Chapter 14-The Fated Meeting!

I had just won my duel against that brute Gen and his scumbag goons, to be honest seeing such people having the nerve to call themselves duelists and yet abuse those cards in order for merely personal gain, arrogance or to oppress others disgusts me. I don't know why though, but for a very long time every time I've came into contact with such people I've almost felt my blood boil, rage overtaking me, wanting to bring justice upon them for both the oppressed and the abused cards. No idea why but it feels almost a part of my very heart and soul.

Anyways enough of me, after the duel the 4 people that I saved, Ayu, Futoshi, Tatsuya and finally the new girl I met, Yuzu Hiragii, surprisingly also the daughter of the You Show Principal, came to congratulate me.

"You're really strong! So cool too!" cheered Ayu as she tugged my shirt, which was a little unsettling. "That was one awesome duel! It literally gave me the complete shivers!" cried Futoshi, while acting all jittery. "You saved us not once but twice! How can we possibly thank you?" asked Tatsuya who looked up to me with such fascination. "Uh…" I simply went, not knowing how to react. Fortunately I was saved at just the right time, "H..Hey! Guys give him a break!" said Yuzu as she came in between me and the 3 kids, "He just saved us so we should be a little more respectful, don't you agree?" she scolded, "Sorry…" they said looking down. I felt a bit bad so I then spoke up, "No worries!" catching their attention, "All that matters is that you guys are safe, so I don't mind you guys coming up to me." I then kinda regretted what I said..

"OK THEN!" "Thank you so much!" "Hey you should come to our school!" "Sorry we didn't fully inform you last time!" Me and Yuzu had big sweat drops after that.

After finally sorting them out….

"Um..Last time you used gemini monsters to help us out, now it's red eyes?" asked Tatsuya curiously, (Come to think of it, red eyes cards are really old and so not many people nowadays own them. He's pretty lucky to have them). "Oh I actually use more than 1 deck, I enjoy trying my luck with various strategies and cards after all." I answered. "Wow!" they all went, believing I must be hoarding all sorts of rare cards on me.

The pink haired girl then walked up to me "Anyways thank you very much for saving us Mister….?" Yuzu bowed her head but couldn't quite remember my name, "No need to be formal, I just did what others should naturally do, standing up for others who can't." I answered, making the 3 toddlers go sparkly eyes in awe, "By the way, it's Ryuga, Ryuga Shirogane."

"Ryuga!?" gasped Yuzu, making me somewhat surprised at her reaction. "!" "Is something the matter?" as I asked nervously, "N..No it's just that, are by any chance the Ryuga who saved my 3 friends Ayu, Futoshi and Tatsuya the other day? The gemini duelist?" she asked. I then smiled and answered, "Yup, that's me," I then turned to the children, "glad you 3 kids are safe, never imagined those goons would try going after you again twice."

"Yeah! They were a bunch of meanies!" cried Ayu in frustration, "I agree" said Tatsuya, Futoshi simply nodded.

"So you're the gemini duelist then?!" asked Yuzu, I then turned to her, " 'Gemini duelist'? I was hoping for a cooler name then that, but yes that's me as well." Yuzu then bent a bit closer, "This is great! Just when we were only out having fun, not only did we get ambushed, we also got saved by the 'gemini duelist'!" she cheered and started acting all giddy from excitement, making me, the 3 children and my dragons a little weirded out.

"Isn't she the one who told US to make him feel comfortable?"

"Is she alright?" thought Blue eyes. "Sometimes seems wrong with this girl, bet it's her brain." followed red eyes.

Deciding to proceed further, I then spoke, "Um is there anything else?" I asked, making her snap out of her daydream. "Oh! I'm so sorry! Forgot to introduce myself!" she bowed, "My name is Yuzu Hiragii, I'm the daughter of Shuzo Hiragii, principal of You Show Duel School!"

"You Show?" I thought puzzled before remembering the asymmetrical looking funhouse I passed sometime ago. "We happen to be students there ourselves!" spoke Tatsuya, "Oh I see, so your school takes in students of all ages then?" I asked, "Yup! That's right!" they answered.

Feeling interested, "So um…What exactly does your school teach?" I asked, "That's easy! We teach entertainment duelling that's what!" answered Yuzu, "What we do is practice all sorts of stunts with solid vision as we normally perform during action duels. We also do all sorts of tricks with our monsters in order to entertain the crowds and bring smiles to them!" she concluded. "Wow…Action duels, solid vision, performing stunts with your monsters…That sounds both intense and awesome too!" I spoke deeply interested, making the others look at me weird. "Something the matter?"

