Hey guys, this is practically part 2 of what I had planned for the Standard chapters for now. I plan to make the next chapter take place in Heartland and then Synchro before I come back to Standard again.
Also I do plan to change Ray's cards later on so chapter 1 is gonna have a bit of a rewrite once I figure out how these cards would work. Thanks for the comments.
For the person who's asking about any other stories. Currently this is the only story that I want to work on.
Hope you guys enjoy.
Yuya opened the door to the school and entered, letting Serena and Sora in. The two looked at how...small it was compared to the likes of Academia.
"Hey guys, I'm here!" Yuya called.
"Hey Yuya," Shuzo answered, coming in before freezing as he saw Serena behind Yuya. "Yu-yu-Yuzu?!" he yelled, looking at Serena before looking back at the room where Yuzu had been. He did it three times before blinking a few more times. "Is that a doppelganger?!"
"Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. Shuzo-san," Yuya answered. "Anyway, this is Serena and Sora. They're new in Miami City and are thinking of getting to the school."
"Ooh, that's great!" Shuzo exclaimed. "Welcome to the You Show Duel School! If you have any questions please ask away."
Serena and Sora exchanged looks, not sure what type of dueling school this was nor used to seeing a teacher that wasn't strict or beating it into their heads that they had to be the best. "Well, we have several questions, but I guess my first would be, um, what's Dueltaining, and what's the new Summoning methods that we heard about?" Serena asked.
"Oh well you see Dueltaining is using the Solid Vision system so that we can make an entertaining duel for all, by interacting physically with the monsters and trying to put on a show to hype the crowd," Shuzo explained.
"I see," Sora said. He personally thought that it was all a waste of time. After all, the only thing that mattered was crushing your opponent in a duel. "Could we see a demonstration?"
"Of course! Come on. Mana, Joey, Yuzu!"
"What's up da-" Yuzu called as she exited the room with the other two behind her and her eyes fell on Serena. Yuzu's eyes widened, her heart hammering in her chest as she felt tears wetting her eyes at finally coming face to face with one of her counterparts. She wanted to run towards Serena, and hug her tight. Serena hadn't told her that she was coming this soon, and it hit Yuzu completely how much she wanted all her counterparts with her, to know that they're safe, to know that they're happy, to be part of her life and family.
She was so happy her heart could explode like the fireworks that were set up in her duel against Yuya.
"See what we mean?" Yuya asked, seeing Sora looking slack-jawed at Yuzu.
"This is Sora and Serena, they're two potential students to You Show Duel School. Sora, Serena, the girl with pink hair is my daughter Yuzu Hiragi. The others are two of our teachers, Mana Sennen and Joey Wheeler."
"Aren't they young to be teachers?" Sora asked.
"Yes, yes we are," Mana said smiling brightly and coming close. "Hello!"
"Uh...hi…GAH!" Sora shouted as Mana took his hand and shook it vigorously like he was a giant soda can.
"Oh, you're just so cute like a teddy bear!" Mana cooed.
"Uh… thanks…" Sora said before he and Serena were suddenly engulfed in a big hug by the dark-skinned girl. "Uhh…"
"Just to let you know, I'm a hugger!" Mana said.
"So which one of you is the Xyz Duelist and which one uses Fusion?" Sora asked.
"Yes," Mana answered simply.
"...That's... not an answer?"
Mana just chuckled all while Joey sighed. "Take it down a notch Mana, you're being a bit creepy," he remarked.
"Right, sorry guys. So you want a live demonstration of Dueltaining and Action Dueling, right?"
"Um… yeah," Sora said.
"Alright, I'll demonstrate. So who wishes to be my opponent?!"
"I'll have a go," Serena answered, taking a step forward, placing her hands on her hips. "I wanna try it first hand," she said with a confident smile.
"So it's not just that face that's the same with you and Yuzu," Mana remarked. "This should be fun. Now you better give me a good challenge okay?"
"Yeah, no one had broken Mana's winning streak in a while, you think you're up to it?" Joey asked playfully with a grin.
"You know, I can show you around the city if you like," Yuzu finally piped up. "You guys can join too."
"Oh sounds fun! Tell you what Serena, if you beat me, I'll buy you a Kuriboh Plushie, anyone you want! Would you like that?"
"Kuri...what? What are those?" Serena asked, looking at Sora and Yuzu for answers.
"Oh they're just the cutest things ever - even if they're classified as Fiends - and I'm in love with them! I'm sure you will too!"
"Isn't Winged Kuriboh a Fairy-type?" Yuzu asked.
"Oh yes! He's one of two Fairies in the archetype, and he's very cute too! Would you like one, Serena?"
"Um...I don't know," Serena asked, not sure if she wanted a plushy or not. She never had one in her life, and she didn't know what the use of them was.
"How about I show you just how cute they can be!" Mana said, summoning her wand and twirling it before Joey could stop her. "One...two….three!"
Then, in a puff of smoke, five furballs appeared in front of Mana. There was the regular Kuriboh and then there were four more in bright colors: cyan, pink, white, and lavender.
"HAAAAAA?!" Sora exclaimed. "H...how did you do that?!"
"I'm a magician, silly! We don't tell our secrets," Mana said with a wink.
"Kuri Kuri!" The little furballs cooed as the normal Kuriboh floated to Serena. The purple-haired girl stood frozen as the monster floated closer to her, tilted its head and Serena's eyes widened as she held the furball in her hands, and her eyes filled with sparkles.
"It's...so….FLUFFY!" Serena squealed, hugging the fluff ball to her chest, petting it, and making it purr in her arms. "IT'S LIKE A FLUFFY LITTLE KITTY!"
Sora had no idea what to do with the scene that he was witnessing, Serena's reputation in Academia was filled with her being aloof and strong-willed, wanting to be a soldier. She had nothing girly about her, and would happily kick anyone's ass just because she wanted to.
Either she was a great actress… or she really never showed her true self to anyone, and every rumor was her putting on a bravado.
"Sora, you have to hug one!" Serena said.
"Uh no th-" Sora was interrupted with Serena shoving the cyan Kuriboh into Sora's arms
"Hug it! HUG IT! You're the same! His fur matches your hair after all!"
"..." Sora squeezed the furball in his arms slightly like he's hugging a teddy bear… it felt real. Was Mana using a Solid Vision Duel Disk?
But wait...she wasn't wearing a Duel Disk!
The Kuriboh purred in Sora's arms as if hugging him back. "...Okay, they are cute," he reluctantly conceded and heard Serena squeal.
