A/N: Dang, I had this story planned out since before the Xyz arc. How time flies.

Fun Fact: Barrett learned about the ARC-V machine sometime during the Synchro Arc. He decided that Serena's happiness and life was more important than Leo's plans, so when Barrett recaptured Serena, he took her to the Xyz Dimension to hide. They were unfortunately caught by Edo, and Barrett was carded.

Chapter Summary: Yuri competes in a figure skating competition, and Rin's determined to see him lose.

The location: some dumb stadium in the richest areas of the city. The city in the Synchro Dimension. Yuri didn't know where, exactly; he just had Yugo drive his D-Wheel and bring him to the stadium.

But why was Yuri here? Because obviously, he was here for the skating competition. You should have known that. You idiot.

But yes, Yuri was involved in a skating competition. And after Yugo made them come all the way to bumfuck wherever-the-hell-this-city-is, the least he could do was allow Yuri to enter a competition and execute a flawless victory under the eyes of his fans.

It would be easy. He'd just go out there, wow the audience with a lariat, do a moonsault or two, then pendulum into a spinning heel kick. Simple and effective figure skating moves that would still amaze the audience. And when everybody found out that this was his first time skating seriously, they'll be even more in awe of his majesty.

Yuri was standing and watching the opening ceremony from the television n the break room. It was a wide, mostly-barren room that only held a flat screen television that hung on the wall, a table full of magazines, a coffee maker, some chairs, and a few of his fellow competitors. There were double-wide doors that lead to the rink, and the sounds of people could be heard on the other side of them.

"Things are heating up for the Third District Winter Fair!" said an unseen male announcer. "Hopefully it won't melt the ice!"

The announcer let out a hearty chuckle. Yuri made his own mocking, nasally chuckle to mimic him.

But then, a familiar voice. "Well, look who the cat dragged in."

Yuri looked to the double-wide doors. A girl was peeking her head through one of the doors. And judging by her sour face and orange eyes, that girl was none other than Rin. Wonderful.

"I'd recognize that breathtaking voice anywhere!" Yuri exclaimed joyfully. "Rin! Have you come to wish me luck?"

"Are you here just to spite me, Yuri?" Rin asked him. "How did you know that I was asked to judge?"

Yuri stepped back and let out a loud, overly dramatic gasp. "I didn't know you'd be here, honest!"

"Yeah, right."

"Why are you even here?" Yuri questioned. "Since when do you skate? Or do anything besides riding D-Wheels and bitching at Yugo?"

Rin rolled her eyes. "If you must know, my friend Fernando knows the owner of this place. I'm doing him a favor my being a celebrity judge."

"I don't believe it."

"Why not?" Rin scoffed. "Unlike you, I actually impress people with my duels, instead of terrifying them."

"No, I don't believe that you have friends."

"Hey, screw you!" Rin yelled. "And, like, you're one to talk, Mr. Oedipus."

"Better to be part of fine arts than to live life as a plebeian."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"So where's Serena?" Yuri asked her. "Why don't you be a good little girl and get the bad little girl?"

"Serena's a little too busy to talk."

"Oh?"

Rin stepped forward. She walked from the doorway and moved right up close to Yuri. "She's working on her own short story, because she wants to make you happy."

Rin pressed her finger against Yuri's chest.

"And she's trying way too hard for someone who doesn't deserve her love."

She poked Yuri's chest, a little harder this time.

"But I'm not impressed by you."

Poke poke, ouch ouch. With every syllable in inflections, she poked at his chest harder and harder.

"And I'm going to make sure you don't win."

"Rin, isn't it unfair for a judge to be so partial?" Yuri pouted. Though it was very clear by his tone that the displeasure was fake. He was mocking her, that much was clear.

"You tried to rip us apart and make Serena the main personality," Rin countered. "And you literally kidnapped me and held me hostage in a tower. So don't go about like you have some moral high ground, Yuri Sakaki."

"Fair enough," Yuri said with a frown. "I guess I'll just have to win by using my talents."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Yuri," Rin said scornfully. "Because one of my talents include giving you a big fat zero."

Rin put her hands to her lips and egao'd deviously. And now that her piece was said, she spun around on her heel and started to walk away.

"Break a leg out there, Yuri!" she called out. "Really! Break a leg!"

And Yuri egao'd. Because Rin made a fatal mistake: she left him alone, to his own devices. And ice skating wasn't the only talent he could use to win.

The announcer's voice echoed through the television: "We have some unfortunate news. Our first contestant, Miss Bento Kusou has failed to appear. Thus, she has been disqualified from the competition."

The camera briefly panned over the judges, and the announcer went on to introduce them. The first judge was Rin Hiiragi. Next to her was the next judge, Yeagar; a man that looked like a clown. Last but not least, celebrity judge Misty Lola waved to the camera.

