The second of Rio's assassins finally comes for Yumi. Or, rather, Yumi challenges her herself without hesitation. Is her confidence going to backfire against what could be her strongest opponent yet?
The next few days were fairly peaceful. Sakuya had decided it was a day off for Yumi, since burnout could happen without sufficient downtime and, frankly, she wanted to have a chance to just spend a day with her friend without focusing on training for the tournament. Hideo and Kazuhiko were on their own today to "settle their rivalry once and for all" (entirely Kazuhiko's idea), so the two were left on their own just as she wanted.
They'd decided to walk the city and see what age-appropriate fun they could get into together. Right now, that involved getting breakfast at a fast food restaurant, since they were both hungry and skipped today. Sakuya paid for them despite all the protest, mostly because Yumi only had enough money for a single order of small fries and nothing else and she wasn't about to let her friend go hungry.
"It's so big!" Yumi said in amazement, squeezing the egg, sausage, and cheese pancake sandwich between her hands.
"I had a feeling you'd like that," Sakuya chuckled. She'd gone with a much more conservative chicken and lettuce wrap, and also an order of French fries to share. "You've really never been to a restaurant like this before?"
"Nope," she said through a mouthful of food, shoving everything she could into her face as fast as possible. "We don't go to the city very often, since it's a long walk and grandma gets tired carrying stuff home. I don't usually have much money, either, and I usually spend it on Duel Monsters when I have it." She swallowed a large wad of meat and pancake, gasping loudly when it finally went down.
As much as she hated to admit it, Yumi's complete lack of class and table manners was far more endearing than it should be. "Then I should take you out more often," she said with a smile. It felt nice to be able to make her friend happy, even if it was with something as simple as food.
"Are you asking me on a date?" Yumi said, teasing.
Sakuya went red. "Of course not!" she deflected. "Fine, we won't do anything." She turned away with a pout.
"Perfect. Then I can just admire how pretty you are without interruption." It was funny because there was a part of her still shaken by her conversation with Kazuhiko the other day and it was making her question how much of a joke all this was. Damn part.
"I changed my mind!" she said quickly. "No more looking! You have to stare out the window now!" Yumi did as she was told in annoyance, though not annoyed enough to stop eating. Something caught her eye from where they sat on the upper floor of the restaurant, though. A red neon sign was hung above a doorway set into the side of the building across the street, identifying it as the On Air Club. It lacked windows, so there was no way to see inside, only piquing her curiosity more.
"What's that place?" she asked, pointing towards the sign. Sakuya turned her head to squint out the window, thinking over the name of the place. "You don't know?"
"I don't," she said, placing a finger to her chin. "Even so, I don't think it's for us. If I had to guess, it's some kind of bar. They wouldn't let kids in a place like that."
Yumi scoffed. "I bet we could get in. And if they put up a fight, we'll duel them into submission and make them let us in!"
"Yumi, that's not how things work." She patted her friend's shoulder as she slumped over in disappointment. "If it would make you happy, we can go over and check, at least."
"Really?" Yumi asked excitedly.
"Just don't get your hopes up," Sakuya said with a small laugh, amused at how quickly her moods could change.
"Let's go, then!" She shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth along with a fistful of fries, grabbing Sakuya by the hand and pulling her from her seat. They charged out of the restaurant, narrowly avoiding other patrons as they went.
Sakuya was struggling to keep up as they rounded the corner of a building to get to the right street, holding her hat on her head to keep from losing it. "Slow down!" she yelled. Her complaints went unnoticed, though, and soon enough they'd already reached the entrance to the club. "You need to warn me when you do that. I almost tripped, like, ten times."
"Sorry. I got excited." Yumi tried to laugh off her hyperactivity as Sakuya adjusted her hat. Both of them faced the door now; a sturdy wooden structure carved into eight squared segments along its surface. It felt like a little hatch would open up requesting a password should they be brave enough to knock, which Yumi was, of course.