Shuzo tried to muffle his laughter while Yuya and Yuzu were practically rolling on the floor.
"So if I beat you you'll give me a Kuriboh?" Serena asked.
"Yep!" Mana answered. "If you beat me, I'll buy you any Kuriboh plushie you want and any Kuriboh card."
"DEAL!"
"Alright, so what do I get if I win?" Mana asked playfully.
"Well, what do you want?" Serena asked, tilting her head.
"Hmm… I'm not sure…"
"Oh, you can dance with my monsters if you want," Serena suggested.
"Dance?!" Mana asked delightedly. "Are they like Yuzu's monsters? Pretty fairy dancers?" Mana asked excitedly.
"Well… not exactly-" Serena started.
"Lady Serena, aren't your monsters ferocious warriors?" Sora asked. From what he saw from Serena's Lunalights, they may look pretty, and sometimes cute, but their claws can and will break steel.
"Yeah, but they love dancing too," Serena said. "And besides, she can refuse and ask for something else if she wins… well, if she wins."
"Oh, you're saying I'll lose?" Mana said. "Well bring it on! I've been itching for a challenge! Especially when I unleash my secret weapon….Hehehehehe…." she laughed mysteriously, making Joey, Serena, and Sora sweatdrop.
"That's fine," Serena said with a smirk before pointing her finger at Mana. "You better give me everything you've got!"
"You betcha!"
"...We're so dead," Joey stated.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Yuzu took Serena aside away from everyone's eyes before she pulled the purple-haired girl into a bone-shattering hug, one which Serena happily returned.
"I'm so glad you made it!" Yuzu said with a huge smile.
"Me too, Yuzu this is so amazing! I'm here, actually away from Academia and with you."
"Yeah. Are you and Sora the only ones here?" Yuzu asked.
"No, Yuri's around somewhere, he's my bodyguard," Serena said with a grin.
Yuzu snickered as well. "That's just amazing."
"Mhm, I'm supposed to help him subtly 'catch' you, Ruri, and Rin, but Sora doesn't know that. He's here just to see if anyone can stand up to an attack from Academia. He's still in the mindset that Xyz Duelists are nothing but ants to be stomped on."
"That's fine, we'll make sure not to inform him of everything, we'll be careful."
Serena nodded with a smile, before getting a little more serious. "Are you okay? After hearing about the Parasites and all?"
"I'd be lying if I say I was fine. That the son of a bitch doesn't care about anyone at all. Akaba is a narcissistic asshole who cares only for his desires. He'd do anything to get what he wants, no matter who gets hurt or how."
Serena nodded. "Yeah, he is, but Ray promised to protect us, and she will. He won't get away with it. I do hope Ruri's okay, though. I know that she's not fragile, but the Parasites were a hard blow on her."
Yuzu nodded. "Yeah, with everything she's going through, it must be hard on her the most. I hope she doesn't do anything too rash. When we meet her, we're giving her a day of fun."
Serena smiled. "Yeah, she deserves at least one day of nothing but happiness."
"And Rin?"
"She still has no way of getting to Standard, our best bet might be to go to her."
"That might be hard without alarming anyone to what we're doing," Yuzu said.
Serena nodded. "We'll find a way."
"Yeah, the walls of dimensions are not gonna stop us from fixing everything that bastard broke. Now come on, you have a duel to go to," Yuzu said with a grin, making Serena chuckle as they Yuzu led Serena to the arena.
(Mana: 8000) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 8000)
Mana and Serena walked to the field and stood in front of each other.
"Who do you think would win this?" Yuya asked. Mana was one of the strongest duelists that he knew, but something about Serena made him think that she was never to be underestimated. Ever.
"Come on, it's gotta be Mana. That Serena girl has no idea who she's messing with," Joey declared with a grin.
"Mana doesn't know who she's messing with either," Sora remarked. "Lady Serena is very powerful."
"Didn't she say that her monsters are Dancers?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yuzu's monsters are fairies and they're pretty strong," Yuya reminded Joey.
"Let's just watch," Yuzu said, excited to get the duel starting, she knew that it was gonna be a great one. "Action Field on! Stone Castle Of the Ancients!" the pink-haired girl declared, snapping her fingers.
The field began to change, Sora and Serena's eyes widened as sparks let fro under her and Mana's feet as the room around them changed to the front of a castle, under them were now stone floors, with tall stone walls and a dark castle in the background lit by torch fire, along with a night with a full moon hanging above their heads.
"Wait what just happened? Was that a field spell?" Serena asked looking around
"No it's the Solid Vision," Yuzu answered. "These are what make Action Duels so fun!"
"It's basically a mood-setting made to make the duel more dynamic. Along the field, you'll find Action Cards that could help you win a duel or survive another turn or a Trap Card that you simply couldn't use." Mana explained. "It makes things unpredictable! The field does not have an effect on monsters or cards, so you don't need to worry about it."
"I see," Serena said with a nod looking around, hearing the wind howling at night, and the grass outside of the stone walls moving along, and the pale moonlight shining down.
"Ah, but what a beautiful field!" Mana exclaimed. "A castle that is built for magicians to weave their magic, and is sacred to them and them alone. And a beautiful full moon, where the magicians' strength is at its peak...oh I love it all!"
"So you're into Spellcasters huh, I should have known with that magic wand you have, the Kuriboh kinda put me off for a loop," Serena said.
"Yep, Magicians, and I have one of the most powerful archetypes around."
"Oh?" Serena asked with a smirk.
"Yep, you'll see," Mana said with a grin.
"Well, as long as I don't get literal frost burns," Serena whispered to herself.
"I'll start! So I draw!" Mana declared drawing her card and looking at the ones in her hand before grinning. "First I'll summon Lemon Magician Girl in attack mode!"
With a giggle, a Magician Girl emerged onto the field. She was a girl wearing a yellow shoulderless short dress with two layers of sleeves green fabric around her waist with a pink heart as a buckle with gold and white leggings, yellow pointy shoes, and a short wand. (800 ATK)
"Lemon Magician girl?" Serena asked.
"Yep! Look at her, isn't she just cute?" Mana gushed and Lemon Magician Girl winked a heart appearing from it and smiling.
"Is she gonna just keep gushing over her cards or duel already?" Sora asked, annoyed.
"You think that's Mana gushing? Kid, you have seen nothing yet," Joey said.
Sora groaned. Serena would end this duel in two turns if she so much as felt lazy. Lady Serena wasn't in the habit of toying with others.
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Mana said, placing a card in the spell and trap slot on the Duel Desk. "Now let's see your monsters then."
