Cat: Ok, just gonna throw this out there! I am so proud of this chapter!

Rena: That was such a good episode and such a good duel!

Cat: Please review! Hopefully you'll love it as much as i do!

Rena: ... I doubt that...

Cat: This story is in Yuzu's POV. Please give me some artistic licence. If i put some stuff that isn't in the anime in here, don't flame. There would be no point in reading, if it was just the anime in words.


Chapter 29- The Fusing Fantasia Primas!

It was amazing how much more professional the Junior Youth bracket duels were compared to the Junior duels. I stood by the barrier, flanked by two security guards. The crowd was jam packed, being one of the first duels for the Junior Youth. I stood with my arms folded, staring at nowhere in particular. And, oddly, I felt rather confident.

I knew Masumi's deck now, seeing as we had duelled before and she thought she knew mine. But she was wrong. She wouldn't be prepared for the surprises I had up my sleeves. I promised revenge on LDS for Ayu and I was going to deliver on that promise, that and I wanted to prove to Masumi that 'my eyes weren't clouded', as she said they were.

Finally, the gate slid back and I strolled onto the field, the crowd cheering. I had already spotted Yuya, Gongenzaka, Sora, Futoshi, Ayu and Tatsuya up in the stands, supervised by Yoko and my dad. Masumi was already there, waiting for me as she pulled her disk out of the holster she held it in.

Masumi definitely felt hostile towards Kurosaki Shun… But now… She sees him as friend… What is going on here?

"Your eyes have no luster," she cut through my thoughts, her usual self-confident smirk covering her face. Those words felt like a ten ton weight falling on my head. Those were the words I do not need to hear.

"No, no, no!" I wailed. "That time I kept thinking Yuya was Yuto and lost! I won't let that happen again!" Yuya was my friend. And, now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen Yuto in a while… But I was confident that they were two completely different people. Just like how 'Ruri' and I weren't the same either.

"In this duel, I'm going to show you I am a different person from the last time you saw me!" I announced, pointing at the victor of the duel weeks before.

"Fine by me," she grinned. "This is a tournament match, after all. It wouldn't feel right if you didn't do that at least."

Ok, now that annoyed me. Yes, this is a tournament match, so almost every contestant will have upped their game. But she was acting like the duel we had over You Show Duel School wasn't my best duelling… Ok, I admit, I had played better then but my heart was in the right place. She was acting as though that duel didn't matter, not in the slightest bit. In a way, the stakes weren't as high now. Yes, I would like to win. Yes, I would adore to wipe the floor with Masumi in front of this big crowd. I didn't plan on losing now. Not to her. But, if I did lose at any point of this tournament, all I would do is pack up and watch the remaining duels.

But that wasn't the case during our school duels. Losing was a major setback and almost cost us our school. But I doubt Masumi would ever understand the feeling of losing something like that.

"Everyone! Thank you for waiting!" Nico Smiley boomed over the speakers. "And now, the match between Hiragi Yuzu from You Show Duel School and Kotsu Masumi, from today's fiercest competitor, Leo Duel School begins now!"

The crowd screamed and I felt my stomach lurch. It was now or never.

"First up is the Action Field selection! The field card selected randomly is… Action Field on! Field Magic: Infinite Bridges activated!"

I had never even heard of the Action Field before when suddenly I felt the ground under my feet ascending into the sky. I stared around to see I was standing on, funnily enough, a bridge and it was just getting higher and higher, making more room for even more bridges that crossed and extended and formed shapes, while still creating room for more and more duplicates.

"One misstep and it's a head first drop into the abyss!" Nico cheered, which made me wonder to what lengths he would go to provide an exciting duel for the audience. Well, at least my dad wasn't playing this duel. He would probably throw up, or even worse, faint. He was not good with immense heights.

"Which one of these budding Junior Duellists will bloom in this unnerving field!?" Nico demanded, which made the crowd cheer louder.

"I'll be going first!" Masumi told me, drawing. "I activate the Magic card: Gem-Knight Fusion! I can use Gem Knights in my hand and preform a fusion summon with this card!"

