Yumi is given no rest before Rio decides to finally settle their feud once and for all. Can she hope to survive another deadly encounter the way she is now?
The next day finally arrived, Yumi and Sakuya still huddled together from the night before. Yumi was the first to wake up, starting to feel the full effects of all the stress and torture she'd endured. Every muscle in her body ached and, regardless of the ten or so hours she'd been passed out, felt like she hadn't rested at all. Despite her pain, she knew she had to be up now. There'd be no use in trying to go back to sleep anymore.
She rubbed Sakuya's arm, tapping her shoulder gently with only one finger. "Sakuya, are you awake yet?" Obviously, she wasn't, but she was desperately needing to talk to her friend. She prodded her a few more times before she started to stir. "Sorry for waking you up," she said after hearing a sigh.
"It's fine," Sakuya replied in a quiet tone. Things had begun to set in for her, too. Not pain, but the reality that all four of them could have died that day. If it hadn't been for Yumi, she wouldn't even be there right now. What did this mean for their safety and their friendship? This was the worst thing she could ever imagine for them, so what happened when the mysterious enemy sent someone else who was even worse?
"I wanted to tell you something," Yumi began.
"Okay," Sakuya replied, only half paying attention.
"Whenever the next person comes, and no matter what they threaten me with, I'm going to lose."
Sakuya jolted awake at that, no longer lost in her own ruminations. "What?"
"It's the only way to make this stop," she said, blinking away a couple of tears.
"But you can't," Sakuya told her, moving away to sit up across from Yumi. "They'll take your deck, and maybe worse."
"I don't care," she replied, her voice steady and certain. "It's just a card game. It doesn't matter. I just don't want anyone to get hurt again." She swallowed hard. "I don't want to lose anyone."
Sakuya was speechless. Yes, it was a card game, but it was Yumi's dream. Nothing felt right about just giving up and letting this awful person win, even if it was the logical route. "There has to be something we can do," she said finally, trying to find any small scrap of hope left.
"There's not," Yumi told her. "It's going to end, and then we can all be friends again." They sat silently for a time, neither knowing what to say. This was the end of their story. All their work over the last month and a half was for nothing. The bad guy was about to win, and there was nothing they could do. "We should eat," Yumi said, hoping that food would make things easier even if she didn't particularly have an appetite.
Yumi had a difficult time getting to her feet and needed Sakuya's help. They left the room together, finding her grandmother in the kitchen. She gave the both of them a suffocatingly tight hug on sight. "Are you two doing okay?" she asked, receiving a series of awkward shrugs and nods with partly verbalized affirmations. "Hungry yet?"
They sat down together to eat a hastily prepared breakfast (brunch), the two girls picking at their food more than really consuming it. "Sakuya, I finally heard from that father of yours," she told her, disdain more than hinted as she began. Sakuya turned her head slightly at the news. "Gave him a real talking to, but he'll be here soon to take you home."
"Oh," she said quietly, poking at a grain of rice stuck to the rim of her bowl. "Okay."
"If there's anything we can do to help, all you have to do is ask."
"Thank you." With nothing else to say, the three of them waited until the sound of a car pulling up outside could be heard. Sakuya sighed slowly, then got to her feet and began walking towards the door. Yumi followed after her along with her grandmother.
Before opening the door, Yumi took Sakuya's hand to stop her, pulling her in for as tight a hug as she could muster despite the pain. "I'll always be here," she said, not really sure what to say that might make either of them feel better.
"I know," Sakuya replied, returning the hug before opening the door and walking outside. Despite his seemingly busy career and wealth, her father was a pretty average looking man of modest height and weight. He came in an old, blue Toyota; seemingly the furthest from whatever kind of limousine or carriage Yumi had always dreamed about. His clothes were fairly dirtied, too, with just a simple pair of slacks and a splotchy white shirt under a wrinkled windbreaker. He hadn't shaved, either, and was sporting some dark stubble. All in all very much unlike whatever image Yumi had put together in her mind.
"Sakuya, I'm sorry I didn't pick up. I was-" She ignored him completely and walked to the car, getting inside the passenger seat and waiting to be taken away. With a sigh of his own, he walked towards the other adult. "Thank you for telling me what happened. I was working late, had my phone off, I couldn't-"
"You already said all this," Yumi's grandmother interrupted. It was abundantly clear she had no time for excuses. "Just get that girl home."
He nodded, then turned to Yumi. "And thank you for...thank you for...everything you've done for my daughter."
"It's okay," she responded flatly, looking off to the side at Sakuya's vacant expression in the car.
"I should get home now," he said finally, nodding to the both of them before returning to the vehicle and driving off. They watched as it left down the road, eventually disappearing in the distance. Yumi's grandmother grumbled under her breath about her disapproval of the man as they went back inside.