"Hey, we want inside!" she screamed at the door, pounding continuously with her fist.
"You can't just demand things like that," Sakuya said, starting to get cold feet now that they were actually trying to make it inside this place. To their shared surprise, someone actually opened the door, the faintest bits of some kind of music drifting outside. It was an imposing man in a black blazer and sunglasses on his head, arms crossed as he looked down with suspicion at the two of them. "H-h-hello," Sakuya stuttered, forcing out a nervous laugh.
"I'll duel you!" Yumi said immediately, pulling her duel disk partway from her backpack.
"Yumi, no!" She chopped her head to quiet her. "I'm very sorry for the interruption," she said to the doorman with a bow, Yumi rubbing her head with a pout. "We were just wondering what kind of establishment this is. It looked very interesting from the sign."
"I mean, the door wasn't locked, for starters," the man said, slightly overwhelmed at the rapid fire nonsense before him. "But I think you're both a little young for a place like this. There's a park down the street you can visit." He pointed towards their usual hangout.
"I told you so," Sakuya said, sticking her nose up. "Let's go, Yumi. We'll find something else to do."
As they turned to leave, the doorman's ears perked up. "Hold on," he called to them. "Yumi? Takano Yumi?" She nodded slowly. "You should have said so before. There's actually someone who works here that's looking for you."
"There is?" she asked, immediately charmed at the idea of someone in an upscale club like this trying to get a hold of her.
Sakuya, though, was far more suspicious and was on that in a second. "Why is someone looking for my friend?" she asked bluntly, stepping in front of Yumi slightly.
"Honestly, I'm not too sure, but I think it might have something to do with Duel Monsters, you know? I heard you played Mabuchi Rio on pretty even footing not that long ago. If that's true, then good job, kid. That's pretty impressive."
"Well, I just do my best. I can't help it that I'm so amazing!" Yumi was loving every second of the praise, nearly doubled over by her bashfulness.
"I don't trust this," Sakuya said. "Come on, Yumi. We should go."
Dejectedly, she prepared to leave. "That's okay, you don't have to see anyone if you don't want to. You can still come in if you'd like. There's a live band, you can get something to eat. I know I said you were a little young, but you're still allowed in. Besides, you two seem mature for your age. I'm sure you'd fit in." He added the last bit to make up for what he realized probably sounded a bit mean earlier.
Starry eyed, Yumi looked to Sakuya for approval, hopping up and down in place. "I guess," she said reluctantly. Everything in her head was telling her this was a bad idea, but there was just no way she could say no to that face.
The door closed behind them as they entered the darkened stairwell. Everything was a velvety red color and soft, from the carpet to the walls and maybe even the ceiling. As they were led upstairs, Sakuya frowned at Yumi. "It's going to be fine," she reassured her. "What's the worst thing that could happen to us?"
"How should I order that list?" she asked. "Do you want the unabridged version or just the worst twenty?" The top of the stairs met with a wall, several pictures of adults neither of them had ever seen before hanging in frames. On their left was what appeared to be a bathroom, so nothing of interest there. The right side, however, opened up into a dimly lit club area. A bar was fixed to the side of the room close to the stairs, and beyond that they could see a pair of doors that suggested a kitchen.
The rest of the room was taken up by a number of round tables covered in lacy pink tablecloths and a few booths set into the sides of the lounge, a large stage against the back wall with a black curtain obscuring whatever may be behind it. Apparently, this place was much bigger than it first appeared outside and must have taken up more than just two floors in a single row of the buildings. It was like nothing either of them had seen before in their hometown.
The hostess came to greet the new patrons, but stopped short of speaking after seeing they were children. She looked to the doorman with an accusing glare. "It's okay, they won't cause any trouble," he assured.
The woman seemed to accept this, nodding. "Follow me, please," she instructed, leading the two girls through a sea of tables.