Serena frowned at seeing only one weak monster on the field. "You shouldn't underestimate me like that," she said. "Now It's my turn, and I draw!" the purple-haired girl declared drawing a card and looking at her hand.
"First I discard Lunalight Black Sheep so that I can add one Polymerization card to my hand," Serena said, showing the card in her hand before discarding it to the graveyard. Then a transparent black and white monster appeared beside Serena and placed her hand on the Duel Desk letting Serena add a card to her hand and show Mana.
"Lunalights?" Yuya asked. "What are those?"
Joey shrugged. "No idea, guess they're animal-themed though. Also Fusion."
"A sheep!" Mana squeed. "I love sheep, she looks adorable, I just wanna run my hand through her wool!"
"Well, you've seen nothing yet, cause I now fuse Lunalight Crimson Fox and Lunalight Emerald Bird!" Serena declared as the fusion portal appeared behind her, and the red fox and green bird floated up to it before being sucked in as Serena brought her hands together and began to chant.
"Cleaver red fox running through the darkness! Winged monster flying on emerald wings! Spin together in the Moon's gravity and create a new power Fusion Summon! Level 7, Lunalight Cat Dancer!" Serena chanted, pointing at the moon as the sound of fast feet brushing against the grass outside the castle walls could be heard, a monster jumped up high against the moon, twirling the two daggers in her hand before landing gracefully on the stone walls, smirking.
The monster had purple skin with red long hair, purple skin-tight pants, and cyan fabric falling around her, with a mask over her face and a half-moon purple crown on her head, along with golden hoops around her wrists and daggers in each hand, dancing into the field with the moon behind her, giving Panther predator a smirk showing her own fangs. (2400 ATK)
Mana gasped, and Lemon Magician Girl looked in wonder at the Beast Warrior. "Gods, she's gorgeous!" Mana declared looking at the red-haired monster.
Cat Dancer purred, ready to attack the monster that her opponent had in front of her.
"That's her monster?! She looks vicious!" Joey said.
"Yeah, and that's her weakest fusion," Sora said, placing his cheek between his hands, as he expected this to end quickly.
"Now I activate my Monster's effect!" Serena declared. "First up is Lunalight Crimson Fox: if she's sent to the graveyard using a card's effect I get to choose one of your monsters and reduce their attack points to 0.
"And at the same time, I chain Emerald Bird's effect! If she's sent to the graveyard by a card's effect as well, I get to target one Lunalight Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it in defense mode with their effects negated, so I summon Lunalight Black Sheep!"
As a transparent Crimson Fox ran through Lemon Magician Girl reducing her attack to 0, black sheep jumped up into the moonlight before falling to her knees in defense mode. (600 DEF)
"No Foxy!" Mana wailed as a red aura surrounded Lemon Magician Girl.
"And I'm not done yet," Serena added. "I still have my normal summon."
"Wow! Three monsters in one go," Shuzo gasped.
"Yeah," said Yuzu.
"But Mana is capable of more," Joey said.
"You keep saying that but I haven't seen anything from her yet that's not playing around," Sora said, extremely bored.
"Just you wait then," said Yuzu.
"Next I'll normally summon Lunalight Blue Cat!"
Blue Cat jumped to the field on her fours smirking at the spell caster with narrow eyes. "Meow," the cat purred with a smirk. (1600 ATK)
"A KITTY!" Mana squealed, looking at Blue Cat. "Cute cute kitty! Would you let me pet her, Serena?"
"Careful, this one has claws," Serena said, making Blue Cat grin amused.
"I don't mind; we magicians have powerful healing spells," Mana replied.
Serena had no idea how to respond to that. "Okay, next I activate Lunalight Cat Dancer's effect, I can choose to tribute one of my Lunalights on the field and during the battle phase your monsters don't get destroyed the first time they're attacked, but my Cat Dancer can attack each twice."
"Oh, that's not good…" Yuya muttered.
"Yeah cause Mana's lemon meringue girl is gonna get creamed!" Sora said.
"No, I meant not good for Serena," Yuya clearfield.
"...What are you talking about?" Sora asked, confused.
Yuya opened his lips to explain before Yuzu put her hand over his, stopping him. "Let him watch," Yuzu said with a smile on her face, "He can see for himself." Yuya complied with a nod and a smile.
Sora's attention went to the duel and kept watching in confusion.
"So I tribute Black Sheep so that my Cat Dancer can attack twice, also, each time my Cat Dancer battles, you lose 100 life points."
With a pink light, Black Sheep was back in the graveyard, with Cat Dancer getting her new ability.
"That's a cute burning effect," Mana said with a small laugh.
Serena narrowed her eyes. "Cat Dancer attack!"
Cat Dancer crouched down and jumped up, she swatted her hand and a small wind hit Mana making her lose 100 Life points
(Mana: 7900) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 8000)
Just as Cat Dancer's claws were about to hit Lemon Magician Girl, Mana spoke. "Lemon Magician's Girl's effect activates! Once per turn, if Lemon Magician Girl is attacked I can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand, but their effects are negated, and the attack is redirected towards the new Spellcaster, with the attacking monster losing half of their attack points!"
"What?!" Serena asked, and Sora had to blink at the effect.
Lemon Magician Girl raised her wand freezing Cat Dancer in the air "And I choose to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!" Mana declared.
From the bright light, Dark Magician Girl flew up on her wand and gave a wink standing floating above the ground in her blue outfit and pink skirt (2000 ATK)
"What in the… Does she look like you?!" Serena yelled looking at the new spellcaster. The monster had lighter skin, blond hair, and green eyes, but the resemblance in their faces seemed uncanny.
And to Serena's horror, her Cat Dancer's attack points were split in half. (2400 -) 1200 ATK)
Mana giggled and didn't add a thing to Serena's question. "Next I activate Kiwi Magician Girl's effect! I can discard this card from my hand to the graveyard, and my Magician Girls get a 300 ATK boost for each Magician Girl with a different name in the grave and on the field! And in case anyone needed help in math! That's a 900 ATK bonus!"
Pink aura surrounded both magician Girls as they grew stronger
Dark Magician Girl: (2000 -) 2900 ATK)
Lemon Magician Girl: (0- ) 900 ATK)
As Cat Dancer's attack was redirected at Dark Magician Girl, the magician fired a spell blast, hurling Cat Dancer back and making Serena lose life points.
Cat Dancer hissed as she stood from the ground.
