..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 34: From the Ashes comes Anew; Yasuko Yukihana vs. Mikisugi Dakoda Part 2


DUEL:

Yasuko Yukihana (LP 4000) (3x cards)

VS

Mikisugi Dakoda (LP 4000) (2x cards)

The first time that Yasuko dueled Mikisugi was about five years ago, almost two years after she arrived in Japan with her new foster mother, Chloe Saratoga. She was getting used to the game after discovering that she was better than most of her classmates. When kids at her block were talking about her winning streak, Mikisugi Dakoda, who went to her grade school, challenged her to a duel. She had him, but he used Mirror Force to destroy her monsters, enabling his victory. Because of her defeat, Mikisugi took her Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon as payment because most of her cards back then were nothing but mix matches.

Yasuko never talked about her experience with Chloe. She understands that Chloe cared for her, but she wonders if her mother will know that some bully at her neighborhood took her card. She never talks about the incident and suppresses any feelings that could smolder her heart.

Some time ago, after her defeat in Mikisugi, Yasuko didn't make any more duels and simply refused anyone who wanted to challenge her because she lost her touch after her loss. Her interest in Duel Monsters diminished even to consider quitting on it. She wants to throw out the cards and never duel again. What is the point of keeping the cards if she doesn't know what she is doing in her duel?

As she remembered Mikisugi used to have his Berserkion the Electromagna Warrior out, and when the little boy attacked after seemingly weakening his monster. She had flashbacks to her duel against Mikisugi and replays the image over again. Usually, anyone with the right mind would be afraid of the attack points it possessed, but the boy was confronting Mikisugi like he wasn't scared of him. She believed that the boy had used some kind of card that either boosted his monster or weakened Mikisugi's.

And then just as the boy was about to counterattack, Mikisugi used Mirror Force to demolish the entire field of his monsters. It was like Yasuko is seeing herself dueling him. She should have known that Mikisugi used the same method he did to the boy. The cries of the boy after losing his best card rings into her eardrums. She knows the boy didn't deserve to lose to the likes of Mikisugi.

But what's the point to Yasuko if she cannot defeat Mikisugi. He has her best card, and her monsters aren't strong enough to take on the electromagnetic warrior with the highest attack points.

Until one day, on a cloudy sky, she found a monster card that was somehow discarded. She didn't know who would want to discard a card in the middle of the road; yet, it looks intriguing. She never saw a Synchro monster before. There were no other cards like it. Exploder Dragonwing was her first real Extra Deck monster.

When she saw the first Synchro monster, her eyes were full of desire for knowledge. And then, something inside of Yasuko snapped open at the same time as the lightning clouds spit a bolt in the sky. The core inside of her somehow transforms her viewpoint to become something that she has not experienced. The feeling inside of Yasuko revolutionizes her charisma from the inside to the out. The once sad little girl was long gone because she turned into a new person with the first sentiment.

Anger.

For about a week, Yasuko would always hull herself in her room with cards on the bed, on the floor, on her bed, and on the table to work on what each of the cards can do to support each other. Mikisugi claimed that her deck was all mix and matches, and they were worthless, but she knows the cards better than anyone else, and she uses their abilities to the fullest. When her new deck was finished, she added her last piece; the Synchro Monster she found the other day into her deck.

As soon as school starts the next week, Yasuko recalls how she provoked the boy into dueling her by making one violent slap to swat Mikisugi's lunch off his desk and across the classroom where it hits the wall on the other side, spilling the food all over the floor. She didn't remember if all the other kids around in the classroom saw her defying Mikisugi.

News of Yasuko's declaration to duel Mikisugi spreads across her grade school. They know that Mikisugi is a good duelist, but what Yasuko knows that everyone else doesn't is that he is a cheat. And that's when it took only four turns to beat him with a Synchro Summon. Nobody hasn't heard of what Synchro Summon was until the Leo Corporation publicly announced the new summoning method two weeks later.

Turn 2: Yasuko (3x cards)

It's been a long time since Yasuko dueled Mikisugi, and now she is dueling Mikisugi again at the LDS Stadium against the monsters that are more powerful than her own. So far, the match has been intense between the two of them. No matter how many times Yasuko tries to negate anything that stops her, Mikisugi would always stop her.

Mikisugi has his Generaider Boss Stage Field Spell Card along with his monster: Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 3000/DEF 3000) (OU: 3), and his Continuous Trap Card: Generaider Boss Room.

Yasuko has only her Magister of Endymion (ATK 1500/DEF 900) (Spell Counters: 2) and Mythical Beast Jackal King (ATK 2400/DEF 1600) (Spell Counter: 3). She has her Scale 3 Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon in her left Pendulum Zone, but no Pendulum monster on her right, rendering her unable to Pendulum Summon.

"Whoa," said Tate. "Mikisugi just did an Xyz Summon on Yasuko's turn."

"Yeah, and it's going to get worse," Allie replied.

"Mikisugi always seems to counter every move Yasuko makes," Frederick agreed.

Yuya and Zuzu were both looking at the jormungandr with concern. After seeing what the monster can do, they believe that Yasuko must find a way to beat the monster before it could deal some severe damage.

"Jormungandr gains 1000 ATK and DEF points for every Xyz Material," said Yuya. "If Mikisugi does it again, it'll get even stronger."

"Does Yasuko have a plan for that?" Zuzu asked her friend.

Despite the odds against Yasuko, Yuya still believes that she will make it. He knows that Yasuko is a good duelist, so he can only hope that Yasuko thinks of a way to beat Mikisugi's monster. "Of course," he assured. "I know Yasuko's going to make it; I just know it."

With no other options left, Yasuko has to end her turn. "I end my turn," she concluded.

Turn 3: Mikisugi (2x cards)

The stadium is completely silent, watching the sheer power of the monster gaining more power to decimate the girl.

"So far, this duel has taken a turn for Yasuko," said Nico Smiley, announcing to the audience. "As long as Boss Stage and Boss Room are out on the field, Yasuko will have to think carefully before drawing herself an Action Card."

The You-Show are all watching their classmate getting into a tight spot with the jormungandr and the field spell out.

"This is going to be rough," said Allie, frightened by Mikisugi's monster.

Tate nodded. "Yasuko has no defenses against that thing with its ATK points," he explained. "."

"And not even Pendulum Summon wasn't enough," Frederick interjected. "It's like Mikisugi's got her right where he wants her."

Zuzu is also praying for her friend to make it through the tournament. She has already earned her victory and hopes that Yasuko can do the same. "Yasuko…" she whispered, almost pleading.