"My heard hurts, can I have some medicine?" Yumi asked. It wasn't exactly a lie, but far more than just her head was currently throbbing with pain. Her body felt like a distress beacon blinking on and off with light, but she was too afraid to ask for a doctor's appointment. The costs would set them back heavily if anything was actually wrong, and the fear of something actually being wrong made her anxious enough as it was. She'd never liked hospitals very much.
"Of course," she replied, taking a bottle of pills down from a high shelf in the kitchen. Yumi took two of them, eventually swallowing them after a few tries and three glasses of water. "We could go to the doctor if something feels wrong."
Yumi shook her head. "I'll be okay," she insisted. She was drawn into a hug once more, feeling her hair being stroked. It was a nice gesture, but it wasn't helping much right now.
"I want you to come sit with me for a little bit." Immediately, Yumi started to feel afraid. That's usually what she heard before she was given a punishment. Was she mad about what happened? Thinking back, it probably would have been much smarter to tell an adult about what was going on. Grounded or not, she wouldn't feel much like going anywhere for a while, anyway.
They went to the TV room, television having gone dark – a rare occurrence for the middle of the day. Yumi and her grandmother were across from each other, the silence between them hanging heavy. "I want you to tell me what's been happening," she finally said to her granddaughter. "According to the police, Mitsuru said something that worried me. He said that bad man was hired to do this to you. I want you to tell me what that means."
Yumi was quiet, shifting her eyes around the room to try and think of what to say. "I don't really know," she said honestly.
"Yumi, are you telling the truth?"
"I am," she insisted. "It's just...for a couple weeks, there have been people finding me to play Duel Monsters, and they all said that someone hired them to do it, but none of them knew who it was."
"Why haven't you told me about this before?" she asked sternly.
She swallowed hard, her voice shaking a bit. "Because before it didn't really seem to matter. None of them did anything bad to me, and one person was really nice. I didn't know this would happen."
"Were these people all adults?" Yumi nodded. "What have I told you about talking to adults you don't know?"
"But I had to," she argued.
"What do you mean?" Yumi opened her mouth, but no sound came out. "Why did you have to?" she repeated.
"There was always a reason," she started. "They said that bad things would happen to us if I didn't, but whenever..." She paused to take a quick breath and hold back a cough. "Whenever we dueled, I knew that none of them were going to hurt me. Someone was making them do it."
"How do you know that? This person wanted to hurt you."
"I could just tell." She was quiet for a minute, swallowing again to choke down the beginnings of a sob before she wiped her eyes with a sniffle. "I connected with them when we dueled, and I could tell. And Hideo beat one of them before he could even get to me. They were okay."
She didn't have anything else to say. Her grandmother could sense that and stopped questioning for now. "You're going to have to stay at home for a while." Yumi nodded slowly. "We can talk about this more later. Just rest for right now. I love you, sweetheart." She gave her another hug and then let her go off on her own.
The first thing Yumi did after her unofficial grounding was in place was to finally shower. The pills she'd taken were starting to take the edge off her pain and the hot water was only helping even further. It was infinitely refreshing to finally be able to rinse off the tears and sweat and grime from the day before. Clean clothes were better still. Suspenders took the day off in place of regular blue shorts to go with a white t-shirt. Normally, it felt weird not to have that specific article of clothing on her body after getting so used to wearing them for so long, but she didn't even have the energy to mess with buttons right now.
Staring at the ceiling for several minutes proved fruitless, sleep refusing to come again. Eventually, she left her room, walking out the front door as her grandmother quietly watched a baseball game on the TV. Taking a seat on the porch, she stared out at the road and thought of Sakuya. How was she doing now? Did she change clothes, too? Did she eat? Could she sleep?
Then she began to think of the other two. Was Kazuhiko managing this as well as he seemed to be before? He was the toughest out of all of them, but even he had to have a breaking point. She still couldn't believe how brave he'd been that day. Hideo, too. Were they in trouble with their parents? Would they even want to still be friends after all of this? Even a good day often left them feeling overstimulated, so everything that had gone on was definitely past the comfort zone.
She wasn't given much time to think of these things, though, as something seemed to shine off in the distance. It was quickly approaching, revealing itself as, of all things, a black limousine. Had Sakuya forgotten something and now her family was taking the good car to come get it? Strangely, the motor was fairly quiet.
It parked close to the house, an elderly man stepping out of the driver's seat and bowing to her. "Miss Takano Yumi?" he addressed her.
"Yes," she said slowly, preparing to bolt inside the house if needed. She was going to start following the stranger rule for a while right now.
"I'd just like to say that I truly apologize for all the misfortune being forced upon you lately, and that I must regrettably ask that you come with me."
"I'm not supposed to go anywhere with strangers," she replied, standing up and moving backwards slowly.
With a sigh, the man explained, "Please, Miss Takano. You know why I'm here and you know what my employer can do if she doesn't get her way. I swear to you that this will be the last you hear of us, no matter the outcome." Her heart sank thinking about going through something like yesterday's disaster once more. She was terrified, truly, but it didn't seem like she had any other choice.
