The third of Rio's assassins finally comes for Yumi, but will he even make it there? Hideo steps in this time to resurrect a rivalry as old as the original manga.
"I wonder what Megumi's doing right now," Yumi said, absentmindedly pulling out handfuls of grass while staring up at some clouds. It had only been a day since the encounter at On Air Club and Yumi was still falling hard for the singer. She'd been thinking about her for an almost uninterrupted 24 hours, trying to find the answers to some of the big questions floating around in her head: Would going back there today seem too desperate? Is playing the recorder a good enough musical skill to impress a professional singer? Would equal marriage be legalized in Japan by the time she became old enough to do it? Would there be some way to involve Kyoko in this, as well?
Sakuya, however, wasn't amused by the constant talk of the would-be assassin. She certainly wasn't jealous, or anything. Just upset that it was distracting Yumi from her practice. "Probably working," she said, her tone presenting her obvious irritation. "If you're finished daydreaming, let's get back to training."
"What's wrong with just taking a day off?" Kazuhiko asked, combing through his hair. "She beat two freaking Regional Champions in a week. She's pretty damn strong by now."
"Yet still can't beat me," she replied, crossing her arms. "So what does that say?"
"I mean, you are the best duelist I've ever met," Yumi said with complete sincerity. "I'd be okay if I never beat you."
Sakuya coughed, stifling the beginnings of a blush. "Even if you think that, it doesn't mean you can be complacent. You might be strong enough to win the tournament here, but we're training for the long term, too. I'll have to go away to school after the summer's over, so I can't-"
"You have to go?" Yumi said, her smile disappearing. "But why?" she asked panicked.
"Like I said, I have to go back to school."
"But why can't you just go to school with me?" She took Sakuya's hands and pouted, hoping to convince her to blow off her responsibilities and switch schools at nothing but her insistence.
She sighed. "I'm not enrolled there, and it would be too much of a hassle to get everything switched over in the middle of the year. I'm sorry, but I have to go back this year." As she finished speaking, she could have worn she heard a cracking noise from somewhere in front of her. Yumi's eyes fell to the ground, her arms slack while still holding onto Sakuya. "It'll be okay," she said. "I'll be back during the other breaks, so it's not like we won't see each other at all after summer."
"I guess," Yumi mumbled, sitting back down and pulling her knees to her chest. She hadn't actually thought about any of this since they'd first started to spend time together. Sakuya's introduction even involved her returning from France, but somehow the idea that she might have to go back at some point never occurred to her. It was selfish of her to act this way, but she couldn't help it.
Before she met Sakuya, she never had what seemed like true friends. Everyone either got tired of her or simply drifted away after a while. Over this summer, though, she'd gotten to know some amazing people, all of which she attributed to her meeting Sakuya first. If she left, then what would that mean for everyone else? They could very likely just leave, too, now that the interesting half of their duo was gone.
"I think you broke her," Kazuhiko whispered to Sakuya, who glared at him. "We can take a day off, come on."
She sat next to Yumi, holding her hand. "I'm sorry if I made you upset," she said.
"It's not your fault," Yumi told her. She paused for a moment, then said, "I guess we don't have to worry about that for a little while. We should get started on training."
"Forget it," she replied. "You've worked hard enough. We can take a day off. A real day off without any dueling, except maybe for fun."
"Are you sure?" she asked, her mood brightening quickly. "I don't want to let you down, and if you won't be here to train with me later, it would be a good idea to do as much as we can right now."
She waved her hand dismissively. "You'll be fine. You've beaten a lot of strong opponents and learned a bunch already. You're a lot better than I thought you'd be at this stage, too. One day off isn't going to making much of a difference." She helped Yumi to her feet with a smile, Kazuhiko nodding approvingly behind them. "What should we do today?"
"Wait for Hideo," he said, checking his phone. "Running late. Something about acne, I guess."
"Acne?" Yumi said with a bit of disgust. "What does that mean?"
"Don't know," he replied, unaware he'd just read the kanji wrong. In truth, Hideo was making rock candies. It was pleasing to watch the way the sugar crystallized (being similar enough to the characters for acne on a small screen in the sun), and crushing a big sheet of it was a lot like popping bubble wrap. They'd filled a few bags for all three of their friends and had just started to walk to the park.
As they strolled down the sidewalk on this oppressively warm summer day, they couldn't help by ruminate on the events of this summer. It was interesting, to say the least. On any normal summer, such as the one previous or the one before that or the one before that, right now they'd likely be in their room weaving baskets or feeding the ant farm. Something of that nature. But here they were outside going to a public park for the third day in a row.