(Mana: 7900) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)
"Hold on, why wasn't Cat Dancer destroyed?!" Joey asked. "She just attacked a monster stronger than hers?"
"Cat Dancer's effect, she can't be destroyed in battle," Serena yelled. "And that's fine, after all, your Magician's Girl's effect is only once per turn correct?"
"Yeah, it is," Mana said.
"And Cat Dancer hadn't handed an attack on her yet. So Cat Dancer attacks Lemon Magician girl one more time!" Serena commanded.
Cat Dancer hissed flipping her dagger in the air
(Mana: 7800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)
Cat Dancer aimed it at Lemon Magician girl, grazing her side.
(Mana: 7500) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)
"My Cat Dancer can attack her once more, but I don't think that that would be fair for Blue Cat would it? Go Blue Cat destroy Lemon Magician Girl!"
Blue Cat smirked, jumping up, and getting her claws out and attacking Lemon Magician Girl once more, before jumping up against the moon, making a flip in the air then landing beside Serena with a "Meow."
(Mana:6800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)
"Oh, that was brilliant!" Mana yelled, clapping excitedly. "I might actually have a challenge outside of my brothers finally!" she said, forming a fist, with Dark Magician Girl grinning in excitement as well, ready for whatever was coming.
"Serena has a monster that can't be destroyed in battle, so that's a major advantage," Yuzu said.
"Well yeah, but you're forgetting one thing," Joey said. "Cat Dancer is depowered, and she's in attack mode, meaning if Mana had the right monsters she can keep attacking the weakest link, which is Cat Dancer."
Yuzu blinked, nodding. It's not just about destroying Monsters, it's about finding a way to make your opponent lose through the weakest point that they have, and at that moment Serena had many.
"Alright then, my turn!" Mana said, drawing a card. "And good luck surviving my next move! I send one card from my hand to the graveyard in order to Special Summon Apprentice Illusion Magician!"
Appearing on the field was the dark-skinned, silver-haired Dark Magician Girl in her purple outfit. (2000 ATK) who had an even bigger resemblance to Mana.
"... Okay, I'm starting to believe that you're a Duel Monster who just arrived from another dimension at this point. What's with the two monsters looking almost exactly like you?"
"She should see Palladium Oracle Mana," Yuzu muttered and Yuya snickered.
Mana giggled. "I'll tell you what's going on later. Now since Apprentice Illusion Magician was summoned to the field, I can add to my hand one 'Dark Magician' from the deck."
Apprentice Illusion Magician raised her wand as Mana grabbed Dark Magician from her deck. "And with Dark Magician in my hand, I can finally activate my Trap Card. I activate….dramatic pause for emphasis…. Magician Navigation!"
"Ohhhh, not good…" Joey winced. "Serena's a dead girl."
"She already has two monsters on the field, this can't end well," Yuzu said.
"Magician Navigation?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Yep!" Mana declared as the Trap Card on the field activated showing Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl flying closer. "This allows me to Special Summon one Dark Magician from my hand and a level seven or lower Dark Spell Caster."
"What?!" Sora asked.
"Yeah, Atem used that a lot to get out one of his biggest monsters," Joey explained.
"Atem?" asked Sora.
"Mana's twin brother," Yuya explained.
Sora tilted his head, trying to imagine a male version of Mana who loved Kuribohs and cute animals. "Is he anything like his sister?"
At that, Yuya, Yuzu, and Joey laughed. Joey fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.
"Mana's brothers couldn't be more different than her," Yuya said. "Mana always duels for fun and would get silly and gush over cute or pretty monsters all the time. But Atem can be ruthless especially when he duels. He'd never actively hurt other people, but there's always a scary intensity about him." Yuzu nodded in agreement.
Sora tilted his head not completely believing what they're saying, wondering what this Atem was really like, and what type of deck he used.
From a circle of light decorated with runes, the Dark Magician rose to the field, with a purple magician robe, a pointy hat, purple long hair, and blue eyes. He spun his long staff with both his hands, before holding it in his straight, and looking intensely at the field, a stark contrast to Apprentice Illusion Magician and Dark Magician Girl. (2500 ATK)
"And I choose to Special Summon another Dark Magician Girl to the field! Master and Apprentice, fighting side by side," Mana declared as a second Dark magician Girl appeared in a swirl of hearts and stars, giving a 'V' sign. (2000 ATK)
"Two of them?!"
"Four big Monsters?" Sora asked. "They're not that strong though."
"Yeah and Dark Magician alone is a vanilla monster, but he's not alone at all," Joey said.
"I'm not done, but you might be love!" Mana said with a big grin. Serena's eyebrow furrowed.
"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded. Mana's grin got sharper.
"I activate the spell Card Dark Magic Expand!"
"Haaaa!" Joey yelled.
"This is gonna hurt," Yuzu winced.
"With this Spell Card, one of the Dark Magicians on the field gets the added bonus of all Dark Magician Girls on the field and Graveyard, and currently, there are two," Mana explained.
"No way… so that's…" Sora began.
"4000 ATK," Joey said. "Man in a mirror match that card is a nuke."
"How so?" Yuya asked.
"Cause when they say field and graveyard, they mean both sides," Joey explained, and a shiver ran their spines.
The two Dark Magician Girls raised their wands chanting a spell and giving Dark Magician a power boost. (2500-) 6500)
"No…" Serena said, seeing Dark Magician grin at her.
"Go Dark Magician attack Cat Dancer! Dark Magic Attack!" Mana commanded.
"I don't think so! I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armor! When a monster attacks, I can target that monster and destroy it!"
"Nah uh~" Mana teased. "I can banish Magician Navigation from my Graveyard then target one face-up trap or Spell card and negate its effect!"
"Damn it, NO!" Serena yelled.
"Lady Serena…" Sora whispered with wide eyes, he couldn't believe how much this duel has escalated so quickly.
"Serena!" Yuzu yelled. "Look for an action Card!
"Action what?" Serena asked, her head snapping towards Yuzu.
"Don't help the enemy!" Mana pouted. "She's gotta learn this by herself!"
"She's new to this, she needs to be reminded," Yuzu yelled back.
Serena, remembering about the action cards around the field, looked around before sprinting to her right, seeing a card hanging on the edge of the door.
"I don't think so!" Mana said, running as well, and racing Serena to the card.
The two girls ran as fast as they could with Mana right on Serena's heels, in a swift move Serena jumped on an out of place stone on the wall propping herself up and grabbing the card.
Reading it quickly she activated it. "I activate the Action Card Evasion! When A monster declares an attack I can target that monster and negate it!"