Meanwhile, Mikisugi makes his move of the turn. "My turn!" Mikisugi draws a card from his deck. "From my hand, I activate the Spell, Kuji-Kuri Curse!" Mikisugi activates the Spell Card: Kuji-Kuri Curse. "This card lets me send one level 9 monster from the field or hand to the graveyard to draw two cards," he explained. Mikisugi sends his Utgarda, Generaider Boss of Delusions, from his hand to the graveyard and draws two cards.

"And Jackal King's special effect activates," said Yasuko. "Remember, each time we activate a Spell, Jackal Kings gains two Spell Counters."

The jackal king glows a yellow-green aura around its body, gaining two more Spell Counters.

(Mythical Beast Jackal King: Spell Counters 3 5)

"it won't matter to me," Mikisugi responded. By giving a small glance at the two cards that he has drawn, his mouth gives off a small smile of satisfaction. "Excellent," he commented. "Now, it begins."

He takes out one of the cards and activates the Spell Card: Generaider Boss Quest. "I activate the Generaider Boss Quest Spell Card!" He places the spell on his blade. "This card lets me reveal one Generaider monster from my hand, and it lets me add two Generaider Spell and Trap Cards with different names from my deck to my hand!" He takes out one card and shows Yasuko his Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords. "I reveal Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords to add my Generaider Boss Loot and Boss Bite!" Two cards popped out from Mikisugi's deck, and the boy adds Generaider Boss Loot and Generaider Boss Bite from his deck to his hand. "Then, I place Frodi back to the bottom of my deck after using the spell." Mikisugi takes the card that he revealed to Yasuko back to the bottom of the deck.

"And Jackal King's effect activates!" Yasuko reminded. Once again, the jackal king glows a bright yellow-green aura after the spell resolves.

(Mythical Beast Jackal King: Spell Counters 5 7)

"I activate the Continuous Spell, Generaider Boss Loot!" Mikisugi activates the Continuous Spell Card that he added earlier. "As long as this card is out on the field, you cannot attack my Effect Generaider monsters as long as there is a Token!"

Nico is astonished that Mikisugi has toughened his defenses. "What a stupendous lockdown," he announced. "The Continuous Spell blocks Yasuko from attacking any of Mikisugi's non-Token monsters, and the Field Spell regenerates Tokens if Yasuko adds a card from her deck outside of the Draw Phase! This could be trouble!"

The You-Show are getting more worried about the field setup from Mikisugi. He's got right where Yasuko would want him.

"He's built himself a fortress down there," said Tate.

"I know what you mean," Frederick replied. "So, that means Yasuko can't attack any of his monsters because of that spell card."

"But, at least, Yasuko's monster gains two more Spell Counters," Allie reassured the two boys.

(Mythical Beast Jackal King: Spell Counters 7 9)

Mikisugi wasn't done with his turn just yet; he had other plans to deal with Yasuko and her monsters. "Yasuko, if you think I'm done right there, then you better think again," he said. "I detach one Overlay Unit to activate Jormungandr's effect!" One of the light brown Overlay Units that was circling the massive jormungandr bursts like a bubble to activate its effect.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 3 2)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 3000/DEF 3000 ATK 2000/DEF 2000)

"Jackal King's special effect activates!" Yasuko responded. "When you activate a monster effect, I can remove two Spell Counters from my field to negate and destroy it!" She swings her hand over to command the jackal king to counter the monster's effect.

"You still haven't learned? I can activate Boss Room by discarding one card to make its effect become 'each player draws one card.'" Mikisugi discards one card, and both he and Yasuko draw one card. "Now, Jormungandr's effect continues." In addition to stopping the jackal king, Yasuko and Mikisugi both draw one card. Yasuko attaches Dragonpulse Magician from her hand, and Mikisugi attaches his Dovelgus, Generaider Boss of Iron from his hand as two more Overlay Units starts appearing around the neck base of the serpent

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 2 4)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 2000/DEF 2000 ATK 4000/DEF 4000)

All of the You-Show audience and Gongenzaka were getting frightened by the amount of Xyz Material that it has.

"4000 ATK and DEF points? This is bad!" Tate panicked. "If this keeps up, Yasuko's going to get demolished!"

And if Tate doesn't know what can get worse, Mikisugi activates the field spell card that he has. Since Yasuko has drawn a card outside of her Draw Phase, Mikisugi can use the field spell card's effect."

"Next, Boss Stage's effect activates!" Mikisugi shouted. "When you add a card, I can Special Summon one Generaider monster from my deck and as many tokens as possible!" Mikisugi chooses one monster, and a card pops out to let Mikisugi Special Summon Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom (ATK 800/DEF 2800) in Defense Position and three Generaider Tokens (Fairy/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 1500) in Attack Position. "I Special Summon Hela, Generaider Boss of Doom!" From out of the portal, a goddess who has long obsidian hair and horns wearing a dark ragged, cloaking cape and a long black skirt that has purple paint dot decorations all over the dress and the hems while adoring a corset as she wields her staff that has a skull cap on top. Three multiple portals opened up, and three celestial mechanical fairies appeared on the field, filling the entire monster zones; and outnumbering Yasuko's.

"Next, I activate Hela's special effect!" Mikisugi added. "By tributing one Generaider monster, I can Special Summon one Generaider monster from my graveyard in Defense Position!" One of the Generaider Tokens from Miksugi's side of the field disappears into millions of dust sprinkling the entire ground. "I tribute my first token to Special Summon Loptr, Shadow of the Bosses from my graveyard!" Mikisugi tributes the token to Special Summon Loptr, Shadow of the Bosses in Defense Position. From the ground, a portal rips open to resurrect the loptr generiader shadow that was sleeping in the depths of the graveyard and returns to the field.

"Now, I'm activating Loptr's special effect! I tribute my second Generaider Token to Special Summon Frodi, Generadier Boss of Swords from my deck!" Mikisugi tributes his second token monster to Special Summon Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords (ATK 2500/DEF 2000) in Attack Position. From the sky, the angelic warrior monster floats down with its golden feather wings flapping down to the ground in heavy gold armor with its massive sword in both the palms of its hand.

"Now, I activate Frodi's special effect!" Mikisugi decided. "By tributing any number of Generaider monsters, I can target monsters on your side of the field equal to the same number that I tributed and destroy them!" He raises a hand over to the monster. "I tribute Loptr and the third Generaider Token to destroy your Magister and Jackal King!" The frodi boss raises its sword over its head to summon two smaller portals above it as two swords shoot out to hit the two monsters.