Just like I expected, she's going to do a hand fusion on her first turn, just like she did last time.

"The cards in my hand I will fuse are the three Gem-Knights Saphire, Ganet and Crysta! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Gem-Knight Master Dia!"

"Got your ace out already?" I asked, wondering if she was seeing me as a worthy opponent, was worried what new surprises I had for her, but probably most likely, she wanted this duel over quickly.

"Master Dia's attack increases by 100 for every Gem-Knight in my graveyard!" she announced, as the huge monster's attack rose to 3200. "I set one card and end my turn! Now, it's your turn! Show me how much you've changed!"

She pointed at me, her cruel smile on the verge of looking slightly deranged. Then I realised. She didn't believe me at all. She though that this was going to be a walk in the park and that I was just as weak as I was that day we duelled the first time. Well, I was going to prove her wrong, right here, right now.

"My turn!" I said, pulling out my card. "Draw!" I stared down at my cards and almost fell over at how great my hand was. I was going to prove how much I had improved even faster than I thought. "I activate the Magic Card: Fusion from my hand!"

I could swear her neck elongated a few inches as she thrust her head forward and stared at me, as if she hadn't heard me properly or that I had gone completely insane. "Fusion!?"

"What a shock! Hiragi Yuzu has activated Fusion!" Nico screamed over the microphone.

"I fuse the Fantasia Maiden Aria and the Fantasia Sonata that are in my hand!" I cried, amazed that the first time I would Fusion summon in an official match was on my first turn. "Appear now! Fantasia Prima, Maesterin Schubert! Once per turn, Maesterin Schubert can banish all fusion materials of a Fusion monster from the Graveyard!"

Masumi's jaw dropped and she didn't say anything. I grinned inwardly. "I'll banish the Fusion Materials for Master Dia: Saphire, Ganet and Crysta, as well as the Magic Card: Gem-Knight Fusion!"

Knowing Masumi's main cards was dead handy in this case. I remember well how she could banish one 'Gem Knight' in order to take back the 'Gem-Knight Fusion' Magic card. And now I had just rendered that useless.

The huge monster's attack plunged back to its original 2900 attack points. But I wasn't done. "At the end of this turn, my Maesterin Schubert's attack increases by 200 for every card banished by this effect!" I had banished 4 of Masumi's cards, adding 800 attack points to my monster, creating the attack power of what her monster had just moments before- 3200.

"Battle phase! I attack Master Dia with my Maesterin Schubert! Wave of the Great!" I yelled, as Masumi began running. So, her face-down must have been a bluff or something, as she couldn't save her ace monster, which disappeared into yellow dust. She vaulted down to a different bridge and glared, her life points dropping to 3700. Not a lot, only 300 points. But that was the first step. "I set two cards down and end my turn! At this moment, Schubert's attack returns to normal!"

Masumi could do very little now. She had no cards in her hand and one face down. I had a monster with 2400 attack points. I was leading by 300 points. She drew, glancing at the card. "I'm surprised you can use Fusion," she drawled. "But if this is all you can manage, it won't stand a chance against me!"

She's bluffing! That has to be a bluff!

"Quit bluffing!" I snapped. "Right now, you have one card in your hand! You can't fuse with just that!"

"I wonder about that…" she smiled.

What?

"I activate the Continuous Magic: Brilliant Fusion from my hand! With this card I can Fusion Summon one 'Gem-Knight' monster using monsters from my deck as Fusion Material!" she smacked the card down on the disk, as it appeared beside her.

"Monsters from your deck!?" I demanded.

"From my deck, I choose…" she said slowly, enjoying my obvious irritation on my face. "Gem-Knight Alexand, Emeral and Obsidia to perform a Fusion! Fusion Summon! This is my real ace monster! Gem-Knight Lady, Brilliant Dia!"

3-3400 attack points!?

"The attack and defence points of monsters special summoned using Brilliant Fusion become 0," Masumi announced, which made me smile. There was obviously a big handicap for such a powerful card but then, why would she play it? I opened my mouth to speak but then she continued. "But, by sending one Magic Card to the Graveyard, I can change its attack back to normal until the next turn!"

