Chapter 25: Before the Games

{Sakaki Household: July 11th, 2014, 9:04am}

Yuya prodded his food with his fork, thinking on what had transpired since he had started the duels to enter the Arc League Championships. Between meeting a celebrity chef, dealing with an arrogant perfectionist, meeting another witch who exposed his secret, and apparently fell in love with him in one fell-swoop, and finally having to duel his best friend for his place: Yuya was both exhausted, and excited. It was a strange feeling, looking forward to something, and being nervous at the same time. Sighing, the scarlet-eyed witch glanced to the side where Sora was eating breakfast with a pleased smile upon his face. Yoko turned as she watched Yuya who continued to prod his food and she frowned at the sight.

"Are you alright Yuya?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh… yea, just kind of tired…" Sora looked to him.

"Well, you've had a lot happen over the last few days. Maybe you should just chill out, we have three more days before the tournament beings. If you're completely spent on the opening day, you won't stand a chance," he told him.

"I know… it's not just that… Leo Corp sent me a contract request…" Yoko stared.

"What kind of contract?" she inquired.

"Reiji Akaba wants me to come by either today or tomorrow and he wants to sit down and talk to me about a contract agreement for Leo Corp to officially distribute Pendulum Cards. Only here right now, but if they do well… then they'll put them out internationally." Sora beamed.

"That's amazing! That kind of offer is too good to pass up!" he exclaimed.

"I know… my problem is agreeing to it… from my hacking, I know that they've developed a few pendulum archetypes… Yosenju is one of them… and I have to approve them in the long run… but I wonder if… I'm doing the right thing by considering it." Yoko smiled.

"Yuya, I think it's a great opportunity. You're going to be given credit for something you've created… you'll be handling some business affairs and the like; however, this is something that personally would be good for you. It'd be a chance to get out from under your father's shadow, make a name for yourself as a Duelist and a creator of the Pendulum method," she stated.

"I guess so… if I do… it's gonna be a little weird seeing my picture in some places…" Sora grinned.

"More like everywhere… I mean, come on, you're gonna be super popular! But it's up to you. Honestly, I think this is an opportunity worth taking! Plus, you can make your own demands from Leo Corp, you know that Reiji Akaba would pay anything to get his hands on the cards," he pointed out.

"Um I… don't know if that's a good idea…" Yoko smiled.

"How about this, I'll go with you and let you do the talking. I've had a meeting with Reiji before not to long ago in fact, and he was very polite. I doubt he's going to push you into something, and just to be safe, I'll come as well. Now eat up and we'll go and deal with this now," she said.

"Alright, I guess I might as well hear him out…" Sora nodded.

"Right, I'm gonna go to the Duel School and get a little more practice in, see you two later!" with that the blue-haired teenager was gone, letting Yuya huff as he took a few bites of his meal.

"Are you sure your alright?" Yoko probed.

"Nervous… maybe even terrified, but I'm excited to do this… it's a step in the direction of being a pro," Yuya stated as he smiled.

"True. Hurry up, okay?" he nodded, returning to his meal.

{Leo Corp tower: 10:00am}

Yuya stood in the elevator of the Leo Corp Tower with anxiety flooding his entire being. He felt slightly sick, concern bubbling up inside him as his mother kept a hand on his shoulder, knowing that he was nervous, and trying to assure him. It was as the elevator dinged, and the doors opened, that Yuya stepped forward, going towards Reiji Akaba's office with his heart hammering against his rib cage to the point that it almost hurt. Taking in a deep breath, Yuya reigned in his anxiety, and looked towards the office doors before pushing them open, his mother right behind him. As the doors swung shut, Reiji Akaba looked up from his task on his desk and smiled, standing as Yuya walked forward.

"Ah, Yuya, how nice of you to come. I'm glad that you accepted my invitation… and a hello to you Mrs. Sakaki, how are the two of you?" Reiji inquired.

"We're fine Mr. Akaba, we just wanted to hear your proposal about the Pendulum method." Yuya took a seat in front of the desk, Yoko sitting beside him as Reiji returned to his seat.

"Very well, as you know, the Arc League Championships are three days away, and now that Yuya has secured his position in the tournament, I was thinking this would be the finest moment to showcase your Pendulum Summons," he stated.

