Disclaimer: I do not own the properties of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or the work of the cards, I only own the OCs that could or may be involved in this series. I own nothing of the real OCG cards, just the formal OC character.
Chapter 29: Prodigy of the Leo Institute; Yasuko Yukihana vs Satsuki Guenin
Yasuko Yukihana has no words to say to Henrietta Akaba who is currently sitting on the kitchen table. It wasn't a coincidence to see the headmistress of the Leo Institute and the subdivision of the Leo Corporation in Yasuko's house having a cup of tea. The last time Yasuko saw Henrietta was about a month ago after the Yuya Incident. She thought that it would be the last time that she ever saw Henrietta, but she guessed not.
Yasuko blinks once to grasp the image of Henrietta being in her house. "And you are…?" She pretends to be curious in front of Diana. She didn't tell her that she met Henrietta Akaba from the duel between the You-Show and the Leo Institute. She figures that it is best to keep it a secret.
"Henrietta," the woman with magenta hair addressed. "Henrietta Akaba, the headmistress of the Leo Institute of Dueling."
Yasuko narrows her eyes slightly. "Headmistress, huh?" She moves her head slightly to the right with suspicions leaking from her eyes. "I wasn't aware that the principal of the Leo Institute would be coming here on short notice." She turns to Diana. "Uh, why is she here again?" Yasuko asked her caretaker.
"Henrietta came because she wanted to talk to you about your final exhibition match," Diana explained. "I suppose this must be for the Arc League business, right?"
Henrietta nodded. "Why of course," she agreed. "Who would've thought that one of the contenders for the Arc League Championship would be a former player from the Tokyo Regional Frontier Games."
Diana nodded and excuses herself to let Yasuko and Henrietta be to discuss what they are going to talk about.
Yasuko is sure that the woman did some research, and the woman finally got some information about her past. The young girl keeps herself from lashing out against the woman and maintains her feelings to see what motives are behind her would-be adversary.
Yasuko's blue eyes stare at the woman's professional gaze. "Uh, the Tokyo Regional Frontier Games? I never actually got in; in fact, I didn't earn a place there," she said, straining her voice.
"Regardless whether you got in or not, it's a very special occasion," Henrietta stated. Her eyes gaze at Yasuko from the top of her forest green hair to the black socks at her feet. "A veteran player from the Games to come here and join the Arc League is astonishing," said Henrietta. "I couldn't help but see who it is."
Yasuko furrows an eyebrow. "May I ask why are you here again?" she questioned.
"To talk," Henrietta answered. "I wish to talk with you, Yasuko Yukihana."
In her mind, the girl was thinking of the woman and her intentions. Yasuko comes to know that Henrietta isn't the type of person who would come to a stranger's house and wish to talk to her without giving a good reason. After her brief moment with Henrietta, Yasuko comes to the terms that the Akabas are not the people she can triumph due to their sphere of influence and the amount of money they have in their possession. She needs to keep cool and wait to see any weakness she can exploit.
Yasuko takes a seat across from Henrietta, arms folded in front of her on the table. "So, what is there to talk about?" she asked, leaning forward to the woman.
"About you, of course," Henrietta responded. "Tell me, how many wins have you earned so far?"
"Five officially consecutive wins," Yasuko answered.
"Five wins, you say?" Henrietta closes her eyes and snorts in amusement. "That's outstanding," she praised. "It takes only six officially consecutive wins to qualify for the Arc League Championship, and yet no duelists has ever come this close to a six-win streak in a week." Henrietta opens her eyes and stares at the cynical girl. "Of course, that doesn't seem strange to you."
Yasuko leans back to straighten her back. She is cautious of who she is dealing with and that includes the Akaba family. The girl kept her stern gaze at Henrietta, watching her like an eagle for any signs that could give away something.
"I'm not in for the fame and the glory," Yasuko replied flatly. "I'm in to settle an old score with someone."
Henrietta raises an eyebrow with interest. "Oh, a score to settle?" she inquired. "My, that's a real ambition right there."
Yasuko takes a brief glance over to Claude. He is like a military guard with both hands behind his back. She cannot tell if he's looking at her or somewhere else because he had sunglasses on.
"I have a proposition for you," Henrietta announced.
Yasuko's eyes turn back to the woman with curiosity. "A proposition?" she inquired. "What kind of proposition?"
Henrietta takes a cup of tea from the plate to sip it. "Yes, about your tomorrow's match," she said. "You see, there's been a slight change in our duel schedule among the duelists who are nearing the deadline, and we all have to make arrangements to make sure everyone has what they need," she informed. "So, I was thinking… if you would like to come to the Leo Institute tomorrow and be a final challenger." Henrietta settles her teacup down as she eyes over to Yasuko. "I hear that your final match is tomorrow, is it right?" she inquired.
Yasuko narrows her eyes slightly. "Woman, I don't like anyone tampering with my business," she primed, feeling a drop of angry crashing into her bloodstream.
"Why are you assuming I have anything to do with it? I have nothing to bargain," Henrietta confessed. "My business involves more important priorities than just a silly little match."
Yasuko reaffirms her gaze to be neutral, unsure if Henrietta is making an excuse to cover her tracks. "So, you want me to duel one of your own students tomorrow as a final match?"
"Of course," Henrietta agreed. "I've been thinking…since you know how to do…You know what," she whispered quietly to let Yasuko know of her little secret; her Pendulum Summon. "Why not you come over to the Leo Institute tomorrow for your final match? No business. No tricks. Nothing funny. Just you, and the full power of your deck."
"Why should I?" Yasuko asked, frowning at the woman.
Henrietta's professional smile didn't even waver as she leans closer to the girl to divulge something that is a secret until it is public. "What if I tell you that we have achieved the secrets of creating our own Pendulum cards?"
Yasuko has a flabbergasting feeling coming from her chest. The woman seems to know regarding the Pendulum cards. "What? You already finished them?" Yasuko inquired.
Henrietta makes a small approval sound. "It was a lot of hard work, time, and money, but we finally got it," she informed. "The Leo Corporation's first wave of Pendulum cards are now one hundred percent ready to roll at the Arc League Championship. And just as we were able to create the Pendulum cards, we happened to detect something else. About a few weeks ago, we spotted a different summon that is related to Pendulum Summon. You wouldn't happen to be involved in it, would you?"
Yasuko can assume that the summon is probably her Extra Deck method by using her own Pendulum cards. The only thing she ever recalls using her Pendulum to the Extra Deck method is when she was dueling with Yuya. She didn't expect the Leo Corporation to have some kind of high-tech surveillance network that detects even the slightest use of Extra Deck.
Yasuko pretends to shake her head in obliviousness. "No, not really," she stated.
The more they talk; the sooner Yasuko grasps to what has happened. Her last duel with Yuya attracted the people from the Leo Corporation, and they get her next duel to be at the Leo Institute stadium. Henrietta had to do something with her matchup, or maybe it is Declan that got her involved. Yasuko became their target, but for what purpose is unclear.
"So, my match will be at Leo Institute then?" Yasuko inquired, preventing herself from straining her throat. At first, Yasuko want to decline on the offer because it is obvious that it is what Henrietta or Declan wanted; but Melania is her utmost top priority, so she cannot back down, and she always wonder just how good the Leo Institute students are compared to the three tier-one duelists she encountered at the You-Show. She even wonders if there are any duelists like Declan who can wield three Extra Deck summons. After brief thinking, Yasuko comes to her decision. "I shall be there," she answered
Henrietta makes a delightful smile that shows how satisfied she is with Yasuko's decision. "Then it's decided," Henrietta confirmed. "The match is at 3 o'clock tomorrow sharp." Henrietta stands up from her seat and walks out of the kitchen area but stops to take one now glance at Yasuko. "As a former duelist of the Frontier Games, I look forward to seeing you duel to the big leagues, Yasuko Yukihana." And with that, the woman and her bodyguard make their way out of the door.
The frown on Yasuko's face never left. Her eyes are dead set at the woman who may have fiddled her dueling schedule and is covering it up. What more can she do? None. The only way that she is going to find out is at the Leo Institute tomorrow.