Before anymore deep introspection on the nature of life and friendship could take place, Hideo was forced to respond to the anguished cries of a child. The irritating noise was coming from close by, though in the opposite direction to the park. It would be easy to simply ignore it and move on, they thought, walking to find the person screaming.
It was a rather bizarre sight to behold. A little girl sat on the ground crying with a gaunt adult man ranting about personal responsibility and thievery building character beside her. "I'm really doing you a favor," he said, slurping loudly on a seemingly stolen cherry lollipop in his mouth. "The strong take from the weak, and you're a weak little brat. I'm a strong man, so it's only natural I'd take things from you. Remember that, kid, and you might grow up to be half as strong as me one day." It was a clearly disturbing scene for everyone in the area, though most simply looked the other way so as not to cause trouble.
Adjusting his white, upside down visor, the man paraded off with disconcerting, bowlegged strut that stretched the lower half of his green and black tracksuit to its very limits while an overly large, blue fanny pack bounced around in back. Hideo was unsure of what to do, as well. Thankfully, that was a direct result of the rarity of such an event taking place to begin with, having no preset plan of action for dealing with something like this. "Out of my way, kid. I'm late." The man pushed them aside, a finger twitch the only evidence of the immense amount of self-control it took Hideo to not toss him to the ground that instant.
Things quickly became personal, however, as the man pulled out his phone. After logging in from a naked anime girl lock screen, he suddenly pulled up a photo of Yumi. Whatever that meant, it was nothing good. Hideo intercepted him before he could turn a corner, nearly causing a collision due to the man's obliviousness of walking while texting. "Move!" he yelled, throwing a clumsy left hook at whoever was in front of him.
While a bit surprising he'd be so quick to turn to violence, Hideo was not caught off guard. In one swift motion, they circled their right arm to move the attacker's punch off to the side, drawing their arm back in at the end of the guard and delivering an open palm strike straight to the sternum immediately after. The man was knocked flat on his ass, wheezing and sputtering out curse words.
"What the hell, bro?" he asked, pretending he hadn't tried to assault someone in broad daylight mere moments ago. "You can't just hit people, my dude." He said that without even the slightest hint of self-awareness. "When you've got a problem with a guy, you need to be the bigger person and talk about it. Don't just turn to violence right away." He nodded to himself.
"You feel me, buddy? Your boy Koro here's looking out for you. How about you just give me a few bucks to cover lunch later and we just put this behind us, you feel me? You're paying for some grade A wisdom here." Hideo thought for a moment as the man chuckled to himself, satisfied in his speechifying. As a response, they struck him again in the same spot, sending him to the ground.
Jumping to his feet and rubbing his chest, the man began yelling. "You just did it again! It's like you didn't listen to anything I just said! Now you're really asking for-" He was cut off by another strike. "Listen, you-" This time it was an uppercut to the chin. "Stop-" Now a punch to the solar plexus.
Wobbling forward and coughing, he pointed weakly towards Hideo. "If you do that...at least two more times...I'm gonna-" Koro stopped himself this time, looking down at Hideo's first two fingers stretched out to nearly touch the left side of his chest. "You checking the wind, bro? What's going on here?" In an instant, both fingers curled inward as their entire row of fingers was thrust into the man's chest with astounding force, dropping him to his knees.
With the man immobilized, Hideo took the opportunity to reach into his pocket and take his phone. It was easy to get into; they'd seen the simple password of 1236 over his shoulder as he pushed by initially. "Come on, bro. Don't steal my phone. It's new." Yumi's picture was still displayed on the screen.
With a cough, Koro narrowed his eyes to try and decipher what he was being shown. "What's that kid have to do with anything?" He stood up once more, suddenly having some sort of realization and draping an arm over Hideo's shoulder. "Now I get it. You saw that kid and thought, 'I gotta get her digits by any means necessary,' right?" He laughed to himself. "That's the passion of youth for you, I guess. See something you like and you take it. I can't even be mad anymore."
Hideo ducked under his arm, pulling it behind him and locking it in place. As the man flailed and shouted more expletives, they made sure to raise the phone to eye level as they deleted to picture of Yumi. Hopefully that would get the message across clearly.