"Everything about this place is a trap," Sakuya said, extremely paranoid and on edge. She began pointing around the room. "That's a trap," she said about the bar. "That's a trap," she said, directing her finger at a large man holding a saxophone passing behind the curtain. "That's a trap," she said, pointing to a poultry dish someone else was eating. "That's definitely a trap." She was referring to a shifty man in a dirty overcoat reaching slowly into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade...comb, which he used to fix his hair.
"You worry too much," Yumi said, patting her shoulder. "This place is nice. They're going to play music soon, so just relax." They were given a table near the very front of the stage, a lonely microphone and stool seemingly awaiting a performance. Upon further examination, Sakuya observed a few other children there, as well, accompanied by older family members, putting her at ease if only slightly.
"Would either of you like something to drink?" a waitress said after taking over for the hostess. There was a small menu in the center of the table listing the things available to them, barring any alcohol.
With a sigh, Sakuya sat back in her chair and resigned to whatever trap was set for them by Yumi's supposed archenemy. "I'll have a cappuccino," she reluctantly ordered.
"You're allowed to drink coffee?" Yumi asked. "That's so cool! Grandma never lets me have any."
"That's probably for the best," she said in deadpan.
"They have fudge filled truffles!" she said far too loudly for the atmosphere. "I want-" she stopped herself, her smile falling a bit. "I'll just get water," she said, remembering how little money she had.
"We'll get a truffle, too," Sakuya added, the waitress nodding to go send their orders in.
"Sakuya, you can't keep buying things for me," Yumi told her. "It's not okay for you to waste all your money on me."
"It's not a waste if it makes you happy," she said with a smile. As fun as it was to see Yumi being the one getting flustered for a change, the expensive ass food here ate up just about all of the allowance she had that week. Anything more would be trouble.
Their orders arrived as the band finished setting up backstage, Sakuya and Yumi both marveling over the cat etched into the foam on top of her coffee. Yumi nearly cried when she was given her truffle, holding it in her hands like a delicious, newborn baby dusted with hazelnut. Then promptly ate it.
Sakuya barely had time to utter a "très bien" at tasting her drink before the lights dimmed further, with one individual bulb coming to full brightness above the stool and microphone. The rest of the crowd fell to a hush, Sakuya slapping a hand over Yumi's mouth to quiet her as she tried to ask what was happening without paying attention to any of the context clues. From backstage, a figure walked silently towards the beam of light, high heels clicking against the wooden stage.
She was tall and strikingly beautiful, with a regal, important air about her. She looked through the crowd with piercing, blue eyes, seeming to set on the two girls mesmerized by her at the table nearest the stage with a smile. Smoothing her ruffled, Victorian Gothic-influenced black dress, she lowered herself to the stool and took a breath. "Thank you for coming out today," she addressed the crowd, words flowing from her deep red lips like silk. "We've got a lot in store for you, so just sit back. Get comfortable. And enjoy the show." The curtains opened as the band came to life behind her.
Neither of them had thought much of jazz music before, but it quickly rose to the top as their favorite genre list within seconds of the first song. Whether it was how entranced they were by her voice alone, the fact the band played live behind her, or some combination of both, neither Yumi nor Sakuya could take their eyes off the stage the entire time. It ended far too soon (not that they were keeping track of time to tell how long she actually sang for) with a flawless rendition of One Room, All That Jazz and a chorus of applause from the entire club.
Standing, she gave a flourished bow as the crowd continued clapping. "Thank you," she said simply, brushing a strand of light brown hair that had escaped her loose, wavy bun. She walked off backstage with the band to break before the next performance.
"Wow," was all Yumi could verbalize to express her complete infatuation with the mysterious singer.
"Yeah," Sakuya agreed. They were both determined to sit there for as long as it would take to see the next show, but the doorman from before appeared behind them and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if this is interrupting, since it looks like you're having a nice time after all, but if you'd like, you can go meet the person who wanted to see you. I actually just found out myself that it was her all along." He was referring to the singer.
