(A/N: Before this chapter begins, I would like to remind everyone that Munakata prior to the tragedy is a very different type of person compared to his cynical and bitter nature afterwards in Future Side. Keep that in mind as you read the chapter).
The airplane trip from Tokyo to New York was one of the most nerve-wracking trips of Yukizome's entire life. Time was of the essence, and continuously nagging the pilot to fly faster was not an option. She and her students—what of them remained, plus Kyoko and Chihiro—were now departing from the airport. She did a headcount in the safest way possible: putting her hand on each person's head.
"Sonia, Teruteru, Kazuichi, Hajime, Mikan, Akane, Miss Kirigiri, Chihiro, and Ryota. Good. We're all still here."
"What now?" Chihiro asked.
"I believe you said you were securing us a ride, Miss Yukizome," Kyoko stated, finger upon her cheek.
"Yes. Follow me," Yukizome stated, escorting her juniors to the lowest level of the airport where a stretch limo had pulled up and a tall, dashing, familiar head of silver hair was standing nearby with the words "Chisa Yukizome" written on it in English in crisp, unmistakable legislation.
"Kyosuke!" Chisa waved happily and ran over to her crush to give him a big hug.
Munakata pat her on the back. "It's good to see you too, Chisa."
"Oh my, Miss Yukizome is so bold," Sonia said. "Such romance."
Yukizome froze, realizing what she was doing in front of her students. She let go of Munakata, spun around and cleared her throat. "Class, this is um…my classmate and fellow alumni, Kyosuke Munakata. He was the Student Council President at Hope's Peak."
"Who you made lunch for…a lot," Munakata said with a wry smile.
"Kyosuke! They don't need to know that."
"Chisa, you can hardly make the situation worse after that hello hug."
Yukizome folded her arms and pouted, cheeks looking a squirrel's.
"Chisa, don't frown," Munakata said calmly, trying not to laugh. "You'll get wrinkles."
Hajime, eager to move things along, walked forward and bowed to Munakata, especially since he owed this man. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Munakata. I'm Hajime Hinata. I got transferred because of you."
"So, you're Hajime," Munakata said, returning a shallower bow. "Good to finally meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances."
"Same," Hajime said sternly.
With the air cleared a bit and the others finding Munakata a bit more approachable, Teruteru decided to open his mouth. "Say, that's an awfully big sword you're carrying. I like a man in uniform."
Munakata clicked the blade he was carrying out of it's sheathe with a flick of his thumb. "Is that how you talk to your superiors?" He glared at Teruteru the way an army sergeant would glare at a new recruit.
"N-no sir. Not at all, sir," Teruteru said, sweating profusely, taking two steps back.
"Good," Munakata said with a satisfied smile. He looked at Kyoko. "And you must be the genius detective herself, Kyoko Kirigiri."
"I don't believe we've met," Kyoko stated. "You know who I am just from appearance?"
"The Headmaster has a few pictures of you in his office. You're much younger in them though."
Kyoko looked visibly agitated at being associated to her father. Before Munakata could say something, she shut the conversation down with. "Personal matters aside, I assume you'll be driving us today."
"Yes, right to the museum. That was Chisa's request. I'm afraid you're on your own after that though. I need to get back to the shelter as soon as possible." Munakata had opened one of many shelters across the country to protect people from the monster attacks. He made it his personal duty to protect the innocent.
"It's fine. I have money for an Uber," Kyoko stated. "Or we could take public transport."
"Nonsense, Kyouske would come in a hurry to pick me up no matter where he is, or what the trouble. Right?" Chisa asked, blinking innocently at her not yet boyfriend. "Doesn't my personal safety matter more to you, Kyouske?" She continued to blink, intentionally pursing her lips.
Munakata nodded firmly. "I would, but I also know you can take care of yourself."
Yukizome gave him sad puppy eyes.
Munakata sighed, fighting both a laugh and a smile. "Nothing would stop me from coming to your side if you asked, not the tallest mountain, nor the deepest depths of the ocean, nor the miles across the world."
The teens could practically see Yukizome's eyes swell with joy, and her heart sing a gorgeous melody…no…wait…that was the romantically induced squeal emanating from her closed lips.
"So, when's the wedding?" Akane asked very abruptly. "Or…wait…did you already put a baby in her?"
Both Munakata and Yukizome were taken aback by Akane's poor understanding of relationships and blunt way of asking. Yukizome started coughing into her hand.
"That was…" Hajime said, trailing off and beginning to sweat.
Munakata cleared his throat, blushing. "Our jobs as teachers as well as the distance between us has kept that unable to happen." He glanced at Yukizome awkwardly. "I suppose we should discuss this when times are better."
"Y-yes," Yukizome stuttered. "Better timing." She then laughed very forcibly and nervously.
"But…wait…I am confused. What did you mean then by the fact that you had been accustomed to aphrodisiacs the time we—"
Yukizome quickly slapped her hand over Sonia's mouth. The smile on her face was anything but friendly, even if it looked exuberant and cheerful. This was made obvious by her calm, unflinching tone. "Everyone get in car, now."
Even Kyoko was visibly shaken by this, and very little could strike fear into that woman's heart.
One by one the students piled in, Chisa taking a seat in the passenger's seat up front with Munakata. "Passenger's side on the right side? Wow, this place really is strange and different."
"You get used to it," Munakata stated. He then turned on the vehicle and started to drive. The students behind him began their own chatter, but he and Chisa were cut off from their banter through the partition that cut off the passengers from the front seats of the limo. "Interesting bunch of students you have there."
"They're not perfect, but they're my little munchkins."
"You make them sound like they're our kids. They're only three years younger than you, Chisa."
Yukizome folded her arms and pouted again. "Hey, don't be a jerk."
Munakata smiled, taking a hand off the wheel and poking her puffed cheeks. "Oh come on, I'm only teasing." He chuckled. He rubbed Yukizome's shoulder before putting his hand back on the wheel. "I really have missed you a lot, Chisa. No matter how hard I clean, I can never do it as well as you, especially the kitchen. It's a disaster."
"Well you know I'd be happy to clean anything of yours, Kyosuke," Yukizome stated and covered her innuendo with, "And of course, I'm sure you miss my bacon wrapped croquets too, right?"
Munakata let out a pleased, "Mmmmmm. I really miss your cooking, Chisa." He licked his teeth inside his lips. He smiled at her. "Perhaps you could stay a little while and we could have lunch just the two of us?"
Yukizome grasped one arm with her other hand. "I can try, Kyosuke, but…it's just…"
And there it was, the merry moment at an end. "Right, business time. I get it."
"No. No. No. I would really like to have lunch," Yukizome said, afraid Munakata was taking it the wrong way. "I promise we'll at least spend the holidays together."
Munakata sighed. That was three whole months from now.
"We'll figure it out," Yukizome said. "I promise. So then, what's the situation like here?" She asked.