Unfortunately, it would take more than that to get through to him. He simply scratched his head in response. "What? I don't get it. Talk normal!" As a response, Hideo hucked the phone directly at his head. It landed with a crack on the sidewalk, part of the screen shattering on impact. "Okay, that's it!" He grabbed the phone and placed it inside the fanny pack, pulling out a compact lime green and white duel disk in its place.
"Someone's got to teach you some manners! Real men don't fight with fists, we do it with cards!" Hypocrisy aside, Hideo was perfectly content with this outcome. Martial arts was more a hobby and a way to get some exercise in an otherwise fairly sedentary life; it was never an ideal first move to solving a problem. Duel Monsters, though, was a much more civilized means of settling things.
The two of them made it to the roof of some office building. Amazingly, Koro had managed to bully his way to the top without incident (though it would more accurately be described as them both casually taking the elevator to the top floor and Koro making exaggerated gestures of offense if anyone looked at them strangely). They stood apart from each other, a gentle breeze blowing past for dramatic effect.
With both duel disks active, Koro tossed a handcuff-like device across the way, one end forcibly attaching to Hideo's disk. He cuffed the other end to his own, explaining, "This is a cool thing I like to do for when I break fools in half. There's a little sensor on the inside that synches up with your Life Points, and when they hit zero..." He stomped his foot and shouted, "Crunch! No more dueling for you!" He chuckled to himself. "Let's make this quick. Still got to do this to that kid you're chasing after."
The duel began, Hideo taking the first move. They placed a card into the backrow, the device reading, "Permanent Magic, Great Sea of Trees, activate." The drab rooftop transformed into a makeshift garden in moments, grass growing along the floor and several large trees sprouting up behind Hideo, branches and vines hanging from above.
"That thing talks?" he yelled in surprise. "I'll buy it for, like...this!" He reached into his pack and pulled out about 1200 yen in loose bills and coins. The offer was met with silence, Hideo continuing their turn.
"Monster set. Reverse Card set. End Phase. Pass turn." The movements were quick and calculated one after the other, as to be expected from them. Dueling was more than a hobby despite their lack of desire to make it as a professional. It was almost a lifestyle at this point. They'd spent more hours pouring over every card they possessed, checking on new releases, and practicing strategy than most people would spend playing the game itself in their whole lives. Today, it seemed like all that training would finally pay off by using the skills they forged to protect a friend.
Koro laughed, seemingly finding the prospect of fighting an Insect deck funny. "A bunch of bugs it looks like," he said with a sneer. "I'll trample them without even thinking about it! Draw!" He took one card from his hand and placed it into the Field Zone at the head of his duel disk. "Field Magic, Lost World!" The greening effect from Hideo's card was enhanced further, tall grasses sprouting up across the entirety of the roof along with more trees. The air appeared to become even more humid than it normally was, as well.
"As long as this card's out, every monster loses 500 ATK and DEF if it's not a Dinosaur-Type." He played a monster this time, an ominous pool or murky water appearing nearby. "I summon Megalosmasher X!" Leaping from the water came a blue pliosaurus-looking creature, screeching at the opponent as it hovered slightly above the ground. At an impressive 2000 ATK, it could run over nearly anything in Hideo's deck, especially with Lost World's effect weakening all their monsters.
The ground began to rumble, eventually splitting next to Hideo's set card with a spotted, white egg appearing from the fissure. "Lost World's effect activates when I summon a monster once per turn, giving you a Jurraegg Token in Defense Mode." He chuckled again. "And, as long as you have a Token, you can't even target other monsters on the field for effects!" This was hilarious to him, apparently. "Bet you thought that set card was going to save your ass, didn't you? Not likely!"
Pointing forward, the monster on his field screeched again. "Battle! Megalosmasher, attack the Jurraegg Token! Jurassic Bite!" With one last screech, several circular markings began to glow a pale blue across the creature's body. Lunging forward, it prepared to snap up the egg without a second thought. "Lost World's effect activates again! If Normal Monsters are going to be destroyed, I can destroy that many Dinosaurs in hand or deck instead once per turn!" His own monster's attack was rendered fruitless, its jaws coming into contact with a shimmering rainbow barrier around the egg instead of its intended target.
"I'm popping Petiranodon instead, which just happens to activate its effect!" As the card was dropped into his Graveyard slot, the image of the newly-hatched flying reptile screeched. "When this guy's destroyed by a card effect, I can summon a Level 4 or higher Dinosaur from my deck." He pointed a hand dramatically to the sky, the ground exploding behind him with a bone-shaking roar. "Kick it, Super Conductor Tyranno!"
