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.


Arc League Championship — Chapter 32: Zuzu's New Shine; Zuzu Hiiragi vs. Julia Kotsu


Despite Allie's loss in her first match, the You-Show students are still going strong with Zuzu Hiiragi up next for the match. She is feeling the fire burning inside her veins, ready to settle the score with Julia Kotsu. After getting beaten by Julia and her Fusion Summon, Zuzu is now prepared to face her opponent after training her Fusion Summon technique with Sora.

Zuzu is at the ground facing her opponent. The girl looks up at the stands to see if Yasuko is watching her. After searching up, Yasuko was spotted sitting between Yuya and Yoko.

Zuzu makes a beam and waves at Yasuko to let her know that she is going to show her the new and improved deck that she's been training on for the last month. In response, Yasuko waves back at her. Zuzu is grateful that Yasuko is showing some support for her. She turns to gaze at Julia from across the arena, the girl's face gets serious and enters the stadium.

"Break a deck, Zuzu!" Allie cheered.

"I'm expecting you duel that will give me the shivers!" Frederick called.

"Steal the spotlight, Zuzu!" Yuya cheered to his childhood friend.

Zuzu and Julia then come to the center to face each other. Despite seeing her rival back and ready for a rematch, Zuzu has questions regarding the one person who she is curious to know. "I don't get it," Zuzu mentally thought to herself. "When Shun first challenged Julia to a duel, she had no idea who he was. However…" She recalled when Julia told her that Shun was at the Leo Institute for a year and that he was at her linguistic class. "Why did she change her tune? What's going on?"

Julia makes a smirk out her corners of the mouth. "Your eyes are clouded."

Zuzu felt like a ten-pound weight just dropped on her head after Julia's comment. "Don't count on it, Julia!" she exclaimed. "I lost the last time because I was worried that Yuya was Yuto! I've been training hard ever since you beat me, and now I'm here to even the score!"

Zuzu then looks over to Julia with a scowl while pointing at her. "I'm not the same duelist as the last time!" she claimed. "So, you better be careful of who you underestimate, Julia! I'm a whole new different duelist in this duel!"

Julia's smirk never leaves her face, staring at Zuzu's eyes. "Alright then, I'll give you a chance, though I doubt anything has changed."

The face of Nico Smiley pops up on the screen. "Hello, and thanks for waiting, everyone!" he announced. "For today's batch is the two damsels as You-Show's bold and brashly Zuzu Hiiragi and her rival, Julia Kotsu, representing the Leo Institute, the most prestigious school with the most entrants in this tournament! Their match is about to begin!"

Small like pixie holograms fly around to begin the match for the You-Show.

"Yeah! My daughter rules!" Shuzo cheered. "I'm all fired up!"

"You show her who's boss!" Yuya exclaimed. "Get your revenge!"

"Go, Zuzu!" The three kids cheered together.

Yasuko stays quiet and observed how the duel would turn out from the previous match between Zuzu and Julia. At first, Zuzu was weak because of her lack of concentration or the cards and combos that she makes. She wonders how strong that Zuzu has progressed from her last duel in the You-Show Duel School. "Let's see how much you've improved, Zuzu Hiiragi," she thought. She looks up at the giant hologram of the Action Card that is in a sphere made of random cards.

"Now, the Action Field Spell for this stud fest will be randomly selected by the stadium ARC system, and the luck card is…" The Action Card spins fast until it stops where the sphere pops to reveal the Action Field, Infinite Bridge. "Oh boy, let's hope these girls don't have vertigo, folks, cuz this contest is about to take them high in the sky! Action Field Spell, Infinite Bridge activates!"

The ARC system turns on as the lights transform the black arena into an endless walkway of bridges with red railings.

Zuzu and Julia are standing at opposite pathways, facing each other.

The look of the field makes Yasuko believe that it is a highway. "If you take one false step, you'll fall into hell," Nico warned. In this tension-filled field, which of those two Junior flower buds will fully bloom?" With each duelist ready, they can now begin the duel.

"The duelists meet at the battlefield!" Zuzu chanted.

"Along with their monsters, they'll kick the earth and fly in the sky…" Julia sang.

"…To move around the field!" Zuzu added.

"Witness the greatest evolution of dueling!" They chorused together. "Action…"

DUEL:

Zuzu Hiiragi: LP 4000

vs

Julia Kotsu: LP 4000

"DUEL!"

The Action Card bubble bursts with multiple cards, raining down on the arena. They each draw five cards from their decks as they can now get on with the duel. Zuzu is determined to get past Julia as she is the barrier that stands between her and the next match.

Turn 1: Julia (5x cards)

"I'll go first!" Julia declared as she draws a card from her hand and activates the Spell Card: Gem-Knight Fusion. "I'm activating the Spell Card, Gem-Knight Fusion! This card let me Fusion one Gem-Knight from my Extra Deck using the two Gem-Knight monsters that are in my hand or field!"

Yasuko narrows her eyes at the sight of the Spell card. "I see…Julia's pulling off the same move she did back at the You-Show," she thought. "I bet Zuzu probably knows about it by now." She then looks over to Zuzu's side of the bridge.

