sad frown on her face, wondering what to say.

Ruri noticed it and saw what card Yuzu was holding. She frowned as she knew what it was: Polymerization. She looked down at the ground to think for a minute.

Rin saw the exchange they had and rubbed the back of her neck, feeling awkward about this whole situation and wondered if she's in any place to say about this. She decided to wait and see what happens first.

After thinking for a minute, Ruri shook her head and had a look of determination on her face, "No...I can't be thinking like that right now." She raised to her head to look at Yuzu, "Yuzu." Yuzu raised her head to look at Ruri after hearing her name.

Ruri looked at Yuzu for a few seconds before she took a deep breath and then bowed while placing her hands in front of herself, "I'm sorry!"

Rin and Yuzu were taken aback by this as Yuzu was confused, "Huh?"

Ruri raised her head to look at them with a sad frown on her face, "I...reacted too rashly regarding my feelings toward Fusion Summoning. I didn't listen to your reasoning and I want to apologize."

Yuzu processed what Ruri said for a few seconds before looking at the ground with a sad frown, "No...I'm sorry." Yuzu then looked at Ruri, "I didn't consider your feelings first when I made the decision to learn Fusion Summoning so I'm sorry."

Rin smiled as she watched them apologized to each other. She then got in between them as she placed her hand on their shoulders, "Look, you're both sorry about what happened today. How about we just hug it out?" Yuzu and Ruri smiled at each other a little before deciding to go for it as they hug it out. Rin joined in the hug to make it more special.

After they finished hugging it out, Ruri was reluctant to say this cause of the mood but she had to ask, "Yuzu, why did you decide to learn Fusion Summoning?"

Yuzu frowned a little as she then looked at her Polymerization card, "Well, I wanted to get stronger for both myself and you guys. I wanted to become a stronger duelist while also trying to catch up to Yuya."

Ruri narrowed her eyes a little as she was a little confused, "And...that's the answer you came up with? To learn Fusion Summoning?" She then looked at the ground as she spoke softly, "But...that's dangerous…"

Rin was confused, "Dangerous? Dangerous how?" She was confused as to what Ruri meant by that. Is she saying that Fusion Summoning is dangerous? However, a thought came to her mind as she narrowed her eyes at the memory, that hooded boy used Fusion Summoning and practically almost injured her. She had a look of realization on her face, "Could that be what Ruri meant?" She didn't know for sure as it seemed like Ruri had it worse than her for some reason.

Yuzu stared at her card with determination in her eyes, "...I don't know what you've been through Ruri. Maybe it is dangerous to you. But to me, I see Fusion Summoning as a way to help and protect my friends...including you." She said that with a sincere smile on her face while looking at Ruri.

Ruri's eyes widened in surprise as she was taken aback by what Yuzu said. She was at a lost for words, "Using Fusion Summoning...to protect me?" That kind of thinking never crossed her mind before so she didn't know what to think. She was almost baffled by it.

Yuzu stared at Ruri, "Think about it, Ruri. Whenever we saw Yuya Fusion Summoning, I noticed that you didn't get stressed like before. So, you have to know that there is some good in Fusion Summoning."

Ruri lowered her head as she was a little reluctant, "Well…" She thought about how Yuya performed Fusion Summoning, "In my defense, Yuya is my friend." There's one of the differences between him and Sora. Again, she's not expressing hatred toward Sora, she just doesn't trust him so they're not exactly friends either.

However, she was reminded of something as she remembered Sora. She had to ask Yuzu about Yuto.

Ruri looked at Yuzu with a look that was both curious and cautious, "Yuzu, Yuya told me that you met Yuto the other day."

Rin was surprised as she looked at Yuzu, "Wait, really?"

Yuzu's eyes widened in surprise before lowering her head a little, "Oh...yeah." To be honest, she was going to tell Ruri earlier but she didn't get the chance this morning as Ruri left before she could.

After that, Yuzu began telling Ruri and Rin what happened after she asked Mikleo to teach her Ritual Summoning: about how she found Sora and requested him to teach him Fusion Summoning. Then, she told them they encountered Yuto and everything that happened right when Yuya showed up.

Ruri looked at the ground, "I see." Ruri narrowed her eyes a little, "Sora definitely knows about me now." She didn't want it to come to this but it probably would have happened eventually. Now, she wondered what to do.

Yuzu was going to ask Ruri some questions about Yuto but then she saw that Ruri was getting tired as she yawned. Rin yawned as well before Yuzu eventually joined in as well.

Ruri stood up from Yuzu's bed, "It's getting late and I need time to think on this." She turned around and proceeded to leave the room but not before Ruri turned to wave at Yuzu with a small smile, "Thank you for the talk. Goodnight, Yuzu." Rin followed after Ruri and waved as well, "Goodnight, Yuzu."

Yuzu smiled a little as she waved back, "Goodnight." The door then closed which left Yuzu all alone in her room. All three of them eventually went to bed with Ruri wondering what might happen from now on.