"Showcase them? What do you mean?" Yuya's voice did not quiver, his gaze was sharp, observant, and somewhat calculating. The energy the boy carried was everything Reiji anticipated it to be, and so, he merely smiled.

"I have developed several pendulum cards to be used during the Championships if you were to say yes. A few archetypes have been created, and only one set has been given out to a Duelist, I hope that the two of you Duel as it would be a magnificent showcase of the power of Pendulum Summoning. Atop this, if you were to agree, you would be fully credited with everything done through the Leo Corp concerning pendulum cards," Reiji clarified.

"And if I were to refuse?" the silver-haired seventeen-year-old sighed.

"Yuya, I have no intention of usurping you. Even if I were to distribute my own pendulum cards, I would always credit you with the creation of them first-hand. What I am hoping to do though, is have you be the one to promote them with our support, and during the Arc League Championships, have them showcased, have people know that you were the one to create this new method, and to integrate it as part of the finale of the tournament," he stated.

"That seems fair, as for the contract though…" Reiji nodded.

"Fifty percent evenly divided for both parties. Once the mechanic takes off, we will be able to expand upon the purchases of these cards, and you will be given a larger sum at that point. Promotion will be approved by you, and Leo Corp will only agree to additional deals pertaining to the Pendulum method once you have agreed to them as well," he explained as Yoko hummed.

"So, in other words, everything goes through Yuya and myself for approval before being issued out to the masses?" Reiji tilted his head.

"Precisely, I have no intention of making this a fight for this method, nor do I intend on taking it from your son. Instead, I desire to have you flourish from this, allow the You Show Duel School to fair better, and so much more. All I ask, is that you agree to the terms I have informed you of," he stated.

"And what do you receive?" Reiji looked to Yuya.

"Fifty percent of the profits, Leo Duel School will be the second school to host the method that will be taught by students who have managed to learn how to summon Fusions through Xyz, following your method, would be Link Summoning, of course. In addition, we would ask Yuya to be our promoter, aided by us he would travel, showcasing Pendulum Summoning, the task of being both a pro and a creator," Reiji said simply.

Yuya thought of the information, anxiety rushing through him as he considered what his choices were. On the one hand, he could ignore the offer, and Leo Corp would still produce their own Pendulum Cards, and while Reiji Akaba said he would credit Yuya with the creation, he didn't quite trust the word of a business man. With that in mind, he glanced to his mother, and she nodded, giving him the all clear before he turned to look at Reiji with a calm expression upon his features.

"Alright, I agree to sign the contract, so long as you can provide a copy and uphold to it… in addition, I have two requirements that have to be met," Yuya stated.

"And what would they be?" the scarlet-eyed witch looked to him.

"That if at any point something within the agreement of the contract is voided, Leo Corp stops production of the Pendulum Cards, and also, the cards need to be made for as many types as possible, so there's a broad availability, so that way if someone wishes to use them, they don't have to worry about altering their deck too much," Yuya stated.

"Simple, but reasonable. Very well, I will see to it. Here's the contract."

Yoko looked it over quickly, and then they proceeded to fill out the contract, gained their own personal copy, and bade Reiji Akaba adieu before returning home as Yuya slumped in the front seat, taking in a deep breath as he began to relax just a fraction. It had been stressful, but some part of him was happy that he had done it. Yoko had been pleased with the contract, and once everything was signed and finished, it didn't feel as intimidating as it had when he'd first walked into the room. Yuya closed his eyes, rolling the window down as Yoko started the car and they drove away, the wind ruffling his hair a bit as he let it come in through the window.

As they drove home, Yuya considered the fact that thus far, things were going fairly well for the first time in quite a while. True there had been many bumps and bruises along the way, but for some reason, everything felt as though it was going how it was supposed to. A small smile came to his features as Yoko shook her head, thinking of how simple everything had turned out to be thus far. Yuya was growing as a person, his skills as a witch excelling further, his powers had become remarkable over the last few months, and his courage as well as his belief in himself, had grown as well. Yoko looked to him out of the corner of her eye, being almost unable to believe how much he had grown.