"About as bad as it is over there. People are disappearing. Monsters are attacking isolated property. Sword seemed to have no effect when I tried to attack just a weak one. Whatever is controlling these things has made them real enough to affect property, but normal weapons seem to have no effect."
"Why didn't you use your duel disk?" Yukizome asked.
"…you're not serious…are you?" Munakata asked her.
"They are duel monsters. Worked just fine," Yukizome said.
"Well, I certainly have an announcement to make when I get back to the shelter," Munakata told her. "At least there's a way to fight back."
Yukizome nodded.
"So, what's the deal with this museum?"
"Supposedly it holds secrets about the person behind all of this," Yukizome stated.
"And then I suppose you're going to wag your finger angrily at him and give him a piece of your mind," Munakata chuckled.
"And my deck," Yukizome said. She glared out the front window. "Nobody messes with my students. It's a total mess right now. I've lost three of my students to this madman and even more to them and his henchmen."
Munakata rubbed her shoulder. "Hey, it'll all work out. I know you. And if you need my help for the confrontation, you know I'll be there."
Yukizome smiled. "Thank you, Kyouske."
"So, can I have the name of the dead man that's upset you?"
"His name is Dartz," Yukizome said.
"Dartz, huh? Sounds like…" There was a long pause. "I got nothing."
"Performance issues. Happens to the best of us," Yukizome teased.
As if to get her back for the innuendo, Munakata made a sharp turn that forced Yukizome to brace herself with her palms against the passenger side window. "Hey!" she pouted. "Meanie."
Munakata could only laugh. "Just sit tight," Munakata told her, rubbing her knee over her skirt. "I'll get you all there in one piece." He sighed. "Not like that'll be difficult with how barren the roads are."
"We'll fix it, Kyouske," Chisa said, putting her hand on top of his hand. "I promise."
"I know you will," Munakata said with a smile and then began driving almost in complete silence, with the muffled banter of the students in the back being the only source of noise from the limo, aside from the wind rushing past the car.
Meanwhile, in the backseat, the conversation had gone a little something like this:
After Munakata started driving, Mikan was the first to open her mouth. "Are you all right, Sonia? Any motion sickness?"
"I'm fine, Mikan. Really. Thank you for worrying about me," Sonia said with a smile.
While the others seemed to take Sonia at her word, Mikan was the only one able to tell that Sonia was really pushing herself through this whole trip. "W-well, o-okay, but if you feel even the slightest bit unwell," she said, holding her hands up like she was pleading. "You'll let me know, right?"
"Of course, Mikan. I know you'd take good care of me," Sonia smiled. Mikan smiled back.
"You really take your Ultimate Title seriously, don't you Mikan?" Chihiro asked her.
"W-well, i-it is the only thing I'm good at," Mikan said, putting a forehead against her temple. "Eheh."
Kazuichi, meanwhile, noticed Hajime staring out the back window. "Hey, you okay, pal?" Of all the students in 77-B that hadn't met Hajime at Battle City, Kazuichi had been the quickest to warm up to the new classmate. He just felt a kindred spirit within Hajime, both of them being underdogs in some variety until they got their "big chance".
"Huh?" Hajime had been spacing out so much he hadn't even realized Kazuichi was even talking to him. "Sorry," he apologized, looking nervous. "I was…thinking."
"Hey, man, no need to defend yourself to me," Kazuichi said, looking apprehensive. "This whole situation is totally screwed up, yeah?"
"Yeah," Hajime nodded, looking solemn.
"And a fat load of use I'm gonna be," Kazuichi said, taking the piss out of himself. "I couldn't even make it to Battle City. At least you're a finalist. You have a way better chance of helping Chiaki than I do of helping Miss Sonia. Some guys get all the luck. They get the girl of their dreams, and they have awesome skills."
"C-come on, do I really seem like that?" Hajime asked. "I'm just a guy. Besides, you're useful in your own way. If this car breaks down, you'd be the only one who could fix it. Transport's key if we're going to rescue our friends."
Kazuichi grinned, licking his front teeth. "Heh. I guess you're right. I'll be more useful than Teruteru at least. Away from his stove and cooking utensils, what good is he?"
"Hey, come on, he's hard to handle, but you don't have to go that far."
Kazuichi sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, just…doing my best to cope." He then started to feel woozy. "Oh god…"
"You okay?"
"Mikan…medicine…" Kazuichi said, pulling down on his beanie.
"Ah. Of course!" Mikan exclaimed and scooted over to Kazuichi with a pill bottle. It contained instant relief to motion sickness. Kazuichi was a frequent victim to its ill wills.
"Are you okay? Do you want to use my lap as a pillow?" Mikan volunteered.
"That's…um…" Kazuichi thought about this for a minute. His head on a cute girl's lap. That would be stellar. However, he thought about how that would look to Miss Sonia. He was going to ask for her permission, only to notice her all the way at the far side of the limo as close to Yukizome and Munakata as humanly possible. He sighed. "No. I'm good." He tilted his head back against the back seat of the car.
"U-um, s-statistically speaking, motion sickness is more aggravated if you're at the far back of a multi-row vehicle," Mikan said. "M-Miss Kirigiri, please, switch with Kazuichi. I don't want him to puke."
"At the next red light," Kyoko said, being safety conscious.
The very next moment the car came to a complete stop, Kyoko and Kazuichi performed an in-vehicle version of a Chinese Fire Drill, with Kyoko now at the back of the vehicle, Kazuichi in the middle, head leaned in Sonia's direction, but she had plenty of space between him and her as he lay in a fetal position.
"Does anyone have a snack. I'm stuffed."
"You ate two whole meals on the plane as well as three packages of peanuts and a dozen doughnuts at the airport…and you're still hungry?" Hajime asked.
"Sweets are comforting," Ryota said and handed Akane a muffin from his bag he'd bought at the local doughnut stall at the airport. Akane devoured it quickly and then let out a very inelegant belch, crumbs and drool all over her lips.
Kyoko grimaced. The Ultimates ahead of her year were certainly a…strange bunch.
"Miss Kirigiri," Sonia said. "Do you have any idea what we might find at the museum we are going to?"
"Definitely more than we could find in Japan, but I know how vague and cryptic of an answer that is," Kyoko said.
"Think we'll find out about any Atlantean mating rituals?" Teruteru asked with great intrigue.
"No." Kyoko's answer was blunt and without hesitation and also with her signature icy glare attached to it. It was the kind of glare that made Teruteru briefly sorry for ever being born.
Unable to contain his anxiety, Hajime just began shuffling his deck at inhuman speeds.
"Are you okay, Hajime?" Mikan asked.
"I'm just…feeling really anxious, you know? Half our class is missing," He said, sweating bullets. "We don't have the glue holding us together that was Chiaki, or the innocent, loud antics from Ibuki. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Nagito's bizarrely creepy talks about hope." He sighed. "You never really know what you have until it all just…" he said as he calmly put his deck away, "Fades away."
"Apprehension due to your inactivity and powerlessness is just going to make things worse for your state of mind. Take a deep breath and steel your nerves," Kyoko advised.