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Fanfiction OC Memo:

Superheavy Samurai Pendulum Ben-K
(LV: 8, Machine, EARTH, ATK: 1000, DEF: 3500, PS: 4)
Pendulum Effect: "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If they do, apply their DEF for damage calculation. Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls: change its battle position.
Monster Effect: When this card is Normal or Special Summoned: You can change its battle position. "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If they do, apply their DEF for damage calculation.

Superheavy Samurai Taka-2M
(LV: 6, Machine, EARTH, ATK: 800, DEF: 1500)
Monster Effect: When you control no monsters: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. This card gains 300 DEF for every monster your opponent controls. If you control no cards and you have no Magic/Trap Cards in your Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; draw 2 cards.

Superheavy Samurai Sasu-K
(LV: 7, Machine, EARTH, ATK: 1200, DEF: 2600, PS: 3)
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls: That monster loses 1000 ATK and DEF until the End Phase.
Monster Effect: If this card battles, it gains 500 ATK and DEF until the end of the Damage Step. When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack: You can banish this card face-up from your Extra Deck; negate the attack and, if you do, add 1 "Superheavy Samurai" monster from your Deck to your hand with DEF less than the attacking monster's ATK.

Superheavy Samurai General Gamo-O
(LV: 5, Machine, EARTH, ATK: 400, DEF: 1900, PS: 9)
Pendulum Effect: You can only Pendulum Summon "Superheavy Samurai" monsters. This effect cannot be negated. "Superheavy Samurai" monsters you control gain 500 DEF.
Monster Effect: If this card is Pendulum Summoned from your hand: You can destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card your opponent controls. You can tribute this card: Add 1 "Superheavy Samurai" monster from your Graveyard to your hand. You can only activate each effect of "Superheavy General Gamo-O" once per turn.

Cypher Dragon
(LV: 5, Machine, LIGHT, ATK: 2100, DEF: 1600)
Monster Effect: (This card is always treated as "Cyber Dragon.") If you control no monsters or if the only monsters you control are Machine-types: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, you can activate this effect: 1 monster your opponent controls loses 700 ATK until the End Phase.

Cypher Dragon Remplacer
(LV: 5, Machine, LIGHT, ATK: 1900, DEF: 2500)
Monster Effect: If you control a "Cypher" monster: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, you can tribute 1 Machine-type monster you control: Add 1 "Cypher" or "Cyber" monster from your Deck or GY to your hand.

Decypher Dragon
(RNK: 5, Machine, Xyz, LIGHT, ATK: 2400, DEF: 1800)
(2 Level 5 Machine-type monsters)
Monster Effect: When this card is Xyz Summoned: You can add 1 Machine-type monster from your Deck to your hand. This card gains 200 ATK for every Machine-type monster you control. Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card or effect, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Negate the activation and, if you do, destroy that card; then, Special Summon 1 Level 5 or below Machine-type monster from your GY. When this Xyz Summoned card is destroyed by your opponent's card (by battle or card effect): You can add 1 "Polymerization" Magic Card or "Fusion" Magic Card from your Deck to your hand.

Some OCG, TCG, Anime, and/or Manga effects are changed for the sake of convenience

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So...here we go. This is something I was debating for a while but now I decided to finally go for it. I'll just say this: someone asked me if I was doing legacy characters and, technically, my answer is both yes and no. Meet Kyo Marufuji...I'll leave it all to the comments. I will say this: nothing against Ryo (in fact, I like him very much) but I decided to go in a different direction in terms of that character. Think of it as this: since there are different dimensions, there can also be different versions (& possibly different genders) of certain people and Kyo would be one of them. Maybe that's the best way I can put it. I've seen a lot of shows involving different dimensions where it can be a bit confusing at times. (By the way, I hoped I describe her good enough so that y'all know what she looks like. I said before that I don't think I'm good at descriptions.)

I'll say it like this: there will be legacy characters and Kyo is technically one of them. But, for some of them, I decided to change them into different people. Not gonna say which ones but there's only like two or three maybe. Basically, it's a little thing I wanted to do. And I'm not gonna say which ones will appear yet but I will say, besides Kyo, there will be more additions besides the ones already shown in the Arc-V anime.

Maybe you all will get it or maybe you won't. Don't worry, it might make sense eventually as more chapters come out. Kinda rambling at this point but whatever.

Now, for the record, the "Cypher" archetype Kyo used is not the same as what Kaito used in Arc-V. Like for example, Reiji's monsters, I thought they were D.D. but instead they were a completely different archetype. Something like that. In case y'all were confused.

Anyway, I hope y'all like the chapter and I'll see you in the next one.

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NEXT CHAPTER PREVIEW:

The Soul Hidden Behind Pain - Yuya encounters Chihaya again and they started conversing after a while. As Yuya wanted a duel with Chihaya, when the conversation gets more personal between them, Chihaya suddenly wants nothing to do with Yuya and as her true feelings begin to surface as well, she then takes her anger out on Yuya...

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Like or please review ~