However, her task still remained ahead of her. She needed to tell Yuya the truth, and it wasn't just because of a promise she'd made; it was because his magic was growing stronger every day, to the point that she could sense it, and in addition to that, she knew that Yuya would be facing greater troubles as the days continued. Reiji Akaba had begun to form the Lancers, and he wanted Yuya at the head of that spear, not only for his skills as a Duelist, but because of his powers as a witch. He knew how strong Yuya was, and how powerful he would become. Nonetheless, Yoko was well aware that if Yuya wasn't told the truth by her, and it came out later, then his doubt would return, choking his magic and making in vulnerable when he least needed to be.

"When should I do this though? There's so much going on, and stressing him out won't help his performance at the Championships, not to mention now Reiji Akaba wants him to showcase his Pendulum Summoning, and if he's concerned about that, Yuya won't perform well… so now I have to find out when to tell him… hmm… I know… I'll wait until the end of the tournament, that's what'll be best. After its over, I'll let him know…"

{You Show Duel School: 1:03pm}

"I'm fusing Solo the Melodious Diva and Sonata the Melodious Diva to Fusion Summon! Oh, sweet song of the world, guided by the maestro's hand, resonate with a new melody! Fusion Summon! Come forward! Shuberta, the Melodious Maestra!" Yuzu chanted as the red-haired, green skinned monster appeared, her baton at the ready, the red-black-gold-and-white dress flowing around her as she laughed just a fraction.

"Alright! You did it Yuzu!" Sora cheered as the pink-haired girl sighed in relief.

"I was so worried about that…" she admitted.

"You've got it now, congratulations!" Yuzu smiled.

"Well, now all I have to do is stay focused on the task at hand," she stated.

"And don't forget about what comes after you walk away from the tournament as a finalist!" Yuzu shot Sora a long look.

"I remember, don't pester me about it! Now, I have to just remember how to do what you taught me, and I'll be fine. Julia! Your going down!" Yuzu declared.

"Then maybe you'd like an extra hand?" the pink-haired girl turned to where the door was to the dueling area and smiled.

"Yuya! Hey! How did it go?" she asked as Yuya walked over to her, a weary smile on his face.

"It went okay. Reiji and I came to an agreement on the Pendulum Method, and it's going to be showcased a bit at the tournament, and it'll have some part to play in the finale." Sora jumped into the air.

"Yes! This is gonna be so cool!" he cheered.

"So, how goes the training?" Yuzu smiled.

"It's going good. I've finally got the hang of the Summoning Mechanic," she stated.

"That's good to hear…" Yuzu rose an eyebrow.

"Yuya, what did you mean when you came in about having an extra hand?" she inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I thought you'd like to have these…" Yuya held out a small envelope.

"What are these?" Yuya smiled a bit.

"Take a look." Sora came over to Yuzu as she pulled the envelope open and looked inside.

Within the white folds of paper, were three cards, fusion monsters that Yuzu had looked at before, but had never considered owning. The first, was a level seven fairy-type monster with blue curled hair, a pair of blue flowers on either shoulder, and a yellow-blue ballgown. The background was pale whites, purples, pinks, and blues, revealing to her that it was indeed one of the cards she had looked at several weeks ago: Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir. The next card was an opaque fair of pale blues, whites, silvers, and pinks, wearing a floral gown of elegance, her hair done up with two petals and her eyes a complete lace-blue shade. This was the level six Fusion monster Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir.

The final card in the bunch, was a level eight Fusion Monster, that required a Fusion Monster, and one effect monster. They had to both be the same type, and attribute. The card showed an elegant white dragon with floral petals as wings, its horns adorned with bloom cherry blossoms and its scales shined with pale rainbow fuses while it's claws appeared to be made of smoothed pearls. It was a beautiful dragon, graceful and powerful, carrying four-thousand attack points, and twenty-eight-hundred defense points, this was the Dragon of the Melodious archetype: Tchaikovska the Melodic Dragon.

"Yuya… how did you get a hold of these?" Yuzu asked.

"It took a while, they were supposed to be birthday presents for you, but the Dragon took a long time to track down, so I figured these would be… good luck charms for you during the tournament…" Sora gawked.

"That's one hell of a good luck charm! Who did you have to blackmail to get your hands on that Dragon? She's really rare," he stated. Yuya rose an eyebrow.