The monster appeared behind its owner with another tremendous roar, electricity crackling along the armor plating attached to its body. "Lucky for you it can't attack this turn, but that's not even a problem. Tyranno's effect gives up its attack for the turn to Release a monster on my field and deal 1000 damage!" The dinosaur roared once more before biting down on the unsuspecting Megalosmasher X, the beast letting out one final shriek before shattering into nothingness. Its power source charge, the electricity intensified, traveling up its tail until a ball of energy started to build inside its mouth. "Super Conductor Tyranno, Extinction Discharge!"
The beam hit Hideo squarely in the chest, though they resisted with only a minor slide in the opposite direction. They grit their teeth as static passed over them, Life Points dropping to 3000. That card would be bad news if it didn't get out of here by the next turn. "Had enough? Ready to apologize for overreacting like that? I might even accept if you give me that sweet ass duel disk." He continued to laugh in mockery, setting a card and passing turn.
Hideo began their turn with 1000 less Life and two more cards in deck than originally planned. "Reverse Summon, Howling Insect." The familiar blue bug appeared from its previously set card, howling as its name would suggest. "Permanent Magic, Burden of the Mighty, activate." It was a convenient card to have against a Dinosaur deck like this, given the ace monsters were all invariably high-Leveled. Super Conductor Tyranno's ATK fell by 800, settling at 2500. While still a more manageable situation, it did little to help Howling Insect overcome its opponent, especially now that its unimpressive 1200 ATK was now only 700.
"Battle Phase. Howling Insect attacks Super Conductor Tyranno." The monster howled, trying its best to take down the dinosaur, but was quickly smashed by a bolt of lightning cutting through its sound waves. Hideo took a massive hit of 1800 damage, lowering their Life Points to 1200 in the process. "Great Sea of Trees, effect activate. Howling Insect, effect activate." Hopefully, the sacrifice require to use those effects would prove worth it.
Hideo selected a second Howling Insect to add to hand, opting to summon Ultimate Insect LV3 to the field. The grub wriggled as it was placed down, Koro cackling at its appearance. "You're sending out more bugs to fight dinosaurs? What do you think this is, some...magic land where bugs beat dinosaurs, or something?" While it wasn't exactly a punchline, he still managed to laugh anyway. The Ultimate Insect almost seemed upset itself at being mocked.
"Magic Card, Level Up!, activate." Hideo's card appeared, the image of Horus glowing as the light shone onto their monster. "Sending Ultimate Insect LV3 to Graveyard as cost to Special Summon Ultimate Insect LV5 from the deck." The tiny grub morphed into the towering insect, though its ATK was still not enough to overcome Tyranno and lowered even more to 1800.
"Permanent Magic, Divine Protection of the Neglected, activate." A large bamboo cage appeared around Ultimate Insect, protecting it from at least two attacks with the fodder in Hideo's Graveyard. With Life Points dwindling, it would be imperative that nothing happened to Ultimate Insect before the next turn. "End Phase. Pass turn."
"You think a little cage is going to stop me from trampling you, kid? Think again!" Koro drew a card, immediately slapping it to his field. "I summon Sabersaurus!" The angry red beast roared, shaking its jowls around as its ATK lowered to 1500. "When I summon it, I put another Jurraegg Token on your field, too." As he said that, a second egg appeared by the first under Hideo's care.
"Battle! Sabersaurus, attack a Jurraegg Token, and I use Lost World's effect to destroy the Babycerasaurus in my deck instead of the Token!" A similar scene to the one before played out, with the baby dinosaur activating its effect after being destroyed with a weak cry. "Babycerasaurus lets me summon Black Ptera to my field in Defense Mode." The pitch black pterosaur appeared on the field with a chorus of screeches, folding its wings around itself.
"I Release Black Ptera to activate Super Conductor Tyranno's effect, dealing 1000 damage again! Extinction Discharge!" The predator ate its comrade, firing off another blast of electricity at Hideo to lower their Life Points to 200. "See, I had this thought, like, 'Why should I waste an attack when I can just kill you like this?' It's so much easier to just watch you struggle. I bet you're going to attack me again with your own monster, too, right?" His incessant laughing just wouldn't end.
With a sneer, he held up the card he's just used as a cost. "When Black Ptera leaves the field any way besides battle, I get to put it back in my hand. And I can just keep doing that until you're done." He chuckled. "Not that I'll even need another."