Gathering her courage, she finally said, "I need something to write a note with." The butler nodded, producing a notebook and pen from his vest, tearing out a page and handing it to her. Yumi scribbled a short message to her grandmother saying not to worry and that she'd be back soon. Placing it under the edge of the door, she handed the pen back. "Let's get this over with."
Fukuro opened the door for Yumi, letting her inside the darkened car before closing it. No one else was inside, a cooler full of various soft drinks and waters resting in between two rows of seats. "Help yourself to the refreshments," the man said from behind a tinted divider. Yumi ignored it, shifting as the car began to move and their journey began.
It was remarkably smooth with very few bumps along the way. Yumi peered out at the passing scenery as they drove, spotting different landmarks and sights she'd come to know by memory from all her travels to the city. Seeing them from a moving vehicle was something different, though. A bike is much better, she thought to herself.
Feeling the weight in her pocket, she removed her deck and began sorting through it. Her intention was to keep it by her side for as long as possible and make the most out of her last days as a duelist, but she'd never expected the end would come so soon. Every card had a story and all of them were important to her, but it was over now. For the sake of her friends, she couldn't be a duelist anymore.
The ending to her last duel still scared her. It felt so unreal that, at first, she thought it was all just a dream; that the platforms they were on malfunctioned and that horrible man had been unable to continue while she was still unconscious. But seeing this new card confirmed it had to have happened.
She'd never had this before. She didn't even know where she would have gotten it. Macrocosmus - The WORLD was so odd looking and different from anything she'd ever seen before, and it just appeared in her deck. Izar, if he was even real, said it was his card, but that didn't explain much. For lack of a better word, it just felt wrong to hold in her hands, like some kind of dirty, oily filth that didn't belong. As strong as it was, she didn't want to have to use it anymore.
Before she even realized it, they were parking in front of a gleaming skyscraper near the northern edge of the city. It made sense, she figured, that someone who could comfortably hire Regional Champions from various countries to fight her would live somewhere like this. The logo on the side looked familiar for some reason. Where had she seen it before? It was a bad angle looking almost completely upwards, but she was certain she knew where it was from.
"Tell the reception you're the special appointment and they will instruct you what to do," he told her, sadness evident in his voice. Regardless of his actions, he was very clearly not happy with what was going on here. Yumi did as she was told, informing a bored-looking woman inside the lobby of her status.
Buttons were pressed, orders were given, and a burly man walked towards her, leading her to an elevator off to the side. He placed a key into a hole and turned it, the elevator doors opening for her to go inside. It began to descend further and further into the ground, eventually settling on a floor marked as Research and Development, the guard gesturing for her to leave before he returned to the lobby alone.
Yumi walked through the unsettlingly empty floor of the building. Despite the obvious work being done on everything there, it felt more like a graveyard of abandoned machinery with the lights dimmed and the deathly silence emanating all around her. Half finished or half destroyed, duel disks seemed to be a majority of the technology surrounding her on the floors and work tables.
There was only one source of light that really stood out among the drabness, and it seemed to be coming from deeper within the building. Navigating her way around shelves and broken bits of metal and circuitry, Yumi finally met face to face with the person who'd caused her so much trouble. Standing inside a large, clear box full of lights was none other than Mabuchi Rio.
"Rio?" she said, stuttering in confusion. "Why are you...here? I don't understand what's happening."
"Yes, why would I be inside my family's building which also happens to be my home? Such a mystery." She tapped her foot. "Inside. There's a duel disk beside you so you won't need to use that piece of garbage you haul around." Just as she'd said, a sleek, white duel disk similar to Rio's own, much more modern and clean than Yumi's, was on a table near the pod.
"But what's happening?" Yumi pleaded, trying not to get worked up. She was emotionally wrecked and couldn't handle mystery and misunderstanding right now. The gears in her brain weren't turning at even half their normal capacity.
Rio huffed an exasperated sigh. "How dumb are you? Do I need to explain every little detail? I took you here because I want you done with. No more of those failures." Yumi's eyes widened as everything fell into place. She'd been the one sending duelists after her this whole time. She was rich enough to afford it and would definitely have the connections to get to people like Megumi and Rafael. The only thing she didn't understand was why.
"What did I do to you?" She asked tearfully, unable to contain herself any longer. "I'm sorry. I don't know why you're doing this. Please make it stop. I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt my friends anymore."
"Then stop your whining and get in here to duel me," she demanded. "And if you try to quit or lose on purpose, you're going to regret it. Trust me." Yumi's hopes of a quick and painless defeat were dashed before they even had a chance to start the game. She took a few shaky breaths, wiping her eyes on her hands and arms before picking up the duel disk and entering the box through a door on its face to stand before Rio.
Both their duel disks activated automatically, Yumi slowly shuffling and putting her cards into the wrist holder. There was even a slot for her Extra Deck like all the newest models had. The walls around them hummed with some sort of energy, metal paneling glowing a yellow-orange on the ceiling above them. "This box is a prototype my family's company is designing to enhance the realism of dueling," Rio explained. "It's meant to heighten the sensation of the game, but look at that, the engineers haven't finished the safety testing. That means any damage done is going to feel like it's really happening." She smiled darkly. "Should be a fun experience."