"Huh? You mean you've never heard of action duels before? Never even tried solid vision despite being so skilled yourself?" asked Yuzu suspiciously, "I …uh…" fortunately the 3 kids were there to bail me out again, "Oh Yuzu nee-chan! We forgot to mention!"

They helped clarify how I was from out of town, came form a simple, not so advanced town and never experienced action duels before. "Oh I see," she sounded a little regretful before cheering up, "Say Ryuga, are you by any chance enrolled in a duel school?" I blinked and then answered, "Actually no, but I am currently trying to find one, after all I am interested in taking part in the Maiami Championship."

Their eyes then brightened at my remark, "Then maybe you come join You Show?!" asked Futoshi as he edged close to me, "Pleeeease! Pretty pleeeeeaaaassseee!" pleaded Ayu looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. "Gah!" I couldn't help but be surprised at how they were trying to 'recruit' me. "Hehe seems Ryuga's got his own fan club now." said red eyes all proud. "Oh give it a rest already…" frowned Bahamut and Blue eyes. "Hey knock it off!" cried Yuzu making the children ease up, "That's no way to get new applicants!" she scolded, "Sorry again." they said.

"Still it would be nice though, I'm sure Yuya would be really happy to have someone like you join."

"!" I thought after hearing the name, "Yuya? As in Yuya Sakaki?" I thought without giving myself away. Bahamut's eyes widened, surprised this girl happened to know the very person whom they travelled so far to find. "Actually," I suddenly spoke, "I think I'm quite interested to check out what it's like at You Show."

This made the 3 children smile "Really!" they cheered, "That's great!" followed Yuzu, "So maybe you'd like to join?"

"I'd like to see what it's like first though," I added, "No problem, we'll take you there right now!" spoke Tatsuya excited. "Lead the way." I added. As we headed off ion the direction of You Show, I thought to myself, "These action duels and solid vision seem like a HUGE deal here," before imagining myself riding on Bahamut or taking part in an actual duel where duelists too have to take part got me really excited, "I can hardly wait!"

We soon arrived at the school, which looked exactly the same as when me and Bahamut passed it a while back, "Here we are!" cheered Ayu, "Nice looking place don't you think?"

"It's definitely got a special feel to it I admit." I said while eyeing it, also keeping quiet about the awkward moment of seeing Yuzu slapping her dad with her fan. "Well, you're gonna love what's inside even more!" said Yuzu excited to have a new student, who encouraged me inside. I on the other hand was more excited to see Yuya Sakaki at last after the long search, also more excited to see what kind of duelist he would be like, after all he was the son of my former idol Yusho, couldn't wait to see what kind of skills he would employ..

We then suddenly heard some kind of loud shouting and quarrelling coming from a nearby window, making me back away. "W..Wait nothing to worry about! Just my dad and another of his issues I bet! haha!" she then gritted her teeth, "Dad, if we lose him just because of your misbehaving I WILL never forgive you!" she thought as she suddenly took out her paper fan and a murderous dark aura enveloped her! I became even more nervous, "Does that happen often?" I asked, "Don't worry, she does this sort of stuff everyday!" I face faulted at that comment, "What kind of place is this madhouse!?" I thought.

Dragon POV

"Unbelievable…" said Red Eyes with his dragon pride wounded, "All this time we've been running all over this city without so much as getting a clue about Yuya, yet all along he's been HERE! Of all places!?"

Blue eyes then snickered, "Well you know what they say, how the clam's shell hides the pearl inside? You must never be quick to judge." she said in a kind of singing voice. "You're one to talk!" yelled back Red eyes before they started their usual squabbles, with Ryuga doing his best to ignore them.

Bahamut on the other hand could sense the presence of powerful pendulum energy inside, "So he's been here from the beginning…It's been a very long time, but now to see if Odd Eyes is prepared for what is to possibly come…." he thought in anticipation.

You Show Duel School

In the lounge room, Yuya was having an important discussion with Sora, Shuzo and Gongenzaka regarding the news he had learnt from Yaiba and Hokuto. "So why'd you call us all here Yuya?" asked Shuzo who looked slightly worried. Sora on the other hand, was leaning forward, head in his hands, with a pouty face, "This better be good…You made me drop my ice cream cone and dragged me all the way here so fast I nearly lost all the sweets in my pockets!" he cried. "S..Sorry, just thought you all might like to hear some news I just overheard from LDS students Hokuto and Yaiba." Yuya said. This caught the attention of the other listeners, "Well then go on." Gongenzaka asked.