Ending his turn, Hideo began their own, putting their plan into action. "Standby Phase. Ultimate Insect LV 5, effect activate. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 'Ultimate Insect LV7' from your hand or Deck." The monster evolved further, taking to the sky and raining poisonous spores onto the field. Super Conductor Tyranno's ATK decreased further to 1800, Sabersaurus lowering to 800 in turn.
"Going to need a real big fly swatter to kill that thing," Koro joked with a laugh. It was evident he wasn't worried in the least.
"Permanent Magic, Burden of the Mighty, activate." With a second Burden, Koro's monsters were further beaten down. Tyranno and Sabersaurus' ATK lowered to 1000 and 500, respectively. Even at only 2100 itself, Ultimate Insect could take them both out with ease.
"Battle Phase. Ultimate Insect LV7 attacks Super Conductor Tyranno." The monster flapped its wings, soaring down and smashing through its target, creating a massive explosion behind Koro. He braced against the first damage he'd taken all game, Life Points at 2900. "End Phase. Pass turn."
"Better than before, but you still can't beat me! Draw!" He smiled at the card in his hand. "This is it! I banish my Megalosmasher X and my Babycerasaurus from my Graveyard to bring out my best monster, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno!" Thunder shook the building as the ground split, an enormous dinosaur rising from the street below to serve its master. It's black scales glistened in the light produced by the purple orbs lining its body, tail swishing through the air as it roared. A third Jurraegg Token appeared on Hideo's field, as well.
Fanfare aside, it was seemingly fairly weak. It's impressive 3500 ATK – highest for a Dinosaur-Type in the entire game, even – was reduced to 800 by the various debuffs on Hideo's field. "Now I use its effect! I destroy my Sabersaurus to turn all your monsters to face-down Defense Mode!" Tokens were excluded due to their nature, but Ultimate Insect was rendered effectively destroyed. With it face-down, Tyranno's ATK was restored to 1500, as well.
"Ultimate Conductor Tyranno can attack every monster on your field once per turn, and whenever it attacks a Defense Mode monster, I can hit you for 1000 at the start of Damage Calculation and destroy your card." Though Hideo would never show it, they were feeling the stress for the first time in a long time. All the reaction they gave visually was a small twitch in their shoulder, enough to send Koro into another laughing fit. "You get it now? You can't win!"
He spread his arms out wide. "Ultimate Conductor Tyranno, attack all those monsters! Genocide Stream!" The monster's lower jar split in half, a purple glow traveling up from the tip of its tail across the gems embedded into its flesh. Reaching the head, it fired a whirring stream of purple energy across Hideo's field. There were several explosions, dust clouding the air. Koro laughed in celebration, but as the scene cleared, it was revealed Hideo's field was completely intact, a bamboo cage holding strong around all their monsters.
"That's impossible! I planned it perfectly! You only had three Insects in your Graveyard, so you could only block three of the attacks! I should have still taken out one and won the duel!" Hideo, mind at ease and confidence returning, shook their head and held up a Trap Card. "Rising Energy!" It was the one they'd set at the beginning of the duel.
Koro scoffed. "Fine, then. You boosted one of those Tokens and discarded that Howling Insect. Even if you survived the turn, it won't matter! I can use my effect to flip your monsters during either turn, and I've still got Black Ptera in my hand to stop whatever you think you can do! It's over!"
Koro's turn ended, Hideo preparing to begin their own. "Turn start. Draw card." Placing a hand on their deck, they thought about the reason they'd started this duel in the first place; of Yumi, probably in the park right now doing more of her training with Sakuya. This man was a terrible person who wanted to hurt their friend, and they couldn't allow that.
It wasn't just for Yumi's sake, though. Really considering things, a duel like this to push them to their limits was, in a way, a bit of a selfish pursuit. To keep up with their rival, Kazuhiko. He'd only kept growing and changing over the course of the summer, nearly unrecognizable since the first time they'd dueled. A duel like this was what they needed to evolve in their own way. They refused to be lapped.
With a small chuckle of their own, Hideo drew a card, making it the only one in their hand. They were a bit disappointed with what came, but not for the reason one would assume. It would win the duel, certainly, but they'd hoped to save this one for their next match with Kazuhiko. They were at their limit fighting normally, though, just as they'd thought earlier. It was time to evolve.