"Awww!" Mana pouted. Dark Magician let out a small sigh before he stopped charging his attack.
"That was a close one," Sora said with a sigh.
"Oh well, I still got three more Monsters, and you with one weak monster that can't be destroyed. So Magician Girls! Go! Attack Cat Dancer! Magic Burning Attack!"
The two Magician Girls charged their wands and fired a large black orb of magic at Cat Dancer, making the Fusion Monster be sent back to the wall.
"Illusion Magician Girl go! Illusion Fire!" Dark blue flames were sent from Apprentice Illusion
Magician towards Cat Dancer, striking her a third time
(Mana:6800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 4800)
"Oh my god," Sora whispered, Serena had survived almost by the skin of her teeth. If it hadn't been for the action card, these magicians would have destroyed her easily.
"That's one tough kitty you got there!" Mana commented. "Hope she's not taking the attacks personally, I'd still love to dance with her."
Cat Dancer hissed. If she was at full power, she'd slice those magicians into ribbons, especially Dark Magician.
I'm going to claw your eyes out! Cat Dancer growled.
Dark Magician raised an amused eyebrow at the Dark Fusion Monster. Had Mana drew his original form, these monsters would have been no more.
Even your daggers are not sharp enough for that. Dark Magician replied with a smirk, wagging his finger.
Cat Dancer stood up and walked closer, looking worse for wear, but not yet destroyed.
Serena noticed Dark Magician Girl whispering something in Mana's ear, making Mana giggle and nod with excitement.
"You know I don't think I'm done yet," Mana declared.
"Your battle phase is over, you have no monsters left and you have no cards in your hand," Serena pointed out.
"That's true, but I think I shall give you a show since you probably can make a bigger monster if you drew the right card, so I'll give you one. A battle against two behemoths of my big monsters right here and now!"
"Hold on… what? How would…" Serena's eyes widened at the two Magician Girls on the field, same Monsters means the same level which means… "you're gonna Xyz Summon!" Serena declared.
"Smart girl!" Mana said.
"So she's the Xyz user!" Sora yelled, placing a note in his head to watch the girl Mana closely.
"Oh damn Mana is not playing around at all," Yuya said.
"Playing around has left the building the moment she used Dark Magic Expand, Yuya," Joey said.
"Yeah…" Yuzu said, focused on the duel. She was pretty sure that there weren't many opponents Serena couldn't just run through with her monsters, but Mana had always been powerful.
"I overlay my two Level Six Dark Magician Girls together!"
The two Magician Girls nodded at each other as the Overlay Network opened, dark, and filled with stars. The two monsters became shining beams of pink light as they got sucked into the portal. Then a large pink beam of light shone from the center as Mana smirked. Dark Magician and Apprentice Illusion Magician looked with smiles on their faces
"From the darkness, I invoke thee, the power of the apprentices calls forth to your existence, rise, and take control. Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Magi Magi Magician Gal!"
When the pink light vanished, a new spellcaster emerged with a pink magical seal behind her. She looked like an older Dark Magician Girl but she wore black with gold trim instead of blue and pink while the base of her wand was also black. She also had a pink ankh tattooed in between her collar bones and two Overlay Units spinning around her. (2400 ATK)
Magician Gal floated closer to Dark Magician as and spun around as if showing him a new outfit that she had just bought and loved wearing. Dark Magician sighed with a fond smile on his face, making Magician Gal giggle and wink back at him.
"Wow…" Serena breathed out.
"Rank 6 Xyz monster huh?" Sora whispered to himself, amazed at the duel, he wasn't expecting that kind of power from a girl who acted like Mana.
"Yep, that's Mana's powers," Joey said.
"I end my turn," Mana said with a bow. "Good luck."
"My turn!" Serena declared, drawing a card. She looked at her two monsters on the field before looking at the three monsters on Mana's field with one more look at Cat Dancer who nodded at her. With a determined look, Serena activated her spell card "I activate the Spell Card Lunalight Fusion!"
Serena said, activating the Spell Card. "If my opponent has an Extra Deck Monster on the field I can use a fusion material from my deck or extra deck in order to Fusion Summon."
"Hm… maybe I shouldn't have summoned Magician Gal so soon then," Mana said, with a finger on her cheek, filing the fact for later.
Serena brought her hands together as she started to chant, and the Fusion Vortex opened behind her.
"Beautiful and Stubble beasts Dancing in the Moonlight! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The Queen of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Lunalight Leo Dancer!"
The fusion portal decapitated and showed the full moon as a new monster appeared, she had purple skin like Cat Dancer before her, with long white hair that ends with a braid held together with maroon fabric, with three golden rings decorating it. A mask of a crescent moon on the side of her face, sark gloves with a sword in one hand, and a golden woman on her wrist that looks like a fang. (3500 ATK)
"Oooh, she looks powerful!" Mana squealed.
"She is, and you'll see just how powerful she is right now!" Serena declared. Dark Magician narrowed his eyes Magician Gal and Apprentice Illusion Magician stood with their wands drawn ready to cast her spell to protect the other two magicians.
Leo Dancer stood with a smirk on her face, staring down the sole male magician on Mana's side of the field pointing her sword at him.
Not so smug, now are we? Cat Dancer was quite pissed at the beatdown you gave her.
Dark Magician just glared at her. Trust me when I say that Mana has more surprises than you think.
Leo Dancer giggled So does Serena.
"Leo Dancer attack Illusion Apprentice Magician!"
With Pleasure! Leo Dancer said with a sharp smirk as her sights were set on the weakest Magician. She bounced into the air and aimed her claws at the Spellcaster on the field.
"Oh no, you don't!" Mana yelled as she started looking around for an Action Card to help her escape and save her magicians.
Serena narrowed her eyes as she ran after Mana to get the Action Card before the magician did. Mana jumped up, with Serena with one second behind her. The audience watched with bated breath as Serena was able to grab onto the stone wall, while Mana got the card.
"I activate the Action Card Quick Guard!" Mana declared. "I can target one monster on the field and place them in defense mode, and I choose your Leo Dancer!"
"Uh uh, that's not gonna work," Serena said. "Leo Dancer can't be targeted by my opponent's card effects!"
"Heeeeeeh?" Mana asked panicking, and that's when Magi Gal and Dark Magician looked worried.
Mana looked panicked for a moment before she decided, "Then I target Apprentice Illusion Magician and turn her into defense position!" the brown-haired girl said quickly, her monster kneeling down and crossing her arms.