"I don't understand why you're doing this. I don't know what I did. Please, just tell me what I have to do to make this stop."
"You can start by not pretending to be such a pathetic amateur at this game. Then, I'll beat you, burn that collection of leftover trash you use for a deck, and make sure you never get to pick up a card again. That should make it okay."
"I'm not pretending anything," she told her defiantly. "I always play my hardest whenever I duel. Why would I hold back?"
"Because there's no other explanation as to how you managed to beat two Regional Champions while still giving such a pathetic display against me. Now you get to suffer for that, and I get to watch you break."
"I just got better," Yumi said. "I've been training for the tournament and-"
"I don't care about your excuses," Rio interrupted. If they kept talking like this, she might let a few things slip that she didn't want people hearing. She'd already started thinking something irritating about the way Yumi's hair looked when it was down like this. It only pissed her off even more. "Hurry up and start your turn."
With no other options, Yumi began the duel, drawing her hand silently and looking over her cards. It was only yesterday that she had to fight someone while sitting in what amounted to an electric chair. Now, they'd have to actually join their monsters in battle. Her body still ached from the former and she had no idea what to expect from the latter. Maybe she really was going to die here.
The thought was terrifying. She was only twelve years old, yet she already came so close to it once. Some people had told her there was a heaven when they died. Some people said it was Nirvana, or some kind of infinite peace, or something. Kazuhiko always talked about being afraid of ghosts, which she thought was funny. Some people said reincarnation, and for a little while she was kind of hoping for that so she'd end up as a puppy eventually. But staring it down as she did and facing it again as she might have to now, all she could imagine was nothing.
A deep, existential fear inside of her told her that dying would be the end of her entirely. There was no afterlife, no peace, no second chances. She'd no longer be alive, no longer be Yumi. She'd be nothing. Her friends would never be able to see her again and she'd never be able to see them. Their last memories together would be in that car after a long and terrifying day of misery.
And Sakuya. Her last memories would be of that hug and the assurance that she'd always be there for her. She'd become a liar if she died. She'd leave her behind and there would be nothing either of them could do about it. There was so much she still wanted to do with Sakuya, so many things she wanted to tell her. But if she couldn't take this, she'd never get the chance.
All Yumi wanted to do was quit and go home, but that wasn't good enough right now. She'd have to carry on one last time. For Sakuya. "I set a monster and another card and end my turn," she declared, her face-downs materializing in front of her.
"Still holding back," Rio growled from under her breath, drawing a card. "I summon Girzerker Tiny Panda," she declared, the baby panda appearing on her field with substantially less cooing than normal. "I use its effect to pay 1000 Life Points and add Girzerker Ascending Ceremony to my hand, then activate it." Her Life Points fell to 3000 in order to perform her Ritual Summon on the first turn. For most duelists, losing that much right from the start would be a problem, but her deck was made specifically to work around any costs from her effects. It was almost ingenious to use a deck that lost Life Points through a means other than damage in a duel where all damage was real.
"I release Girzerker Tiny Panda on my field and Girzerker Grumpy Dinosaur from my hand! Ritual Summon, Level 7! Girzerker Queen Bee!" The womanly monster appeared on Rio's field, wings buzzing as it floated in front of her. "Grumpy Dinosaur lets me pay 800 Life Points to add Girzerker Grodd Ape to my hand when it's sent to the Graveyard." Her Life Points were now 2200, but that seemed to be even less significant now that she had a monster to regain the lost numbers.
"I activate a second copy of Girzerker Ascending Soul and send the Girzerker Jump Puppy in my hand to the Graveyard as release. Ritual Summon, Level 10! Girzerker Grodd Ape!" Her monster appeared next to its comrade, pounding its chest and screeching. "Grodd Ape attacks your monster," she declared in monotone. Nothing about the duel so far seemed to interest her in the least, still believing Yumi was holding back.
The ape charged forward, smashing both its fists into the face-down monster on Yumi's field. The brown hairball that appeared was blown to pieces, raising Grodd Ape's ATK by 700 after Queen Bee's stat lowering effect on the non-Psychic. "Due to Critter's effect," Yumi began, "I can add Crane Crane to my hand."
"That won't help you," Rio told her. "Queen Bee, direct attack! Death Swarm!" The monster approached Yumi with an awful buzzing sound, striking her in the stomach with a stinger-like fist and knocking her backwards. Her Life Points dropped to 1800 after the first attack.
She coughed, trying to suck back the air she'd just had knocked out of her. It was so much worse than a normal bee sting and it felt completely, utterly real. "Not again," she moaned quietly. She'd been hurt twice by this card game now. This wasn't what dueling was supposed to be. Duel Monsters was meant to be fun and to help people understand each other, but it was being used to hurt her. It was horrible and she wanted nothing more than to make it stop.