"Magic Card, Ultimate Hatching, activate." It was a brand new card featuring a pulsating cocoon in its artwork, cracks appearing on its surface with light shining through. "Tribute 1 Ultimate Insect LV7 to Special Summon 1 Ultimate Insect LV9 from your deck in face-up Attack Position." The Ultimate Insect on Hideo's field appeared from the card backing, becoming wrapped in silk strings before solidifying into a cocoon. In one swift motion, it was broken apart, an even more enormous monster emerging. It dwarfed the field in its shadow, standing as peers with the dinosaur across from it. The red and blue of its previous form merged into a deep purple across its entire body, a beetle-esque horn growing from its head. Its wings, while still glassy and transparent, were a mosaic of blues and reds similar to stained glass in this form, the ferocity with which they buzzed turning them into a soft purple color, as well.
Koro stood in awe of the monster as it chirped in the sky above. Hideo's duel disk began to explain the effect. "Ultimate Insect LV9: While this card remains on the field all your opponent's monsters lose 900 ATK and DEF, and all monsters on the field are treated as Insect-Type in addition to their original Types." With a roar, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno's ATK lowered to 600. "Battle Phase. Ultimate Insect LV9 attacks Ultimate Conductor Tyranno."
With a wave of chirps, the insect flew high into the sky, swooping back around off in the distance. It picked up speed, executing an aileron roll as it closed in on the target. "T-Tyranno, effect activate! I destroy Black Ptera to flip your card face-down!"
Hideo's duel disk began to read. "Ultimate Hatching: The monster summoned by this card's effect is unaffected by your opponent's card effects until the End Phase of the turn it was summoned." The dinosaur tried to swat the insect out of the sky, only to be outmaneuvered as it slipped below its claw and crashed through its shoulder. The dinosaur let out a scream, firing a beam of purple energy from its tail to no effect.
"Fine, then I use my Trap Card, Survival of the Fittest! I equip it to a Dinosaur on my field to gain 1000 ATK and reduce the damage!" Tyranno roared with a surge of power too little too late, the Ultimate Insect charging straight through its back and out the center of its chest as it returned to position above its master. With one last roar, the monster was destroyed.
Koro's Life Points dropped significantly, leaving him with only 1500. "On my next turn, you're done!" Hideo, once more, shook their head. Pressing the screen of their duel disk, one of the Jurraegg Tokens disappeared from the field.
"Ultimate Insect LV9: If this card destroys a monster by battle, you can tribute 1 Insect-Type monster to have this monster make a second attack in a row." With another chirp, the monster flew forward, striking Koro as he waved his arms out in front and begged for a moment to think about strategy. As he was knocked across the rooftop, his Life Points finally hit 0 and his duel disk was crushed in the vice. Hideo was the victor.
Hideo sighed quietly as the field disappeared, even making a small, imperceptible smile at their newest monster. The cuff detached on its own, Hideo packing things back into their backpack. "Okay, wait," Koro said weakly, getting up and looking angrily at their smashed duel disk. They tossed it to the ground in a heap, pointing a finger at an approaching Hideo. "Now listen, you can't just-" Any further comments were silenced by a knockout punch to the jaw.
With that taken care of, Hideo was free to continue on to the park. Upon arrival, Yumi was already dueling Kazuhiko and two other children in a battle royale. Approaching from behind an observing Sakuya, she turned to see them. "There you are. We were waiting for you all morning."
"Hideo!" Kazuhiko announced, leaving his place on the field to walk over to his friend.
"It's your turn, guy!" one of his opponent's told him.
"I am talking to a friend!" he yelled, turning back to Hideo with a pleasant expression. "Took you long enough. You get those pimples taken care of?" Despite his chuckle at how seemingly hilarious this was, Hideo was merely confused. "You know, from the text you sent me." Kazuhiko took out his phone and showed the group, Yumi also having walked over to investigate.
"That says 'crystal'," Sakuya pointed out dryly. "See, Yumi? Too much hair spray and it'll seep into your brain so much you can't even read."
Kazuhiko shoved a finger out accusingly. "Don't bring my hair into this!"
"I don't have to," she said with sarcastic smirk. "You do a good enough job of that in every single conversation you've ever had."
With a growl, he stomped his foot out forward. "That's it! I challenge you to a duel, Ishikawa!"
"You are both literally in the middle of a duel!" the child from before yelled across the grass.
"Shut up!" he replied. "Fine, I'll finish crushing my opponents, then we'll finish this for real!" He marched back to his spot on the field to continue his turn.