Leo Dancer chuckled as she destroyed Apprentice Illusion Magician
"Ow! Well, we escaped th -"
"I'm not done!" Serena yelled with a grin on her face. "Since Leo Dancer attacked her ability is activated, now she can destroy all Special Summoned monsters you control. And last I checked… it was all of them!"
Leo Dancer spun around right as she landed down grabbing one of the rings in her hair and sending it at both magicians, both Dark Magician, and Magi Gal's eyes widened before they were destroyed.
"NO!" Mana yelled.
"Oh and by the way, Leo Dancer has a second attack~"
"HOW IS THAT FAIR?!" Mana pouted.
"It's not," Serena simply replied with a shrug.
Leo Dancer pounced up before landing right in front of Mana and with a swift swipe of her leg, she swiped Mana's leg, making Mana lose her balance and fall backward before Leo Dancer caught her waist, and pulled her up with a small spin.
(Mana:3200) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 4800)
"I place one card face down and end my turn," said Serena.
"Holy crap that's one powerful monster!" Joey yelled. "I'd hate going against her in a duel."
"Okay, you asked for it! No more Miss Mana the Kind and Caring! Now it's time to get serious!"
"Next time start with your A-game!" Serena called.
"And that Xyz wasn't serious?" asked Sora.
"It's my turn and I draw!" Mana said drawing a card and looking at what was in her hand before she grinned and started laughing.
Serena frowned in confusion and Leo Dancer tilted her head, ready for a fight.
"I'm gonna have to use five monsters but he is quite worth it," Mana said
"Wait a second, five monsters?!" Sora asked.
"Where are you getting these monsters from?" Serena asked.
"Why my graveyard of course," Mana answered with a giggle. "I activate the spell card Magicalized Fusion! This allows me to use monsters from my field or graveyard as fusion materials.
"Wait, she knows Fusion too?!" Sora shouted. An Xyz user who knows Fusion! It's a nightmare! How does that even work?
"Yep. Mana's good," Yuya said.
"So I remove Dark Magician Girl, Lemon Magician Girl, Kiwi Magician Girl, Illusion Magician Apprentice, and Dark Magician from play!"
"Magicians and sorcerers unite as one, come together with one last spell to summon a great new power! FUSION SUMMON! QUINTET MAGICIAN!"
From the fusion portal a new monster appeared, he bore a resemblance to the Dark Magician, however his robes black and dark blue with gold linings on his gloves knees, and boots, in one hand he held a wand while in the other he held a staff with a white summoned shaped crystal, and around him flew five rune circles. (4500 ATK)
"Ow...Shit..." Serena said looking at the new magician and at the attack points.
"Quintet Magician's effect!" Mana said with a grin. "If he was Fusion summoned using five Spell Casters with different names, then all the cards on my opponent's field gets destroyed!"
"It's a nuke too?!" Sora yelled.
"Yep, that's Mana's strongest monster," Joey said."Not a lot of people survive him."
The only thing that was destroyed was Serena's, Trap Card.
"Hey what gives?!" Mana yelled.
Serena smirked. "Sorry, but Leo Dancer can't be destroyed by card effects."
"It can't be targeted and it can't be destroyed by card effects?!"
"Okay… her monsters are crazy strong!" Yuya said, amazed at the Lunalight's effects.
"Mhm," Yuzu said with a smile. This has been an amazing duel so far.
Mana grinned "Then I'm just gonna need a stronger monster...oh wait, I have one! By any chance, Leo Dancer isn't immune to Battle Destruction is she?" Mana teased, Serena could only glare in silence. "Didn't think so. Go! Quintet Magician! Attack Leo Dancer. Serena's fusion monster drew her sword ready to try and attack back or defend herself.
Serena ran to the side looking for an Action Card, Mana didn't bother chasing her as the card was far closer to Serena. She grabbed the card and scowled. Mana smiled.
"Ran out of luck have we?" Mana called with a smirk. "Go on Quintet Magician. Attack this Lioness and end her!"
Quintet Magician smirked and raised his arm up, a circle of runes appeared before replicating itself five times over, before being sent at Leo Dancer. The Lunalight Monster tried to dodge the magical attacks but was unsuccessful and with several runes hitting her, she was destroyed.
(Mana:3200) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 3800)
"Leo Dancer!" Serena screamed as her monster was destroyed.
"Might as well give up now, my monster can't be destroyed by effect, tributed, or used for a fusion summon, there's no way you can destroy him now.
Serena gritted her teeth, almost hissing at Mana. "No way, I'm not giving up!" Serena declared. "Just because of one big monster? Huh! As if. Now it's my turn! I draw!" she yelled while drawing a card.
Mana was impressed at Serena's determination.
"Since the Action Card was quite useless I'll banish Lunalight Serenade Dance from my graveyard and send the card from my hand to the graveyard so I can special Summon Lunalight Blue Cat from my deck in defense position!"
The blue beast warrior jumped up from her card and kneeled in defense position. (1200 DEF)
"I place one card face down and end my turn."
"Wow, Mana forced Serena on the defensive," Yuzu said, blinking.
"Damn it…" Sora thought.
"Playing the defensive won't save ya!" Mana said, raising her arm above her head with a big grin on her face. "So I draw!" the magician declared drawing her card and smiled as she looked at it.
"I summon Chocolate Magician Girl!" Mana said, placing the card on top of the duel desk.
It was a young girl with cyan hair with a blue shirt with a heart-opening on it, a blue short skirt and boots that reached her knees, and a magician's hat, who winked as she came to the field. (1600 ATK)
"This is the end! Go! Chocolate Magician Girl, destroy Blue Cat!"
Chocolate Magician Girl pointing her wand at the monster, Blue Cat hissed as the magician threw pink flames from her wand. Serena didn't move as Blue Cat was destroyed.
"I activate Blue Cat's effect and chain it with the Trap Card, Lunalight Reincarnation Dance!" Serena said as she revealed her trap card which had Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Lunalight White Rabbit against the moon.
"If one of my monsters was destroyed by battle or effect I can add up to two Lunalight Monsters to my hand, and I choose Lunalight Emerald Bird and Lunalight Yellow Martin!" Serena declared showing the two cards to Mana.
"Now Lunalight Blue Cat's effect, if she's destroyed by battle or Card Effect I can Special Summon one Lunalight Monster from my deck to the field and I choose Lunalight Purple Butterfly in defense mode!"
The purple monster with wings and a half-moon mask over her eyes appeared and kneeled looking determinedly at the bigger monster. (1000 ATK)
"Ahh, I really don't like destroying cute monsters but oh well. Quintet Magician, attack once more!" Mana yelled.