Then she was off running. She was looking for an Action card to sacrifice! If she did that, I would lose my Fusion Monster and 1000 life points! So, I took off running too. There had to be some kind of Action Card to prevent her reviving her ace's attack points.

"I won't let you!" I yelled. "Trap activated! Melodious Diverge of Divine Punishment! It deals my opponent 800 points of damage for every Fantasia monster I have on my field!"

Masumi bit back a scream as a volt of purple lightning struck her and sent her falling of course, her life points dropping. But then, she grabbed the green pole, flipped, and grabbed the Action card. I scowled. I had been hoping to save that trap for later.

"By sending one Action Magic to the Graveyard, Brilliant Dia's attack returns to normal until my next turn!" Masumi told us all. I realised it was now my turn to start running. "Battle phase! I attack Maesterin Schubert with my Brilliant Dia!"

I stared hopelessly as my monster tried desperately to defend against the stronger opponent but was then violent split in two by Masumi's knight and disappeared into gold glitter. Then, the shock wave hit me and threw me off my feet. I screamed loudly as I was catapulted off the bridge and grabbed, about to plunge into the 'abyss', as Nico called it. It was almost a survival instinct that kicked in and forced me to reach out and grab onto the railing for dear life, holding my entire weight. I was not going to forfeit this match over injury. I wasn't going to forfeit at all. I was going to make a come-back and win!

For once, I was grateful for my dad's intense training, as I was able to pull myself up and step back onto the bridge, gasping. That was going to give me nightmares. I glared up at Masumi, who was standing above, looking down at me as if I was a cockroach she had discovered on the street.

"Now do you get it?" she asked quietly. "This is the difference between our strengths. I end my turn with this."

"My turn," I called. I could hear my heart beat loud and clear after almost plunging, well, not to my death, but perhaps a broken limb or two.

If she gets another Action Card, I'll be even more at a disadvantage! I've got to do something!

"Draw. I set one monster in face down defence position!"

"What's this? Looks like you don't have any options left!" Masumi gloated. I shot her a look and stared at the trap card I was holding, set it and ended my turn.

Then, she was off again. "At this moment, Brilliant Dia's attack becomes 0 due to the effect of Brilliant Fusion!" I ran alongside her on a different bridge.

"I won't let you get an Action Card!" I yelled at her.

"I won't let you stop me!" she held up a card. "I summon Crystal Rose! When Crystal Rose is on the field, it can be used as any Fusion Material needed! I use Crystal Rose as Gem-Knight Roumaline! Then, I activate Brilliant Dia's effect! By sending one Fusion Material to the Graveyard, I can perform a Fusion Summon!"

"A Fusion with one material!?" I asked.

"This is the power of Brilliant Dia!" she shouted at me. "Using Crystal Rose as Roumaline, I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Zirconia!"

Then, a huge Fusion Monster landed in front of me, blocking my path, as Masumi jumped up and grabbed another Action Card with the skill of a professional gymnast. Holding it up for the crowd to see, she sent it to the graveyard to return the attack power of her monster back to 3400. Now I was facing two Fusion Monsters, with attack points of 2900 and 3400.

"First, I use Zirconia to attack the face-down monster!" she announced, the huge monster that had been blocking me before began to fly forward and I took off at a sprint. Then, it hit my face down and destroyed it and the shock-wave sent me forward, luckily not over the bridge, but I rolled and rolled down it and landed in a heap with many cuts and bruises.

She stood a metre away from me, staring down like a queen gazing down at a slave. "Now the only monster you have protecting you is gone. This will finish you! I make a direct attack with Brilliant Dia!"

I watched as it flew above me, drew its sword and began to plummet down, as fast as a bullet.

"Trap activate! Fusion Samsara! I can special summon a card used as Fusion Material this turn from my opponent's graveyard onto my field in attack position!"

"From my graveyard!?" Masumi shouted.

"The card I choose to summon is Crystal Rose!" I called, as the monster appeared in front of me. It had just 500 attack points but that was enough. "A monster special summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed in battle!"