"Let's just do it," Sakuya said with a sigh, dragging the excitedly flapping Yumi by the straps on her overalls. Contrary to her tone, she was just as excited to meet the woman as her friend. Immediately to the right as they entered the kitchen area (not quite as large, for a change, as the doors would suggest) was another door marked as the one for backstage. The doorman, who'd decided to follow behind to make sure they didn't cause trouble for the cooks, nodded, the two entering into a wonderland of disappointment.
Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the backstage. It was just that they'd always heard of people talking about "backstage" and "behind the scenes" in what seemed to be reverence, and they kind of had higher expectations for this magical place. All it turned out to be was a little area for the musicians to relax, eat, and tune their instruments between shows. In addition, there was yet another door they were being led through marked as "MANAGEMENT".
Inside was a short man blotting his forehead with a handkerchief. He smiled happily at the two girls, doing his best to comb over his thinning hair and appear much less bald than he actually was. "Hello," he said meekly to the girls.
"I apologize!" Yumi shouted, bowing deeply and causing the man to jump back.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asked, almost like he was afraid of the twelve year old before him.
She wasn't entirely sure, to be honest. "Sorry. I kind of felt like I did something wrong." Sakuya sighed and gave her a supportive pat on the head.
The man laughed nervously, blotting his head again. "My name is Mr. Aragawa and I own this establishment. Neither of you is in trouble. It's just that someone wanted to meet you."
As if on queue, the door opened again, the singer walking through with a dazzling smile aimed at the two of them. "Hello," she said, kneeling down to be at the same level as them. "My name is Megumi, the singer for the On Air Band." Both girls were completely enamored by the woman, Sakuya's facade completely giving way without resistance.
"Yumi, Sakuya, I've heard so much about both of you. I might not look like it, but I happen to be a professional duelist, as well. I'm always excited when there's young talent in the area, so I'm very happy you both made your way here today."
"Th-thank you. Y-your show was amazing," Sakuya stuttered, blushing hard and trying to keep herself under control. "Your voice is beautiful, too." Acting like such a fool only made her blush harder.
"You're really pretty, too!" Yumi declared next to her.
This made her laugh. "You're both so sweet," she said. "I just want you to know I'm looking forward to seeing your progress in the future. Your reputations are already so prolific."
"This is the best day of my entire life," Yumi said dreamily.
Sadness crept into Megumi's eyes, however, as she stood to full height and sighed. "Especially you, Yumi. Apparently, you've already made enemies." Yumi cocked her head to the side in confusion, not understanding the meaning of what she'd just said. "You seem so nice, too. I can't imagine why anyone would dislike you."
Sakuya wasn't quite as oblivious. "I knew it! This was a trap!" She stomped her foot, grabbing Yumi and holding her close to her. "Everything in this place was a trap! Did you poison my coffee? Was that truffle really full of mud? Are you even real, or just some kind of singing hologram robot?" She poked Megumi's stomach, disproving her own theory. "Never mind that last part."
"Please, calm down," Aragawa pleaded, wiping his worry away. "I don't really understand all of this, but please don't fight. I'm sure there's a compromise to work out."
"I really am sorry," Megumi said with an apologetic smile. "I hope you can understand. I'm very curious about your skills, and there's a very large amount of money in this."
Sakuya scoffed, nearly picking Yumi up and heading for the door. "We're leaving, and we're going to tell someone about this place."
"Tell them what?" she asked, confused.
"Tell them...something!" For a moment, everyone was silent as Sakuya tried to fumble with the door and Yumi deadweighting her, still trying to figure out what was going on. Then, the three adults began to laugh. "What's funny? Why are you all laughing?"
"Sorry, sorry," Megumi said as they calmed down. "It's just...you're both so cute. Could we talk about this before you leave?" Given her inability to turn the knob successfully, Sakuya assumed they were locked in now, reluctantly taking a seat and pulling Yumi down next to her. "Thank you!"