Yasuko needs to prepare herself for the final match and something tells that her opponent isn't going to be easy. She won't be using her Pendulum cards, and she doesn't want to use Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon just yet; in fact, she wasn't planning on using the Pendulum Cards until the Arc League Championship. The deadline is today at midnight, and it is the one chance that she is going to get to reach Melania Herman.
Curiously enough to be thinking about her final match, Yuya makes a sudden call to ask her to help out with the Extra Deck duel practice at the You-Show Duel School.
Riding the bus to the You-Show, she watches the window of rolling buildings until the bus stops at the station. She gets off and waits for the bus to move aside as she walks to the You-Show Duel School. "I just hope that this guy didn't have to duel me right at this very moment." She digs her hands in her black vest jacket pocket and comes up to the front entrance of the duel school.
Somehow, the school looks strangely quiet. There was no one at the front entrance or anywhere at the moment.
Yasuko heads over to the lounging area where there should be a refrigerator. The girl finds the door and opens it—
POP! POP! POP! POP!
"SURPRISE!" Everyone at the You-Show Duel School yelled altogether loudly with all their energy bursting out from their mouths.
Yasuko was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the entire You-Show people and the loud popping noise from the poppers. She looks on around the room to see how it is different than the one from before.
There are decorations everywhere. Banners. Balloons. Food. Ribbons. Steamers. The top of the food table has a banner that said, 'Good Luck, Yasuko Yukihana.' The girl is baffling at the strange celebration when her match is about to start in an hour. Yasuko turns to the three kids and the two teenagers. "Uh…what is all of this?" she inquired.
"It's a surprise party," said Yuya. "We were hoping to give you a good luck party for your final match."
Yasuko looks back at the banner. "You guys…give me a party?" she asked.
Zuzu nodded and makes a smile. "Yep, because of your final match coming, I was hoping we could all get together to celebrate."
Yasuko turns to Zuzu. "But I haven't won my final match yet," she pointed out.
Zuzu gestures to her childhood friend. "It was all Yuya's idea," she proclaimed.
Yasuko turns back to Yuya. "You… you did all of this…for me?" she asked, pointing herself.
Yuya nodded. "Mmhmm, I want to make this day special for you, and since you have your five matches, I know that you are going to do your best," Yuya replied with a very pleased smile.
Yasuko makes her way to the food table and grabs herself a dumpling to chew on. It felt strange that some people from her duel school to be giving her a revelry. She normally lets her day be going and never look back, but the You-Show people are all doing their best to make her happy. She can't even recall anything about having her own party. She didn't even have a birthday party before. "No one's ever given me a party before," she stated.
"Really?" Zuzu asked, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"It's usually mom or my grandparents who make me birthday parties back home, but I don't invite a lot of people," Yasuko answered. "But still…" She glances over her shoulder to look at Yuya and everyone else in You-Show. "Thank you, Yuya Sakaki."
Yuya's mouth curves up to a beam. "Sure," he said.
Frederick had his mouth stuffed with candy and chocolate sweets. "We should all celebrate while we still have the chance," he said. "The Arc League Championship is tomorrow, and we cannot wait!"
Allie grabs a dumpling and eats it. "Yasuko, you are now the only duelist in the You-Show who's ever come this close to the deadline," she informed. "So, we all want to root for you until the end."
Tate, who was eating a plate of rice and mixed eggrolls, nodded. "We'll all be there in the Arc League," he talked with half of his mouth full. He swallows it before speaking clearly, "Yasuko, when is your final match?"
"At 3," Yasuko answered as she grabs an onigiri. "As much as I appreciate what you guys are doing for me, I still have to get going." She grabs a couple of sandwiches bags and packs up some rice balls, onigiri, and gyozas. "It's too early to celebrate."
Sora raises an eyebrow as he stops eating the cupcake in his mouth. "What? Already?" he asked.
"But we just got the food for ya," Shuzo whined, sagging his shoulder. "And Sora just ordered a cake."
"I will eat them when I won, but for now, I have to make sure that I am prepared for the final match," Yasuko assured. "I don't want to puke when I'm moving with all of this food in my way."
Yuya smiles and raises his fist. "Alright then, first is your match, and then second is a celebration!" he cheered. "So, where's your final match?"
Yasuko looks halfway away from Yuya, grimacing at the thought of her final match. "You're not gonna like it," she said. She can see Yuya blinking in confusion oblivious to where the location of the final match.
Out of all the duel schools that Yasuko could have for the final challenge, it had to be the Leo Institute of Dueling. The towering structure of the LDS sign from the Leo Institute draws the sight of everyone who walks past it.
Yasuko stands in the middle with the You-Show people surrounding her. Their heads are looking upwards to the hourglass tower.
"I don't like it," Yuya admitted.
"I told ya," Yasuko replied.
"So then…your final duel…" Zuzu began.
"Is it here?" Tate questioned.
"Why do I have a feeling this is not going to end well?" Allie questioned.
"Because it won't," said Frederick, shivering in his back.
"Well, this is going to end badly," Sora commented, slouching his head back against arms.
Yasuko sighed, letting the annoying feeling inside to come out and ventilate everything that is making her hesitate. With one step, she walks right at the entrance. "Shall we?" she asked.
The You-Show students look at her briefly before following inside. The moment the students of the Leo Institute saw Yasuko and the others, they came to realize that the opponent for the school is here. Though the other You-Show people are trying their best to avoid their glares, the cynical girl isn't bothered by their ominous stares. She was more relaxed to let the energy of their tense atmosphere flow around her like she was shielded by a force field.
Allie felt creeped out by how many students are staring at them. "Uh, does anybody feel like we're being watched?" she whispered to the others.
"I certainly think so," said Tate, lowly. "I still can't believe that Yasuko's final match is going to be here at the Leo Institute."
Frederick had a worried look on his face. "Uh…I just hope her opponent isn't as hard as the last one."
Zuzu turns down to look at the three kids and give them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry," she assured. "If there's anything that Yasuko did in her five matches is that she can handle anything."
Many of the students were all mostly staring at them. Since it is the deadline for the Arc League Championship, it was all clear that the opponent had to be someone who is in a third-rated duel school.
As they walk, someone else was blocking their way. "Well, well, well…" The whole gang faces to the appearance of Sylvio Sawatari in front of them. As always, his blond hair bangs lean forward over his gray eyes with his light brown hair sticking back. "Who would've thought I get to finally see you again, after all this time," said Sylvio.
The three little kids give a glare as well as Zuzu while Yasuko and Yuya look at him curiously. "Oh, hey there, Silverado," Yasuko greeted.
Sylvio falls over flat to the ground in a comedian way with his body spasming in shock after Yasuko mispronounce his name as a truck. He recovers quickly and scowls at the girl. "It's Sylvio!" he clarified louder enough for Yasuko to remember. "Sylvio Sawatari! Get it!? Sylvio! Sawatari!" he emphasized his name clearly to the girl. "S.Y.L.V.I.O! Sylvio!" he spelled his name clearly.
"I never got your full name the first time," said Yasuko. "What are you doing here?"
Sylvio sweeps his blond bangs over his head. "Isn't it obvious?" he inquired. "Everyone at the Leo Institute is hosting the last dueling competition for the Arc League Championship, and I have to know who is going to be the opponent." He examines the girl from the forest green hair to the small heels of her brown ankle boots. "And who've thought that the opponent is to be you, Yasuko Yukihana," he smirked. "So, you've joined You-Show, I see?"
"Only because they're a better crowd," Yasuko replied.
"Ah…" Yasuko wasn't expecting herself to be hearing Henrietta from the background. She looks over Sylvio's shoulder to find the magenta woman walking up toward them. "Yasuko Yukihana, it's so nice to see you here again," she greeted.
The moment the You-Show party saw the woman, they instantly turn to glare at her. They still couldn't forget about the Yuya Accusation incident behind.
Henrietta focuses her eyes at Yasuko with interest. "You're here early," she said.
"I didn't want to be late," said Yasuko. "So, who is it? My opponent?"
"I'm right here," a girl's voice echoed in the hall. The rest of them turn to face a teenage girl of average height in Yasuko's who is slim build with thin eyebrows, sharp yellow-green eyes, and curly red hair. She wears a white coat and white shorts with black stockings, a brown belt tied around her waist, and dark blue shoes.