Oh, how tragic. Poor Bento was missing. Yuri simply had no idea where she was or what happened to her. That was his story, and he was sticking to it.

Yuri moved away from the television and moved towards a fellow contestant. He took a seat beside a blonde girl in a red, short-length dress.

"You're Monana, right?" Yuri asked her, using a soft voice.

The girl looked up to Yuri. As one would expect from a nine-year-old girl, she was much shorter than the teenage boy. "Yes?"

"I've heard about you. You're the one who's already won all those skating competitions. The prodigy? I'm a big fan."

The girl blushed and egao'd. "Really?"

"Good luck out there, kid!" Yuri said kindly. "I'll be rooting for you."

"Th-thanks, mister Yuri."

"No, really," Yuri insisted. "You're going to need it?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" the girl asked nervously. Her speech was slow, cautious.

"Well, I know there are bad people who must be so jealous of a talented girl like you," Yuri said sadly. "Have you ever heard of Nancy Kerrigan?"

The little girl gasped. "Is she going to attack me?"

"No, of course not!" Yuri said quickly. "At least, I hope not... You never know."

The little girl looked at Yuri with sad, almost tear-filled eyes. She kept silent, waiting for Yuri to go on.

"No, Nancy Kerrigan was a famous figure skater from the Pendulum Dimension. She inspired so, so many people with her impressive skills, her determination, and her strong heart. Kind of like you do every time you skate!."

Yuri leaned in closer and continued, "But jealousy breeds contempt. And in order to try and cut her skating career short, her skating rival's husband had an assailant bash in Nancy's knee."

The little girl let out a quiet gasp. Her hands rose up to cover her whole face.

Yuri shook his head. "I've seen the recordings. It was brutal. The world can be really cruel sometimes, Monana... I can still hear her screams of pain."

The girl looked down at her feet, at her skates. She was starting to grow nervous.

"So... So Nancy Kerrigan's ghost wants to get revenge?" the girl asked. "She wants me to suffer like her?"

Yuri rested a hand on her shoulder. "Sure, why not?"

He leaned back in his chair, then let out a rueful chuckle. "At least I suck at skating, so she'd never go after me. She only goes after the best of the best in competitions."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't want that, Monana," he said sympathetically. "I don't want that for you."

From the television, the announcer's voice echoed through the room: "Our next contestant will be Monana Creditcard, from the Fusion Dimension!"

Yuri turned back to the girl. "Like I said, good luck. I'll be rooting for your safety, kid."

The little girl looked down at her skates again. Tears rolled over her face and dripped down to her knees.

Yuri then reached out and wrapped his arm around the girl's shoulder. He brought her in tight for a consolatory side-hug.

"Monana, no," Yuri said sternly. "This is important to you. You can't give up on your dreams because of fear?"

"But what if Nancy comes to get me?"

Yuri paused for a moment.

"Yuri?"

"What if..." he said hesitantly. "... She only goes after the best. So if you purposely try to come in second, Nancy Kerrigan won't go after you?"

"But- but wouldn't she go after the person in first place?"

Yuri nodded. "It would break everyone's hearts if you were hurt. But it doesn't matter if she cuts me down, right?"

"Yuri..."

Yuri gave Monana a small egao. "As long as you're safe, I'll count myself as the winner. You just go out there and do what it takes to survive."

"Oooh, a disapointing performance from Monana Creditcard!"

People weren't amused, to say the least. The audience was confused, and their vocal boos and discussions could be heard through the television Yuri was watching. He could also hear it beyond the waiting room's doors.

"I'm giving her a 1," Yeager said. "I expected a little more from Monana."

"She has talent, but she didn't reach her full potential today," Misty said. "I'll give her a 3."

"Well, I think she did a decent job," Rin said. "She really impressed me, and I think she'll be the best contestant. I'll give her a 6."

Yuri hmmph'd. Typical Rin, trying to ruin my fun.

No matter. With a total score of 10, Monana would be easy to beat. With that done, Yuri was confident that he secured a higher position in the competition.

The next skater in line was an older woman, appearing to be in her late twenties. She was sitting on a bench and tying her skates when Yuri approached her.

Yuri looked down at her. "Miya?"

The woman looked up. She looked a little wary of the boy, and spoke hesitantly. "... Yes?"

"I just wanted to say good luck~" Yuri said sweetly.

The woman egao'd. "Oh, thank you, I guess... Same to you."

"I'm sure your family will be watching," Yuri went on. "Best not to disappoint them."

"I'll try not to, thanks." What a strange thing for her to say to him.

"I heard your brother, your younger sister and your mother will be watching."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

Yuri shrugged. "I wanted to get to know you better, since you seemed like an interesting individual. And your family seems like such a delight."

The woman dropped her blade and rose up from her seat. She kept her eyes on Yuri, unblinking.

"I'm sure they won't be upset if you lost," Yuri said, egao-ing. "In fact, you'd probably be doing them a big favor if you threw the match."