"When we get out of here, I'm telling everyone you locked us in here against our will," Sakuya said with a scowl. The doorman simply opened the door slowly without issue, then closed it again. Apparently she'd been too panicked to remember how doors worked. Suddenly, she felt like quite an ass.
"Honestly, you two keep assuming every door in here is locked. You can leave right now if you really want. I'm not even guarding this door; I just like being a part of things. Honestly, I'm not too sure what I'm really hired for other than the aesthetic." He laughed, scratching the back of his head.
"Aw, Koichi. You're super important here." Megumi patted his arm in reassurance. "We need you around to help things run smoothly and make rowdy customers leave."
"It's true," Aragawa added. "You've have an overall positive effect on the staff, too. I ran the numbers and efficiency goes up exponentially whenever you're here. You make everyone a lot happier, if nothing else."
"Stop, you guys! That's embarrassing!" Despite his burly appearance, the doorman was clearly nothing but a marshmallow on the inside.
Sakuya fell to her knees in defeat, unable to take anymore of their casual banter in addition to her wrongness. There was nothing stopping her from still walking out the door, but the shame was overwhelming. She'd made a complete fool of herself. "You're all terrible people, and your singing is lousy." She sighed quickly after saying that. "That was a lie. Your singing is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard." She couldn't even pretend to be mean right now.
"Oh, wait! I understand now!" Yumi'd sprung back to life after working out all the details of the situation. "You were hired by the person who sent the Rafael guy to come get me, and you'll take my deck and make me say I'll never duel again if you win."
"Yes, that's true," Megumi confirmed, a bit ashamed at having to tear apart such an innocent girl.
"If that's it, let's do it." She smiled widely, dropping her backpack to the floor and digging inside to grab her duel disk.
"Yumi, what are you doing?" Sakuya asked. There was no reason for her to accept these stakes. "We can just leave. There's nothing they can do to keep us here."
Yumi scoffed, gaining an aura of thickheaded confidence. "A true duelist accepts any challenge, no matter what the stakes. And besides..." She walked to Megumi, smile widening as she looked up at her. "I'll do basically anything you ask me to. You're just so perfect in every way."
She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry we have to be enemies, Yumi."
"It's fine, it's fine," she responded with a hand wave. "It'll be okay."
"Would that be okay, then?" Megumi said, turning to Aragawa. "My friend and I could put on something a bit different from the usual show. I'm sure the crowd would enjoy it." Yumi was more concerned with excitedly telling Sakuya that she was officially Megumi's friend now than at the prospect of never being able to duel again.
"Well..." he said, blotting his forehead. "I suppose it's okay as long as you tell the band. You'll go on in ten minutes. Prepare however you have to." He turned to Yumi with a small laugh. "And don't you worry, miss. We'll make sure to compensate you for your time, as well."
"I get paid to eat chocolate, listen to music, and duel my best friend," she listed excitedly. "This really is the best day of my life."
Sakuya's expression dropped, an audible crumbling noise coming from her chest area. "But I thought I was your best friend," she said in genuine despair. It actually really hurt her to hear that designation given to someone else.
"No, you are," Yumi said with urgency, afraid Sakuya might actually start to cry. "You're best friend #1. Megumi's best friend #2. You're always #1 to me." She hugged Sakuya as tight as she could, making her pout. "Is that better?"
"A little," she grumped.
"If it's okay, I'll see you in ten minutes, best friend." Megumi chuckled, walking out to prepare her deck and talk to the band.
Sakuya glared as she left, then sighed once more. "It would be a lot easier to hate her if she didn't act so nice." Yumi emphatically agreed. "I guess we're really doing this," she said, rubbing her forehead. They exited the office to take a seat on a plush, green couch. "Do you need me to help you prepare? I could give you cards. I'll let you use my deck if you want to."
Yumi shook her head with a smile. "I'm okay. I'm just excited."