"Talking from experience?" Ryota asked.
"I am," Kyoko responded. "The things I've seen would shock and terrify you all."
At the mention of the words "shock and terrify", Sonia started having another panic attack. Mikan quickly shuffled over to her. The blonde's hands were around her shoulders and she was acting like a naked person out in the cold trying to warm themselves up, erratic breathing included.
"E-easy, Sonia. Marik isn't here. It's just us, we're all in the car together. No one's going to hurt you."
Sonia's breathing calmed down and her eyes stopped looking shrunken in. The moment passed and her vision stopped blurring.
"Are you okay? Should I ask Mr. Munakata to stop the car?" Mikan wanted to know.
"N-no…I-I'm fine…R-Really…" Sonia said, her hand still trembling as it gripped her skirt.
As the car rolled to a stop, Hajime crossed the limo and sat down next to Sonia, putting his hand on the back of her hand, much to Kazuichi's amazement that Hajime not only had the balls to get that close, but also that Sonia let him.
"We're all here to support you, Sonia. I know what you're doing can't be easy." Hajime looked away from her. "I can't imagine what it is you went through…and what Chiaki is currently going through. It's been days! Days that I haven't heard her laugh or seen her smile!" He gripped Sonia's hand firmly and, in turn, this was returned by her own, strong grip.
"I know," she said, holding back tears, though a few had already escaped. Hajime looked at her and into her kind blue eyes. "Chiaki, Mahiru, Fuyuhiko, Ibuki and Peko are precious to all of us. I'm silly to compare my one day of torture to what must be multiple days for them."
"That's…that's not how I meant it at all. I was just…I was just trying to encourage you. If I had been what you'd been through…I couldn't be nearly as brave as you're being now."
Sonia smiled. "Thank you, Hajime. But I will be fine." She held up Hajime's hand. "Because I have a wonderful friend like you supporting me." She held up Mikan's hand with her other hand. "And Mikan as well."
"With the way you all support each other so readily, I'd think you'd known each other for years, not just a few months," Kyoko said with a smile.
"That's all thanks to Miss Yukizome," Kazuichi said, beaming with pride for their teacher. "She brought us together and hasn't let us separate. She's a really awesome teacher, probably the greatest teacher any of us have ever had."
"Greatest Teacher Yukizome!" Sonia cheered.
"Now that's an anime I'd love to make," Ryota stated.
Kyoko couldn't help but smile. "I…envy you all a little."
"You do?" Hajime asked.
Kyoko nodded. "My grandfather instructed me never to take sides because the truth has no bias. I have no friends, barely any family. There's only me and my work."
"That's terrible!" Chihiro exclaimed. "You should have a little fun."
"Fun…that's such an alien concept to someone like me. Besides, unlike the rest of all of you, I'm on the clock, in a manner of speaking. This is a job, and I will treat it as such."
"You're really strong, Kyoko," Mikan said.
"Huh? Strong?" Kyoko was taken a bit aback. She'd been called many things, strong was never one of them.
"You can stand up all by yourself and you don't care if you're alone. That's…really admirable," Mikan said, hugging her arms to her bust. "I wish I could do that."
"Everyone has their own way of living. In basic philosophy, it is taught that no one's way of thinking or behaving is superior to anyone else's. It is only how that behavior and thought process affects the world around them and the culture that person inhabits that labels like amoral and wrong are thrown around."
Kyoko then began to drone on in a heavy philosophical lesson for the next twenty minutes. Akane zoned out and fell asleep and Teruteru spent the entirety of the mini-lecture admiring the detective's curves. However, the rest of the members of class 77-B, and Chihiro, found her lecture fascinating.
"You should be a teacher if the detective work doesn't pan out," Chihiro said with a smile, intending it as a compliment.
Kyoko smiled, but did not laugh. "I suppose it is a rather impeccable hobby to have, studying philosophy, I mean." It was then that she noticed the car had come to a dead stop and the engine seemed to have been shut off. "We've arrived."
The group got out of the car to the sidewalk to which the museum containing the Atlantean Exhibit was being displayed. Munakata leaned over to the passenger side to talk to Chisa as her students marveled at the gigantic building.
"If you need me, call me," Munakata said. "I'll do my best to help."
Making sure that none of the others were watching, and the streets pretty much empty otherwise, Yukizome leaned down and pecked Munakata on the cheek, blushing as she pulled her head out of the car window, fiddling with her thumbs into her apron as she tented her fingers over her waist. "Good luck, Kyouske."
"Chisa…promise me that you'll do your best to stay safe."
Chisa smiled. "I promise," she said, but she knew that wasn't the truth. However, she knew saying "No promises" was not the greatest of ideas.
Satisfied, and with a smile, Kyouske drove off, Yukizome waving to the back of the limo until the car disappeared from view. She turned and saw her students already walking up the staircase to the entrance.
The museum was open for business, but barely anyone was around. Yukizome was able to get everyone tickets, paying the bill to Hope's Peak Academy directly, and the group went inside to check out the Atlantean exhibit.
The exhibit was phenomenal and gigantic. Things that would make the tiny little show room in Domino's Ancient History Museum, were here in New York on full display.
"Whoaaaaaaaa," Kazuichi said. "Check it out."
Yukizome cleared her throat, stood over to one side and said, "Okay, class. Let's all stick together. Don't wander off and let's all see the exhibit together."
"Yes, Miss Yukizome," her students said like perfectly trained chimpanzees. Even Chihiro got in on it. Only Kyoko was quiet, prompting a stare from Yukizome.
She cleared her throat. "Yes, Miss Yukizome."
Yukizome smiled brightly and then escorted her class around the exhibit. The exhibit started with basic Atlantean tools and carvings talking about old Atlantean folklore. Basic stuff, kind of a snooze fest, especially for someone like Akane.
Then it got weird. As the exhibit continued, familiar shapes started to appear: Dark Magician Girl, Summoned Skull, Seiaryu, Hyozanryu, Luster Dragon, Zombie Warrior, Launcher Spider, Giant Soldier of Stone, the etchings went on and on.
"Duel Monsters, just like at the Japanese exhibit," Kyoko stated.
"But there are more of them, and the carvings are more complete," Sonia pointed out.
"Hey, look over here," Chihiro said, waving the group over. He showed the group a deck of playing cards, but they were made of stone. "These are Duel Monsters cards."
Kyoko held out her glove. "May I?"
Chihiro handed Kyoko the deck of green cards as she examined them thoroughly, taking out a magnifying glass and even licking the dusty residue rubbing off on her fingers as she handled the artifacts.
"Does it taste good?" Akane asked.
"Must you always think about food?" Kazuichi asked her.
"Not particularly," Kyoko responded. "It's…definitely salty though. I don't have the machine with me, but I'd want a sample of this for proper carbon dating."
Yukizome tapped the museum display confirming the carbon dating research that this was a 10,000-year-old deck.