He then told them how he overheard that LDS was apparently on the hunt for a certain duelist who recently appeared in Maiami City, someone very skilled apparently. Sora then kinda felt let down, "That's it? I kinda expected more important news." he said disappointed. "Well it's only natural that LDS would be after some skilled duelist to boost their representatives for the Tournament at this point in time," mentions Shuzo, "That would mean you all would have to train even more hot-bloodedly than ever!" he roared while pumped up. "That's not all!" Yuya interrupted, "I..It's just…" he couldn't bear to mouth out the most important detail. The others then gained a slight look of worry on their faces, "Well Yuya? Is something of the matter?"

Summoning his confidence and courage to admit, he then spoke, "Well here goes, apparently the duelist they are after happens to be someone who uses pendulum monsters." The rest of them then jumped at the statement, "WHAT!?" Yuya then gulped, "Someone who uses pendulum summoning!? I knew that this day would come someday, but I never imagined it would be THIS soon!" he was standing on the couch with his hands in his hair like a crazed maniac, "How could I have underestimatesd LDS' capabilities at developing pendulum cards so much!?" he blamed himself, before Sora interrupted, "Um teach, that's not quite right." "Huh?"

"Sora's right!" Yuya spoke, "LDS is apparently after this person who already has fully functional pendulum cards! Meaning that they haven't fully developed their own yet." Gongenzaka then gasped, "Then that means that there's someone besides LDS who is adept at using pendulum summoning as good as Yuya!?" Yuya then turned his head, "Hey!" "M..My apologies Yuya my friend!" he bowed in shame on the ground (like how he begged Yaiba for synchro lessons), "This man Gongenzaka shall discipline himself for this!" "Do you know what this means!?" Shuzo spoke up, "If LDS wants him, means he's not enrolled in any school yet! So we ought to get BOTH him and that gemini duelist over to You Show as soon as we can!" he spoke all excitedly making the rest of the boys sweat drop. "Seriously? Thta's all you can think of?" Sora remarked before sucking on his lollipop,"Stiil, things are bound to get way more interesting around here should that happen." he said with a smile.

"See? I knew Sora would agree!" said Shuzo to Gongenzaka and Yuya, "Now all we need is Yuzu to come home and then…." he suddenly stopped. "Uhhh…?" thought Yuya. "Is something of the matter Principal Shuzo?" asked the Gongenzaka. The hot-blooded man turned his head to Sora, who then began to look nervous, "Y..Yes sir?" "Sora, do you know where is Yuzu and the children?" he asked in a stern tone. At that statement, Sora's lollipop fell out of his mouth, clearly having forgotten about his morning task and how late noon it was now, "Ummm…Urrrr…"

"Sora, where is Yuzu and the others?" asked Yuya worried. "W..well…"Sora couldn't wiggle his way out so he decided to spill the beans, "I think I may have forgotten to go back for them at the park this morning after trying to find out about the pendulum and gemini duelists myself! ahaha…haa" he said while sweat dropping nervously and trying to put a worried/happy face.

Shuzo unfortunately did NOT share Sora's laid back mindset….

"YOU DID WHAAAATTT?!" Shuzo yelled grabbing Sora by the collar and shaking him wildly, staring at him with blazing hot red eyes! "How could you leave my little Yuzu out there all by herself!? When the kids nearly got kidnapped themselves not so long ago! What if something happens to her!?" Sora was frightened and was utterly speechless in his defence, as if he was staring at divine judgement itself! "W..well she's not technically alone….She's got all Ayu, Tatsuya and Futoshi with her…"

Yuya's eyes then widened, "That makes it even worse!" he yelled. Soon both he, Gongenzaka and Shuzo ganged up on poor little Sora, completely defenceless before their intense rage and burning red aura! "N..No please! I'll make up for it! In fact, I'll go out right now and…" he was interrupted by the opening of doors, "We're back!" called Ayu as she, Futoshi, Tatsuya and Yuzu went in to the lounge. "Go out and let them in! Haha….Please don't do anything mean…" he pleaded with sad eyes.

At the sight of his daughter Shuzo then charged straight towards her with arms wide open, "YUZUUUU! Daddy's been so worried about yo…!" Whack! "OW!" he went as she smacked him on the ground, "A little space dad…!" she grumbled. "S…Sorry."