"But you'll still take the damage!" Masumi bellowed, as her monster made her mark trying to destroy the monster I had just summoned. But instead, it destroyed the bridge and I was thrown back meters and lay on the ground panting, close to the edge of the bridge on either side. Of all Action Fields, it had to be the one with bridges, didn't it!?

"I end my turn here…" she hissed. "If I hadn't Fusion Summoned this turn, you wouldn't have been able to activate Fusion Samsara… You should thank your luck…"

I had 100 life points left and I was beginning to feel bad. I was covered in cuts and bruises and my nerves were a wreck. I pulled myself up onto my hands and knees and stared down at the grey stone that was the bridge, trying to remove the feeling of nausea. "That wasn't luck…" I muttered, slowly standing up. "Masumi, you have pride in being a Fusion Summoner. I was certain that you would try finish me off with a Fusion Monster! And that would protect my life and give me the hope I needed!"

"You're quite talkative for someone who only survived by the skin of their teeth! Why don't you prove to me next turn that you can do something aside from pointless struggling!?" Masumi yelled.

"I plan to!" I snapped back. "My turn!"

Then, another memory came and flooded back to me. The day Yuya had Fusion Summoned and gave the card back to me, even though I told him to keep it. 'With this, you are trying to turn yourself into a different Yuzu than you are now' he said. I didn't want to prove to Masumi that I had changed. I wanted to prove to Yuya that I had changed. And not just him. I wanted to prove to my dad, to Ayu, to Futoshi, to Tatsuya, to Gongenzaka and Sora that I had changed.

And to prove to Yuto that I was using Fusion summoning to protect my friends. I wasn't an 'enemy', even if I used the 'enemy's' form of summoning.

I will become stronger for my friends! That is my resolve!

"Draw!" I pulled the card out and held it high. This changed everything. "I'll show you my radiance right now! I summon Fantasia Maiden Soprano! I can perform a Fusion summon of a Fusion Monster that lists Soprano as its Fusion Material without a Fusion Magic Card! Crystal Rose can be treated as a necessary Fusion Material for a Fusion Summon! I use Crystal Rose as Fantasia Prima Prodigy Mozart! Using Fantasia Maiden Soprano's effect, I fuse itself with Crystal Rose! Fusion summon! Fantasia Flower Saint Bloom Diva!"

My monster appeared in all her glory. Again, it was the first time I had Fusion Summoned her in an official match and I felt inner pride as I saw her. It felt like all my hard work and Sora's teaching had paid off. She's my new ace now.

"Battle! I attack Gem-Knight Zirconia with Bloom Diva!" I announced, hearing the crowd mutter loudly as I did. My monster had 1000 attack points. Masumi's Zirconia had 2900. "Bloom Diva is not destroyed when attacking Special Summoned monsters and the opponent takes any damage I would! And it destroys that monster as well!"

Now it was Masumi's turn to roll down the length of the bridge, the shock wave created by her destroyed monster sending her flying, her life dropping to 1000.

"Now you've done it!" She spat, pulling herself up and setting me a glare of pure loathing. "But that will be your downfall! Trap activate: Brilliant Spark! When a Gem-Knight on my field is destroyed, I can deal damage equal to its attack to my opponent!"

"Trap activate: Fantasia Illusion!" I shouted right back at her. "It negates an opponent's trap card and lets one of my Fantasia monsters battle again!"

That's it! I have this in the-

She was slipping down the pole at an alarming speed, getting closer and closer to an Action card. I didn't have it in the bag yet. "Brilliant Spark's other effect! By sending one Magic Card to the graveyard, I can negate and effects that negates this trap!"

Without even thinking, I jumped straight off the bridge barrier. Some madness possessed me, obviously. I shot like a bullet shot from a gun, snatching the card which was millimetres away from Masumi's reach. I was about to crash into another bridge and kiss my straight nose goodbye when Bloom Diva caught me and deposited me safely on another bridge.

"You Show Duel School cannot lose when it comes to action!" I declared, ensuring that I was heard. I was proud of my small school. And I was going to make them proud of me.