"You must be Miss Yasuko Yukihana," she addressed. "I am Satsuki Guenin, and I am the Leo Institute's representative of Integrated Studies." She places a hand on her hip. "I'm impressed to meet someone like you who manage to get in the Tokyo Regional Frontier Games three years ago."
Yasuko narrows her eyes in response to her statement. Though her words didn't surprise Henrietta, Yuya and Zuzu, everyone else was all taken back by the revelation. "Eh?!" The three kids and Sylvio all gasped together.
"I'm been wanting to see how you would stack up against someone who is in the integrated studies," said Satsuki. "I've done my research, and what I find is…very interesting."
Yasuko takes a glance at the magenta woman, thinking that she may have to do something with it. "Yeah?" she dared.
"And what I've seen…is pretty much basic in my field of studies," Satsuki commented.
"Don't knock it until you try," the forest-green girl responded.
Henrietta can see the fire building up around the two duelists. "Now that all of our guests are here, shall we?" she inquired.
"Let's," Yasuko and Satsuki agreed.
The mouth on Henrietta's face curves upwards, feelings satisfied to see how the duelists are getting fired up. "Then follow me, we shall begin." And so, Henrietta and Satsuki turn around and walk forward in the hall with the students all whispering amongst themselves about the matchup.
Yasuko turns to Zuzu and hands her gym bag. "Here, hold this please."
Zuzu takes Yasuko's gym bag. "Will you be alright?" she asked anxiously. "Do you know who you're facing?"
The only response is Yasuko facing forward to the path where the two females went. "She's just another duelist who's stepping in my way. I won't lose," she said. "I know what I'm doing." The cynical girl walks off to meet her opponent at the field and disappear behind the corner.
While the You-Show duelists watch with concern, Sylvio has a more relaxed posture that tells him the outcome of the duel. "You better hoped she's prepared," he warned. "Because this might be the last duel that she will ever do."
Everyone from You-Show jerks their head toward him. "And why's that?" Zuzu inquired with an angry frown forming on her face.
Sylvio had a casual look on his face as the boy turns to make a glance over to the You-Show. "You really don't know who Satsuki Guenin is?" he inquired. Sylvio faces back to the hallways where Henrietta and Satsuki left with Yasuko following behind. "Satsuki Guenin is a Tier zero duelist in the Leo Institute who studies in the Integrated Course, one of the hardest curriculums to ever train on." His eyes avoid the path that Yasuko followed in the girl. "If Yasuko is dueling her, then it could only mean trouble."
It felt like a long time since Yasuko's been to the Leo Stadium, and now here she is, facing against a duelist with unknown skills. The students of the Leo Institute were always predictable. She was wondering about her opponent. Satsuki could be in a whole different league than the other students she met from the Leo Institute. She's seen what Yabia, Julia, and Hokuto are capable of in terms of using individual Synchro, Xyz, and Fusion, but Satsuki could be different than the others.
"I hope you're ready for what's to come," said Satsuki.
"I'm always ready," Yasuko replied.
The announcer of today's match is none other than Nico Smiley as he is to be the host of the Arc League Championship tomorrow.
"Hello, and thank you for coming to today's last matchup of the day for the Arc League Championship!" He announced. "As the deadline comes today, it is my host the final exhibition match at the Leo Stadium to see who shall succeed to earn their place in the Arc League Championship!"
The crowd in front stands cheers and makes noise in response to the announcer. "And without further a due, please welcome to our two competitors for today's last duel match!" He gestures his hand to the first girl on the right. "Please give it up for this year's 5th ranking duelist in the Leo Institute! Satsuki Guenin!"
Satsuki ignores the cheers and the screams of the other Leo Institute students as her eyes are focused on Yasuko.
"And for this year's newcomer, the star duelist aspiring from the You-Show Duel School! Yasuko Yukihana!"
As the crowd roars in response, the You-Show duelists clap for their teammate.
"You go, Yasuko!" Allie waves at her.
"We're all here for you!" Tate called.
"You got this!" Frederick added.
Sora was relaxed at his seat while watching the duelist with a lollipop in his mouth while Zuzu and Yuya are looking at her with a troubled look.
"Yasuko…" Yuya whispered. "You have to win."
Nico moves his hand to the stand where a separate booth is taking place. "And now, allow me to present to you, the current chairwoman and the co-executive of the Leo Institute and the Leo Corporation, Miss Henrietta Akaba!" He makes a wail at the end of the tone to let the energy burst out of the stands.
Henrietta then approaches the booth of her seat and stare down at the adoring fans from a certain point of view. She spots Yasuko looking upwards to her. She let a smile and faces the front of the audience.
"Hello, and welcome to the end of the day exhibit match for the Arc League Championship," Henrietta announces proudly and boldly. "The Leo Institute is founded not just for the sole purpose of dueling. It was founded to spread the knowledge of dueling to everywhere. When you want to get in a world of duel monsters and be the best as you can, the Leo Institute will be the one who shall stand with you to achieve your greatest goals of all. And we, of the Leo Institute, are always aiming to achieve goals and get the results of our training."
Her eyes glanced back down and could swear that Yasuko is glaring up at her. "And so, without a moment's notice, let us begin the final match to see who shall be in the Arc League Championship!" She raises her hand up high in the sky to snap her fingers which signifies the activation of the Action Field; The Last City. "I activate the Action Field Spell; The Last City!"
The Leo Stadium transforms from a plain stadium with an ARC system machine underneath into a futuristic city in a world where the skylines are surrounded by massive three-hundred-foot wall equipped with guns and cannons to protect the city structure from what lies beyond the scorching wasteland. The night sky shadows over the bright city.
Yasuko and Satsuki stand at the city plaza in front of the tallest tower in the city.
Satsuki takes out her red duel disk from her back holster and attaches it to her left wrist as the orange blade emits from it.
Yasuko pulls out her forest green duel disk from her drop holster and throws it in the air before her left wrist catches it while activating it to glow her blue blade.
With both duelists ready, they can now begin the duel.
"The final battle begins!" Satsuki chanted.
"With our monsters kicking the earth and flying in the sky!" Yasuko chanted as well.
"We shall see who becomes the top!" Satsuki added.
"And shall reign over everyone else!" Yasuko chorused.
"Behold, the greatest evolution of dueling begins!" They sing together. "Action…"
DUEL:
Yasuko Yukihana: LP 4000
VS
Satsuki Guenin: LP 4000
"DUEL!"
The bubble holding all the Action Cards pops in the air to rain the cards all over the field, starting the duel between two duelists. With five cards in each of their hands, Satsuki starts the match,
"As the guest of honors, I shall let you go first, Yasuko Yukihana," Satsuki offered. "I'm dying to know how strong you are."
Yasuko narrows her eyebrows in response to Satsuki's comment. "Okay," she agreed.
Turn 1: Yasuko (5x cards)
Yasuko looks at the cards that are in her hand. It's not the right setup, but it is something that she can do. She takes out a card to Normal Summon The King of D. (ATK 1200/DEF 1100). "I summon King of D!" Yasuko began. From out of the portal is the dragon rockstar sorcerer with a long red cape, wearing a skill dragon head while holding a three-headed guitar. "King of D's special effect activates," she said. "When it is Summoned, I can discard one card to add one Dragon Revival Rhapsody, Flute of Summoning Dragon, or Melody of Awakening Dragon." She takes out Mesmeric Control and discards it. "I discard one card to add the Flute of Summoning Dragon." A card pops out from Yasuko's deck to let herself add The Flute of Summoning Dragon. "Now I activate the Flute of Summoning Dragon!" Yasuko plays the spell card that she just recently added.
"The Flute of Summoning Dragon allows me to Special Summon up to two dragon monsters!" She takes out two more cards to Special Summon Assault Wyvern (ATK 1700/DEF 1000) and Dragard (ATK 1300/DEF 1900) in Defense Position. "I Special Summon Assault Wyvern and Dragard!" Two portals that are sandwiching between Yasuko opens to let a blue wyvern, and a black armored dragon with purple underbelly scales appears on the field.
"Next, I Overlay Dragard and Assault Wyvern to build the Overlay Network!" Yasuko raises her hand as the blue dragon turns into a green light while the dark purple dragon transforms into a purple light. The two lights shine before they zipped up like a shooting star before falling into the galaxy portal underneath Yasuko's feet. A bright light shoots up from the galaxy portal.