"I activate Magister's special effect!" Yasuko declared. "During my opponent's turn, I can remove three Spell Counters from my field to Special Summon one monster from my deck that I can place a Spell Counter on!" She throws her hand over to the jackal king. "I remove three Spell Counters from my Jackal King to Special Summon Reflection of Endymion!" Three of the jackal king's spell counters were removed from the monster as Yasuko Special Summons Reflection of Endymion (ATK 1850/DEF 2800) in Defense Position.

(Mythical Beast Jackal King: Spell Counter 9 → 6)

A tall, beautiful blond woman wearing a gold helmet over her head wearing a white drape that is outlined with gold helms and buttons while holding a smaller scepter and a pure gold metal container appears on the field. The reflection also gains a Spell Counter after making her appearance.

(Reflection of Endymion: Spell Counter 0 → 1)

"Even so," said Mikisugi. "Your monsters are still going to get destroyed!" The two swords hit the magister and the jackal king and destroy them with a massive explosion.

"Now, battle!" Mikisugi declared. "Jormungandr, attack Reflection of Endymion!"

The earth serpent opens its jaws wide and lets out a sonic roar that crashes the building around it before hitting the reflection. Yasuko had to cover her ears as the roar blares to deaf her, making the girl groan as the reflection monster bursts into dust with a scream.

"Reflection's special effect activates!" Yasuko exclaimed. "When Reflection of Endymion had a Spell Counter, and she is destroyed, I can add one Endymion card from my deck to my hand!" A card pops out for Yasuko after she selects one and adds Servant of Endymion. "I add Servant of Endymion from my deck to my hand!"

"Alright!" Tate cheered. "And because Mikisugi activated his field spell already, that means Yasuko can draw any card outside of the Draw Phase!"

"So, she baited him to use his monster's effect?" Allie asked.

"It's a bold strategy for Yasuko right there," Sora complimented. "She's probably already working on a plan to demolish that field."

"It won't save you this time!" Mikisugi exclaimed. "Frodi, attack Yasuko directly!" The frodi boss swings its sword over its head to crash it into the ground, causing it to send a massive shockwave over to Yasuko. The girl brings up her arms and braces herself as the force of the shockwaves lifted the girl and sent her flying backward. Yasuko shouts as she lands the ground on her back, taking the battle damage.

(Yasuko: LP 4000 1500)

"Oh, no!" Zuzu shouted.

"Yasuko!" Yuya called.

"Her life points!" The three little kids gasped.

"What an explosive power!" Nico Smiley commented from his microphone. "After crossing controls against one another, Mikisugi has finally dealt battle damage to Yasuko!"

Yuya and Zuzu are showing their worries to the girl. They felt that the situation is becoming grimmer with each turn passing.

"One more attack from either of Mikisugi's monsters, and it's all over," Yuya stated.

Gongenzaka was watching the duel with narrows eyes, concentrating on the duel. "Seems like Yasuko's going to be having trouble if this goes on," he said.

Yasuko is feeling the back stinging with discomfort after the hard landing and the devastating blow to her life points. She grunts as she struggles to stand back up. She manages to lift her head over, staring at Mikisugi with animosity.

"Damn it," she cursed. Yasuko turns herself over before standing back up. She removes some of the bangs that were sticking on her forehead and mouth.

Mikisugi takes out one card and Sets it. "I Set a card face-down and end my turn," he concluded. "Now, it's your move, Yasuko, I want to see how much stronger you've gotten since you did that Pendulum Summon, but I don't think you've got what it takes, don't you?" he sneered. "I end my turn."

Turn 4: Yasuko (5x cards)

Yasuko doesn't take the insult very well and makes her turn by drawing a card. "My turn!" she exclaimed.

"And my turn to activate Jormungandr's special effect!" Mikisugi interrupted. "I detach one Overlay Unit to have the both of us draw a card and attach one card from either hand or field to it!" One of the glowing brown Overlay Units bursts like a bubble, decreasing the jormungandr's attack power significantly.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 4 3)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 4000/DEF 4000 ATK 3000/DEF 3000)

Both duelists draw a card, and they have to attach one card from the field or their hands to the jormungandr.

"So, which card will you be attaching Jormungandr?" Mikisugi asked, almost teasingly. "I bet you've got some powerful monster that you can use right now?"

After drawing a card, Yasuko looks down at her hand, and it has everything that she needs to beat the jormungandr, but she cannot risk losing one card from her hand until the time is right, so she makes the most robust choice that would shock the entire arena.

"I attach my Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon from my Pendulum Zone to Jormungandr," Yasuko declared.

As expected from Yasuko herself, everyone in the stadium is flabbergasted by her decision to attach the behemoth monster using one of her cards from the Pendulum Zone.

"What?! Is Yasuko going to attach her Pendulum monster to the Mikisugi's monster!?" Nico called, shocked.

The You-Show were all shaken by the decision as well. They can't believe that Yasuko's going to risk her own Pendulum Summon.

"Shes' going to attach Odd-Eyes from her Pendulum Zone?!" Allie gasped. "Is she crazy?!"

"Pendulum Summon is her key to victory, but she's going to get rid of her Odd-Eyes?" Tate inquired.

"Why would she do that?" Frederick questioned.

Yuya is also having questions popping in his head as he thinks of what Yasuko might be planning. "Yasuko, what are you up to?" he asked, watching the red persona dragon in Yasuko's Pendulum Zone disappear into a brown Overlay Unit.

Mikisugi had a second Overlay Unit already in the air, and both Xyz Materials fly over to power up the jormungandr.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 3 5)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 3000/DEF 3000 ATK 5000/DEF 5000)

"Now, Boss Stage's effect activates!" Mikisugi added. With the field spell card active, Mikisugi selects one Generaider monster that he can use and Special Summons Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light (ATK 2400/DEF 2400) in Defense Position and one Generaider Token (Fairy/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 1500) in Attack Position. A beautiful blonde fairy wearing light green regailia with blue butterfly wings and a flora hairpin crown appears on the field with one Generaider fairy.

"Mardel's special effect activates! When she is Special Summoned, I can add one "Generaider" card from my deck to my hand!" A card pops out from the deck, and Mikisugi adds Naglfar, Generaider Boss of Fire. "Now, the conditions are set! I activate my Trap! Generaider Boss Bite!" Mikisugi flips up his face-down Trap Card: Generaider Boss Bite. "This card lets me tribute any number of Generaider monsters from my field to attach the same number of Generaider monsters that is in my hand, field, or graveyard to Jormungandr!" Mikisugi selects his monsters and tributes the token and mardel. "I tribute my token and Mardel to attach Naglfar, and Loptr from my graveyard to Jormungandr!"