"Going to die already?" Rio asked dismissively, watching her opponent writhe on the ground. Quickly, Yumi shook her head, wobbling to her feet. "Good. There's a lot more pain before that happens."
"I don't understand," Yumi said quietly. "I'll apologize for whatever I did wrong. I don't know why you hate me so much. I did my best when we were dueling, I promise."
Rio scoffed. "I hate you because you're pathetic and weak. What more reason do I need?"
"But why me? I don't know what I did. I'll give up and stop playing if you just let me go. I don't want to do this anymore."
"It's too late for that," she said. "That's what you should have done before, but you didn't. You were all smiles and just went along after being destroyed by me. No one is allowed to do that."
"That makes no sense!" Yumi screamed. "This is a game! People lose!" She took a shaky breath to try and calm herself. "I would never have gotten better if I didn't lose a thousand times first. If I gave up after I lost once, I wouldn't have even been there that day. Why would you want me to do that?"
"You're asking me why?" she replied incredulously. "Someone like you wouldn't understand even if I explained it like I was talking to a toddler." She turned up her nose and set another card, ending her turn. Rio wasn't used to having her statements refuted or needing to explain her actions. She always just did things without worrying about the consequences or the thought behind it. Anything she said in her home would go unquestioned out of fear, and that was how she liked it.
Deep down, though, it was glaringly obvious why she was so upset – so viscerally offended – at Yumi's existence. Because deep down, she wasn't so unappealing as she kept having to reassure herself. Deep down, she'd felt this way before about other girls she'd seen, and feeling this way made her mad. It wasn't right and it wasn't proper, she told herself, so whatever she did to these girls that made her have these thoughts was okay.
She'd hurt the others in very bad and personal ways, but her treatment of Yumi was a level above the rest. Such a dopey, unskilled, uncultured nobody as her dared to make her have these feelings? It was unforgivable. And even worse was that Sakuya girl. They had what she told herself she couldn't and were rubbing it in her face, whether they knew it or not. It was all she could do not to scream her head off in public watching them during that duel.
Nothing would make her admit to this, though. She repressed the thought along with any positive observations about Yumi's new outfit and lack of standard issue hilljack overalls. She'd crush her like the rest of them and finally move on with her life. She could forget about all of this and things would go back to normal.
"Hurry up!" she screamed, stomping her foot in anger. "My turn is over already, so make your move!" Silently, Yumi began her turn, pain still throbbing in her stomach as she looked over her options. With a quick breath, she set a face-down next to her first. "Any defense you try to put up is just going to get torn down," Rio mocked.
"I summon Crane Crane," Yumi somberly stated. The bird-like machine appeared on her field, dropping the end of its beak into a portal to the underworld. "I use its effect to revive Critter in Defense Mode. Turn end."
"Too weak!" Rio shouted. "This isn't your full strength! There's no way you could have beaten everyone I sent after you being this weak!" She seethed with rage through clenched teeth, drawing a card. "Standby Phase. Queen Bee's effect will return half of all the Life Points I paid during my previous turn to me." Yumi's only real advantage at that point (Rio's depleting Life Points via costs) was now subverted as her opponent's Life regained to 3100.
"Grodd Ape, kill her!" she commanded, sending her monster after the 0 ATK Crane Crane. Whether she was delirious from the pain or just simply forgot, Yumi hadn't even tried to Xyz Summon on her turn and left a defenseless monster in Attack Position.
Much to Rio's irritation, the attack was blocked. "I activate Attack Nullification," Yumi explained, "to negate your attack and end the Battle Phase."
"An obvious, pointless move like that is only going to prolong the duel for no reason. If you can't even remember what cards you own, there's no point in trying to survive." She set a face-down card, then activated an effect. "I use Jump Puppy in my Graveyard to add another copy to my hand at the cost of 1000 Life Points." Even at only 2100, she was still ahead of Yumi and unquestionably controlled the field.
Yumi drew for her turn, a tiny smile managing to work its way across her tired lips. "I release Critter and Crane Crane to summon my ace monster, Majesty Magician!" Both of Yumi's current monsters were swept up into two miniature tornadoes, the cyclones joining together into a larger one and blowing apart to reveal the wizard inside it.
"Pathetic!" Rio told her, pressing a button on her screen. "Trap activate, Pitfall of Naraka! When you foolishly summon a monster with 1500 or more ATK without thinking, this destroys it and banishes it!"
"Counter Trap, God's Providence!" Yumi's spirits were beginning to lift. "I can activate this card when you activate an effect on your field, and if I can discard the same kind of card, yours is negated and destroyed." Discarding the Majesty Guard Trap Card, Yumi's effect carried through, negating Rio's Trap and saving her monster.
Rio scoffed. "So you saved one of your useless cards. It's no big deal. It's too weak to do anything with only 1700 ATK!"