As expected, the melodious duelist was looking at the spell card with familiarity. "Julia's not wasting time," Zuzu said to herself in her head. "She's fusing her cards in her hand like how she did in our last duel."

Julia takes out three of her Gem-Knight monsters: Gem-Knight Sapphire, Gem-Knight Crystal, and Gem-Knight Garnet, in her hand. "Feast your eyes on this! I fuse my three Gem-Knights: Sapphire, Crystal, and Garnet to Fusion Summon!" Up in the air are three gemstone knights, one made of sapphire, crystal, and garnet to be swallowed into the red and blue vortex in the air.

"Solid Blue Will! Red Truth! Glass Eye! Merge into the light and shine brightly as you become one! I Fusion Summon! Appear, the supreme radiance who illuminates everything! Level 9! Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" Julia chanted before she Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Master Diamond (ATK 2900/DEF 2500) in Attack Position. The colossal knight decorated with gemstones on his armor and massive sword appears on Julia's field, with the knight stabbing his sword in the ground, standing ready.

Zuzu narrows her eyes at the colossal Gem-knight monster who beat her in the last duel. She is aware of its abilities and how powerful it is. She must be on her toes when she is dealing with Julia's top monster. "Bringing out your heavy hitter right away, huh?" Zuzu questioned, hearing herself a small chuckle from Julia.

"It's a cut above the rest. Why wouldn't I?" Julia inquired. "Master Diamond gains 100 ATK points for every 'Gem' monster that are in my graveyard."

Yasuko's eyes train the sight of the colossal gem-knight monster that is in her field. "And since there are three 'Gem' monsters in her graveyard…" she explained. "That monster gains 300 ATK points."

Yuya nodded. "She's taking advantage of the three knights that she just fused," he said.

"Gongenzaka doesn't want to admit it, but that monster is shining brighter with the extra 300 ATK points," Gongenzaka agreed.

The three mirages of the previous gem-knight monsters appear in the air before being sucked into the big diamond on the chest to boost up the colossal diamond knight's attack points

(Gem-Knight Master Diamond: ATK 2900 3200)

"I Set a card face-down and end my turn," she concluded as Julia Sets a card.

She points at Zuzu. "Now, show me that you have changed," she dared. "I've been hoping you'll show a little improvement since our last duel. You'll probably disappoint me, so try to keep this close."

Turn 2: Zuzu (5x cards)

Now that her turn is coming, Zuzu prepares herself to show how much she has improved. "It's my turn!" she stated. Briefly, Zuzu takes a glance over Sora. The candy boy seems to notice her stare and gives the nod to let her know that she is ready. "I draw!" Zuzu draws a card from her deck.

She takes out one card and activates the Spell Card: Polymerization. "I activate the Spell, Polymerization!" she declared.

Upon seeing the Fusion spell card, Julia was taken back by the sudden appearance of the spell card. "Polymerization?" she gasped.

"That's right," Zuzu replied. "I'm going to beat you in your own game!"

"Whoa! Hiiragi is also Fusion Summoning!" Nico Smiley announced in the loudspeaker, full of excitement.

Zuzu takes two monsters that are in her hand: Sonata the Melodious Diva, and Elegy, the Melodious Diva. Zuzu stands with her both hands on her chest before spreading them wide to let the melodious angelic maiden with light pink skin and green hair mixed with blue, and the second musical damsel with olive-green skin and hair who wears a purple dress skirt and shirt flank her.

"I fuse Sonata, the Melodious Diva and Elegy, the Melodious Diva!" Zuzu stated, clapping her hands together as if she was combining them physically. The two maidens are consumed by the swirling vortex of blue and red mixing the two monsters together to create Zuzu's new monster.

"Let your singing voices and key of notes flow through! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! I Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra!" Zuzu chanted before she Fusion Summons her new monster, Schuberta the Melodious Maestra (ATK 2400/DEF 2000). The sight of Zuzu's unique monster is breathtaking for everyone at the Maiami Stadium. The melodious monster that Zuzu has is a female orchestra donned in a red and dark dress with her long orange hair flowing behind holding a music baton.

Yasuko has to admit it in her head; Zuzu has improved within the span of a month. She is surprised to see Zuzu's first Fusion Summon. "Now, the real show begins," she muttered.

"It's Zuzu's Fusion monster!" Allie cheered.

"It's giving me the shivers!" Frederick quivered.

"Bravo Zuzu!" Shuzo cheered, who was practically streaming tears with joy. "Use that creativity to crush the competition!"

Zuzu throws her hand to Julia. "I activate Schuberta's special effect!" she declared. "Once per turn, Schuberta can banish all the cards that were used to summon a Fusion monster in the graveyard!"