Two more light brown Overlay Units flies overhead to rove around the jormungandr, increasing its attack and defense power.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 5 7)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: ATK 5000/DEF 5000 ATK 7000/DEF 7000)

The three little kids are all shocked that Mikisugi has increased the monster's power even further to make it impossible for Yasuko to defend.

"7000 ATK and DEF points!?" Tate gasped. "That's insane!"

"It's going to be getting stronger than ever," Frederick panicked. "Yasuko has to do something, or else she is done for!"

Yasuko looks down at her two cards that could turn the tide of the match and proceeds to Set two cards on her side of the field. "I Set two cards, face-down and end my turn!" Yasuko concluded.

Turn 5: Mikisugi (1x card)

Almost the entire arena was flabbergasted from Yasuko's decision to end her turn with just two face-downs. "What? That's it?" Mikisugi inquired. "You only set two face-downs, and call it a turn?" He makes a small sound of disgust after seeing Yasuko's final turn. "I'd expected better than that, Yukihana."

Yasuko, meanwhile, was thinking hard on Mikisugi's next move. She knows that the field spell card can let Mikisugi Special Summon one Generaider monster from his deck and as many of the tokens to the field. She's being mindful of what Mikisugi is going to do in his turn. "You know, Mikisugi," she thought. "I think of what you're going to do next." She looks down at the two face-down cards that are on her side of the field. "And if my hunch is correct, then I can bet that you will be leading me into an assault that will end my life points."

The You-Show people are all worried about Yasuko's well-being now that she has no monsters on the field and only her magister in her Pendulum Zone.

"Two face-downs?!" Zuzu inhaled, shocked by Yasuko's final decision to call her turn. "That's it?!"

"This is bad," said Frederick, holding his hands to his head as if he's about to have a headache. "This is really bad."

"How is Yasuko going to beat Mikisugi now?" Tate inquired.

Sora licked his lollipop and simply looks at the field with a blank expression on his face. "I'd say that Yasuko's going to be getting herself a world of trouble now," he said.

"It's my turn now!" Mikisugi declared. "I draw!" Mikisugi draws a card from his deck. "Now, it's time to put an end to this match once and for all!" He raises his hand over to the jormungandr. "I activate Jormungandr's special effect!" One of the brown Overlay Units bursts like a bubble to activate the monster's effect.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 7 6)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 7000/DEF 7000 ATK 6000/DEF 6000)

With each player drawing a card from their decks, they have to make a choice.

"I choose to attach this card from my hand." While Mikisugi attaches one card from his hand, Yasuko makes another reckless move.

"And I choose to attach…my Magister!" Yasuko's announcement has stunned everyone in the stadium. They weren't expecting Yasuko to even do something like sending away her own monster in her Pendulum Zone.

"What?!" The three little kids exclaimed.

"She's going to attach her Pendulum monster?" Yuya inquired.

"What is she thinking?!" Gongenzaka boomed, who is just as shocked as everyone else. "She's going to risk everything for something like that?"

Mikisugi starts to raise an eyebrow. "You're getting rid of your monster?" he asked. "What are you up to now, Yukihana?"

Yasuko narrows her eyes over to the boy across from her. "I'm going to show you what kind of a duelist I am right now with Pendulum on my side," she said. "And with my magister now attached to your monster, your jormungandr gains another 1000 ATK and DEF points for each material that it has."

Two more light brown Overlay Units rove around the jormungandr monster, giving it more power and defense.

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU 6 8)

(Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (ATK 6000/DEF 6000 ATK 8000/DEF 8000).

Mikisugi is getting suspicious of what Yasuko is planning to do. It is different than what he was expecting. The look of determination from Yasuko's face shows how strong she is going through everything that he's thrown at her. Regardless, he's going to end the duel right now.

"I switch my Hela into Attack Position," he said, rotating the hela goddess into Attack Position.

"This is the end, Yasuko Yukihana!" Mikisugi declared. "I will now defeat you and earn my place in the Arc League Championship!" He points at the girl across from her. "Battle! Jormungandr, attack Yasuko directly!"

The giant earth serpent crawls past the boy, crashing into several buildings to finish off the girl once and for all.

The You-Show people and Gongenzaka are now terrified that Yasuko has left herself wide open for the direct attack.

"If this attack goes through," said Tate. "It's all over for Yasuko!"

"Oh, I can't watch!" Frederick wailed, covering his eyes.

"Me either!" Allie agreed, covering her eyes too.

Yuya was at the edge of his seat, watching the girl getting ready to confront the attack. He was gripping his seat tightly as if he's about to rip the chair up. "C'mon…Yasuko…" he whispered.

The jormungandr was coming in close, opening its massive jaws over to get ready to strike and obliterate Yasuko and all of her life points. Like a snake posing its fangs, the jormungandr springs forward and opens its jaws. Just before the jormungandr can finish off the girl, Yasuko was ready to confront the beast.

"I activate the Trap!" Yasuko makes a bold declaration that surprised everyone on the field. "Counter Gate!" She throws her hand to the front to flip up her Trap Card: Counter Gate.

The jormungandr was about to chomp the girl in its massive jaws, but an invisible force field was blocking the monster in front of the girl, barely an inch from touching Yasuko's fingers. "Counter Gate negates one of your direct attacks and lets me draw a card, and if it's a monster, I can Normal Summon it."

Yasuko places two fingers on top of her deck. She breaths steadily, getting ready to draw one more time to change the game. She inhales, and with one quick swipe, she draws a card. By looking at the card that she has drawn, it was a monster, and thankfully, a lower level monster.

"I drew a monster, so that means I can Summon Mythical Beast Garuda!" Due to the effect of her trap, Yasuko Normal Summons Mythical Beast Garuda (ATK 1200/DEF 1600). From Yasuko's field is a different kind of Mythical Beast: a man-sized hybrid beast that has two heads; the right halve is an eagle, and the other half is a blue wolf spirit.

"That won't save you this time, Yasuko!" Mikisugi retorted. "Fordi, attack Garuda!"

The frodi slices its sword to create a shockwave over to blast the garuda beast away, creating a massive explosion that sends Yasuko flying back.

(Yasuko: LP 1500 200)

The girl gives a loud grunt after taking the head before landing hard on the ground with a very painful thud.

"Yasuko!" Yuya called, standing up from his seat.

"Her life points!" Zuzu exclaimed. "If she takes another hit, she's done for!"

"Oh, my word!" Nico Smiley has made his comment from the loudspeakers. "After taking such a heavy blow, it seems this might be the end for Yasuko!"