"Are you sure about that? Critter's effect lets me add a monster with 1500 or less ATK to my hand from my deck." She filtered her cards as prompted by the touch screen, selecting one to add to her hand. The deck shuffled itself automatically, ejecting her card from where it ended up. "I choose Rusty Swordsman." She had to admit, that was a pretty cool feature that she hoped to continue using throughout this duel.
"I equip Majesty Magician with Broken Wand!" The monster's staff began to spark, taking on the properties of the Equip Card as its ATK raised to 2200. "Then, I'll also equip it with Expert Heart. Since Majesty Magician will always be counted as a Level 4 monster with 1500 ATK and DEF when it's first targeted, I can stack my equipment onto it." The golden heart appeared on its breast, filling it with courage and determination.
"Attack Queen Bee! Majesty Bolt!" Spinning its staff above its head, Majesty Magician fired a burst of blue lightning at the insect.
"They'll both be destroyed!" Rio argued, astounded by the foolishness displayed in this move. "Then you'll just be open for attack!" Without a word, Yumi let the battle play out, smiling as Queen Bee's attempts to fight against the beam were overtaken, destroying the enemy monster and leaving the wizard unscathed. "That's impossible!"
Yumi smiled wider. "Expert Heart lets the monster it's equipped to withstand battle once per turn. Now your monster is gone and mine can go back to normal." Majesty Magician's ATK loss was gone, raising past its original to a solid 3000 with the addition of Broken Wand. It was even stronger than Grodd Ape now, something Rio found to be detestable and infuriating. "Now I'll end my turn."
"During your End Phase," Rio announced, waving a hand in front of her to signal her card to activate, "I'll use Life Absorbing Machine." Placing her fingers on top of her deck, she continued, "My turn, draw! During my Standby Phase, I gain half the Life Points I paid as cost during my last turn." Her Life increased to 2600, in and of itself annoying to her as it wasn't the full amount now that Queen Bee was gone.
With an unsettling laugh, she activated her newly acquired card. "Magic Card, Preparation of Rites, activate! With this card, I can add a Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from my deck to my hand, then a Ritual Magic from my Graveyard. I choose my Girzerker Bronze Tiger, and return one of my Girzerker Ascending Ceremonies." Just as Yumi's had before, Rio's deck ejected her selected monster, then the Ritual Magic from her Graveyard.
"Now I activate it, releasing Girzerker Jump Puppy as the entire cost!" The ritual proceeded, Jump Puppy dissolving into the fires as Bronze Tiger appeared in Defense Position, standing next to Grodd Ape. "Bronze Tiger has a fun ability. See if you can remember it." To her irritation, Yumi actually began to think on their last encounter. "Bronze Tiger lets me pay Life Points to decrease a monster's ATK and DEF by that much until the end of the turn. I'll be paying 2100 Life Points to decrease Majesty Magician's ATK to 900, and attack with Grodd Ape to finish you!"
Obviously not intending to carry this duel on for any longer, Rio had sacrificed all but 500 of her Life Points to weaken Yumi's monster just enough to make an exact victory. The monster pounded its chest, charging at the wizard and pulling back a fist to smash through it. Yumi, though, only raised her hand. "Trap activate, Majesty Guard!"
"What?" Rio shouted as the image of Yumi's previous fodder appeared above her head. It displayed the image of Majesty Magician conjuring a yellow barrier against a bolt of energy, appropriate for the situation.
"I can banish this from my Graveyard to halve the damage I take from one battle. And, because of Expert Heart, Majesty Magician won't be destroyed by this battle, either!" As displayed on the card, Majesty Magician blocked Grodd Ape's meaty fist with a barrier, sparks flying back as Yumi winced from the pain. Her Life Points were now 900.
"The second effect of Expert Heart activates, too, increasing Majesty Magician's ATK and DEF by the amount of damage I took just now!" The bonus would put it at an enormous 3900 once the turn ended, more than enough to wipe out the rest of Rio's Life Points with a single attack. With a snarl, she passed.
"Draw!" Yumi declared, finally regaining her smile to its fullest. "Majesty Magician, attack Girzerker Grodd Ape! Majesty Bolt!" She was prepared to end this duel and finally put all of this to rest. Unfortunately, Rio had other plans for them.
"When your monster attacks and would reduce my Life Points to 0, I can pay half my Life to activate my Trap Card, Last Surprise, from the deck!" Her Life Points fell to 250 as she explained, a card appearing that depicted a thief tipping their hat as they absconded into the night. "I negate the damage and make your monster unable to attack from now on." Though the attack went through, Grodd Ape being blasted to pieces, Rio was still alive. Majesty Magician was encircled by three purple rings of energy, constricting its ability to move.
Rio chuckled as her Life Points began to rise. "And, because of your foolishness, I gain Life Points equal to Grodd Ape's ATK on the field." She was now at 2950, soon to be more once her turn came.
Yumi puffed out her cheeks. "Come on! How was I supposed to know a card like that even existed?"
Rio blinked in surprise. "What?"
"You called me foolish for not predicting Last Surprise, but that card is just weird! I might not be the best, but even I know that's not a normal card."