Julia gasped in shock when she heard her opponent loud and clear as Zuzu continued, "And that means your gem collection is about to get smaller! Since you Fusion Summoned Master Diamond, I banish Sapphire, Crystal, Garnet, and Gem-Knight Fusion!" Schuberta waves her baton like she was playing in an orchestra as the four cards that are in Julia's graveyard: Gem-Knight Sapphie, Gem-Knight Crystal, Gem-Knight Garnet, and the Spell Card: Gem-Knight Fusion, are banished from the duel. "Chorus Break!"

Yasuko is impressed that Zuzu learned from her last duel and managed to pull away Julia's game strategy. "Looks like Zuzu's improved her game," she commented.

"Yeah," Yuya agreed. "And since three of Julia's monsters are not in her graveyard, that means Master Diamond loses 300 ATK points!"

(Gem-Knight Master Diamond: ATK 32002900)

Zuzu wasn't done with her move just yet as she makes her second phase. "And during the turn, Schuberta gains 200 ATK points for every banished card," she added.

"And since that was four cards," Yasuko clarified. "That means Schuberta gains 800 ATK points." The female orchestra monster gains a boost due to its effect.

(Schuberta, the Melodious Maestra: ATK 24003200)

"She lowered her opponent's attack points while her monster gains 800 ATK points!" Tate exclaimed, getting more excited. "I don't know what Zuzu had for breakfast this morning, but I'm having mine right before my next duel!"

Sora pulls his lollipop from his mouth to explain something more. "She's even better than you think," he said, catching the three little kids' attention. "Remember when the Spell Card that Julia used to Fusion Summon? That card can return to her hand from the graveyard if she banished one Gem-Knight monster that is in her graveyard."

Yasuko can hear Sora from her seat loud and clear as she makes an entry of her explanation. "Basically, what Zuzu did is cut out Julia's resources to Fusion Summon, and since Zuzu banished all four of those cards, Julia cannot do them," she elucidated, giving a tone of boredom as she knows it.

Sora pops his head over Gongenzaka to gives Yasuko a poker-faced gaze. "You really had to kill the moment for me, didn't you?" he inquired.

Yasuko turns her head away. "I'm just explaining it clearly to the three triplets," she said, ignoring Sora's pouty face.

Zuzu swings an arm forward to Julia. "Now, battle!" she declared. "Schueberta, attack Master Diamond!" The female orchestra angel's hair flares up like fire and swings her baton as if she was playing a melody. "Sonic Serener!" Schuberta's music note design on her dress glows red and flares out to send a pulsing sonic noise.

Julia tries to flee with her master diamond, but the attack was approaching fast, and the girl jumps out of the way for the red sonic pulse to hit and destroy master diamond, inflicting damage to Julia

(Julia: LP 40003700)

Julia lands on a lower bridge, glaring up to Zuzu. "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn!" Zuzu Sets two cards. "And now Schuberta's ATK points return to normal!"

(Schuberta the Melodious Maestra: ATK 32002400)

Turn 3: Julia (0x card)

Julia stands up and makes her move. "It's my turn," she said. "I draw!" She draws a card from her deck and smirks after seeing that she draws a Continuous Spell Card: Brilliant Fusion.

Julia looks up at Zuzu. "I'm surprised that you're using Fusion, that's adorable," she commented. "You think you can do Fusion-to-Fusion with me—" she flaps her long black hair back, "—But it's painfully clear that you're nowhere near in my level and neither at Yasuko's."

Julia bows her head down to think about her experience with her duel against Yasuko and seeing the Action Duel among the crowd. "I've dueled her once," Julia stated. "Yasuko is a Duelist of Unknown. Even I can't use a Synchro monster to Fusion Summon a monster." She then looked back up to Zuzu and asked, "What makes you think you are as good as I am?"

Zuzu is feeling insulted, annoyed about how Julia is still underestimating her. "Stop acting so tough!" she rebuked. "Indeed, I'm not on Yasuko's level, but what matters to me the most is to surpass my previous one." She points at Julia. "You only have one card in your hand. That's not enough to Fusion Summon."

Yasuko's eyes move over to Zuzu and her monster. "Oh, believe me, Zuzu," she thought. "Don't get ahead of yourself." After her experience dueling Julia, Yasuko knows that she still has the one card that is in her deck to allow her to make the Fusion Summon.

Julia gives her a smirk. "Oh, you are so naïve," she boasted. "I activate the Spell; Brilliant Fusion!" She activates the card that she drew. "This card lets me use the monsters that are in my deck to Fusion Summon a Gem-Knight!"

After the spell card was glowing, Zuzu is shocked that Julia can Fusion Summon using monsters that are in her deck. "You can Fusion Summon monsters that are in your deck?" she gasped, terrified of what Julia is about to do next.

Three cards from Julia's deck pops out, and the girl shows Zuzu her monsters: Gem-Knight Alexandrite, Gem-Knight Emerald, and Gem-Knight Obsidian. "I take three cards," said Julia. "Gem-Knight Alexandrite, Emerald, and Obsidian!"

Yuya was practically at the edge of his seat as he watches the duel. "No way! She can select and fuse three monsters from her deck without having to summon them first?!" he exclaimed. "Julia found a way to Fusion Summon! It's unreal how nothing fazes her!"