Yasuko is feeling exhausted with every turn passing by. Her life points are shallow, but it's the exact moment that she needed. "I activate my Trap! Defense Draw!" Yasuko shouted as she activates the Trap Card: Defense Draw. "During the damage calculations, all damage I take goes to zero, and I get to draw a card!" As Yasuko slowly pries herself back up, she places a shaky finger at the deck. Yasuko looks down at the deck with the hope that she has the card that she needs to turn the duel around.

Mikisugi is feeling so frustrated right about now. "Are you kidding me?" he growled. "What's with you? Every time someone pushes you to the corner, you always come back on top! How could you continue fighting even when you have no hope of defeating me?" he shouted.

Yasuko's eyes blink once as she gazes up to take a long stare at Mikisugi. She wasn't sure if she should feel sorry for the boy because of some mistake that he did to her. Either way goes, she isn't going to give up so quickly. She knows that Melania is watching her, and she isn't going to let the sight of her defeat not be in vain. "As long as I still have even the smallest amount of life points left," she called. "I will not stop right here, and neither will I stop right now." Yasuko narrows her eyes at the top of her deck.

"C'mon, deck," Yasuko thought. "I've built you from all the cards that I've acquires since I came to this city, so you've gotta give me the one card that I need to turn this around." She hardens her eyes, twitching her fingers on top of her deck. Yasuko draws a card so fast that it left a light trail behind. When she glances at the card that she has drawn, Yasuko stares back at the boy with less hate.

"Mikisugi," Yasuko called to him. "What you did to me was indeed unforgivable, and I can never forgive you for that, but you learned from your mistakes, and we are now on equal foot ground," said Yasuko. "However, I've been studying your strategies based on what the deck is capable of since the start of the duel, and I've been using your strategy to my advantage."

"What?" Mikisugi enquired, caught by surprise.

Yasuko then pointed at the boy and said, "By getting rid of my magister and activate my traps, I've got what I need. During the end of the Battle Phase, if I control no cards on my field, I can play this Trap from my hand!" Yasuko takes out the one card that she drew earlier to activate the Trap Card: Evenly Matched. "I activate the Trap! Evenly Matched!"

"From your hand!?" Mikisugi gasped, dumbfounded from seeing a trap card being activated from the hand.

"No way!" Yuya, Sora, and Zuzu both exclaimed together.

"She's activating a Trap card from her hand?!" Gongenzaka inquired.

"Amazing!" The three little kids gasped altogether."

The whole stadium is watching the girl with close attention as the trap card revealed itself on the field. "This trap card can only be activated from my hand if I control no cards," Yasuko explained. "At the end of the Battle Phase, if you control more cards than I do, you have to banish all the cards that are on your field until you have the exact same number of cards that I control!"

The You-Show duelists are thrilled that Yasuko has found a way to make her opponent lose all the cards that are on the field.

"So, that's what she's been doing all this time!" Tate realized. "She's been using the Mikisugi's monster effect!"

"That's incredible!" Allie praised. "Mikisugi was forcing Yasuko to draw, but she's been riding along with it because she needed that one card."

Shuzo was so impressed with Yasuko that he places a hand under his chin to look at her with amazement. "Using your own opponent's strategy to your advantage," he said. "That's an incredible plan right there."

Sora gives a small satisfied smirk. "Looks like Yasuko's got this one in the bag," he said.

Mikisugi grits his teeth He should've seen it, but Yasuko played him right from the moment he created his deadlock strategy. He thought that he cut off all of the cards that are in her deck, but instead had it all sorted out after. "Damn it…" he hissed. "Is this what you've been planning all this time? You've been using my monster's effect to draw more cards?"

"Should've paid attention to what I was aiming for, Mikisugi," Yasuko replied. "Now, you have to choose which cards get banished and one card that stays."

Mikisugi was looking at the field with a nasty glare. He thought of which cards that are going to get banished and sends away his hela goddess, frodi, the trap, the field spell, and the other continuous spell, leaving only his jormungandr. "I banish my Hela, Frodi, Boss Loot, Room, and Stage from my field to save my jormungandr," he said regretfully. "And, I end my turn."

At once, all of the monsters, including the spells and traps that Mikisugi has on the field, disappeared, leaving only his jormungandr remaining.

"Mikisugi's strategy backfired on him!" Nico Smiley announced from the microphone. "While Mikisugi has Yasuko under his control, the young duelist has managed to use his own strategy to make a comeback!"

"Mikisugi, you said that the dueling club disbanded because I left, right?" Yasuko questioned. "That's because they never see anything inside of them."

"What are you talking about?" Mikisugi asked. "The dueling club disbanded because you quit on them."

"No," Yasuko protested. "I didn't quit the dueling club because they weren't weak; I quit because they were relying too much on me," she continued on to explain more regarding her past with the dueling club. "The dueling club was so eager to get more members that when I received the invitation to be in the Tokyo Regional Frontier Games, I couldn't take it. I quit because they were putting pressure into me that they've forgotten their own strengths and weakness."

Mikisugi's eyes are slowly widening. It as if he's grasped onto something. "What are you saying?" he asked.

"I don't want anyone to rely on me all the time," said Yasuko. "The dueling club couldn't do squat because they've been telling me to keep going. I hated that. I hate it when people are counting on you all the time, and I hate the pressure that everyone was giving me, so that was my reason why I quit in the first place.

"I didn't want to get myself involved with another duel club or any duel school again, but the You-Show Duel School is something different. I've seen some people who've put their minds straight to get themselves to be where they are at in this Arc League Championship."

Turn 6: Yasuko (5x cards)

Yasuko places a finger on top of her deck. "People like the You-Show Duel School showed me that they are willing to push themselves to the limit to be the best on their own strength," she said. "And, I'm going to keep pushing only myself back up and go beyond my limits!" With a strong swing of her arm, Yasuko draws a card from her deck. "My turn! I draw!"

Yasuko takes a look at the card, and it was revealed to be the Spell Card: Odd-Eyes Fusion. "I Set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 2 Servant of Endymion and Scale 8 Dragonpit Magician!" Yasuko exclaimed. "I'm going to take back control of this duel right now!" And so, Yasuko places the Servant of Endymion (Scale 2) and the Dragonpit Magician (Scale 8) into her Pendulum Zones, reforming the rainbow "Pendulum" word on her blue blade.

From the two pillars of light, a blonde female spellcaster wearing a gold spell counter mask over her eyes wearing a dark green cloak that has a hood and gray techno-style tight pants with green boots holding two scepters, and a male, dragonpit sorcerer with blond spiked hair and large coat over his jumpsuit wielding a staff that has a big circle at the end floats above Yasuko inside the two pillars with their respective Pendulum Scale numbers underneath them.