Kyoko sheepishly put the deck back in the openable display case.
"But I thought Duel Monsters originated in Ancient Egypt," Chihiro said.
"We must face the very likely fact that this is not the case," Kyoko said. "In fact, I've found research that duel monsters was never even regulated to just Egypt. There are signs of it existing in Ancient Babylon, Mesopotamia, the Mayans, and Assyria."
"That's crazy. Didn't the Ancient Egyptians invent the game?" Hajime asked.
Kyoko shook her head. "No. I believe it may have been a time period when the game was widely used, but I do not believe it was the only civilization to understand the concept. Of course," Kyoko said, tucking a lock of head behind her ear, "I have nothing concrete to support my theory. It's all just theory crafting based on a few things too similar in nature to be pure coincidence. But…that's neither here nor there. We're here to uncover information on Dartz."
Fortunately for all involved, the next part of the exhibit showed artifacts and history pertaining to the royal lineage of the Atlantean Royal Family. It was a historic gold mine. But the strange part was when the group found a recreation of a stained-glass window featuring a very familiar looking man with turquoise hair.
"That's him. That's the man in charge of Paradius!" Kyoko exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Chihiro asked.
Kyoko took out her laptop and opened a document she'd saved on Paradius.
"Whoa, it does resemble him a lot," Kazuichi remarked.
Yukizome looked at the summary of the museum piece. "It says here that this man is the King of Atlantis."
"The King of Atlantis?" Sonia echoed. "But how?"
The resemblance to the portrait near the stained-glass window and Kyoko's modern day photo of the head of Paradius looked far too similar to be coincidence.
"Does that mean the current Dartz is some sort of reincarnation or a descendant of the old one?" Hajime wondered, his face reflecting pure surprise.
"Can't they just be the same person?" Akane asked.
"Um, Akane. People don't live that long," Kazuichi pointed out.
"Reincarnation or not, Dartz could devour my soul any day," Teruteru said.
Everyone thought it was best to ignore the portly chef's comment.
Yukizome clapped her hands together. "Okay!" she exclaimed. "I say we start reading this part of the exhibit top to bottom. We found our man. Now let's see what we can find out about him."
Nodding, her students, Kyoko, and Chihiro, teamed up with her to read the exhibit top to bottom to try and get any and all information they could about Dartz. While they found nothing crucial at first…at least the exhibit was educational about Atlantean history.
It was Ryota who made the first startling discovery. "Miss Yukizome, could you come over here?" He waved her over.
"What is it, Ryota?"
Ryota pointed to a portrait of a young woman with blue eyes and brown hair sitting on a throne next to a man that appeared to Dartz. The woman's hairstyle almost mirrored Yukizome's…the same for her figure.
"Doesn't this woman remind you of you any, Miss Yukizome?"
Yukizome studied the woman carefully and red the caption for the picture. "Ay…oh…na?" she said, doing her best to pronounce. "Iona, the Queen of Atlantis." She studied the image. "I guess she looks a bit like me," she said, hands on her hips. "I mean…maybe…if you squint."
"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder," Kazuichi stated, now looking at the painting and the remarkable resemblance to Yukizome.
"You can say that again," Hajime said to him.
Suddenly, an incredibly annoying voice pierced the air. "Pfft, don't squint too hard. You'll get premature wrinkles."
Hajime and Kazuichi both clenched their fists and spun around to see Hiyoko Saionji, now garbed in an Atlantean patterned, sea green kimono, standing behind all of them.
"Hiyoko!" Hajime shouted. Oh had he been waiting to teach her a lesson. However, before he could even begin to ready his duel disk, Yukizome was already walking briskly across the room.
She stood in front of Hiyoko and crouched a little to come to Hiyoko's level. "Hiyoko. Sweetie. I promise I'll forgive you if you stop being evil and apologize to everyone." Yukizome's proposal was genuine and sincere.
This made it all the shocking when Hiyoko flagrantly slapped her across the face. She immediately then put distance between her and Yukizome. Everyone was shocked. The action was like it was done in slow motion. No one knew how to take this, not even Akane or Hajime. Sure, Hiyoko could be a real bitch at times, but she usually drew the line at physical harassment. Now, she hadn't just crossed that line, she'd made Yukizome, someone who'd been nothing, but kind and warmhearted to her, a first victim of that crossed line.
The person the most shocked of all was Yukizome. She stood up and put a hand on her cheek. The pain itself didn't sting. What stung the most was how terribly far Hiyoko seemed. Even if Yukizome could still physically cross the distance, Hiyoko, emotionally, seemed like she was lightyears away.
"I hate you!" she shouted. "Always parading around like you're a mom, or this goody two shoes innocent representation of the 1950s. It drives me nuts! It's always "apologize for this", Hiyoko. "I'll forgive you if you do this for me", Hiyoko. And "Beg me for that", Hiyoko. Well I've had it. I'm done apologizing and I'm done trying to coddle to those squishy lumps of gray matter you call brains. I'm done being everybody's doormat and scum sucking bottom feeder. My family! My friends! This world! Nobody's on my side! Mahiru, and even my daddy, they betrayed me!"
"Hiyoko, please," Yukizome pleaded.
"NO! Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses! You're either unconditionally with me, or you're against me! Those are the rules!" Hiyoko shouted. She was completely uncontrollable. "I don't need anyone as long as I have Father Dartz! He understands me!"
"She's been indoctrinated."
Hajime and Chihiro looked at Kyoko.
"Once the Orichalcos sinks itself into your mind, everything you are becomes twisted and distorted to become devoted to it in a way that makes you a shade of your former self."
"I dunno, this seems pretty part for the course for Hiyoko on a bad day."
"No! I refuse to believe it! Even if Hiyoko had a foul mouth and a poor attitude, she still just wanted to get along with everyone," Sonia said.
"S-Sonia's right. I've never seen Hiyoko like this at all," Mikan sniffed. "Even at her worst, she was never this nasty."
"I'm done being the omega bitch!" Hiyoko continued to shout. "Today, I'm the Alpha Female! And you're all going to see what it's like to stand at the top! When I'm done, you're all going to be begging to be the ones to lick my feet and kiss my ass!"
"Miss Yukizome, I—"
Yukizome cut Hajime off as she held up her arm with her duel disk attached to it. "Hajime. I know she's your peer, but Hiyoko is my student. I will be the one to discipline her." Her duel disk activated.
"Discipline? Me? Hah! You're not qualified to teach swamp algae how to have sex."
"Swamp algae is a fungus and therefore reproduces asexually, but that may have been par for your insult," Yukizome responded, unfazed by Hiyoko's unbridled nastiness. "Brace yourself, Hiyoko. This will be…a harsh lesson."
"Let's Duel!" Hiyoko and Yukizome exclaimed together.
"Since I'm the Queen here, I'll go first," Hiyoko said, drawing the top card of her deck. "And what better way to begin the duel, than with the Seal of Orichalcos!"
A bright green light descended from the ceiling and trapped Hiyoko and Yukizome inside.