With one push from his hand, Purple Butterfly was destroyed, shattering into pieces.
"Playing the defensive won't save you for long you know," Mana said with a smile as Chocolate Magician Girl giggled in amusement.
"Yeah, you're right… good thing I won't be anymore," Serena said. "Now I draw!" She declared drawing a card before placing it in her hand and picking another one. "First, I summon Lunalight Emerald Bird to the field!"
A light green monster with bird wings down her arms with blue and orange leotard appeared on the field with a smile. (1200 ATK)
Mana blinked, she knew that this monster probably wasn't her biggest concern, she wondered what she could do.
"And when Emerald Bird is special or normal summoned I get to send one Lunalight Card from my hand to the graveyard and draw another a card, so I send Lunalight Yellow Marten from my hand to the graveyard and draw a card, then Yellow Marten's effect activates, if she's sent to the graveyard by a card's effect I get to add a Lunalight Spell/Trap Card to my hand,"
A transparent version of a yellow marten in a pink dress and long hair appeared, wearing a sweet smile on her face as she brought her hands together letting Serena grab a card from her deck.
"I choose, Lunalight Fusion!" Serena declared showing the card to Mana.
"Hoo, are you summoning another Leo Dancer then? You know she still wouldn't be able to stand up to my two magicians~" Mana said confidently with a happy grin.
"Oh no, I'm not gonna be summoning Leo Dancer," Serena answered.
"Huh? Isn't she your strongest monster?" Mana questioned.
"In a way, yes she is, but she's not the one I need right now, this a battle of attack points."
"Hmm?" Mana blinked at Serena's reply.
"Oh you'll see soon, I activate Yellow Marten's effect."
"How many effects does she have?" Yuya asked.
"I can return one Lunalight Card from my field to my hand and I can special Summon Lunalight Yellow Marten to the field, but once she leaves it she's banished."
What is she planning? Asked Chocolate Magician Girl.
I suppose we'll have to wait and see. Quintet Magician replied.
From a light Yellow Marten jumped into the field, spinning in the air before landing on her card in defense position with a sweet smile and a giggle. (2000 DEF)
Mana's eyes transformed into hearts looking at the sweet weasel on the field.
"SHE'S SO CUTE! I WANNA PET HER I WANNA PET HER SO BADLY~"
Yellow Marten covered her mouth as she giggled adorably.
"Unggghhh!" Mana made unintelligible sounds.
"...is she okay?" Sora asked as Mana squealed.
"Yeah, that's her usual gushing," Joey answered.
"How is a girl this powerful so goofy and… girly?" Sora asked himself unable to understand Mana at all.
"Next I use Lunalight Fusion and Fuse Lunalight Emerald Bird, Yellow Martin, and from my deck Lunalight Crimson Fox!"
"From your deck? Oh right, Quintet Magician… wait Fox again?!" Mana asked, her face getting a little pale.
"Clever Fox running through the darkness! Yellow beast dancing through the night! Emerald Monster flying with her green wings! Gather in the gravity of the moon and become a new power. Dancing in the pale moonlight with your sisters, Ancient Beast gathering powers from your Legacy appear! Fusion Summon Lunalight Saber Dancer!"
The monster was blond with a big golden headdress, she wore a black and golden corset that went down her back and showed her midriff, and around her waist was a piece of long maroon fabric that she wore like a skirt, with golden leg braces and a golden circular anklet. (3000 ATK)
Chills ran through Mana and her magicians as the new Monster's silhouette appearing against the full moon in the sky, before landing gracefully on the ground of the castle in front of Serena grinning confidently, showing her fangs
"Saber Dancer gets 200 attack points for each Lunalight in the graveyard or banished, and last I checked there were 12 monsters in total."
"So that…" Yuya yelled and Joey seemed to count on his fingers
"2400 ATK points," Sora said.
(3000-)5400 ATK)
"That's more than enough to destroy Quintet Magician!" Yuzu said
"You got that right, but don't forget Crimson Fox' effect, if she's sent to the graveyard by a card's effect…"
"One monster's attack becomes Zero!" Mana replied.
"Yep and last I checked your magician isn't immune to card effects at all is he?"
Another transparent Fox ran through the field and past Quintet Magician, with a red aura, the magician became weaker.
(4500-)0 ATK)
"Quintet Magician!" Mana yelled.
"And that's more than enough to make you lose this duel! Go! Saber Dancer destroy Quintet Magician!"
"One hit from that cat and Mana loses!" Joey yelled.
"I won't let that happen!" Mana said before she started running around looking for an Action Card.
"Mana still has a chance!" Yuzu yelled.
"Come on Mana you can survive!" Yuya cheered.
"This could really go either way…" Sora whispered completely enraptured with the duel.
It was hard to see any card around and Saber Dancer was getting closer to destroy her biggest monster. Mana finally saw a card on the ground and ran to it jumping towards it to catch it.
"Mine!" Screamed Serena as she slid down the floor, grabbing the card before Mana even touched it.
"No!" Mana yelled.
"Saber Dancer! Destroy him!" Serena said, jumping to her feet.
As Mana turned around with a gasp Saber Dancer jumped up raising her blades in the air and with a swift movement from her hips, she ran Quente Magician through, jumping back and landing back on the ground easily with a satisfied purr.
And for a few seconds, everyone was silent.
(Mana:0) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 3800)
...
...
….
Until they were not.
"I win!" Serena yelled, jumping in the air with a laugh.
"I can't believe it…" Yuya gasped. "Mana lost…"
Everyone sat there with their jaws on the floor. "And after she summoned Quintet Magician too!" Joey said. "HOLY SHIT!"
Mana blinked a few times before standing up." Wow, that...THAT WAS AMAZING!" Mana yelled from the top of her lungs. "This is the best duel I've had in so long!" She practically flew to Serena's side and hugged her, making the purple-haired girl stiffen. "This was so much fun, Serena! You better give me a rematch!"
Serena chuckled before relaxing. She wasn't used to physical affection at all, and yet, she was easily getting them now from Zarc, Yuzu, and even Mana hugged her with careless abandon, like showing affection was the most normal act of all time.
"Sure, I'll take you on that… And you can still dance with my Lunalights later if you want, Cat Dancer would probably wanna scratch your eyes out first though."
"REALLY?! They were such pretty pretty things! Just for that, you get two plushies!"
Serena gasped happily. "Awesome!"
"These are the same two girls who just fought tooth and nail against each other…acting like they're best friends and shrieking over adorable plushies!" Sora noted in complete bewilderment. They're gonna react like crazy over my monsters.