"The sharpshooter who makes his mark! Reveal yourself and shoot down my targets with your dual-wielding pistols who dare to challenge you! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Gagaga Cowboy!" Yasuko Xyz Summons Gagaga Cowboy (ATK 1500/DEF 2400) in Defense Position. The light reveals a cowboy with a brown hat and a shawl that is more like a cape with high knee cowboy boots and gauntlets that has two pistols attached to it.
"I activate Gagaga Cowboy's special effect!" Yasuko declared. "I detach one Overlay Unit to inflict 800 points of damage if this monster is in Defense Position!" She points at Satsuki. "And that means, I'm going to burn you with 800 points!" The cowboy readies his two pistol gauntlets and fires three shots to hit Satsuki at the chest and at the legs. The girl flinches back after taking the damage.
(Satsuki: LP 4000 → 3200)
The You-Show audience is impressed by Yasuko being able to inflict damage to her opponent on her first turn.
"Whoa," said Tate. "Yasuko just went in and deal damage, and she didn't even have to attack."
"That's so cool," said Frederick.
"It's her first turn, and she can do that much damage that doesn't have to do with battle," said Allie, amazed by Yasuko's first move.
Despite seeing Yasuko inflicting damage, it bothers Yuya and Zuzu due to how the girl is rushing again.
"But still, how will Yasuko respond to Satsuki?" Zuzu wondered.
"I just hoped Yasuko might make it through," said Yuya. "Otherwise this might be the end for her chance in getting into the Arc League."
Yasuko takes one more card from her hand and Sets it. "I Set a card face-down and end my turn," she concluded.
Turn 2: Satsuki (5x cards)
"It's my turn now," said Satsuki. "I draw!" Satsuki draws a card from her deck. The red-haired girl smiles when she saw the cards that are in her hand. She takes out one to proceed with her move.
"For my first move, I activate this Continuous Spell, Fire Formation – Ingen!" Satsuki activates the Continuous Spell Card: Fire Formation — Ingen. "This Spell gives all Beast-Warrior monsters that I control 100 ATK points."
Yasuko finds the effect of the continuous spell to be very fragile. "That's all?" she questioned.
"You'll be surprised what this card can do," Satsuki replied. "When this card is activated, it lets me Fusion Summon one monster from my Extra Deck by using Fusion Materials from either the hand or the field." She takes out two monster cards that Satsuki is going to use as Fusion Materials: Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Rooster and Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Buffalo. "I use Brotherhood of the Fire Fist Rooster and Buffalo as Fusion Materials!" By taking out the two monsters that in her hand, Satsuki sends the Fire Fist raven who wears a gold crown over his head and dressed in Chinese armor and a warrior that has armor appears before Yasuko as the swirling vortex of red and blue consumes them.
"Warrior of the east! Join the brotherhood of fire and prepare to swear your allegiance to the cause! I Fusion Summon!" Satsuki chanted. "Appear! Level 8! Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan!" Satsuki Fusion Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan (ATK 2600/DEF 2200) in Attack Position. The monster that Satsuki summoned is a large Chinese warrior with a large spear as he spins his weapon over his head before brandishing it in front of him. Due to the effect of Satsuki's spell card on the field, her swan warrior gains a small attack power.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan: ATK 2600 → 2700)
The You-Show audiences are surprised by how the girl was able to do a Fusion Summon.
"Whoa," said Tate. "She did a Fusion Summon!"
"And it's stronger than either of Yasuko's monsters," Allie replied.
"I just hoped Yasuko has something in her sleeve," Frederick wondered.
Satsuki wasn't done with the move just yet and proceeds to take out one more card to Normal Summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Spirit (ATK 500/DEF 200). "Next, I summon the Tuner monster, Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Spirit!" When the portal besides the swan warrior opened, a spirit warrior that is in a dark blue apparition and armor. Because the spell card is on the field, the spirit warrior gains some attack power.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Spirit: ATK 500 → 600)
Upon hearing the word, 'tuner,' the whole stadium is screaming with surprise to see someone like Satsuki be using a Tuner monster.
"What?!" Yuya gasped. "She's got a Tuner monster?"
"No way!" Zuzu replied, exclaiming at the end of the sentence. "I never thought there would be someone like Declan to do that."
"Neither did I!" Sora agreed.
The You Show people watched the duel anxiously. The girl is about to make her move.
"Now Spirit's special effect activates!" Satsuki exclaimed. "When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one FIRE monster that has 200 DEF points from my graveyard." She demonstrates by throwing out her arm to select one monster and Special Summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Rooster (ATK 1500/DEF 200). The rooster warrior that has the Chinese battle armor and a flaming sword in one hand appear on the field.
To everyone, seeing a Tuner monster on the field is a shocker, but to Yasuko, it didn't even surprise her one bit. She seems to be relaxed after seeing a tuner monster from a different duelist other than Declan. It's no surprise to Yasuko that the Leo Institute would be teaching someone else multiple Extra Deck techniques. She watches as Satsuki makes her move.
"Now, I activate Rooster's special effect!" Satsuki stated. "When this card is Special Summoned, I can add one Fire Fist monster from my deck to my hand!" The deck from Satsuki's duel disk pops out one card and allow Satsuki to add the Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Elephant. "I add the Elephant from my deck to my hand!" After adding the card, Satsuki can now do the next step of her combo.
"Now, I activate Rooster's other special effect!" Satsuki added. "Once per turn, I can send one face-up Fire Formation card on my field to the graveyard to Set one Fire Formation card from my deck." She raises her hand over to the face-up spell card. "And Ingen's special effect activates as well," she added. "When Ingen is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add one Fire Fist monster from my graveyard back to my hand!" She takes one monster and adds Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Buffalo. "I'll add my Buffalo from the graveyard back to my hand, and I send my Ingen to Set one Fire Formation Trap Card!" By removing the Ingen spell card, Satsuki chooses one Trap Card that she can use later on and Sets the Counter Trap Card: Ultimate Fire Formation — Sinto. Due to the Ingen spell leaving the field, all of the monsters on Satsuki's field returns to normal.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan: ATK 2700 → 2600)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Rooster: ATK 1600 → 1500)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Spirit: ATK 600 → 500)
"The conditions are set," Satsuki announced. "Now, I tune my level 3 Spirit with my level 3 Rooster!"
At once, the spirit warrior transforms into three green rings to scan the rooster warrior. The rings scan the monster until it was just his outlines and three glowing white orbs. Once the outlines disappeared, the orbs realign themselves into a straight line.
"Royalty of Fire! Ride your chariot horse down to burn away all of my enemies and swoop in to join the cause of her brotherhood of fire! I Synchro Summon! Ride! Level 6! Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Horse Prince!" Satsuki Synchro Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Horse Prince (ATK 2200/DEF 2200). From out of the bright light is a Chinese prince riding his blue flaming horse with his sword ready to slash and slice.
The You-Show are getting anxious after seeing Satsuki doing her Synchro Summon. Compared to Declan and his Fusion and Synchro monsters, they felt that the final challenger for Yasuko might be on Declan's level in terms of Extra Deck knowledge.
"This is bad," said Tate. "Satsuki can not only Fusion Summon, but she can also Synchro Summon."
"It's like she's another Declan," said Allie.
"I'm starting to get some shivers down in my spine," Frederick quivered from the sight of two different Extra Deck monsters.
Even Yuya and Zuzu cannot deny the growing uneasy feeling in their chest. After seeing Declan's three multiple Extra Deck techniques, they both wonder if Satsuki is anywhere close to being Declan's level.
"I have a feeling this won't turn out well for Yasuko," said Yuya, looking at the cynical girl with concern. "I know Declan was a strong opponent in the beginning…"
"But how strong is Satsuki?" Zuzu stated, fidgeting her fingers nervously.