"You said that you were defeated because you were weak? That's where I've risen from," Yasuko clarified. "After you cheated me, I felt like it was hopeless to continue on dueling, that I would just want to give up on my deck, but as I look back at our last duel, the mistake that I made was my doubt to become better than what I was good at."

Yasuko raises her duel disk a little higher "That's what my deck was based on," she said. "This deck contains everything that represents my despair, and every time that I lose, it solidifies me. The more I lose, the stronger I get. Those who are willing to continue to push forward even when they are at their most vulnerable can endure."

Yuya was listening to Yasuko's words. Yasuko has always come back through anything that is hellish and always comes back stronger than ever. She has been through a lot more than he's ever been from his bullying issues to his father's disappearance.

"Thanks to Pendulum, I've risen back from my despair in this tournament and get back to finish what I've started," said Yasuko. "With these two monsters, I can Pendulum Summon any monsters from level 3 to 7 all at the same time!" She raises her hand over to the sky. "Hear my soul roaring upon thy! I call forth the energy of my heart to unleash the flame of solemnity from within! I Pendulum Summon! Bring forth, my monsters!" A portal opens up above Yasuko with four beams of light raining down to make four monsters.

"I bring back from my Extra Deck: Reflection of Endymion, Mythical Beast Jackal King, Mythical Beast Medusa, and my most faithful monster of all! Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Yasuko Pendulum Summons. Reflection of Endymion, Mythical Beast Jackal King, Mythical Beast Medusa, and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.

The reflection, jackal king, medusa, and Odd-Eyes Phantom both reappear back on the field as the blue dragon roars to life after being resurrected.

The whole stadium is cheering on for the girl to make a comeback. They were giving their lungs out all the screams and cheers they could muster to Yasuko.

The You-Show are seeing all four of Yasuko's monsters back on the field.

"Yasuko did her Pendulum Summon!" Tate beamed. "This is getting good!"

"Alright, Yasuko!" Allie praised. "Hooray!"

"I think my shivers are coming back!" Frederick squealed

"Go, Yasuko, go!" Yuya cheered on or his friend.

"You can do it!" Zuzu pressed on.

Yasuko can practically hear the You-Show people giving her the spirit to beat Mikisugi and earn her place in the Arc League Championship. She is going for it. "Next, I activate the Spell, Odd-Eyes Fusion!" Yasuko activates the Spell Card: Odd-Eyes Fusion. "This card lets me Fusion Summon one Dragon monster from my Extra Deck using the materials that are in my hand or field!" She picks her medusa and Odd-Eyes Phantom to make her Pendulum-Fusion. The medusa and Odd-Eyes Phantom floats above Yasuko before disappearing inside the swirling vortex of red and blue in the sky. Yasuko claps her hands together before she extends wide.

"Dark blue dragon with beautiful heterochromia red and green eyes, merge together with the mythical medusa and form the new dragon who will bring the storms of venturing winds! I Fusion Summon! Come forth, Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" Yasuko Fusion Summons Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon (ATK 2500/DEF 3000) in Defense Position.

From the swirling vortex, a new Odd-Eyes variant appears on the field. Its body resembles the same shape and design of Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, but the vortex dragon version is a green armored plating over its dark blue scales with four turbine wings from the backbone of the dragon as it glows its red and blue heterochromia eyes. The vortex dragon roars to everyone's eardrums.

The You-Show are feeling more energized than ever after seeing Yasuko's new Odd-Eyes variant. They were at the edges of their seat, looking at the monster with excitement.

"That looks so cool," Tate chirped. "A brand-new Odd-Eyes!"

"Yasuko did a Pendulum-Fusion Summon," Allie beamed. "You go, Yasuko!"

"Yes, I've got the shivers back!" Frederick squealed.

Yasuko wasn't done with her move just yet. She still needs to create the best way of dealing with the jormungandr monster. "Now, I activate Nobledragon Magician's special effect from the graveyard!"

Mikisugi was caught off guard after her exclamation. "From the graveyard?!" he gasped.

"If I have a level 7 or higher 'Odd-Eyes,' I can reduce its level by 3 to Special Summon it!" The card that Yasuko discard to activate her previous spell card returns back to let her take it. "With it, I decrease my Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon by 3 to Special Summon my Tuner monster, Nobledragon Magician!" By decreasing her strongest monster's level, Yasuko Special Summons Nobledragon Magician (ATK 700/DEF 1400), the little childlike, nobledragon priestess with purple hair wearing a decorative, patterned white garb and a nun hat wielding the big fork tuning staff that is too big for her to handle. With her appearance, the vortex dragon's level is decreased by three.

(Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon: Level 7 4)

Mikisugi was getting scared as the girl makes her move. "W-when did you have that card in the graveyard?" he asked. "You never had that in the graveyard before."

"Perhaps, if you can recall when I used my Mythical Bestiary spell, then you'll know," Yasuko recalled.

Mikisugi lets out a gasp, suddenly remembering the second move that Yasuko did on her first turn. When she activated her spell, she must've sent the monster to the graveyard that was the cost. "You mean…from before?" he asked. "You planned this far ahead, knowing that I would keep increasing the number of times we draw from my monster's effect?"

"I didn't," Yasuko replied. "I had to keep every possible option in my disposal as opened as possible." Her face gets serious as she raises a hand to the sky.

"I tune my level 3 Nobledragon Magician with my level 4 Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon to Synchro Summon!" The nobledragon priestess brings up her tuning fork staff to let the violet orb between the rods glow, transforming herself into three sets of green rings. The rings scan the vortex dragon until it was nothing but its four orbs and shoots out the bright light out of it.

"Born from the flames of meteor showers, the red dragon with heterochromia eyes of red and blue! Fall to the earth and blow away all of my enemies! I Synchro Summon! Rain down, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon!" Yasuko Synchro Summons Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon (ATK 2500/DEF 2000). From the sky, a meteorite comes falling fast on the ground before it dissolves into a new form of Odd-Eyes to land safely at the tower where Yasuko is standing. The second form of Odd-Eyes is a dragon that has the same red and blue heterochromia eyes, but instead, it has burning red hot armored scales and purple underbelly skin."

"Whoa! What an entrance right there!" Nico announced. "Yasuko went from Pendulum to Fusion to a Synchro Summon at the instant! This here folks could be Yuya Sakaki's newest rival into Pendulum!"

The crowd is going wild in full of exhilaration and joy after Yasuko demonstrated her Synchro Summon. Even the You-Show are astonished of how the girl was able to summon her new Odd-Eyes monster.

"Wow! Look at that!" Sora exclaimed, pointing at Yasuko's new Odd-Eyes form. "Yasuko did a Synchro Summon!"