"Yuzu! When are we heading out?!" Serena asked.
"Anytime you guys want!" Yuzu called back.
"Well that was fun, I wanna try it now," Sora said with a smile before putting another lollipop in his mouth.
"Really now?" Yuzu asked.
"Yeah, and I do wanna see those Pendulum Cards up close, if that's okay~ pretty please~" Sora pegged, pressing his hands together and smiling innocently at Yuya.
"Ah… well…" Yuya started, he had been dueling for the last few days to help President Pegasus to develop more cards, and he'd be happy to have a fun duel again, and he had no idea what Sora's deck is like, he only knew that he used fusion.
With Yuzu, Yuya might not have known all of her Extra Deck monsters but he was familiar with most of her deck, and most of the duels he had in Industrial Illusions were Tribute Summon based, only designed to make Yuya show what his cards were capable of. So having a duel with Sora could be quite exciting.
"Excuse me," a familiar voice said. Everyone's attention went to the familiar young man with silver hair, red square rimmed glasses, a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, grey pants, and a red scarf. Despite his attire, he held an aura of intimidation that made everyone in the building freeze.
"Reiji Akaba?!" Shuzo shouted, surprised to have the young CEO in his duel school of all places. Pegasus was surprised enough, but Reiji was even a bigger shock, especially since their schools have a bit of a small rivalry.
Akaba?! Serena thought. As in the Professor's son and Ray's brother… wait… I know that boy.
Reiji nodded once. "I tried the front office, but I found no one there. I'm here on President Pegasus' recommendation, and I would like to speak with Yuya Sakaki if possible."
"Mister Akaba, if this is about the contract…" Shuzu started
Contract? Thought Sora raising his eyebrow.
"It's not," Reiji replied, shaking his head. "If this is a bad time-"
"No, not at all. We can talk now," Yuya said, interpreting Reiji with a smile, and walked down to meet Reiji.
"What is this about?" Joey asked.
"Not sure," Shuzo replied, he had no idea what to think of any of this, he just hoped Yuya could take care of himself.
Yuya led Reiji to a private room where the two of them could talk alone.
"What is this about um… Mister Reiji?" Yuya asked.
"Reiji's just fine, Yuya," the silver-haired boy replied. "I wanted to talk to you about those Pendulum monsters of yours."
Yuya nodded in response. "Yeah...uh…"
"I've talked with Pegasus, and I did manage to get the truth out of him regarding your Pendulum Monsters."
Yuya's eyes widened. "Oh…oh I…" he wasn't sure if he should panic that Pegasus had easily let the truth about the cards slip, or be surprised that Reiji had believed that it was basically magic that created an entire new summoning method, that even Yuya was not sure about.
"First I don't want you to worry, that can be our secret," Reiji said, wanting to quell Yuya's worries. "I do believe that these Pendulum cards will be quite useful, and I simply wanted to get more information on how that worked. As well as asking for a favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes, I plan to obtain my own Pendulum cards once we design them, and I thought that free publicity for both our schools would be useful for both of us, so I suggest an exhibition match to advertise them and more pendulum use."
"Do the participants have to use Pendulums?" Yuya asked
"No, they may fight with their style and decks. This is more to showcase both schools' method of teaching."
"How big do you want it?"
"We can decide later, however, need be."
"...Is there… Another reason for this match?" Yuya asked, feeling like there was something he was missing.
"No, not at all," Reiji said with a small smile. Something in Yuya told him that Reiji was lying, but he wasn't sure what else Reiji could want.
"Okay, I'm ready to answer your questions about the Pendulum Summoning, but you'll have to go through the details of the Exhibition match with Shuzo-San."
Reiji smiled. "Very well."
"I might be about to duel Sora, he said that he uses a Fusion Deck though I'm not sure what. You're welcome to stay and watch."
Reiji nodded. "I believe that would be perfect Yuya, thank you."
Yuya smiled back and nodded to Reiji, happy that there wouldn't be any actual trouble between their schools.
…
…
…
"Reiji knows!" Serena suddenly told Yuzu.
"What?" Yuzu asked.
"Reiji knows. He knows about Academia, he knows about the war, and he knows about me."
"What?! How?" Yuzu asked.
"Years ago, he came to Academia. I was trying to get away from the Obelisk Forces and teachers. He tried to help me before getting caught too. Akaba sent him home and prevented him from returning."
"So is he on our side?" Yuzu asked.
"I think so… he's gotta be, right? I mean, I don't think he knows about Ray and Zarc but he knows what his father is planning."
"What do we do? Do we tell him about us?" Yuzu asked.
"No, that might not be such a good idea… at least not about you. I… I could approach him, see his reaction. If he's on our side I can tell him about me...maybe."
"I don't know Serena, it could be dangerous."
"He's just one person," Serena said.
"Yeah, and he's one of the best," Yuzu reminded her.
Serena sighed, looking away. She wanted to be of help.
"Hey Yuzu," Yuya called.
"Oh Yuya," Yuzu said, both her and Serena turning to the red-eyed boy with Reiji behind him. "What's up?" Yuzu asked.
"Um… I decided to invite Reiji to see the next duel with Sora. You wanna stay and watch or take Serena and Mana out?"
Yuzu placed her hands over her hips. "Now what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I just left without staying to cheer you on huh?" she asked playfully.
Yuya blushed slightly, his heart beating a little too fast with glee at Yuzu calling herself his girlfriend. "You're the best Yuzu," he said with a big grin.
"You bet I am," Yuzu replied and placed a kiss on Yuya's cheek.
Reiji seemed to be standing there awkwardly, not sure how to respond to the exchange between the two best friends. Reiji had never had friends, or a love interest in any way in all of his sixteen years so he has no idea how to act.
"Right, let's go, I think Sora's still waiting," Yuya said, rubbing the back of his head. Yuzu nodded as the two of them walked back towards the arena.
As Serena turned to follow them, Reiji stopped her with a hand over her shoulder. "Serena, correct? I would like to talk with you in private."
Serena's eyes looked back to where Yuya and Yuzu headed before looking back at Reiji. "Is it about the war on Heartland?" Serena whispered.
Reiji nodded after a second. "So you do remember me."
"I do," she said with a nod.
"Once you're alone, head to the LDS office, tell them your name is Serena and you'll be escorted in, alone. We do need to talk."
Serena looked into Reiji's eyes for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright."
"Thank you, Serena," Reiji said, and the two of them walked back to the arena