Satsuki then takes out one more card to activate the Continuous Spell Card: Fire Formation — Tenki. "Next, I activate the Spell, Fire Formation — Tenki!" she exclaimed. "This card lets me add one Level 4 or lower Beast-Warrior monster from my deck to my hand!" A card pops out to let Satsuki add Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Boar from her deck to her hand. "I'm going to add Boar straight to my hand, and this card gives all Beast-Warrior monsters 100 ATK points." In addition to having the beast-Warrior card, Satsuki's monsters gain more power.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan: ATK 2600 → 2700)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Horse Prince: ATK 2200 → 2300)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Raven: ATK 200 → 300)
With two of the powerful monsters on the field, Satsuki can now go for the offensive after Yasuko's first damage against her on her first turn. "Battle!" She points at the cowboy. "I attack Gagaga Cowboy with Swan!" The swan warrior readies his spear forward, and he jumps ahead to get himself ready to pierce the spear weapon through the cowboy.
"At this moment, I activate Swan's special effect!" Satsuki declared. "During the Battle Phase, I can send one face-up Fire Formation card on my field to the graveyard to target one card on the field and destroy it!" She points at her only face-up Spell. "I send my Tenki from the field to the graveyard to destroy Gagaga Cowboy!" For sacrificing the small attack power, the swan warrior makes the attempt to use the winds in order to destroy the cowboy, but Yasuko had already come up with the solution to save her monster.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Swan: ATK 2700 → 2600)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Horse Prince: ATK 2300 → 2200)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Raven: ATK 300 → 200)
"I activate the Trap! Dimensional Prison!" Yasuko flips up her face-down to activate the Trap Card: Dimensional Prison. "When a monster declares an attack, I can target the attacking monster and banish it!" She points at the Swan. "You've failed to even see this one coming! I banish your Swan!" On cue, a dimension portal rips through the fabric of space and time to suck in the swan warrior, effectively banishing it from the field. "Should've taken care of that face-down before you had the chance, nitwit," said Yasuko.
Satsuki's eyes narrowed, giving off a glare to the cynical girl. "I've studied you and your deck," said Satsuki. "While I am impressed with your playstyle, I am different than any other students here." She turns to the dragon rockstar. "I attack King of D with Horse Prince!" The horse prince warrior rides his flaming blue horse with its curved sword to slice the monster in half, destroying it with a big explosion; though it never phased Yasuko despite losing some life points.
(Yasuko: LP 4000 → 3000)
Yasuko's eyes narrow in response to her sentence. She's faced Declan before, and if she can compare Satsuki to either Melania or Declan, she is nothing to her. "Oh really?" she inquired. "I don't see anything much coming from you."
Satsuki takes out one card from her hand to Set it. "I'll Set a card face-down and end my turn!" she exclaimed. "I'll show you what I am capable of," she said. And with that, Satsuki turns around to start running out of the city square and into the futuristic city.
"So, it begins," Yasuko murmured. Yasuko bolts to the left side to find herself Action Cards that can stop her opponent.
Nico makes a sound of amazement after seeing Yasuko and Satsuki make battle exchanges in the turn. "Looks like the two duelists are now evenly matched with their wits and cunning schemes," he said. "Yasuko strikes first with dealing 800 points of damage on her first turn, and then Satsuki manages to even up the score with 1000 points of damage!" The host leans forward to get a closer look at the duel. "This could be the final duel of the lifetime for these two duelists!"
Turn 3: Yasuko (0x card)
Yasuko turns to the alleyway while looking around for any Action Cards. Her cowboy was jumping on the rooftops after another to keep up. She has to think of something fast; otherwise, it will be hard for her to retaliate against Satsuki after the last turn. With no cards in her hand, the least she can do is keep on moving.
"My turn!" Yasuko draws a card from her deck. "And I activate the Pot of Desires Spell!" Yasuko activates the Pot of Desires Spell Card. "This card banishes the top ten cards from my deck to draw two cards!" Yasuko banishes the top ten cards from her deck to draw two cards.
Yasuko makes her way inside an office building to start using the elevator that seems to be working even if it is an Action Field. She looks out in the window where the cowboy jumps high to land himself on top of the elevator shaft. She spots Satsuki running across the rooftop with her monsters not far from behind as they were joining the duelist in running on building rooftops.
"I detach one Overlay Unit to activate Gagaga Cowboy's special effect!" Yasuko announced. "When I detach a material and this monster is in Defense Position, Gagaga Cowboy can inflict 800 points of damage!"
The cowboy takes out two of his pistol gauntlets and fires four shots to Satsuki across the street and hits her: two at the chest, one at the leg, and the other grazing her left arm dealing effect damage to Satsuki.
(Satsuki: LP 3200 → 2400).
"I summon Dwarf Star Dragon Planeter!" Yasuko Normal Summons Dwarf Star Dragon Planeter (ATK 1700/DEF 1200). The black dragon with half of its body being a solar fire that was divided by the green orb on its chest appears on the field in the air after Yasuko stops the elevator in one of the rooftops. She exits out to start running over to the edge.
"Battle!" Yasuko declared. "Dwarf Star Dragon Planeter, attack Raven!" The solar hybrid dragon roars and just as it flies off to attack, Yasuko snags an Action Card that was hanging on the ledge of the rooftop she is on. Yasuko makes a big jump before the girl starts freefalling down from the building. "I activate the Action Spell! Double Bull Shower!" Yasuko Activates the Action Spell Card: Double Bull Shower. "This card targets one monster on the field and decreases its DEF points by 1000!" As she slams the card on her blue blade, the solar hybrid dragon flies underneath Yasuko and elevates itself to let the girl ride it. The girl spots Satsuki by the office building that is not too high for her to liking.
"I target Raven and decrease his DEF points by 1000!" The Action Card pops up on the field to send a lightning bolt to zap the monster and decrease its defense power.
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Raven: DEF 1800 → 800) The solar hybrid dragon fires a fairing breath that vaporizes the raven warrior.
With her Battle Phase ending, Yasuko finishes her turn after she Sets a card. "I Set a card face-down to end my turn, and now Dwarf Star's special effect activates," she said. "On the End Phase of the turn that this monster is Normal Summoned, I can add one Level 7 LIGHT or DARK monster from my deck to my hand." She picks one monster to choose from and adds Destrudo, the Lost Dragon's Frisson.
Turn 4: Satsuki (4x cards)
Satsuki moves from rooftop to rooftop until she lands back on solid ground. She looks up and watches Yasuko hop over another rooftop from a very high apartment building. She can tell that Yasuko does not show any signs of fear of heights. Any girl would be fearing the height thing, but Yasuko keeps on jumping over the apartment complex as if she is in a playground.
"My turn!" Satsuki shouted. "I draw!" Satsuki draws a card from her deck. She looks at the hand setup and felt a tuck from the corner of her mouth that forms a smirk. "Now it begins," she said.
Satsuki starts climbing up the ladder and reaches the rooftop. Once she has made it up, Satsuki can chase after Yasuko as she starts running across the smooth rooftop on her side. It was a race with both girls trying to outpace each other to find Action Cards for themselves.
"I activate the Continuous Spell, Fire Formation — Tensu!" Satsuki activates the Continuous Spell Card: Fire Formation — Tensu. "This card lets me make an additional Normal Summon after my first Normal Summon this turn!" She takes out one card and Normal Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Elephant (ATK 1000/DEF 1800)
"I summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Elephant!". A portal beside Satsuki opens to let out a white-haired Chinese martial artist with gold drapes, a Chinese armor, and an armor gauntlets wielding a knife.
Satsuki hops over a rooftop before jumping down to the lower side of the city. While Satsuki was running, she didn't notice that Yasuko was right on her tail as she slides on the rooftop to drop down on the sidewalk before heading down to the lower district.
"Thanks to Tensu's effect, since I made a Normal Summon this turn, I can Normal Summon another monster to the field." Satsuki picks out one more monster and Normal Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Buffalo (ATK 1700/DEF 1000). "I Summon Buffalo!" A second Chinese warrior with a horned helmet wearing a heavy armor coded in silver and scarlet red appears from the portal that pops up from a fountain nearby.
"Elephant's special effect activates!" Satsuki called. "When this card is Normal Summoned, I can send one face-up Fire Formation from the field to the graveyard to Special Summon one Fire Fist monster from my hand!" Satsuki starts to head down to the street and makes a sprint across to the parking lot. "I send my Tensu from the field to the graveyard to Special Summon the Tuner monster, Boar!" With all two monsters on the field, Satsuki removes her spell card from the field to make an additional third summon as she Special Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Boar (ATK 1100/DEF 1400). Satsuki stops on the bridge where a big muscular Chinese warrior with a giant spear appears on the field.