The other 2 boys turned their attention towards them, "You guys! You're alright!" cheered Yuya happily. "This man Gongenzaka cannot express how joyous he is to see you all!" he cried with manly tears! "We're all fine you guys!" answered Tatsuya reassuring them they were safe. "Well we did run into a little trouble on the way home though…" admitted Yuzu sheepishly. Their eyes then widened in shock, "Huh!?" She then quickly added on, "But no worries we had help!"

"Yeah! You should have been there, we were saved by a really strong duelist! It gave me the shivers!" said Futoshi. "R..Really!" gasped Shuzo and Gongenzaka together, "By whom?!" gasped Yuya who was real keen to know. Staying silent, both Yuzu and the You Show trio remained quiet smiling, before turning their heads to the door, "It's alright! You can come in! We're all good here!" they said. "Say what!?" gasped Gongenzaka, "You mean he's here!?" Yuya followed.

Ryuga's POV

Feeling shy but then summoned up all my courage I walked in and presented myself to the whole group. Looking around I was surprised by the number of new people I met, from a large burly man with a pompadour, a short boy with a straight pony tail, the orange man who was whacked last time and..!

Focusing on the last boy, "That hair, red and green…Almost reminds me of…..! (back then, 3 years ago…. could he be!)" I thought

"I thank you all for having me here." I spoke politely while bowing. "Oh? A new face?" thought the principal, "I hear you were the one who rescued my students from a gang of delinquents the other day, for that I thank you." he said while shaking my hand with both of his. I couldn't help but fell a little embarrassed, "No need for that, I'm just doing what everyone should do, helping those in need."

"That's actually pretty cool, glad there are some duelists with a sense of nobility within them." thought Yuya to himself, impressed. The man in the red fire-themed jumpsuit then spoke, "Whoops! Seems I forgot the introductions! My name is Shuzo Hiragii, the proud principal of You Show Duel School."

"So he's her dad after all." I thought, "Don't quite see the family resemblance….Must be from her mom then, also their relationship seems to be….unique." I thought with a slight sweat mark, remembering my past memory passing here. "I'm Sora Shinuin, I study here too!" he spoke in a cheery tone. The large bulky man walked up to me, startling me, "Nice to meet you! Before you is the manly Noboru Gongenzaka! Future heir to the Gongenzaka dojo, home of the powerful steadfast duelling style!" he bellowed while striking a few martial art stances, "I also happen to be friends with Yuya Sakaki."

"!" He knows Yuya too! Guess he's more popular around here than I thought, also the name Gongenzaka….Could he be the one that Ayame drew in a match a while back? I thought, while nervously eyeing his physical build, I think I understand why she had trouble with him….Probably would be best not to get him angry…I thought while swallowing down.

"And last but not certainly not the least is me!" cheered the tomato hairstyled boy, "My name is Yuya Sakaki! It's a pleasure to meet you." The moment he uttered those words, I was speechless. Before me was not only the person Bahamut instructed me to locate, he was also the son of my former idol, the great dueltaner Yusho Sakaki! Not only that, he was the well renowned pendulum user, the very first ever! I was overwhelmed with emotion that I was pretty much shaking with awe as I reached out and shook hands. "It's a great honour to meet you." I said before suddenly I could feel a sudden sharp pain at the back of my neck! As if it was burning like fire! (The dragon mark glowed slightly but not enough to be fully visible to the others.)

""H..Hey! Is something wrong?" gasped Yuya the moment he saw me cringe. Trying not to worry them, "No worries! Just a little excited that's all." I said trying to cover up, "I mean, you're actually THE Yuya Sakaki I've heard so much about! How you're able to perform the powerful pendulum technique which has been the talk of the place!" I said in a hurry. "Oh really hehe.." Yuya blushed while scorching his head, thinking he gained an admirer. Shuzo then smiled and gave Yuya a big pat on the back before leaning in, "Well well Yuya! Seems you've got another fan to join us like Sora did! Nice!" he smiled. "Seriously.." thought Sora with a grumpy face, before turning his attention to me, "So then, you mind telling me who you are then?" he asked. "Alright sure thing," I replied, "My name is Ryuga Shirogane."

Upon hearing my name everyone other than Yuzu and the kids then gained multiple shocked expressions on their faces, "WHAT!?" they exclaimed, "The Ryuga Shirogane who saved my precious students when they were alone! The gemini duelist!" gasped Shuzo while grabbing my shoulders and getting TOO close for comfort. "Y..You know me?!" I gasped shocked, fortunately saved by Yuzu and her instant fan again! "That is NOT how you welcome newcomers or visitors dad!" she growled. "Th..Thanks?"