"I had mom call a friend, and he just so happened to have it." Yuzu looked to him.

"Then it must have cost you so much…" the red-green-haired boy shook his head.

"Actually, no. It was a gift… the owner said he had the card for years, and it never sold, plus he loves nurturing new Duelists, so he sent me the card and told me to take care of it, and make sure it got to and I quote: my lovely girlfriend." Yuzu looked to him.

"He thought I was your… girlfriend?" her voice squeaked at the last word, causing Yuya to glance down, flushed just a bit.

"Y-Yea, I um… didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise…" periwinkle eyes looked him over.

Yuya was dressed in dark wash jeans, black converse sneakers, and a blue and gray plaid shirt. He was lacking his wrist warmers, but still wore his choker, pendulum crystal and goggles. He looked nice, but relaxed, wearing just street clothes and not bothering with dressing up when he wasn't the kind of person to do so. Yuya glanced her way, Yuzu smiled as he returned it, the two of them seeming to have a quiet conversation as Sora started to back away.

"Third wheel exiting stage left!" he whispered as he raced out the door.

"You actually look really good in blue," Yuzu said.

"Huh?" scarlet eyes glanced her way.

"I-I mean… the color… I always thought it would clash with your hair, but… it doesn't… it looks really… nice," she muttered.

"Um… thanks mom wanted me to dress up a little bit so I um…" Yuzu giggled just a bit.

"Yuya, you can be so silly," she said.

"I'm not silly!" he defended before laughing a bit as Yuzu held the cards to her.

"Thank you for the cards, they'll be helpful… and I'll be sure to use them," she said.

"Good, I think they're really impressive… you know I'm just starting to actually use other summoning mechanics other than the pendulum method." Yuzu smiled.

"And yet you mastered Fusion summoning in no time at all… makes me kinda jealous… and I also wonder about the other methods. Maybe you can learn those and adapt them to your summoning system? Pendulum Fusion, Synchros, Xyzs, and Links. I think it'd be pretty amazing," she mentioned. Yuya hummed, thinking about her comment.

"Learning the different mechanics and putting them all together. That'd be neat, you're right about that. Hmm… okay, yea! I'll do that! I've already got Fusions, so I guess Synchros are next." The pink-haired girl smiled, laughing a bit.

"You'd be the only one who would take that kind of crazy idea and run with it, not to mention make it work," she said.

"Crazy or not, it's a good idea, I swear Yuzu." The girl smiled.

"Good, then do it. You can, I know it." Yuya looked her over.

"Just make sure you put those girls to good use, they're powerful, and when used right, I think they'll do some remarkable things for you," he stated, smiling just a fraction.

"Me too, thanks, again by the way…" Yuya glanced to the side, a dark blush on his face.

"N-No problem…"

{Hiiragi Household: 7:15pm}

Yuzu hummed a bit as she went about the kitchen, chopping up vegetables and putting items into the pots on the stove. As she went about this, Shuzo watched his daughter, questioning what had her so happy as she continued humming, a smile upon her face while she worked on cooking. Shuzo had a sneaking suspicion that her jovial behavior had something to do with what he had seen and heard in the dueling area earlier during the day. Shuzo sighed, smiling just a bit as he watched his daughter.

"So, what did Yuya give you?" he questioned.

"He gave me three new fusion cards…" Shuzo hummed.

"And when are you planning on telling him that you love him?"

"After the tournament ends I think that –" Yuzu paused, looking to her father with a startled expression that quickly morphed into an irritated one.

"Oh, so you're gonna tell him that you love him after the championships?" he asked with a smirk.

"DAD!"

Shuzo laughed as he watched the girl turn blood red in the face as she fumed. Despite his efforts, he couldn't find it within himself to not to continue laughing as she turned around, continuing to work as the girl kept a stern look upon her face as her father continued to laugh about the situation until she turned to shoot him a glare.

"Stop laughing! It's not funny!" Yuzu snapped.

"Yuzu, I'm only laughing because you started to realize how you feel. I remember when your mother admitted to me that she loved me. If I think about it, we were the same age… we were all friends with Yoko and Yusho growing up…" Yuzu glanced down.

"How come you never talk about mom?" she asked.