"That's amazing," said Zuzu, astonished. "When did Yasuko had time to perfect that kind of technique in her deck?"

"She modified her deck last night," Yuya answered.

"I can't believe that you weren't kidding about Yasuko doing a Fusion and Synchro Summon," Sora beamed. "Just watching this match makes me so excited for my own duel next."

The roar of the crowd is fazing through Yasuko completely. It felt different than before from her duel against Arielle and Satsuki. It wasn't getting into her head anymore. She thought of her duel with Arielle and Satsuki. The noise and the people around the stadium are breezing around her like they're the winds blowing to her.

Yasuko scrutinized her eyes to Mikisugi. "I'm not done just yet, Mikisugi," she declared. "With the level 7 Reflection of Endymion and Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, I build the Overlay Network!"

The reflection and the meteorburst dragon transform into a yellow and red light before the two lights fly up and drop down into the galaxy portal. The portal underneath Yasuko's feet burst a bright light from the ground.

"The swinging Pendulum breaks through the dragon of red and blue eyes! Rise up and bring forth an endless winter of ice! I Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 7! Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Yasuko Xyz Summons Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon (ATK 2800/DEF 2500) in Attack Position. The third Odd-Eyes variant is a dragon covered in entire blocks of ice from the head all the way down to the tail on its spine with four ice wings from the backbone sticking outwards as its red and blue heterochromia eyes glowed with one horn on the right side of the red-eye with two blue Overlay Units roving around the dragon.

Gongenzaka is getting pumped up and raises his fist in the air. "That's one heck of a combo right there," he cheered. "If she were to enroll at my dojo, she'd be the best student in the school."

The whole stadium had their jaws dropped after seeing Yasuko's third Extra Deck summon, and they loved it more as each combo goes on.

"And third time's the charm," said Tate, looking at Yasuko with bright eyes. "Yasuko Xyz Summons a different Odd-Eyes."

"Yasuko did all four Summons in one turn," Frederick stated. "She's definitely going to make my shivers last all day!"

"She's awesome!" Allie cheered.

Yuya was beaming a proud expression at Yasuko for finally using her Extra Deck, and her Pendulum Summon in front of thousands of people. He is sure that after this match, he's going to make sure that he will bring the best Entertainment Duel. "Yasuko, you're doing it!" he called. "You can do it!

Mikisugi was looking at Yasuko with shock written in his face. Clearly, he's underestimated how the girl was able to adopt Pendulum Summon to her advantage. "How's this possible?" he asked. "This…this is unbelievable. I had only heard about this Pendulum Summon about a month ago, and now, you were able to harness and perfect this new summon in just a month?"

Yasuko's narrowed eyes focus on the boy. "I've only grasped this new Pendulum Summon ability, Mikisugi," she said. "I still have a long road ahead for myself." She then throws her hand over to Mikisugi. "And starts with your defeat! Now, battle! Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, attack Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity!"

Yasuko has stunned everyone at the stadium. Many jaws were dropped over Yasuko's insane move to confront a monster with only zero points. "What the—What!?" Shuzo shrieked, almost like a girl, shocked that his best student is doing something crazy again. "She's going to attack that powerful monster with a weaker monster?!"

"Why does she keep doing this to us!?" Zuzu shrieked, annoyed by Yasuko's reckless move.

Even Mikisugi was taken back by her decision to attack his monster. "Are you crazy?!" he accused. "My Jormungandr's got way more ATK points than that ice dragon there!"

The absolute dragon charges forward with its ice feet stomping on the street before the dragon jumps up with its jaws open. The absolute dragon lets out a powerful ice blizzard to freeze the jormungandr.

"I was prepared for that!" Yasuko called. "I activate Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's special effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, if any duelists declare an attack, once per turn, I can negate that attack, and then Special Summon one Odd-Eyes monster from my hand or graveyard!" The blizzard dies down after one of the Overlay Units from the absolute dragon explodes like a bubble.

(Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon: OU 2 1)

"I Special Summon Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon from my graveyard!" Yasuko Special Summons Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon in Attack Position. A doorway opens, and the vortex dragon emerges from the gateway with a loud roar.

Mikisugi raised an eyebrow, full of confusion. "What will be the point of that?" he asked. "All you did was waste an Overlay Unit."

"It wasn't a waste, Mikisugi," Yasuko protested. "I needed to attack you so that I can activate Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon's special effect." She raises her hand over to her vortex dragon. "When this monster is Special Summoned, I can target one of my opponent's Attack Positioned monster on the field and return it to the hand."

Her words make Mikisugi's eyes widen in shock. "What?!" Mikisugi gasped.

Yasuko points at the jormungandr. "And the monster that I targeted is your Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity!" The vortex dragon spreads out its turbine wings and flaps them once before it repetitively does it again until a hurricane forms from behind the dragon. "Vortex Whirlwind!" The hurricane was strong enough to make the boy coward from the current as the jormungandr makes one last screech before it bursts into clouds of dust.

Mikisugi was looking up to the spot where his monster used to be. "My monster!" he cried. "No, my Jormungandr!"

"And don't forget that it's still my Battle Phase!" Yasuko reminded, causing the boy to turn to her. "Jackal King and Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, attack Mikisugi directly!" The jackal king starts to run after the boy, like a real jackal. The vortex dragon opens its jaws and lets out a sharp whirlwind breath to boost the jackal king's running speed.

The combined winds and the jackal king was strong enough to shatter some of the windows nearby from the buildings. The jackal king was running at the top speed of over forty miles per hour as its body turns into a blue flame at one point.

Mikisugi can't do anything at this point. With his field gone and his monster vanished, he screams as the blue flaming jackal king does a headbutt to him, and the ground erupted in a massive explosion that sends the boy flying back with his body skidding across the street. He grunts and shouts until he stops with all of his life points wiped out in an OTK.

(Mikisugi: LP 4000 0)

WINNER: Yasuko Yukihana

Yasuko stands triumph before the Action Field disperses along with her monsters, restoring the scene back to the original glass arena.

The crowd was giving loud applause to the girl for a splendid performance. They are full of energy, giving praise to Yasuko, whistling to the girl like she was the star. The You-Show and Gongenzaka clap their hands.

"It-it's all over, folks!" Nico announced. "Ladies and Gentlemen, after a very intense counterattack, and the final comeback, the winner of this match for the second day, is the new star pupil of You-Show Duel School and her Pendulum Summon, Yasuko Yukihana!"

The applause got even louder than before, giving praise to the girl who can Pendulum Summon.

"What a duel!" Tate cheered. "That was spectacular!"