Sora licked his sucker before smiling, "Hmmm, so he's the one who uses gemini monsters and is able to use multiple summoning methods at once too…How interesting indeed." Yuya was the next to come up to me, "Wow! I never thought we would be paid a visit from such skilled duelist like yourself." "Oh no the honour's all mine!" I replied, "I mean you're the first one who was able to call forth pendulum summoning to begin with so you deserve more praise than me. As well as being able to overcome the champ Strong Ishijima!" I praised.

"Hehe maybe you're right! Then again," Yuya said before going quiet. "Huh?" everyone else went, "Well that's not quite true, see…I'm not the only one who can perform pendulum summoning, not anymore at least." he admitted humbly and sadly. "Oh yeah.." thought the rest of the kids, "Reiji Akaba, the president of LEO Corp and headmaster of LDS, just so happens to be able to use pendulum cards. Don't know how, but he somehow managed to acquire them on his own.. Also, it won't be long till everyone else will be able to do so as well…" he said while having a few bad memories of shock returning to him. "Yuya.." thought Yuzu and the others around him, remembering his feelings of sorrow. I could tell how he felt, how having something special to you only having been taken and soon how everyone will be doing it too. "Still, it was bound to happen sooner or later, I mean it is practically unfair if I were the only one able to pendulum summon right!" he spoke in a cheery mood, initially I believed that was simply a smile to hide behind, or maybe his concept of smiling when things don't go your way. "When it does happen, it only means I will have to push myself even harder and become the example for all those to follow and not feel sorry just because everyone else is being able to pendulum summon too!" he spoke proudly. "This speech was so inspiring! I feel so proud to call you my friend Yuya!" bellowed Gongenzaka, who was then followed by the applause of the other You Show Students. (Yuya was also keeping the fact hidden that somehow there was another duelist outside of LDS with pendulum cards of his/her own, but didn't want to dwell on the matter for much longer.)

Even I felt moved by him, having lost his dad 3 years ago and yet still remaining upbeat and positive, he's almost the splitting image of his dad.

"Anyways enough about all that!" Shuzo spoke after recovering from the blow by Yuzu's fan, "Let's skip all the formalities and give a warm welcome to our new student Ryuga!" he instructed to all the You Show students, sprouting various responses from the youth and juniors.

"Hooray!"

"This'll be awesome!"

"Now the championship is as good as ours!"

"All this excitement is giving the shivers!"

"This news brings many manly tears to the eyes of this man Gongenzaka!" They all celebrated as if they just achieved a huge victory in some sort of competition or battle.

As much as I enjoyed seeing the smiles on others due to my actions, I had to be truthful to my own feelings, "Um lets not get ahead so quickly, I haven't exactly agreed to attend this school just yet." I spoke firmly. They all turned to me with shocked and sad looks on their faces, "HUH!? You won't!?" "No Way!" "Why not?" (Urrr maybe that came out wrong…I thought)

"Don't take it the wrong way, I plan on entering the Maiami Championship coming up soon, so I'm looking for a great duel school to enter, but I don't plan on enrolling in just any school." I said. "So why not here?" asked Yuzu curiously, "We've seen how you duelled so you'd be great!" "Yeah! You'd make a great duelist to represent us too!" followed Tatsuya.

"I wish to see firsthand the spirit of your school, if you can prove to me your determination and firmness in beliefs to your school's principal, then I'll consider it." I answered. The other people in the room remained silent, apparently nervous about whether they would be able to meet my high but reasonable expectations, till Yuya spoke up. "All right Ryuga, if that's how you want it then I'll be your opponent!" he issued his battle challenge with intense fire and passion in his eyes, which I could feel. Bahamut too could feel it, as well as the dragon we came all this way for, they were right before us. I looked to my partner and he nodded, assuring me to accept the challenge, "Very well Yuya! I accept! Get ready to throw down!"

"Oh yeah!"

"This will be a match for the history books no doubt!" "Gemini summon vs pendulum summon! I don't even know who to root for!" "You both do your best! We'll cheer for the both of you!" "I'm getting shivers!"

"Awww I wanted top be the one to duel…."

"Sorry Sora, first come first serve. Hee hee.."

"No fair!"

Well there goes the next one. From now on, I'm going to be using Ryuga's POV for the storyline as I believe it would make the story writing much easier. Next chapter Yuya and Ryuga will throw down, also get ready for a new pendulum monster that will be added to Ryuga's arsenal!