The You-Show are all dismayed after seeing the second Tuner monster. Most of them were expecting Satsuki to make a second Synchro Summon considering that she has a tuner monster already out on the field.
"Ah, great," Tate sighed. "There she goes again."
"This is getting bad," said Frederick.
"But at least Yasuko has monsters that can defend herself," Allie reassured. "So there's nothing more than what Satsuki can do."
The You-Show were expecting Satsuki to make another Synchro Summon, but instead, the girl had other plans.
"Now the conditions are set," Satsuki smirked as she throws her hand in the air. "I take my Boar and my Elephant to build the Overlay Network!" At one, the two monsters turn into red lights before shooting up in the air and then making it down into the galaxy portal in front of the girl. The whole you-Show students were bewildered when they saw how Satsuki is making a third Extra Deck summon.
"No way!" The three kids gasped.
"She can do an Xyz Summon?!" Zuzu inhaled.
"She's like Declan!" Yuya accused.
The red lights are absorbed into the galaxy portal before a bright single light shoots up in the air.
"Fire Warrior of the East! Come forth and bring the rain of fire in your wake of arrival with the wings of the songbird! I Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Cardinal!" Satsuki Xyz Summons Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Cardinal (ATK 1800/DEF 2200) in Attack Position. From the galaxy portal, a red emperor wearing battle garbs with a spirit of a cardinal appears on the field with his flaming sword weapon ready to use.
The whole stadium in the LDS is making an uproar for the Leo Institute student when she makes her third Extra Deck summon.
"Will you just look at the crowd!" Nico announced boldly. "They all seem to be excited to see Satsuki Guenin who has made her final Extra Deck Summon, and this one's an Xyz Summon!"
Despite the surprise and the shocked look from the You-Show students or anyone else who is learning to duel, Yasuko was not surprised. Her face doesn't show any signs of bewilderment or shock. Her stone face gives only annoyance that is rising inside of her.
"Great," Yasuko retorted. Just what I need: another duelist who makes it drag for me." Sometimes, Yasuko often wonders why she gets the hard ones to duel in the official duel school.
Satsuki pries her eyes to the girl and said, "Must be your unlucky day."
Yasuko turns around to get away from Satsuki and her monsters and runs across the bridge to the other side of the city that is separated by the river.
"You think I will let you escape that easily?" Satsuki inquired. "I detach two Overlay Units from Cardinal to activate its special effect!" She throws her hand over to the red emperor. "I can target two Fire Formation cards face-up on the field or graveyard to target two face-up cards on your field or in the graveyard and shuffle them back into the deck!" She starts running, crossing the bridge to go after Yasuko. "And I target Gagaga Cowboy and Dwarf Star to shuffle them back into the deck!" The red emperor swings his mighty sword to send a wave of flames over to Yasuko and her monster. She ducks down as the flames shuffle the cowboy and the dragon planeter back into her deck and Extra Deck.
The You-Show are all shocked to see Yasuko being openly vulnerable.
"Oh no!" Allie cried. "Yasuko has no monsters on the field!"
"She's wide open!" Tate exclaimed.
"If this attack gets through," said Frederick. "It'll be all over for Yasuko!"
Yasuko can feel her jaws clenching together in anger over the loss of her protection. She turns around to get herself an Action Card and fast before Satsuki can even begin her next move.
"Now, I activate the Continuous Trap! Fire Formation – Tensen!" Satsuki flips up her face-down Continuous Trap Card: Fire Formation — Tensen. "This card targets one Beast-Warrior monster that I control 700 ATK points, and all Beast-Warrior monsters that I control gain 300 ATK points!" She starts to pursue the cynical duelist. "Get ready! Yasuko Yukihana! Here I come!" And so, Yasuko is being chased by Satsuki and her monsters as they powered up by the trap card. "I target my Horse Prince and give him 700 ATK points!"
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Horse Prince: ATK 2200 → 3200)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist: — Cardinal: ATK 1800 → 2100)
(Brotherhood of the Fire Fist — Buffalo: ATK 1800 → 2100)
Satsuki gets assistance from the horse prince for a ride to start chasing after the girl. "Battle!" She points at Yasuko who was not far from her sight. "Horse Prince attacks directly!" The horse makes a loud neigh as it gallops over to Yasuko where the prince can unsheathe his sword to take a swing at the girl.
Yasuko makes a brief glance over her shoulder, watching the horse prince chasing after her from behind. "I activate my Trap! Counter Gate!" Yasuko flips her face-down Trap Card: Damage Diet. "When a monster declares an attack, I can negate it, and draw one card, and if it's a monster, I can Normal Summon it!"
In response to the activation of the trap card, Satsuki anticipates her to use the face-down and makes a counter by activating the Counter Trap Card: Ultimate Fire Formation — Sinto. "It's useless!" she jeered. "I activate the Counter Trap! Ultimate Fire Formation — Sinto! When a Spell, Trap, or monster effect activates while I control a face-up Fire Formation card and a Fire Fist monster on the field, I can negate and destroy it!"
Yasuko's duel disk makes two loud beeps to reject the activation of her trap card as it bursts into particles. The girl makes a low growl before she slides on the ground to get herself under the railings of stairs and drops down to swipe an Action Card from the ground.
"I activate the Action Spell, Evasion!" Yasuko activates the Action Spell Card: Evasion. "When a monster declares an attack this turn, I can negate it!" The horse prince makes a swing of his sword at Yasuko, but he missed and only cut a single hair from the girl. Yasuko moves to the alley and starts running across the street, looking at the ground for more Action Cards.
"You are good, but that won't save you from stopping me, Yasuko!" Satsuki bellowed. "Cardinal, attacks directly!" The red emperor swings his sword over with one giant swipe that sends a mirage of a fiery cardinal bird coming toward Yasuko.
The girl can feel her lungs getting thicker as she runs around for more Action Cards. She happens to spot one by an intersection. She takes it, but it was not the Action Cards that she hoped for. Yasuko looks up and saw the flaming cardinal coming fast. The flaming cardinal bird swoops in and explodes in front of Yasuko, hitting her entire body with flames that might burn her hair and skin. She makes a shout of pain as Yasuko was sent flying over across until she hits the stone statue that was destroyed upon her impact, delivering massive damage to her life points.
(Yasuko: LP 3000 → 2100)
The You-Show people show more anxiety they are feeling after Yasuko was taken the hit from her attack.
"Yasuko's not gonna make it!" Allie shrieked, holding her hands to the side of her head.
"One more hit, and it's all over!" Tate panicked.
The sight is scaring the three kids so much that it makes Frederick cover his eyes. "Oh, I can't watch!" he moaned.
Yuya, Zuzu, and Sora are showing their frightened concern, seeing Yasuko struggling against Satsuki who is like Declan who can master all three Extra Deck Summons.
"If Yasuko takes this one more hit, then it's all over!" Zuzu exclaimed.
"Come on, Yasuko!" Yuya called. "You've got to find a way to stop her!"
Yuya's call never reached to the girl. She having trouble getting herself to stand up, only to make it to a crouching position. She was panting from exhaustion makes her head snap up to give a glare at Satsuki before she makes her move with the Action Spell Card: Damage Draw. "I activate the Action Spell, Damage Draw!" Yasuko yelled. "This card lets me draw 2 cards if I took 2000 or more damage this turn!" Yasuko draws two cards, but it did not seem to make the You-Show even feel better after the attack.
"That won't save you this time, Yasuko!" Satsuki stated. "I say this is game over for you!" She points at Yasuko who is in the city square. "Buffalo, attack Yasuko, and end this duel!" The buffalo warrior readies his two swords and charges over to slash the girl and end her life points. As everyone holds their breaths, Yasuko makes a second counterattack.
"I activate Battle Fader's special effect from my hand!" Yasuko declared. "When a monster attacks me directly, I can Special Summon this card from my hand and end the Battle Phase!" Yasuko Special Summons Battle Fader (ATK 0/DEF 0) from her hand. A metronome pixie fiend devil with a bell and a click stick appears on the field. At once, the metronome fiend swings the bell back and forth to make sound waves. The buffalo warrior's sword clashed with the sound waves that act as a barrier for Yasuko, effectively ending Satsuki's attack.