"Your mother… she was beautiful… talented, strong, smart, and just… incredible… she was so much like you. But before she passed, Sakura asked me to take care of you, and not let the past weigh either of us down. I knew you'd ask eventually, so I decided to wait for you to ask about her." The girl nodded slowly.

"She was a duelist, right? What kind of deck did she run?" Shuzo smiled.

"Hold on just second…"

Yuzu watched as her father went upstairs before coming back down a moment later. In his hands, was a small hand carved box with small ornate etchings on it in hearts and lilies, lined in what seemed to be silver. Yuzu rose an eyebrow as she noted a small pink jewel embedded into the top of the box as she watched her father settle back down on the table as she moved closer before he looked to her as he placed the small box in front of her.

"What is this?" she asked.

"I placed your mother's deck into this so that it would be protected." Yuzu opened it.

Sitting at the top of the deck, was a light attribute spirit monster with three thousand attack and defense points, standing at a level nine, and was the image of a gorgeous woman in a white and gold trimmed kimono, adorned with a red sash, a sword held within her hand, and golden rays appearing from the crown upon her head. Yuzu lifted the card, being careful as she did so, and then looked at the next card after it. It was an armored white knight with a halo behind it, and pale attire with its arms at the sides. Yuzu took the card out and looked at them in questioning.

"A Synchro monster?" Shuzo nodded.

"Your mother ran a spirit deck and used Synchros, Fusions, and Rituals. She had one Xyz Monster…" he explained.

"Amaterasu… the Sun Goddess…" a smile came to his features.

"That was her favorite card, her ace that resided in the main deck. Her extra deck ace was a fusion monster named Ame-no-Uzume." Yuzu picked the deck up slowly and shifted through the cards before seeing the fusion monster in the center of the deck.

"They're beautiful," she said.

"And powerful when used right." Shuzo gathered up the cards and held the deck out to her.

"What?" Yuzu gave him a confused look as he smiled.

"She wanted me to give this to you when you're ready. I believe you're prepared to have it… she wanted this to be another deck that you could put your faith in. when the time comes, I hope you can put it to good use when the time comes," she said.

Yuzu took the cards in her hands, fingers curling around them carefully as the image of her mom when she was a little girl came to mind. Pink hair falling around her shoulders and face in a wavy, curled mess to her hips and pale purple eyes looking to her as one of her monsters stood nearby her as she smiled to her. Yuzu smiled, remembering her mother at her best, smiling and beautiful, and free spirited. The girl held the deck to her chest and nodded.

"Thank you, dad…" Shuzo smiled.

"Just remember to smile as she did when she dueled, let your spirit soar with your monsters. Your fairies have wings, fly as high as you want, my little fairy," he said as he pulled her close and hugged her as she nodded.

"I will, don't worry."

{….}

This is a warning, like it or not…

{…..}

Author's Note: We're about to start the Arc League Championships, so be prepared for some seriously crazy things to happen. I hope you guys are enjoying the story, and as for this part with Yuzu about her mom, she's never mentioned, so I decided to take it that Shuzo's wife, Sakura, passed away shortly after Yuzu was born, she would have been around six or so when her mother died. So, that's why I have this bit in here. Tell me what you think.

Sincerely,

ShadowDragon94.

Trivia:

In the anime the pendulum cards were distributed by Leo Corp without much of a consideration that it was actually illegal to do so when Yuya was the creator, which means there would have been creation rights in affect. So, I decided a contract would be formed in order to clear that up.

Yuzu mentioning to Yuya about weaving the other summoning methods into his Pendulum summoning. The strange thing is, Odd-Eyes is the only archetype that stretches throughout every type of monster card save for Links.

Spirit monsters are a first-generation archetype, and even though they've gotten newer supports, they still don't possess extra deck support.

Sakura is Japanese for cherry blossom.

Amaterasu is the Sun Goddess in Japanese mythology who was hidden in a cave. She was tormented by the God Susano-o and hid in a cave. She was lured out of the cave to return light to the world by jewelry and mirrors that were strung to a Cleyera Japonica which is an evergreen tree that is a part of the Shinto creation story.

The Cleyera Japonica is the tree that Yuya get's his last name from, it can translate into arrow or sacred tree.