Sora was impressed with the move as well. "Yeah, I wonder what other tricks she's got up in her deck," he said. "That girl is better than I thought."

Yasuko had to agree with Sora. "Yep," she added. "This is the results you get after you enrolled in an LDS."

In the air, above Julia, are three Gem-Knight monsters made of emerald, obsidian, and alexandrite. They join together as they are sucked into the swirling vortex.

"Gem with facets of day and night! Brilliant emerald of good fortune! Sharp jet-black darkness! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! I Fusion Summon! This is my true ace! Dazzling lady! Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!" Julia Fusion Summons Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond (ATK 3400/DEF 2000). The monster that Julia summoned is like a female counterpart of the master diamond monster with only slim khaki armor decorated with diamonds brandishing her sword as the red cape flies back.

"Unfortunately, when Brilliant Fusion Special Summoned a monster, its ATK and DEF points go to 0," Julia explained.

Much to the other's surprise, the attack and defense points dropped after lady diamond was summoned.

(Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond: ATK 3400/DEF 2000ATK 0/DEF 0)

"Zero?" Gongenzaka inquired.

"Don't let up just yet, Gong," said Yasuko. "She can still have a fighting chance."

"But by sending one Spell card from my hand to the graveyard, it gets its original points back until my next turn! So, I better start finding one!" And with that, Julia starts running down the bridge to find an Action Card to save her monster. Zuzu starts running behind as she tries to catch up with the girl.

Allie raises an eyebrow. "What are they having a race for?" she asked.

"To get an Action Card!" Yuya replied, realizing what the spell card effect will do for Julia if she gets one.

"Julia needs an Action Spell Card to have her monster regain all of its original ATK and DEF points that her Lady Diamond had lost; otherwise she's worthless against Schuberta," Yasuko explained.

The two girls race against each other to find any Action Cards lying on the ground. Julia happens to spot one floating a green plate by the pole.

"That Action Card is mine, Julia," Zuzu called. "And to make sure of that, I activate the Trap, Musical Mayhem!" She flips up her Trap Card: Musical Mayhem. "You take 800 points of damage for every 'Melodious' monster that are on my field!" The trap card flows out a green aurora in the sky. It creates a storm before it shoots out a green lightning bolt to strike. Julia reacts quickly and jumps herself over the edge despite taking the damage.

(Julia: LP 3700 2900)

Julia refocuses on her objective and grabs hold of the green pole. Using the momentum, she spins herself around and swipes the Action Card before landing on the bridge.

"Incredible!" Nico announced. "What a stupendous move! No wonder that she is LDS' elite!"

Zuzu stops abruptly before pivoting around to get away from Julia as she recovers from her stunt.

"I send the Action Spell Card to the graveyard so that Brilliant Lady Diamond can regain all of her lost points until my next turn!" By discarding her Action Spell Card, Evasion, the lady diamond monster gets back all the attack and defense points.

(Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond: ATK 0/DEF 0ATK 3400/DEF 2000)

"Let's battle!" Julia declared. "Lady Brilliant Diamond, attack Schuberta!" The lady diamond makes her way to fly and attack Schuberta. The female orchestra monster fires an aqua blue pulse to the monster, but the lady diamond slices through with her sword. In the blink of an eye, the monster slices across Schuberta in half and destroys her.

Zuzu was send flying with a loud scream off the bridge and into the opening.

"Zuzu!" Yuya cried, looking at his childhood friend in fear.

As Zuzu was send flying, she regains his bearings together and latches onto the railing before she can even fall into the seemingly bottomless world.

(Zuzu: LP 4000 3000)

"That was close!" Nico announced, calling in relief that the duelist managed to save herself. "Hiiragi manages to grab the rail before she would've been send falling!"

Yasuko narrows her eyes, gazing at her classmate with disappointment. "Is this all the results that your training has got, Zuzu?" she thought.

Zuzu climbs back up and swings herself to get over the rail and on solid ground. She turns around to stare at her opponent and the lady diamond. "You said you've been training hard since our last duel, but from what I could tell, I'd say you need a lot more practice," Julia rebuked. "Do you now understand the differences in our skills? I end my turn."

Turn 4: Zuzu (1x card)

Zuzu looks down at her duel disk and places a finger on her deck. "My turn!" She draws a card from her deck.

"And I play the Spell, Cards from the Sky!" Zuzu activates the Spell Card: Cards from the Sky. "This card lets me banish one Fairy-type monster from my hand to draw two cards!" Zuzu banishes her Solo, the Melodious Songstress and places her fingers on her deck again. "If Julia keeps getting more Action Cards, I'll be playing in from behind for the rest of the duel! I have to think of a way to stop her." Swiftly, Zuzu draws two cards.

She takes a look at them and notices that both of them are Trap cards that may give her an edge over the duel. She takes a glance at the stands, someone right between Yoko and Yuya. Her eyes didn't look away from Yasuko's gaze. She was expecting her to make some improvements.

Zuzu recalls every duel that Yasuko did. Out of all the duels that she saw, none of them got her worked up than the day when Yasuko duel Yuya. She can do a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summon, and it's getting her mind going on in her head.