"So awesome!" Frederick applauded. "To see her Pendulum, Synchro, Fusion, and Xyz Summon all at once! My shiver isn't going to be away after this!"

Allie had to stand on her seat to make very fast claps and shouts to the girl. "Hooray! Yasuko won!" she screamed. "She won her first match in the Arc League Championship!"

"Yasuko Yukihana!" Shuzo praised, comedian tears were streaming from his eyes, just like how Zuzu won her first match. "You are, without a doubt, one of my best students in the school! Ohhhh, my blood is boiling hot right now!"

"Now, that is how you duel!" Gongenzaka boomed, all fired up after seeing Yasuko's impenetrable defense combo.

Sora was all fried up too, hopping from his seat like a bunny. "Oh, I can't wait for my match soon!" he shouted.

Zuzu had fresh tears filling her eyes. After the struggle with Mikisugi, Yasuko manages to break through and win. "She did it!" she cried with joy. "She did it! That was very amazing!" She wipes some away to stop them from leaking any further. "Yasuko did it!"

Yuya is feeling very proud of Yasuko. She was able to use Pendulum Summon to beat her opponent and earned her the right to advance in the next tournament after that. "Good job, Yasuko…" he said, glad that she can finally embrace her Pendulum. "Just you wait, I'll be catching up soon."

Meanwhile, Yasuko approaches to her opponent and could see the look of defeat in his face.

Mikisugi is sure that he was going to cry even after all the effort that he put upon. "I can't believe it," he said. "I still can't believe it." His face grimaces in pain, not form the physical injuries but from the humiliation of his defeat. "Why? Why do I keep on losing? Even after working so hard to get stronger, I still lost to you. I don't get it. What makes you so special? How come you can do the things like that Pendulum Summon of yours?" he demanded.

Yasuko blinks once. "That's the point," she said. "When you fell into defeat, Mikisugi, you always have negative thoughts that are like a virus that cannot be cured. It drags you down to the point where you cannot get back up with a heavyweight." She paused before continuing, "But…I should say thank you for beating me before."

Mikisugi blinks once in surprise. "What?"

"If you hadn't beaten me, I would've been the same old curious little girl who has no conscious in this world." Yasuko looks up at the sky, "And what makes me special, you ask? Well, I'm not," she confided. "I'm just a girl who duels."

Mikisugi soon came to realize something about the girl. No matter how many times Yasuko does something amazing like her Pendulum Summon that thrills the audience, she doesn't seem to be bothered by how her talents got everyone's attention because she is only a girl who duels with no purpose just yet.

Yasuko bends over to let a helping hand. "Need a hand?" she offered.

Mikisugi was confused at first, but then there was something different with the girl. She is now more mature than she was before. She isn't going to lash out on him or making an angry scowl. Her face is more peaceful than ever. He can't help but exhale and grabs her and before Yasuko pulls him up.

"Still after that, why?" Mikisugi asked.

Yasuko shrugs. "I don't know," she said. "Probably because of my student."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, the You-Show are an odd bunch," Yasuko admitted. "But I guess I could say…they know freedom more than anyone else in this city. Their duel style is not my taste, but they're all about freedom, and that's what makes them unique. No matter how hard I was or whoever was being an asshole to them, they always tend to get along with everyone."

A hand sticks out in front of Yasuko, and the girl turns to find out that Mikisugi was offering his hand to her.

"What are you doing?" Yasuko asked.

"To make amends," Mikisugi said awkwardly. "I…just want to say that I'm sorry after all the things that I've done to you, and—" He turns his head away with a blush rolling in his cheeks, "—I admit; I was a total jackass when we were kids, but this is different. We're not in primary school anymore, and this is a serious business. And because of how you managed to use my deck strategy to your advantage, I'd say that you're an even better duelist than I thought."

Yasuko raises an eyebrow. Looking down at hand, she didn't think that her bully is kind enough to make reparations. "Uh…thank you…Mikisugi?" she responded, confused. She takes his hand and shakes it.

"Yeah, whatever, and uh…good luck on your tournament, anyways." And with that, Mikisugi turns around and marches out of the arena.

Yasuko isn't sure what to feel after her duel with Mikisugi, but whatever she did made him be more of a different person.

After her duel, Yasuko makes her way back to the stands. As she exits out, she was confronted with a hug from Allie. "Congratulations, Yasuko!" she beamed. Soon everyone else from the You-Show approaches her.

"That was amazing back there," said Sora.

Yasuko looks at everyone from Yuya to the two little kids in the sector. "You were incredible, Yasuko," Yuya smiled. "To think you have three different kinds of Odd-Eyes is a sight that got me all fired up for my match."

Zuzu nodded. "Yeah, you were awesome," she said. "I'm so glad that you won."

Yasuko pats Allie's head like she was a cat as she turns to Zuzu. "Perhaps I could say that Pendulum is now growing onto me." She looks up at the stands and notices that Melania is watching her. Her narrow eyes frown at her as Yasuko makes the same scowl. For a second later, Melania retreats into the hallways to leave.

"Here, this belongs to you," Zuzu said as she gives Yasuko back her gym back.

"Oh goody, I'm starving." Yasuko unzips her gym bag with her packed sandwiches to eat.

Nico's voice over the loudspeakers calls in for the next two opponents of the match. "Well, people, this battle may be over, but there is still another that's about to begin! Yuya Sakaki of You-Show Duel School and Sylvio Sawatari of the Leo Institute, please report to the front immediately!"

Yuya heard his name being called and turns to Yasuko. "Yasuko," he said. "I'm going to show you what my new Entertainment Duel will do to make you smile."

Yasuko makes a twitch from her jaws and turns her head halfway. "Then don't hold back, no matter what happens, just give it all that you can," she replied.

"You bet!" And with that, Yuya starts walking over to the arena to begin his first match in the tournament.


Hey, readers, thank you all for taking the time to read this chapter through. As you can see, I've been busy, and with the stuff that's been going outside of the world, I just want to let you know that I am fine, and still working on some other stories that I want to know.

Anyways, FYI, I do not tolerate any rudeness that comes from different readers, so please be courteous and mind your own business to yourself and other readers if you are going to be shouting at each other, please. Everyone wants to read something, and nobody doesn't want people to be so stubborn about what they want. So, as a reminder, just be respectful to the authors and other readers because they've been putting hard work in making these long-ass fanfic stories, and I hate stubborn dumbasses who want to make a fit, so I will not tolerate it.

I hope you all are safe and having an awesome day despite some circumstances that is going on, but just stay calm and make your day as bright as you can. Stay tuned for the next chapter, and have an awesome day!