"Your unholy seal doesn't scare me," Yukizome said. "I beat it once, and I'll do it again."
"Sure you will," Hiyoko said sarcastically. "You think you're hot shit cause you beat Gurimo. That old fart was one of the most pitiful members of our little group. I could've beaten him with my eyes closed," Hiyoko bragged.
"How about you stop running your mouth and start playing some cards," Yukizome bit back.
"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm playing. I'm playing." Hiyoko briefly looked at her hand. She knew what to do almost in an instant.
"I summon Agent of Creation - Venus!" A woman with long, blonde hair appeared, dressed in a fancy green and yellow dress with bright, golden wings and 3 orbs floating around her body. One was purple. One was blue and one was red. "Next, by giving up 1500 life points," Hiyoko said as her life points fell to 2,500, I can summon three of these: Mystic Shine Ball! And they all come directly from my deck!"
"Whoa, four monsters in one turn?" Akane gasped.
HIyoko now had a monster with 1,600 attack points and 3 with 500.
"And don't forget, thanks to the effect of the Seal of Orichalcos, all of my monsters gain 500 attack points." Hiyoko's Mystic Shine balls increased in power to 1,000 and her Agent of Creation Venus increased to 2,100.
"Not good," Hajime swallowed.
"And it's going to get even worse," Hiyoko said, holding up a spell card. "With Supremacy Berry, I can gain 2,000 life points because my life points are lower than Miss Yukizome's!" Hiyoko's life points surged to 4,500. She giggled. "It's your turn, Miss Yukizome." Hiyoko laughed. "Go ahead and flail about as my monsters tear you to complete shreds. Even if you destroy one Mystic Shine Ball, no monster in your hand could possibly hold out against my powerful first turn Venus!"
"Tch, we'll see about that!" Yukizome exclaimed. Hiyoko had an unfortunate point though. Destroying a Mystic Shine Ball was the best possible strategy at the moment, but there was no telling how hard Yukizome would get hit on Hiyoko's turn. Pressured, Yukizome looked at her hand. If she was going to take damage anyway, she may as well minimize the injury.
"I summon to the field, Shining Angel!" Yukizome declared as a male fairy with a white shirt and shorts with large orange wings appeared. It had 1,400 attack points and 900 defense points.
"Surely she must have stronger monsters in her hand," Kyoko stated.
"Maybe, but Shining Angel is a good call," Ryota said. "You'll see."
"Shining Angel!" Yukizome declared. "Destroy Mystic Shine Ball with Shining Blast!"
Shining Angel created an orb of orange light energy above its head and threw it at Mystic Shine Ball, blowing it up. Hiyoko remained unfazed as her life points were now at 4,100.
"Next, I set one card face-down onto the field," Yukizome stated. "It's your turn, Hiyoko."
Hiyoko laughed. "I told you Gurimo was weak compared to me. You think you can stop me with such an obvious strategy?" Hiyoko asked, glaring. Yukizome made no response. She just stared at Hiyoko. "Well, whatever. Not like I care if you want to commit suicide or not," she snorted. "My draw." She pulled the top card of her deck to her hand. "And now, I sacrifice two Mystic Shine Balls to play Splendid Venus!"
A mighty, orange armored angel appeared with four, gorgeous white wings. It carried an orange scepter in its left hand. It had 2,800 attack points and 2,400 defense points.
"And because the Seal of Orichalcos is in play," Hiyoko said, snapping her fingers commandingly, "More attack points please."
Splendid Venus' attack points increased to 3,300.
Hiyoko then plucked a card from her hand. "And now, I activate Bait Doll!"
Mikan's heart sank. This was the exact strategy she used to defeat Mahiru. And if she had the math right… "MISS YUKIZOME!"
Bait Doll revealed Yukizome's face-down card, Mirror Force. Since it was not the Battle Phase yet, the card was destroyed.
"As I predicted," Hiyoko stated. "Now! Splendid Venus, attack! Cleansing Light Flash!"
Twirling its scepter round and round, Splendid Venus then held its scepter horizontally and a bright flash eradicated Yukizome's Shining Angel. The damage was severe. Yukizome's life points fell all the way to 2,100.
"Perfect," Hiyoko smirked. "Agent of Creation – Venus! Attack and wipe her out! Three Orbs Attack!"
"Sorry, but I'm still in this game!" Yukizome shouted. "Since Shining Angel was destroyed by battle, I get to summon a new monster directly from my deck! Say hello to another Shining Angel!"
Another Shining Angel showed up where the previous one had been.
"I don't understand, why did she play that?" Mikan asked, worried. "She's still going to lose life points."
"Cost effectiveness," Ryota explained. "By forcing Hiyoko to attack her monsters, she can't attack directly and, even if Yukizome had played a powerful monster like, say, Gemini Elf, she would have fewer life points than by doing it this way, and, since Shining Angel's effect is not once per turn, she gets to keep her monster in play."
Akane stuck her finger in her ear like she was digging wax out of it. "I don't really get it, but it at least means Yukizome hasn't lost yet…right?" she asked timidly.
"Yeah, Miss Yukizome is still in this game," Hajime nodded firmly.
Hiyoko growled. "Agent of Creation – Venus! Destroy Shining Angel now!"
Venus attacked Yukizome's monster with its three orbs, shattering it and dealing 700 points of damage to Yukizome, bringing her down to only 1,400 life points. But, of course, another one quickly took its place.
Hiyoko looked at her hand. She had 3 cards left in it. "My turn is over," she declared.
"My turn then," Yukizome said and drew the top card of her deck. She nodded to herself. She had just the cards she needed for a firm counterattack.
"I sacrifice Shining Angel in order to play Magna Slash Dragon!"
A big green dragon with large saber-like fins on its arms and spikes going down the length of its body from its nose to its tail stormed onto the field, crouching low. It had 2,400 attack points and 1,200 defense points.
Hiyoko started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Yukizome asked.
"You are because you didn't take Splendid Venus' special ability into account. All non-fairy monsters lose 500 attack and defense points."
"N-no!" Yukizome exclaimed, jolting back as Magna Slash Dragon became a monster with only 1,900 attack points and 700 defense points. She looked at her hand. She had 4 cards left. So much for the easy way out of this. I had hoped to use this as a counterattack, but now I have no choice. "Magna Slash Dragon, attack!" She declared pointing to Splendid Venus.
Magna Slash Dragon roared as it charged forward.
"Has Miss Yukizome lost it?" Kazuichi shouted.
"Sh-she must have some sort of plan…right?" Hajime asked.
"Splendid Venus!" Hiyoko shouted. "Annihilate it with Cleansing Light Flash!"
In the flash of the bright light, no one saw Miss Yukizome discard a card from her hand. This led to Hiyoko receiving the mother of all surprises when Magna Slash Dragon tore through the blinding light and palmed its claw into her face, causing her to slam into the wall of the Seal of Orichalcos. Hiyoko the ground hard on her flat chest. Her life points suddenly took a sharp decrease down to 2,200.