The sight of Yasuko and her unwavering face in a duel is filling her heart with determination. Zuzu wants to get on Yasuko's level for the Arc League. "Yasuko, I'm going to show you how much I've gotten better than what I'm used to be," she thought.

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" Zuzu Sets two cards.

To Julia, Zuzu appears to be fortifying her last-ditch defense against her. "Really? That's it?" Julia scoffed. "You'll never beat me just by playing it safe."

To Zuzu, she was already working on a plan to counter the Fusion duelist. "You know what, Julia? I think I'm not playing it safe. I've already figured out your game strategy and what you're going to do next," she thought. "And if I'm wrong, then I'm done for."

Zuzu takes a brief moment to look over to Yasuko. Even from a distance, she can see how intrigued that Yasuko is after her last move.

The three kids gasped in shock that Zuzu didn't set a monster, but instead two face-down cards. "What?" Tate and Allie chorused.

"Is that all that Zuzu can do for this turn?" Frederick inquired, getting more worried about what Zuzu is thinking.

"No need to fret, Freddy-o-boy," Sora reassured happily. "Sure, Julia is a strong opponent, but Zuzu should be able to survive this because I taught her how to counter Fusion duelists."

Yasuko remains silent, watching how Zuzu is putting Set cards instead of monsters. "Just what are you planning, Zuzu," she thought.

Turn 5: Julia (0x card)

Julia starts running across the bridge to find herself an Action Card. "It's my turn again!" Julia draws a card from her deck.

"During my Standby Phase, due to Brilliant Fusion's effect, my Lady Brilliant Diamond's ATK and DEF points all reduce to 0!" Because of her spell card's effect, the lady diamond is weaker than before.

(Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond: ATK 3400/DEF 2000 ATK 0/DEF 0)

Julia and Zuzu race each other again to get another Action Card that is in the opening. Zuzu is putting it all.

"You need another Action Card, but I'll get to it first!" Zuzu called.

"Dream on!" Julia rebuked as she Normal Summons Crystal Rose (ATK 500/DEF 500). "I'll stop you! I summon Crystal Rose!" From a portal comes a rose plant made of entirely crystal. "Crystal Rose can replace a monster that is needed for a Fusion Summon! And I treat my Crystal Rose as Gem-Knight Lazuli!" The rose crystal transforms into a mirage of a tourmaline knight.

"I activate Brilliant Lady Diamond's effect!" Julia added. "I can fuse by sending one monster on my field that's needed for a Fusion Summon to the graveyard." The lady diamond brings up two hands on her chest to let three diamonds float out.

Zuzu is surprised that Julia can Fusion Summon using only one monster. "You only need one monster to Fusion Summon?" she inquired.

"Yes," Julia confirmed. "This is Brilliant Lady Diamond's power! I'm not playing you on every level!" The tourmaline mirage knight floats up in the air along with three diamonds to the swirling vortex of blue and red to fuse them.

"I send Crystal Rose that's treated as Gem-Knight Lazuli to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli! Grind Fusion! Appear, the lady of light! Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!" Julia Fusion Summons Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli (ATK 2400/DEF 1000). From out of the vortex is a gem priestess with blue-purple armor and a sapphire gem at the chest.

"I activate Lady Lapis Lazuli's special effect!" Julia declared. "Once per turn, I can send a monster with the same name as Lady Lapis Lazuli from the Extra Deck to the graveyard to inflict damage to half of her ATK points plus 100 for every monster that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck!" The second copy of Julia's Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli from her Extra Deck to the graveyard.

"And since there are two monsters that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, you take damage equal to half of her ATK points plus 200, giving you a total of 1400 points of damage!" The lady lapis brings up two hands and shoots an orb straight for Zuzu.

She halts and braces herself as the orb impacts her to send her flying to the ground after taking damage with a painful cry.

(Zuzu: LP 3000 1500)

With Zuzu temporarily down, Julia moves in and swipes an Action Card easily.

To the disappointment of the others, they are sure that Julia is going to strike back.

"Ah, perfect," Tate whined. "Not again.

"Julia is two for two," said Allie.

Julia recovers and looks up back up to Zuzu as she discards the Action Spell Card: Miracle. "As you can see, I send the Action Card to the graveyard to return Lady Brilliant Diamond's points to normal," she said, restoring her monster to its original power.

(Gem-Knight Brilliant Lady Diamond: ATK 0/DEF 0ATK 3400/DEF 2000)

Yuya narrows his eyes at the sight of the lady diamond monster regaining the lost points. "It feels like I've been to this movie before," he commented.

"Yeah," Yasuko agreed. "And it sucked in the end."

"Not so fast!" Zuzu protested. "I activate the Trap, Miraculous Descent!" The Continuous Trap Card: Miraculous Descent, flips up to reveal itself. "This trap card lets me Special Summon one banished Fairy-type monster to the field!"

Julia was a bit surprised that Zuzu is making her last stand defense against her. "What?" she inquired.