"Aren't you even a little worried? If you lose, you'll never be able to play again."
"Not really," she answered honestly. "If I lose, it just means I was never worthy to be your apprentice in the first place." This gave Sakuya pause, the full extent to how much Yumi must admire her setting in. It was a bit intimidating, frankly. She was really hoping she never did anything that would lose that admiration.
"I can't wait to start!" Yumi said, hopping up and patting the couch, thinking about how soft it was. "I hope I can make a big enough entrance. Megumi's counting on me to be able to entertain everyone, and I don't know what to do."
Sakuya smiled and took her hand to reassure her. "Just do what you always do. You're always good at entertaining everyone. Don't worry about that."
Yumi smiled in return, then pulled her hand back rather quickly with a nervous laugh. "That's all fine, but I still think I need something to help," she said. "Sakuya, get the fireworks!"
"We don't have those," she told her with a deceptively neutral expression. It was actually a little upsetting for Yumi to ruin a very genuine compliment. Her ability to draw a crowd and bring joy to others was one of the things that made her like Yumi as much as she did. She just wished she could take things more seriously sometimes.
Despite her jokes and the barrage of fake curse words after not getting pyrotechnics, Yumi appreciated the support. She just didn't know how to handle that kind of encouragement. Not to mention they were holding hands and she wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that right now. It was probably just the "hormone" things everyone was talking about.
Koichi the doorman walked up to them. "Hey, they're about to call you up. Be ready. And if you're nervous, just imagine the whole crowd is in their underwear."
Yumi scratched her head. "Why would I do that? That's creepy."
"You know," he said, suddenly flustered. "To, like, make everyone seem ridiculous. So you feel better."
"Why would seeing a bunch of strangers in their underwear make anyone less nervous?" Sakuya asked, joining the confusion. "If anything, walking into a room full of people who are basically naked would make me a lot more nervous." Yumi nodded.
Koichi took a deep breath and sighed. "Forget it. Just go onstage when they call your name." He walked off with a frown, being forced to consider the implications of that age-old technique. Didn't actually hold up too well under scrutiny.
"Don't worry about any perverts in the crowd," Sakuya said to reassure her. "Just relax and do what you always do. I know you can win." She started to brush on Yumi's overalls and fix her hair. "Do you need a cape, or something? I think you'd look good with a cape."
Yumi pushed away. "No, it's fine." She didn't really feel the need to get all presentable for something like this. The key was to be herself, and that meant random assortments of dirt and probably food on her clothes, and hair with the consistency of straw. No amount of last minute preparations would do much to change how she looked, anyway.
The last of the band filtered to their seats on the stage, lights dimming once more in the lounge. Megumi approached the girls soon after, holding out a clip-style microphone. "You'll need this so your voice is projected through the speakers," she explained, Yumi clipping it to the white t-shirt she was wearing under her overalls and putting the battery pack in her front pocket. "Don't turn it on until you come out, though." Her smile dropped a bit, a look of sympathy on her face. "You know I can't go easy on you, right?"
"I'd feel cheated if you did," she said with a smile. She raised her duel disk up to signify her determination to fight as hard as possible.
"Then I hope you give it your best. No matter what, we'll give everyone the best show they've ever seen." She ascended the small set of stairs leading to the stage, brushing past the curtain and walking calmly down it. Taking the microphone from its stand at the end of the walkway, Megumi smiled to the crowd, saying in her quiet, seductive voice, "I'm glad to see so many people here. As grateful as I am that you'd all come to listen to me sing, we'll be doing something a little different for the time being."
The crowd was a bit confused, murmurs rumbling between them as to what that could possibly mean, not even thinking that she might be poised to explain right that instant. "This may be a bit surprising to hear, I happen to be a former Regional Champion at Duel Monsters. Singing may be my calling in life, but dueling was equally important to me many years ago. A very special friend of mine has come to visit today, so I thought I'd dust off my cards and show her what a real performance match is like.