Hiyoko got to her feet. "Wh-what the…h-how is your monster still standing? What happened?"
Yukizome pressed a button on her duel disk and showed a monster off to Hiyoko. "I used this," Yukizome said, holding up a fairy type monster with light shining from its hands. "It's called Honest. See, whenever a light monster I control battles an opponent's monster, I can discard him from my hand in order to increase my monster's attack power by the power of the monster its battling during that battle only."
Magna Slash Dragon let out a hissing roar, showing that its attack power was now 2,400 given that the battle had ended.
"And since Splendid Venus is gone from the field, my monster regains its original attack power."
Hiyoko growled.
"It's your move, Hiyoko," Yukizome said, looking at the cards in her hand.
"Grr, fine!" Hiyoko snapped and drew the top card of her deck. She looked at the options she had at her disposal. "I sacrifice Agent of Creation – Venus, in order to Summon Agent of Judgment – Saturn!" In place of Venus, a purple fairy with graceful purple wings, and wearing a purple and white dress appeared. It had 2,400 attack points and 0 defense points. "And thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos, my monster is stronger than yours!" The Seal of Orichalcos emblem glowed on Saturn's head as its attack points increased to 2,900. "Saturn! Attack! Rings of Destruction!"
By releasing rings of purple energy from the space between its hands of its tented fingers, Saturn's energy waves slammed into Magna Slash Dragon repeatedly and destroyed it, bringing Yukizome's life points down to only 900.
"Let's see you fight back now!" Hiyoko goaded.
Yukizome smirked. "Gladly. I draw!" She now had four cards in her hand. "And now, I'll activate Monster Reincarnation!" She declared. She put a card from her hand into the graveyard. "By discarding 1 card from my hand, I can bring an old friend back to it." She showed off Honest to Hiyoko.
"Aw, come on!" Hiyoko complained.
"Next, I'll play my last Shining Fairy on the field!" Yukizome declared. "And I'll use him to attack your Agent of Judgment – Saturn!"
Shining Fairy prepared to attack.
"And I'll power him up with the blessing of Honest!" Yukizome shouted.
Shining Fairy's orange ball of light energy increased by a tremendous size and then it was used to completely blow up Hiyoko's monster, bringing her life points all the way down to 800, 100 less than Yukizome's.
"That ends my turn!" Yukizome declared, holding only a single card in her hand. With no monsters on the field, Hiyoko would have to start from scratch.
"My move," she declared, drawing the top card of her deck. "And I summon to the field my Ebon Magician Curran!" An adorable little girl with a black bunny hat, carrying a whip appeared on the battlefield. She had 1200 attack points and 0 defense points.
"Aw, it's cute!" Chihiro exclaimed. He saw the others giving him a strange look and did his best to disappear behind Kyoko.
"Thanks to the power of the Seal of Orichalcos," Hiyoko said, "My monster gains 500 more attack points, making it stronger than Shining Angel!" Curran now had 1700 attack points.
"Now, Curran! Attack!" Hiyoko shouted.
Unfurling her whip, Curran lashed at Shining Angel, destroying it and bringing Yukizome's life points down to 600.
"Oh how sad for you, Miss Yukizome," Hiyoko laughed. "You get to summon a monster." She pointed at Yukizome with an arrogant grin on her face. "But thanks to Curran's special ability, if you leave two monsters on the field at the start of my turn, you'll automatically lose the duel!" Hiyoko laughed. "But I have another monster in my hand to summon next turn, so even if you don't summon a monster, I can still defeat you." Hiyoko began cackling. "I won! I won! I won! I won!"
"Not yet!" Yukizome declared. "I still have 600 life points and an extra card in my hand," she said, waving it at Hiyoko. "But first, thanks to Shining Angel, I'll be summoning Mystical Elf, in attack mode!"
Mystical Elf stood with its 800 attack points and 2000 defense points.
"Well then, I suppose its your turn. But trust me, it will be your last!" Hiyoko declared.
"Hiyoko, I am your teacher." Yukizome said as she went for the top card of her deck. "I make the rules here!"
She pulled it forcefully to her hand and looked at it. "I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards!" Yukizome declared. Tempering her will, Yukizome drew the next two cards. This would decide her strategy for the remainder of the duel. Letting out a scream of defiant willpower, Yukizome drew two cards and looked at what she'd drawn. Excellent. With this, I should just barely be able to hold out. "I switch Mystical Elf to defense mode!" Yukizome declared, swapping the position of her monster. Mystical Elf then crouched down onto its knees as a barrier shimmered with pale blue light in front of it. "Next, I'm setting one card face-down onto the field," Yukizome stated, setting a trap. "And now, I'll play one monster face-down onto the field."
"Oh my god! Are you stupid?" Hiyoko declared. "Did you not hear me earlier? Are you trying to lose on purpose?"
"If I was, could you handle taking my soul?" Yukizome asked.
"What kid of brainless question is that? I came all the way out here to challenge you, to put you in your place. Of course I can take your soul!"
"Well then," Yukizome said. She drew her thumb across her neck and yelled defiantly, "Go ahead and try! I end my turn!"
"What is Miss Yukizome thinking?" Akane asked. "She's going to lose the duel."
Her students waited on pins and needles as Hiyoko drew the top card of her deck. "Well then, game over. Ebon Magician's ability activates and you'll take 300 points of damage for each monster you control."
"That's fine," Yukizome said, because in response, "I activate this trap card: Gift of the Mystical Elf!"
"What the…?" Hiyoko gasped.
An astral projection of Mystical Elf appeared behind Yukizome as it bestowed upon her a grace of 900 extra life points. Then, Ebon Magician Curran whipped her across the chest, leaving Yukizome with only 900 life points.
"You were saying about your guaranteed victory, Hiyoko?" Yukizome asked, glaring.
"Wh-whatever! I can still beat you!" Hiyoko exclaimed.
Let's see you do just that, Yukizome thought.
"I will," Hiyoko smiled. "I summon to the field my Agent of Miracles – Jupiter!" A muscular Fairy appeared with brown and red wings and red tattoos all over its brown body. It had 1800 attack points and 1000 defense points. "And thanks to the Seal of the Orichalcos, he gets even more attack points." Jupiter's eyes glowed red and the symbol appeared as its power increased to 2,300.
Yukizome was not happy about this at all.
"And next, I equip Ebon Magician Curran with Trial of the Princesses! This magic card increases her attack power by 800 points." Curran now had a thick red aura around her and her power increased all the way to 2,500.
That's more than enough for both of her monsters to destroy mine.
"Jupiter! Curran! Attack! Destroy Miss Yukizome's monsters!"
Jupiter fired a powerful green energy blast at Miss Yukizome's face-down monster, revealing Spirit of the Harp. It only had 2,000 defense points and was instantly destroyed.
"And now, Ebon Magician Curran, attack! Destroy Miss Yukizome's monster with your whip of darkness!"