"And now that I have one, I can Special Summon Solo, the Melodious Songstress!" Due to the effect of her Trap card, the monster that Zuzu Special Summoned is Solo, the Melodious Songstress (ATK 1600/DEF 1100) in Defense Position. The monster is another angelic melodious maiden with a Scandinavian short dress and a Viking helmet.

Julia had to let out a snort of amusement. "Really," she commented. "I thought you would've shown some skill, but it seems like you've shown not a lot since our last duel."

Zuzu narrows her eyes at Julia. "What did you expect?" she inquired. "I've watched someone who never stops until she gets where she's is at, and I wasn't going to fall back behind on this tournament either." Her eyes rove back to the stands where Yasuko is sitting. The girl's arms are crossed, but her gaze is telling her to keep on going and never stop until she beats Julia.

Julia seems satisfied with how the match turns out to be. She thought that Zuzu would be the same one, but she has shown a lot of development. "Alright then!" she declared. "Let's battle! Lady Lapis, attack Solo!"

The lady lapis makes a glowing blue orb from her sapphire diamond and destroyed the solo melodious at the instant, destroying her in the process. The shockwave makes Zuzu fall over after she attempts to run away from the battle. She rolls over on the bridge before she stops with her stance in the crouch position.

"I'm activating Solo's special effect!" Zuzu exclaimed. "When this card is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon a Melodious monster from my deck!" A card pops out for Zuzu to Special Summon Shopina, the Melodious Maestra (ATK 2300/DEF 1700) in Defense Position. "And I choose to Special Summon Shopina, the Melodious Maestra!" On her field is an angelic monster with a purple Victorian and light turquoise hairstyle as her lavender skin flicks off a keyboard mirage.

"That won't save you!" Julia rebuked. "Lady Brilliant Diamond, attack Shopina!" The lady diamond makes a fast flight over to Shopina. The lavender melodious monster gives off a note that shoots a song note over to the lady diamond, but the monster slashes right through before slicing Shopina, destroying her.

Zuzu flips up her face-down Trap Card: Fusion Cycle. "I activate the Trap; Fusion Cycle!" she declared. "I can Special Summon one monster that was used to Fusion Summon this turn from the graveyard to my field in Attack Position!"

"From my graveyard?" Julia cried in shock.

The trap card glows as Zuzu continues with her move. "I summon Crystal Rose!" Out of the portal in front of the Trap Card is the same rose crystal plant that Julia used in her last turn: Crystal Rose (ATK 500/DEF 500) in Attack Position.

Julia is very impressed with Zuzu now. After summoning her two monsters to her field to defend herself, Zuzu manages to get a third monster on her field. She is thinking about how competitive their match is right about now.

"Seems that you've caught a lucky break," Julia commented. "First, you special summoned your own monsters, and now you've summoned my monster on your field." Her eyes stare at Zuzu like she is on top. "If you haven't used your trap card to special summon your Solo, then you would've already lost," she said. "And on top of that, you have a trap card to use so that you can get another monster to defend yourself—" Julia lets a scoff, "—You're so lucky that you did."

"No, Julia," Zuzu protested. "Luck had nothing to do with it; in fact, I predicted that you were going to do that."

Julia blinks in surprise as Zuzu continued on. "You have pride as a Fusion summoner, and that's why I played Miraculous Descent in the first place. You try to take me down with your Fusion monsters head-on, and when you destroyed my last monster, I played Fusion Cycle to get one of yours."

Zuzu breathes in annoyance. "Oh, you're so predictable," she sighed. "You've played right in my hands, and out of this championship."

Even from the stands, Yasuko is thoroughly impressed with Zuzu's development. After the Yuya accusation incident, Zuzu was determined to get even stronger than before, and by learning Fusion Summon opened her mind. "Seems like Zuzu's done a whole lot better in self-improvement," Yasuko commented.

"Don't flatter yourself just because you survived," Julia argued. "Your knowledge of Fusion Summon is as worthless as that pathetic duel school of yours that hasn't entertain anyone in ages!" She then points at Zuzu. "Show me if you can do anything more than fighting back in vain! I end my turn!"

Turn 6: Zuzu (0x card)

"I'll prove you wrong!" Zuzu retorted. "It's my turn!"

Zuzu was still in a crouching stance and rose back up with her headstrong. She places a hand on her deck and thinks for a momentarily. After working her way with Sora and through all the training, she is prepared to get serious.

"I…draw!" And with one swift swing of her arm, she draws a card so fast that you could see musical notes falling behind in a motion trail. The card she drew was a monster that will give her the win in the duel.

"I'll show you the new radiance of my deck!" Zuzu exclaimed. "I summon Soprano the Melodious Songtress!" Zuzu Normal Summons Soprano the Melodious Songtress (ATK 1400/DEF 1400). On her side of the field is a different melodious maiden as she is light green-skinned with long red waist-length hair wearing purple battle armor and white long skirt underneath.

"In this performance, if my Soprano is being used to Fusion Summon, I can use her without using a Fusion Spell Card," said Zuzu.