"We're almost done," Yumi told Hideo. "You're probably wanting to duel Kazuhiko now that you're here. It's the day off, so we've just been hanging out."
"Hanging out and dueling," Sakuya added. "Seems like, even on your day off, I still managed to get you to train." Yumi's look of amazement was almost embarrassing, Sakuya forcing herself to repress a blush. "What did you expect? I'm a competent teacher, after all."
"I'm going to finish this duel super fast! Then you have to duel me, okay?" Yumi already ran off to retake her place before a response could be given.
Sakuya sighed happily, looking to Hideo. "But, yes, it's been a pretty relaxed day so far. What were you up to that took so long, though?" Hideo rummaged through their bag and pulled out a small pack of blue candy shards for Sakuya. "Oh, wow! Thank you." With the topic successfully changed to sugary treats, the events of the day were a secret for the time being. Later, Hideo would tell the group about the newest assassin's failure. For now, though, it was a day off.
"Miss Rio," Fukuro said while standing safely outside the door to the young lady's room.
"What is it?" she called back from inside.
Taking a breath, he entered the room, Rio tapping her foot to the rhythm of a place-holding metronome in a song she was composing on her computer. She kept it a secret from the public, but one of her hobbies was producing music in her spare time and posting it on the internet. It was unexpected to see someone like her take an interest in music, yet at the same time she was exactly the kind of person you'd expect to be into vaporwave.
Clearing his throat, he said, "I've just been informed that our latest candidate has...failed, once again." Rio didn't respond. "And that his failure was due to coming into contact with another of Miss Takano's group."
"So you're saying one of those other losers beat him," she interrupted, seemingly uncaring as she played the keyboard on her synthesizer.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. I apologize profusely and accept the failure as my own." He braced himself for another outburst, but it didn't come. Thinking back, Rio always did seem to be the most calm while working with music.
Finally, she sighed, removing her headphones. "You know, normally I'd be furious. More wasted money, more wasted time, and you proving you're once again unfit to do even the simplest tasks for me. But, honestly...I'm not."
"I'm overjoyed to hear so," Fukuro said, preparing for something to ruin the feeling of relief.
"No, I'm mostly just disappointed in myself for continually trusting you to find the right candidate." She brushed her bangs from her face. "Looks like I'll just have to take care of it myself now."
"Miss Rio?" he asked, confused by her meaning.
"Out. If I see you again today, I'll have you fired." He did as instructed immediately. Whether she was screaming or not, the rage bubbling beneath her words was evident. With the door shut, Rio was once again alone. Replacing the headphones, she continued her work. The failure candidates from before were all Fukuro's fault, she told herself. The next one would be her decision, and they'd finish this without any trouble. She was sure of it this time.
Card Used in Order of Appearance
Great Sea of Trees (Verdant Sanctuary)
Continuous Spell Card
When a face-up Insect-Type monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, its controller can add 1 Insect-Type monster with the same Level as the destroyed monster from their Deck to their hand.
Lost World
Field Spell Card
All monsters on the field lose 500 ATK and DEF, except Dinosaur-Type monsters. Once per turn, if a Dinosaur-Type monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned (except during the Damage Step): You can Special Summon 1 "Jurraegg Token" (Dinosaur-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) to your opponent's field in Defense Position. While your opponent controls a Token, they cannot target monsters on the field with card effects, except Tokens. Once per turn, if a Normal Monster(s) on the field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can destroy the same number of Dinosaur-Type monsters from your hand and/or Deck instead.
Megalosmasher X
WATER
Level 4
Dinosaur
2000 ATK/0 DEF
Petiranodon
EARTH
Level 2
Dinosaur/Effect
500 ATK/500 DEF
If this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or higher Dinosaur-Type monster from your Deck, but it cannot attack this turn.
Super Conductor Tyranno
LIGHT
Level 8
Dinosaur/Effect
3300 ATK/1400 DEF
Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 monster; inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. This card cannot declare an attack the turn you activate this effect.
Howling Insect
EARTH
Level 3
Insect/Effect
1200 ATK/1300 DEF
When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 Insect-Type monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck.
Burden of the Mighty
Continuous Spell Card
Each face-up monster your opponent controls loses 100 ATK x its own Level.
Ultimate Insect LV3
WIND
Level 3
Insect/Effect
1400 ATK/900 DEF
If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV1", while it remains on the field all of your opponent's monsters lose 300 ATK. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV5" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
Level Up!