Ebon Magician Curran lashed her whip at Mystical Elf, hitting her hard enough to shatter the hologram instantaneously.
Hiyoko laughed. "You have nothing to protect you and you only have one card in your hand. "Do you really think you can beat me?"
Yukizome smiled craftily. "We shall see." I just need a monster, any summonable monster. She thought, looking at the card in her hand. She drew the top card of her deck. "I'm setting a monster!" Yukizome declared, as the face-down sideways hologram appeared. "That ends my turn."
"Pfft, I knew it. You're worthless!" Hiyoko exclaimed. "You're not qualified to teach me or anyone! This duel is over!"
Hiyoko drew the top card of her deck. "First, Ebon Magician Curran's ability activates." Hiyoko chuckled. "Not that it matters of course." Yukizome got whipped at her chest, the pain stinging as she hunched over a little, life points dropping to only 600.
"And next, I'll destroy your face-down monster with Agent of Miracles – Jupiter!"
Yukizome's face-down monster was just Milla the Temporal Magician. It was easily overrun by Jupiter.
"Wow, did you think I wouldn't call your bluff?" Hiyoko chuckled. "Curran, finish her off."
Curran's whip coiled out towards Yukizome, but it was only at that moment that Hiyoko knew…she screwed up.
A powerful flash of green light emanated from the card in Yukizome's hand as she flipped it around and the card in the artwork began to emerge. It was a woman with green hair and green clothes, carrying an elegant looking golden scepter.
"I activate the special ability of Goddess of Sweet Revenge!" Yukizome shouted. "Since she's the only card in my hand and I control no other cards, I get to destroy all of yours."
"N-no!" Hiyoko shouted as a flash of green light wiped her field clean.
"And that's not all," Yukizome said. "I'm then allowed to special summon any monster I choose from my deck. And the card I choose is Guardian Angel Joan!" A beautiful angelic woman with short orange hair, golden wings and a white dress stood upon the battlefield. She had 2,800 attack points and 2,000 defense points. "It's game over, Hiyoko," Yukizome told her. "Admit defeat!"
Hiyoko's head hung towards the ground.
"Hiyoko, it's okay. Do you need to cry? Come on, we can call this whole thing off."
However, Hiyoko didn't cry. Instead, she laughed. "You really are an IDIOT!"
"Huh?" Yukizome wasn't sure why Hiyoko was acting so smug.
"Did you really think I'd walk blindly into your Goddess of Sweet Revenge's special ability. I watched your duel with Gurmio, you fugly barf hog! I know all about it and its special ability. I was waiting for you to use it!" Hiyoko held up two cards in her hand. "So that I could completely annihilate any hope of winning you had left!" She activated two magic cards. "I activate Monster Reborn! This will allow me to bring Splendid Venus back from the graveyard!"
Saturn stood upon the battlefield with its mighty 3,300 Orichalcos boosted attack points.
Yukizome's blood ran cold when she saw the other magic card: Fissure.
"You worked so hard to get one monster up," Hiyoko laughed. "And now it's gone!"
A ravine opened and swallowed up Yukizome's monster, leaving her completely defenseless.
"Just give up already!" Hiyoko complained. "You don't have anything to protect you and you have no cards in your hand. This duel is over!"
Yukizome stood frozen in fear. Hiyoko wasn't wrong about that at all. Splendid Venus was stronger than the Mad Flame Kaiju sitting in her graveyard. Even if she somehow drew Monster Reborn, she wouldn't be able to destroy Splendid Venus, and there wasn't a single card in her deck that could overpower such overwhelming force without the power of Honest.
What…what do I do? Yukizome wondered as her hand gingerly hovered over her deck. My students… she looked at the others behind her. Kyouske… the image of her crush appeared in her mind. Please… Yukizome's hand hit the top card of her deck. Lend me your strength!
As Yukizome began to draw the top card of her deck, a white light emanated from her duel disk. And not just her duel disk, but Hajime's as well, since his deck was already loaded.
Suddenly, he and Yukizome found themselves in an ancient, polished temple. In front of them stood a massive ice sculpture of a dragon. Yukizome could neither see nor hear Hajime, nor could she see nor hear Yugi, Joey and Kaiba all visibly watching her.
"My Queen, you have returned."
"What? Queen?" Yukizome was taken aback by the voice calling out to her.
"So many years have passed. I thought you would never reincarnate. Please! Free your past self from the ice! Beholden to the power of your cursed draconic form!"
Yukizome stepped towards the sword embedded deep in the wing of the dragon sculpture in front of her. Her head pulsed like she was at a loud rock concert, but no music was playing.
When Yukizome grabbed the sword, a vision played out in her mind. It was too fast to comprehend, but she could see images of a great war, four knights gathered around her, a gremlin doppelganger attempting to kill her. No, not her, but Iona, the Queen of Atlantis.
As Yukizome's vision returned to seeing the sword before her and the dragon to her right, she seemed to understand what exactly was occurring. Clenching the sword tightly, she prepared to draw it out. "With this gift of knowledge…" She pulled on the sword, yanking it out slowly with tremendous effort. "I SET YOU FREE!"
And like that, the last dragon had finally been called upon, but not just any dragon, but Iona herself, the Queen of Atlantis. And Yukizome could feel the kinship between her and this dragon. She was not Iona, but she could feel Iona's spirit coursing within her. Yes, the visions made sense. The war fought 10,000 years ago had never truly ended. And now, in the present, the final battle, to destroy the power of the Orichalcos once and for all, would be fought. And she, along with her utmost loyal knights, would be the deliverance of humanity.
As the dragon roared, its body obscured by the bright flashes of white light surrounding it, Yukizome could feel herself being tugged back to her reality. In her hand, she held but a single card: The Wing of Iona.
"Hiyoko…I really do treasure you as my student. That's why…I won't allow your soul to be taken today!" Yukizome shouted as she placed the card in her hand on the duel disk. "I summon the Wing of Iona!"
A gigantic pink dragon appeared on the battlefield with green eyes. Its head was rather rounded with blue scales trailing down from its neck and underbelly all the way towards the tip of its salamander-like tail. Pink, curved spikes, like shark fins trailed down from its back to where the blue scales stopped. As the spikes moved from the back to the tail, they got appropriately smaller. Its bat-like wings were smoothly curved and it had royal blue eyes, as though the color itself was supposed to indicate its status as a queen in disguise. Two little spikes adorned the top of the back of its head and six more followed the plated crest that covered the back of the dragon's head. But that was nothing compared to the sharp teeth in the dragon's maw as it stared hungrily at Hiyoko. Its form was almost a reflection of Yukizome herself: inviting and a symbol of reassurance to those who revered her, and an utter terror to those in opposition.
Unlike the other dragons, which required other cards to be considered "in play", Iona was special. It roared and beat its wings at 2,000 attack and defense points strong.
"Wh-what is that? Is that one of the five dragons?" Hiyoko asked, panicking.