"Is she going to fuse with my Crystal Rose?" Julia inquired. "Is that why you took my Crystal Rose?"

"Exactly," Zuzu confirmed. "Crystal Rose can be treated as another monster required for a Fusion Summon." The rose crystal shines brightly to transform into a mirage of Mozarta. "Due to Soprano the Melodious Maestra's special effect, I can fuse Soprano and Crystal Rose!" The two monsters float up above Zuzu as they are consumed by the swirling vortex of blue and yellow mixing together.

"Angel's song! Supreme genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! I Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!" Zuzu Fusion SummonsBloom Diva the Melodious Choir (ATK 1000/DEF 2000).

The sight of the new Fusion monster that Zuzu has is breathtaking for the audiences. It is like the new monster was born from the flowers with the maiden having no pupils but crystal blue eyes, donned in a white dress with its sky-blue hair swaying upwards, wearing a pink scarf.

Yasuko raises an eyebrow. "That's amazing," she commented. "Looks like Zuzu's nailing her performance."

"And it's Zuzu's new monster," Yuya added.

"Now then, Bloom Diva, attack Lady Lapis Lazuli!" Zuzu declared, throwing her arm to the lady lapis priestess.

Yasuko can't help but raise an eyebrow even further. "What?" she inquired. "Does she have a plan for that?"

The bloom diva maiden springs up to confront the lady lapis priestess and sings loudly with a melody. The lady lapis monster makes a second orb from her sapphire gem and fires it like she is firing an energy ball. The blue aura sphere comes close to the bloom diva, but she repels with just the voice of her tone, causing the winds to pick up around her.

"Bloom Diva cannot be destroyed in battle by a monster that was Special Summoned," Zuzu explained. "You take battle damage instead of me, and your monster is destroyed!"

Julia inhales with shock in her chest as the bloom diva's voice turns into a whirlwind of green flower pedals that vaporizes the aura sphere through and blows Julia across the bridge until she is at the intersection. She screams after taking the damage.

(Julia: LP 2900 1500)

"Amazing!" Allie exclaimed.

"That was cool times two!" Tate praised.

"I'm getting the shivers!" Frederick quivered.

Julia slowly gets up from the ground to glare at Zuzu. "How…dare you," she growled. As she gets up, her face was twisted back to a satisfied smile. "But it's going to cost you to downfall!" Julia flips up her face-down Trap Card: Brilliant Spark. "I activate the Trap, Brilliant Spark!" she exclaimed. "When a Gem-Knight monster on my field is destroyed, you take damage equal to its ATK points!" The lady lapis mirage reformed to shoot a blue laser at Zuzu.

"This is bad!" Gongenzaka exclaimed.

"Lady Lapis only has 2400 ATK points, and if that goes through—" Yasuko began.

"—then Zuzu will lose," Yuya finished.

"I activate my Trap!" Zuzu flips up her last face-down Trap Card: Melodious Illusion. "It negates the trap card that was activated during my Battle Phase, and one Melodious monster can make a second attack!" The blue laser beam is diverted to hit the trap card instead of Zuzu.

"Hooray! She did it!" Allie beamed.

"She's making a comeback," said Tate, happily excited for the outcome. "She has the upper hand again."

Frederick notices something on the field and points at Julia. "Or maybe not," he objected.

Julia uses the green pole to slide herself down to the Action Card that was in the opening. "Brilliant Spark's other effect!" she called. "I can send one Spell Card that is in my hand to the graveyard to negate the effects of one trap-negating card!"

Zuzu notices her opponent going for the Action Card. She climbs on up the red railing and prepares herself. She takes a deep breath and with one leap of faith, she jumps.

Yasuko is surprised that Zuzu is starting to dive down. After a brief tensed moment, Zuzu snagged the Action Card that was barely close to Julia as she dives to the black pit before her bloom diva flies in to catch the girl.

"Whoa! What a bold move! Zuzu Hiiragi caught the Action Card with a diving catch!" Nico announced wildly.

Zuzu and her bloom diva fly to the nearest ground level until the monster stops and gently drops her on solid ground. "That was nothing," she said. "We practice moves like that every day back at You-Show."

"No way!" Julia gasped, shocked at how boldness Zuzu was to take the risk of getting the Action Card that would've put her life in jeopardy. "You jumped down from that height? Are you crazy! If your diva was a second late, you would've been done for!"

Zuzu can't help but give the girl a small smile. "Oh, trust me, girl," she said. "I know crazy, and I learned a lot from a friend of mine."

Yasuko is sure that Zuzu was referring to her. She can swear that her eyebrows never lowered after seeing Zuzu's bold move. "And that's what it means to be in You-Show," Zuzu continued. "Become one with my monsters is a part of the You-Show Duel School experience."

The bloom diva floats back up in the air with pink lower petals swirling around her. "This is the end! Bloom Diva, attack Lady Brilliant Diamond!" The bloom diva maiden makes one last attack at the lady diamond.

The two females clash, but the bloom diva uses her power to blow a flower hurricane to destroy the monster and blow Julia away with all of her life points.