"What areyou saying, kid?" the woman hissed.

"Your family loves you. And you love them, right?" Yuri giggled. "I get the feeling that they won't be disappointed in you losing."

And then he took a step closer to the woman. "In fact, it might be a huge weight off their shoulders if you took a dive."

Yuri shrugged, then turned his heel and started to walk away. He simply raised his hand and gave his fellow competitor a polite little wave. "Bye-byeeeee~"

"Unfortunately, we have some bad news to report. Contestant number three, Miss Miya Animename has chosen to drop out of the competition.

Yuri egao'd as he watched the report on the waiting room's television. He could hear the displeasure and confusing coming from the audience. And as the camera panned over to the judges, Yuri relished in seeing a shocked Rin whisper something to the man beside her.

"Moving swiftly on, our next contestant will be Mr. Hayate Tokenbackgroundcharacter. But first, let us talk to the judges."

Bah! Rin was going to get some spotlight. Yuri simple shrugged and turned his back to the television. Now he just had to meet with his next target and give them a friendly little pep talk to motivate them.

Hayate was already on the other side of the room, standing and pressing his back against a wall. He was staring at Yuri with wide, bulging eyes.

Yuri egao'd. "Hello! I'm-"

The man immediately ran out of the room.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Tokenbackgroundcharacter has chosen to leave the competition."

The audience wasn't happy. More than one person was yelling at the announcer, or calling for the judges. From Rin's spot at the judge's table, she was unfortunately privy to every word around her.

Elbows on the table, hands holding up her face. She wasn't very happy right now, and she wasn't afraid to hide her feelings through her mannerisms.

She looked to the judges beside her. "See? I'm telling you guys, Yuri should be disqualified."

Misty Lola leaned ahead and looked to her. "We can't afford to lose another skater, though."

"The situation's already bad," Yeagar said. "It's bad enough that most of our contestants are gone; adding a scandal on top of that could kill the skating program."

The announcer went on: "Our next and final competitor will be Yuri Sakaki, of the Pendulum Dimension."

Yuri took a single step into the skating rink. But instead of stepping further, he waved to the audience. Blew some kisses, took a bow, and let out a hearty laugh. He was met with applause.

"Thank you, thank you!" Yuri said cheerfully. "I know today hasn't been the best, but I'm going to do everything I can to make every one of you egao~"

The sentiment seemed to be noted by members in the audience, because the cheering grew louder. A few people even whistles, while one person excitedly screamed out Yuri's name.

Rin just rolled her eyes.

"You might recognize him as Yuya Sakaki, the Duel King!" the announcer explained. "Yuri is actually Yuya's brother, and they share a body!"

A little less clapping now. People were excited, but also a little confused. Particularly Yeagar, who just tilted his head and looked on in disbelief.

"Yuri will be performing an original routine based on an original story, which he wrote and choreographed himself."

"Oh dear God and Buddha, no," Rin said quietly.

"Please enjoy..."

"No."

"Yuri Sakaki in..."

"No."

"The Apple Girl is Not My First Choice, But I'd Do Her if She Put a Bag on Her Head and Didn't Talk."

Rin exhaled, buried her face in her hands, and a long, grumbling groan. Amongst a crowd that was clapping politely, she was the sole person who knew what this was about.

"Thank you, thank you!" Yuri announced to the audience. "I'd like to dedicate this performance to someone I'd hope to be my future sister-in-law, because she inspires me to try my best!"

Rin slammed her head against the table.

The music started to play. It was somber, slow piano tune. The tune was slow and deep, but it was starting to pick up steam and play at higher notes.

Yuri slid forward and moved onto the ice. And as he moved, his eyes were squarely on Rin and her aura of suffering.

And then he immediately slipped and fell on his face, ending his performance almost as soon as it started. Turned out that skating was much harder than he thought.

After a moment, it looked like Yuri wasn't going to get up. The music stopped, and two burly figure skaters went out onto the ice to retrieve him.

"Well, that was certainly... It was a performance of some sort! But what do the judges think?"

Yeager held up a sign with a big fat 0.

Mistyheld up a sign with an even bigger, fatter 0.

Rin held up a sign with a 6.

Everybody looked to Rin in shock. A cold, unfomfortable silence filled the room. Luckily though, Rin was more than willing to brake it.

"I gave him points for his charming nature and his beautiful fall from grace," Rin explained. Or rather, Serena explained. "I didn't go higher because he still failed. I don't like failure."

She leaned over the table and looked at Yuri. Figure skaters lifted him onto a stretcher. he was face-down.

"Your charm can only get you so far in a real competition. You need to hone your skills in order to crush your opponents completely. Remember that next time you compete."

Yuri weakly rose a hand to the air, giving Serena a thumbs-up.

Yuri finished the event with a score of 6, earning him second (and last) place; a placement that he truly deserved for all of his work today.