"It is," Yukizome said. "And Iona is the most powerful of them all. She is the Queen of Atlantis after all. And she is quite the Wild Card. She can fuse with any monster, trap or spell card and she can do it more than once. I can even summon a monster from my deck once per turn if she has not been fused yet and I have nothing to fuse her to. However, each fusion or summon costs half of my life points. Luckily, I don't have very many to give up. "Now, by cutting my life points in half," Yukizome declared, life points going down to 300. "I summon a monster from my deck that is near and dear to my heart! I call upon Artifact Labrys!"
An all pink, female spirit, wielding a mighty golden, clockwork battle-ax appeared on the field. It had 2,300 attack points and 1,000 defense points.
"Now, at the cost of half my life points again," Yukizome said as her life points were now 150. "I fuse Labrys and Iona together in order to create a monster no one has ever seen before!"
A white tornado of light swirled around and around and brought Labrys and Iona into one being. The fusion was utterly spectacular. The spirit that had been wielding Labrys had become a full-fledged being, but not an organic being, oh no. This being was a robot whose joints and limbs were made of painted white steel. The axe had also gained an upgrade. It had gone from gold to platinum. The visor of a knight's helmet adorned the fusion's head like some kind of antique headband. And the hair it was covering was as blue as a robin's egg.
However, the transformation and the massive battle ax were not the most surprising thing about this fusion.
"4,300 attack points?!" Hiyoko squeaked as loudly as she could.
"This is the Steel Queen of Knights: Labrys! Now, prepare for the end!" Yukizome shouted. "Labrys! Attack!"
Labrys gripped her platinum axe, which seemed to glow with lightning and vibrate like it was powered by some kind of motor.
Hiyoko looked scared shitless, putting her back to the wall of the Seal.
"You're in luck," Yukizome said calmly. "Labrys' swings are so powerful and so might that, whenever she deals damage to my opponent, I can't escape unscathed. I will take half the damage you are dealt. And since you have 800 life points and I have 150 life points, it's a draw."
WHAM!
Labrys' axe slammed into Splendid Venus, annihilating it with a booming explosion of thunder and lightning.
Yukizome and Hiyoko's life points fell all the way to 0, leaving the duel as a draw and no one's soul was going to be devoured today. The Seal vanished and Hiyoko let out a breath she'd knowingly been holding.
Yukizome approached the blonde. "Hiyoko, please. I really don't want to hurt you," Yukizome said to her. "I could've ended that duel in a multitude of ways that ended in my victory, but I wanted to give you a chance. Please, Hiyoko. You're still my student and this is still your class. You don't have to do this."
Hiyoko glared at Yukizome, red in the face. She began whining under her breath and then she kicked Yukizome in the shin, spit on her apron and ran off.
"Ah, Hiyoko!" Akane called after her. However, as soon as Hiyoko turned the nearest corner, a green flash of light accompanied her. Hajime and Akane ran over to where the flash had originated from, but there was no trace of the tiny blonde.
"Dartz must've taken her back to their headquarters," Hajime said, gripping his fist.
"Hiyoko..." Yukizome seemed disappointed in herself. She thought that by ending the duel in a draw that Hiyoko would see that Yukizome didn't want to hurt her and come to her senses, but now she realized how much that was wishful thinking.
Hajime stared seriously at Kyoko. "Hey, Kyoko. Do you know where this Dartz guy is?" He asked, clenching his fist.
Kyoko nodded. "Yes, while you were all focused on the duel, I was conducting research. If we're to believe that Dartz is the same Dartz from 10,000 years ago, ridiculous as it may sound or be, then Paradius is based out of Florida. Unfortunately, it seems like the entirety of the US airlines have been shut down. Right now, the only thing running are busses and trains. "I've mapped out our route. It'll take at least a day or two to get to Florida this way, but we'll get there." She put a finger on her cheek. "Still, to think Miss Yukizome was the reincarnation of Queen Iona."
"Yeah, still wrapping my head around that one," Yukizome stated.
Akane punched her fist into her other hand. "We've got no time to lose! Lead the way, Kyoko! We've gotta get to Florida!"
"Agreed," Ryota said.
"Then let's go," Kyoko said. "Follow me."
Everyone started to head off, but Sonia was lagging behind. "Everything all right, Sonia?" Yukizome asked her.
"Are things really going to be okay?" Sonia asked. "Will we really be able to save everyone?"
Yukizome rubbed Sonia's head. "I promise, Sonia. We'll get everyone back. And Iona will help."
Sonia smiled. "Thank you, Miss Yukizome."
"I know how hard this is for you, but just having you here means a lot to me." Yukizome stared at the portrait of Iona. "Just as a Queen must care for her subjects, so too must a teacher care for her students. But no matter what kind of leader you are, CEO, President, Queen, King, Teacher, Supervisor, or even and Emperor or Empress, not only must you care for those counting on you," she smiled at Sonia, "You must also draw strength from their support as well. And all of you are my strength."
Sonia felt reassured by Yukizome's words.
"Hey! What's the hold up?" Kazuichi's voice called.
Yukizome took Sonia by the hand. "Come on, we'll all go together. As long as we're together, we can accomplish anything."
Sonia smiled. "Yes, you're right."
And with that, the remainder of Class 77-B, Chihiro Fujisaki, and Detective Kyoko Kirigiri, set their sights on Paradius in Florida. Their vigor renewed, their purpose clear, they would not let Dartz get away with this nefarious plot to destroy the world. Even if the whole world disappeared, Yukizome knew that she would continue to fight tooth and nail until the very last part of her soul's essence left her body because that was the kind of person she was.
(A/N: Oh, I loved writing this chapter. This is the kind of badassery Yukizome deserved in the original canon. And no, Iona is not something I made up. Look at the YGO wiki. There's a strange, minor resemblance between her and Yukizome. So, I decided to capitalize on it. And yes, Yukizome was always set to be the 5th dragon holder ever since I thought she looked the slightest bit like Iona. For those of you disappointed it wasn't Sonia, Sonia can barely stand up for herself right now. Even if she got a dragon, she'd still be too scared to duel. Yukizome on the other hand, is showcasing the vigor, ferocity and determination that the other four dragon holders have as well.
And for you persona fans out there, you may have noticed a couple of shout outs around the time Iona was being summoned XD. And no, Artifact Labrys is an actual card. Everything else I came up with. And yes, Iona is deliberately broken. It can continue to fuse, at the cost of life points, and it gains attack and defense equal to the exact amount of attack and defense of the monster(s) it's fusing with. Since she's the Queen, she should have the most broken ability, plus I couldn't come up with a clever 5th way to fuse. So, instead, I decided to make Iona "the wild card".
But anyway, next chapter. Whoo boy, I have been looking forward to this. We've now entered the part of the arc that will set the stage for the rest of the build up to the Tragedy—and a little bit beyond in some aspects. Clench your buttocks and hold onto your hats. This is gonna get ugly and frustrating.
Of course, until then, as always, from all of me, to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)