(Julia: LP 1500 0)

WINNER: Zuzu Hiiragi

Julia was left falling off the bridge, screaming out her lungs as she descends down.

"Julia!" Zuzu cried.

As Julia plummets into certain doom, the bloom diva flies overhead to reach out and catch Julia in both her arms. The girl was confused at first before she looks up at the bloom diva, who gives her a gracious smile.

"Bloom Diva?" Julia inquired. "You save me?" She looks over to Zuzu who was relieved to see that she is okay. She caught her gaze and turns away with a red blush rolling in her cheeks.

"The fight for the Action Card determined the outcome of the duel is over!" Nico announced. "The winner of this match is Zuzu Hiiragi of You-Show Duel School!"

Everyone at the stadium is making cheers for the victor of the match. Even the You-Show and Gongenzaka were proud of her.

Yasuko has a more rather relaxed but impressive look to see how Zuzu managed to make a rise after her defeat from Julia in her last duel. She can hear Shuzo crying in joy after her daughter's first victory in the Arc League.

"Well done, Zuzu! I am so proud of you! That's why you're my daughter!" Shuzo cried as he hangs his head back with fresh tears bursting out like a water hose. "My blood is boiling red hot right now!"

After seeing Zuzu's performance in the duel, Yasuko was convinced. Everyone that she knew is growing in the tournament. Zuzu has improved a lot since her defeat from Julia. She thought that the Arc League would serve no purpose for her, but then again, after seeing Zuzu and her Fusion Summon, maybe Yasuko will grow too.


At the end of the first day, Shuzo drives the bus, that You-Show owes, back to the city. Yasuko splits from the rest of the You-Show to get back to Diana's place. Thinking back to the number of duelists in You-Show who survive the first day, only two out of the three You-Show duelists managed to make it. Tomorrow is the second, and her duel is right after Gongenzaka.

As the sun sets, a shadow appears in front of Yasuko. Her eyes reverted up to find herself facing the one person she least wanted to see.

"Nice to see you're in a bright or foul mood, Melania Herman," Yasuko addressed.

Melania Herman was standing on the street in front of Yasuko. Her eyes shine no bright or despicable gaze, just the same eyes of a professional. "Not happy, just tad on curious," she said. "I've been wondering…are you in this tournament just to get even with me?"

Yasuko narrows her eyes at the girl. "What else?" she inquired. "You think I didn't forget what happened when I trusted you to cover my back at the Tokyo Regional Frontier Games?" Her voice spits out her dangerous hate for the blond girl. "I thought I could've trusted you, but you were using me just to know how to use the Extra Deck methods."

Melania closes her eyes to reminisced about the events between the two of them. "I had no other choice," she said. "I was ill-prepared for facing opponents who've already incorporated the idea of using Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon when the Leo Corporation introduced them three years ago, and then you came along, and happened to know all three of them."

"You didn't have a choice," Yasuko argued. "You just seized the opportunity to know what I know about Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon because the LDS introduced them three years ago, and I had no idea that the Leo Corporation introduced them three years ago."

"But you were never a student of the LDS," Melania responded.

Yasuko's eyes turn fire after hearing it from Melania. "So?" she asked. "LDS had Lousy benefits anyway."

Melania opens her eyes. "And yet, you joined the You-Show Duel School," she replied. "Do they offer anything better than what you think?"

"At least someone's willing to learn under my wing," said Yasuko.

Melania raised an eyebrow, intrigued that someone from the You-Show is learning from Yasuko herself. "Oh, so you found another one to teach Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon?" she snorted, inquiring Yasuko about her student. "That's a surprise. I thought you'd given up teaching someone, after all, it was you who taught me everything you know about dueling, including what it means to use Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summon."

"My mistake," said Yasuko, tainting her voice with rage.

"And what now? You're teaching this one so that you can get that student of yours to beat me in the same manner?" Melania asked.

"Hell no," Yasuko rebuked. "He's not the one who's going to beat you…" She jabs a thumb to herself. "I'm the one and only one who's going to beat you in this tournament, Melania Herman." It wasn't a promise that Yasuko is declaring; it was a vow. Yasuko is determined to make sure that only she will be the one beat the winner of the Frontier Games.


Okay, I know what you're thinking. I know you, readers, have already watched these duels before, and you get tired of reading them again, but I want to make some changes just to make it more interesting, and I know how you get bored after reading these same old duels from the anime in one of my duel chapters, but I want to create duels that could've happened alternatively and especially for this one because I want to expand each of the Four Bracelet girls' story even further in this series. So please, bear with me, this is all just apart of the storyline that I have created from myself. And don't worry, I will cover every card that was made in the TCG and OCG for this series, so don't let this story down just yet.

Anyways, thank you for providing the feedback on the mistakes I've made in these duel chapters, I know I've made some mistake about the card effects, and I will make sure that these duel chapters work perfectly well later on, and thank you for taking the time to read this chapter, so don't worry, the next one's going to be better.

Salutations, fellow readers, and you enjoy the rest of the awesome day.