"Unbelievable!" Masumi gripped the barrier for her bridge tightly, as if I would try and convince her to pull a stunt like I just did. "Why would you jump from that height!?"

Because I was possessed by a moment of insanity. "Because being one with your monsters is how You Show Duel School duels!" I grinned. "Due to Fantasia Illusion's effect, Bloom Diva can attack again! This is the final blow! I attack Brilliant Dia with Bloom Diva!"

Her monster exploded, whipping up a huge gale that tore through the entire stadium. I crouched slightly, in order not to be blown away. But Masumi wasn't as lucky. She screamed like a banshee as she was thrown off the side and began to plummet.

"Masumi!" I shrieked.

She fell and fell and fell, gaining speed.

If she hits the floor-!

Then, a blur of yellow shot past me and past the bridge supports, darting towards Masumi. Bloom Diva caught her gracefully, without a bone broken.

"You… Saved me?" Masumi whispered, looking up at the monster, genuinely amazed.

The relief spread through me like being out for a long walk in the winter and coming home to the warmth of home. I nodded and Masumi looked away, obviously embarrassed.

Then, it hit me. I dealed Masumi 2400 points of damage. She only had 1000 life points left.

I had won.


The sun was setting when we decided to call it a day and stop watching all the nail-bitting duels that were shown after mine. We slowly walked back to the minivan. I felt like I was floating on air, still elated with my win, even though I knew I had to take an immediate bath and probably cover myself head-to-toe in plasters for all my cuts and bruises, I really didn't care.

"Yuzu-onechan using her opponent's monster to do a Fusion Summon gave me the shivers!" Futoshi cheered as we crossed the car park.

"Well, I'm the one who taught her, so being able to do that much is given!" Sora boasted, as we all chuckled.

"Hiragi Yuzu!" a voice cut through the quiet chuckles. We all stopped and looked over to see the owner of the voice.

"Masumi!" I cried. I hadn't seen her since the end of the duel. I was glad to see she looked ok, even though LDS had rushed her to their special doctors.

Oh no, she's not planning on asking for a rematch is she?

"You better plan on winning after you defeated me!" she snarled, pointing at me. "I wouldn't be able to stand losing to someone who doesn't even win the tournament! So here…"

Then, she fumbled in her holster and held out a piece of card. I took it from her gingerly and glanced at it. "This is… Crystal Rose? Why?"

She flicked her hair back and smiled. "You'll need this card to shine again like you did in your duel today! Later!"

And then, she began to walk off.

"Uh!" was all I could splutter, as I desperately tried to call her back.

"I won't forgive you if you lose, got it?" she called, not stopping.

I paused for a second before smiling. It may be a bit awkward and easily could have been mistaken for her being selfish but I knew that was Masumi's way of encouragement and wishing me luck.

"Masumi! Arigato!" I shouted back, waving.

I'll be sure to shine even brighter!


Cat: Please review! They make me smile! :D

Rena: Isn't it great that you watched that episode and every monster Yuzu summoned reminded you that you have an important music exam next week?

Cat: Yeah, i don't care...

Rena: So, the reason this is late and why the next one will probably be too is because Cat gets locked in her school art department over two days and is forced to paint. And then, half an hour after that's over, she has a music exam!

Cat: B) Kill me!

Rena: So, todays question-

Did you wonder if that Action Field was a bit dangerous for 14 year-olds? I know it was to make the duel more exciting and it's just an anime but still... Does this tournament have any health and safety regulations? Like seriously, i kept thinking they were both going to die! And Nico Smiley was way to happy about that!

... Your thoughts? Am i just was to OTT? :P

Cat: Oh! And regards to 'In the Minds of Many' i AM going to do it! But they will be VERY infrequent! I am saying that now! And some of you guys were like 'OMG that would be too much work!'

I am so glad you worry about me! :') But srsly, don't! I am just here to write stories for you guys! Just picture me as a Fanfiction writing robot!

Man... I wish i had one of those!


Thanks everyone, you guys are my life xx

-animewatchers186