Normal Spell Card
Send 1 face-up "LV" monster you control to the Graveyard; Special Summon 1 monster from your hand or Deck that is listed in the sent monster's text, ignoring its Summoning conditions.
Ultimate Insect LV5
WIND
Level 5
Insect/Effect
2300 ATK/900 DEF
If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV3", while it remains on the field all of your opponent's monsters lose 500 ATK. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV7" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
Divine Protection of the Neglected (Insect Neglect)
Continuous Magic Card
When your opponent's monster declares an attack, you can remove from play 1 Insect-Type monster from your Graveyard to negate the attack.
Sabersaurus
EARTH
Level 4
Dinosaur
1900 ATK/500 DEF
Babycerasaurus
EARTH
Level 2
Dinosaur/Effect
500 ATK/500 DEF
When this card is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Dinosaur-Type monster from your Deck.
Black Ptera
WIND
Level 3
Dinosaur/Effect
1000 ATK/500 DEF
When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, except by being destroyed by battle: Return it to the hand.
Ultimate Conductor Tyranno
LIGHT
Level 10
Dinosaur/Effect
3500 ATK/3200 DEF
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 2 Dinosaur-Type monsters from your Graveyard. Once per turn, during either player's Main Phase: You can destroy 1 monster you control or in your hand, and if you do, change all face-up monsters your opponent controls to face-down Defense Position. This card can attack all monsters your opponent controls, once each. At the start of the Damage Step, when this card attacks a Defense Position monster: You can inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, and if you do, send that Defense Position monster to the Graveyard.
Ultimate Insect LV7
WIND
Level 7
Insect/Effect
2600 ATK/1200 DEF
If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV5", while it remains on the field all your opponent's monsters lose 700 ATK and DEF.
Rising Energy
Normal Trap Card
Discard 1 card, then target 1 face-up monster on the field; that target gains 1500 ATK until the End Phase.
Ultimate Hatching
Normal Magic Card
Tribute 1 "Ultimate Insect LV7"; Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV9" from your Deck in face-up Attack Position. The monster summoned by this card's effect is unaffected by your opponent's card effects until the End Phase of the turn it was summoned.
Ultimate Insect LV9
WIND
Level 9
Insect/Effect
3000 ATK/1500 DEF
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned by "Ultimate Hatching", and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. While this card remains on the field all your opponent's monsters lose 900 ATK and DEF, and all monsters on the field are treated as Insect-Type in addition to their original Types. If this card destroys a monster by battle: You can tribute 1 Insect-Type monster; this monster can make a second attack in a row.
Survival of the Fittest
Normal Trap Card
Target 1 Dinosaur-Type monster you control; equip this card to that target. It gains 1000 ATK. When it destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: The equipped monster can make a second attack on an opponent's monster in a row.
The real 13th chapter is here. Still pretty angry they won't let you do .5's on [AO3]. Doubt it's any different on other platforms, but it should be.
Here's a whole chapter about Hideo. When I started making the main cast, I decided the four of them all get at least two duels before the plot really kicks into action. So here we are with everyone getting at least two. Poor Kazuhiko lost both of his. Jobbing harder than Sawatari Shingo.
Figured we needed at least one to really dive into Hideo's brain, too. I couldn't help but feel like they might come off as uncaring some of the time, like they just go along with Kazuhiko's stuff and the rest of the gang out of convenience, and all. That's partially why I wanted this one to focus on them, so we could get a deeper look into their thoughts that we couldn't normally see given how private they are. Also because Hideo's a cool cat and I like the Ultimate Insect cards.
They're also the least developed of the main cast so far and I wanted to at least start them off on some growth. It's only 13.5 chapters so far, but still. And now here we are with a significantly more fleshed out Hideo with evidence of growth as a result of meeting the gang. But you already knew all that, because you're at the end of the chapter reading this. Unless you're one of those people who just skips the stories to see what authors ramble about in the end notes. I can respect that.
It's always been surprisingly fun to write non-verbal characters. They're expressive in a lot of ways verbal characters don't really get to be, at least in prose. Also makes writing dialogue a hell of a lot easier, since I can put what someone says right before or after Hideo's response in the same sentence. Basically, I get to cheat while providing much-needed representation. And there's nothing more goddamn beautiful than that.
We've got a chapter to go before the plot gets violent and attacks us. I'm only telling you all this as a warning, since it actually will be getting violent and I'll need to update the tags accordingly. That'll be fun. Thanks for reading. Always remember that Shin Godzilla was amazing.