"What?!" Satsuki gasped. "From your hand!?"
"What a bold comeback!" Nico broadcasted from the microphone. "After taking three of the brutal attacks, Yasuko Yukihana manages to hold on for one more turn!"
The stadium is making loud noises that show how excited they are to see the duel between two of the strongest duelists. The You-Show people felt relieved that Yasuko manages to stop Satsuki's attacks.
"That was close," said Tate.
Frederick peeks over his hands covering his eyes. "Did Yasuko made it?" he asked.
"Barely," Allie sighed. "At least she manages to last for one more turn."
Yuya is looking at Yasuko with worries coming from his gut. "But still, Yasuko has no cards other than that one."
Zuzu nodded. "It all depends on one draw," she said.
Sora licked his lollipop while eying at Yasuko carefully. "If she can make a comeback after this one, she'll be fine," he assured. "But if not…" He didn't want to finish the sentence because all of the You-Show knows the outcome if Yasuko doesn't get the right card.
Satsuki was glaring at Yasuko for her failure to finish the girl off once and for all. "You've brought yourself some time, but you won't survive on the next turn," she said. "I hoped you've got something pulled from that last Action Card." She starts running away from the scene to get herself some more Action Cards that can even tip in her favor. "I end my turn."
Turn 5: Yasuko (2x cards)
Yasuko can feel her body starting to give after taking the last blow. Her life points are running low. She is nearly at her limit. Yasuko needs to finish Satsuki once and for all. "My turn!" Yasuko looks down at the card that is in her hand. Scanning each one, the tuner monster is the only thing that can give her the edge. "Come on!" Yasuko thought. "Don't lose on me, I need something that can beat Satsuki and get in the Arc League." Slowly, the girl places two fingers on top of her deck. "I draw!" Yasuko draws a card from her deck. She looks at it, and it is the one that can make her get what she needs to win the match. "It's go time!" Yasuko starts running before she wall-runs to make a tic tac over for the metronome fiend to fly over, and the girl grabs onto the fiend as it flies over to let Yasuko fall on the rooftop. From there, she starts running to get visual on Satsuki running around in the street.
"I activate Destrudo's special effect!" Yasuko declared. "I can target one monster on the field and pay half of my life points to Special Summon Destrudo, the Lost Dragon Frisson from my hand with its level reduced by the monster that I targeted!" She takes out her tuner monster and Special Summons Destrudo, the Lost Dragon's Frisson (ATK 1000/DEF 3000) in Defense Position. "I Special Summon the Tuner monster, Destrudo, the Lost Dragon's Frisson!" The grotesque dragon with muscles and bones appears on the field with its level reduced by the metronome's level.
(Destrudo, the Lost Dragon's Frisson: Level 7 → 6)
As the price for using the special effect, Yasuko's Life points are being cut in half with statics emitting from her body.
(Yasuko: LP 2100 → 1050)
"Now, I tune the level 6 Destrudo with the level 1 Battle Fader!" The grotesque dragon flies upward with the metronome fiend following right behind it. The dragon turns into six green rings before they scan the metronome fiend, turning all of its solid mass body into its outline with only one single orb of light. The orb realigns itself before bursting a single bright beam of light.
(6 + 1 = 7)
"Dragon of fire! Come to the earth and blast away my enemies who stand before you! I Synchro Summon! Rage on! Level 7! Exploder Dragonwing!" Yasuko recited before she Synchro Summons Exploder Dragonwing (ATK 2400/DEF 1800). From the bright light comes Yasuko's signature monster, the dark back-deformed violet-red dragon with red-orange wings and flappy scales, and forearms and calves that are two times bigger than the limbs with sharp claws and orange tail. The deformed dragon roars with life to make its appearance known to the audience who were struck by the sudden appearance of Yasuko's Synchro monster.
"Will you look at that!" Nico bellowed from the microphone. "It would seem that Yasuko Yukihana has just made her very first Synchro Summon appearance. This folk could be the final duel of the lifetime for the Arc League Championship!"
The You-Show are getting excited to see Yasuko stepping up to make a comeback.
"Alright!" Tate beamed. "Exploder Dragonwing is on the field!"
"Go, Yasuko!" Allie cheered on.
"I've got the shivers!" Frederick quivered from excitement.
Yasuko's eyes narrowed down at the moving girl. She makes a jump off the rooftop to hop in a ride from the deformed dragon before flying over Satsuki and her monsters. "From my hand, I activate the Pot of Extravagance Spell!" Yasuko activates the Pot of Extravagance Spell Card. "This card lets me banish three or six cards from my Extra Deck to draw 1 card for every three banished cards!"
Satsuki looks over her shoulder with shock, staring at Yasuko pursuing from behind. "What?!" she gasped. "You're willing to banish six cards from your Extra Deck?"
Yasuko's frown never left her face, concentrating on getting the resources she needs to win the match. "I'll take whatever chance that I can get to win this match!" She places two fingers on the deck and draws two cards. The cards that she has drawn are the Return of the Dragon Lords and Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon. Yasuko can feel her mouth giving a small twitch. "Just what I need," she muttered under her breath.
Riding the deformed dragon, Yasuko jumps off and starts running along the rooftop until she stops at the edge where she saw Satsuki looking up from the street. "I activate Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon's special effect!" she declared. "I can tribute one level 5 or higher monster from my field to Tribute Summon Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon!" Yasuko throws her hand up to show Satsuki the effect of her monster. "I tribute my Exploder Dragonwing to Tribute Summon Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon!" The deformed dragon bursts into thousands of particles before reassembling them to Tribute Summon Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon (ATK 3000/DEF 2500). Landing on the rooftop is Yasuko's signature monster of the season, the red-scaled dragon with heterochromia red and green eyes with silver gray-scaled wings at the backbone plate. The dragon roars like it owns the apartment building.
Shocked, the You-Show are confused about why Yasuko would be summoning Odd-Eyes when the deformed dragon has a powerful effect of its own.
Satsuki was bewildered over Yasuko using the effect of her Odd-Eyes to tribute her strong Synchro monster. "You're kidding me," she breathed. "You did all of that just to show off? Are you kidding me?" Yasuko can see the scowl forming to a hard glare from Satsuki's face. "You've been wasting time all for the world to see that Synchro Summon!" she exclaimed. "What was the point of summoning thing!"
"So that I can call in the checkmate!" Yasuko shouted. "Odd-Eyes' special effect activates! When I am Tribute Summoned, I can target one monster that you control and destroy it, and you take damage equal to its original ATK points!" She points at the horse prince. "I target your Horse Prince to destroy it and you take its original ATK points as damage!" The advance dragon opens its jaws and fires off a helix beam over to destroy the monster; unfortunately, Satsuki leaps over and swipes an Action Card that was on the ground. "I activate the Action Spell, Mirror Barrier!" Satsuki activates the Action Spell Card: Mirror Barrier. "This card negates my monster's destruction!" A barrio of mirrors formed up and shield the horse prince from the destruction.
"Like that is going to stop me!" Yasuko takes out her second card and activates the Spell Card: Return of the Dragon Lords. "I activate the Return of the Dragon Lords Spell!" Yasuko announced. "This card lets me target one Level 7 or 8 Dragon monster from my graveyard and Special Summon it!" She targets her Exploder Dragonwing that is in the graveyard and Special Summon it back on the field. "I Special Summon Exploder Dragonwing!" The deformed dragon rises from the ground before flying upwards to float beside the advance dragon.
Satsuki is starting to get scared after seeing the Synchro dragon again. "No way, I've never been outplayed like this before," she uttered.
"Maybe you shouldn't look down on your opponents like me based on past experience, and just get the bigger picture!" Yasuko jumps off, and the two dragons leap over to fly straight for the monster.
"Battle!" Yasuko declared. "Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon, and Exploder Dragonwing! Attack Cardinal and Buffalo!" Both dragons roar as they fly faster to get to their targets. "Exploder Dragonwing's special effect activates! When it battles a monster, it destroys it, and you take damage equal to its ATK points!"
"What!?" Satsuki gasped.