"She's a bit of a rising star all on her own, but I don't need to tell you that. Just watch her and you'll see for yourself. Help me welcome to the stage, Miss Takano Yumi." She placed the microphone back in its stand, clicking on the power pack to her own clip to activate it as quiet applause swept through the audience.
"I guess you're on," Sakuya said, biting her bottom lip. "Good luck." She gave Yumi a tight hug, releasing her quickly so she could face her opponent on the stage.
"I'll definitely win, don't you worry." Yumi nodded to Sakuya with a beaming smile. It would be a lie to say her positivity wasn't contagious. She walked up the steps, turning her microphone on as the band slowly built up to her appearance. The curtain opened and the applause intensified as she finally made her debut, waving to the crowd and making V signs with her fingers, soaking in the attention like a dry sponge dropped in the ocean.
"Yumi," Megumi said, both of them taking their places opposite each other on the stage. "Are you ready to show everyone your talent?" She leaned her head back slightly as if to say she was above her opponent, obviously playing up an antagonistic role to the young duelist.
"I'm always ready!" Yumi declared, not really concerned with acting or performing so much as shouting her mind at every opportunity. She held out her arm, the duel disk strapped to it springing to life. Swinging it into the air, she pulled her arm down to place it in front of her body in a ready position. "Let's go!"
Megumi's duel disk activated on her right arm. It was the same velvet red as the club's interior, the disk emitting in sections in front of the main body to create a half circle shape. It was a newer model with a touch screen, showing a miniaturized representation of each side of the field with important information about each player. "Then let's begin!" She drew her hand with a pleasing flourish of her wrist, making Yumi feel a bit mediocre at taking her cards one by one.
"The challenger can always take the first move," she declared folding her arms overtop each other to await her turn. From backstage, Sakuya peeked from behind the curtain to watch the duel, instruments blasting in her ear. It was uncomfortable, but she wanted to be able to watch the game from Yumi's side.
From the moment she'd seen her, Sakuya couldn't help but feel like she'd heard of Megumi before. She was a professional duelist in addition to a singer. Now, it was revealed she was another professional duelist sent to defeat Yumi. Slowly, it began to dawn on her. The title, the music, her name; she remembered now.
Horror quickly began to creep in around her. She was Tenmei Megumi, Regional Champion of Kanto from three years ago. Her Synchro deck was nearly unbeatable, even at the national level. And, what's worse, she had those cards. The kind Sakuya had never even managed to see before in real life – Pendulum.
I decided this one should go up a little early since I was getting antsy. I did say we weren't having a schedule. Totally freestyling these releases now. They'll come out when you least expect them to, just like your best friend.
If anyone wants to hear what I imagine Megumi sounds like, look for the cover of ORATJ on NND or YouTube by EVO EVO/EVO+. She's fantastic and her cover of that song inspired this entire story arc (that and me being a jazz weeb, whatever that is). I wish I had a better way to portray the sound featured in this and the next chapter, but I'm pretty limited with my medium. I guess I could compare the club's style to something like Platina Jazz or Tokyo Brass Style, but that's probably kind of a lazy thing to say. Persona 5 just came out recently, too...
If you can't tell yet, I really love the phrase "card professor" and wish the show used it more. It kind of drops off the map around the end of DM's season 1 and I'm still mad about that. Not counting R because who the fuck counts R (I say while having read and owned the entire series)?
Here marks the first use of Pendulum Monsters in the series. You've probably got questions now, like: Why are they so rare? Is it only high-level players like her that possess them? When is Yumi going to get some? How much gayer can she get? Is she more into butch or femme? All riveting questions that we'll find the answer to eventually.
Nothing else to report here. Chapter 12 should be out soon. "Soon". Going to get back to writing the rest now and continue hoping they don't add another summoning method when the show goes full .HACK/ on us. Thanks for reading. Always remember to tip your waitress. Yumi...