"Just shut up and end your turn," she growled.
Yumi huffed, activating another card. "I play Treasure Cards from Heaven, letting us both draw until we have six cards." In unison, they pulled the top cards from their decks, Yumi looking especially happy to have found what she needed. "I'll activate Arms Hole! By sending the top card of my deck to the Graveyard, I can add an Equip Card from my deck or Graveyard to my hand." The cost for this was, unfortunately, her Flame Viper. Regardless, she selected Rusty Sword, keeping her hand at six.
"Now I'll use Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards!" The unprecedented amount of drawing she managed to do this turn put her ahead quite a bit. "I'll set two cards and end my turn," she declared.
"Draw!" Rio moved to the Standby Phase, recovering 1050 Life Points to make 4000. She laughed quietly to herself. "And to think, I was almost worried. That was rather silly of me, wouldn't you say? After all, you just gave me a new hand without any problems." By the look on her face, it was clear she was about to go back on the offensive.
"I use Girzerker Jump Puppy's effect add my final copy to my hand at the cost of 1000 Life Points." Now at 3000, she added a seventh card to her hand, activating a Ritual Magic, Girzerker Last Rights. "I banish Girzerker Jump Puppy from my hand as a cost to Ritual Summon Girzerker Killer Crocodile!" Like its predecessors, the dog became fodder for the man-like crocodile's arrival on the field. Despite a hefty 3000 ATK, it still couldn't overcome Majesty Magician.
"I'll banish my Girzerker Last Rights from my Graveyard to gain 2000 Life Points now, then pay 1900 to reduce Majesty Magician's ATK to 2100." This left her with 3100 Life Points in addition to a clear avenue to victory. "I switch Girzerker Bronze Tiger to Attack Mode, then attack with Killer Crocodile! Devil Press!"
"Don't count on that working!" Yumi said, Broken Wand beginning to glow. "When you attack Majesty Magician with a monster that has greater ATK than it does, I can return it to my hand and end the Battle Phase immediately!" At the expense of her equipment, she'd saved herself and her favorite card from certain death another time.
Rio sneered, setting two cards of her own before ending her turn. Yumi began by drawing, a smile on her face as she did. She looked up to meet eyes with Rio. Despite the seething hatred she sensed coming from the other girl, she was finally beginning to see a closeness that she hadn't been able to feel in their last encounter. "Rio, I hope you know that, because of everything you've done to me and my friends, I'll never be able to forgive you. But, even so, I really need to thank you for this."
Taken aback, she asked, "What's that supposed to mean? Were you looking for a way to commit suicide this whole time?"
Yumi shook her head. "You made me realize something. That, no matter how bad things may be or how high the stakes, I really, really love dueling! And nothing can ever change that." Her smile only grew wider. "Maybe you thought taking my deck away and keeping me from playing would have worked, that it would stop me from being a duelist. And maybe that would be right in a way. But no matter what, even if I can never play a single card again, I'll always love Duel Monsters and everything it's done for me, and you'll never be able to change that!"
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Girzerker Tiny Panda
EARTH
Level 3
Psychic/Effect
900 ATK/500 DEF
This card cannot be targeted for an attack while you control another face-up monster. Pay 1000 LP; add 1 "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Girzerker Tiny Panda" once per turn.
Girzerker Ascending Ceremony
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Girzerker" Ritual Monster. You must also Tribute monsters from the field or your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. You can also pay LP equal to any number of Levels x 500, in addition to any Tributes used to equal the Level of the Ritual Monster. While this card is in your Graveyard, except the turn it is sent there: Pay 1000 LP; shuffle this card into your Deck and draw 1 card.
Girzerker Grumpy Dinosaur
EARTH
Level 4
Psychic/Effect
1600 ATK/1000 DEF
When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Pay 800 LP to add 1 "Girzerker" Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand. You can only use this effect of "Girzerker Grumpy Dinosaur" once per turn.
Girzerker Queen Bee
EARTH
Level 7
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
2200 ATK/1100 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. All monsters on the field lose ATK and DEF equal to their Level, except Psychic-Type monsters. During your Standby Phase: Gain LP equal to half of any LP paid during your last turn.
Girzerker Grodd Ape
EARTH
Level 10
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
2000 ATK/2800 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. If this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: This card gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK on the field. When this card is removed from the field: Gain LP equal to its ATK on the field.
Girzerker Jump Puppy
EARTH
Level 2
Psychic/Effect
500 ATK/300 DEF
When you Ritual Summon a "Girzerker" Ritual Monster using this card as a Tribute; this card can be used as the entire Tribute. While this card is in your Graveyard, you can pay 1000 LP; add 1 "Girzerker Jump Puppy" from your Deck to your hand.
Critter (Sangan)
DARK
Level 3
Fiend/Effect
1000 ATK/ 600 DEF
When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: Add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand.