The deformed dragon takes aim at the cardinal while the advance dragon locks onto the buffalo. Both dragons charge up their beams for a few more seconds. Once it is fully charged, the two dragons unleashed twin laser beams down to destroy the two monsters. The massive explosion was rolling over the street and heading toward Satsuki. The girl couldn't believe her eyes. She thought that Yasuko would be going out, but the girl manages to make a comeback through. Satsuki accepts her defeat at the hands of Yasuko as the explosion blows in front of her, ending her life points.
(Satsuki: LP 2400 → 0)
WINNER: Yasuko Yukihana
The Action Field disappears back to the original glass arena with the Arc System underneath the two-duelist surrounded by the stands.
Yasuko stands triumph as she stares at her opponent who was laying in the ground after taking a major blow to her winning record. Satsuki pulls herself together and stares up to Yasuko. Her face of defeat visible in her eyes.
"I cannot believe you somehow beat me in my duel," said Satsuki. "There goes my record."
Yasuko's frown was small but hard to her. "Here's a lesson for you and for your fellow Leo Institute pals back up there," she proclaimed. She saw Satsuki looking up to her she's said, "Don't underestimate the small-timers like me because you'll never know what kind of abilities they have under their sleeves. And for the record, I wasn't planning on losing this match because I have my reasons for going."
Satsuki gives her a questionable look. "And I suppose it's not the pro-status, is it?" she asked.
"Of course not," said Yasuko before turning her body around. And with that, Yasuko walks out of the arena.
"I-it's finale!" Nico announced. "After such an intense comeback and heated exchange, the victory for this final duel goes to the new rising star duelist of You-Show, Yasuko Yukihana!" As he wails loudly to the microphone, the crowd bursts in screams after seeing the duel.
Yasuko can hear everyone saying to her that she didn't splendid. As she reaches the exit, she was tackled by the three kids.
"Hey!" Yasuko shouted, feeling the weight of the three kids on her stomach.
"You did it, Yasuko!" Tate cheered. "You've earned your sixth consecutive win!"
"Congratulations!" Allie exclaimed. "Now we're all going to be in the Arc League tomorrow!"
Frederick nodded. "You were so amazing out there! It was giving me the shivers!"
Yasuko pulls herself up with the three kids still hugging at her waist. "Look, thanks for all of your support, so can you kids get off me?" Yuya, Zuzu, and Sora come by after them.
"You did it!" Yuya beamed. "Now you can be in the Arc League!"
Yasuko makes a shrug and turns to face Sora and Zuzu. She happens to notice that fresh tears were filling Zuzu's eyes. She had a skeptical look. "Please, don't tell me you're gonna cry on me, aren't you?" Yasuko asked.
Zuzu shakes her head and wipes the tears from her eyes. "No, I'm not," she said. "I'm just…so glad that you finally made it." Zuzu hands over Yasuko's gym bag and she takes it back.
"And right on the deadline," Tate added.
The attention to Yasuko was disrupted by the sound of clapping in the hallways. They all turn to the source and who would think they would last saw Henrietta giving applause for Yasuko. Her professional smile makes Yasuko irk with disgust after all that the woman did to her yesterday.
"Well done, Mrs. Yukihana," Henrietta congratulated. "It would seem that your final match is complete. Now you have all six wins to qualify." The tension between the You-Show students and the woman rose like boiling water.
Yasuko raises her hand to calm them down before stepping forward to face the woman: eye to eye. Despite the heels, Henrietta is still taller than Yasuko; though her top head is close to her chest. Her blue eyes did not show any hate for the woman. It was the same cynical frown that she usually has on her face.
"Just to be clear," Yasuko began. "Whatever you and your son are planning, I don't want any part of it." Her words reach over to the woman. "But if you ever see him again, you tell him this…" She pauses for a moment before speaking in three words to emphasize her sentence. "Bring. It. On."
Yuya is disturbed by what Yasuko is saying, seeing how she is confronting the woman who is the chairwoman of the most prestige school and the mother of Declan. He wished he wants to pull her out to avoid escalating, but Yasuko seems to be composed enough to refrain herself from taking out insults to the woman.
Henrietta, on the other hand, seems intrigued by the fire inside of Yasuko. She never seems to give up so easily. "I look forward to meeting you again in the future, Mrs. Yukihana," she said in a calm professional expression. "And I wish you good luck."
The You-Show is sure enough to feel the fire burning between two of them. The tension between Yasuko and Henrietta already rose to a new height. "Well, I must be going then, big day tomorrow," said Henrietta as she turns around and starts to walk away from the You-Show group. She stops briefly before taking a glance over her shoulder. Even from a distance, the gaze from Yasuko's eyes still burns to her sight. And with that, she turns around to walk even further.
The You-Show never lift their sight on the path where Henrietta was at. Despite the immense energy from the woman, Yasuko kept herself in check of her emotions and not lash out against someone like Henrietta.
Zuzu seemed worried about the turn of events. She turns to Yasuko. "Do you always have to antagonize everyone you meet?" she asked. "What if that woman goes after you if you piss her off?"
Yasuko makes a scoff. "Nonsense," she stated. She turns her body halfway to face the You-Show. "Have you forgotten? I am the only duelist who just beat Declan, the master of three Extra Deck methods, and now he's snooping around to Pendulum. So what if he's got surprises? He'd better prepare for the unexpected tomorrow. If it's a challenge he wants, then I'll accept it head-on."
Yuya and the others are all ambitious with Yasuko's words. His smile returns to his face, full of determination for the Arc League tomorrow.
"Now, who wants cake?" Yasuko asked out of the blue. "I believe we all should have some cake tonight." She turns around to walk herself out of the building.
"I want cake!" Allie called, raising her hand
"I want one too!" Tate added, raising his hand as well
"Me three!" Frederick exclaimed, excited to get some sweet.
Yuya glances at the others. "I think we all deserve it!" he beamed. "After all, we're all going to the Arc League!" Sora and Yuya hugged shoulder to shoulder and walks out with a smiling Zuzu following behind.
Declan Akaba, who was watching the final duel from the seat of his office on a video feed, seems pleased to hear that Yasuko has earned her final victory to qualify in the Arc League Championship. After watching Yasuko's final match, Declan was convinced. If Yasuko can do an Xyz Summon followed by a Synchro Summon, then there is no doubt that Yasuko can do a Fusion Summon, and adding Pendulum Summon to the mix makes her a very important asset to his plans.
He suspects that Yasuko has to do something about the Pendulum Extra Deck methods considering that she is the third person to obtain Pendulum cards of her own and not from the Leo Corporation. For how she got them, Declan does not know.
"It's confirmed," Claude informed. "Yasuko Yukihana has qualified to join the Arc League Championship."
Regardless of the many theories that are popping in his head, Declan was impressed with Yasuko. In truth, he is gratified with the results that Yasuko is making for him despite not using her Pendulum cards. "Excellent," he confirmed. "A close call but got me exactly what I needed." He turns his chair around to face Claude. "Now all the duelists I want to qualify are going to participate."
Declan deactivates his screen to redirect it to a tablet on his desk. "With Shun Obsidian as my eyes and ears on the ground, we'll find out which duelists will be the one, and we'll find out what he's capable of," he said as Declan turns it on and a diamond logo with a yellow knight riding on a horse pops up where three words translate on beside it.
Lance Defense Soldiers
Declan scrolls down to the profile pictures of everyone who has qualified to join the Arc League Championship. He stops at three people that are most particular.
Yasuko Yukihana. Yuya Sakaki. Sora Perse
"Tomorrow is the day of reckoning," said Declan, giving a serious demeanor. "How many duelists we'll see are worthy to be the spearheads of the front to fight for the future of our world?" Declan's voice gives an ominous strain in his throat as he can only think of which duelists in the Arc League Championship will be his fighters for the upcoming Dimension War.
Hey readers! How's it hanging? Another New Year means another beginning. I know it was late for the post, but something went down, and I have been procrastinating too much on these stories, but I will be consistent as possible to update the story before going into the next one. Anyways, I hope that you are are having a better day. We all get downsides, but if you like what you are reading so far, don't forget to like and what are your thoughts are about this story. Stay tuned readers, and have a happy day!