Crane Crane
EARTH
Level 3
Winged Beast/Effect
300 ATK/900 DEF
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can target 1 Level 3 monster in your Graveyard; Special Summon that target, but its effects are negated. You can only use this effect of "Crane Crane" once per turn.
Attack Nullification (Negate Attack)
Counter Trap Card
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, then end the Battle Phase.
Majesty Magician
DARK
Level 8
Spellcaster/Effect
2500 ATK/2000 DEF
You can Tribute Summon this card by Tributing 1 monster that was originally a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. This card is treated as an appropriate target for a card that specifically designates a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard (its Level and ATK/DEF do not change).
Pitfall of Naraka (Bottomless Trap Hole)
Trap Card
When your opponent Summons a monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK; Destroy that monster(s) with 1500 or more ATK and, if you do, banish it.
God's Providence (Ultimate Providence)
Counter Trap Card
When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated: Discard the same type of card (Monster, Spell, or Trap); negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Majesty Guard
Normal Trap Card
Monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, also halve all damage you take this turn. During either player's turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard; halve the battle damage you take from one opponent's monster this turn.
Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Broken Wand
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases by 500. When this card attacks or is attacked by a monster with higher ATK: You can return this card to your hand and end the Battle Phase.
Expert Heart
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: Cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. When you take damage from an attack involving this card: This card gains ATK and DEF equal to the damage you took.
Life Absorbing Machine
Continuous Trap Card
During your Standby Phase, gain Life Points equal to half the Life Points you paid during your last turn.
Preparation of Rites
Normal Spell Card
Add 1 Level 7 or lower Ritual Monster from your Deck to your hand, then you can add 1 Ritual Spell Card from your Graveyard to the hand.
Girzerker Bronze Tiger
EARTH
Level 4
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
1700 ATK/1000 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field and pay LP in multiples of 100; that monster loses ATK and DEF equal to LP paid until the End Phase.
Last Surprise
Normal Trap Card
When an opponent's monster with the highest ATK on the field declares an attack: Make the battle damage you take from this battle 0, and if you do, target that opponent's monster; it cannot attack. If your Life Points would become 0 from that attack: You can pay half your Life Points to activate this card from your deck.
Treasure Cards from the Heavens (Card of Sanctity)
Normal Spell Card
Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand.
Arms Hole (Hidden Armory)
Normal Spell Card
Send the top card of your Deck to the Graveyard; add 1 Equip Spell Card from your Deck or Graveyard to your hand. You cannot Normal Summon/Set during the turn you activate this card.
Flame Viper
EARTH
Level 2
Pyro
400 ATK/ 450 DEF
Rusty Sword
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card's original ATK increases equal to its DEF. When this card attacks, during the Damage Step: You can pay Life Points in multiples of 100 (maximum 500); this card gains ATK equal to that amount.
Pot of Greed
Normal Spell Card
Draw 2 cards.
Girzerker Last Rights
Ritual Spell Card
This card can be used to Ritual Summon any "Girzerker" Ritual Monster from your Graveyard. You must also banish monsters from your hand whose total Levels equal the Level of the Ritual Monster you Ritual Summon. Banish this card from your Graveyard; gain 2000 LP. This effect cannot be activated if you summoned a monster this turn, except by Ritual Summon.
Girzerker Killer Crocodile
EARTH
Level 9
Psychic/Ritual/Effect
3000 ATK/3000 DEF
You can Ritual Summon this card with any "Girzerker" Ritual Spell Card. Once per turn, when this card is targeted by your opponent's card effect: You can pay 1000 LP; change the target to another appropriate card on the field. When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: You can add 1 "Girzerker" monster from your Deck to your hand with ATK less than or equal to the destroyed monster's original ATK.
I've got a pretty neat little backlog going for once so I'm actually not scrambling to get chapters done the day they come out anymore. Probably for the best since Persona 5 just dropped here and that's going to be my life for about a month. Don't be surprised if a dapper gang of teenage thieves show up at some point in the near future. I'm joking, of course (maybe).
As I was writing this, I realize I already made a Persona reference with a card in this chapter. So...there's that. I think it was totally by accident, too, but I can't remember well enough.
I was working on this chapter for a while before I actually got to this part in the story. It's a duel I'd been pretty excited to get to since these two first met. I won't say I'm a huge fan of Rituals, but they've been doing some fun stuff lately and I'll take any excuse I can get to reference shit, so I figured I should throw the card type a bone since they were pretty well snubbed by ARC-V in the end. There's a lot less DC villains of substance themed around animals than you'd expect.
There was a point while writing near the middle where I was genuinely surprised at how much better Yumi had gotten since the start and her first duel with Rio. I was real proud of her for coming so far. Wonder if it's going to be enough.
This might be the first time where I had to split a single planned chapter into two chapters that didn't leave the second one feeling short. Honestly, I kind of really liked how these two turned out, especially the duel, so I hope other people do, too. I can't think of much else to say on this one other than Fukuro needs to get his shit together. Thanks for reading. Always remember to go to the doctor.